[00:00:03]
WELCOME TO OUR ECONOMIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON THIS, UH, TUESDAY, JUNE, I THINK IT'S THE 23RD.
UH, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UM, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE HAVE THE ROLE CALL THE ROLE ROLL MADAM CLERK.
UM, GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR VIA GRANT HERE.
HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIRLEY GONZALEZ.
MADAM CHAIR, YOU HAVE A QUORUM.
[Public Comment]
WE HAVE A, UH, NUMBER OF PUBLIC COMMENTS AND SOME, UH, CALLBACKS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE PHONE CALLBACKS FIRST, AND THEN OUR CITY CLERK WILL READ A, A SUMMARY OF THE VOICEMAILS AND THE, UH, LETTERS THAT WE DID RECEIVE ON THIS TOPIC.
IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY EXCITING TOPIC THAT WE HAVE TODAY WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS, BUT ALSO OUR ART FUNDING, UM, AS WELL.
UM, BUT I DO KNOW THAT SOME OF OUR COLLEAGUES NEED TO JUMP OFF, BUT, UH, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PUBLIC COMMENTS FIRST BEFORE WE CAN GET TO THE PRESENTATION.
SO YOU ALL NEED TO, UM, SO YOU ALL CAN SEE THAT.
SO, WITH THAT, WE'LL START WITH THE FIRST CALLBACK, WHICH IS WITH, UH, GRACIA SANCHEZ.
PLEASE PROCEED, MS. SANCHEZ, YOU HAVE YOUR TIME.
CAN YOU HEAR US? OKAY, WELL THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE NEXT, UM, CALLER MARIA LOPEZ.
WE'RE GETTING HER ON THE LINE RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE TRYING TO CALL BACK, UM, ALL OF OUR, OUR CALLERS.
UM, CITY CLERK, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND START READING THROUGH THE COMMENTS, AND IF WE CAN GET THE OTHER TWO ON THE LINE, WE'LL BRING THEM ON THE LINE FOR HOLD SO YOU CAN GO AHEAD WITH YOUR STATEMENT AND YOU'RE ON MUTE.
THE FIRST STATEMENT IS FROM GEORGE CISNEROS OF URBAN 15.
HE SAYS, TODAY, ACCORDING TO THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UP TO PERHAPS 40% OF MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES COULD DISAPPEAR BEFORE THE END OF 2020.
AND IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WHATEVER FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR C OVID 19 RELIEF TO BE SPENT MOST EFFECTIVELY, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ALREADY DESIGNATED LYFT FUND TO ADMINISTER THE APPLICATION OF FUNDS.
AND, UM, WE ANTICIPATE A DELUSION REQUEST.
SO IT'S PART, IT'S SMART ON THE PART OF THE COMMITTEE TO ALLOW FUNDS FOR GRANTS TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
HE IS SAYING THAT HE WOULD PREFER THE OBVIOUS CHOICE TO BE NALAC, TO MANAGE AN ART AND ARTS MANAGEMENT AND FUNDING.
THEY HAVE DECADES OF EXPERIENCE WITH NONPROFIT AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS NEEDS.
IT WOULD ALLOW LIFTFUND TO HONE THEIR EXPERTISE ON LOAN APPLICATIONS FROM THE THOUSANDS OF MINORITY BUSINESSES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
[00:05:01]
WE HAVE, UM, GRACIE SANCHEZ ON THE LINE NOW, SO WE'LL JUST HAVE HER, UH, GO AHEAD AND GIVE HER STATEMENT.I THINK MAY, YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN THE CALLS MIXED UP.
YOUR NAME AGAIN? MY NAME IS MARIA LOPEZ VILLON.
I RECEIVE, I'M PRESIDENT AND C E O OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, LATINO ARTS AND CULTURES.
THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
I, UH, WENT AHEAD AND, AND SUBMITTED, UH, A BID TO, TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, UH, ADMINISTER THE GRANTS, UH, FROM THE CITY, THE CARES ACT GRANTS
UH, AND AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, I HAVE DECIDED TO WITHDRAW THE BID FROM NALAC TO ADMINISTER THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CARES ACT FUND TO ARTISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS.
NOT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE EXPERIENCE, UH, THE ABILITY, UH, AND THE KNOWLEDGE TO DO THIS, BUT WE JUST FEEL THAT THE SYSTEM, UH, OR THE PROCESS THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE IS, UM, IS RUSHED AND, AND SOMEWHAT FLAWED AND, UH, UNWILLING, UH, TO WORK WITH THE CITY, UH, TO HELP IDENTIFY A WAY TO EFFECTIVELY, UH, REGRANT THESE CARESS ACT FUNDS.
UH, WE, WE ARE A REGRANT HER FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND PROVIDE SUPPORT TO, UH, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, LATINO INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS IN SAN ANTONIO AND ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL.
SO, UH, MY APOLOGIES, BUT I WILL WITHDRAW, UH, NLA BID, UH, AT THIS TIME, UH, I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING DIFFERENT, UH, PLAYERS TOGETHER, THE LIFT FUND, NLA, MAYBE THE AREA FOUNDATION TO IDENTIFY, UH, A PROCESS, A THOUGHTFUL PROCESS TO MOVE THIS WORK FORWARD.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UH, GRACIELA SANCHEZ ON HOLD.
OKAY, WELL THEN LET'S GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH OUR COMMENT, UM, WITH THE CITY CLERK.
AND NANCY, YOU'RE STILL ON MUTE.
THE NEXT SPEAKER IS A CO PUBLIC COMMUNIST FROM E LAUREN MEEKER.
SHE'S WITH OPERA SAN ANTONIO, AND SHE'S THE JOURNAL AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE STAFF OF OPERA SAN ANTONIO HOPES YOU WILL CONSIDER INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE ARTS AS YOU ANALYZE THE BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
ARTS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE OPERA SAN ANTONIO NEED YOUR SUPPORT NOW MORE THAN EVER, TO HELP US HEAL THE SOUL OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WE WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.
OUR NEXT PUBLIC COMMENT IS FROM JOHN OSA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM SAY, C.
WE ASK THAT YOU WORK TO SUPPORT ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY COVID AND THE LOSS OF HOT TAX FUNDS.
THESE DOLLARS PROVIDE IMPACT VALUE IN A CULTURAL COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING AND SUPPORT THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE VALUE IN THE GOLDEN THREAD OF CULTURE AND ARTS THAT ARE THE PART OF THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY.
THE NEXT PUBLIC COMMUNIST FROM RAMON JAY VASQUEZ.
HE'S THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMERICAN INDIANS IN TEXAS.
AT THE SPANISH COLONIAL MUSIC MISSIONS, HE SAYS, THE AMERICAN INDIANS AND TEXAS SPANISH COLONIAL MISSIONS ASK THAT YOU SUPPORT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LATINO ARTS AND CULTURE TO DISTRIBUTE AND OR REGRANT THE $2.6 MILLION COVID RELIEF FUNDING FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS IN SAN ANTONIO.
NALA IS A NATIONAL ARTS ORGANIZATION, STARTED IN HEADQUARTERED IN SAN ANTONIO FOR THE PAST 31 YEARS, AND THEY HAVE BEEN RE-GRANTING ART FUNDS FOR 15 YEARS, BOTH FOR
[00:10:01]
THE CITY AND THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR ARTS.THE NEXT COMMENT IS FROM, UH, MAGNA, UH, GONZALES SEED.
SHE IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR CENTRAL LAN.
MS. GONZALEZ SEED EXPRESSED A SUPPORT FOR NALA AND TO SUPPORT THE PROPOSAL THAT NALA MANAGED THE REGRANTING PROCESS FOR THE CARES ACT FUNDING OF THE OF THE ARTS.
NANCY, WE'RE GONNA BRING GRA GRACIELA ON THE CALL RIGHT NOW.
THEY WERE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, SO ELLA SANCHEZ IS ON THE LINE.
UH, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN, UH, GERRAN, UH, THANK YOU AND YOUR COMMITTEE FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
UM, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR ADDING THE $2.6 MILLION TO THE RELIEF FUND.
I BELIEVE INITIAL FUNDS WERE AT ZERO, SO IT'S EXCITING TO KNOW THAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM US AND YOU HAVE RESPONDED.
HOWEVER, I WOULD APPRECIATE IF THERE ARE WAYS TO THAT MORE MONEYS ASIDE IN THE FUTURE THROUGH THE, THESE RELIEF FUNDS OR THROUGH YOUR GENERAL FUNDS THAT WOULD, UM, BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE REQUIRED BY THE CITY TO PAY OUR ARTISTS.
SO FOR THE ESPERANZA, HALF OF OUR FUNDS GO DIRECTLY TO INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS OR TO GROUPS THAT PERFORM WITH US, AND THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE STRUGGLING IF WE DO NOT RECEIVE ANY MORE FUNDS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE THE, THE PEOPLE WHO SUFFER THE MOST ARE THESE INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
AND WE OURSELVES WILL FIND, UM, HAVING TO CUT FUNDING FOR OUR STAFF AND REDUCING THEM, AND ANY GROUPS MIGHT EVEN FOLD AT THIS MOMENT.
BUT I WANNA JUST GIVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES.
AND WE HIRED HIM AND WE'VE HAD TO WORK WITH HIM TO ALSO SAVE HIM FROM, UH, EVICTION FROM THE ALLAN COURTS, AND WE GOT HIM BACK TO ANOTHER HOUSING PLACE AT SAHA.
BUT, YOU KNOW, HE JUST NEEDS HIS TWO OR $300 A MONTH, BUT NOBODY'S GONNA HIRE US.
UH, REHIRE 75 YEAR OLD MAN, THE WOMEN OF MU AFTER IS THE SAME THING.
THEY'RE LOW INCOME, THEY'RE DISABLED, MANY OF 'EM, THEY'RE SICK, AND THE LITTLE DOLLARS THAT THEY MAKE THROUGH THE PROGRAM IS WHAT KEEPS 'EM SURVIVING.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE 2.6 MILLION.
WE HOPE, UH, THAT YOU WILL CONSIDER, UH, SETTING ASIDE MORE MONIES AS TIME GOES ON.
THOSE WERE ALL OF OUR CALLBACKS.
UM, NANCY, YOU CAN CONTINUE TO READ OUR COMMENTS AND BE SURE TO UNMUTE.
OUR NEXT COMMENT IS FROM MARLENA GONZALEZ SEED.
SHE'S THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL LAN.
SHE EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR NALA AND TO SUPPORT THE PROPOSAL THAT NALA MANAGED THE RE-GRANTING PROCESS FOR THE CARES ACT FUNDING OF NA OF THE ARTS.
SHE STATED THAT NALAC, UM, IS A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED ORGANIZATION WITH A STRONG HISTORY OF REGRANTING AND ARTS ADMINISTRATION.
AND THEIR APPLICATION PROCESS AND EVALUATION PROCESS ARE AMONG THE MOST EFFICIENT, EQUITABLE, AND THOROUGH THAT SHE HAS SEEN IN HER 30 YEARS AS AN ART ADMINISTRATOR.
THE NEXT PUBLIC COMMENT IS FROM LISA CORTEZ WALDEN, PHD.
WALDEN IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE INSPIRE COMMUNITY ART CENTER.
SHE STATES THAT INSPIRE RESPECTFULLY REQUESTS THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO GRANT HER, UH, INSPIRE ACADEMY THE ENTIRE AMOUNT FOR WHICH THEY'RE ELIGIBLE AS A CONTRACTED ORGANIZATION, UH, IN THE FY 20 19 20 20.
SHE STATED THAT PRIOR TO C OVID 19 INSPIRE COMPLETED ALL REQUIREMENTS OF THEIR CONTRACT AND PROVIDED ART SERVICES THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO AND THE LOCATION, THE EAST SIDE.
SHE STATED THE MAJORITY OF THEIR STUDENTS RECEIVED CLASSES FREE, AND THAT THESE WORKSHOPS WERE PARTNERED WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE THOSE WHO SUFFER TRAUMA, HAVE LEARNING OR PHYSICAL D DIFFERENCES, OR IN REHAB, OR CANNOT ACCESS THE ARTS FOR OTHER REASONS, AND THAT HER WORK IS TO INCREASE THEIR EXPRESSIVE ABILITY.
SO, UH, SHE SAID SHE'S VERY PROUD OF THE IMPACT THAT THEY HAVE HAD.
AND, UM, SHE STATED THAT THE RESULTS WERE CATASTROPHIC FOR THE ORGANIZATION WHEN, UH, THEY NO LONGER HAD THE CONTRACT WITH THE CITY.
AND SHE REMAINED AS A VOLUNTEER.
AND, UM, SHE WOULD LIKE TO CREATE IN-DEPTH REPORTS, UH, TO PRESENT FOR HER CONTRACT, AND SHE WOULD NEED TO PAY HERSELF AND OTHER APPROPRIATE STAFF.
AND SHE THANKS YOU FOR CONSIDERATION.
THE NEXT COMMENT IS FROM MARIA LOPEZ DE LEON.
SHE'S THE PRESIDENT AND C E O OF NALAC.
SHE REQUESTED A LIVE CALL BACK, WHICH WE JUST HEARD.
THE NEXT COMMENT IS FROM KAREN CONLEY HAYDEN, UH, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE
[00:15:01]
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FOR THE SAN ANTONIO METROPOLITAN BALLET.SHE STATED THAT THE SAN ANTONIO METROPOLITAN BALLET WAS A 20 TO SA 2020 PARTNER AND MEMBER OF REGIONAL DANCE, AND IS FINISHING ITS 36TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON.
SHE'S THIS, THE VALET HAS PROVIDED EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAMS TO TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN IN BEXAR COUNTY.
UM, SHE SAID THAT, UH, ZABI HAS BEEN A SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT FOR LOCAL UNION STATE HANDS GRAPHIC ARTISTS, DANCERS, ACTORS, PRINTERS, AND ART RELATED VENDORS.
AND THE SUPPORT OF ART IN SAN ANTONIO GOES BEYOND THE DANCERS, SINGERS, MUSICIANS IN THE LIFE ON STAGE, AND IN PERFORMANCE, AND OUR ARTISTS.
YOU MAY SEE IN GALLERY THE ARTS MEAN BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS PROFITABLE SECTOR THAT IS VITAL TO THE WELLBEING OF THIS COMMUNITY.
OUR NEXT PUBLIC COMMENT IS FROM AVELA JAY FLORES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CONJUNTO HERITAGE.
I WRITE ON BEHALF OF THE CON CONJUNTO HERITAGE AS CULTURALLY, SPECIFICALLY ARTS DELEGATE AGENCY DEDICATED TO PRESERVING TRADITIONAL CONJUNTO MUSIC IN SAN ANTONIO THROUGH AFFORDABLE INSTRUCTION AND FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES TO THE COMMUNITY.
WITH INTERGENERATIONAL STUDENTS RANGING FROM AGE SEVEN TO 80 AND AUDIENCES COMPOSED OF A CROSS SECTION OF SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS, THEY ARE RECOMMENDING KNOWLEDGE BE APPOINTED AS THE ORGANIZATION CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTING AND RE-GRANTING OF FUNDS, UH, FOR THE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.
SHE STATED THAT THE CARES ACT IS AIMED AT PROVIDING ECONOMIC RELIEF TO SMALL BUSINESSES RUN BY PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE EVALUATED AND PROCESSED BY LEADERS WITH EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE TO UNDERSTAND THE PARTICULAR NEEDS AND SITUATIONS OF TARGETED BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS.
AND KNOWLEDGE FALLS INTO THIS CATEGORY OF QUALIFIED WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THOSE ARE ALL OF OUR COMMENTS, MADAM CHAIR, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR SHARING THOSE.
AND THANK THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO, UM, WROTE, WHO CALLED, WHO SENT AN EMAIL, LEFT A VOICE MESS, UH, VOICEMAIL FOR THIS IMPORTANT CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING, THAT WE WANT TO BE SURE TO RESPOND TO, UM, THE REQUEST OF MAKING SURE THAT ARTS WAS A PART OF THE SMALL BUSINESS GRANT AND IT'S JUST A PART OF THESE CARES FUNDING.
[1. 20-3814 Briefing and possible action on COVID-19 Community Recovery and Resiliency Plan Small Business Support Pillar Strategies [Carlos J. Contreras III, Assistant City Manager; Alejandra Lopez, Director, Economic Development Department]]
GOING TO MOVE, I'M GONNA GIVE IT TO CARLOS FIRST TO KICK US OFF.AND, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND ALL THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUES.
WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE ALL THIS STUFF OUT.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE THERE.
SO, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, UH, PRESENTATION.
THIS IS A, WE'RE FINALLY GETTING TO, TO BE ABLE TO EXECUTE AND GET SOME MONEY OUT THE DOOR.
AND, AND, AND THIS IS A WONDERFUL PROGRAM.
I THINK THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE, UH, WE'VE GOT FIVE COMPONENTS TO THE SMALL BUSINESS PILLAR, UH, PROGRAM.
UM, AND, AND ALEX WILL TALK ABOUT FOUR OF THOSE COMPONENTS.
IT'S MICROGRANTS, UH, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PROVIDING TO BUSINESSES THAT ARE, UH, 20 EMPLOYEES OR LESS.
WE HOPE TO PROVIDE GRANTS UP TO A THOUSAND BUSINESSES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SHE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT, UH, THE OUTREACH COMPONENT, UH, WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, TEAMS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, PROVIDING DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO SMALL BUSINESSES TO HELP BUILD RESILIENCY OF THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES.
WE HOPE TO REACH 5,000 OF THOSE BUSINESSES.
UM, THE HUBS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, BOTH VIRTUAL AND PHYSICAL HUBS, THAT WILL BE A RESOURCE TO BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, AND THEN ON THE JOB TRAINING, THAT'LL BE PROVIDED TO UP, UP TO 950 INDIVIDUALS, UH, WHO WILL RECEIVE A PAID, UH, STIPEND TO RECEIVE ON THE JOB TRAINING.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, THE FIFTH COMPONENT IS DEBBIE SITTER WILL TALK ABOUT THE ARTS FUNDING, UH, COMPONENT.
SO, ALEX, WOULD YOU PLEASE TAKE IT AWAY? THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
AND CARLOS MENTIONED THAT DEBBIE'S GONNA BE JOINING ME FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, BEFORE I GET STARTED THOUGH, I, I NEED TO THANK AND ACKNOWLEDGE MY STAFF, THE E D D TEAM THAT HAS BEEN WORKING OVER THE PAST MONTH, TIRELESSLY ON WHAT YOU SAW ON FRIDAY AND ON THIS WORK.
SO, MICHAEL SENDEN AND AL THEIR TEAMS HAVE JUST BEEN AT IT NONSTOP.
AND SO I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THEM FOR ALL THEIR WORK.
I'M REALLY PROUD OF WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AND THE PLANS THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED AND EXCITED TO, TO SEE THEM MOVING INTO ACTION LIKE CARLOS MENTIONED.
SO, JUST AS A REMINDER, WE'RE GONNA BE REVIEWING THE SMALL BUSINESS PILLAR TODAY, WHICH IS SUPPORTED THROUGH $33.1 MILLION
[00:20:02]
IN CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND AND $5 MILLION IN GENERAL FUND DOLLARS.THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, WHICH YOU ALSO SAW LAST WEEK, REMAIN THE SAME, AND THEY'RE GONNA GUIDE THE WORK THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN.
THESE INCLUDE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, EQUITY, BRAIDED FUNDING, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, AND FAMILY WELLBEING.
SO, AS FAR AS THE SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT PILLAR, UM, CARLOS MENTIONED THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OR DIFFERENT STRATEGIES ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
UM, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE FUNDING ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PILLAR IS FOR, UM, MICRO BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT GRANTS.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THE REST OF THE FUNDING, UM, BASED ON THE DIFFERENT, UH, STRATEGIES THAT CARLOS ALREADY IDENTIFIED.
UM, THE ONLY OTHER ONE THAT YOU SEE HERE THAT WASN'T PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED WAS THE PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IN SANITIZERS, UM, AND SUPPLIES THAT WERE PROVIDED TO SMALL BUSINESSES ALREADY.
I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF DATA TO SHARE WITH YOU DURING THIS PRESENTATION ABOUT THAT DISTRIBUTION AS WELL.
SO, TO START OFF, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE OUTCOMES, UM, WITH THREE STRATEGIES IN PARTICULAR THAT ARE VERY CLOSELY INTERCONNECTED.
THE TABLE PROVIDES BOTH QUANTITATIVE MEASURES, LIKE SOME OF THE NUMBERS THAT CARLOS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, A THOUSAND BUSINESSES THAT WOULD BE RECEIVING MICRO GRANTS, 5,000 BUSINESSES THAT WOULD BE ENGAGED THROUGH OUR DOOR-TO-DOOR PLAN.
UM, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES SOME QUANTITATIVE OUTCOMES, SUCH AS INCREASING THE AWARENESS OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND, UM, WHETHER BUSINESSES ARE ACTUALLY ACCESSING THOSE RESOURCES.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR ENGAGEMENT IN FINANCIAL SUPPORT, UM, THAT SINCE WE'RE GONNA BE PROVIDING THIS ENGAGEMENT IN FINANCIAL SUPPORT, WE'RE THE, THE, ONE OF THE GOALS IS FOR BUSINESSES TO REHIRE EMPLOYEES AND TO ALSO SEE THAT THEY'RE INCREASING THEIR REVENUES EVEN AFTER THE DEVASTATING LOSSES THAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING THIS YEAR.
SO THOSE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE TRACKING FROM A MORE LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE.
YOU SEE, WE'RE GONNA BE MEASURING THAT AT THE END OF THE YEAR, BUT THEN ALSO AT THE END OF NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE TABLE, YOU SEE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY ESTABLISHING SOME ASPIRATIONAL GOALS FOR THE GRANT DOLLARS.
AND, UM, YOU'RE GONNA SEE A RECOMMENDATION AS FAR AS THE APP, UM, THE GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS, AND SCORING CRITERIA OF HOW WE THINK WE WILL PROMOTE ATTAINMENT OF THESE GOALS.
SO STARTING WITH THE GRANT, UM, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, UM, ON THESE SLIDES, STARTING WITH THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA ON THE LEFT SIDE TABLE.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR BUSINESSES THAT WERE IN OPERATION AT LEAST SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE COVID, UH, PANDEMIC REALLY IMPACTED OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, AND PART OF, PART OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE ASSESSING IS MAKING SURE THAT THESE BUSINESSES ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO SURVIVE, AND THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING THESE INVESTMENTS, UM, TO HELP THESE BUSINESSES MOVE THROUGH THIS, THROUGH THIS SITUATION.
UM, WE WOULD WE'LL BE LOOKING, UH, TO DOCUMENT A NEGATIVE IMPACT FROM COVID SINCE MARCH OF MARCH 1ST.
UM, AND THAT CAN BE DOCUMENTED THROUGH REVENUE LOSSES OR BUDGET REDUCTIONS OF AT LEAST 15%.
UM, WE INTENTIONALLY SET THIS THRESHOLD LOW, UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO SERVE AS MANY BUSINESSES AND, AND, UM, AS LONG AS WE HAVE THAT DOCUMENTATION THAT THE IMPACT WAS THERE, THAT'S WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, FROM A LONG-TERM AUDITING PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THIS FUNDING IS, UM, FEDERAL FUNDS, UM, BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS WITH LESS THAN $2 MILLION IN BUDGET OR, OR REVENUES.
AND THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE LESS THAN 20 EMPLOYEES.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE SIZE OF THE BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE SERVING.
UM, BUSINESSES ARE ALSO GONNA BE REQUIRED TO TAKE THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLEDGE, UM, WHICH, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, UM, AND TO DEVELOP A FINANCIAL RECOVERY PLAN, UM, AND COORDINATE WITH OUR OUTREACH ORGANIZATIONS TO IMPLEMENT THIS PLAN.
UM, THE GRANTS TO INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, UH, WILL HAVE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, WHICH DEBBIE WILL PRESENT TO YOU, UM, IN A BIT.
HOWEVER, ART FOR PROFIT BUSINESSES WILL BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE BUSINESSES WE RECOMMEND BE EXCLUDED FROM THIS GRANT, WHICH ARE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, UH, GAMBLING AND GING ESTABLISHMENTS, NATIONAL FRANCHISES, SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES, UM, PAYDAY AND AUTO LOAN PROVIDERS, LIQUOR STORES, AND BUSINESSES IN WHICH A CITY OFFICIAL OR EMPLOYEE HAS A FINANCIAL INTEREST AS DEFINED IN OUR ETHICS CODE.
[00:25:02]
SO NOW MOVING ON TO THE, THE TABLE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SLIDE, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE SHOWING THE MAXIMUM GRANT VALUES IN, UH, FOR PARTICULAR BUSINESSES BASED ON THE EMPLOYEE LEVEL.UM, SO GRANTS WILL NOT EXCEED $75,000.
UM, AND THE SPECIFIC VALUE FOR EACH GRANT WILL BE ASSESSED BY LIFT FUND BASED ON THE BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION'S OPERATIONAL EXPENSES AND THEIR PREVIOUS AND PROJECTED LOSSES.
THE TABLE SHOWS THE TOTAL FUNDING ALLOCATED FOR EACH BUSINESS, UM, CATEGORY BY SIZE, WHICH WE'VE ESTABLISHED TO PROMOTE RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION AMONG VARIOUS SIZED BUSINESSES.
BUT BECAUSE ACTUAL GRANT SIZE MAY VARY, WE DON'T HAVE THE PRECISE NUMBER OF GRANTS THAT WE ANTICIPATE.
AND THAT'S WHY ON THAT LAST COLUMN, YOU SEE A RANGE OF THE NUMBER OF GRANTS THAT WE WILL, UM, LIKELY BE AWARDING BASED ON THE SIZE CATEGORIES.
LASTLY, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT 10% OF THE FUNDING, UM, WE ARE RESERVING FOR NONPROFITS WITHIN EACH OF THOSE BUSINESS SIZE CATEGORIES.
SO IT'S NOT A SEPARATE 10%, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FOR 10% WITHIN EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES TO GO TO NONPROFITS.
FROM A FUNDING DISTRIBUTION, WE DID RESEARCH VARIOUS OPTIONS, AND ULTIMATELY WE DECIDED ON CONTINUING OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH LIFTFUND AS THEY'RE THE ONLY LOCALLY HEADQUARTERED C D F I WITH THE CAPACITY TO SCALE AT THIS LEVEL.
UM, THE TABLE SHOWS $24.7 MILLION FOR MICRO BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT LOANS, $400,000 FOR PAYMENT FORGIVENESS FOR CURRENT SMALL BUSINESS BORROWERS AT LIFT FUND.
MANY OF THESE ARE ACTUALLY BUSINESSES THAT ACCESSED OUR, OUR INTEREST FREE LOAN BUYDOWN PROGRAM.
SO THIS PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY TARGETS SMALL, MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND THIS WILL PROVIDE FORGIVENESS RATHER THAN JUST PAYMENT DEFERRAL.
IT'LL ACTUALLY FORGIVE, UM, UH, SOME OF THEIR MONTHLY PAYMENTS ON THEIR LOANS.
THIS ONE WILL ALSO RECEIVE APPROXIMATELY $1.7 MILLION TO ADMINISTER THIS GRANT PROGRAM.
AND THEIR SCOPE WILL INCLUDE ACCEPTING, REVIEWING, SCORING, AND, OR POTENTIALLY SCORING THOUSANDS OF APPLICATIONS.
UM, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WE WANNA FOUND FUND A THOUSAND GRANTS.
SO WE ANTICIPATE THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS BEING PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL.
UM, AND LASTLY, WE PLAN TO USE A LITTLE OVER $224,000 ON OUTREACH AND MARKETING OF THE GRANT PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE WE REACH TARGETED POPULATIONS.
NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'LL MOVE INTO NOW.
UM, THE ACTUAL PROCESS THAT WE'VE DESIGNED STARTS WITH A, AN OUTREACH STRATEGY THAT WORKS WITH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, SUCH AS SAGE AND W D C, SOUTHSIDE FIRST LAUNCH AND
BUT WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE WORKING WITH, UH, CHURCHES AND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS IN THESE TARGETED COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GONNA DO, UH, MORE, MORE TRADITIONAL, UH, OUTREACH, SENDING POSTCARDS TO BUSINESSES IN TARGETED CENSUS TRACKS AND, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA AND TRADITIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A EMAIL DISTRIBUTION LIST OF 26,000 BUSINESSES THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE HAS COMPILED OVER THE YEARS.
UM, WE, THIS IS ANOTHER AVENUE WE PLAN TO USE, UM, FOR, FOR A VERY BROAD REACH OF BUSINESSES.
UM, AS FAR AS SCREENING, THIS IS WHERE I MENTIONED LIFTFUND WOULD BE DOING A LOT OF THE WORK.
THERE WILL BE A DEDICATED WEBPAGE, UM, WHERE, UH, BUSINESS OWNERS WILL BE ABLE TO GO AND APPLY.
UM, I MENTIONED THERE'S GONNA BE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, WHICH I'LL DESCRIBE IT A LITTLE.
I I ALREADY REFERENCED, UM, THE DOCUMENT VALIDATION.
UM, AGAIN, THE, THE MAIN REASON IS TO CONFIRM THAT THE BUSINESS ACTUALLY EXISTS AND THAT THEY ARE A BUSINESS, UM, AND TO BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT IN SOME WAY THE LOSSES.
AND SO WE'VE HAD SUBSTANTIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH FUND ALREADY ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THIS DOCUMENTATION IS REALLY JUST THE BARE MINUTE TO VALIDATE THE LOSSES, UH, WITHOUT BEING TOO ONEROUS ON OUR BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS, UM, THERE'S ALSO GONNA BE ASSISTANCE WITH COMPLETING THE APPLICATIONS THAT LIFTFUND IS GONNA BE PROVIDING.
AND, AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN A BIT AS FAR AS SCORING.
UM, LIFTFUND WILL ALSO BE DOING THIS WORK, AND WE'RE GONNA DESCRIBE A COUPLE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS FOR YOU IN, IN JUST A MINUTE.
UM, BUT THEN FROM THERE, WE'RE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, ONCE, UM, APPLICATIONS GET SCORED AND FUNDS GET DISTRIBUTED, THERE'S A LOT OF DATA COLLECTION THAT WE HOPE TO, UM, THAT WILL ALSO BE A PART OF THIS ENGAGEMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KNOW ULTIMATELY WHERE THE MONEY WENT, HOW IT WAS USED, AND, UM, WHAT OUTCOMES DID WE ACHIEVE THROUGH THESE INVESTMENTS.
WE PLAN TO USE A, UM, A VERY COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AS PART OF THIS SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT PILLAR.
THERE, THERE WE, THERE'S GONNA
[00:30:01]
BE INTEGRATION, UM, BETWEEN THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE BEING ACCESSED BY THE DIFFERENT PARTNERS AND THAT ARE BEING SERVED THROUGH THE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES.SO THE GRANT COMPONENT IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF, OF THAT DATABASE.
I'VE MENTIONED THE CONCEPT OF TARGETED OUTREACH, UM, FOR THE GRANTS.
AND YOU, YOU SAW THIS SLIDE PREVIOUSLY, UM, LAST FRIDAY.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING THE SAME APPROACH AS FAR AS FOCUS, UM, IN RELATION TO OUR EQUITY MATRIX.
UM, THE, UM, CENSUS TRACK WITH A SCORE OF 10, OF EIGHT TO 10 REPRESENT ABOUT A THIRD OF OUR POPULATION.
AND, UM, THEY, THEY MAKE UP PEOPLE IN PEOPLE OF COLOR MAKE UP AT LEAST 72% OF, OF THE RESIDENTS IN THESE, IN THESE CENSUS TRACK.
UM, THE HOUSEHOLDS MAKE LESS THAN $56,000.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE PURSUING THE SAME TARGETED GEOGRAPHY, UM, AS WE DID FOR WORKFORCE, UM, FROM AN OUTREACH PERSPECTIVE FOR MARKETING OF OUR GRANT PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO NOW WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THE, THE DIFFERENT, UH, SCORING SCENARIOS.
THE SCORING CRITERIA THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY.
UM, WE, WE'VE DEVELOPED TWO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT EACH INCORPORATE PRIORITIES THAT HAVE BEEN ARTICULATED BY VARIOUS REPORTS THAT INFORMED THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN, BUT ALSO, UM, PRIORITIES THAT HAVE, UH, DIRECTLY BEEN ARTICULATED BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
SO, SCENARIO ONE, UM, SUBSTANTIALLY FOCUSES ON EQUITY AND SUPPORTING MINORITY WOMEN AND VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES.
SCENARIO TWO, STILL STRONGLY PRIORITIZES EQUITY, BUT IT ALSO INCORPORATES WAGES AND BENEFITS INTO THE SCORING CRITERIA.
SO ONCE SCORED, UH, GRANTS WILL BE AWARDED BASED ON THE SCORES RECEIVED AND THE FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR, FOR THE PARTICULAR SIZE OF BUSINESS CATEGORY.
I'M GONNA GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON EACH OF THESE SCENARIOS.
WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH SOME EXAMPLES.
IF YOU CAN GO THROUGH THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'RE GONNA START WITH SCENARIO ONE HERE.
UM, SO LET'S CONSIDER TWO RESTAURANTS.
THEY HAVE THE SAME LOCATION, SO THEIR EQUITY SCORES ARE THE SAME, NEITHER RECEIVED PREVIOUS SS B A OR P P P FUNDING.
UM, BUT ONE IS A MINORITY WOMEN THAT ARE KNOWN BUSINESS AND THE OTHER IS NOT.
SO YOU SEE THE RESULTS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT.
THE SCORES ARE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT.
AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THE HIGHER THE SCORE, THE HIGHER THE LIKELIHOOD OF THAT APPLICATION GETTING FUNDED.
UM, SO NOW LET'S GO TO EXAMPLE TWO.
AND BOTH OF THESE ARE RETAIL STORES.
BOTH ARE MINORITY WOMEN, VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES, AND BOTH RECEIVED ONLY $5,000 IN, IN, UM, PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM FUNDING.
UM, THEY, BUT THEY'RE LOCATED IN, IN DIFFERENT, UM, AREAS, AND SO THEIR EQUITY SCORES ARE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT, AND THAT RESULTS IN THEIR OVERALL SCORE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT.
UM, SO THIS, THIS WAS JUST AN EXAMPLE.
WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY LIST NAMES OF BUSINESSES, BUT WE WANTED TO TRY TO PROVIDE A VARIETY OF SCENARIOS OF HOW THIS SCORING CRITERIA WOULD WORK.
UM, SHIFTING, IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WE'LL NOW WALK THROUGH A SCENARIO WITH, OR, UH, A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES WITH THE SECOND SCENARIO WHERE WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY CONSIDERING, UM, THE OWNERSHIP OF THE BUSINESS, BUT WE ARE CONSIDERING THE WAGES AND BENEFITS THAT THAT BUSINESS PROVIDES.
SO, UM, HERE WE HAVE BOTH BUSINESSES RECEIVING 40 OF THE 50 POINTS THAT WERE ALLOCATED FOR THEIR EQUITY SCORES.
SO THEY WERE RELATIVELY THE SAME THERE.
UM, HOWEVER, BUSINESS A HAS LOWER WAGES AND ONLY OFFERED MEDICAL AND DENTAL BENEFITS.
BUSINESS B PAYS HIGHER WAGES, UM, AND ALSO OFFERS PAID SICK LEAVE.
SO ITS SCORE IS ACTUALLY 20 POINTS HIGHER, MAKING IT MORE LIKELY TO GET FUNDED.
SO IN THIS SCENARIO, WE DIDN'T CONSIDER THE RACE, GENDER, OR VETERAN STATUS OF THE OWNER.
UM, THAT, THAT'S THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO SCENARIOS HERE.
UM, EACH PRIORITIZES EQUITY, BUT EACH CONSIDERS ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.
UM, ARE WE, WE DEVELOP THESE TWO.
UM, THERE'S, THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT, UH, PERMUTATIONS THAT WE COULD, THAT WE COULD DEVELOP.
OF COURSE, WHAT WE WOULD CAUTION AGAINST IS A SYSTEM THAT WOULD TRY TO INCORPORATE ALL OF THE PRIORITIES, BECAUSE IN ESSENCE, WHEN WE TRY TO DO THAT, WE'RE GONNA LACK FOCUS AND WE, IT, IT MAY RESULT IN FUNDING THINGS THAT REALLY DON'T HIT ANY OF OUR SPECIFIC PRIORITIES, BUT MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF EACH ONE OF THEM.
AND SO WE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THERE STILL BE SOME INTENTIONALITY AND FOCUS ON HOW WE WANNA, UM, SUPPORT AND INVEST THESE DOLLARS.
THIS IS OUR TIMELINE FOR GRANTS.
[00:35:01]
UM, VERY QUICKLY BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK TODAY, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO COORDINATE AND NEGOTIATE WITH LIST FUNDS AND FINALIZE THAT APPLICATION.WE WOULD LIKE TO START OUR, UM, OUTREACH, UM, RIGHT AFTER 4TH OF JULY, WHICH IS GONNA BE ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE THE APPLICATION OPENS.
UM, THE APPLICATION WILL PERIOD WILL ACTUALLY RUN FOR TWO WEEKS.
AND IT'S NOT, THE, THE GRANTS ARE NOT GONNA BE DISPERSED ON THE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.
UH, WE THINK IT'S, IT'S BETTER AND MORE INCLUSIVE FOR US TO HAVE A WINDOW OF TIME THAT APPLICATIONS CAN BE SUBMITTED.
AND THEN WE'D APPLY THE, THE SCREENING CRITERIA THAT YOU FIRST, UH, THAT I FIRST MENTIONED AS FAR AS ELIGIBILITY.
THOSE THAT MEET THAT CRITERIA WOULD MOVE ON TO THE SCORING BASED ON THE SCENARIO, UM, THAT, THAT WE ULTIMATELY USE.
UM, AND THEN THE, BASICALLY THE APPLICATIONS WILL BE RANKED AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FUND GRANTS, UM, UNTIL WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE MONEY, BASICALLY.
UM, SO APPLICATIONS WILL BE REVIEWED AT THE END OF JULY, BEGINNING OF AUGUST, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, THIS FUND WILL BE DOING THE NOTIFICATIONS AND DISPERSING, UM, THE FUNDS, UM, HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF AUGUST, IF WE CAN.
SO WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE, ON-THE-JOB TRAINING RESOURCES THAT ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, HERE WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING TO, TO HELP A BROADER RANGE OF SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOSE THAT HAVE 500 EMPLOYEES OR LESS.
UH, THEY'RE GONNA BE ELIGIBLE TO HOST AND PROVIDE ON-THE-JOB TRAINING FOR UNEMPLOYED RESIDENTS WITHIN DEMAND OCCUPATIONS IN CAREER PATHWAYS THAT WILL LEAD TO INCREASED EARNINGS.
UH, SO PARTICIPANTS THAT, THAT ARE HOSTED BY ONE OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES WILL RECEIVE A SEVEN, UH, $450 WEEKLY STIPEND FOR UP TO 12 WEEKS.
SO THE SMALL BUSINESS GETS THAT ASSISTANCE IN THEIR BUSINESS, UM, BUT THE PARTICIPANT ACTUALLY GETS THE TRAINING THAT THE, THE SMALL BUSINESS IS GONNA BE PROVIDING.
WE'RE CAPPING THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS A BUSINESS CAN HOST TO 20, AND THIS IS JUST TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN, WE CAN SERVE A NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, AND THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO ACCESS THIS RESOURCE.
THE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, ALAMO WILL ADMINISTER THE STIPENDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM AND VARIOUS OUTREACH PARTNERS LIKE SA WORKS.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA HELP US WITH PROMOTING THE, THIS RESOURCE TO ALL OF, UH, ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESSES.
YOU'VE HEARD ME MENTION OUTREACH PARTNERS QUITE A BIT.
SO, UH, LET ME, LET ME GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL HERE.
SO THIS, THIS PROGRAM AND THIS COLLABORATION THAT WE'RE STR, THAT WE'RE FOSTERING AS PART OF THE STRATEGY, UM, STARTS WITH E D F SERVING IN A COORDINATION AND DATA COLLECTION ROLE.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING, UH, A LOT OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE REPORTING TO THIS COMMITTEE ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
AND WE'RE ASKING FOR E D F TO SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY BECAUSE FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE VERY ACCUSTOMED TO E D F, YOU KNOW, SERVING THIS ROLE.
UM, WE, WE TYPICALLY REFER TO THEM AS A QUARTERBACK, BRINGING TOGETHER DIFFERENT PARTNERS, UM, TO EXECUTE ON, ON PARTICULAR DELIVERABLES AND OUTCOMES THAT WE WANNA ACHIEVE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO THEM IN THIS CAPACITY AS WELL.
NOW, THE ACTUAL DOOR-TO-DOOR OUTREACH WILL BE PERFORMED BY CENTRAL AND SAGE, W D C AND SOUTHSIDE FIRST.
UM, WE'VE HAD, UH, CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL OF THEM.
THEY'RE ALL EAGER AND EXCITED, UM, A APPRECIATE, UH, AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS GONNA BE A CHALLENGE TO SERVE THE NUMBER OF BUSINESSES THAT WE WANNA SERVE.
UM, BUT THEY'RE UP FOR IT AND, AND THEY'RE READY TO GO.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE'RE GONNA HAVE LIST FUND PROVIDING CRITICAL PRE BANKING AND FINANCIAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
SO THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO HELP BOTH ON THE GRANT APPLICATION SIDE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, BUT THEN ALSO ON AN ONGOING BASIS THROUGHOUT THE END OF THE YEAR, AS BUSINESSES ARE IMPLEMENTING THOSE RECOVERY PLANS THAT THEY DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE GRANT PROCESS, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE SOME RESOURCES TO ALSO, UM, HELP NAVIGATE SOME OF THE BARRIERS THAT THEY MAY SEE IN, IN, IN THAT WORK.
UM, THERE'S GONNA BE SEVERAL OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
SEVERAL OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE GONNA BRING ON TEMPORARY STAFF, UM, WHICH IS WHY LAUNCHES SAFE.
AND THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER WILL DEVELOP CURRICULUM AND TRAINING FOR ALL OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE GONNA BE CONDUCTING DOOR-TO-DOOR OUTREACH.
THIS CURRICULUM IS GONNA INCLUDE TRAINING ON EFFECTIVE AND EMPATHETIC SMALL BUSINESS OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT, UH, FUNCTION, AND ALSO JUST OVERALL STRATEGIES FOR ASSISTING SMALL BUSINESSES, MAKING SURE THEY UNDERSTAND THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND HELPING, UM, CONNECT OUR, OUR MICRO BUSINESS OWNERS TO THOSE RESOURCES.
SO, INCLUDED IN THE PORTFOLIO OF SUPPORT STRATEGIES WAS ALSO TO AUGMENT EXISTING SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE HUBS.
SO HERE WE HAVE BOTH PLACE-BASED CENTERS AND VIRTUAL CENTERS.
UM, FROM THE PLACE-BASED PERSPECTIVE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING
[00:40:01]
TO SUPPORT ARE, UM, TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES AND EQUIPMENT OFFICE MODIFICATIONS, THESE THINGS THAT WILL ALLOW THESE ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTINUE TO SERVE AND HOPEFULLY SERVE MORE, UM, SMALL BUSINESSES.UM, THERE, THERE'S, THEY'VE HAD TO IMPLEMENT A LOT OF CHANGES, JUST LIKE ALL OF OUR OFFICES HAVE, BUT WE KNOW THAT THESE PHYSICAL HUBS STILL PLAY A VERY CRITICAL ROLE IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE HAVE FOUR PARTNERS THAT ARE GONNA BE HELPING US WITH THIS WORK.
UH, W D C, SAGE, SOUTHSIDE FIRST AND
UM, AND THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA, UM, ALLOW FOR THE SAME TYPES OF EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FUNDING.
UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO GONNA BE THE INCREASED TECHNOLOGY EXPECTATIONS.
SO WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE FROM THEM IS AN INCREASE IN THE VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING RESOURCES THAT ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
WHAT WE REALIZED WAS THAT IN, IN MARCH AND APRIL, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF FREE WEBINARS HAPPENING.
UM, BUT, BUT NOW THAT'S KIND OF SLOWED DOWN A BIT, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE STILL HAVE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR OUR MICRO BUSINESSES THAT, THAT ARE STILL FINDING THEMSELVES, UM, BUILDING AND, AND WORKING THROUGH THE CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO IN HERE WE ALSO HAVE LAUNCHES, SA AND MAESTRO AS OUR VIRTUAL HUBS.
AND I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT MAESTRO IS, UM, IN INCORPORATED AS BOTH A PHYSICAL AND A VIRTUAL HUB.
UM, AND WE, WE HAD SOME TIME, WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY COORDINATE WITH MA AND ISSA, AND I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF REALLY GOOD, GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY MADE.
UM, I, I'M GLAD THAT WE, WE WERE ABLE TO INCORPORATE A LOT OF THEM.
UM, SPECIFICALLY THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING SURE THAT WHEN WE, WHEN WE HAVE THE GRANTS THAT THEY'RE COUPLED WITH, WITH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR OUR BUSINESS OWNERS THAT RECEIVE THOSE GRANTS.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO, UM, FROM THE MAESTRO PERSPECTIVE SPECIFICALLY, AND IN THESE HUBS, UH, WE'VE REALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE FACT THAT, AND APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT MAESTRO'S ABLE TO SERVE, UH, A VERY TARGETED POPULATION AND PROVIDE VERY VALUABLE RESOURCES.
IN PARTICULAR, THE, THE WEBINAR RESOURCES THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING, WE THINK ARE A VITAL COMPONENT, UM, TO THE VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING THAT WE NEED TO OFFER.
UM, THEY'RE ADDRESSING VERY SPECIFIC NEEDS IN OUR, IN OUR ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM.
AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THAT.
YOU SAW THIS SLIDE BEFORE, UM, BUT I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE STILL GONNA BE HIGHLIGHTING THE SAME GEOGRAPHIES FROM AN OUTREACH PERSPECTIVE BY THE DOOR-TO-DOOR TEAMS. UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE TARGETING THESE CENSUS TRACKS THAT I'VE REFERENCED BEFORE.
AND IN ADDITION, THE PHYSICAL HUBS THAT WE ARE, UH, GONNA BE SUPPORTING, THEY'RE ALL LOCATED WITHIN THESE, THESE CENSUS TRACKS AS WELL.
SO THE LAST THING I WANNA JUST, UM, BRIEFLY UPDATE YOU ON IS THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE, UH, PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.
UM, LAST MONTH, ACTUALLY, YES, LAST MONTH WE PROVIDED, WE HAD THE DISTRIBUTION EVENT AT THE ALAMO DO, AND WE WERE ABLE TO ALREADY SERVE 5,400 BUSINESSES.
UM, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES TO DISTRIBUTE AND WE'D LIKE, UM, WE'D LIKE, UH, TO WORK WITH COUNCIL STAFF TO DISTRIBUTE THESE SUPPLIES.
UM, DURING THE MONTH OF JULY, YOU CAN SEE BASED ON, ON THOSE THAT REGISTERED, UM, MORE THAN HALF OF THEM WERE LOCATED IN AREAS WITH AN EQUITY SCORE OF SIX TO 10.
UM, 57% REPORTED A REVENUE LOSS OF 50% OR MORE.
UM, 25,000 PEOPLE WERE LAID OFF.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THIS GROUP REPORTED ALREADY.
UM, 66% HAD APPLIED, BUT, UM, BUT THE, THE APPLIED VERSUS RECEIVED RATIO FOR THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO, SO WE'RE SEEING SOME BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, TWO THIRDS OF THEM ARE ACCESSING THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN YOU SEE A SMALLER PERCENTAGE FOR THE, THE OTHER S B A RECOVERY LOAN.
UM, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE THE DISTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRIES THAT WERE SERVED THROUGH THAT EVENT, UH, VAST MAJORITY WERE SERVICED.
AND RETAIL, OF COURSE, AS, AS WE WOULD EXPECT.
SO THAT CONCLUDES THOSE, THAT CONCLUDES OUR SLIDES ON THE, ON THE E D D SIDE.
I THINK DEBBIE'S GONNA TAKE IT FROM HERE.
DEBBIE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE MUTED OR NOT.
[00:45:03]
NO, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU NOW.DEBBIE, UH, YOU HAVE TO UNMUTE YOURSELF AGAIN.
WE HAD YOU A LITTLE WHILE AGO.
SO, I'M ACTUALLY WAS ON THE PHONE.
UM, HOPEFULLY YOU CAN HEAR ME NOW.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS MORNING.
THANK YOU, UH, CHAIR GROAN FOR HAVING ME AT, AT THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
AND THANK YOU FOR COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERING THE ARTS WITH, UH, CARES ACT FUNDS.
UH, THERE'S $2.6 MILLION AVAILABLE, UH, FOR THE ARTS, AND WE ARE PROPOSING THAT $2 MILLION GOES TO ARTS NONPROFITS WITH 600,000 FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS FOR RELIEF.
UM, WE ARE PLANNING TO WORK WITH LIFT FUND, AND SO YOU HEARD FROM MARIA LOPEZ THIS MORNING FROM NALAC, AND, UH, WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE YOU KIND OF A LITTLE BIT OF A RUNDOWN OF WHAT HAPPENED THERE.
WE WERE, I WAS TALKING TO DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY DO THIS WORK, INCLUDING OTHER FUNDERS LIKE THE AREA FOUNDATION.
UH, THE AREA FOUNDATION WAS EXCITED, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DO IT DUE TO AN IT CUTOVER ISSUE THAT'S HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME.
AND THEN YOU HEARD FROM MARIA THAT THIS MORNING SHE DECLINED, UH, FOR NOT ALLOWED TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST BECAUSE OF THE TIMELINE BEING SO COMPRESSED.
UH, AND SO WE WENT BACK TO LIFTFUND AND WE'LL BE, UH, LOOKING AT LIFTFUND AS OUR PROVIDER FOR THIS.
UH, THERE WOULD BE SOME ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS TO COME OUT OF THE GRANT, UH, FOR LIFTFUND TO MANAGE, BUT WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT, UM, THE SERVICES THAT WILL BE PROVIDED.
SO IF WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANTS, THE ELIGIBLE, UH, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS WOULD BE THOSE THAT ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, NOT ARTISTS WHO HAVE A BUSINESS.
SO THIS WOULD BE, UH, YOUR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS THAT MIGHT BE A PERSON THAT IS TEACHING CLASSES AND THEY GET A 10 99, OR THEY DO PERFORMANCES AND THEY GET A 10 99, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A BUSINESS STRUCTURE, UH, THAT THEY OPERATE UNDER.
THEY OPERATE THROUGH THEIR OWN INCOME TAXES.
THEY MUST BE A SAN ANTONIO RESIDENT, AND THEY HAVE TO COMMIT TO THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLEDGE.
JUST LIKE EVERYBODY IN THIS PROGRAM, UH, WE WOULD LOOK AT PREFERENCES FOR, UH, THOSE THAT RESIDE IN THAT EQUITY ATLAS NEEDY AREAS, THE AREAS THAT WERE DETERMINED TO BE UNDERSERVED.
UH, WE WERE LOOKING AT A SCORE OF SEVEN TO 10 TO GET A PREFERENCE, BUT ALSO IN OUR EQUITY PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE IN OUR CULTURAL ART PLAN, WE ALWAYS LOOK AT THE MAKEUP OF RACE AS A PRIORITY, PEOPLE OF COLOR, WOMEN, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD LGBTQ PLUS AND VETERANS TO THAT LIST OF PRIORITY PREFERENCES.
THE GRANTS WOULD BE FOR LOST ARTISTIC ACTIVITY DURING THE PERIOD OF COVID, WHICH IS MARCH 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 30TH.
AND THE GRANTS WOULD BE $5,000 A PIECE WE WOULD BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER.
OUR LIFT FUND WOULD BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER 112 GRANTS.
UH, THAT WOULD ALL BE PAID OUT BY SEPTEMBER THE 30TH, IF NOT SOONER.
AND THEN OUTCOMES AND DATA WOULD BE REPORTED TO THE CITY BY LIFT FUND.
SO THEY WOULD BE COLLECTING SOME METRICS, UH, WHICH I WILL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT LATER.
THEN THERE IS OUR ARTS NONPROFIT GRANTS.
SO IN ARTS NONPROFITS, YOU'RE USED TO OUR AGENCIES.
YOU HEARD FROM THE JUNTO, YOU HEARD FROM ESPERAN PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER, UH, URBAN 15, UH, CENTRAL LAN.
THOSE ARE OUR, UH, CULTURALLY SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY FUND UNDER THE CITY'S ARTS FUNDING PROGRAM.
THEY ARE NONPROFIT 5 0 1 C THREES.
UM, BUT THERE ARE ALSO OTHERS AND, UH, THAT WE CURRENTLY FUND.
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY OPENING THIS UP SO THAT OTHERS COULD APPLY THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY RECEIVING FUNDING FROM THE CITY.
THEY JUST HAVE TO BE, UH, ESTABLISHED AT LEAST THREE YEARS OLD LOCATED IN THE CITY.
THEY HAVE TO BE AN ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATION.
THAT HAS TO BE THEIR PRIMARY MISSION AND THE MAJORITY OF THEIR AC ACTUAL OPERATIONS.
SO IT CAN'T BE, UM, LIKE THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB WHO HAPPEN TO HAVE A NICE, UH, ARTS PROGRAM, BUT THAT'S NOT THEIR PRIMARY MISSION.
SO THEY HAVE TO HAVE A PRIMARY MISSION OF ARTS AND CULTURE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT ONLY ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE PAID STAFF, NO VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, PLAY MUSIC OR DO SHOWS.
[00:50:01]
UH, JUST FOR FUN.THIS IS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANT.
SO THEY NEED TO HAVE AN ANNUAL BUDGET OF BETWEEN 40,000 AND 15 MILLION.
WE'RE GOING UP TO 15 MILLION TO ENCOMPASS ALL OF OUR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY DO BUSINESS WITH.
UNDER, UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION'S GUIDELINES, A SMALL BUSINESS IN THE ARTS SECTOR CAN BE UP TO $30 MILLION.
SO THEY STILL FALL WITHIN THE S B A GUIDELINES OF SMALL BUSINESS AT 15 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, THEY MUST COMMIT TO THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLEDGE.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE ARE LOOKING AT MIRRORING THE WAY THAT WE DO ARTS FUNDING TODAY, WHERE IT IS KIND OF A PASS FAIL.
YOU'RE AN ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION, YOU MEET ALL OF THE ELIGIBILITY, AND THEN YOUR AWARD WOULD BE WITHIN THE RANGES BASED ON YOUR BUDGET SIZE.
SO THE SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS WOULD RECEIVE A LARGER PERCENT OF THEIR BUDGET.
AND THE, AND THE SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVE A LARGER PERCENT, AND THE LARGER ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVE A SMALLER PERCENT, AS YOU CAN SEE.
AND THE AWARDS OVERALL WOULD THEN BE REDUCED TO AVAILABLE FUNDS.
SO THERE WOULD BE A TIMELINE WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND THEY WOULD BE SCORED AS PASS SALE.
ARE THEY AN ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION, MEANING ALL THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.
AND THEN WE WOULD JUST DO A MATHEMATICAL CALCULATION TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR.
IN ADDITION TO THESE, UH, PERCENTAGES, IF THEY'RE A CULTURALLY SPECIFIC AGENCY WITH A MISSION TO PR, PRESERVE, PROMOTE, OR ENHANCE THE CULTURES OF AFRICAN AMERICANS, ASIAN AMERICANS, HISPANIC, OR LATINOS NATIVE AMERICANS OR WOMEN, UH, THEY COULD RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL 5% ABOVE THE MAX AWARD.
SO IF THEY'RE UNDER $200,000, THEY COULD RECEIVE 15%, UH, OF AWARD.
UH, THE OTHER THING WE, UH, COULD, COULD CONSIDER AND WE WOULD LIKE TO POSE IS THAT WE PRIORITIZE OUR OWN, OUR AGENCIES THAT WE CURRENTLY FUND TO RECEIVE THESE GRANTS, BECAUSE EVERYBODY HAD TO CLOSE DUE TO COVID.
UM, AND OUR AGENCIES SUFFERED EVEN MORE GREATLY BECAUSE OF LOSS OF FUNDING AND EVERYBODY LOST FUNDING FROM DONORS AND OTHER FUNDERS.
PEOPLE JUST GOT REALLY TIGHT WITH THEIR BUDGETS THIS YEAR.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRIORITIZE THOSE AGENCIES THAT WE CURRENTLY WORK WITH.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE WOULD LOOK AT THE OUTCOMES.
WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO AT LEAST 150 GRANTS AND 75% WOULD RETURN TO CREATING ART BY DECEMBER 31ST.
THAT WOULD BE OUR GOAL, AND THAT WOULD BE FOR THE AGENCIES AND THE ARTISTS, AND WE WOULD LIKE AT LEAST 50% OF OUR AGENCIES TO REHIRE ARTISTS OR EMPLOYEES, MAYBE EVEN MORE COULD DO THAT.
UH, IT, BUT 50% WOULD BE OUR GOAL.
AND THEN WE ALSO THINK THAT, UH, FI LIST FUNDS WOULD BE A GOOD PARTNER TO PROVIDE THAT FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRAINING AS WELL.
SO, UM, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE GAINED BY ALL OF THESE PARTICIPANTS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE TIMELINE, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO GET THE CONTRACT EXECUTED WITH LIFT FUND AND THE APPLICATION FINALIZED, UH, THE PERIOD OF JULY.
WE WANT TO DO OUTREACH AND MARKETING.
WE'LL BE WORKING WITH ALEX'S TEAM VERY CLOSELY AND ALL OF HER PARTNERS THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS WORKING WITH, BUT ALSO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE HAS DIRECT EMAILS TO OVER 300 ARTISTS IN THE CITY.
AND WE ARE IN REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH THEM ABOUT COVID PROGRAMS. WE'VE BEEN SENDING OUT NOTICES ABOUT OTHER GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, AND THEY'VE BEEN RESPONDING VERY WELL, SO WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A GOOD CONNECTION.
WE WOULD ALSO ASK OUR ARTS AGENCIES TO NOTIFY ALL OF THEIR ARTISTS ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL.
THE GRANT APPLICATION PERIOD WOULD BE JULY 13TH THROUGH 30TH, AND IT WOULD BE A SET TIME, AND THEY WOULD NEED TO SUBMIT THEIR FULL COMPLETE APPLICATION DURING THAT PERIOD.
UH, WE ARE GONNA BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH LIST FUND ON THIS APPLICATION TO ENSURE IT, IT MEETS ALL THE EXPECTATIONS THAT WE WOULD HAVE WHEN WE NORMALLY WORK WITH THE ARTS.
AND BETWEEN AUGUST 1ST AND 15TH, WE WOULD REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS, UH, MAKE THE SELECTIONS, AND THEN ALL THE FUNDS WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED BEFORE SEPTEMBER THE 30TH, PROBABLY EVEN SOONER THAN THAT.
UM, BUT OUR GOAL WOULD BE DEFINITELY BY SEPTEMBER 30TH, ALL THE FUNDS GET PAID OUT.
MADAM CHAIR, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATIONS.
AND SO THEY'RE BOTH FAVORABLE ANSWER QUESTIONS.
UM, EVERYONE THANK YOU TO, UH, DEBBIE.
THANK YOU, ALEX, AND YOUR TEAM, BECAUSE THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION AND IT'S A LOT OF, UM,
[00:55:01]
NOT JUST PUTTING TOGETHER THE PRESENTATION AND THE PROCESS, BUT ALSO ALL THE CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU'VE HAD TO HAVE WITH THE PARTNERS AND WITH THOSE WHO ARE GOING TO BE, UM, INTEGRAL IN, IN THIS ORGAN, IN THIS, UH, PROCESS.I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
I THINK THE FIRST ONE I WANTED TO, UM, ASK, I'M JUST GONNA ASK THIS QUESTION FIRST AND THEN I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE.
UM, DEBBIE, UM, YOU HEARD, WE HEARD FROM, UH, MS. LOPEZ THIS MORNING, BUT WE ALSO RECEIVED ALL OF THOSE VOICEMAILS AND EMAILS FROM A LOT OF, UH, ORGAN ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WHO WANTED NALAC TO BE THE, THE ONE TO DISTRIBUTE THE FUNDS.
SO HAD YOU BEEN WORKING WITH NALAC, UM, PRIOR TO ALL OF THIS? HAD THEY BEEN PART OF THIS PROCESS? I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH NALAC, UM, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS, AND I THOUGHT WE HAD AN AGREEMENT ON THE SCOPE.
UM, HOWEVER, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY FELT LIKE IT, THE TIMELINE MAY HAVE BEEN TOO PUSHED FOR THEM, AND THEY WANTED TO HAVE MORE, UH, COMMUNITY DIALOGUE, UM, AND IT WASN'T GOING TO WORK FOR THEM.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND, UM, I'M GLAD THAT WE, UH, I'LL, I'LL ASK MY QUESTIONS LATER, BUT, UM, FIRST LET'S GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, ROCHA GARCIA, AND THEN I'LL GIVE TO COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, UM, ALEX AND, AND DEBBIE AND, AND TEAM FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, MY FIRST QUESTION ON SLIDE SIX, THERE'S AN EXCLUSION FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
UM, SO LIKE FOR INSTANCE, MY QUESTION WOULD BE LIKE A, WOULD A SMALL PEST CONTROL COMPANY THEN BE EXCLUDED? OR, OR, OR I'M SORRY.
CAN YOU GIMME AN EXAMPLE HERE? WE'RE THINKING MORE OF, UH, CONSULTANTS, UM, SPECIFICLY, THINK OF, YEAH.
SO ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, LAWYERS, THOSE TYPES OF SERVICES.
UM, WHO WILL BE, UH, SO, SO THE PERSON, SO, SO THE ORGANIZATION THAT WILL BE COORDINATING, REVIEWING THE APPLICATIONS, IT WILL BE LIFT FUND.
AND I'M ASSUMING THAT THEY, IF THEY DON'T HAVE CAPACITY, THAT'S WHY THE ADMIN FEE IS ABOUT 6%.
I THINK I SAW ABOUT A MILLION $0.60 INVESTMENT IN THERE FOR THEM TO SCALE UP.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT THAT'S IT.
THERE'S, THEY'RE, WE'RE ASKING FOR A LOT OF WORK TO HAPPEN IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME PERIOD.
SO WE KNEW THERE WAS GONNA BE A, A, A SOMEWHAT SUBSTANTIAL ADMINISTRATIVE COST TO THAT.
SO I, I WAS JUST CHECKING ON THAT.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD THAT.
AND THEN ON THE MICRO BUSINESSES, SO, SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND, ON SLIDE SEVEN, I SAW 27, UH, OR 27 MILLION.
BUT THEN ON A OR SLIDE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER BACK, AND I'M SORRY I DIDN'T WRITE THE SLIDE.
CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THE DIFFERENCE, WHAT THAT DIFFERENCE IS? SO ON SLIDE SEVEN, YOU SEE THAT 24.7 IS THE ACTUAL DOLLARS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE AWARDING AS GRANT.
THANK YOU ALEX FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO DO WE HAVE A MATRIX, I'M ASSUMING THAT E D D HAS A MATRIX OF PARTNERS AND WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ALL OF THESE PARTNERS DO.
AND, UM, SPECIFICALLY, LIKE WE KNOW THAT SOME HAVE, UH, VIRTUAL HUBS AND THAT SOME HAVE PHYSICAL SPACE.
AND SO DO YOU HAVE THAT AND HOW MANY PARTNERS DID WE CONSIDER? UM, OR I, I'M ASSUMING IT'S NOT JUST TOP OF MIND, JUST LIKE WHAT ALEX AND TEAM REMEMBER.
OH, SO AND SO HAS SOMETHING REALLY GOOD TO OFFER.
LIKE THERE'S ACTUALLY A MATRIX, RIGHT? I'M, I'M ASSUMING, BECAUSE I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT WE ACTUALLY STARTED WITH THE, THE, THERE'S A, A SOMEWHAT COMPREHENSIVE LIST THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE E T T REPORT OKAY.
OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS AND, AND RESOURCES AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO WE STARTED UP WITH THAT LIST, AND THEN WE APPLIED THE PRINCIPLES, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN.
YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH THE FOCUS ON EQUITY, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE FOUND THOSE RESOURCE PROVIDERS THAT WOULD SERVE THE POPULATIONS OF THE, THE BUSINESSES OWNERS THAT WE WANNA TARGET.
HOW DO YOU GET ON THAT LIST IF YOU'RE NOT ON IT AND YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING SERVICES? UM, WE, I'M THINKING THAT THAT WOULD BE CONTACTING OUR OFFICE.
UM, OUR SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE, WE HAVE A, WE, OUR, OUR OUTREACH LIST IS ABOUT 60 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, BUT ANYBODY WE DON'T HAVE ON THAT LIST, WE DEFINITELY WANT, WANT TO KNOW OF.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, FOLKS THAT AREN'T
[01:00:01]
SPECIFICALLY TARGETED RIGHT? OR WE'RE NOT MARKETING TO THESE FOLKS, THEY COULD STILL APPLY BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA FIND OUT ABOUT IT THROUGH THE 16,000 EMAILS THAT YOU, YOU'RE CONTACTING, UM, THROUGH FORM OF A NEWSLETTER OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU COMMUNICATE WITH.SO YOU, THEY CAN STILL APPLY, APPLY.
ON SLIDE 12, UM, I, UH, I, I LOVE THAT THEY GET CREDIT FOR PAYING HIGHER WAGES, UM, LIVING WAGES, AND I, UM, UH, UH, PAID SICK LEAVE, ET CETERA.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT.
I THINK THAT, UH, THAT IT'S GOOD TO, TO GIVE SOME ADDITIONAL POINTS FOR THAT, JUST LIKE WE DO IN OUR, UM, WHEN WE'RE AWARDING CONTRACTS.
WHO IS DOING ANY SPANISH TRAINING? I MENTIONED THIS SPECIFICALLY A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AT COUNCIL.
UM,
UM, AND SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE LADIES TOLD ME, UM, SPECIFICALLY THEY WERE ADVOCATING FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS BECAUSE THEY REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF TRAINING THAT WAS INVESTED IN, AND THEY DIDN'T WANT THIS TO BE A REPEAT OF THAT SCENARIO WHERE THERE WAS A LOT OF SPANISH SPEAKERS WHO DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO TRAINING IN SPANISH.
WHICH ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING TRAINING IN SPANISH THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF? ALEX, UM, MAESTRO.
THEY HAVE A GREAT WEBINAR SERIES ON WEDNESDAYS.
THEY DO, THEY DO A WEBINAR IN ENGLISH, AND THEN THEY DO A, THE WHOLE THING ALL OVER AGAIN ON WE ON IN SPANISH.
SO, UM, WITH MAESTRO, THEY ALSO HAVE A FOCUS ON WOMEN.
UM, OR I REMEMBER THAT WE HAD INVESTED SOME FUNDS IN, IN A WOMEN'S PROGRAM LAST YEAR DURING THE BUDGET SESSION.
ARE WE ALSO LOOKING AT THEM AS, UH, A TRAINER AND, AND, AND MAYBE LEVERAGE SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT WE HAD, UM, ALREADY INVESTED AND, AND REDIRECTING AND, AND ADDING SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR WOMEN, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WOMEN ARE, UH, UNEQUALLY AFFECTED.
THEY, THEY DO SOME PROGRAMMING TARGETED TO WOMEN AS WELL.
UM, WHAT WE'RE THE CURRENT PARTNERSHIP? WE HAVE TWO CURRENT PARTNERSHIPS WITH THEM.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE BUY LOCAL INITIATIVES, WHICH IS ALSO VERY TIMELY AND IMPORTANT WITH THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THEIR, THEIR KITCHEN THAT THEY MAKE AVAILABLE TO, UM, CATERERS AND ENTREPRENEURS IN THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY.
WE'VE GOT SEVERAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM IN SPECIFIC NICHE AREAS AND GAPS THAT WE IDENTIFIED.
SO THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED EVEN PART OF ON THE JOB TRAINING IF THEY COME AND USE A KITCHEN? UM, NOT NECESSARILY.
THESE ARE FOR, FOR CATERERS, UM, THAT DON'T HAVE THIS KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, AT THEIR DISPOSAL.
THEY CAN COME INTO
UM, FOR ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, THAT'S GONNA BE OFFERED BY W S A, UM, I KNOW YOU SENT A LIST BECAUSE I HAD ASKED ON FRIDAY, UH, ONE ENTITY THAT WAS MISSING OFF OF THAT LIST WAS W SS A I I DO HAVE A MEETING WITH THEM TOMORROW, SO I WAS PLANNING ON ASKING, BUT I KNOW IF YOU USE SOME OF THE, ON-THE-JOB TRAINING THAT THEY HAVE WITH THE, THROUGH W SSA, WE, THEY DID SEND US THE LIST OF BUSINESSES THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY PARTICIPATED IN ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.
AND, AND THEY RANGE, WE HAD, UM, THERE WAS, THERE WAS LIKE, UM, TRADE WORK, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WAS REALLY SUBSTANTIAL TRADE WORK.
UM, AND THAT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE POSITIONS THAT ARE STILL BEING HIRED RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT THEN YOU ALSO HAD, UH, FOOD MANUFACTURING.
UM, SO, SO O J P IS REALLY ABOUT FINDING APPLICANTS OR FINDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR APPLICANTS THAT MAY NOT NECESSARILY HAVE ALL THE SKILLS THAT THAT BUSINESS WANTS, UM, OR THAT IDEAL, BUT THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO TRAIN THEM.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE WILLING TO DO THIS AND, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
UM, ON SLIDE 16, UH, PLACE-BASED HUBS, THAT'S $25,000 EACH OR WILL THAT BE BROKEN DOWN DIFFERENT? DEPENDING ON CAPACITY, IT'LL BE $25,000 FOR EACH.
UM, AND, AND WE KNOW THAT THEY COULD ALL, AND THEY'VE ALL COMMITTED, ALL FOUR ENTITIES HAVE ALREADY COMMITTED.
SO I'M JUST, I SEE CARLOS SHAKING HIS HEAD, UM, ON THE 124,000 ADMIN ON SLIDE 20.
UM, WHERE DOES THAT GO, COUNSEL? I THINK SHE'S PROBABLY, UH, MUTED, BUT THAT'S THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE THAT THE LIFT FUND WOULD, WOULD UTILIZE TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM.
AND SIMILARLY, NOW, NOW, LIKE WHEN WE WERE NEGOTIATING WITH THEM, WOULD'VE RECEIVED A, A, UH, SIMILAR, NOT EXACTLY THE SAME, BUT A SIMILAR ADMINISTRATIVE FEE TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM.
BUT NOW IT, IT'S LOOKING LIKE LIFTFUND WILL HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING SO THEY GET THE FULL AMOUNT.
WE WERE INFORMED THIS MORNING, UH, COUNCILWOMAN THAT THEY, UH, COULDN'T DO IT.
UM, ON SLIDE, UH, OR, OR ACTUALLY, UH, ALSO KEEPING UP WITH THE ARTS.
[01:05:01]
SMALL ART GALLERIES? AND THEY WOULDN'T BE ELIGIBLE FOR THISI'M HAVING TROUBLE WITH
UM, ALEX, YES, IF THEY'RE FOR-PROFIT, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO APPLY THROUGH, UH, THE, THE SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM RATHER THAN THE ARTS PROGRAM.
AND THEN, UM, MY FINAL QUESTION ON SLIDE 22, CAN WE INCLUDE ALL MINORITY GROUPS OR, OR IS IT, UM, UH, I, I KNOW THERE'S OTHER MINORITY GROUPS IN THERE, UH, ACROSS OUR CITY.
AND SO I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE EXPANDED OR IS THERE A REASON THAT WE'RE SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED, UH, ON, ON THAT SET? CAN SOMEBODY, UH, HELP ME UNDERSTAND? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MY, UH, SLIDE? UH, YEAH, SLIDE 22, DEBBIE, SLIDE 22.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT'S THE ONE WITH THE, UH, THE AGENCIES.
IT'S, UH, UH, IT'S, UH, SOME OF THE ETHNIC MINORITIES AND WOMEN.
UM, BUT I'M WONDERING IF, IF THERE'S OTHER MINORITY GROUPS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO, UM, BE INCLUDED IN THERE AS WELL, OR IF THERE WAS A REASON THAT WE FOCUSED ON THESE FIVE.
SO THOSE ARE THE FIVE THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN OUR CULTURE ART PLAN AS BEING IDENTIFIED AS THE ONES THAT WE WOULD TARGET FOR EQUITY.
SO I, I JUST, I DIDN'T KNOW, UM, WHAT IT WAS, AND SO I, I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE WAS OTHERS THAT, THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED OR WHAT THE REASON, BUT WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT OFFLINE THEN.
SO, I, I FEEL LIKE I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN.
UM, I, IT'S JUST LIKE SO MUCH BUREAUCRACY INVOLVED IN, IN ALL OF THESE TRANSACTIONS.
UM, I MEAN, I KNOW THAT THERE IS A DESIRE TO INCLUDE A LOT OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT IT'S JUST SO MANY REDIRECTIONS.
UH, SO LET ME JUST START WITH A QUESTION, UM, REGARDING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE GRANT TO THE ARTS AGENCY.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE JUST GOT THIS INFORMATION SORT OF AS YOU'RE COMING ON THAT
BUT I MEAN, DEBBIE, COULD YOU DO THAT IN HOUSE? I MEAN, IN YOUR OWN DEPARTMENT? I MEAN, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, YOUR, MANY OF YOUR EMPLOYEES GOT FURLOUGHED.
UM, YOU KNOW, COULD WE BRING BACK SOME OF THOSE EMPLOYEES AND YOU GUYS ADMINISTER, UH, CARLOS, DO YOU WANNA SURE, SURE.
COUNCILMAN A DEBBIE SHOP RIGHT NOW IS A MIGHTY SHOP OF TWO, I BELIEVE.
AND SO, UH, GIVEN THE CONDITION OF THE HOT FUND, UM, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT IMMEDIATELY TO DO THIS.
AND THERE'S AN URGENCY TO GET THIS ADMINISTERED QUICKLY, UH, AND OUT THE DOOR BE GIVEN THE TIME, GIVEN THE NEED OF THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE OUT THERE, THEY NEED IT NOW.
AND SO, UM, THERE'S AN URGENCY TO GET THAT DONE.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, WHICH IS THE BULK OF THIS FUND, DOES NOT ALLOW THE CITY TO REIMBURSE ITSELF FOR LOST REVENUE.
SO IT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE MONEY TO HIRE BACK OUR EMPLOYEES FOR PURPOSE OF ADMINISTERING THIS, UH, THIS GRANT.
SO WE, IT DOES ALLOW US TO PAY AN OUTSIDE AGENCY TO DO THAT.
UH, WHY THE CONGRESS DID THAT, I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT THEY DID.
AND SO, UM, SO THAT'S, BUT, BUT WE COULD, WE, WE COULD USE OUR GENERAL FUND TO REINSTATE SOME OF THOSE EMPLOYEES SO THAT THEY CAN ADMINISTER THIS GRANT.
I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT REIMBURSABLE BY THE CARES ACT.
BUT ANOTHER PRIORITY, I KNOW COUNCILMAN
AND SO, YOU KNOW, COULD WE BRING SOME OF OUR OWN EMPLOYEES BACK? THEY'RE FURLOUGHED, RIGHT? THEY HAVEN'T BEEN FULLY TERMINATED YET.
THEY'RE A FAIR LOAD AND THERE IS A PLAN, UH, COUNCILWOMAN TO DO THAT.
UH, BUT WE'RE MONITORING THE, YOU KNOW, THE CONDITION OF THE HOT FUND, AND, AND SO THERE'S GONNA BE A PLAN TO BRING THEM BACK OVER TIME AS WE REACT TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE, IN THE HOTEL, UH, IN THE LEISURE INDUSTRY.
SO, I MEAN, I, I, I WOULD LIKE, I MEAN, I THINK WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT OPTION.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A FEW EMPLOYEES, AND IT WOULD BE AT LEAST ADMINISTERED TO THE END OF THE YEAR, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE'VE GOT THE FUNDING FOR THE END OF THE YEAR.
[01:10:01]
I MEAN, I, I FEEL LIKE WE CAN FIND SOME MONEY IN THE GENERAL FUND TO SUPPORT OUR OWN EMPLOYEES FOR SOME AMOUNT OF TIME, SO THEN WE CAN QUICKLY GET THIS FUNDING OUT TO THE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT ALREADY FOR A LONG TIME.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE TO BE INVENTING THE REAL, AND I'M A HUGE FAN OF LIFT FUND, DON'T GET ME WRONG, BUT I THINK IT'S UNREASONABLE TO CONTINUE TO ASK THEM TO DO ALL THIS WORK.
THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THE SAME ISSUE OF BRINGING IN EMPLOYEES, UH, TEMPORARILY TO, YOU KNOW, ADMINISTER THESE GRANTS.
UM, AND THEN WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN DECEMBER, EVEN FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHEN THE GRANTS ARE OUT AND, AND THEY DON'T HAVE OPPORTUNITY ANYMORE.
AND I, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE, THE FORECAST IS, LOOKS, DOES NOT LOOK REAL POSITIVE FOR THE HOT TAX.
UH, AND MAYBE THOSE EMPLOYEES END UP, YOU KNOW, IN A FURLOUGHED SITUATION AGAIN, BUT MAYBE WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY.
SO I, I, I, I THINK WE, I WOULD LIKE TO PLEASE FOR YOU ALL TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE RATHER THAN PUSHING IT OUT TO LIFT FUND AGAIN AND SEE IF WE CAN'T FIND A WAY TO DO THAT INTERNALLY SO WE CAN GET THAT FUNDING OUT TO THE ARTS ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND SO ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT FUNDING FOR THE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, UM, UH, IS, UM, SO TELL ME AGAIN, I I, I REMEMBER THAT I ASKED THIS QUESTION BEFORE, BUT NOW I CAN'T RECALL.
SO WHY CAN'T THAT STIPEND BE USED FOR ART, LIKE AN ART IN RESIDENCE? I MEAN, I, I THINK SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE THAT PROGRAM.
I THINK FROM A, FROM THE, ON THE JOB PERSPECTIVE OR THE ON, ON THE JOB TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, THE, THE FOCUS IS, UM, DEMAND OCCUPATIONS, UM, WITH, WITH THE CAREER PATH THAT LEADS TO THOSE HIGHER WAGES.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ANY FUNDING THAT WE PLACE INTO TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDE RESIDENTS THAT OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP, UM, CONTINUE TO GROW PROFESSIONALLY AND, AND THEIR WAGES.
AND RIGHT NOW, THE, THE ARTS CAN, THE ARTS INDUSTRIES ARE, THEY'RE JUST NOT PART OF THAT, THAT IN DEMAND, UM, FROM A WAGE PERSPECTIVE, UM, SITUATION OR, OR LIST RIGHT NOW? WELL, YEAH.
UM, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHICH I THINK ONE COULD ARGUE LIKE, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S ALSO THIS, YOU KNOW, IDEA THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE IN HIGH WAGE JOBS, BUT WE ALSO JUST NEED TO GET PEOPLE WORKING.
AND IF THERE IS A PATH FORWARD, UH, AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT SOME OF OUR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WITH THE ARTS AND RESIDENTS, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT SHOULD BE LIMITING, UM, IN, UH, IN HOW WE, UM, ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TO GO BACK.
BECAUSE I, I SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THE, UM, THE PRESENTATION AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE LIMITING FACTORS AND, AND WHO GETS THE GRANTS AND WHO DOESN'T, OR, AND, AND NOT SO MUCH LIMITING.
I UNDERSTAND THAT NUMBER ONE, WE'RE TRYING TO SPREAD IT OUT, UH, AND TO HELP AS MANY ORGANIZATIONS AS POSSIBLE.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A METRIC IN SCORING AND, YOU KNOW, THAT HELPS, UM, DO THINGS IN A FAIR WAY.
UH, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, USING THE SYSTEM IS GONNA DELAY THINGS UNTIL AUGUST.
I MEAN, THE BUSINESSES HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUFFERING, UM, SINCE MARCH 15TH.
AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT AT LEAST IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, UM, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THEM, UM, I HAVE BEEN VERY SURPRISED TO SEE THAT MANY OF THEM IN FACT, ARE OPENING AGAIN.
THEY'RE AT LEAST GIVING IT A TRY HERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY ARE OPENING AGAIN.
SO IF, IF, IF WE, UM, LIKE DON'T BURDEN THEM WITH SO MUCH PAPERWORK, AND YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW ALL THESE GUIDELINES, UH, AND THEN YOU STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL THESE EXCESSIVE PROCESSES, JUST GIVE THEM THE MONEY.
I THINK IF THEY QUALIFY, GIVE THEM THE MONEY SO THEY CAN START USING IT RIGHT AWAY AND NOT GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE HOOPS.
UM, I MEAN, ONE OF THE CRITICISMS I HAVE GOTTEN BACK FROM LI FUND, UH, AND AGAIN, I THINK THEY'RE GREAT PARTNERS.
SO I, I, I'M, I'M NOT TRYING TO DISPARAGE
AND IN THE MEANWHILE, YOU KNOW, THE BUSINESSES REALLY ARE JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE EVERY DAY AND, AND KEEP THEIR EMPLOYEES SAFE, UM, AND STILL TRY TO BUILD CONSUMER COMPETENCE.
AND, AND THAT THE LIFT FUND PROCESS IS TOO ONEROUS.
UM, WE PUT HAD, UH, UM, DIANE SANCHEZ, WHO'S BEEN WORKING, UH, AS A VOLUNTEER, DOING SOME OF THE REALLY HARD TO WORK REACH, UM, CONSTITUENTS TO THIS FORMERLY WITH THE HISPANIC CHAMBER, UM, HAS REALLY, UH, I MEAN, IT TAKES A LONG TIME, BUT THERE'S ALSO SO MUCH LIMITATION ALREADY IN, IN WHAT PEOPLE CAN PRODUCE, DOCUMENTS THAT THEY CAN PRODUCE IN VERY SHORT ORDER.
SO, UM, I JUST FEEL LIKE THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED
[01:15:01]
IS JUST TOO ONEROUS AND TOO CUMBERSOME AND TOO, TOO MUCH BUREAUCRACY, UM, THAT BY THE TIME THEY GET THE MONEY, THEY'LL BE, THEY'LL BE GONE.I MEAN, THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO SURVIVE, UH, DURING ALL THIS.
SO, UM, I, I, I, I, I WISH I COULD GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT BETTER FEEDBACK, UH, TO EXPEDITE IT QUICKLY.
I MEAN, PART OF ME FEELS LIKE JUST GIVE IT, UM, AND THEN LET'S TRY AND, AND, AND SORT OF GET SOME INFORMATION AFTER THE FACT.
AND SO, UM, I, I, WHAT I'M SAYING IS LIKE, DID THEY STAY OPEN? UH, YOU KNOW, DID THEY IN FACT PAY EMPLOYEES? I MEAN, I, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A RISK OF, UM, ABUSE, UH, BUT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THERE'S A TREMENDOUS NEED FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET BACK TO WORK.
UH, AND I'M AFRAID THAT THIS PROCESS IS JUST WAY TOO ONEROUS AND IT'S NOT GONNA REALLY, UM, UH, UH, ADDRESS THE NEED.
UM, I STILL, YOU KNOW, I HAVE EXPRESSED MY CONCERN ABOUT E D F, AND I DON'T KNOW IF, IF JENNA'S ON THE LINE AND SHE WANTS TO TRY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE E D F HAS NEVER DONE SMALL BUSINESSES.
I'VE ALWAYS DONE, YOU KNOW, RECRUITING FROM LARGE SCALE BUSINESSES.
I THINK I ASKED THIS QUESTION THE LAST TIME, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I STILL DON'T FEEL CONFIDENT THAT E D F, UM, IS THE PLACE TO START TO BE DOING THAT OUTREACH, BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT.
AND, AND SO I, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE AN EXPERTISE WITH LARGER COMPANIES, BUT WE JUST HAVE NEVER SEEN E D F DO THAT ON THE SMALL SCALE.
UM, AND YET, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE THE LEAD.
UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I, I, I MEAN, I PERHAPS, I KNOW I'M KIND OF THROWING A LOT OF STUFF OUT HERE, AND I, I'M NOT GIVING YOU CLEAR DIRECTION OR GIVING YOU CLEAR FEEDBACK TO HOW YOU CAN FIX IT.
UM, OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, ASKING JENNA, LIKE, I MEAN, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT EXPERTISE YOU HAVE IN WORKING WITH MICRO BUSINESSES.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING ALL THESE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UH, BUT THAT ADDITIONAL LAYER OF BUREAUCRACY THAT THEY THEN HAVE TO GO BACK TO A D F, UM, SORRY, TO E D F, UH, ALSO, I THINK THAT'S JUST GONNA SLOW THINGS DOWN.
SO, UM, I, YOU KNOW, NOT, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S JUST SOME CONCERNS I HAVE ABOUT THE PROCESS.
I'M AFRAID IT'S GONNA GO WAY TOO SLOWLY.
UM, AND IN THE END, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE DISTRIBUTED THE FUNDING TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT.
MADAM CHAIR, UH, JENNA IS ON LINE, PERHAPS SHE COULD ADDRESS.
I THINK, JENNA, YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT, AND AGAIN, CRITICISM TO THE WORK THAT EED F HAS DONE TO RECRUIT, UM, AND, UH, BUT NOT REALLY, UH, HERE IN THE MICRO IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE IN THESE AREAS, LIKE THE TARGETED AREAS THAT YOU SHOW ON THE MAP MM-HMM.
UH, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
I CERTAINLY, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR CHALLENGE TO THE, TO THE LAYERS OF BUREAUCRACY.
I THINK WE SHOULD ALWAYS, UH, CHALLENGE OURSELVES TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO ELIMINATE BUREAUCRACY AND STREAMLINE THE PROCESSES.
UH, I DO JUST WANNA SPECIFICALLY DISCUSS, UM, YOUR COMMENT ABOUT, UH, E D F NOT SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE PAST, BECAUSE THAT'S ACTUALLY NOT TRUE.
WE HAVE, OBVIOUSLY A ROBUST RECRUITMENT ARM, UM, AND THAT'S WHAT GETS ALL THE HEADLINES.
SO PEOPLE READ ABOUT NAVISTAR AND TOYOTA, AND THAT'S WHAT GETS THE MAJORITY OF THE HEADLINES.
BUT OUR B R E PROGRAM IS ABOUT 50% OF WHAT WE DO.
AND, AND OUR V R E PROGRAM, IF YOU THINK BACK TO, UM, PAST, UH, YEARS OUTREACH, UH, WE VISIT WITH ABOUT A HUNDRED COMPANIES PER YEAR, UH, PRIMARILY TO THANK THEM FOR DOING BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT ALSO TO ADDRESS ANY OTHER CONCERNS OR NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR PARTNERS COUNTY C P S SYN.
BUT I MEAN, UM, LET, LET ME JUST, BUT I MEAN, I, I UNDERSTAND YOU DID A LOT OF B R E, BUT STILL WITH LARGE COMPANIES, NO, 90% DON'T.
90% OF THOSE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN UNDER 500.
SO THE WAY THAT THE CITY DEPARTMENT, UM, OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEFINES SMALL BUSINESS IS 500 EMPLOYEES OR LESS.
AND SO 90% OF THOSE ON AVERAGE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS HAVE BEEN SMALL BUSINESSES, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE BUSINESSES THAT NEED TO SUPPORT THE MOST.
SO WE DO, UH, TOUCH BASE WITH HEADQUARTERS, OUR LARGE HEADQUARTERS, BUT THOSE MIGHT BE A HANDFUL, MAYBE FIVE TO 10 OF OUR VISITS PER YEAR.
AND WE'RE VISITING WITH A HUNDRED GROUPS.
I MEAN, THESE, SOME OF THESE COMPANIES COME BACK AND ASK FOR SUPPORT WITH POTHOLES, YOU KNOW, OUT FRONT IN THEIR PARKING LOTS BECAUSE IT'S BEEN, UH, AN ISSUE FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES.
SOME OF THEM ASK FOR WORKFORCE SUPPORT, UH, SOME OF THEM ASK FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT I DO JUST WANNA STATE THAT, UM, IN THE PAST NOW, WE HAVEN'T ALWAYS HAD A FOCUS ON MICRO BUSINESSES.
I THINK THAT IS A VALID CONCERN.
UM, AND IDEALLY THAT'S WHERE WE LEVERAGE OUR PARTNERS AT SAGE AND CENTRO AND SOUTHSIDE FIRST, ET CETERA.
BUT FOR THIS EFFORT, I DON'T THINK THAT E D F IS BEING TASKED WITH DOING THE OUTREACH.
I THINK E D F IS BEING TASKED WITH BEING THE PROJECT MANAGER AND THE FACILITATOR, AND THAT'S WHAT WE CAN DO BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE.
UM, I'M CERTAINLY NOT ADVOCATING
[01:20:01]
OR LOBBYING FOR E D F TO PICK UP ADDITIONAL WORK.WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS.
UM, WE WANT TO MAKE THIS RECOVERY PLAN SUCCESSFUL.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT IF IT'S PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING AND THEN LEVERAGING EVERYTHING THAT SAGE AND CENTRO AND SOUTH SIDE FIRST AND THE WEST SIDE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP, WE BRING TO THE TABLE, I THINK WHAT THIS DOES IS IT ENHANCES OUR COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM, AND IT ALLOWS US TO LEVERAGE OTHER PARTNERS THAT HAVE THEIR TENTACLES TO THE GROUND WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT MICRO BUSINESSES TO MAKE OUR COMPREHENSIVE B R E EFFORT THAT MUCH MORE ROBUST.
SO THAT'S WHY I HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF IT.
I THINK THE DATA THAT WE'LL GET BACK WILL BE HELPFUL.
UH, THE BUSINESS CONTACTS THAT WE GET BACK WILL BE HELPFUL, UH, ASSUMING THAT WE CAN PULL IT ALL TOGETHER AND AGGREGATE IT.
UM, BUT HOPEFULLY THAT ADDRESSES YOUR CONCERN THERE.
HAPPY TO TALK MORE ABOUT IT GOING FORWARD AND HOW WE CAN CONTINUE, UH, TO ADDRESS YOUR, YOUR CONCERNS.
UH, I JUST, I, IT JUST LOOKS LIKE A VERY BUREAUCRATIC PROCESS, UM, AND NOT AT ALL SMALL BUSINESS, UM, AND MICRO BUSINESS LIKE ORIENTED.
SO I, I, I, UM, HOPE WHEN ARE WE, AND SO I, I, I RECOGNIZE THAT MY FEEDBACK IS SORT OF LIMITED.
I AM NOT GIVING YOU REAL STRONG DIRECTION OTHER THAN I FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST, THERE'S JUST TOO MANY LAYERS.
SO, UM, AND THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE TOO LONG.
SO TELL ME WHAT, WHEN ARE THIS IS, I MEAN, ARE WE SUPPOSED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO BRING IT BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL? WHAT IS OUR TIMELINE HERE? I THINK WE HAVE IT HERE, AND I'M LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION ON MY PHONE.
SO WE HAVE A TIMELINE HERE, SCHEDULED FOR, UM, SO COUNCILWOMAN, UM, STAFF IS WORKING OUT THE, THE, UM, CONTRACTS WITH, UM, LIFT FUNDS AND THE OTHER PARTNERS.
AND THEN IT WILL START WITH, UM, STREAMLINING THAT AND THEN GOING OUT FOR, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF THE APPLICATIONS AND P AND OPENING IT UP FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS STARTING IN, UM, AUGUST, BECAUSE JULY THEY'RE HAVING TO, UM, START, WELL FINISH THE NEGOTIATIONS, PUT EVERYTHING IN ALIGNMENT, GET THE PARTNERS TOGETHER, AND THEN HAVE THE SELECTION AND THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
SO THIS ISN'T GOING BACK TO COUNCIL, THIS IS JUST GOING TO, THIS IS GONNA GO STRAIGHT THROUGH.
THAT'S WHY I'M LOOKING HERE, RIGHT? UM, AUGUST 28TH, UH, AWARD NOTIFICATION AND FUND DISBURSEMENT, WHICH IS LIKE, I MEAN, IT'S A LIFETIME AWAY, UH, FOR A SMALL BUSINESS.
SO, I MEAN, I, I JUST, AND, AND THE PURPOSE OF MY COMMENT IS TO EXPEDITE IT, NOT TO DELAY IT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST, I THINK THERE'S TOO MANY STEPS HERE.
SO LET'S SEE, LIKE WHAT WE CAN ELIMINATE.
DO WE REALLY NEED ALL THESE PARTNERS OVERSEEING ALL THESE? JUST GIVE IT BACK TO THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE DOING IT.
164,000 IS WHAT I'M LOOKING AT.
UM, JUST VERY PRELIMINARY TO BRING BACK, UH, SOME PEOPLE TO THE ARTS AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT SO THEY CAN REDISTRIBUTE THOSE, UM, GRANTS.
WE COULD DO THAT FAIRLY QUICKLY.
THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT ALREADY A LONG TIME.
AND THEN BECAUSE THE OTHER MONEY IS, IS A LITTLE BIT, UM, MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S LARGER.
UM, SOME, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WE CAN, UM, I DON'T KNOW, UH, SEE HOW WE CAN EXPEDITE THOSE AS WELL.
SO, UM, I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, LOOK FOR MORE FEEDBACK FROM MY COLLEAGUES.
I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST, UH, UM, FIRST WANNA MAKE A COMMENT, UM, THAT I, I SHARE IN COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ'S FRUSTRATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE WE'RE, I I, I ALSO DON'T EXACTLY KNOW HOW TO DIRECT YOU TO DO THIS A LITTLE FASTER, BUT I THINK THAT, UM, IF WE CAN HELP THESE, THE MICRO BUSINESSES REALLY, I KNOW THAT, UM, WE'VE MENTIONED BUSINESS IS SMALLER THAN 500 EMPLOYEES, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT I THINK ONE OF MY CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE, BUSINESS OWNERS IN MY DISTRICT IS, UH, THE EMPLOYEES LIKE UNDER 10.
THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES, SIX.
AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING SURE AND REACHING OUT TO THEM AND HELPING THEM AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER COMMENT IS I SUPPORT THE AWARD AWARDING OF EXTRA POINTS FOR, UH, FOR BUSINESSES THAT OFFER PAID SICK LEAVE AND A LIVING WAGE.
AND SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THAT IN, IN THE, IN THE POINT SYSTEM.
MY QUESTION IS FOR ALEX, YOU MENTIONED WORKING WITH THE MAESTRO.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE MAESTRO TO BE INCLUDED AS A TRAINING CENTER WITH LAUNCH SA? SO THEY ARE BEING CONSIDERED AS A PHYSICAL HUB COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, AND THEN I JUST FINALLY, ONE MORE COMMENT JUST TO CONTINUE.
UH, I ENCOURAGE STAFF TO CONTINUE TO PRESS FOR CREATIVE WAYS TO
[01:25:01]
EXPAND THE ASSISTANCE FOR ARTS OPERATIONS, BUSINESSES AND PROGRAMS SO THEY CAN RECEIVE THAT DIRECT ASSISTANCE.COUNCIL MEMBER ELA, WE CAN MENTION, CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY NOW? YEAH.
SO, SO I SIGNED OFF AND THEN I HAD TO COME BACK AND I CAME BACK TO HEARING TWO COUNCIL MEMBER, COLLEAGUES OF MINE USED THE WORD BUREAUCRACY.
AND, UM, I WAS HOPING THAT I'D BE THE FIRST ONE TO USE, BUT, UM, CARLOS, ALEX, CAN, CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT WHY, WHY IT IS, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS AND BOXES TO CHECK OFF, BECAUSE I, I NEED TO, I NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THAT.
UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, AND, AND I'LL LET AL JUMP IN, BUT LET ME JUST START OFF BY SAYING THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE'RE WILLING TO MAKE SURE WE DO.
IN APPLYING THE, THE, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE, WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT, THAT THE FUNDS, THAT THE GRANTS THAT ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED SPECIFICALLY ARE, ARE, UH, MARKETED TO.
THERE'S OUTREACH IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT LIKELY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO AVAIL THEMSELVES TO FUNDING.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF OUTREACH.
IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME TO, TO RECEIVE.
UH, WE KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT IN CONNECTION WITH THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CLAIMS THAT WERE FILED THROUGH, UH, W S A, UH, THOSE THAT HAD ACCESS TO COMPUTERS WERE ABLE TO GET IN AND GET IN EARLY AND GET THEIR BENEFITS.
AND WE DON'T WANT THAT TO BE THE CASE HERE WHERE IT'S TECHNOLOGY OR SPEED ELIMINATES FOLKS.
WE ABSOLUTELY RECOGNIZE THAT PEOPLE ARE HURTING, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WE WANTED TO BE SURE TO GET THIS PROGRAM TO THIS COMMITTEE AND GET CONTRACTS EXECUTED AND, AND THE FUNDS OUT.
AND IF YOU'LL SEE, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING BOTH OUTREACH AND APPLICATION IN THE MONTH OF JUNE SO THAT WE CAN EXPEDITE THE, THE FUNDING OUT AS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UH, WE'RE ALSO WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HONOR THE, THE, THE WISHES OF THIS COMMITTEE.
UH, THE COMMITTEE IS TALKING ABOUT GIVING PREFERENCE TO BUSINESSES THAT PROVIDE A HIGHER WAGE, THAT PROVIDE PAID SICK LEAVE BENEFITS, LIKE PAID SICK LEAVE, AND OTHERS.
SO WE NEED A PROCESS TO GO THROUGH AND DO THAT, RECOGNIZING THAT THAT COULD MEAN THAT BUSINESSES OUTSIDE OF THE TARGETED AREA WOULD SCORE HIGHER THAN BUSINESSES WITHIN THE TARGETED AREA.
AND THAT'S A POLICY DECISION THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO THIS COMMITTEE FOR GUIDANCE ABOUT.
UH, THAT'S A RISK THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE BY DOING THAT.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING YOUR LEAD TO, TO BE SURE TO DO THAT.
UH, ALEX CAN JUMP IN, BUT I ALSO HAVE CELINE ON THE LINE.
SHE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT THEY HAVE AS WELL FROM THE LIFT FUND.
ALEX, YOU WANNA ADD ANY MORE? OH, ONE MORE THING.
WE GOTTA RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE USING FEDERAL DOLLARS AND IN A CALMER TIME, NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF A CRISIS, WE'RE GONNA GET AUDITED, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THE DOCUMENTATION WE NEED, NOT TWO OWNERS, WE'RE DESIGNING THAT FOR LIFT FUND.
THEY'RE NOT ADMINISTERING LOANS, THEY'RE ADMINISTERING GRANTS.
BUT WE DO WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET, GATHER SOME INFORMATION THAT WE CAN DOCUMENT TO THE INSPECTORS WHEN THEY COME TWO YEARS FROM NOW ASKING HOW WE SPENT THE MONEY IN A, IN A CALMER TIME.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THAT.
SO THERE IS SOME BUREAUCRACY THERE.
ALEX, YOU WANNA JUMP IN? NO, ACTUALLY, I, I THINK SELENA WILL BE ABLE TO SHARE A LOT OF PERSPECTIVE BOTH ON THE TIMING AND, UM, PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING.
THIS IS SELENA BEEL WITH LIFTFUND.
I, I'M, I, I SEE SOME SMILES, SO I THINK THAT MEANS YOU CAN HEAR ME, RIGHT? JUST TO CONFIRM.
UM, SO I WANNA ADDRESS A COUPLE OF ITEMS IN TERMS OF JUST, UM, HEARING YOU ALL AND YOUR CONCERNS AS IT RELATES TO THE BUREAUCRACY WITH THE GRANTS PROCESS.
UM, WE CAN MAKE IT AS STRINGENT OR AS FLEXIBLE AS, UM, AND MAKING SURE WE MEET THE CRITERIA THAT'S SET BY THE CARES ACT, WHICH IS THAT THERE HAS TO BE PROVEN LOSSES AND THAT THESE MONIES ARE GOING TO BUSINESSES.
SO I WANNA, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED BUREAUCRACY.
WE'RE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU ALL TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS STREAMLINED, UM, AND AN APPROACH THAT DOESN'T SEEM UNAPPROACHABLE, ESPECIALLY TO THE MICRO BUSINESSES.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE ADMINISTERED SEVERAL PROGRAMS LIKE THIS, UM, ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, AND IN THIS PROCESS WE HAVE ITERATED AND TAKEN RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR PARTNERS, BOTH OUR FUNDERS AND THOSE ON THE GROUND, UM, AND HOW TO IMPROVE THIS PROCESS.
UM, WITH THAT, I WOULD JUST SAY ADDING THE LAYERS, UM, FROM A ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE, IF YOU ASK LYFT FUND, UM, TO VERIFY EMPLOYMENT, UM, WAGES OR BENEFITS THAT WILL ADD ADDITIONAL RIGOR, UM, TO THE PROCESS.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH THIS, THE
[01:30:01]
MATRIX, AND YOU LOOK THROUGH SOME OF THESE ITEMS, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU'RE ASKING US, UM, OR ASKING THE BUSINESS OWNER TO COMPLETE AN APPLICATION, YOU ARE THEN ASKING LIFTFUND TO VERIFY.UM, AND THE MORE VERIFICATION, UM, YOU ASK US TO DO, THE MORE COMPLEX IT POTENTIALLY IS TO ASSURE, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ'S COMMENTS OF REQUESTING DOCUMENTATION.
SO WE AREN'T PULLING CREDIT, THERE'S NO CREDIT POOL ON THIS.
UM, BUT IF THERE ARE ELEMENTS WITHIN THE MATRIX THAT ALEX AND THE TEAM HAVE BUILT, UM, PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND.
UM, THE SECOND IS WITH, UM, THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING OUR PARTNERS IN THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM, YOU WILL HAVE SMALL BUSINESSES TRUSTING MORE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM PROVIDERS.
THAT MEANS THAT THEY WILL TRUST SOUTHSIDE FIRST.
THEY WILL TRUST CENTRO, THEY WILL TRUST, UM, WEST SIDE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, NOT JUST NOW, BUT IN THE FUTURE IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS.
AND WE'VE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY WITH THEM ON THE BEXAR COUNTY PROGRAM TO SEE HOW WELL THIS WORKS, AND I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT IT'S NOT BUREAUCRACY, IT'S MORE SUPPORT AS THEY NAVIGATE SMALL BUSINESSES WHO WOULD NOT APPLY TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS IF IT WASN'T FOR THEIR OUTREACH.
UM, SO I DO THINK THAT THERE, WELL, IT MAY SEEM THAT THERE'S SEVERAL LAYERS.
IF LAYERS ARE COORDINATED, WE CAN GET TO SUCCESS AND STREAMLINED APPROACHES, WHICH I BELIEVE, UM, JUST BECAUSE WE'VE ITERATED IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, OF TWO MONTHS SINCE C OVID 19, UM, TO GET TO SUCCESS.
SO I JUST WANNA ASSURE YOU ALL THAT WE CAN BE AS FLEXIBLE OR AS RIGOROUS, UM, AND WE BELIEVE THAT IN TERMS OF JUST MAKING SURE WE CONNECT WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, THAT IT'S NOT JUST LYFT FUND, IT ACTUALLY TAKES AN ECOSYSTEM, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CITY IS BUILDING UPON.
THOSE ARE, THOSE WERE THOSE, THAT'S, THAT'S VERY HELPFUL, SELENA, AND I APPRECIATE IT.
THE, UH, THE, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD THAT'S CHANGING GEARS, THAT'S CHANGING GEARS IS AS I'M LOOKING THROUGH THE LIST OF PARTNERS AND ALL THAT IS, WAS THERE ANY THOUGHT GIVEN TO, UH, INCLUDING UTSA'S SMALL BUSINESS, UH, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT CENTER? IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THEY DO A LOT OF WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
YES, ACTUALLY, UM, I'VE MET WITH TERRY WILLIAMS ALREADY, UM, BECAUSE THEY ARE SUCH A SUBSTANTIAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER.
SO THAT IS, UM, DEFINITELY A LOT OF THE RESOURCES THAT OUR OUTREACH PARTNERS ARE GONNA BE PROMOTING.
UM, WE, WE DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA DUPLICATE, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, A, A BUSINESS IN A PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF THE SS B D C OR SPECIFICALLY THE COVID, UM, THE COBRA ACCELERATOR THAT OUR, OUR ORGANIZATIONS HELP CONNECT THEM TO THOSE RESOURCES.
UM, TERRY'S ALSO GONNA BE HELPING US WITH DATA TRACKING SO THAT WE KNOW WHEN BUSINESSES ACTUALLY GO AND TAKE SOME OF THEIR CLASSES OR REACH OUT TO SOME OF THEIR, THEIR PROVIDER SESSIONS.
AND THEN I'LL, I'LL CLOSE OFF BY ASKING, YOU KNOW, FOR A LOT OF THIS TRAINING, ON THE JOB TRAINING, WE'RE ASSUMING THAT PEOPLE WILL BE ON THE JOB, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, DURING, WE'RE RIGHT NOW FACING THE POSSIBILITY THAT, UM, WE MAY HAVE TO SHUT THINGS DOWN AGAIN AT SOME POINT, RIGHT? IF WE, UH, CONTINUE TO SEE THESE COVID NUMBERS, UH, INCREASE, I, I HOPE I'M WRONG, BUT I DON'T THINK I AM, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME INTERRUPTIONS IN PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO KEEP GOING BACK TO WORK.
AND SO ARE YOU GUYS BUILDING IN THAT, UH, FLEXIBILITY IN CASE OF THAT HAPPENS? WE ARE.
AND UM, PART OF THE, UH, PART OF THE CONSIDERATION WE'RE DOING HERE IS MAKING SURE THAT THESE RESOURCES ARE ACTUALLY GONNA BE AVAILABLE FOR, UM, THROUGH SEPTEMBER, 2021.
SO THE, THE O J T STIPENDS ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY GENERAL FUNDS AND NOT COVID, UM, RELIEF FUNDS.
WE HAVE MORE TIME TO DO THE PLACEMENT.
THANKS FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.
UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.
I KNOW THERE IS TO WHAT WAS, UH, ALREADY DESCRIBED, THERE'S A SENSE OF URGENCY, AND I KNOW I'VE ALREADY TOLD CARLOS AND ALEX, UM, THAT TIMELINE WHERE IT SAYS DISTRI DISTRI DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER WAS TOO FAR AWAY.
UM, BUT TO THE POINT OF WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING, I THINK, AND THANK YOU SELENA, FOR BRINGING CLARITY ON CERTAIN, UH, THINGS, BUT TO BE CLEAR, THE MICRO BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT GRANT FOR THE 24.7 MILLION, THAT IS STILL OUR 20 EMPLOYEES OR LESS.
SO WE ARE NOT LOOKING AT 499 OR 500 LESS.
THAT 24 7 MILLION GRANT IS GOING TO 20 EMPLOYEES OR LESS, CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND, UM, I WILL TELL YOU TO, UH, THE MATRIX,
[01:35:01]
UM, THAT YOU HAVE FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT FOR THE BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT GRANTS, SLIDE NINE WITH THE NICE LITTLE MAP THAT WE HAVE.UH, AND THAT IS WITH WHAT SCENARIO IS THAT SCENARIO ONE WITH EQUITY AND OWNERSHIP, OR IS THAT SCENARIO TWO WAGES AND BENEFITS, OR IT DOESN'T MATTER? THAT SCENARIO IS ACTUALLY JUST FOR OUTREACH.
WHERE ARE WE GONNA BE PRO REALLY TARGETING OUR OUTREACH? OKAY, GREAT.
UM, AND I LIKE THAT BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S ALL WITHIN LOOP FOUR 10.
SO I THINK THAT'S PRETTY, WELL, THERE'S SOME OUTSIDE OF FOUR 10, BUT I THINK THAT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT WHEN WE'RE DOING THE OUTREACH AND THE MARKETING.
AND, UM, SO WHEN IT COMES TO SCENARIO ONE WITH EQUITY AND OUR OWNERSHIP AND THEN WAGES AND BENEFIT, MY CONCERN IS THAT SOME OF MY SMALL BUSINESSES, MICRO BUSINESSES IN THE NONPROFIT GRANT WORLD, UH, MICRO BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT GRANT WORLD WON'T HIT THE WAGES AND THE BENEFITS, AND THEN WE'LL, ONE, THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO SUPPLY THAT DOCUMENTATION, AND TWO, THEY WON'T HIT THOSE TWO BENEFITS, AND THEN THEY MAY NOT GET A GRANT OR THEY'LL FALL.
UM, THERE'LL BE SOMEBODY ELSE AHEAD OF THEM AND WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, I UNDERSTAND IT'S A PRIORITY FOR MANY ON THE COUNCIL, AND I BELIEVE IT IS, I MEAN, WE VOTED FOR IT, BUT I THINK, UM, SCENARIO ONE WITH EQUITY AND OWNERSHIP IS THE AREA THAT I WOULD BE LEANING FOR IF WE'RE TRULY WANTING TO GET THESE DOLLARS OUT TO OUR MICRO BUSINESSES, UM, THAT STILL HIT THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WOMEN OWNED, VETERAN OWNED, UH, BUSINESSES, MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES.
SO THAT'S WHERE I WANNA WEIGH IN THERE BECAUSE I THINK, UM, IT COULD PROLONG THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH AND PROVIDING MORE DOCUMENTATION FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
UM, YOU SAID THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A LIFT FUND WEB PAGE FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS, SO, AND IT ALSO MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE, UM, APPLICATION ASSISTANCE.
SO WHAT WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN, AND THESE OUTREACH TEAMS OR MARKETING TEAMS, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO DIRECT PEOPLE TO THE LIFT ON THE WEBPAGE, OR COULD PEOPLE GO INTO THESE HUBS OR WHEREVER TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY FILL OUT THESE, THESE APPLICATIONS? CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH THAT? SO THE APPLICATION ITSELF WILL BE ONLINE, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S A VARIETY OF OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OF HOW A SMALL BUSINESS WILL STILL BE ABLE TO APPLY.
UM, BUT I THINK SELENA CAN DESCRIBE A LOT OF THE PROCESSES THEY USED AND, AND SOME OF THE STRATEGIES WE PLAN TO DEPLOY AS WELL.
WE ACTUALLY WOULD CREATE A DEDICATED LANDING PAGE THAT IS SAFER TOGETHER BRANDED, UM, WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO SO THAT PEOPLE HAVE AN ABILITY TO SEE THE COMMUNITY AROUND IT, NOT JUST LIFT FUND.
SO WE SEE OURSELVES AS THE ADMINISTRATOR, UM, SUPPORTING THE WORK, UM, AND THE DEPLOYMENT FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
UM, ANYONE, UM, WHO NEEDS A PAPER APPLICATION, WE CAN PROVIDE A P D F, WE WILL PROVIDE IT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH AS WELL.
THEY DO NEED TO BE ENTERED ONLINE.
AND SO WE DO HAVE TEAMS WHO CAN HELP WITH THAT.
UM, THE HUBS AND THE, AND THE SUPPORT.
I THINK TUESDAY NIGHTS ON HERE CAN TELL YOU THAT THEY HAVE DONE, UM, DIRECT ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTATION WITH BUSINESSES AND HELPING THEM PREPARE THEIR, THEIR DOCUMENTS AND ALSO SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION.
AN APPLICATION, UM, HAS A LOGIN SO YOU CAN GET ON AND OFF IT, IT IS NOT IMMEDIATE SUBMISSION AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE LEARNED AND THINK IS IMPORTANT SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T FEEL RUSHED.
THAT'S WHY ALEX MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, THIS IS NOT A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS, SO PEOPLE DON'T FEEL LIKE THIS KIND OF SENSE.
UM, THE LAST TWO PROGRAMS WE'VE RUN, WE HAD MORE RETAIL SUBMIT IN THE LAST END OF AN APPLICATION PERIOD.
UM, IT'S BEEN REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE, SO OBVIOUSLY TO COUNCILMAN'S, UH, PAL'S COMMENTS, UM, AND SHIRLEY'S, IT'S LIKE THE BALANCE OF GETTING THEIR BUSINESS STARTED AND FINDING RESOURCES, UM, THAT'S A LOT FOR A SMALL BUSINESS.
SO HAVING PARTNERS AND HUBS, UM, ALONG WITH PAPER APPLICATIONS DO, DOES HELP STREAMLINE AND MAKE IT MORE APPROACHABLE.
UM, TO THE, UH, AND YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE, UH, WE HAVE PARTNERS, WE HAVE THE HUBS, WE HAVE ALL OF THESE OTHER ITEMS GOING ON.
[01:40:01]
ARTS FUNDING HAD A LOGO BRANDING THAT SAID SA CARES.WHAT WAS IT? UM, SA CARES FOR ART.
ARE WE GOING TO HAVE, UM, ONE BRANDING FOR THIS? BECAUSE TO EVERYONE'S POINT, WE'RE LOOKING AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT PARTNERS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO DO WE HAVE A, A BRANDING SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL AND IT IS OUR MICRO BUSINESSES, IT'S OUR ON THE JOB AND IT'S OUR, UM, SA CARES FUNDING TOO AND OUR, OUR NON-PROFITS.
CARLOS, I'M LOOKING AT YOU TO ANSWER CA.
COUNCILMAN, WE, IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE LAST NIGHT WE WERE HAVING THAT SAME CONVERSATION, ALEX AND I, ABOUT WHAT'S THE BRAND.
THE ANSWER IS WE WILL ABSOLUTELY WILL HAVE THAT, UH, I DON'T THINK UNLESS THEY WORKED ON IT OVERNIGHT AS THEY HAVE THAT YET.
ALEX, DID YOU WORK OVERNIGHT ON THAT AND GET, GET IT DONE,
WE HAVE TO BRAND THIS IN A WAY.
UH, BUT WE ABSOLUTELY WILL HAVE ONE.
SHOWING THANKS FOR SHOWING US UP, DEBBIE.
SHE IS IN ARTS, SO THAT'S WHAT THEY DO.
UM, AND THEN IN THE GRANT ELIGIBILITY ON SLIDE NUMBER SIX, YOU TALK ABOUT DEVELOP RECOVERY PLAN WITH COORDINATED WITH THE OUTREACH ORGANIZATIONS AND PLAN EXECUTION.
SO OUR SMALL AND MICRO BUSINESSES, THEY WILL BE WORKING WITH THE, UM, OUTREACH ORGANIZATIONS IN ORDER TO DEVELOP THIS PLAN, UM, AFTER THEY GET THE, THE FUNDING AND THE DOLLARS.
AND SO IT'LL HELP BUILD THAT RESILIENCY AND THAT SUPPORT.
THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT, COUNSEL.
WE'RE NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, DELAY PROVIDING THEM THE FUNDING WHILE THEY DO THIS.
WE JUST WANT THEM TO COMMIT TO DO THIS, AND WE WANT TO WORK WITH THEM TO BUILD RESILIENCY FOR THE, FOR THE BALANCE OF THE YEAR AND BEYOND.
AND I THINK THAT'S, AND, AND I'M GONNA PAUSE RIGHT THERE BECAUSE IT, IT TALKS, IT GOES BACK TO OUR CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE HAD IN SLIDE FIVE WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES FOR RESOURCE AND FINANCIAL AWARENESS.
THOSE ARE DIRECT OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE HOPING AND WE COMMITTED TO WORKING TO THROUGH OUR STATUS OF POVERTY REPORT, AS WELL AS OUR ECONOMIC TRANSITION TEAM REPORT OF THESE EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND THE FINANCIAL AWARENESS BECAUSE WE WANT TO, UM, PANDEMIC PROOF ARE SMALL AND MICRO BUSINESSES AS MUCH AS WE CAN WITH PROVIDING THAT, UH, FINANCIAL AWARENESS COMING FORWARD.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL ARE GOING TO BE VERY, VERY BUSY IN THE MONTH OF JULY WORKING THROUGH THIS.
I THINK OUR PARTNERS ARE GOING TO BE VERY BUSY THROUGH THIS.
UM, I FEEL LIKE IF WE NEED TO, UH, CARLOS AND ALEX AND FOR OUR E W D C COUNCIL COMMITTEE, EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T NECESSARILY MEET IN JULY, I THINK WE NEED TO, UH, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CONNECT WITH US BEFORE WE, UM, MOVE FORWARD, UH, FOR THE FINAL IMPLEMENTATION.
'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA WANNA KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, TO TO PLEASE SEE THAT BEFORE YOU ALL GO LIVE WITH ALL OF THIS.
AND TO COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ'S POINT AND TO OTHERS, WHERE ARE AREAS THAT YOU CAN STREAMLINE? WHERE ARE AREAS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO STREAMLINE THIS PROCESS TO GET THE, GET THE DATA THAT WE NEED BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT, AND THEN GET THESE, UM, THESE LOANS OR THESE GRANTS, I SHOULD SAY, OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
COUNCILMAN? I THINK THE FIRST PLACE IS YOU, YOUR Y'ALL'S GUIDANCE ON HOW YOU, WHETHER YOU WANT SCENARIO ONE OR SCENARIO TWO, IF, IF IT, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL IN HELPING TO EXPEDITE IT.
THE OTHER THING IS, UH, THE LESS WE WE PUT ON, UM, THE LESS BURDEN WE PUT ON THE LIFT FUND FOR DOCUMENTATION, THE BETTER.
SO WE'LL CERTAINLY WORK WITH THEM AS WE DEVELOP OUR CONTRACTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING AS SENSITIVE AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO DO THAT.
AND IF WE CAN MOVE ANYTHING LEFT, WE'LL SLIDE IT LEFT.
BUT THE DIRECTION ON SCENARIOS ONE AND TWO IS WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR.
SO, UM, MY COLLEAGUE, Y'ALL HEARD ME AND SOME OF YOU ALL MENTIONED YOU WANTED TO SEE PAID SICK LEAVE AND ALL THESE SCENARIOS.
UM, SOME OF MY, UH, THE WAGE AND SOME OF YOU ALL SAID, UH, SCENARIO, Y'ALL PREFER SCENARIO NUMBER TWO.
UM, SO IF YOU WANNA JUST GO AROUND THE HORN AND GIVE YOUR, UM, PERSPECTIVE AND YOU CAN GATHER, UM, CONSENSUS ON HERE, UH, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY MORE TO SHARE.
COUNCIL MEMBER
[01:45:01]
LOT, UH, OF, OF HARD QUESTIONS AND YOU'RE CLEARLY PREPARED.SO THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALES.
UH, SO I, I, UM, JUST TO KIND OF ADDRESS THE, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUE EVEN HERE REGARDING THE PAID SICK LEAVE AND THE HIGHER WAGES.
I KNOW THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT AS A CITY WE HAVE REQUESTED.
UH, BUT I FEEL LIKE IN THIS SCENARIO, UM, BECAUSE MOST OF THE MICRO BUSINESSES DON'T HAVE THAT MANY EMPLOYEES, A LOT OF THEM ARE JUST THE FAMILY, UH, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THAT THEY HAVE PAID SICK LEAVE.
UH, AND ALSO I THINK THE ISSUE OF PAID SICK LEAVE IS SO TOTALLY DIFFERENT NOW BECAUSE I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CHECKING TEMPERATURES AS YOU WALK IN THE DOOR.
I MEAN, A LOT OF BUSINESSES ARE, UH, RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS ARE, ARE CHECKING TEMPERATURES.
SO IT USED TO BE THAT YOU COULD STILL WORK IF YOU HAD A SLIGHT FEVER AND IT DIDN'T REALLY IMPACT YOU AT ALL.
BUT NOW, IF YOU HAVE A SLIGHT FEVER, YOU CAN'T COME IN THE DOOR AND YOU HAVE TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY AND GO GET TESTED.
AT LEAST THAT'S THE POLICY FOR A LOT OF BUSINESSES BECAUSE YOU JUST, NOW IT'S A, A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD.
UM, AND SO, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD REMOVE THE PAID SICK LEAVE THAN THE, UM, THE WAGE REQUIREMENT ONLY BECAUSE THE MICRO BUSINESSES ARE NOT LIKELY GONNA HAVE, UM, THOSE, UM, THOSE NUMBERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, THE WAY THE SMALL THIS WORKS, LIKE MANY OF YOU ALL KNOW, AFTER EVERYBODY ELSE GETS PAID, THEN YOU GET PAID.
AND SO THAT MAY BE, UH, AND IT CAN FLUCTUATE A LOT DEPENDING ON THE INDUSTRY.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT IT LIKE YOU, UH, SO I, I, I WOULD, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE REMOVED.
UH, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN DISTRIBUTE, UH, SOME OF THE FUNDS AND JUST SEE SOME BASIC THINGS THAT THEY'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR X NUMBER OF YEARS, UM, THAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF PAYING THEIR TAXES, THAT THEIR STABLE BUSINESSES, UM, THAT WE GO AHEAD AND FUND THEM AND NOT WORRY SO MUCH ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE IN TARGETED INDUSTRIES AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THOSE ISSUES FOR THESE GRANTS.
WHEN WE GO BACK TO OUR REGULAR INCENTIVES, IF WE GO THERE, WE CAN START IMPLEMENTING THOSE THINGS AGAIN.
BUT, UM, JUST GIVEN THE SCENARIO THAT WE'RE IN, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS EXPEDITED, UH, AND, AND, UH, PERHAPS, UH, REMOVE SOME OF THOSE CRITERIA FOR NOW, EXCEPT TARGETING THE WOMEN OWNED AND MINORITY BUSINESSES, WHICH ARE LIKELY GONNA BE MANY OF THE MICRO BUSINESSES.
ANYWAY, I, I CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE NO FUNDING FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
UM, UH, SO, UM, LIKE LAWYERS AND ARCHITECTS, LAWYERS, CARLOS, UH, BUT, BUT IF THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IF YOU'RE A PARTY PLANNER OR YOU ARE A, UM, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THOSE ARE CONSIDERED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, BUT IF YOU ARE AN EVENT PLANNER, UM, WE KNOW THERE'S NO WORK FOR EVENT PLANNERS RIGHT NOW, UH, OR, UH, PHOTOGRAPHERS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT THEY WOULD BE INCLUDED, BECAUSE THOSE ARE CONSIDERED MICRO BUSINESSES AS WELL.
UH, SO, UM, I, YOU KNOW, I HOPE, I HOPE THAT THAT HELPS GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF DIRECTION AND THEN TRY TO EXPEDITE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA, UH, GARCIA, OR VARDA, UH, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UH, AND SO, AND I'M, I'M GLAD WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION AND, AND CHAIR, YOU BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT ABOUT SOME OF THE BUSINESSES, UM, THAT MIGHT BE, AND I, I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT, THAT MIGHT, MIGHT BE AFFECTED, UM, DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE THEY ALREADY DON'T OFFER, UM, A CERTAIN WAGE, UM, OR THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS.
THEY JUST CAN'T AFFORD TO DO THAT.
AND SO I, I WOULD BE IN FAVOR THEN OF SCENARIO ONE IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE.
SO I JUST, UM, AGAIN, IN FAVOR OF SCENARIO ONE, ALTHOUGH I APPRECIATE SCENARIO TWO.
UM, AND WITH COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ'S POINT A LITTLE WHILE AGO ABOUT A LOT OF BUSINESSES BEING FAMILY OWNED, THEN, UM, I THINK THAT THEY NEED OUR HELP RIGHT NOW.
AND SO I'D BE IN FAVOR OF SCENARIO ONE.
COUNCIL MEMBER VEDA, ANYTHING? UM, I DO ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, WHAT'S THE RE THE, UM, THE REASONING BEHIND NOT INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, A LOT OF THOSE PROFESSIONALS ARE MICRO BUSINESSES, JUST, YOU KNOW, HAVE LESS THAN FIVE, UH, EMPLOYEES.
WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE RATIONALE BEHIND IT? COUNCILMAN? WE, UM, WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT AND, AND WE SPECIFICALLY TALKED ABOUT ARCHITECTS, UH, ABOUT ACCOUNTANTS, ABOUT LAWYERS KNOWING THAT THEY GOT AFFECTED AS WELL.
UM, OUR SENSE WAS THAT, THAT, THAT PEOPLE IN THAT PROFESSION LIKELY COULD, COULD REBOUND, LIKELY, COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, SURVIVE, UH, NOTWITHSTANDING THIS.
AND, AND, AND, AND THE GOAL WAS TO REALLY HELP.
AND, AND THEY COULD PROBABLY HAVE GOTTEN THEMSELVES P
[01:50:01]
P P LOANS OR SMALL BUSINESS LOANS 'CAUSE THEY HAVE A LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION WHERE THEY CAN DO THAT.UM, THE, THE MICRO BUSINESSES THAT WE REALLY WANT TO TRY TO ASSIST, WE, WE FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT.
THEY'RE NOT THE ONES THAT ARE ABLE TO GET THE LOANS.
THEY DON'T HAVE A BANKING RELATIONSHIP.
THEY DON'T HAVE A, YOU KNOW, ACCOUNTANTS THAT THEY CAN LOOK TO, TO HELP FILL OUT APPLICATIONS.
SO WE WANTED TO FOCUS AS MUCH AS WE COULD FOR THAT.
UH, AND, AND HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT LIKE PARTY PLANNERS AND THOSE KINDS OF FOLKS, COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ, BUT MM-HMM.
WE, WE CERTAINLY CAN, CAN BUILD A LIST THAT EXCLUDE THE CONSULTANTS AND THE PROFESSIONAL TYPES OF, UH, ENTITIES AND THEY'LL ENUMERATE THOSE, BUT, BUT INCLUDE OTHERS THAT, THAT ARE NOT IN THAT GROUP.
I, I GUESS THAT PART OF IT MAYBE IS THE, THE DEFINITION OF PROFESSIONAL.
I MEAN, AND, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, WHEN YOU THINK OF PROFESSIONAL, I THINK OF A PERSON WITH A, YOU KNOW, THAT HAS A PROFESSIONAL DEGREE, RIGHT? AND IS DOING, HAS A LICENSE.
UM, SO THAT INCLUDES SOMEBODY LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A, A LICENSE TO BE A, A PLUMBER, RIGHT? SO I GUESS IT, A LOT OF THIS REALLY DEPENDS ON THE DEFINITION OF PROFESSIONAL AND, AND THAT LIST THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, CREATING MORE, MORE CONSULTANTS, MORE CONSULTANTS RATHER THAN SERVICE DELIVERY IS WHAT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT.
UH, SO WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE THAT CLEAR AND WE'VE GOTTEN IN GOOD DIRECTION FROM, FROM THE COMMITTEE.
UM, I WOULD BE, UH, I, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST, I THINK SAY, AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, THE CONSULTING AND ALL OF THOSE OTHER LEVELS ARE, UM, CONCERNING.
UM, AND THAT'S ALL I'LL SAY THERE.
UH, BUT I DO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK, FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE AND TO MY COLLEAGUE'S POINT, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS NOW FOR THIS MICROLOAN, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF THE CARE, UH, ACT DOLLARS, UM, LOOKING AT SCENARIO TWO IN THE FUTURE, ALEX AND CARLOS, WHEN IT COMES TO OUR INCENTIVES AND OTHER ITEMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT AT THOSE FOR OUR FUTURE, UH, INCENTIVES.
BUT WITH THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, I THINK WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT.
DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? COUNCIL MEMBER PALAI, OR YOU WERE JUST WAIVING? I WAS GIVING YOU, I WAS GIVING YOU A HIGH FIVE CHAIRWOMAN.
I THINK IT WAS A GOOD MEETING.
WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND BE SAFE EVERYONE, AND UM, LET'S GET TO WORK.