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E W D C MEETING.WE'RE GONNA TAKE ROLL FIRST, UM, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO INVITE OUR SPEAKERS, UH, TO COME UP AND, UH, SHARE SOME THOUGHTS WITH US.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE CHAIR ELIAS.
[Public Comments ]
NOW WE GOT, WE DO HAVE A LIST OF SPEAKERS.MY REQUEST IS, UH, THAT YOU PLEASE STEP UP TO THE PODIUM, UM, AND REMEMBER, UH, THAT THERE'S A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME TODAY.
AND SO, UH, I, WHAT DO WE USUALLY DO? IT'S THREE MINUTES.
WE, WE USUALLY DO THREE MINUTES, SO PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THAT.
UM, AND WHO'S OUR FIRST JUANITA VERA.
GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AND ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M ASKING IS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AND TO REALLY TAKE A TIME TO ANALYZE AND ADDRESS, IS, ARE WE TRACKING SMALL BUSINESSES AS THEY PARTICIPATE WITH SA READY TO WORK? ARE WE LOOKING AT HOW WE'RE, WE'RE NOT JUST UPSCALING SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES, BUT AS WE DISCUSS UPSCALING, WE WANNA ENSURE THAT AS THESE EMPLOYEES ARE BEING TRAINED, ARE WE BE ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR CURRENT SMALL BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT THEM AS THEY'RE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO RETURN TO THE WORKFORCE? I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW WE'RE TRACKING ON THE IMPLEMENTATIONS ON HOW SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ACTUALLY BENEFITING AND NOT LOSING WORKERS AS THEY ARE UPSCALING.
IN ADDITION, ARE WE ADDRESSING HOW THEY'RE APPLYING THEIR O J T, MEANING ON-THE-JOB TRAINING? THOSE ARE AREAS THAT WE CAN ALSO COMPENSATE TO SUPPORT THE SMALL BUSINESSES.
WE HAVE NUMEROUS PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE SKILL SETS AND THE CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO RETURN TO SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES AND ASSIST IN THE UPSCALING.
WE'VE BEEN VERY RESOURCEFUL WITH THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, BUT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE VERY INNOVATIVE AND RESOURCEFUL AS WE LOOK FOR OTHER AREAS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT, NOT JUST IN CERTIFYING THEM AND TRAINING THEM IN SPECIFIC AREAS.
WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND SEE WHERE THEIR BIGGEST GAPS ARE, WHERE THEIR BIGGEST NEEDS, AND SOMETIMES THEY'RE COMPENSATED BY HAVING THESE O J T EMPLOYEES.
BUT IN DOING SO, WE'RE UPSCALING THEM WITH THE SKILLS BECAUSE SOME OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE TRAINING AND TAKING THE, THE TIME TO TRAIN THESE PEOPLE, TO MAKE THEM PROFICIENT SO THAT THEY TOO CAN MAINTAIN THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES AND SUPPORT THE COMMUNITIES.
SO AGAIN, I ASK YOU TO BE INNOVATIVE, RESOURCEFUL, AND THOUGHT PROVOKING.
DON'T JUST ASK THE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUNDING.
ALSO THINK ABOUT THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE NOT PENDING ON FUNDS.
BEING INNOVATIVE ISN'T JUST LOOKING AT FUNDS.
MY TIME IS JUST AS, AS VALUABLE AS ANY OTHER EMPLOYEE OR EMPLOYER AS THEY PARTNER UP TO ADVANCE DURING THIS TIME, DURING OUR E OUR EMO ECONOMY RECESSION AND SOON TO POSSIBLY WORSEN.
SO AGAIN, MY CALL TO ACTION TO YOU IS BE INNOVATIVE.
TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR O JTS, TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR UPSKILLING, AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THESE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE INVENTING INTO THEIR INVESTING INTO THEIR EMPLOYEES.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
SO I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE EFFORTS OF THE SA READY TO WORK PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON SMALL BUSINESS, AND THIS MEANS A FOCUS MORE ON THE, ON HOW THE EFFORTS ARE DIVIDED BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESSES AND CORPORATIONS.
UH, THE IMPORTANCE IS REALLY NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, ON THE CORPORATIONS OUT THERE, BUT THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS IT, AND BEING ABLE TO TRACK THE SMALL BUSINESS USAGE WITHIN THOSE EFFORTS.
UM, THERE NEEDS TO ALSO BE A FOCUS TO IMPLEMENT A SMALL BUSINESS ON THE JOBB COMPONENTS WHO ARE SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES, LOSING WORKERS THAT ARE UPSCALING AND NOT SOLELY FOCUSED ON UPSKILLING OUR WORKERS.
I'D LIKE TO ALSO UNDERSTAND A SMALL BUSINESS COMPONENT AND FOCUS THAT IS CURRENTLY IN THE SA READY TO WORK PROGRAM AND ITS BOARD OF ADVISORS TO SEE IF THERE IS TRULY AN EMPHASIS ON SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND IF THERE'S A FOCUS ON THAT, RATHER SOLELY ON JUST LARGE CORPORATIONS.
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IF WE CONTINUE TO SOLELY FOCUS ON FEEDING THE LARGE CORPORATIONS, WE'LL HAVE A LOPSIDED ECOSYSTEM THAT HEAVILY BENEFITS CORPORATIONS AND LEAVE SMALL BUSINESSES STILL STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP.THERE'S A NEED TO HAVE A SYNERGY AND A PARALLEL EFFORT WITH SA READY TO WORK THAT LOOKS AT SMALL BUSINESSES AS AN EQUAL VALUE TO LARGE CORPORATIONS.
SIMON S SIMON SALAS, I AT THE PODIUM? YES, SIR.
UH, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT HERE BEFORE YOU ON THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND VITAL FOR OUR YOUTH HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
MY NAME IS, UH, SIMONE GONZALEZ, AND I'M THE C E O FOR GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES.
AND I ALSO SERVE ON THE, OUR PARTNERSHIP BOARD IN THE MID TWO THOUSANDS.
UH, I CHAIRED THE LOCAL WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS BOARD HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND ONE THING THAT WE DID IS WE BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT FOCUSING ON YOUTH AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND PARTNERING WITH OUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
WE ONE OF THE FIRST WORKFORCE BOARDS IN THE STATE TO PROMOTE BETTER INTEGRATION AND PARTNERSHIP.
WE TOOK THAT TO AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND I CHAIRED THE EDUCATIONAL WORKFORCE COMMITTEE FOR THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF WORKFORCE BOARDS, AND WE ADOPTED THAT AGENDA.
SO, UH, PARTNERING WITH, UH, ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT YOUTH DEVELOPMENT HAS NOTHING THAT IS NEW TO THIS REGION OR TO YOU.
YOU'VE DONE BIG THINGS IN THE PAST, AND THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO CONSIDER THIS DAY.
UM, ON BEHALF OF MY PEERS AND MEMBERS OF THE EXCEL BEYOND THE BILL NETWORK SAN ANTONIO, THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT WE'D LIKE TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION.
ONE, IT'S BEEN LONG PROVEN THAT YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SKILLS, THEY NEED TO SUCCEED AND PROSPER WHEN THERE ARE SOUND ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES WHEN THEY'RE ADOPTED BY STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE SERVING THIS COMMUNITY.
AND WHEN THEY ARE CHARGED WITH WORKING WITH THE TRADITIONAL SCHOOL SYSTEM AS WELL AS PARTNERS SUCH AS X EXCEL BEYOND THE BELL, WE KNOW THAT AN EDUCATED, HEALTHY, EMPLOYED, AND CIVICALLY ENGAGED YOUTH, THEY DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH, THEY DRIVE INDIVIDUAL PROSPERITY, AND THEY DRIVE PARTICIPATION AS CITIZENS IN OUR COMMITTEE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT IF WE WANT TO HAVE THEM ENGAGED.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE ASPIRE FOR EVERY YOUNG PERSON IN SAN ANTONIO.
FINALLY, THE STEPS TAKEN TO STRENGTHEN YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND TO, AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT THEM IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROMOTING POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.
UH, GOOD SAMARITAN, ALONG WITH DOZENS OF OTHER PEER AGENCIES WHO SERVE YOUTH, ARE READY AND WILLING TO WORK TOGETHER AND WORK POST PANDEMIC TO DO THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST 18 MONTHS AND BEFORE THAT.
AND THAT IS TO ENHANCE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES TO BE CREATIVE, EFFICIENT AND IN A MANNER THAT IS SUSTAINABLE BY CONTINUING TO EXPERIMENT AND DEVELOP NEW BEST PRACTICES WITH YOUR SUPPORT.
THE $10 MILLION THAT YOU'VE ALLOCATED TO YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED, AND IT'S A GREAT STEP TO MAKING A PARADIGM SHIFT IN HOW WE SUPPORT YOUTH.
AND TO HAVE BOLD OUTCOMES REQUIRES BOLD VISION, WHICH I THINK YOU'VE SET OUT HERE.
AND SO THAT BOLD VISION AND BOLD OUTCOMES ALSO REQUIRES BOLD FINANCIAL SUPPORT.
ONE OF THE THINGS I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT, OTHER THAN THE THINGS THAT YOU, THAT ARE, I THINK WILL BE LAID OUT BY CITY STAFF IN TERMS OF RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH YOU HAVE ASKED THEM TO CONSIDER, IS WE ALSO CONSIDER THE, THE LIVING WAGE FOR EMPLOYEES OF NOT-FOR-PROFITS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN LACKING.
IT'S A WAY TO SUSTAIN THAT SECTOR.
SO AS YOU ASK US TO, UH, ENTERTAIN NEW THINGS, CONSIDER THAT MAKING A REQUIREMENT IN YOUR R F P PROCESS.
MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU.
I, I AM HERE REPRESENTING SAMAT SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AT PORT SAN ANTONIO.
I'M OUR CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER.
AND WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS THE, UH, I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.
YOU CAN IMAGINE COMING FROM A, UH, MUSEUM THAT'S WORKING ON STEM, WE CARE A LOT
[00:10:01]
ABOUT THAT TOPIC.AND WHAT I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO THINK ABOUT AROUND THIS FUNDING IS, FIRST OF ALL, THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL SKILLS FOR STUDENTS.
UH, THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO BE WORKING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT SKILLS, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, RESILIENCE, SELF-EFFICACY.
AND I HOPE THAT AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF THIS FUNDING, YOU'LL BE THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO ENCOURAGE THAT IN YOUTH.
BUT I'D ALSO ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE SYSTEMIC IMPACT AS WELL.
UH, STUDENTS WHO GET A STEM JOB IN SAN ANTONIO HAVE A $30,000 AVERAGE WAGE, UH, HIGHER THAN AVERAGE WAGE IN SAN ANTONIO.
THAT IS THE, THE INCREASE OF A STEM JOB.
SO AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS FUNDING, WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT BOTH THE SHORT TERM IMPACT ON STUDENTS TODAY, AND ALSO HOW TO DEVELOP THEM TO BE SELF-RELIANT, RESILIENT OVER TIME.
AND I HOPE YOU'LL GIVE THIS, UH, THOUGHT AS YOU ARE CONSIDERING HOW TO DISTRIBUTE THIS FUNDING.
UH, I'M SPEAKING SOLELY FOR SAMAT, UH, BUT I DO WANT TO THANK, UH, XCEL BEYOND THE BELL, SAN ANTONIO AND UP PARTNERSHIP FOR MAKING ME AWARE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO COME OUT AND, AND SPEAK TO YOU.
WILLIAM TUCK, RYAN LU, ALIA, HOLLAND.
THOSE ARE ALL THE SPEAKERS, SIR.
THE, UM, THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY OF LEADERS IN THIS ROOM, CERTAINLY AT THIS TABLE, BUT ALL THROUGHOUT THIS ROOM.
AND I JUST, UH, MY REMARKS ARE OUT OF MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT I THINK NO OTHER CITY CAN ACHIEVE.
WE HAVE AN HISTORIC LEADERSHIP ON OUR COUNCIL.
WE HAVE HISTORIC LEADERSHIP IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE HISTORIC LEADERSHIP AT OUR CITY.
AND I THINK AS WE NAVIGATE THIS PROCESS AND LEARN HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS PROCESS ACROSS OUR RESPECTIVE ROLES, WE CAN DO SOME INCREDIBLE THINGS THAT ARE DEEPLY, DEEPLY NEEDED.
I'M THE C E O OF A PARTNERSHIP.
I'M HERE, UH, ON BEHALF OF EXCEL BEYOND THE BELLA NETWORK OF 45 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES THAT SERVE ABOUT 80,000 YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY.
OUR ESTIMATES ARE THAT ONLY ONE IN FIVE YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUR CITY.
SO ONLY ONE IN FIVE OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN EACH OF YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS HAS ACCESS TO THE HIGH QUALITY YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES THEY NEED.
THAT WAS A PRE PANDEMIC ESTIMATE.
THE, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THE, I THINK THE END RESULT THAT WE ALL SHARE IS THAT EVERY YOUNG PERSON AND EVERY FAMILY THAT HAS YOUNG PEOPLE IN EACH OF YOUR DISTRICTS CAN HAVE THE HIGH QUALITY SERVICES THEY NEED, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR STATUS IS OR WHAT THE CHALLENGES THEY ARE.
SO I ALSO APPLAUD YOU FOR THE 10 MILLION YOU'VE INVESTED SO FAR.
I ALSO CHALLENGE YOU AS YOU INFLUENCE OTHER COUNCIL PROCESSES AND OTHER, AND OTHER, UH, PEERS ON COUNCIL.
THE 26 MILLION THAT'S STILL BEING, UH, DECIDED UPON IN MENTAL HEALTH ARE THE ORIGINAL ASK, UH, BASED ON ESTIMATES OF YOUNG PEOPLE'S NEED IN OUR CITY WAS FOR TENS OF MILLIONS.
SO THE 10 MILLION IS VITAL, BUT IT'S ONLY A STARTING PLACE.
SO PLEASE CONSIDER YOUNG PEOPLE AND, UH, IN THE PARALLEL FUND ALLOCATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING APPLY.
JUST A, A GRATEFUL TO COUNCILMAN GRO.
I KNOW WHO'S BEEN DOING SOME OF THAT, AND OTHERS HAVE BEEN THINKING ACROSS THOSE COMMITTEES.
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HAMMERED.
WE CAN'T EMPHASIZE THAT ENOUGH.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE ARE DOZENS OF LEADERS IN THIS ROOM THAT ARE READY TO INNOVATE TOGETHER AND COLLABORATE TOGETHER.
THAT'S ALSO TRUE OF CITY LEADERSHIP ITSELF.
AND SO, AS YOU THINK ABOUT THE DESIGN OF THE 10 MILLION FOR YOUTH THAT'S ALREADY BEEN ALLOCATED, HOW CAN YOU REWARD AND SUPPORT INNOVATION? HOW CAN YOU REWARD AND SUPPORT COLLABORATION FROM FAMILY SUPPORT TO UNIFIED CASE MANAGEMENT, TO SHARED STAFFING MODELS, TO A SHARED VOLUNTEER TRAINING MODEL? THESE AGENCIES WE JUST HAD, WE'VE HAD, WE'VE BEEN MEETING, UH, BY THE DOZENS AROUND FOLKS READY TO WORK TOGETHER TO SHOW UP IN NEW WAYS, BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS AT A NEW SCALE.
AND SO PLEASE REWARD INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION.
UH, PLEASE GIVE AGENCIES THE SPACE TO DREAM AND DRIVE FORWARD NEW WAYS OF WORKING FORWARD TOGETHER THROUGH THESE FUNDS, INCLUDING HOW WE WORK WITH OUR DISTRICTS.
I'LL JUST END WITH ONE PICTURE.
SO IMAGINE EVERY LEADER, EVERY RESIDENT IN EACH OF YOUR DISTRICTS THAT WANTS TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE HAVING A CLEAR PLACE TO GO TO VOLUNTEER WITH THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM OR NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, KNOWING HOW TO GET PLUGGED IN, KNOWING HOW TO SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE, WHETHER IN THEY'RE IN D THREE, D FOUR, D EIGHT, D FIVE, D NINE, BEING ABLE TO SHARE A LANGUAGE ACROSS THOSE RESIDENTS.
THAT'S THE KIND OF INNOVATION THAT YOU CAN BUILD WITH THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT THESE DOLLARS.
UM, SIR, WE HAVE TO, UH, PROVE THE MINUTES.
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I'M SO SORRY.I'M JUST OFF TODAY, AREN'T I? UH, ALL RIGHT.
[Approval of Minutes ]
SO, UH, HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THOSE? I, OKAY.WE'VE GOT, UH, A CHANGE BEFORE WE MAKE A MOTION.
UM, ON THE MINUTES FOR JUNE 24TH, IF WE CAN JUST ADD THE WORD ASKED.
IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENS TO BE ON MINE.
IT'S PAGE FOUR OF FIVE, AND I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU,
BUT WITH THAT, I, WITH THAT CHANGE, THEN I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM JUNE 10TH AND JUNE 15TH.
UM, AND WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN VRAN.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES, PLEASE SAY AYE.
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
HEY, ARORA.IF WE CALL MIKE RAMEY UP THIS TIME.
ALL RIGHT, MIKE, THIS TIME YOU REALLY ARE UP.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE AN UPDATE ON THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
WE GOT A LOT OF EXCITING ACTIVITIES HAPPENING, AND I AM EXCITED TO DIVE INTO 'EM.
OH, I CONTROL IT FROM UP HERE.
ALRIGHT, SO FIRST WE HAVE SOME, UH, POSITIVE STORIES TO SHARE WITH SOME OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN OUR PROGRAM.
UH, FIRST UP, KAON RAMSEY, NO, NO RELATION, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT THROUGH GOING THROUGH A PROGRAM FROM RESTORE EDUCATION.
UH, SHE GRADUATED FROM THAT ADMIN ASSISTANT TRAINING PROGRAM, UM, SERVED BY RESTORE EDUCATION AND IS EMPLOYED BY P N C BANK.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE AUGUSTA AUGUSTUS GARCIA, UH, O J T PARTICIPANT WITH CRUISING KITCHENS, SERVED BY W SS A AND NOW CREATIVE LEAD AT CRUISING KITCHENS, MANAGING SEVERAL EMPLOYEES.
SO THOSE ARE SOME PHENOMENAL SUCCESS STORIES OF HOW THIS PROGRAM TRAINED FOR JOBS HAS IMPACTED LIVES HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, WE HAVE PICKED UP SOME TREMENDOUS MOMENTUM AS FAR AS GETTING PEOPLE PLACED, UH, THROUGH TRAINING AND PLACED IN JOB.
OVER 10,406 PARTICIPANTS SERVED, UH, PRIMARILY, UH, THEY WERE 69%, UH, FEMALE.
UH, AND WE WERE, UH, DEFINITELY, UH, PLEASANTLY, UM, SURPRISED BY THAT RATIO OF FEMALE TO MALE PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE PROGRAM WHERE THAT TREND CONTINUES.
UM, WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES GONNA MAKE IN OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE AS, UH, WOMEN FIND WAYS TO ENTER BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE.
UM, THERE ARE CURRENTLY 1,647 INDIVIDUALS STILL ENROLLED IN TRAINING 1,784, PENDING A TRAINING START DATE.
UM, 3,162 HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THEIR TRAINING PROGRAM WITH A COMPLETION PERCENTAGE FROM THOSE WHO ENTER TRAINING.
THOSE WHO COMPLETED IS ABOUT 83%.
THERE'S ABOUT 1,478 OF THOSE COMPLETERS IN JOB SEARCH.
AND 1,697, ALMOST 1700 HAVE ALREADY BEEN PLACED IN A JOB HERE IN OUR LOCAL AREA.
A LOT OF OUR AGENCIES HERE THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THIS WORK ARE PRESENT WITH US TODAY.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, TREMENDOUS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT GOING ON TO CONTINUE TRAINING FOR JOBS THAT'LL GO AT LEAST THROUGH 2023, UM, WITH, UH, OUR AGENCIES MAKING SURE THAT INDIVIDUALS COMPLETE THEIR TRAINING AND GET PLACED IN THE JOBS.
UH, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF SUCCESSES AS FAR AS JOB PLACEMENT RATES.
UM, FAMILY SERVICES, MA MARY IS HERE.
UM, THEY'RE COMPLETING PEOPLE AT A RATE OF 60, UH, PLACING PEOPLE AT A RATE OF 68%, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL TO HAVE A 68% COMPLETION RATE.
THEN WE HAVE CATHERINE HERE REPRESENTING W S A 72% OF THEIR PARTICIPANTS WHO COMPLETE TRAINING ARE BEING PLACED.
OUR AVERAGE WAGE ACROSS THE BOARD HAS BEEN $15 AN HOUR.
AND, UH, WE'RE EXTREMELY PLEASED WITH THE, UH, THE MOMENTUM THAT THIS PROGRAM HAS AS WE CONTINUE THROUGH, UM, THE YEAR.
SO OVER 900 EMPLOYERS IN THE SAN ANTONIO AREA HAVE EMPLOYED GRADUATES FROM THE TRAIN FOR JOBS SA PROGRAM, METHODIST HOSPITAL LEADING THE WAY, FOLLOWED BY UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM IS NO SURPRISE THAT OUR HEALTHCARE EMPLOYERS ARE TAPPING INTO THIS TALENT PIPELINE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR CRITICAL NEEDS ARE MET.
BUT I'M SUPER PROUD THAT COMING IN THIRD WITH OVER 36 PEOPLE HIRED BY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO WE ARE ABSOLUTELY STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE AND MAKING SURE THAT THESE PARTICIPANTS GET ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY JOBS.
UM, AND, UH, WE'RE DEFINITELY VERY COGNIZANT, UM, OF OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORDS AND ADVOCATING FOR THAT COMMUNITY.
MAKING OUR TOP 10 JR RAMON DEMOLITION A SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYER.
AND OF THOSE OVER 900 EMPLOYERS A GOOD DEAL OF THOSE.
WE DON'T HAVE THE, UM, WE NEVER ASKED THIS QUESTION OF OUR EMPLOYERS, ARE YOU A SMALL, MEDIUM, OR LARGE BUSINESS, BUT A GOOD DEAL OF THOSE KNOW HUNDRED EMPLOYERS, JUST THAT FIRST GLANCE OF
[00:20:01]
WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT 'EM.AT LEAST OVER 40% OF THEM ARE GONNA BE REPRESENTATIVE OF SMALL BUSINESSES HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
FREDERICK FEDER AND MARIE FREDERICK PEREZ, COMPUTER SUPPORT SPECIALISTS SERVE OUR WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
ALAMO EMPLOYED AS A DATA CENTER TECHNICIAN AT MEETING TOMORROW.
UH, SUPER PROUD OF FREDERICK, AS WELL AS MARIE CROUCH, A HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY GRADUATE.
ONE IN FIVE PEOPLE IN SAN ANTONIO DON'T HAVE THAT.
SHE'S ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO GOT HERS THROUGH THIS TRAIN FOR JOBS INITIATIVES THAT IS NOW A MEDICAL ASSISTANT GRADUATE BEING SERVED BY ALAMO COLLEGES.
THANK YOU, XAVIER, FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PARTNERSHIP EMPLOYED BY ADVANCED ALLERGY AND ASTHMA.
SO THOSE IS, THIS IS WHY WE'RE DOING THIS, TO CHANGE THESE PEOPLE'S LIVES, GET THEM ON TO A BETTER PAYING CAREER SO THEY CAN SUSTAIN THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
SO THEN, UH, CELEBRATE CELEBRATORY POINT.
WE HAD JOB FEST BACK ON JUNE 21ST, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP, UM, WITH REPRESENTATIVE GERVIN HAWKINS, THE SPURS, GOODWILL WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, ALAMO BEAR COUNTY, AND A PLETHORA OF FAITH, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
THEY'RE, UM, PRIMARILY ON THE EAST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO FOR OUR YOUTH AGES 16 AND 24.
THERE'S A LOT OF CONVERSATION THIS MORNING ABOUT MAKING SURE WE SERVE OUR YOUTH WELL.
UM, WELL, WE GOT, UH, ABOUT A HUNDRED PLUS EMPLOYERS THAT CAME OUT 130 MORE THAN 500 PARTICIPANTS.
AND, UH, WE'RE VERY HOPEFUL THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME FRUITFUL RESULTS OF THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING JOBS.
UM, IF YOU'RE AT THAT AT AND T CENTER, LOTS OF EXCITEMENT, LOTS OF YOUNG PEOPLE HOPEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF FINDING WORK, EITHER SHORT TERM SUMMER WORK FOR THOSE WHO ARE OUTTA SCHOOL OR LONG-TERM JOBS FOR THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING TO GET PLACED.
UM, SO EXTREMELY HAPPY THAT THIS COALITION CAME TOGETHER AND HAD A, A SUCCESSFUL AND POSITIVE EVENT.
SO, PHENOMENAL PROGRAM THAT ALAMO COLLEGES IS PROPPING UP TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE.
AND, UH, WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE MOMENTUM THAT THIS PROGRAM IS BUILDING, AND HAPPY TO BE A PART OF THIS STORY OF ASSURING THAT THE FUNDING IS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE THOSE LAST DOLLARS THAT THEY NEED, UM, TO GO TO SCHOOL AND NOT HAVE THOSE COSTS THAT ARE A BARRIER FOR MANY OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THEY'VE ALREADY DONE THE PHENOMENAL JOB IN JUST THE VERY BEGINNINGS OF THIS PROGRAM.
UM, WITH OVER 1600, UH, YEAR ONE STUDENTS BEING SERVED, 2,500, UH, YEAR, UH, I'M SORRY, YEAR TWO STUDENTS BEING SERVED, 1600.
THOSE ARE CARRYOVERS FROM THE, FROM LAST YEAR.
AND THEN THIS YEAR, OUR YEAR ONE STUDENTS OF TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVEN, THE CITY HAS SUPPORTED 630 LAST DOLLAR SCHOLARSHIPS.
WE'RE ALREADY AT 98% OF THAT GOAL.
UM, THE FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM ARE ALREADY APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
IT'S 154,000 YEAR, 2 20, 21 FY 20 21, 1 0.1 MILLION, AND FFY 20 22, 2 0.4 MILLION.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING SUCCESS FROM THIS PROGRAM.
PROJECT QUEST, UM, HAD IN OUR GENERAL FUND ACCOUNT, WE KNOW THEY'RE A CONTRACTED PARTNER WITH OUR READY TO WORK PROGRAM, BUT IN OUR GENERAL FUND, UM, ACCOUNT, UH, UH, RELATIONSHIP WITH PROJECT QUEST, THAT'S BEEN ONGOING FOR 30 YEARS NOW.
UM, THEY ARE SERVING AT TODAY, YEAR TO DATE, 651 PARTICIPANTS.
UM, THEY'VE GOT 89 DEGREES ACHIEVED.
CERTIFICATES ARE DEGREES ACHIEVED, WHICH IS RIGHT ON TARGET TO WHAT THEIR GOALS WERE FOR THE YEAR.
UM, THEY'VE GOT 71 PARTICIPANTS EMPLOYED THUS FAR AT 63% OF THEIR GOAL, AND WITH A PHENOMENAL AVERAGE WAGE PLACEMENT RATE OF $22 AND 65 CENTS, WHICH IS, WHICH IS OUTSTANDING.
UM, F Y 22 FUNDING ALREADY PULLED DOWN, 800 HUNDRED 75,000, OR ABOUT 44% OF THEIR PROTECTED BUDGET AMOUNT.
UM, THEY STILL HAVE GOT ABOUT FIVE MONTHS OF EXPENSES TO REPORT, AND THEY ANTICIPATE, UM, HITTING THAT $2 MILLION MARK READY TO WORK.
SO READY TO WORK LAUNCH A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AGO.
WE'VE ALREADY GOT 4,100 APPLICANTS.
UM, JUST TO GIVE Y'ALL SOME PERSPECTIVE ON THAT, 4,100 APPLICANTS, WE'RE ONLY EXPECTING ABOUT 5,600 IN THE FIRST YEAR.
WE'VE GOT 4,100 PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM.
NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR SERVICES LIKE THIS.
THEY WANT TO GET EDUCATED, THEY WANT TO HAVE SKILLS, AND THEY WANT TO GET TO WORK, AND THEY WANT BETTER JOBS, AND THEY WANT GOOD JOBS.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA HELP 'EM TO GET THERE.
OUR PARTNERS ARE GEARED UP AND READY, UM, TO MEET THIS NEED.
AND WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE RESPONSE THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS TO THE READY TO WORK INITIATIVE THUS FAR.
SO IT'S TRULY A COMMUNITY COLLABORATION.
UM, THIS IS TRULY A MOMENT IN TIME THAT WE CAN DO SOMETHING TRULY TRANSFORMATIVE FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT THE PARTNERS AT THE TABLE TO DO THAT WITH ALAMO COLLEGES PROJECT QUEST OR STORE EDUCATION WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
ALAMO BEING OUR PROMPT CONTRACTORS AND OUR MANY SUBCONTRACTORS.
I'VE SEEN NINO HILL WITH CHRYSALIS MINISTRIES SERVING OUR PREVIOUSLY JUSTICE SYSTEM INVOLVED
[00:25:01]
POPULATION.UM, WE'RE GONNA DO SOME GREAT WORK IN ENSURING THAT EVERY SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION THAT NEEDS HELP, WE FIND A WAY TO REACH OUT TO 'EM AND GET THEM SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED TO OVERCOME THOSE BARRIERS AND TO FIND GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT HERE IN OUR CITY.
UM, MARKETING COMMUNITY OUTREACH, UM, HAS BEEN WORKING PHENOMENALLY, AS I SAID, WITH 4,100 PEOPLE ALREADY RUSHING INTO THE DOORS.
UH, CREATIVE NA IS DOING A GREAT JOB.
UH, SA WORKS IS HELPING US TO MARKET TO EMPLOYERS, INCLUDING THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN THAT PLEDGE, GET ENGAGED AND GET INVOLVED.
UH, WE HAVE COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, UH, FROM COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ON TAP.
THE ALAMO AREA COMMUNITY NETWORK HAS BEEN A PHENOMENAL RESOURCE, EVEN IN THE BEGINNING STAGES OF READY TO WORK, PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR REFERRALS TO RESOURCES THAT EXIST IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, TO HELP PEOPLE TO OVERCOME ISSUES SUCH AS SUBSTANCE ABUSE, MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING, UH, DENTAL SERVICES.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IN THE BEGINNING AS THIS PROGRAM WAS BEING LAUNCHED, BUT SOMETIMES A PERSON'S, UH, STATE OF THEIR DENTAL CARE CAN IMPACT THEIR CONFIDENCE.
SO HAVING THEM ACCESS TO QUALITY DENTAL CARE, YOU KNOW, INCREASING THEIR CONFIDENCE, INCREASING THEIR LIKELIHOOD OF DOING WELL IN THOSE INTERVIEWS AND GETTING THAT JOB, UM, WE HAVE A PHENOMENAL THINK TANK, UH, THOUGHT PARTNERS THAT ARE WORKING WITH US TO ENSURE THAT THIS PROGRAM STAYS ON TRACK AND ADJUSTING TO SUCCESSFUL.
UH, THE URBAN EDUCATION INSTITUTE WITH U T S A, OF COURSE, IS OUR PROGRAM EVALUATOR LED BY MIKE.
PHIL REAL, UM, CALCO CONSULTING JOBS FOR THE FUTURE IS A PHENOMENAL THOUGHT PARTNER HELPING US TO TRULY BUILD A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PARTNERS ON BOARD.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT ALIGNMENT IS THERE AND EVERYBODY'S PULLING TOWARDS THAT SAME MARK, AND THEY'RE HELPING US TO DO THAT BY SHARING BEST PRACTICES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SIGNIFY HEALTH, AND OF COURSE, IN THE, THE, UH, SIGNIFY PLATFORM, CENTRALIZED DATA PLATFORM, UM, OPPORTUNITY ACCELERATOR, ANOTHER ORD, NATIONWIDE NATIONAL ORGAN NATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT IS PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON WOMEN OF COLOR WITH CHILDREN IN THEIR HOUSEHOLDS.
AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BARRIERS TO THEM ENGAGING IN THE WORKFORCE, AND HOW CAN WE BETTER SERVE THEM AS THEY'RE MATRICULATING THROUGH THEIR PROCESS IN ORDER TO BE SURE THAT THEY HAVE MORE POSITIVE OUTCOMES? AND EDUCATE, TEXAS IS ANOTHER BIT OF GREAT PARTNER IN HELPING IN THIS ECOSYSTEM, AND I CANNOT, UH, NOT RECOGNIZE RYAN AND UP PARTNERSHIP FOR HELPING US TO SECURE JOBS FOR THE FUTURE, TO GET THEM ON BOARD AND LINKEDIN AND, UH, AND ALLOWING THEM TO PROVIDE THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE PROGRAM.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND UP PARTNERSHIP GREATLY.
AND OF COURSE, OUR ADVISORY BOARD AND SUBCOMMITTEES TRULY MAKING THIS AN EMPLOYER LED INITIATIVE GUIDING AND DIRECTING THIS PROGRAM ALONG THE WAY.
UH, FORMAL MARKETING PLAN, OF COURSE INCLUDES DIGITAL, SOCIAL PRINT.
WE GOT SOME BUS WRAPS, BUS ADVERTISING, I GUESS I SHOULD SAY.
THEY'RE GONNA BE COMING OUT VERY SOON.
YOU START TO SEE THEM ROLLING AROUND THE COMMUNITY, ALONG WITH RADIO, TV AND WEBSITE ADS.
UH, SPANISH OUTREACH THANKS TO COUNCIL MEMBER PAL FOR ITS CONNECTIONS TO THE, UH, THE LOCAL CITY COURT AS WELL AS THE COUNTY COURTS, THE SPECIALTY COURTS.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE WORKING ON PSAS TO HAVE RUN WHILE THEY'RE SITTING IN THE, YOU KNOW, WAITING TO BE SERVED BY THE COURT SYSTEM SO THEY CAN HEAR ABOUT THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM, A PERFECT MATCH, PERFECT MARRIAGE.
UM, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO MAY NEED ASSISTANCE FROM A WORKFORCE AND EDUCATION TRAINING PROGRAM, UM, WHILE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THERE, UM, IN OUR BUILDINGS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY GET THE WORD ABOUT THIS READY TO WORK PROGRAM AND HOW IT CAN HELP 'EM.
UH, COPS METRO, PHENOMENAL PARTNER, THEY'RE GEARING UP TO DO 500 HOME VISITS AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THEIR FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ACCESS INFORMATION AROUND READY TO WORK TO ENSURE THEIR CONGREGATIONS, UM, CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS PROGRAM.
UH, SUMMER CITY COUNCIL EVENTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
ALTON DISTRICTS ARE GONNA BE WORKING TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT OUR PRESENCE IS FELT IN THOSE DISTRICTS AND PEOPLE, UM, THAT ARE YOUR CONSTITUENTS HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT ACCESSING THE PROGRAM.
UH, FALL CHAMBER TOURS, UH, THE CITY MANAGER, UM, IS READY TO GO OUT AND LET OUR BUSINESS PEOPLE KNOW HOW THE PROGRAM IS DOING, HOW THE START HAS BEEN GOING, AND GET THEIR FEEDBACK AND TAKE THEIR ORDERS.
IT SEEMS LIKE TO SAY WE'RE THE BROKER.
UH, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM EMPLOYERS OF WHAT OCCUPATIONS THEY NEED FILLED.
WE CAN WORK WITH OUR TREMENDOUS NETWORK OF PARTNERS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ADVISING THEIR PARTICIPANTS ON WHAT JOBS ARE READILY AVAILABLE HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, INTAKE AND CASE MANAGEMENT, UH, AGAIN, OVER 4,100 APPLICANTS ALREADY, UM, INTO THE PIPELINE.
THEY CAN GO TO READY TO WORK ESSAY.COM, CALL 3 1 1 OR WALK INTO ANY OF OUR SPONSORS OR, UH, THEIR SUB, ANY OUR PRIME AGENCIES OR THEIR SUBCONTRACTORS.
EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT, UH, STRATEGIES TO ORGANIZE FOR EMPLOYER LEADERSHIP AND COLLABORATION FROM THE BEGINNING.
UM, THE STUDENTS' TALENT PIPELINE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK ENDORSED BY THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HELPS TO KEEP US ON TRACK TOWARDS ENSURING THAT EMPLOYERS ARE TRULY STEERING THIS SHIP.
UM, AND, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE OUR FINGER ON THE PULSE OF WHAT THEIR CRITICAL JOB DEMANDS ARE.
SO WE DON'T BUILD BRIDGES TO NOWHERE.
WE ARE CONNECTING PEOPLE TO TRAINING AND EDUCATION PATHWAYS GONNA LEAD TO GOOD QUALITY JOBS HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WANT TO ALIGN AND COMMUNICATE THE JOB REQUIREMENTS.
UM, GET THAT INFORMATION FROM OUR EMPLOYERS, COMMUNICATE THAT TO OUR PARTNERS SO THEY CAN MAKE SURE THAT THAT EDUCATION AND TRAINING PIPELINE IS TIGHTLY ALIGNED.
ANALYZING WHAT THE SOURCES OF TALENT ARE RIGHT NOW FOR THESE EMPLOYERS WHERE THEY'RE FINDING
[00:30:01]
THEIR PEOPLE TODAY, AND THEN GROWING AND EXPANDING THOSE TALENT PIPELINES AS THE NEED DEMANDS.AND THEN, OF COURSE, ENGAGING IN CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, WHICH IS A HALLMARK OF THIS PROGRAM.
WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK, CONSTANTLY LOOKING TO IMPROVE AND MAKE THIS PROGRAM BETTER FOR OUR PARTICIPANTS AND OUR EMPLOYERS.
THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT, UM, THAT SUPPLY AND DEMAND LOOKS LIKE AS IT RELATES TO THE TALENT PIPELINE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK.
AND IT'S ALL ABOUT MAKING THAT BALANCE, BALANCE BETWEEN THE TWO AND FINDING THAT ALIGNMENT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MOST EFFICIENT IN PRODUCING OUR DESIRED OUTCOMES.
WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF, OF, UM, OF COLLABORATIVES ALREADY UNDERWAY.
UM, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AND HEALTHCARE HAVE ALREADY STARTED WITH OUR PARTNER SA WORKS.
UM, THEY'VE BEEN DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB IN PULLING THESE EMPLOYERS TOGETHER, UM, AND ALLOWING THEM TO BEGIN TO PLACE THEIR ORDERS OF WHAT JOBS ARE MOST CRITICAL TO THEM, EXAMINING THAT TALENT PIPELINE OF WHERE THOSE PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM, ENSURING THAT THE SKILLS THAT OUR PARTICIPANTS ARE LEARNING ARE WHAT THEY'RE GONNA ABSOLUTELY NEED.
AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF COLLABORATIVES THAT ARE ON THE WAY, ONE IN CONSTRUCTION THAT WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT WITH THE BOND PASSING, THE AIRPORT EXPANSION.
THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE CITY, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYERS HAVE ACCESS TO THE TALENT THAT THEY NEED IN A TIMELY MANNER.
AND FINANCE AND IT TWO POWERFUL SECTORS HERE IN THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY THAT ARE GROWING AND EXPANDING, WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, THAT THEY'RE ENGAGED AND, UH, HAVE THEIR, THEIR NEEDS IN OUR QUEUE TO BE MET BY OUR PARTICIPANTS AND CONTRACTED AGENCIES AS WELL.
SO, OUR APPROVED TRAINING PROVIDERS, THERE'S 57, UH, LOCAL TRAINING PROVIDERS THAT ARE ENGAGED AND IN OUR TRAINING CATALOG, THAT TRAINING CATALOG IS PRETTY ROBUST.
UM, WITH OVER NEARLY A THOUSAND TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THAT CATALOG WORKING TO GET IT DIGITIZED RIGHT NOW.
IT'S A A P D F THAT HAS SOME LINKS THAT YOU CAN GO TO CERTAIN SECTIONS AND HOP AROUND WORKING TO MAKE, MAKE THAT MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE USER-FRIENDLY FOR OUR PARTICIPANTS.
THAT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT MODEL THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND OUR CASE MANAGERS IS THEY'RE BUILDING THAT EDUCATION AND TRAINING PLAN WITH THAT PARTICIPANT IS HELPING THEM TO NOT BECOME OVERWHELMED BY IT.
THEY'RE GONNA WALK 'EM THROUGH THAT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THEY GET CONNECTED TO THE RIGHT TRAINING THAT'S CONVENIENT AND MOST CONDUCIVE TO THEM ACHIEVING THE OUTCOMES OF THEIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING PLAN.
UM, AGAIN, I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT CALCO, UH, OPPORTUNITY ACCELERATOR, U T S A, CHASE JOBS FOR THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU AGAIN, UP PARTNERSHIP AND, UH, EDUCATE TEXAS.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND I'M HAPPY TO ADDRESS ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
UM, DO WE, DO WE HAVE A AGE RANGE OF THE APPLICANTS, UH, FOR READY TO WORK YET? UM, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION AS OF YET.
UM, BUT WE CAN GET THAT TO YOU, GET IT BACK TO THE, UH, THE GROUP, AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY WE DON'T HAVE IT YET.
UM, BECAUSE WHEN THEY APPLY, LIKE THAT'S JUST THE INITIAL PHASE OF IT, WE'RE WORKING 'EM THROUGH THAT PIPELINE AND INTO OUR CENTRAL DATA PLATFORM.
AND, UH, ONCE THEY GET INTO, UM, SIGNIFY THE SIGNIFY SYSTEM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PULL THOSE REPORTS OUT AND, UH, BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE NUMBERS FOR YOU.
UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE GET THAT.
AND, AND WE LOOK AT, UM, OUR SENIORS, OUR OVER OVER 55, UH, AND SEE IF WE CAN'T LEVERAGE MORE PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER GROUPS TO THOSE REENTERING THE WORKFORCE NOW, WITH THE INFLATION THE WAY IT IS.
UH, THOSE THAT THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA RETIRE
SO I, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT INFORMATION.
I THINK THIS IS A GREAT START.
I THINK WE HAVE, UM, JUST AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, TO, UH, CHANGE THE WAY WE LOOK AT THE WORKFORCE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND YOU, YOU AND I HAVE HAD THAT CONVERSATION OF WHAT, WHAT THAT'S GOING TO TAKE AND WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
AND I'M SO EXCITED THAT ALL THE YOUTH, UH, THOSE THAT YOU, UH, WORK WITH THE YOUTH SERVICES ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA BE A CRITICAL PART OF THAT.
BUT I THINK THIS IS A GREAT START.
AND, UM, I FEEL LIKE EVERYTHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS COMMITTEE, YOU HAVE HEARD AND DONE, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND, UM, I'VE, I'VE HEARD SOME OF THIS PRESENTATION.
I STILL HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, BUT FIRST, I WENT TO THE CITY WEBSITE YESTERDAY, I HAD SOMEONE ASK ME, UM, DO YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN SEND A FRIEND WHO IS LOOKING FOR THIS CITY'S TRAINING? AND I SAID, YEAH, JUST SEND THEM TO THE FRONT PAGE OF THE CITY WEBSITE, BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WAS TOLD, AND IT'S NOT LINKED ON THERE.
UM, AND SO JUST F Y I, I THINK THAT'S THE FIRST THING.
LIKE THAT'S ALWAYS WHAT I TELL.
LIKE DURING COVID, DURING EVERYTHING, LIKE JUST GO TO CITI WEBSITE, THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WILL BE UPFRONT.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO HAVE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING STILL UP THERE, RIGHT? SO IT'S PASSED, SO MAYBE WE COULD TAKE THAT CHUNK.
THERE'S ALWAYS PRIORITIES, RIGHT? AND AS FAR AS IT SAYING, WE CAN'T HAVE EVERYTHING ON THE FRONT PAGE.
THIS IS OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL, OR SORRY, THIS IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT PROGRAM RIGHT NOW TO ME, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE THE RESIDENTS VOTED ON IT.
[00:35:01]
YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT, I'M PRETTY SURE ANY ONE OF US WOULD BE WILLING TO SAY, NO, THIS IS IMPORTANT TO US.SO, UM, SO THAT'S ONE RECOMMENDATION.
I DID GO TO THE, THE READY TO WORK, UM, ESSAY, ESSAY.COM PAGE.
THE SPANISH TRANSLATION IS STILL, I FEEL LIKE ALMOST GOOGLE TRANSLATED.
UM, BUT THERE'S STILL SOME WORK.
AND I KNOW THAT I HELPED OUT WITH THE SPANISH LANGUAGE PIECES FOR PROMOTION AND MARKETING, BUT NOT ON THE WEBSITE.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S WORKING ON THE WEBSITE, BUT IT'S GONNA NEED A LOT OF WORK STILL.
F Y I AND THEN, UM, QUESTION, SORRY, I KNOW MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE OVER HERE IS, IS LAUGHING.
UM, BUT THE VETERANS, UH, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, JUST, UH, JUANITA
AND SO, UM, SHE JUST, UH, RE WAS ASKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, UM, HOW WE ARE CONNECTING WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT GET VETERANS INTO JOBS.
SO CAN YOU, UM, WALK US THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN I'LL JUST HAVE A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS AND I'LL EMAIL YOU ALL MY OTHER QUESTIONS.
UM, WE WORK VERY TIGHTLY WITH GENERAL AYALA AND, UH, HE HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS RESOURCE IN HELPING US TO GET CONNECTED TO THAT COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, THEY HAVE, WE HAVE A, A STAFF MEMBER THAT ATTENDS THEIR MONTHLY MEETINGS AND KEEPS THEM ABREAST AND INFORMED OF READY TO WORK PROGRAM, ESPECIALLY HOPING TO CONNECT THEIR SPOUSES.
UM, THAT IS A UNDERSERVED GROUP IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE KNOW THE SERVICE MEMBERS COME AND, YOU KNOW, AND, BUT THEY BRING FAMILY MEMBERS WITH THEM.
SO WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO CONNECT THEIR SPOUSES INTO THE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE A GRANT, UH, A REQUEST FOR FUNDING, UM, TO STATE REPRESENTATIVE TONY GONZALEZ TO HELP TO REALLY HONE IN ON THE VETERANS AND THEIR SPOUSES IN OUR COMMUNITY AND GETTING THEM INFORMED AND CONNECTED TO THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
SO IT IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF OUR TARGETED AUDIENCES.
AND HAVE YOU, UM, GONE TO THE MEETINGS FOR THE, UH, VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR THE CITY? YES, MA'AM.
UM, AND THEN ARE WE GONNA RECEIVE A, A BREAKDOWN OF PARTICIPANTS PER ZIP CODE OR, OR PER DISTRICT COUNCIL DISTRICT? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
AND THAT'S FOR TRAIN FOR JOBS, AND THEN I KNOW WE'RE WORKING ON A DASHBOARD FOR READY TO WORK.
SO WE'LL GET TO SEE THAT IMMEDIATELY.
UM, AND THEN MY, MY OTHER QUESTION SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT, UH, SO THE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT QUALIFY FOR TRAIN FOR JOBS OR MAYBE WHO JUST DID NOT COMPLETE EVEN ENROLLMENT OR TRAINING, ARE WE REACHING OUT TO THOSE PEOPLE AS WELL TO GET THEM TO POSSIBLY LOOK INTO READY TO WORK? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, THE LOW HANGING FRUIT MARKETING GROUP, THE ONES WHO DIDN'T, FOR WHATEVER REASON, COMPLETE THE PROCESS, WANNA TRY AND GET 'EM REENGAGED.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, A TOTAL, IT LOOKS LIKE ON TRAIN FOR JOBS, THERE'S A TOTAL OF 10,406 PARTICIPANTS.
THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS THAT WERE, ARE THEY ON HOLD? ARE THEY AWAITING TRAINING? DID THEY WITHDRAW? DO WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE IN LINE? I'M ASSUMING THE MAJORITY OF THEM WOULD DR.
THEY EITHER SAID IT WASN'T THE RIGHT TIME FOR THEM, OR DECIDED THEY DIDN'T WANT TO CONTINUE FOR WHATEVER REASON, OR THEY FOUND A JOB, WHICH IS ALSO A GOOD THING.
UM, BUT WE'VE GOT ABOUT, UH, A LITTLE OVER 1500, UM, PEOPLE THAT ARE STILL AWAITING THE START OF THEIR TRAINING PROGRAM.
SO THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE ALSO IS, IS IN THAT PIPELINE WAITING TO BE SERVED AS WELL.
AND DO YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF THE MOST IN DEMAND WRAPAROUND SERVICES? SO DO WE KNOW IF IT'S RENT OR UTILITY ASSISTANCE OR CHILDCARE, TRANSPORTATION? DO YOU HAVE THAT BREAKDOWN? UM, WE DO NOT HAVE THAT BREAKDOWN, BUT ANECDOTALLY, UM, CHILDCARE AND TRANSPORTATION ARE THE TOP TWO.
AND I KNOW WHAT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, ALAMO CONCENTRATES A LOT.
I THINK I MENTIONED THAT THEY, UM, HAD TO RETURN SOME FUNDS, WHICH WAS VERY STRANGE.
SO I THINK THAT THERE'S A MARKETING MISS THERE AS WELL.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, I'LL SEND YOU THE OTHER QUESTIONS SO FOR, SO THAT MY OTHER COLLEAGUES CAN ASK THEIR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU MIKE FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M ALWAYS PLEASED WHEN I SEE JR RAMON COME UP IN THE TOP 10, UH, EMPLOYERS HIRING FOLKS, UH, THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, RIGHT? I KNOW WE'RE HAVING A LARGER CONVERSATION ABOUT A DECONSTRUCTION ORDINANCE, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE CREATION OF MORE GOOD CONSTRUCTION JOBS.
SO ALWAYS PLEASED TO SEE THEM, UH, HIRING AND BRINGING IN THOSE JOBS BECAUSE IT ALSO MEETS OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING GOALS, RIGHT? SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY LAYER AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO CHIP AWAY AT NOT ONLY, UM, ENSURING THAT WE'RE HIRING FOLKS AND FOLKS ARE GETTING BACK TO WORK, BUT WE'RE ALSO ADDRESSING THE HOUSING CRISIS AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, I HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION AS WELL.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE THE DISTRICT BY DISTRICT BREAKDOWN IF WE CAN RECEIVE THAT.
AND ANOTHER PIECE THAT YOU HIT ON THAT I WAS PLEASED TO HEAR, RIGHT, AS YOU TOUCHED ON HEALTH AND DENTAL HEALTH IN PARTICULAR, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE HEARD FROM MY COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUENTS AS A BARRIER.
SO I'M REALLY PLEASED TO HEAR, UM, UH, THAT Y'ALL HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT AS A GAP AND HAVE IDENTIFIED A PARTNER TO HELP ADDRESS THAT.
UM, I HAVE, MY, MY QUESTION IS, ARE WE REACHING OUT TO SOME OF OUR LOCAL UNIONS AND HOW HAVE THEY BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS? I KNOW THEY ALSO HAVE, UH, JOB TRAINING, SO ON AND SO FORTH, AND WE KNOW THEY PAY OVER $15 AN HOUR.
HAVE WE REACHED OUT TO THEM? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, WE'RE REACHING OUT TO SOME OF THE UNIONS, ONE PARTICULARLY THAT'S VERY INVOLVED, THE I B
[00:40:01]
E W THROUGH ULTIMATE ELECTRIC MM-HMM.UM, THERE'S A MEMBER OF ULTIMATE ELECTRIC ON OUR EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT SUBCOMMITTEE.
AND WE'RE LOOKING TO GROW AND EXPAND THOSE APPRENTICESHIP OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE UNION APPRENTICESHIP OPPORTUNITIES, BECAUSE YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THE BENEFITS THAT THEY PROVIDE, UM, TO, UH, EMPLOYEES ARE SOMETHING THAT WILL HELP TO MOVE THE NEEDLE QUICKER.
I KNOW I SEE LEADERSHIP, MARY FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLACES DOING SOME APPRENTICESHIPS AS WELL.
UM, AND WE KNOW THIS IS WHAT, UH, OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE CALLING US ABOUT.
SO I'M, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT THERE'S THAT COLLABORATION AND EFFORT OF INCLUDING OUR UNIONS.
UM, DO WE KNOW IF WE'RE INCLUDING SAGE OR PROSPER WEST IN THIS PROCESS? IF SO, WHAT IS THEIR ROLE? YEAH, SAGE IS A PHENOMENAL PARTNER.
UM, THEY HELP US TO, OF COURSE, GET THE WORD OUT TO THEIR NETWORKS AND THEIR COMMUNITY, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ENGAGED, UM, IN WITH, ON THE FRONT LINES, WITH THE PEOPLE THAT THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH AND MAKING THEM AWARE OF THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
UM, ROBERT MELVIN AND, UH, MICHELLE UGALI HAVE BEEN PHENOMENAL PARTNERS.
UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH PROSPER WEST.
UH, THEY'RE ALSO IN OUR NETWORK OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE PROLIFERATE OUR INFORMATION TO, TO SHARE INTO THEIR NETWORKS AS WELL.
HOW HAS THAT WORKED? IT'S BEEN A COMBINATION.
UM, A LOT OF THE AGENCIES REACH OUT AND WE ALSO ACTIVELY REACH OUT TO THEM AS WELL.
UM, IT'S TRULY GONNA TAKE THE WHOLE COMMUNITY CONNECTED TOGETHER TO MAKE IT WORK.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE OPEN TO PARTNER WITH EVERYBODY.
AND, UM, MY, MY LAST QUESTION IS, WITH THE JOBS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED, UM, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR US TO HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT PROGRAM THEY WENT THROUGH SO THAT WAY WE CAN LEARN WHICH PROGRAMMING IS EFFECTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL? ABSOLUTELY.
NEED A LITTLE PUSH? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, I HAVE TO CONCUR WITH, UH, WITH COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA BROUGHT UP ABOUT NOT SEEING ANYTHING APPARENT ABOUT VETERANS BEING INVOLVED.
AND, UH, SO MAYBE IT WAS AN OVERSIGHT, BUT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU SHOW WHO YOUR COLLABORATIVE ARE, ARE YOU SHOW YOUR MARKETING GROUPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD LIKE TO REALLY SEE THAT THERE'S A STRONG EFFORT OVER THERE.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF VETS, THERE'S A LOT OF FAMILIES OF ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY THAT ARE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE PART OF THIS PROCESS.
THE OTHER THING IS, I WAS THINKING ABOUT MARKETING OR, OR TRYING TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKELY CANDIDATES FOR THESE PROGRAMS. AND REALLY, I THINK THAT WE OUGHT TO BE WORKING THROUGH THE SCHOOLS MORE.
AND BY THAT I MEAN COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS AND THE SAN ANTONIO EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP.
BOTH OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE PEOPLE IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO, EITHER HELPING THOSE WHO HAVE SPECIFIC NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, TALKING WITH THEM ABOUT WHAT ARE THEIR FAMILY NEEDS TOO, SO THAT MAYBE THEY FIND OUT FROM A STUDENT WHO HAS, UH, A FOOD CRISIS THAT, WELL, THE PARENTS ARE OUTTA WORK.
AND SO, THROUGH THAT CONVERSATION WITH COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS PEOPLE, THEY CAN REACH OUT AND LET THE PARENTS KNOW ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.
OR YOU GET, UH, SAN ANTONIO EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP, WHICH IS OFFERING SCHOLARSHIPS TO GO TO COLLEGE, BUT TALKS TO A LOT OF STUDENTS SAY, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA GO TO COLLEGE, SO I MIGHT, I MIGHT WANNA WORK SOMEWHERE.
AND THEY CAN SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO ARE READY TO WORK IS SOMEPLACE YOU NEED TO GO AND EXPLORE.
SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW THAT THOSE TWO ORGANIZATIONS ARE REALLY BEING, UH, PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE A GATEWAY INTO THIS PROGRAM GOING FORWARD FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST GOING TO BE ENTERING INTO THE WORKFORCE OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO.
UH, WE HAVE A, UH, UH, NO, SERIOUSLY, GOOD WORK.
I'M, I'M, I'M VERY IMPRESSED WITH THAT YOU'VE PRESENTED.
THAT, THAT WAS, THAT WAS GREAT.
UH, NOBODY'S EVER PLOTTED FROM ME.
LIKE, MAN,
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, INTENTIONALLY REACHING OUT TO THEM AND CATCHING, UH, YOU KNOW, THEIR INTEREST IN DOING SOMETHING WITH IT, RIGHT? IS, IS WHAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE DOING.
BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, WE OUGHT TO CONDITION, UH, PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROGRAM ON FUNDING, RIGHT? SO ANY DELEGATING, I MEAN, IF I HAD IT MY WAY, ANY DELEGATE AGENCY WHO COMES AND APPLIES FOR MONEY AND RECEIVES CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MONEY, UM, SHOULD COMMIT TO THIS PROGRAM, RIGHT? I MEAN, IF THEY WANNA BE OUR PARTNERS, BE OUR PARTNERS, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING, ALEX, WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEALS, RIGHT? IF SOMEBODY WANTS INCENTIVES, THEY'VE GOTTA COMMIT TO THIS PROGRAM, RIGHT? I DON'T SEE THERE, UH, BEING A DIFFERENCE.
WHAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK? OH, YEAH, I LOVE IT.
I MEAN, THE MORE PARTNERS WE CAN HAVE AT THE TABLE, THE BETTER.
[00:45:01]
I, I DON'T WANT TO FORCE ANYBODY TO THE TABLE BECAUSE WE NEED YOUR, YOUR BEST ATTITUDE AS YOU'RE SERVING OUR PEOPLE.BUT I THINK MOST OF ARE GONNA EMBRACE IT AND, AND NOT HAVE TO BE FORCED TO DO IT.
I THINK MOST OF THEM ARE DOING THEIR WORK TO SERVICE THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THOSE DELEGATE AGENCY CONTRACTS.
'CAUSE THEY WANNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
AND THIS PROGRAM WILL HELP TO DO THAT.
AND, AND FOR ME, I DON'T SEE IT AS FORCING.
I, I, I THINK IT'S PART OF, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE PART OF BEING OUR PARTNERS, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS HARD EARNED, UM, CITIZEN TAX DOLLARS, RIGHT? THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE GIVING TO THEM IN THE FORM OF GRANTS, RIGHT? UM, I THINK THAT THE, THAT THE ETHICAL THING TO DO IS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIVE UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE TAX, UH, THE TAXPAYER.
AND SO THE ALEX, THAT'S, THAT'S, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, UNLESS THERE'S OBJECTIONS HERE, MAYBE THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE CAN RECOMMEND UP TO, UH, MELODY AND HER GROUP TO, TO INCLUDE.
AND, AND I'D LIKE MY, MY, UH, MY COLLEAGUES TO, YOU KNOW, TO REACT TO THAT IF POSSIBLE.
AND THEN THE SECOND THING IS, AND AL KIND IN THE NEXT ONE, THE SECOND THING IS, IS WITH REGARDS TO OUR MARKETING EFFORT, ARE WE, UH, TRACKING FROM WHERE, UH, THESE FOLKS ARE HEARING ABOUT THE PROGRAM? SO DO WE ASK THEM LIKE, HEY, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US IN THE WEB, OR DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US IN, IN THE COURTHOUSE? OR YES, SIR.
THAT IS A PART OF THE INTAKE PROCESS.
AS THEY GO THROUGH THAT INTAKE FORM WITH THEIR CASE MANAGER, THEIR INTAKE, UH, REPRESENTATIVE, THEY WILL BE ASKED THAT QUESTION AND RESPOND WITH HOW THEY HEARD ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
RIGHT? AND THEN YOU, BECAUSE I HAVE A FEELING YOU, YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT DATA, RIGHT? TO HELP US FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, WE'RE PULLING FROM EVERY LEVER THE RIGHT WAY.
AND THEN LASTLY, ON THE JOB TRAINING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, WE HEARD OUR, THE MEMBERS OF, OF SS A C COMMENT ON, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT NEEDING TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE, UM, THAT WE MORE VOCALLY TALK ABOUT.
RIGHT? AND SO, UM, HAVE YOU PRESENTED THIS TO SBA C UM, YEAH, SBA C HAVE, I'VE BEEN AT SBAC SEVERAL TIMES.
WE'VE TALKED, UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE CONCERNS AND WE'RE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD ON O J T, IT IS NOT A BUDGETED CATEGORY AND READY TO WORK.
WE'D HAVE TO FIGURE OUT IF WE'RE GONNA PULL THAT MONEY FROM EDU FROM TUITION, IF WE'RE GONNA PULL IT FROM EMERGENCY FUNDING, IT WOULD'VE TO COME FROM ONE OF THOSE TWO SOURCES TO CARVE OUT FUNDING FOR O J T.
LET'S, LET'S ASSUME THAT, THAT YOU FOUND FUNDING, UH, WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, PUTTING IN PERIL THE QUALITY OF, OF ALL THE OTHER PROGRAMS. UM, WHAT, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? UH, AN O J T PROGRAM FOR, LET'S SAY, SMALL BUSINESSES? WELL, WE HAVE A PERFECT EXAMPLE FROM TRAIN FOR JOBS.
'CAUSE O J T WAS A PART OF TRAIN FOR JOBS.
AND WHAT IT DOES IS IT SUBSIDIZES THE WAGES OF THOSE PARTICIPANTS AS THEY'RE, AFTER THEY EXIT THEIR TRAINING PROGRAM, IF THEY WANT TO GO INTO A SMALL BUSINESS THAT O J T OFFSETS SOME OF THE PAYROLL COSTS THAT WOULD BE, UM, ON THE SMALL BUSINESS THEY HAVE TO COVER UNTIL THAT PERSON KIND OF GETS UP TO SPEED, IS A FULLY PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEE.
THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS.
AND AGAIN, I'M JUST SPITBALLING HERE, UH, FROM THE CHIEF SEATS, BUT I, EXCELLENT COMMENTS.
YEAH, I, I'M ALL FOR, UH, INTEGRATING THE, UH, DELEGATE AGENCIES.
BUT, UM, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO AND I SIT ON THE CHECK COMMITTEE, AND I THINK THIS WOULD BE A CONVERSATION WE'D WANNA HAVE WITH OUR CHECK COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN TERMS OF HOW WE DO THIS AND, AND WHAT, UH, HOW THAT IMPACTS THEM.
AND THEN, ALEX, IF YOU COULD FIGURE OUT WHETHER WE'D BRING IT BACK HERE OR WE TAKE IT TO A B SESSION, OR WE'D HAVE MIKE MEET INDIVIDUALLY WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, LET, LET'S SEE HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY FOLLOW UP FOR MIKE? ANYTHING ELSE? ALRIGHT, WELL LISTEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONE.
UM, NOW WE, WE GET TO, UH, TALK ABOUT THE SECOND TRANCHE OF ARPA DOLLARS, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, ASSIGNED TO THIS COMMITTEE.
SO, UH, I BELIEVE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT YOUTH, RIGHT? GOOD MORNING COUNSEL AND, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
I'M AN ASSISTANT HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND I'LL BE LEADING, UH, TODAY'S DISCUSSION ON, UH, YOUTH INVESTMENTS.
SO DURING TODAY'S MEETING, WE ARE GONNA BE REQUESTING YOUR APPROVAL, UH, TO SUBMIT OUR ARPA YOUTH INVESTMENTS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO CITY COUNCIL FOR THEIR FINAL APPROVAL.
UH, SPECIFICALLY WE'RE GONNA REVIEW, UM, PLAN COMPONENTS WITH YOU THAT INCLUDE THE FUNDING PRIORITY INVESTMENTS, THE COMPETITIVE COMPETITIVE FUNDING PROCESS AND TIMELINE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
WE ARE GONNA BE REQUESTING SOME POLICY DIRECTION FROM YOU AS WELL AS DISCUSSING NEXT STEPS.
AND BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE PRESENTATION, I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THE PLAN, UM, THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED AND PRESENTED TO YOU DOES INCLUDE YOUR FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED AT APRIL AND MAY SESSIONS, AS WELL AS, UH, YOUR FEEDBACK TO DO
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SOME ADDITIONAL TARGETED STAKEHOLDER SESSIONS, PILOTED INITIATIVES, RESULTS OF, OF THOSE THAT WE IMPLEMENTED AT HUMAN SERVICES SURVEYS AND TARGETED STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.SO AGAIN, BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK, WE CONTINUED TO HOST COMMUNITY FEEDBACK SESSIONS, INTERVIEWS, AND FOCUS GROUPS.
WE PRIMARILY DID THOSE WITH YOUTH SERVING NONPROFITS, UM, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, AS WELL AS THE SAN ANTONIO YOUTH COMMISSION.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE DID IN PARTICULAR IS WE MADE SURE THAT YOUTH IN PARTICULAR THAT HAD, UM, A HIGHER LIKELIHOOD FOR A DISPROPORTIONATELY NEGATIVE COVID IMPACT WERE INCLUDED AS PART OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
SO THAT INCLUDED YOUTH THAT EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS, YOUTH THAT ARE IN THE FOSTER, UH, OR WERE FORMER FOSTER YOUTH AND ALSO LGBTQ PLUS YOUTH.
UM, IN PARTICULAR, UH, WE ALSO, AS I MENTIONED, INCLUDED RESULTS OF A TEEN MENTAL HEALTH SURVEY THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES RELEASED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, EDUCATION AND WORK PILOT PROGRAMS THAT WE IMPLEMENTED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO COMBAT THE EFFECTS OF C OVID 19 ON YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO WE USED RESULTS OF THAT AS WE WERE FORMING THE PLAN AND ALSO HAVING THESE STAKEHOLDER SESSIONS.
UM, AS YOU HEARD FROM RYAN EARLIER, WE ALSO, THROUGH THIS PROCESS BEGAN INNOVATION MEETINGS THAT WE'VE CO-HOSTED WITH THE X EXCEL BEYOND THE BELL.
THOSE CON THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND CONVERSATIONS, AGAIN, HELP TO INFORM THE PLAN, BUT OUR PLAN TO CONTINUE EVEN AFTER IMPLEMENTATION WITH A GOAL OF REALLY TALKING ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, UH, MAKING SURE IN PARTICULAR THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON HOW DO WE BETTER SERVE YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES? HOW DO WE BETTER SERVE YOUTH THAT ARE TRANSITIONING OUT OF THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM? AND AGAIN, WE WILL INCLUDE YOUTH WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS OTHER YOUTH REPRESENTATIVES IN THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND PROCESSES ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
SO AGAIN, THIS RECAPS THE PLAN THAT WE'RE PRESENTING TO YOU FOR APPROVAL.
ALL OF THESE STRATEGIES, AGAIN, CAME OUT OF ALL OF THOSE FEEDBACK SESSIONS, YOUR INPUT AND YOUTH VOICE.
AND I REALLY WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS IS, THIS WAS DEVELOPED REALLY DRIVEN BY WHAT WE HEARD FROM YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THEIR NEEDS WERE, ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF COVID ON THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES.
UM, AND, AND THE PROGRAM AND STRATEGIES ALIGN WITH THAT AND REALLY ELEVATE YOUTH VOICE THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
SO BASED ON THIS FEEDBACK, WE ARE PROPOSING TO FOCUS ON FIVE SPECIFIC C OVID 19 IMPACTS.
THAT INCLUDES A DECREASE IN YOUTH INVOLVEMENT, PARTICULARLY RELATED TO CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND PROGRAM PARTICIPATION, AN INCREASE IN GANG ACTIVITY, A DECREASE IN ACCESS TO SUPPORT SERVICES IN PARTICULAR FOR FOSTER YOUTH.
AND ALSO AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF OPPORTUNITY YOUTH AND HOMELESS YOUTH THAT WE SAW THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, AS WELL AS A DECREASE IN SCHOOL READINESS ASSOCIATED WITH DISRUPTIONS IN PROGRAMMING AND, AND SCHOOL TIME, UH, SERVICES.
AGAIN, THE IDENTIFIED PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES COMING OUT OF THESE SESSIONS AND THROUGH YOUTH VOICE, UH, ARE REALLY HELPING US TO WORK TOWARDS ENSURING THAT WE'RE AMPLIFYING THAT YOUTH VOICE, WHETHER THAT'S, AGAIN, IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES OR THROUGH, UH, SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCORPORATING THEIR FEEDBACK AS WE LOOK AT PROGRAMS AND, AND TAILOR THEM TO MEET THEIR NEEDS.
UH, DEVELOPING PATHWAYS THAT ARE POSITIVE FOR EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE, IMPROVING ACCESS TO BASIC SERVICES AND INCREASING COLLEGE ENROLLMENT, AGAIN, PARTICULARLY FOR FOSTER YOUTH.
UM, AND THEN ALSO WORKING TO DECREASE HOMELESSNESS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND ACROSS ALL OF THESE CATEGORIES, WE WOULD ENSURE THAT PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES FUNDED THROUGH THIS PROCESS ARE IMPROVING AWARENESS OF AVAILABLE PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES ACROSS ALL SERVICE AREAS.
SO FOR THIS PROCESS, WE ARE PROPOSING A COMBINED COMPETITIVE PROCESS.
UH, WITH THAT WE WOULD BE TAKING THE BALANCE OF THE NONPROFIT AND SOCIAL SERVICES INVESTMENTS AND SENIOR SERVICES INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH THE CHECK COMMITTEE AND, AND, UH, WE'LL TAKE TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL IN, IN AUGUST, AS WELL AS THE YOUTH SERVICES INVESTMENTS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR APPROVAL TODAY.
AND AS I MENTIONED, WE WILL BE ASKING FOR YOUR POLICY DIRECTION.
THESE ARE, UM, SPECIFIC ITEMS RELATED TO THE R F P AND AWARD PROCESS THAT WE HAVE REVIEWED WITH THE CHECK COMMITTEE AND, AND INCLUDES THEIR GUIDANCE AND FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UM, SO THE FIRST IS AN ABBREVIATED NON-COMMUNICATION POLICY THAT WOULD BEGIN ONCE RFPS ARE SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THE SOLICITATION, THIS COMBINED SOLICITATION.
AND IT WOULD END WHEN WE MAKE, UH, WITH THE PROPOSED AWARDS OR PRESENT OR RATHER, OR POSTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL ABOUT ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ACTION ITEM WILL ACTUALLY GO TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING, AND WE HEARD THIS ACROSS INVESTMENT CATEGORIES.
SO WHEN WE MET WITH NONPROFITS AND SOCIAL SERVICES, WHEN WE MET WITH IMMIGRATION SERVING PARTNERS, UM, SENIOR SERVICES AGENCIES, AND THEN ALSO WITH OUR YOUTH CATEGORIES, WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING INCLUSIVE OF THE SMALL
[00:55:01]
NONPROFIT COMMUNITY BY REDUCING ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICIPATING THROUGH A SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION.AND THEN ALSO PROVIDING PRIORITY DESIGNATION FOR NONPROFITS.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE AGENCIES WITH AN ANNUAL BUDGET OF UNDER 500,000, 500,000 OR LESS.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE WANNA LOOK AT DOING IS ENSURING THAT WE'RE PROVIDING FUNDING FLEXIBILITY, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN A TRADITIONAL PART OF OUR NORMAL FUNDING PROCESSES.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HEARD FROM SIMONE EARLIER, UH, RELATED TO LOOKING AT THE IMPACT THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS HAD ON AGENCIES RELATED TO STAFFING AND SALARIES.
UM, AND AS WELL AS, AS PROVIDING AN ADMIN AN AWARD THAT IS REFLECTIVE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS OF DOING WORK WITH THE CITY.
SO WE WOULD BE PROPOSING A MINIMUM AWARD OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND OVER A TWO YEAR TERM, AND THEN ALSO ALLOWING ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE RATE COST WHERE THAT'S NEEDED,
SO IN CONCLUSION, WE ARE RECOMMENDING YOUR APPROVAL TO MOVE THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WE'RE PRESENTING TO YOU TODAY FORWARD FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL IN AUGUST.
FOLLOWING THAT, WE WOULD ISSUE THE COMBINED COMPETITIVE PROCESS THAT I MENTIONED, UM, AND BEGIN TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SESSIONS.
WE HAVE HEARD A DESIRE, UH, PARTICULARLY FROM THE CHECK COMMITTEE TO, TO ALSO ALLOW OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SESSIONS THAT ARE LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, SO IN SPECIFIC COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
SO WE WOULD WORK WITH YOUR OFFICES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT.
UM, ONCE THE THE PROPOSALS ARE SUBMITTED, WE WOULD BEGIN AN EVALUATION PROCESS THAT AGAIN, WOULD INCLUDE INDIVIDUALS WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE WITHIN EACH OF THE INVESTMENT AREAS.
AND WE WOULD HOPE TO BRING RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO COUNCIL IN OCTOBER, UH, FOR APPROVAL WITH AWARDS HAPPENING IN NOVEMBER.
UM, BEFORE I FINISH THE PRESENTATION, I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UM, I KNOW MANY OF YOU KNOW, UH, REBECCA FLORES, OUR EDUCATION POLICY ADMINISTRATOR.
UH, SHE'S DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB OF WORKING WITH A VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AS YOU HEARD FROM SOME OF OUR PARTNERS TODAY, HER AND HER TEAM HAVE MADE SURE THAT THE PROCESS IS INCLUSIVE, UH, PARTICULARLY OF YOUTH AND, AND YOUTH THAT HAVE HAD A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT FROM COVID.
UH, BUT THAT DOES CONCLUDE OUR FORMAL PRESENTATION.
BOTH REBECCA AND I ARE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
AND, UM, LET'S START IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, USE YOUR MIC AMIGO.
I DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THIS WELL ENOUGH IN ADVANCE.
I MAY HAVE A QUESTION OR TWO AFTER A MINUTE OR TWO.
UM, YEAH, A A COUPLE OF THINGS.
UH, I, I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO ALLOCATE FUNDING TO THE YOUTH COMMISSION.
I THINK IT DEMONSTRATES TO OUR YOUTH, RIGHT, THAT WE HAVE TRUST IN THEIR DECISION MAKING SKILLS.
AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE, UM, THIS BEING PROPOSED.
AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT OUR YOUTH ARE GOING TO COME UP WITH AND WHAT THEY'VE IDENTIFIED, UM, AS A PRIORITY TO MEET THEIR NEEDS.
UH, I JOINED, UM, THE MAYOR'S, UH, YOUTH FITNESS COUNCIL OVER AT A Y W C A SPACE, AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED BY THE PROJECTS THAT OUR YOUTH HAVE BEEN WORKING ON, RIGHT? FROM CHANGING THE MEAL PLANS AT THEIR SCHOOLS, UM, TO CREATING CLUBS AT THEIR SCHOOLS.
IT WAS JUST VERY IMPRESSIVE, AND IT WAS GRADUATE SCHOOL LEVEL PRESENTATIONS THAT THEY WERE GIVING.
SO I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, WHAT COMES OUT OF THE YOUTH COMMISSION.
SO I WANNA THANK, UH, YOU ALL AND MY COLLEAGUES FOR, UM, BEING SUPPORTIVE OF ALLOCATING FUNDING TOWARDS OUR YOUTH COMMISSION, UM, TO HELP, UH, LET US KNOW RIGHT WHERE WE SHOULD BE ALLOCATING THAT FUNDING, UM, FOR THE R F P PROCESS, UM, IT WILL THAT BE DONE, UH, THE, THE PARAMETERS RATHER? WILL THAT BE DONE INTERNALLY? WILL THE COMMITTEE HELP SHAPE THOSE? UH, WHAT WILL THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE? SO WE, WE CAN, UM, ESTABLISH A PROCESS WHERE WE SEND, UH, THE PROPOSED, UH, R F P TO THE RESPECTIVE COMMITTEES FOR REVIEW PRIOR TO RELEASE.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S A DESIRE OF THIS COMMITTEE.
WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE'LL BE DOING IS THAT WE WILL BE INCLUDING COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT WHO'S GONNA BE MAKING, REVIEWING EVALUATIONS FOR YOUTH SERVICES AND MAKING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE WOULD HAVE MEMBERS OF THE, THE SAN ANTONIO YOUTH COMMISSION, WE WOULD HAVE OTHER, UH, YOUTH INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN THAT REVIEW PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT, IT IS BEING COMPREHENSIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AND RATHER JUST THAN JUST CITY STAFF.
THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY EXCITING AND ROBUST THAT YOU'RE INCLUDED, UH, OUR YOUTH AND IMPACTED COMMUNITIES WITH THE YOUTH SERVICE FUNDING TIMELINE.
UM, SO I'M REALLY PLEASED WITH WHAT'S BEING PRESENTED, UH, SOME DIRECTION THAT WHAT I WOULD GIVE IS IF WE COULD REACH OUT TO EDGEWOOD, I S D WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR DELEGATE AGENCIES WITH OUR ISDS IN PARTICULAR, EDGEWOOD HAS THE, THE, THE LEAST, UM, FUNDING.
AND WE KNOW THAT'S ONE OF OUR POOREST, UH, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS MM-HMM.
SO IF WE CAN DO SOME OUTREACH TO CHECK IN TO SEE, UM, AND, AND LET THEM KNOW, RIGHT, THAT
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THIS FUNDING MAY BE AVAILABLE, THAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.AND I KNOW OUR KIDS WOULD REALLY VALUE THAT AS WELL.
UM, FOR NOW, THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
UM, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND BY THE WAY, I HAVE TO SAY, I HAVE TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO JOHN PATEK, WHO MUST BE IN THE ROOM OR HEARD.
BECAUSE HE UPDATED THE, UH, WEBSITE, THE SAN ANTONIO.GOV WEBSITE.
AND SO WE HAVE READY TO WORK ON THE FRONT PAGE NOW.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOHN, PAT, THAT I'M GONNA HAVE TO JUST START ASKING PUBLICLY NOW.
UM, SO, UH, GANG PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
ARE THERE SPECIFIC INTERVENTION PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, AND ARE YOU TARGETING CERTAIN AREAS? SO, 7 8 2 4 2 HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING, AND THAT'S A ZIP CODE WHERE I GREW UP IN, UM, WHEN I GREW UP, IT WAS THE, THE MOST HIGH CRIME AREA.
IT, IT FEELS LIKE IT'S TURNING INTO THAT AGAIN.
UM, ARE YOU ALL MAYBE WORKING WITH OUR SAFE OFFICERS TO TARGET THOSE AREAS THAT WE SEE A RISE IN CRIME? SO I KNOW THAT, THAT WE, UH, COMMUNICATED WITH THEM AS PART OF THE PROCESS, BUT WE CERTAINLY CAN INCLUDE THAT AS A PROPOSED AREA FOR RESPONDENTS TO FOCUS ON WHEN THEY'RE PRESENTING THEIR PROPOSALS.
IN TERMS OF THE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES, WE, INSTEAD OF IDENTIFYING LIKE VERY SPECIFIC, UM, WE WANT YOU TO DO X, WE LEFT IT PURPOSELY VAGUE SO THAT WE COULD GET INNOVATIVE IDEAS FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT PROGRAMS THAT ARE EXISTING, UM, OR EVEN MAYBE NEW PROGRAMS THAT THEY WANNA PROPOSE TO FUND.
BUT WE CERTAINLY COULD LOOK AT SPECIFYING PRIORITY AREAS FOR OUTREACH AND INCLUSION.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT MIGHT BE INNOVATIVE, RIGHT, IS COMING TO THE COMMUNITY CENTERS AND, AND OFFERING SOME OF THESE SERVICES.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF MAYBE EXPANDING THE HOURS OF PROGRAMMING COULD BE A COMPONENT OF THIS INITIATIVE AND MAYBE WORKING WITH SOME OF THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS TO GET OUT TO THOSE COMMUNITY CENTERS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S LOOKING AT THAT WORK OR WHO'S LOOKING AT THOSE INNOVATIVE IDEAS.
UM, BUT I DEFINITELY THINK IT, IT'S SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IF IT'S IN THE BACKYARD, IT, IT MIGHT BE EASIER FOR STUDENTS TO GET THERE.
UM, SO, SO JUST AND WHO MAYBE IF WE CAN HAVE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
I HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL IDEAS THERE.
AND THEN ON OPPORTUNITY YOUTH, UM, THERE'S CURRENT, I KNOW THAT THERE'S CURRENT D H SS PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE HIGHER LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION FROM.
SO I KNOW WE HAVE NEXT LEVEL YOUTH CAFE COLLEGE, BUT DO WE ALSO LOOK, LOOK AT THE SUPPORT SERVICES, UM, THAT THEY OFFER? AND, AND ARE SOME OF THE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, DO THEY INCLUDE, FOR INSTANCE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE RESOURCES OR COUNSELING THAT CAN BE FUNDED THROUGH THIS? SO I KNOW THAT THEY, UM, SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE R F P, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, ALTHOUGH IT ALLOWS FOR PUBLIC ENTITIES, UM, INCLUDING LIKE QUASI-GOVERNMENTAL, WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO FUND, UH, NECESSARILY INTERNAL CITY PROGRAMS. BUT WE HAVE PARTNERS THAT, THAT HELP US OPERATE THOSE SITES THAT CERTAINLY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR FUNDING TO LOOK AT THAT.
AND I KNOW, UM, AND REBECCA COULD PROBABLY SPEAK BETTER TO THIS, BUT AT NEXT, NEXT LEVEL IN PARTICULAR, THEY PROVIDE NOT ONLY THE EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE PIECE, UH, BUT THROUGH, UH, COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS, THEY ALSO HAVE THE COACHING AND THE, THE REFERRAL TO RESOURCE THAT WOULD ADDRESS ISSUES LIKE SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
AND DO YOU, SO THESE ARPA FUNDS, CAN THEY HELP REDUCE MAYBE SOME OF THE OTHER CONSTRAINTS THAT WE SAW? LIKE FOR INSTANCE, IN READY TO WORK, TRANSPORTATION IS A PROBLEM.
UM, EVEN, UH, SHELTER, FOOD INSECURITY, ANY OTHER EMERGENCY.
SO THIS WOULD ALSO BE A PART, LIKE POT OF MONEY WOULD BE INCLUDED FOR THAT THROUGH THESE FUNDS? ABSOLUTELY.
AND THEN ARE WE WORKING, UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND MAYBE THEIR SOCIAL WORKERS TO, UM, MAYBE IDENTIFY FAMILIES THAT ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS OR, OR MAYBE ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE HOMELESSNESS AND, YES.
AND SO, UH, I KEEP PUTTING REBECCA ON THE SPOT, BUT SHE ACTUALLY WORKS CLOSELY WITH REGION 20 AND EACH OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, INCLUDING E I S D, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ALIGNED AND THEY'RE IN AGREEMENT WITH WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING AS WELL AS ONGOING SERVICES AND PROGRAMMING.
I JUST SAW REBECCA, SO I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW.
I PROMISED REBECCA DEVELOPED THE PLAN AND OKAY.
AND HER AND HER TEAM HAVE BEEN PHENOMENAL.
WELL, THANK YOU THAT, THAT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER.
ON SCHOOL READINESS, THERE'S, UH, $4.5 MILLION ALLOCATED ON THERE.
HAVE WE ALREADY IDENTIFIED SPECIFIC, UM, SCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMS? AND IN PARTICULAR, I'M GOING BACK TO THE DISTRICT QUESTION OR THE ZIP CODE QUESTION.
HAVE WE IDENTIFIED MAYBE, UM, AN EQUITY SCORE? WE HAVE A MATRIX, UM, WHERE WE WILL KIND OF FOCUS OUR ATTENTION MORE OF BASED ON, UM, THE EFFECT OF COVID ON THESE POPULATIONS.
SO WE WILL BE ASKING SPECIFICALLY FOR AGENCIES THAT ARE APPLYING FOR FUNDING TO IDENTIFY HOW BOTH THEIR ORGANIZATION AND THE INDIVIDUALS THEY SERVE HAVE BEEN DIS DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY COVID.
BUT WE COULD LOOK AT, AGAIN, IN THIS AREA, ADDING ADDITIONAL PRIORITY FOCUS AREAS WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE HIGH
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NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY, AND WE KNOW THAT THROUGH THE 2020 CENSUS.AND SO WE, UM, I, I'D ASSUME, CAN IDENTIFY WHERE THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY ARE.
UM, AND SO I, I WOULD ALSO PROBABLY ASSUME THAT WE'D COUPLE THAT DATA, RIGHT? OR OVERLAP IT WITH, WITH THE COVID.
AND SO, AM I CORRECT IN MAKING THAT ASSUMPTION? AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE IDENTIFYING THE AREAS OF FOCUS.
WE CAN, YES, WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE DO THAT THROUGH THE R F P.
AND THEN WHAT KIND OF TRANSPORTATION SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE TO THE STUDENTS? I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, THAT TRANSPORTATION RELATED, UH, ISSUES AFFECT A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT.
AND UNLESS THERE'S A SCHOOL BUS THAT'S GOING TO TAKE YOU, UM, THEY MIGHT NOT GO, OR UNLESS THERE'S SIDEWALKS.
AND IN MY DISTRICT, FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S 36 STREETS THAT HAVE NEVER HAD SIDEWALKS MM-HMM.
UM, AND SO I'M REALLY, UH, INTERESTED IN, IN HOW WE'RE, UH, FOCUSING SPECIFICALLY OR MAYBE WORKING WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS BECAUSE THAT IS A COST, RIGHT? AND WE KNOW WITH RISING FUEL COSTS, ET CETERA, UM, IS THAT GONNA BE A BIG COMPONENT? THAT'S WHY A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS I REPRESENT DON'T PARTICIPATE.
AND WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, PROVIDE SOME EXAMPLES, LIKE VERY SPECIFIC EXAMPLES IN THE R F P, UH, IN THE SCOPE OF WORK WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE INDICATING WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE SOLICITING, BUT WE DO WANNA LEAVE IT OPEN.
IT WOULD INCLUDE CURRENT STRATEGIES, UH, THAT WE CURRENTLY OFFER, LIKE DIRECT WELFARE.
SO WHETHER THAT'S BUYING SOMEBODY A BUS PASS OR WHETHER IT'S PROVIDING, UM, IF IT'S AN OUT OF SCHOOL TIME OPPORTUNITY, PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THAT ACTIVITY.
SO IT, IT WOULD BE PRETTY FLEXIBLE FOR AN AGENCY TO PROPOSE WHAT THEY FEEL WOULD BEST MEET THE NEEDS OF THE POPULATION THEY SERVE TO GET THEM TO THAT PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES.
AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE AS EASY AS JUST PUTTING THE BUS ROUTE NUMBER ON IT.
I, I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE FLYER FOR THE JOB FAIR, UM, EARLIER THIS WEEK, UM, BECAUSE IT GAVE THE ROUTES TO GET TO THE AT AND T CENTER, RIGHT? AND SO THAT WAS ONE LAST THING THAT A PARENT MIGHT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT, RIGHT? SO, UM, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONSIDER FOLKS WHO MIGHT NOT BE PARTICIPATING BECAUSE OF THAT.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, YES, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, AS COUNCILMAN CASTILLO MENTIONED THAT WE LOOK AT THE DELEGATE AGENCIES AND WHAT SCHOOL DISTRICTS THEY'RE WORKING IN.
UH, AS WE LOOK AT THESE GRANTS, UM, I ALSO SIT ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, AND WE ARE LOOKING OVER THE MENTAL HEALTH DOLLARS MM-HMM.
BUT IN THE PUBLIC SA UH, IN PUBLIC SAFETY, WE'VE ALSO HEARD ABOUT, UH, INCREASE IN GANG ACTIVITY.
SO I'M CONCERNED THAT WE'RE DOING IT IN BOTH AREAS AND WHAT SORT, SORT OF GANG AREA, GANG ACTIVITY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? HOW PREVENTIVE ARE WE GOING TO MAKE THIS IN THE PROCESS? BECAUSE IF THIS IS EARLY ON, IF THEY, THEY'RE ALREADY AFFILIATED WITH A GANG AND THEY'VE ALREADY GONE TO JAIL OR, OR, OR JUVENILE, UM, THEN MAYBE THAT SITS IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND US WORKING WITH BEXAR COUNTY IN THE COURT SYSTEM OTHER THAN HERE.
SO I, I THINK I WOULD NEED THAT A LITTLE MORE FLESHED OUT.
THE OTHER IS, UH, INCREASE IN NUMBERS OF OPPORTUNITY, YOUTH AND HOMELESS YOUTH.
I THINK WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOMELESS, WE NEED TO BE VERY SPECIFIC ON THE CAPACITY THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE.
BECAUSE IF IT'S SOMEONE THAT RUNS AWAY AND, OR, OR IS LIKE COUCH SURFING AT THEIR FRIEND'S HOUSE BECAUSE HOME IS UNBEARABLE, THAT'S ONE THING.
IF THESE ARE, UH, YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE STREETS WITH A, UM, WITH A MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEM OR WITH AN ADDICTION PROBLEM, THEN THAT BECOMES A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
AND I DON'T WANT TO, UM, I DON'T WANNA HAVE, I DON'T WANNA PUT EXPECTATIONS ON THESE GROUPS PROVIDING FOR, IF THAT'S NOT THEIR CAPACITY.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT, WE NEED TO BE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOMELESS, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOMELESS YOUTH, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? WHAT, WHAT CAN THEY HELP WITH? AND WHAT, AND MAKING SURE THESE AGENCIES HAVE THE RESOURCE IS IF IT'S, IF IT'S SOMEONE ADDICTED, IF IT'S SOMEONE IN, IN PROSTITUTION OR HUMAN TRAFFICKED, THAT THEY KNOW THAT THERE, THE, THERE'S OTHER AGENCIES THAT CAN HELP WITH THAT.
UM, SO THAT'S THE ONE SPECIFIC, AND, AND COUNCILMAN, UH, COUNCILWOMAN TO THAT POINT.
UM, SO FOR THE, THE MENTAL HEALTH PIECE, UM, WE WERE LOOKING AT PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES.
OUR GOAL WOULD BE THAT WE ALIGN ALL OF THE, UM, THE COMPETITIVE INVESTMENT FUNDING PROCESSES ACROSS CATEGORIES.
SO WE WOULD WORK CLOSELY WITH DIRECTION THAT'S BEEN GIVEN TO THE PUBLIC, UM, FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE TO
[01:10:01]
METRO HEALTH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT DUPLICATING, UM, BASICALLY CERTAIN STRATEGIES OR, OR PRIORITIES THROUGH EACH OF THE, THE COMPETITIVE PROCESSES.IN TERMS OF, UM, LIKE SUBSTANCE ABUSE, WE DO HAVE AGENCIES THAT CURRENTLY, ALTHOUGH THEY DON'T PROVIDE THAT SERVICES, WE WOULD HAVE AN EXPECTATION THAT THEY WOULD HAVE AN IDEA OF THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND ARE TIED INTO THOSE AGENCIES SO THAT THEY CAN APPROPRIATELY MAKE REFERRALS.
WHAT WE WOULDN'T WANT TO HAPPEN IS, LET'S SAY SOMEBODY COMES TO US, UM, OR COMES TO AN AGENCY THAT'S FUNDED, AND THE THE NEEDS THEY HAVE DON'T QUITE FIT WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THAT PROGRAM.
WE WOULDN'T WANT THEM TO BE TURNED AWAY.
OUR PREFERENCE WOULD BE, UM, THAT WE CONNECT THEM TO THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES.
AND THE CONVERSATION IS VA, I, I, I SIT ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, UH, COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, I ASK YOU FOR BRIEFINGS FROM, FROM THE TEAM THERE, BECAUSE WE ARE IN A LENGTHY CONVERSATION.
IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T WORK AS SMOOTHLY AS E W D C.
SO PLEASE, UM, PLEASE GIVE YOUR INPUT TO MYSELF, TO THE CHAIR, TO, TO SEE HOW WE CAN, WE CAN, UM, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING, COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE.
I CAN'T EVEN SAY THE WORD TODAY, BUT THAT WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER AND WE MOVE THIS FORWARD IN A, IN A GREAT PROCESS.
I THINK I HAD, UH, REBECCA WANTS TO ADD JUST TO, YES.
SO I, I JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE OF THE TYPE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GANG, UH, INTERVENTION PREVENTION.
UM, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING WITH SS A P D AND THE SAFE OFFICERS IS REALLY WHEN THEY START HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUNG ADULTS TO GET OUT OF THE GANG, THE ISSUE IS THEY GO BACK IN BECAUSE THEY NEED MONEY.
IT'S AN EASY WAY FOR THEM TO GET MONEY.
SO THIS PARTICULAR POT OF FUNDS REALLY WILL BE TO HELP EITHER, UH, WE TALKED EVEN ABOUT LIKE GETTING RID OF TATTOOS, UM, GIVING THEM COACHES SO THAT WE CAN GET THEM, UM, INTO JOBS AND WORKFORCE.
SO IT REALLY IS ABOUT GETTING THEM A, A SECOND PATHWAY SO THAT THEY CAN EARN MONEY, BECAUSE THAT REALLY IS WHY THEY GO BACK TO GANG ACTIVITY, IS BECAUSE THEY JUST WANNA PAY THEIR BILLS,
AND SO THAT REALLY IS KIND OF THE DIFFERENTIAL, I THINK, OF WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS POT OF FUNDS AND WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS DOING WITH THEIR GANG INTERVENTION.
AND SO, IF THERE IS TATTOO REMOVAL ONES, UH, COUNCILMAN HUR, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO GET THOSE TATTOOS REMOVED, UH, THE ONES THAT YOU REGRET FROM YOUR DAYS IN THE MILITARY.
I'M A DIFFERENT GENERATION, APPRECIATE BODY ART, BUT COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, UH, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, COUNCILMAN VRAN BROUGHT UP A, A, A HANDFUL OF REALLY GOOD POINTS.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FORMERLY INCARCERATED YOUTH, OR YOUTH WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THE SYSTEM, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
DOESN'T MEAN YOU NEED TO GO PICK UP TRASH, RIGHT? BUT COME LEARN HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER, UH, WITHIN THIS SYSTEM, RIGHT? AND THAT THERE'S OPTIONS.
UM, AND, AND I WOULD LIKE TO, TO LEARN MORE AND SPEAK WITH SOME COMMUNITY EXPERTS ON THIS, RIGHT? BECAUSE, UM, I, I, I NEED TO REVIEW THE PUBLIC SAFETY NOTES, BUT, UM, A, A CONCERN THAT I HAVE, RIGHT? IT MAY BE IF WE PUT IT IN PUBLIC SAFETY OR DEPENDING ON THE PROGRAM, RIGHT? THIS IS ALL JUST, UM, WORD VOMIT
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE THERE'S CHARITABLE FEEDERS SOMETIMES, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE DRUG DEALERS THAT PREY ON THAT AREA.
SO MY CONCERN, IF IT'S PUT IN, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY OR DEPENDING ON THE PROGRAM, RIGHT? WE STILL NEED TO TEASE ALL THAT OUT, IS THAT IT MAY PUT OUR YOUTH IN A VULNERABLE POSITION, RIGHT? AND WHEREAS IF IT'S DONE, UM, THROUGH THIS PIECE, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S, IT'S BROAD, RIGHT? AND IT'S NOT CONFINED TO JUST FORMERLY INCARCERATED YOUTH WHERE THEY'RE VULNERABLE, UM, OR STIGMATIZED.
RIGHT? UM, BUT THAT'S A LARGER CONVERSATION.
AND A COUNCILWOMAN BRINGS UP VERY GREAT POINTS, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING BRIEFED BY THE CHAIR.
AND, AND COUNCILMAN, WE'D BE HAPPY TO, TO HAVE A FOLLOW UP CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE RIGHT ON POINT THAT WE WANT YOUTH TO FEEL COMFORTABLE ACCESSING SERVICES AND TO HAVE THAT SENSE OF CAMARADERIE AND SUPPORT WITH THE, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT CURRENTLY WORK WITH THEM.
UH, SO THEY HAVE THAT LEVEL OF COMFORT IN SEEKING OUT SUPPORT AND SERVICES.
AND, AND DO WE NEED A COMMITTEE ACTION ON THIS ITEM? YEAH, I, I, I THINK YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, FOR SOME GUIDANCE TO WE ARE.
SO WE'RE REQUESTING APPROVAL OF THE PLAN THAT WE'VE PROPOSED, UM, TO TAKE THAT FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL ON AUGUST 18TH.
AGAIN, UH, THAT WOULD JUST BE APPROVAL OF THE PLAN.
SO THE, THE SPECIFIC C OVID 19 IMPACTS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED, THE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES, AND THE, UM, THE SPECIFIC EQUITABLE OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE
[01:15:01]
TRYING TO ACHIEVE.WE WILL WORK WITH YOU AS WE FINALIZE THAT R F P.
UM, CERTAINLY HAPPY AGAIN TO PROVIDE IT FOR REVIEW, IN ADVANCE OF RELEASE, AND FOR COUNCIL FEEDBACK.
AND, AND SO I'M, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA THROW A WRENCH IN THAT AFTER THE, THE COMMENTS, 'CAUSE I'VE, I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT SOME CONCERNS, BUT, UH, HE'S FIRST AND THEN, UH, NEXT, IS THAT OKAY.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY IT'S MARKED FRACTION.
I JUST, IT'S, IT'S, BRIEFING SOMETIMES SAYS BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION, THE FOLLOW.
PLEASE NEVER CONTRADICT THE COUNCILWOMAN IN PUBLIC AGAIN,
I, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, SAY THAT EVERYTHING I'VE HEARD AND EVERYTHING I'VE READ ON HERE IS RIGHT ON THE MARK FOR WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
I'M PARTICULARLY PLEASED TO HEAR, UH, FROM THE COUNCILWOMAN ABOUT WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY'S CONSIDERING FOR MENTAL HEALTH FOR YOUTH.
I, I DIDN'T SEE THAT ADDRESSED VERY CLEARLY, AND I KIND OF FELT LIKE THAT COULD BE A GAP.
BUT, UH, I HOPE THAT THE, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN YOUTH, UH, YOU KNOW, SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE SUFFERED, SUFFER FROM, YOU KNOW, THE ADVERSE, UH, IMPACT OF, OF THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR FAMILY LIVES.
AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT.
I THINK MOST OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE SEE WITH YOUNG PEOPLE ARE, AS A TEACHER, I CAN TELL YOU, ARE EITHER MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL.
AND IF WE CAN HELP DEAL WITH THOSE PROBLEMS, THEN I THINK WE'LL HELP THE YOUTH IN THIS CITY.
SO I HOPE TO SEE A GOOD SHARE OF, OF THE INVESTMENT GO AND THE MENTAL HEALTH.
SO I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING MY IDEAS WITH THAT WITH YOU.
DO YOU WANNA, UH, ADD ANYTHING ELSE? NO, I JUST THINK, UH, FOR ME, I, I FEEL THIS FRAMEWORK IS GOOD.
AND ALEX, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO IT OR IF WE NEED TO GET MARIA IN HERE ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO IN TERMS OF THAT GANG ACTIVITY PIECE, BECAUSE I LIKE WHAT I HEAR MORE HERE THAN WHAT, WHAT I THINK I'M GONNA HEAR FROM PUBLIC SAFETY, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HEARD THAT PIECE YET.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN SAY, UH, PER RECOMMENDATIONS FROM, OR IN ALIGNING WITH WHAT, UH, E W D C CAME OUT OF THEIR ARPAS.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THAT TREND.
SO I'M JUST, I'M NOT SURE, UM, IF WE CAN DO THAT, BECAUSE IT'S TWO TRANCHES OF MONEY.
AND CHAIR, I'LL JUST SHARE THAT.
UM, AT THE STAFF LEVEL, WE ARE COORDINATING WEEKLY, UM, BETWEEN ALL THE DIFFERENT COUNCIL COMMITTEES THAT ARE REVIEWING ARPA, UM, ALLOCATIONS.
UM, SO WE CAN DEFINITELY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, BUT IF THAT SPECIFIC DIRECTION THAT THE COMMITTEE ALSO WANTS TO PROVIDE RIGHT NOW, WE CAN MAKE SURE TO INCORPORATE THAT AS WELL.
IT, IT IS A GOOD PRESENTATION.
AND SO I DON'T WANT YOU TO THINK THAT I, I, YOU KNOW, THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS ARE, ARE CRITICAL OF, OF THE WORK YOU'VE PUT INTO IT AND YOUR TEAM.
UM, I, I'M, I'M CONCERNED BECAUSE I READ THE COVER PAGE OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION, RIGHT? AND, UH, RIGHT OUTTA THE GATE, FIRST SENTENCE THAT Y'ALL WROTE IS THAT, UH, CONGRESS SIGNED INTO LAW ARPA, UM, AND ALLOCATED RESOURCES TO SUPPORT LOCAL GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO AND RECOVERY FROM COVID.
AND THEN IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH, YOU WROTE, UM, THAT COUNCIL RECOMMENDED PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING OF $10 MILLION TO BE USED TO SUPPORT YOUTH IN THEIR RECOVERY FROM COVID.
RIGHT? AND SO NOW I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE, UH, THE, UH, PRIORITY OF INVESTMENTS, UM, THAT, THAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING IN THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE FOUR COLUMNS? NO, NOT THAT ONE.
THIS ONE, UM, AND I'M, I HAVE THE DISADVANTAGE IN THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, AND I THINK COUNCILMAN COURAGE HAS THE DISADVANTAGE IN THAT WHEN WE TALK TO OUR CONSTITUENTS, NOBODY EVER TALKS ABOUT GANGS, RIGHT? AND THAT'S, THAT'S JUST THE REALITY OF, OF THE NORTH SIDE VERSUS, YOU KNOW, VERSUS THE REALITY ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
AND, UH, AND SO I'M, I'M, I'M CONFIDENT THAT THAT'S WHAT, YOU KNOW, MY COLLEAGUES FROM THE OTHER, UH, SECTORS OF THE CITY ARE HEARING.
UM, WHAT CONCERNS ME, HOWEVER, IS THAT I, I'M NOT SURE WHAT, UM, GANG PREVENTION, UM, AND C O V I D RECOVERY HAVE TO DO WITH IF, IF THERE'S A CAUSAL NEXUS THERE, RIGHT? THAT'S, THAT'S MY FIRST CONCERN.
THE SECOND CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT GANG PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS ARE THE FUNCTION OF ANOTHER COMMITTEE, RIGHT? AND ACTUALLY ARE THE FUNCTION OF S A P D ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS SINCE FOREVER, RIGHT? AND SOME OF OUR OTHER AGENCIES.
AND SO, PERSONALLY, I'D FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE SEEING GANG PREVENTION AND ACTIVITY IF IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US TO BE BAKED INTO OUR GENERAL BUDGET GOING FORWARD IN, IN AN INTENTIONAL YEAR TO YEAR WAY, AS OPPOSED TO USING A WINDFALL FOR
[01:20:01]
COVID RESPONSE TO COVER SOME OF THAT, RIGHT? THE SEC, AND BY THE WAY, I FULLY EXPECT PEOPLE TO DISAGREE WITH ME ON THIS, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE HEARING ABOUT GANG, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR GANG PREVENTION.UM, THE SECOND THING IS, HAVING SPOKEN TO THE MAYOR AND THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT WHERE TO PUT THE YOUTH TRANCHE OF DOLLARS, RIGHT? THERE WAS A DISCUSSION, RIGHT? SHOULD WE PUT IT IN, UM, IN, IN PUBLIC SAFETY? SHOULD WE PUT THIS TRANCHE OF DOLLARS IN AT THE CHECK COMMITTEE, OR SHOULD WE PUT IT HERE? AND THE, UM, AND I THINK THE THINKING WAS, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, ALEX, BUT THE THINKING WAS THAT IF IT WAS GONNA BE PUT IN THIS COMMITTEE, THAT THERE WOULD BE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE D N A FUNCTION OF THIS COMMITTEE, WHICH IS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT? AND SO, WHAT CONCERNS ME IS THAT I'M LOOKING AT THAT LIST UP THERE, AND THAT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS NOT PROMINENT, RIGHT? UM, AND WHEREAS WE'RE MAKING OTHER VERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVES PROMINENT, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT UP HERE FOR YEARS AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM SBA C AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM, FROM ALL OF OUR OTHER PARTNERS, PARTICULARLY THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, LET'S SAY, AND THE PEOPLE IN THAT, IN THAT INDUSTRY, IS THAT THEY'RE SUFFERING FROM, AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TRADES AND FROM OTHER FOLKS, THEY'RE SUFFERING FROM A MAJOR LABOR SHORTAGE, RIGHT? AND MANY YOUTH WHO ARE COMING OUTTA HIGH SCHOOL, THEY AREN'T GONNA GO TO COLLEGE, AND THAT'S OKAY, RIGHT? UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE WANTING TO GO OUT A JOB SO THEY CAN BEGIN SUPPORTING THEIR FAMILIES AND BEGIN, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR CAREERS AND BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU KNOW, IN A NON-COLLEGE, UH, TRACK.
UM, AND WE'RE HEARING FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY ARE STRUGGLING TO GET THESE YOUTH TO APPLY FOR THESE JOBS.
THEY'RE STRUGGLING TO FIND YOUTH THAT ARE TRAINED SUFFICIENTLY BY SCHOOLS AND ALL THAT.
AND SO, YEAH, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT WHAT WE WERE GONNA GET WAS A RECOMMENDATION.
UH, AND MAYBE, MAYBE IT WAS AN EXPECTATION THAT I NOW NEED TO ADJUST, RIGHT? BUT I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT WE WERE GONNA GET RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO HELP KIDS PLUG INTO THESE JOBS, RIGHT? HOW TO, UM, GET KIDS TRAINED, AND I CALL THEM KIDS, AND I, I SHOULD SAY YOUNG ADULTS, UH, HOW TO GET YOUNG ADULTS, UM, TRAINED, UM, IN CODING STEM.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE THINGS THAT THIS COMMITTEE DISCUSSES QUITE OFTEN, IF WE WERE IN CHECK AT THE CHECK COMMITTEE, I FULLY EXPECT THIS LIST TO FLY THROUGH WITHOUT THE CHAIRMAN'S, UH, YOU KNOW, OBJECTIONS, RIGHT? IF WE WERE IN PUBLIC SAFETY, I'D FULLY EXPECT US TO, YOU KNOW, THROW EVEN MORE MONEY AT GANG PREVENTION AND ALL THAT, RIGHT? BUT THAT WASN'T THE, THE REASON FOR EXISTENCE OF THIS FUN, OF, OF THIS JOB, THIS TASK THAT WAS GIVEN US AT THIS COMMITTEE.
SO, I, I'LL STOP THERE AND, AND LET MY COLLEAGUES REACT.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M, I, I MEAN, I'M, I'M PERFECTLY WILLING TO GO WITH THIS LIST, RIGHT? IF THAT'S WHAT THIS COMMITTEE WANTS TO DO.
I'M JUST WORRYING THAT WE ARE NOW LOOKING AT SOME SERIOUS MISSION CREEP, RIGHT? AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO AVOID.
AND I, I, I JUST NEED TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
AND SO, COUNCILMAN V GNA, WHAT DO YOU THINK? OH, OH, OKAY.
HOW MANY TIMES? UM, SO ONE THING, AND AND I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS, AND, BUT I THINK WHAT, WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND IN THE, IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR, IN OUR AREA OF TOWN IS THAT KIDS ARE WORKING NOW, UM, EITHER AT A FAMILY BUSINESS OR AT 11, SO THAT 11 TO 15 AGE, AND, AND SOMETIMES BY 15, WE'VE LOST THEM IN GANGS.
SO I THINK IF WE CAN HAVE A PROGRAM, IF WE CAN GIVE DOLLARS THAT TELLS THEM THERE IS WAYS TO MAKE MONEY, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A, A YOUTH INTERN PROGRAM WHERE I COULD, I COULD PAY AN 11 YEAR OLD, BUT WE LIVE IN TEXAS, I CAN'T
UM, BUT, UH, I, I THINK THAT THAT'S WHERE THIS IS COMING FROM, IS BECAUSE IF WE'RE LOSING THEM, UM, OR IF WE'RE NOT DOING AN INTERVENTION PROGRAM THAT THEY CAN LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, AS AN 11 YEAR OLD, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO SEE THEM LOST TO GANG ACTIVITY FOR JUST WHAT REBECCA MENTIONED, WHICH IS THAT, THAT FINANCIAL GAIN.
SO I THINK THIS IS WHY I, I'D RATHER SEE IT HERE, UH, BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO START WITH THE YOUTH THAN WAIT UNTIL AFTER THEY'RE, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER SITUATION THAT WE NEED TO DO.
SO FOR A, AND FOR US IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR, IS I DO HAVE PE CHILDREN IN THAT 11 TO TWO 15 RANGE THAT ARE, UH, ARE PARTICIPATING IN ACTIVITIES, AND I DON'T, AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND JUST A SERIES OF CRIMES THAT ARE JUST, UH, JUST WHY WE'RE ADDRESSING VIOLENT CRIMES THERE.
BUT I THINK IN TERMS OF WORKFORCE, IT, IT, IT IS ABOUT TEACHING THEM THERE ARE OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO WORK.
AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT TATTOO, IF YOU, IF YOU MAKE THIS CHOICE NOW, THAT, THAT THERE'S GONNA BE,
[01:25:01]
UH, OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO GROW AND A FUTURE READY TO WORK.I DON'T QUARREL WITH ANY, YOU'RE, YOU'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT CORRECT.
UM, AND, UH, THAT PHENOMENON IS VERY REAL, AND YOU'RE, WE'RE SEEING IT IN THOSE SECTORS OF TOWN.
UH, AGAIN, UH, YOU KNOW, I'D, I'D BE INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE RELATIONSHIP TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID, AND COVID, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SPEND THIS MONEY IN A WAY THAT RESPONDS TO COVID.
AND SO, I, I MEAN, I, THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I'M, I WANNA HEAR YOUR IDEAS.
SO IF COVID HADN'T HAPPENED, THEY WOULD'VE BEEN IN SCHOOL.
AND LET ME BRING UP THE DIGITAL DIVIDE NOW THAT I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, AND WE'LL HEAR FROM BRIAN LATER.
AND THEY COULDN'T GO TO SCHOOL ONLINE.
SO THEY WERE THE TERM WE LIKE TO USE IN THE STREETS, AND MORE VULNERABLE TO THE GANG ACTIVITY THAT WAS GOING ON.
SO IT'S, IT'S WHY WE SEE WHAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IN VIOLENT CRIMES.
UM, CHAIR, THANK YOU, UH, AGAIN, FOR THE OPEN DISCUSSION.
YOU BRING UP SOME GOOD POINTS, BUT I, I WANNA FOCUS ON THE, WANNA FOCUS ON THE FACT THAT THERE'S DIVERSION PROGRAMS TIED INTO SOME OF THIS, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, BEING OUT OF SCHOOL LEADS TO INCREASED GANG ACTIVITY, UM, INCREASED, UM, DIFFICULTY FOR PARENTS AND SPECIFICALLY GRANDPARENTS THAT ARE RAISING THEIR GRANDCHILDREN.
UM, SO I KEEP REFERENCING ONE FAMILY THAT I HAVE IN DISTRICT FOUR, GRANDMA IS RAISING FOUR BOYS, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, TWO OF THEM, UH, ARE, ARE A LITTLE BIT IN AND OUT OF TROUBLE.
AND SO I KEEP THINKING ABOUT THOSE BOYS.
AND SO, WHAT, WHAT CAN HAPPEN? AND SO ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT I'M REALLY PROUD ABOUT IN DISTRICT FOUR, SOUTHWEST, I S D HAS THE PROMISE PROGRAM.
UM, IT'S A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED MODEL.
UH, IT'S PROMISE, RECIDIVISM, OPPORTUNITIES, MENTORING, INTERVENTION SUPPORT, AND EDUCATION.
WHAT THAT DOES IS IT HELPS FOCUS, UM, ON CAREER EXPLORATION AS WELL.
SO NOT ONLY JUST IN GENERAL, THE MENTORING, THE ADVISING THAT THESE KIDS GET FROM AN ADULT, UM, AND MANY TIMES SPECIFICALLY FROM AN ADULT IN, IN PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, BUT THE OPPORTUNITY THAT THEY HAVE FOR SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN THEM, TO BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE A SECOND CHANCE.
BECAUSE A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT THAT ARE YOUNG, THEY THINK THAT IF THEY FALL BEHIND ALREADY, THAT'S THE RE THAT'S THE WAY THE REST OF THEIR LIFE IS GONNA BE.
AND WE CAN'T DO THAT, RIGHT? WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO ALLOW THEM TO THINK THAT WAY.
WE NEED THEM TO HAVE ADULTS AND MENTORS THAT SUPPORT THEM, THAT SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT? IT'S NOT TOO LATE.
WE'RE GIVING YOU A SECOND CHANCE RIGHT NOW TO FIX WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING, AND HERE'S HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT.
THAT CAREER EXPLORATION IS DEFINITELY A PART OF IT.
SO I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS TIED IN EVENTUALLY TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, BECAUSE IMAGINE IF WE COULD GET DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES THAT SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE WANT TO BE PARTNERS WITH YOU.
WE'LL TAKE THESE KIDS IN AT 16.
WE'LL START TRAINING THEM EARLY.
WE'LL LET THEM KNOW WHAT THE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE.
AND MAYBE TO YOUR POINT, COUNCILMAN, UH, ELIAS, MAYBE IT IS THAT WE WORK WITH AN INDUSTRY THAT NEEDS KIDS THAT ARE, UH, IN THIS AGE GROUP RIGHT NOW, THE PROBLEM THAT I SEE A LITTLE BIT, THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT, BUT THEN AGAIN, WE HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE EXPERTS AT THIS, IS MAYBE WORKING WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ON THE YOUNGER ONES, THE 13 TO 16 YEAR OLDS, RIGHT? AND SO THEY CAN'T NECESSARILY BE EMPLOYED, BUT HOW DO WE CONTINUE FUNDING THOSE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS THAT ALSO FOCUS ON THE PROMISE OF A BETTER TOMORROW? UM, THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE THAT IT SHOULD BE IN HERE.
AND THAT'S HOW I BELIEVE THAT IT'S TIED INTO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT HAS TO HAVE A CAREER EXPLORATION OPPORTUNITY SO THAT WE COULD BE SUCCESSFUL.
BUT THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS.
UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS MELODY LEY WHO GAVE A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF COVID ON YOUTH AND COMMUNITIES, RIGHT? AND THEY FOUND THAT, UH, YOUTH ARE NOW EXPERIENCING HIGHER RATES OF DEPRESSION, RIGHT? AND, UM, I, I THINK WHAT THIS, THESE PARAMETERS PRESENTED PROVIDE, UH, IN ADDITION TO WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN TOUCHED ON RIGHT? IS EARLY ON INTERVENTION THAT CAN LEAD TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND BETTER JOBS, RIGHT? AND WITH MANY OF OUR DELEGATE AGENCIES, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, I SAW, UM, THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLACE WAS HERE, RIGHT? THEY HAVE A STRONG STEM PROGRAM THAT I BELIEVE HAS WON NUMBER ONE, UH, IN SO MANY AVENUES, RIGHT? SO THERE IS THAT JOB TRAINING WHEN WE TALK ABOUT IT MM-HMM.
AND THEY'RE BRINGING IN THOSE AT-RISK YOUTH TO GIVE THEM THE MENTORING, UH, THE TUTORING THAT'S NEEDED TO ENSURE, RIGHT, THAT THEY STAY ON TRACK AND ENTER, UM, HIGHER EDUCATION OR A BETTER JOB, RIGHT? SO I, I SEE THE, THE PARALLEL OF THE IMPACT OF COVID ON OUR YOUTH, AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR JOB TRAINING WITH MANY OF OUR DELEGATE AGENCIES THAT OFFER THAT SPECIALTY TRAINING, UH, AND RESOURCES.
SO I, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH THIS PARAMETER, AND I THINK IT'S NEEDED, RIGHT? TO ENSURE THAT WE DON'T FIND OURSELVES IN A, IN A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE A, A YOUTH THAT ARE, ARE NEEDING SO MANY MORE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, RIGHT? AND NOW'S THE TIME FOR US TO, TO INTERVENE, PROVIDE THESE
[01:30:01]
RESOURCES.UM, AND, AND, UM, RIGHT? I I DO AGREE THAT WE DO NEED A BAKE IN, UH, GANG VIOLENCE SUPPORT IN OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
BUT I THINK, UM, WE ALSO NEED TO SUPPORT AND MOVE THIS FORWARD AS WELL.
COUNCILMAN CURS, WHAT DO YOU THINK? UH, YOU AND I ATTENDED A PUBLIC SAFETY HEARING LAST NIGHT.
AND I REMEMBER ONE PERSON COMING UP AND SAYING, WELL, Y'ALL KEEP BLAMING EVERYTHING ON COVID.
YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULDN'T BE USING THAT FOR AN EXCUSE ANYMORE.
AND, BUT I THINK THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE CAN'T SAY COVID IS OVER, OR THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN OCCURRING NOW WE DON'T HAVE TO CONSIDER ANYMORE.
UH, AND I THINK THE PROBLEM WITH YOUTH IS, IS PART OF THAT, WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF SCHOOLS LOST A LOT OF STUDENTS FROM MONTHS AND MONTHS AT A TIME.
THERE ARE STUDENTS WHO WERE PROBABLY WHOLE YEAR BEHIND ON THEIR EDUCATION.
A LOT OF 'EM WERE IN AND OUT OF SCHOOL AT THE SAME TIME.
THEY HAD PARENTS IN AND OUT OF WORK.
AND SO I CAN IMAGINE WHERE A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITHOUT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WOULD'VE GONE AND, AND JOINED OUT, JOINED WITH THEIR FRIENDS, DOING WHATEVER THEY DO.
AND I, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT MY HISTORY HAS BEEN, IF YOU DON'T GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE SOMETHING TO DO, THEY'LL FIGURE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN.
AND MOST OF THE TIME, AS A PARENT, YOU WON'T BE PRETTY HAPPY WITH WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND AS A COMMUNITY, I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE DO ON THEIR OWN IS NOT ALWAYS BEST FOR THEM OR FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO I THINK THAT IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR US TO ADDRESS THAT, THAT EDUCATIONAL DROP AND THE FAMILY EC ECONOMIC PROBLEMS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE WENT THROUGH TO TRY AND PROVIDE SERVICES TO, TO KEEP THEM INVOLVED IN MORE POSITIVE ACTIVITIES IN THE COMMUNITY AND OUT OF GANG.
SO I WOULD SAY THIS IS A GOOD INVESTMENT.
LISTEN, UH, I, I DON'T, I DON'T, UH, HAVE A QUARREL WITH THE CATEGORIES, RIGHT? UM, I DON'T HAVE A QUARREL WITH, UH, WITH WHY WE'RE DOING IT.
LET ME MAKE A SUGGESTION AND LET ME KNOW IF, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS WOULD BE, UH, OKAY WITH.
UM, I SEE THAT, UH, THERE'S FIVE CATEGORIES UP THERE.
UM, WOULD Y'ALL BE OPEN TO A SIXTH CATEGORY THAT WOULD ADDRESS JOB PREPAREDNESS FOR KIDS WHO ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, 18, 19 WHO AREN'T GONNA GO TO COLLEGE, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING BUT EMPLOYMENT PREPAREDNESS HERE.
UM, WOULD, WOULD Y'ALL BE ADVERSE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
UM, SO WE'VE INCLUDED IT AS PART OF OUR PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES AND EVEN THE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.
SO WE CAN, WE CAN DEFINITELY MAKE THAT MORE EXPLICIT, BUT WE CAN ALSO ADD A CATEGORY SPECIFIC TO THAT, UM, SO THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY SPECIFIC PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES RELATED TO THAT.
BUT IT IS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES AND EQUITABLE OUTCOMES IN THE FIVE PILLARS THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING.
I DO WANNA STRESS THAT IT IS, FOR ME, IT IS EMBEDDED IN ALL OF THESE CATEGORIES.
AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO WORK WITH YOUTH, WE HAD A YOUNG MAN DISENGAGE FROM SCHOOL, FINALLY GOT A JOB, AND WITHIN ABOUT TWO MONTHS, UM, STARTED HIS SUPER, HIS SUPERVISOR BASICALLY TOLD HIM, YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY NEED TO NOT TALK TO EVERYBODY, AND I NEED YOU TO CONCENTRATE TO WORK.
YOUNG MAN HAD ANGER MANAGEMENT ISSUES STARTED CUSSING, HE LEFT.
AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT JOB READINESS, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT GETTING THEM A JOB.
THEY NEED THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL CAPACITY ALSO TO KEEP THE JOB AND TO DEAL WITH CONFLICT.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO WITH OUR PROGRAMS. IT'S THE HOLISTIC, IT'S THE WHOLE CHILD.
IT'S THE WHOLE YOUTH TO PREPARE THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL WHEN THEY DO GET THAT JOB.
WHAT DO YOU THINK, ALEX? SO, I WAS JUST GONNA ADD THAT I, IN JUST LOOKING AT THE SLIDE THAT'S UP ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, I, I UNDERSTAND HOW, UM, IT PERHAPS COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPLICIT.
UM, THE EXPLANATION THAT'S BEING SHARED RIGHT NOW AND THE CONTEXT THAT, THAT THE CONVERSATION HAS BROUGHT UP DEFINITELY BRINGS THAT TO LIGHT, BRINGS, CONNECTS THE, THE SERVICES, THE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES THAT ARE BEING RECOMMENDED TO THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUTH STILL HAVE ACCESS TO.
UM, AND, AND I THINK THERE IS THAT, THAT COVID IMPACT THAT HAS DEFINITELY BEEN DISCUSSED, UM, THAT IS, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE USING THESE FUNDS AS INTENTIONALLY
[01:35:01]
AS POSSIBLE TO MITIGATE, I I THINK IT'S PERHAPS NOT AS EXPLICIT.I DON'T KNOW THAT ADDING A, UH, AN ADDITIONAL CATEGORY WOULD NECESSARILY DO THAT AS MUCH AS IT MAY BE THE INTENTION THAT IT BE INCORPORATED MORE EXPLICITLY INTO EACH ONE OF THESE STRATEGIES THAT'S ALREADY RECOMMENDED.
COULD THAT MAYBE, AND I'D BE OKAY WITH THAT, RIGHT? JUST SEEING IT POP OUT.
I MEAN, 'CAUSE I DON'T, I DON'T SEE IT.
I MEAN, THAT DOESN'T SAY, I MEAN, AND IT'S BAKED INTO THE FOURTH ONE, RIGHT? AS OH, AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? BUT THAT'S, ANYWAY, I, I, I, ANYWAY, YEAH.
I THINK YOU'RE PICKING UP WHAT I'M LAYING DOWN AND, AND GOT IT.
IF THE COMMITTEE DOESN'T WANT TO ADD, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER CATEGORY, THAT'S FINE WITH ME TOO.
RIGHT? I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING FAITHFUL TO WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING AT THIS COMMITTEE.
I, I MEAN, I'LL DO WHATEVER THE COMMITTEE FEELS IS WISE, BUT GO AHEAD, MA'AM.
YEAH, I, I, I SEE THAT IT'S BAKED IN AND I'M OKAY WITH YOU BEING MORE EXPLICIT ON THE E EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.
THE OTHER THING, I'M JUST GONNA LAYER ANOTHER WORK ON YOU IS, AND 'CAUSE THIS IS WHAT I SEE, UM, I HAVE A TACO CABANA, AS MANY OF YOU DO IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND BEFORE MY TACO CABANA WAS STAFFED BY OLDER WOMEN AND THE PANDEMIC HIT AND I GO BACK AFTER THE PANDEMIC, AND IT'S MORE YOUTH.
SO I THINK WE ALSO NEED TO KIND OF GAUGE THAT YOUTH AND MY TATTED UP YOUTH, YOU KNOW, MY, SO I THINK WE KIND OF NEED TO ENGAGE THAT OPPORTUNITIES CAME THAT READY TO WORK, AND OUR JOB TRAINING PROGRAM IS WORKING, BUT THESE YOUTH ARE ENTERING IN THE FAST FOOD JOBS NOW.
AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO START, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EMPLOYMENT AND OPPORTUNITY, UM, WE NEED TO SEE WHERE, WHERE THEY'RE, WHERE THEY'RE LANDING AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING, AND, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT IF THEY WANNA DO THE, YOU KNOW, THE FAST FOOD BECAUSE THAT WORKS WITH THEIR, THEIR SCHEDULE AND, AND THEY LIKE TO GO OUT AT NIGHT, THAT'S GREAT.
BUT IF THEY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD THAT WE'RE, WE'RE EMBEDDING THAT ALSO IN OUR EQUITABLE OUTCOMES OF HOW YOU CAN, UH, MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
RIGHT? COUNCILMAN? SO THAT MIGHT BE A FIRST STEP, BUT WE WOULD HAVE THEM WORKING WITH PROGRAMS AND AGENCIES TO CONTINUE, UH, EMPLOYMENT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION SO THAT THEY CAN PROGRESS TO A BETTER JOB AND, UH, A BETTER LONG-TERM OUTCOME.
AND IF, AND IF THE RESULT OF ALL OF OUR WORK IS THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMEHOW WE ENDED UP PUSHING KIDS INTO MORE TACO CABANA JOBS, THEN I THINK, WE'LL, WE'LL ALL HAVE FAILED HERE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, AND, AND WHAT, WHAT COMES TO MIND? UM, AND I KNOW THAT I THINK YOU'RE ON THE BOARD, BUT, UH, WHAT COMES TO MIND IS THAT KITCHEN CAMPUS PROGRAM, RIGHT? WHERE WE'RE TEACHING KIDS LIKE REAL CULINARY SCIENCE SKILLS SO THAT THEY CAN GET HIGH PAYING JOBS AT EMPLOYERS, UM, IN LIKE, IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY, AS OPPOSED TO JUST LEAVING THEM TO GO FLIP A BURGER SOMEWHERE.
AND BY THE WAY, BURGERS ARE DELICIOUS, RIGHT? UM, BUT, AND THOSE ARE GOOD JOBS, YOU KNOW, AT FOR THE TIME BEING, BUT WE'RE, I THINK WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS CREATE THOSE, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT STICK, RIGHT? BUT LISTEN, THEY, THEY'VE ALREADY, UH, MENTIONED TATTED YOUTH MANY TIMES.
AND SO I THINK IT'S NOW TIME FOR YOU TO, YOU KNOW, UH, SPEAK UP AND DEFEND YOURSELF.
UH, THANK YOU COUNCILOR GLASS.
I THINK YOU JUST PUT ME ON THE SPOT AND I, I'M SORRY, BUT Y'ALL, I HAVE A TATTOO, SO I FEEL LIKE I'M THE ONLY PERSON IN THE ROOM WHO HAS ONE.
UH, BUT SO, UM, I, I DO THINK I, I AGREE WITH THE FACT THAT IT'S ALREADY BAKED IN AND EMBEDDED, SO ABSOLUTELY.
UM, I, I SEE WHERE COUNCILMAN, UH, OR, OR CHAIR WANTS TO TIE IN.
UH, DEFINITELY THE ECONOMIC COMPONENT.
I THINK ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH CAREER SERVICES, CAREER EXPLORATION, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO ADD OR TO BE VERY SPECIFIC WITHIN EACH OF THESE WOULD BE IMPORTANT.
KITCHEN CAMPUS, UM, I'M SURE THERE'S OTHER PROGRAMS. I'M ONLY FAMILIAR KITCHEN CAMPUS.
IT HAPPENS TO BE OUTTA THE FAMILY SERVICES ASSOCIATION BUILDING.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER.
LIKE, WHERE ARE THESE PROGRAMS IN THEIR BACKYARDS? BECAUSE KIDS CAN LITERALLY WALK THERE AND THEY CAN, UM, BE INTRODUCED TO A CAREER, NOT JUST A JOB.
AND SO ANY TYPE OF PROGRAMS THAT DO DO THAT, ABSOLUTELY, I THINK CAN ALSO PROBABLY BE BAKED IN.
BUT THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS AND THANK YOU CHAIR.
SO ANY OBJECTIONS TO HAVING IT BE MORE PROMINENTLY EX EXPLICIT? 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TAKE THIS TO THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? AND EXPLAIN.
AND IF SOMEBODY SAYS, WELL, WHAT ABOUT JOBS? RIGHT? WE CAN'T POINT TO THE MIDDLE OF A PARAGRAPH SOMEWHERE, WE WOULD SEE IT SAYS EMPLOYMENT, RIGHT? ARE YOU OKAY WITH THEM DOING SOME, SOME ADDITIONAL POLISHING TO ADD, YOU KNOW, EM EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AS ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES? IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU? OKAY.
ADDING LANGUAGE INTO THE EXISTING FRONT.
JUST TO, TO HELP US TO, TO HELP US TAKE THIS TO THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU? THE IDEA OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, FUTURE CAREERS? YEAH.
THAT TIES THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
BUT I WANNA PUSH BACK, RIGHT? THAT A TACO CABANA JOB IS A JOB, RIGHT? SO LIKE, I WANNA BE SURE WE'RE NOT, UM, TALKING DOWN ON, UH, ANY SECTOR.
[01:40:01]
IT'S A GREAT TACO TOO.UH, OKAY, SO, SO ALEX, WHAT, WHAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION HERE THAT WE TAKE, THAT WE TAKE ACTION TODAY? OR THAT YOU GUYS COME BACK WITH IT POLISHED UP? OR WILL YOU JUST COMMIT TO US THAT IT'LL BE POLISHED UP BEFORE WE PUT IT IN FRONT OF, UH, A SESSION? I THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY DO.
UM, I, I, I HATE CALLING IT POLISHING UP, BUT THERE COULD BE THAT ADDITIONAL EMPHASIS THAT'S GONNA BE, UM, ADDED INTO THIS, THIS FRAMEWORK THAT YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT HERE.
I KNOW THAT THE TEAM HAS THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO BE WORKING ON IN THE COMING MONTH, UM, AND TO, TO BE READY FOR AUGUST.
I THINK THERE WAS A TIMELINE SLIDE, IF WE CAN PUT THAT ONE UP.
UM, JUST SO THAT THE WORK CAN CONTINUE, IF WE COULD, IF WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH APPROVAL, UNDERSTANDING THE DIRECTION TO, TO HIGHLIGHT THE, UM, IMPORTANCE OF, OF REFERENCING THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES THAT ARE GONNA BE ACHIEVED.
I THINK THINK THAT STILL GIVES THE STAFF THE TIME TO KEEP DOING THE WORK IN THE NEXT MONTH THAT, THAT NEEDS TO GET DONE.
I, I ALSO, JESSICA, ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA SHARE THOUGH? NO, I THINK THAT THAT, UM, ALIGNS AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO WORK ON THAT AND EVEN MAYBE PROVIDE A COPY BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE, UH, BEFORE IT GOES TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I THINK IT'S TIME TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? YEAH, SOUNDS GOOD.
I MOVE TO A APPROVE AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ARPA SPENDING BRAIN WORK FOR YOUTH ONTO CITY COUNCIL.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
WE GOT A DIGITAL DIVIDE CONVERSATION TO HAVE.
I THINK, UM, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME SLIDES IN HERE, UH, THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE REPEATED.
I LIKE TO LEAVE SOME OF THESE SLIDES IN HERE AS INFORMATIONAL AND CONTEXT OF RESIDENTS THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TUNE INTO THE MEETINGS AND MAYBE READING THESE SLIDES FROM HOME, UH, MAINLY AROUND THE FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS. UM, BUT I DO WANNA MAKE ONE STAFFING ANNOUNCEMENT.
SO, UH, CANARA MENDOZA, OUR, UH, PREVIOUS DIGITAL INCLUSION ADMINISTRATOR.
UH, SHE'S NOW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OVER OUR COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM IN YAKIMA COUNTY, BACK IN HER HOME STATE OF WASHINGTON.
UH, KUDOS AND TREMENDOUS, UH, PROMOTION FOR HER.
UM, WE'VE GOT LEE MIDDLETON HERE.
UH, SHE'S BEEN WITH THE TEAM FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF, TWO MONTHS.
UH, SHE'S COMING FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT SHE IS OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION COORDINATOR.
SO SHE'S GONNA DO ALL THE WORK WHILE CANARIA IS GONE.
UM, SO VERY EXCITED TO, TO BE PRESENTING ON A FEW ITEMS TODAY.
UM, I'LL, UH, JUMP INTO OUR COUNCIL PRIORITIES, REMINDER OF THAT.
WE'LL THEN TALK ABOUT OUR, UM, DIGITAL INCLUSION EFFORTS THAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR.
I'LL DO AN UPDATE ON THOSE FEDERAL GRANTS, MIDDLE MILE GRANT AND THE BEAD.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL BRIEF ON THE UPCOMING R F P THAT WE'RE GONNA DROP, UH, TO PUT SOME ACTION ON, ON THE ROAD HERE.
UH, SO CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES, REMINDERS ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION AND LITERACY FOR SENIORS, YOUTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND OUR HIGH NEED COMMUNITIES IN D ONE, D TWO, D THREE, D FOUR, AND FIVE.
UH, AND THOSE INITIATIVES ARE TO ADDRESS BARRIERS TO ACCESS, UH, INCLUDING AVAILABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND ADOPTION.
UH, SO SOME OF THE EFFORTS THAT WE'VE TAKEN ON SO FAR, UH, AND I'LL GO IN DEEPER ON THAT, A C P ITEM, THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM CAMPAIGN.
UH, BUT I DID GET SOME STATS BACK ON EMERGENCY CONNECTIVITY FUND, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA.
UM, SO WE'VE GOT THOSE STATS READY FOR YOU.
I'LL BE EMAILING THOSE OVER TO YOU.
BUT ALSO PRESENT AT THE END HERE.
UH, WE'VE CONTINUED OUR MEETINGS WITH ISPS.
THOSE HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY VERY FRUITFUL.
UM, WE'VE GOT THE G I S MAPPING WITH EQUITY AND DIGITAL DIVIDE LAYERS.
OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH BEXAR COUNTY IS FRUITFUL.
UH, AND OF COURSE, WE ARE CONTINUED OUR SHARED ALIGNMENT WITH DIGITAL EQUITY ROADMAP, UH, THROUGH SA DIGITAL CONNECTS.
UM, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE ARE CONTINUING TO TALK TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT STATE MUNICIPAL CODE, UH, RESTRICTS US ON A LOT OF THINGS.
SO WE WANNA SHARE THAT VALUE AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE CAN KIND OF, UH, MANEUVER AROUND ALL THAT.
AS FAR AS AFFORD AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAMS, THE $30 A MONTH THAT POSSIBLY REDUCE RESIDENTS, UM, IN, IN CERTAIN POVERTY LEVELS, DOWN TO ZERO, UH, DOLLARS FOR A SUBSCRIPTION.
UH, LOCAL ENROLLMENT AS OF JUNE 1ST IS 94,800 HOUSEHOLDS.
THAT'S A 8% INCREASE SINCE MAY 1ST.
UM, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE EFFORTS WE'VE TAKEN ON AS FAR AS THE CAMPAIGN.
UH, SO YOU PROBABLY GOT A SS M S TEXT MESSAGE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, UH, PROMOTING THIS, THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, SO IF ANYBODY SUBSCRIBED TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S TEXT SERVICE, UH, YOU'LL GET THOSE.
UH, WE ARE EXECUTING ON A DOOR HANGER CAMPAIGN AS OF NEXT WEEK, AS OF NEXT WEEK.
AND I PUT TARGETED IN PARENTHESES THERE.
UH, WE ARE GONNA DO THIS IN A PHASED APPROACH AS A, AS THE, UH, F C C PROVIDES THE NUMBERS OF A C P REGISTRANTS, UH, BY ZIP CODE.
[01:45:01]
TO PIVOT ALONG THE WAY AS WE DISTRIBUTE THOSE DOOR HANGERS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ADDRESSING THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT AREN'T REGISTERING.AS WE SEE THOSE NUMBERS COME IN.
UH, I RECORDED A RADIO AD LAST WEEK, SO YOU'LL BE HEARING MY VOICE ON IHEARTRADIO, ALONG WITH CANARIAS.
UH, AND THEN WE, OF COURSE, YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN PROMOTIONAL FLYERS ALL THROUGHOUT YOUR OFFICES AND OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS.
UH, LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS OF COURSE, SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION.
WE KNOW THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS KIND OF IRONIC WHEN IT COMES TO, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT DIGITAL DIVIDE, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS, UH, THAT HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE DISCONNECTED THAT CAN PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO THEM.
UH, UPDATES ON FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM.
SO FIRST OF ALL, MIDDLE MILE GRANT PROGRAM REMINDER, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY ADDRESSING MIDDLE MILES, THE FEDERAL PROGRAM WHERE THE FUNDING WOULD COME DIRECTLY TO CITIES.
UM, IF WE MATCH THAT 30%, THAT WOULD GIVE US A RETURN OF 23 MILLION.
THAT FUNDING TIMELINE APPLICATIONS ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 30TH, UH, SELECTIONS BY FEBRUARY, 2023.
AND AGAIN, FUNDS WILL COME DIRECTLY TO THE CITY.
UM, THIS IS A FIVE YEAR PLAN TO BUILD OUT.
AND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS, AS WE'VE HAD THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FEDERAL LEVEL, IS THAT THE APPLICANTS NEED TO OWN THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO CONSIDERATIONS, UH, ONE IS A 30% MATCH REQUIREMENT, UH, WHICH IS A BENEFIT.
UH, BUT OUR SECOND CONSIDERATION THERE IS, IS THERE A LEGAL BATTLE? IF THERE ARE OWNERSHIP REQUIREMENTS FOR A CITY TO APPLY? UM, YOU'VE HEARD THIS CONVERSATION OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
CAN WE CREATE OUR OWN MUNICIPAL NETWORK? CAN WE OWN THAT INFRASTRUCTURE? UH, AS WE CONTINUE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR ATTORNEYS AND WITH THE ISPS, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO, UH, KIND OF AVOID THAT, THAT CHANNEL.
UH, WILL ISPS, YOU'LL SEE A THIRD MARK HERE, IS WILL ISPS PROVIDE LETTERS OF COMMITMENT TO LEASE MIDDLE MILE AND THEN BUILD OUT LAST MILE TO HOME? SO IF WE DID BUILD OUT OUR OWN NETWORK, WOULD ISPS ACTUALLY UTILIZE IT TO CONNECT TO HOME? UH, WE HAVE HEARD THAT THAT IS NOT VERY LIKELY.
UM, SO THAT'S ALSO GOING INTO OUR THOUGHTS ON HOW DO WE, HOW ARE WE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS AND THIS IS THE BEST APPROACH.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHAT IS OUR PLAN B IF WE DON'T GET SELECTED FOR THOSE FUNDS? BEAD? I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THIS.
THIS IS THE ONE THAT GOES TO STATE, AND THEN WE APPLY TO THE STATE IN LATE 2023.
UM, SOME ITEMS HERE THAT WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT THE NOFO WAS RELEASED IN MAY LAST MONTH.
UH, STATE LETTER OF INTENT IS DUE JULY 18TH.
UH, AND THIS LETTER OF INTENT IS TO RECEIVE INITIAL PLANNING FUNDS.
SO THIS IS NOT THE EXECUTION OF DOLLARS, THIS IS THE EXECUTION ON A PLAN.
THEN THEY HAVE 270 DAYS WITHIN THE RECEIPT OF THOSE FUNDS TO PROVIDE A FIVE YEAR ACTION PLAN TELLING YOU ALL THIS.
'CAUSE THIS IS A LONG, LONG RUNWAY FOR THE STATE TO EVEN GET THEIR FUNDS BEFORE THEY EVEN PROVIDE IT TO US.
UH, THIS IS THE ONE THAT REQUIRES A 25% MATCH, WHICH LEADS US TO $27 MILLION OF THAT 6.9.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS HERE, STATE LED DETAILS ARE STILL UNKNOWN.
UH, UNSERVED COMMUNITIES HAVE PRIORITY BEFORE GETTING TO ANY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
UH, WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS BEFORE IN THESE MEETINGS ABOUT RURAL, RURAL VERSUS URBAN.
I DON'T WANNA PUT THE VERSUS, 'CAUSE THERE ISN'T A COMPETITION HERE.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE STATE OF TEXAS, THEY HAVE EXPRESSED VERY DIRECTLY THAT RURAL COMMUNITIES WILL BE FUNDED FIRST AND FOREMOST.
AND THE TIMELINE IS TWO, THREE YEARS OUT.
SO I AM PRESENTING TODAY ALSO ON AN R F P.
UH, AND I'LL THANK JORGE GARCIA.
AND CRAIG HOPKINS OVER IN IT FOR HELPING US PARTNER AND FIGURE THIS OUT.
I THINK WE WENT THROUGH ABOUT FIVE ITERATIONS OF THIS OVER THE LAST MONTH ALONE.
UM, THE, THE LAUNCH IS WE'RE LOOKING TO LAUNCH, UH, BY NEXT FRIDAY, THIS R F P, UH, AND THESE, THERE'S KIND OF FOUR COMPONENTS TO THIS.
IT'S REALLY IDENTIFYING UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
UH, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT UNSERVED, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOLKS THAT DON'T HAVE INTERNET VERSUS UNDERSERVED FOLKS THAT ARE UNDER THAT 120, A HUNDRED UP, I MEAN, SORRY, A HUNDRED DOWN, 20 UP, UH, RATE THAT F C C HAS SET AS A NEW STANDARD.
UH, WE'RE ALSO IDENTIFYING CURRENT OR FUTURE BROADBAND EXPANSION PROJECT PROJECTS FROM THE ISPS.
WE'VE HAD DILIGENT CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM AND THEY'VE SAID, HEY, PUT SOMETHING ON THE STREETS.
LET US RESPOND IN A FORMAL MANNER.
UH, THIRDLY, COST TO DEPLOY OR UPGRADE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE KNOW WE'VE GOT A SMALL BUCKET OF MONEY AT 6.9 THAT MAY HIT SOME CENSUS TRACKS, BUT IT WILL NOT HIT ALL OF OUR PRIORITY AREAS.
WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN LEVERAGE THOSE DOLLARS WITH THE ISPS TO MAKE IT A BETTER INVESTMENT.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IS THAT COST SHARING OPPORTUNITIES.
WITH ISPS, WE'VE BEEN HEARING CONVERSATIONS AND CONFIDENTIALITY ABOUT, HEY, YOU PUT UP THE MONEY, WE'LL HELP YOU FILL THE GAP.
ISPS HAVE EX HAD, HAVE EXPRESSED CLEARLY TO US THAT THEY'RE NOT PLANNING ON APPLYING FOR THOSE GRANTS THEMSELVES.
UH, SO THEY ARE WILLING TO PARTNER WITH US AS WE LOOK TO EXECUTE ON THESE FUNDS.
PRIMARY QUESTIONS IN THE R F P, YOU CURRENTLY HAVE 120 MEGABITS PER SECOND IN MIDDLE OR LAST MILE INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THESE PRIORITY NEIGHBORHOODS, ARE YOU CURRENTLY PLANNING TO DEPLOY THAT MIDDLE OR LAST MILE AT THAT RATE? WHEN ARE YOU DOING IT AND WHAT'S THE COST? AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL AGAIN FOR A CITY COUNTY PARTNERSHIP TO PARTNER IN THAT WITH THE FUNDING AVAILABLE? UM, I'M GONNA STAY ON THIS.
I WANT TO HIT HOME ON SOMETHING.
[01:50:01]
SO I KNOW A LOT OF FOLKS HAVE HAD SOME GRIEF, UM, AND WE'VE HAD SOME, UH, TENSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ISPS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PAST THE PAST, UH, WHY HAVEN'T YOU DEPLOYED THESE AREAS? AND THEY'VE SAID, WE'VE BEEN THERE AND WE'VE DISAGREED ON SOME ACCOUNTS, BUT AS WE STARTED TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, AND HONESTLY, AS THE F C C RAISED THAT STANDARD TO THAT 120 RATE, THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAVE CHANGED.SO NOW ISPS ARE REALIZING, OKAY, NOW WE GOTTA GO IN THERE.
THAT IS NOT THE STANDARD ANYMORE.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AT ADEQUATE RATES IN THOSE AREAS YOU'D IDENTIFIED.
SO I THINK THIS IS CHANGING THAT CATALYST.
THIS IS THE CATALYST FOR CHANGE IN THE CONVERSATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
ONE CONSIDERATION FOR THIS PROPOSAL THAT WE'RE DECIDING IN THIS NEXT WEEK IS HOW LONG ARE WE GONNA LEAVE IT ON THE STREETS? UH, IS 30 DAYS LONG ENOUGH TO GET A RESPONSE FROM THOSE? ISPS IS 60 IS 120.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH CRAIG, UH, HOPKINS AT I T SS D RIGHT NOW TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, AND BASED ON ALL THIS, I ALSO WANNA REFLECT THAT THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY.
NOT ONLY HAVE WE IDENTIFIED OUR PRIORITY 25 CENSUS TRACKS THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO, BUT WE HAVE ALSO IDENTIFIED 10 CENSUS TRACKS THAT BUILD IN THAT RURAL COMMUNITIES THAT ARE UNINCORPORATED WITHIN THE COUNTY.
SO THIS IS A MAJOR PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE BOTH OF US.
UH, AND THAT IS WHAT I HAVE FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'M OPEN TO COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, FEEDBACK.
ARE YOU, UH, ALEX, YOU'RE EXPECTING US TO TAKE SOME ACTION TODAY ON THIS? NO, SIR.
UM, LET'S, UH, COUNCILMAN
AND I KNOW CANDALARIA ISN'T HERE, BUT I APPRECIATE ALL THE HARD WORK.
I I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
AND I THINK WE, WE HAVE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, AS I BROUGHT UP YESTERDAY, UM, OR THE DAY BEFORE, ALL DAYS ARE MERGING TOGETHER.
I THINK THIS CONVERSATION REALLY NEEDS TO BE HAD IN B SESSION.
I THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY START IT AND LOOK AT OUR SUPPORT.
BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND I NEED, UM, I NEED PEOPLE NOT TO HEAR THE FIRST WORD, BUT TO HEAR IT ALL IS WE ARE LOOKING AT A REDLINING DIGITAL SITUATION HERE.
UH, AND WE AS A CITY CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN.
AND I KNOW I DON'T EVEN NEED TO ASK BRIAN.
I KNOW THERE ARE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES WHO HAVE GONE INTO THAT, UH, INTO THE INTERNET.
I, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER BUSINESS, WE DON'T WANT TO GO THERE.
BUT WE DO NOT WANT TO BE IN THIS DIGITAL REDLINE SITUATION.
AND MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UH, ON MY LEFT, ROCHA GARCIA, SHE CAN GRAB, UH, SHE CAN BRING YOU THE MAPS NEXT TIME TO SHOW YOU.
AND I KNOW YOU HAVE MAPS, BRIAN, I KNOW MARINA HAS MAPS.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY BE INTENTIONAL WITH HOW WE MOVE FORWARD OUT OF THIS COMMITTEE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE START BRINGING THIS TO B SE WE, WE SEE, UM, THE TEAM AT B SESSION A WHOLE LOT MORE BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT CHALLENGE FOR US.
WE ARE ON TARGET WITH THE WORKFORCE.
I FEEL WE, WE'VE ADDRESSED THAT ISSUE, BUT WE ARE BEHIND ON ADDRESSING THIS.
SO, UM, LET'S PUT OUT THE R F P, SEE WHAT WE CAN GET DONE.
I AM, I AM HOPEFUL FOR SOME MIRACLE AT THE STATE LEVEL, BUT I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD HOLD OUR BREATH.
AND, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE AND THEY'RE SLIM.
AND IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO BE CREATIVE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS WITH RAISES, GRANTS, POSSIBLY BOND PROJECTS, UH, LOOKING AT WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS TO, TO OFFER US IN, IN YEARS TO COME.
BUT, UH, THIS, THIS CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER.
UH, THERE THERE'S A GAP AND IT CONTINUES TO, TO WIDEN.
I I THINK THAT'S APPROPRIATE THAT, UM, AS WE HEAR BACK ON THE R F P, THAT WE MIGHT HAVE A LARGER CONVERSATION.
UM, BRIAN, AND, AND FIRST I WANNA SAY THANK YOU BECAUSE I THINK EVERYTHING THAT I ASKED YOU ALL TO DO, I YOU DID.
AND SO, UM, THE DOOR HANGERS AND EVERYTHING, ALL THE OUTREACH, I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, I GOT THE TEXT MESSAGE LAST WEEK, UM, UH, IT WAS JUNE 15TH AT 2 23.
AND LEMME TELL YOU, I FORGOT TO TEXT YOU ABOUT IT, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
THE MESSAGING WAS VERY SPECIFIC.
IT, IT SAYS YOU COULD RECEIVE $30 A MONTH FOR INTERNET, AND IN THAT SAME, UM, TEXT MESSAGE, IT ALSO SAID IT IN SPANISH INTERNET.
VERY SIMPLE, RIGHT? AND THEN CLICK HERE.
SO I APPRECIATED THE SIMPLICITY.
SO WHOEVER CAME UP WITH THE MESSAGING STRATEGY FOR YOUR TEXT MESSAGE, PLEASE CONGRATULATE THEM ON MY BEHALF.
I, I DON'T OFTEN, UH, SAY, HEY, THIS IS GREAT.
SO TAKE THAT AND YOU GET AN A PLUS.
[01:55:01]
I DO HAVE A QUESTION.UM, IS THERE A DOLLAR AMOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH THE, UM, UH, SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY R F P SPECIFICALLY? UH, NO MA'AM.
AND THEN HOW MUCH HAS BEXAR COUNTY COMMITTED TO ARPA FUNDING FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION AND LITERACY? THAT WOULD BE AN ANSWER THEY WOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE, MA'AM.
I, I'VE BEEN WAITING ON THAT ANSWER FOR AMERIC WALSH FOR SEVERAL AREAS, UH, FROM THE COUNTY.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE GOTTEN ANY OF THE ARPA INFORMATION.
AND, UH, I SEE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE OVER THERE.
I WANNA GET OUT OF LINE, BUT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A LOT OF THE COUNTY INFORMATION.
SO JUST F Y I WILL FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
UM, BUT IS IT POSSIBLE ALSO TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR THE MIDDLE MILE GRANT PROGRAM AND THE BEAT PROGRAM, OR IS ONE GOING TO BE PRIORITIZED BEFORE CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION FOR THE OTHER ONE? UH, CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAVE IN HAND CURRENTLY, UH, IT WOULD BE BEST FOR US TO APPLY FOR MIDDLE MILE GRANT AND THEN IDENTIFY WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH THE BEAD.
UM, THAT 6.9 IS NOT A LOT TO LEVERAGE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE DIVIDE WE HAVE.
UM, BUT WE WOULD, I WOULD HOPE WE WOULD APPLY FOR BOTH, APPLY FOR THE ONE FROM THE STATE AS WELL.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THE, THE CHANCES OF US GETTING THAT, CONSIDERING OUR URBAN ENVIRONMENT IS KIND OF SLIM.
I, I THINK COUNCILMAN, UH, AS WE HEAR BACK ON THE R F P, WE'LL KNOW WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE A PARTNERSHIP AND WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE MONEY.
SO IN THOSE 25, UH, PRIORITY AREAS, IF WE HEAR BACK FROM THE I S P, YOU KNOW, THIS ONE COST X, AND IF YOU WERE TO PARTNER MAYBE WITH BEAD ON THAT ONE, WE MIGHT HAVE A GOOD APPLICATION.
RIGHT? SO I DO BELIEVE IT MAY BE BOTH.
UM, IT MAY BE JUST BEAD, HONESTLY.
WELL, I, I GUESS I APPRECIATE THAT THERE'S AT LEAST A STRATEGY, RIGHT? AND WE'RE THINKING, UM, I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THERE'S, I, I THINK AT LEAST ONE I S P PROVIDER IN THE ROOM, THOMAS A WITH SPECTRUM.
SO THOMAS, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UM, FOR BEING HERE.
IT SHOWS THAT YOU ALL HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN THIS, NOT THAT I'M CALLING THE OTHER ISPS OUT.
I'M SURE THEY'RE WATCHING ONLINE OR SOMETHING,
BUT, UH, THANK YOU THOMAS, FOR TAKING THAT, THAT EFFORT.
UM, IS THERE A PROJECTED DATES SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MIDDLE MILE PROGRAM? UM, WHEN AWARDS WOULD BE ANNOUNCED? UH, FEBRUARY OF 2023.
AND THEN DO, BUT BOTH APPLICATIONS WOULD BE SUBMITTED BY END OF THIS YEAR, CORRECT? ATWOOD? NO, MA'AM.
WE DON'T, WE HAVE NO CLUE ON THE BE OH, WE DON'T HAVE DEADLINE BECAUSE BE WELL, BEADS GOING TO STATE AND WE WOULD APPLY TO STATE, AND THERE'S A PLANNING GRANT THAT, THAT IS A 270 DAY WAIT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT MAYBE LATE 2023, IF NOT LATER.
IT'S, IT'S NOTHING IN OUR CONTROL.
AND THEN I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED SPECIFIC AREAS, UM, IN THE SOUTHERN AREAS, YOU'VE HEARD THIS 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, AND FIVE.
UM, THERE'S LIMITED IPS OR R I S PS, UM, UH, OR OUR CONNECTIVITY IS NOT AS RELIABLE, RIGHT? SO, AND THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE SCARY PART OF IT.
AND I'M WONDERING LIKE, AT THAT POINT, IF THEY'RE FOCUSING ON RURAL AREAS, UM, LIKE HOW DOES IT NOT MAKE SENSE TO, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER JOIN WITH THE, WITH THE COUNTY TO THAT R F P AND NOT JUST KEEP IT WITHIN INCORPORATED AREAS.
AND THEN I APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAD, UM, UH, I THINK YOU HAD A BULLET POINT ON THERE, LIKE, WHAT'S THE, 'CAUSE I ALWAYS ASK FOR PLAN B, RIGHT? AND SO WHAT, WHAT IS OUR PLAN PLAN B? WHAT IS THE WORST CASE SCENARIO IF, WHAT'S OUR CONTINGENCY PLAN, RIGHT? IF WE DON'T GET ANY OF THIS? AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE MOST WORRISOME PART.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A FORM OF DIGITAL REDLINING AND, UH, OUR, OUR RESIDENTS KEEP GETTING LEFT BEHIND.
AND SO, UM, MAYBE YOU AND I ARE, OR THE TEAM AND PETTER CAN, UM, BRAINSTORM ALSO ON, ON SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT THOSE ARE ALL MY, UH, ONLY COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, I'VE HEARD YOU ASK THAT QUESTION ABOUT THE COUNTY'S INVESTMENT.
I, I, I'VE HEARD YOU ASK THAT QUESTION ABOUT THE COUNTY'S INVESTMENT A NUMBER OF TIMES, AND I KEEP HEARING, WE DON'T KNOW AND WE DON'T KNOW IS NOT GONNA BE AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER THE THE NEXT TIME SHE ASKS IT.
BRIAN? UM, I, I NEED AN ANSWER ALSO.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, THANK YOU BRIAN FOR THE PRESENTATION.
A LOT OF IMPORTANT WORK THAT YOU ALL AND WE ALL HAVE AHEAD OF US, ENSURING THAT WE CLOSE THIS, UH, DIGITAL DIVIDE THAT, UH, EXISTS.
UM, I, I KNOW YOU TOUCHED ON, UH, THE POTENTIAL FOR THE CITY OF OWNING THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND NOT WANT, NOT YOU, BUT YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING THE DIRECTION TO DO THAT.
IS THERE ONE GRANT THAT WOULD PROVIDE THE MOST FLEXIBILITY TO, FOR THE CITY TO OWN THE INFRASTRUCTURE IF THAT WERE THE ROUTE TO GO? UM, I, I, I WOULD SAY THE BEAD GRANT IS PROBABLY THE MOST LIKELY JUST BECAUSE IT WILL BE ALLOCATED FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS, WHICH STATE OF TEXAS IS VERY AWARE OF THEIR OWN MUNICIPAL CODE.
AND WE'RE ALSO HEARING FROM THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE SOME MURMURS THAT THAT LEGISLATION MAY BE CHANGED IN SOME, SOME FORM IN THE FUTURE.
UM, SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE POSSIBLY.
UH, BUT I WOULD SAY THE BEAD GRANT WOULD ALLOW US THE MOST FLEXIBILITY.
UM, THAT, THAT'S, UH, GOOD TO KNOW THAT THERE IS, UH, A GRANT THAT GIVES THAT FLEXIBILITY FOR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
UM, ARE WE TRACKING THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS WHO ARE CONNECTING BASED OFF OF EQUITY EQUITY SCORE? AND IF SO, CAN THAT DATA BE SHARED WITH US? ABSOLUTELY.
AND THAT'LL BE IN THE R F P AS WELL.
UM, SO WE'LL HAVE THOSE 25 CITY CENSUS TRACKS MM-HMM.
[02:00:01]
OR CONNECTED.AND, UM, IT WAS TOUCHED ON BY COUNCILMAN DR.
ARE WE TRACKING IF WE'RE CONNECTING TO OUR SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY? UM, IS, ARE WE TRACKING THAT, UH, THROUGH A C P? I BELIEVE THEY, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE TRACKING THE LANGUAGE LEVEL.
I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT, WHAT YOU ARE PRESENTING TODAY FROM THE POINT OF VIEW THAT WE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY GUARANTEED PATHS FORWARD.
UH, AND I WAS HOPEFUL WITH THE FEDERAL DOLLARS BEING PUT INTO THIS, AND EVEN HEARING THAT THE STATE WAS SAYING, WE WANNA BE SUPPORTIVE OF THIS, THAT THERE'D BE SOME FAIRLY SIMPLE PATHS FORWARD AND NOT ONE THAT'S GONNA TAKE AT LEAST A YEAR BEFORE WE HEAR IF WE CAN EVEN GET INVOLVED IN IT.
UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN DO ANYTHING ON OUR OWN, BECAUSE THE STATE HAS SUCH TIGHT REGULATIONS ON WHAT MUNICIPALITIES CAN DO.
SO I'M JUST SAYING IT'S DISHEARTENING, JOHN.
UH, THERE IS A, A VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD PATH FOR US.
UM, WE WE'RE LOOKING TO LEVERAGE OUR MONEY, BUT STRAIGHTFORWARD WOULD BE WE USE OUR 6.9 IN THE 25 CENSUS TRACKS TO BUILD A PROJECT OURSELVES.
WE WOULD PARTNER WITH AN I S P TO DO THAT.
THEY WOULD OWN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CUSTOMER, THAT THAT'S THE STRAIGHTFORWARD PATH, RIGHT? BUT WE'RE TRYING TO LEVERAGE THAT 6.9 INTO SOMETHING BIGGER.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HEAR US TALKING ABOUT ANOTHER PATH.
IT, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE A LOT MORE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL OF US IF WE COULD GET THAT FEDERAL MONEY OR THE STATE MONEY ABSOLUTELY.
TO COMMIT TO DOING THE SAME THING WE WANT TO DO.
UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT STRAIGHT PATH BY TRYING TO PUT OUT AN R F P.
ALSO THOUGH I'M A LITTLE, UH, CONCERNED ABOUT LIMITING OURSELVES TO $6.95 MILLION OR WHATEVER IT IS.
UH, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD, AND I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO.
I THINK WE'VE SEEN THAT, UH, THIS YEAR'S BUDGET HAS, UH, UH, TURNED OUT TO BE BETTER THAN WE EXPECTED.
UH, AND I THINK THAT THAT GIVES US SOME FLEXIBILITY, COME BUDGET TIME TO, UH, MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THAT INVESTMENT.
SO I HOPE THAT'S GONNA BE A, A POINT OF DISCUSSION.
UH, AND AN INVESTMENT OF 10 MILLION IS A LOT MORE THAN AN INVESTMENT OF 6.9, ET CETERA.
SO, UH, BUT I'M, I'M ALSO ANXIOUS TO HEAR WHAT THE ISPS HAVE TO SAY.
'CAUSE I, I CONCUR WITH MY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO, WHO JUST BELIEVE THAT WE'VE HAD A RED LINE DRAWING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PART OF THIS CITY, UH, WITH THE ISPS DECIDING, WELL, IT'S NOT WORTH IT.
THE INVESTMENT DOWN THERE, THE RETURN WE'RE GONNA GET IS NOT BIG ENOUGH.
SO WE'RE SIMPLY GONNA PUT IN THE MINIMUM WE NEED TO, TO SAY WE'RE DOING IT, BUT NOT REALLY PROVIDING THE SAME KIND OF SERVICE THAT THEY PROVIDE TO, YOU KNOW, TWO THIRDS OF THE REST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO BE CAUTIOUS IN THAT R F P, WE NEED TO BE DEMANDING IN THAT R F P AND, UH, THE BUSINESSES NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE WANT THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
WE WANT THEM TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE MONEY, BUT WE ALSO WANT THEM TO PROVIDE SOMETHING THAT'S AFFORDABLE AND IS GONNA BE COMPARABLE TO WHAT THEY PROVIDE EVERYWHERE ELSE.
UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SO MANY TIMES THE PROFIT MARGIN BECOMES NUMBER ONE ISSUE AND IT ISN'T WITH US IN THE CITY.
AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN WE DEAL WITH THEM ON THIS.
COUNCILMAN, APPRECIATE YOUR CHALLENGES THERE.
UH, JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE WAY THE R F P IS CONSTRUCTED, IF THERE WERE ADDITIONAL FUNDS AVAILABLE, WE'D BE ABLE TO ACT ON THOSE.
SO IT'S, WE'RE NOT LIMITED IN HOW WE'VE WRITTEN IT.
UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS.
THEY WERE ALL, ALL MY QUESTIONS WERE ASKED FOR ME, SO I'M NOT GONNA BELABOR THE POINT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, FELLAS.
UM, MARINA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, MONITORING, UM, AND TO ALL OF OUR PARTNERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THIS, UM, TOPIC.
I, UM, I THINK WE'VE GOT AN, UH, AN EXECUTIVE, UH, SESSION.
WE DO HAVE, BUT I KNOW WE'RE OVER TIME ALREADY.
WE CAN CONTINUE TO, WE, WE CAN PUSH IT TO THE NEXT MEETING IF YOU'D LIKE.
WELL THEN, THEN HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU THINK YOU NEED? IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT 15 TO 20 MINUTES.
SO I'M, I'LL LEAVE IT UP TO MY, MY COMPADRES UP HERE ON, ON THE DICE.
CAN, AS LONG AS I MIGHT HERE BY 1230.
I HAVE TO BE COUNCILMAN, COUNCILMAN, COURAGE.
IN THAT CASE, UH, THE TIME IS NOW 1210, FRIDAY, JUNE 24TH.
UM, THIS COMMITTEE IS RECESSING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH OUR, UH, ATTORNEY PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1, UM, WHERE WE'LL BE DELIBERATING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS AND, UH, OTHER LEGAL ISSUES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SAME SECTION.