* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:37] GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. WOULD YOU PLEASE BE SEATED? THANK YOU. WELCOME TO THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 31ST, 2019. COUNCIL MEMBER AT RAVINO, COUNCIL MEMBER HALL, COUNCIL MEMBER BERAN. COUNCIL MEMBER SALANA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER BROCK HOUSE PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. COUNCIL MEMBER LIAS. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY HERE. AND MAYOR NURENBERG HERE. MAYOR, WE DO HAVE A GOOD MORNING. WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR CITY COUNCIL, A SESSION AGENDA. WE HAVE MANY GUESTS IN THE GALLERY TODAY, SO THANK YOU VERY FOR YOUR PATIENCE. THE TIME IS 9:18 AM WE WILL BEGIN THE MORNING WITH AN INVOCATION, UH, GUEST OF COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. GOOD MORNING. UM, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME FATHER ALEJANDRO DELBOSQUE FROM THE ST. LUKE'S PARISH. YES, IF YOU'D LIKE TO, TO COME ON UP. FATHER ALEJANDRO DEL BOSQUE WAS BORN IN ELA, WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL CITY ON THE WAY DOWN TO MEXICO CITY, IF YOU'RE DRIVING, DRIVING DOWN. AND HE WAS ORDAINED A PRIEST IN ROME IN 1987 AND DID HIS PRIESTLY MINISTRY IN MEXICO UNTIL 2003. IN 2004, HE MADE HIS WAY TO SAN ANTONIO AND BEGAN SERVING AS A PRIEST TO THE ARCHDIOCESE. THROUGHOUT HIS TIME HERE IN SOUTH TEXAS, HE SERVED IN GONZALEZ, TEXAS, DIVINE CONVERSE, AND OF COURSE, HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. TODAY, HE'S THE PAROCHIAL VICAR AT ST. LUKE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. AND DISTRICT SEVEN. ANOTHER, ANOTHER INTERESTING FACT ABOUT DR. DR I'M SORRY, FATHER SKE, IS THAT, UH, JUST LAST YEAR HE HAD THE RECENT HONOR OF BECOMING A NATURALIZED US CITIZEN. SO I THINK, UM, YES, WHICH MEANS IN MAY WILL BE YOUR FIRST, UH, ELECTION HERE IN, IN SAN ANTONIO, AND WE KNOW SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE. UM, SO FATHER QUE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU, MAYOR NUREMBERG. COUNCILWOMAN VAL, ALL OTHER CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE PRESENT HERE TO TODAY AND TO OFFER THIS INVOCATION PRAYER. AND AS A NEW AMERICAN CITIZEN, AS YOU MENTIONED COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, IT IS A TRUE HONOR TO BE HERE AND TO SEE OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN ACTION. NOW, I INVITE YOU TO PRAY HEAVENLY FATHER, MERCYFUL AND POWERFUL TOWARDS ALL YOUR CHILDREN AND CREATURES OF THIS EARTH. ALL WISDOM AND JUSTICE DERIVES FROM YOUR ETERNAL WISDOM. WE HAVE THE PRIVILEGE AND GRACE OF LIVING IN A NATION UNDER GOD. AND AS A CONSEQUENCE, WE PLACE ALL OUR STATES, COUNTIES, AND CITIES UNDER YOUR PROTECTION AND GUIDANCE. WE IMPLORE YOU TO SEND TODAY AND ALL OTHER DAYS AHEAD, YOUR SPIRIT UPON US TO ASSIST THE CITY COUNCIL OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. PROVIDE THEM WITH YOUR DIVINE WISDOM TO MAKE JUST DECISIONS FOR THE COMMON GOOD. GRANT THEM NOT ONLY THE WISDOM, BUT ALSO THE STRENGTH. ENCOURAGE TO ENACT LAWS AND REGULATIONS THAT FOSTER AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE EVERY CITIZEN CAN FLOURISH SPIRITUALLY, SOCIALLY, AND PHYSICALLY. AS YOUR BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS. [00:05:02] GIVE THESE OUR CIVIL LEADERS DEGRACE TO ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCIFULLY, AND WALK HUMBLY BEFORE YOU AS YOUR BELOVED SON, JESUS, OUR SAVIOR AND REDEEMER TOLD TO THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES OF HIS TIME THAT WE WOULD HAVE NO AUTHORITY UNLESS IT HAS BEEN GIVEN US FROM AVO. MAKE US MORE AWARE OF THIS FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH TO SERVE OUR CITIZENS EVERMORE, DILIGENTLY, UNRESERVEDLY, AND SELFLESSLY AS THE SON OF MAN WHO DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE OTHERS. AND WE ASK THIS IN THE NAME OF JESUS, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND RAINS FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN. AND NOW I INVITE YOU TO PRAY TOGETHER THE PRAYER, LORD JESUS CHRIST, STATUS, OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALL, BE THY NAME. DIE, KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH. TH IT IS IN HEAVEN. GIVE US THIS DAY YOUR DAILY BREAD AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL THANK YOU OF THE UNITED STATES, EVERYBODY, AND TO THE REPUBLIC HANDS, ONE NATION IN WITH LIBERTY, JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. FATHER. WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR TRANSLATION SERVICES. OKAY, UH, OUR FIRST ITEM ON, UH, THE AGENDA FOR BUSINESS TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 12TH, 13TH, AND 17TH. SO MOVED. SECOND. THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM THE MEETINGS OF DECEMBER 12TH, 13 AND 17. PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT JUST TO RECOGNIZE SOMEONE VERY SPECIAL TO OUR COMMUNITY AND TO OUR NATION HERE IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY WITH US. AND THAT IS GENERAL QUA WHO ASSUMED COMMAND OF THE AIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING COMMAND JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO RANDOLPH IN NOVEMBER OF 2017, A SON OF MISSIONARIES. HE SPENT THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF HIS LIFE IN CAMEROON, WEST AFRICA, RETURNING TO THE UNITED STATES AS A RESULT OF UPHEAVAL IN AFRICA. HE PURCHASED HIS DREAM. HE PURSUED HIS DREAMS OF FLYING AND ATTENDED THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY, WHERE HE GRADUATED WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ASTRONOMICAL ENGINEERING. HE ALSO HOLDS A MASTER'S DEGREE IN PUBLIC POLICY FROM HARVARD UNIVERSITY AND HAS COMPLETED A NATIONAL DEFENSE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF CONFLICT, IDEOLOGY AND POLICY AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY. HE'S COMMANDED AT THE SQUADRON GROUP IN WING LEVELS, INCLUDING THE 47TH OPERATIONS GROUP AT LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE AND THE FOURTH FIGHTER WING AT SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, NORTH CAROLINA. OTHER ASSIGNMENTS INCLUDE MILITARY AID TO THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES COMMANDER 455TH AIR, EXPEDITIONARY WING, BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR POLITICO MILIT MIL POLITICAL MILITARY AFFAIRS IN EUROPE, NATO AND RUSSIA, AND THE JOINT STAFF AT THE PENTAGON. BEFORE ASSUMING COMMAND AT RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, HE WAS THE COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT AIR UNIVERSITY MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA. THE GENERAL HAS MORE THAN 3,300 FLYING HOURS, INCLUDING 650 COMBAT HOURS DURING OPERATIONS, DESERT STORM, SOUTHERN WATCH, ALLIED FORCE, AND ENDURING FREEDOM IN HIS CURRENT DUTIES. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RECRUITING, TRAINING, AND EDUCATION OF ALL AIR FORCE PERSONNEL WORLDWIDE, GENERAL QUAS SERVICE. THE NATION HAS SEEN HIM ON DUTY IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS AROUND THE UNITED STATES, THE MIDDLE, THE MIDDLE EAST EUROPE, EASTERN EUROPE, AND ASIA GENERAL. QUASS HAS BEEN A GREAT SUPPORTER OF OUR COMMUNITY IN THE TIME THAT HE'S BEEN HERE THROUGH VARIOUS ACTIVITIES TO INCLUDE PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR CYBER IT AND OTHER INITIATIVES, WHICH WILL TAKE OUR CITY INTO THE NEXT CENTURY. GENERAL, ON BEHALF [00:10:01] OF THIS ENTIRE CITY, WE ARE SO GLAD THAT YOU'VE FINALLY COME HOME. WELL, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND, UH, LEADERS. THANK YOU. UH, YOU KNOW HOW THOSE BIOS READ, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T BELIEVE A WORD OF 'EM, . AND I ALSO FOR, UH, UH, NEED TO BE FORGIVEN TO HAVE MY BACK TO YOU OR TO YOU. SO, UH, FORGIVE ME FOR HAVING MY BACK TO SOMEBODY HERE IN THIS AUDIENCE, BUT I ALSO WANT TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR LEADERSHIP AS A TEAM. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON. THE MILITARY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF OUR COMMUNITIES. WE'RE HERE TO PROTECT. WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE THOSE THINGS THAT, UH, GOVERNMENT SHOULD PROVIDE NO MATTER WHAT LEVEL THAT GOVERNMENT IS AT. SO I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING US TO HELP YOU, BECAUSE THE INTENTION HERE IS THAT IF WE CAN BUILD A PATTERN OF RELATIONSHIP WHERE WE COMMUNICATE MORE OFTEN, AND THAT WE BUILD RELATIONSHIPS OF TRUST WITH EACH OTHER, THAT THIS POWERFUL, UNIQUE GIFT THAT SAN ANTONIO HAS, WHERE YOU HAVE MORE MILITARY PRESENCE THAN ANY OTHER CITY ON PLANET EARTH, THAT THAT CAN BE OPTIMIZED INTO SOMETHING THAT REALLY PROPELS FORWARD. YOUR VISION FOR THIS CITY, NESTED WITH THIS STATE AND THIS COUNTRY, AND ALL OF THE MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS CITY BENEFIT FROM THAT SAME VISION. SO FOR ALL OF YOU HERE, I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU, I'VE SEEN A LOT OF LEADERS AND A LOT OF TEAMS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY, BUT YOU ALL HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS VERY SPECIAL. AND SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO SEE WHEN YOU'RE SO CLOSE TO IT BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO DEAL WITH ALL THE COMPETING AGENDAS OF A COMMUNITY. BUT YOU HAVE A LEADERSHIP TEAM HERE IN SAN ANTONIO THAT IS BLESSED WITH THE FACT THAT THERE'S RESPECT THAT THERE MAY BE A LOT OF DIFFERENT AGENDAS AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT IDEAS ABOUT HOW YOU MOVE FORWARD. BUT THERE IS A UNIQUE SENSE OF RESPECT HERE WHERE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO TALK TO ONE ANOTHER. AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INNOVATING IN THE FUTURE, I JUST WANT TO COMPLIMENT YOU THAT THE SEED TO INNOVATION IS THE DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT. IT IS THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO SPEAK THEIR MIND WITHOUT BEING SHOUTED DOWN AND WITHOUT BEING TURNED OUT. AND SO WHAT I SEE IS I SEE THIS UNIQUE GIFT WHERE THE COLOR, THE DIVERSITY, AND THE BEAUTY OF SAN ANTONIO IS YOUR MAGIC KEY TO INNOVATING INTO THE FUTURE. THIS CITY, AND I'VE TOLD THE MAYOR THIS MANY TIMES, I BELIEVE THIS CITY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GUIDE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY INTO THE 21ST CENTURY, AS YOU SHOW HOW YOU MAKE INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT PROTECT PEOPLE'S ENERGY, THEIR INFORMATION, THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THEIR FREEDOMS. SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BE A PART OF THAT JOURNEY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISION, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS PATTERN OF COMMUNICATING AND BUILDING TRUST AS WE MOVE FORWARD. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU, GENERAL. AND I, I THINK EVERYONE WHO HAS GOTTEN A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH YOU AND, AND MEET WITH YOU QUICKLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT A TRUE FORCE OF NATURE YOU'VE BECOME AND, AND WHAT A LOAD STAR YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. YOU HAVE MY, UH, UTMOST RESPECT, UH, AND FRIENDSHIP, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE YEARS AHEAD AND ALL THE WORK THAT WE WILL BE DOING TOGETHER. UM, I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S GOTTEN A CHANCE TO, TO, TO WORK CLOSELY WITH YOU. AND I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE OUR COLLEAGUE, COUNCILMAN PERRY. THANK YOU, SIR. AND WHAT GREAT WORDS, I MEAN, THAT'S THE REASON YOU'RE A THREE STAR GENERAL. THAT IS, THAT WAS AWESOME. BUT I JUST WANNA SAY WELCOME AGAIN, SAN ANTONIO. I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN HERE A WHILE, AND IT, IT, IT'S GREAT TO SEE UNIFORMS OUT HERE IN THIS AUDIENCE TO PARTICIPATE AND BE A PART OF THE CITY, AT THE GOVERNMENT LEVEL, JUST AS YOU WERE SAYING. SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR REACHING OUT AND CONTINUING AND WORKING THAT DIALOGUE BETWEEN US AND YOURSELF AND THE MILITARY HERE IN TOWN. I LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THAT, UH, MORE HERE IN THE FUTURE. WE HAVE A, UH, IMPORTANT TRIP COMING UP THIS NEXT WEEK TO DC OUR SA DELEGATION, AND I THINK, UH, THE MAYOR. AND I'LL BE SPENDING A GOOD PART OF THAT TIME IN THE PENTAGON TALKING WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES UP THERE. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT AND CONTINUING TO GROW THAT, UH, UH, MILITARY COMMUNITY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AND, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MILITARY AND THE CITY AS WELL. SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SIR. AND GO [00:15:01] AIR FORCE. THANK YOU COUNCILMAN PERRY, AND OUR BEST TO YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY GENERAL. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A, UH, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT AGENDA THIS MORNING. UM, ALTHOUGH MOST OF OUR ITEMS ARE FOR, UH, CONSENT, UH, WE DO HAVE ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE THAT WILL BE HEARD INDIVIDUALLY. I KNOW THERE ARE, UH, COLLEAGUES THAT WANNA MAKE SOME COMMENTS ON ITEMS THAT I ANTICIPATE WILL REMAIN ON CONSENT, BUT AT THIS POINT, I'D LIKE TO ASK MY COLLEAGUES IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER ITEMS THEY WOULD LIKE TO PULL FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION, UH, BESIDES FOUR AND FIVE, EXCUSE ITEM Z ONE. ANY OTHERS? HEARING NONE. I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION TO APPROVE MOTION. THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. UH, FOR THOSE, UH, OF YOU THAT DO WANNA MAKE COMMENTS ON CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND TAP IN. NOW AS WE BEGIN TO RECOGNIZE CITIZENS WHO HAVE COMMENTS ON THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT, I'LL TAKE, UH, CITIZENS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK FOR CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS. NOW WE'LL START WITH BRIAN TICKLE, FOLLOWED BY JOHN TABATA. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. COUNCIL MEMBERS, BRIAN TICKLE ACCESS FUND, UH, REGISTERING IN SUPPORT OF ITEM EIGHT SOTO CREEK GREENWAY FUNDING. UM, AND I'M REALLY HAPPY TODAY TO, UH, TO SUPPORT THAT FUNDING, UH, FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS. NUMBER ONE, UH, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED IN THE NEWS A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO THAT, UH, MY ORGANIZATION, THE ACCESS FUND, HELPED FACILITATE THE TRANSFER OF A PIECE OF PROPERTY ALONG THE SOTO CREEK GREENWAY, UM, TO A LOCAL CLIMBING ORGANIZATION. AND WE ARE HOPING TO OPEN THAT PROPERTY, UH, TO THE PUBLIC ONCE THE, ONCE THE SOTO CREEK GREENWAY TRAIL IS FINISHED. SO, UH, WE'RE REALLY EAGER TO SEE THAT HAPPEN. AND, UM, WE'RE ALSO REALLY HAPPY TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY AND AND FEEL THAT THE MEDICINE WALL, WHICH IS WHAT IT'S CALLED, IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY ADDS VALUE TO THE CITY. AND I, I JUST THINK THEOH CREEK GREENWAY'S A A FANTASTIC THING AND VITAL FOR, UH, NOT ONLY THE OUTDOOR RECREATION ECONOMY IN TEXAS AND IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, BUT ALSO FOR THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF, OF, UH, THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO, WHICH AS EVERYONE KNOWS, IS THE FASTEST GROWING CITY IN THE US. SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. MAY I ADDRESS? THANK YOU, MR. TICKLE. UM, WE'LL HAVE COUNCIL COMMENT AFTER ALL OF THE CITIZENS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. JOHN JOHN TABATA. GOOD MORNING, MR. MAYOR AND COUNCILWOMAN COUNCILMAN. UH, I'M JOHN ADA. I'M A PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEY, AND HAVE BEEN OFF SEEN, UH, OUT OF AN OFFICE IN GOVERNMENT HILL, WHICH IS THE CORNER OF EQUIPMENT IN NORTH NEW BRAUNFELS AVENUE SINCE 2001. SO BEFORE PEARL WAS EVEN PURCHASED BEFORE PEARL DEVELOPMENT, UM, OUR FAMILY HAS HAD THAT BUILDING FOR THAT, FOR THAT AMOUNT OF TIME. WE, UH, RECEIVED NOTICE ABOUT CLOSURE OF ROGERS AVENUE. IN REGARDS BETWEEN CARSON EQUIPMENT AVENUE, UH, EQUIPMENT AVENUE IS A ONE WAY. SO TO LEAVE OUR OFFICE, WE ACTUALLY GO DOWN QUI EQUIPMENT, TURN LEFT ON ROGERS TO ACCESS I 35. UH, THE CLOSURE OF ROGERS WOULD BE AN INCONVENIENCE TO OUR, OUR FAMILY, OUR, OUR OFFICE PEOPLE THAT ACCESS OUR OFFICE. SO WE, WE WERE INITIALLY OPPOSED TO IT. UM, AFTER I SUBMITTED THE OPPOSITION, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM, UH, MR. JOHN FIKE JR. AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN IN THIS DISCUSSIONS OF FINDING SOME WAY TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP THE PROPERTY THEY OWN ON BOTH SIDES OF ROGERS INTEL, INTELLIGENTLY BEING SOME SORT OF ACCESS BETWEEN EQUIPMENT AND CARSON. WE'RE NOT OPPOSED TO DEVELOPMENT. I THINK THEY'VE DONE GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, UH, REPURPOSING OF OLD BUILDINGS IN THAT COMMUNITY, IN, IN BETWEEN THE EQUIPMENT AND, UM, EXCUSE ME, EQUIPMENT IN NORTHVIEW BRAUNFELS. BUT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER. WE'VE MET A COUPLE OF TIMES. WE MET, UH, TWO WEEKS AGO, AND HE'S ACTUALLY IN TALKS WITH THEIR DESIGNERS TO SEE WHAT, IF ANY ACCESS WE CAN PROVIDE BETWEEN EQUIPMENT AND CARSON PLUS POTENTIALLY MAYBE A ONE-WAY ACCESS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS ROGERS TO I 35. UM, I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, UH, MY OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER SPOKEN FOR CITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. TEBODA. JACK FINGER, OH, MAYOR NURENBERG AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR ILLUSTRIOUS SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL. FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS JACK M FINGER. WELL, I, WITH ALL THE, UH, CONGENIALITY AND COMEDY OVER HERE, I HATE TO BE THE [00:20:01] ONE THAT THROWS A LITTLE BIT OF COLD WATER, BUT WHAT THE HECK, WHY NOT? I MIGHT AS WELL, THIS PORTION OF THE AGENDA I WISH TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION. A FEW THINGS. UH, ITEM 17, 18 AND 19, BASICALLY SOME WHAT I CALL CORPORATE WELFARE GIVEAWAYS. YEAH. UH, YOU'RE INVITING THE L G S INNOVATIONS CORPORATION TO COME BY. YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE 'EM A GRANT, YOU KNOW, JUST OUTRIGHT GRANTS APPARENTLY, OF $180,000. AND THAT'S OUR TAX DOLLARS. THEY'RE GOING TO SUPPOSEDLY CREATE ABOUT, UH, 42 OR SO JOBS HERE. I DID A FEW, UH, CALCULATIONS. THAT'S ABOUT 2,500 BUCKS A JOB. NOW, YOU KNOW, I CAN UNDERSTAND IF THEY WERE GOING TO SETTLE IN ON THE POOR AREAS OF TOWN, WEST SIDE, EAST SIDE, SOUTH SIDE. BUT, UH, THIS IS OVER ON BO VERDE ROAD, WAY UP IN THE NORTH SIDE THERE. AND I'M SORRY, I, UM, NO, NO, I TAKE IT BACK. THAT'S THE OTHER ONE, THE VOLUME. THIS ONE IS OVER AT PORT SAN ANTONIO. BUT STILL, BUT THE VERY FACT THAT WE'RE GIVING HIM $180,000, I'M SORRY, ITEM 18, THAT'S IS PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT. AND THEY ARE THE ONES SETTLING WAY UP ON BULL VERDE ROAD. YEAH. AND YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE 'EM, WHAT IS IT? UH, 221,000 JUST DOLLARS JUST OUTRIGHT IN A GRANT. YOU'RE GONNA GIVE 'EM A 60% TAX REBATE AGREEMENT. THAT'S ABOUT, UH, THEY SAID ABOUT, THAT'S OVER HALF A MILLION DOLLARS. THAT'S WHAT THE BACKUP DOC DOCUMENTS TELL US FOR, YEAH. 571 JOBS. IT'D BE DIFFERENT. LIKE I SAY, IF THEY, UH, THEY WERE HARD PRESSED AND THEY WERE REALLY GOING TO HELP OUT THE POOR, THE POOR PEOPLE HERE IN TOWN. BUT THEY AREN'T THEY, I'M SORRY. I DON'T THINK EVERY, ANY ONE OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES CAN GET SUCH BENEFITS, LIKE THESE GUYS CAN EVEN ON A PRORATED BASIS. NO, YOU, YOU HAVEN'T, YOU HAVEN'T DONE THAT. JUST FOR A FEW, UH, SPECIAL INTERESTS HERE. ITEM 19, WELFARE HOUSING. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I CALL IT. UM, YOU CALL IT, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT THAT'S WHAT IT BASICALLY IS BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT THE DOCUMENTS AND IT TELLS US IT'S FOR THE PEOPLE WITH 60% BELOW THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME. YEAH. MR. HALL IS IN YOUR AREA. DOES DISTRICT TWO REALLY NEED ANY MORE WELFARE HOUSING? I DON'T THINK SO. MAYBE SOMEBODY COULD START A REVOLUTION AND SAY NO TO THIS STUFF. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MR. FINGER ROSE HILL. GOOD MORNING, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL AND COUNCILMAN HALL. UH, MY NAME IS ROSE HILL, PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT, HILL NEIGHBOR ASSOCIATION. I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 11. UH, THE GOVERNMENT HILL ASSOCIATION IS IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT OF CLOSING, UH, THE SMALL STREET THAT'S IN ROGERS, UH, FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS. WE HAD SEVERAL COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND, UH, SEVERAL, A LOT OF INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY. UH, WE DID FEEL THAT, UH, WORKING WITH, UM, MR. FIKE, UH, HE'S BEEN WORKING WITH US OVER THE SEVERAL, SEVERAL, UH, MONTHS. AND, UH, HE'S DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK IN OUR COMMUNITY. HE'S SHOWN, UH, THAT REACHING ACROSS THE TABLE WITH US, WORKING WITH A COMMUNITY, WORKING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, HAVING AN OPEN LINE OF COMMUNICATION, WE FELT THAT THAT SMALL LITTLE STREET WOULD BE FEASIBLE TO GO AHEAD AND CLOSE. UH, WE ARE HEARING THAT, UM, I, YOU KNOW, JUST HEARING THAT, UH, THERE IS A COMPROMISE. BEING WORKED WITH MR. FIKE IS GREAT ON OUR PART. WE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THAT GENTLEMAN THAT WAS IN OPPOSITION, BUT WE WERE WILLING TO TALK WITH HIM TOO, AS WELL. BUT WE LIKE TO, WE TRY TO OUR BEST TO GET THE COMMUNICATION OUT TO ALL, YOU KNOW, IT WAS ALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ALL THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD REGARDING THAT ONE STREET OF CLOSING. IT'S NOT A VERY BIG STREET. SO ANYWAYS, AT THIS POINT, UH, THE GOVERNMENT HILL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION HAD VOTED, AND WE ARE IN AGREEMENT, UH, TO CLOSE A SMALL LITTLE STREET THERE ON ROGERS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MS. HILL. THAT'S HOW EVERYONE WHO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEMS REMAINING ON CONSENT. COUNCILMAN GROM. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT AND JUST SPEAK ON TWO ITEMS, ITEMS NUMBER 17 AND 18. UM, AS CHAIR OF THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THESE KEY INDUSTRY PARTNERS COMING SUCH AS FINANCE AND IT COMING AND GROWING IN SAN ANTONIO AS A RESULT OF SO MUCH WORK AND COLLABORATION. PEN FED, UH, THANK YOU TO SO MUCH. TO LG SS AND TO PENFED PEN. FED'S DECISION TO OPEN THE REGIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY SPEAKS TO SAN ANTONIO'S ABILITY TO PROVIDE A WORKFORCE [00:25:01] CAPABLE OF MEETING THE BUSINESS'S NEEDS. AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT. AND THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF TEAM SAN ANTONIO. EVERYBODY COMING TOGETHER, WE ARE NOT ONLY GAINING A NEW HIGH PAYING JOBS FOR OUR CITIZENS, BUT ALSO A CORPORATE SPONSOR, A PARTNER THAT RECOGNIZES AND WILL INVEST IN OUR LOCAL UNIVERSITIES, IN OUR COMMUNITIES, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A LEGACY OF THIS WORKFORCE IN OUR FUTURE. SO, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME BOTH L G S AND PF FED TO SAN ANTONIO. LOOK FORWARD TO GREAT PARTNERSHIPS IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU, ROCKY. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN GRO. COUNCILMAN TREVINO. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE GREAT PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE WITH THE RAY, RAY CONSEJO AND ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT, UH, THAT COME OUT OF THE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION THEY CONDUCT DURING FIESTA, UH, AT THE EVENT AT MARKET SQUARE. WE HAVE MANY FOLKS HERE, PLEASE. UM, YES, IF WE CAN COME UP FOR A MINUTE, UM, YOU KNOW, WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE GREAT WORK THAT IS BEING DONE BECAUSE YEAR AFTER YEAR, UH, YOU ARE THE ONE OF THE SIGNATURE EVENTS OF FIESTA AND PROVIDE SO MUCH, UH, SUPPORT FOR SCHOLARSHIPS FOR OUR KIDS IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY. UH, AND WANT TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT, UH, THIS INCREDIBLE EVENT AND HOW THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY HAS PROVEN TO BE A, AN AMAZING SUCCESS. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN TURINO AND ALL THE COUNCIL PEOPLE. UH, IT'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNERSHIP GOING ON OUR NINTH YEAR, UH, NOT ONLY MYSELF, BUT WE REPRESENT 130 MEMBERS OF THE CONSEJO MEMBERS. AND WE ALL THANK YOU FOR Y'ALL'S SUPPORT. CHERYL, THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT FROM THE BEGINNING, ROBERT, THANK YOU. UH, WE LOOK FORWARD FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS, HOPEFULLY. AND, UH, WE'RE HERE TO, UH, JUST ENJOY FIESTA AND THE PARTNERSHIP WITH SAN ANTONIO MAYOR HAS BEEN FANTASTIC. THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. AND WE WISH YOU MUCH SUCCESS AND AS WE'VE SEEN IS IT IS GROWING AND GROWING AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO 10 MORE YEARS WITH YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN TREVINO. COUNCILWOMAN . THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ITEM NUMBER 12, A KABOOM GRANT FOR KENNEDY PARK, A $65,000 GRANT WITH THE TOTAL PROJECT AMOUNT OF 93,500. THE KABOOM PLAYGROUND PROGRAM BEGAN IN SAN ANTONIO IN 2009 THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES. SINCE THAT TIME, A TOTAL OF 11 PLAYGROUNDS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED ACROSS THE CITY. KABOOM HAS INVESTED 1.7 MILLION IN SAN ANTONIO, AND THE CITY HAS MATCHED 417,000. THE PLAY SCAPE AT KENNEDY PARK WILL BE THE 12TH PLAYGROUND INSTALLED THROUGH THIS PARTNERSHIP. IT IS THE THIRD KABOOM INSTALLATION IN DISTRICT FIVE. IN ADDITION TO THE PLAYGROUNDS INSTALLED AT ROSEDALE AND MARTINEZ PARK, THE INSTALLATION WILL BE COORDINATED BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF ABOUT 200 VOLUNTEERS. UH, THIS ALSO COMPLIMENTS, UH, $250,000 IN THE 2017 BOND PROGRAM, UH, FOR KENNEDY PARK. AND, UH, IT'S BEEN A, A GREAT PARTNERSHIP, UH, WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, THE THOMPSON NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. SO THANK YOU TO RUDY LOPEZ AND, UH, THE TEAM OVER THERE FOR BEING SUCH A SUPPORTIVE GROUP THERE AND WORKING TOGETHER TO SEE THIS PROJECT COMPLETED. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. COUNCILMAN COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I'D LIKE TO RE-HIGHLIGHT, UH, ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, UH, A FEW MINUTES AGO WE HAD A, A SPEAKER, UH, ON THAT, BRIAN TICKLE. I'D LIKE TO ASK BRIAN TO COME BACK UP. AND ALSO, UH, I'D LIKE TO ASK JOHN KENT AND ELISA GARZA, IF THERE ARE ANY AUDIENCE TO COME UP FRONT. UH, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THIS ARTICLE, UH, OR THIS ITEM, UH, LET ME START OFF. AND BRIAN HAD A FEW MINUTES AND IS PRETTY QUIET ABOUT WHAT HE HAD TO SAY ABOUT HIMSELF IN THIS ORGANIZATION. SO I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT HE'S HERE TODAY AND IS THE TEXAS REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR ACCESS FUND, AND THAT'S A NATIONAL NONPROFIT CONSERVATION ADVOCACY GROUP. AND THEY'RE GONNA BE MAINTAINING A CONSERVATION AND RECREATION EASEMENT ON THE LAND, WHICH WAS RECENTLY ACQUIRED BY THE TEXAS CLIMBERS ASSOCIATION. AND THEY'RE REPRESENTED HERE TODAY BY ELISA GARZA, WHO IS A DISTRICT NINE REPRESENTATIVE, UH, A DISTRICT NINE RESIDENT. YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UH, CLIMBING ENTHUSIAST WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO TRAVEL HOURS FROM SAN ANTONIO TO GET IN THEIR CLIMBING FIX. AND, UH, I ALSO WANNA THANK THE ROGERS FAMILY AND LADDIE DENTON AND BITTER BLUE DEVELOPMENT FOR [00:30:01] GRANTING ACCESS ADJACENT TO THEIR NEW RESIDENTIAL QUARRY DEVELOPMENT FOR THIS PROJECT. I ALSO WANT TO NOTE AND THANK, UH, JOHN KENT, WHO'S MY, UH, DISTRICT NINE APPOINTEE TO THE LINEAR PARKS ADVISORY BOARD. UH, BRANDON ROSS OF PARKS AND REC, UH, TOGETHER HAVE KEPT ME APPRAISED OF THIS PROJECT. UH, THERE'S A NEW FOUR MILE SECTION OF SATO CREEK GREENWAY TRAIL THAT WILL CONNECT TO EISENHOWER PARK. AND THIS PORTION OF THE TRAIL HAS BROUGHT TOGETHER A NUMBER OF PARTNERSHIPS, AND IT'S ESPECIALLY UNIQUE AS THIS TRAIL WILL PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE MEDICINE CLIMBING WALL. SO, AGAIN, IF THERE'S ANY OTHER COMMENTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ON THIS, BUT WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, UH, THE CONSOLIDATED EFFORT FROM ALL THREE OF THESE PEOPLE AND, AND OUR COMMUNITY IN BRINGING THIS RECREATIONAL FACILITY, UH, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THE PUBLIC AND, AND REALLY, UM, MAKING A POINT OF CONSERVING THIS AND, AND BUILDING THE RECREATIONAL ASPECTS OF IT. AND, UH, IT IS RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF DISTRICT NINE, PRETTY CLOSE TO DISTRICT EIGHT, ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE ALL OVER THE CITY. NOW, I, I THINK YOU SAID IT REALLY WELL. IT WAS A, I THINK IT WAS A FANTASTIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY, UH, AND, AND LAIE DENT WITH BITTER BLUE. AND, AND I HAVE TO COMMEND THEM FOR REALLY UNDERSTANDING BOTH THE RECREATION AND CONSERVATION VALUE OF THAT PROPERTY. UH, AND ALSO COMMEND BRANDON ROSS FOR ALL THE WORK HE'S DONE ON THE TRAIL. AND, AND IT'S A RECENT DESIGNATION AS A NATIONAL RECREATION TRAIL. SO I THINK THAT'S A REALLY FANTASTIC THING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COURAGE. COUNCILMAN PERRY. I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT AN ITEM, SIR. UH, ITEM NUMBER NINE. DOES ANYBODY HERE, WE GOT SOME FOLKS HERE FROM T C I. WHY DON'T Y'ALL COME ON UP HERE? UH, CHRISTIE SAW ART UP THERE. YEAH. COME ON UP HERE. RAZZY. YES, COME ON UP. I JUST WANT TO, UM, UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR PULLING THIS PROJECT TOGETHER. A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE HAVE RIDDEN ON JUDSON ROAD. DO YOU KNOW THAT JUDSON ROAD DOESN'T HAVE ANY SIDEWALKS ON IT? WE, WE'VE GOT A SCHOOL, WE JUST OPENED UP ANOTHER BRAND NEW SCHOOL. IT'S A CHARTER SCHOOL ON JUDSON. WE'VE GOT, UH, KIDS, WE'VE GOT FAMILIES, WE'VE GOT ELDERLY WALKING ALONG ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IN FACT, THERE'S TRAILS ALL ALONG THE ROAD THERE. BUT YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE, UH, TRAILS WILL COME UP TO A BRIDGE AND THEY STOP. WHERE ARE THOSE PEOPLE GOING? THEY'RE WALKING IN THE ROAD. AND, AND I'VE SEEN THAT, I'VE SEEN WHEELCHAIRS OUT IN THE ROAD BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY ACCESSIBLE SIDEWALKS, NO SIDEWALKS AT ALL ALONG THE ROAD. SO WE WORKED WITH T C I AND TDOT AND, UH, FOUND IT'S ABOUT THE PROJECT'S GONNA BE ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS. IT'S A LONG, LONG SIDEWALK, BUT VERY MUCH NEEDED. UH, TDOT IS GONNA BE REIMBURSING US ABOUT 80% OF THAT COST. AND, AND Y'ALL FOUND THE MONEY FROM OTHER PROJECTS THAT WAS, UH, LEFT OVER. AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA GET THAT SIDEWALK. I I THINK THE CONSTRUCTION'S SUPPOSED TO START SOMETIME THIS SUMMER AND, AND BE DONE THIS YEAR. SO THE PEOPLE ALONG JUDSON ROAD ARE ETERNALLY THANKFUL, UH, ON GETTING THIS PROJECT FINALLY ON THE BOOKS AND GET IT CONSTRUCTED. SO THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR WORKING TOGETHER WITH US TO PULL THIS TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS THING HAPPEN. THANK YOU AGAIN. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN? YES, SIR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN PERRY. COUNCILMAN HALL. UH, I JUST WANNA QUICKLY RECOGNIZE FORMER DISTRICT 10, COUNCILMAN, UH, CHIP HAAS, WHO WAS HERE WITH THE RAY FAO CONSEJO GROUP EARLIER. AND SO THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILMAN FOR YOUR SERVICE CURRENTLY, AND, AND IN, IN THE PAST AS WELL. UH, ALSO ON THE ITEM NUMBER 11, UH, I WANT TO THANK, UH, MR. JOHN TEBODA, AS WELL AS ROSE HILL FOR COMING UP AND SPEAKING, UM, ON THAT PARTICULAR ITEM. AND I KNOW THERE MAY BE A LITTLE BIT OF CONCERN, MR. BODA, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, UH, I'M GLAD TO SEE THE CONVERSATIONS ARE ALREADY HAPPENING WITH MR. FIKE. UH, HE'S ALREADY REACHED OUT AND GOT THE SUPPORT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT HE'S REACHING OUT TO YOU. AND I WILL TELL YOU, I, KNOWING MR. FIKE AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE FOR THE, WHAT HE'S DONE FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, ON THE BUILDING SIDE, BUT GENERALLY, I THINK THOSE CONVERSATIONS WILL CONTINUE. SO, UM, I, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO THE WORK THAT, UH, THAT HE AND YOU AND, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ARE GONNA DO IN THAT AREA. SO, UH, I'LL, I'LL, BUT I DID WANNA SAY, I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY COMING UP AND SPEAKING ON THAT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN HALL. AND, AND BEFORE WE TAKE UP THE, THE MOTION, I DID WANNA MAKE A COUPLE COMMENTS. UM, JANUARY'S BEEN A VERY BUSY MONTH FOR OUR, OUR TEAM, SAN ANTONIO, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM. IT'S BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARY MONTH, UH, MORE PROOF THAT SAN ANTONIO IS INDEED ON A ROLL. AND I DID WANNA RECOGNIZE TWO OF OUR NEWEST CORPORATE CITIZENS AS THEY GROW HERE. UH, FIRST, THE PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION SELECTION OF SAN ANTONIO FOR THEIR NEW REGIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IS A HUGE WIN FOR [00:35:01] OUR COMMUNITY, AND I'M PROUD TO WELCOME THEM TO OUR CITY PEN. FED'S OPERATION INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY WILL OFFER SUPPORT SERVICES AND IT PROGRAMMING FOR ITS MORE THAN 1.6 MILLION MEMBERS, WHICH INCLUDE MILITARY MEMBERS, VETERANS, AND THEIR FAMILIES. AS THE THIRD LARGEST FEDERAL CREDIT UNION IN THE UNITED STATES, THE COMPANY PROVIDES A WIDE ARRAY OF FINANCIAL SERVICES TO ITS MEMBERS. AND PENFED WILL ADD 571 NEW JOBS AND INVESTING NEARLY $9 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. AS PART OF ITS DECISION TO LOCATE IN SAN ANTONIO, THEY'RE COMMITTED TO STRENGTHENING OUR LOCAL WORKFORCE BY PART, PARTICIPATING IN INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. WE ARE A CITY WHERE BUSINESSES KNOW THAT THEY CAN COME AND SUCCEED DUE TO OUR CAPABLE WORKFORCE, HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE AND BUSINESS FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT. AND THIS IS JUST MORE PROOF POSITIVE AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING PED AS THEY GROW AND SUCCEED IN THE YEARS TO COME. WELCOME GUYS. UM, UH, I'D ALSO LIKE TO, UH, RECOGNIZE ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, L G SS INNOVATIONS FOR SELECTING SAN ANTONIO. AS A LOCATION FOR THE COMPANY'S NEW HUB FOR CYBERSECURITY OPERATIONS, L G S INNOVATIONS PROVIDES MISSION CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS, PRODUCTS, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT SERVICES TO BOTH COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES AROUND THE WORLD. L G S WILL BE EXPANDING THEIR CURRENT WORKFORCE IN SAN ANTONIO, ADDING 46 NEW HIGH SKILL, HIGH PAYING JOBS, AND INVESTING OVER $3 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. I'D ALSO LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE COMPANY'S COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY AND WILLINGNESS TO PARTNER WITH OUR LOCAL UNIVERSITIES, WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN PROVED UP OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS. WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE STRONGEST RESOURCES IN OUR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS OUR WORKFORCE, AN ASSET THAT OFTEN DIRECTLY STEMS FROM OUR UNIVERSITIES. THIS PROJECT DEMONSTRATES OUR DESIRE TO PARTNER WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES TO SUCCEED AND GROW IN SAN ANTONIO, SO THAT ALL LOCAL RESIDENTS WILL BENEFIT. WE ARE, IN FACT, AS E EVIDENCED A WORLD CLASS DESIGN DESTINATION AND HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO ATTRACT TOP OF THE LINE JOBS AND COMPANIES SUCH AS L G SS INNOVATIONS. SO AGAIN, WANT TO THANK L G S INNOVATIONS FOR CHOOSING SAN ANTONIO AS ITS SITE FOR ITS NEWEST HUB, AND WELCOME THEM TO SAN ANTONIO. WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PARTNERSHIP IN THE YEARS TO COME. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH AS WELL. RENEE, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING, OR DID, DID WE WANNA BRING THE TEAMS FORWARD SO THEY CAN BE RECOGNIZED? OFFICIALLY, I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO THE, UH, GENTLEMEN THAT ARE HERE REPRESENTING THOSE COMPANIES, PLEASE. AND, AND AS YOU SAID, THIS WAS A TEAM EFFORT. MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO THANK E D F IN PARTICULAR FOR SHEPHERDING THIS PROJECT. TOM LONG IS HERE. THE PORT OF SAN ANTONIO PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN TERMS OF L G S, AS DID CYBERSECURITY, SAN ANTONIO. SO TEAM EFFORT FROM, UH, PENFED, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. THEIR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT IS HERE, ROCKY MITCHELL COMING IN FROM VIRGINIA. HE'S HERE. I'D LIKE TO THANK HIM, UM, IF HE WANTS TO SAY A FEW WORDS. AND THEN FROM L G S, JASON BOOTS WIND IS HERE, THEIR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER. INTERESTINGLY, BOTH THESE PROJECTS COMING OUT OF VIRGINIA. SO I THINK WE'RE, UH, SEEING THAT COLD WEATHER TAKE EFFECT AND, UH, PERHAPS MORE JOBS AND MORE OF THEIR OPERATIONS. MOVING TO SAN ANTONIO. ROCKY, THANK YOU, RENEE, MR. MAYOR AND, UH, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, WE'RE SUPER EXCITED TO BE HERE. AND LET ME JUST SAY THAT WE'RE NOT COMING INTO SAN ANTONIO. WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR OVER 25 YEARS THROUGH SEVERAL OF OUR BRANCHES. TWO YEARS AGO, WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO MERGE WITH ALAMO FEDERAL CREDIT UNION. AND, UH, BECAUSE OF, UH, YOU ALL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MILITARY, WE ARE A MILITARY CREDIT UNION. WE BECAME THE WAR DEPARTMENT CREDIT UNION EVEN BEFORE THERE WAS A PENTAGON 84 YEARS AGO. SO THIS WAS A NATURAL FIT FOR US. WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT BEING PART OF THIS COMMUNITY. AND IF I COULD JUST PARAPHRASE ONE OF MY FAVORITE, UH, PEOPLE, SENATOR ROBERT KENNEDY, WHEN HE SAID THAT THE SUCCESS OF AMERICA IS GUARANTEED WHEN YOU COMBINE THE BEST OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE WITH THE BEST OF GOVERNMENT AND THE BEST OF COMMUNITY. WE FEEL THAT THIS PROJECT IS A REFLECTION OF THIS. WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT BEING PART OF THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY. WE LOOK FORWARD TO MAKING A HUGE INVESTMENT, NOT ONLY IN THE PEOPLE THAT WE BRING IN, BUT ALSO IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE WILL SERVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING US TO BE HERE. APPRECIATE IT. AND WITH L G S, JASON WYNN IS HERE. MIGHT WANNA SAY A FEW WORDS. JUST A FEW WORDS. YES. ESCAPING THE POLAR VORTEX. I APPRECIATE THE, THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL, UH, THE SUPPORT ALSO FROM THE [00:40:01] ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, UH, AND, UH, PERSONALLY WANNA THANK, UH, FOLKS LIKE RENEE, UH, DOMINGUEZ, TOM LONG WILL GARRETT THOMAS DAVIS FOR, UM, CHAMPIONING THIS FOR US ON, ON BEHALF OF L G S. UH, I ACTUALLY LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO. I'VE LIVED HERE SINCE 2004, DID A LOT OF WORKUP ON SECURITY HILL, UH, AND A FEW OTHER PLACES. AND THEN IN 2015 JOINED L G S WITH THE, THE, UH, THE TASK, IF YOU WILL, OF LET'S, LET'S BREAK INTO THE SAN ANTONIO MARKET. SO I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A PRETTY, PRETTY SUCCESSFUL, UH, INITIATIVE IN THAT REGARD. AND, UH, WE'RE JUST HAPPY TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY HERE, SERVE THE NATION, AND, UH, AND LOOK FORWARD TO GREAT SUCCESS MOVING FORWARD. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Y'ALL. THANK YOU, RENEE. UH, AND TOM, AND WILL I ALSO SEE YOU HERE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALRIGHT. THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. THAT'S ALL ITEMS SAVED FOR ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES ITEM NUMBER FOUR. ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS AN ORDINANCE APPOINTING ERIC WALSH AS CITY MANAGER, AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT AND ESTABLISHING A COMMENCEMENT DATE TO ASSUME THE OFFICE. MORNING MAYOR AND COUNCIL, I'M, UH, VERY HONORED TO BE UP HERE AND START OFF THE, UH, ITEM IN WHICH, UH, THE COUNCIL WILL VOID ON THE APPOINTMENT OF THE NEXT CITY MANAGER. JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND. UH, ON NOVEMBER 29TH, UM, CITY MANAGER CHERYL SCULLY ANNOUNCED HER RETIREMENT AS CITY MANAGER. AFTER SERVING THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO FOR MORE THAN 13 YEARS, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL THEN INITIATED AN EXTENSIVE PROCESS, UH, TO IDENTIFY AND RECRUIT A NEW CITY MANAGER. AND WE RECEIVED 31 APPLICATIONS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UH, AND INCLUDING ONE FROM CANADA. AGAIN, THIS PROCESS STARTED, UH, LATE LAST YEAR, UH, WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND WENT THROUGH THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY. UH, THE CITY COUNCIL REVIEWED, UH, APPLICATIONS, UH, THAT FIRST WEEK. UH, AND THEN BETWEEN JANUARY 14TH AND JANUARY 16TH, UH, EIGHT OF THE PREFERRED CANDIDATES WERE INTERVIEWED BY THE COUNCIL, UH, CITY COUNCIL. THEN ON JANUARY 16TH, UH, NAMED ERIC WALSH AS THE PROPOSED FINALIST. UM, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS AND PUBLIC SYMPOSIUMS THAT WERE HELD BETWEEN JANUARY 21 AND JANUARY 30TH. UH, AND TODAY THE COUNCIL WILL VOTE, UH, ON THE APPOINTMENT OF ERIC AS THE NEW CITY MANAGER. UH, FOLLOWING THAT, UH, THERE WILL BE A CONTINUED, UH, STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS, UH, THAT WILL RUN THROUGH THE, UH, MONTH OF FEBRUARY. THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. UH, THE COUNCIL INITIATED A STRATEGY TO GIVE, UH, COMMUNITY MA MEMBERS AND STAKEHOLDERS AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO CONNECT WITH THE PROPOSED FINALIST. UH, ERIC WALSH. UH, THE SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS, I'M SORRY, THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, UH, RANGED FROM FIVE TO 100 PARTICIPANTS. UH, THE HIGHLIGHT OF THAT WAS THE ESSAY SPEAK UP EVENT THAT WAS HELD ON JANUARY 23RD. UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF LOCAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING FOR THAT EVENT. UH, AND, UH, A LOT OF THAT, UH, NOTICE WAS BOTH IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH. UH, AND THE EVENT WAS QUITE SU SUCCESSFUL. UH, WE HAD OVER A HUNDRED PEOPLE PARTICIPATE. AND ON THE LIVE FACEBOOK STREAM, WE HAD OVER 2000 VIEWS ON THE FACEBOOK LIVE STREAM. BEFORE I GET INTO THE NEXT SLIDE ON THE CONTRACT, FOR THE INTEREST OF TIME, UH, WE REMOVED THE 20 PLUS SLIDES WE HAD SHOWING ALL OF ERIC'S, UH, ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS. UH, SO I'LL JUST GO OVER THOSE VERY, VERY BRIEFLY. ERIC WAS BORN AND RAISED IN SAN ANTONIO. UH, HE BEGAN HIS CAREER WITH THE CITY IN 1994 AS A BUDGET ANALYST. IN 2006, HE WAS APPOINTED ASSISTANT CITY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. UH, AND IN 2011, UH, CHERYL, UH, APPOINTED HIM AS A DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. UH, HE'S CURRENTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERSIGHT OF, UH, SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, THE METROPOLITAN HEALTH DISTRICT, AND OUR 3 1 1 CUSTOMER SERVICE. THESE AREAS REPRESENT 862 MILLION OF OUR 2.8, DO, UH, $2.8 BILLION BUDGET FOR F Y 2019. AND THAT REPRESENTS ROUGHLY 6,000 POSITIONS OF OUR 12,374, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES. UM, [00:45:01] THE OTHER THING I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT IS THAT ERIC WENT TO CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL. THAT WAS PROBABLY HIS MOST IMPORTANT QUALIFICATION, UH, AND GOT HIS EDUCATION AT TRINITY UNIVERSITY. UH, SO ONCE AGAIN, UH, UH, JUST A REAL QUICK OVER OVERVIEW OF, OF HIS QUALIFICATIONS. WE'LL GET REAL QUICKLY INTO THE CONTRACT TERMS, UH, CONSISTENT WITH PROP B. UH, ERIC IS A, A, UH, IS, UH, THERE IS NO, UH, TERM, BUT, UH, THE CONTRACT SPECIFICALLY SAYS HE CANNOT SERVE FOR CITY MAN AS CITY MANAGER FOR MORE THAN EIGHT YEARS. ALSO, CONSISTENT WITH, UH, PROPOSITION B AS BASED SALARY HAS BEEN SET AT $312,000 A YEAR. UH, THERE IS A PERFORMANCE REVIEW THAT'S INCORPORATED INTO THE CONTRACT, A YEARLY PERFORMANCE REVIEW, UH, THAT THE COUNCIL WILL CONDUCT. UH, THE BENEFITS IN THE CONTRACT ARE CONSISTENT WITH EXECUTIVE BENEFITS THAT ARE AFFORDED TO CITY EXECUTIVES, CITY MANAGERS, UH, AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS. IN THE CONTRACT TERMS, UH, WE HAVE TERMINATION PROVISIONS THAT ALLOW THE COUNCIL, UH, TO TERMINATE WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE. UH, THOSE INSTANCES IN WHICH THE COUNCIL CAN TERMINATE FOR CAUSE INCLUDE AN ACT OF MORAL TURPITUDE, VIOLATION OF A CRIME, DERELICTION OF DUTY THAT LEADS TO SIGNIFICANT HARM TO THE CITY. UH, THERE'S ALSO A PROVISION FOR SEVERANCE PLAY, UH, THAT'S TRIGGERED, UH, IF THE COUNCIL TERMINATES WITHOUT CAUSE THAT SEVERANCE PAY, THOUGH, IS NOT TRIGGERED, UH, IF THERE'S A TERMINATION FOR CAUSE OR THERE'S A COMPLETION OF THE EIGHT YEARS, OR THERE'S A VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION. FINALLY, IN UNDER THE, UH, BENEFITS WE HAVE, UH, ACCRUED LEAVE, UH, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TEXAS RETIREMENT, UH, HEALTHCARE BENEFITS, CAR AND PHONE ALLOWANCE AND ALLOWANCE FOR REASONABLE EXPENSES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED, UH, WITH ERIC TAKING THE ROLE OF CITY MANAGER. AND THAT COMPLETES THE, UH, PRESENTATION. MAYOR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ANDY. UM, WE DO HAVE ONE CITIZEN SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR COLUMN NOW, JACK FINGER, MR. MAYOR, ANOTHER MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE RECORD. MY NAME IS JACK M FINGER. WELL, MR. WALSH, YOU'VE MADE THE BIG TIME. YES. I, UH, I ACTUALLY CONGRATULATE YOU. LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR, YOUR, UH, PERFORMANCE AS THE MANAGER OF A CITY, THE SEVENTH LARGEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, BILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE. I GUESS THE BIG QUESTION IS, YOU WERE TAUGHT RIGHT FROM WRONG. YOU WENT TO SCHOOLS THAT TAUGHT YOU SOMETHING ABOUT ETHICS, MORALITY, AND SO FORTH THERE. WHEN THE TIME COMES AND PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, AND YOU HAVE YOUR BOSSES HERE, THE CITY COUNCIL, AND THEY SUBMIT SOMETHING TO YOU THAT REALLY DOESN'T PASS THE SMELL TEST, WHAT WILL YOU DO? WELL, YOU SAY YES, OR WILL YOU SAY NO? WILL YOU, WILL YOU TAKE THE STAND THAT YOU WERE DESTINED TO TAKE THROUGHOUT THIS TIME IN YOUR LIFE? I MEAN, IF IT JUST, JUST, IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU KNOW, IS DOWNRIGHT UNETHICAL, IMMORAL, OR ANY EVIL, WHAT WILL YOU DO? IT IS MY HOPE THAT YOU DO TAKE THAT STAND INSTEAD OF JUST, UH, LETTING BUSINESS FLOW AS USUAL. WE'VE HAD TOO MUCH OF THAT FOR TOO MANY YEARS AROUND HERE. THANK YOU. LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR, YOUR PERFORMANCE HERE. THANK YOU, MR. FINGER. THIS TIME, UH, I'LL RECOGNIZE OUR COLLEAGUE, COUNCILMAN SALANA. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND, UM, I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY REALLY, UH, DESCRIBING WHAT IS, UH, THE SITUATION IN WHICH, UH, WE ALL GET TO PARTAKE IN, IN, IN VOTING ON THE NEXT CITY MANAGER OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. IT IS HISTORIC IN MANY WAYS. THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S ONLY HAD, TO THIS POINT, 20, UH, CITY MANAGERS. AND ACTUALLY, ERIC, YOU WOULD BE THE 20TH IF YOU ARE, UH, VOTED ON HERE TODAY. AND SO, UH, IT, THERE'S A REASON, YOU KNOW, IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST COUNCIL MEETING OR IF THIS IS, UH, IF I WAS TRYING TO DO THE MATH CORRECTLY, ERIC HAS BEEN IN MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO FOR ABOUT 24 YEARS. THIS IS PROBABLY YOUR THOUSANDTH, UH, 1005, IF I'M BEING CONSERVATIVE, ABOUT 45 MEETINGS A YEAR FOR 24 YEARS. UH, [00:50:01] IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST MEETING OR YOU KNOW, YOUR THOUSANDTH MEETING, UH, YOU KNOW THAT EVERYTHING WE DO UP HERE REALLY, UH, EMANATES FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE LEADER THAT WE HAVE. UH, AND SO WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS, UM, ERIC, SURE, YOU PROBABLY SHOULD TAKE THE DI THE THE MICROPHONE AS YOU'VE DONE MANY TIMES, UH, YOU KNOW, AS THE LONGEST, UH, SERVING COUNCIL MEMBER, I'VE GOTTEN TO SEE YOU AS A DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. AND I THINK EVERYBODY UP HERE HAS SEEN YOU AS A DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. BUT BEFORE THAT, YOU WERE, UH, PROMOTED IN 2006 TO AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. AND, UH, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT, UM, NEW, ALTHOUGH THEY MIGHT BE SEEING MORE OF YOU RECENTLY, UH, IN NEWSPAPERS OR ON TELEVISION. UH, YOU'RE SAN ANTONIO THROUGH AND THROUGH, THROUGH YOUR EDUCATION, AND THROUGH, UH, YOUR LOVELY PARENTS WHO ARE, UH, JOINING US HERE TODAY. SO, UH, BEFORE I MAKE A MOTION, UH, WHAT I'D LIKE YOU TO DO IS, UH, TO INTRODUCE SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE WITH US HERE ON THE FIRST ROW, UH, WHO I THINK HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH YOUR BIOGRAPHY AND YOUR RESUME AND YOUR EXPERIENCE TO THIS POINT, BECAUSE I, I THINK THE ONLY PERSON I'VE GOT ON HERE WITH, WITH A NAME, BECAUSE THE OTHER FOLKS I WANT YOU TO NAME AS WELL FOR US IS, UH, SANDRA, UH, YOUR LOVELY WIFE WHO I THINK IS HERE WITH US TODAY. SO, IF YOU'LL DO US THE FAVOR AND INTRODUCE US TO THE FULL SPECTRUM OF, OF ERIC WALSH BY INTRODUCING US TO YOUR FAMILY. THANKS, COUNCILMAN. UH, YEAH, IT'S A, UM, GREAT TURNOUT. UM, LET ME START OFF AT THE END. MY WIFE, SANDRA, MY SON BRENDAN, MY DAUGHTER CLAIRE, MY WONDERFUL IN-LAWS, UH, GEORGE AND LILY AND KISA, MY BROTHER BRIAN, MY MOM AND DAD. AND I'VE GOT A WHOLE SERIES OF COUSINS AND AUNTS AND UNCLES. I'VE GOT, UH, UH, THE, THE, UH, FAMILY PRE I'LL, I'LL CALL HIM THE FAMILY PRIEST 'CAUSE HE'S, HE'S MARRIED ALL OF US AND, AND BAPTIZED ALL OUR CHILDREN. A LONG TIME FAMILY FRIEND, UH, FATHER BILL COLLINS, UM, MY SISTER-IN-LAW, MY BROTHER-IN-LAW. UM, REALLY, I'M, I'M, IT'S, UH, IT'S A BIG DAY AND I'M, I'M GLAD THEY'RE HERE. LET ME JUST REFLECT FOR A SECOND HERE. UH, ERIC, IF ANYONE WAS CONFUSED ABOUT WHETHER YOU WERE EITHER LATINO OR IRISH, UH, THEY WOULD JUST TAKE NOTE OF THE FACT THAT THE ENTIRE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROW IS YOUR FAMILY. UH, YEAH. WHO IS HERE. YEAH. WITH US JOINING FROM, FROM SAN ANTONIO AND BEYOND. UH, LEMME JUST DO A QUICK LITTLE BIO RECAP HERE. ERIC, YOU'VE BEEN OF COURSE, UH, CITY MANAGER FOR 24 YEARS. UH, THE LAST, UH, EIGHT OF WHICH YOU'VE BEEN A DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. UH, AND YOU'VE ALSO BEEN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER SINCE 2006. YOU'VE SEEN METRO HEALTH OVERSEEING METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, 3 1 1 CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, UH, THE BUDGET OFFICE. UH, AND, AND I SAY ALL THAT TO, TO ENCOMPASS THE FACT THAT WE ARE, WE'VE SELECTED YOU AS OUR, OUR FINALIST. UM, BUT I WANT TO ALSO PAINT A, A BIGGER PICTURE, WHICH IS REGARD TO ALL OF THE CANDIDATES THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, WHO APPLIED, WE'VE INTERVIEWED EIGHT, UH, AND SOME OF THOSE FOLKS THAT WE INTERVIEWED ARE, ARE HERE IN THE CHAMBERS TODAY AS FOLKS THAT WOULD, UH, WORK FOR YOU. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY, AS SOMEBODY WHO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE YOU INTERVIEW, BUT ALSO SEE THE REST OF THE FOLKS INTERVIEW, UH, THAT WE, WE HAVE A WEALTH OF TALENT MM-HMM. , UH, ON THE BENCH IN SAN ANTONIO. AND WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, CONGRATULATE, UH, CITY MANAGER, CHERYL SCULLY FOR HER 13 YEARS IN HELPING TO BUILD THIS BENCH OF STRONG PLAYERS. UH, BECAUSE IT REALLY WAS, UH, A DIFFICULT DECISION, UH, DECIDING BETWEEN ALL OF THE QUALITY CANDIDATES. AND, AND YOU ERIC, SURFACED TO THE TOP AS, UH, NOT JUST YOUR INTERVIEW, UH, OR YOUR RESUME, BUT THE EXPERIENCE THAT YOU'VE HAD WORKING WITH EACH ONE OF US. THE MAYOR INCLUDED, UH, WHEN, WHEN HE WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER AND, AND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE. SO, UH, WITH THAT, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS, UH, I'D LIKE TO MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER FOUR, APPOINTING ERIC WALSH AS THE 20TH CITY MANAGER OF OUR GREAT CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND I THINK I HEARD A SECOND. UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE TWO MORE COMMENTS IF I CAN. UH, ERIC, YOU WERE, UH, YOU JOINED US LAST NIGHT FOR THE DISTRICT FOUR, UH, GATHERING WITH SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS. AND, UH, THEY HAD TWO VERY ASTUTE QUESTIONS. UM, ONE OF WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A, YOU KNOW, AS MY COUNT, MY DISTRICT LEADERSHIP, UH, WILL DO, EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE THEY'LL SURPRISE ME. AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, MR. WALSH, TELL US WHY, OR TELL US HOW, IF YOU ARE DOING YOUR JOB, I KNOW ABOUT IT. OR WHEN YOU'RE DOING A BAD JOB, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT. AND THE, THE QUESTION WAS REALLY KIND OF, WHY CAN'T I JUST GO UP AND DO YOUR JOB? IS WHAT ONE OF THE, THE RESIDENTS SAID. AND YOU REALLY DESCRIBED THE BEST KIND OF WORK THAT OUR CITY MANAGER HAS BEEN UNDERTAKING AND THAT YOU WILL UNDERTAKE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS IF YOU'RE SO LUCKY. UH, WHICH IS THAT WE MAY NOT EVER HEAR FROM YOU. UH, THE COMMUNITY MAY NOT EVER KNOW WHAT ERIC WALSH, UH, OR WHAT CITY MANAGER SCULLY HAS DONE BEHIND THE SCENES, BECAUSE YOUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT YOUR TRASH IS PICKED UP ON TIME. THAT THAT PARKS ARE CLEAN, THAT LIBRARIES ARE OPEN, THAT THE POLICE RESPOND, [00:55:01] UH, WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME, SAME WITH FIRE. AND THAT IF THOSE THINGS ARE WORKING, UH, WE NEVER HAVE TO HEAR OF YOU OR YOUR WORK. UH, BUT IT'S WHEN IT'S NOT WORKING, UH, THAT IT IS ON THE 10 O'CLOCK OR THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS, OR IT IS IN THE NEWSPAPER. UM, AND SO THEY ASKED A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION, WHICH WAS, WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOU THAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT THAN ANYBODY ELSE WHO APPLIED FOR THIS JOB OR WHO IS TAKING IT ON? AND YOUR RESPONSE WAS THAT, I WILL WORK HARDER THAN ANYONE ELSE FOR THIS POSITION. AND YOU PROVIDED EVIDENCE AS A DATA POINT TO US LAST NIGHT. 'CAUSE YOU TOLD US THAT RIGHT BEFORE YOU WALKED IN, UH, YOU WERE ON THE PHONE WITH YOUR WIFE WHO WAS DESCRIBING, UH, YOUR, UH, WHAT YOU WERE MISSING, WHICH WAS YOUR DAUGHTER'S BASKETBALL GAME WHERE SHE SCORED A WINNING POINT, UH, BUZZER BEATER, BUZZER BEATER. IT WAS A BUZZER BEATER. IT WAS A BUZZER BEATER. UM, AND TO, TO SANDRA AND TO YOUR TWO CHILDREN, UM, YOU'RE GOING TO LIKELY LIVE OUT THAT PROMISE TO WORK HARDER THAN ANYONE ELSE WOULD AT THIS POSITION. AND SO, SANDRA, AND TO THE FAMILY, WE HOPE YOU'LL FORGIVE THIS CITY AND THIS COUNCIL BECAUSE IT WILL CALL ON, ON ERIC IN WAYS THAT ONLY, UH, MIKE SCULLY COULD DESCRIBE TO YOU, . UH, SO WE ARE, WE ARE GRATEFUL TO, TO HAVE HAD YOUR APPLICATION. UH, ERIC AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM THE REST OF THE COUNCIL ABOUT, ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION. I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN SALDANA. AND, AND I, UM, FORGOTTEN. I THANK YOU FOR, UH, RECOGNIZING THE WONDERFUL FAMILY THAT, THAT YOU HAVE HERE, ERIC. IT'S A, A SHOW OF STRENGTH TO SEE A PUBLIC SERVANT STAND WITH THEIR ENTIRE FAMILY BEHIND YOU. SO, UM, I DON'T WANT TO FORGET THE THINGS THAT I DO WANNA REFLECT ON TODAY THOUGH, UH, ARE VERY LARGE. THIS IS A WEIGHTY MOMENT FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. WE HAVEN'T DONE THIS IN ALMOST TWO DECADES. UH, AND IT IS A SIGNIFICANT MOMENT FOR SAN ANTONIO'S HISTORY. AND ALMOST CERTAINLY THE SIGNATURE DECISION THAT WE WILL BE MAKING, UH, AS A CITY COUNCIL, APPOINTING A CITY MANAGER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK THAT OUR CITY COUNCIL CAN FACE. AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN. IT DOESN'T, IT HASN'T HAPPENED IN THE LAST 13 YEARS. AND IN FACT, ERIC WALSH WILL BE THE ONLY, ONLY THE 20TH CITY MANAGER IN SAN ANTONIO'S HISTORY AS WE TAKE MEASURE OF THE HISTORIC GRAVITY OF THIS MOMENT. I'M PROUD OF MY CITY COLLEAGUES, MY CITY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES. THEY'VE ACCEPTED THIS RESPONSIBILITY WITH A PROFESSIONAL APPROACH THAT IT MERITED. AND THIS COUNCIL DEMONSTRATED A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DECISION. AND THEY DEMONSTRATED THE WILLINGNESS AND DETERMINATION TO RISE TO THE OCCASION. AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR DOING THAT. WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THE GREAT WORK OF MANY PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES. UH, AND THAT INCLUDES OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT HERE AT THE CITY, AS WELL AS OUR CITY MAN, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UH, ANDY SEGOVIA AND LIZ, UH, PROVINCIO. THEY ENSURED THAT THE PROCESS WENT VERY WELL PROFESSIONALLY, AND WE ADHERED TO BEST PRACTICES. AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK MY STAFF, UH, SOME OF WHOM ARE STANDING IN THE BACK, UH, ESPECIALLY, UH, VICTORIA GONZALEZ AND VALISE MESA, UH, WHO HELPED ORCHESTRATE THE, UH, THE LISTENING TOUR. THAT WAS, UH, PRETTY DAUNTING ON YOU. I KNOW ERIC. I SAID FROM THE OUTSET THAT I WANTED THIS PROCESS TO BE ONE THAT MET THE STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONALISM AND TRANSPARENCY THAT THE PUBLIC EXPECTS, AND THAT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DECISION REQUIRES. AND I WANTED THIS PROCESS TO SHOW A STRONG FOCUS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. WE SUCCEEDED. THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST OPEN CITY MANAGER APPOINTMENT PROCESS EVER, THANKS TO THE HARD WORK OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, ERIC'S TEAM AND G P A AND THE PROPOSED FINALIST. AS ERIC HAS BEEN MEETING WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS, LISTENING TO THEIR CONCERNS AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS SINCE WE NAMED HIM THE PROPOSED FINALIST TWO WEEKS AGO, AND I KNOW HE PLANS TO CONTINUE THAT EFFORT. IT WAS THE RIGHT START TO THIS IMPORTANT TRANSITION. MY COLLEAGUES AND I SELECTED ERIC WALSH FROM AN INCREDIBLY STRONG GROUP OF CANDIDATES. CHERYL SCULLY PUT TOGETHER THE STRONGEST LEADERSHIP TEAM IN THE NATION. AND IT WASN'T AN EASY TASK. WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT SEVERAL OF THEM WERE INTERESTED IN THE CITY MANAGER POSITION. IT WAS A DIFFICULT DECISION. BUT I HAVE NO DOUBT, AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE SOON WILL HAVE A DOUBT THAT ERIC IS THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB. HE'S A CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL WITH A COOL AND CALM DEMEANOR. HE HAS A TOTAL COMMAND OF THE MUNICIPAL ISSUES THAT HE WILL FACE. ERIC HAS ADVANCED FROM BUDGET ANALYST TO DEPUTY CITY MANAGER DURING HIS 24 YEARS WITH THE CITY, DEMONSTRATING STRONG LEADERSHIP ABILITIES IN A, A COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT WHILE RISING THROUGH THE RANKS. ERIC'S SKILL AND EXPERIENCE OVERSEEING CRUCIAL SAFETY DEPARTMENTS WILL ENABLE HIM TO SERVE THE CITY WELL. SAN ANTONIO WAS ON A ROLL. WE HEARD THAT BEFORE. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO LIVE AND INVEST HERE. AND ERIC WALSH WILL BE A CITY MANAGER WHO WILL ENSURE THAT THIS CITY'S MOMENTUM WILL KEEP GOING. UH, ERIC, I'VE GOTTEN TO KNOW YOU, UH, PERSONALLY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND, UH, LET ME TELL YOU, UH, IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR TO BE BY YOUR SIDE ON SOME VERY DIFFICULT OCCASIONS, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN THE YEARS TO COME. CONGRATULATIONS, ERIC. THANK YOU, MAYOR. COUNCILMAN PIA. UH, ERIC, I, I HATE STARTING MY COMMENTS WITH DISAGREEMENTS, BUT I [01:00:01] HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH ANDY SEGOVIA. YOUR, YOUR MOST IMPORTANT QUALIFICATION IS NOT THAT YOU, YOU WENT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL. YOU WENT TO, IT'S WHERE YOU WENT TO COLLEGE. CAN YOU TELL US WHERE THAT WAS AGAIN, PLEASE? TRINITY UNIVERSITY. THAT IS CORRECT. ERIC. THAT IS CORRECT. UH, I ALSO WENT, ANDY, ANDY'S JADED. 'CAUSE HE'S A CENTRAL GRAD TOO. SO HE'S, HE'S JADED SOMETIMES, BUT HE COULDN'T GET INTO TRINITY LIKE YOU AND I DID . SO, UM, UH, ERIC, UM, THE, THE QUESTION, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO OUGHT TO BE THE BOSS IS, IS A LOT LIKE ASKING, UH, WHO OUGHT TO BE THE TENOR AND A QUARTET. AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, THAT CANDIDATE SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE PERSON WHO CAN SING THE TENOR. UH, AND, UH, I, YOU'RE THAT GUY, RIGHT? YOU'RE, IT'S NOT UP FOR DEBATE THAT YOU HAVE THE TEMPERAMENT, THE QUALIFICATIONS, THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE TO DO THIS JOB. YOU ARE THE TENOR. UM, AND ONE THING I I DO WANNA POINT OUT IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE COMING IN TO FILL SOME REALLY BIG SHOES. UM, YOU KNOW, CHERYL, UH, OUR MANAGER, UM, I'D GO INTO BATTLE WITH CHERYL ANYTIME. AND IF WORLD WAR III EVER BROKE OUT OR THE ZOMBIES TOOK OVER, UH, I'D BE LOOKING FOR CHERYL TO LEAD THE CAVALRY, UH, TO KEEP US ALL SAFE. AND CHERYL HAS FACED CHALLENGES WITH US, UM, WITH, UH, ALUM AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH COURAGE MM-HMM. . AND, UM, SHE'S NEVER, EVER, UM, YOU KNOW, BEEN THE KIND OF PERSON WHO SHIES AWAY FROM DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS OR REALLY SCARY CHALLENGES. I, I, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I ADMIRE ABOUT YOU TOO. UH, AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE EVER GO INTO BATTLE AND IF WE NEED DIFFICULT THINGS DONE, THAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT. UM, AND, AND I HAVE, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT. THE OTHER THING THAT CHERYL'S VERY GOOD AT, UM, AND, AND I'VE ADMIRED PROBABLY MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, IS THAT SHE SOMEHOW MANAGES TO INSPIRE 12,000 PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR US, RIGHT? WHO CALL THEMSELVES CITY OF SAN ANTONIO STAFFERS. UM, THAT'S A, THAT MIGHT BE THE HARDEST JOB OF THEM ALL. AND I'VE SEEN YOU AND YOUR TEAM, YOU KNOW, AND YOU INSPIRE THEM TO DO THE RIGHT THING. AND OFTENTIMES THE WAY THAT YOU DO THAT, ERIC, IS BY GETTING OUT OF THE WAY. UH, AND I'VE, I'VE ADMIRED THAT VERY MUCH ABOUT YOU, WHICH IS WHY I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PERFECT FOR THIS JOB BECAUSE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE IS TO SORT OF POINT OUT WHAT THE MISSION IS, RIGHT? SET THE PARAMETERS, AND THEN JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY AND WATCH YOUR TEAM DO IT, AND EVEN, EVEN EXCEED OUR EXPECTATIONS. SO, UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO YOU DOING THAT WITH, YOU KNOW, THE TENS OF, YOU KNOW, THE 12,000 PEOPLE. SO I HAVE TWO REQUESTS. UM, ONE, UM, MY FIRST REQUEST IS WIN A LOT, WIN. AND, UH, AND TWO, MY SECOND REQUEST IS, UM, DO ME A FAVOR AND CALL MY MOM. SHE'S DRIVING ME CRAZY. UH, SHE'S, YOU KNOW, SHE'S TRYING TO GET YOU TO CALL HER BACK. SHE WANTS TO, UH, TALK TO YOU ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND, UH, THE BATTERED WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S SHELTER. AND SO, UH, SHE'S LITERALLY WATCHING US RIGHT NOW AND INSISTED THAT I'M IN, INCLUDE THAT. AND SO, UH, HELP A BROTHER OUT AND CALL MY MOM. WILL YOU? OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN PLI. COUNCILMAN PERRY. THANK YOU, SIR. ERIC, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU UP HERE. UH, LEMME TELL YOU, UM, ALL THE INTERVIEWEES DID A GREAT JOB, BUT I, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE SIX HERE FROM THIS CITY, UH, WE DID INTERVIEW THE TWO FROM OUTTA TOWN, AND IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT WE HAD WINNERS OUT OF THOSE SIX PEOPLE, INCLUDING, INCLUDING YOURSELF, THAT CAME TO THE INTERVIEWS. UM, SO I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED. AND THAT IT, IT WASN'T THAT WE WERE SURPRISED. WE WORK WITH Y'ALL EVERY DAY, AND WE KNOW THE, THE QUALITIES THAT Y'ALL ALL POSSESS, AND IT, THAT'S WHAT MADE IT TOUGH. YEAH. THAT'S WHAT MADE IT TOUGH. YEAH. BUT WE DID HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION, AND YOU WERE SELECTED. YOU'RE BEING PROPOSED. WE'RE GONNA VOTE ON IT. UH, AFTER THAT VOTE, YOU'RE GONNA BE, UH, GIVEN THE REINS TO THE CITY, YOUR LEADERSHIP QUALITIES ARE GONNA BE COMING OUT. AND IT'S THOSE LEADERSHIP QUALITIES WERE A BIG PART OF, UM, TO ME, THE ON GETTING YOU TO THIS POINT. AND I'M PROUD OF YOU AS YOUR WHOLE FAMILY IS PROUD OF YOU AT THIS MOMENT, AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU MORE AND, UM, MORE CLOSELY HERE IN THE FUTURE. AND, AND WE WILL MAKE THINGS WORK, AND THIS CITY WILL SUCCEED. SO, UM, MY FAITH IS IN YOU. PRAYERS ARE FOR YOU. AND, UH, WE'LL MARCH ON TOGETHER. THANK YOU, ERIC. THANK, THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. [01:05:01] THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN PERRY. COUNCILMAN TREVINO. THANK YOU, MAYOR ERIC, JUST WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK IT'S, IT'S CLEAR THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE TACKLED A LOT OF TOUGH ISSUES MM-HMM. , AND YOU SAID SOMETHING A WHILE BACK THAT I REALLY TOOK TO HEART THAT I, I THINK, NEEDS TO BE EMPHASIZED TODAY. AND THAT'S, YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT THE GUY THAT'S USUALLY WITH THE GOOD NEWS OR THE AT THE RIBBON CUTTINGS. YOU'RE THE GUY THAT OFTENTIMES HAS TO DELIVER THE, THE HARD NEWS. THE DIFFICULT DEAL WITH THE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS. AND, UM, WHILE I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE SOME GREAT STORIES ABOUT THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE RIDESHARE AND HOW CREATIVE, UH, THAT WHOLE PROCESS WAS. AND, AND BY THE WAY, I JUST, I EXPECT TO HAVE A, ANOTHER WHATABURGER WITH YOU IN CELEBRATION AFTER THIS, UH, AS, AS BECOME OUR TRADITION. UM, I WANNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT. UH, WHEN I FIRST GOT ON COUNCIL, THERE WAS THE, WHEN TRAGEDY OVER AT THE WEDGEWOOD FIRE MM-HMM. . AND I GOT THAT CALL FROM YOU. AND THAT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION. MM-HMM. , BUT YOU HANDLED IT MASTERFULLY. LIVES WERE SAVED BECAUSE OF IT. OF COURSE, OF COURSE. WE WERE THANKFUL FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTERS. BUT ALL THAT WAS LED BY YOU, UM, AT THE HEART OF, OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING, IS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN OUR CITY, AND THAT LIVES ARE AT STAKE SOMETIMES, AND THINGS HAVE TO BE DONE, OTHERWISE, THOSE LIVES COULD BE LOST A COUPLE YEARS LATER. I REMEMBER BEING AT HOME ON A SUNDAY NIGHT, I THINK IT WAS AFTER 10 ALREADY, AND I GET A CALL FROM YOU. I'M LIKE, WHY AM I GETTING A CALL FROM ERIC WALSH AT 10 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT? AND YOU ASKED IF I WAS OKAY. AND, UH, I SAID, I, I DON'T, WHY ARE YOU, WHAT DO YOU MEAN ? WHY ARE YOU, AND HE SAYS, DO YOU SAID, DO ME A FAVOR, GO OUTSIDE. JUST, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO CHECK BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD A, AN INCIDENT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND IT WAS A TORNADO THAT HIT. UM, IT WAS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE INCREDIBLE EFFORT THAT THE CITY PUT TOGETHER TO SAVE LIVES, TO COORDINATE, TO SHOW, TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT A WELL-RUN CITY DOES FOR PEOPLE. MM-HMM. AND WHAT IT REALLY MEANS. AND PEOPLE, PEOPLE ALMOST NEVER REALLY SEE THAT THEY'VE COME TO EXPECT IT. BUT THAT COMES FROM A LOT OF HARD WORK THAT COMES FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS BUILT THAT RESPECT, COMMANDS THAT LEADERSHIP, AND GETS PEOPLE ON THE JOB, GETS THEM MOVING. YOU COORDINATE A LOT OF PEOPLE. AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UH, NOT JUST FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. 'CAUSE THAT'S HOW WE HANDLE OUR, SOME OF THESE IMPORTANT RESPONSES. UM, I BELIEVE THAT'S HOW YOU'RE GONNA TACKLE THIS JOB. YOU'RE GONNA TACKLE IT THE SAME WAY. UH, CERTAINLY, I I DON'T LOOK FORWARD TO SOME OF THOSE UNFORTUNATE CALLS THAT I KNOW ARE GONNA HAPPEN, BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO THE INCREDIBLE RESPONSE. I KNOW YOU'LL COORDINATE, UM, WITH THAT, JUST KNOW THAT I SPECIFICALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THAT CREATIVITY, THAT THOUGHTFULNESS, AND THAT RESPONSIVENESS WHEN IT COMES TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES. LET'S GET THIS SOLVED, AND I KNOW YOU'LL DO IT. YOU GOT MY VOTE. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN TREVINO. COUNCILMAN HALL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AS THE COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WAS HERE 13 YEARS AGO WHEN WE, WE SELECTED CHERYL SCULLY. I'D LIKE TO START MY, MY COMMENTS BY THANKING YOU, CHERYL, UH, FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE. UM, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL HAVE DISAGREEMENTS BOTH THEN AND NOW. UM, CITY MANAGEMENT AND THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL HAVE DISAGREEMENTS BOTH THEN AND NOW. BUT I STILL SAY TO THIS DAY THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS THAT WE EVER MADE. PART OF YOUR, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT IN THESE 13 YEARS, BUT I THINK PROBABLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED WAS YOU'VE TRANSFORMED A CITY TO A POINT WHERE, UH, THE COUNCIL WAS BENT ON NOT SELECTING SOMEBODY INTERNALLY TO ONE WHERE OUR TOP CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN, THE ONES THAT ARE INTERNAL CANDIDATES. UH, I WAS ONE OF THOSE THAT BELIEVED THAT AT THAT POINT, THAT, UH, I, I THOUGHT WE HAD AT [01:10:01] LEAST TWO INTERNAL CANDIDATES THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS CITY MANAGER TO LYNN BURLEY WAS ONE OF THOSE, AND ERIC WALSH WAS THE OTHER. UM, BUT COUNCIL AT THAT POINT WAS NOT INTERESTED IN SELECTING SOMEBODY INTERNAL. THEY WANTED SOMEBODY EXTERNAL TO COME IN AND TRANSFORM THE CITY. AND YOU'VE DONE THAT, UM, TO THE POINT, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THAT OUR TOP CANDIDATES NOW HAVE BEEN ALL INTERNAL, AND WE'VE GOT A COUNCIL THAT IS, HAS MOVED FROM BEING BENT ON NOT SELECTING SOMEBODY INTERNAL TO BEING ONE THAT THAT IS, UH, BENT ON SELECTING SOMEBODY INTERNAL. SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT. THAT FOR ME, OF ALL THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, THAT'S PROBABLY YOUR BIGGEST, UM, YOU WERE THE GOLD STANDARD THEN, AND I THINK YOU'RE THE GOLD STANDARD NOW, BUT YOU'VE ALSO CREATED THE GOLD STANDARD IN THE CITY MANAGEMENT TEAM HERE. UM, WHEN PEOPLE AROUND THE COUNTRY LOOK AT CITY MANAGERS, THEY LOOK TOWARDS CITY, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF, OF YOU AND YOUR LEGACY. I DO WANNA SAY TO THE OTHER CANDIDATES THAT WERE THERE, UM, PARTICULARLY THE INTERNAL CANDIDATES, WE HAVE SOME GREAT CITY MANAGEMENT TEAM MEMBERS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. AND SO WHETHER IT BE CARLOS, WHETHER IT BE LORI, WHETHER IT BE PETER, WHETHER IT BE ROD, OR WHETHER IT BE MARIA, UH, WE'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM HERE. AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO CONTINUE TO, TO WORKING WITH EACH OF YOU, UM, TO MARIA IN PARTICULAR. UH, AND I'VE TOLD YOU THIS, AND I'LL SAY THE SAME THING THE TO YOU THAT I TOLD ERIC 13 YEARS AGO, AND THAT IS, UM, I, I THOUGHT ERIC, I THOUGHT HE WAS READY. UM, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT TIME HAS HELPED HIM 13 YEARS, HAS DONE NOTHING BUT IMPROVE AND STRENGTHEN, UH, HIS ABILITY. UH, I TOLD MY COLLEAGUES AS WELL THAT MARIA, I, I, I THINK YOU'RE READY. I THINK YOU'RE READY TODAY. UM, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT THE NEXT FEW YEARS TIME WILL, WILL ONLY STRENGTHEN AND BENEFIT YOU, UH, OVER THE YEARS. UM, ERIC HAD THE GREAT MENTORSHIP AND DIRECTION AND INSTRUCTION FROM CHERYL, CHERYL THESE LAST 13 YEARS. AND MARIA, I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA DO WELL LONG TERM, AND I THINK YOU'RE, YOU'RE CITY MANAGER. UH, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME. AND I THINK YOU'RE GONNA BENEFIT FROM THE DIRECTION, MENTORSHIP AND INSTRUCTION FROM ERIC AND OTHERS. SO THEN TO ERIC, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A BIG FAN OF YOURS EVER SINCE I WAS ON COUNCIL. WHEN WE WERE ON COUNCIL BACK THEN, UH, YOU AND JOANNA IN PARTICULAR, YOU ALL TOOK ON THE HARDEST ISSUES AND YOU MADE THOSE HARDEST ISSUES, VERY SIMPLE, UM, AND YOU SOLVED THEM, AND YOU GOT THE JOB DONE. AND THAT'S WHAT I'VE ALWAYS APPRECIATED ABOUT YOU, IS THAT YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT WE NEED AS A COUNCIL, UH, WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS, UM, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU FIGURE IT OUT AND YOU GET IT DONE. AND, UH, YOU'VE DONE THAT, YOU DID THAT, THEN YOU'VE DONE THAT FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING YOU GET THE JOB DONE, UH, AS WELL. AND THEN TO THE COUNCIL IN GENERAL, I KNOW WE'RE, WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND, AND, UH, AND AND SO FORTH. I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE UNANIMOUS VOTE. WE MAY OR MAY NOT GET THERE. UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UH, I KNOW THAT, THAT ERIC, YOU AND THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL WILL PULL THE CITY TOGETHER, UH, TO GET THE JOB DONE, THAT, THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR OUR CITY, UH, SO THAT WE CONTINUE TO PROGRESS AND MOVE FORWARD IN A, IN A UNITED FORMAT GOING FORWARD. UM, SO WITH THAT, MAYOR, I'M GONNA SUPPORT ERIC AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN HALL, COUNCILMAN COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, I'D LIKE TO START OFF BY JUST THANKING ALL OF THE CANDIDATES WHO APPLIED FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT POSITION, AND PARTICULARLY AS YOU'VE HEARD FROM SOME OF MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS, I REALLY WANNA, UH, EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION TO OUR COUNCIL MANAGEMENT, OUR CITY MANAGEMENT TEAM, UH, THE SIX OF YOU WHO ALL STEPPED FORWARD AND SAID, I WOULD BE HONORED TO DO THIS JOB. AND I BELIEVE ALL OF THOSE CANDIDATES HAVE GREAT, UH, SKILLS AND, UH, POTENTIAL FOR DOING THIS. AND IT, IT'S REALLY A CREDIT TO OUR COMMUNITY. UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL AND PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT TEAM, LEADERSHIP TEAM IN THIS CITY. AND I, THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME WHEN I CAME ON COUNCIL. AND I WOULD AGREE WITH WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID, THAT WE NEED TO THANK CHERYL FOR DEVELOPING THIS TEAM OVER THE YEARS THAT SHE'S BEEN THE LEADER. I HOPE THIS TEAM CONTINUES TO WORK TOGETHER AND WORK WELL TOGETHER. AND IT'S, IT'S FOR THE CITY AND IT'S FOR THE CITIZENS OF THIS COMMUNITY. ERIC, [01:15:01] I THINK YOU'VE EARNED THIS JOB. AND, UH, I'VE WORKED WITH YOU AND HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE TO VIEW HOW YOU WORK WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES, HOW YOU WORK WITH CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND WITH THEIR STAFF, AND HOW YOU WORK WITH THE PUBLIC. AND, UH, I HAVE THE UTMOST CONFIDENCE THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL AS OUR NEW CITY MANAGER. BUT I WANT TO CAUTION YOU, UH, IN THIS JOB. THERE'S NO HONEYMOON, , UH, AND, AND I, AND I'M SURE THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL CHALLENGE YOU AND EXPECT YOUR COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION ON A LOT OF IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT ARE GONNA COME UP. BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I OFFER YOU MY SINCERE AND HONEST COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION AND ALL THOSE ISSUES THAT COME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL. AND, UH, YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE MY SUPPORT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. COURAGE, COUNCILMAN BROADCAST. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, ERIC, JUST REAL QUICK, UH, VERY PROUD OF YOU, UH, THE WAY YOU CAME OUT TO THE DISTRICT SIX COMMUNITY AND, UH, ANSWERED EVERY QUESTION PUT TO YOU. UH, AND YOU WERE CANDID, HONEST, YOU WERE STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, AND THE RESIDENTS, UH, TO A T RESPECTED THAT. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MORE OF THAT IN THE FUTURE WITH YOU AS YOU INTERACT, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY. I'M BLESSED TO LEAD. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, AGAIN, ECHO EVERY COMMENT THAT'S COMING DOWN THE LINE HERE. YOU'VE EARNED THIS JOB. I'VE BEEN, UH, AROUND YOU FOR 10 YEARS, UH, ON THE STAFF SIDE AND, AND, AND AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL NOW. AND, UH, I'M JUST HONORED AND, AND PROUD TO MAKE THIS VOTE TODAY, UH, AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS, UH, OF YOUR SERVICE, HOPEFULLY. AND THEN, UH, AND, AND MOVING FORWARD, THE WORK YOU'RE GONNA DO, I THINK IS, IS GONNA BE TRANSFORMATIVE. AND I'M, I'M, I'M REALLY THANKFUL FOR, UH, YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND HELPING KEEP ME STRAIGHT. YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS OFTEN. UH, SOME DAYS IT WAS YOU THAT, THAT STOOD THERE WITH ME AND ANSWERED THE TOUGH QUESTIONS AND HELP ME THROUGH WHAT WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT JUMPING RIGHT IN IT, WHEN YOU GET ELECTED, YOU JUMP RIGHT INTO IT. AND FOR ALL THE WORK I'VE SEEN ON THE OTHER SIDE, WHEN I GOT INTO THE JOB YOU WERE ASSIGNED AS MY LIAISON. IT WAS A, IT WAS A GOOD FIT FOR ME. YEAH. AND YOU SAVED ME ON MANY A TOUGH DAY, AND YOU'VE WORKED WITH ME, WITH ME, AND I, I TRULY APPRECIATE THAT. UH, AND IT'S A BIG BLESSING AS WELL TO YOUR FAMILY. I KNOW MOM, AND THAT ENTIRE WALSH CREW WAS, UH, AT, ACTUALLY, I, I HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE TURN OUT AT THE DISTRICT SIX EVENT, VERY PROUD OF THE TURNOUT, BUT IT ONLY WAS THAT HIGH, I THINK, BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE THE WALSH FAMILY THAT SHOWED UP. UH, AND, UH, SEVERAL OF 'EM ARE DISTRICT SIX RESIDENTS. SO I'M, I'M SURE I'VE GOT TO BE ON EXTRA SPECIAL BEHAVIOR. UH, BUT WE'RE THANKFUL FOR THAT. AND TO YOUR, YOUR, YOUR WIFE AND YOUR CHILDREN, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE SACRIFICE. EVERY ONE OF US UP HERE KNOWS TO A T UM, WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND. AND IT IS NOT, UH, IT IS NOT EASY. AND WHEN YOU'RE MISSING YOUR DAUGHTER'S GAME, YOU KNOW, I MISSED MY SON'S STUFF AND HIS CUB SCOUT THINGS, AND IT HURTS. AND, UH, AND YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD. SO WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE OFFERING FROM YOUR FAMILY, UH, FROM US, THANK YOU. UH, IT IS SOMETHING SPECIAL TO TO, TO SIT ON THE SIDE OF A PUBLIC SERVANT AND BE THERE. AND I KNOW MOM AND, AND YOUR FAMILY ARE BEAMING WITH PRIDE RIGHT NOW, AS AM I TO MAKE THIS VOTE TODAY. SO, ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY OF DISTRICT SIX, WE ARE PROUD OF YOU. UH, TODAY WE CAST A VOTE FOR THE FUTURE OF SAN ANTONIO AND THE CHANGE YOU'RE GONNA BRING, THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO MAKING, UH, MY VOTE TODAY IN SUPPORT OF MR. ERIC WALSH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN BROADCAST, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. THANK YOU, MAYOR ERIC, CONGRATULATIONS, UM, ON THIS APPOINTMENT. AND, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO YOUR FAMILY. YOU MUST BE EXCEPTIONALLY PROUD. THIS IS REALLY LIKE A, JUST AN ABSOLUTE CAREER HIGH POINT, UH, FOR, FOR MR. WALSH. CLAIRE, I'M SORRY THAT YOUR DAD MISSED YOUR SHOT THE OTHER NIGHT, BUT CONGRATULATIONS. I HOPE THAT WE'LL BE SEEING YOU AND YOUR BROTHER AROUND HERE, UH, OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. UH, I DO WANNA THANK THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR, UH, LEADING THE HIRE, THE RECRUITMENT, THE HIRING PROCESS. I THINK IT WENT FAIRLY, FAIRLY SMOOTHLY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK. UH, ANDY AND, AND LIZ, I ALSO, UM, WOULD BE REMISS IF I DID NOT THANK CITY MANAGER, CHERYL SCULLY, FOR PUTTING US AT THIS POINT WHERE WE COULD MOVE ON. AND, AND WE JUST HAD A WHOLE SLATE OF CANDIDATES WE COULD HAVE CHOSEN FROM AND JUST BEEN JUST FINE. UM, BUT ERIC, I THINK YOU WERE CLEARLY THE, THE ONE AT THE TOP. UH, YOU AND, UH, MARIA, WHO MOVED FORWARD TO THE SECOND ROUND OF INTERVIEWS. BOTH I FELT REALLY UNDERSTOOD, UH, WHERE THE CITY WAS RIGHT NOW, THE CHALLENGES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE NEEDED TO FACE. AND BOTH OF YOU HAVE WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW. UM, MARIA, I HOPE YOU'LL STILL BE WITH US IN A FEW YEARS, UH, WHEN, UH, THESE EIGHT YEARS ARE GONE. NOT THAT I WANT THEM TO GO BY QUICKLY, ERIC. WE HAVE A LOT, A LOT OF WORK, UH, TO DO. UM, I ALSO, UM, I REALIZE THAT WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL IS NOT THE ONLY PART OF YOUR JOB. LIKE YOU SAID, YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH A 12,000 PERSON ORGANIZATION. YOU HAVE TO LEAD THEM. UM, AND YOU ALSO HAVE TO WORK WITH THE [01:20:01] COMMUNITY. OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS, WE'VE SEEN YOU INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY. YOU'VE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB AT BEING APPROACHABLE, VERY HONEST, VERY CANDID, UH, STRAIGHT SHOOTER. AND I, THEY REALLY RESPECT THAT. WHEN YOU CAME OUT TO THE DISTRICT SEVEN, UH, FIELD OFFICES AND MET WITH THE LEADERSHIP THERE, I THINK IT JUST, THE ENERGY IN THE ROOM WAS REALLY, REALLY GOOD. AND THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING YOU TAKE, TAKE THE HELM. UM, I ALSO MENTIONED TO YOU THAT NIGHT THAT I MADE SOME CALLS TO SOME OF YOUR FORMER, UH, AND CURRENT EMPLOYEES BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING, HAVING A LEADER THAT CAN INSPIRE THEM AND THEY CAN LOOK UP TO, IT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT. AND ERIC, I HEARD NOTHING BUT WONDERFUL THINGS, UH, ABOUT YOU. AND THERE ARE FOLKS ALL OVER THIS AGENCY THAT ARE VERY EXCITED FOR YOU TO, TO TAKE THE LEAD. AND THEY WILL, THEY WILL BE BEHIND YOU. AND, UH, JUST ONE LAST POINT IS, I, IT TAKES A VERY SPECIAL PERSON TO BE A DEDICATED LIFELONG GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE. I'VE WORKED IN, IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF GOVERNMENT FOR 10 YEARS, UH, BEFORE I CAME TO, TO THE COUNCIL. AND EVERY SO OFTEN YOU COME ACROSS FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME, AND THEY REALLY JUST LOST THEIR MOJO, RIGHT? UM, AND THEY, THEY LOVE THE SECURITY OF THE JOB. AND YOU NEED TO CONTINUALLY FIND A WAY TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND KEEP THAT INSPIRATION. AND ERIC, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAS BEEN HERE 24 YEARS AT THE SAME AGENCY AND STILL LOVES WHAT HE DOES, FINDS A WAY TO STAY INSPIRED AND, AND STAY CREATIVE. AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY WHAT, WHAT WE NEED AT THE, AT THE FOREFRONT OF THIS ORGANIZATION. SO, CONGRATULATIONS, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL. COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, ERIC, NO SURPRISE TO US THAT YOU ARE NOT MY FIRST CHOICE FOR THIS JOB. UM, YOU ARE NOT EVEN MY SECOND CHOICE FOR THIS JOB. UH, AND THEN WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET ONE-ON-ONE, AND THEN I WAS ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED YOU ARE NOT THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS JOB, . UH, AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE, UH, I FELT LIKE THE PRIORITIES OF MY DISTRICT, WHICH HAVE BEEN EQUITY, HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, YOU ARE NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH, AND THEN WE WENT, YOU HAD YOUR FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH A COMMUNITY AT A WEST SIDE PRESIDENT'S MEETING. UH, IT WAS VERY SPONTANEOUS. THE MEETING WAS ALREADY SCHEDULED, AND WE ASKED IF YOU COULD COME JOIN US. AND SOMEBODY IN THE AUDIENCE ASKED YOU, HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE WEST SIDE? AND YOU COULDN'T ANSWER. AND SO THEN WE HAD OUR MEETING ON WEDNESDAY AT U T S A, ANOTHER DOWNTOWN. UM, AND I SAW YOUR WHOLE FAMILY THERE, YOUR PARENTS, YOUR WIFE, YOUR IN-LAWS, YOUR COUSINS, YOUR BROTHERS. I THOUGHT, WELL, MAYBE HE'S NOT SO BAD. I MEAN, IF HE'S GONNA BE SURROUNDED BY HIS FAMILY, HE MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING GOOD IN HIS LIFE THAT THEY KEEP SUPPORTING HIM, UH, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UH, AND THAT THEY'LL BE WILLING TO, UM, TO COME OUT ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT. UH, BUT AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, I WAS SCHEDULED OUT OF TOWN THIS LAST WEEKEND. UM, KEVIN WAS, UH, GONNA BE IN SAN FRANCISCO FOR A CYBER CONFERENCE, AND I WAS SCHEDULED TO TAG ALONG WITH HIM. SO I HAD SOME TIME TO SPEND WITH MY HUSBAND, AND THEN, UH, HAD LOTS OF TIME TO SPEND ALONE. UH, AND I WANDERED THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO THINKING ABOUT HOW OUR CITY FUNCTIONS, THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE LONG-TERM, UM, IMPACTS OF OUR CITY, UH, ARE THE DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, WHAT WOULD THEY LOOK LIKE? UH, AND I CAME UP WITH A LIST OF THINGS THAT I FELT WOULD BE PRIORITIES FOR ME AND FOR THE DISTRICT. AND, AND HOW THIS DECISION, UH, THAT I BELIEVE THAT WE MAKE TODAY WILL REALLY IMPACT US FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. AND I HAVE SOME URGENCY TO WORK TOGETHER, GIVEN THE FACT THAT I'M TERM LIMITED IN TWO YEARS. I HAVE A LONG LIST OF THINGS TO DO. UH, AND SO AFTER A SUB ADDITIONAL MEETING, UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT I THINK YOU HAVE ALL THE SKILLS NECESSARY, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT DISTRICT FIVE, UH, DOESN'T GET LEFT BEHIND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. UM, I CAN SEE THAT YOU'RE A MAN WHO'S VERY COMMITTED, A MAN WHO'S HARDWORKING, HONEST, RELIABLE, OPEN-HEARTED, OPEN TO IDEAS, UM, A MAN ALSO WHO'S A MAN OF GREAT REFLECTION, UM, AND WHO WILL ENSURE THAT EVERY PART OF THIS CITY [01:25:01] HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO SUCCEED. AND IT'S A LOT OF PRESSURE FOR A PERSON, UM, TO MAKE THAT COMMITMENT THAT YOU WILL TAKE CARE OF EVERY PART OF THE CITY EQUALLY, UH, ESPECIALLY THE PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND, UM, AND PERHAPS GIVEN A LITTLE EDGE TOWARDS THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST. UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE THAT PERSON. UM, AND SO IT HAS BEEN BE, UH, WITH SOME REFLECTION, UH, AND SOME COMMITMENT ON YOUR PART, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND BRING ADVANCEMENTS OF THOSE THINGS THAT, UH, I THINK ARE CRITICAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE CITY. UM, AND I BELIEVE VERY MUCH THAT YOU CAN DO THAT. UH, AND SO, UM, I I, I FEEL VERY EMOTIONAL AS I SEE ALL YOUR FAMILY HERE BEHIND YOU TODAY. I CAN'T IMAGINE ANY MORE IMPORTANT MISSION IN LIFE MM-HMM. THAN TO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR WIFE AND YOUR CHILDREN. I THINK THAT THAT IS, UM, TRULY THE MAN THAT YOU ARE. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS THAT I HAVE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT DISTRICT FIVE IS ON THE TOP OF YOUR LIST OF PRIORITIES, UH, MM-HMM. , UH, WHEN IT COMES, ESPECIALLY TO ISSUES OF EQUITY. UH, SO, UM, I, I WILL, UH, LOOK FORWARD AND VERY PROUDLY, UH, SUPPORT YOU, ERIC, TO BE OUR NEXT CITY MANAGER. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. COUNCILMAN VERAN. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, I'D LIKE TO FIRST THANK ALL OF THE APPLICANTS, UM, WHO PUT FORWARD, UH, THEIR NAMES HERE. I ALSO WANNA THANK CHERYL, UM, FOR YOUR STRONG TEAM THAT YOU HAVE PUT HERE, UM, IN PLACE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND, UM, IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO WORK WITH SUCH A GREAT, STRONG TEAM, AND THIS IS A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT DECISION FOR US TODAY. AND IT'S THANKS TO A STRONG TEAM THAT IT'S MADE IT SUCH A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION. UM, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK SPECIFICALLY SOME OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UH, FIRST COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, UM, RAY AND COUNCIL MEMBER HALL, AND AGAIN, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, UM, FOR THEIR, UM, INSIGHT AND THOUGHTS. I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE RESIDENTS WHO CAME OUT TO HIGHLAND HILLS, UM, THIS WEEK. IT WAS A GREAT TURNOUT. UM, AND THEY ASKED, UH, THE QUESTIONS, AND THANK YOU, ERIC, FOR BEING THERE AND WAS MENTIONED BEFORE FOR BEING, UM, VERY FORTHCOMING AND STRAIGHTFORWARD WITH YOUR ANSWERS. AND, UH, THAT IS, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE RESIDENTS WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UH, ABOUT. UM, WE HAD SOME INCREDIBLE INTERNAL CANDIDATES BECAUSE THEY ALL CARE ABOUT SAN ANTONIO AND THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY CALL HOME. AND THE POSITION OF CITY MANAGER IS CRUCIAL TO OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND IT WORKS TO IMPLEMENT COUNCIL POLICY AND DIRECTION. AND THERE ARE MANY PRIORITIES. AND LIKE WAS MENTIONED BY COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ, ERIC, YOU KNOW, MY CONCERNS THAT I HAVE AND THE PRIORITIES THAT WE LISTED AND MY CONCERNS OF THIS PROCESS, ALSO, I HAVE TO SAY, UM, YOU KNEW I HAD CONCERNS GOING IN AFTER THE FIRST INTERVIEWS AND THE SECOND INTERVIEWS. AND MY CONCERNS ARE, IS YOUR IN, IS THE INFORMATION IN YOUR BASE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY MM-HMM. . UM, AND SO I WANNA GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR POSITION AND YOUR VISION WHEN IT COMES TO EQUITY FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. MM-HMM. , UH, THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN. UM, THE, THE PRIOR HOUR BEFORE THIS ITEM, UM, WERE GREAT EXAMPLES OF THE CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY. WERE WELCOMING YOU COMPANIES, UM, INTO TOWN, EXAMPLES OF EXPANSION. UM, THE MANAGER'S ROLE IN THAT IS TO IMPLEMENT AND DEVELOP AND BE A GOOD PARTNER WITH COUNCIL'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES. UM, IT'S A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY. WE HAVE TARGETED INDUSTRIES THAT THE CITY HAS IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL'S ACTIONS. UM, AND THERE WILL BE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE IN FRONT OF US. THAT'S A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND, AND, AND AN EFFORT THAT I CONTINUE TO LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL IN ORDER TO DELIVER THOSE. UM, THAT IS, UH, AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS, [01:30:01] IS A, IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THAT. UM, THOSE, MY VISION OF THAT, MY VISION OF THAT COUNCILWOMAN IS TO EXECUTE YOUR DIRECTION. THAT'S MY VISION. ALRIGHT. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. I DON'T THINK THERE'S A CITY MANAGER'S VISION AND THEN A CITY COUNCIL VISION. IT'S A SHARED VISION. SO MY, MY PLAN IS TO ATTEMPT AND SUCCEED AT DEVELOPING THIS ORGANIZATION AND THIS BODY'S, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POSITION. AND THE ISSUE OF EQUITY. EQUITY, UM, IS UP, HAS BEEN A HIGH PRIORITY FOR THIS COUNCIL, UH, FOR THE LAST TWO BUDGETS. AND A LOT OF THAT BEGAN EARLY ON WITH SOME WORK THAT WAS DONE BY COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE. BUT IT GOES BEYOND INFRASTRUCTURE. AND I THINK YOU'VE SEEN THROUGH THE BUDGET THE LAST TWO YEARS, A RECOGNITION. AND FRANKLY, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT BEEN, THAT'S BEEN TALKED ABOUT AT EVERY COMMUNITY MEETING I'VE BEEN TO. AND I SUSPECT IT'LL CONTINUE TO BE A, A, A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION. AND THAT'S, UM, DIRECTING AND FOCUSING ON, UH, AREAS OF TOWN OR SERVICES WHERE, UH, CERTAIN, CERTAIN PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY HAVE HAD, UM, HISTORIES, CHALLENGES OR BACKGROUND AND, AND MAY HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND. AND IT'S THAT, IT'S THAT BALANCE THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE, I, I AM GONNA, I PROBABLY SPEAKING ON Y'ALL'S BEHALF, THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PRIORITY OF THIS COUNCIL AND WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BE A PRIORITY OF THE NEXT CITY MANAGER AND THE STAFF, BECAUSE THAT SETS THE TONE. AND IT'S RECOGNIZING THAT THERE ARE PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT MAY NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T RECEIVED THAT IN THE PAST. UM, I THINK IT'S, UH, I THINK IT'S SENSIBLE. I THINK IT'S A COMPASSIONATE WAY. I THINK AS AN, AS A, AS A, AS AN ORGANIZATION, AS THE LARGEST PUBLIC ENTITY, UH, IN THIS COUNTY, WE SET THE TONE FOR EVERY OTHER PUBLIC AGENCY. AND SO I THINK OTHERS ARE LOOKING FOR IT. UM, AND, AND I CERTAINLY THINK THAT YOU AND THE REST OF YOUR COLLEAGUES WILL EXPECT IT OF ME, AND I'M COMMITTED TO IT. THANK YOU, ERIC. SOME OTHER PRIORITIES ARE, UM, AND I MENTIONED THESE THE OTHER NIGHT, BUT NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE IN TRANSITION, THE INCLUSIVE GROWTH, STRA STRATEGY AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND HOW WE DETERMINE WHERE PUBLIC POLICE SUBSTATIONS GO, HOMELESSNESS AND PROPERTY APPRAISALS. I WANNA THANK GENERAL QUASS FOR HIS COMMENTS TODAY ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS OF TRUST, ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION AND TEAMWORK. AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE APPLICANTS BECAUSE YOU CAME PREPARED. YOU WERE ALL, YOU TOOK THIS PROFESSIONALLY READY FOR THOSE INTERVIEWS, AND YOU TOOK THEM SERIOUSLY AGAIN, FOR THE LOVE OF SAN ANTONIO. AND THIS MORNING I WAS REFLECTING ABOUT MY DECISION AND THINKING ABOUT THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, MARIA, THE DECE, THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGERS, PETER, AND THE ROLE OF THE CITY MANAGER IS WHAT CA AND WHAT CAME TO MIND WAS SCRIPTURE. AND THIS IS FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 12. JUST AS A BODY, THOUGH ONE HAS MANY PARTS, BUT ALL IT MANY, ITS MANY PARTS FORM ONE BODY. NOW, IF THE FOOT SHOULD SAY, BECAUSE I'M NOT A HAND, I DO NOT BELONG TO THE BODY, IT WOULD NOT FOR THAT REASON, STOP BEING A PART OF THE BODY. AND IF THE EAR SHOULD SAY, BECAUSE I AM NOT AN EYE, I DO NOT BELONG TO THE BODY, IT WOULD NOT FOR THAT REASON, STOP BEING A PART OF THE BODY. IF THE WHOLE BODY WERE AN EYE, WHERE WOULD THE SENSE OF HEARING BE? IF THE WHOLE BODY WERE AN EAR, WHERE WOULD THE SENSE OF SMELL BE? IF ONE PART SUFFERS? EVERY PART SUFFERS WITH IT. IF ONE PART IS HONORED, EVERY PART REJOICES WITH IT. MM-HMM. , WE ARE A TEAM, AND I KNOW THAT YOU BELIEVE IN TEAMWORK BECAUSE WE SAT AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. ERIC AND ERIC, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. SOME OF YOU ALL MAY NOT KNOW THIS, AND HE MAY NOT EVEN REMEMBER THIS, BUT I DO. I FIRST MET ERIC IN 1998 WHEN I WAS A COUNCIL AIDE HERE AT SENATE AT CITY HALL AT THE TIME. I ALSO MET PETER AND BEN, AND HE HAS WORKED HARD SINCE THEN. AND HE CONTINUES TO WORK HARD EVERY DAY. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING YOUR FAMILY, UM, FROM FAMILY HERE BECAUSE, UH, YOU PROVE THAT YOU ARE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE TO ME. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 'CAUSE YOU HAVE YOUR CONNECTIONS IN THE SOUTH SIDE TOO. BUT WHAT I ALSO WANT TO TALK AB, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, ERIC. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE THE COMMUNICATION, THAT WE CONTINUE THE TEAMWORK, AND THAT WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER. WE NEED TO BUILD BRIDGES, WE NEED TO BREAK STRONGHOLDS, AND WE NEED TO MOVE INTO THIS NEW ERA TOGETHER WITH YOU AS OUR CITY MANAGER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [01:35:01] THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN GRO. THAT'S EVERYONE. UH, ERIC, WHO'S, UH, QUEUED UP TO SPEAK. UM, I THINK YOU'VE HEARD A LOT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF, COUPLE OF WEEKS AND SO HAVE, UH, EVERYONE IN THIS COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW WEIGHTY THIS DECISION IS. I I JUST WANT TO SAY, UH, TO YOUR IN-LAWS GEORGE AND ELIANA, UM, TO YOUR PARENTS, JOHN, IRENE, UH, TO YOUR WIFE, SANDRA, YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY, YOU MUST BE VERY PROUD OF YOUR SON RIGHT NOW. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, THE DAYS AND THE WEEKS AND THE MONTHS AND THE YEARS AHEAD BECAUSE THE ENTIRE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL BE VERY PROUD OF YOUR SON. UH, ERIC WALSH. CONGRATULATIONS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU START ON MARCH 1ST. CHERYL. UM, YOU'RE NOT DONE. UH, WE WILL HAVE A MOMENT IN THE SUN FOR YOU, UH, AS WAS WILL THIS WHOLE CITY, UH, IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR GREAT WORK AND THE TEAM THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER TO BRING US TO, TO THIS POINT TODAY. UM, BUT WITH THAT, WE DO HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ERIC, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS BEFORE, UH, BEFORE WE TAKE OUR VOTE? I'LL JUST MAKE A COUPLE OF QUICK COMMENTS, MAYOR. SURE. I KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE PRESSED FOR TIME AND, AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, MANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE ALREADY POINTED OUT, UH, A LOT OF THE THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO SAY. BUT I AM, UH, EXCITED, HONORED, AND HUMBLED, UH, TO BE, UH, THE NEXT CITY MANAGER IF APPROVED BY YOU, UH, OF OUR GREAT CITY. UM, IT IS A, UH, CAREER OPPORTUNITY FOR ME PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY. IT'S A, IT'S A CAREER ACHIEVEMENT MOMENT AND IT'S PERSONAL BECAUSE, BECAUSE SAN ANTONIO IS HOME, UM, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THE CONFIDENCE. UH, AND I'M COMMITTED TO DOING THE BEST FOR THIS COMMUNITY AND COMMITTED TO, UH, WORKING AND TAKING THE DIRECTION FROM THIS MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND ANY OTHER FUTURE MAYOR AND COUNCIL'S. UM, MANY OF YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE GREAT TEAM WE HAVE HERE. WE HAVE A GREAT LEADERSHIP AND EXECUTIVE TEAM, AND I AM EXTREMELY FORTUNATE, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT. UM, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE. THEY'RE ALL DEDICATED LEADERS WITHIN THIS ORGANIZATION, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IN THIS COMMUNITY. UM, AND, AND, UH, MANY OF US HAVE WORKED TOGETHER FOR A LONG TIME. AND, UM, I WILL CERTAINLY, UM, NEED THEM. THEY ARE PART OF THAT CORE TEAM AS WE WORK WITH 12 THOU OVER 12,000 TEAM MEMBERS, 12,000 TEAM MEMBERS THAT DELIVER SERVICE EVERY DAY AND ARE COMMITTED TO THIS CITY. I'M EAGER AND LOOKING FORWARD TO OVERSEEING THAT TEAM AND SUPPORTING THEM. THEY'RE CRITICAL. UM, CHERYL, UH, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. EVERYBODY SAID IT, AND I'LL SAY IT A LITTLE BIT MORE PLAINLY, THAT, UM, YOU'VE DEVELOPED A COHESIVE PROFESSIONAL TEAM. UM, UH, THERE ARE PEOPLE, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, THERE ARE PEOPLE IN OUR PROFESSION THAT WOULD QUIT THEIR JOBS AND MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO COME WORK FOR CHERYL. AND WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES. UM, WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES. SHE'S PREPARED US. AND, UM, SHE HAS, UH, SET THE, THE TONE COUNCILMAN HALL'S RIGHT BACK THEN. UM, THERE, THERE, I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS A CONTENDER BACK THEN, BUT, BUT BACK THEN, UM, I THINK THERE WERE, UH, IT WAS A DIFFERENT SITUATION. AND YOU LOOK TODAY, YOU HAD STRONG, YOU HAD SIX STRONG CANDIDATES FOR THIS POSITION. AND THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO CHERYL'S PROFESSIONALISM. THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO HER MENTORSHIP, AND IT'S A TESTAMENT TO HOW SHE EXPECTS US TO DO OUR WORK. AND THEN FINALLY, I'D LIKE TO THANK MY FAMILY. THIS IS A FAMILY COMMITMENT, . SO I SAID A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THE SPURS DON'T PLAY BASKETBALL WITHOUT A BACKBOARD, AND I CAN'T DO THIS JOB WITHOUT MY FAMILY. THEY'RE MY BACKBOARD. SO, UH, SANDRA, THANK YOU FOR THE LOVE, SUPPORT, AND PATIENCE TO GET ME HERE TODAY. I'M CERTAINLY , I'M CERTAINLY GONNA NEED THAT GOING FORWARD, SO I'M READY TO, I'M, I'M READY AND EAGER TO GET TO WORK. AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD, IT'S GONNA BE VERY BUSY, UH, UH, FEBRUARY. AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE CONFIDENCE. WELL, HO, HOLD ON A MINUTE. , WE, WE, WE DON'T WANNA BE ANTICLIMACTIC HERE, BUT WE HAVEN'T VOTED YET, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE . SO, UH, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM NUMBER FOUR. PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. CONGRATULATIONS, ERIC WALSH. I [01:40:32] OKAY, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, UH, I DID WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE OUR CURRENT CITY MANAGER, CHERYL SCULLY, TO MAKE SOME REMARKS, UH, AS SOON AS UH, ERIC GETS BACK TO THE PODIUM. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, MAYOR, I JUST WANNA SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT, UH, ERIC THIS MORNING. UH, MOST OF YOU KNOW THAT SINCE 2005, TALENT RECRUITMENT, UH, RETENTION AND DEVELOPMENT HAVE BEEN PRIORITIES FOR ME AS CITY MANAGER AND FOR OUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. ERIC HAS SERVED AS A VALUABLE MEMBER OF THE CITY'S LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO PROMOTE HIM TWICE, UH, FIRST IN 2006 TO BECOME AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, AND THEN IN 2011, UH, TO BECOME DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. NOW, AS YOU KNOW, ERIC HAS A HISTORY AS A FOOTBALL PLAYER. AND IN THE MOVIE BLINDSIDE, WE CAME TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OFFENSIVE LINE, IN PARTICULAR, THAT THE LEFT TACKLE'S JOB IS TO PROTECT THE QUARTERBACK. NOW, ERIC MAY HAVE BEEN AN OFFENSIVE GUARD AT TRINITY UNIVERSITY, BUT ON THE CITY'S LEADERSHIP TEAM, HE HAS BEEN PROTECTING MY BLIND SIDE SINCE 2005. AND LIKE EVERY GOOD OFFENSIVE LINEMAN, ERIC, IS SMART, QUICK ON HIS FEET, ABLE TO READ THE FIELD WELL, AND PROTECTS THE QUARTERBACK FROM WHAT SHE CAN'T SEE COMING AND TO PROTECT HER BLIND SIDE. SO TODAY, I AM VERY CONFIDENT IN ERIC'S ABILITY TO SERVE AS QUARTERBACK OF THE CITY'S LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND KNOW HE WILL CARRY THE CITY ON TO MANY VICTORIES. SO MAYOR, IF YOU COULD JOIN ME, WE HAVE A GIFT THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH ERIC THIS MORNING AS THE CITY'S 20TH CITY MANAGER. OKAY. I, OKAY. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR PATIENCE. WE DO HAVE ONE MORE ITEM, UH, ACTUALLY TWO MORE ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA. NOW. WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER FIVE. ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS APPROVING OF THE FOLLOWING, UH, APPOINTMENTS TO THE C P S ENERGY BOARD. ITEM FIVE A IS THE RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE NOMINATION OF JUANITA JANIE GONZALEZ BY C P S ENERGY BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO SERVE AS TRUSTEE OF THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT OF THE C P SS ENERGY BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR A TERM THROUGH JANUARY 31ST, 2024. ITEM B IS THE RESOLUTION [01:45:01] APPROVING THAT APPOINTMENT AND THE REAPPOINTMENT OF MAYOR RON NURENBERG, EDWARD B. KELLY, JOHN T STEEN, PAULA GOLD WILLIAMS TO THE SA ENERGY ACQUISITION PUBLIC FACILITY CORPORATION FOR TERMS THROUGH JANUARY 31ST, 2021. AND THAT, OF COURSE, INCLUDES JANIE GONZALEZ. GREAT, THANK YOU. WE DO HAVE, UH, SOME, UH, CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER FIVE. WE'LL TAKE IN NOW START WITH JUAN SOLIS. MR. SOLIS, YOU'LL BE FOLLOWED BY MICHAEL BELDEN. GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. IT'LL BE HARD TO FOLLOW WHAT WE JUST SAW TODAY. UH, AND IT IS HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY. AND I WAS REMINDED AS I SAT IN THE AUDIENCE THAT, UH, THERE ARE SOME PERENNIALS THAT HAPPEN AS ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING FROM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE YOUR INVOCATION, YOU HAVE YOUR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, YOUR PLEDGE TO THE FLAG, AND THEN YOU HAVE JACK GER TALK TO YOU OFF. SO, SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGED FROM THE YEARS THAT I SERVED, UH, BUT I AM HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF SOUTH SIDE FIRST THE SOUTH CHAMBER, TO ENDORSE FOR US THE OPPORTUNITY FOR HAVING, WE BELIEVE A UNIQUE PERSON SERVE ON THE C P SS BOARD OF DIRECTORS. JANIE HAS A UNIQUE SET OF TALENTS. AS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMAN, SHE HAS HONED THE SKILLS TO PROPERLY ARTICULATE A VISION, COMPLETE THE TASK AHEAD OF TIME AND UNDER BUDGET AS A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE. SHE UNDERSTANDS THE ROLE AS A POLICYMAKER AND HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF GOALS FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF ALL OUR COMMUNITY. AND LASTLY, AS A MOM AND A BUSINESSWOMAN, SHE'S RAISED CHILDREN, SHE'S MENTORED EMPLOYEES, AND NOW SHE'LL RAISE THE LEVEL OF COMPETENCY, EMPATHY, AND UNDERSTANDING. AS A MEMBER OF THE C P SS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, IT IS TRUE THAT WHEN ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE AN EQUAL VOICE AT THE TABLE, THAT IT IS THEN THAT OUR COMMUNITY PROGRESSES OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS AROUND JOBS. AS INNOVATION AND GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BECOME AN IMPLEMENT PART OF WHAT WE DO, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE PROJECT THE JOBS THAT ARE THERE TODAY. AND WE START TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE RETRAINING OF THE C P S WORKFORCE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT FOR PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE. THE ROLE OF THE METER READER IS GONE. WE ALL KNOW THAT 'CAUSE OF TECHNOLOGY, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THOSE THAT ARE IN THE JOB TODAY, THAT ARE DOING OTHER JOBS, AS WE MOVE TOWARDS GREEN TECHNOLOGIES, BE PROTECTED, BE RETRAINED, AND BE PREPARED. BUT WE REST ASSURED MAYOR, AND YOU SHOULD TOO, THAT KNOWING THAT THE APPOINTMENT OF JAN GONZALEZ TODAY ENSURES THAT THE C P SS BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL HAVE A LEADER EXPERIENCED AND FULLY PREPARED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES OF TOMORROW. FOR THAT MR. MAYOR, WE'RE HAPPY TO ENDORSE JANE GONZALEZ. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. SOLIS. MICHAEL BELDEN, FOLLOWED BY MAYOR MARY DENNIS MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL BEFORE TALKING ABOUT JANE GONZALEZ, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD MY CONGRATULATIONS TO ERIC WALSH AND TO CHERYL FOR, YOU KNOW, THIRTEEN'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN UNLUCKY NUMBER. WELL, FOR SAN ANTONIO, 13 WAS A REALLY LUCKY NUMBER TO HAVE YOU FOR HERE THAT LONG. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE. UM, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL KNOW JANIE'S BACKGROUND, AND SO YOU, THERE'S NO POINT IN MY BELABORING THAT, BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO SAY ABOUT THAT IS, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT REALLY IS THE AMERICAN DREAM. SOUTHSIDE GIRL GOES TO COLLEGE, DOES WELL, BUILDS A COMPANY, BECOMES A REALLY ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY, DOES A LOT OF REALLY GOOD THINGS, AND NOW HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE ON A REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT BOARD. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOARDS IN THE CITY. UM, I'VE GOTTEN TO KNOW JANIE ON THE ALMO COLLEGES FOUNDATION BOARD, WHERE WE'VE SERVED TOGETHER FOR ABOUT, GOSH, I DON'T KNOW, EIGHT YEARS NOW, I THINK. AND WHAT I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT JANIE IS IF SHE SERVES ON THIS BOARD, SEVERAL THINGS WILL BE TRUE. NUMBER ONE, SHE'S A DATA DRIVEN PERSON. AND AN, AN INSTITUTION LIKE C P S IS DATA DRIVEN. SHE WILL BE A HUGE ASSET. SHE WILL BE THERE. SHE'S ALWAYS THERE. SHE WILL BE PREPARED, SHE'S ALWAYS PREPARED, AND SHE WILL BE ENGAGED. SHE WILL BE AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THAT BOARD, MAYBE SOMETIMES TOO ACTIVE. BUT JANIE WILL , JANIE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE. AND, AND JUST WHEN JANIE'S BACKGROUND AND EVERYTHING, AND SERVING WITH HER ON THE ALMA COLLEGES FOUNDATION, ONE OF THE THINGS SHE'S ALWAYS REMEMBERED IS WHERE SHE CAME FROM. SHE'S A FIRST IN FAMILY TO GRADUATE COLLEGE, AND SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A [01:50:01] HUGE BACKER OF THOSE KIDS THAT MOST OF THE KIDS AT ALMA COLLEGES WHO ARE FIRST IN FAMILY. SO YOU COULD, YOU WOULD DO YOURSELF A GREAT FAVOR BY SELECTING HER FOR THIS BOARD. I THANK YOU FOR THE TIME. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING ELSE YOU'RE DOING. HAVE A GOOD DAY. THANK YOU, MR. BELDEN. MAYOR MARY DENNIS, FOLLOWED BY JANE GONZALEZ. I THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, UH, MAYOR COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY A QUICK THANK YOU TO CHERYL SCULLY. SHE'S AN AMAZING PERSON AND BEEN A FANTASTIC CITY MANAGER. AND THANK YOU FOR HOW, WHEN MY HUSBAND PASSED AWAY, YOU SPENT THE DAY WITH OUR FAMILY, AND WE'LL NEVER FORGET THAT. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ERIC. BUT I HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF, UH, OUR NOMINEE FOR C P S ENERGY FOR THE TRUSTEE BOARD, AND THAT'S MS. GONZALEZ. I KNOW YOU'VE READ HER BIO, IT'S QUITE IMPRESSIVE. SO YOU DON'T NEED ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT THAT. BUT I KNOW THAT SHE WOULD BE A GREAT PERSON TO REPRESENT. SHE'S GOT INNOVATIVE IDEAS. I LOVE HER, HER KNOWLEDGE ON CYBER SECURITY. I KNOW THAT THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR C P SS ENERGY IN OUR CITY GOING FORWARD. SO I'M ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT AS I SERVE AS A CITIZEN MEMBER OF THE C P S ENERGY, UH, PANEL. SO THANK YOU MUCH VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. AND, UH, GHOST SPURS. GO AND WELCOME AGAIN TO LIVE OAK. WE'LL BE OPENING THE IKEA ON FEBRUARY 13TH. SHAMELESS PLUG, BUT WE INVITE YOU ALL TO COME OUT. SO THANK YOU, . THANK YOU, MAYOR DENNIS, RUB IT IN. REV IT IN, REV IT IN JANE GONZALEZ, FOLLOWED BY MICHAEL DE LA GARZA. HELLO, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. IT'S BEEN QUITE AN AMAZING MORNING THIS MORNING. I'M SO GLAD I WAS HERE. UH, I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF JANNIE GONZALEZ. UM, I BELIEVE THAT WHEN I'VE LOOKED AT HER RESUME, SHE IS PASSIONATE, SHE HAS EXPERIENCE. SHE'S A PHILANTHROPIST. SHE DOES A LOT OF COMMUNITY WORK, UH, ACROSS ALL DIFFERENT SECTORS, INCLUDING EDUCATION, ENERGY, UH, AND TECHNOLOGY. BUT THE, THE ONE THAT FOR ME, ALL OF, YOU KNOW, UH, MY PASSION HAS TO DO WITH, WE'VE MENTIONED EARLIER TODAY ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY. AND CURRENTLY IN OUR CITY, UH, I SIT WITH JANIE ON THE SOUTH SIDE FIRST, WHERE WE ARE TRYING TO ADDRESS A DISPARITY THAT DOES EXIST IN REGARDS TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY. AND SO, UH, JANIE HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE TRYING TO, UH, ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, THE EDUCATION CHALLENGES, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST FOR THE RESIDENTS, UH, IN THE SOUTH SIDE AND ACROSS DIFFERENT, UH, DISTRICTS. SO WITH THAT, I I, I'M GONNA CHALLENGE THE MAYOR AND I'M GONNA CHALLENGE CITY COUNCIL. I AM GOING TO PRESENT ONE LITTLE SIMPLE THOUGHT FOR YOU GUYS, AND I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I WANNA BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. WORKING WITH JANIE THROUGH C P S C P S A YEAR AGO, RECEIVED A D ON THE REPORT CARD. WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE DOLLARS THAT THEY WERE KEEPING HERE LOCALLY WITH THE SWIM BEES WAS VERY POOR. SO ONE WAY THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE PROBLEMS IS THAT WE MENTIONED CURRENTLY ABOUT RECRUITMENT. WE JUST GAVE GRANT MONEY AND INCENTIVES TO COMPANIES TO RELOCATE OUTSIDE OF THE AREA INTO SAN ANTONIO. WHAT I CHALLENGE US TO SAY IS, DO WE HAVE GYMS IN OUR OWN BACKYARDS, COUNCILMAN VIE GRAND? DO WE HAVE LOCAL SWIMS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN VIVIE, GRANT, COUNCILMAN HALL, AND ESPECIALLY WITH YOU, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, WHERE I'M SO PROUD OF YOU TALKING AS AND WELL, AS, UH, COUNCILMAN VIVIE GRAND, THERE IS AN EQUITY DISPARITY THAT EXISTS. SO I BELIEVE THAT JANE, JANE GONZALEZ WORKING WITH C P SS ALONG WITH THE SOUTH SIDE FIRST, WE CAN HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES BY LOOKING AT RECRUITMENT EXPANSION, WHERE THERE'S A DISPARITY, NOT ALLOCATING THOSE SAME INCENTIVES THROUGH GRANTS, THROUGH OPPORTUNITIES, CROSS COLLABORATION, ALLOWING LOCAL COMPANIES TO WORK WITH THE LOCAL AGENCIES. SO I THINK THERE'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR US, AND I'M SO GLAD TO BE HERE. AND I WANTED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO ERIC WALSH. I HAVE PERSONALLY WORKED WITH HIM WHERE HE WAS PUT INTO THE FIRE TRYING TO SOLVE A PROBLEM. I SAW HIM AS A COMMUNITY LEADER AND A SMALL ENTREPRENEUR. HE PUT TWO FEET INTO IT AND HELP FIX THE PROBLEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. GONZALEZ, MICHAEL DE LA GARZA. GOOD MORNING MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. UH, CITY MANAGER, SCULLY AND STAFF. UH, I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF A FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE, UH, THAT I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING AND WORKING FOR SEVERAL YEARS. AND THAT'S JUANITA, JANIE MARTINEZ GONZALEZ. UH, I WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH HER INITIALLY, UH, AS A CLIENT, UH, OF HERS, UH, WHEN WE WERE WORKING ON THE FIRST [01:55:01] LAS ES, UH, UH, FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN THAT BEGAN IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS UNDER ARCHBISHOP FLOTIS AT THE TIME. AND SHE WAS, UH, SHE WAS INVOLVED IN THE CREATION OF OUR WEBSITE AND OUR, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AT THE TIME. UH, ONE OF THE FEW MEXICANAS I THINK, THAT REALLY UNDERSTOOD THAT TECHNOLOGY AND WAS ABLE TO BRING IT TO THE TABLE AND MAKE IT A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PURSUE. UH, I ALSO LATER, UH, WORKED WITH HER AS A COLLEAGUE ON A PROPOSAL AND THEN ACTUAL WORK FOR THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. AND IN BOTH INSTANCES, WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT, UH, JANIE WAS I THINK WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT HER, UM, JANIE IS, UH, AN INTELLIGENT, UH, INQUISITIVE INDIVIDUAL. UH, JANIE, UH, IS AN OPINIONATED INDIVIDUAL, UH, THERE, BUT I WOULD SAY TO YOU THAT SHE BRINGS HER OPINIONS TO THE TABLE, BUT THEY'RE WELL THOUGHT OUT AND WELL PREPARED. UH, SHE DOES HER HOMEWORK, UH, AND WHEN YOU DISAGREE OR YOU HAVE ANOTHER THOUGHT, SHE DOESN'T CUT YOU OFF. SHE DOESN'T, UH, DISCREDIT YOUR, YOUR ALTERNATIVE WAY OF THINKING. SHE TAKES IT INTO CONSIDERATION AND, UH, SHE BRINGS IT INTO PLAY WITH HER OWN. AND FROM THAT DRAWS OTHER CONCLUSIONS THAT MAY ACTUALLY, UH, GO COUNTER TO HER ORIGINAL THOUGHT THAT SHE BROUGHT INTO THE MEETING. THAT TO ME, IS ALWAYS A SIGN OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHO'S GIVING GREAT THOUGHT AND GREAT CONSIDERATION TO THE INFORMATION AT HAND, AND SOMEONE VERY VALUABLE. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH C P S ENERGY, AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP MANAGE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL. AND, UH, I WAS PRIVY TO THE TRUSTEES THAT SERVED AT THAT TIME. AND I THINK I'VE GOT A SENSE OF THE DEMEANOR AND THE, THE NOTION OF WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD TO GREAT TRUSTEE. AND I THINK JANIE, UH, HAS ALL THOSE CHARACTERISTICS. SOMEONE WHO'S COMMITTED TO THE COMMUNITY, AS YOU CAN SEE BY HER PHILANTHROPY, HER COMMITMENT, UH, TO EDUCATION, ESPECIALLY THE STEAM EFFORT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN AND TO BE INVOLVED AS VIGOROUSLY AND QUITE FRANKLY, AS, UH, AS, AS COMPREHENSIVELY AS SHE'S BEEN. AND SO, WE'RE HAPPY TO, I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONSIDER HER A SOUTH SIGN GIRL, A PALM HEIGHTS GIRL, UH, SOMEONE WHO I THINK HAS A GREAT AFFINITY AND AN AMENABILITY TO UNDERSTANDING THOSE ISSUES, UH, AND BRING THEM TO THE TABLE. AND LASTLY, UH, TO, UH, MR. WALSH SHERICK, UH, SHARON DE LA GARZA AND THE REST OF THE DE LA GARZA FA, UH, FAMILY PASS ON THEIR CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. DE LA GARZA. MS. KIM HARREL, FOLLOWED BY JACK FINGER. THANKS. GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. IT IS SUCH AN HONOR TO BE HERE TODAY. I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF JANIE GONZALEZ. AS A GENERAL SO ELOQUENTLY PUT IT THIS MORNING, THE ABILITY THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COUNTRY TO SPEAK FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN, ASK QUESTIONS, LISTEN TO ALL POINTS OF VIEW, AND HAVE A PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION, IS A GIFT. AND JANIE TRULY EMBODIES THAT GIFT. HER ULTIMATE GOAL IS ALWAYS TO MAKE OUR CITY STRONGER FOR US AND OUR KIDS. AS AN S A I S D FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBER, I SERVE WITH JANIE, AND I SAW HER FIGHT FOR EQUITY AND A TOP NOTCH, INNOVATIVE, COMPASSIONATE EDUCATION FOR EVERY STUDENT SHE WAS ALWAYS OPEN TO, TO LISTENING TO DIFFERING OPINIONS IN ORDER TO COME TO THE BEST SOLUTION FOR THE DISTRICT, EDUCATORS AND KIDS. AS A GREATER CHAMBER BOARD MEMBER WITH JANIE, I WAS INSPIRED BY HOW SHE'S NEVER AFRAID TO THOUGHTFULLY SPEAK HER MIND AND DO WHAT SHE FEELS IS RIGHT TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE. SHE WAS ALWAYS FIRST TO OFFER TO SERVE ON A COMMITTEE OR COLLABORATE WITH THE TEAM TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX ISSUES. SHE ASKED TOUGH, VERY THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS AND DEMANDS EXCELLENCE, WHICH ALWAYS LED TO THE CREATION OF A BETTER AND MORE COMPREHENSIVE PRODUCT AND PROGRAM. AS A MOTHER, I'M INSPIRED EVERY DAY AT JANIE'S PASSION AND DEDICATION TO THIS COMMUNITY, WHILE ALSO BEING AN ABSOLUTE AMAZING MOM AND A FIERCE FEMALE, C E O I CAN'T IMAGINE A BETTER PERSON TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY ON THE C P S ENERGY BOARD AND ENSURE THAT OUR FUTURE AND THAT OF OUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS IS BRIGHT. THANK YOU EACH FOR YOUR TIME. AND I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. RO, MR. JACK M FINGER, FOLLOWED BY ELLIN FUENTES. OH, WELL, MR. MAYOR PRO TEM, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL. FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS JACK M. FINGER. FIRST A LITTLE PREPARATORY REMARKS HERE. PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME WHY I ALWAYS INFORM YOU AND NOTIFY YOU AS MY NAME IS JACK M [02:00:01] FINGER. WHY? I HAVE TO INSERT THE MIDDLE INITIAL THERE. AND I TELL 'EM, WELL, IT IS TO DIFFERENTIATE MY NAME FROM OTHER JACK FINGERS THAT ARE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. THERE ARE, AT LEAST AT ONE POINT, THERE ARE AT LEAST THE THREE OF US. AND PEOPLE HAVE THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS GOING TO EXPLODE, BUT THERE'S MORE THAN ONE JACK FINGER. BUT, UH, FORTUNATELY THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET. BUT, UH, ONE OTHER PERSON WHOSE NAME WAS JACK FINGER WAS MY DAD, MR. JACK ELFIN. HE, UH, HE, HE PASSED AWAY LAST WEEK AT THE RIPE OLD AGE OF 91 YEARS OLD. AND YES, I DO THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR CONDOLENCES ON THAT. UM, BUT IT LEADS ME TO, TO THE, THE, THE POINT AT HAND HERE. UH, FROM 1951 THROUGH 1970, MY DAD WORKED AT CITY PUBLIC SERVICE UTILITY. HE, UH, FOR THE FIRST FEW YEARS, HE WAS THEIR, THE, UM, WITH THE, UH, PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT. BUT FOR MANY YEARS AFTER THAT, HE WAS THEIR PUBLIC RELATIONS MAN, AND HE, UH, EDITED THE, MANAGED THE, UH, UH, THE COMPANY NEWS MAGAZINE, THE, THE BROADCASTER, WHICH I UNDERSTAND IS STILL IN EXISTENCE IN SOME SHAPE OR FORM THROUGHOUT THAT TIME, HE SAW THE, UH, THE EXPANSION OF, UH, THE CITY PUBLIC SERVICE CUSTOMER BASE, UH, GREW BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS, UH, SAW THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE, UH, BRO LAKE OPERATIONS, THE DELEY POWER PLANT, AND SO FORTH. THERE, HE LEFT IN THE EARLY 1970S. UH, FORTUNATELY, UH, JUST BEFORE THE BIG SCANDALS BROKE WITH THE, UH, ENERGY ACQUISITION COMPANIES THINKING IT WAS COASTAL STATES AT THE TIME. I THINK THAT WAS THE NAME OF IT. ANYWAY, CITY PUBLIC SERVICE HAS SEEN ITS OTHER SCANDALS OVER THE YEARS. UH, SOME THAT WE ARE FIGHTING TO THIS VERY DAY. UH, SMART METERS COME TO MIND. UH, WE WE'RE STILL FIGHTING THAT. WE'RE STILL FIGHTING, UM, WHAT WE CONSIDER EXORBITANT RATE HIKES, SO THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. UM, AND OF COURSE, THE, UM, WHAT OTHER BOONDOGGLES WE LOOK AT AS SOLAR AND WIND, UH, RESOURCES. NOW, SOLAR AND WIND, THOSE ARE FINE, BUT WE'D LIKE TO SEE THE, UH, THE PRIVATE SECTOR DO THAT INSTEAD OF THE RATE PAYERS, UH, SUBSIDIZING IT ALL THE TIME. UH, YES, MS. GONZALEZ, WE APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR TRYING TO TAKE A GOOD, HARD QUESTIONS AT THAT, LOOK AT THAT, AND MAYBE, MAYBE ONCE IN A WHILE SAY NO TO IT THERE. ANYWAY, BASICALLY, THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. FINGER AND OUR SINCEREST CONDOLENCES ON YOUR FATHER'S PASSING. MR. LIN SIFUENTES. THANK YOU, UH, EVERYONE. UH, MAYOR RON NEWBERG AND CITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENDLESS WORK. AND MANY OF YOU TOUCH ME IN DIFFERENT WAYS BECAUSE I HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS ALL OVER SAN ANTONIO, SO I KNOW Y'ALL WORK HARD AT WHAT YOU DO. UH, TODAY I AM SPEAKING AS A COMMUNITY VOICE. I'M A RETIRED EMPLOYEE, BUT I'M VERY INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. SO, UH, I COME AND SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF JANIE GONZALEZ. SHE'S A PERSON OF COMMITMENT AND VISION. AND I ECHO EVERYTHING THAT EVERYONE HERE HAS SPOKEN ABOUT. JANIE TODAY. UH, HAVING WORKED IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS FOR 41 YEARS, I KNOW THAT SHE'S GONNA BRING GREATNESS TO C P S WITH HER INTERNET AND, UH, SECURITY, UH, SENSE THAT SHE HAS. UH, I'D LIKE TO ALSO SAY THAT IN MANY AREAS OF OUR COMMUNITY, SHE HAS BEEN THERE, HER VOICE HAS BEEN THERE, HER PRESENCE HAS BEEN THERE, AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A LOT TO SAY ABOUT HER. BUT I DO WANNA SAY THAT ONE THING THAT STANDS OUT FOR ME IS THAT SHE IS A LATINA WHO HAS REALLY SHOWN HOW MUCH LATINAS AND HOW SUCCESSFUL LATINAS CAN BE. AND, UH, I, I, SHE'S HER SUCCESS, HER BUSINESS, HER PASSION SPEAKS FOR WHAT SHE IS FOR THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT SHE IS. SHE'S AN AMAZING TRAIL TRAILBLAZER. ALL I CAN SAY IS SHE'S A PERSON OF TRUST AND HIGH INTEGRITY. AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO THANK C P S FOR CONSIDERING HER TO BE TO THE BOARD, AND THEY WILL BE IN MUCH BETTER PLACE AND POSITION TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE GONNA AFFECT OUR GRANDKIDS AND THE WHOLE FUTURE OF OUR CITY. UH, I LEAVE YOU WITH JUST SAYING THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AND THANKS C P S FOR THE WONDERFUL WORK THAT THEY DO. IT'S NOT EASY, IT'S A HARD JOB FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS. BUT, UH, I'D LIKE TO THANK THEM. AND CHERYL SCULLY, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE. AND OUR NEW, UH, CITY MANAGER AND FAMILY, I'D LIKE [02:05:01] TO SAY THANK YOU TO THEM AS WELL. I LEAVE YOU, AND ALL I CAN SAY IS, THANK YOU, FUENTES. WE'LL, NOW TAKE COUNSEL, UH, COMMENTS STARTING WITH COUNCILMAN ART HALL. AND ACTUALLY, MAYOR, I'M GONNA DEFER THE FIRST, BUT, AND MOTION TO COUNCILMAN AL. TO COUNCILMAN AL. HE'S GONNA MAKE THE MOTION. YEAH. THANK, THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR. AND THANK YOU ART HALL. I WANTED TO, UM, UH, SPEAK FIRST AND MAYBE MAKE THE MOTION ON, ON BEHALF OF THE QUADRANT. AND I KNOW THAT, UH, ART BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH, BUT I THINK WE'RE ALL EAGER, UH, TO BE ABLE TO GET, TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF, OF JANIE. AND JANIE, THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING YOURSELF HERE, UH, TO, TO, TO BE VETTED. AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH EACH ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. SO, UH, BEFORE I JUST MAKE A FEW COMMENTS, I WANNA, ON BEHALF OF THE, THE C P SS QUADRANT AND THE RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT, UH, FOR THE BUSINESSES AND, AND ALL THE RATE PAYERS IN THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT OF SAN ANTONIO, UH, I'M HONORED TO MAKE THE MOTION AND APPROVE ITEMS FOR NUMBER FIVE A AND FIVE B, CONFIRMING THE NOMINATION OF JUANITA JANIE GONZALEZ BY C P SS ENERGY BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO SERVE AS TRUSTEE OF THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT ON THE C P S ENERGY BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR A TERM THROUGH JANUARY 31ST, 2024. AND, AND NOW THAT WE HAVE SECOND, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UM, JANIE, THAT, THAT, UH, I MAKE THE MOTION IN SUPPORT OF, OF, OF YOU TAKING ON THE POSITION WITH C P SS AND UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, YOU WILL NOT FORGET, UM, WHERE YOU COME FROM AND WHO YOU WORK FOR. AND, AND I ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT JANIE, PERHAPS AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH A LOT OF VETTING PROCESSES THROUGH OUR CITY MANAGER AND YOURSELF. HAVING, UH, MET MEMBER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY FROM EVERY DIFFERENT IDEOLOGY PERSPECTIVE, UH, EVERY DIFFERENT COUNCIL DISTRICT, UH, HAS MEANT A LOT TO US. BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT IN MANY CASES, YOU, OR REALLY ANYONE, UH, DOESN'T PASS EVERYONE'S, UH, BENCHMARK WITH RESPECT TO IDEOLOGY OR, OR POSITION. AND I HOPE WITH TIME AND STUDY, UH, ON THE ISSUES OF ADDRESSING AND FORMULATING RATES, UH, ON COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE, ON TACKLING FINANCIAL DECISIONS, WE'LL PROVE THAT WE MADE, UH, THE RIGHT CHOICE. BUT LET ME ALSO SAY THIS. YOU KNOW, LET ME POINT OUT THAT, THAT AS A LATINA, I PROMISE THAT IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME PEOPLE HAVE HAD MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WHO SHE IS AND, AND WHAT SHE'S CAPABLE OF. UH, SO LET'S ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, HAVING A MISCONCEPTION ABOUT WHERE SHE MIGHT STAND ON AN ISSUE OR WHAT SHE'S CAPABLE OF IS NOTHING THAT, UH, THAT JANIE IS A STRANGER TO. AND, AND WE ARE WELCOMING NOT ONLY HER PERSPECTIVE, UM, BUT THE FACT THAT SHE AND HER INDUSTRY AND IN HER BUSINESS HAS OFTENTIMES HAD TO RUN FASTER OR JUMP HIGHER AND, AND GO THROUGH HOOPS THAT PERHAPS OTHER COLLEAGUES, UH, WITHIN YOUR INDUSTRY HAVE NOT HAD TO GO THROUGH. UM, AND SO YOU'VE MET AND EXCEEDED EVERY STANDARD THAT I WOULD HOPE TO REPRESENT THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT. UM, AND I, AND I, AND I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST BOXES, IF YOU WILL, THAT I WOULD'VE WANT TO CHECK ON THE PERSON WHO REPRESENTS THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT, IS SOMEBODY WHO UNDERSTANDS, UH, WHAT IT'S LIKE TO GROW UP IN A COMMUNITY AND IN A FAMILY, UH, THAT STRUGGLES TO STRING A BUDGET TOGETHER AND, AND HOW OFTEN IT CAN BE, UH, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UM, THE GROCERY BILLS, UH, AND THE LIGHT BILL. AND I THINK THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF PERSPECTIVES THAT I REALLY WANTED IN SOMEBODY WHO IS REPRESENTING. AND, AND, AND JANIE AS, UM, YOU KNOW, A DAUGHTER OF THE SOUTH SIDE AND, AND A REPRESENTATIVE WHO, AGAIN, KNOWS WHO SHE WORKS FOR AND WHERE SHE COMES FROM. I'M EXCITED TO MAKE THAT MOTION. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. AND NOW, UH, COUNCILMAN ART HALL, AND THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU JANIE, FOR, FOR STEPPING UP. UH, I WILL TELL YOU JANIE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR MANY YEARS. UH, SHE'S ALSO AS A DEMOCRAT. SHE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE REPUBLICANS. UH, BUT JANIE, I, I THINK YOU'RE SMART. I THINK YOU'RE THOUGHTFUL. I THINK YOU'RE INVESTED. I THINK YOU'RE COMMUNITY, UH, ORIENTED. UH, MR. KELLY HAS SAID THAT YOU'RE DATA ORIENTED. THAT'S CERTAINLY TRUE. AND I THINK YOU'RE GONNA COME TO C P S WITH NO AGENDAS EXCEPT FOR DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR THE, FOR THE COMMUNITY. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON, ON THAT SIDE, AND, UM, I THINK YOU'LL DO A GREAT JOB. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. COUNCIL MEMBER GERRAN. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JANIE, FOR STEPPING UP. AND, UM, WE KNOW THAT YOUR TIME, ALL OF OUR TIMES, BUT YOUR TIME IS PULLED IN MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND WITH YOUR BEAUTIFUL BILLY JANE AND WITH ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR STEPPING UP AND DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING. I ALSO WANNA THANK AND CONGRATULATE THE BOARD MEMBERS OF SOUTHSIDE FIRST, WHO CAME OUT IN FULL FORCE, IF NOT HERE, THEN THEY SENT LETTERS FOR SURE. JANIE, PLEASE KNOW THAT, UM, THAT THEY SENT LETTERS IN SUPPORT. AND I WANNA CONGRATULATE THE BOARD MEMBERS OF C P S ENERGY WHO MOVED FORWARD WITH, UM, JANIE AS THE, UM, THE SELECTION FOR THIS PROCESS. I'M VERY PROUD THAT [02:10:01] SHE HAS A CONNECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. UM, I WILL SAY I'M VERY HAPPY THAT WE HAVE A LATINA AND A WOMAN, AND NOW ON THE C P S ENERGY BOARD. AND, UM, JANIE, WE KNOW THAT YOU ARE A TRAILBLAZER. YOU ARE A STRONG VOICE. YOU ARE A VERY SAVVY AND PATIENT BUSINESSWOMAN, UH, BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE DONE AND YOU'VE WORKED THROUGH THROUGHOUT THIS CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND, UM, YOU ARE GOING TO BE, UH, YOU WILL SPEAK UP AND YOU WILL SHOW UP, AND YOU WILL SPEAK ON EQUITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AT C P S ENERGY AND WITH OUR, UM, COMMUNITY. SO, IT'S MY HONOR TO, UH, SUPPORT THIS AND RATIFY THIS DECISION FROM OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN VIRON. COUNCILMAN TREVINO. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND I JUST WANT TO ECHO ALL THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE, AND JUST SIMPLY ADD THAT I MYSELF, UH, ENJOY HAVING TO, UH, GOTTEN TO KNOW YOU. JANIE, UH, THIS IS, UH, A GREAT, GREAT, UH, STEP AND, UH, KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE REPRESENTING, UH, THE ENTIRE CITY VERY, VERY WELL. UH, I WANNA SAY THAT, UH, CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR WANTING TO PROVIDE SOME INSIGHTS, SOME, SOME, UH, DIVERSITY, UH, IN, IN THE THOUGHTS THAT THIS BOARD BRINGS TO THE WAY C P S MOVES FORWARD. AND, UH, WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU, UH, FOR STEPPING UP, FOR BEING SOMEBODY THAT REPRESENTS THE COMMUNITY IN SUCH A SPECIAL WAY. UH, YOU'LL HAVE MY SUPPORT TODAY. THANK YOU, JANIE. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN TREVINO, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. THANK YOU MAYOR. AND, UH, THANK YOU, JANIE, FOR COMING THIS MORNING FOR, UM, ALLOWING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUBLICLY THANK YOU AND, UH, AND SUPPORT YOU, UH, AS A MEMBER OF THE C P S BOARD. UM, YOU MAY NOT KNOW THIS LITTLE SIDE STORY, BUT MANY YEARS AGO, YOU AND I WERE BOTH SELECTED TO REPRESENT, I WANNA SAY IT WAS THE SAN ANTONIO DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP TO THE INTERVIEW. AND SO AS A RESULT, I GOT THE JOB, , I GOT THE POSITION. UM, AND, UH, I, I WAS GRATEFUL THAT YOU DIDN'T COME THAT DAY, UH, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IF YOU HAD, UM, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN SELECTED OVER ME, UH, BECAUSE OF YOUR VAST QUALIFICATIONS, EVEN AT THAT TIME. UM, THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MAYBE 15 YEARS AGO. AND SO SINCE THEN, UH, YOU HAD HAD YOUR OWN BUSINESS. YOU WERE A WORKING MOM, YOU WERE ON THE VERGE OF THE LATINO C E O. YOU WERE THE FIRST, NOT JUST WOMAN, BUT YOU WERE THE FIRST PERSON I KNEW THAT HAD A, A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY THAT WAS SORT OF STILL IN THE BEGINNING PHASES WHERE WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE INTERNET WAS GOING OR WHAT WE WERE DOING. UM, AND SO YOU WERE THE FIRST PERSON I KNEW IN THAT INDUSTRY, UH, AND REALLY SHAPED MY OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO IN A CHANGING, EVOLVING INDUSTRY. AND SO THEN IT'S NO SECRET THAT YOU WOULD BE SELECTED HERE TODAY, THAT YOU WOULD BE, UH, OUR CHOICE TO MOVE THIS AGENCY FORWARD, ESPECIALLY IN A TIME OF TRANSITION. UH, I HAVE HERE THE CLIMATE ACTION READY PLAN, UH, WHICH WE KNOW THAT C P S WILL BE A MAJOR PART IN. AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO STUDYING IT WITH YOU AND COMING UP WITH WHAT IS THE BEST SOLUTION FOR, UH, OUR COMMUNITY. AND, UH, YOU HAVE A LONG HISTORY IN DISTRICT FIVE FROM BURBANK HIGH SCHOOL AND LIVED, UH, OFF OF ROYSTON IN THE AREA RIGHT THERE BY THE ALITOS, H E B. AND, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW OUR COMMUNITY WELL AND FINDING THE PROPER BALANCE OF WHAT OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS NEED, UH, IN TERMS OF THEIR, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, BUT ALSO THE, UH, WHAT WE EXPECT TO BE VERY RISING COSTS. UH, SO WE NEED TO GET THAT IN BALANCE. AND I THINK, UM, YOU ARE THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT BECAUSE YOU LIVE IN DIVERSE WORLDS THAT, OF A WOMAN IN TECHNOLOGY BEFORE HER TIME, UH, THAT OF A VERY EARLY IN LIFE MOM, AND THEN A VERY LATE IN LIFE MOM, UH, SOMETHING THAT YOU AND I ALSO HAVE IN COMMON, UH, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE, UH, A FUTURE FOR, UM, OUR CHILDREN, UH, WHO ARE STILL JUST BABIES. SO I LOOK FOR, UM, FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON THIS. I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A LEARNING, UM, LESSON FOR BOTH OF US. UH, AND I KNOW WITH THE SUPPORT OF MY COLLEAGUES AND THE SUPPORT OF THE TEAM AT C P S ENERGY, UH, WE WILL MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS. THANK YOU, JANIE, FOR, FOR, UH, STEPPING FORWARD. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ. COUNCILMAN PERRY. THANK YOU, SIR. THIS IS A BIG DAY. YOU KNOW, FIRST WE GOT ERIC, AND NOW WE GOT JANIE ON, ON THE, ON THE BOARD, AND I WILL CERTAINLY SUPPORT THIS. ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, WHAT I REALLY RESPECT IS, UH, JANIE IS, UH, THEY HIT IT RIGHT ON THE [02:15:01] HEAD WHILE AGO ABOUT BEING DATA DRIVEN. LET'S LOOK AT THE DATA FIRST BEFORE WE MAKE ANY, UH, DECISIONS MOVING FORWARD. UM, AND TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING. WHO KNOWS WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS, 50 YEARS. BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE AT, AT THE HIGHER LEVEL. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THIS BOARD IS TO DO, IS SET THE DIRECTION BASED ON PREDICTIONS WHERE YOU THINK THE FUTURE IS GONNA BE, TECHNOLOGY, WHERE THAT'S GOING. THERE'S A LOT TO THINK ABOUT IN A, IN AN OPERATION LIKE THIS, BUT, SO THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF CHALLENGES, BUT WHO BETTER TO HANDLE AND PROVIDE THAT DIRECTION THAN SOMEBODY THAT IS DEALING WITH THOSE CHALLENGES ON A DAILY BASIS, RUNNING A BUSINESS, RUNNING A HOUSEHOLD. I, I JUST THINK THIS IS A PERFECT FIT. BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU, LAST NIGHT I GOT A LETTER. I THINK ALL THE COUNCIL FOLKS GOT A LETTER FROM A GROUP SAYING, PLEASE VOTE. NO. AND I, I HAD, I HAD TO READ THAT LETTER LIKE THREE TIMES. I SAID, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HERE WE HAVE SOMEONE THAT IS A SUCCESSFUL PERSON IN BUSINESS AND IN THE COMMUNITY WILLING TO STEP UP AND PROVIDE THAT LEADERSHIP ON A BOARD NOT GETTING COMPENSATED FOR, AND STILL HAVING TO RUN A BUSINESS. I, I, I JUST HAD TO, AGAIN, I HAD TO READ THAT LETTER AT LEAST THREE TIMES. IT, IT'S BEYOND ME. IT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYBODY ALL THE TIME. BUT HAVING SAID THAT, I, I WANNA SAY THAT I WAS DISAPPOINTED IN GETTING THAT LETTER, THAT THERE'S GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT DON'T HAVE THE FORETHOUGHT AND THE EXPERTISE TO KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A MEMBER OF A BOARD LIKE THIS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION FOR A LARGE AGENCY LIKE THIS THAT SO MANY WE ALL DEPEND ON, ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS. SO I JUST, I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT LETTER TO BEGIN WITH. BUT I OFFER MY WHOLE SUPPORT. AND AGAIN, YOU HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY TO BE A MEMBER OF THIS BOARD. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU WITH YOUR EXPERTISE, YOUR KNOWLEDGE, HOW YOU'VE ENGAGED THE COMMUNITY, AND HOW SUCCESSFUL YOU HAVE BEEN AS A BUSINESSWOMAN HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. SO YOU HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT, AND CONGRATULATIONS, JANIE. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN PERRY, COUNCILMAN PAL. THANK YOU. UM, FOR ANYBODY IN THIS ROOM WHO HAS EVER THOUGHT, WOW, I'M THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THIS ROOM, LOOK AROUND AND MAKE SURE JANIE'S NOT IN THE ROOM BECAUSE SHE'S THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE ROOM. . UM, SERIOUSLY, JANIE, UM, YOU, YOU HAVE ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE FRONTAL LOBES I'VE EVER COME ACROSS. YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE REALLY ONE OF THE SMARTEST HUMAN BEINGS I'VE EVER MET. UH, AND IT'S LIKE SCARY, SCARY, SMART. UM, YOU'RE ALSO ONE OF THE MOST, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, IMPRESSIVE PEOPLE WHEN IT COMES TO BEING IMMUNE TO BSS. UH, YOU JUST DON'T PUT UP WITH IT. AND, UH, YOU MANAGE TO CUT RIGHT TO, UH, YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID, RIGHT? AND WHAT IT IS THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. YOU'RE ALSO ONE OF THE TOUGHEST HUMAN BEINGS I'VE EVER MET. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS THINKING, UH, YOU KNOW, JANIE DOESN'T KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE. JANIE KILLS TWO STONES WITH ONE BIRD. UH, THAT'S HOW TOUGH SHE IS, RIGHT? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF EVER YOU GUYS SAW TOM BRADY THROW, I THINK HE THROWS LIKE 67 YARDS, UH, YOU KNOW, JANIE THROWS TOM BRADY 67 YARDS. SHE'S LIKE THE TOUGHEST PERSON I KNOW. JANIE, YOU'RE PERFECT FOR THIS JOB. I THINK YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE JUST, WHAT YOU'VE MANAGED TO DO WITH WEB HEAD, UM, AND THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE THAT YOU'VE DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED ON THE C P S BOARD, AND IT, THE SUPPORT THAT PAULA AND HER TEAM NEED IN ORDER TO CONTINUE THIS TRADITION OF INNOVATION AND TAKE US INTO THE NEXT GENER, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT EVOLUTIONARY STEP OF WHAT C P S NEEDS TO BE FOR THIS NEXT, UM, A FUTURE SMART CITY. I, I CAN'T THINK OF ANY BETTER THAN ANYONE, BETTER THAN JANIE. SO, JANIE, CONGRATULATIONS. YOU GOT MY SUPPORT. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN PLIE, COUNCILMAN BROCK HOUSE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, JANIE, I'M, I'M PROUD TO SUPPORT YOU TODAY. IT'S BEEN, UH, IT'S, IT'S RARE WHEN YOU COME ACROSS TWO BIG ITEMS LIKE THIS, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY EASY VOTES. I MEAN, IT'S A, IT'S A VERY, IT'S A NICE DAY. UH, AND IT'S, YOU, YOU MAKE IT EASY BECAUSE YOUR RECORD OF SUCCESS AND JUST WHO YOU ARE, UH, AND WHEN THIS OPPORTUNITY OBVIOUSLY AROSE, AND I TALKED TO, UH, DR. AVADA, WHICH I, I DON'T, I MEAN, HOMER'S RUNNING AROUND [02:20:01] SOMEWHERE IN, IN THE CITY TODAY, I GET, I MISSED HIM LAST NIGHT ON THE PHONE, AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T THANK DISTRICT SIX RESIDENT AND 10 YEAR SERVICE MEMBER, RIGHT? I BELIEVE IT'S 10 YEARS. UH, DR. GDA, HE, HE'S TEACHING, HE'S TEACHING THE NERVE OF HIM TO BE MISSING THIS AND EDUCATING PEOPLE. UH, BUT NOW, YOU KNOW, DR. GDA, THANK YOU, UH, FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE, AND WE'RE PROUD OF HIS SERVICE. AND THEN YOU NORMALLY SAY, THERE'S BIG SHOES TO FILL, BUT YOU GOT THIS THING, I THINK YOU GOT THIS THING HANDLED. AND WHEN I, WHEN THE OPEN, THE OPPORTUNITY OPENED UP, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR NAME WAS LIKE, IMMEDIATELY AT THE TOP OF MY LIST. I MEAN, THERE'S, I THINK WE HAD A MEETING WITH, AND I SAID, UH, HOW ABOUT JAN GON, I DUNNO IF SHE'S APPLIED YET. I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA FIND OUT ABOUT THAT. AND, UH, YOU'RE JUST RIGHT FOR THE ROLE. YOU'RE THE RIGHT PERSON. AND THAT THOSE TWO THINGS ARE HARD TO FIND RIGHT PERSON, RIGHT ROLE, RIGHT TIME. AND, UM, MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO YOU, AND WHEN WE SPOKE ONE-ON-ONE INDIVIDUALLY, WAS OBVIOUSLY I DON'T HAVE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO SAY WHAT YOU THINK, UM, AND YOU AND I OR, OR MIRROR IMAGES OF EACH OTHER IN THAT. AND I RESPECT THAT IN YOU DEEPLY. AND I THINK YOU'RE GONNA BRING THAT DIVERSITY, NOT JUST OF WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON, BUT OF YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS TO THE, TO THE BOARD. I THINK IT'S GONNA BE FANTASTIC FOR CITIZENS. AND THEN THE SECOND CHALLENGE WAS, AND AND MY COLLEAGUE IN DISTRICT FOUR ALLUDED TO THIS, UM, THE, THE, THE CHANGING NATURE OF A C P S ENERGY BILL. FOR THOSE OF US IN THE COMMUNITY WHO STRUGGLE THE MOST, UM, IT'S THE ONE BILL THAT ALWAYS CHANGES. USUALLY YOUR CAR PAYMENT'S THE SAME, YOUR CELL PHONE BILL'S THE SAME MOST OF THE TIME, UNLESS YOU'RE MY KID BUYING A BUNCH OF APPS ON IT OR SOMETHING. UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR MORTGAGE, YOUR RENT, ALL THESE THINGS KIND OF LINE UP AND THEY'RE ALWAYS THE SAME. YET YOUR FLUCTUATING NATURE OF YOUR C P SS ENERGY BILL CAN BE THAT 50 OR 60 BUCKS. IF YOU'RE NOT WISE WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING, YOUR HOUSE IS NOT AS ENERGY EFFICIENT. ALL THESE CHANGES, UM, AND THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING THE MOST WITH IT, THAT 10, 15, 20 BUCKS IS A DIFFERENCE MAKER. IT'S GAS MONEY FOR THE WEEK. AND I CHALLENGE YOU TO ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOU'RE SITTING IN THAT GROUP OF FOLKS WHO ALL SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE AND THE C P SS ENERGY BILL MAYBE IS NOT AS IMPORTANT TO THEM IN THEIR LIFESPAN BECAUSE OF THE MONEY THEY'RE MAKING AND THE SUCCESSFUL CAREERS THEY'VE HAD, THE CCPS ENERGY BILL'S JUST OVER HERE. BUT YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE, SEE, YOU KNOW WHAT? I WRITE THAT CHECK, I SEE THAT CHECK, AND I'M THINKING ABOUT SOMEBODY WHO'S LIVING ON SOUTH SAN JOAQUIN IN THE WEST SIDE, AND THAT 25 BUCKS IS JUST DIFFERENT AND IT'S TOO MUCH. AND WE GOTTA MAKE THAT CALL. AND IF YOU COULD DO THAT FOR ME, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A FANTASTIC TIME WORKING TOGETHER. I'M LOOKING FORWARD, UM, TO SUPPORTING YOU MAKING THIS VOTE. I'M, I'M, I'M, I'M PROUD OF THIS ONE, AND I'M, I'M THINKING YOU'RE GONNA DO WONDERFUL THINGS FOR US. AND I WILL MAKE SURE TO SAY TOO, I KNOW WE SAID ABOUT THE RATE INCREASES. YOU KNOW, C P S ENERGY HADN'T DONE IT IN FIVE YEARS. UH, AND I THINK WE'RE NOT GONNA DO IT FOR THE SIXTH YEAR, WHICH IS A, WHICH IS A REALLY TOUGH GOAL CONSIDERING THE ENVIRONMENT WE'RE LIVING IN, UM, AND THE COST CUTTING MEASURES YOU'RE GOING THROUGH AS A UTILITY. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. I MEAN, THIS IS SIX YEARS RUNNING. UM, AND THOSE ARE THE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS YOU'RE GONNA BE FACING, JANIE, WHICH IS EVERY PENNY COUNTS TO PEOPLE, AND YOU'RE GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING THEM. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU TO BILLY JANE AND THE FAMILY, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO PARTNERING WITH YOU FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN BROCK, HOUSE, COUNCILMAN COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO DOUBT, JANIE, THAT, UH, YOU'RE CAPABLE AND THAT YOU'RE QUALIFIED AND READY TO STEP INTO THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT DECISION MAKING BODY. AND MY HOPE IS THAT, UH, THROUGH YOUR INSIGHT AND YOUR DUE DILIGENCE, THAT YOU'LL HELP MOVE C P SS ENERGY BOARD TOWARD DEVELOPING THE POLICIES THAT'LL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE ENERGY NEEDS THAT WE HAVE AS A GROWING CITY. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I HOPE THAT YOU'LL LOOK TOWARD CHANGING OUR HEAVY RELIANCE ON FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY PRODUCTION, UH, TOWARDS THE ALTERNATIVE AND HEALTHIER METHODS OF ENERGY PRODUCTION THAT ARE DEVELOPING. UH, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO REALLY RECOGNIZE, UH, THE CLIMATE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT WE HOLD AS ONE ENTERPRISE WITHIN ONE CITY, AND WE NEED TO ACT ON THAT. SAVING OUR CLIMATE AND THE PLANET AND THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN AND OUR GRANDCHILDREN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR JOB AS A MEMBER OF THAT BOARD. SO, JANIE, PLEASE REMAIN ALSO OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, UH, YOU KNOW, KEEP THE BOARD AND ITS COMMITTEES FOCUSED ON LISTENING TO WHAT THE PUBLIC HAS TO SAY AND INFORMING THEM CONSTANTLY ABOUT WHAT C C P S ENERGY'S PLANS ARE FOR THE FUTURE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN CURDS. COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE C P SS TEAM THAT'S HERE, PAULA CHAIR TEAM, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, UH, IN SUPPORT OF THIS NEW APPOINTMENT, UM, AND FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK ON, ON THAT BOARD CHAIR. UH, YOU DO AN EXCELLENT, UH, JOB. UH, JAMIE, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE. UM, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT AN EASY TASK. IT'S CERTAINLY NOT, UH, FINANCIALLY LUCRATIVE ANY IN, IN ANY WAY. AND I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A VERY BUSY INDIVIDUAL AND YOU HAVE [02:25:01] LOTS OF OTHER THINGS TO DO. SO THANK YOU FOR SETTING ASIDE THIS TIME TO SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY IN THIS WAY. UM, YOU HAVE A SIGNIFICANT RESPONSIBILITY BEFORE YOU, NOT JUST REPRESENTING PARTS OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT, UH, ALL THOSE CUSTOMERS AND RATE PAYERS IN, IN THE COUNTY. I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE TIME THAT YOU TOOK, UH, TO ENGAGE WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS, UH, WITH SOME CONSTITUENTS. YOU WENT OUT AND YOU VISITED, UH, WITH SOME, AND WITH MY STAFF AS WELL. I KNOW THEY, THEY, UM, GAVE YOU THE LECTURE ON THE PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND, UH, AND WITH MYSELF. UM, I SPECIFICALLY DO WANNA THANK YOU FOR MEETING WITH THE C P S ENVIRONMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS GROUP, AS HAS BEEN, UH, STATED BY MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCILMAN COURAGE. I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, FOR THERE TO BE SOME CONTACT BETWEEN THE BOARD MEMBERS, UH, DIRECTLY WITH, WITH THE PUBLIC. UH, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WILLING TO, TO LISTEN TO THEM. I THINK THAT BODES VERY WELL FOR A DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP IN, IN THE FUTURE. UM, I ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO THE PROGRESS, UH, THAT THE C P S BOARD WILL BRING IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA. UM, THE LISTENING SESSIONS ON THE FLEX PLAN, WHERE A WONDERFUL, UH, START TO, TO OPENING THAT DIALOGUE. AND I KNOW THAT, THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF PROGRESS TO MAKE, AND THAT THE MAYOR IS, IS DEDICATED TO. AND JANIE, THAT YOU HAVE ALSO, UH, LENT YOUR EAR TO THAT AS WELL. UH, I ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO OUR WORK ON THE CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN. THE DRAFT WAS RELEASED. AND JANIE, I AM, I WAS IMPRESSED BY YOUR EAGERNESS IN TAKING THAT PLAN. I WAS SHOWING IT TO YOU. I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO WALK OFF WITH IT, BUT YOU DID. SO THANK YOU FOR FOR, I'LL JUST PRINT ANOTHER COPY, BUT THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR EAGERNESS IN, IN TAKING THAT ON. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE WORKING TOGETHER ON MAKING SURE THAT GETS, UH, THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL AND ULTIMATELY IMPLEMENTED. UM, I WILL BE LONG GONE FROM COUNCIL WHEN, WHEN THE, YOU KNOW, THAT FINALLY GETS ALL IMPLEMENTED, BUT, UH, YOU WILL STILL BE ON C P S PROBABLY LONGER THAN I WILL BE ON COUNCIL. SO I HOPE THAT WE CAN STILL CONTINUE WORKING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION. SO, UM, THANK YOU. I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO YOUR SERVICE ON THIS AND CONTINUING OUR DIALOGUE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. AND, UH, JANIE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP UP INTO SERVE. THIS IS NOT JUST ANY APPOINTMENT. UH, THIS HAS A LOT RIDING ON IT, AND YOU UNDERSTAND THAT. UH, WHEN THESE, UH, POSITIONS COME OPEN AND WE DO THE OPEN APPLICATION PERIOD, WE'RE OFTEN KIND OF BRACING OURSELVES, HOPING THAT WE WOULD GET THE PERFECT PERSON, UH, TO FILL THE POSITION, BE ONE THAT APPLIES. AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT, UH, AS SOON AS I SAW YOUR APPLICATION COME THROUGH, I KNEW THAT THAT HAD ARRIVED. SO, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS COMMUNITY, YOUR BUSINESS ACUMEN THAT YOU'LL BRING TO THE BOARD, YOUR OPEN-MINDEDNESS, YOUR ATTUNED TO DATA, UH, AND JUST YOUR, YOUR CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONALISM. I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN THIS CAPACITY, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO, UM, YOU ON THIS, UH, NEW VENTURE. ALL RIGHT, THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM NUMBER FIVE. PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. WELCOME ABOARD. FLOOR IS YOURS. THIS SPEECH WAS TO CONVINCE YOU, SO I'M GONNA , FIRST OF ALL, GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND, AND COUNCIL LEADERS. AS YOU KNOW, MY NAME IS JEANNA GONZALEZ, BUT I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S AT STAKE HERE, AND I FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGE THAT FOR MANY IN THIS ROOM, I WAS NOT THE NOMINEE OF CHOICE. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I'VE HEARD, I'VE HEARD YOU, YOUR PRIORITIES ARE IMPORTANT TO ME, AND I'M COMMITTED TO DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY. I MUST ASSERT MY FIRM BELIEF THAT I'M UNIQUELY QUALIFIED, DIVERSE IN THOUGHT AND ACTION, AND COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABILITY. AS I MENTIONED, Y'ALL MENTIONED MANY TIMES, I AM A HARDWORKING MOTHER, WIFE, CITIZEN WITH STRONG COMMUNITY AND FAMILY VALUES, AND STILL BY MY PARENTS. THEY TAUGHT ME FAITH TO TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, TO BE HONEST, TRUSTWORTHY, AND ADD VALUE TO THE WORLD. YES, FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS, I'VE INCORPORATED MY BILINGUAL CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY OF GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, TOLERANCE, PRIDE AND DIFFERENCES, RESPECT FOR DEMOCRACY, COOPERATION, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, ALONG WITH MY FINANCIAL, BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL BACKGROUND, TO BUILD A BUSINESS WITH THE SAME PRINCIPLES DETERMINED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE FOR MY FAMILY, EMPLOYEES IN THE COMMUNITIES I SERVE AGAINST MANY ODDS TO INCLUDE RESISTANCE OF INCLUSION AND EQUALITY. I LOVE MY CITY, AND I'M FULLY VESTED IN ITS SUCCESS. AS YOU KNOW, I VOLUNTEER COUNTLESS OF OURS, FUNDRAISING, SERVING ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, ADVOCATING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, [02:30:02] VETERANS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WORKFORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, CANCER AWARENESS AND CARE, AND PROTECTING OUR NATIONAL RESOURCE ASSESSORS SET. ANTONIO RIVER, YOUR, YOUR VOTING CONFIDENCE TODAY GIVES ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE MY HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, DIVERSE AND NATIONAL LOCAL EXPERIENCE. SOFTEN TECHNICAL SKILLS AND PASSION TO BUILD UPON THE HARD WORD OF MANY IN THIS ROOM, WHO ARE FIGHTING TO INCREASE IN QUALITY, MEANINGFUL PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, TRANSPARENCY, AND A SUSTAINABLE CITY WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ABILITY OF EXISTING AND FUTURE GENERATIONS TO THE EXPERIENCE TO EXPERIENCE THE SAME. YOUR CONFIDENCE TODAY ALSO SHOWS THAT YOU TRUST MY SINCERE DESIRE AND ABILITY TO WORK IN A RESPECTFUL, COLLABORATIVE MANNER WITH AN ARRAY OF INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, KEY STAKEHOLDERS, TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT DELIVER TANGIBLE BENEFITS. I ASK YOU ONCE AGAIN, TO LOOK AT CYNICISM DIRECTLY IN THE EYE AND HAVE THE FAITH THAT THE BED IS JUST TO COME, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH ROOM. THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO. I, I AM READY TO TAKE ON THIS OPPORTUNITY. I CAN'T DO THIS ALONE. ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM NEED TO WORK TOGETHER. LET'S WORK TOGETHER. LET'S ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND START THE WORK. NOW. AGAIN, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR TRUST. GRACIAS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JANIE. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE ONE MORE ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY. ITEM Z ONE Z 20 18, 9 0 0 0 7. FROM R SIX TO RM FOUR C THREE NA TO C TWO, GENERALLY LOCATED SOUTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF PLEASANTON ROAD AND SOUTH FLORIDA STREET. STAFF ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMEND APPROVAL. 51 NOTICES MAILED, ZERO IN FAVOR AND ONE OPPOSED. THANK YOU. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MOTION TO, WELL, FIRST, WE CONTINUED THIS CASE FROM TWO WEEKS AGO TO ALLOW MORE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND DIALOGUE FROM THE RESIDENTS IN THIS IMMEDIATE AREA. THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS CURRENTLY IN TRANSITION AND COMPRISED OF FAMILY, SENIORS, A CHURCH, AND SMALL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE MADE INVESTMENTS IN THIS AREA FOR MANY DECADES. AND AS WE WELCOME NEW DEVELOPMENT AND REINVESTMENT, WE ALSO WANT TO ENSURE THAT THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE AUTHENTIC AND RESPECTFUL OF THE CHARACTER TO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. I HAVE EXPRESSED THE DEVELOPER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TREE PRESERVATION IN THIS AREA, INCLUDING THE RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE BUFFER AND KEEPING THE HERITAGE AND PECAN TREES THAT ARE THERE THAT ARE PRESENTLY ON THIS SITE. THIS SITE, ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHERS IN THE AREA, WERE INCLUDED AS A LARGE AREA REZONING PROCESS IN 1996. MM-HMM. , AT WHICH TIME THE NO ALCOHOL DESIGNATION WAS ASSIGNED TO SEVERAL OF THESE PROPERTIES. BUT AT THIS TIME, IN REVIEWING THIS CASE AND THE SS A P D CALL HISTORY FOR THIS AREA, IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO THE COMMUNITY TO RESPECT AND MAINTAIN THE NA DESIGNATION ON THESE PARCELS THAT CURRENTLY HAVE IT ASSIGNED. SO, UM, WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO MOTION TO APPROVE AS C TWO NA ON THE CURRENT COMMERCIAL ZONED PROPERTIES. MM-HMM. AND C TWO ON THE CURRENT RESIDENTIAL ZONED PROPERTIES. AND THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM Z ONE, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. THAT'S ALL THE ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY. WE DO HAVE A BRIEF CITY MANAGER'S REPORT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, AND COUNSEL, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A REPORT ON OUR DREAM WEEK AND CELEBRATION ACTIVITIES FOR THE M L K HOLIDAY WEEKS. UH, WE HAD MORE THAN 200 EVENTS DEDICATED TO THE THEME, WHAT MAKES US HUMAN IN CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND LEGACY, OF COURSE, OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. UM, AND OF COURSE, ON MONDAY, JANUARY 21ST, UH, WE WELCOMED A RECORD CROWD OF APPROXIMATELY 300,000 PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 32ND ANNUAL M L K MARCH. AND I'M, UM, A PROUD PARTICIPANT FOR 14 YEARS. SO IT WAS A EXCELLENT EVENT, AND I WANT TO THANK MIKE, A T N, WHO ON BEHALF OF THE CITY, UH, COORDINATED THE EVENT WITH COUNTLESS CITY STAFF FROM OUR TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, SOLID WASTE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, ANIMAL CARE, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, PARKS AND RECREATION, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND MANY OTHER CITY STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MARCH ROUTE WAS CLEAN AND SAFE FOR THE MARCHERS. I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE M L K COMMISSION AND DREAM WEEK SHOW, N PODIA VOLUNTEERS, SPONSORS, AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS FOR MAKING THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATION OF DR. KING A HUGE SUCCESS, UH, ONCE AGAIN. AND ON A FINAL NOTE, WITH REGARD TO THE M L K [02:35:01] COMMISSION, THEY ARE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS, UH, FOR THE M L K SCHOLARSHIP AWARD THROUGH FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND, AND EACH YEAR, THE COMMISSION RAISES FUNDS AND DISTRIBUTES OVER $80,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO GRADUATING BEXAR COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS. AND THE COMMISSION WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS IN MAY OF THIS YEAR. SO, INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CAN BE FOUND ON OUR CITY WEBSITE@SANANTONIO.GOV SLASH MLK. THEN SECONDLY, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, THE CITY'S EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR 3 1 1 SA MOBILE APP HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY SMART CITIES CONNECT AS ONE OF THE 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL AND INNOVATIVE SMART CITIES PROJECTS WORLDWIDE. FROM A SELECTION OF PROJECTS SUBMITTED BY 12 DIFFERENT COMP, UH, COUNTRIES, SMART CITIES CONNECT, SMART CITIES, CONNECT FOUNDATION, AND US IGNITE ANNUALLY RECOGNIZED GLOBAL SMART CITIES PROJECTS HONORING THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND INFLUENTIAL CREATIVE WORK. THE 3 1 1 SA MOBILE APP WAS DEVELOPED, AS YOU KNOW, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CITY FLAG, A LOCAL SAN ANTONIO BASED STARTUP TO CREATE AN INNOVATIVE CHANNEL TO, FOR RESIDENTS TO ENGAGE WITH THE CITY. THE MOBILE APP WAS A SMART CITIES INITIATIVE PROJECT WHERE THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION 3 1 1 STAFF AND THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES DEPARTMENT DID WORK TOGETHER WITH CITI FLAG TO LAUNCH THE APP IN AUGUST OF 2018. THE APP IS FREE AND IS AVAILABLE FOR BOTH ANDROID AND IOS DEVICES. SINCE AUGUST, THERE HAVE BEEN THOUSANDS OF USERS OF THE 3 1 1 APP. THE TOP THREE REQUESTS SUBMITTED BY USERS INCLUDE TRAFFIC SIGNS THAT ARE FADED, GRAFFITI AND POTHOLES, AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE OTHER TYPES OF REQUESTS THAT WE RECEIVE AS WELL. JUNK VEHICLES, OVERGROWN YARDS, MIST, SOLID WASTE COLLECTIONS, STRAY ANIMALS, OR OF COURSE, THE MOST POPULAR ITEM RIGHT NOW ARE DOCKLESS VEHICLES. UH, THE CITY AND CITY FLAG CONTINUE TO PROMOTE THE MOBILE APP THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, AS WELL AS ATTENDING SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, SUCH AS OUR SMART CITY VENDOR SUMMIT, WHICH WE HOSTED TWO WEEKS AGO. WE HAD MORE THAN 200 VENDORS PARTICIPATE IN THE SUMMIT, AND, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROMOTE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. THE 3 1 1 SA MOBILE APP PROVIDES ANOTHER CHANNEL FOR OUR RESIDENTS TO ENGAGE WITH THE CITY, AND, UH, WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO KEEP AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO KEEP OUR CITY SAFE AND CLEAN. LASTLY, WE WANNA RECOGNIZE ONE OF OUR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEYS WHO IS RETIRING WITH 22 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, LAUREN O'CONNOR. LAUREN BEGAN HER EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY IN 1997 AS A PROSECUTOR IN THE MUNICIPAL COURT. IN TIME, SHE BECAME THE CITY'S EXPERT IN PROCUREMENT LAW, CULMINATING IN THE $107 MILLION CONTRACT FOR THE CITY'S PUBLIC RADIO SYSTEM. AND SHE WORKED CLOSELY, UH, WITH BOTH OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS AND ERIC WALSH ON THAT PROCUREMENT, YOU KNOW, THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVED LAST YEAR. LAUREN IS FAMOUSLY KNOWN FOR HER METICULOUS NATURE IN DRAFTING CONTRACTS AND TOUGH NEGOTIATING SKILLS. SHE'S BEEN A PILLAR IN THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, AND SHE'LL BE GREATLY MISSED BY CLIENTS AS WELL AS HER PEERS. SO WE WANT TO RECOGNIZE LAUREN TODAY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. THANK YOU. I, UH, CERTAINLY WASN'T EXPECTING THIS. UH, I HAD NO IDEA THAT I WAS GONNA TURN AROUND AND SEE ALL MY COLLEAGUES HERE TODAY. I WAS A LITTLE, UM, I WAS WONDERING WHY MY COLLEAGUE SUSAN GWYNN INSISTED THAT I COME TO CITY COUNCIL TODAY WHEN I ONLY HAD ONE ITEM ON THE AGENDA AND IT WASN'T LIKELY TO BE PULLED. BUT I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE, THE HONOR AND, UM, TELL YOU HOW MUCH I RESPECT YOU AND ADMIRE YOU. AND I THINK, UH, UH, CITY MANAGER , THAT YOU'RE AN AMAZING ROLE MODEL AND, UH, I'VE REALLY ENJOYED WORKING WITH YOU THESE ALL OF THESE YEARS. I ALSO WANNA SAY THAT I THINK YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB IN SELECTING ERIC WALSH AS YOUR NEXT CITY MANAGER. I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH HIM ON A PROJECT JUST RECENTLY, AND HE IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR. IN ONE SENTENCE, HE HAD ME FIRED UP AND READY TO GO AND TO BEAT THE OTHER SIDE, AND HE'S GONNA DO A GREAT JOB IN MOTIVATING ALL OF YOUR EMPLOYEES. UH, AND I WANT TO THANK ANDY SEGOVIA, LIZ PROVENCIO, AND, UH, RAY RODRIGUEZ, UH, MY DEPUTY FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP, UH, AND MENTORSHIP AND KINDNESS AND COMPASSION THAT THEY'VE SHOWED ME. THEY'VE BEEN VERY FLEXIBLE WITH ME AND ENCOURAGED ME TO BE THE BEST THAT I COULD BE. AND, UH, GETTING SO MUCH HONOR THAT I DON'T REALLY FEEL LIKE I DESERVE JUST REALLY MOTIVATES ME TO COME BACK. [02:40:01] AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO VOLUNTEERING FOR THE CITY IN EVERY CAPACITY THAT I CAN THINK OF. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCILMAN PALAI. UH, THANKS. UM, I, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU AND, AND TELL YOU THAT I TOO ASPIRE TO BE A, A RETIRED LAWYER ONE DAY. UH, AND, AND I WANNA KNOW HOW YOU MANAGED TO DO THAT, AND SO WE CAN TALK ONE ON ONE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY FOR YOU AND FOR THE REST OF THE LAWYERS AND THE LEGAL TEAM BACK THERE. I, ANDY AND I HAD A CONVERSATION RECENTLY, YOU KNOW, AND TOO OFTEN, UH, THE LEGAL, YOU KNOW, DIVISION IS IN THE SHADOWS BEHIND WHOEVER IS PRESENTING, AND WE NEVER REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. A LOT OF THE PRESENTATIONS WE GET UP HERE IS BECAUSE OF ALL THE HARD WORK LEGAL PUTS INTO IT BEFORE WE EVEN GET TO SEE IT, RIGHT? UM, THE OTHER THING I ADMIRE A LOT ABOUT, UM, OUR TEAM IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, ANDY, I THINK IT WAS 57 PEOPLE OR 57 LAWYERS, 56. WELL, IT DE IT CAN VARY FROM WEEK TO WEEK, BUT YES, AROUND 56, 56, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. IS THAT NOBODY GOES TO WORK AS A LAWYER TO GET RICH, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, THAT YOU GUYS DID IT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SERVICE IS IMPORTANT TO YOU. UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I HAVE, UH, I'M SORRY, NOBODY GOES TO WORK FOR THE CITY. UH, THEY GOT RICH, RIGHT? , UH, AND YOU GUYS, YEAH. ALL OF YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, UH, VERY, VERY ACCOMPLISHED AND COULD HAVE GONE AND, YOU KNOW, LIVED YOUR LIFE BY THE BILLABLE HOUR AND, YOU KNOW, MADE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. INSTEAD, YOU CHOSE TO SERVE OTHER SAN ANTONIANS. AND I ADMIRE THAT ABOUT YOU A LOT. CONGRATULATIONS. AND, UM, ENJOYED THE RETIREMENT. THIS IS FANTASTIC. YEAH. CONGRATULATIONS LAUREN. THANK YOU SO MUCH. CHERYL. IS THAT THE END OF THE CITY MANAGER'S REPORT? OKAY, WELL, UM, IT'S BEEN A WEIGHTY DAY, SO HAVE A GREAT LUNCH AND WE ARE NOW ADJOIN ADJOURNED. WOW. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.