[00:00:03]
WE'RE, UH, WE'RE READY TO START.
WE'VE GOT A TOTAL OF 10 SPEAKERS, UH, WHO I'M GONNA INVITE UP TO THE PODIUM AFTER WE TAKE ROLL.
WE HAVE TO APPROVE MINUTES, RIGHT? DIDN'T WE? NO.
ALRIGHT, SO OUR CLERK WILL NOW TAKE ROLL.
ALRIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, UH, BEFORE WE DO START, UH, CAN, UM, BEFORE WE DO START, I, I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW WE GOT A LOT OF SPEAKERS.
WE'RE TRYING TO GET THROUGH THIS VERY QUICKLY 'CAUSE WE'VE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR.
THIS MONEY'S GOTTA GET OUT, RIGHT? AND, UH, I, I DON'T WANT TO GET, UM, YOU KNOW, TOO MUCH, UH, TOO MUCH IN THE WAY OF, OF GETTING THAT ACCOMPLISHED.
UH, WE'RE TALKING TODAY ABOUT A VERY LIMITED PURPOSE, UM, AND THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SS A C RECOMMENDATIONS, THE CITY'S RECOMMENDATIONS, AND, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THAT.
UM, I, BUT I DO KNOW, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN GETTING EMAILS AND I HAVE A FEELING ALL MY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE BEEN GETTING EMAILS.
SOME OF YOU'RE COMING IN HOT TODAY.
UH, BUT I WANNA REMIND YOU, UH, THAT EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM, WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH 'EM OR NOT, IS, IS A SAN ANTONIAN.
UM, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING THEIR BEST TOO.
AND EVERYBODY'S APPROACHING THIS, UH, FROM, WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS.
UM, AND THERE MAY BE A DISAGREEMENT AS TO POLICY, BUT, UH, MY REQUEST IS THAT Y'ALL REMEMBER THAT WE'RE A ROOM FULL OF NEIGHBORS AND THAT WE'RE ALL TRYING TO SOLVE PROBLEMS FOR OUR OTHER NEIGHBORS.
AND SO, WITH THAT, UH, JEREMY ROBERTS, YOU'RE UP, SIR.
SO, MY NAME IS JEREMY ROBERTS.
I'M THE CHAIR FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION, A K A, THE SS A C.
SO, UM, E W D C, UH, LAST FRIDAY, ASKED TO PUSH THE RECOMMENDATION BACK TO THE A C TO SEE WHAT WE THOUGHT.
THERE WAS SOME GREAT EXCHANGE OF IDEAS.
THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF NEGOTIATION BACK AND FORTH, BUT WE ALL AGREED TO SOMETHING.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE SS A C AND WHAT THEY COMPRISE OF, WE COMPRISE OURSELVES AS CONSULTANTS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, REPRESENTATIVES OF SOME BDOS.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE HERE TO HELP AND BENEFIT THE SMALL BUSINESSES AS A WHOLE.
AND WE UNANIMOUSLY DECIDED TO KEEP THE CATEGORIES AS IS BECAUSE WE SAW THE POWER AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A B D O.
SO, IF YOU THINK ABOUT B D O, WHAT DOES IT STAND FOR? BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.
WE FEEL THAT JUST PUTTING FUNDS TOWARDS AN ORGANIZATION MAY NOT BE THE BEST WAY TO DO IT, BUT THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING BEHIND IT.
THERE HAS TO BE AN ORGANIZATION THAT HELPS IDENTIFY HOW SHOULD YOU USE THAT $20,000, BECAUSE THAT CAN BE SPENT LIKE THIS, BUT IN THE WRONG WAY.
SO THERE IS A VALUE TO THE BDOS AND WHAT THEY DO, BUT THERE IS A VALUE TO HELPING MORE ORGANIZATIONS.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE BASIC MATH OF IT, AN AVERAGE OF $20,000 TO GO TO EACH BUSINESS.
$1 MILLION EQUALS 50 BUSINESSES.
SO IF YOU WERE TO SAY, LET'S TAKE 6 MILLION OUT OF ECOSYSTEM AND PUT THAT TOWARDS ACCESS TO CAPITAL AND GRANTS, I WOULD BE CRAZY TO SAY, I DIDN'T WANT TO HELP ANOTHER 300 BUSINESSES.
BUT THEN AGAIN, IS THAT MONEY GONNA GO IN THE RIGHT WAY? IS IT GONNA BE SPENT THE RIGHT WAY? SO I THINK THERE'S A, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT IT, IT CANNOT BE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
IT CANNOT BE ALL IN OR ALL OUT.
THERE'S GOTTA BE A MIDDLE GROUND FOR US.
WHAT I DO WANT DO IS HOLD JUDGMENT.
'CAUSE I WANT TO HEAR FROM E W D C AND THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL THE WHY.
FOR ME, EVERYTHING STARTS WITH WHY.
I MEAN, THE GREAT SIMON SINEK SAID THAT, TELL ME THE WHY.
AND THEN AFTER THAT'LL HOLD JUDGMENT, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, MARINA, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
UM, THIS MORNING WHEN I RECEIVED AN UPDATED EMAIL, JUST LIKE JEREMY, I DECIDED I'M GONNA LISTEN TODAY AND HEAR WE HAVE OUR VIEWS.
I WANNA HEAR EVERYONE ELSE'S VIEWS BEFORE WE PASS JUDGMENT.
I DO WANNA SAY THOUGH, THAT IN MY INDUSTRY ALONE, THERE ARE SO MANY SMALL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE ALREADY SHUT THEIR DOORS AND SO MANY THAT ARE VERY CLOSE.
AND WITH THE ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS THAT I FEEL ARE COMING OUR WAY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, I'M SCARED TO SAY THAT I'M GONNA SEE MORE SHUT DOWN.
THEY CALL ME CRYING, NOT KNOWING HOW THEY'RE GONNA BE
[00:05:01]
PAYING THEIR PAYROLL, HOW THEY'RE GONNA BE PAYING THEIR INSURANCE.UM, FUEL COSTS ARE GOING UP IN OUR INDUSTRY, THE TOWING INDUSTRY, IT'S A BIG THING.
SO, LIKE, LIKE JEREMY SAID, LET'S RESERVE OUR JUDGMENT, BUT I REALLY DO HOPE WE CAN COME TO A COMPROMISE BECAUSE IT'S VERY REAL FOR ALL OF US, ESPECIALLY THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES OUT THERE TODAY THAT DON'T KNOW HOW THEY'RE GONNA SURVIVE TOMORROW.
I'M THE PRESIDENT AND C E O OF THE SAN ANTONIO HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
AND I WANNA THANK THE SBA COM, UH, COMMITTEE FOR THEIR WORK AND COMMITMENT AND SUPPORT OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND WHILE WE RESPECT THE SPACS RECOMMENDATION AND UNDERSTAND THEIR REASONING FOR THEIR FUNDING TODAY OR FOR THEIR RECOMMENDATION, WE RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH THE PROPOSED ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDING.
I'M HERE TO REPRESENT MORE THAN 900 SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, AND THEY KEEP TELLING US ONE THING.
THEY HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY AND NEEDING A ONE-TIME, EXCUSE ME, CASH INJECTION.
NOW THEY UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR SUPPORT FOR A SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENT, BUT FEEL THAT THE REAL-TIME NEED IS IN THE GRANTS AND THE GRANTS THAT ARE NEEDED.
NOW, WE SUPPORT THE PROPOSAL FOR AN ADDITIONAL $6 MILLION OVER THREE YEARS WITHIN THE CITY BUDGET AS A LINE ITEM FOR E D D.
OUR ISSUE IS IF THAT IS USED FOR GRANTS, THE CITY BUDGET DOESN'T BEGIN UNTIL OCTOBER ONE.
AND EVERY DAY THAT GOES BY ANOTHER DOOR CLOSES.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE COUNCIL FUND, THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENT AS A LINE ITEM IN THE CITY BUDGET.
AND EVEN BETTER, YOU CAN COUNT ON OUR SUPPORT OF OUR, OUR LINE ITEM AT THAT TIME.
I WOULD ALSO ASK THE CITY TO LOOK FOR ADDITIONAL STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDINGS FOR SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS.
AS WE REGULARLY DO AT THE HISPANIC CHAMBER, FOR EXAMPLE, WE URGE THE STATE TO APPLY FOR THE STATE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT INITIATIVE FUNDS FROM THE US TREASURY, WHICH CAN BE USED FOR CAPITAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
WE'RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO PROVIDE A LETTER OF SUPPORT AND ARE HERE TO SERVE AS A RESOURCE TO YOU ALL AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, JULISA CARELLO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
I'M, I'M NOT GONNA BE THE HOT ONE.
I'M TRYING TO, TO STAY CALM, RIGHT? I KNOW AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE HERE ALL TO WORK TO FIND A SOLUTION THAT'S BEST FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES, RIGHT? UM, THE REASON I ACCEPTED TO REPRESENT AN SBA WAS BECAUSE WE WERE GONNA WORK ON THOSE ISSUES.
AND BECAUSE WE HAD A PROCESS TO FOLLOW, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT I WAS NOT GONNA WASTE TIME OUT OF MY BUSY SCHEDULE RUNNING MY BUSINESS TO COME AND ADVOCATE FOR BUSINESSES IN THE WAY THAT WE HAVE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND IS THAT SBAC TOOK A VERY THOUGHTFUL PROCESS IN DEVELOPING THE PILLARS THAT WE DID.
WE IDENTIFIED THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
WE ALSO BEGGED YOU TO GIVE US MORE MONEY.
WE ALSO CAME AND SAID, WHAT THE WAY WE SPLIT THOSE POOL OF MONEY IS TO, HALF OF IT WAS GONNA BE FOR RELIEF.
THE OTHER HALF WAS GOING TO BE TO INVEST IN OUR BUSINESSES.
THAT IS WHAT THE ECOSYSTEM, THE $6 MILLION FOR ECOSYSTEM IS NOT $6 MILLION GOING DIRECTLY TO THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS FOR THEM TO JUST GO HIRE PEOPLE.
THOSE FUNDS ARE TO DO PROGRAMMING FOR EMERGING BUSINESSES TO ACCELERATE THEIR COMPANIES WITH THE $20,000 GRANT TO SAY, YOU'RE GONNA INVEST IN 10 WEEKS, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE YOU GET MONEY AS WELL.
ALSO, FOR THE SECOND STAGE COMPANIES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, INVESTING AND GROWING THOSE COMPANIES, IF YOU GET RID OF THAT 6 MILLION, THOSE PROGRAMMING DOLLARS ARE GOING AWAY TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE MONEY THAT WAS ALLOCATED.
THE MAJORITY OF IT IS GOING OUT IN GRANTS, WHETHER IT'S UPFRONT RENT RELIEF OR RELIEF FUNDING, OR IT'S GOING TO BE IN ACCELERATION TRAINING GRANTS, OR IT'S GONNA BE GOING IN THIS PLACE, MAKING FUNDING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TO HELP GET THOSE COMPANIES IN THEIR OWN LOCATIONS AND OUT, OUT OF THEIR HOMES.
WE TOOK A LOT OF TIME COMING UP WITH A UNANIMOUS VOTE FROM OUR GROUP TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
IT HAS NOT BEEN REPRESENTED CORRECTLY, AND YOU'RE MAKING A DECISION BASED ON MISINFORMATION.
AND THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR SOMEBODY WHO SPENDS A LOT OF TIME COMING IN HERE AND ADVOCATING.
[00:10:02]
HELLO EVERYBODY.I AM THE OWNER OF MED WHEELS INCORPORATED AND MY BUSINESS IN THE EAST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO.
I'M ALSO AN SPAC AND I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED.
WE MADE A UNANIMOUS DECISION THAT ECONOMIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PUSHED OVER TO US.
AND I'M NOT GONNA ASK MYSELF THIS QUESTION.
I'M REPRESENTED BY YOU, PHIL VRAN.
DO I WANNA CONTINUE SERVING ON PAC? I COULD BE RUNNING MY BUSINESS RIGHT NOW THAT'S SUFFERING.
MY HOURLY WAGES ARE $20 AN HOUR AND I'M IN HERE ADVOCATING FOR WHAT I, JUST MY DESIRE TO RESIGN.
WHY WOULD I TRUST THE SYSTEM? WHY WE MADE A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK THIS IS, IT'S A KNEE JERK REACTION.
THEY TAKE ALL THE BALLS, ALL THE MARBLES, AND THEY PUT ALL IN ONE BASKET.
WE'VE BEEN GOING TO THAT SAME WELL SINCE NINE 20 AND 21 BECAUSE OF COVID.
WE WANNA GO FEED THE BABIES THAT ARE VENTILATORS.
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO FEED THE BABIES THAT ARE VENTILATORS.
WHAT ABOUT THE TEENAGE COMPANIES THAT ARE STILL CREATING ECONOMIC VALUE? I'M TRYING TO SURVIVE AT $20 AN HOUR.
WHO'S GONNA BE LOOKING OUT FOR MY INTEREST OR THE INTEREST OF EVERY, EVERY OTHER COMPANY? AND YOU FROM HISPANIC CHAMBER, YOU REPRESENT MANY COMPANIES, NOT JUST THE MICROS AND THE BABIES THAT ARE VENTILATORS.
YOU HAVE OTHERS THAT ARE IN LIFE SUPPORT.
YOU HAVE OTHERS THAT ARE JUST NEEDING, YOU KNOW, A SMALL PRESCRIPTION.
WE'RE NOT ADDRESSING THOSE COMPANIES.
I HAVE A REAL ISSUE WITH THIS.
I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT THE ECOSYSTEM, THE WAY THE ECOSYSTEM NEEDS TO BE LOOKED UPON.
AND IF THE, THE, THE SBA MADE A UNANIMOUS DECISION ALL THE TIME AND ENERGY WE PUT INTO THAT.
IF YOU GUYS ARE NOT GONNA VALUE IT, THEN I'M GONNA ASK MYSELF THE QUESTION, WHY STAY IN THE PROCESS? IS IT WORTH IT TO ME? AND IS IT WORTH IT TO EVERY OTHER SMALL BUSINESS THAT IS IN HERE REPRESENTING SMALL BUSINESS? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
I WORK IN CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AT U S A.
FIRST OFF, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR THIS DISCUSSION AND APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TODAY.
THE VOLUNTEERS HERE THAT SIT ON APAC, THE STAFF THAT HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS, YOU KNOW, IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH CITY STAFF AND THE SB UM, THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
I WAS ON THE COMMITTEE FOR THE ECOSYSTEM, UH, WHEN WE WERE PUTTING TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, THE PLAN AND THE, AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF HOW WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD.
ULTIMATELY, WE ARE ALL HERE TO HELP SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES.
YOU KNOW, I'M A A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER.
I'VE WORKED AT WEST SIDE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
I KNOW THE STRUGGLES OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THE CONTINUATION OF, OF WHAT CITY SUPPORT WILL LOOK LIKE DOWN THE ROAD.
AND I DO HOPE THAT YOU ADVOCATE FOR SUPPORT AS A GENERAL LINE ITEM IN THE BUDGET.
THE SAME TIME I KNOW YOU HAVE A DECISION BEFORE YOU FOR IMMEDIATE NEED AS A BUSINESS OWNER.
WE SEE THAT, RIGHT? WE SEE PAYROLL HAVING AN ISSUE.
WE SEE SUPPLY AND, UH, CHAIN DEMAND, UM, ISSUES.
SO REGARDLESS OF, OF WHERE WE ARE AND WE STAND TODAY, I, I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S SUPPORT YOUR TIME HERE TODAY.
UM, AND HOPE THAT THERE'S A DECISION, A COMPROMISE, BECAUSE I DO SEE VALUE IN NOT PUTTING A BANDAID IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE.
BUT WE DO NEED, UH, RELIEF FOR THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES.
UH, IVE RAMIREZ, UH, ROBERT MELVIN WITH SAGE.
UH, MY NAME IS ROBERT MELVIN, PRESIDENT AND C E O OF SAN ANTONIO FOR GROWTH ON THE EAST SIDE.
I'M HERE AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, ACROSS THE CITY.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, I AM A SMALL BUSINESS.
UM, THERE'S A SAYING SUCCESS HAS MANY FATHERS FAILURE HAS, BUT ONE.
AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU, I'VE FAILED A LOT, A LOT.
AND IF YOU'D HAVE ASKED ME THROUGHOUT THAT, THAT PROCESS, WHAT WAS MY NUMBER ONE ISSUE? IT WAS ACCESS TO CAPITAL, RIGHT? BUT IT WAS THROUGH THAT GROWING PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING, BUMPING MY HEAD, GOING AND SEEKING OUT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FROM THE S B D C AND OTHERS LIKE IT THAT HAS PUT ME ON THE TRAJECTORY TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO BETTER MANAGE THIS CASH FLOW.
HOW TO MANAGE, UH, NEW AND EMERGING BUSINESSES.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW TO ESTABLISH A GROWTH MODEL.
SO, AS I AM, I'M HERE AND WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE THINGS THAT I'VE DONE.
WELL, THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT HAVE GOTTEN BEHIND THAT, AND THEY ARE, UH, VERY MUCH THE REASON
[00:15:01]
FOR MY SUCCESS.SO AS WE PULL THIS BACK, AND NOW I REPRESENT A, A CONSTITUENCY BASED IN EAST SAN ANTONIO, IT IS NOT THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY NEED CAPITAL.
THE QUESTION IS, ARE WE MONITORING HOW THE CAPITAL IS GOING OUT AND HOW THAT CAPITAL IS TRANSFORMING THE BUSINESS? RIGHT NOW, WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEING INFLATION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN OVER 40 YEARS.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY IT WAS THE READILY AVAILABILITY OF CASH IN THE MARKETPLACE? PEOPLE WERE LOOKING TO DUMP CASH PLACES.
SO WHEN ALL THAT CASH CAME IN, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRICE TAG? IT WENT UP, RIGHT? AND SO THAT IS INFLATION.
WE, A HEALTHY INFLATION IS ABOUT ONE POINT A HALF TO 2% ANNUALLY.
SO I'M NOT SAYING DON'T GIVE THEM CASH.
I'M NOT SAYING DON'T STEP IN AND FILL THAT GAP.
WHAT I AM SAYING IS, WHY ARE YOU IN THE POSITION THAT YOU'RE IN? AND HOW CAN WE WORK MORE CLOSELY WITH YOU TO ESTABLISH A, A SYSTEM TO ENSURE YOU'RE NOT THERE IN TWO YEARS.
NOW, FOR THE, THE PURPOSES OF CITY OF THIS, UH, COMMITTEE, HOW IS IT THAT WE ARE OKAY WITH PUSHING OUT? AND I KNOW WE HAVE TO GET THE MONEY OUT, BUT LET'S DO IT IN A RESPONSIBLE FASHION.
I'M NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE BACKBONE OF OUR, WHAT WE'VE DETERMINED TO BE THE BACKBONE OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND HOW WE CAN ASSIST THEM IN A MANNER THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE KNOW TO BE PROPER BUSINESS PRACTICES.
HOW ARE Y'ALL FEELING TODAY? IT'S ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED HERE TO MAKE IT IN THE WORLD, TO PUT OUT THE INFORMATION, THE KNOWLEDGE, AND THE BUILDINGS AND ALL THE THINGS HERE.
ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS KNOW FOR THE MIND, FROM THE FOOT, FROM THE WHOLE BODY THAT ARE YOU IN A HUNDRED PERCENT BUSINESSES, LEADERS, WE ARE ALL HERE, RIGHT? OUR JOB IS TO HELP AND PASS OUT INFORMATION THAT IS VERY HELPFUL AND TO GROW AT A SMALL END GOALS THAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THE BIG GOALS THAT WE HAVE SET BEFORE US.
AND, YOU KNOW, EVEN WITHIN YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
OKAY? NOW, I'M A SMALL BUSINESSMAN.
I'VE BEEN IN THIS CITY FOR MANY YEARS, OKAY? THE CITY HAS MY PLANS FOR HELPING NOT ONLY THE STUDENTS, PARENTS, BUSINESSES, AND FOR OUR OWN SELF.
WE HAVE GUNS, WE HAVE MONEY, WE HAVE DRUGS.
ALL OF THESE THINGS IN THE WORLD THAT DON'T DO NOTHING UNTIL THEY GET ACTION.
WHAT IS ACTION? ACTION IS SOMEONE PHYSICALLY PICKING UP A GUN, PICKING UP MONEY OR DRUGS AND UTILIZING THEM? NOW, MY GOAL IS TO PREVENT OR HELP PREVENT THOSE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING SO WE CAN FOCUS ON EACH OTHER.
SO WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER GROW IN BUSINESS AND SHARING AND GIVING AND LOVE.
OKAY? THE NAME OF MY COMPANY IS THE ORIGINAL CAR DOCTOR.
I STARTED BACK IN THE EIGHTIES, 1983, SELF-EMPLOYED, STEPPED OUT ON FAITH.
AND WHO'S, WHO'S GOT YOUR BACK? YOU FIRST, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT YOURSELF FIRST.
OKAY? AND THEN YOU CAN FEEL GOOD AND HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE STARTING OUT TODAY, AND THEN YOU'LL BE ON YOUR WAY.
DO YOU HAVE A VERY BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM TO KIND OF WALK THE COMMITTEE THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATION AND MORE? UM, ALSO EQUALLY IMPORTANT IS THE GRANT CRITERIA THAT WE'VE BEEN, SORRY, THE GRANT CRITERIA THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING SO MUCH ABOUT.
SO ANA'S GONNA WALK US THROUGH THAT VERY QUICKLY AND THEN WE CAN HAVE THE DISCUSSION.
GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR MEMBER OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
AGAIN, HONOR BRADSHAW, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
I'M HERE TO PRESENT ON THE REVISED RECOMMENDATION FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS, UH, SUPPORT, UM, ARPA PLAN.
AS A MATTER OF BACKGROUND, OBVIOUSLY WE WERE HERE A WEEK AGO, OUR LESS, LESS THAN A WEEK AGO ON THE 24TH.
UM, AT THAT TIME, I PRESENTED TO YOU ALL ON THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED ON THE ECOSYSTEM, UM, AND, AND HOW THAT COULD BE PUT INTO ACTION.
AS WELL AS THE CRITERIA WE WERE RECOMMENDING FOR THE COVID IMPACT GRANT PROGRAM.
UM, I'M SORRY, ON THE 24TH, IT WAS THE OVERALL PROPOSAL ON THE 10TH, WHICH WAS JUST LAST WEEK.
[00:20:01]
I PRESENTED ON THOSE ITEMS I JUST MENTIONED.UM, AT THAT TIME, E W D C HAD REQUESTED THAT THE PROPOSAL BE SENT BACK TO SBAC WITH THE CONSIDERATION TO AMEND THE PROPOSAL.
UM, JUST YESTERDAY MET WITH SBAC.
UM, AS THE CHAIR ALLUDED TO, THERE WAS A ROBUST DISCUSSION AMONGST THE COMMISSION.
HOWEVER, NO ACTION WAS TAKEN AT THAT MEETING TO MAKE CHANGES TO THEIR INITIAL RECOMMENDATION.
GIVEN ALL THE FEEDBACK, UM, WE'VE BEEN AT THE LISTENING SESSIONS.
WE'VE HEARD FROM SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, WE'VE HEARD FROM SS A C UM, STAFF.
DOES RECOMMEND AT THIS TIME THAT WE REALLOCATE THE FUNDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
ENHANCEMENTS THE 6.2 MILLION INTO THE COVID IMPACT GRANTS PROGRAM.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE ALSO RECOMMENDING THE ELIMINATION OF THE PROPOSED EMERGENCY FUND AND GRANT PROGRAM, UM, WHICH IS AMOUNTS INTO $925,000 TO REDEPLOY THAT INSTEAD FOR ADDITIONAL OUTREACH TO BE CONDUCTED BY OUR B D O PARTNERS IN SUPPORT OF THE COVID IMPACT GRANTS PROGRAM.
THIS SLIDE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT OUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO WOULD LOOK LIKE MOVING FORWARD, AGAIN, WITH ACCESS TO CAPITAL BEING NOW UP TO $22.6 MILLION.
WITH THE BULK OF THAT $19 MILLION BEING ALLOCATED FOR THE IMPACTS GRANTS PROGRAM, UM, OTHER ALLOCATIONS FOR CAPACITY BUILDING LOCALISM AND GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING WOULD REMAIN THE SAME.
NOW, TO GO IN A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE GRANTS PROGRAM, WHICH I HAD DETAILED ON FRIDAY.
AGAIN, THIS GRANTS PROGRAM IS REALLY INTENDED TO PROVIDE THAT MEANINGFUL RECOVERY ASSISTANCE FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
AGAIN, WE UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES.
WHILE WE MAY NOT HAVE THAT LIVED EXPERIENCE, WE DEFINITELY HAVE LEARNED EXPERIENCE FROM THEM, UM, AND WANT TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL SUPPORT TO ASSIST IN THEIR RECOVERY GOING FORWARD.
THIS SLIDE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE CRITERIA FOR THE PROPOSED GRANT PROGRAM.
UM, I WANT TO FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION TO THOSE ITEMS IN THE GREEN BUCKET AS THIS IS HOW WE WILL DEMONSTRATE THE IMPACT OF C ON THEIR BUSINESS.
SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THE INDUSTRY HAVE EXPERIENCED AT LEAST A, BE IN A CATEGORY THAT EXPERIENCED AT LEAST A 5% EMPLOYMENT LOSS LOCALLY.
STEVE NIVAN, A LOCAL ECONOMIST, TO IDENTIFY THOSE INDUSTRY CODES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY EMPLOYMENT LOSS.
IN ADDITION, WE RECOMMEND THAT THOSE BUSINESSES BE ELIGIBLE, HAVE EXPERIENCED, UM, GROSS REVENUE DECLINES IN BOTH 2020 AND 2021 AS COMPARED TO 2019.
WE FIND IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE THREE DATA POINTS HERE.
AS 2019 CREATES A BASELINE, 2020 DEMONSTRATES THE COVID IMPACT.
AND 2021 WILL WILL HELP US IDENTIFY THOSE BUSINESSES AGAIN, WHO CONTINUE TO BE IMPACTED BY COVID AND PERHAPS HAVE NOT HAD AS QUICK OF A RECOVERY.
IN ADDITION, IN A, IN ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY THOSE BUSINESSES HARDEST HIT, WE ARE RECOMMENDING A MINIMUM 25% IN GROSS REVENUES WHEN COMPARING 2019 TO 2021.
IN ADDITION, YOU SEE OTHER CRITERIA THERE, UH, PRIMARILY THE FIRST ONE BEING THAT THEY MEET THE SS B A SIZE STANDARDS FOR THEIR INDUSTRY.
THIS VARIES ACROSS INDUSTRIES.
UM, AND SO WE WANT TO LEVERAGE THESE S B A S B A SIZE STANDARDS TO BE CONSISTENT AND NOT CREATE AN ARBITRARY THRESHOLD.
UM, WE WILL REQUIRE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED PRIOR TO 2020 WITH DEMONSTRATED REVENUE IN 2019.
UM, AND YOU SEE THE OTHER CRITERIA, AGAIN, BEING LOCATED IN THE CITY, UM, AND NOT HAVING APPLIED FOR OTHER CITY ARPA FUNDED GRANT PROGRAMS. THIS DOES NOT EXCLUDE THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED GRANTS FROM THE CITY VIA THE CARES PROGRAMS. AND YOU SEE A LIST OF EXCLUDED INDUSTRIES ON THE SIDE, A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE IMPACTED INDUSTRIES.
NIVEN, WE IDENTIFIED 43 INDUSTRY CODES.
YOU SEE A SAMPLING OF THEM THERE TO INCLUDE SOME OF THE AREAS THAT NOT ONLY HAVE WE HEARD ANECDOTALLY, BUT AGAIN, WE CAN SEE THROUGH LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT IN THESE SECTORS THAT THEY CONTINUE TO BE IMPACTED BY COVID.
IN TERMS OF THE SCORING CRITERIA AND HOW IT WOULD BE LAID OUT IN A SCORING MATRIX, WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO PRIORITIZE REDUCTION IN GROSS REVENUE AND THOSE INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED THE GREATEST LOSSES, GREATEST LOSSES FOR RECEIVING OF POINTS, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZING THAT COVID HAS NOT IMPACTED OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY EQUALLY WANNA RECOGNIZE THE CHALLENGES FACED BY OUR MINORITY WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS OWNERS, ADDITION TO VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS OWNERS AND DISABLED BUSINESS OWNERS.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE KNOW GEOGRAPHIES ACROSS THE CITY HAVE BEEN UNEQUALLY IMPACTED BY COVID I, AND RECOGNIZING OUR E EQUITY ATLAS CLOSELY ALIGNS WITH MANY OF THOSE COVID IMPACTS WE'VE SEEN ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY WANTING TO APPLY POINTS BASED ON EQUITY SCORE.
IT'S ALSO ALIGNS WELL WITH THE CRITERIA ON IMPACTED CENSUS TRACKS, AND ALSO WANTING TO PRIORITIZE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED, HAVE NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BENEFIT FROM OTHER, OTHER COVID RELIEF PROGRAMS, WHETHER THROUGH THE CITY OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WANTING TO PRIORITIZE, UH, WITH POINTS THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED NO FUNDING AND DECLINING FROM THERE.
AS YOU'LL SEE ON THIS SLIDE, IN TERMS
[00:25:01]
OF PROVIDING THAT MEANINGFUL RELIEF, UH, WE ARE RECOMMENDING, WE ARE RECOMMENDING AWARDS IN THE AMOUNTS YOU SEE HERE, LISTED BASED ON THEIR REDUCTION IN GROSS REVENUE.AGAIN, PRIORITIZING PROVIDING THE MOST ASSISTANCE TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HEAVILY, MOST HEAVILY IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC.
WE ARE ADDITIONALLY RECOMMENDING $10,000 TO BE AVAILABLE TO BUSINESSES WHO ARE LOCATED WITHIN MAJOR CITY INITIATIVE, UH, INITIATED CONSTRUCTION ZONES.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS 19 PROJECTS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY.
YOU SEE JUST A FEW LISTED HERE AGAIN, IN IN OUR LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY, UNDERSTANDING THAT NOT ONLY COVID HAD NEGATIVE IMPACTS, BUT IT WAS A DOUBLE WHAMMY IN SOME CASES WITH SOME OF THESE LARGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND WANTING TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL ASSISTANCE AGAIN.
BUT I HAVE TO EMPHASIZE THAT A BUSINESS WOULD HAVE TO QUALIFY FOR THE, THE BASE PROGRAM, THE COVID IMPACT GRANTS TO BE ELIGIBLE, ELIGIBLE FOR CONSTRUCTION IMPACT FUNDING.
WERE THEY TO BE LOCATED WITHIN ONE OF THESE PROJECTS.
STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE WORK AGAIN WITH LIFTFUND FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THIS GRANT PROGRAM.
AGAIN, YOU SEE THE PROGRAM COMPONENTS LISTED HERE.
UM, HOWEVER, WE RECOGNIZE THAT ADDITIONAL OUTREACH MAY BE NEEDED IN WORKING WITH OUR B D O ALLIANCE PARTNERS, RECOGNIZING THAT, UM, WE NEED TO BE WHERE THE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE.
WE NEED TO BE DOING THAT OUTREACH TO PROVIDE THE ASSISTANCE TO THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
SO WHILE WE ARE, LYFT IS COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH US ON THIS OUTREACH, WE WANT TO AUGMENT THOSE EFFORTS WITH THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING ALLOTTED.
AGAIN, IN TERMS OF TIMELINE, UM, WE, WE DO SENSE THE URGENCY AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NEXT THURSDAY IS OUR LAST COUNCIL MEETING BEFORE THE JULY HIATUS.
SO WE WOULD LOOK TO TAKE FORWARD ACTION ON THE 23RD TO APPROVE THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, THE GRANT CRITERIA, AND AUTHORIZING THE AGREEMENT WITH LIFTFUND FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.
UM, IMMEDIATELY WE WOULD JUMP INTO IMPLEMENTATION MODE WITH LYFT AND WORKING WITH OUR B D O OUTREACH PARTNERS TO, UM, TO WORK ON AGREEMENTS WITH THEM FOR THE NECESSARY OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WITH THE TARGET DATE OF OPENING OUR APPLICATION ON AUGUST 1ST.
UM, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE EXTEND, INITIALLY WE HAD RECOMMENDED CLOSING THE APPLICATION ON THE 15TH, BUT AGAIN, HEARING, HEARING FROM THE B D O ALLIANCE AND THE COMMUNITY EXTENDING IT BY ONE WEEK.
SO THAT DOES NECESSARILY SHIFT OUT ALL OF THESE TIMELINES.
BUT WITH THE GOAL OF, UH, AWARD NOTIFICATION HAPPENING IN EARLY SEPTEMBER WITH THE PROGRAM WRAPPING UP IN NOVEMBER.
AGAIN, NEXT STEPS NEXT THURSDAY, UM, WE WILL BE LOOKING SHOULD E W C, UH, E W D C APPROVE TAKING THIS ITEM FORWARD, GOING TO FULL COUNSEL BEGINNING IMPLEMENTATION IN EARLY JULY, AND THEN PRESENTING IN, UM, IN AUGUST TO E W D C ON THE TIMELINE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE ITEMS OUTSIDE OF THE COVID IMPACT GRANTS PROGRAM.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
UM, STAFF AND I ARE HERE FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, LET'S, UM, LET'S GET INTO DISCUSSION.
COUNCILMAN COURAGE, YOU WANNA JUMP IN? OKAY, THANK YOU.
UM, I'D LIKE TO REFER AGAIN TO THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WE HAD, UH, ONE PAGE THAT SHOWED THE BREAKDOWN OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
COULD, COULD WE SEE THAT AGAIN? IN OTHER WORDS, WHERE THE MONEY WAS GONNA BE GOING TO? YEAH, I THINK IT WAS LIKE SECOND OR THIRD.
UM, SO ALL OF ALL OF THIS WILL TAKE UP THE ENTIRE 31 MILLION, IS THAT CORRECT? AND SO 22,625,000 REALLY REPRESENTS ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT.
67, AROUND 67% BY MY ROUGH CALCULATION.
GIVE OR GIVE OR TAKE A PERCENT.
AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT I FEEL THAT THAT IS, UH, THE RIGHT PORTION THAT SHOULD BE GOING INTO THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE REASON WHY THIS MONEY HAS BEEN PUT FORWARD IS BECAUSE WE WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE RELIEF FUNDING TO BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN SUFFERING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UH, AND ALMOST EVERY BUSINESS PROBABLY HAS.
UH, BUT I, I KNOW TO, TO MY WAY OF THINKING, IT'S A LOT OF THE LEGACY BUSINESSES AND THOSE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE STRUGGLED BUT HAVE MADE IT THROUGH AND STILL ARE WITH US, ARE THE ONES THAT, UH, I HOPE ARE GONNA BE THE BEST RECIPIENTS, THE MOST RECIPIENTS OF THIS FUNDING.
UH, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THAT WHAT WE WANNA DO IS TRY AND HELP A NEW BUSINESS THAT WANTS TO START.
WE'RE GONNA HELP BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND.
[00:30:01]
TO THAT, TO, WITH THAT IN MIND, I DON'T KNOW THAT A LOT OF THESE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN HERE AND THAT HAVE MADE IT THROUGH THE LAST TWO YEARS AND ARE STILL OPERATING NEED TO HAVE THEIR HAND HELD ON HOW THEY SPEND THIS MONEY.I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, AS THE MONEY IS GOING TO BE ALLOCATED, THE COMPANY THAT ASKS FOR THE FUNDING IS GONNA HAVE TO MEET CRITERIA.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN.
THEY'RE NOT GONNA COME AND SAY, I NEED $15,000 OR $25,000 WITHOUT HAVING A PLAN AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THEY NEED IT AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA SPEND IT.
SO, TO ME, MAKING SURE THAT MONEY GETS INTO THE HANDS OF THOSE BUSINESSES WHO HAVE THE EXPERIENCE AND HAVE THE PLAN, BUT HAVE SUFFERED AND CONTINUE THROUGH THIS IS THE MOST, UH, EFFICIENT WAY OF USING THIS MONEY.
NOW, IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THERE AREN'T COMPANIES THAT, THAT WILL NEED ASSISTANCE ALONG THE WAY.
THE LIFT FUND, I THINK, HAS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS AND OBLIGATIONS TO WATCH OVER THE FUNDING TO MAKE SURE IT'S USED THE WAY IT WAS INTENDED.
BUT I THINK THE BDOS ALL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AND A PLACE IN HELPING SOME OF THE COMPANIES THAT, YOU KNOW, MAY COME FORWARD AND SAY, WELL, I WANT THE MONEY, BUT I'M NOT SURE I'M GONNA KNOW HOW TO USE IT.
AND I THINK WE'RE ALLOCATING HOW MUCH FOR THE BDOS TO POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO GET, UH, TO PROVIDE THEIR SERVICES.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING SOME FUNDING BE AVAILABLE, THE, UM, 625,000, BUT THAT'S SPECIFICALLY FOR OUTREACH AND MARKETING OF THE GRANTS, TO MAKE SURE THAT SMALL BUSINESSES KNOW THAT THESE GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO APPLY.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY APPROPRIATE TOO.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I HAD A CONCERN ABOUT WERE THE CRITERIA.
COULD WE GO BACK TO THAT? AND I NOTICED, I GUESS WE'RE STARTING WITH A BUSINESS THAT'S HAD A LOSS OF IT OF 25% OR MORE.
I'M WONDERING IF, IF THAT, UH, REALLY WILL INCLUDE A LOT OF BUSINESSES.
SOME OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES MAY HAVE HAD AN INCOME IN 2019 OF A MILLION DOLLARS.
THEY'VE GENERATED A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF REVENUE.
WE'RE SAYING THAT YOU WOULD HAVE HAVE TO HAVE LOST 25% OF THAT, OR $250,000 TO BE ELIGIBLE TO GET 15 OR 20 OR 25,000.
I THINK THAT'S TOO HIGH OF A BAR.
PERSONALLY, I THINK COMPANIES THAT HAVE, THAT ARE SUFFERING FROM 20% LOSS SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO COME AND ASK FOR THIS.
'CAUSE 20 PERCENT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR THEM TO CONTINUE THEIR OPERATION AND TO HAVE SUFFERED LOSSES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE ONE BAR I THINK SHOULD BE LOWERED TO INCLUDE MORE BUSINESSES AND OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY.
UM, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I REALLY FEEL LIKE WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
'CAUSE OUR OBLIGATION WITH A RPA FUNDING SHOULD BE RELIEF FUNDING FOR LEGACY BUSINESSES THAT CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE, BUT HAVE CONTINUED TO OPERATE AND, AND SUPPORT THIS COMMUNITY.
SO THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS, SIR.
COUNCILMAN CASTILLO? ANY QUESTION? SURE.
UH, AND THANK YOU ANON TEAM FOR THE PRESENTATION AND CONTINUED WORK ON, UH, THIS INITIATIVE.
UH, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DROP BY THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING AND TO LISTEN IN ON THE DEBATE AND CONVERSATION THAT WAS TAKING PLACE ON HOW TO BEST, UH, DISTRIBUTE THESE DOLLARS AND HOW TO, THE RECOMMENDATION TO MOVE FORWARD TO OUR COMMITTEE.
UM, AND I, I HEAR THE CONCERNS OF BOTH, UM, ARGUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, RIGHT? UM, YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.
AND ENSURING THAT WE ARE SUCCESSFULLY FUNDING THE ECOSYSTEM TO ENSURE THAT THOSE FUNDS AND RESOURCES CONTINUE TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO OUR SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO.
UH, WHAT I HEAR FROM SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN DISTRICT FIVE, RIGHT? AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH THE DATA IS WE'RE SEEING ANOTHER WAVE OF COVID COME BACK AROUND AND IT'S DRASTICALLY IMPACTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, WHETHER HAVING THEIR, THEY'RE HAVING TO REDUCE THEIR HOURS 'CAUSE THEY'RE LOSING STAFF 'CAUSE THEY'RE OUT SICK, UM, OR RIGHT, UM, INFLATION AND ISSUES WITH, UM, THEIR ORDERS COMING IN.
UM, SO WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE BEING IMPACTED AND NEED IMMEDIATE RELIEF NOW.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE RECOMMENDATION ON SLIDE FOUR.
I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, UH, OPERATION FACELIFT, RIGHT? BECAUSE WHILE FOLKS ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO KEEP THEIR BUSINESSES OPEN, THERE ARE ALSO OTHER THINGS, UH, THAT ARE HAPPENING.
FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WE HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS THAT WE'RE ASSISTING WITH OPERATION, UH, WITH THE STOREFRONT GRANT RATHER, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE RECEIVING, UM, SOME CODE COMPLIANCE VIOLATIONS FOR THE FRONT OF THEIR RESTAURANT, RIGHT? AND ONE, THEY'RE ALREADY LOSING, UM, REVENUE COMING IN BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD TO CUT BACK THEIR HOURS, BUT NOW THEY HAVE THIS ADDITIONAL BILL, RIGHT, THAT
[00:35:01]
THEY HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF WITH RESTRUCTURING THEIR BUILDING.SO I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THAT.
UM, THE GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING'S IMPORTANT, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE KNOW THIS VIRUS IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO MUTATE, AND WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES CAN PIVOT AND CREATE THOSE PATIOS, WHATEVER'S NECESSARY TO KEEP THEIR BUSINESSES RUNNING.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF WHAT'S BEING RECOMMENDED BY STAFF, AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE WORK OF ALL THE APPOINTEES ON THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, FOR RIGHT, UM, DONATING YOUR TIME TO SUPPORT AND ADVOCATE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, AND THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS, CHAIR.
YOU KNOW, ERIC WALSH IS HERE, UH, AND HE'S SITTING IN THE BACK, BUT I DIDN'T WANT HIM, UH, MISS THE OPPORTUNITY.
ERIC, IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, WHILE YOU'RE HERE, UM, THANKS, COUNCILMAN.
YEAH, I, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, I'D LIKE TO THANK, UH, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND, AND BRENDA AND ANNA.
SO, UM, THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE CRITICAL IN ALL THE COMMITTEES THAT WE'RE HAVING ON HOW THE COUNCIL WILL DISTRIBUTE ARPA.
SO THIS TYPE OF CONVERSATION IS HAPPENING IN TWO OTHER COMMITTEES, UM, AND WE'RE LISTENING TO AS MANY STAKEHOLDERS AS POSSIBLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH ALEX LAST WEEK, UM, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE, FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE AS CONSISTENT AS POSSIBLE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE THREE COUNCIL DIALOGUES LAST FALL AND ALL THE TOWN HALLS WAS SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESS.
AND IT'S THE REASON WHY IN THE FRAMEWORK THAT YOU APPROVED IN MARCH, IT WAS THE SINGLE LARGEST, BIGGEST CATEGORY.
UM, AND SO I KNOW THERE'S SOME CONSTERNATION, UM, BEHIND, UM, THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE TRYING TO REMAIN AS CONSISTENT AS POSSIBLE WITH WHAT THAT EARLY DIRECTION WAS.
UM, AND I, AND I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THAT NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA AGREE.
ULTIMATELY, THE COMMITTEE AND THE COUNCIL WILL DECIDE HOW WE DO THAT.
BUT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S KNOWN.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S NO SHORTAGE OF DIALOGUE AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THAT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAS WITH THE SPAC.
UM, THAT'S WHERE RESPONSIBILITY IS WITH ME.
UM, AND, UM, BUT I'M, I'M SURE THAT, UM, UM, AS YOU SAW IN HONEST PRESENTATION, THE, THE URGENCY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE WITH THIS, MAKING SURE THAT WE GET IT RIGHT, UM, IS SO THAT WE CAN BRING IT TO COUNCIL AND GET IT EXECUTED BEGINNING OF THE MONTH OF JULY DURING THE JULY BREAK.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANY OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS MAY HAVE.
AND I, I WANTED TO THANK THE, THE SBAC COMMITTEE FOR MEETING SO QUICKLY, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, UM, TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR, FOR GETTING BACK TOGETHER ALSO SO QUICKLY.
UM, I AM STILL IN SUPPORT OF THE RECOMMENDATION THAT, THAT THE STAFF, UM, HAS PROVIDED, BUT I DO WANNA BE SENSITIVE TO THE SBA C RIGHT? AND, AND WHAT THEY SAID YESTERDAY.
SO IT FELT LIKE IT WAS, UM, THERE WAS NEEDED CLARIFICATION.
SO I TOO ATTENDED THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION.
WE WERE NOT THERE AT THE SAME TIME.
SO I, I, I CAME IN BEFORE AND THEN COUNCILMAN GOT TO COME IN THERE.
UM, BUT I WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT WHEN I SAW THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WAS BEING PROPOSED FOR, UM, SPECIFICALLY, UH, WHAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT, RIGHT? ECOSYSTEM, WHICH I COMPLETELY BELIEVE IN, UM, I DIDN'T RE I DIDN'T THINK THAT IT'S NOT A FUNCTION OF THE CITY.
AND SO I WAS A LITTLE BIT WORRIED THAT WE WERE USING ARPA FUNDING SPECIFICALLY FOR AN ECOSYSTEM THAT I THINK SHOULD HAVE BEEN FUNDED BY THE CITY A REALLY LONG TIME AGO.
IN FACT, AT THE MEETING, I ASKED ALEX, WHAT WOULD WE HAVE DONE IF WE DIDN'T GET ARPA FUNDING, RIGHT? HOW WOULD WE HAVE SUPPORTED THE ECOSYSTEM? BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE TO SUPPORT THE ECOSYSTEM, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
I THINK THAT THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING GREAT WORK.
UM, I THINK THERE'S STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT OUTSIDE FIRST, UM, SHOULD, SHOULD BE INCLUDED.
THERE'S OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT SHOULD, UM, BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF THAT, UH, ECOSYSTEM AS WELL.
AND HELPING THEM IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT I, I WANT TO COMMIT TO.
I WAS ASKED YESTERDAY AT THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION, IF I COULD GUARANTEE THAT WE WOULD FIND THE MONEY IN THE GENERAL FUND.
AND I SAID, LOOK, I'M, I'M SORRY, BUT I'M NOT LIKE A, A REGULAR POLITICIAN.
I NEVER PROMISE OR GUARANTEE ANYTHING.
AND I CAN LET YOU KNOW THAT I WILL ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF SMALL BUSINESSES BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT'S INCLUDED REGULARLY IN THE ANNUAL BUDGET, BUT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, LATER ON, THE, THE CONVERSATION TURNED INTO, UH, OF COURSE, THE NEED TO SUPPORT THE, THE ECOSYSTEM.
MY WORRY WAS THAT THERE WASN'T, UM, UH, MORE PARTICIPATION FROM SMALL BUSINESSES.
[00:40:01]
SO WE HAD A CONVERSATION, COUNCILMAN EZ AND THE MAYOR AND I WERE, WERE THERE, WE HEARD FROM SMALL BUSINESSES THAT THEY NEEDED MONEY NOW.SO MY INTENT IN MOVING THE MONEY TO ACCESS TO CAPITAL THE LAST GO AROUND WAS BECAUSE THEY NEED THE MONEY.
THAT'S WHAT I KEEP HEARING FROM SMALL BUSINESSES.
IT WASN'T UNTIL PROBABLY THE LAST WEEK OR SO WHERE I STARTED HEARING ABOUT THE, UM, THE, THE NEED FOR THE ECOSYSTEM A LITTLE BIT MORE FROM THE FOLKS WHO ARE ENGAGED IN THESE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND AGAIN, I DO SUPPORT THE WORK THAT THE ORGANIZATIONS DO, BUT I THINK THAT ARPA FUNDING, AS IT WAS INTENDED BY OUR FEDERAL, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WAS AS A RESOURCE FOR RECOVERY.
UM, RESILIENCY, YES, ABSOLUTELY IS GOING TO HAVE TO BE KEY.
INVESTING IN OUR ECOSYSTEM WILL HELP BUILD THAT RESILIENCY.
BUT I EVEN HAD THIS CONVERSATION, UM, WITH ERIC WALSH, UH, LAST WEEK, AND I SAID, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD BE INVESTING, UH, WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN INVESTING IN THE ECOSYSTEM.
AND SO I, I WANNA HEAR FROM, FROM FROM MY FINAL COLLEAGUES STILL BEFORE I, I KIND OF MAKE MY, MY LAST DECISION.
I, UH, HAVE BEEN HEARING FROM BOTH SIDES.
AND I'M, I'M INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE, UH, HAS TO SAY BEFORE I, I MAKE ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION.
BUT AS IS RIGHT NOW, I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO SUPPORT, UM, OUR SMALL BUSINESSES AND OUR SBOS.
AND I THINK THAT THE WAY TO ACHIEVE THAT IS BY REARRANGING THE FUNDING AND HELPING FIND THAT FUND THROUGHOUT THE ANNUAL FUND PROCESS OR THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND PROCESS.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR NOW, CHAIR.
CAN I HAVE THE SBA COMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT ARE PRESENT STAND, PLEASE, IF YOU'RE STILL HERE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME.
I, I WANT TO APOLOGIZE, UM, THAT YOU HAD TO TAKE ANOTHER TWO HOURS OF YOUR DAY TO COME AND ADDRESS THIS GROUP, BUT I TOTALLY, AND I AM HERE BECAUSE OF YOU ALL, AND THE EFFORT AND THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR SERVICE.
UH, WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS, WHEN I GOT ELECTED, WHICH WAS A YEAR AGO, TERRY AND I GOT SWORN IN A YEAR AGO TODAY, I STARTED ASKING ABOUT ARPA DOLLARS.
I KNEW THAT THEY WERE COMING AND WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO, WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO WITH THEM.
AND I GOT A LOT OF ANSWERS, UH, ABOUT THAT INCLUDED WEIGHT.
BUT I DID GET A LOT OF PUSH TO MAKE SURE THAT MY SPAC COMMITTEE MEMBER WAS, WAS FILLED BECAUSE IT WAS, UH, JUDY ANOS FROM SOUTH SIDE FIRST, AND THEN SHE TRANSITIONED OFF.
AND, UH, BECAUSE I WAS UNDER THE, IN UNDERSTANDING THAT SBA WAS GOING TO BE A CRITICAL PART OF HELPING IN THIS PROCESS.
AND WHAT WE HAVE HERE TOTALLY ELIMINATES A WHOLE PRIORITY THAT THEY, WE ASKED THEM, AND THEY WORKED ON FOR I THINK, MONTHS, UH, AND SAYING THAT THAT'S NOT NECESSARY TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT BECAUSE I THINK IT IS A PRIORITY AS A FORMER SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, AS A PERSON THAT HAS TALKED TO THEIR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT DID NOT.
I HAVE A, I HAVE A VERY POPULAR PIZZERIA ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR, ISABELLE, UH, GUZMAN CAME AND HE BASICALLY SAID, FLAT OUT THAT HE DIDN'T APPLY BECAUSE HE DIDN'T TRUST THE GOVERNMENT.
NOW, IF I HAD HAD A SOUTH SIDE FIRST, OR A SAGE, OR EVEN I A T OR ANY OF THOSE THAT SENT THE LETTER, GO OUT AND TELL HIM AND VOUCH FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, HE MIGHT'VE APPLIED FOR THAT LOAN.
SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LEGACY BUSINESSES, THESE LEGACY BUSINESSES AREN'T NECESSARILY THE ONES SIGNING UP FOR THESE GRANTS AND THESE PROGRAMS BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A TRUST THERE.
THAT'S WHY IT WAS SO CRITICAL TO ME THAT WE HAD THAT ECOSYSTEM PIECE.
I HAVE A ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY WHO GOT THE RUNAROUND.
THE, THE WAY SHE HEARD ABOUT IT WAS THROUGH SAWS.
AND THEN SHE COULDN'T HEAR BACK FROM A, UM, A BANK.
I HAD A, A GYM OWNER THAT WENT THROUGH LIFT, DEFEND AND GOT DENIED.
SO I, THERE IS MORE TO THIS THAN, THAN THAN THEN JUST HAVING THEM APPLY FOR THE GRANTS.
AND WHILE I WOULD LOVE TO BELIEVE THAT MY SMALL BUSINESSES AND THE MOM AND POPS AND, AND THE SUBS GOING TO PRIME ARE GONNA BE PRIORITIZED, I KNOW IT'S GONNA BE THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW HOW TO GET THEIR PAPERWORK DONE.
AND THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE, UM, MY LEGACY BUSINESS OWNERS FROM THE SOUTH SIDE.
SO I AM EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED.
UH, I, I MADE MYSELF CLEAR THAT I WAS ALL FOR THEM FOR, FOR YOU LOOKING AT DIFFERENT PLACES.
AND I, I APPLAUD THE SBA FOR SAYING, WE MADE A DECISION, WE'RE GONNA STICK WITH IT.
BUT I'M SO DISAPPOINTED THAT THE CITY CAME BACK AND ELIMINATED IT ALL TOGETHER WITHOUT TRYING TO MOVE SOME FUNDS AROUND
[00:45:01]
FOR THE ECOSYSTEM.I SUPPORT WHAT THE SBA C UH, MOVED FORWARD, OR I SUPPORT AN EFFORT THAT AT LEAST PUTS THE ECOSYSTEM BACK INTO THE ARPA DOLLARS.
UM, WE ARE IN, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THE SUCCESS OF THESE GROUPS WITH THESE GROWTH FUNDS AND LOAN GRANTS.
AND MY FEAR IS THAT I'M GONNA BE ON THE DAES THREE YEARS FROM NOW, AND I'M GOING TO SEE THAT A NUMBER OF BUSINESSES THAT WE PROVIDED LOANS AND GRANTS TO HAVE HAD TO SHUTTER BECAUSE THEY CANNOT, THEY DID NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO, UM, TO FIGHT THIS, THIS FIGHTING INFLATION AS, UM, AS ROBERT BROUGHT UP AND TO, TO NAVIGATE THE COMPETITION THAT WAS THERE BECAUSE WE JUST DIDN'T OFFER THE RESOURCES AND WE DIDN'T GO INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WHAT U T S A DOES, WHAT THE COUNTY DOES, EVEN WHAT THE CITY DOES IS GREAT, BUT WE MAKE THEM COME TO US.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT THE, THE 62, 500, THE 600,000 IS ENOUGH IN MARKETING TO, TO, TO GUARANTEE THAT SUCCESS.
SO I DON'T, I WANT TO SEE LOCALISM GROW, AND WE DON'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH IN THAT TO, SO, UM, I, I, I WAS, UM, I I WON'T BE SUPPORTING THIS AS IT IS, UH, CURRENTLY.
I THINK YOU BROUGHT UP, YOU KNOW, SOME VERY VALID POINTS.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO ASK THE STAFF, COULD YOU BRING UP THE ORIGINAL RECOMMENDATION FROM SPAC FOR US TO LOOK AT? I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A SLIDE ON THAT.
WHY NOT? UM, WE JUST, WE TRIED TO CONDENSE THE PRESENTATION AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO
WELL, I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S A POINT OF CONTENTION RIGHT NOW.
UH, AND I WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOOK AT IT FOR A COMPARISON PURPOSE.
WE CAN, WE CAN PROBABLY PULL ONE UP.
IF YOU GIVE US A FEW MINUTES, WE CAN PROBABLY GET A SLIDE CHAIR.
COULD WE TAKE THE COUNCILWOMAN? HAS IT? NO, I UNDERSTAND THE COUNCILWOMAN DOES, BUT WE ALL CAN'T SEE IT SOMEWHERE.
WE CAN, WE HAVE A SLIDE THAT HAS THE FIVE, UM, THE FIVE PILLARS AND THE AMOUNTS IN EACH OF 'EM.
AND WE CAN PUT THAT UP IN JUST A MINUTE.
CAN WE TAKE A MINUTE FOR THEM TO GET THAT? SURE, SURE.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, MAYBE, YEAH, MAYBE I'LL, I'LL, I'LL FILL SOME OF THE SILENCE WITH, UH, WITH SOME COMMENTS, UH, THAT ARE OTHER WISE OR NOT.
YOU'LL TELL ME LATER IF THEY'RE WISE OR NOT.
UM, UH, SO LAST NIGHT, I, I, I GOT TO ATTEND WITH THE MAYOR AND WITH THE COUNCILMAN, UH, MCGEE RODRIGUEZ.
UM, A, A FASCINATING DISCUSSION, UH, OVER AT, UH, VELOCITY T RTFS OFFICE.
THEY HOSTED IT, BUT IT WAS ORGANIZED BY, UH, OUR FRIENDS OVER AT SAGE, AND THANK YOU, ROBERT, THANK YOU, MICHELLE, FOR, UH, FOR ORGANIZING THAT.
AND IT WAS, UM, AN ALL HANDS ON DECK CALL TO SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, MOSTLY FROM THE EAST SIDE TO COME TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE ACCORDING TO THEM AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CITY DO.
UH, THIS WAS VERY SIMILAR IN FORMAT TO A MEETING THAT YOU REF YOU REFERENCED COUNCILWOMAN THAT, UH, WE HAD, UH, THE MAYOR, YOURSELF, MYSELF, UM, AT MAESTROS HEADQUARTERS WHERE WE CALLED BUSINESSES FROM THE SOUTH SIDE MOSTLY, UH, TO COME TALK TO US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE US DO WITH THESE ARPA DOLLARS.
UM, AND AT THESE MEETINGS, WE SAT ON OUR HANDS AND LISTENED.
AND I, I, I THINK WE HEARD PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING, UH, THAT THE SBA C HEARD AND THE SBA C'S BEEN TELLING US, RIGHT? THAT, UM, AND, AND IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER, WE HEARD ABOUT EACH ONE OF THE FIVE BUCKETS THAT Y'ALL RECOMMENDED, RIGHT? WHAT WAS DEAFENING, HOWEVER, WAS ACCESS TO CAPITAL, ACCESS TO CAPITAL, ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
UM, AND I, I THINK ERIC, YOU AND YOUR TEAM HEARD THAT TOO, RIGHT? WITH ALL OF YOUR DIFFERENT ROUND TABLES.
AND I THINK THAT YOUR RECOMMENDATION IS, IS A REACTION, UH, TO THAT.
UM, AND, AND I COME, I BELIEVE IT COMES FROM THE RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT? UM, AT THE SAME TIME, WE, WE, UH, WHILE WE LISTENED TO Y'ALL'S RECOMMENDATIONS, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, EMPANELED A, UH, A GROUP OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON SMALL BUSINESS, UM, HEADED UP BY ROBERT.
UM, AND ALL OF YOU ARE BUSINESS OWNERS.
AND, UM, I, UH, I BELIEVE YOU AND, UH, WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT, YOU KNOW, A FIFTH BUCKET OF ECOSYSTEM WAS, IS KEY TO MAKING THIS WHOLE THING WORK.
UM, I, I ALSO THINK THAT WE NEED TO, UH, BRING BACK THAT BUCKET.
UM, NOW HOW MUCH IS TO BE IN THAT BUCKET IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO, I'D LIKE TO HEAR, UH, FROM ALL OF YOU, UM, AT THE TABLE TODAY.
UH, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT AS WE'RE, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT WHO TO FUND AND WHAT THESE CRITERIA ARE,
[00:50:01]
ROBERT MELVIN REMINDED ME THAT, YOU KNOW, 50%, UM, OF REVENUE LOST, RIGHT? IN IN 2020.UM, OR I'M SORRY, WHATEVER, WHATEVER.
YOU KNOW, THOSE BUSINESSES OUT THERE, UH, WHO HAVE 50% ARE LOST, ALMOST ALL OF THEM CLOSED DOWN.
UH, AND SO WHAT'S LEFT OF THEM ARE JUST THE ONES WHO WERE ABLE JUST TO HOLD ON WITH THEIR NAILS, RIGHT? UM, AND ARE JUST GASPING.
UH, AND IT'S, IT'S A MIRACLE THAT THEY'RE STILL HERE.
AND SO I, I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE TRIAGING A, YOU KNOW, FOLKS WHO ARE IN TRAUMA, UH, AND ARE JUST BARELY MAKING IT.
AND THAT, BUT FOR THESE GRANTS, THAT'S THE INTENTION HERE.
THEY'LL MAKE IT, RIGHT? THEY'LL, THEY'LL GET A LIFESAVER THROWN AT THEM.
UM, SO, SO THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE GONNA GET THESE GRANTS ARE THE ONES ON THE PRECIPICE, RIGHT? UH, WHO ARE ABOUT TO GET CRUSHED.
AND I MEAN, THE ALTERNATIVE TO NOT GETTING THESE GRANTS FROM MANY OF THESE IS GONNA BE BANKRUPTCY DEFAULTING ON, ON YOUR NOTES.
AND YESTERDAY THE CONVERSATION WAS, UH, PART OF THE CONVERSATION WAS WHAT IS A SMALL BUSINESS, RIGHT? AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE PUTTING PAYROLL ON YOUR CREDIT CARD, YOU'RE, YOU'RE A SMALL BUSINESS, RIGHT? AND, UH, IF YOU'RE GOING HOME AND TELLING YOUR SPOUSE, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BRING HOME $0 TODAY BECAUSE I CAN'T LAY OFF MY WORKERS AND I'M GONNA PAY THEM THEIR SALARY INSTEAD OF US BEING ABLE TO PAY OUR BILLS.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE A SMALL BUSINESS, AND IF YOU'RE HAVING TO BEG YOUR LANDLORD, PLEASE DON'T RAISE MY RENT.
RIGHT? AND JUST PLEASE WORK WITH ME.
AND SO I, I THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HITTING, UM, THE TARGET HERE WITH THESE GRANTS.
WHAT, UM, WHAT I, WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UM, NOW, NOW THAT YOU'VE GOT THESE BUCKETS UP THERE, UH, ALEX IS, UM, AND, AND I'LL, I'LL INVITE THIS DISCUSSION, IS TO WHAT EXTENT, 'CAUSE I THINK YOU'VE HEARD RIGHT, THAT THE ECOSYSTEM BUCKET IS IMPORTANT TO US, AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT COMING OUTTA THIS MEETING, WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN ECOSYSTEM BUCKET.
BUT TO WHAT EXTENT ARE WE WILLING TO TAKE MONEY OUT OF THAT ECOSYSTEM BUCKET AND PUT IT INTO GRANTS, RIGHT? UM, OR JUST LEAVE IT ALONE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN, COURAGE, YOU GOT THE BUCKETS UP ON THE, UP ON THE SCREEN, AND I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT YOU GOTTA SAY.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE'VE ELIMINATED THE ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS IN THE RECOMMENDATION FROM CITY STAFF, BUT WHAT I DIDN'T HEAR, WAS THERE ANY FUTURE RECOMMENDATION FOR FILLING THAT IN FROM ANY OTHER SOURCE? OR IS IT JUST GONE? SO WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS? RIGHT NOW WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE ALLOCATION OF THE AR RPA FUNDS.
SO THEN WE'RE SAYING THAT WE WOULD PUT IN, UH, $600,000 SO THAT THE AGENCIES HAD MONEY TO GO AHEAD AND WORK ON EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THE, THE AVAILABILITY OF THIS FUNDING.
YEAH, AND, AND I HEARD WHAT COUNCILWOMAN SAID, AND I HEARD ALSO WHAT SOME OF THE OTHER SPEAKERS SAID ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT THE BDOS OFFER.
NOW OBVIOUSLY, I BELIEVE A LOT OF THOSE BUSINESSES KNOW WHAT THEY WANNA DO WITH THAT MONEY WHEN THEY GET IT, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY, THEY MAY NOT NEED ADVICE.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF THE SBOS AND THE BDOS DO.
THEY TRY AND OFFER SOUND ADVICE TO HELP THOSE BUSINESSES CONTINUE TO SUCCEED AND GROW.
SO I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY ALLOWANCE OTHER THAN TO ASK THEM TO BE ADVERTISERS FOR OUR PROGRAM, AS OPPOSED TO DOING MORE TO SUPPORT THE BUSINESSES THAT MAY WANT TO COME TO THE PROGRAM.
SO, SO I GUESS THAT'S THE BIGGEST COMMENT THAT, UH, I WANTED TO MAKE AT THIS TIME.
SO, JUST IN RESPONSE TO THAT, I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, AND I KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW EASY IT IS TO FLIP BACK TO THE, THE UPDATED RECOMMENDATION.
WE DO HAVE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS. WE HAVE $1.4 MILLION STILL IN THAT, UM, BUCKET IN THE, IN THE YELLOW CATEGORY.
WE'RE STILL RECOMMENDING THOSE DOLLARS.
AND THAT WOULD SUPPORT PROGRAMS LIKE BACK OFFICE SUPPORT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE KNOW A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES NEED.
WE'RE STILL, UM, FUNDING A PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE, UH, BUSINESSES THAT NEED TO DEVELOP A WEB PRESENCE.
SO THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE COMPONENT WOULD STILL BE, IS STILL PART OF THIS PLAN.
I JUST WONDER IF THAT'S THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT.
I, I, THANK YOU, CHAIR, BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE ECOSYSTEM BROUGHT BACK AT, AT WHATEVER AMOUNT, AND AS I LOOK AT THE, THE YEARS WHERE WE HAD FISCAL YEAR 23, 24, 25, IS I WOULD LIKE, I WOULD'VE LIKED CITY STAFF TO TELL ME WHAT, WHAT IS A GOOD LEVEL IF WE, AND IF WE COULD HAVE COME BACK WITH JUST 3 MILLION FOR THE ECOSYSTEM.
UM, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, ALEX AND BRENDA,
[00:55:01]
YOU KNOW, TOO, THE GROWTH THAT'S COMING ON THE, THE SOUTH SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO, AND I COULD HAVE A CORRIDOR FULL OF FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND CHAIN RESTAURANTS UP AND DOWN.WHAT I WANT, I WANT, I WANT TO HAVE THE ECOSYSTEM LOOK AT WHAT FITS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE PREDICAMENTS I HAVE WITH TOYOTA, LET'S JUST START THERE.
UM, SO THAT, THAT IS WHY I FELT THIS WAS, THIS WAS CRITICAL.
AS WE LOOK AT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, AND WE DO IT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING, BECAUSE IF WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE THESE BUSINESSES FROM THEIR HOMES TO A BRICK AND MORTAR OR, UH, UH, SOME SORT OF STOREFRONT THEIR OWN OR, OR RENTING, HOW DO WE DO THAT IF WE DON'T HAVE, IF, IF WE'RE MISSING THIS PIECE? AND I'M HOPING, AND THIS IS THE OTHER THING, I'M HOPING THAT I CAN CONVINCE 10 OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS TO MAKE THIS A PRIORITY IN A BUDGET YEAR, WHERE THEY'VE ALREADY SAID IN BUDGET WORK SESSIONS THAT STREETS ARE THEIR PRIORITIES.
THAT THIS IS, THIS IS WHERE I'M AT, AND THIS IS WHY I WOULD LIKE THIS PUT BACK AT SOME AMOUNT.
UM, BECAUSE I DID MENTION, I DID UNDER, I DID HEAR THAT WE WANTED MORE, SO IT WASN'T 60 16 MILLION, BUT MILLION, BUT MORE 19 MILLION OR, OR 18 MILLION OR, OR 20 MILLION.
BUT I, THERE'S, THERE ARE OTHER AREAS WE COULD HAVE TAKEN FROM THIS.
AND GEOGRAPHIC PLACE MAKING WAS 20%.
UM, I THINK IN CONJUNCTION IT WOULD BE AN EASY SELL, AN EASIER SELL TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES DURING BUDGET SESSION TO GET THEM TO MAKE SOME ROOM, UH, IN THE BUDGET FOR ECOSYSTEM AND GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING IF WE PUT FORTH AN EFFORT HERE AT, UH, WITH THE ARPA FUNDS.
UH, ALEX OR ANA CAN, FOR EXAMPLE, CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH WHAT THE CONTRACTUAL RESPONSIBILITY, FOR EXAMPLE, OF PROSPER WEST IS RIGHT NOW THAT WE CURRENTLY FUND THROUGH THE, AS A DELICATE AGENCY? LIKE WHAT IS THE EXPECTATION, UM, OF WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY FUNDING THEM TO DO? I'M PROBABLY GONNA ASK ANA TO ANSWER THAT 'CAUSE SHE HAS MORE.
UM, WE'RE CONSTANTLY UPDATING OUR SCOPE OF WORK AND OUR EXPECTATIONS FROM THEM.
WE, WE'VE BEEN SHIFTING, UM, BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR WHEN THE ORGANIZATIONS CAME OVER INTO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
BUT ANNA WORKS VERY CLOSELY WITH ALL THREE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING PROSPER WEST.
SO, WHILE I DON'T HAVE THEIR, THEIR CONTRACTS IN FRONT OF ME, THE GENERALLY, UH, THE EXPECTATION IS THROUGH THOSE AGREEMENTS THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING THAT ONE-ON-ONE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
UM, THEY ARE THERE TO ADVISE AND, AND HELP CONNECT THEM TO OTHER SERVICES.
SO WHILE THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER ALL THEIR QUESTIONS, PERHAPS IT'S CONNECTING THEM WITH THE S B D C, UM, OR WITH, WITH LAUNCH SA TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE, BUT REALLY BEING THAT, THAT FRONT DOOR TO ACCESS SERVICES FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, AND I ASK, RIGHT? 'CAUSE I, I WANNA BE SURE THAT, UM, THE GENERAL PUBLIC KNOWS THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPPORT IS THERE, RIGHT? UM, UM, IF FOLKS REACH OUT, IT IS THERE, UH, AND I SEE THE BREAKDOWN, UH, THANK YOU DR.
ROCHA FOR, FOR PROVIDING US WITH THIS, RIGHT? UH, THE ECOSYSTEM MAPPING IS 200,000 AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PILLARS IDENTIFIED IN THE SA ECOSYSTEM REPORT $6 MILLION.
DO WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT EACH PILLAR, UH, THAT WE HOPE TO IMPLEMENT WOULD COST? AND I ASKED BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD GIVE US AN IDEA OF WHERE TO, TO ADJUST, UH, OR REDUCE WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS IF WE KNOW HOW MUCH PHASE ONE, UH, THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED WOULD COST.
WE, WE HAD NOT BROKEN DOWN THAT THE CATEGORY OF FUNDING FOR THE ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS INTO MORE DETAIL.
THE INTENT WAS TO ISSUE AN R F P, IDENTIFY PRIORITIES AND ISSUE AN R F P, AND HAVE BDOS AND ALL SORTS OF SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS COME BACK AND PROPOSE SOLUTIONS FOR THOSE, THOSE PRIORITIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE REPORT.
YEAH, I THINK GIVEN THE ECOSYSTEM MAPPING, HAVING THE, THE BREAKDOWN, IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO POTENTIALLY WRITE, IF FOLKS ARE LOOKING AT A COMPROMISE TO BRING BACK, UH, ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS.
THE, THE BREAKDOWN OF ECOSYSTEM MAPPING, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, GIVES US SOME ROOM SINCE IT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED AND, UH, MARKED, UM, TO BRING THAT BACK.
AND THEN, UH, BEFORE I, BEFORE I THROW IT OVER TO YOU, LET ME LET POINT SOMETHING OUT.
UM, I THINK, I THINK YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING, ALEX.
AND, UM, NOW IT'S GONNA BE A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHERE WE TAKE IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, PUT THE ECOSYSTEM, UM, BACK UP ON THE SCREEN, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, TO WHAT AMOUNT, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, REASONABLE MINDS ARE GONNA DIFFER ON THIS ONE, BUT I, I WILL TELL YOU WHERE, WHERE I DO NOT WANT TO SEE,
[01:00:01]
AT LEAST ON MY PART, AND Y'ALL DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES, BUT, UH, WHERE I DO NOT WANNA SEE US TAKE MONEY OUT IS IN THE MONEY INVESTED IN SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY OF THESE GRANTS, RIGHT? AND HOW TO APPLY FOR THEM.WE, UH, WE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR LAST NIGHT, UH, FROM MANY OF THESE BUSINESS OWNERS SAYING, I HAD NO IDEA THAT GRANTS WERE AVAILABLE.
I HAD NO IDEA THAT YOU GUYS WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS.
I HAD NO IDEA, RIGHT? THAT THERE'S A DEPARTMENT LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE Y'ALL'S THAT TALKS ABOUT US.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU GUYS WERE LOOKING AT THIS, RIGHT? AND ONE CAN EASILY SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, LIKE, ALL YOUR CHAMBERS KNOW AND ALL THE BDOS KNOW, AND, UH, YOU SHOULD CONNECT MORE WITH YOUR BDOS.
AND WE'VE BEEN PUTTING IT IN OUR, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN PUTTING IT IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, COUNCILMAN, I, WE PUT IT IN OURS, RIGHT? WE'VE BEEN SPREADING THE WORD.
AND SO LIKE, HOW DO WE BREAK THROUGH THAT NOISE AND GET TO Y'ALL? AND ON THE ONE HAND, YOU KNOW, MOST, WE ASKED A, A LITTLE SURVEY LAST NIGHT BY HANDS, HOW MANY OF YOU KNEW ABOUT JOHNNY DEPP? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AMANDA HURD, UH, AND EVERYBODY'S HAND WENT UP, BUT NOBODY, NOBODY KNOWS, RIGHT? BECAUSE JOHN COURAGE KNOWS, RIGHT? BUT NOBODY KNEW, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THESE LIFESAVING RESOURCES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GIVE AWAY.
AND SO, UH, WE OWN THAT RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE MESSAGE OUT.
AND SO, I DO THINK THAT THIS $625,000 FOR GETTING THE WORD OUT IS VITAL.
'CAUSE YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE GRANT PROGRAMS IN THE WORLD, BUT IF THEY'RE COLLECTING DUST ON, ON THE SHELVES, THEN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY GRANT PROGRAMS, RIGHT? SO, UM, THAT'S NUMBER ONE.
NUMBER TWO, UM, YOU KNOW, REGARDING BDOS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO ANSWERS ALL OF OUR CALLS FOR APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS? THE PEOPLE IN DISTRICT NINE AND PEOPLE IN DISTRICT EIGHT, THEY'RE, THEY'RE EXCELLENT, RIGHT? AT FILLING OUT THE APPLICATIONS.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY FIND THE TIME, JOHN, BUT OUR, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DISTRIBUTION OF ALL THE DIFFERENT GRANT PROJECTS THAT WE'VE GOT, IT'S ALWAYS EIGHT AND NINE WHO COME.
AND I ALWAYS LOVE IT THAT MY BUSINESSES ARE FILLING OUT, BUT IT BREAKS MY HEART THAT YOU KNOW, THAT THE PEOPLE IN YOUR DISTRICT AREN'T FILLING IT OUT, AND PEOPLE IN YOUR DISTRICT AREN'T FILLING IT OUT RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO, HOW TO DO THAT OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, TO GET THESE BDOS AND THESE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO SIT THEM DOWN AND FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FOR THEM SOMETIMES, RIGHT? BECAUSE MANY OF THE FOLKS ARE TOO BUSY TO FILL OUT THESE APPLICATIONS BECAUSE THEY'RE BUSY SURVIVING, RIGHT? UM, AND SO WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, TO GET THESE BDOS ACTIVATED IN, IN THAT WAY, RIGHT? WE, WE'VE ALSO GOT THIS PRO PROGRAM, UH, THAT IS VERY HELPFUL, UH, IN, IN BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE TABLE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I, AND I KNOW, UM, ROBERT MELVIN OVER AT SAGE, YOU KNOW THAT I, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND I, BY THE WAY, IF A LAWYER EVER MAKES YOU A GUARANTEE, YOU SHOULD RUN AWAY.
UH, AND IF A LAWYER'S AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, YOU RUN, YOU SHOULD RUN FASTER.
BUT, UM, I GUARANTEE YOU
I, IT, I GUARANTEE YOU IT'LL BREAK MY HEART.
AND I, I WILL HAVE FAILED IF THERE'S MORE BUSINESSES ON THE NORTH SIDE THAT ARE APPLYING FOR THESE GRANTS THAN IF THERE ARE WEST SIDE AND EAST SIDE BUSINESSES, RIGHT? WHICH IS WHY WE NEED TO BE MAKING THESE INVESTMENTS IN THESE BDOS AND THESE BDOS DO MORE THAN JUST, YOU KNOW, HELP SIGN PEOPLE UP FOR PROGRAMS. BUT YOU GUYS EDUCATE, YOU KNOW, THESE BUSINESSES AND GIVE THEM INFORMATION THAT NOBODY'S EVER TAKEN THE TIME TO GIVE THEM.
BUT I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU, THE OTHER THING THAT YOU GUYS DO IS YOU EDUCATE US, RIGHT? I MEAN, US CITY COUNCIL, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, I'VE LEARNED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT FROM OUR FRIENDS AT PROSPER WEST AND FROM SOUTH SIDE FIRST AND FROM MY ESTRO.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE VERY, VERY VALUABLE LESSONS.
AND SO I'M A STUDENT ALSO OF BDOS, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO BE FUNDED.
WITH THAT SAID, UH, COUNCILMAN BROCHE GARCIA, WHAT DO YOU THINK? THANK YOU CHAIR.
AND, UM, SO TO COUNCILMAN CASTILLO'S POINT, AND, AND TO YOUR POINT, UH, ACTUALLY TO YOUR POINT FIRST CHAIR, UM, THE RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT FOUR HAD THE ABSOLUTE WORST, UM, RATE OF APPLICATIONS OF BUSINESSES IN DISTRICT FOUR.
SO I BELIEVE THAT THE SYSTEM SOMEHOW IS NOT WORKING FOR MY RESIDENTS, AND THAT'S WHY I'M SO FOCUSED ON THIS, UM, ON THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I DIDN'T BELIEVE, UM, ORIGINALLY, OR I WAS HESITANT IN THE WAY THAT THE ECOSYSTEM WAS EXPLAINED, IS THAT IT'S, UH, IT'S ASPIRATIONAL, BUT THERE'S NOTHING THAT HAS STRATEGIES THAT I SEE IN THE, IN THE PROGRAM ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
AND I'M LOOKING AT THE EMERGING SOLUTIONS REPORT ON PAGE 26 OF THE DOCUMENT, UM, THAT WE WERE GIVEN A A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.
I STILL SEE ACCESS TO CAPITAL, RIGHT? AND SO, SO AGAIN, SO THIS IS WHY I WAS HESITANT TO SUPPORT AN ECOSYSTEM THAT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE A PLAN, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE SUPPORTING SOMETHING THAT YES, ABSOLUTELY WE NEED TO DO.
IT'S ASPIRATIONAL, BUT ARE WE REALLY READY TO, TO LAUNCH THIS? AND I THINK THAT'S WHY MY HESITATION
[01:05:01]
WAS, SO I KNOW THAT THE ECOSYSTEM INVESTMENTS INCLUDE, UM, FLEXIBLE CAPITAL ADDRESSING CAPITAL DESERTS, REMOVING OBSTACLES TO ACCESSING CAPITAL, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY, STRENGTHENING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION PARTNERS, STANDARDIZING EDUCATION AND DATA COLLECTION, ACCESS AND NETWORKS, ACCEL, ACCELERATING SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, CONNECTING THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND AN ECOSYSTEM COORDINATION.THE NO WRONG FRONT DOOR IS WHAT IT SAYS.
AND SO, UM, AND I'M READING THIS STRAIGHT FROM, FROM FROM OUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION, BUT I DIDN'T GET THAT NECESSARILY FROM THE REPORT.
AND WHAT I SEE, AND I SEE THIS, AND THIS HAPPENS ALL OF THE TIME IN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, WE'RE ALL COMPETING NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ARE ALL COMPETING FOR THE SAME POT OF MONEY.
SO IN ESSENCE, UM, WHEN YOU THINK OF, IN TERMS OF, FOR INSTANCE, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, THEY HAD NEVER COME TOGETHER TO THE TABLE TO MEET, TO FORM, UH, A GROUP THAT WOULD COLLECTIVELY SOLVE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT ALL OF THE BDOS AND SBOS ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE SMALL BUSINESS PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE, THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL PROBLEM.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE CONNECTING TOGETHER.
I HEAR THINGS FROM ONE, I HEAR THINGS FROM ANOTHER.
AND TO ME IT SOUNDS LIKE A COMPETITION.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHY I WAS LIKE, DO WE REALLY NEED TO FUND THIS RIGHT NOW UPFRONT WHERE I DON'T, WHEN I DON'T SEE A CLEAR PLAN, HOWEVER, I DO NEED, THAT'S NO, THAT SMALL BUSINESSES ARE NEEDING THE MONEY NOW AND THEY KNOW AND, AND WE CAN'T HAVE THEM BLEED OUT.
SO WITH THAT, I WAS QUESTIONING WHY, UM, THE ECOSYSTEM MAPPING WOULDN'T BE A PART.
THAT'S WHERE MY, MY FIRST QUESTION STARTED.
HOW COME THE ECOSYSTEM MAPPING IS NOT A PLAN JUST IN GENERAL OF MAYBE THE E D D BUDGET, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND THEN I STARTED THINKING, HOW ELSE CAN, CAN WE DO THIS? BUT AGAIN, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT, THAT I'M, I'M, I'M STILL A LITTLE HESITANT ON SOME OF THOSE AND I KNOW THAT WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT.
BUT ALEX, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE CAPACITY BUILDING PART OF THE, THE PRESENTATION THAT WE GOT LAST TIME, THERE'S ONE POINT, UH, FOUR, $5 MILLION IN THERE.
THERE'S A BACK OFFICE SUPPORT PROGRAM, THERE'S WEB PRESENCE PROGRAM, AND THERE'S LAUNCH SA IMPROVEMENTS.
DO WE NEED THAT ABSOLUTELY NOW, OR WOULD WE BE ABLE TO MAYBE SHIFT SOME OF THAT MONEY INTO THE ECOSYSTEM INSTEAD OF HAVING CAPACITY BUILDING SPECIFICALLY WITH LAUNCH SA? OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD, WE COULD CONSIDER AS PART OF THE GENERAL FUND SINCE THAT'S LAUNCH ESSAY? SO THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS UNDER THE CAPACITY, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS UNDER THE CAPACITY BUILDING COMPONENT, THOSE WERE SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT, UM, WE ALREADY HAD AN IDENTIFIED SOLUTION FOR.
TO YOUR POINT IN, IN THE COMMENTS YOU JUST MADE, WE HAD VERY SPECIFIC FEEDBACK ABOUT AND, AND EXPERIENCE WITH BACK OFFICE OPERATION WITH THE PREVIOUS GRANT PROGRAM.
WHEN IT COMES TO PROVING YOUR LOSSES, YOU NEED TO HAVE HAD THAT DOCUMENTATION TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
SO WE KNOW AND, AND CAN, CAN VERY ACUTELY ARTICULATE THE NEED FOR SOME OF THAT SAME THING WITH THE WEB PRESENCE.
SO THOSE WERE TWO SPECIFIC EXAMPLES THAT WE THOUGHT WERE, UM, DEFINED ENOUGH TO BRING FORWARD AS A, AS A SPECIFIC PROGRAM FOR CONSIDERATION.
AND THEN, ALEX, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, ON THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM, WE HAVE FISCAL YEAR 23 WAS BUDGETED.
IT WAS BUDGETED FOR $3 MILLION FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILLARS IDENTIFIED IN THAT ECOSYSTEM REPORT.
UM, THEN WE HAVE TWO AND THEN ONE, RIGHT? FOR YEAR 24 AND 25 FOR THAT TOTAL OF $6 MILLION.
WHAT WOULD IT DO IF WE SPREAD OUT, UM, A LITTLE BIT? I GUESS IF WE SAY WE INVESTED $2 MILLION IN 23, UM, WHAT WOULD THAT DO FOR THE ECOSYSTEM? UM, IT, IT WOULD JUST BE THE SCALE OF WHAT WE'D BE ABLE TO DO.
YOU SEE IT, YOU SAW IT IN THAT RAMP DOWN, UM, PROJECTION BECAUSE THE IDEA WAS TO INFUSE, START IT WITH A LARGER INFUSION AND THEN SCALE DOWN.
THE EXPECTATION BEING THAT THE ARPA SUPPORT WOULD, WOULD SCALE IN THAT WAY, PREPARING THE ORGANIZATION OR THE ENTITIES TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT WORK ON THEIR OWN.
AND I, I FEEL, I STILL FEEL COMFORTABLE IN MOVING MONEY INTO THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
THERE'S, THERE'S NO WAY THAT I WOULD NOT SUPPORT MOVING MONEY INTO ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
AND SO I WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE MOVING $4.2 MILLION TODAY AT LEAST, AND KEEPING SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER THE $2 MILLION.
BUT I, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM COLLEAGUES TO SEE WHERE, WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO, TO MOVE THAT FINAL ONE.
BECAUSE WHILE I MIGHT THINK THAT CAPACITY BUILDING CAN WAIT UNTIL 2024 AND BE A PART OF THE BUDGET, UM, SOMEBODY ELSE MIGHT THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE COMING FROM, UH, GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING OR FROM, I DON'T KNOW, LOCALISM OR SOMETHING.
AND SO, UM, BUT THOSE ARE MY 2 CENTS TOO.
UH, AND I'LL, I'LL, LET ME ASK IT THIS WAY.
UM, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL POINT SOMETHING OUT AND THAT IS THAT IT'S, UH, 1 45 AND WE HAVE A B SESSION AT TWO, RIGHT? UM, AND IT'S, UH, IT'S DECISION MAKING TIME, RIGHT? AND SO YOU'RE ONE OF THE SMARTEST PEOPLE I KNOW.
[01:10:01]
ALL OF YOU ARE ALL VERY SMART, BUT YOU'RE ONE OF THE SMARTEST PEOPLE I KNOW.HOW DO YOU WANNA MOVE THAT MONEY? WHAT'S YOUR PROPOSAL? UM, AND THEN LET'S MAYBE START FROM THERE.
UH, WELL, SO I THINK IN, IN MY OPINION, I WOULD MOVE THE $4.2 MILLION FROM THE CATEGORY, UH, THAT, THAT WE HAVE FROM THE ECOSYSTEM RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD PROBABLY LOOK TO ERIC WALSH, UH, AND, AND THE TEAM TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER CATEGORY WHERE WE CAN IDENTIFY FOR THE GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING.
UM, AND, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE, THERE, THERE IS ANYTHING.
SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MOVING $4 MILLION, LEAVING IT IN THE GRANTS CATEGORY, LEAVING TWO BEHIND IN THE, UM, THE ECOSYSTEM.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, IN THE PLACEMAKING SIX AND A HALF, 6.2.
I MEAN THE, I THINK THE GOAL, THE STATED GOAL THAT EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO, THE CORNER, EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO ROUND IS HOW TO MAKE THAT THE GRANT PORTION THE MAJORITY OF THE $30.9 MILLION.
I WOULD SAY FOR, UM, UM, FOR PURPOSES OF MAKING SURE THIS STAYS ON, IF YOU WANT TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL MILLION, PULL IT OUT OF THE PLACE MAKING AND LEAVE 5.25 BEHIND, AND WE'LL FIGURE OUT, I MEAN, FRANKLY, THE, THE REASON WHY THAT'S CRITICAL IS BECAUSE THE, THE REPORT THAT EDDS WORKING ON AND THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS, AND WE, WE'VE SEEN AN EARLY LOOK AT IT, IS GONNA MAKE, UM, THAT A, A A A AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING IN THE, IN THE FUTURE.
IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT CORRIDOR REVITALIZATIONS.
AND SO, UM, INDEPENDENT OF AR O THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TACKLE, UM, WITH THE GENERAL BUDGET.
SO THAT'S A SUGGESTION, AND THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING ABOUT THE PLACEMAKING, LIKE ARE THERE OTHER PLACES OTHER THAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT WE CAN PLUG IN TO GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING? BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING, AND I THINK THAT COUNCILMAN CASTILLO'S DISTRICT AND, AND MY DISTRICT AND D THREE ARE PROBABLY SOME OF THE ONES THAT MOST BENEFIT FROM GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING.
SO THERE'S OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO, TO AID IN THAT.
SO IT'S A MATTER OF PRIORITIES, BUT IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN COUPLE INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY FROM PUBLIC WORKS OR I M P MONEY OR THINGS THAT MAKE SENSE, THAT THAT LINE UP WITH THE, THE PLAN THAT BRENDA WILL GET HERE IN 60 DAYS, THEN, THEN I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A REPRIORITIZATION, BUT I, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT ONE IS EASIER FOR US TO FIGURE OUT AND WE'RE LIKELY ABSENT THIS ARPA CONVERSATION, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO FIGURE THAT OUT ANYWAY.
THAT WOULD BE MY, MY RECOMMENDATION, BECAUSE I THINK IT, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, A GIVE AND TAKE FOR EVERYBODY, BUT WE'RE STILL, UH, INVESTING IN ALL OF THE AREAS.
SO I JUST, BECAUSE I, I DON'T, I'M NOT AS FAST THINKING AS YOU, UH, IS THAT, IS THAT A MOTION? YEAH.
WHAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION AGAIN? GIMME THE EXACT, SO MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO ALLOCATE, UH, $4.2 MILLION FROM THE CURRENT ALLOCATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM TO ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
AND WHAT DID I SAY? I HEARD IT.
THE OTHER ONE WAS FROM, UH, A MILLION FROM PLACEMAKING AND A MILLION FOR PLACEMAKING.
UM, OVER TO THE ECOSYSTEM, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S EASIER FOR US TO FIND THE PLACEMAKING FROM MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.
IS THAT YEAH, I I'S, I WOULD SECOND THAT, BUT CHRISTINA HAS TO, SO IT WAS 5.25 I, YEAH, TOTAL.
SO FOUR FROM 4.2 FROM GEO TO
SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA PULL UP THAT SLIDE THAT HAS THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
'CAUSE I THINK, I THINK YOU'RE MOVING FROM TWO DIFFERENT PLACES.
UM, YOU, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, AND BRENDA AND ALEX DOUBLE CHECK ME, YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE MOVING OUT OF THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION TODAY.
YOU'RE MOVING $2 MILLION OUT OF, OUT OF THE GRANTS BACK TO ECOSYSTEM, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU LEAVE THEM BEHIND 4.2.
AND YOU'RE GONNA MOVE A MILLION FROM PLACEMAKING, REDUCE THAT DOWN TO 5.2 MILLION AND MOVE IT BACK INTO GRANTS.
YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LOOKING AT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES, UH, THE SPAC COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION AND MOVING THEM FROM THAT AS OPPOSED TO MOVING IT FROM THE CITY'S RECOMMENDATION.
IT'S THE SAME'S EASIEST TO KIND OF PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
JUST KEEPING IN MIND THAT WHATEVER ACTION WE'RE TAKING, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO UPDATE WHAT WAS APPROVED A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
SO IF YOU WANNA GO BACK TO, TO THAT VERSION.
SO I'M LOOKING FOR THE ONE WITH THE LEAST RISK, AND I AM TALKING ABOUT LEAST RISK IN THAT, IN, IN GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING, WE MIGHT HAVE THE ABILITY TO DRAW FROM OTHER OTHER DEPARTMENTS, BUT THAT'S WHY I WANTED THAT CLARIFICATION.
[01:15:01]
YEAH, I'M, I'M JUST SAYING THAT THE, THE OPPOSITE WAY, COUNCILMAN THAT, UM, BECAUSE THIS IS THE SCREEN, THIS IS THE SHEET WE HAVE.UM, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, AND IT, I THINK IT'S THE SAME THING AS, AS WHAT COUNCILMAN COURAGE IS DESCRIBING.
IT'S, UM, MOVING $2 MILLION OUT OF THE, OUT OF THE 19 UP THERE AND INTO PLACEMAKING OR INTO ECOSYSTEM, RIGHT? 'CAUSE YOU'RE LEAVING 4.25 MILLION BEHIND.
IF WE JUST WORK FROM THE SBA, IT'S EASY TRANSFER.
I'M, I'M JUST TRYING TO RECONCILE THIS SHEET.
AND THEN YOU, I THINK, I THINK THE ISSUE IS, OKAY, WHAT, AND DEBBIE, HELP ME HERE.
SO THIS WAS A PRESENTATION, BUT WE HAVE LAST WEEK'S PRESENTATION THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE, TAKE ACTION ON AND MAKE A MOTION ON.
SO I THINK WHAT COUNCILMAN COURAGE IS TRYING TO SAY, IF WE GO BASED ON THAT LAST MOTION OR THE ORIGINAL MOTION FROM LAST WEEK, IT WOULD BE TO MOVE, UM, WE COULD EITHER MOVE 4.2, UH, MILLION TO, WE MAKE A MOTION TO MOVE 4.2 MILLION FROM THE ECOSYSTEM TO THE, UM, GRANTS.
AND THEN MOVE 1 MILLION FROM PLACEMAKING, RIGHT.
TO, UH, ECOSYSTEMS, RIGHT? TO GRANTS COUNCIL.
SORRY, TO GRANTS TO GRANTS OR ECOSYSTEM.
I SAID TO ECO, I MEANT TO ECOSYSTEM.
SO, SO I THINK THE QUE I'D LIKE TO SEE 3 MILLION GO TO ECOSYSTEM.
IF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES ARE LIKE, LET'S, NO, LET'S JUST SEE 2 MILLION GO TO ECOSYSTEM, I'M OKAY WITH THAT.
THE REASON I LIKE THE PLACEMAKING IDEAS WITH THAT 1 MILLION THAT'S GOING TO OUTDOOR FACELIFTS IN 25 AND THE 1 MILLION GOING TO CORRIDOR PROGRAM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ESSAY TOMORROW AND PUBLIC WORKS BE PART OF THAT BECAUSE I FEEL THAT'S WHERE WE GET THE MOST SAY, AND THAT, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I'M GOING TO WORK ON AT BUDGET, THAT WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE A BUDGET FOR, UH, CORRIDORS AND OPERATION FACELIFT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A 2025 THING.
SO IF WE CAN GET THAT 3 MILLION, OR IF Y'ALL ARE SAYING 2 MILLION WILL WORK FOR THE ECOSYSTEM TO GIVE IT A A, A LIFT, BECAUSE THAT WAS COMING NEXT YEAR IN 23.
AND THAT'S WHY I AM, I LEAN TOWARDS THE 2 MILLION, 3 MILLION, UM, AMOUNT.
BUT I, I KNOW WE ARE ON A TIME CRUNCH, SO THANK YOU CHAIR.
UH, I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH REMOVING THE OPERATION FACELIFT ALLOCATION.
I AM COMFORTABLE WITH THE REALLOCATING THE 2 MILLION FROM THE CORRIDOR PILOT PROGRAM, UH, AND LOOKING TOWARDS, UM, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO SUPPORT THAT PIECE.
UM, BUT I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH REDUCING OPERATION BASE LIFT.
BECAUSE THIS IS HOW POLICY IS FASHION I'D BE, WE'RE WE'RE DOING SOME HORSE TRADING HERE, SO, UH, I WOULD AMEND MY MOTION TO, TO COUNCILWOMAN.
SO FOR, FOR THE, FOR THE BENEFIT OF A POOR CLERK WHO'S GOTTA ACTUALLY WRITE THIS STUFF DOWN, LET'S RESTATE THE MOTION AS AMENDED.
AND I WOULD RECOMMEND, INSTEAD OF SAYING REALLOCATION BASED ON PROPOSAL STATE, YOU JUST MAKE, UM, A MOTION TO ALLOCATE THIS BUSINESS.
I MAKE A MOTION TO ALLOCATE FUNDING FROM THE ECOSYSTEM, SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM TO THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
WE CAN WORK, YEAH, YOU CAN WORK WITH THAT, CHRISTINA.
AND THAT AND HOW MUCH, SORRY, DO I HAVE TO SAY AN AMOUNT? YES.
SO WHEN IT WAS A $4.25 MILLION AND THAT WE, DO, WE CONSIDER, OR THAT ALSO THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM PILOT, $2 MILLION BE REALLOCATED INTO THE, IT'S 1 MILLION.
$1 MILLION BE ALLOCATED INTO THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM FOR THE GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING.
FOR THE GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING.
NO, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT TAKING YES.
YOU WANNA MAKE A MOTION TOO, DEBBIE? THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS DOES IT OR NOT.
MAYBE TO FROM, TO MOVE FROM THE SPAC RECOMMENDATION, MOVE $4.2 MILLION FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM ECOSYSTEM PILLAR INTO GRANTS AND 1 MILLION FROM GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING TO THE ECOSYSTEM PILLAR.
SO THERE WOULD BE A TOTAL OF 3 MILLION IN THE ECOSYSTEM PILLAR, AND THAT'S WITHOUT TAKING ANY MONEY OUT OF OPERATION FACELIFT, WHICH CORRECT.
IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT Y'ALL SAID? DO YOU AGREE? YES.
DID I HEAR A SECOND? YES, I SECOND THAT.
[01:20:01]
DISCUSSION, FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS? NO.SO, UH, BEFORE WE, WELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST TAKE A VOTE.
UH, SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF LIVING WITH THIS COMPROMISE, AYE.
WE STILL NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CRITERIA FOR THE GRANT PROGRAM.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE GUIDELINES FOR THE, UM, FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS.
SECOND, GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND WITH A WEIRD LOOK ON HIS FACE FROM JOHN.
WELL, IT JUST, I THOUGHT 20 20% LOSS SHOULD BE THANK YOU ELIGIBLE RATHER THAN SAYING YOU HAVE TO LOSE 25% OR MORE.
I AN AGREEMENT WITH 20% TO BE ELIGIBLE.
YOU KNOW, I, I I THOUGHT THAT JUST MADE MORE SUFFERING BUSINESSES, UH, HAVE AVAILABILITY TO, YOU KNOW, APPLY.
UM, SO CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO RECONSIDER MY MOTION AND MOVE THAT WE, UM, APPROVE THE GUIDELINES WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE TO 20% INSTEAD OF 25%.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THAT RECOMMENDATION? AYE.
THE AYES HAVE IT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
WHAT YOU SAW TODAY WAS DEMOCRACY IN ACTION.
UH, THIS IS HOW CONSENSUS WORKS.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, WE MAY I HAVE ONE QUESTION.
THE STAFF MAY BE ABLE TO ANSWER THIS.
SINCE WE'RE ALLOCATING $3 MILLION TO STAY IN THE ECOSYSTEM, DOES THAT TEND TO MEAN THAT, THAT THERE'LL BE ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN APPLY FOR THAT? YES.
AND WILL THERE BE A CAP ON HOW MUCH AN ORGANIZATION COULD RECEIVE? WE'RE GONNA COME BACK IN, IN AUGUST TO DISCUSS THE DETAILS OF ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE DIDN'T COMPLETELY IRON OUT TODAY.
THE ONLY THING THAT IS FINAL SO FAR IS THE GRANT PROGRAM.
COULD IT, COULD IT BE UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS FOR AN ORGANIZATION? WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T DECIDED YET.