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>> PELÁEZ: I SAW COUNCILMAN WHYTE UPSTAIRS. CAN SOMEONE PING HIM, LET HIM KNOW WE STARTED? CALL THE ROLL, PLEASE.
>> CLERK: CHAIR, WE HAVE A QUORUM. >> PELÁEZ: SO COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA, DID YOU HAVE A MINUTE TO LOOK AT THE MINUTES OF MARCH 25?
>> GARCIA: MORE FOR APPROVAL. >> PELÁEZ: WE HAVE A
BRIEFING REGARDING LAUNCH SA. >> AND BECAUSE WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST AGENDA, WE'RE GOING TO GO STRAIGHT INTO IT.
AS A POINT OF REFERENCE, FOR THE PAST YEAR, GEEKDOM HAS BEEN OPERATING SO THEY ARE GOING TO GIVE US WHAT THEY'VE ACCOMPLISHED OVER THIS YEAR.
>> THANK YOU FOR THE TIME. I WILL BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON LAUNCH AS, SAN ANTONIO'S RESOURCE CENTER FOR SAN ANTONIO'S BUSINESS CENTERS AND ENTREPRENEURS. WHAT WE WILL COVER IS THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, GEEKDOM HAS BECOME A PARTNER. AND SOME OF THE NEXT STEPS WE HAVE AFTER THIS LAST YEAR AND A HALF, RESEARCH AND INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED. HIGH LEVEL LAUNCH SA, WHAT OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN, WE SEE OURSELVES AS A DIFFERENT WAYS. THROUGH OUR WORKING SPACE AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, MAKING REFERRALS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TO THE RESOURCES THAT ARE OUT THERE AND GUIDING AND CREATING EDUCATING AND PROGRAMMING FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
THIS IS A TEAM THAT MAKES IT HAPPEN. THERE'S FIVE OF US FOCUSED ON THREE DIFFERENT THINGS FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
ONE IS A PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, ANOTHER EVENT COORDINATION AND THE ONE-ON-ONE ASSISTANCE FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
HIGH LEVEL YEAR ONE REVIEW WOULD BE FROM OCTOBER 2023 TO SEPTEMBER 2024 IS A A FULL SERVICE RELAUNCH. WITH THE NEW PARTNERSHIP CAME A NEW TEAM ALONGSIDE RENOVATIONS TO THE SPACE AND IT'S GATHERING THAT REALTIME FEEDBACK FROM SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR AND SEEKING TO GUIDE THE DECISIONS AND PROGRAMS THAT WE CREATE. YEAR 2 OF THE CONTRACT, OCTOBER 1 CONVICTED OFF WITH THE RELAUNCH OF LAUNCH SA EVENT. WE HAD ABOUT 150 PEOPLE ACROSS THE WHOLE DAY AND THE MOMENTUM WAS THERE FOR US TO DO A TON WITH MORE EVENTS, PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. I WANT TO QUICKLY GO OVER THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE STARTING WITH ONE-ON-ONE ASSISTANCE PROCESS.
WE ALSO HOST A LOT OF EVENTS AND PROGRAMS. EVERYTHING FROM WORKSHOPS TO PANELS, AND THEN THROUGH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WE HAVE TOOLS AND RESOURCES LIKE LAUNCH SA AND SIZE UP THAT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS CAN UTILIZE ON DEMAND.
THE WAY OUR ASSISTANCE PROCESS WORKS, WE HAVE HOTLINES AND BUSINESS CHANNELS. ONCE THEY FILL OUT ASSISTANCE REQUEST FORM, WE HAVE ANSWERS TO WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR AND WILL MAKE REFERRAL CONNECTIONS TO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS OR SHOW RESOURCES OR HAVE THEM MEET WITH A OUR ADVISOR.
OVER THE LAST QUARTER WE ADDED SOME MORE QUESTIONS THAT INVOLVED MORE DATA AND WHEN THEY ARE COMING FROM. BUSINESS PLANNING AND STRATEGY AND ACCESS TO FUNDING ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST REASONS WHY PEOPLE ARE REACHING OUT TO US AND WE'VE GOT SOME PROGRAMMING THAT WE'RE PLANNING IN THE FUTURE TO TACKLE THAT.
FROM AN INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE, RETAIL FOOD, RESTAURANT FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTINUES TO BE A CONSISTENT THEME ON THE TYPES OF BUSINESSES REACHING OUT TO US. ABOUT HALF OF THOSE PEOPLE START AND THE OTHER HALF ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING A BUSINESS.
FROM THE ASSISTANCE PROCESS WE HOST EVENTS GEARED TOWARDS WHAT SMALL BIGS OWNERS ARE REACHING OUT TO US. WE'VE HOSTED 200 EVENTS GUIDED TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND THESE EVENTS COME IN TWO SEPARATE WAYS, THE FIRST BEING BUSINESS OWNERS, THE OTHER PEOPLE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE WORK WITH TO COMBINE RESOURCES. A TOOL LAUNCHED DURING OUR RELAUNCH WAS LAUNCH SA LINK.
THIS IS A PUBLIC DATA BASE OF PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS. CURRENTLY WE HAVE 261
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PARTNERS. THIS HAS LED TO STRONGER COLLABORATION ACROSS THE ECOSYSTEM AND WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF SUCCESS WITH THIS TOOL BEING LAUNCHED.MORE THAN A PLATFORM BEING PROVIDED TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, THIS QUARTER WE HOSTED 25 PARTNERS THROUGH VARIOUS EVENTS WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, EVERYTHING FROM THE BDOS LIKE PROSPER AND SAGE TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
WE LAUNCHED A SERIES DUE TO THIS DEMAND CALLED THE INSURANCE SMALL ECOSYSTEM WHERE TWICE A MONTH WE HIGHLIGHT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT PROGRAMMING RESOURCES.
WE PARTNERED WITH THE LIBRARY TO HOST OFF-SITE LIBRARY SESSIONS, AN INFO SESSION FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY. LAST WEEK WE COMPLETED OUR LAST ONE IN DISTRICT 2 AND WE'VE HOSTED A TOTAL NINE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WITH OVER 100 ATTENDEES. THERE'S OPPORTUNITY AFTER A YEAR OF DOING THIS TO ELEVATE THIS TO THE NEXT LEVEL THE TABLE FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY. HIGH LEVEL, HE'S ARE IMPACT NUMBERS TO DATE. WE'VE HOSTED 200 BUSINESS EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS.
A LOT OF THOSE HAVE HAPPENED IN THE MOST RECENT QUARTER. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE LEVERAGE THAT FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, SEEING OVER 4,000 ATTENDEES.
AND WE'VE HELPED SUPPORT OVER 1100 BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS.
I WANT TO TAKE TIME TO HIGHLIGHT LAVA LOPEZ, A SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, BUT MOST RECENTLY THROUGH OUR ADVISOR AND MENTORSHIP HAS REENGAGED FOR GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITIES. AFTER ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF OF DATA, THESE ARE SOME OF THE NEXT PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY STARTING WITH THE WAYPOINT PROGRAM. THIS IS REALLY A ZERO TO ONE PROGRAM, A MIX OF BRINGING SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, WORKSHOPS AND MENTORSHIP TO GET THE FUNDAMENTALS DOWN.
APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE OPENING VERY SOON IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
NEXT MONTH WE'RE HOSTING A FUNDING RESOURCE FAIR. FOCUSED ON BRINGING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND FUNDING PARTNERS TO GET CONNECTED WITH SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. IN OUR SECOND YEAR OF DOING THIS, WE'VE SEEN A LOT MORE ENGAGEMENT ON THE FINANCIAL PARTNER SIDE SO WE'RE LOOKING TO POTENTIALLY HOST THIS MORE FREQUENTLY, ULTIMATELY HONING IN ON THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATING BUSINESS OWNERS ON WHAT RESOURCES ARE OUT THERE FOR THEM. FOR US OF COURSE HAVING THE LAUNCH SA LIBRARY -- WITH OUR BUSINESS CHRONICLE SERIES. ULTIMATELY TELLING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS STORIES, HIGHLIGHTING THEM, GETTING MORE CONNECTED AND MEETING MORE COMMUNITY MEMBERS LETTING THEM NOW LAUNCH SA SERVICES.
THAT EVENT WRAPS UP TOMORROW AND THIS IS AN EVENT THAT IS SEEING HIGH DEMAND THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO CONTINUE INTO THE FUTURE. THE SUBMIT CONFERENCE IS SOMETHING -- SUMMIT CONFERENCE IS SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING INTO IN THE FALL. AS WE GATHERED MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT INDUSTRIES ARE REACHING OUT TO US, ONE OF THE BIGGEST HAS BEEN FOOD AND BEVERAGE AND THE BREAK FAST PROGRAM. AFTER GETTING A LOT OF FEEDBACK TO BRING THAT BACK, BUT THAT ALSO LEADS US TO OPPORTUNITIES TO POTENTIALLY CONNECT WITH OTHER PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND TARGET SOME OF OUR MORE WORKSHOPS AND PROGRAMS, MORE INDUSTRY SPECIFIC BASED ON THE DEMAND THAT WE'RE SEEING THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE PROCESS. THAT WAS AN UPDATE ON WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO FOR THE
LAST YEAR AND A HALF. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ALWAYS IMPRESSED WITH LAUNCH SA. I HAVE SORT OF A MECHANICS QUESTION. I DECIDED I WANT TO START A COFFEE SHOP OR PRINT SHOP, WHATEVER. I WAKE UP AND SAY, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT I DON'T KNOW. HOW DO I KNOW TO FIND YOU GUYS?
>> SO CURRENTLY THROUGH BOTH THE MARKETING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO LEVERAGE, ALSO PARTNERING WITH THE CITY.
AND I THINK ANOTHER PIECE COMES FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
THERE'S A LOT OF TRENDS THE MORE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WE GET CONNECTED THE MORE
THEY WILL REFER A FRIEND OR SOMEONE. >> PELÁEZ: IF I GO TO
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BROADWAY BANK AND GO I NEED SEED MONEY, WILL THE BANKERS REFER THEM TO LAUNCH SA?>> YES, STARTING WITH THIS ACCESS TO CAPITAL RESOURCE FAIR THAT WE'RE HOSTING, BUT WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH BANKS AND GETTING THEIR NUMBERS TOGETHER BEFORE THEY GO INTO THE LOAN PROCESS. THAT'S OFTENTIMES REASONS WHY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ARE REACHING OUT OR WE'RE CONNECTING WITH THEM.
THEY MAY SAY I'M INTERESTED IN GROWING OR WANT TO GET A LOAN BUT GETTING ALL THEIR
DUCKS IN A ROW. >> PELÁEZ: I DON'T KNOW IF COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE HAS THE SAME EXPERIENCE, BUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE PEOPLE COME KNOCKING ON LAWYERS' DOORS AND SAY I WANT TO CREATE A LLC AND WE ASK WHAT FOR. THEY MAY OR MAY NOT NEED A LLC. DO YOU MARKET TO SMALL SHOP ATTORNEYS WHO ARE CREATING
THESE L LCS AND IF SO HOW? >> WE'VE HAD A FEW OF THOSE LEGAL COMPANIES GIVE BACK TIME THROUGH WORKSHOPS, THROUGH THE FORM OF ASK ME ANYTHINGS.
WE HAVE A FEW LAWYERS THAT HAVE PROVIDED ROUND TABLE EXPERIENCES, BUT I DO THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH EVEN MORE FIRMS.
>> PELÁEZ: I'M NOT GOING TO BE HERE IN TWO OR THREE WEEKS, BUT COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE WILL STILL BE HERE. I WONDER IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE SAN ANTONIO BAR ASSOCIATION WHERE A LOT OF THESE YOUNG LAWYERS WHO ARE CREATING THESE LLCS FOR STARTUPS, THEY GO TO LEARN AND LOOK FOR MENTORSHIP AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CLIENTS. IT SOUNDS LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LAUNCH AND COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO PLUG
INTO THAT COMMUNITY OF LAWYERS. >> THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC.
>> PELÁEZ: ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCILMEMBER VIAGRAN? >> GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH. I THINK A LOT OF CRITICISM THAT HAD BEEN DIRECTED AT LAUNCH SA HAS BEEN CORRECT, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'M EAGER TO SEE HOW MUCH MORE YOU ALL CAN DO IN THE FUTURE. ON THE DIRECT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, CAN YOU TELL ME, WAS THAT IN ANY WAY TIED IN TO CITY GRANTS FOR SMALL
BUSINESSES? >> THEY ARE ON A WIDE VARIETY OF TOPICS.
CAN SHARE MORE DETAILS ON, BUT DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION FOR WHY PEOPLE ARE REACHING OUT TO US, OFTENTIMES IT COULD BE HEY, CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THIS
PROCESS WORKS OR THE CITY IS ASKING FOR INFORMATION. >> GARCIA: ON THE RETAIL AND RESTAURANT LEVEL UP SERIES, YOU EXPLAINED A LITTLE ABOUT THAT.
ARE YOU ALSO WORKING WITH THE TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, THE SAN ANTONIO RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION OR HAVE THERE BEEN ANY JOINT EFFORT YET?
>> NOT AT THE MOMENT, BUT SAME THING, BE HAPPY TO GET CONNECTED WITH THEM.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US AS WE HAVE A NETWORK OF BUSINESS OWNERS, PARTNERING WITH PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS LIKE THE RESTAURANT
ASSOCIATION. >> GARCIA: AND DO YOU TRACK THE SOURCES OF CAPITAL
THAT THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ARE LOOKING FOR? >> CAN YOU CLARIFY WHAT YOU
MEAN? >> GARCIA: ARE THEY LOOKING -- I HEAR ALL THE TIME THEY ARE LOOKING FOR GRANTS. ARE THEY STILL LOOKING FOR
GRANTS, ARE THEY OKAY WITH LOANS? >> A BIG PIECE OF OUR AUDIENCE, IF THEY ARE INTRODUCTORY BUSINESS, THE EDUCATION OF HEY, I NEED AN OUTSIDE SOURCE FOR FUNDING AND EDUCATING THEM ON THE VARIOUS OPTIONS PROVIDED.
OFTENTIMES THEY MAY BE LOOKING FOR A GRANT AND SOMETIMES THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR STARTING A BUSINESS GRANT, BUT THERE MAY BE OTHER SOURCES OF WAYS TO START THE BUSINESS. A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IS EDUCATING THEM ON WHAT ARE
THE OPTIONS. >> GARCIA: HOW OFTEN DOES COUNCIL GET UPDATED ON
LAUNCH SA? >> I THINK THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE DONE IT
SINCE Y'ALL TOOK OVER. >> THE LAST TIME WAS FEBRUARY.
FEBRUARY 24. >> SO PROBABLY EVERY SIX MONTHS WE'LL TRY TO DO IT.
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. IN TERMS OF THE METRICS YOU ALL ARE COLLECTING, WOULD YOU ALL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE DATA IN TERMS OF HOW MANY SMALL BUSINESSES OR INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN CREATING A SMALL BUSINESS PER DISTRICT?
>> YEAH, WE CAN SHARE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION. >> CASTILLO: IN TERMS OF YOU ALL HAVE LISTED IN THE 2024 YEAR THAT 90 CLIENTS WERE SUPPORTED AND ASSISTED WITH TECHNICAL SERVICES. DO YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN IN TERMS OF WHICH TYPE OF
TECHNICAL SERVICES ARE BEING PROVIDED? >> I BELIEVE THAT WAS THE GOAL FOR YEAR ONE. BUT YES, WE DO HAVE SOME MORE COVERED IN THE
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PRESENTATION, THE HIGH LEVEL NUMBERS, BUT HAPPY TO SHARE MORE OF THE DIFFERENTREASONS PEOPLE ARE REACHING OUT TO US ZIMMERMAN. >> CASTILLO: I SEE THE 428. YOU ALL -- YOU ALL HIT FIVE FOR THE ACTUAL.
DO YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN IN TERMS OF WHAT THOSE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ARE? ARE THEY GRANTS THROUGH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THROUGH THE
SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT? DO YOU HAVE THAT IDENTIFIED? >> WE CAN SHARE THAT AS WELL AND THAT REALLY COMES FROM THE FULL-UP PROCESS IN CHECKING WITH THESE BUSINESSES AS THEY WORK WITH US. IF THEY'VE RECEIVED ANY
ASSISTANCE. HAPPY TO SHARE THAT. >> CASTILLO: I THINK THE VALUE IS HOW I CAN GET ADVOCATE FOR DISTRICT 5 BUSINESSES AND FOLKS THAT HAVE BUSINESSES BUT DON'T LIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY. JUST TO GUIDE FUTURE BUDGET
PRESENTATIONS. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. >> WHYTE: HOW DOES LAUNCH SA COORDINATE WITH OTHER CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS?
>> DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS? >> WHYTE: OR ANYBODY ELSE AT THE CITY OR GREATER SA SO
WE'RE NOT DUPLICATING EFFORTS. >> YEAH, SO WE WORK WHERE THE EDD FAIRLY REGULARLY AND KEEP THEM UP TO DATE, WHAT EVENTS WE HAVE COMING UP.
I DO BELIEVE THERE'S OPPORTUNITY WITH OTHER REASONS WHY BUSINESS OWNERS ARE REACHING OUT TO US, OTHER DEPARTMENTS OUT THERE TO GET CONNECTED, BUT WE'RE
PRETTY MUCH DAILY WORKING WITH EDD. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
AND THEN I WAS LOOKING AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS AND BUSINESSES CONNECT TO FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, IT LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT FIVE AND WE ARE, WHAT, A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH THE YEAR AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO 50.
>> I'M NOT SURE -- I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT I'M HAPPY TO MAKE
SURE YOU GET THE MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION. >> WHYTE: DO WE STILL
THINK WE'RE GOING TO HIT OUR GOALS THIS YEAR? >> COULD YOU CLARIFY WHAT
NUMBER YOU ARE REFERENCING? >> WHYTE: BUSINESSES CONNECTED TO FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND LOOKS LIKE WE'RE AT FIVE AND THE TARGET IS 50.
, IF. >> I THINK ALONGSIDE THE RESOURCE FAIR IS INITIATIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT NUMBER IS HIGHER AND THAT'S A PRIORITY OF OURS GOING FORWARD.
>> WHYTE: OKAY. ALL RIGHT, CHAIR, THANKS. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU.
LASTLY, IS THERE A -- IS THE PLAN FOR GEEKDOM TO HAVE LAUNCH SA FOREVER UNDER ITS ROOF OR IS GEEKDOM INCUBATING LAUNCH SA TO EVENTUALLY LAUNCH LAUNCH SA?
>> HICKS-SORENSEN: GOOD AFTERNOON. SO LAUNCH SA IS A CITY INITIATIVE IN WHICH WE ISSUED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF IT. AS WE CONTINUE RIGHT NOW, IT'S -- WE HISTORICALLY HAD DONE FIVE YEAR CONTRACTS FOR IT. THIS CONTRACT IS UP TO FIVE YEARS WITH REGULAR REVIEWS. WE'LL CERTAINLY BE LOOKING AT THAT AND DETERMINE IN FIVE YEARS WE'LL BE ACCOMPLISHING ANOTHER SOLICITATION -- ISSUING
ANOTHER SOLICITATION. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU AND THE GENTLEMAN IN THE BACK
POPPED UP. THANK YOU, BRENDA. >> IT'S AN HONOR TO BE WORKING WITH THE CITY. SPECIFICALLY THIS CLOSE TO SMALL BUSINESSES.
SPECIFICALLY WHERE GEEKDOM COMES IN WE'RE HERE TO HELP LAUNCH THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS AND SEEING HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE COMING TO REALLY START THAT PROCESS. FOR US IT'S A NATURAL PARTNERSHIP TO BE WORKING SO CLOSE WITH THE CITY. AS LONG AS YOU GUYS WILL HAVE US, WE'LL CONTINUE TO
DO THIS WORK. >> PELÁEZ: EXCELLENT WORK. NICE TO SEE YOU.
OUR NEXT ITEM IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT OUR FRAMEWORK AND WORK PLAN
UPDATE. >> GOOD AFTERNOON. BRENDA HICKS-SORENSEN.
SO OFTEN WE PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK WHICH WAS ACCEPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN OCTOBER OF 2022.
JUST AS A REFRESHER, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT WE SET FORTH WHEN WE ISSUED THAT SOLICITATION FOR THE CONSULTANTS WAS REALLY AROUND THAT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL. AGAIN, WE WERE COMING OUT OF COVID SO THAT RESILIENT COMMUNITY FOR WHATEVER THE NEXT COVID OR SUPPLY CHAIN OR WHATEVER THE ISSUE MAY BE FOCUSED ON INVESTMENT AND GROWTH, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE APPROPRIATE ASSETS IN
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OUR COMMUNITY AND THEN, OF COURSE, EQUITABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.AS A RESULT, WE ENDED UP -- WE HAD FOUR GOALS WITH A NUMBER OF ITEMS UNDER EACH OF THOSE GOALS. I'LL PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON SOME OF THOSE. FOR EACH YEAR, STARTING WITH FISCAL YEAR '23 BUDGET, WE DEVELOPED OUR PRIORITY IMPLEMENT AREAS. THAT'S REALLY TAKING A LOOK AT WHAT COUNCIL PRIORITIES ARE, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN HEARING FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT WE WORK WITH.
ALSO THOSE ITEMS OUTLINED IN THOSE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AND WHAT REALLY IS THAT NEXT STEP. SO IT'S REALLY THAT BUILDING UPON THE PRIOR WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE. SO HERE IS OUR FISCAL YEAR '25 IMPLEMENTATION AREAS.
A LOT OF IT IS WHAT WE FOCUSED ON IN FISCAL YEAR '24.
REALLY FOCUSING ON RELATIONSHIPS, REAL ESTATE AND PLACEMAKING, CONTINUING TO BUILD OFF THOSE ARPA-FUNDED PROGRAMS AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, BYLAWS AND SUBSEQUENTLY THE WORK PLAN APPROVED THIS YEAR AS WELL AS SYSTEM AND PROCESSES, REALLY WHERE WE CAN CONTINUE TO STREAMLINE AND FOCUS OUR AREAS. AND, OF COURSE, WITH ARPA AND ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS.
HERE IS MORE DETAILS ON ETCH. >> OF THOSE ITEMS. WE HIGHLIGHT IF THEY ARE COMPLETED IN PROGRESS OR ONGOING.
SO A LOT OF OUR ITEMS ARE CONTINUED AND MEANT TO BE CONTINUING TO BUILD UPON ONE ANOTHER. SO JUST A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE, THERE IS SOME THINGS THAT I PROVIDE MORE DETAIL ON AS WE GO FORWARD.
BUT WANT TO LATER IN THE MEETING YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT OUR SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY AND WE'RE EXCITED WE'RE ABLE TO LAUNCH THAT. A LOT OF EMPHASIS AND FOCUS HAD BEEN ON SUPPLY SA AND THE SBEDA, WHICH IS ONE TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX, BUT REALLY BEING ABLE TO TAKE THAT NEXT STEP. AND THEN CONTINUING TO FOCUS ON THOSE METRICS AND MEASUREMENTS FOR CONTRACTS. UNDER SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT AND THE ECOSYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS REALLY CONTINUE THAT -- THE SBEDA ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION. AGAIN, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THAT IN DECEMBER FOR ADOPTION BY JULY 1, SO THE TEAM HAS BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT, CONTINUING A LOT OF THAT OUTREACH. ANA WILL BRIEFLY TOUCH ON THAT ASPECT IN THAT BROADER SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY. CONTINUE REALLY TO FOCUS ONES CLUEING OUT A LOOT OF THE ARPA PROGRAMS. A LOT OF THE ARPA INVESTMENTS WERE INTENDED TO WRAP UP ALREADY OR LATER THIS YEAR SO WE CONTINUE TO BE ON TRACK FOR THAT. AND THEN WE DID PREVIOUSLY HIGHLIGHT THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT UPDATING THAT SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT WITH THAT SOLICITATION THAT HAD BEEN ISSUED AND THOSE RESPONSES ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW.
SO WITH REAL ESTATE AND PLACEMAKING, WE CONTINUE TO ROLL OUT -- EXCUSE ME, CLOSE OUT THE OUTDOOR SPACES IN THE GRANT. BOTH OF THOSE PROGRAMS WILL BE CLOSED OUT BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. WITH ALL FUNDS EXTENDED AND SO FORTH, AND THEN WHEN WE CLOSE OUT PROGRAMS, WE DO DESK TOP REVIEWS SO THOSE WILL BE WRAPPED UP AS WELL. AND THEN CONTINUE TO DEPLOY THE SAEDC WORK PLAN WHICH WE PREVIOUSLY BRIEFED ON. AND THEN REALLY CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THOSE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES WHICH AGAIN HAD MENTIONED. ONE OF THE EXCITING THINGS WE HAD BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH OUR SBEDA IMPLEMENTATION, WE HAD TO BUILD OUT THE SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AND BROUGHT IN A FIRM TO WORK WITH OUR TEAM AND REALLY GET INTO THE DEEP DIVE ON PROCESSES. SO I THINK WHEN SBEDA IS ROLLED OUT, IT WILL HAVE A LOT OF ENHANCEMENTS AND STREAMLINED EFFORTS FOR ALL THE DEPARTMENTS. SO WE'RE IN PROCESS OF ROLLING THAT OUT SHORTLY AND SO OUR VERY, VERY -- ARE VERY EXCITED TO HEAR WE ARE IN PROCESS OF UPDATING THE METRO PRIORITY PLAN WHICH DIRECTS AND GUIDES OUR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS. SO A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I REALLY WANT TO SPECIFICALLY FOCUS ON IS BUSINESS RETENTION AND GROWTH.
AGAIN, THIS IS AN AREA WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH BUSINESSES OF ALL SIZES THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY. AND THIS IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GREATER SATX, BIOSA. HERE YOU'LL SEE WHERE WE HAVE OUR TARGET OF 600 SO
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FAR THIS YEAR. THROUGH MARCH 31 WE HAD AROUND 300.THEN AS OF TODAY OR THROUGH FRIDAY IT WAS 363. ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE HAD CHALLENGES GETTING INTO SOME OF THE COMPANIES. OUR CONVERSION RATE FROM OUTREACH TO VISITS WAS 18%. WE'VE MADE SOME STAFF ADJUSTMENTS INTERNALLY AND ARE STARTING TO SEE THE FRUITS OF THAT LABOR, IF YOU WILL, COME TO FRUITION.
OUR OUTREACH EFFORTS IN Q3 JUST INTERNALLY HAVE INCREASED BY 64% WITH SOME OF THOSE SHIFTS IN EFFORTS. SO AGAIN, WE ANTICIPATE AS WE CONTINUE TO GO FORWARD THAT THOSE CONVERSION RATES FROM OUTREACH TO VISITS WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY.
GROSS STAGE GRANTS. WHILE THIS PROGRAM WAS WRAPPED UP IN PRIOR YEARS, IT WAS A PILOT WHERE WE FOCUSED ON GROWTH STAGE COMPANIES.
WE DO SIX MONTH, 18 AND 36-MONTH SURVEY. HERE'S THE SIX-MONTH SURVEY.
WHILE JOB CREATION WAS NOT A REQUIREMENT, SEVERAL OF THE FIRMS DID EXPERIENCE NEW JOBS. THEN WITH SMALL COMPANIES GROW. AND, OF COURSE, ONE OF THOSE KEY MEASUREMENTS WAS GROWTH IN REVENUE. HERE YOU WILL SEE THAT FOUR OUT OF NINE RESPONDENTS DID REPORT REVENUE GROWTH ON THE SECOND STAGE GRANT PROGRAM AND SEVEN OUT OF 11 FOCUSED ON OR HAD GROWTH, REVENUE GROWTH FOR THE SPIRSTT GRANT PROGRAM.
THE ZERO PERCENT INTEREST LOAN PROGRAM, REAL QUICKLY THIS HAS BEEN A PROGRAM THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ENHANCE WITH ARPA FUNDS IN ADDITION TO THE GENERAL FUND AND MATCHING RESOURCES FROM LIFT FUND. WE HAD A TARGET FOR FISCAL YEAR '25 OF 70 LOANS. THROUGH MARCH 31 THEY WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE 85 LOANS WITH JUST UNDER 300 MILLION IN CAPITAL DISBURSED. THE BALANCE REMAINING IS SOMEWHAT LOW ACTUALLY AS OF LAST WEEK IT WAS ABOUT $13,000 SO WE ARE COMING TO A CLOSE ON THAT PROGRAM FOR THE YEAR. AND THEY ARE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH THOSE APPLICATIONS THAT ARE IN QUEUE, BUT WE HAVEN'T CLOSED THOSE BUT OPINION TO WORK CLOSELY SO WE CAN MONITOR THE PROGRAM.
WITH THAT, JUST QUICK HIGHLIGHTS. OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS.
WORKING? DO WE HAVE THAT BROKEN DOWN BY DISTRICT?
>> HOW -- WE LOOK AT IT BY EACH PROGRAM. SO OVERALL WE CAN CERTAINLY
LOOK AT SPECIFIC PROGRAMS. >> VIAGRAN: YOU ALL DID REALLY GREAT.
THE PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE DID THIS PAST WEEKEND IS -- I KNOW THAT'S PART OF OUR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK WE TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF MAIN STREET.
I'M NOT SAYING DISTRICT 3 AND 5 DID IT BETTER THAN EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT I THINK IF THERE IS A WAY WE CAN JUST HIGHLIGHT THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND HOW THEY ARE WORKING TOGETHER, THIS WAS A NUMBER OF -- A NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, A NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES, A NUMBER OF ART CENTRIC BUSINESSES, BUT THEY SEEM TO MAKE ROOM FOR EVERYONE. SO IN TERMS OF THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE MAIN STREET AND ON THE FRAMEWORKS AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, I THINK THAT'S A PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US SEE HOW DISTRICTS ARE WORKING TOGETHER.
BECAUSE IT MAY NOT LOOK THE SAME IN MAYBE A DISTRICT 2, 3 PROJECT OR A DISTRICT 8, 9 PROJECT, BUT IF PEOPLE SEE EXAMPLES HOW IT'S WORKING TOGETHER, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. SO AND 5, BUT SINCE YOU MADE ME, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT.
>> GARCIA: I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE PLANNING AND I HOPE THAT WHEN WE HAVE OUR BUDGET OR COUNCIL HAS THEIR BUDGET PROCESS COMING UP THAT THEY CONSIDER HOW WELL THE PLAN HAS BEEN AND MAYBE OTHERS CAN TAKE NOTE IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IN TERMS OF THE WORK PLAN, PART OF THE GOAL WAS TO IDENTIFY CITY-OWNED PROPERTY WITHIN POTENTIAL AREAS FOR REDEVELOPMENT. AND THROUGH THE DUE DILIGENCE YOU RE WHERE THOSE PRIORITY CORRIDORS ARE?
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>> HICKS-SORENSEN: WE CAN CERTAINLY FOLLOW UP ON THAT. WE ACTUALLY HAD ABOUT TEN PROGRAMS -- TEN PARCELS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH THAT DUE DILIGENCE PROCESS ON. SO THAT DUE DILIGENCE MEANS LEGAL REVIEW, DEEDS, ALL OF THAT FUN STUFF. WE CAN GET YOU THOSE COUNCIL DISTRICTS IN WHICH THOSE PROPERTIES ARE LOCATED. I KNOW THERE WAS D7, D5 STAND OUT, BUT WE'LL GET YOU
THAT LIST. >> CASTILLO: LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
IN FEMURS OF -- IN TERMS OF THE FACADE GRANT PROGRAM, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU -- THAT
WE CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THE FACADE PROGRAM? >> HICKS-SORENSEN: WE WILL MONITOR THE GOAL-SETTING CONVERSATIONS THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS AND BE PREPARED
TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY. >> CASTILLO: SO MY COLLEAGUES THAT WILL BE HERE FOR THAT PROCESS, I WANT TO CONTINUE TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PROJECT.
PARTICULARLY IN DISTRICT 5 THE CONCERNS OUR RESIDENTS HAVE, IT'S NOT JUST OUR HOMEOWNERS, IT'S OUR SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENSURES THEY CAN BRING IT UP TO -- JAWS OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. I'M HOPEFULLY HAVE MY COLLEAGUES SUPPORT TO INVEST
IN THOSE PROGRAMS. >> WHYTE: I ECHO THOSE SENTIMENTS ON THE FACADE PROGRAM ABSOLUTELY. MY ONLY QUESTION IS ON BUSINESS RETENTION.
AND I MIGHT HAVE ASKED THIS, HONESTLY, AT A PREVIOUS MEETING THAT WE'VE HAD, BUT
WHAT EXACTLY DO WE DO TO TRY TO RETAIN OUR BUSINESSES? >> HICKS-SORENSEN: SURE.
SO WE LOOK AT A NUMBER OF INDICATORS THROUGH OUR TEAM AND WORK CLOSELY WITH GREATER SATX. ROMAN IS HERE TODAY. WE LOOK AT A NUMBER OF INDICATORS AND THEN WE ALSO SPLIT THOSE UP BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST UP DOING THOSE
VISITS, IT'S PARTNERS LIKE -- >> WHYTE: SO GREATER IS
INVOLVED IN THE RETENTION EFFORTS AS WELL? >> HICKS-SORENSEN: YES.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF PARTNERS AND ENTITIES INVOLVED IN THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT GREATER IS COLLECTING IS THAT TREND REPORT. WE LOOK AT THE TRENDS WE ARE MONITORING INTERNALLY, BUT NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MORE COLLECTIVE EFFORT BECAUSE, AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST GOING OUT AND DOING THE VISITS, IT'S WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY DO WITH THAT
INFORMATION. >> WHYTE: DO WE VISIT ALL OF OUR BUSINESSES OR --
>> HICKS-SORENSEN: THERE'S OVER 39,000 BUSINESSES IN THE CITY.
>> WHYTE: HOW DO WE CHOOSE? >> HICKS-SORENSEN: WE SPLIT IT UP SO OUR SMALL BUSINESS TEAM FOCUSES ON PRIMARILY IN SMALL BUSINESSES IN CONSTRUCTION ZONES, PRIORITY CORRIDORS. OUR BUSINESS ADVANCEMENT TEAM ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TENDS TO FOCUS ON THOSE GROWTH COMPANIES THAT I HIGHLIGHTED. WE'VE DONE A PARTICULAR PUSH SINCE JANUARY ON THOSE COMPANIES THAT HAVE FEDERAL CONTRACTS, FOR EXAMPLE. AND THEN GREATER TENDS TO
FOCUS ON SOME OF THOSE MEDIUM TO LARGER COMPANIES. >> WHYTE: SO DO WE -- YOU KNOW HOW WE SURVEY THE ENTIRE CITY ON THEIR PRIORITIES AND THINGS, IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN SEND TO ALL 39,000 BUSINESSES AND MAYBE SURVEY THEM ON WHAT THEY LIKE, HOW THE CITY HELPS THEM, HOW THE CITY HURTS THEM, WHAT WE COULD BE
DOING BETTER FOR THEM? >> HICKS-SORENSEN: WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT THAT.
THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF SURVEYS DONE, THE CHAMBER, FOR EXAMPLE, LAST FALL COMPLETED A SURVEY OF BUSINESSES SO WE DID COLLECT THAT INFORMATION.
AGAIN, THERE'S DIFFERENT MELT ODDOLOGY. YOU CAN DO BLITZES.
WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT OPTIONS. >> WHYTE: I KNOW COUNCILMEMBER PELÁEZ HAS VISITED WITH SOUTH TEXAS MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION QUITE A BIT, AS I HAVE, AND I WAS JUST OVER AT THEIR HEADQUARTERS A MONTH OR SO AGO. AND JUST IN AN HOUR LUNCH, WE CAME ACROSS, YOU KNOW, SOME ISSUES THAT THEY WERE HAVING IN FINDING A WAY TO ACCESS ALL OF THEIR COMPANY INFORMATION WITH THE CITY, WHEN THEIR NEXT, YOU KNOW THAT THEY NEED TO DO PULL, ALL OF THAT. AND SO WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT WITH ALEX ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AND MIKE SHANNON, DOES THIS EXIST, HOW CAN WE MAKE IT EASIER. TO THE EXTENT -- I KNOW WE CAN'T GO VISIT ALL 39,000
[00:35:05]
COLLECTIVELY, BUT TO THE EXTENT MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO ELECTRONICALLY GET THEM SOME SORT OF MECHANISM TO WHERE THEY CAN LET US KNOW WHAT THEY NEED, WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT, WRONG. I THINK SOMETHING LIKE THAT MAY BE HELPFUL BECAUSE IT DOES US NO GOOD TO SPEND ALL OF THIS TIME AND EFFORT TRYING TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES IF WE GET ONE IN THE DOOR AND THEN WE HAVE A COUPLE, YOU KNOW, LEAVING.AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FOCUS ON RETENTION AS MUCH AS WE ARE ON
BRINGING NEW BUSINESSES HERE TO SAN ANTONIO. >> HICKS-SORENSEN: AND I DOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT, THE REASON WE DO FOCUS ON THE BUSINESS IS WE WANT TO GET INTO THAT NEXT LAYER OF DETAIL AND REALLY BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT -- HAVE SOME OF THOSE HARD CONVERSATIONS. BUT A LOT OF COMMUNITIES LOOK AT THOSE SURVEYS AS KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL INDICATOR AND FOCUS ON DEEPER DIVE VISITS AND
THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO EMPHASIZE. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
THANKS, CHAIR. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU.
>> GOOD MORNING -- OR ACTUALLY AFTERNOON. ABOUT GENTLEMAN ANYONE LASIEWICZ. I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU THIS AFTERNOON TO GIVE YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW OF OUR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD.
HOPEFULLY ALL OF YOU HAVE SEEN OUR PREVIOUS DASHBOARD BECAUSE OUTCOME FROM THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK THAT WAS ACCEPTED WAS THAT WE SHOULD MONITOR AND TRACK KEY INFORMATION WITHIN SAN ANTONIO. WITH THAT, WE LAUNCHED A PRELIMINARY DASHBOARD AND WE LEARNED A BUNCH OF LESSONS ALONG THE WAY.
THE FIRST LESSON, OF COURSE, IS WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A DASHBOARD.
THE PURPOSE OF YOUR DASHBOARD SHOULD BE TO ADDRESS REQUESTS THAT HIGHLIGHT YOUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DATA, AND WE DO THIS BY HIGHLIGHTING OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DATA AND OUR EDD OUTREACH AND OUTCOMES.
WE'RE HOPEFULLY GOING TO TAKE THE COMPLEX DATA AND MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE, TRANSPARENT AND, OF COURSE, ACTIONABLE FOR YOUR STRATEGIC PLANS.
MADE MENTION THAT WE DID HAVE THAT PREVIOUS DASHBOARD.
THERE WAS A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY. FOR ANY OF YOU THAT CAN REMEMBER THAT DASHBOARD, IT WAS A BIT OF A CLUTTERED ORGANIZATION, BUT IT DID HAVE A GOOD BONES TO IT AND WE ENDED UP TAKING THOSE BONES AND BUILDING A NEW ONE. WHAT WE DISCOVERED ALSO THROUGH THAT DASHBOARD IS THAT IT STRAYED FROM THE STORY. OUR STORY VERY MUCH IS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DATA OF SAN ANTONIO. WITH THIS, BECAUSE THIS IS JUST GOING TO BE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF INFORMATION, WE'RE GOING TO HIGHLIGHT TWO QUESTIONS THAT YOU COULD FIND IN THIS DASHBOARD. THESE AREN'T THE ONLY QUESTIONS YOU COULD ANSWER WITH THE DASHBOARD, BUT THESE ARE TWO THAT CAME UP OF WHAT PERCENTAGE OF BUSINESSES ARE OWNED BY VETERANS AND WHY IS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ONE OF OUR STRATEGIC INDUSTRIES. I'M GOING TO CALL ON MY COLLEAGUE TO TAKE US TO THE WEBSITE. YOU CAN FIND OUR DASHBOARD THROUGH A URL, SA.GOV/EDD/PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD.
IF YOU DIDN'T WRITE THAT DOWN, THAT'S FINE BECAUSE ON OUR HOME PAGE THE CENTER CARROUSEL, SECOND BUTTON HAS A DIRECT LINK. AND YOU CAN ALSO GET TO US IN THE ABOUT US SECTION UNDER PLANS, REPORTS AND DATA.
CLICK ON THAT, IN THAT ONE THERE'S A HANDY-DANDY DEAL BUTTON THAT TAKES US TO THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD. YOU NEED TO SEE WHAT THE TABLE OF CONTENTS LOOKS LIKE. THAT'S THE FIRST THING THAT OPENS UP. WE'VE TAKEN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DATA AND WE'VE BROKEN IT UP INTO SIX DIFFERENT MAJOR BUCKETS. THE EDD DEPARTMENT, THE SBEDA INFORMATION, SOME LOANS AND INCENTIVES PERFORMANCE, SOME BASIC ECONOMIC BENCHMARKING DATA, BUSINESS DATA, AND THEN, OF COURSE, OUR PEER CITIES.
THIS IS DESIGNED THAT, OKAY, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO, YOU MAY NEED TO EXPLORE, BUT THESE SIX BUCKETS SHOULD GET YOU TO THE RIGHT PLACE.
GOING BACK TO OUR TWO QUESTIONS WE ARE HIGHLIGHTING AS BUSINESS OWNERSHIP. WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR BUSINESS OWNERSHIP IS VETERAN. SO IF WE GO TO THE FIFTH COLUMN UNDER BUSINESS DATA, YOU'LL FIND BUSINESS OWNERSHIP. ALL OF THE PAGES ARE SET UP VERY SIMILAR, THAT WE GIVE YOU A VISUALIZATION. OVER ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN WE TRY TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DATA, HOW IT'S USEFUL
[00:40:05]
AND WHAT'S THE SAN ANTONIO STORY. DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE WE HAVE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS WHERE YOU SHOULD ALWAYS GO TO TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU ARE GOING.WE ALSO HAVE A HOW TO USE THIS DASHBOARD WHICH WHEN BEXAR CLICKS ON THE HOW TO USE THE DASHBOARD, A BRIEF DIALOGUE BOX OPENS AND LETS YOU KNOW THERE'S A FOCUS MODE AND SHOWS YOU WHERE TO GO TO GET TO THAT. AGAIN WITH THIS DIALOGUE BOX, MUCH LIKE ANY ON THE INTERNET, CLICK THE X TO CLOSE OUT AND GO BACK TO YOUR BASE SCREEN. AT THE LOWER RIGHT-HAND CORNER WE HAVE THE SOURCE DATA. YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE DATA COMES FROM OR HOW RECENTLY THAT'S BEEN UPDATED. WE LOOK AT THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU OF ANNUAL BUSINESS AND IT WAS LAST UPDATED IN 2021.
IT WILL BE UPDATED LATER THIS YEAR. SO WE SHOULD HAVE NEW DATA FOR THIS COMING OUT FAIRLY SOON. SO THIS IS BUSINESS OWNERSHIP. YOU CAN SEE THAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS WE CAN SWITCH FROM ARE GENDER, HISPANIC-OWNED FIRMS, MINORITY STATUS, RACE, AND VETERAN STATUS. BEAR WILL CLICK ON THE VETERAN STATUS AND WITH ANY OF THESE OWNERSHIP DEMOGRAPHICS, THE VISUALIZATION WILL CHANGE.
IN THIS EXAMPLE, BLACK INDICATES NON-VETERAN OWNED, ABOUT 90% OF BUSINESSES ARE NOT OWNED BY VETERAN. OUR TEAL GIVES US A READING OF ABOUT 7%.
STRICTLY VETERAN OWNED, AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE RED SHOWS US EQUAL OWNED VETERAN AND NON-VETERAN. WHETHER WE TAKE THIS ALL TOGETHER, WE REALIZE IN OUR COMMUNITY WE HAVE ABOUT 10% VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN OUR AREA.
NOW, YOU MAY BE WONDERING IS THAT GOOD, BAD. WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR TABLE OF CONTENTS AND WE CAN TRY TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH OF OUR LABOR FORCE IS MADE UP OF VETERANS. FOR THAT, THE FOURTH BUCKET, WE HAVE BENCHMARKING DATA.
WE HAVE LABOR FORCE DEMOGRAPHICS. WHEN WE CLICK ON THAT, WE HIGHLIGHTED TWO SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS THAT WE OUTPACE OTHER COMMUNITIES AND THAT WOULD BE THE VETERAN POPULATION AND THE DISABILITY PERCENTAGE.
SINCE WE LOOKED AT VETERAN VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES AND IT CAME OUT 10%, WE EXPECT OUR VETERANS TO BE ABOUT THE SAME. AS WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS OF DATA, WE CAN SEE THAT SAN ANTONIO HOVERS RIGHT ABOUT THAT 8%, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN BOTH TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES IN GENERAL.
SO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE 10% OWNERSHIP OF VETERAN BUSINESSES IN OUR AREA IS NOT ALL THAT SURPRISING AND IS PROBABLY HIGHER THAN THE STATE AND, OF COURSE, THE NATION. SO THERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF, OH, I WANT TO FIND OUT OWNERSHIP AND FIND OUT HOW IT RELATES TO OUR WORKFORCE IN GENERAL.
OUR SECOND QUESTION WAS TELL US ABOUT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AS AN INDUSTRY CLUSTER.
AGAIN, EVERYTHING STARTS WITH THAT TABLE OF CONTENTS. WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS, LOOK FOR ANYTHING THAT SAYS STRATEGIC INDUSTRY CLUSTERS.
WE HAVE IT IN TWO DIFFERENT SPOTS. I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU TO THE PEER CITIES AND DOWN AT THE BOTTOM YOU'LL FIND PEER CITIES, STRATEGIC INDUSTRY CLUSTERS. WHEN WE CLICK ON THAT, THE LEFT-HAND SIDE GIVES YOU THE WHAT IT IS, THE HOW IT IS AND IF POSSIBLE THE WHY -- WHAT STORYS DOES IT TELL OF SAN ANTONIO. YOU CAN FIGURE OUT WHY THESE CITIES WERE SELECTED AND A MORE INDEPTH STUDY OF THE INDUSTRIES THAT WERE SELECTED.
CENTER OF THE SCREEN VISUALIZATION. WE HAVE RADIO BUTTONS THAT LET YOU SWITCH THROUGH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT SELECTED INDUSTRIES, AND FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ONE WE WILL CLICK ON THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY.
YOU'LL SEE THE CHART CHANGED AT THE BOTTOM. WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT, IT'S ORGANIZED ALPHABETICALLY BY THE -- RIGHT NOW BY THE LOCATION, BUT WE WANT TO KNOW HOW BIG IS THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CLUSTER, WHY WOULD IT BE OF IMPORTANCE TO US. MAYBE IT'S DUE TO THE NUMBER OF BUSINESSES.
WHEN BEAR CLICKS ON THE DOWN ARROW, IT WILL START SAN ANTONIO DOESN'T SCORE VERY HIGHLY WITH THE NUMBER OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMPANIES. WE BARELY HAVE 11,000. WE HAVE SUSPICIOUS TO
[00:45:06]
BELIEVE THIS IS A KEY INDUSTRY IN OUR AREA, BUT AT ONLY 1,000 BUSINESSES WITHIN THE 39,000 OFFICIAL CENSUS BUSINESSES AND WITH THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPS WHICH DATE INTO THE HUNDRED THOUSAND BUSINESSES THAT COULD BE IN THE AREA AS WELL, THAT'S NOT THAT MUCH. OKAY, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? MAYBE IT HAS TO DO WITH THE EMPLOYMENT WE HAVE IN THE AREA.SO WE'LL FIND THE COLUMN FOR ESTIMATED EMPLOYMENT AND WE'LL DISCOVER THINGS CHANGE UP A BIT. SAN ANTONIO IS NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK WITH 30,000 PEOPLE EMPLOYED IN THIS INDUSTRY. WE HAVE ABOUT A MILLION PEOPLE IN OUR WORKFORCE. THAT COMES OUT TO BE ABOUT 3% OF OUR WORKFORCE IS ACTUALLY IN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY. OUT OF THAT 1,000 BUSINESSES. WHAT THAT LETS US KNOW IS VERY BASIC MAYBE NOT SOPHISTICATED MATH, OUR THOUSAND BUSINESSES ARE 'EM PLOYING A LOT OF WORKERS, UP TO THAT 30,000 MARK. THAT AT LEAST LETS US NOW THAT OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMPANIES, WE MUST HAVE SOME OF THE BIGGER ONES BECAUSE OF THE EMPLOYMENT.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TOWARDS OUR OVERALL ECONOMY IN THE AREA? MANY OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE GDP, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT.
WHAT IT DOES IS IT MEASURES INCOMING WEALTH TO AN AREA AND HOW IT CIRCULATES ABOUT.
WE HAVE A -- SAN ANTONIO'S INDUSTRY BRINGS IN $11 BILLION TO OUR AREA.
THAT SOUNDS SIZABLE, BUT HOW IS -- FOR THAT WE HAVE THE FINAL COLUMN, WHICH WHEN WE CLICK ON THE FINAL COLUMN AND ASCEND IT IN ORDER, SAN ANTONIO RISES TO BE THE SECOND ONE WHEN WE DO IT ASCENDING. THERE WE GO. JUST -- WELL, BEHIND HOUSTON. BUT THAT $11 BILLION THAT COMES INTO OUR MARKET FROM SUSTAINABLE ENERGY BUSINESSES REPRESENTS OVER 6% OF OUR OVERALL GDP IN THE REGION. WHICH IF YOU ARE TRYING TO FIGURE IS THIS INDUSTRY DRIVING OUR AREA OF IMPORT? WELL, THROUGH THE WEALTH THAT IT'S BRINGING INTO THE AREA, YES, WE CAN MAKE THAT CLAIM. THROUGH THE 30,000 INDIVIDUALS EMPLOYED IN THIS INDUSTRY, YES, THAT'S THE CASE.
WHILE IT'S ONLY 1,000, THAT MUST MEANS WE MUST HAVE SOME OF THE BIGGER COMPANIES IN THE AREA. THOSE WERE THE TWO QUICK EXAMPLES THAT I HAVE.
WE CAN GO BACK TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AS YOU ARE FREE TO EXPLORE THIS, THIS IS LOCATED ON THE EDD HOME PAGE , CENTER CONSOLE. OR WE HAVE SA.GOV SA.GOV/EDD/PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD. BEAR, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. AGAIN, I'M BENJAMIN LASIEWICZ.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU. TYPICALLY I COUNT ON DR. ROCHA GARCIA TO WALK US THROUGH THAT. THANK YOU FOR WALKING US THROUGH THAT.
THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> WHYTE: I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
THIS IS REALLY GOOD STUFF AND MAYBE THERE'S POTENTIAL TO EXPAND ON SORT OF THE WAY
YOU'VE DONE THIS -- >> THERE HAS BEEN SOME EXPANDING.
THERE'S ALWAYS THE DREAM OF MORE, BUT WE NEEDED SOMETHING THAT WE COULD WORK OFF OF THAT, AGAIN, THE PURPOSE IS TO MAKE THE DATA ACTIONABLE, TRANSPARENT AND ACCESSIBLE. ONCE WE GET TO THAT POINT, BOOM, WE CAN HOPEFULLY GO
FURTHER. >> WHYTE: YEAH, AND MAYBE DO DO IT ACROSS ALL
DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE CITY'S ORGANIZATION. >> FOR THE OTHER DEPARTMENT DASHBOARDS WHICH HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP IN OTHER PRESENTATIONS, WE'VE ADDED AN ADDITIONAL IN YOUR FIRST COLUMN ABOUT THE EDD DEPARTMENT.
GO AHEAD, BEAR, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CLICK ON THE OTHER DEPARTMENT DASHBOARDS.
I CANVASSED AROUND WITH THE OTHER SEARCHERS THAT THAT I'VE MET SINCE BEING HERE AND WE DO HAVE HYPERLINKS TO THOSE DASHBOARDS AND DESCRIBE WHO THEY ARE.
[00:50:04]
BECAUSE THEY, OF COURSE, FOCUS ON OTHER AREAS. SO IF YOU DISCOVER AN AREA THAT'S MISSING OFF THE DASHBOARD, IT MAY BE IN ONE OF THOSE.>> WHYTE: JUST WHAT'S COMING TO MY MIND IS WHETHER WE LOOKED AT CPS ENERGY A YEAR OR SO AGO AND, YOU KNOW, THE CLAIM IS IS OUR ENERGY COSTS ARE SO LOW IN SAN ANTONIO. BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY DIVE INTO THE NUMBERS WHAT OUR AVERAGE CITIZENS EARNS VERSUS HOW MUCH THEY ARE SPENDING ON ENERGY AND YOU COMPARE IT TO CITIZENS IN OTHER CITIES ARE SPENDING, YOU SEE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY -- IT'S NOT REALLY WHERE YOU ARE DIVING INTO THE DATA AND MAKING COMPARISONS FROM CITY TO CITY, I THINK IS VERY, VERY VALUABLE AND WE COULD DO IT IN OTHER AREAS TO GET A TRUER PICTURE OF WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE DOING WELL OR NOT AND WHERE WE COULD MAKE IMPROVEMENTS. SO I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
>> THANK YOU, SIR. >> VIAGRAN: THANK YOU. I'M VERY TEMPTED TO DO THE DASHBOARD AWARDS FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BECAUSE WHEN I WAS HERE FOUR YEARS AGO, OH, MY GOSH IT'S COME SO FAR FOR -- BECAUSE SOMEBODY SHOWED ME A DASHBOARD. IT WASN'T ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, IT WAS ANOTHER DEPARTMENT AND I WAS LIKE THAT'S NOT A DASHBOARD. BUT THIS IS EXCELLENT.
THANK YOU SO WERE. CAN YOU PUT ON THE PEER CITY GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT?
CAN YOU SHOW ME THAT DASHBOARD? >> THIS PIECE HERE, WHAT IT DOES A DEEP DIVE INTO THE DOMESTIC PRODUCT AND ALSO BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE GROWTH FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. FROM THIS YOU CAN SEE AND DEMONSTRATE THE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH THAT CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAS HAD OVER THE YEARS. THIS, AGAIN, IS IF YOUR GDP GROWTH OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR IS OVER 2% -- 2 TO 3%, IT MEANS YOUR AREA IS IS EXCELLING AND GROWING.
SO AGAIN WITH THE PEER CITIES THAT WERE SELECTED THROUGH THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK, YOU CAN TELL THAT THE ONES CHOSEN WERE ONES EXPERIENCING SIMILAR CONDITIONS AND HAD THE SIMILAR GOVERNMENT AND STRUCTURE OF SAN ANTONIO.
>> VIAGRAN: I'M VERY IMPRESSED. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK. I LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU CAN GO INTO OTHER DASHBOARDS AND KIND OF SEE A COMPARISON, ESPECIALLY WITH READY TO WORK'S INFORMATION THERE.
MY TEAM HAS USED THE PASS ONE, BUT I REALLY AM IMPRESSED WITH THE UPGRADES WE HAVE HERE SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK AND LOOK FORWARD TO USING IT AS WE
PREPARE FOR THIS BUDGET SESSION. >> THANK YOU.
>> PELÁEZ: Y'ALL THINK ABOUT MAKING THIS PAGE AN ATTRACTIVE AND ALLURING THING.
I GET IT, THE LINKS ARE THERE, BUT YOU ALL KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT WE SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC ALSO BY THE WAY THINGS LOOK. IF THIS WERE MORE DYNAMIC, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE IF YOU VISIT WITH THE ARTS DEPARTMENT AND SEE HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS LOOK LIKE AN AN ENGAGING, ATTRACTIVE DASHBOARD.
BRENDA AND ALEX, I'LL SEND YOU SOME LINKS OF OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE TAKEN OUR SAME CONCEPT, AND I IMAGINE THE DATA IS EXCELLENT, BUT THIS SPLASH PAGE NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING LIKE HEY, I WANT TO CLICK ON THOSE BUTTONS. I'VE GOT A MARKETING PROFESSOR TO MY RIGHT WHO MAY OR MAY NOT DISAGREE WITH ME, BUT I WANT THIS TO BE SOMETHING TEACHERS CAN ASSIGN STUDENTS AT COLLEGES AND DATA RESEARCHERS WILL SAY, MAN, THIS ISN'T JUST EXCELLENT, BUT IT LOOKS EXCELLENT.
RIGHT NOW IT'S -- ITS EXCELLENCE IS NOT EVIDENT FROM THIS SPLASH PAGE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? >> YES, SIR, IT DOES. THIS IS SEVERAL ITERATIONS AND WE ALSO TRIED TO MAKE IT LOOK AS CLOSE TO A WEBSITE AS POSSIBLE.
SO THERE WAS SOME ORIGINAL ATTEMPT TO MAKE IT SO WHEN YOU HOVERED OVER EACH OF THE BUCKETS YOU WOULD SEE THE ITEMS. SO THAT WAY IT WOULD BE A CLEANER PRESENTATION. UNFORTUNATELY I HAD A LITTLE PROBLEM WITH THAT CODING AND
[00:55:02]
WE WILL RESOLVE IT. >> PELÁEZ: THIS IS THE BEGINNING.
DON'T WORRY ABOUT THIS CRITICISM AS BEING ANYTHING LIKE CRITICISM, THESE ARE JUST SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. PRIVATE INDUSTRY IS EXCELLENT AS CREATING INVITING WEBSITES THAT WANT TO MAKE YOU TAKE THE NEXT STEPS OF INVESTING YOUR TIME. WHAT WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE IS GIFT US THEIR TIME SO WE CAN IN RETURN EXCHANGE THAT GIFT FOR REALLY VALUABLE INFORMATION. AM I MAKING MY POINT? COUNCILMEMBER ROCHA GARCIA,
DO YOU WANT TO -- >> GARCIA: I'LL START OFF WHERE THE CHAIR LEFT OFF.
FIRST I JUST LOVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE IN THERE AND I WAS PLAYING WITH IT EARLIER. AND SOME GREAT INFORMATION. WHO UPDATES IT AND HOW
OFTEN? >> WE UPDATE IT IN-HOUSE THROUGH EDD RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE TEAM, MYSELF AND JAKE, OUR RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE SPECIALIST.
WE UPDATE IT BASED ON THE INFORMATION SOURCES BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A WIDE VARIETY.
SOME OF THAT IS QUARTERLY THROUGH OUR EDD OUTCOMES THAT WE REPORT OUT.
OTHERS OF IT IS DONE ANNUALLY THROUGH THE U.S. CENSUS.
AND THEN SOME OF US IS, OF COURSE, THE SBEDA INFORMATION, AS AN EXAMPLE,
IS UPDATED MONTHLY. >> GARCIA: GOT IT. AND I APPRECIATE HOW -- BY THE WAY, IT ALSO HAS THE LINK TO THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
I ASKED A FEW YEARS AGO, BACK IN 2022, I ASKED FOR A PUBLIC WORKS DASHBOARD AND I WANTED IT TO BE MORE KIND OF LIKE YOU ALL HAVE IT WHICH IS THE OUTCOMES SPECIFIC.
LIKE WHAT ARE WE DOING REALLY GOOD, WHERE CAN WE IMPROVE.
AND SO I HOPE THAT THEY LEARN FROM YOU ALL AND THE INFORMATION THAT YOU ALL HAVE. THE OUTPUT I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT, BUT -- AND I KNOW THIS IS A FIRST ITERATION SO I UNDERSTAND, BUT ANYTHING YOU COULD HELP WITH THE UNUSUAL LOOK AS YOU KIND OF CLICK ON IT. BUT I GET IT, IT'S ALSO A GOVERNMENT WEBSITE SO I UNDERSTAND HOW WE JUST NEED TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT THERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT'S OUT THERE.
I LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU ALL HAVE -- OH, ACTUALLY NO, BUT I MAKE THAT ASSUMPTION.
YOU YOU ALL HAVE THAT SAME INFORMATION I'M GOING TO FIND ON WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO, GREATER SATX. IS IT ALL THE SAME INFORMATION?
>> I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT IT'S ALL THE SAME INFORMATION.
THIS IS WHY WE CITE ALL OF OUR PAGES IN THE LOWER CORNER.
IT WILL SHOW WHAT THE DATA IS AND WHERE IT CAME FROM. THERE IS DIFFERENT REASONS WHY YOU USE DIFFERENT DATA SOURCES FOR DIFFERENT EFFECT.
>> GARCIA: SURE. I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE SO IF I'M A NEW COMPANY COMING TO SAN ANTONIO AND FOR SOME REASON I DON'T KNOW GREATER SATX EXISTS, I KNOW THIS IS GOING ON, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PARTNERING OR COLLABORATING
TO SHOWCASE THE SAME MESSAGE POINT ESSENTIALLY. >> WE DO PARTNER WITH GREATER SATX AND I'M -- AT LEAST WEEKLY TALKING TO THEIR RESEARCH -- VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH, RICHARD -- BEGINS WITH AN F. I APOLOGIZE.
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH. GREAT JOB.
>> WHYTE: WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT PUBLIC WORKS DASHBOARD.
LIST THERE, BUT WE CAN REACH OUT TO THEM AND HAVE IT ADDED.
>> MAKES FROM TIME TO TIME, SEEMS LIKE WE MAY NEED A DASHBOARD OF DASHBOARDS.
THE DASHBOARD TO END ALL DASHBOARDS. LISTEN, COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE JUST WHISPERED SOMETHING TO ME AND I THINK IT'S WORTHY OF HIM TURNING HIS MIC AND SAYING IT BECAUSE VERY RARELY DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTS FROM
COUNCILMEMBERS. >> WHYTE: I SAID LOVE THIS GUY AND WE NEED MORE OF YOU, AGAIN, I THINK WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT EXPANDING THIS KIND OF WORK THROUGHOUT WHAT WE DO AT THE CITY. I THINK IT'S VERY VALUABLE AND THIS WAS A GREAT
PRESENTATION. APPRECIATE IT. >> THANK YOU.
>> PELÁEZ: I THINK YOU JUST BECAME COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE'S BEST FRIEND.
THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT HE LOVES ALMOST AS MUCH AS HAS CHILDREN, PERFORMANCE AND DASHBOARDS. GREAT PRESENTATION. OUR NEXT IS OUR SUPPLYIER
[01:00:09]
ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY BRIEFING. >> GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, ANA BRADSHAW, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SO SHARE MORE ON OUR SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY. WE'VE TAKEN A A LONG HARD LOOKS AT WHERE WE HAVE NOT ONLY GOING FORWARD WITH THE SBEDA IMPLEMENTATION.
AS YOU PUT THEM INTO BUCKETS, WE HAVE OUR PREFERENCE PROGRAMS, THE LOCAL PREFERENCE PROGRAM AND VETERAN-OWNED PROGRAMS. THE MENTOR PROTEGE PROGRAM ALONG WITH CAPACITY BUILDING AND BONDING ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM AND THEN WE ENGAGE IN A NUMBER OF OTHER OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING EVENTS, WORKING ON AN ANNUAL PROCUREMENT GUIDE AND PROVIDING CERTIFICATION THROUGH SUPPLY SA.
IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, WE'LL BE PROVIDING BRIEF UPDATES.
FIRST WITH THE MENTOR PROTEGE PROGRAM. THERE IS NO CITY GENERAL FUND COMMITMENT TOWARDS THE PROGRAM, HOWEVER, WE'RE ABLE TO OFFER IT.
WE ARE EXPERIENCING A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES WITH THE PROGRAM DURING OUR REVIEW.
WHILE THE TWO-PHASE PROGRAM IS POPULAR AND HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL, WE DO HAVE A BACKLOG OF PROTEGES INDICATING A LACK OF MENTORS WANTING TO PARTICIPATE.
IT HASN'T HAD ANY MAJOR OVERHAULS. OUR CAPACITY BUILDING AND BONDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WE LUNCHED JUST A FEW YEARS AGO AS A PILOT PROGRAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SAEDC AND ALAMO SURETY BOND. WE DID OPERATE THE PROGRAM THREE YEARS AND IT WAS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE ONE ON ONE SUPPORT FOR CONTRACTORS TO ADDRESS BARRIERS, MAINLY MEETING BONDING REQUIREMENTS FOR CITY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. SO WE ARE CONCLUDING THE PILOT PROGRAM, IT WAS A THREE YEAR PILOT PROGRAM AND WILL BE WORKING WITH ALAMO SURETY BONDS TO ANALYZE THAT LAST BIT OF DATA. WHAT WE CAN SHARE ARE REALLY POSITIVE AND NOT SO POSITIVE THINGS WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH THE PILOT PROGRAM. WE'VE HAD 27 PARTICIPANTS.
OUR INITIAL ESTIMATES WERE CLOSER TO 90 PARTICIPANTS. UNDERSTANDING WHY THE UP TAKE WASN'T THERE. THEY HAVE COMPLETED ALMOST 120 HOURS OF CONSULTATION WITH ALAMO SURETY BOND. THOSE HOURS HAVE BEEN VERY FRUITFUL, THEIR BONDING CAPACITY HAS INCREASED ALMOST SEVEN-FOLD. HOWEVER, THAT'S NOT BEING REFLECTED IN THE RESULTS OF THEM WINNING COSA CONTRACTS. SO AGAIN, NEEDING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THOSE REMAINING BARRIERS THAT MIGHT EXIST FOR CONTRACTORS TO PARTICIPATE, UNDERSTANDING THAT JUST SOLVING THEIR BONDING REQUIREMENT MAY NOT BE THAT SILVER BULLET TO ADDRESS THE DISPARITIES.
TAKING ALL OF THAT KNOWLEDGE INTO CONSIDERATION AS WELL AS LOOKING AT BEST PRACTICES, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A STRATEGY GOING FORWARD FOR OUR OVERALL SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENT THAT ALLOWS US TO REALLY MEET THOSE POTENTIAL VENDORS WHERE THEY ARE.
SO STRATEGY COMES DOWN TO THREE KEY COMPONENTS BEING OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
AGAIN, HOW ARE WE GETTING THAT INFORMATION FROM THEM, BUT ALSO ACCEPTING INFORMATION BACK. WE DO A TREMENDOUS JOB THROUGH OUR DISPARITY STUDY, GOING OUT AND TALKING TO OUR VENDOR COMMUNITY, BUT BEYOND THAT IT'S A LITTLE MORE LIMITED. HOW CAN WE REACH OUT TO THEM ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS ALONG WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AND COORDINATING WITHIN THE CITY. WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH PROCUREMENT PUBLIC WORKS, BUT HOW ARE WE TAKING THEIR EXPERIENCE AND USING THAT TO INFORM THE PROGRAMMING AND OPPORTUNITIES WE OFFER TO SMALL BUSINESSES. THE NEXT KEY AREA BEING SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT. AGAIN, A LOT OF LEARNING THERE THROUGH THE MENTOR PROTEGE PROGRAM AND BONDING ASSISTANCE. HOW ARE WE IDENTIFYING THEM AND ADDRESSING WITH THE CORRECT PROGRAMMING OR ALIGNMENT TO OTHER PARTNERS.
AND THEN CONTINUING TO HAVE OUR PREFERENCE PROGRAMS. THIS IS DEFINITELY THE STRENGTH OF OUR STRATEGY, BUT HOW DO ALL OF THESE PIECES TIE TOGETHER.
A LOT OF THIS IS ALSO INFLUENCED FROM OUR DISPARITY STUDY FINDINGS
[01:05:06]
ALONG WITH OUR PROCUREMENT PLAY BOOK THAT WAS COMPLETED BY DREXEL IN INSIDING TO IDENTIFY A MORE HOLISTIC SOLUTION. IT IS REALLY BENEFICIAL FOR THE VENDORS BUT ALSO FOR THE CITY ORGANIZATION. AGAIN, OUR VENDORS WILL HAVE INCREASED ACCESS TO DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES. THE ABILITY TO CONNECT TO RESOURCES AND ABILITY TO NETWORK WITHIN, DOING OUTREACH ON THE IS A SBEDA AMENDMENTS. WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT GOES TO THAT TARGETED OUTREACH AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO LOOK TO IMPLEMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BUT AGAIN, THE BENEFITS ARE THERE EITHER PRODUCES A BETTER QUALITY PRODUCT FOR THE CITY OR AT A LOWER PRICE.SO WITHIN EACH PILLAR WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF GOALS AND OUTCOMES WE'RE WISHING TO DRIVE. AGAIN IN THE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT, CONNECTING THAT TIMELY OUTREACH, GETTING THE STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK AND COORDINATING INTERNALLY.
ONE OF THE ITEMS WE'RE GOING TO REALLY FOCUS ON IS NOT JUST BLASTING THE MESSAGE BUT LEVERAGING BENJAMIN AND THE RESEARCH TEAM, WHAT IS THE DATA TELLING US, WHERE ARE THERE PERHAPS POCKETS OF BUSINESSES. ONE FREQUENTLY WE TALK ABOUT IS AUTO PARTS. WE WAIVE SBEDA BECAUSE -- HOW ARE WE CONNECTING THOSE BUSINESSES TO THE OPPORTUNITIES. WITHIN THE AREA OF SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT, AGAIN DEVELOPING THE TAILORED PROGRAMS. WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DRIVE THE OUTCOME OF INCREASED CONTRACT AWARDS, STILL MAINTAINING HIGHER BONDING CAPACITIES. THAT WAS ALSO A KEY LESSON LEARNED IS THAT THE PROCUREMENT ECONOMY, PARTICULARLY LOCAL SPENDING CAN REALLY DRIVE THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL MINORITY AND WOMEN-WIND BUSINESSES. AND FINALLY, AGAIN, CONTINUING TO LEVERAGE OUR SBEDA PROGRAM WHICH IS REALLY BEST IN CLASS, BUT THEN ALSO CONTINUING TO UTILIZE IT IN TANDEM WITH THE VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM TO CONTINUE TO SEE THOSE CONTRACTS BE AWARD, ACHIEVING ASPIRATIONAL GOALS AND ULTIMATELY HAVING THE DOLLARS PAID TO OUR LOCAL WOMEN AND MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES. SO WE ARE DEVELOPING THE PLAN WHILE ROLLING IT OUT.
YOU WILL SEE A NUMBER OF KEY INITIATIVES. WE HAVE COMPLETED OR REVIEWS. ROLLING THAT OUT SPRING, SUMMER, NOW.
WORKING CLOSELY WITH PARTNERS AT ALAMO COLLEGES ON ENHANCING THE PROTEGE PROGRAM AND WHAT THAT COULD BE BASED ON DATA FROM THE BONDING ASSISTANCE PILOT.
WE ARE IN THE HOME STRETCH OF IMPLEMENTING THE SBEDA AMENDMENTS.
WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS AND ARE READY TO GO LIVE ON JULY 1ST.
THAT CONCLUDES MY BRIEF PRESENTATION. HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
I'M SORRY, ONE THING REAL QUICK FAILED TO MENTION. I WANTED TO WELCOME THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM WHO IS IS GOING TO BE LEADING THE WAY. IVAN JUAREZ. EXCITED TO HAVE HIM.
HE'S BEEN AN EXCELLENT ADDITION AND HAPPY TO HAVE HIM ON BOARD.
WHERE YOU ARE FROM AND HOW IS IT GOING. >> GOOD AFTERNOON, IVAN SUAREZ. TOMORROW IS MY ONE-MONTH ANNIVERSARY WITH THE GROUP.
COMING FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. AND EXCITED TO BE HERE. >> PELÁEZ: I'M GLAD YOU ARE HERE. COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE, ANY QUESTIONS?
>> WHYTE: I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. I MAY HAVE A COUPLE.
>> PELÁEZ: COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU AND THANK YOU ANA FOR THE PRESENTATION. I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE TO THANK COUNCILMEMBER PELÁEZ FOR LEADERSHIP ON THE COMMITTEE, LEADING THROUGH REALLY TOUGH CONVERSATIONS IN PUTTING THE ECONOMY BACK ON TRACK WITH PROVIDING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES WITH SUPPORT.
IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL SERVING WITH YOU ON THIS COMMITTEE. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU.
[01:10:01]
I'M NOT TOTALLY USELESS. >> GARCIA: YOU NEED TO BUY A LOTTERY TICKET.
THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. ON BOTH THE MENTOR PROTEGE PROGRAM AND THE CAPACITY BUILDING AND BONDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THESE ARE DEFINITELY VITAL COMPONENTS. I WAS WONDERING SPECIFICALLY IF WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE
FUNDING THE PROGRAM. >> IF IT'S YOUR RECOMMENDATION FOR THE
UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR? >> AT THIS POINT WE'RE CONCLUDING THE PILOT.
WE WANT TO DO AN ACTUAL REPORT FROM ALAMO SURETY BOND, DO SOME FOLLOW-UP WITH THE PARTICIPANTS AND IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THOSE NEXT STEPS FOR IT.
>> GARCIA: I THINK THAT IT'S DEFINITELY IMPORTANT IN ORDER FOR SUPPLY SA TO CONTINUE TO BE STUCK -- CONTINUE TO BE SUCCESSFUL. MY FINAL QUESTION IS DID THE
SBACK HAVE ANY FEED WHACK? >> WE ACTUALLY SUBMITTED THIS TO THE SBEDA COMMITTEE, HOW WE CAN BETTER ENGAGE WITH THE MENTORS AND THEY WANT A FOLLOW-UP ON OUR
COMMUNICATIONS ON TARGETED OUTREACH CAMPAIGN. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU.
>> PELÁEZ: COUNCILMEMBER VIAGRAN. >> VIAGRAN: THANK YOU ANA FOR THAT. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENT AND THE SLIDE ON HOW MANY APPLIED AFTER THE BONDING FOR COSA, I DO THINK WE NEED TO GO BACK TO BEST VALUE VERSUS LOW BID VERSUS WHAT OUR EXPECTATION IS WHEN WE SAY BEST VALUE.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL IS GOING TO NEED TO TALK ABOUT BECAUSE I THINK WE SAY BEST VALUE AND WE'RE ALL THINKING THREE DIFFERENT THINGS. SO I THINK THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE NEED TO HAVE IF WE'RE GOING TO GO IN TWO YEARS TO THE LEGISLATURE AND ASK THEM TO INCREASE IT.
ALEX, I THINK IT'S 5% ABOVE AND BEYOND. SO I THINK THERE'S THAT.
I THINK WE ALSO DO NEED TO TAKE IN TERMS OF PUBLIC WORKS, LOOK AT WORK ORDERS AND CHANGE ORDERS THAT COME AFTER THE FACT AND KIND OF TAKE A DEEP DIVE IN THAT.
IF WE HAD GONE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAD GIVEN US NO CHANGE ORDERS BUT HAD KIND OF INCORPORATED THAT BUT SCORED LOWER BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE EXPERIENCE, MAYBE WE LOOK AT THAT. I THINK IT IS HELPFUL TO HAVE SUPPLIERS LOCALLY AND DEVELOPERS IN BUSINESSES LOCALLY. I THINK IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR US TO -- YOU KNOW, IT'S HARDER FOR THEM TO SOCIAL EVENTS AND BUSINESS MEETINGS IF THERE'S A PROJECT GONE WRONG AND THEY KNOW WE'RE GOING TO ASK THEM ABOUT IT. THAT'S WHY I HAVE A LOCAL PREFERENCE, HOWEVER THIS DATE HAS KIND OF DONE WITH THE LOW BID.
I LIKE WITH THE IDEA OF THEM WANTING TO MEET SUBS AND START THAT RELATIONSHIP.
IF THERE IS SOMEBODY LOCAL OR REGIONAL THAT DOES WANT TO THEN WORK WITH A SUB HERE, THAT KIND OF DOES A MENTORSHIP OR BRINGS THEM UP OR HELPS.
I THINK THERE'S A WAY TO WORK THAT OUT AFTER YOU DO SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK AND THE PRESENTATION. WE ARE CONSTANTLY WANTING AS MANY PEOPLE WHO CAN TO APPLY. SO ANYTHING WE CAN MAKE IT EASIER TO APPLY FOR THESE CITY BIDS WE JUST WANT THEM TO BE PREPARED IF THEY RECEIVE A CITY BID THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY DO THAT JOB. AND UNDERSTANDING AND ASKING THE QUESTION ON THE OTHER END IS ARE WE A LITTLE SLOW IN GETTING THEM THEIR CHECK. AND I THINK IF WE ASK THEM THE RESOUNDING ANSWER WOULD BE YES, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE JOB IS DONE BEFORE WE PAY FOR IT IN FULL. AND WE'VE GOT ANSWERS TO MAKE. SO THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I THINK -- I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING WITH THE SUPPLIER.
AS CHAIR OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE I'M CONSTANTLY LOOKING ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE ENGAGED AND WHO ALL WANTED TO PARTICIPATE, BUT I THINK AS WE MOVE FORWARD THERE'S A SOLUTION OUT THERE AND I THINK THIS WAS ONE OF A GOOD STEP TO KIND OF SEE WHAT THE QUESTIONS WERE. SO GREAT JOB.
THANK YOU. >> GREAT COMMENTS. COUNCILMAN WHYTE?
>> WHYTE: TRACKING THE LONG-TERM GROWTH AND SUCCESS FOR COMPANIES AFTER THEY
COMPLETE THE PROGRAM, HOW DO WE DO THAT? >> CURRENTLY WE DON'T.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS HOW THOSE FIRMS ARE GROWING.
I WOULD SAY THE ONE THING WE COULD TRACK IS IF THEY GRADUATE FROM SBEDA, THEY GROW BEYOND WHAT IS CONSIDERED A SMALL BUSINESS AS DEFINED BY SBA.
SO WE DO TRACK THAT PRESENTLY, BUT IN TERMS OF THEIR INCREMENTAL GROWTH
[01:15:04]
THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO BUILD OUT. >> WHYTE: THAT WAS MY ONLY QUESTION AND I'LL ECHO COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S COMMENTS.
CHAIR, IT'S BEEN GREAT SITTING WITH YOU ON THIS COMMITTEE FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS AND IT'S BEEN GREAT TO HAVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BUSINESS ON THE COMMITTEE
AND REALLY ON CITY COUNCIL. REALLY WE NEED MORE OF THAT. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU.
NOW, ARE WE GOING TO GO INTO EXEC? BEFORE WE DO THAT, I'LL TAKE THIS MOMENT OF PRIVILEGE TO TELL YOU ALL THAT ONE OF THE GREAT HONORS OF MY CAREER HAS BEEN GETTING TO SERVE ON THIS COMMITTEE, NOT JUST THE CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE, BUT ON THIS COMMITTEE. WHEN IT FIRST STARTED IT WAS HEADED UP VERY CAPABLY AND VERY GOOD JOB BY YOUR PREDECESSOR, COUNCIL MEMBER VIAGRAN.
AND WE STARTED WITH COUNCIL MEMBER DOMINGUEZ AND WE'VE GONE THROUGH SOME DIFFICULT MOMENTS AND THIS COMMITTEE HAS TACKLED THE BUSINESS CONSEQUENCES AND THE CRUELTY PERPETRATED BY [INDISCERNIBLE] ON SMALL BUSINESSES, MEDIUM SIZE BUSINESSES, LEGACY BUSINESSES AND BIG BUSINESSES.
AND I THINK BECAUSE OF THIS WORK, ALEX, THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE DONE AND THIS COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE HAS DONE, WE HAVE HELPED THE CITY THRIVE IN THE FACE OF SOME VERY, VERY DANGEROUS, YOU KNOW, EVENTUALLY CATASTROPHIC REALITIES THAT HAVE BEEN DEALT TO US OVER THE YEARS. WE ARE NOW ALSO ADAPTING TO A POST-COVID ECONOMY, AND WE HAVE BECOME A COMMITTEE NOT JUST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AND WORKFORCE PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE, BUT ALSO A COMMITTEE OF DATA THAT RELIES ON DATA MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, AS EVIDENCED BY THESE LAST THREE PRESENTATIONS, WHICH WERE REALLY HEAVY ON THE DATA.
I THINK THAT THIS NEXT CITY COUNCIL THAT'S COMING IN IS BEING HANDED A FERARRI OF A COMMITTEE, AND I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH THE WORK THAT YOU, ALEX, AND YOUR TEAM HAVE DONE. YOU GUYS HAVE DONE IT SO ELOQUENTLY AND IT'S BEEN VERY, VERY DIFFICULT WORK AND YOU MAKE IT LOOK EASY. AND THAT IS A FEAT IN AND OF ITSELF AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR MAKING US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS LOOK LIKE HER ROWS TO OUR COMMUNITY WHEN WE GO OUT AND TALK ABOUT PLACEMAKING GRANTS AND SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS AND BRINGING JOBS TO SAN ANTONIO AND KEEPING JOBS IN SAN ANTONIO. AND WE STAND ON YOUR SHOULDERS WHEN WE DO THAT.
SO WE OWE YOU AN ETERNAL DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR HELPING VULNERABLE PEOPLE.
AND HELPING PEOPLE PAY FOR THEIR BILL AND PAY FOR THEIR HOME AND SEND THEIR KIDS TO COLLEGE AND LOOK FOR JOBS THAT ARE DONE HERE UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP, BUT FOR THE WORK THAT IS DONE HERE, MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE WOULDN'T HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO PAY THEIR BILLS AND SEND THEIR KIDS TO COLLEGE AND CREATE GENERATIONAL WEALTH.
SO PLEASE KNOW THAT WE SEE -- WE, ALL OF US, SEE YOUR WORK AND WE ALL APPRECIATE IT. WITH THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THERE'S A SCRIPT I'VE GOT TO READ. THE TIME IS NOW 3:18 P.M. ON TUESDAY, MAY 27TH. THIS COMMITTEE IS GOING TO RECESS INTO EXEC SESSION TO CONSULT WITH OUR CITY ATTORNEYS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE 551 WHERE WE'LL BE DELIBERATING ABOUT GOVERNMENT OWE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS AND WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 551 UNDER THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE. [SESSION].
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.