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>> PELAEZ: WE'RE READY TO GO, AND OUR CLERK WILL NOW TAKE THE ROLL
CL >> SIR, WE HAVE A QUORUM. >> PELAEZ: THANK YOU.
[Approval of Minutes ]
THE LAST TIME WE MET WAS MARCH 26 OF THIS YEAR, AND WE HAVE MINUTES THATREQUIRE APPROVING. >> I MOVE TO APPROVE. >> I SECOND.
>> PELAEZ: A MOTION AND A SECOND FROM COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. OUR FIRST ITEM IS A
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
BRIEFING ON THE ZERO PERCENT INTEREST LOAN WITH OURPARTNERSHIP WITH LIFTFUND. >> CAITLIN COWWARD IS
PRESENTING. >> HI, GOOD AFTERNOON. I'LL BE PRESENTING THIS AFTERNOON. THIS PROGRAM IS A PARTNERSHIP DATING BACK TO 2016 BETWEEN THE CITY AND LIFTFUND, AND I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE MEMBERS HERE TODAY. ADAM HANSON, AMY HERFER, ALMA VALDEZ-BROWN, A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LOAN OFFICER. THEY'LL BE HELPING TO PRESENT A PORTION OF THIS PRESENTATION IN JUST A LITTLE BIT.
AS THE COMMITTEE WELL KNOWS FROM HEARING FROM OUR COMMUNITY AND SMALL BUSINESSES, ACCESS TO CAPITAL IS ONE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS THAT SMALL BUSINESSES HAS. THIS PROGRAM ASSISTS SMALL BUSINESSES WHO ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR TRADITIONAL REMEMBERING TO EITHER START OR EXPAND BUSINESS, PURCHASE PROPERTY OR IMPROVE LOCATION.
THESE LOANS HELP ESTABLISH OR IMPROVE THEIR BUSINESS. THE FIRST SIX YEARS OF THE PROGRAM WERE FUNDED BY GENERAL FUND. IN 2023, THE BUDGET DOUBLED TO $500,000. THERE WAS A LOT OF FEEDBACK ABOUT ACCESS TO CAPITAL THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, THROUGH RECOVERY, AND SO THE RECOVERY WAS INCREASED THERE AND THEN HAD ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT BOOST THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR TO $1 MILLION PER YEAR, TOTALING $2 MILLION THE CURRENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND LIFTFUND IS A TWO YEAR AGREEMENT, AND LOOKING AT THIS CHART OF THE TOTAL NUMBERS, THAT'S FUNDED BETWEEN COSA GENERAL FUND AT $500,000, AND A LITTLE OVER $1 MILLION OF ARPA FUNDING, AND THEN LIFTFUND AT 440,995 AND THAT'S MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH WELLS FARGO. THERE'S $177 FOR THIS BUDGET RESERVED FOR CONSTRUCTION IMPACTED BUSINESSES, AND THAT'S $100,000 PER YEAR. AN OPTIONAL SIX MONTH FORE BEAR RANCE FOR THE RECIPIENTS. ANYTHING WITHIN CITY CONSTRUCTION ZONES LASTING 12 MONTHS OR LONGER AND CURRENTLY ACTIVE AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION. APPLICATIONS FOR THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM OPENED ON FEBRUARY 1.
BUSINESSES APPLYING FOR LOANS COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR ANYTHING FROM $500 TO $100,000, THIS RANGE ACCOMMODATING A VARIETY OF NEEDS AND GOALS FOR THE BUSINESSES. ALSO, THE INTEREST RATE IS FIXED AT 0% WHICH MAKES MONTHLY PAYMENTS MORE MANAGEABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, AND THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES MUST BE LOCATED IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO LIMITS.
NOW, IF IT WAS A BUSINESS THAT WAS ESTABLISHING SOMETHING NEW AND HAD, LIKE, A LEASE, SOMETHING REALLY OFFICIAL, THEY WOULD BE UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR ONE OF THESE LOANS AS WELL. WE DID INCORPORATE THAT IF A BUSINESS HAD RECEIVED THIS TYPE OF LOAN THROUGH THIS PROGRAM IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, THEY WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE UNTIL A FUTURE YEAR. SO OUTREACH FOR THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN TARGETED TO HELP EDUCATE ABOUT THE PROGRAM'S OPPORTUNITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN AWARE OF IT BEFORE. AND HOW WE PUB ACCOMPLISHED THIS WAS TACTICS, SOCIAL MEDIA, PRESS RELEASE, WITH GRASSROOTS EFFORTS.
SO THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR WE OFFERED VIRTUAL INFORMATION SESSIONS ISSUES WHICH WERE ATTENDED BY MORE THAN 130 BUSINESSES. OUR SMALL BUSINESS OUTREACH TEAM HAS BEEN OUT THERE TALKING TO BUSINESSES ONE ON ONE, STOPPING BY THEIR LOCATIONS, AND THEY'VE REACHED MORE THAN 900 BUSINESSES TO TALK ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. WE SHARED INFORMATION WITH CITY COUNCIL OFFICES AND OUR SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM PARTNERS, AND I WANT TO MENTION THE TEAM AT LAUNCH SA HAS BEEN INTEGRAL IN HELPING US TO INTRODUCE THE BUSINESSES THAT WERE NEW TO THE PROGRAM, AND THEY HAVE GIVEN US FEEDBACK THAT THEY'VE WORKED WITH SEVERAL
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BUSINESSES TO HELP GET READY TO MAKE APPLICATIONS THAT PREVIOUSLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM. SO THIS YEAR TO DATE, I WANTED TO NOTE THAT MORE THAN HALF THE LOAN RECIPIENTS WERE NEW CUSTOMERS TO LIFTFUND.AND AT THIS TIME I'LL HAND IT OVER TO AMY HERFER. >> GOOD AFTERNOON.
SO THE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE IN THIS IS INCREDIBLE. YOU CAN SEE ON ONE SIDE OF THE SLIDE, EIGHT YEARS, THE FOLLOWING OUTCOME, 249 LOANS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO JOBS CREATED AND RETAINED OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. BUT NOW IF YOU COMPARE THAT TO THE FIRST QUARTER OF WHAT WE JUST DID IN THIS PROGRAM TOGETHER, YOU'VE BASICALLY BEEN INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE IN ONE QUARTER. LOOK, YOU'VE GOTTEN TO $2.3 MILLION IN TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT COMPARED TO $7.1 MILLION.
IF YOU LOOKED AT JOBS CREATED AND RETAINED, OVER 300 ALREADY, AS OPPOSED TO 1400 OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. YOU'VE DONE IN ONE QUARTER AN INCREDIBLY IMPACTFUL RESULT, AND SO I REALLY WANT TO THANK, 1, WELLS FARGO FOR BEING A CONTRIBUTOR TO THIS PROGRAM, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DESERVES A SHOUTOUT BECAUSE IN THE NEXT SLIDE, THE BENEFITS OF THE ZERO PERCENT INTEREST LOAN, THE FUND WORKS WITH ECONOMIC DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE NATION, AND THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM HAS YOU AT THE FOREFRONT AND AT THE HEAD OF THE CURVE OF MAKING AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO THAT, ONE, THEY'RE ABLE TO ACCESS MORE OF THE CAPITAL THAT THEY NEED, THEY'RE NOT PAYING THE INTERESTS, SO THEY'RE ABLE TO GET THE ACTUAL CAPITAL THEY NEED. THEY HAVE LOWER MONTHLY PAYMENTS, NOT PAYING INTEREST, LOWER DELINQUENCY RATES SO THEY DON'T FALL OUT, AND WE DON'T NEED TO MODIFY LOANS AS MUCH AS WE DO.
AND OTHER OUTCOMES, THIS IS KEY. YOU'VE INCREASED ELIGIBILITY FOR TRADITIONAL LENDING. WE'RE GRADUATING THESE SMALL BUSINESSES ON TO TRADITIONAL BANKS FASTER THAN WE ARE IF THEY ARE NOT HAVING AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO CAPITAL. THE CITY IS ACTUALLY PROVIDING THE INTACT OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES GETTING INTO TRADITIONAL FINANCE WORLD MUCH FASTER THAN IF YOU HADN'T DONE THE PROGRAMS. THEY'RE INCREASING CREDIT SCORES BY BEING ABLE TO PAY US BACK FASTER AND MORE RELIABLE, AND INCREASING THE BUSINESS REVENUE, AND OF COURSE WE SAW THAT IT'S CREATING JOBS AND RETAINING JOBS. SO I'LL JUST SAY FOR EVERY DOLLAR WE LEND, WE KNOW THERE'S A $14 IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, AND YOU'VE DONE AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF IMPACT, OVER $140 MILLION IN THIS COMMUNITY JUST BY INTEREST BUYDOWN PROGRAMS, SO I'LL COMMEND YOU ALL FOR BEING AT THE FOREFRONT OF THESE PROGRAMS, AND TURN IT
OVER TO ALMA TO TURN ABOUT ACTUAL BUSINESSES. >> HI, GOOD AFTERNOON.
I'LL TALK ABOUT TWO PARTICULAR BUSINESS OWNERS HERE.
JENNIFER RISEMAN, AND I HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH HER AND PROCESSING HER LOAN, AND SHE CAME TO US BECAUSE SHE HAD OPPORTUNITIES, WORKING FROM A SHARED KITCHEN, MAKING BAKED GOODS AND HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO INTO A LEASE BASE AND PURCHASE THE EQUIPMENT IN THE LEASE BASE, SO SHE NEEDED A LOAN AND WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE HER A LOAN IN 2022 SO SHE COULD GET INTO THAT SPACE, SHE'S LOCATED IN DISTRICT 8 ON AT THE SCENE VALUE LA ROAD. OH, AND BY THE WAY, SHE CAME TO US AS A REFERRAL FROM LAUNCH SA, AND SHE'S A GRADUATE OF THE BREAKFAST AND LAUNCH PROGRAM, WHICH THEY OFFER, WHICH HELPS FOOD ENTREPRENEURS LEARN ABOUT HOW TO BECOME MORE PROFITABLE IN THEIR FOOD OR BEVERAGE BUSINESS.
THE SECOND EXAMPLE HERE IS HEATHER O'NEAL, HEATHER O'NEAL IS LOCATED ON SOUTH ST. MARY'S IN CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 AND CAME TO US IN 2022 AS WELL, AND SHE HAD TO CLOSE HER DOORS, AND WHAT SHE DOES IS OFFER INFRARED SAUNA SERVICES.
SHE ALSO HAS THE -- LET'S SEE IF I CAN PRONOUNCE, THE CRY OWE THERAPY, THE COLD A LOT OF THERAPIES IN HER SPA AND SHE NEEDED TO STABILIZE THE BUSINESS WHEN THINGS WERE OPENING UP AGAIN SO WE OFFERED HER A LOAN SO SHE COULD NORMALIZE OPERATIONS AND HIRE SOMEONE, AND SHE WAS REFERRED BY ANOTHER CUSTOMER THAT RECEIVED A ZERO PERCENT LOAN AS WELL. THANK YOU. SO I'M GOING TO BRING BACK
CAITLIN SO SHE CAN CLOSE OUT. >> YES.
THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION, AND WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
>> PELAEZ: THANKS, EXCELLENT PRESENTATION. I'LL GO AROUND,
COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA. >> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIR, AND CAITLIN AND THE ENTIRE TEAM. I LOVE THE FOCUS ON THE INCREASED ACCESS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS,
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ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE THE LIMITED OPTIONS. WHAT KIND OF COMP -- OR WHAT KIND OF DOCUMENTATION DO THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE TO SHOWTHEY CANNOT SECURE A TRADITIONAL LOAN. LOAN?>> SO GREAT QUESTION.
SO WE TRADITIONALLY LOOK AT TRADITIONAL TYPES OF SCORING.
SO MAINLY LOOKING AT CREDIT SO SCORE, YOU MAY LOOK AT CERTIFICATIONS THEY HAVE TOWARDS THEIR INDUSTRY, ARE THEY LICENSED, DO THEY HAVE THE APPROPRIATE LICENSING, DO THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE.
ALSO, WE LOOK AT TIME AND BUSINESS. TIME AND BUSINESS IS
ANOTHER KEY IMPORTANT FACTOR WHEN ANALYZING. >> ROCHA GARCIA: IS THAT THEIR
PERSONAL CREDIT REPORT. >> YES. WE PULL A FIE CO CREDIT SCORE ON ALL THE SMALL BUSINESSES APPLYING FOR A LOAN ROCK ROCK WHAT
MAKES THEM UNELIGIBLE. >> WE LOOK AT A NUMBER OF RECENT ISSUES.
SO NOT A MINIMUM CREDIT SCORE, BUT IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCING RECENT ISSUES, LIKE ISSUES WITHIN THE PAST SIX MONTHS ON MAKING MY MORTGAGE PAYMENTS OR RENT PAYMENTS, CAR, STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS, WHILE PUT THEM THROUGH SOME OF OUR CREDIT PROGRAMS SO THEY CAN GET CREDIT WORTHY TO GET THEM TO A PLACE WHERE THEY'RE COMFORTABLE AND
REPAYING THE LOANS. >> ROCHA GARCIA: WHAT ABOUT JUSTICE INVOLVED.
>> I'M SORRY. >> ROCHA GARCIA: JUSTICE INVOLVED.
>> JUSTICE INVOLVED. I'M NOT FAMILIAR. I'M SORRY.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: LIKE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE SOME SORT OF JUST ISSUE WITH THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
THAT. >> OKAY. YES, WE DO EMPLOYED PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH CRIMINAL ISSUES, JUSTICE ISSUES, WE DON'T TAKE THAT INTO EFFECT AS LONG AS THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY
INCARCERATED. >> ROCHA GARCIA: YEAH, I WAS TRYING TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT HOW I SAID IT, YOU KNOW, NOT NECESSARILY PROMOTING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OR SOMETHING, SO I WAS
TRYING TO BE CAUTIOUS. >> YEAH. >> ROCHA GARCIA: BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE HAD JUST A BAD LUCK, RIGHT? AND SO ANYWAYS, THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU ALL ENCOUNTERED WHEN THERE WAS A 70% GOAL. AND SO WHAT WERE SOME CHALLENGES THAT WERE ENCOUNTERED? I KNOW SPECIFICALLY IN
THE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME AREAS. >> OKAY.
SO WHEN THERE ARE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS, WHAT WE -- THE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES IS OUTREACH IS ONE OF THEM, WHICH IS WHY WE HIT IT HARD WITH THE PARTNERSHIPS. OUR COMMUNICATION TEAM, YOUR COMMUNICATION TEAM, THEY WORK TOGETHER, INCLUDING ALL INDIVIDUAL OFFICES, IT'S MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE WHEN YOU HELP US GET IT OUT. SO OUTREACH, OUTREACH, THAT IS WHERE IT LIES. GOING TOKER GOING TOKER AND ARE YOU USING OCCUPYSY CERTIFICATES TO KNOW WHEN PEOPLE ARE OPENING BUSINESSES AND HOW OFTEN THEY'RE CLOSING BASED ON THE CERTIFICATES OF
OCCUPYSY. >> SO WE DON'T. WE'RE USING JUST THE MAP TO CONFIRM THAT THEY ARE WITHIN THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT, BUT NOT USING -- THAT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT. I HAVE A LOT OF HOME
BASED BUSINESSES THAT MIGHT QUALIFY. >> ROCHA GARCIA: YEAH. I SEE A LOT POPPING UP ON GOOGLE, AND A LOT OF THEM ARE MAKING MEALS AND DIFFERENT THINGS, AND SOMETIMES I WORRY AS TO HEALTH CODE, ET CETERA, BUT I DO -- I STILL THINK THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT
THAT OCCUPANCY -- THAT CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. >> WHEN IT'S FOOD BUSINESSES, WE DO REQUEST THE APPROPRIATE LICENSING AND REGISTRATION WITH THE CITY, BUT NOT A CERTIFICATE OF
OCCUPANCY, THAT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT. >> ROCHA GARCIA: SURE.
NOW I'M SAYING WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT IT FOR MARKETING PURPOSES, WE SHOULD BE TARGETING WHERE THEY'RE OPENING, LIKE A -- BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IF WE KNOW THAT THAT AREA IS NOT SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE THERE'S NO PEOPLE DERIVING THROUGH, WHY WOULD WE INCENTIVIZE ANOTHER BUSINESS TO OPEN IN THAT CERTAIN LOCATION, AND I'M JUST
SAYING THERE MIGHT BE SOME SCENARIOS. >> RIGHT.
THANK YOU. >> I JUST WANTED TO ADD, COUNCCOUNCILWOMAN, SO HOW MANY BUSINESSES ARE STAYING OPEN. WE LOOKED AT DATA, AND WE FOUND IT'S SUCCESSFUL 95% OF THE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS PROGRAM ARE OPEN, AND THEN AS FAR AS LOOKING AT DATA, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE INVESTED IN, ESPECIALLY WITH OUTREACH SPECIALISTS OUT THERE, SO LOOKING AT VISITS AND INFORMING THE
DATA ON WHERE WE'RE GOING AND TRENDS. >> ROCHA GARCIA: WONDERFUL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> I JUST LIKE THE DATA
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FOR DISTRICT 3 IN TERMS OF WHAT WE HAD, WHO APPLIED, THINGS LIKE THAT. I WAS GLAD TO SEE HEATHER UP THERE WITH SWEAT EQUITY, I'VE TAKEN SOME SPIN CLASSES WITH HER, AND I KNOW SHE REALLY WORKS TO GET THAT BUSINESS GROWING. BUT, YEAH, I JUST THINK -- MY CONCERN IS DISTRICT WIDE IN DISTRICT 3 AND THE CORRIDORS AND ALSO IF CONSTRUCTION -- IF THEY ARE CLOSING, IF CONSTRUCTION IS PLAYING A FACTOR IN THAT, SPECIFICALLY.SO IF WE COULD GET THAT LIST, I'D APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU.
>> PELAEZ: COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION. THE OUTREACH IS ALWAYS THE MOST CRITICAL POINT, TO HIGHLIGHTING THAT KEY PIECE BECAUSE I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE DISTRICT 5 SPECIFIC DATA ON WHO'S APPLIED.
I KNOW JOIAN WHO OWNS A SMALL BUSINESS GOT DENIED BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T OWN COLLATERAL SO I'D LIKE TO GET FAMILIAR WITH THAT AND FAMILIARIZE MYSELF WITH BUSINESSES THAT DIDN'T QUALIFY AND SEE HOW WE COULD ASSIST THEM OR PROVIDE SUPPORT, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT SOMEONE FROM SA LAUNCH CONNECTED FOLK THE TO THE GRANT BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE CONNECTING FOLKS TO LAUNCH SA, SO GREAT TO HEAR SUCCESSFUL STORIES, AND COMMEND THE TEAM THAT 95% OF PARTICIPANTS KEEP THEIR BUSINESS OPEN IS IMPRESSIVE. SO THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM, AND I'M SURE THE WORK OF YOU ALL IS WHAT HELPED MAKE THAT A SUCCESS, BUT ULTIMATELY, THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS IF WE COULD RECEIVE DISTRICT 5 SPECIFIC DATA. I'D BE GRATEFUL.
THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> WHYTE: YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
SLIDE 4. $100,000 RESERVED EXCLUSIVELY FOR CONSTRUCTION IMPACTED BISESES. IS THAT IN ADDITION TO THE $1.4 MILLION THAT WAS SET ASIDE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION PROGRAM THAT COUNCILMAN MCKEE ROD REE GUESS DID?
>> YES. WE HAD $100,000 SET ASIDE FOR BUSINESSES WHO
WANTED TO TAKE OUT A LOW INTEREST LOAN. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
GREAT. AND THESE LOANS, IT MENTIONED 46 LOANS ADMINISTERED, 434 HAVE AN OUTLOOK SCORE BETWEEN 6 AND 10.
ARE THESE LOANS ADMINISTERED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS?
>> GO AHEAD. >> YES, THEY ARE. THEY ARE.
>> WHYTE: THEY ARE. AND THE QUALIFICATIONS, GENERALLY, TO BE
ELIGIBLE FOR ONE OF THESE LOANS IS WHAT? >> PERSONAL CREDIT, THE CAPACITY TO PAY THE LOAN BACK, COLLATERAL, AND IF A STARTUP, WE REQUIRE EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY THEY'RE STARTING, SOME INJECTION THAT THEY'RE BRINGING IN, AND A BUSINESS PLAN. DID I MISS ANYTHING?
I THINK THAT'S IT. >> WHYTE: AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYWHERE HERE WE GOT THE MATRIX, I GUESS -- I GUESS ARE THERE POINTS ASSIGNED TO EACH PLANT PT BASED ON SOME OF THESE CRITERIA.
>> NOT NECESSARILY POINTS, BUT WE'RE KEEPING TRACK OF -- IF SOMEONE WERE TO COME APPLY THEY WOULD COMPLY WITH THE CRITERIA, BUT WE'RE KEEPING TRACK OF THE COMBINED EQUITY ATLAS SCORE AND WHAT CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT THEY'RE IN, BUT THAT DOES NOT -- THAT IS NOT
A REQUIREMENT OF THE LOAN. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
GOT IT. AND TALKING ABOUT THE EQUITY ATLAS, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE THE BUSINESS IS PHYSICALLY LOCATED; CORRECT.
>> CORRECT. >> WHYTE: GREAT. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM. ANYTHING WE COULD DO TO ASSIST SMALL BUSINESSES, I'M ALL FOR. AGAIN, THEY'RE THE ENGINE OF THE ECONOMY HERE AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND THEN OF COURSE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, AND SOY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK ON THIS.
THANKS. >> PELAEZ: THANK YOU. I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND -- AND LATER, IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD.
WHAT IS THE DEFAULT RATE ON THESE LOANS IF THAT'S A NUMBER THAT YOU HAVE AVAILABLE WHEN YOU SEND OVER THE BREAKDOWN FOR DISTRICT BY DISTRICT.
THE SECOND THING I'D LIKE TO KNOW IS THE -- AS FAR AS THE PROCESS FROM THE MOMENT THE CLIENT WALKS IN UNTIL THEY GET THEIR LETTER INFORMING THEY HAVE A LOAN, HOW LONG DO THEY AVERAGE? HOW LONG DOES THAT TAKE, RIGHT? DO YOU KNOW THAT OFF THE
TOP OF YOUR HEAD? >> IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THEM, THEMSELVES.
WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT DO EVERYTHING ONLINE, AND SO WE DO
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HAVE AN ONLINE APPLICATION. TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, IT COULD BE AS LITTLE AS A WEEK, UP TO 30 DAYS, DEPENDING ON THE LOAN AMOUNT, HOW QUICKLY THEY GET US DOCUMENTS. WE'RE CLOSING A LOAN TODAY AND THE GENTLEMAN APPLIED LAST THURSDAY -- I'M SORRY.CLOSING TOMORROW. AND THEN WE'VE GOT SOME SITTING THERE BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING ON GETTING BANK STATEMENTS TO US.
IT DEPENDS. >> PELAEZ: ARE THEY LOCKED INTO AN INTEREST RATE? OR IS THAT VARIABLE THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THE LOAN?
>> SO FOR THIS PARTICULAR LOAN, IT'S 0% FOR THE LIFE OF A LOAN, SO IF SOMEONE WERE TO GET $50,000 LOAN. WE'LL GIVE THEM 0%.
>> PELAEZ: ARE THERE FEES. >> THEY'RE ADDED TO THE LOAN.
SO THE CLIENT IS COMING TO US. NO MONEY OUT OF THEIR POCKET. ADDING FEE TO THE LOAN. PART OF THE FINANCING.
>> PELAEZ: IS A PERCENT OF THE LOAN. >> IT IS.
IT'S FLAT. FIVE% TO 7%. >> PELAEZ: OKAY.
THANK YOU, THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS. I APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK.
GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL. >> THANK YOU. >> PELAEZ: NEXT ITEM IS A
BRIEFING REGARDING SECOND STAGE GRANT PROGRAM AWARDS. >> HELLO, EVERYONE.
MY NAME IS SHARE LA, I AM A SENIOR ECONOMIC SPECIALIST WITH OUR ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT. AND TODAY I'LL BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON OUR SECOND STAGE GRANT PROGRAM. SO OUR SECOND STAGE BUSINESS, WE USE THE EDWARD LOWE FOUNDATION DEFINITION OF A SECOND STAGE BUSINESS WHICH IS A BUSINESS THAT'S FOR PROFIT OR PRIVATELY OWNED COMPANY THAT GARNERS BETWEEN 1 TO $50 MILLION ANNUALLY, AND THESE ARE EXPORT ORIENTED BUSINESSES WHO INTEND TO GROW OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO, SO THEIR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES EXPAND REGIONALLY, NATIONALLY OR INTERNATIONALLY. SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROGRAM BORROWED ON A LOT OF THE THEORIES OF THE EDWARD LOWE FOUNDATION, WHICH IS TO NURTURE THE BUSINESSES ALREADY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. THOSE THAT ARE HEAD QUARTERED AND WANT TO MAKE INVESTMENTS LOCALLY. SO FOR THIS PROGRAM, WE ALLOCATED UP TO $50,000 PER COMPANY BASED ON A COMPANY'S NEEDS AND COMMITMENTS. WE ALSO CAPPED THE TOTAL FUNDS FOR THIS AT $500,000. AS A PART OF THIS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THIS PROGRAM, THEY MUST MEET THE DEFINITION OF SECOND STAGE BUSINESS.
REMAIN HEAD QUARTERED IN SAN ANTONIO FROM THE DURATION OF ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE. AND ALSO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION SHOWING GROWTH IN THE PAST -- TWO OF THE PAST FIVE YEARS, EITHER IN EMPLOYMENT OR REVENUE. WE ALSO REQUIRE THAT THESE POSITIONS PAY A MINIMUM OF $17.50 PER HOUR AND OFFER WORKERS COMPENSATION, BENEFITS FOR ALL FULL TIME EMPLOYEES. NOW AS PART OF METRICS FOR THE PROGRAM, WE INCLUDED REQUIRED SURVEY RESPONSES ON A 6 MONTH, 18 MONTH AND 36 MONTH BASIS TO TRACK PERFORMANCE THROUGH REVENUE EMPLOYMENT POST AWARD AND REQUIRE ADDITIONAL COMPLIANCE REPORTING JUST TO ENSURE THOSE FUNDS ARE BEING USED FOR THE EXPENSES THEY APPLIED FOR. AS A PART OF THE WRITTEN GROWTH PLAN, WE WANTED TO LOOK FOR STRATEGIES THAT WERE GOING TO ELEVATE THE BUSINESS TO THE NEXT STEP FORWARD, INCLUDING MARKET DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCT STRATEGY, A DIVERSIFICATION, THOSE ARE SOME EXAMPLES.
IN THAT GROWTH PLAN, WE WANTED THEM TO INCLUDE THEIR FINANCIAL GOALS, A MARKETING PLAN OF HOW THEY'LL ACHIEVE THAT GROWTH, AND THEN ALSO A BREAKDOWN OF THEIR CURRENT ASSETS AND WHAT OTHER CAPITAL, ASIDE FROM CITY GRANT FUNDS WOULD BE USED FOR THE GROWTH.
WE WANTED A BREAKDOWN OF THE COMPANY'S STAFFING NEEDS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. SO FOR THE COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATION TODAY WE HAVE THREE PLANTS FOR RECOMMENDATION. I'LL START WITH ATLAS AC REPAIR LLC.
A LOCAL HVAC CONTRACTOR HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AND SERVICE AUSTIN, DALLAS, FORT WORTH, AND THEY ARE APPLYING FOR A GROWTH PLAN THAT IS GOING TO HELP TRAIN SOME ADDITIONAL TECH NICHIANS, AND THIS GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS WOULD BE USED TO APPLY TO THE INSTRUCTOR'S STRATEGY AND ADDITIONAL HVAC EQUIPMENT TO TRAIN TECH NICHIANS ON THE PROGRAM AND THEN LAB AND CLASSROOM. NEXT IS INTEGRATED BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH IS A LOCAL OFFICE EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER. THEY SERVICE THE SOUTH TEXAS REGION, AND THEIR GROWTH PLAN STRATEGY WAS TO HELP WITH ADDITIONAL WORK FORCE TRAINING FOR CURRENT EMPLOYEES, ALSO EXPANDING THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL UPGRADES TOWARDS THE SYSTEM, MOVING TOWARDS CLOUD BASED SOLUTION, AND THEN FURTHERRERING DIGITAL MARKETING PRESENCE AS WELL. AND THEN FINALLY, MODERN DAY
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CONCRETE, WHICH IS A FLOORING CONTRACTOR WHO SERVICES ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS.THEIR EXPANSION WAS TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT UPDATES, SO STATE OF THE ART GRINDING MACHINE, AND ADDITIONAL WORK FORCE AND MARKETING EXPANSIONS. SO FOR EACH ONE, WE REQUESTED RECOMMENDED FUNDING OF $50,000 PER APPLICANT. SO FOR A TOTAL OVERVIEW OF THE FUNDS SO FAR, $50 OF THIS PROGRAM FUNDING WAS FROM THE ECONOMIC INCENTIVE FUND IN MARCH OF 2024. THIS YEAR. WE HAD CITY COUNCIL APPROVE TWO AWARDS FOR THE PROGRAM TOTALING $100,000. TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION IS A TOTAL ZOO THOUSAND DOLLARS AND WE HAVE TOTAL REMAINING FUNDS OF $250,000.
STAFF RECOMMENDS THREE GRANTAF AGREEMENTS FOR THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED BUSINESSES, AND IF YOU SHOULD CHOOSE TO APPROVE THESE GRANT AWARD DEAL, WE WOULD TAKE THEM TO CITY COUNCIL IN JUNE, AND THEN STAFF ALSO WILL BE PROVIDING A PROGRAM REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT IN JULY, WE'LL BE DOING THAT RESEARCH, REVIEW, ASSESSMENT IN JULY TO PROVIDE FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE FUTURE. AND THAT IS ALL FOR MY PRESENTATION, AND I'M OPEN
TO ANY QUESTIONS. >> PELAEZ: COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA.
ANY QUESTIONS? >> ROCHA GARCIA: YES. THANK YOU, SARAH, I APPRECIATE YOU. I ALSO HAVE -- THE THREE YEAR MONITORING PERIOD.
WHAT KIND OF DATA AND ENGAGEMENT ARE YOU USING TO MAKE SURE THERE'S
COMPLIANCE, AND IMPACT, MORE IMPORTANTLY. >> YEAH.
ABSOLUTELY. SO PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS WE USED A SALES FORCE SYSTEM THAT THE APPLICANTS ARE FAMILIAR WITH, SO GOING THROUGH THE PORTAL AND SUBMITTING DOCUMENTATION THERE, AND WE HAVE A SURVEY, AND WE CAN PROVIDE YOU WHAT THOSE FORMS LOOK LIKE AND WHAT INFORMATION WE'RE PULLING FROM THAT, BUT MAINLY THE REVENUE AND EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION TO SEE HOW POST AWARD WAS THERE GROWTH AND WAS IT CONSIDERABLE AFTER THE TIME OF THE GRANT, AND WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO SEE THE EFFECTS OF THAT NOW, THE
IMMEDIACY OF HOW THEY'VE IMPACTED THEM. >> ROCHA GARCIA: AND THE FUNDS
ARE RELEASED AT THE SAME TIME? >> CORRECT. SO IN THIS CASE, IT'S IMMEDIATE DISPURSEMENT AFTER APPROVAL AND EXECUTION.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: AND DO YOU HAVE THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT THESE, I GUESS, LIKE THE
MULTIPLIER EFFECT. >> YEAH. SO I GUESS WE DO HAVE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING, BUT I COULD GET MORE -- WHAT DO YOU MEAN IF YOU WANT TO ELABORATE ON THAT
MULTIPLIER EFFECT. >> ROCHA GARCIA: SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW IF THIS IS A GOOD PROGRAM WE COULD CONTINUE INVESTMENT IN IT, SO I'M TALKING ABOUT DIRECT AND MAYBE INDIRECT
INDUCED EFFECT, ALL OF THAT. SO. >> NO.
I THINK WE'RE CURRENTLY MONITORING FULL TIME EMPLOYEE STATUS BECAUSE THAT'S DOCUMENTATION THAT WE COULD PROVIDE, BUT THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE COULD LOOK INTO WITH MY RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE TEAM.
BRENDA IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK ON THAT. >> YEAH, I WAS GOING TO OFFER, WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND PROVIDE THE CURRENT DIRECT WHAT THEY ANTICIPATE ADDING AS PART OF THE FUNDING FOR THIS AND THEN AGAIN RUN
THE REPORTS FOR INDUCED AS WELL. >> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU.
>> AND THEN AS WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR PROGRAMS THROUGH THE COMPLIANCE PROCESS, WE'LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THAT INFORMATION.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: YEAH. I LOVE THAT. AND I THINK THE REASON I'M SO FOCUSED ON THIS IS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT PAY RATE -- AND BY THE WAY, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE MAKING -- THAE PAYING ON THAT LEVEL?
LIKE, DO YOU KEEP UP. >> YEAH. SO THAT WAS THEIR APPLICATION, WE REQUIRE THAT THEY SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION FOR THAT, BUT ADDITIONALLY WE WILL REQUIRE OTHER AN ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEE, THEY WOULD SHOW PROOF THAT THAT EMPLOYEE WAS
PAID AT THAT LEVEL. >> ROCHA GARCIA: AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS GETTING AT.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR.
>> VIAGRAN: THANK YOU. YEAH. SO IF I COULD JUST GET THE INFORMATION THAT DISTRICT 4 ASKED FOR, I THINK THE KEY IS THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, IF THIS IS JOB RETENTION. THE OTHER, IT'S $50,000 PER APPLICANT, AND AS WE LOOK AT BUDGETS AND WE SEE WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T WORK AND WHAT'S EFFECTIVE, I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE ROI FOR THESE SECOND STAGE BUSINESSES BECAUSE I REALLY DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INVESTING IN SOMETHING THAT'S GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. AND DO WE HAVE A LIST OF ALL THE SECOND STAGE
COMPANIES THAT RESIDE IN SAN ANTONIO? >> SO OUR RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE TEAM DID PULL THAT INFORMATION. THERE'S SOME PROPRIETARY
[00:30:04]
INFORMATION IN THAT LIST, BUT WE DID USE THAT AS PART OF OUR MARKETING FOR THIS PROGRAM. SOME OF THE WAGES AND REVENUES THAT THE COMPANY SELF-REPORTS CAN DIFFER FROM ACTUALS, BUT WE DID USE THAT AND UTILIZE PART OF THAT LIST IN OUR TARGETEDMARKETING ADS. >> VIAGRAN: OKAY. THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS WE STARTED WITH THE SUPPLY SA AND MAKING SURE -- DO WE HAVE THE INFORMATION IF THESE COMPANIES WORK WITH BROOKES OR PORT OR ANY OTHER MUNICIPALITIES WITHIN THE BEAR COUNTY AREA.
>> SO WE DID ASK -- PART OF THE APPLICATION DID ASK SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT IT'LL BE AN ENGAGEMENT ON THE SURVEY IN, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THEY ENGAGED WITH, SO WE WILL HAVE SOME OF THOSE DATA POINTS. ANOTHER THING I COULD BRING UP AS WELL.
AND WE ARE ENGAGING IN BUSINESS RETENTION EXPANSION VISITS, SO MY TEAM IS GOING OUT AND MEETING WITH SOME OF THESE SECOND STAGE BUSINESSES AS WELL AND SEEING, YOU KNOW, WHO THEY'RE COLLABORATING WITH, SO IF IT HAPPENS TO BE ANOTHER CAME WE ARE OR THE PORT OR ANOTHER AUTHORITY, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT THE INFORMATION THERE.
>> VIAGRAN: I THINK THIS IS WHAT'S HARD IS I DON'T RECOGNIZE ANY OF THESE COMPANIES, AND WHED STAGE COMPANIES OUT THERE IF YOU PUT THEM ON THERE, IT WOULD BE LIKE OH, YEAH.
BUT I DON'T RECOGNIZE ANY OF THESE, SO THAT IS VERY INTERESTING.
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'VE APPLIED FOR ANYTHING WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO OR IF THEY'RE SUBCONTRACTORS WITH.
>> SO I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT THESE ARE NOT NECESSARILY AGENCIES OR COMPANIES THAT DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY OR PUBLIC ENTITY, ALL OF IT MAY BE PRIVATE, COMMERCIAL WORK, RESIDENTIAL, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY CITY OF SAN ANTONIO VENDORS OR ANY PUBLIC VENDORS, THESE ARE JUST BUSINESSES IN GENERAL IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT HAVE REACHED THAT
NEXT STAGE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. >> VIAGRAN: YEAH.
AND THAT'S WHERE I'M LIKE, HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT THE CITY AS A WHOLE, OTHER THAN BEING HERE? IF YOU TOLD ME THESE CITIES ARE HERE BUT THEY DO WORK IN OKLAHOMA, THEY'RE HEAD QUARTERED HERE AND THEY DO SOMETHING, I COULD GET EXCITED ABOUT, THAT BUT IF ALL YOU'RE TELLING ME THESE ARE PRIVATE BUSINESSES THAT HIT THE SECOND STAGE AND ONLY SERVICE THE DOMINION AREA.
>> SO PART OF THAT REQUIREMENT DID REQUIRE AN EXPERT ORIENTED, SO WE ASKED THE BUSINESSES TO PROVIDE WHAT OTHER AREAS THEY SERVICED.
SO FOR INSTANCE, TODAY A LOT WERE IN THE SOUTH TEXAS REGIONS, BUT ALL OF THEM HAD PRODUCTS OR SERVICES THAT EXPANDED OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO, SO THERE WAS THAT MULTIPLIER EFFECT IF WE WANT TO ELABORATE ON THAT, BUT THAT WAS A REQUIREMENT OF THE PROGRAM.
>> VIAGRAN: YEAH. I WOULD LIKE TO ELABORATE ON THAT.
WE COULD PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU SARAH FOR THE PRESENTATION. ARE WE ALSO TRACKING AND REQUESTING WHAT THEIR RETENTION LOOKS LIKE WITH EMPLOYEES WHEN
THEY'RE APPLYING. >> SO IT WOULD BE AT TIME OF APPLICATION, WE ASK WHAT THE FULL TIME EMPLOYEE, PART TIME, SEASONAL, AND THEN DURING SURVEYS, THEY'LL BE ASKED ON EMPLOYMENT LEVELS FOLLOWING, SO SUBSEQUENTLY, WE'LL HAVE THE PATTERN OF TRACKING EMPLOYMENT, BUT WE DIDN'T ASK FOR EMPLOYMENT UNLESS THAT WAS PART OF THEIR GROWTH
IN THAT TWO TO FIVE YEAR PERIOD. >> CASTILLO: OKAY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THEN LOOKING AT THE PROJECT SUMMARIES FOR THE THREE COMPANIES. MANY OF THEM MENTION TRAINING COSTS FOR EMPLOYEES, WORK FORCE TRAINING AND WORK FORCE AT SOME POINT, AND IT MAKES MENTION OF THE PILOT FOR READY TO WORK, IS THERE OPPORTUNITY TO POTENTIALLY CONNECT THEM TO READY TO WORK FOR THE WORK FORCE TRAINING.
>> YEAH. AND I BELIEVE ONE OF THEM HAD A TRAINING PROGRAM WITH READY TO WORK AS WELL, SO THEY'RE ALREADY PLUGGED IN WITH THE CITY, WHICH IS AWESOME, BUT THIS IS FOR AN ADDITIONAL, SO THEY'RE DOING SO WELL THAT THEY'RE HIRING EVEN MORE EMPLOYEES AND WANT TO EXPAND THEI TH THEIRONBOARDING PROGRAM SINCE THAT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR THEM, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ENGAGING WITH THESE
BUSINESSES. >> CASTILLO: AND THEN DO WE KNOW HOW LONG THESE BUSINESSES HAVE
BEEN OPERATING IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. >> I CAN GET YOU THAT NUMBER. SO WE HAVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THEY HAVE BEEN WITHIN THE CITY WITHIN THE GROWTH OF THE TWO TO FIVE YEAR PERIOD, SO HAD TO BE HERE FOR AT LEAST THAT TIME PERIOD, BUT WE
COULD FIND OUT THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU. >> CASTILLO: AND HOW MANY TOTAL
APPLICANTS DID WE HAVE? ABOUT HOW MANY? >> YEAH.
SO AS OF TOTAL COMPLETE APPLICATIONS, WE HAD 12 SUBMITTEDDED, NOW WE DID
[00:35:02]
HAVE A LOT OF IN PROGRESS APPLICATIONS THAT WERE SUBMITTED, A LOT OF TIMES AN APPLICANT HAD STARTED AN APPLICATION AND IT WAS INCOMPLETE AND WE REALIZED THEY DIDN'T QUALIFY FOR THE PROGRAM, BUT FULLY, WE HAD ABOUT 12 APPLICATIONS THAT WERE SUBMITTED IN TOTALTHAT REQUIRED ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS IN GENERAL. >> CASTILLO: AND OUTREACH, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED EARLIER YOU ARE MEETING WITH SECOND STAGE BUSINESSES TO GET THEIR NEEDS,
IS THAT WHAT OUTREACH LOOKED LIKE THIS ROUND? >> IN SOME WAYS WE DID, WE WORKED IN TANDEM WITH BUSINESS EXPANSION, SO WE DID REACH OUT TO BUSINESSES AND TARGETED ADS, ALSO, OUR EDD NEWS LETTER, AND AD BUYS WITHIN THE SAN ANTONIO NEWS JOURNAL AND THIS PROGRAM WAS AROUND THE SAME TIME -- IT LAUNCHED THE SAME TIME AROUND LOT OF INFORMATION SESSIONS AS WELL TO HIGHLIGHT THE PROGRAMS AND WE COULD PROVIDE THE OUTREACH SCHEDULE OF WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, SARAH. THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> WHYTE: SO THE COUNCILWOMAN CLEARLY LOOKED AT MY NOTES HERE REGARDING READY TO WORK, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
MY QUESTION, YEAH, THERE SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS SOME OVERLAP TO ME WITH READY TO WORK. SO CAN -- ARE BUSINESSES ELIGIBLE TO GET GRANTS
FROM BOTH? >> IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE BIDS, I WOULD HAVE TO REFER TO THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM, SO I DON'T WANT TO SAY ALL OF THE BUSINESSES WOULD QUALIFY FOR ONE OR THE OTHER, BUT WE HAVE ENGAGED A LOT OF BUSINESSES AND PROVIDED THEM THE READY TO WORK RESOURCES AND THEY'VE BECOME PLEDGES THEMSELVES, SO IT DOES LOOK LIKE A POTENTIAL PIPELINE FOR THESE BUSINESSES TO ALSO UTILIZE THAT FUNDING.
>> WHYTE: BUT NOTHING PROBITS A BUSINESS FROM GETTING BOTH. >> NO.
FOR EXAMPLE, ATLAS, WE DID CONFIRM WITH WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'RE NOT FUNDING THE SAME ACTIVITY, OF COURSE, SO WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT WAS FUNDING THE TRAINING OF THE EMPLOYEES, THE SECOND STAGE GRANT IS FUNDING THE INSTRUCTOR, ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT AND SO FORTH SO THEY WERE ABLE TO ACCESS BOTH FOR DIFFERENT BUT
COMPLIMENTARY PURPOSES. >> WHYTE: SO THAT LEADS TO MY NEXT QUESTION.
WHAT ARE THE KEY DIFFERENCES, I GUESS, BETWEEN THE READY TO
WORK TRAINING GRANTS AND THIS ONE. >> SO THE READY TO WORK TRAINING IS FOR THE EMPLOYEES TO HELP COVER THEIR SALARIES.
THIS IS A MUCH BROADER PROGRAM THAT COULD BE UTILIZED FOR WHATEVER WAS IDENTIFIED IN THAT GROWTH PLAN, SO IF IT HAPPENED TO BE IN THE CASE OF THAT COMPANY, THE TRAINING, THE INSTRUCTOR, THE CLASSROOM, IT HELPS SUPPORT, THAT BUT IN OTHER CASES, IT MIGHT BE EQUIPMENT, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT BROADER FOR OUR PURPOSES FOR THIS
PROGRAM. >> WHYTE: GOT IT. AND LOUNGE HAS THIS
PROGRAM BEEN AROUND? >> THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM THAT ROLLED OUT
IN JULY OF LAST YEAR. >> WHYTE: OKAY. AND DO WE HAVE METRICS TO LOOK AT WHETHER WE THINK IT'S WORKING, IT'S NOT.
>> THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO REVIEW IN JULY. THESE ARE -- FULL DISCLOSURE, IT HASN'T BEEN -- HASN'T ATTRACTED THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS WE'VE ANTICIPATED SO THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW.
AS YOU SAW WITH THE THREE, THAT WOULD BE FIVE AWARD DEALS TOTAL,
ASSUMING CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL NEXT MONTH. >> WHYTE: SO WE NEED MORE DATA.
>> NEED MORE DATA. >> WHYTE: OKAY. OKAY.
WELL, VERY HAPPY THAT THERE'S TWO DISTRICT 10 BUSINESSES THAT ARE GOING TO BE A PART OF THIS NEW SET OF DATA THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET, AND, AGAIN, I'M ALL FOR HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES SUCCEED AS LONG AS WE'RE NOT JUST THROWING OUR MONEY AND HOPING FOR SOMETHING, THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY -- IT'S TARGETED, THERE'S A REASON THEY'RE GETTING THE MONEY AND WE FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE USING THE MONEY FOR IS WHAT THEY TOLD US THEY'D USE THE MONEY FOR AND IT'S WORKING AND HELPING TO GROW A SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS THAT'S GOING TO BE HERE FOR A LONG TIME AND HELP EMPLOY OUR SAN ANTONIOIANS FOR A LONG
TIME. >> MAKE A MOTION. >> WHYTE: THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN AND CHAIR. LET'S MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 3.
>> CASTILLO: I SECOND. >> ROCHA GARCIA: SORRY, I FORGOT TO ADD, AND I KNOW THIS IS FOCUSED ON MARKET GROWTH, AND I APPRECIATE IT, AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT PRETTY MUCH BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION FOR ONE FOR MIDDLE STAGE COMPANIES IS GREAT, BUT AS A
[00:40:03]
MARKETING PROFESSOR I FORGOT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING A MARKETING PLAN.THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. >> PELAEZ: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
EXCELLENT WORK. GREAT PRESENTATION. WE HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
>> PELAEZ: THAT WAS UNANIMOUS. NO, IT WASN'T. ANY OPPOSED? ONE OPPOSITION. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
NEXT OPTION IS A REVIEW OF OUR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK. >> GOOD AFTERNOON I'M BRENDA HICKS SORENSEN DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND I'M ALWAYS PLEASED TO BE PRESENTING AN UPDATE. AS YOU MAY RECALL, THIS WAS ACCEPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN OCTOBER OF 2022 AFTER SIGNIFICANT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AND, AGAIN, THIS WAS ACCEPTED AS A GUIDING DOCUMENT REALLY TO DEFINE THE DEPARTMENTS RULE AS WE FOCUSED ON A MORE RESILIENT ECONOMY COMING OUT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC, FOCUSING ON SMALL BUSINESSES. WHILE AT THE SAME TIME MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE ALSO COMPETING ON A NATIONAL AND GLOBAL LEVEL GOING FORWARD. YOU'LL SEE HERE THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT WE HAD OUTLINED FOR OUR CONSULTANTS, AND THEN AS A RESULT OF THIS, WE HAD FOUR GOALS, INNOVATION AND INDUSTRY, WHICH DOES INCLUDE SMALL BUSINESSES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS WELL AS GLOBAL ATTRACTION, BUSINESS EXPANSION, WHICH YOU HEARD ABOUT BUT I'LL BE COVERING IN MORE DETAIL. PLACE MAKING AND REAL ESTATE WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS FAIRLY NEW TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND, AGAIN, I'LL TOUCH UPON A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL THERE.
TALENT AND WORK FORCE, AGAIN, YOU CAN'T TALK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT TALKING WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN MAKING SURE THERE'S APPROPRIATE CAPACITY AND RESOURCES TO CARRY OUT THE WORK PLANS AND SO FORTH.
SO AS A RESULT OF THIS IN 2023, FOR EXAMPLE, HEADING INTO THE BUDGET, WE DID DEVELOP A WORK PLAN AND LIKEWISE DEVELOPED A FISCAL YEAR 2024 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WORK PLAN. HERE YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.
YOU HEARD THE BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION. AS A DEPARTMENT, WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT WE CALL STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT, AGAIN ALL ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS, WHETHER THAT'S THE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE LARGER CORPORATIONS, THE SECOND STAGE THAT YOU JUST HEARD ABOUT.
SO HERE YOU'LL SEE THE BUSINESS RECRUITMENT, THE FOREIGN INVESTMENT, YOU WERE PREVIOUSLY BRIEFED OF THE EVOLUTION OF OR FOREIGN EFFORTS.
BUSINESS EXPANSION, AND OUTREACH, WHICH WE ADDED THAT TEAM LAST YEAR, PARTICULARLY TO SUPPORT THOSE CONSTRUCTION AREAS BUT REALLY FOCUS ON THE SMALL BUSINESS EFFORTS, AND THEN JUST, AGAIN, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS. REAL ESTATE AND PLACE MAKING WAS SOMETHING WE WERE ABLE TO ENHANCE WITH ARPA INVESTMENTS, WITH THE CORRIDOR REVITALLYIZATION NETWORK. THE GRANTS, SUCH AS THE FACADE IMPROVEMENT AND OUTDOOR SPACES AS WELL AS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
HAVING THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE EDC BOARD ON HOW TO UTILIZE THAT AS ANOTHER TOOL TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY REINVITIZATION. AND THEN SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT AND ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS AGAIN, THE PROGRAM WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF DISPARITY STUDY AND CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE ORDNANCE SA, WHICH YOU HEARD ABOUT, AND RIGHT NOW DOING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS MAPPING, AS WELL AS SUPPORT AND INNOVATION, AND, AGAIN, MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE SYSTEM AND THE PROCESSES IN PLACE. THE PROCESSES AND UM ISES REQUIREMENT IS ONE WE'VE ENHANCED. THE DATED AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IS SOMETHING WE'VE FOCUSED ON IN THE PAST YEAR, AND THEN SARAH MENTIONED SALES FORCE, WHICH IS THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP SYSTEM WHERE WE TRACK ALL OF OUR PROJECTS, PROGRAMS, CLIENTS, AS WELL AS IN THE OUTCOMES AND THE COMPLIANCE SIDE OF IT.
SO HERE ARE SPECIFIC DETAILS OF THE WORK PLAN. LIKE PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS, YOU'LL SEE WHERE WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED THEY'RE COMPLETED, EITHER IN PROCESS, KIND OF ONGOING, MOST OF THE ITEMS YOU'LL SEE ARE IN PROGRESS, SO FOR EXAMPLE, THIS YEAR WE -- AS PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE WERE GOING TO REALLY ENHANCE OUR BUSINESS RECRUITMENT STRATEGY WITH THAT EMPHASIS IN FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS. SO AS YOU MAY RECALL, WE PARTNERED WITH GREATER SAN ANTONIO -- OR GREATER SATX, EXCUSE ME, TO IDENTIFY SEVERAL COMPANIES WE PRESENTED EARLIER THIS YEAR SO THAT WE CAN ECK UP AND
[00:45:05]
DOWN OUR OUTREACH EFFORTS THERE. WE IDENTIFIED WE WOULD BE IMPLEMENTING ROBUST RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM.AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT. SO HERE YOU'LL SEE THE ONGOING EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN. AND THEN UNDER SMALL BUSINESSES, OF COURSE SOME DATA CONTINUES TO BE A SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATION. SUPPLY SA, WHICH, AGAIN, YOU'VE PREVIOUSLY BEEN BRIEFED, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ON THE 14 PUBLIC AGENCIES. WE ARE CONTINUING TO IMPLEMENT ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS WE TALKED ABOUT WITH LIST PROGRAMS, OF COURSE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE ZERO PERCENT INTEREST LOAN PROGRAM AND THEN JUST ONGOING CONTINUED IMPLEMENTATION OF ARPA FUNDED PROGRAMS. UNDER REAL ESTATE AND PLACE MAKING. AGAIN, REVITALIZE SA IS THE PROGRAM THAT WE CONTINUE TO OPERATE. WE'LL START SEEING THEIR PROGRAMS, THEIR PROJECTS IN THEIR CORRIDORS, RIGHT NOW THERE'S 18 PARTICIPANTS.
THOSE PROJECTS WILL START ROLLING OUT LATE JULY THROUGH OCTOBER WITH KIND OF A CAPSTONE WRAP UP IN EARLY NOVEMBER, AND THEN OUTDOOR SPACES AND FACADE GRANTS, THOSE FUNDS ARE GETTING OUT THE DOOR AS WE SPEAK, SO WE'LL START TO SEE SOME REALLY GREAT AFTERS. WE HAVE LOTS OF THE BEFORE PICTURES, BUT WE'LL START SEEING THE AFTER PICTURES, AND ACTIVITIES, AND HOW THAT SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY, AND THEN CONTINUE TO LOOK AT ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND THEN, AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO TOUCH A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DATA AND ANALYTICS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IMPLEMENT. SO, AGAIN, PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS.
YOU PREVIOUSLY HAD BEEN BRIEFED ON THE SBIRSGTR, THE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH AND SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER RESEARCH PROGRAMS, THESE ARE FEDERAL PPROGRAMS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE MATCHING FUNDS, GRANT FUNDS TO 12 BUSINESSES, YOU'LL SEE FOR A TOTAL OF 581,000. SO THAT WAS ABLE TO LEVERAGE SIGNIFICANT FEDERAL RESOURCES, AND A LOT OF TIMES RESOURCES HAVE A CHALLENGE WITH GROWING, FINDING THE RIGHT LEADERSHIP TECHNOLOGY, SKILLS, SO FORTH, SO BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH SUPPORT TO STAY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE AND WE RECEIVED TREMENDOUS FEEDBACK, WE WILL LIKEWISE BE EVALUATING IN JULY. THIS TOO WAS A PILOT LAUNCHED LAST JULY.
RESEARCH AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE. THIS WAS AN AREA WITH SIGNIFICANT FOCUS. I'M EXCITED BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IMPLEMENT DATA AXLE, A DATA TOOL WITH SIG CANT BUSINESS KATE DATA, LIKE, EMPLOYMENT, REVENUE, HERE IS JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT'S AVAI AVAILABLE. IN THERE, THEY HAVE SIGNIFICANT WORK FORCE INFORMATION. AND THEN SIZE UP IS A PROGRAM THAT THROUGH THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM FUNDING THAT WE RECEIVED IN THE GENERAL FUNDS, WE'LL BE ROLLING OUT SIZE UP ON THE LAUNCH SA WEBSITE, AND THAT INCLUDES -- WE'RE UNDERTAKING THREE PLATFORMS, THE LOCAL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, WHICH INCLUDES THAT BENCHMARK PERFORMANCE COMPETITION, SO FORTH. AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL ADVISERS, SO INFORMATION TO ENHANCE PLANNING, STARTING, MANAGING, GROWING A BUSINESS, AND AGAIN IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DATA. AND THEN THERE'S A SHOP LOCAL WHERE YOU CAN SEARCH THE LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESSES.
SO THAT'S AN AREA THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON.
I DO WANT TO TOUCH ON THIS. ANNA MENTIONED THAT 95% OF THE LIFTFUND BUSINESSES THAT RECEIVE THE ZERO PERCENT GRANT -- OR ZERO PERCENT LOAN FUNDING IS IN BUSINESS, THAT IS DATA WE WERE ABLE TO PULL FROM DATA AXLE AND INFORMATION WE'RE ACTUALLY PULLING AS PART OF A BUSINESS CHURN PROJECT. I KNOW WE'RE FREQUENTLY ASKED FOR BUSINESSES AND INFORMATION AND DATA BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, WHAT KINDS OF BUSINESSES ARE LOCATED IN DIFFERENT COUNCIL DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS WELL AS THEN WHAT KINDS OF BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, ARE OPENING, WHAT KINDS -- WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THEM, ARE THEY STAYING IN BUSINESS, I KNOW RECENTLY WE WERE ASKED ABOUT THE EFFICACY OF OUR GRANT PROGRAMS. SO WE'RE USING SOME OF THIS BUSINESS CHURN DATA TO REALLY START TO LOOK AT THAT. SO JUST ONE EXAMPLE WAS THE ZERO PERCENT INTEREST LOAN
[00:50:06]
WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE THE LIST OF THE 247 BUSINESSES THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED LOANS AND LOOK AT THEIR DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT STATUS. AND AS OF JUNE. 95% WERE STILL OPEN.INTERESTINGLY, ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF LABOR, THE ONE YEAR SURVIVAL RATE FOR THIS REGION FOR 2022 WAS 77.8%, SO A 95% SURVIVAL RATE IS SIGNIFICANT, AS WELL AS NATIONALLY, THE AVERAGE IS 80%. SO THOSE ARE SOME DATA POINTS WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT NOW THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THESE TOOLS A ROBUST BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM WAS A PRIORITY FOR US THIS YEAR, BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAD TO HAVE THE DATA, AGAIN, UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESSES, TARGET WHO WE WERE GOING TO BE VISITING WITH, AND SO THAT ROBUST IS REALLY ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, HOW DO WE CONNECT THOSE TO CITY SERVICES.
ENHANCE A SENSE OF PLACE, CONNECT THEM TO PARTNERS, RESOURCES, AND THEN SUPPORT ANY EXPANSION EFFORTS THEY HAVE. SO BEFORE WE STARTED ANY VISITS, THE WORST THING YOU COULD DO IS GO TALK TO A BUSINESS, TELL THEM YOU'RE GOING TO FOLLOW UP, AND THEN NEVER FOLLOW UP, OR HAVE THEM JUMP THROUGH A LOT OF HOOPS TO GET THE FOLLOW UP. SO WE MET WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO GET THE SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT, SO THAT IF SOMEBODY HAS A REQUEST, WE CAN FOLLOW UP, WE KNOW WHO WE CAN BE TALKING TO, AND WE FOCUS ON WARM HANDOFFS, IT'S NOT JUST YOU NEED TO TALK TO SO AND SO, IT'S AN INTRODUCTION, AND WE HAVE A PROCESS WHERE WE GO THROUGH MULTIPLE INTRODUCTIONS ON THIS. AND WHAT'S INTERESTING IS WE'RE PARTNERING AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH NOT JUST GREATER SATX AND BIO MED, WHO OF COURSE HAVE CONTRACTS WITH US IN ORDER TO DO BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION, BUT WE'RE ALSO TALKING TO AREA CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE TO HOW DO WE CAPTURE THE INFORMATION THAT THEY ARE GETTING FROM THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT THEY HAVE SO THAT WE CAN REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN A MUCH MORE ROBUST WAVE OF TRACKING TRENDS AND MONITORING WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE BUSINESSES. SO WHILE MOST OF THIS IS FOCUSED ON GENERAL FUNDS, IMPLEMENTATION, WE CANNOT KIND OF GIVE AN UPDATE WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THE ARPA PROGRAMS WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT.
AGAIN, THE SECOND -- EXCUSE ME -- THE FACADE GRANT AND OUTDOOR SPACES WERE ARPA FUNDING, BUT THE DIGITAL PRESENCE PROGRAM IS SOMETHING WE PARTNERED WITH HERO SPACE DIGITAL CONSULTING, IT WAS FUNDED WITH $550,000 IN ARPA FUNDS BUT RECENTLY ENHANCED WITH $550,000 IN GENERAL FUNDS TO SPECIFICALLY ASSIST BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOCATED IN THOSE CONSTRUCTION ZONES, SO THIS CONTRACT RUNS THROUGH SEPTEMBER OF 2024, AND ALL ABOUT INCREASING THAT DIGITAL PRESENCE AND COMPETITIVENESS OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES. AGAIN, WE SAW THE IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL PRESENCE DURING COVID, THAT'S NOT GOING AWAY, IN FACT, JUST CONTINUALLY ENHANCED, SO HOW DO WE REALLY SUPPORT THE BUSINESSES? SO AS OF ABOUT WEEK AGO, WE HAD 244 SURVEYS COMPLETED. THIS WAS JUST A SOFT LAUNCH IN FEBRUARY. SO -- AND IT JUST STARTED REALLY MARKETING IT IN MARCH. SO 234 SURVEYS WERE COMPLETED.
38 CONSULTS WERE SCHEDULED, AND THEN 151 WERE QUALIFIED FOR SOME DIGITAL WORK AND PARTNERSHIP WITH HERO SPACE DIGITAL CONSULTING, SO THIS IS ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT WAS ROLLED OUT AS A PILOT THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR. WE DID ROLL OUT OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DASH BOARD, SO IF YOU RECALL, WE HAVE THE INCENTIVE DATA, THE BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM, WHEN WE DID THE FRAMEWORK, THERE WAS 74 DATA POINTS THAT WERE LOOKED AT, AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF THOSE HIGHLIGHTED, WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THIS AS WHAT WE CAN ENHANCE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE PREVIOUSLY TALKED -- I MENTIONED THE TURN DATA, WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON GETTING ALL OF THAT INFORMATION OR HAVING IT IN DRAFT FORM TO ENHANCE THE DASH BOARD. ALSO, HOW DO WE JUST PROVID SOME OF THAT NARRATIVE INFORMATION. WE DID LOOK.
UNFORTUNATELY, POWER BI IS NOT THE MOST USEFUL TOOL WHEN TRYING TO TELL THE STORY. GREAT FOR DATA. NOT SO GREAT FOR THAT STORY TELLING. SO IN LIEU OF USING THE DASH BOARD AND POWER BI WE'RE
[00:55:04]
USING, FOR EXAMPLE, IN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ANNUAL REPORT FOR ALIGNING SOME OF THOSE STORY TELLING WITH THE FRAMEWORK. SO I WANTED TO HIT ON THAT.HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. >> PELAEZ: THANK YOU.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU. BRENDA. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS, AND THEY'LL FOCUS AROUND A FEW THINGS, ONE THAT'S MISSING.
>> ENTREPRENEURSHIP. I DON'T SEE ANY GOALS IN HERE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP, WE HAVE A LOT OF PARTS COMMITTED TO IT.
BUT I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD HELP ME SEE WHERE THAT'LL BE EMBEDDED, BUT I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A MORE PURPOSEFUL FOCUS ON THAT.
THE NLC HAS A PROGRAM WHERE THE PROGRAM ENCOURAGES US AS A CITY TO FIND APPLICANTS TO A PROGRAM THAT HELPS THEM THROUGH THAT.
I WOULD LOVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN A PROGRAM THAT'S OUT THERE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO RECREATE THE WHEEL, BUT CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHERE ENTREPRENEURSHIP WASN'T INCLUDED IN HERE OR NOT
AS IN DEPTH. >> SURE. SO WE DIDN'T HIGHLIGHT ANYTHING WITHIN ENTREPRENEURSHIP, BUT IT'S VERY MUCH INCLUDED IN THE FIRST GOAL WHERE UNDER STRATEGIC -- EXCUSE ME -- UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT AND ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENT, YOU'LL SEE THE THIRD BULLET IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION, SO PART OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH LAUNCH SA WAS LINKED AROUND -- I THINK HISTORICALLY, LAUNCH SA WAS SEEN AS SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT AS PART OF OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL WHEN WE WENT AUTOMATIC TO LAUNCH SA DID INCLUDE MORE ON THAT ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THAT TARGETING THAT, AS WELL AS BUSINESSES, SO WE TALK ABOUT THE FOUR LANES BUSINESSES ARE IN WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INFORMATION. I DIDN'T INCLUDE IT ON HERE, BUT WE'LL BE ROLLING OUT A TOOL -- ALSO UNDER THE ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENT THAT WE RECEIVED A COUPLE YEARS AGO, THANKS, THAT YOU'VE HIGHLIGHTED -- TO DO THE MAPPING, SO ECHO MAP IS A TOOL THAT YO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, AND IT HAS THAT ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION, SO, WHOING WITH FOLKS AT U UTSA TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CAPTURING THAT.
AND THEN ANOTHER PART OF THIS IS LOOKING AT WHAT PROGRAMS AND GAPS THERE
COULD BE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP. >> ROCHA GARCIA: GOT IT.
AND I'LL SEND YOU A LIST OF THINGS THAT THE NCLC IS WORKING ON.
AND IF THEY HAVE PROGRAMS OUT THERE, IT'S JUST CONNECTING, SO BEING THAT BRIDGE. AND SO ANYWAYS. THERE'S THAT.
THE OTHER ONE IS ERE, AND I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT, BUT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT WITH GREATER SATX, AND IN 2013 THERE WAS A CONTRACT THAT SAID THEY WERE DOING ERE. THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS. I ASKED IF THEY WERE DOING THAT PARTICULAR THING, THEY STILL ARE, APPARENTLY, SO HOW MUCH OF OUR CONTRACT WITH GREATER SATX FOCUSES ON BERE. SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW WELCOMED MAKE IT JUSTIFIABLE TO HOW MUCH WE'RE INVESTING TO PAY THEM TO DO BERE IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOMEONE FOCUS ON IT NOW. I'M NOT SAYING WE
SHOULDN'T, BUT I'M SAYING HELP ME JUSTIFY. >> SURE.
WE DO CONTINUE TO HAVE BERE AS A COMPONENT. I'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT PERCENTAGE -- AGAIN, THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF METRICS AND WE HAVE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH ONE, SO WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU. THEIR TARGET IS 200BRERS A YEAR.
OUR TARGET IS 300 A YEAR, AND THEN WE HAVE THE BIO MED CONTRACT THAT INCLUDED 50BRES. SO OVER 39,000 BUSINESSES IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, SO WE SHOULD BE DOING MANY, MANY, MANY MORE.
SO NOT JUST US, NOT JUST GREATER, BUT THE NORTH CHAMBER, FOR EXAMPLE, WE WERE JUST AT THE SOUTH TEXAS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP TALKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN ALIGN AND TAKE ADVANTAGE ON THAT BECAUSE IN A PERFECT WORLD, WE'RE VISITING -- WE'RE DOING TWO, THREE, FOUR THOUSAND OF THESE WITH ALL OF THE PARTNERS, AND SO IT'S -- THERE ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH BUSINESSES FOR US TO ALL BE DOING THAT T BUT WE'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE SPECIFIC DOLLAR AMOUNT.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: GREAT. AND THE REASON THAT I'M SAYING THAT IS BECAUSE -- SO WHY AREN'T WE FUNDING THE NORTH CHAMBER, WHY AREN'T WE FUNDING THE SOUTH TEXAS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP, WHY DO WE GET TO PICK AND CHOOSE IF WE DON'T HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY, AND THEN I FEEL LIKE
[01:00:04]
EVERYBODY TAKES CREDIT WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS, AND WHO REALLY GETS THE CREDIT, WHO SHOULD GET THE CREDIT. WHO SHOULD BE EXPECTED TO DO THE WORK ACCORDING TO TO THE CONTRACT, WHO'S FOLLOWING UP ON THE CONTRACT, ET CETERA, AND SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE GENERAL QUESTIONS. AGAIN, I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT BRE FOR SOME TIME NOW AND GLAD THAT YOU ALL ADDRESSED IT. AND I GET IT.BRE IS A PART OF EVERYONE'S JOB. WE SHOULD ALL BE DOING IT, SMALL BUSINESSES, MEDIUM SIZE BUSINESSES, BUT I THINK THAT WHEN THERE'S A CONTRACT IN PLACE THAT WE SHOULD REALLY FIGURE OUT, LIKE -- YOU KNOW, THERE WAS -- I WAS AT ANOTHER MEETING EARLIER, UNRELATED, OBVIOUSLY, TO EDD, AND WE WERE THINKING OF THAT, RIGHT.
SO HOW MUCH SHOULD WE BE SPENDING IF WE HAVE IN HOUSE PEOPLE OR SHOULD WE BE FOCUSED ON OTHER PEOPLE ALSO DOING. AND SO ANYWAYS, THOSE ARE JUST -- SORRY, NOW I'M RAMBLING. SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU,
CHAIR. >> PELAEZ: THANK YOU. >> ACTUALLY.
IF IT'S OKAY, CHAIR, IN REFERENCE TO THAT, COUNCILMEMBER, THE ECONOMIC TEAM ACTUALLY HAS A PRETTY EXTENSIVE KIND OF DESIGNATION WHEN IT COMES TO BRE ABOUT -- AND IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE TYPE OF COMPANIES BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT EVERYBODY APPROACHING EVERYONE, BUT THERE'S COLLABORATION THAT'S HAPPENING BETWEEN THESE DIFFERENT PARTNERS, CHAMBERS, AND THESE ENTITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
GREATER SATX IS REALLY FOCUSING ON A CERTAIN TYPE OF BUSINESS THAT THEY MAY HAVE MORE RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPERTISE WITH.
OTHER ENTITIES HAVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE WANT TO LEVERAGE, AND THEN INTERNALLY, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY ALSO BECAUSE OF SO MANY OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE AS THE CITY CAN HELP TO FACILITATE WITH BUSINESSES AS WELL. LIKE BRENDA REFERENCED, WE HAVE CONTACTS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT. SO IF BRENDA OR ANYBODY ON HER TEAM -- BECAUSE I THINK VIRTUALLY, EVERYBODY ON HER TEAM IS A PART OF THIS BRE TEAM.
IF THEY HEAR ABOUT TRAFFIC SITUATION, IF THEY HEAR -- YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT IS, WE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE REFERENCES AND THE CONNECTION. SO I THINK THE BIGGEST THING WAS JUST SEPARATING, YOU KNOW, WHICH PARTNER WILL WORK -- WILL FOCUS ON WHICH TYPES OF BUSINESSES. BECAUSE LIKE BRENDA
SAID, THERE'S THOUSANDS OF THEM OUT THERE. >> ROCHA GARCIA: AND CHAIR, TO THAT POINT, I LIKE THAT APPROACH, BUT AGAIN IF WE HAVE MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS, WHO'S GOING TO GET FUNDED, WHO'S NOT GOING TO GET FUNDED, AND ALSO, A FEW -- I GUESS LIKE A FEW WEEKS AGO, IT WAS -- THE ONLY REASON THAT I FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS -- IT WAS A TOYOTA PLANT -- THAT THERE WAS SHIFTS THAT HAD BEEN BEHIND BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION FOR SAWS AND BEING DOWN TO ONE LANE WAS BECAUSE I MET FACE TO FACE WITH TOYOTA. NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT IT THAT WAS IN MY DISTRICT, AND SO I FEEL LIKE IF WE HAVE PEOPLE ON TOP OF IT, IF IT'S ONE OF OUR MAJOR EMPLOYERS OR IF IT'S A SMALL BUSINESS, WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT BECAUSE I WAS SO FRUSTRATED I FOUND OUT ABOUT IT UNTIL I MET WITH THEM, SO THEY TOLD ME ABOUT IT.
SO I'M EXPECTING IF I'M PAYING FOR A CONTRACT THAT I'M GOING TO GET THE VALUE OF THAT CONTRACT AND SOMEBODY IS GOING TO CALL AND LET ME KNOW BECAUSE IT WAS EMBARRASSING TO HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE LATE TO THE THREE SHIFTS AND THAT'S SOMEONE'S LIVEL LIVELIHOOD; RIGHT? AND THEN BY THE WAY, THERE ARE SCHOOL BUSES THEN THAT ARE LATE, ET CETERA, AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WORK AT TEXAS A&M SAN ANTONIO.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME ADDITIONAL CHECKS AND BALANCES ON THE BRE.
>> THANK YOU. AND JUST AS A NOTE, THE GREATER CONTRACT DOES -- IT'S $75,000 AT A CAP FOR BRE BASED UPON ACTUAL VISITS AND FOLLOW
UP. >> PELAEZ: YEAH AND TAKING CREDIT -- ONE AGENCY IS TAKING CREDIT FOR ANOTHER AGENCY'S ECONOMIC SUCCESS IS A TALE AS OLD AS TIME AROUND HERE.
COUNCILWOMAN. >> VIAGRAN: YEAH. AND I DON'T THINK GREATER SATX MET THEIR GOALS FOR LAST YEAR, AND I THINK THESE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS BECAUSE WHAT I WOULD LIKE YOU TO DO, BRENDA, AND I LIKE THE FRAMEWORK UPDATE, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM TO GO AROUND TO THE DIFFERENT COUNCILMEMBERS AND REALLY ASK WHAT DOES SUCCESS AND RETENTION LOOK LIKE FOR THEM.
AND I KNOW FOR ADRIANNA, IT'S BEING INFORMED WHEN ONE OF THE COMPANIES IN HER DISTRICT, AND MY DISTRICT TOO, IS BEING IMPACTED BY OUR CONSTRUCTION. AND, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION, I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE TACORIA AND HAIRSTYLIST PLACE ON THE SMALLER STREETS. BUT THE OTHER IS I'VE NOW GOT OFFICE BUILDINGS AND PORTS GOT OFFICE BUILDINGS, AND WE NEED THEM FILLED, AND IF THE RESPONSIBILITY IS THAT OF BROOKES OR PORT, THEN WE NEED TO HELP THEM
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FILL THAT. IF OUR EXPECTATION IS THAT WE CONTRACT WITH SOMEONE TO HELP THEM FILL THAT WITH C SUITES, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TELL THEM THAT'S A PRIORITY. AND I'M SURE IF WE GO DOWN THROUGH EVERY DISTRICT, THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME CONCERNS, SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE LIKE THIS IS WHAT BUSINESS RETENTION LOOKS LIKE, THIS IS WHAT NEW BUSINESS LOOKS LIKE IN OUR AREA.THE ONE THING WE SEE A LOT OF IN OUR SOUTHERN SECTOR, BECAUSE OF THE LAND AND LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE IS WE DO SEE BUSINESSES COMING IN BECAUSE WE HAVE THE LAND FOR THEM TO GROW ON HOWEVER, WE DON'T HAVE NECESSARILY THE INFRASTRUCTURE THERE, SO I'M GETTING TOLD, WELL IF WE HAD BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE... WELL, THAT'S A LARGER CONVERSATION WE NEED TO HAVE WITH THE ENTIRE COUNCIL AS THE CITY GROWS STRATEGICALLY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED YOUR TEAM TO COME AND TELL US ABOUT TOO, IF NOT, IT'LL KEEP GOING NORTH, IT'LL KEEP GOING INNER CITY BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE INFRASTRUCTURE LIES.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO SIT DOWN AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCILMEMBERS AND HEAR KIND OF WHAT THEIR CONCERNS ARE AS WE LOOK AT THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK UPDATE AND WE LOOK AT THE PRIORITIES, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHOEVER -- WHETHER IT'S GREATER SATX OR THE CHAMBERS, WHOEVER IT IS, WE NEED TO SET GOALS FOR THEM AND MAKE SURE WE'RE CLEAR ON WHERE WE WANT THEM TO BE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, CHAIR, THANK YOU, BRENDA FOR THE PRESENTATION. ESTATE AND PLACE MAKING COMPONENT, I THINK WHAT COULD BE HELPFUL IS IDENTIFYING WHO'S RECEIVING OUTDOOR GRANT OR FACADE IMPROVEMENT GRANT IS ALSO SHARING THAT WITH THE CITY'S PLANNING DEPARTMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, I JUST HAD A BRIEFING WITH THE CITY PLANNER, CHRIS, ABOUT THE SOUTH SIDE CORRIDOR PLAN -- THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN, WHICH INCLUDES DISTRICTS 5, 4, AND 3, AND WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING WHERE SOME OF THOSE PIECES OF INVESTMENT, WHETHER IT'S A BOND PROJECT, BUT WE KNOW THAT ALSO IMPROVING WALKABILITY AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ALSO ENCOURAGES FOLKS TO SPEND; RIGHT? SO HOW WE CAN WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO ENSURE THAT IF WE KNOW THERE'S A TREND OF FACADE GRANTS IN A CORRIDOR THAT MY TEAM WORKS APPROPRIATELY WITH THE PLANNING TEAM AND YOU ALL TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING WALKABILITY WITHIN THAT AREA. I ALSO WANTED TO THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR THE PILOT PROGRAM, THE CORRIDOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM, ERICA, WHO HAS A BUSINESS IN DISTRICT 5 WAS SHARING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, JUST GIVING EVERYONE AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT HER EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN LIKE AND SHE WAS APPRECIATIVE AND ENCOURAGING MORE FOLKS TO APPLY FOR THE NEXT ROUND FOR PARTICIPATION, AND SHE WAS REALLY EXCITED AND IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR THOSE UPDATES.
I DID HAVE A QUESTION -- ONE THING THAT COMES TO MIND, AND WHAT I THINK ABOUT LOT IS JUST THE HEALTH DISPARITIES IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND RECENTLY WITHIN DISTRICT 5, WE'VE BEEN RUNNING INTO A LOT OF D5 BUSINESSES, PARTICULARLY BOXING GYMS AND FITNESS GYMS, MOM AND POP GYMS BEING DISPLACED. FOR EXAMPLE, CARDONAS, THEY GOT DISPLACED, AND NOW THEY'RE BARELY HANGING ON TO STAY IN DISTRICT 5, AND TO ME, THEY'RE COMMUNITY CENTERS BECAUSE THEY OFFER SERVICES TO SO MANY YOUTH, SOMETIMES THEIR FEES GET WAIVED, BUT ULTIMATELY, HOW COULD WE HELP SUPPORT FOLKS IN THE FITNESS INDUSTRY AND PARTICULARLY MOM AND POP GYMS TO CONNECT THEM TO, NOT JUST LAUNCH FOR SA, BUT HOW TO BE INTENTIONAL, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE OVERALL CITY HEALTH DISPARITIES ENSURING WE'RE SUPPLYING THEM WITH NECESSARY SUPPORTS SO THEY CAN OPERATE. AND I HAVE A SOUTH SIDE EXAMPLE TOO.
THEY'RE JUST GETTING PUSHED OUT OF THE DISTRICT, WHICH IS JUST WORRISOME, ONE, FOR THE BUSINESS, BUT TWO, FOR THE OVERALL HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY, AND ALSO, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF OUR KIDS GO TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE, SO THERE'S JUST SUCH AN IMPACT THERE, BUT THAT'S ONE THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU ON, ON HOW WE COULD JUST PROVIDE SUPPORT AND CONNECT SOME OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES WITH RESOURCES, AND AN EXAMPLE IS THEY'RE HAVING AN EVENT, AND I WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD HELP SUPPORT, BUT TO ME, I THINK OF THEM AS COMMUNITY CENTERS, AND I WAS TOLD IT'S A BUSINESS SO YOU CAN'T, AND I'M JUST LIKE OH, THEY'RE IN A VERY INTERESTING SITUATION THAT THEY'RE NOT GENERATING A LOT OF REVENUE, RIGHT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, LIKE,
THEY'RE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE, SO I JUST WANTED >> THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. ON SLIDE 4, IT TALKS ABOUT AN EMPHASIS ON FOREIGN
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DIRECT INVESTMENT. I GUESS MY FIRST QUESTION IS, WHY -- WHY IS THERE AN EMPHASIS THERE, YOU KNOW, IN PARTICULAR ON THE -- WELL, I GUESS IT SAYS UNDER HERE MORE INVESTMENT BOTH DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL. SO WHEN USUAL TALKING ABOUT FOREIGN, YOU'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT OUTSIDE OFTEXAS? >> NO. SO WE DID -- WE DO HAVE AN EMPHASIS ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT WHICH IS OUTSIDE THE U.S., BUT THEN IN GENERAL, WE WANTED TO ALSO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS TO FOCUS ON THE MARKETING AND MESSAGING FOR ALL INVESTMENT EFFORTS, WHICH IS WHAT THAT SECOND BULLET WAS FOCUSED ON.
>> OKAY. SO WHY -- WHY THE SPECIFIC EMPHASIS ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT VERSUS, SAY, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT COMPANIES IN CALIFORNIA AND SOME OF THESE OTHER STATES THAT ARE STRUGGLING AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT
BRINGING THEM HERE? >> SO THE GOOD NEWS -- THE BAD NEWS IS, TEXAS IS GETTING A LOT OF THOSE COMPANIES WHO ARE RELOCATING FROM OTHER STATES. THAT TENDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A NET SUM GAME WHEN YOU LOOK AT INTERNATIONALLY THOUGH ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE U.S. INVESTMENTS THAT THEY'VE MADE, POLICIES OF LATE. IT'S REALLY ENCOURAGING A LOT OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT INTO THE U.S. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LEVERAGING THAT AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
>> I MEAN, AGAIN, YOU TALK ABOUT TEXAS GETTING THEM, BUT WHAT ABOUT SAN ANTONIO IN PARTICULAR? RIGHT? I MEAN, IT DOESN'T -- CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW A LOT OF BUSINESSES MOVE TO AUSTIN. HOUSTON, I HEAR A LOT ABOUT AS WELL. BUT WHAT ABOUT -- HOW ARE WE DOING COMPARED TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES IN ATTRACTING THESE OTHER
BUSINESSES IN THE UNITED STATES TO GET HERE? >> WE CAN SEE WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION WE'RE GETTING ON OVERALL RELOCATIONS, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ON WHERE OUR BUSINESSES ARE COMING FROM. WHEN GREATER PRESENTED EARLIER THIS YEAR FOR THEIR -- WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING THEIR CONTRACT, THEY DID SHARE THEIR PLAN, THEIR MARKETING PLAN, WHICH INCLUDED BOTH THOSE INTERNATIONAL TRIPS AS WELL AS THEIR DOMESTIC TRIPS. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW THEY HAVE A TRIP COMING UP TO NEW YORK, YOU KNOW, SO WE DO -- THERE WAS CALIFORNIA. THERE'S A NUMBER OF DOMESTIC MARKETS THAT
THEY DO ALSO FOCUS ON AS WELL. >> SURE. AND I'M -- JUST TO BE CLEAR, I'M NOT AGAINST US TRYING TO GET FOREIGN BUSINESSES TO COME HERE. WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, IS MORE FRUITFUL. RIGHT? BUSINESS COMING HERE, EMPLOY MORE SAN ANTONIO ANS, WHETHER THEY'RE COMING HERE FROM CALIFORNIA OR COMING HERE FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. SO I WAS JUST INTERESTED IN WHY THIS SPECIFIC INTEREST IN THE GLOBAL BUSINESS IS. I APPRECIATE THE ANSWER, AND THANKS FOR
THE WORK. >> SURE. WE ALSO HIGHLIGHTED THE FDI BECAUSE WE DID MAKE THAT PIVOT FROM OUR PRIOR INVESTMENTS INTO MEXICO, WHICH WE INVESTED A LOT OF RESOURCES INTO MEXICO. BUT WE USED THOSE RESOURCES TO CONTINUE INVESTMENT INTO MEXICO BUT ALSO REDEPLOY THEM TO LATIN AMERICA AS WELL AS THOSE OTHER COUNTRIES. KOREA, GERMANY, CANADA, FOR EXAMPLE. SO THAT'S ONE REASON WE WANTED TO USE
THAT EMPHASIS. >> I WILL SAY, IF I CAN, CHAIR, JUST BRIEFLY, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST AT A DINNER NOT FOUR WEEKS AGO, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW IT CAME UP, BUT THERE WAS A GENERAL CONSENSUS AROUND THE TABLE THAT WE DO NOT DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB SELLING OURSELVES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. SO I'M HAPPY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR MARKETING AND OUR MESSAGING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I THINK I TENDED TO AGREE WITH THE COMMENTS THAT EVENING. THERE'S SO MUCH TO OFFER HERE IN OUR CITY.
RIGHT? FROM GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION TO OUR SMART HARDWORKING PEOPLE, THERE'S A TON GOING ON HERE, AND BUSINESSES SHOULD WANT TO COME HERE, NOT FOR US, BUT FOR -- BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT'S GOING TO BENEFIT THEM. SO I DO HOPE WE LOOK AT HOW WE'RE TELLING OUR STORY HERE BECAUSE I THINK THAT SHOULD BE ATTRACTIVE TO A LOT OF BUSINESSES,
FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. >> QUESTION? ARE WE STILL USING THE
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BROOKINGS STUDY TO INFORM OUR FDI TARGETING?>> YES. THAT'S THE METRO PRIORITY PLAN. SO WE STILL USE THAT AS OUR TARGET AND THAT BASE LEVEL. WE ARE PLANNING IN FISCAL YEAR '25 TO
UPDATE THAT. >> THAT WAS MY QUESTION. WOULD IT BE BROOKINGS
WHO DOES THE UPDATE AGAIN? >> THEY DID A REALLY EXCELLENT JOB OF KIND OF LAYING THE FRAMEWORK. SO PART OF OUR ANALYSIS RIGHT NOW IS IF WE'RE GOING TO DO A SOLICITATION OR IF WE'RE GOING TO USE OUR AMAZING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE TEAM TO DO IT.
>> TELL US HOW WE CAME ABOUT DEVELOPING THE BROOKINGS PLAN. BECAUSE IT THEM WHO GAVE IT TO US? WAS IT SOMETHING NICE THEY DID FOR US?
THIS WAS DURING YOUR TIME, ALEX. >> IT WAS. YES. THE COHORT THAT WE WERE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN WAS TO DEVELOP THE FRAMEWORK THAT ANY COMMUNITY COULD USE THAT WANTED TO IDENTIFY THEIR FOREIGN MARKETS OR TARGET MARKETS. WE TESTED DIFFERENT CRITERIA THAT WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING, AND IT WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE, MACROECONOMIC FACTORS, TRADE POLICIES, THE DEPTH OF AN INDUSTRY IN OUR COMMUNITY VERSUS IN THOSE FOREIGN MARKETS. SO WE DEVELOPED THE CRITERIA THAT WE SHOULD USE, AND NOW IT'S ABOUT UPDATING THE DATA WITHIN THAT CRITERIA. SO WE CAN REPLICATE THAT. WE FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT IT CAN BE REPLICATED. THAT WAS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE. WE JUST NEED TO FIGURE OUT IF WE WANT TO HIRE SOMEBODY TO DO IT OR IF WE DO IT IN-HOUSE. WHEN WE DID THIS WITH BROOKINGS, WE SET UP THE CRITERIA, AND THEN WE GOT DR. NIVAN TO HELP US. THEN WE FIGURED OUT, OKAY. THIS IS WHERE THERE'S OVERLAP. SO THESE SHOULD BE OUR TARGETS.
SO THE MODEL IS THERE FOR US TO REPLICATE. WE JUST NEED TO UPDATE THE
DATA. >> WHEN IT COMES TIME TO UPDATE THE DATA -- I LOVE DR. NIVAN. RIGHT? I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION HERE ABOUT EXPLORING HAVING A SECOND OPINION, NOT THAT I HAVE A -- I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIS FIRST OPINION. RIGHT? THESE AREN'T COMMENTS THAT I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW -- I HOPE THEY DON'T OFFEND HIM. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR WHAT OTHER ECONOMISTS MIGHT HAVE TO SAY. RIGHT? BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S VALUE IN DIVERSITY OF OPINION THERE. WE'VE GOT SOME REALLY SMART ONES OVER AT OUR LADY, AT TRINITY, AND SOME OF THE OTHER UNIVERSITIES. IT WOULD BE A NEAT OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHAT SOME OF THEM MIGHT BE ABLE TO TEACH US. SO I'M HOPING THAT I'M MENTIONING THAT EARLY ENOUGH TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL KNOW THAT'S ONE OF OUR EXPECTATIONS OR AT LEAST THAT'S ONE OF MY EXPECTATIONS DOWN THE ROAD. OKAY. THANK YOU. THIS WAS GREAT. THIS WAS JUST A BRIEFING ITEM. DO WE HAVE AN EXECUTIVE ITEM YOU WANT US TO TALK ABOUT? WE CAN DO IT ONE OF TWO WAYS? WE CAN GO TO THE OTHER ROOM OR THOSE OUT IN THE CHAIRS WITH LEAVE. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? WE'VE GOT THE ROOM RESERVED. IN THAT CASE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE TIME IS NOW 3:22 ON TUESDAY, MAY 28TH. THIS ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IS RESOURCING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH OUR ATTORNEYS PURSUANT TO 551 AND DISCUSS RELATED LEGAL
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.