* 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. WALTER [00:00:01] SERNA. I, IF IT'S OKAY WITH YOU, WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED. THANK YOU. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE ROLE FOLKS. COUNCIL MEMBER VRAN. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GAO BERDA. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER ELIAS. HERE. WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU. WELCOME, EVERYBODY. UM, THE WHAT WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH IS, UH, PLEASURE. UH, NO, NOT THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL. THAT'S, UH, THAT'S THURSDAYS, UH, WHAT WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH IS, UH, DO WE HAVE TO APPROVE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING? THEY'RE NOT ON THE AGENDA. THEY'RE NOT ON THE AGENDA. ALL RIGHT. WELL, IN THIS CASE, UH, MR. COYLE, I THINK [1. 19-6124 Update on federal legislative actions and the 116th Congress [Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs]] YOU'RE UP FIRST, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A, UH, A BRIEFING ON OUR FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS. WELL, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE. WE'RE EXCITED TO WORK WITH THE NEW, UH, I G R COMMITTEE, UH, A GREAT REPRESENTATION OF OUR CITY, AND WE'RE EXCITED, UH, TO GET STARTED. WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO, UM, UNVEILING FOR YOU OUR NEW, UH, FEDERAL CONSULTANT TEAM, UH, SOME NEW, SOME, UH, PREVIOUS. UH, SO, UH, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THEM FIRST. SO, UH, FIRST FROM, UH, CLARK HILL STRASSBERGER WAS THE FIRM THAT ULTIMATELY WAS RECOMMENDED THROUGH THE EXTENSIVE, UH, UH, SELECTION PROCESS THAT WE WENT THROUGH. THEY'RE, UH, A LAW FIRM WITH SAN ANTONIO OFFICES. SO FOLKS RIGHT HERE ON THE GROUND IN THE BAKERY BUILDING ON BROADWAY, BUT ALSO A VERY SOPHISTICATED DC PRESENCE. UH, KEVIN KELLY LEADS THE, UH, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, UH, AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, UH, SHOP WITHIN THEIR, UH, DEPARTMENT ALSO IS PART OF THE TEAM. OUR JOHN CULBERSON, WHO'S A FORMER MEMBER OF CONGRESS, SERVED 18 YEARS REPRESENTING THE CITY OF AREA OF HOUSTON IN, UH, TEXAS'S SEVENTH DISTRICT. HE'S BEEN OUT OF CONGRESS AND, UH, AND IS ABLE TO, TO WORK AND HELP US HERE. UH, GILBERT VASQUEZ IS FROM THE LOCAL SAN ANTONIO OFFICE. I'M SURE MANY OF YOU KNOW HIM ALREADY. UH, DEREK ROSS IS, UH, ALSO PART OF THE DC SHOP, AND TWO KEY MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WHO AREN'T HERE, ONE OF WHICH IS, HAS JUST HAD A, HAD A BABY, I BELIEVE. CORRECT. UH, ARE LAUREN LIPIN AND ANN KATZ ARE BOTH PART OF THE DC TEAM WHO YOU'LL BE MEETING AS, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD. UH, THAT'S THE NEW PART OF OUR TEAM. UH, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW ALREADY, UH, FORMER CONGRESSMAN HENRY BONILLA AND THE NORMANDY GROUP, WHO HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK FOR US, PARTICULARLY ON THE AIRPORT. HENRY SERVED 14 YEARS IN CONGRESS, INCLUDING REPRESENTING THIS AREA, AND IS STILL VERY MUCH A SAN ANTONIO WHO BOUNCES BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND HERE. UH, AND THEN WALTER SERNA IS OUR LOCAL REPRESENTATION. HE'S NOW REPRESENTED THE CITY FOR 15 PLUS YEARS. UH, STARTED REALLY WITH VERY LITTLE FEDERAL EXPERIENCE. IT WAS THE, THE TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY THAT THE CITY, UH, SEEKS TO CREATE FOR LOCAL SUBCONTRACTORS TO BUILD THEIR EXPERIENCE IN AN AREA. AND OVER THE YEARS, HE'S BECOME INVALUABLE TO US, PARTICULARLY IN HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR SAN ANTONIO DELEGATION. WE EXPECT OUR DC FOLKS TO BE SPREAD ACROSS CONGRESS AND ABLE TO OPEN DOORS WHEREVER WE NEED THEM. AND WALTER HAS REALLY ZEROED IN ON MANAGING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE FIVE HOUSE MEMBERS AND TWO SENATORS WHO REPRESENT SAN ANTONIO. SO, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, IF, UH, AS WE DISCUSSED, IF IT'S OKAY WITH YOU, I'D LIKE TO ASK THE CONSULTANT TEAM MAYBE TO SIT UP AT THE DAAS SO THAT WE CAN FACILITATE CONVERSATION. I ASSUME ANY OF YOU WILL HAVE QUESTIONS, AND RATHER THAN DO THE PING PONG AT THE PODIUM, IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU, CHAIRMAN? OKAY. YOU GUYS WANT TO, I, OKAY. UM, I THINK EACH OF YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, OUR, OUR, UH, FEDERAL PROGRAM, OUR AGENDA THAT HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY PASSED BY COUNCIL, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT ANY OF THE ITEMS IN THAT. UH, I WAS GONNA FOCUS ON, UH, THE LATEST IN TERMS OF WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE SUMMER AND WHERE WE ARE ON SOME KEY ISSUES, UH, IN WASHINGTON. UH, SO FIRST OF ALL, UM, THIS SUMMER, THE, UH, THE HOUSE AND SENATE AGREED ON A BIPARTISAN BUDGET ACT. NOW, WHAT THAT MEANS IS THEY ESSENTIALLY SET THE TOP LINE EXPENDITURES FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THAT'S THE FIRST STEP. AND WHAT FOLLOWS THAT THEN IS THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS WHERE CONGRESS, UH, NEGOTIATES AND DEBATES HOW, UH, THAT TOP LINE NUMBER WILL BE SPENT. AND SO, EFFECTIVELY, THE, THE, THE, THE TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR THE FEDERAL BUDGET HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, UH, FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS. UH, AND WHAT'S KEY ABOUT THAT IS IT ALSO LIFTS THE NATIONAL DEBT, UH, CEILING. AND IT ALSO STAVES OFF, UH, SEQUESTRATION, WHICH HAS BEEN A CONCERN OF OURS FOR, FOR MANY YEARS, AND WAS ABOUT [00:05:01] TO, UH, HAVE EFFECT ON US, UH, IF NOT FOR THIS, UM, THE, UH, THERE ARE INCREASES ACROSS THE BOARD. IT'S ABOUT A 4% INCREASE TOTAL ACROSS ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES. IN TERMS OF THE TOP LINE NUMBER, UM, THE FEDERAL BUDGET IS BASICALLY MADE UP OF DEFENSE AND NON-DEFENSE SPENDING, DEFENSE BEING THE LARGER PORTION OF IT, UH, WHICH GOES FROM 716 BILLION IN F Y 19 TO 738 BILLION IN F Y 20 AND NON-SENSE SPENDING SIMILARLY, GOES FROM 620 BILLION TO 632 BILLION. SO WHAT THAT MEANS THEN, IS THAT WHEN CONGRESS FINISHES, ITS AUGUST RECESS, THEY'RE ALL ON A BREAK RIGHT NOW. UH, THEY COME BACK SEPTEMBER 9TH, AND THEIR TASK, THEIR HIGHEST PRIORITY, WILL BE PASSING, UH, 12 APPROPRIATIONS BILLS THAT ESSENTIALLY FUND THE FEDERAL AGENCIES AND ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT FALL UNDERNEATH THEM. UH, CURRENTLY, THE HOUSE HAS PASSED 10 OF THE 12 APPROPRIATIONS BILLS. SO THEY MOVED 10 OF THE 12, UH, MINUS HOMELAND SECURITY AND THE LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS BILL. UH, THEY MOVED THOSE THROUGH THE FULL HOUSE, UH, BEFORE THE BREAK. THE SENATE HAS NOT, IN FACT, THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE HAS NOT EVEN PASSED ANY OF THE 12. SO A LOT OF THE FOCUS WHEN WE COME BACK, WILL BE ON THE SENATE AND, AND WHAT VERSION OF THE APPROPRIATIONS BILLS THEY MARK UP. AND ULTIMATELY, THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO, AND THEY GO TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE AND, AND, UH, IN THE IDEAL WORLD, UH, AND HISTORICALLY, THE TWO CHAMBERS HASH OUT THE DIFFERENCES AND, AND APPROVE A, A FEDERAL BUDGET. THE FISCAL YEAR COMES TO AN END SEPTEMBER 9TH. SO THE CURRENT DEADLINE FOR THEM TO ACCOMPLISH ALL OF, I'M SORRY, SEPTEMBER 30TH. SO THE CURRENT DEADLINE FOR THEM TO ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THAT IS SEPTEMBER 30TH. IT'S RARE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT CONGRESS PASSES A BUDGET ON TIME. UH, SO THEY WILL VERY LIKELY DO A SHORT TERM EXTENSION, UH, THAT WILL EXPIRE SOMETIME BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. UH, AND, AND SEEK TO GET ALL OF THIS HASHED OUT BEFORE DECEMBER OR SO OF THIS YEAR. UH, WE CAN TALK MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THAT. WE HAVE A WHOLE LIST OF APPROPRIATIONS PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH OUR, WITH OUR FEDERAL TEAM ON. BUT, BUT THAT'S THE, UH, HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW. UH, IN THE, IN THE MEANTIME, UH, THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL RELATED TO HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND SECURITY. I THINK YOU'RE ALL AWARE OF THIS. IT WAS, UH, SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT ON JULY 1ST. THE KEY IN THAT, AND SOMETHING THAT WE WORKED VERY HARD FOR, WAS A $30 MILLION APPROPRIATION FOR COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ASSISTING WITH, UH, MIGRATION THROUGH OUR CITIES, ESSENTIALLY. UH, AND SO WE, SINCE, SINCE THE APPROVAL OF THE 30 MILLION, UH, FEMA, AND ITS, UH, EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER PROGRAM, AN EXISTING PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN USED TO DOLE OUT MONEY IN, UH, IN DISASTERS IN THE PAST, UH, HAS COME UP WITH A SET OF GUIDELINES, UH, WHICH HAVE BEEN VERY FAVORABLE TO US. THANKS. IN LARGE PART, TO CONGRESSMAN QUAY AND SENATOR CORNIN, WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH US, PARTICULARLY OF THE 30,000,025 MILLION IS DEDICATED TO THE FOUR BORDER STATES, TEXAS, ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, CALIFORNIA, THAT WAS BIG. CONGRESSMAN QUAY HAD TOLD US THAT MEMBERS ACROSS CONGRESS WERE PUSHING FOR THIS 30 MILLION TO BE SPREAD NATIONWIDE FOR THEM ALL TO BE ABLE TO BID ON IT, WHICH WOULD'VE REALLY, UH, BEEN DETRIMENTAL TO US. UM, SO 25 OF THE 30 MILLION FOR OUR FOUR STATES. UH, THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES ARE FOOD AND SHELTER DIRECT EXPENDITURES. SO THAT'S SORT OF THE TIER ONE OF REIMBURSEMENTS. UH, WE ARE EXPECTING, UH, THE NOTICE TODAY, TOMORROW, SOMETIME THIS WEEK, THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY APPLY. IT HAS TO BE PUT MADE LIVE, AND WE'LL HAVE 10 DAYS TO DO SO. UH, AND IF ALL, IF, IF AFTER ALL THE TIER ONE EXPENDITURES HAVE BEEN REIMBURSED, UH, THERE IS A TIER TWO A SECONDARY EXPENDITURES, UH, THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE AND INCLUDED IN THAT ARE LONG TERM, UH, I'M SORRY, LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORTATION COSTS, I E THE BUS PASSES, PLANE TICKETS, AND SO FORTH THAT OUR PARTNERS HAVE, UH, SPENT IN, IN MOVING FOLKS ONTO THEIR FINAL DESTINATION. THAT WAS IMPORTANT ALSO BECAUSE WHEN THE BILL CAME OUT OF CONGRESS, UM, CONGRESSMAN QUAY R'S EXPECTATION WAS THAT ONLY SHORT-TERM TRANSPORTATION WAS GONNA BE COVERED, MEANING A TRIP TO THE A CLINIC HERE IN TOWN. UH, AND SINCE THE GUIDELINES HAVE COME OUT FROM THE EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER BOARD, UM, THEY HAVE ALLOWED FOR LONG DISTANCE PROVIDED THAT THERE IS MONEY LEFT OVER FOR THAT. UM, LAST THING I'LL MENTION IS THAT WE APPLY THROUGH THE LOCAL, UH, BOARD, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY A COMBINATION OF, UH, IT'S THROUGH UNITED WAY, AND IT'S A COMBINATION OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT [00:10:01] MAKE UP THAT BOARD. THEY WILL VET THE APPLICATIONS LOCALLY AND THEN SEND THEM UP TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL FOR CONSIDERATION. WE TALKED LAST NIGHT WITH KEVIN AND JOHN AND TEAM ABOUT, UM, UH, WHAT MAY BE POSSIBLE IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, COMMUNICATING WITH THE NATIONAL BOARD AND MAKING OUR CASE TO THEM FOR, UH, FOR THE URGENCY OF THE REIMBURSEMENT HERE. I'LL SHIFT NOW TO, UH, A BIG TOPIC THAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF THE CITY BUDGET, WHICH IS, UH, COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. UH, THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT, WHICH WAS THE REALLY, THE FIRST FEDERAL, UH, PROGRAM FOCUSED ON, ON, UH, THIS ISSUE, UH, WAS PASSED SOME YEARS AGO. AND, AND THE MOST RECENT, UH, AUTHORIZATION EXPIRED IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR. IT CONTAINS A WHOLE SUITE OF PROGRAMS, UH, UNDER VARIOUS FEDERAL AGENCIES. UH, THOSE PROGRAMS CAN CONTINUE RIGHT NOW, SO LONG AS THE FUNDING CONTINUES, BUT THAT FUNDING WILL EXPIRE, AND THE REAUTHORIZATION NEEDS TO OCCUR TO ALLOW A LOT OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND SOME NEW ONES, UH, TO BE MOVED FORWARD FOR THE FEDERAL AGENCIES TO ESSENTIALLY IMPLEMENT THOSE PROGRAMS. UH, THE HOUSE HAS PASSED ITS VERSION IN APRIL AND SENATE OVER TO THE SENATE. IT HAS NOT MOVED IN THE SENATE. UH, PRIMARILY THERE ARE SOME CHANGES TO THE REAUTHORIZATION THAT HAVE BEEN CONTROVERSIAL, UH, PARTICULARLY AROUND GUNS. UH, THE N R A HAS BEEN STRONGLY OPPOSED TO SOME PROVISIONS IN IT, SUCH AS CLOSING A, A BOYFRIEND LOOPHOLE. THERE IS CURRENTLY A, UH, RESTRICTION ON GUN OWNERSHIP IF YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS COMMITTED AN ACT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A SPOUSE. HOWEVER, THAT DOES NOT CARRY FORWARD IN DATING RELATIONSHIPS. AND SO THE HOUSE VERSION SEEKS TO CLOSE THAT AND SAY, IF YOU'VE CONVICT BEEN CONVICTED OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A, A GIRLFRIEND OR BOYFRIEND, UH, THEN YOU ARE, UH, RESTRICTED FROM GUN OWNERSHIP. UH, AND, AND THAT HAS BEEN ONE OF SEVERAL STICKING POINTS. WE CAN GO A LITTLE FURTHER INTO DETAIL, UH, IF YOU WANT. BUT, UH, THAT'S WHERE THAT BILL STANDS. SO, UH, THE, THE BIG PICTURE I'LL SAY ABOUT THIS IS THAT, UM, UH, WE HAVE, THERE, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FEDERAL FUNDING STREAMS THAT WE HAVE NOT AGGRESSIVELY PURSUED IN THE PAST, FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, FOR EITHER LOCAL MATCHES OR THE ADMINISTRATION OF IT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. UH, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A HARD LOOK AT ALL OF THAT. WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR TEAM TO IDENTIFY WHERE WE CAN SEEK FUNDING TO SUPPLEMENT WHAT YOU ALL HAVE INVESTED HERE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, AND REALLY ENHANCE OUR EFFORTS IN THIS AREA. SO, FIRST STEP IS TO GET IT REAUTHORIZED, BUT THEN A SECOND STEP IS GONNA BE A VERY AGGRESSIVE EFFORT, UH, TO SEEK FEDERAL FUNDING FROM THE AGENCIES THAT THAT HAVE IT. UH, SHIFTING NOW TO ANOTHER, UH, TOP OF MIND ISSUE, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF, UH, COUNCILMAN VIE GRAND'S, UH, COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST, WHICH IS THE DREAM AND PROMISE ACT. UH, WE ALREADY HAVE IN OUR FEDERAL AGENDA A STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR FINDING A, UH, FOR ESTABLISHING A PATH TO PERMANENT RESIDENCY FOR THOSE WHO WERE BROUGHT TO THIS COUNTRY AS MINORS. UH, SO YOU ALL HAVE, AS A COUNCIL, HAVE ALREADY ESTABLISHED THAT THAT IS OUR, OUR POSITION. UH, THERE IS A BILL NOW THAT HAS MOVED THROUGH THE HOUSE CALLED THE DREAM AND PROMISE ACT. IT DOES A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN, UH, DACA. IT CREATES, UH, A WHOLE SET OF STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR, FOR FOLKS TO RECEIVE CERTAIN STATUS. THEY'VE GOTTA ACHIEVE, UH, AN EDUCATION. THEY HAVE TO HAVE BEEN IN THE COUNTRY FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF YEARS. BUT, UH, NONETHELESS, IT FALLS WITHIN THE SAME SORT OF SPIRIT OF THE POSITION IN OUR AGENDA. UH, THE SENATE HAS NOT MOVED ON THIS BILL EITHER. UH, THE COUNCIL WOMAN'S, UH, C C R IS FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT URGING THE SENATE TO APPROVE WHAT THE, UH, WHAT THE HOUSE HAS PASSED, AND THAT WILL GO TO GOVERNANCE NEXT WEEK. SO THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE THAT REMAINS IN LIMBO BETWEEN THE HOUSE AND SENATE, UH, THIS SUMMER VIA, UH, SUBMITTED A GRANT APPLICATION FOR A BUILD, GRANT. BUILD IS THE FORMER, UH, TIGER GRANT PROGRAM. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF THAT IN THE PAST. UM, IT'S A $25 MILLION REQUEST FOR FUNDING TO LEVERAGE, I BELIEVE, 58 MILLION. RIGHT, JOHN, GARY, I'M SORRY. YEP. UM, TO REDEVELOP THE ROBERT THOMPSON TRANSIT STATION, UH, JUST NORTH OF THE ALAMO DOME, A FULL PUBLIC, PRIVATE, MULTI-USE, UM, PROJECT OVER THERE. UH, WE HAVE IN YEARS PAST. UM, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS THIS MORNING WITH THE CHAIRMAN IN YEARS PAST. WE'VE HAD LOCAL ENTITIES, UH, APPLYING FOR THE SAME GRANT PROGRAM, UH, WHERE THE CITY, THE COUNTY, VIA WHOEVER, ALL ALL, ALL PURSUING FEDERAL DOLLARS. AND WE, WE, UH, CAME TOGETHER A FEW YEARS AGO AND SAID, WE NEED TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE. LET'S SUBMIT THE TOP PRIORITY OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE ALL GET BEHIND IT. AND SO, T C I IS NOT DOING ITS OWN BUILD APPLICATION, FOR EXAMPLE. UH, WE ARE IN FULL SUPPORT [00:15:01] OF VIAS WORK. AND, UH, ONE OF THE MEETINGS THAT OUR LOBBY TEAM WILL HAVE WHILE THEY'RE HERE THIS WEEK IS WITH VIA TO, TO GET ON THE SAME PAGE AND, AND DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO, TO GO GET THAT $25 MILLION. THE LAST ITEM, AND, AND RUSS HANDY, AND, AND HENRY CAN ADD TO THIS, UH, AS NEEDED, UH, AS YOU MAY KNOW, THE AIRPORT, UH, ADDED AN ADDITIONAL SECURITY, UH, CHECKPOINT, UH, TO FACILITATE THE FLOW, UH, THROUGH THE T S A CENTER. UH, WHEN WE OPENED THE NEW LANE, UH, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, T S A FAILED TO DELIVER THE EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO DO THE SCREENINGS. IT'S CALLED AN ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY, A I T. AND, UH, WE WERE REACHING OUT TO THEM. OUR AIRPORT WAS REACHING OUT TO THEM AND NOT GETTING A, AN ANSWER FOR SOME TIME. SO, UH, THE TEAM HAS ENGAGED, UH, HENRY AND HIS TEAM WHO HAS PUT A REAL AGGRESSIVE APPROACH TO THIS. WE'VE HAD OUR WHOLE DELEGATION SIGN ON TO A LETTER. WE'VE HAD THEM FOLLOWING UP WITH THE T C A T S A SAYING, WHERE IS THIS? WHERE IS THIS? UH, JUST THIS WEEK WE RECEIVED A LETTER BACK FROM T S A COMMITTING TO ONE OF THE TWO MACHINES THAT WE NEED. UH, AND ESSENTIALLY, THE ANSWER BEYOND THAT IS THAT THEY'RE OUT OF INVENTORY. AND, AND UNTIL THERE'S A NEW FISCAL YEAR, UM, THERE'S NOT MUCH MORE TO BE DISCUSSED, I THINK IS, IS WHERE THINGS STAND. SO, UH, SORT OF PARTIAL VICTORY RIGHT NOW. AND WE'RE, AND WE'RE WAITING FOR THAT EQUIPMENT. BUT YOU'LL SEE WHEN YOU GO TO THE AIRPORT, WE'VE GOT A NEW, UH, SECURITY LANE AVAILABLE WITHOUT THE EQUIPMENT TO PROCESS PEOPLE. AND, AND THAT'S BECOME PROBLEMATIC. SO THAT'S A QUICK UPDATE ON THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. AND, UM, I WOULD INVITE YOU TO DIRECT QUESTIONS TO THE SMARTER D DC PEOPLE IN THE ROOM. UH, AND I'M HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER ANY OTHERS. THANK YOU, JEFF. UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK WELCOME TO OUR GUESTS. I, I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS BEING UP HERE. I I, I BET THIS MORNING YOU WOKE UP AND DIDN'T THINK THAT YOU'D BE SITTING AT A CITY COUNCIL DAIS. UH, AND SO, UH, HAPPY TO TAKE YOUR PICTURES LATER, UH, SO YOU CAN SHOW EVERYBODY HOW COOL THAT IS. UH, COUNCILMAN NAN'S GOT SOME QUESTIONS, AND WE'LL KICK WE'LL KICK IT OFF THAT WAY. THANK YOU, UH, CHAIR AND I, I TOO WANNA, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL BEING HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND YOUR PRESENCE AND ALL OF YOUR WORK THAT YOU'RE, YOU HAVE DONE AND THAT YOU'RE GONNA TO DO FOR OUR CITY. I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. UM, I GUESS I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, UM, MIGRANT RESOURCE, UM, MIGRANT ASSISTANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS. I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DR. BRIDGER WAS TALKING TO US ABOUT IS THAT FEMA HADN'T LET OUT THE APPLICATION YET. HAVE THOSE APPLICATIONS, HAVE WE APPLIED ALREADY FOR THOSE DOLLARS? NO. SO THERE HAVE BEEN TWO. I KNOW THE GUIDELINES ARE THERE, BUT THE APPLICATION IS NOT. NO. AND THAT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT FRUSTRATING FOR US BECAUSE WE'VE NOT HAD ANY DATES OR DEADLINES PRESENTED. WHAT, WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE, UH, THE SIGNING ON JULY 1ST. BY AUGUST 1ST, FEMA WAS DIRECTED TO RELEASE SOME, SOME RULES, ESSENTIALLY SOME GUIDELINES. SO THEY RELEASED A FIRST BATCH JULY 1ST, UH, THIS MONDAY ON THE 19TH, WE GOT A SECOND BATCH OF, OF RULES. AND THAT'S WHERE THE LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORTATION, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS ADDED, UH, AS AN ELIGIBLE EXPENSE. UM, WHAT WE RECEIVED THIS WEEK ESSENTIALLY SAID THAT THE APPLICATION WILL BE POSTED ON THE NATIONAL BOARD WEBSITE, AND WHEN IT IS, WE'LL HAVE HAVE 10 DAYS TO APPLY FROM THERE. SO WE KEEP CHECKING IT, UH, MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY. RIGHT NOW, , IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET. UH, WE ARE PREPARING THE APPLICATION, THOUGH. WE HAVE ALL THE RECEIPTS READY. UH, THEY'RE WILLING TO ACCEPT ARTICLES, NEWS, ARTICLES, LETTERS, UH, SO ALL OF THE WORK THAT OUR DELEGATION HAS DONE, AND ALL THE WONDERFUL MEDIA COVERAGE THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM THE WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORK TIMES, ET CETERA, WILL BE PART OF OUR SUBMISSION. SO WE'RE READY. BUT, UH, BUT WE HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT TO APPLY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. AND, UM, CAN YOU REMIND US OF THOSE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE FOR THE, THE BUDGET CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE COMING UP IN THE FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS? WILL YOU BE ABLE TO SEND US A REFRESHER OF THOSE? ABSOLUTELY. THOSE ITEMS THAT WE'RE PUSHING FOR AS A CITY, PLEASE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE NEW MEMBERS. I SURE WILL. AND I CAN GIVE YOU A REAL HIGH LEVEL, UH, SUMMARY, UH, IN THE AREAS OF HOUSING, UH, C D B G, HOME CHOICE OR BIG PROGRAMS FOR US, THEY'RE ALL SET TO RECEIVE INCREASES IN THE HOUSE BUDGET. AND WE HOPE THE SENATE WILL AT A MINIMUM, MAINTAIN THOSE INCREASES BECAUSE BOTH C D B G AND HOME ARE FORMULA FUNDED. SO IF THE TOP LINE NUMBER GOES UP, THEN OUR NUMBER GOES UP. UH, SO THAT'S IMPORTANT TO US. ON THE MILITARY FRONT, THERE ARE FIVE OR SIX ONE, UH, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AT LACKLAND AND RANDOLPH DORMITORIES, AQUATICS TRAINING CENTERS, UH, OTHER FACILITIES THAT ARE IN THE D O D APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE HOUSE. SO WE WANNA SEE THAT IN THE SENATE. AND WE ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE SENATE, UH, FINALLY FUND THE A HUNDRED MILLION [00:20:01] DOLLARS DSIP PROGRAM THAT'S ESSENTIALLY A LOCAL GRANT, A FEDERAL LOCAL GRANT PROGRAM THAT WE CAN GO APPLY FOR FEDERAL DOLLARS TO DO INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS OUTSIDE THE FENCE LINE OF OUR BASE. IT WAS MODELED AFTER THE DAG PROGRAM AT THE STATE LEVEL. IT'S BEEN AUTHORIZED FEDERALLY, AND SENATOR CORNYN WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THAT, BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN FUNDED. AND SO THE HOUSE VERSION DOESN'T HAVE ANY MONEY FOR THAT. WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE SENATE ADD MONEY FOR THAT BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO THOSE MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF THE FENCE LINE, UH, THAT THERE'S NOT MONEY FOR, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO GO SEEK FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR, UH, AS OPPOSED TO FUNDING THEM LOCALLY, UH, AS, AS A LAST RESORT. UM, WHAT ELSE, SALLY, AM I MISSING ANY OTHER KEY APPROPRIATIONS PIECES? YES. UM, COUNCILWOMAN, ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS, UH, FOCUSED ON HAS BEEN THE HUD PROGRAMS, THE C D B G, THE HOME AND THE CHOICE. UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS, IS THE HOUSE PAST APPROPRIATIONS ALL ACROSS THE BOARD IN THOSE THREE PROGRAMS WITH INCREASES. SO WE WILL BE WORKING WITH BOTH OUR SENATORS, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR FEDERAL CONSULTANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE THE ADVOCACY AND THE REQUEST FOR THOSE SERVICES, UH, THAT ARE UNDER CHOICE, UH, C D B G AND HOME. UM, ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE SOME HOMELAND SECURITY PROGRAMS THAT FALL UNDER, UH, THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER HERE FOR US THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT. UM, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS TYPE GRANTS, LIKE THE URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE, ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS, THE STATE HOMELAND SECURITY PROGRAM, UH, THAT PARTICULAR APPROPRIATION SPILL IS PENDING IN THE HOUSE. SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR DELEGATION TO SEE INCREASES TO THOSE PROGRAMS AS WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UM, TO OUR, OUR NEW TEAM, UM, I HAS GIVEN YOU A, THE STATUS OF WOMEN REPORT THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO RECENTLY DID. IT WAS PUBLISHED AND RELEASED IN APRIL. AND PART OF THAT, UH, STATUS OF WOMEN REPORT, UNFORTUNATELY, IT GIVES A VERY, UM, DARK SCENARIO FOR WOMEN IN BEXAR COUNTY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, THAT THIS COUNTY IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS COUNTIES FOR WOMEN TO LIVE IN WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, WHEN IT COMES TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND TO RAPE AND OTHER ITEMS SUCH AS ECONOMIC AND, UM, HEALTH, UH, DISPARITIES THAT HAPPEN TOO. SO, UM, I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS REPORT. AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO, UM, I THINK AS A BODY REALLY FOCUS ON. 'CAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT TO SEE WHAT PRIORITIES AND POLICIES CAN WE, AT A LOCAL LEVEL START INVESTING DOLLARS IN WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, THE STATUS OF WOMEN. AND THEN, UM, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, WHAT WE CAN DO. AND CHAIR, I WOULD LOVE TO, I KNOW IT'S PROBABLY IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR, OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, BUT I THINK WE, AGAIN, WOULD HAVE TO DO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ANOTHER RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT, TO ALL OF OUR, TO, TO THE SENATE, EVEN ON TOP OF THE, UM, THE, UM, HOUSE, THE, THE DREAM AND PROMISE ACT, SIMPLY BECAUSE WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO PUT IT OUT THERE, WHAT THIS IMPACT OR THIS NON-ACTION IS HAVING AT LOCAL LEVELS AND HOW WE NEED TO HAVE THIS REAUTHORIZATION AND THIS FUNDING, UM, NOT JUST IN NAME, BUT ALSO IN IN ACTION. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE CHAIR IF WE COULD DO THAT MOVING FORWARD. AND THEN I THINK MY LAST QUESTION IS ON SLIDE SEVEN, UM, I'M, UM, I'M GONNA ASK LEROY OR JOHN GARY TO COME UP WHEN IT'S THE BUILD, UH, THE, THE BUILD GRANT. WHAT ARE WE REDEVELOPING? THE ROBERT THOMPSON, UH, UH, TRANSIT STATION FOR, PLEASE, SIR. HI, GOOD MORNING. IT, IT, IT WILL BE A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT UHHUH. UH, IT'LL BE ABOUT AN $87 MILLION PROJECT OVERALL PRICE TAG. UH, THE MIXED USE WOULD INCLUDE HOUSING WOULD INCLUDE A 750 SPACE PARKING GARAGE, WOULD ALSO INCLUDE RETAIL. UM, AND ALL CENTERED, UH, AROUND A, UH, TRANSIT, UM, UH, OPTION AND DAY USED OPTION FOR TRANSIT SERVICE OUT OF THE FACILITY AS WELL. MM-HMM. , IN FACT, THAT'S THE PART THAT ACTUALLY LEVERAGES ALL THIS AS WELL. 'CAUSE WE'RE LOOKING TO REALLY BEEF UP THE, UH, TYPE OF ROUTES AND, AND SERVICES THAT WE OFFER AT THAT POINT, RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF THE ALMO THEM. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. UM, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL. THANK YOU. UH, CHAIR. UM, SO, UH, I GUESS IT WAS LAST WEEK WE APPROVED A RESOLUTION, UH, ON GUN VIOLENCE. SO CAN YOU LET ME KNOW HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK ONCE WE PROVE A, A RESOLUTION? HOW DOES IT FIND ITS [00:25:01] WAY INTO THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM? UM, COUNCILWOMAN THE, AS YOU RECALL, THE RESOLUTION DIRECTED, UH, THE CITY MANAGER, I E STAFF TO, UM, TO COMMUNICATE THAT RESOLUTION TO OUR STATE AND FEDERAL DELEGATIONS, TO THE GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, ET CETERA. SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT NOW, DEVELOPING A COVER LETTER TO SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION AND COMMUNICATE IT TO ALL OF THEM. UH, WE DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE, UM, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, SALLY, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE A GUN SAFETY ITEM IN THE FEDERAL PROGRAM ALREADY. WE DON'T. UM, IN THE STATE, WE HAD IT IN OUR STATE AGENDA. THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT, CARLOS. UM, SO, UH, WE COULD ADD THAT IF, UH, WE FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO DO IT, UH, NOW YOU ALL HAVE PASSED THE RESOLUTION. SO COUNCIL HAS TAKEN ACTION TO DIRECT US TO COMMUNICATE WHERE THE CITY'S POSITION IS. THAT'S SUFFICIENT FOR US TO ACT AND BE ENGAGED ON IT. UH, BUT IF WE WANT TO GO A STEP FURTHER AND, AND DEMONSTRATE THAT IT IS A PRIORITY TO US AND HAVE IT IN OUR PROGRAM, THEN THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS COMMITTEE COULD, COULD MOTION MOVE TO DO. I WAS HOPING TO DO THAT, BUT I SAW WE'RE NOT AGENDIZED FOR ACTION ON THIS ITEM. IT ONLY SAYS BRIEF. WELL, UM, WE CAN, WE COULD BRING IT BACK NEXT MONTH AS AN AGENDA ITEM IF CHAIR AGREES. AND, ALRIGHT. AND THEN BEYOND THAT, IF YOU WANT AN UPDATE ON, UH, WHERE CONGRESS IS ON, ON THE GUN ISSUE, UM, I THINK OUR FEDERAL TEAM COULD PROBABLY SPEAK, SPEAK TO THAT. SURE. THANK YOU. YEAH. WHERE ARE THEY? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, UH, ON BEHALF OF OUR TEAM FROM CLARK HILL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY. WE'VE MET THE CHAIRMAN EARLIER THIS MORNING AND WORKING WITH YOUR TEAM, WE REALLY ARE DELIGHTED, UH, TO BE HERE. AND WE HAVE HOMEGROWN TALENT AS WELL AS SOME OF US WHO ARE SAN ANTONIO SAN ANTONIANS BY TRANSPLANT, AT LEAST TEMPORARILY. UM, SO AS YOU KNOW, THE, THE HOUSE HAS PASSED A COMPREHENSIVE GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION WITH ADDITIONAL UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS. OBVIOUSLY, IN LIGHT OF THE SEVERAL RECENT EVENTS, WHICH HAVE KIND OF SURFACED IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND REALLY SENSITIZED PEOPLE, YOU SEE THE, IN THE, IN REAL TIME IN THE MEDIA, EFFECTIVELY THE TENSIONS THAT ARE GOING ON IN WASHINGTON. UH, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THOUGH, SENATOR MCCONNELL, WHO IS THE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER, HAS LEFT THE DOOR OPEN TO DOING SOMETHING, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UN UNCLEAR, UH, IN THE SENATE. SENATOR MANCHIN, WHO HAS BEEN THE LEAD DEMOCRAT SINCE HE'S FROM WEST VIRGINIA, WHICH IS A VERY HEAVY GUN OWNERSHIP STATE. HE, AFTER THE NEW TOWN, UH, MASSACRE, HE, HE AND PAT TOOMEY, THE SENATOR FROM PENNSYLVANIA, TRIED TO GET A BILL THROUGH THE SENATE. IT FAILED. HE SAID, HE WAS QUOTED THIS MORNING AS SAYING THAT THE WHITE HOUSE HAS NOT TOLD HIM TO STOP NEGOTIATING ON THIS. SO THEY'VE BEEN MEETING, UH, AS, AS JEFF SAID, THEY'LL BE BACK, UH, THE MONDAY AFTER LABOR DAY, AND WE'LL SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT. OBVIOUSLY THE NEXT, THE THREE WEEKS IN SEPTEMBER THAT THEY'RE IN SESSION ARE CRITICAL, BECAUSE I THINK IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, THEN IT'S UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN. I MEAN, TO BE HONEST, HAVING SAID THAT, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF MOMENTUM. BUT AGAIN, THE PRESIDENT'S POSITION ON THIS IS BACK AND FORTH AS WE SEE, AS ON A LOT OF THINGS. SO I WISH WE HAD MORE CERTAINTY, BUT WE DON'T. BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE'LL BE A LOT OF INTENSE PRESSURE FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE OUT ACTUALLY ADDRESS THIS IN THE FALL, HOPEFULLY. BUT IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN THAT THEY CAN GET SOMETHING DONE. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA. OH, SORRY. UM, JUST A, A QUESTION FOR, FOR VIA, AND I IMAGINE THIS IS GONNA BE A LONGER DISCUSSION, BUT I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND TEE IT UP HERE. SO YOU SAID THE WORD THAT REALLY MAKES ME WORRY, AND THAT'S, UH, PARKING SPACES OR THE PHRASE YEAH, . I DON'T LIKE, I DON'T LIKE THAT ALREADY. YES. YEAH. SO JUST, UM, I, I ALWAYS HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SUBSIDIZED PARKING, UM, AND USING, UH, AND USING TAX MONEY FOR THAT. SO TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS PARKING. SO THE, THE PARKING STRUCTURE THAT'S, THAT'S REFERENCED IN OUR, IN OUR PROJECT IS ACTUALLY, UM, THERE TO SUPPORT THE HOUSING. MAINLY, UH, THE 750 STRUCTURE, IT'LL BE 330 UNITS THAT WILL BE, UM, PROPOSED THAT WOULD GO ON THE OUTSIDE, UH, BUILT AROUND THE PARKING STRUCTURE. AND THAT PARKING STRUCTURE WOULD SUPPORT THE HOUSING INHABITANTS, AS WELL AS HOW MANY UNITS, I'M, HOW MANY UNITS, HOW MANY HOUSING UNITS, 330 HOUSING UNITS, UH, AS WELL AS ALSO SUPPORTING THE RETAIL, WHICH WOULD BE ALSO, UH, A COMPONENT AND, AND THOSE FOLKS AND, AND TENANTS IN, UH, IN THIS MIXED USE. [00:30:01] UM, I, I GET IT. IT'S ALREADY ON THE AGENDA. AND, AND, UM, SO, SO THAT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. I CAN'T CHANGE THAT. BUT JUST TO, TO LET YOU KNOW, TO HAVE MY SUPPORT AS A COUNCIL PERSON FOR IT, WE WOULD NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE RATIO TO PARKING TO HOUSING UNIT. I THINK THAT'S EXCESSIVELY HIGH. AND TO ENSURE THAT IT'S NOT SET, UM, THAT THE RETAIL PARKING ISN'T FREE. AND I WOULD WANNA SEE GUARANTEES, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF AGREEMENTS ABOUT THAT OR UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THAT. UH, OTHERWISE I WOULD, UM, I'LL, I'LL BE OPENLY OPPOSED TO SUBSIDIZING 750 PARKING SPACES. SO, THANK YOU. OKAY. BYE. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN ROCHA. THANK YOU, CHAIR. I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. THE FIRST IS ON THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, UM, ACT REAUTHORIZATION. AND SO THANK YOU. I KNOW, UM, JEFF, THAT YOU ALREADY MENTIONED THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE'S POSSIBLE LOCAL MATCHES. UH, FOR, FOR THIS GRANT. I DO NEED TO SAY THAT YESTERDAY I WAS A LITTLE BIT CONCERNED POLICE HAD THEIR PRESENTATION, AND I ASKED CHIEF MCMANUS, WHO IS THE EXPERT IN SAFETY, UM, HOW MUCH WE WERE INVESTING INTO THE HANDLE WITH CARE PROGRAM. AND HE SAID, DON'T WORRY, COUNCILWOMAN, WE'RE NOT GONNA SPEND ANY MONEY. THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE GOING TO BE PAYING FOR THE PROGRAM. AND I DIDN'T SAY THIS YESTERDAY IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, BUT I WAS CONCERNED, AND I REMEMBERED THAT WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT IT TODAY. UM, I FIGURED THAT MAYBE WE CAN, I CAN ASK THE QUESTION HERE AT I G R SINCE WE HAVE THAT. IS THERE ANY WAY THAT WE, IF WE SEE AS WE'RE REVIEWING, UM, THESE ITEMS THAT WE CAN MAYBE IDENTIFY SOME OPPORTUNITIES WHERE MAYBE REGION 20 CAN WORK TOGETHER WITH OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT SO THAT THEY COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THIS FUNDING? WE CERTAINLY CAN LOOK INTO THAT, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, UM, UH, THE, THE FUNDING YOU'RE, YOU'RE REQUESTING. SURE. IT'S THE SMART PREVENTION GRANT. SO IT'S FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION. SO IT'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. AND SO I THINK A START TO THAT WOULD BE THE HANDLE WITH CARE PROGRAM WHERE WE IDENTIFIED TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS KIDS WHO HAD JUST BEEN THROUGH SOME, YOU KNOW, TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE THE NIGHT BEFORE. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS, IF WE SEE IT, IF, IF WE'RE ABLE TO SHARE WITH THOSE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IF THEY'RE ABLE TO, OR IF WE CAN SUPPORT, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO WRITE LETTERS OF SUPPORT IN SUPPORT OF MY SCHOOL DISTRICTS, FOR INSTANCE. I'M SURE ANY OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THE SAME. BUT I, I WOULD JUST ASK THAT MAYBE YOU ALL KEEP THAT IN IN MIND AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS. I'M FOLLOWING YOU NOW. OKAY. SO, UM, YES, THE SIMILAR TO MY POINT ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION, ABOUT HOW WE ALL TRY TO WORK TOGETHER AND, AND, AND STREAMLINE OUR EFFORTS FOR FEDERAL FUNDING STREAMS. WE DO THE SAME IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL. WE, WE MEET REGULARLY. WE HAVE AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL ROUND TABLE WHERE, UH, AT THE STAFF LEVEL WE MEET WITH, UH, OUR COUNTERPARTS AT VIA BROOKS, THE RIVER AUTHORITY, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS. UH, AND SO AS, AS THE REAUTHORIZATION COMES INTO SHAPE AND WE KNOW WHAT PROGRAMS AND WHAT FUNDING STREAMS ARE AVAILABLE, IF THERE ARE STREAMS THAT ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR US AS THE CITY, BUT WOULD BE FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS OR FOR THE REGION, THEN WE'LL HELP CONNECT THOSE DOTS AND WORK WITH THEM TO SUPPORT THEM. SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S OUR GENERAL APPROACH. NOW THAT YOU'VE MADE THAT POINT, WE'LL MAKE SURE IT'S HIGH ON OUR RADAR AND BE LOOKING FOR THAT. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND THEN I JUST HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS. ONE OF 'EM IS FAIRLY SHORT, OR I HOPE IT'S FAIRLY SHORT, UH, ON THE BROWNSFIELD, UH, PROGRAM. ARE WE ALREADY, I'M JUST GONNA MAKE THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, AND I KNOW WE HAVE A BRIDGED PRESENTATION. UM, BUT I AM WONDERING IF WE COULD LEVERAGE ANY OF THIS ON POSSIBLE ASSESSMENT OF SOME OF THE, THE THINGS THAT STILL NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN, IN THE, UM, CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND ACTION PLAN. YES. UM, BROWNFIELDS HAS BEEN A FOCUS OF OURS FOR YEARS. UH, AND COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL JUST WINKED AT ME 'CAUSE WE'VE HAD THE SAME CONVERSATIONS. UM, IT'S A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE AND LIMITED FUNDING POOL. MM-HMM. . SO OUR RATE OF SUCCESS HAS NOT BEEN GREAT IN RECENT YEARS. WE'VE HAD SOME ASSESSMENT GRANTS, BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS WE WOULD LIKE. UH, AND CLEAN UP GRANTS ARE INFINITELY HARDER TO ACHIEVE. UH, ONCE YOU'VE DONE AN ASSESSMENT TO GO SEEK MONEY TO ACTUALLY DO THE CLEANUP ON A SITE, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY THE MUCH BIGGER TICKET, UM, ITEM. UH, BUT IT'S IN OUR PROGRAM BECAUSE IT IS A PRIORITY. UH, WE WILL BE TALKING WITH OUR TEAM ABOUT HOW WE REPOSITION OURSELVES AND APPROACH THIS DIFFERENTLY AND BETTER SO THAT WE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE FUTURE. AND, AND CERTAINLY YOU'RE RIGHT, IT FOLDS INTO A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, INNER CITY REDEVELOPMENT, A NUMBER OF OTHER PRIORITIES OF THIS COUNCIL. GOOD. GREAT. THANK YOU, JEFF. THAT, THAT HELPS ME. AND THEN ON WORKFORCE AND TRAINING, UM, I KNOW, UH, A FEW YEARS AGO, I KNOW FOR SEVERAL YEARS, THE D O L HAS HAD SEVERAL GRANTS, UM, UP UNTIL A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. AND I GUESS IT'S ALWAYS, DEPENDING ON THE ADMINISTRATION, THERE WAS UNCERTAINTY AS TO WHAT THE FOCUS WOULD BE ON FOR, FOR SPECIFICALLY WORKFORCE AND TRAINING. MOST [00:35:01] RECENTLY, AS I UNDERSTOOD, THERE WAS A BIG PUSH FOR, FOR APPRENTICESHIPS. IS THAT STILL THE CASE? DO WE KNOW, HAVE WE JUST STARTED LOOKING AROUND, UM, THE HILL AND MEASURING KIND OF WHAT THE, UM, BIG PUSH FOR IS? BECAUSE I THINK THAT A LOT OF THE WORKFORCE TRAINING AGENCIES THAT, THAT WE ARE A PART OF LOCALLY CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY START THINKING OF HOW TO LEVERAGE THOSE FUNDS AS WELL, . SO THERE, THE, THE ADMINISTRATION HAS PROPOSED A, AN VARIOUS KINDS OF APPRENTICESHIP INITIATIVES, THE CORE PROGRAMS IN, UH, THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION OPPORTUNITIES ACT. RIGHT? AND WE KNOW THIS, WE'RE KIND OF RINGERS BECAUSE WE WORK FOR THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKFORCE BOARDS. UH, SO WE'VE WORKED FOR THEM FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. SO, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO CONNECT. AND THE TEXAS WORKFORCE BOARDS ARE VERY ACTIVE IN WASHINGTON WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION. UM, SO THE CORE PROGRAMS ARE STILL THE KEY ELEMENT AND THE CONDUIT, THE APPRENTICESHIP NUMBERS ARE RELATIVELY SMALL AND SEGMENTED. ALTHOUGH AS THE REAUTHORIZATION, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS, AS THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THAT PROGRAM COMES UP, AND THEY'RE GONNA START WORKING ON THAT NEXT YEAR WITH PROBABLY THE LOOK TO ACTUALLY FULLY REAUTHORIZE IT IN THE NEW CONGRESS, THIS WHOLE IDEA OF LIFELONG LEARNING, WHERE YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE A FOUR YEAR DEGREE TO ACTUALLY HAVE A GOOD, YOU KNOW, FAMILY WAGE LEVEL JOB WITH SO MANY, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU, BECAUSE TEXAS IS VERY INNOVATIVE, AND I KNOW HERE, AS YOU LOOK AT THAT WHOLE LADDER, AND THEN PEOPLE NEED TO RETRAIN, I THINK YOU LOOK AT, OKAY, HOW DO YOU WANT TO FIT INTO THOSE INITIATIVES? UH, THERE'S NOT A WINDFALL FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. AND SADLY, THERE ARE SOME SIGNALS WHILE THE BUDGET NEGOTIATION, THE TOP LINES HAVE BEEN SET, UH, I HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT THERE'S BEEN A SIGNAL OUT OF THE SENATE THAT THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP AND THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE TO ACCOMMODATE SOME OF THE BORDER SECURITY INITIATIVES OF THE PRESIDENT IS GONNA REDUCE IN THEIR INITIAL OFFERING TO THE FULL SENATE, THE LABOR HEALTH EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS BILL BY 5 BILLION TO ACCOMMODATE THE BORDER WALL THAT THE PRESIDENT'S REQUESTED. SO WHILE, SO THERE'S AGREEMENT ON THE TOP LINES, BUT THERE WILL BE A NUMBER OF DEBATES THAT'LL BE FAIRLY CONTENTIOUS HERE OVER THE NEXT FOUR MONTHS, WHICH IS WHY I THINK THIS PROBABLY WRAPS UP IN SOMETIME AROUND CHRISTMAS. UH, BUT THAT'LL BE ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES. AND THE LABOR PROGRAMS AND WORKFORCE TRAINING, I'M WORRIED THEY'LL BE AT SOME RISK BECAUSE OF THAT, NOT BECAUSE THE SENATE APPROPRIATORS REALLY WANT TO REDUCE THOSE PROGRAMS, BUT BECAUSE OF THE OVERARCHING POLITICAL OBJECTIVES THAT ARE OUT THERE, AT LEAST TO KIND OF SET THE MARKER FOR THE FINAL END STAGE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE HOUSE DEMOCRATS AND THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE SENATE. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT ANSWER. THANK YOU FOR THAT ANSWER. AND THAT'S VERY CONCERNING. UM, I THINK JUST FROM JUST THE INVESTMENT THAT WE MAKE IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND WE KNOW THAT IT WORKS. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD A LOT OF PROVEN RESULTS, UH, FROM DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE FOCUSED ON THAT. SO I'M SURE THAT THE WORKFORCE, UH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WILL PROBABLY ALSO BE LOOKING AT THIS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO, UH, MAKE REFERENCE TO THAT AT I G R. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN RA THANK YOU CHAIR. REGARDING THE, THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT, UH, REAUTHORIZATION. CAN YOU GIVE US EXAMPLES OF THE LOCAL PROGRAMS THAT, OR SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT WILL RECEIVE THE FUNDING? I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE THE ANSWER ON WHO LOCALLY HAS RECEIVED THE FUNDING. THE, THE PROGRAMS FIT UNDER A WHOLE SERIES OF THINGS. THERE ARE, UH, TEEN VIOLENCE PREVENTION INTERVENTION PROGRAMS. THERE'S ACTUALLY A PROGRAM TO, UM, UH, EDUCATE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AT AN EARLY CHILDHOOD FUNDING LEVEL. THERE'S FUNDING FOR HOUSING AND OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS. UM, ANY OTHERS, KEVIN, THAT YOU CAN THINK OF, OR, I MEAN, THERE'S A WHOLE, I MEAN, THERE ARE, THERE'S A WHOLE BASKET OF PROGRAMS THAT ARE OUT THERE FOR THEM. WE CAN TAKE AS AN ACTION IF, IF YOU ALL WANT TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE FUNDING FLOW INTO ORGANIZATIONS HERE FROM THE INCOME STREAMS, WE CAN TRACK THAT AS A MATTER OF COURSE, AND, AND DIG UP KIND OF THE INVENTORY OF WHAT YOU ALL HAVE RECEIVED AND THEN COME BACK AND, UH, THROUGH JEFF AND CARLOS AND SALLY GIVE YOU A, A, A REPORT HERE ON THAT. I, I THINK IN RELATIVELY SHORT ORDER, CERTAINLY BEFORE SOMETIME NEXT MONTH, WE CAN DO THAT, IF YOU'D LIKE THAT. OKAY. YES, THANK YOU. IT, IT'S OUR INTENTION. SORRY TO INTERRUPT. COUNCILWOMAN, UH, FOR THIS TO FIT, UH, FIT IN WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED, UH, THROUGH DR. BRIDGER'S EFFORTS OF JUDGE DIAZ AND OTHERS, THAT, THAT, THAT A LOT OF THIS IS ABOUT GETTING ALL OF THE VARIOUS PARTNERS ON THE SAME PAGE. AND SO WHERE THERE ARE FUNDING NEEDS, SIMILAR TO THE CONVERSATION WE JUST HAD ABOUT TRANSPORTATION AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND SO FORTH, WILL, WILL, UH, IDENTIFY THE RIGHT FOLKS TO GO AFTER THE RIGHT FUNDING STREAMS, ALL WITH THE COMMUNITY INTENT OF ADDRESSING THE ISSUE. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, ONE MORE QUESTION. THE APPLICATION GUIDELINES GIVEN BY THE E F S P, DO THEY INCLUDE THE CRITERIA THEY WILL CONSIDER WHEN [00:40:01] DECIDING, UH, HOW MUCH FUNDING WILL BE REIMBURSED AND TO WHOM THEY REALLY DON'T? DO THEY, SALLY, THEY QUESTION, I'M SORRY. UH, IS THERE A CRITERIA ESTABLISHED THERE? THERE REALLY ISN'T. THERE'S AN ESTABLISHMENT OF WHAT THE ELIGIBLE EXPENSES ARE. MM-HMM. , UH, AND THERE'S SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT DIRECT EXPENSES VERSUS INDIRECT, UH, MEANING STAFF TIME OR PASS THROUGH FUNDING TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA TRY TO WORK THROUGH SOME OF THAT THIS AFTERNOON. WE HAVE SOME CONCERNS THAT SOME OF THE MONEY THAT HAS BEEN PASSED ALONG TO CATHOLIC CHARITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR US TO APPLY FOR. AND SO, SO WE'VE GOTTA COORDINATE ALL OF THAT. BUT THEY REALLY HAVEN'T SAID, YOU KNOW, OFTEN A FEDERAL AGENCY WILL COME UP WITH A SCORING CRITERIA AND SAY, X NUMBER OF POINTS FOR THIS OR THAT. UH, WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL AT ALL. UM, JUST AN ESTABLISHMENT, JEFF AND I WOULD ADD, UH, I AGREE WITH JEFF AND, AND IN OUR DINNER LAST NIGHT, KEVIN AND TEAM MENTIONED WE SHOULDN'T LEAVE IT TO THE DISCRETION OF THE FEDS, THE FEDERAL ORGANIZATION TO DECIDE THAT WE SHOULD GET GOING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT SAN ANTONIO GETS ITS FAIR SHARE. SO WE WILL TAKE THAT AS A CHARGE AS WELL TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE ADVOCATING AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS. AND I WILL TELL YOU, COUNCIL, WE ANTICIPATE MAN'S GONNA RUN OUT PRETTY, YOU HAVE TWO TIERS. YOU START THINKING ABOUT THE VALLEY, SOME OF THE BORDER CITIES, UM, THEY WERE RECEIVING A THOUSAND PEOPLE A DAY, AND SO COMPARED TO WHAT WE WERE RECEIVING, AND SO THOSE NUMBERS ARE GONNA BE EXTREMELY HIGH ON THE BORDER. AND CONGRESSMAN COY, UH, WARNED ME ABOUT THAT. HE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE HOPE THAT THERE'S MONEY TO GET TO TIER TWO, WHICH DEALS WITH TRANSPORTATION. UH, HE'S WORKING ON APPROPRIATIONS BILL, UH, FOR THIS CYCLE ALREADY, THAT INCLUDES 60 MILLION AS HE DID LAST TIME. UH, AND HOPEFULLY THAT STICKS. AND, AND WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH HIM TOO, TO, TO BETTER DEFINE, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE SPEND MONEY ON TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE COVERED, UH, AND THAT THEY CAN'T BE, UH, KICKED OUT, UH, WHEN WE SUBMIT THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL, YOU HAD A OH, YEAH. THANK YOU. A FOLLOW UP QUESTION ABOUT THE BROWN FIELDS WAS, UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE GRANT PROGRAM BEING VERY COMPETITIVE. UM, BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY APPROPRIATE THE FUNDS? IS THAT AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO REQUEST THAT THAT POOL BE LARGER OR THAT WE HAVE SOME SORT OF FEDERAL EARMARK? UM, UH, YES AND NO TO, TO THOSE TWO QUESTIONS. UM, UH, YES. UH, WITH ALL, WITH A LOT OF THESE ITEMS, IT'S SORT OF A TWO STEP EFFORT. NUMBER ONE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE FUNDING LEVELS FOR PROGRAMS THAT WE CARE ABOUT AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE. UH, AND SO YES, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US RIGHT NOW TO SAY, WE NEED MORE MONEY IN BROWNFIELD. UH, WE NEED A BIGGER POT. AND THEN ONCE THAT GETS APPROPRIATED AND THE FEDERAL AGENCY GETS ITS ITS PORTION OR, YOU KNOW, GETS ITS FUNDING STREAM, THEN THERE'S AN EFFORT TO MAKE THE CASE TO THE AGENCY THAT WE ARE WORTHY OF RECEIVING THOSE FUNDS LOCALLY. RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE STILL AT THE APPROPRIATION STAGE. UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S ANY LEGITIMATE CONVERSATION ABOUT UPPING BROWNSFIELD DOLLARS, UH, IF YOU GUYS KNOW ANY DIFFERENTLY, BUT IT, IT'S A VERY TOUGH, IT'S IN THE SAME BILL AS THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND, UH, WASTEWATER TREATMENT AUTHORITIES AND SO FORTH. SO IT'S A VERY, IT'S A VERY COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, UH, VERY POPULAR. UH, BUT THERE'S NOT, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS PUSHED FORWARD THIS AS A, AS A STRATEGY. THE, I MEAN, THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION, IT WAS MORE OF THAT FOR RECLAMATION OF CITIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE UPPER MIDWEST, WHERE THERE ARE BIG CHALLENGES LIKE THIS. BUT, UH, THERE CERTAINLY CAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY ADVOCATE FOR THEM. BUT I THINK, AS JEFF SAID, I THINK THAT IT'S BEST THAT WE EDUCATE. I REALLY DO THINK EDUCATING PEOPLE IN THE AGENCY, BOTH AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, SO FOR THIS REGION OF THE COUNTRY AS WELL AS, UH, THE NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE ABOUT YOUR NEEDS AND GETTING THEM TO REALLY BE ALLIES AND ADVOCATES. SO WHEN THAT APPLICATION COMES IN, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME THEY'RE HEARING OR SEEING ABOUT THE PARTICULAR NEEDS THAT YOU HAVE HERE, BECAUSE THAT'S SO IMPORTANT TO THE REVITALIZATION OF SO MANY COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE SAN ANTONIO METROPLEX. AND, AND I WILL SAY, JEFF, THAT IT, IT CAN HAPPEN SOMETIMES. WE'VE GOT A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT. UH, ONE YEAR, CONGRESSMAN CASTRO, UH, WE WENT TO HIM TO TRY AND INCREASE BODY CAMERAS, UH, AMOUNT, UH, IN THE TUNE OF A MILLION DOLLARS. WE, UH, ON THE FLOOR, HE AMENDED, UH, ONE OF THE BILLS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET A MILLION DOLLARS MORE OF THE BUDGET. I BELIEVE THE AGENCY, UH, TOOK NOTICE OF THAT BECAUSE WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST COMMUNITIES TO GET MONEY FOR BODY CAMERAS GRANTS. SO THERE ARE, THERE ARE SITUATIONS WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO AFFECT THAT, BUT IT IS TOUGH. BUT, BUT WE CAN ABSOLUTELY TRY. IF, IF I MAY, AS A, I SERVED 16 YEARS IN THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, UH, WITH, WITH MR. BE, UH, HENRY QUARE AND I WERE ELECTED TOGETHER TO THE TEXAS HOUSE WAY BACK IN 1986, UH, WHEN I WAS IN MY SECOND YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL. HENRY'S PROBABLY MY NEAREST AND DEAREST FRIEND. HE IS ON THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE. AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER [00:45:01] A RESOLUTION DIRECTING, ENCOURAGING THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION IN TEXAS TO RESTORE DIRECTED OR TARGETED SPENDING FOR APPROPRIATIONS. IT'S ONE OF THE, I THINK, ONE OF THE MOST, UH, WHEN, WHEN CONGRESS DID AWAY WITH EARMARKS, I'M GLAD YOU'D HEAR YOU MENTION THIS. IT IS, UH, IT WAS REALLY, WE, WE DID NOT SAVE ANY MONEY. IT ESSENTIALLY ELIMINATED THE ABILITY OF OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TO TARGET MONEY TO AREAS THAT NEEDED THE MOST. AND I, I MADE GREAT PROGRESS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF CONGRESSES, ATTEMPTING TO RESTORE TARGETED SPENDING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, FOR FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS. I REPRESENTED WEST HOUSTON. WE WERE HAMMERED BY HARVEY, UH, TARGETED SPENDING. I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO APPROACH IT FROM THAT DIRECTION FOR, UH, YOU COULD START WITH INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, FLOOD CONTROL. BUT FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU COULD, ON THIS PROGRAM WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET A LARGER PIECE OF THE $30 MILLION, UH, DESIGN THAT IN SUCH A WAY. SO YOU COULD, IN THE ABSENCE OF EARMARKS, YOU COULD DESIGN THE PROGRAM SO THE MONEY FLOWS PREFERENTIALLY TO AREAS THAT HAVE HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER, UH, THE HIGHEST COSTS, THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT FALL UNDER THE PROGRAM. FOR EXAMPLE, UH, FOR AWA, YOU COULD CHANGE THE WAY, RECOMMENDED THE DELEGATION IN THE ABSENCE OF EARMARKS THAT THAT MONEY BE PRIORITIZED TO AREAS THAT HAVE THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, UH, PROGRAMS, I CHAIRED THE COMMITTEE, UH, COMMERCE JUSTICE, SCIENCE APPROPRIATION SUBCOMMITTEE FOR THE LAST MANY YEARS. AND I ALWAYS INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE AWA PROGRAMS. AND THAT PROGRAM SHOULD BE THE MONEY PRIORITIZED TO AREAS THAT HAVE THE GREATEST, UH, NEED. AND BODY CAMERAS WAS, WAS ACTUALLY A PROGRAM THAT I PERSONALLY MADE SURE THAT WE INCREASED FUNDING FOR. UH, DON'T GET DRAWN OFF INTO HANDLING THE DATA. THE DATA'S THE EXPENSIVE PART, THE CAMERA'S THE INEXPENSIVE PART. IT'S THE DATA STORAGE. BUT BOTTOM LINE IS, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO, AS A COUNCIL, AS AN INTERGOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE, MR. CHAIRMAN, THINK ABOUT ADOPTING A RESOLUTION, ENCOURAGING THE TEXAS DELEGATION TO LEAD THE WAY TO RESTORE TARGETED SPENDING AND APPROPRIATIONS SO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES CAN DO THEIR JOB AND SEND THE MONEY WHERE IT IS NEEDED THE MOST BASED ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL NEEDS. ON THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. IF I, IF I MAY, UM, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, JOHN, UH, I WOULD STRONGLY ALSO ENCOURAGE THE COUNCIL TO MAKE IT PART OF YOUR AGENDA, YOUR RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, TO RESTORE WHATEVER THE WORD IS, EARMARKS. I KNOW IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, BUT BACK IN THE, IN THE DAY, UH, I COULD PUT DIRECT DOLLARS INTO INCARNATE WORD, THE CANCER THERAPY RESEARCH CENTER, TRIO PROGRAMS, UM, B S C RANDOLPH PUT 'EM DIRECTLY IN THERE. AND THEN PEOPLE WENT CRAZY AFTER A FEW YEARS AND SAID, YOU SHOULDN'T BE PUTTING EARMARKS IN BILLS, TARGETED SPENDING, TARGETED SPENDING, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL THEM. BUT AGAIN, I WOULD, ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING DISCUSSED TODAY, IF YOU GAVE IT, IT WOULD GIVE YOUR CORRECT DELEGATION BACKUP FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO SAY, OH, WELL, MY PEOPLE WANT THIS. SO, AGAIN, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT IT UP, JOHN, BECAUSE, UH, I THINK IT WOULD PROVIDE STRENGTH TO THE DELEGATION IF THE COUNCIL SAID THAT THEY SHOULD RESTORE THESE TARGETED ISSUES. THANK YOU. UM, SO A A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE, I I THINK YOU'VE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR THAT THERE IS AN APPETITE ON THIS, UM, AT LEAST AT THIS LEVEL FOR US TO, UH, REALLY INCORPORATE THE URGENCY THAT WE ALL FEEL ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTO OUR FEDERAL AGENDA. UM, AND THANK YOU FOR BRIEFING US ON BAWA. UM, I THINK THAT'S, AND UM, AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS BECAUSE OF THE URGENCY THAT WE FEEL AND THE ANXIETY THAT IS NOW, UM, PROMPTED US TO, UH, ROLL OUT OUR RESOLUTION REGARDING GUN VIOLENCE LAST WEEK, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT WE, UM, NOT WAIT TO ADD THAT TO OUR FEDERAL AGENDA. RIGHT? UM, THOSE, TO ME SOUND URGENT. UM, SO WITH THAT, UH, I, I DO WANNA POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE, WE, WE'VE GOT AN OPTION, I GUESS, TO PUT THIS ON THE NEXT SESSION SO WE CAN VOTE TO AMEND THE FEDERAL AGENDA, AND THEN AFTER THAT, GO STRAIGHT TO CITY COUNCIL. THAT SEEMS CUMBERSOME AND KIND OF CLUMSY. AND SO, I, I MEAN, I'M, I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ANYBODY ON THIS, ON, ON THIS COMMITTEE RIGHT NOW WHO WOULD OBJECT TO YOU GUYS JUST GOING AHEAD AND TEEING IT UP FOR THE AGENDA FOR, YOU KNOW, OUR NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO ADD THIS TO OUR FEDERAL AGENDA, UH, THOSE TWO ITEMS SO THAT WE CAN JUST HURRY UP AND GET IT DONE, AS OPPOSED TO DEAL WITH A BUREAUCRATIC HOOP JUMPING. DO YOU, YOU OKAY WITH JUST PUTTING IT ON THE FEDERAL AGENDA, BRIEFING IN ACTION, RIGHT? YEAH. FOR, FOR THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING. YEAH. BRIEFING IN ACTION, MR. CHAIRMAN, WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT. AND WE, WE CAN EVEN CIRCULATE SOME LANGUAGE TO YOU GOT IT. YOU CAN LOOK AT IT. I CAN CIRCULATE STATUS. YEAH, LET'S DO THAT. . LET'S DO THAT. SO [00:50:01] WE'LL DO IT. YEAH. I DON'T, I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GETTING OBJECTION UP HERE. YEP. UH, SO THE OTHER THING IS, UM, WE DID SOME, YEAH, WE DID SOME . UM, I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THE COUNCILWOMAN, UH, COUNCILMAN VERUN, UH, C C R REGARDING THE DREAM ACT AND PROMISE, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE IN THE STACK OF THINGS THAT GOVERNANCE HAS TO GET THROUGH. IT'S, IT'S ON NEXT WEDNESDAY. IT'S ON NEXT WEDNESDAY'S AGENDA NEXT WEEK. OKAY. UM, SO IT JUST OCCURRED TO ME THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE DOING THAT, WE MIGHT AS WELL SEND YOUR INITIATIVE UP TO CITY COUNCIL AS WELL AND JUST KNOCK THREE BIRDS OUT WITH ONE STONE, IF YOU'RE OKAY WITH THAT. I, YES. SO, SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS GIVING US DIRECTION AS THE COMMITTEE FOR US TO BRING AN AMENDMENT FORWARD TO COUNCIL, WHICH I, I THINK IS PERFECTLY SUFFICIENT. UM, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS IN THE PROGRAM. IT'S NOT UNDER ONE OF THE, IT'S NOT ONE OF THE FOUR PRIORITY ITEMS. IT'S IN THE BASKET OF, UH, MANY OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS. IF YOU WANT US TO MOVE THAT UP TO A PRIORITY ITEM, WE CAN DO THAT. WE CAN ADD GUNS. UM, AND THEN, UH, IS THERE A DESIRE FOR US TO PUT LANGUAGE IN THERE AS WELL ABOUT, UH, TARGETED SPENDING? OR IS THAT A CONVERSATION YOU'D RATHER CONTINUE? WE HAVE. SO LET ME, THAT I THINK IS A LITTLE MORE SENSITIVE. UM, AND SO WHILE I CERTAINLY DO NOT, UM, SHRUG OFF THE ADVICE THAT WE GET FROM, UH, MR. BONILLA AND MR. CULBERSON, I, I DO THINK THAT GETTING A BRIEFING AS FAR AS HOW IT HAS IMPACTED US IN THE PAST, RIGHT. AND WHAT ADVANTAGES IT WOULD'VE GIVEN US HAD THOSE STILL BEEN IN PLACE IN THE PAST, RIGHT. AND HOW, UH, AND THEN MAYBE HOW THINGS ARE GONNA BE BETTER. I THINK THAT IF WE BRING THAT BACK TO COMMITTEE FOR A MORE ROBUST CONVERSATION AND YOU GUYS DO SOME ANALYSIS ON, UM, AND I, I WAS JUST MENTIONING, WE CAN PROVIDE AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN REAL EXAMPLES. GOOD. I MEAN, THE, UH, CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM AT U T SS A, WE DID THAT. AND AGAIN, UH, THE EXIT RAMP FOR B SS C MANY YEARS AGO, WE DID THAT. AND THERE WERE SPECIFIC, UH, SPECIFIC AND APPROPRIATIONS BILLS. YEAH. SO THAT I THINK SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD TOPIC FOR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE OUR NEXT MEETING OR THE ONE AFTER THAT TO REALLY DIVE DOWN AS FAR AS WHAT THAT MEANS. 'CAUSE THE LAST THING I WANT IS FOR THE PUBLIC TO SAY, WAIT A SECOND, COUNCIL'S ASKING FOR EARMARKS. WE DON'T GET IT RIGHT. AND, UH, THERE'S GONNA BE FOLKS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO WHO ARE PROBABLY GONNA WANT TO AT LEAST SEE US, UH, HAVE THAT CONVERSATION BEFORE WE MAKE A DECISION. SO LET, LET'S SET THAT UP, COUNCILMAN VIA GRAHAM, I THINK, UM, TO THE POINT OF THE, ONE OF THE REQUESTS THAT I HAD MADE TO THE MAYOR IS THAT IF WE DO TALK ABOUT THIS RESOLUTION AND HAVE A RESOLUTION READY FOR GOVERNANCE ON, UH, WEDNESDAY OR WHICHEVER DAY NEXT WEEK, THAT IT WOULD BE ON THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, WHICH COULD BE THE NEXT DAY. SO EVEN IF IT NOT, MAY NOT GO WITH EVERYTHING ELSE, IF IT COULD GO BEFORE, UM, THE ITEMS UP. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. IN OTHER WORDS, HURRY UP. AND SO WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY IS DON'T HOLD UP THE RESOLUTION FOR THE REST. RIGHT. BUT, BUT I THINK WE CAN COMMIT TO GETTING LANGUAGE CIRCULATED WITH YOU AND BE ABLE TO BRING ALL OF THAT AS EARLY AS NEXT THURSDAY OR WHENEVER THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING IS. AND THEN, AND THEN FOR FUTURE BRIEFINGS, UM, JUST TEEING UP TOPICS THAT I THINK ARE IMPORTANT FOR US TO TALK ABOUT, UM, COUNCILWOMAN, UM, ROCHA'S IDEA ABOUT, YOU KNOW, REGION TWENTY'S ABILITY TO HELP US MOVE SOME OF THESE BALLS FORWARD. AND THEN ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE BROWNFIELD INITIATIVE, UM, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY, UH, IMPORTANT THING THAT WE OUGHT TO BE TALKING ABOUT HERE. AND SO, UM, IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO TALK ABOUT, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT. OKAY, GREAT. UM, LASTLY, I, I DO WANT TO END ON THIS TOPIC BY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT, UH, MR. BONILLA BONAFIDES. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW IMPORTANT IT'S THAT WE'VE GOT ONE OF THE BIG GUNS, UH, HELPING US OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, AND PARTICULARLY THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE WITH OUR AIRPORT AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT, UM, THOSE EFFORTS ARE. UH, HOWEVER, NOW WHAT EXCITES ME, AND I THINK THAT I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMITTEE TO UNDERSTAND, IS THAT WE NOW HAVE TWO BIG GUNS. UH, YOU KNOW, AND JOHN CULBERSON YOUR, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR EXPERIENCE UP IN DC IS NOT, AIN'T NOTHING. UH, ACTUALLY, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IMPRESSED ME THE MOST IS THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE, UM, IN TERMS OF RESILIENCY AND AID FOR, UH, RESPONDING TO MEGA STORMS. AND SO FOR THOSE OF YOU DON'T REMEMBER, UH, UH, CONGRESSMAN CULBERSON WAS THE ONLY REPUBLICAN, UM, IN THE HOUSE WHO ACTUALLY FOUGHT FOR, WAS IT A $50 BILLION PACKAGE TO RECOVER, HELP RECOVER FROM, UH, HURRICANE SANDY? HURRICANE SANDY, AND THEN, UH, TOOK THE MANTLE AND, UH, FOUGHT REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SENT, UM, ALL OF ITS RESOURCES DOWN TO HELP, UH, RECOVER FROM HURRICANE HARVEY. UM, AND SO I, I'M THROWING THAT OUT THERE BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT MEGA STORMS ARE THE NEW NORMAL FOR US HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AS WELL. UM, WE AREN'T, UH, IMMUNE FROM GETTING HIT, YOU KNOW, HARVEY COULD HAVE HIT US. UM, AND IT WAS JUST A FLIP OF THE COIN. HARVEY DECIDED TO TAKE A RIGHT AS OPPOSED TO THE [00:55:01] LEFT AND, UH, VISIT HOUSTON. AND SO, UH, I, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TALKING ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN TO HUNT DOWN OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO BRING HOME, UM, RESILIENCY HARDENING, RIGHT? UM, AND STORM HARDENING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE OKAY. AND SO WITH THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, JOHN, UH, I, I'LL TELL YOU, FOR ME, THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY YOUR BIGGEST HOMEWORK IS, UH, FIGURING OUT WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, WE'VE GOT ALL THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO BE READY FOR THE NEXT HURRICANE HARVEY. MR. CHAIRMAN, IF CHAIRMAN, I FEEDBACK ON YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT, UH, FORMER CONGRESSMAN, UH, BEFORE HE BECAME A MEMBER OF, OF THE CITY'S TEAM. HE WAS WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. WHETHER HE KNEW IT OR NOT, PROBABLY I'M SURE HE DID. WORKING WITH, UH, CONGRESSMAN CLEOD. HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN APPROPRIATIONS TO MAKE SURE WE HAD $948 MILLION TO BE ABLE TO FUND OUR FEDERAL COURTHOUSE. SO, UH, IT'S A LOT OF THE WORK THAT HE DID ON APPROPRIATIONS. SO WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT AS WELL. YEAH, I WAS PLEASED TO DO IT. I THINK AS EVERY TEXAS FIELDS AS A NATIVE HOUSTONIAN, SAN ANTONIO IS TRULY MY SECOND FAVORITE CITY. UH, LOVE YOU DEARLY. YOU'RE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE GROWING UP HERE. SO YES, IT WAS MY PRIVILEGE TO HELP MAKE SURE THE COURTHOUSE HAPPENED, UH, FROM MY TIME IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE WITH HENRY, UH, AND THEN IN THE CONGRESS TOO, TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT YOU GOT THAT SECOND RAILROAD LINE TO GET THE TOYOTA PLAN. THAT'S RIGHT. UH, HERE I WAS, UH, UH, UH, DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THAT , UH, BUT ALSO THIS ALL CIRCLE CIRCLES BACK, MR. CHAIRMAN OF THE POWER WE USED TO HAVE. AND IT'S, UH, IN THE CONSTITUTION THAT THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES THAT NO MONEY SHALL BE DRAWN FROM THE TREASURY EXCEPT BY APPROPRIATION. AND THAT'S YOUR LOCALLY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE'S JOB, IS TO TARGET THESE DOLLARS FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE. SO, UH, I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. UH, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY TOO QUICKLY FOR THIS NEXT MEETING, BUT TO HELP YOU DEVELOP WITH YOUR TEAM, UH, RESOLUTION FOR THIS SUBCOMMITTEE'S, UH, CONSIDERATION TO URGE THE TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO RESTORE TARGETED SPENDING, AND YOU CAN LIMIT IT TO INFRASTRUCTURE. I FOUND THAT THAT WORKED BEAUTIFULLY. UH, FOR EXAMPLE, I HAD TO, IN GETTING MONEY TO THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL, BECAUSE WE COULDN'T EARMARK IT, I HAD TO DESIGN A FORMULA THAT SAID THAT THIS MONEY HAD TO BE PRIORITIZED FOR PORTS THAT CARRIED THE LARGEST NUMBER OF FOREIGN TONNAGE. AND THAT'S THE PORT OF HOUSTON. I MEAN THAT YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL THOSE CONTORTIONS. THAT'S WHAT YOU ELECT US FOR. SO I WILL WORK WITH THE, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, WITH THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON DEVELOPING LANGUAGE TO TARGET SPENDING. AND IF YOU WANNA LIMIT IT TO INFRASTRUCTURE, I STARTED WITH FLOOD CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE HIGHWAYS. I'M THE GUY THAT SPEARHEADED THE KATY FREEWAY. WHEN YOU DRIVE THROUGH WEST HOUSTON, I'M THE ONE THAT TOOK THE KATY FREEWAY FROM SIX LANES TO 25 LANES. UH, DID IT THROUGH THE, UH, APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS. WE HOSTED A CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION. UH, SOMETHING I MENTIONED TO THE CHAIRMAN EARLIER, I'D ENCOURAGE THE COMMITTEE TO THINK ABOUT BRINGING, UH, UH, CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO SAN ANTONIO. NOT ONLY THE LOCAL DELEGATION, BUT KEY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. YOU HOST 'EM IN THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY, ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET, IDENTIFY THE LOCAL NEEDS, EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT MAKING THAT CASE TO THE, UH, NOT JUST THE TECH, THE SAN ANTONIO DELEGATION, UH, BUT ON THAT LIST NEEDS TO BE RESTORING, TARGETED SPENDING SO THAT WE CAN DO OUR JOB FOR YOU AND JUST SIMPLY PUT THE MONEY IN THE APPROPRIATIONS BILL. 'CAUSE AT THE END, THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE MONEY IN THE APPROPRIATIONS BILL. THAT'S WHAT MATTERS. THANK YOU, MR. CULVERSON. THANK, AND, UH, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY IMPRESSIVE AND AGAIN, MAKES ME EVEN MORE CONFIDENT THAT, THAT WE PICK THE RIGHT TEAM. AND, UH, MR. CERNA, PLEASE BE MORE LIKE MR. CULVERSON. OKAY. SO THANK YOU. YEAH. THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THIS ONE ITEM. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN, FOR JOINING US. UH, AND FEEL FREE TO STICK AROUND. UH, THE [2. 19-6125 Briefing and possible action on a Hiring Our Heroes Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation [Juan Ayala, Director, Office of Military & Veteran Affairs] NEXT ITEM, I THINK IS THE, UM, HIRING OUR HEROES ITEM. IS THAT RIGHT? YES. JUAN IS GONNA PRESENT IT. LEMME JUST VERY QUICKLY, UM, UH, AS YOU RECALL, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL LAST YEAR APPROPRIATED $150,000 FOR, UH, IN FUNDING TO HELP MILITARY SPOUSES FIND EMPLOYMENT. THE SUGGESTION INITIALLY FROM A FORMER COUNCILMAN WAS THAT WE HIRE STAFF INTERNALLY AT THE CITY TO DO THAT. WITH 200 PLUS VETERAN SERVING ORGANIZATIONS, JUAN AND HIS TEAM DIDN'T FEEL THAT THAT WAS NECESSARY. SO HE'S DONE A LOT OF, UH, WORK WITH HR AND WITH OUTSIDE PARTNERS TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM. AND WHAT'S BEFORE YOU NOW IS A PROPOSED, UH, MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING TO IMPLEMENT. AND I'LL TURN IT OVER. YES. WELL, UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, UH, FOR THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. UH, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR, UH, ALLOWING MY TEAM AND I, UH, TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MILITARY FOOTPRINT HERE IN OUR GREAT CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND HOW WE WANNA MAINTAIN AND KEEP IT HERE, AND HOW WE'RE, UH, ADVOCATES AND BIG SUPPORTERS OF OUR MILITARY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. SO, AS JEFF WAS SAYING, UM, LET ME, UH, GET INTO THE HIRING OUR HEROES, UH, MILITARY SPOUSE, UH, CORPORATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. UM, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THIS, UH, MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IS HARD FOR MILITARY [01:00:01] SPOUSES, UH, TO FIND. UM, I SPENT 36 YEARS, UH, IN THE MARINE CORPS. WE MOVED 23 TIMES IN 36 YEARS. AND SO MY WIFE HAS SIX OR SEVEN DIFFERENT NURSING LICENSES. AND SO YOU CAN IMAGINE, UH, ALL OTHER PROFESSIONS THAT ARE THROWN IN THERE, UM, AND HOW HARD IT IS. 'CAUSE EMPLOYERS REALLY DON'T WANNA HIRE YOU IF YOU'RE GONNA BE THERE FOR TWO YEARS OR THREE YEARS. AND THEY OFTEN SETTLE FOR POSITIONS WHICH, UH, THEY'RE NOT, UH, UH, THEY'RE OVERQUALIFIED FOR. AND SO, UH, MILITARY SPOUSE RETENTION, UH, WE HAVE LEARNED IN THE MILITARY. AND DURING MY ACTIVE DUTY TIME, I REMEMBER THIS IS AN IMPORTANT, UH, FACTOR IN RETAINING OUR GOOD, UH, MEN AND WOMEN THAT ARE IN THE MILITARY, UH, FOR THEM TO DO MORE THAN THEIR INITIAL ENLISTMENT OR THEIR INITIAL TIME AS OFFICERS. AND WE HAVE ALSO FOUND, WHICH IS PAINFULLY OBVIOUS, IS THAT, UM, IF YOU ARE, IF YOU ARE, UH, IF YOUR FAMILY IS HAPPY, AND IF YOUR FAMILY, UH, IS SATISFIED AND YOU HAVE ALL THE SUPPORT SERVICES FROM A COMMUNITY, BECAUSE IT TAKES A COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT THE MILITARY, UH, UNIT READINESS IMPROVES. AND, UM, IT MAKES FOR, UH, MORE PREPARED MILITARY STRATEGICALLY FOR US AS A CITY. I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW IS THAT BASE REALIGNMENT ENCLOSURE, ENCLOSURES, WHICH, UM, ARE COMING. AND I, I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT YEAR, BUT I CAN TELL YOU MORE THAN LIKELY 2021 OR 2022, THE SECRETARIES, ALL THREE SECRETARIES OF, UH, OF OUR SERVICES HAVE STATED THAT THAT WILL BE A CRITERIA FOR BASING DECISIONS. SO THEY'LL LOOK AT OPERATIONAL READINESS, THEY'LL LOOK AT CAPACITY, THEY'LL LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT THEY WILL ALSO LOOK AT OUR COMMUNITY, HOW WE ARE SUPPORTING OUR MILITARY. AND THEY WILL ALSO LOOK AT HOW WE'RE SUPPORTING OUR MILITARY FAMILIES. BECAUSE AS I JUST MENTIONED, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT FACTOR, UH, IN KEEPING OUR INSTALLATIONS AND OUR MISSIONS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO OR IN ANY CITY. UH, AND SO OUR OBJECTIVES AND OUR ACTIONS IS, UH, PROVIDE A TANGIBLE, AND AGAIN, A TANGIBLE BENEFIT, AND I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME, IS THAT IT'S GREAT TO, UH, POST, UH, YELLOW RIBBONS AND STICKERS ON OUR CARS. BUT THIS IS A TANGIBLE EXAMPLE OF HOW WE SUPPORT OUR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. HUGE FOOTPRINT HERE. AS YOU KNOW, 80,000 FOLKS, UH, WORK ABOARD, UH, FORT A BOARD, JOINT BASED SAN ANTONIO. AND ONE IN EIGHT PEOPLE IN BEXAR COUNTY ARE ASSOCIATED, UH, WITH THE MILITARY. AND THE OBJECTIVE, OF COURSE, IS TO PROVIDE, UM, MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT OR, UH, OR TO SPOUSES THAT ARE UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED. AS JEFF MENTIONED, THE BUDGET, UH, WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL, UH, 19 SMALL AMOUNT. UM, HOWEVER, I THINK IT'LL HAVE A BIG IMPACT. MY TASK, OUR TASK, MY OFFICE'S TASK WAS TO FIND, UH, VETERAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD BEST SUPPORT AND BEST, UH, SPEND THIS 150 K, UH, THIS TAXPAYER, UH, MONEY AND SHOW, UH, RESULTS, TANGIBLE RESULTS, MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS. I VETTED, THERE'S 200 VETERAN SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CITY. UH, I LOOKED AT ABOUT 10 OR 12 OF THE BEST ONES. AND WE CAME UP WITH THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UH, HIRING OUR HEROES, UH, CORPORATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. UH, THEY ALREADY PARTNER WITH JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO. THEY DON'T PARTNER SPECIFICALLY ON SPOUSES, BUT THEY PARTNER WITH VETERANS ON FINDING A MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT. UH, SAN ANTONIO, UH, LAST YEAR WAS THE FIRST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES TO BE, UH, DECLARED, EXCUSE ME, A MILITARY SPOUSE ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ZONE. UH, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UH, SAID THAT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT THAT MILITARY SPOUSES MAKE IS UNDER-REPORTED. AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HIGHLIGHTED IT, UH, HOW IMPORTANT MILITARY SPOUSES ARE, NOT ONLY TO THE READINESS OF THE SERVICE, BUT ALSO TO THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY SERVE. UH, WE RAN THE PROGRAM AND YOU HAVE THE, UH, THE SHEET IN FRONT OF YOU. YOU HAVE THE AGENDA THERE, I'M SORRY, NOT THE AGENDA, THE MEMO. AND IT WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY MANAGER. SOME SPECIFICS, UH, ON THE M O U WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU TO CONSIDER, WE'RE GONNA ASK COUNCIL TO CONSIDER. IT'S A TWO YEAR AGREEMENT. UM, UH, AGAIN, UH, IT WAS SCREENED BY OUR LEGAL TEAM WHO IS HERE WITH ME AND ALSO BY, UH, UH, OUR HR FOLKS. UH, FOCUS, AGAIN, THIS IS A NICHE MILITARY SPOUSES, UH, IT'S A SIX TO 10 WEEK FELLOWSHIP. AND I ESTIMATE, WE ESTIMATE THAT WE WILL END UP LOOKING AT, WE, THE CORPORATIONS THAT HOST, THAT, HOST THEM, 40 SPOUSES OR 40 FELLOWS AND CANDIDATES GET TO APPLY ONLINE. I'VE BEEN ASKED THIS QUESTION SEVERAL TIMES. DOES THIS COMMIT THE CITY TO FUND IT PAST TWO YEARS? NO, NOT AT ALL. IT'S A TWO YEAR PROGRAM. WE'RE GONNA TAKE A LOOK AT IT. AND WE'RE HOPING THAT THE COMMUNITY SEES THE VALUE OF THE PROGRAM, THE VALUE OF THE SPOUSES, AND THAT THE PROGRAM, UH, CONTINUES ON. BECAUSE, AGAIN, IF YOU TAKE A STRATEGIC LOOK AT THIS, [01:05:01] THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT IN CASE WE DO HAVE THOSE BRAC SCORES COME DOWN IN HERE AND TRY TO CLOSE OUR BASES. UM, THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UH, NATIONAL, UH, US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DOES A GREAT JOB OF MARKETING, UH, THIS PROGRAM THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, UH, DISPELS ALL THOSE NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH HIRING MILITARY SPOUSES, UH, THAT THEY'RE ONLY GONNA BE HERE FOR A WHILE, THAT THE, UH, AND, AND IT ALSO REINFORCES, UH, THE WORK ETHIC. UH, A LOT OF 'EM, UH, HAVE HIGHER EDUCATION LEVELS ON THE AVERAGE AND EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE, NOT ONLY EXPERIENCE AT THE CORE COMPETENCY JOB THAT THEY HAVE, BUT ALSO, UH, THEY DO GET ONE HECK OF AN EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY TRAVEL, UH, AND WHEN THEY GO AROUND THE COUNTRY AND OVERSEAS. AND SO THEY DO, THEY'RE VERY, UH, WORLDLY AND, UH, BY AND LARGE, THEY'RE A GREAT WORKFORCE. UH, RIGHT NOW THE CHAMBER IS ACTIVELY RECRUITING, UH, PARTICIPANTS FOR THE PROGRAM. WE HAVE A WAITING LIST, OR THE CHAMBER HAS A WAITING LIST. UH, THEY WILL MANAGE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE M O U, THEY WILL MANAGE THE PROGRAM AND WE, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS WILL MONITOR THE PERFORMANCE METRICS. AND AGAIN, I EMPHASIZE DEBBIE CLARK ARMY VETERAN, UH, SITTING BACK HERE. SHE IS THE POINT FOR OUR OFFICE ON THE PROGRAM, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT TAXPAYER MONEY IS EXPE IS SPENT, UM, APPROPRIATELY, AND THAT WE HAVE MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS TO SHOW HOW IT WAS SPENT. UM, HIRING OUR HEROES HAS, UH, STARTED IN OTHER STATES. UH, WE'RE THE FIRST CITY IN THE NATION TO ACTUALLY, AS A CITY, UH, PUT FUNDING FORWARD. THE STATE OF MARYLAND, UH, DID THIS PROGRAM. AND I THINK ANOTHER, UH, STATE OR THE WASHINGTON DC, THE DISTRICT DID IT. AND THEY WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL. UH, 80% OF THE SPOUSES THAT WERE HIRED BY THESE CORPORATIONS, BY THESE PARTICIPATING HOSTS, UH, NOT ONLY WERE OFFERED A JOB, BUT THEY KEPT THAT JOB FOR, UH, A YEAR AFTER, UH, THEY WERE HIRED. SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? UH, WHAT'S THE WAY AHEAD? IS, UH, THE CHAMBER, UH, IN OUR OFFICE IS PREPARED TO BEGIN IMMEDIATELY. UH, LOCKHEED MARTIN, UH, DELOITTE, OTHERS ARE FOLLOWING THE CITY'S LEAD AS SPONSORS, AS HOSTS. AND NOT ONLY THAT, THEY'RE PUTTING MONEY, AGAIN, A TANGIBLE, UH, FUNDING TOWARDS THE PROGRAM. UH, I THINK THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE, DEBBIE, WHO WAS IT THAT JUST CAME ON BOARD? THE, UH, WAS, UH, WHERE TIM USED TO WORK. OH, BOOZ ALLEN. YEAH. BOOZ ALLEN JUST ALSO CAME ON BOARD. AND SO I THINK, UH, WE'RE GONNA GET SOME, UH, SOME TRACTION. WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WHEN THE BRAC SCORES COME DOWN, WE WILL NOT BE ONLY TO, UH, BE ABLE TO SAY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT HOWEVER THE COMMUNITY WRIT LARGE AND LOOK AT THESE CORPORATIONS, UH, THAT HAVE FOLLOWED SUIT. AND AS A COMMUNITY, WE'VE EMBRACED THE MILITARY, BUT WE EMBRACED THE PROGRAM. AND AGAIN, UH, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I CONVEY THAT THIS IS A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY. IT'S NOT A LOT OF RESOURCES. HOWEVER, THE SIGNAL IS SENSE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IS THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND THE COMMUNITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UH, SUPPORTS OUR MILITARY. AND AGAIN, IT'S THE TOP EMPLOYER IN THE CITY HERE, AND THERE'S A 300 YEAR HISTORY, AND YOU ALL KNOW THIS, UH, AS WELL AS I DO. BUT WE NEED TO KEEP THAT FOOTPRINT HERE AS OUR CITY GROWS, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN THERE'S BASING DECISIONS, THAT THE FIRST PLACE THEY LOOK AT, AND THIS IS OUR GOAL TO PLAY OFFENSE, IS SAN ANTONIO. SO I RECOMMEND THE STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL, UH, UH, IN FULL COUNSEL CONSIDERATION, UH, TO THE HIRING OUR HEROES PROGRAM, UH, FOR MILITARY SPOUSES. AND, UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, I'M, I'M HERE TO ANSWER. THANK YOU, SIR. UH, COUNCILMAN VIE. GOT THE COMMENTS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. I THINK THIS IS A GREAT, UM, THANK YOU GENERAL AYALA, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE ALWAYS TASKED YOU AND THE OFFICE MILITARY AFFAIRS IS TO GO OUT AND LOOK AND SEE WHERE WAYS THAT WE CAN, UM, SECURE OURSELVES, WHERE AREAS THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY DO WE SING THE PRAISES THAT WE ARE MILITARY CITY, U S A, BUT THAT WE'RE WANT TO BE BRACK PROOF IN WHICHEVER CAPACITY WE CAN. AND THIS IS ANOTHER WAY FOR US TO, UM, I GUESS PROTECT OURSELVES OR PUT ANOTHER DEFENSE IN FRONT OF US. BUT AS YOU MENTIONED, NOT JUST DEFENSE, BUT OFFENSE. SO WE CAN GET MORE MISSIONS TO SAN ANTONIO, UM, BECAUSE WE WORK SO WELL WITH THE SPOUSES OF OUR MILITARY, UM, MEN AND WOMEN. SO I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. AND, UH, CHAIRMAN, I, I WOULD MOVE TO APPROVE THE, UH, STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THE HIRING OUR OF OUR HEROES, M O U TO GO TO FULL COUNCIL CONSIDERATION. WE GOT A MOTION, UH, AND SECOND, AND WE'VE GOT A SECOND, UH, FROM COUNCILWOMAN CAO. HARB, UM, COUNCILMAN ROCHES GOT A QUESTION. YES. ON THE PROGRAMMATICS THAT ARE [01:10:01] INCLUDED IN THE M O U, THE, THE PROGRAM SAYS IT WILL HOST FOUR TO EIGHT SPOUSES PER COHORT. I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE LOW, BUT I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS LIKE A, A REASON IT WAS ONLY FOUR TO EIGHT. IS IT COST-BASED OR, OR WHAT IS IT? BECAUSE IF WE'RE DOING THREE OF THESE, AND THAT POTENTIALLY SAYS, WELL, WE WILL DO UP TO 24 FOR $150,000, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S LIKE A PAY STRUCTURE OF $15 PER HOUR, BUT IT IS THAT THE ONLY REASON THAT IT'S SO LOW? OH, COME STAY UP HERE. YES. UH, IT'S, IT'S A MATTER OF, UH, THE MONEY, UH, THAT WE GOT 150 K OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD, UH, IS NOT ALL THE MONEY. AND, UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY THE BIGGEST, UH, LIMITATION, UH, LIMITING FACTOR. BUT DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, DEBBIE? THEY ARE ACCEPTING ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES FOR EACH COHORT. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF, UH, PLACEMENT. SO IT'S NOT A GUARANTEED SPOT. WHEN SOMEBODY DECIDES THEY WANNA PARTICIPATE IN THIS, THEY HAVE TO SEND OUT THEIR RESUME TO MULTIPLE, UH, BUSINESSES AND POTENTIAL HOSTS. THEY LOOK FOR A GOOD FIT. AND SO THAT NUMBER WILL FLUCTUATE THROUGHOUT THE DIFFERENT COHORTS. AND THAT LEADS TO MY SECOND QUESTION, UM, WHICH ON ITEM NUMBER FIVE, UNDER THREE PROGRAMMATICS, IT SAYS THAT HOSTS WILL INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FELLOWS TO DETERMINE POTENTIAL PLACEMENT. AND SO IS THERE A STANDARD SET OF QUALIFICATIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY A AGREED TO WITH THESE EMPLOYERS THAT, OR THE COMPANIES, BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE OVER 200 PARTICIPATING COMPANIES THAT WE'VE KIND OF ALREADY, UM, IDENTIFIED. UH, THAT'S THROUGHOUT THE US OVERALL. OKAY. OH, I'M SORRY. YES. HOW MANY IN SAN ANTONIO? I DON'T. OH, WE HAVE MORE THAN 20 RIGHT NOW. OKAY. UM, AND THEN THE FINAL QUESTION ARE, ARE THE COMPANIES THAT ARE GIVEN, ARE THEY BY ANY CHANCE GIVEN PREFERENCE BASED ON MAYBE, UM, JOB SKILL TRANSFERABILITY? SO WHEN THEY MOVE TO THE NEXT LOCATION, I'M ASSUMING THERE'S SOME SORT OF A PREFERENCE FOR THE COMPANIES THAT WE ALLOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS? YES, THERE IS. AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON, UH, SOME ALIGNMENT PROGRAMS AS WELL FOR POTENTIAL, UH, REMOTE EMPLOYMENT. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. UM, I, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS OTHER THAN GENERAL, AS ALWAYS, VERY IMPRESSIVE. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. GREAT WORK. UM, IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, YOUR SUPPORT, UH, THROUGH YOUR, THROUGH THE VETERAN SUPPORT ORG, UH, COMMISSION AND, UH, FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE MILITARY IN THIS CITY. UH, THEY DO APPRECIATE IT. I TALK TO THEM ALL THE TIME. SO, UH, WITH THAT GENERAL, WE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THE TABLE. UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY, AYE. HEARING NO OPPOSITION. UH, THIS ITEM PASSES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, I BELIEVE THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR, UH, OUR COMMITTEE MEETING. Y'ALL DID GREAT. UH, CONGRATULATIONS. WE DIDN'T BREAK ANYTHING. UH, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH MORE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * 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.