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FROM OUR LAST TIME, UH, WHICH WAS DECEMBER 16TH ROLL.
COUNCILWOMAN VERAN IS HERE, VIRTUALLY.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM
[Approval of Minutes ]
THE A W C MEETING OF DECEMBER 16TH HERE.SECOND, RIGHT? WE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND.
WE MOVE ON TO OUR, UH, NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS, DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS TO BE HEARD? NO, SIR.
SO WE HAVE A BRIEFING REGARDING,
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
UM, SS A T X, JENNA ELA.THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
BRENDA HICKS, THE SHOW IS YOURS.
UH, I'M GOING TO HAND THIS OVER TO JENNIFER, THE, THE PRESENTATION, BUT JUST BY WAY OF A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, UH, WE DO HAVE A CURRENT, UM, AGREEMENT WITH GREATER S A T X.
IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2020, FISCAL YEAR 21, AND THEN IT WAS A ONE YEAR WITH TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR EXTENSION.
SO FISCAL YEAR 23 IS THE THIRD YEAR AND FINAL YEAR OF THAT CURRENT CONTRACT.
AS PART OF THAT, THE ANNUAL WORK PLAN DOES NEED TO BE REVIEWED, UM, BY THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS THEN, UH, CONSIDERED BY CITY COUNCIL.
AND SO TODAY WE ARE PRESENTING THE 2023 OPERATIONS PLAN FOR CONSIDERATION.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO JENNA.
UH, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO YOU TODAY.
I WILL TELL YOU, I WAS A JUST-IN-TIME DELIVERY FOR THIS MEETING, UH, BECAUSE I JUST CAME FROM THE AIRPORT AND I KNOW THAT THEY ARE PREPARING, UH, TO BRIEF YOU WHILE I THINK IT'S ON FEBRUARY 15TH, ABOUT THE NEW PLANS, UH, FOR THE $2.8 BILLION INVESTMENT.
AND I THINK Y'ALL ARE GOING TO BE VERY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE.
AND, UM, I AM, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO DIRECTLY INFORM WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE'RE ABLE TO DELIVER TO THIS WORK PLAN THAT BRENDA MENTIONED.
UH, WE HAVE 10 MINUTES WITH YOU TODAY, AND SO WE HAVE AN EXTREMELY HIGH LEVEL VERSION, A HIGH LEVEL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF OUR 2023 WORK PLAN THAT IS ALIGNED TO OUR FIVE YEAR ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY.
AND SO I'LL WALK THROUGH THAT WITH YOU AND THEN, UH, HOPEFULLY FIELD ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
SO, BY WAY OF BACKGROUND AND, AND PERHAPS TO CAL CALIBRATE THE GROUP, UM, AS A PRIVATE PUBLIC ORGANIZATION, WE EXIST TO RETAIN JOBS AND GROW JOBS IN THE SAN ANTONIO REGION.
AND, UH, WE DO THAT THROUGH A VARIETY OF MECHANISMS. BUT WE LIKE TO SAY THAT OUR STRATEGY IS VERY SIMPLE STRATEGY FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC MOBILITY.
WE'VE BEEN AROUND FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS NOW, WHICH IS CRAZY TO THINK.
AND YES, WE REBRANDED, WE CHANGED OUR NAME COUNCILMAN FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION TO GREATER SS A T X, BUT IT WASN'T JUST A NAME CHANGE, IT TRULY CAME WITH A BROADER STRATEGY.
ONE THAT'S MUCH MORE A HOLISTIC FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LESS TRANSACTIONAL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S STILL FOCUSED ON JOBS.
THIS NEW STRATEGY THAT I MENTIONED IS ONE FOCUSED ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE BELIEVE THAT IF WE CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE AND OUR PLACE, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO SECURE TOP QUALITY JOBS FOR THE REGION.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL HEAR US TALK ABOUT TODAY.
WHEN I SAY QUALITY JOBS, I'M TALKING ABOUT WAGES.
WHEN I SAY QUALITY JOBS, I'M TALKING ABOUT TARGET INDUSTRY THAT, AGAIN, WILL GROW ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL SAN ANTONIANS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF OUR RESULTS IN BEING ABLE TO SECURE INVESTMENTS LIKE NAVISTAR, UH, EY, VICTORY CAPITAL.
UM, THE BEST PART OF OUR JOB IS BEING ABLE TO SEE THESE COMPANIES BECOME TRUE CORPORATE CITIZENS IN SAN ANTONIO.
IN FACT, I JUST READ THE NEWS ABOUT VICTORY CAPITAL TAKING OVER NAMING RIGHTS FOR THE ROCK, THE SPURS ROCK FACILITY, UM, AND THE $10,000 CHECK THAT THEY CASHED TO THE FIREFIGHTER WHO MADE A HALFTIME SHOT AT THE SPURS GAME.
UM, BUT YOU GET TO SEE FOLKS LIKE NAVISTAR AND TOYOTA'S EY, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP TRUE PARTNERSHIPS WITH A C D U T S A AND THE LIKE.
AND THAT, UH, QUITE FRANKLY, IS THE BEST PART OF OUR JOBS AND THE REASON WHY WE SHOW UP TO WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY.
EVERYTHING THAT WE DO AS AN ORGANIZATION IS SUBDIVIDED INTO THOSE THREE STRATEGIC PILLARS.
ACTUALLY, WE HAVE FOUR RIGHT JOBS, PEOPLE, PLACE AND VITALS.
VITALS IS BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT WE DO TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON FOR AN ORGANIZATION MORE BEHIND THE SCENES FROM A JOBS PERSPECTIVE.
AGAIN, YOU SEE A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY HERE OF OUR FOCUS AREAS FOR 2023 UNDER SARAH KRAUSS'S LEADERSHIP, OUR NEW CHIEF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT WE'RE FOCUSING A LOT ON LEADING INDICATORS.
SO WE CONTINUE TO TRACK JOBS, WE HAVE TO, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S WHY WE EXIST.
BUT SHE HAS RESTRUCTURED AND IMPLEMENTED
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WHOLESALE CHANGES WITHIN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM.SO WE'RE FOCUSED A LOT ON OUTBOUND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
YOU SEE THE INDICATOR OF 1200 NEW LEADS.
IDEALLY, THOSE NEW LEADS CONVERT INTO MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENTS AND HOPEFULLY PROJECT CONVERSIONS AND PROJECTS HAVE A REAL SCOPE WITH REAL ESTATE REQUIREMENTS, JOB REQUIREMENTS, CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT, ET CETERA.
BUT WE TRULY DO NEED TO GROW THAT PIPELINE.
WE NEED TO IMPROVE, UH, NOT JUST THE QUANTITY, BUT ALSO THE QUALITY.
AND I'M ALREADY STARTING TO SEE THE FRUITS OF HER AND HER TEAM'S LABOR.
UH, ONE AREA THAT I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT HERE, UM, AMONGST ALL OF THE DIFFERENT BULLETS IS THIS CONCEPT OF MEGA SITES, MEGA PROJECTS.
ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE FOUND WAS A BIG VULNERABILITY FOR US IN THE SAN ANTONIO REGION IS THAT WE COULDN'T COMPETE FOR THESE LARGE SCALE MANUFACTURING PROJECTS.
WE HAVE THE WORKFORCE FOR THEM, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE LARGE, CALL IT NORTH OF 500 ACRES SHOVEL-READY SITES THAT COULD ACCOMMODATE SOME OF THESE BATTERY STORAGE EV BATTERY MANUFACTURERS.
IN FACT, WE LOST ABOUT 10 DEALS IN FOUR YEARS, WHICH REALLY GOT OUR PRIVATE SECTOR AND PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERS GOING.
AND, AND TO DATE, WE'VE IDENTIFIED ABOUT FIVE, UH, SEVERAL OF THEM ARE IN DISTRICT THREE.
I SAW COUNCILMAN BRAN ON THE LINE VIRTUALLY, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME WORK TO DO TO GET THEM SHOVEL READY.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH OUR UTILITY PARTNERS AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS AS WELL.
ON THE PEOPLE SIDE HERE, THE STRATEGY IS FOCUSED ON TALENT DEVELOPMENT, TALENT RETENTION, AND TALENT ATTRACTION.
ON THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE, WE ARE KEENLY FOCUSED ON BUILDING AWARENESS IN THE IN DEMAND OCCUPATIONS THAT WE ARE GROWING WITHIN THE SAN ANTONIO REGION.
AND SO I'LL TALK TO YOU MORE ABOUT OUR MANUFACTURING CAMPAIGN HERE SHORTLY.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE ROBUST WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAMS AS WELL.
AGAIN, INTERNSHIPS, JOB SHADOWS, ALL FOCUSED ON TAKING FOLKS OUT TO TOYOTA, TAKING THEM OUT TO EY, SEEING THESE CAREER PATHS THAT THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD EXPOSURE TO PREVIOUSLY.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, SHOWING THEM THE WAY THAT YOU CAN GET AN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, UH, TECHNICIAN DEGREE AT A C D AND YOU CAN MAKE $70,000 A YEAR WORKING FOR NAVISTAR OR SOME OF THE OTHER EMPLOYERS THAT WERE WORKING TO GROW HERE.
UM, SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL HEAR FROM US THERE, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ACTUALLY HAS AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AND FACILITATES JOB SHADOW DAY FOR US, AND WE HOPE TO CONTINUE TO SCALE THAT AS ONE OF OUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN SAN ANTONIO.
ON THE RETENTION SIDE, THIS PAST YEAR WE LAUNCHED ALAMO FELLOWS, WHICH IS A FIRST GENERATION STEM FOCUSED PROGRAM.
I LIKE TO SAY IT'S LIKE LEADERSHIP SAN ANTONIO FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD THAT STICKINESS, BUILD THAT SUPPORT SYSTEM AROUND THEM, ALIGN THEM WITH INTERNSHIPS, BUT ALSO SHOW THEM THE COOL FACTOR IN SAN ANTONIO THAT MIGHT EXIST OUTSIDE OF THEIR U T S A OR TRINITY BUBBLES AND REALLY GET THEM INGRAINED TO THE COMMUNITY.
WE, UH, HAVE ONE EMPLOYED WITH US AT GREATER S A T X ON OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, AND SHE'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.
AND THEN YOU SEE HERE AS WELL, SUPPORT OF READY TO WORK, UM, PRIMARILY ON THE TALENT PIPELINE MANAGEMENT SIDE.
THAT SOUNDS SUPER FANCY, BUT BASICALLY WHAT IT IS, IS IT'S, UM, A SUPPLY AND DEMAND MAPPING PROCESS FOR OUR IN DEMAND OCCUPATIONS.
IT'S AN ALIGNMENT WITH THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION PROGRAM.
WE HAVE SEVERAL STAFF THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
RTA, MAT BARRA SITTING BEHIND ME.
HER AND, UH, ABOUT THREE OR FOUR FOLKS ON HER TEAM HAVE ACTUALLY BECOME EXPERTS IN THE SPACE.
AND WE HAVE CONSULTANTS THAT ARE FACILITATING THOSE ROUND ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS WITH EMPLOYERS.
ON THE PLACE SIDE, UH, THIS IS WHERE SUPPORT OF THE AIRPORT COMES IN, OF COURSE, UM, THE INVESTMENT PLAN, I SIT ON THE COMMITTEE WITH JOHN DIXON AND RANDY AND OUR PARTNERS FROM U S A AND VALERO AND, AND SEVERAL DIFFERENT EMPLOYERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT'S THE MEETING I JUST CAME FROM.
BUT BEYOND SUPPORTING THEM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW ASSET, IF YOU WILL, OR THE ENHANCED ASSET, WE ALSO LAUNCHED A PRIVATE INCENTIVE FUND TO HELP JESUS AND BRIAN GIVE THEM THE FODDER TO ACTUALLY GET IN THE CONVERSATION WITH SOME OF THESE LARGER AIRLINES THAT ARE LOOKING TO ADD NONSTOP SERVICE TO THE SAN ANTONIO REGION.
UH, WE HAVE FIVE PRIORITY MARKETS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
ALL OF THIS ALIGNS WITH VISIT SAN ANTONIO AND OF COURSE WITH THE AIRPORT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO THERE BECAUSE OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN INCENTIVIZING AIRLINES THROUGH MINIMUM REVENUE GUARANTEES FOR YEARS.
AND WE ARE JUST NOW, UH, IN THE BALLGAME.
UH, WE'RE ALSO SEEING UNPRECEDENTED INCENTIVE PACKAGES THAT COMMUNITIES LIKE INDIANAPOLIS AND CINCINNATI ARE PUTTING IN FRONT OF THESE AIRLINES.
UM, AND AGAIN, OUR PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, INVESTORS HAVE, HAVE PUT IN THE MONEY FOR THIS AND THEY'RE ALSO WILLING TO COME HELP PITCH, UM, WHICH WE'VE SEEN IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UNDER OUR PLACE, PILLAR IS, UH, TELLING THE STORY ABOUT SAN ANTONIO, WHICH WE HAVEN'T DONE AS EFFECTIVELY AS WE'D LIKE TO DO.
WE HAVE THE BUDGET TO DO THAT.
UM, I DIDN'T MENTION, BUT WE'VE GONE THROUGH A SIGNIFICANT FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN.
WE'VE INCREASED OUR BUDGET FROM ABOUT 4 MILLION TO A LITTLE OVER 9 MILLION.
UM, ALL PRIVATE SECTOR, INCREASED INVESTMENT THAT HAS, UH, REALLY SKEWED THE RATIO OF INVESTMENT FOR OUR PRIVATE PUBLIC ENTITY.
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FROM PRIVATE INDUSTRY, 30% FROM PUBLIC INDUSTRY, WHICH IS THE STANDARD BENCHMARK AROUND THE COUNTRY.AND QUITE FRANKLY, SOMETHING THAT, UM, ALEX AND THE MAYOR AND ERIC HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGING US TO DO FOR YEARS.
SO COMING BACK TO ACTUALLY HAVING THE FUNDING
YOU SEE SOME OF THE CREATIVE THERE.
YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN IT AT BAGGAGE CLAIM, UH, WITHIN THE AIRPORT.
THIS IS A LOT OF OUTBOUND ACTIVITY TRYING TO BUILD AWARENESS.
THIS IS THE TOP OF FUNNEL MARKETING, UH, COUNCILMAN ROCHE GARCIA THAT WE DISCUSSED.
UM, THIS IS TO BUILD A GENERAL AWARENESS ABOUT SAN ANTONIO THAT WILL INCREASE OUR LIKELIHOOD DOWNSTREAM FOR OUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM TO ACTUALLY WORK ON INDUSTRY RELATED MESSAGING AND PROJECT RELATED MESSAGING.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IS THE MANUFACTURING CAMPAIGN THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
WE WERE SO EXCITED WHEN WE GOT THAT OFF THE GROUND LAST YEAR.
WE'RE GOING TO SCALE IT THIS YEAR.
WE ARE PRIMARILY FOCUSING ON UNDERSERVED AREAS IN SAN ANTONIO.
AGAIN, THE IDEA IS WE WANT TO PROMOTE MANUFACTURING AS A CAREER PATH FOR SAN ANTONIANS.
UH, WE BELIEVE THAT IF WE CAN GET THEM A JOB WITH A GREAT EMPLOYER LIKE TOYOTA ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND BENEFITS, THAT WE CAN BREAK DOWN GENERATIONAL CYCLES OF POVERTY.
WE JUST NEED TO SHOW THEM THE WAY.
UM, AND THIS IS THE FIRST STEP, UH, INTO THAT DOORWAY ON OUR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO PROPOSAL OR AGREEMENT HERE.
UM, THIS IS CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, PROPER SPECIFIC INDICATORS.
SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE AS AN ORGANIZATION, UH, WE HAVE A BROADER SET OF INDICATORS.
AND BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE SUCH AN IMPORTANT PLAYER WITHIN THE REGION AND A SIGNIFICANT INVESTORS INVESTOR OF OURS, WE HAVE A SPECIFIC SCORECARD FOR YOU ALL.
AND, UH, BRENDA AND ALEX AND TEAM HAVE STRUCTURED OUR CONTRACT WHERE IT IS PAY FOR PERFORMANCE.
AND BY THE WAY, I THINK ALL OF YOUR CONTRACTS SHOULD BE STRUCTURED THAT WAY.
UM, IN FACT, YOU SEE HERE IN 2020 THAT WE WON'T BE PAID OUT THE FULL AMOUNT.
WE WERE UNDERGOING A SIGNIFICANT TRANSFORMATIONAL YEAR WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION WHERE WE OVERHAULED OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE.
AND FROM A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND BRINGING IN NEW LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCE, MANAGING PEOPLE OUT OF AN ORGANIZATION.
IT WAS PRETTY ROCKY, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE YOU ONLY PAY FOR PERFORMANCE.
UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK FROM A PRIVATE SECTOR PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S HOW CONTRACTS SHOULD BE STRUCTURED.
I KNOW WE ONLY HAD ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND SEE IF YOU GUYS HAD ANY THOUGHTS, FEEDBACK, OR QUESTIONS.
UM, THIS IS A, NOT JUST A BRIEFING, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM, RIGHT, ALEX? YEAH.
SO, UM, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL BRING UP THE REAR, BUT, UH, COUNCILMAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YEAH, THANK YOU CHAIR.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AS WELL FOR BRIEFING MY TEAM ON, UH, THIS ITEM.
UH, FIRST OFF, GREAT DELIVERY.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION AND THE DELIVERY OF IT.
UM, FOR THE 20% OF THOSE WHO DO NOT EARN THE, UH, 50 K OR MORE, ARE THESE 20% OF WORKERS WITHIN A SPECIFIC INDUSTRY? AND IF SO, WHAT HAVE Y'ALL FOUND, UH, THAT THAT INDUSTRY IS? YEAH, THAT'S INTERESTING.
SO I, I WOULD SAY THEY'RE ACROSS A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES, BUT FOR OUR PROJECT PIPELINE THAT WE SEE, AND SARAH, FEEL FREE TO GRADE MY PAPER, UM, WE HAVE A BIG F AND B MANUFACTURING, UH, FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING PIPELINE IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE OF HE'S PRESENCE HERE IN THE REGION.
AND SOME OF THOSE EMPLOYERS AREN'T PAYING WHAT, LIKE A TOYOTA OR SOME OF THE MORE, UM, SOPHISTICATED MANUFACTURERS MIGHT PAY AND THEN DISTRIBUTION.
AND THEY, THEY AREN'T THERE EITHER.
NOW, AGAIN, THOSE AREN'T THE GROUPS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR INCENTIVES EITHER.
THEY'RE JUST, THEY HAPPEN TO BE IN THE PIPELINE.
UH, AND I KNOW THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR HAS FOUND THAT, UH, THOSE WHO ARE, UH, IN ROLES ARE, ARE UNIONIZED, RIGHT? THEY EARN 20, 20% MORE THAN NON-UNIONIZED WORKERS.
AND I, I REALLY APPRECIATE AND VALUE THAT THAT IS PART OF YA'S MISSION, BUT IS THAT SOMETHING THAT TAKES PLACE OR THERE SPECIFIC UNIONS THAT Y'ALL COLLABORATE WITH? I LOVE IT.
SO I DON'T NECESSARILY ENGAGE WITH, WITH LABOR LEADERS TO INFORM OUR STRATEGY FOR INDUSTRIES.
I'M HAPPY TO MEET WITH THEM, HAPPY TO HAVE DIALOGUE.
MY FATHER WAS ENGAGED, UH, IN C W A AS AN OFFICER SEVERAL YEARS AGO, SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR.
UM, BUT WHAT WE DO WHEN WE ARE PRIORITIZING INDUSTRIES AS WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE INDUSTRIES THAT PROVIDE NOT LIVABLE WAGE, BUT BEYOND THAT AND THE BENEFITS.
SO TO EVEN QUALIFY FOR A PROJECT, THEY HAVE TO EARN A CERTAIN, UH, THEY HAVE TO EARN A CERTAIN WAGE, THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN BENEFITS, ET CETERA.
UM, AND WE ACTUALLY USE THAT INTERNALLY TO PRIORITIZE.
SO YOU'LL SEE ON SARAH'S TEAM THAT IF IT MIGHT BE A DISTRIBUTION FACILITY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT ASSIGNING THAT TO SOMEONE OR EVEN SPENDING THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AND PRIORITIZING IT, BUT HAPPY TO ENGAGE WITH ANYBODY YOU DEEM APPROPRIATE.
AND I ASKED PART OF THAT BECAUSE, UH, ON SLIDE THREE, RIGHT, THERE'S A COUPLE OF INDUSTRIES THAT ARE KNOWN FOR, UH, UNION BUSTING AND NOT ALLOWING THEIR WORKERS TO ORGANIZE.
SO I WANTED TO BE SURE THAT THERE'S THAT OPEN, UH, WINDOW OF COMMUNICATION.
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I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT IT IS THERE.UM, I GUESS, UM, WITH THE ADVERTISING AND WHEN YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH THESE COMPANIES IN HOPES OF, OF TRACKING THEM HERE, UM, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, PROVIDING INCENTIVES WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, INCENTIVES FOR UTILITIES? OR IS THERE A, A RUBRIC OF ITEMS THAT GREATER S D A T X TOUCHES ON WHEN MEETING WITH THESE LARGE BUSINESSES? WE DO.
SO, UM, AND COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA ASKED ME A SIMILAR QUESTION.
SHE, SHE WAS TESTING ME BECAUSE IT'S HER SPACE ON WHAT OUR MESSAGING IS, RIGHT? AND WHAT, WHAT IS THAT STORY THAT WE'RE TELLING? UH, SO IT DEPENDS AT WHAT LEVEL IN THAT FUNNEL I WAS, I WAS DISCUSSING, WE'RE ENGAGING THE COMPANY'S AT, SO WHEN IT'S LIFE WORKS GREATER, AND WHEN IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GENERAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, IT'S ALL QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACCESS TO PUBLIC SPACES, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR CULINARY SCENE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR CULTURE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
BUT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO A PROJECT PIPELINE, WE VERY MUCH ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT UTILITIES.
AND I MEAN, THOSE, THOSE MEGA PROJECTS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT REQUIRE MEGA SITES REQUIRE SHOVEL READY, WHICH MEANS UTILITY, UH, POWER SERVED, WATER SERVED, RAIL SERVED IN MOST CASES.
WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THAT BACK IN THE DAY, THIS ORGANIZATION PROMOTED INCENTIVES.
AND, AND BY THE WAY, THEY WERE ALSO PROMOTING LOW COST TALENT, LOW COST LAND, LOW COST WAS THE STRATEGY.
WE HAVE SHIFTED AWAY FROM THAT ENTIRELY.
AND WE DON'T PITCH INCENTIVES THERE.
THERE MIGHT BE DEALS THAT ARE SO ATTRACTIVE AN INCENTIVE MIGHT REQUIRE, UM, OR THE CITY MIGHT BE REQUIRED TO ENGAGE TO GET US OVER THE GOAL LINE, BUT IT IS NOT A PART OF THE PITCH.
IT'S A PART OF THE REACTIVE MESSAGING.
THANK YOU, SANDY COUNCILWOMAN.
AND, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU, YOU BRIEFED ME AND, AND YOUR TEAM.
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, UM, THAT I DIDN'T GET TO ASK YOU THE OTHER DAY.
AND THE FIRST ONE IS ON THE F D I.
SO, UM, ON THE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, WE, OUR GOAL FROM 2022, UM, WAS A HUNDRED MILLION.
THE RESULTS WERE 16 MILLION, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO, BUT WE'RE SETTING THAT GOAL BACK UP TO 100 MILLION.
IS THERE SOME EXAMPLES OR, OR, OR WHAT, WHAT, UH, I, I GUESS WHAT COUNTRIES ARE REPRESENTED AND IF OF THOSE COUNTRIES, IS THERE A DECLINE IN A PARTICULAR COUNTRY THAT MAYBE MADE US MISS THAT GOAL? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, UM, THE PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR WAS LESS THAN DESIRABLE, RIGHT? LESS THAN DESIRABLE.
SO THINK ABOUT 2019 WHEN JUST ONE PROJECT ALONE, LIKE TOYOTA WAS $450 MILLION OF AN INVESTMENT.
WE HAD ONE WEEK WHERE WE HAD $1 BILLION OF CAPITAL INVESTMENT.
AND SO IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GAME, IT REALLY IS, UH, CYCLICAL.
WE HAVE, UM, FOUR PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE RIGHT NOW THAT ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE A DECISION WITHIN Q ONE THAT WILL GET US WELL OVER THAT ANNUAL TARGET.
AND SO, UM, WHEN WE'RE SITTING DOWN AND WE'RE SETTING THESE TARGETS, WE'RE ALIGNING TO FIVE YEAR GOALS.
UM, AND I ACTUALLY THINK THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GOAL, AND WE'VE TALKED TO BRENDA ABOUT THIS, F D I, IS A COMPONENT OF THE CAPEX GOAL.
I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE BROADER.
I THINK WE NEED TO STRETCH IT BECAUSE EVEN DATA CENTERS CAN SKEW A CAPITAL INVESTMENT NUMBER.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF INTEL INTO LAST YEAR'S PERFORMANCE AND, AND WHERE WE BELIEVE WE'LL BE SEEING US CATCH UP THIS YEAR AND GOING FORWARD.
AS FAR AS, UH, WHAT COUNTRIES, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR PIPELINE, AND WE CAN PROVIDE YOU THE, THE PIPELINE BY INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHY, WE SEE A LOT OUT OF JAPAN BECAUSE WE HAVE AN OFFICE AND WE'RE INVESTING IN JAPAN, AND THAT'S PRIMARILY IN MANUFACTURING.
UM, I THINK THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE CASE, UM, PRIMARILY BECAUSE COUNTRIES LIKE JAPAN ARE EXPERIENCING, YOU KNOW, POPULATION DECLINE WHILE WE'RE GROWING AND, AND THEY, THEY NEED TO INVEST IN, IN NORTH AMERICA.
UM, WE HAVE NOT SEEING AS MUCH INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION ON OTHER INDUSTRIES, RIGHT? CYBER BIO, YOU CAN PROBABLY BACK INTO THE REASON WHY.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS WHAT DROPPED OFF LAST YEAR, I DON'T THINK IT WAS A PRODUCT OF GEOGRAPHY OR INDUSTRY.
I THINK IT WAS A PRODUCT OF THE ELECTIONS.
I THINK IT WAS A PRODUCT OF LARGER EMPLOYERS LIKE TESLA AND NAVISTAR DELAYING PROCUREMENT DECISIONS.
UM, SO I THINK YOU'RE GONNA SEE IT AGAIN, UPTICK, HOLISTICALLY IN 2023.
AND I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MORE, UM, SPECIFICALLY OUT OF JAPAN.
SO WE HAVE THE OFFICE WITH, UM, JAPAN, BUT WHAT OTHER KIND OF NETWORKS DO WE HAVE SO THAT WE COULD LEVERAGE, UM, POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES WITH FOREIGN INVESTORS? YEAH.
WELL, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE FUNDING TO DO IT FIRST.
UM, AND SO SARAH AND BRENDA ACTUALLY HAVE SET DOWN TO COMPARE NOTES.
UM, HISTORICALLY WE'VE BEEN A LITTLE, UH, A LITTLE DECENTRALIZED IN THAT THE CITY MIGHT MANAGE A CONTRACT, AND THEN WE MANAGE A CONTRACT, AND THEN WE'RE TRYING TO FLOW THINGS THROUGH, UM, THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION, UM, WITHIN BRENDA'S SHOP.
SO IT'S BEEN A LITTLE, UM, HAPHAZARD, IF YOU WILL.
I SEE BRENDA MOVING, SHE'S GONNA COME CORRECT ME,
UM, BUT, UM, THIS YEAR I'M GONNA TELL YOU BRENDA AND SARAH HAVE A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP, AND YOU'RE GONNA SEE US REALLY LEVERAGE OUR FUNDING.
SO SOUTH KOREA IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT, WHERE THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT SHIFTING THE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT,
[00:20:01]
SO IT IS CENTRALIZED AND STREAMLINED.UH, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, TORONTO, CANADA, I THINK CYBERSECURITY, AND BY THE WAY I MIGHT ADD THIS IS ALL OVERLAPPED WITH VISIT SAN ANTONIO'S INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY AND THE AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY.
SO, SUFFICE IT TO SAY WE'RE JUST GETTING MUCH MORE STRATEGIC AND INTEGRATED ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS.
AND I, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT AS WELL.
SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR, OBVIOUSLY WITH VISIT SAN ANTONIO.
UM, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE, SO AT LEAST TWO OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS HAVE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS EXPERIENCE THEN? MM-HMM.
YEAH, WE HAVE ABOUT PROBABLY 10 OR 12 ON STAFF THAT HAVE INTERNATIONAL, AND THEY'RE FLUENT IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES ALSO, SO, OKAY.
JUST 70% OF MY TEAM IS, IS BILINGUAL, IF NOT TRILINGUAL.
AND THEN, UM, MY NEXT QUESTION IS UNDER THE PEOPLE PILLAR.
UM, SO WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO, UM, I KNOW WE HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL EMPLOYERS AND LOCAL HIGHER INSTI, HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS HERE, BUT WHAT ABOUT BEYOND SAN ANTONIO, LIKE FOR TEXAS, AND THEN HOW DO WE BUILD INTO, UM, THOSE NETWORKS? BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS AT UT AUSTIN, WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS AT TEXAS TECH.
HOW DO WE LEVERAGE, HOW DO WE BRING THEM BACK? HOW DO WE LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST IN SAN ANTONIO? SO, OKAY, FINE, GO TO TECH, BUT COME BACK, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, OUR UH, INVESTOR NETWORK IS BROADER THAN SAN ANTONIO.
SO TEXAS STATE AS AN EXAMPLE, THEY ARE AN INVESTOR OF OUR ORGANIZATION.
THEY'RE COMING TO THE TABLE JUST LIKE, UH, TAYLOR, AMY AT U T S A AND OTHERS.
AND SO WE DO EXTEND, UH, BROADER THAN JUST SAN ANTONIO PROPER IN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
BUT THAT TALENT ATTRACTION CAMPAIGN THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IT IS, IT'S ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
SO WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, AND I'LL TRY NOT TO GET TOO DETAILED HERE, BUT WE KNOW WHERE THERE ARE HIGH CONCENTRATION OF, UH, LET'S USE MANUFACTURING TALENT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
THINK DETROIT, THINK THAT AREA.
AND SO WE'RE PEPPERING CERTAIN MARKETS.
WE'RE TELLING THE STORY ABOUT SAN ANTONIO, WE'RE CONVERTING THEM TO A WEBSITE THAT HAS READILY AVAILABLE JOBS WITHIN THIS AREA, AND IDEALLY GETTING THEM TO CONVERT OVER TO SAN ANTONIO.
SO KIND OF THE FULL, THE FULL PATHWAY, IF YOU WILL.
UM, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS RETENTION AND KIND OF FOLLOWING THESE STUDENTS.
AND SO WE HAVE DEPLOYED ALUMNI NETWORKS ACROSS OUR ESSAY WORKS PROGRAM.
WE'VE ACTUALLY FOLLOWED SOME OF YOUR MENTEES YES.
WHO WENT TO UT, THAT'S NOT THAT FAR.
UM, BUT WE'VE DEPLOYED THESE NETWORKS FOR OUR INTERNSHIPS THAT MIGHT START IN HIGH SCHOOL THAT FOLLOW THEM THROUGH COLLEGE TO IDEALLY GET THEM BACK IN SAN ANTONIO.
ACTUALLY, WE HAVE ANOTHER, UH, UH, MARGOT, ONE OF YOUR MENTEES, SIR, THAT WORKED WITH US TO ACTUALLY HELP US GET THE ALUMNI NETWORK OFF THE GROUND.
AND SO WE'RE ATTEMPTING, ATTEMPTING TO MAP THESE FOLKS AND FOLLOW THEM.
IT'S GONNA GET MORE SOPHISTICATED AS THE SCALE OF THOSE ALUMNI NETWORKS GROWS.
UM, BUT THAT'S THE IDEA AROUND RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT.
AND THIS ONE IS AN EASY ONE, BUT, UM, THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS DATA, UM, IS THAT AVAILABLE JUST TO BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND TO MEMBERS? AND AND WHEN DOES THE PUBLIC GET THAT INFORMATION, ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION? OH, FROM AN INSIGHTS PERSPECTIVE, UHHUH ALL THE TIME.
SO, UM, IN FACT, I WILL SEND YOU AN EMAIL IF YOU DIDN'T GET IT.
UM, SARAH, OUR CHIEF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER JUST LAUNCHED, UM, GREATER S A T X MARKET INSIGHTS.
AND THIS IS, UH, PREDOMINANTLY FOR SITE SELECTION CONSULTANTS AND CEOS, JUST A PUMP ABOUT SAN ANTONIO SPECIFICALLY.
AND OUR PLAN IS TO DO THAT ROUTINELY.
I BELIEVE THE CADENCE IS IT'S MONTHLY.
BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU ALL AS WELL, SO THAT YOU CAN HELP AMPLIFY THE MESSAGING.
AND OF COURSE, WE'RE SHARING IT WITH INVESTORS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS AS WELL.
AND THEN MY FINAL QUESTION IS, UM, WHAT ARE YOU USING TO DEFINE HIGH WAGE? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO IT'S ALL BASED BACK ON THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND BEXAR COUNTY'S REQUIREMENTS.
SO IT'S BASICALLY 52,000 PLUS.
YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT, BRENDA AT ALL? AND HOW Y'ALL, YOU'RE LIKE, NOT REALLY
UH, SO YEAH, THERE'S BEEN SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATIONS.
I KNOW GREATER DOES USE THE 52,000, A LOT OF THAT'S BASED ON THE CITY OR THE COUNTY MEDIAN INCOME.
UM, AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN OUR INCENTIVES, WE DID ADJUST THAT A LITTLE BIT LOWER TO 80% OF THE CITY, ME CITY MEDIAN INCOME.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, THOMAS.
UM, CAN YOU TELL US WHO'S SAN ANTONIO COMPETING WITH? WHO'S OUR COMPETITION? SO, A GREAT, GREAT QUESTION.
UM, BUT WHAT WE DID WHEN WE WERE DEVELOPING THE STRATEGY IS WE PULLED TOGETHER A COMP SET.
WHO DO WE MOST COMPETE WITH AND WHO DO WE DESIRE TO COMPETE WITH? SO A GROUP OF OF 10 OTHER COMMUNITIES, WHAT I'LL TELL YOU IS, WAIT, CAN YOU SAY THIS PUBLICLY OR IS THIS LIKE TOP SECRET STUFF? NO, NO, NO.
I CAN SAY IT PUBLICLY BECAUSE THEY, THEY KNOW IT.
AND IN FACT, A LOT OF THIS WE CAN SHARE WITH YOU.
NOW, I CAN'T TELL YOU LIKE FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT WHO WE'RE COMPETING WITH, BUT I CAN TELL YOU GENERALLY THE TRENDS.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN FOR, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, FOR TECHNOLOGY RELATED, UH, FINANCIAL SERVICES.
WE'RE COMPETING A LOT WITH PHOENIX.
PHOENIX IS REALLY STEPPING UP, AND G E AS AN ORGANIZATION IS REALLY LEANING INTO
[00:25:01]
THEIR RECRUITMENT EFFORTS.UH, A S U IS ALSO DOING A GREAT JOB THERE AS WELL.
UM, ON MANUFACTURING, IT VARIES.
IN FACT, IN, IN MANUFACTURING, WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT THESE NUMBERS.
WE'VE BEEN HIGHLY COMPETITIVE FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE, BUT THERE ARE GEOGRAPHIES INCLUDING LIKE NEW YORK THAT ARE NOW OUT COMPETING US.
AND THOSE DIFFERENT, UH, POLICY MAKERS ARE GETTING VERY AGGRESSIVE ON INCENTIVES.
BUT OUR, UH, STACKED RANK LIST, THINK PHOENIX, THINK SALT LAKE, UM, COMMUNITIES LIKE THAT, FLORIDA, FROM AN AVIATION PERSPECTIVE, JIM HIRSCHBACH WILL TELL YOU EVERY AVIATION RELATED PROJECT WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST FLORIDA.
AND THEN OF COURSE, OTHER COMMUNITIES AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND WHY ARE WE COMPETING AGAINST FLORIDA IN AVIATION? SO THEY HAVE A PRETTY GOOD CLUSTER.
THEY HAVE A PRETTY GOOD EXISTING ECOSYSTEM LIKE WE DO IN FLORIDA, BUT THEY ARE VERY AGGRESSIVE.
DESANTIS SPECIFICALLY IS VERY AGGRESSIVE ON THE INCENTIVE FRONT.
AND THEY ALSO JUST QUITE FRANKLY, HAVE A LOT OF HANGER SPACE.
AND SO WE'VE GOT THE PORT, UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S OUR ANCHOR.
UM, AND FLORIDA JUST HAS A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.
UM, HATE TO GET TOO DETAILED HERE, BUT THE STATE OF TEXAS, WE'RE SO LARGE AND WE'RE SO DECENTRALIZED THAT WHEN WE COMPETE, IT'S A COMMUNITY LIKE SAN ANTONIO AND OUR TEAM COMPETING AGAINST DESANTIS AND HIS TEAM OR, UH, YOU KNOW, LARGER STATES AT THE TABLE WITH THEIR INCENTIVE PACKAGES.
AND THAT'S JUST THE WAY THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GETS DONE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO THE STATE WON'T GET INVOLVED UNTIL WE HAVE A SHORTLISTED COMMUNITY.
SO IF WE'RE COMPETING WITH, UH, PLANO AS AN EXAMPLE, OR EVEN AUSTIN RIGHT UP THE ROAD, THEY CAN'T PICK A FAVORITE CHILD.
THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL WE'RE SHORTLISTED.
THEN THEY COME IN IDEALLY WITH, UH, ENTERPRISE FUND MONIES TO GET IT OVER THE GOAL LINE.
AND SO HOW ARE WE LEVERAGING OUR OPPORTUNITY? I MEAN, I GUESS OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH, OR OUR PROXIMITY TO OTHER, UM, TEXAS CITIES? YEAH.
IN FACT, RIGHT NOW, UH, WE HAVE A, A SHARED AGREEMENT WITH THEM.
UM, AND WE ARE SHARING LOBBYIST UP AT THE LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENDAS.
WE TAKE TRIPS TOGETHER, UH, WITH AUSTIN.
I MEAN, WE ARE, UH, IN LOCKSTEP WITH THEM.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF, QUITE FRANKLY, IS PARTNERING WITH MONTEREY, BECAUSE WE THINK THE REAL OPPORTUNITY ISN'T JUST IN THE SAN ANTONIO REGION WITH, UH, NEW BRAUNFELS CHURCH SEGUIN THAT BY THE WAY, WE JUST LAUNCHED THAT TWO YEARS AGO.
SO WE'RE OPERATING AS A REGION NOW.
WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS AS A, AS A MEGA REGION.
UM, AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE INVEST INTO TEXAS E D C, WHICH IS THE GREATER S A T X EQUIVALENT AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND SO WE, I TRAVEL WITH THE GOVERNOR, WE PULL TOGETHER COMMUNITIES AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS TO GO ON THOSE TRIPS.
AND THEY HAVE, UH, FUNDING FOR OUTBOUND MARKETING.
SO IT'S, IT'S STATE LEVEL MARKETING, BUT IDEALLY, IF THEY CAN BUILD AWARENESS ABOUT THE STATE, WE COME IN WITH AWARENESS ABOUT SAN ANTONIO.
WE'RE JUST AMPLIFYING AND LEVERAGING THEIR FUNDING.
SO YOUR ANSWERS LED INTO TWO OTHER QUESTIONS I HAD ONE GO FOR IS HOW ARE WE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR UNIQUE POSITION TO BE ABLE TO DO MORE BUSINESS WITH MEXICO AND LATIN AMERICA? YES.
WE'RE INVESTING A LOT THIS YEAR INTO MEXICO.
AND WE'VE GOT HUNGRY BUSINESS LEADERS THAT ARE BEHIND THAT.
AND THEN YOU MENTIONED, UM, NEW BRAUNFELS.
SO HOW YOU, YOU, YOU'RE ASKING FOR A PAY PER, FOR PAY FOR PERFORMANCE, UH, CONTRACT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND SO FOR SAN ANTONIO PROPER, RIGHT.
SO HOW DO YOU COUNT THAT AS A WIN? LIKE IF YOU GET SOMEBODY IN NEW BRAUNFELS OR IF YOU GET SOMEBODY YEAH.
YOU KNOW, IN JUST OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS, THAT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THIS.
SO THE WAY THAT BRENDA HAS STRUCTURED IT IS THEY, UH, THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE A BROADER SET OF PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
SO WE AS AN ORGANIZATION WILL CLOCK A WIN IN NEW BRAUNFELS AND SEINE BECAUSE WE'RE GENERATING THAT BUSINESS.
BUT FOR THIS PAY FOR PERFORMANCE CONTRACT, SHE'S ONLY TRACKING THE JOBS THAT ARE LANDED IN SAN ANTONIO PROPER.
AND THEN BEAR COUNTY RIGHT NOW IS IN MARGINAL NON-ATTAINMENT GOING INTO MODERATE NON-ATTAINMENT FOR NOT MEETING FEDERAL MINIMUM MAYOR QUALITY STANDARDS.
HOW IS THAT AFFECTING YOUR, IT'S A PROBLEM.
YOUR RECRUITING, IT'S A PROBLEM.
WE ACTUALLY GET STRUCK FROM THE LIST.
UM, IN FACT, IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO, THERE HAVE BEEN ABOUT THREE PROJECTS THAT I CAN RECALL.
THOSE THAT I'M AWARE OF, UM, THAT SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE WE'RE IN NON ATTAINMENT STATUS, THEY WON'T CONSIDER US.
AND SO THEN, DOES NEW BRAUNFELS GET CONSIDERED AT THAT POINT? I MEAN, DO THEY LOOK MAYBE RIGHT OUTSIDE THE COUNTY? 'CAUSE IT'S ONLY BEXAR COUNTY, AND USUALLY WHEN YOU'RE NON-ATTAINMENT, IT'S A CLUSTER OF COUNTIES.
BECAUSE AIR POLLUTION DOESN'T STOP AT THE COUNTY LINE.
AND SO THERE'S, THEY'RE REGIONAL AIR SHEDS, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND SO IT'S THE COUNTY PLUS ALL THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES.
BEAR COUNTY'S UNIQUE, AND IT'S, IT'S ONLY BEXAR COUNTY.
SO YOU CAN JUST STEP ACROSS THE COUNTY LINE AND SET UP YOUR, YOUR FACTORY OR WHATEVER IT IS, AND WE'LL STILL GET YOUR AIR POLLUTION, BUT WE DON'T GET ANY ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF ANY OF YOUR PROPERTY TAXES OR ANYTHING TO THAT EFFECT.
AND BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING AT WHERE IT'S, WHERE IT'S IMPACTING US.
AND THEN, UM, SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT RECRUITING JOBS HERE.
WHAT ABOUT KEEPING JOBS HERE? YOU KNOW, U S A A JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THEY'RE LAYING OFF 130 PEOPLE.
SO LIKE, HOW ARE, DO YOU HAVE ANY FOCUSED EFFORTS ON TRYING TO KEEP JOBS HERE? WE DO.
THAT'S THE MAJORITY OF WHERE I SPEND
[00:30:01]
MY TIME.SO, UH, U S A A FOR THE RECORD IS ACTUALLY, UH, NET POSITIVE IN THEIR GROWTH, UH, IN JANUARY, UH, INCLUDING SOME OF THE REPOSITIONING.
AND THEY'RE LOOK STRATEGICALLY AS AN ORGANIZATION, THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE AND, AND GROW AS A COMPANY.
WE NEED THEM TO BE SOLVENT AND SUSTAINABLE FOR YEARS TO COME.
UM, SO WHILE THEY'RE POSITIONING AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UH, SHIFTING DEPARTMENTS HERE AND THERE, THEY ARE NET POSITIVE 1200 JOBS IN SAN ANTONIO PROPER.
AND I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF THAT.
UM, BUT HOW DOES OUR B R E OR BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM WORK? WE SIT DOWN WITH THEM.
UM, SO WE ACTUALLY U SS A A IN DECEMBER.
WE SAT DOWN WITH THEM, THE MAYOR WAS WITH US, THEIR C E O, THEIR C-SUITE LEADERS.
AND WE SAID, HOW CAN WE HELP YOU CONTINUE TO GROW IN SAN ANTONIO, I SHOULD SAY? WE START WITH THANKING THEM FIRST AND FOREMOST, AS ONE OF OUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS.
OUR SECOND LARGEST, SECOND ONLY TO H E B.
WE ARE THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL THAT THEY'RE DOING BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT HOW CAN WE HELP THEM TO CONTINUE TO BE EFFECTIVE IN GROWING HERE? AND THEY WERE VERY DIRECT WITH US, AND THEY TALKED TO US ABOUT THEIR STRUGGLES IN HIRING SPECIFIC, UH, TECHNOLOGY TALENT.
AND SO WE CONNECTED THEM VERY QUICK, QUICKLY TO U T S A AND DAVID MAJO AT THE DATA SCIENCE SCHOOL.
OUR CHALLENGE THERE, QUITE FRANKLY, COUNCILMAN IS SCALE, RIGHT? SO THE DATA SCIENCE SCHOOL'S GETTING OFF THE GROUND, THAT'S GREAT.
BUT U S A A NEEDS, YOU KNOW, 500 DATA SCIENTISTS TOMORROW, AND WE'RE NOT PRODUCING THAT TALENT AS QUICKLY AS THEY NEED IT.
AND SO, YES, THEY'LL OPEN UP A, AN OPERATION IN CHARLOTTE BECAUSE THEY CAN GET THE TALENT READY, READY NOW.
UM, SO IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US, AND I'M JUST GRATEFUL THAT THEY SHARE THAT LEVEL OF FEEDBACK WITH US AND THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO ENGAGE.
UM, BUT WE DON'T JUST VISIT WITH U S A A, WE VISIT WITH A VARIETY OF COMPANIES ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, ABOUT 250 ON AVERAGE.
90% OF THOSE ARE SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, I SAY THAT WE JUST MET WITH H E B, UH, EARLIER THIS WEEK.
SO IT'S A VARIETY OF SIZES ACROSS INDUSTRIES.
THE ASSIST, OR THE HELP VARIES AS WELL.
ANYTHING FROM A POTHOLE IN THEIR PARKING LOT TO, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TO AIRPORT SUPPORT, UTILITY SUPPORT, YOU NAME IT.
UM, BUT THE MAJORITY OF MY TIME IS SPENT OUT ENGAGING WITH EXISTING BUSINESSES.
IN FACT, THAT'S WHY WE LAUNCHED THE AIR SERVICE FUND.
THAT'S WHY WE INTEGRATED SA WORKS, OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ARM IS BECAUSE AS WE'RE HEARING THIS FEEDBACK, WE KNOW THAT WE'VE GOTTA DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY TO SUPPORT OUR EXISTING BUSINESSES AND TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT NEW BUSINESSES INTO THE MARKET.
SO IT INFORMS OUR OPERATION AS WELL.
AND THEN, HOW DOES QUALITY OF LIFE, LOCAL QUALITY OF LIFE RECRUIT, UH, FACTOR INTO YOUR RECRUITING EFFORTS? IT IS THE MAIN THING, COUNCILMAN.
SO WE JUST STRESS TESTED, UM, OUR NATIONAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER ONE CRITERIA FOR YOUNG TALENT TO CONSIDER LOCATING TO A NEW MARKET WAS ACCESS TO GREEN SPACE.
THIS ISN'T JUST ME SAYING THIS IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT.
THEY WILL GO TO WHERE THE TALENT IS, RIGHT? SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S NOT INCENTIVES THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
THEY WANNA GO WHERE TALENT WANTS TO BE.
AND WE AS A COMMUNITY HAVE TO BE THAT TALENT HUB.
WE HAVE TO BE THAT TALENT MECCA.
AND SO, QUALITY OF LIFE, GREEN SPACES, CULTURE, CULINARY SCENE, ALL OF THAT IS SUPER IMPORTANT.
JENNA, YOU KEEP LEADING ME, SETTING ME UP FOR MY NEXT QUESTION.
PEOPLE ARE GONNA THINK I PREPPED YOU FOR THIS,
SO, UM, YOU KNOW WHAT? I, YOU KNOW, I WAS GONNA SAY, WHAT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CREATING JOBS HERE, AND SPECIFICALLY I WAS STARTING TO THINK ABOUT TREE PLANTING.
WE HAVE $5 MILLION IN OUR TREE MITIGATION FUND MM-HMM.
AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO TRAIN PEOPLE HERE TO PLANT TREES.
I WANNA TRAIN PEOPLE HERE TO, TO GROW TREES, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO, THERE, THERE'S, THERE ARE FEDERAL FUNDS FOR TREE PLANTING, RIGHT, RIGHT NOW THROUGH THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT.
SO EVERYBODY, ALL THE CITIES THAT ARE GONNA GO AFTER THAT MONEY ARE GONNA WANNA BUY TREES TO PLANT.
WHY DON'T WE START GROWING OUR OWN TREES HERE AND HAVE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, CREATE THOSE JOBS HERE.
AND SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, IF, IF THAT WOULD FIT INTO YOUR PURVIEW IN ANY WAY, BECAUSE THAT TREE PRICES ARE GONNA GO UP.
BUT I'M, I'M LOOKING, I WOULD LOVE TO CREATE MORE GREEN SPACE AND, AND HAVE MORE TREES, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S YOU, IT GETS HOT HERE AND, UH MM-HMM.
UH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK ABOUT VISIT SAN ANTONIO, AND I WONDER WITH THE, THE, THE CLIMATE TRENDS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN? WHO ARE WE GONNA BE COMPETING FOR WITH, FOR, UM, FOR TOURISTS, RIGHT? ARE WE GONNA BE COMPETING WITH SAUDI ARABIA IN THE FUTURE? OR WHO, YOU KNOW, WHO'S, WHO'S OUR COMPETITION IN THAT WAY, IF WE'RE NOT PLANTING MORE TREES? AND INTERESTING.
UM, QUALITY OF LIFE, AGAIN, IS, IS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND BY THE WAY, THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS, THIS TYPE OF MESSAGING, BRENDA AND TEAM, DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, OF SHARING IT WITH US SO THAT WE CAN AMPLIFY IT AND INFORMS OUR MESSAGING.
BUT IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC PROGRAMS LIKE THIS THAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE MESSAGING IN OUR TOP OF FUNNEL MARKETING, SEND IT OUR WAY, WE'RE HAPPY TO, TO PUMP IT OUT THROUGH OUR CHANNELS.
SO, AND THEN IF YOU GO BACK TO THE, THE SCREEN OF, OF YOUR WINDS, I SAW CRUISING KITCHENS ON THERE.
AND SO AGAIN, THIS IS A, CRUISING KITCHENS IS, UH, A BUSINESS THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT
[00:35:01]
AND, UH, VERY PROUD OF.WELL, YOU KNOW, UM, WE, UM, YOU, WE JUST GOT A, A PRESENTATION EARLIER ON WEDNESDAY OF THIS WEEK ON VIOLENT CRIME PREVENTION AND WHAT THE VIOLENT CRIME PREVENTION PLAN IS, RIGHT? AND ONE OF 'EM IS JOB CREATION, RIGHT? AND CRUISING KITCHENS MO, MOST OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE PREVIOUSLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.
AND I'M WONDERING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE NEED AN OPPORTUNITY, THEY NEED A JOB WHEN THEY GET OUT OF PRISON.
AND SO, UH, AND THAT ALSO THAT CAN, THAT'S CRIME PREVENTION, WHICH IS QUALITY OF LIFE MM-HMM.
AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING, ARE THERE OTHER BUSINESSES OUT THERE WITH THAT KIND OF A BUSINESS MODEL THAT WE CAN BE FOCUSED ON RECRUITING? BECAUSE FOR ME, THAT'S A WIN-WIN.
AND THERE ARE, BY THE WAY, SEVERAL IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY THAT ARE FOCUSED ON SECOND CHANCE INDIVIDUALS AS WELL, OR JUSTICE INVOLVED.
I MEAN, THIS IS, THIS IS AN ENTIRE STRATEGY UNDER THE CORPORATE PARTNERS FOR RACIAL EQUITY.
IT'S ONE OF THE THREE PILLARS THAT THEY'RE FOCUSED ON.
SO THE SHORT ANSWER THERE IS YES, I THINK WE NEED TO DO MORE, UM, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
NOW, IT HASN'T NECESSARILY DIRECTLY INFLUENCED OUR OUTBOUND RECRUITING, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY A QUESTION THAT WE CAN ASK WHEN WE HAVE THESE PROJECTS IN OUR PIPELINE.
BUT WE'VE GOT TO YOUR POINT ABOUT EXISTING BUSINESSES, WE HAVE SO MANY LOCAL COMPANIES THAT ARE PLAYING IN THIS SPACE AND THAT ARE LOOKING AT DOING MORE.
UM, THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A, A PATHWAY FOR THAT SPECIFICALLY.
WELL, IF THERE'S A ROLE THAT COUNCIL CAN PLAY, I WOULD ALWAYS BE HAPPY TO, TO STEP IN AND, AND, UH, DO WHAT WE CAN FROM OUR EXCELLENT.
SO YOU, AGAIN, YOU, YOU EMPHASIZE PAY FOR PER PAY FOR PERFORMANCE, RIGHT? SO HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WHAT THE WORK YOU DID, UH, RESULTED IN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE JOBS THAT ARE THE JOB GROWTH HERE, OR THAT MORE PEOPLE RECRUITED HERE AND THAT THAT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED OTHER ANYWAY? LOVE THIS QUESTION.
OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN AT THIS ORGANIZATION, THEY REALLY ARE GONNA THINK WE COORDINATED.
UM, BUT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, I STRUGGLED WITH THIS, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU CAN TRACK JUST JOB GROWTH IN, IN FACT, THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMY IS LOOKING GOOD.
EVERYBODY'S READING THE ARTICLES.
HOW DO YOU TRACK THAT LEVEL OF JOB GROWTH WITH WHAT WE AS AN ORGANIZATION ARE ACTUALLY INFLUENCING? SO WE'VE TOYED AROUND WITH, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU TRACK A A PER SHARE, YOU KNOW, NUMBER OR PERCENTAGE OF, OF BROADER GROWTH.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE'VE LANDED ON IS THAT THE PROJECTS WE'RE COUNTING, WE HAVE DIRECTLY TOUCHED.
SO WE ARE CERTAINLY INFLUENCING PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF WHAT WE'VE TOUCHED.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE EVEN FROM PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL TO MY ARRIVAL AT, UH, GREATER S A T X, WE'VE JUST GOTTEN A LOT MORE STRICT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE COUNTING.
SO IT WAS ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING BEFORE THAT WE MIGHT'VE HAD ONE MEETING WITH AN ORGANIZATION.
TODAY, IT IS A PROJECT THAT WE HAVE WORKED FROM LEAD TO GROUND THAT HAS QUALIFIED AND GONE THROUGH THE PROJECT CRITERIA, RIGHT? AND SARAH IS A STICKLER FOR WHAT SHE QUALIFIES AS A PROJECT ALL THE WAY TO DECISION, UM, AND SELECTING SAN ANTONIO FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR, UM, INVESTMENT.
WE HAVE SUPPORTED THESE PROJECTS FROM START TO FINISH.
MOTION TO APPROVE AND SEND A FULL COUNSEL.
FROM, UH, AND WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COUNCILMAN ROCHA, COUNCILWOMAN VIA GRANT.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES.
UM, THANK YOU JANA, FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I THINK, UM, YOU'VE WORKED REALLY HARD.
I JUST WANT TO, ON THE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT, THE JOBS ANNOUNCED AND THE COMPANY'S
UH, THE ONE THING WHERE WE LOOK AT SLIDE SEVEN ON THE PRESENTATION WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT, UM, KIND OF PERCEPTION OF S A T X AND HOW WE TELL THE STORY, I THINK ONE THING WE NEED TO TRY AND TELL AND IDENTIFY ARE THE LOCATIONS THAT, WHILE WE MAY NOT HAVE THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS TRANSIT SYSTEM THAT CHICAGO HAS OR NEW YORK HAS, WE ARE CREATING COMMUNITIES VERY SIMILAR TO BROOKS, WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO OVER BY PORT, WHERE PEOPLE ARE A, A SHORT RIDE FROM THEIR, UM, THEIR WORKPLACE AND AMENITIES LIKE A GROCERY STORE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO TELL THEM THAT STORY, THAT THEY CAN JUST BE A FEW MINUTES FROM, UH, A QUALITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OR CHARTER SCHOOL, UM, YOU KNOW, RESTAURANT OPTIONS, A GROCERY STORE, AND TRY AND MOVE THAT DIRECTION IF THEY COME AND, AND WANT TO WORK HERE.
UM, AND WE HAVE THE COMMUNITIES THERE.
'CAUSE I THINK BROOKS HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB OF THAT.
[00:40:01]
IS, AS MUCH AS I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO MOVE INTO SOUTH AMERICA AND LATIN AMERICA, BUT I THINK WHAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, UH, ESPECIALLY ON BROOKS IS THAT EUROPE AND EASTERN EUROPE HAS SHOWN AN EFFORT TO WANNA COME TO, UH, SAN ANTONIO AND, UM, SET UP HEADQUARTERS HERE.OUR, UM, SET UP DEVELOPMENT HERE WITH, UH, OAKEN AND CUISINE SOLUTIONS, UH, AND BAKERY.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE THOSE EXAMPLES, BUT THEY WEREN'T ON YOUR LIST.
AND, UM, AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT ALSO.
SO CAN YOU TALK TO ME A LITTLE ABOUT THE TARGET INDUSTRY, UH, JOBS FOR 2023, UM, AND IF THAT INCLUDES MAYBE, UM, THE URBAN FARMING OR SOMETHING LIKE SOLELY ORGANIC OR ANYTHING THAT, UH, FOCUSES ON ANIMAL CARE SERVICES OR ANY INDUSTRIES THAT FOCUS ON ANIMAL CARE SERVICES? SO FIRST OF ALL, COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
UM, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAID.
IN FACT, UH, CUISINE SOLUTIONS, BAKERY, UH, BAKO VAR, ALL OF THOSE WERE GREATER SS A T X PROJECTS.
UM, AND THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THIS SLIDE NEXT TIME, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR BROOKS PROJECTS, YOU JUST CAN'T OVER DOMINATE THE SLIDES.
COUNCILMAN A LOT GOES TO DISTRICT THREE.
UM, BUT YES, IS THE SHORT ANSWER ON SOLELY ORGANICS.
THAT WAS ANOTHER ONE OF OUR PROJECTS.
IN FACT, WE HAVE SEEN AN UPTICK IN THOSE TYPES OF, UM, WHAT I'LL CALL KIND OF INNOVATIVE F AND B TYPE OF MANUFACTURING PROJECTS.
AND, UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A FEW MORE IN OUR PIPELINE THAT ARE VERY INTERESTING.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S BECAUSE OF H E B, RIGHT? AND THEIR, THEIR FOOTPRINT HERE AND WHAT THEY'RE ABLE TO ATTRACT.
AND SO SAME THING CAN BE SAID FOR CUISINE AND BAKERY.
A LOT OF, A LOT OF THESE, UH, FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY SUPPLIERS OF H E B.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO LEAN INTO THEM.
IN FACT, OUR, OUR B R E VISIT, OUR BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION VISIT WITH H E B WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE SELFISHLY COULD DO A BETTER JOB AT SUPPORTING THEM BY ATTRACTING MORE OF THESE BUSINESSES CLOSER TO THEM BECAUSE OF THE CURRENT SUPPLY CHAIN DYNAMIC, RIGHT? AND WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN THAT AS MUCH MORE OF A PRIORITY FOR LARGE CORPORATIONS AS THEY'RE LOOKING TO REDUCE THEIR RISK POST PANDEMIC.
UH, SO MORE TO COME ON THAT, BUT THE SHORT ANSWER IS, IS YES, WE ARE FOCUSED ON, UH, SPECIFIC TARGET INDUSTRIES.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, MANUFACTURING AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, IT'S MANUFACTURING, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S TECH AND CYBER, IT'S BIOSCIENCE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND ANY, AND ALL HEADQUARTERS.
BUT BENEATH EACH OF THESE INDUSTRIES ARE SUBCATEGORIES.
SO UNDER MANUFACTURING, WE CAN HAVE AN ENTIRE CONVERSATION ABOUT AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING.
THEN YOU CAN DIVE DEEPER INTO EV THEN YOU CAN DIVE DEEPER INTO BATTERY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE EV.
AND SO THE TEAM TAKES A HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED APPROACH INTO HOW THEY ARE DISAGGREGATING THE DATA, BE BENEATH THESE INDUSTRIES, AND DETERMINING HOW WE AS A SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY CAN BEST COMPETE.
AND THAT, OF COURSE, IS INFORMING OUR PIPELINE DOWNSTREAM.
SO, UH, YES TO EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAID, AND I AGREE, WE DO NEED TO LEAN IN FURTHER INTO SOME OF THOSE OTHER INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIES.
AND, AND AS WE, AS WE MOVED OUT OF THE PANDEMIC, AND WE SAW THAT PEOPLE AND SAN ANTONIO LOVES THEIR PETS, SO I'M JUST GONNA PUT IN A PLUG.
IF WE COULD GET, UM, JUST AN INDUSTRY THAT DOES EITHER WORKS ON ORGANIC PET FOOD OR WORKS ON, ON SOME SORT OF, UM, JUST COMMITMENT TO, YOU KNOW, UM, THE TECHNOLOGY OF SPAY AND NEUTER, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, BIOMED, UH, WHERE WE, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR ANIMAL CARE, UH, SERVICES ASPECT TOO.
IF, IF THE, IF AN OPPORTUNITY ALIGNS.
THE OTHER IS, I THINK WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES HERE, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW, I KNOW GROUPS ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND FROM CHICAGO, UH, GROUPS ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND FROM, FROM THE EAST COAST.
UH, SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GOING OUT THERE AND, AND YOU'RE UTILIZING THE COUNCIL AS Y'ALL NEED TO WHEN IT COMES TO RECRUITING DOWN HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND I DO LIKE THE ASPECT THAT YOU BROUGHT IN, IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT US REGIONALLY AND TRYING TO GET COORDINATED WITH THE AREAS, UM, TO OUR SOUTHERN SECTOR.
UH, YOU KNOW, I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME, THAT, UH, BROOKS AND PORT AND TEXAS A AND M ARE MORE REGIONAL THAN, THAN THEY ARE STRICTLY SAN ANTONIO, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE, ARE COMING FROM THE SURROUNDING CITIES AND COMING UP FROM THE VALLEY TO GO TO SCHOOL THERE, OR TO SHOP THERE, OR TO VACATION THERE.
SO IF WE COULD JUST SELL THAT TO OUR, TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AS WE GO OUT AND LOOK FOR NEW INDUSTRIES, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TOO.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING THIS.
COUNCILMAN BRAVO HAS, UH, HAS TAPPED IN AGAIN.
AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND THE HORN, UNLESS, UNLESS
[00:45:01]
ALL OF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.I, I JUST WANNA THROW OUT ONE MORE THING.
IF YOU WANNA WEAR JENNA, THAT WE RECENTLY, UM, I GUESS PAST A, A BUILDING REGULATION.
SO NOW IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, IF ANYBODY BUILDS A HOME, IT HAS TO HAVE AN EV CHARGER, UM, PRE-WIRED, OR IT HAS, HAS TO BE PRE-WIRED FOR EVS.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE, UH, ATTRACTING YOUNG TALENT, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO TELL THEM IF THEY PER YOU, IF THEY MOVE HERE, THEY PURCHASE A HOME HERE, ANY NEW HOME HERE, IT'LL ALREADY BE PREWIRED FOR EVS.
AND WE'RE THE FIRST CITY IN TEXAS TO DO THAT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEING AVAILABLE TO MEET WITH ME WHEN, WHENEVER, UM, WHENEVER THE MUSE IS UPON ME AND I NEED TO, YOU KNOW, RUN IDEAS BY YOU.
UM, I, I KNOW THAT YOU'RE AVAILABLE TO OUR OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN CASE THEY, THEY WANT TO HAVE ONE-ON-ONE WITH YOU AND ROMANITA AND THE REST OF THE STAFF.
UM, I, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT.
UM, I, I DUNNO IF YOU'VE, YOU'VE HEARD, BUT I'VE BEEN ATTENDING A LOT OF MEETINGS LATELY REMOTELY 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN TRAVELING MM-HMM.
AND SO, UH, I GOT TO GO WITH THE MAYOR, UM, AND WITH, UH, RICHARD BETIS FROM THE CHAMBER, IMMEDIATE PAST C E O RIGHT? AND FORMER PHIL HARDBERGER AND SOME OTHER FOLKS TO INDIA.
UM, AND YOU WERE VERY HELPFUL AND YOUR, AND YOUR GROUP WAS VERY HELPFUL IN SETTING UP POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEETINGS THAT, THAT I'VE HAD IN SIX YEARS.
AND THEN I KNOW THE MAYOR FELT THE SAME WAY WITH, UH, TATA GROUP.
UM, TATA HAS, I THINK 2000 PLUS EMPLOYEES IN SAN ANTONIO.
THEIR CLIENTS INCLUDE, UM, MOSTLY U S A A, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
BUT THEY INCLUDE PENFED, FROST, UH, H E B, UM, WE MET WITH H C L, WHICH IS I THINK THE THIRD LARGEST IT COMPANY IN INDIA.
THEY'VE GOT 1300 PEOPLE, UH, WORKING IN SAN ANTONIO FOR NUMEROUS COMPANIES.
UM, MOSTLY BACK OFFICE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THESE COMPANIES, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
I, I DID NOTICE INDO MIM IS NOT ON YOUR, UH, ON YOUR SLIDE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ALWAYS WORRIED ME IS THAT WE'VE DONE SO MUCH TO GO REMIND MEXICO THAT WE'RE OPEN FOR BUSINESS, AND THAT NOBODY IN THIS ROOM CAN TELL ME THE NAME OF A MAJOR MEXICAN EMPLOYER IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, THAT DOES CAPITAL INVESTMENT OR THAT EMPLOYS PEOPLE, RIGHT? AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ARCA, UH, PARDON ME, ARCA, I'M, SAY THAT AGAIN, ARCA, DID YOU BRING THEM IN? AL NO, BUT THEY'RE HERE, RIGHT? DID ANY OF ANY OF US IN THIS ROOM TAKE, I MEAN, NOBODY IN THIS ROOM CAN TAKE CREDIT FOR THE, FOR THEM.
OH, YOU MEAN FOR THOSE, OH, YOU MEAN TAKING CREDIT FOR LURING THEM NOT EXISTING CREDIT? YEAH.
I MEAN, THOSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE, I THINK NELSON WOLF WAS, UH, A YOUNG MAN,
UH, BUT SO WE, UM, I, I DON'T THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR EFFORTS IN MEXICO HAVE REALLY PAID OFF THE WAY I THINK MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY'VE PAID OFF, RIGHT? IF YOU ASK, MOST PEOPLE, UH, SAY, OH, WE'RE A MAJOR DESTINATION FOR MEXICAN BUSINESS, AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY NOT.
UH, WE'RE A MAJOR DESTINATION FOR RETAIL, UH, FOR, AND THAT'S GREAT.
WE'RE A MAJOR DESTINATION FOR THEIR TOURISM, WHICH IS FANTASTIC AND RESIDENTIAL.
AND THEY COME HERE AND RENT HOUSES OUT AT SONARA, AND THEY, UH, SHOP AT LA AND TERRA, AND THEY SEND THEIR KIDS TO UTSA AND THEY LEASE THEIR BMWS.
ALL THAT'S FANTASTIC, RIGHT? AND I WANT MORE OF THAT.
BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THAT THERE'S CERTAIN COUNTRIES THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IF WE HAD INVESTED 20 YEARS AGO, THE WAY THAT WE'VE INVESTED IN MEXICO, UM, WE'D BE MINING FOR MORE GOLD TODAY, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND SO TO ME, I WALKED AWAY FROM THAT, FROM THAT VISIT TO INDIA, THINKING THAT I THINK WE COULD BE MORE INTENTIONAL WITH SOUTHEAST ASIA MM-HMM.
UM, AND I'M, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE, I'M NOT SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER TO THAT, TO, TO, UH, TO THAT IS, RIGHT? WHICH IS HOW CAN WE BE MORE INTENTIONAL? MM-HMM.
RIGHT? I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT TATA, I THINK THEY'VE GOT SOMETHING LIKE 964,000 EMPLOYEES WORLDWIDE.
RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S AN ASTONISHINGLY LARGE ORGANIZATION.
AND SO, UM, I I, I THINK THAT THERE'S AN ADVANTAGE THAT WE HAVE UT MED HERE, RIGHT? UM, AND THE REASON IS, IS BECAUSE THE STUDENTS THAT COME FROM INDIA, UM, CREATE SOMETHING LIKE $7.1 BILLION IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES.
THAT'S JUST STUDENTS, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, BUT MANY OF THOSE STUDENTS CREATE WEALTH, UM, BY STAYING HERE, RIGHT? MANY OF 'EM BECOME DOCTORS AND ENGINEERS, AND THEY, UH, ENTREPRENEURS.
AND I WONDER IF WE'RE TOUCHING THOSE STUDENTS, UM, CONSISTENTLY THROUGHOUT THEIR, THROUGHOUT THEIR STAY HERE TO REMIND THEM, HEY, SAN ANTONIO WANTS YOU, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, AND ANYWAY, I, I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES THERE.
AND, AND YEAH, I, I'M GONNA, I AGREE WITH YOU A HUNDRED PERCENT.
YOU KNOW, PART OF THE, THE HISTORY WITH MEXICO IS GEOGRAPHIC, RIGHT? THEY'RE PRIORITIZING IT BECAUSE IT, UH, MEXICO IS SO CLOSE, AND I AGREE WITH YOU THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN AS EFFECTIVE THAT WE NEED, WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THAT MARKET, GIVEN THE
[00:50:01]
GEOGRAPHY.I THINK WHAT'S GONNA HELP WITH SOME OF THESE OTHER COMMUNITIES, UM, INDIA SPECIFICALLY, IS THE AIRPORT AND NONSTOP CONNECTIVITY.
UM, BECAUSE THAT'S ALL A PART OF IT, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO IN THREE YEARS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACCOM ACCOMMODATE ASIA, RIGHT? TODAY WE CAN'T.
UM, IT'S INTERESTING WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW WE'VE PRIORITIZED MARKETS, JAPAN INCLUDED, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE'VE HAD AN OFFICE IN JAPAN THAT WE INVEST IN SIGNIFICANTLY, AND THAT WAS ALL TIED BACK TO THE TOYOTA INVESTMENT.
IT HASN'T NECESSARILY BEEN AS STRATEGIC AS LEVERAGING SOME OF WHAT WE HAVE THROUGH, THROUGH BROOKINGS TO LOOK AT, UM, YOU KNOW, GEOPOLITICAL CLIMATES AND ALIGNMENT, UH, GEOGRAPHY, CONNECTIVITY, ET CETERA.
UM, BUT LET ME JUST TELL YOU, REST ASSURED, WE ARE TALKING TO EVERY SINGLE COMPANY THAT YOU MENTIONED, AND I, I WILL TELL YOU, UM, I HOPE THAT BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE IS GROWING THEIR, THEIR PRESENCE IN SAN ANTONIO SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, INDIA, LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF BILLIONAIRES ON THE PLANET, RIGHT? I MEAN, OVER THE PAST THREE DAYS, ADANI GROUP HAS LOST A HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS IN VALUE IN THEIR STOCK, BUT THEY DON'T REALLY CARE.
I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'VE, THEY'RE THE THIRD LARGEST, RICHEST, UH, ENTITY ON THE PLANET.
SO, UM, I, ANYWAY, YOU GET WHERE I'M GOING.
OH, YOU'RE PICKING UP WHAT? I'M LAYING DOWN.
THE SECOND THING I WANTED TO TELL YOU IS, UM, THIS, WHAT THE MOST ALARMING THING TO ME RIGHT NOW ABOUT OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, I PICTURE RIGHT, IS THIS DEFICIT THAT WE HAVE IN MEGA SITES.
I THINK THAT'S OUR BIGGEST HAMSTRINGING, UH, PROBLEM, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GO AROUND TELLING EVERYBODY, WE'VE GOT THE NICEST, SMARTEST PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST EAGER TO WORK.
WE CAN TELL THEM ALL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR PARKS AND OUR QUALITY OF LIFE.
YOU'RE RIGHT, COUNCILMAN BRAVO.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? UM, WE CAN TALK TO 'EM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WILLING AND ABLE, ABLE LABOR ENVIRONMENT AND ALL THAT.
BUT IF THERE'S NO PLACE TO PUT A FACTORY IN SAN ANTONIO, THEN ALL OF THAT IS MOOT, RIGHT? AMEN.
IT FORCES US TO GO AROUND TELLING THEM, HEY, YOU KNOW, SINE IS REALLY NICE.
YOU GOTTA GO TO SINE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S THE BEST WE CAN OFFER, RIGHT? IS ANOTHER CITY'S SITES, RIGHT? AND I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR JOB IS S A T GREATER S A T X, RIGHT? WHICH IS NOW, YOU KNOW, ADVOCATING FOR THE OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS, AND THAT'S OKAY, RIGHT? BUT THAT'S NOT MY JOB.
MY JOB IS TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE DEAL BEFORE HUDA DOES, OR BEFORE, YOU KNOW, SINE DOES.
UM, AND SO THOSE FIVE SITES THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED, UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE FOR THAT.
WE, WE'VE LOST THE ABILITY TO ANNEX REALLY GOOD LAND FOR PURPOSES OF, UH, AND, AND TO PULL OFF ANOTHER TOYOTA, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
PART OF THE DEAL WAS THAT WE WOULD ANNEX THAT.
UM, WHAT'S THE PLAN, JENNA? YEAH.
SO FIRST OF ALL, LEMME TELL YOU THAT LEVEL OF BIG THINKING IS WHAT WE NEED, RIGHT? BECAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS A BIG CHALLENGE.
AND TO YOUR POINT, UH, THESE SHOVEL-READY MEGA SITES ARE TABLE STAKES, RIGHT? SO, AS FAR AS A PLAN GOES, WE CAN SPEND TIME DEVELOPING LONG-TERM PLANS TO GET THESE SITES READY.
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS OUT, IF NOT MORE.
WE'RE TRYING TO CONVINCE LANDOWNERS TO CONTEMPLATE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT VERSUS RESIDENTIAL, BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE UNTIL HERE RECENTLY THAT THEY COULD MAKE MORE MONEY ON RESIDENTIAL HOUSING.
AND SO WE'RE HAVING ALL OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, WE'RE NOT WAITING UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO GET EVERYBODY IN ALIGNMENT.
WE'RE ALREADY MARKETING THE SITES, WHETHER THAT'S A GOOD STRATEGY OR NOT.
UM, WE, THERE ARE ACTIVELY LARGE MEGA PROJECTS THAT ARE ON THE DOCKET THAT WE ARE JUST TRYING TO GET IN AND COMPETE FOR.
AND BY THE WAY, YOU'RE FAMILIAR, BUT AT LEAST TWO OF THOSE SITES ARE SHOVEL READY, WHICH IS GREAT FOR US, BUT THE OTHERS MIGHT STILL BE PRIVATE PROPERTY THAT THEY MIGHT BE CONTEMPLATING FOR SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE'VE GOTTEN THEM TO ALLOW US FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL IF A COMPANY THAT'S CONTEMPLATING A LARGE MEGA SITE ACTUALLY GET SERIOUS ABOUT SHORTLISTING SAN ANTONIO.
SO THE, THE PLAN TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BROUGHT THE MAYOR IN, WE BROUGHT THE, THE CITY, UH, THE CITY AND COUNTY STAFF IN.
WE HAVE PRIVATE SECTOR LEADERS AT THE TABLE TALKING TO PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERS.
THE UTILITIES ARE INVOLVED, ET CETERA.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IS GONNA BE WHAT YOU MENTIONED.
UM, YOU TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CITY LIMITS.
SOME OF THESE MEGA SITES ARE ACTUALLY OUT EAST BEYOND SAWS, SERVICE TERRITORY,
AND SO THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE, UM, COUNCILMAN, WE'RE GONNA NEED YOUR SUPPORT, THE MAYOR, SUPPORT EVERYBODY SITTING AROUND THIS TABLE, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE BIG CHANGE, NOT JUST OUR SMALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM WORKING AT STAFF LEVELS.
OKAY? WELL, LISTEN, THANK YOU.
WE CAN, WE CAN DO THIS ALL DAY.
AND, AND I'VE LOVED THIS CONVERSATION, AND, UM, AND I KNOW THAT YOU GOTTA GO OUT AND SAVE THE WORLD.
SO,
UH, WE HAVE, UH, A MO A VOTE TO TAKE ON THIS, RIGHT? SO, UM, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THE FLOOR.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
WE HAVE ANOTHER ITEM TODAY ON THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM PILOT, UH, FUNDED BY ARPA.
[00:55:01]
AGAIN, GOOD AFTERNOON.AND THIS IS A PERFECT SEGUE, ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE IN PLACE, UH, TO, TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM.
UH, SO AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN JUNE OF 2022, THE CITY COUNCIL DID APPROVE THE SMALL BUSINESS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UH, UTILIZING THE ARPA FUNDING, AGAIN, JUST UNDER $31 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED TO SMALL BUSINESSES.
WITHIN THAT, THOSE FIVE BUCKETS, WE DID HAVE GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING FOR 5.25 MILLION.
UH, YOU'LL SEE THERE THAT WE HAD 3 MILLION FOR OPERATION FACELIFT AND 1.25 MILLION FOR OUTDOOR SPACES PROGRAM.
WE'LL BE BRIEFING, UH, THE COMMITTEE ON THAT AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
UH, BUT TODAY WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THE $1 MILLION FOR THE QUARTER PROGRAM, AGAIN, WHICH IS A PILOT PROGRAM.
UH, SO AGAIN, WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS WE'VE ALREADY, UM, NEGOTIATED, WE HAVEN'T QUITE EXECUTED IT YET, BUT WE HAVE NEGOTIATED A TWO YEAR, UH, CONTRACT WITH MAIN STREET AMERICA, UH, FOR ASSISTANCE IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM ON, ON THE SCORING THE CRITERIA AND SO FORTH.
UH, AND THEN REALLY THAT LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING.
AND, AND THEN THE REVIEW OF THE PROGRAM.
AGAIN, GIVEN THAT THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM, UH, WE ARE TARGETING ABOUT 18 AND A HALF THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR PROGRAM MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
WE WANNA BE VERY SPECIFIC ON THAT, BUT WE KNOW THERE'S PROBABLY 20 QUARTERS OUT THERE.
UM, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ENGAGING ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, AUDIENCES ON THIS OPPORTUNITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THAT THEN LEAVES, UH, 850,004 INVESTMENTS INTO THOSE TWO SELECTED CORRIDORS.
UH, AND THEY'LL PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT THAT MONEY WILL BE UTILIZED FOR A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO JUST A REFRESHER AGAIN, ON MEAN STREET AMERICA.
THEY WERE ESTABLISHED IN 1980.
THEY ARE A PROGRAM UNDER THE NATIONAL TRUST OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION, WHICH HAS BEEN OPERATING SINCE 1949.
THEY'VE HELPED OVER 2000 COMMUNITIES.
THEY HAD A PROGRAM CALLED URBAN MAINE.
IT'S NOW A, A PART OF, UM, THE, UM, MAIN STREET AMERICA THAT'S REFERRED TO AS NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, UH, THAT REALLY FOCUSED ON THOSE UNDER SOURCED OLDER AND HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS, PARTICULARLY THOSE COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS.
UH, AND SO FOR US, AGAIN, IT'S A, THEY, THEY HAVE 40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE REALLY IN THAT ANTI DISPLACEMENT, UH, PARTICULARLY FOCUSED WITH BUSINESSES.
AGAIN, THEY HAVE THAT FOUR POINT APPROACH REALLY FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC VITALITY.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE, THE BUSINESSES AND MAKING SURE YOU HAVE THAT DIVERSE ECONOMIC BASE AS WELL AS THE DESIGN.
WHAT, YOU KNOW, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF, UM, KEY OPPORTUNITIES, THAT HISTORIC, UH, CHARACTER.
WE WILL BE TALKING A LOT ABOUT WALKABILITY AND SO FORTH.
HOW DO YOU GET PEOPLE THERE REALLY ARTICULATING AND DEFINING THE, THE CORRIDOR'S CHARACTERISTICS? AND THEN, OF COURSE, ORGANIZATION, YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE THAT ORGANIZATION, THAT CAPACITY TO DO ALL OF THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO MAKE A CORRIDOR SUCCESSFUL.
UH, SO ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY WILL BE ONE OF THOSE KEY CRITERIA THAT WE LOOK FOR.
UH, WHEN WE ARE IDENTIFYING THOSE TWO CORRIDORS, UH, WE WILL BE LOOKING FOR A MANAGING ORGANIZATION THAT IS A NONPROFIT, EITHER A 5 0 1 C THREE, C FOUR C SIX.
UH, WE DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT IT COULD, THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AN EXISTING, IT COULD BE A NEW ORGANIZATION.
UH, WE THINK IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE REALLY FANTASTIC IF IN OUR TWO PILOT PROGRAM WE HAVE ONE THAT'S AN EXISTING ORGANIZATION AND THEN ONE THAT'S A NEWLY ESTABLISHED, JUST SO THAT, AGAIN, LESSONS LEARNED AND OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH TWO DIFFERENT TYPES.
UH, AGAIN, THEY HAVE TO BE BASED IN OR HAVE THAT SIGNIFICANT PRESIDENT PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS ALL ABOUT THAT CORRIDOR AND ALL ABOUT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO WE WANT THAT ORGANIZATION TO BE THERE, UM, AND REALLY INGRAINED IN THAT COMMUNITY, HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF ACHIEVING THOSE, THOSE SPECIFIC OUTCOMES, MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS SO THEY'RE ABLE TO CONVENE THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE PROPERTY OWNERS, THE RESIDENTS, AND FOR SO FORTH.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, HAVE THE STAFFING AND THE FINANCIAL WHEREWITHAL TO SUPPORT THAT.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, FURTHERING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THEY CAN PARTNER WITH SPECIFIC TO THE CORRIDOR? WE WANT TO IDENTIFY THOSE THAT HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER CONCENTRATION OF BUSINESSES.
AGAIN, IF THE CORRIDOR IS A HUNDRED PERCENT OCCUPIED, THEY'RE DOING GREAT, THEY DON'T NEED THE ASSISTANCE.
UM, IF THE BUILDINGS ARE A HUNDRED PERCENT VACANT, THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT QUITE READY FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
SO THE SWEET SPOT'S GONNA BE SOMEPLACE IN BETWEEN THAT.
UH, BUT REALLY, WHERE IS THAT CONCENTRATION OF BUSINESSES? THE TYPES OF
[01:00:01]
BUSINESSES, UH, ARE ALSO IMPORTANT.I MENTIONED EARLIER THE WALKABILITY SCORE.
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT, UH, AGAIN, PEOPLE CAN COME TO, CAN ENJOY IT, CAN WALK AND EXPERIENCE IT.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, THE SIZE OF THE, THE QUARTER.
WE ALSO WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT THE COMBINED EQUITY SCORE FOR EACH OF THOSE LOCATIONS.
AND THEN I ALREADY TO TOUCHED UPON THE VACANCY RATE AS MENTIONED, THIS IS PART OF THAT LARGER, UH, PLACEMAKING BUCKET, SO TO SPEAK.
UH, SO WE WILL BE, UM, LOOKING AT HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE OTHER RESOURCES.
AND THEN, UM, I'LL ALSO TOUCH UPON HOW WE'RE GONNA LEVERAGE THOSE OTHER PROGRAMS. SO HOW DOES THIS TIE INTO AND ALIGN WITH THOSE EXISTING CITY PLANS AND PRIORITIES? OF COURSE, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT SA TOMORROW AND THE SUB AREA PLANS.
ARE THE REGIONAL CENTER PLANS, ARE THERE RESOURCES LIKE TS AVAILABLE? ARE THEY ADJACENT TO A DISTRICT? UH, AGAIN, THOSE PARTNERSHIPS ARE ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.
HOW DO WE, UM, ALIGN WITH AND THEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE RESOURCES THAT ARE OUT THERE, INCLUDING PHILANTHROPIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERS? AND THEN ARE THERE PUBLIC INVESTMENTS BEING MADE EITHER THROUGH THE BOND PROGRAM, OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENTS, ARTS CULTURAL INVESTMENTS, UH, THE QUARTER APPLICATION? WE'VE, UH, THERE'S DETAILS IN ALL OF THIS, BUT REALLY, AGAIN, LOOKING AT THAT ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY, THE QUARTER CHARACTERISTICS, THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT, HOW THE AREA ALIGNS WITH THOSE EXISTING PLANS, AND THEN THOSE PARTNERSHIPS FOR A TOTAL POINT OF 100, UH, WE WOULD BE UTILIZING THE, UH, MAIN STREET AMERICA.
THEY USE A SYSTEM CALLED SUBMITTABLE, SO THAT WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT THAT AS A BASE LEVEL FOR SCORING.
AND THEN WE WOULD ALSO HAVE A REVIEW COMMITTEE, OF COURSE, MADE UP OF SEVERAL OF OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS, WHICH WE'VE COLLABORATED WITH TO DEVELOP THIS SCORING AND THE CRITERIA.
AND THEN OF COURSE, A COUPLE OF, UH, EXTERNAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS OR ORGANIZATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE FUNDING SPECIFICALLY TO THE TWO CORRIDORS, UH, THAT ARE IDENTIFIED.
WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT PROVIDING UP TO $200,000 FOR EACH OF THE CORRIDORS.
YOU'LL SEE THE BREAKDOWN THERE, UH, ONCE WE SELECTED THEM.
AND THAT'S REALLY TO HELP THEM GET STARTED, GET THAT DEDICATED STAFF MEMBER, REALLY KIND OF LAY THAT FOUNDATIONAL WORK FOR THEM SO THAT THEY CAN THEN MOVE ON AND BE SUSTAINABLE.
AND THAT IS ONE THING THAT WE, AGAIN, WHY WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT THOSE RESOURCES THEY COULD LEVERAGE AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING THAT SUSTAINABILITY PLAN AFTER SEPTEMBER OF 2025, THE REMAINDER OF THE MONEY WE WOULD SET ASIDE UP TO $225,000 PER CORRIDOR FOR REALLY THAT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION OR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
SO FACADES, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE SOME OF THOSE EASY THINGS THAT ARE LOOKED AT, UM, SINCE TREES WERE MENTIONED EARLIER, TREE PLANTING, ARE THERE SOME TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WE NEED EITHER THROUGH SOME LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, FACILITY ARCHITECTS, ALL OVER THE BOARD, AND THEN REALLY THAT IMPLEMENTATION AS WELL.
WE, OF COURSE, WOULD CONTINUE TO LOOK AT HOW WE COULD LEVERAGE OTHER RESOURCES, OTHER PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY HAS.
AND I MENTIONED THE FACADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, THE OUTDOOR SPACES AS WELL AS, UH, OTHERS THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED.
SO FOLLOWING CONVERSATION HERE TODAY, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT BRIEFING CITY COUNCIL AS WELL AS THEN REALLY STARTING AT THE END OF THE MONTH TO LAUNCH OUR OUTREACH.
UH, GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT THERE SO THAT WE COULD OPEN UP THAT APPLICATION WINDOW, UH, HAVE THAT AGGRESSIVE.
WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT HAVING EIGHT TO 10 WORKSHOPS.
AGAIN, MAIN STREET AMERICA WOULD BE A PARTNER IN THAT PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE APPLICATION.
UH, AND WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT OTHER PARTNERS AS WELL THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS, UH, SO THAT WE COULD, BY THE END OF MAY, IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE TWO CORRIDORS ARE THAT WE WOULD BE RECOMMENDING SO THAT WE COULD BRING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD TO YOU IN THAT JUNE TIMEFRAME.
AND THEN REALLY, WE WOULD LOOK AT ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THE TRAINING THAT CORRIDOR, AND REALLY SUPPORTING THE TWO CORRIDORS.
UH, STARTING IN THAT JUNE TIME PERIOD, WE ARE LOOKING AT THIS BEING, UH, JUST OVER TWO YEARS.
SO AGAIN, THAT JUNE TO AUGUST OF 2025, AND THEN WE WOULD BE PARTNERING AGAIN WITH MEAN STREET AMERICA FOR THAT FINAL PILOT ASSESSMENT, UH, IN SEPTEMBER, 2025, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY IDENTIFY, UH, HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
AND, AND OUR HOPE IS THAT THIS GROWS INTO SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST THE TWO CORRIDORS.
UH, LET'S TAKE IT IN THE SAME ORDER, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, I CAN TURN THEN.
UH, FOR THE INFORMATION, WHAT OTHER STUDY DEPARTMENTS
[01:05:01]
IS E D D GONNA BE WORKING WITH, UM, FOR INPUT, JUST OTHER THAN THE ONES THAT ARE IN THAT, UH, LIST THAT ARE GONNA BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.SO WE'VE WORKED WITH A WHOLE VARIETY.
UM, THE LIST IS, ARE THE ONES THAT WERE PROBABLY THE MOST OBVIOUS, BUT WE'VE ALSO HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UM, PUBLIC WORKS, AGAIN, AS PART OF, UH, THE CONSTRUCTION CONVERSATIONS, JUST REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
'CAUSE WE THINK THIS MIGHT BE A, A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO ALSO MAYBE LEVERAGE ONE OF THOSE CONSTRUCTION CORRIDORS.
UH, SO THERE'S BEEN A VARIETY OF CONVERSATIONS THROUGHOUT.
AND DID WE GATHER ANY FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS OR THE, THE NONPROFIT GROUPS IN THE AREA, OR EVEN SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT AND THE APPLICATION? SO WE'VE HAD HIGH LEVEL CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM.
UM, WE'VE, WE HAVE THE GOOD FORTUNE OF HAVING HAD A LOT OF, UH, SMALL BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT, UH, THROUGH A WHOLE VARIETY OF THINGS, JUST EVEN DEVELOPING THE WORK PLAN.
SO WE DID CAPTURE ALL OF THAT.
WE WERE ABLE TO GO BACK AND REALLY KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THAT FEEDBACK.
UH, WE ALSO LOOKED AT BEST PRACTICES AND TRIED TO REALLY, UM, DEVELOP A THOUGHTFUL CRITERIA THAT TOOK ALL OF THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, AND YOU HAVE A, HOW DO YOU DEFINE, I GUESS, TRACK RECORD OF MEASURABLE COMMUNITY OUTCOMES AND PROVEN ABILITY TO CONVENE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS? YES.
SO, WE'LL, WE'LL BE ASKING THEM FOR WHAT THOSE PLANS WERE, WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCES ARE.
UH, IT'S POSSIBLE WE'LL BE ACTUALLY GOING OUT AND INTERVIEWING AGAIN, THOSE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE COMMUNITY BEING ENGAGED.
SO WE'LL WANNA HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND I'D, I'D LOVE FOR US TO PUSH THAT, OBVIOUSLY, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT, IT, IT WOULD BE BEST FOR US, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU SAID THIS, RIGHT, TO LOOK JUST PAST THOSE ALREADY ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATIONS SO THAT WE CAN, UM, HAVE MORE ORGANIZATIONS ENVISION THE FUTURE, RIGHT? AND SO POSSIBLY SCALE UP.
SO I FEEL LIKE SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, MIGHT BE, I MEAN, KIND OF SET RIGHT ON, ON WHAT A VISION IS.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR NEW PEOPLE TO BE ENGAGED.
UM, I THINK THE WALKABILITY SCORE IS A GREAT INDICATOR TO INCLUDE THE CRITERIA.
UM, IS THIS CONSIDERED UNDER THE CORRIDOR CHARACTERISTICS IN THE SCORING MATRIX? YES.
UM, AND THEN THE EQUITY SCORE, I THINK RATHER THAN USING IT AS ONE OF THE SEVERAL FACTORS UNDER CORRIDOR CHARACTERISTICS, THAT THE PILOT PROGRAM SHOULD PROBABLY BE FOCUSED IN THE AREAS OF OUR CITY WITH HIGH INEQUITIES.
IS THERE A REASON THAT IT'S, UM, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S AS PROMINENT RIGHT NOW.
WELL, WE CAN CERTAINLY TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WE HAVE THAT IN THE, THE GRADING, THE CRITERIA AND THE, THE GRADIENT.
UM, INTERESTINGLY, WE HAD A WORKSHOP WITH OUR TEAM TODAY TO TALK ABOUT CORRIDORS AND JUST ASK THEM WHAT THEY WOULD CHOOSE.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE QUARTERS HAD AN EQUITY SCORE OF AT LEAST EIGHT OR HIGHER.
HOW COULD JOB? THAT WAS ONE OF THE CONSIDERATIONS.
I COULD, UM, YOU ALSO HAVE, UM, SA TOMORROW, FOR INSTANCE, REGIONAL CENTER OF LINE, UH, CENTER OF PLANS, UM, TO FACTOR IN.
I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE THAT TOURS, UM, NEEDS THE SAME LEVEL OR IF ANY CONSIDERATION AT ALL, RIGHT? BECAUSE I THINK THAT AREAS WITHIN THE TOURS ALREADY HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OVER SOME OF, OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT DON'T.
SO THAT WOULD JUST BE MY 2 CENTS, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD CONSIDER QUARTERS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY NEAR TOURS.
AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION RIGHT ABOUT IT.
UM, BUT THEN CAN YOU ALSO EXPLAIN THE PUBLIC INVESTMENTS THAT ARE REFERENCED? ARE WE TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CITY BOND PROGRAMS OR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS? WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THERE? ALL OF THE ABOVE.
WE REALLY WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT, AGAIN, WHAT IS, WHAT ARE THOSE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE ALREADY HAPPENING IN THE AREA, BUT HOW DO WE USE THESE, THESE CORRIDORS TO REALLY HONE IN ON AND MAYBE TAKE THAT, THAT LEAP FORWARD, SO TO SPEAK.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, LEVERAGING WHATEVER INVESTMENT WE CAN, THERE'S TWO DASHBOARDS THAT I COULD THINK OF, RIGHT, RIGHT NOW.
AND SO THE, THE PUBLIC WORKS THAT THEY'RE CREATING, I FILED A C C R AND THEY'RE, THEY STARTED CREATING IT.
AND THEN THE SHIP DASHBOARD, RIGHT? UM, WHICH I JUST FOUND OUT YESTERDAY IS ACTUALLY LIVE, SO I HAVE TO GO AND CHECK IT OUT MYSELF.
SO ENCOURAGE YOUR STAFF TO USE THOSE.
UM, I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS ENCOURAGING.
I THINK IT DEMONSTRATES, UH, UM, FROM OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, THAT THEY WANNA WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, I'M, I'M HAPPY THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME ADDITIONAL ACTIVE COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS.
AND I THINK THAT SOME OF THESE CORRIDORS MIGHT COME BACK TO THEIR GLORY DAYS, RIGHT? AND SO I KEEP THINKING THE AREA IN MY DISTRICT, SOUTHWEST MILITARY, IT HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL, RIGHT? AND SO I'D LOVE TO SEE COFFEE SHOPS AND MORE RESTAURANTS, ET CETERA.
AND THERE'S NOTHING RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? UM, AND SO, AND EVEN, UM, WE SHARE A BORDER DE FOUR AND D FIVE.
AND SO RECENTLY WE WERE AT A RESTAURANT THAT JUST OPENED, UH, CUBA 1918.
IT HAS SUCH A COOL SPACE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS, AND PEOPLE ARE EXCITED ABOUT IT.
SO I KNOW THAT IF WE INVEST IN IT, IF YOU KNOW, THEY WILL COME.
BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK.
[01:10:02]
THANK YOU.I'M GLAD THIS IS MOVING FORWARD.
AND, UH, I, I DID WANNA SHARE THAT, UH, THE A I A HOSTED A LUNCH CHARETTE ON MONDAY, AND THEY BROUGHT TOGETHER 45 ARCHITECTS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WITH 16 STAKEHOLDERS TO LOOK AT, UM, WHAT COULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE LAS LAS SOYA STREET CORRIDOR OVER TWO BLOCKS.
AND SO THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, SO THERE MAY BE A GROUP THAT COULD BE A CANDIDATE FOR THIS.
UM, I WAS SUPPORTIVE OF CONTINUING WITH A CORRIDOR PROGRAM, PILOT PROGRAM.
UH, THIS IS NOT WHAT I HAD ANTICIPATED COMING, I THINK ON THE HEELS OF THE, UM,
THIS, THIS ASKING PEOPLE TO COMPETE AGAIN FOR TWO CORRIDORS, UH, JUST DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT.
AND I KNOW WE'RE IN BRIEFING RIGHT NOW.
UH, IS THAT CORRECT? WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT TAKING AN ACTION TODAY.
THIS ISN'T SCHEDULED FOR ACTION'S, JUST A BRIEFING OF THE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
BECAUSE, BECAUSE HERE'S, HERE'S MY ISSUE.
WE'RE, WE'RE PAYING MAIN STREET AMERICA OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
WE'RE GOING INTO A CONTRACT WITH THEM, THEN WE'RE ASKING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT AGENCIES, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GIVE ME A LIST OF WHAT AGENCIES YOU THINK COULD DO THIS PROGRAM.
EVERYBODY HAS, UM, CORRIDORS THAT NEED HELP WITHIN THE DISTRICT, UH, WITHIN THEIR DISTRICTS, ALL THE WAY FROM 10 TO TO ONE.
BUT WE DO TALK ABOUT THIS EQUITY SCORE.
AND, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN AREAS OF TOWN, UH, IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR AND IN THE WEST SIDE THAT HAVE TRIED TO DO THIS ON THEIR OWN.
SO THE IDEA OF, OF JUST OPENING IT UP, I, I DON'T LIKE, I, I REALLY WOULD PREFER IF WE SELECTED, UH, AREAS EITHER AS A COMMITTEE OR IN A B SESSION AS A WHOLE, BECAUSE I KNOW SOME OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES ARE GONNA HAVE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THIS, UM, THAT AREN'T HERE TODAY.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE TURS, I, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO LOOK THROUGH THIS A LOT BECAUSE THIS IS A LOT.
I MEAN, SO SOUTHSIDE FIRST, AND, AND DIFFERENT GROUPS COME AND APPLY FOR THIS.
WE MAKE THEM GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WE DO THIS, AND THEN WE TELL THEM NO.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE AT A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE ARE, ARE UPSET ABOUT THAT.
I, I THINK WE NEED TO LIMIT THIS, THIS SCOPE TO REALLY WHAT WE'VE, WHO WAS IMPACTED SPECIFICALLY BY THE PANDEMIC OR WHO HAS BEEN, UM, WHO HAS BEEN TRADITIONALLY IGNORED IN THIS PRO PROCESS.
'CAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, AND WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE CORRIDOR, THE, THE AREAS THAT WERE MOST IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC.
SO I, I'M GONNA NEED A, A BRIEFING ON THIS WITH, IN THEORY, WHAT, UM, WHAT GROUPS YOU'RE ANTICIPATING APPLYING, AND ALSO WHAT CORRIDORS STAFF IS REALLY CONSIDERING, BECAUSE WHAT AM I GONNA DO, TELL RIVERSIDE TO, TO GET A GROUP TOGETHER, ONLY TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND, AND NOT GET PICKED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
I JUST, I DON'T WANT THEM TO GO THROUGH THAT, UM, PROCESS IF WE, IF WE DON'T HAVE A, A COMMITTED, UM, BUDGET ITEM TO CONTINUE THIS PAST ARPA.
SO, UH, I'D LIKE A, A FOLLOW-UP MEETING, AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED A B SESSION FOR THIS.
SO COUNCILWOMAN, THIS IS ALEX.
AND I WAS JUST GONNA, UM, KIND OF TO, TO BRING IT BACK TO THE, THE WORK PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED BY THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, OUR INTENTION ALL ALONG WAS TO IDENTIFY TWO CORRIDORS.
UM, WE, WE KNEW BASED ON THE FUNDING THAT HAD BEEN ASSOCIATED BY THIS GROUP AND ALLOCATED BY THIS GROUP FOR THIS PARTICULAR PILOT PROGRAM, WE KNEW, WE KNOW THAT THE NEED IS VAST.
UM, AND, AND OUR CHARGE WAS TO GO BACK AND DEVELOP CRITERIA THAT WE COULD USE TO IDENTIFY SOME PILOT OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, THAT'S WHAT THE STAFF DID.
AND WE'RE HOPING THAT BY GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE CAN IDENTIFY, UM, ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, VERY WELL ESTABLISHED OR PERHAPS NEWLY FORMING, UM, BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS, NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY RESPOND TO THIS.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE VERY INCLUSIVE, BUT YET SPECIFIC ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY
[01:15:01]
THE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN FROM THIS, FROM THIS INVESTMENT THAT, THAT THE COUNCIL HAS MADE.WE CAN WE'LL GET ON YOUR CALENDAR AND GIVE YOU THE, THE, UH, FULL MORE EXTENSIVE BRIEFING IF YOU'D LIKE.
UM, ALSO, I, I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, WE, WE CERTAINLY RECOGNIZE, AS ALEX MENTIONED THERE, THERE'S SO MUCH NEED OUT THERE, AND I THINK EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER PROBABLY HAS SIX, UM, QUARTERS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE.
SO WHEN WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEING THAT COMPETITIVE PROCESS, AS PART OF THE AGREEMENT WITH MAIN STREET AMERICA, A LOT OF THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THEY'RE GOING TO PROVIDE IS GOING TO BE COMMUNITY-WIDE.
SO THAT WHILE WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING IN DEPTH WITH A COUPLE OF THOSE, AGAIN, THE TWO CORRIDORS, WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ALL OF OUR CORRIDORS.
SO THAT, AGAIN, OUR HOPE IS THAT WE CAN HAVE ADDITIONAL, ADDITIONAL QUARTERS ADDED SO THAT WE'RE BUILDING THAT CAPACITY FOR ALL OF THOSE CORRIDORS.
SO THAT THERE CERTAINLY IS, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT IDENTIFIED, UM, AS THE TWO PILOT CORRIDORS, THAT THERE'S CERTAINLY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT, THAT LEARNING AND THAT CAPACITY BUILDING.
BUT I, I THINK THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS NEEDS TO BE WITHIN THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS ALSO, AND UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN LEVERAGE SOME OF THEIR FUNDS, UM, THAT, THAT WE GET FROM PUBLIC WORKS.
AND, AND WHEN WE COME TO BUDGET TIME TO SEE HOW WE CAN ALSO, UH, EITHER PAY INTO THE PILOT PROGRAM OR LOOK AT, AT FORMING A, UH, A PROGRAM FOR, FOR OUR, OUR CORRIDORS THAT ARE INTERESTED WITHIN OUR OWN DISTRICT.
SO THAT'S WHY I THINK ONCE THIS GETS WORKED OUT, WE NEED TO TAKE IT TO THE B SESSION, OR WE NEED TO TAKE IT TO EACH COUNCIL MEMBER SO THAT THEY FULLY UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT THEY CAN DO WITH THEIR, THEIR BUDGETARY DOLLARS AND THEIR BUDGETARY ASKS BEFORE WE HIT HEAD INTO THE NEXT BUDGET SESSION ALSO.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE FOLLOW-UP MEETING, AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE BRIEFING.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, BRENDA, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I, I HEAR SOME OF THE CONCERNS.
UH, I'M REALLY EXCITED THOUGH TO SEE THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, BUT I'D ALSO EMPHASIZE THE POINT ABOUT, UH, LOOKING BEYOND TOURS BOUNDARIES, RIGHT? I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY WITH THESE TWO, UH, PILOTS WHEREVER THEY END UP TO PLANT SEEDS FOR, UM, FURTHER DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT? AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I HEAR MY SOUTHSIDE COLLEAGUES AND I WOULD SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, PLANTING A SEED SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH SIDE, UM, BECAUSE THERE HASN'T BEEN, UH, I, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME AREAS, BUT THERE'S SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD CORRIDORS LIKE QUINTANA AND SOUTHWEST MILITARY AND RIVERSIDE THAT, UM, HAVE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE DEVELOPED PLANS, RIGHT? LIKE, UM, THE QUINTANA COMMUNITY HAS A TANA COMMUNITY PLAN, AND THEY'RE OVERLAPPING WITH SOUTH SIDE FIRST, RIGHT? AND, UM, THEY'RE BUILDING THAT ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY.
AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THEY ARE IDENTIFIED AS PARTNER IN, EVEN IF THEY'RE INTERESTED, RIGHT? UM, THERE'S SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY THERE.
UM, SO I, I HEAR THE LOOKING AT THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT AND THE TOURS, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD GO BEYOND THE TOURS.
UM, AND I, I THINK COUNCILWOMAN, UH, VRAN BROUGHT UP A REALLY GREAT POINT, RIGHT, ON HOW EACH COUNCIL MEMBER COULD POTENTIALLY LEVERAGE THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS TO SUPPORT, UM, THE, THE PILOT PROGRAM.
SO THAT WAY IT COMES INTO FRUITION, RIGHT? AND IT'S NOT JUST A DEVELOPED PLAN, UM, A A PLAN THAT ISN'T IMPLEMENTED, RATHER, UM, BUT MY QUESTION IS, WITH THESE DOLLARS, IF A ORGANIZATION IS GRANTED THEM, ARE THERE RESTRICTIONS ON THE DOLLARS? LIKE, ARE THEY LIMITED? LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, CAN AN ORGANIZATION PURCHASE REAL ESTATE WITH THE DOLLARS, IF GRANTED, UM, SELECTED AS A PILOT, RIGHT? NO.
SO WE WILL PUT RESTRICTIONS ON THEM.
IT, THIS REALLY IS INTENDED FOR, TO BUILD THAT OPERATIONAL CAPACITY.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR SOME KIND OF DEDICATED STAFF PERSON.
SO IN REALITY, WE ANTICIPATE THAT A LOT OF THE RESOURCES, UM, FOR THAT WILL BE ACTUALLY USED TOWARDS THAT STAFF MEMBER.
UM, AND THEN BOARD DEVELOPMENT, AND REALLY THAT, AGAIN, THAT ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY, AND THEN THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE LIKEWISE, WILL BE FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND NOT REAL ESTATE OR OKAY.
ANY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS LIKE THAT.
UM, AGAIN, THIS IS REALLY EXCITING, UH, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SELECTION OF THE PROJECTS.
UM, ANYBODY ELSE KNOW MARIO? SO, I, I, YOU'RE RIGHT, BRENDA.
I MEAN, I, EVERY ONE, EVERY ONE OF US HAS CORRIDORS THAT, UM, EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER HAS CORRIDORS.
I I CAN REALLY ACTUALLY THINK ONLY OF ONE IN DISTRICT EIGHT, UH, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST, RIGHT? WHERE
[01:20:01]
ALL THE ASIAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN AND AFRICAN RESTAURANTS ARE.BUT I, I, I'LL TELL YOU, THAT WOULD NOT BE A GOOD FIT FOR A PILOT PROGRAM LIKE THIS, RIGHT? UM, I'M A HUNDRED PERCENT IN AGREEMENT WITH COUNCILMAN CASTILLO.
THERE'S OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS THAT NEED THIS WAY MORE THAN DISTRICT NINE OR DISTRICT EIGHT.
AND JOHN COURAGE ISN'T HERE TO KARATE, CHOP ME FOR SAYING THAT.
BUT, UM, I THINK HE'D AGREE IF YOU, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, WE, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THERE'S GOTTA BE A HISTORIC ELEMENT TO SOME OF THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND WHERE, I MEAN, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE LOVE ABOUT SAN ANTONIO, RIGHT? IS THEY COME HERE AND THEY LOOK FOR SOME AUTHENTICITY.
UM, AND THERE'S REALLY NOTHING HISTORIC ABOUT, UH, THE NORTH SIDE OF TOWN, EXCEPT NELSON WOLF LIVES THERE.
AND HE'S, HE'S THE ONLY HISTORIC THING UP THERE.
UH, BUT WE HAVE A, UM, UH, I, I, I, I DO THINK, I, I DO REMEMBER THOUGH THE CONVERSATION THAT LED INTO THIS, RIGHT? AND THAT WAS, WE AS A CITY ARE TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO DO PLACEMAKING, RIGHT? AND WE DECIDED AS A GROUP THAT THIS IS A VEHICLE BY WHICH WE WOULD LEARN THESE LESSONS AND LEARN HOW TO MAKE MISTAKES, RIGHT? IN A SORT OF A PROVING GROUND, UM, WAY.
AND THAT THE, THIS WAS GONNA BE A WAY THAT WE WERE GONNA BE BRINGING IN SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS LIKE M S A TO TEACH US HOW TO DO THIS, RIGHT? UM, AND SINCE THERE IS NO, UM, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO EASY WAY TO PICK WINNERS AND LOSERS.
I MEAN, YOU JUST GOTTA PICK, RIGHT? AND THAT'S THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT SOMETIMES.
AND SO I WILL TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, I WILL NOT BE SUBMITTING A CORRIDOR, UH, FOR THIS PILOT PROGRAM, UH, FOR DISTRICT EIGHT AS, UM, AS, AS I THINK THAT OTHER, OTHER COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND OTHER CORRIDORS HAVE BEEN WAITING A LOT LONGER THAN I HAVE, RIGHT? UM, FOR, FOR OURS.
AND SO, WITH THAT SAID, IF, IF, AND WHEN WE DO LEARN THOSE LESSONS, AND WE'VE DEVELOPED SOME CAPACITY AND SOME MUSCLE MEMORY, RIGHT? AND, UH, BEST IN CLASS, WE'LL THEN EXPECT ME TO COME, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOW YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOW YOU THAT DISTRICT AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN, HOW WE CAN DO SOMETHING GREAT THERE.
UH, WITH THAT SAID, UM, THERE, THERE IS A POINT MADE HERE, RIGHT? WHEN, WHEN WOULD YOU BE READY TO UNVEIL THIS TO THE REST OF COUNCIL? SO OUR PLAN, I THINK THERE'S A SLIDE AT THE END THAT HAS A TIMELINE.
UM, THIS, UM, I BELIEVE THIS MIGHT STILL BE INCLUDED.
UH, NEXT WEEK THERE IS AN OVERALL ARPA BRIEFING.
UM, AND THIS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THERE AT A VERY, AT, AT A, AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN WHAT Y'ALL RECEIVE TODAY.
BUT OUR PLAN IS TO ROLL THIS APPLICATION PROCESS OUT THIS MONTH IN FEBRUARY, AND GET THIS PROCESS MOVING, COME BACK TO THIS GROUP IN JUNE ONCE WE'VE IDENTIFIED THOSE TWO PILOT CORRIDORS THAT, THAT WE'D BE RECOMMENDING.
AND, UM, I, I'LL, I'LL REPEAT IT.
UM, AND I, I THINK I KNOW, YOU KNOW, RIGHT.
BUT, UM, COUNCILMAN
UH, WITH THAT SAID, THIS WAS JUST A BRIEFING.
SO, UH, WE'VE GOT OUR SECOND ITEM, UH, SECOND BRIEFING COMING UP, WHICH IS ALSO, UM, THIS ONE'S ABOUT THE C I G C R G P, WHICH IS THE COVID IMPACT GRANT CONSTRUCTION RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM.
YEAH, IT JUST ROLLS OFF THE TONGUE.
WELL, THANK YOU, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE.
SO, I AM HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE, FIRST AND FOREMOST ON THE CLOSEOUT OF THE COVID IMPACT GRANTS PRO, UH, PROGRAM, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE ONGOING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COVID CONSTRUCTION RECOVERY GRANTS PROGRAM, WHICH WE ARE LOOKING TO ROLL OUT IN JUST A FEW WEEKS WITH OUR PARTNERS AT LIFTFUND.
UM, SO THIS, UH, THE COVID IMPACT GRANTS PROGRAM WAS ALSO INCLUDED IN THE LARGER SMALL BUSINESS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL BACK IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR.
$17 MILLION WERE ALLOCATED FOR THE PROGRAM, UM, FOR THE GRANTS PROGRAM ITSELF, AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL $625,000 WAS ALLOCATED TO DO EXTENSIVE OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, BOTH AS THE DEPARTMENT ALSO WORKING WITH OUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION PARTNERS.
SO, JUST AS A REMINDER ON THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE BUSINESSES HAD TO MEET THE FOLLOWING, UH, CRITERIA AT THE TOP, BE AN IN AN INDUSTRY THAT EXPERIENCED AT LEAST 5% EMPLOYMENT LOST LOCALLY.
STEVE NIVEN TO IDENTIFY THOSE INDUSTRIES BASED ON THE, UH, NAS CODES.
UM, THEY HAD TO EXPERIENCE A REDUCTION IN GROSS REVENUES, UM, IN BOTH 2020 AND 2021 COMPARED TO 2019.
THIS REALLY GOT AT THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM, BOTH, FROM THE COUNCIL AND FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO, TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THOSE BUSINESSES WHO HADN'T EXPERIENCED THAT IMMEDIATE V-SHAPE RECOVERY COMING OUTTA THE PANDEMIC, BUT WERE STILL STRUGGLING AND NEEDED THAT ASSISTANCE.
AND IN ADDITION, THEY HAD TO EXPERIENCE A MINIMUM OF A 20% REDUCTION IN GROSS REVENUES.
WHEN WE LOOKED AT, UM, 2021 COMPARED TO 2019, THEY DID HAVE TO BE
[01:25:01]
SMALL BUSINESSES AND ESTABLISHED PRIOR TO 2020 AND STILL IN OPERATION.AND YOU'LL SEE THE EXCLUSIONS, WHICH WE TYPICALLY EXCLUDE.
SO IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING THOSE MOST IMPACTED INDUSTRIES, AGAIN, WE WANTED TO IDENTIFY THOSE INDUSTRIES THAT HAD BEEN HARDEST HIT AND CONTINUE TO BE HARDEST HIT.
NEVIN, WE IDENTIFY 42 NAS CODES, AND, UH, A FEW EXAMPLES THERE OF THOSE HARDEST HIT, YOU KNOW, REALLY LOOKING AT THOSE PERSONAL SERVICES, THE HAIR SALONS, UH, THE DRY CLEANERS, BUT ALSO CERTAIN SECTORS OF RETAIL, THE AMUSEMENTS, THOSE THINGS TIED TO, TO THE TOURISM ECONOMY.
SO IN TERMS OF SCORING, UM, UM, AND GRANT AWARDS.
SO AGAIN, THOSE, THOSE CRITERIA APPLICATIONS WERE SCORED.
IT WAS NOT FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE.
SO LIFT FUNDS SCORED EVERY SINGLE ELIGIBLE APPLICATION.
UM, AND THEIR AWARD WAS DIRECTLY TIED TO THE REDUCTION IN GROSS REVENUE WITH THOSE EXPERIENCE, SEEING THE LARGEST LOSSES BEING ELIGIBLE FOR THE, THE $35,000 GRANT AWARD.
IN ADDITION, THOSE BUSINESSES, WHO'S, WHOSE OPERATIONS WERE IMPACTED BY, UM, SEVERAL CITY INITIATED CONSTRUCTION SITES WERE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL $10,000.
UM, AND OF COURSE, THOSE, UH, THE FUNDING RECEIVED HAD TO BE USED FOR ELIGIBLE BUSINESS EXPENSES.
SO, JUST TO TOUCH ON REALLY HIGH LEVEL ON THE OUTREACH THAT THAT WAS DONE BY OUR B D O PARTNERS, YOU'LL SEE THEM THERE.
UM, IT REALLY, IT WAS, I THINK, A HUGE SUCCESS.
SO WE WANTED TO CAST AS WIDE OF A NET AS POSSIBLE.
UM, I HAD STATED AT A STAKEHOLDER MEETING, IF ANYBODY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS, THIS WAS A FAILURE ON OUR PART.
AND I THINK YOU CAN SEE THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR OUTREACH WAS TREMENDOUS IN TERMS OF, UM, BUSINESSES THAT WERE CONTACTED, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THAT WAS PROVIDED.
I KNOW A NUMBER OF OUR PARTNERS WOULD SET UP, UH, LOCATIONS.
UM, WE HAD THEM IN MARKET SQUARE AT LAUNCH SA.
THEY WOULD GO TO THE BUSINESSES, HELPING THEM COMPLETE THE APPLICATION ON SITE, BUT IT ALSO SERVED AS A VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE BUSINESSES.
AND I THINK THAT IS SO CENTRAL TO THE WORK THAT OUR B D O PARTNERS DO, IS HAVING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
AND SO, AS PART OF THE CONTRACT, WE ALSO, UM, REQUIRED THAT THE BDOS CONDUCT FOLLOW-UP AFTER THEIR GRANT APPLICATION, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE DIDN'T WANT THIS TO BE A ONE-TIME ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE B D O AND THE BUSINESSES, BUT REALLY BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE COULD LEVERAGE GOING FORWARD.
AND, UM, AS WE GO INTO TALKING ABOUT THE OUTREACH FOR THE COVID CONSTRUCTION GRANT, WE ARE TAPPING INTO THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WERE DEVELOPED AS WE WORK TO GET THE WORD OUT ON THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO, UM, WHILE OUR B D O PARTNERS WERE HITTING THE GROUND, UM, OR IN MANY CASES, THE PAVEMENT ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, WE ALSO HAD SOME EXTENSIVE OUTREACH CONDUCTED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, BOTH LOOKING AT TRADITIONAL MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA, WE HAD, UM, STREET BANNERS IN DISTRICTS TWO THROUGH SIX, WE HAD A DIGITAL BILLBOARD ON 35, UM, NEAR MILITARY.
UH, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE IMPACT OF THAT.
THE NUMBER OF IMPRESSIONS WE HAD FROM OUR CAMPAIGN, THE FLYERS THAT WE GOT OUT, UM, I THINK WE CAN SUCCESSFULLY SAY WE GOT THE WORD OUT ON THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND WHILE MANY BUSINESSES MAY NOT HAVE QUALIFIED, THEY WERE, THEY WERE INFORMED OF THE OPPORTUNITY.
SO, AT A HIGH LEVEL, AND I KNOW WE DISTRIBUTED A MEMO TO THE COUNCIL EARLIER THIS WEEK ON IT, AGAIN, ALL FUNDING WAS EXHAUSTED.
UM, YOU SEE, WE RECEIVED OVER 1400 APPLICATIONS.
UM, OF THOSE WHEN IN, UH, LIFT FUNDED, THEIR INITIAL SCRUB, NEARLY 700 WERE ELIGIBLE, AND WE WERE ABLE TO FUND 521 BUSINESSES WITH AN AVERAGE AWARD OF ALMOST $30,000.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT A LOT OF WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY WAS FOCUSING ON THOSE AREAS WHO WERE HAVING THE SLOWEST RECOVERY FROM COVID O.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE $10.7 MILLION OF THAT WERE FIRST TIME CSA GRANT RECIPIENTS.
SO THEY HAD NOT RECEIVED A PRIOR GRANT, UH, THROUGH OUR MICRO BUSINESS GRANTS THAT HAPPENED EARLY IN THE PANDEMIC OR THE HOSPITALITY GRANTS PROGRAM.
IN ADDITION, $5 MILLION WENT TO BUSINESSES IN CONSTRUCTION ZONES.
AND THEN LOOKING AT THOSE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES, AGAIN, ALMOST 75% OF THE FUNDING WENT TO, UH, BUSINESSES IN AREAS WITH AN EQUITY SCORE OF FIVE OR GREATER, UM, ALMOST 9 MILLION TO HISPANIC OWNED BUSINESSES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE OTHER STATISTICS FOR WOMEN OWNED AND, AND BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES.
SO, UH, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED WITH THESE RESULTS AND SHOWING THAT THE CRITERIA THAT WE DEVELOPED, UM, WHILE, WHILE WE CERTAINLY GOT OUR FAIR SHARE OF FEEDBACK ON IT, REALLY HELPED GET THE DOLLARS TO THOSE AREAS THAT HAD BEEN HARDEST HIT AND WHERE WE SAW THE GREATEST NEED.
SO HERE'S A FURTHER BREAKDOWN OF, OF THE FUNDING BY EQUITY SCORE AREA, AGAIN, WITH THE VERY LARGE PORTION OF THE FUNDING GOING TO THOSE AREAS WITH, UM, EQUITY SCORE OF FIVE OR GREATER, UM, AND, AND THE AVERAGE GRANT AWARD.
AND THEN GOING IN A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO THE DATA BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, UM, AND AS WELL AS THE ETHNIC AND GENDER BREAKDOWN OF THE APPLICATIONS.
AND THEN LOOKING AT INDUSTRY, AGAIN, WE IDENTIFIED THOSE 42, UM, NAS CODES.
AND, AND YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKOUT HERE, THE VAST MAJORITY GOING IN INTO FOOD SERVICE.
[01:30:01]
18% IN THE SERVICE CATEGORY ARE THOSE PERSONAL SERVICES.AGAIN, THE HAIRSTYLISTS, NAIL SALONS, UH, DRY CLEANERS, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, 13% INTO THE RETAIL SECTOR AND, AND THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ALSO RECEIVING 8% OF THE FUNDING.
UM, IF, IF ANY BIT OF THE DATA WAS A LITTLE BIT SURPRISING TO US, THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THIS.
UM, BUT JUST TO SHOW THAT THE AMOUNT OF LOSS THAT HAD EXPERIENCED IN OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND GETTING THOSE DOLLARS TO, AGAIN, WHERE IT WAS MOST NEEDED, UM, YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE BUSINESSES WERE IN THAT 40 PLUS PERCENT LOSS THAT THEY HAD EXPERIENCED OVER THE TWO YEARS.
UM, AND SO WE, WE WERE, WERE REALLY EXCITED TO FUND THOSE BUSINESSES.
AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM CLOSING THEIR DOORS OR BEING ABLE TO REMAIN OPEN DID WANNA SHARE A FEW SUCCESS STORIES.
UM, AND, AND THIS ONE, I FEEL LIKE A PICTURE'S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS HERE.
AND SO, UM, MARY JANE FLORES AT MONTE CARLO STUDIO IN BRIDAL, AND AGAIN, WE KNOW THE BRIDAL INDUSTRY WAS HARD HIT BY C O V I.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A LEGACY BUSINESS HERE THAT WAS ABLE TO REMAIN IN OPERATION BY RECEIVING THE GRANT.
AND SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED FOR THEM.
AND HOPEFULLY AS THE WEDDING INDUSTRY RE RESUMES ITS NORMAL THING, UH, YOU KNOW, THE MONTE CARLO, UH, STUDIO IS WELL SITUATED GOING FORWARD.
THEN FROM DISTRICT ONE, WE HAVE TEXAS PRESS IN, IN THE MANUFACTURING AREA.
AGAIN, IT WASN'T ALWAYS OUR SERVICE SECTOR THAT WAS IMPACTED BY C O V I.
UM, BUT AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY REALLY, AGAIN, NOT ONLY VALUED THE GRANT, BUT ALSO THE FOLLOW UP SERVICES YOU SEE IN, IN, IN DAVID'S COMMENT HERE, THE FOLLOW-UP SERVICES, LEARNING ABOUT OTHER PROGRAMS, IT NOT BEING A ONE-TIME ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR TEAM OR WITH OUR B D O PARTNERS, AND THEN MI TAQUITO AAS IN DISTRICT THREE.
AGAIN, WE HAVE A, A GROWING BUSINESS HERE WHO'S ABLE TO LEVERAGE THIS FUNDING TO GROW THEIR BUSINESS, TO PAY THEIR UTILITIES, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO SERVE THEIR, THEIR CUSTOMERS AS, AS THEY DO BEST.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED FOR THEM AS WELL.
AND THERE REALLY ARE, YOU KNOW, THIS, THESE ARE JUST THREE OUT OF, AGAIN, 521 BUSINESSES WHO ARE AWARDED.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED AT THAT WHILE, WHILE WE, UM, EXHAUST ALL OUR FUNDS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE BUSINESSES WHO WERE UNABLE TO BE FUNDED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE EXCITED FOR THOSE WHO DID GET FUNDED AND ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
I KNOW, UM, WE TALKED A LOT WITH THESE BUSINESSES WHO WEREN'T FUNDED ABOUT THE 0% INTEREST PROGRAM, AND THAT BEING ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO ACCESS CAPITAL GOING FORWARD.
SO WHILE, WHILE WE CELEBRATED FOR A BRIEF SECOND, THE COMPLETION OF, OF THE IMPACT GRANTS, DID WANNA PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE COVID CONSTRUCTION GRANTS AND THE OUTREACH THAT IS ONGOING.
UM, SO WHILE BLANKETING THE COMMUNITY WAS THE FOCUS OF THE IMPACT GRANTS, UM, WITH THIS PROGRAM, WE ARE BEING AS HYPER TARGETED AS POSSIBLE.
AGAIN, WITH THIS PROGRAM, IT'S THE 15 IDENTIFIED CITY INITIATED, UM, CONSTRUCTION AREAS.
AND SO, UM, THIS WEEK AND LAST WEEK, THE TEAM HAS BEEN POUNDING THE PAVEMENT, PAVEMENT.
I KNOW YESTERDAY I SPENT A CHILLY AFTERNOON ON OUT ON NORTH ST.
MARY'S, UM, PUTTING UP DOOR HANGERS AND FLYERS AND TALKING TO THE BUSINESSES OUT THERE ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY.
WE'VE BEEN ATTENDING CONSTRUCTION UPDATE MEETINGS WITH PUBLIC WORKS, UM, AND, AND WORKING WITH OUR B D O PARTNERS AS THEY GO OUT AS WELL.
UM, AND SO YOU'LL SEE IN THE, IN THE NEXT WEEK AS, AS APPLICATIONS GET READY TO OPEN THAT, AGAIN, WE'RE GETTING A LITTLE BIT BROADER WITH, WITH THE OUTREACH WE'RE DOING AND, AND TAPPING INTO THE TRADITIONAL MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, UM, IN COOPERATION WITH LIFTFUND.
AGAIN, WE'RE DOING THAT BLOCK WALKING AS WE SPEAK.
UM, WE EXPECT OUR WEBSITE TO LAUNCH, UM, NEXT WEEK WITH LIFTFUND.
AND WE ALSO WILL HAVE OUR FIRST INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR.
IT'S THE FIRST OF THREE INFORMATIONAL WEBINARS WE'RE HOSTING WITH LIVE, UH, WITH LIFTFUND.
AGAIN, IF BUSINESSES HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY ELIGIBLE OR, OR THE DIFFERENT, UH, CRITERIA, WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO ATTEND, THEY CAN REGISTER ON THE LIFT FUND WEBSITE, AND WE'VE BEEN BLASTING IT TO OUR NETWORKS WHERE FOLKS CAN SIGN UP TO ATTEND.
AND THEN WITH THE APPLICATION OPENING, UM, ON THE 13TH, AND WE'LL BE OPEN THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE MONTH.
AGAIN, IT'S NOT FIRST, FIRST SERVED.
IT IS ANY APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE DEADLINE WILL BE SCORED.
AND, UM, WE WILL LOOK TO GO FORWARD FROM THERE.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
AND I'M SURE WE'VE GOT QUESTIONS.
AND I, I KNOW THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ROHA GARCIA HAS A THREE O'CLOCK HARD STOP, AND I WAS GONNA, I WAS GONNA CALL ON HER FIRST, BUT I, I HAVE A FEELING THAT WHEN SHE SAW THE LIST OF AWARDS BY DISTRICTS AND REALIZED THAT DISTRICT FOUR WAS THE VERY LAST SHE STORMED OUTTA HERE, AND, UH, WAS VERY, VERY, OH, NO, SHE'S BACK.
SHE WAS, SHE WAS OUTSIDE THROWING A TANTRUM.
[01:35:01]
I'LL START OFF WITH, UM, THE EASY QUESTION.SO THE PROGRAM CONCLUDED THE FULL DISBURSEMENT OF $15.6 MILLION HAPPENED, BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REMAINING AMOUNT, THE $17 MILLION THAT WAS ALLOCATED? SO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 17 MILLION AND THE 15.6 THAT WAS AWARDED WAS, UH, LIFT FUNDS ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR THE PROGRAM ADMIN FEE.
AND SO WAS THE $625,000 DESIGNATED FOR OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, UM, USED FULLY? YES.
THAT WAS A SEPARATE, UH, BUCKET WITHIN THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL, A LARGER BUCKET TO DO THE, THE SPECIFIC OUTREACH AND, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
AND DO WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF THE OUTREACH EFFORTS THAT EACH B D O MADE, OR MAYBE LIKE HOW MANY DOORS THEY VISITED, UM, AND THEN BUSINESS DOORS, OBVIOUSLY, OR, OR, OR WERE THEY MOST, UH, DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS THAT THEY DID ALSO? SO WE DEFINITELY EMPHASIZED WITH THEM A COMBINATION.
UM, AND SO WE DID REQUIRE THAT THEY SUBMIT THEIR REPORTS AND, AND CAN PROVIDE THAT TO YOU.
YEAH, I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT, UM, FROM MY DISTRICT.
'CAUSE EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T THROW A TANTRUM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT.
UM, UM, IS THERE A BREAKDOWN ALSO OF THE DIRECT APPLICATION SUPPORT THAT THEY GAVE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS? SO LIKE FOR INSTANCE, UM, EARLIER THIS WEEK, SOMEONE CAME IN AND THEY NEEDED HELP APPLYING FOR, UM, FOR ELECTRICITY HELP IN MY OFFICE.
AND SO MY STAFF DOCUMENTS THAT, RIGHT.
SO DO THEY DO THAT AS WELL? LIKE PEOPLE WHO, SO WE DID ASK, UM, IN THE APPLICATION IF YOU HAD RECEIVED ASSISTANCE, UM, FROM A, A PARTNER TO COMPLETE IT.
ADMITTEDLY, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY TRIED TO BLANKET IT.
SO WE HOPE THEY LEARN FROM MULTIPLE PLACES ABOUT THE PROGRAM, BUT WE DID ASK IF THEY RECEIVED SPECIFIC ASSISTANCE.
AND I'M TALKING ABOUT DIRECT, LIKE WE LITERALLY HAVE TO WALK THROUGH RIGHT.
AND SAY, DO YOU HAVE THIS FORM? THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
SO NOT JUST THEY REACHED OUT AND CONNECTED AND SAID, HERE'S THE LINK.
NO, WE HAD DEFINITELY BUSINESS, UH, THE BDOS PROVIDING THAT, COMPLETING THE FORM FOR WITH THEM SITTING IN.
IN THEIR LOCATION, MANY CASES.
AND DID THE BDOS, UM, OR LIFT FUND FOLLOW UP WITH THE 4,021 APPLICANTS WHO, UM, DIDN'T, WHO BEGAN THE APP BUT DIDN'T SUBMIT YES.
AS THEY WENT THROUGH, AND IF THEY SAW PEOPLE FOLLOW UP, UM, THEY COULD GO IN AND SEE WHY THEY KIND OF FELL OFF.
SO MANY OF THEM IT WAS, THEY WEREN'T IN THE CITY LIMITS.
SO THE, THE APPLICATION WAS SMART ALONG THE WAY.
AS THEY ENTERED INFORMATION, IF ANYTHING THEY ENTERED, UM, MADE THEM INELIGIBLE, IT STOPPED THEM AT THAT POINT AND NOT LET THEM COMPLETE IT.
BUT IF THERE WERE FOLKS, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE WANING HOURS WHO HADN'T COMPLETED LIFT FUND, WAS DOING THAT OUTREACH SAYING, YOU KNOW, APPLICATIONS CLOSING, ARE YOU GONNA FINISH IT? SO, GOT IT.
AND THEN, UM, DURING OUR CARESS DISCUSSION, UM, I ASKED IF WE HAD A SMALL BUSINESS DIRECTORY, OR IF THE SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE IN E D D HAD A RECORD, UM, FOR INSTANCE, THROUGH D S D OF THE, UM, CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY, UH, REGISTERED FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND SO, UM, DID HAVE, DID WE FIGURE THAT OUT YET? HAVE WE DONE THAT YET? OKAY.
SO, SO THAT'S A, AN ON ONGOING CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IS HOW DO WE PULL ALL OF THAT DATA? I KNOW WE'VE TAPPED INTO SBAC TRYING TO GET THEIR IDEAS.
UM, THERE IS NO ONE PERFECT SOURCE.
SO, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS, WE CAN PULL CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY.
WE PULLED, UM, HEALTH PERMIT DATA FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TRYING TO, TO FIGURE OUT WHO ARE THESE BUSINESSES.
AGAIN, AS WE DO MORE OF THESE PROGRAMS, WE ALSO GET THE LISTS FROM THOSE, AND WE'RE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO CULTIVATE THAT.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT OPTIONS AT, AT PURCHASING LISTS THAT ARE MADE.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS THAT COLLECT THIS DATA.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIND WHAT'S THE RIGHT BALANCE OF, OF PULLING ALL THIS DATA.
ALSO UNDERSTANDING THE, THE LEVEL OF CHURN IN SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST STRESSING LIKE THE MULTIPLE WAYS TO, TO TARGET THESE PEOPLE.
AND, AND I KNOW WE HAVE TO BE COST EFFECTIVE, BUT THEN, UH, I DO THINK THAT THAT SMALL BUSINESS REGISTRY IS CRITICAL.
UM, BUT, BUT STILL, UM, UH, DO WE KNOW WHICH CITY DEPARTMENTS DID BLOCK WALKING AND WHEN? LIKE, DURING WHAT PERIODS OF TIME? OR WAS IT ALL BDOS? SO FOR THE IMPACT GRANTS, IT WAS ALL THE BDOS.
UM, DOING IT, WE WERE FOCUSING ON THE MORE MACRO EFFORTS, BUT FOR THE CURRENT CONSTRUCTION GRANTS, UM, IT'S, IT'S MY TEAM OUT THERE, UM, DOING THE BLOCK WALKING AND WE'RE WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND THE BDOS.
AND I, I'D LOVE TO JUST, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE SEEING THAT LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT, NOT JUST THE BDOS.
BUT ANYWAY, SO, SO THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS.
AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA BE LEAVING AT THREE.
THANK YOU, ANNA, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
ONE THING THAT I LOVE ABOUT Y'ALL'S DEPARTMENT AND TEAM IS WITH ALL THE PRESENTATIONS, THEY'RE REAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND I'M ALWAYS EXCITED WHEN I SEE DISTRICT FIVE SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, IN Y'S PRESENTATIONS AND, UH, NOT SEEING STOCK PHOTOS
AND, AND IT'S A REMINDER THAT YOU GUYS ARE REALLY OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE DOING THE WORK AND MEETING WITH COMMUNITY.
[01:40:01]
UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS.I'M ALSO REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THAT DISTRICT FIVE HAD AN INCREASE OF, UH, APPLICATIONS AS WELL AS, UM, GRANTS AWARDED.
THAT MEANS THERE'S LESS BARRIERS AND MORE ACCESS, UM, WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
UH, ARE Y'ALL TRACKING TO SEE, HOW DID Y'ALL LEARN ABOUT THE FUNDING? OR DID YOU RECEIVE ASSISTANCE APPLYING FOR FUNDING? ARE Y'ALL ASKING THAT? SO WE ASKED DID YOU GET ASSISTANCE APPLYING FOR IT? AND WE DIDN'T ASK HOW YOU LEARNED BECAUSE AGAIN, WE, WE REALLY HOPED IT WAS MULTIPLE WAYS YEAH.
AND THEN I ASKED BECAUSE, UH, I KNOW WE'RE FUNDING SMALL BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS TO DO PRO WORK AND OUTREACH, SO I JUST WANNA BE SURE THAT THAT OUTREACH IS, UH, HAPPENING.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, UM, RIGHT, IF I DO HAVE CONS, CONSTITUENTS COME IN, UH, AND THEY'RE SAYING THEY'RE NOT HEARING ABOUT THE GRANTS OR THEY'RE UNAWARE OF RESOURCES, I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S NOT FALLING WITHIN SPECIFIC BOUNDARIES WHERE THEY SHOULD HAVE HAVE BEEN CONTACTED.
UM, SO I JUST THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL MOVING FORWARD.
BUT AGAIN, UM, REALLY, UM, PLEASED TO SEE THAT, UH, D FIVE, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES DID RECEIVE SUPPORT AND THAT YOU ALL HAVE CONTINUED TO DO, UH, THAT GRASSROOT OUTREACH.
UH, I SEE ON THE TIMELINE THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE MORE OUTREACH.
WOULD THAT BE WITH THE LIFT LINE AND THE SMALL BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS? AND I KNOW YOU, UH, COUNCILMAN ASKED A SIMILAR QUESTION.
SO FOR THE IMPACT GRANTS, AGAIN, WE ASKED THE BDOS TO BE FOLLOWING UP, BUT CERTAINLY WE'RE USING THOSE LISTS NOW, NOW THAT WE HAVE OUR BUSINESS OUTREACH SPECIALIST, UM, GABBY TEO, SHE'S GOING OUT THERE AND TALKING TO THE BUSINESSES.
SO WE'RE NOT LETTING THE INFORMATION JUST SIT THERE.
BUT WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE SHARED IT WITH OUR B D O PARTNERS TOO, SO THEY CAN ADD IT TO THEIR LIST OF KNOWN BUSINESSES AND BE ABLE TO DO THAT OUTREACH.
UH, 'CAUSE WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO MOVE TOWARDS A PLACE WHERE THERE'S NO WRONG FRONT DOOR, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER YOU CALL, WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU ROUTED TO WHO CAN HELP YOU.
THE MOST, YOU KNOW, THE BEST WAY FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
UH, COUNCILMAN BRAVO WITH 237 TOTAL APPLICATIONS.
I WAS WONDERING IF YOU ACTUALLY PICKED OUT, SINCE YOU LOOKED AT WHO'S ON THIS COMMITTEE, YOU PICKED PEOPLE DIRECTLY FROM THOSE COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND LEFT D FOUR OUT, I GUESS.
'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T GET ANY MONEY.
I DON'T KNOW,
NO, UM, WE ASKED PART OF A CONTRACT WITH LIFTFUND WAS ACTUALLY TO GET THESE SUCCESS STORIES.
UM, AND SO THESE ONES REALLY STUCK OUT, UM, TO US AS BEING, YOU KNOW, CAPTURING I THINK WHAT WE WERE HOPING TO ACHIEVE.
UM, AND I WILL SAY THAT LIFT FUNDS ALSO DOING SURVEYS FOR US ON THE BACKEND, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE A ONE-TIME ENGAGEMENT.
WE WANNA KNOW, DID THIS FUNDING HELP THEM STAY OPEN? WHAT ARE THEIR CHALLENGES? WE ACTUALLY JUST GOT AN UPDATE ON THE HOSPITALITY GRANTS BACK FROM 2021, UM, A SECOND SURVEY ON THOSE PARTICIPANTS.
SO WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS, THIS FUNDING IS NOT, WHILE IT MIGHT BE ONE TIME IN NATURE THAT IT HAS A LASTING EFFECT AND WE'RE CONNECTING THEM TO RESOURCES GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN, UM, YOU SAID THAT YOUR TEAM'S GONE OUT AND THEY STARTED BLOCK WALKING ON THE 24TH.
I'D LIKE, I GUESS I'D LIKE TO GET WITH YOU MAYBE AFTER THE MEETING, FIND OUT WHERE ALL YOU'VE BEEN SO FAR AND WHERE YOU HAVE PLANNED TO GO IN THE FUTURE.
SO WE PLAN TO HIT ALL 15 OF THE, THE CONSTRUCTION CORRIDORS.
AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH.
UM, I LIKE, BECAUSE I, I KNOW MY TEAM WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THOSE EFFORTS, AND SO I'D LIKE TO SEE WHERE YOU'RE AT AND SEE WHERE WE CAN PLUG IN.
I, I BELIEVE IT WAS, IT WAS EITHER YESTERDAY OR THE DAY BEFORE I EMAILED OUT A MEMO.
YOU SHOULD HAVE ALL BEEN COPIED ON THAT PROVIDED A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION.
UM, AT THE VERY END OF IT, THERE'S ALSO THE SCHEDULE OF WHEN EACH OF THOSE, UM, CORRIDORS WAS GOING TO GET, GET THE ONE-ON-ONE ATTENTION.
AND THEN, IS IT FEBRUARY 13TH IS WHEN YOU START ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS? YES.
THE APPLICATION WILL OPEN AND THROUGH WHEN, THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH, THROUGH THE 28TH.
AND THEN, UH, WHEN DO YOU EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO START DISPERSING? UM, WE EX, SO LIFTFUND WILL GO REVIEW APPLICATIONS, CONDUCT FOLLOW UP, AND THEN INFORM.
SO, UM, LATE MARCH THE FIRST, THEY DO IT IN LIKE A ROLLING KIND OF BATCH PROCESS.
SO LATE MARCH THE FIRST, UM, NOTIFICATIONS SHOULD GO OUT AND WE EXPECT TO HAVE THE PROGRAM COMPLETE, UM, BY THE END OF MAY.
UM, I WANTED TO SAY THAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB AND I WANNA THANK ALEX IN PARTICULAR AND THE WHOLE TEAM.
I DID GET CALLS ABOUT, UM, ONE OF THE 50, ONE OF MY, UM, APPLICANTS THAT DIDN'T GET FUNDED, ASKED THE QUESTION.
AND AS ALEX WAS TELLING ME THE STORY, IT WAS, IT WAS HARD TO HEAR THAT YOU, WE KNEW PEOPLE WERE STRUGGLING, BUT THEY DIDN'T, THEY DIDN'T LOSE AS MUCH AS OTHER PEOPLE OR EVEN THE, THE, UH, THRESHOLD THAT WE HAD MADE, BUT THEY WERE, THEY WERE FEELING SIGNIFICANT LOSS.
[01:45:01]
EDDS EFFORTS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO FOLLOW UP WITH THOSE, UM, THOSE THAT DID NOT GET FUNDED.AND BECAUSE OF THIS AND, AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN COME OUT, YOU KNOW, I AM GOING TO FOLLOW COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA'S LEAD AND START A, UH, DISTRICT THREE BUSINESS COMMITTEE OR SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, A BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND WORK WITH MY CHAMBERS AND, UH, BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO DISTRICT THREE AND THAT THEY'RE UNDERSTANDING WHERE THEY CAN GET HELP AND WHERE THEY CAN GET RESOURCES.
SO, I KNOW I MENTIONED IT TO ALEX AND I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW YOU HAVE A LITTLE MORE WORK COMING YOUR WAY.
'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING, UH, THE LARGER COMMITTEE'S, UM, PARAMETERS WHEN WE ASK PEOPLE TO IDENTIFY AS SMALL BUSINESSES AND, UH, OVER 10 EMPLOYEES, UNDER 10 EMPLOYEES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A, THIS WAS A HARD PROCESS AND WE KNEW SOME PEOPLE WERE GOING TO, UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET FUNDING BECAUSE THEY, THEY DIDN'T QUITE MEET WHAT WE HAD SENT IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE OF LOSSES AND, AND THE THINGS THAT WE HAD REQUIRED.
BUT I, I AM PLEASED TO THE NUMBERS OF, OF PEOPLE THAT WENT OUT AND PUT UP OUT APPLICATIONS AND THE FOLLOW UP AND WHAT THIS IS GONNA MEAN AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND I, I THANK YOU FOR PUTTING FORWARD THE, UM, THE GRANTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION.
I LOOK FORWARD TO MAKING SURE THAT THOSE, THOSE AREAS, UM, GET THE HELP THAT THEY NEED.
UM, I, I, I ACTUALLY LIKE THAT IDEA OF COUNCILMAN VIA GROUNDS A LOT.
THE, UM, YOU KNOW, CREATING A BUSINESS COALITION WITHIN EACH DISTRICT.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT THIS LATELY, AND THAT IS, I THINK ALL OF US STRUGGLE WITH TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, COME TO TERMS WITH THE FACT THAT PEOPLE AREN'T FILLING OUT SURVEYS IN THE NUMBERS THAT WE WANT THEM TO.
PEOPLE AREN'T READING THE NEWSLETTERS AND THE NUMBERS THAT WE WANT.
THEY'RE NOT SHOWING UP TO THE H O A, UH, MEETINGS OR, YOU KNOW, OR EVEN THESE ARPA BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY MEETINGS.
I REMEMBER WE HOSTED ONE, BLASTED IT OUT, AND NOBODY SHOWED UP.
IT WAS NICE TO VISIT WITH Y'ALL, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, NONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT NEEDED TO BE THERE WERE THERE.
UM, AND THAT HAPPENS WAY TOO OFTEN.
AND, AND I THINK THAT EVERYONE OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES HAS COME TO THIS PROBLEM WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY FOR FIXING IT.
UM, AND EVERY ONE OF US, I THINK IS PULLING FROM EVERY LEVER.
UM, BUT THAT'S A NEW OPTION THAT COUNCILMAN VERAN, YOU KNOW, PICKED UP ON, WHICH I, I, I KNOW IS WHAT YOU'RE DOING ALREADY, BUT I, I'M, I'M INTRIGUED BY BY HOW THAT'LL, HOW THAT WORKS.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I'M, I AM PROUD OF, OF EVERY MEMBER OF THIS COUNCIL FOR TAKING OWNERSHIP FOR THEIR PART OF OUTREACH, RIGHT? I, I, I DO THINK SOMETIMES PRIOR COUNCILS MAY HAVE LEANED A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH ON STAFF TO DO ALL THE OUTREACH, AND THEN WE WERE VERY COMFORTABLE IN SAYING, WELL, NOBODY ANSWERED THAT MUST BE YOUR FAULT, ALEX, YOU KNOW, ERIC, CHERYL, RIGHT? BUT I DO THINK THAT ALL OF US HAVE COME TO THIS KNOWING THAT WE OWN PART OF THAT HEAVY LIFTING AND, UM, WHICH IS WHY I, I'M, I'M ALSO HOPING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS THE CITY CONTINUES TO GROW, THE BUDGET FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO BE ABLE TO BLAST OUT STUFF IN THE FORM OF, YOU KNOW, MAIL OUTS AND, YOU KNOW, FLYERS AND HOSTING TOWN HALLS AND ALL THAT INCREASES TOO, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION TILL THE COWS COME HOME ABOUT OUTREACH, BUT IF WE'RE NOT APPROPRIATELY STAFFED AND TOOLED UP, UH, TO DO IT, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY THERE.
BUT NONETHELESS, I, I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB.
UM, AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THE MEETING.
WE DID HAVE AN EXECUTIVE ITEM SCHEDULED, BUT IT'S A LONGER ONE, AND IT'S ONE THAT, UH, COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA, YOU'D PROBABLY REGRET MISSING.
UH, WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, WELL WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT THINGS WITH OUR LAWYERS AND, UH, AND SO IT'S NOT A LITTLE BIT KIND OF ISSUE, SO, WE'LL, WE'RE GONNA SAVE IT FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
AND, UH, AND I WISH YOU ALL A TERRIFIC WEEKEND.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE, ALEX, OR YOU WANNA? ALRIGHT, BYE-BYE.