* 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. UM, GOOD [00:00:01] MORNING EVERYONE. WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING. TIME IS 10:09 AM THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AS WE GET SITUATED HERE, UM, IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS. UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH OUR ROLL CALL, MAYOR NUREMBERG. HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT. WE HAVE A QUORUM HERE. GREAT. UH, AND WELCOME EVERYONE. OBVIOUSLY IT'S A NEW TERM, SO A LOT OF NEW FACES HERE ON THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE. SO WANNA WELCOME OUR COLLEAGUES WHO ARE NEW TO THE COMMITTEE. UH, A LOT OF GREAT WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO HERE. UH, AND WE'LL START, [1. 19-6422 Approval of the minutes from the City Council Governance Committee Meeting on June 19, 2019.] UH, TODAY WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, UH, OF JUNE 19TH. SO MOVED. OKAY. THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 19TH. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, CLARIFICATIONS, HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM NUMBER TWO. [2. 19-6415 A briefing and possible action on a Council Consideration Request (CCR) from Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia to consider a Stop the Bleed education course for Council and Support Staff to learn bleeding control techniques. [Erik J. Walsh, City Manager]] ITEM TWO IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ADRIANA ROCHE GARCIA TO CONSIDER A STOP THE BLEED EDUCATION COURSE FOR COUNCIL AND SUPPORT STAFF TO LEARN BLEEDING CONTROL TECHNIQUES. GREAT. AND I'M NOT SURE WHO HE'S MAKING THE PRESENTATION ON ITEM TWO. DO WE HAVE STAFF? ERIC? OH, ERIC. OKAY. ERIC FLOOR IS YOURS. I'M SORRY, MAYOR. I WAS, I'M GETTING USED TO SITTING ON THE DIOCESE. I'M USED TO SITTING OVER THERE AND NOT SEEING COUNCILMAN GRO IN THE AUDIENCE. SO, UM, THANK YOU, MAYOR. THE, THE FIRST ITEM IS, UH, A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST THAT WAS SUBMITTED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARCIA, UH, TO CONSIDER STOP THE BLEED EDUCATION COURSES FOR COUNCIL SUPPORT STAFF. UM, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THIS. IN 2015, THE CITY, UM, DEPLOYED A NUMBER OF, UM, UH, SPECIFIC TRAINING EFFORTS AS WELL AS TRAUMA KITS, UM, THROUGHOUT CITY BUILDINGS. THE UNFORTUNATE REALITY IS THAT, UM, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THE PROPER, UH, EQUIPMENT AND THE NECESSARY TRAINING. UM, BUT AS TIME HAS GONE ON, UH, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO, TO, UH, ADJUST FOR THAT. UH, ON JULY 10TH OF THIS YEAR, UH, THE STRIKE SOUTH TEXAS REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL PROVIDED STOP THE BLEEDING TRAINING TO ALL OF THE DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP. ALL OF OUR EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVES, UH, SELECTED HR PERSONNEL AND OUR RISK MANAGEMENT, UH, SAFETY COORDINATORS THAT WORKED THROUGHOUT THE, THROUGHOUT OUR DEPARTMENTS. UM, UH, ON AUGUST 26TH, UH, THAT TRAINING WAS PROVIDED TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL STAFF. AND IN THE COMING WEEKS, THE SAFETY COORDINATORS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THE TRAINING, UH, FOR US IN RISK MANAGEMENT WILL BE SCHEDULING TRAINING AT THEIR RESPECTIVE WORK SITES. AND THEN I'VE ASKED THE HR DEPARTMENT AS WE DO, UH, ON A NORMAL BASIS, UH, UPDATES ON TRAINING TO INCORPORATE THIS INTO OUR TRAINING CATALOG FOR EMPLOYEES. AND OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO, UH, PURSUE THIS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT AND THAT, UH, EMPLOYEES KNOW, UH, THE BASICS OF STOP THE BLEED, UH, THE USE OF TOURNIQUETS AND, UH, AND, AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THOSE SITUATIONS. AND, AND, AND I, AND I'LL SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED IN THE TRAINING IS THAT IT'S NOT FOR, UH, IT'S INFORMATION THAT IS, THAT IS, UM, THAT, THAT ANYBODY CAN USE IN ANY TYPE OF SITUATION, NOT NECESSARILY SOME SORT OF MASS CASUALTY INCIDENT. YOU COULD COME ACROSS A VEHICLE ACCIDENT OR, UM, YOU COULD HAVE AN, AN ACCIDENT AT HOME. IT'S, I THINK IT'S GOOD FOR THE EMPLOYEES TO BE AWARE OF THAT AND, UH, AND UNDERSTAND THOSE THINGS AHEAD OF TIME. GREAT. THANK YOU, ERIC. AND THIS WAS A C C R ORIGINATED BY COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ADRIANA ROCHE GARCIA. SO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND THANK YOU ERIC FOR, UM, THAT, UH, BRIEFING. I'D LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU ALL FOR CONSIDERING THE, UM, CONSIDERATION REQUEST. I DO BELIEVE THAT IT'S AN IMPORTANT TRAINING THAT OUR EMPLOYEES AND ANYONE CAN REALLY GO THROUGH. I HAVE ALSO ASKED, UM, SAWS, C P S U T S A ZACHARY, NUMEROUS DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE A HUGE, UH, IMPACT TO CONSIDER THE TRAINING AS WELL. AND IT HAS BEEN VERY WELL RECEIVED. SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THERE, UH, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ARE FOLLOWING SUIT WITH WHAT WE'RE CONSIDERING TO DO TODAY. I'D LIKE TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY JUST REALLY QUICK TO CALL DR. RONNIE STEWART UP. AND SO HE'S GOING TO, UM, SPEAK TO US IN, IN GENERAL ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF STOP THE BLEED. DR. STEWART, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK [00:05:01] YOU, COUNCILWOMAN GARCIA. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SPONSORSHIP OF THIS ISSUE. SO, AS YOU'VE HEARD THE, UH, WE THINK THIS IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TRAINING, AND AS YOU SAID, THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN LED AND SPEARHEADED BY THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, ALONG WITH THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMTS, THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS. WE THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF BLEEDING CONTROL. AND OUR GOAL QUITE SIMPLY IS TO TURN SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE A BYSTANDER INTO AN IMMEDIATE RESPONDER. THE TRAINING, AS YOU KNOW, IS SIMPLE. IT'S STRAIGHTFORWARD, CAN BE TAUGHT IN AN HOUR. AND REALLY OUR GOAL WOULD BE TO TEACH, UH, EVERY ADULT IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THIS, UH, THIS TRAINING. BUT I THINK IT, AS, AS YOU SAID, IT STARTS WITH THE LEADERSHIP AND STARTS WITH, UH, UH, GOVERNMENTAL LEADERSHIP AND CORPORATE LEADERSHIP. WE TAUGHT ABOUT 7 75 PEOPLE AT VALERO, UH, TWO WEEKS AGO. AND SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, DR. STEWART. AND, UM, I ALSO WANT TO LET, LET EVERY ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES KNOW THAT WE HAVE SOME TOURNIQUETS TODAY FOR YOU ALL TO CARRY AROUND IN YOUR PURSES OR IN YOUR CAR OR SOMETHING IN CASE YOU NEED IT, UH, PROVIDED BY THE SOUTHWEST TEXAS, UM, UH, ADVISORY COUNCIL, SO BY STRIKE. SO I EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WEIGH IN ON THIS, BUT I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THE TIME THAT YOU ALL HAVE TAKEN TODAY. WE HAVE BEEN AFFECTED FAR TOO MANY TIMES BY SOME INCIDENTS WHERE MAYBE SOME OF US, UM, MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP NEXT TIME. SO THANK YOU DR. STEWART, AND THANK YOU MAYOR. IF I COULD SAY JUST ONE MORE TIDBIT. UH, THE OTHER THING IN ADDITION TO TRAINING IS AVAILABILITY OF THE EQUIPMENT. AND SO, SO, UH, I WOULD, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP AND CORPORATE LEADERSHIP OF SAN ANTONIO TO, TO WORK ON MAKING, UH, THE EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE, UH, IN WHERE THERE'S LARGE VENUES AND MEETING PEOPLE. AND, UH, I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, BUT I GAVE THESE THESE KITS AS, AS, UH, A CHRISTMAS PRESENTS TO ALL MY FAMILY TWO YEARS AGO. AND, UH, SO THEY'RE AVAILABLE AND, UH, WE NEED YOUR LEADERSHIP FOR THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GREAT. THANK YOU, DOCTOR. AND THANK YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. WE HAVE QUESTIONS AND, UH, COMMENTS FROM OUR COLLEAGUES. WE'LL START WITH COUNCILMAN, UH, COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I WANT TO COMMEND, UH, MY COUNCILWOMAN FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. I THINK THIS IS GREAT. I WAS WONDERING, UH, FROM THE STAFF SIDE, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED FOR MORE OF OUR, OUR STAFF BEYOND HER RECOMMENDATION FOR CITY COUNCIL. UH, I KNOW WE DO A LOT OF TRAINING ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS, UH, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DO VERY DANGEROUS WORK, UH, IN OUR CITY. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, T C I, IN WHICH, UH, ACCIDENTS CAN HAPPEN. AND OF COURSE, THIS TRAINING WOULD BE VITAL FOR MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE. SO, UH, ARE WE LOOKING AT BEYOND WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO THE COUNCIL FOR THIS CITY MANAGER? UM, YES, SIR. THAT'S WHAT I, THAT'S WHAT I WAS, UH, REFERRING TO WHEN I TALKED ABOUT INCORPORATING IT INTO THE HR AND THE TRAINING THAT WE DO FOR ALL EMPLOYEES. YES, SIR. OKAY. UH, MY QUESTION ALSO IS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN FOR COUNCIL AND STAFF IS, IS THIS MANDATORY OR OPTIONAL? WHAT IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION? THE WAY THAT THE C C R WAS WRITTEN, IT WOULD BE PREFERABLY MANDATORY. BUT WE HAD A SESSION A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE FULL PARTICIPATION. UM, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WAS THE ONLY COUNCIL MEMBER THERE, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS SCHEDULED DURING A TIME WHERE THERE WAS OTHER COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETINGS, ET CETERA, SO WE WOULD DEFINITELY MAYBE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE TRAINING FOR EVERYBODY. WE DID HAVE REPRESENTATION FROM AT LEAST ONE STAFF MEMBER FROM EVERY COUNCIL DISTRICT. SO THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR SENDING SOMEONE FROM YOUR, UH, DISTRICT. I, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. BUT I THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD DEFINITELY CONSIDER. THE C C R WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED TO HAVE ALL OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY COUNCIL STAFF TRAINED, BECAUSE WE'RE THE ONES THAT ARE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY. AND IF WE ARE TRAINED, WE'RE READY TO HELP RESPOND. COUNCILMAN, I'LL JUST ADD THAT, UM, UM, I KNOW THERE'S IT'S BUDGET TIME, THERE'S BUSY SCHEDULES, AND NOT EVERYBODY MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ATTEND, BUT IF WE NEED TO COORDINATE, UM, SMALLER WORK SESSION GROUPS TO DO GO THROUGH THE TRAINING, AS THE DOCTOR MENTIONED, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S ABOUT AN HOUR. IT'S NOT DIFFICULT. AND, AND REALLY, I THINK IT'S DESIGNED TO GIVE YOU HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE, UH, WITH SOME OF THE TOOLS THAT THEY USE. SO WE CAN, WE CAN WORK ON SCHEDULING THAT. MM-HMM. , UH, I JUST HAVE A LITTLE HESITATION ABOUT MAKING IT MANDATORY. I KNOW I HAVE STAFF THAT WOULD HAVE SOME HESITATION ABOUT WANTING TO BE FORCED TO, UH, GO THROUGH THIS TRAINING. UH, BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, ASK ABOUT THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER KURZ. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. THANK YOU. AND, UH, THANK YOU TO COUNCILMAN FOR [00:10:01] BRINGING THIS FORWARD. I GUESS, UH, I, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS SOME SOMEWHAT ALONG THE SAME LINES ABOUT IS, IS IT MANDATORY FOR C P R TRAINING? FOR ALL OF OUR, UH, WE DON'T HAVE NO MA'AM FOR ALL OF OUR CITY EMPLOYEES. NO. NOW, NOW THERE ARE SOME EMPLOYEES LIKE, UH, THE LIFEGUARDS AT THE POOLS WHERE, WHERE IT'S OBVIOUSLY REQUIRED, BUT IT'S NOT MANDATORY ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. OKAY. AND WHAT ABOUT, UM, C P R AND I, I HAD ANOTHER THOUGHT. UM, ANOTHER KIND OF TRAINING THAT HAD JUST OCCURRED TO ME, BUT MAY, MAYBE IT'S ALONG THE SAME LINES OF C P R AND IS IT FIRST AID COUNCILWOMAN? YES. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THAT. JUST BASIC, SOME, SOME BASIC FIRST AID AND EVEN, UM, THE NARCAN THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US, I DUNNO IF THAT'S THE RIGHT TERM DRUG, THE NARCAN DRUG, NARCAN. MM-HMM. . UH, I KNOW THAT THEY GAVE SOME TO ALL OF US, BUT THERE WAS REALLY NO TRAINING IN HOW ONE SHOULD MIGHT USE IT. UM, AND I KNOW I WAS VERY NERVOUS ABOUT HAVING IT WITH ME BECAUSE OF THE CHILDREN, THAT THEY MIGHT GO THROUGH A PURSE AND THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT FUN TO SHOOT IT UP EACH OTHER'S NOSES, , I MEAN, I'M SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS SMALL CHILDREN THAT MIGHT, KIDS MIGHT THINK THAT WAS, IT'S HARDER ON THE DAIS. IT SEEMS FORMAL, BUT IT'S REALLY A COMMITTEE. AND, UH, SO ANYWAY, UM, , UH, BUT I, I DID, I HAVE BEEN ON THE SCENE OF MANY INCIDENTS, UH, AND I HAVE OFTEN FELT HELPLESS BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY C P R TRAINING. I DON'T HAVE ANY FIRST AID TRAINING. I CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE THIS TRAINING. UM, BUT EVEN IN THE EVENT OF A NARCAN OR NARCAN THAT I'VE HAD TO CALL 9 1 1, UM, AND THEY IMMEDIATELY INJECTED AT THE TIME, I, I THINK AT THE TIME THEY WERE INJECTING PEOPLE, UH, AND, UM, THEY JUST, THEY GET UP AND WALK AWAY. SO, UM, IT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE, AT LEAST IF IT'S OFFERED A COUPLE TIMES, MAYBE IT IS OFFERED A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR AND WE JUST HAVEN'T PARTICIPATED. UH, EVEN ASKING THE COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE, IS THERE SOMETHING LIKE THAT ALREADY? UM, BEYOND THE, THE POLICE OFFICERS OR OBVIOUSLY THE PARAMEDICS HAVE SPECIALIZED TRAINING. WE'RE NOT TRAINING ANY OTHER EMPLOYEES, UH, ON THE USE, UH, OF NARCAN. UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE NURSES IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT THAT MAY BE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT, BUT, BUT AS AN ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORT, WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT. AND, AND I'M NOT SURE, UH, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT IN THAT IF YOU COME ACROSS SOMEONE LIKE THAT, UM, YOU DO NEED TO CALL 9 1 1 AND THE, AND THE PROPER, UH, PERSONNEL. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DO FOR FIRST AID, THERE ARE DIFFERENT EMPLOYEES AND DIFF HAVE DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITIES. I FRANKLY THINK THAT, THAT, UM, AND THE REASON WHY I ASKED HR TO DO THE STOP THE BLEED, UM, AND INCORPORATE IT IN, IN TRAINING FOR EVERYONE, UM, IS THAT WE COULD HAVE, UH, AN EMPLOYEE AT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, INJURE HIMSELF OR HAVE A COWORKER INJURED IN, IN AN ACCIDENT. AND HAVING THOSE, HAVING THOSE BASIC ELEMENTS AND, AND THE TOOLS AS THE DOCTOR MENTIONED AVAILABLE, UH, MIGHT BE A GOOD THING TO DO. GREAT. WELL, THANK YOU. AND I'LL WORK WITH MY STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TRAIN EACH, UH, THAT WE GET TRAINED BECAUSE, UM, I THINK WE JUST HAVE FAILED TO DO THAT ALL THESE YEARS. AND I KNOW THAT THEY'LL DO IT INTERNALLY. I, I THINK THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL DO IT INTERNALLY, TRAIN US WITH C P R OR I'M SURE THERE'S ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO IT REGULARLY. UM, AND I THINK EVEN FOR PARENTING CLASSES, THEY DO IT PRETTY REGULARLY. SO I'LL, I'LL LOOK INTO THAT IN OUR STAFF. MAYBE WE CAN USE OURSELVES AS AN EXAMPLE AND SEE IF OTHERS MIGHT LIKE TO, TO PARTICIPATE AS WELL, ESPECIALLY REGARDING THE NARCAN AND THE, UM, C P R. AND OF COURSE NOW THIS ONE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE DISCUSSION. I LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING THAT TO THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, SANDOVAL. MM-HMM. . THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILWOMAN FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. UM, I HAD SOME QUESTIONS ALONG THE SAME LINES AS COUNCILWOMAN, UH, GONZALEZ. I THINK IF WE ARE GOING TO, UH, OFFER THIS, UH, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO ALSO OFFER C P R AND FIRST AID. UM, THOSE CAN COME IN HANDY TOO. UM, AND I DO HAVE THE SAME CONCERN AS COUNCILMAN. UH, COURAGE IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO FAINT AT THE SIDE OF BLOOD, SO I DON'T THINK THEY'D GET THROUGH THE TRAINING . UM, SO MAYBE, UH, NOT, NOT MANDATORY FOR THOSE PEOPLE, BUT THAT'S, UH, THAT'S MY FEEDBACK. AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR BRINGING THIS BOARD. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. AND, UH, ALSO GRATEFUL TO OUR COLLEAGUE FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. OBVIOUSLY, IT'S VERY TIMELY, UH, ADDS A LAYER OF SECURITY FOR FOLKS WHO ARE, UH, WORKING HERE, BUT ALSO, UH, IMPACTED BY THE PEOPLE WHO WORK HERE. SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, COUNCILMAN ROCHE GARCIA FOR BRINGING IT FORWARD. UH, AT THIS POINT, UM, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION, UH, FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM [00:15:01] NUMBER THREE, WHICH WOULD FORWARD THIS ON THE CITY STAFF FOR EXECUTION TWO. PARDON ME. SO MOVED. ALRIGHT, I'M SECOND. OKAY. THERE'S A MOTION AND SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM NUMBER TWO. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM THREE, [3. 19-6424 A briefing and possible action on a Council Consideration Request (CCR) from Councilwoman Viagran on a City of San Antonio resolution in support of the Dream and Promise Act of 2019 [Carlos Contreras, Assistant City Manager; Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs]] ITEM THREE IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST FROM COUNCILWOMAN VIA GRANT ON THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE DREAM AND PROMISE ACT OF 2019. THANK YOU. AND, UM, JEFF, ARE YOU MAKING THE PRESENTATION? ALRIGHT. YES, MAYOR. UH, GOOD MORNING. COMMITTEE, UH, THE COUNCIL WOMAN'S. THANK YOU. THE, UH, COUNCIL WOMAN'S, UH, C C R WAS, UH, TO REQUEST THAT THE FULL COUNCIL DRAMATIC EFFECT YOU GOOD, UH, WAS THAT THE FULL COUNCIL, UH, UH, APPROVE A RESOLUTION URGING THE SENATE TO PASS WHAT THE HOUSE, US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAS ALREADY PASSED, WHICH IS THE, UH, AMERICAN DREAM AND PROMISE ACT OF 2019. UM, LEMME GO BACK A LITTLE BIT. THE, THERE'S BEEN SOME FORM OF A DREAM ACT LEGISLATION GOING BACK ALL THE WAY TO 2001. UH, CONGRESS HAS TALKED FOR MANY, MANY YEARS ABOUT TRYING TO FIND A PATH TO PERMANENT LAWFUL RESIDENT STATUS, UH, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO CAME TO THIS COUNTRY AS MINORS, THAT LEGISLATION HAS NEVER MADE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH CONGRESS. IN 2012, UH, PRESIDENT OBAMA, UH, THROUGH AN EXECUTIVE ORDER CREATED DACA, THE DEFERRED, UH, ACTION PROGRAM, WHICH ESSENTIALLY SAID THOSE WHO ARE HERE, UH, IN ESSENTIALLY THE MEETING, THE REQUIREMENTS OF WHAT THE DREAM ACT WOULD, UH, REQUIRE OF THEM TO REACH PERMANENT STATUS, WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE, UH, APPLY FOR AND BE GRANTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO STAY HERE IN, I BELIEVE, TWO YEAR BLOCKS. UM, WHEN THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, PRESIDENT TRUMP CAME INTO OFFICE, HE RESCINDED THE DACA PROGRAM, AND, UH, A SERIES OF LITIGATION ENSUED, WHICH REMAINS, UH, TIED UP IN THE COURTS RIGHT NOW. UH, AND SO, UM, THE CURRENT STATUS OF THIS IS THAT THOSE WHO HAVE APPLIED FOR AND BEEN GRANTED DACA STATUS MAY CONTINUE TO RENEW THEIR APPLICATIONS TO STAY IN THIS COUNTRY. UH, THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT ACCEPTING ANY NEW DACA APP APPLICATIONS. AND, UH, THE ISSUES OF TEMPORARY STATUS AND DEFERRED ENFORCEMENT, WHICH ARE TWO OTHER, UH, TEMPORARY, UH, CONDITIONS, UH, ARE CURRENTLY BLOCKED. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY'RE NOT TERMINATING THAT AT THIS POINT, THOSE INDIVIDUALS REMAIN, UH, SOMEWHAT IN LIMBO. HERE, UH, IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSED THE AMERICAN DREAM AND PROMISE ACT, UH, TO SUMMARIZE A VERY LENGTHY BILL IN A SHORT SENTENCE. IT ESSENTIALLY ESTABLISHES THAT PATH TO PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATUS, UH, FOR DACA RECIPIENTS. IT WAS SENT OVER TO THE SENATE, UH, THE FOLLOWING DAY, AND IT HAS REMAINED IN THE SENATE. UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, THE COUNCILWOMAN REQUESTED A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT TO URGE THE SENATE TO ACT. UM, DACA IS ALREADY INCLUDED IN OUR FEDERAL, UH, LEGISLATIVE AGENDAS THAT THE COUNCIL HAS PASSED. IT WAS BOTH IN THE 115TH AND 116TH, UH, URGING ESSENTIALLY CONGRESS TO ACT, TO CREATE A, A PATH FOR, UH, PERMANENT STATUS. UH, BUT THE BILL REMAINS, UH, IN LIMBO IN THE SENATE. AND IF YOU BELIEVE THE, UH, NEWS COVERAGE ABOUT AT THE SENATE IS NOT INCLINED TO MOVE AT THIS POINT. UH, AND SO OUR RECOMMENDATION, UH, IS TO APPROVE, UH, UH, THIS ISSUE TO BRING A RESOLUTION TO COUNCIL. IT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE I G R COMMITTEE LAST WEEK, AND THE COMMITTEE AGREED, UH, TO, UH, BYPASS THE COMMITTEE PROCESS AS A NEXT STEP AND TO BRING THIS STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL. IF YOU ALL AGREE, UH, THERE'S TWO REASONS FOR THAT. NUMBER ONE, THE SENATE RETURNS SEPTEMBER 9TH, SO THERE'S SOME TIMELINESS TO IT. AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE SECOND REASON IS WHAT I MENTIONED, THAT THE, THE ISSUE HAS BEEN VETTED AND ALREADY APPROVED AND ADOPTED AS PART OF OUR FEDERAL PROGRAM. THIS, LIKE YOUR, UH, GUN RESOLUTION A FEW WEEKS AGO, WOULD GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEND A NEW, UH, COMMUNICATION TO ALL OF OUR MEMBERS, UH, WITH THE RESOLUTION ATTACHED, UH, URGING THEM TO TAKE ACTION. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JEFF. AND THIS WAS BROUGHT TO BY OUR COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN. SO COUNCIL MEMBER, IF YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE THE FLOOR. AND, HELLO, MAYOR AND COLLEAGUES, THIS IS FUN ON, ON THIS SIDE RIGHT HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THIS, UM, FOR CONSIDERATION. AND ALSO TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO SIGNED THE C C R. THANK YOU FOR SIGNING THE C C R. I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN IN OUR FEDERAL AGENDA FOR SOME TIME NOW. AND [00:20:01] THE REASON SPECIFICALLY WE WANTED TO DO THIS HR SIX IS BECAUSE WE HAVE SOMETHING NOW. WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT THE HOUSE HAS MOVED FORWARD. SO WE, AGAIN, NEED TO ACT, AND WE, UM, HAVE DONE, WE'VE DONE SO MUCH, YOU ALL KNOW THIS, WITH OUR MIGRANT RESOURCE CENTER, HOW WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK FOR THAT REIMBURSEMENT FOR OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. BUT AGAIN, MAYOR, UM, COLLEAGUES, THIS IS ANOTHER WAY THAT WE SHOW ARE TRYING TO DO, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT OUR DREAMERS AND OUR DACA RECIPIENTS ARE FULLY ACTIVE AND ENGAGE RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR DAY TO DAY, AND NOT ONLY BEING, UH, SEPARATED FROM THEIR FAMILIES, BUT ALSO THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF BIGOTRY THAT IS COMING FROM, UH, THE, THE OVAL OFFICE AND SOME ADMINISTRATION. NOW, IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THEIR CHOICE TO COME, BUT THEIR PARENTS SACRIFICED EVERYTHING TO MIGRATE TO THE UNITED STATES TO OFFER A BETTER PATH OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY. AND I THINK THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A TIMELY MATTER BECAUSE ANOTHER REASON YET TO ACT IS THAT YESTERDAY, TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON, FILED A MULTI-STATE AMICUS BRIEF WITH THE US SUPREME COURT TO TERMINATE THE DACA PROGRAM. BUT THAT ACTION, IN MY OPINION, IS NOT THE TRUE SPIRIT OF TEXAS OR NOR OF TEXANS BECAUSE WE USED TO BE A PART OF MEXICO IN OUR HISTORY AS WELL. AND OF, WE KNOW THAT ALSO FORMER GOVERNOR, UM, GOVERNOR RICK PERRY IN 2001, SIGNED THE ORIGINAL TEXAS DREAM ACT TO ALLOW IN INSTATE TUITION FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE LIVED IN TEXAS FOR THREE YEARS. AND EVEN, UM, IS STILL CONTINUING TO SAY THAT THE CHILDREN WHO COME INTO OUR STATE FOR NO OTHER REASON, THAT, THAT THEY'VE BEEN BROUGHT HERE, THAT THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN, I DON'T, UM, AND WE DENY EDUCATION. THEY, HE DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE A HEART IF WE DENY THEM THEIR EDUCATION. AND OF COURSE, BACK IN FEBRUARY OF 2018, FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH DEFENDED DREAMERS, UH, DURING A SPEECH PRESSING THE CONGRESS TO FIND A SOLUTION. SO I SAY THOSE THINGS BECAUSE THIS IS A BIPARTISAN SOLUTION THAT WE CAN WORK ON. AND, UM, I DO ASK FOR YOUR, ALSO YOU ALL TO MOVE THIS, AFFIRM THIS, MOVE THIS TO FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR FULL DIS DISCUSSION NEXT WEEK. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, COLLEAGUES. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER VIRON, UH, WE HAVE, UH, SOME STATEMENTS FROM OUR COLLEAGUES ON THIS ITEM. SO WE'LL BEGIN WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN VERAN FOR BRINGING THIS UP. AND IT IS VERY TIMELY, UH, I THINK THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS, AND I THINK VERY CONSISTENT WITH, UH, THE ACTIONS WE'VE TAKEN ON THE COUNCIL. UH, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING IT. I I JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF QUESTION ABOUT THE PROCESS. WOULD IT BE A SIMILAR RESOLUTION AS WE DID WITH GUN RESOLUTION? AND WHAT DOES THE LANGUAGE LOOK LIKE? UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO CAN ANSWER. UH, JEFF, IS IT, UM, WILL WE BE DRAFTING SOMETHING OR, UH, IS IT ACTION? YES. AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE DRAFTED SOMETHING, UH, WHICH WE'LL DISTRIBUTE. UH, OKAY. OKAY. YOU'VE ALREADY GOT IT IN HAND, SO IT'S, GOT IT. OKAY. GOOD. UH, YES, IT WOULD BE THE SAME PROCESS IF, IF THIS COMMITTEE AGREES, UH, TO, TO, UH, BYPASS, GOING BACK TO I G R, IT WOULD BE PLACED ON THE FIRST AVAILABLE COUNSEL AGENDA. THE RESOLUTION LANGUAGE WOULD BE THERE, AND THEN YOU AS A BODY WOULD, UH, TO CONSIDER IT. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING THE RESOLUTION. UM, I KNOW THE MAYOR AND I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY, GOSH, MAYBE A YEAR NOW, MAYBE LONGER, UM, THAT WE MET WITH SOME DACA STUDENTS, UH, FROM U T S A. AND THEY WERE SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE GROUP OF KIDS, UH, AND I THINK THAT THEY DESERVE OUR FULL SUPPORT. UM, SO, UH, AND WE KNOW THAT SOME OF OUR UNIVERSITIES ARE PROVIDING SERVICES AS WELL, UH, FOR OUR DACA STUDENTS. SO, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCILWOMAN VERAN FOR BRINGING THIS TO OUR COMMITTEE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I, I SUPPORT THE COUNCIL MOVING FORWARD ON THIS AND SUPPORTING THIS AS A RESOLUTION. I THINK IT'S UNCONSCIONABLE FOR US AS A CITY AND FOR THIS STATE AND THIS COUNTRY TO SAY TO YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN NOW IN THEIR LATE TEENS OR EARLY TWENTIES, WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE AMERICANS BECAUSE THEY'VE LIVED HERE, THEY'VE GONE TO OUR SCHOOLS. THEY, THEY SHARE THE SAME COMMUNITY THAT ALL THE REST OF US DO. TO SAY TO THEM SOMETIME THAT, OH, WELL, YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO A COUNTRY YOU HAVEN'T LIVED IN, IN 10 OR 15 OR 20 YEARS. YOU NEED TO GIVE UP YOUR DREAM OF BEING AN [00:25:01] AMERICAN. UH, AND I THINK THAT'S UNCON UNCONSCIONABLE. THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED HARD TO SHOW THEY DESERVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE, SHOULD BE GIVEN THAT OPPORTUNITY. THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAS RECOGNIZED THAT. IT'S UNFORTUNATE THE UNITED STATES SENATE HAS NOT, BUT I THINK IT IS UP TO, UH, OUR COMMUNITY TO STAND UP AND SAY, WE BELIEVE THESE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN SHOULD BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS, AND SOMEDAY AN OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME CITIZENS. WE'RE NOT GIVING ANYBODY AMNESTY. WE'RE NOT SAYING YOU CAN BECOME A CITIZEN NEXT WEEK. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO EARN THAT AS ANYONE WHO COMES INTO THIS COUNTRY CAN. BUT WE'VE GOTTA GIVE THEM THE PATHWAY TO EARN THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN GERRAN FOR BRINGING THIS, UH, FORWARD. UM, AND WHEN I HEAR YOU SPEAK, I THINK THIS, UH, THIS RESOLUTION IS NOT ENOUGH THAT THERE SHOULD BE MORE THAT, THAT WE CAN DO. SO THANK YOU. UM, SO AT THE VERY LEAST, I, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE RESOLUTION. UM, BUT I DO HAVE, UH, JUST SOME QUESTION ON THE TIMING, UH, JEFF. SO, UH, SO THIS CAN GO TO I G R, WE CAN MOVE THIS TO I G R. THEY REVIEW IT, AND THEN IT WOULD GO TO COUNCIL. AND THEN WHAT'S THE TIMING IF THAT HAPPENS? UM, NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION, BUT, UH, SO I WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO MOVE FORWARD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WILL IT GO STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL? YES. IS THAT THE PROPOSAL? OKAY. TYPICALLY, WE WOULD GO THROUGH I G R SINCE IT'S PART OF OUR FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. MM-HMM. , BUT, UH, I G R AND THE FULL COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN ON THIS ISSUE IN GENERAL. UH, AND THEREFORE, I THINK THE COMMITTEE AGREED LAST WEEK THAT IT DIDN'T NEED TO GO BACK TO I G R AND SLOW THINGS DOWN, THAT IT COULD MOVE STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL. SO IF THAT'S WHAT THIS BODY DECIDES, THAT, THAT WOULD BE OUR PLAN. OKAY. SO I MOVE THAT WE PUT THE RESOLUTION ON THE NEXT, UH, AVAILABLE COUNCIL AGENDA, THE WOMAN. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ROJA GARCIA. THE NAMES ARE MIXED UP 'CAUSE OF THE CHAIR, SO THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN VIAGRA FOR BEING HERE FOR YOUR PROPOSAL. I, UM, AM ALSO IN SUPPORT OF MOVING THIS FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL. AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR, UM, YOUR BRAVERY IN BRINGING THIS UP TO THE FULL COUNCIL. AND I APPRECIATE YOUR LEAD, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, THE DISCUSSION WITH OUR FELLOW COUNCIL COLLEAGUES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER R GARCIA. AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GRO FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN A CITY LIKE OURS, THIS IS A NO-BRAINER, UH, FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE REPRESENTED BY THE PEOPLE. UM, AND IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME, UH, I SUPPOSE THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERALS ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS, UH, HERE IN THIS STATE, BUT THEY'RE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF ROUGHLY 90% OF AMERICANS OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED A LEGAL PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR CHILDREN, UM, WHO HAVE ARRIVED AT THIS COUNTRY THROUGH NO CHOICE OF THEIR OWN, HAVE SPENT THEIR ENTIRE LIVES HERE, WHO HAVE BEEN STUDENTS, WHO HAVE BEEN, UM, WORKERS, WHO HAVE BEEN DOCTORS, WHO HAVE BEEN ATTORNEYS, WHO HAVE BEEN OUR NEIGHBORS, AND WHO HAVE BEEN TAXPAYERS. AND SO, UH, I SALUTE THOSE WHO ARE WORKING, UH, ACROSS PARTY LINES TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE GREAT TRADITION OF AMERICAN DREAM, UH, REMAINS ACHIEVABLE TO ANYONE WHO'S, UH, WILLING TO BE PART OF OUR SOCIETY IN A PRODUCTIVE WAY, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT, UH, DREAMERS ARE DOING. UM, AND SO, UH, WANT TO ADD, AND I'M PROUD THAT SAN ANTONIO WILL ADD OUR COLLECTIVE VOICE TO THIS QUICKLY AS IT GOES TO, UH, THE SENATE HERE, HOPEFULLY EARLY SEPTEMBER. UH, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THOUGH, THAT, UH, IMMIGRANTS ARE WHAT MAKE AMERICA STRONG. I DON'T THINK WE CAN SAY THAT ENOUGH, ESPECIALLY THAT IN THIS DAY AND AGE, UH, A FULL 40% OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES HAVE BEEN STARTED BY CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS. THESE ARE FOLKS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, BEING ABLE TO STAY HERE AND CONTRIBUTE TO OUR COMMUNITIES. UH, SO THEY ARE, UH, OUR NEIGHBORS, THEY'RE OUR TAXPAYERS, AND WE DESERVE TO BE, UH, WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR THEM. SO, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER VIRON, FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, PASSING THIS AS A FULL COUNSEL. ALRIGHT. UM, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM NUMBER THREE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. SO THAT'LL APPEAR ON THE NEXT, UH, CITY COUNCIL AGENDA. ITEM NUMBER FOUR. [4. 19-6461 A briefing and possible action on a Council Consideration Request (CCR) from Councilwoman Gonzales on the development of a language access plan and process [Carlos Contreras, Assistant City Manager; Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs]] ITEM FOUR IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST FROM COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN AND PROCESS. [00:30:02] JEFF MORNING. HI. THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, UH, THE COUNCIL WOMAN'S, UH, UH, C C R WAS ESSENTIALLY FOR THE CITY TO REVIEW AND, UH, DISCUSS THE CREATION OF A LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN TO ENSURE THAT THE CITY PROVIDES HIGH QUALITY SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH, UH, SENSORY DISABILITIES. THERE ARE, UH, TWO, WE'RE, WE'RE GOVERNED NOT ONLY BY A DESIRE TO ENSURE THAT WE BREAK DOWN ANY BARRIERS TO, TO FOLKS PARTICIPATING WITH OUR CITY GOVERNMENT, WE'RE ALSO GOVERNED BY TWO FEDERAL LAWS, UH, RELATED TO THIS TOPIC. NUMBER ONE, THE, UH, TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT MANDATES THAT ANYONE THAT RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDING, UH, MUST PROVIDE INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, MEANINGFUL ACCESS, UH, TO ANY OF THOSE FEDERAL, UH, CONDUCTED OR FUNDED PROGRAMS. AND THEN, PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS TITLE TWO OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, WHICH REQUIRES PUBLIC ENTITIES TO TAKE STEPS TO ENSURE THAT COMMUNICATIONS, UH, WITH INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ARE AS EFFECTIVE AS OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH EVERYONE ELSE. SO, WITH THAT SAID, UH, WE INTERNALLY HAVE A, UH, DISABILITY ACCESS OFFICE. I THINK MOST OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH DEBBIE VER HEADS THAT UP. SHE'S HERE TODAY. UH, SHE WORKS CLOSELY, UM, WITH OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY AS WELL. UH, WE HAVE A DISABILITY ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT, UH, YOU AS A COUNCIL APPOINT MEMBERS TO, AND THEY PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND INPUT AND SO FORTH THAT OUR DISABILITY ACCESS OFFICE, UH, USES. AND WE HAVE A, A WEBPAGE ON THE, ON THE WEBSITE THAT SUMMARIZES ALL THE VARIOUS SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, UH, TO INDIVIDUALS. UH, A FEW OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE, UH, MANY OF WHICH ARE, ARE JUST IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. NUMBER ONE, IN TERMS OF THE LIVE BROADCAST OF COUNCIL MEETINGS OF A AND B SESSIONS, WE HAVE CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE FOR THOSE, UH, UH, WITH HEARING DISABILITIES, UH, THAT CAN READ THE TRANSCRIPT. UH, AND WE HAVE SECOND, UH, AUDIO PRODUCTION, MEANING, UH, YOU CAN CLICK A BUTTON ON YOUR REMOTE AND, AND GET A LIVE SPANISH INTERPRETATION OF OUR MEETINGS AS WELL. UH, WE ALSO, UH, HAVE CONTRACTED WITH A FIRM TO, UH, PROVIDE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION. UH, YOU SEE THAT UP IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE SCREEN. WE PUT THAT ON THE WEBSITE, UH, FOR A AND B SESSIONS AS WELL. SO SOME INDIVIDUALS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE CLOSED CAPTIONING. UH, AND IN THOSE CASES, WE HAVE THE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION AVAILABLE TO THEM. UH, AND THEN, AS YOU KNOW, UH, AND IT WAS A COUNCIL INITIATIVE, UH, WE, WE'VE CREATED A, A SPANISH LANGUAGE LIAISON WITHIN MY OFFICE, CARLOS, WHO MANY OF YOU KNOW WELL, UH, HE LED A REVIEW OF CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, IN TERMS OF SPANISH ACCESS A FEW YEARS AGO, AND MADE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS RESULTING FROM THAT. UH, WE CONTRACTED WITH A FIRM THAT TRANSLATES ALL, UH, COUNCIL MATERIALS, A AND B SESSION MATERIALS, AND ALL THE BACKUP MATERIALS TO SPANISH IN ADVANCE OF MEETINGS AND POSTS THOSE, UH, AND WE POST THOSE TO THE WEBSITE. UH, WE ALSO HAVE LIVE INTERPRETATION AT OUR A AND B SESSIONS. SO SOMEONE CAN COME HERE, UH, WHO SPEAKS ONLY SPANISH, UH, BORROW A HEADSET, LISTEN TO A LIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE MEETING. UH, IN MANY CASES, THE INTERPRETERS WILL SIT DOWN WITH AN INDIVIDUAL AND DO A ONE-ON-ONE INTERPRETATION WITH THEM. AND THEN WE, UH, HAVE A COUPLE OF BLOCKS IN OUR, UH, TELEVISION PROGRAMMING ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, WHERE WE RUN, UH, PROGRAMMING IN SPANISH, PRIMARILY THE THURSDAY COUNCIL MEETINGS, WEDNESDAY B SESSIONS, UH, AS A RE-AIR OF THE COUNCIL MEETING IN SPANISH. UH, SO, UM, ALREADY UNDERWAY WAS AN EFFORT BY THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND A, AND A MULTI-DEPARTMENTAL GROUP TO REVIEW, UH, THE SIGN LANGUAGE, UH, AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROVIDED BY VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY ANY AREAS THAT WE, UH, COULD ENHANCE. UH, I THINK IT FALLS RIGHT IN LINE, I BELIEVE, WITH WHAT THE COUNCILMAN COUNCILMAN IS REQUESTING HERE, WHICH IS A REVIEW AND POTENTIAL ACTION PLAN THAT, THAT WOULD RESULT FROM THAT. UM, SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT EFFORT'S UNDERWAY AND, AND OUR INTENT WOULD BE TO IMPLEMENT IMMEDIATELY, UH, WHERE WE SEE IMPROVEMENTS, I'LL, I'LL NOTE THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE NOTICED IS, UH, THE USE OF THE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED VIDEO BROADCAST AND, AND LIVESTREAM IS NOT HEAVILY UTILIZED. SO A HEAVIER COMMUNICATIONS EFFORT, UH, IN THAT AREA IS WARRANTED. AND SIMILARLY, WE OFTEN HAVE, UH, RECEIVED REQUESTS FOR SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS FOR ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS, UH, MEETINGS WITH COUNCIL OFFICES. UH, WHEN ERIC DID HIS, UH, LISTENING TOUR AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS, HIS TERM HERE, WE HAD SEVERAL REQUESTS FROM INDIVIDUALS TO HAVE INTERPRETERS AT MEETINGS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. AND SO THAT ONE-ON-ONE SERVICE LEVEL, UH, ACCESS [00:35:01] IS A, IS AN IMPORTANT AREA OF FOCUS FOR US AS WELL. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND, UH, DEFER TO THE ATTORNEYS AND, AND DEBBIE FOR OTHERS. THANK YOU, JEFF. THIS WAS, UH, SPONSORED BY OUR COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. SO, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND, UM, BEFORE I BEGIN SOME OF MY REMARKS, WE DO HAVE A GUEST HERE, MS. GLORIA. ARE, ARE YOU HERE, MS. GLORIA? UM, AND SHE HAS BEEN AN ADVOCATE FOR, UH, LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR A LONG TIME. SO GLORIA, UH, IF YOU COULD, WE'RE GONNA GIVE TWO MINUTES OR IF, UM, I COULD JUST KEEP THE TIME. AND IF YOU COULD TELL US, UH, SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT YOU'VE HAD, UH, AND THE DIFFICULTY YOU'VE HAD IN THE COMMUNITY GETTING ACCESS FOR YOUR FAMILY. YES. OKAY. MY NAME'S GLORIA RODRIGUEZ. NICE TO SEE YOU ALL. I'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE MY KIDS WERE BORN IN 74. THEY'RE 44 YEARS OLD NOW, AND WE'RE STILL HAVING TO FIGHT TO GET INTERPRETERS AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. UM, ANY, ANY KIND OF ENTITY IN THE CITY, UH, BEAR COUNTY, THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE. BUT THEY DO THE SAME THING. AND WE JUST, WELL, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN MY SON OR DAUGHTER GO TO THE BANK, THE BANKS WILL PROVIDE SOMEONE WHO EXPLAINS THE WHOLE CONTRACT. UM, YOU GO TO COURT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE AN INTERPRETER THERE EXPLAINING TO YOU WHAT'S GOING ON, WHICH RARELY HAPPENS. UM, THEY SIT IN JAIL FOR THREE TO SIX MONTHS WITH NO INTERPRETERS, NO LAWYERS, UH, AND A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE GO HOSPITALS, DOCTORS, JUST REFUSE. AND LIKE I TELL YOU, I'VE BEEN FIGHTING THIS FOR A LONG TIME. AND FINALLY SOMETHING HAPPENED TO US THAT I THOUGHT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. ALL RIGHT. MY SON-IN-LAW WENT TO THE HOSPITAL, UH, TO AN EMERGENCY. 'CAUSE HE HAD AN ALLERGIC TO SOMETHING HE HAD TAKEN, AND THEY DID NOT PROVIDE AN INTERPRETER. WELL, THEY PUT IN HIS SLEEP, AND WHEN HE WOKE UP, HE HAD HAD SURGERY ON HIS PRIVATE PARTS. NO ONES TALKED TO HIM, NOBODY TO SIGN PAPERS FOR HIM TO SIGN OR ANYTHING. AND IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WELL, IT WAS A MISTAKE. WELL, THAT WAS A BIG MISTAKE. A LOT OF THE OTHER M D ORIGINALS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING. WE'RE VOTING, UH, WE'D LIKE SOMETHING AT THE VOTING BOOTH THAT CAN EXPLAIN TO THE DEAF PERSON. THINGS ARE GOING ON, EVERYTHING THAT WE DO THEY WANNA DO. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE MS. OZ THAT THIS IS HAPPENING. I LIVE TO SEE IT, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I'M GETTING UP THERE AND IT'S THEIR TURN TO TAKE OVER. BUT I'M GLAD YOU'RE THERE. I'M GLAD YOU'RE STILL THERE PUSHING IT. SO I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING Y'ALL CAN DO AND THE ORGANIZATIONS ALSO. SO THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR. AND, UM, I, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE PLAN. ONE OF THE, UM, CONCERNS I'VE SEEN IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY IS THAT WHILE WE ARE COMPLIANT WITH SOME OF THE RULES, UH, AND A D A COMPLIANT PER THE LAW, THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE THAT ARE RELEGATED TO SECOND CLASS CITIZENS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT FULLY ABLE-BODIED. AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE'RE LOOKING TO CORRECT IN THIS. UM, WE HAVE HAD MANY PROBLEMS GETTING INTERPRETERS FOR SOME OF OUR MEETINGS, UM, THAT THERE WASN'T ANYBODY ON STAFF, UH, TO DO THAT, THAT THEY WERE NOT READILY AVAILABLE. UH, AND SO, UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING A MORE SYSTEMIC RESOLUTION TO WHAT WE KNOW ARE DISABILITIES. WE KNOW THAT WHEN, UH, THERE WAS DISCUSSIONS ABOUT CITY HALL AND ABOUT IT NOT BEING ACCESSIBLE, IT IS ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE. BUT PART OF THE REASON FOR THE $38 MILLION RENOVATION, OR NOW MAYBE MORE, UH, WAS BECAUSE THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE USING WHEELCHAIRS THAT DIDN'T FEEL THAT THEY HAD FULL ACCESS TO THE FACILITY HAVING TO GO DOWN THROUGH THE BASEMENT, AND, UH, NOT BEING ABLE TO USE THE FRONT DOOR. SO WE KNOW THAT THIS IS TRUE OF OUR SENSORY DISABLED CITIZENS AS WELL, THAT, UH, IF THEY CANNOT COMMUNICATE FULLY, THEN THEY DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO CONTRIBUTE. SO I, I BELIEVE THAT WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB WITH OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATION AND HAVING THAT MORE UNIVERSALLY IMPLEMENTED, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THIS IMPLEMENTED AS WELL. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, I GUESS I HAVE A QUESTION TO THE STAFF. HOW IS A LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN BEING IMPLEMENTED IN OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS OR OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS NOW THAT ARE BEING BROADCAST? WE HAVE A, UH, AN ON DEMAND, UH, SERVICE AVAILABLE. I, I, I FAILED TO MENTION ALSO, UM, FOR ANY COUNCIL [00:40:01] MEETING OR, OR PUBLIC MEETING OR PRESS CONFERENCE, UM, WE POST ALL ON AGENDAS THAT WITH 48 HOURS NOTICE, WE CAN PROVIDE AN INTERPRETER THERE. NOW, IT'S NOT IN PRACTICE, 48 HOURS. TYPICALLY, WE CAN, IF WE GET NOTICE DAY OF BEFORE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD, WE CAN HAVE SOMEONE THERE. UH, ON THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE PIECE, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE DEPLOYING RIGHT NOW AND ON DEMAND SERVICE. SO IF ANYONE, UH, ASKS IN ADVANCE, UH, FOR THERE TO BE INTERPRETATION, WE CAN HAVE IT THERE LIVE. WE CAN HAVE THE MEETING INTERPRETED. UH, WE CAN ALSO PRODUCE AFTERWARDS, UH, AN INTERPRETED VIDEO OR A SECTION OF THE MEETING THAT THEY WANTED INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED UPON REQUEST, ESSENTIALLY, WHY AREN'T WE INCORPORATING IT JUST AS A STANDARD PRACTICE THAT WE ALSO HAVE SUBTITLES IN SPANISH, AND THAT WE HAVE IT AVAILABLE WITHIN, LET'S SAY, SIX OR EIGHT OR 24 HOURS TO LISTEN TO IT, UH, WITH SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION. I MEAN, WE, WE WERE SAYING WE WANTED TO MAKE OURSELVES MORE VISIBLE TO THE COMMUNITY. UH, WE WANTED THEM TO BE PART OF THESE SESSIONS. AND I WOULD THINK THAT WE WANT TO DO THAT AS FULLY AS WE CAN. WE'RE DOING IT AT COUNCIL, UH, A SESSIONS AND B SESSIONS. AND I THINK IT'S, IT IS AN ADDED EXPENSE, BUT IT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE DOING AT EVERY COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETING AS WELL. I, I THINK THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS, WE, WE HAD APPROACHED IT AS AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE, UH, AS A PILOT EFFORT. AS YOU KNOW, WE JUST BEGAN BROADCASTING THE COUNCIL, UH, COMMITTEE MEETINGS. AND I, AND I THINK THERE'S A DESIRE TO SEE WHAT, UH, DEMAND AND NEED THERE WAS, UH, FOR THE A AND B SESSION. UH, BROADCASTS ARE, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST YEAR, OUR, OUR NUMBER OF, UH, SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED, UH, REQUESTS FOR A SESSION WAS, WAS NONE. AND FOR B SESSION WAS ONE OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. NOW, I THINK AS WE DO MORE TO PROMOTE, WE'LL HAVE MORE PEOPLE, UH, RECOGNIZING THE SERVICE AVAILABLE TO THEM AND HOPING TO, AND HOPEFULLY UTILIZING IT. BUT THE, THE IDEA, INSTEAD OF ROLLING IT OUT FOR THE, UH, DOZEN OR SO COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETINGS THAT WE ALSO HAVE EACH MONTH, WE WERE GONNA OFFER IT, UH, AS REQUESTED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL ERIC, COUNCIL MEMBER SAMUEL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH COUNCILWOMAN FOR, FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. I HAVE A COUPLE OF, UH, QUESTIONS. UM, SO JEFF, MAYBE I, I MISSED SOMETHING. SO WE ARE ALREADY PROVIDING ON DEMAND, UM, SERVICES, UH, FOR, FOR, UH, HEARING IMPAIRED INDIVIDUALS. WE ARE, SO FOR A COUNCIL, FOR AN A AND B SESSION, OR CITIZENS TO BE HEARD WITH ADVANCED NOTICE, WE, UH, WE HAVE A CONTRACT TO HAVE A SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER HERE. THAT CONTRACT, BY THE WAY, EXTENDS TO ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS AND COUNCIL OFFICES. SO IF THERE'S A NEED IDENTIFIED, WE CAN, YOU CAN USE THE SAME CONTRACT TO HAVE A SERVICE THERE FOR A AND B SESSIONS. WE ARE ALSO, UH, PROVIDING A SIGNED INTERPRETATION OF THE MEETING AND POSTING IT TO THE WEBSITE AFTER THE MEETING SO THAT IT'S ACCESSIBLE ONLINE. OKAY. SO, UM, WHAT WOULD WE DO DIFFERENTLY, I GUESS, NOW THAT THE C C R IS MOVING FORWARD? WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF A REVIEW. ACTUALLY, THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HAD INITIATED IT, UH, UM, SOME TIME AGO, UH, TO, TO IDENTIFY SOME AREAS THAT WE MIGHT ENHANCE THE SERVICES. SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE ANSWERS YET. OKAY. BUT THE IDEA IS THAT WE'RE GONNA COMPLETE THAT REVIEW AND, UH, AND THEN MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS. OKAY. AND SO, WILL YOU, IS THE REVIEW ONLY FOR, UH, SIGN LANGUAGE OR WILL IT ALSO BE FOR OTHER LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCIES? CUR, CURRENTLY IT'S FOR SIGN LANGUAGE, CORRECT. DO YOU WANT TO ANSWER, LIZ? THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN, IT'S A BROADER REVIEW. OKAY, GREAT. SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY, UH, SPOKEN LANGUAGE, ACCESSIBILITY FOR DIFFERENT SPOKEN LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY BEYOND SPANISH AS WELL, IN ADDITION TO THE SENSORY DISABILITIES THAT ARE OUTLINED IN THE C C R. OKAY. GREAT. UM, AND THEN YOU'LL COME FORWARD WITH RECOMMENDATIONS? YES, MA'AM. SO WILL THERE BE, I GUESS, WILL IT BE RECOMMENDED FOR LIKE AN ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE OR FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, BEST PRACTICES? WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? I THINK THE CONSENSUS, IT'LL BE A BROAD RANGE OF RECOMMENDATIONS SUCH THAT THERE WILL BE SOME THAT ARE UNILATERALLY ABLE TO BE IMPLEMENTED AS WE GO AND QUICK FIXES. AND THEN TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE ARE BROADER OR REQUIRE SOME POLICY DIRECTION, THEN WE COME BACK TO YOU ALL FOR THOSE AS WELL AS ANY THAT POTENTIALLY HAVE ANY COST. [00:45:01] OKAY. OF COURSE. ALRIGHT. UH, IF I, IF I MAY, COUNSEL, I WANTED TO EMPHASIZE AS LET'S POINT IT OUT. IF WE FIND THINGS THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT THAT DON'T REQUIRE COUNSELING ACTION, OF COURSE WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT, PARTICULARLY IF THEY HAVE, UH, IMPACT ON COMPLIANCE. OKAY, GREAT. SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM, UH, WORKING TOGETHER ON THAT. UM, AND THEN I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR, REPRESENT OUR LIAISON TO THE DISABILITY ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. I'M SORRY, I FORGOT HER NAME ALREADY. DEBORAH SHARP. DEBBIE. DEBBIE. OH, OKAY. HI, I'M DEBORAH SHARP AND I'M THE ACCESSIBILITY COMPLIANCE MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND I OVERSEE THE DISABILITY ACCESS OFFICE. AWESOME, DEBORAH, THANKS FOR JOINING US, UH, TODAY. UM, SO ONE THING THAT I'LL BE DOING AT MY COMMITTEE, I CHAIR A COMMITTEE CALLED COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY IS MM-HMM. , ASK FOR A REPORT FROM YOUR, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, TO COME FORWARD AND JUST TELL US WHAT THEY'VE BEEN UP TO AND SORT OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM FOR, FOR ISSUES LIKE THIS TO ALSO COME, UH, TO COME FORWARD. MM-HMM. , UH, OFFHAND, IS THERE ANY, UH, ISSUES THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF? UM, THE COMMITTEE, BASICALLY WHAT THE WAY THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING THIS PAST YEAR IS THEY'VE BEEN ASKING US TO PROVIDE PRESENTATIONS FROM DIFFERENT TOPICS THAT THEY FIND IMPORTANT. AND THEN THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON MEMOS, UH, TO FORWARD TO EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP, UM, ON THOSE TOPICS. SO ONE OF THE MOST RECENT ONES IN THE SPRING WAS ABOUT DOCKLESS VEHICLES. UM, THEY'VE BEEN TALKING SIDEWALKS AND SOME OF THE SIDEWALK CONNECTIVITY RECENTLY. AND, UM, UPCOMING, UH, PRESENTATION NEXT MONTH IS GONNA BE ON ADULT CHANGING STATIONS. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. YOU'RE WELCOME. UM, MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT, I GUESS I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE MOTION WOULD BE FOR, FOR THIS, THAT WE GET A REPORT BACK AT ONE OF OUR COMMITTEES. IS THAT, YEAH. COUNCILWOMAN, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? UM, SO IT LOOKS LIKE THERE IS A THANK YOU. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A PLAN BEING INTIMATE IMPLEMENTED, AND WE WOULD NEED TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO THE COMMITTEE. UH, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN, HOW LONG DO YOU NEED TO HAVE THE PLAN FULLY IMPLEMENTED? BECAUSE I, I DO HAVE SOME, UH, QUESTIONS JUST BEFORE WE MAKE THE MOTION. UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS IS THAT ABLE-BODIED PEOPLE DON'T REQUIRE 48 HOURS NOTICE TO ATTEND PUBLIC MEETINGS, WHICH IN ITSELF, UM, IS DISCRIMINATORY. UH, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LANGUAGE LOOKS LIKE. UH, ANDY, IF, IF WE ARE NOT HAVING, UM, IF YOU HAVE SOME PEOPLE REQUIRED TO GIVE NOTICE AND OTHERS NOT, UH, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THAT WOULD BE AN INFRINGEMENT, UH, A COUNCILMAN AS I A COUNCILWOMAN, AS I STATED, YES. WE, AS WE DEVELOP THE LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN AND WE DO OUR REVIEW, IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE IDENTIFY, UH, THAT COULD IMPACT COMPLIANCE, OBVIOUSLY WE WILL CORRECT THOSE AS SOON AS WE CAN AND IMPLEMENT THEM. UM, AND THEN, UH, I THINK THE, THE PLAN WAS TO DEVELOP THE, UH, LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN. AND FOR THOSE STEPS THAT DO REQUIRE COUNCIL ACTION, WE WILL BRING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND, UM, I, I ASKED ALSO BECAUSE, UM, WHEN WE REQUESTED DEATH INTERPRETATION, UM, WE WERE TOLD THAT WE HAD TO GET IT OURSELVES AND THAT I HAD TO PAY FOR IT FROM OUR CITY COUNCIL BUDGET. UH, AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS ALSO NOT, UH, UM, UH, ACCEPTABLE THAT IF WE WANTED INTERPRETATION, THAT THAT IS HOW IT'S STRUCTURED. NOW WE HAVE A CONTRACT, UH, FOR THE SERVICES, AND AS DEPARTMENTS UTILIZE THEM, THOSE DEPARTMENTS PAY FOR THEM OUT OF, OUT OF THEIR BUDGET. SO I, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT EXTENDED TO YOUR REQUEST ALSO ON THE COUNCIL SIDE OF THINGS. RIGHT. SO THOSE WERE OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ADJUST AS WELL. SO THAT SHOULDN'T BE AN ADDITIONAL FEE TO THE PERSON HOSTING THE MEETING. UH, SHOULD BE PART OF, I MEAN, WE DON'T CHARGE FOR SPANISH LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION AND, UH, ADDITIONAL FEES TO THE AREA, OR DO WE? WELL, WE, IS THAT AN ADDITIONAL FEE? SO, I MEAN, WE DO, WE'VE HAD SURE, UH, SPANISH LANGUAGE REQUESTS MULTIPLE TIMES AT OUR MEETINGS. SO ACTUALLY I THINK IT'S STANDARD NOW, ISN'T IT, THAT ON THE, ON THE SPANISH SIDE OF THINGS THERE, WE TYPICALLY OFTEN HAVE INDIVIDUALS WITHIN DEPARTMENTS AND COUNCIL OFFICES WHO SPEAK SPANISH. ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF OUR REVIEW IN 2017 WAS THAT EACH DEPARTMENT AND OFFICE HAVE A LIAISON THAT IS CAPABLE OF BEING ABLE TO ASSIST IF SOMEONE NEEDS ASSISTANCE WITH THAT. BUT YES, WE ABSOLUTELY PAY FOR THE SPANISH INTERPRETERS THAT ARE EVERYTHING. ARE THEY THEN, GIVEN THE FUNDING? SO I KNOW, UM, IT WAS, IT'S HAPPENED A COUPLE OF TIMES [00:50:01] THAT I THINK WE HAD SOMEBODY AGREE TO STEP IN AND TRANSLATE. ARE THEY PAID FOR THAT SERVICE? THEY ARE CORRECT. OKAY. SO THE, THE, THE INTERPRETATION FIRM THAT WE'RE CONTRACTED WITH? YES, WE, UH, OKAY. BUT NOT, I KNOW COUNCILWOMAN, UH, A COUPLE OF TIMES HAS OFFERED TO STEP IN AND INTERPRET. IS SHE PAID FOR THAT? NO, I DON'T BELIEVE SO. OKAY. SO IF A, IF A, SOMEBODY, A CITIZEN IN INTERPRETS OR THEY PAID FOR THAT? NO. OKAY. WE HAVE A, A CONTRACT WITH A I, YOU SEE, I THINK YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS. THERE WAS THE MULTIPLE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAY THAT WE DO IT TODAY. UH, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO CORRECT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PLAN. SO I GUESS THE OTHER QUESTION IS IT, IT SHOULD PROBABLY GO TO COMMITTEES, SO IT COULD BE FULLY VETTED, BUT HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO TRY SOMETHING ELSE? UH, OTHER THAN WHAT WE'RE, WHAT'S CURRENTLY BEING DONE TODAY? I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER. I DON'T KNOW IF ANDY WANTED TO WEIGH. WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, IN TERMS OF THE REVIEW COUNCILWOMAN, WE ARE FOCUSING, WE'RE PRIORITIZING THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE THE MOST, UH, ACCESS OR MOST DIRECT IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY. AND WE CAN PROVIDE YOU THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON. UH, AND AGAIN, AS I EMPHASIZE, WE'RE NOT, UM, OUR INTENT IS NOT TO WAIT. IF WE SEE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED, UM, RIGHT AWAY, WE WILL ADDRESS THEM RIGHT AWAY. AND, UH, WE'LL CONTIN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UPDATES TO THIS COMMITTEE ON WHERE WE'RE AT. UH, WE DON'T HAVE A SET TARGET DATE YET, BECAUSE WE, AGAIN, ARE IDENTIFYING THOSE DEPARTMENTS WE WANNA FOCUS ON. UH, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THIS COMMITTEE. AND IF, IF WE DO NEED TO COME BEFORE FULL COUNSEL ON ACTION THAT REQUIRE FULL COUNSEL, UH, ON THINGS THAT WE DO NEED TO REMEDY, WE WILL DO THAT BEFORE WE COMPLETE OBVIOUSLY THE WHOLE REVIEW OF THE PLAN. SO WE'LL BE VERY, UM, STRATEGIC IN TERMS OF WHAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS FIRST, AND THEN WHAT ARE THOSE LONGER TERM OR, OR MORE, UH, POLICY DRIVEN, UH, INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE TO BRING TO COUNCIL. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE EXPLANATION. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT REQUIRES A MOTION. UH, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE IT DOES, BUT DOES IT, OH, YOU HAVE SOME QUESTION? NO, I'LL, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION. OKAY. UM, SO I MOVE THAT THIS COMMITTEE DIRECT STAFF, TO CONTINUE WORKING ON THE LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN AND PROCESS AND BRING BACK, UH, REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY COMMITTEE BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. GREAT. THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR, UM, A STAFF UPDATE ON THE CONTINUATION OF THE LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN, UH, THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY, UM, COMMITTEE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. UH, I'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU TO COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, UH, ON THIS, THAT WE'VE COME A LONG WAY, UH, ACTUALLY SINCE YOU AND I CAME ON COUNCIL. UM, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IN 2013, WE WEREN'T EVEN BROADCASTING THE B SESSIONS. UH, THE COMMITTEES WERE HAPPENING WITHOUT EVEN A RECORDING. IT WAS JUST ALL THE SCRIBBLED MINUTES. SO WE'VE COME A LONG WAY, BUT ONE, ONE AREA THAT WE, UH, STILL HAVE A, A LOT OF ROOM TO GROW, I THINK IS IN THE LANGUAGE, UM, ACCESS. AND SO, UH, I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE US DO THAT. I WOULD THINK THAT THE MOST VALUABLE RESOURCES THAT WE EXPEND, THE BEST EFFORT THAT WE EXPEND IS CREATING NEW ACCESS TO THE MEETINGS AND THE CONDUCT OF OUR BODY FOR THE PUBLIC, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO, UH, NEED, UM, SOME, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, ASSISTANCE WITH ACCESS. SO THIS IS A VITAL EFFORT. I'M GLAD OUR, OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS ARE WORKING ON IT. LOOK FORWARD TO THE UPDATE. SO THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL, UH, OR MOVING OF ITEM FOUR. UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. ITEM FIVE. [5. 19-5219 Interviews for Appointment to the VIA Metro Transit Authority Board of Trustees (1 Slot) [Leticia M. Vacek, City Clerk]] ITEM FIVE ARE INTERVIEWS FOR THE APPOINTMENT TO THE VIA METRO TRANSIT AUTHORITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THERE'S ONE SLOT AVAILABLE YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU PACKETS FOR THE, UM, APPLICANTS THAT HAVE APPLIED THE BODY BEFORE THIS GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE. IF YOU RECALL, MAYOR, UM, SELECTED A SLATE OF FIVE TO BE INTERVIEWED. UM, MICHELLE HOLLAND HAS WITHDRAWN. SO TODAY WE WILL INTERVIEW JORDAN GOOEY, DR. ERICA GONZALEZ, UH, ATHELIA MALONE, AND JUDY TREVINO. BRANDON SMITH WITH OUR OFFICE WILL WALK THE APPLICANT'S OUT UPON YOUR DIRECTION. WHEN YOU'RE READY, MAYOR. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU TO OUR APPLICANTS WHO ARE HERE TODAY. UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE, UH, THROUGH THE IN INTERVIEW PROCESS HERE, UH, RIGHT NOW. UH, BUT JUST TO CLARIFY HOW THE THIS PROCESS WILL GO, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UH, THREE MINUTE OPENING STATEMENTS, UH, FOR EACH OF THE APPLICANT, ONE AT A TIME. THE FOLKS THAT ARE WAITING FOR THEIR INTERVIEW, WE'LL WAIT IN THE SIDE ROOM. UH, WE'LL HAVE A ROUND [00:55:01] OF QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL. AFTER THE THREE MINUTE STATEMENTS, WE'LL GO THROUGH, UH, I THINK AN ALPHABETICAL ORDER OF THE APPLICANTS. THEN THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE WILL CONVENE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, DISCUSS. THEN WE'LL COME BACK OUT, UH, WITH OUR DECISION. SO, UH, WE'LL START. AND I'M NOT SURE WHO'S FIRST MAYOR, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. APOLOGIZE FOR SANDOVAL. SANDOVAL, SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION. WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO, UM, DISCUSS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE, UH, REGARDING THE QUESTIONS WE MIGHT ASK? UM, YOU JUST WANNA GO FOR IT? OKAY. I, YEAH, I THINK, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT, I THINK WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHICH QUESTIONS AND FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT. OKAY. I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. THAT'S FINE. ALL RIGHT, THANKS. THAT'S FINE. WE HAVE TIME. SO, UH, WE'LL ASK THE QUESTIONS OUT HERE, THEN WE'LL, WE'LL CONVENE IN THE EXEC SESSION AND THEN WE'LL BE BACK OUT. SO, WHO IS FIRST ON OUR APPLICANT LIST? OH, I'M SORRY. OKAY. OUR FIRST APPLICANT IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER IS JORDAN GOOEY. SO JORDAN, STAY IN THE CHAMBER AS EVERYONE ELSE IS ESCORTED OUT. AND THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE. AND WE ARE IN OPEN SESSION, SO, UM, THESE CHAMBERS DON'T HAVE TO BE CLEARED. WE'RE GONNA CONVENE IN A DIFFERENT ROOM WHEN WE'RE AN EXEC. SO JORDAN, YOU'LL HAVE A THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT, AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND WITH QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL. SURE. THANK YOU. TESTS. I'LL GO AHEAD AND START. SO FIRST, THANK YOU GUYS FOR PUSHING ME UP HERE AS A FINALIST FOR THIS POSITION. THIS IS A BIG UNDERTAKING AND I UNDERSTAND THE AMOUNT OF DEDICATION THAT'S REQUIRED TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TRUSTEE FOR THIS. UM, SO A LITTLE BIT OF MY BACKGROUND. I COME FROM A TECH BACKGROUND. ORIGINALLY I WORKED AT RACKSPACE WHERE I DID NETWORK SECURITY UNTIL I FOUND THAT MY PASSION WAS FIREFIGHTING, PUBLIC SAFETY AND E M S. SO I BECAME A FIREFIGHTER PARAMEDIC AND DID THAT FOR ABOUT 12 YEARS. SINCE THEN, I'VE NOW WORKED AT THE SOUTHWEST TEXAS REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL, WHICH IS THE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE TRAUMA SYSTEM. UH, IN THAT ROLE, I NOW SERVE AS THE DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, BUT I ALSO WORK A LOT ON OUR EMERGING MAN, EXCUSE ME, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SIDE. THIS INCLUDES, UH, 2000 SEVENTEEN'S RESPONSE TO HURRICANE HARVEY. I WAS THE FORD OPERATIONS GROUP SUPERVISOR FOR MORE THAN 500 AMBULANCES THAT WERE RESPONDING TO THE MEDICAL RESPONSE EFFORTS IN HOUSTON AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS. SO I DO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LOGISTICS. IN ADDITION, I'M ALSO ON THE ADVISORY BOARD FOR CITY FLAG, THE COMPANY THAT DOES THE 3 1 1 SA APP. SO I DO BRING WITH ME A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. I BRING WITH ME A TECH PERSPECTIVE AND I BRING A PUBLIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE THAT I THINK IS A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE. AND THAT'S WHY I THINK THAT WE'RE HERE TODAY IS TO TALK ABOUT THE PERSPECTIVE OF THESE CANDIDATES AND WHAT THEY CAN BRING TO THE TRUSTEE POSITION. WHAT GOT VIA TO WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY IS NOT GONNA GET VIA TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE TOMORROW. WE NEED TO PUSH VIA HARDER AND FASTER. WITH CONNECT SA COMING UP FOR A VOTE HERE SOON, WE HAVE TO HAVE REAL DISCUSSIONS ON WHAT THE FUTURE OF OUR TRANSPORTATION LOOKS LIKE IN SAN ANTONIO. LIKE WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO BUILD OURSELVES OUT OF THIS. WE HAVE TO HAVE AN OPEN APPROACH. AND I THINK THE CONNECT SA PLAN LOOKS AT THAT. ONE OF THESE APPROACHES IS ABOUT OUR FUNDING. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, UH, VIA BOARD, OR EXCUSE ME, THE VIAS FISCAL YEAR 19 BUDGET, WE SEE A $239 MILLION BUDGET. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE HAVE 626 MILLION. DART FOR DALLAS HAS 544 MILLION. CAP METRO IS 428 MILLION. THEY'RE ALL AT A 1 CENT FUNDING. SO I THINK IF WE REALLY ARE GONNA BE THE CITY OF TOMORROW, THEN WE NEED TO EVALUATE DIFFERENT FUNDING STREAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE ADEQUATE PUBLIC TRANSIT. BECAUSE PUBLIC TRANSIT DIRECTLY EQUATES TO OPPORTUNITY, IT ALLOWS US TO CONNECT OUR COMMUNITY TO OPPORTUNITIES. IT ALLOWS US TO ADDRESS THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. IT BRINGS US, UH, AS WE SAW THE OTHER DAY WITH U T S A, WE'RE NOW ALLOWING STUDENTS TO HAVE ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION. WE'RE ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE. THIS IS A DIRECT COMPONENT, A KEY TENANT OF, OF ADDRESSING OUR SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH'S NEEDS IN SAN ANTONIO. I GOT 15 MORE SECONDS, SO I'LL, THAT'D BE REAL QUICK. UH, ANOTHER THING WITH THE FUNDING IS WE'RE LOOKING WITH OUR CURRENT, UH, FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION. WE HAVE A BILLION DOLLAR CUT TO THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM. SO WE HAVE TO BE THINKING OF UNIQUE WAYS TO FUND THIS BECAUSE WE CAN NO LONGER RELY ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ASSIST US. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JORDAN. AND WE'LL NOW HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FROM, FROM THE COMMITTEE. WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. SORRY. GOOD MORNING, JORDAN. I'LL JUST START OFF WITH AN EASY ONE. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU RODE THE BUS? I ACTUALLY RODE IT HERE TO COUNCIL TODAY. OKAY. UM, HOW OFTEN DO YOU RIDE BUS? NOT AS OFTEN AS I'D LIKE. I [01:00:01] DO WORK IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. MY VEHICLE DOES HAVE LIGHTS AND SIRENS ON IT, SO AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT, I MIGHT HAVE TO GO TO SOLO IN SPRINGS OR TO SHIRTS FOR A, A BAHAMA FACILITY, UH, UNTIL VIA PUTS SOME LIGHTS AND SIRENS ON ONE OF THOSE BUSES AND ALLOWS ME TO TAKE OVER IT IN AN EVENT OF EMERGENCY. I DON'T THINK I'LL BE ABLE TO RIDE IT AS MUCH AS I'D LIKE. SO I AM A DISCRETIONARY WRITER. OKAY, GREAT. AND MY NEXT QUESTION IS WHAT OTHER CITIES, AND I KNOW YOU MENTIONED SOME OF THEM RIGHT NOW FROM A PRESENTATION THAT VIA HAD, UM, PRESENTED IN GENERAL, BUT WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE YOU BEEN RESEARCHING AND YOUR PREPARATION FOR YOUR POTENTIAL SERVICE ON THE VIA BOARD? SO I WAS LOOKING AT DENVER. WE ALSO SEE ST. LOUIS, HOUSTON'S THE BIG ONE RIGHT NOW SINCE THEY HAVE ANOTHER, UH, THEY HAVE A BOND ELECTION COMING UP FOR HOUSTON METRO NEXT. SO THAT ONE, UH, CLOSELY ALIGNS WITH OURS, EXCEPT THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A BILLION DOLLARS IN BONDS. AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE LOOKING INTO OUR SALES TAX TO FUND, UH, OUR INITIATIVES. BUT, UH, THEY HAVE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT IN THEIR PLAN, AND I THINK THAT IS A POSITIVE WAY FOR US TO LOOK FORWARD INTO ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF MASS TRANSIT IN SAN ANTONIO. THANK YOU, MR. MY QUESTION. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN ROACH, OR GARCIA COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. UH, THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, JORDAN, I THINK YOU, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR APPLYING AND FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. GREAT JOB. UM, YOU SORT OF ADDRESSED THIS, BUT I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ASK, WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN SAN ANTONIO? UH, TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS AND TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY, IT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT ACCESS. JUST LIKE WE HEARD WITH THE LAST PRESENTATION, ACCESS IS PARAMOUNT TO AND ENGAGE CITIZENRY AND, UH, I THINK PUBLIC TRANSIT IS ONE OF THE, THE TENANTS OF ACCESS. SO CONNECTING COMMUNITY TO OPPORTUNITIES. WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE USING TRANSIT IN OTHER COMMUNITIES? UH, I DO TRAVEL QUITE OFTEN. I SIT ON A FEDERAL SUBCOMMITTEE IN DC AND GET TO USE THE METRO OUT THERE. UH, I'LL BE IN DENVER HERE, UH, THE WEEK AFTER NEXT, AND WHEN I GO TO DENVER, I GO TO D I A, I JUMP FROM THE AIRPORT ONTO THEIR TRAIN AND I HEAD STRAIGHT INTO CENTRAL DENVER. SO, UH, I TRY TO USE PUBLIC TRAINS AND IN OTHER CITIES TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S OUT THERE, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT'S CONVENIENT. GREAT. UM, AND WHAT IS YOUR COMMITMENT TO USING TRANSIT? UH, IF YOU ARE SELECTED A TO BE A TRUSTEE, I WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE IT, BUT AS I DID MENTION, I AM ON CALL. SO IT, IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO NOT BE BEHIND THE WHEEL OF MY PERSONAL VEHICLE OR A, A DEPARTMENTAL VEHICLE. UM, BUT I, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES ME A UNIQUE APPLICANT TOO IS THE FACT THAT I'M NOT REALLY SPREAD OUT FI IN TERMS OF NOT SHARING A BUNCH OF THINGS. I'M NOT ON A BUNCH OF COMMITTEES, SO I HAVE A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY THAT I CAN DEDICATE TO THIS BECAUSE AFTER TALKING TO SOME OF THESE TRUSTEES, THEY'RE SPENDING ANYWHERE FROM 10 TO 20 HOURS A MONTH ON THE VIA TRUSTEE ROLE. AND I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO BE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THAT ROLE, TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN IT. AND SUCCESS IN THAT ROLE MEANS A PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR ALL. UM, SO AGAIN, WHAT IS YOUR COMMITMENT TO USING TRANSIT WHILE A TRUSTEE? UH, I WILL INCREASE IT , I'LL INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT I USE OUR VIA SYSTEM. NO, THAT WAS A GOOD ANSWER TOO. THANKS. UM, IT, SO YOU MENTIONED THIS IN YOUR, IN YOUR STATEMENT, AND I'M GLAD YOU DID. SO CONNECT SA IS GOING TO BE A PRIORITY, IS A PRIORITY OF THE MAYOR'S ADMINISTRATION, AND, UH, INCREASING, UH, ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION IS A PRIORITY FOR SOME OF US ON, ON THE COUNCIL. AND CONNECTUS A WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO DO THAT. UM, WILL YOUR TIME ALLOW YOU TO BE PART OF ULTIMATELY THAT CAMPAIGN THAT THAT GOES FORWARD? AND I HOPE I'M NOT VIOLATING ANYTHING BY, BY ASKING THAT. NO, NO, NO. I DEFINITELY WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT CAMPAIGN. UH, WE NEED TO BE EVANGELISTS FOR THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE PUBLIC IS EDUCATED ON IT, WHAT IT MEANS AND HOW IT'LL AFFECT THEM. OKAY. THANK YOU. GREAT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR JORDAN. UM, COULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU BELIEVE ARE ANY POS POSITIVE COMPONENTS OR WHAT YOU FEEL ARE PROBLEMATIC PARTS OF THE CONNECT ESSAY PROPOSAL? UH, I, IT IS VAGUE AND I THINK IT'S INTENTIONALLY VAGUE SO THAT WE CAN, IT ALLOWS FLEXIBILITY IN HOW WE ADDRESS IT. UH, I THINK WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF ADVERTISING IT. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS IS WHEN YOU TALK TO CONNECT SA TO OTHERS, THEY DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS OR IF THEY KNOW THAT IT EXISTS. IT'S JUST THAT, THAT IT IS A FRAMEWORK ABOUT OUR TRANSPORTATION PLAN. SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO HIT THE GROUND HARD AND HEAVY WITH, UH, ADDITIONAL WORKSHOPS AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON ON WHAT IT MEANS AND AGAIN, HOW IT WILL AFFECT THEM AND WHAT INACTION WILL RESULT IN. BECAUSE WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT TWO WAYS. THIS IS THE ROUTE THAT ACTION WILL TAKE US, AND THIS IS THE ROUTE THAT INACTION WILL TAKE US. WHICH ROUTE WOULD YOU LIKE? OKAY. UM, WHAT IS YOUR SUGGESTION OR IDEA FOR DEALING WITH THE FIRST MILE, LAST MILE TRANSPORTATION ISSUE THAT WE HEAR ABOUT? SO, MICRO MOBILITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT. UM, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE LOOKING AT THE SCOOTERS AS A SOLUTION. UH, BUT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY, THAT IS A PART OF A SOLUTION. TRANSIT [01:05:01] IS A SYSTEM OF COGS. UH, BUT WE NEED TO LOOK AT ADDITIONAL MICRO MOBILITY BECAUSE, UH, THE FIRST MILE, LAST MILE WAS REAL. AND AS WE LOOK AT CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOW IT'S GONNA AFFECT OUR COMMUNITY, IT'S ONLY GONNA GET HOTTER. SO WHEN WE HAVE AN ELDERLY POPULATION THAT'S USING THE BUS, OR EVEN A HEALTHY YOUNGER POPULATION, WHEN THE TEMPERATURE INCREASES, WHEN WE HAVE INCLEMENT WEATHER, IS, IS PUBLIC TRANSIT REALLY THE GONNA BE, UH, ENTICING TO THEM IF THAT MEANS THAT THEY HAVE TO TRAVEL AN ADDITIONAL ONE TO TWO MILES OR WHATEVER THAT LINK MIGHT BE TO GET TO THEIR FINAL DESTINATION? SO I WOULD BE OPEN TO HAVING, UH, MORE DISCUSSION IN LOOKING AT NEW, INNOVATIVE WAYS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THE FIRST MILE, LAST MILE ISSUES. OKAY. UH, WHERE DO YOU SEE MASS TRANSIT GOING FOR SAN ANTONIO? WELL, THE VOTERS HAVE MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT LIGHT RAIL IS NOT AN OPTION THAT'S HAPPENED FOUR TIMES THAT IT'S BEEN OVERWHELMINGLY SHOT DOWN. SO I, I THINK THAT WE LOOK AT THE ADVANCED, UH, RAPID TRANSIT. I LOVE THE IDEAS OF USING DEDICATED SPACE, UH, FOR OUR BUSES AND OTHER MULTIMODAL SYSTEMS TO OPERATE IN SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE TRANSIT, UH, MORE ENTICING, MORE EFFICIENT, AND MORE EFFECTIVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UM, THANK YOU MAYOR. AND, UH, THANK YOU JORDAN, FOR YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING ON THE VIA BOARD. UM, WHAT WAS YOUR LEVEL OF INTEREST IN PUBLIC TRANSIT BEFORE YOU APPLIED TO THE VIA BOARD? THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION. IT'S SOMETHING I, I, I THINK THAT I'M RELATIVELY CIVIC ENGAGED, AND THAT'S ONE OF MY PASSIONS IS TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR CITY. UH, I, I WOULD SAY THAT MY LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT OR INTEREST IS THE SAME AS IT IS NOW. UH, IT HASN'T INCREASED OR DECREASED. I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT ACCESS. I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT ADDRESSING THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. AND I, I THINK THAT THIS IS, UH, A DIRECT RESPONSE TO THAT. I SAW THIS AS A S D O H, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. AND YOU MENTIONED IN, UH, YOUR OPENING REMARKS THAT YOU SERVE ON OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. WHAT, WHAT IS YOUR OTHER I DON'T SERVE ON MANY IS WHAT I WAS SAYING. UH, ONE OF THE ONES THAT I AM CURRENTLY ON IS THE MAYOR'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, BARRIERS TO REMOVE, UM, TASK FORCE TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING. OKAY. BUT CURRENTLY YOU DON'T SEE SERVE ON ANY OTHER CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE. I THINK MY COLLEAGUES ASKED THE OTHERS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UM, JORDAN, MY COLLEAGUES ANSWERED OR ASKED THE QUESTIONS I WOULD ASK, BUT THE, THE ONLY REMAINING THING I WOULD, UM, ASK YOU TO WONDER ABOUT OUT LOUD IS WE KNOW THAT THE SUCCESS OF THE PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM IS A FUNCTION OF HOW THE CITY IS BUILT AND DENSITY. WE'RE STILL A CITY THAT'S VERY SPRAWLING, ALTHOUGH WE'RE A CITY THAT KNOWS WHAT KIND OF DENSITY IS REQUIRED FOR US TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE. UM, HOW SHOULD WE, UH, BEGIN TO EXECUTE A BETTER BUS STRATEGY CONSIDERING WE HAVE 500 SQUARE MILES AND WE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE MORE THAN HALF A CENT TO WORK WITH, WHERE SHOULD OUR FOCUS BE? I THINK, UH, WE NEED TO BE DATA INFORMED IN THESE DISCUSSIONS. SO WITHOUT HAVING THAT DATA IN FRONT OF ME, IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE NOT MEETING, UH, WHERE WE DON'T HAVE THE EQUITY IN THE COMMUNITY. I WOULD ASSUME THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT EQUITY IN TERMS OF ACCESS TO THIS RIGHT NOW, WHERE, UH, TRANSIT DOESN'T EXIST, IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE THE NORTH SIDE AND PROBABLY THE FAR SOUTH SIDE, WHICH I FIND SURPRISING. BUT WHEN I LOOK AT THE ROUTE SYSTEMS, THOSE DEFINITELY SEEM TO BE AREAS THAT ARE UNDERSERVED OR UNDERUTILIZED. UM, WAS THERE A SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION, MAYOR? I APOLOGIZE. NO, I JUST, UH, AGAIN, I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT QUANDARY THAT WE'RE IN, IN THE CITY THAT WE HAVE WITH THE RESOURCES IN, IN THE TRANSIT SYSTEM THAT WE, WE WANT. SO, UM, IT'S JUST SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AND, AND WANTED TO HEAR YOU MUSE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT, BUT AWARENESS THAT IT IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE OVERCOME IS, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. SO, YEAH, I BELIEVE IN, YEAH, GO AHEAD. SORRY. I BELIEVE IN DATA INFORMED DECISIONS, AND WITHOUT HAVING THAT DATA IN FRONT OF ME TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE GAPS EXIST, IT WOULD BE HARD FOR ME TO ANSWER THAT, UH, DIRECTLY. GOT IT. THANK YOU, JORDAN, FOR YOUR APPLICATION. UM, YOU'RE A, A QUALITY CANDIDATE, UH, IN, IN A VERY COMPETITIVE POOL. SO, UM, APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND, AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU OUT HERE NEXT, MAYOR COUNCIL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GREAT. UH, OUR NEXT CANDIDATE IS DR. ERICA GONZALES. [01:11:06] DR. GONZALEZ, WE HAVE ONE MEMBER WHO'S IN THE RESTROOM. OKAY. SO IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS BEFORE SHE GETS BACK SURE, NO PROBLEM. SHE'LL BE HERE MOMENTARILY, AND YOU'LL HAVE, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES, AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND WITH QUESTIONS. HERE SHE COMES. OKAY. WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. OKAY. GOOD MORNING. I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE TIME TODAY TO INTERVIEW BEFORE YOU GUYS. UM, I'VE BEEN A PART OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR MINORITY HEALTH WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES IN DC AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TASKED TO DO IS TO IDENTIFY WHAT SOCIAL DETERMINANTS ARE HAVING AN EFFECT ON THE HEALTH IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND THE ONE THING THAT WE HAVE FOUND OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS IS THAT IT'S THE SAME THING, TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND FOOD THAT ARE AFFECTING THE HEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY. SO OUR JOB THEN IS TO REPORT BACK TO THE SURGEON GENERAL AND GIVE 'EM RECOMMENDATIONS ON THINGS THAT WE THINK THAT THEY SHOULD BE DOING. TRANSPORTATION IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT AFFECTS COMMUNITY HEALTH IN TWO WAYS. ONE, IT CONTRIBUTES TO POOR AIR QUALITY. AND, UM, AS WE KNOW, UH, SAN ANTONIO HAS ASTHMA, HOSPITALIZATION RATES AND ER VISITS THAT ARE 400% HIGHER THAN THE REST OF THE STATE. UM, AND IN ADDITION, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE 67% OF AMERICANS THAT ARE SAYING THAT THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, TRANSPORTATION IS THE PRIMARY REASON. SO THERE IS FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS FOR CITIES THAT ARE LOOKING TO BRING HEALTHCARE EXPERTS, UH, URBAN DESIGN EXPERTS AND TRANSPORTATION EXPERTS TO TRY TO FIND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO ADDRESS THIS. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S SAN ANTONIO'S UNIQUELY POSITIONED RIGHT NOW WITH THE WAY THAT OUR POPULATION IS GROWING, AND IN PARTICULAR WITH THE COMMITMENT THAT THE CITY HAS ALREADY MADE WITH THE SA TOMORROW COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND THE TRANSPORTATION PLAN TO BE ONE OF THE CITIES TO LEAD THE WAY. SO I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, BE THE PERSON AT THE TABLE TO BE THE VOICE, NOT ONLY FOR THE HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY AND OUR PATIENTS, BUT FOR THE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS LIKE OUR ELDERLY ARE VETERANS, UM, AND THOSE WITH DISABILITIES WHO HAVE ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS THAT WOULD, UH, CAUSE THEM TO NOT, UH, BE ABLE TO COME TO US. UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, HEALTH AND THE COMMUNITY IS DIRECTLY LINKED TO BOTH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROSPERITY. SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO. THANK YOU, DR. GONZALEZ. OKAY. WE HAVE, UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE. WE'LL START WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. THANK YOU DR. GONZALEZ FOR BEING HERE. UM, MY QUESTION IS, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU RODE THE BUS? I RODE THE BUS ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO, SO ABOUT TWO TO THREE TIMES A MONTH. WE TAKE OUR BOYS RIGHT THERE ON, UM, MCCULLOUGH AND MULBERRY AND GO DOWNTOWN AND JUST RIDE THE BUS SO THAT WE CAN EXPOSE 'EM TO THAT. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR MY HUSBAND AND I TO KIND OF SHOW THEM THAT WE GREW UP ON, MY HUSBAND GREW UP ON THE EAST COAST, SO MASS TRANSIT IS IMPORTANT TO HIM. OKAY. MY NEXT QUESTION WAS GONNA BE HOW OFTEN, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE ANSWERED THAT ONE. AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION IS, WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE YOU BEEN RESEARCHING IN PREPARATION FOR YOUR POTENTIAL SERVICE ON THE VIA BOARD? THE FIRST ONE I STARTED OFF WITH WAS PORTLAND, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOMETHING CALLED, I THINK IT'S ONE MILE FIRST, ONE MILE LAST. AND SO VIA HAS KIND OF MIMICKED THAT WITH THEIR VIA LINK AND IT'S ON DEMAND TRANSIT, SO THEY THINK THAT THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO THEIR DOCTORS. UM, THERE NEEDS TO BE FUNDING TO, UH, GRANT FUNDING TO KIND OF SUPPORT THAT. BUT, UM, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT, UH, NEW YORK, UM, VERY DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE. UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, DALLAS AND HOUSTON. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE MY COUNT MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU DR. GONZALEZ. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, THANK YOU, UH, FOR COMING BEFORE THE BOARD AND YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING ON VIA. UM, I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD STICK [01:15:01] TO THE SAME QUESTIONS. SO, UH, IN, UM, SO, UH, IN FAIRNESS TO ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES OR RATHER THE OTHER APPLICANTS, BUT, UM, ONE QUESTION THAT I HAD WAS, WHAT WAS YOUR INTEREST IN PUBLIC TRANSIT OR IN VIA BEFORE THE APPLICATION, OR I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA SAY WHAT WAS YOUR INTEREST? WHAT WAS YOUR USABILITY OF THE SYSTEM BEFORE YOUR INTEREST IN THE BOARD? BY USABILITY, DO YOU MEAN HOW OFTEN I WAS USING IT? HOW OFTEN WERE YOU USING IT BEFORE YOUR INTEREST ON THE BOARD? AND, AND THE REASON I SAY THIS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE WHO NEVER EVER THOUGHT ABOUT RIDING THE BUS UNTIL THIS OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF. SO THEN THEY'VE SUDDENLY RIDDEN A BUNCH OF TIMES AND TAKEN SELFIES AND HAD AN INTEREST, BUT NOT BEFORE THIS APPLICATION WAS IN FRONT OF THEM. I ACTUALLY GREW UP TAKING THE BUS. I GREW UP ON THE WEST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO. SO, UH, WE USED THE BUS SYSTEM QUITE OFTEN. UM, ESPECIALLY SINCE BOTH MY PARENTS WORKED, IT WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT MY, UH, SISTERS AND I COULD ACTUALLY GET TO AND FROM SCHOOL. UM, AND THEN IN ADDITION, AS I WAS JUST PREVIOUSLY SAYING, UH, WE'VE BEEN USING THE BUS TRANSIT SYSTEM FOR AT LEAST THE PAST SIX YEARS, UH, WITH OUR KIDS TRYING TO GO DOWNTOWN. AND THAT'S REALLY THE MAIN ONE WE DO BECAUSE IT'S THE EASIEST ROUTE FROM WHERE WE'RE AT TO DOWNTOWN. MM-HMM. , THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING A CANDIDATE FOR THIS POSITION. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES TO MY MIND IS YOU'RE VERY INVOLVED IN QUITE A FEW OTHER ACTIVITIES. UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PRESIDENT-ELECT FOR THE SAN ANTONIO HISPANIC CHAMBER, AND, UH, YOU ALSO SERVE ON THE MAYOR'S COMMISSION FOR THE STATUS OF WOMEN LINEAR QUICK WAY PARKS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, SEVERAL OTHERS. AND TAKING ON THE ADDITIONAL DUTY OF BEING A MEMBER OF VIA, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, REQUIRES REALLY A LOT OF TIME AND CONSIDERATION. UH, ARE ANY OF THESE THINGS THAT YOU'RE PREPARED TO RESIGN FROM TO ASSUME THAT ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY? UH, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. YEAH, I, UM, I'M ROLLING OFF SOME OF THOSE BOARDS. UH, I WON'T LONGER BE ON THE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UM, BUT IN ADDITION, UM, I NEVER REALLY GO INTO ANYTHING UNLESS I KNOW THAT I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO GIVE IT THE TIME AND THE COMMITMENT IT NEEDS. SO ONE OF THE THINGS I DID BEFORE EVEN FILLING OUT MY APPLICATION WAS I MET WITH MY MENTOR, HOPE ANDRADA, WHO'S THE PREVIOUS, UH, VIA CHAIR, TO REALLY TRY TO GET AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH TIME THIS WOULD TAKE. UM, AND SO I'M CONFIDENT THAT, UH, WITH MY BANDWIDTH RIGHT NOW THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO MEET THAT OBLIGATION. AND ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS, BECAUSE OF MY INCOMING CHAIR FOR THE SAN ANTONIO HISPANIC CHAMBER THAT I'VE DONE, IS THAT, UH, I HAD PREPARED FOR THIS UPCOMING YEAR, UM, TO ONLY BE WORKING TWO DAYS OUT OF THE WEEK AND USE THE OTHER THREE WORK DAYS FOR MY CIVIL SERVANT, BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHERE MY PASSION IS. OKAY. UM, HAVE YOU TAKEN A LOOK AT THE, UH, CONNECT SA PROPOSAL? YES, I HAVE. OKAY. UH, WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE SOME OF THE POSITIVE COMPONENTS IN THAT? OR WHAT DO YOU FEEL ARE ANYTHING PROBLEMATIC IN THAT PLAN? SO I THINK THAT THE VISION IS GREAT. SO, YOU KNOW, IT WANTS TO, ONE OF THE BIG PRIORITIES FOR, FOR THAT PLAN IS TO TRY TO GET EVEN NON BUS RIDERS TO WANT TO USE THE BUS. UM, AND SO THEY'RE COMING UP WITH LIKE PREMIUM RIDING. UM, I KNOW THAT VIA RIGHT NOW HAS PRIMO. UM, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO KIND OF ATTRACT A DIFFERENT AUDIENCE. AND I THINK THAT'S WONDERFUL. UH, BUT IT'S NOT ADDRESSING THE NEED OF THOSE PEOPLE IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF SAN ANTONIO OR IN THE POCKETS OF SAN ANTONIO, WHERE THE LINES DON'T RUN THAT ARE NOT GONNA BE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA WANT TO RIDE THIS LUXURIOUS LINES. UM, WE NEED TO FIND WAYS TO HIT THE LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE ONES, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, UH, THAT ARE GOING TO NEED THE ACCESS, UM, TO THE DIFFERENT RESOURCES IN THE CITY, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HEALTHCARE. OKAY. UM, WHAT IS YOUR SUGGESTION OR IDEA FOR DEALING WITH THE, UH, FIRST MILE, LAST MILE ISSUE THAT WE, UH, TALK ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPORTATION? I'M SORRY, REPEAT THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION. UH, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, BUSING IS A MAJOR PART OF TRANSPORTATION, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT MAKING THAT FIRST MILE OR LAST MILE CONNECTION. UH, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THOSE TRIPS COMPLETE? FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU TAKE A BUS DOWNTOWN, IT MAY LEAVE YOU OVER, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN AT THE BUS TERMINAL, BUT YOU MAY WORK, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE BLOCKS AWAY, OR A HALF A MILE AWAY OR SOMETHING. UH, SO I BELIEVE THAT VIA IS TRYING TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE THINGS. ONE OF THE THINGS IS VIA LINK, WHICH, UM, YOU CAN STOP AT THOSE, UH, UH, THE SUBSTATIONS OR WHEREVER THEY'RE AT, AND THEN A CAR WILL COME PICK YOU UP. I KNOW THAT'S JUST A PILOT PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, AND IT'S ONLY ON THE NORTHWEST NORTHEAST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH, UH, TRACTION IT WILL GET, ALTHOUGH, UH, [01:20:01] PORTLAND IS ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE THEY MODELED THAT AFTER. UM, I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO DO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT OUR COMMUNITY OR OUR CITIZENS NEED TO WALK IN ORDER TO GET TO WHERE THEY'RE WANTING TO GO. I KNOW THAT VIA IS WORKING ON, UM, THE RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM AND THEY'RE GONNA OPEN SEVEN LINES, WHICH SUPPOSED TO ABOUT 30 TO 50%, AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO REACH 250,000 OF OUR CITIZENS WILL BE WITHIN A 10 MINUTE WALKING DISTANCE TO ONE OF THESE LINES. BUT MY CONCERN IS THAT THERE'S STILL 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE THAT MAY NOT BE AT THAT WALKING DISTANCE. SO WE NEED TO LOOK FOR PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS IN ORDER TO, TO BE ABLE TO MEET THAT NEED. WELL, THAT PROBABLY TIES INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, MASS TRANSIT TRANSIT RIGHT NOW. WE MAY BE HELPING A CERTAIN PORTION. UH, SO WHAT DO YOU SEE, UH, AS THAT MASS TRANSIT IN SAN ANTONIO SHOULD BE GOING? WHERE DO YOU SEE WHAT SHOULD BE GOING? WELL, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT WE NEED IT. WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO, UM, HAVE A BALANCED, UH, MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION. SO WE NEED TO NOT ONLY BE LOOKING AT MASS TRANSIT, BUT BIKES AND PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY STREETS, UH, AUTOMOBILES, UM, AND THEN A WAY TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ALL INTERCONNECTING. I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT SO THAT MAYBE MASS TRANSIENT WILL GET YOU TO AN AREA WHERE YOU CAN THEN PICK UP YOUR BIKE AND GO. UM, AND SO WE NEED TO START LOOKING AT THOSE ALTERNATIVES AND HOW WE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENT MODES OF TRANSPORTATIONS, UH, ENHANCE ONE ANOTHER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. THANK YOU, DR. GONZALEZ, FOR YOUR APPLICATION. UH, YOU HAD A VERY IMPRESSIVE STATEMENT AS, AS WELL. UM, JUST A FEW QUESTIONS. UM, SORRY. SIMILAR TO COUNCILMAN COURAGES QUESTION, CAN YOU TELL ME YOUR VISION FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN SAN ANTONIO? MY VISION, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE ALONG THE SAME LINES OF WHAT I JUST SAID. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT MASS TRANSIT FOR A VERY LONG TIME NOW. UM, AND SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS THAT WE HAVE HERE IN, IN SAN ANTONIO IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, AND SO WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO, UH, HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE WORK FOR US. SO WE, WE CAN'T REALLY CHANGE A LOT OF THAT, SO THERE'S SOME LIMITATIONS THERE, BUT IF WE COULD FIND A WAY TO REALLY SEE HOW WE CAN INTERCONNECT THESE DIFFERENT MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, I THINK THAT THAT'S GONNA BE THE BEST BET FOR, FOR THIS CITY. WE'RE NOT NEW YORK, WE'RE NOT CHICAGO. I MEAN, THOSE, THOSE CITIES WERE DESIGNED DIFFERENTLY. SO WE JUST NEED TO KIND OF BE MORE CREATIVE, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX FOR SAN ANTONIO. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE ON TRANSIT IN OTHER COMMUNITIES? YOUR EXPERIENCE USING TRANSIT IN OTHER CITIES? OH, IN OTHER CITIES. OKAY. OH, YEAH. SO THAT'S THE ONLY THING I USE WHEN I'M IN NEW YORK. UM, IT'S ALSO WHAT I USE IN CHICAGO AND DC UM, PRETTY MUCH ALL THE BIG CITIES THAT I GO TO, CITIES THAT I GO TO, I ENJOY USING THE TRANSIT SYSTEM. IT USED TO BE SOMETHING THAT, UH, USED TO BE CHALLENGING FOR ME, SO I KIND OF SAW IT AS AN ACCOMPLISHMENT WHEN I WAS ABLE TO FIGURE OUT ALL THE MAPS. I AM VERY DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED. AND SO , IT'S REALLY A BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR ME WHEN I CAN FIGURE OUT THOSE MAPS AND GET TO WHERE I NEED TO GO. SO IF SOMEONE LIKE ME CAN FIGURE IT OUT, THAT MEANS THAT THAT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IS PRETTY, UH, USER-FRIENDLY. . OKAY. UM, SO SPEAKING OF USER-FRIENDLY SYSTEMS, CAN YOU TELL ME, UH, WHAT WILL BE, IF YOU ARE SELECTED AS A TRUSTEE, WHAT WILL BE YOUR COMMITMENT TO USE TRANSIT WHILE YOU ARE ON THAT BOARD? WELL, I THINK THAT I WOULD BE COMMITTED TO IT, AND, UM, WE'RE USING IT RIGHT NOW, UM, ALREADY, BUT I, I THINK THAT I WOULD LIKE TO IMMERSE MYSELF IN IT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE SO THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND MORE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT I MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH. I MEAN, RIGHT NOW WE TAKE ONE LINE, WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, IS, IT'S THE SAME ONE THAT WE ALWAYS TAKE, BUT TO REALLY USE IT TO GET TO OTHER PLACES TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS ARE, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO DO THAT IN ORDER FOR ME TO FEEL LIKE I HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW I CAN HELP THE COMMUNITY. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UH, LASTLY, UH, A, A BIG CAMPAIGN THAT WILL, UH, BE COMING UP IS THE CONNECT SA WORK, UM, THAT THE COUNCILMAN ALLUDED TO. UM, I WOULD EXPECT THAT WHOEVER SERVES ON THE VIA BOARD WOULD BE VERY INVOLVED IN, UH, IN MAKING SURE THAT THAT IS SUCCESSFUL. CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT SEE YOURSELF BEING INVOLVED IN THAT? ABSOLUTELY. SO, YOU KNOW, UM, SOME OF THE PRIORITIES OR THE MAIN PRIORITY BEHIND THAT IS, UH, THE ESSAY TOMORROW IS, UM, TALKS ABOUT THAT THE BEST TRANSPORTATION PLANS ARE THE ONES THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT ONE OF THE NEEDS WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY TALKED ON IN TOO MUCH DETAIL IN THE [01:25:01] PLAN IS HEALTHCARE, BUT IT DIRECTLY LINKS INTO ALL THE OTHER ONES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE. INCLUDE, I'M SORRY, I THINK I, I MISSPOKE. I DIDN'T MEAN ESSAY TOMORROW. I MEANT CONNECT SA, CONNECT SA I AM SORRY. UM, SAME LINES. UM, I'D LIKE TO, OH GOSH, I LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT. I'M SORRY. , REPEAT THAT AGAIN. COUNCIL, COUNCIL. SURE. HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF INVOLVED IN THE CONNECT ESSAY CAMPAIGN THAT WE ANTICIPATE WILL UH, BE BROUGHT TO THE VOTERS NEXT YEAR? I REALLY LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT. I'M SO SORRY. I AM SO SORRY TO HAVE INTERRUPTED YOU. IT'S OKAY. IT'S OKAY. UM, SO WE, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE GOAL BEING TO, UM, MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND SO I'D LIKE TO BE INVOLVED FROM BE A VOICE FOR WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HEALTHCARE, UM, AND SOMETHING THAT THAT'S NOT REALLY BROUGHT TO THE TABLE TOO MANY TIMES. AND I KNOW THAT IT GOES IN LINE WITH WHAT THE OVERALL GOALS ARE, BUT MAYBE, UH, THEY'RE NOT BRINGING UP ISSUES THAT MIGHT BE PARTICULAR TO THAT SUBJECT ITSELF. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, MOST OF THE QUESTIONS WERE ALREADY ASKED. UM, ERICA, THE, THE QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, WE HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION HERE WITH WHERE WE WANT OUR PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM TO GO, CONSIDERING THAT WE'RE STILL A VERY SPRAWLING CITY AND PUBLIC TRANSIT DEPENDS ON DENSITY. UH, WE HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES AS WELL. WE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE MORE THAN ONE ONE HALF CENT TO, TO DEAL WITH. HOW DO WE IN THAT SITUATION BUILD A BETTER BUS SYSTEM, UM, A MORE FREQUENT BUS SYSTEM? WHERE WOULD YOUR PRIORITIES BE? AND JUST I WANTED TO HEAR YOU THINK OUT LOUD A LITTLE BIT ON THAT. 'CAUSE THAT'S REALLY THE, THE CRUX OF THE ISSUE FOR US. ARE YOU ASKING MY PRIORITIES AND WHAT I WOULD WANT ADDRESSED FIRST OR HOW WE WOULD TACKLE THE ISSUE OF MAYBE DECREASED FUNDING? UM, EITHER ONE. OKAY. EITHER ONE. SO AS I WAS, UM, I THINK PREVIOUSLY MENTIONING THERE ARE GRANTS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT CAN HELP ADDRESS, UH, SOME OF THE GAPS THAT WE HAVE IN TRANSPORTATION. UM, ESPECIALLY IF WE CAN LINK THEM BACK TO HOW THAT'S GOING TO IMPROVE, UH, HEALTH OUTCOMES OVERALL. UM, SO I THINK THAT THAT'S, UH, RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE NOT MAYBE LOOKED INTO. UM, BUT UH, IN ADDITION, UM, I THINK THAT THE FIRST THING THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY ADDRESS IS, UH, WHICH I THINK WOULD, WOULD WE, WOULD, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TACKLE A LITTLE BIT MORE QUICKLY. AND I THINK THAT V IS ALREADY LOOKING AT SOME OF IT IS HOW TO DECREASE THAT TRANSIT TIME, UM, AND HOW TO, UM, KIND OF ALSO INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF, OF ROUTES SO THAT PEOPLE HAVE BETTER ACCESS TO IT. SO I THINK TRYING TO INCREASE ACCESS WITH WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS PROBABLY THE, THE FIRST WAY TO DO IT. UM, AND THEN TO LOOK AT, UM, WHAT VS PLANNING TO DO AS FAR AS THOSE RAPID TRANSIT. I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE NEXT STEP IN HELPING TO CONNECT THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER. ALRIGHT. WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU DR. GONZALEZ, UH, FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR APPLICATION. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE TIME. ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT APPLICANT WILL BE AT LEE MALONE. OKAY, PODIUM. GOOD AFTERNOON MS. MALONE. UM, WE'VE GIVEN ALL OF THE APPLICANTS THREE MINUTES, UH, TO MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND, UH, WITH QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE. SO, UH, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND START, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT. OKAY. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR ANN CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS ALE MALONE. I HAVE APPLIED FOR VIA BOARD DUE TO THE FACT THAT I HAVE BEEN A CONSUMER OR VIA FOR OVER 40 YEARS, UM, OFF AND ON SINCE HIGH SCHOOL AND THROUGH COMMUTING AND WORKING AND BASICALLY GETTING AROUND TOWN NOW, IT IS MY ONLY WAY OF TRANSPORTATION, BUT I FEEL I BRING A LOT TO THE TABLE DUE TO THE FACT THAT I ALSO SERVE ON DAC. I'M A MEMBER OF THE LIONS CLUB. I SERVE IN DIFFERENT CAPACITIES IN DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. I HAVE WORKED IN ACCOUNTING AND HUMAN RESOURCES ALSO. UM, VIA HAS, LIKE I SAID, [01:30:01] 40 YEARS, IT HAS CHANGED GREATLY OVER THE YEARS. SOME FOR THE BETTER, SOME FOR NOT. AND I FEEL THAT IT CAN GO A LOT FURTHER AND IT CAN BECOME A MUCH BETTER TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. MALONE. UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH, UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE, UH, BEGINNING WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. THANK YOU MS. MALONE FOR BEING HERE. UM, YOU ANSWERED ONE OF MY QUESTIONS, WHICH IS HOW OFTEN YOU RIDE THE BUS. AND MY OTHER QUESTION WAS GONNA BE, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU RODE THE BUS? I RODE IT THIS MORNING TO COME TO THIS AND I FIGURED, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT RESPONSE. AND MY NEXT QUESTION IS, WHAT OTHER CITIES, UM, HAVE YOU BEEN RESEARCHING OR ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH IN PREPARATION FOR YOUR POTENTIAL SERVICE? ON THE VIA BOARD, I HAVE BASICALLY WHEREVER I TRAVEL TO, I HAVE FAMILY ON THE EAST COAST, NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA AND WASHINGTON DC I HAVE RIDDEN THEIR COMMUTER SYSTEMS. I HAVE BEEN, UH, VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN DC BECAUSE I HAVE TO GO UP EVERY YEAR FOR NF, UH, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND FOR OUR LEGISLATURE CONFERENCE. SO I KNOW THEIR COMMUTER SYSTEM UP THERE. UM, AND I HAVE KIND OF LOOKED INTO IT TO SEE WHAT COULD BE BROUGHT OR USED HERE WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. WITHIN REASON. I ALSO HAVE TRAVELED TO EUROPE EARLIER IN MY YEARS AND I HAVE USED THE TRA UM, COMMUTER SYSTEMS OVER THERE, SO I KIND OF KNOW WHAT THEY'RE LIKE. THANK YOU, MS. MALAM. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UM, YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING ON THE BOARD. AND YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S BEEN YOUR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION NOW FOR MANY YEARS. UM, AND THEN YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S GOTTEN BETTER IN SOME WAYS AND OTHERS NOT. CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT? WHAT ONE WAY YOU THINK IT'S BETTER AND ONE WAY YOU THINK IT'S NOT? UH, IN TERMS OF GETTING BETTER, IT HAS OPENED UP MORE OF THE CITY. UH, THERE ARE MORE ROUTES THAN WHEN I FIRST STARTED RIDING IN HIGH SCHOOL. SO THOSE ON A, I WOULD SAY A LOWER ECONOMIC SCALE CAN GET AROUND TO THEIR JOBS BETTER, WHEREAS IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE, UH, THE TIMING AND THE CUTBACKS IN FREQUENCY OF USE. AND I GUESS IT'S BECAUSE OF RIDERSHIP, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THEY HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SCHEDULES OF PEOPLE AND CERTAIN THINGS WITH THE SCHOOLS AND SO FORTH. UM, THE OTHER PLACE WE HAD HAS GOTTEN, UH, NOT GOOD IS THE OPERATORS. UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THE OPERATORS ARE NOT TRAINED IN TERMS OF DEALING WITH ELDERLY, DEALING WITH DISABLED, UM, OR EVEN THE GENERAL PUBLIC. UM, I HAVE SEEN MUCH THINGS THAT I SHOULD NOT SEE IN TERMS OF THE OPERATORS. AND SO, UH, JUST TO ELABORATE ON THAT A LITTLE BIT, WE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING FOR A CANDIDATE TO, UH, GIVE SOME FUTURE DIRECTION TO THE BOARD. YOU MENTIONED WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE BETTER AND THEN WORSE, BUT COULD YOU, UM, SAY WHAT YOU THINK YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IMPROVE, UH, PERHAPS BEYOND GREATER FREQUENCY OR, OR WHAT OTHER SERVICES? UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A, UH, IMPROVEMENT OF FREQUENCY IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE LIMITED BUS SCHEDULES THAT IT HAS. UM, AND ALSO BETTER OPERATOR TRAINING. UM, AND WHEN I SAY BETTER OPERATOR TRAINING, YOU HAVE DRIVERS THAT WHEN THEY PULL UP TO THE CURVE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ELDERLY, SOME OF THE ELDERLY DO NOT MOVE AS FAST AS AS OTHERS. AND I KNOW THEY'RE ON A TIME SCHEDULE, BUT TWO OR THREE SECONDS MORE TO ALLOW A ELDERLY PERSON TO WALK ONTO THE BUS STABLY IS NOT GOING TO DESTROY YOUR YOUR SCHEDULED TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. [01:35:01] COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UM, APPLYING AND FOR YOUR STATEMENT TODAY AND FOR YOUR SERVICE. I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE ON THE, UM, DID YOU SAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE? YES, I'M, I SERVE AS A CHAIRPERSON FOR DAC. GREAT. UM, EXCUSE ME. SO MY QUESTION IS, UH, WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN SAN ANTONIO? WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT GO IN ALL MM-HMM. . IF, IF IT COULD BE PERFECT, RIGHT? IT WOULD BE A MIXTURE OF, AND I DUNNO HOW TO PUT, UM, COMMUTER TRAIN AND BUS AND I'M GOING BY WHAT I HAVE SEEN IN SEVERAL CITIES. UM, THERE ARE TRAINS THAT TAKE YOU, YOU KNOW, TO THE MORE OUTREACH OUTLYING PLACES. THEY'RE FASTER MOVING, THEY GET YOU FURTHER OUT, BRING YOU IN. ONCE YOU GET IN, YOU TRANSFER TO THE BUS AND GET TO WHERE YOU'RE GOING. UM, ALSO TO THE FREQUENCY WOULD, INSTEAD OF BUSES RUNNING EVERY 30 MINUTES, THEY WOULD PROBABLY RUN EVERY 2015 TO 20 MINUTES. UM, AND MUCH MORE, UH, ECOLOGICAL, ECOLOGICAL BASED FUEL, UM, TRANSPORTATION. SO THERE'S NOT THAT MUCH DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I THINK WE COINCIDE IN A LOT OF THOSE ASPECTS. UM, I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE USING TRANSIT IN OTHER CITIES, BUT YOU'VE ALREADY, UH, ADDRESSED THAT. SO I'LL MOVE ON TO MY NEXT QUESTION. UM, BUT I CAN PROBABLY PREDICT THE ANSWER IS IF YOU ARE SELECTED TO BE A TRUSTEE, WHAT IS YOUR COMMITMENT TO USING TRANSIT WHILE ON THE VIA BOARD? , SINCE THAT IS MY ONLY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION, . OKAY. WE'VE GOT THAT ONE ANSWERED. AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS, UM, UH, THE MAYOR'S ADMINISTRATION IS PUTTING FORWARD A PLAN CALLED CONNECT SA, UH, MEANT TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION IN SAN ANTONIO AND TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS AND PROBABLY SOMETHING WILL GO TO THE VOTERS IN NOVEMBER OF NEXT YEAR. HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF, UH, BEING INVOLVED IN THAT EFFORT? I HAD HEARD OF IT, BUT I WAS, I'M NOT FULLY VERSED ON IT AS OF YET. I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME MORE VERSED. UM, AND I DO BELIEVE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SAN ANTONIO NEEDS, UM, AS SAN ANTONIO GROWS AS IT HAS GROWN HERE WITHIN THE LAST 15 YEARS BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS MM-HMM. , UH, WE DO NEED A BETTER COMMUTER SYSTEM, UM, NOT ONLY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BUT FOR THE EASE OF TRAFFIC ON THE ROADS. SO I MOST DEFINITELY WILL FIND MYSELF WORKING A LOT INTO GETTING CONNECT ESSAY PASSED AND DOING WHAT I CAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. MALONE. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR APPLYING. AND I JUST WANTED TO GET YOUR OPINION BECAUSE I ASSUME YOU'VE USED BOTH REGULAR VIA BUS, BUT ALSO VIA TRANCE AT TIMES. YES. YES. UH, HOW DO YOU, UH, HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE TWO PROGRAMS IF YOU LOOK AT 'EM SIDE BY SIDE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF USING BOTH VIA TRANS NEEDS? A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT. UM, AND THAT IS THE, I RIDE THE, THE BUS MORE OFTEN BECAUSE IT GETS ME TO WHERE I NEED TO MORE QUICKLY. I GET AROUND FASTER, I GET AROUND BETTER ON THE BUS, I TAKE VIA TRANS WHEN I'M NOT SURE OF THE AREA OR IF I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT RIGHT NOW IN ORDER FOR ME TO GET TO AN APPOINTMENT, THEY HAVE TO DROP ME THERE TWO HOURS AHEAD OF TIME TO BE ON TIME. THAT'S FINE FOR ME. BUT WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE ELDERLY OR PEOPLE WHO ARE MEDICALLY, UH, SICK OR WHATEVER, THAT'S A BAD, THAT'S BAD. THEY DON'T HAVE TWO HOURS TO WAIT AROUND FOR AN APPOINTMENT. SO IS THERE, SO IS THAT AN AREA YOU WOULD WANT TO TRY AND WORK TO FIND SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN? IF WE CAN? I KNOW IT'S [01:40:01] KIND OF HARD RIGHT NOW, UM, BECAUSE OF THE NEW, UH, THE NEW VENDOR THEY JUST BROUGHT IN. SO THEY'RE STILL IN TRAINING MODE, BUT I DO THINK IT COULD, IT COULD BE MUCH IMPROVED AS TIME GOES ON. MM-HMM. , YOU'VE ALREADY I THINK, MENTIONED, UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS I, I WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT, BUT THERE'S ONE ISSUE THAT I THINK IS VERY RELEVANT PROBABLY FOR YOU, OTHERS WHO ARE DISABLED AND EVEN OTHERS WHO ARE NOT. AND THAT IS IF YOU'RE TAKING A BUS AND IT LETS YOU OFF SOMEWHERE, BUT THAT'S NOT EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE, THEN YOU'VE GOTTA GET TO MAYBE TWO BLOCKS, SIX BLOCKS, A HALF A MILE. MM-HMM. TO WHERE YOU ACTUALLY WANNA BE BECAUSE THAT'S THE CLOSEST THE BUS COMES AND, AND THAT PROBLEM WE KIND OF CALL SOLVING THE FIRST MILE AND THE LAST MILE. 'CAUSE YOU MAY NOT LIVE NEXT TO A BUS STOP. YOU MIGHT BE 10 BLOCKS FROM A BUS STOP. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, HAVE YOU GIVEN ANY THOUGHT TO, UH, HOW WE CAN RESOLVE THAT FIRST MILE, LAST MILE PROBLEM? GETTING PEOPLE TO EXACTLY WHERE THEY NEED TO BE USING THE BUS SYSTEM OR OTHER MOBILITIES IN TERMS OF THE FIRST MILE? LAST MILE VIA RIGHT NOW IS TRYING TO PROGRAM, UM, THAT I HAVE BEEN, UH, THAT I WAS MADE PRIVY TO BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO HELP, THEY'RE TRYING TO GET US TO WORK WITH THEM. UM, AND I TOOK IT, WHICH WAS WITHIN A BLOCK OR SO OF YOUR HOUSE, THEY WILL HAVE, YOU CAN CALL AND HAVE A CAB, THEY WILL HAVE CERTAIN CABS THERE FOR YOU TO PICK UP WITHIN. YOU COULD CALL THEM WITHIN ONE HOUR. THEY WILL PICK YOU UP AND DROP YOU TO THE NEAREST BUS STATION. UH, THIS IS A GOOD IDEA FOR OUTLYING AREAS, BUT WITHIN THE CITY, THAT'S KIND OF HARD. AND I THINK IT COULD BE MADE BETTER USE WOULD BE MADE OF LOOKING AT HOW TO, CONNECTING SOME OF THE VIA ROOTS TO OVERLAP EACH OTHER SO THAT THERE WILL NOT BE THAT MUCH OF A DISTANCE BETWEEN, UM, AREAS WHERE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE COVERAGE AND WHERE PEOPLE DO HAVE COVERAGE. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR, YOUR APPLICATION. MS. MALONE. I JUST REALLY HAVE ONE QUESTION, UM, IN ADDITION, WHICH IS, UH, WE, WE ALL KNOW WE HAVE A, A, A UNIQUE CHALLENGE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. WE'RE A VERY SPRAWLING CITY AND THE SUCCESS OF A PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM DEPENDS ON SOME DENSITY. UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, LIMITED RESOURCES AND, AND JUST ESSENTIALLY JUST A HALF A CENT, UH, COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES, WHAT WOULD YOUR PRIORITIES BE AND HOW WOULD WE IN THAT SITUATION, BUILD A BETTER BUS SYSTEM, UH, FOR OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS? AS OF RIGHT NOW WITH THE FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, I DO THINK A BETTER, A BETTER SYSTEM COULD BE BUILT BY, AS I SAID, THE LOOKING AT THE FREQUENCY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RIDERSHIP CAN GET TO AND FROM WORK IN A TIMELY MANNER. UM, PLACING THE BUSES WHERE THEY REALLY NEED TO BE WITHIN THAT TIMELY MANNER, BUT ALSO LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE WHERE IT CAN BE SHOWN. THIS WOULD HELP US BETTER WITH, LIKE I SAID, MY VISION COMMUTER TRAINS FOR THE FURTHER OUTREACHES OF THE CITY, UM, WHICH WOULD BRING MORE OF THE BUSES BACK IN. THE COMMUTER TRAINS WOULD HANDLE THE OUTLYING AREAS, BRINGING THE PEOPLE IN AND THEN FROM THERE GOING, BUT RIGHT NOW, DEFINITELY GETTING THE FREQUENCY UP SO THE RIDER CAN GET TO WORK ON TIME, GETTING TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO TO OPERATOR TRAINING FOR THEM TO KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THE, THE CUSTOMERS WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE. UM, AND ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE VIATRAN CONTRACTOR REALIZES THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT THEY HAVE TO LOOK WORK MORE ON IN TERMS OF THEIR RIDERSHIP AND IN TERMS OF GETTING PEOPLE TO, UH, GETTING TO THEIR APPOINTMENTS IN A TIMELY MANNER. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. MALONE. AND THANK YOU ALSO FOR YOUR SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP WITH THE DISABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OKAY. OUR NEXT APPLICANT WILL BE, UH, OUR NEXT AND LAST APPLICANT WILL BE JUDY TREVINO. [01:45:38] GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU MR. VINNO. YOU HAVE, UH, THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND WITH, UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE. FANTASTIC, THANK YOU. WELL, GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS JUDY VINNO. UH, MY DESIRE TO SERVE ON THE VIA BOARD IS TO TO ASSURE THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY HAVE A VOICE ON THE BOARD, SOMEONE THAT REPRESENTS THEM AND UNDERSTANDS THEIR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS. I GREW UP ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN AND SO I USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO WORK AND TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY. UM, AND I HAVE, UH, MY MOTHER WHO'S 86 YEARS OLD, SHE CURRENTLY STILL LIVES ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN AND, AND SHE UTILIZES PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS. UM, WHEN I CAN'T TAKE HER GO VISIT THE SHOPPING CENTERS AND SOMETIMES EVEN TO GIVE ME SURPRISE VISITS AT MY HOUSE, . UM, AND SO I UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY AND BELIEVE I CAN MAKE AN IMPACT AS A BOARD MEMBER. UM, FOR VM I HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE IN NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT FROM MARLEY, THE LAKE UNIVERSITY AND A BACHELOR'S OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN ACCOUNTING FROM ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY. I HAVE OVER 13 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN, UM, WORKING FOR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND IT INCLUDES THE ALAMO REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY, WHICH PROVIDES, UM, WHICH ADDRESSES CONGESTION AND MOBILITY CONCERNS FOR OUR COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION, I'M A BOARD MEMBER OF RIDE TEXAS CONNECT, WHICH PROVIDES TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ELDERLY. UM, LIKE MY MOTHER, WHEN SHE NEEDS, UH, A RIDE TO A DOCTOR'S OFFICE OR AN APPOINTMENT, THEY PROVIDE THAT TO TRANSPORTATION FOR HER. SO I BELIEVE MY EDUCATION AND MY EXPERIENCE HAVE PROVIDED ME THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY TO BE A SUITABLE BOARD MEMBER. UM, ALSO AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, ACCORDING TO OUR PROJECTIONS, WE WILL HAVE A MILLION PEOPLE MOVE TO SAN ANTONIO BY 2040. AND THIS WILL INCREASE OUR NEED NOT ONLY FOR HOUSING EMPLOYMENT, BUT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. SO THE CITY NEEDS TO HAVE A, A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM THAT IS SUITABLE, SAFE, EFFICIENT, AND AND INCLUSIVE OF ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION. THE BOARD MUST FOCUS ON THE PLANS THAT WILL ALLOW FOR THE MOVEMENT OF THE, OF THE PEOPLE ON A LARGER SCALE AND OFFER TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS FOR OUR RESIDENTS. MY GOAL WOULD BE TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IN BUILDING A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND TO HELP THE PUBLIC UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT THIS WILL HAVE ON THEIR COMMUTE TO WORK AND TO SCHOOL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. IGNEO. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE. WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. OKAY. THANK YOU MR. MILLO FOR BEING HERE. MY FIRST, UH, QUESTION, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ALREADY ANSWERED IT, IS WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU RODE THE BUS AND HOW OFTEN DO YOU RIDE IT? BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE DAILY. YEAH, WELL, YES, I, NOT DAILY NOW, BUT I DO RIDE IT AND FREQUENTLY AND MY KIDS AND I DO ALSO WRITE IT AS WELL. WE, WE, MY DAUGHTER LOVES THEY HAS FREE WIFI . OKAY, GREAT. MY SECOND QUESTION IS, WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE YOU BEEN RESEARCHING IN PREPARATION FOR A POTENTIAL APPOINTMENT ON THE BOARD, ON THE VIA BOARD? SO, YOU KNOW, I TRAVEL WITH MY WORK, SO I, I'VE TRAVELED TO OTHER CITIES AND I SEE THE TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY OFFER TO OTHER CITIES, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SUBWAYS AND THE, THE, THE BUSES THAT WE, YOU CAN USE TO GET AROUND THE DIFFERENT CITIES. SO MY HUSBAND AND I, WHEN WE GO, THAT'S THE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION WE USE BECAUSE WE LIKE TO LEARN AND SEE HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU MOVE AROUND THE CITY AND SOMETIMES EVEN GET LOST. BUT IT'S GOOD, IT'S GOOD TO KIND OF LEARN AND, AND GET TO KNOW. AND SO I THINK SOME OF THOSE THINGS, THERE'S A NEED FOR US TO HAVE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, INCLUDING, WE WERE JUST IN CALIFORNIA. WE USED THE, UM, THE, THE H O V LANE WHERE WE WERE, FOUR OF US IN THE CAR. SO WE CAN GET THROUGH FASTER THE TRAFFIC AND GET TO THE AIRPORT. THANK YOU MR. EZ. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. YOU ARE WELCOME. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, THANK YOU. AND, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT AS A, AS A YOUNG PERSON, YOU USE THE BUS, BUT I THINK THE QUESTION ALSO, UH, THAT I DIDN'T QUITE GET FROM COUNCILWOMAN RACHA GARCIA WAS YOUR FREQUENCY TODAY OF USING THE BEST. SO INFREQUENT? YES. NOT AS FREQUENT AS I USED IT THEN. 'CAUSE I WOULD USE IT ON DAILY BASIS, BUT I DO USE IT, UM, NOW TO ATTEND VETS TO GO DOWNTOWN. WHEN WE ARE DOWNTOWN, MY FAMILY AND I, WE DO USE IT TO RIDE, UM, TO GET AROUND THE AREA. WE, WE FREQUENTLY PLAY TOURIST IN [01:50:01] DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO, AND I ALSO RIDE IT WITH MY MOM WHEN SOMETIMES WHEN SHE WANTS TO GET SOMEWHERE. YOU MENTIONED, UM, YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE M P O REGARDING CONGESTION RELIEF WITH THE I WORKED FOR, I WORKED AT THE ALAMO REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY. OH, OKAY. SO NOT THE NM P O NO, NOT THE, AND SO COULD YOU JUST ELABORATE ON YOUR EXPERIENCE THERE AND WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE THAT EXPERIENCE MIGHT BRING TO THE VIA BOARD? SURE. SO MY ROLE THERE, I WAS A CONTROLLER FOR THE ENTITY AND SO I MANAGED ALL THE FUNDS, THE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WERE BROUGHT IN TO THE CITY. THAT WAS THE TIME WHEN WE WERE CONSTRUCTING THE 2 81 INTERCHANGE, THE BOTH OF THE SOUTH, UM, UM, THE SOUTH SIDE OF 2 81, WHERE YOU WOULD GET TO TO FROM 1604 TO 2 81 ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF, OF THAT INTERCHANGE. AND SO I WAS PART OF THAT GROUP WHEN WE WERE DEVELOPING THAT AREA WITH THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS, THE AURA MONEY THAT CAME IN. SORRY. AND HOW LONG AGO WAS THAT? SO THAT WAS, I WANNA SAY THREE YEARS AGO. OKAY. UM, OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND SO CURRENTLY YOU ARE, UH, CURRENTLY MM-HMM , I'M CURRENTLY, I WORK FOR, UM, THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF INCARNATE WORD. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU MAYOR. HI JUDY. HI. WE WORK TOGETHER ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. YES. SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE, UH, KNOW THAT RIGHT UP FRONT. BUT I APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU DO ON THAT COMMITTEE. THANK YOU. BUT THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, YES. YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION IN THE CITY. SO LET ME ASK, UH, HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE CONNECT SA PROPOSAL? UH, A LITTLE BIT. OKAY. UM, WELL, HAVE YOU FORMED ANY, UH, UH, VIEW ON ANYTHING THAT YOU THINK IS A POSITIVE PART OF THAT OR ANY PROBLEMATIC AREAS IN THAT PROPOSAL THAT YOU'VE LOOKED AT? WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT CONNECTING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, MOVING TO AUSTIN CONNECT, HAVING SOME KIND OF CONNECTION TO AUSTIN THAT WE'VE SEEN THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DO. UM, IT SEEMS LIKE IT NEEDS TO BE A BETTER WAY TO GET THERE. THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY, I REMEMBER THE BROADWAY CONNECTION TRYING TO MOVE PEOPLE ALONG THOSE LINES, BUT I THINK THE CHALLENGE IS ALWAYS WHERE IS THE NEED AND WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE MOVING, YOU KNOW, TO AND FROM. SO I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IF I THINK OF SOMEONE LIKE MY MOTHER THAT IS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN NEEDS TO GET TO THE MEDICAL CENTER, THERE'S TIMES IT'LL TAKE HER TWO HOURS. SO TRYING TO DEVELOP THOSE AREAS OF REALLY WHERE ARE THE, THE, THE HIGH POINTS OF WHERE YOU NEED TO GET PEOPLE TO, I THINK IS, HAS BEEN THE CHALLENGE FOR US. AND THEN MAKING SURE THERE'S, THERE'S, UM, BUSES ACCESSIBLE. MY KIDS WOULD LOVE TO TAKE THE BUS TO COLLEGE RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE'S NOT A BUS STOP ANYWHERE WITHIN A MILE FROM OUR HOUSE. THEY MIGHT AS WELL WALK TO U T SS A, IT'D BE FASTER BECAUSE THEY CAN'T FIND IT. SO TO ME, I THINK THE CHALLENGES ARE TRYING TO FIND THOSE HIGH POINTS OF WHERE TO GET THOSE LOCATIONS, THOSE BUSES, AND THE DROP OFF POINTS OF WHERE WE CAN MOVE PEOPLE. WELL, I THINK THAT TIES RIGHT INTO ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD. AND WHAT IS YOUR SUGGESTION OR IDEA FOR DEALING WITH THIS FIRST MILE, LAST MILE PROBLEM THAT YOU DESCRIBED THAT YOUR KIDS HAVING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE, YOU TAKE A BUS SOMEWHERE TO TRY AND GET AS CLOSE TO WHERE YOU NEED TO GO, BUT YOU'RE STILL SIX BLOCKS AWAY OR 10 BLOCKS AWAY, OR A HALF A MILE OR MORE AWAY, UH, OR YOU DON'T LIVE NEAR A BUS STOP AND YOU'VE GOTTA WALK QUITE A WAYS TO GET ONE THAT'S KIND OF THAT FIRST MILE, LAST MILE PROBLEM THAT WE FACE WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT? SO FOR ME, MY THOUGHTS ARE RIDE SHARE, KIND OF FINDING, EVEN WITHIN MY COMMUNITY, WHAT I'VE DONE IS TRY TO FIND, UM, A FEW OF US MOTHERS THAT WE HAD, KIDS THAT WENT TO THE SAME SCHOOLS AND JUST ROTATING, TAKING TURNS OF WHO WOULD TAKE THE CHILDREN TO THE SCHOOL THAT DAY. EVERYBODY HAD A DIFFERENT DAY OF THE WEEK. THAT WAY THERE'S NOT AS MANY CARS OUT THERE AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE TIME CONSTRAINT AS WELL. SO TO ME, RIDE SHARING WOULD BE A REALLY BIG THING. THAT'S WHAT I TELL MY CHILDREN. LOOK FOR OTHER KIDS THAT GO TO YOUR SCHOOL. THERE'S KIDS HERE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT GO TO U T S A DO RIDE SHARE, SO YOU CAN GET THERE. THERE'S NOT FIVE CARS DRIVING FROM HERE TO THERE. OKAY. UM, THAT WOULD PROBABLY MEAN USING, UH, H O V LANES, WHICH ARE SCHEDULE BE DEVELOPED ON FOUR 10 AND 2 81 AND I 10, THINGS LIKE THAT. YES. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF H O V LANES IN FUTURE ROAD DEVELOPMENT? I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE A GREAT ASSET FOR THIS CITY. I MEAN, I'VE USED THEM IN, IN HOUSTON. I'VE USED 'EM AS I MENTIONED A FEW MINUTES AGO IN CALIFORNIA JUST TO GET TO DIFFERENT PLACES WHEN, WHEN WE, WE WERE FOUR IN THE CAR AND IT REALLY GETS YOU THERE, UM, FASTER. AND I THINK IT REALLY PROMOTES MORE PEOPLE TO USE RIDESHARE. I MEAN, UNFORTUNATELY YOU'VE SEEN PEOPLE ABUSE [01:55:01] IT , BUT I THINK BECAUSE IT DOES GET YOU THERE FASTER, THAT I THINK IT'S A GOOD WAY TO PROMOTE PEOPLE TO, TO HAVE TO, TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE THAT CAN GO WITH SO THEY CAN USE THE RIDESHARE LANE AND GET THEIR QUICKER. WHAT DO YOU THINK, UH, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE FUTURE FOR SAN ANTONIO IN MASS TRANSPORTATION? YOU KNOW, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A SUBWAY, BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES TO THAT. UM, BUT I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT A WAY TO GET PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE DIFFERENT COLLEGES AND LOCATIONS OF WHERE WE ARE. I WISH I WOULD'VE, TEXAS A AND M WOULD'VE BEEN ON THE SOUTH SIDE WHEN I WAS GROWING UP THERE. I, MY ONLY, UM, ADVANTAGE WAS HAVING PALO ALTO COLLEGE, WAS ABLE TO GO TO SCHOOL THERE AND THEN HAD TO COME TO THE NORTH SIDE SOMEWHERE TO BE ABLE TO FIND A COLLEGE TO FINISH MY EDUCATION. SO I, FOR ME, I THINK THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE AROUND THE CITY SO THEY CAN GO TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. MY SISTER ATTENDED ST. MARY'S, UNIVER, EXCUSE ME, ST. PHILLIPS, WHICH WAS ON THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN. SO IT'S TRYING TO FIND THOSE POINTS WHERE WE REALLY COULD CREATE MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO GET THERE. OKAY. NOW, I KNOW YOU SERVE ON A LOT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. UH, I'VE NOTICED YOU'RE A BOARD MEMBER FOR SEVERAL GROUPS AND ALSO YOU SERVE ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. AND NOW IF YOU WERE TO GO ON THE VIA BOARD, DO YOU THINK YOU CAN CONTINUE TO MANAGE YOUR MEMBERSHIP ON ALL OF THESE AS WELL AS GO ON THE VIA BOARD? OR WOULD YOU BE, UH, SEPARATING YOUR COMMITMENT FROM SOME OF THOSE OTHERS IN ORDER TO TAKE THIS ON? THERE'S A FEW, I THINK TWO MAYBE THAT I'VE LISTED THERE THAT MY COMMITMENT IS ONE HAS ENDED AND THE OTHER'S ABOUT TO COME TO AN END. UM, CENTRO MED IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END FOR THAT, FOR THAT ONE. SO I, I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH MY COMMITMENT TO SERVING ON THE BOARD. I, MY CURRENT ROLE IS ACTUALLY WORKING WITH BOARDS WITH THE SISTERS OF CHARITY INCARNATE WORD. I HELP THEM MANAGE AND OVERSEE 10 DIFFERENT NONPROFITS. AND SO MY ROLE IS TO WORK WITH BOARDS AND RECRUIT BOARDS AND TRAIN THEM FOR GOVERNANCE. AND SO THEY'RE, ONE OF THE THINGS FOR THEM IS THEY PROMOTE FOR ME TO SIT ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO BE ABLE TO NETWORK AND RECRUIT OTHER BOARD MEMBERS. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. THANK YOU MR. VINEO FOR PUTTING YOURSELF FORWARD FOR THIS, UH, POSITION AND FOR BEING HERE TODAY. UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS YOU'VE, YOU'VE ALREADY ANSWERED, I WAS GOING TO ASK, WHAT'S YOUR EXPERIENCE USING TRANSIT IN OTHER CITIES? YES. UM, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE DONE THAT A BIT. COULD YOU NAME A FEW OF THOSE? SURE, SURE. I'VE, I HAVE IN, UM, NEW YORK CITY, UM, WASHINGTON, DC CHICAGO, UM, OKAY. BE A FEW. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. UM, AND IF YOU ARE SELECTED TO BE A TRUSTEE ON THIS BOARD, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR COMMITMENT TO USING TRANSIT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO? I'M DEFINITELY COMMITTED. UM, I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN BROOKS WAS TALKING ABOUT HAVING, UM, ONE OF HAVING VIA THERE, A STATION BECAUSE I WAS WORKING THERE AT THE TIME. SO I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. UM, I ALWAYS MANAGE MY SCHEDULE VERY WELL, SO I TRY TO SEE IF THERE'S DAYS THAT I DON'T NEED TO LEAVE MY OFFICE, AND THAT WOULD BE A COMMITMENT I WOULD MAKE TO GET ON, UM, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO MY, TO AND FROM MY OFFICE. GREAT. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. AND, UH, COULD YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR VISION FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN SAN ANTONIO? SO, YOU KNOW, WITH, FOR ME, THE, THE, AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S A MILLION PEOPLE COMING AND, YOU KNOW, DRIVING IN THE CITY IS ALREADY CONGESTED. YOU KNOW, THERE'S TIMES THIS MORNING WAS TERRIBLE. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT I 10 AND BEING DIVERTED TO FOUR 10 EVEN WAS JUST AS BAD. SO FOR ME IT'S HOW CAN WE LOOK FOR WAYS OF REDUCING THAT CONGESTION, UM, REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES US TO GET TO WORK AND TO SCHOOL AND FINDING THOSE WAYS THROUGH THE VIA BOARD. GREAT. AND THEN, UH, LASTLY, UM, THE MAYOR HAS BEEN WORKING ON AN INITIATIVE CALLED CONNECT SA. UH, AND THIS, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES WILL GO TO THE VOTERS IN, UH, NEXT YEAR AT SOME POINT. AND I WOULD ANTICIPATE, UM, ANY MEMBER ON THE VIA BOARD, UH, TO HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT IN SOME WAY BECAUSE IT WOULD BE, UM, TO IMPROVE OUR TRANSPORTATION HERE. MM-HMM. , UM, HOW, HOW WOULD YOU ENVISION YOURSELF PARTICIPATING IN THAT? SO IN, I, I PARTICIPATED IN A, IN A, UH, GROUP CALLED THE LATINA LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE WITH THE HISPANIC CHAMBER. AND ONE OF THE THINGS, ONE OF THEIR, THEIR MISSIONS IS TO ENCOURAGE MORE PEOPLE TO VOTE, UH, TO RUN FOR OFFICE, SIT ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. AND SO FOR ME, I WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PART, BUT I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT POLITICS AND KIND OF HOW THAT WORKS. AND SO THE EXPERIENCE I LEARNED FROM THAT IS KIND OF BLOCK WALKING, CALLING, UM, VOTERS, ASKING 'EM TO VOTE. SO IT REALLY TAUGHT ME ABOUT, ABOUT US GETTING OUT AND DOING MORE COMMUNITY SERVICES AND TALKING TO OTHERS AND VOTERS AND NEIGHBORS [02:00:01] AND FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, AND GETTING THE WORD OUT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THE D DIFFERENT INITIATIVES WE HAVE. SO TO ME, THAT'S WHERE I WOULD BE INVOLVED IN, IS TALKING TO MY NEIGHBORS, MY FRIENDS, MY COLLEAGUES, HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. I WAS THE PRESIDENT OF OUR H O A, SO GETTING THOSE MEETINGS SET UP, UM, WHEN I WAS, UM, PRESIDENT AT THE TIME. BUT BEING INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT IN GETTING PEOPLE OUT AND TO UNDERSTAND AND, UM, GET 'EM OUT TO VOTE AS WELL IS IMPORTANT FOR ME. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JUDY. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. I JUST HAVE ONE, UH, REMAINING QUESTION, JUDY. YES. AND THAT IS, UM, SAN ANTONIO HAS A BIG LIFT BECAUSE WE'RE A SPRAWLING CITY. YES. UH, BUT WE KNOW WHERE WE WANT OUR TRANSIT AGENCY TO BE. UH, WE ALSO ARE LIMITED WITH REGARD TO RESOURCES, AND WE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE MORE THAN A HALF A CENT TO DEAL WITH. HOW DO WE CREATE A BETTER BUS SYSTEM IN YOUR MIND? WHERE SHOULD OUR PRIORITIES BE, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE BUS SYSTEM, UH, TO START? SO FOR ME, I, YOU KNOW, MY BACKGROUND IS FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING. I'VE WORKED WITH LOTS OF BUDGETS AND WORKING ON TRYING TO UTILIZE THEM, YOU KNOW, MAXIMIZE OUR RESOURCES. 'CAUSE AS YOU MENTIONED, NO ONE HAS THOSE UNLIMITED NUMBER OF RESOURCES. SO IN THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES I'VE WORKED, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, I FOCUS ON HERE ARE THE RESOURCES WE HAVE, WHERE CAN WE MAKE THE LARGEST IMPACT? SO BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT AND FOCUSING ON THOSE AREAS SO THAT YOU CAN UTILIZE YOUR DOLLARS ON THE HIGH IMPACT AREAS. IS IT DOWNTOWN? IS IT NOW WITH U T S A DOWNTOWN THAT YOU'RE CREATING? YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT TEXAS A AND M, WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS GOING THERE. AND SO LOOKING AT THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS AND FOCUSING ON THOSE WOULD BE WHAT I WOULD, I WOULD PUSH FOR. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. AND THANK YOU. WELCOME FOR YOUR SERVICE. WELCOME ON, UH, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AS WELL TOO. YOU'RE WELCOME. WE APPRECIATE THAT. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY. THAT IS OUR LAST APPLICANT FOR THE ONE REMAINING, UH, VIA TRUSTEE POSITION. SO AT THIS [Executive Session] TIME, IT IS 12:11 PM ON THIS 28TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2019, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY GRANTED BY CHAPTER 5 5, 1 IN THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE V T C S, TEXAS HELD MEETINGS ACT, THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE WILL NOW RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, DISCUSS DELIBERATE THE APPOINTMENT OF A VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD OF TRUSTEE PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.074 PERSONNEL MATTERS. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. WELCOME. UH, VAC CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE IS RECONVENED FROM ITS EXECUTIVE SESSION. NO OFFICIAL ACTION WAS TAKEN. UM, AND SO I WILL NOW RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA FOR A MOTION. I MOVE THAT THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE, UM, MOVES LENE MALONE AS THE APPOINTMENT TO THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTOR, UH, BOARD OF TRUSTEES. SECOND. OKAY. UH, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND, UH, FOR, UH, ALE MALONE TO BE APPOINTED OR BEING SENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION AS OUR NEXT VIA TRUSTEE MEMBER. UM, BEFORE WE, WE TAKE THE VOTE, I DO WANNA SAY, AND I THINK THIS WAS REFLECTED BY THE TIME IT TOOK TO GET THE ONE NAME OUT OF FOUR IN THERE, UH, THE FOUR CANDIDATES, UH, WHO WERE PUT FORWARD, WHO BROUGHT THEMSELVES FORWARD AS, UH, TRUSTEES, POTENTIAL TRUSTEES OUGHT TO BE COMMENDED. THIS WAS A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION. ALL FOUR OF YOU, UH, BELONG ON THIS VIA BOARD. UH, AND, AND WE DO HOPE THAT WE SEE YOUR NAMES WHEN THERE ARE OPENINGS, UM, UH, THAT COME UP BECAUSE YOU ARE INCREDIBLY QUALIFIED, UH, TO LEAD OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM FORWARD. AND WE'RE GONNA FIND PLACES FOR YOU TO DO JUST THAT, UH, THROUGH VIA OR OTHER AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, AND THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES ALSO FOR DELIBERATION. UM, YEAH. OKAY. UM, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THAT'S ALL THE ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY. UM, THANK YOU AGAIN. HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON. * 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.