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WELCOME TO THE CITY COUNCIL B SESSION FOR FEBRUARY THE 19TH, 2020.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION AGENDA.
THE TIME IS 2:16 PM UH, TODAY WE HAVE
[1. 20-1943 Staff Presentation on the ConnectSA comprehensive transportation plan. [Erik Walsh, City Manager; Maria Villagomez, Deputy City Manager]]
A STAFF PRESENTATION ON THE CONNECT SA COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.SO I'LL CALL ON CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, ON JANUARY 29TH AT OUR B SESSION, UH, UH, MR. HENRY CISNEROS, ONE OF THE, UH, CONNECT SA TRI CHAIR, UH, MEMBERS PROVIDED A BRIEFING TO THE COUNCIL ON THE CONNECT SA COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
UH, THIS AFTERNOON, UH, THE STAFF WILL PRESENT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT ANALYSIS OF THE CONNECT SA FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND SEVERAL STRATEGIES FOR, UH, COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION.
UM, JUST A REMINDER, THE CONNECT SA PROPOSAL THAT YOU SAW THREE WEEKS AGO, UH, FOR MODERN MOBILITY IS A $1.36 BILLION INVESTMENT IN A MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO INCLUDE, UM, AREAS SUCH AS IMPROVED STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, TRAILS, BIKE LANES, BETTER BUS SERVICE, MOBILITY ON DEMAND, AND AN ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM.
UH, WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY, UH, TO YOU ALTERNATIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ALLOW, UH, THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER, UH, THESE THREE PRIORITIES.
ONE, UH, CONTINUED PROTECTION OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
TWO, CONTINUED PROGRESS TOWARD THE COMPLETION OF THE HOWARD PEAK GREENWAY SYSTEM TRAIL SYSTEM.
AND FINALLY, UH, THE, UH, NEW PROPOSED, UM, ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM.
UM, WE WILL, WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS AT BEAR COUNTY ON SEVERAL OPTIONS REGARDING THE THE GREENWAY SYSTEM.
UM, AND WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO UPDATE THE COUNCIL, UM, AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY ADDITIONAL WORK WE NEED TO DO WITH THEM ON THE A R T.
UM, WE'VE GOT A HOST SLEW OF STAFF HERE THAT HAVE BEEN PART OF THIS EFFORT.
AND MARIA VILLA GOMEZ WILL PROVIDE THE, UH, PRESENTATION AND LOOK FORWARD TO SOME QUESTIONS IN THE COUNCIL CONVERSATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED TODAY, WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE CITY'S PROGRAMMATIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONNECTS A PROGRAM.
THE B SESSION TODAY IS TO RECEIVE YOUR INPUT AND DIRECTION CONCERNING THIS RECOMMENDATION.
THIS PRESENTATION REFLECTS THE WORK OF SEVERAL CITY DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING OUR TRANSPORTATION AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS, OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FINANCE BUDGET, AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
ON JANUARY 29, UH, CONNECTUS, A TRI CHAIR HENRY CISNEROS, PRESENTED A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR MODERN MOBILITY IN SAN ANTONIO.
THIS FRAMEWORK INCLUDES A NUMBER OF GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR THE FIRST FIVE YEARS OF THIS PLAN.
THE PLAN GOALS, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, INCLUDE PROVIDING MORE CHOICES TO OUR COMMUNITY, CONNECTING RIDERS
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TO THEIR JOBS, INCREASING SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY, AND PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY.THIS WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED BY LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY, MANAGING CONGESTION, ENHANCING ACCESS, AND INTEGRATING MOBILITY NETWORKS.
THE CONNECTA PROPOSAL INVESTS $1.36 BILLION IN SEVEN DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION MODES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
THIS INCLUDES SIDEWALKS, GREENWAY TRAILS, MICRO MOBILITY, STREETS, MOBILITY ON DEMAND, BETTER BUS AND ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION TRANSIT.
THE PLAN ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE TEXT A HAS ALLOCATED 3.8 BILLION TO EXPAND CAPACITY OF AREA HIGHWAYS AND INTERCHANGES, INCLUDING HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES.
CONNECT S A, UH, PROPOSED A STRATEGY TO BE ABLE TO FINANCE THIS $1.36 BILLION INVESTMENT.
THE FI THE FIRST THREE OPTIONS YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN ARE THOSE THAT IMPACT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THIS INCLUDES REALLOCATING THE CITY'S ONE EIGHTH ASCENT AS CELL TAX THAT IS CURRENTLY DEDICATED TO THE EDWARDS AQUIFER IN THE GREENWAY PROGRAM, A PORTION OF THE CITY'S 2022 BOND PROGRAM AND ASSIGNING THE CITY'S A T D TAX TO VIA.
THERE ARE OTHER ALTERNATIVES INCLUDED IN THIS, UH, PROPOSAL BY CONNECT TO SAY, INCLUDING FUNDING FROM THE COUNTY AND LEVERAGING FEDERAL FUNDS.
SO OUR CITY ANALYSIS TODAY IS GONNA FOCUS ON THE THREE, UH, AREAS THAT IMPACT THE CITY, INCLUDING THE ONE 8 CENT SALES TAX, THE A T D TAX AND THE CITY'S BOND PROGRAM.
SO I'M GONNA BEGIN THIS PRESENTATION PROVIDING YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE SAN ANTONIO SALES TAX DISTRIBUTION.
THE SAN ANTONIO RATE IS 8.25%, WHICH IS THE MAXIMUM ALLOWED BY THE STATE AND IS DISTRIBUTED.
AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS CHART, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO RECEIVES 1 CENT THAT IS DEDICATED TO OUR GENERAL FUND.
THERE'S ONE EIGHTH DEDICATED TO THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROTECTION AND THE GREENWAY TRAILS.
ANOTHER ONE EIGHTH OF ASCENT FOR PRE-K FOR SA, A QUARTER OF ASCENT TO THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, HALF OF ASCENT TO VIA AND SIXTH AND A QUARTER TO THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO THE TWO AREAS THAT I'M GONNA FOCUS ON TODAY IS THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AND GREEN WIND TRAIL PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT.
SO BEGINNING WITH THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AND GREEN WIND TRAILS, THESE TWO VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAMS SHARE ONE EIGHTH OF A CENT AS SALES TAX VOTERS APPROVE THIS PROGRAM IN 2000.
AND THIS HAS BEEN RENEWED AN ADDITIONAL THREE TIMES FOR A TOTAL OF FOUR PROGRAMS. THE CITY COUNCIL DETERMINES THE ALLOCATION BETWEEN THE PROGRAMS AND ALSO THE CAP, WHICH IS A TOTAL AMOUNT TO BE COLLECTED OVER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.
SO IN THIS CHART, YOU CAN SEE THE DISTRIBUTION SINCE 2000 FOR BOTH PROGRAMS. THE MOST CURRENT, UM, PROPOSAL, WHICH IS 2015 OR THE MOST CURRENT PROGRAM.
I JUST WANNA GIVE THE COUNCIL AN UPDATE.
WHERE ARE WE IN TERMS OF COLLECTIONS? SO OF THE $180 MILLION THAT WAS APPROVED IN 2015 THROUGH THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 2019, WHICH IS SEPTEMBER, 2019, WE HAVE COLLECTED ROUGHLY 70% OF THIS, UH, TOTAL, UH, COLLECTION ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN WE HAVE A ROUGHLY ABOUT 30% LEFT THAT WE ANTICIPATE TO BE COLLECTED BY FEBRUARY, 2021.
I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT THE WORK ASSOCIATED WITH EDWARD AQUIFER PROTECTION AS WELL AS THE GREEN WASTE, WILL CONTINUE TILL EARLY FISCAL YEAR 2023.
SO EVEN THOUGH WE FINISHED COLLECTING THE TAX IN 2021, THE WORK WILL CONTINUE TILL, UH, EARLY FISCAL YEAR 2023.
JUST TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE EDWARD AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM, THIS, UH, PROGRAM GOAL IS TO PROTECT THE QUALITY AND THE QUANTITY OF WATER RECHARGING INTO THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
WE DO THIS THROUGH LAND ACQUISITION AND CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.
THERE IS A CONSERVATION ADVISORY BOARD COMPRISED OF NINE MEMBERS THAT IS APPOINTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL FOR TWO YEAR TERMS. THE REPRESENTATIVES THAT YOU SEE LISTED ON THE SCREEN, UH, COMPRISE THE BOARD.
WE HAVE OUR CITY PARKS DIRECTOR, A MEMBER OF THE CITY PARKS ADVISORY BOARD, A MEMBER OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION FROM THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY SA, TEXAS PARK AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT, MEDINA COUNTY, AND UVALDE COUNTY.
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2000, AND THE BOARD REVIEWS THE PROPERTIES WITH MEET, WHICH MEET THE CRITERIA FOR AQUI AQUIFER PROTECTION, UTILIZING A SCIENTIFIC METHOD THAT IDENTIFIES THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND SENSITIVE AREAS OF RECHARGE.WITH THIS INFORMATION, THEY MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR ACQUISITION OF LAND AND CONSERVATION OF EASEMENTS.
JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN INSIGHT THROUGH THIS, HOW THEY DO THIS EVALUATION PROCESS.
THIS NEXT SLIDE DETAILS THE STEPS THAT THEY TAKE THROUGH THIS SCIENTIFIC PROCESS.
THEY BEGIN WITH A G I S MODEL THAT RANKS THE PROPERTIES BASED ON THEIR GEOLOGICAL FEATURES SUCH AS SIZE AND LOCATION.
THE BOARD REVIEWS THE PROPERTIES AND THEN THEY MOVE FORWARD TO WHAT WE CALL STAGE ONE OF THE DUE DILIGENCE, UH, PROCESS.
THERE IS A GEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND AN APPRAISAL OF THE PROPERTY.
ONCE THAT IS COMPLETED, IT MOVES TO A PHASE ONE ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT, AND WE BEGIN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
ONCE THE BOARD APPROVES THE PURCHASE OF THE PROPERTY, THEY MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL, AND YOU ARE THE ULTIMATE APPROVAL ON THE ACQUISITION OF THE PROPERTY OR THE EASEMENT.
SO TODAY, UNDER THIS PROGRAM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROTECT A TOTAL OF 253,000 ACRES WITH THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE ALLOCATED THROUGH THE 2015 PROGRAM.
THAT INCLUDES MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, STATE NATURAL AREAS, AND PARKS.
239,000 OF THE 2 53 IS PROTECTED, AND WE ARE ESTIMATING ABOUT 14,000 ACRES TO BE PROTECTED WITH THE CURRENT FUNDING.
AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE THIS COMPLETED BY EARLY FISCAL YEAR 2023.
THE PROGRAM TARGETS THE MOST SENSITIVE AND SCIENTIFICALLY SIGNIFICANT PROPERTIES, AND THE PROGRAM IS GUIDED BY AN ANALYSIS THAT PROJECTS WATER DEMAND CONDUCTED BY LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE.
ADDITIONALLY, IN ORDER TO OPERATE THIS PROGRAM, WE HAVE THREE POSITIONS, THREE CITY POSITIONS, AND ALSO WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY TO MONITOR THIS PROPERTIES AT AN ANNUAL COST OF $487,000 IN ORDER TO CONTINUE WITH THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
SHOULD THE CITY COUNCIL CONSIDER THE REALLOCATION OF THE SALES TAX, WE HAVE SOME ALTERNATIVES.
BEFORE YOU SAAS WAS ASKED TO LOOK AT POTENTIALLY TAKING OVER THE PROGRAM, AN OPTION WAS PRESENTED TO THE SAAS BOARD, AND BY WHICH SAS WOULD ISSUE REVENUE BONDS IN AN AMOUNT OF $52 MILLION OVER FIVE YEARS.
SAS PROPOSED THAT THE DEBT SERVICE ON THOSE BONDS BE REPAID BY REDUCING THE CITY'S PAYMENT FROM SAS FROM BY 0.25%.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE CITY RECEIVES A TOTAL OF 4% OF THE GROSS REVENUES FROM SAUCE.
SO THEIR PROPOSAL WOULD BE TO REDUCE THE 4% TO 3.75%, HAVING AN ESTIMATED ANNUAL IMPACT OF $2 MILLION.
WE, THE CITY, HAVE BEEN WORKING ON AN OPTION TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM BY THE CITY.
WHAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING IS THAT WE WOULD ISSUE $109 MILLION IN SELF-SUPPORTING DEBT OVER 10 YEARS, AND THAT WOULD BE PAY FROM THE CITY'S PAYMENT FROM SAUCE.
UNDER THIS OPTION, THE PROGRAM WOULD CONTINUE THE WAY THAT IT IS TODAY, INCLUDING THAT SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION OF SENSITIVE AREAS OVER THE AQUIFER BY THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY BOARD.
TODAY, WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT THE CITY CONTINUES THE PROGRAM UNDER THIS OPTION.
THE NEXT PROGRAM IS A GREENWAY TRAILS, UH, PROGRAM.
THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF OUR COMMUNITY BY CREATING PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE MOBILITY ALTERNATIVES, PARK CONNECTIVITY, OPEN SPACES AND HABITAT CONSERVATION.
WE HAVE A LINEAR CREEK PARKS ADVISORY BOARD THAT IS COMPRISED OF 11 MEMBERS THAT ARE APPOINTED BY CITY COUNCIL.
THEIR ROLE IS TO PROVIDE INPUT TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREENWAY TRAILS.
GREENWAY TRAIL SYSTEM IS A GROWING NETWORK OF DEVELOP AND MULTI-USE AND ACCESSIBLE TRAILS, INCLUDING THE SATO, LEON AND MEDINA CREEKS.
ON THE WEST SIDE CREEKS, WE HAVE APACHE ALSAN, SAN PEDRO, AND ZAMORA, AND THE TRIBUTARY CREEKS, INCLUDING WEAN AND CULEBRA.
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ARE COMPLETED, 33 ARE UNDER DESIGN, AND SIX ARE UNDER THE LAND ACQUISITION PHASE.THERE'S 71 MILES TODAY THAT ARE UNFUNDED AT AN ESTIMATED COST OF $279 MILLION.
THE PROGRAM HAS AN ASSOCIATED ANNUAL OPERATING COST OF $6.4 MILLION.
THIS IS COMPRISED OF 41 PARKS POLICE, 45 TROLLS TOWARDS AND MAINTENANCE, UH, PERSONNEL THAT MAINTAIN THE, THE CREEK WASTE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES.
OF THE $6.4 MILLION THAT WE SPEND TODAY, 1.3 MILLION IS FUNDED BY THE SALES TAX AND THE BALANCE IS FUNDED BY THE GENERAL FUND, A FINANCIAL ALTERNATIVE THAT WE HAVE BEEN EVALUATING TO CONTINUE THE GREENWAY TRAILS PROGRAM AGAIN, SHOULD THE COUNCIL CONSIDER REALLOCATING THE ONE EIGHTH OF ASCENT IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A PARTNERSHIP WITH BERK COUNTY, BY WHICH BERK COUNTY WOULD FUND THE CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION OF APPROXIMATELY 26 MILES AT A COST OF 83.7 MILLION OVER FIVE YEARS.
AND THE CITY WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE SECURITY AND MAINTENANCE OF THE EXISTING TRAILS AS WELL AS THE NEW TRAILS.
THIS OPTION HAS NOT BEEN FINALIZED WITH THE COUNTY, AND WE NEED TO FINALIZE THAT BY THIS SPRING.
IF THIS OPTION WAS TO MOVE FORWARD, WHEN THIS 26 MILES ARE DONE, THERE WOULD BE 45 MILES LEFT AND THE CITY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY TO LOOK FOR OPTIONS TO FUND THEM OR RECOMMEND THEM IN FUTURE CITY BOND PROGRAMS BEGINNING IN 2027.
JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE AND IT LEFT AND, AND IS LEFT TO DO ON THE GREENWAY TRAILS, THIS MAP ILLUSTRATES IN GREEN.
THOSE GREEN GREENWAY TRAILS THAT ARE FUNDED WITH THE CURRENT FUNDING THROUGH 2015 PROGRAM IN BLUE ARE THE POTENTIAL AREAS THAT THE COUNTY COULD FUND, AND THEN IN RED WILL BE THE BALANCE OF THE TRAILS THAT WOULD BE UNFUNDED POTENTIALLY FOR A 2027 PROGRAM.
SO THE NEXT TAX THAT I WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW WITH THE COUNCIL IS THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT.
THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT WAS APPROVED BY THE VOTERS IN 2004, AND THE PROGRAM IS FUNDED BY A QUARTER OF A CENT, UH, SALES TAX.
THE FUNDS ARE RESTRICTED FOR TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY, AND OF THE ONE QUARTER OF A CENT, THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE REVENUES VIA GETS 50% OF THE REVENUES.
THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO GETS 25%, AND TEXAS BURG COUNTY GET THE BALANCE OF 25% IN FISCAL YEAR 2020.
OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE PROJECTING TO COLLECT JUST ON THE CITY'S PORTION 18 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE CHART ON THE RIGHT, THIS IS HOW WE'RE INVESTING THOSE DOLLARS, STREETS, SIDEWALKS, SIGNALS, BIKE LANES, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT.
AND THEN WE HAVE A FUND BALANCE OF $400,000.
SO IN TOTAL, OUR OPERATING INVESTMENT OF THE A T D TAX IS $6.3 MILLION.
THAT INCLUDES 36 CD POSITIONS AND $11.8 MILLION IN CAPITAL PROJECTS THE CITY HAS BEEN PARTNERING WITH VIA SINCE 2018.
AS PART OF THE 2018 BUDGET, THE CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZED $4.3 MILLION IN FUNDING FROM THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND TO VIA.
THE INTENT OF THIS FUNDING WAS TO INCREASE FREQUENCY AND IMPROVED TRAVEL TIME AND CAPACITY IN A SPECIFIC, UH, QUARTERS AND ROUTES WITHIN THE VS SYSTEM.
IN 2019, THE FUNDING WAS INCREASED TO $10 MILLION AND IT CONTINUES THROUGHOUT THIS FISCAL YEAR, 2020, SO A TOTAL OF $24.3 MILLION INVESTMENT OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS.
THE RECOMMENDATION FROM CONNECTA IS TO ASSIGN THE CITY'S A T D TAX TO VIA, AS I MENTIONED, THE CITY COLLECTS 18 AND A HALF MILLION ANNUALLY VIA TODAY RECEIVES $10 MILLION FROM THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND.
SO THE NET IMPACT OF THIS RECOMMENDATION IS EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION IN REVENUE LOSS TO THE CITY.
SHOULD THE CITY COUNCIL CONSIDER REALLOCATING THE ONE EIGHTH CENT SALES TAX FROM THE EDWARDS AND THE GREENWAY TRAIL PROGRAM, WILL YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IS A POTENTIAL A T D TAX, UH, RATE INCREASE TODAY, IT'S A QUARTER OF ASCENT.
WE ADD THE ONE EIGHTH FROM THE EDWARDS AND THE GREENWAY TRAILS.
THREE EIGHTHS OF ASCENT WOULD BE DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, AND THIS IS POTENTIALLY WHAT THE VOTERS WOULD BE VOTING IN NOVEMBER OF 2020.
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THE NEXT, UM, PORTION OF MY PRESENTATION, I'M GONNA FOCUS ON THREE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION THAT CONNECT TO SAY IS RECOMMENDED TO BE FUNDED FROM THE CITY'S BOND PROGRAM.THIS INCLUDES STREETS, MICRO MOBILITY, SIDEWALKS, AND THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT.
SO JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF OUR STREET NETWORK.
THE CITY MANAGES OVER 4,100 CENTER LINE MILES OF STREETS BASED ON THE CONDITION OF OUR STREETS TODAY.
IF WE WERE TO BRING ALL OF THE STREETS TO AN EXCELLENT CONDITION, WE WOULD NEED ONE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS TODAY TO DO SO.
ON THE CHART ON THE RIGHT, THIS IS THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE STREET NETWORK CONDITION.
AS YOU CAN SEE, ROUGHLY ABOUT 63% OF OUR STREETS HAVE A RATING BELOW.
EXCELLENT, FOCUSING JUST ON THE F STREETS OR FELL, WHICH IS 11% OF OUR STREET NETWORK, THE COST TO BRING THOSE STREETS TO AN EXCELLENT CONDITION TODAY IS 836 MILLION OUT OF THE ONE AND A HALF BILLION.
CONNECT FOR SA RECOMMENDS AN INVESTMENT OF 191 MILLION IN CITY STREETS FROM THE 2022 BOND PROGRAM.
OVER FIVE YEARS, THIS PROJECTS HAVE NOT BEEN SELECTED.
THE CITY WOULD FOLLOW OUR NORMAL PROCESS OF OBTAINING INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND FROM THE CITY COUNCIL TO DEVELOP THE LIST OF THOSE PROJECTS.
ADDITIONALLY, CONNECT FOUR SA RECOMMENDS 150 MILLION FROM THE COUNTY.
THIS IS UNDEFINED AT THIS POINT FOR A TOTAL INVESTMENT OF 296 MILLION IN STREETS.
THE NEXT MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IS SIDEWALKS.
THE CITY HAS AN INVENTORY OF OVER 5,000 SIDEWALK MILES, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, OVER 1800 GAP MILES OF SIDEWALKS.
OUR GOAL IS TO FILL IS TO FILL THE SIDEWALK GAP MILES AND PRIORITIZE AREAS ACROSS THE CITY, INCLUDING THOSE THAT ARE CLOSE TO SCHOOLS, BUS STOPS, HEALTHCARE AND COMMUNITY SPACES, AND ALSO THOSE THAT WOULD ENSURE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY TO OUR COMMUNITY.
TODAY, THE CITY IS INVESTING $17 MILLION ANNUALLY IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
5 MILLION IS COMING FROM OUR A T D TAX AND $12 MILLION FROM THE BOND PROGRAM.
ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL SOME OF THE SIDEWALK PROJECT TYPES AND THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
UH, AND THIS IS HOW T C I IS MANAGING OUR SIDEWALK, UM, UH, PROGRAM.
SO WE HAVE THREE TYPES OF PROJECT TYPES AND COSTS, BEGINNING WITH SIDEWALK ONLY ON THE LEFT, THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT HAS AN ESTIMATED COST ANYWHERE BETWEEN 26 TO $45, AS YOU CAN SEE HIGHLIGHTED IN RED.
THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT IS FOCUSING ON SIDEWALKS ONLY.
THERE'S LIMITED DRIVEWAY SECTIONS THAT ARE BEING REPAIRED, NO RETAINING WALL, NO LANDSCAPING, AND NO RELOCATION OF FENCES, MAILBOXES, OR IRRIGATION LINES.
THE SECOND TYPE IS WHAT WE CALL A COMBINATION OF CURVES AND SIDEWALKS.
THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS IS BETWEEN 46 TO 67 PER LINEAR FOOT.
AND THIS INCLUDES THE SIDEWALK, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES LIMITED CURVES, DRIVEWAY SECTIONS, LANDSCAPING, RETAINING WALLS IF NECESSARY, AND THE RELOCATION OF FENCES IF NEEDED, MAILBOXES AND IRRIGATION LINES.
AND THEN THE THIRD TYPE INCLUDES ALL CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS, DEPENDING ON THE PROJECT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS IS ANYWHERE BETWEEN 70 TO 106, UM, PER LINEAR FOOD.
AND THIS INCLUDES THE SIDEWALKS, AS YOU CAN SEE, ILLUSTRATED IN RED, THE CURBS, DRIVEWAY SECTIONS, UH, RETAINING WALLS IF NECESSARY, LANDSCAPING AND RELOCATION OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY'S RIGHT OF WAY SUCH AS FENCES, MAILBOXES, AND IRRIGATION LINES CONNECT TO SAVE RECOMMENDS $94.5 MILLION IN INVESTMENT IN SIDEWALKS OVER THE NEXT, UH, FIVE YEARS.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE CHART, THERE'S A RECOMMENDATION THAT VIA FUNDS 9.5 MILLION IN THE CITY'S 2022 BOND PROGRAM, ROUGHLY ABOUT $85 MILLION.
THE CURRENT COST ON AVERAGE TO DO A SIDEWALK PROJECT IS $65 PER LINEAR FOOT.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN JANUARY 29, WHEN CONNECTUS SAY, UH, PRESENTED THE RECOMMENDED, UH, NUMBER OF MILES, THEY HAD AN ESTIMATE OF 225.
WE CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE OUR T C I DEPARTMENT TO, UH, PRODUCE THIS, UH, PROJECTS IN A MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE
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MANNER.SO WE, UH, HAVE A GOAL TO DEVELOP, UM, 326 MILES UNDER THE CONNECTA PROGRAM WITH A GOAL OF $55 PER LINEAR FEET, AND THAT WILL DELIVER AGAIN, 326 MILES.
MOVING TO MICRO MOBILITY, THE CITY HAS A TOTAL OF 358 CENTER LINE MILES OF BIKE FACILITY INVENTORY, ROUGHLY TWO 60 ARE ON WITHIN CITY LIMITS AND LOCATED ON CITY BROADWAYS.
WE HAVE ABOUT 28 CENTER LINE MILES THAT ARE INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS ON TEXAS RIGHT AWAY.
AND 70 CENTER LINE MILES ON OUR GREENWAY TRAILS.
CONNECTA RECOMMENDS AN INVESTMENT OF 54 AND A $5 MILLION FUNDED BY VIA NINE AND A HALF MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND THEN THE CITY'S 2022 BOND PROGRAM AT 45 MILLION.
WE ESTIMATE THAT IT WAS, THIS WILL RESULT IN 48 MILES OF, UH, BIKE LANES ACROSS THE CITY.
THE LAST TRANSPORTATION MODE THAT IS RECOMMENDED TO BE FUNDED FROM THE CITY'S BOND PROGRAM IS THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT.
THERE ARE TWO ROUTES THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED EAST TO WEST FROM GENERAL MCMULLEN TO AT AND T, ROUGHLY ABOUT SEVEN AND A HALF MILES AND NORTH TO SOUTH FROM THE AIRPORT TO STEVE'S WITH A DEDICATED LANE FOR CONNECTIVITY TO THE AIRPORT THAT IS 10.5 MILES.
THE ESTIMATED COST OF THIS ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT IS 566 MILLION TO BE FUNDED WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
V WOULD LEVERAGE FEDERAL GRANTS OF 222 MILLION, AND THE REQUEST IN LOCAL FUNDS IS 344 MILLION.
SO IN SUMMARY ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE CONNECT TO SAY IS RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDING AN INVESTMENT OF 665 MILLION FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS FROM THE CITY'S 2022 BOND PROGRAM, INCLUDING STREETS, SIDEWALKS, MICRO MOBILITY, AND THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT.
TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT ON THE CITY'S INVESTMENT AND STREETS AND SIDEWALKS ON THE LAST THREE BOND PROGRAMS, THIS CHART GIVES YOU A PERCENTAGE OF ALLOCATION BY PROPOSITION FOR THE LAST, UH, THREE PROGRAMS, 2007, 2012 AND 2017.
FOR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, THE CITY HAS INVESTED ANYWHERE BETWEEN 52 TO 57% FOR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS AND THE OTHER PROPOSITIONS INCLUDING DRAINAGE, PARKS, LIBRARY, PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY FACILITIES AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENTS ANYWHERE BETWEEN 43 TO 48%.
THIS NEXT CHART ILLUSTRATES WHETHER 2022 BOND PROGRAM COULD LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE TO INVEST $665 MILLION IN THE MODES OF TRANSPORTATIONS PROPOSED BY CONNECT SA, THERE WOULD BE 665 MILLION OR 70% OF THE 2022 BOND PROGRAM DEDICATED TO STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, AND ABOUT 285 MILLION OR 30% DEDICATED TO THE OTHER PROPOSITIONS OF DRAINAGE, PARKS, LIBRARIES, NEIGHBORHOODS, AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO THAT, UM, LAST SLIDE, IT GAVE YOU A SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT OF CONNECT TO SAY ON THE CITY'S CAPITAL BUDGET.
ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, I'M GONNA BE GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THE CITY'S OPERATING BUDGET, AND ALSO PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO ADDRESS, UH, THOSE IMPACTS.
SO BEGINNING WITH THE A T D TAX, AS I MENTIONED, UM, AND, AND ONE MORE THING, THIS, UH, PARTICULAR TABLE PROVIDES THE IMPACT OVER FIVE YEARS, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY'S FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST.
SO THE A T D TAX, AS I MENTIONED, WE WOULD, UM, REALLOCATE ABOUT EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION NET TO VIA, UH, IN THE PROPOSAL AT THIS POINT, THAT THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN APRIL OF 2021.
SO WE WOULD HAVE TO IDENTIFY FUNDING OF $4 MILLION IN 2021 AND THEN $8.3 MILLION FOR THE YEARS THEREAFTER.
SO I RECOMMEND RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE, UM, ALLOCATE SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING FUNDED WITH A T D TO OUR STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, AND YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBERS THERE RANGING FROM 2.8 MILLION TO 4.1 MILLION.
AND THEN TO OUR CITY'S BOND PROGRAM IS SPECIFICALLY THE SIDEWALKS AND THE BIKE LANES THAT ARE BEING FUNDED BY A T D.
AND THE NUMBERS THAT I PRESENTED EARLIER FOR BOTH BIKE LINKS AND SIDEWALKS INCLUDE THIS FIVE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT
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IS CURRENTLY, UH, FUNDED BY A T D.SO THAT IS OUR RECOMMENDATION TO, TO THE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS, UH, THAT CHANGE IN THE A T D TAX.
NEXT, THE EDWARD AQUIFER PROGRAM, SHOULD THE CITY COUNCIL MOVE FORWARD WITH THE REALLOCATION OF THE ONE AID OF SALES TAX, UH, TO INCREASE THE A T D AS I MENTIONED, UH, WE HAVE AN OPERATING COST ASSOCIATED WITH EDWARD AQUIFER THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE, UH, FUNDED IN 2023 WITH AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE AS TODAY.
THIS IS FUNDED WITH A SALES TAX AND ALSO SHOULD THE CITY ISSUE DEBT OF 109 MILLION THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING IN INSTALLMENTS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS TO CONTINUE THE PROTECTION OF THE EDWARD AQUIFER.
THIS TABLE SHOWS THE DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT FOR THE FIRST THREE YEARS, UH, OF, OF, OF THAT PARTICULAR DEBT.
SO THE COMBINED IMPACT, UH, IS, UM, FROM $960,000 TO $2.3 MILLION OVER THIS FIVE YEAR WINDOW.
AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO THE COUNCIL THAT WE FUND THAT FROM THE CITY'S PAYMENT FROM SAUCE.
AND FINALLY, THE OPERATING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GREENWAY TRAILS THAT IS CURRENTLY FUNDED BY THE SALES TAX.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE TOTAL COST IS 6.4.
1.3 IS FUNDED BY THE SALES TAX.
THIS WON'T TAKE INTO EFFECT UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 2023 IS A MANAGEABLE AMOUNT.
SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE IDENTIFY OPTIONS, UH, TO FUND THIS EXPENSE AS PART OF THE 2023 BUDGET PROCESS.
ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, THIS SUMMARIZES THE NEXT STEPS OF THIS, UM, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE ARE PROPOSING OR, OR, UM, UM, PROVIDING TO THE COUNCIL TODAY.
WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT IN MAR IN MARCH, VIA COMES BEFORE THE COUNCIL TO PRESENT DETAILS REGARDING THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT BETTER BOSS AND MOBILITY ON DEMAND, AS WELL AS A FEDERAL GRANT PROCESS AND TIMELINE FOR THE PROJECT.
WE ALSO ARE PROPOSING THAT THERE'S AN A SESSION IN THE MONTH OF MARCH WHERE CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS THE EDWARDS AQUIFER FUNDING PLAN, AS WE ARE RECOMMENDING IT TO THE COUNCIL TODAY.
IN MAY, UH, THERE COULD BE A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR CONNECT SA AND WE WOULD ALSO BRING TO THE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY FOR THE GREENWAY TRAILS.
AND AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH THE COUNTY ON THAT PROPOSAL.
IN THE JULY AUGUST TIMEFRAME, THIS IS WHEN VIA COULD CALL THE ELECTION FOR THE A T D TO, UH, REALLOCATE THAT ONE EIGHTH OF HIS SALES TAX.
IN SEPTEMBER, WE WOULD, UM, BRING TO COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE, THE CITY VIA AND THE COUNTY RELATED TO THE A T D TAX.
THE ELECTION, UH, WOULD TAKE PLACE IN NOVEMBER OF 2020 WITH AN EFFECTIVE DAY FOR THE INCREASE ON THE A T D TAX IN APRIL OF 2021.
SO IN CONCLUSION, UH, IN JANUARY 29, CONNECT US, SAY, PRESENTED A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR MODERN MOBILITY IN SAN ANTONIO TO FACILITATE CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF THE PLAN.
TODAY, WE HAVE PROVIDED FINANCIAL IMPACTS ON THE CITY'S BUDGET AND ALTERNATIVES TO CONTINUE THE PROTECTION OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER TO CONTINUE PROGRESS WHERE THE COMPLETION OF THE GREENWAY TRAIL AND ALSO FOR THE VS ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT PROPOSAL.
SO WITH TODAY'S V SESSION, WE ARE SEEKING CITY COUNCIL FEEDBACK AND DIRECTION ON THIS PROPOSALS, AND I JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM CONNECTA, FROM VIA, FROM OUR T C I DEPARTMENT, PARK CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UH, FINANCE, AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AND WE ARE PREPARED TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE COUNCIL MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR A VERY THOROUGH PRESENTATION, MARIA.
UM, FIRST I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE SOME FOLKS THAT ARE HERE.
UH, I SEE ALMOST THE ENTIRETY OF THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND YOUR, YOUR GREAT LEADERSHIP OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
UM, HENRY SHANNON, UM, AND THE FOLKS FROM CONNECT SA ALSO FOR YEOMAN'S WORK WITH MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND INTEGRATED ALL THESE DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION MODES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
AND CERTAINLY, UH, THE FOLKS FROM OUR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO STAFF WHO'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, UH, TO REALLY HONE IN ON THESE NUMBERS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT SOMETHING, UH, THAT'S DETAILED AND ALSO, UH, ACCURATE, UH, FOR US TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MAKING PROPER DECISIONS WITH.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK, AND I CERTAINLY ALSO WANT TO, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE EIGHTH OF ASCENT, UH, SALES TAX ACKNOWLEDGE THE, THE GREAT COLLABORATION OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO,
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UH, THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM, UH, THE COUNTY, UH, AND OTHER FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN WEIGHING IN TO HELP US HONE IN ON A PROGRAM THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE.I DON'T THINK I NEED TO REMIND, UH, EVERYONE WHERE WE STARTED FROM THIS WHOLE PROCESS OF TRANSPORTATION REFORM, UH, REALLY BEGAN WITH, UH, 10 YEARS AGO WITH THE SA 2020 PROCESS.
BUT TO, AS A REMINDER, THIS CONNECTS SA STRATEGY SPRINGS FROM OUR LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN IN SA TOMORROW.
IT'S CONNECTED TO OUR CORRIDOR PLAN, SO IT'S SENSIBLE.
UH, IT'S ALSO INTENDED TO IMPROVE EQUITY, EFFICIENCY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND OVERALL ECONOMIC MOBILITY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I'M VERY PLEASED TO SEE, UH, THAT FLESHED OUT TODAY.
UM, SO ONTO THE BUSINESS OF THE SALES TAX, UH, I WANT TO THANK MY CITY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DIALOGUE OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS ABOUT HOW WE ENSURE THESE TWO VERY VALUABLE PROGRAMS, UH, POPULAR PROGRAMS CONTINUE EVEN WHILE WE END THE HISTORIC UNDERINVESTMENT IN OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
THE PROPOSED GREENWAY TRAIL PROGRAM ADMINISTERED THROUGH THE COUNTY IS A FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT INCREASE IN TOTAL FUNDING OVER THE FIVE YEARS COMPARED TO THE 2015 SALES TAX ALLOCATION.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT'S A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF OUR CONNECT SA TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
SO IN MOVING FORWARD WITH TRANSPORTATION, WE ARE ALSO SIGNALING OUR COMMITMENT, UH, TO EXTENDING OUR GREENWAY TRAIL SYSTEM, WHICH HAS PROVEN TO BE A OPPORTUNITY FOR MOBILITY AS WELL AS, UH, IMPORTANT GREENWAY TRAILS AND, AND GREEN SPACE PRESERVATION.
THE COUNTY PROGRAM WOULD COMPLETE 35% OF REMAINING GREENWAYS IN JUST FIVE YEARS, WHICH IS AN EXTRAORDINARY BOON FOR THIS PROGRAM.
UNDER THE CITY'S EDWARDS AFER PROPOSAL, THE ENTIRE ADMINISTRATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS WOULD REMAIN INTACT, INCLUDING COUNCIL APPROVAL OF INDIVIDUAL EASEMENTS.
THE $109 MILLION PROPOSED TODAY WOULD BE LARGER THAN ANY SINGLE COMMITMENT WE'VE MADE TO PROTECTING THE EDWARDS AFER COMPARED TO WHAT WE'VE DONE THROUGH THE SALES TAX.
AND THIS 10 YEAR COMMITMENT PROPOSED BY THE CITY TODAY IS NEARLY DOUBLE THE LENGTH OF ANY SINGLE COMMITMENT THAT WE'VE RECEIVED THROUGH THE SALES TAX PROGRAM, AS MOST OF THE PROGRAMS REACH THEIR REVENUE CAPS AT ROUGHLY FIVE YEARS, BECAUSE THERE'S NEVER BEEN A FIXED ANNUAL STREAM FOR THE AQUIFER CREEK WAYS, HAVING BEEN SUBJECT TO SALES TAX REVENUE FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS, THIS REALLY DOES SEEM LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BOTH BETTER MANAGE AND PROVIDE FOR LASTING CONTINUITY OF THESE INITIATIVES.
WE DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN ONE OR THE OTHER.
UH, SO AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE WORK, UH, THAT HAS GONE INTO THIS.
I WANNA, UH, IN PARTICULAR, UM, THANK A, A FEW DEAR FRIENDS, UH, THAT ARE HERE TODAY.
UH, IN PARTICULAR BONNIE CONNOR.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH BONNIE FOR, UH, SITTING AT THE TABLE AND HELPING US FIGURE THIS OUT.
SUSAN HUGHES, WHEREVER YOU ARE, UH, THANK YOU ALSO FOR THE GREAT DIALOGUE, UH, FRANCINE AND OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN PART OF THIS, UH, PROCESS TO GET THIS TO A, A POINT WHERE WE CAN CONFIDENTLY MOVE FORWARD ON THE PATH TOGETHER.
UH, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE TIME AND THE EFFORT, THE DUE DILIGENCE, AND I'M VERY EXCITED THAT WE STAND HERE NOW ON, ON THE BRINK OF MOVING FORWARD, FINALLY, WITH AN ERA OF MOBILITY IN SAN ANTONIO FOR SO MANY IMPORTANT REASONS.
UH, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING TO THE NEXT STEPS.
ERIC, I LOOK ALSO FORWARD TO THE COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES AND FINALLY, AFFECTING TRANSPORTATION REFORM IN OUR CITY.
UM, WE'LL START NOW WITH COUNCIL COMMENT.
WE'LL BEGIN WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
CITY STAFF, THANK YOU VIA, UM, FOR TRULY LOOKING AT THIS WITH THE HOLISTIC ASPECT OF HOW WE CAN, CAN BETTER THE CITY.
UM, WE ALL KNOW TRANSPORTATION IS ONE OF THE LARGEST THINGS THAT CAN KEEP A PERSON FROM EDUCATION OR A BETTER WAY OF LIVING.
AND SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK.
UM, THE FEW QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE, WHEN WE WERE IN WASHINGTON, WE FOUND OUT THAT TEXAS IS THE ONLY DONOR STATE WHEN IT COMES TO INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO I HAVE A QUESTION WITH HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING GETTING MORE OF OUR FUNDING BACK, UM, TO THE CITY TO HELP US WITH EITHER OUR H O V LANES, UM, AND HOW THAT LOOKS WITH GETTING MORE ALLOCATION TO, UH, FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION AS WELL.
ANYBODY WANNA SPEAK ON, OR DO I GO TO THE NEXT QUESTION? FORGIVE ME, COUNCILMAN, I MISSED THE QUESTION.
SO THE QUESTION IS, TEXAS RIGHT NOW IS THE ONLY DONOR STATE WHEN IT COMES TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE, AND SO WE'RE NOT GETTING ANY OF OUR FUNDING BACK, BUT YET WE'RE STILL THE ONLY STATE THAT GETS, UM, THE LEAST AMOUNT OF FUNDING BACK WHEN IT COMES TO INFRASTRUCTURE.
[00:40:01]
SO I'M WONDERING, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO, TO TACKLE THAT SO THAT WE CAN START SEEING WHAT WE NEED TO SEE TO GET THE H O V LANES IN PLACE FOR OUR BETTER MOBILITY, AND ALSO HOW TO TRULY TACKLE GETTING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION AS WELL.UH, TEXAS IS A DONOR STATE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
WE HAVE SENT MORE FEDERAL TAXES TO WASHINGTON THAN WE RECEIVED BACK IN TRANSPORTATION.
UH, IT'S A, IT'S A COMPLICATED ISSUE THAT HASN'T BEEN SOLVED IN MANY, MANY YEARS, UNFORTUNATELY.
WHAT, UH, WHAT WE DO, UH, AS A CITY ORGANIZATION, UH, NUMBER ONE, TRANSPORTATION IS ONE OF OUR TOP FEDERAL PRIORITIES.
SO, LIKE OUR RECENT TRIP TWO WEEKS AGO TO WASHINGTON, A LOT OF THE CONVERSATIONS CENTER AROUND TRANSPORTATION FUNDING, THERE'S A REAUTHORIZATION PENDING RIGHT NOW OF THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BILL AND HOW MUCH MONEY ULTIMATELY GOES DOWN TO COMMUNITIES FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.
SO WE'RE ADVOCATING AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY POSSIBLE FOR THOSE FUNDING STREAMS TO BE LARGER, FOR US TO GET MORE.
UH, WE'RE ALSO TIED INTO THE LARGER COMMUNITY EFFORT.
AS, AS YOU KNOW, THE SAN ANTONIO MOBILITY COALITION, SAMCO, UH, IS SORT OF THE COORDINATING ENTITY OF ALL THE VARIOUS INTERESTS IN OUR COMMUNITY ADVOCATING FOR, UH, STATE AND FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION DOLLARS.
SO WE PARTICIPATE WITH THEM AND, AND EXPRESS TO OUR DELEGATION AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE CAN THAT WE WANNA SEE, UH, THE, THOSE, THOSE BALANCES CHANGE SO THAT WE'RE NOT A DONOR STATE ANYMORE.
BUT I WISH I HAD A AN EASY ANSWER, EASY SOLUTION FOR YOU.
IT, IT HAS, IT, IT'S NOT ONE THAT THAT HAS BEEN, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SOLVE IN, UH, DECADES AT THIS POINT.
UM, THE NEXT QUESTION I HAVE WHEN IT COMES TO THE CONTRACT OR THE I L A THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO WITH THE COUNTY, AND I KNOW WE SAID IT WAS FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, IS THAT A BINDING FIVE YEARS? IS IT JUST THE FIVE YEARS AND THEN IT'S COMPLETELY DONE AND WE HAVE TO REVISIT ALL OVER AGAIN? HOW IS THAT CONTRACT LOOKING? WELL, UM, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, THERE IS NO AGREEMENT YET.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MARIA POINTED OUT IN THE PRESENTATION.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE COUNTY OVER THE LAST 60 DAYS TO GET TO THE POINT WE'RE AT TODAY.
UM, WE WOULD NEED TO FINALIZE THAT.
AND, UM, I BELIEVE THE $83 MILLION IS PART OF A LARGER PROGRAM THE COUNTY'S CONSIDERING.
UM, IDEALLY THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY WOULD BE FOR A DEFINITIVE FIVE YEARS AND DEFINITIVE LIST OF PROJECTS.
AND THEN BEYOND THOSE FIVE YEARS, UH, AS MARIA MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, WE WOULD NEED TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS, EITHER THE COUNTY FOR WHAT'S NEXT, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT, AFTER THEY BUILD, PRESUMABLY BUILD THOSE 26 MILES, THERE ARE 45 MILES LEFT.
WE'D NEED TO WORK WITH THEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT PART TWO IS, UH, WITH OUR PARTNERS OR POTENTIALLY INCLUDED WITHIN OUR 2027 BOND PROGRAM.
UM, AS FAR AS THE TOTAL LOSS TO THE GENERAL FUND, HOW MUCH IS THAT COUNCIL? I MEAN, I'M GONNA REFER TO, UH, ONE OF THE SLIDE NUMBER 32.
UH, THIS IS, THIS GIVES A GOOD SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT TO THE OPERATING, UH, BUDGET IN THE CITY.
SO, UH, BASED ON WHAT WE, UH, PRESENTED ON THIS SLIDE IN TERMS OF A T D, THE EDWARD AQUIFER AND THE GREENWAY TRAILS, WE ARE PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS THE A T D TAX, UH, WITH OUR SS AND P PROGRAM, OUR STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, THE BOND PROGRAM.
SO NO IMPACT TO THE GENERAL FUND IN TERMS OF THE EDWARD AQUIFER.
WE ARE, UH, PROPOSING TO USE A PORTION OF THE CITY'S PAYMENT TO SAUCE.
SO YOU'LL SEE, UH, ON THE SCREEN ANYWHERE BETWEEN 960,000 TO 2.35 MILLION.
THIS IS COMING FROM THE EXPECTED GROWTH ON THE CITY'S PAYMENT, SO NO IMPACT ON THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY TODAY.
AND THEN FINALLY ON THE GREENWAY TRAILS, THAT 1.3 MILLION THAT WE SEE AS AN IMPACT IN 2023, WE'RE NOT IDENTIFYING HOW WE GONNA FUND THAT YET, BUT WE ARE, UH, PROPOSING TO THE COUNCIL THAT WE ADDRESS THAT AS PART OF THE 2023, UM, BUDGET PROCESS.
WE FEEL THIS IS A MANAGEABLE AMOUNT.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR YOU TODAY NECESSARILY, BUT THERE'S NO IMPACT TO THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY TODAY THAT ARE FUNDED IN THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, THE QUESTION THAT I NEXT HAVE, I KNOW WE'VE BEEN ASKING SINCE JUNE ABOUT CITY OWNED PARCELS AND HOW MUCH WE HAVE THAT WE CAN PUT BACK INTO OUR CITY'S REVENUE.
AND I'M STILL AWAITING TO HAVE THOSE DIGITS, UM, PROVIDED TO ME TO SEE WHERE DO WE SIT WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER ALLOCATIONS THAT
[00:45:01]
WE CAN MAKE TO TRULY BUILD AND, AND, AND BETTER OUR GENERAL FUND AND OUR REVENUE AS A CITY.SO I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING THAT FROM YOU BEING, UM, THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, MAYOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
AND, UH, THANK YOU MARIA AND EVERYBODY FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I HAVE, UH, JUST A FEW QUESTIONS.
THIS, AND, AND I'M LIKING SO FAR THE PLAN HAS PRESENTED, BUT I, I HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AS USUAL.
AND SO, UM, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, OR HAVE WE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT ALREADY WITH THIS? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IS THERE ANY BEAR COUNTY OR SAS REPRESENTATIVES, OR DID THEY SEND A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THE PLAN YET, OR, OR ANYTHING LIKE THIS, OR ANY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS ENVIRONMENTAL STAKE? YEAH, SO I, I'M JUST WONDERING IF ANYBODY SENT ANY LETTERS OF SUPPORT.
I HAVEN'T OR I KNOW THIS IS, UH, A B SESSION AND IT'S JUST BEING PRESENTED.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE TALKED TO ANYONE YET THEN.
IS IT JUST TO US, I, I, I DON'T THINK, I DON'T SEE ANYBODY FROM SAWS HERE.
THERE ARE FOLKS HERE FROM, UM, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY FROM THE COUNTY IS HERE.
THERE ARE FOLKS THAT REPRESENT, UH, AND HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN THE AQUIFER PROGRAM THAT ARE IN, IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY.
SO THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING THAT IS BECAUSE, UM, BACK IN JANUARY WE RECEIVED, UH, A LETTER AND THERE WERE SOME, SOME CONCERNS FROM THE COUNTY, AND I KNOW IT WAS WITH THE PROPOSED, I THINK IT WAS LIKE $200 MILLION OR SOMETHING.
SO THIS IS WAY DIFFERENT, SO I UNDERSTAND, BUT I JUST, UM, WANTED TO CHECK THAT WE WERE WORKING WITH, WITH BEAR COUNTY AND, AND THEIR LEADERSHIP, AND THIS ALIGNS WITH ALL OF THEIR GOALS AS WELL.
UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH BEXAR COUNTY, UM, AND, AND THE LETTER YOU'RE REFERRING TO WAS TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE, A COUNTY FUNDED AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM, WHICH WE'VE NOT ENGAGED IN ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY.
THE ONLY CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD OVER THE LAST 60 DAYS HAVE BEEN WITH THE COUNTY ON POTENTIALLY FUNDING A PORTION OF OUR LINEAR CREEK FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR THAT $83 MILLION.
THAT'S BEEN THE ONLY CONVERSATION WE'VE HAD.
THE OTHER, THE OTHER COUNTY CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, BUT IS UNRESOLVED.
UM, AND, AND I FULLY EXPECT TO GET THIS QUESTION AT SOME POINT, SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ANSWER IT, IS, UH, WHETHER OR NOT THE COUNTY, UH, WOULD BE ENGAGED IN THE COST OF THE A R T, UH, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT, THAT IS NOT FINALIZED AND STILL VERY PRELIMINARY, BUT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND WE'LL HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, WITH THE COUNTY.
AND WHEN I SAY THE COUNTY, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE COUNTY MANAGER.
AND, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD STARTED HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND THAT, UM, WE, WE WERE BEING REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN I HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, I KNOW THAT IT'S, UH, TALKING ABOUT A, A LOSS, IF YOU WILL, $8.5 MILLION LOSS.
UH, I, I KNOW WE'RE KIND OF SHUFFLING SOME MONEY AROUND.
CAN YOU JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE MAKING UP FOR THAT, MARIA, OR JUST BE A LITTLE BIT MORE, MORE CLEAR WITH ME SO THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND? SURE.
SO, UH, TODAY THE CITY'S PORTION OF THE A T D TAX IS 18 AND A HALF, UM, ANNUALLY, WE ARE CURRENTLY CONTRIBUTING TO VIA FROM THE GENERAL FUND, $10 MILLION.
SO WHAT VIA IS REQUESTING OF THE CITY IS THE BALANCE, THE EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION.
SO BASED ON THE PROGRAMS THAT WE ARE FUNDING TODAY, OUR, OUR PROGRAM IS 18.1.
SO WE HAVE $400,000 THAT IS RESERVED IN OUR FUND BALANCE.
SO REALLY THE IMPACT AND PROGRAMS A $8.1 MILLION.
THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COUNTY ALSO, UM, UH, PROPOSES THAT THIS TAX BE ALLOCATED TO VIA IN APRIL OF 2021.
SO THAT IS HALF THE FISCAL YEAR OF THE CITY'S FISCAL YEAR, 2021.
SO THE NET IMPACT TO THE CITY FOR THAT YEAR IS $4.1 MILLION.
AND OUR RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL, WE HAVE, OR THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE FUNDING, WE HAVE SIDEWALKS AND WE HAVE BIKE LANES, UH, UH, ROUGHLY A $6 MILLION.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT A PORTION OF THAT SHOULD WE DESIRE TO CONTINUE WITH THOSE PROGRAMS AT THE SAME LEVEL IS TO FUND THEM OUT OF THE $110 MILLION THAT IS ALLOCATED TO THE STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.
THAT'S WHAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING FOR THAT FIRST YEAR OF THE IMPACT TO, TO THE CITY'S BUDGET.
THE SECOND YEAR, THE IMPACT INCREASES TO $8 MILLION.
SO WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THAT YEAR IS FISCAL YEAR 2022, WHEN THE CITY WILL GO OUT FOR THE NEXT BOND PROGRAM.
SO THE SIDEWALKS AND THE BIKE LANES THAT ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED IN THE A T D, THAT WE SHIFT THAT TO THE BOND PROGRAM.
SO THERE'S NO IMPACT ON THE OPERATING BUDGET.
AND THEN THERE'S A BALANCE OF $2.6 MILLION THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO ADDRESS WITHIN OUR OPERATING BUDGET.
AND WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE ADDRESS IT THROUGH THE STREET MAINTENANCE
[00:50:01]
PROGRAM.AND THAT ACTUALLY LEADS TO MY NEXT QUESTION.
UM, SO WITH THE STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, IF IT DECREASES, WE HAVE ABOUT 60% ACCORDING TO THE PIE CHART THAT WAS, I CAN'T REMEMBER, ONE OF THEM, UM, THAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT.
UH, WOULD WE STILL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE STREETS, UH, THAT NEED THE MAINTENANCE? UH, WE WILL.
SO THE TOTAL ALLOCATION IS 110 MILLION ON THAT SECOND YEAR, WHICH IS FISCAL YEAR 2022.
WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO USE $2.6 MILLION OUT OF THE ONE 10.
SO WE STILL WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE WITH THE PROGRAM AS, AS IT IS TODAY.
SHOULD THE COUNCIL, UM, UH, CONSIDER THAT.
OR WE COULD, UH, FOR INSTANCE, NOT DO OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE FUNDED OUT OF THE, IN THE A T D FUND.
WE WOULD HAVE TO BRING YOU OTHER ALTERNATIVES IF YOU DON'T WANT TO USE ANY OF THE STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.
AND WHEN WOULD WE BE ABLE TO SEE OTHER ALTERNATIVES? WE ARE COMING BACK, UH, TO THE COUNCIL IN MARCH VIA, WE'LL MAKE A PRESENTATION.
SO WE'LL BE SURE TO BRING THAT ALTERNATIVE BY THAT TIME.
AND THEN SO IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND THEN, UM, LIKE I'M SAYING, I, I'M, I'M LIKING THIS AS IT'S, I'M, I'M, I'M THINKING THAT I'M GONNA SU SUPPORT SO FAR.
UM, BUT I DO HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
I DON'T KNOW IF, IF YOU WOULD, YOU PROBABLY DO KNOW MARIA, BUT, UM, THERE IS, AND MAYBE YOU COULD JUST SEND ME THE DOCUMENT OR SOMEBODY CAN SEND ME THE DOCUMENT, UM, THAT TALKS ABOUT, UH, AND THIS MIGHT BE MORE OF A CONNECT ESSAY QUESTION.
THERE IS A PERCENTAGE THAT WE, UH, SOMEWHERE COMMITTED TO NOT, UH, UH, PASSING A PERCENTAGE OF IMPERVIOUS COVER OR, SO I JUST, I WANNA UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW, AS WE'RE PLANNING AHEAD OR AS CONNECTA IS ADDING SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE, HOW WE'RE STAYING TRUE TO, TO SOME OF THOSE COMMITMENTS.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE MADE THOSE COMMITMENTS, BUT I, I'VE HEARD FROM SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT THERE WAS, SO I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND MAYBE THE HISTORY OF IT.
SO IF ANYBODY COULD JUST SEND ME THAT INFORMATION, I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
AND I WILL CHECK WITH OUR T C I DEPARTMENT, UH, THE STORM WATER DIVISION AND SEE IF THERE'S SUCH A DOCUMENT AND WE'LL CIRCLE BACK WITH YOU.
SO, UM, UNLESS SOMEBODY BRINGS UP SOMETHING, UH, THAT I, I'M, I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO AND I SUPPORT WHAT YOU PROPOSED.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER KEO.
A QUICK THANK YOU TO FORMER COUNCILWOMAN BONNIE CONNOR AND THE LATE MAYOR MEREDITH LALA RE WHO, UM, FOR IGNITING MY PASSION WITH THE PARKS AND AQUIFER PROTECTION WHEN I WORKED FOR THE SAN ANTONIO PARKS FOUNDATION UNDER THEIR LEADERSHIP.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, BONNIE.
UM, HOW DOES A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
HOW DOES STAFF VIEW THE WORD COMPREHENSIVE? UM, PLAYING A LITTLE BIT LAWYER HERE, BUT LIKE THE DEFINITION OF COMPREHENSIVE, COMPREHENSIVE AND, UM, HOW IT PERTAINS TO THE APPROACH OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN? SOMEBODY ANSWER THAT.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT WAS THE, UH, I THINK THE INTENT IN THE ORIGINAL CHARGE TO THE CONNECT SA GROUP WAS TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
I THINK THAT CERTAINLY CAN BE, NEEDS TO BE DEFINED BY THE COUNCIL, BUT THAT WAS THE CHARGE GIVEN TO THE CONNECT SA PLAN.
I THINK MUCH TO COUNCILWOMAN GARCIA'S LINE OF QUESTIONING THERE AT THE END, COMPREHENSIVE FOR US MAY MEAN SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE'LL NEED TO DETERMINE GOING FORWARD, IF THE COUNCIL CHOOSES TO PURSUE THIS, HOW WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR $110 MILLION OR OUR STREET MAINTENANCE BUDGET IS COMPREHENSIVE AND IN LINE WITH THAT AND ADDRESSES, UH, STREETS THAT NEED TO BE MAINTAINED, UH, AT MAYBE, UH, THE LOWER END OF THE SCALE.
UM, SO I THINK WE NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE AND NIMBLE ENOUGH TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN THE FUTURE DEPENDING ON WHAT THE COUNCIL POLICY DISCUSSION IS.
WHAT I'M, I'M I'M GETTING AT IS, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE UNIVERSAL MEASURE FOR CONSISTENCY.
UH, WHEN I SAY WE, I MEAN ME, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION.
SO, UH, WE CAN FLESH THAT OUT.
UM, I GUESS WITH MY COLLEAGUES, WE, WE DEFINE THE WORD COMPREHENSIVE.
UM, SECONDLY, CONSIDERING THE CURRENT DECREE AND ALL OUR OTHER SUCCESSES IN DIVERSIFYING OUR WATER RESOURCES, UM, WILL THIS CAUSE A RATE INCREASE? UH, COUNCILMAN THERE IS NO RATE INCREASE BEING CONTEMPLATED TO FUND THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM.
SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT $109 MILLION PROGRAM FOR THE AQUIFER.
IT IS A 10 YEAR PROGRAM, SO MUCH LIKE WE WOULD HAVE A FIVE YEAR BOND PROGRAM.
THIS IS A 10 YEAR PROGRAM, SO WE WOULD BE ISSUING DEBT OVER THAT 10 YEAR PERIOD TO FUND EXPENDITURES FOR THE PROGRAM.
WE WOULD BE PAYING FOR THAT DEBT OR REPAYING THOSE BONDS WITH OUR PAYMENT
[00:55:01]
FROM SAS.SO THE CITY GETS A 4% OF GROSS REVENUES PAYMENT AS PART OF OUR BUDGET THAT'S IN THE GENERAL FUND.
WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING A PORTION OF THAT PAYMENT IN THE FUTURE, AND WE'RE GONNA BE ALLOCATING IT FOR THE DEBT SERVICE ON THIS, ON THESE BONDS.
I, I PROBABLY SHOULD SIT DOWN WITH YOU, UM, THEN
UM, TO, TO BETTER SO THAT I CAN COMMUNICATE THAT TO MY CONSTITUENTS.
I'M WONDERING, AND YOU MAY HAVE JUST ANSWERED IT SOMEWHAT, BUT HOW LONG WE CAN RELY ON THE ANSWER THAT NO, THERE WON'T BE A RATE INCREASE.
WE, UH, SO WHEN SAWS DOES A RATE INCREASE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EXPENDITURES OF THE SYSTEM.
SO THEIR CAPITAL PROGRAM, THEIR O AND M BUDGET, THIS IS OUR PROGRAM.
WE'RE USING OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES TO PAY FOR IT, AND THAT GENERAL FUND REVENUE STREAM IS COMING FROM OUR OWNERSHIP OF SAWS, THAT 4% GROSS REVENUE TRANSFER.
SO THIS, THIS PROGRAM WOULD NEVER WORK ITS WAY INTO THE SYSTEM SIDE OF IT TO SAY THIS IS CAUSING A RATE INCREASE.
THIS IS ON OUR SIDE IN TERMS OF HOW WE CHOOSE TO SPEND THE DOLLARS WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND.
COUNCIL MEMBER KEO, HDA, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, I THINK THIS WAS, UH, REALLY AN EXCELLENT, UH, AND DETAILED STAFF PRESENTATION.
I APPRECIATE, UH, THE CLARITY.
IT SEEMS TO BE VERY CLEAR ON HOW THIS PROCESS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
OF COURSE, UH, WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THIS AGAIN WHEN WE GET MORE INSIGHT FROM, UH, OUR PARTNERS IN THE COUNTY, UH, AND MAYBE EVEN A MORE DETAILED LOOK AT ALL THESE PIECES.
BUT FROM WHAT YOU PRESENT RIGHT NOW, UH, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THIS, UH, I'VE BEEN, UM, A BELIEVER IN, UH, IMPROVING OUR PUBLIC TRANSIT.
AND I THINK THAT IT NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED.
IT NEEDS TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE.
UH, THERE ARE MORE AND MORE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY, I THINK, WHO WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PUBLIC TRANSIT IF IT'S OPERATING, UH, MORE EFFICIENTLY AND MORE EFFECTIVELY.
AND, AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT WAY TO DO THAT.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THAT I'VE BEEN A, A SUPPORTER OF THIS, I'VE ALSO SAID MY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AFTER LOOKING AT THIS POSSIBILITY IS PROTECTING THE AQUIFER.
AND I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE PRESENTATION THAT'S BEEN MADE RIGHT NOW THAT REASSURES US AS A COUNCIL AND I THINK REASSURES THE COMMUNITY THAT THE CITY IS NOT GONNA GIVE UP ITS OBLIGATION IN PROTECTING THE AQUIFER.
WE'RE NOT PASSING IT ON TO SAS.
WE'RE NOT PUTTING IT OUT THERE FOR SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE OURSELVES ARE GONNA GIVE UP OUR RESPONSIBILITY ON.
SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, AND I, I NOTE THAT, UH, RIGHT NOW FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, OUR A, OUR EDWARDS AQUIFER, UH, PROGRAM ACQUISITION PROGRAM STILL HAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 10 AND $15 MILLION IN ITS COLLECTED BUDGET, WHICH IT'S WAITING TO SPEND.
AND IT ANTICIPATES BETWEEN NOW AND THE MIDDLE OF 2021, BRINGING IN ALMOST ANOTHER $30 MILLION IN SALES TAX.
SO THERE'S BETWEEN 40, 45, $50 MILLION THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS IN THE SYSTEM THAT'S GONNA BE COMMITTED TO PURCHASING, UH, LAND OR, UH, YOU MAKING SURE WE PROTECT, UH, LAND OVER THE AQUIFER RIGHT NOW.
AND NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THROUGH THIS PLAN, ADDING AN ADDITIONAL A HUNDRED MILLION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, OR TO CONTINUE TO ENSURE WE PROTECT THE AQUIFER.
I THINK THAT IS WHAT THE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY EXPECTS, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DELIVER.
SO I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT AS PART OF THIS.
I THINK ALSO SOMETHING THAT IS ANOTHER PRIORITY WITH ME IS THAT THERE ARE NO RESIDENT OR BUSINESS PROPERTY TAX INCREASES.
AND I THINK WE'VE JUST HEARD THAT FROM OUR C F O, THAT THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO INCUR, UH, A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE FOR RESIDENTS OR BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT THIS MOVE FORWARD.
AND I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER VERY CRITICAL COMPONENT THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT.
UH, YES, THE VOTERS WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DECIDE IF THEY WANT TO ALLOCATE THAT ONE EIGHTH PERCENT SALES TACTIC TO TRANSIT, BUT THAT'S THE VOTER'S, RIGHT, TO MAKE THAT CHOICE.
BUT IN THE LONG RUN, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE IMPOSING ANY KIND OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE ON ANY OF OUR RESIDENTS.
SO I THINK THIS IS A SMART AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO MOVE FORWARD TO PROTECT THE AQUIFER, TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE, UH, WE DEVELOPED THE GREENWAY TRAILS, AND I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING
[01:00:01]
WE'RE GONNA SOLIDIFY AT OUR NEXT MEETING IN A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, OUR COUNTY.AND SO TO ME, THERE ARE VERY FEW, IF ANY, IMPEDIMENTS TO WHY THIS COUNCIL SHOULDN'T BE WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORTING THIS TO LIVE UP TO ALL OF OUR COMMITMENTS.
I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION, THOUGH, REGARDING THE GREENWAY TRAIL.
AND MARIA, MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER THIS FOR ME.
YOU MENTIONED OR, OR BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION RIGHT NOW THAT WE HAVE AN EXISTING CITY ORGANIZED COMMISSION THAT OVERSEES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT GREEN GREENWELL TRAIL, GREENWAY TRAIL.
WILL WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IN ANY WAY ELIMINATE THAT OR TAKE THAT AUTHORITY AWAY FROM THE MEMBERS OF THAT COMMITTEE WHO ARE ACTING FOR US NOW.
WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE'LL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNCIL IN TERMS HOW THE STRUCTURE WILL LOOK LIKE AND THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE, WITH THE COUNTY, THAT WILL BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION OF THE POTENTIAL INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT.
UM, UH, AS I MENTIONED, THE CONVERSATION AT THIS POINT ARE AROUND THE, THE CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION FUNDED BY THE COUNTY.
THE CITY CONTINUES WITH THE MAINTENANCE, SO THE PARTNERSHIP AND THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE CITY WILL BE THERE.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE, THE CITY WANT TO CONTINUE TO HAVE A VOICE IN THE PROGRAM, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY TO COME BACK WITH WITH, UM, WITH AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, COUN COUNCILMAN, CAN I ADD TWO OTHER POINTS THAT'LL BE IMPORTANT FOR US AS WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY? IT'LL BE TO, UH, ENSURE THAT, UM, THAT, UH, IF WE DO THIS WITH THE COUNTY, ENTER THIS I L A, THAT THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE CONSISTENCY, UH, IS THERE.
THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WILL LIKELY MOVE FROM CONSTRUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE AT THE COMPLETION OF THESE TRAIL SEGMENTS, UH, THEY WILL BE INCORPORATED WITHIN OUR TRAIL SYSTEM AND OUR PARK SYSTEM.
SO OUR INVOLVEMENT, UM, REALLY, UH, WILL CONTINUE, NEEDS TO CONTINUE.
AND AS MARIA MENTIONED, THOSE WILL BE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY.
WELL, I JUST SAY THAT, UH, I KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT COMMISSION FOR MANY, MANY YEARS HAVE REALLY DONE A GREAT JOB OF DEVELOPING OR HELPING TO, UH, SHOW THE DEVELOPMENT, UH, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF OUR, OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND I HOPE THAT IF THERE'S ANY CHANGE, THAT THEY BE INTEGRATED AS PART OF THAT DECISION MAKING PROCESS TO CONTINUE THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE ON BEHALF OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
OTHER THAN THAT, UH, I'M, I'M REALLY PLEASED AND FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS GONNA BE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY, GIVING US THE PROTECTION OF THE AQUIFER, THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREENWAY TRAIL, THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND OUR PUBLIC TRANSIT TO REALLY HELP PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, BECOME MUCH MORE MOBILE.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT IT'S DONE IN A VERY, UH, WORTHWHILE AND, AND FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY.
ONE, EVERYTHING JOHN COURAGE SAYS, DITTO.
UH, IF YOU CAN ALL JUST PUT MY NAME NEXT TO WHATEVER HE SAID, AND, UH, I LIKE IT, JOHN.
UM, THERE'S, THERE, THERE'S NO DEBATE, UM, MAYOR THAT, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S SETTLED SCIENCE THAT IMPROVED ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSIT.
UM, IT HAS A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP AND POSITIVELY IMPACTS THE SPATIAL POVERTY DISTRIBUTION PROBLEM IN METRO AREAS.
AND, UH, CITIES KNOW THIS AND, UH, WE'VE KNOWN THIS FOR A LONG, LONG TIME AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO SOLVE IT, BUT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO SOLVE IT WITH ONE ARM TIED BEHIND OUR BACK BECAUSE OF THE FUNDING SITUATION.
AND SO, TO THAT POINT, UM, CAN, IS JEFF AREN'T HERE? JEFF, COME ON UP.
CAN I, I GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU 'CAUSE I THINK I, I'D LIKE TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE ON FEDERAL FUNDING, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
UM, AND I, I CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE, AND SO FORGIVE ME IF, IF, UH, IF, IF I'M THROWING, UH, GOTCHAS AT YOU.
I HEARD YOU SOMETIME EARLIER SAY THAT DURING YOUR CAREER YOU'VE NEVER SEEN FEDERAL FUNDING AS BAD AS IT IS RIGHT NOW.
UH, FROM D YOU KNOW, THE, THE FUNDING THAT WE GET FROM DC IS THAT, IS THAT ABOUT RIGHT? WHAT I, UH, I SAID SOMETHING CLOSE TO THAT.
BUT IT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN AN ADMINISTRATION THAT FOUGHT FEDERAL FUNDING ON TRANSIT AS HARD AS THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.
WE ARE BLESSED, HOWEVER, THAT WE HAVE A LEGISLATURE CONGRESS THAT, UM, HAS, HAS DECIDED TO MAINTAIN THE, THE KIND OF PROGRAM, WHAT WE HAVE HERE.
BUT LET ME CARRY THAT FURTHER.
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO IS THAT BECAUSE WE ARE LARGE URBAN, THAT A THIRD OF THE POT OF THE MONEY THAT COULD, SO THIS KIND OF GOES A BIT TO GETTING THE MONEY BACK, RIGHT? UH, A THIRD OF THE POT OF MONEY, WE'RE NOT EVEN ELIGIBLE TO TOUCH BECAUSE WE HAVE NO B R T L R T, NOTHING LIKE THAT.
A THIRD OF THE POT OF MONEY THAT GOES TO BIGGER, BIG SYSTEMS IS BASED UPON HOW
[01:05:01]
MUCH OF THAT YOU HAVE.SO WE'RE AT A DISADVANTAGE THERE.
AND THEN THE OTHER, UH, PIECE OF THE MONEY IS HIGHLY DRIVEN BY, WELL, SOME OF THE FACTORS ARE OUTSIDE OF CONTROL.
WE, BEN, OUR CONTROL, WE BENEFIT FROM POPULATION GROWTH, BUT WE DISBENEFIT BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF SERVICE YOU PUT ON THE STREET IS A FACTOR THAT GOES INTO THAT.
SO WE HAVE KIND OF A DOUBLE WHAMMY THERE.
SO JEFF, HOW DOES THIS PLAN, UM, ALLOW US TO BETTER TAP INTO FEDERAL FUNDS? UH, AND, AND SPECIFICALLY TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, I, I, HAVING GONE TO DC AND COMING BACK, I NOW UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT FORMULA FUNDING.
BUT ALSO, IS IT TRUE THERE'S A POT OF MONEY OUT THERE THAT'S SET ASIDE FOR CITIES THAT HAVE DEDICATED LANES AND SPACE LIKE A BART PROGRAM? YEAH.
THERE IS A POT AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW, SO TO SPEAK.
AT THE END OF THE BUS LINE, JEFF.
SO THE, SO I WILL BE COMING BACK NEXT MONTH TO GIVE DETAILS ON, ON VIA REIMAGINED, BUT I'LL JUST SAY SUCCINCTLY THAT THERE, ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO DEDICATED LANES, THERE IS A PROGRAM CALLED THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
WE HAVE SOMEBODY HERE WHO IS A FORMER FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEE FROM WASHINGTON D C, WHO WORKED IN THE C I G PROGRAM.
SHE HAPPENS TO BE THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PLANNING DEVELOPMENT FOR VIA NOW, UH, SHE'S VERY INTIMATE WITH HOW THE, THAT PROGRAM WORKS.
AND SO WE, WHEN WE MET, WE MET WITH THE F T A ADMINISTRATOR, THE, THE MAYOR WAS THERE.
THAT WAS A VERY GOOD SHOWING FOR US.
AND, UH, I THINK YOU WOULD SAY, MAYOR, THAT SHE WAS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT A R T.
AND SHE WAS VERY EXCITED THAT OUR PLANS, THE CAPITAL SIDE OF OUR PLANS WERE WITHIN REASON, BECAUSE SHE SAID, MOST OF THE TIME, PEOPLE COME IN WITH $10 BILLION PLANS, NOT HALF A MILLION DOLLAR, HALF A BILLION DOLLAR PLANS.
SO, UH, WE CAN LEVERAGE FEDERAL MONEY, WE CAN BRING MORE FEDERAL MONEY, UH, THROUGH THAT PROGRAM BECAUSE THERE'S THAT LOCAL MATCH COURSE PORTION.
BUT UNLESS WE HAVE A PROGRAM THAT CAN TAP ON THAT, TAP ON THAT, UH, FUND, WE OBVIOUSLY CAN'T GET INTO THAT FUND.
WHAT THAT WOULD RESULT FOR US IS WE BRING IN, UH, IF WE HAVE AN A R T SYSTEM THAT, THAT POT OF MONEY, THE THIRD, THE ONE THIRD, NOW, WE'D BE, BE TAPPING OUT OF THAT AND THE REVENUE HOURS OF SERVICE WOULD INCREASE.
SO WE WOULD CONCEIVABLY GET MORE OUT OF THAT.
SO WE'D HAVE A OVERALL BENEFIT TO OUR, UH, FORMULA FUNDS.
THE DILEMMA WILL BE IF OTHER SYSTEMS GROW THAT FASTER THAN WE DO, THEN, THEN WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE GONNA GET LESS.
UH, AND THEN, UH, I NOTICED THAT FRANCINE ROMERO IS IN THE ROOM.
UM, AND IF Y'ALL FELT THE DISTURBANCE IN THE INTELLECTUAL FORCE, IT'S BECAUSE FRANCINE IS HERE.
SHE'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST BRAINIEST PEOPLE I'VE, I KNOW.
UH, AND WHENEVER IT COMES TO EDWARDS AQUIFER PROTECTION, I ALWAYS, I ALWAYS DEPEND ON WHATEVER SHE TELLS ME.
UH, FRANCINE, CAN YOU, CAN YOU COME UP HERE JUST A BRIEF SECOND, AND WHILE YOU'RE WALKING UP HERE, FRANCINE, THE, THE QUESTION IS, I, I HEARD SOMETHING UP HERE, UH, JUST IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, FEW HALF HOUR THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GETTING THE CAB AND, YOU KNOW, TO CONSIDER EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, ALL AT ONCE, UH, YOU KNOW, AND VETTING IT BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR IT AT TODAY'S SESSION, WHAT IS IT IN MARCH? UM, AND THEN I LOOKED AT YOU AND I, I SAW A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, BODY LANGUAGE OUT THERE THAT, UH, DIDN'T MAKE YOU LOOK UNCOMFORTABLE.
DOES THAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK? WELL, UM, WE SPOKE TO ERIC YESTERDAY AND, AND I THINK THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS, UH, NOT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PLAN, BUT SOME DETAILS ON THE PLAN THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO RUN THROUGH CAB.
UM, MAYBE EVEN ADDRESSING SOME QUESTIONS THAT COME UP TODAY ABOUT PRIORITIZATION OR, UM, HOW WE BEST ENSURE THAT THIS, THIS STREAM OF MONEY, UM, STAYS WITH THE MISSION.
AND SO ERIC HAD SUGGESTED THAT WE COULD DISCUSS IT AT A CAB MEETING, WHICH WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, BUT WE JUST HAVE ONE MEETING, WE HAVE MEETING NEXT WEEK, AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT WHAT'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR US TO LOOK AT.
SO WE DO ONLY MEET ONCE A MONTH ON THE FOURTH, SO FOURTH WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH.
SO, SO MY REQUEST TO, TO ERIC AND STAFF THEN IS WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW A WAY TO SORT OF SHOEHORN THIS IF IT'S A PRIORITY INTO THE REMAINING MONTH.
WELL, WE OBVIOUSLY COUNCILMAN, UM, WE ALSO DON'T WANNA RUSH IT, BUT I THINK PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD YESTERDAY WAS THAT THIS TOPIC AND THIS PROPOSAL DELIVERS SOME, DESERVES SOME DELIBERATE CONVERSATION AT THE CAB LEVEL BEFORE WE BROUGHT A FULLY COOKED, UH, ITEM FOR THE FULL COUNCIL.
SO IF WE NEED, IF WE NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, I DON'T, I THINK WHEN I SAID THAT I DON'T, I DIDN'T REALIZE THE MEETING'S NEXT WEEK.
WE PROBABLY NEED A GOOD SOLID, UH, TWO MEETINGS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITH THE CAB.
MY GUESS IS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
COUNCIL MEMBER ELA, COUNCIL MEMBER OF GONZALEZ.
[01:10:02]
UH, THANK YOU.UM, UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE LOST MY VOICE.
SO LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HEAR, UM, JUST REGARDING THE PLAN THAT WAS PRESENTED TODAY.
UM, THE PRIORITIZATION IS TO MOVE THE ONE 8 CENTS FROM EDWARDS AFER FOR, AND THE GREENWAY TAILS TO VIA THAT WOULD GO TO THE VOTERS.
WE HAVE A SOLUTION FOR THE OTHER TWO FOR THE EDWARDS AFER PROTECTION PLAN.
THAT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S SUPPORT FOR THAT.
UH, AND UH, IT ACTUALLY SEEMS TO BE, UH, FROM WHAT MY UNDERSTANDING PERHAPS EITHER NO CHANGE OR A BETTER PROGRAM BECAUSE IT TAKES IT INTO THE FUTURE LONGER.
UH, AT LEAST 10 YEARS THAT WE'RE SHOWING HERE.
SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO TO THE VOTERS AGAIN IN FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND IT WOULD, IT WOULD STAY ESSENTIALLY THE SAME PROGRAM, SAME IN-HOUSE.
UH, ERIC, THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE TODAY WORKING ON THE EDWARDS AFER PROTECTION PROGRAM, SHOULD WE DECIDE TO MAKE THAT CHANGE, WOULD THEY STAY IN PLACE AND CONTINUE OPERATING IN THE SAME WAY? THE ONLY DIFFERENCE, PERHAPS, IS THE FUNDING SOURCE EXACTLY.
THE, THE, THE STAFF THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR, FOR THE CITY FOR THE LAST 15, 20 YEARS THAT HAVE THE ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS, THEY WOULD STAY IN PLACE AND MON AND AND IMPLEMENT THAT PROGRAM, UM, USING THE SAME METHODOLOGY.
THE ONLY THING THAT CHANGES, AS YOU SAID, WOULD BE THE FUNDING SOURCE.
AND, AND IT APPEARS THAT WHAT'S BEING PRESENTED HERE IS ACTUALLY MORE FUNDING THAN WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PROJECTED IF THE VOTERS APPROVE THE ONE 8 CENTS BY A COUPLE MILLION, UH, BASED ON THE SLIDE, UM, IS A LONG PRESENTATION.
SO COULD WE GET TO THAT SLIDE? THIS GOES SLIDE SLIDE 12.
SO COUNCILWOMAN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE REFERRING TO THIS SLIDE.
THIS IS, UM, THE HISTORY OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAD SINCE 2000.
IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE KIND OF SIDE BY SIDE.
ONE SHOWED 52 MILLION AND THE OTHER ONE SHOWED 109.
UH, SO PERHAPS, I GUESS IT'S ABOUT EQUAL.
SO, SO THOSE ARE THE TWO ALTERNATIVES THAT WE EVALUATED AND THE RECOMMENDATION WE'RE MAKING TO THE COUNCIL IS FOR THE CITY TO KEEP THE PROGRAM AT THE $109 MILLION OVER 10 YEARS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S A WASH IN TERMS OF THE FUNDING, BUT NOT HAVING TO GO TO THE VOTERS AGAIN.
UH, NOT HAVING TO, UM, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, RUNNING A CAMPAIGN EVERYBODY KNOWS IS HARD, UH, UNDER THE BEST OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
UH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A VERY POPULAR PROGRAM, UM, IT'S STILL A CAMPAIGN AND, AND THAT CAN BE HARD.
SO I FEEL LIKE UNDER THIS SCENARIO, THIS MAY ACTUALLY HELP US FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME AND MAINTAIN THE PROGRAM.
WE ALSO KNOW, I MEAN, IT MUST BE JUST GIVEN HOW LONG WE'VE BEEN MAINTAINING IT UP TO THIS POINT, UH, A PROGRAM THAT IS ONGOING AND PERHAPS DESERVES A LONGER VIEW, UH, VERSUS JUST THE FIVE YEAR INCREMENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IT TO THIS POINT.
UM, I'VE HAD A BRIEFING ON THE CREEK WAVES IN MY BICYCLE MOBILITY ACTION COMMITTEE.
I DON'T KNOW WHEN WE'RE GONNA GET THAT BRIEFING.
IS THAT PART OF THE BRIEFING? UM, THAT'S COMING IN, I THINK IN MARCH THE NEXT MONTH.
UH, I SAW THERE WAS A VIA BRIEFING AND THERE WAS AN EDWARDS AFER BRIEFING, BUT I DIDN'T SEE A TRAILWAY BRIEFING.
SO, SO WHAT WE WOULD BRING BACK TO COUNCIL AND, AND OUR GOAL WOULD BE TO DO THAT, UM, I'M GONNA GO TO THE TIMELINE ON SLIDE 33 IS IN MAY.
WE WOULD, UM, BASED ON OUR TIMELINE, BRING A CITY COUNTY INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT ON THE GREENWAY TRAILS FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION.
SO THAT WOULD ADDRESS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT COUNCILMAN COURAGE HAD ON THE DETAILS ON HOW THAT PARTNERSHIP WOULD LOOK LIKE BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
UM, I KNOW THERE IS A PRESENTATION, UM, IT WAS DONE BY, UM, MR. AL, UH, HE'S AN URBAN PLANNER IN THE CITY.
IT WAS DONE TO MY BICYCLE ABILITY ACTION COMMITTEE ABOUT WHERE WE
[01:15:01]
ARE IN THE TRAILS, HOW MUCH IS REQUIRED TO FUND HIM.IT WAS QUITE A THOROUGH PRESENTATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SEEN IT, UH, OR IF IT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE TO BRING IT TO A COMMITTEE OR A B SESSION BEFORE THEN IF THERE'S TIME.
IT'S NOT THE LONGEST PRESENTATION.
UM, AND I, I, I MUST BE HAVE BEEN IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, I'M NOT SURE.
AND NOW WE MENTION COUNCILWOMAN ON SLIDE 14.
WE TRY TO PROVIDE THE COUNCIL A BRIEF SUMMARY TODAY TO SHOW YOU THAT, UH, WE HAVE 109 MILES EITHER COMPLETED OR FUNDED THROUGH THE 2015 PROGRAM.
AND, AND THE VALUE IS ROUGHLY ABOUT 279 MILLION.
AND THEN ON SLIDE, UH, 16, UH, JUST A, A MAP REPRESENTING IN GREEN WHAT IS FUNDED.
UH, IF THE, THE, UH, OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH THE COUNTY, UM, UH, CONTINUE, WE'RE ANTICIPATING POTENTIALLY THEY COULD FUND THE AREAS IN BLUE AND THEN THE LEFT THAT IS READ UNFUNDED, UH, IN FIVE YEARS, WE'LL CONTINUE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY OR BRING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL TO INCLUDE IT IN THE 2027, UH, BOND PROGRAM.
WELL, I, I WANT IF THERE, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF WHICH COMMITTEE IT MIGHT FIT BEST IN, BUT I THINK IF WE CAN HAVE A MORE THOROUGH PRESENTATION ON THE CREEKWAY PROGRAM, IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO MY COLLEAGUES BECAUSE IT DOES TOUCH ON MANY OF OUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, MY GREATEST CONCERN FOR THE SHIFTING OF THE FUNDS WAS BECAUSE OF THE GREENWAY TRAILS PROGRAM.
MOST OF THE ONES THAT ARE STILL YET TO BE COMPLETED ARE THE URBAN AREAS, INNER CITY TRAILS.
AND SO, UM, THAT I THINK WILL BE, UM, UH, A GREAT CONCERN OF MINE.
AND OF COURSE, ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THOSE TRAILS, UH, FOR 10 PLUS YEARS, I THINK NEED TO HAVE SOME CONFIDENCE THAT THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE.
I KNOW THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.
SO IF WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THAT PRESENTATION IN A B SESSION OR IN A COMMITTEE, UM, WHERE IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE.
BUT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS IT COMES TO PLANNING, ALTHOUGH IT, I HAVE A, I KNOW I HAVE A LOT GOING ON IN MY COMMITTEE TOO, SO, UH, BUT I WOULD, UH, BE WELCOME IT THERE IF THAT WERE THE APPROPRIATE PLACE.
UM, SINCE IT'S RELATED TO THIS, I WONDER IF WE CAN'T DO IT AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE DO OUR, UM, EDWARDS SOCCER PROTECTION PROGRAM BRIEFING, UH, IN, UM, IN THE, IN THE NEXT SPEECH SESSION.
THAT, THAT I WAS GONNA SUGGEST.
THAT MIGHT BE THE, WHAT WE SHOOT FOR COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, AND WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY BECAUSE THEY'VE GOT TO, UH, FINALIZE THEIR, THEY'VE GOT A MUCH BROADER PLAN OF THE, AND THE 83 IS PART OF A BROADER PLAN, AND, AND THEY NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO GET THAT.
UM, SO MAYBE WHILE WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CAB ON THE AQUIFER, WE'LL CONTINUE TO CON WORK WITH THE COUNTY AND MAYBE TRY TO DO BOTH OF THOSE AT THE SAME TIME BACK AT COUNCIL, SO THAT YOU'RE HEARING IT ALL AT ONCE.
THIS ONE WAS DONE INTERNALLY BY OUR, BY OUR STAFF, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY GOOD.
SO IF WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THAT.
AND SO I GUESS, YOU KNOW, THE REASON I MENTIONED THOSE JUST TWO PRO PROGRAMS IN PARTICULAR IS THAT THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD BE DIRECTING IF WE GAVE THE ONE EIGHT BACK TO VIA, UH, TO DO THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
SO WE HAVE THE ONE 8 CENTS THAT WOULD PRODUCE, UM, COULD YOU JUST CLARIFY, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S FOR THE, PROBABLY THE CONNECT ESSAY OR MAYBE VIA WHAT THE ONE 8 CENTS REPRESENTS IN TERMS OF ANNUAL DOLLARS, 39.5, 39.5.
SO 39.5 MILLION, UM, IS ALL WE'RE CURRENTLY ASKING IN THIS, UH, UPCOMING VOTE FOR THE VOTERS TO APPROVE, IT'S JUST 39 MILLION, CORRECT? I MEAN, THE REST IS INTERNAL.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS INTERNALLY TO PRIORITIZE THAT 18 MILLION OR SO.
WE'RE ALREADY GIVING 10 MILLION TO VIA, IT'S A VERY SMALL AMOUNT.
UM, WE KNOW THAT CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE GOING WITH HUGE BOND PROGRAMS IN THE BILLIONS TO TRY TO CORRECT, UM, YEARS OF DISINVESTMENT IN TRANSIT ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND IT'S, WHILE WE KNOW THAT WE NEED THE ONE EIGHTH, UM, THE 39 MILLION, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE ONGOING, UH, WE ARE, WE KNOW THAT IN ORDER TO GET STARTED WITH A REAL INVESTMENT IN A T D, WE NEED 355 MILLION.
IS THAT CORRECT? SEEMS LIKE THAT'S THE NUMBER I'VE SEEN IN ORDER TO REALLY START WITH THAT FIRST, UH, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, YEAH.
FOR THE A R T, THE ADVANCED, UH, RAPID TRANSIT, THE TOTAL ESTIMATED COST FOR THOSE TWO ROUTES IS $566 MILLION
[01:20:01]
VIA PLANS TO LEVERAGE 222 MILLION FROM FEDERAL GRANTS AND 344 MILLION AS A REQUEST, UM, TO THE CITY AND LOCAL FUNDS.SO COULD WE JUST FOCUS ON THAT AMOUNT RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS WHAT'S PENDING AND WHAT'S URGENT AND WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ASKING OUR COLLEAGUES TO INVEST IN AND, AND REDIRECT MONEY FOR IS WHAT I BELIEVE WILL BE, UH, A GENUINE, SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN TRANSIT.
BECAUSE JUST THE ONE 8 CENTS DOESN'T REALLY GET US THERE.
THE ONE 8 CENTS DOES VERY LITTLE TO REALLY IMPROVE TRANSIT.
IT'S GONNA INCREASE THE RAPID, THE, UM, FREQUENCY, AND THAT'S ABOUT IT.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT, UM, ANOTHER TWO YEARS TO REALLY SEE ANY SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN TRANSIT IN OUR CITY.
AND, AND I, I, UH, I BELIEVE THAT WE, GIVEN THAT WE ARE SO FAR BEHIND, UH, IN INVESTMENT IN TRANSIT AND ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION, UM, I MENTIONED THIS THE LAST TIME, WOULD LIKE TO SEE US MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TRANSPORTATION BOND THAT WAS MORE SIGNIFICANT.
IF WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE VOTERS WITH THE ONE EIGHT, WHY CAN'T WE GO TO THE VOTERS WITH THE BOLD TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVE THAT WILL ACTUALLY HAVE AN IMPACT ON THEIR DAILY LIVES? I DON'T THINK THE ONE 8 CENT GETS US THERE, ALTHOUGH I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE.
WE KNOW THAT THE CONFLICT IN THE COMMUNITY WAS NOT WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD INVEST MORE IN TRANSIT.
THE CONFLICT WAS DO WE HAVE A RESOLUTION FOR THE EDWARDS AFER PROTECTION PLAN, AND DO WE HAVE A RESOLUTION FOR THE QUICK WAYS? AND I BELIEVE THAT WE DO.
SO IF THAT'S GONNA GET RESOLVED, WHY CAN'T WE GO TO THE VOTERS WITH A BIG, BOLD TRANSPORTATION PLAN THAT ACTUALLY SHOWS THAT WE CARE ABOUT TRANSPORTATION IN THE CITY THAT WILL TOUCH ALL THE OTHER AREAS THAT WE KNOW ARE IMPORTANT, LIKE AIR QUALITY, LIKE CONNECTING PEOPLE TO SERVICES, LIKE REDUCING VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, LIKE GIVING PEOPLE AN ALTERNATIVE.
AND SO, FOR THE SAKE OF DISCUSSION, THIS IS A B SESSION.
ERIC, CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH DO WE NEED TO GO TO THE VOTERS FOR WITH THE BIG BOLD TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVE? IS IT JUST THE TWO 40? AND I MEAN, UM, JEFF, IF WE GO TO THE VOTERS WITH THE ONE EIGHT AND THE TWO 40, UH, HOW QUICKLY CAN WE GET THE FEDERAL FUNDS? IS THERE THEN THE POTENTIAL TO MOVE THAT ALONG QUICKER? OR ARE WE JUST GONNA BE TRICKLING DOWN AND GIVING THE COMMUNITY SCRAPS AS WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST, SINCE 30, 40 YEARS? WE'RE JUST, IT'S NOT SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH JUST TO REQUEST THE ONE EIGHTH IN THIS PARTICULAR BOND.
SO WHAT, CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH THAT WOULD MEAN? AND THEN JEFF, WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN TO SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, MOTIVATE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO GIVE US THE REST? SO, COUNCILWOMAN, UM, UTILIZING THE, THE PLAN THAT YOU HEARD THREE WEEKS AGO AND THAT MARIA REITERATED TODAY, UH, THAT INCLUDES FOUR COMPONENTS OF TRANSPORTATION, WHICH WOULD BE THE, UM, BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM, THE SIDEWALKS, THE MOBILITY, AND THE $191 MILLION IN STREETS THAT, THAT ARE UNDEFINED.
UM, AND SO THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE CONNECT SA PLAN WOULD BE.
UM, THAT NUMBER COULD THE, THE COUNCIL COULD HAVE THEIR CONVERSATION ABOUT JUST DOING THE BR THE, THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT OR LUMPING IN THOSE OTHER THINGS, OR NOT INCLUDING THE 191 MAIN.
BUT IF YOU WERE GONNA DO IT, IF YOU WERE GONNA DO EVERYTHING THAT CONNECT SA PROPOSED TO YOU FOR TRANSPORTATION, IT WOULD BE $665 MILLION, WHICH IS 70% OF OUR 2022 BOND PROGRAM.
AND I, AND I, AND THAT WOULD, JEFF, I'LL, I'LL RELY UPON JEFF TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT AND WHEN THAT WOULD TRIGGER.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR, UH, ACTUALLY MANY OF THE THOUGHTS YOU EXPRESSED, AND I WILL GET TO THE FUNDING.
BUT I, I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE HERE THAT VIA REIMAGINE IS THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF A 20 YEAR PLAN.
AND I WAS REMINDED LAST EVENING AS WE HAD A BOARD WORK SESSION THAT THE 20 YEAR PLAN CALLED FOR DOUBLING THE AMOUNT OF SERVICE ON THE STREET IN THE 20 YEAR PERIOD.
THIS PLAN WILL, BY THE, UH, COMPARED TO 2016, WHICH IS WHEN WE SAID WE WOULD DOUBLE, THIS WILL PUT US AT 30% MORE SO WE'LL HALFWAY THROUGH AND 30% MORE.
UH, IN FACT, WHAT WE DID IS DEVELOPED WHAT I WOULD CALL A FINANCIALLY CONSTRAINED PLAN ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY COULD WE REASONABLY, AND I THINK THAT, UM, SECRETARY CISNEROS ALWAYS SAID, THIS IS A REASONABLE PLAN.
WE LOOKED AT WHAT COULD WE REASONABLY DO, HOW MUCH FUNDS COULD WE REASONABLY GET? AND THEN WE SIZED OUR PLAN AND WE SIZED, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF ROUTES THAT WE WOULD INCREASE FREQUENCY, THE NUMBER OF ROUTES THAT WE WOULD INCREASE WEEKEND SERVICE.
AND I WILL DO THAT IN, IN MARCH.
[01:25:01]
SIZE THAT TO THE DOLLARS THAT WERE AVAILABLE.NOW, AS FAR AS, ESPECIALLY IN THE A R T, WHETHER WE CAN LEVERAGE FEDERAL FUNDS, I'M VERY, VERY OPTIMISTIC.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN NEVER PREDICT WITH A HUNDRED PERCENT CERTAINTY, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DISCRETION, BUT I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC.
THE EASTWEST LINE, UH, COULD BE FUNDED WITH A PROGRAM THAT WE BELIEVE IS SIMPLY WARRANTS BASED AND WE'LL MEET THE WARRANTS.
AND SO I FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT.
THE PART YOU'D NEVER KNOW IS THE MAT, HOW MUCH THEY'RE GONNA PUT IN.
SO THERE'S NO PRESCRIPTION THAT SAYS IF YOU ARE AWARDED A AN A R T CONTRACT, THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL PUT IN 50%, 40%, 80%.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WILL HAVE TO, TO WORK AT.
BUT I, I, I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT EAST WEST IS GONNA MEET WARRENS AND THE NORTH-SOUTH, UH, BASED UPON THE PROGRAM, IT WOULD BE PARTICIPATING AND TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
BUT THEY'RE BOTH VERY SOLID PROJECTS.
AND THE SECRETARY AGAIN, UM, MENTIONED THAT THE, UH, THAT F D A TRIES TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS A GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THEIR FUNDS.
SO THERE'S NO NO CITY THAT'S GETTING ALL THE FUNDS.
AND SHE SAID, I KNOW THAT SAN ANTONIO HAS NEVER RECEIVED ANY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT FUNDS.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE FACT THAT THEY REALLY KINDA LOVE THIS CONCEPT, IN ADDITION TO THE FACT THAT THERE, OUR ASK IS NOT EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH, EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH, SHE NOTED THAT WE ALSO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE, IF YOU WILL,
SO, TIMELINE, HOW QUICK, I MEAN IT BY, BY ACCELERATING AND MOVING FORWARD WITH A BOND LIKE A BIG TRANSPORTATION BOND, IT'S NOT EVEN THAT BIG A TRANSPORTATION BOND IN ADDITION TO THE, WHEN 8 CENTS WOULD IT ACCELERATE THE FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? NOW I'M OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, SO PLEASE BEAR, BEAR WITH THAT.
SO IF WE HAD ASSURE IF WE COULD, IF WE ASSURED THE CAPITAL PORTION OF THE FUNDS IN, EVEN THOUGH WE MIGHT NOT COLLECT THE MONEY TILL 2022, BUT, BUT WE ASSURED IT IN 2020, IT PUTS US IN A, UH, A BETTER POSITION BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL NOT EVEN LOOK AT YOUR GRANT PROPOSAL UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR FUNDING IN PLACE AND IN PLACE.
THAT MEANS NOT JUST IDENTIFIED, IT MEANS VOTED FORTH.
AND IT MEANS THAT THE, THE, UH, AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ENTITIES HAVE TO BE IN PLACE, RIGHT? SO OBVIOUSLY, IF WE CAN GET THAT TWO YEARS EARLIER, THAT WOULD HELP US.
UM, HOWEVER, THE WHOLE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS STILL TAKES A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME.
SO I WOULD SAY THAT WE COULD SHAVE MAYBE 18 MONTHS OFF THE OFF, UH, THAT, THAT 2028.
NOW, WHAT IT WOULD, OH, I'M SORRY.
WHAT IT WOULD ALLOW US TO DO, OF COURSE, IS TO IMPLEMENT SEVERAL OF THE OTHER IMPROVEMENTS OF LOCAL, LOCAL BUS IMPROVEMENTS, BUT THAT THOSE WOULD BE PHASED AS WE ALREADY ANTICIPATED.
'CAUSE BECAUSE WE'RE EXPECTING THAT TO, TO BEGIN IN 2021 IF IT'S, UH, APPROVED.
SO, UM, I, UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE FOR YOU.
UH, JEFF, I JUST, I, THIS MORNING OR YESTERDAY MORNING, UH, I WENT TO A BREAKFAST, UH, HOSTED, UM, BY PEDRO MARTINEZ, WHO IS OUR S A S D PRESIDENT, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SS A I SS D, JUST SS C I S D SCHOOL DISTRICT IS GONNA GO TO THE VOTERS IN 2020 WITH A $1.3 BILLION BOND FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS.
IT'S THE POOREST DISTRICT, UH, IN THE CITY.
AND THEY'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD AT THE $1.3 BILLION BOND BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THAT WE, THEY HAVE VOTER SUPPORT.
WE HAVE VOTER SUPPORT FOR TRANSPORTATION.
WE KNOW IT, THE POLLS SHOW IT.
YOU ASK THE PEOPLE WHAT DO THEY WANT? THEY SAY THEY WANT TRANSPORTATION.
THEY WANNA IMPROVE, WHETHER IT'S CONNECTION TO SERVICES, WHETHER THEY THINK IT'S GONNA GONNA IMPROVE CONGESTION.
UH, WE ALREADY HAVE 1.3 BILLION FOR THE HIGHWAYS.
UH, OUT AT 1604 AND 2 81 FROM BANDERA, UH, ALL THE WAY TO REDLAND ROAD, $1.3 BILLION.
THAT GOT, UM, THAT WAS ASSIGNED.
UH, UH, THE STATE BELIEVED THAT THAT WAS A GOOD INVESTMENT.
THE REQUEST, UM, FOR $39 MILLION FOR ONE 8 CENTS, WHILE NOT, LIKE, WHILE NOT A SMALL SUM, UH, IS NOT SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO HAVE A REAL IMPACT ON OUR CITY.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE US MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BOLD TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE.
WE HAVE THE SUPPORT, WE HAVE A PLAN.
I BELIEVE THAT WE AS A COUNCIL HAVE TO TAKE, UM, IT'S NOT REALLY A RISK.
WE ARE RESPONDING TO OUR CONSTITUENTS.
PEOPLE NEED THIS AND THEY WANT IT.
AND SO, WHILE I, I, I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF MOVING WITH THE ONE 8 CENTS.
IT'S REALLY B'S DECISION TO MOVE WITH THE ONE EIGHT.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA HAVE TO, UH, RAISE THE
[01:30:01]
FUNDS AND GO OUT AND CONVINCE THE VOTERS THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT.WE COULD SUPPORT THEM BY MOVING FORWARD WITH A BIG TRANSPORTATION BOND THAT INCLUDES STREETS AND SIDEWALKS AND CONNECTIVITY TO THOSE AREAS.
WE KNOW THAT IT WILL BRING PRIVATE INVESTMENT AS WELL.
THERE'S PLENTY OF INFORMATION THAT SHOWS THAT ADDING A D T WILL IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.
IT INCREASES SMALL BUSINESSES.
IT'S JUST, IT, IT IS SUCH A POTENTIALLY GAME CHANGING DECISION FOR OUR CITY.
AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE BIG AND BOLD, UH, AND NOT TRY TO TRICKLE IN AND, AND GIVE PEOPLE LITTLE BY LITTLE BY LITTLE AND NEVER HAVE A BIG IMPACT, UH, ON TRANSPORTATION FOR THIS CITY.
AND, UH, THANK THE STAFF FOR PULLING THIS TOGETHER.
IT WOULD'VE BEEN GREAT TO GET THIS, THIS DOCUMENT A COUPLE OF DAYS IN ADVANCE.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF FIGURES IN HERE, A LOT OF FACTS AND FIGURES.
SO, UM, LEMME START WITH THAT.
AND, UM, I DO HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS.
UH, LEMME JUST START BY SAYING, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS IS A MOVE TO TRY TO, UH, BRING MORE MONEY INTO VIA, UH, AS OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
I THINK EVERYBODY REALIZES THAT WE DO NEED A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, BUT AT WHAT COST? YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO MONEY.
AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY REMEMBERS THAT WE GOT A 1 CENT SALES TAX THAT WE COULD USE FOR TRANSPORTATION.
THIS CITY MADE THE DECISION YEARS AGO TO FUND AQUIFER PROTECTION OUTTA THAT 1 CENT PRE-K FOR A SA OUT OF THAT 1 CENT.
SO WE HAVE WHITTLED AWAY OUTTA THAT 1 CENT TO THE DETRIMENT OF OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
SO I UNDERSTAND WHERE IT IS, BUT THE ISSUE IS THAT THERE'S COMPETING REQUIREMENTS AND THIS CITY MADE THE, THOSE DECISIONS TO FUND THESE OTHER PROGRAMS VERSUS OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
SO JUST WANNA REFRESH EVERYBODY'S MEMORY.
SO, SO WE'RE NOW HAVING TO DEAL WITH THIS AND THOSE DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE YEARS AGO, UH, UH, LET'S MOVE TO SLIDE NUMBER SIX ON, ON THIS CHART, MARIA.
UM, AND AGAIN, I'VE SAID THIS MANY TIMES IN THE PAST WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH PERCENTAGES, IT'S NOT REALLY GIVING.
AND I THINK THE QUESTION WAS ASKED EARLIER, HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE A ANOTHER COLUMN ON THAT TO GIVE US THE SCOPE THIS YEAR'S COST OR NEXT YEAR'S, WHATEVER THAT THOSE DOLLAR FIGURES ARE, TO GET A FEEL FOR HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE REALLY TALKING ABOUT? BECAUSE YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T GET THAT ON THIS CHART.
SO IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE ANOTHER COLUMN ON THERE TO REFLECT THAT.
BUT OUT OF THAT, YOU HAVE THAT, UH, VIA LINE THERE FOR A HALF A CENT, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY GETTING MORE THAN THAT HALF CENT, AREN'T THEY, IN TERMS OF REVENUE? YES.
THIS IS JUST WHAT COMES FROM THE SALES TAX.
AND I WOULD ASK JEFF TO BETTER ADDRESS AND ANSWER THEN.
SO THE, UH, VIA GETS ONE HALF CENT, AND THEN WE, AND THEN WE RECEIVE A HALF OF THE QUARTER CENT.
SO WE ARE ACTUALLY GETTING AN EIGHTH OF A CENT.
RIGHT? I'M GONNA PUT, PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE.
SO FIRST OF ALL, A HALF CENT BRINGS US ABOUT 150 MILLION A YEAR.
A FULL CENT IN HOUSTON BRINGS 700 AT 50 MILLION A YEAR.
SO WE DON'T GENERATE AT THE SAME RATE.
IF YOU TAKE WHAT WE, WITH A COMBINED, IF YOU COMPARE TO THE OTHER THREE MAJOR CI CITIES IN, IN TEXAS, WHETHER YOU LOOK AT JUST THE DOLLAR VALUE, YOU LOOK AT THE INVESTMENT PER CAPITA, YOU LOOK AT THE INVESTMENT PER SQUARE MILE OF SERVICE HERE, WE ARE ALWAYS, WELL, WELL, WELL BELOW OUR PEERS.
SO OH, AND OTHER SOURCE, I'M SORRY, OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME.
SO SALES TAX, IT COMPRISES 75% OF THE MONEY THAT WE, WE HAVE TO SPEND.
IT'S REALLY THE BULK ABOUT 12% IS, UM, AND THIS IS ALL FIGURE ON A $250 MILLION CON, UH, BUDGET.
RIGHT? UH, FEDERAL FUNDS, THE FORMULA FUNDS ARE ABOUT 12%.
THE PASSENGER FARES ARE EIGHT TO 10%.
AND THEN WE HAVE A, OH, WE HAVE THE CITY'S 10 MILLION.
SO FOR A TOTAL OF, OF HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? UH, TWO.
HOW MUCH KEITH OR IS KEITH THERE? NO, TWO 50.
WELL, YEAH,
UH, NO DEFICITS THERE, THAT'S GREAT.
[01:35:01]
MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NOT JUST THAT LINE ITEM THERE OF THE, UH, UH, VIA, UH, THE HALF CENT.THERE'S ACTUALLY MORE THAT'S COMING OUTTA THAT COLUMN, GOING TO VIA.
AND IF WE HAD THE DOLLAR FIGURES THERE, IT, IT WOULD MAKE IT MORE UNDERSTANDABLE AND MORE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF ACTUAL DOLLARS.
SO LET'S MOVE OVER TO SLIDE EIGHT.
SO YOU DO A GOOD JOB HERE, MARIA, ON SHOWING, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY FUNDED SINCE THIS PROGRAM HAS PUT IN PLACE AS FAR AS AQUIFER PROTECTION AND THE GREENWAY TRAILS.
WHAT IS, I COULDN'T FIND ON HERE FOR THE AQUIFER PROTECTION? WHAT'S THE REQUIREMENT? WHAT, WHAT'S THE TOTAL REQUIREMENT? HOW MUCH MORE DO WE HAVE TO GO UNDER THAT, UH, UNDER THAT PROGRAM? AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COUNCILMAN.
AND THIS IS, UH, WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND THAT.
UM, I MENTIONED WHEN, WHEN I DESCRIBED THE PROGRAM THAT THE, THE, THE BOAR FOCUSES ON MORE, UH, TARGETS MORE SENSITIVE AND SCIENTIFICALLY SIGNIFICANT PROPERTIES.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE QUALITY AND THE QUANTITY OF THAT, WHAT THAT ACREAGE CAN BRING TO PROTECT THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, YOU COULD HAVE A PROPERTY, UM, WITH LET'S SAY THREE ACRES THAT PERHAPS IS LESS SIGNIFICANT THAN ANOTHER PROPERTY THAT IS ONLY ONE ACRE.
SO I, WE DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC, UH, NUMBER OF ACRES THAT THAT WOULD, WE, WE COULD GIVE TO YOU TODAY.
WE LOOKED AT SEVERAL RANGES, ANYWHERE BETWEEN 56,000, 42,000.
BUT IT REALLY, UH, COMES DOWN TO THE QUALITY AND THE QUANTITY THAT THAT PARTICULAR ACREAGE, DEPENDING ON WHERE IT'S LOCATED, CAN BRING TO THE EDWARD AQUIFER.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, I'M NOT THE EXPERT ON THERE WITH AFER.
SO IF HOMER, YOU WANNA ADD? UM, HI COUNCILMAN.
SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH MORE IS PROTECTED MARIA'S RIGHT, THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY A SET AMOUNT THAT WOULD POINT TO SAYING WE ARE DONE, WE'VE ACHIEVED ALL OF THE, UH, TARGETS THAT ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE WE'VE PROTECTED, UH, THE QUALITY OF THE WATER.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DIALOGUE WE'VE HAD RECENTLY WITH E A A AND LOOKING AT SOME PRIOR REPORTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, THERE'S A GREAT FOCUS, AND YOU'LL SEE IN SOME OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE BROUGHT FORWARD TO COUNCIL AND CONTINUE TO BRING FORWARD TO THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION, IS LOOKING AT PROTECTING PROPERTIES IN THE CONTRIBUTING ZONE.
SO, E A A DID DEVELOP A WHITE PAPER THAT TALKED ABOUT WHILE QUANTITY IS IMPORTANT, MORE IMPORTANT IS QUALITY.
AND SO IN LOOKING AT DOING THAT, THERE'S A, A BUFFER WITHIN THE CONTRIBUTING ZONE THAT POINTS TO THIS WOULD BE THE NEXT AREA WE WOULD LOOK AT TO TARGET.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S AVAILABLE IN THE TOTAL AREA OF INTEREST, IT'S OVER HALF A MILLION ACRES.
WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 109, UH, MILLION OVER 10 YEARS, AND THAT'S NOT GONNA COVER A HALF A MILLION ACRES.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT IS LEFT TO DO, IT'S ABOUT WHAT MORE WE CAN DO WITH THAT 109 MILLION.
AND SO WE WOULD LOOK AT TARGETING THOSE AREAS IN THE CONTRIBUTING ZONE, FOCUSING ON WATER QUALITY AT THE DIRECTION OF THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY BOARD, AND IMPORT INPUT FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
AND, AND ONE THING I, I'LL ADD THAT IT'S THE REASON WHY, UM, THE LAST 15, 20 YEARS, IT'S IMPORTANT TO PERIODICALLY REVIEW THOSE AREAS AND, UM, AND, AND THAT'S THE REVIEW THAT WOULD NEED TO OCCUR PROBABLY BY THE SUMMER OF 2022, AS THE CURRENT PROGRAM NEARS THE END OF THE SPEND, UH, TO REVALIDATE THOSE POINTS AND TO REPRIORITIZE AND TO, TO ENSURE THAT THE EFFORT IS FOCUSED ON THOSE SENSITIVE AREAS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, UH, AND ARE PRIORITIZED.
SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THAT AS WELL.
SEE, I, AND THAT'S PART OF THE RUB HERE, ERIC, IS THAT GOT THE TAIL WAGGING THE DOG HERE.
WE'RE WE'RE SAYING, OKAY, WE ONLY HAVE THIS MUCH MONEY.
WE REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THERE IS OUT THERE THAT NEEDS TO BE PURCHASED OR PURCHASED THE EASEMENTS ON.
I DEAL WITH, LET'S KNOW WHAT THE REQUIREMENT IS FIRST, AND THEN SEE MATCH THE RESOURCES TO THAT REQUIREMENT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IS GONNA GET US OVER 10 YEARS.
THAT MIGHT BE A THIMBLE AMOUNT TRYING TO FILL AN OCEAN AND IS IT EVEN WORTH IT? WHAT'S OUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT? I, THAT'S WHERE I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THESE PROPOSALS IS WHAT'S THE REQUIREMENT? WE DON'T KNOW.
WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT RESEARCH TO
[01:40:01]
BE PREPARED TO GIVE UP THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY, THAT ONE 8 CENTS SALES TAX AND TRY TO FUND IT IN A DIFFERENT MECHANISM.SO I I I'M GONNA CONTINUE TO PUSH BACK SAYING WHAT'S THE REQUIREMENT.
SO WHAT'S THE TOTAL REQUIREMENT? I, I, I THINK THAT WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS TALKING HIGH LEVEL ABOUT, UH, FUNDING ALTERNATIVES AS WE COME BACK, UH, ON THIS PROGRAM TO THE COUNCIL.
UH, WE'LL WORK WITH THE CAB, UM, TO MAYBE BETTER EXPLAIN THAT, UM, SO THAT IT'S, UM, IT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT THE COUNCIL CAN, UH, CAN CONSIDER.
UM, NOW BEN, SO THIS PROPOSAL ON, UM, LET'S SEE.
YOU'RE SAYING THAT THIS IS NOT COMING OUTTA SAS BUDGET? THAT'S CORRECT.
THIS IS, WHERE'S THIS MONEY COMING FROM? AGAIN, THE $109 MILLION PROGRAM WOULD BE FUNDED FROM DEBT THAT THE CITY WOULD ISSUE.
IT WOULD BE A 10 YEAR PROGRAM.
MUCH LIKE YOU HAVE A FIVE YEAR BOND PROGRAM, WE WOULD'VE A 10 YEAR PROGRAM FOR THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM.
WE WOULD PAY FOR THAT DEBT USING OUR GENERAL FUND MONEY, SPECIFICALLY THE MONEY THAT WE GET FROM SAWS, FROM OUR OWNERSHIP OF SAWS.
YOU'LL RECALL THAT WE GET 4% OF THEIR GROSS REVENUES.
UH, PURSUANT TO THAT, UM, OWNERSHIP, WE WOULD BE USING A PORTION OF THAT REVENUE TO PAY FOR THIS DEBT GOING FORWARD.
WHAT WAS THAT PERCENTAGE THAT WE GOT LAST YEAR? NOT FOR 2020, BUT 2019.
2019, WE WERE AT 2.7% OF GROSS REVENUES.
AND WE UPPED IT FOR THIS BUDGET IN 2020, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL REVENUE ARE WE NOW COLLECTING FROM SAUCE? ABOUT $9.9 MILLION MORE.
UM, WHY DID WE DO THAT? BECAUSE COMING OFF OF THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, YOU RECALL A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT HAPPENED.
ONE, UM, WE SAW A REDUCTION IN OUR RIGHT OF USE FEES, UH, FROM TELECOM AND CABLE COMPANIES.
THERE WAS A BILL THAT PASSED THAT CHANGED THAT COMPENSATION FORMULA THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON THE GENERAL FUND GOING FORWARD, A RECURRING REVENUE LOSS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE WERE HAVING A VERY DIFFICULT SUMMER WITH C P S REVENUES.
UH, AT THE TIME WE PROPOSED THE BUDGET, WE WERE DOWN PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY.
UH, BUT MAINLY WE WANTED TO REPLACE THAT RECURRING REVENUE STREAM THAT WE HAD LOST FROM THE TELECOM AND CABLE COMPANIES.
SO IN EFFECT, WE'RE LOSING THAT REVENUE, RIGHT? UH, IT'S COMING OUT OF OUR GENERAL, IT'S GONNA COME OUT OF OUR GENERAL FUND TAKING ON DEBT.
SO THAT ADDITIONAL $10 MILLION IS GONNA GO TO AQUIFER PROTECTION.
YOU'RE GONNA USE A PORTION OF THAT REVENUE STREAM FOR THE DEBT.
BUT REMEMBER THAT IT'S A 10 YEAR PROGRAM.
AND BECAUSE MUCH LIKE OUR BOND PROGRAM, WE'RE NOT GONNA ISSUE IT ALL UP FRONT.
IT'LL BE ISSUED OVER TIME TO FUND THE PROGRAM.
IT'LL BE ISSUED ACTUALLY OVER 10 YEARS.
UM, SO YOU SAW MARIA SLIDE THE FIRST YEAR WAS AROUND $440,000 MM-HMM.
AND THEN IT WILL SLOWLY INCREASE.
REMEMBER THAT OUR CHANGE, NOTHING, OUR, OUR TRANSFER FROM SAWS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS WELL.
THE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO GROW, UH, WITH THE POPULATION GROWTH EXPECTED IN THIS AREA.
SAWS WILL CONTINUE TO ADD CUSTOMERS.
YOU'LL SEE THAT REVENUE BASE GROW TO THE EXTENT THE UTILITY HAS TO HAVE RATE INCREASES IN THE FUTURE.
THERE IS SOME RESIDUAL TO US AS WELL, BUT THAT IS BASED ON, UM, THIS IS A MANAGEABLE INCREASE OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
I I LIKE THAT IT'S MANAGEABLE.
IS ANYBODY HERE FROM SAWS? ANY SAWS REPS? NO, SIR.
I'D LIKE TO HEAR IT FROM SAS SAYING THAT THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A RATE INCREASE.
I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU DON'T FORESEE ANY RATE INCREASE, BUT WE DON'T RUN SAWS.
BUT ARE THEY GONNA, ARE THEY GONNA SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS COSTING US TOO MUCH MONEY, COUNCILMAN, LET ME BE REAL IN, LET JUMP IN.
LEMME BE REAL CLEAR ABOUT WHAT I'M SAYING.
UH, LET ME BE, LET'S MAKE SURE WE'RE REAL CLEAR.
THIS PROGRAM, AS WE'RE PROPOSING TODAY, IS COMING OUT OF THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND.
AND AS THEY DEVELOP THOSE PROPOSALS DOWN THE ROAD, THEY'LL COME TO THE COUNCIL AS WE'RE PROPOSING TODAY, THIS IS COMING OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND AND WE'LL MANAGE IT.
[01:45:01]
PROPOSED, WE'RE NOT ASSUMING ANY SORT OF RATE INCREASE, WE'RE JUST ASSUMING NORMAL GROWTH IN REVENUE.UH, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S VERY CLEAR BECAUSE THAT, THAT WAS ALSO A QUESTION THAT COUNCILWOMAN HAVE ASKED.
SO THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO JUMP IN.
YEAH, WELL, I'M, I'M WANTING TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE A, WE, WE'RE NOT GONNA HA HAVE ACCESS TO THAT ADDITIONAL REVENUE THAT WE PULL FROM SAWS UP TO THE 4% BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO COVER THE COST OF THIS, RIGHT? YOU ARE GOING TO THE, THE 4%, REMEMBER YOU GOT A $10 MILLION INCREASE.
AS THE SAW TRANSFER WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS THE SYSTEM GROWS.
AND WE'RE GONNA USE AN INCREMENTAL PIECE OF THAT EVERY YEAR TO FUND THIS DEBT.
BY YEAR FIVE MAYBE WE'RE AT $3.4 MILLION IN DEBT SERVICE TODAY, WE'RE GETTING $9.9 MILLION MORE THAT WILL HAVE GROWN BY YEAR FIVE TO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT LARGER.
SO WE'RE TAKING A PIECE OF IT.
WE WON'T GET, WE WON'T HAVE THE FULL VALUE OF THE 4% BECAUSE WE'LL BE USING SOME OF IT FOR DEBT, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PORTION OF IT.
UH, AND MY POINT IS THAT WE BUMPED IT UP TO $4 MILLION TO HELP OUR GENERAL FUND.
I MEAN, TO THE 4% ADDITIONAL $10 MILLION, UH, TO HELP OUR GENERAL FUND.
WE'RE NOT GONNA, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ACCESS TO THAT FULL AMOUNT.
EVEN THE INCREASING, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PORTION OF THAT, JUST LIKE YOU SAID, FOR FUTURE GENERAL FUND BUDGETS.
AND TO ME, WE'RE BEING DISINGENUOUS.
WE PULLED THAT AMOUNT FROM SAWS BECAUSE WE NEEDED HELP IN OUR GENERAL FUND FOR 2020.
BUT YET NOW WE'RE SAYING, WELL WE CAN, WE CAN TAKE SOME OF THAT OUT AND FUND THIS AQUIFER PROTECTION AND TRAILWAY SYSTEM.
NOW I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT.
AND WE'RE TAKING ON DEBT, WHICH YOU HAVE TO PAY BACK.
I WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT.
UM, AND YEAH, IT MIGHT SEEM INSIGNIFICANT, BUT EVERY DOLLAR THAT WE DIDN'T, WE'RE NOT USING IN THE GENERAL FUND THAT WE PULLED FROM SAS TO HELP US IN THE GENERAL FUND, THAT THAT'S DISINGENUOUS ON THE ORIGINAL INTENT THAT WE HAD TO PULL THAT ADDITIONAL MONEY FROM SAS EACH YEAR FOR THE, UH, GENERAL FUND.
SLIDE NUMBER 19 OR DID WE ALREADY TALK ABOUT 19? YEAH, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT 19.
THIS IS, UH, STREETS, UH, MARIA, I, YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE RAZZIE COME UP BECAUSE I GOT SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PROGRAM THAT ALL THAT PREVIOUS QUESTIONING WAS ABOUT.
THE AQUIFER PROTECTION AND GREENWAY TRAILS, THE MONEY GOING TO VIA.
NOW LET'S SWITCH OUT HERE TO OUR, UH, YEARLY I M P.
NOW RAZZI, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THAT PIE CHART RIGHT THERE ON THOSE PERCENTAGES.
IS THAT THE PERCENTAGES AS OF TODAY? AS OF LAST YEAR COUNCIL, MAX AS OF LAST YEAR.
SO EVERY YEAR THAT WE DON'T TAKE CARE OF, LET'S SAY THE F STREETS, THOSE ARE THE FAILED STREETS.
AND JUST THIS LAST I M P, HOW, HOW MUCH OF THE I M P OUTTA THAT $110 MILLION DID WE DEDICATE TO F STREETS? COUNCILMAN? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
SINCE OUR BUDGET ON SS M P OR STREET MAINTENANCE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED FROM 64 MILLION FEW YEARS AGO, HAS BEEN ABLE US TO DO SOME F STREET AVERAGE.
WE ARE DOING 25 MILLION OF F STREET LAST FEW YEARS, WHICH IS EQUATES ROUGHLY 12 MILES.
OF COURSE, WE ALSO NEED BOND TO HELP US ON THOSE F STREET TO FINISH THEM UP.
WE'LL, WE'LL GET TO THE BOND HERE IN A LITTLE BIT.
BUT FOR OUR YEARLY I M P, IF WE STAYED AT $110 MILLION, WHAT, WHAT WAS OUR IMPROVEMENT IN OUR P C I SCORES OVER THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS? IT USUALLY IMPROVES A FEW POINTS EVERY YEAR.
NOW THIS MARCH COMES, WE ARE EXPECTING ALL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICT TO BE ABOVE, ABOVE 70.
THOSE ARE SMALL LITTLE INCREMENTS, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
WITH $110 MILLION, AND AGAIN, WE'RE NOT S WE'RE NOT DOING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF F STREET.
[01:50:01]
IF THIS WAS AS OF LAST YEAR, AND YOU JUST MENTIONED THAT WE'RE GONNA BE USING THE NEXT BOND TO REALLY TACKLE THESE F STREETS, THAT DEGRADATION IS GONNA CONTINUE TO HAPPEN IN EACH ONE OF THESE BOXES, RIGHT? SOME OF THE DSS ARE GONNA FALL INTO THE FSS, SOME OF THE C'S ARE GONNA GO INTO THE DS.IT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
OVER TIME THEY CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE, RIGHT? ACTUALLY, SINCE OUR BUDGET HAS BEEN INCREASED, THE TREND IS GOING UP FOR NOTHING DOWNWARD.
BUT IF YOU DON'T DO, IF YOU'RE NOT DOING F STREETS, THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUING, THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DEGRADE.
AND TO YOUR POINT, WE'RE WANTING TO USE MONEY FROM THIS NEXT BOND IN 2022, BUT BETWEEN NOW AND 2022, THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO GET WORSE.
ALRIGHT, SO JUST WANT TO DRAW ATTENTION TO WHAT THE REQUIREMENT IS ON PARTICULARLY THE F STREETS.
HOW MANY MILES IS THAT? A LITTLE OVER 400 MILES.
10, 11% OF OUR INVENTORY IS F STREET.
WHICH IS A LITTLE OVER 400 MILES.
AND THAT'S IN NO PARTICULAR DISTRICT.
THE ENTIRE CITY THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SOME CONCEPT DISTRICT HAS MORE THAN OTHERS.
WELL LET'S SKIP ALL THE WAY BACK TO SLIDE NUMBER, UH, 29.
SO LOOKING AT THIS SLIDE, WE'VE GOT 191 MILLION THAT WE'RE ESTIMATING FOR STREETS OUT OF 950 MILLION ON THE NEXT BOND.
WHAT DID WE FUND ON 2017 FOR STREETS ONLY? COUNCILMAN 2017 BOND WAS 850 MILLION.
FROM THAT 445 WAS FOR STREETS, BRIDGES, AND SIDEWALK.
FROM THAT, WE HAD 48 MILLION FOR, UH, PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY STREETS ONLY.
NOTHING ELSE WAS 397 MILLION, SO ABOUT 400 MILLION.
SO WE'RE CUTTING LESS THAN HALF OF STREETS IN THE NEXT BOND BECAUSE I'M NOT CONSIDERING THE 344 MILLION UNDER THE A R T AS OUR STREET PROGRAM ACROSS THE CITY.
WE'RE GONNA BE DECREMENTING OUR STREET PROGRAM IN HALF FROM THE 2017 BOND.
AND TO ME THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE.
WE INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF SIDE, UH, GOING TO SIDEWALKS, MICRO MOBILITY AND STREETS WE'RE CUTTING IN HALF FROM THE LAST BOND THAT, THAT IS.
UH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT BECAUSE WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE PRIORITIES IN MY DISTRICT AND A LOT OF OTHER DISTRICTS, IT'S SAFETY AND SECURITY.
YOU WANT POLICEMEN, FIREMEN OUT THERE.
STREETS, STREETS, MAIN STREET MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS IS A NUMBER TWO PRIORITY.
AND THEN PROPERTY TAXES, THOSE ARE TOP THREE YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT.
AND HERE WE'RE GONNA REDUCE IT BY HALF TO COVER THE A R T IN TWO SEPARATE LINES, NORTH TO SOUTH, EAST TO WEST.
UM, I, I, I KNOW MY FOLKS IN DISTRICT 10 ARE NOT GONNA LIKE THAT.
UM, LET'S SEE, MARIA, UNDER THIS, UH, ON SLIDE NUMBER 30, AND TO MY POINT OF COMPARING THE 2017 BOND TO TWO, THIS 2020, IT WOULD'VE BEEN NICE TO HAVE THAT EXTRA COLUMN AT THE END SHOWING WHAT 2022 IS IN EACH ONE OF THOSE CATEGORIES.
AND, AND TO SPLIT OUT SEPARATELY THE A R T VERSUS OUR STREET PROGRAM HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
BECAUSE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE.
THIS IS, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE FUNDED LAST TIME IN THE BOND.
IT WENT ALL THE STREETS, OUR EXISTING STREETS.
AND COUNCILMAN, IF I MAY, ON SLIDE 31, UH, WE ATTEMPTED TO GIVE YOU A PERCENTAGE OF STREETS AND SIDEWALKS COMPARED TO THE 2017 BOND PROGRAM.
HOWEVER, THIS IS JUST FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES.
AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE COUNCIL, UH, DESIRE WOULD BE FOR THE OTHER PROPOSITIONS FOR DRAINAGE AND PARKS, ET CETERA.
SO AGAIN, THIS WAS JUST TO BEGIN THE DISCUSSION ON THE, ON THE BOND PROGRAM.
WELL, LET'S, LET'S, LET'S MOVE TO SLIDE NUMBER 31.
I SEE THAT IF YOU SUBTRACT OUT THE 344 MILLION
[01:55:02]
FOR A R T, THAT LEAVES 321 MILLION UNDER THE 2022 BOND.AND OUT OF THAT, A LOT OF IT'S GOING TO SIDEWALKS AND MICRO MOBILITY.
AND I'M SAYING THAT THAT PERCENTAGE THEN IS ACTUALLY JUST 34% OF THE BOND, NOT 70 I, YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T COUNT A R T AGAINST OUR STREET PROGRAM.
IT'S SOMETHING ENTIRELY SEPARATE.
SO THE WAY I CALCULATE IT, WE'RE REDUCING DOWN FROM 52% OF THAT BOND WENT FOR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS.
AND AND OUR ATTEMPT WAS TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT WOULD GO THROUGH, UH, TOWARDS TRANSPORTATION.
WELL I THINK THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES HERE.
NEW TRANSPORTATION THROUGH VIA VERSUS OUR STREET PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE HAD FOR YEARS UNDER EACH ONE OF THE BONDS.
AND THAT'S, WE NEED TO SEPARATE THAT OUT.
SO IN ESSENCE, WE'RE REDUCING OUR STREET PROGRAM IN THE NEXT BOND DOWN TO 34%.
THAT WAS JUST QUICK CALCULATIONS.
'CAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO DO THIS, UH, IN THE OFFICE.
WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A BACKUP SLIDE.
I THINK IF YOU PULL UP SLIDE 40 THAT DESCRIBES WHAT YOU'RE SHOWING.
UM, AND WHILE THEY'RE BRINGING THAT, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING RIGHT THERE.
UM, THE STREETS, THE SIDEWALKS, THE MICRO MOBILITY, THERE'S YOUR 34%, UH, WITH THE A R T BROKEN OUT.
AND THAT'S KIND OF A FURTHER BREAKOUT OF THE SLIDE YOU WERE JUST LOOKING AT.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, I WANTED TO HAVE THEM BRING THAT UP.
AND THEN SECONDLY, I JUST WANNA REITERATE THAT WHAT WE'RE SHOWING IN THE PRESENTATION TODAY IS, IS UH, WHAT THE CONNECT SA FOLKS PRESENTED TO YOU THREE WEEKS AGO.
RIGHT? AND, AND AS MARIA UH, MENTIONED A SECOND AGO, THIS, WE'RE LOOKING FOR DIRECTION FROM THE COUNCIL ON, ON HOW TO MOVE FORWARD ON THESE ISSUES.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT.
AND THAT SLIDE, RIGHT, WHICH I THINK YOU WERE LOOKING FOR THIS, THIS IS WHAT I WANTED TO SEE, THIS SLIDE RIGHT THERE, NUMBER 40.
UH, BECAUSE THAT GIVES A TRUE REFLECTION ON THIS NEXT BOND.
AND I, I DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T LIKE IT.
IN FACT, IT'S 30% VERSUS MY, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T DO THAT GOOD IN MATH.
SO YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S TOUGH.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE COUNTY STEPPING UP AND FUNDING PORTIONS OF THIS PROGRAM.
BUT ARE THEY JUST GONNA APPROVE THAT OR WILL THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH SOME VOTING PROCESS ALSO? THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THEIR INTERNAL PROCESS.
JUST LIKE WE ARE PRESENTING THIS TO THE COUNCIL.
UM, THAT WILL BE A SIMILAR PROCESS THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO DO INTERNALLY.
BUT WILL THEY HAVE TO TAKE IT OUT TO A VOTE OR DO, DO YOU KNOW IF THEY WILL VOTE ON THIS? WE DON'T KNOW.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE ALRIGHT, FAIR ENOUGH, FAIR ENOUGH.
I, THE POINT THAT I'M TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT EVEN THE COUNTY, I'M PAYING COUNTY TAXES, YOU'RE PAYING COUNTY TAXES, WE'RE PAYING CITY TAXES.
SO WHATEVER THE COUNTY DOES, I'M GONNA END UP PAYING FOR ALSO.
SO JUST BECAUSE IT'S COMING FROM THE COUNTY DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S FREE.
WE'RE PAYING THAT ALSO OUT OF OUR POCKETS, WHAT THE COUNTY IS KICKING IN.
UM, UH, THAT'S ALL MARIA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UH, I KNOW THE CONNECT SA FOLKS HAVE PUT A LOT OF WORK AND EFFORT INTO IT, INTO THIS PROGRAM.
THE STAFF IS REACTING TO THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO LOOK AT WHAT THE NEXT BOND IS GONNA BE CARRYING ALONG WITH IT, TAKING ON ADDITIONAL DEBT FOR THE AQUIFER PROTECTION.
UH, ALL OF THIS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LEAVING BIG GAPS.
WE'RE LEAVING BIG GAPS IN OUR TOTAL TRANSPORTATION NETWORK, WHICH INCLUDES STREET MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR THAT WE FOCUS IN ON THE BOND AND OUR YEARLY.
I M P WILL NOT TAKE CARE OF ALL THE TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS, I E STREET MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS OR EXPANSIONS TO SOME EXTENT.
I'VE GOT A LOT OF ROADS UP IN DISTRICT 10 THAT ARE STILL GOING BACK TO THE OLD HORSE AND BUGGY DAYS, LITTLE TWO LANE ROADS THAT ARE FALLING
[02:00:01]
APART AND NEED TO BE UPGRADED AND WIDENED BECAUSE OF, UH, DEVELOPMENTS UP IN, UP IN MY DISTRICT.AND I THINK THAT APPLIES TO EVERYBODY, UH, ALL THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS HERE ALSO.
AND TO SAY THAT THE YEARLY I M P WILL TAKE CARE OF IT IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG.
IT WILL NOT TAKE CARE OF OUR ROAD MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.
WE HAVE DE DELAYED SOME OF THAT TO THE NEXT BOND.
AND THAT'S WHERE MY FOCUS IS GONNA BE, IS TO GET OUR STREETS UP TO SNUFF THE WAY OUR TAXPAYERS EXPECT THEM TO BE.
UM, ERIC, I WANT TO THANK YOU, UH, FIRST OF ALL FOR RESPONDING TO MYSELF AND OTHER COUNCIL COLLEAGUES TO HAVE A VERY HEALTHY DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS AND, UM, REALLY RESPONDING TO, UH, THE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE PRESENTATION.
MARIA, UM, AS ALWAYS, YOU DO A GREAT JOB WITH YOUR PRESENTATIONS.
THIS IS VERY, UM, COMP, THIS IS VERY SYSTEM SYSTEMIC AND U WHAT I AM USED TO IN PRESENTATIONS BECAUSE OF THE BUDGET AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH.
AND IT WAS VERY, UM, IT WAS VERY SUCCINCT AND IT WAS PUT VERY WELL TOGETHER.
I AM GOING TO HAVE A SIDE MEETING WITH YOU BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME SLIDES IN HERE THAT I DIDN'T, I NEED YOU TO GO OVER WITH ME AGAIN, BUT I DON'T WANNA GO OVER THEM RIGHT NOW.
SO I WILL HAVE SOME, BUT I DO STILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS OF CLARIFICATION.
AND I DO WANNA THANK, UM, BONNIE AND I KNOW DR.
UM, AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK AND CONGRATULATE, I GUESS, UM, FOR THE, UH, HOPE ANDRADA FOR HER ENDORSEMENT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEING READY TO STEP UP AND SERVE.
UM, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I HAD THE GREAT, I'M GONNA SLOW THINGS UP A LITTLE BIT.
I AM, I HAD A GREAT OPPORTUNITY THIS PAST SATURDAY, WHICH OTHER COLLEAGUES DID TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BA BASH TO CLEAN UP OUR CREEK WAYS.
AND ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT, UH, WE DID WITH CENTEN RIVER AUTHORITY IS WITH ALL OF OUR, OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR VOLUNTEERS IS THEY WENT THROUGH AN EDUCATION PROCESS WHEN THERE ARE 326 MILLION TRILLION GALLONS OF WATER ON OUR EARTH, RIGHT? AND LESS THAN 3% OF THAT WATER IS FRESH WATER.
AND OUT OF THAT TWO THIRDS OF THAT WATER IS LOCKED UP SO FAR IN ICE CAPS IN GLACIERS.
AND I, AND WHERE I AM ON THIS IS MY CONCERN HAS FIRST AND FOREMOST BEEN WITH OUR ONE EIGHT SALES TAX BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO OUR AQUIFER PROTECTION AND OUR LINEAR CREEKS.
UM, AND CLEANING UP THE LINEAR CREEKS, WE SEE WHAT IS, UM, IN THEM.
WE SEE ALL THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO AS A COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEM AND TO CLEAN THEM AND KEEP THEM STABLE BECAUSE OF OUR STORMWATER DRAINS THAT ARE ON OF OUR STREETS.
AND SO THAT IS, AND WATER IS THE MOST PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS RESOURCE FOR US.
I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO GROW, AND YOU'RE RIGHT, WE'RE CONTINUING TO GROW BY ANOTHER MILLION PEOPLE, AND THAT'S GONNA CAUSE CONGESTION.
WE NEED TRANSPORTATION MITIGATION AND OPTIONS, BUT WE ALSO NEED WATER IN ORDER TO GROW TOO.
WE ALSO NEED DRINKING WATER THAT IS SAFE FOR EVERYONE AND SAFE FOR US TO GROW.
SO THIS IS WHAT I, I, I'M LOOKING AT AND BECAUSE OF THE ONE A SELLS TAX, WHY THAT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME IS BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT IT WAS, IT WAS THERE, IT WAS REGULATED.
WE KNEW WHERE THE PROCESS WAS GOING TO GO.
SO FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND FOR EVERYONE'S WORK TOGETHER ON THIS, THANK YOU FOR WORKING DILIGENTLY TO REALLY FINE TUNE AND LOOK FOR THESE OPTIONS WHERE, AS IT WAS MENTIONED, I BELIEVE BY MY COLLEAGUE THAT THE CITY WOULD STILL OVERSEE THIS SOMEHOW SOME WAY.
I WILL SAY, NUMBER ONE, I AGREE THAT THE CAB DOES NEED TO REVIEW THIS PORTIONS OF THIS AGAIN, SO WE CAN GET, UM, MORE INFORMATION FROM THE CAB SO THEY CAN HAVE THAT CONVERSATION THERE.
I ALSO WANNA JUMP ON WHAT, UM, OUR, MY COUNCIL MEMBER, CAVEO HDA MENTIONED ABOUT DEFINING COMP COMPREHENSIVE, BUT NOT JUST DEFINING WHAT COMPREHENSIVE IS, BUT NOT JUST COMPREHENSIVE, BUT ALSO EQUITABLE.
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COMPREHENSIVE, LET'S TALK ABOUT EQUITY AS WELL.
UM, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO TOUCH ON RIGHT NOW.
WHAT I ALSO WANT TO ASK IS WE DO NEED,
[02:05:01]
UM, A, A CONVERSATION AND A SESSION WITH SASS, UM, TO HAVE A REAL FRANK, UH, MEETING WITH SAS TO BE HERE, TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS AND ALSO SET THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE COUNCIL AND FOR THE VOTING PUBLIC, UM, COMING FORWARD.UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, TO SEE COMING FORWARD TOO.
UM, ONE OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WITH, WITH, UH, SAS IN PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, PERRY TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT, AND I WANNA GO BACK TO IT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE NOT, WHAT WERE WE GETTING FROM SAS BEFORE WE CHANGED IT? IT WAS 2%, IS THAT CORRECT? 2.7.
SO IT WAS, AND, AND I JUST WANNA, THIS IS WHY WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH SAS.
'CAUSE WE, WE HAD A, A, WE RUMBLED WITH IT, UM, WITH THEM A LITTLE BIT, UM, DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS BECAUSE WE WENT FROM 2.7 TO 4%.
AND THEN IN THAT CONVERSATION WITH SAS, THEY SAID, UM, THAT THE 4% WOULD NOT INTEND TO, IF WE WENT FURTHER ON THAN JUST THE FIVE YEARS OR THE TWO YEARS, THAT THERE COULD POSSIBLY BE A RATE INCREASE.
AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING YOU'VE PUT IN HERE.
THAT WAS THE CONVERSATION THEY HAD WITH US DURING THE BUDGETING PROCESS.
SO WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT WAS THE FACT THAT FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, THERE LIKELY WOULD NOT BE AN IMPACT ON RATES FOR SAWS.
UM, THEY FELT LIKE THEY HAD YOU RECALL, UH, AMOUNT OF CASH RESERVES THAT THEY HAD BUILT UP.
THEY WOULD USE THAT IN THE INTERIM TO MAKE THIS ADDITIONAL PAYMENT TO THE CITY.
BUT AT THE END OF THAT TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME, THEY WOULD LOOK AT IT.
AND OF COURSE, A COST TO SAWS BECOMES, UH, SOMETHING THAT EVENTUALLY GETS BUILT INTO THE RATE BASE OVER TIME.
SO THEN THAT, THAT WOULD GET BUILT INTO THEIR RATE BASE.
AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT, ACCORDING TO OUR, THIS, WHAT SLIDE IS IT FROM SAWS, UM, ABOUT THE, UH, SAWS.
THIS WOULD GO ON FOR HOW LONG, UH, WITH OUR 4% PAYING THAT PORTION OF THE BOND BACK TO USING THAT AS THE BOND, UH, PAYMENT.
SO, UM, WHEN WE MADE, WHEN WE MADE THE CHANGE IN THE BUDGET, I DON'T RECALL THE SLIDE NUMBER, BUT WHEN WE MADE THE CHANGE IN THE BUDGET, WE'VE ASSUMED THAT OUR PAYMENT FROM SAS, NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS PROGRAM WAS GONNA MOVE TO 4%.
YOU'RE REQUIRED UNDER THE BOND INDENTURE THE CITY AS THE OWNER OF SAWS, YOU CAN INCREASE THAT PAYMENT UP TO 5% OF GROSS REVENUES.
WE RECOMMENDED TO YOU AS PART OF THE PROPOSED 2020 BUDGET THAT WE GO TO 4%.
THAT WAS, AS WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, TO HELP US OFFSET THIS RECURRING LOSS THAT WE WERE GOING TO, TO GET IMPACTED WITH.
MEANING OUR BUDGET IN 19 TO 20 WAS GONNA DROP BY ALMOST, UH, $7.3 MILLION, I BELIEVE BECAUSE OF THAT LOST, UH, CABLE TELECOM REVENUE.
WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO CUT THE BUDGET.
SO WE FOUGHT ANOTHER, BROUGHT YOU ANOTHER REVENUE STREAM.
THIS LOOKS AT THE FUTURE AND HAS A MANAGEABLE INCREASE OVER THAT 10 YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
WHEREAS THE SYSTEM GROWS, OUR PAYMENT FROM SAWS GROWS 'CAUSE IT'S 4% OF GROSS REVENUE.
SO AS THEIR REVENUES GO UP, OUR REVENUES GO UP AND WE'RE USING A PORTION OF THAT TO FUND THIS.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S, I WANNA BE CLEAR, IT'S A GENERAL FUND REVENUE.
AND TO BE CLEAR, AGAIN, I'M NOT SAYING THAT SAWS ISN'T GONNA COME FORWARD WITH RATE INCREASES BECAUSE THEY HAVE RATE INCREASES PLANNED.
I MEAN, THAT'S PART OF THEIR SYSTEM.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT OUR PAYMENT, WHAT'S IN THE GENERAL FUND ISN'T SOMETHING THAT'S BUILT INTO A RATE REQUIREMENT FOR SAW.
IT'S A, IT'S A AFTER THE FACT.
BUT JUST TO SAY THAT, UM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO COME BACK IN THE FUTURE AND REQUEST THIS AND THEY COULD AND, UM, WE COULD SEE THAT IF IT'S GOING, THEN WE'RE ALSO HAVING TO GO THROUGH EITHER SAWS IS NOT GONNA GET THE RATE INCREASE THAT THEY WANT OR THEY NEED TO TO WORK ON OR, BUT WE'RE STILL GONNA GET THAT 4% CORRECT.
THAT WOULD BE OUR RECOMMENDATION, YES.
BUT I, AND IF, IF I MAY, I'M ON THE SAWS BOARD.
SO I, WHAT I ALWAYS SAY IS THAT BECAUSE OF THIS, UH, MAINTAINING, UH, THE PROGRAM WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THE RATE AT WHICH THEY COME BACK AND THE PROCEDURE IN WHICH THEY COME BACK TO THE CITY FOR FUTURE RATE REQUESTS IS NOT IMPACTED, IS NOT DETERMINED AT ALL BY, BY THE AQUIFER PROGRAM AT THIS POINT, BY KEEPING IT HERE IN CITY.
I'M, I'M GLAD YOU YOU SAID THAT.
SO LET ME JUST PUT A BOOKMARK ON THAT ONE RIGHT THERE.
SO, UM, GOING BACK TO, UH, THE,
[02:10:01]
THE LINEAR CREEK, AND I HAVE TO SAY THIS IS THE ONE I AM MOST CONCERNED ABOUT AND THE ONE THAT I HAVE, UH, THAT GIVES ME THE MOST TREPIDATION BECAUSE WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING, AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ MENTIONED IT, UH, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT FUNDING.WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, CAN FINISH ALL OF THOSE LINEAR CREEKS THAT WE'VE NEEDED TO ALL THIS TIME.
UM, WE ARE SEEING THAT IT'S 1.34 IN THE BUDGET.
IS THAT RIGHT? UH, THAT IS THE PORTION THAT THE SALES TAX PAYS TODAY TO THE OPERATING COST IN THE GENERAL FUND.
SO ROUGHLY WE'RE SPENDING $6.4 MILLION ANNUALLY TO PROVIDE SECURITY AND MAINTENANCE TO THE LINEAR, UH, GREENWAYS.
AND OF THAT 6.4, THE SALES TAX BASE, 1.3.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT TO OUR BUDGET SHOULD THE REALLOCATION OF THE SALES TAX OCCUR.
SO ON SLIDE NUMBER 15, THE FINANCIAL ALTERNATIVES TO CONTINUE THE GREENWAY TRAILS, UM, BEXAR COUNTY CAPITAL FUNDS, UM, EXPLAIN THIS ONE TO ME AGAIN.
SO ON SLIDE 15, UH, WE, UM, HAD HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY AND, UH, THESE ARE NOT FINALIZED YET, BUT THEY HAVE, UM, UH, INDICATED A POTENTIAL FUNDING OF 26 MILES OF, UH, UH, THE TROLL SYSTEM AT A COST OF 80, CLOSE TO $84 MILLION OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
83, 80 3 MILLION OVER, OH, 83.7 OVER FIVE YEARS.
THAT'S WHAT THEY GAVE YOU, THE INFORMATION THEY GAVE YOU.
THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR.
AGAIN, IT HASN'T BEEN FINALIZED YET.
AND, UH, WE HOPE TO, TO BRING THAT, UH, TO COMPLETION SOON.
SO HOW MUCH MONEY DOES THE COUNTY PUT INTO OUR LINEAR CREEKS RIGHT NOW? NOT TO OUR LINEAR GREENWAY SYSTEM, THAT THEY DON'T, THEY HAVE A, A SYSTEM THAT IS SEPARATE THAN OURS.
YEAH, TELL ME ABOUT, AGAIN, ON SLIDE 16, IT SHOWS THE CITY'S, UH, GREENWAY TRAILS PROGRAM MM-HMM.
SO YOU'LL SEE HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN WHAT WE'VE COMPLETED TODAY, AND THEN WHAT THE COUNTY COULD POTENTIALLY FUND, AND THEN WHAT IT WOULD REMAIN UNFUNDED.
OH, BUT MY QUESTION IS LIKE, THEY DON'T PUT ANY MONEY TOWARDS LINEAR CREEK RIGHT NOW? NOT TO THE SYSTEM.
I, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY HAVE SOMETHING PERHAPS IN COUNTY PROPERTY, BUT NOT TO THE SYSTEM THAT YOU SEE HERE ON THE MAP.
DO THEY HAVE ANY ON COUNTY PROPERTY OR IS THAT A QUESTION THAT THE COUNTY NEEDS TO ANSWER? YEAH, I, I THINK CAN YOU ASK THE COUNTY THAT? WELL, I'M SURE PLEASE.
UM, WHEN YOU'RE HAVING THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY, PLEASE GET ALL OF THAT INFORMATION.
AND THEN, UM, NEXT, SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, ON SLIDE 21, THE 11% FAILED, THAT IS 836 MILLION, CORRECT? YES, MA'AM.
NOW, THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE, ERIC, RIGHT NOW FOR YOU IS HOW MUCH DO WE, DO YOU HAVE SCHEDULED OR LISTED AS POTENTIALLY DEDICATED FOR THE 2022 BOND SO FAR? COUNCILWOMAN, WHEN WE UPDATED THAT IN THE DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN TO THE COUNCIL LAST SUMMER, IT WAS $950 MILLION ESTIMATED FOR THE 2022 BOND PROGRAM.
WE WILL UPDATE THAT NUMBER AGAIN THIS SUMMER.
UH, ONCE WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT FROM A PROPERTY VALUE STANDPOINT, WE DO IT ANNUALLY.
SO WHAT ABOUT, SO THAT'S THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PUT ON THE 2022 BOND.
THAT WOULD BE THE MAXIMUM, UH, CAPACITY THAT WE CAPACITY WITHOUT INCREASING THE TAX RATE.
BUT DO WE HAVE A LIST OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE MAYBE, UM, LIKE THE POLICE SUBSTATION, LIKE, UM, A PHASE TWO OR PHASE FOUR OF OTHER DRAINAGE PROJECTS? DO WE HAVE A RUNNING LIST OF THOSE? RAZZIE IS, LOOK, DO WE HAVE A RUNNING LIST OF THOSE? WE HAVE A COUNCILWOMAN 10 LIST OF THE PROJECT.
WE GOT SOME LIST FROM COUNCILMAN PERRY'S OFFICE.
WE GOT FROM, UH, COUNCIL, OTHER COUNCILS MEMBER.
AND ALSO WE HAVE SOME PHASE TWO OR PHASE THREE OF FUTURE PROJECT, LIKE A CEILING CHANNEL PHASE FOUR.
AND WE HAVE SOME OTHER PROJECT PHASE FOUR FOR CEILING CHANNEL.
SO, UM, SO, SO THAT'S PART OF THE, THE WAY ABOUT SETTING EXPECTATIONS FOR OUR
[02:15:01]
COMMUNITY AND OUR RESIDENTS AND FOR MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AS WELL, BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO, WE HAVE ALREADY SET EXPECTATIONS FOR OUR RESIDENTS FROM THE 2017 BOND THAT YES, ESMA YES CEILING.YOU NEED ANOTHER PHASE TWO, PHASE THREE FOR YOUR DRAINAGE PROJECT THAT IS COMPLETELY FLOODING THIS WHOLE TIME.
HOW ARE WE GOING TO FUND THAT? AND, UM, THIS IS MY CONCERN WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BOND DOLLARS FOR THE CONNECT SA, WE'LL HAVE MORE OF THAT CONVERSATION, BUT FOR YOUR DIRECTION AND FOR YOUR, JUST FOR YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT IS, IS MY CONCERN AND SETTING EXPECTATIONS.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST WITH THE BOND IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO WITH THE BOND.
UH, ANOTHER CONCERN THAT I HAVE THAT I WANT US TO, TO WORK THROUGH WHEN WE'RE DISCUSSING CONNECT SA IS, UM, OR FUNDING OR HOW IT WOULD WORK.
UM, I WANT US TO WORK THROUGH THEN IF CONNECT SA IS GOING TO NEED DESIGNATED, THE PLAN IS GOING TO NEED DESIGNATED ALL OF THESE STREETS FOR THEIR STREET INFRASTRUCTURE, WHATEVER PER PERCENTAGE THEY'RE REQUESTING FROM THE BOND, HOW DO THOSE ALIGN WITH THE NEEDS OF OUR DISTRICTS AND OUR RESIDENTS OR WHAT, UM, WHAT T C I HAS SAID IS A MAJOR FLOODING PLAN IS A MAJOR DRAINAGE PROCESS.
OR BECAUSE SOME OF THE STREETS ARE MAJOR RECONSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE ALSO NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS THAT MAYBE DO NOT HAVE A BUS LINE OR A ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT GOING THROUGH THEM.
SO WE NEED TO ALIGN THAT AS WELL AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT CONVERSATION THERE.
UM, AND THEN NEXT, UH, SO, SO THAT WAS PART OF THE, THE ISSUE, UM, THE BUDGET PROCESS FOR 2023 FOR OUR GREEN, YOU'RE SAYING OUR GREENWAY TRAILS OPERATING COST, WE WOULD, UM, PUT THAT IN THE 2023 BUDGET PROCESS.
I'M VERY, VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS COUNCIL WILL LOOK LIKE.
WE DON'T KNOW WHERE, UM, CERTAIN THINGS WILL, WILL BE.
AND THAT WILL BE ANOTHER, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER, UM, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
SO, UH, WHO KNOWS, UH, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN THERE.
BUT, UM, I WANT TO BUDGET FOR IT, OF COURSE, BUT THAT'S SO FAR OUT AND IT JUST GIVES ME CONCERN OF, FOR PROTECTION OF MY LINEAR CREEK.
'CAUSE I JUST, BOTTOM LINE MAYOR COUNCIL, I NEED MORE ASSURANCES WHEN IT COMES TO OUR LINEAR CREEKS THAN JUST, UM, WHAT I'M SEEING PRESENTED, PRESENTED RIGHT NOW, IN ALL HONESTY, JUST TO, TO BE VERY CLEAR, UM, WHAT IS SAS BOND RATING RIGHT NOW? WHAT IS THEIR BOND RATING? I, I WILL CONFIRM THIS COUNSEL
PLEASE WITH ALL THREE RATING AGENCIES, BUT I'LL CONFIRM THAT FOR YOUR OFFICE.
AND THIS AUTHORIZATION IS FOR A FIVE YEAR AUTHORIZATION, CORRECT? FOR THE, FOR THE ONE A SALES TAX FOR THE LINEAR CREEKS.
BUT HOW LONG DOES TODAY, TODAY'S BEEN IS OVER EVERY FIVE YEARS.
BUT IF, IF THIS GETS REALLOCATED TO THE A T D TAX, THEN, UM, THE WAY THAT THE A T D TAX WORKS IS IN PERPETUITY, UNLESS THERE'S A VOTE TO DECREASE OR INCREASE IT.
SO WE WOULD BE MOVING THIS TO THE A T T AND THEN THAT WOULD BE IN PERPETUITY? YES.
AND SO, COUNCIL HONOR, LEMME SEE.
YES, MAY, MAY I SPEAK TO ONE OF THE, UH, ISSUES YOU RAISED, UH, MR. BAR? SURE.
UM, CONNECT SA WILL NEVER IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC STREETS OR ANY OTHER SPECIFIC ASPECT OF THE GENERAL CATEGORIES.
IT WILL ALWAYS BE UP A HUNDRED PERCENT UP TO THE CITY STAFF AND THE CITY COUNCIL TO SELECT WHAT STREETS IN THE STREETS PORTION, WHAT MICRO MOBILITY LANES IN THE BICYCLE PORTION, WHAT SIDEWALKS IN THE SIDEWALK PORTION.
SO WE HAVE FOUGHT FOR A WAY TO GENERATE FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR THESE PURPOSES, BUT WE'RE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF SPECIFYING THE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS.
WE TAKE NO DISCRETION, NONE OF THE DISCRETION AWAY FROM THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF SAN ANTONIO STAFF AND COUNCIL TO MAKE THOSE COSTS.
[02:20:01]
QUESTIONS FOR VIA, BUT I AM GOING TO SAVE THOSE FOR THE VIA MEETING, UH, WHEN THAT HAPPENS.SO AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH AND I AM, UM, I AM VERY, UH, HOPEFUL OF THE DIRECTION THAT THIS IS, IS MOVING.
UH, BUT I THINK WE DO STILL HAVE A LOT OF CONVERSATION, SO I APPRECIATE MAYOR, ALL OF THIS, THIS, UM, HEALTHY DISCUSSION.
UM, MARIA, THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
UH, ERIC AND BEN, I THINK YOU HAVE ALL DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB WORKING THROUGH THE MANY, MANY, MANY PIECES THAT YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH AND SPEAKING WITH ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS YOU NEEDED TO, TO TALK TO ABOUT THIS.
CONGRATULATIONS ON TODAY'S PRESENTATION.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO THANK MY APPOINTEE TO THE LINEAR CREEKS ADVISORY, UH, BOARD.
THAT'S GREG HAMMER, WHO CURRENTLY SERVES AS THEIR, AS THEIR CHAIR.
AND OF COURSE, UH, I WANNA THANK, UH, DR.
FRANCINE ROMERO FOR, FOR HER WORK AND HER, UM, DEDICATION TO THIS ISSUE.
UM, I JUST, UH, HAVE A COUPLE OF OF QUICK QUESTIONS, UH, REGARDING THE, UM, THE A T D AND HOW THE, THE MONEY SPLITS GOING FORWARD, UH, UNDER SIDEWALKS AND MICRO MOBILITY.
IN THOSE TWO SLIDES, IT LOOKED LIKE THE FUNDING WOULD EXACTLY THOSE.
SO THE POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES WOULD BE, UH, THE BOND AND VIA.
SO WHAT ABOUT OUR YEAR TWO? WELL, A WOULD VIA BUILD THE SIDEWALKS? HOW WOULD THAT WORK? WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN INTO THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL, BUT I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY IT'LL BE A PARTNERSHIP IN THE CITY WILL, UH, TAKE THE LEAD ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SIDEWALKS.
THEY, THEY'RE PROVIDING THE FUNDING TO, TO THE CITY FOR NINE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OVER FIVE YEARS TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SIDEWALK NETWORK.
AND, UH, I WAS GLAD TO SEE YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THE DIFFERENT COSTS OF DIFFERENT MODELS OF SIDEWALKS THAT, AND I KNOW COUNCILMAN TREVINO HAS BEEN PUSHING FOR THAT ANALYSIS, SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT.
UM, PERSONALLY AS A WALKER, I PREFER THE, THE ONE ON THE, THE CHEAPER ONE AND NOT JUST 'CAUSE IT'S CHEAPER, BUT I, I LOVE THAT BUFFER FROM, FROM THE TRAFFIC AND IT MAKES THE PERSON WHO'S WALKING FEEL SAFER.
UM, SO I, I DUNNO WHY WE'VE EVER DONE THESE ON, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, BUT ROSSI, F Y I
UM, SO THANK YOU, MARIA, FOR, FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
UM, I WANTED TO ALSO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS A T D UM, AND, AND MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR, FOR JEFF OR SOME OF THE VIA TEAM, BUT DOES, DO ANY OF THE OTHER MAJOR CITIES IN TEXAS HAVE THIS SORT OF COST SHARE AGREEMENT, UH, WITH THEIR TRANSIT AUTHORITY? SO WE ARE THE ONLY A T D IN THE STATE, AND PART OF THAT WAS BECAUSE WE HAD THE HALF CENT VERSUS THE FULL SENTENCE.
IT WAS A WAY TO BRING SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO, TO TRANSIT IN 2004, I BELIEVE.
UM, THE, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SYSTEMS THAT, THAT PARTICIPATE IN PROJECTS JOINTLY WITH CITIES.
AND I KNOW THAT THIS, THAT, UH, HOUSTON METRO, REMEMBER THEY BRING IN 750 MILLION A YEAR, UH, THAT THEY DEDICATE 25% OF THAT TO ASSIST WITH STREET AND SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS.
SO THEY ONLY GET, WHAT, 550 MILLION A YEAR FOR TRANSIT? IS THAT A SARCASTIC ONLY? YES, IT WAS.
SO WE ARE THE ONLY, UM, WELL ASIDE FROM THAT, UH, PROBABLY THE ONLY TRANSIT, YOU ARE THE ONLY TRANSIT AUTHORITY THAT IS USING YOUR TAXING AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE MONEY TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE? UH, YES, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT CA THAT, UM, BY, BY BY DEFINITION, YES, HOUSTON HAS THE PREROGATIVE TO DO WHAT, WHAT THEY WANT WITH THEIR MONEY.
AND, UH, GOING BACK TO THE, THE BOND, UH, QUESTION, AND I, I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY THE, THE TOUGHEST PART THERE, THERE ARE A COUPLE TOUGH THINGS ABOUT, THERE ARE A LOT OF TOUGH THINGS ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING.
AND I'M LIKE THE COUNCILWOMAN SAID, VERY GLAD THAT, THAT WE'RE HAVING IT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE REQUESTS WE RECEIVE THE MOST IS SIDEWALKS.
WHEN AM I GOING TO SEE A SIDEWALK ON, ON MY STREET? AND, UH, I USED TO SAY, AND I STILL SAY THAT ONE OF THE HARDEST PARTS OF MY JOB IS TELLING PEOPLE, YOU WILL NOT HAVE A SIDEWALK THIS, THIS YEAR.
I KNOW YOU PAY YOUR PROPERTY TAXES.
I KNOW THAT YOU'VE LIVED HERE FOR 30 YEARS, 40 YEARS.
[02:25:01]
UM, BUT CHANCES ARE, BASED ON OUR BUDGETING, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A SIDEWALK THIS YEAR.AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WANT AND EXPECT FROM, UH, FROM FIRST WORLD CITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO IT'S, IT'S TOUGH TO GIVE UP THE A T D FUNDS BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE'RE FUNDING A LOT OF OUR, OUR SIDEWALKS RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT IT'S ALSO TOUGH NOT TO INVEST IN TRANSIT IN A CITY THAT, UH, LIKE THE COUNCILMAN ALLUDED TO, IS STILL VERY ECONOMICALLY SEGREGATED.
AND ACTUALLY YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT, BUT TRANSIT TIES PEOPLE TOGETHER AND IT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR WHEN I'M TELLING YOU THIS, MARIA, YOU'RE NODDING VERY POLITELY.
UM, YOU KNOW, CONNECTING PEOPLE TO JOBS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TYPE OF ADDITIONAL FREQUENCY YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT JEFF MEANS THAT FAMILIES MAY NOT HAVE TO BUY A SECOND CAR AND A SECOND CAR IS, UH, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF EXPENSE OUT OF A HOUSEHOLD A YEAR.
MORE SO, SO, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE OWE OUR COMMUNITY, UM, I'M COMING TO TERMS THAT THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE OWE THEM IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FOR YEARS, UH, AS A CITY INVESTED IN, UM, IN STREETS AND MAINTAINING THOSE, AND RIGHTFULLY SO, THEY SHOULD LOOK GOOD.
BUT, UM, THAT'S REALLY BEEN PREFERENTIAL TO THE SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE.
IT BENEFITS EVERYONE, BUT MOSTLY A SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE.
AND WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT MOVING PEOPLE WITHOUT ALWAYS LAYING DOWN MORE CONCRETE BECAUSE, OR ASPHALT BECAUSE WE ARE, IT'S JUST GONNA BE IMPOSSIBLE TO REALLY MOVE PEOPLE THAT WAY.
AND THE ALTERNATIVE NEEDS TO BE THERE.
UM, SO I, IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY, I'LL GO BACK TO THE BONDS ISSUE.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT 344 MILLION, UM, FOR, AND IT JUST SAYS THE CITY BOND, RIGHT? UM, YES.
SO IN THAT PICTURE IS ALL THE, IS ALL THE CAPITAL COSTS AND ASIDE FROM LINEAR CREEKS, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND ASIDE FROM, UM, AND ASIDE FROM THE AQUIFER, BUT ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH MOBILITY, IT LOOKS LIKE ONLY THE CITY AND VIA ARE FUNDING IT IN THAT SLIDE, UH, IN TERMS OF SIDEWALKS AND MICRO MOBILITY.
SO CAN YOU TELL ME, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WOULD PROHIBIT US FROM, UH, TALKING TO THE COUNTY ABOUT SHARING SOME OF THESE COSTS WITH US? NO.
AND ACTUALLY WE'VE HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND MAYBE THE CITY MANAGER WANTS TO ADDRESS THAT.
UH, BUT YES, WE'VE HAD THOSE CONVERSATION IN TERMS SPECIFICALLY OF THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT.
I MEAN, AND I THINK THAT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE WITH THE COUNTY, BECAUSE I THINK THE REALITY AND THE, THE CRUX OF THE, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT IS THAT, UM, IF, UH, IF THE COUNTY PARTICIPATES IN THE FUNDING, THEN THAT ALLOWS POTENTIALLY MORE FUNDING FOR THAT $191 MILLION ON THAT SLIDE TO GO TOWARDS STREETS MM-HMM.
AND SO WE'RE, WE, UH, TO, TO COUNCILMAN PERRY'S POINT, EVERYBODY'S PAYING TAXES AND IT'S ALL CONNECTED.
IT'S ALSO CONNECTED HERE AND DIRECTLY, UH, TIED TO THE CONVERSATIONS Y'ALL ARE HAVING.
SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND, AND OF COURSE, I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN PERRY.
UH, WE KNOW THAT WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE IT ALL, ALL WORK OUT AND THE NEEDS, THE NEEDS ARE INFINITE, BUT WE HAVE TO DO OUR BEST, UH, BY OUR CITIZENS.
AND I'M, I'M LOOKING UP A TAX APPRAISAL ON A PROPERTY, AND, UH, THE FIRST TAXING ENTITY LISTED ON THAT IS BEAR COUNTY ROADS AND FLOOD.
SO, UM, I'M SURE THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAS THEIR OWN PLANS FOR WHAT THEY WANNA DO WITH THAT.
AND WE DID TOO ORIGINALLY WITH WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO WITH OUR BONDS.
SO I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY A, A FAIR CONVERSATION, UH, IF THAT FUNDING IS DEDICATED TO ROADS AND FLOODS, BECAUSE I TOO, LIKE THE COUNCILWOMAN AM WORRIED ABOUT THE BALANCE THAT'S LEFT OF THAT 950 MILLION FOR ALL THE OTHER PROJECTS, UM, THAT WE WANT TO CARRY FORWARD.
I MEAN, UM, CEILING CHANNEL, UH,
AND WHEN PEOPLE'S HOUSES ARE FLOODING AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PAYING, YOU KNOW, THE SAME PROPERTY TAX RATE AS EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT THEY HAVE TO CONTINUE TO INVEST MORE AND MORE IN THEIR HOUSE BECAUSE THEIR FOUNDATION KEEPS SHIFTING AND THEN THEY'RE BUYING A SECOND CAR.
SO, UM, ANY CONVERSATION IN ADVANCEMENT WITH THE COUNTY WOULD BE, WOULD BE WELCOME.
AND OH, UH, WANTED TO SAY THAT
[02:30:01]
I, I, UH, I WANNA SEE US GET THERE.THAT'S, THAT'S MY, UH, STATEMENT ON THIS, IS I WANNA SEE US GET THERE AND FUND TRANSIT IN A WAY THAT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYONE IN THIS, IN THIS CITY, IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND I, AND I THINK IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO THAT.
I THINK THIS LOOKS LIKE A REASONABLE WAY TO GET THERE.
UM, BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT PROTECTING, UH, OUR BALLOT INITIATIVES, UH, LINEAR CREEKS AND AQUIFERS BEEN IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY TOO.
THEY'VE OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORTED THOSE.
SO I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THE MAYOR HAS DONE AND THAT THE STAFF HAS DONE ON THAT.
UM, I DO, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THIS GO TO THE CAB, WHETHER IT'S ONE MEETING OR TWO MEETINGS.
UM, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, WE, WE DON'T WIN.
IF YOU'RE NOT WITH US, UH, FRANCINE AND, AND THE CAB AND LINEAR PARKS, THIS IS, THIS SHOULD BE A WIN FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY, UH, NOT A BATTLE.
SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, TO WORK WITH US ON THIS.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER CAB HDA.
I BUZZED BACK IN TO ASK ERIC TO CLARIFY, UM, MY CONSTITUENT CONCERNS ABOUT RATE INCREASES, BUT HE'S SINCE DONE THAT.
BUT I'LL TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST CLARIFY THAT I AM EAGER TO LEARN MORE, BUT I AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE IN HIS STATEMENT, THAT THIS IS A SMART AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO MOVE FORWARD AND I SUPPORT THIS INITIATIVE.
COUNCIL MEMBER KIO HTO, COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO.
UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MEETING, I, THE, I, UH, TOLD SECRETARY ADOS SAID, I, I HOPE HE GETS TO SIT DOWN DURING THIS PRESENTATION.
I, MY WISH CAME THROUGH
UH, LAST PRESENTATION, YOU WERE STANDING THE WHOLE TIME.
I DON'T THINK I COULD'VE DONE THAT.
I, ERIC, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID THIS IS REALLY, REALLY TALKING HIGH LEVEL, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, I'M GONNA TRY TO KIND OF APPROACH IT IN FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
UH, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF LUNCHES ALREADY, EVEN THOUGH YOU CHANGED THE LOCATION AFTER YOU, YOU REQUESTED MY PREFERENCE.
UM, HE'S A REALLY PICKY EATER.
UM, YOU WANNA TELL HIM? WELL, I, I SUGGESTED SOME PIZZA.
I MEAN, WHO DOESN'T LIKE PIZZA? THIS GUY? UH, YEAH, THE CARBS, I GUESS.
SO LOOK, I WANNA BE CLEAR, AN INVESTMENT IN TRANSPORTATION IS KEY TO, UH, REVERSING THE LEGACY EFFECTS OF POVERTY.
AND I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS UP ON THIS DAIS ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH THAT.
MY THREE BIG CONCERNS OR OR PRIORITIES WITH REGARDS TO WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE HAS BEEN ADDRESSING THE EDWARDS AFER PROTECTION PROGRAM, THE CREEKWAY, UH, TALKING ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF A, OF, OF AN ACCELERATED RATE INCREASE.
AND OF COURSE, INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I BROUGHT THESE CONCERNS UP TO THE MAYOR AND TO STAFF.
UM, I THINK EVERYBODY FULLY UNDERSTANDS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS ALL TIED TOGETHER.
AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT I DIDN'T SEE, AND AND I'LL ASK, UH, IS, ARE WE DEVELOPING A, A MORE FULLY FORMED PLAN, UH, TO REALLY INVEST IN THE REQUIRED INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO EXECUTE THIS VISION? YES, SIR.
WE ARE, I MEAN, TODAY WAS REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT YOU HEARD THREE WEEKS AGO.
AND, UH, WE HAVE, UM, BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH VIA TO GET PREPARED FOR THE MARCH PRESENTATION, WHICH WHAT I, I WOULD ANTICIPATE WOULD GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE PROJECT AND TIMELINE AND FEDERAL FUNDING AND, AND THE DELIVERY METHODS POTENTIALLY.
UH, BUT YES, SIR, WE ARE, THAT IS IN PROCESS.
AND I, AGAIN, AS YOU KNOW, I, I REALLY WANT TO, UH, TAKE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY AND, UM, TALK ABOUT HOW, HOW INFRASTRUCTURE IS SO IMPORTANT IN OUR CITY, UH, IN, IN OUR LUNCHES.
MARY, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, THIS, I HOPE WE USE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS AS A MORE COMPLETE VISION OF OUR CITY, BECAUSE IT'S TRANSPORTATION IS ABSOLUTELY KEY.
IT'S, BUT IT'S ALSO SORT OF BALANCING ALL THESE LEGACY ISSUES THAT REALLY REVOLVE AROUND INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL.
UH, AND ANOTHER KEY COMPONENT OF THAT IS, IS, AND I'M GLAD THAT, UH, MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE GONZALEZ BROUGHT IT UP REGARDING SAIS D'S ASPIRATIONAL GOAL TO, UM, TO DO $2 BILLION IN UPGRADES, 1.25 BILLION OF THAT WILL BE IN, IN, IN A BOND EDUCATION IS, IS CRITICAL.
AND WE MUST ALWAYS BE PARTNERS, UH, IN, IN THIS, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE WITH S A I S D,
[02:35:01]
UM, I, I AM FULLY SUPPORTIVE AND WILL SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS TO, TO GO AFTER THIS HUGE BOND, TO CORRECT AND UPGRADE, UH, SOME OF THEIR, UH, WELL, THEIR, THEIR, THEIR NEEDS AND THEIR SCHOOLS PROVIDING PLACE FOR, FOR OUR CHILDREN.AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THIS KIND OF GOES BACK TO WHAT I WAS SAYING EARLIER IN UNDERSTANDING, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THESE THINGS ARE ARE ALL, ALL CONNECTED.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT THE NEARLY 2000 MILES OF SIDEWALK GAP.
WE NEVER TALK ABOUT THE SIDEWALKS THAT ARE BROKEN.
I, I WANT AN UPDATE ON THE SIDEWALK SQUAD, UH, TO THIS COUNCIL.
I MEAN, I'M, I'M GETTING IT, BUT IT'S, I, I JUST, UM, I'M CONCERNED.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE JUST HAD A BRIEFING LAST WEEK ABOUT OUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM AND, UM, OUR INNOVATION DEPARTMENT.
WHAT YOU DIDN'T HEAR ME SAY LAST WEEK WAS THAT NONE OF THOSE ITEMS ADDRESSED THESE THINGS.
NONE OF THEIR, THEIR, THEIR OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES AND THE, THE ABILITY TO SORT OF PUT THAT BRAIN POWER TOGETHER IS ADDRESSING ANY OF THIS.
UM, AND I JUST HOPE THAT WE CAN, THAT WE CAN SHOW THAT WE CAN CONNECT THOSE DOTS.
AND, UM, MARIA, I, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I IMPLORE YOU TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS.
YOU AND I DISCUSSED THIS MANY YEARS AGO, AND THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF, OF HAVING SOMETHING LIKE A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR OUR CITY IS TO, IS NOT TO JUST FOR SOME OF THE SORT OF FUTURE-PROOFING OUR CITY, BUT RATHER TACKLING SOME OF OUR LEGACY ISSUES.
AND I, FOR ONE, I THINK I CAN SPEAK FOR ALL MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, AND I'M, I'M ALSO GLAD THAT COUNCILMAN SANDAL BROUGHT THIS UP.
I'M TIRED OF HEARING HOW SIDEWALKS ARE NUMBER ONE ISSUE.
WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT EVEN TRYING TO SOLVE IT.
WE'RE NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU THINK ABOUT WHO WALKS OUR SIDEWALKS, WHO RIDES OUR BUSES, WHO DRIVES OUR STREETS.
THAT'S WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS ABOUT.
AND, AND I WON'T BE SATISFIED, UH, WITH WORKING OUT THIS PLAN AND ASKING VOTERS TO, TO MOVE FORWARD ON AN AMBITIOUS VISION FOR A CITY THAT INCLUDES TRANSPORTATION WITHOUT CONNECTING IT TO SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT IS SO IMPORTANT TO OUR CITY, TO EDUCATION, TO INFRASTRUCTURE, TO THE THINGS THAT THEY FEEL EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I TOLD THAT THE STORY, THE LAST TIME WE HAD THE PRESENTATION ABOUT CONNECT, SE TOLD THE STORY ABOUT A LADY WHO CAME UP TO ME, ST.
AGNES, ABOUT HOW SH SHE JUST DECIDED TO GIVE UP GOING TO NIGHT SCHOOL SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE COULD, SHE DIDN'T LIKE, DID NOT LIKE OR DIDN'T FEEL SAFE WALKING TO THE BUS STOP.
NOT ENOUGH SIDEWALK, NOT ENOUGH LIGHTS, NOT ENOUGH.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA SAY, UH, I THINK I, I'M VERY HOPEFUL WITH THIS PLAN, AND, UH, I'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND YOU MAYOR AND CITY MANAGEMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THIS.
AND I, I WANT TO SOLVE ALL THESE PROBLEMS. THANK YOU, MAYOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UM, I WANT TO FIRST SAY TO SECRETARY CISNEROS, THANK YOU.
I KNOW AT THE LAST PRESENTATION, I KIND OF PUT YOU ON THE SPOT AND ASKED YOU ABOUT HOW WE WERE GONNA MAKE AQUIFER PROTECTION AND TRANSPORTATION OUR PRIORITY.
AND IN THE PROCESS, WHAT I SEE TODAY IS TRULY THE FIRST STEP IN MAKING BOTH OF THOSE A REALITY FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO OUR CITY MANAGER AND OUR MAYOR.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO HOW THE RESIDENTS WERE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT HOW THE AQUIFER PROTECTION WAS GONNA BE COVERED AND HANDLED BY THE CITY.
AND SO, AS WE GO FORWARD, I AM HOPING THAT WE CAN ALL COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT TRULY LOOKS LIKE FOR US AS A CITY TO WORK UNITED, TO MAKE EVERY PRIORITY FRONT AND FOREMOST A NECESSITY TO EACH AND EVERY RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO, UM, I CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR US TO LOOK FOR MORE WAYS BEING TO TRULY COVER ALL OF OUR DEFICITS BECAUSE THEY'RE THERE AND WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO TAP INTO OUR FEDERAL RESOURCES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT GRANT WRITERS IN PLACE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN AS WELL.
SO, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE REMAINDER OF THIS CONVERSATION.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, COUNCIL
[02:40:01]
MEMBER, UM, MARIA, I, FORGIVE ME FOR ASKING YOU TO COME BACK UP HERE.UM, YOU THROW OUT SO MANY NUMBERS, AND I KNOW YOU KEEP 'EM STRAIGHT IN YOUR HEAD, BUT YOU OVERWHELM ME SOMETIMES.
UH, I DID, I SAW THE NUMBER 350 SOMETHING FOR SIDEWALKS, 350 MILES OF SIDEWALKS.
I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS 200 AND CHANGE THE LAST TIME, UH, SECRETARY CISNEROS WAS UP HERE.
HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN 300 AND CHANGE? NO, YOU'RE CORRECT.
WHEN, UM, SECRETARY HEAND PRESENTED, HE HAD A GOAL OF ABOUT 295, UH, SINCE WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH T C I AND AGAIN, CHALLENGING THEM TO BE ABLE TO BUILD SIDEWALKS AT A LOWER COST.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A GOAL OF $55 PER LINEAR FOOT.
SO THAT ALLOWS US TO DO THE 393 MILES.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN TREVINO, YOU'RE RIGHT.
UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF MILES.
UH, AND IT IS, RIGHT? I MEAN, 390 SOMETHING MILES IS, IS A BIG NUMBER, BUT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE GAP OF, WHAT IS IT, 1800 MILES? YES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE DISTANCE TO DRIVE FROM HERE TO BOSTON, RIGHT? AND 300 MILES IS A LITTLE BIT SHY OF DRIVING FROM HERE TO BROWNSVILLE.
UH, AND SO, UH, I MEAN, WE, WE CLEARLY HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.
AND THEN IT'S FUNNY 'CAUSE I WAS TALKING TO, UH, SOME NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, LEADERS RECENTLY, AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, THE SIDEWALK IN MY DISTRICTS LOOK LIKE THIRD WORLD COUNTRY SIDEWALKS, YOU KNOW, AND I WENT TO THEIR DISTRICT AND NO, IT DOESN'T, YOU, YOU HAVE A CRACK IN SOME OF YOUR SIDEWALKS AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HELP YOU OUT WITH THAT.
BUT WHAT WAS INTERESTING IS THAT EVEN THEY ARE AWARE THAT MANY THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES HAVE SIDEWALKS TOO, RIGHT.
AND, UH, IF THEY, THEY CAN DO IT, YOU KNOW, SO CAN WE, UM, IN FACT, I'M TRAVELING TO A, WHAT IS IN ESSENCE A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND I REMEMBER GROWING UP IN, IN BOGOTA, THERE'S SIDEWALKS EVERYWHERE, RIGHT? I MEAN, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU DID AS A FAMILY.
YOU WOULD SPEND YOUR TIME OUTSIDE ON SIDEWALKS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IF MAJOR CITIES IN POOR COUNTRIES CAN FIGURE THIS OUT, WE CAN TOO, RIGHT? AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WANTING IT BAD ENOUGH.
AND SO, UM, YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE MY SUPPORT AND THANK YOU RAZZI FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU DO.
I KNOW THAT SIDEWALKS IS NOT SEXY, BUT, UM, YOU GUYS DO A GREAT JOB.
AND BEFORE I WRAP UP, UH, HENRY, COULD YOU COME UP HAVE SOME SUMMARY STATEMENTS? WELL, MR. MAYOR, MOSTLY I WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
UH, THANK YOU TO THE COUNCIL FOR, UH, THE APPRECIATIVE, I WANT TO APPRECIATE THE INQUIRIES, THE SPIRIT OF INQUIRY TODAY, AND THE SPIRIT OF PROBLEM SOLVING.
THANK YOU ALL INDIVIDUALLY, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR QUESTIONS.
UM, I AM BLOWN AWAY BY THE CITY STAFF AND THE JOB THEY DID TODAY.
UH, ERIC WALSH HAS BEEN A STALWART THROUGH THIS WHOLE PROCESS.
UH, METICULOUS AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
AND MARIA VILLA GOMEZ'S PRESENTATION TODAY WAS VERY PRECISE AND ACCURATE.
I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE CITY FOR A LOT OF YEARS, STARTING IN 1975.
AND I SAY THIS ADVISEDLY, I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER HEARD A BETTER PRESENTATION IN ALL OF THOSE YEARS THAN WHAT WE HEARD TODAY.
EVERY NUMBER MATCHES, EVERYTHING ADDS UP.
YOU, YOU REALLY, UH, WE'RE ALL FORTUNATE AS A CITY TO HAVE FOLKS LIKE THAT ON THE JOB.
ART REINHARDT, WHO MADE MOST OF THE PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD, AND THERE WERE 65, 75 OF THEM, UH, DOING A GREAT JOB IN THE, THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT AND IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE COUNCIL.
I WANNA THANK THE MAYOR WHO HAS BEEN A VERY STRONG MAYOR IN THIS PROCESS, KEEPING HIS EYE ON THE PRIORITIES AND, UH, ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, AS IT BECAME CLEAR WE NEEDED TO PRODUCE A CLEAR FIRM TRUSTABLE AQUIFER PROGRAM.
THE MAYOR LENT ALL HIS, UH, ENERGIES TO THAT EFFORT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE PRODUCED.
UH, WHEN I USE THE WORD WE, I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT THE MAYOR SAWS, THE AQUIFER ADVOCATES, UH, HAVE PRODUCED.
LET ME JUST SAY A QUICK WORD, UH, THAT, THAT JUST SAYS A VERY BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
WHAT WE'VE PRODUCED, I THINK IS A PLAN.
AND, AND BY THE WAY, TO THE THANKS, I WANTED TO ADD CLEARLY ALL OF THE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED.
THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN THIS PROCESS, OBVIOUSLY WAS VIA BUT T DOT AND THE COUNTY AND EVERYONE ELSE.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE IS A PLAN THAT INVOLVES NO NEW PROPERTY TAX REQUEST, NO RATE INCREASE AT SAWS FOR THIS PURPOSE.
IT IS COMPREHENSIVE TO GO TO COUNCILWOMAN H'S.
QUESTION EARLIER, WHAT IS COMPREHENSIVE? IT INVOLVES SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS, TRAILS COMPLETION, NEW BICYCLE LANES
[02:45:01]
CONTINUATION ON A LARGE SCALE OF STREET PROGRAMS. THE HIGHWAY PROGRAMS, INTERCHANGES AND FREEWAYS.THE BUS ROUTES INCREASED FREQUENCY OF BUS ROUTES AND NEW MODES OF APPLYING BUSES ON DEDICATED LANES.
UH, THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE'VE COME TO A STRONGER, AS COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ SAID, AQUIFER PROGRAM, BECAUSE IT LASTS FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
ONE PROGRAM THAT WASN'T, ONE POINT THAT WASN'T MENTIONED TODAY ABOUT THE AQUIFER PROGRAM IS THAT BECAUSE IT'S BONDED WRITTEN INTO THE BOND COVENANTS IS WHAT IT WILL DO AND WHAT IT'S USED FOR, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE 10 YEARS OF PROTECTION THAT THE MONEY WILL BE USED PRECISELY AND ONLY FOR THOSE PURPOSES.
BECAUSE THIS PROGRAM, I THINK IS, IS, HAS GOTTEN MORE SAFEGUARDS IN THAT RESPECT.
AND THE TRAILS PROGRAM IS WELL ON THE WAY TO COMPLETION BY BRINGING COUNTY RESOURCES INTO THE PROCESS.
WE END UP WITH ACTUALLY TO GO TO YOUR POINT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN SAN DEVA, WHERE YOU SAID THERE ARE HARD ISSUES HERE, BUT WE END UP WITH MORE SIDEWALKS PER YEAR THAN WE'RE PRESENTLY DOING AND MORE MICRO MOBILITY PER YEAR THAN WE'RE PRESENTLY DOING.
NOW, IS THERE SOME PLACE WHERE WE HAVE TO GIVE UP SOMETHING OR WE, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE DON'T ACHIEVE MAYBE THE SAME NUMBERS AS PRESENTLY, AND THAT IS, WE DO DO FEWER STREETS IN THE BOND ISSUE THAT HAS THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT.
THAT IS A ONE-TIME PROPOSITION.
ON THE OTHER HAND, TO GO TO COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ'S POINT, THERE ARE CITIES INCLUDING 1 75 MILES NORTH OF HERE THAT PUT TOGETHER AN $800 MILLION BOND ISSUE, 100% FOR MOBILITY.
THEY JUST TOOK A BOND ISSUE AND MADE THE WHOLE THING MOBILITY FOR ONE TIME.
WE'RE ASKING FOR A SLIGHT LEAD, LARGER PROPORTION DEDICATED TO STREET SIDEWALKS, BUSES, AND TRANSPORTATION THAN HAS BEEN THE NORM.
BUT IT'S GONNA BE A LARGER BOND ISSUE BECAUSE OUR TAX RATE ALLOWS IT TO BE A, A LARGER BOND ISSUE.
I THINK WE PROMISED YOU AT THE BEGINNING A BALANCED STRATEGY, COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY, A THREAD, THE NEEDLE STRATEGY THAT TRIES TO HIT ALL THESE MARKS.
AND A STRATEGY THAT IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS SAN ANTONIANS CAN AFFORD AND STILL MOVE FORWARD ON CRITICAL ISSUES OF MOBILITY AND THE AQUIFER.
UH, SO I THANK EVERYBODY, UH, FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCESS.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR QUESTIONS TODAY.
VERY ASTUTE, AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONCRETE DECISIONS GOING AHEAD THAT WILL PUT IT IN EFFECT.
AND, AND LET ME REITERATE MY THANKS, UH, TO MY COLLEAGUES ON THE CITY COUNCIL FOR A VERY VIGOROUS QUESTIONING.
UH, THIS PROCESS HAS MADE THE PLAN STRONGER.
IT'S ALWAYS, IT'S ALSO, UH, VERIFIED, UH, SOME THINGS THAT WE KNOW, WHICH IS THAT IF WE DO IT RIGHT, A TRANSPORTATION PLAN IS MORE THAN JUST ABOUT TRANSPORTATION.
IT'S ABOUT DISRUPTING POVERTY.
IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS CITY.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I AM, I'M VERY PLEASED THAT WE HAVE A PROGRAM HERE THAT IS ABLE TO NOT ONLY LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS, UH, BUT ALSO ACHIEVE SOME OF THE HIGHER LEVEL GOALS THAT WE HAVE, HAVE AS A COMMUNITY.
UM, AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK, UM, VIA, UH, THEIR BOARD, THEIR STAFF, UM, BOTH CHAIRMAN AT THIS POINT, UH, AS WELL AS OUR CITY STAFF THAT HAS REALLY LED THIS EFFORT.
AND ONE PERSON THAT WASN'T MENTIONED BY NAME IS BEN GOEL.
AND MY COMMENTS EARLIER, BEN, YOU'VE DONE AN AMAZING JOB DIGGING INTO THESE NUMBERS.
AND, AND HENRY, IF YOU'RE IMPRESSED BY MARIA'S PRESENTATION TODAY, YOU HAVEN'T SEEN HER PRESENT THE WHOLE CITY BUDGET BEFORE.
UH, OR, OR DEBT, RIGHT? SO, UH, ANYHOW, THIS IS, UM, THIS IS AN INFLECTION POINT FOR OUR CITY.
UH, THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS WE CAN, WE CAN POINT TO OR MAKE UP OR EXCUSES INTO WHICH WE CAN VERY EASILY SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? IT'S TOO HARD.
BUT I THINK OUR RESIDENTS DESERVE BETTER THAN THAT.
THEY EXPECT BETTER THAN THAN THAT FROM US.
THEY DON'T WANT US TO LOSE SIGHT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EDWARDS AFER PROTECTION PROGRAM.
THIS IS A COMMITMENT TO DO THAT.
THIS IS A COMMITMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PROGRAM CONTINUES.
A PRO, UH, CONTINUES ROBUSTLY SECURELY WITH A SOURCE OF FUNDING THAT ALLOWS US TO ENSURE THAT THIS, UM, VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAM HAS A LONG-TERM SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN A WAY THAT WE CAN CONTINUE, UH, TO PROGRAM MONIES INTO IT AS THE DATA INFORMS US TO DO SO.
THIS IS ALSO A PROGRAM THAT FINALLY ENDS THE UNDERINVESTMENT IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, WHICH IS NOT A SMALL FEAT.
UM, I'VE GOTTEN MORE COMMENTS THAN YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHAT'S, HOW DO YOU ANSWER THIS? HOW DO YOU ANSWER, UM, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR THIS
[02:50:01]
WHEN THERE'S SO MANY REASONS WHY IT'S TOO HARD OR IT'S NOT THE RIGHT TIME, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.BUT WE HAVE KNOWN FOR 20 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN LETTING OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DOWN AND THEREBY LETTING OUR MOST DISADVANTAGED MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY DOWN AND TAKING OUR EYE OFF THE BALL OF BEING A COMPETITIVE CITY LONG TERM.
I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN ELECTED TO DO HARD WORK AND THIS IS VERY HARD WORK.
AND I'M SO GLAD THAT I HAVE, UH, COLLEAGUES, UH, STAFF, UM, AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY THAT'S WAITING FOR US TO GET THIS DONE.
AND, UM, WHILE IT'S NOT COMPLETELY DONE, I THINK WE'RE CLOSER THAN WE EVER HAVE BEEN BEFORE, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING IT OVER THE FINISH LINE WITH YOU ALL.
UM, IT'S TOO IMPORTANT FOR US NOT TO GET THIS DONE.
UH, AND SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYONE FOR BEARING WITH US, UH, IN THE OPEN, TRANSPARENT DIALOGUE THAT WE'VE HAD ABOUT IT.
IT WILL CONTINUE, UH, AND BY NOVEMBER, 2020, WE WILL HAVE A VOTE TO START A BONAFIDE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
[Executive Session]
IT IS 5:05 PM ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH, 2020.THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL NOW MEET AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 AND THE DELIBERATE DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOV, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.087, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE PURCHASE EXCHANGE LEASE OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY PURSUANT TO TEXAS TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.072 REAL PROPERTY CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 FOR LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO LITIGATION INVOLVING THE CITY AND DELIBERATE THE DIS APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, EVALUATION OF REASSIGNMENT DUTIES, DISCIPLINE OR DISMISSAL OF PUBLIC OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES, AND DISCUSS RELATED LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.074 AND SECTION 5 5 1 0.071.