* 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. [00:00:07] ALL RIGHT, , ARE YOU READY? YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. COUNCIL MEMBER VRAN HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. HERE. CHAIR ELIAS. HERE, SIR. WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK [Approval of Minutes  ] YOU VERY MUCH. UH, WELCOME TO OUR, UM, LAST MEETING OF THIS MONTH FOR OUR E W D C COMMITTEE. UH, FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO APPROVE OUR MINUTES, UH, FROM MAY 23RD. UM, AND I SUSPECT COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA MAY HAVE READ IT TWICE. A, A MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND. ALRIGHT, I'VE GOT A MOTION TO SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. IT WAS UNANIMOUS. WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO OUR SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOPIC. UM, ALEX. OH, I DID HAVE ONE. KATE. YES, MA'AM. KATELIN'S NAME WAS MISSPELLED. THAT WAS IT. SORRY, I KNEW IT. I WAS LIKE, THERE'S ONE THING. HOW, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT SPELLED? WAIT, A WHO? WHO WROTE THOSE MINUTES OUT? RA WAS THAT YOU? PAGE 3 0 6. YOU HAD ONE JOB. RA . THANKS FOR HANDLING THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO WITH WITH THOSE CHANGES, THE, UH, THE MINUTES WILL BE, UM, ADMITTED. OKAY. UM, [Briefing and Possible Action on the following items  ] ALAN, THANK YOU CHAIR. AND THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS ACTUALLY A BRIEFING ON OUR DISPARITY STUDY THAT HAS BEEN UPDATED. UM, WE ARE, WE, OUR CONSULTANT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TO PRESENT IT. WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM HER. UM, IF IT'S OKAY, WE WANNA GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH MICHAEL. UM, GIVING THE OVERVIEW AND KIND OF GOING THROUGH THE SLIDES. WE'RE, WE'RE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH, UM, THE TEAM BEING ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. WE JUST WANTED TO HAVE THE CONSULTANT HERE IN CASE THERE WAS ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. WHO'S THE CONSULTANT? COLETTE HOLT. ARE THEY FROM SAN ANTONIO? I'M SORRY? ARE THEY FROM SAN ANTONIO? YES. IS EVERYTHING OKAY WITH 'EM? WE HAVEN'T. ALRIGHT. PLEASE KEEP US POSTED. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. . IT'S OKAY. GOOD MORNING. ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT WORKFORCE COMMITTEE. MY NAME IS MICHAELSON AND I'M AN ADMINISTRATOR WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. TODAY I'LL BE PROVIDING YOU ALL WITH AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2023 SAB BETA DISPARITY STUDY, WHICH WAS RELEASED IN MAY OF THIS YEAR. UM, THE STUDY CENTERS AROUND THE C BETA PROGRAM, WHICH WAS IMPLEMENTED TO IMPROVE THE UTILIZATION OF LOCAL, SMALL, MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES ON OUR CITY CONTRACTS. NOTE THAT WE DO THIS SPECIFICALLY TO CURE HISTORICALLY DOCUMENTED RACE AND GENDER DISPARITIES, UH, FOUND IN PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED DISPARITY STUDIES THAT DATE ALL THE WAY BACK TO 1992, UH, 2010 AND 2015. AND HERE WE ARE WITH THE LATEST EDITION. FINDINGS FROM THIS NEW STUDY WILL HELP THE CITY EVALUATE FUTURE AMENDMENTS TO THE CURRENT SUB BETA ORDINANCE. UH, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, AND WHAT A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T REALIZE WITH THESE STUDIES IS THEY SERVE AS THE LEGAL BASIS, UH, IN WHICH WE CAN CONTINUE THE RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS PORTION OF OUR C BETA PROGRAM TO PERFORM THE CURRENT STUDY, CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZED AN AGREEMENT WITH COLETTE HOL AND ASSOCIATES. UH, SHE IS A LOCAL SMALL WOMAN, AFRICAN-AMERICAN OWNED BUSINESS. SHE HAS 37 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE PERFORMING THESE STUDIES, AND SHE'S GONE ON SO FAR AS TO CO-AUTHOR THE NATIONAL MODEL OF DISPARITY STUDY GUIDELINES THAT HAVE BECOME THE ACCEPTED STANDARD IN WHICH TO ACCEPT, UH, CONDUCT THESE STUDIES THAT WITHSTAND JUDICIAL SCRUTINY, QUITE HONESTLY. UH, TO ASSIST COLLETTE AND HER TEAM, THEY CONTRACTED WITH ANOTHER FIRM CALLED AMAZING MARKETING, WHO IS ON THIS SLIDE. UM, THEY ARE A LOCAL SMALL WOMEN, UH, HISPANIC OWNED BUSINESS, AND THEY DID A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BASED SERVICES. SO FIRST, LET'S START WITH THE PURPOSE OF A DISPARITY STUDY AND WHY THE CITY CONDUCTS THEM EVERY SO OFTEN. SO IN 19, UH, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO COMPILE AND EVALUATE EVIDENCE OF POTENTIAL RACE AND GENDER DISPARITIES IN A SPELL OF A SPECIFIED RELEVANT MARKETPLACE. AND THE NEED FOR THE STUDY IS DRIVEN BY A 1989 US SUPREME COURT CASE, UH, REGARDING THE CITY OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, AND A, A CONTRACTOR BY THE NAME OF JA CROSON. THE COURT ESSENTIALLY RULED THAT FOR A GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION TO HAVE A RACE AND GENDER FOCUSED CONTRACTING PROGRAM, THE ENTITY MUST MEET THEIR DEFINITION OF STRICT CONSTITUTIONAL SCRUTINY, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF JUDICIAL REVIEW. TO MEET THIS DEFINITION, THE COURT IS REQUIRED, TWO PRIMARY FACTORS BE EVALUATED. THE FIRST ONE IS SIMPLY THAT, UH, AN ENTITY MUST DEMONSTRATE THERE IS STRONG STATISTICAL EVIDENCE OF RACE AND GENDER DISPARITIES IN YOUR MARKETPLACE. AND SECOND, ALL REMEDIES PUT INTO PLACE TO ADDRESS THIS STATISTICAL EVIDENCE MUST BE A NARROWLY TAILORED REMEDY. THE INDUSTRY STANDARD TO CONDUCT THE STUDIES IS ABOUT EVERY FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS TO REEVALUATE THE FACTORS I STATED AND ULTIMATELY ENSURE WE'RE NOT OPERATING [00:05:01] OFF OLD EVIDENCE AND, AND CONTINUING TO EVALUATE IF DISPARITIES DO OR DO NOT EXIST WHEN CONDUCTING THE STUDY. COLLETTE, UM, FOCUSED ON THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE, WHICH INCLUDE ENSURING, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART IS MAKING SURE WE'RE MEETING THOSE FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RACE AND GENDER PORTION OF THE PROGRAM, UM, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE SHE'S PROVIDING US NEW DATA FOR ANNUAL GOALS. THAT WAY WE KNOW HOW, HOW WELL OF A JOB WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF THE AVAILABILITY OF MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES IN OUR MARKETPLACE. AND ALSO ON A CONTRACT BY CONTRACT BASIS. SHE ALSO WENT OUT AND SOLICITED FEEDBACK FROM ALL TYPES OF BUSINESSES, UH, THOSE MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED AND THOSE WHO ARE NOT. AND SHE WANTED TO GATHER THREE PRIMARY, UM, FACTORS. THE FIRST ONE BEING WHAT IS THEIR EXPERIENCE IN THE CITY'S MARKETPLACE? AND THAT JUST MEANS REALLY BEYOND THE CITY AS AN ORGANIZATION THAT'S DOING THINGS LIKE GETTING LOANS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY OR MAYBE WORKING ON A PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRACT, SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE. BUT SHE ALSO GATHERED FEEDBACK ON THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT PROCESS, AS WELL AS THE CE BETA PROGRAM IN TERMS OF IS IT HELPING OR NOT HELPING OUR LOCAL CONTRACTING COMMUNITY. ULTIMATELY, SHE ALSO SOLICITED THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THROUGH ALL THIS EVIDENCE COMPILED, SHE DEVELOPED HER OWN, WHICH WE'LL SHARE IN A LITTLE WHILE TO MEET THE DEFINITION OF STRICT CONSTITUTIONAL SCRUTINY AND PERFORM THOSE STUDY OBJECTIVES YOU SAW EARLIER AND COMPILE THAT STRONG STATISTICAL EVIDENCE. COLETTE'S TEAM LOOKED AT THE SERIES OF DATA SETS IN FRONT OF YOU, STARTING WITH THE QUANTITATIVE DATA SOURCES. SHE TOOK SEVEN YEARS OF CONTRACTING DATA FROM 2014 TO 2020, AND OF COURSE, WE TRACK THAT DATA FROM PAYMENTS TO THE PRIME AS WELL AS PAYMENTS FROM THE PRIME TO THE SUBS. BUT COLLETTE'S TEAM WENT OUT AND INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THAT DATA, UH, MAKING SURE THE RECORDS SHE HAD WERE MOST ACCURATE. SHE ALSO WENT OUT AND LOOKED TO SEE WHAT MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS DIRECTORIES EXIST. SHE DID THAT THROUGH VARIOUS CERTIFICATION AGENCIES. WE HAVE ONE LOCALLY, BUT THERE ARE OTHERS ACROSS THE STATE AS WELL AS HOOVERS AND DUN AND BRADSTREET DATA THAT DOES A GOOD JOB AT KEEPING THAT TYPE OF DATA FOR THE BUSINESS OWNERSHIP TYPES. SHE ALSO GATHERED VARIOUS US CENSUS BUREAU DATA AT THE BUSINESS LEVEL AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCH. AND FOR THE QUALITATIVE DATA, AS YOU SEE ON HERE, HER TEAM PERFORMED A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH BUSINESS OWNERS, UH, COMPILED A SERIES OF SURVEYS AS WELL, AND INTERVIEWED STAFF, AS WELL AS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT PREVIOUS STUDIES THAT SHE'S CONDUCTED LOCALLY THAT ARE STILL RELEVANT, UM, IN TERMS OF THE DATA THEY PRODUCED. SO WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, WE'RE GOING TO NOW MOVE ON TO THE STUDY FINDINGS. UH, BEFORE I KIND OF KICK OFF INTO THIS PIECE, I LIKE TO REMIND FOLKS THAT, UM, WE PRESENT THIS IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS. THE FIRST WAY WE'RE GONNA HOP INTO IS CITY CONTRACTING DATA PURELY, UH, THEN WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT CITY MARKETPLACE DISPARITIES. AND LAST WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE ANECDOTAL DATA. THE COURTS DO LOOK AT ALL THREE TYPES OF DATA WHEN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF EVALUATING THESE PROGRAMS AND THEIR ABILITY TO BE RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS. SO FIRST, FOR CITY CONTRACTING DATA, UH, COLLETTE USED THE DATA AS INDICATED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, AND COMPILED A MASTER CONTRACT FILE THAT INCLUDED CLOSE TO A BILLION DOLLARS OF CITY CONTRACT DOLLARS. I'D LIKE TO ITERATE HERE THAT THESE AREN'T AWARDS OR PROMISES. AS A REMINDER, WE ACTUALLY TRACK THE DIRECT PAYMENTS MADE FROM THE CITY TO THE PRIMES AND FROM THE PRIMES TO THE SUBS. SO THESE ARE REAL DOLLARS. EXCHANGING HANDS IN THAT FILE WAS CLOSE TO 550 PRIME CONTRACTS AND OVER A THOUSAND SUBCONTRACTS. AND ONE OF THE FIRST THING COLLETTE'S TEAM DOES WITH THIS DATA, UM, AS SPECIFIED BY THE COURTS, IS DETERMINE YOUR GEOGRAPHIC REACH. OUR PROGRAM CANNOT EXTEND THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE US. IT HAS TO END SOMEWHERE. AND THE COURTS HAVE DETERMINED THAT PRIMARY FACTOR. UM, THAT PRIMARY FACTOR IS ESSENTIALLY, UM, WHERE A 75% OF YOUR DOLLARS BEING SPENT TO ANY TYPE OF BUSINESS. UH, AND THAT'S, LIKE I SAID, PER THE COURTS. THE, THE, THE END OF FINDING CAME BACK THAT IT WAS THE SAN ANTONIO METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA, WHICH IS WHAT WE OPERATE UNDER NOW, AND WHAT THE 2010 AND 2015 STUDY SAID. NOW, OF COURSE, FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR, THE METROPOLITAN AREAS, BEXAR COUNTY AND THOSE THAT OTHER COUNTIES THAT LITERALLY TOUCH US ON A MAP. UM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT OF THAT TOTAL, 75%, UH, CLOSE TO 70% OF IT WAS DIRECTLY IN BEXAR COUNTY. IT WAS JUST TO GET TO THE 75% PULLING IN THOSE OTHER SURROUNDING MARKETS. THE OTHER FINDING, UH, IN THIS STUDY WAS THAT COLLETTE'S TEAM FOUND A HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHT SIX DIGIT NAS CODES. AND THAT'S REALLY JUST INDICATING THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GOODS AND SERVICES THE CITY BUYS. YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE. ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO PAPER TOWELS AND DOG AND CAT PET, UH, PET VACCINATIONS AS AN EXAMPLE. SO WITH THIS, UM, I'M GOING TO HA GO AHEAD AND TRANSITION THE LARGE PORTION OF THE DISPARITY STUDY FINDINGS OVER TO COLETTE. UM, SHE HAS JOINED US TODAY AND HER TEAM HAS BEEN GREAT THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO YOU TO TAKE THIS OVER. ALRIGHT, I JUST HIT THAT ONE. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU, MICHAEL. YOU WERE DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB. I I REALLY WAS JUST HAPPILY SITTING BACK THERE AND, AND LISTENING. UM, SO I DON'T [00:10:01] KNOW THAT YOU NEEDED ANY, ANY ASSISTANCE FROM ME, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING A FEW MINUTES LATE. I THOUGHT 45 MINUTES TO GET FROM THE NORTHWEST SIDE DOWN HERE WOULD BE PLENTY, BUT I WAS CLEARLY WRONG ABOUT THAT. THAT'S A, THAT'S COUNCILWOMAN HOVER AS DISTRICT, SO WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE HER FIX THAT FOR YOU. OKAY. WELL, THERE YOU GO. I'M, I'M, I THINK I LIVE IN YOUR DISTRICT, ACTUALLY, AND SO YOU, YOU PROBABLY KNOW BETTER THAN I DO, HOW LONG IT CAN TAKE, AND THERE'S LOTS OF CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS ACTUALLY A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL THING. I'M, I'M A RELATIVELY NEW TRANSPLANT TO SAN ANTONIO. IT'S BEEN ABOUT THREE AND A HALF YEARS NOW, AND WE WERE LOCKED DOWN FOR THE FIRST TWO. SO, UH, IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE CITY GROWING DOWNTOWN. UM, AS MICHAEL MENTIONED, THE COURTS LOOK AT VARIOUS DIFFERENT TYPES OF, I'LL GO BACK ONE. OH, THEY HAVEN'T HEARD, OH, THEY HAVEN'T HEARD THIS ONE YET. OKAY, GREAT. UH, I GOTTA SEE THAT. SO WE FOUND, BASED ON THOSE CONTRACT RECORDS THAT MI UH, THAT MICAH WAS DESCRIBING, UM, THE UTILIZATION OF MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED FIRMS BROKEN OUT BY EACH OF THE RACIAL, UH, AND ETHNIC CATEGORIES, AS WELL AS WHITE WOMEN AND NON MWBES. AND WE USE THE TERM NON MWBES INSTEAD OF WHITE MALES BECAUSE THIS DOES INCLUDE, UM, FIRMS THAT ARE, FOR EXAMPLE, PUBLICLY TRADED OR EMPLOYEE OWNED, OR, OR FIRMS FOR WHOM IT REALLY DOESN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, RACIAL OR ETHNIC OWNERSHIP. UH, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THERE, UM, THE CITY'S UTILIZATION IS, IS REALLY, UM, OUTSTANDING. UM, 53% OF YOUR CONTRACT DOLLARS WENT TO MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED FIRMS, WHICH IS, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE EVER SEEN AN AN AGENCY DO ANY BETTER AND, AND MOST ARE NOT DOING NEARLY AS WELL. SO, UH, THE DEPARTMENT, THE CITY OVERALL, REALLY NEEDS TO BE COMMENDED FOR THE ABILITY TO OVERCOME ESTABLISHED BARRIERS IN THE MARKETPLACE TO THE FULL AND FAIR PARTICIPATION OF EVERYONE TO, UH, GET CITY WORK. UH, THE COURTS REQUIRE THAT WE THEN COMPARE THAT UTILIZATION, IN OTHER WORDS, WHO GOT THE MONEY, UH, TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FIRMS OUT THERE IN THE MARKETPLACE. IN OTHER WORDS, WHO COULD HAVE, UM, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE IS A VERY LARGE GAP THERE, UM, THAT CAN BE, UH, EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION THAT THE CITY COULD RELY UPON, UM, SHOULD ITS PROGRAM BE CHALLENGED. UH, THAT THIRD COLUMN DISPARITY RATIO REALLY IS A VERY SIMPLE CONCEPT, AND IT IS HOW TIGHT IS THE FIT BETWEEN WHO IS UTILIZED AND WHO WAS AVAILABLE? UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU HAVE A NEGATIVE, UH, NUMBER THERE, UH, THAT WOULD INDICATE THAT, UH, THE CITY STILL HAD A LOT OF WORK TO DO, UH, IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE EVERYONE HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND THAT YOU'VE REACHED, UM, PARODY. UM, YOU DO SEE THERE THAT THEY DO, THE, THE RATIOS DO VARY RELATIVELY SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, BY RACIAL GROUPS, UH, AND IN THEIR STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID FIND IS THAT WHILE OVERALL THE CITY IS DOING EXTRAORDINARILY WELL, UM, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF LUMPY, UM, OR UNEVEN, UH, CERTAINLY ALL THE GROUPS ARE NOT DOING AS WELL AND IN, AND IN ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS, UH, AND THAT BY AREAS, BY WHICH I MEAN INDUSTRIES. UM, AND SO THAT, UM, LEADS US TO MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOME IDEAS ABOUT WHERE YOU MIGHT WANNA PLACE EMPHASIS, UM, GOING FORWARD. SO THAT'S ALL THE CITY'S OWN CONTRACTING BEHAVIOR. WE ALSO INCLUDE AN ANALYSIS OF WHAT THE EXPERIENCES ARE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN FIRMS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE OVERALL SAN ANTONIO AND TEXAS, UH, ECONOMY. UM, THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT DATA FOR AN AGENCY LIKE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTING A PROGRAM FOR MANY YEARS. UH, FRANKLY, I WOULD'VE BEEN QUITE SURPRISED IF WE HAD FOUND LOTS OF LARGE AND STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES. WE RUN AN EXCELLENT PROGRAM. THESE PEOPLE DO COME TO WORK EVERY DAY, UH, AND THEY'RE DOING THEIR JOBS. UH, SO THIS IS A PROXY REALLY FOR WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE CITY WERE TO ABANDON, UH, ITS RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS PROGRAM. UM, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF, OF BUSINESS DIVERSITY, UH, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TYPE, UH, UH, PROGRAMS IN IN THE OVERALL ECONOMY. BUT, BUT GENERALLY IT'S, IT'S PRETTY CLOSE TO NOISE. AND SO THIS IS A GOOD MODEL, UH, FOR WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE IF THE CITY WERE TO CEASE, UM, THE OPERATIONS OF THE C BETA PROGRAM. SO FOR THAT, WE LOOKED AT TWO US CENSUS BUREAU DATABASES. UM, THE FIRST IS THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY. UH, THIS IS, UH, A 24 MONTH ROTATION, UH, THAT IS A, UM, A SURVEY OF INDIVIDUALS. UM, THIS IS A LOT OF WHAT YOU SEE IN THE POPULAR PRESS WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT EMPLOYMENT RATES AND WHATNOT. UM, THAT ALL COMES OFF OF THE A C S AND WE FOUND THERE THAT WOMEN, UH, AND MINORITIES FORM BUSINESSES AT A LOWER RATE THAN THEIR COMPARABLE, UH, WHITE MALE COUNTERPARTS, UH, AND THEY EARN LESS FROM THE BUSINESSES THAT [00:15:01] THEY DO FORM. UH, WHICH DOES SUGGEST THAT CERTAINLY THE MARKET FAILURE OF DISCRIMINATION, UH, CONTINUES IN THE SAN ANTONIO AREA. WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE CENSUS BUREAU'S ANNUAL BUSINESS SURVEY. THIS IS AN EVERY FIVE YEAR SURVEY. UM, SO ANNUAL IS A LITTLE BIT OF A MISLEADING TERM THERE, UM, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY CALL IT. AND THIS LOOKS AT FIRMS, UM, TO FIRM RECEIPTS. UH, AND THERE AGAIN, WE FOUND LARGE DISPARITIES BETWEEN THE RECEIPTS THAT MWBES, UM, ARE ABLE TO EARN COMPARED TO COMPARABLE NON MWBES. AND THEN LASTLY, UH, WE DID A, A LITERATURE SUMMARY OF WHAT HAS BECOME REALLY A, A QUITE SUBSTANTIAL BODY OF INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, DISCRIMINATION, UH, TO BUSINESS CREDIT. UM, ANYONE WHO'S EVER RUN A A BUSINESS KNOWS THAT THAT CASHFLOW IS KING, UH, AND THE ABILITY TO GET LOANS ON AN EQUAL BASIS, UM, IS, IS JUST, YOU REALLY CAN'T RUN A BUSINESS WITHOUT IT. UM, AND, AND NOW THERE'S, UM, I SAY EXTENSIVE LITERATURE, UH, THAT SUPPORTS THE CONCLUSION, UH, THAT MINORITIES AND WOMEN, ESPECIALLY BLACK-OWNED FIRMS, UM, EXPERIENCE LOTS OF BARRIERS TO EQUAL ACCESS, UH, TO BUSINESS CREDIT. UM, AND SOME OF THIS RESEARCH IS ACTUALLY PRETTY, PRETTY NEW. SO IT EVEN PICKS UP, UH, A COUPLE OF THE PANDEMIC YEARS. UM, SO, UH, I KNOW THERE WAS ALWAYS CONCERNS WITH FOLKS ABOUT, WELL, HOW DID THE PANDEMIC IMPACT BUSINESSES? WELL, IT CERTAINLY DIDN'T MAKE THINGS ANY BETTER. I THINK WE CAN CERTAINLY SAY THAT. UM, AND THEN LASTLY, UH, WE TOOK A BRIEF LOOK AT SOME OF THE LITERATURE ON, UH, CONSTRAINTS ON HUMAN CAPITAL THAT SEEMS LIKE ACCESS TO EDUCATION NETWORKS. UM, AND AGAIN, THOSE BARRIERS, UH, REMAIN HIGH FOR MINORITY OWNED FIRMS. SO THAT'S THE QUANTITATIVE OR STATISTICAL, UH, UH, E EVIDENCE IN THE STUDY. UH, WE ALSO, UM, LOOKED AT ANECDOTAL OR QUALITATIVE DATA. UM, STANDING ALONE, THAT'S PROBABLY NOT SUFFICIENT, BUT, UM, AS JUSTICE LEWIS POWELL ONCE SAID, UH, THAT CAN GIVE LIFE TO COLD STATISTICS. UH, AND SO WE, UM, INTERVIEWED, UH, PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR BI WHATEVER BIASES THEY MIGHT EXPERIENCE, NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THEIR COMPETENCY AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. AND UNFORTUNATELY, WOMEN AND MINORITY, UM, BUSINESS OWNERS DID REPORT THAT THEY STILL ENCOUNTER, UH, THESE BARRIERS, UM, ON A REGULAR BASIS. MOST SAID THAT, UH, THE CITY ATE PROGRAM AND PROGRAMS LIKE IT ARE CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THEIR BUSINESSES. UM, THEY'RE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS BECAUSE THEY DON'T EXPERIENCE FAIR ACCESS TO CONTRACTS OUTSIDE OF PROGRAMS. AND IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, THE PROGRAM WAS GENERALLY COMPLEMENTED WORKS WELL, UM, AND WELLS WELL SUPPORTED. UM, OF COURSE, PEOPLE HAD SUGGESTIONS ABOUT HOW IT COULD BE IMPROVED AND WE INCORPORATED THEM, OR WE THOUGHT THEY WERE USEFUL INTO THE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH I'LL GET TO IN A MINUTE. UH, THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT PROCESSES CAN PRESENT BARRIERS. UM, AND THIS THING INCLUDES THINGS LIKE CO INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, BONDING, UH, LEVELS, UH, THE SIZE OF CONTRACTS, THE COMPLEXITY OF CONTRACTS, BUNDLING THEM TOGETHER, AND OF COURSE ACCESS TO CAPITAL. SO BASED ON ALL OF THAT E EVIDENCE, WHAT ARE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS? WE CERTAINLY DO THINK THAT THE CITY HAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT A NARROWLY TAILORED C BETA PROGRAM. AND THAT IS REALLY THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT, UM, RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN KEEP, UH, IMPLEMENTING YOUR PROGRAM. UH, THE DISPARITY STUDIES, AS I, AS I, I KNOW MICHAEL HAS EXPLAINED, REALLY ARE DESIGNED TO MEET THOSE LEGAL TESTS. UH, AND IN OUR JUDGMENT, THERE IS PLENTY OF EVIDENCE, UH, THAT DISCRIMINATION IS STILL OPERATING IN THE MARKETPLACE. FOR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CONTRACTS, UH, WE DO SUGGEST REVIEWING YOUR CURRENT RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL MEASURES. UH, THAT'S KIND OF A TERM OF ART. UM, IT MEAN THINGS MEANS THINGS LIKE MAKING SURE YOUR CONTRACTS AREN'T ANY LARGER THAN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. UM, DO YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, BUILT FIVE FIRE STATIONS TO BUILD THE NEXT ONE, UM, INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, IT'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS PROJECT. DO YOU REALLY NEED $3 MILLION WORTH OF COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE TO DO IT? THOSE KINDS OF THINGS THAT ARE BARRIERS TO ALL SMALL FIRMS, REGARDLESS OF THE RACE OR, UH, GENDER OF THE OWNERSHIP. UH, WE'RE SUGGESTING DEVELOP SOME PERFORMANCE MEASURES, UM, BECAUSE, UM, SUCCESS CAN MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS, UH, TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES. THE MOST OBVIOUS ONE, OF COURSE IS, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU MEETING YOUR OVERALL GOALS. UM, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO PUT SOME ATTENTION, UH, TO HOW ELSE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WANTS TO MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF ITS SE BETA PROGRAM. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU MIGHT TAKE A LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE GETTING NEW FIRMS [00:20:01] CERTIFIED AND INTO THE PROGRAM. ARE FIRMS GETTING MORE WORK AS PRIME CONTRACTORS? UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAMS HAVE TENDED TO FOCUS ON SUBCONTRACTING. THEY ARE NOT SUBCONTRACTING PROGRAMS. UM, THEY DO INCLUDE ALL OF YOUR DOLLARS. SO ARE MINORITIES AND WOMEN GETTING A FAIR SHOT AT BEING THE LEAD CONSULTANT OR THE PRIME CONTRACTOR? THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. UM, CAN BE, UM, GOOD MARKERS FOR HOW WELL YOUR PROGRAM IS PROGRESSING BEYOND THE BASICS. AND YOU ARE WELL PAST THE BASIC STAGE. UH, YOU WILL NEED TO SET A NEW PROGRAM, SUNSET DATE. UM, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION, BUT QUITE FRANKLY, IT'S A LEGAL REQUIREMENT. YOU DON'T REALLY GET TO SKIP IT. UM, BECAUSE THE COURTS ARE VERY CONCERNED, UH, ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS GOING ON LONGER, UM, THAN IS NECESSARY. UM, THEN AGAIN, AS MICHAEL MENTIONED, YOU PROBABLY WANNA REEVALUATE YOUR DATA, YOU KNOW, EVERY 5, 6, 7 YEARS, SOMEWHERE IN THERE. THERE IS NO FAR HARD AND FAST RULE. UM, I GOT ASKED THIS THIS MORNING, I GUESS, SO IT'S KIND OF ON MY MIND. DISPARITY STUDIES DON'T EXPIRE. THEY'RE NOT LIKE MILK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE DAY YOU CAN'T USE THEM ANYMORE. UM, AND A PLAINTIFF WOULD HAVE TO COME IN AND PROVE THAT THE MARKETPLACE HAD SHIFTED SO SIGNIFICANTLY THAT THE DATA YOU RELIED UPON ARE NO LONGER, UM, VALID, UM, OR REASONABLE. UM, BUT SO EVERY 5, 6, 7 YEARS SOMEWHERE IN THERE. SO NOW IT'S THE TIMELINE AND I WILL HAND IT BACK TO MICHAEL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COLETTE. SO, AS SHE REFERENCED, THIS MARKS THE TIMELINE IN WHICH WE EXPECT THEDER DISPARITY STUDY TO BE ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS TRANSITION INTO THE S BETA AMENDMENT PHASE THAT WILL OCCUR AFTER THAT. UM, AS A REMINDER, THE STUDY WAS RELEASED IN MAY OF THIS YEAR. UH, AFTER BRIEFING OUR SE BETA COMMITTEE, WE THEN HOPPED INTO A PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS STARTING IN MAY 16TH. AND WE'RE KIND OF IN THE PROCESS OF WRAPPING THAT UP THIS WEEK. OF COURSE, NOW WE'VE STARTED BRIEFING CITY COUNCIL SO THAT Y'ALL BECOME FAMILIAR WITH WHAT'S IN THE STUDY AS WE SEEK TO GET Y'ALL'S APPROVAL ON THIS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE A B SESSION ON AUGUST 9TH, AS WELL AS, UM, RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT DURING THE, A SESSION ON AUGUST 31ST. AND AS I MENTIONED, UH, PER COLLETTE'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, AS WELL AS OTHERS WILL GATHER INTERNALLY, AS WELL AS FROM YOU ALL AND, YOU KNOW, SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, WE WILL TURN AROUND AND START THE PROCESS TO SEEK AMENDMENTS TO THE C BETA ORDINANCE. WE'RE PLANNING TO HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND THEN COME BACK TO YOU ALL, UM, SOMETIMES TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR TO HOPEFULLY HAVE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS IN DECEMBER THAT TAKE PLACE IN MARCH OF 24. JUST TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, OUR DEPARTMENT HAS ESTABLISHED A WEBSITE WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN ACTUALLY READ THE STUDY FOR ANYBODY INTERESTED. IT'S KIND OF A CATCHY WEBSITE, THANKFULLY SAN ANTONIO.GOV/DISPARITY ON THERE. YOU CAN READ THE FULL STUDY, UM, CLOSE TO 250 TO 300 PAGES. UM, BUT ON THERE IS ALSO A PLACE FOR FOLKS TO GO AND PROVIDE VIRTUAL FEEDBACK THROUGH S A SPEAK UP. WE POSTED ALL OF OUR PUBLIC MEETINGS THERE FOR FOLKS TO ATTEND. UM, WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO PUBLICIZE OUR MEETINGS THROUGH FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, DOCUMENTS, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AND NEWSLETTERS. AND WE MADE SURE TO DISTRIBUTE THOSE TO OUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, YOU ALL AS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER COMMUNITY EVENTS WE WENT TO, TO SPREAD THE WORD. UM, SO FAR WE'VE BEEN TARGETING OVER 50 LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS, AND OUR LIST INCLUDE OVER 10,000 BUSINESSES TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK. AND AS YOU SEE TODAY, WE'VE CONDUCTED ABOUT 16 TOTAL MEETINGS. AND I CAN TELL YOU THIS THING IS FLUID. WE'VE DONE A FEW THIS WEEK. SO THAT 45 ATTENDEES NUMBER IS NOW AROUND 86 ATTENDEES. UM, AND ABOUT 20 ORGANIZATIONS MAKE UP THOSE 86 ATTENDEES. SO WITH THAT, IT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION AND STAFF AS WELL AS COLETTE ARE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COLETTE. THANKS FOR THE, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION, MIKE. THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. THAT WAS, THAT WAS VERY GOOD. UM, WE'LL GO AROUND THE HORN. COUNCILMAN GRO, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? NO, I JUST LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, HEARING WHAT MY OTHER COUNCIL COLLEAGUES HAVE TO SAY. I, I WASN'T SURPRISED BY ANYTHING THAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD. SO I'M READY TO TAKE THIS TO BE SESSION. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN. RICHARD GARCIA. THANK YOU. AND SO FIRST I WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK THE STAFF THAT'S DONE A GREAT JOB. AND SO, UM, THE, THE FINDINGS LOOK LIKE Y'ALL ARE DOING AN INCREDIBLE JOB. SO THANK YOU. KEEP IT UP. I DO HAVE SOME, UM, SOME FEEDBACK AND THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEING RECEPTIVE TO THE IDEAS OF, OF FEEDBACK. UM, THE, WITH THE S BETA COMMITTEE AND, AND SBAC, I KNOW THAT THEY PROVIDE REALLY VALUABLE FEEDBACK. AND SO, UM, DO WE INCORPORATE, OR CAN WE INCORPORATE MAYBE SUMMARY REPORTS TO E W D C OF WHAT'S TALKED ABOUT AT THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, AS WE, AS WE KIND OF GO ABOUT THIS PROCESS? I KNOW THERE'S MINUTES, BUT IT'S REALLY HARD TO TRACK THEM DOWN. APPARENTLY I HAVEN'T DONE IT MYSELF. MY STAFF HAS, UM, HARD TIME TRACKING THEM DOWN. SO, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, IT'S [00:25:01] ACTUALLY TWO SEPARATE COMMITTEES. YES, THERE'S THE ABETA COMMITTEE. UM, BUT IT DOESN'T SOUND, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THAT'S THE ONE YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT. NO. YOU'RE ASKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ADVICE FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE ABETA COMMITTEE. DID BOTH COMMITTEES GET BRIEFED? SO WE HAVEN'T, UM, BRIEFED SBAC ON THIS YET? NOT YET. OKAY. HOWEVER, GIVEN THE, UM, EMPHASIS ON SOME OF THE RACE NEUTRAL MEASURES AND THE CAPACITY BUILDING, WE, WE DEFINITELY WANNA TAKE THIS THROUGH SBA. OKAY, PERFECT. SO I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT FEEDBACK. I, I GUESS IS WHAT I'M SAYING, ONCE YOU ALL RUN IT PAST, UM, THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY, UM, IS IT COMMITTEE, COMMISSION? I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE IT. UM, BUT UM, THERE'S, THERE'S, UH, SO, SO THERE'S THAT. AND THEN THE TYPICAL LENGTH OF TIME, UM, I'M, I'M WORRIED, I KNOW THE BEST PRACTICE IS FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS, AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, AND I, I, I LOVE THAT THE, THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THE TIMELINE. I KNOW THAT, UM, COVID PLAYED INTO IT, BUT IS THERE, UH, OR I NOTICED SOMEWHERE IN THERE IT SAYS, REEVALUATE THE DATA IN APPROXIMATELY SIX YEARS. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WAITING SO LONG? UM, THE REASON I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE WE HAVE ARPA FUNDING AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW TO NOT WAIT SIX YEARS. IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A PI MIDPOINT REVIEW, OR IS THERE A REASON WHY THERE'S A BENEFIT IN WAITING SO LONG? WELL, SOME OF IT IS SIMPLY THE COST AND THE BURDEN ON PEOPLE TO DO THE STUDIES. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DO HAVE SOME AGENCIES THAT ARE DOING THEM EVERY FOUR YEARS, MAYBE EVERY FIVE. UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I DID NOT GET A, GET A CHANCE TO SAY WAS HOW MUCH WORK THE STAFF HAD TO PUT IN TO GET US TO THIS POINT. UM, WE DO HAVE SOME KIND OF TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT COLLECTING DATA GOING FORWARD, UM, BUT THE MARKET JUST DOESN'T CHANGE THAT FAST FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING. UM, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, MY OWN SUGGESTION, YOU KNOW, PREFERENCE IS TO PUT THOSE RESOURCES TOWARDS IMPROVING YOUR PROGRAM, GETTING A REALLY GREAT, UH, SUPPORTIVE SERVICES PROGRAM GOING. THERE ARE BONDING ASSISTANCE, UH, PROGRAMS OUT THERE. THEY ARE EXPENSIVE. UM, AND SO SOME OF IT'S JUST KIND OF A RESOURCE AND TIME ISSUE. 'CAUSE OTHERWISE YOU'RE JUST KIND OF CONSTANTLY DOING THIS RESEARCH. GOT IT. UM, SO I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S REALLY MUCH BENEFIT TO DOING IT SOONER. THAT'S FAIR. SO I WAS JUST ASKING THAT QUESTION. AND THEN, SO IS THE S DATA COMMITTEE GONNA BE MEETING MORE REGULARLY THEN, SINCE THIS IS, UH, ONGOING? THAT'S YOU ? SO, YES. UH, WE MEET WITH THE COMMITTEE AND WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THEM SINCE THE STUDY PROCESS. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND EXCITING. SO ABSOLUTELY THROUGH, UM, THE AMENDMENT PROCESS, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MEET WITH THEM TO GATHER THEIR FEEDBACK AND EXPLORE THE OPPORTUNITIES. AND THEN AS WE SHIFT INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE, WE'RE STILL GONNA WANNA BALANCE THE REAL TIME DATA AS IT COMES IN. 'CAUSE WE TRACK IT TO SEE JUST HOW WELL THESE CHANGES ARE, ARE IMPROVING OR NOT. GOT IT. AND I NOTICED YOU PICKED UP, LIKE YOU DID A MAY AND A JUNE MEETING MM-HMM. . SO, BUT, BUT BEFORE THAT IT WAS LIKE FEBRUARY, NOVEMBER, SO IT WAS A LITTLE SPORADIC. SO I FIGURED THERE'D BE MORE, UM, PICKING UP, DO YOU HAVE SCHEDULING ISSUES WITH THAT OR QUORUM ISSUES WITH VEDA? UM, HISTORICALLY WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY. THIS WOULD BE MY PLUG TO JUST MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S REA APPOINT THEIR MEMBERS AND FILLING SEATS. THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING. I WAS LIKE, OKAY. SO WHO, UM, UM, AND THEN FOR THE PUBLIC OUTREACH CAMPAIGN FROM MAY THE 16TH THROUGH THE 30TH, IS THAT TO GATHER, UH, DATA OR CO I GUESS, INPUT ON THE ACTUAL STUDY? OR IS IT JUST KIND OF TO SEE HOW, HOW THEY, I KIND OF HAVE THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES, UM, THAT MAYBE WE'VE MISSED? IT'S A MIX OF BOTH. OKAY. SO DEFINITELY WANT TO HEAR THEIR FEEDBACK ON WHAT THE DATA SHOWS. OKAY. UM, YOU'RE GONNA GET TWO SIDES OF THE STORY. SOME WHO FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO DO MORE AND SOME WHO FEEL LIKE WE'VE DONE ENOUGH. AND SO WE DEFINITELY WANNA SOCIALIZE THIS WITH THEM BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WE ARE THROUGH THIS STUDY, THROUGH RECOMMENDING THE CONTINUATION OF THAT RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS PORTION OF THE PROGRAM. GOT IT. AND ON SLIDE 14, YOU UM, THEY SAID THIS, AND THEY SAY THIS TO ME ALL THE TIME, THE PROCUREMENT IS JUST SO COMPLICATED, RIGHT? MM-HMM. . AND SO YOU ALL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. SO I'VE HEARD SIMILAR SIT, UH, FEEDBACK. SO I'M WONDERING IF I'M, I'M ASSUMING OTHER CITIES HAVE THE SAME, AND SO WONDERING HOW THEY'VE KIND OF ADDRESSED THAT, IF THERE'S ANYBODY THAT'S IMPROVED, BUT THEN ALSO, AND YOU MENTIONED, UM, UH, INSURANCE OR YOU MEANT MENTIONED BONDING. AND SO I'M, I WANNA FOCUS ON THAT ON INSURANCE AND BONDING REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT I HEAR A WHOLE LOT. UM, AND SO, UM, I'VE HEARD THAT SOME OF OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DECIDE NOT TO SUBMIT BIDS BECAUSE OF THAT ALONE. AND SO, UM, I, I KNOW THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, TO TO THINK OF THEM IN BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, BUT I WONDER LIKE HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? OR IS SOMEBODY LOOKING, OR SOMEBODY LOOKING AT THAT ELEMENT? UM, AND IT'S PROBABLY A FINANCE QUESTION, BUT I THINK THAT IT'S WORTH DISCUSSING MAYBE SOME OF THE TYPES OF REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE FOR THOSE HIGH PROFILE ITEMS. RIGHT? AND SO, UH, VERSUS SMALLER ITEMS, UM, AND I KNOW Y'ALL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN SLIDE 10 AS WELL FOR SURE. AND I'LL GIMME TWO COMMENTS OF THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE [00:30:01] ALREADY RESPONDING TO SOME OF THE PROCUREMENT RELATED ISSUES. WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN R F P OUT RIGHT NOW TO PROCESS MAP. AND SO, AND FOR SOMEONE TO COME IN AND SUGGEST IMPROVEMENTS TO IT, USING BEST PRACTICES, UH, ALL TIE TO THE SUPPLY S A INITIATIVE IS ALSO ONGOING WITH THE OTHER AGENCIES. BUT ALSO SEPARATE FROM THAT, WE ALSO DID STANDUP, IF YOU RECALL, A BONDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ABOUT A YEAR AGO FROM NOW IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR. AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S A PILOT PROGRAM AND WE'RE SETTING IT UP. AND SO COMMUNICATION IS KEY. UM, SO ANYBODY WHO EXPERIENCES THOSE PROBLEMS DO PUSH THEM OUR WAY. 'CAUSE WE WANT TO GET THEM SET UP IN OUR PROGRAM WITH ALAMO SURETY BONDS AND GET THEM THE ASSISTANCE THEY NEED SO THEY CAN START BIDDING AND WINNING. PERFECT. AND WHEN WILL WE GET AN UPDATE ABOUT THAT, HOW THAT PILOT'S GOING? OR MAYBE THAT'S A QUESTION FOR CHAIR. I THINK WE DID AN UPDATE MAYBE TWO OR THREE MONTHS AGO. OKAY. SO MAYBE I WASN'T, WE CAN, WE CAN GET THOSE FILES FOR YOU THOUGH. AND THEN IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, WE CAN DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP. WE ARE STARTING THE SECOND YEAR RIGHT NOW. OKAY, PERFECT. SOUNDS GOOD. AND THEN ALSO, UM, AND THEN I HEAR JUST ACCESS TO CAPITAL, RIGHT? AND SO I KNOW THAT, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, BUT I WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, ON THE WEBSITE THAT YOU HAVE, ARE YOU TRACKING THE UNIQUE NUMBER OF VISITORS AND HOW MANY TIMES PEOPLE DOWNLOAD THE DISPARITY STUDY? SO I COULD, I HAVE TO GET BACK TO ON UNIQUE. OKAY. I KNOW WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRACK THINGS LIKE CLICKS AND VISITS. OKAY. UM, BUT I'M NOT TOO TECHNICAL ON THE UNIQUE STUFF. . SO ON THE 16 MEETINGS THAT YOU'VE HAD AS OF JUNE 28TH, UM, I'M ASSUMING YOU TRACK ATTENDANCE. ARE THOSE IN PERSON ONLY OR DO YOU ALSO HAVE LIKE, UH, ACCESS ONLINE? SURE. SO WE STARTED WITH ALL IN PERSON. OKAY. UM, AND VARIOUS DIFFERENT LIBRARIES ACROSS THE CITY TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, GEOGRAPHIC ISSUES WEREN'T THE, WEREN'T THE CASE. UH, BUT WE DID IN FACT PIVOT TO SOME VIRTUAL SESSIONS JUST BECAUSE THAT IS SEEMS TO BE WHERE FOLKS ARE ABLE TO ATTEND EASIER. AND THEN ON ONE OF THOSE, OR IN THE TOTAL, IN ONE OF THE SLIDES, YOU HAVE A TOTAL OF 45 ATTENDEES. DOES THAT MEAN FOR ALL 16? LIKE IS THAT CUMULATIVE OR? SO YEAH, THAT WAS AS OF EARLIER THIS WEEK. NOW WE'VE BUMPED THAT UP TO 86 DUE TO THOSE VIRTUAL SESSIONS. AND YES, THAT'S OVER THE 16 MEETINGS. OKAY. AND HOW ARE WE TRACKING THE INPUT FOR THE, UM, CHAMBERS AND THE DIFFERENT BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS? FOR SURE. YEAH. I HAVE A NICE EIGHT PAGE DOCUMENT THAT I KEEP ON TRACKS ALL THE QUESTIONS OR GENERAL FEEDBACK THEY GIVE SO THAT WE CAN JUST KEEP THAT MOVING FORWARD THROUGH THE AMENDMENT PROCESS. WONDER. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU CHAIR. AND THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND I ALSO WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, UH, CITY STAFFING ALL'S CONTINUED WORK. I'VE SEEN THE ADVERTISEMENTS AND THE PUSH TO GATHER MORE INPUT. UM, BUT WHEN THAT'S GATHERED, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A RECAP ON WHAT YOU'RE FINDING THAT COMMUNITY SAYING WE NEED TO IMPROVE OR WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT. UM, AND, UH, I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD THIS TO MOVE TO B SESSION 'CAUSE THAT MEANS WE'RE CLOSER TO USING THIS AS A, A, A GUIDING MEASURE TO MAKE AMENDMENTS. SO, UM, THANK YOU AND THANK YOU COLETTE AS WELL FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE CONTINUED WORK. UH, AND AND I, THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. GREAT. THANKS. SO A A COUPLE OF OBSERVATIONS. ONE, MS. HOLT, THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR BEING HERE. UM, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT, THAT YOU PRESENTED THIS, UM, NOT JUST DOING THE STUDY, BUT I, I THINK THE PRESENTATION AND, AND I WAS TEASING YOU WHEN I, WHEN I WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WERE LATE. BUT, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. UH, AND WHILE SOME OF THE COMMENTS WERE BEING MADE, I ACTUALLY LOOKED UP YOUR BIO. JUST A SUGGESTION FOR WHEN YOU PRESENT TO B SESSION, LET'S LEAD WITH YOUR BIO BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY VERY IMPRESSIVE. AND I THINK THE REST OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WILL APPRECIATE WHO IS TELLING US THIS. UM, AND JUST FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, COLETTE, UM, IS A NATIONALLY RENOWNED SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON THIS VERY TOPIC RIGHT. ON FAIR CONTRACTING AND ON DISPARITY STUDIES. AND SHE QUITE FREQUENTLY TESTIFIES AS AN EXPERT IN COURT WHEN, UM, WHEN THESE THINGS ARE BEING CHALLENGED. RIGHT. UM, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, WHEN SHE'S NOT DOING HER DAY JOB, SHE'S THE GENERAL COUNSEL FOR THE, UH, WAS IT THE, UH, THE, THE C C C? UM, IT'S THE AMERICAN CONTRACT COMPLIANCE ASSOCIATION. YEAH. WE'RE THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT TRAINS THESE FOLKS BASICALLY. UM, AND GIVES CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS. AND WE HAD OUR, OUR CONFERENCE IN SAN ANTONIO AND TWO YEARS AGO. SO THAT WAS KIND OF FUN WHEN WE GOT TO SHOW OFF OUR CITY. SO I, I, I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW, HOW IMPORTANT I THINK IT WOULD BE FOR, FOR THE MAYOR AND THE REST OF OUR COUNCIL COLLEAGUES TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF PROFESSIONALS, ALEX, THAT YOU'RE BRINGING TO THE TABLE TO, TO HELP GUIDE US THROUGH THIS. RIGHT. THAT'S FINE. UM, BECAUSE I IMAGINE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU COULD HAVE TRIED TO DO THIS ON YOUR OWN IN-HOUSE, BUT I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT YOU'RE VALIDATING A LOT OF THIS DATA WITH, WITH SOMEBODY OUTSIDE, UM, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA, I HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU, BUT SHE HAD TO GO TO YALE 'CAUSE SHE COULDN'T GET INTO OUR LADY OF THE LAKE. UH, AND UH, SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S THAT ONE DINGING AGAIN. IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME. SO, SO PLUS I'M REALLY FROM CHICAGO. THAT'S RIGHT. SO, UH, TEXAS WOULD'VE BEEN A LITTLE FAR, A LITTLE AND A LITTLE HOT. NOBODY TOLD ME. THEY SAID, OH, IT'S HOT HERE, BUT NOT LIKE [00:35:01] THIS. . THE SECOND THING I'M I'M GONNA ASK IS, UH, AND MAYBE YOU ALREADY DID RIGHT, BUT DID YOU MEET WITH THE ASIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE? ARE THEY ON THE LIST? IF THEY'RE NOT, IF NOT, WHAT? EVERYBODY I, ANYBODY COULD HAVE THOUGHT OF. SO PROBABLY YES. IT, YEAH, JUST LOOKING QUICK, LOOKING QUICKLY AT MY LIST, I SEE THE, UH, ALAMO ASIAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. GREAT. GREAT. THAT'S FANTASTIC. GOOD. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS, IS I, IT CAN'T, I HOPE IT NEVER GETS LOST ON PEOPLE THAT WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO SOLVE FOR THIS PROBLEM. RIGHT? I MEAN, WE CREATED OUR OWN BONDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT HUGE AND IT'S NOT GONNA BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE, BUT WE'RE TRYING, RIGHT. AND WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS BEING A BETTER CITY FOR, FOR, UH, FOR THOSE FIRMS THAT QUITE HONESTLY ARE JUST BEING LEFT OUTTA THE ECONOMY, UH, BY BONDING COMPANIES AND INSURANCE COMPANIES AND BANKS. RIGHT? SO HERE'S A, HERE'S AN IDEA. CAN WE, AND, AND MAY, THIS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR OUR CITY ATTORNEY, BUT CAN WE INCLUDE WHEN WE'RE RANKING FIRMS, UM, THE, THAT THEY PROVE TO US THAT THEY ARE ALSO WORKING ON, UM, INCREASING THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR CONTRACTING WITH, UH, M W B SUBS. UM, AND SO NOT ONLY DO WE SCORE THEM ON S BETA, BUT CAN, CAN WE ALSO SCORE THEM ON THEIR EFFORTS OUTSIDE OF, OF CONTRACTING WITH US, UM, TO, TO DO THEIR OWN PRIVATE PROJECTS WITH SUBS? AND, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT. UM, ALL OF YOU ARE. CAN, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, WE CAN REQUIRE? MICHAEL, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO WHAT SUBS ARE ALREADY, WHAT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO DO WITH THE SUBS IN, WITHIN OUR OWN STATE OF MAY BE ALREADY COVERED? YEAH. UM, SURE. SO I KNOW YOU'RE TALKING OUTSIDE OF CITY CONTRACTING, RIGHT? BUT DO KNOW EACH OF OUR CONTRACTS WHEN NOT ONLY WHEN THEY'RE RANKED FOR AWARD, REMEMBER THEY HAVE SUBCONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS ON THEM TO USE MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES ON THOSE SPECIFIC PROJECTS IN ADDITION TO THOSE INCENTIVES TO WIN THE PROJECT. OKAY. SO, I, I REMEMBER, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IT WAS WALMART'S GENERAL COUNSEL WHO MANY, MANY YEARS AGO WOULD REQUIRE ANY BUSINESS DOING BUSINESS WITH WALMART TO PROVE UP THAT THEY WERE, UH, AND TO, AND TO ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATE THE PERCENTAGE OF THEIR SPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, UM, WOMEN OWNED, MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES. UM, IT, AND, AND SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS WE DO ASK THAT, RIGHT? ON OUR CITY CONTRACTS, WE DO. EXCELLENT. GOOD. THANK YOU. UM, BUT ONLY THE PARTICIPATION WITH THOSE CITY DOLLARS, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY ASKING THEM, WHAT DO YOU DO? WHAT ARE YOUR PARTICIPATION LEVELS FOR PRIVATE SECTOR DOLLARS OR FOR OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES? WE DON'T, WE DON'T ASK, NOR DO WE USE THAT AS ANY KIND OF EVALUATION CRITERIA PER SE. WELL, UM, LET ME MAKE YOU AN OBSERVATION ABOUT THAT. I THINK I KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS. UM, I DO SEE SOME AGENCIES HAVE WHAT THEY CALL INCLUSION PLANS. NOW, THESE ARE ONLY ON NEGOTIATED PROCUREMENTS. LET'S BE REALLY CLEAR. THEY CANNOT, YOU CAN'T DO THIS ON BID JOBS, CAN'T DO IT ON GOODS CONTRACTS. YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, ESSENTIALLY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS. IT'S TRICKY BECAUSE YOU REALLY CAN'T IMPOSE REQUIREMENTS ON PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO OUTSIDE OF THE DOLLARS YOU CONTROL. I MEAN, JUST LEGALLY YOU DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO DO THAT. BUT I DO SEE SOME AGENCIES, UM, DO THAT, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, UM, BECAUSE THEY LABOR UNDER, UH, A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT PROHIBITS THEM FROM DOING ANYTHING CLOSE TO WHAT SAN ANTONIO'S DOING. BUT THEY DO ASK PEOPLE TO DO SAY THINGS LIKE, WELL, TELL US WHAT ELSE YOU'RE DOING. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY SCORED A, YOU KNOW, IT HAS A RELATIVELY LOW WEIGHT, BUT THEY ASK, I, I THINK THIS IS A TRICKY THING TO TRY TO DO. UM, BUT IT'S, IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE'RE KIND OF TAKING A LOOK AT IN VERY SPECIFIC CONTEXTS, YOU KNOW, LIKE, NOT CONSTRUCTION, . OKAY, DON'T ANYBODY GO THERE. UM, BUT, UM, YOU DO SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, I'M A LAWYER. I SEE THAT WITH LAW FIRMS. YOU KNOW, THEY WANNA KNOW, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY AND AND HOW MANY, UM, MINORITY, RIGHT? EXACTLY. IT'S KIND OF BAD WITH LAWYERS. 'CAUSE LAWYERS DON'T REALLY LIKE TO HIRE OTHER LAWYERS. SO WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE MAKE ALL THE RULES SO WE CAN EXEMPT OURSELVES FROM THEM. UM, BUT, UM, , WELL, JUST BEING HONEST, UM, YEAH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I'M 35 PLUS YEARS OUTTA SCHOOL. I HAVE NO ILLUSIONS ANYMORE. UM, BUT, UM, YOU, I THINK YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS LIKE IN THAT VEIN. UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND FRANKLY, MY EXPERIENCE IS AT THE, LIKE THE, UM, LARGE ENGINEERING COMPANIES USE ARCHITECTURE. YOU MAY NOT HIRE A LOT OF THEM DIRECTLY. I DON'T, I DON'T REALLY THINK SO, BUT, UM, THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE VALUES ARE OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND INCLUSION IS A CORE VALUE TO THIS CITY. SO IF YOU COMMUNICATE THAT, THEY GET THE MESSAGE, THEY GET THE MESSAGE. YEAH. SO, SO [00:40:03] WE COMMUNICATE THAT. I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO FOR BITTERS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT TO US, OTHER THAN JUST INCLUDING A NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE IN OUR CONTRACTS? COUNCILMAN, I, I DID WANNA QUAL CLARIFY REALLY QUICKLY. WE, IN SOME OF OUR AGREEMENTS, WE CAN REQUIRE THAT, UM, AS PART OF THE QUALIFICATION PROCESS, WHETHER THEY DO CERTAIN THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, HOWEVER, WE DON'T AWARD POINTS ON THEM, BUT WE CAN CONSIDER THAT IN DECIDING WHETHER THEY'RE QUALIFIED OR NOT. AND SO, LET'S HOW YOU WRITE IT UP. I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I'D BE HAPPY TO SEND YOU A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES IF YOU WANNA SEE THEM. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY BOUND BY WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO, UM, BUT THEY, THEY, THEY GET THE MESSAGE. I'D BE PRETTY SURPRISED IF ANYBODY SHOWED UP HERE ON A TRULY NEGOTIATED PROCUREMENT WHERE EVERYBODY'S QUALIFIED AND WOULDN'T WANNA TOUT HOW WELL THEY WERE DOING ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY INCLUSION. OKAY. UM, IF THEY'RE NOT THAT SMART, DON'T HIRE 'EM. SO, LAST QUESTION. UM, AND I, I, I COULD TALK TO YOU ALL DAY LONG. I, I, I'M REALLY ENJOYING THIS. BUT LAST QUESTION. ARE WE BEST IN CLASS WHEN IT COMES TO THIS? UM, IN OTHER WORDS, IN, IN, IN DESIGNING THE PROGRAM, WHAT WE'VE GOT IN PLACE, AND MAYBE NOT THE RESULTS. CLEARLY WE'RE NOT BEST IN CLASS AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, GETTING MORE AND MORE OF THESE FIRMS BONDED AND INSURED AND ALL THAT. BUT AT THE VERY LEAST, WHAT WE CAN CONTROL, ARE WE BEST IN CLASS? AND IF WE'RE NOT, THAT'S OKAY, BUT WHAT IS IT WE CAN ACHIEVE? MM-HMM. , WHAT IS IT WE CAN STRIVE FOR MM-HMM. TO BECOME BEST IN CLASS? I ACTUALLY WOULD SAY YOU'RE PRETTY CLOSE TO BEST IN CLASS. OKAY. AND I WOULD CERTAINLY SAY ON THE ACHIEVEMENT, YOU ARE, 53% IS JUST EXTRAORDINARY. I, I'VE SEEN A COUPLE OF OTHER AGENCIES GET IN THAT TERRITORY. UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT SOME WAYS WE THINK YOU COULD SORT, REDUCE SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE PROGRAM. UM, AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT. I THINK WHAT WILL HELP, UM, AND TO THE, TO THE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER'S POINT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS IS, IS DIFFICULT. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING IS DIFFICULT, PERIOD. YOU ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO BECOME A SIMPLIFIED ONE PAGE AND YOU'RE DONE. I MEAN, THAT'S JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN. UM, BUT WHERE YOU CAN, MAKING IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH, I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT. UM, THIS NEW BONDING PROGRAM THAT YOU HAVE, IF IT'S DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB AND THEY SAY WE NEED MORE MONEY, I WOULD REALLY URGE YOU ALL TO FIND IT. UM, BECAUSE THESE ARE THE BARRIERS THAT REALLY KEEP FIRMS FROM, FROM GROWING, UM, TO THE POINT WHERE THEY DON'T REALLY NEED THE PROGRAM. I MEAN, THAT'S SORT OF OUR OBJECTIVE ALL ALONG IS TO, IS TO GET PEOPLE TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE STRONG ENOUGH AND COMPETITIVE ENOUGH THAT THEY CAN DO CITY WORK. THEY CAN GO DO WORK FOR THE COUNTY, BUT THEY CAN GO BUILD, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT, UM, YOU KNOW, APARTMENT BUILDING DOWN AT THE PEARL. UM, SO I, I THINK YOU, YOU, YOU ARE IN REALLY, REALLY GOOD, GOOD SHAPE, UM, WITH SOME TWEAKS. AND SOME OF IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME MONEY, SO I FIGURE I CAN DO THIS, MAYBE THEY SHOULDN'T. UM, WHICH IS MAKE A PLEA, UH, TO GIVE THEM MORE MONEY WHEN THEY ASK FOR IT, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB WITH THE RESOURCES, UM, THAT THEY HAVE. BUT CERTAINLY I WOULD SAY AMONGST TEXAS CITIES, THE ONLY BUDDY, THE ONLY PLACE THAT EVEN COMES CLOSE IS AUSTIN. UM, AND THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC SET OF CHALLENGES, BUT WE JUST FINISHED THEIR STUDY. I THINK THEY WERE IN THE LOW THIRTIES. SO I THINK YOU SHOULD ALL BE REALLY PROUD OF, OF THE WORK, UM, THAT YOU'VE DONE HERE. AND ANYBODY THAT'S KNOWN ME FOR A LONG TIME WOULD KNOW THAT IF I FELT DIFFERENTLY, I WOULD TELL YOU THAT I DON'T GIVE OUT COMPLIMENTS TO, UH, TO READILY THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I WON'T BE DOING JOB IF I DON'T MENTION THAT I, I SEE MARTIN HERE FROM THE HISPANIC CHAMBER. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. AND THANKS TO EVERYBODY AT THE HISPANIC CHAMBER FOR WEIGHING IN ON THIS. I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS ARE THE POINTING END OF THE STICK OF HOLDING US ACCOUNTABLE TO THIS. AND SO WITH THAT, UM, UNLESS ANYBODY HAS ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC, UH, WHICH IS A CULTURAL CORRIDOR DISCUSSION. BRENDA, GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M BRENDA HICKS, SORENSON, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. UM, YES, PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM. THIS IS THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR, UH, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE, THE CULTURAL CORRIDOR PROGRAM. UM, SO AS JUST A REFRESHER, UH, AGAIN, THE TWO CORRIDOR PILOT PROGRAM WAS INCLUDED WITHIN THE GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING BUCKET, SO TO SPEAK, THAT 5.25 MILLION UNDER THE AR, RPA SMALL BUSINESS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WHICH AGAIN, HAD, UM, THE REVISED ALLOCATION OF 32.44 MILLION. UH, AND WITHIN THAT BUCKET OF GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMAKING, WE ALSO HAD THE FACADE [00:45:01] IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WHICH, UH, WERE ACTUALLY ACTIVELY HAVING INFORMATION SESSIONS. IN FACT, YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES SHOULD HAVE ALL RECEIVED THE MARKETING MATERIAL ON THAT. UH, AS WE'RE RULING THAT OUT IN JULY FOR THE APPLICATIONS OPENING. WE ALSO HAVE THE OUTDOOR SPACES WITHIN THIS, UM, THERE TOO. AGAIN, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THAT INFORMATION, AND THOSE APPLICATIONS ARE OPENING THE SAME DAY AS THE FACADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. AND THEN AGAIN, WE HAD THE TWO CORRIDOR PILOT PROGRAM WHERE THERE WAS A MILLION DOLLARS. UH, WE PARTNERED WITH MAIN STREET AMERICA, UH, AS YOU MAY RECALL, THAT PRESENTATION IN SEPTEMBER. AND THEN WE PROVIDED THE, THE CRITERIA AND WHATNOT, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR IN FEBRUARY, WHERE WE WERE GOING TO FOCUS ON THOSE TWO CORRIDORS. UM, AND AGAIN, DURING BOTH OF THOSE PRESENTATIONS, WE REALLY EMPHASIZED THE CAPACITY BUILDING, THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THAT MAIN STREET AMERICA WAS GOING TO BRING, UH, AS PART OF THE PROGRAM, NOT JUST TO THE TWO CORRIDORS, BUT TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND FOLKS ENGAGED WITHIN CORRIDOR REVITALIZATION, UH, THROUGHOUT OUR CITY. UM, AS WE WENT THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS, THE REVIEW PROCESS, UH, IT REALLY WAS SOMETHING THAT WE FELT THAT WE SHOULD BE DOUBLING DOWN ON THAT CAPACITY BUILDING. AND SO WITH THAT, STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE, WE DO A, A PIVOT, UH, OF SOME, UH, AND REALLY FOCUS ON A SMALL BUSINESS QUARTER REVITALIZATION NETWORK. UM, AGAIN, EMPHASIZING THAT CAPACITY BUILDING THAT INCLUDES STRATEGIC REVITALIZATION, TRAINING, ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP, AND THEN A PEER NETWORK. UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC TO THAT IS, UH, WE'RE PROPOSING A TWO COHORT GROUP OF, UH, UP TO 20 PARTICIPANT PARTICIPANTS. EACH, IT'LL BE A SIX MONTH TRAINING PROGRAM, UH, THAT REALLY INVOLVES, UH, LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGY. SO AS PART OF THAT, THERE WILL BE TECHNICAL ASPECTS FOCUSED ON THOSE REVITALIZATION STRATEGIES AROUND POLICE MAKING, THE MARKETING, THE RETAIL RETENTION, ATTRACTION AND SO FORTH, AS WELL AS THEN LEADERSHIP. WHAT IS IT TO SUCCESSFULLY ENGAGED STAKEHOLDERS, FOR EXAMPLE. UH, AND AGAIN, SO A VERY INTENSIVE PROGRAM OVER THAT SIX MONTH PERIOD OF TIME, UH, FOLLOWED BY THEN A THREE MONTH OPPORTUNITY TO IMPLEMENT WHAT WE'RE CALLING CHANGE GRANTS. SO EVERYBODY, WHEN THEY APPLY FOR THE PROCESS, UM, COMMIT TO THE PROGRAM, UH, WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY WHAT THAT, THAT PROJECT MIGHT LOOK LIKE. UH, AND THEN AS THEY GO THROUGH THAT, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO HONE IN ON THAT AND WORK ON WHAT THAT PROPOSAL WOULD BE FOLLOWED BY THEN AGAIN, THAT OPPORTUNITY TO, TO TRULY IMPLEMENT IT AT THE END OF IT. SO, A LITTLE BIT MORE, MORE DETAIL, AGAIN, IT'S REALLY ABOUT THAT CAPACITY OF THOSE LEADERS IN THE, THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR. UH, THAT COULD BE, UH, IF THERE'S A LOCAL NONPROFIT, IT COULD BE, WE'VE, UH, HAD A LOT OF BUSINESS ALLIANCES ENGAGED IN THE CONVERSATIONS THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. SO IT MIGHT BE SOMEONE FROM THE BUSINESS ALLIANCE, UH, REALLY, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS IF, AGAIN, THEY TOUCH UPON THAT COMMERCIAL QUARTER. SOME OF THEM HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES, SO IT MAY BE SOMEBODY FROM THAT ORGANIZATION. UM, AND REALLY FOCUS ON, AGAIN, THAT TRAINING AND HOW WE CAN SUSTAIN THAT IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT EXCITES ME ABOUT THIS PROGRAM, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MAINSTREAM AMERICA, IS THERE WILL BE A PROGRAM EVALUATOR PRESENT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS. SO, AGAIN, IF THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO EVALUATE BOTH REAL TIME AND THEN DO THE FOLLOW ON SO THAT WE HAVE THAT ROBUST NETWORK AND MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE MODIFYING THE PROGRAM TO MEET THE LOCAL NEEDS AS WE GO FORWARD. UM, AGAIN, COMMERCIAL QUARTER REVITALIZATION IS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING, AS WE ALL KNOW. UH, SO REALLY FOCUSING ON SOME OF THOSE INNOVATIVE PRACTICES, BEST PRACTICES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND THEN REALLY BUILD THAT PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK, UM, WITH, AGAIN, THOSE INITIAL 20. AND THEN HOPEFULLY JUST CONTINUE TO BUILD UP ON THAT AS WE GO FORWARD. UH, AND THEN OF COURSE WE'LL CONTINUE, AS I MENTIONED, TO MONITOR THE PROGRAM, BUT THEN ALSO CONTINUE TO MEASURE THE IMPACT AS WE GO FORWARD WITH THINGS LIKE THOSE CORRIDOR INVESTMENTS. UM, SPECIFIC SMALL BUSINESS ACTIVITIES LIKE ANY REVENUE CHANGES, JOBS CREATED, AND SO FORTH. UM, AND SO WITH THAT, WE ARE RECOMMENDING A MODIFICATION IN THE BUDGET. UH, IT WON'T EXCEED THAT $1 MILLION THAT WAS SET ASIDE IN THE ORIGINAL SPENDING FRAMEWORK, BUT REALLY FOCUSING AGAIN, YOU'LL KIND OF SEE THAT SHIFT OF THE, WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED AS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE TWO CORRIDORS, UM, SHIFT THAT INTO THE [00:50:01] MAIN STREET CONTRACT AS THEY'LL BE PROVIDING THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME SUBS. UH, I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THEM TO IDENTIFY LOCAL BEST PRACTICES, LOCAL PRACTITIONERS, UH, LOCAL ACCOUNTANTS, UM, WHEN THEY START TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE BUSINESS ASPECTS OF IT, UH, ARCHITECTURE PROGRAMS AND SO FORTH. SO WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE, AGAIN, AS MANY LOCAL RESOURCES AS WELL AS THE NATIONAL PARTNERS AND SPEAKERS THAT THEY'LL BE BRINGING IN. UH, AND THEN HAVE THE MONEY, AGAIN, THAT ORGANIZATIONAL FUNDING THAT WAS GOING TO BE PROVIDED TO THE TWO QUARTERS INSTEAD, SHIFT THAT TO THE CHANGE GRANTS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN GO FORWARD. AND THEN WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, OF COURSE, ARE MARKETING THIS. SO WE WOULD GO FORWARD AND MARKET THESE CHANGES IN LATE SUMMER SO THAT WE WOULD OPEN IT UP AND THEN THE PROGRAM WOULD START IN JANUARY. UH, SO WITH THAT, THAT'S, THAT IS OUR RECOMMENDATION ON HOW WE ARE, WOULD LIKE TO PIVOT THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM. GOOD. THANKS. GOOD PRESENTATION. COUNCILMAN CASTILLO? ANY QUESTIONS? SURE. THANK YOU, CHAIR. AND THANK YOU, BRENDA, FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, AT, AT FIRST I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. SO I WANTED THANK ALEX FOR GIVING ME A BRIEFING. UM, I, I AM PLEASED TO HEAR THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD HEARD BACK AND MAY HAVE BEEN REJECTED WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE AGAIN AND BE CONSIDERED AS AN APPLICANT. UH, I ALSO WANTED TO COMMEND, UH, STAFF FOR RECOGNIZING THAT THERE WAS A BETTER OPPORTUNITY TO ASSIST MORE CORRIDORS. SO THAT'S POTENTIALLY, UM, MORE THAN TWO, RIGHT? LIKE, UM, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, UH, WITH THAT IN MIND, WITH 20 INDIVIDUALS, UH, HAVE YOU ALL THOUGHT ABOUT, UH, IF IT WOULD BE TWO INDIVIDUALS PER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION OR TWO INDIVIDUALS, UH, PER CORRIDOR? OR WHAT, WHAT DO Y'ALL ENVISION AS, UM, WHO WOULD TAKE UP THE SLOTS FOR THE 20? SURE. UM, SO WE WOULD DEFINITELY WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT THE APPLICATION POOL. WE HOPE TO HAVE, UH, A LOT OF INTEREST, OF COURSE IN THIS, UH, WE HAVE TALKED TO THE CONSULTANTS, UH, AGAIN, MAIN STREET AMERICA ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING TWO FROM A QUARTER, TWO FROM AN ORGANIZATION. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE OPPOSED TO, THAT WE WOULD NOT CONSIDER. UM, WHAT WAS INTERESTING THOUGH IS BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH AN INTENSIVE PROGRAM, UH, SPECIFICALLY AS YOU START TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE LEADERSHIP MM-HMM. , UH, SOMETIMES THE INTERNAL DYNAMICS WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION, UH, HAS ACTUALLY CREATED SOME CHALLENGES OF, AS, AS THEY HAVE DONE THIS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES. SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANNA BE COGNIZANT OF, UH, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY TAKE A LOOK AT IT AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS. AND WITH THE, THE 20 SLOTS. IS THERE OPPORTUNITY, IF THERE'S, UH, A, A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS, UH, DOING WORK WITHIN THE SAME CORRIDOR, UH, HOW, WHAT WILL THIS YOU'ALL ENVISION THE SELECTION PROCESS BEING? LIKE IF THERE'S, UH, MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN ONE CORRIDOR THAT HAVE DIFFERENT VISIONS FOR THAT AREA, HOW, HOW ARE THEY RANKED ON WHO WOULD BE CONSIDERED, UM, FOR THIS GRANT? YEAH. SO THAT, TO BE QUITE HONEST, IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH. WE WOULD LOVE ANY INPUT THAT YOU HAVE, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO BUILD THIS OUT. OKAY, GREAT. ONE THING THAT I WOULD HOPE TO SEE IS, UH, WITHIN THE CORRIDORS THAT THERE'S, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, PARTICIPATION, RIGHT? I THINK SOMETIMES THERE IS ORGANIZATIONS THAT COME INTO THE COMMUNITY AND PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, AND THEN THERE'S SOME THAT IT, IT'S MORE ORGANIC. AND AGAIN, I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE QUINTANA NEIGHBORHOOD, WHERE, UM, SOUTH CROSS USED TO BE ITS OWN MAIN STREET, AND YOU CAN CRUISE DOWN THERE AND YOU'LL SEE THE ARCHITECTURE THAT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S OWN LITTLE TOWN. UH, AND THAT'S MORE COMMUNITY DRIVEN, AND I KNOW THEY HAVE PARTNERS WITH THE PORT, UM, TO, TO HELP REVITALIZE THAT AREA. UM, SO I SEE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY, RIGHT? AND THEN SOMETIMES THERE'S ORGANIZATIONS THAT THEY HAVE A PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY. UH, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WITH, UH, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE SELECTED, THERE'S COMMUNITY BUY-IN, RIGHT? AND, UH, NOT NECESSARILY SOMEONE PLANNING ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY WOULD BE MY ASK. RIGHT? THAT'S PERFECT. AND THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY STRONG PART OF, OF MAIN STREET AMERICA IS HAVING THAT CORRIDOR PARTICIPATION, THAT COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION. SO, UM, DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE FOCUSING ON THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, BRENDA. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU, BRENDA. I APPRECIATE, UM, ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE ON HERE. THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION I HEARD HAD SOME ROBUST DISCUSSIONS ON THIS, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT THERE INPUT WAS, UH, WAS IN HERE AND SPECIFICALLY LOOKING TO, UM, SEE IF WE GATHERED INPUT FROM OTHER SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, RIGHT. UM, UH, THAT WE INCORPORATED INTO, INTO THE PLANNING. UH, SO WE HAVE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH, UH, VARIOUS SMALL BUSINESSES. UH, WE ALSO DID GET FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF THOSE CORRIDOR, THE APPLICANTS. OKAY. UH, FROM THE INITIAL PROCESS. [00:55:01] UM, OF COURSE LOOKED AT BEST PRACTICES OF COURSE, OR EXCUSE ME, WITH MAIN STREET AMERICA AS WELL. UM, BASED ON ALL OF THE FEEDBACK, WE, WE ALSO HAD SOME FEEDBACK FROM, FROM SOME OF YOU, UH, AND WE, WE TOOK ALL OF THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. UM, WERE, WERE ANY OF THOSE ISSUES, DID ANY OF THEM INCLUDE RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION? UM, AND WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU, WHEN THEY ASK ABOUT THAT? BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT, RIGHT? WALKABILITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS, ET CETERA. UM, THAT WOULD FORM A CRITICAL PART, I THINK OF, OF A MAIN STREET AMERICA PROGRAM. YEAH. WALKABILITY WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS LOOKED AT AND AS PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS, AS AN ADVISORY, UM, PIECE OF IT AND WAS, UH, DISCUSSED. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, AGAIN, AS WE'RE GOING FORWARD WITH THIS COHORT GROUP, IT'LL BE MORE ON THE, THE CAPACITY BUILDING. AND SO A LITTLE BIT, I DON'T WANT TO SAY LESS ON THE, THE CORRIDORS BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THE, THE MAIN STREET, UM, PHILOSOPHY AND THE FOUR POINT POINTS, BUT IT'S ALSO REALLY ABOUT THAT. HOW DO WE LOOK AT THIS AS MORE OF A GRASSROOTS EFFORT? HOW DO WE MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AMONGST THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN, IN QUARTER REVITALIZATION? AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE LOOK O OBVIOUSLY OF THE, UM, UH, THAT, THAT YOU'VE TAKEN, RIGHT? AND SO INCORPORATING THE, THE, THE NEIGHBORHOODS IS, IS CRITICAL. UM, AS A COUNCILMAN SAID, I DO WONDER THERE'S, UH, I HAD A CONVERSATION YESTERDAY WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS ASKING ABOUT WHAT I THINK, UM, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS MAYBE FORGET ABOUT, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I THOUGHT ONE OF THE ONES WAS ASSETS. ASSETS IN THEIR AREA. SO MAJOR ASSETS AND COUNCILMAN CASTILLO MENTIONED, FOR INSTANCE, PORT SAN ANTONIO EARLIER. AND SO THE DEVELOPMENT, THE GROWTH HAPPENING AROUND THAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE SURROUNDING, UM, COMMUNITIES? UM, BUT THEN ALSO RIGHT DOWN THE STREET TECHNICALLY, UM, WE JUST HAD A CLOSURE OF A LARGE HOSPITAL. SO HOW IS THAT GONNA AFFECT THE SMALL BUSINESSES IN THAT AREA? UM, AND THEN BECAUSE OF THAT, THE RESIDENTS IN THAT AREA THAT NOW HAVE TO TRAVEL A LITTLE BIT FURTHER TO GET HEALTHCARE OR EVEN SOME OF THE, UM, BREAKFAST PLACES THAT MIGHT BE CLOSING AS A RESULT OF THAT OR JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST RESTAURANTS THAT, THAT MIGHT, UM, BE AFFECTED. AND I'M WONDERING IF IN THE CONVERSATIONS YOU ALSO HAVE HAD, UM, TALKS WITH, WITH THOSE, UH, I'LL CALL THEM INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO CERTAIN AREAS, WE KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE PRACTICALLY LABELED ON, ON EVERY CITY MAP. AND SO WE KNOW THAT THAT INSTITUTION ATTRACTS A LOT OF PEOPLE. DO YOU ALL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AS WELL? AND UM, WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND HOW THEY EVALUATE THAT ASSET AND THEY THINK OF THEIR PLANNING GOING FORWARD, UM, BASED ON, ON THAT INSTITUTION'S GROWTH? SURE. UM, SO WE CERTAINLY DO LOOK AT THOSE INSTITUTIONS AS WE'RE DOING OUR WORK. UH, TO YOUR POINT, I DO THINK THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED. UH, ONE OF THE, THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PIECES THAT'S INCORPORATED INTO THIS IS THAT MARKET ANALYSIS, NOT, NOT SO MUCH, UM, JUST STRICTLY FOR THE BUSINESS, BUT THAT, THAT CORRIDOR AS WELL. AND THEN AGAIN, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES OR WHAT GAPS THERE MIGHT BE FOR THOSE BUSINESSES. SO THAT'S ACTUALLY A SKILLSET THAT THE PARTICIPANTS LEARN. AND THEN AGAIN, THE IDEA IS THEY CAN CARRY THAT OUT TO THE SMALL BUSINESSES. UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT MAKING SURE THAT OUR STAFF IS TRAINED IN THE SAME KIND OF CONCEPT. UM, AND WE'VE HAD OTHER DEPARTMENTS EXPRESS INTEREST IN BEING TRAINED IN THAT PROCESS AS WELL. SO CERTAINLY EXPLORING ALL OF THAT AS WELL. GREAT. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN BRAN. YEAH, THANK YOU. UH, I, I LIKE THAT WE ARE GONNA DO TWO COHORTS OF 20, BUT LET'S SAY THE FIRST COHORT DOESN'T QUITE GET 20. ARE WE JUST GOING TO SAVE THAT EXCESS FUND AND DO A THIRD COHORT OR WILL WE JUST BE LIKE, OH, OKAY, YOU GUYS, WERE A GROUP OF 10 SO WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU UP TO $20,000 EACH IF YOU'RE PROGRAMS ARE GREAT. UH, SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I MEAN, WE'LL CERTAINLY HAVE TO SEE AND WE WOULD COME BACK WITH ANY RECOMMENDATION IF THAT'S NOT THE CASE. BUT, UM, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK FROM MAINSTREAM AMERICA, WE WOULD RECOMMEND JUST KEEPING IT AT THAT $10,000. I DON'T THINK WE WOULD WANNA DO ANY CHANGE TO ANY OF IT UNTIL WE ACTUALLY GET THROUGH THAT SECOND COHORT. UM, AND REALLY LEARN FROM BOTH OF THOSE. YEAH, BECAUSE I LIKE, I DID LIKE THE CORRIDOR IDEA, HOWEVER, AS, AS WE WENT THROUGH PUBLIC WORKS AND AS I GOT BRIEFINGS BY PUBLIC WORKS ON CERTAIN CORRIDORS THAT I THOUGHT WERE GREAT IDEAS ON THE SOUTH SIDE, IT BECAME ONE CONSTRUCTION DELAY AFTER ANOTHER. AND SO I WAS LIKE, WELL THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY FRUSTRATING. 'CAUSE THEN IT'S STREETS THAT ARE ALREADY DONE AND IT'S OUR STREETS THAT ARE, UM, IT'S OUR BUS, OUR SMALL BUSINESSES ALONG CORRIDORS [01:00:01] THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY LOOKING AT CONSTRUCTION THAT KIND OF NEED HELP NOW. SO I LIKE THE PIVOT. I REALLY DO LIKE THE PIVOT. MY QUESTION FOR THIS MARKETING, 'CAUSE IT'S 50,000 FOR MARKETING OUTREACH AND MIS MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS, AND THIS IS JUST BECAUSE OF MARKETING IN GENERAL WITHIN THE CITY, IS I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, MARKETING GOALS AND DOLLARS AND O ON WHAT WE'RE SPENDING. BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO COME BACK WITH, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST WEEK WE HAD THIS MANY CLICKS ON OUR, UM, ON THE SITE AND THIS MANY PEOPLE RESPOND BECAUSE I THINK WE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, AND I'LL GO BACK TO IT'S THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND THE RESIDENTS THAT NEED ARE, ARE THAT NEED THIS AREN'T ONLINE, OR WE'VE GOTTA FIND THEM ONLINE. SO I REALLY WANNA BE, UM, THOUGHTFUL IN TERMS OF THE MARKETING, HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THIS IF WE'RE GONNA SPEND THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY ON MARKETING. BECAUSE WHAT I DON'T WANT IS HAVE A SITUATION WHERE RESIDENTS COME AND THEY'RE LIKE, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT. AND WE TELL 'EM, OH, IT WAS 'CAUSE IT WAS ONLINE OR YOU HAD A QR CODE AND THEY, THAT'S NOT WHERE THESE BUSINESSES WERE. SO I REALLY, I, I'D REALLY LIKE THAT. UM, I, I REALLY LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT BECAUSE I, I, I AM EXCITED THAT THE PEOPLE THAT APPLIED FOR THE CORRIDOR CANAL APPLY FOR THIS PROGRAM. I THINK IT ALSO IS, UH, SOME OF THOSE SMALLER, UH, BUSINESSES THAT MAYBE WEREN'T LIKE, I'M NOT GOING TO SUBMIT ALL THIS INFORMATION FOR THAT THE CORRIDOR PILOT PROGRAM WILL BE WILLING TO DO THIS, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE TO THEM. AND IT SOMETIMES THAT'S JUST NOT ONLINE. UM, SO I'D LIKE TO GET THAT INFORMATION, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I'M GLAD WE'RE GONNA DO THIS PIVOT. I THINK, UH, I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. I REALLY DO THINK THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN CORRIDOR PROGRAMS, WE DO NEED TO TALK TO PUBLIC WORKS ABOUT WHAT PROJECTS ARE COMING AND WHEN AND WHAT'S GETTING DELAYED. UM, BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S A, UH, A SERIOUS HINDRANCE FOR SOME. AND THEN THE SECOND THING IS WE DO NEED TO HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS, UH, SIMILAR TO COUNCILMAN CASTILLO MENTIONED IN TERMS OF OUT OF THE COMMUNITY, SOME AREAS OF MY TOWN, THEY KNOW THEY LIVE IN AN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT. PARTS OF, UM, PARTS OF GOLIAD WHERE THE RESTAURANT ROW IS, UH, SOUTH SOUTHEAST, SOUTHWEST MILITARY DRIVE. BUT SOMETIMES PEOPLE THINK THEY CAN CREATE AN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESIDENTIAL AREA AND THAT JUST DOESN'T QUITE WORK. AND WHEN WE NEED TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION IF SOMEONE'S COMING FOR, FOR THIS PROGRAM AND IT'S GONNA CHANGE THE FACE OF THAT COMMUNITY, THEY NEED TO TALK TO THE RESIDENTS. YEAH. AND THAT'S A BIG PART THAT'S DRIVING THAT LEADERSHIP PIECE OF IT. YES. IS REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE STAKEHOLDERS. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. GOOD. UM, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM, RIGHT BRENDA, IN ORDER TO AFFECT THE CHANGES YOU'RE PROPOSING. AND SO THE, THE MOTION WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS TO ACCEPT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION, THEN FORWARD THIS OFF ONTO CITY COUNCIL FOR WE, WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL, WE WANTED TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS PIVOT WAS APPROPRIATE. THE ONLY THING WE WOULD NEED TO DO IS AMEND THE CONTRACT WITH UM, MAIN STREET AMERICA TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, WHICH WE ARE PREPARING TO DO IF, IF THIS WAS RECEIVED FAVORABLY. SO I THINK YOU'RE HEARING FROM MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, IT'S RECEIVED FAVORABLY. DO YOU NEED A VOTE ON THIS? RIGHT. ALRIGHT, SO WE'D LIKE ONE YES, PLEASE. YES. SO WE NEED A VOTE ON ACCEPTING STATUTE RECOMMENDATION. UM, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. ALRIGHT, WE GOT A MOTION. A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. THAT WAS UNANIMOUS. OKAY. I BELIEVE THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THIS MEETING. UH, DO WE HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION? WE DO. ALRIGHT. IN THAT CASE WE'RE GONNA KICK EVERYBODY OUT, UM, UNTIL AFTER OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION AND RIGHT NOW IT'S 3:05 PM WE COULD, UNLESS EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE KICKED OUT. YEAH, WHY DON'T WE JUST KICK EVERYBODY OUT THAT RIGHT. BECAUSE COUNCILMAN VIA GROUNDS ALL SET UP OVER HERE AND I SEE MY COLLEAGUES ARE ALSO OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO THE TIME IS NOW 3:06 PM ON JUNE 28TH OF OH THREE. OUR COMMITTEE IS RECESSING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH OUR ATTORNEYS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 51 DELIBERATION REGARDING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS, AND TO DISCUSS RELATED ISSUES PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE 5 51 0.071. * 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.