[00:00:03]
OKAY.UH, I THINK WE'RE READY TO BEGIN.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND START WITH ROLL CALL COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, OR I'M SORRY, CITIZEN MEMBER TREVINO HERE.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE WHILE, UH, WE WAITED FOR THE ARRIVAL OF OUR FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, WELCOME TO THE, UH, 21ST, OR I SHOULD SAY JANUARY 21ST, MEETING OF OUR AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE.
QUITE A FEW ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA.
I BELIEVE WE'VE GOT ABOUT 16 ITEMS, UH, AND WE HAVE SEVERAL ON CONSENT.
[1. 20-1320 Approval of the minutes from the Audit & Accountability Committee meeting on December 17, 2019]
OUR AGENDA I'LL ASK US TO ADDRESS IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE, UH, COMMITTEE FROM DECEMBER 17TH.AND I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THOSE MINUTES AND MOVE, APPROVE THE MINUTES.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING.
[CONSENT AGENDA]
CONSENT AGENDA, AND LET ME JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THAT.IT INCLUDES SOME PRES SOLICITATION, HIGH PROFILE ITEMS, SOME POSTS, SOLICITATION, HIGH PROFILE ITEMS, AND SOME INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS.
UH, THE PRES SOLICITATION HIGH PROFILE ITEMS, UH, INCLUDE, UM, SPECIALIZED AIR CONDITIONING MAINTENANCE.
UH, ITEM THREE IS, UH, ON-CALL PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICE.
OUR POSTS, SOLICITATION, HIGH PROFILE ITEMS INCLUDE, UH, ANNUAL CONTRACT FOR CUSTODIAL SERVICES FOR PARK AND REC AND SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM.
UH, INTERNAL AUDIT ITEMS NUMBER SIX, SEVEN, AND EIGHT INCLUDE AUDIT OF THE SS A P D PARK POLICE, UH, AUDIT OF THE AVIATION SECURITY DIVISION AUDIT OF, UH, SAN ANTONIO METROPOLITAN HEALTH DISTRICT IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM.
SO THOSE SEVEN ITEMS ARE ALL CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS. SO I'LL ASK AT THIS TIME IF THERE ARE ANY ITEMS FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA THAT ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE PULLED FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION.
ANY ITEMS FROM ITEM TWO THROUGH EIGHT? OKAY.
HEARING NONE, THEN I THINK WOULD, IT WOULD BE IN ORDER FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA, CAN WE APPROVE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA? SECOND.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND, AND SECONDED TO APPROVE THE, UH, THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS TWO THROUGH EIGHT.
HEARING NONE, THE CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED.
I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE WHO WANNA MAKE PUBLIC PUBLIC COMMENT, BUT I'M GONNA HOLD THOSE FOR LATER IN THE MEETING.
AND WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GO TO ITEM NUMBER 12, WHICH IS, UH, POSTS SOLICITATION.
[9. 20-1145 Temporary Staffing Services [Ben Gorzell, Chief Financial Officer; Lori Steward, Director, Human Resources]]
PRES SOLICITATION HIGH PROFILE BRIEFING.UH, TROY, WILL WE BE HEARING FROM YOU ON THAT? NO, SIR.
WE'LL BE HEARING FROM TOMORROW.
ITEM NUMBER NINE, TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES.
UM, YES, WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, PRES PRES SOLICITATION FOR OUR TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES, R F P.
AND WE HAVE A, UM, PRESENTATION IN YOUR, UM, PACKETS.
SO WE'LL START WITH, UM, EXCUSE ME WHILE I GET MY GLASSES ON SO I CAN, SO WE WILL BE SEEKING PROPOSALS FROM TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES TO PROVIDE SUPPORT STAFF.
SO THIS WOULD BE CLERICAL LABOR, SOME DRIVING POSITIONS, SOME SPECIALIZED POSITIONS, DEPENDING UPON THE NEED, UM, TO SUPPORT, UM, ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY WHEN THEY HAVE A NEED FOR TEMPORARY STAFFING.
SO, UM, KEEPING IN MIND THAT THAT WOULD BE, UM, EVERY, EVERY POSSIBLE SOURCE OF FUNDING THAT THE CITY HAS, THEY COULD USE TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES.
SO IT'S NOT JUST A GENERAL FUND TYPE OF ITEM.
SO IT'S, IT'S USED, UM, CITYWIDE AND THE, UM, CONTRACTOR WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WORKING DIRECTLY WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS TO PROVIDE THOSE STAFFING SERVICES.
UM, IT'LL BE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL WITH AN ESTIMATED VALUE OVER FIVE POTENTIAL YEARS.
IT'S A THREE YEAR, UH, UH, TERM WITH TWO
[00:05:01]
ONE YEAR EXTENSION.WE ESTIMATE ABOUT $48 MILLION FOR THAT CONTRACT.
BUT, UH, KEEPING IN MIND LOOKING AT THE OVERALL CIVILIAN PAYROLL DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME THAT THAT RANGES FROM, IT'S LESS THAN 3% OF THAT TOTAL PAYROLL.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE A BIG NUMBER.
BUT IN CON, YOU KNOW, IN IN PERSPECTIVE OF THE TOTAL BUDGET FOR STAFFING, IT'S, IT'S LESS THAN 3% EACH YEAR FOR TEMPORARY STAFFING.
AND DEPARTMENTS WILL USE THOSE DEPARTMENTS, USE THOSE SERVICES FOR FILLING IN WHEN THERE'S AN EXTENDED ABSENCE OR WHEN THERE'S A VACANCY THAT THEY'RE RECRUITING FOR.
ALSO SPECIAL PROJECTS AND, UM, INFLUX, SEASONAL KIND OF WORK AND INFLUX OF, UM, NEEDS SUCH AS IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
IF, IF IT'S A BACK TO SCHOOL IMMUNIZATION TIME, THEY MIGHT STAFF UP A LITTLE BIT WITH TEMPORARY SERVICES.
SO THAT'S THE TIME OF TYPE OF WORK THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
WE WILL BE, UM, CONDUCTING OUTREACH.
WE HAVE 49 VENDORS IN THE REGISTER REGISTRY WILL BE DOING TARGETED OUTREACH TO 14 OF THOSE, UM, TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING.
SO OUR EVALUATION COMMITTEE WOULD INCLUDE, UM, OUR E L T MEMBER, BEN GO, MYSELF, CRYSTAL STRONG, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.
SHE'S HERE WITH ME TODAY, OUR RECRUITMENT ADMINISTRATOR, AND THEN A COUPLE OF ADMINISTRATOR LEVEL PHYSICIANS FROM OUR, UM, HIGH USERS.
AND THIS YEAR WE'RE INVITING SOLID WASTE.
THAT'S OUR NUMBER ONE USER OF TEMP AGENCY SERVICES AND ALSO SS A P D TO SERVE ON THAT EVALUATION COMMITTEE.
WE WILL BE EVALUATING BASED ON EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND, AND QUALIFICATIONS.
WHEN THERE'S A NEED FOR TEMPORARY STAFFING, IT'S, IT'S, RIGHT NOW IT'S AN IMMEDIATE NEED.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO'S GOT THE BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES WHEN WE NEED THEM.
UM, THERE WILL BE SUB BETA POINTS APPLIED.
UM, 10 POINTS FOR PRIME, 10 POINTS FOR THE LOCAL PREFERENCE, FIVE POINTS FOR THE VETERANS.
WE WILL ALSO HAVE A 10% SUB COUNT SUBCONTRACTING GOAL FOR THIS SUBCONTRACT.
OUR, OUR PROJECT TIMELINE, WE'RE HERE TODAY FOR THE PRES SOLICITATION BRIEFING.
WE'RE LOOKING TO RELEASE THE, UM, R F P AT THE END OF THIS MONTH, PRE-SUBMIT A CONFERENCE IN EARLY FEBRUARY, RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS AND HAVE THE, UH, RESPONSES DUE IN MID-MARCH.
COMPLETE THE EVALUATION IN MAY.
UM, NEGOTIATE WITH THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDERS.
RIGHT NOW WE DO HAVE THREE THAT WE WORK WITH.
SO IT'S NOT JUST A SELECTION OF ONE, BUT THERE COULD BE MORE THAN ONE THAT WE CONTRACT WITH TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES.
AND WE ANTICIPATE BEING BACK TO YOU RIGHT AFTER THE SUMMER BREAK, SO IN AUGUST.
AND, UH, THE CONTRACTS NOW EXPIRE IN, UM, LATE DECEMBER.
SO THAT WE SHOULD GIVE US PLENTY OF TIME TO BE, UM, APPROVED BY FULL COUNSEL IN SEPTEMBER AND CONTRACT STARTING IN DECEMBER.
YOU'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
LORI, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION.
IT'S BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE WATCHING, UH, CONTRACT LABOR AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE IN A POSITION WHERE WE WANT TO GO AHEAD AND FILL CITY JOBS WITH CONTRACTORS JUST TO SAVE MONEY.
I PRESUME THAT IT'S TO FILL A HOLE THAT WE HOPE TO FILL PERMANENTLY.
SO DO WE BUILD IN ANY KIND OF LENGTH OF TIME FOR CONTRACT LABOR WITH MAYBE A RENEWAL IF IT NEEDS TO, OR IS IT ALWAYS OPEN-ENDED? UM, AS FAR AS THE CONTRACTS WITH THE TEMPORARY SERVICE PROVIDERS GO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY, UH, DEADLINES IN THERE.
BUT I WILL SAY THAT YOUR CONCERN IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHARE IN HR, AND IT IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT.
UH, THERE WAS AN AUDIT OF OUR TEMPORARY SERVICES A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, AND THERE WERE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE AUDITORS MADE ON SOME ADDITIONAL REPORTING.
AND SO WITH THAT ADDITIONAL REPORTING, IT'S SOMETHING WE ARE LOOKING AT MORE CLOSELY.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE WORKED WITH METRO HEALTH AND CONVERTED SOME OF THEIR, UM, LONGER TERM TEMPORARY SERVICES INTO CITY POSITIONS.
SO IT IS SOMETHING WE ARE LOOKING AT FROM AN HR DEPARTMENT STANDPOINT, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE BUILD INTO THE CONTRACT TERM.
BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE AGREE WITH YOU THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT THAT.
POSSIBLY, MAYBE YOU AND I COULD SIT DOWN AND TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
I HAVE THAT INTEREST IN SEEING IF IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS MENTIONED IN A PREVIOUS AUDIT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND YOU'VE BEEN ADDRESSING IT, IT MIGHT BE WORTH EXPLORING, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT HAS, HAS TURNED OUT AND WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING, WHERE YOU THINK THERE MAY STILL BE SOME AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
SO I, OF COURSE, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY
[00:10:01]
HAVE TO BE AT THIS MEETING NOW.I JUST WANTED TO SEE THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, ADRIANA, ROCHA GARCIA HAD A QUESTION.
UH, MY FIRST QUESTION WAS SIMILAR TO COUNCILMAN COURAGE IS I WAS GONNA ASK WHAT'S THE AVERAGE THAT? UM, WE USUALLY HAVE FOLKS THAT STAY ON AS TEMPORARY STAFFERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE EVER CALCULATED AN AVERAGE, BUT IT, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD, IT WOULD VARY GREATLY.
UM, EITHER SPECIAL PROJECTS, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PROJECT GOING ON IN HR RIGHT NOW FOR DIGITIZING OUR FILES.
SO WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF TEMPORARY STAFF ON FOR, UM, AN EXTENDED TIME, BUT IT IS BASED ON THIS PROJECT THAT THAT DOES, THAT WILL END AT SOME POINT.
AND OTHERS ARE JUST FILLING IN WHEN THERE'S AN ABSENCE OR A DEPLOYMENT TO MILITARY LEAVE OR F M L A, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO IT, IT DOES VARY WIDELY ON THE, THE LENGTH OF TIME AND FOR GOOD REASONS.
UM, AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION WAS, CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF SPECIALTY POSITIONS THAT YOU WOULD FILL, PERHAPS AN IT POSITION THAT WOULD NEED TO HAVE SOME SPECIAL PROGRAMMING SKILL OR A FINANCE POSITION? THOSE WOULD BE MORE SPECIALIZED AS OPPOSED TO GENERAL CLERICAL OR MAINTENANCE.
SO WOULD IT BE SOMETHING THAT MAYBE THE CITY, UM, HASN'T TYPICALLY HIRED A FULL-TIME PERSON FOR, BUT MIGHT EVENTUALLY HIRE A FULL-TIME PERSON FOR? LIKE, IS THAT HOW WE, IT, IT, IT COULD BE BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD OCCASIONS WHERE DEPARTMENTS HAVE RECEIVED A GRANT AND THEY NEED TO RAMP UP VERY QUICKLY, AND WE'LL USE THE TEMPORARY STAFFING TO GET GOING WHILE WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A STAFFING PLAN, COMING BACK TO COUNCIL TO GET APPROVAL ON THAT STAFFING PLAN, AND THEN FILLING THOSE POSITIONS.
WE HAVE DONE THAT USING TEMPORARY STAFFING.
UM, OTHER TIMES I THINK IT WOULD BE MORE FOR THOSE EXTENDED ABSENCES IF SOMEONE'S ON MILITARY DEPLOYMENT, THAT COULD BE A YEAR, MAYBE MORE SOMETIMES.
AND, AND THEY MAY NEED A SPECIALIZED PERSON JUST TO BACKFILL THAT.
'CAUSE THAT PERSON WILL HAVE A RIGHT TO COME BACK TO THE JOB.
UM, LORI, UM, THE $48 MILLION ESTIMATED VALUE, IS THAT OVER THE FIVE YEARS OR ANNUALLY? OVER THE FIVE YEARS? THAT'S OVER THE FIVE YEARS, YES.
JUST UNDER $10 MILLION A YEAR.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN AVERAGING.
AND SO GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU WOULD, YOU SAID YOU MIGHT BREAK THIS INTO, INTO MULTIPLE, UH, AWARDEES.
UH, GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN.
'CAUSE I THINK MY, I JUST POINT MY, MY, MY CONCERN IS, IS JUST THE, THE SIZE OF THESE AGENCIES THAT, THAT WE WOULD CONTRACT WITH.
AND I THINK IT, IT'S SORT OF JUST KINDA LEADS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVING, GIVING, UH, SMALLER BUSINESSES, UH, MORE OPPORTUNITY.
IT, IT, YOU KNOW, HOW, GIMME AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE'RE, WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO THOSE KIND OF SPECIAL NEEDS.
WELL, THERE WILL, AS FAR AS PROVIDING SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS AND OPPORTUNITY TO DO BUSINESS, THERE IS A SUBCONTRACTING GOAL IN THIS, UH, PROCUREMENT.
SO ALL OF THE LARGER AGENCIES DO NEED TO HAVE, UM, SMALLER AGENCIES SUBCONTRACTING WITH THEM.
SO I THINK BY VIRTUE OF DOING THAT, WE ARE PROVIDING, SO THIS IS ABOUT LIKE A $9.6 MILLION.
THIS, THIS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SALARIES, THEN WE'RE ALLOCATING DOLLARS TOWARDS SALARIES, IS THAT CORRECT? SALARIES AND THEN THE MARKUP THAT WE PAY THE AGENCY FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND SO WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE TYPICAL MARKUP? TYPICAL MARK RIGHT HERE? PROBABLY ABOUT 34.
IT RANGES FROM, UM, A LOW OF 28% TO A HIGH OF 40, 40% MARKUP.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHY WE'RE ASKING, AND, AND THIS IS, I THINK, GOES BACK TO SOME OF THE ORIGINAL QUESTIONS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WHY ARE WE NOT SIMPLY JUST FILLING THESE JOBS? I MEAN, IT'S COSTING US A LOT MORE TO, TO CONTRACT.
I MEAN, THIS IS $48 MILLION, 40 UP TO 40% IS NOT ACTUALLY PAYING, UH, OR IS PAYING FEES.
UM, I JUST, I'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT.
AND, UM, I REALLY, I, I THINK WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO HAVE A LARGER CONVERSATION ABOUT, ABOUT HOW WE DO THIS.
UM, WE'RE HAVING A, A CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW ABOUT COUNCIL AID PAY.
UM, I MEAN, JUST THE FEES ALONE ON THAT WOULD COVER ALL THOSE ISSUES.
SO, I MEAN, I I, I'D LIKE TO ASK MY COLLEAGUES TO KIND OF JUST, UM, LET'S, LET'S TAKE A DEEPER DIVE ON, ON HOW WE CAN, UH, REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF, UM, TEMPORARY POSITIONS AND REALLY BE MORE STRATEGIC ABOUT, ABOUT HOW WE USE THESE DOLLARS.
I, I'M NOT SURE WHAT, WHAT ARE WE APPROVING TODAY? JUST BEGINNING THE, THE PRE SOLICITATION, BEGINNING DM PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
AND, AND THERE WILL, WE COULD CERTAINLY STUDY THAT AND, AND LOOK AT TRYING TO BRING THAT DOWN SOME MORE, BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOME NEED FOR THESE SERVICES JUST TO FILL IN, LIKE FOR THE EXTENDED ABSENCES.
I MEAN, IT'S, BUT IT'S STILL LIKE DOING YOUR
[00:15:01]
GROCERY SHOPPING AT A CONVENIENCE STORE, RIGHT? NOBODY DOES THAT.WELL, SOMETIMES I DO THAT, BUT
AND I DON'T THINK, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS AN EFFECTIVE USE OF OUR DOLLARS.
UM, CERTAINLY IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, NEARLY $10 MILLION EVERY SINGLE YEAR, AND I THINK AS WE, WE GO THROUGH THE BUDGET ANNUALLY, WE, I, I'D REALLY LIKE TO TAKE JUST A DEEPER DIVE, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE BEING STAFFED THE WAY THEY NEED TO BE, AND WE'RE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS, UM, APPROPRIATELY SO THAT IN THE, IN THE LONG RUN, WE CAN, WE CAN ACTUALLY SAVE, SAVE MONEY.
UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE GO FROM HERE, BUT I'M JUST GONNA MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION.
UH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION.
AND I, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN'T, INSTEAD OF SAYING, OKAY, IT'S GONNA BE 28 TO 40%, WHY CAN'T WE PUT IT OUT IF, IN THE SENSE OF THEY CAN BID ON HOW MUCH PERCENTAGE THEY WOULD CHARGE US.
AND, AND I REALIZED THAT IS HOW IT, YEAH.
I REALIZED THERE'S A, A SCALE OF THE TYPES OF JOBS, AND SOME JOBS PAY MORE, REQUIRE HIGHER REQUIREMENTS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE A DIFFERENCE IN THAT SCALE.
BUT RATHER THAN, UM, JUST TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PAYING SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 28 AND 40, LET THEM COME TO US SAYING, WELL, WE CAN FILL THOSE JOBS AT THE HIGHER LEVEL AT 25% MARKUP, OR WE CAN FILL THE JOBS AT A LOWER PERCENT OF 15% MARKUP, AND LET'S SEE HOW THESE THREE OR ANY OTHERS DECIDE TO GET INTO THAT BID PROCESS.
CAN WE WORK ON, ON PUTTING SOMETHING LIKE THAT TOGETHER AND PUTTING THAT PROPOSAL OUT? AND IF WE DON'T GET THE KIND OF RESPONSE WE REALLY THINK WE NEED TO FILL THOSE JOBS, WE CAN RECONSIDER.
BUT LET'S START BY TRYING TO CUT THAT BACK.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO SEE AS CHAIRMAN.
IF I CAN JUST ADD THAT THE R F P, WE DON'T PRESCRIBE THE LEVEL OF MARKUP, SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING IN THEIR PROPOSAL IS WHAT WOULD BE THE MARKUP ON VARIOUS TYPES OF POSITIONS.
SO WHAT I THINK LORI AND CRYSTAL GAVE YOU WAS A RANGE OF WHAT'S IN PLACE TODAY.
BASED ON THE LAST SOLICITATION.
BUT WE WOULD BE RE-LOOKING AT THAT AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, AND THEY WOULD BE FREE TO BID ON WHATEVER THEY BELIEVE THE APPROPRIATE MARKUP IS.
SO THIS COMMITTEE, WHEN IT ADHERES, IT MIGHT SAY, WE WANNA REJECT THESE BIDS BECAUSE WE THINK THEY'RE ALL TOO HIGH.
UH, YOU COULD CERTAINLY DO THAT.
BUT AS LORI, UM, MENTIONED, WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO IS FILL A GAP IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
BUT IF YOU, IF YOU KIND OF THINK ABOUT THE MARKUP FOR SOME OF THESE SPECIALIZED POSITIONS, TO HAVE SOMEBODY ON CALL THAT THEY CAN SEND TO US FOR AN IT POSITION OR A FINANCE POSITION OR SOME OTHER SPECIALIZED POSITION CAN BE CHALLENGING.
SO THEY'VE, THEY'VE GOTTA MANAGE ALL THAT AND HAVE AVAILABILITY AND RESOURCES THAT THEY CAN DELIVER TO US.
BUT, UM, I CERTAINLY HEAR, UM, YOUR COMMENTS AROUND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THIS AS NARROW AS POSSIBLE.
WE, WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT THAT GOING FORWARD WITH THIS PROCESS.
COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, UH, BEN AND LORI ON THE GOAL SETTING, UH, DO, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION? AND I KNOW THE GOAL SETTING ALREADY HAPPENED, BUT MAYBE EVEN BY THE EVALUATION TEAM.
UM, IS IS, WOULD IT STILL BE SOMETHING, I'M ASSUMING WE COULD STILL CONSIDER IT, OBVIOUSLY, AND IT COULD COME TO US, UM, BUT IS THERE SOMETHING LIKE, IS THERE A DEEPER DIVE THAT HAS BEEN, UM, MAYBE GOING ON WITHIN YOUR GOAL SETTING COMMITTEE OR EVENTUALLY THAT YOU WOULD BRING TO YOUR EVALUATION COMMITTEE REGARDING THE PERCENTAGE? THE MARKUP? THE MARKUP? WELL, THAT WILL BE HOW THE, UM, PRICING COMPONENT OF THIS, UM, PROCUREMENT IS SCORED.
SO IT'S PART OF THE, THE, THE MATRIX, THE SCORING MATRIX.
SO I JUST, I FIGURED WE COULD STILL HAVE TIME, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT IT POSITIONS ARE VERY, AND THAT'S WHY I WAS SPECIFICALLY ASKING ABOUT SPECIALTY POSITIONS, 'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND.
UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE JUST TRYING TO BE, UM, MINDFUL AND, AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S SOME SORT OF A PROCESS AND WE DON'T ALWAYS GET, UM, BRIEFED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT GOES ON OR WHAT HAPPENS AT THESE MEETINGS.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS SOME CONSIDERATION.
AND I, I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR THAT MY POINT IS, IS ABOUT THE, THE CAPACITY, I MEAN, $48 MILLION THAT'S NEARLY AT, AT THE 40% FEE, UH, THAT'S NEARLY $20 MILLION THAT ARE NOT GOING TO SALARIES.
AND, AND SO I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR, WHAT I WANT US TO LOOK AT IS, IS REDUCING THAT AMOUNT, UH, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, I KNOW, I KNOW MY COLLEAGUES HEAR THIS AS MUCH AS I DO, WHICH IS YOU, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ARE UNDERSTAFFED, AND, UM, WE, WE JUST NEED TO WORK HARDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE DEPARTMENTS HAVE THE, THE, THE PROPER STAFFING
[00:20:01]
REQUIREMENTS AND NOT THROW $20 MILLION OUT THE WINDOW IN FEES THAT COULD GO TO THOSE STAFF STAFF POSITIONS.SO I, I, I THINK WE NEED TO JUST HAVE A, A BIGGER CONVERSATION ON THE, ON THE STRATEGIC APPROACH.
I DON'T, I DON'T DISCOUNT THE FACT THAT WE MIGHT HAVE, UH, WE NEED TO HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY.
WE MAY HAVE SOME, UH, SOME OP, UM, ABILITY TO ADDRESS AN EMERGENCY OR AN UNFORESEEN EVENT.
AND I, I DON'T EVEN THINK THIS IS, THIS IS AN ISSUE OF HR.
THIS IS AN ISSUE OF MANAGEMENT.
THIS IS AN ISSUE OF DEPARTMENTS AND MANAGEMENT, AND THIS CITY COUNCIL HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, NO, WE'RE NOT GONNA SPEND THAT MUCH IN FEES.
UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE, WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE KNOW THERE'S SUCH A HUGE NEED, UH, FOR, FOR STAFFING ALREADY.
SO I THINK, I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS.
AND I, I WOULD ASK THAT MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A PAUSE OR THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS FURTHER WITH, WITH, UM, WITH THE CITY MANAGER, WITH, UM, WITH MY COLLEAGUES.
UH, I THINK MAYBE WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, UH, FOR MORE OF A POLICY AND STRATEGY, UH, DIRECTION.
WELL, UH, YOU'VE LEFT ME A LITTLE UNCLEAR.
DO YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING OR DO YOU WANT TO GO FORWARD WITH THIS? AND YOU JUST WANTED THIS TO BE SOMETHING FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION.
UM, I'M ASKING IF WE COULD PAUSE THIS TO HAVE A, A BROADER DISCUSSION BEFORE WE, WE, WE BEGIN, UH, IF IT CAN HAPPEN IN PARALLEL, IF, IF YOU CAN TELL ME THAT CAN HAPPEN IN PARALLEL, I THINK IT COULD.
UM, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
SO I WILL JUST TRUST THAT WE CAN, WE CAN GET THAT GOING.
AND, AND THERE'S, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S GONNA BE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS TO COME BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE FOR US TO REVIEW IT, BUT YES, I JUST WANNA BE ASSURED THAT WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION AND I, I, AND I JUST, I WANNA POINT OUT, I DON'T KNOW THAT, THAT IT'S ENTIRELY, UH, UP TO THE HR DEPARTMENT IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
I THINK THIS IS A, A, A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL POLICY DIRECTION, BUT THAT'S FINE.
I, I, I WILL SUPPORT MOVING THIS FORWARD AS LONG AS WE HAVE A COMMITMENT THAT, THAT WE WILL STUDY THIS IN PARALLEL.
ANYONE FROM THE STAFF WANNA MAKE ANOTHER COMMENT ABOUT IT? NO.
I, I THINK WE CAN MOVE FORWARD ON THIS.
SO THEN I THINK WE'VE CONCLUDED THE DISCUSSION, AND I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS SOLICITATION.
IS THERE A SECOND? CAN, CAN YOU CLARIFY THAT? THE MOTION THAT IT'S, THAT AS LONG AS THERE'S, UM, SOME, SOME PARALLEL REVIEW GOING ON, LIKE THE COUNCILMAN, UM, SUGGESTED I'D BE HAPPY SECONDING IT WITH THAT, UM, WITH THE CAVEAT ADDED, WELL, I SEE THE STAFF LOOKING AT EACH OTHER.
I MEAN, THE, THE, THE, THE, I DON'T WANNA SAY THE PROBLEM, BUT THE ISSUE WITH THAT IS REVIEW BY WHO AND DOES THIS COMMITTEE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THAT? I WAS TALKING ABOUT, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, THE COMMITTEE, THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE, JUST THAT, THAT THEY TAKE AN EXTRA LOOK AT THIS EVALUATION.
I, I, I, I WOULD JUST, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE DOING THEIR WORK.
I KNOW THAT THEY'RE GOING TO USE WHATEVER MATRIX IT IS THAT WE USE, ET CETERA, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS GOES GOING FORWARD, THAT WE TAKE THIS INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S KIND OF WHAT COUNCILMAN TRI WAS ALSO GETTING AT, BUT THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING ORIGINALLY WHEN I ASKED ABOUT THE GOAL SETTING AND THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE.
WE'RE STILL PENDING RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO THE ANSWER, WHO IS CITY COUNCIL AND MANAGEMENT IN YOUR OFFICE AS WELL? QUITE FRANKLY, UM, I KNOW WE, WE DON'T HAVE A CITY MANAGER HERE WITH US TODAY, BUT, UM, I GUESS MY, MY POINT IS BECAUSE THESE THINGS ARE, ARE GONNA HAPPEN, I JUST KNOW THAT I, I WILL BRING THIS UP AGAIN.
I MEAN, THIS IS, THIS IS AN ISSUE AND I'D LIKE, I'D LIKE TO KNOW, OR I'D LIKE TO JUST SPELL OUT THE CAVEAT THAT, UH, I EXPECT THAT, THAT WE CAN HAVE A, A, A BIGGER DISCUSSION, UH, ABOUT, ABOUT THESE KINDS OF NUMBERS.
I'M NOT EVEN SURE HOW WE DETERMINE $48 MILLION IS THE RIGHT NUMBER.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY.
SO I THINK THAT, THAT, THIS IS A, A QUESTION FOR THE CITY MANAGER, AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE A COMMITMENT FROM, FROM CITY MANAGEMENT, UM, AND, AND, UM, AND MY COLLEAGUES, I, AND I THINK MY COLLEAGUES ALL AGREE THAT WE'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THIS FURTHER.
IT JUST, IT'S VERY CONFUSING TO ME.
I THINK, ALTHOUGH, UH, HE'S NOT HERE, COUNCILMAN, I THINK THAT WE, BEN AND I CAN MAKE THE COMMITMENT THAT HE'LL WORK, UH, WITH THE COUNCIL WITH YOU ON, UH, HOW TO BRING THAT DISCUSSION FORWARD TO THE APPROPRIATE FORUM.
UH, SO YEAH, WE CAN MAKE THAT COMMITMENT.
WELL, AGAIN, I JUST POINT OUT THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THE, THE,
[00:25:01]
THE ISSUE HERE IS, IS $48 MILLION THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I WANT US TO REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND, AND IF THAT'S ADJUSTABLE, THEN WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT IT.A COUNCILWOMAN, WOULD YOU THEN SECOND THE MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD BASED ON THE CONVERSATIONS YOU'VE HEARD? YES, I WOULD.
THE MOTION HAS BEEN MADE AND SECONDED TO MOVE THIS FORWARD, UH, IN THE PROCESS.
HEARING NONE OPPOSED, UH, THIS SOLICITATION WILL GO FORWARD.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO FINDING, UH, A GOOD REPORT ON THE RESULTS THAT HELPS US UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THIS IS GONNA WORK OUT.
[10. 20-1117 State Representation Consulting Services [Carlos Contreras, Assistant City Manager; Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs]]
10, AND IT'S ANOTHER POST, OR EXCUSE ME, PRES SOLICITATION, UH, ON STATE REPRESENTATION AND CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE CITY.CARLOS OR JEFF, JEFF'S GONNA TALK WITH US ABOUT THAT.
GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE.
UM, I'M JOINED BY MY BOSS AND E L T MEMBER CARLOS CONTRERAS.
AND, UM, CHRISTINE WRIGHT, OUR STATE LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS MANAGER.
I'M JEFF COYLE, THE DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
UM, STATE REPRESENTATION SERVICES IS A MOUTHFUL.
WHAT THIS, WHAT THIS REALLY IS, IS OUR CONSULTANT TEAM THAT ASSISTS US AT THE STATE CAPITAL DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, THIS IS AN R F Q, UH, SOLICITATION.
UH, IN A NUTSHELL, THESE ARE THE, THE, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO USE THEIR, THEIR EXPERTISE UNDER EXPERTISE, UNDERSTANDING THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERS, NOT JUST FROM THE SAN ANTONIO AREA, BUT FROM ALL ACROSS THE STATE, UH, AND, AND THEIR HISTORY IN, IN, UH, WORKING A LOT OF THESE ISSUES OVER MANY YEARS.
UH, THEY ARE OUR, UH, EYES AND EARS ON THE GROUND, AND THEY ARE WHAT EXPANDS, UH, OUR VERY SMALL STAFF TEAM HERE, UH, FOCUSED ON LEGISLATIVE ISSUES.
UH, IN ESSENCE, UM, THIS, UH, THE ESTIMATED VALUE YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IS ONLY IF, UH, ALL OF THE EXTENSIONS, UH, ARE EXERCISED IN THIS.
SO THIS IS A, UH, PROPOSED ONE YEAR CONTRACT, UH, FOR MULTIPLE, UM, CONSULTANTS WITH THE OPTION TO, UH, EXERCISE TWO ONE YEAR EXTENSIONS.
UH, SO THAT FULL DOLLAR AMOUNT IS ONLY IF WE WERE TO CHOOSE TO DO ALL OF THAT GOING FORWARD.
UH, THE, THE, UH, LAST SOLICITATION WE DID PRIOR TO THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION HAD, UH, CONTRACTS THAT, UM, ENDED JUNE 30TH, 2019, WITH ONE OF THEM EXTENDING TO SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2019.
UH, SO THE, UH, THE CODE, UH, FOR, FOR THIS, UH, JOB AS LOBBY SERVICES, UH, IN PAST YEARS, WE'VE, WE'VE LOOKED AT, UH, VENDOR REGISTRIES.
THERE ARE SOME IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WHO OFFER THOSE.
THERE ALSO ARE A LOT OF OTHER COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES THAT LIST THAT AMONGST, AMONG THEIR SERVICES, BUT MAY NOT BE SPECIFICALLY, UH, STATE GOVERNMENT LOBBYISTS.
UH, NONETHELESS, UH, THERE ARE, UH, MORE THAN TWO DOZEN VENDORS FROM THE CITY'S REGISTRY THAT WE WOULD NOTIFY.
UH, WE ALSO WOULD INTEND TO, UH, SEND LETTERS TO MORE THAN 40, UH, LOBBY FIRMS IN AUSTIN TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THE, OF THE SOLICITATION.
UH, WE WOULD UTILIZE OUR, OUR ADVERTISING, BOTH HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AND IN THE AUSTIN MARKET.
AND ALTHOUGH WE HAVEN'T FINALIZED THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE YET, WE'VE, WE'VE IDENTIFIED CARLOS, MYSELF, CHRISTINE, AND A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO, TO SIT ON THAT AS, UH, THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICES, UH, INTIMATELY INVOLVED WITH US IN REVIEWING THE 2000, UH, SORRY, 7,000 OR SO BILLS THAT WE TRACKED DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UH, OUR, UH, PROPOSED EVALUATION CRITERIA AS FOLLOWS.
IT'S VERY HEAVY ON EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND, AND QUALIFICATIONS.
UH, YOU WON'T SEE PRICING HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE A, A VERY SET BUDGET, WHICH IS FRANKLY VERY LOW FOR THE, THE MARKET AT THE CAPITAL.
AND SO THERE REALLY ISN'T A WHOLE LOT OF, OF GIVE, UH, OF FLEXIBILITY IN THAT AREA.
UH, WHAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US IS, UM, CONSULTANTS THAT HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE, PARTICULARLY WITH THE TYPES OF ISSUES THAT CITIES DEAL WITH.
UH, THERE IS NOT AN INTEREST GROUP, I DON'T BELIEVE, AT THE CAPITAL THAT HAS A BROADER RANGE OF ISSUES TO DEAL WITH.
MANY INDUSTRIES GO UP THERE WITH TWO OR THREE BILLS TO FOCUS ON ALL SESSION.
WE TYPICALLY HAVE ABOUT 2000 THAT WE DETERMINE HAVE SOME IMPACT ON CITY GOVERNMENT.
UH, SO, UH, CONSULTANTS THAT UNDERSTAND THAT AND HAVE, UM, UH, BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THAT ARE IMPORTANT AS IS, UH, THE LACK OF ANY, UM, UH, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
UM, WE, WE, UH, TALK ABOUT ISSUES OFTEN, UH, LIKE THE TELECOM
[00:30:01]
BILL THAT WE DEALT WITH LAST SESSION, WHERE, UH, THE INDUSTRY WILL HAVE A HUNDRED PLUS LOBBYISTS ON THEIR TEAM.AND WE HAVE A, A BAND OF THREE OR FOUR UP THERE TRYING TO INFLUENCE AN ISSUE.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT OUR CONSULTANTS ARE NOT, UH, ALSO HIRED ON BY THE VERY, UH, INTERESTS THAT WERE, THAT WE'RE, UH, UH, IN COMBAT WITH, SO TO SPEAK, ON, ON PARTICULAR ISSUES.
UH, THERE IS A, UH, RECOMMENDED, UH, FIVE POINTS FOR S BETA, FIVE POINTS FOR MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS, UH, AND A 10 POINT LOCAL PREFERENCE.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE, THE CONTRACT WOULD, UH, REQUIRE A AND AUSTIN PRESENCE.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE FOLKS ON THE GROUND THERE, UH, ABLE TO ASSIST US.
UH, AND OF COURSE, THERE'S THE VETERAN OWNED, UH, PREFERENCE POINT PROGRAM OF FIVE POINTS.
UH, AND YOU SEE HERE THE, UH, THE GOAL SETTING COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO, UM, MADE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
OUR TIMELINE, UH, NOT ON, HERE IS ANOTHER ELEMENT TO THIS, WHICH IS THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
WE ALSO, UH, GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA WAS AT LAST WEEK'S MEETING, AND, AND WE LAID OUT THIS TIMELINE AND TOLD THEM WE'D BE COMING TO THIS COMMITTEE AS WELL.
UH, OUR INTENT, UH, IF YOU ALL APPROVED TO MOVE IT FORWARD, WOULD BE TO RELEASE THE CONTRACT, THE SOLICITATION THIS MONTH, UH, TO REQUIRE RESPONSES BY MARCH.
UH, AND THEN TO COMPLETE OUR EVALUATION IN MAY, SO THAT WE MAY BRING, UH, RECOMMENDED CONTRACTS FORWARD IN JUNE.
WE HAD CHANGED THE, UH, COUPLE YEARS AGO, CHANGE THE TIMING OF THESE CONTRACTS TO NOT LINE UP WITH OUR FISCAL YEAR, BUT RATHER TO START JULY ONE AND END JUNE 30TH.
THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION STARTS EARLY JANUARY, SO THAT TIMELINE ALLOWS A SIX MONTH LEAD UP WHERE THEY'RE WORKING WITH US, HELPING US, UH, WORK WITH YOU TO DEVELOP THE, UH, COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE AGENDA.
AND THEN COVERS US THROUGH THE FULL JANUARY TO JUNE SESSION, INCLUDING THE GOVERNOR'S VETO PERIOD, WHICH IS USUALLY ABOUT THE THIRD WEEK IN JUNE.
SO THE CONTRACTS WOULD START SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE SESSION AND ESSENTIALLY END WHEN THAT FULL PROCESS, UH, HAS RUN ITS COURSE.
UH, AND WITH ADAM, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, COULD YOU, UM, LET ME KNOW IF THE LOBBYING FIRM WE EMPLOY NOW ON STATE ISSUES HAS HAD A CONTRACT WITH US PREVIOUSLY AND FOR HOW LONG? UH, WE HAD SEVERAL, UH, WE HAD FOUR FIRMS WORK WITH US DURING THE LAST SESSION.
UH, ALL BUT ONE, NO, TWO OF THE FOUR HAD PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE.
SO FOCUSED ADVOCACY WAS ONE OF THE FIRMS. THEY REPRESENT SPECIFICALLY CITIES, UH, AND PUBLIC UTILITIES.
WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM FOR, UH, THREE OR FOUR SESSIONS NOW.
MARK RODRIGUEZ, UH, AND HIS FIRM WAS THE SECOND ONE.
THEY'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR, UH, I WOULD SAY NORTH OF 10 YEARS.
UH, NEW TO US LAST SESSION, I BELIEVE WERE THE TEXAS LOBBY GROUP, WHICH IS KERRY SIMMONS AND MIKE TOOMEY.
UH, AND THEN JESSE AND SRA, WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN IN SPEAKER STRAUSS'S OFFICE AS HIS CHIEF OF STAFF.
HE WAS, UH, OUT OF THAT OFFICE AND WORKING, UH, AS A, AS A HIRED CONSULTANT.
AND SO I BELIEVE LAST SESSION WAS OUR FIRST SESSION, UH, WITH HIM.
HAVE HAVE YOU AND YOUR DEPARTMENT EVALUATED THE POSITIVES OR EVEN THE NEGATIVES OF HAVING THE SAME FIRMS YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT, OR SESSION IN AND SESSION OUT? UH, YES.
AND I WOULD SAY, UH, I'LL LET CARLOS ADD IF HE FEELS DIFFERENTLY.
I WOULD SAY THE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH US, UH, OVER MULTIPLE YEARS IS CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE A LOT OF THE ISSUES TAKE SEVERAL SESSIONS TO REALLY COME TO, UH, TO A HEAD.
THE, UH, PROPERTY TAX ISSUE FOR ONE, WAS ONE THAT HAD BEEN DEBATED FOR MANY YEARS AND THEN BECAME A, A, UH, A FULL PRIORITY THIS PAST SESSION FOR SOME OF THE LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP.
UM, WE DO HAVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR EACH OF THEM THAT ARE LAID OUT IN THE BEGINNING, AND WE TRACK, UH, THEIR, THEIR, UH, MEETING THOSE MEASURES.
THEY'RE PROVIDING US WITH, UH, REGULAR REPORTS, THE, UH, PROVISION OF, UH, INTELLIGENCE ABOUT WHERE PARTICULAR BILLS ARE HEADED.
UH, WE MEASURE AS A TEAM COLLECTIVELY OUR SUCCESS RATE FOR ALL THE BILLS THAT WE ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN, WHETHER IT'S FOR OR AGAINST, OR TRYING TO PUT LANGUAGE IN IT TO FIX SOMETHING THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE HARMFUL TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE SCORE ALL OF THOSE AND PRESENT THOSE TO THE COUNCIL AT THE END.
AND, AND I WOULD SAY GENERALLY, THE TEAM THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH HAS BEEN, UH, HAS BEEN OUTSTANDING.
I, I RECOGNIZE, OH, GO AHEAD, CARLOS.
WELL, I WAS GONNA ECHO THAT MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS, UM, STARTED THIS 11 YEARS AGO WORKING WITH THE CITY.
AND I THINK WITHOUT A DOUBT, THIS IS THE BEST TEAM THAT WE'VE HAD ASSEMBLED TO REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF THE CITY.
AND IT'S ON THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY MEASURE.
UH, SO IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, THE WAY THEY WORK TOGETHER AS A GROUP, UH, THE WAY THEY, UM, SORT OF PIGGYBACK WITH EACH
[00:35:01]
OTHER, AND, AND WE'RE ALWAYS EAGER TO, TO DIVIDE UP THE ASSIGNMENTS THAT JEFF WOULD PROVIDE, JEFF AND CHRISTINA WOULD PROVIDE TO THEM.AND, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S, IT, AGAIN, IT'S HARD TO MEASURE THAT, BUT, BUT EXPER, YOU KNOW, THE COHESION OF THE GROUP IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
AS JUST INDICATED, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE UP AGAINST A QUICK TIMELINE.
THINGS HAPPENING IN REAL TIME.
HAVING GOOD, RELIABLE INFORMATION IS KEY.
UH, A LOT OF IT'S SPECULATION JUST BASED ON EXPERIENCE.
AND THESE FOLKS REALLY HAVE PROVIDED THE BEST THAT I'VE SEEN, UH, IN MANY, MANY YEARS.
AS I WAS GOING TO SAY, I RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND HOW THE CITY OPERATES, WHAT OUR GOALS ARE, BUT HOW DO WE HAVE A TRULY OPEN PROCESS, RIGHT, UH, OPEN TO ANYBODY WHO WANTS THE BID, WHO HAS THE CAPABILITIES WHEN WE KNOW THAT WE REALLY FAVOR PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THE CITY AND HAVE WORKED WITH US BEFORE, ET CETERA.
SO, HOW IS IT AN OPEN PROCESS FOR EVERYBODY TO COMPETE? WELL, I THINK THE, THE LAST SOLICITATION WE WENT THROUGH REINFORCES THAT IT WAS OPEN.
WE, UH, THE TEXAS LOBBY GROUP, MIKE TOMY AND KERRY SIMMONS HAVE BEEN, THE TWO PRINCIPLES OF WORKED WITH US WAS NOT ON OUR RADAR AT ALL.
WE HADN'T WORKED WITH THEM BEFORE.
UM, MIKE TOOMEY IS A FORMER LEGISLATOR HIMSELF, AND HAS WORKED ACTUALLY IN TWO DIFFERENT GOVERNOR'S OFFICES, UH, REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS, UH, AND THEY, UH, RECEIVED OUR LETTER, UH, ABOUT OUR SOLICITATION AND, AND SHOWED UP.
AND WE WERE IMPRESSED, UH, ENOUGH BY THEIR PRESENTATION THAT WE, UM, RECOMMENDED ADDING THEM TO THE TEAM.
AND THEY HAVE BEEN A TREMENDOUS VALUE TO US.
SO OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU IS THAT WE WILL BE AS OPEN-MINDED GOING INTO THIS SESSION AS WELL, UH, THIS PROCESS AS WELL.
AND IF THERE ARE, UH, NEW AND, AND DIFFERENT FIRMS TO US THAT COME ALONG THAT HAVE SOMETHING OF VALUED OFFER, WE ABSOLUTELY WANT TO CONSIDER THAT.
AND AGAIN, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LEGISLATE, THE MAKEUP OF THE LEGISLATURE CHANGES EVERY SESSION BECAUSE THERE'S AN ELECTION, EVERY SESSION, LEADERSHIP CHANGES, WE'RE GONNA HAVE NO LEADERSHIP CHANGES HERE.
SO THE NEEDS OF THE CITY CHANGE BASED ON WHAT HAPPENS AT THE LEGISLATURE.
SO WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO, TO MAKE SOME CHANGES BASED ON WHAT WE SEE AND SORT OF ANTICIPATE.
SO, UM, IT'S IN OUR OWN BEST INTEREST.
THE, THE CITY'S BEST INTEREST THAT WE DO KEEP IT OPEN, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S OUT THERE, FRANKLY, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF SERVICES THEY CAN PROVIDE AND THE RELATIONSHIPS THEY CAN PROVIDE.
THIS ONE WAS A VERY GOOD GROUP THAT WE, WE HAD TOGETHER, AND, AND IF WE CAME BACK WITH THEM, I'D FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE IF WE ADDED TO THEM OR CHANGED IT UP, YOU KNOW, IT'LL BE BECAUSE OF THE PROCESS WE'VE WENT THROUGH.
YEAH, I JUST BROUGHT THAT REALLY UP BECAUSE YOU'VE GIVEN 75% OF THE VALUE ON OUR EXPERIENCE.
SO, BUT, BUT I APPRECIATE THE CANDOR IN WHICH YOU ANSWERED THE QUESTION.
COUNCILWOMAN, YOU HAD A QUESTION? YES.
UM, JEFF AND CARLOS AND CHRISTINE, FOR YOUR WORK.
AND I, I HEARD ABOUT THIS, RIGHT? YOU, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, SO THESE COULD BE MULTIPLE, RIGHT? AND DEPENDING ON HOW MANY, HOW, HOW DO YOU MAKE A CUTOFF? LIKE DO WE SELECT THREE? DO WE SELECT FIVE? CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN THAT PROCESS? I, I WASN'T CLEAR? SURE.
IT'S, IT'S LARGELY BUDGET DRIVEN, UH, WHAT WE CAN AFFORD.
UM, WE, WE DO TRY TO ROUND OUT A TEAM WITH, UH, WITH DIVERSE RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPERTISE.
SO WE'LL HAVE A, A COMPONENT OF THE TEAM THAT ARE REALLY MUNICIPAL EXPERTS.
WE'LL HAVE FOLKS WHO, UH, HAVE PARTICULARLY STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE, OTHERS WITH OTHERS.
ONE OF OUR LOBBYISTS HAS A PARTICULARLY STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR DELEGATION.
WE TYPICALLY USE, UTILIZE HIM FOR, FOR MANAGING THOSE ISSUES.
UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO ADD MORE, BUT WE ALSO, CHAIRMAN PALAI HAD ASKED THAT QUESTION ABOUT HOW MANY IS ENOUGH.
AND THE REALITY IS WE WILL NEVER COME CLOSE TO MATCHING THE INTEREST GROUPS THAT WERE UP THERE SORT OF WORKING AGAINST FROM TIME TO TIME, AND HOW MANY THEY CAN HIRE ONTO THEIR TEAMS. SO, UH, I, I BELIEVE PERSONALLY, I'VE NOT AUDITED THEIR BOOKS, SO TO SPEAK, BUT I BELIEVE MOST OF THE CONSULTANTS WHO WORK FOR US, UH, WE ARE AMONG THEIR LOWER PAYING CLIENTS.
UH, PUBLIC SECTOR IS NOT, DOES NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT PRIVATE COMPANIES DO, BUT WE'VE, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE FOUND A SWEET SPOT WITH OUR BUDGET OF, UH, ROUGHLY FOUR OR FIVE, UH, UH, TEAMS. AND, AND IF WE CAN, UM, FIND THE RIGHT MIX OF CONSULTANTS THIS TIME, I THINK WE'LL BE WELL-ROUNDED.
UM, ANOTHER FOLLOW UP QUESTION.
I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT DEPENDING WHAT OUR, OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA OR WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DRIVE, THEY'RE ALSO SELECTED BASED ON THAT, BUT IT'S KIND OF EARLY ON RIGHT NOW.
SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT PROCESS.
'CAUSE THAT WAS THE OTHER PART THAT I WAS UNCLEAR ON.
YEAH, AND CAR, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND CARLOS MADE THE POINT ABOUT THE ELECTIONS.
THE ELECTIONS DON'T HAPPEN UNTIL NOVEMBER.
UH, IN AN IDEAL WORLD, WE WOULD SELECT A CONSULTANT TEAM AFTER THE ELECTION, BUT THE SESSION STARTS EARLY JANUARY.
THERE'S JUST NO OPPORTUNITY TO A,
[00:40:01]
UH, PICK OUR TEAM AFTER THE ELECTION OR SET OUR AGENDA AFTER THE ELECTION.SO WE DO OUR BEST TO TRY TO FORECAST WHERE WE'RE GOING, UH, MAKE SURE WE'RE COVERED ACROSS THE SPECTRUM.
UH, AND OF COURSE, YOU ALL DRIVE THE DECISION MAKING ON WHAT THAT AGENDA, UH, ENTAILS.
UH, OUR AGENDA USUALLY INVOLVES A SMALL AMOUNT OF THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACTIVELY GO GET DONE.
OUR BILL TO ENABLE ALL OF THE REDEVELOPMENT OF HEMISPHERE PARK IS AN EXAMPLE OF A CITY INITIATIVE, BUT THE BULK OF OUR WORK ENDS UP BEING PROTECTING THE AUTHORITY OF THE ELECTED COUNCIL TO MAKE DECISIONS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THOSE KINDS OF BILLS COME AT US FROM ALL DIRECTIONS.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT ON THE FRONT END, BUT WE KNOW THEY'RE GONNA, THEY'RE GONNA BE THERE.
I WAS JUST GONNA ADD TO REITERATE WHAT JEFF SAID ABOUT THE, THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT.
JUST WE'RE UNIQUE IN, IN THE WAY WE CONTRACT WITH OUR, WITH OUR CONSULTANTS IN THAT WE DON'T DO, YOU KNOW, YEAR ROUND, MULTIPLE YEARS, UH, WE'VE TRIED TO, TO SPAN THE, THE SESSION YEAR AND THE OFF SESSION YEAR TO, TO KIND OF CAREFULLY DO THAT.
THESE FOLKS STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES AND HAVE TO CONTINUE WORKING.
SO MOST OF, MOST OF LOBBYISTS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THAT.
THEY, THEY WANT MULTIPLE YEARS, UH, SO THEY CAN BUDGET AND KEEP THEIR EMPLOYEES AND NOT HAVE TO HIRE TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES AND, AND CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, ET CETERA.
UH, SO WE'RE UNIQUE IN THAT REGARD, AND, AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LIMITING AS WELL IN TERMS OF WHO WILL RESPOND.
UH, BUT WE DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH ALL THAT.
ANOTHER QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, UH, HOW DO OUR LOBBYISTS, OR HOW DO WE AS A CITY COLLABORATE WITH THE OTHER CITIES, THE OTHER MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS THAT HAVE ALMOST IDENTICAL INTERESTS, UH, AND THE BIG SCALE ALSO WITH THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOBBYISTS AND THEIR LOBBYISTS LOBBY FOR MANY OF OUR ISSUES, RIGHT? SO HOW'S THE COLLABORATION? DO WE NEED AS MANY LOBBYISTS IF WE CAN WORK WITH THEIR LOBBYISTS? WELL, GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO, UH, THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, UM, REPRESENTS, UH, I THINK AROUND 1100 CITIES.
UH, ONLY ABOUT TWO DOZEN OF THEM.
THE LARGEST CITIES IN THE STATE HAVE, UH, STAFF WHO ARE LEGISLATIVE FOCUSED AND, UH, HIRED CONSULTANTS.
THE BULK OF THE MIDDLE AND SMALLER CITIES RELY ON THE TRADE ASSOCIATION TO DO THEIR WORK.
UM, T M L ACTUALLY ONLY, I WANNA SAY ONLY EMPLOYEES, MAYBE ONE LOBBYIST THEMSELVES.
AND WHAT THEY, SO WHAT THEY DO IS CONVENE A BIG CITY, UH, LOBBYIST GROUP.
UH, SO WE ARE, UH, IN THE INTERIM, FOR EXAMPLE, NEXT WEEK WE'RE HAVING A, A GATHERING WITH THEM IN AUSTIN WHERE WE'RE GONNA TALK THROUGH A NUMBER OF ISSUES DURING THE SESSION.
WE ARE MEETING EVERY SINGLE MONDAY, UH, AT THE START THE WEEK, AND REVIEW BILLS THAT HAVE BEEN FILED AND TALK ABOUT WHO'S DOING WHAT ON WHAT BILL AND, AND, AND MARSHAL OUR RESOURCES.
SO THAT'S OUR CONVENING TO BE ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THEM.
THEY DO EACH HIRE THEN THEIR OWN CONSULTANTS.
I, I'D SAY THE CITY OF AUSTIN PROBABLY HAS THE LARGEST TEAM, MUCH LARGER THAN OURS OF HIRED LOBBYISTS.
UH, AND SOME OF THE SMALLER CITIES MAY ONLY HAVE ONE OR TWO.
UM, BUT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO A PARTICULAR ISSUE, ONE THAT COMES TO MIND IS THE SHORT TERM RENTALS BILL.
WHEN THERE WERE BILLS TO PREEMPT THE ORDINANCE WE HAVE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AND OTHER CITIES DO, UH, OUR STAFFS OF EACH OF THE LARGE CITIES BROUGHT ALL OF OUR CONSULTANTS INTO A ROOM TOGETHER.
AND, AND THEY, UH, WENT DOWN THE LIST OF 150 HOUSE MEMBERS AND 31 SENATORS, AND GAVE EACH OTHER ASSIGNMENTS SO THAT WE SORT OF COVERED THE, THE, THE WHOLE OF THE LEGISLATURE.
AND THE NET EFFECT IS THOSE BILLS HAVEN'T PASSED, AND WE STILL HAVE AN ORDINANCE IN EFFECT HERE TODAY.
SO, AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT WE'RE IN PERFECT ALIGNMENT ON, PROBABLY THE VAST MAJORITY THAT WE ARE, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF, WE'RE NOT, OR WE'RE NOT, THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME INTERESTS BECAUSE EACH CITY'S UNIQUE.
AND I CAN THINK OF, YOU KNOW, MILITARY PROTECTION, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME ISSUE.
DALLAS HOUSTON, WE, WE ARE AFFECTED DISPROPORTIONATELY AMONG LARGE CITIES.
UM, YEARS AGO, THE ABILITY TO ANNEX DALLAS DIDN'T CARE.
AND WE WERE THE ONE OF MOST ACTIVE TREE PRESERVATION.
OUR ORDINANCES ARE DIFFERENT THAN AUSTIN'S.
SO WE GO UP AND WE, WE NEED THE FLEXIBILITY AS WELL TO HAVE OUR UNIQUE INTERESTS PROTECTED.
ANY OTHER MEMBER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR US TO MOVE THE SOLICITATION FORWARD.
[11. 19-9056 SAPD Facility [Roderick Sanchez, Assistant City Manager; Razi Hosseini, Interim Director, Transportation & Capital Improvements]]
ITEM NUMBER 11.AND THIS IS, UH, A SOLICITATION FOR SS A P D FACILITY.
[00:45:01]
UH, PRES SOLICITATION.YOU GONNA PUT ONE IN MY DISTRICT? ARE WE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT WHILE YOU'RE HERE? MORNING, GOOD MORNING.
COMMITTEE
AS MENTIONED, I'LL BE PROVIDING A PRES SOLICITATION BRIEFING ON THE NEW SS A P D POLICE FACILITY.
UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME HISTORY, UM, I ACTUALLY BROUGHT FORWARD A PRES SOLICITATION BRIEFING BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2018 ON THIS PROJECT.
UM, SOME OF YOU MAY RECALL THAT, UM, ORIGINALLY THE FACILITY WAS GONNA HOUSE BOTH, UM, S A P D FUNCTIONS AND PARK POLICE HEADQUARTERS, AND IT REQUIRED US TO PURCHASE PROPERTY AT LEAST THREE ACRES IN SIZE IN THE CENTRAL CORE AREA OF THE CITY.
UM, WHEN WE CAME FORWARD IN 2018, WE HAD SEVERAL POTENTIAL SITES THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT.
HOWEVER, THOSE DID NOT COME TO FRUITION.
UM, SO WE RE-STRATEGIZE AND AS AN ALTERNATIVE, WE SPLIT THE FUNCTIONS.
SO THIS SOLICITATION IS JUST FOR SOME OF THE CENTRAL SUBSTATION POLICE OPERATIONS TO BE HOUSED AT THIS FACILITY.
AND THEN THE PARK POLICE HEADQUARTERS WILL BE AT A SEPARATE LOCATION IN HEMISPHERE PARK AT ITS CURRENTLY CITY OWNED SITE.
SO, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, LET'S SEE.
SO TODAY'S BRIEFING IS JUST FOR THE SS A P D FACILITY TO BE LOCATED AT 2020 NORTH ST.
UM, THE FACILITY IS, UM, TARGETED TO BE A TWO STORY FACILITY CLOSE TO 24,000 SQUARE FEET.
UM, THE FACILITY WILL HOUSE SOME PORTIONS OF THE SS A P D PATROL, AS WELL AS THE SAN ANTONIO FEAR-FREE ENVIRONMENT SAFE PROGRAM, UM, THE PROPERTY CRIMES, AS WELL AS THE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM THAT ARE CURRENTLY LOCATED AT THE CENTRAL SUBSTATION.
IT WILL ALSO HOUSE A SMALL COMMUNITY ROOM FOR NEIGHBORHOOD AND POLICE EVENTS, AND SOME OF THE PARKING SPACES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
ON SLIDE FIVE, WE LIST THE PRIMARY N I G P CODES IDENTIFIED FOR THE SOLICITATION, UM, AS WELL AS THE NUMBER OF VENDORS WE WILL OUTREACH TO, AND THE LOCATIONS WHERE WE WILL ADVERTISE.
THE CURRENT, UM, EVALUATING VOTING MEMBERS.
I INCLUDE MARIA VILLA GOMEZ, OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, LUIS MALTO, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, OUR CITY ARCHITECT, GOPI KAR, AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE POLICE, AND BRIDGET WHITE, OUR PLANNING DIRECTOR, AND A MEMBER FROM THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS.
ON SLIDE FOUR, WE HAVE LISTED THE EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR BOTH PHASE ONE AND TWO.
THIS IS A DESIGN BUILD SOLICITATION.
UM, EACH PHASE TOTALS A HUNDRED POINTS.
UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES CE BETA PRIME POINTS AS PART OF THE EVALUATION.
10 POINTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS, 10 POINTS FOR MINORITY WOMEN, WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS.
IN ADDITION TO THE POINTS, UM, THE PRIME CONTRACTOR WILL ALSO BE REQUIRED TO MEET SUBCONTRACTING,
SHOWN ON SLIDE FIVE IS THE ANTICIPATED PROJECT TIMELINE.
UM, WE ARE TARGETING TO RELEASE THE R F Q AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, POTENTIALLY THIS WEEK, IF NOT NEXT WEEK, WE WILL SOLICIT FOR SIX WEEKS.
UM, WE WILL PLAN ON RETURNING TO THIS COMMITTEE WITH OUR POST SOLICITATION RESULTS IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR, AND THEN PROCEEDING TO COUNCIL IN AUGUST.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, I HAVE A QUESTION.
WHY ARE WE BUILDING THIS SUBSTATION THERE? SO, COUNCILMAN, WE WENT THROUGH ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF PROCESS WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT ON IDENTIFYING PROPERTY WITHIN THE CORE AREA OF THE CITY.
AND THAT'S THE AREA THAT'S JUST NORTH OF CESAR CHAVEZ.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO THE EAST WILL HAVE I 37 CHERRY STREET, FRIO STREET TO THE WEST, AND THEN THE PEARL TO THE NORTH.
AND SO, UM, UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, AT A MINIMUM WE NEED THREE ACRES.
AND SO IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND A SITE, UM, THAT COULD ACCOMMODATE THAT MUCH ACREAGE.
IT'S VERY COMPETITIVE IN THE CORE BUSINESS.
UM, AND, UM, WE DID IDENTIFY SOME SITES, BUT
[00:50:01]
WE ARE JUST TOO SHORT ON TIME.UM, AND SO, BUT IDEALLY IT'S JUST PROVIDING THAT ADDITIONAL POLICE PRESENCE IN AROUND THE CORE AREA NEAR THE PEARL, NEAR THE RIVERWALK COUNCILMAN.
DURING THE BOND PROCESS, THE IDEA WAS TO HAVE A DOWNTOWN SUB STATION.
I THINK WE WERE LOOKING TO BE IN DOWNTOWN, AS CHRISTIE MENTIONED, THE, THE NEED WAS THREE ACRE.
WE COULDN'T FIND THREE ACRE AVAILABLE AND MEET THE BUDGET.
WE HAD TO DECIDE TO CUT THE PROJECT FOR TWO, USING OUR OWN PROPERTY AT THE HEMI PARK.
2 77 GOOD BUILDING PARK POLICY WILL MOVE THERE, AND THE OTHER WILL BE MOVING FOR THIS NEW FACILITY.
SO THIS IS A BOND PROJECT? CORRECT.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR.
I THINK COUNCILMAN TREVINO HAS A QUESTION.
I WAS JUST GONNA MENTION THAT, THAT, UH, THIS HAS BEEN MANY YEARS IN THE MAKING.
UH, I WANT TO THANK, UH, T C I AND S A P D, OF COURSE, AND IN, UH, WORKING WITH US ON THIS.
THIS IS, UM, BEEN MANY YEARS IN THE MAKING, UM, AND WE'RE, WE'RE GLAD TO, TO FINALLY MOVE FORWARD.
TOBIN HILL NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, ASSOCIATION AND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ARE BOTH VERY, VERY EXCITED.
UH, ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS IN ALL THIS IS, IS TO HAVE A SUBSTATION THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE A MODEL FOR MAYBE FOR OTHER SUBSTATIONS IN THE FUTURE.
UH, A PLACE THAT'S MORE OF A COMMUNITY CENTER, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE, THERE WE ARE PROVIDING A, A COMMUNITY ROOM FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, FOR S A P D EVENTS AS WELL.
AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, HAVING, UH, OUR NEW CITY ARCHITECT INVOLVED IN THE EVALUATION PROCESS IS ALSO GONNA BE CRITICAL BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, REALLY RETHINKING AND, UH, KIND OF EXAMINING THE WAY WE DO OUR SUBSTATIONS IN A WAY THAT, UH, CAN BE SEEN AS, AS, AS A VERY POSITIVE ADDITION AND, AND A AND A, UM, ONE THAT'S A WELCOMING MESSAGE, UH, HERE IN SAN ANTONIO WITH REGARDS TO THESE KINDS OF FACILITIES.
CURRENTLY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT QUITE, UH, AS, AS, UH, WELCOMING OR OPEN.
UH, BUT AGAIN, I'M, I'M, I'M VERY, VERY, UM, PLEASED WITH, WITH THE STEPS THAT WE'VE TAKEN TO, TO MAKE THIS, UH, A REALITY.
I SEE MARIA GOMEZ BACK TO, THANK YOU, MARIA, FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE.
ALSO, UH, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH MARIA, UH, HAND IN HAND TO, TO TRY TO STUDY SIMPLE THINGS LIKE PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND, AND PROVIDING MORE GREEN SPACE, AND BE MORE VISIBLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE BELIEVE IS GONNA ACTUALLY HELP, UH, ALSO ASSIST OUR, OUR, OUR POLICE OFFICERS WITH REGARDS TO, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS AND HELPING TO, UH, ENGAGE FURTHER ENGAGE AND WELCOME, UH, THE COMMUNITY INTO THESE FACILITIES TO, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S THEIR FACILITIES.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE ALSO, UH, HAVE A, A POTENTIAL COMPONENT FOR PUBLIC ART AND SO FORTH.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY HERE.
WE HOPE TO SET A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR FUTURE POLICE SUBSTATIONS AS WE BUILT THIS ONE.
AND I, UH, MOTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR A SECOND? IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO MOVE THIS FORWARD FOR CONSIDERATION FOR SOLICITATION.
[12. 19-8918 Terminal A Duty-Free Retail Concession [Carlos Contreras, Assistant City Manager; Thomas Bartlett, Acting Director, Aviation]]
GONNA MOVE TO ITEM 12.NOW THESE ARE THREE POSTS, SOLICITATION, HIGH PROFILE BRIEFINGS.
THE FIRST ONE IS ON TERMINAL A DUTY FREE CONCESSION.
JUST TO INTRODUCE MYSELF, TOM BARTLETT, I'M THE ACTING, UH, DIRECTOR FOR THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT, AND I HAVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION TO JUST REVIEW OVER THE, UH, DUTY FREE, JUST OKAY.
JUST TO SHARE WITH YOU, THIS IS A, A RETAIL SPACE THAT'S IN TERMINAL A.
AND IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE TERMINAL, AS YOU GO THROUGH THE SECURITY CHECKPOINT, IT'LL BE TO YOUR RIGHT, IT'S A COUPLE STORAGE DOWN TO YOUR RIGHT, JUST ACROSS THE, ACROSS THE, UH, CONCOURSE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL GATES.
JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UH, SOLICITATION OVERVIEW AND THE PROJECT.
WE, UH, CAME, CAME TO THIS BODY BACK IN, UH, JUNE OF 2018 ON THE PRES SOLICITATION.
WE WERE SEEKING FOR QUALIFIED VENDORS FOR THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OPERATION TO MAINTAIN AND MANAGE A DUTY FEE RE RETAIL IN TERMINAL A.
THE DUTY FREE STORE WILL SELL LIQUOR AND TOBACCO, UH, PRODUCTS, DUTY FREE TO INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS, ALONG WITH OTHER MERCHANDISE THAT THE INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER CAN, CAN PURCHASE DUTY FREE
[00:55:01]
ELECTRONICS, PERFUME, PACKAGED FOOD GOODS, AND JEWELRY, BUT ALSO YOU, UH, AT A DUTY PAY.DOMESTIC PASSENGERS CAN ALSO VISIT THE, THE FACILITY TO PURCHASE MERCHANDISE, WITH THE EXCEPTION TO THE TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL.
AND, AND PART OF THIS, HAVING THAT DUTY PAY, IT HELPS STABILIZE OUR REVENUE STREAM BECAUSE IF, IF THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET DOES SLOW DOWN OR TAKE A DOWNTURN, WE STILL HAVE DOMESTIC PASSENGERS THAT CAN PURCHASE, UH, GOODS FROM, FROM THIS AREA.
ADDITIONALLY, THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION CONSIDER DISAGREEMENT AS A LONG TERM EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT.
AND WE HAVE IT FOR A SEVEN YEAR PERIOD WITH THREE ONE YEAR, UH, OPTION, UH, YEARS.
AND IT, SINCE IT'S THE ONLY, UH, STORE OF THIS TYPE, THE F A A WAS REQUIRED TO REVIEW AND APPROVE THE AGREEMENT.
AND THAT'S WHY, AND WE EXPECTED THE AGREEMENT TO GENERATE OVER THE TERM THE 10 YEARS WOULD BE ROUGHLY $2 MILLION, THE RECOMMENDED AWARD.
THIS, THIS HIGHLIGHTS, UH, THE, THE, THE SCORING.
WE RELEASED THE R F P IN JUNE OF 2018.
WE RECEIVED SIX PROPOSALS FOR THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE SCORED ON THE TOP TWO ITEMS, WHICH WAS THE, UH, EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND AND QUAL, EXCUSE ME, QUALIFICATIONS IN THE PROPOSED PLAN.
VENDOR ONE RECEIVED THE 56.75 POINTS OUT OF 60 AVAILABLE POINTS, WHICH FAR EXCEEDED WHAT ANY OF THE OTHER, UH, VENDORS HAD HAD SCORED.
AFTER THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE REVIEWED THE POINTS FOR COMPENSATION AND THE AIRPORT CONCESSION, UH, D B E, THE A C D B E, UH, VENDOR ONE STILL REMAINED NUMBER ONE FROM THE, WITH THE RANKING OR THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE.
AND WE CHOSE TO, TO MOVE FORWARD AND START NEGOTIATIONS WITH VENDOR ONE.
THE A C D B GOAL FOR THE AGREEMENT WAS 15%, WHICH VENDOR ONE EXCEEDED, AND THEY, THE FIRM HAS COMMITTED TO A 30% A C D B E.
THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE COMPRISED OF FORMER DIRECTOR RUSS HANDY, MYSELF, STEVE MILLBURN, AND A FACILITY MANAGER FOR LA VILLETA VICTORIA COSTANTINO.
WANNA SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF THE TIMELINE.
YOU CAN SEE IT, IT DOES LOOK VERY LONG, AND IT JUST GIVES SOME EXPLANATION OF WHY IT, IT TOOK SO LONG.
THE F A A DETERMINED THAT THIS AGREEMENT TO BE A LONG-TERM EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT, AS I HAD JUST MENTIONED EARLIER, WHICH MEANS THEY'VE GOT TO MEET AND ACCEPT AND REVIEW THE, THE, UH, TERMS OF THE, AND THIS PARTICULARLY WAS FOR THE JOINT VENTURE.
SO THE RELEASE OF THE R F P WAS IN JUNE OF 18.
WE RECEIVED THE R F P PROPOSALS WERE DUE IN SEPTEMBER.
VALUATION COMMITTEES, UH, CONDUCTED A SCORING IN DECEMBER OF 2018.
AND THEN FROM THAT POINT ON, UH, WE WORKED WITH THE F A A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, THE, UH, PROPOSED VENDOR AND WITH OURSELVES TO NEGOTIATE AND HAVE GONE BACK AND FORTH QUITE A BIT.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM REALLY A FEBRUARY TO OCTOBER, 2019 TIMEFRAME.
IN THE MIDDLE OF, OR THE BEGINNING OF THIS WAS A, AT THE END OF DECEMBER, 2018, JANUARY, THERE WAS A, A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AS WELL FOR, FOR JUST THAT SHORT MONTH OR SO.
BUT THAT DID KIND OF DELAY OUR, OUR PROGRESS A LITTLE BIT AS WELL.
HOWEVER, ON NOVEMBER 12TH, UH, THE F A A AFTER EXTENSIVE REVIEW AND NEGOTIATIONS WITH THIS ON OUR BEHALF WITH THE VENDOR, UH, APPROVED THE JOINT VENTURE.
AND THIS IS THE ITEM WE HAVE BEFORE YOU NOW IS FOR RECOMMENDED AWARD TO THIS VENDOR.
I DON'T KNOW IF, ALRIGHT, SO JUST, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THIS, THE DUE DILIGENCE, THERE WERE 14 VENDORS NOTIFIED, UH, NUMBER OF, OF VENDORS AT THE PRE-SUBMIT CONFERENCE WAS SEVEN AND NUMBER OF RESPONSES RECEIVED WAS SIX.
AND FINANCE AND AUDIT DEPARTMENTS HAD CONDUCTED FURTHER REVIEW AS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS WERE MET.
AND THE DUE DILIGENCE REVIEW WAS COMPLETED ACTUALLY 13.
GOING BACK TO SLIDE THREE, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE ONE AREA IN HERE, C UH, VENDOR A COMPENSATION, WHAT IS THAT? AND IT'S A PRETTY LOW NUMBER FOR THE VENDOR.
IS IT GOOD TO BE LOW OR, OR WHAT'S, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? COMPENSATION ITEM C? WELL,
[01:00:01]
THE COMPENSATION WOULD BE FOR, TO US, THE, THE REVENUES.UH, I THINK WHAT REALLY BROUGHT VENDOR ONE, UH, FORWARD THE MOST WAS THE, THE PROPOSED PLAN, WHICH WAS, UH, PROPOSING THE DUTY PAY.
WHICH AGAIN, WOULD HELP US SUSTAIN A, A REVENUE STREAM, BOTH ON THE, UH, DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL.
AND NONE OF THE OTHERS SAID THEY'D DO THAT.
UH, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBER OR AUDIT COMMITTEE MEMBERS? UH, MKI PATEL WITH THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT.
UH, LEMME JUST GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THAT.
SO, UH, VENDOR TWO, UM, DIDN'T PLAN TO MAKE A LARGE CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN THE STORE.
AND SO THEY WANTED TO WIN THE AWARD BY PROPOSING A HIGHER, UH, REVENUE STRUCTURE TO THE AIRPORT.
UM, THE STORE DOES NEED SOME CAPITAL INVESTMENT.
UH, WE'RE TRYING TO DRAW MORE DUTY PAYING CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS YOUR NORMAL, UH, TRAFFIC THAT'S GOING THROUGH THE AIRPORT.
AND THE, THE, UH, THE PROPOSED, UH, AWARDEE WAS GONNA MAKE SOME INVESTMENTS TO THE STORE THAT WOULD LIGHTEN UP THE STORE, BRING SOME MORE CUSTOMERS THROUGH THERE.
AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT OF DISPARITY THERE.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN COMPENSATION BETWEEN 8.55 AND 19.34? UH, CHAIRMAN, I GUESS ON THE COMPENSATION, THE WAY THE COMPENSATION WAS SCORED WAS STRICTLY BASED ON THE MAG THAT EACH, UM, EACH COMPANY PROPOSED.
AND TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT THAT 8.5 GENERATED, I BELIEVE IT WAS ABOUT, UM, A 12 TO 15% MAG GENERATES ROUGHLY 200,000 A YEAR.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE 19.34? THE 19.34, IT GENERATES ABOUT 452,000.
THAT'S TWICE AS MUCH OVER THE LIFE OF THE, THE, HOW LONG IS THIS COST? 10 YEARS UP TO, WELL, ONE, ONE THING THAT I WOULD, AND ONE THING I WOULD PROPOSE FOR CONSIDERATION IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE MAG, WHICH IS THEIR MINIMUM MANUAL GUARANTEE.
BUT BASED ON THEIR PROPOSED PLAN THAT THEY, THAT THEY, UM, PROPOSED, THEY, THEY SCORED ABOUT 37.5%.
THAT MINIMUM, THAT MINIMUM ANNUAL GUARANTEE WILL BE THE FLOOR.
THE PROPOSED PLAN MAY ACTUALLY GENERATE MORE REVENUE ABOVE AND BEYOND THE MAG.
BUT BECAUSE WE DID NOT HAVE THAT HISTORICAL NUMBERS TO LOOK AT ANY TYPE OF PERFORMANCE, WE USED THE MAG AS, AS THE BENCHMARK FOR COMPENSATION.
SO, MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, A COUPLE THINGS.
ONE, THE COMMITTEE DOESN'T, UM, HAVE PRIVY, HAVE ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION.
THAT'S LATER IN THE AFTERWARDS.
SO THEY MAKE THEIR DECISION STRICTLY ON THE, ON THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PLAN.
AND THEY HAVE, AS TROY INDICATED, THEY ALSO HAVE A PERCENTAGE RENT.
SO THE MIDDLEMAN GUARANTEE IS OBVIOUSLY GUARANTEED.
AND THE PERCENTAGE RENT IS, IF IT'S, IF IT'S OVER THAT AMOUNT, THAT'S WHAT, WHAT THE AIRPORT AND THE CITY WOULD BE PAID.
SO, UH, THE FACT THAT, THAT THIS PARTICULAR ENTITY IS LOOKING AT DUTY PAY, OUR EXPECTATIONS IS THAT THEY'LL GENERATE MORE REVENUE THAN JUST DUTY, DUTY FREE.
BUT, UH, VENDOR B DIDN'T OFFER THAT WHERE OTHER CUSTOMERS COULD COME IN AND BUY THINGS WHO WEREN'T CITIZENS, WHO WEREN'T INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS.
IT WAS, IT WAS IN THE PROPOSED PLAN WHERE IN THE R F P WE HAD PROMOTED THAT, AND VENDOR TWO DIDN'T FOCUS ON THAT AT ALL.
VENDOR ONE WENT HEAVILY ON THAT, BUT THEY SAID THEY WOULDN'T ALLOW THAT.
IS THAT RIGHT? NO, THAT WAS NOT, THAT WAS NOT MY UNDERSTANDING.
IT WAS JUST THE, THE WAY THAT THEY WERE, THE PLAN FOR PROVIDING FOR THAT WAS DIFFERENT.
THEY, THEY WOULD, THEY DIDN'T INDICATE THAT THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT SOMEBODY WALKING IN BUYING TRINKETS OR, OR JEWELRY OR ANYTHING OF THAT SORT.
UH, IT, IT WAS JUST THAT THE PLAN THAT THEY HAD PUT FORWARD, UM, AS I UNDERSTAND IT WAS NOT AS ROBUST AS A PLAN BY, BY VENDOR A.
JUST, I WANNA MAXIMIZE WHAT WE CAN GET MM-HMM.
IT MAY BE HIGHER, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT THEY'RE ONLY GONNA GUARANTEE 200,000 A YEAR FOR UP TO 10 YEARS.
AND VENDOR B IS GUARANTEEING ALMOST 430 SOMETHING THOUSAND A YEAR FOR 10 YEARS.
THAT'S A, A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE TO THE CITY.
UH, AND, AND, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN THAT, THEY WERE THE SECOND HIGHEST.
AND, UH, I, I REALIZED THEIR, UH, PROPOSED PLAN WASN'T NEARLY AS GOOD AS, AS THE FIRST ONE.
BUT THEY'RE ALSO SAYING THEY'RE GONNA GUARANTEE MORE MONEY.
SO, UH, YEAH, IT JUST BAFFLES ME.
AND I KNOW WE'RE NOT ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE, THE BEST RETURN BECAUSE WE DO WANT TO HAVE A GOOD PRODUCT.
BUT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TWICE THE DIFFERENCE IN GUARANTEED RETURN, HOW POOR IS THE OTHER PRODUCT GOING TO BE? I MEAN, THEY'RE STILL MOVING INTO A FACILITY IN
[01:05:01]
THE AIRPORT.I'M SURE IT'S NOT FALLING APART.
MAYBE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME PLAN TO SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS TO UPGRADE IT.
UM, AND MAYBE WE'D HAVE TO SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS TO UPGRADE IT THE WAY WE WANT IT, BUT THEY'RE GUARANTEEING US TWO, TWO POINT SOMETHING MILLION DOLLARS MORE IN RETURN.
IT, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE THAT MUCH SENSE TO ME.
COUNCILMAN HAD A QUESTION OR A COMMENT? ACTUALLY, IT WAS, IT WAS EXACTLY THAT.
THAT'S, UH, SO THANK YOU CHAIR FOR, FOR BRINGING THAT I, I, THIS MAKES ZERO SENSE TO ME THAT WE'RE LITERALLY PICKING THE PERSON WITH THE LEAST GUARANTEED COMPENSATION AND SAYING IT'S THE BEST PLAN THAT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL.
AND, YOU KNOW, UM, I MEAN, I THINK WE, WE'VE MADE THAT CALL BEFORE WHEN WE SAY OVERALL IT'S A BETTER PLAN, AND THEN THERE'S A LITTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YEAH.
LITTLE DIFFERENCE, THE COMPENSATION, BUT YOU'RE GOING FROM, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHEST TO THE LOWEST.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, AGAIN, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS IN TERMS OF EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT PROPOSED PLAN MEANS.
I HEARD THAT, UH, YOU FELT THAT THE, THAT, UH, YOU, THE PLACE WAS, WAS DATED AND NEEDED A REMODEL.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S VERY SUBJECTIVE TO ME.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK HERE WE HAVE VERY, A VERY CLEAR STARK DIFFERENCE.
AND OF COURSE, ON TOP OF THAT, THIS IS A 10 YEAR, UH, TERM.
AND, UH, I, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THIS.
CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN HAD A QUESTION.
UM, I DO HAVE, DO YOU GUYS HAVE A, AN EXACT AMOUNT IN THE DIFFERENCE, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT IN THE PROPOSED PLAN THERE'S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO MAKE.
DO YOU HAVE AN AMOUNT OF WHAT THOSE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ARE IN COMPARISON TO THE COMPENSATION OR ANY WAY THAT THEY'RE JUSTIFYING THEIR INVESTMENT IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT VERSUS A COMPENSATION? I KNOW YOU ROUGHLY MENTIONED IT, BUT I JUST WANNA SEE NUMBERS.
I DON'T BELIEVE, I DON'T BELIEVE OUR TEAM HAS THAT WITH THEM TODAY.
SO WOULD WE BE ABLE, IS THERE A REASON THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION ON THIS TODAY? OR IS THERE A, A WAY THAT WE CAN BRING THIS BACK ONCE WE SEE ALL THAT? OR CAN YOU HELP ME? CERTAINLY CAN CERTAINLY BRING IT BACK.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT A, THIS HAS BEEN ON A MONTH TO MONTH.
THERE, THERE IS SOME, THE CURRENT VENDORS ON A MONTH TO MONTH.
AND SO CERTAINLY KNOWING, UH, WOULD BE BETTER FOR THEM.
BUT THERE'S NO PRESSING TIMELINE FOR, FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND CHAIR, I, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT IT BE BROUGHT FORWARD LATER FOR RECONSIDERATION ONCE WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION.
SO I BELIEVE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WE'D LIKE TO POSTPONE THE APPROVAL OF THIS AND RECONSIDER IT AFTER WE GET FURTHER INFORMATION.
AND, UH, WAS THERE AN INITIAL EVALUATION THAT GAVE POINTS AND THEN A RE-EVALUATION? 'CAUSE WE SEE THAT SOMETIMES IN THESE PROPOSALS, IN THIS CASE, THERE WAS NOT, THEY DID IT BASED ON THE SUBMITTALS AND THE PROPOSED PLAN BECAUSE OF THE, JUST THE DIFFERENCE IN THE, UH, IN THE SCORING.
SO, AND ALSO COULD WE FIND OUT WHAT THE FA A'S CONCERNS WERE, IF THAT HAD ANY, ANY RELEVANT VALUE TO US TO UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE IT OBVIOUSLY TOOK, WHAT, 10 MONTHS FOR THEM TO FIGURE IT OUT? THEY WENT BACK AND FORTH 'CAUSE THEY HAD CONCERNS MAYBE UNDERSTANDING WHAT THOSE CONCERNS ARE.
BUT I THINK IT'S ABSOLUTELY WE'LL PROVIDE THAT TO YOU, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, IT RELATED, AS I UNDERSTAND TO THE, TO THE JOINT VENTURE NATURE OF THE PROPOSAL.
UM, THE F A A LOOKS AT THOSE VERY CAREFULLY.
AND SO, BUT THE JOINT VENTURE WAS WITH THE CITY? NO.
BETWEEN THE VENDOR AND IT'S A C D B E.
SO, SO THE F A IS LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT THE A C D B E PIECE.
THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT SUBCONTRACTING OUT.
THEY'RE DOING A JOINT VENTURE.
AND SO THE F A A EXAMINES THAT VERY CLOSELY.
BUT WE'LL PROVIDE DETAIL ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, I, I THINK THE CONSENSUS LOOKS LIKE FROM THIS COMMITTEE THAT IT'S NOT READY FOR OUR APPROVAL AND WE'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO BRING IT BACK TO US, UH, AFTER YOU GET FURTHER INFORMATION TO ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR US TO RECONSIDER.
COUNCILMAN HAD ANOTHER, SORRY, I JUST WANTED TO ADD, WHEN, WHEN DOES OUR AVIATION DIRECTOR BEGIN? UH, HE'LL, HE'LL START ON, UH, FEBRUARY THE 10TH.
'CAUSE I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT HE, UM, BROUGHT IN SOME, UM, MAYBE FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
MAYBE HE'S DEALT WITH THIS BEFORE OR ANYTHING, AND SO I WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE ALSO.
UH, AND JUST AGAIN, JUST TO REITERATE, THE, THE, THE, THE PANEL LOOKS AT JUST QUALIFICATIONS OF PLAN.
THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DEPARTMENT ABSOLUTELY AGREES.
I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY PREACH ALL THE TIME.
LUKE'S BEATING ME UP OVER THE HEAD ABOUT REVENUE GENERATION.
[01:10:01]
SO CERTAINLY THAT'S A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, UH, UM, ITEM FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE, BY THE DEPARTMENT AND CHAIR.IF I CAN JUST ADD, I MEAN THE REASON THAT THAT PROCESS IS DONE THAT WAY IS THAT THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE IS TO REALLY FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS AND THE PROPOSED PLAN.
THEY DON'T SEE COMPENSATION, THEY DON'T SEE THE BETA PIECES.
'CAUSE WE WANT THEM TO SCORE THAT INDEPENDENT OF THAT, BECAUSE IN THIS CASE, PRICE OR COMPENSATION WAS ONLY WORTH 20 POINTS.
SO BECAUSE IT'S AN R F P AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT OTHER THINGS, WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE NECESSARILY PRICE DRIVEN.
UM, SO PART OF WHAT WE'LL NEED TO DO, I THINK FOR THE COMMITTEE IS TO REALLY OUTLINE, I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE SCORE SHEET HERE.
UM, THERE'S A PRETTY STARK DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VENDOR A AND VENDOR B IN THAT CATEGORY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT DROVE THAT CONVERSATION AT THE COMMITTEE.
AND THEN YOU HAVE THE COMPENSATION PIECE, WHICH TO YOUR POINT WENT IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.
SO WE CAN CERTAINLY PULL THIS ITEM, COME BACK WITH YOU AND GET YOU ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
BUT THAT'S HOW OUR PROCESSES ARE GEARED YEAH.
TOWARDS, IS REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE AS OBJECTIVE AS THEY CAN.
THE PRICE BECOMES PURELY A MATHEMATICAL MODEL AT THAT POINT THAT WE RUN.
UH, THEN, SO I, I THINK TO YOUR POINT, ARE YOU USING, I THINK THE WORDS THAT, THAT I HOPE TO HEAR, UH, I JUST, I THINK I HEARD SOME SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS AND SO I, I WANT TO, I WANT TO KNOW, WILL, WILL WE BE ABLE TO REVIEW THAT? I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR IN TERMS OF HOW YOU'VE SEPARATED THIS.
AS YOU POINTED OUT, IF, IF WE'RE EVALUATING SOMETHING AND THEN THERE'S A SEPARATE PROCESS THAT'S OBJECTIVE, UM, THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY A DISCREPANCY HERE THAT WE'RE SAYING THAT IT'S A GREAT PLAN.
BUT, UH, THE OTHER, THE OTHER PIECES OF OF IT THAT ARE, THAT ARE JUST SIMPLY, UM, NUMBERS AND, AND, AND PURELY OBJECTIVE DON'T MATCH UP.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE JUDGMENT WAS, WAS MADE IN TERMS OF THESE, THESE NUMBERS THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT, QUITE FRANKLY, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, AN UPDATE OF, OF SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S VERY SUBJECTIVE TO ME.
UH, I, I WANT TO BE A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THEY WERE ASKING FOR, BECAUSE IT IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
IF YOU LOOK AT, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, YOU KNOW THE NUMBERS, THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE.
BUT THEN WHEN YOU, YOU LOOK AT THE, THE COMPENSATION IT IS IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE.
SO SOMETHING'S NOT MAKING SENSE, RIGHT? SO WE, WE CAN WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENT TO PUT SOME INFORMATION TOGETHER.
'CAUSE AGAIN, I THINK FROM THE COMMITTEE STANDPOINT, UM, THERE WAS EITHER CONVERSATION OR SOMETHING WITHIN THAT PROPOSED PLAN THAT DROVE VENDOR B TO HAVE A MUCH LOWER SCORE.
UM, WE'LL VISIT WITH THEM AND I, AND WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WITH THAT INFORMATION.
SO HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE MORE CLEAR AT THAT POINT.
SO THEN AT THIS TIME, I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO CONTINUE THIS ITEM TO OUR, OUR FEBRUARY, UH, COMMITTEE MEETING.
MOTION TO CONTINUE TO FEBRUARY MEETING.
A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CONTINUE THIS TO OUR FEBRUARY MEETING.
AND LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
[13. 19-9058 Affordable Rental and Homeownership Housing Development [Lori Houston, Assistant City Manager; Verónica R. Soto, Director, Neighborhood and Housing Services]]
SEE.UH, THIS IS AFFORDABLE RENTAL AND HOME OWNERSHIP HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
VERONICA SOTO WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSING SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
THIS IS A POST SOLICITATION BRIEFING FOR AFFORDABLE RENTAL AND HOME OWNERSHIP HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
THE REQUEST TYPE, THE PRESENTATION CAN BE ON THIS SCREEN, PLEASE.
THIS IS A SOLICITATION, THAT'S AN R F A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? I DON'T THINK THIS IS, IT'S ALL BLANK.
SO THIS IS A REQUEST FOR APPLICATION PROCESS, AGAIN FOR RENTAL AND HOME OWNERSHIP HOUSING.
AND THE FUNDING IS TO PROVIDE GAP FINANCING TO CREATE THAT RENTAL AND HOME OWNERSHIP HOUSING.
WE HAD COME BEFORE TO PRESENT THE FEDERAL FUNDING SOURCES THAT INCLUDE OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AND HOME.
AND THE TOTAL VALUE OF THIS INCLUDES NOW THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND THAT IS GAP FINANCING SOURCED FROM THE TTS.
SO IT'S, UH, JUST OVER $10 MILLION THAT IS BEING AWARDED.
THE AWARDEES HAVE DIFFERENT AFFORDABILITY PERIODS
[01:15:01]
FOR THE DEVELOPMENTS RANGING FROM FIVE TO 10 YEARS.WE ARE DEVIATING IN SHOWING YOU WHO THE AWARDEES ARE IN THIS PRESENTATION.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT WE DID PRESENT THE AWARDS TO THE PLANNING AND COMMITTEE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE LAST WEEK.
AND AT THAT COMMITTEE MEETING WE DID PRESENT TO THAT COMMITTEE WHO WAS RECOMMENDED FOR THE FUNDING AWARD.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THEM IN FRONT OF YOU.
SO FOR THE RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, WE HAD A PROPOSAL SUBMITTED THAT REQUESTED BOTH FUNDING, UH, WITH C D B G AND HOME FUNDING.
THAT'S THE FEDERAL ENTITLEMENT GRANTS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT TAKE A VARIETY OF C D B G HOME AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUNDS FOR VARIOUS DEVELOPMENTS.
FOR THE HOME OWNERSHIP SIDE, WE HAD THREE DEVELOPMENTS SUBMITTED.
YOU CAN SEE THE SCORE AND RANKING THERE.
AND YOU CAN SEE, UM, AGAIN, THE FUNDING RECOMMENDATION FROM THE C D B G HOME AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE WHAT THE CITY'S GETTING OUT OF THESE FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS IN TERMS OF THE UNITS BEING CREATED.
SO IN FRONT OF YOU IS THE FUNDING RECOMMENDATION THAT INCLUDES WHAT THE UNIT MIX IS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT FOR THE RENTAL HOUSING, THERE'S A TOTAL OF 423 UNITS BEING CREATED.
THE BULK OF THEM 313 ARE SUPPOSED TO SERVE FAMILIES AT OR BELOW 60% OF THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT NEARLY 10% OF THOSE 34 ARE TARGETED AT FAMILIES AT OR BELOW 30% A M I A VERY IMPORTANT DEMOGRAPHIC THAT HAS NOT BEEN SERVED WELL IN THE PAST.
WITH REGARD TO THE HOME OWNERSHIP, AGAIN, ALL OF THESE AWARDS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HOMES FOR FAMILIES AT OR BELOW 80% OF THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE THREE DEVELOPMENTS WILL YIELD 104 HOMEOWNER HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AGAIN, THIS WAS, UM, A REQUEST FOR APPLICATION PROCESS WHERE DEVELOPERS WERE INVITED TO SUBMIT FOR THE FUNDING.
WE DID, UH, NOTIFY VARIOUS VENDORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AT THE PRE-SUBMIT CONFERENCE.
WE HAD NINE, UH, ATTENDEES FOR THE RENTAL, FOUR FOR THE HOME OWNERSHIP, AND AGAIN, EIGHT RESPONSES FOR THE RENTAL FOR FOR THE HOMEOWNERSHIP.
UM, THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION, UNLESS Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, WILL, ARE ANY OF THESE PROJECTS OR WILL ANY OF THESE PROJECTS BE LOOKING FOR FUNDING FROM EITHER THE STATE OR FROM, UH, HOUSING TRUST CORPORATION AS FAR AS YOU KNOW? YES.
UH, TYPICALLY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THERE ARE LAYERS OF INVESTMENT THAT ARE PROPOSED.
SO A FEW OF THESE ARE 4% OR 9% TAX CREDIT DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, LET ME CHECK ON THE, SOME, SOME OF THEM YOU WILL UTILIZE THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST FOR THE BOND FINANCING FOR THAT.
I DON'T HAVE THE LIST OF WHICH ONES ARE UTILIZING THE TRUST, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE THAT.
UM, BUT I KNOW FOR EXAMPLE, THAT VILLAGE AT ALTOS IS A 4% DEVELOPMENT.
AND LUNA FLANS IS FLATS IS ALSO, UH, AN AWARDEE.
I BELIEVE THEY RECEIVED A 9% ALLOCATION.
UM, AND ANNE LAST YEAR, THANK YOU, ANNE, LAST YEAR, UM, ALSO RECEIVED A 9% TAX CREDIT ALLOCATION THAT'S TYPICAL WITH ORACLE HOUSING.
NOW ARE THESE USING INCOME AVERAGING, UH, TO ARRIVE AT, AT THEIR, UH, UNIT MIX? I BELIEVE ONE OF THEM IS, UM, I DON'T RECALL WHICH ONE, BUT I BELIEVE ONE OF THEM IS THE 30% UNITS.
SEE, SO LEGACY OF PIEDMONT MAYBE.
'CAUSE THEY'VE GOT 10, 30% UNITS THERE.
THE ONES, THE ONES THAT HAVE THE 30% UNITS MORE THAN LIKELY ARE USING INCOME AVERAGING.
I'LL VERIFY AND GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.
NOW, SINCE T MONEY IS MIXED INTO THIS, WILL THEY STILL GO BACK TO TOURISTS FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING? CAN THEY? NO, THEY WILL NOT.
THIS IS THE ONLY AWARD, AND THIS IS THE SET ASIDE SPECIFICALLY FOR GAP FINANCING THAT WAS SET ASIDE AS PART OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUDGET SPECIFIC TO HOME OWNERSHIP AND RENTAL.
AND SO THIS IS ONLY THAT GAP FINANCING ALLOCATION.
NOW FOR THE APARTMENTS, HAVE THEY BEEN GRANTED THEREFORE, OR 9% OR ARE THEY IN THE MIX TO GET IT? UH, THERE'S A MIX.
UM, SO THE ONES I MENTIONED, THE THREE I MENTIONED HAVE ALREADY BEEN AWARDED DURING THE CLOSING.
WE CAN GET YOU THE CLOSING DATES, UH, FOR MANY OF THOSE.
UM, BUT SOME HAVE ALREADY BEEN, UH, AWARDED AT THE STATE LEVEL, THE INITIAL STEP.
BUT SOME, UH, IF THEY'RE GOING FOR 9%, THEY MAY NOT GET THE AWARD.
UM, SO THAT MONEY WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE AGAIN FOR OTHER INVESTMENTS IN THE FUTURE? CORRECT.
[01:20:01]
OKAY.I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER? YES.
SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE, UH, ON PAGE THREE N R P, THEY REQUESTED 1000001.3 MILLION, BUT THE FUNDING SAYS RECOMMENDATION 1.5.
SO AS WE WERE EVALUATING ALL OF THESE AWARDS, WE WERE LOOKING AT ALL THE GAP FINANCING AND WHAT OTHER LAYERING OF RESOURCES THEY HAVE.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOKED AT WAS HOW MANY FEE WAIVERS THEY WERE RECEIVING AS WELL.
UH, KNOWING THAT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, THE FEE WAIVERS HAD BEEN MAXED OUT.
SO ONE OF THE WAYS TO MAKE THAT MONEY GO FURTHER FOR ADDITIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAS TO INCORPORATE THROUGH THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND SOME OF THE FEE WAIVER COSTS AS WELL.
AND SO THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN THE AWARDS.
UM, SO BY INCREASING OUR AWARD FROM THAT 1.3 TO 1.5, WE HAD $200,000 AVAILABLE FEE WAIVERS THAT WE COULD, WE COULD ALLOCATE TO OTHER AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS.
SO IT ALLOWED US THE WATERMEN TO GO FURTHER.
AND THAT WOULD BE THE SAME WITH THE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
WHEN THEY ASKED FOR 43 AND WE GAVE THEM 1.3.
THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN BOTH.
HEARING NONE, I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, APPROVE THIS IN ADVANCE IT TO COUNCIL FOR THEIR FINAL ACTION.
MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED.
MOVING FORWARD TO COUNCIL FOR THEIR APPROVAL.
[14. 20-1119 Design Services for Broadway Street from IH-35 to E. Mulberry Avenue (Upper Segment) [Roderick Sanchez, Assistant City Manager; Razi Hosseini, Interim Director, Transportation & Capital Improvements]]
ITEM 14.UH, AND THIS IS, UH, THE LAST OF OUR HIGH PROFILE ITEMS OF DESIGN SERVICES FOR BROADWAY, UH, FROM I 35 TO MULBERRY.
GOOD MORNING AGAIN, THAT YOUR ATTENTION GIVE.
SO I WILL BE PROVIDING A POST SOLICITATION BRIEFING ON THE CIVIL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR BROADWAY STREET.
THIS IS THE UPPER SEGMENT FROM I 35 TO MULBERRY.
THIS IS A 2017 BOND PROGRAM PROJECT.
UM, THIS SOLICITATION, AS I MENTIONED, IS FOR THE UPPER SEGMENT LIMITS FROM I 35 TO MULBERRY.
THE SCOPE OF WORK IS ROADWAY RECONSTRUCTION, UM, PEDESTRIAN BICYCLE AMENITIES, LIGHTING TRAFFIC SIGNAL UPGRADES, UNDERGROUND DRAINAGE WITH SOME LANDSCAPING.
THIS IS A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES.
WE HAVE AN ESTIMATED CONTRACT VALUE OF 4.1 MILLION, AND THE ESTIMATED DESIGN COMPLETION IS SET FOR FEBRUARY OF 2021.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE IS ACTUALLY A MAP OF THE BROADWAY CORRIDOR.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ACTIVITY WITH REGARDS TO BROADWAY, SO WE FELT LIKE IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT JUST TO GO THROUGH THE DIFFERENT SEGMENTS AND WHAT'S BEEN AWARDED.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, THE RED SEGMENT, WHICH IS THE LOWER SEGMENT THAT IS LOCATED, THE LIMITS ARE FROM EAST HOUSTON STREET TO I 35.
THAT IS CITY OWNED RIGHT OF WAY.
AND CURRENTLY THAT'S UNDER CONTRACT FOR DESIGN BUILD WITH SUNK CONSTRUCTION.
THE SECOND SEGMENT, THE UPPER SEGMENT, PHASE ONE, THAT IS THE CURRENT SOLICITATION THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING TODAY.
AND THEN THE LAST SEGMENT IS THE UPPER SEGMENT, PHASE TWO.
NOW WE WILL INCLUDE SOME SIGNAGE FROM THE UPPER SEGMENT, PHASE ONE INTO THIS LOCATION, INTO THOSE LIMITS.
BUT THAT UPPER SEGMENT PHASE TWO WILL REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR MORE IMPROVEMENTS.
SO JUST THE BLUE SEGMENT IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
AND THEN ALSO JUST TO RECAP THE BIKE LANES, UM, JUST, UM, BECAUSE THIS WAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC.
SO THE, UM, GREEN LANES, THOSE ARE FOR THE LOWER SEGMENT FROM HOUSTON TO I 35.
THOSE INCLUDE PROTECTED BIKE LANES ADJACENT TO BROADWAY AVENUE ALONG NORTH ALAMO AND AVENUE B.
THEN THE SEGMENT FOR THE UPPER SEGMENT IS IN ORANGE.
THE MAJORITY OF THAT SEGMENT WILL HAVE PROTECTED BIKE LANES ALONG BROADWAY EXCEPT FOR A PORTION THAT, UM, IS REROUTED ALONG AVENUE B, WHICH IS NOTATED ON THE MAP.
JUST FOR YOUR REFERENCE LISTED ON SLIDE FIVE IS THE EVALUATION CRITERIA ALONG WITH THE EVALUATION SCORING.
SO THIS WAS A TWO PHASE PROCESS.
SO WE DID, UM, DO THE INITIAL EVALUATION AS PART OF PHASE ONE, SHORTLISTED THE FIRMS, AND THEN ISSUED AN R F P WITH, UM, AN INTERVIEW SCHEDULED DATE FOR THEM TO PRESENT AND FOR US TO ASK QUESTIONS.
AND THOSE ARE THE RESULTS OF THAT EVALUATION AND SCORING.
THERE WILL BE SUBMITTED SUBCONTRACTING GOALS ESTABLISHED
[01:25:01]
FOR THIS, UM, CONTRACT.WE ARE REQUIRING 21% MINORITY WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS AND 1% A A B E, AS WELL AS THE FIRM TO BE INVOLVED IN THE CITY'S MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.
UM, THE DUE DILIGENCE FOR THIS CURRENT SOLICITATION IS LISTED ON SLIDE SIX.
UM, WE DID HAVE A TOTAL OF 16 VENDORS ATTEND THE PRE-SUBMIT CONFERENCE, AND WE HAD FOUR VENDORS SUBMIT THEIR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS AS A RESULT OF THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.
WELL, AS A RESULT OF THE DUE DILIGENCE, THERE WAS NO FINDINGS AS WELL.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
SO I PRESUME IT'S, UH, VENDOR A IS THE ONE YOU'RE RECOMMENDING FOR APPROVAL RIGHT NOW, CORRECT? YES.
THE ONLY QUESTION THAT COMES TO MY MIND IS ON THAT SAME SLIDE FIVE AND, AND I DON'T RECALL THE, THE PRES SOLICITATION, BUT, UH, BUT, UH, AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE JUST 1%, CORRECT? 1% OUT OF FOUR POINT WHAT MILLION THAT PROJECT? UH, 4.1 MILLION, CORRECT.
SO THAT'D BE WHAT? SO THEY COULD $41,000 POTENTIALLY.
YES, IF THEY CAN, UM, USE MORE, THEY WILL.
UM, BUT FOR DESIGN SERVICES, THE SUBCONTRACTING WOULD BE FOR, UM, DESIGN OF LANDSCAPING OR DESIGN OF UTILITIES.
AND SO, UM, IF YOU'LL RECALL, THE SUBCONTRACTING GOALS ARE BASED ON AVAILABILITY OF THE, UM, CONSULTANTS IN THE DESIGN AREA.
SO THAT'S HOW WE GOT TO THAT 1%.
IT'S BASED ON AVAILABILITY OF THE, UM, CONSULTANTS.
I SEE PART OF PHASE TWO RIGHT NEXT TO THAT.
IS THAT GONNA BE FORTHCOMING A LITTLE BIT LATER? YES, IT'LL BE IN A MEMO.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO.
I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, VENDOR A FOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL FOR THEIR APPROVAL.
MOTION TO APPROVE VENDOR A TO FULL CITY COUNCIL.
MOTION BEEN MADE AND SECONDED.
WE STILL HAVE A COUPLE OF ITEMS WE'RE GONNA BE BRINGING UP HERE.
[15. 20-1319 AU19-014 Audit of SAFD Personal Protective Equipment]
NEXT ITEM IS ITEM NUMBER 15, AND THIS IS A FINAL AUDIT REPORT.UH, THIS IS ON, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S PERSONNEL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AUDIT.
AND THEN I WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY WE DO HAVE ITEM 16 IN WHICH WE'LL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO IF I COULD START, SIR, WITH THE YES SIR.
REPORT AND THE RESULTS OF THE REPORT.
AND THIS WAS AN AUDIT OF THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT WITH THE OBJECTIVE RELATED TO LOOK AT IF THERE, IF THIS EQUIPMENT IS PROPERLY MANAGED AND ACCOUNTED FOR.
UH, ON PAGE TWO OF THE REPORT THAT'S IN YOUR PACKET ACTUALLY GIVES A DIAGRAM, UH, OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE SAY PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.
AND THAT'S EVERYTHING STARTING WITH THE HAT, THE HOOD, THE MASK.
SO THAT'S THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN THIS PROCESS.
AND OUR SCOPE LOOKED AT THE PURCHASE OF THE EQUIPMENT, THE INVENTORY, THE MAINTENANCE, UH, MEANING REPAIRS IF NEEDED, AS WELL AS INSPECTIONS OF THE EQUIPMENT.
AND THE RESULT OF THIS AUDIT, WE FOUND THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DOES HAVE A GOOD PROCESS IN PLACE.
UH, FOR PARTS OF IT, THE HELMETS WERE INSPECTED ANNUALLY.
BUNKER GEAR WAS INSPECTED, UH, THE CONTRACT WAS MONITORED AND INVOICED CHARGES FOR NEW EQUIPMENT, UM, WAS PROPERLY VERIFIED.
AND, AND, UH, WHEN I SAY VERIFIED, MATCHED UP TO THE CONTRACT TERMS. I MEAN, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE TOTAL OF WHAT THEY'RE WEARING IS $11,000.
ALTHOUGH THE MAJORITY OF THAT IS THE, THE BREATHING APPARATUS.
BUT STILL, THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY, UM, HERE.
AND THE TECHNICIANS THAT MANAGE AND REPAIR THIS EQUIPMENT WERE PROPERLY CERTIFIED.
THE FIREFIGHTERS, THE EQUIPMENT THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT THERE, THAT, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR COATS, THEIR HOODS, THEIR HELMETS, ALL OF THAT IS CUSTOM FIT TO THEM.
SO THEY EACH HAVE THEIR OWN SET OF GEAR, WHEREAS THE TANKS AND THE, UH, REGULATORS, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT'S ASSIGNED TO A FIRE STATION, TO A FIRE ENGINE, UH, IN, IN A MANAGEMENT PROCESS.
SO AGAIN, A LOT OF EQUIPMENT AND A LOT TO, TO KEEP TRACK OF THE AREAS OF THE THOUGHT THAT WE DID.
UH, NOTE WHERE THEY NEED TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS.
WHILE I'VE MENTIONED THAT IN THE INVENTORY OR IN THE WAREHOUSES, THEY'RE ACCOUNTING FOR STUFF.
ONCE IT GETS OUT INTO THE FIELD, UH, THE TRACKING OF THE EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD, UH, WAS LACKING AND WASN'T CONSISTENT AND WASN'T BEING DONE.
AND AGAIN, IT'S TRACKED BY THE FIREFIGHTER, WHO'S IT'S ASSIGNED TO, AND AS WELL AS THE SERIAL NUMBER OF THE EQUIPMENT, SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT, IT HAS A SERIAL NUMBER.
UH, THEY SHOULD TRACK EXACTLY WHERE EVERY PIECE OF IT IS.
UH, AND THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO KNOW THIS, THIS EQUIPMENT HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE, SO YOU GOTTA BE TRACKING IT TO KNOW, UH, WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
THE OTHER, UH, ANOTHER AREA WAS BUNKER
[01:30:01]
GEAR THAT'S OLDER.WHENEVER IT GOES TO BE REPAIRED, UH, MORE ATTENTION NEEDS TO BE PAID TO ENSURE THAT THE COST OF THE REPAIR IS NOT GREAT OR SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THE, THAN THE VALUE OF THE EQUIPMENT.
AS THE EQUIPMENT GETS OLDER, THERE MAY BE A COST BENEFIT, IT MAY JUST BE WORTH REPLACING IT VERSUS TRYING TO REPAIR IT IF IT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGED.
SO THAT NEEDS BETTER TRACKING.
AND THEN THE FINAL, UH, ITEM THAT WE IDENTIFIED, AND I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT, UH, HAS TO DO WITH THE SAFETY INSPECTION SPECIFICALLY OF THE MASK AND OF THE AIR CYLINDERS.
UH, PER THE FIRE STANDARDS, THE MASK SHOULD BE INSPECTED, UH, ANNUALLY, AND THE TANKS SHOULD BE INSPECTED AT LEAST EVERY FIVE YEARS.
AND THAT'S A HYDROSTATIC TESTING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S STILL SOLID.
IT HASN'T BEEN BENT, IT HASN'T, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A SOLID TANK.
AND, AND WE FOUND THAT THOSE INSPECTIONS WERE NOT TAKING PLACE, UH, AS REQUIRED.
UH, SPECIFICALLY IN OUR SAMPLE, 16% OF THE MASKS THAT WE LOOKED AT WERE NOT INSPECTED WITHIN THE LAST YEAR.
AND 31% OF THE AIR CYLINDERS WERE NOT INSPECTED OR DID NOT HAVE THE TAGS, UH, TO SHOW THAT THEY WERE INSPECTED.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS OBVIOUSLY, UH, ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, UH, IN REGARDS OF TRACKING, UH, THE COST BENEFIT AS WELL AS THE, UM, INSPECTION PROCESS.
WE WORKED WITH FIRE DEPARTMENT CLOSELY, OBVIOUSLY, THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
AND, UH, THEY'VE SUBMITTED AN ACTION PLAN THAT'S, UH, ADDRESSES THESE ISSUES.
AND OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE HERE TO DISCUSS, UH, THOSE PLANS OR I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, I THINK A QUESTION I WOULD HAVE IS, HAVE WE HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT THE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE REPORTED THAT WE COULD ATTRIBUTE TO LACK OF PROPER INSPECTIONS? NO, SIR.
NOTHING THAT COMES TO, NOTHING THAT COMES TO MIND.
I'M WITH THE OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF.
JUST, AND AGAIN, AS FAR AS WE KNOW, THERE'S NO ISSUES RELATED DIRECTLY TO, UH, THE LACK OF INSPECTION.
BUT STILL, IT'S, IT'S A PRACTICE WE NEED TO EMPLOY.
MARIA, DID YOU WANT TO ADD A COMMENT TO ALSO, UH, CHAIRMAN, I JUST WANNA ADD THAT, UM, THE, ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE SEE WITH THIS AUDIT IS TO IMPLEMENT A, UH, NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH I T SS D TO BETTER TRACK THE, THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE, UH, HAVE OUT ON THE FIELD TODAY.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT RELIES ON, UH, EXCEL SPREADSHEETS AND, AND THAT SOMETIMES IS A CHALLENGE WITH THE NUMBER OF PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT YOU SEE HIGHLIGHTED ON THAT PAGE.
AND WE HAVE OVER 1700, UH, FIREFIGHTERS OUT ON THE FIELD.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS, UH, UH, NEW SYSTEM COMING ON BOARD.
WE ANTICIPATE TO HAVE THAT, UM, FULLY DEPLOYED BY JUNE OF, UH, 2020, IF NOT EARLIER.
SO IT, I, I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR US TO MAKE AN IMPROVEMENT IN THAT AREA.
DO YOU THINK THE UPCOMING, UH, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES WILL, UH, ENABLE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO MEET THESE THREE CHALLENGES IN THE AUDIT? I DO.
COUNCILWOMAN, YOU HAD A QUESTION? YES, THANK YOU.
UM, I QUESTION, I KNOW THAT YOU ALL, UM, DID SOME OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH.
DID YOU ALSO TALK TO FIREFIGHTERS DIRECTLY? UH, ABOUT WE, WE NOT TO FIREFIGHTER DIRECTLY.
I KNOW WE WERE IN THE STATIONS OKAY.
TALKING WITH, YEAH, I SAW YOU WERE IN FOUR STATIONS, TALK TO 10.
WE DID GO TO STATIONS AND SO DID WE, I I CAN'T, I DUNNO HOW MUCH WE TALKED TO THEM.
WE'RE CERTAINLY MEETING WITH PEOPLE IN THE STATIONS TO SHOW US THE EQUIPMENT AND ANECDOTALLY, I MEAN, WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, BUT WE DIDN'T GO OUT TO SPECIFICALLY TALK A QUESTIONNAIRE OR ANYTHING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR FIREFIGHTERS.
THE REASON THAT I WAS ASKING IS I WAS TRYING TO KIND OF, UM, GAUGE TO HOW SAFE THEY FEEL RIGHT.
AND SO I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, WE ARE SAYING RIGHT NOW, UH, REPAIRS TO BUNKER GEAR OLDER THAN 62 MONTHS, FOR INSTANCE.
UM, WE ARE RECOMMENDING, OR YOU'RE RECOMMENDING THAT, UH, THAT WE, WE TAKE THIS, IT LOOKS LIKE, I THOUGHT I SAW SOMEWHERE TO THE CHIEF OR TO FIRE CHIEF THAT THEY REQUIRE.
IS THERE ANY REASON THAT WE DIDN'T JUST RECOMMEND THAT EVERY 60 MONTHS THIS, UH, PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE CHANGED OUT? OR IS THAT NOT COMMON PRACTICE ACCORDING TO THE A F P OR WHATEVER THE, THE NATIONAL STANDARDS, UH, THEIR CRITERIA IS THAT THE MAXIMUM LIFE OF THIS EQUIPMENT IS 10 YEARS.
UH, THE 62 MONTHS, FIVE YEARS, UH, ACTUALLY COMES MORE FROM THE ACCOUNTING AND THE DEPRECIATION OF THE EQUIPMENT.
UH, SO TO, TO YOUR POINT, I MEAN, IT'S INSPECTED, IT'S INSPECTED AT THE, UH, BY THE VENDOR.
UH, THEY'RE CERTIFIED, UH, IN THIS PROCESS.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE RELIANCE IS PLACED ON THEM WHEN EQUIPMENT IS DAMAGED TOO POORLY OR, UM, NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
BUT PER THE STANDARDS AND VENDORS 10 YEARS OKAY.
AND NO, IF YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT, THE APARTMENT'S GOAL IS TO REPLACE THE GEAR TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE EVERY FIVE YEARS, WHICH IS WHERE THE 62 MONTHS COMES FROM.
UM, AND THEN ON THAT ALSO, UH, AND THIS HAS JUST HELPED ME UNDERSTAND,
[01:35:01]
SO I KNOW WE, UM, UH, WE FOCUSED ON P P E TODAY, BUT HOW ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE, LIKE THE AIR SYSTEMS? LIKE HAVE WE DONE AN AUDIT OF THAT AND IS THERE ANY WAY THAT I, I CAN SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.JUST FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, WE HAVE PERFORMED AN AUDIT OF THE, THIS IS THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.
WE, WE DID AN AUDIT ABOUT A YEAR AGO, MAYBE LESS ABOUT OTHER EQUIPMENT.
THAT INCLUDES, UH, WELL LITERALLY FURNITURE FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT, THINGS IN THE FIRE STATION.
IT INCLUDES, UH, ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES, THEIR BOATS, AND JUST THAT OTHER EQUIPMENT THAT'S SU ASSIGNED TO FIRE STATIONS, NOT TO A PERSON.
SO LOOK AT THIS AS THE PERSONAL EQUIPMENT.
THE OTHER AUDIT WE COMPLETED WAS THE, THE DEPARTMENT EQUIPMENT THAT IS USED THAT INCLUDED CHAINSAWS AND JUST WHATEVER ELSE THAT MM-HMM.
SO THAT AUDIT, UH, ONCE WE DID THE AUDIT, IT HAS BEEN ISSUED AND I CAN FORWARD YOU A COPY OF THAT.
AND WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT, AT, LET, HELP ME UNDERSTAND, WE'RE JUST AUDITING THE STRENGTH OF IT, THE DURABILITY OF THINGS, NOT NECESSARILY THE WEAR AND TEAR OR, NO, WE WE'RE JUST, THIS AUDIT WAS THE MANAGEMENT OF THE EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT OF, OF THE EQUIPMENT.
SO WHO MANAGES OR WHO AUDITS LIKE EQUIPMENT THAT'S STILL BEING USED PAST TIME OR, OR I MEAN, IF IT LOOKS REALLY BEAT UP OR SOMETHING, THE, THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE EQUIPMENT FUNCTIONALITY THAT'S DONE BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS, THEIR SAFETY.
AND LET HIM ADDRESS THAT ONE ALSO, THE STATE WILL COME IN ABOUT EVERY THREE YEARS TO TAKE A LOOK AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MEETING THEIR REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS.
I WAS JUST, I KNEW THERE WAS SOME PROCEDURE.
I, I'M JUST STILL KIND OF LEARNING, SO THANK YOU.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY.
HEARING NONE, UH, THEN I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT, UH, THIS AUDIT AND ITS RECOMMENDATIONS.
[Executive Session]
AT THIS TIME, UH, I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.AND LET ME SEE HERE SINCE YOU, OKAY.
UH, THE TIME IS STATEMENT TO READ.
THE TIME IS, UH, 1142 AND, UH, ON JANUARY 21ST, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY GRANTED BY CHAPTER 5 5, 1 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE V T C S, THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE WILL NOW RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING, DELIBERATE THE APPOINTMENT EVALUATION AND DUTIES OF CITY AUDITOR, AND DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 5 51 DASH 0 7 4 PERSONNEL MATTERS, AND TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0 7 1 CONSULTANT CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY.
I WOULD ASK EVERYBODY TO LEAVE THE ROOM EXCEPT, UH, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND, UH, THOSE, UH, WHO NEED TO BE PART OF THIS DISCUSSION.
MR. MITCHELL'S ASKING ME TO PASS THESE ON.
WE ARE RECONVENING FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UH, NO VOTES OR DETERMINATION FINAL DETERMINATIONS WERE MADE.
UH, AND AT THIS POINT, UH, WE DID HAVE,
[Public Comment]
UH, TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO WANTED TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT TO THE COMMITTEE.SO I'LL, UH, GIVE EACH OF THEM THREE MINUTES TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT AT THIS TIME AND I'LL CALL 'EM UP.
THE FIRST PERSON IS ELLEN BURKEY.
AS I SUGGESTED AT A PREVIOUS AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY SESSION, TEXAS HOUSE BILL 28 40 A BILL, WHICH BECAME EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2019, DOES NOT ALLOW A PUBLIC BODY TO REFUSE TO HEAR PUBLIC TESTIMONY OR CRITICISM.
I OFFERED FOR THE COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATION TODAY, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET AN INTEGRITY AUDIT OR ANY OTHER KIND OF INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF AN ONGOING $3.4 BILLION CITY CONTRACT ONTO THE AGENDA OF THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE.
MY FIRST CRITICISM OF WHAT I'VE OBSERVED IN THE LAST FEW MEETINGS OF YOUR, OF YOUR SESSIONS OF THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEETING IS THAT YOU DON'T SEEM TO ALIGN WITH THE CUSTOMARY PRACTICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO AIR PUBLIC TESTIMONY PRIOR TO DISCUSSIONS AND SESSION.
[01:40:01]
SO THAT COMMITTEE MEMBERS MAY BENEFIT FROM PUBLIC INPUT AS THEY DELIBERATE AND HAVE TIME TO CONSIDER PROPOSING FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, THIS HAPPENED AGAIN TODAY.WE WERE PUT TO THE VERY END AFTER MOST OF THE PUBLIC HAD LEFT EXCEPT FOR THE CAMERA.
AND, UM, I, I HAVE TO THINK THAT WHAT I'M SAYING TODAY HAS SOME BEARING ON WHAT YOU GUYS WERE CONSIDERING EARLIER.
SO I WISH TO JUST STATE THAT FOR THE RECORD.
SECOND, THE COMMITTEE COMPOSITION WITH TWO OUT OF FIVE MEMBERS TAKEN FROM THE COMMUNITY WOULD SEEM TO PROVIDE FOR INFORMED PUBLIC INPUT UNIQUE AMONG OTHER CITY COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, COMMITTEES THAT MEET.
HOWEVER, AT A PREVIOUS MEETING, BOTH OF THE CITIZEN COMMITTEE MEMBERS WERE ABSENT AND AT ANOTHER, ONLY ONE OF THAT CITIZEN MEMBER WAS PRESENT.
IT APPEARS THAT THE PUBLIC INTEGRITY INTENT OF THE ORDINANCE, WHICH GOVERNS THIS COMMITTEE, IS NOT REALLY BEING ACHIEVED WHEN THE COMMITTEE CITIZEN MEMBERS ARE OFTEN MISSING WHEN IMPORTANT PUBLIC POLICY MATTERS ARE BEING CONSIDERED AS THE ONE I'M TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, YOUR JANUARY MEETING AGENDA DOES NOT EVEN MENTION COMMITTEE PROGRESS MADE WITH RESPECT TO AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF THE VISTA RIDGE WATER SUPPLY PROJECT.
AS ADVOCATED BY FOUR CONCERNED CITIZENS AT THE NOVEMBER AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING, WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY AFTER NEARLY TWO MONTHS CONSIDERATION OF AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF THIS HUGE PROJECT IS NOT ON YOUR AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION TODAY.
I SAY IT AGAIN, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET AN INTEGRITY AUDIT OR ANY OTHER KIND OF INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF A $3.4 BILLION CITY CONTRACT ONTO THE AGENDA OF THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE TIME? UM, I HAVE, WE HAVE SOME HANDOUTS, WHICH I BELIEVE THE CLERK IS GOING TO DISTRIBUTE.
THANK YOU MS. BURKEY? YES, MR. MITCHELL, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
MY NAME IS STAN MITCHELL, REPRESENTING SAN ANTONIO MAKING BUREAUCRACIES ACCOUNTABLE.
I HAVE A BRIEF REVIEW, UH, CHAIRMAN COURAGE.
AT YOUR OCTOBER 12TH CONSTITUENT COMMITTEE MEETING, WE AGREED THE SAWS VISTA RIDGE PROJECT HAD PROBLEMS, BUT AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU ARE POWERLESS.
MY NOVEMBER 9TH LETTER TO THIS COMMITTEE REVEALED CITY COUNCIL POWER YOUR POWER TO CONTROL SAWS.
ON NOVEMBER 19TH, FOUR OF US ADVOCATED FOR AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF THE 3.4 BILLION VISTA RIDGE PROJECT AND CHAIRMAN, COURAGE COMMITTED TO FOLLOW UP AND LAST WEEK'S SAW AS TRUST MEETING CHAIRMAN COURAGE SHARED A PROGRESS REPORT.
OFF THE RECORD, WE URGE YOUR APPROVAL OF OUR RESOLUTION REQUESTING YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
CITY COUNCIL FOR AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF VISTA RIDGE TODAY.
WE SPOKE LATE IN THE SESSION THIS MORNING.
UM, THAT COULD REDUCE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR COM COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER THOSE THINGS WHICH WE ARE SHARING WITH YOU.
UM, CONTINUING, UM, THE LEAST AFFLUENT AMONG US ARE BEING DISPLACED BY BUREAUCRATICALLY INDUCED INCREASES IN THE COST OF WATER ALONG WITH POWER AND OCCUPANCY COSTS.
YOU DON'T WANT THIS, NEITHER DOES OUR COALITION, BUT WHO IN THE WATER ARENA IS IN CHARGE, YOU OR SAWS US? WE WANT YOU OUR ELECTED ACCOUNTABLE REPRESENTATIVES TO PREVAIL, BUT WE CAN ONLY HELP AS WE COMMUNICATE WITH YOU HERE ON THE RECORD.
MS. RENET KING ENCOUNTERED AN EMERGENCY AND WAS UNABLE TO JOIN US TODAY.
UH, THAT CONCLUDES PEOPLE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR MEETING TODAY.