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LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A QUORUM ON OUR HANDS, RIGHT? MR. PATRIK? YES, SIR.
ALRIGHT, LET'S GET STARTED THEN.
CITIZEN MEMBER DIRK MONDOR, CITIZEN MEMBER WILL GARRETT.
WELCOME EVERYBODY TO OUR JUNE 23RD MEETING.
UH, IT'S 2:00 PM WE HAVE, UM, A LIGHT AGENDA TODAY.
UH, WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING A BRIEFING.
HOWEVER, THE BRIEFING IS NOT LIGHT.
UH, IT'S A, UH, THE CULMINATION OF A LOT OF WORK THAT'S GONE INTO, UH, OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGY.
UM, AND BRIAN AND, AND CRAIG ARE GONNA BE HELPING US OUT ON, ON THIS ONE.
SO, BRIAN, IT'S, UM, TAKE IT AWAY.
[1. 20-3883 Approval of the February 25, 2020 Innovation and Technology Committee Meeting Minutes.]
IF I COULD INTERRUPT IT.MAYBE, UH, IF YOU GUYS WANNA CONSIDER THE MINUTES.
FIRST, MAYBE WE SHOULD BE RIGHT.
THAT'S A GOOD THING WE DO EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, DON'T WE? UH, SO, UH, I THINK COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN REVIEWED THE MINUTES, AND SHE MIGHT HAVE A MOTION ABOUT, I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE CHAIR.
HEARING, NOOP HEARING, NO OPPOSITION.
OUR MINUTES ARE, UH, ARE APPROVED NOW.
[2. 20-3834 Briefing on the City of San Antonio’s Digital Inclusion Survey and Assessment (DISA) as well as the Digital Inclusion Pillar of the Recovery and Resiliency Plan. [John Peterek, Assistant to the City Manager; Brian Dillard, Chief Innovation Officer, Office of Innovation]]
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.AND YES, UH, A SLIM AGENDA, BUT DEFINITELY A HEAVY TOPIC, UM, RIGHT NOW.
AND, UH, MY TEAM AND I HAVE BEEN KIND OF, UH, WORKING ON THIS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, SINCE LAST YEAR.
SO WE'RE DEFINITELY VERY EXCITED TO BE PRESENT TO YOU, UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE CURRENT SITUATION.
I'M THE CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
UM, I ALSO HAVE, AND I SEE CRAIG HOPKINS ON THE LINE AS WELL.
UH, CRAIG IS OUR, UH, OUR CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, IT DIRECTOR, AND THEN JOHN RODRIGUEZ, AS IS MENTIONED ON THE SLIDE DECK HERE, UH, IS OUR ASSISTANT IT DIRECTOR.
UH, SO CRAIG HAS BEEN SO KIND TO, UM, BLESS US WITH THE EXPERTISE OF JOHN RODRIGUEZ AS WE BUILD OUT THIS PROJECT.
UH, SO THIS IS TRULY A SYNERGY BETWEEN I T S D AND THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION WHEN IT COMES TO CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
DEFINITELY EXCITED TO PRESENT TODAY.
SO, UM, WE CAN JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE, AND I'LL GO OVER, UH, THESE NEXT TWO SLIDES ARE GONNA GO OVER REALLY THE GUIDANCE BEHIND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, RECOVERY RESILIENCE PORTION OF THIS.
UH, SO KIND OF THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT WE JUMPED INTO THIS WITH WERE, UH, THE FIVE THAT YOU'VE SEEN ACROSS THE BOARD.
YOU WILL SEE IF YOU'RE TUNING IT TO OTHER COMMITTEES OR MEMBERS OF OTHER COMMITTEES.
UH, SO THE FIRST ONE'S, PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY.
UM, WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THAT'S CONSIDERED ON A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH IN RESPONSE, UH, TO COVID OVID 19.
UH, AND THERE IS, THERE'S, PEOPLE ARE QUESTIONING ABOUT THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY ON DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UH, OVERALL, THE REASON WE ARE FOCUSING IN ON DIGITAL INCLUSION RIGHT NOW, THE REASON IT MADE A BIG IMPACT AFTER COVID IS BECAUSE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY.
IT IS BECAUSE OF DISTANCE LEARNING, REMOTE WORK, UH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
UH, OUR FIRST COUPLE WEEKS IN, WE WERE REALLY FOCUSED IN ON HOW DO WE GET, UH, OUR WIFIS EXPANDED AT LIBRARIES.
HOW DO WE SET UP BUSES FOR, YOU KNOW, KIDS TO COME OUT AND, UH, DO DISTANCE LEARNING FROM THOSE VENTURE POINTS? OF COURSE, IN JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, GOING INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS, UH, NOT REALLY A, A VERY HEALTHY APPROACH.
UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE TAKING AN APPROACH WHERE WE CAN, UH, HAVE IN-HOME INTERNET ACCESS.
SO IT REALLY FOCUSES IN ON HOW WE MAKE SURE FOLKS ARE ABIDING BY COVID, HOW WE MAKE THAT EASIER FOR THEM.
UH, I'LL BE SPEAKING ON THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION MORE AND MORE, UM, UH, REALLY
EVERYTHING WE DO HAS TO BE, AND, UH, NEVER HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO SOLVE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, BUT HAVING LEVERAGE PARTNERS IS IMPORTANT.
UH, BRIAN, LIKE EVERY OTHER WORD IS COMING IN ON OUR END.
UH, JOHN CRAIG, IS THAT, ARE YOU EXPERIENCING THAT TOO? UH, I AM CHAIR.
THANK YOU FOR YEAH, WE GOT THAT.
PETTER PATTER'S GONNA KILL ME.
UM, I'LL JOIN OVER MY, I WOULD RECOMMEND EVERYBODY TURN OFF VIDEO, AND THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY HELP THE, UH, JOHN RODRIGUEZ.
THE, THE VIDEO IS NECESSARY FOR THE MEETING TO, TO OCCUR ACCORDING TO THE OPEN
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MEETINGS RULES.SO BRIAN'S GONNA CALL IN ON HIS PHONE.
UH, THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR COMMUNICATION.
SORRY ABOUT THAT, IF THAT OCCURS AGAIN.
UM, SO PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY EQUITY.
DID Y'ALL CAPTURE THOSE A LITTLE BIT IN? OKAY, COOL.
UH, BRAIDED FUNDING, DEFINITELY COLLECTIVE APPROACH, UH, TO THIS, A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH.
UM, THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PORTION IS KIND OF SELF-EXPLANATORY AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
DIGITAL INCLUSION, UH, INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.
INTERNET ACCESS IS SOMETHING THAT IS MORE AND MORE A UTILITY.
UH, AND WE HAVE SHOWN THAT THROUGH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE REPORT THAT WE'LL HAVE INCLUDED IN THIS AS WELL.
AND THEN WELLBEING, OF COURSE, UM, STRENGTHENING GENERATIONAL FAMILY WELLBEING, UM, IS REALLY A, A, A CATALYST OF THIS.
WE HAVE A QUOTE IN OUR PRESENTATION FROM U T S A PUBLIC POLICY, UH, THAT STATES THAT VERY CLEARLY.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING TO THAT SLIDE.
AND I FOCUSING ON, ON THAT IN THIS CONVERSATION AS FAR AS GENERATIONAL, UH, IMPACT THAT THIS PROJECT HAS.
UH, SO YOU'VE ALL PROBABLY SEEN THIS SLIDE OF, UH, ALLOCATION OF BUDGETING.
UH, YOU'LL NOTICE DIGITAL INCLUSION IS ACTUALLY IN THE GENERAL FUND.
UH, THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, UH, WITH THE CORONAVIRUS UH, RELIEF FUND, THERE IS A TIME LIMIT ON THAT.
AND DIGITAL INCLUSION IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT HAS TO BE PAST THAT, THAT SHORT LIMIT OF TIME.
IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED OVER A LONG PERIOD.
SO THAT WAY WE ARE GETTING THE BANG FOR OUR BUCK ONE AND TWO.
UH, I WISH I COULD SAY IT COULD DO THIS OVERNIGHT, BUT THAT IS JUST, UH, NOT THE CASE.
UH, NOBODY HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS IN DECADES.
UH, SO IT TAKES SOME TIME TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY IN A CITY LIKE OURS.
SO KIND OF OVERVIEW OF WHAT I'LL BE PRESENTING TODAY.
WE'RE GONNA GO OVER DEFINITION OF DIGITAL INCLUSION.
'CAUSE UH, I KNOW SOME OF YOU ON THE COMMITTEE HAVE CLARIFICATION ON WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT I WANT THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO GET, REALLY GET A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF DIGITAL INCLUSION AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO US IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND KIND OF ACROSS THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP.
UH, NEXT WE'LL GO INTO THE DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGY OVERVIEW.
SO, HOW DOES THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO APPROACH THE WAY THEY IMPLEMENT DIGITAL INCLUSION? WHERE WAS OUR START AND WHERE ARE WE HEADED TO? UH, THE THIRD PART, WE'LL GET INTO OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT REPORT.
SO WE KICKED THAT OFF LAST YEAR, UH, AND I'M BE HAPPY TO BE REPORTING ON THAT TODAY AND THE RESULTS OF THAT.
AND THEN LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, IS OUR CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM PROJECT.
UH, SO THIS IS THE BIG PROJECT THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH I T SS D ON, UH, AND A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS TO EXPAND TO K THROUGH 12 STUDENTS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS THROUGHOUT, UH, THROUGHOUT SOME OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO, WHAT IS DIGITAL INCLUSION? SO, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE, UH, THAT DIGITAL INCLUSION IS REALLY ACTIVITIES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO ENSURING THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING THE MOST DISADVANTAGED, HAVE ACCESS TO USE AND INFORMATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES.
AND THAT'S THROUGH FIVE ELEMENTS.
SO, AFFORDABILITY, ONE OF, OF, UH, BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS, ROBUST BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS.
'CAUSE I KNOW THE QUESTION'S GONNA COME UP ABOUT WHAT ABOUT UPLOAD, DOWNLOAD RATES.
UH, THE SECOND IS INTERNET ENABLED DEVICES THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE USER.
SO IF I GIVE YOU FREE INTERNET, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A DEVICE TO ACCESS THAT INTERNET, UH, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE MISSED THE MARK.
UH, THIRD IS ACCESS TO DIGITAL LITERACY.
UH, SO UNDERSTANDING, I CAN PROVIDE YOU FREE WIFI.
I CAN GIVE YOU A FREE LAPTOP IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT OR WHAT TO USE IT FOR.
UH, THEN AGAIN, MISS THE MARK.
AND THEN THE LAST TWO I'M GONNA, I'M AT, ON MY NEXT SLIDE, I'M GONNA PILE THOSE INTO DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING OR DIGITAL COMPETENCY THAT'S ABOUT QUALITY TECHNICAL SUPPORT.
SO KNOWING THAT I GIVE YOU ALL THIS STUFF, WHO DO YOU GO TO, UH, IF YOUR HOTSPOT DIES OUT, WHO DO YOU GO TO IF YOUR, IF YOUR TABLET GOES OUT? UM, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, UH, ITEMS THAT WE HAVE TO COVER IN THIS PROJECT AS WELL, UH, WITH OUR, OUR COHORTS.
UH, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, APPLICATIONS, ONLINE CONTENT DESIGN TO ENABLE AND ENCOURAGE SELF-SUFFICIENCY PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION.
SO IF YOU HAVE A STUDENT IN SCHOOL, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE, UH, THE APPLICATIONS THAT THEY USE TO ACCESS STUDENT SERVICES? UM, SO THAT'S REALLY THAT COMPONENT.
SO WE IDENTIFY THIS AS A THREE LEGS OF THE DIGITAL INCLUSION TOOL.
UH, SO THE FIRST IS BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS.
SO, UH, WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS, UH, IDENTIFY WHERE BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS IS AND ISN'T THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND BEAR COUNTY.
UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE NOT ONLY IDENTIFY WHERE INFRASTRUCTURE IS, BUT UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE PEOPLE'S ACCESS RATES AND WHAT'S A LIMITATION TO ACCESSING THAT INTERNET, UH, AVAILABILITY.
UH, THE NEXT IS ACCESS TO DEVICES, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UH, PROVIDE YOU FREE INTERNET OR PROVIDE YOU INTERNET AT A SUBSIDIZED RATE.
[00:10:01]
HOW DO I MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A DEVICE TO ACCESS THAT? AND THEN THE THIRD, DEFINITELY NOT LEAST IS DIGITAL LITERACY PIECE.SO THOSE ARE THE THREE LEGS OF DIGITAL INCLUSION STOOL.
I WANT, I REALLY WANT THAT EMBEDDED INTO EVERYONE'S MIND OF HOW WE LOOK AT DIGITAL INCLUSION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGY, UM, THERE'S REALLY FOUR COMPONENTS THAT OUR TEAM APPROACHES THIS WITH.
UH, SO THE FIRST ONE WAS OUR GAP ANALYSIS.
SO UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S THE CURRENT STATE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WABE COUNTY.
THAT'S WHERE OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT REPORT CAME INTO PLAY.
UH, WE KICKED THAT OFF BACK IN, UH, OCTOBER.
WE DID THE SURVEY DECEMBER TO FEBRUARY, AND WE ARE REPORTING ON THAT TO YOU TODAY.
UH, SO KUDOS TO, UH, THE TEAM AND HONESTLY, ALL DIGITAL INCLUSION ADVOCATES HERE IN CITY AND BEXAR COUNTY THAT HAVE HELPED US TO COMPLETE THAT.
UH, THE SECOND IS OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION TASK FORCE.
SO NOW THAT WE DID A GAP ANALYSIS, IDENTIFYING WHO IS IN THIS FIELD THAT PLAYS A ROLE WHEN IT COMES TO DIGITAL INCLUSION.
NOW THAT MAY BE SOMEONE WHO PROVIDES RESOURCES TO SOLVING FOR, UH, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE OR SOMEONE WHO IS IMPACTED BY IT.
UH, SO ARE YOU A PART OF AN AGENCY THAT HAS, UM, THAT SERVICES CLIENTELE THAT HAS A GAP IN THEIR LIFE DUE TO DIGITAL INCLUSION OR LACK THEREOF? UM, SO THAT TASK FORCE, UH, WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS ON OUR STRATEGY, UM, PROGRAM AFTER WE FINISHED THE ASSESSMENT.
UH, BUT THAT GOT WRAPPED UP DUE TO, DUE TO COVID 19, UH, WE LOOK AT SOME BENEFITS TO CRISIS, AND THAT'S ONE OF THEM.
SO WE STARTED TO REACH OUT, UH, WE STARTED OFF WITH WEEKLY CALLS WITH THIS TASK FORCE AND OUR WONDERFUL, UH, I T C MEMBER DIAR WAS ACTUALLY A PART OF THOSE CALLS AND HAS BEEN A PART OF THOSE CALLS.
AND THAT WAS REALLY JUST IDENTIFYING ONE, WHERE'S EVERYBODY'S PAIN POINTS AND HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO LEVERAGE EACH OTHER'S RESOURCES TO SOLVE FOR THESE ISSUES RIGHT NOW IN RAPID RESPONSE TO COVID 19.
UH, AND THEN TWO, IDENTIFYING, OKAY, WHO CAN PROVIDE HELP TO THOSE THAT JUST EXPRESSED THOSE NEEDS, UH, HOW DO WE BALANCE HOW TO REALLY COLLABORATE? UH, I THINK WE ENDED UP WITH ABOUT 40 AGENCIES AT ONE POINT ON THAT CALL.
SO IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO, UH, SCOPE IN A LITTLE BIT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY, UH, TO FIND SOME, UH, SOME FORMALIZATION.
UH, THE THIRD PIECE THERE IS OUR RESOURCES INVENTORY.
SO THAT WAS THE THIRD STEP OF THIS STRATEGY.
SO NOW THAT WE'VE DONE A GAP ANALYSIS, NOW THAT WE KNOW WHO'S, WHO'S IN THE ROOM, WHO'S AT THE TABLE, SECOND IS, OKAY, WHAT DO WE ALL HAVE TO PUT ON THE TABLE, WHETHER THAT'S FUNDING, RESOURCES, UH, MANPOWER, RESOURCES, ASSETS.
SO, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT VERTICAL ASSETS IN A SECOND HERE, IDENTIFYING WHO HAS THOSE RESOURCES AND HOW DO WE CENTRALIZE ALL THAT? HOW DO WE INVENTORY THAT SO WE CAN KIND OF, UH, PICK AND PULL AS WE NEED AS A GROUP.
UH, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS DIGITAL INCLUSION EFFORTS, ACTIONS, PROJECTS.
SO THAT'S WHERE THIS CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM REALLY JUMPS OUT AND FALLS INTO THAT BUCKET.
UH, SO AGAIN, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK WE'VE DONE.
UM, UH, I'M, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK WE'RE DONE AND EXCITED TO PRESENT TO YOU.
SO WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO NOW WE'RE JUMPING INTO THE SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT.
SO WE HAD, UH, REFERENCED THIS AS OUR DIGITAL DIVIDE ASSESSMENT BEFORE, UH, MY TEAM CAME BACK AND, AND U T SS A AND BEAR COUNTY.
AND WE ALL SAID WE SHOULD REALLY PUT A MORE POSITIVE SPIN ON THIS, BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE DOING IS GREAT WORK.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IS VERY POSITIVE WORK.
LET'S CALL IT WHAT IT IS THAT'S NOT REFER TO IT IS AS A DIVIDE.
THIS IS THE DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT REPORT THAT I'M REPORTING OUT.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, UH, WE PRESENTED TO YOU ALL IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR ON THIS WORK, UH, THAT WE WANT IT TO DO THIS.
YOU GAVE A THUMBS UP AND SAID, WE'LL GET IT DONE.
UH, THIS, WE DEVELOPED THAT SURVEY IN COORDINATION WITH, UH, U T S A BEXAR COUNTY, AS WELL AS THE DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE OF SAN ANTONIO.
UH, AND WE LAUNCHED THAT IN DECEMBER OF 2019.
UH, WE HAD THE LONG, THE SURVEY OPEN ALL THE WAY THROUGH FEBRUARY, UH, CLOSE IT OUT, AND WE WENT TO WORK WITH U T S A AND BEXAR COUNTY TO SCOPE IN WHAT THE REPORT LOOKS LIKE, UH, EXACTLY WHAT'S COMING OUT OF IT, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S, WHAT DO WE WANNA PROJECT FROM THIS.
UH, AND SO, UH, YOU SHOULD ALL HAVE THAT REPORT IN INBOX.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT ALREADY, YOU'LL HAVE IT SOON.
BUT I'M GONNA GO OVER SOME HIGH LEVEL, UH, UH, INSIGHTS ON THIS.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE.
SO THE NEXT PART IS TALKING ABOUT, UH, OKAY, WHO'D YOU GET YOUR RESPONSES FROM? BRIAN? UH, WE'VE GOTTEN OVER 6,000 COMPLETED RESPONSES BETWEEN THAT DECEMBER AND FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME, BETWEEN TWO MONTHS, REALLY.
UM, THE, I THINK THIS, THE, THE THRESHOLD FOR STATIST STATISTICAL VALIDATION FROM U T S A WAS ABOUT 4,000 RESPONSES.
AND WE, WE WELL EXCEEDED THAT WITH AN AVERAGE OF 500 RESPONSES PER COUNCIL.
DISTRICT STATIST STATISTICAL VALIDATION SHOWED THAT WE NEEDED 4,000 PER DISTRICT.
UH, IN ORDER TO PROVE THIS OUT REALLY WELL, UH, WE DID 65 IN-PERSON EFFORTS AND EVENTS.
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THAT IS NOT INCLUDING, UH, SPACES WHERE WE HAD, UH, INTERNS FROM, UH, OUR STUDENTS FROM U T S A GO OUT AND ATTEND EVENTS IN OUR, ON OUR BEHALF, COLLECTING RESPONSES, UH, OVER 200 PLUS STAFF HOURS, IF YOU KNOW, MY TEAM.WE'RE A SMALL TEAM, UM, BUT WE DEFINITELY HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
UH, AND I CONTRIBUTE A LOT OF THAT TO, UH, CANDLE ART MENDOZA, MY STAFF, AND THOMAS GTA, WHO IS OVER NOW AT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
AND AGAIN, 15 STORIES, SEGMENTS OR INTERVIEWS FOCUSED IN ON THIS, THIS PROJECT OR THIS, UH, ASSESSMENT, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAD EVERYBODY THAT WE NEEDED INCLUDED, AND WE WERE INCLUDING EVERYBODY'S VOICES.
UH, AND THANK YOU FOR, AS I SPEAK UP AND G P A, UM, WE CAN JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO OVERALL SUMMARY, UH, AND THIS IS PRETTY FRANK.
UM, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD IN GRABBING THESE INSIGHTS.
AND THESE ARE REPORTED IN THE REPORT.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE THEM REFLECTED IN THERE.
UH, SO THE FIRST ONE IS RESPONDENTS REFLECTED A KNOWLEDGE OF THE VALUE OF DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY.
THAT IS, THAT IS NUMBER ONE ON THIS LIST FOR A REASON.
YOUR RESIDENTS KNOW, OUR CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT INTERNET ACCESS EQUALS OPPORTUNITY.
THEY KNOW THE VALUE OF IT, THEY PROVE THAT OUT IN THEIR RESPONSES, AND THEY SHOW THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WHETHER IT'S WORKFORCE, WHETHER IT'S EDUCATION, OR JUST ACCESS TO BASIC SERVICES, THEY KNOW THE VALUE OF INTERNET ACCESS.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS NUMBER ONE, THAT THAT WAS WELL, REALLY WELL HIGHLIGHTED.
THE NEXT ONE IS, DISPARITIES EXIST ACROSS THE BOARD REGARDING DIGITAL INCLUSION FOR SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS.
WE'LL JUMP INTO SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS IN A SECOND.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA MAKE IT VERY CLEAR THAT DISPARITIES EXIST WHEN IT COMES TO CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, LITTLE C AND BEXAR COUNTY WHEN IT COMES TO DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UH, WHETHER THAT'S BROADBAND ACCESS IN ACCESS TO DEVICES OR DIGITAL LITERACY, IT'S ACROSS THE BOARD.
UH, THE NEXT BULLET THERE IS DISPARITIES SHOWN FROM DIGITAL.
THE, THE REPORT REFLECT CONFIRMED RACIAL INCOME INQU IN INEQUITIES.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR, UH, OFFICE OF EQUITY ATLAS MAP, AND YOU LOOK AT THIS REPORT AND THE MAP THAT WE HAVE FROM THIS REPORT, YOU'LL SEE THAT THEY ALIGN VERY WELL, UH, THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF RACE AND INCOME AND INEQUITIES THROUGHOUT OUR CITY AND THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
UH, DEFINITELY REFLECT EVERYTHING ELSE ALONG THE WAY.
UH, SO IT'S REALLY NOT A SURPRISE, BUT WE DEFINITELY WANTED TO PUT IT OUT THERE VERY DIRECTLY.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IS DISPARITIES ARE TIED TO EDUCATION INCOME AND WHERE YOU LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO NOT ONLY DO THOSE MAPS ALIGN, BUT YOU'LL SEE ON THOSE MAPS, THERE'S A LOT OF DARK SPOTS WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE SOUTHEAST AND WEST SIDE.
UH, SO WE IDENTIFIED SOME BARRIERS AT THE END OF THE REPORT, AND, UH, FOR THE TOP ONES THAT CAME OUT WERE AFFORDABILITY, ACCESS TO DEVICES, UNRELIABLE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.
SO MAYBE YOU DO HAVE INTERNET CONNECTION, BUT IT'S VERY UNRELIABLE, UH, AS WAS SHOWN BY MY VOICE GOING OUT EARLIER.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, SAFETY AND PRIVACY.
SO THERE WAS SOME PRIVACY CONCERNS THAT RESIDENTS EXPRESSED, WHICH WHY THEY DIDN'T WANNA ACCESS THE INTERNET.
SO THAT GOES TO THAT DIGITAL LITERACY PIECE WHERE WE NEED TO BE EDUCATING RESIDENTS ON, UH, HOW THE INTERNET IS, CAN BE USED SAFELY, UH, HOW THERE'S MEASURES IN PLACE FOR THEM TO BE PROTECTED AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE THEM A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE TO, TO USE THIS, UH, THIS AMENITY, UH, UTILITY.
ACTUALLY, UH, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
ALRIGHT, SO OUR FIRST SET OF NUMBERS HERE.
SO WE LOOK AT THREE LEGS OF STOOL THAT TOM BREAKING THIS DOWN.
SO THE FIRST ONE, REMEMBER, IS BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS.
CITYWIDE AVERAGE IS 81% FOR IN-HOME BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS.
UM, AND THESE NEXT TWO BULLETS ARE REALLY GONNA SHOW YOU THAT DISPARITY, UH, TERM.
UH, SO COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX THROUGH 10, WE'RE LOOKING AT 82% TO 94% IN-HOME BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS.
WHILE IN COUNCIL DISTRICTS ONE THROUGH FIVE, WE'RE SEEING 62% TO 77%.
THAT'S A 32% DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BEST DISTRICT.
REMEMBER, THESE ARE DISTRICTS.
SO 62% IS ONE COUNCIL DISTRICT.
WE'RE SEEING A MAJOR DIFFERENCE THERE BETWEEN THAT DISTRICT AND THE 94% IDENTIFYING WHY THAT IS.
UM, BUT THAT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO POINT OUT WITH THIS.
WE HAVE NATIONAL SURVEYS THAT SHOW THESE NUMBERS, BUT WE'VE NEVER DONE A REAL, UH, DEEP DIVE ON LOCAL DATA.
UM, SO JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT.
SO, BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS 32, 30 2% DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BEST AND THE WORST.
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND NET ACCESS, UH, WE PUT IN A BAR GRAPH HERE, AND YOU'LL HAVE MANY MORE BAR GRAPHS IN THE, UH, IN THE ACTUAL REPORT AND MUCH MORE, UH, VERACITY TO DESCRIBING THESE.
BUT YOU SEE ACROSS THE BOARD WITH BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS, YOU TAKE A DEEP, TAKE A DEEP SHARP, UH, I'M SORRY, A GREAT INCLINE, UH, WHEN YOU GET TO SIX THROUGH 10, BUT YOU SEE ONE THROUGH FIVE IS REFLECTED.
UM, DEFINITELY A BIG DISPARITY THERE.
UH, IF WE JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, SO THIS IS THE MAP I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
THIS IS BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS,
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UH, THROUGHOUT, UH, BEXAR COUNTY.UM, THIS IS REFLECTED OFF THE REPORT.
THIS IS REFLECTED OFF RESPONSES U T S A HAS PUT TOGETHER, UH, FROM THOSE 6,000 RESPONSES.
UH, SO AS I MENTIONED, SOUTHWEST SEASIDE, UH, I DON'T THINK IT'S ANY SURPRISE TO ANYONE ON THIS COMMITTEE THAT THIS IS, THIS IS THE CASE.
UM, BUT THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE WANTED TO POINT OUT.
SO, THE NEXT NEXT LEG OF THE STOOL, ACCESS TO DEVICES, 97% ACCESS IS TO SMARTPHONE CITYWIDE AVERAGE, 90% ACCESS TO DESKTOP, LAPTOP, CITYWIDE AVERAGE.
NOW, YOU'LL SEE I HAVE SOMETHING AT ITALICS RIGHT THERE.
59% OF OUR HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN ARE SHARING THAT ACCESS TO DESKTOPS AND LAPTOPS.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WHEN YOU'RE STUDENT, UM, IS DISTANCE LEARNING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU'RE EXPECTED TO DO REMOTE WORK.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE FILLING IN THOSE GAPS? UM, NOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE DOING AN AMAZING JOB OF THAT, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S NOT ENOUGH FUNDING THERE EITHER.
UH, SO THERE'S JEFF, DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY THAT DATA POINT, BUT REALLY FOCUS IN ON THAT AND ALLOW THAT TO DRIVE OUR DIRECTION.
UH, THE NEXT ONE IS CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AGAIN, SIX THROUGH 10, 93% TO 96% DESKTOP LAPTOP ACCESS.
WHEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL DISTRICTS ONE THROUGH FIVE, WE'RE LOOKING AT 75 TO 88%, 21% DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BEST AND THE WORST WHEN IT COMES TO ACCESS, UH, TO DEVICES.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, DIGITAL LITERACY, OUR THIRD LEG OF THE STOOL.
SO 83, 80 3% DIGITAL COMPETENCY, UH, CITYWIDE AVERAGE, UH, COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX THROUGH 10, 82 TO 91%.
DESKTOP, LAPTOP ACCESS, UH, I'M SORRY, WE GOT THOSE WRONG.
UH, 91% DIGITAL COMPETENCY RATES.
UH, AND THEN COUNCIL DISTRICTS ONE THROUGH 5, 77 TO 80, 84% DIGITAL COMPETENCY RATES.
WE'LL CORRECT THAT, UH, 14% DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEST AND THE WORST.
SO WE'RE SEEING, UH, THAT GAP SLIM A LITTLE.
UM, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT THERE WHEN IT COMES TO OUR CITIZENS.
SO THIS IS THE QUOTE THAT, UH, WAS PROVIDED IN THE REPORT BY U T S A POLICY STUDY CENTER, UH, AT, AT THE CULMINATION OF PUTTING ALL THIS DATA TOGETHER, DOING THE INTERVIEWS, THE, UH, GATHERING RESPONSES.
UM, THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY MUST HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET OR PREEXISTING DISPARITIES WILL ONLY GET WORSE.
UNIVERSAL INTERNET ACCESS IS NECESSARY TO IMPROVE LONGSTANDING INEQUALITIES IN COMMUNITIES, HAVE LONG ENDURED GAPS IN INCOME, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, AND HEALTH.
OTHERWISE, LEADERS FACE THE PROSPECT OF CREATING ANOTHER CATEGORY OF DISPARITIES, DIGITAL INEQUALITY.
WE'VE BEEN KNOWING THAT SINCE THE NINETIES.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION, DIGITAL DIVIDE, INTERNET ACCESS, UM, BUT AGAIN, WANTED TO BE VERY FRANK WITH THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, THE REPORT IS VERY CLEAR CUT AND DIRECT, UM, THAT THIS IS A NEEDED FOCUS.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AGAIN.
UH, SO YOU'LL ALL, YOU'LL ALSO, IN ADDITION TO THE REPORT THAT YOU'LL BE PROVIDED, YOU'LL ALSO BE PROVIDED THE DIGITAL INCLUSION REPORT CARDS.
UH, SO YOU'LL GET 11 OF THESE, ONE AS A CITYWIDE REPORT CARD, AND THEN YOU'LL GET ONE FOR EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT.
UH, AND WHAT THESE BREAK DOWN AS YOU GO THROUGH THE REPORT CARD, YOU'LL SEE THAT THEY IDENTIFY, UH, THE THREE LEGS OF THE STOOL.
AGAIN, INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, UH, UH, ACCESS TO DEVICES AND DIGITAL LITERACY.
NOW, LET ME CLARIFY THAT THE PERCENTAGES IN THE LETTERING GRADE ARE A RESPONSIBILITY ON US ALL AS A COMMUNITY, AS A CITY, AS A COUNTY STAKEHOLDERS.
THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT JUST CITY COUNCIL CAN TAKE CARE OF.
WE FOLLOW YOUR DIRECTION, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT AS A COLLABORATIVE, STAKEHOLDERS AROUND THE, AROUND THE TABLE, HAVE TO ALL CONTRIBUTE TO GETTING THESE NUMBERS UP AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS DIGITAL, DIGITAL INCLUSION APPROACH.
AND I THINK, OKAY, SO, UH, JOHN, DO I WANNA PAUSE THERE FOR QUESTIONS OR CHAIR? DO I WANNA PAUSE THERE FOR QUESTIONS, OR YOU WANT ME TO JUMP INTO THE PROJECT? LET'S, LET'S POWER THROUGH IT AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL SAVE ALL THE QUESTIONS TO THE END.
UM, SO WE'LL JUMP DIGITAL DIGITAL INCLUSION PROJECT.
SO OUR PROJECTS IS CALLED CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM.
UM, NOW THIS IS ALL ABOUT A COLLABORATIVE, CITYWIDE, MULTI GOVERNMENT AGENCY NETWORK BETWEEN THE CITY AND OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES TO EXPAND FIBER CAPABILITY AND STUDENT ACCESS IN SAN ANTONIO.
THIS IS INTENDED TO HELP MITIGATE DIGITAL DIVIDE ISSUES IN OUR COMMUNITY, SPECIFICALLY FOR UNDERSERVED STUDENT STUDENT POPULATIONS, K THROUGH 12 AND COLLEGE OF UNIVERSITIES.
SO I REALLY EMPHASIZE THOSE STATEMENTS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THERE TO BE CONFUSION THAT, UM, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS ABLE TO PROVIDE INTERNET TO GENERAL RESIDENTS OR GENERAL POPULATION.
[00:25:01]
UM, THIS IS FOUR K THROUGH 12 STUDENTS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS.UH, SO THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT, UM, IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF FLEXIBLE LEARN, FLEXIBLE DISTANCE LEARNING NETWORK THAT AIMS TO PROVIDE IN-HOME, IN-HOME SCHOOL ACCESS, SCHOOL SYSTEM ACCESS FOR UP TO 20,000 STUDENTS WITHIN THE PRIORITY NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE LIST OF PRIORITY NEIGHBORHOODS IN A FUTURE SLIDE, UH, THAT IS NOT TO BE DEPENDENT ON ANY ONE TECHNOLOGY AND IT'S SUPPO, IT'S INTENDED TO LEVERAGE COLLECTIVE CAPABILITIES AND ASSETS OF ALL PARTNERS.
SO THAT'S VENDOR CONTRACTS, BUYING POWER, VIABLE, VER, VERTICAL ASSETS, NETWORKS, ET CETERA, UH, THAT CAN BE APPLIED THROUGHOUT THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, AND WE WILL BE UTILIZING MULTIPLE FUNDING MODELS TO GROW AND SUSTAIN THE NETWORK.
SO THIS FIRST, UH, THIS FIRST INVESTMENT THIS FIRST YEAR IS REALLY ABOUT THAT INITIAL INVESTMENT, THAT INITIAL BUILD OUT.
UH, BUT AS FAR AS SUSTAINING THAT NETWORK, THERE HAS TO BE A COLLECTIVE APPROACH TO THAT AS WELL.
UH, YOU CAN JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, AS FAR AS THE APPROACH, UM, SO WE'RE DOING THIS RIGHT NOW WITH I T S D AND, UH, MULTIPLE PARTNERS, BUT IDENTIFYING COLLECTIVE PARTNER CAPABILITIES AND ASSETS IN EACH OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT I'LL IDENTIFY SOON.
UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, IDENTIFYING THE APPLICABLE SOLUTIONS TO PUT IN PLACE THERE.
SO WHETHER THAT'S MOBILE, WIRELESS, WIRE, UTILIZING WIRELINE SERVICES OR A FIXED WIRELESS BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT.
UM, WE NEED TO IDENTIFY WHAT WORKS BEST WITH EACH NEIGHBORHOOD AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, AND THEN THESE ARE KIND OF THE THREE PHASES OF THE PROJECT ARE THREE TIERS OF THE PROJECT.
SO THE FIRST ONE IS FOCUSING IN ON KEY NEIGHBORHOODS AND S A I D AND EDGEWOOD.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IN, AS WE GET INTO PHASE ONE, PHASE TWO, FOCUSING ON KEY NEIGHBORHOODS IN DALE, SOUTH SAN SOUTHWEST.
AND THEN OF COURSE, FINALLY JUDSON, NORTHEAST AND NORTHSIDE.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED THOSE, AGAIN, NOT BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS, BUT BY OUR MOST VULNERABLE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, IF WE'LL JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO OUR TOP 50 NEIGHBORHOODS, I KNOW THIS, OH, SORRY, UH, I KNOW THE MAP WAS SMALL, BUT YOU, YOU HAVE IT, UH, ALREADY.
THESE WERE IDENTIFIED BY OUR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO EQUITY ATLAS MAPS, THAT'S BASED ON RACE AND INCOME.
UH, SECONDLY BY THE DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT REPORT THAT WE NOW HAVE, UH, THIRD BY THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, UM, FOCUSED ON CONNECTIVITY THAT'S, THAT'S REFRESHED EVERY YEAR.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, FEEDBACK FROM DIGITAL INCLUSION STAKEHOLDERS.
SO THAT'S NOT ONLY THE DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT ALSO OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION TASK FORCE, OUR 15 PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT WE'VE BEEN IN CONVERSATION WITH OVER THE PAST THREE, FOUR MONTHS.
UM, THAT'S HOW WE IDENTIFIED THOSE TOP 50 NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF THOUGHT PUT INTO THAT, A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS AROUND IT.
UH, SO THERE'S OUR SMALL VERSION OF THE MAP.
UH, THE REGULAR VERSION OF THE MAP IS UPLOAD, WILL BE UPLOADED TO PUBLIC RECORD.
UH, I BELIEVE IT'S UPLOADED NOW.
UM, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED, YOU'LL SEE THE BREAD BOUNDARIES THERE.
THOSE ARE OUR TOP 50 NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND AT THE BOTTOM IN THE LEGEND, UM, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHICH NEIGHBORHOODS THOSE ARE.
UM, OKAY, WE CAN JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO PHASE ONE OF THIS IS A PROOF OF CONCEPT.
UM, SO THIS IS INCLUDING SIX NEIGHBORHOODS WITHIN THE LANIER HIGH SCHOOL FEEDER PATTERN.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS PROOF OF CONCEPT IS NOT ONLY TO IDENTIFY WHETHER THE TECHNOLOGY WORKS, BUT IT'S ALSO TO IDENTIFY HOW DO WE WORK WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT ARE PLACED UNDER CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS AND REGULATIONS.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT E-RATE SYSTEMS AND ALL THAT, UH, THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAVE BEEN GOING ON WITH OUR, WITH OUR TEAMS. UM, BUT AS WE START TO EXPAND, HOW DO WE CONTINUE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ACROSS THE DISTRICTS? UM, PHASE TWO, OF COURSE, IS A REPLICATION OF THE EFFORTS THAT WE DID.
PROOF OF CONCEPT, SO EXPANSION OF THE TECHNOLOGY.
HOW BEST IS THAT WORK IN OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS THAT MAY NOT, MAY NOT BE AS DENSE AS THE ONE WE DID.
THE PROOF OF CONCEPT IN, UH, INCLUSION OF MORE NEIGHBORHOODS.
HOW DO WE, UH, MEASURE THE BANDWIDTH AS WE START TO EXPAND INCLUSION OF MORE SCHOOL DISTRICTS? AGAIN, THE CONVERSATION OF E-RATE AND ANY KIND OF RESTRICTIONS THAT THOSE SCHOOL DISTRICTS MAY HAVE.
UH, AND THEN WE END UP WITH FULL DEPLOYMENT.
SO OUR INTENT IS TO GO UP TO THOSE 50 HIGH PRIORITY NEIGHBORHOODS THAT YOU SAW ON THE MAP THERE.
UH, SO AGAIN, PROOF OF CONCEPT 16 SQUARE MILE AREA, LANIER HIGH SCHOOL FEEDER PATTERN.
YOU HAVE THE HIGH PRIORITY NEIGHBORHOODS LISTED THERE.
UH, HISTORIC WEST SIDE PROSPECT HILL WEST IN HOPE AND ACTION.
LOS PALM COLLINS GARDEN IS IN LOS HARD DEANS.
UH, AND THEN OUR CURRENT PART PARTNERS IN THIS EFFORT ARE S A I S D, EDGEWOOD, A C D, AND REGION 20.
UM, DEFINITELY EXCITED TO HAVE THEM AS PARTNERS, UH, AND, AND IN THE CONVERSATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
PROJECT TIMELINE, UM, BASED ON FISCAL YEAR IS, UH, QUARTER 4, 20 20 TO QUARTER 1, 21 FOR THE PROOF OF CONCEPT.
UH, AND THEN I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE GOES INTO PHASE TWO.
WE HAVE A MAP OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, THE SIX NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE PROOF OF CONCEPT
[00:30:01]
CONCEPT.UH, SO PHASE TWO IS THE EXPANSION OF EVERYTHING.
UH, SO IDENTIFYING AND ASSESSING CONSIDERATIONS WHEN REPLICATING ACROSS THE OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOODS.
AS I MENTIONED, E-RATE TECHNOLOGY, ASSET LIMITATIONS.
UH, A LOT OF THIS IS BASED ON VERTICAL ASSETS AND, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, SO UNDERSTANDING HOW IT LOOKS DIFFERENT FROM NEIGHBORHOOD TO NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, FUNDING APPROACHES.
SO UNDERSTANDING THAT WORKING WITH ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY NOT BE THE SAME AS WORKING WITH ANOTHER, IF WE START TO PULL IN MORE PARTNERS AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO LEVERAGE MORE FUNDING.
HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH THIS? UH, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES.
SO AFTER THIS FIRST YEAR, HOW DO WE SUSTAIN AND MAINTAIN THIS NETWORK? AND THE DEVICES THAT ARE, UH, THAT IT RELIES ON, UH, PROJECT TIMELINE FOR EXPANSION IS, UH, FISCAL YEAR, QUARTER 2, 20, 20 21, UH, TO, TO QUARTER 4, 20 21.
UH, WE CAN JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO I WANNA CLARIFY SOMETHING ON THE, UH, CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM PROJECT.
AND I KNOW I KIND OF HARPED ON THIS AT THE BEGINNING, BUT I WANNA DO THAT ONE MORE TIME.
THIS NETWORK IS FOR STUDENT SERVICES.
THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS UTILIZING CNET IN ORDER TO ALLOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO UTILIZE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, TO PROVIDE THEIR NETWORK ACCESS TO STUDENTS IN THE HOME.
SO WHEN A STUDENT GOES TO THEIR WIFI CONNECTION IN THEIR HOME, THEY'RE GONNA LOG DIRECTLY IN.
THE INTENT IS THAT THEY LOG DIRECTLY INTO S E I S D, THEY LOG DIRECTLY INTO EDGEWOOD.
THAT WAY THE CITY ISN'T, WE'RE NOT HOLDING SOME KIND OF LIABILITY.
THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE THEIR FIREWALL IN PLACE.
THEY HAVE THEIR REGULATIONS IN PLACE.
THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING WHEN IT COMES TO STUDENT ACCESS TO INTERNET.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE LEVERAGING THAT, UH, WITH THIS PROJECT.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE.
UM, THAT, AND, AND THANK YOU TO THE TEAM.
UH, LET'S, LET'S GO AROUND THE HORN, UM, AND, UH, INVITE, UH, OUR, OUR, OUR MEMBERS TO COMMENT AND REALLY AT RANDOM.
UM, WILL, GARRETT, YOU GOT ANY GOOD QUESTIONS FOR US? YOU DIDN'T WANNA START WITH DEANNE, DID YOU?
UM, NO, BRIAN, THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND, UM, FOR THE UPDATE LAST WEEK TOO.
JUST, UM, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S, IT'S TREMENDOUS WORK.
I THINK TWO KIND OF PERSONAL COMMENTS.
ONE WITH, UM, TWO GIRLS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND DEALING WITH THE WORK AT HOME DISTANCE LEARNING PIECE THIS PAST SEMESTER.
AND WITH THEM HAVING FRIENDS, UNFORTUNATELY IN SITUATIONS THAT AT TIMES, LITERALLY JUST THE PARENTS DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY FOR ABILITY FOR ANY PARTICIPATION DUE TO WORK HOURS TO SUPPORT THEM IN THOSE EFFORTS.
AND WE JUST REALLY REC REPRESENTED THAT KIND OF DISCONNECTED POPULATION IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, IT WAS, IT WAS TOUGH TO SEE THAT KIDS, I MEAN, WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT OUR OWN KIDS, UM, GETTING BEHIND JUST BECAUSE OF THIS SEMESTER AND INTO THE SUMMER.
AND, AND SO I THINK THIS TYPE OF EFFORT, FOCUSING ON THOSE MOST AT RISK NEIGHBORHOODS IS TREMENDOUSLY IMPACTFUL.
AND SO I'M EXCITED, UM, THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO REALLY, BRIAN, YOU AND YOUR TEAM PUT THIS TOGETHER, COINCIDENTALLY, HAVE DONE ALL OF THIS PAST WORK ON THE SURVEY AND HAVE THE DATA TO BE ABLE TO GO TAP INTO SOME FEDERAL FUNDING.
UM, AND THEN JUST FROM AT THE PORT AT PORT SAN ANTONIO, THROUGH THIS TIME AT THE SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SEEING THE TYPE OF USE IN THE COMMUNITY WITH SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE MOST AT RISK AROUND US BEING ABLE TO COME IN TO USE FREE WIFI ACCESS HOT POINTS.
AND I MEAN, FOR ME, I TAKE IT FOR GRANTED EVERY DAY THAT I CAN SIT HERE AND LIKE YOU RIGHT NOW, BRIAN, I USUALLY CALL IT ON MY PHONE 'CAUSE THE COMPUTER MANAGES TO MESS UP, BUT HAVE THE ACCESS TO MULTIPLE DEVICES AND BROADBAND TO WORK AT HOME EASILY.
AND I HAVE ACCESS, YOU KNOW, MY CHILDREN WITH DEVICES THEY CAN LEARN ON.
AND THE FACT THAT THAT DOESN'T EXIST AND THE POINT YOU MADE OF SINGLE DEVICE HOUSEHOLDS OR SHAREABLE DEVICES.
I MEAN, FROM A KIND OF A NAIVE PERSPECTIVE OF THINKING ABOUT HOW DO YOU PILOT IT, LESSONS LEARNED, AND EXPAND IT, FIGURE OUT HOW DO YOU PROVIDE IT IN A WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, ADDRESSES ON THE DIGITAL LITERACY SIDE, SOME OF THE SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONCERNS, BUT MORE SO THE DEVICE AND ACCESS CONCERNS.
UM, SO GREAT WORK BY YOU AND YOUR TEAM.
AND DEANNE, THANK YOU FOR, UH, PICKING DIRK AND I UP ON TALKING ON BEHALF OF DIRK.
UM, YOU MAY DISAGREE, BUT I KNOW YOU'VE DONE A LOT BEHIND THE SCENES AS ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE KIND OF, UM, BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS FOR A LONG TIME AND SUPPORTED.
UM, I GUESS THE ONE QUESTION I WROTE A COUPLE AND THEN IT, IT, IT ALL CAME DOWN TO ONE.
BRIAN, WHEN YOU SHOW 84% B GRADE OVERALL IN THAT REPORT, IS THAT GRADE VERSUS A NATIONAL AVERAGE? IS THAT WHY WE'RE GETTING, I MEAN, IS THAT KIND OF WHERE IT STACKS AT? NO, SO THAT IS BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE SCORE.
SO, UH, COMPARING TO NATIONAL AVERAGE WOULD BE VERY TOUGH BECAUSE EVERY
[00:35:01]
CITY IS DIFFERENT, UH, RIGHT.SO WE COULD EASILY COMPARE TO SEATTLE.
UM, BUT SEATTLE'S RATES ON DIGITAL LITERACY IS GOING TO BE, UH, HIGHER.
AND WE SAW THAT HIGHER THAN SAN ANTONIO'S.
BUT AGAIN, CITY SEATTLE'S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CITY.
SO WE DIDN'T WANNA DO A LOT OF COMPARISONS.
WE DO HAVE COMPARISONS IN THE REPORT, UH, BUT WE REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO BASE THE GRADE AVERAGE ON THAT.
THAT IS KIND OF, UM, UM, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE SELF-DEPENDENT ON THAT SCORE AND WE'RE COMPARING OURSELVES TO OTHERS.
IT'S REALLY ABOUT GETTING THOSE NUMBERS HIGHER FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
UH, COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UM, THANK YOU BRIAN AND, AND JOHN AND, AND BOTH JOHNS, I SHOULD SAY, AND CRAIG, UM, FOR THE BRIEFING AND KEEPING US UP TO DATE WITH ALL THAT'S GOING ON.
UM, I, I WANT REALLY WANNA ASK A QUESTION.
WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, COMPANIES LIKE PORT SAN ANTONIO, VELOCITY, THOSE THAT ARE TRULY DOING THE, UM, WORK OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION RIGHT NOW, UM, WHERE ARE THEY AT THE TABLE OR WHAT RESOURCES ARE THEY LEVERAGING TO TRULY TAP INTO, UM, THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY ARE CENTERED IN? UH, SO WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH BOTH, UH, ENTITIES, PORT SAN ANTONIO, AS WELL AS, UM, RANDY OVER AT T R T F, UH, VELOCITY.
UM, RIGHT NOW, UH, THERE ISN'T A LOT OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE TWO WHEN IT COMES TO THIS PROJECT.
UM, BUT DEFINITELY OPEN TO TO THAT BEING A, A STRONGER PARTNERSHIP.
UH, OF COURSE WILL, UH, HA HAPPY TO, TO PARTNER WITH YOU AND YOUR, AND YOUR GROUP AT PORTE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCLUSIONARY OF THAT, UH, IN, IN THE CONVERSATION AS WE BUILD FORWARD.
BUT ANY DIRECTION FROM Y'ALL IS, IS GREAT, UH, WITH REGARD TO RELATIONSHIPS LIKE THAT.
'CAUSE AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS A COLLECTIVE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT.
SO COUNCILWOMAN, IF I COULD, WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE THAT AS A POINT OF FOLLOW UP, UM, WITH BOTH OF THOSE ENTITIES AND, AND WORK TOWARDS PARTNERSHIP TO SEE HOW ANY RESOURCES THEY MAY HAVE COULD BE LEVERAGED FOR THEIR NEARBY NEIGHBORHOODS.
ALSO, I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO JUST THAT WITH THE OPPORTUNITY THAT THIS PRESENTS, UM, HAVE WE REACHED OUT TO THOSE HIGH SCHOOLS, UM, THAT ARE OFFERING TECHNOLOGY AND, AND, UM, INNOVATION CLASSES SUCH AS THE P-TECH AT SAM HOUSTON, UM, TO SEE HOW WE COULD GET THOSE STUDENTS INVOLVED WITH MAYBE A PART OF CONTINUING EDUCATION OR HELPING DEVELOP SOME INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THEY THINK MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL TO, UM, THE NEW ADAPTIVE WORLD OF ONLINE EDUCATION.
UH, SO REALLY THE CONVERSATIONS RIGHT NOW, SINCE WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY, UH, HOW DO WE EVEN BEGIN TO START THIS PROJECT ITSELF HAS BEEN WITH ONE, YES, WE'VE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH ALL OF THE SUPERINTENDENTS.
UH, WE'VE GOTTEN BUY-IN WITH THOSE SUPERINTENDENTS.
UH, THEY'RE AWARE OF THIS PROJECT.
WE'RE NOW WORKING WITH THEIR CTOS, THEIR CIOS, DIRECTORS OF INNOVATION.
UH, WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN ONTO TO A CAMPUS LEVEL YET.
UM, I'M, I'M, I HAVE WRITTEN THAT ON MY LIST FROM OUR CONVERSATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO ENGAGE.
UM, I'VE BEEN ENGAGED WITH, UH, PTECH, OUR CTEC SA PROGRAM THAT WE RUN OUT OUR OFFICE.
UM, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED WITH SAM HOUSTON HIGH SCHOOL IN DISTRICT TWO, UH, AS A FELLOW ALUMNI.
UM, SO WE'RE DEFINITELY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
BUT I AGREE IT, IT NEEDS TO BE A LOT MORE ROBUST OF A RELATIONSHIP WHEN IT COMES TO THIS PROJECT AND INCLUDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISTANCE LEARNING AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND THEN, UM, THE LAST QUESTION THAT I HAVE CHAIR IS ABOUT, UM, SAHA AND HOW, UM, WILL THIS FRAMEWORK WORK ON THEIR PROPERTIES AS WE PUSH FORWARD? YES, MA'AM.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAD A, A CONVERSATION, UH, WITH DR.
GUZMAN AS WELL AS DAVID MISCHA CRAIG, WAS THAT LAST WEEK? I BELIEVE IT WAS LAST WEEK.
UM, EVERYTHING'S RAN TOGETHER.
UH, THEY'RE VERY MUCH INCLUDED IN THIS CONVERSATION.
UH, JOANNA ALVARADO, UH, THEIR DIRECTOR OF IT, UH, HAS BEEN ON THOSE TASK FORCE CALLS.
THEY'RE PART OF THE SMART CITY PARTNERSHIP, OUR SMART CITY PARTNERSHIP.
UH, SO YES, THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY IN THE CONVERSATION AS FAR AS, UM, THEIR PROPERTIES VARY, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE, UH, THE ABILITY TO PENETRATE, UH, THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE.
UH, SO WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW DO WE LEVERAGE THEIR FUNDING AND RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS, TO MAKE SURE THAT ISN'T A DIVIDE WITHIN ITSELF FOR THOSE PROPERTIES OR THOSE COMMUNITIES.
SO, UH, THAT WAS A LONG WAY OF ANSWERING YES,
UH, BRIAN, CAN I JUST INJECT ONE THING THERE AS WELL IS, UM, WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT THEIR PROPERTY SEPARATELY.
WE'RE LOOKING AT WHERE THEIR PROPERTIES OVERLAP, THE 50 NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, I HAD TO
[00:40:01]
LOOK AT MY NOTES.THE ALLAN APACHE APARTMENTS ARE ACTUALLY IN THE, A NEAR FEEDER ZONE THAT BRIAN TOLD TO TALKED TO YOU ABOUT.
SO IN OUR MIND, THOSE ARE STUDENTS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOSE OVERLAPS SO WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER.
'CAUSE THAT WAS THE ONE THING I WAS, I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT SPECIFICALLY WITH GOING THROUGH, UH, THE WEST, WEST SIDE, UM, PLAN IF YOU WERE LOOKING AT, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THEY HAVE THE ALL AMAZON, BUT THEN THEY ALSO HAVE THE, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT SIT RIGHT THERE IN THAT SAME AREA.
SO, UM, THAT'S THE REASON WHY I WAS ASKING.
IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT, UM, THEY ARE PART OF THE CONVERSATION AND AT THE TABLE.
UH, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, ON SLIDE 16, UH, YOU EXPLAINED ABOUT, UH, ACCESS TO DEVICES AND THOSE PERCENTAGES THAT YOU HAD IN THERE.
WERE THOSE FROM THE PEOPLE THAT YOU VISITED WITH WHO SAID THEY HAVE THOSE DEVICES IN THEIR HOMES, OR DO THEY HAVE ACCESS THROUGH SCHOOL OR THROUGH THE LIBRARY OR THROUGH WORK? WAS THERE A DIFFERENCE, DO YOU THINK? UH, I'LL HAVE TO CHECK BACK IN WITH YOU.
I BELIEVE WE DID HAVE A DEVIATION IN THERE BETWEEN ACCESS DEVICES AT WORK AND AT HOME.
UH, BUT I'LL, I'LL HAVE TO, I'LL CONFIRM IN THE REPORT, AND THEN THE REPORT IS BROKEN DOWN.
I DO KNOW WHEN IT CAME TO BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS THAT WAS BROKEN DOWN BY, DO YOU ACCESS A LIBRARY AT WORK? AT HOME, AT SCHOOL? UH, I BELIEVE WE HAD THE SAME DEVIATIONS FOR OUR, UH, COMPARTMENTS FOR, FOR THE DEVICES AS WELL.
BUT I'LL HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK WITH THE COUNSEL.
AND, AND I'M JUST AFRAID THAT THOSE FIGURES MAY BE A LITTLE MISLEADING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SAY, OH, YEAH, WELL, I'VE GOT ACCESS AT WORK, BUT THAT'S WORK ACCESS, AND THEY CAN'T USE IT AT HOME, AND IT DOESN'T HELP THEIR KIDS WITH THEIR SCHOOLWORK.
OR THE KIDS MAY SAY, WELL, YEAH, I'VE GOT ACCESS BECAUSE I GO TO THE LIBRARY, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT CAN BE USED AT HOME FOR HOMEWORK ALL THE TIME.
SO I, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE US TO SPLIT IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT HOUSEHOLDS THAT HAVE THE ACCESS OR DON'T HAVE THE ACCESS, OR HAVE THE DEVICES AND DON'T HAVE THE DEVICES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UH, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO BREAK THAT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
UH, I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT 80 SOMETHING PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS CITY HAVE DAILY ACCESS TO GET ON THE INTERNET, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT REALLY REFLECTS THE REALITY THAT THAT'S OUT THERE.
UH, THE OTHER THING IS, IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE, UH, A CRITICISM, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
THIS SURVEY WAS DONE BEFORE C OVID 19 HIT.
IT WAS DONE BEFORE THE SCHOOLS HAD TO GIVE DISTANCE LEARNING TO THEIR STUDENTS.
IT WAS BEFORE THE SCHOOL STARTED SAYING, WE CAN'T CONTACT THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO REACH OUT TO THEM IN THEIR HOMES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY OF DOING A FOLLOW UP WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IF THEY'LL BE FORTHCOMING TO SHARE THE ACTUAL NUMBERS THAT THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO HOOK UP TO DISTANCE LEARNING THAT MAY SHARE A, A CLEARER PICTURE OF, OF THE PROBLEM THAT'S OUT THERE.
CERTAINLY, COVID NINETEEN'S REALLY OPENED THAT UP MORE DEEPLY THAN WHEN WE DID A SURVEY WHERE PEOPLE MIGHT'VE SAID, OH YEAH, I'VE GOT A COMPUTER AT HOME, BUT IT DOESN'T WORK.
OR THEY MIGHT JUST SAY THAT BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANNA ADMIT THEY DON'T.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S THAT KIND OF, I THINK, CLARIFICATION THAT WOULD BE A LITTLE HELPFUL.
UH, THE OTHER THING I WANT TO ASK, AND I SAW YOU NOTED BRIEFLY ABOUT WHAT, ABOUT THE PARTICIPATION OF THE, UH, THE CORPORATE INTERESTS, THE ISPS, THE AT AND TS AND THE CHARTERS AND THE SPECTRUM.
HOW MUCH, UH, DO WE FEEL CONFIDENT IN REACHING OUT TO THEM AND TRYING TO PARTNER WITH THEM? I REALIZE WHAT WE'RE OFFERING TO MANY OF THOSE CORPORATIONS MAY BE CONSIDERED A COMPETITION, AND I THINK YOU'VE DONE A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF EXPLAINING, WE'RE NOT IN COMPETITION WITH THE COMMERCIAL INTERNET INDUSTRY AT ALL.
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS HAVE FULL ACCESS TO THEIR EDUCATION.
BUT I THINK ANOTHER IMPORTANT INGREDIENT TO THAT IS THAT THE PARENTS OF THOSE STUDENTS HAVE FULL ACCESS TO THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND HAVE FULL ACCESS TO THEIR CITY GOVERNMENT.
I MEAN, YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T GO INTO CITY HALL AND GET ANY INFORMATION RIGHT NOW.
YOU'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO GET ONLINE AND GET THAT INFORMATION.
SO THIS IS BROADER THAN JUST EDUCATION.
IT'S REALLY PUBLIC EDUCATION AS WELL.
SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE CAN COME TO SOME KIND OF AN ARRANGEMENT WITH SOME OF THESE COMPANIES THAT HAVE THEIR SYSTEMS OUT THERE THAT WILL EVENTUALLY BE WILLING TO HELP US PIGGYBACK OR INTEGRATE SOME OF WHAT THEY HAVE WITH THE IDEA THAT MAYBE SOMEDAY IT CAN HELP THEM WIDEN THEIR NETWORK, BUT AT, BUT
[00:45:01]
AT A MORE IMMEDIATE TIME, THEY CAN HELP US FULFILL THAT COMMITMENT, UH, TO THE STUDENTS AND PARENTS IN, IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY.SO THOSE ARE SOME THINGS I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE AND WE HEAR MORE ABOUT AS WE GO FORWARD.
CHAIR COUNCILMAN, IF I COULD, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE, UM, AROUND NEIGHBORHOODS, THERE'S CERTAIN ONES THAT HAVE CERTAIN INFRASTRUCTURE AND CERTAIN ONES THAT DON'T.
AND SO THOSE PARTNERS THAT YOU MENTIONED IN THE CORPORATE WORLD WILL BE IMPORTANT.
AND SO, UH, WE ABSOLUTELY ARE GONNA BE LOOKING FOR PARTNERSHIP, BUT THEY WILL BE CRITICAL FOR US TO GET THESE DONE ACROSS ALL 50.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
UH, LET'S HEAR FROM DIRK ALMANOR, UH, ONE OF THE SMARTEST HUMAN BEINGS I'VE EVER MET.
FIRST, I, I JUST WANNA THANK, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE FOR BRINGING UP MAKING SURE, LIKE, NOW THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE REALLY DEPEND ON THEIR INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, GETTING A REAL SENSE OF HOW, HOW HARD IT IS OUT THERE.
UM, I, I, I, MY FIRST QUESTION FOR BRIAN WAS SORT OF, YOU USED THE WORD BROADBAND, BUT I NOTICED YOU DIDN'T MENTION WHAT IS THE FLOOR FOR YOUR DEFINITION OF BROADBAND.
'CAUSE I'VE SEEN SOME ONES WHERE IT, IT WAS CALLED BROADBAND, BUT IT WASN'T ACTUALLY VERY MUCH BANDWIDTH.
SO DO YOU GUYS HAVE A BASELINE THROUGHPUT RATE? UM, I BELIEVE WE WERE BASING THAT ON, WELL, WE COULDN'T BASE IT ON ANYTHING WHEN WE DID THE SURVEY, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE GENERAL RESIDENT DOESN'T REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, OH YEAH.
OFF THE TOP OF THEIR HEAD, NO.
UH, I BELIEVE OUR STANDARD IS, UH, 10 DOWN, TWO UP.
IS, IS, IS THE GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF QUALITY BROADBAND.
AND IF I'M WRONG ABOUT THAT, I KNOW COMMITTEE MEMBER AAR WILL DEFINITELY CHECK ME.
AND THEN I GUESS MY QUESTION, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE DIGITAL INCLUSION CHALLENGE HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME, BUT IT TAKES ON A NEW PRACTICAL EDGE IN THE ERA OF COVID.
AND I GUESS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK AT YOUR TIMELINE OF, UH, OF, UH, LIKE A PILOT PROGRAM AND THEN APPLICATION, THE, THE NEED IS ONLY GONNA GO UP AS WE GET INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE ADAPT TO WHATEVER HAPPENS, UH, WITH COVID.
SO I GUESS, ARE THERE ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE THIS GO FASTER OR TO CONSIDER FASTER? SO IF YOU FIND EARLY SUCCESS, WE SKIP AHEAD, OR IS IT JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST HARD TO MOVE THIS MUCH INFRASTRUCTURE THIS FAST.
I'M GONNA LOOK OVER TO CRAIG OR JOHN RODRIGUEZ, UH, TO, YEAH, THIS IS JOHN RODRIGUEZ.
SO, UM, SPINNING UP FASTER IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT ONLY BECAUSE THE SIZE OF S A I S D, UM, IN THE PILOT PROGRAM, WE SELECTED A CERTAIN NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOODS IN S A I S D, CERTAIN NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOODS IN EDGEWOOD, EDGEWOOD MIGHT BE ABLE TO MOVE FASTER, ONLY 'CAUSE IT'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE HAPPEN TO KNOW WITHIN THAT ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S ONLY GOT 10,000 STUDENTS.
THEY ALREADY HAVE A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS IN PLACE THAT WE CAN WORK AND AUGMENT AND SUPPORT.
SS A I S D IS, UM, ABOUT 79 SQUARE MILES, ABOUT 48, 50,000 STUDENTS.
UM, SO SPINNING UP A SOLUTION IN THAT ENVIRONMENT THAT COVERS MORE OF THE TARGET NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN, IT'S JUST GONNA TAKE US LONGER.
AND IT REALLY ALSO DEPENDS ON THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE END UP SELECTING WITH THOSE ENVIRONMENTS.
YOU CAN GO A LOT FASTER IF YOU DECIDE TO GO WITH COMMERCIAL BROADBAND, RIGHT? BUT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT DEPLOYING ANY EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, UM, THAT REQUIRES VERTICAL ASSETS LIKE TOWERS, IT'S GONNA TAKE 22 TO 24 WEEKS TO ACTUALLY GET STEEL.
UM, SO THAT WE CAN ERECT TOWERS, UM, AT SCHOOLS IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT WE CHOOSE TO GO.
SO LONG-WINDED ANSWER, BUT THE SHORT OF IT IS THAT IT'LL BE HARD FOR US TO SPIN UP AND GO FASTER.
DIRK, YOU DO, YOU DO HAVE OUR COMMITMENT THOUGH, THAT IF WE DO FIND EARLY SUCCESS AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AS JOHN MENTIONED, WE'RE WE'RE ON THE TOWER ROUTE.
WE WILL PUSH HARD THAT WAY AS QUICK AS WE CAN.
YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK, I MEAN, I MEAN, NOT THAT, NOT THAT I EVER REALLY WANT THINGS TO GO SLOW, BUT IN THIS CASE, THE NEED IS, IS A, IS A VERY TECH, YOU KNOW, TACTILE ONE, AND, AND I KNOW ALL THIS STUFF JUST TAKES TIME TO GET INFRASTRUCTURE TO MOVE IT.
IT'S, IT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY IT'S TAKEN SO HARD TO GET TO THIS FAR.
UM, COUNCILMAN TREVINO, WHAT DO YOU GOT, SIR? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, I THINK, UH, GREAT COMMENTS ALL AROUND.
AND, UM, IT'S, IT'S GREAT TO SEE THIS EFFORT REALLY, UM, TAKING SHAPE.
[00:50:01]
GRATEFUL AND, UM, AND I THINK THAT WHAT WE'RE ALL KIND OF LOOKING FOR IS, UH, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL GAPS AND HOW CAN WE LEARN ABOUT, UH, HOW SOME OF THESE, UH, SORT OF CROSS POLLINATE WITH OTHER ISSUES.AND SO MY FIRST SIMPLE QUESTION IS, UH, ARE RENTERS MORE OR LESS LIKELY TO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS SLASH LITERACY? DO WE KNOW THAT? HMM.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THAT, UH, BROKEN DOWN.
WELL, YOU KNOW, SO, BUT BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, RENTERS ARE MORE, MORE LIKELY TO BE COST BURDEN, UM, AND, UH, AND OF COURSE IT, IT REALLY TRANSLATES INTO MANY OTHER ISSUES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I WOULD JUST ASK, UM, ESPECIALLY AS YOU LAID OUT THAT MAP, IT, I, I WONDER, I WONDER HOW WE COULD MAYBE STUDY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE PERCENTAGES, THE, THE DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS IN THOSE NEIGHBOR NEIGHBORHOODS, AND, AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND OF COURSE, WE KNOW RENTERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO LIVE CLOSER TO ONE ANOTHER, RIGHT? THEY, THEY'RE, OR CLOSE, UH, CLOSER PROXIMITY TO ONE ANOTHER.
AND DOES THAT PRESENT US SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE COMPUTER LABS, UH, OTHER, YOU KNOW, OTHER WAYS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT PROXIMITY AND, UH, AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HELP, UH, PROVIDE SOME KIND OF BENEFIT.
UH, SO I, I MEAN, REALLY, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT, THAT'S JUST, UH, MY THOUGHTS ON, ON, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE, AS YOU'RE PILOTING THIS AND, AND GOING THROUGH EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT VULNERABLE, UH, COMMUNITIES, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE TO BE REALLY ASKING THE QUESTION, UH, WHERE DO RENTERS PLAY A ROLE IN THAT? AND AS, AS, AS, UH, WE KNOW THAT THEY OFTEN MOVE AROUND A LOT.
THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE COURT.
IN FACT, RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE FACING MANY, MANY EVICTIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE GOTTA THINK ABOUT.
AND AS, UH, YOU, DIRK WAS TALKING ABOUT THE SCHOOL'S GETTING READY TO GO AND HOW MUCH WE GOTTA RAMP UP, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THOUSANDS OF, OF EVICTIONS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
HOW IS THAT IMPACTING SCHOOL, UH, SCHOOL CHILDREN GOING BACK TO SCHOOL AND, AND OUR EFFORTS TO, TO, TO LAY DOWN THIS INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THEY MAY NOT EVEN BE THERE FOR? UM, SO, AND THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS CHAIR.
I MAKE A COMMENT TO COUNCILMAN, UH, SIR, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE CAN DO A CENSUS DEMOGRAPHICS OVERLAY ON THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE WON'T BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU EXACT NUMBERS OF RENTERS, BUT WE COULD GIVE YOU SOME PROPORTIONS OF PERCENTAGE OF, YOU KNOW, HOMES VERSUS RENTERS.
SO WE COULD GET SOME SIZING OF THAT IN THOSE AREAS, I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UH, AND THE BEAUTY OF THIS PROGRAM IS WE'RE THINKING OF THE STUDENT REGARDLESS WHO THEY LIVE IN A, A HOME THEY OWN OR A HOME THEY RENT WITH THE SAME WAY.
SO, UM, BUT I THINK WE CAN DO SOME OVERLAY FOR THAT.
I WROTE IT DOWN JUST SO WE COULD BE QUICK.
UM, UH, IT, 1983 IS WHEN U A C C CAME TO SAN ANTONIO.
THAT'S WHEN WE GOT OUR FIRST CABLE COMPANY.
AND IN 1983, THOUGH, THE PEOPLE WHO CLIMBED THE POLES, DUG THE DITCHES AND PULLED THE WIRES TO GIVE US CABLE ON THE INTERNET, ARE NOW OVER 45, AND MOST OF 'EM ARE OVER 60.
I'M NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING TO THWART THESE EFFORTS.
I'M, I'M OVER THE MOON FOR THIS PROJECT BECAUSE IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
AND I THINK JORDANNA BARON, MINI RAY, JE, I MEAN MOON RAY, JESTER, EMILY RAIL,
BUT I'M GONNA, I'M, I CAN'T HONESTLY TODAY SAY THAT LIKE WE DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH.
AND I, YOU KNOW, DIGITAL INCLUSION IS A RACIAL JUSTICE ISSUE.
AND IF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC AND A NATIONAL CALL FOR RACIAL EQUITY ISN'T THE RIGHT TIME TO REALLY DREAM BIG AND GO AFTER WHAT THIS CITY NEEDS TO TRULY BECOME RESILIENT, THEN I'M WORRIED THAT I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT TIME WILL EVER COME.
AND I DO KNOW THAT STUDENTS GO BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE FALL, BUT AS OF TODAY, WE DON'T KNOW WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE CAN GO BACK TO LIVING THEIR LIVES OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOMES.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEE SEEING WHERE THIS GOES.
AND I'M GLAD THAT THERE WAS ALL OF THESE INDICATORS.
UM, AND I LOVE THAT USING THE WORD OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I'M GONNA STICK TO OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY, BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES ARE OUT THERE FOR US TO, TO REALLY TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER.
I APPRECIATE THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN JADA ANDREWS WANTS TO TAG BACK IN.
I, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
[00:55:01]
UM, I WROTE IT DOWN AND THEN I, I FORGOT TO ASK IT, BUT, UM, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES AND HOW OPPORTUNITIES ARE WITHIN THIS, THIS FRAMEWORK.UM, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES OR WHAT WITHIN THIS FRAMEWORK HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO BRING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OR JOBS TO THIS PARTICULAR PLATFORM? UH, ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT OR THE ACTUAL BUILD OUT OF THE PROJECT? BOTH.
UM, CRAIG, JOHN, DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY KIND OF, UH, INSIGHTS TO THAT? WELL, I, I, I THINK MAYBE WE CAN REPORT BACK ON THAT.
NO, I THINK, I THINK THERE'S A LINK COUNCIL IN BETWEEN, UM, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN ON, UM, THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM THAT'S ONGOING FROM THIS COUNCIL, AND IT'S TIES TO, UM, A LOCAL, UM, COLLEGE, RIGHT? THAT'S A PART OF THIS PROJECT.
SO A C, C D, RIGHT? SO I THINK THERE'S A STRONG LINKAGE THERE BETWEEN US PROVIDING ACCESS IN CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THOSE STUDENTS WOULD THEN BE ABLE TO ACCESS, RIGHT? SO I THINK THERE'S A STRONG LINK THERE.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A LOCAL PROJECT, SO THE, THE WORK IS GONNA HAPPEN LOCALLY.
AND SO, UM, THERE ARE LINKS THERE AS WELL, I GUESS IS WHAT I WOULD SAY.
AND SO WILL THIS BUILD AN INFRASTRUCTURE TO WHERE MAYBE WE AS A CITY WILL HAVE, UM, A TECHNOLOGY, UM, AREA OF, OF OPPORTUNITY TO, TO HIRE WITHIN THAT, THAT TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECT OF IT AS WE BUILD OUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CITY TO WORK WITH THE SCHOOL? I MEAN, FOR SURE, LONG TERM, THE, THIS, THIS NETWORK THAT WE'RE BUILDING WILL BE MAINTAINED, RIGHT? AND, AND THOSE FOLKS WHO MAINTAIN IT, BOTH ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SIDE AND ON OUR SIDE ARE GONNA BE FROM HERE.
SO, I MEAN, THERE IS A LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITY HERE, I GUESS IS HOW I'D SAY IT.
CRAIG LOOKS LIKE HE MIGHT WANNA SAY SOMETHING AS WELL.
I WANT TO BE A LITTLE BLUNT AND MAKE SURE WE KIND OF STAY IN THE BOX HERE, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THIS HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO OTHER THINGS IN THE FUTURE WITH IT, BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S $27 MILLION OF BUILDING CORE INFRASTRUCTURE WHERE IT DOESN'T EXIST IN THESE 50 NEIGHBORHOODS TODAY.
SO STUDENTS CAN CONNECT TO THEIR SCHOOL SYSTEMS FROM THEIR HOME.
AND SO INSIDE OF THAT, SOME OF THAT MONEY, ALL THAT MONEY IS GONNA BE SPENT LOCALLY AND IT'S GONNA BE CREATED, YOU KNOW, SOME WORK IN THAT SENSE, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'LL EITHER BE INFRASTRUCTURE OWNED BY THE CITY, WHICH JOHN RODRIGUEZ MANAGES FOR US, WE CALL COSTA NET.
AND SO IT'LL BE PART OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE OR WILL BE OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WHICH WILL BE PART OF THEIRS TO MAINTAIN AND GO FORWARD.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, BACK TO WHAT DEANNE WAS SAYING, THIS IS JUST A PIECE OF THE BIGGER PROBLEM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN MONEY WAS MADE AVAILABLE, WE SAID THE IMMEDIATE NEED WAS TO CONNECT STUDENTS WITH THEIR SCHOOL SYSTEMS. AND SINCE PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE MONEY TO BUY INFRASTRUCTURE, WE WOULD BUY IT AND GET IT JUMP STARTED.
SO THAT ANALOGY, WE'RE KIND OF BUILDING BRIDGES WITH INFRASTRUCTURE IN ORDER TO SHORE SOME THINGS UP SO STUDENTS CAN CONNECT.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT A LOT OF OTHER THINGS WE NEED TO DO AROUND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ADDING OTHER, GETTING ACCESS TO OTHER PEOPLE AND SO FORTH.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS WHAT IT IS.
AND WE'RE ALSO ON A SHOT CLOCK.
WE GOTTA SPEND IT AND GO REALLY FAST BECAUSE OF WHAT DIRK SAID, BECAUSE THERE'S A NEED, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE MONEY CAN ONLY LAST FOR SO LONG.
SO, UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE VERY CLEAR ON THAT SCOPE, AND I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE LIVES OF 20,000 STUDENTS REALLY FAST.
UM, Y'ALL, MY QUESTIONS, UH, WERE ASKED BY MY VERY SMART COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND SO I, I DON'T WANNA WASTE TIME ASKING, UH, YOU KNOW, COMING UP WITH NEW ONES JUST TO, JUST TO TAKE UP TIME.
SO, UH, I, I DO WANT TO, HOWEVER, UH, ASK, I, I UNDERSTAND THIS HAS BEEN RUN BY LEGAL AND YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE PREEMPTION QUESTION HAS BEEN ASKED.
UM, BUT $27 MILLION IS A LOT OF MONEY, AND I WANT TO BE, I ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT WE'VE CHECKED OFF EVERY BOX.
AND SO, UM, I'D FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE IF WE'VE GOT, UM, AN OUTSIDE COUNSEL SECOND OPINION ON THIS ONE, JUST KIND OF GIVING US, YOU KNOW, FRESH EYES ON IT.
I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT OUR LAWYERS ARE WRONG, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT WE'VE, THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, GUYS, UM, YOU KNOW, ON TELECOM LAW, UM, WHICH WE DON'T HAVE.
UM, AND SO WE'VE GOT REALLY, REALLY SMART GENERALISTS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT ONE KIND OF, UH, TALENT ON THE BENCH, AND THAT'S OKAY.
UH, WE RARELY, IF EVER NEED THEM.
BUT, UM, IF, IF YOU DON'T MIND PASSING THAT ALONG, UM, I, I'LL, I'LL FEEL COMFORTABLE.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ARMED WITH A LETTER LIKE THAT FROM OUTSIDE COUNSEL SAYING, YEAH, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS FROM EVERY ANGLE AND, YOU KNOW, YOUR, UH, YOUR ASSESSMENT IS CORRECT BECAUSE IT'S, THIS IS NOT JUST SOME SORT OF SPECTRUM PROJECT.
[01:00:01]
THINGS WE'RE EVER GONNA DO IN THIS SPACE.AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, SPECTRUM OR, UH, AT AND T DON'T COME BACK WITH LOBBYISTS OR LAWYERS, UM, TO TRY TO IMPEDE OUR PROGRESS AFTER ALL THIS GOOD WORK, UH, IS BEING DONE ON PREPARING US TO MOVE IN THIS DIRECTION.
AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S ALL, THAT'S MY REQUEST.
AND SO UNLESS ANYBODY'S WAVING AT ME RIGHT NOW FROM THE SCREEN, UH, I THINK, I THINK THIS BRINGS US TO AN END, UH, TO THIS MEETING.
SO, UH, Y'ALL HAVE A, HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEK AND BE SAFE.