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RIGHT? GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
I THINK WE HAVE OUR QUORUM TIME IS 2:01 PM ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF MARCH, 2023.
WE'LL CALL OUR B SESSION TO ORDER.
MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ THE ROLE? COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER VILLA RON HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTRO PRESENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
ALRIGHT, WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR CITY COUNCIL
[ ITEMS ]
B SESSION.WE HAVE TWO ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY, SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH.
COUNCIL TWO ITEMS ARE HI COUNCILMAN
TWO, UH, TWO ITEMS, UH, UH, BEFORE YOU TODAY.
UH, THE FIRST IS, UH, POST SOLICITATION UPDATE ON OUR, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION, UM, UH, SOLICITATION THAT WE WENT OUT WITH EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
AND, AND YOU ALL KNOW THAT FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, UM, WE HAVE BEEN, UH, FOCUSED ON, UH, ADDRESSING DIGITAL DIVIDE ISSUES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY TODAY.
UH, WE WILL KIND OF WALK THROUGH WHERE WE'RE AT IN TERMS OF THE REQUEST PROPOSAL THAT WE ISSUED JOINTLY WITH THE COUNTY, UM, TO CONNECT, UH, HOUSEHOLDS TO INTERNET IN PRIORITY CENSUS TRACKS.
AND YOU'LL SEE THIS IN THE PRESENTATION.
AND, UH, WE, WE PURSUED THIS SOLICITATION WITH THE COUNTY, BOTH ENTITIES, BOTH THE CITY AND AS PART OF OUR RECOVERY RESILIENCY PLAN AND THE COUNTY, UH, ALLOCATED DOLLARS, UH, FOR THIS.
UM, YOU'LL SEE IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THE, UM, UM, THE SOLICITATION DOES LEVERAGE PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDING TO MATCH, UH, MORE THAN MATCH THE PUBLIC SECTOR DOLLARS.
UM, THE PROPOSAL THAT YOU'LL SEE CONNECTS OVER 20,000 LOCATIONS IN THESE KEY PRIORITY, UM, TRACKS, UM, THAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE MAP.
AND IT'S REALLY JUST, UH, TODAY'S KIND OF THE FIRST STEP IN TERMS OF ILLUSTRATING THAT.
UH, WHAT WE'LL NEED TO DO IS CONTINUE TO LAY OUT A, UH, PARTNERSHIP APPROACH WITH THE ISPS, PARTICULARLY AS IT RE AS IT, UM, AS IT WILL PERTAIN TO, UH, THE AVAILABILITY OF STATE FUNDING AND FEDERAL FUNDING, UH, PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE, UH, B I L UH, LEGISLATION THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT LAST YEAR.
SO, UH, BRIAN DILLER'S GONNA WALK US THROUGH THAT.
UM, THIS IS A POSTS SOLICITATION.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE NAMES OF THE TWO PROVIDERS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TALKING WITH, WITH THE COUNTY, AND WE HOPE TO BRING THIS TO COUNCIL.
UM, UM, AT THE, UH, BEGINNING OF APRIL.
UM, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA CUT TO ONE OF THE FINDINGS THAT YOU'LL SEE AT THE END.
YOU'LL RECALL THAT A COUPLE WEEKS IN B A COUPLE WEEKS AGO IN B SESSION, WE TALKED ABOUT UTILIZING SOME AVAILABLE DOLLARS AND MOVING THEM TO MA TO OUR $6.4 MILLION WE HAD SET ASIDE FOR THIS.
UM, THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE MADE THAT RECOMMENDATION, BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY WE WOULD BE ABLE TO COVER ALL OF OUR
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PRIORITY TRACKS WITHIN THE CITY.WE'RE STILL BASED ON FINAL NUMBERS, ABOUT A HUNDRED OR $200,000 OFF, BUT, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS MONTH, WE WILL WORK TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE'VE GOT VERY GOOD PROPOSALS IN FRONT OF US.
UM, AS, AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, UH, WE'LL BE GOING OVER THE POST ELICITATION FOR THIS R F P.
UM, I'M GONNA START OFF WITH KIND OF A REFRESHER ON WHAT IN THE WORLD THIS IS.
UH, WE'LL GO OVER THE SOLICITATION RESPONSES, UH, OUR RECOMMENDATION, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS BECAUSE THIS IS, AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, THE FIRST STEP OF ALL OF THIS.
UH, SO YOU'LL SEE HERE THE SOLICITATION OVERVIEW, UM, PURPOSES, R F P WAS REALLY TO IDENTIFY HIGH PRIORITY AREAS AND START PROVIDING INFRASTRUCTURE CONNECTIVITY THERE.
THAT'S WHERE THE IN INVEST INVESTMENT TAKES PLACE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT A PROPOSED TERM OF 36 MONTHS THAT MAY CHANGE IN A BETTER WAY.
IT MAY SHORTEN A LITTLE BIT AS WE WORK WITH OUR VENDORS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
ESTIMATED VALUE OF TOTAL OF THIS PROJECT IS 8.9 MILLION.
UH, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THE CONTRACT.
UH, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH, UM, OUR CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
THEY'VE BEEN WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE VENDOR ON THAT.
AND JUST A REFRESHER HERE, WE WERE REALLY SEEKING TO IDENTIFY QUALITY, AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY QUALITY IS A HUNDRED DOWN AND 20 UP THAT IS BEING ADOPTED AS THE FUTURE STANDARD BY F C C.
AND ALSO THE STATE IS CONSIDERING THAT RIGHT NOW, THE CURRENT STANDARD IS 25 3 FOR COMPARISON.
UH, AS WE MOVE PAST THE PANDEMIC, AS WE BECOME MORE EMBEDDED INTO A DIGITAL ECONOMY, OUR RESIDENTS ARE RELYING ON HIGHER SPEEDS AND HIGHER BANDWIDTH IN ORDER TO DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO, WHETHER THAT BE SOCIALIZING, UH, WORKFORCE EDUCATION, ET CETERA.
THE AFFORDABILITY PIECE PIECE TO THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
WE EMBEDDED THAT INTO THE R F P AT $30 A MONTH.
THE REASON WE IDENTIFIED $30 A MONTH IS SO WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM.
YOU'LL REMEMBER THIS IS A FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT IS ONGOING, UH, THAT IF, IF, UH, THEY'VE GOT ABOUT 22 ISPS, I THINK INVOLVED IN THAT RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE OFFERING THESE PACKAGES AT $30 TO RESIDENTS THAT, THAT, UH, QUALIFY.
IF THOSE RESIDENTS QUALIFY FOR THAT.
THEY ALSO QUALIFY FOR THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, WHICH CLEARS OUT THAT $30.
SO THESE RESIDENTS NOW HAVE QUALITY INTERNET FOR FREE, NO COST, WHICH IS EXCELLENT.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, HOW DO WE DETERMINE THESE 37 CENSUS TRACKS THAT WE FOCUSED IN ON? WE UTILIZE OUR EQUITY ATLAS MAP AS WELL AS OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY FROM 2020.
WE IDENTIFIED 26 CENSUS TRACKS WITHIN INCORPORATED CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND 11 TRACKS IN UNINCORPORATED.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE MAP HERE ON THE SCREEN, AND I'LL DIG IN A LITTLE DEEPER LATER ON THAT.
BUT THOSE RED AREAS ARE THE, I I THE AREAS IDENTIFIED.
THE BOTTOM HORSESHOE IS WHERE THE COUNTY HAS GRACIOUSLY UH, TAKEN A HOLD OF THAT.
SO THOSE ARE 11 CENSUS TRACKS DOWN THERE.
AND IN THE MIDDLE YOU'LL NOTICE THE 26 CENSUS TRACKS.
AND AGAIN, I'LL DIG IN DEEPER ON THOSE, THE RESPONSES.
WE GOT TWO RESPONSES THAT MADE IT THROUGH THE PROCESS.
UM, AT AND T THEY OFFERED TO COVER 26 OF THE 26 CENSUS TRACKS.
THAT INCLUDES SINGLE FAMILY MULTIFAMILY AS WELL AS SMALL BUSINESS LOCATIONS.
AT T IS GONNA COVER 13 MILLION.
AND THROUGH PUBLIC FUNDING, WE'RE LOOKING TO SUSTAIN AT 8.9 AND COVER THE COVER THE REST OF THE COSTS SPECTRUM HAS OFFERED TO THE COUNTY.
I'LL REMIND YOU, THE COUNTY IS TAKING ON A SEPARATE CONTRACT, EVEN THOUGH THIS WAS A JOINT R F P, THEY ARE GOING THROUGH THEIR, UH, GOVERNANCE TO GET APPROVAL AND, AND DO THAT CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS ON THEIR END.
BUT WE ARE STAYING IN, IN COORDINATION WITH THEM.
UH, HERE'S THE SCORE MATRICES.
I WON'T DIG TOO FAR INTO THIS.
UM, BUT WE DID HAVE, UH, FOUR APPLICATIONS.
ONE, UH, WAS IDENTIFIED, UH, AS INVALID.
UH, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE THERE, UH, YOU'LL SEE DIDN'T SCORE HIGH ENOUGH TO, TO COMPETE.
UH, HERE'S THE LIST OF THE R F P REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
YOU'LL NOTICE WE DID SOME CROSS-SECTOR, UH, COORDINATION HERE.
UH, WE ENGAGED RESIDENTS, OUR PUBLIC LIBRARY, THE COUNTY, OUR IT DEPARTMENT, SOME INFORMATION ON THE DUE DILIGENCE OF THIS PROCESS.
UH, WE NOTIFIED 72 VENDORS, UH, FIVE WERE, UH, SUBMITTED.
UH, WERE WERE PRESENT AT THE PRE-SUBMIT CONFERENCE, AND WE RECEIVED FOUR RESPONSES.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, ONE VENDOR WAS DECLARED NON-RESPONSIVE FOR FAILURE TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS AS SPECIFIED IN THE R F P.
WE ARE LOOKING TO START OFF WITH THIS PROJECT AREA ONE THAT YOU SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE HERE.
THAT INCLUDES DISTRICT TWO AND DISTRICT THREE.
THERE ARE FIVE CENSUS TRACKS WITHIN THAT HUGE AREA ON THE RIGHT, ON THE EAST SIDE.
AND THE DOWN ON THE SOUTH SIDE IS OUR DISTRICT THREE.
THAT IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH THIS PHASED APPROACH.
ON THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE THE SECOND, SECOND PIECE TO THIS PROJECT AREA TWO, THAT IS THE 20 TRACKS ON THE WEST SIDE.
THAT INCLUDES DISTRICT 1, 4, 5, AND SIX.
AND YOU SEE THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE WE'RE TAPPING INTO REGARDING THE, THOSE 20,200 LOCATIONS SPREAD OUT THERE.
AS FAR AS THE FUNDING, THAT'S THE FUN PART.
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FOR THE CITY IS 20, OR EXCUSE ME, TOTAL COST OF THIS SOLUTION IS $22 MILLION.AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE LEVERAGING FUNDING FROM AT AND T AT THE AMOUNT OF 13 MILLION.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE 8.7 MILLION.
THAT INCLUDES THE 6.9 WE HAVE IN COFFERS, AS WELL AS THAT 1.8 THAT'S COMING FROM RECOVERY, RESILIENCY, SAVINGS THAT HITS THOSE 20,200 LOCATIONS.
SO ALL IN ALL, THE TOTAL FUNDING WE NEED FROM THE PUBLIC'S PUBLIC ANGLE IS 8.9 MILLION.
SO THAT'S ABOUT A $200,000 GAP THAT WE NEED TO FILL FOR THIS PIECE OF THIS EFFORT.
SO I'M GONNA GO INTO FUTURE DEPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS JUST THE START EVERYWHERE OUTSIDE OF THAT RED AREA ON YOUR SOUTHWEST AND EAST SIDE.
THOSE FOLKS ARE STILL UNSERVED OR UNDERSERVED.
HOW DO WE PAY FOR THAT? STATE? FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ARE STILL TO COME.
UH, THAT FUNDING HAS NOT BEEN DISTRIBUTED YET.
UH, A LOT OF IT IS STILL BEING IDENTIFIED AND REFINED.
UH, WE ACTUALLY JUST GOT A NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY ON MONDAY, MARCH 6TH ABOUT BRINGING ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES TO TEXAS.
THAT IS THE FIRST PHASE OF A, OF A ROLLOUT.
UH, SO THAT MONEY WILL BE DISTRIBUTED IN IN ITERATIONS.
THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT IS 100, 120 MILLION OUT OF 368.8.
UH, AND THEN HOUSE BILL NINE WAS ALSO FILED ON MONDAY, UH, AT THE AMOUNT OF $5 BILLION.
I REALLY WANNA POINT THESE OUT AND LET YOU KNOW THAT THE STATE IS STARTING TO TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUSLY WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THEIR BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.
WE'VE CREATED GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SA DIGITAL CONNECTS, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE GROWING FORWARD WITH THE STATE AND WE ARE INFLUENCING THEIR DECISION MAKING AT THAT LEVEL.
AS FAR AS FEDERAL AMOUNTS, YOU'VE GOT 'EM LISTED THERE.
THE BEAD GRANT IS STILL NOT AVAILABLE.
THAT NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ISN'T EXPECTED TO COME OUT UNTIL LATE NEXT YEAR.
I SAY ALL THIS TO SAY AS WE PHASE FORWARD, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROJECT, WE ARE SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS WHEN FEDERAL STATE LEVELS LOOK AT ENTITIES THAT WANT THAT FUNDING.
THEY'RE LOOKING AT ENTITIES THAT HAVE ALREADY WORKED WITH ISPS, WORKED WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, AND HAVE HAD PROOF OF CONCEPTS IN THE GROUND LAST YEAR.
I SAID IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN ABOUT BEING SHOVEL READY.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SOME MORE DETAILS HERE ON THE, THE BOOT PROGRAM.
UH, THIS IS TEXAS FIRST, LAST MILE COMPETITIVE BROADBAND GRANT PROGRAM.
THIS IS ALL ABOUT GETTING THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO FUTURE PROOF FOR FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
MORE DETAILS ON THE TIMELINE AS FAR AS STATE FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
AS YOU'LL SEE, A LOT OF THESE DON'T KICK IN UNTIL LATE THIS YEAR AND INTO NEXT YEAR.
UH, IDENTIFYING FUNDING GAP SOLUTION.
UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ISPS ON CONTRACT, CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING THE TIMELINE, GET SOME CLARITY ON THAT, AND ALSO SAFETY STANDARDS.
UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ISPS TO CAPITALIZE ON THOSE FUTURE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, MAKING SURE THAT WE GO IN AS PARTNERS AND COORDINATED EFFORT AS WE ASK FOR THAT FUNDING.
UH, WE'LL BE BACK IN FRONT OF Y'ALL AT A SESSION ON SIX APRIL TO DISCUSS APPROVAL OR MOTIONS ON THIS.
UH, AND I THINK THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE.
IT IS, AND I'M OPEN FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO DO THAT ENTIRE PRESENTATION OVER AGAIN BECAUSE THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION IN A VERY QUICK PERIOD OF TIME AND HIGH IMPACT, UH, CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AS WELL.
SO, UH, WELL DONE, UH, ON THIS.
IF YOU COULD JUST GIVE US ANOTHER SENSE OF THE OVERVIEW.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO CONTRACTS.
ONE THAT WOULD COVER, UH, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THE 26 CENSUS TRACK AREA THAT RESIDES WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
11 ADDITIONAL CENSUS TRACKS ARE IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS.
AND THAT'S HOW THE TWO, UH, CONTRACTORS ARE BREAK DOWN AND EVEN SOME OF THE COUNTIES UNINCORPORATED AREAS OVERLAP INTO A LOT OF OUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AND, AND GIMME A SENSE AGAIN, HOW BOTH OF THOSE ARE GONNA BE DEPLOYED IN TERMS OF TIMING OF WHEN THOSE 37 CENSUS TRACKS ARE GONNA BE STAGED OUT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A 36 MONTH TIMELINE RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE'RE STILL DRAFTING A CONTRACT.
WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT DONE VERY SOON.
UM, THANKFUL FOR OUR CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR MOVING QUICKLY ON THAT WITH AT AND T.
UH, AS SOON AS THAT CONTRACT IS APPROVED AND SIGNED, UH, THEN WE START ON THE CONSTRUCTION.
BUT FROM THAT MOMENT, IT IS 36 MONTH TIMELINE RIGHT NOW.
I'M HOPING TO REDUCE THAT A LITTLE BIT.
AND THE GENERAL NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT WILL BE IMPACTED IS 42,000? UH, NO, SIR.
SO, UH, SINGLE FAMILY IS 7,000, UH, 30, UM, FOR PROJECT AREA ONE AND THEN 7,854.
AND IF YOU COUNT IN MULTIFAMILY, WE'RE LOOKING AT AROUND 1800, A LITTLE OVER 1800 MULTIFAMILY UNIT TYPE OF TOTAL.
THESE, THESE JUST, THOSE ARE JUST THE CURBS THAT ARE GONNA BE CONNECTED YES, SIR.
ALL THE WAY TO THOSE HOUSEHOLDS? CORRECT.
AND THEN ALL OF THEM WILL BE MEETING THE 100 DOWN 20 UP STANDARD? YES, SIR.
AND JUST TO RECAP AGAIN, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FUNDING FROM COSA IS
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IS 8.9.LEVERAGING 22, OR EXCUSE ME, LEVERAGING 13 MILLION FROM AT AND T? YES, SIR.
UH, I HEARD YOU SAY RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING AND THAT CATCHES MY ATTENTION ALL THE TIME.
NOW, UH, TWO, THE TWO PARTNERS ARE AT AND T AND THE OTHER ONE IS, IS SPECTRUM GULF COAST OR SOMETHING SPECTRUM, IS THAT THE SAME, SAME SPECTRUM THAT PUTS IN CORRECT TV? YES, SIR.
BECAUSE THIS, THIS IS WHERE THE QUALITY ISSUE COMES IN WITH ME.
AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS BASICALLY VERY SIMILAR BURYING CABLE OR SUPPLYING THE CONNECTION TO THE HOUSE AND THEN THE CONNECTION INTO THE EQUIPMENT INSIDE.
UH, AND I KNOW WE'RE IN A PROCESS OF, OF NEGOTIATING THE DETAILS OF THE CONTRACTS.
SO I WANNA SEE, UH, A FIRM COMMITMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE REAL QUALITY TEAMS DOING THIS WORK AND NOT THE KIND OF SUBCONTRACTING WORK THAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, LEAVES AS MANY PROBLEMS AS IT SEEMS TO SATISFY.
SO I HOPE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE QUALITY OF BOTH OF THESE PROPOSALS AS, AS THEY FINISH OUT.
UM, NOW THE CITY'S GOING TO ASSUME THE CITY'S PART.
DOES THAT MEAN THAT ALL OF THE REST THAT'S IN THE COUNTY AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE COUNTY'S GONNA PAY FOR? YES, SIR.
BUT I DON'T WANNA STATE THAT OUT LOUD 'CAUSE LOWER BACK HERE, STARE DAGGERS INTO MY EYES.
BUT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THEIR APPROVAL PROCESS JUST RIGHT.
AND WHEN YOU SAID A HUNDRED AND AND 20, IS THAT THE MINIMUM STANDARD? COULD IT BE HIGHER OR IS THAT THE ONLY STANDARD? I I THINK WE'LL FIGURE THAT OUT AS WE GO ALONG.
UM, I, I, I, WE'VE TALKED WITH AT T ABOUT MAKING SURE THIS IS FUTURE-PROOFED.
UH, SINCE IT IS FIBER CONNECTIVITY AND NOT OUR KIND OF ANTIQUATED CABLE CABLE SYSTEM, THAT COPPER SYSTEM, UM, THERE IS, I THINK THERE IS SOME OPPORTUNITY TO GROW IT OUT.
UH, BUT I DON'T WANNA SPEAK ON THEIR BEHALF.
MY COM MY CONCERN ABOUT THAT IS THAT I'VE GOT, UH, AT AND T AND I'VE GOT THE, THE BURIED LINE CABLES.
UH, I'M SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING, UH, YOU KNOW, A, A A THOUSAND MEGABYTES RIGHT.
OR A GIGABYTE, AND I DON'T, THERE'S SOME TIMES I GET ON THERE AND IT'S LESS THAN A HUNDRED, UH, ON DOWNLOADING.
AND, YOU KNOW, SO THIS IS WHERE I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED WHEN WE HEAR NUMBERS.
UH, AND IF WE GET, UH, 16,000 PEOPLE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, ARE WE GONNA SEE SOME PEOPLE STRUGGLING TO GET 10 OR 20 OR 30 OR 25 WHEN YOU'VE GOT ALL THESE NEW HOUSES ON THIS SYSTEM? AND THEY'RE SAYING THE STANDARD IS A HUNDRED MM-HMM.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THEY CAN PROVIDE THE STANDARD THAT'S A MINIMUM OF A HUNDRED.
AND THAT THEY CAN PRETTY, PRETTY MUCH ASSURE THAT EVERY HOUSE IN THERE WILL HAVE A MINIMUM STANDARD OF A HUNDRED OR MORE TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.
IF WE'RE GOING TO EMPOWER FAMILIES TO USE THE INTERNET MORE, THEY'RE GONNA BE USING IT FOR MAYBE SEVERAL CHILDREN THROUGH SCHOOL OR PEOPLE THROUGH A, WHO ARE WORKING AT HOME NOW.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S GONNA BE A RELIABLE SYSTEM.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT COMES TO MY MIND.
YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT, UH, THE COST, THE ESTIMATED COST THAT AT AND T MIGHT CHARGE IS LIKE $30 A MONTH, BUT YOU ALSO SAID THAT'LL BE FREE TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RECEIVING IT.
HOW DOES THAT WORK? AGAIN? SO RESIDENTS WOULD APPLY FOR THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM THROUGH THE FEDERAL, UH, ENTITY, UM, THROUGH THE F C C.
UH, WE'VE BEEN MARKETING THAT OVER THE PAST YEAR SINCE THAT PROGRAM WAS ESTABLISHED.
UH, SO THEY WOULD APPLY TO THAT IF THEY'RE, UM, THERE'S A BUNCH OF ELIGI ELIGIBILITIES, WHETHER IT'S SNAP OR FREE LUNCH PROGRAM, ET CETERA.
THAT THEY'LL APPLY FOR THAT DIRECTLY.
NOW, AS FAR AS THE COST THAT AT AND T MIGHT BE, UH, PAYING OUT TO GO AHEAD AND DEVELOP THE SYSTEM, PUT IT IN PLACE AND EVERYTHING, UH, WILL THAT INCLUDE EVERYTHING FROM, UH, THE WIRE LINES ALL THE WAY INTO THE HOUSE AND ALL THE WAY UP TO WHERE THE COMPUTER WOULD PLUG IN? I THINK I NEED TO DIG INTO THOSE DETAILS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE CONSTRUCTION PIECE.
AND THAT IS, THAT IS A PIECE OF THE CONVERSATION YOU WANNA LOOK INTO.
'CAUSE WE KNOW THE CONSTRUCTION RIGHT.
GIVES SOME PAINS TO RESIDENTS.
WE WANNA REDUCE THOSE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
BUT I'M JUST SAYING IT MAY NOT DO ANY GOOD IF IT, IF IT DOESN'T INCLUDE EVERYTHING YOU NEED IN THE HOUSE TO PLUG THE COMPUTER IN.
OR TO USE THE WIFI TO GET ON YOUR, YOUR TABLET OR SOMETHING.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING, DO THEY STOP AT THE WALL OF THE HOUSE AND THEN THE PROPERTY OWNER NEEDS TO ASSUME ALL OF THE REST OF THE EXPENSES FOR THAT? RIGHT.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HONESTLY, THE RESIDENT IS GONNA HAVE TO WORK WITH THE, THE VENDOR OR AT AND T ON, THAT'S KIND OF A CUSTOMER SERVICE ITEM.
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THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM.AND THAT A C P PROGRAM ALSO PROVIDES DEVICES OR SUBSIDIES FOR DEVICES AS WELL.
UM, NOW THE EXPENSE THAT AT AND T IS GOING TO INCUR ON THEIR OWN, HOW MUCH IS THAT ESTIMATE? RIGHT NOW? IT IS 13 MILLION.
UH, ARE THEY POTENTIALLY REIMBURSABLE BY THE FEDERAL OR STATE GOVERNMENT FOR DOING THAT? UH, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SPEAK ON THAT.
WE HAVEN'T HEARD THAT THAT MIGHT BE PART OF WHAT'S COMING THROUGH THE FEDERAL OR THE STATE PLAN? I, I, I DON'T, I WOULDN'T.
I, THAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE LOOKING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
UM, SO, BUT I'D HAVE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
SO THAT ABSOLUTELY, WE CAN ASK OUR QUESTIONS AND MAYBE GET A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A GOOD RESPONSE BEFORE WE'RE ASKED TO VOTE ON IT AGAIN.
WE WILL CONTINUE THE DIALOGUE OVER THE NEXT MONTH.
EXCUSE ME, COUNCILMAN, I JUST WANNA ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION.
JUST, I JUST WANNA ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY AT AND T'S MONEY, THE $13 MILLION THEY'RE GONNA SPEND, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT.
THIS IS AN INVESTMENT IN SAN ANTONIO FROM THEM.
AND THANK YOU FOR MY BRIEFING YESTERDAY.
AND, AND JOHN, I KNOW YOU ALL ARE WORKING REALLY HARD TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
AND IT'S FOCUSED MAINLY ON THE R F P AND, UH, CONTRACTING WORK.
UM, ARE WE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THE APPLICANTS ARE ADEQUATELY TRAINED AND, UM, AND, AND THAT THERE'S LIKE PRACTICES FOR SAFE ENVIRONMENTS, ET CETERA, FOR THE WORKERS? 'CAUSE I'D ANTICIPATE A LOT OF THIS WOULD BE GOING ON DURING THE HEAT OF THE SUMMER.
COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
SO, UM, AS A PART OF THE NEP NEXT STEPS SLIDE UP HERE, UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH AT AND T O ON SAFETY STANDARDS FOR THEIR WORKERS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALREADY EXPRESSED TO THEM.
WE'VE ILLUSTRATED TO THEM, UH, IN A NUMBER OF POINTS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
AND THEN, UM, IS, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL WORKFORCE PERFORMED IS DONE DIRECTLY BY, UH, BY LOCAL WORKFORCE OR WILL BE? SO AGAIN, COUNCILMAN, WE'VE EXPRESSED, UM, TO AT AND T THAT WE WANT THEM TO, TO BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE THAT CLEARLY.
I THINK THAT THERE IS SOME WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S REPORTED OUT, WHAT THAT REPORT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, SO THAT'S A PART OF OUR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.
WELL, THIS ALSO BE PART OF THE, THE DASHBOARD THAT WE RECENTLY, RECENTLY INITIATED WITH ALL OF THE OTHER ENTITIES, LIKE THE WORK THAT'S GOING ON.
SO WILL OUR RESIDENTS BE ABLE TO SEE WHEN THIS WORK IS GOING ON IN THEIR AREAS? ABSOLUTELY.
AND WHO'S THE, IS IT, ARE YOU THE POINT PERSON, UM, JOHN FOR ANYTHING SURE.
HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION YOU HAVE.
AND THEN, ARE WE, UM, ARE, ARE THERE ANYTHING THAT, THAT WE CAN DO, UH, AS FAR AS IN TRAINING IN IN-HOUSE TRAINING OR CERTIFICATIONS, UM, THAT MIGHT HELP, UH, PLUG IN SOME OF THE READY TO WORK PARTICIPANTS INTO THIS? ABSOLUTELY.
WE CAN, UH, DO A CROSS REFERENCE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR CONNECTIVITY IS GONNA BE IMPACTED BASED ON THEIR GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.
SO IF, IF, SO FOR INSTANCE, IF A PARTICIPANT IN THAT PROGRAM IS GONNA GET SERVICE, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT CONNECTION IS MADE.
WELL, I, I WAS THINKING ABOUT, UM, ALSO MAYBE THE, THE ON THE LABOR SIDE.
SORRY, I MISSED YOUR THAT'S OKAY.
YOU'RE, BUT THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
YOU
SO THIS MORNING I WAS AT A MEETING AND IT WAS A EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MEETING.
AND, UM, I HEARD, OR I THINK THAT THE CHART THAT WAS REPRESENTED BY W S A SHOWED THAT IT AND CYBER JOBS, UM, THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF JOBS THAT THERE WASN'T ENOUGH PEOPLE THAT WERE TAKING THEM, FOR INSTANCE.
AND SO, I, I CAN'T WAIT TO DIG INTO THE DATA TO SEE WHY THAT IS, BUT I HAVE A THEORY THAT THIS MIGHT BE PART OF IT.
BUT THEN ALSO I THOUGHT, OKAY, WELL THIS, AS, AS WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS LATER ON, I FIGURED THAT I'D BRING THIS UP AND SEE HOW WE COULD ENGAGE READY TO WORK AND MAYBE W S A SO THAT, THAT WE COULD SPECIFICALLY PLUG THEM INTO, UM, TO THIS AREA SINCE IT WAS LACKING.
BUT THOSE ARE ALL, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, FOR MY BRIEFING YESTERDAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER VILLAGRA.
UM, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION TODAY.
IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING AS, AS BRIAN AND MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM KNOW, UM, IN 2021, THIS WAS THE TOPIC THAT I TALKED ABOUT.
UM, DURING, DURING MY FIRST RUN, BECAUSE I HAD A HIGH SCHOOL, AND I WOULD
[00:25:01]
TELL THIS STORY OVER AND OVER AGAIN.I HAD A SCHOOL DISTRICT, SOUTH SIDE, UH, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT WAS LEFT OUT OF OUR, THE FIRST INITIAL ROUND WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE CONNECTED.
AND IT WAS BECAUSE THEY, I LIKE TO SAY IT WAS BECAUSE THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TRAFFIC LIGHTS OUT THERE.
AND THAT'S WHY, THAT'S ANOTHER REASON I'M ALWAYS ASKING FOR TRAFFIC LIGHTS, ZY, IF HE'S NOT HERE,
AND SO I'M, I'M EXCITED TODAY THAT WE HAVE THIS TO MOVE FORWARD.
IS IT ENOUGH? NO, IT'S NOT QUITE ENOUGH, BUT IT'S THE BEGINNING.
AND WE NEED TO SHOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO THIS EFFORT, THAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO BRIDGING THIS GAP.
AND, UM, I THINK WHAT HAPPENED WAS WHEN WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC, EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD WE NEEDED TO DO THIS, AND THEN WE GOT OUT OF THE PANDEMIC AND WE DIDN'T JUST GET OUT OF THE PANDEMIC, BUT WE LED OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC AND PEOPLE TENDED TO TEND TO FORGET THAT THERE WAS THIS GAP THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
UH, BRIAN AND HIS TEAM THAT I SEE IN THE AUDIENCE WERE PUTTING OUT SURVEYS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC ABOUT WHAT, WHAT WE WERE LACKING AND WHAT WE NEEDED.
UM, SAN ANTONIO'S, UH, DIGITAL ALLIANCE, UH, SAN ANTONIO WAS DOING THIS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT THERE WERE NEEDS.
AND, UM, AND THE, THE UNION WORKERS THAT ARE HERE, C W A, KNEW THAT WHERE THEY WERE PUTTING IN LINES KNEW WHERE THEY WERE BUILDING FIBER.
GOOGLE WHO'S IN THE BUILDING KNEW WHERE, WHERE THERE WERE NEEDS AND TRIED TO MOVE TO THE SOUTH SIDE, BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT THE HUTT THERE.
UM, AND, AND SPECTRUM UNDERSTOOD THAT.
SO EVERYBODY KNEW THAT THERE WAS THIS GAP IN THIS NEED, AND THEN IT WAS AMPLIFIED DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND NOW HERE WE SIT AND WE HAVE OUR 8.7 MILLION AND WE'VE NEGOTIATED WITH THE COUNTY TO COME ON BOARD.
AND I MEAN, I'M GOING TO WANNA KNOW TIMELINE FOR THE COUNTY BECAUSE THEY TEND TO DO THINGS IN EVERY FIVE YEARS, OR, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T GIVE YOU THE CHECK UNTIL AFTER THREE YEARS.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE ARE, THAT THEY'RE KEEPING PACE WITH US BECAUSE WHAT AT AND T HAS COMMITTED TO YOU 13 MILLION, AND I, I'M, THAT IS A GREAT INVESTMENT, BUT Y'ALL KNOW, I THINK Y'ALL SHOULD DO 20 MILLION ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE THE GROWTH IS COMING.
THAT IS WHERE THE DEVELOPMENT IS COMING.
THAT IS WHERE YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE COMING.
YES, YOU WILL HAVE CUSTOMERS THAT NEED THIS CONNECTIVITY, BUT YOU WILL ALSO HAVE CUSTOMERS THAT WANT THE MOST HIGHEST SPEEDS THERE.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE GET IT BUILT AND WE GET IT BUILT.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING I THINK WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO HAVE BIGGER, BETTER CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR INTERNET SER SERVICE PROVIDERS WITH THE LABOR, UH, WITH NATIONAL, THE NATIONAL DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE, AS WELL AS SAN ANTONIO AS D AS WELL AS DSA.
AND WE NEED TO GO INTO OUR COMMUNITIES BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH IT STARTS WITH MAYBE DISTRICTS, UM, 2, 3, 4, AND FIVE, UM, AND PARTS OF ONE, EVERYBODY IN SITTING ON THIS COUNCIL HAS A GAP IN THEIR AREAS.
THEY'RE JUST NOT TALKING ABOUT IT.
THERE ARE PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE SPENDING WAY TOO MUCH ON THEIR INTERNET SERVICE, AND IT'S NO LONGER A LUXURY.
EVERY TIME WE HERE IN THE CITY PUT UP ANOTHER DASHBOARD, I, I THINK ABOUT HOW MY SENIORS ARE GONNA GET CONNECTED TO THAT OR HOW MY, HOW MY, UM, MY RURAL AREAS ARE GOING TO GET CONNECTED TO THAT BECAUSE WE, WE HAVE THIS NEED.
UM, SO I THINK WE ALSO NEED TO LOOK AT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BRIAN IS, AND I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE THAT HERE, IS FINDING A GROUP, A NONPROFIT GROUP THAT CAN GO AFTER THOSE DOLLARS THAT, UM, I BELIEVE BECAUSE AS MUCH, AND I, AND I DO WANT TO THANK MY BEST WITH THE STATE, AND I'M RALLYING EVERYBODY THAT THE STATE DOES NOT LEAVE DOLLARS ON THE TABLE, BUT IF THEY DO, I'M GOING TO ADVOCATE THAT WE CAN GET PUBLIC, PRIVATE, NONPROFIT TYPE PARTNERSHIPS TO BRING THAT MONEY BACK TO TEXAS AND TO SAN ANTONIO.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO, TO GET DONE.
UM, I THINK THERE, THERE ARE QUESTIONS BY MY COLLEAGUES THAT ARE, ARE GOOD QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, KIND OF FLESHING THIS OUT ABOUT WHERE THAT, THAT 8.7 MILLION IS GONNA COME TO.
BUT I THINK THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF, OF A LOT OF WORK WE NEED TO DO TO, TO ADDRESS WHAT HAS BEEN SYSTEMIC, UM, RACISM, WHICH HAS BEEN, WHICH HAS BEEN DIS SYSTEMIC.
[00:30:01]
UH, IT JUST, JUST FORGETTING THAT THERE IS A WHOLE OTHER PART OF TOWN AND A WHOLE, WHOLE OTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT, THAT NEED TO GET CONNECTED.SO I'M EX I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS TODAY, BUT I AM, I AM CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BUT I WANNA THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK, YOUR TEAM.
I WANNA THANK THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ARE HERE, THAT HAVE STEP MEMBERS.
THE, UM, I THINK THERE'S SO MANY IN THE AUDIENCE, UH, THAT ARE DOING JUST EVERY ASPECT, THE IN, IN TERMS OF THE PRESENCE OF WHAT WE NEED IN THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
AND, UH, WHAT, WHAT I'M JUST LOOKING TO IS JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN, UM, WE HAVE ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS TOGETHER SO WE CAN GO AFTER ANY PRIVATE OR GRANT DOLLARS THAT'LL BE THERE.
UH, MR. MAYOR, IF, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, I WANT TO POINT OUT SOMETHING IN DISTRICT THREE, UM, SO THERE'S A, THERE'S A RESIDENT IN YOUR, IN YOUR DISTRICT, MR. CAMACHO, UH, HE'S DOWN BY MITCHELL LAKE.
I'VE SPOKEN TO HIM SEVERAL TIMES.
UM, HE GAVE ME A STORY LAST YEAR ABOUT HOW, UM, DECADES AGO, HIS AREA DIDN'T HAVE BASIC UTILITIES TALKING ABOUT WATER, ELECTRICITY.
HE WENT TO THE STATE LEVEL AND FOUGHT FOR THAT.
UM, I STILL TALK TO HIM BECAUSE HE CALLED ME INTERESTED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AS FAR AS INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, QUALITY, AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY.
A CHALLENGE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL IS THE MAPPING.
YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THE BROADBAND, UH, AVAILABILITY MAPS.
THOSE ARE INCORRECT FROM OUR, FROM OUR ANGLE.
I LOOK AT MR. CAMACHO AND HE IS, HIS AREA IS INELIGIBLE FOR THOSE FUNDS FROM THE STATE, YET HE HAS NO CONNECTION.
I, I WANNA POINT THAT OUT BECAUSE THAT IS THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING FROM THE CITY SIDE AS FAR AS OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH IASA.
WE'RE WORKING WITH SA DIGITAL CONNECTS TO CHALLENGE EVERY DAY AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL.
I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH YOU THAT THAT NEEDS TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE, THE, THE ISSUE IS WE NEED TO, TO CONTINUE TO COME TOGETHER AND, AND WORK COLLECTIVELY.
AND I LOOK AT ERIC AND HE WAS APPOINTED OUR DIGITAL DIVIDE GURU BY SOMEBODY IN DC SO LET'S, UH, HE WAS, YEAH, I THINK HE WAS, OR NO, THE, UH, ARPA RECOVERY PERSON.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT, AND DIGITAL IS INFRASTRUCTURE DIGITAL, YEAH.
YOU JUST SET THAT MEETING UP AND I'M SURE MOST OF US ON THIS COUNCIL WILL BE THERE.
MARY, CAN I, LET ME JUST ADD ONE THING AND, AND BRIN, UM, I WAS GONNA CALL YOU MY SON, BRENDAN
I MEAN, THIS IS ONLY PART OF THIS IS A SPINE THAT RUNS DOWN THE STREET.
UM, AND, AND BRIAN AND HIS TEAM AND THE COUNTY AND SA DIGITAL CONNECTS AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PROVIDERS HERE IN TOWN, INCLUDING THE ISPS, HAVE BEEN WORKING TO PROMOTE THAT AVAILABILITY.
WE HAVE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE IN SAN ANTONIO THAT ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
AND THAT VALUE IS ABOUT $3 MILLION A YEAR.
SO IT'S GONNA BE INCUMBENT UPON US.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE THE CITY DID, UM, WHEN THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT WAS, WAS PASSED.
WE'VE GOTTA PROVIDE THAT, THAT EDUCATION AND THAT KNOWLEDGE OUT TO AGENCIES AND RESIDENTS, UM, BECAUSE THEY SHOULD BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT.
UM, AND, AND IT'LL BE INCUMBENT UPON US TO CONTINUE THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PHASE OR FUTURE PHASES, BECAUSE THAT'S MONEY THAT'S AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW TODAY.
AND THE MORE WE CAN PULL DOWN TO SAN ANTONIO, THE BETTER OFF, UH, THIS ENTIRE COMMUNITY WILL BE.
COUNCIL MEMBER VIA GR, COUNCIL MEMBER CAB HDA.
UH, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I THINK THIS IS, UH, AN ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER FOR OUR CITY.
IT PULLS, PUTS TOOLS IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT.
CAN Y'ALL HERE STILL HEAR ME? WE NEED HELP.
UM, IT'S PUTTING TOOLS IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT OF THE DIGITAL DIGITAL ECONOMY.
SO WE, OF COURSE, WE'VE GOTTA TALK ABOUT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, TOOLS IN THE HANDS OF OUR STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN, UH, LEFT BEHIND, ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
I'M SURE A LOT OF YOU GUYS KNOW, WE HAVE PARKING SPOTS IN OUR LIBRARIES WITH THE LITTLE WIFI SYMBOL SO THAT STUDENTS CAN, UM, OR THEIR PARENTS CAN DRIVE THEM UP SO THEY CAN USE THE WIFI.
THIS, THIS FOR ME IS, IS HOW IT'S A GAME CHANGER.
HOW IT CAN REALLY CHANGE THE, THE COURSE OF OUR ECONOMY AND OF COURSE, THE TRAJECTORY OF, OF A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS.
I'M ESPECIALLY, UH, THANKFUL FOR, UH, SOME OF MY NEIGHBORHOODS BEING INCLUDED IN PHASE ONE, LOS.
AND, UH, COMMUNITY WORKERS COUNCIL, WHICH HAVE BEEN LONG UNSERVED FOR THESE, UH, THESE KINDS OF THINGS ARE, UM, A PART OF EDGEWOOD AND DISTRICT SIX.
UH, THANKS OF COURSE TO COMMUNICATION WORKERS ASSOCIATION FOR YOUR INVOLVEMENT AND ADVOCACY AND FOR, UM, UH,
[00:35:01]
AT AND T FOR YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY.HEARING THAT THEY'RE PUTTING 13 MILLION OF THEIR OWN MONEY, THAT'S SUBSTANTIAL.
THAT'S, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD OVERLOOK.
UM, I, I, UM, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT FUNDING, BUT MY, MY REAL QUESTIONS INVOLVE THE, THE LABOR FORCE THAT'S GONNA BE USED.
SO I'LL, I'LL, UM, ASK THOSE FIRST.
I'M GONNA GET A LITTLE BIT INTO THE WEEDS ABOUT IT, BUT IT, I THINK, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, LABOR IS, IS IMPORTANT.
IT'S REALLY KEY TO, TO, TO, UM, IMPLEMENTATION.
I THINK THAT'S AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
SO IS THERE, UM, I, I THINK SOMEBODY ALREADY ASKED THIS, BUT I DIDN'T TOTALLY UNDERSTAND.
IS THERE A PLAN TO DIRECTLY HIRE, OR WILL THERE BE ALSO CONTRACT WORK TO DO THIS WORK? OBVIOUSLY, CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS ARE UNDERWAY, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, SO THERE WASN'T A, A DIRECT ASK ON WHAT THE MIX SHOULD BE.
I THINK MY MAIN CONCERN IS, IS THEIR TRAINING, UM, AND ESPECIALLY IF IT'S BEING ABSOLUTELY, IF IT'S CONTRACTED WORK, ABSOLUTELY.
OR THEY'RE GONNA BE ADEQUATELY TRAINED AND, UM, AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, CERTIFICATIONS, ALL OF THAT, THAT, THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
WE WANNA DO THIS, RIGHT? I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY BEING INVESTED.
THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF, UM, SWEAT EQUITY AS, AS IT WERE.
BUT, UM, I, I WANNA BE SURE THAT, OF COURSE, THEY'RE ADEQUATELY TRAINED AND THEN THEY'RE, THEY'RE SAFE.
WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT, THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING, YOU KNOW, FAIR LABOR STANDARDS AND WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE SAFE OUT THERE DOING THAT WORK.
SO, ANOTHER QUESTION, AND MAYBE THIS IS PART OF THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATION, BUT, UM, WILL THE APPLICANT BE JOINTLY LIABLE FOR OSHA AND, UM, AND WAGE IN HOUR VIOLATIONS? GOT IT.
WE GOT HIDDEN NODS IN THE BACK.
THAT'S WHO I WAS LOOKING AT, TO BE CLEAR.
SO, WELL, I MEAN, I KNOW THAT TO BE, UH, OF COURSE TO BE VERY INVOLVED IN, IN, IN TAKING CARE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES.
SO I'LL TAKE, UH, I'LL TAKE THE HEAD NOD.
UM, AND THEN IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING AS A CITY TO ENSURE THE, THE SAFETY OF OUR, OF THOSE WORKERS, UM, AND, AND THEN OF COURSE, FAIR, FAIR LABOR STANDARDS IN THE WORKPLACE.
ARE WE, I MEAN, I APPRECIATE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE APPLICANTS AND, UM, WHAT THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING.
IS THERE ANY, ANYTHING WE AS A CITY ARE DOING TO ENSURE THAT? WELL, UH, LET ME JUMP IN.
WE'RE GONNA HOLD THE, THE, THE CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBLE.
BECAUSE THAT, UM, THESE AREN'T, UM, JUST LIKE AS IF THEY WERE CITY EMPLOYEES THAT WERE DOING THE WORK, THEN WE WOULD TAKE ON THAT LIABILITY.
BUT OKAY, WE'RE CONTRACTING THAT WORK AND THOSE SAFETY STANDARDS, TRAINING STANDARDS, CERTIFICATION STANDARDS, ANY LIABILITIES, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA BE PART OF THE CONTRACTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY TO DO THAT.
AND THE CONTRACTOR IN THIS CASE IS AT AND T.
SO IS THERE ANY OVERSIGHT OVER THAT TO ENSURE THAT, THAT, THAT THAT'S HAPPENING? CHECK-INS, YES.
THERE'LL BE ACTIVELY, WE'LL HAVE TO MONITOR AND, AND MANAGE THIS CONTRACT BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA COMMIT TO US, UM, CERTAIN TRACKS OF, OF PROPERTY 26, UH, CENSUS TRACKS.
THERE'S GONNA BE A TIMELINE AND WE'RE NOT GONNA PAY THEM UNLESS THEY DO THE WORK.
SO WE, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE NEGOTIATING RIGHT NOW.
SO I'LL MOVE OVER TO, UM, JUST THE FUNDING.
UM, HOW SECURE IS THE STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING? MY, MY CONCERN IS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, IT'S TOUGH FOR ME TO GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THAT, BUT AS FAR AS THE ELIGI ELIGIBILITY AND INELIGIBILITY, UM, IT'S REALLY BASED ON THOSE MAPS.
AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE CONSTANTLY CHALLENGING THE, THE VALIDITY OF THOSE MAPS AS THEY ARE RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE SAYING THAT SAN ANTONIO'S COMPLETELY COVERED AND CONNECTED UP TO THE STANDARD.
UH, SO THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG PUSH.
SO AS YOU ALL GO TO SA TO DC MAKE SURE
I WILL ASK YOU TO ARM ME WITH SOME DATA FOR THOSE YES MA'AM.
MEETINGS ABSOLUTE IN A, IN A COUPLE WEEKS, BUT, UH, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND THAT'S NOT JUST A SAN ANTONIO PROBLEM, THAT'S A RURAL VERSUS URBAN AMERICA PROBLEM.
THAT, THAT WE ARE UNITED ON WITH ALL THE OTHER CITIES.
SO WE WILL HAVE SOME TALKING POINTS FOR S A C, UM, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO.
THANK YOU, BRIAN, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
CONNECTING OVER 10,000 FAMILIES TO, UH, CONNECTIVITY IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPACTFUL FOR THE RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO I'M PLEASED TO SEE THE WORK AND THE PLAN THAT'S BEING PUT FORTH.
UM, I'M PLEASED TO HEAR THE DISCUSSION AND CONVERSATION AND REQUESTS AROUND, UH, TRAINING, CERTIFICATIONS, QUALITY, FAIR LABOR STANDARDS, AND, UH, ENSURING THAT, UM, WE HAVE DIRECT HIRES.
[00:40:01]
UM, AND I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE I SEE THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA HERE AND EARLY ON IN THE R F P PROCESS, RIGHT? THESE ARE STANDARDS THAT THEY HAD BEEN, UH, REQUESTING, UM, ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO ARE GOING TO BE LAYING THIS PROJECT AND, UM, CONNECTING OUR FAMILIES TO, UM, INTERNET ACCESS.UM, THEY'VE BEEN ADVOCATING THAT THESE ARE REQUIREMENTS, RIGHT? UM, SO IS IT, UH, WITH THE DIRECTION, ARE THESE GOING TO BE RE RECOMMENDATIONS OR REQUIREMENTS? UH, SO I, I'LL, I'LL KIND OF GO AHEAD, JOHN.
ERIC WAS GOING FOR HIS MIC, SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA GO FIRST.
SO, SO, UM, THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE, AND THOSE REQUESTS HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH AT T AND WE'RE WORKING TO ACTIVELY NEGOTIATE THE CONTRACT NOW, RIGHT? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE BRING TO COUNCIL WILL BE REFLECTIVE OF THAT CONVERSATION.
SO IT'LL BE A REQUIREMENT WE'RE, BECAUSE TO ME, A REQUIREMENT AND REQUESTS ARE TWO DIFFERENT.
WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA NEGOTIATE THOSE TERMS IN THE CONTRACT, RIGHT? UM, FOR MANY OF THE SAME REASONS WHY THAT SOME OF YOU HAVE ALREADY MENTIONED, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE QUALITY WORK MM-HMM.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE SAFE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE EFFICIENT, AND THOSE ARE ALL, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE CERTIFIED AND TRAINED.
AND, UH, PRIOR TO THIS GOING TO A SESSION, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, AND THOSE REASSURANCES IN THE LANGUAGE, UM, WHEN BEFORE VOTING ON THIS ITEM, UM, BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS JUST HIRING LOCAL LABOR FROM MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, HIRING STANDARDS FOR SAFETY TRAINING, CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES.
SO CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES AREN'T KNOCKING DOWN BRIDGES, UM, REQUIRING PROFESSIONAL IN-HOUSE TRAINING TO ENSURE THAT THE DEPLOYMENT IS DONE AT A HIGH STANDARD, UM, AT THE RATE THAT OUR COMMUNITIES DESERVE.
AND I KNOW WE ALL SHARE THOSE, THOSE VALUES AND THAT VISION, UH, AND ENSURING THAT THE SELECTED COMPANIES DON'T HAVE A HISTORY OF VIOLATING FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT LAWS AND UNDERPAYING THEIR WORKERS.
AND WE OFTEN SEE THAT WITH THE SUBCONTRACTORS.
UM, SO I WANNA BE SURE THAT WHILE WE'RE, UM, HAVING LARGER CONVERSATIONS OF ADDRESSING, UH, THE ECONOMIC CRISIS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AND HONORING WOMEN'S DAY, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, HIGHER WAGES, STRONG LABOR STANDARDS HELP CLOSE THAT GENDER GAP, UH, AND THEY HELP BRING FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY, RIGHT? SO, HOW THIS IS ALL INTERCONNECTED, AND IT'S WHY I BELIEVE THAT WE MUST ENSURE THAT THE LANGUAGE ARE THE LANGUAGE RATHER, IS, UM, A REQUIREMENT AND NOT JUST A SIMPLE REQUEST, UH, WITH THE HOPE THAT THEY MEET SOME OF THE STANDARDS.
SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT IT WILL BE A REQUIREMENT.
I'M, I'M HEARING FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THAT, AND I'M TAKING THAT IN TERMS OF CONSENSUS AS WE NEGOTIATE GOING FORWARD, AND THE FEEDBACK THAT, THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE'RE AT B SESSION TODAY AND INFORMAL SESSION TO GET FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL AS A GROUP ON WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THIS POST SOLICITATION.
'CAUSE OUR INTENTION IS TO BRING YOU A CONTRACT THAT MEETS AS MANY OF THOSE MARKS AS POSSIBLE.
AND, AND IT, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU WERE READING OFF A LIST.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT A LIST I'D, I'D APPRECIATE A COPY MAYBE AFTERWARDS.
THAT WAY WE MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE BALANCED.
I'VE BEEN JOTTING DOWN NOTES FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THE, THE KEYWORDS THAT THEY'VE MENTIONED.
UM, AND, UH, I, I KNOW IT'S BEEN SHARED WITH THE STAFF, BUT WE'LL GET THAT TO YOU AGAIN.
BRIAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT INFORMATION.
I DO HAVE SOME, UM, ADDITIONAL QU QUESTIONS AND, UH, SOME OF IT'S FOLLOWING UP TO SOME OTHER COMMENTS MADE ALREADY, BUT EXPLAIN TO ME EXACTLY WHAT THIS PROJECT IS.
IS IT RUNNING JUST A SINGLE LINE DOWN A STREET OR IS IT BRANCHING OUT, BRINGING IT UP TO ALL THE HOMES, TO THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOMES OR IT'S TO THE HOMES? WHAT IS THIS PROJECT EXACTLY? RIGHT.
SO CURRENTLY IN A, IN A CURRENT STATE, AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, I JUST HAD A TEXT RIGHT BEFORE THIS MEETING, UH, FROM A FRIEND WHO SAID, WHY DO I HAVE TERRIBLE QUALITY IN MY ZIP CODE? AND I, I EDUCATED THEM ON A LOT OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE IS FROM THE PAST, IT'S COPPER WIRING.
IT IS NOT UP TO THE FIBER STANDARD.
SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE'RE AIMING RIGHT NOW.
SO THE CONSTRUCTION THAT'S TAKEN PLACE IS REALLY UPDATING AND MODERNIZING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS THERE CURRENTLY THAT IS NOT, UM, UM, CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE BANDWIDTH AND SPEEDS.
SO IT IS DEPLOYMENT OF FIBER CONNECTIVITY TO THE HOME, TO THE PREMISE.
WE'RE NOT GOING INSIDE THE HOME AND WE'RE NOT SUPPLYING ANY HARDWARE INSIDE THE HOME.
SO THE RESIDENT STILL HAS TO JUST AS YOU WOULD APPLY FOR A SERVICE FROM AT AND T OR SPECTRUM, THEY STILL NEED TO DO THAT PROCESS.
SO WHAT YOU'RE THEORIZING AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE NUMBER OF LOCATIONS ON THE SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY THAT'S MAKING IT AVAILABLE TO THAT.
BUT THAT'S NOT SAYING HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY GONNA HOOK UP TO IT, RIGHT? I MEAN, I'M NOT GONNA ANSWER.
IS THAT, IS THAT GONNA BE A METRIC SOMEHOW? ABSOLUTELY.
TO SHOW EXACTLY HOW MANY, HOW MUCH WE SPENT AND HOW MUCH WE DEPLOYED VERSUS HOW MANY OF IS ACTUALLY HOOKING UP TO IT JUST FOR YOU.
[00:45:01]
GONNA BE LOOKING FOR.UM, THEN SLIDE NUMBER FOUR, I'M STILL CONFUSED ABOUT THIS.
SO IT'S A FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT IF YOU MEET A CERTAIN THRESHOLD WITH REGARD TO INCOME, UH, IF YOU HAVE, IF YOU HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION WITH AN, WITH A PROVIDER AT $30 A MONTH, YOU APPLY FOR THE A C P PROGRAM, THIS AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM AND F C C LEVEL, AND THEY SUBSIDIZE THAT REMAINING $30, WHICH ENDS UP NO COST INTERNET TO THAT RESIDENT.
SO THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS CONTRACT.
SO IN THE R F P, WE REQUIRED THAT TO BE A PIECE OF THE RESPONSE.
SO, SO THIS CONTRACT COUNCILMAN WILL IMPROVE THE SPEED AVAILABLE TO HOMES THAT QUALIFY FOR THIS PROGRAM VASTLY, BUT THE $30 VERSUS FREE, THE OCCUPANT HAS TO APPLY TO GET THE FREE SERVICE.
BUT THAT'S NOT PART OF THIS CONTRACT THOUGH, RIGHT? THE THE, IF THEY DON'T QUALIFY FOR THE THIR, IF THEY DON'T QUALIFY FOR THE FREE SERVICE, THEY STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.
BUT IF THEY QUALIFY, THEY GET IT FREE.
BUT THAT, THAT MONEY IS NOT COMING OUTTA THIS CONTRACT, IS IT? CORRECT.
IT'S, IT'S FEDERAL MONEY, SIR.
BUT, BUT THE AVAILABILITY AND SPEED OF THE INTERNET WILL DRASTICALLY CHANGE FOR THESE HOMES.
UM, ON SLIDE NUMBER SIX, AND THIS IS TO A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GETTING OUT IN THE COUNTY VERSUS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE CITY HERE, THE, THE, EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE NUMBERS BETWEEN AT AND T AND SPECTRUM.
HERE YOU HAVE, UH, SPECTRUM, THEY'RE PUTTING OUT $26 MILLION AND AT T IS ONLY $13 MILLION, THEN YOU HAVE, UH, 20,000 LOCATIONS, UH, FOR AT AND T AND ONLY 8,700 FOR SPECTRUM.
UM, THERE'S A BIG DISPARITY THERE.
TELL, EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THAT, WHY THAT IS.
ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE COST OF EACH PROJECT OR THE COST SHARE? I GUESS? WELL, THE BOTH.
I MEAN, YOU HAVE, UH, AT AND T SAYING, HEY, WE'RE GONNA PUT $13 MILLION TOWARDS THIS.
YOU GOT SPECTRUM SAYING WE'RE GONNA DOUBLE THAT.
WE'RE GONNA GIVE $26 MILLION FOR THAT.
SO I, I'LL SPEAK TO THE COST OVERALL.
UH, THE VALUE OF THIS, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE, UH, KIND OF INNER CITY CENSUS TRACKS, UH, THERE'S INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE THERE.
UH, SO IT COSTS A LITTLE BIT LESS.
ALSO THERE, THE RESIDENTS AND THE BUSINESSES ARE WAY MORE COMPACT.
THEY'RE A LOT MORE DENSELY LOCATED.
UH, SO THAT HELPS WITH THAT CONNECTIVITY AND THAT CONSTRUCTION AND, AND DEPLOYMENT.
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE COST SHARE, I, I WOULD, I WOULDN'T WANT TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF, UH, THE TWO VENDORS ON WHY THERE'S A DIFFERENCE THERE, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE CAN ASK ABOUT.
I
I MEAN, UH, 26 MILLION VERSUS 13 MILLION.
UH, HOW I, I'M CONFUSED WHY, WHY WE, WHY WE DIDN'T GET THE 26 MILLION FOR THE CITY VERSUS THE COUNTY.
WHEN WE LOOK AT NATIONAL AVERAGES, WE'RE LOOKING AT 40, 60 SPLITS FOR OTHER CITIES AND COUNTIES THAT HAVE TAKEN THIS MODEL, THIS APPROACH WITH THE PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP.
UH, 40 60 SPLIT IS USUALLY THE, THE AVERAGE.
THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT WITH AT T IN THESE NUMBERS WITH SPECTRUM, YES, IT IS A LITTLE, IT IS DIFFERENT, BUT I, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF SPECTRUM OF WHY THEY DIDN'T MATCH THAT 40 60 OR WHY AT T DIDN'T MATCH SPECTRUM.
SO SHOULD WE GO BACK OUT WITH ANOTHER R F P AND, UH, I DON'T BELIEVE LEVEL OF PLAYING FIELD? I DON'T BELIEVE SO, BUT WELL NOW COUNCILMAN, I THINK THE, I THINK THE DIFFERENCE ALSO IS, IS, AND IF YOU GO TO THE, THE MAP ON SLIDE, UM, THIS IS PART OF THE DIFFERENCE ON SLIDE 10, I'M SORRY, GO TO THE COUNTYWIDE SLIDE 12.
THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT MORE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE LAID IN TERMS OF THE OTHER PROPOSAL THAT THE COUNTY'S CONSIDERING, IF YOU TAKE THE TOTAL COST OF, OF THE SPECTRUM COUNTY, THEY'RE GONNA SPEND ABOUT $3,400 PER RESIDENT THAT THEY'RE CONNECTING TO THOSE 8,700.
UM, OUR, UM, THE PROPOSAL THAT WE'RE EVALUATING RIGHT NOW WITH AND NEGOTIATING WITH AT AND T IS A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS PER CONNECTION.
SO THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT MORE COST IN TERMS OF, OF WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S ACTUALLY EVEN ANY INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE IN THE COUNTY.
SO I THINK IT'S HARD TO DO A COMPARISON BECAUSE THE TWO GEOGRAPHIES ARE DIFFERENT.
UM, BUT, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT AT A COST PER, UM, INDIVIDUAL BASIS, UM, THE, THERE'S THERE'S LESS COST WITH THE CITY PROPOSAL.
I'LL, I'LL ALSO CLARIFY THAT SPECTRUM DIDN'T BID ON THOSE 26 CENSUS TRACKS, AND AT AND T DIDN'T BID ON THOSE 11 IN THE COUNTY EITHER.
SO THEY, THEY DID THIS KIND OF SEPARATELY.
I'LL ALSO NOTE THAT DURING THE
[00:50:01]
REVIEW OF THIS, THE RESPONSES THEY WERE, UH, REVIEWED SEPARATELY AND INDEPENDENTLY.SO AS FAR AS LIKE COST COMPARISON, THAT'S NOT PART OF THAT, THAT PROCESS.
YEAH, I, UH, I'M JUST SAYING THE OPTICS OF IT, UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT ERIC, ABOUT BEING MORE DIFFICULT, BUT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THE COMPANIES ARE PUTTING INTO THE, THESE PROJECTS.
STILL YOU HAVE AT AND T T AT 13 MILLION, SPECTRUM AT 26 MILLION.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT JUST SOUNDS A LITTLE FUNNY TO ME THAT EACH BID ON SEPARATE PACKAGES AND NOT ON THE OTHER ONES AS WELL TO, UM, IT, IT, IT JUST LOOKS A LITTLE STRANGE TO ME.
IF, IF, MAYBE IF YOU COULD COME IN AND TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, THAT I COULD DO THAT, SIR, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
UM, ON SLIDE NUMBER NINE, YOU SAID WE HAD FOUR RESPONSES RESPONSES AND ONE VENDOR, UH, WAS NONRESPONSIVE.
WHY WAS THAT NONRESPONSIVE? UM, THE VENDOR RESPONDED, BUT IT WAS KIND OF A FOUR PAGE, UM, KIND OF NARRATIVE.
IT WASN'T REALLY RESPONDING TO THE R F P REQUIREMENTS, IT WAS MORE NOTING THIS IS WHAT WE THINK SHOULD HAPPEN, BUT IT DIDN'T RESPOND TO ANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE ASKED FOR IN THE R F P.
UH, THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, WHEN I WAS LOOKING HERE ON, UH, SLIDE SEVEN, I SAW LOCAL PRO PREFERENCE PROGRAM, NOT APPLICABLE.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE'RE NEGOTIATING FOR IN THIS CONTRACT TO HI, TO HIRE LOCAL PEOPLE TO DO THE, THE WORK? I'M LOOKING FOR MY PROCUREMENT TEAM.
I GUESS I'LL ANSWER THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION.
UM, WHY LOCAL IS NOT INCLUDED? SURE.
UM, BASICALLY WE DID NOT WANNA JEOPARDIZE ANY FUTURE FEDERAL FUND, ANY FUTURE FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO TO DO THAT, WE DIDN'T APPLY LOCAL AS FAR AS, AND I THINK AS BRIAN AND JOHN I TALKED ABOUT IT, WHEN IT COMES TO LOCAL LABOR, THOSE WILL BE DISCUSSIONS THAT HAVE TO BE HAD WITH AT AND T AS PART OF THE NEGOTIATIONS.
WELL, I, I WANNA EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR THAT.
UM, I ALSO, I THINK I NEED TO BE CHIMING IN SOONER BECAUSE THEN BY THE TIME I GET TO TALK, UH, DR.
ROCHA GARCIA AND COUNCILMAN CASTILLO HAVE ALREADY MADE ALL THE POINTS I WANNA MAKE OR ASKED ALL THE QUESTIONS I WANNA MAKE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA'S COMMENTS ABOUT SEEING, UH, HOW THIS CAN BE PAIRED UP WITH SA READY TO WORK AND ALL.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I THINK ABOUT SA READY TO WORK, I, I THINK I WANT SA READY TO WORK TO BE, UH, TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON ITS OWN.
IT'S NOT SUCCESSFUL IF THEY CAN'T BE SUCCESSFUL ON THEIR OWN.
AND SO I DON'T REALLY WANT TO BE NEGOTIATING, LIKE WHERE WE'RE FORCING PEOPLE TO USE SA READY TO WORK.
AT THE SAME TIME, I WANT TO CAPITALIZE THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE SA READY TO WORK AND THAT WE DO HAVE FUNDING THERE, AND HOW CAN WE BEST UTILIZE THEM AND COULD THEY BE, YOU KNOW, COULD THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE OUT THERE DOING THIS WORK BE, UM, TRAINING PEOPLE AS THEY DO THAT WORK? IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE JUST TO GET STACKED BENEFITS OUT OF SA READY TO WORK? SO WHEN I ASK FOR US TO WORK WITH THEM, THAT'S, THAT'S MY HOPE.
UM, AND MY ASK, UM, I AM ALSO INTERESTED IN, IN SOMEBODY, WHOEVER'S TAKING NOTES FOR THE CITY MANAGER,
I'M SEEING THAT WE GET, YOU KNOW, GET SOME KIND OF, UH, LABOR PROTECTIONS IN THERE AS WELL TOO.
UM, YOU'RE IN, I DON'T SEE YOU IN THE QUEUE.
COUNCIL MEMBER PALIS, YOU'RE IN AS WELL.
UM, WE'RE NOT SEEING THE, THE YES QUEUE HERE.
SO COUNCIL MEMBER CASTRO, AND THEN PALIS.
I'D LIKE TO JUST ASK FROM THE CONSUMER STANDPOINT, A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE, CAN I ASSUME THAT THE CONTRACTOR WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROTECTION WALLS THAT THE COMPUTER NEEDS? THE SYSTEM NEEDS REGARDING AND THE TROUBLESHOOTING.
UM, I MEAN THOSE ARE FAIRLY STANDARD WITH ISPS.
THEY PROVIDE THOSE PROTECTIONS.
UM, THAT'S ALSO A PIECE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH REGARD TO DIGITAL LITERACY AS WELL.
SO IT'S NOT JUST THE INFRASTRUCTURE PIECE THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO WITH OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION EFFORTS.
THERE IS ALSO A DIG, AN ACCESS TO DEVICE AS WELL AS A DIGITAL LITERACY PIECE.
THAT LITERACY PIECE IS REALLY TRYING TO EDUCATE CONSUMERS AND RESIDENTS ON HOW TO USE THE INTERNET AND HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.
THERE'S A LOT OF SCAMS THAT PEOPLE FALL FOR, AND I WONDERED IF THE CONTRACT CALLED FOR PEOPLE TO EITHER
[00:55:01]
HAVE SOMETHING IN WRITING OR ON THE COMPUTER THAT WOULD WARN THEM ABOUT SOME OF THE MAJOR ONES, THAT BANK ONE.THERE'S JUST SO MANY OF THEM, UH, AND ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE FIRST TIME USERS, UH, IT'S EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THAT.
UH, SO I WONDERED IF THAT WOULD BE DONE.
WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL INCLUDE THAT IN THE CONVERSATION.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTRO, COUNCIL MEMBER KA GOLIA.
UM, YOU HAVE EVERY REASON TO BE PROUD OF YOUR SON.
HE, MY DAD'S WATCHING TOO, SO HE'S DONE A GREAT JOB.
SO, UM, SO A, A, A COUPLE OF THINGS I'LL GIVE YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, UH, OF, OF SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TO THE SAME LADY, UH, TWICE.
UH, AND ANDY SEGOVIA AND I GET OUR HAIR AT THE SAME PLACE DOWN THE STREET FROM A REAL NICE LADY NAMED DORA, UM, AT CITY TOWER.
AND I'VE STRUCK UP A REAL NICE FRIENDSHIP WITH HER.
SHE'S BEEN THERE FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, I BELIEVE, CUTTING HAIR.
UM, AND SHE'S, UM, A SWEET LADY.
AND EVERY TIME I GO IN THERE, I ALWAYS FORGET THAT SHE ONLY TAKES CASH BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO PROCESS A CREDIT CARD, AND SHE HAS NO FAMILIARITY WITH THE INTERNET, THE MACHINES.
SHE DOES ALL OF HER ACCOUNTING WITH, YOU KNOW, A BAG FULL OF RECEIPTS.
UM, AND SHE IS, UM, SHE'S JUST BUSY SURVIVING, RIGHT? AND, UH, SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANYBODY TO HELP HER.
I, UH, AND SHE'S VERY INTIMIDATED RIGHT BY THE INTERNET, AND SHE AND I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW, UM, HOW MUCH BUSINESS SHE LOSES SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE CAN ONLY TAKE CASH AND NOT CREDIT CARDS, AND, UM, IT WORRIES HER, RIGHT? AND SO I, WE'VE SENT OUT MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM AND, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER FOLKS TO GO HELP HER WITH THAT.
AT THE SAME TIME, SHE'LL ALSO TELL YOU THE STORY THAT SOMEBODY RIPPED HER OFF TO THE TUNE OF MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE SHE GOT ONE OF THESE SCAMMERS, UM, WHO EMAILED HER PRETENDING TO BE A PERSON THAT SHE KNEW, UM, AND THEY FLEECED HER, RIGHT? AND SHE'LL NEVER GET THAT MONEY BACK.
AND WE CONNECTED HER TO S A P D, AND NOBODY WAS, NOBODY COULD HELP HER.
I MEAN, THE MONEY'S GONE, RIGHT? AND SO, WHAT WORRIES ME IS THAT, UM, HAS ALWAYS WORRIED ME ABOUT THIS PROJECT, RIGHT? IS THAT WE ARE GONNA BE CONNECTING A LOT OF FOLKS WHO ARE BUSY SURVIVING, RIGHT? AND WHO HAVEN'T HAD, UM, AND HAVEN'T BEEN CONDITIONED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT PHISHING, UH, YOU KNOW, EMAILS AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT SCAMS, RIGHT? WHO, PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S NOBODY IN NIGERIA WHO WANTS TO SEND THE MONEY, RIGHT? UH, AND WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE THAT POPULATION THAT WE MAY BE SETTING UP FOR FAILURE IF WE'RE NOT, UH, VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT TEACHING THEM THIS, THIS LITERACY.
AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW RELIEVED I AM TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS.
UM, AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE, THE INTERNET IS A POWER OF MASS DESTRUCTION, OR, YOU KNOW, AND, OR IT'S A DEVICE WHERE IT'S GOING TO, TO HELP YOU APPLY FOR JOBS AND GET YOUR MEDICINES AND, YOU KNOW, CHECK IN ON LOVED ONES, RIGHT? SO I'M, I'M RELIEVED THAT YOU SAID THAT BECAUSE THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS GONNA, I WAS GONNA RAIL ABOUT.
THE SECOND THING I'LL TELL YOU IS THAT, UM, I, I TELL MY, MY KIDS, MAX AND SOPHIA ALL THE TIME, THAT THAT LEADERSHIP REALLY, THAT THE TRICK TO LEADERSHIP IS MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY AROUND YOU KNOWS WHERE YOU WERE, WHERE YOU ARE, AND WHERE YOU'RE GOING, RIGHT? AND THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY HAVING TO DO THAT.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER BACK TO 2017, BRIAN, WHEN WE EMBARKED UPON THIS, RIGHT? AND I THINK IT, I THINK IT'D BE UNFAIR FOR, TO NOT MENTION THE FOLKS WHO HELPED GIVE BIRTH TO THIS, RIGHT? AND SO, WHEN, WHEN THE MAYOR CREATED THE TECH, UH, THE, UH, TECH AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE, RIGHT? AND HE SAID, MANNY, YOU'RE THE CHAIR, BUT WE'RE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER GONNA START PUTTING CIVILIANS, RIGHT? ON THIS COMMITTEE.
HE PUT, WILL GARRETT, DIRK MONDOR, AND DEANNE QUARE ON THERE, JUST IN MY OPINION, LUMINARIES, RIGHT? UM, AND DEANNE QUARE IN PARTICULAR, WHO IS A, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, SHARPEST POINTIEST STICK IN TOWN THAT IS ALWAYS POINT, YOU KNOW, POKING PEOPLE AND REMINDING THEM ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY, RIGHT? AND SHE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB AT HOLDING ALL OF US ACCOUNTABLE AND MAKING SURE THAT THIS WASN'T JUST SOMETHING WE TALKED ABOUT, BUT THAT WE DID.
YOU HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FROM THIS COMMITTEE THAT THIS WAS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND YOU, YOU, YOU'VE DELIVERED, YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, AND I REMEMBER THAT FIRST MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH A COMMUNITY AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY WHERE WE KICKED OFF THAT SURVEY.
I REMEMBER ALL OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LECTURES THAT WE'VE GOT, GOOD ONES FROM THE FED, UH, THE DALLAS FED THAT YOU HELPED CONVENE.
UM, AND I, I, WE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALWAYS REMEMBERING THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE THREE INDIVIDUALS WERE AT THE TABLE ALONG WITH, YOU KNOW, SHIRLEY GONZALEZ AND, UM, COUNCILMAN TREVINO, WHO ARE ON THE, YOU KNOW, ON THE COMMITTEE.
SO IF ANYBODY SEES 'EM, GIVE 'EM A HIGH FIVE AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THAT'S THIS PROJECT FINALLY HAS LEGS.
UM, THE THE OTHER THING I WANNA TELL YOU IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE'RE THANKING FOLKS,
[01:00:01]
I, I DO WANT TO MA YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT DELEGATES UP IN DC WHO ARE ALWAYS BLOCKING AND TA TACKLING FOR US, RIGHT? AND THERE'S BEEN ONE IN PARTICULAR WHO'S BEEN PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT.UM, AND, YOU KNOW, HE MAY OR MAY NOT BE WATCHING, BUT CONGRESSMAN, UH, HENRY KUER CALLS ME EVERY WEEK, RIGHT? TO BREATHE DOWN MY NECK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE POINTS THAT THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA SUBMITTED.
UM, HE IS SO ANNOYING, UH, AND OBNOXIOUS AND INSISTENT, BUT, YOU KNOW, HE'S TAKEN THIS VERY SERIOUSLY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, C W A, IF YOU GUYS ARE WATCHING YOU GUYS, YOU GUYS OWE THAT GUY A FIST BUMP.
'CAUSE HE'S, UM, HE'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, HE'S BEEN VERY, VERY ANXIOUS TO MAKE SURE THAT NONE OF YOUR REQUESTS FALL OFF THE TABLE.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, I'LL, I'LL CALL YOU THE, UM, MARINA DEVITO.
WITHOUT HER, YOU KNOW, AND AND HER ORGANIZATION, WE, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, SHE, YOU KNOW, SHE'S, I'M NOT SURE IF SHE'S IN THE ROOM OR NOT, BUT, UM, SHE DESERVES A, A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FROM ALL OF US, AND I'M, I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF, OF HER HARD WORK AND, AND THE BOARD MEMBERS, UM, WHO, YOU KNOW, MADE, MADE THAT ORGANIZATION WHAT IT IS TODAY TO HELP BLOW WIND IN YOUR SAILS.
SO, I DO HAVE A QUESTION, THOUGH.
UH, AFTER THAT BIG PREAMBLE,
SO OUR, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION TEAM IN THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION IS WORKING VERY CLOSELY, NOT ONLY WITH OUR INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS TO GET THE WORD OUT ON THAT, BUT THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST POINTS OF CONVERSATION WE STARTED DEVELOPING THE CONTRACT WITH AT AND T, IS HOW DO WE NOTIFY RESIDENTS THAT THIS IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN AND THE VALUE OF IT ALL? UM, YOU CAN'T JUST PUT SOMETHING IN FRONT OF A RESIDENT AND EXPECT THEM TO KNOW HOW TO UTILIZE IT OR TO UTILIZE IT AT ALL.
AND I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSES AND THEIR VULNERABILITIES, UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE SAGE, UM, E D D E D D TEAM'S, ABOUT TO GET UP HERE AND SPEAK ON SOMETHING, I BELIEVE THAT'S HIGHLY RELATED TO THIS.
SO I THINK YOU HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION.
NOT TO MENTION, THE CITY'S MADE THE INVESTMENTS WITH OATS AND OASIS IN THESE AREAS AS WELL, TO MAKE SURE WE ARE EDUCATING RESIDENTS, SPECIFICALLY OUR OLDER ADULTS IN THIS NEW REALM OF, OF COORDINATION.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER PALAI.
AND WHILE IT'S FRESH IN OUR MINDS, DEANNE, WOULD YOU STAND UP DEANNE'S HERE WITH US TODAY? THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS PROJECT.
UM, I, I THINK WE WERE TALKING, OR IT WAS BROUGHT UP WHILE AGO ABOUT PUTTING CERTAIN CONDITIONS IN THE CONTRACT OR IN THE NEGOTIATIONS, YOU KNOW, HAVING QUALITY WORK, TRAINED PEOPLE AND THAT KIND OF THING.
I, I, AND I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PUTTING THOSE REQUIREMENTS OR NEGOTIATING THOSE REQUIREMENTS, BUT I, I, AND, BUT I'M, I'M NOT FOR REQUIRING THESE COMPANIES TO USE UNION LABOR.
UM, WE SHOULDN'T BE TELLING THE CONTRACTORS HOW TO PERFORM THESE REQUIREMENTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THEY, IT'S UP TO THEM TO MEET THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CONTRACT, AND WE SHOULDN'T BE TELLING THEM HOW TO DO THAT, UH, WITH WHAT KIND OF LABOR.
SO I'M NOT, I'M NOT FOR REQUIRING THEM TO USE LABOR.
I MEAN, UH, CON UH, UM, UNION LABOR FOR EXECUTING THIS CONTRACT.
THAT'S, THAT'S, I FORGOT THAT'S A POINT THAT I WANTED TO ADDRESS.
UM, AT AND T YOU HERE JD, COME ON UP.
UM, COUNCILMAN PERRY JUST MADE AN IMPORTANT POINT, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S PRUDENT TO FORCE YOU AND DEMAND THAT YOU INCLUDE LABOR, UH, FOR THIS PROJECT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY PARTNERED UP WITH THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA.
SO MAYOR AND COUNCILMAN, UH, I HEARD YOUR MESSAGE TODAY, BUT WE ALREADY HAVE 20 CONTRACTS WITH LABOR.
SO EVEN IF WE, IF C W A WOULDN'T HAVE TEXT YOU OR SENT YOU A MESSAGE, UM, HEMO AND I HAVE A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP.
WE ALREADY HAVE 20 LABOR CONTRACTS THAT AT AND T HAS TO ABIDE TO.
SO NATIONWIDE, ALMOST 50 OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE UNION, UH, EMPLOYEES.
SO, UH, WE HAVE TO COMPLY BY THOSE LABOR CONTRACTS.
YOU GOT NO PROBLEM WITH US SAYING YOU'RE GONNA WORK WITH LABOR.
BY LAW, BY LAW, AND BY CONTRACT, WE HAVE TO.
ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT, THAT'S ALL I WANTED.
AND, AND BY THE WAY, ON THE ACCESS PROGRAM IN NOVEMBER, WE DID A, A DIGITAL, A C P PROGRAM AND, AND MADE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNEW ABOUT THE A PROGRAM.
WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING A DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAM WITH OASIS, LIKE WE HAVE IN THE PAST THE A C P PROGRAM AGAIN.
[01:05:01]
UM, ANYTHING ELSE YOU MAY ADD, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO HELP.WE'RE, WE HAVE MORE THAN 4,000 EMPLOYEES IN, IN SAN ANTONIO, THAT'S MORE THAN C P SS, AND WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND MR. UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, COURAGE, WE ARE GONNA COME SEE YOU AT YOUR HOUSE.
I, I HAVE TO PLAY MORE OFTEN,
UM, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER PAZ.
LEMME JUST WRAP UP WITH A FEW COMMENTS BEFORE, AND I THINK IT'S RELEVANT TO THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT THE, THE, THE EXPECTATIONS WE HAVE WITH, WITH THE WORK BEING DONE.
ERIC, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT MANY TIMES, THESE HEAVY CAPITAL INFUSIONS OF, OF PUBLIC DOLLARS.
THEY'RE NOT JUST ABOUT GETTING PROJECTS DONE, THEY'RE ALSO ABOUT CREATING JOBS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE'RE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT LOCAL EMPLOYEES FROM, UH, COMMUNITIES THAT ARE UNDERSERVED, UH, WITH THE RIGHT CONDITIONS AND PROTECTIONS FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES DOING THE WORK AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF QUALITY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA BE IMPACTED, UH, THERE'S NOBODY IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT WOULDN'T AGREE WITH THAT.
SO WE EXPECT THAT COMING IN, UH, WHEN WE, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ACTUAL CONTRACT NEGOTIATED FOR A VOTE.
I WOULD SAY THOUGH, THAT THAT'S, THAT'S NOT JUST RELEVANT TO THIS CONVERSATION.
IT SHOULD BE RELEVANT TO EVERY SINGLE PROJECT WE'RE DOING FROM HERE ON OUT.
THIS IS WHY WE'VE ASSEMBLED THAT PROCUREMENT ROUND TABLE.
WE'RE NOT JUST TRYING TO GET PROJECTS DONE, WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY JOBS AND CAREERS FOR PEOPLE THAT CAN, UH, SUSTAIN THEM.
AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THIS IS ALSO PUTTING US IN POSITION TO, UH, BRING DOWN THE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT FRANKLY ARE OURS ANYWAYS, THIS IS IN TOTAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE JUSTICE 40 PRIORITIES OF THE PRESIDENT.
SO, UH, I THINK THAT THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE NEED TO BE HAVING ON VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING FROM A CONTRACTING STANDPOINT.
SO I THINK AGAIN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO FOR, FOR PUTTING A POINT ON THIS CONVERSATION GOING FORWARD.
ALRIGHT, ANYTHING FURTHER ON THIS ITEM? WE'LL GO TO ITEM TWO.
ALRIGHT, ERIC, SO ITEM TWO, UH, MAYOR COUNCIL.
UM, JUST TO RECAP AND PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT, UM, THE, UH, IN JUNE OF 2022, THE COUNCIL APPROVED, UH, $30.9 MILLION OF OUR ARPA FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
PHASE ONE, TO REMIND YOU FOCUSED, UM, ON A $17 MILLION COVID IMPACT GRANT PROGRAM THAT RESULTED IN SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS THAT WENT TO 521 SMALL BUSINESSES, 135 OF THOSE, UH, RECEIVED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR BEING INSIDE CONSTRUCTION AREAS.
PHASE TWO, IF YOU'LL RECALL, WAS DEDICATED TO INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND ACCESS TO FUNDING TO GROW THEIR BUSINESSES AND, AND HELP BUILD CAPACITY.
UM, AND SO IT ALSO INCLUDED, UH, SUPPORTING, UM, THE ENTIRE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM, THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, AND THE COUNCIL HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
SO WE WENT THROUGH A COMPETITIVE PROCESS.
TODAY IS THE POST SOLICITATION OF THAT EFFORT.
AND SO WE'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THAT.
UM, WE ARE ANTICIPATING BRINGING THIS ITEM TO COUNCIL FOR YOUR, UH, VOTE, UH, AND APPROVAL ON MARCH 23RD IN TWO WEEKS.
SO ANNA, AT POSTS SOLICITATION BRIEFING TODAY ON THE SOLICITATION THAT WAS ISSUED FOR THOSE ONGOING SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH ARPA.
SO JUST AS AN OVERVIEW, AGAIN, PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY AND THE PLAN GOING FORWARD.
UM, AN OVERVIEW AS WELL AS THAT REQUEST FOR THAT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, AND THEN STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS.
SO AS ERIC MENTIONED, THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT OF OUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WAS DEVELOPED, UM, IN CLOSE CONSULTATION WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION, WAS REALLY TARGETING THAT FIRST PHASE ON ACCESS TO CAPITAL AND THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
BUT AS WE'VE TRANSITIONED TO PHASE TWO OF IT, IT IS ABOUT BUILDING THAT LONG-TERM RESILIENCY.
UM, A LOT OF THESE PROBLEMS EXISTED LONG BEFORE COVID AND COVID REALLY EXACERBATED THEM.
AND SO NOW GOING FORWARD, WE WANNA ADDRESS THAT TO CREATE THE RESILIENCY, UM, AND, AND REALLY BUILD BACK OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
SO YOU'LL SEE THE $5.5 MILLION THAT WAS ALLOCATED FOR WHAT WE'VE CALLED PART A OF PHASE TWO, UM, WHICH I'LL BE DISCUSSING TODAY.
AND THEN GOING FORWARD, WE WILL, WE'LL LOOK TO PHASE, UH, PART B OF PHASE TWO, WHICH IS MORE OF OUR GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING INITIATIVES.
SO TO DIVE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO WHAT WAS INCLUDED IN THIS SOLICITATION.
SO THERE WERE FIVE COMPONENTS ORIGINALLY INCLUDED, UH, WITH THE GROWTH FUND ELEMENT BEING ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THEN THE ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS.
UM, AS YOU'LL RECALL, BACK IN 20, UH, 2021, THE ECOSYSTEM AS ASSESSMENT WAS PRESENTED, THAT STUDY WAS PERFORMED BY NEXT STREET AND COMMON FUTURES AND FUNDED BY JP MORGAN CHASE FOUNDATION.
AND IT PROVIDED A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES WITHIN OUR SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
SO THIS FUNDING WAS ALLOCATED TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES, UH,
[01:10:01]
AS WELL AS BUILDING BACK OFFICE SUPPORT AS WE ROLLED OUT GRANT PROGRAMS, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH THE EARLY PANDEMIC STAGES, WE IDENTIFIED CHALLENGES OUR SMALL BUSINESSES HAD WITH, UM, HAVING THEIR FINANCIALS IN ORDER AND, AND HAVING THOSE RESOURCES.UH, WE KNEW THEY WERE GREAT AT THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDED, BUT THAT BACK OFFICE CERTAINLY CREATED A CHALLENGE.
UM, WE ALSO LEARNED THAT A NUMBER OF BUSINESSES, THEY WERE ABLE TO PIVOT EARLY IN THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE THEY HAD THOSE WEB PRESENCE.
THEY COULD PROVIDE ONLINE ORDERING OR JUST PROVIDE MORE UPDATES ON A WEBSITE.
SO WE WANNA BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT CHALLENGE LONG TERM.
AND THEN UNDERSTANDING THAT BUILDING OUR RESILIENCY ALSO IS HAVING A STRONG BY LOCAL CAMPAIGN FUNDING WAS ALLOCATED FOR, FOR LOCALISM.
UM, THERE WAS A STUDY PERFORMED OF OUR CURRENT, UH, BY LOCAL PROGRAM AND IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO WE WANTED TO ALLOCATE FUNDING TO IMPLEMENT THAT.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE IN THE RECOMMENDED AWARDS, WE ARE RECOMMENDING ALLOCATING ALL OF THE FUNDING WITH THE EXCLUSION OF THE LOCALISM CATEGORY.
SO, UM, WE WILL BE REALLOCATING A PORTION OF THAT TO THE WEB PRESENCE PROGRAM, WHICH I'LL GO INTO DETAIL IN JUST A MOMENT TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SCOPE OF SERVICES, BUT THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR, FOR DEPLOYING THAT ROBUST LOCALISM CAMPAIGN THAT WE KNOW OUR CITY NEEDS SO MUCH.
SO IN TERMS OF THE ALIGNING TO THE, THE COVID IMPACT, AS, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PAN PANDEMIC REALLY ACCELERATED TRENDS WITH, UM, SMALL BUSINESS DIGITAL INCLUSION.
AND, AND BRIAN JUST GAVE AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION ON HOW THEY'RE WORKING ON THE, GETTING THE SERVICE TO THE CUSTOMER, BUT THERE'S ALSO THAT NEED FOR THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE SKILLS, UM, AS WELL AS IN LA CASE, THE TECHNOLOGY TO ACCESS IT.
SO WE WANTED TO HELP DEVELOP A WEB PRESENCE FOR OUR BUSINESSES.
UM, AND THEN WE KNEW ALSO THAT BLACK AND LATINO OWNED BUSINESSES WERE DISPROPORTIONATELY, UM, IMPACTED IN TERMS OF ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
THEY'VE TRADITIONALLY HAD LESS, LESS ACCESS TO CAPITAL, PARTICULARLY AT THAT GROWTH STAGE.
SO WHILE THERE ARE CERTAINLY A, A NUMBER OF MICRO LENDERS AND OPPORTUNITIES AT THE EARLY STAGES, HAVING THE CAPITAL TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE.
AND SO WE WANTED TO INCLUDE THAT AS WELL.
UM, AT THE, AT THE HEART OF OUR ECOSYSTEM ARE THOSE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, AND WE KNEW IN, AND THE ECOSYSTEM REPORT REALLY HIGHLIGHTED HOW THEY WERE UNDER-RESOURCED.
UM, WE ASKED THEM TO DO A LOT, BUT OFTENTIMES THE INVESTMENTS AREN'T MADE TO BUILDING THAT ROBUST ECOSYSTEM.
AND SO WE WANTED TO EXPAND THEIR CAPACITY GOING FORWARD TOO, BECAUSE THEY HAVE REALLY BEEN AT THE HEART OF A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE DONE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I'VE, WE TALKED THROUGH THE COVID IMPACT GRANTS, HOW WE TAPPED INTO THEM TO PROVIDE RE UH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OUTREACH ALSO WITH THE CONSTRUCTION GRANTS.
SO WE KNEW IT WAS NECESSARY TO BUILD OUR CAPACITY GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN AS I HAD MENTIONED, THE BACK OFFICE SUPPORT, BECAUSE YOU CAN PROVIDE A GREAT SERVICE, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE A GREAT BUSINESS OWNER AND KNOW THOSE BACK OFFICE FUNCTIONS AND, AND SUPPORTING THAT GOING FORWARD, UM, WAS A PRIORITY.
SO IN TERMS OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, UM, IT WAS ISSUED IN AUGUST OF LAST YEAR.
AND, AND YOU'LL SEE WE DID THE SCORING AND INTERVIEWS BACK IN DECEMBER.
UM, TODAY I'M PROVIDING THE POST ELICITATION BRIEFING, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO TAKE THOSE TO COUNCIL FOR FULL APPROVAL, UM, LATER THIS MONTH WITH THEN THE CONTRACTS RUNNING THROUGH NOVEMBER OF 2025.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE, UH, EVALUATION COMMITTEE THERE WAS COMPRISED OF CITY STAFF, BUT ALSO REPRESENTATION, UM, FROM OUR INNOVATION OFFICE, UM, AS WELL AS SPAC IN TERMS OF THE DUE DILIGENCE PERFORM IN THE OUTREACH YOU'LL SEE HERE, UM, REALLY A ROBUST NUMBER OF VENDORS IDENTIFIED.
WE HELD THE PRE-SUBMIT CONFERENCE AND ULTIMATELY RECEIVED RESPONSES FROM 10 DIFFERENT VENDORS IN TERMS OF THE SCORING CRITERIA.
IT WAS EVENLY BALANCED BETWEEN EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND, QUALIFICATIONS, AND THEIR PROPOSED PLAN.
WE WANTED TO BRING IN VENDORS WHO HAD EXPERIENCE IN DELIVERING, BUT ALSO THOSE WHO WERE BRINGING INNOVATIVE IDEAS AND BEST PRACTICES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND YOU'LL ALSO SEE THE, UM, S BETA AND VS B POINTS LISTED THERE.
SO IN TERMS OF FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AS AGAIN, I MENTIONED THERE WERE, UH, 10 DIFFERENT VENDORS FOR A TOTAL OF 30 PROPOSALS.
SO SOME VENDORS DID SUBMIT FOR MULTIPLE PROGRAMS AND THEY WERE ALL VAL EVALUATED.
SEPARATELY, WE ARE RECOMMENDING SEVEN PROPOSALS FOR AWARD, TOTALING A LITTLE OVER $5 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, WE DID NOT, UH, THE COMMITTEE DID NOT RECOMMEND, UH, AN A, AN AWARD FOR LOCALISM, AGAIN, WANTING TO HONE IN ON THAT PROGRAM THAT WE KNEW WAS NEEDED AND WAS RECOMMENDED THROUGH THE, UM, THE FINDINGS FROM THE REPORT.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS AWARDS AND AMOUNTS LISTED HERE GOING INTO THOSE WHO WERE SELECTED IN THE AREA OF GROWTH FUND.
WE, UH, RECOMMENDED MAESTRO ENTREPRENEUR CENTER, MAESTRO PROPOSED CREATING A SECOND STAGE BUSINESS COMPANY, UH, SORRY, SECOND STAGE COMPANY PROGRAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EDWARD LOWE FOUNDATION.
SO EDWARD LOWE FOUNDATION IS A, A NOTED LEADER IN THEIR SECOND STAGE PROGRAMMING, UM, AND CAN REALLY HELP THOSE GROWTH ORIENTED COMPANIES WITH THE, THE LEADERSHIP AND THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED.
[01:15:01]
UH, LISC SAN ANTONIO, UM, IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE B D ALLIANCE AND SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF THE ALLIANCE, UM, TO IMPLEMENT A NEW MICRO LOAN PROGRAM.UM, IT IS KNOWN NATIONALLY AND EVEN INTERNATIONALLY, UM, BUT REALLY IS A ENTRY POINT FOR BUSINESSES WITH A LOW CREDIT WORTHINESS BARRIER THAT HELPS PROVIDE MICRO LOANS TO BUSINESSES, UH, BACK OFFICE SUPPORT.
UM, SAN ANTONIO FOR GROWTH ON THE EAST SIDE HAS A NOTED BACK OFFICE SUPPORT PROGRAM, AND THIS WOULD EXPAND THEIR CAPACITY TO DO MORE OUTREACH AND SERVE MORE BUSINESSES WITH THEIR, THEIR PROVEN PROGRAM AS WELL AS LISC BEING AWARDED, UM, TO PROVIDE THAT BACK OFFICE SUPPORT, AGAIN, ACROSS THE B D O ALLIANCE SO THAT THOSE SERVICES WOULD BE AVAILABLE CITYWIDE.
UM, IN THE AREA OF WEB PRESENCE, AGAIN, BRIAN'S TEAM IS WORKING TO GET THE SERVICE TO THE BUSINESS, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO COLLABORATE WITH AEROSPACE DIGITAL CONSULTING TO ACTUALLY HELP THE BUSINESSES BUILD THEIR WEB PRESENCE.
AND SO IT WOULD START WITH AN INDI INDIVIDUALIZED ASSESSMENT THAT BUSINESSES WOULD TAKE, UM, THEN CONSULTATION WITH, WITH THE AEROSPACE TEAM.
AND THEN FOR THOSE BUSINESSES WITH THE GREATEST NEED AND, AND THE LEAST CAPACITY TO DEVELOP WHATEVER THAT RECOMMENDED PRESENT WAS PRESENCE WAS, IS AEROSPACE WOULD WORK WITH THEM DIRECTLY TO DEVELOP THAT WEB PRESENCE.
SO IN, IN THE CASE OF, OF DORA THAT, THAT THE COUNCILMAN TALKED ABOUT, WHICH COUNCILMAN YOU'D BE HAPPY TO KNOW, DORA HAS CASH APP NOW, SO SHE DOES TAKE CREDIT CARDS, BUT, UM, IF SHE DECIDED TO PURSUE A DIFFERENT OPTION THAT THIS WOULD HELP HER DEVELOP THAT WEB PRESENCE FURTHER, UM, IN ECOSYSTEM, WE ARE, ARE LOOKING TO WORK WITH PROSPER WEST.
UM, THEY HAVE PROPOSED WHAT A PROMA TORA STYLE MODEL, VERY GRASSROOTS OUTREACH MODEL FOR, FOR, FOR PROVIDING IT, IT'S PROVEN IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH FIELD.
AND, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO SEE IF THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THAT GRASSROOTS OUT GRASSROOTS OUTREACH FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AS WELL, REALLY BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
A LOT OF WHAT WE HEAR FROM BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, IS THERE COMFORTABLE GOING TO CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS.
SO IF WE CAN GROW THAT OUT, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEPLOY THAT AT A LARGER SCALE? AND THEN A LISC IS, UM, LOOKING TO REALLY DEVELOP OUR BDOS.
AGAIN, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW TO EXPAND THEIR CAPACITY.
AND THIS WOULD HELP FOR DEVELOPING A COMMON INTAKE SYSTEM, BETTER DATA REPORTING, SHARING, AND A TRAINING AND COMMUNITY AWARENESS OF WHAT THE BDOS ARE.
I THINK PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS OF WHAT THEY DO, BUT REALLY CENTRALIZING OF THESE ARE THE PLACES WHERE YOU CAN GO TO AND CEMENTING THAT.
UM, AGAIN, WITH THE LOCALISM CAMPAIGN, WE, WE DID NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH IT AND ARE LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS GOING FORWARD.
SO AGAIN, IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS, THE CONTRACTS WILL BE GOING FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL ON THE 23RD WITH US LOOKING TO JUMP RIGHT INTO IMPLEMENTATION GOING FORWARD WITH, UH, THEM BEING WRAPPED UP IN LATE 2025.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, ANNA.
I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM, UM, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR FIRST, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PALAI, I THINK THEY QUEUED THIS UP IN COMMITTEE TO CREATE THE FRAMEWORK OF THIS.
YEAH, JUST VERY QUICKLY, I, I THINK THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ASKED FOR.
UH, I THINK THAT THE MOVE, UH, THE MOVING OF THE MONEY FROM LOCALISM TO THE WEB PRESENCE IS, IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DID THAT.
MY, MY REQUEST GOING FORWARD IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MOVE FORWARD WITH ALL, UH, THE ZEAL AND VIGOR THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN TO GET TO WHERE WE NEED TO GO, BUT THAT WE INCLUDE AND NOT FORGET ABOUT OUR ASIAN COMMUNITY BUSINESSES.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, HDA, MYSELF AND COUNCILMAN ROCHA GOT TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH THE ASIAN ALLIANCE AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING MORE AND MORE TO THE ASIAN CHAMBER.
AND MANY OF THE BUSINESS PROBLEMS THAT YOU'VE DESCRIBED ARE EXPERIENCED BY, UM, OUR MOM AND POP ASIAN BUSINESSES WHO WOULD BENEFIT GREATLY FROM THIS.
AND, UM, THEY CONTRIBUTE A LOT TO OUR ECONOMY.
AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YES, WE WE'RE FOCUSING ON, YOU KNOW, AMERICAN AND LATINO OWNED BUSINESSES, BUT THAT WE'RE NOT DOING THAT AT THE EXCLUSION OF, OF OUR ASIAN OWNED BUSINESSES.
SO THAT, THAT'S MY ONLY COMMENT.
AND THANK YOU ANNA FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I APPRECIATE THE FOCUS ON THE SECOND STATE COMPANY.
SO I THINK THAT, UM, JANIE, UH, ALWAYS REFERS TO THEM AS A TEENAGE COMPANY.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THEY NEEDED A LOT OF SUPPORT.
UM, I NOTICED THAT A LOT OF THIS ARE, ARE OBVIOUSLY, UH, B D O FOCUSED.
RIGHT? AND SO, UM, DO WE KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO, TO ROLL OUT THESE PROGRAMS? AND I, I, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE DEADLINE IS TO SPEND THE FUNDS.
SO FOR ARPA OVERALL IT'S SPENT BY DECEMBER, 2026.
BUT WITH THIS, WE ARE TARGETING TO SPEND BY NOVEMBER, 2025.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH BDOS ON THE CAPACITY, SO ALL OF THE CONTRACTS ARE STRUCTURED TO BE VERY MILESTONE BASED.
[01:20:01]
THEY DO INCLUDE THEM STAFFING UP IN SOME CASES, UM, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO ASK THEM TO DO MORE WITH LESS.SO THEY, THEY ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND THEIR CAPACITY.
'CAUSE I, I DO SEE, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE I SAW, UM, BUT WE INCLUDE STAFFING RESOURCES, ACTUALLY IT WAS TO LISC, UM, INCREASED STAFFING RESOURCES TO BDOS.
SO IS LISC GIVING BDOS STAFFING RESOURCES FROM THEIR AWARD? YES.
SO THEY, THEY ARE, UM, PROVIDING GRANTS TO THOSE BUS, TO THE BDOS TO STAFF UP AND TO EXPAND CAPACITY.
OKAY, THEN THAT, THAT MAKES ME FEEL JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, WHAT IS HERO SPACE? SO, HERO SPACE AND ACTUALLY THE, THE TEAM FROM HERO SPACE IS HERE TODAY.
THEY ARE A DIGITAL CONSULTING FIRM.
UM, AND SO THEY SUBMITTED AND, AND THEY ARE ALSO A SMALL BUSINESS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY STOOD OUT TO THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE IS JUST THEIR FAMILIARITY WITH BEING A SMALL BUSINESS AND TRYING TO GROW IT GOING FORWARD.
SO WE ARE EXCITED TO WORK WITH THEM.
UM, THEY WILL BE DEVELOPING A TOOL, UM, A WEBSITE THAT, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON YOUR CAPABILITY, EITHER THE BUSINESS OWNER OR A B D O CAN HELP THEM WALK THROUGH THIS DIGITAL ASSESSMENT TO SEE WHAT DO YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW FOR SOME BUSINESSES THEY MAY HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE, UM, SOME MAY HAVE NOTHING, JUST DEPENDING ON THAT.
AND THEN IT WILL DEVELOP A CUSTOM PLAN FOR THEM GOING FORWARD BASED ON THEIR INDUSTRY, UM, BASED ON WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED, WHO THEY SERVE.
AND, AND AGAIN, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, GET A EVEN A MORE IN-DEPTH IN PERSON CONSULTATION, AND THEN, UM, SHOULD THEY REALLY HAVE A GREAT NEED, THEN THE TEAM WOULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO BUILD OUT WHATEVER THAT RECOMMENDATION WAS FOR THEM.
AND, UH, UM, IS HERO SPACE LOCAL, LIKE, OKAY, AND I'M, I'M SORRY I MISSED A E W D C MEETING.
I WAS OUT OF TOWN, SO MY APOLOGIES IF YOU ALL WERE THERE AND PRESENTED.
UM, DID, DID SOUTHSIDE FIRST APPLY FOR ANY FUNDING? SO SOUTHSIDE FIRST, ALONG WITH CULTURE,
AND SO WHERE YOU SEE LISC, THE B D O ALLIANCE IS, IS UNDERNEATH THAT.
SO THAT GOES BACK TO MY, MY OTHER QUESTION.
ONE, I HAVE NO OTHER QUESTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR, UM, GETTING THIS DONE.
IT, IT SEEMS LIKE IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO GET OUT OF COMMITTEE, BUT HERE WE ARE TODAY.
SO THE ONE QUESTION I HAVE, AND I YOU GUYS ARE GONNA BE FAMILIAR WITH IT, IS THOSE THAT DIDN'T GET THE ARPA GRANTS, KIND OF LIKE MY COVAL ASSISTED LIVING CENTER ON THE SOUTH SIDE, THIS, THESE ARE THE BUSINESSES THAT THE BDOS ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO HELP, CORRECT? YES.
SO, AND THAT'S WHY I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT BECAUSE, AND I KNOW PROBABLY SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD THOSE STORIES ABOUT YOUR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT APPLIED FOR THE GRANT AND THEY DIDN'T LOSE ENOUGH MONEY, AND IT, IT JUST, IT'S, IT'S HEARTBREAKING TO HEAR THAT, BUT NOW WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THEIR RESOURCES AND FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP THEM THROUGH THIS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE TOOK THE TIME TO DO THIS.
SO I'M REALLY, UH, HOPING THAT OUR BDOS, UM, AND SAGE AND, AND PROSPER WEST, WHO GOT SPECIFIC DOLLARS, CAN LOOK AT THOSE, THOSE PEOPLE DID THAT DID NOT GET THE ARPA DOLLARS AND REACH OUT TO THEM FIRST TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, UM, GETTING THE HELP THAT THEY NEED AND THEY'RE UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEIR WEB PRESENCE IS TOO.
UM, EVERY TIME I, I BRING UP A BUSINESS, THEY GO ONLINE TO SEE WHAT THEIR WEB PRESENCE IS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, THE, THE COVAL ASSISTED LIVING CENTER, THEY HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE THAT'S PROBABLY LIKE, HASN'T BEEN TOUCHED IN A WHILE.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK THAT WE, WE KIND OF NEED, WE NEED TO HELP THEM, UH, AS, AS THEY GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYTHING IS GETTING, IS MOVING ONLINE AND MOVING DIGITALLY.
SO I'M, I'M APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.
I'M, I'M EXCITED THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
I THINK, UM, WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT, AT, AT OUR COMMITTEE AND, UH, E D D NEEDS TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE, WE MOVE THIS IN AS WE LOOK AT BUDGET ITEMS AND AS WE LOOK AT HOW WE SUSTAIN OUR SMALL BUSINESSES MOVING FORWARD PAST THE ARPA DOLLARS.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK.
UH, I'M, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MILESTONES, HEARING MORE ABOUT THE MILESTONES THAT WE HAVE FOR, FOR THE ORGANIZATIONS AS THEY MOVE FORWARD.
ALRIGHT, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS HERE.
HOW MUCH TOTAL FUNDING DID WE SET ASIDE ON ALL OF ARPA DOLLARS FOR, BECAUSE I KNOW WE MOVED SOME TO BUSINESS SUPPORT ALSO DURING THAT, DURING THAT TIME, HOW MUCH TOTAL DOLLARS, BECAUSE THIS IS REFLECTING 17, FIVE AND A HALF AND FIVE AND A HALF, BUT, UH, WASN'T IT OVER $50 MILLION THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT?
[01:25:01]
SO THAT WOULD BE THROUGH THE, THE LIFE OF, OF CARES GOING BACKWARDS TO THAT.SO SPECIFIC TO THE SMALL, THE
AND THEN, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION GRANTS, THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF 1.49 MILLION WAS ADDED AT GOVERNANCE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
UM, BECAUSE I, I REMEMBER WE, WE SENT OUT, UM, WE SET ASIDE, I, I FORGET WHAT IT'S BEEN THAT LONG AGO FOR AN AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR BUSINESSES TO APPLY FOR GRANTS, AND WE GOT BACK X NUMBER OF REQUESTS THAT FAR EXCEEDED WHAT WE HAD AVAILABLE.
DO YOU RECALL WHAT THOSE NUMBERS WERE? I BELIEVE THOSE WERE THE ORIGINAL GRANTS, AND I DON'T RECALL THE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT IT, IT DID FAR EXCEED, AND THEN EVEN WITH THE MOST RECENT PROGRAM, IT DID EXCEED SLIGHTLY.
UM, SO, BUT WE CAN GET, DEFINITELY GET YOU THOSE NUMBERS.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY HERE AND, AND, UH, UM, I, I WAS ALWAYS PUSHING TO GET MORE MONEY INTO THE BUSINESS SUPPORT SIDE OF THE HOUSE BECAUSE THAT'S WHO WAS HURTING AT THE TIME.
I'M NOT SURE WELL, WHAT THE, HOW MANY BUSINESSES OUT THERE ARE STILL BEING IMPACTED BY COVID TODAY, UH, VERSUS WHAT HAPPENED TWO YEARS AGO AND EVEN A YEAR AGO.
UM, SO I, I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS AGAIN AND HOW MUCH TOTAL MONEY, EVEN WITH THE CARESS ACT MONEY THAT WE DISTRIBUTED TWO BUSINESSES HERE IN TOWN, BECAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS NOT A FULL PICTURE OF WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE.
THIS IS ONLY A PARTIAL, UH, UH, UH, TOTAL OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE, AND I THINK WE NEED TO SHOW HOW MUCH WE ACTUALLY PUT OUT TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, UH, OVER, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, UH, ON ALL THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, WHICH IS JUST A PART PORTION OF IT.
SO THIS, THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF SUPPORT TO SMALL BUSINESSES THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT.
IT WILL GO INTO THE FUTURE THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET FURTHER AND FURTHER ALONG, THERE'S FEWER AND FEWER IMPACTS OF C O V I D.
UM, AND WHAT THE ARPA MONEY WAS REALLY ADDRESSED FOR WAS, UH, UH, RELIEF FROM THE PANDEMIC.
SO I, I'M RAMBLING HERE A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UH, I, I WANNA SEE THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT WE'VE GIVEN TWO SMALL BUSINESSES OVER TIME AND WHAT PORTION THIS IS OF THAT, AND HOW THIS IS GONNA BE USED IN THE FUTURE AND WHAT OTHER RESOURCES OUT THERE ARE AVAILABLE.
LET'S SAY IF SOMEBODY COMES IN SAYING, HEY, I NEED SOME HELP HERE.
WHAT IS A RETURN ON THAT? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT OTHER FINANCIAL RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE OUT THERE FOR THEM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS TIME GOES ON, THIS MONEY IS GONNA GET HARDER AND HARDER TO COME BY.
UM, SO YEAH, IF YOU COULD GATHER THAT TOGETHER, I'D REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
AND, AND TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT WHENEVER Y'ALL BRING THAT BACK, THIS BACK TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL TO SHOW THE ENTIRE PROGRAM IN THE DIFFERENT SEGMENTS AND FUNDING STREAMS THAT WE'VE, UH, OFFERED TO OUR BUSINESSES HERE LOCALLY.
AND THANK YOU ANNA, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, AND TO THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE WHO HELPED, UM, SHAPE THIS.
NOT THE SM NOT, IT WASN'T THE SS A, RIGHT? IT WAS THE YES.
SO, UM, I'M PLEASED TO HEAR THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE MILESTONES, RIGHT, FOR ACCOUNTABILITY PURPOSES, BECAUSE THAT IS ONE CONCERN THAT I HAVE, RIGHT? ENSURING THAT THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE SELECTED HAVE THE CAPACITY TO EXECUTE THE EXPECTATIONS THAT WE'VE LAID OUT.
UM, AND I WANNA ENSURE THAT, UM, SMALL BUSINESSES ARE BEING CONNECTED TO RESOURCES.
SO WITHIN THE MILESTONES, I WOULD LIKE TO BE BRIEFED ON WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE, BECAUSE EXPECTATIONS THAT I HAVE AND MY SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE IS THAT, UM, ONE, HOW MANY BUSINESSES ARE BEING CONTACTED AND HOW MANY BUSINESSES ARE BEING CONNECTED TO, UH, DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, LOOKING AT PROSPER WEST, IF MY OFFICE CONNECTS SOMEONE TO PROSPER WEST, IS PROPER WEST GOING TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN-HOUSE OR IS THAT CASE GOING TO BE DELEGATED TO ANOTHER AGENCY? AND IF SO, WHO IS THAT AGENCY? SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE EFFECTIVE, RIGHT? UM, ESSENTIALLY JUST GOING STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE AND CUTTING OUT THAT MIDDLEMAN, I THINK WOULD, UH, BE EFFECTIVE.
UH, SO I, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, MILESTONES.
AND I WOULD LIKE A, A REPORT IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, UM, MONTHLY, UM, TO SEE WHAT KIND OF OUTREACH IS BEING CONDUCTED WITH THE PROMOT, UM, AND WHAT, UH, FOLLOW UP SERVICES ARE BEING PROVIDED TO OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND I THINK THAT'D BE, UH, EFFECTIVE AS
[01:30:01]
WE ENTER BUDGET CONVERSATIONS AS WELL, UM, ABOUT SCALING UP, UH, IF NEEDED.ANYBODY ELSE ON THIS ITEM? UM, I'LL JUST, UH, PIGGYBACK ON COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY'S POINTS.
I THINK, UH, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US JUST AS A COMMUNITY TO, TO SEE EVERYTHING OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND THE MULTIPLE BACK TO ARPA, UH, TO OUR GENERAL FUND IN TERMS OF THE SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF GRANTS THAT WE'VE GIVEN, AS WELL AS, UH, SOME OF THESE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS THAT, I MEAN, RELATIVE TO OUR PEERS, I THINK SAN ANTONIO, THIS COUNCIL, UH, THE STAFF, THE COMMUNITY WORKING TOGETHER, SBA C HAVE SHAPED SOME MODEL PROGRAMS THAT, THAT I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO TELL OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT.
UM, AND THIS IS ONE GREAT EXAMPLE OF IT.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AYAS, UM, ROCHE GARCIA, SEVERAL OTHERS, UM, MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, WE HAD TOWN HALLS IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COMMUNITY LEADING UP TO THIS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS THAT WHAT SO MANY OF OUR BUSINESSES THAT FALL BELOW SORT OF THE, UH, VENDOR LIST AREN'T AWARE OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE FOR CAPACITY BUILDING, AREN'T AWARE OF CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES, UH, JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT OF ASSISTANCE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, WHAT HAVE YOU TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE.
AND THAT'S WHAT, UH, ULTIMATELY WILL ENABLE SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES TO GROW AND TO SUSTAIN, SUSTAIN THEMSELVES THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES.
AND THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT I THINK IS, IS GONNA BE DIRECTLY IMPACTING THAT ABILITY IN A POSITIVE WAY, HELP THEM TO BUILD CAPACITY.
UH, AND I, AND FRANKLY, I DON'T, I HAVE NOT SEEN ANOTHER COMMUNITY PUT IT TOGETHER LIKE THIS IN THE WAY THAT WE HAVE.
AND, AND WHEN IT COMES TO RETURN ON INVESTMENT, TOMORROW IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT.
THIS IS GONNA BE ONE OF THE EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS IN TERMS OF THE FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP AT THE LOCAL LEVEL WITH SMALL BUSINESS.
SO CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY WHO, WHO PUT THIS TOGETHER, LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING IT, EX FORWARD TO SEEING IT EXECUTED.
UH, WITH THAT, THERE'S NO OTHER ITEMS. WE DON'T HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY.
UH, WE DO HAVE A 5:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
SO THE TIME IS 3:32 PM ON MARCH 8TH, 2023.