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THE TIME IS 2:05 PM UH, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR, UH, WORKING THROUGH THE TECHNOLOGY.
SO I'LL ASK OUR CLERK TO READ THE ROLE CHAIR.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
ALRIGHT, AND, UH, JUST AS A REMINDER, FOLKS, UH, TO UNMUTE YOURSELF, UH, BEFORE YOU SPEAK, UH, BUT PUT THE MUTE BACK ON WHEN YOU'RE NOT.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THE, UH, THE ECHO.
WE DO HAVE, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ON THE LINE.
SO, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.
UH, THIS, UH, IS OUR FIRST WORK SESSION AND THE FIRST WITH THE NEW WEBEX TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'LL BE USING.
UH, I JUST WANNA REMIND FOLKS WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH, UH, SEVERAL STAFF PRESENTATIONS, UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO THE COUNCIL Q AND A.
THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL HAVE SEVEN MINUTES, UH, FOR QUESTION AND RESPONSE TIME FOR STAFF, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE FORWARD, UH, TO THE NEXT PERSON IN LINE.
UH, AND IN ORDER TO KEEP IT EXPEDITIOUS, WE'LL GO BY COUNCIL ORDER TODAY AND THEN WE'LL SNAKE THE, THE REVERSE, UH, AND THE NEXT WORK SESSION.
UM, SO THE FIRST, UM, THE FIRST STAFF PRESENTATION, UH, WILL BE FROM CHIEF HOOD AND, UH, CHIEF, UM, I HAVE JUST BEEN INFORMED ABOUT SOME LATE INFORMATION REGARDING THE SOUTHEAST, UH, NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER.
UH, IF YOU WOULD DURING YOUR PRESENTATION, GIVE US AN UPDATE BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT'S CRITICAL INFORMATION.
MAYOR, I'M GONNA GO INTO, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR.
THEN I'M GONNA LET PUBLIC HEALTH GIVE THE, UH, UPDATE ON THE, UH, NUMBERS, IF THAT'S OKAY.
IS THERE GONNA BE A PRESENTATION? ARE THERE GONNA BE SLIDES UP? THEY'RE UP, SIR.
OKAY, SO I'M SPEAKING IN THE BLIND ON THE SLIDE.
SO BASICALLY, UM, LET ME GO BACK.
SO, UH, OPERATIONAL TASKS RIGHT NOW WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND, UH, OUR JOINT OPERATIONS, UH, CENTER IS, UH, DOING RIGHT NOW, UM, IS WORKING ON THESE THINGS RIGHT NOW.
BUT BEFORE I START, I JUST WANT TO THANK THEM FOR WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT ARE OUT THERE, JUST, UH, BASICALLY GRINDING IT OUT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND SO WE'RE PUTTING IN A LOT OF WORK, A LOT OF EFFORT.
SO WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR AS ISOLATION CARE FACILITIES, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST FAR AS HAVING HOTELS SET UP FOR FIRST RESPONDERS AND PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, EMPLOYEES DOWN FACILITIES FOR THE HOTEL, I STEP DOWN FACILITIES USING THE HOTELS AND ALSO FOR OUR HOMELESS.
SO WE HAVE BASICALLY SIX HOTELS THAT WE CAN UTILIZE FOR THESE, UM, ACTIVITIES.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING GUIDELINES FOR THE HOMELESS SHELTER, UH, FOLKS AS FAR AS WHERE WE'RE GONNA PUT THEM, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS IN PLACE.
UH, WE HAVE NO TENANTS AT ANY OF THESE FACILITIES YET, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS BEING BUILT UP FOR THE SURGE.
UM, SO WHAT WE ALSO HAVE IS, UH, 250 BEDS.
WE HAVE SET UP AT THE FREEMAN, UM, FREEMAN CENTER.
UH, SO WE HAVE 250 BEDS THAT ARE SET UP AS YOU SEE.
AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER 250 BEDS THAT ARE GONNA BE BUILT OUT BY B C F SS TO STAB A COMPLETE 500 BED FACILITY WITH WRAPAROUND FACILITY, WITH WRAPAROUND FACILITIES TO INCLUDE, UH, LAUNDRY, FOOD SERVICE SHOWERS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
SO THAT SHOULD BE UP AND, UH, COMPLETED HOPEFULLY BY, UM, THE END OF NEXT WEEK OR THE END, MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
AGAIN, THEY'RE, UM, HAVE GONE OUT AND DONE A SITE PLAN, SO THEY'RE GONNA BE BUILDING THAT OUT.
BUT WE DO HAVE 250 BEDS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, FIVE DRIVE-THROUGH LANES,
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UH, AT ALSO THERE.UH, SO WE'RE CONCURRENTLY DOING TESTING.
UM, THAT TESTING IS A PLATINUM STANDARD AS FAR AS OTHER TESTING LOCATIONS IN THE STATE.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UH, MANAGE THAT VERY EFFECTIVELY.
WE'VE OPENED ONE AMBULANCE DECONTAMINATION SITE TO DECONTAMINATE ALL OF THE E M S UNITS, UM, AS FAR AS FIRE AND THE COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT UNITS AT, UH, OUR TECHNICAL SERVICES, UH, BUILDING.
AND ALSO WE'RE CONVERTING OLD STATION 32 IN THE MEDICAL CENTER TO BE ABLE TO DECONTAMINATE OUR AMBULANCES.
AS YOU REMEMBER, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THIS WITH THE WUHAN, UM, COHORT, WE WERE ABLE TO USE ISOLATED AMBULANCES, BUT NOW OUR RUNS ARE SO MUCH THE FACT THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DECONTAMINATE AFTER EVERY RUN.
SO WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT THE DOWNTOWN Y M C A FOR THIRD SITE IF NEEDED.
UH, ESTABLISHING FOLLOW-UPS WITH OUR METRO HEALTH PARTNERS.
UH, OUR M I H FOLKS ARE SUPPORTING THEM AS FAR AS FOLLOWING UP PEOPLE THAT HAVE TESTED POSITIVE.
SO WE ARE GOING OUT AND, UH, WORKING WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY DO NOT COME BACK INTO THE HOSPITAL.
AND, UH, IF THEY DO NEED TO GO IN, WE CAN CATCH 'EM BEFORE THEY GET CRITICALLY ILL.
AND SO, AS FAR AS THE NURSING HOMES, AND WE ALL UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE SOUTHEAST LAST WEEK, AND SO, UH, WE'VE DONE CONTACT FOLLOW UP IN SOUTHEAST NURSING AND REHAB.
UH, WE HAVE BASICALLY GONE OUT AND, UH, HELPED PUBLIC HEALTH AND DONE CONTACT TRACINGS, UM, AND VISITED 15 NURSING HOMES FOR CONTACT FOLLOW UP.
WE'VE EVALUATED 140 OF THOSE, UH, PEOPLE THAT WERE EITHER STAFFERS OR, UH, RESIDENTS AT THE NURSING HOMES.
WE WERE LOOKING FOR ANYONE WITH SYMPTOMS. AND SO WE ENDED UP WITH 15 THAT WERE SHOWING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS, WHETHER IT WAS STAFF OR RESIDENTS, AND WE WENT AHEAD AND COLLECTED THOSE TESTS.
SO FAR WE HAVE FIVE, UH, M I H CONTACT TEAMS, UH, ESTABLISHED.
SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN THIS OVER.
THIS IS DAWN EMMERICH METRO HEALTH.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME.
WE HAVE SOME LATE BREAKING NEWS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO GET YOU, UM, INFORMED.
UM, METRO HEALTH WAS NOTIFIED TODAY THAT THE SOUTHEAST NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER HAD FIVE ADDITIONAL COVID RELATED DEATHS TODAY, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER FROM THIS FACILITY TO EIGHT.
PREVIOUSLY ONLY THREE C OVID 19 RELATED DEATHS HAD BEEN REPORTED TO METRO HEALTH BY THE HOSPITALS WHERE THE INDIVIDUALS HAD DIED.
METRO HEALTH HAD BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE FOURTH DEATH THIS WEEKEND OF A MALE IN HIS SEVENTIES WHOSE COVID TO 19 TEST WAS INCONCLUSIVE.
HOWEVER, UM, UM, OVER THE WEEKEND WE WERE, UM, AFTER SOME MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS, IT SUGGESTED THAT THERE WERE SOME ADDITIONAL DEATHS THAT WE WERE NOT.
AND SO WE REQUESTED TODAY, WE REQUESTED THAT SOUTHEAST PROVIDE A DETAILED ACCOUNTING ALL DEATHS IN THE RECENT DAYS.
AND THIS INFORMATION PROVIDED, UM, THAT I'M GETTING READY TO SHARE WITH YOU, DOES SHOW THAT THERE WERE ADDITIONAL, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT WERE NEVER REPORTED TO METRO HEALTH.
SO WHAT THAT BRINGS TODAY IS THAT WE HAVE NINE DEATHS FROM THE SOUTHEAST NURSING HOME WITH ONE OF THE BEING NON COVID RELATED.
THEN WE ALSO HAD DEATH OVERNIGHT.
IT'S NOT RELATED TO SOUTHEAST NURSING HOME, BRINGING THE TOTAL DEATHS FOR THE CITY TO 18.
IT WAS A VERY UNFORTUNATE SITUATION THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ADDRESS QUICKLY AS WE DISCOVERED IT.
AND I'LL BE ABLE TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, BUT THAT IS THE LATEST NEWS AS OF WITHIN THE LAST 30 MINUTES OR SO.
SO I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU, UM, VERY BRIEFLY WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IN PUBLIC HEALTH IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SO MANY OF OUR OTHER PARTNERS THAT, UM, CHIEF HAD
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MENTIONED OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS.OUR HOTLINE HAS RESPONDED TO JUST UNDER 10,000 CALLS, 428 VOICEMAILS, AND 1300 OVER 1300 EMAILS SINCE MARCH 16TH.
SCREENING AND TESTING FOR C OVID 19, THE SELF SCREENING TOOL THAT WE HAVE BEEN UTILIZING HAS BEEN RECEIVING AN AVERAGE OF 6,000 VISITS A DAY ON AVERAGE OF 3000, COMPLETING THE SCREENING, UH, A DAY SPECIMEN COLLECTION.
IN ADDITION TO THE FREEMAN COLISEUM PRE-APPROVED DRIVE-THROUGH SITE, WE ARE ALSO NOW SEEING SEVERAL URGENT CARE CLINICS CONDUCTING COVID OVID 19 COLLECTIONS.
WE'VE, UM, HAVE SEEN OVER 2,700 INDIVIDUALS TESTED AT THE FREEMAN COLISEUM.
IN ADDITION TO WE LABS ARE STARTING TO REALLY GET SOME OF THEIR, UM, LAB RESULTS, UM, TO US.
HOWEVER, WE ARE STILL SEEING A LAG AND LONG IT'S TAKING FOR THE RESULTS BACK TO US STILL LOOKING AT ANY THREE TO EIGHT DAYS AND SOMETIMES LONGER FOR OUR, UM, OTHER LABS IN, IN ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO GIVE US THEIR RESULTS BACK.
C P L HAS BEEN CONTRACTED WITH THE DRIVE-THROUGH, WITH THE PRE-APPROVED DRIVE-THROUGH SITE, UM, THAT WILL BE PROCESSING THE TESTS, UM, AFTER THE FEDERAL PROGRAM SUNSETS.
AND THEN WE HAVE THOSE THINGS IN PLACE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE CONTINUITY OF WORK AND WE THINK THAT WE WILL QUICKER LAB RESULT, UM, WITH C P L THAN WORKING WITH THE FEDS.
WE ESTIMATE AN APPROXIMATELY JUST UNDER 5,000 PEOPLE, UM, LABORATORY TESTS.
UH, WERE RUN IN BEXAR COUNTY FROM ALL LABS CASE INVESTIGATIONS.
WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON EVERY SINGLE CASE THAT COMES THROUGH.
POSITIVE CASES ARE INVESTIGATED BY OUR TEAM OF EPIDEMIOLOGISTS TO GATHER INFORMATION, DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION, CLINICAL INFORMATION EXPOSURE.
UM, WE ARE IDENTIFYING ALL EXPOSURE WITH THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAD CLOSE CONTACT WITH THOSE POSITIVES AND MONITORING THEM ACCORDINGLY.
UM, AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE PEOPLE ARE IN QUARANTINE DATA ARE ANALYZED ON A DAILY BASIS AND PROVIDE BASIC INFORMATION AROUND CASE DEATHS, GENDER SOURCES OF EXPOSURE.
WEEKLY FURTHER ANALYSIS IS CONDUCTED.
WE SEND A REPORT OUT
UM, WE ESTABLISHED BOT TO ANSWER HOTLINE QUESTIONS TO EXPAND GRAPHIC COLLECTION, AS I MENTIONED, IS GETTING GEOLOCATION SITE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, JUST ASSESS FOOT TRAFFIC DATA VIA PHONE LOCATION DATA.
WE WANT THE BEHAVIOR OF OUR RE RULE OF DATA ON THEIR PHONE, PUBLIC HEALTH DECLARATIONS.
WE HELD A PROVIDER, A TOWN HALL MEETING THAT DREW OVER 670 ATTENDEES, 39 PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS COMPLETED.
AND THEN FINALLY, OUR PREVENTION AND OUR WRAPAROUND RECOVERY.
THIS IS THE, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF THE DATA.
IT IS APARTMENT EFFORT WITH FIRE POLICE, UM, CITY IMMIGRATION, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING, D H S, WHERE WE ARE GOING INTO THESE KEY COMMUNITIES WHERE WE'RE SEEING
THE LAST OF OUR SIX BLOCKS ON THAT SCREEN, WHERE WE ARE CONTACTING EVERY SINGLE POSITIVE ON AN EVERY DAY OR THREE DAY BASIS WITH OUR PARTNERS.
NUMBER ONE, WE WANT ON THIS CHECKS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE DOING AND TO CATCH, UH, DISEASE PROGRESSION, WARRANT THEM GOING INTO THE HOSPITAL TO DO SOME E R DIVERSION ADDITION TO MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE TO THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, SO I'M HAPPY AFTER THE PRESENT.
I BELIEVE OUR NEXT, UH, PRESENTATION IS FROM LAURA HOUSTON.
SINCE EARLY MARCH, THE CITY HAS SEEN AN INCREASE IN REQUEST FOR, FOR HOUSING SERVICES.
AND IN FACT, FOUR OUT OF THE FIVE CALLS MADE TO UNITED WAY'S 2 1 1 HOTLINE ARE FOR FOOD OR SHELTER.
THIS PRESENTATION'S GONNA PROVIDE AN
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OVERVIEW OF THE INCREASE IN SERVICES THAT WE'VE SEEN, A BRIEFING ON THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY, AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE FOUND TO BE AVAILABLE TO HELP ADDRESS THIS INCREASED DEMAND.THE CITY WORKS CLOSELY WITH OUR HOMELESS POPULATION, ALONG WITH HAVEN FOR HOPE AND THE SOUTH ALAMO REGIONAL ALLIANCE FOR HOMELESSNESS.
AND AS A RESULT OF THE C OVID 19, THE CITY HAS SEEN AN INCREASE IN CALLS FROM FAMILIES THAT ARE LIVING WEEK TO WEEK IN HOTELS OR FAMILIES THAT ARE LIVING OUT OF THEIR CARS.
IN RESPONSE TO THIS, THE CITY IS GOING TO BE LAUNCHING A HOMELESS CONNECTION HOTLINE THAT'LL LAUNCH ON THURSDAY.
THAT'LL HELP CONNECT THESE INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES TO STILL AVAILABLE RESOURCES, AND THE HOTLINE INFORMATION WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO COUNCIL OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS.
THIS INCREASE IN CALLS IS FURTHER COMPLICATED BY THE FACT THAT HAVEN FOR HOPE AND OTHER SHELTERS ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS, WHICH LIMITS THE OPTIONS FOR OUR NEWLY HOMELESS.
AND THEN ANOTHER VULNERABLE POPULATION THAT WE ARE MONITORING ARE THOSE THAT ARE LIVING ON OUR DOWNTOWN STREET OR IN ENCAMPMENTS.
OUR STAFF AND OUR PARTNERS ARE VISITING THESE ENCAMPMENT SITES REGULARLY AND PROVIDING FOOD HYGIENE KITS, ACCESS TO HAND WASHING STATIONS, AND INFORMATION ON C OVID 19.
AND THE CITY IS ALSO WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNERS TO DEVELOP PROTOCOLS FOR SHELTERS TO REFER AND TEST HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS FOR C OVID 19.
THE CITY ALSO ADMINISTERS PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PAY THEIR BILLS.
THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HAS GONE FROM RECEIVING 55 57 INQUIRIES A WEEK TO OVER 4,100 INQUIRIES.
JUST LAST WEEK, THESE REQUESTS ARE COMING TO OUR HOMELESS, I'M SORRY, OUR HOUSING ASSISTANCE PHONE LINE, OR THE ASSESSMENT TOOL THAT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
IN RESPONSE TO THIS, WE HAVE DOUBLED OUR STAFF STARTING FROM EIGHT, GOING TO 16, AND THEN WE'RE, WE'RE REDEPLOYING ADDITIONAL STAFF OF ABOUT 25 OVER THE NEXT 20, UM, OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO HELP US ADDRESS THIS INCREASE IN DEMAND.
OUR UTILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HAS SEEN SIMILAR INCREASES GOING FROM 181 INQUIRIES A WEEK TO ABOUT 750 INQUIRIES JUST LAST WEEK.
AND WITH THIS INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR THESE SERVICES, OUR STAFF ARE LOOKING AT THE APPLICATION PROCESS TO SEE HOW OR WHERE WE CAN ELIMINATE BARRIERS TO THE PROCESS AND ADD INFORMATION TO THE APPLICATION TO ENSURE THAT OUR RESIDENTS ARE SAFE AND NOT EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR FOOD INSECURITY.
WE'RE ALSO PROVIDING INFORMATION TO THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM ON THE UNEMPLOYMENT FILING PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE FILING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT AND BEING ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED THROUGH THE MORE RECENT STIMULUS BILL.
NOW, IN THE EARLY STAGES OF C OVID 19, WE HAD SEVERAL PROTECTIONS THAT WERE ENACTED FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, MAYOR RON NURNBERG AND COUNCILMAN REINA WORKED WITH SA AND C P S TO MAKE SURE THEY WOULDN'T DISCONNECT SERVICE TO ANY RESIDENT DURING THIS CRISIS DUE TO NON-PAYMENT.
AND THAT IS STILL IN EXISTENCE.
THEY'RE NOT DOING THAT RIGHT NOW.
BEXAR COUNTY HAS ISSUED A MORATORIUM ON EVICTION HEARING.
A LANDLORD CAN STILL FILE IT, UM, FOR EVICTION, BUT IT WILL NOT BE HEARD THROUGH THE EVICTIONS COURT.
UM, THE TAX ASSESSOR HAS CANCELED PROPERTY TAX FORECLOSURES FOR APRIL AND MAY, AND FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC HAVE BOTH SUSPENDED FORECLOSURES AND EVICTIONS FOR THE FEDERALLY BACKED LOANS.
AND MORE RECENTLY, THE CARES ACT PROVIDED AN ADDITIONAL PROTECTION STATING THAT ANY LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT PROJECT CANNOT ISSUE A NOTICE TO VACATE FOR THE NEXT 120 DAYS AND PROHIBITED THESE PROJECTS FROM CHARGING ANY LATE FEES OR PENALTIES.
AND THIS PROVISION WOULD APPLY TO A HUNDRED PLUS LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT PROJECTS WE HAVE IN THE CITY.
AND THIS REPRESENTS OVER 17,000 HOUSING UNITS.
NOW, WE'VE LOOKED AT WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING REGARDS TO PROTECTIONS TO SEE WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM.
AND AUSTIN, THEY PASSED AN ORDINANCE, REQUIRES LANDLORDS TO PROVIDE TENANTS WITH A NOTICE TO PROPOSE EVICTION AT LEAST 60 DAYS BEFORE PROVIDING THE LEGALLY REQUIRED NOTICE TO VACATE.
AND THEN EL PASO AND HILDAGO COUNTY HAVE PASSED ORDINANCES THAT ARE CAPPING THE RENT THAT A LANDLORD CAN CHARGE UNTIL AFTER THE STATE DISASTER ORDINANCE IS LIFTED.
AND WE ARE EXPLORING THESE ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS WITH OUR ATTORNEYS.
WITH THE INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR OUR SERVICES, UM, EVEN WITH THE PROTECTIONS THAT I JUST PROVIDED AN OVERVIEW OF, WE KNOW WE NEED MORE FUNDING.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY AN ADDITIONAL $14 MILLION FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
THIS INCLUDES THE FUND BALANCE
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FROM BOTH THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND THE UTILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.BOTH ARE AT ABOUT 400 OR FOUR $50,000.
WE ALSO HAVE A REQUEST FROM THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST FOR 1 MILLION, AND JUST YESTERDAY THE APPROVED 500,000 OF THAT 1 MILLION.
WITH THE ADDITIONAL 500,000 COMING IN THE NEXT MONTH, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED $4.7 MILLION FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUDGET AS A RESULT OF THE SUSPENSION OF SEVERAL OF OUR HOUSING PROGRAMS. AND THE CARESS ACT HAS PROVIDED $7.7 MILLION IN C D B G FUNDING THAT CAN BE USED TOWARDS RENTAL AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
AND STAFF WILL BE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS FUNDING TO THE C OVID 19 WORKING GROUP FOR FOOD, SECURE FOOD INSECURITY AND SHELTER.
THE CARES ACT ALSO PROVIDED 3.9 MILLION IN E S G FUNDS THAT CAN BE USED FOR HOMELESS PREVENTION, RAPID REHOUSING AND TEMPORARY HOUSING, AND ABOUT $300,000 IN HOPWA FUNDING THAT IS DEDICATED FOR HOMELESS AND HOUSING SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH H I V AND AIDS.
AND THESE FUNDS ARE GONNA BE DEPLOYED IMMEDIATELY.
AND STAFF IS ALSO, UM, THE COUNTY HAS ALSO RECEIVED C D B G AND E S G FUNDS, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON THEIR FUNDING PLAN.
AS I MENTIONED, THE $3.9 MILLION IN E S G GRANT FUNDING WILL BE DEPLOYED IMMEDIATELY, AND WE PRESENTED A PLAN TO THE WORKING GROUP THIS MORNING ON HOW THAT WILL BE DEPLOYED.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO DEDICATE $2.5 MILLION, UM, WHICH WILL HELP US DO A CONTRACT WITH A HOTEL, WHICH WILL HAVE 300 ROOMS, AND THAT WILL HOUSE UP TO 400 HIGH RISK HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS.
HAVEN FOR HOPE WILL STAFF THAT EFFORT.
AND THAT'LL ALSO PROVIDE MEALS, SECURITY, MEDICAL, MENTAL HEALTH MONITORING, AND THAT'S ABOUT 2.5 MILLION.
ANOTHER $650,000 WILL BE USED TO OPEN A TEMPORARY OVERFLOW SHELTER FOR THE NEW HOMELESS AND THE UNSHELTERED.
AND THOSE, THAT TEMPORARY SHELTER WILL BE USED FOR THOSE THAT ARE NOT EXPERIENCING ANY SYMPTOMS. AND THIS ESTIMATE OF 650,000 INCLUDES STAFFING, MEALS, COSS AND BLANKETS, AND OTHER MEDICAL SERVICES.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED ANOTHER $450,000 THAT WILL BE USED TO STAFF HOMELESS HUBS FOR DISTRIBUTION OF MEALS, HYGIENE KITS, HAND WASHING STATIONS, AND PROVIDE C OVID 19 INFORMATION.
THIS ESTIMATE OF STEP FOUR 50 INCLUDES MEALS AND HAND WASHING STATIONS, AND WE'LL HAVE THESE HUBS WHERE OUR CHURCHES AND OTHER PARTNERS CAN GO PICK UP THE, THE MATERIALS AND BRING 'EM TO ENCAMPMENTS AND OTHER UNSHELTERED INDIVIDUALS.
AND THEN $330,000 FOR RAPID REHOUSING FOR HOMELESS.
AND THAT'S HOW WE PLAN ON USING THE E S G FUNDING THAT WAS PROVIDED IN THE, THE MORE RECENT VERSION OF THE CARES ACT.
AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE DEPLOYING THIS IMMEDIATELY.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I JUST WANNA THANK FAR SOTO, MELODY LEY AND COLLEEN BRIDGER FOR HELPING US PUT THIS PRESENTATION AND WORK FASTLY TO PUT A PLAN TOGETHER FOR OUR FUNDING.
AND I'M AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK WE HAVE, UM, ONE MORE PRESENTATION NOW.
UM, SO LET'S GO TO GORDON HARTMAN, UM, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO OUR COUNSEL, UH, QUESTION GORDON.
UM, SO GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE YOURSELF, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
ALRIGHT, WE'LL HAVE TO COME BACK TO, TO YOU, GORDON.
UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND OPEN UP FOR, UH, COUNCIL QUESTIONS AND I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START, BUT JUST AS AGAIN, AS A REMINDER, WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME TIME, UM, MONITORING GOING ON AND, AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PUT THAT ON THE SCREEN AS, AS THE QUESTIONS BEGIN.
UH, BUT MY, MY FIRST QUESTION, UM, REALLY A COMMENT IS JUST TO, AGAIN, COMMEND ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES AS WELL AS OUR, UM, COLLEAGUES ON THE COURT.
WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THESE GROUPS TO IDENTIFY THE NEEDS, UH, UH, IN SOME OF THE MOST URGENT AREAS OF OUR CITY, UH, AND THE WORK THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS GORDON IS DOING TO HELP COORDINATE EVERYTHING.
UM, OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE MOST URGENT NEEDS IS FOOD AND SHELTER.
AND SO I WANTED TO FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON THAT FOR A MINUTE.
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UM, WHEN THE, SO REGARDING THE RISK MITIGATION FUND, THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT.WHEN, WHEN THIS FUND WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE MAYOR'S HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE, I DON'T THINK ANY OF US COULD HAVE IMAGINED HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD NEED THE ASSISTANCE TODAY.
UH, WE'VE SEEN UNPRECEDENTED NEED FOR THIS TYPE OF ASSISTANCE.
ASSISTANCE, AND THE FUND HAS ONLY BEEN AROUND FOR A YEAR, YET SO MANY VULNERABLE PEOPLE, EVEN BEFORE THIS CRISIS, HAVE RECEIVED ASSISTANCE.
UM, NOW THAT WE'RE IN A PANDEMIC RESPONSE, WE'RE FACED WITH HOW WE CAN HELP OUR RESIDENTS GET THROUGH THIS AND GET BACK ON THEIR FEET, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT FORCED OUT ON THE STREET.
SO I'M THANKFUL TO, UM, OUR CHAIR OF THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST FOUNDATION BOARD, SELENA PENA, AND I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S ON THE LINE, UH, BUT I APPRECIATE HER WORK WITH THE FOUNDATION TO ALLOCATE, UH, THE 500,000 THAT WAS MENTIONED TO THIS FUND.
I ASK ALL OF THOSE MEMBERS WHO ARE ON THE HOUSING TRUST PFC TO CONSIDER DONATING SOME OF THOSE FUNDS AS WELL TO THIS CAUSE OF URGENT NEED SOMEBODY'S GOT.
JOHN, IF YOU CAN PUT YOURSELF ON, UM, I ALSO KNOW THAT THE FOOD SECURITY AND SHELTER COMMUNITY ACTION GROUP WILL BE CONSIDERING, UH, AND REVIEWING OUR RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
THAT OBVIOUSLY IS A FIRST PRI A FIRST ORDER PRIORITY.
I ASK THAT THEY INCLUDE THE RISK MITIGATION STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS ISSUE, UH, FROM THE START.
THERE ARE DIVERSE TEAM, AS WE KNOW WITH, WITH GOOD INSIGHTS, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU, LORI, FOR, FOR WORKING WITH THEM ALREADY.
MY QUESTION, I THINK IT'S FOR YOU, LORI, IS, IS HOW ARE WE UTILIZING THE INTAKE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE RECEIVING THE FULL, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE UNDERSTANDING AND SERVING THE FULL NEEDS OF OUR RESIDENTS? AND, AND THE REASON WHY I ASK THIS IS THAT WE KNOW THAT SHELTER IS A PRESSURE POINT, BUT IT IT IS NOT JUST SHELTER.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY CONSIDERATION GIVEN TO INCLUDING OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE APPLICATION SO THAT WE CAN, UH, GET AN ASSESSMENT AND USE SOME INDICATORS, UH, INTERNALLY AS STAFF IF RESIDENTS APPLYING, ALSO NEED ASSISTANCE IN, IN OTHER AREAS, WHETHER IT'S FOOD OR IF THEY'RE IN A, UH, ABUSIVE SITUATION AT HOME? UM, THAT IS SOMETHING WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE SOME REALLY TALENTED CALL TAKERS AND COUNSELORS TO TAKE THESE CALLS AND ACTUALLY DO CALLBACKS WHEN THEY RECEIVE AN APPLICATION AND THEY ARE ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS.
BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH D H S AND OUR OTHER PARTNERS AND THE RISK MITIGATION GROUP TO SEE WHAT WE CAN INCLUDE IN THE APPLICATION ITSELF TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CAPTURING IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY OR O HAVE OTHER BASIC NEEDS.
AND THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING ON TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY IS EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, HOW DO WE ADDRESS THAT IMMEDIATELY? AND IT'S NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT GOES ON AN APPLICATION.
SO THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, MAYOR.
AND, AND, UM, YOU MIGHT BE THE BEST PERSON TO ANSWER THIS AS WELL, BUT WITH, WITH REGARD TO THE, THE ADDITIONAL SHELTERS, UH, I'M VERY GLAD, UM, TO SEE THE QUICK WORK, UH, THROUGH THE COMMITTEE, THROUGH THE WORKING GROUP ON ADDITIONAL SHELTERS FOR HAVEN FOR HOPE.
UH, THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE SHOULD HAVE FOLKS IN THIS SITUATION ON THE STREET WHEN WE'VE GOT THOUSANDS OF EMPTY HOTEL ROOMS. WILL OTHER SH SHELTERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS BE SERVED, UH, BY THIS PROPOSAL? UM, WHERE DOES, UH, AN ORGANIZATION LIKE SARAH FIT INTO ALL THIS? SARAH IS ACTUALLY PROVIDING US ASSISTANCE AS WE ARE NEEDING HELP STAFFING OUR HOMELESS CONNECTION HOTLINE AND ALSO SERVICING SOME OF THESE SHELTERS.
AND SO ALL OF THAT DISCUSSION IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING FAST TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE MOUS AND THOSE AGREEMENTS ARE COMING TOGETHER, BUT SARAH WILL BE HELPING US AS WILL HAVEN FOR OAK AND OTHER PROVIDERS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MEETING THEIR NEEDS IN THOSE TEMPORARY SHELTERS.
UM, WITH REGARD TO THE HOMELESS HUBS, UM, THIS NOW GETS INTO THE, UM, FOOD SECURITY ISSUES.
I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE, THEY'RE PROVIDING SOME CRITICAL RESOURCES TO UNSHELTERED HOMELESS.
UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE BEING UTILIZED TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.
HAVE, HAVE WE CONSIDERED, UH, USING THESE HUBS TO POTENTIALLY SCREEN FOLKS? I KNOW WE CAN'T DO TESTING, BUT SCREEN TO SEE IF THEY'VE COME IN CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN EXPOSED OR, OR POTENTIALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, EXHIBITING SYMPTOMS, WHETHER IT'S A FEVER OR SOMETHING ELSE, COLLEEN OR ERIC, DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT QUESTION? AND, AND LET ME, LET ME UH, REPEAT MY QUESTION.
IT IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE HOMELESS HUBS BECAUSE THEY'VE BECOME, UH,
[00:30:01]
A PLACE WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE CRITICAL SERVICES TO FOLKS THAT ARE UNSHELTERED WITH THE HOMELESS HUBS, BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PROVIDE SOME SCREENING, UM, FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE TO SEE IF THEY'VE COME IN CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE SICK.UH, WHETHER OR NOT, YOU KNOW, THEY NEED TO BE SCREENED FOR FEVER OR OTHER SYMPTOMS. I'M, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT THEY TEST PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY, BUT AT LEAST WE CAN IDENTIFY PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NEED TO BE ISOLATED THROUGH THOSE HUBS.
UM, COLLEEN'S HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, BUT YES, WE WILL BE DOING THAT.
WE'LL LOOK AT OPTIONS AND HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, AND MY LAST QUESTION IS, UM, WITH REGARD TO SELF QUARANTINE UNITS, I UNDERSTAND THAT SELF QUARANTINE UNITS ARE ALREADY UNDER CONTRACT.
ARE THERE UNITS FOR COVID, UM, POSITIVE HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS, UM, OR FAMILIES? AND WE KNOW THAT THE HOMELESS PEOPLE HAVE ADDITIONAL NEEDS, THAT THE GENERAL POPULATION MAY NOT, THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY THE, THE RIGHT HOUSING SOLUTION, BUT HOW ARE WE MAKING SURE THAT THOSE, UM, NEEDS ARE BEING MET IF THEY ARE BEING ISOLATED TOGETHER? YES, AND SO WE DO HAVE, UM, QUARANTINE OPTIONS FOR FOUR SEPARATE CATEGORIES, THE HOMELESS AND GENERAL POPULATION BEING ONE OF THOSE.
AND, AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED, AS CHIEF HOOD MENTIONED EARLY ON, WE HAVE ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE HOTELS WE'RE ALREADY WORKING WITH.
AND WE HAVE SEVERAL ON-CALL CONTRACTS THAT IN THE EVENT THAT WE NEED TO EXPAND OUR OPTIONS, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES RIGHT AWAY.
UM, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO.
UM, AND, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION AND, UH, I'LL START WITH LORI.
UH, THANKS LORI FOR THAT PRESENTATION AND THE WORK ON, ON HOUSING AND THE RISK MITIGATION PROGRAM.
UH, BUT ALSO WANNA, UH, ASK A QUESTION REGARDING EVICTIONS.
UH, HOW, HOW CAN WE PROVIDE PROTECTIONS FROM EVICTION FOR RESIDENTIAL RENTERS AS THIS EMERGENCY ORDER ENDS AND KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT 60 DAY GRACE PERIOD.
UH, I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANT TO FLATTEN THE CURVE, BUT IF HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE EVICTED AT THE SAME TIME, UH, MORE OR LESS, UH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND SYSTEMS WILL, WILL BE OVERWHELMED.
UH, WE DID DRAFT A, A, A, UH, A C C R WITH, WITH SIMILAR VERBIAGE, BUT CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? I, I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS THE, THE UNDERLYING ISSUE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS THAT HALF OF OUR CITY RENTS, AND WE KNOW WE JUST SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH PROTECTIONS IF WE DO NOT EXTEND, UH, PROTECTIONS FROM EVICTIONS.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING.
SO, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY DID IS PROVIDE THAT REQUIREMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO ISSUE A 60 DAY NOTICE BEFORE THEY ISSUE THE NOTICE TO VACATE.
AND WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE IF WE CAN DO SOMETHING SIMILAR HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, SO THAT WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS.
UM, BEXAR COUNTY JUST, UM, EXTENDED THE MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS, UM, AND WE CAN LOOK AT DOING ADDITIONAL, UM, EXTENSIONS DEPENDING ON HOW FAR, UM, THE COVID, UM, DECLARATION, UM, REMAINS.
BUT, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO FIND AS MUCH FUNDING FOR THE RISK MITIGATION FUND AND TO BE ABLE TO IMPROVE OUR PROCESS SO WE CAN GET THIS MONEY OUT FAST AND BE ABLE TO MITIGATE, UM, THE EVICTIONS THAT MIGHT BE OCCURRING AS A RESULT OF THE DECLARATION BEING TERMINATED.
IF I MAY, IF I MAY COUNSEL, LET ME JUMP IN ON THAT BECAUSE WE ARE, WHILE WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT AUSTIN DID AND OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE, IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY, UM, A SOMETHING FOR THE COUNTY AND THE STATE IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY CAN DO TO EITHER, UH, STOP OR SUSPEND EVICTION NOTICES.
UH, MUNICIPALITIES AND LOCAL ENTITIES ARE VERY, VERY LIMITED IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY CAN DO.
AND IN FACT, OUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT IS THAT TO THE EXTENT WE WANT TO HAVE SUCH A PROGRAM, YOU'D HAVE TO GET EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM THE STATE.
SO I JUST DON'T WANNA, UH, US TO OVERSTATE WHAT WE CAN POSSIBLY DO FROM A CITY IN TERMS OF PUTTING A
[00:35:01]
HALT TO EVICTIONS FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT.NO, I, I, I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT AND, AND CAN APPRECIATE THAT, BUT I, I THINK, UH, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BENEFITS WE HAVE AS A CITY IS, IS THE, THE KIND OF REACH AND THE AUDIENCE, UH, THAT WE HAVE AND, AND REALLY JUST BEING A VOICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, THE KINDS OF ISSUES THAT WE'RE FACING, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW.
UH, THIS IS DEMONSTRATING, UH, THE, THE, THE, UH, THE VULNERABILITIES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UH, THIS IS, THIS IS WHY WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS.
WE DO BELIEVE THAT, UH, WE CAN, WE CAN FIND A WAY TO MAKE A CASE CASE AS, AS, AS THIS IS A, A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, WE'RE LOOKING AT LANGUAGE THAT SPEAKS TO, UH, NOTICES TO VACATE AS WELL, WHICH ARE NOT EVICTIONS.
THEY'RE JUST SIMPLY NOTICES TO VACATE.
AND A LOT OF FOLKS DO NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.
AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS DO, UH, SIMPLY, UH, DRIVE PEOPLE TO SIMPLY LEAVE WITHOUT REALIZING THAT IT'S NOT AN OFFICIAL EVICTION AND THAT THEY HAVE, UH, A DUE PROCESS.
SO I JUST, I WOULD, I WOULD REQUEST THAT.
UH, SECONDLY, UH, YOU KNOW, I I WANNA MENTION IT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP, UH, SEVERAL TIMES WITH, WITH THE FOOD INSECURITY.
AND I, I, I REALLY WANT US TO FOCUS IN ON, UM, A LOT OF OUR SENIORS WHO HAVE DEPENDED ON OUR SENIOR CENTERS FOR, FOR A LOT OF THEIR MEALS.
AND WE KNOW SINCE WE'VE SHUT DOWN OUR SENIOR CENTERS, UH, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE, THE CONCERNS THAT THAT MANY SENIORS IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE WITH REGARDS TO HAVING ACCESS TO, TO, UH, TO FOOD.
AND CAN SOMEBODY ANSWER THAT? WHAT ARE WE DOING? AND, AND, UH, WHAT ELSE? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE GAPS THAT WE NEED TO FILL? MEL OR COLLEEN, CAN YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBER? OKAY.
WELL, WE'RE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY, DIFFICULTIES, AND SINCE I'M COMING UP ON MY TWO MINUTE WARNING, UH, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA SKIP TO MY NEXT, UH, UH, ITEM.
AND WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE, UH, SOME OF THESE, UH, HOMELESS HUBS.
AND, UM, I, I, THIS IS PROBABLY ALSO A QUESTION FOR, FOR MELODY AND, AND FOR CO DR.
BRIDGER, UH, BUT IT'S WITH REGARDS TO THE, THE MOBILE SHOWER TRAILER THAT WE, WE'VE ALREADY ORDERED.
UH, WE, WE PROBABLY EXPECTED IT TO BE, UH, DELAYED SOMEWHAT, UH, BUT WOULD ALSO ASK THAT IF THERE'S, IS THERE NOT A WAY TO, UH, TO SEE IF THERE'S OTHER AVAILABLE AVAILABLE SHOWER TRAILERS THAT COULD BE, UH, UTILIZED DURING THIS POTENTIAL CRISIS? I DO THINK, UH, THIS AGAIN HIGHLIGHTS THE, THE, THE INCREDIBLE VULNERABILITY OF, OF OUR HOMELESS.
UH, AS, AS WE TALK ABOUT WASHING OUR HANDS, SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS WASHING OUR HANDS.
UH, I, I CAN'T THINK OF A, UH, OF A MORE IMPORTANT TIME TO ALSO PROVIDE, UH, SHOWERS TO THOSE THAT JUST SIMPLY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF IF SOMEBODY IS ON THE LINE, CAN CAN, CAN ANSWER THAT, BUT, UM, I WILL, WE'LL WAIT UNTIL THEY GET BACK ON AND THEY CAN ANSWER IT THEN.
ALRIGHT, SO I'M TRYING ANOTHER THING.
OKAY, WELL, I'M GONNA SKIP TO THE NEXT ONE.
AND JUST REGARDING NURSING HOMES, UM, I REALLY JUST WANNA STRESS THAT WE NEED TO WORK WITH, UH, WITH ALL FACILITIES WHICH CARE FOR SENIORS AND OF COURSE, DIFFERENTLY ABLED FOLKS.
UH, AND I RECOGNIZE THAT NURSING HOMES AND CARE FACILITIES ARE SUBJECT TO THESE STRICT RULES, BUT WHAT ABOUT, UH, OUR OTHER SENIOR AND DIFFERENTLY ABLED HOUSING FACILITIES? WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH REGARDS TO SANITATION? WE'VE EVEN HAD, UH, FOLKS FROM, UM, LET'S SEE, UH, WE HAD FOLKS FROM THE WORKERS' CABIN, A, A 100 BED BUNKHOUSE FOR MEN REACH OUT TO THE CITY ASKING IF, IF THEY CAN HELP WITH SOME SUPPLIES FOR CLEANING AND DISINFECTING, UH, SOME THERMOMETERS, ET CETERA.
THOSE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF, OF WHAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR IN TERMS OF, UH, SOME HELP IN, IN, IN, UH, SOME OF THEIR FACILITIES.
UH, I SEE I'M OUT OF TIME, BUT, UH, MAYBE WE CAN GET THAT IN A WRITTEN RESPONSE.
[00:40:01]
CAN RESPOND NOW.ONE, NOW, I'M SORRY, I HAD MYSELF ON MUTE, SO IF SOMEONE CAN ANSWER THAT LAST QUESTION.
UH, BUT ERIC, UM, I THINK WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IS IF, UH, ANY QUESTIONS THAT DON'T GET ANSWERED, UH, DURING THE SESSION, IF WE COULD GET A, A MEMO BACK TO THE COUNCIL THAT, THAT ADDRESSES THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AT THIS POINT THEN LET'S GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREWS SULLIVAN AND MAKE SURE YOU TAKE YOURSELF OFF OF MUTE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? AM I STILL ON MUTE? WE CAN HEAR YOU.
UM, SO, UH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE CITY STAFF, TO THE MAYOR, UM, TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UM, TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND THE COUNTY JUDGE, AND TO, UH, MR. HARTMAN AS WE GO FORWARD WITH THE TASK FORCE.
I KNOW THAT LORI WAS GIVEN AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, ONE THING THAT I THINK THAT WE NEED TO NOTE ABOUT THE 300 BEDS, UM, THAT THEY'RE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND NOT FOR FAMILIES.
IF I CAN GET A, A CLARIFICATION ON THAT, LORI.
SO I'VE MOVED TO LORI'S OFFICE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
UM, THOSE 300 ROOMS ARE PRIMARILY FOR PEOPLE OVER 55.
UM, AND THEY'RE HIGH RISK MEDICALLY FRAGILE INDIVIDUALS.
SO TYPICALLY, UM, IT IS NOT FAMILIES, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY ACCOMMODATE A FAMILY UNIT.
UM, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THAT INFORMATION.
AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO THE, UM, HYGIENE KITS, UM, ARE WE LOOKING TO, TO CONTACT ANY OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, SERVICE PROVIDERS TO SEE WHAT ADDITIONAL ITEMS THEY MAY HAVE TO HELP WITH THE HYGIENE KITS FOR WHEN, UM, INDIVIDUALS START TO MOVE INTO THE ROOMS? WE CAN DO THAT COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE IS, RIGHT NOW UNDER THE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WE'RE RECEIVING, UM, ARE WE LOOKING TO ADDRESS ANY OF THE ADDITIONAL, UM, BECAUSE WHEN IT COMES TO MORTGAGE, A LOT OF TIMES THE MORTGAGE IS A LOT MORE THAN A RENT, UM, FEE WOULD BE.
SO ARE WE LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL, UM, FUNDING FOR MORTGAGE SPECIFICALLY? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE, THE MAIN QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING, NOT JUST ON THE RENTER SIDE, BUT ON THE MORTGAGE SIDE AS WELL.
THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT, UM, I BRIEFED YOU ON EARLIER.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED $14 MILLION TO ASSIST WITH RENTAL AND MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE.
SO, UM, UNDER THE MORTGAGE AND THE RENTAL, IT, DO THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A LETTER THAT THEY'VE BEEN LAID OFF WORK OR, UM, ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO BE AWARE OF BEING THAT THIS IS FOR EMERGENCY FUNDING AND NOT JUST, UH, WHAT WAS ALREADY PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED FOR RISK MITIGATION? YEAH, THEY, THEY MUST PROVIDE A PROOF OF HARDSHIP AND THAT COULD COME IN THE FORM OF, UM, PROOF THAT THEY FILED FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OR A LETTER FROM THEIR EMPLOYER STATING THAT THEY'VE BEEN LAID OFF OR REDUCED HOURS.
SO THERE'S NO, UM, AT THIS TIME, NO INCOME QUALIFICATIONS OR INCOME BARRIERS THAT'LL KEEP ANYONE FROM APPLYING, CORRECT? RIGHT NOW THE ONLY BARRIER WE HAVE IS THAT YOU CAN'T BE ABOVE 100% OF THE AREA MEETING INCOME.
AND IF WE'RE USING C D B G FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM, UM, IT IS A 80% A M I, BUT MOST OF THE CLIENTS THAT WERE COMING IN WHO ARE REQUESTING ASSISTANCE ARE WELL BELOW THAT.
THOSE ARE THE FEW QUESTIONS I HAVE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UH, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER GRO, AND WE ARE, UM, I THINK MOST FOLKS ARE USING THE AUDIO FROM PHONES AND THE VIDEO FROM THEIR SCREENS, SO PLEASE MAKE SURE TO UNMUTE YOUR PHONE AS WELL AS YOUR SCREEN.
[00:45:01]
SO COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN, YOU'RE, YOU'RE NEXT.CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? WE GOT YOU.
UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT TO OFFER MY CONDOLENCES TO, UM, THE ENTIRE, ALL OF THE FAMILIES AND EVERYONE IMPACTED WITH SOUTHEAST, UM, NURSING AND REHABILITATION HOME.
AND TO EVERYONE WHO'S, UH, BATTLING THIS PANDEMIC RIGHT NOW.
UM, HEART HURTS FOR THIS COMMUNITY AND WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE, BUT I KNOW THAT WE WILL, UH, GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER BECAUSE WE ARE STRONG LIKE THAT.
UM, MY QUESTION'S GOING TO BE FOR DR.
BRIDGER AND DAWN, DAWN, IF YOU'RE STILL ON, UM, IS, ARE THE STATE THE ONES WHO OVERSEES NURSING HOMES? YES.
I, I AM ON, AND I WAS HAVING SOME TECHNICAL, I WAS TRYING TO ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS, BUT YOU COULDN'T, YOU COULDN'T HEAR ME.
UM, YES, THE STATE DOES OVERSEE THE NURSING HOME REGULATION.
SO NOW THAT, UM, YOU'VE GOT, YOU'RE DOING YOUR INTERVIEWS AND YOU'RE FINDING OUT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, WHEN CAN WE, OR HAVE WE ALREADY CALLED UPON THE STATE TO STEP IN AND LOOK WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE AT THIS NURSING HOME IN PARTICULAR? I WILL GET MORE INFORMATION ON THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN OUR SMALL GROUP, AND I WILL GET, UM, A FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION FOR YOU.
UM, NEXT QUESTION IS THE SS A P D OFFICERS.
HOW MANY SS A P D OFFICERS DO WE HAVE? UM, TOTAL, TOTAL TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID OVID IV.
THIS IS, UH, MARIA, A CITY MANAGER.
UH, WE HAVE A TOTAL OF, UM, THREE CONFIRMED CASES AND ONE PENDING CONFIRMATION.
SO THERE'S A TOTAL OF FOUR IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO GO THROUGH THE PROPER PROTOCOL IN SELF-ISOLATION, QUARANTINE, CONTACT TRACING.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
COUNCILWOMAN, AFTER AN INDIVIDUAL IS, UH, TESTED POSITIVE, THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE PLACED ON QUARANTINE AND THE METRO HEALTH CONDUCTS A CONTACT TRACING INVESTIGATION, UH, FOR THREE OF THE FOUR OFFICERS THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
AND THEY'RE WORKING ON THE, UH, OFFICER, UM, THAT IS PENDING A FINAL VERIFICATION.
AND WHAT ABOUT FIREFIGHTERS, CHIEF HOOD COUNCILWOMAN VIA GRIND? UM, FORTUNATELY, UH, WE HAVE NO FIREFIGHTERS THAT TESTED POSITIVE.
WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL THAT WE RAN TESTS ON, BUT, UM, THANK GOD ALL OF THEM WERE, UH, NEGATIVE.
AND, UH, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE SAID POSITIVE, ALL OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS ARE NEGATIVE AT THIS TIME.
WE HAVE THREE THAT ARE QUARANTINED, UH, BECAUSE OF TRAVEL AND ON EVERY RUN THAT YOU DO.
NOW, CHIEF, ARE YOU ALL, UM, I SAW A PICTURE OF THE DISINFECTING OF SHOES AND OTHER GEAR.
ARE Y'ALL DOING THAT NOW AFTER EVERY RUN THAT YOU GO THROUGH? UH, WE HAVE, UH, ACTUALLY SENT OUT, UH, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FOLKS ARE DECONTAMINATING AFTER THE RUN.
AND AGAIN, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE APPROACHING THAT PATIENT.
IF WE'VE KNOWN COVID THAT WE'RE USING THE, UH, SIX FEET SOCIAL DISTANCING, FIRST OF ALL TO, UM, SEE EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PATIENT, WE'RE TAKING MINIMUM EQUIPMENT IN.
AND THEN IF WE NEED TO TRANSPORT THAT PERSON, UH, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND DON THE REST OF THE CREW OUT IN P P E AND THEN THEY WILL TRANSPORT.
BUT WHAT WE ARE DOING, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE WILL KNOW WE'VE OPENED UP ONE, UH, THE DECONTAMINATION, UH, STATION AT DUTTON, WHICH IS OUR TECHNICAL SERVICES.
WE'RE OPENING UP A SECOND ONE AT OLD FIRE STATION 32 TO WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO DECONTAMINATE ANY FIREFIGHTERS, ANY PARAMEDICS, UH, IN THIS REGION THAT NEED DECONTAMINATION.
WE'RE ALSO STRESSING THAT OUR CREWS, UM, IN PARTICULAR OUR E M S CREWS TAKE, UH, TWO SETS OF CLOAK WHERE IF WE NEED TO, CAN DECONTAMINATE THEM AT ONE OF THESE LOCATIONS, THEY CAN SHOWER AND CHANGE.
SO WE'RE DOING THE UTMOST POSSIBLE AS FAR AS BEST PRACTICES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MEN AND WOMEN ARE SAFE.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN BLESSED, WE'VE BEEN LUCKY, BUT WE'VE ALSO BEEN PREPARED IN OUR GUIDELINES SO FAR.
[00:50:01]
ARE FOR YOU.UM, FIRST I DO WANT TO THANK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VEO HDA FOR SENDING, UH, THE EMAIL OUT TODAY AND, UH, HEARD YOUR, YOUR MOVEMENT ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH C C P F DOLLARS FOR THE FOOD BANK.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AND DOING THAT SAME THING FOR THE FOOD BANK BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT DOLLARS ARE NEEDED.
UM, LORI, REMIND ME, WHEN IS THE MORATORIUM OF EVICTIONS? UH, UNTIL WHAT DATE? IT'S APRIL 30TH.
UM, COUNSEL, IF I COULD JUMP IN, THAT WAS FROM THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT, SO THAT'S UNTIL APRIL 30TH, SO APRIL 30TH.
UM, AND THEN YES, TO SOME OF YOUR REPORTING, THE P F C WILL BE TAKING UP, OR I GUESS TO WHAT THE MAYOR WAS ASKING.
THE P F C WILL BE TAKING UP, UM, DOLLARS TOWARDS THE RISK MITIGATION FUND, PUTTING SOME DOLLARS TOWARDS THE RISK MITIGATION FUND.
AND, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO UTILITY ASSISTANCE, HAVE WE LOOKED AT, UM, DIGITAL ACCESS, BROADBAND, DIGITAL ACCESS, UH, DOLLARS, I MEAN FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAKING FUNDS, MEANING MAKING FUNDS AVAILABLE TO ACCESS? UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT.
WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER ELIGIBLE EXPENSES WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FUND TO THE RISK MITIGATION FUND.
WE ARE HEARING ISSUES ABOUT NEEDING MONEY FOR GROCERIES THAT THAT WIC AND SNAP MAY NOT PROVIDE ENOUGH ASSISTANCE, ESPECIALLY WHEN CHILDREN ARE HOME NOW DURING, UM, SINCE SCHOOL IS OUT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE OPTIONS AND WE'LL BE PRESENTING THOSE TO THE WORKING GROUP ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE MAKING ELIGIBLE.
SO DIGITAL ACCESS IS ONE OF THOSE THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT.
AND I THINK I'M JUST GOING TO, I KNOW ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS IS THAT WE ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO TESTING, SO I'M GLAD WE CHANGED THE, UM, THE REQUIREMENTS OR LOOSENED THEM A BIT.
AND I AM, UH, I AM EXCITED BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT TEXAS A AND M SAN ANTONIO WILL BE HAVING A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY IN REGARDS TO TESTING.
SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER GRO, UH, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER RO GARCIA.
THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY FOR ALL THE, UM, QUESTIONS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY ASKED.
FIRST IS, WHO IS WORKING WITH THE RESTAURANTS, UM, AND MAYBE ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES ON BEST PRACTICES? I DON'T KNOW IF, UM, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY OR IF ANYBODY HAS MAYBE REACHED OUT TO THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION TO MAKE SURE THAT MAYBE SOME OF THE SMALLER BUSINESSES ARE ABLE TO GET BEST PRACTICES AS FAR AS, UM, SAFE, ET CETERA.
UM, YOU WERE DROPPING OUT A LITTLE BIT, SO I THINK I'LL BE ABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
SO THERE IS A MULTI-PARTNER, UM, INITIATIVE THAT'S HAPPENING, WHICH, WHICH IS PART OF OUR COVID PREVENTION TEAM.
AND WE HAVE OUR SANITARY SANITARIANS, UM, WHO ARE DOING, UM, THE RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS.
ALL OF THEM ARE A PART OF THIS PREVENTION TEAM THAT ARE GOING INTO COMMUNITIES AND CANVASSING AND RESTAURANTS ARE ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE ARE ENGAGING.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE FOLLOWING ALL PROTOCOLS, UM, FOLLOWING THE STANDARD, UH, REGULATION OF FOOD, OF RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS AND JUST DOING SOME, UM, BASIC, UM, YOU KNOW, TRAINING ON, UH, THE ASSURANCE OF WASHING HANDS, KEEPING EVERYTHING CLEAN, SURE THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING IS BEING, UM, ADHERED TO FOR CLIENTS OR REST, YOU KNOW, THE PATRONS WHO ARE DOING THE DRIVE-THROUGH, UM, PICKUPS.
SO WE'RE, UM, DEFINITELY ENGAGED AND MARIO AND MARTINEZ SPEAKS WITH DAWN FROM THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION ALMOST DAILY.
EMER ALSO, DO WE, ARE WE STILL HAVING FOLKS GO OUT TO AREAS WHERE WE MAY HAVE BEFORE SEEN HOMELESS FOLKS CONGREGATE AROUND THE CITY? AND IF SO, HOW OFTEN ARE WE STILL GOING OUT THERE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, GIVING THEM ACCESS TO SHELTER AND FOOD? ALL RIGHT, SO THIS IS COLLEEN VERIFYING THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME.
SO, UM, WE ARE THE C D C GUIDANCE RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE NOT TRY TO DISBAND ENCAMPMENTS.
AND SO PREVIOUSLY WHEN WE WOULD FIND AN ENCAMPMENT, WE WOULD WORK WITH THEM TO TRY TO GET THEM INTO SHELTER OR MOVE THEM ALONG, UM, FOR THEIR SAFETY AND,
[00:55:01]
AND TO BE ABLE TO REMOVE ANY DEBRIS ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, THE ENCAMPMENT.UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC, HOWEVER, WE HAVE STOPPED DOING THAT.
AND INSTEAD WHEN WE VISIT AN ENCAMPMENT, IT'S TO FIND OUT WHAT NEEDS THEY HAVE AND TO TRY TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO RESOURCES WITHOUT MOVING THEM, UM, ALONG.
SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE KNOW IS A NEED, AND WE ARE WORKING ON THAT, UM, THROUGH THESE FEEDING HUBS AND OTHER SOLUTIONS, IS THAT THEY NEED MORE ACCESS TO FOOD.
BRIDGER, I KNOW THAT YOU ALL JUST A WHILE AGO GAVE INFORMATION, UM, I THINK IT WAS LORI THAT MENTIONED THERE WAS GOING TO BE A HOTLINE WHERE PEOPLE CAN CALL FOR HELP.
WHAT IF THEIR PHONES HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED OR, UM, LIKE, IS IS THERE, ARE, ARE WE SHARING THIS INFORMATION, LIKE INFORMATION EVERYWHERE WHERE, UM, I MEAN IF I WERE TO RUN INTO SOMEONE THAT I CAN CALL ON THEIR BEHALF OR HOW DOES THAT INFORMATION DISTRIBUTE IT? WE ARE WORKING ON GETTING THAT NUMBER MORE WELL KNOWN.
AND SO WE ARE WORKING THROUGH A LOT OF THOSE LOGISTICS.
AND THEN I HAVE ANOTHER, UH, QUESTION.
IT'S FOR 3 1 1, UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S 3 1 1, SO MAYBE YOU GUYS WILL HAVE TO TAG TEAM IT.
WHAT'S THE AVERAGE TIME FOR THE RESPONSE TO EMAILS? SO THE COVID HOTLINE EMAILS SPECIFICALLY.
SO FOR 3 1 1, THIS IS DAVID MCCAREY, UH, RESPONDING TO THAT.
UM, I'M NOT CLEAR ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IT TAKES.
I KNOW THAT WE HAVE SEVERAL STAFF THAT ARE, UM, ARE KNOCKING THOSE DOWN DAILY.
UM, AT ONE TIME WE HAD ALMOST A THOUSAND EMAILS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET DOWN PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT TIME, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY SEE IF MY STAFF HAVE THAT.
THE SOLUTIONS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ACCOMMODATING THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE REACHING OUT TO US IS, UM, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT DIFFERENT CHANNELS FOR FOLKS TO REACH US.
SO WE HAVE THE HOTLINE, WE HAVE THE SCREENING SITE, AND NOW WE'VE INTRODUCED AN AI BOT, WHICH IS PART, UM, RIGHT THERE ON THE FRONT OF THE WEBSITE WHERE PEOPLE CAN ENTER THEIR QUESTIONS, UM, ON THE, ON THE WEBSITE AND GET A RESPONSE THAT WAY THROUGH AN AI BOT.
SO WE, THE DEMAND IS VERY HIGH AND WE'RE TRYING TO SEEK ADDITIONAL CHANNELS TO BE ABLE TO MEET PEOPLE'S NEEDS.
UM, I KNOW MR. MCCAREY WANTED TO ADD SOMETHING.
I KNOW FOR 3 1 1, UH, ALL THE CALLS HAVE BEEN MONITORED THAT COME THROUGH TO 3 1 1 EVEN BEFORE THEY POSSIBLY GO TO THE, UH, HOTLINE NUMBER THERE.
BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE, WE'RE STILL AVERAGING ABOUT 3,100 CALLS THAT ARE COMING IN, UH, FOR VARIOUS QUESTIONS.
THAT RESPONSE TIME, WE'RE ANSWERING ABOUT 90%.
UH, SO WE'RE NOT EVEN DROPPING CALLS.
IT'S PRETTY EFFECTIVE IN WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY.
UM, MAYOR, THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
AND JUST THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR THE GREAT JOB THAT YOU'RE DOING.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, UM, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
UM, SO THANK YOU AND I, SOME OF MY, UH, QUESTIONS, UM, HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.
SO I JUST, I, I THINK MY QUESTION IS TO LORI, UM, HAVING WORKED WITH HAVEN, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE YEARS, UM, AND, AND HOUSING ALL THESE YEARS, IS THE SETTING INCREASE DUE TO THE TRYING TO SEPARATE PEOPLE OR, OR DID A BUNCH OF PEOPLE GET EVICTED RIGHT BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, OR WHAT, WHY DOES HUGE INCREASE IN A TIME WHEN WE'VE HAD A, A MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS? UM, I THINK IT'S JUST, THEY'RE, THEY'RE CONCERNS.
UM, PEOPLE MAY NOT BE EVICTED, BUT THEY ARE STILL GETTING NOTICES TO VACATE, WHICH IS SEPARATE FROM AN ACTUAL EVICTION.
AND SO YOU COULD STILL GET A NOTICE TO VACATE FROM YOUR LANDLORD, BUT THE EVICTIONS COURT WON'T HEAR IT.
SO THAT'S WHAT THE MOR TOM APPLIES TO.
BUT ALSO LAST WEEK WAS THE FIRST OF THE MONTH RENT IS DUE, SO PEOPLE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE BILLS.
[01:00:01]
AND SO JUST BECAUSE THERE'S A MORATORIUM DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE NOT ANSWERING CALLS AND STOPPING THE SERVICE.WE STILL WANNA PROVIDE ASSISTANCE, BUT I THINK THE INCREASE IS DUE TO THE, THE, THE DECREASE IN WORK, THE DECREASE IN HOURS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THAT WE'VE HAD A HUGE INCREASE IN HOMELESSNESS BECAUSE I, I FEEL LIKE THAT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY BEING COMMUNICATED.
I THAT, I MEAN, WE UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE ARE VERY NERVOUS RIGHT NOW, SO MANY PEOPLE GETTING LAID OFF, BUT HAVE WE SEEN A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE GETTING, UM, UH, EVICTED OR ASKED TO LEAVE? UH, THE COUNCILWOMAN, UH, THIS IS COLLEEN.
UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE'RE SEEING IS THAT IN RESPONSE TO C OVID 19, THE SHELTERS HAVE STOPPED THEIR INTAKE PROCESS.
SO ANYBODY WHO FINDS THEMSELVES NEWLY HOMELESS FOR WHATEVER REASON, IS HAVING A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TIME ACCESSING SHELTERS BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF NEW PEOPLE COMING IN TO DECREASE THE RISK OF C OVID 19.
SO, UH, THE, THE, THE NEWLY HOMELESS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA GET MOVED INTO TO THE HOTELS BECAUSE I ALSO FELT LIKE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION ABOUT THE PRESENTATION THAT, UM, CHARLES HUD GAVE EARLY ON, THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF CAPACITY THAT'S CURRENTLY NOT BEING USED AT THE HOTELS.
AND YEAH, I CAN SEE HOW THAT WOULD BE CONFUSING.
THE, UM, THE HOTEL THAT LORI WAS TALKING ABOUT IS TO MOVE HIGH RISK PEOPLE 55 AND OLDER WITH UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS FROM EXISTING SHELTERS TO THAT HOTEL THAT WILL DECREASE THEIR RISK OF, UM, GETTING C OVID 19 AND SPREADING IT THROUGH THE SHELTERS.
IT ALSO ALLOWS THE SHELTERS, GO AHEAD, I'M SORRY.
AND, AND THOSE ARE CURRENTLY BEING USED, OR THOSE ARE IN THE EVENT THAT THEY'RE NEEDED, THE PLAN IS TO USE THOSE AS SOON AS WE CAN SIGN THE CONTRACT.
UM, WE JUST STARTED WORKING ON THIS YESTERDAY AND, UM, WE'RE MOVING VERY QUICKLY, AS LORI SAID.
SO OUR, OUR HOPE IS TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THOSE, UH, 300 PLUS INDIVIDUALS FROM EXISTING SHELTERS TO THIS HOTEL.
UM, THE HOTELS THAT CHIEF HOOD TALKED ABOUT ARE HOTELS THAT WE HAVE UNDER CONTRACT.
SHOULD SOMEBODY TEST POSITIVE FOR C OVID 19 AND EITHER CANNOT REMAIN IN THEIR HOME OR DO NOT HAVE A HOME TO GO TO.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE ANYBODY ANYWHERE, UM, CAN MAKE, UH, CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE HOTELS.
SO, UM, AND REGARDING, UH, THE, THE, UM, MAR HILL ELEMENTARY, WE KNOW THAT THERE, EARLY ON THERE, WE WERE MOVING PEOPLE FROM HAVEN FOR HOPE TO
SO IS THAT STILL IN PLACE? ARE WE STILL TAKING PEOPLE TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR DID THAT NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPEN? UH, IT WAS JUST IN THE PROCESS.
WE ARE TAKING PEOPLE FROM HAVEN TO, UM, MARK HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
UM, IT'S A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE, AND AGAIN, WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT OPPORTUNITY IN ORDER TO INCREASE SOCIAL DISTANCING AT NIGHT WHILE PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING.
AND, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THAT EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE THESE HOTEL OPTIONS, WELL, WE HAVEN'T MOVED THE PEOPLE TO THE HOTEL YET.
ONCE WE MOVE THE PEOPLE TO THE HOTEL, THEN WE WILL LIKELY USE, UM, THAT FOR OTHER OVERFLOW NEEDS FOR HOMELESS, UM, ONLY IF WE NEED THEM.
UM, AND SO I WOULD, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO USE THAT AS A LAST RESORT.
UM, THE ISSUE WITH MAR HILL, UH, IS I, I MEAN IT'S IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THAT WHICH IS HAVEN FOR HOPE ALSO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND IF THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO MOVE PEOPLE ANYWAY IN A PLACE THAT HAS MORE AMENITIES, I THINK WE SHOULD DO THAT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, UH, UM, TO HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, EASE THE CONCERN IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, UH, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER RABINO ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT GAPS IN THE COMMUNITY.
I HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH SOME OF OUR FEW DISTRIBUTORS AND IT, AND I, THEY WERE REPORTING TO ME THAT THEY HAVE PLENTY OF FOOD.
SO TO GIVE, UM, WHERE IS THE BREAKDOWN IN THE, PERHAPS PEOPLE WHO NEED IT VERSUS THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES? IS IT, IS IT JUST A FUNDING GAP? AND SO IF, IF IT'S A FUNDING GAP, PERHAPS THAT, THAT LEADS TO MY NEXT
[01:05:01]
QUESTION REGARDING THE C D B G MONEY, UM, THE 7 MILLION THAT, UH, 7.7 MILLION THAT LAURIE PRESENTED, UM, IS THAT ALREADY ON HAND? UH, I KNOW IN THE PAST WE'VE USED OUR GENERAL FUND MONEY TO COVER SOME OF THAT C D B G MONEY, SO, UM, DO WE HAVE THAT MONEY ALREADY? UH, ON BOTH SIDES, WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY YET.UM, WE ANTICIPATE GETTING IT IN ABOUT 30 DAYS, THEN WE ARE NOT PLANNING ON USING ANY GENERAL FUND MONEY TO HELP US WITH THE RISK MITIGATION FUND OR THESE OTHER HOUSING EFFORTS EITHER.
SO, UM, BUT DON'T WE NEED THAT MONEY FAIRLY IMMEDIATELY? 7.7 MILLION? WE HAVE OTHER FUNDING SOURCES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'VE, UM, USED SOME OF THE FUNDING FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUDGET.
SINCE WE'VE SUSPENDED PROGRAMS, WE HAVE ABOUT $4.7 MILLION THAT WE CAN USE.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OTHER C D G FUNDS THAT WERE PART OF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET THAT, UM, EITHER FROM PROGRAM INCOME OR THAT HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE BECAUSE OF SUSPENSION OF PROGRAMS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO USE, UM, AFTER WE GO TO COUNCIL IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
AND THE LAST QUESTION REGARDING THE FOOD, UM, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS IS THERE ADDITIONAL FUNDING NEEDED FOR FOOD BECAUSE UNDERSTANDING THERE IS ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
SO, SO THERE'S, BUT THERE'S NOT A SHORTAGE OF FOOD.
WE JUST NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
SO, UM, THAT IS CURRENTLY, UM, THROUGH, WHERE MIGHT THAT FUNDING COME FROM? IS IT JUST GENERAL FUND MONEY? CAN WE USE SOME OF THAT CD? UM, SOME OF THAT C D B G MONEY.
YOU READY? WE ARE, WE ARE WORKING ON A PLAN TO TRY TO MAXIMIZE FEMA REIMBURSEMENT FOR, UM, FOOD BANK FUNDING.
WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER VEO.
UM, I'M ON THE FOOD AND SHELTER WORKING GROUP AND I'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION, OF COURSE, WITH THE FOOD BANK, ALONG WITH MY COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN.
AND, UM, THEY'RE TELLING ME THAT THEY, THEY NEED THE, THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UM, I I, YOU ALL RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM ME TODAY AND THANK YOU, UH, COUNCIL FOR POINTING IT OUT.
UH, I'M GONNA DONATE 5,000 FROM MY C C P F FUNDS AND ASK YOU EACH TO CONSIDER SOMETHING, UH, ANYTHING YOU CAN DO FOR THE FOOD BANK.
THE ISSUE IS THAT THEY ARE NOT DEALING WITH THEIR NORMAL CLIENTELE.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO CAN NO LONGER AFFORD GROCERIES BECAUSE THEY'VE RECENTLY LOST THEIR JOBS DUE TO OUR, DUE TO THE, UM, COVID 19 ISSUE.
AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT NORMAL CLIENTS BANKS, SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE INCREASED BY SOMETHING LIKE 60, 70,000 PEOPLE GOING OUT TO THE FOOD BANK.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST MY, MY PITCH.
IF YOU CAN ANY, ANYTHING YOU CAN SPARE, THEY THEY CAN, EVERY DOLLAR THAT THEY RECEIVE SERVE SEVEN MEALS, UH, TO, TO SEVEN INDIVIDUALS.
SO IF YOU COULD CONSIDER THAT, BUT, UM, MY QUESTION IS, I'LL START WITH I THINK ERIC.
UM, ARE YOU, ARE YOU ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THE INDI OR IS HAVEN FOR HOPE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SHOWING UP TO HAVEN FOR SERVICES? I CAN ANSWER THAT.
UM, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE NOT ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS SO THEY CAN ACCOMMODATE THEIR EXISTING CLIENTS.
THEY VERY MUCH WANT TO HAVE THIS HOTEL WHERE THEY CAN MOVE TO HIGH RISK CLIENTS TO ANOTHER LOCATION.
UM, BUT THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEW PEOPLE THAT ARE SHOWING UP AND NEEDING HELP.
SO, IS HAVEN FOR HOPE TRACKING THE INDIVIDUALS BEING TURNED AWAY? ARE THEY BEING ASKED TO COME BACK OR WHAT? WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT WE'VE ASKED ALL OF THE SHELTERS TO DO IS TO SHARE, UH, A PHONE NUMBER THAT PEOPLE CAN CALL AND, UM, GET SOME ASSISTANCE EITHER THROUGH OUR CASE MANAGER OR SOME OF OUR, UM, UH, COUNSELING STAFF.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT.
THEY, THEY MADE THAT DECISION, UM, CITYWIDE A WEEK AGO.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO RESPOND TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
THAT'S WHAT LED US TO ESTABLISHING THE HOTLINE, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN SHARE ONE PHONE NUMBER THAT GETS THEM CONNECTED TO SOMEBODY WHO CAN HELP THEM ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAVE.
UM, MY NEXT QUESTION IS FOR, UM, BELIEVE DR.
EMRICH, BUT JUST WONDERING IF YOU'D HEARD ANYTHING.
UH, MY OFFICE WAS CONTACTED BY A RETIRED NURSE FROM DISTRICT SIX WHO WAS ADVISED TO OUR SELF SCREENING TOOL THAT HE SHOULD BE TESTED, WHICH SURPRISE HIM, AND ALSO SHOWS US THAT OUR, UH, SELF SCREENING TOOL IS WORKING.
BUT HE WENT TO FREEMAN
[01:10:01]
NOT ADHERING TO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND OTHER STANDARDS.UM, WE TALKED TO
I DID SHARE THAT WITH MY UNIFIED COMMAND TEAM, UM, SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
AND, UH, IT IS ON THE AGENDA TOMORROW MORNING.
WE MEET, UM, AT EIGHT O'CLOCK, UH, TO MAKE SURE, UM, I TOTALLY, THIS IS REALLY GOOD.
IM IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO KNOW.
AND, UH, SO IT HAS BEEN RAISED.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IT TOMORROW MORNING, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH YOU ON WHAT OUR PLAN IS TO ADDRESS IT.
I, I EAGERLY AWAIT THE RESULTS OR, OR WHAT WE CAN DO TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING OUR PART, NOT TO SPREAD THE, AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
JUST AS A REMINDER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, JUST, UM, UNMUTE THE SCREEN AS WELL AS YOUR PHONE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? THERE'S A LOT OF ECHO NOW.
JUST, UH, TURN YOUR SPEAKER DOWN, UM, AND THAT WAY WE'LL GET THROUGH THE ECHO NOW.
IT'S A LITTLE SPOOKY
UM, BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, I DO WANNA ECHO, UH, COUNCIL'S COMMENTS ABOUT, UM, OUR HEARTS GOING OUT TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST SOMEONE, UH, DURING THIS TIME.
UH, I WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE OBITUARIES, UH, YESTERDAY.
UH, LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO, UM, WHO PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE, OR SOME PEOPLE WHO PROBABLY WOULD'VE BEEN THERE, UM, REGARDING, UH, WE GOT NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A SPANISH LANGUAGE TOWN HALL YESTERDAY.
UH, I THINK THAT'S NOT YESTERDAY, BUT, UM, LAST WEEK.
UM, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO SEND US IN THE FOLLOW-UP MEMO, UH, ERIC, UH, THE, ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL OUTREACH YOU'RE DOING WITH THE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT'S SPANISH LANGUAGE OR, OR SOMETHING ELSE? AND, UH, FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS, WE CAN TRY TO PROMOTE THAT INFORMATION THROUGH, THROUGH OUR NETWORKS.
UM, A QUESTION ABOUT, UH, THE SHELTERS FOR THE ONES THAT ARE OPERATING AND THEIR, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THEIR CURRENT CLIENTS, DO THEY HAVE SPACE FOR ADEQUATE DISTANCING WITHIN THEM? OR IS, HAS THAT BEEN VERIFIED? SO THIS IS COLLEEN.
WHEN WE REACHED OUT TO THEM ABOUT THIS, UM, UH, 300 ROOM HOTEL OPPORTUNITY, SEVERAL OF THEM SAID THAT THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED IN TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THEY HAD ENOUGH SPACE IN THEIR FACILITY OR A LAYOUT THAT WAS SUCH THAT COULD, UM, GUARANTEE SOCIAL DISTANCING, RIGHT? AND THE, THE PEOPLE IN THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS THAT ARE BEING, UH, VISITED BY SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES.
SO THEY'RE BEING OFFERED FOOD AND, UH, HYGIENE KITS, BUT ARE THEY OFFERED SHELTER AS WELL? LIKE IF THEY WANTED? SO THAT ONE'S TRICKY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY SHELTERS THAT ARE ACCEPTING THE GENERAL POPULATION OF HOMELESS.
IF WE FIND A FAMILY, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE CAN FIND A SHELTER FOR THEM.
UM, BUT IF IT IS A SINGLE MALE WITH NO MILITARY CONNECTION, UM, THERE, THERE IS NOT CURRENTLY A SHELTER FOR HIM TO GO TO.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT.
IF WE CREATED THIS TEMPORARY SHELTER, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE SOME OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS? RIGHT.
THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT THE, THE TEMPORARY OR THE OVERFLOW WOULD BE FOR.
IN, IN SAN FRANCISCO, THEY'RE USING THEIR CONVENTION CENTER AS AN OVERFLOW, UH, SHELTER THAT'S GOT OBVIOUSLY TENS, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SQUARE FEET THERE.
UM, BUT I, I, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT'S POSSIBLE IF, IF WE WERE TO PURSUE IT.
UM, IT, THIS QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE RESTAURANTS.
VERY GLAD TO HEAR ABOUT THE OUTREACH TEAMS. UM, HOW, HOW MANY DO YOU MANAGE TO VISIT IN A GIVEN DAY? WHAT ARE YOU SEEING AND WHAT PARTS OF TOWN ARE YOU FOCUSING ON?
[01:15:07]
SORRY ABOUT THAT.UM, WE JUST STARTED CANVASING LAST WEEK AND OUR TEAM MEETS, UM, ON A, UH, ON EVERY MONDAY MORNING.
SO THEY MET YESTERDAY AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE DATA TO SEE NOT ONLY WHERE THERE ARE HOTSPOTS, BUT EMERGING HOTSPOTS.
SO IF WE START SEEING SOME NUMBERS SHIFT, UM, ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY, THEN, AND THEN WE OVERLAY THAT WITH, UM, INFORMATION AROUND HEALTH ARE, UM, FACING SOME OF OUR MORE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES.
SO ALL OF THOSE LAYERS HELP US DETERMINE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS SOME OF THAT OUTREACH.
UM, CURRENTLY THE, I CAN GET THIS FOR YOU REAL QUICK.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT CERTAIN ZIP CODES, AND I WANT ANSWER THAT FOR YOU REAL QUICK.
WE HAVE ABOUT SIX ZIP CODES ON THE EAST SIDE, FOUR ZIP CODES ON THE WEST SIDE, FIVE ZIP CODES ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND FIVE ON IN CENTRAL, UM, OF THE CITY.
AND ALL OF THOSE ARE A PART OF OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, ELDER, ELDERLY, DISABLED RESIDENTS, AND, AND THOSE WITH HIGH HEALTH DISPARITIES.
UM, AND CANVASSING THOSE AREAS AND RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESSES ARE A PART OF THAT.
THAT'S EXCELLENT BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE MIGHT SEE SOME OF THE WORST IMPACTS, UM, YOU KNOW, EXACTLY WHO HAVE PREEXISTING CONDITIONS.
SO I'M VERY, I'M VERY GLAD TO, TO HEAR THAT.
UM, IN TERMS OF HOTSPOTS AND HOW YOU DETERMINE THOSE, UM, I, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED, AND I, AND I HAD MENTIONED THIS TO, TO DR.
BRIDGER BECAUSE UP UNTIL NOW WHEN SOMEONE HAS CALLED, UH, TO TRY TO GET TESTED BECAUSE THEY'RE, UM, THEY HAVE SYMPTOMS AND THEY SHARE A, A HOUSEHOLD WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS ALREADY TESTED POSITIVE, UM, THEY'VE BEEN TOLD, WELL, YOU'RE VERY LIKELY TO HAVE IT, SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO TEST YOU.
AND THAT IS NOT PART OF THE OFFICIAL COUNT OF CASES.
SO, UM, I, I GUESS I'M WONDERING IS THAT, CAN WE STILL CAPTURE AND USE THAT INFORMATION IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DRIVING WHERE OUR RESOURCES GO? IT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE INFORMATION TO HAVE IN CONSIDERATION.
YEAH, I THINK THAT THAT'S A, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT POINT.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, I THINK THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE BETWEEN MAKING SURE THAT WE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR TESTING CAPABILITIES IN THE CITY.
WHILE IT MAY BE GROWING, OUR LAB PROCESSING IS STILL A STRUGGLE NATIONALLY.
UM, WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH TESTS AVAILABLE FOR SOME OF OUR ISOLATED BREAKOUTS, UM, OUR OUTBREAKS THAT WE MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING, LIKE WE ARE IN A NURSING HOME.
SO WE'RE REALLY TO LOOK AT WHAT OUR CAPABILITIES ARE OF TESTING EACH DAY, UM, AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLY TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND AND REACT ACCORDINGLY IF WE DO HAVE AN OUTBREAK.
UM, SO ALL OF THOSE POLICIES ARE VERY FLEXIBLE.
UM, AND SO CERTAINLY IF THERE'S A SITUATION WHERE WE DO NEED TO TEST, UM, IN A HOUSEHOLD, THEN WE CERTAINLY WILL DO THAT.
IT'S A FINE BALANCE OF TRYING TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH TESTING FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY TYPE OF EMERGENCIES.
UM, I, I HOPE SOMEONE'S KEEPING TRACK OF THAT.
UM, AND IF WE'RE NOT, I OH, YEAH, AND YEAH, I, I APOLOGIZE.
THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DELAY.
WE'RE DEFINITELY KEEPING TRACK, UM, OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE IN, IN THE HOUSEHOLD, THOSE ARE OUR, THOSE ARE OUR CLOSE CONTACT AND, AND THE ONE, AND THOSE ARE PART OF CONTACT INVESTIGATION.
UM, SO LAST TIME I ASKED ABOUT THE RAPID TESTS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE F D A FOR USE.
UM, AND WE GET THE RESULTS IN ABOUT 45, UH, MINUTES OR FIVE MINUTES IN SOME CASES.
I WAS, WE WERE TOLD THAT, UH, THEY'RE CURRENTLY BEING EVALUATED, UH, FOR THEIR EFFECTIVENESS.
SO, UM, WHAT'S THE STATUS? WHEN WILL WE KNOW IF WE CAN USE THOSE? BECAUSE IF WE DECIDE TO PURCHASE THOSE, UH, WE COULD PROBABLY BE IN REIMBURSED BY FEDERAL FUNDS AND IT WOULD EXPAND VASTLY OUR TESTING CAPACITY, UH, FOLLOW UP.
UM, WE WERE DOING A PILOT WITH, UM, SOME OF THOSE RAPID TESTS, AND I'LL GET BACK WITH YOU ON THE STATUS OF THAT.
LET ME, LET ME ALSO ADD, UH, WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UH, U H SS WHO, WHO'VE ALSO TAKEN THE LEAD ON ON, UM, THAT ANALYSIS.
UM, MANY OF THE, OF THE RAPID TESTS THAT WE'VE SEEN, UH, ON THE NEWS, THE CFI, UH, THE ABBOTT LABORATORIES, UH, MANY OF THOSE PRODUCTS, UH, WERE, UH, PRIMARILY
[01:20:01]
PROCURED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE INITIALLY, AND THEN THOSE COMPANIES ARE, UM, TARGETING HOTSPOTS IN OUR COUNTRY.UM, I, I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH GEORGE HERNANDEZ, UM, ON SUNDAY ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT SAN ANTONIO, THE COMMUNITY PURCHASING THROUGH U H S WHEN WE DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, UH, TO, TO DO THAT.
AND, UM, WE ARE CONTINUE TO WATCH THAT.
UH, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER ELIAS.
CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? YES.
SO, UM, I'LL, I'LL START OFF, UH, BY, BY FIRST OF ALL, HIGHLIGHTING AGAIN, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, UH, THAT OUR, UH, PARTNERS AT THE SAN ANTONIO APARTMENT ASSOCIATION ARE REALLY LEANING IN AND, AND WORKING HARD ON THIS, UH, RENT FORGIVENESS PROGRAM AND THEIR MITIGATION PROGRAM.
AND, UH, I'M ENCOURAGING MY COLLEAGUES TO PAY REALLY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT, UM, APARTMENT OPERATORS ARE, ARE DOING.
MANY OF THEM ARE LEANING IN, THEY'RE, UH, THROWING IN ALL OF THEIR WEIGHT AND INFLUENCE BEHIND THIS PROGRAM AND TRYING TO RECRUIT OTHER, UH, LANDLORDS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE KNOW THAT, UM, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF LANDLORDS OUT THERE, PARTICULARLY, UH, URBAN OPERATORS WHO ARE GONNA DO THE RIGHT THING, AND THERE'S GONNA BE SOME THAT DON'T.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MY HOPE IS THAT THEY DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT DOING IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THIS COUNCIL SEND THE MESSAGE THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, WE ARE KEEPING SCORE AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE COUNTING ON EVERYBODY TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
UM, BUT THANK YOU TO THE APARTMENT ASSOCIATION FOR WORKING SO HARD.
EMER, CAN YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS BOT, THIS ONLINE BOT, UH, ON OUR WEBSITE, WHAT IT DOES AND WHY WE HAVE IT, AND WHY, WHY WE SHOULD BE EXCITED ABOUT IT? YOU BROKE UP JUST A LITTLE WEBSITE.
IS IT THE SCREENING? NO, THE, YEAH, THE BOT, THE, THE ONLINE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BOT
THIS IS A FEATURE THAT WE PUT ON THE WEBSITE, YOU KNOW, SO WE, YOU KNOW, MIGHT ACCESS OUR CABLE COMPANY OR, YOU KNOW,
THAT'S A BOT, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT A REAL PERSON ON THE BACKEND, BUT THAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT'S LOW BACKEND THAT WHERE PEOPLE ASK THEIR QUESTION IN THAT BAR AND BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THEIR, UM, SOME OF THEIR, UH, QUESTIONS
SO IT'S JUST ANOTHER
BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT'S MORE THAN THAT.
IT'S NOT JUST A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED, BUT IT'S A TOOL THAT WE'VE, THAT WE'VE, UM, ROLLED OUT THAT IS A MACHINE LEARNING TOOL, AND THAT RIGHT NOW, BASED ON THE QUESTIONS THAT IT'S GETTING, IT'S LEARNING.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE EXAMPLES OF, OF, UH, SORT OF THE INNOVATION THAT'S GONE INTO, UM, AND, AND THOUGHTFULNESS THAT'S GONE INTO PROVIDING AS MUCH, YOU KNOW, GOOD DATA AS POSSIBLE, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT WAYS TO REALIZE EFFICIENCIES.
AND SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR, FOR COMING UP WITH A BOT IDEA, BUT, UM, I, I, I REALLY AM EXCITED.
UM, I, I, I
I MEAN, WE'RE STEALING IDEAS FROM EVERYBODY.
UM, THE, THE OTHER THING I, THAT I WANT TO, UH, MENTION, AND, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING OF STEALING IDEAS IS I, I, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT AT EVERY ONE OF THESE MEETINGS, WE, WE EMPHASIZE THAT THERE'S TWO PRIORITIES FOR THIS COUNCIL.
AND, YOU KNOW, PRIORITY NUMBER ONE IS SAVING LIVES, AND PRIORITY NUMBER TWO IS PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO, UM, I, I'LL BE FRANK WITH YOU, I, I CONSIDER MYSELF AND MY FAMILY TO BE REALLY BLESSED TO BE LIVING IN SAN ANTONIO RIGHT NOW DURING THIS CRISIS, UM, AND NOT LIVING IN ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY IN THE UNITED STATES WHO'S FACING THE SAME CRISIS WE ARE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY, UH, FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE COMPLAINING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT BEING INNOVATIVE ENOUGH OR TRYING HARD ENOUGH TO GET OURSELVES WRITTEN UP IN THE NEWSPAPER, ADMIRED BY JOURNALISTS OR, YOU KNOW, ADMIRED BY OTHER CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT WHO ADMIRES US.
I ONLY CARE ABOUT SAVING LIVES.
AND ANYBODY WHO'S LOOKING AT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, IF THEY'RE REALLY BEING HONEST, UM, WE'LL CLEARLY SEE AND,
[01:25:01]
UH, ADMIT THAT WE'RE KICKING BUTT.SO JUST, YOU KNOW, HERE'S SOME FACTS.
UM, THE D F W AREA HAS EXPERIENCED 48 DEATHS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE HOUSTON AREA 26, PHOENIX MARICOPA, AREA 35, PHILADELPHIA, 65 CHICAGO, 210 DEATHS.
AND THEN FOR CITIES THAT ARE SMALLER THAN US, UM, INDIANAPOLIS, 48 DEATHS, THE BAY AREA 107, THE DC AREA, 126 LAS VEGAS 54, AND BEAR COUNTY, ACCORDING TO THE NUMBERS THAT I JUST HEARD, UH, DR.
EMRICH GIVE US, IS IT 18? UM, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE.
UH, AND IF THAT'S NOT EVIDENCE THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR TEAM IS WORKING AND DOING THE RIGHT THING IS, THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT, WHAT IS.
AND, AND QUITE HONESTLY, UM, I I, I THINK IT'S INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST TO SUGGEST THAT WE'RE NOT DOING, UH, INNOVATIVE THINGS AND BEING AGGRESSIVE ENOUGH.
UM, AT THE SAME TIME, I WILL SAY THAT, UH, I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO CELEBRATE THE HEROES AMONG US.
AND SO I'LL END MY COMMENTS, MAYOR BY, UM, MENTIONING TWO, YOU KNOW, TWO FOLKS.
ONE IS SHEA BLUMER OUT AT NEUSTAR, UH, AND THE OTHER ONE IS, UH, DR.
MAG AND, UH, EMMA, NINA, UH, BOTH OF THEM, WHEN WE TOLD THEM THAT THE BATTERED WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S SHELTER, UH, WERE IN DESPERATE NEED OF THERMOMETERS, UH, PARTICULARLY THE FOREHEAD, UH, YOU KNOW, NO TOUCH THERMOMETERS, UH, THEY SCOURED AND WENT OUT AND FOUND US, UH, THERMOMETERS.
AND YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW DIFFICULT IT'S TO FIND TWO THERMOMETERS IN SAN ANTONIO, WHICH IS A REAL SHAME.
BUT, UM, THOSE, YOU KNOW, THE BATTERED WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S SHELTER TONIGHT HAS ABOUT 140 WOMEN IN KIDS WHOSE TEMPERATURES HAVE TO BE MEASURED TWICE A DAY AND OPERATING WITH ONE THERMOMETER.
AND SO, UM, THANK YOU TO, AND THANK YOU TO DR.
UM, MAYOR, THOSE ARE, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE AND COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
DON'T FORGET TO, UM, UNMUTE SCREEN AS WELL AS YOUR PHONE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YEAH, YOU'LL NEED TO, UM, TURN DOWN YOUR SPEAKER OR PUT IN SOME EAR BUDS.
DO YOU HAVE THE FORM, YOUR ENTRY IS NOT VALID, OR THE MEETING HAS NOT STARTED YET.
REENTER YOUR ACCESS CODE OR MEETING NUMBER FOLLOWED BY POUND.
COUNCIL MEMBER KURTZ, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, AND THEN COME BACK TO YOU, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, YOU ON THE FLOOR.
UH,
UH, THANKS ANNA, FOR SENDING THE, THE SLIDES THAT OUT TO US ON, ON THIS THING.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ON THE SLIDES.
AND, AND LORI, I GUESS THAT'S BACK TO YOU AGAIN.
UM, THE WAY I'M SAYING THIS, YOU'VE GOT, YOU'RE SHOWING ABOUT 18, 18 AND HALF MILLION DOLLARS ON THE, THE FUNDING FUNDING, UH, SOURCES FROM HOUSING AND HOMELESS.
IS THAT BOTH FOR, UM, BEING REQUESTED OF THE CARES ACT? NO.
SO WE HAVE, UH, FROM THE CARESS ACT 7.7 MILLION IN C D B G FUNDING THAT CAN GO TOWARDS RENTAL AND HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
AND WE HAVE THE 3.9 MILLION IN THE EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT THAT'S SPECIFIC TO HOMELESS AND HOMELESS PREVENTION AND HOMELESS RESOURCES.
AND THEN 300,000 IN THE HOPWA FUNDING, WHICH IS SPECIFIC TO HOUSING PERSONS WITH H I V OR AIDS.
SO IT'S 11.9 MILLION IN CARES ACT FUNDING.
[01:30:02]
OKAY.AND SO WE'RE, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH SHORTER ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THEN? WHAT I, I'M, I'M, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE UP THE NUMBERS.
YOU HAVE NUMBERS ON THE SLIDE THAT'S LISTED THERE, AND THAT'S 18.
SO WE HAVE FOUR, WE HAVE 14.2 MILLION THAT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED TO HELP US WITH HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR BOTH RENTAL MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE, UTILITY ASSISTANCE, OR WHATEVER ELSE WE DECIDE THAT WE NEED TO FUND.
COUNCILMAN
WE'VE LOOKED AT FOOD ACCESS, BUT THERE'S 14.2 MILLION THAT WE HAVE IN THAT BUCKET.
AND THAT IS COMING FROM OUR FUND BALANCE FOR OUR RENTAL AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THE ADDITIONAL 1 MILLION FROM THE HOUSING TRUST, AND THEN $4.7 MILLION IN OUR EXISTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUDGET THAT WE HAVE MADE AVAILABLE AS A RESULT OF SEVERAL PROGRAMS BEING SUSPENDED, UM, DUE TO THE COVID PANDEMIC.
SO I, I'M GETTING AT, NOW THIS IS THE ACTUAL, THESE ARE THE RESOURCES THAT YOU HAVE ON HAND? YES.
I, I WAS THINKING THE OTHER WAY AROUND THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED AS THE REQUIREMENT IN EACH ONE OF THOSE AREAS? NO, THESE, THESE ARE WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
WELL THEN THE, UM, THE NEXT SLIDE THEN, UH, CARESS ACT, EMERGENCY SOLUTION GRANTS, UH, IT'S 3.9 MILLION.
SO, UM, THE TOTAL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THEN IS, UH, HOW MANY, HOW MANY MILLIONS HERE WHEN YOU ADDED? SO, WELL, THE, THE PREVIOUS SLIDE HAD THE 18.5 MILLION THAT INCLUDED BOTH FUNDING FOR HOMELESS AND HOUSING, AND THAT INCLUDED THE 3.9 MILLION THAT HAVE IDENTIFIED ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND WHAT WE'VE DONE ON THIS SLIDE IS WE'VE ACTUALLY BROKEN DOWN HOW WE'RE GONNA USE THAT 3.9 MILLION IN E S G FUNDING.
SO IT'S NOT ADDITIONAL FUNDING, IT'S A SUBSET OF THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
AND THIS 3.9 MILLION IS WHAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE FOOD INSECURITY AND SHELTER WORKING GROUP EARLIER THIS MORNING.
I'M, I'M UNDERSTANDING IT A LITTLE BIT MORE CLEARLY NOW.
UH, SO THIS IS ALL MONEY THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, UH, UP TO THIS POINT.
AND YOU'VE IDENTIFIED $3.9 MILLION TO BE SPENT OUT OF THAT TOTAL 18, 18 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS SO FAR.
AND THAT 3.9 MILLION, THAT IS ALL FEDERAL FUNDING, AND IT IS SPECIFIC TO HOMELESS PREVENTION AND HOMELESS HOUSING SERVICES.
UM, OUT OF THAT, UH, HAVING, HAVING SAID THAT, RIGHT NOW, WE'RE NOT, THERE'S NO GENERAL FUNDS BEING ALLOCATED AT ALL ON THAT.
I THINK YOU SAID THAT DURING CORRECT.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY GENERAL FUND IN THESE TWO PROGRAMS. OKAY.
UH, WOULD YOU ACCEPT, I APOLOGIZE, THE INITIAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THAT $430,000 OR THAT 400,000 THAT'S REMAINING, THAT WAS FUNDED THROUGH THE GENERAL FOLK FUND, UM, AS PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2020 BUDGET.
SO THAT'S THE ONLY GENERAL FUND DOLLARS THAT ARE IN THIS BUDGET.
UH, AND THEN GETTING BACK TO THIS HOTEL AGAIN, UH, 300 ROOMS. I UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT, BUT, UM, ARE YOU GONNA SIGN A CONTRACT ON THIS? THE CITY WILL SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THE HOTEL TO PROCURE THE 300 ROOMS. OKAY.
AND THAT'S FOR THE 2.472 MILLION.
AND HOW LONG IS THIS CONTRACT FOR? THE ACTUAL HOTEL COMPONENT IS ONLY ABOUT 1.69 MILLION.
UM, THE REMAINING FUNDING IS FOR, UM, SERVICING, UM, THOSE IN THE HOTEL WITH FOOD AND THEN ALSO PROVIDING MEDICAL, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
SO HOTEL IS 1.69 AND WE'VE DONE AN ESTIMATE FOR 90 DAYS.
IS THERE A, AN ESCAPE CLAUSE OR ANYTHING THAT IF WE DON'T GO 90 DAYS, WE CAN, UH, UH, GET OUT OF THE CONTRACT, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING WITH OUR HOTEL CONTRACTS AND DOING 'EM FOR 30 DAYS, AND THEN WITH AN EXTENSION.
SO WE'LL BE WORKING ON THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS.
WE, WE JUST IDENTIFIED THIS HOTEL YESTERDAY AND WE'RE NEGOTIATIONS WITH 'EM RIGHT NOW.
SO YOU'RE GONNA TRY TO GET IT FOR 30 DAYS WITH EXTENSIONS? YES.
UM, AND TO THAT, TO THAT COMMENT, I GUESS, UH, HERE A WHILE BACK, DR.
EMRICK, I HAD, UM, ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT HOW ARE WE GONNA RAMP BACK UP FROM WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY ON GETTING BACK TO NORMAL FOOTING
[01:35:01]
FOR, FOR THE CITY.UH, WHAT'S THE CRITERIA, WHAT'S THE PROCESS AND HOW, HOW ARE WE GONNA TURN THINGS BACK AROUND ON THIS WHOLE PROCESS OR THIS WHOLE, WHOLE RESPONSE TO THIS EVIDENCE? YEAH, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T THINK I HAVE A FULL ANSWER FOR THAT.
I THINK THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN WITH THE DATA THAT WE ARE COLLECTING.
UM, WE HAVE THIS PREDICTIVE MODELING, MODELING PROJECT WITH, UM, SAN ANTONIO TO HELP US LOOK AT THAT FORECASTING.
UM, SO WE ARE STILL TRYING TO DO SOME OF THAT PREDICTIVE WORK BY U UTILIZING THE DATA THAT WE HAVE.
UM, WE HAVE, AS I MENTIONED IN MY REPORT, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE BEHAVIOR OF OUR RESIDENTS AND HOW THEY ARE RESPONDING TO DECLARATIONS AND WHETHER THEY ARE CHANGING THEIR BEHAVIOR, SOCIAL DISTANCING.
SO WE HAVE THAT DATA, SO WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS BY LOOKING AT THE DATA, BUT WE HAVE SOME TIME FOR US, WE NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT DATA REALLY MEANS.
BUT I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS OR SO.
A COMMENT ABOUT ANALYZING THE DATA AND HOW THE POPULATION IS REACTING TO, UH, THESE EDICT THAT ARE COMING OUT.
AND LET ME TELL YOU, I'M GETTING A LOT OF COMMENTS AND, UM, UH, PUSHBACK ON THE GOLF COURSE THING, AND I EXPECT TO DISCUSS THIS ON THURSDAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, UH, WE'LL MOVE BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, I HAVE A, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT.
ONE IS, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE OF SENIORS WHO WERE REGULARLY GETTING MEALS AT THE SENIOR CENTERS, UH, ARE NOW RECEIVING THOSE MEALS AT THIS TIME? COUNCILMAN, WE, I, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS FOR YOU, SO I WILL PUT THAT ON THE LIST AND, UM, GET YOU AN ANSWER.
WELL, I HOPE IT'S, YOU KNOW, A HIGH PERCENTAGE, LIKE 90% OR ABOVE.
I'D HATE TO THINK THAT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER THAT ARE MISSING OUT, BUT YEAH, I, I'D SURE LIKE TO HEAR THAT.
UM, SO I WOULD GUESS THEN THAT YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SIMILAR SITUATION IS WITH SCHOOLCHILDREN AND SA EITHER.
AND THAT WOULD BE A LOT HARDER QUESTION FOR US TO ANSWER FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT ISVS.
I CAN GET YOU THE SENIOR CENTER ANSWER BY THE END OF THE DAY TODAY.
UM, I, I KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON, AND I WONDER HOW WE'RE GOING TO INTEGRATE ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WE KNOW AND THESE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE NEW WORKING GROUPS THAT THE MAYOR AND JUDGE WOLF HAVE ESTABLISHED.
ANYONE WANNA GIVE US A, A GO ON HOW THAT'S GONNA BE INTEGRATED? COUNCILMAN? I'LL, UH, I'LL TAKE A, A STAB AT THAT.
UM, SO, UM, I, I'M, I, I THINK THAT AS THE WORKING GROUPS BEGIN THEIR, THEIR CONVERSATION AND FOCUS ON THE, THE LARGE IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES OF, OF THINGS LIKE JOBS AND FOOD AND, AND RESOURCES AND HOMELESSNESS, ONCE THOSE ISSUES, UM, I THINK ARE ADDRESSED, I THINK THE, THE WORKING GROUP PIECE WILL BE, WILL, WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE.
I KNOW, UH, AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE COUNCIL REMARKS, GORDON IS GONNA KIND OF GIVE YOU, UH, GIVE THE ENTIRE COUNCIL AN UPDATE OF, OF YOU FROM ALL THE WORKING GROUPS, BUT I THINK THAT'S STILL A, A WORK IN PROGRESS AND TRYING TO INCORPORATE, UH, FEEDBACK AND CONVERSATION AND COORDINATION.
WELL, I, I JUST NOTICED OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ARE THINGS THAT AT LEAST THREE OF THESE COMMITTEES, THE, THE SHELTER AND FOOD COMMITTEE, UH, THE BUSINESS AND EMPLOYEES COMMITTEE AND THE SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEES, AND I, I THINK THAT SOMEHOW IF THERE CAN BE A LIAISON, UH, THAT CAN MEET WITH THESE COMMITTEES AND BRING US UP TO DATE ON WHAT, UH, EVERYBODY WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON COVID FROM ALL THESE DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, UH, HAS LEARNED OR HAS INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO US, AND THEN WE CAN START LOOKING FOR THE GAPS AND WE CAN START LOOKING ON THESE COMMITTEES AS WHERE DO WE GO FORWARD FROM HERE? SO
[01:40:01]
I JUST WANTED TO GET PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT THAT.UH, ONE OTHER THING I WANTED TO BRING UP, BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING I'VE HEARD ABOUT AND I IMAGINE SOME OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS MAY HAVE, AND THAT IS, UH, WE'RE DOING AN EVALUATION OF A LOT OF THE CASES THAT WE HAVE, UH, THE TESTING, THE RESULTS.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVEN'T SEEN IS A BREAKDOWN BY ETHNICITY OR COLOR BECAUSE, UH, WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT, UH, LARGE POPULATIONS OF COLOR IN CHICAGO AND NEW ORLEANS BEING, UH, HIGH NUMBERS OF VICTIMS FOR THE C OVID 19 OUTBREAK.
AND I THINK SAN ANTONIO OUGHT TO BE LOOKING AT IT ALSO BECAUSE IT, IT REALLY LEADS TO A COLLECTIVE PROBLEM IN PEOPLE OF COLOR, UH, PEOPLE OF COLOR, GETTING THE RIGHT KIND OF HEALTHCARE ON AN ONGOING BASIS THAT MAY BE MAKING THEM MUCH MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THIS.
YES, THIS IS DONE AGAIN, UM, WE ARE COLLECTING THAT.
AND OUR, UM, OUR FIRST, UM, DISPLAY OF THAT INFORMATION, WE'LL BE ON OUR WEBSITE TONIGHT AT SEVEN O'CLOCK.
UM, WE'RE ALSO TRACKING, UM, THE RACE AND ETHNICITY OF DEATHS.
UM, BECAUSE OUR DEATH RATE IS SO SMALL, UM, WE WILL BE USING PERCENTAGES FOR THAT TABLE, NOT NECESSARILY, UM, THE INDIVIDUAL AGGREGATE NUMBERS THAT WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, DISPLAYING OUR DATA.
UM, BUT YES, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT AS OF TONIGHT AT SEVEN O'CLOCK.
I'M GLAD WE'RE GONNA BE SEEING THAT DATA AS WELL.
AND IF I CAN ADD, COUNCILMAN THAT'S BEING INCLUDED IN YOUR END OF DAY REPORT TODAY.
AND I THINK WE'RE, WE HAVE, UH, NOW GOTTEN, UH, GORDON ON THE LINE.
UH, SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO GORDON TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE WORKING GROUP, UH, BEFORE WE CLOSE OUT.
SO, UM, GORDON, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR? I'M NOT MUTED.
YEAH, GORDON, WE, WE CAN HEAR YOU GO AHEAD.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I APOLOGIZE FOR WHATEVER HAPPENED EARLIER, BUT, UH, LET ME JUST, UH, GO OVER, UH, WHERE WE ARE WITH THE FIVE WORKING GROUPS.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, THIS PROCESS STARTED BACK ON MARCH 29TH, AND, UM, UH, IT MOVED VERY QUICKLY ON MARCH 30TH.
THERE WAS, UH, ACTION TAKEN TO PUT TOGETHER THESE FIVE WORKING GROUPS.
UM, SINCE THAT TIME, UH, 10, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ALONG WITH FOUR, UH, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HAVE COME TOGETHER ALONG WITH ABOUT 25 DIFFERENT COMMUNITY LEADERS, UH, AND, UH, STAFF, UH, FOR A, A TOTAL OF ABOUT 75 DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN THE FIVE WORKING GROUPS.
UH, AS EACH OF YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BROKEN DOWN INTO RESOURCES, FEDERAL AND STATE ADVOCACY, UH, PHILANTHROPY, UH, FOOD AND SHELTER, UH, AND HAVE HEARD A LOT OF CONVERSATION, UH, CONCERNING FOOD AND SHELTER, UH, DURING THIS MEETING, UH, THAT, UH, WORKING GROUP HAS, UM, UH, BEEN, UH, VERY INVOLVED IN ISSUES CONCERNING, UH, MANY OF THE THINGS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP, UH, DURING THESE DISCUSSIONS.
UH, I DO WANNA MENTION THAT THE ITEM THAT WAS BROUGHT UP AND DISCUSSED, UH, BY, UH, WAS ONE THAT WAS BROUGHT UP BY THE COMMITTEE, UH, IN THEIR MEETING LAST WEEK, UH, WHICH PROMPTED, UH, THEN DISCUSSIONS WITH HAVEN FOR HOPE AND KENNY WILSON, WHICH MOVED ADDITIONAL DISCUSSIONS ON SUNDAY, UH, WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND OTHERS, UH, THAT THEN PRODUCED A MEETING ON MONDAY, WHICH PRODUCED ACTION, UH, THAT WAS PRESENTED TO YOU TODAY.
WHY DO I TELL YOU THAT IS BECAUSE IT PROVES THAT THESE WORKING COMMITTEES, UH, WHEN FOCUSED, WHEN ADDRESSING CERTAIN ISSUES, UH, OF URGENCY, UH, AND THERE'S OWNERSHIP TAKEN THAT, UH, AMAZING THINGS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED.
UH, I DO WANT TO SAY, UH, AS I MENTIONED ABOUT, UH, THE CITY MANAGER, UH, WORKING WITH MELODY, UH, COLLEEN AND LORI AND EVERYBODY DOWN, UH, AT CITY HALL HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.
SO, AS A, UM, PRIVATE CITIZEN, UH, WHO'S INVOLVED IN THIS WORKING WITH, UH, MY CITY GOVERNMENT, I HAVE TO TELL YOU, UH, COUNSEL THAT YOU'LL HAVE SOME INCREDIBLE PEOPLE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE SOME THINGS HAPPEN.
UH, THE FIRST MEETINGS OF THESE WORKING GROUPS, UH, STARTED ON APRIL 2ND, UH, AND WENT ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THIS SATURDAY.
UH, THERE ARE OTHER WORKING GROUPS THAT ARE MEETING
[01:45:01]
THIS WEEK.UH, AGAIN, UH, THERE IS A REAL FOCUS ON THE ISSUE OF URGENCY, UM, BECAUSE OF, OF, OF, WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND EVERYBODY THAT BELIEVES, UH, FEELS THAT WAY.
UM, I BELIEVE, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE MAY HAVE BROUGHT UP HOW WE'RE GONNA TAKE ALL THESE IDEAS AND BRING THEM TOGETHER.
LEMME FIRST START BY SAYING THERE ARE A LOT OF IDEAS.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WANNA MAKE A LOT OF THINGS HAPPEN.
I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT, UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE ARE MANY, MANY PHONE CALLS, UH, MORE EMAILS THAN ARE POSSIBLE TO REVIEW EVERY, UH, UH, PART OF EVERY ONE OF 'EM.
AND SO, UH, AFTER KIND OF GETTING OUR FEET ON THE GROUND THE FIRST WEEK, WE ARE LOOKING AT DEVELOPING A, UH, WORKING GROUP MANAGER FOR EACH OF THE THREE RESPONSE, UH, WORKING GROUPS AND THE TWO RESOURCE, UH, WORKING GROUPS.
UH, WHAT WILL HAPPEN, UH, THESE WILL, UH, THESE PEOPLE WILL, WHO WILL BE APPOINTED BY, UM, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, WILL WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE CO-CHAIRS AND WITH THE MEMBERS AND THE RESOURCE LEADS OF EACH OF THE WORKING GROUPS.
IN AN EFFORT TO TAKE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT IS BEING BROUGHT IN, TRY TO WORK IN, IN FIGURING TWO THINGS.
NUMBER ONE, WHAT IS UNIQUE TO THAT PARTICULAR SITUATION WHERE WE MAY NEED TO GO OUT FOR RESOURCES.
AND ALSO, WHAT IS PARTICULAR TO THAT PARTICULAR GROUP THAT SHOULD BE SHARED WITH OTHER GROUPS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, NUMBER ONE, THAT IF WE HAVE A GOOD IDEA THAT WE IMMEDIATELY LOOK FOR RESOURCES, UM, BECAUSE OF THE URGENCY, AND ALSO LOOK AT IT FROM A STANDPOINT OF WHAT WE'RE PERSPECTIVE, MAKING SURE RESOURCES ARE THERE.
UH, UH, SO THIS NEW, UH, WORKING GROUP MANAGER, WHICH WE'LL HAVE FIVE OF THEM, WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH ME, ALONG WITH THE 10 DIFFERENT CO-CHAIRS IN AN EFFORT TO CONSOLIDATE, UM, UH, CONSOLIDATE INFORMATION, UH, ORGANIZE INFORMATION, UH, FORECAST, LOOK AT THINGS, DOCUMENT, UH, I CAN SEE THEM TROUBLESHOOTING WHEN NECESSARY.
I THINK WE CAPTURE METRICS, UH, AND OUTCOMES, UH, FOR THE MANY THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
AND SO THAT IS ALL GOING TO COME TOGETHER HERE, I THINK IN THE NEXT WEEK.
UH, THERE IS A CALL TOMORROW MORNING WITH ALL THE CO-CHAIRS IN AN EFFORT TO, UH, RELAY THIS DESIRE TO MOVE FORWARD AND, AND THIS, UH, NEW APPROACH, IF YOU WILL.
UH, AND IT'S ONE THAT IS BEING DONE NOT BECAUSE, UM, WE, WE DIDN'T SEE CERTAIN THINGS AT THE BEGINNING, BUT BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE AMOUNT OF AND DESIRE BY ALL THE WORKING GROUPS, BOTH, UM, PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR ARE JUST WANTING TO DO SO MUCH THAT WE JUST NEED ADDITIONAL HELP TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT NONE OF THE ISSUES ARE LOST.
AND ALSO THAT GOOD IDEAS ARE FOLLOWED THROUGH, LIKE THE ONE I SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER, THAT REALLY IS MAKING A TRUE DIFFERENCE IN THE AREA OF ASSISTING THOSE THAT ARE AT HAVEN FOR HOPE.
AND, UH, THOSE WHO ARE HOMELESS AND ALSO THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED OF FOOD.
UM, WE WILL BE, UH, COMPILING, UH, WEEKLY REPORTS FROM THE FIVE WORKING COM, UH, GROUPS.
UH, THOSE WILL THEN BE, UH, PUT INTO A BRIEF THAT WILL THEN BE, UH, SENT TO, UM, THE MAYOR AND TO THE JUDGE FOR REVIEW ON, ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
IN ADDITION, ALL THE CO-CHAIR, UM, ACTIVITY, UH, AND SHARING OF INFORMATION AND OTHER THINGS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE WE INTERCOMMUNICATE AND MAKE SURE WE ORGANIZE THIS PROCESS PROPERLY, WILL BE SHARED AS WELL, SO THAT WE'RE NOT, UH, WORKING IN SILOS EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE FIVE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS OF THESE WORKING GROUPS.
OBVIOUSLY, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ALL WORK TOGETHER AND WORK AMONG EACH OTHER.
UH, MANY OF, OF, UH, OF YOU HAVE, UH, REQUESTED AN INVOLVEMENT IN THE, UH, UM, SHELTER AND FOOD AREA, UH, AND YOU WILL HAVE THAT INVOLVEMENT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT, WORKING WITHIN THAT WORKING GROUP TO BE ABLE TO CONVEY INFORMATION FROM THE AREAS IN WHICH YOU'RE WORKING IN.
AND SO, UH, OBVIOUSLY I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN OFF TO A GOOD START.
WE'RE ONLY, UH, SEVEN OR EIGHT DAYS OLD.
UH, BUT, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK STILL AWAY AHEAD OF US, AS WE ALL KNOW THAT ARE ON THIS CALL.
THE RAMIFICATIONS, UH, OF THIS VIRUS IS, IS MUCH MORE, AND, AND PROBABLY IN SOME WAYS COULD BE MORE SEVERE THAN EVEN THE ISSUES WE'RE DEALING WITH TODAY.
BECAUSE ONCE THIS IS DONE AND WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK, GET BUSINESSES OPEN, MAKE SURE WE'RE DEALING WITH ISSUES OF THE SAFETY NET THROUGH SOCIAL SERVICES, UH, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GONNA NEED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF.
AND SO, UM, I, I THANK EVERY ONE OF YOU, UH, WHO
[01:50:01]
I BELIEVE JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY ON THE COUNCIL.I'VE, I KNOW I'VE COMMUNICATED WITH MAYBE NOT OVER PHONE CALLS, BUT HAVE COMMUNICATED EITHER THROUGH EMAILS, TEXT, OR, UH, UH, MANY DIFFERENT PHONE CALLS THAT WE'VE HAD.
AND I SENSE FROM EVERY ONE OF YOU A DESIRE TO CONTINUE THESE WORKING GROUPS AND CONTINUE TO IMPROVE UPON THEM.
SO WITH THAT, MAYOR AND COUNSEL, I'LL, UH, UH, GIVE THE FLOOR BACK TO YOU GUYS.
THANKS SO MUCH, GORDON, UH, FOR THE UPDATE, AND SORRY ABOUT THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
WE'LL IRON THAT OUT, UM, BEFORE, UM, UH, BEFORE WE GET THOSE, UM, UH, BEFORE WE HAVE THE NEXT MEETING.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, TURN THE FLOOR TO ERIC BEFORE WE WRAP UP, UH, THIS WORKING SESSION.
UM, SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FOLLOW-UP CALL, UH, FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS THAT, UM, THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO ANSWER.
WE WILL, UH, GET ANSWERS OUT TO ALL THE COUNCIL.
I DID WANT TO, UM, MAKE SURE THE COUNCIL KNOWS, JUST BASED ON THE CONVERSATION TODAY, UM, THAT THERE ARE, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF IMPENDING ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS QUICKLY.
UH, ONE OF 'EM, COUNCIL MEMBERS MENTIONED AS WELL AS GORDON, AND THAT'S THE FOOD BANK SECURITY.
UH, OVER THE NEXT, UH, UM, 10 TO 12 WEEKS
UM, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, WE NEED TO, UH, LEVERAGE THE FACT THAT, UM, WE HAVE SOME FEDERAL FUNDS AVAILABLE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LEVERAGING WHERE POSSIBLE, UH, WITH PROPERTY OWNERS TO COME UP WITH A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT AND COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL.
UM, I DID WANNA REITERATE A POINT THAT COUNCILWOMAN HAVER BROUGHT UP.
UH, WE WILL CONTINUE WORKING WITH THE SHELTERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE TRACKING OR THAT THEY ARE TRACKING, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE BEING TURNED AWAY, UH, FROM THE SHELTER SO THAT WE'VE GOT A GOOD HANDLE ON THAT.
UM, AND, UM, UM, THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THE BIG PIECES THAT, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE CONTINUING TO, TO WORK ON IN THE, IN THE SHORT TERM BETWEEN NOW, UH, LATER ON THIS WEEK.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, UH, TO A QUESTION THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL ASKED THOSE ALTERNATIVE CARE FACILITIES THAT CHIEF HOOD AND COLLEEN TALKED ABOUT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START ROLLING THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC SO THAT IF THERE ARE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, GENERAL POPULATION THAT ARE POSITIVE AND QUARANTINED AT HOME, MAYBE WITH A, WITH A FAMILY MEMBER THAT IS A, A, A VULNERABLE POPULATION INDIVIDUAL, THAT THERE'S AN ALTERNATIVE PLACE FOR THEM TO GO.
AND, AND THE TIME IS, UH, JUST ABOUT FOUR O'CLOCK.
UM, BEFORE WE, UM, ADJOURN THE MEETING THOUGH, UH, I DID WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY THIS IS OUR WORK SESSION.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE A PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, PERIOD DURING OUR WORK SESSION.
HOWEVER, UH, WE CAN DISCUSS WHETHER OR NOT THE THURSDAY MEETINGS ARE ADEQUATE FOR PUBLIC INPUT, AND IF NOT, THEN WE CAN FIGURE OUT SOME OTHER WAYS TO INCORPORATE MORE, UH, INPUT.
I KNOW ALL OF US HAVE OUR COMMUNICATION CHANNELS GOING NOW, BUT THIS IS A WORK SESSION FOR BRIEFING ONLY WITH REGARD TO, UH, THE REPORTING OUT OF THE WORKING SESSIONS THAT WAS INTENDED FROM THE START.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY WE HAD SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, BUT WE'LL MAKE SURE WE IRON THOSE OUT, UH, FOR THE NEXT MEETING SO THAT GORDON CAN BE UP TOP WITH THE REST OF THE STAFF.
AND AS A REMINDER, UM, ON OUR THURSDAY, UH, BUSINESS SESSIONS, OUR VOTING SESSIONS OF COUNCIL, UM, THIS WEEK WE HAVE A, UM, ITEM FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE EMERGENCY DECLARATION.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE WILL HAVE STAFF PRESENT, UH, AND AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS UPDATES AND, AND COUNCIL COMMENT IN QUESTION AT THE TIME, UH, IN FUTURE BUSINESS MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL, IF THERE'S NOT A SEPARATE ITEM, UH, ON THE COVID RESPONSE, UH, WE WILL HAVE THE CITY MANAGER'S REPORT TO GIVE A, AN UPDATE ABOUT THE RESPONSE AND, AND HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADDRESSING STAFF AT THE TIME.
UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, ANY, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT THAT'S NORMALLY HELD ON A COUNCIL A SESSION.
SO AGAIN, UM, THANK YOU TO STAFF, THANK YOU TO OUR COUNCIL, THANK YOU TO THE PUBLIC FOR BEARING WITH US IN, IN THIS FIRST, I THINK HISTORIC WEBEX MEETING.
FIRST TIME WE'VE DONE IT AS A CITY COUNCIL, UM, AND I'M, I'M SURE WE'RE GONNA BE IMPROVED ON THE NEXT GO ROUND.
BUT, UH, WITH THAT, IT IS 4:00 PM AND OUR SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION IS NOW ADJOURNED.