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UH, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR MEETING TO ORDER.
TIME IS 9:40 AM AND THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE IS HEREBY CALLED TO ORDER ON THIS 25TH DAY OF MAY, 2022.
MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ THE ROLE COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA? HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
AND GOOD MORNING AGAIN, EVERYONE.
UM, WE HAVE A FEW ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.
[Approval of Minutes ]
UH, THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING OF MINUTES OF APRIL 5TH, 2022.I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THOSE MINUTES.
SECOND, THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND.
UH, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU WOULD NOTE THAT WE NEED TO CHANGE, UM, THE SPELLING OF BRAD BELDEN'S NAME, UM, FROM BEON TO BELL DUNN.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE MINUTES? ALL RIGHT.
[Briefing and Possible Action on ]
OKAY, WE'LL GO TO ITEM NUMBER TWO.ITEM NUMBER TWO IS A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST BY COUNCIL MEMBERS JALEN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, DISTRICT TWO, AND ADRIANA ROCHA GARCIA, DISTRICT FOUR ON ACCESS TO INSULIN COST SHARE PROGRAM.
ALRIGHT, DO WE HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION ON ITEM TWO, DR.
GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THIS, UH, C C R OR ON AN INSULIN COST SHARE PROGRAM THAT WAS SUBMITTED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, MC KEY RODRIGUEZ AND R CASTILLA BACK ON JANUARY 27TH.
SO, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DISCUSSION FOR THOSE DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES AND THEIR LOVED ONES.
AS NEARLY 30% OF DIABETICS, OR 7.4 MILLION AMERICANS TAKE INSULIN AS PART OF THEIR TREATMENT OF THE DISEASE.
INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES EXPERIENCE INSULIN RESISTANCE OR AN INSULIN DEFICIENCY, THEY MAY BE DEPENDENT ON INSULIN SUPPLEMENTATION TO LIVE AND MANAGE SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE.
JUST, UH, WOULD ADD THAT WHILE ALL INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH TYPE TWO DIABETES REQUIRE INSULIN, NOT ALL INDIVIDUALS WITH TYPE TWO DIABETES REQUIRE INSULIN.
UH, INDIVIDUALS WITH TYPE TWO DIABETES MAY REQUIRE INSULIN WHEN THEIR MEAL PLAN, WEIGHT LOSS EXERCISE, AND ANTI-DIABETIC DRUGS DO NOT ACHIEVE TARGETED BLOOD GLUCOSE OR SUGAR LEVELS.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF THEIR DIABETES IS UNCONTROLLED.
THIS IS A QUICK SNAPSHOT, UM, TO PROVIDE YOU THE CURRENT STATE OF DIABETES HERE IN BEX COUNTY.
THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED TO US BY OUR WONDERFUL METRO HEALTH INFORMATICS TEAM AND OUR, UH, DIABETES PROGRAM, AND CAN BE FOUND IN OUR ANNUAL DIABETES REPORT AND THE METRO HEALTH 2020 MORTALITY REPORT.
SO, IN BROAD STROKES, DIABETES IS THE SEVENTH LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN BEXAR COUNTY.
OVER 288,000 BEXAR COUNTY RESIDENTS, ALMOST 14.5% REPORT BEING DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES BEAR COUNTY INCIDENTS AND HOSPITALIZATION RATES ARE HIGHER THAN BOTH STATE AND NATIONAL RATES.
THE HIGHEST INCIDENTS AND HOSPITALIZATION RATES IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE FOUND AMONG BLACK AND HISPANIC POPULATIONS.
THE HIGHEST INCIDENTS AND HOSPITALIZATION RATES ARE FOUND IN THE NEAR EAST, WEST, AND SOUTH SIDES, AND PARTICULARLY IN DISTRICTS ONE THROUGH SEVEN, CONSISTENT WITH OTHER RECOGNIZED PATTERNS OF INEQUITIES IN THOSE AREAS.
THE VAST MAZO MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH DIABETES HAVE TYPE TWO DIABETES.
IT IS ESTIMATED THAT ONLY FIVE TO 10% OF INDIVIDUALS DIABETES HAVE TYPE ONE DIABETES.
SO WHAT HAS OUR CITY DONE TO ADDRESS THE HIGH RATES OF DIABETES IN OUR COMMUNITY? BACK IN 2013, OUR DEPARTMENT CREATED THE DIABETES PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROGRAM.
THIS PROGRAM USES EVIDENCE-BASED CURRICULA FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITY AND THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL.
UH, PROVIDES PREVENTION AND SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION THROUGHOUT BEXAR COUNTY.
THESE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS TAKE PLACE IN BUSINESSES, CLINICS, CHURCHES, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
THE PROGRAM REACHES BETWEEN FOUR TO 500 INDIVIDUALS ANNUALLY.
THE RESEARCH PROVIDES THAT PREVENTION AND SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION CAN REDUCE TYPE TWO DIABETES, REDUCE HEALTHCARE COSTS, AND REDUCE HEMOGLOBIN A ONE C SCORES WHILE IMPROVING CLINICAL LIFESTYLE AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES.
RECENTLY, AS PART OF OUR ESSAY FORWARD INITIATIVE AND
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FUNDING FROM THE C D C HEALTH DISPARITIES GRANT, OUR PROGRAM HAS EXPANDED ITS REACH.WE'VE ADDED THREE HEALTH EDUCATORS AND OUR TARGETING SPECIFIC COUNCIL DISTRICTS FOR INCREASED ENGAGEMENT BASED ON THE DATA THAT WAS PROVIDED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
SO, AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THE CONVERSATION SURROUNDING INSULIN AND THE COST OF INSULIN SUPPLEMENTATION IS BEING HAD AT MULTIPLE LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND OUR SOCIETY.
INSULIN PRICES MAY VARY BASED ON TYPE OF INSULIN AND HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE.
IT CAN RANGE FROM $0 WITH THE SUPPORT OF INSURANCE AND MANUFACTURER DISCOUNTS TO $1,500 A YEAR.
NEARLY 16% OF THOSE WHO USE INSULIN PAY THE FULL PRICE FOR THEIR INSULIN PRESCRIPTION ANNUALLY.
INSURANCE PLAYS A BIG PART OF WHAT AN INDIVIDUAL WILL, WHAT AN INDIVIDUAL WILL PAY FOR THEIR INSULIN PRESCRIPTION.
ALMOST 283,000 SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS ARE UNINSURED.
HEALTH INSURANCE IS CRITICAL TO EX ACCESSING DIABETES, DIABETIC SUPPLIES, MEDICATIONS, EDUCATION, AND HEALTHCARE, AND TO PREVENT SEVERE COMPLICATIONS, LACK OF INSURANCE CAN CAUSE INDIVIDUALS TO DELAY OR NEGLECT CARE CREATING MORE SEVERE COMPLICATIONS.
DOWN THE LINE, ROUGHLY 1000 BEAR COUNTY RESIDENTS WERE HOSPITALIZED IN 2020 FOR COMPLICATIONS WITH TYPE ONE DIABETES, AND 20% OF THEM DID NOT HAVE INSURANCE.
SO WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY? THERE IS LEGISLATION CURRENTLY PROPOSED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO ADDRESS THE COST OF INSULIN.
US SENATE BILL, UH, 3,700, UH, BROUGHT BY SENATOR RAPHAEL WARNOCK OF GEORGIA WOULD CAP INSULIN PRICES IN PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE, UH, PLANS AND MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN AT $35 OR 25, DO 25% OF THE PLANS NEGOTIATED PRICE WITH THE DRUG MANUFACTURERS.
THE AFFORDABLE INSULIN NOW ACT IS A SIMILAR BILL PASSED BY THE US UH, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UH, BACK ON MARCH 31ST.
BOTH MEASURES ARE MOVING THROUGH THE SENATE WITH VOTES PENDING CLOSE TO THE HOME.
THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS ALSO PASSED LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE COST OF INSULIN AND DRUG AFFORDABILITY.
SENATE BILL 8 27 LIMITS ARE OUT OF POCKET, UH, COPAYS TO $25 FOR EACH INSULIN PRESCRIPTION PER MONTH.
FOR INSURED TEXANS ON STATE REGULATED HEALTH PLANS, THIS LAW DOES NOT ASSIST THOSE WHO ARE UNINSURED.
SO, SENATE BILL 8 27 WENT INTO EFFECT ON SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
TEXAS IS THE 19TH STATE TO ENACT INSULIN COPAY CAP LEGISLATION.
TEXAS BILL, UH, 18, UH, TEXAS HOUSE BILL 18 SIGNED INTO LAW BACK ON JUNE 20 15TH OF LAST YEAR, ESTABLISHED THE TEXAS CARES RX PROGRAM, A PRESCRIPTION DRUG SAVINGS PROGRAM FOR THE UNINSURED THAT COULD POTENTIALLY LOWER INSULIN COSTS BY UP TO 70%.
THE LAW DIRECTS THE TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION TO NEGOTIATE LOWER PRICES WITH DRUG MANUFACTURERS ON BEHALF OF UNINSURED TEXAS.
SO, AS IRI WRAP UP, AN INSULIN COST SHARING PROGRAM WOULD BE A NOVEL APPROACH FOR A MUNICIPALITY.
IT WOULD LOOK TO ALLOCATE FUNDS TO SPECIFICALLY LOCAL, TO SPECIFIC LOCALLY OWNED PHARMACIES TO COVER COPAYS AND DEDUCTIBLES ON BEHALF OF PATIENTS TO REDUCE THE COST OF INSULIN.
WE ESTIMATE THAT FUNDING THIS INITIATIVE AT $1.5 MILLION ANNUALLY WOULD CO ONLY COVER A THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS.
THIS WOULD NOT BE A FEASIBLE OR SUSTAINABLE OPTION FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO DUE TO THE LACK OF FUNDING AND LIMITED IMPACT.
WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING THEN, THEY, OUR STAFF WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE THREE ADDITIONAL OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE COST OF INSULIN AND IMPROVE THE OVERALL HEALTH OF THOSE WITH DIABETES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO OPTION ONE, INCREASE LOBBYING EFFORTS AND SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATION AT THE STATE NATIONAL LEVEL THAT WOULD CAP IN PRICES AND EXPAND MEDICAID COVERAGE IN TEXAS.
THIS WOULD BE DONE WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY COUNCIL IN OUR DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
THIS ITEM WOULD BE FORMALLY ADDED TO THE CITY'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA.
IT WOULD NOT COST ANYTHING TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
OPTION TWO, UH, HIRE OR DIRECTLY SUB, UH, HIRE DIRECTLY OR SUBCONTRACT THREE PATIENT NAVIGATORS TO HELP INDIVIDUALS ENROLL IN PHARMACEUTICAL DISCOUNT PROGRAMS FOR INSULIN AND ENROLL INTO THE A C A MARKETPLACE PLANS.
THIS WOULD NOT ONLY AID INDIVIDUALS IN REDUCING THE COST OF INSULIN, BUT ALSO AN INCREASE IN ACCESSING BETTER GENERAL HEALTHCARE AND SPECIFICALLY PREVENTIVE CARE.
THE ESTIMATED COST FOR THIS OPTION IS ABOUT $200,000.
THIRD AND FINAL OPTION IS SECURE GENERAL FUNDING FOR THE DIABETES PREVENTION AND, AND DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION, AND A TEAM OF EIGHT DIABETES HEALTH EDUCATORS.
OUR DIABETES PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY FUNDED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS.
WE'D LIKE TO ENSURE THAT FUNDING REMAINS CONSISTENT FOR THIS VITAL COMMUNITY PROGRAM AND WILL CONTINUE LONG AFTER THE PROGRAM TERMS HAVE ENDED.
THE ESTIMATED COST FOR THIS OPTION IS $650,000.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION IS THAT OUR STAFF WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND IMPLEMENTING ALL THREE OPTIONS
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OUTLINED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.THIS HOLISTIC APPROACH WOULD PROVIDE THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT TARGETING THE INDIVIDUAL RESIDENT AND LOCAL OUTREACH EFFORTS TO AREAS OF GREATEST NEED AS WELL AS STATE AND NATIONAL POLICY AND LEGISLATION.
AGAIN, THIS COULD HELP RELIEVE THE BURDEN OF CHRONIC DISEASE AND IMPROVE ACCESS TO CARE, UM, TO WHICH ARE PRIORITIES REFLECTED IN OUR ESSAY FORWARD PLAN.
WE RECOMMEND THAT THIS ITEM BE REFERRED TO THE COMMUNITY HEALTH ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER IN-DEPTH CONSIDERATION, METRO HEALTH WILL BE READY TO PRESENT THESE OPTIONS FOR REVIEW TO CHECK AT THEIR AVAILABILITY, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO, UM, PRESENT AT THAT TIME AS THE OPPORTUNITY ALLOWS.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO PRESENT THIS MORNING, AND I'M JOINED BY MEMBERS OF OUR FANTASTIC TEAM, UH, WHO DIRECTLY ADMINISTER THIS PROGRAM ON THE GROUND.
UH, DOC BEF, UH, WE HEARD THE RECOMMENDATION BEFORE WE GET INTO DISCUSSION, THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO SEND, UM, TO RESEARCH THE THREE OPTIONS FOR MAXIMUM BENEFIT AND REFER THE ITEM TO CHECK COMMITTEE.
CAN I GET A MOTION AND WE'LL BEGIN DISCUSSION? OKAY.
THERE'S A MOTION, UH, BY ROCHA GARCIA, SECOND BY KEO HDA.
THIS IS A C C R AUTHORED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS MCKEE RODRIGUEZ AND ROCHA GARCIA.
SO I'LL OFFER THE FLOOR TO THE BOTH OF YOU IF YOU'D LIKE TO BEGIN THE DISCUSSION.
OUR ILLUSTRIOUS MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL FOR THE RECORD.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF I HAD KNOWN THERE WOULD BE SO MANY PEOPLE HERE, I MIGHT'VE WORN A BETTER OUTFIT.
UH, COUNCILMAN ADRIANA ROJA GARCIA AND I COLLABORATED ON THIS POLICY PROPOSAL BECAUSE WE WANTED TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF FAMILIES AND RESIDENTS IN OUR DISTRICTS WHO ARE LIVING WITH DIABETES AND WHOSE ACCESS TO INSULIN IS A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION.
WE KNOW THE DATA ALL TOO WELL THAT OUR SIDES OF TOWN EXPERIENCE HIGHER INCIDENCE RATES OF DIABETES, HIGHER RATES OF AMPUTATION BLINDNESS, OR OTHER COMPLICATIONS DUE TO DIABETES, AND ULTIMATELY HIGHER RATES OF DEATH DUE TO THIS, DUE TO THIS DISEASE.
AND BECAUSE DIABETES AFFECTS BLACK AND LATINO FAMILIES DISPROPORTIONATELY, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A RACIAL JUSTICE ISSUE AS WELL.
I HAVE A GREAT APPRECIATION FOR THE ROLE OF DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS BECAUSE THESE PROGRAMS ARE DATA-DRIVEN AND HAVE PROVEN TO HAVE AN EFFECT ON HEALTH OUTCOMES.
BUT THESE PROGRAMS CANNOT BE OUR ONLY LINE OF DEFENSE.
DIABETES IS AT AN EPIDEMIC LEVELS IN OUR CITY, AND WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO STEP UP OUR EFFORTS AND DO MORE.
I BELIEVE IT SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE TO TEACH PEOPLE TO MANAGE THEIR DIABETES AND THEN LEAVE THEM TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES WHEN THEY CANNOT AFFORD THE ME MEDICINE NECESSARY TO DO SO.
I ENCOURAGE THAT WE ASK THE QUESTIONS REGARDING THE COST OF THE DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
HOW MANY CLIENTS DO WE SEE EACH YEAR? HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE PROGRAM? WHAT ARE THE COSTS RELATED TO RECRUITMENT EDUCATION? WHAT IS THE SUCCESS RATE? AND I ASK THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE FOR THE CITY TO CONSIDER WHETHER AN INSULIN COST SHARE PROGRAM MIGHT CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THE RECRUITMENT OF IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS INTO THE PROGRAM.
COULD PARTICIPATION IN THE INSULIN COST SHARE PROGRAM BECOME A PART OF OUR OVERALL STRATEGY TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT IN THIS EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAM? I ALSO, IN THE RECOMMENDATION, I APPRECIATE THE INCLUSION OF AN OPTION FOR NAVIGATION SERVICES, AND I BELIEVE THIS CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO THE OVERALL PROGRAM AS WELL.
WE CANNOT, I'LL SAY AGAIN, WE CANNOT PENNY PINCH OUR WAY OUT OF THIS DISEASE OF EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS.
DISTRICT TWO SUFFERS FROM A LACK OF HOSPITALS AND HEALTH FACILITIES AS WELL AS A LACK OF HEALTH AND AFFORDABLE FOOD OPTIONS.
AND THIS IS WHY I ALSO WORKED WITH COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL TO PROPOSE A FOOD ACCESS MASTER PLAN.
IT'S PART OF AN OVERALL PROGRAM TO ADDRESS ACCESS TO HEALTH, WHICH IN MY OPINION, HAS BEEN GIVEN LESS THAN THE RESOURCES IT DESERVES IN THE EAST SIDE, THE WEST SIDE, AND THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN.
AND WHAT I'LL END WITH IS THAT WE CAN DO MORE, AND IN FACT, WE MUST DO MORE.
WE CAN WAIT ALL YEAR FOR FEDERAL STATE LEGISLATION AND OF THE OPTIONS, UM, I WOULD SUGGEST WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DO ALL OF THEM.
AND I WOULD LIKE, OR I WOULD REQUEST, UM, THAT PERHAPS AN AMENDMENT WOULD BE MADE TO INCLUDE, UM, THE INSULIN COST SHARE PROGRAM AS A PART OF THE, UH, EVALUATION PROCESS THAT CHECK WOULD PARTICIPATE IN.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA.
AND THANK YOU COUNCILMAN MAKI RODRIGUEZ FOR, UH, FOR BRINGING THIS UP.
AND, UH, I I'M SURE THAT, UM, MOST OF YOU ALL HAVE HEARD, UH, ALREADY, BUT MY DAD, UH, SUFFERS FROM DIABETES.
AND WHEN COUNCILMAN MAKI RODRIGUEZ REACHED OUT INITIALLY, I JUST HAD STICKER SHOCK BECAUSE OF HIS NEW DIABETES MEDICATION.
AND, UM, I MENTIONED THIS, UH, IN FACT TO SOME, SOME FOLKS THAT ASKED, I SAID, MY PARENTS HAVE SOMEONE TO ADVOCATE FOR THEM, OR MY DAD HAS SOMEONE WHO CAN CALL AND HELP.
UM, HOWEVER, A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT DO NOT.
AND SO I DO BELIEVE THAT THE EFFORTS THAT METRO HEALTH HAS UNDERTAKEN IN THE PAST FEW YEARS ARE HELPFUL TO OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT I THINK THAT METRO HEALTH NEEDS SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.
UM, I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO REALIZE
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THAT DIABETES IS A BIG PART OF OUR COMMUNITY, UNFORTUNATELY, AND DOES CONTRIBUTE TO EARLY DEATHS, ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTH, WEST AND EAST SIDES OF SAN ANTONIO.AND THAT'S WHY I DECIDED TO SIGN UP, UM, TO SUPPORT THE C C R.
I REALLY APPRECIATE COUNCILMAN MAKI RODRIGUEZ BRINGING UP THE ISSUE AND BRINGING THE FACTS, UM, BEHIND, UH, HIS, HIS CONCERNS AS WELL.
I REALLY DON'T HAVE, UM, ANY OTHER, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
I HATE THAT IT'S A HURRY UP AND WAIT ON THIS, ON THE STATE AND ON THE FEDERAL, UM, TEAM, I UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T POSSIBLY MAKE AS BIG OF AN IMPACT AS POSSIBLE, BUT STILL, YOU ALL REFERENCED 1000 FOLKS THAT COULD BE HELPED, UM, CURRENTLY OR WITH THE, THE PROGRAM AS PROPOSED.
AND I THINK THAT EVEN THOSE 1000 PEOPLE WOULD BE GRATEFUL TO US.
RIGHT? AND WE ALL KNOW THAT IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO GET THE WORD OUT ANYWAY ON A LOT OF THINGS.
SO I WOULDN'T WANT TO WAIT ANY LONGER.
SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO, I WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF.
AND, UM, I'M, UH, HAPPY THAT THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONTINUE ADVOCATING.
I'M SURE COUNCILMAN ELIAS WILL, WOULD, WILL BE HAPPY TO CONSIDER IT AT THE NEXT I G R COMMITTEE OR AS WE PLAN OUR FUTURE STEPS FOR OUR ADVOCACY AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL.
BUT THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS TODAY.
I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER KIO HAVNER.
UH, THANK YOU CLAUDE, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
ABOUT A MONTH AGO, WE HAD A, A HEALTH FAIR, UH, FOR OUR SENIORS IN DISTRICT SIX.
AND THERE WAS A DIABETES PREVENTION TABLE.
A YOUNG MAN CHRISTIAN WAS THERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S HERE TODAY, BUT HE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB.
IT WAS THE, ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR TABLES.
AND, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND HE WAS VERY INFORMATIVE.
I FIND IN MY DISABILITY PRACTICE, UH, ABOUT 80% OF MY CLIENTS SUFFER FROM TYPE TWO DIABETES.
AND OF COURSE THEY HAVE COMORBIDITIES, BUT IT, THE DIABETES ONLY COMPLICATES, UM, UH, THEIR COMORBID MORBIDITIES.
AND A LOT OF THE REASON THEY'RE IN MY OFFICE LOOKING FOR DISABILITY HELP IS BECAUSE, UM, THEY, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO, TO AFFORD MEDICATION.
AND THEIR DIABETES, UNFORTUNATELY, HAS, UM, YOU KNOW, BEEN GOTTEN A LOT WORSE WITHOUT OF CARE, OF COURSE.
I, I COMMEND MY COLLEAGUES, MAKI RODRIGUEZ AND RICHARD GARCIA FOR BRINGING THIS UP.
THIS IS SOMETHING I SEE UNFORTUNATELY EVERY DAY.
WE HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF DIABETES, UH, IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, AND AS MENTIONED IN OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, I SUPPORT, I FULLY SUPPORT ADDING THIS TOPIC TO OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA.
I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE STRONG.
AND I, I, I DO THINK IT'S JUST THE BEGINNING THOUGH.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO REALLY LOOK AT, UM, AT WAYS THAT FUNDING OPTIONS SO WE CAN FURTHER, UH, TO IMPROVE OUR DIABETES PREVENTION AND CONTROL TEAM.
ONE IN SEVEN PEOPLE IN SAN ANTONIO HAS DIABETES.
TO ME, THAT'S 2.2 BILLION COSTS PER YEAR.
SO LOOKING TO HELP WITH COSTS ISN'T VERY IMPORTANT.
BUT I WANNA CONTINUE TO LOOK, UH, TO REDUCE OUR, OUR NUMBER OF DIABETES RELATED AMPUTATIONS, HOSPITALIZATIONS, PREVENTION, OF COURSE, UM, FOR TYPE TWO DIABETES, ESPECIALLY CHILDHOOD CASES.
UM, AND, UM, AND OF COURSE, THE, THE COST ASSOCIATED.
UM, I WANNA HEAR MORE ALSO, NOT TODAY, BUT JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING ABOUT OUR, UH, PREVENT OUR HEALTHY EATING PROGRAMS AND USING OUR PRE-K, UH, PRE-K FOR S A D H S AND PARKS AFTERSCHOOL AND HEAD STARTS PRO PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO PREVENTION INFORMATION AND, AND NUTRITION.
UH, BUT AGAIN, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION AND, AND THE, THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
COUNCIL MEMBER KEO DALE, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
I WANT TO THANK, UH, BOTH OF THE SPONSORS OF THIS C C R FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
UH, I'VE BEEN LIVING WITH TYPE TWO DIABETES FOR 10 YEARS.
I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE IN ALL OF THOSE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN EMPLOYED WITH, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE PROVIDED GOOD HEALTHCARE COVERAGE.
SO THAT, UH, MY COST TO TREAT THIS HAS BEEN VERY MANAGEABLE TO ME.
UH, BUT IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE THAT THERE WERE A THOUSAND PEOPLE WHO WENT INTO THE HOSPITALS THIS YEAR, UH, WITH DIABETES PROBLEMS, AND 20% HAD NO INSURANCE AT ALL.
UH, I THINK THAT I, I, I APPRECIATE THE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, BUT I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD GIVE UP ON THE, UH, IDEA OF COST SHARING.
LET ME ASK A QUESTION OR TWO OF, UH, MR. JACOBS, COULD YOU TELL ME RIGHT NOW HOW MANY OF YOUR STAFF EITHER ARE DEDICATED TO OR WORK WITH PEOPLE, UH, WHO CALL ABOUT DIABETES RELATED ILLNESSES? THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN GER FOR THAT QUESTION.
I'M GOING TO INVITE, UH, KATHY SHIELDS, WHO IS OUR INTERIM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR OUR DIVISION OF CHRONIC DISEASE, OUR COMMUNICABLE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND SAFETY.
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ON THE GROUND WITH THIS PROGRAM.SHE OVERSEES THE STAFF THAT ADMINISTER THIS, SO, OKAY, SHE'LL FILL YOU INTO THE DETAILS.
GOOD MORNING, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
UM, THERE ARE CURRENTLY 11 STAFF FUNDED FULL-TIME STAFF WHO ARE DIABETES EDUCATORS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, DOING DIABETES, SELF-MANAGEMENT OR DIABETES PREVENTION PROGRAMMING.
BUT I SEE THE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION AND THE COST ESTIMATE WAS TALKING ABOUT HAVING TO ADD MORE PEOPLE TO THAT.
UH, AND IT COSTING THE CITY A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS TO DO THAT.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO ADD SO MANY MORE PEOPLE IF WE'VE GOT 11 WHO ARE ALREADY DOING THAT? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY BIG CROWD.
WELL, THE, THE 11 PEOPLE THAT ARE CURRENTLY DOING THE WORK ARE FUNDED BY STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS THAT HAVE TERMS MM-HMM.
SO THE IDEA IS HOW DO WE EXTEND THIS WORK INTO THE FUTURE? SO THAT COMPLIMENT OF STAFF WOULD BE A NICE COMPLIMENT TO MOVE INTO THE FUTURE ONCE THOSE, ONCE THAT FUNDING ENDS FROM THE FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTS.
IF IT ENDS, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF THOSE GRANTS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS, AND THE WAY WE SEE THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TRYING TO DEAL MORE VIGOROUSLY WITH THAT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULDN'T JUST EXPECT THAT THEY'RE GONNA END ANYTIME SOON.
UH, BUT I, I UNDERSTAND THEY COULD.
UM, BUT STILL, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS AND THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THEN WE HAVE 200,000 FOR MARKETPLACE PLANS AND 650,000 FOR EIGHT MORE SPECIALISTS.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, OR EVEN LESS THAN THAT TO TREAT THIS.
SO I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD GIVE UP ON THE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT THAT THE CITY SHOULD MAKE.
I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK MORE WHAT THE STATE'S GOING TO DO, WHAT THE FEDERALIST GOVERNMENT'S GOING TO DO, UH, AND, AND NOT JUST SAY, WELL, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THOSE LAST THREE OPTIONS.
SO I HOPE AS THIS GOES BEFORE, UH, THE COMMITTEES, THAT THE ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON COST SHARING WILL ALSO BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION.
COUNCILMAN, IF I MAY, JUST TO CLARIFY ON THE STAFF PRESENTATION, THE ONE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS WOULD BE THE ESTIMATE IF WE WERE TO ASSIST A THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS WITH 1,500.
THAT IS NOW WHAT STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THE THREE OPTIONS THAT THEY RECOMMENDING TO FURTHER ANALYZE.
UM, ONE COULD BE THE $200,000, AS YOU MENTIONED, TO DO THE MARKETPLACE PLANS IN THE, IN THE, IN THIS OTHER ONE IS EIGHT POSITIONS TO, IN CASE THE GRANT IS TERMINATED, UM, THEN WE WOULD POTENTIALLY PICK THAT UP WITH A GENERAL FUND.
SO JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT.
I JUST, I I, THAT FINAL SENTENCE UNDER LOCAL, THIS WOULD NOT BE A FEASIBLE SUSTAINABLE OBJECT.
ONE, UM, THIS, THERE, THERE IS A, A SPACE HERE FOR, UM, AN I G R CONVERSATION, RIGHT? AND, UH, IT'S, I DUNNO IF SALLY'S IN THE ROOM, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN OUR I G R LEGISLATIVE AGENDA THAT WE'RE PUSHING FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, RELIEF IN THIS ONE AREA.
UH, I, I DO THINK THAT THE, UM, I I, I DO THINK THAT WHAT WE'LL BE DOING IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, BUT IT, IT IS GIVING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE STATE GOVERNMENT AN OUT, UH, FROM THEIR RESPONSIBILITY, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, THERE, IT, IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY BEEF UP MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND FARM, YOU KNOW, AND FIGHT FOR AFFORDABLE INSULIN FOR, UM, OUR MOST VULNERABLE.
AND SO I, I DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE GOING TO LET UP, UH, IN THAT AREA, MAYOR, AND, UH, AND, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO BOTH THINGS RIGHT.
ARGUE FOR MORE OF THIS FUNDING FROM THE STATE AND THE FEDS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME LEANING INTO THIS OURSELVES.
I MEAN, THE STATE IS ADEPT AT FAILING US, AND OFTENTIMES WE FIND OURSELVES NEEDING TO CARRY THEIR WATER JUST BECAUSE IF NOT US WHO, RIGHT? UM, BUT, UH, I DO THINK THAT THERE'S, UM, THERE'S A STRONG DELEGATION NOW IN, IN, UH, A SAN ANTONIO DELEGATION IN DC UH, THIS MORNING, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA, AND I, UH, GARCIA AND I HAD BREAKFAST WITH, UH, OUR SOON TO BE CONGRESSMAN GREG KAZAR.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT HE WOULD BE VERY RECEPTIVE TO THIS BASED ON THE CONVERSATION WE HAD WITH HIM.
UM, THE OTHER THING FOR ME IS THAT THIS IS REALLY PERSONAL BECAUSE LIKE, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, I'M A DIABETIC AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THANKFULLY, I'M, YOU KNOW, I, I, BECAUSE OF THE BENEFITS, UH, IN MY INSURANCE COVERAGE, I'M ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, COVER THE COST OF MY INSULIN.
AND MY DAD'S A DIABETIC, AND MY GRANDFATHER WAS A DIABETIC.
AND SO, UM, AND WE ALL KNOW THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THIS.
AND IN FACT, PEOPLE OF COLOR EXPERIENCE MORE
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AMPUTATIONS AND HOSPITALIZATIONS THAN, UM, THAN, UM, THAN, YOU KNOW, FOLKS WHO AREN'T.AND SO WE'RE, UM, THIS, THIS ONE'S IMPORTANT.
AND, UM, I I, I DO THINK ALSO EVERY DOCTOR WILL TELL YOU, UM, THAT DIABETES IS SOMETHING THAT IS ABSOLUTELY MANAGEABLE, BUT IT'S MANAGEABLE WITH, UM, WITH DIET.
AND YOU'RE RIGHT, COUNCILMAN KADA THAT, YOU KNOW, HEALTHY EATING IS, IS A COMPONENT TO THIS.
BUT THEY'LL ALSO TELL YOU THAT IT'S, UM, THAT IT'S MANAGEABLE WITH, UH, WITH EXERCISE, RIGHT? WHICH IS WHY THERE IS A, A PLACE HERE FOR OUR, UM, OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? TO, TO REALLY BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT THIS IN THIS EFFORT, RIGHT? AND FOR THEM TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS CONVERSATION.
SO MARIA, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, AND TO OUR FRIENDS AT METRO HEALTH, IF WE'RE NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION WITH PARKS AT THE TABLE, THEN I THINK WE'RE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR THEM TO SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF USING YOUR PARKS TO COMBAT DIABETES, RIGHT? AND SO, ANYWAY, YOU GOT MY SUPPORT ON THIS ONE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER AYAS.
AND LET ME JUST ALSO ADD, UM, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, YOU, YOU SAID THAT THIS WAS A RACIAL JUSTICE ISSUE, A SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE.
UM, DIABETES IS AN OPEN FIRE IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND IT CORRELATES SO WELL WITH, UH, AREAS OF POVERTY, OF AREAS OF RACE, OF INCOME LEVEL.
AND FOR US NOT TO SEE IT IN THAT LENS, I THINK IS MISSING THE MARK.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I JUST DID A QUICK SEARCH.
THE RAND CORPORATION DOES RESEARCH, UM, ON PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, JUST AS A, AS OF 2018, A UNIT OF INSULIN ON AVERAGE IN THE UNITED STATES COSTS $98 AND 70 CENTS.
IN CANADA, IT'S 12 IN GERMANY, IT'S 11 FRANCE, $9 UK $7 AUSTRALIA $6.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT TELLS YOU THAT WE HAVE AN OUT OF CONTROL PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY THAT IS NOT QUITE INTERESTED IN HEALING OUR COMMUNITIES THAT ARE AFFLICTED WITH THIS DISEASE.
AND SO, UH, WHAT DO WE DO? UH, WE KNOW WHERE THE REGULATORY ARM OF THIS GOVERNMENT EXISTS WITH REGARD TO REGULATING COSTS OF PHARMACEUTICALS.
I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PLY IS WE NEED TO MAKE THAT A PRIORITY.
JACOB, IN OUR I G R AGENDA, UH, OUR FEDERAL AGENDA AND OUR STATE STATE AGENDA, UH, I WOULD FULLY SUPPORT THAT.
I ALSO SUPPORT THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE STAFF TO EXPLORE WAYS THAT WE CAN INTERVENE.
UM, BUT UNTIL WE HANDLE THIS COLLECTIVELY AS A COUNTRY IN TERMS OF MAKING A PRIORITY, UH, ADDRESSING THE DISPARATE HEALTH, HEALTH OUTCOMES OF COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, URBAN COMMUNITIES LIKE SAN ANTONIO, WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET AROUND THIS.
UM, AND ANDY, I'M JUST KIND OF, UM, MULLING OPTIONS IN MY HEAD.
UM, BUT TO ME, THIS HAS ALL THE EARMARKS OF A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS, A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY IN THE EVENT THAT WE WERE TO DECLARE IT AS SUCH, WOULD WE BE ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENTS IF WE DID DO SOMETHING LIKE A COST SHARE? THEORETICALLY, YES, MAYOR, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT TO WHETHER, UM, TO WHAT EXTENT WOULD THE CRISIS ITSELF AND WAS WHAT LEVELS WOULD HAVE TO MEET SO THAT WE WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE DECLARING AN EMERGENCY LIKE THAT.
BUT WE CAN, WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
WELL, IF THAT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE THAT, THAT'S EXPLORED, UH, JUST PROCEDURALLY IN THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH THIS REQUEST, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
BUT I THINK ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE.
UH, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANNA, UH, SUBSIDIZE A, AN INDUSTRY RUN AMUCK, UH, WITH TAX DOLLARS THAT ARE OBVIOUSLY NEEDED IN MANY OTHER AREAS.
UM, BUT WE DON'T ALSO TURN OUR BACK TO A, WHAT IS AN OPEN FIRE IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UH, I APPRECIATE THE, THE REQUEST, UH, SUPPORT, UH, THE VISION OF IT, AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT'LL COME BACK FROM THE CHECK COMMITTEE.
SO, UH, WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION.
UM, OKAY, THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION.
THIS IS, UH, SLATED FOR REFERENCE TO THE CHECK COMMITTEE, PLEASE VOTE.
ITEM THREE IS A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST BY COUNCIL MEMBERS JALEN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, DISTRICT TWO, AND PHYLLIS VIA GRAND DISTRICT FIVE ON DISPLACEMENT STUDY DURING CONTRACT PROCUREMENT.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, ANN BENAVIDEZ, INTERIM DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
I'M HERE TO TALK TODAY ABOUT OUR DEPARTMENT AND OUR CITY'S WORK CURRENTLY ON DEVELOPING, UH, DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT.
AND THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A WELL TIME C C R BY COUNCIL DISTRICTS TWO AND THREE.
TODAY I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM,
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WHAT WE HAVE DONE AS A COMMUNITY ON DISPLACEMENT.THIS HAS BEEN A TOPIC AND A, A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION, UM, FOR SEVERAL YEARS, UH, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AS IT RELATES TO HOUSING.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT DISPLACEMENT IS SO THAT WE ARE ALL ON A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THIS TOOL IS SEEKING TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE, UM, DEVELOPING A TOOL LIKE THAT.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE CURRENTLY TO DEVELOP AN ASSESSMENT TOOL, UM, IN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR CONSULTANT AND OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS, AND HOW WE'RE INTEGRATING SOME OF THE PAST WORK INTO THAT.
AND THEN I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR NEXT STEPS, INCLUDING, UH, COMMUNITY INPUT ON A POLICY MOVING FORWARD.
SO REALLY QUICKLY, UM, A DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND TOPICS OF DISPLACEMENT HAVE BEEN A DISCUSSION IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR QUITE A LONG TIME.
UM, DATING BACK TO THE CITY'S HOUSING POLICY FRAMEWORK.
IN THE HOUSING POLICY FRAMEWORK, A DISPLACEMENT IMPACT STRATEGY WAS FIRST INTRODUCED, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON PROJECTS THAT RECEIVED GREATER THAN $15 MILLION WORTH OF INCENTIVES.
UM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, IN 2019, UM, THE CITY WAS SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FOUR V ONE HOME INITIATIVE WITH GROUND AND SOLUTIONS NETWORK IN THE FORD FOUNDATION, UM, SPECIFICALLY TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON IDENTIFYING THE DRIVERS OF DISPLACEMENT, UM, DEFINING DISPLACEMENT, AND THEN PROPOSING SOME, UH, PREVENTION AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE WORKED WITH OUR METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND THEIR INFORMATICS TEAM TO DEVELOP A TOOL, AND THIS IS BASED ON SOME BEST PRACTICES AROUND THE COUNTRY TO IDENTIFY WHICH AREAS OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE CURRENTLY CHANGING OUR MOST VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT.
THE CITIZEN BOND COMMITTEE, UM, THIS PAST YEAR AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR FIRST EVER HOUSING BOND DID PLACE A REQUIREMENT ON THOSE PROJECTS, UM, THAT ARE SELECTED TO REQUIRE A DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT DURING THEIR APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, OUR STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WHICH IS REALLY OUR, OUR FRAMEWORK AND OUR GUIDEBOOK, UM, FOR HOUSING OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, HAS INCLUDED DISPLACEMENT IMPACT STRATEGY AND ALL THE WORK FROM FOR EVERYONE HOME, UH, GOING FORWARD, UM, FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
SO, REALLY QUICKLY, WHAT IS DISPLACEMENT? UM, I THINK WE HAVE ALL HEARD DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS, UM, EITHER FROM SCHOLARLY ARTICLES OR FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THESE ARE FORCES THAT PUSH, UH, TYPICALLY LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES OF COLOR OUT OF NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, AT A TIME WHEN CONDITIONS, AMENITIES AND PROPERTY VALUES ARE IMPROVING.
AND WE TYPICALLY REFER TO DISPLACEMENT IN TWO WAYS.
UM, DIRECT DISPLACEMENT AND INDIRECT DISPLACEMENT.
WE TALK ABOUT DIRECT DISPLACEMENT.
WE'RE USUALLY TALKING ABOUT AN ACTION THAT IS VERY EASY TO LINK TO THE DISPLACEMENT OF RESIDENTS.
AND THOSE COULD BE THINGS LIKE EVICTIONS, DEMOLITIONS, FORECLOSURES, UM, POOR MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP THAT REQUIRES, UM, THE RESIDENTS TO HAVE TO VACATE UTILITY CUTOFFS, UM, OR RECONSTRUCTION OF A PROJECT THAT FORCES RESIDENTS, UM, TO NO LONGER BE ABLE TO LIVE THERE.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INDIRECT DISPLACEMENT, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT THIS POLICY IS SEEKING TO ADDRESS, OFTENTIMES WE'RE LOOKING AT A SERIES OF FACTORS THAT LEAD TO EITHER GRADUAL OR SUBSTANTIAL, UM, AND QUICK CHANGES IN COST OF LIVING THAT FORCE RESIDENTS TO MAKE THE DECISIONS, WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GONNA STAY AND BECOME FURTHER COST BURDEN OR HAVE TO MOVE, UM, TO OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
AND THEN ADJOINING THAT, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT TO MENTION, IS CULTURAL DISPLACEMENT.
AND WE ALL KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE MOVING IS PRIMARILY WHAT WE FOCUS ON, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UM, THE EFFECT OF, UH, GENERATIONAL FAMILIES THAT ARE HAVING TO LEAVE NEIGHBORHOODS MEANS THAT THE CULTURE, THE IDENTITY OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS ALSO GOES.
AND THAT COULD BE, UM, ANYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, THE SHOPS OR THE SERVICES OR INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD THAT NO LONGER, UM, EXIST AS A RESULT OF THOSE, UH, FAMILIES, UM, HAVING TO MOVE.
AND THESE ARE DEFINITIONS THAT WE SOURCE FROM THE 4 0 1 HOME INITIATIVE, AND THAT WAS UTILIZING RESEARCH FROM, UH, THE URBAN DISPLACEMENT PROJECT.
SO THERE IS SOME CHALLENGES WITH CREATING A POLICY LIKE THIS, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE BEST PRACTICE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE DONE TO DATE, TRYING TO DEVELOP A TOOL.
I THINK WITH DIRECT DISPLACEMENT, IT'S EASIER, AGAIN, TO LINK AN ACTION TO DISPLACEMENT.
UM, AND THE CITY HAS ALREADY TAKEN STEPS TO ENSURE THAT DIRECT DISPLACEMENT DOES NOT TAKE PLACE.
AND SO FOR OUR FUNDING AWARDS, WE ENSURE THAT THAT IS NOT HAPPENING.
AND IF THERE IS TEMPORARILY RELOCATION OF RESIDENTS, UM, WE HAVE CRITERIA THAT THEY MUST MEET, UM, TO ENSURE THAT THOSE RESIDENTS ARE EITHER BEING MOVED TO ANOTHER UNIT WITHIN THE, THE APARTMENT, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEX OR OFFSITE, AND ARE THEN RETURNED.
UH, AFTER THAT REHABILITATION IS FINISHED WITH INDIRECT DISPLACEMENT.
THERE ARE A VARIETY OF FACTORS, UM, THAT IMPACT NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE.
AND IT'S HARD JUST USING DATA TO CONNECT ONE OF THOSE FACTORS, UM, IN THAT DEVELOPMENT, UM, TOGETHER.
AND SOME OF THOSE FACTORS THAT WE ALL KNOW OF THAT WE, WE HAVE FOUND IN OUR RESEARCH IS THAT PROPERTY VALUES HAVE INCREASED ALL OVER THE CITY.
SO HOW DO WE, UM, YOU KNOW, LINK A SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT OR A PROJECT TO CHANGE WITHIN A SMALLER AREA, AND IS THAT LARGER
[00:35:01]
THAN THE REST OF THE CITY? UM, NEIGHBORHOODS CAN REFLECT LARGER CHANGING POPULATIONS.SO THERE ARE SOME NATURALLY OCCURRING CHANGES THAT HAPPEN.
UM, AS OUR CITY CHANGES, DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGE, PEOPLE, UM, AND FAMILIES AGE OUT, THOSE ARE NATURAL CHANGES THAT OCCUR.
MARKET AND SOCIAL TRENDS CAN DRIVE DESIRABILITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE DO KNOW SOME NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE MAYBE THERE HAS NOT BEEN A LARGE CATALYTIC PROJECT OR LARGE CITY INVESTMENT, BUT THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE CONTINUED TO CHANGE.
AND THOSE COULD BE DUE TO, UM, SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION WANTING TO LIVE NEAR URBAN CENTERS NEAR, UH, WHERE THEY WORK.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE SEEN THAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND THAT INCLUDES SAN ANTONIO, UH, INCREMENTAL NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE.
UM, THAT'S HARD, AGAIN, TO SEPARATE OUT FROM A PROJECT LEADING DIRECTLY TO INDIRECT DISPLACEMENT OF RESIDENTS, SEPARATING THAT FROM THOSE TRENDS.
AND THEN NOT ALL INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IS THE SAME.
SO WE HAVE RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL OFFICE, AND EACH ONE OF THOSE MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT IMPACT ON PROPERTY VALUES AND DESIRABILITY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED.
UM, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH A CONSULTANT, T X P OUT OF AUSTIN, UM, AND THEY ARE A, A PUBLIC POLICY CONSULTING FIRM.
UM, THEY DO ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, AND SO WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING WITH THEM ALONG WITH SOME KEY DEPARTMENTS.
SO WE'RE LEADING THE INITIATIVE, BUT WE HAVE SUPPORT FROM OUR PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND METRO HEALTH.
AND THE SCOPE IS REALLY TO WORK WITH THEM ON DEVELOPING THE ASSESSMENT TOOL TO IDENTIFY DISPLACEMENT RISK BASED ON THE BEST AVAILABLE DATA.
UM, AND THE TOOL SHOULD BE UTILIZED AS, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
UM, BECAUSE THE, THE FIRST STEP THAT WE HAVE IS IMPLEMENTATION WITH OUR FIRST, UH, HOUSING BOND AND OUR TIMELINE.
WE BEGAN WORK IN JANUARY COLLECTING DATA, AND WE ARE, UH, ON TRACK, UM, TO BE FINISHED WITH THAT TOOL, UH, UM, AN ASSESSMENT IN JULY.
SO OUR PROCESS FOR CREATING, UM, AN IMPACT ASSESSMENT REALLY STARTS WITH LOOKING AT SOME OF THE BEST PRACTICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT SIMILAR WORK, UM, IN MANY COUNTRIES, BUT SPECIFICALLY NEW YORK AND AUSTIN TO SEE SOME OF THE, UM, THE, THE POLICIES THAT THEY'VE PUT IN PLACE TO TRY AND MEASURE THIS EXACT SAME THING.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE'VE BEEN VERY COGNIZANT OF TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TOOL REFLECTS OUR LOCAL MARKET CONDITIONS.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN RELYING HEAVILY ON, UM, LOCAL DATA TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS ON OUR POLICY.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS COULD BE QUICKLY IMPLEMENTABLE.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, NO POLICY AND NO TOOL IS NECESSARILY PERFECT THE FIRST TIME YOU DO IT.
SO WE ARE PLANNING FUTURE ITERATIONS OF THIS TO REFINE IT AND IMPROVE IT AS IT GOES ALONG.
AND THEN AGAIN, THIS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION HOUSING BOND PROJECTS PER THOSE PARAMETERS, UM, THAT WERE CREATED BY THE HOUSING BOND COMMITTEE, CITIZEN BOND COMMITTEE, AND THEN ULTIMATELY APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
AND THEN WE MAY EXPAND THIS TOOL TO OTHER FUNDING SOURCES.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONES AND TAX INCREMENT FINANCING.
THE WAY THAT WE HAVE SET THIS UP BASED ON THOSE BEST PRACTICES, IT'S TWO PART ASSESSMENT.
I THINK INHERENTLY, WE KNOW THAT SOME PROJECTS HAVE A VERY LOW DISPLACEMENT RISK BASED ON WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY, AND THE TYPE OF PROJECT, FOR EXAMPLE, A REHABILITATION PROJECT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WHERE YOU ARE, UM, KEEPING ALL THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY HOUSED THERE HAS A VERY LOW DISPLACEMENT IMPACT.
UM, SO REALLY SETTING UP THAT INITIAL SCREENING TO MOVE THOSE PROJECTS ALONG AND GET THEM OUTTA THE WAY, AND THEN HAVE A SECONDARY ASSESSMENT STEP THAT WILL REQUIRE FOR THOSE PROJECTS THAT DON'T MEET THOSE INITIAL SCREENING CRITERIA.
SO I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LOCAL ANALYSIS, UM, THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, AND A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING TO DATE IS COLLECTING BEST AVAILABLE DATA.
SO ONE OF THE BEST SOURCES OF DATA IS OUR CENSUS.
IT'S NOT PERFECT, UM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT ALLOWS US TO LOOK AT A LOT OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES, HOUSEHOLD INCOME CHANGES OVER TIME.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN COLLECTING THAT DATA AND ARE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING IT.
WE USE, UH, BEXAR COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT DATA COSTAR, WHICH IS REAL ESTATE DATA AND LOCAL CITY PROGRAM DATA.
SO WHERE OUR INVESTMENTS ARE, WHERE OUR PROJECTS HAVE BEEN, WHERE WE PROVIDED EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE, UM, IF WE ARE TRACKING, FOR EXAMPLE, EVICTIONS AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY USING THAT DATA.
AND THEN WE'VE ANALYZED A VARIETY OF CATALYTIC SITES THAT WE'VE HEARD OVER THE YEARS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN SOURCES OF DISPLACEMENT DISCUSSION.
SO SPECIFICALLY THE PEARL AND THE BROADWAY EAST DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT ACROSS BROADWAY, SAN PEDRO CREEK, DOWNTOWN MISSION TRAILS, WHICH IS A MOBILE HOME PARK AND THE LONE STAR, UH, REDEVELOPMENT.
AND WE'RE USING THE RESULTS OF THESE SPECIFIC SITES, USING THAT DATA AS A GUIDE TO DETERMINE POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF FUTURE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS THAT MAYBE MIMIC SOME OF THESE DEVELOPMENT TRENDS.
SO AGAIN, UM, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE BEST PRACTICES AROUND THE COUNTRY, WE HAVE DEVISED A SERIES OF QUESTIONS FOR OUR FIRST, UH, ITERATION, OUR INITIAL SCREENING, UM, FOR OUR DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT.
I'M GONNA GO THROUGH SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS AND EXPAND UPON THEM.
AND THE FIRST ONE IS WHAT KIND OF PROJECT IS BEING PROPOSED? UM, THAT COULD BE A NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, THAT COULD BE A REHABILITATION PROJECT, UM, THAT COULD BE A PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROJECT.
UM, AND OF COURSE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE FOCUSED ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT THAT COULD BE MARKET RATE OR MIXED USE.
AND WHAT IS THE COMPONENTS OF THAT MIXED USE? IS THE SITE LOCATED IN A CENSUS TRACK THAT IS AT RISK PER THE
[00:40:01]
TOOL? AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS ONE ON THE NEXT SLIDE BECAUSE, UH, THIS IS THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE WITH METRO HEALTH, UM, BUT IS IT IN A VULNERABLE NEIGHBORHOOD AS DEFINED BY SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO COLLECT AND THE TOOL THAT WE'VE BUILT? DOES THE PROJECT DISPLACE ANY EXISTING RESIDENTS ON SITE? UM, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE ALLOW, BUT IS A QUESTION THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THE ASSESSMENT.AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HAVE RESIDENTS BEEN DISPLACED FROM THE PROPERTY WITHIN THE LAST THREE YEARS.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE SEEN WHERE, UM, A DEVELOPER, UM, OR A PROPERTY OWNER IS GETTING READY TO SELL A PROJECT, UM, OR A PROPERTY, AND SO THEY, UH, EMPTY OUT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX IN PREPARATION FOR THAT SALE.
UM, WILL THE PROJECT CHANGE ASCENTIS TRACK OR BLOCK GROUP BY MORE THAN 5%? AND IS THAT UP OR DOWN? AND IS THE SITE SURROUNDED BY ANY MAJOR PHYSICAL BARRIERS SUCH AS HIGHWAYS, CREEKS, UM, THAT MAY NOT ALLOW ANY INVESTMENT TO SPREAD TO ADJOINING NEIGHBORHOODS? I DO WANNA STRESS THAT THE, THE GOAL OF THIS INITIAL SCREENING IS REALLY TO GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN INFORM STAFF AND ULTIMATELY COUNSEL ON THE RISK LEVEL OF A POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
AN ANSWER TO ONE OF THESE QUESTIONS, YES OR NO, INDIVIDUALLY MAY NOT MEAN THAT A PROJECT DOES NOT MOVE FORWARD.
UM, BUT IT'S ALL IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GATHER AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
SO I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IS THIS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS AT RISK? AND, UM, I THINK THIS IS A, A INITIATIVE THAT WE STARTED PRE PANDEMIC WITH METRO HEALTH, AND OF COURSE THEY HAD TO SWITCH, UM, A LOT OF THEIR FOCUS ONTO THE PANDEMIC, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PICKING BACK UP AND UPDATING WITH NEW CENSUS DATA.
BUT WE HAVE LOOKED AT A VARIETY OF TOOLS AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE SEEPED TO DO THE SAME THING, WHICH IS TO TRY AND MEASURE RISK FOR DISPLACEMENT, UM, BASED ON THAT BEST, BEST AVAILABLE DATA.
SO WE'VE LOOKED AT, UM, THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, U C L A, PORTLAND, UM, BOSTON, UM, AUSTIN, AND IN FACT, WE EVEN TRAVELED TO AUSTIN TO HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH THE DEVELOPERS OF THEIR DISPLACEMENT TOOL TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST PRACTICES AND THINGS THAT THEY WOULD CHANGE.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH OUR TOOLS, WE BASICALLY USE THIS SERIES OF DATA SETS TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE CHANGE OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD WITHIN THE CITY, LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE EDUCATION LEVELS, MEDIAN INCOME, MEDIAN RENT, AND HOME VALUE, PERCENT OF PEOPLE OF COLOR AND EVICTIONS.
AND BASED ON THAT, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CATEGORIZE CENSUS TRACKS, UM, BASED ON WHETHER THEY HAVE, UM, NOT CHANGED AT ALL, THEY HAVE CHANGED A LOT, OR THEY ARE GETTING READY TO CHANGE, THEY'RE TRENDING IN THAT DIRECTION, WHICH WE WOULD DEEM, YOU KNOW, MOST AT RISK OF POSSIBLE DISPLACEMENT.
THIS IN ITSELF, UM, IS NOT NECESSARILY A, UM, A DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT BECAUSE IT GIVES US ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, BUT IT IS ONE QUESTION THAT WE WILL ASK PROJECTS TO IDENTIFY WHETHER THEY ARE IN ONE OF THESE CENSUS TRACKS BECAUSE IT IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION.
THE WAY THAT WE, UM, SEE THIS DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT BEING INCORPORATED INTO THE HOUSING BOND PROCESS IS TO BE INCORPORATED RIGHT AT OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
UM, SO WE'LL ADJOIN OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS UNDER ITS OWN SECTION AS A DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT SECTION.
AND AGAIN, IT'LL HAVE TWO, UH, SCREENING CRITERIA.
IT'LL HAVE AN INITIAL SCREENING WITH SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD JUST DISCUSSED.
AND BASED ON THAT, WE WILL BE ABLE TO PULL THE PROJECTS OUT THAT HAVE A VERY LOW DISPLACEMENT RISK.
IF THEY DID NOT PASS THAT INITIAL SCREENING, THEN WE WOULD HAVE A SECONDARY SCREENING WHERE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WOULD BE NEEDED.
AND BASED ON THAT INITIAL, I MEAN ON THAT, UH, WE COULD PROPOSE ADDITIONAL MITIGATION STRATEGIES.
AND THOSE ARE SOME THAT COME FROM OUR FOUR EVERYONE HOME INITIATIVES.
THOSE ARE SOME THAT WE HAVE TALKED TO OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT, AND THOSE ARE SOME THAT WE'VE INCLUDED IN SOME AGREEMENTS THAT HAVE RECEIVED, FOR EXAMPLE, TAX INCREMENT FINANCING.
AND THAT SECONDARY SCREENING WOULD, UM, RESULT IN A PROJECT BEING IDENTIFIED AS EITHER HAVING A LOW DISPLACEMENT RISK, A MODERATE DISPLACEMENT RISK, OR A HIGH DISPLACEMENT RISK.
AND BASED ON THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WE ARE GONNA BE UNDERGOING OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, UM, IT WILL DECIDE WHAT THAT MEANS EXACTLY.
AGAIN, THAT COULD BE MITIGATION, THAT COULD MEAN NO AWARD, IT COULD MEAN, UM, FEWER POINTS AS AN AWARD, BUT ULTIMATELY IT IS DATA THAT WILL ALLOW STAFF AND CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE DECISIONS ON PROJECTS.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, WE'RE HERE TODAY AT GOVERNANCE, AGAIN TO PRESENT TO YOU THE WORK THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.
UM, WE WANT TO COLLECT YOUR INPUT AND WE'LL BE MEETING WITH EACH OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY TO WALK THROUGH THE TOOL AS WE UPDATE THE DATA, AND TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK ON HOW THE TOOL SHOULD BE UTILIZED.
OUR CONSULTANT TEAM AND INCLUDES, UH, METRO AS OUR PARTNER, UH, DEPARTMENT.
WE'LL BE UPDATING OUR TOOL WITH THE MOST RECENT CENSUS DATA THAT JUST CAME OUT.
AND THEN FROM JUNE, JUNE TO AUGUST, WE'LL BE DOING A SERIES OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR THIS STRATEGY THROUGH OUR STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
WE ALLOWED THE COMMUNITY TO TELL US WHICH STRATEGIES THEY WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF.
WE WILL REACH OUT TO BOND COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO DID PLACE THE REQUIREMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT TO BE A PART OF THE HOUSING BOND.
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TEAM MEMBERS AND OUR DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS WHO WILL BE SUBMITTING PROJECTS TO US IN AUGUST AND DECEMBER.UM, WE WILL RE REALLY BE WORKING ON BRINGING THAT PROPOSAL TO A HOUSING COMMISSION, THE PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, COUNCIL COMMITTEE, AND THEN ULTIMATELY TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
AND THIS IS REALLY TO HAVE THIS POLICY UP AND RUNNING.
UM, AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO PILOT IT FOR THE HOUSING BOND IN SEPTEMBER WHEN WE START RELEASING OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE THIS TOOL AND EXPAND IT TO OTHER, UM, CITY INCENTIVES.
AND SO WE'LL BE DOING THAT AFTER THAT TOOL IS IMPLEMENTED IN THE BOND AND AS WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR IT.
SO IN CONCLUSION, UM, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE TOOL AND WORK WITH OUR PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON REFINING IT.
UM, AND AS WE GATHER COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER AND DO THAT ENGAGEMENT, WE COME BACK TO THE HOUSING COMMISSION, TO THE PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, AND ULTIMATELY CITY COUNCIL.
I'M, UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN OUR DISCUSSION, YOU HEARD THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, UH, WHICH IS FOR THE PILOT TOOL TO BE, UH, THE DRAFT TOOL WILL BE USED DURING THE PILOT PERIOD DURING THE HOUSING BOND.
UM, DOES THAT REQUIRE ACTION, IAN? OKAY.
UH, YEAH, IT DOES ACTUALLY FOR US TO REFER IT TO COMMITTEES.
SO, UM, ACTUALLY, IAN, COULD YOU COME BACK UP HERE? COULD YOU REITERATE YOUR, YOUR RECOMMENDATION? YEAH, THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, MAYOR IS FOR US TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE ON THIS TOOL.
UM, IT'S BEEN IN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, OKAY.
AND WE HAVEN'T BROUGHT IT TO THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE YET, BUT WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM THROUGH VARIOUS POLICIES.
WHY DON'T, WHY DON'T WE BE NEAT ABOUT IT? AND, UM, TAKE ACTION TO, UH, ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO SEND IT TO THE PLANNING DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, UH, FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
SO I'LL ENTERTAIN THAT MOTION.
I MOVE THAT WE MOVE THIS TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR CONSIDERATION, FURTHER CONSIDERATION.
THERE'S A MOTION TO SECOND, LET'S START OUR DISCUSSION NOW.
AND THIS WAS A C C R AUTHORED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBER, GRO COUNCIL MEMBER, IF YOU, UH, WOULD LIKE TO BRIEF US ON THIS ONE.
UM, SO THIS C C R CAME ON THE HEELS OF A RECOMMENDATION BY OUR RESIDENT DRIVEN 2022 HOUSING BOND COMMITTEE, UM, TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF DISPLACEMENT THAT IS HAPPENING THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO, INCLUDING IN DISTRICT TWO, COUNCILWOMAN.
COUNCILWOMAN GRO COULDN'T BE HERE.
SO JUST IMAGINE THERE'S A SECOND PERSON HERE AND THAT WE'RE THAT MUCH MORE POWERFUL.
UM, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT DURING THE SHIP VOTE, WHEN WE ALL TOOK A VOTE AND APPROVED THE SHIP, UM, I HAD MADE A MOTION TO, UM, BASICALLY ACCOMPLISH THIS FOR ALL PROJECTS THAT, OR, OR TO MAKE THIS A POLICY THAT EXISTS WITHIN SHIP.
UM, I WANNA STATE THE FOLLOWING.
BOND LANGUAGE WAS APPROVED BY OUR CITIZEN BOND COMMITTEE AND ULTIMATELY APPROVED BY SAN ANTONIO VOTERS ON MAY 7TH.
AND I QUOTE, PROJECTS THAT RECEIVE BOND FUNDING WILL NOT CAUSE DIRECT DISPLACEMENT OF RESIDENTS.
REHABILITATION PROJECTS WITH EXISTING RESIDENTS WILL PROVIDE A TEMPORARY RELOCATION PLAN AT NO COST TO THE TENANT.
NEW HOUSING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT RECEIVE BOND FUNDING MUST COMPLETE A DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT AS PART AS THE R F AS PART OF THE R F P PROCESS AND PRIORITIZE LOW TO MODERATE EQUITY AREAS PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO PROJECTS WITH THE LEAST DISPLACEMENT IMPACT.
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THE TOOL BEING CREATED BY N H ITY WILL MEET THE INTENTION OF THE C C R TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT OF RESIDENTS.
UM, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOOL AND PROVIDE INPUT INTO THE, UM, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS.
I WOULD LOVE A INDIVIDUAL, UH, BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION.
UM, AND IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WITH THIS, WE'RE ALREADY ON A PATH TO FULFILLING THE, THE OBJECTIVE OF THE C C R.
SO I WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, I AM HAPPY TO HEAR THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE C C R BE REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION.
UM, BUT I DO WANT US TO CONTINUE TO BE CRITICAL DURING THOSE COMMITTEE DISCUSSIONS AND ANY FUTURE CONVERSATIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER CHU RODRIGUEZ, START, UH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE ON OUR DISCUSSION.
I WAS A LITTLE TAKEN ABACK WHEN, UM, I, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT GOING TO AUSTIN TO TALK ABOUT DISPLACEMENT.
UH, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE DISPLACEMENT THAT'S TAKEN PLACE IN AUSTIN, YOU'VE SEEN THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE OF COLOR JUST LITERALLY DRIVEN OUT OF THE CITY BY THE RISING PRICES, UH, AND THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GONE ON IN THAT CITY.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY FOUND A SOLUTION TO THAT.
UH, I'D BE INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT YOU HEARD ABOUT THAT AS, AS WE SIT DOWN AND HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATION.
ONE, UH, ARE TWO THINGS I THOUGHT, UH, WERE MISSING IN YOUR DISCUSSION TODAY.
UH, AND, AND MAYBE THE SUBJECT MATTERS ON, ON PAGE EIGHT, COVER THEM, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR A DISCUSSION ON, IS NEW OR
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IMPROVED IMPACTING DISPLACEMENT, OR WILL PROPERTY VALUES BE AFFECTED LEADING TO DISPLACEMENT? SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE LOOK AT, UH, WHAT WE DID, UH, WITH, UH, SENT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CREEK DOWNTOWN, AND WE LOOK AT THE SOAP, UH, THE SOAPBOX AND THE OTHER APARTMENTS AROUND THERE, AND HOW INFRASTRUCTURE VERY ADVERSELY AFFECT, ADVERSELY AFFECTED THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE NEAR THERE.UH, AND YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING IS WE TALK ABOUT BUILDING, UH, APARTMENTS OR OFFICE BUILDINGS.
WHAT DOES THAT DO TO THE PROPERTY VALUES OF EVERYBODY WHO LIVES AROUND THERE? AND DOES THAT LEAD TO DISPLACEMENT? SO ARE, ARE YOU LOOKING AT ANY OF THESE AS PART OF THIS WHOLE PLAN TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT DISPLACEMENT? AND FINALLY, ARE WE GONNA BE SEEING MITIGATION STRATEGIES DEVELOPED FROM ALL THIS? UM, COUNCILMAN, UM, LEMME TAKE 'EM A REVERSE ORDER.
YES, WE WILL BE PROPOSING MITIGATION STRATEGIES, UM, AS PART OF THE POLICY PROCESS.
UM, WHICH MITIGATION STRATEGIES ARE APPLIED TO PROJECTS THAT MAYBE ARE, UH, HAVE A MODERATE, UM, DISPLACEMENT IMPACT VERSUS THOSE THAT HAVE A LOW OR A HIGH.
I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE POLICY DISCUSSION THAT WE'LL BE WORKING WITH COUNCIL ONGOING FORWARD.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE POSSIBLE MITIGATION STRATEGIES THAT WILL BE TIED TO THIS.
UM, WITH YOUR FIRST QUESTION ON, UM, ARE WE LOOKING AT INFRASTRUCTURE? SO I, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE CATALYTIC SITES THAT WE'VE, UM, THAT WE'VE EXAMINED THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANT ON, ON TRACKING SOME OF THAT DATA AROUND.
UM, SOME OF THEM ARE, UM, SITES THAT HAVE BOTH INVESTMENT IN HOUSING AND MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT TO GET TO YOUR RETAIL QUESTION.
UM, BUT ALSO SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THINGS LIKE ROADWAYS.
IN THE CASE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, BROADWAY OR, UM, SAN PEDRO CREEK DOWNTOWN WAS ONE OF THE SITES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE TOOL TO BE IMPLEMENTED RIGHT AWAY.
WE'RE FOCUSING ON FULFILLING THE REQUESTS FROM THE HOUSING BOND, UH, CITIZEN COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL TO HAVE THE TOOL READY FOR THAT.
UM, THE TOOL MAY EXPAND, LIKE I SAID, TO OTHER FUNDING SOURCES, WHICH COULD INCLUDE OUR TAX INCREMENT FINANCING, WHICH IS PRIMARILY USED FOR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT, EXPANDING THE TOOL TOOL OVER TIME.
UM, AND THEN, YES, I THINK YOU'VE KIND OF HIT HIT ON ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION, THAT EACH TYPE OF INVESTMENT IS DIFFERENT.
UM, INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE CAN VARY AS WELL.
SO A CREEK IS NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME AS, UM, UNDERGROUND STORM WATER OR REPAVING A ROAD.
EACH OF THOSE HAS A DIFFERENT IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY AND HOW THEY AFFECT THE DESIRABILITY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD.
BUT ULTIMATELY, UM, FOR INDIRECT DISPLACEMENT, THE THING THAT DRIVES A LOT OF IT IS INCREASED PROPERTY VALUE.
SO THAT IS AT THE CORE OF ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, IS TRACKING THAT OVER TIME AND TYING IT, TRYING TO TIE IT TO SPECIFIC TYPES OF INVESTMENT.
YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THE I G R AND WORKING WITH THEM ON, ON A COUPLE OF ISSUES, AND I THINK TAXATION IS A HUGE, A HUGE ISSUE WE NEED TO LOOK AT.
AND THE IDEA OF LEGACY HOMEOWNERS BEING FORCED OUT BECAUSE OF THE RISING PRICES VALUE OF THEIR HOME.
AND A LOT OF THAT IS DRIVEN BY DEVELOPMENT THAT GOES ON IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH THE CITY BECOMES A PARTNER IN IN MANY OF THOSE INSTANCES.
SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA SEE INFRASTRUCTURE OR, OR OTHER DEVELOPMENT, UH, TOOLS IGNORED OR PUT ON THE BACK BURNER.
I THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THOSE ALMOST EQUALLY AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF, OF APARTMENT COMPLEXES OR MIXED USE, UH, DEVELOPMENTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO I, I HOPE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THIS WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WE GO FORWARD WITH, AND I THINK THERE'LL BE DIFFERENT MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF, OF DISPLACEMENT IMPACT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO, TO BRING THOSE UP FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION.
MARIA, DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? SURE.
UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE AND, AND YOU'RE RIGHT ON WHAT YOU MENTIONED IN TERMS OF, UM, PROPERTY VALUES GOING UP BECAUSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT AROUND IT.
AND AS YOU MENTIONED, ONE OF OUR GOALS IS IN THE NEXT, NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION, INTRODUCE, UH, LEGISLATION THAT WILL ASSIST THOSE LEGACY HOMEOWNERS TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES.
SO WE'LL BE WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS, UH, PARTICULAR, UH, POLICY THAT IS BEING DEVELOPED AND OTHER TOOLS TO MITIGATE THOSE, UH, IMPACTS TO OUR PROP, UH, PROPERTY OWNERS.
AND, AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THIS TOOL WOULD BE USED IN CONCERT WITH THE PRIORITIES THAT WERE OUTLINED IN THE SHIP AND BY THE HOUSING BOND COMMITTEE, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER KEO.
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HDA.THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU FOR THEIR PRESENTATION.
UH, IS IT POSSIBLE TO USE, UH, CAN THESE STUDIES BE CONDUCTED UNDER THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH U T S A? I'D LIKE TO USE THAT, THAT PARTNERSHIP TO THE FULLEST
I THINK THAT IF WE FOUND, UM, A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS, WE COULD MM-HMM.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LOOK AT.
DID Y'ALL CONSIDER, UM, WORKING WITH THEM BEFORE TODAY? NO.
WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A CONSULTANT AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH METRO HEALTH.
SO, UM, THAT WASN'T OUR IMMEDIATE, UM, THOUGHT, BUT GOING FORWARD, IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE LEVERAGE.
AND THOSE, THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH U T S A AND INNOVATION DIDN'T EXIST TILL, UM, VERY RECENTLY.
SO, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY EXPLORE GOING FORWARD.
UM, I'D, I'D LIKE AN UPDATE, YOU KNOW, IF THIS TOOL IS IMPLEMENTED.
I THINK, UH, YOU ALLUDED TO THE FACT THAT, UM, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT WE'LL WE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO WITH THE DATA, IF IT'S POSSIBLE DOWN THE LINE TO GET AN UPDATE, UM, ON MITIGATION STRATEGIES.
AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO, OBVIOUSLY THE INTENT OF THIS IS TO, UM, PREVENT DISPLACEMENT.
SO WHAT THE ACTUAL ACTIONS WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE AS A RESULT OF THIS TOOL.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT AT SOME POINT.
COUNCIL MEMBER KIO, HDA, COUNCIL MEMBER PELAS.
UM, HAS THIS BEEN LOOKED AT BY YOU GUYS, UH, AS, UH, EFFORTS THAT, LET ME REPHRASE THAT.
UM, HAVE OTHER CITIES DONE THIS AND IS IT WORKING? SO YES.
OTHER CITIES HAVE, UM, MADE ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS, TO TRACK AND ADDRESS, IMPLEMENT POLICIES TO ADDRESS DISPLACEMENT? IS IT WORKING? UM, I THINK IT'S, IT VARIES IN THE LEVEL OF SUCCESS.
I THINK COUNCILMAN COURAGE BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT.
SOME OF THE CITIES THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT, UM, WHILE THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED A LOT OF DISPLACEMENT, THEY ARE ALSO SOMEWHAT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON UNDERSTANDING THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO IT.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH SOME OF THOSE PARTNERS WHO HAVE DEVELOPED THE TOOLS.
AND A LOT OF THEM ARE UNIVERSITIES, SO NOT NECESSARILY THE GOVERNMENT, BUT THE UNIVERSITY WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON COLLECTING THE DATA AND TRACKING THEM.
UM, SO YES, THEY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
I WOULDN'T SAY THAT ANY OF THEM HAVE PREVENTED ALL DISPLACEMENT, UM, BUT I THINK SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOP DISPLACEMENT IN CERTAIN WAYS.
AND DEPENDING ON THE STATE, THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO THE MUNICIPALITY ALSO VARY.
UM, SO THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT WE CAN DO EVERYTHING THAT SAY NEW YORK CAN DO, UM, OR CALIFORNIA CAN DO.
UM, BUT THERE MAY BE STRATEGIES THAT WE CAN DO LOCALLY THAT, THAT TRY TO SEEK TO DO THE EXACT SAME THING JUST IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
YEAH, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT, RIGHT? I MEAN, WHAT TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE TO US IN TEXAS? AND SO MY QUESTION IS, HAVE YOU, DID YOU STUDY THE CITIES IN TEXAS WHERE SOMETHING HAS WORKED? YES.
SO THAT IS WHY WE HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND I, I DO WANNA AGREE WITH THE COUNCILMAN THAT IS A CITY THAT EXPERIENCED MASSIVE GROWTH AND AS A RESULT, MASSIVE DISPLACEMENT, UM, SPECIFICALLY OF SOME OF THEIR, UM, CLOSER TO THE DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, BUT THEY HAVE ENACTED CERTAIN POLICIES.
SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN, UM, STRUCK DOWN BY THE STATE.
UM, BUT SOME POLICIES THAT ARE USEFUL.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
THEY HAVE DEVELOPED AN ANTI DISPLACEMENT TOOLKIT, UM, THAT WE'RE ANALYSIS, WE'RE DOING ANALYSIS ON AND SEEING WHICH OF THOSE MAYBE COULD BE MITIGATION STRATEGIES THAT WE PROPOSE WITH OUR POLICY.
YOU'RE DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB OF ANSWERING A QUESTION THAT I DIDN'T ASK YOU.
THE QUESTION I ASKED YOU IS, CAN YOU POINT TO ANYTHING THAT'S WORKED? THERE ARE, THERE ARE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED RECENTLY THAT I DON'T KNOW, THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN CLEAR YET ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE WORKED.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS ON TRACKING AND SEEING IF THOSE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, EFFECTIVE AND TO WHAT DEGREE.
I WILL SAY THAT THE POINT MADE ABOUT, UM, POLICY AT A HIGHER LEVEL, ESPECIALLY REGARDING, UM, TAXATION AND PROPERTY VALUES VALUATION, I THINK IS ALSO A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THIS, THAT IF WE JUST LOOK AT THIS IN A SILO, MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ADDRESS EVERYTHING.
I THINK WE CAN CONTROL A LITTLE BIT.
BUT, UM, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AT, UM, A HIGHER POLICY LEVEL THAN, THAN THE CITY.
UM, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR REFERRING COUNCILMAN.
AND THANK YOU, IAN, FOR THE, UM, THOUGHTFUL PRESENTATION.
I, UM, WAS, AND I'M SO SORRY I HAD TO STEP OUT, BUT THE PILOT ASSESSMENT WITH THE HOUSING BOND FUNDED NEW CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT, UM, PROJECTS, IS THAT GOING TO ALSO EXTEND TO ANY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
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THAT WE WORK WITH OR THAT WE DECIDE TO WORK WITH? IF, IF WE DO, DO YOU MEAN A PARTNER IN HOUSING BOND FUNDING, FOR EXAMPLE, THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST OR SAHA? YES.SO THAT'LL BE PART OF OUR PROCESS, AND SINCE WE ARE THE ENTITY AWARDING THOSE BOND FUNDS, THEY'LL HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THAT ASSESSMENT.
THAT, THAT WAS MY ONLY QUESTION.
I THINK YOU ALL DID A GREAT JOB.
WELL, YOU'VE HEARD THE RECOMMENDATION AND THE ACTION IS TO REFER THIS, UH, TO PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, WITH FURTHER, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOOL AND USE DURING THE BOND PROCESS.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER DISCUSSION, PLEASE VOTE.
ITEM FOUR IS A COUNCIL CONSIDER REQUEST BY COUNCIL MEMBERS ANAS SANDOVAL, DISTRICT SEVEN, NAMED TERRY CASTILLO, DISTRICT FIVE, REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON FLOODING AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT.
NEFE BEFORE IS YOURS, MAYOR COUNCIL.
UH, MY NAME IS NEPHI GARZA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
AND IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE THIS MORNING.
UH, BEFORE I GET IN, UM, INTO THE PRESENTATION, I JUST WANNA GIVE A LITTLE, UH, EMPHASIS THAT, UH, TODAY YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME OF US WEARING BLUE.
UH, THIS WEEK IS FLOOD AWARENESS, FLOOD SAFETY AWARENESS WEEK.
AND, UH, MANY OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS WILL BE, UH, WEARING, WEARING BLUE FOR THAT PARTICULAR REASON.
UH, FLASH FLOODING CONTINUES TO BE THE BIGGEST KILLER OF, UH, OF LIVES HERE IN OUR, IN OUR CITY.
AND, UM, AND IT'S SOMETHING WE WE'RE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT TO TRY AND PREVENT AND REDUCE THAT.
AND WITH THAT IN MIND, I WANT TO BEGIN, UH, WITH THIS PRESENTATION.
THIS PRESENTATION IS RELATED TO THE C C R, UH, ON THE CITIZENS DRAINAGE COMMITTEE, THE CREATION OF A DRAINAGE COMMITTEE.
A LITTLE BIT BACKGROUND, UH, FROM THIS, UH, AT THE CONCLUSION OR AT, UH, AFTER OCTOBER, 1998 AND JULY, 2002, THE TWO MAJOR FLOOD EVENTS THAT OUR, THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS EXPERIENCED, UH, A COUPLE OF THEM, UH, THERE HAS, THERE WAS A, UH, AN INTEREST TO CREATE, TO CREATE AN ORGANIZATION, NOT UNLIKE WHAT, UH, HARRIS COUNTY AND HOUSTON KNOWN AS A HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT.
AND AT THAT TIME, THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, AS WELL AS STAFF MEMBERS, UM, AGREED THAT THE AUTHORITIES AND THE POWERS THAT WOULD FORM THIS, UM, THIS, UH, FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT ACTUALLY EXISTED WITHIN THE CITY, THE COUNTY, AND THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY.
AND AT THAT TIME, UH, WE CAME TOGETHER AND DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING REVOLUTIONARY, SOMETHING UNIQUE, AND THAT IS TALKED TO EACH OTHER AND IN REAL, IN REALITY, THAT HAS, UH, GENERATED SOME INCREDIBLE DIVIDENDS FOR US TO THIS DAY.
UM, AND THAT WAS THE FORMATION OF THE BEAR REGIONAL WATERSHED MANAGEMENT, OR B R W M.
THIS, UH, THIS PARTNERSHIP, UH, BETWEEN THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BEAR COUNTY, AND SUBSEQUENT, UH, THE 23 DIFFERENT SUBURBAN CITIES, HAS REALLY LED US TO CREATE A SYSTEM, UH, OF FLOOD MANAGEMENT, UH, THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT HAS BECOME A MODEL FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS, SUCH THAT THE CURRENT FLOOD PLANNING EFFORT THAT IS GOING ON AT THE STATE LEVEL USED OUR PARTNERSHIP AS A MODEL EXAMPLE, UM, THAT, UH, OTHER WATERSHEDS AND COMMUNITIES SHOULD, SHOULD ADOPT.
THAT BRINGS US TO, UH, THIS CURRENT C C R THAT WAS GENERATED AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF OUR DRAINAGE BOND COMMITTEE.
AT THAT TIME, WE REALIZED THAT, UH, THE B R W M DID NOT HAVE A CITIZENS GROUP.
IT ACTUALLY HAD BEEN DISBANDED A FEW YEARS AGO, AS WELL AS THE COMMITTEE.
THE COMMITTEE OF SEVEN, UH, WAS ALSO DISBANDED.
AND THE ONLY THING THAT CURRENTLY REMAINS THAT IT'S CONTINUES TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE IS THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES, AS WELL AS THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES THAT CONTINUE TO MEET, TO THIS DAY, SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION AND RESOURCES, AND WORKING VERY CLOSELY.
I WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNERS IN BEXAR COUNTY, AS WELL AS TXDOT AND, UH, THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY AND OTHERS.
UM, AND IT HAS PROVIDED US WITH QUITE A BIT OF GUIDANCE.
BUT AS A RESULT OF THE DRAINAGE BOND COMMITTEE, UH, COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER SOUND, DEON CASTILLO ISSUED OUT THIS, UH, C C R.
AND THIS PRESENTATION TODAY REALLY GOES OVER OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UH, AND OUR AGREEMENT OF THE CREATION OF THIS, UH, OF THIS COMMITTEE.
SO, REALLY, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMITTEE, UH, WOULD BE TO REALLY TO ADVISE THE CITY AND CITY STAFF, UM, AND TO REVIEW OUR COMPREHENSIVE FLOOD MANAGEMENT AND DRAINAGE MASTER PLANS.
YOU SEE, WE HAVE THIS, THIS PHRASE IN THE B R W M, IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT, UH,
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WATER KNOWS NO BOUNDARY.WATER DOESN'T KNOW JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARY WATER WILL JUST FLOW.
UM, BUT WATER IS DIVIDED UP BY WATERSHEDS.
AND THOSE ARE, UH, GEOGRAPHICAL BASED.
AND IN, IN SAN ANTONIO, WE HAVE THREE MAJOR WATERSHEDS THAT INCLUDE THE OLMO SAN ANTONIO WATERSHED, THE LEON AND MEDINA WATERSHED, THE SATO AND CILLO CREEK WATERSHEDS.
AND WE HAVE ASSOCIATED MASTER PLANS OF ALL OUR PROJECTS.
MANY OF THOSE PROJECTS YOU VERY WELL KNOW BECAUSE, UH, WE, MY STAFF AND I, WE VISIT WITH YOU AND TALK ABOUT MANY OF THOSE PROJECTS, BUT WE DO HAVE A RHYME AND REASON ON HOW THESE PROJECTS GET BUILT AND WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE TO BUILD THESE PROJECTS.
SO THIS COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THAT RHYME AND REASON WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THAT PLAN AND UNDERSTAND THAT.
IN ADDITION, IT WOULD BE PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY FOR THIS, UH, CITY DRAINAGE INVESTMENTS, AS WELL AS EXPLORE POLICIES AND ACTIONS TO HELP REDUCE FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH ANY, ANY DEVELOPMENT AND AS, AS WELL AS CLIMATE CHANGE THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING.
WHAT I DON'T, WHAT I DON'T WANT HAPPENING IS A COMMITTEE WHERE PEOPLE COME IN AND IT'S A, A BATTLE ROYALE, IF YOU WILL, IF IT'S MY PROJECT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO IS TO HAVE THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS COME AND REVIEW OUR FILTER, OUR SCORING SYSTEM, OUR CRITERIA, BECAUSE EACH WATERSHED IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE SATO CREEK, UH, THERE'S SECTIONS OF THE SATO CREEK THAT ARE VERY RURAL, AND, UH, AND THAT'S GONNA BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM, SAY, DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO, WHERE IT'S EXTREMELY URBANIZED.
SO THE DRAINAGE NEEDS ARE GONNA BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
SO THEY WOULD HELP US WITH OUR SCORING CRITERIA, AND THEN WE TAKE EVERYBODY'S PROJECTS, RUN IT THROUGH THE FILTER, AND IT WOULD SCORE THEM FROM TOP WITH THE DIFFERENT TIERS IN, IN PRIORITIES.
SO THAT WOULD BE REALLY THE PURPOSE OF THAT COMMITTEE IS HELP US REFINE OUR CURRENT PROJECT CRITERIA.
ONE OF THE OUTCOMES THAT WOULD COME OUT OF THIS COMMITTEE WOULD CERTAINLY PROVIDE ADDITIONAL VENUES FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, AND TO MAYBE TO BE A LITTLE BIT SELFISH.
IT, IT WOULD HELP US IN HELP PRIORITIZING OUR BUDGET PROCESS AS WELL AS THIS COMMITTEE WOULD THEN BECOME, UH, A COMMITTEE TO HELP US IN THE, IN THE, IN SOMETHING THAT WE, WE HAVE JUST BEEN ADOPTED, BEEN A PART OF, WHICH IS OUR COMMUNITY RATING SYSTEM, OR C R S, UH, IN, IN, IN FUTURE.
WE'LL, WE'LL LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, BUT THAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE ENTERED INTO C R S, UH, OUR COMMUNITY WILL NOW RECEIVE A, A, A DISCOUNT FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE FLOOD INSURANCE AND WHO CURRENTLY LIVE IN THE FLOODPLAIN.
THEY CAN ACTUALLY GET A DISCOUNT BECAUSE OF EFFORTS THAT WE, THE CITY HAS BEEN DOING AND, AND ADDITION.
ADDITIONALLY TO THAT, UH, WE WOULD HAVE HELP US WITH THE PRIOR PRIORITIZING OUR PROJECT SELECTION FOR FUTURE BOND PROJECTS OR BUDGET PROCESSING.
WE, WE PROPOSED THAT THE COMMITTEE BE, UM, BE COMPOSED OF A STEERING COMMITTEE AND THREE SUBCOMMITTEES.
WE RECOMMEND THAT THERE WOULD BE, UH, TWO YEAR APPOINTMENTS, TWO YEAR TERMS COINCIDE WITH COUNCIL.
UH, WE RECOMMEND NO TERM LIMITS.
THE WATERSHED REP, UH, REPRESENTATIVES WOULD BE APPOINTED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
COUNCIL WOULD APPOINT, UH, THOSE THAT WOULD SIT ON THE WATERSHED, UH, COMMITTEES.
UH, THE CHAIRS WOULD BE APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR.
WE WOULD ALSO HAVE TO, UH, DISCUSS HOW WE WOULD APPOINT THE, WE WOULD ALSO REQUEST REPRESENTATION FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, PERSPECTIVE, WHICH ARE KEY, UH, STAKEHOLDERS IN, IN THE WORK THAT WE DO.
OUR RECOMMENDATION DOES DIFFER FROM THE C C R IN TWO WAYS.
ONE OF 'EM WOULD BE THAT, UM, UM, IN THE CURRENT C C R, IT CALLS FOR BEXAR COUNTY TO, UH, CALL FOR, UH, REPRESENTATION ON THOSE COMMITTEES.
UM, THAT IS, I, I CAN, I, AS A STAFF MEMBER, CAN'T RECOMMEND, UH, COMMISSIONER'S COURT TO APPOINT, UH, UH, CITIZENS ON THAT COMMITTEE.
UH, THAT MAY HAVE TO BE, THAT'S ABOVE MY PAY GRADE.
BUT, UH, CERTAINLY I DO FEEL THE COUNTY, UH, NEEDS TO BE REPRESENTED AS FAR AS THEIR, THEIR, UH, THEIR TECHNICAL STAFF TO BE A PART OF OUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
SO THEY WOULD BE A PART OF THAT.
AS WELL AS STAFF MEMBERS FROM THE RIVER AUTHORITY, UH, TXDOT, SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM, AND, UH, U SS G S, WHICH ARE SOME OF OUR MAJOR, UH, STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS.
UH, WE WOULD, WE PROPOSE, UH, 22 TO 26 MEMBERS, UH, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD, UH, BE A PART OF THE WATERSHED COMMITTEES THAT INCLUDE, AGAIN, THE STEERING COMMITTEE, 10 MEMBERS ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE, SIX MEMBERS ON THE SATO CILLO CREEK WATERSHEDS, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE, EIGHT MEMBERS ON THE LEON MEDINA, UM, WATERSHED, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE, AND 11 MEMBERS ON THE UPPER SAN ANTONIO ALMOST, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE.
WE WOULD PROPOSE THAT THE FIRST SIX TO 12 MONTHS WOULD BE SPENT IN, UH, TRAINING,
[01:10:01]
BASICALLY TEACHING THEM ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES, WATERSHED MASTER PLANNING, REVIEWING GRAY INFRAS, UH, GRAY INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGIES, AS WELL AS NATURE-BASED DESIGN, WHICH IS, UH, SOMETHING WE'RE VERY PASSIONATE AT DOING AND PURSUING, UM, CURRENT PROJECT STATUS, STORMWATER RELATED CODES, SUCH AS, UH, THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, AS WELL AS FUNDING MECHANISMS, UH, FOR THOSE PROJECTS.UH, ONCE A BASELINE, UH, BASIC KNOWLEDGE WOULD BE ESTABLISHED, THEN WE WOULD GO INTO MEETING QUARTERLY FOR THESE COMMITTEES.
UH, I WANNA MENTION THAT, UH, I THINK THIS, THESE COMMITTEES WOULD BE A VERY GOOD IDEA FOR US.
IT WOULD CERTAINLY HELP THE WORK MOVE FORWARD AND BRING, HIGHLIGHT, AND HIGHLIGHT, UH, SOME OF THE EFFORTS THAT ARE GOING ON IN, IN OUR REGION, AND CERTAINLY WITHIN OUR CITY.
UH, THAT KIND OF THE NEXT STEPS WOULD BE THAT STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF COMMITTEE OF THIS COMMITTEE CREATION AT A FUTURE CITY COUNCIL, A SESSION.
AND, UH, I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, UH, SO YOUR, YOUR RECOMMENDATION PRESENTED TODAY IS A, IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I THOUGHT YOU WERE LEADING TO, WHICH WAS THE REFERENCE TO A COMMITTEE.
SO ARE YOU RECOMMENDING THIS TO BE CREATED AND GO STRAIGHT TO A SESSION? YES, SIR.
UM, I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY GONNA BE A CONSIDERABLE CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, LET'S, UH, LET'S TAKE, LET'S, UH, LET'S HEAR A MOTION SO WE CAN BEGIN, BEGIN THE DISCUSSION, AND THEN WE CAN WORK ON MODIFYING THAT IF THERE'S, UH, IF THERE'S SO, UH, DESIRE TO DO SO.
UM, UM, SO LET ME ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ON THE RECOMMENDATION.
UM, MAYOR I, I MOVE TO, UH, SEND THE ITEM TO CHECK FOR INPUT AND BRIEFING.
UM, MAY I MAKE A, A COMMENT OR DO YOU WANNA GO THEN LET'S TAKE THE MOTION FIRST.
SO, UH, THE, THE RECOMMENDATION, OR EXCUSE ME, THE MOTION WAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS TO REFER THIS TO CHECK.
UH, SO IS THERE A SECOND FOR THAT? UM, WAITING FOR A SECOND IF OKAY.
SO THERE'S A MOTION TO SECOND TO MOVE THIS ITEM TO CHECK, UM, ON AN INTERIM.
SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START DISCUSSION NOW.
THEN ACTUALLY, BEFORE WE START THAT, YEAH, THIS WAS AUTHORED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL AND CASTILLO, WHO, UH, SANDOVAL IS HERE.
UH, SO COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME UP.
UH, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, BECAUSE THIS WAS INITIALLY, UH, DRAFTED AS A CITY COUNTY ENTITY.
UH, YOU HAD INVITED, UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ AND CALVERT HERE.
SO, UM, THEY'LL BE AT THE PODIUM WITH YOU.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR FOR IZING THIS ITEM.
UH, THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
COUNCILMAN GABRIEL HDA FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE C C R AND YOUR SIGNATURES.
AND, UH, ALSO THERE ARE SOME VERY IMPORTANT MEMBERS, UH, IN THE AUDIENCE WHO HELPED, UH, HELPED GUIDE THIS, THIS DOCUMENT.
AS YOU SAW, IT'S A LITTLE BIT WONKY COMPARED TO, TO OTHER THINGS THAT WE DO HERE.
AND THAT WOULD BE, UH, MS. SUZANNE SCOTT, UH, WITH THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, AND MS. DEBBIE REED WITH, UH, WITH GIA.
UM, A COUPLE OF WORDS BEFORE I HAND IT OVER TO, UM, TO OUR, MY COLLABORATORS AT THE COUNTY.
UM, I HOPE YOU'LL TAKE THIS AS A MESSAGE THAT THEY ARE ALSO SUPPORTIVE OF THE COLLABORATION THAT WE ARE PROPOSING HERE.
UM, AS YOU HEARD, UH, FROM NEPHI, THE PARTICIPANTS IN OUR CITIZENS BOND COMMITTEE HAD A VERY SHORT TIME IN WHICH TO RECOMMEND PROJECTS FOR, YOU KNOW, BILLIONS OR MIL, SORRY, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN, IN FUNDING THIS YEAR, UM, OR LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MADE THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, THAT IS REALLY A JOB THAT'S MORE SUITED TO A STANDING COMMITTEE, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN FAMILIARIZE THEMSELVES WITH A TOPIC.
AND IT'S ALSO A PROJECT OR A DUTY THAT'S MORE SUITED TO HOW WATER FLOWS.
IT DOESN'T FLOW BY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, AND IT DOESN'T FLOW BY CITY OR COUNTY.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, LEON VALLEY, WHO'S MY NEIGHBOR AND IN YOUR PRECINCT, UM, WE SHARE THESE FLOODING PROBLEMS TOGETHER.
UM, THIS PROPOSAL ISN'T GOING TO SOLVE ALL OF OUR DRAINAGE ISSUES, BUT IT IS GOING TO HELP US OPTIMIZE HOW WE USE OUR VERY LIMITED TAX DOLLARS.
SO I DO ASK FOR, FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
UH, I DO ASK FOR YOU TO CONSIDER, UM, THE JOINING FORCES WITH THE COUNTY TO DO THIS.
I THINK IT'LL BE A LOT MORE EFFECTIVE THAT WAY.
AND LASTLY, THERE WAS A, ANOTHER CHANGE TO THE PROPOSAL, AND THAT IS WE WANTED TO BE TRANSPARENT AND CAREFUL ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY WHO MAY HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE IF THEY PARTICIPATE, UH, ON THIS.
SO I KNOW STAFF, UH, DID NOT MAKE THAT AS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
[01:15:01]
CONSIDER OR WHOEVER ENDS UP WHEREVER THIS ITEM ENDS UP TO CONSIDER EITHER SOME SORT OF TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENT FOR THAT OR, UM, UH, AN ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT, UH, AROUND THAT.AT THIS POINT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, TO THE COMMISSIONERS TO SAY A COUPLE OF WORDS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, AND THANKS, UH, FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS MORNING.
I'VE ENJOYED LEARNING ABOUT YOUR INITIATIVES.
UM, THE CONTEXT FOR THIS KIND OF MOVEMENT, UH, IS 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE MOVING INTO BEXAR COUNTY IN THE NEXT DOZEN OR SO YEARS.
1.1 MILLION MOVING INTO THE CITY, AND THE WATERSHED IS CHANGING DRAMATICALLY.
THE CASE STUDY FOR ME IS A FAMILY WHO PASSED TRYING TO GET TO HERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, UM, IN THE EAST CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT OFF OF ABBOTT ROAD.
UM, THOUGH THERE'S RAPID DEVELOPMENT HAPPENING, UH, UPSTREAM, UH, AND, UH, THE LOW WATER CROSSINGS THAT WE HAD JUST WERE NOT, UH, SUFFICIENT, UH, FOR THE, UH, FOR THE WATER MANAGEMENT.
AND SO, UM, I'M REGULARLY IN AREAS LIKE THAT.
UM, THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF COMPLICATIONS, WHETHER IT'S WITH FARMERS WHO ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO HAVE THEIR HAY HARVESTED BECAUSE THERE'S WATER FLOODING, UH, AND THEIR, AND THEIR COWS GET STUCK, UH, OUT THERE.
BUT THERE'S ALSO AREAS, UH, WITH DENSITY IN, IN, IN, IN THE CITY.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE WORKS, UH, CAN WORK REALLY WELL WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE, BECAUSE WHEN I GO OUT THERE, UH, INTO THE COMMUNITY, I TRADITIONALLY BRING NOT ONLY MY COUNTY STAFF, BUT A SECOND ENGINEERING COMPANY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL IDEAS.
SO I WANT TO JUST KIND OF WORK TOGETHER, UM, TO HAVE THOSE KINDS OF INSTITUTIONS.
I THINK THERE'S ALSO THE NATURE CONSERVANCY CAN BE AN INCREDIBLE ASSET IN TERMS OF HOW WE USE, UH, NATURAL VEGETATION TO CONTROL FLOODING, AS WELL AS AT TEXAS STATE.
UH, THERE'S A MEADOWS, I BELIEVE IT'S CALLED THE MEADOWS INSTITUTE OUT OF TEXAS STATE, WHICH ALSO DOES SOME SIMILAR WORK.
UM, SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO, UM, MY, MY COLLEAGUE.
BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE, IN THE FLOOD OF 98, UM, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD ALREADY BEEN PART OF CITIZENS COMMITTEES FOR IN SATO, UH, ALONG SATO CREEK, FOR EXAMPLE.
PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, LIKE SUE BERG.
UM, SHE LIVES ALONG SATO CREEK WORKS FOR KINS FIVE.
AND IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES, SHE WAS PART OF A CITIZENS COMMITTEE ALONG WITH BETTY BOUCHER, OUR FORMER BEAR COUNTY, UM, UH, FACILITIES DIRECTOR.
AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GAIN A LOT OF INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE THEY TRAVERSED THE CREEK.
SO THERE ARE CITIZENS WHO CAN PROVIDE TREMENDOUS ON THE GROUND KNOWLEDGE OF THESE WATERSHEDS.
AND SO I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GOOD MOVEMENT.
I JUST WANT TO, UH, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU ON HOW WE DO IT.
EXCUSE ME, COMMISSIONER R, FORMER COUNCILMAN COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.
UH, GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
JUST WANTED TO, TO STOP BY JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ FOR THE RECORD.
UM, COUNTY COMMISSIONER PRECINCT TWO WANTED TO COME BY AND LEND MY SUPPORT.
UM, I'VE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL AND OF COURSE, UM, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO.
UM, AND REALLY JUST WANTED TO, TO ADD, UH, A LEVEL OF SUPPORT FROM THE COUNTY, UM, THAT, AS ALREADY HAS BEEN STATED, WATER FLOW DOES NOT RESPECT C CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT LINES, NOR COMMISSIONER, UH, PRECINCT LINES, NOR REGIONAL LINES, RIGHT? SO WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF, I GUESS, TWO DOZEN SUBURBAN CITIES AS WELL.
IT MAKES SENSE THAT THE COUNTY HAS SOME INVOLVEMENT, AND WE CAN WORK THROUGH THE MECHANICS OF THAT.
I KNOW, UM, AS WAS MENTIONED, UM, YOU MAY NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO APPOINT A COUNT A A, UH, COUNTY COMMISSIONER, BUT I'M CERTAIN IN THE SPIRIT OF, UH, MAYOR, YOUR COLLABORATION WITH JUDGE WOLF AND HOW THE LAST TWO YEARS, THE CITY AND COUNTY HAVE WORKED TOGETHER.
UM, IN ADDITION, YOU KNOW, I CO-CHAIR AN I G R COMMITTEE WITH COUNCILMAN ELIAS.
SO THERE'S CONTINUED TO BE, I THINK, A GREAT COLLABORATION, LEVERAGING RESOURCES.
UM, AND I THINK THIS IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT, TO BENEFIT OUR MUTUAL CONSTITUENTS.
SO I SIMPLY WANTED TO COME BY, UH, LEND OUR SUPPORT.
WE CAN FIGURE OUT, UM, A WAY, UM, IN A MORE FORMAL MATTER TO HAVE EITHER A COUNTY COMMISSIONER APPOINTED BY THE JUDGE OR SOMEONE FROM UH, STAFF.
BUT WE CERTAINLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE THAT COLLABORATION AND WE WORK TOGETHER, UM, NOT ONLY TO SAVE, UH, PROPERTIES, BUT ALSO SAVE LIVES.
AND, AND JUST TO WRAP UP, I DID NOTICE SOME HESITATION ON THIS, ON STAFF'S PART AND, UH, ON THE COMMITTEE'S PART, RE REGARDING WHERE IS THIS GOING TO GO NEXT? I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT AS A COMPLIMENT THAT EVERYBODY WANTS THEIR HANDS, UH, ON THIS.
UH, BUT I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT WE END UP HAVING A BODY THAT'S COLLABORATIVE, AND THAT INCLUDES THE PARTNERS THAT WE NEED TO INCLUDE TO BE, UH, TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, ONCE THE BODY GETS WORKING.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHERE THAT ENDS UP GOING, BUT I THINK WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW IS TO BRING THE BODY TOGETHER.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL AND, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
LET'S START OUR COUNCIL CONVERSATION NOW WITH COUNCIL
[01:20:01]
MEMBER KEBEDE.THANK YOU TO COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL AND CASTILLO FOR, UM, BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT C C R AND TO COMMISSIONERS CALVERT AND, UH, RODRIGUEZ, I I, BEFORE YOU GO REALLY QUICKLY, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS IF I'M AHEAD OF MYSELF, BUT WILL, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT RESOURCES FROM THE COUNTY, WILL THAT, DOES THAT INCLUDE FUNDING COLLABORATE AND, AND LEVERAGE OUR DOLLARS TOGETHER? WELL, YOU KNOW, UM, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
I MEAN, I THINK WE, WE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT EVEN RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK, THE BEXAR COUNTY WATERSHED MASTER PLAN IS BEING UPDATED.
AND WE'VE HIRED ENGINEERS THAT ARE ALREADY BEGINNING TO, TO DO THESE KINDS OF UPDATES.
I THINK THAT IT'S CERTAINLY ON THE TABLE, BUT IT, IT'S ACTUALLY, I THINK, WORKING IN, IN SOME REGARDS, RIGHT, RIGHT NOW, THERE, THERE, THERE'S ONE THING I WANNA JUST GIVE BY WAY OF EXPERIENCE IN TALKING WITH SOME OF THE ENGINEERS, UM, TO THE COUNCIL, TO, TO THE, TO THE MEMBERS THAT WE'RE NOT IN, WE'RE NOT ENGINEERS.
THERE ARE SOME VARIABLES IN THE MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS THAT I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT ARE NOT CALCULATED AS PART OF THE, THE WATERSHED FLOW.
UM, AND FOR A LAYMAN THAT I AM, I WAS A BIT SURPRISED ABOUT THAT.
SO THERE, THERE'S GONNA BE INSIGHTS AS WE GET BEYOND THE ONION, UH, IF YOU WILL, THAT WILL BECOME APPARENT, UH, TO THE CITY THAT MAY LEAD, AND THE COUNTY THAT MAY LEAD TO ADDITIONAL CHANGE.
AND I, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, I'D LIKE TO SEE US LEVERAGE OUR FUNDS TOGETHER AND, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS KIND OF A COLLABORATION, BUT I APPRECIATE IT AND, AND LOOKS LIKE COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ BAILED OUT ON YOU, SO I APPRECIATE YOU ANSWERING THE QUESTION,
UM, AND NEFFIE, I, I'M NOT SURE IF HE'S STILL HERE.
SORRY TO SAY THAT YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT, UH, DRAINAGE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
UH, YOU KNOW,
SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ENTHUSIASM FOR TRYING TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS. NOT, NOT JUST FOR THE FAR WEST SIDE, BUT FOR OUR ENTIRE CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S MENTIONED HERE TODAY, I ALWAYS SAY THERE'S NO BOUNDARIES IN REAL LIFE AND NOTHING, UH, ILLUSTRATES THAT BETTER THAN WATER.
UM, BUT, UM, I, I DO HAVE A, A CONCERN, UM, THE COMPOSITION OF THE, OF THE, OF THE COMMITTEE, THE POTENTIAL COMPOSITION.
I, I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME MORE EXPERTS, UH, INVOLVED, YOU KNOW, ENGINEERS, EVEN REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS.
UH, I THINK COUNCILWOMAN, UM, SANDOVAL MENTIONED A, A TRANSPARENCY.
I THINK OF COURSE, THAT'S KEY.
AND IF WE DO HAVE THAT, THAT THAT SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, ALLOWS US TO INCLUDE MORE PEOPLE.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THE MEETINGS WILL BE PUBLIC AS WELL.
BUT, UM, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL TO YOU TO HAVE THESE EXPERTS ON THIS COMMISSION? OUR COMMITTEE? COUNCILWOMAN? THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
I, I, WHEN I DID SIT DOWN, I DID REALIZE I MENTIONED THERE WAS TWO CHAIN TWO DIFFERENCES, AND I TALKED ABOUT ONE, AND I DID MENTION THE OTHER.
UH, BUT THAT OTHER ONE IS THAT IN FACT, WE DO BELIEVE WE NEED TO HAVE, UM, REPRESENTATION FROM, UH, THE, THE ENGINEERING COMMUNITY.
UH, I CONSIDER THE ENGINEERING COMMUNITY KINDA MY FRONT LINE OF DEFENSE.
SO AS DEVELOPERS COME TO SAN ANTONIO, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, WHAT OUR CODE REQUIRES OF THEM AND WHAT THE STANDARDS ARE.
UH, WE CERTAINLY NEED, UH, TO HAVE PEOPLE WITH A BACKGROUND IN ENGINEERING.
UH, IT'LL CERTAINLY MAKE THINGS A LOT EASIER.
AND I DO AGREE WITH THE COUNCILWOMAN, UH, SONG OF ALL THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME KIND OF TRANSPARENCIES AS FAR AS WHO THEY WORK FOR AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY ONLY, UM, YOU KNOW, ADDITION REALLY TO THIS, UH, IS TO ADD NOT NOT JUST ENGINEERING, BUT REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS AS WELL, WHO ARE, WHO ARE OF COURSE, HAVE A STAKE IN THIS.
UM, BUT I, I'M SUPPORTIVE ABSOLUTELY.
COUNCIL MEMBER KIO HDA, COUNCIL MEMBER PALAI.
SO, UM, I HEARD YOU SAY THE WORDS CONTINUES TO BE EFFECTIVE WHEN YOU DESCRIBE THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AND THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.
UM, EFFECTIVE HOW, LIKE, BECAUSE I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE THREE, AND IF WE CAN GET SLIDE THREE UP.
SO LET ME, LET ME TELL YOU OF SOME OF THE EFFECTIVENESS THAT THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AND THE DRAINAGE COMMITTEE CONTINUE TO HAVE.
UM, SO THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE IS COMPOSED OF, UH, MY BOSS RAZZIE, MYSELF, AS WELL AS RENEE GREEN FROM THE COUNTY, UH, DERRICK BAYES FROM THE RIVER AUTHORITY.
UM, AND WE MEET TOGETHER OFTEN TO TALK ABOUT STRATEGIES ON HOW, HOW WE'RE GONNA DO FUNDING.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THE BOND COMMITTEE, THAT, THE, THE BOND DRAINAGE COMMITTEE THAT WE PUT TOGETHER, WE SHARE THAT WITH THEM.
THEY GIVE US SOME IDEAS, SOME THOUGHTS, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR THE COUNTY TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING A PROJECT IN THE AREA.
SAS IS DOING THIS PROJECT, AND WE'RE ABLE TO COLLABORATE THAT WAY.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT SLIDE THREE BETWEEN THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, DO THEY DO, THEY DO THESE FOUR THINGS THAT ARE ON SLIDE THREE? THEY ADVISE US ON THE MASTER PLAN, THEY PROVIDE TRANSPARENT PROCESS TO EXPLORE POLICIES, AND THEY REVIEW AND REFINE PROJECT SCORING CRITERIA TO A CERTAIN LEVEL.
BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT THAT'S AT THE, THAT'S AT THE STAFF
[01:25:01]
LEVEL.THERE ISN'T, UH, A CITIZENS' COM UH, COMPONENT TO THAT, THAT, UH, SHARING OF INFORMATION THAT, UH, UH, DEFINING STRATEGIES THAT'S DONE AT THE STAFF LEVEL.
SO THAT'S WHERE IT BECOMES EFFECTIVE.
THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES, THEN WERE ABLE TO SHARE RESOURCES AS FAR AS FOR, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
UM, IF WE'RE GONNA DO, UH, TOPOGRAPHY SURVEYS, YEAH.
UH, SOMETIMES IT'S BETTER TO, IF WE'RE GONNA DO ONE FOR THE CITY, UH, FOR A LITTLE ADDITIONAL MONEY, WE CAN DO THE ENTIRE COUNTY.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PLANE FLY OVER THE CITY TO COME UP WITH, UH, TOPOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.
UH, WE'RE ABLE TO COLLABORATE BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO FLY THE ENTIRE COUNTY AND, AND GET THE TOPOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.
UH, SO IT IS OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO NOT ONLY COST SHARE, BUT FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK TOGETHER, COLLABORATE TO, UH, TO HAVE A BETTER SYSTEM.
AND THEN IF WE CAN LOOK AT SLIDE FOUR, SO AS FAR AS ENHANCING PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY, SUPPORTING PUBLIC OUTREACH, AND ESTABLISHED WATERSHED BASED PRIORITIES, DO WE ALREADY DO THIS IN THE CITY? WE DO COUNCILMAN, AND WE DO IT, UH, BY PROJECT.
WHEN WE HAVE A PROJECT, WE'LL GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC, WE'LL, WE'LL SHARE THIS INFORMATION, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A STANDING COMMITTEE, UH, SET UP FOR, FOR THAT.
WE DO IT BY INDIVIDUAL PROJECT BASIS.
AND I, I, I DON'T, I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM WITH BRINGING IN CITIZENS TO DISCUSS THIS.
UM, I THINK THAT IF THEY'RE DISCUSSING IT WITHOUT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS THAT ARE NON-STAFF, RIGHT? THEN I THINK THEY'RE WASTING THEIR TIME.
AND SO I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ENGINEERS AND, UM, REAL ESTATE FOLKS WHO WERE, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THE CAUSE OF THE CAUSE OF THESE DRAINAGE PROBLEMS IN LARGE PART IS BECAUSE OF DEVELOPMENT THAT DISPLACES WATER, RIGHT? UM, AND SO AT THE END, IF WE'RE GONNA FIX THIS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO PARTNER UP WITH A REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, ROPE THEM INTO WHATEVER SOLUTIONS.
AND SO, UM, THAT SAID, THOUGH, I DO THINK THIS IS MORE APPROPRIATE FOR, UM, THE, THE PLANNING COMMITTEE.
UM, I MEAN, I THINK THAT THIS IS THEIR FUNCTION, UM, IF WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT TECHNICAL PLANNING, EXPERTISE, REAL ESTATE, COMMUNITY, ET CETERA.
AND SO, UM, I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE AMEND THE ORIGINAL MOTION THAT SEND IT FROM, FROM CHECK TO TO PLANNING.
UM, WELL, IF, IF YOU FORM THAT IN A, IF YOU, UH, WOULD LIKE TO AMEND IT, UH, A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, WE'LL SEE IF COUNCIL MEMBER CAB HOVER WOULD APPROVE THAT.
SO THE MOTION NOW IS, UH, TO SEND THIS, UH, ITEM TO THE PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER PIA, WE'LL MOVE TO COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, NEPHEW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING, UH, I THINK IT WAS PAGE THREE, UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT THIS GOES THROUGH A FILTER.
WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY A FILTER COUNCILMAN? THAT'S ACTUALLY THE, JUST KIND OF THE TERM THAT I GAVE IT, IT'S ACTUALLY OUR SCORING CRITERIA.
SO YOU SEE, WHEN A PROJECT IS DEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, YOU, WE FIND A PROJECT, UH, SOME FLOODING IN AN INTERSECTION PER SE.
YOU TAKE THAT AND WE HAVE A, A SCORING CRITERIA THAT ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO SCORE IT AND THEN ULTIMATELY RANK IT SO THAT I COULD COMPARE IT TO OTHER PROJECTS.
I MAY HAVE ANOTHER PROJECT IN ANOTHER SIDE OF THE DISTRICT, OR IN THE OTHER PART OF THE CITY THAT MAY HAVE, UH, WHAT WE REFER TO AS NUISANCE FLOODING, WHERE PEOPLE'S FRONT YARDS GET, GET, GET WATER IN IT.
THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT FROM AN INTERSECTION.
SO I NEED A WAY TO BE ABLE TO COMPARE THE TWO, I JUST CALL IT A FILTER SO THAT WE CAN TAKE THOSE PROJECTS, RUN IT THROUGH THE FILTER TO COME UP WITH A SCORE.
WELL, I HOPE THAT YOU'LL SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMITTEE SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THAT PROCESS THAT'S ENGAGED.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE PARTNERING MORE WITH THE COUNTY ON.
I'LL NOW GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, AND NEPHEW, YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW, UH, DISTRICT NINE HAS BEEN TALKING WITH THE CITY OF CASTLE HILLS ABOUT A MUTUAL PROBLEM, FLOOD PROBLEM THAT WE SHARE.
AND, UH, PART OF IT CAN BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND HOW WATER FLOWS AND PART OF IT, UH, YOU KNOW, ADVERSELY IMPACTS PART OF THE CITY OF CASTLE HILLS.
NOW, OBVIOUSLY, WE WANNA WORK CITY TO CITY, BUT I I STILL SAY THAT THAT SHOWS THAT THERE'S A ROLE FOR THE COUNTY BECAUSE BOTH CITIES ARE IN THE COUNTY, AND ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THIS DRAINAGE SITUATION ARE RESIDENTS OF BEXAR COUNTY.
AND SO I THINK IT WOULD BE WISE FOR US TO, UH, EXAMINE THIS THROUGH OUR OWN PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AND DETERMINE, DO WE
[01:30:01]
WANT TO PUT TOGETHER A PROPOSAL THEN THAT WE COULD PRESENT TO THE COUNTY TO SEE IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO JOIN IN SOME KIND OF A, A PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENT AND ADD SOME OF THEIR, UH, EXPERTISE TO WHATEVER MOVES FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.SO I, I CERTAINLY WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF THAT.
UH, YOU MENTIONED THREE SUBCOMMITTEES, UH, AND YOU GAVE CERTAIN NUMBERS FOR EACH OF THOSE SUBCOMMITTEES.
COULD YOU REPEAT WHAT THE, THE MEMBERSHIP RECOMMENDATIONS YOU WERE MAKING ON THOSE? CERTAINLY COUNCILMAN AND THOSE SUBCOMMITTEES WOULD REPRESENT DIFFERENT SECTORS OF THE CITY THAT ARE ENCOMPASSED BY THAT PARTICULAR WATERSHED.
SO ONE OF THE WATER, ONE OF THE WATERSHEDS WOULD BE THE SATO CREEK WATERSHED, AND THAT WOULD BE IN COMBINATION WITH THE SLO CREEK WATERSHED.
SO THAT WOULD BE ONE SUBCOMMITTEE, AND THAT SUBCOMMITTEE THAT WOULD BE SIX.
WE WERE PROPOSING SIX MEMBERS IN THE SATO SLO, UH, SUB WATERSHED, UH, A SUBCOMMITTEE.
ANOTHER SUBCOMMITTEE WOULD BE THE LEON CREEK WATERSHED AND THE MEDINA RIVER WATERSHED.
THOSE TWO, UH, WOULD BE COMBINED AND THERE WOULD BE EIGHT MEMBERS IN THAT, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE.
AND IN THE ALMOST SAN ANTONIO, WHICH IS RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE, OF THE CITY WOULD WOULD COMPOSE OF 1111 MEMBERS.
AND THE REASON WHY THE NUMBER IS DIFFERENT IS BECAUSE THAT'S HOW MANY COUNCIL THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS SHARE ARE WITHIN THAT.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, IN YOUR PARTICULAR WATERSHED, YOU HAVE, UH, YOU HAVE A PORTION OF IT THAT DRAINS TO THE SATO CREEK WATERSHED.
SO THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR YOU.
BUT YOU ALSO HAVE A, A PORTION THAT ACTUALLY DRAINS INTO THE SAN ANTONIO WATERSHED, I, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, UM, YES, IN THE UPPER PORTION OF THE, OF THE SAN ANTONIO WATERSHED.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU WOULD HAVE, UH, REPRESENTATION FROM THAT.
AND IT, THAT'S THE REASON WHY THE NUMBER VARIES A LITTLE BIT ACROSS THE, OKAY.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M ENCOURAGED TO HEAR THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THE, UH, THE COUNCIL SHOULD HAVE SOME KIND OF INPUT ON, UH, ON REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THOSE WATERSHEDS WHO ARE LIVING THE FLOODING OR DRAINAGE ISSUES THAT GO THERE, UH, TO HAVE SOME KIND OF SAY IN, IN HOW THOSE, THOSE PROJECTS CONTINUE TO BE LOOKED AT BY THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UH, I, I THINK THAT, THAT, UH, HELPS WITH MY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU NEFI.
AND I, I TOO WANTED TO, UH, COMMENT THAT IT WAS JUST SO
YOU WERE JUST SO EXCITED ABOUT IT.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PASSION FOR THAT.
I DO THINK THAT THIS HAS U D C IMPLICATIONS POSSIBLY, AND I DO AGREE WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE ELIAS, IN THAT MAYBE IT SHOULD COME TO MY PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
I ALWAYS FEEL ANXIOUS WHEN WE ADD MORE TO OUR AGENDA, BUT I DO AGREE THAT IT SHOULD BE, UM, A PART OF OUR COMMITTEE.
I ALSO JUST WANTED TO, UM, THANK COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL FOR, UM, BRINGING THIS UP.
AND COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL GAVE US A BOOK CALLED WEST SIDE RISING.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY HAS HAD A CHANCE TO READ IT.
UM, BUT IT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO ME TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT SORT OF DISCRIMINATION EXISTS STILL, EVEN IN AS WE PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE NEEDS IN FLOOD MANAGEMENT.
IN ONE AREA OF MY DISTRICT, I NEED $36 MILLION TO ADDRESS FLOODING ISSUES.
THAT'S JUST IN ONE AREA OF THE DISTRICT.
I THINK I CALCULATED, AND IT WAS LIKE $236 MILLION THAT I WOULD NEED TO JUST KIND OF, IT WAS A SURFACE.
AND THESE WERE, UH, PROJECTS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED LIKE YEARS AGO.
IT'S NOT EVEN THE MOST RECENT ONES.
SO WE DEFINITELY DO NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
AND I THINK THAT HAVING A, UH, RESIDENT ADVISORY GROUP IS IMPORTANT.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE ENGINEERS OR DRAINAGE EXPERTS PERHAPS RETIRED, UM, OR RECENTLY RETIRED THAT WAY, THAT THERE'S NO, NOT NECESSARILY A CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT COMPOSITION A LITTLE BIT MORE CLOSELY.
AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT, UH, MY COLLEAGUE BEAT ME TO ASKING THE QUESTION ABOUT, UH, THE RESOURCES.
COUNCILMAN CAO HAVER ASKED IF THE COUNTY WOULD BE WILLING TO INVEST SOME RESOURCES.
WHAT I WOULD BE AFRAID WOULD HAPPEN IS THAT THERE'S ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN THE CITY, UM, IF THEY'RE EXPECTING TO HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE, THAT THEN THE CITY WOULD BE EXPECTED TO FUND EVERYTHING, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE CAN DO TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT MESSAGE, YES, EVERYBODY'S WELCOME AT THE TABLE, UM, BUT WE ALSO NEED HELP WITH IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATION.
SO THOSE ARE MY ONLY COMMENTS.
I APPRECIATE THE, THE TIME THAT YOU LOOKED AT THE, UH, TO, TO DO THE SUBCOMMITTEES, ESPECIALLY.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS VERY THOUGHTFUL, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND I'LL JUST WRAP UP BRIEFLY.
UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, DRAINAGE IS CLEARLY, UM, IMPORTANT.
THE COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS IT AS IMPORTANT.
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RECEIVED THE, I THINK, THE LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY IN OUR BOND, UM, PROGRAM.SURPRISINGLY OVER STREETS AND OVER PARKS.
IT WAS DRAINAGE THAT MOST PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD AS A PRIORITY FOR THE CITY.
SO, UH, FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF A DEEPER EXAMINATION.
I DO THINK, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANNA ARTICULATE, THOUGH.
NUMBER ONE, UM, WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES THAT DO DRAINAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL.
SO JUST AS WE ARE ASKING FOR THE COUNTY TO HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE, WHEN WE CONSIDER FLOOD PROJECTS, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY OR CITIES ARE AT THE TABLE WHEN THE COUNTY IS DOING FLOOD CONTROL, WHICH IS BY AND LARGE THE MOST RESOURCES BEING SPENT AND CONTRIBUTED TO FLOOD CONTROL IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THE OTHER PART IS, I'M NOT SURE WE ALL SEE, UH, FLOOD CONTROL AND DRAINAGE IN THE SAME WAY.
UM, I WAS LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATION, I THINK IT WAS, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PLY THAT SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DISPLACING WATER.
I MEAN, OUR FLOOD SYSTEM IS, IS, UM, LARGELY CONCRETE, AND IT'S MEANT TO MOVE WATER OFF PROPERTY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, WHICH CREATES PROBLEMS DOWNSTREAM AND STREAM AND, AND MANY OTHER IMPACTS TO OUR, OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, WE HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE MOVING MORE AND MORE MAINSTREAM FOR LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS TO ENSURE WE'RE TAKING WATER WHERE IT, WHERE IT STANDS AND ALLOWING IT TO SPREAD OUT AND SINK INTO THE GROUND SO IT DOESN'T CREATE THOSE DOWNSTREAM IMPACTS.
WE'RE ONLY AT THE STAGE RIGHT NOW OF RECOMMENDING THAT, UH, AND POSSIBLY INCENTIVIZING THAT, BUT THAT'S NOT OUR VISION FOR FLOOD CONTROL YET.
AND UNTIL WE CAN AGREE ON THAT COUNTYWIDE, I DON'T THINK THIS IS GONNA GO MUCH FARTHER THAN CHECKING A BOX.
SO THAT'S MY CONCERN, IS THAT I HOPE THAT AS WE GET THESE MORE COLLECTIVE TABLES PUT TOGETHER, WE CAN HAVE A BIGGER CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH OUR FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS IN THE CITY.
UM, NOT EVERY FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT IS GONNA BE THE RIVERWALK OR THE SAN PEDRO CREEK PROJECT.
THERE ARE GOING TO BE MASSIVE PROJECTS THAT HAVE MASSIVE IMPACTS DOWNSTREAM, UH, WHICH IS WHY WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER ON A BIGGER CONVERSATION.
UH, THE OTHER CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE, WE HAVE A PENCHANT TO CREATE COMMITTEES AND THEY CREATE SPRAWL AND REDUNDANCY.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I, I UNDERSTAND WHEN THIS COMES TO, TO ME, I SEE A FLOW CHART.
HOW ARE ALL THESE COMMITTEES WORKING TOGETHER? WHO'S, WHO'S DOING WHAT TO WHOM AND WHY? UM, AND, AND JUST ENSURING THAT THERE IS NOT A REDUNDANCY OF EFFORT IN THAT PROCESS, BUT WE'RE GETTING A MORE CONSOLIDATED AND COORDINATED EFFORT TOWARDS THE FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS.
I AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT NEFFIE, YOU'RE OUR GUY ON, ON FLOOD CONTROL.
THERE'S NOBODY THAT'S MORE PASSIONATE, SAFE, PERHAPS SUZANNE, ON, ON DRAINAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR GUIDANCE ON THIS AS IT MAKES ITS WAY THROUGH THROUGH COUNCIL.
SO THE COUNCIL, UH, THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION IS TO MOVE THIS TO PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, PLEASE VOTE.
AND I'LL ALSO NOTE FOR THE RECORD, THE, THE, UM, COMMENTS MADE ABOUT COMMITTEE COMPENSATION COMPOSITION THAT INCLUDE EXPERTISE AT THE TABLE, ET CETERA.
ALL THAT STUFF WILL BE METED OUT AT THE COMMITTEE.
MOTION CARRIES
ITEM FIVE IS A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST BY COUNCIL MEMBER JALEN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, DISTRICT TWO ON C P SS ENERGY AND SAS RATE FREEZES FOR SENIOR CITIZENS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
ALRIGHT, UH, THERE IS NO STAFF PRESENTATION, BUT THERE IS MY UNDERSTANDING A RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF TO, UH, FORWARD, UM, TO C P S AND SASS RATE ADVISOR.
OH, GO AHEAD, RIGHT, MAYOR? YES.
UH, THIS MORNING I'M ACTING AS A POOR SUBSTITUTE FOR BEN GELLE, OUR PUBLIC UTILITIES, UH, SUPERVISOR WHO I HOPE IS IN SOME SUBTROPICAL BEACH ENJOYING A COLD BEVERAGE RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT SO, SO AGAIN, I'M HERE TO, TO, UH, ADDRESS THIS PARTICULAR ITEM.
IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ SUBMITTED A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST, UH, ASKING FOR COORDINATION WITH SAWS AND C P SS TO CONSIDER RATE FREEZES FOR SENIOR CITIZENS AGE 65 AND OLDER PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, AND WITH SPECIAL CONSIDERATION FOR DISABLED VETERANS TO INCLUDE A PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR A RATE FREEZE AND COST ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL LOSS REVENUE.
NOW, IN READING THE, UH, ENTIRE C C R, UH, IT'S, UH, CLEAR THAT THE COUNCILMAN WAS WANTING TO ADDRESS, UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS, THOSE GROUPS THAT ARE COST BURDEN AND HAVE TO MAKE DIFFICULT CHOICES IN TERMS OF PAYING THE MEDICAL BILLS, PAYING RENT, OR PAYING UTILITIES.
UM, WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT SAWS AND C P S ARE MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES THAT ARE MANAGED BY INDEPENDENT BOARD OF TRUSTEES, UH, AND THAT EACH UTILITY WORKS TO DESIGN THEIR
[01:40:01]
RATE STRUCTURE.AND THAT CITY COUNCIL ULTIMATELY HAS THE APPROVAL AUTHORITY OVER SUCH RATES.
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT, UH, BOTH THE, UH, CITIZEN ADVISORY COM, I'M SORRY, BOTH THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEES ESTABLISHED BY THE RESPECTIVE UTILITIES HAVE ALREADY UNDERTAKEN LOOKING AT THEIR RATE STRUCTURE AND SEEING HOW THEY CAN ADDRESS THESE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THAT THE COUNCILMAN WAS REFERRING TO IN HIS C C R.
UM, AND BASED ON THE UPDATE WE GOT YESTERDAY FROM THE SASS, UH, RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE WORK THAT THE C P S RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, HAS REPORTED TO THE COUNCIL ON, THEY ARE UNDERTAKING A LOOK AT THE RATE STRUCTURE AND ARE LOOKING AT WHATEVER, UH, MODIFICATIONS OR PROGRAMS THAT THEY CAN LOOK AT IN TERMS OF TRYING TO HELP ADDRESS THOSE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY YOU THEIR, THEIR UTILITY BILLS.
SO, UH, BASED ON THAT, THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE FORWARD THE ISSUE TO EACH RESPECTIVE UTILITY AND, UH, USING A COMBINATION OF THEIR, UH, STAFF, THEIR RESPECTIVE BOARDS, UH, AND THEIR, UH, RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEES THAT THEY CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE, UH, IN TERMS OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR RATE STRUCTURE AND THAT THEY USE THE REGULAR UPDATES THEY PROVIDE TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN TERMS OF THEIR RATES.
UH, THEY INCLUDE, UH, WHATEVER PROGRESS THEY'RE MAKING IN TERMS OF ADDRESSING THE, THE ISSUES THAT ARE IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCILMAN'S C C R AS THEY UPDATE THE COUNCIL.
SO THAT'S OUR RECOMMENDATION, MAYOR.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON THAT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, UH, MAYOR, I MOVE TO SEND THE ITEM TO C P S AND SAS RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEES FOR INPUT AND BRIEFING.
OKAY, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND TO MOVE THESE TO THE RESPECTIVE RACKS.
UH, THIS IS A, UH, C C R AUTHOR BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME FORWARD, I BET YOU THOUGHT YOU'VE SEEN THE BEST OF ME
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, ANDY FOR THE EXPLANATION.
UM, EARLIER THIS WEEK, I WAS TOLD THAT THE C C R WOULD BE DEAD ON ARRIVAL.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S MAYBE A CONVERSATION TO BE HAD ABOUT WHAT CCRS ARE.
THEY ARE REQUESTS, WE ARE NOT AUTHORING BILLS.
UM, AND JUST AS, UH, WITH THE INSULIN COST SHARE PROGRAM, C C R, IT YIELDED, UM, A RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS BEYOND MY ORIGINAL REQUEST.
I BELIEVE THINGS LIKE THAT OCCUR HERE.
SO, UM, WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS CONCERN ABOUT SAYING IF WE WERE TO CALL, IF WE WERE TO DO A RAPE FREEZE FOR SENIORS AT LARGE PERSONS THAT WITH DISABILITIES AT LARGE, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE AGAINST STATUTE.
BUT, UM, WHAT THIS REQUEST IS, IS TO CREATIVE CREATIVELY LOOK AT HOW WE CAN, UM, BEST RELIEVE THOSE WHO ARE SENIORS AND PERSONS WITH ABILITIES WHO ARE COST BURDEN.
AND SO IF THAT MEANS LOOKING AT IT BASED ON INCOME, UM, THEN SO BE IT.
I TRUST OUR, UH, RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS WILL, UH, DO THEIR DUE DILIGENCE AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL YIELD POSITIVE RESULTS.
UM, I WOULD ALSO REQUEST THAT AFTER THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS EXAMINED THIS AND EVALUATED AND MADE SOME SORT OF DECISION THAT IT WOULD GO TO, UM, THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE FOR AN UPDATE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THIS.
I RECOGNIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THE ROLE OF THE CITY TO DIRECT RATES TO, UH, OUR UTILITIES BEFORE THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THEM THEMSELVES AND, UH, THAT THEIR COMMITTEES AND THEIR BOARD MAKE THOSE KINDS OF RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO US.
HOWEVER, I THINK THAT I WANNA, I WANT TO ENSURE THAT THE RAC COMMITTEES UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT WE ARE ASKING THEM TO REALLY CONSIDER THIS IF THEY CAN CONSIDER IT, THAT IT DOESN'T JUST BE, WELL, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS, BUT NOTHING REALLY GETS DONE.
I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE THEM ADD IT TO THEIR AGENDA, ADD IT AS A POINT OF DISCUSSION, UH, AND EITHER CLARIFY, YES, WE CAN CONSIDER THIS, OR, YOU KNOW, FOR WHATEVER REASONS WE REALLY CAN'T.
AND THERE COULD BE, YOU KNOW, SOME STATE REGULATIONS REGARDING UTILITIES THAT, THAT MAY OR MAY NOT COME INTO PLAY, UH, SO THAT WE KNOW IT'S GIVEN REASONABLE CONSIDERATION.
UH, AND I KNOW THEY'RE VERY BUSY, AND I KNOW THEY HAVE SHORT TIMELINES, SO I HATE TO SEE SOMETHING JUST GET BLOWN OFF BECAUSE, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO CONSIDER THIS.
SO I HOPE THAT WE MAKE A STRONG ENOUGH EMPHASIS ON THE SERIOUSNESS, SERIOUSNESS OF THIS CONSIDERATION THAT, UH, WE DO HEAR, UH, A SERIOUS DISCUSSION ABOUT IT TAKE PLACE ON, ON BOTH OF THOSE COMMITTEES.
AND AS THE COUNCILMAN SUGGESTED THAT IT BE REPORTED BACK TO OUR, UH, M U C ABOUT WHERE THEIR DISCUSSION WENT, WHAT THEIR FINDINGS WERE, WHAT THEIR
[01:45:01]
DECISIONS WERE.MARY, IF I COULD ASK THE COUNCILMAN TO CLARIFY THAT WE WERE REFERRING IT BACK TO THE UTILITIES THAT CAN USE, UH, AGAIN, UH, UH, THEIR, THEIR STAFF, THEIR BOARD, THEIR RESPECTIVE RACKS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE.
I, I DID NOT HEAR A MODIFICATION TO THE MOTION, SO, NO.
UM, NO, I WASN'T REALLY CHANGING THE MOTION OTHER THAN TRYING TO ADD, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERATION OF THE LANGUAGE WE MIGHT PASS FORWARD ABOUT THE SERIOUSNESS AND HOW WE'D LIKE TO HEAR, UH, THE RESULTS, UH, TO THE NEXT M U C.
COUNCILMAN, I WASN'T, I WASN'T RESPONDING TO YOUR COMMENT.
I WAS JUST RESPONDING TO THE FACT THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE UTILITIES HAVE THEIR FULL SPECTRUM OF FORUMS THAT THEY CAN USE TO ADDRESS IT, NOT SIMPLY THE RACK.
UH, IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR IS TO SEND, UM, THIS, UH, FOR INPUT AT THE RESPECTIVE C P SS AND SAWS RACKS COUNCILMAN REP APPLIES.
SO, UM, I, I THINK THE LANGUAGE OF SENDING IT TO THE SAWS AND C P SS RACK IS VERY, UH, NARROW, TOO NARROW BECAUSE IT, IT DOESN'T SAY SENDING IT TO THE RAC AND THE BOARD SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION BACK AND FORTH.
I MEAN, THE RAC IS GREAT, RIGHT? BUT THE BOARD IS CLOSER TO, UM, LEGAL, UH, THE POLICY SIDE OF IT.
AND I, I THINK THAT IF WE'RE NOT, IF WE'RE NOT INCLUDING THE BOARD IN THIS CONVERSATION, AND SPECIFICALLY BY WAY OF THIS MOTION, UM, I, I THINK WE'RE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY.
AND SO, I MEAN, UH, I DON'T KNOW.
I DUNNO, COUNCILMAN, IF, IF YOU'D ENTERTAIN THAT AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO HAVE BOTH OF THOSE BODIES COME BACK AND REPORT RIGHT.
BUT I MEAN, I, I, I LEAVE THAT UP TO YOU BOTH THE, THE BOARDS.
UM, ANDY, DID YOU WANNA RESPOND TO THAT, RIGHT? YEAH.
I, I, I, WELL, AGAIN, UH, UNDERSCORING WHAT THE COUNCILMAN SAID FROM A PRACTICAL MATTER YEAH.
EVEN AS IF IT'S REFERRED TO THE RAC, ULTIMATELY IT'LL BE STAFF AND BOARD WORKING WITH THE RAC.
BECAUSE THEY'LL ADDRESS IT IN THE BYLAWS.
THE ONLY DIRECTION GIVEN TO THE RAC COMES FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, RIGHT? CORRECT.
SO I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT IT IS THAT IT, THE, THE MOTION IS TO SEND IT TO THE UTILITIES USING THEIR RAC USING THEIR BOARD, THEIR STAFF TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES IDENTIFIED HERE.
I WASN'T SPECIFIC IN IN THAT, BUT I, I THINK THAT'S, THAT WAS THE INTENTION.
SO I GUESS TO SEND IT TO UTILITY C P SS AND SAWS, UM, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT SPECIFICALLY GOES TO THE RACK, UM, OF COURSE THROUGH THEIR PROCESS IN THE BOARD, BUT RACK BEING A PART OF THAT, RIGHT.
THE, UH, AGAIN, MY EXPECTATION COUNCIL WAS THAT THE UTI, BOTH UTILITIES WILL USE THEIR RACK TO, TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE, BUT AGAIN, IT'LL BE INPUT BOTH FROM STAFF AND ULTIMATELY THE BOARD WILL AGAIN, MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO, WE WILL DECIDE AND THEN THERE'LL BE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL ON A RATE STRUCTURE.
WELL, BUT AN EXPECTATION, AN EXPECTATION, I GUESS I'M HUNG UP ON THE WORD EXPECTATION, BUT, UM, AND I KNOW WE CAN'T DICTATE TO THEM EXACTLY, BUT, UH, I GUESS MY MOTION IS GONNA BE TO SEND IT TO C P S AND SAS BOARD, UM, RAC, AND, UM, YES.
AND, AND, UH, JUST BY, BY WAY OF THE OBVIOUS, I'LL STATE THAT NOTHING IN THE C C R NOR IN THE MOTION CHANGES THE, UH, GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE OR AUTHORITY OF ANY OF THE BODIES THAT C P S OR SAWS.
UH, NOR DOES IT CHANGE P U C STATUTE THAT WOULD GOVERN ULTIMATELY WHETHER OR NOT SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED.
MAYOR, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE THAT, UH, AS OBVIOUS AS I CAN TO OUR RESPECTIVE UTILITIES.
AND SO FAR I SEEM TO BE FAILING, BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT
ALRIGHT, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON ITEM FIVE? ALRIGHT, HEARING NONE, UH, THERE IS A MOTION ON THE FLOOR, PLEASE VOTE.
IT'S 11:29 AM ON THIS 25TH DAY OF MAY, 2022, AND WE ARE NOW ADJOURNED.