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THE TIME[1. 20-3014 Briefing on the final reports of the COVID-19 Community Action Working Groups.]
IS, UH, 1:02 PM ON THIS TUESDAY, MAY 26TH, 2020.GO AHEAD AND CALL THE SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT TO ORDER.
I THINK WE HAVE BOTH OUR CITY CLERK AND OUR COUNTY CLERK AND ATTENDANCE.
SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, START THE ROLL.
MADAM CLERK COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO.
COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ PRESENT.
THIS IS LUCIA LAR BEAR COUNTY CLERK JUDGE NELSON WOLF.
COMMISSIONER JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ.
COMMISSIONER KEVIN A. WOLF AND COMMISSIONER CALVERT ON COMMISSIONER CALVERT'S LINK.
UH, SO I THINK HE'S TRYING TO GET BACK ON.
JUDGE, WILL WE HAVE A QUORUM? ALRIGHT, WELL, WELCOME EVERYONE AGAIN TO, UH, WHAT WILL BE, UH, THE CLOSING, UH, CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSIONER'S COURT JOINT MEETING WITH REGARD TO OUR COVID 19 ACTION GROUPS.
UH, I FIRST WANNA SAY THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE ON THIS CALL, UH, TO OUR, UH, COLLEAGUES OVER AT THE COURT.
UH, JUDGE WOLF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COLLABORATION.
I THINK IT, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, UH, BUT THE LEVEL OF, UM, COLLABORATION, UH, IS, UH, UNPRECEDENTED THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
AND, AND IT HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY NEEDED, UH, IN ORDER FOR US TO IDENTIFY THE NEED, UH, THAT WAS BROUGHT TO BEAR WITH THIS, UH, CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, BUT ALSO TO MATCH THE RESOURCES, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT NEEDED THEM.
SO, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR EFFORTS.
I ALSO WANT TO TIP MY HAT AND, AND THANK YOU TO A FRIEND OF THE CITY, A FRIEND OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, GORDON HARTMAN, FOR COORDINATING OUR EFFORTS HERE.
UH, YOUR WORK, GORDON, HAS BEEN TRULY EXTRAORDINARY, UM, AND WE ALL ARE, ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR YOU.
SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND NOW TURN IT OVER TO, UH, JUDGE WOLF, AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO OUR PRESENTATIONS.
AND THANKS FOR THE GREAT COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, AND PARTICULARLY TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, BECAUSE THEY WERE THE DRIVING FORCE IN WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE HEARING TODAY FROM GARDEN HARTMAN AND THE FIVE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES THAT, UH, WORKED SO HARD ON THIS.
SO, UM, AGAIN, APPRECIATION TO ALL OF THEM AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING THE, UH, FINAL REPORT.
UM, WE'LL TURN IT NOW OVER TO OUR COVID 19, UH, ACTION GROUP COORDINATOR, GORDON HARTMAN.
UM, I, IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS ONLY 57 DAYS AGO, UH, THAT WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE IDEA OF BRINGING THESE STRIKE TEAMS, UH, TOGETHER.
UM, IF WE THINK ABOUT 57 DAYS AGO, UM, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THINGS WERE GOING, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF CONCERN, AND THERE'S STILL IS A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED IN REFERENCE TO COVID-19.
BUT I THINK THAT WHAT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE PAST 57 DAYS THROUGH AN INCREDIBLE LEVEL OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, WE ARE MUCH FURTHER ALONG THROUGH THESE WORKING GROUPS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I GOT INVOLVED IN THIS, AND I WAS CONTACTED BY BOTH YOU, THE MAYOR AND, AND JUDGE, IN RESPECT TO WHETHER THAT I WAS OPEN TO BEING A COORDINATOR ON THIS, I, I HAD TO STEP BACK FOR A MOMENT AND SAY, UH, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WOULD THERE BE IN BRINGING THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TOGETHER AN EFFORT LIKE THIS? WOULD IT WORK? WOULD THERE BE A SENSE OF COOPERATION? BECAUSE, UM, SOMETIMES YOU HEAR ABOUT CITY AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS THAT DON'T WORK TOGETHER.
AND I CAN'T OVERLY EMPHASIZE TO EVERYONE WHO IS LISTENING TO THIS, HOW I WAS SO IMPRESSED IN THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, HOW THE CITY AND THE COUNTY,
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UH, WENT BEYOND THE NORM IN RESPECT TO WANTING TO WORK TOGETHER TO BE RECEIVING TEXAS FROM A COUNCIL MEMBER AND A COMMISSIONER ABOUT AN ISSUE TOGETHER AND COORDINATING BACK AND FORTH, AND JUST THE GENERAL SENSE OF COOPERATION ON ALL THE, UH, MEETINGS THAT WE HAD, UH, THE, THE HOURS AND HOURS, HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF DISCUSSION THAT OCCURRED, BOTH IN MEETINGS AND, AND PHONE CALLS, AND THROUGH TEXT AND THROUGH EMAILS OF THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WAS DONE.I, I CAN'T SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH TO, UH, THE 16 ELECTED OFFICIALS, UM, UH, 10 COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE MAYOR, OF COURSE, THE JUDGE, AND THE FOUR COMMISSIONERS, BECAUSE WITHOUT EACH OF YOU, UH, IN YOUR WILLINGNESS TO WORK TOGETHER AND ALONGSIDE THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UM, WE WOULDN'T HAVE, I THINK, THE SUCCESS IN THE REPORT THAT IS BEING PRESENTED TODAY.
UH, THE REPORT WILL BE PRESENTED, UH, TO EVERYONE BY THE CO-CHAIRS OF EACH OF THE COMMITTEES, OF EACH OF THE WORKING GROUPS.
UH, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO WORK CLOSELY WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES, BOTH ON THE COURT AND ON THE COUNSEL TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS DAY POSSIBLE.
UH, ALSO, UH, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DID NOT THANK, UH, AGAIN, AS I HAVE DONE MANY TIMES BEFORE, UH, MELODY, ALEX, JESSICA, AND SALLY, WHO WERE THE, UH, PLAYED A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN KEEPING THINGS ORGANIZED THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PROCESS BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE, UH, SO MANY DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES TO, FOR PEOPLE TO WANT TO SAY, HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED AND WOULD SEND INFORMATION.
AND IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE TOOK THAT INFORMATION AS BEST WE COULD FACILITATE IT, FACILITATE IT THROUGH THE WORKING GROUPS, AND PRODUCE ULTIMATELY WHAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY.
AND SO, WITHOUT THEIR ASSISTANCE, UH, THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, THE CITY MANAGER'S COOPERATION, ERIC WALSH, AND OF COURSE, UH, DAVID SMITH ON THE COUNTY SIDE, UH, WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PRODUCE THIS REPORT AS WELL.
SO, WITH THAT, UH, MAYOR AND JUDGE, IF YOU'LL ALLOW ME, I'M GOING TO BEGIN, UH, GOING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT, UM, WORKING GROUP, UH, REPORTS.
UM, I, I'VE BEEN GIVEN AN AGENDA HERE IN RESPECT TO THE TIMING.
AND EACH, UH, WORKING GROUP IS TO SPEND ABOUT 10 MINUTES, UH, BETWEEN THE COUNCIL MEMBER AND THE COMMISSIONER AS CO-CHAIRS, UH, TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHAT THEIR REPORT, THEIR FINAL REPORT SAYS, AND HOW IT IS GONNA SERVE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF BRINGING FOCUS TO THE NEEDS THAT EXIST.
AND ALSO THOSE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE, UH, FEDERAL AND STATE AREA, TALKING ABOUT HOW THOSE NEEDS ARE BEING MET WITH FUNDING THAT IS COMING FORWARD TO US.
AND ALSO, WE WILL ALSO BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT THE PHILANTHROPY GROUP AS WELL, WORKING GROUP.
UM, I'VE BEEN REQUESTED BY, UH, COUNCILMAN CALVERT, UH, TO BEGIN, UH, WITH SOCIAL SERVICES.
HE HAS ANOTHER MEETING TO GO TO.
AND, UH, HIS, UH, CO-CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAVINO IS OUT TODAY.
SO, UH, THE COMMISSIONER WILL HAVE ALL 10 MINUTES TO HIMSELF.
SO,
THANK YOU, GORDON, FOR YOUR HARD WORK.
UH, THE FIRST THING IN TERMS OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE WE DID WAS EXPAND IT.
UH, WE RECOGNIZED WE DIDN'T HAVE A SOCIAL WORKER ON THE COMMITTEE, AND THE VARIOUS, UH, AREAS THAT FALL UNDER SOCIAL SERVICES ARE TREMENDOUS.
SO I WANNA START BY THANKING THE VERY ROBUST PARTICIPATION OF ALL WHO WERE INVOLVED.
AND THEN I'M GONNA JUST GIVE A VERY HIGH QUICK LEVEL AT, UH, THE ISSUES THAT, UH, WERE INVOLVED.
THE ISSUES THAT WE TACKLE, UH, IN SOCIAL SERVICES INCLUDED ADULT LITERACY.
UH, THEY INCLUDED ASSET FUNDING.
THEY INCLUDED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEY INCLUDED DIGITAL DIVIDE AND CONNECTIVITY RECOMMENDATIONS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RECOMMENDATIONS, EVICTIONS, LEGAL AID RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, HOMELESSNESS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, JUSTICE INVOLVED, COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS, SENIOR SERVICES, RECOMMENDATIONS, SPECIAL NEEDS, POPULATION RECOMMENDATIONS, UNDOCUMENTED RESIDENT POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, SO THE ISSUES WERE ROBUST AND WE, UH, WE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COVER IT ALL.
SO, UH, COUNCILMAN TREVINO CO-CHAIRED THE COMMITTEE AND THANK HIM FOR HIS WORK.
COUNCILMAN COURAGE WAS ALSO ON THE COMMITTEE.
CHA GUZMAN, UH, TULI WELLS, ALISON GREER, ANTONIO FERNANDEZ.
BETTY ECKERT, CAROLYN HEATH, JUDGE, CRYSTAL CHANDLER.
AND I'LL, I'M JUST GONNA ADD THEIR, THEIR, THEIR VARIOUS ENTITIES.
BEAR COUNTY FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER, DAVID ZALO FROM PROJECT QUEST, DON LARIOS FROM THE SAN ANTONIO RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION.
ELLIE ROBINSON FROM PROJECT QUEST, FRANCIS GONZALEZ, ASSET FUNDERS NETWORK.
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PASTOR GAVIN ROGERS, TRAVIS PARK CHURCH, DR.CORINA GILL, OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY LADY ROMANO, UNITED WAY OF SAN ANTONIO AND BEAR COUNTY, LENORA WALKER FREED TEXAS.
MARTHA EZ FROM FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION SERVICES.
MARY GARR FROM FAMILY SERVICES ASSOCIATION, MEGAN LEGACY FROM SA HOPE CENTER.
MO CUEVAS FROM OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY JUDGE MONIQUE DIAZ, BEAR COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS JUDGE PETER SAKAI, BEXAR COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS, TJ MAYS OF PHIPPS DE DEACON PERNELL.
UH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF STAFF.
UH, AND I WANT TO THANK ALL THE STAFF THAT SUPPORTED THIS EFFORT.
UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, HIGH LEVEL, UM, ADULT LITERACY AND EDUCATION SERVICES WERE IDENTIFIED FOR FUNDING AS KEY NEEDS TO ENSURE MARGINALIZED RESIDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO AVAILABLE SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY.
IN PARTICULAR, RESOURCES FOR FORMERLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS WERE IDENTIFIED AS A FOCUS AREA FOR ENHANCING AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
UH, THEY RECOMMEND CO-LOCATING ADULT LITERACY EFFORTS IN LIBRARIES, UH, INTEGRATING ADULT LITERACY INTO EXISTING JOB PROGRAMS. AS PROJECT QUEST DOES INCREASE ADULT LITERACY RESOURCES, INCREASING FUNDING, UH, ENHANCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND WRAPAROUND SERVICES, SUCH AS INCREASING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, SUPPORT PROGRAMMING ADMINISTERED BY EXISTING NONPROFITS, UH, ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING ADULT LITERACY AND EDUCATION SERVICES ENHANCE DIGITAL INCLUSION BY SUPPORTING THE EXPANSION OF DIGITAL INCLUSION RESOURCES FOR ADULTS.
INCREASED DIAGNOSIS OF ADULT LEARNING DISABILITIES.
UH, INCREASE ACCESS TO DIAGNOSIS FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES IN ADULTS AND TEACHING RESOURCES.
EXPAND ACCESS TO ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSES FOR ADULT LEARNERS, EXPAND WORKFORCE SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ADULTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES.
AND THE ASSET FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS SECTION.
UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE TO FORM A FINANCIAL STABILIZATION AND STRENGTHENING COMMITTEE, DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE INVENTORY OF SERVICES, ENHANCE COMMUNITY AWARENESS, EXPAND CROSS SEC SECTOR FINANCIAL COUNSELING AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, IMPLEMENT TECHNOLOGY-BASED REFERRAL SYSTEM PLATFORM, PRIORITIZE FINANCIAL COACHING AND WORKFORCE TRAINING, INCREASE AND DIVERSIFY FUNDING FOR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT SERVICES, ENHANCE BENEFIT ENROLLMENT AND AWARENESS AND ASSISTANCE.
INCREASE FINANCIAL INSTITUTION REPAYMENT FLEXIBILITY THAT IS ADVOCATE THAT, UH, BANKS AND FINANCE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PROVIDE FOR FLEXIBILITY AND REPAYMENT OPTIONS SO THAT CONSUMER CREDIT SCORES ARE NOT IMPACTED AS THEY AS THIS ECONOMY RECOVERS.
THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS, EXPAND PROGRAMMING SUPPORT.
INCREASE THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR OPERATIONAL, UH, COSTS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS TO EXPAND BEHAVIORAL PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES.
UH, ENHANCE TELEHEALTH AND, UH, UH, TELEPHONY SERVICES, UH, AND THAT A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO IN THE LEGISLATURE.
TARGETED LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY PROVIDE TARGETED LEG LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY TO SUPPORT PARITY FOR TELEHEALTH SERVICES INDEFINITELY.
IT'S CURRENTLY, UH, SCHEDULED TO END MAY 31ST, 2020.
AND ADDITIONALLY PROVIDE TARGETED LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY FOR EXPANSION OF ASSISTED LIVING FOR THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, UH, SUPPORT FOR ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS BY SERVICE PROVIDERS INCLUDED, EXPAND ACCESS TO BEHAVIORAL SERVICES, ENHANCE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKER RESOURCES, EXPAND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE RESOURCES, EXPAND LIVING FACILITIES AND SUPPORTS IN THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND CONNECTIVITY RECOMMENDATIONS.
PARENTHETICALLY, MANY BELIEVE THAT THIS ISSUE IS MUCH LIKE A NEW INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUE AND PERHAPS SHOULD BE TAKEN UP EVEN IN FUTURE BONDS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF CONNECTIVITY IN SAN ANTONIO BEING ONE OF THE WORST CITIES IN AMERICA FOR INTERNET CONNECTIONS AT HOME.
SO THE PRIMARY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DIGITAL INTERNET WIDE AREA NETWORK FORM A DIGITAL INCLUSION CONSORTIUM IN THAT CONSORTIUM TO HELP US GET SOLUTIONS.
THAT INCLUDES BEXAR COUNTY, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
IT INCLUDES THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS, ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND UNIVERSITIES SHOULD JOIN TOGETHER WITH COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS SUCH AS C P S ENERGY, SAN ANTONIO HOUSING AUTHORITY.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES FORM A CONSORTIUM TO CLOSE A LOCAL DIGITAL DIVIDE AND COMMIT FUNDING TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT AREA.
STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATURES ALSO MUST BE BROUGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN, IN, IN ORDER TO OVERCOME, UH, THE DISPARITY IN INTERNET CONNECTIVITY THAT THIS COUNTY HAS.
CONSULT REGIONAL INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS TO EXPAND OUR DIGITAL NETWORK IN THE AREA OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
UM, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE COMMITTEE FELT THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,
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UH, COMMITTEE NEEDED FURTHER FUNDING AND EXPANSION.AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE AND IMPROVED REFERRAL SYSTEM.
EXPAND PERPETRATOR REHABILITATION E ENHANCE LEGAL SERVICES, TARGET OUTREACH, IMPROVE UTILIZATION SERVICES, UH, SUPPORT FOR MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS, UH, PROVIDE DEDICATED SERVICES TO THE L G B T IMMIGRANT AND OTHER COMMUNITIES IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND BEXAR COUNTY, WHO HAVE UNIQUELY VULNERABLE, UH, UH, ARE UNIQUELY VULNERABLE POPULATIONS ENHANCE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE PROVIDERS.
THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE LINK BETWEEN THE TWO.
BREAK DOWN THE SILOS, WHICH ARE HAPPENING BETWEEN SERVICE PROVIDERS TO ESTABLISH A NEW SCREENING.
UH, NEW REFERRALS AND SERVICES FOR VICTIMS THAT ALLOWS COORDINATION BETWEEN PROVIDERS DUE TO THEIR CLOSE CONNECTION IN TERMS OF PROBABILITY SUPPORT FOR ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED.
COORDINATE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SCREENING AND REFERRAL LEGAL SERVICES, TRAINING AND REFERRAL NETWORK TEAM DATING, VIOLENCE AND COMMUNITY AWARENESS IN THE EVICTIONS LEGAL AID RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE COMMITTEE BELIEVES IN IMPLEMENTING A RIGHT TO CURE SOLUTION AND POLICY, A RIGHT TO COUNSEL EXPANSION AND FUNDING LEGAL SERVICES TO NEGOTIATE WITH LANDLORDS TO AVOID EVICTIONS AND CONSUMER CREDIT ERRORS.
EVEN STARBUCKS ASKED FOR TWO MONTHS OF TIME TO ALL OF ITS, UH, UH, LANDOWNERS THAT THEY RENT FROM.
THEY SAID THEY DON'T THINK THEY NEED TO EXPLAIN.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT OUR COUNCIL COMMISSIONER'S COURT JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, UNDERSTAND WHAT TIME IT IS.
EVERYBODY'S GETTING A BREAK, BUT RENTERS.
SO WE ASK THAT, UH, THE COUNCIL AND OTHERS GO BACK AND PASS A RIGHT TO CURE POLICY.
HOMELESSNESS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ALSO WERE OFFERED, EVEN THOUGH WE RECOGNIZED THERE WAS A HOUSING, SHELTER AND FOOD COMMITTEE.
UH, THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED CONTINUED SUPPORT OF TEMPORARY, UH, RESOURCE HUBS, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND COORDINATION WITH LOCAL HOMELESS PROVIDERS, ESTABLISHED HOMELESS RESOURCE HUBS AND CLOSE PROXIMITY TO AREAS WITH A HIGH CONGREGATION OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS TO PROVIDE FOOD AND OTHER BASIC RESOURCES.
IT'S RECOMMENDED FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THESE HUBS CONTINUE UNTIL LOCAL SH SH SHELTERS OPEN REOPEN INTAKE, EXPAND HYGIENE AND BASIC NEEDS SERVICES, ENHANCE HOMELESS SERVICES, WORKER AND VOLUNTEER RESOURCES, UH, SORRY, THAT'S MY PHONE'S GOING OFF.
UH, EXPLORE ALTERNATIVE HOMELESS HOUSING OPTIONS.
UTILIZE EMPTY HOTELS FOR HOMELESS, UH, QUARANTINE LOCATIONS TO PROTECT NEIGHBORHOODS FROM THE, UH, EXPANSION OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR STREETS, WHICH ARE, UH, A BOOMING OF HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE COVID TO 19.
EXPAND HOUSING OPTIONS FOR RECENTLY, UH, RELEASED, UH, OFFENDERS, UH, INMATES.
UH, THERE NEEDS TO BE A COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING RECENTLY RELEASED INDIVIDUALS FROM JAILS AND PRISONS WITH SAFE AND SANITARY COMMUNITY-BASED HOUSING ALTERNATIVES TO PROTECT THEIR FAMILIES.
THEY ARE RETURNING HOME TO, FROM C OVID 19 EXPANSIONS IN LIGHT OF AREAS LIKE THE JAILS, THE PRISONS, UM, AND NURSING HOMES BEING THE LARGEST AREAS FOR, UH, COVID IN THE NATION.
MOVING, UH, WITH A GOOD TRANSITION INTO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT JUSTICE INVOLVED COMMUNITIES, UH, WITH RESPECT TO JUSTICE, INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, THE INMATE EARLY RELEASE PROGRAM SHOULD BE, UH, MADE TO HAPPEN WHERE APPROPRIATE SHOULDN'T JUST BE FOR THE FEW.
EXPAND SITE AND RELEASE PROGRAMS, SUSPEND ARRESTS AND ARE BOOKING FOR TECHNICAL PAROLE VIOLATIONS.
EX ACCESS TO VISITING AND GUARANTEE ACCESS TO PHONE CALLS, MAIL AND COURT HEARINGS, ENHANCE QUARANTINE SUPPORT.
ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT FOR JUSTICE SYSTEM INVOLVED INDIVIDUALS.
MAKE CORRECTIONAL HEALTHCARE HUMAN CENTERED.
UH, ELIMINATE MEDICAL COPAYS FOR INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS AND PROVIDE FREE AND PLENTIFUL BASIC HEALTHCARE.
HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS SUCH AS SOAP, UH, SANITIZER AND DISINFECTANT.
THE FAILURE TO APPEAR WARRANTS OR BENCH WARRANTS.
ELIMINATE ISSUANCE OF FAILURE TO APPEAR OR BENCH WARRANTS, AND AGREE TO JOINTLY WAIVE THE APPEARANCE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT OF CO CUSTODY.
SENIOR, UH, SENIOR RESOURCES, UH, SENIOR SERVICES RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE PRIMARY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS, UH, ASSESS AND IDENTIFY SENIORS AT RISK FOR ISOLATION.
UH, DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PROCESS TO IDENTIFY THOSE SENIORS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE AT HIGHER RISK FOR ISOLATION AND DISCONNECTION.
AND, UH, INCLUDE LOW-INCOME SENIORS AND SENIORS OF
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COLOR, SENIORS IN RURAL AREAS, UH, L G B T, UH, AREAS OF THE COUNTY WITH LITTLE CONNECTION TO RESOURCES AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE RURAL AREAS ARE COVERED.EXPAND ELDER ABUSE, PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION RESOURCES.
AS MANY OF THE LOVED ONES CANNOT VISIT THEIR, UH, SENIORS IN NURSING HOMES, WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, RESOURCES ARE PROVIDED TO, UH, CHECK IN ON THEM, IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN, UH, EXPAND LEGAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS, EXPAND THOSE AVAILABLE TO SENIORS FOR ASSET PROTECTION, AND ENHANCE EXISTING EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY, CONNECT, AND ENROLL SENIORS INTO BENEFIT PROGRAMS, UH, WITH PHONE SCAMMERS AND ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
UH, EXPAND TRANSPORTATION AND DELIVERY SERVICES, EXPAND AVAILABILITY OF SENIOR TRANSPORTATION FOR MEDICAL CARE VISITS AND ERRANDS, ENHANCE NO-COST HOME DELIVERY, RESOURCES FOR BASIC NEEDS, PRESCRIPTIONS, MEALS, AND FOOD.
ENSURE SENIORS WHO ARE POSITIVE FOR COVID ARE SEPARATED AND NOT HOUSED IN THE SAME FACILITY AS THOSE WHO ARE C OVID.
19 POSITIVE SPECIAL NEEDS, POPULATION RECOMMENDATIONS.
WAS THAT YOU, GORDON? YEAH, NO, COMMISSIONER.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO DISTRIBUTE, UH, ALL OF THE REPORTS, UH, FROM ALL OF THE WORKING GROUPS.
SO IF YOU CAN JUST GIVE US, UH, A WRAP ON SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT WORKING GROUP.
UH, SO SPECIAL NEEDS, POPULATION RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, OF COURSE, THE SERVICE DISRUPTION HAS BEEN VERY HARD ON THEM, AND SO MINIMIZING THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, FUNDING, FUNDING, FUNDING AND LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY TO CHANGE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED IN TERMS OF UNDOCUMENTED RESIDENT POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND BY THE WAY, HOW AM I DOING ON TIME? MAYOR, I THINK YOU, YOU WENT OVER, WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY START THE, WE'RE WE'RE NOT STARTING THE TIMER ON THE GROUP PRESENTATION, SO IF YOU CAN JUST GIVE US, UM, KIND OF SUMMARY OF THE HIGH HIGHER LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS, THAT'D BE GREAT.
SO THE VERY LAST, UH, AREAS IS, IS FOR UNDOCUMENTED, I'LL BE QUICK ABOUT THAT.
FOR OUR UNDOCUMENTED POPULATION, UM, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO IMPROVE C OVID 19 TESTING IN THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, UH, DELIVERED BY TRUSTED COMMUNITY INDIVIDUALS TO EXPLICITLY CONVEY TO THE UNDOCUMENTED COMMUNITY THAT THEY WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION REGARDING THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS AND OR REQUIRED TO PRO PROVIDE PROOF OF ID TO GET TESTED, UH, FOR C OVID 19.
UH, THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S HELD BACK A LOT OF OUR FOLKS FROM OUR TESTING CENTERS.
AND, UM, OF COURSE, THOSE, THOSE, UH, THAT'S KIND OF THE FEAR IS THE BASIC ELEMENT THAT'S, UH, KEEPING OUR UNDOCUMENTED, UH, COMMUNITY FROM PARTICIPATING WITH THE EPIDEMIOLOGY.
SO, I APOLOGIZE FOR GOING OVER THE TIME, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE.
UH, COMMISSIONER, I APPRECIATE, UH, THE, THE COMMUNICATION THAT YOU AND I HAD ALONG WITH YOUR CO-CHAIR, UH, IN THE AREA OF SOCIAL SERVICES WORKING GROUP.
AND, UH, AS FROM YOUR REPORT, IT'S VERY OBVIOUS Y'ALL WORK ON QUITE A FEW, UH, DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, MAYOR, IN RESPECT TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE REPORTS, UM, THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT OUT ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO.
UH, I SAY I ASSUME EVERYONE HAS RECEIVED A COPY ON THIS CALL.
AND AS PART OF THIS, UM, MY, I WAS OUT OF THE OFFICE, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT THEY WERE SENT OUT.
SO IF THEY WERE NOT, PLEASE ADVISE.
BUT OTHERWISE, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A COPY THERE.
UH, THANK YOU AGAIN, COMMISSIONER.
UH, WE WILL NOW MOVE TO FOOD AND SHELTER WORKING GROUP.
WERE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, SULLIVAN, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.
I'M GOING TO START, IF I MAY, WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SULLIVAN.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, GORDON.
UM, TO ALL OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AND TO ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS ON THE LINE, UM, AS YOU KNOW, FOOD AND SHELTER ARE ONE OF THE MAIN PRIORITIES THAT WE NEED TO STAY FOCUSED ON.
IT WAS PRE COVID, AND IT IS NOW GOING TO TAKE PLACE AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS.
AND SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO PUT FORWARD AS FAR AS THE ACTION, WE NEED TO, UM, LOOK AT OUR INVENTORY OF VACANT AND EMPTY HOTELS.
AS, UM, PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED APARTMENT UNITS.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO DO A COMPLETE EVICTION, PROBATIONARY PROGRAM THROUGH THE COUNTY AND CITY COLLABORATIVE THAT'S MAKING SURE THAT ANY RESIDENT OR ANY TENANT, ANY LANDLORD THAT IS LOOKING AT DOING, UH, EVICTION PROCEEDINGS, WILL HAVE A PROCESS THAT THEY CAN GO THROUGH.
UM, WORKING WITH LAURIE HOUSTON, UM, THROUGH OUR CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A CASE MANAGER FROM RISK MITIGATION AT THESE EVICTION PROCEEDINGS.
AND PRIOR TO, SO TAKING THE PROACTIVE STEPS OF GETTING THE DOCKET, UM, PRIOR TO ANYONE GOING TO EVICTION COURT TO REACH OUT TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE.
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PROACTIVE STEP THAN WAITING FOR THE COURTS TO OPEN.AND SO WE THANK LORI, AND WE THANK COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, UM, AND JUDGE WOLF FOR MAKING THAT AVAILABLE TO US.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING TO CONTINUE OUR WORK WITH LISC AND LEILA POWELL AND, UH, SECRETARY ASSISTANT MEADOWS.
SO, AND YOU NOTICE WITHIN THE, UM, FINAL REPORTS, WE DO HAVE A COMPLETE, UH, PLAYBOOK THAT WE WILL PUT INTO EXISTENCE, AND THAT IS WORKING WITH GETTING ALL OF THE BEST FUNDING AND MATCHES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE THROUGH FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS.
UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING TO HAVE THAT IN PLACE AS WELL.
WE'RE FOLLOWING UP WITH THE, UH, CITY MANAGER IN REFERENCE TO THE CHIEF HOUSING OFFICER POSITION, BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS DEFINITELY NEEDED.
WE'RE LOOKING TO, UH, PURCHASE AND LOOK AT IN FIELD DEVELOPMENT, WHETHER IT'S FOR TINY HOMES OR IF IT'S FOR, UH, THE CONTAINER HOMES TO GO INTO AFFORDABILITY.
ALSO, LOOKING AT OUR VOUCHER PROGRAM THROUGH THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING AUTHORITY AUTHORITY AND BEXAR COUNTY, UM, WE'RE ASKING THAT WE CAN REQUEST ABOUT 41 MILLION TO GO INTO RISK MITIGATION THROUGH THE C OVID 19 RELIEF FUND.
WE KNOW THAT IS GOING TO HELP US AS WE GO FORWARD IN COMBATING OUR HOMELESS SITUATION.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, USE THE C D B G FUNDS AND LOOKING AT FEDERAL REGULATIONS THAT CAN BE LIFTED SO THAT THOSE FUNDS CAN BE USED FOR ACQUISITION PURPOSES.
ALSO, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A DASHBOARD, UM, OF A MATRIX SYSTEM TO SHOW US WHERE WE ARE AS FAR AS EVICTIONS, HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE WE, UM, HELPED TO FACILITATE WITH GETTING THEM FUNDING.
ALSO, LOOKING AT THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AS WE GO FORWARD IN MORTGAGES AND PROPERTY TAX.
PUTTING TOGETHER A SENIOR AND DIS DISABLED EDUCATION SEMINAR AND WEBINAR PLATFORM TO HELP OUR SENIORS AND OUR DISABLED INDIVIDUALS KNOW WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO PROPERTY TAXES.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF HOW TO PROPERLY PROTEST THOSE TAXES AND HOW TO KEEP THOSE, UM, EVALUATIONS UNDER CONTROL.
ALSO, WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING A SHARE ACROSS, UM, INDUSTRIES.
SO EACH AND EVERY GROUP, UM, TOUCHES HOUSING AND FOOD SECURITY.
UM, WORKING WITH COUNCILWOMAN CONVEYOR HNA, WE'RE LOOKING TO, UM, TRULY TACKLE WHAT IT MEANS, UM, FOR US TO HAVE URBAN GARDENS, AND HOW CAN WE LIFT SOME OF THOSE CITY RESTRICTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO URBAN GARDENING.
UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING TO DO THAT.
WE'RE LOOKING TO DO A RESOURCE PARTNERSHIP AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE ACTION ITEMS THAT WE HAVE PUSHED FORWARD.
WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF US TO GETTING THE STATE FUNDING FOR, UM, THE STUDENTS THAT ARE NO LONGER IN SCHOOL FOR PARENTS TO SEE THOSE BENEFITS IN THEIR SNAP CARDS.
AND SOME OF THEM HAVE STARTED TO RECEIVE THOSE TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR THE CHILDREN DURING THE SUMMERTIME.
SO WE THANK, UM, OUR GOVERNOR FOR ACTUALLY LIFTING THOSE REGULATIONS FOR PARENTS TO HAVE THOSE FUNDS.
SO, AT THIS TIME, THAT'S MY WRAP UP.
I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ.
AND, UM, YOU COVERED IT PRETTY WELL.
THAT WAS A GOOD HIGH LEVEL, UM, OVERVIEW.
UH, LET ME, LET ME ALSO THANK, UH, JUDGE WOLF AND, AND, AND MAYOR BERG FOR, FOR PUTTING THESE TOGETHER.
I THINK OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WE'VE ALL ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, UM, AT LEAST IN, IN MOST OF OUR LIFETIMES, UH, THIS HAS BEEN A, UM, A, A PRETTY EFFECTIVE MODEL AND UNPRECEDENTED IN TERMS OF CITY COUNTY COLLABORATION.
AND IT WAS NEEDED IN, IN A, IN A PRETTY, UH, UH, UNPRECEDENTED TIME.
UM, LET ME JUST ADD ON TO WHAT THE COUNCILWOMAN SUGGESTED AND, AND MENTION.
UM, FIRST IT WAS A PLEASURE TO SERVE WITH HER AS CO-CHAIR.
UM, THANK YOU JADA FOR, FOR YOUR WORK.
UH, WE ALSO HAD, UH, MY, MY, UM, NEIGHBOR IN DISTRICT SIX, UM, MELISSA CAVEO HDA, WHO WAS ON THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND I'LL MENTION, UH, THE WORK THAT SHE DID IN A SECOND.
UH, ERIC COOPER, THE C E O AT THE FOOD BANK, AS WELL AS KENNY WILSON, THE C E O AT HAVEN FOR HOPE.
NOW, THAT WAS THE CORE WORKING GROUP.
WE ALL KNOW, UH, THOSE THAT, THAT, UH, WERE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS.
THERE ARE MANY MORE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN PUTTING, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS TOGETHER, WHETHER IT WAS COMMUNITY MEMBERS OR OTHER FOLKS IN THE, IN THE, UM, IN THE, IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
UM, WE, WE BROKE OUR GROUP UP INTO, UH, ESSENTIALLY TWO, THE TWO, UH, SUBSECTIONS.
UH, THE ONE ON FOOD SECURITY, WHICH, UH, MELISSA WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SERVE AS KIND OF THE POINT PERSON ON, UM, IN HER ROLE IN, IN, IN HAVING THE FOOD BANK IN HER, IN HER, IN HER DISTRICT, HER IN HER, IN HER DISTRICT, UM, SOUGHT INPUT FROM FOLKS IN THE, IN THE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST IN D SIX, BUT ALL OVER WITH RESPECT TO FOOD SECURITY.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, UH, JADA HEADED UP THE, UH, SHELTER, UH, PIECE.
UM, AND, AND WE ESSENTIALLY, THEY, THEY, UH, BROUGHT IN ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS WHO WERE EXPERTS IN, IN BRINGING, UH, SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS
[00:30:01]
THAT, THAT THE COUNCILWOMAN SUGGESTED.UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE WERE PRETTY FORTUNATE TO HAVE, UH, SOME AD HOC, UH, UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND THE COUNCILMAN MENTIONED, UH, FORMER MAYOR AND HUD SECRETARY, HENRY CISNEROS, WHO JOINED US FOR THE LAST THREE OR FOUR WEEKS.
UM, PARTICULARLY, I THINK IT WAS HIS EXPERTISE ON HOUSING.
UM, AND WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE KIND OF THREE STAGES OF THESE WORKING GROUPS.
ALL I THINK ACROSS THE, UH, THE BOARD, UM, RELIEF, RECOVERY, AND THEN RESILIENCE.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO A CERTAIN DEGREE WE'RE STILL IN THIS RECOVERY MODE, AND WE MAY STILL BE IN THE RECOVERY MODE FOR A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, BUT WE NEED TO START FO FOCUSING ON RESILIENCE AND HOW WE BOUNCE BACK AND HOW WE PREVENT, UM, IF IT'S POSSIBLE, UH, OUR COMMUNITY FROM, UM, SLIPPING BACK INTO, INTO SOME OF THESE SAME ILLS, UH, IN THE FUTURE.
UH, SO SECRETARY CISNEROS WAS REALLY HELPFUL IN CONNECTING US WITH LISC AND LILA POWELL.
UM, I HAVEN'T READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE, UH, PLAYBOOK, UM, BUT IT IS ATTACHED TO THE REPORT HOUSING PLAYBOOK.
WE ALSO HAD SOME OF THE FOLKS IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY LIKE ED CROSS JOIN US.
UH, I THINK WE ALL AGREE THAT, UH, THE WAY WE RECOVER FROM THIS, UM, IS GONNA HAVE TO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SHIFT THE WAY WE'VE DONE THINGS IN THE PAST, AND THAT INCLUDES AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HOW IT'S DEFINED IN, IN, UM, HOW FOLKS ACCESS, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, THE OTHER THING I, I THINK THAT WE ALL KNEW PRIOR TO THIS PANDEMIC, UH, WAS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOOD BANK IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, NATIONALLY, IT BECAME KNOWN NOW, UH, AND THE STRESS THE FOOD BANK WAS UNDER.
I KNOW, UH, COUNCILMAN ELIAS AND COMMISSIONER WOLF DID A GREAT JOB IN THEIR, UM, THEIR I G R, UH, WORK GROUP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADVOCATED FOR THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE FOOD BANK.
I THINK WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT HOW DO WE, UH, MAKE SURE WE, WE DELEVERAGE, UM, THE, THE STRESS THAT'S PUT ON THE FOOD BANK.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THE FINE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
BUT I THINK THROUGH SOME OF THE INITIATIVES, UH, AS WAS DISCUSSED, THE, THE URBAN URBAN FARMS, UM, THE, THE, UH, HEALTHY FOOD BOX, UH, EXPANSION OF, OF THAT DELIVERY, UH, THOSE ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN, WE CAN, UH, AGAIN, TAKE SOME OF THE STRESS OFF THE FOOD BANK SO THAT WE ARE MORE PREPARED.
UM, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I CAN'T THANK ERIC AND HIS TEAM AND MARIO ENOUGH AT THE FOOD BANK.
UM, AGAIN, I THINK THE, THE, UM, THE WORK, HIS, UM, EVEN THOUGH THE WORK GROUP'S WORK IS WRAPPING UP, WE KNOW THAT THERE CONTINUES TO BE A LOT OF, UM, NEED IN THE COMMUNITY.
JADA MENTIONED THE, UH, THE EVICTION DOCKETS THAT ARE COMING UP.
WE KNOW IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, AS THE COURTS GET BACK TO OPERATING, WE ARE PROACTIVELY REACHING OUT, UM, AND GETTING ADVANCED COPIES OF THOSE DOCKETS SO THAT BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY CAN REACH OUT TO FOLKS WHO ARE STILL IN, IN A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF NEED, MAYBE SEVERAL MONTHS BEHIND IN RENT.
UH, SO TO PREVENT THE EVICTIONS FROM GOING THROUGH, WE'RE TRYING TO TROUBLESHOOT AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS.
AND THEN AGAIN, UH, FIGURING OUT HOW WE TRANSITION FOLKS INTO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WORKFORCE WITH, UH, BOTH THE CITY AND COUNTY'S EFFORTS ON WORKFORCE TRAINING.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL IN ALL, YOU KNOW, I'M VERY PROUD OF THE WORK O OF THIS, UH, OF THIS GROUP.
UM, WE KNOW THIS IS NOT A DOCUMENT THAT'S GONNA SIT ON A SHELF SOMEWHERE AND COLLECT DUST, DUST.
IT'S GONNA BE A WORKING DOCUMENT.
AND FOR US TO BE ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK AND BECOME EVEN, UH, A STRONGER COMMUNITY AFTER THIS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DEPEND ON EACH OTHER.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COMMISSIONERS DESERVE, UH, SOME KUDOS, BUT LET'S NOT GET, UH, COMPLACENT.
LET'S CONTINUE TO WORK, BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE ALL HEARING IT EVERY DAY FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS THAT THERE'S, UH, PLENTY OF NEED STILL.
AND, UH, WE'VE GOTTA BE THERE FOR 'EM.
SO, THANK YOU, MAYOR, JUDGE, AND APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP.
UH, COMMISSIONER AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, SULLIVAN THAT LEADS US NOW TO BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT WORKING GROUP TWO CO-CHAIRS THERE.
WERE COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL AND COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, UH, CHICO RODRIGUEZ.
UM, LET US START OFF, IF WE MAY, WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. HARTMAN.
UH, AND THANK YOU TO, UH, ALL THE CO-CHAIRS AND THE PARTICIPANTS IN THESE WORKING GROUPS.
MY CO-CHAIR, UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, IS PUTTING INTO EFFECT MANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY COME FORWARD.
UH, HE IS HANDING OUT SUPPLIES TO SMALL BUSINESSES RIGHT NOW, SO HE'S ASKED ME TO GO AHEAD AND DELIVER, UH, THE UPDATE ON OUR REPORT.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA SAY IT HAS BEEN, IT'S AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE HEARING THE OTHER GROUPS REPORT OUT AND, UH, LISTENING TO THE, JUST THE FLOW OF IDEAS
[00:35:01]
AND KNOWING THAT SOME OF THEM ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY.SO, I'M, SO, I'M, I'M GLAD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE QUICKLY ENOUGH TO, TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THOSE.
UM, NEXT, I WANNA MAKE SURE TO THANK THE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE REPORT THAT I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU, UH, TODAY.
FIRST, I'M GONNA START WITH THE STAFF, SO THAT I CERTAINLY DON'T FORGET, UH, WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WE HAD ALEX LOPEZ, UH, TAKE A WONDERFUL LEADERSHIP ROLE IN, UM, HELPING US, UH, HELPING WALK US THROUGH THE AGENDAS, THE ISSUES, AND GIVING US THE RESOURCES THAT WE NEEDED TO MAKE SOME GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, THANK YOU, ALEX, VERY MUCH.
UH, ALSO TO MICHAEL SINDEN, UH, WHO WORKED VERY HARD AND TO CARLOS RES OF COURSE.
AND, UH, THE COUNTY DID NOT, UH, WAS NOT FAR BEHIND AT ALL.
IN FACT, THEY, THEY HAVE SOME WONDERFUL RESOURCES.
I WANNA THANK DEBORAH CARTER AND RENEE WATSON.
UH, I LEARNED SOMETHING DURING EVERY MEETING FROM, UH, FROM RENEE.
YOU ARE A WEALTH OF, OF INFORMATION, SO THANK YOU.
BUT YOU'RE PROBABLY OUT WITH COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ RIGHT NOW, UH, HANGING OUT SUPPLIES.
UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF, UH, WHO WAS ON OUR TEAM, UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND READ OUT THAT LIST.
UH, I WAS JOINED BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIRLEY GONZALEZ, UM, MAYOR JR.
UH, FROM TOP WE HAD MICHELLE MILLO, THEIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
UH, AND WE ALSO HAD, UH, THE GREAT BENEFIT OF, UH, HAVING TWO RESOURCES, JORRA AND JENNA RA, NO RELATION, UM, BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST ALSO FULL OF INFORMATION AND INSIGHT, AND HAD SOME, SO MANY THINGS ALREADY GOING ON THE GROUND.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAD, UH, UH, ENTREPRENEUR LISA WONG.
SO, UH, LISA WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE I TALKED TO ABOUT THIS COMMITTEE WHEN, UH, WHEN IT WAS FORMED.
AND LISA CAME TO ME AND SAID, WELL, ON THE PHONE, SHE CAME TO ME AND SHE SAID, UM, THE MOST, UH, DIFFICULT THING RIGHT NOW, SHE SAID, IS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET THESE FEDERAL LOANS.
SHE SAID, IT IS JUST TOO HARD, UH, FOR EVEN ME.
SHE SAID, I'VE GOT A BANKER, I'VE GOT AN ACCOUNTANT, I'VE GOT A C P A OR A LAWYER ALL WORKING ON THIS, AND WE CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT YET.
SO CAN YOU IMAGINE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE THOSE RESOURCES? UM, UH, AT THE SAME TIME, UH, E D F WAS WORKING WITH U T SS A AND, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER THIS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, WHICH, WHICH THEY LAUNCHED, UH, SHORTLY THEREAFTER, UH, TO HELP PRECISELY, UH, PRECISELY WITH THIS KIND OF ISSUE.
SO, I WANNA THANK LISA WONG FOR ELEVATING THAT TO, TO OUR ATTENTION.
UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, TO ACCOMPLISH.
WE ALSO HAVE A SET OF, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, JUST LIKE THE OTHER TEAMS, AND THEY'RE BROKEN UP INTO SMALL BUSINESS RECOMMENDATIONS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UH, EACH OF THOSE AREAS HAS, UH, FIVE CATEGORIES, UH, UNDERNEATH.
AND SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY.
I'M JUST GOING TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, A FEW OF THEM UNDER SMALL BUSINESS RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE WANT TO, UH, CONTINUE ENCOURAGING THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, AND, UH, ALL THE GROUPS WHO ARE, I'M SORRY, I'M GONNA SNEEZE,
SO, UM, RIGHT NOW, THE CITY HAS A, UH, C OVID 19 WEBSITE.
UM, IT'S GOT A TONS OF INFORMATION ON THERE, BUT WE THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO BE MAKING CALLS AND, UH, PERSON TO PERSON CONTACTS WITH SMALL BUSINESSES.
WE REALIZE THIS IS A HUGE INVESTMENT IN TIME, UH, BUT WE'VE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT IT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO MAKE SURE ENTITIES ARE GETTING THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED.
UM, WE HAD A MATT FROM CENTRO TALK TO US ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
IT WAS CALLED A COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR PROGRAM, AND IT WAS ALSO PROPOSED IN, UH, CITY STAFF'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USE OF THE CARESS FUNDING IS THAT, UH, INDIVIDUAL OUTREACH.
SO WE WANT TO, UM, SAY THAT WE REALLY SUPPORT THAT.
UM, IN ADDITION, UM, WE REALLY TALKED A LOT ABOUT INCREASING LOCAL PURCHASING.
WE KNOW THAT THE CITY IS, UH, PRETTY MUCH MAXIMIZED, UH, WHAT THEY CAN DO IN TERMS OF SMALL BUSINESS.
UH, BUT WE THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, UH, MAYBE SOME OF THE OTHER SUBURBAN CITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN SOMETHING SIMILAR.
UM, BUT WE THINK THE BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY IS WITH PRIVATE INDUSTRY TO, UH, DO SOME LOCAL PURCHASING.
SO THE, THE PROPOSAL HERE IS TO, NUMBER ONE, ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE A PLEDGE, UH, WHICH MAYOR TREVINO PUT TOGETHER FOR US, UH, ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE A PLEDGE, AND IF THEY CAN'T FIND
[00:40:01]
SOMETHING LOCALLY TO NOTIFY, UM, THE CITY OR SOME OF THE GROUPS WORKING ON THIS LOCAL PURCHASING, UH, ISSUE SO THAT WE CAN KNOW WHERE THE DEMAND IS LOCALLY FOR PRODUCTS THAT MAY NOT BE, UM, PRODUCED IN SAN ANTONIO RIGHT NOW.UM, SO THAT'S ON INCREASING, UH, LOCAL PURCHASING.
UM, ANOTHER REALLY BIG, UH, RECOMMENDATION, AND THEN I'LL SKIP TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER THIS, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT BUSINESSES HAVE THE NECESSARY RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED.
SO, UM, THIS IS ALREADY, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT'S ALREADY UNDERWAY WITH PROCUREMENT OF SAFETY SUPPLIES AND P P E.
SO I REALLY WANNA, UM, THANK THE CITY AND THE COUNTY FOR MOVING SO QUICKLY ON THAT.
I DON'T THINK THIS IS GONNA END SOON.
I, UM, I THINK THAT YOU'LL BE, UH, YOU'LL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO, TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES IN THAT FOR, UH, FOR SOME TIME.
UM, BUT ONE OTHER THING THAT, UH, WE FELT WAS IMPORTANT WAS TO, UM, ENSURE SMALL BUSINESSES ALSO HAD TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, NOT JUST FOR LOANS, BUT FOR USE OF P P E OR, UH, APPROPRIATE HEALTH, UM, HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, BEING IMPLEMENTED IN THEIR WORKPLACE.
CERTAINLY, THE CITY'S GOT INFORMATION UP ON THE WEBSITE ABOUT, IF YOU'RE A RESTAURANT, THIS IS WHAT YOU WANNA DO.
IF YOU'RE THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS, THIS IS WHAT YOU WANNA DO.
BUT THE TRUTH IS, THAT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION FOR SOMEONE TO PROCESS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THINGS ARE CHANGING QUICKLY.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO HAVE, UM, SOMEONE WHO'S FAMILIAR WITH THAT GUIDANCE, THAT INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE GUIDANCE, AND THAT C D C GUIDANCE TO BE ABLE TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND EITHER CALL 'EM OR RECEIVE CALLS OR ANSWER QUESTIONS, BECAUSE, UH, BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY SMALL BUSINESSES, MAY NOT HAVE, UH, THE STAFFING AVAILABLE TO READ THROUGH ALL THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, WHICH MAY CHANGE IN A COUPLE OF DAYS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE ONLY EMPLOYING FIVE TO 10 PEOPLE.
AND THIS IS HIGHLY TECHNICAL INFORMATION.
SO WE DO THINK WE NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN SERVE AS, UM, AS A HELPER TO, TO SORT OF INTERPRET THAT AND GIVE FOLKS AN ANSWER OR POSSIBLY EVEN DO SITE VISITS, UM, FOR, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO ASSIST THEM IN THIS.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS.
I THINK, UH, THESE ARE VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM OTHER GROUPS AND WHAT CITY STAFF HAS RECOMMENDED FOR USE OF THE CARE SPENDING.
SO I REALLY WON'T GO INTO THE DETAILS OF THAT.
BUT I WANNA SAY, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP.
UH, I THINK I, IT, IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT WAS 57 DAYS AGO.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT WAS, UH, JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WHEN WE STARTED, UH, WORKING ON THIS, BECAUSE TIME HAS GONE BY SO, SO QUICKLY.
UM, SO I THINK THIS WAS AN EXPERIMENT IN CITY, COUNTY AND COMMUNITY COLLABORATION.
AND I WANNA SAY I WAS VERY GLAD TO BE A PART OF IT, AND I HOPE IT IS NOT THE LAST TIME THAT WE COLLABORATE THIS WAY, BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH MORE WE CAN DO BY, BY WORKING TOGETHER.
SO, THANK YOU, MR. HARTMAN, AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE, ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UH, THANK YOU IN PARTICULAR FOR THAT LAST COMMENT ABOUT BRINGING THE CITY AND COUNTY TOGETHER.
I, I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, THERE'S SO MUCH THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE TODAY, BUT I NOT LOSING FOCUS ON THE POINT OF HOW THE CITY AND THE COUNTY CAME TOGETHER IN SUCH AN INCREDIBLE WAY IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK CAN LEAD TO SO MANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES GOING FORWARD.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT.
UH, I WOULD NOW LIKE TO MOVE TO THE, UM, STATE AND FEDERAL RESOURCE, UH, COMMUNITY ACTION WORKING GROUP.
UM, BEFORE, UH, I START, I, I, I WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY WHAT THE, UM, GROUP'S GOALS WERE ALL ALONG, UM, AND ASSURE EVERYBODY THAT WE STAYED FAITHFUL TO THOSE.
AND I THINK THAT WE'VE MET ALL THOSE.
UH, GOAL ONE WAS IDENTIFYING EXISTING CITY COUNTY REVENUE STREAMS, UM, THAT WOULD GET NEW DOLLARS.
GOAL TWO WAS TO IDENTIFY NEWLY ESTABLISHED REVENUE STREAMS THAT DON'T HAVE AN EXISTING PIPELINE.
THREE WAS TO CATEGORIZE DOLLARS BASED, UH, ON THE OTHER WORKING GROUP'S NEEDS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIES, UH, TO TRACK ALL THE REVENUE STREAMS, UM, AND ALSO TRACK THEIR DESTINATION FOR THE ALLOCATIONS, AND THEN CREATE A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM TO DIS, UH, TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION BETWEEN THE WORKING GROUPS.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WAS TO ACQUIRE AS MUCH FUNDING TO GET AS MUCH OF OUR TAX DOLLARS BACK FROM DC AS POSSIBLE FOR SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY.
AND SO, UM, WHAT WE'VE DONE, UH, IS WE, UH, WORKED, AND BY WE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LED BY MELISSA SHANNON AND, UH, SALLY VATO, UH, AT THE CITY WAS JUST TO WORK CONSTANTLY AROUND THE CLOCK TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES UNDERSTOOD THE SAN ANTONIO STORY AND OUR NEEDS.
UM, AND WAS ALSO TO PRIORITIZE OUR MESSAGING FOR CITY AND COUNTY LOBBYISTS, AS WELL AS LOBBYISTS FOR PRIVATE
[00:45:01]
ORGANIZATIONS LIKE, UH, VALERO, U SS A A, ET CETERA.UM, AND THEN TO COLLECT AS MUCH DATA, UH, TO FEED INTO OUR TRACKING SYSTEM, UM, SO THAT WE CAN SHARE THAT OUT WITH THE, WITH THE WORKING GROUPS.
AND SO, RIGHT NOW, UH, AFTER EVERYTHING'S BEEN SAID AND DONE, WE STILL HAVE SOME PRIORITIES, UH, THAT ARE FRONT AND CENTER.
UH, ONE OF THOSE PRIORITIES IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CARES ACT AS IT STANDS, GETS MORE FLEXIBILITY, UH, BAKED INTO IT FOR STATE AND LOCAL RELIEF FUNDS, UM, AND HOW WE CAN ALLOCATE, AND BY WE, I MEAN, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, UH, ALLOCATE THAT MONEY TO COVER REVENUE LOSSES, UH, CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC, UM, AND, UH, ALLOW US TO COVER FOR, UH, ALLOWABLE EXPENDITURES.
ALSO, WE'RE, UH, EYEING AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WE GET AS CLOSE TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE AS POSSIBLE FOR THE 500 BO $500 BILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING, UH, FOR THE STATE AND LOCAL RELIEF FUND, UH, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE DIRECT AND FLEXIBLE SPENDING.
UM, AND, UH, WE ARE ALSO, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE WAY TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE FOR THE $250 BILLION SET ASIDE BY THE, UH, THE S B A PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM, UM, TO INCLUDE, UH, FLEXIBILITY AND ELIGIBILITY FOR NONPROFITS, LOCAL REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES, AND 5 0 1 C SIX ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ON EVERYBODY'S RADAR SCREENS TO GET AS MUCH OF THE A HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS SET ASIDE FOR DIRECT AID TO HOSPITALS.
NOW, AS FAR AS THE COUNTY'S PRIORITIES GO, UM, THEY ALSO ARE MAKING SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UH, FRONT AND CENTER ON EVERYBODY'S MIND WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, HELPING US MAKE UP FOR LOST REVENUE.
UH, DUE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, PROPERTY TAXES, UM, I, I'M SORRY, LOST REVENUE DUE TO THE, THE, THE PANDEMIC, UH, TO GET US REIMBURSED FOR ALL OF OUR C OVID 19 EXPENSES.
UH, ELECTION ASSISTANCE HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN, UH, VERY IMPORTANT TO JUDGE WOLF FROM THE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, AND SO UNDER THE CARES ACT, UM, THE, UH, $400 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED, BUT THE COUNTY'S PORTION WAS ONLY $136,000.
AND, UH, JUDGE WOLF, I THINK YOU'LL AGREE THAT, UM, THAT IS NOT ENOUGH.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO CHASING DOWN FAMILY FIRST CORONA RESPONSE, F M L A AND PAYROLL TAX CREDITS.
AND SO, UM, THE, UH, LOBBYING EFFORTS ARE, UH, YOU CAN JUDGE THEM AND SCORE THEM, UH, BASED ON TWO THINGS.
ONE LEGISLATION, UH, THAT IS PASSED, UH, WITH THE HELP FROM YOUR LOBBYING TEAM, OR HOW MUCH MONEY YOU BRING HOME.
AND SO, LEMME JUST GIVE YOU SOME WINS, UH, TO SHOW YOU WHAT OUR, UH, COMMITTEE WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, WITH THE, THE HELP OF ALL THE DIFFERENT PLAYERS ON THE GROUND WAS ABLE TO BRING, WE ALL HAVE HEARD OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN ABOUT THE $270 MILLION FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
BUT, YOU KNOW, LET'S NOT FORGET, THERE WAS ALSO CLOSE TO $80 MILLION FOR BEAR COUNTY, UH, THAT CAME HOME AS WELL.
UM, THERE'S, UH, HUD GRANTS $7.7 MILLION THAT CAME HOME.
UH, CARLOS CONTRERAS WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE'S $39.7 MILLION IN THE BANK ACCOUNT THAT CAME, UH, IN THE FORM OF GRANTS FOR THE AIRPORT.
UM, WE'VE GOT, UH, FIREFIGHTER GRANTS AS WELL, EMERGENCY SERVICE GRANTS.
SAHA GOT $1.8 MILLION FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION SERVICES, UH, WAS ABLE TO PULL DOWN $3 MILLION.
UH, WE GOT ABOUT 300 MILLION, I'M SORRY, 300,000, NOT 300 MILLION FOR ARTS FUNDING FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT OF THE ARTS, UM, VIA, I BELIEVE, UH, IS A RECIPIENT OF, UH, $93.2 MILLION AND, UH, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
AND SO, UM, THERE ARE STILL, UH, GOING TO BE A LOT OF MOVING PIECES TO THIS, AND THERE'S STILL A LOT OF, UH, PRO, YOU KNOW, UH, PRIORITIES THAT WE NEED TO GET ACROSS THE LINE, WHICH IS WHY MAYOR, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR REIM PANELLING, THE, UH, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, UH, COMMITTEE, AND, UM, EVEN MORE THAN THAT FOR MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT COUNTY REPRESENTATION ON THERE.
AND SO I'M, I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO PARTNER UP WITH COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ AND, UH, COMMISSIONER WOLF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T LOSE THE MOMENTUM THAT WE'VE MANAGED TO, UH, UH, TO CREATE HERE.
LASTLY, UM, AT THE RISK OF GOING LONG, I, I WILL, UH, TELL YOU THAT I AM LOOKING AT ACTIVITY, UH, AND THAT I KNOW THAT OUR TEAM IS LOOKING AT ACTIVITY, UM, CURRENTLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK, UH, IN MEETINGS, UH, AND IN HEARINGS AT THE, UH, US HOUSE AND AT THE, UH, US SENATE.
SO THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION FLEXIBILITY ACT, UH, CO-SPONSORED BY OUR VERY OWN CONGRESSMAN CHIP ROY, IS, UH, CURRENTLY UNDER CONSIDERATION.
IT'S, UH, VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'S GONNA ALLOW FORGIVENESS FOR EXPENSES, UH, BEYOND, UH, THE EIGHT WEEK COVERED PERIOD, UM, UH, THAT WAS SET OUT BY THE PAYMENT PROTECTION PROGRAM.
IT'S GOING TO ELIMINATE RESTRICTIONS, LIMITING NON-PAYROLL EXPENSES.
IT'S GOING TO ELIMINATE RESTRICTIONS THAT LIMIT LOAN TERMS TO TWO TO TWO YEARS, UH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND THEN, UM, THERE IS SOME SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY AT THE US SENATE,
[00:50:01]
UM, AND MITCH MCCONNELL, UH, IN PARTICULAR, UM, AND, UH, HE, THEY'RE IN RECESS RIGHT NOW, AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA RETURN TO JUNE 1ST.UM, HOWEVER, THEY ARE GOING TO BE AS SOON AS THEY COME BACK TAKING ACTION ON THE STANDALONE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LEGISLATION.
UM, BUT, AND THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME BIPARTISAN SUPPORT IN THE SENATE AS WELL.
SO, UH, ALSO JUNE 8TH, THE SENATE ARMS SERVICES COMMITTEE IS GONNA HOLD A SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT, WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO, UM, MILITARY CITY U S A I, I WILL POINT OUT OF PARTICULAR INTERESTS, UM, YOU KNOW, CARLOS CONTRERAS, UM, I'M SURE YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING, BUT, UM, THE F A A AND, UH, AIRLINES HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATING, UM, WHICH, AND HOW MANY FLIGHTS AIRLINES GET TO CUT, UM, FROM THEIR, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM THEIR INVENTORY OF FLIGHTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND SAN ANTONIO'S ON THAT LIST.
AND, UH, THERE IS AN AIRLINE OUT THERE WHO'S, UH, I THINK BEEN GIVEN CLEARANCE TO, UM, BEEN GIVEN CLEARANCE TO CUT THEIR FLIGHT.
THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE VERY INTERESTING, UH, AS WELL.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE BIPARTISAN, UM, HOUSE AND ENERGY COMMERCE COMMITTEE.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE GETTING BRIEFINGS ON THE OPERATION WARP SPEED VACCINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO KEEP OUR EYE ON AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WELL, THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF HEARINGS COMING UP, AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO SHARE THAT WITH EVERYBODY.
UM, I, IF SALLY VATO OR JEFF COYLE ARE ON THE CALL, DID I MISS ANYTHING? UM, AND IF I DIDN'T, THEN I'LL PASS IT ON TO, UM, MY COLLEAGUE, COMMISSIONER WOLF SO THAT HE CAN ADD COLORFUL COMMENT
I'M GONNA KEEP MY COLORFUL COMMENT, UH, SHORT.
UH, I'LL JUST SAY, UH, WHAT, WHAT MANNY SAID, UH, DO WANNA POINT OUT ONE PIECE, AND THAT'S THE PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANIES THAT ALSO PARTICIPATED AND HELPED, ESPECIALLY WITH THEIR, UH, LOBBY TEAMS. UH, AND SO HAVING, HAVING THEIR MUSCLE UP THERE HELPING US AT THE SAME TIME, I THINK HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN ACCOMPLISHING A NUMBER OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO.
SO, A BIG THANK YOU TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, COMPANIES AND LOBBY TEAMS THAT, THAT HELPED US OUT THERE.
I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE SHORTEST, UH, SPEECHES I'VE HEARD YOU SAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GRANT, AND THANK YOU.
UM, I WANT TO, UH, ALSO STATE THAT, UM, THERE WAS A PHILANTHROPIC, UM, COMMUNITY ACTION WORKING GROUP, UH, THAT WAS VERY INVOLVED.
UH, AS MANY OF Y'ALL KNOW, THEY PUT ON, UM, QUITE A FEW DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES TO RAISE MONEY, UH, AND RAISE ON THEIR OWN ABOUT, UH, SOMEWHERE AROUND THE RANGE OF ABOUT $8 MILLION.
UH, AND THEN THEY WERE NOT THERE TO FORM A NEW FUND, BUT TO ENHANCE FUNDS.
AND SO, JUST THE ENHANCEMENT OF $8 MILLION IN THIS PROCESS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK, UH, SHOULD GO NOTED, UH, THAT THEY WORKED VERY HARD TO DO THAT.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE WAS, THERE'S BEEN ABOUT NINE, 10 MILLION OF OTHER FUNDING THAT'S COME FROM SOME OF THE MAJOR, UM, BUSINESSES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO WHEN YOU COMBINE MOST, YOU FIGURE TOGETHER, YOU'RE LOOKING INTO THE LATE TEENS IN RESPECT TO THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT PHILANTHROPIC, UH, OPPORTUNITIES CAME FORWARD TO HELP WITH COVID-19.
UM, THEY, THAT PARTICULAR GROUP, UH, DOES NOT WANT TO STOP THEIR WORK.
UH, EVEN THOUGH, UH, TODAY, UH, THE COMMUNITY ACTION WORKING GROUPS ARE, UH, ENDING, THEY HAVE ASKED IF THEY COULD CONTINUE TO DO THEIR WORK AND WILL CONTINUE TO MEET ONCE A WEEK.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE TAKING ON, TAKING ON CONTINUAL, UH, ENHANCEMENT OF, UH, PHILANTHROPIC, UH, FUNDING, BUT ALSO THEY'RE GOING TO BE WORKING, UH, TO HELP WITH NONPROFITS AND BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH SOME POTENTIAL MERGERS THAT ARE GONNA BE NECESSARY BASED ON SOME NONPROFITS THAT NEED TO COME TOGETHER, BECAUSE, UH, WITHOUT THAT, SOME MAY NOT BE SUCCESSFUL IN CONTINUING THEIR WORK AT THE DEGREE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST.
AND SO, I WANT TO COMMEND THEM.
UH, MARGIE FRENCH, BLAKELY FERNANDEZ, TONY VAN BUREN, CHRIS MARTIN, DAVID GREEN, HARRIET DOMINIQUE, AND MARY ROSE BROWN, WHO WORKED ALONG CO-CHAIR HARVEY NAJAM AND CO-CHAIR OF BARBARA GENTRY.
UH, THOSE PEOPLE NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR THE HARD WORK THAT THEY HAVE PUT IN ALREADY, AND HOW MANY OF THEM WANT TO CONTINUE ON AND BEING ABLE TO RAISE FUNDS.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, ALL THE REPORTS THAT HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN PRIOR WEEKS ARE, ARE, ARE ON OUR WEBSITE AT SA COVID ACTION COM.
ALSO, THE 38 PAGE REPORT THAT YOU'VE RECEIVED TODAY.
BUT THE PURPOSES OF THIS, UH, DISCUSSION AND THIS MEETING WILL ALSO BE ON THAT WEBSITE FOR MANY TO SEE, AND TO BE ABLE TO LOOK UP ADDITIONAL, UH, THINGS AS THIS GOES FORWARD.
'CAUSE AS WAS MENTIONED, WE DON'T WANT THE WORK, THE, THE HARD WORK THAT WAS DONE OVER THE PAST 57 DAYS WITH THE USE OF APPROXIMATELY, AND I USE APPROXIMATELY, BECAUSE I'M SURE I'M MISSING SOME PEOPLE, BUT WE ADDED UP IN MY OFFICE, THERE'S ABOUT 126 PEOPLE WHO ULTIMATELY WERE
[00:55:01]
INVOLVED IN SOME WAY BETWEEN, UH, YOU ELECTED OFFICIALS AND, UH, MANY OF THE STAFF, BUT ALSO EXPERTS THAT CAME IN AND SPOKE AT CERTAIN TIMES.UM, SO OVER 125 PEOPLE, UH, IN 57 DAYS WERE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS.
AND SO IT, IT, AS, AS, UM, UH, COUNCILWOMAN
THERE WERE NO CRASHES, NO MERE MISSES.
SO, UH, UH, I'M APPRECIATIVE OF THE FACT THAT EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER TO ENSURE, UH, ULTIMATE SUCCESS.
I THINK YOU WILL SEE, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT AS Y'ALL GO INTO DEBATE ON ISSUES OF THE FUNDING FROM THE CARES ACT, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES, A LOT OF NEEDS OUT THERE.
UH, THERE'S NOWHERE NEAR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY NECESSARY FOR THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP THROUGH THESE WORKING GROUPS.
UH, AND I THINK THOUGH, MORE THAN ANYTHING THAT WHAT WE CAN, UH, RESOLVE FROM ALL OF THIS, UH, BUT WHAT'S HAPPENED IS THAT, UM, IT SPEAKS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE COME TOGETHER TO, UH, FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT'S WHAT HAP HAS HAPPENED OVER THE PAST 57 DAYS.
AND SO IT HAS BEEN, MY HONOR TO WORK WITH EACH OF YOU.
I, I LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE FUTURE AS THINGS, UH, DEVELOP AND, UH, UH, WITH C OVID 19, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW WE'RE NOT IN THE EIGHTH OR NINTH ENDING OF THIS.
THERE WILL BE NEEDS TO WORK TOGETHER IN MANY DIFFERENT CAPACITIES.
I'M HOPE THAT I'LL BE ABLE TO WORK ALONGSIDE YOU GUYS AGAIN BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY, UH, AN, AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
SO WITH THAT, UH, JUDGE WOLF, UH, AND MAYOR NUREMBERG, I, UH, GIVE THE MEETING BACK TO YOU, GENTLEMEN.
UH, GORDON, AND I KNOW, UM, THE WORD UNPRECEDENTED HAS BEEN USED, UH, QUITE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE THE, THE SITUATION, THE AREA THAT WE'RE IN.
UM, I THINK IT CERTAINLY COULD BE USED TO DESCRIBE THE LEVEL OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT OVER THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS.
AND THAT'S TO EVERYONE'S BENEFIT.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR COORDINATION AND LEADERSHIP, UM, OF THIS ENTIRE EFFORT, UH, FOR EVERYONE'S, UM, BENEFIT.
AND THOSE WHO MAY BE TUNED INTO THIS MEETING, THE REPORT, THE FINAL REPORT WILL BE POSTED ON THE COVID ACTION ESSAY WEBSITE, UH, AND, AND AS WELL AS THE, UH, AGENDA WEBSITE FOR THE CITY.
SO IT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AND, AND OF COURSE, BE A TOUCHSTONE FOR US AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEXT PHASES, UH, AND, AND MORE OF THE REGULAR WORK CONTINUES FOR THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE NOW TO THE, TO DISCUSSION.
AND BECAUSE WE WENT IN REVERSE ORDER LAST TIME, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START, UH, WITH COUNCIL DISTRICT ONE, FOLLOWED BY PRECINCT ONE COUNTY.
SO, UM, I KNOW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO IS NOT WITH US, UH, SO WILL GO AHEAD AND I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ ALSO IS NOT WITH US.
SO WE'LL START WITH, UH, DISTRICT TWO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JADA, ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UM, I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR, OR IF I CAN GET, UM, THIS INFORMATION LATER WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, THE PREVIOUS GRANT APPLICATIONS THAT WE HAD ALREADY APPLIED FOR PRE COVID AND WHAT THE STATUS OF THOSE, UM, GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE, OR IF THOSE APPLICATIONS OR GRANTS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED.
UM, IF I CAN GET A LISTING OF THAT.
I KNOW IT MIGHT TAKE A, A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, BUT JUST TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT QUESTION I HAVE IS FOR, UH, MAYBE ERIC, ERIC, IF YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE GOING FORWARD AND THE, AND THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO PUT IN, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH GRANT WRITERS TO ASSIST US WITH APPLYING AND PROCESSING OF THESE APPLICATIONS? UH, YES MA'AM.
AND THEN, UM, AT THIS TIME, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE FINANCIAL SHORTFALL IS, ARE THE COMPLETE REPORT NUMBERS FOR THE NONPROFITS, UM, AS FAR AS THEIR FUNDING AND WHAT THEY'VE LOST, UH, THROUGH, THROUGH OTHER FUNDING SOURCES OUTSIDE THE CITY? COUNCILWOMAN? YES, SIR.
AND THEN JUST TO WRAP UP MY QUESTIONS, DO WE KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY BUSINESSES HAVE TAKEN THE, UH, PLEDGE SO FAR AND EXACTLY WHAT INDUSTRIES AND LOCATIONS THOSE BUSINESSES ARE IN? COUNCIL? CARLOS, I'LL HAVE TO GET THE DETAILS FROM, UH, MR. SAN ANTONIO AND E D F, BUT I DO KNOW THAT WE HAD A NUMBER WHO'RE GONNA BE PARTICIPATING IN THE P P E GIVEAWAY TOMORROW THAT HAS TAKEN THE PLEDGE AS PART
[01:00:01]
OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS.AND THEN THIS, UM, JUST CAME UP RECENTLY.
WE WERE RECEIVING INFORMATION THAT, UM, PEOPLE HAVE STARTED TO BE EVICTED, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THAT THE, UM, MORATORIUM IS TILL JUNE 1ST AND, AND MOST OF THE PROCEEDINGS IN COURT, UH, HEARINGS WON'T BE UNTIL MID-JUNE.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET CLARIFICATION ON IF THERE HAVE BEEN ANY, UM, EVICTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PROCESSED, AND WHERE DO WE FALL WITHIN KNOWING HOW MANY OF THOSE FAMILIES HAVE BEEN DISPLACED? COUNCILMAN, THIS IS LORI HOUSTON.
WE CAN PULL THE DATA ON HOW MANY EVICTIONS HAVE BEEN FILED OVER THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS.
THERE HAVE, THEY HAVE BEEN MINIMAL MONITORING THAT, UM, AS, AS YOU KNOW, YOU CANNOT, YOU CAN STILL FILE FOR AN EVICTION, BUT EVICTION COURTS ARE NOT HEARING ANY FILINGS.
THEY'LL NOT BE OPENING UNTIL AFTER JUNE ONE.
AND OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE COURTS, THEY'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANY HEARINGS UNTIL ACTUALLY MID-JUNE.
UM, SO PEOPLE CAN STILL BE FILED FOR EVICTION, BUT THEY WON'T HAVE A HEARING UNTIL MID-JUNE.
BUT I CAN GET YOU A COPY OF THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN FILED.
AND WE ARE ALSO REACHING OUT TO THOSE, UM, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE EITHER FILING FOR EVICTION OR THEY'RE SUBJECT OF AN EVICTION FILING TO LET THEM KNOW ABOUT OUR HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
I JUST WANT TO CONFIRM WHAT LORI SAID IN TERMS OF THERE SHOULD BE NO PROCEEDINGS, BOTH BECAUSE HE HAD THE SUPREME COURT MORATORIUM AND THE, UH, COUNTY ONE.
UH, AND EVEN FOR FILINGS, WHICH IS MUCH MUST BE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING ABOUT, 'CAUSE FILINGS CAN BE DONE UNLESS IT'S A CARESS ACT UNIT, BECAUSE UNDER THE CARESS ACT MORATORIUM, THAT DOES RESTRICT FILING.
SO, UH, AS LORI SAID, THERE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANY ACTUAL ACTIVE HEARINGS, UM, UP UNTIL THIS POINT.
WELL, THOSE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU, CITY MANAGER, AND THANK YOU ANDY.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREWS SULLIVAN, UH, PRECINCT TWO COMMISSIONER JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ.
UM, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I, I MEAN, I THINK THIS HAS BEEN A, A PRETTY THOROUGH, UH, DISCUSSION ON WHAT'S UH, OCCURRING.
I THINK, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS IT DOES HIGHLIGHT IS, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO THE CARES ACT FUNDING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE CITY AND COUNTY TO THIS POINT HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB OF COLLABORATING.
I KNOW, UM, THE COUNCIL IS STILL DISCUSSING PRIORITIES AND, AND YOU GUYS HAVE A BIGGER, UH, POT OF FUNDS.
UM, BUT I KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, IN, IN TERMS OF COORDINATING EFFORTS TO AGAIN, HELP WITH THE TRIAGE IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY, I THINK ALIGNMENT OF THOSE, UM, AT LEAST OVERALL GOALS IS IMPORTANT.
AND I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, UH, MAYOR AND, AND, AND THE JUDGE ARE, ARE CONTINUALLY TALKING ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO, TO MAKE SURE WE KEEP AT THE FOREFRONT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, PARTICULARLY IF WE GET SOME ADDITIONAL MONEY.
UM, AND THEN JUST REAL QUICKLY ON THE EVICTION, IF I UNDERSTAND, UM, THE, UH, EVICTION COURT CAN STILL HEAR, UM, I, I GUESS EVICTIONS UNRELATED TO LACK OF PAYING RENT.
SO IF THERE'S SOME EMERGENCY, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A POTENTIAL, UH, CRIMINAL ACTION, UM, I, I BELIEVE THEY CAN STILL HEAR, UH, EVICTION CASES IN THOSE SCENARIOS.
SO THAT MAY BE SOME OF THE, THE NUMBERS.
UM, AND ANDY, FEEL FREE TO, TO CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT I THINK, UM, WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT GENERALLY IS OBVIOUSLY KEEPING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOUSES OR APARTMENTS, UM, BASED ON NON-PAYMENT OF RENT.
UM, AND, AND I THINK THERE'S STILL SOME SCENARIOS IN UNDER WHICH, UM, THE JPS MAY BE, UH, IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION HEARING SOME EVICTION CASES.
IN FACT, I, I APPRECIATE YOU MAKING THAT POINT.
'CAUSE YES, WHEN I WAS TALKING BEFORE, I WAS TALKING STRICTLY ABOUT THE EVICTION HEARINGS RELATED TO NON-PAYMENT BECAUSE OF COVID.
THE JP COURTS ARE HEARING EVICTION PROCEEDINGS THAT ARE UNRELATED TO THAT, PARTICULARLY AS YOU SAID, THOSE THAT INVOLVE, FOR EXAMPLE, IMMINENT HARM OR DANGER TO, UH, OTHER RESIDENTS IN THE, UH, IN THE APARTMENT COMPLEX.
SO YES, THOSE TYPES OF EVICTIONS ARE GOING ON.
WELL, THA THANKS FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
I KNOW THAT MY OFFICE IS, UM, WORKING WITH, WITH LORI IN THE CITY, UM, AS WELL AS COURT ADMINISTRATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THE J THE FOUR JP COURTS ARE COORDINATE COORDINATED IN THIS EFFORT.
UM, SO THAT UNIFORMLY, UM, NO MATTER WHAT PART OF THE CITY OR COUNTY YOU'RE
[01:05:01]
IN, UM, YOU'RE GETTING, UM, SOME RELIEF AND WE'RE REACHING OUT TO YOU, OR AT LEAST TRYING TO REACH OUT EITHER BY PHONE OR MAIL, UH, IN ADVANCE OF THOSE EVICTION HEARINGS.UH, MAYOR, JUDGE, THANK YOU FOR THE TIME.
UH, WE'LL GO NOW TO, UH, DISTRICT THREE, COUNCIL MEMBER REBECCA GRA.
THANK YOU EVERYONE, UH, FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS AND TO ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
I WANT TO PARTICULARLY THANK THE PHILANTHROPIC GROUP THAT IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THEIR WORK.
THINK IT SPEAKS TO THE SPIRIT AND THE ESSENCE OF SAN ANTONIO WORKING TOGETHER, TOGETHER AND COLLABORATING WITH ONE ANOTHER.
THANK YOU TO, UM, MY CO-CHAIRS, UH, COMMISSIONER WOLF AND, UH, MY CO-CHAIR, UH, ELIAS, WHO WAS THERE AS WELL, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ALL WERE A PART OF THE PROCESS AND REALLY EVEN SETTING UP MEETINGS, UM, ON THE WEEKENDS OR OTHER TIMES THAT WE NEEDED TO, TO GET TOGETHER.
APPRECIATE ALL OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN THERE AND THE CREATIVITY.
AND OF COURSE, SALLY, UM, AND MELISSA WHO'VE BEEN JUST DYNAMIC IN ALL OF THIS, I THANK YOU TO A COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, WHO INVITED ME TO BE A PART OF THE BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT OF WORKING GROUPS, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE HAS TO BE THAT CONNECTION AND TRANSITION FROM THE BUSINESS WORKING GROUP INTO E W D C.
SO WE'VE ALREADY STARTED, UM, HAVING THAT HANDOFF, IF YOU WILL, OR THAT COLLABORATION AND CONNECTION, AND IT REALLY HELPS THAT, UM, ALEX LOPEZ WILL BE A PART OF IT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH HER.
AND I AM, UH, EXCITED AND READY TO GET ALL OF OUR COUNCIL COMMITTEES WORKING AGAIN, LIKE I G R AS WELL AS THE CULTURE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES THAT I'LL BE A PART OF TO REALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND WITH THESE REPORT OUTS SPECIFICALLY WHEN, UH, REALLY LOOKING AT THESE REPORTS BEING A PART OF E W D C, AS WELL AS THE ECONOMIC TRANSITION TEAM REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, I WANTED TO ASK LORI, UH, 'CAUSE YOU DID SHARE WITH ME SOME EXCITING NEWS WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, THE EVICTION PROCESS OR THE HEARING PROCESS, I SHOULD SAY THAT EVEN AT MAYBE THE LAST DITCH TIME IN FRONT OF A JUDGE, WE ARE STILL GOING TO, THE CITY WILL STILL BE THERE AT PRESENT, HOPEFULLY, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THE RESOURCES THE CITY HAS.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? LORI HOUSTON? YES.
MY OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ AND HIS STAFF.
WE'VE REACHED OUT TO ALL FOUR PRECINCTS AND HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH A MAJORITY OF THEM, AND THEY HAVE AGREED FOR US TO HAVE A STAFF PRESENCE AT EACH OF THE HEARINGS.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS IF THERE IS SOMEONE WHO IS, UM, WHO STILL WANTS TO REMAIN IN THAT UNIT AND THEY'RE STILL THERE, UM, WE CAN HELP THEM WITH THEIR PAYMENT, PROCESS THEM ON SITE SO THEY CAN STAY IN THEIR UNIT.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE COUNTY AND HAVING A PRESENCE AS WELL.
SO IF IT'S A COUNTY RESIDENT, NOT A CITY RESIDENT, THEY CAN GET HELP AS WELL.
AND I THINK IT JUST SPEAKS TO HOW WE DO HAVE THESE RESOURCES AND WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND, UM, CARLOS, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO WE HAVE REGISTERED FOR TOMORROW'S EVENT COUNSEL? WE HAVE, UH, OVER 4,900 BUSINESSES REGISTERED.
UH, EACH ONE OF THEM HAS TAKEN THE PLEDGE, UH, THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLEDGE.
UH, AND WE'VE HAD ABOUT 500 VOLUNTEERS OUT THERE WORKING.
UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO TOMORROW AND JUST, UH, PROVIDING THAT MUCH NEEDED, UM, RELIEF BURDEN WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY SUPPLY KITS.
SO, UM, AGAIN, IF PEOPLE NEED TO REGISTER, THEY CAN STILL GO ONLINE AND REGISTER EVEN TODAY.
AND THEN, UM, SO AGAIN, THANK YOU.
IT WAS A VERY THOROUGH, UM, HIGH, UM, HIGH OVERVIEW OF EVERY, ALL OF THE REPORTS.
AND LASTLY, THANK YOU GORDON, UH, FOR YOUR WORK AND FOR BEING A PART OF THIS.
YOU ARE A, A TRUSTED AGENT HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, SO THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOURSELF, YOUR REPUTATION, UM, OUT THERE IN HELPING US RECOVER.
COUNCIL MEMBER GRO, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, WOLF.
JUDGE, UH, JUST TWO QUICK THINGS, UH, WANNA POINT OUT.
ONE IS THAT AS GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES, OUR REVENUE STREAMS
[01:10:01]
DON'T GET IMPACTED NEARLY AS QUICKLY AS THE PRIVATE SECTOR DOES.UH, THAT'S MY MY WAY OF SAYING THAT.
WE NEED TO BE KEEPING AN EYE ON OUR BUDGETS, UH, NEXT YEAR AND THE YEAR AFTER, ESPECIALLY WHERE THE COUNTY'S CONCERNED, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, OUR, OUR REAL SOLE SOURCE OF REVENUE IS PROPERTY TAX.
THE CITY'S GONNA FEEL IT VERY QUICKLY IN SALES TAX.
UH, SO JUST A NOTE OF CAUTION.
BE THINKING, BE THINKING LONG TERM.
I THINK WE'VE DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB IN THE SHORT TERM, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF THE MAYOR AND THE JUDGE, UH, AND PULLING THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES LIKE THIS TOGETHER.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE I WANTED TO POINT OUT IS THAT DURING, UH, RECESSIONARY TIMES, UH, ONE OF THE BIGGEST FORMS OF, YOU KNOW, STIMULUS IS INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, WE SAW THAT HAPPEN BACK IN 2008 WHEN, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DID A VERY GOOD JOB OF PUTTING A WHOLE LOT OF DOLLARS INTO INFRASTRUCTURE.
IN FACT, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE DRIVEN THE SOUTHERN INTERCHANGE OF 2 81 AND 1604, THAT WAS $160 MILLION, UH, FEDERAL STIMULUS PACKAGE THAT BUILT THAT.
UH, THE REASON I BRING THAT UP IS THAT THIS TIME AROUND WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS SENT OUT MONEY, UH, NEXT TO ZERO HAS BEEN AROUND, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THEREFORE, IT'S GOING TO REALLY BE ON THE BACKS OF US AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS IN REGARDS TO WHAT WE DO OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS IN REGARDS TO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
BECAUSE THERE, IN, IN MY BOOK, UH, THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT WE AS GOVERNMENT CAN DO THAT CAN REALLY ACT AS A, A TRUE STIMULUS TO THE ECONOMY, UH, LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
SO THOSE WERE MY TWO QUICK THINGS, MAYOR AND JUDGE, AND I'M DONE.
UH, WE'LL GO NOW TO DISTRICT FOUR, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ROSA GARCIA.
AND I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TODAY.
I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE WORK.
AND I WANNA THANK, UH, MR. HARTMAN FOR BEING OUR FEARLESS LEADER.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, UH, PRECINCT FOUR, I, I DON'T KNOW, IS, UH, COMMISSIONER CALVERT STILL WITH US? OKAY.
UH, DISTRICT FIVE COUNCIL MEMBER SHIRLEY GONZALEZ.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR.
I ALSO DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, TODAY, SO I JUST, I WANTED TO THANK COUNCILWOMAN
UM, SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ALL ARE VERY INTERESTED IN HELPING OUR, UM, CONSTITUENTS, UH, AS IT RELATES TO EVICTIONS AND IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR NEGOTIATING THAT.
I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A GREAT, UH, WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE AND, UM, AND, UH, GIVE THEM THE ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED.
UH, UH, JUST A A THANK YOU TO LORI FOR, UH, GETTING THAT MOVING AND THE COUNCILMAN FOR BRINGING IT UP.
UH, WE'LL GO NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER TABO H.
UM, AS, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, THE PANDEMIC HAS SHOWN A LIGHT AND EXACERBATED MANY OF THE ISSUES.
OUR COMMUNITY WAS ALREADY SUFFERING FROM A MAJOR ONE BEING FOOD SECURITY.
SO I WAS REALLY GRATEFUL TO BE PUT ON THE FOOD AND SHELTER COMMITTEE.
AND THANKS TO THE LEADERSHIP OF COUNCILWOMAN JADA, ANDREW SULLIVAN, AND COMMISSIONER JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE FOOD POLICY COUNCIL AND THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO CLOSE THE, THE CODE GAP REGARDING AIDING URBAN FARMING AND THIS TIME OF NEED FOR INCREASED FOOD SUPPLY OPTIONS IN SAN ANTONIO.
THIS MAY LEAD TO A RELAXED, UM, TO RELAXED RESTRICTIONS, POSSIBLY U D C AMENDMENT OR TWO.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT, WHAT WE CAN OFFER IN THAT REGARD.
THANKS TO GORDON FOR COORDINATING THESE EFFORTS AND TO EVERYONE ON THIS CALL FOR WORKING SO WELL TOGETHER.
AND HOPEFULLY THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE CITY AND COUNTY WORKING TOGETHER MORE CLOSELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR COMMUNITY.
COUNCIL MEMBER CDA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
AND, UH, THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR, THEIR HARD WORK ON, ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND FINAL REPORTS.
UH, JUST A A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UM, FOR YOU AND FOR ERIC.
UM, NUMBER ONE, UM, THERE ARE, MOST OF THESE WERE, WERE SHORT-TERM ITEMS, OR, OR AT LEAST WHEN WE FORMED, WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING ON A SHORT-TERM ITEM, YET THE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE COME IN.
[01:15:01]
OUR COMMITTEES HAD A LONGER TERM VISION.OUR WORKING GROUPS HAD A LONGER TERM VISION, AND THAT'S GREAT.
UM, THE ONLY THING IS I THINK WE WERE MISSING, UH, SOME OF THE HEALTH, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
I THINK WE HAD SOME, UH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
WE HAD, UH, SOME TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH, UH, ASSISTANCE THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER CALVERT MENTIONED, BUT I DO THINK WE ARE MISSING THE LONG-TERM, UH, VISION FOR, FOR WHAT DO WE WANT HEALTH TO LOOK LIKE IN, IN SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY.
I MEAN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS WAS A HEALTH CRISIS.
SO, UH, I, I'D LIKE TO KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR COMMITTEE IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER.
THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY COMMITTEE IS GOING TO START MEETING THIS MONTH, BUT THAT WILL BE AFTER THE APPROVAL OF OUR, OF OUR DOCUMENT IN, UM, WHICH IS, UH, TENTATIVELY SLATED FOR JUNE 4TH.
SO I'M, I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE TIMING, UH, MAYOR OF THAT.
UH, SECONDLY, UM, IN TERMS OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE DISCUSSED TODAY, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU AND FROM ERIC, HOW YOU SEE THOSE INTEGRATING INTO EITHER, UH, THE WORK THAT THE COUNCIL WILL DO, OR IS IT WORK THAT NONPROFITS WILL DO, HOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT WE HAVE THE DOCUMENTS? UH, I KNOW THAT MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY, BUT FOR THE ONES THAT AREN'T REALLY, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED? SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE MY TWO, UH, QUESTIONS AND I'LL, I'LL TAKE MY ANSWER OFF THE AIR.
I MEANT GO AHEAD AND ANSWER WITH MY TIME THAT'S LEFT.
NO, I DID DEFINITELY WANNA HEAR IT IN PUBLIC.
YOU WANNA, SORRY, MAN, CHAIRMAN.
SO, I MEAN, I, I THINK, I THINK YOU SUMMARIZED KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SHORT TERM, UH, IMMEDIATE TYPE OF, UH, OF, UH, EFFORTS THAT, UH, YOUR GROUP AND MANY OF THE OTHER WORK GROUPS, UM, AND, UH, AND THAT THE COUNCIL OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, AS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, UH, WHAT NEED TO BE DONE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME LONGER TERM, UH, NEEDS, AND I THINK THEY NEED TO BE, UH, VALUED AND, AND INCLUDED WITHIN EITHER THE RESILIENCY, UH, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM THAT YOU'LL BE GETTING AN UPDATE ON THIS WEEK.
I THINK PART OF THEM ALSO COULD BE, UH, IN, UH, THE LONGER TERM CONVERSATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO OUR OWN BUDGET.
I DID, THERE WAS, UH, COMMISSIONER WOLF TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT EARLIER, BUT IT RINGS TRUE FOR US TOO.
UH, FISCAL YEAR 21 WILL BE A, UH, WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR US.
AND WE'RE BEGINNING THAT WORK, AND A LOT OF THAT INPUT AND CONVERSATION WILL BE STARTING WITH THE COUNCIL, UH, IN JUNE.
AND, AND SO I THINK THE KEY TO ALL THIS WILL BE ULTIMATELY PRIORITIZING, UH, WHETHER THAT IS, UH, FEDERAL FUNDS OR GRANT FUNDS, OUR OWN FUNDS.
UH, IT'S PRIORITIZING WHAT IS THE KEY, UH, WHAT IS, UH, AND THEN, AND THEN, AND THEN FINANCING THAT.
NOW, IN TERMS OF THE, THE HEALTH ASPECT OF IT, I MEAN, I, I KNOW THAT THAT'S PROBABLY A LONGER TERM, UH, ISSUE AS WELL AND ROLLS INTO OUR HEALTH STRATEGIC PLAN THAT THE COUNCIL HEARD LAST YEAR.
I WOULD EXPECT THOSE TO CONTINUE, THAT THE ELEMENT OF HEALTH THAT IS MOST CRITICAL RIGHT NOW IS THE, UH, HEALTH RESPONSE, UM, UH, THAT WILL BE FUNDING THROUGH THE CARES FUND, UH, THROUGH THE CORONA RELIEF FUND FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.
UM, AND THAT'S, UM, MORE, UH, IMMEDIATE OF, OF, I'M SORRY, A HIGHER IMMEDIATE NEED FOR US RIGHT NOW.
UM, ULTIMATELY, I THINK IT'S GONNA COME DOWN TO FURTHER CONVERSATION AND, AND, UH, PRIORITIZATION BY THE COUNCIL.
SO, SO, ERIC, LET ME, LET ME INTERJECT FOR FOR A SECOND.
IT DOES COME DOWN TO PRIORITIZATION.
AND WHAT I SEE IS THAT THE PRIORITIES FOR LONG-TERM ARE AROUND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SOME OF THE OTHER ISSUES THAT WERE DISCUSSED, AND THOSE ARE GREAT ISSUES, BUT I AM, UM, I'M NOT HAPPY.
I'M CONCERNED THAT WE DON'T SEE, UH, LONG-TERM HEALTH ISSUES BEING PRIORITIZED FOR THIS.
I THINK, I THINK THE, THE DRAFTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.
THEY DO NOT SHOW LONG-TERM HEALTH IMPROVEMENTS AS A PRIORITY.
AND IF WE'RE GOING TO WAIT UNTIL WE GO BACK TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, THAT MEANS IT'S GONNA BE UP IN THE AIR BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT BUDGET IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE NEXT YEAR.
WHEREAS THIS MONEY IS HERE NOW, AND FROM, YOU KNOW, JUST BY THE, THE TITLES OF OUR WORKING GROUPS AND OF THE DRAFT OF THE PLAN THAT WE SAW LAST WEEK, LONG-TERM HEALTH ISN'T IN THERE.
SO I, I'M AFRAID WE'RE GONNA MISS THE BOAT ON THIS ONE.
[01:20:01]
SO I, I JUST WANT TO FLAG IT.AND, UH, AND EVEN AGAIN, THE TIMING OF OUR COMMITTEE NOT NOT GETTING BACK TOGETHER UNTIL AFTER THIS PLAN IS APPROVED.
IT, IT'S REALLY TYING OUR HANDS IN TERMS OF IMPROVING HEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I DO HOPE YOU AND THE MAYOR CAN HAVE, CAN COME UP WITH SOME ALTERNATIVES FOR US IN THAT RESPECT.
WELL, AND I, LET ME, LET ME POINT OUT THAT, THAT, UM, THE CORONA RELIEF FUND, UH, AND ELIGIBLE EXPENSES, UM, I, I, I DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT, UM, ELEMENTS OF OUR LONG-TERM STRATEGIC HEALTH STRATEGIC PLAN WOULD BE AN ELIGIBLE EXPENSE.
UM, THE SECOND BUCKET WE WOULD NEED TO LOOK AT IS POTENTIALLY OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.
AND THEN THE LAST BUCKET THAT, THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE, UM, BUT I THINK WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR 2021, IS OUR OWN LOCAL BUDGET.
AND THAT'S WHY I SAY IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE PRIORITIZED.
WE ALL, WE ALL, IF, IF ANYBODY WASN'T CONVINCED THAT THE LONG-TERM HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON, ON, ON HOW, UM, OUR COMMUNITY CAN WITHSTAND SOMETHING LIKE WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE LAST THREE MONTHS, UM, IF, IF YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE IT BEFORE, YOU SHOULD CERTAINLY BELIEVE IT GOING FORWARD.
AND I'M GONNA BE LOOKING TO THE COUNCIL TO HELP, UH, PRIORITIZE THAT.
I, I, I'M, I DON'T THINK I'M GONNA TAKE A LOT OF TIME.
UH, I HAVE IN PAST MEETINGS I'VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE, UH, THE CRISIS ON THE HORIZON, WHICH IS THE ECONOMIC CRISIS, UH, THAT I BELIEVE IS, YOU KNOW, AND A LOT OF OTHER EXPERTS BELIEVE IS, IS KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR.
AND IT, IT OCCURS TO ME THAT WE, THE COUNTY AND THE CITY OUGHT TO NOW BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF AND NOT JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT TENANTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WHAT HAPPENS TO VULNERABLE POPULATIONS HERE IN TOWN, WHICH IS, WHICH IS A CONVERSATION THAT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
HOWEVER, THE ONE TOPIC THAT WE NEVER DISCUSS IS THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY UPON WHICH THIS ENTIRE CITY DEPENDS UPON, RIGHT? UM, AND IT, YOU KNOW, THE FUNDAMENTALS OF A STRONG, UM, REAL ESTATE ECONOMY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN SHAKEN TO THEIR, TO THEIR FOUNDATION, RIGHT? AND SO, IF YOU ARE THE C E O OF A COMPANY THAT HOLDS SIGNIFICANT REAL ESTATE ASSETS, AND YOU'RE LOOKING AHEAD TO WHAT'S COMING, UM, AND, AND YOU'RE WORKING WITH YOUR TEAM TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU NOT ONLY ARE GONNA START RECOVERING NOW, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE PUNCH TO THE GUT THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WITHSTAND, YOU KNOW, COMING FORWARD, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, TENANT LIQUIDITY, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT KINDS OF OPERATING EXPENSES NOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA ALSO HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT YOUR TENANT'S, UM, SAFETY, UH, CONCERNS LIKE YOU NEVER DID BEFORE.
UM, WHETHER OR NOT THE FINANCING IS THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT DEALS THAT YOU ALREADY HAD IN THE PIPELINE, UM, MOVE FORWARD.
UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN HOW YOUR ASSETS ARE GONNA BE VALUED, UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD CONSIDERING THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS NEW REALITY THAT ALL OF THESE FOLKS ARE GONNA HAVE TO, UH, FACE.
AND SO, UM, THIS, THIS CHANGE IS GONNA BE AN ACCELERATED CHANGE, UM, IN HOW PEOPLE LIVE, BUT ALSO HOW THEY WORK, RIGHT? AND I MENTIONED IT LAST WEEK, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, NEVER BEFORE HAVE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS RELIED TO DO ALL, YOU KNOW, ON VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICES, FREE ONES, UM, TO DO ALL OF THEIR WORK.
AND, YOU KNOW, ONCE THIS CRISIS IS BEHIND US, AND ONCE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE ENOUGH TO GO BACK TO WORK, I SUSPECT THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO HOLD THAT A LOT OF TENANTS, COMMERCIAL, YOU KNOW, OFFICE TENANTS WHO HOLD, UH, WHO ARE GONNA HOLD THE OPINION THAT, HEY, IT, IT WORKED OUT, UM, BY KEEPING EVERYBODY AT HOME AND WE WERE STILL ABLE TO MAKE MONEY.
I, I, I'VE USED JP MORGAN CHASE AS AN EXAMPLE, BUT, YOU KNOW, I LOOKED IT UP YESTERDAY.
JP MORGAN CHASE HAS 200,000 EMPLOYEES GLOBALLY, AND THEY SENT HOME 180,000 EMPLOYEES.
AND JP MORGAN CHASE, GRANTED, THEY'RE A BEHEMOTH, UH, YOU KNOW, AND THEY, THEY CAN THRIVE IN THE FACE OF A CRISIS, BUT THEY SENT THEM ALL HOME AND THEY'RE DOING JUST FINE.
UM, AND THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF OTHER COMPANIES OUT THERE THAT ARE GONNA REALIZE VERY QUICKLY THAT THEY JUST MIGHT NOT NEED ALL THAT REAL ESTATE THAT THEY'VE RENTED.
AND SO, I DO THINK THAT A, A CRISIS IS AROUND THE CORNER, AND I THINK THAT IT'S GONNA BE INCUMBENT UPON US, ERIC AND, AND DAVID, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUDGE AND MAYOR TO MAKE SURE TO KEEP OUR EYES ON THAT INDUSTRY AS WELL, BECAUSE WE, WE ALL SAW HOUSTON, UH, BACK IN THE EIGHTIES WHEN, YOU KNOW,
[01:25:01]
THE, THE OIL MARKET HAD THE BOTTOM, YOU KNOW, CRASH OUT FROM UNDER IT.AND WE'VE ALL SEEN WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE SAVINGS AND LOANS, UH, CRISIS, AND, UM, THE RIPPLE EFFECTS FELT, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE ECONOMY, EVEN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WHERE, UM, NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT.
SO, UM, I, I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS COUNCIL NEEDS TO START HAVING MORE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT GOING FORWARD, UH, BECAUSE HEALTH OUTCOMES ARE CERTAINLY IMPORTANT.
COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL, I'M WITH YOU.
UM, I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE THINGS TOO.
BUT WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT HEALTH OUTCOMES, AND WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT TENANTS WITHOUT ALSO TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE PEOPLE WORK AND HOW THAT MIGHT CHANGE.
AND SO, UM, AND YOU KNOW, HOW DEAL REAL ESTATE DEALS FALLING APART, UM, YOU KNOW, MIGHT BE A, ANOTHER KICK IN THE GUT TO WHICH, FOR WHICH WE'RE NOT EVEN PREPARED.
AND SO THOSE ARE JUST MY COMMENTS, MAYOR.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST A HEADS UP THAT I, I, I DO THINK THAT COUNCIL AND COMMISSIONER COURT NEED TO START HAVING THAT CONVERSATION MORE OFTEN AND NOT WAIT FOR IT TO HIT US, BUT START ANTICIPATING AND MAYBE EVEN WORKING WITH, UH, THE REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS THAT THEY WOULD NEED.
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
UM, I TOO WANT TO THANK THE COMMITTEES, ALL THE COMMITTEES THAT, UH, PUT IN A LOT OF HARD WORK ON THIS.
AND MR. HARTMAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LEADING UP THIS WHOLE EFFORT.
I, I THINK EVERYONE HAS LEARNED A LOT FROM THIS.
UH, I, I WANT TO ECHO MY CONCERNS ALSO WITH, UH, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL AND COUNCILMAN ELIAS ON, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ACTUAL EXECUTION OF THIS AND HOW THIS IS GONNA PLAY OUT WITH THE, WHAT I'M GONNA CALL LIMITED FUNDING THAT WE HAVE SO FAR FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, UH, AND OTHER RESOURCES OUT THERE.
UH, A LOT OF TALK ABOUT LONG-TERM PLANS VERSUS SHORT-TERM PLANS.
UM, THIS MONEY ISN'T GONNA GET US PAST MUCH OF THE SHORT-TERM PLAN, UM, VERSUS EVEN THINKING ABOUT LONG-TERM PLANS.
SO, UM, I, I'M WITH YOU, ERIC.
I, I THINK WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, PRIORITIZE THAT, AND, AND MOVE ON.
AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN AFFORD IN THE FUTURE, THEN ABSOLUTELY PUT AS MUCH IN AS WE CAN.
UM, BUT I
I, UM, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT ALL THE DOCUMENTS YET.
AND, UH, I'M NOT, I GUESS HOW WE, HOW WE USE THOSE DOCUMENTS IN THE FUTURE AND HOW WE INCORPORATE THOSE INTO POLICY, UM, UM, I, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT I WOULD AGREE WITH JUST ADOPTING THE, THE ENTIRE, THE ENTIRE PLAN AND MOVING FORWARD THAT AS POLICY.
UM, AGAIN, IT HAS TO DO WITH RESOURCES.
AND I, I MENTIONED THIS ON A CALL THE OTHER DAY.
IF WE DON'T CONCENTRATE ON GETTING FOLKS BACK TO WORK HERE IN TOWN, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE TAX BASE.
WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THAT INCOME INTO THE GENERAL FUND THAT WE REALLY NEED TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THESE THINGS.
SO AGAIN, MY, MY EMPHASIS WOULD BE ON THE SHORT TERM AND, AND THE EMPHASIS ON GETTING BUSINESSES BACK TO WORK, TO WORK AND GETTING OUR EMPLOYEES BACK TO WORK, OUR CITIZENS BACK TO WORK, AND WHAT THEY, UH, WANT, WANT TO DO, WHAT AND NEED TO DO, UH, TO GET THIS ECONOMY BACK.
AND, AND TO ME, THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS SHOULD BE.
UM, AGAIN, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS AND THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, BUT I'M, I'M, UH, ANXIOUSLY AWAITING ERIC ON, ON YOUR, UH, EFFORTS THAT YOU'VE PUT TOGETHER HERE TO, UH, PRIORITIZE THINGS BASED ON INPUT FROM THE COUNCIL AT THIS POINT.
BUT, UM, I THINK, I THINK A LOT OF THIS LONG-TERM ISSUES ARE, TO ME, SHOULD BE SEPARATED OUT AND LOOKED AT IN THE FUTURE ARE BUDGETS.
AND IF THERE'S MORE FEDERAL AID COMING OUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ANOTHER, ANOTHER BIG PACKAGE THAT WAS HOUSE PASSED BY THE HOUSE, AND, UM,
[01:30:01]
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FATE OF THAT BILL WILL BE, BUT I, I SUSPECT THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO GET ADDITIONAL FEDERAL AID TO, UM, HELP US.AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK FORWARD TO AS WELL.
AND, YOU KNOW, OUR GENERAL FUND IS GONNA BE BEAT UP THIS YEAR, AND IT'S GONNA BE BEAT UP NEXT YEAR, MAYBE EVEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
AND AGAIN, I THINK IT ALL HINGES ON GETTING OUR ECONOMY BACK UP TO SPEED WHERE IT SHOULD BE TO GENERATE THAT INCOME AND REVENUE TO THE CITY TO BE ABLE TO OFFER MORE SERVICES TO, TO OUR CITIZENRY.
SO, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL THE COMMITTEES.
MR. HARTMAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, SHEPHERDING THIS WHOLE EFFORT AND PUTTING, PUTTING, UH, INK TO PAPER AND PUTTING IT OUT THERE FOR US.
I'LL TAKE A LOOK AT AND, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, UM, I DON'T KNOW, IS COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE, WERE YOU ABLE TO REJOIN THE LINE HERE? OKAY, WELL, IF NOT, UM, TIME IS 2 33.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND WRAP UP WITH, UH, JUST A COUPLE COMMENTS AND THEN TURN IT OVER TO JUDGE WOLF.
UM, ERIC, WERE YOU, SIR? MM-HMM.
YEAH, YOU CAN HEAR ME? OR IS THAT JOHN? IS, IS THAT JOHN COURAGE? YES, SIR.
CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME, RON? WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW, COUNCILMAN.
WELL, ACTUALLY, I WAS, I WANTED TO WAIT TILL AFTER PERRY WENT, SO NOW I CAN GO AHEAD.
THANK YOU FOR THE TIME, MAYOR.
YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO AGREE THAT, UH, THIS REALLY WAS A, A HEALTH ISSUE, AND SO IT NEEDS TO REMAIN, UH, A HEALTH ISSUE IN THE LONG RUN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BEING PREPARED FOR MOVING FORWARD WITH WHAT WE'RE FACING RIGHT NOW, BUT ALSO BEING PREPARED IN THE FUTURE IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS OCCURS AGAIN.
UH, AND SO I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE ONE OF THOSE ISSUES THAT, THAT WE DO ADDRESS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE DIDN'T HAVE 20% POVERTY, AND IF WE WEREN'T THE WORST INSURED, UH, STATE AND PROBABLY CITY IN THIS STATE, WE MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD THE, UH, HUGE EFFECT THAT THIS HAS HAD ON US, UH, BOTH WITH THE POPULATION AND OF COURSE WITH OUR ECONOMY.
ONE OF THE THINGS I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO SET A WORK SESSION ON IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDED STEPS TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES THE WORK GROUPS HAVE IDENTIFIED.
AND I WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE MORE THAN ONE WORK SESSION.
UH, WE HAVE B SESSIONS ON A LOT OF THINGS THAT MAYBE WE DON'T ALWAYS NEED TO HAVE THAT MUCH IN DEPTH INFORMATION ON, BUT THIS IS THE KIND OF SITUATION WHERE SO MUCH WORK WAS PUT INTO ALL THESE WORK GROUPS.
SO MANY DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS AND IDEAS FOR SOLUTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ON MOVING FORWARD HAVE BEEN MADE THAT I THINK THAT THE STAFF AND THE COUNCIL NEED TO LOOK AT THESE AND START AS, AS WE'VE HEARD A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY, PRIORITIZING THESE SHORT TERM, IMMEDIATE, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IN THE NEXT 18 MONTHS, NOW, WHAT WE NEED TO BE CONSIDERING EVEN BEYOND THAT.
AND SO, I, I HOPE TO SEE A SUGGESTION FROM THE CITY MANAGER AND YOU MAYOR ON SOME IN-DEPTH WORK SESSIONS THAT REALLY EXAMINE ALL OF THESE AND PRIORITIZE THEM AND START TO DECIDE WHAT KIND OF FUNDING IS NEEDED AND WHEN WE CAN PUT 'EM IN PLACE.
I KNOW THAT THE BIG ISSUES THAT STUCK WITH ME LISTENING TO ALL OF THIS AND READING OVER A LOT OF THESE WAS, YOU KNOW, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS AND THE EVICTIONS.
THAT'S BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM.
IT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO BE ONE, IT'S A MAJOR ONE WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT.
AND NOW, FOOD INSECURITY, WHICH WE ALWAYS KNEW EXISTED SURE.
STOOD UP AND SMACKED US IN THE FACE DURING THIS THING.
AND WE REALLY, REALLY NEED TO START ADDRESSING HOW WE CAN PROTECT PEOPLE FROM FOOD SECURITY IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND I WILL SUPPORT WHOLEHEARTEDLY WHAT I'VE HEARD A COUPLE OF MY COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, BOTH MANNY AND, AND CLAYTON TALKING ABOUT BUSINESSES AND BUSINESS SECURITY AND GETTING BUSINESSES BACK UP AND RUNNING AND SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT.
AND I THINK THERE'S MONEY IN C OVID 19 FUNDING TODAY RIGHT AWAY TO DO THAT.
HOPEFULLY THERE'S MORE TO COME.
AND I THINK WE CAN'T IGNORE THE FACT THAT PEOPLE DO HAVE TO HAVE JOBS.
THEY DO NEED TO EARN A LIVING.
THEY NEED TO NEED TO SPEND MONEY ON THE ECONOMY TO PERPETUATE OUR ECONOMY FOR ALL OF OUR WELL-DOING.
SO I, I CAN REALLY SEE US MAKING THAT ONE OF THE OTHER MAJOR
[01:35:01]
PILLARS.UM, ANOTHER ONE I THINK IS, IS A BIG DEAL IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY AND MENTAL HEALTH, A LOT OF THOSE ISSUES GO TOGETHER.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE STEPS WE NEED TO TAKE.
I THINK A LOT OF GOOD SUGGESTIONS WERE MADE.
HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THOSE? AND FINALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, I WAS A TEACHER FOR 27 YEARS IN THIS CITY.
AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT EDUCATION AND THE PROBLEMS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH EDUCATION, WITH THE SCHOOLS BEING CLOSED ALL THE WAY FROM, UH, PRE-K TO 16, WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THERE ARE MECHANISMS AVAILABLE FOR US TO CONTINUE TO PROMOTE BETTER EDUCATION IN THIS CITY.
UH, AND THAT GOES HAND IN HAND WITH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
AND I THINK BOTH OF THOSE GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
YOU KNOW, WE COULD BE HELPING THOUSANDS OF MORE STUDENTS WHO ARE MISSING SCHOOL IF THEY HAD ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND IF THEY HAD THE TECHNOLOGY AT HOME TO LEARN.
BUT THERE LITERALLY ARE THOUSANDS WHO DON'T.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WE MIGHT BE TRYING TO HELP 15, 20,000 PEOPLE LEARN A NEW SKILL, DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO TAKE ANOTHER JOB.
I DON'T THINK WE CAN FIT ALL OF THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR OUR FOUR YEAR COLLEGES.
I THINK A LOT OF THAT WORK IS GONNA HAVE TO BE DONE ONLINE, OR AT LEAST THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, THE SUPPORT THAT HELPS PEOPLE IN THAT WORKFORCE TRAINING WILL TAKE A, A, A BIG BENEFIT FROM OVERCOMING THAT DIGITAL DIVIDE AND HELPING PEOPLE COMMUNICATE BETTER.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES I'D LIKE TO SEE US WORK ON AND EVALUATE AND START PRIORITIZING.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE TIME, MAYOR.
AND, AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND, UM, CLOSE OUT HERE.
WE'LL, WE'LL START WITH, UM, UH, ERIC, DO YOU WANNA MAKE A FEW COMMENTS BEFORE WE FINISH UP? YEAH, JUST REAL QUICK, MAYOR, UH, UH, COUNCILWOMAN SULLIVAN ASKED, UH, HOW MANY, UH, BUSINESSES HAVE HAVE TAKEN THE PLEDGE? UH, AS OF, UH, LAST NIGHT, WE HAD 700 TAKE THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLEDGE, ALONG WITH THE 4,900 THAT HAVE REGISTERED FOR TOMORROW'S, UH, P P E.
SO A TOTAL OF 5,600 BUSINESSES HAVE TAKEN THAT PLEDGE.
UM, AND JUST A REMINDER, TOMORROW AT THE ALMO DOME FROM 6:00 AM TO 7:00 PM WILL BE DOING THE P P E GIVEAWAY, UH, FOR BUSINESSES.
WE HAVE OVER 500 VOLUNTEERS, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UH, MULTIPLE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK, UM, ALEX LOPEZ AND MIKE SENDIN AND JESSICA HARRIS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, TROY ELLIOT AND THE PROCUREMENT TEAM FOR GETTING EVERYTHING PURCHASED AND OVER THERE DELIVERED TO THE DOME.
AND THEN, AND THEN FINALLY, MAYOR, I WANTED TO THANK, UH, UH, GORDON SAID THIS AT THE BEGINNING.
I WANTED TO, UH, MEL WOOSLEY, ALEX LOPEZ, JESSICA DOLINA, AND, UH, SALLY BETA, UH, FOR THEIR WORK IN SUPPORTING THE WORKING GROUPS OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS.
UM, THEY, UH, THEY DID SO THEY DID A GREAT JOB, UH, AND THEY DID THAT WHILE THEY WERE, UH, DEALING WITH THE RESPONSE.
I WANTED TO THANK THEM, UH, FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR WORK.
AND, AND LET ME RESPOND, UM, TO, TO, UM, SOME OF THE DISCUSSION, UH, BEFORE I TURN IT OVER, TO, TO JUDGE, TO CLOSE THIS OUT.
UM, AS WE MOVE TO THIS NEXT PHASE AND GET OUT OF THESE WORKING GROUPS, I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT, UM, ONE OF THE EFFECTS OF THIS PANDEMIC IS THAT IT HAS LAID BARE, UH, SOME OF THE UNDERLYING CONDITIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, WITH REGARD TO SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUITY, HEALTH DISPARITIES, UM, YOU NAME IT.
UH, IT HAS BEEN EXACERBATED BY THIS PANDEMIC.
UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE WORK OF THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES AND THE REGULAR WORK OF THE COURT AND THE COUNCIL, I THINK WE WOULD BE DOING OURSELVES, UH, A DISSERVICE IF WE DIDN'T GO BACK TO THE WORK OF THESE, UH, WORKING GROUPS, UH, WHICH HAS BEEN ARTICULATED IN THESE GROUP, IN THESE REPORTS THAT IDENTIFY SOME OF THOSE NEEDS, UH, AND, AND SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS 'EM.
SO, WITH RESPECT TO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE IN THESE REPORTS, I WOULD EXPECT THAT, UH, THIS DOCUMENT THAT'S BEEN COMPILED BY, UH, GORDON AND BY OUR GROUPS, WILL BE A TOUCHSTONE FOR POLICYMAKING THAT WILL HELP US AS WE IDENTIFY FUTURE RESOURCES BEYOND THE CARES ACT, TO PRIORITIZE OUR RESOURCES IN A WAY THAT ADDRESSES THESE NEEDS IN A MORE PERMANENT MANNER, MAKING OURSELVES A MORE HELPFUL, EQUITABLE, RESILIENT COMMUNITY.
BUT AS IT RELATES TO, UH, THE TASK AT HAND, UM, AND WHERE WE ARE WITH THE C R F FUNDS, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN GREAT EFFORT UNDERWAY BY THE COURT AND THE COUNCIL, BY MYSELF AND JUDGE WOLF TO
[01:40:01]
MAINTAIN, UH, THE SENSE OF COLLABORATION AND LEVERAGING THAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER TO GET THE MOST IMPACT OUT OF THESE FUNDS IS POSSIBLE.SO, AS THE COUNCIL DISCUSSES THIS WEEK, THE CARESS ACT PROGRAM, UH, AND WE RATIFY IT THE FOLLOWING WEEK, WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING THAT ONE TOOL IN OUR TOOL BELT, UH, THAT WILL ALSO INCLUDE MANY OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING AND PERHAPS EVEN OUR, OUR FUNDS, UH, GENERALLY MOVING FORWARD FROM ONE FISCAL YEAR TO THE NEXT.
ALL THE WHILE GOING BACK TO THESE REPORTS AND THE WORK THAT THESE WORKING GROUPS HAVE DONE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, I HOPE, AND, AND I THINK I JOIN ALL OF YOU IN, IN THE SAME, THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THE COLLABORATION.
SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE ONGOING, UH, EFFORTS OF THE PHILANTHROPY WORKING GROUP.
THERE'S, THERE'S GONNA BE A CONSTANT NEED THAT WE CAN CONNECT IT TO THOSE RESOURCES, AND I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE GETTING BACK UP AND RUNNING AND KIND CONTINUING THE WORK TOGETHER WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
SO THERE'S A LOT TO WORK FROM.
I THINK AS WE, UH, GET STARTED WITH OUR COUNCIL COMMITTEES, THERE WILL BE A, A, A COMMON THREAD THAT UNITES THIS WORK WITH, UM, WITH THOSE COMMITTEES MOVING FORWARD.
AND, UH, AGAIN, OUR VISION FORWARD IS THAT WE BUILD A, A CITY THAT IS MORE RESILIENT, MORE HELPFUL, UH, MORE EQUITABLE THAN PRE PANDEMIC.
I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS AND, AND THE WORK UNDERWAY.
AND LET ME THANK GORDON HARTMAN AND EVERYBODY THAT DID, UH, SO MUCH HARD WORK ON THIS.
I, I THINK THIS DOCUMENT IS A GOOD ONE.
UH, AS WE, UH, DECIDE THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS HOW WE SPEND THE, UM, UH, COR UH, VIRUS, UH, FUNDING THAT WE GET, UM, I KNOW THE COUNCIL WILL BE ACTING ON IT.
WE'VE ALREADY STARTED, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO MAKE A LOT OF DECISIONS.
AND I THINK, UM, THIS DOCUMENT WILL HELP US IN, IN, IN, IN PRIORITIZING WHAT WE WANNA SPEND THERE.
UH, WE DO KNOW THAT GOING INTO NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, THINGS ARE GONNA BE WORSE THAN BETTER.
UH, I BELIEVE THAT, UM, COUNCILMAN COURAGE AND HARRY KIND OF SET THE TABLE FOR THAT, UH, REGARDING THE CHALLENGES WE FACE IN EDUCATION, REMOTE LEARNING, DIGITAL DIVIDE, UH, HOW DO WE REBUILD A, UH, ECONOMY THAT WE'VE GOT IN A DEEP HOLE RIGHT NOW? AND I THINK WE ALL REALIZE THAT WE, WE CAN ONLY EAT WHAT WE COLLECTIVELY PRODUCE, AND YOU CAN'T PRODUCE WITHOUT A GOOD, STRONG ECONOMY.
AND IN THE LONG TERM, UH, THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT WE, UH, SET IN PLACE THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THESE, UH, GROUPS WITH RESPECT, HOW DO WE GENERATE OUR ECONOMY, AND CERTAINLY THOSE DEALING WITH, UH, HOW WE HELP SMALL BUSINESSES AND HOW WE KEEP THEM UP AND GOING.
UM, SO IT'S GONNA BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL TO US.
I THINK, LET ME JUST COMMENT REAL QUICKLY ON, UM, UH, COUNCIL PERSON ANNA SANDOVAL, WITH RESPECT TO HEALTH.
YOU KNOW, I GUESS IN SIMPLICITY, THERE'S ABOUT MAYBE THREE SEGMENTS TO THAT.
ONE, THE CITY COUNCIL AND, AND THE, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH, THERE'S DISTRICT THERE HAS PLAYED A ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL ROLE AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH.
AND THAT'S, UH, A, A FUNCTION THAT IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTS AND BE READY FOR THE NEXT, UH, EVENT THAT WE MAY HAVE.
UH, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT PUTS IN $458 MILLION EVERY YEAR INTO OUR BEXAR COUNTY HOSPITAL SYSTEM.
WE GOT CLINICS ALL OVER THE CITY.
WE PUT MONEY INTO THE CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES THAT DEALS WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND WITH DRUG ABUSE ISSUES.
AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, SUPPORT THOSE AND PROVIDE THAT KIND OF A LEVEL OF HEALTHCARE.
I THINK THE THIRD PIECE IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO TOGETHER, AND, UH, THAT'S PREVENTIVE HEALTH.
WE, WE, UM, WE DON'T DO A GOOD JOB ON THAT ANYWHERE THAT I KNOW OF.
AND, UH, I, I THINK MAYBE A CITY COUNTY INITIATIVE ON PREVENTIVE HEALTH, UH, ISSUES WOULD REALLY, WOULD MAKE MEANINGFUL.
UM, WE, WE DO HAVE TO TAKE SOME PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WE HAVE A COMMUNITY THAT IS FIGHTING OBESITY.
WE HAVE UNDERLYING HEALTH CAUSES, AND THAT'S WHO'S DYING TODAY, WHETHER IT'S HYPERTENSION OR WHETHER IT'S DIABETES.
AND SO WE NEED TO COMBINE ON THIS.
I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, COUNCILPERSON SANDOVAL MADE A GOOD POINT THERE AS WE DELINEATE THE MAJOR ASPECTS.
SO WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE SAY HEALTH.
SO LET'S PULL TOGETHER AND, UH, SEE IF WE CAN, UH, PRIORITIZE THE SPENDING AND THEN PREPARE OURSELVES FOR WHAT'S GONNA BE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME FOR THE COUNTY AND THE CITY AS WE DECIDE WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES, THAT THERE'S NOT A
[01:45:01]
FULL BASKET TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING.WELL, IT IS, UH, 2:47 PM UM, I DO WANNA REMIND ANY BUSINESSES, BUSINESS OWNERS THAT ARE WATCHING RIGHT NOW THAT ARE, ARE, UM, P P E UH, SIGN UP THAT, UH, YOU CAN COME AND PICK UP YOUR P P E KITS TOMORROW.
THE EVENT STARTS AT 9:00 AM YOU CAN STILL SIGN UP BY DIALING 3 1 1.
THERE'S STILL TIME TO SIGN UP FOR THOSE P P E KITS.
SMALL BUSINESSES WITH LESS THAN 25 EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE.
UH, IT IS 2:48 PM ON TUESDAY, MAY 26, AND THIS SPECIAL JOINT CITY COUNCIL COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEETING IS NOW ADJOURNED.