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[1. 20-4890 Staff presentation of the FY 2021 Proposed Budget focusing on, but not limited to, the following City Departments or Initiatives: [Erik Walsh, City Manager; Scott Huizenga, Director, Management and Budget] A. Hotel Occupancy Tax B. Convention & Sports Facilities C. Arts & Culture D. Airport 1.]
TIME IS, UH, 2:02 PM ON THIS 26TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2020.UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR CITY COUNCIL B.
UH, CLERK, DID YOU READ THE ROLE? COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
ALRIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
WE HAVE TWO, UH, PRESENTATIONS TODAY.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, DO THOSE CONSECUTIVELY, UH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A ROUND OF 10 MINUTE QUESTIONS, UH, TO HOPEFULLY COVER THE ENTIRETY OF IT.
UH, WE GOTTA RUN AN EFFICIENT SHIFT TODAY, SO LEMME TURN IT OVER, UH, TO, UH, ERIC WALSH.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
UM, I'VE, UH, WE'VE GOT TWO PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'LL START OFF WITH.
BEN GO IS GONNA DO THE FIRST COUPLE OF SLIDES AND THEY'LL HAND IT OVER TO PATRICIA AND DEBBIE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO JESUS, UH, FOR A REVIEW OF THE, UH, THE, UH, AVIATION FUND.
OKAY, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, ERIC MENTIONED, I'M JUST GONNA DO A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF HOW THE HOT FUND, UH, WORKS.
SO IF WE CAN GO TO SLIDE TWO, JOHN.
SO JUST AS A REMINDER, THE TOTAL HOT TAX RATE IS 16.75%.
UH, OF THAT 9% IS THE CITY 2% THAT IS DEDICATED FOR CONVENTION CENTER DEBT.
7% THAT GOES TOWARDS A PORTION OF THE 7% THAT GOES TOWARDS OPERATIONS.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE STATE GETS 6% IN BEXAR COUNTY, 1.75% ON THE PIE.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE IS HOW THE 7%, UH, NET HOT TAX IS ALLOCATED WITH 15% GOING TO ARTS, 15% TO HISTORY AND PRESERVATION, AND THEN 35% TO VISIT SAN ANTONIO AND APPROXIMATELY 35% TO CONVENTION FACILITIES.
SO THIS SLIDE IS OBVIOUSLY KIND OF BUSY, UM, AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY THIS IS A KIND OF A SIMPLISTIC VIEW OF ACTUALLY WHAT'S UNDERNEATH THE FUND AND HOW IT FUNCTIONS.
BUT WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW THE FUNDS FLOW INTO THIS PARTICULAR FUND, UH, AND THEN SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING, UH, DUE TO THE PANDEMIC.
SO I'M GONNA START OVER ON THE FAR LEFT, AND I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH THIS MORE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HOW IT WORKS IN A TYPICAL YEAR.
SO ON THE FAR LEFT, YOU CAN SEE THE CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL THERE, THAT'S THE GRAND HYATT.
SO IT'S OPERATIONS, UH, TYPICALLY OR OR TO DATE HAVE PROVIDED FUNDS SUFFICIENT TO PAY FOR THE BONDS THAT WERE ISSUED IN 2005 TO SUPPORT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT HOTEL AS PLEDGED REVENUES THAT ARE, UH, PLEDGED TO SECURITY TO THOSE BONDS.
SO IN THE EVENT THE HOTEL CANNOT GENERATE ENOUGH INCOME TO PAY FOR THE BONDS, THOSE INDENTURES HAVE IN PLACE A PLEDGE OF THE CITY'S 2% HOT.
AND THE CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL 7% HOT.
SO THE AMOUNT OF OF 7% HOT THAT'S JUST GENERATED AT THAT SINGLE HOTEL IS PLEDGED TO THE REPAYMENT IN THE DEBT.
IN THE EVENT THAT THE CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL OR THE GRAND HYATT CAN'T GENERATE ENOUGH INCOME, OUR REVENUE COMES INTO PLAY AND IS USED TO COVER DEBT SERVICE, UH, PRIOR TO THIS FISCAL YEAR THAT HAD NEVER HAPPENED.
MOVING TOWARDS THE RIGHT, UH, OUR 2% HOT THAT WE COLLECT CITYWIDE, WE USE 100% OF IT IN A TYPICAL YEAR, UH, UH, TOWARDS OUR PAYMENT OF OUR CONVENTION CENTER DEBT WE TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY, WE'VE GOT JUST OVER HALF A BILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT.
THIS IS, UH, ALL OF THIS FUNDING IS USED FOR THAT DEBT PAYMENT.
GOING TO THE FAR RIGHT, OUR 7% HOT COMES IN AND A PORTION OF IT, WHATEVER WE NEED TO MAKE UP THE BALANCE THAT WE NEED TO MAKE THE DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT ON THE CONVENTION CENTER PAYMENT COMES OFF THE TOP OF THE 7% HOT.
WHAT'S LEFT IS REFERRED TO AS THE NET 7% HOT.
AND THAT IS WHAT WHAT IS ALLOCATED TO VISIT SAN ANTONIO ARTS HISTORY AND PRESERVATION AND THE CONVENTION, SPORTS AND FACILITIES, UH, GROUP.
THE CONVENTION, SPORTS AND FACILITIES, UH, GROUP ALSO GETS FACILITY REVENUES FROM RENTAL
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AND CONCESSIONS AT BOTH BUILDINGS.SO THAT HELPS TO SUPPLEMENT OR AUGMENT, UM, THEIR BUDGET.
IN TERMS OF, OF OPERATING BOTH OF THOSE FACILITIES, ANYTHING THAT IS LEFT OVER ON A TYPICAL FISH A YEAR FLOWS INTO WHAT WE CALL THE REDEMPTION FUND.
UH, THAT REDEMPTION FUND IS USED TO CASH FUND CAPITAL PROJECTS AT THE ALMO DOMAN CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, WE ALSO INTENDED ON USING THAT TO, UH, DE FEES SOME OF OUR CONVENTION CENTER DEBT AS WE GOT CLOSER TO THAT CALL DATE.
THE STRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE AS IT RELATES TO THE 2% HOT AND THE 7% HOT, UH, IS BASED ON A FINANCIAL POLICY THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN 2012 IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ISSUANCE OF THE BONDS FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
AT THAT POINT IN TIME, IT IS FUNCTIONED VERY WELL TO DATE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE COULD HAVE NEVER AN ANTICIPATED A PANDEMIC AND THE KIND OF IMPACTS ON REVENUES THAT WE'VE SEEN, BUT IT HAS PUT US IN A POSITION WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, TO MAINTAIN A BALANCED FUND.
UM, THAT WAS THE TYPICAL YEAR.
NOW, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE CONVENTION CENTER OR THE GRAND HYATT'S BEEN CLOSED SINCE MARCH.
THERE'S NO CASHFLOW BEING GENERATED.
NOW WE'RE HAVING CON NOW WE'RE PLA WE'RE PROJECTING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO USE THE 2% HOT, UM, AND THE CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL 7% HOT WHEN IT OPENS BACK UP TO HELP MAKE THAT DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT.
THAT NOW LEAVES A GAP ON OUR CONVENTION CENTER DEBT, WHICH NOW, UH, PUTS MORE PRESSURE ON THE 7% HOT.
WE HAVE TO USE MORE OF THAT TO HELP US MAKE THAT PAYMENT, WHICH OF COURSE IMPACTS THE OPERATIONS.
OF THE, THE FOUR GROUPS THAT I'VE LISTED THERE, WE ARE USING A LOT OF CASH OUT OF THE REDEMPTION FUND.
I MENTIONED YESTERDAY HOW WE TRANSFERRED PROJECTS OVER TO THE PROPERTY TAX DEBT PLAN TO PROVIDE RELIEF.
UM, AND WE ARE DRAWING ON A LOT OF CASH, UH, BOTH IN 2020 AND 21, 20 21 TO KEEP THE, UM, REDUCED OPERATIONS, UM, IN PLACE AND FUNDED.
SO THAT AGAIN, IS JUST A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY, BUT IT JUST KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT A HOTEL THAT, THAT WE'RE BACKSTOPPING THE DEBT TO THAT, UH, IS CURRENTLY NOT OPEN.
AND THEN WE'VE SEEN OBVIOUSLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN OUR, UH, HOT TAX AS WELL.
SO WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, JOHN, THIS IS JUST A VISUAL OF WHAT THAT PICTURE LOOKS LIKE.
THIS IS BOTH THE HOT TAX AND THE FACILITY REVENUE FROM THE ALMO DOM AND CONVENTION CENTER COMBINED.
THE Y 20 ESTIMATE COMP, UH, COMPARED TO THE FFY 20 ADOPTED IS DOWN 46%.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE FOR FY 21, IT GOES UP SLIGHTLY, BUT IT'S STILL, UH, ABOUT 39, UH, PERCENT LOWER THAN OUR FY 20 ADOPTED BUDGET.
SO THIS PRESENTS SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES FOR US.
UH, WE DID BRIEF YOU AT THE MIDYEAR AND YOU DID APPROVE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FUND THAT ALLOWED THE FUND TO CONTINUE TO BE BALANCED.
SO WE MET ALL THE OBLIGATIONS THAT I WENT TO ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
UH, BUT WITH THAT LOWER REVENUE PROJECTED FOR 21 AND A SLOW RECOVERY PROJECTED, UH, FOR THE FUND OVERALL, F Y 21, UH, CONTINUES TO BE A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE.
SO IN TERMS OF THAT $51 MILLION REVENUE LOSS THAT YOU SAW IN F Y 21, WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO THE FFY 2020 ADOPTED BUDGET, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE HAD TO DO IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET IN ORDER TO KEEP THE FUND BALANCED.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE REDUCED OPERATING EXPENSES, UH, THAT'S BOTH AT THE CONVENTION FACILITIES, UM, AS WELL AS WITH GROUPS LIKE VISIT SAN ANTONIO.
OUR CONTRACT WITH THEM IS MUCH LOWER THAN IT HAS BEEN, UH, UH, PRIOR.
WE DID COMMIT TO NO LAYOFFS OF CITY EMPLOYEES.
UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT.
SO WHILE WE HAVE FURLOUGHED 266 EMPLOYEES, UH, EARLIER THIS FISCAL YEAR, ALL OF THOSE EMPLOYEES HAVE, UM, COME BACK.
THEY'RE EITHER BACK AT WORK WITHIN THE HOT FUND OR A LARGE PORTION OF THEM HAVE BEEN REDEPLOYED INTO OTHER ESSENTIAL POSITIONS IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS, IN OTHER FUNDS OF THE CITY.
UM, GIVEN THE CONDITION OF THE HOT FUND, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN ALL OF THOSE POSITION POSITIONS INTO THAT FUND OR BACK TO THOSE FACILITIES JUST BECAUSE OF THE, THE, THE FINANCIAL POSITION THAT WE'RE IN.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO REDEPLOY THEM ELSEWHERE WITHIN THE CITY AND, AND AGAIN, ACHIEVE NO LAYOFFS.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE HISTORY AND PRESERVATION TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND.
WHILE WE'RE MAKING THAT IN 2021, WE ARE, UH, TRANSFERRING ALIKE AMOUNT BACK TO THE FUND, SPECIFICALLY TO HELP THE CONVENTION FACILITIES GROUP AND THE ARTS GROUP, UH, TO IMPROVE THE LEVEL OF FUNDING THERE, UH, AND THE CONVENTION FACILITIES THAT ALLOWS, UH, THOSE BUILDINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, UH, READY WHEN EVENTS HAPPEN AND THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONS.
AND THEN, UH, OTHER PART OF THAT WAS THE HELP, UH, WITH THE ARTS FUNDING.
I MENTIONED THE USE OF THE REDEMPTION FUND.
WE CONTINUE TO DRAW ON THE CASH THAT WE GENERATED IN F Y 20 TO HELP US BALANCE IN 21.
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SAN ANTONIO AND THE ARTS, WE ARE USING THE FORMULA THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE, UH, NOW FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS IN ORDER TO, UH, COME UP WITH THOSE BUDGETS.WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL OF THAT AND YOU TAKE ALL THAT TOGETHER, TOGETHER, THESE ARE THE PROPOSED BUDGETS FOR THE FOUR DIFFERENT AREAS, CONVENTION AND SPORTS FACILITIES AT 34.8 MILLION.
VISIT SAN ANTONIO AT 15.1 MILLION, ARTS AT 8.9 MILLION AND HISTORY AND PRESERVATION AT 6.5 MILLION.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S GONNA COME BACK INTO THE FUND FROM THE GENERAL FUND IN ORDER TO HELP, UH, WITH SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE GOT THERE.
SO MAYOR COUNSEL, THAT ENDS, UH, MY PART OF THE PRE, UH, PRESENTATION.
UH, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO PAT.
PATRICIA MU, OUR DIRECTOR OF CONVENTION FACILITIES.
AND PATRICIA, BEFORE YOU, UH, START, UH, JUST A REMINDER TO MY COLLEAGUES, GO AHEAD AND USE THE HAND RAISE, UH, BUTTON IF YOU'D LIKE TO QUEUE IN FOR DISCUSSION AFTER THE PRESENTATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
AND FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS PATRICIA MUTO.
I AM, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF THE CONVENTION AND SPORTS FACILITIES DEPARTMENT.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT, UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, UM, TO YOU SIMILAR TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS, THE IMPACT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC HAS BEEN IMMENSE ON OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, THIS FISCAL YEAR, THE YEAR, UH, BEGAN WITH A VERY PROMISING OUTLOOK.
WE HAD FIVE MAJOR CONCERTS PLANNED AT THE ALAMO DOME AND HIGH ATTENDANCE EVENTS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER IN FEBRUARY.
WE WERE ON PACE TO MAKE OUR REVENUE BUDGET AND POSSIBLY EVEN EXCEEDING THOSE PROJECTIONS.
HOWEVER, IN MARCH WHEN, UH, THE PANDEMIC, UM, REALLY BROUGHT OUR OPERATIONS TO A HALT AND SEVERELY LIMITED OUR ABILITY TO CONTRIBUTE AND GENERATE ECONOMIC IMPACT TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, OUR FACILITIES HAVE SEEN A DRASTIC DECREASE IN EVENTS AND REVENUE ON AVERAGE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE ABOUT 300 EVENTS AT THE, UH, CONVENTION CENTER AND ABOUT 115 EVENT DAYS AT THE ALAMO DO.
SINCE MARCH, THE CONVENTION CENTER HAS LOST 167 EVENTS AND 62 EVENT DAYS WERE LOST AT THE ALAMO DOME WITH A COMBINED, UH, REVENUE LOSS OF $17.5 MILLION.
WE ARE PROJECTING TO END THE YEAR WITH ONLY 128 EVENTS AT, UH, THE CENTER AND 53 EVENT DAYS AT THE ALAMO DOME IN ORDER TO OFFSET THE REDUCED, UH, FACILITY REVENUES LIKE AND, AND THE LOWER HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS.
AS BEEN MENTIONED, 250, UH, CEF EMPLOYEES WERE FURLOUGHED.
IN APRIL ONLY 57 EMPLOYEES REMAINED ACTIVE TO MAINTAIN, UM, OUR, UH, MECHANICAL SYSTEMS AND SECURE THE BUILDING MEMBERS OF, UH, COUNCIL.
AS YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE, IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO MAINTAIN OUR FACILITIES DURING THESE TRYING TIMES.
I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE COLLABORATION OF MY COLLEAGUES.
I HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, I ESPECIALLY WANNA THANK, UH, JORGE PEREZ WITH THE B E S DEPARTMENT.
HIS STAFF HELPED US, UH, MAINTAIN AND SERVICE OUR RESTROOMS WHILE OUR OPERATIONS STAFF WAS FURLOUGHED.
ALSO, A THANK YOU TO HOMER GARCIA AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
THEY HELPED US MAINTAIN OUR, UH, LANDSCAPING IN OUR FACILITIES.
AND FINALLY, ALSO A THANK YOU TO, UM, UM, UH, JESUS SIGNS AND THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT.
HIS STAFF, YOU KNOW, HELPED US IN A, IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, AND I AM REALLY, REALLY TRULY HELPFUL FOR ALL OF THEIR SUPPORT.
SO JUST GETTING BACK TO THE, UM, PRESENTATION IN FISCAL YEAR 20, AS EVENTS CANCELED AND OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS SHUT DOWN, UM, THE EXISTING STAFF QUICKLY PIVOTED TO HELP THE COMMUNITY.
THE ALAMO DOME HAS SERVED, UH, AS THE ASIDE FOR NUMEROUS FOOD AND P P E DISTRIBUTION EVENTS.
IT HAS ALSO HOSTED BLOOD DRIVES AND SERVED AS THE CITY'S COVID A SUPPLY WAREHOUSE, AS WELL AS NOW HOUSE HOUSING, THE SAN ANTONIO METRO HEALTH CONTACT TRACING CENTER.
AND NOW DUE TO AVAILABLE SPACE AT THE CENTER, THE FACILITY IS NOW HOUSING THE CITY'S COVID SUPPLY.
IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE PANDEMIC, THE GENERAL MANAGERS AND I WORKED ENDLESS HOURS TO DEVELOP PROTOCOLS TO BE ABLE TO SERVICE EVENTS SAFELY UNDER THIS NEW NORMAL.
THE REOPENING PLAN FOR EACH FACILITY, WHICH I WILL TALK MORE AND DETAILED LATER, INCLUDE OUR BEST EFFORTS TO KEEP OUR GUESTS, OUR EMPLOYEES, AND OUR COMMUNITY SAFE.
THEY FOLLOW RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, THE GOVERNOR'S TASK FORCE, UM, ON C OVID 19, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO METRO HEALTH GUIDELINES, AS WELL AS INDUSTRY RECOMMENDATION.
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WE CONTINUE TO REFINE AND UPDATE THE PLANS AS FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND INDUSTRY EXPERTS RELEASE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.OF THE 270 MILLION THAT THE CITY RECEIVED FROM THE CARES FUNDING, THE CONVENTION CENTER, ALAMO DOME AND THE CARVER WERE APPROPRIATED 1.2, 1.4, AND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS RESPECTIVELY TO HELP RETROFIT THE BUILDINGS WITH SAFETY MEASURES.
TO HELP US OFFSET THIS, UM, OR TO HELP WITH THIS EFFORT, WE HAVE RECALL 72 EMPLOYEES AND ADDITIONAL 14 EMPLOYEES WILL RETURN TO WORK AT OUR FACILITIES BY OCTOBER 1ST, UM, IN ORDER TO HELP SERVICE EVENTS THAT WE STILL HAVE IN OUR CALENDARS IN F Y 21.
AND NOW LOOKING AHEAD TO FISCAL YEAR 21, THE COVID PANDEMIC IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO IMPACT OUR DEPARTMENT.
WE ARE PROJECTING A 35 DECREASE IN EVENTS WITH ONLY 167 EVENTS PROJECTED AT THE CENTER OF WHICH 18 EVENTS OF THOSE EVENTS ARE SCHEDULED IN THE FIRST QUARTER AND ALSO ONLY 103 EVENT DAYS.
AT THE ALAMO DOME, U T S A IS SCHEDULED TO PLAY THEIR FIRST, UH, HOME FOOTBALL GAME OF THE SEASON AT THE ALAMO DOME ON SEPTEMBER 19TH.
OUR FOCUS IN F Y 21 WILL BE TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY AND SERVICE OUR SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS IN OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES CREATED BY THE PANDEMIC.
WE WILL ALSO PARTNER WITH VISIT SAN ANTONIO TO MAINTAIN AND GENERATE NEW BUSINESS WHEN THE FACILITIES CAN SAFELY OPERATE AND WITH A LIMITED RESOURCES, WE WILL ALSO DO MORE CROSS TRAINING OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND FINALLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, AS PART OF THE REOPENING GUIDELINES, ALL LOCAL AND STATE ORDERS WILL BE FOLLOWED.
IN ADDITION, THE FACILITY OCCUPANCY WILL BE ADJUSTED TO ACCOMMODATE FOR PROPER SOCIAL DISTANCING AS SIX FEED BETWEEN GUESTS IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE SPREAD OF THE COVID VIRUS.
AND THEN DEPENDING ON MEETING ROOM SET UP VIS TRUSTS RELATES TO ROUGHLY ABOUT A 25% OCCUPANCY AT THE CENTER AND A 17% OCCUPANCY FOR A U T S A FOOTBALL GAME AT THE ALAMO DOM.
KNOWING THAT EACH EVENT, UM, IS UNIQUE, THE REOPENING PLANS FOR THE FACILITIES PROVIDE GUIDELINES TO MEET ALL THE DEMANDS WHILE PROVIDING CONSISTENCY FOR OUR STAFF AND OUR GUESTS.
THESE GUIDELINES, UH, ADDRESS BUILDING MODIFICATION INCLUDING NEW TECHNOLOGY AND SAFETY MEASURES, AS WELL AS ELEMENTS TO ENSURE THE BEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH REGARDS TO THE BUILDING MODIFICATION, THE CENTER AND THE ALAMO DO WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE GLOBAL BIO RISK ADVISORY COUNCIL ACCREDITATION PROGRAM.
THIS ACCREDITATION PROGRAM ASSESSES THE CLEANING AND DISINFECTION PRACTICES AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE PREVENTION.
THE CONVENTION CENTER RECEIVED THE ACCREDITATION THIS MONTH AND THE ALAMO DOME IS IN THE PROCESS OF RECEIVING THEIR ACCREDITATION ALSO TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS.
THE FREQUENCY OF SANITIZING HAS BEEN INCREASED IN ALL FRONT AND BACK OF THE HOUSE BASIS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON HIGH TOUCH POINT AREAS, AND THE FACILITIES HAVE BEEN RETROFITTED WITH TOUCHLESS FIXTURES SUCH AS AUTOMATIC FLUSH VALVE FAUCETS AND ENTRY DOORS.
AND WE ARE INSTALLING PLEXIGLASS WHERE NECESSARY.
WE HAVE ALSO IMPROVED THE INDOOR AIR QUALITY BY ADJUSTING THE DAMPERS ON OUR HVAC SYSTEMS TO BRING IN MORE OUTSIDE AIR AND HAVE ALSO INCREASED THE RUNTIMES WHEN THE FACILITY IS OCCUPIED.
THIS RESULTS IN ADDITIONAL FRESH AND FILTERED AIR IN THE FACILITY AS PART OF A REOPENING PLAN.
WE HAVE ALSO PURCHASED NEW TECHNOLOGY AIMED AT MINIMIZING THE SPREAD, INCLUDING THERMAL IMAGING CAMERAS FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER TO TAKE TEMPERATURE CHECKS.
WE'VE ALSO INSTALLED A, UH, UV DISINFECTANT LIGHTING ON ALL ESCALATOR HANDRAILS IN THE FACILITY, AS WELL AS PURCHASE A MOBILE U UV DISINFECTANT ROBOT THAT WILL HELP US DISINFECT CONFERENCE ROOMS AND SMALL MEETING SPACES FASTER.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, EVENT SETUPS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER HAVE ALSO BEEN BEEN RECONFIGURED TO INCLUDE THE SIX FEET OF PHYSICAL DISTANCING BETWEEN GUESTS AND THE SEATING CONFIGURATION AT THE ALAMO DOME.
DELILAH COCKLE AND THE CARVER CENTER HAVE ALSO BEEN MODIFIED TO INCLUDE SIX FEET OF SEPARATION BETWEEN GROUPS AND LEAVES EVERY OTHER ROW OPEN.
THE ALAMO DOMES REOPENING PLAN ALSO INCLUDES, UM, NEW, UH, CONTACTLESS A PARKING, UH, P O S UH, SYSTEM, A NEW CONTACT LIST, TICKET
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SCANNER KIOSK, AS WELL AS A MOBILE FOOD AND BEVERAGE APPLICATION TO ORDER AND PAY FOR FOOD FROM YOUR PHONE.UNDER THE PLAN AND PER THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO GUIDELINES, FACE COVERINGS AND TEMPERATURE CHECKS ARE REQUIRED BEFORE ENTERING THE FACILITIES HAND SANITIZING, UH, AND WIPE STATIONS AS WELL AS DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE AND FLOOR DECALS ARE ALSO BEING INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY AND VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR PLANS.
UM, AND, UH, COUNCILWOMAN RO YOU'RE GONNA LIKE, THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE MARKETING AND TRAINING PROGRAM FOR OUR GUESTS AS STAFF AND IN-HOUSE PARTNERS SO THAT NEW GUIDELINES ARE, ARE COMMUNICATED PRIOR TO THE EVENT AND EVERYONE IS CONFIDENT ABOUT RETURNING TO OUR FACILITY.
OKAY, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, JOHN.
SO THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 21 BUDGET FOR THE COMMUNITY AND VISITORS FACILITIES FUND TOTALS $34.8 MILLION.
AS BEN SHOWED EARLIER, THIS REFLECTS A DECREASE OF CLOSE TO $20 MILLION FROM THE FISCAL YEAR 20 ADOPTED BUDGET.
HISTORICALLY, THE COMMUNITY AND VISITORS FACILITIES FUND HAS BEEN PRIMARILY FUNDED BY REVENUES GENERATED BY THE CONVENTION CENTER AND THE ALAMO JONES WITH THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX SUPPLEMENTING THE DIFFERENCE DUE TO A PROJECTED LOSS OF $16.7 MILLION IN FACILITY REVENUE AND A DECREASE OF 8.7 MILLION FROM THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
THE FISCAL YEAR 21 BUDGET INCLUDES A 5.9 MILLION CONTRIBUTION FROM THE GENERAL FUND, AND ALSO THERE IS A ZERO NET CHANGE IN POSITIONS IN THE C B F FUND.
ONLY 156 POSITIONS WILL REMAIN ACTIVE 142 WITHIN THE ALAMO, DOM AND CONVENTION CENTER AND 14 AT THE CARVER CENTER.
THE RE THE REMAINING POSITIONS, AS WAS STATED EARLIER, WILL BE REDEPLOYED TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 21.
SO THE BULK OF THE REDUCTION FOR THE DEPARTMENT IN FISCAL YEAR 21 INCLUDE 11.3 MILLION IN PERSONNEL ADJUSTMENTS OF THE 344 AUTHORIZED POSITIONS WITHIN THE CONVENTION CENTER AND THE ALAMO, ONLY 142 WILL REMAIN ACTIVE AT THOSE FACILITIES WITH LIMITED RESOURCES.
STAFF WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT WILL BE ASKED TO TAKE ON MORE DUTIES AND TO SUPPORT, UH, EVENTS IN ALL THREE FACILITIES WHEN THE ACTIVITY RETURNS, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WILL BE REQUIRED TO MANAGE THE EVENT AND PROVIDE THE HIGH QUALITY SERVICES THAT OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE COME TO EXPECT.
THE FISCAL YEAR 21 BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES A REDUCTION OF 1.1 MILLION DUE TO OPERATIONAL SER UH, SAVINGS AND VARIOUS, UH, LINE ITEM AS A RESULT OF A DECREASE IN EVENTS IN THE COMING YEAR.
THIS YEAR'S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN INCLUDES A TOTAL OF $25.1 MILLION IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FOR THE ALAMO JONES.
THE FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS AT THE DOME ARE IN PREPARATION FOR THE 2025 MEN FINAL FOUR.
THESE IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDE THE RENOVATIONS OF THE ALAMO DOME'S, UPPER CONCOURSE CIRCULATION AND CONCESSION AREAS WITH SIMILAR FINISHES THAT WE HAVE ON THE PLAZA LEVEL NOW, THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ALAMO DOMES, ELEVATORS AND ESCALATORS, AND THE ADDITION OF 14 NEW SUITES ON THE SOUTH END OF THE CLUB AND FOUR NEW LARGE SUITES ON THE MEZZANINE LEVEL.
THESE IMPROVEMENTS WERE COMMITMENTS MADE TO THE NCAA WHEN THE CITY, UH, BID FOR THE 2025 EVENT.
THE IMPROVEMENTS WERE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE NCAA WHEN AWARDING THE BID TO SAN ANTONIO.
WORK NEEDS TO COMMENCE ON THESE IMPROVEMENTS THIS FISCAL YEAR TO BE COMPLETE BEFORE THE EVENT.
LAST YEAR'S, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET FOR THE DEPARTMENT INCLUDED $14.3 MILLION.
THE FUNDING WAS FOR FOUR PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE REPLACEMENT OF THE RETRACTABLE SEATING AT THE ALAMO JUMP.
THE REPLACEMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 450,000 SQUARE FEET OF ROOF IN THE 1998 PORTION OF THE CENTER THAT WAS COMPROMISED IN 2018 FROM WEATHER ACTIVITY AS WELL AS FUNDING FOR THE DESIGN OF THE FINAL FOUR IMPROVEMENTS AND THE ELEVATOR AND ESCALATORS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER FUNDING FOR THE LAST TWO.
UM, THE DESIGN OF THE FINAL FOUR IMPROVEMENTS AND THE VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION AT THE CENTER WERE RELEASED THIS YEAR BEFORE THE PROJECTS WERE COMMENCED BOTH THE RETRACTABLE, UH, SEATING AND A PROJECT AT THE DOME AND THE ROOF REPLACEMENT AT THE CONVENTION CENTER ARE WITHIN BUDGET AND ON SCHEDULE.
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AN ANTICIPATED TO BE COMPLETE LATER THIS FALL WITH THE RETRACTABLE SEATING AT THE DOME TO BE COMPLETED BY FEBRUARY AND TIME TO HOST THE WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR IN, UH, LATE MARCH.OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, OUR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING AT CLOSELY WITH THE OFFICE OF EQUITY TO ENSURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO EMBODY THE CONCEPTS OF EQUITY INTO OUR OPERATIONS, AND THAT WE ENHANCE OUR EQUITY STRATEGIES STRATEGIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
DURING THE PANDEMIC, THE DEPARTMENT IN, IN COORDINATION WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS INCREASED OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS BY UTILIZING OUR FACILITIES, UH, TO SUPPORT OUR MOST VULNERABLE CITIZENS.
THIS INCLUDES THE HOST, THE HOUSING, UH, THE FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITIES, AS WELL AS THE DISTRIBUTION OF P P E TO SUPPORT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.
THIS YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT ALSO EXPANDED ITS E E EFFORTS TO REACH MORE STUDENTS THROUGH ITS JOB SHADOWING PROGRAM.
IN FEBRUARY, ALL THREE FACILITIES PARTICIPATED IN A JOB SHADOW DAY, DURING WHICH 120 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM AREA HIGH SCHOOLS ENGAGED WITH STAFF TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CAREERS AND CONVENTION TOURISM AND ENTERTAINMENT FIELDS.
THESE STUDENTS WERE PREDOMINANTLY STUDENTS FOR OF COLOR.
FROM TITLE ONE SCHOOLS, THE CARVER CENTER HOSTED 20 STUDENTS FROM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL.
THE CONVENTION CENTER STAFF INTERACTED WITH 60 STUDENTS FROM JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE TEXAS CAN ACADEMY, AND THE ALAMO JUMP PRESENTED BRODY STUDENTS FROM THE JONATHAN HIGH SCHOOL.
ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS OF THE CARVER ALSO IS TO, UH, ENSURE ECONOMIC ACCESSIBILITY TO THE ARTS.
IN FISCAL YEAR 20, THE CARVER INCREASED THE NUMBER OF LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS PARTICIPATING IN IT, COMMUNITY ARTS EDUCATION CLASSES THROUGH TARGETED OUTREACH AND INCREASED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
IN JUST THE FALL AND THE WINTER SESSION, 88 STUDENTS WERE SUPPORTED WITH OVER $4,000 IN FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
OUR EQUITY GOALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 21 INCLUDE, UH, FORMING A DEPARTMENT EQUITY COMMITTEE AND ALLOCATING STAFF TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMITTEE.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF EQUITY, THE DEPARTMENT'S EQUITY TRAINERS, AS WELL AS THE CITYWIDE EQUITY COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT NEW PROGRAMS THAT WILL DEEPEN OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION.
IN RECOGNITION OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID ON LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE THESE POPULATIONS.
AND LASTLY, IN FISCAL YEAR 21, THE DEPARTMENT WILL ALSO EXPAND ITS MARKETING AND MESSAGING EFFORTS FOR BILINGUAL SPEAKERS IN ORDER TO INCREASE PATRON ENGAGEMENT.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
MY NAME IS DEBBIE ROCKER AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE.
CULTURE IS THE IDENTITY OF THE CITY.
IT MAKES US UNIQUE, IT MAKES US INTERESTING, OUR VITA, THE COORDINATED PLANNING DOCUMENT THAT IS BEING USED TO GUIDE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S INVESTMENTS IN THE ARTS, AND TO PROVIDE EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ENCOURAGE SAN ANTONIO'S ARTS COMMUNITY RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO THRIVE IN A CULTURALLY INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT CELEBRATES SAN ANTONIO'S IDENTITY.
WE STRIVE TO MEET THE GOALS OF ALL OF THESE COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEW YEAR, BUT WE ARE GOING BE PULLING BACK ON A FEW ACTIVITIES DUE TO FUNDING CUTS AND STAFFING CHALLENGES.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET.
AS A RESULT OF THE REDUCTION IN THE HOT TAX COLLECTION, THE AMOUNT THAT IS USED TO SUPPORT THE YARDS IS $4.2 MILLION BELOW THAT OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2020 ADOPTED BUDGET WITH THE ADDITIONAL $1.6 MILLION FROM THE GENERAL FUND, 1 MILLION FROM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND $2.6 MILLION IN THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN.
THE FUNDING FOR THE ARTS IS ABOUT THE SAME AS THE FISCAL YEAR 20 ADOPTED BUDGET.
ALTHOUGH FUNDING IS ALLOCATED VERY DIFFERENTLY.
FOR EXAMPLE, PARENTS ACT FUNDING HAS $2 MILLION FOR AGENCIES AND $600,000 FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
SO WE NORMALLY DO NOT FUND DIRECTLY DURING THE PANDEMIC.
THOUGH ART HAS BEEN WAY FOR PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN A LEVEL OF NORMAL AND HAVE SOME, AND HAVE SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE, THROUGH ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC ART AND THE SUBSTANTIAL ONLINE CONTENT THAT AGENCIES AND ARTISTS HAVE PIVOTED TO.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE HAVE 20 AUTHORIZED PHYSICIANS.
THREE OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE, UH, VACANT AND THEY'RE FROZEN.
[00:30:01]
THE 12 FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES, WE HAVE REORGANIZED AND BROUGHT BACK SIX ALREADY.UH, ONE OF THEM HAS RESIGNED, THE OTHER FIVE ARE CURRENTLY REDEPLOYED TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS, BUT THREE WILL RETURN ON OCTOBER 1ST.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I WANTED TO EXPLAIN THAT SINCE WE'RE USING ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FUNDING, BOTH THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND AND CARES ACT, I WANTED TO SHOW YOU SOME INFORMATION ON THE IMPACT OF ARTS TO OUR ECONOMY AND THE WORKFORCE.
ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE, RESULTS FROM A STUDY BY DR.
STEVE NEVIN REVEALS THAT ARTS AND CULTURE SEC SECTOR IS A $4.8 BILLION INDUSTRY IN SAN ANTONIO THAT EMPLOYS OVER 26,000 PEOPLE.
THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SS M U DATA ARTS, WE ARE COLLECTING DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE FINANCIAL HEALTH AND IMPACT OF THE ARTS.
OUR ARTS AGENCIES SPEND ALMOST $80 MILLION IN SAN ANTONIO.
OF THAT, THE CITY PROVIDES BETWEEN FIVE TO $7 MILLION A YEAR.
THESE AGENCIES DIRECTLY EMPLOY OVER 3,500 PEOPLE AT STAFF AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.
AND THIS INCLUDES NOT JUST ARTISTS, BUT ALSO ACCOUNTANTS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS THAT ANY BUSINESS WOULD NEED.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE WE'RE, I'M GONNA GO OVER THE BUDGET REDUCTION.
THE ARTS AGENCIES WILL SEE AN AVERAGE REDUCTION OF 20%, WHICH IS ABOUT THE SAME AS THEY WERE CUT IN FISCAL YEAR 20 AROUND APRIL OR MAY.
TOTAL REDUCTION IS ABOUT A 31% DECREASE, KIND OF ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT WE ENDED UP WITH SINCE THE YEAR 20.
AFTER THE MIDYEAR REDUCTION, OUR, OUR CULTURAL PLAN IS BEING REDUCED FROM $75,000 TO $25,000.
WE WILL STILL CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE CULTURAL PLAN, BUT WE'LL FOCUS ON UPDATING THE ARTS AGENCY FUNDING GUIDELINES THIS YEAR AS FISCAL YEAR 21 IS THE THIRD YEAR OF OUR THREE YEAR FUNDING CYCLE FOR THE AGENCY.
THE SISTER CITIES CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM, A COLLABORATION WITH INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OFFICE WAS CUT IN HALF.
AND ALL STAFF THAT WORK IN THAT DIVISION THREE ARE DEPLOYED TO OTHER FUNCTIONS FOR THAT PERIOD.
WE'RE CANCELING DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT EVENTS AND SPONSORSHIPS AS WELL AS THE FILM AND MUSIC EVENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
FILM INCENTIVES AND FILM STAFF ARE NOT FUNDED, BUT WE'VE REORGANIZED STAFF TO HAVE SOMEONE CONTINUE THE FILM PERMITS.
WE'VE REDIRECTED STAFF AND WE'RE HOLDING VACANCIES TO SAVE FUNDING OUTTA THE HOT TAX.
WE'VE ACTUALLY REDIRECTED SOME OF OUR STAFF TO THE PUBLIC ART TEAM WHERE WE HAVE VACANCIES, BUT FUNDING IN FISCAL YEAR 21, WE ARE GONNA DO SOME THINGS WITH OUR LIMITED RESOURCES AND STAFF.
WE ARE MANAGING THE SA CARES FOR ARTS BRANCH.
UH, THERE, I REMIND YOU THERE WAS $2.6 MILLION THAT YOU ALLOCATED, 2 MILLION FOR AGENCIES AND $600,000 FOR ARTISTS.
WE WILL BE FUNDING THOSE AND PAYING THEM OUT BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO DO SOME MONITORING DURING FISCAL YEAR 21.
WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON UPDATING THOSE ARTS AGENCIES FUNDING GUIDELINES THIS FALL.
WE'RE GONNA BE DOING SOME COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AND WE'LL BRING RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU FOR, UH, APPROVAL IN DECEMBER OR JANUARY.
WE PLAN TO REOPEN THE CITY GALLERIES IN JULY OF 2021.
WE'RE WORKING NOW TO HIRE 10 AGENCIES AND PARTNERS FOR PUBLIC ART COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE ONE OF OUR REDEPLOYED STAFF FROM MARKETING DIVISION WORK IN PUBLIC ART TO HELP US WITH THAT.
WE'RE WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS ON 19 PROJECTS FOR DESIGN ENHANCEMENT AS A PILOT, AND OUR SISTER CITIES PROGRAM NEXT YEAR WILL FUND FIESTA JEFF EXCHANGE AND THE RITO.
THIS YEAR, THE FIESTA SAN ANTONIO, WHICH IS A MONTH LONG CELEBRATION OF HISPANIC HERITAGE, WILL BE DONE VIRTUALLY WITH THE TZ SPACE COMMISSION.
AND WE'RE USING SOME OF THOSE SISTER CITIES DOLLARS.
UH, BECAUSE BELIEVE IT OR NOT, VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING ACTUALLY COSTS ABOUT 50% MORE THAN LIVE PROGRAMMING BECAUSE IT'S A PRODUCTION COST.
UH, BUT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO INTERNATIONAL, UH, ATTENTION BECAUSE WE HAVE TELEMUNDO AND UNIVISION ON BOARD, AND WE'LL BE STREAMING IT ON OUR, UH, DEPARTMENT, YOUTUBE CHANNEL, AS WELL AS C B S A WILL BE PLAYING ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS FOR THE DZ SAFE, UH, CELEBRATION OF THE DZ SAFE COMMISSION.
CULTURAL EQUITY IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO IN EVERYTHING.
UH, EVERYTHING WE DO FALLS UNDER THE CULTURAL ART PLAN, WHICH LEADS WITH THE, WITH THE CULTURAL EQUITY STATEMENT
[00:35:02]
TO SUPPORT A FULL AND CREATIVE LIFE FOR ALL.THE SAN ANTONIO ARTS COMMISSION DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE IS COMMITTED TO CHAMPIONING POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF CULTURAL EQUITY THAT EMPOWER A JUST INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE CITY.
I MENTIONED WE'RE GONNA UPDATE THOSE AGENCY POLICIES.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT EQUITY AND WE NEED TO LOOK WITH AT OUR FUNDING GUIDELINES.
HAVE WE MADE IMPROVEMENTS? HAVE WE MADE STRIDES? AND WHAT MORE CAN WE DO? WE WILL ALSO BE LOOKING AT IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING FOR STAFF AND AGENCIES.
WE HAVE A FREE PROGRAM OF FROM, UH, ONLINE, FROM NONPROFIT READY THAT WE'RE GONNA BE EMPLOYING.
AND WE ALSO WILL BE ASKING OUR AGENCY LEADERSHIP TO DO TRAINING ON FINANCIAL AND OTHER STEWARDSHIP IF THEY SHOULD HAVE FOR THEIR AGENCY.
THIS YEAR, WE INSTALLED THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN POET LAUREATE, ANDREA VOCAB SANDERSON, UH, IN APRIL OF 2020, BUT SHE DIDN'T GET A PROPER INVESTITURE CEREMONY DUE TO COVID 19.
UH, APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH, AND WE PLAN TO DO SOME CELEBRATING THIS NEXT COMING APRIL.
AND SHE WILL HAVE A THREE YEAR TERM, UH, FOR HER POET LAUREATE.
I'M VERY EXCITED THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING A, UH, EXHIBIT IN CULTURE COMMONS GALLERY, UH, FOCUSED ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN SAN ANTONIO.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD PLANNED TO ALREADY BE OPENING NOW, BUT BECAUSE OF COVID UH, AND THE FUNDING CUTS, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO OPEN, SO WE POSTPONED IT.
15 WOMEN ARTISTS FROM SAN ANTONIO HAVE EACH REVIEWED THE CITY COMMISSION REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN CONDUCTED BY U T S A IN 2019.
THESE WOMEN ARTISTS INTERPRETED KEY THEMES THROUGH ART, AND THIS EXHIBIT WILL OPEN IN, UH, JUNE OR JULY OF NEXT YEAR.
IT IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH METRO HEALTH AND IT HAS A COMPONENT DEALING WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
AND FINALLY, I WOULDN'T WANT TO LEAVE OUT OUR PUBLIC ART PROGRAM.
UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL EQUITY THEMED PROJECTS, UH, UNDERWAY.
THE DOOR OF EQUALITY LOCATED IN THE ROUNDABOUT ON SAN PEDRO AND MAINE NEAR THE CENTRAL LIBRARY IS A SCULPTURE DONATED TO THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO BY RENOWNED MEXICAN SCULPTURE SE, AND IT SYMBOLIZES THE STRUGGLES FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS BY LEADERS THROUGH
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE SCULPTURES FOUNDATION AND WE'LL INSTALL THIS SCULPTURE IN OCTOBER.
LABOR PLAZA IS A SPACE ON MARKET STREET LEVEL OF THE RIVERWALK PUBLIC ART GARDEN ACROSS FROM THE HENRY DE GONZALEZ CONVENTION CENTER.
AND IT WILL FEATURE A LARGE OPEN SPACE WITH TEXT-BASED ART BY ANNE WALLACE AND FORMER SAN ANTONIO PORT LAUREATE AVIO QUINTANILLA.
THE TEXT WILL TELL THE STORY OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE LOCAL, LOCAL LABOR COUNCIL OF THE A F L C I O SINCE THIS SPOT WAS WHERE A STATUE OF THEIR FOUNDER, SAMUEL ER'S, FORMERLY STOOD.
THOSE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT WE WILL BE LOOKING AT MOVING FORWARD, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO 50
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT OUR PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AIRPORTS HERE FOR THE SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT SYSTEM.
UH, JOHN, WE CAN GO WITH THE NEXT SLIDE.
THE SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT SYSTEM IS PLEASED TO SUBMIT THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET FOR SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND STINSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT.
THE SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT SYSTEM IS AN ENTERPRISE FUND, FULLY SUPPORTED BY TENANT AND PASSENGER USER FEES AND FEDERAL GRANTS.
AND THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, WE'LL PROVIDE A COMPLETE OVERVIEW OF OUR GO FORWARD PLAN FOR THIS UPCOMING BUDGET.
WE'RE COMPRISED OF A TALENTED AND EXPERIENCED TEAM OF 421 TEAM MEMBERS COMMITTED TO OUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS WITH HEAVY EMPHASIS AND FOCUS ON EVERYONE'S OVERALL SAFETY.
OUR KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, AND THESE DAYS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, SAFETY, CUSTOMER OVERALL PASSENGER AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION, AIR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT FOR CONTINUOUS GROWTH, THE OVERALL STRATEGY AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT, AND ASSET AND PLANNING DIVISION FOR CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW OUR FACILITIES.
[00:40:04]
TODAY I PRESENT TO YOU A BALANCED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021, WHICH WAS DONE THROUGH REDUCTIONS IN EXPENSES AS WELL AS JUDICIAL USE OF OUR CARES ACT FUNDING.THIS HAS BEEN AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT ADJUSTMENT FOR OUR TEAM AND INDUSTRY.
OUR O AND M REVENUE IS PROJECTED TO HAVE A LOSS TOTALING 33 MILLION FOR PREDOMINANTLY FROM LOWER PASSENGER ACTIVITIES, NEGATIVELY IMPACTING OUR OVERALL PARKING AND CONCESSIONS REVENUE.
UPON RECEIPT OF THE CARESS ACT, WE UTILIZED 15.6 MILLION TO COVER OUR REVENUE LOSSES.
OUR EXPENSES HAVE BEEN REDUCED BY CLOSE TO 17 MILLION TO FURTHER ADJUST TO CURRENT ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS.
ALL DUE TO COVID IN OUR MID-YEAR BUDGET REVISIONS, WE TOOK IMMEDIATE AND NECESSARY STEPS TO APPROPRIATELY ALIGN OUR EXPENSES WITH DECREASED ACTIVITIES AND REVENUES.
THESE EFFORTS CONTINUE IN OUR PROPOSED F Y 21 BUDGET SUBMISSIONS.
SOME EXAMPLES OF THESE REDUCTIONS INCLUDE A COMPLETE HIRING FREEZE FOR 39 POSITIONS, CREATING A VACANCIES FOR A SAVINGS OF CLOSE TO 1.2 MILLION.
WE'VE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE PROJECTS IN THE SUM OF 1.7 MILLION.
WE'VE MADE CUTS TO MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR ACTIVITY LEVELS, TOTALING 1.5 MILLION.
A REDUCTION IN OUR OVERALL UTILITIES AND USAGE HAS RESULTED IN SAVINGS OF CLOSE TO 500,000.
WE'VE HAD REDUCED OPERATING EXPENSES AND TRAVEL FEES AND CONSULTING AND MARKETING EFFORTS TO THE TOTAL OF 1.5 MILLION AND SOME OTHER ADDITIONAL MISCELLANEOUS SUPPLIES AND CONSUMABLE ITEMS THAT WE'VE REDUCED TOTALING CLOSE TO 400,000.
OVERALL, THE TEAM HAS TAKEN ON ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO OFFSET MANY OF THESE REDUCTIONS IN CUTS.
WE STILL CONTINUE TO KEEP SAFETY AS OUR OVERALL TOP PRIORITY.
FOR FISCAL YEAR 21, OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM IS PLANNED AT 42.6 MILLION, A 9.5 MILLION REDUCTION FROM FISCAL YEAR 20.
A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND PRIORITIZATION EFFORT WAS INTRODUCED AT OUR MID-YEAR REVIEW, AND SOME PROJECTS WERE CUT WHILE OTHERS WERE DEFERRED TO OUTER YEARS.
OF THE 42.6 MILLION, 65%, OR CLOSE TO 28 MILLION IS COVERED BY OUR CARESS ACT, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND THE VOLUNTARY AIRPORT LOW EMISSIONS PROGRAM, INCLUDING GRANTS FROM TXDOT FOR PROJECTS AT STINSON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT.
THE FAS AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND CARES ACT FUNDS WILL GO TO AIRFIELD PROJECTS SUCH AS THE AIRFIELD IMPROVEMENT PRO PACKAGE PROJECT THAT WE HAVE IN, IN, IN ON THE NORTHEAST PORTION OF THE AIRFIELD, WHICH IS ALREADY IN CONSTRUCTION.
AND THE PACKAGE SEVEN PROJECT.
THIS CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT IS ANTICIPATED TO BE AWARDED IN THE EARLY DAYS OF OCTOBER.
THE VAIL ACT FUNDS IS A FULL REPLACEMENT OF PETROLEUM BASE GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT WITH ELECTRICAL VEHICLES AT STINSON TEX.
FUNDS ARE BUDGETED FOR A NEW TAXIWAY AND A NEW MASTER PLAN EXERCISE FOCUSED ON CONTINUING TO IMPROVE AND IMPROVE EXPANSION.
35% OF OVER 14 OR OVER 14.5 MILLION WILL COME FROM OUR AIRPORT CONTINGENCY AND IMPROVEMENT FUNDS, INTERIM FINANCING, AND THE STINSON REVOLVING FUND.
THIS WILL FUND OUR PAGING MODERNIZATION PROJECT, WHICH IS ADVERTISED FOR BIDS.
RIGHT NOW, WE WILL HAVE UPGRADES TO OUR BAGGAGE HANDLING SYSTEM AND DESIGN WORK FOR THE EXPANSION OF TURMOIL V TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL GATE.
THIS WILL INCREASE OUR HOLDING ROOM SQUARE FOOTAGE AND ADD ADDITIONAL SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR OUR FOOD AND BEVERAGE OFFERINGS.
AT STINSON, WE WILL RECONSTRUCT THE AIRFIELD GENERATOR BUILDING AND FUND THE DESIGN FOR THE UTILITIES AND POLES RELOCATION PROJECT.
OVERALL, PASSENGER ACTIVITY CONTINUES TO BE AN IMPORTANT AREA OF FOCUS.
THE CHART ON THE LEFT SHOWS A COMPARISON OF THE PAST FISCAL YEARS OF PASSENGER ACTIVITY.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IN FY 2019, WE HAD OVER 10.4 MILLION PASSENGERS BASED ON A VERY CONSERVATIVE MODEL FOUR THAT WE HAVE ENACTED.
WE ESTIMATE THAT WE WILL COMPLETE FISCAL YEAR 2020 WITH 5.3 MILLION PASSENGERS, A LITTLE OVER HALF OF THE PASSENGER TRAFFIC IN F Y 2019.
PLEASE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WE WILL HAVE HAD SEVEN OF THE 12 MONTHS BATTLING COVID.
THERE IS GOOD NEWS ON THE SIDE
[00:45:01]
ON, ON THE SLIDE ON THE RIGHT, THE IS THE UPDATED NATIONAL SEVEN DAY ROLLING AVERAGE PASSENGER SCREENS CONTINUE TO RISE WITH THE SEVEN DAY ROLLING AVERAGE AND NOW REFLECTING SIX POINTS AHEAD OF THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.THE OVERALL TRAJECTORY IS MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN THE US GROWTH.
A FACT THAT WE CONTINUE TO SHARE WITH OUR CARRIERS AS THEY PLAN THEIR FUTURE SCHEDULES.
IT DOES HELP TO ILLUSTRATE A SENSE OF RESILIENCY IN THE MARKET.
CURRENTLY, WE HAVE 26 NONSTOP DESTINATIONS BEING SERVED NONSTOP WITH A REDUCTION OF 10 MARKETS FROM MARCH WITH A SURGE IN LATE JUNE JULY OF THE NEW COVID CASES THROUGHOUT THE NATION, AIRLINES PULLED BACK ON THEIR REINITIATING OF SERVICE WITH A MORE CAUTIOUS APPROACH TO RETURNING SERVICE.
AND OUR CURRENT AIR SERVICE MAP REFLECTS THIS CHANGE.
WE HAVE 11 MARKETS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN RESUMED YET, INCLUDING OUR FOUR CALIFORNIA MARKETS OF OAKLAND, SAN FRANCISCO, LOS ANGELES, AND SAN DIEGO.
TWO FLORIDA DESTINATIONS OF TAMPA AND FORT LAUDERDALE, AS WELL AS KANSAS CITY, NEW ORLEANS, EL PASO, AND J F K CANCUN, WHICH IS SEASONAL.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE SERVICE TO ORLANDO SANFORD, WHICH WE DID NOT HAVE IN MARCH.
TRAVELERS ARE STILL ABLE TO FLY TO THESE MARKETS THROUGH CONNECTING AIR AIRPORTS AND OTHER MARKETS.
WE DO SEE A STRONG RETURN IN OUR SERVICE TO MEXICO CITY, WHICH BEGAN WITH WEEKLY SERVICE AND NOW HAS DAILY SERVICE BY IDLE MEXICO AND WEEKLY SERVICE BY VLADIS.
I JUST INFORMED US IN A CONVERSATION YESTERDAY THAT ON SEPTEMBER 5TH, IT PLANS TO INITIATE TWICE A DAY SERVICE TO MEXICO CITY ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS.
VIVADO BOOTH IS ALSO INCREASING ITS SERVICE TO RE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
I WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO PERSONALLY THANK EACH OF OUR EMPLOYEES FOR THEIR RESPONSIVENESS TO THIS PANDEMIC.
WE'VE MAINTAINED OUR FACILITIES TO VERY HIGH STANDARDS AND HAVE KEPT OUR FACILITIES OPEN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PANDEMIC.
A HIGHLY TALENTED TEAM COUPLED WITH OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION FROM OUR ESTABLISHED COVID TASK FORCE TEAM, KEEPING SAFETY AS OUR TOP PRIORITY AND FOCUSING ON OUR FUNDAMENTALS OF RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND BASIC OPERATIONS.
THE TEAMS HAVE INCREASED ENHANCED CLEANING AND HIGH TOUCH AREAS THROUGHOUT THE DAY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SIGNAGE AND INSTALLATION OF NEW SOCIAL DISTANCE, SOCIAL DISTANCING, DECALS, INCLUDING CUSTOM MADE SEAT COVERS IN OUR WAITING AREAS.
THE INSTALLATION OF OVER 300 PROTECTIVE SCREENS AND 200 WALL MOUNTED AND STAND STANDING HAND SANITIZER STATIONS.
OUR TEAM HAS WORKED HARD TO BE ANTICIPATORY OF THE NEEDS OF THE PASSENGERS, SO THEY FLY CONFIDENT WHEN THEY FLY FROM SAN ANTONIO AS THEIR NEW LEADER.
I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF THEIR EFFORTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE A VERY POSITIVE SAN ANTONIO SPIRIT AND ARE TRULY COMMITTED TO THE SUCCESS OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
THROUGHOUT THE BATTLE, THIS PANDEMIC, OUR FOCUS ON MAKING IT HAPPEN AND PROGRESSING HAS NOT WAVERED OUR FISCAL YEAR.
2020 ACCOMPLISHMENTS CONTINUED WITH WITH MANY WHICH, WHICH MANY HAVE BEEN COMPLETED OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS IN THE CONCESSIONS.
WE HAVE OPENED FOUR NEW FOOD AND BEVERAGE AND RETAIL LOCATIONS IN TURMO AID THIS FISCAL YEAR, INCLUDING THE SPUR STORE, LAS BAGELS, MAR COFFEE AND SMOKE SHACK.
SMOKE SHACK IS OUR MOST RECENT LOCATION TO OPEN ON AUGUST 10TH WITH A LIMITED MENU AND A VIEW OF THE AIRFIELD.
WE OPENED OUR NEWLY REMODELED FEDERAL INSPECTION SERVICE FACILITY THIS JUNE WITH THE RELAUNCH OF OUR SERVICE TO MEXICO VISITORS.
WERE ABLE TO LAND IN A BRAND NEW FACILITY, A FULLY UPDATED FACILITY WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING BIOMETRIC EXIT AND COMING SOON BIOMETRIC ENTRY.
FURTHER ENHANCING OUR TOUCHLESS EXPERIENCE FOR INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS.
WE HAVE IMPROVED PROCESSING AND QUEUING ARRANGEMENTS FOR BOTH US AND NON-US CITIZENS.
FOR A MORE EFFICIENT AND STREAMLINED EXPERIENCE, WE HAVE UPDATED RESTROOM FACILITIES, A NEW STERILE CORRIDOR WITH RENOVATIONS AND A BAGS FIRST PROCESSING INITIATIVE FOR EASY EXIT AND CONNECTIONS.
A NEW PARKING OFFERING WITH FLYAWAY VALET, A CURBSIDE EXPERIENCE PROVIDING A ONE OF A KIND PARKING, PARKING OFFERING TO OUR PASSENGERS.
WE LAUNCHED A NEW VALET PROGRAM IN THE LATTER DAYS OF FEBRUARY, AND IT WAS CERTAINLY A DESIRED OPTION FOR OUR TRAVELERS.
BECAUSE OF COVID, WE HAVE TEMPORARILY CLOSED THIS SERVICE OFFERING WITH FULL PLANS TO RESTART
[00:50:01]
ONCE SAFELY PERMISSIBLE.AND THEN LASTLY, VIVA ABO MEXICO'S ULTRA LOW COST CARRIER.
VIVA ABO LAUNCHED ITS NEW TWICE WEEKLY SERVICE FROM SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO MONTERES GENERAL MARIANO ESCOVEDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON JULY 3RD WITH TWO WEEKLY FLIGHTS SCHEDULED ON MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS, WHICH WILL INCREASE TO THURSDAYS AND SATURDAYS IN THE EARLY DAYS OF SEPTEMBER.
WE HAD MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN F Y 2020 AND PLAN TO CONTINUE OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR BUDGET EQUITY IN 2021.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND OUR COLLABORATIONS WITH OUR LOCAL GROUPS AND EXISTING PROGRAMS SUCH AS GIRLS IN AVIATION YOUNG EAGLES, AND OUTREACH TO LOCAL SCHOOLS TO PROMOTE CAREERS IN AVIATION WITH VARIOUS COMMUNITIES.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON RECENT EXHIBITS WITH SAN ANTONIO, AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY ARCHIVES AND THE MUSEUM AND THE HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE AUTISM TREATMENT SET.
AUTISM TREATMENT CENTER FOR ARTS FOR THE AUTISM AND OTHER LOCAL GROUPS EXPAND.
WE WERE GOING TO EXPAND EQUITY FOR THE ENTIRE WORKFORCE OF AVIATION EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING OUR AMBASSADORS.
WE WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES TRAINED TO SERVE AS TRAINERS BY THE END OF NOVEMBER TO ASSIST WITH THIS GOAL.
LASTLY, WE'LL UTILIZE THE EQUITY ATLAS TO FOCUS ON SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN AIRPORT CONTRACTS THROUGH OUTREACH EFFORTS IN THOSE IDENTIFIED AREAS, WE WILL COORDINATE EFFORTS TO REACH OUT TO VENDORS IN THOSE AREAS ON POTENTIAL SOLICITATIONS AND PROVIDE OUTREACH STRATEGIES WITH OUR E D D DEPARTMENT TO HELP CERTIFY BUSINESSES.
THE AIRLINE USE AND USE AGREEMENT IS PROGRESSING FORWARD.
I'M HAPPY TO SAY WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED TWO SIGNED AGREEMENTS WITH PLANS TO RECEIVE ALL OF THEM IN THE UPCOMING WEEKS.
A TRUE TESTAMENT TO OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR AIRLINE PARTNERS.
AS I MENTIONED IN MANY OF OUR INDIVIDUAL BRIEFINGS, THIS IS A VAST IMPROVEMENT FROM OUR EXISTING AGREEMENT AND WE ARE PRE, WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE MET OUR GOALS FOR THE NEW AGREEMENT.
SOME OF THE KEY AREAS INCLUDE ESTABLISHING A SIMPLIFIED RATE MAKING METHODOLOGY.
WE CAN NOW ENSURE AIRLINE RATES AND CHARGES REMAIN COMPETITIVE, INCLUDING LOWERING OUR SIGNATORY LANDING FEE AND KEEPING OUR PASSENGER AIRLINE COST PER IN PLANE PASSENGER COMPETITIVE AIRLINE INCLUSION IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT IN CAPITAL PROGRAM FUNDING AND RATES AND AREA THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ABSENT.
AND THEN FINALLY STRENGTHENING OUR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE.
SOME OF THE KEY FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS TERMS IN THIS NEW AGREEMENT INCLUDE A HIGHER DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE RATIO OF 2.49 COMPARED TO THE CURRENT RATIO OF 2.46 AS COMPARED INTO OUR SETTLEMENT FOR 2019.
SIMILARLY, IF WE WERE, AS WE LOOK AT IT, CLOSE TO A $5 MILLION INCREASE IN TOTAL PASSENGER AIRLINE REVENUE WITH THE NEW AGREEMENT AND IT MAINTAINS A COMPETITIVE PASSENGER AIRLINE COST PER PLANE PASSENGER WELL UNDER THE $10.
THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN CONTINUES TO BE A TOP PRIORITY.
SINCE AUGUST OF 2019, THE TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING TO FINALIZE THIS PLAN.
UNFORTUNATELY, WITH COVID, WE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS AND HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR SCHEDULE TO COMPLETE THIS YEAR.
THE UPS, THE UPDATED SCHEDULE THAT YOU SEE HERE TODAY PROVIDES OUR ESTIMATES FOR COMPLETION IN THE SUMMER FALL OF 2021.
THESE INITIATIVES ARE GRANT FUNDED, INCLUDING THE NOISE EXPOSURE MAPPING EXERCISE.
WE ARE CURRENTLY PLANNING TO CONTINUE THIS EXERCISE IN THE UPCOMING MONTHS, AND WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION IN THE UPCOMING WEEKS SO WE CAN BE TRANSPARENT WITH OUR COMMUNITIES.
THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION.
UH, JESUS, UH, PATRICA, UM, BEN AND WHO ELSE PRESENTED
UH, GREAT PRESENTATIONS, EVERYONE.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UH, START OUR DISCUSSION.
UH, WE'LL HAVE 10 MINUTES ON, UH, THE TIMER HERE.
SO, UM, WE'LL MOVE THROUGH THIS.
LET'S START WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA.
THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU TO ALL FOR THE PRESENTATIONS TODAY.
UM, VERY INSIGHTFUL AND I WANNA THANK YOU ALL AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS FOR BEING SO CREATIVE WITH, UM, WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING AND HOW YOU ALL ARE APPROACHING THIS SITUATION THAT I KNOW IS, UH, VERY FLUID.
[00:55:01]
WANNA SAY THAT I EXPECTED A, UH, A BUDGET INTRODUCTION IN SPANISH, UH, TODAY BY CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH, UH, BECAUSE HE DID A PHENOMENAL JOB YESTERDAY DURING THE D FOUR BUDGET PRESENTATION.AND AGAIN, RAY REVIEWS ABOUT HIM.
SO IF Y'ALL HAVEN'T HEARD, UH, ERIC WALSH SPEAKING IN SPANISH, I I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
YES, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT THE SAFETY MARKETING.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE REACH, UH, VARIOUS AUDIENCES.
AND, UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT VISIT SAN ANTONIO HELPED WITH THE CREATION OF A SAFETY VIDEO.
I I'M SURE THAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT AS WELL.
UM, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE PLUG FOR MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE ERIC AND A CITY MANAGER'S REPORT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SHARE IT WITH US ONE DAY.
UM, BUT JUST TO PLUG FOR THAT, UM, ALSO EXCITED ABOUT THE, IN GENERAL, THE MARKETING PROGRAM AND, AND YOU ALL ARE VERY PARTICULAR TO THE BILINGUAL MARKET, SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UH, PATRICIA QUESTION, IS THERE FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR ANY REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS PARTICULARLY THAT WE'RE AWARE OF? I KNOW THERE'S, THERE'S SOME, UM, FUNDING THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE FOR FEDERAL FUNDING, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE'S A FUND AND AND FORGIVE ME FOR NOT REMEMBERING THE NAME OF IT, BUT IT'S A TEXAS ONE SPECIFICALLY FOR CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS THAT COME TO SAN ANTONIO.
IS THAT STILL EXISTING? AND WOULD WE BE ABLE TO BENEFIT WITH, WITH THIS, UH, OR, OR FROM THAT WITH THIS? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE TRUST FUND? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
CARLOS, DO YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SURE.
UH, THE EVENTS TRUST FUND COUNCIL MEMBER IS STILL A MATTER OF STATE LAW.
IT DOES, UM, REQUIRE THAT WE DO CERTAIN, UM, IMPROVEMENTS AT THE REQUEST OF THE, UH, EVENT ORGANIZERS, UH, THAT ARE NEEDED TO RECRUIT THE SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS.
I I WONDER WHETHER SOME OF THESE MIGHT BE INCLUDABLE.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE THAT OFF AS A, TO DO TO KIND OF INVESTIGATE THAT THOUGHT.
WELL, I'M, I, I WAS JUST HOPING THAT MAYBE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THIS, UH, PANDEMIC, UH, THAT MAYBE THEY WOULD ALLOW US TO REPURPOSE SOME OF THAT FUNDING TO DRAW FOLKS, UH, BACK IN WHEN IT IS, YOU KNOW, SAY TO OPEN AT, AT A BIGGER QUA UH, QUANTITY OF FOLKS.
SO, YEAH, I TO I HAVE TO CAVEAT THAT COUNCIL, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DID USE FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR THIS, SO IT'S NOT A LOCAL, IT USUALLY A LOCAL MAP, BUT WE'LL INVESTIGATE ALL THIS.
THAT'S A REAL, THAT'S A REAL GOOD THOUGHT.
AND THEN ALSO, WHEN IS OUR NEXT CONVENTION OR WHEN IS OUR NEXT, UH, YOU KNOW, PROJECTED ONE THAT WE HAVE? SO RIGHT NOW ON OUR CALENDAR, WE HAVE, UH, PHIL WALDREP MINISTRIES, WHICH IS A WOMAN OF JOY EVENT, AND THAT IS SCHEDULED, WE'RE, UH, WORKING WITH THE EVENT ORGANIZER FOR THAT EVENT.
UM, IT IS SCHEDULED ON SEPTEMBER 24TH THROUGH THE 27TH.
UM, SO, AND, AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE HAVE ALL OF THESE IN PRACTICE.
I KNOW THAT SEVERAL OTHER CONVENTION CENTERS ACROSS, UM, THE US ARE, ARE MAKING PLAN TO REPURPOSE SOME OF THE SPACE.
AND SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UH, PATRICIA, I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE, ARE DOING SOME RESEARCH AS WELL AND TRYING TO GET CREATIVE WITH THAT.
SO THANK YOU TO YOUR STAFF, UM, ABSOLUTELY.
FOR, FOR TRYING TO CONTINUE AND, AND, AND MOVE AHEAD.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, SOME MORE DISCUSSION ON THE FINAL FOUR.
THAT'LL BE, UH, INTERESTING THE WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
SO I KNOW THAT WE WERE REALLY JAZZED UP ABOUT IT.
AND SO, UM, MAYBE OFFLINE YOU CAN GIVE ME JUST, JUST AN UPDATE ON THAT LATER.
PATRICIA, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS STILL IN FLUXX, UM, BUT THAT, THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS FOR YOUR PART OF IT.
AND THEN DEBBIE, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, STATUS OF WOMEN EXHIBIT IN THE CULTURE COMMONS AREA.
I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE PHENOMENAL.
UM, THANK YOU ALSO FOR INCORPORATING IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING INTO THE ARTIST, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT RECEIVE FUNDING.
I DO THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, THE, I I HAVE TO SAY THIS TODAY.
SO TODAY, UM, YOU MENTIONED, UH, OUR POET LAUREATE, ANDREA VOCAB SANDERSON, SHE RELEASED A SINGLE TODAY, Y'ALL, AND IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD IT, IT'S CALLED HARD ONE AND IT TALKS ABOUT THE CENTENNIAL OF THE APPOINTMENT'S RIGHT TO VOTE.
SO, UM, SHE ADDRESSES IN THERE THAT WOMEN OF COLOR DIDN'T GET THE RIGHT UNTIL A LOT LATER, BUT IF Y'ALL HAVEN'T HEARD IT, LOOK IT UP ON ANY MUSIC, UH, STREAMING CHANNEL, IT'S VERY, IT'S A VERY NICE SONG AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD.
AND IT WAS SPONSORED BY THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO I WAS REALLY PROUD THAT OUR POET GLORIA, UH, COULD DO THAT.
SO, UM, DEBBIE, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY ON SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, AND THIS IS TO COUNCILMAN ELIA'S POINT.
UM, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT COUNCIL MEETING HE ASKED THIS THAT, BUT HE WAS TALK, HE WAS ASKING ABOUT THE ARTS AGENCIES AND HE WAS ASKING IF THE
[01:00:01]
BUDGET THAT WE ARE PROJECTING OR PROPOSING TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE FACT THAT SOME OF THESE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE IN-PERSON EVENTS.AND SO I JUST WANNA HEAR THAT FROM YOU, HOW YOUR BUDGET PROJECTIONS TOOK THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
YES, WE ARE, UH, ALLOWING THE AGENCIES TO PUT FORTH THEIR PERFORMANCE PLAN AND INCLUDE VIRTUAL EVENTS.
UH, IN THE PAST WE'VE ONLY ALLOWED THEM TO INCLUDE, UH, IN-PERSON EVENTS, BUT MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA ALLOW THEM TO MOVE TO THE VIRTUAL EVENTS.
SO YES, THAT'S BEEN TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AND, AND IN FACT, UH, AS I'VE MENTIONED, VIRTUAL EVENTS CAN ACTUALLY COST MORE THAN A, THAN AN IN-PERSON EVENT BECAUSE OF THE PRODUCTION COST.
SO NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE TO PAY THE ARTISTS TO DO THE PERFORMANCE AND FOR THE VENUE TO HAVE THE PERFORMANCE, BUT YOU HAVE TO PAY THE FILMMAKER TO, TO DOCUMENT IT AND, AND STRING IT ALL TOGETHER.
AND I GUESS THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING, BECAUSE WHEN I HEARD YOU SAY THAT, I THOUGHT, OKAY, WELL I, YEAH, I'M, I'M HOPING THAT THIS WAS ALL TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THAT THEY SAID THAT THEY, YES, THEY COULD DO IT, THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET ARE ABLE, UH, TO THEN WORK WITHIN THIS BUDGET AND ACTUALLY USE IT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND MAYBE REDIRECT OR, OR USE FOR SOME ONLINE FUNCTION.
AND IF THEY CAN'T, I'M WONDERING THEN AT THAT POINT, ARE WE ABLE TO SHIFT SOME OF THOSE FUNDS INTO MAYBE SOME OF THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN USE IT, OR WHAT HAPPENS, HOW DO YOU GET NOTIFIED UP UNTIL WHEN? UM, ARE THEY ABLE TO TELL YOU, YES, WE CAN, OR NO, WE CAN'T.
WE NORMALLY REQUIRE THEM TO SUBMIT THEIR PERFORMANCE PLAN BY OCTOBER THE 10TH OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO THEY WOULD GIVE US AN ARTISTIC ACTIVITY PLANNING REPORT, AND THEY HAVE TO PROJECT ALL OF THEIR EVENTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR.
IN ADDITION, ALL OF THE EXPECTED ATTENDEES, THEIR EXPECTED PROGRAM INCOME, IF ANY, FROM THE EVENT AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO NORMALLY RESPOND TO BY OCTOBER THE 10TH.
AND WE WERE PLANNING TO KEEP THE SAME SCHEDULE, UH, FOR CONTRACTING.
AND MY FINAL QUESTION FOR YOU BEFORE I MOVE ON TO AIRPORT QUICKLY, THE ON PAGE TWO 30 OF THE BUDGET AND 2 31 OF THE BUDGET, THERE'S LUMINA AND THERE'S THE LUMINARIA ARTIST FOUNDATION.
UM, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS? RIGHT, SO LUMINARIA IS THE FESTIVAL THAT, THAT YOU NORMALLY THINK OF AS LUMINARIA.
THE CONTEMPORARY ART FESTIVAL, UH, LUMINARY LUMINARIA ARTIST FOUNDATION ARTIST FOUNDATION OF SAN ANTONIO WAS ITS OWN SEPARATE ENTITY DURING THE COURSE OF THE BEGINNING OF THIS THREE YEAR CYCLE.
AND THEY VOTED, THEIR BOARD VOTED TO MERGE WITH LUMIA TO DISTRIBUTE THE RE-GRANTING FUNDS DIRECTLY TO ARTISTS.
SO NOW LUMIA HAS BEEN ACTUALLY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, RE-GRANTING TWO, UH, ARTISTS FOR THAT ARTIST FOUNDATION ON BEHALF OF THEM.
AND THIS YEAR, THE ARTIST FOUNDATION HAS COMPLETELY, UH, TAKEN THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS OFFLINE.
SO THE FUNDING WOULD GO TO LUMIA, UH, AS A NONPROFIT ENTITY UNDER THEIR ARTIST FOUNDATION PROGRAM.
UM, DEBBIE, I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HARD WORK AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN JESUS, IT, IT'S REALLY JUST NO QUESTIONS.
UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU TO YOUR STAFF FOR, UH, BEING CREATIVE AND VERY PURPOSEFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF, OF THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE FLYING IN AND OUT SAN ANTONIO.
UM, BUT I WANTED TO CONGRATULATE YOU, UM, BECAUSE LAST WEEK I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THIS AWESOME EVENT, UH, THAT WAS COORDINATED THROUGH, UM, MY SOUTHSIDE SISTER, UH, COUNCILMAN REBECCA VRAN.
AND, UM, I GOT TO VISIT STINSON AIRPORT, AND I JUST WANNA TELL YOU THAT, UM, I HADN'T BEEN THERE IN A WHILE AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED.
AND, UH, IT JUST, IT WAS PICTURE PERFECT AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE TIME TO SAY THANK YOU, UM, JESUS, FOR, FOR PARTICIPATING IN, IN, UH, IN THAT EVENT AND FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND, AND YOUR STAFF SUPPORT IN THAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER CARVINO.
AND, UH, UH, JESUS, I'LL START WITH YOU.
UM, THANKS AGAIN, UM, FOR, FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT WE'RE, WHAT, WHAT IMPROVEMENTS ARE WE MAKING AT STINSON SPECIFICALLY? YEAH, SO AS I REFERENCED ON THE, ON THE CAPITAL, UH, PROGRAM, FIRST AND FOREMOST IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH TECH STOP FUNDING THAT WE RECEIVED SOME OF THE FUNDING, UH, COUPLED WITH SOME OF OUR, YOU KNOW, RESERVE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE FOR THAT.
WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, WORKING TOWARDS THE NEW TAXIWAY, IT'S TAXIWAY, UM, E TAXIWAY ECHO FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THAT.
AND THEN, UM, MOVING FORWARD AS WELL WITH, UM, YOU KNOW,
[01:05:01]
UPDATING OUR MASTER PLAN FOR STINSON SO WE CAN IDENTIFY, UH, NEW AREAS ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE AND PROMOTE THE OVERALL EXPANSION OF STINTSON AND, UM, AND, AND HOW CAN WE, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT A, A BETTER FACILITY.SO, SO THAT'S, SO LEMME ASK, LET ME ASK THIS QUESTION THEN, BECAUSE I MEAN, WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, I MEAN, THAT, UM, THE TAXI Y E THAT THAT'S FOR AIRPLANES WHERE THEY TAXI, I MEAN, PEOPLE AREN'T NECESSARILY GONNA BE WALKING THERE.
HOW, HOW DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY GET TO EXPERIENCE THAT AIRPORT? UH, MORE ENJOYABLY? WHAT, WHAT ARE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE ARE MAKING TO THAT AIRPORT? LOVE IT.
I, I, I WOULD OFFER UP, YOU KNOW, ONE IS THE, THE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, PLACED BY TRAIL THAT, THAT PROVIDES THAT, UM, AS WE LOOK AT THIS MASTER PLANNING AND, AND, AND FOCUS ON WHAT OTHER EFFORTS CAN WE INSTITUTE SIMILAR TO THAT AS WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, ALL THE HISTORIC, UH, MONUMENTS THAT ARE NEAR THAT AIRPORT TO TRY AND ATTRACT AND BRING ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, GENERAL AVIATION AIRCRAFT AND USERS TO THAT AIRPORT SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO, TO UTILIZE THOSE FACILITIES.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE EFFORTS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND UNDERTAKE.
AND THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE FOCUS ON, YOU KNOW, IMPROVING THE, UH, THE, AND, AND UPDATING THE MASTER PLAN FOR STINSON.
WELL, IF I, IF I COULD, AGAIN, I'M GONNA, UH, ONE REALLY, UH, I THINK EASY ONE, AND MAYBE IT'S JUST KIND OF AN OPERATIONAL, UH, AND NOT SURE, UH, WHAT, UH, WHAT IT, WHAT PROCESS IT HAS TO GO THROUGH, BUT, UH, THE GAS PUMPS, THE PUBLIC GAS PUMPS THERE FOR, FOR THE AIRCRAFT, UM, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST THERE TWO DAYS AGO AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S OLD TECHNOLOGY.
YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THE SCREEN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, THAT CASTROVILLE HAS A, HAS A MODERNIZED SYSTEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I I, I'D LIKE FOR US TO LOOK AT THOSE KINDS OF THINGS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GENERAL AVIATION EXPERIENCE, UH, AT STINSON, I THINK, UH, IS IS NOT UP TO PAR WITH SOME OF THE, UM, OTHER AREA AIRPORTS.
AND I, I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE IT, UH, LIKE TO SEE US EVALUATE THAT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I THINK WE CAN IMPROVE THAT EASILY.
UH, YOU KNOW, SO JUST YOU, UH, A A DIFFERENT TOUCH POINT FOR, FOR PILOTS IS, IS A BIG DEAL, ESPECIALLY AS YOU DESCRIBED WITH THE BIKE TRAIL, WITH THE HISTORY OF NATURE OF THAT AREA.
PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING AND, AND AGAIN, I, YOU KNOW, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS THE LAST TIME OSHKOSH BEING CANCELED.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF, UH, GENERAL AVIATION ACTIVITY THAT WE CAN'T CAPITALIZE ON.
AND, UH, IF, IF WE CAN MAKE THE EXPERIENCE A LITTLE, UH, A LITTLE BETTER, I THINK IT WOULD, IT WOULD DRAW MORE PEOPLE TO THAT AIRPORT, WHICH, WHICH GIVES US MORE MONEY, MORE REVENUES TO THAT AIRPORT.
SO I JUST ASK THAT WE, UH, THAT WE TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
UH, OTHERWISE, I, I DO APPRECIATE ALL YOU'RE DOING AT, UH, AT OUR AIRPORT.
AND I THINK, UH, THE, UH, THE INCLUSION OF, OF, OF ART AND, UH, EMPHASIS ON AVIATION HAS BEEN, HAS BEEN, UH, GREAT.
I'D, I'D LIKE TO GET AN UPDATE ON, UH, DID WE EVER, UH, SOLIDIFY THE, THE D HOWARD, UH, 500, UH, AIRCRAFT, I THINK THAT SOMEBODY DONATED THE, THE HOWARD 500.
UM, JUST LET ME KNOW ANOTHER TIME.
I, I WANT TO GET TO, TO, UH, DEBBIE ROCK SITTER.
UM, DEBBIE, UH, IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU SAID SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR QUITE SOME TIME TOO.
AND, AND, UH, I, I THINK WE'RE IN ALIGNMENT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ARTS OR CITY.
UM, YESTERDAY I WAS ASKED ABOUT IT AND YOU USED THE WORD IDENTITY.
I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT I SAID WAS, YOU KNOW, EV EVERYTHING THAT EVER WAS IS, AND IT'S GONNA BE IN OUR CITY, IS REALLY, I, I I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT CENTERS AROUND THE WAY ARTISTS HELP TO TELL THAT STORY IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, UH, FROM THE INDIGENOUS PERIOD TO THE MISSION ERA TO TODAY, TO THE MODERN PERIOD.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE A UNESCO WORLD, HERITAGE CITY, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULDN'T BE SLASHING THE ARTS, UH, IN, IN THIS TIME BECAUSE THIS IS THE TIME AND WE HAVE TO SHOW THAT WE ARE INVESTING IN, IN WAYS THAT HELP TO PRESERVE, UH, WHO WE ARE, OUR IDENTITY.
IT'S, IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT, UM, IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT, UH, THING FOR OUR CITY.
UH, I, I THINK, UH, WHETHER YOU'RE AN INDIVIDUAL OR, UH, A COMMUNITY, UH, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN, UH, ACHIEVE IS, IS THAT SELF-ACTUALIZATION, THAT IDENTITY THAT, UH, HELPS, HELPS PEOPLE BE, UH, MAINTAIN SOME OF THAT PRIDE HELPS ALL OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS, LIKE, LIKE OUR VISIT
[01:10:01]
SAN ANTONIO AND OUR TOURISM, UH, ALL THE THINGS THAT, THAT HELP DRAW PEOPLE HERE ARE, ARE CENTERED AROUND, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT IDENTITY.UH, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I'D, I'D LIKE TO SEE, AND, AND THIS IS MORE OF A STATEMENT, UH, BEFORE I GET TO ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME, SOME OF OUR, OUR CARES ACT MONEY, MORE OF OUR CARES ACT MONEY, GO INTO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE BECAUSE OF THAT SIMPLE REASON.
WE'VE GOT TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THAT IDENTITY, AND THERE'S NO WAY AROUND IT.
UM, AND, UH, AND THAT'S MONEY THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE NOW.
SO, UH, I, I'M, I'M MAKING THAT PLEA TO MY COLLEAGUES THAT, THAT WE, THAT WE MOVE FUNDING.
UM, SPEAKING OF WHICH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ABOUT ARTISTS, RIGHT? AND, UH, DEBBIE, UM, HAVE YOU, WOULD YOU SAY YOU'VE, YOU'VE, YOU'VE HAD COMMUNICATIONS WITH ARTISTS THAT, THAT ARE STRUGGLING, THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY HAVING TROUBLE PAYING RENT, HAVING DIFFICULTY MAKING ENDS MEET SINCE, SINCE THIS PANDEMIC.
IS, IS THIS AN ISSUE FOR ARTISTS? IS THIS A BIG PROBLEM? UH, YES.
COUNCILMAN ARTIS ARE VERY HEAVY, UH, HEAVILY HIT BY THE PANDEMIC.
THEY, UH, I DO WANNA REMIND YOU OF THAT.
THEY, WE ARE LOOKING AT $600,000 FOR THE ARTIST GRANT.
AND, UM, I DON'T, DON'T WANNA STEAL THIS UNDER FROM THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE COMMITTEE, BUT, UH, WE'RE, UH, ACTUALLY VERY CLOSE TO THE NEED, UH, WITH THE, WHAT THE ARTISTS SUPPLIED FOR, UH, AT 600,000, UH, WITH THAT GRANT, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, THE, THE AGENCIES, UH, HAD A MUCH LARGER ASK THAN 2 MILLION THAT WE PROVIDED.
UH, THEY SHOWED LOSSES OF ALMOST 9 MILLION.
BUT REMEMBER THAT THE AGENCIES EMPLOY THE ARTISTS MANY TIMES, UH, THEY EMPLOY A LOT OF PEOPLE, UH, AS WELL.
SO, UM, UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF ARTISTS THAT ARE NOW LOOKING FOR, THEY, THEY DON'T WANNA HAND OUT FOR BASIC NEEDS.
UH, SO I'VE HEARD A LOT FROM ARTISTS SAYING, LET'S FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN, UH, GET SOME FUNDING FOR SOME PROJECTS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'VE REALLY EXPRESSED TO ME, UH, OF LATE, RIGHT.
THEY REALLY WANNA START MAKING ART.
I MEAN, I, I OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, IN NO WAY, UH, ARTISTS ARE NOT, THEY'RE NOT LAZY, AND THEY'RE NOT LOOKING FOR A HANDOUT.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY POINT ABOUT FUNDING OUR ARTS AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT.
UH, IT'S A GREAT SEGUE TO, UH, MY C C R, UM, THE, THE ART WORKS PROGRAM, UH, THREE PARTS, ONE OF WHICH YOU KIND OF TOUCHED ON IN THE PRESENTATION WITH REGARDS TO THE DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I, I, I'M NOT SURE WHERE THOSE PROJECTS ARE, BUT, UH, HOPEFULLY THEY ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE CITY IN WAYS THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN KIND OF SEE THE, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT, THAT THIS COULD POTENTIALLY BRING.
THE, THE IDEA IS THAT YOU GO, LET'S SAY YOU GO TO PARIS AND YOU, YOU NOTICE THAT EVERY LITTLE THING IN, IN PARIS, UM, IS, HAS A, HAS A SPECIAL TOUCH TO IT FROM AN ENTRANCE TO THEIR SUBWAY, TO, TO STREET SIGNS TO THE, THE COVERS OF MANHOLES TO, UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE WAY THEY'RE, THEIR, THEIR, UH, UH, CERTAIN SIDEWALKS ARE DESIGNED, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A SPECIAL TOUCH.
AND, AND I THINK WHAT, WHAT I'M ASKING FOR IS THIS IDEA, AS YOU POINTED, AS YOU POINTED OUT, DESIGN ENHANCEMENT THAT ALLOWS THAT TO EXIST IN THE CITY, TO HELP SORT OF FORTIFY THAT, THAT IDENTITY, BUT ALSO, UH, HELPS TO, UH, CREATE A, UH, A UNIQUE, UH, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT WORK.
SO, UH, AGAIN, I KNOW YOU'LL BE PRESENTING THAT TO, UH, GOVERNANCE AND ASK FOR MY COLLEAGUES TO, TO SUPPORT THAT, UH, C C R BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT WORK.
IT'S NOT A HANDOUT, IT'S JUST A WAY TO, THAT WE HEARD YESTERDAY WE HAVE OVER $600 MILLION IN PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS.
THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY TO, TO GIVE, UH, SOME OF THAT WORK TO ARTISTS TO HELP PROVIDE SOME OF THAT DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS, UH, IN, IN, IN A SPECIAL WAY.
NOW, LAST THING IS, I DO HAVE TO MENTION THE DISTINCTION ARTS.
UM, UH, AGAIN, POINT OUT THAT THIS IS A, AN AMAZING EVENT THAT IS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY AND IS ABOUT HELPING, UH, TO RECOGNIZE, UH, THOSE ARTISTS IN OUR OWN COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE WORKING WITH YOU, UH, TO, TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.
WE KNOW IT'S A DIFFICULT TIME, TYPICALLY YOU HAVE IT IN OCTOBER, BUT BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE, WE'RE GONNA BE CHALLENGED, BUT I THINK THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO, TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND UPLIFT THE COMMUNITY WITH ITS ARTISTS AND CELEBRATE, UH, ITS ART AND ITS ARTISTS.
SO WITH THAT, I'M SUPPOSED TO TAKE OVER AS MAYOR, UH, PRO TEM.
[01:15:01]
CONTINUE, UH, THE DISCUSSION NOW WITH, UH, THE GREAT MANNY PITISUM, I, I, UM, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO START OFF BY RECOGNIZING THAT I THINK THIS IS JESUS'S FIRST BUDGET PRESENTATION TO THIS CITY COUNCIL EVER.
IS THAT RIGHT? JESUS, YES, SIR.
AND, AND, UH, JESUS, UH, WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW.
UH, AND, UH, I WANNA TELL YOU, YOU REALLY, REALLY BOTCHED IT UP.
UH, AND, UH, IF YOU WERE NERVOUS BEFORE, UH, NOW YOU'RE AN OLD HAND AT IT, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'LL, IT'LL BE BETTER GOING FORWARD.
BUT, UH, I, I THOUGHT THAT WAS A VERY THOROUGH AND EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
IN FACT, I GOT NO QUESTIONS FOR YOU OTHER THAN, UH, AND JUST CONGRATULATE YOU ON OUR, ON OUR JOB.
I, I KNOW HOW HARD, UH, IT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PRESENTATIONS ARE EXCELLENT.
UM, AND I SEE, I SEE YOUR HARD WORK.
UM, I, I, I HAD A, I DID HAVE A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S THE LAST COMMENTS MADE BY COUNCILMAN TINO THAT, THAT NOW HAVE ME THINKING.
SO, I, I'LL, I'LL SCRAP, I'LL SCRAP THE LIST OF QUESTIONS THAT I HAD.
YOU KNOW, MY, THE THE DIFFICULTY WITH, UH, THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT FUNDING ARTISTS TO GET BACK TO WORK IS, I, I, I, I AGREE, UM, AT, AT ITS MOST BASIC ELEMENTS, THAT'S, THAT'S AN ARGUMENT THAT WE SHOULD STAND UP FOR AND THAT WE SHOULD, THAT WE SHOULD MAKE.
HOWEVER, IT WOULD BE NAIVE OF US TO IGNORE THE FACT THAT NO ONE'S BUYING ART RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THAT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE OUTTA WORK AND HAVING TO MAKE CHOICES BETWEEN PAYING RENT OR FOOD.
AND, UM, AND SO PAYING ARTISTS TO CREATE ART THAT WILL COLLECT IN, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL COLLECT DUST IN SOME INVENTORY, UM, IS GONNA BE PROBLEMATIC FOR US.
RIGHT? AND SO, I, I GUESS WHAT I'D LIKE TO HEAR IS BEFORE I, UH, YOU KNOW, BEFORE I AGREE TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IS WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE, THE METRIC BY WHICH WE SAY WE SUCCEEDED THERE? RIGHT? UM, ON THE OTHER HAND, TOO, AND THIS IS GONNA SOUND MEAN HEARTED, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO BE MEAN HEARTED, UM, IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO LOST JOBS AND WHO AREN'T ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, GET THE JOBS THEY HAD YESTERDAY WHO ARE NOW PARTICIPATING IN WORKFORCE TRAINING AND RETRAINING, AND GOING OUT AND FINDING WORK.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IF I HAD TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO FEED MY CHILDREN, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I WAS AN ARTIST, IT WOULDN'T, MY ARGUMENT WOULDN'T BE, I NEED TO CONTINUE MAKING ART OR NOTHING AT ALL, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU FEED YOUR CHILDREN, YOU PAY YOUR RENT, YOU PAY YOUR BILLS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF SAN ANTONIANS WHO ARE NOT ARTISTS WHO ARE IN THAT SITUATION, WHO ARE GONNA END UP SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS AND WONDERING, WAIT A SECOND.
SO I SHOULD HAVE GONE AND BECOME AN ARTIST.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD BE PROTECTED, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TO GO AND FIND A JOB.
UM, THAT'S OUT, THAT'S GONNA BE A HARD PILL FOR THEM TO SWALLOW.
AND IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE READY TO HAVE WITH THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND I'M NOT INSENSITIVE TO THE PAIN FELT BY ARTISTS.
MY BROTHER HAS AN ART GALLERY IN AUSTIN, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HE'S NOT SELLING ANYTHING.
BUSINESS USED TO BE VERY, VERY SWIFT.
AND WE'RE NOT THE ONLY CITY WHERE THIS IS OCCURRING ON, ON THE SECOND POINT MADE BY COUNCILMAN MINO, I THINK YOU'RE, YOU'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT RIGHT.
I THINK THE GREAT CITIES OF THE WORLD ARE CITIES THAT TAKE ART SERIOUSLY ON THEIR STREETS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS.
AND THAT THE PUNCTUATION, UH, OF THE BIG CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT IS OUR CITY IS THE ART.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, TEXAS CITIES HAVE NEVER DONE REALLY WELL IS EMBRACE THAT, UM, IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, YOUR CITY CAN BE BEAUTIFUL, UH, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME WELL BUILT, RIGHT? UM, AND SO I'M VERY HAPPY THAT WE'RE SEEING FEWER AND FEWER BUILDINGS, UM, USING THE SAME FORMULA OF, YOU KNOW, THE 1980S, WHICH IS, IF IT'S BEIGE, THEN LET'S BUILD IT.
RIGHT? UM, AND YOU'RE SEEING SOME REALLY BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SEEING DEVELOPERS NOW ADDING ART ELEMENTS TO THEIR, UM, THEIR BUILDINGS.
BUT, UH, I, I AGREE WITH YOU COUNCILMAN TREVINO.
THERE'S MORE THAT CAN BE DONE THERE.
UM, ANYWAY, THOSE, THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS.
I, I, I HAD MOST OF MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
UH, NOW IT'S, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK YOU'RE STILL ON.
UM, I, I, WE DON'T, I DON'T HEAR NO, NEITHER I, SIR.
UM, MAYBE WE CAN COME UP BACK TO HER.
[01:20:01]
WE GO.SO I TICKED OFF THE HEADPHONES.
UM, SO, UH, I, I, I'LL START WITH SOME OF THE ART CONVERSATIONS.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UH, DEBBIE, WE KNOW THAT, THAT, THAT THE HOT OR THE ART, PUBLIC ART HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN FUNDED BY THE HOT TAX, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT USED TO BE FUNDED THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, AND SO HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT? SO, PUBLIC ART IS FUNDED OUT OF THE CAPITAL PROGRAM, BUT OUR ARTS AGENCY FUNDING AND OUR OPERATIONS IS FUNDED OUT OF THE HOTEL TAX, EXCEPT FOR THIS YEAR.
THERE'S A PROPOSED 1.6 MILLION IN GENERAL FUND.
AND HOW ABOUT, UM, HOW, BUT HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY? 'CAUSE IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS THIS CHANGE SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY.
BEFORE THE HOT TAX WAS ALLOWED TO FUND THE ARTS, THE, THE ARTS DEPARTMENT WAS FUNDED BY, UH, GENERAL FUND BY GENERAL.
IT WAS LONG, LONG, LONG TIME AGO.
BUT, AND, AND SO, AND HOW WAS THAT DETERMINED? UM, LIKE WHAT WAS THE FUNDING RE I MEAN, WAS JUST, JUST BASED ON COUNCIL'S INPUT, OR WAS THERE SOME METRIC? MY UNDERSTANDING IS WHEN THE STATE ALLOWED, UH, THE HOT TECH TO BE USED FOR ART THAT THE CITY COUNCIL EMBRACED THAT USE AND AS A VERY STABLE SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR THE ARTS.
AND, UH, WAS IT, UM, SO I, I THINK, YEAH, YOU KNOW, WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS, LIKE WHAT, SO THEN IT, IS IT NOW MORE THAN IT USED TO BE, OR, I MEAN, WE, I GUESS AS A COUNCIL CAN ALWAYS DECIDE IF WE WANNA INVEST MORE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I HAD ALSO PROPOSED INCREASING, UH, THE CAPITAL, UM, UH, UM, THE BOND, UH, PERCENTAGE TO 2%.
I HAD MENTIONED THAT BEFORE AND HAVE MENTIONED IT IN PREVIOUS BOND PROPOSALS OVER THE YEARS.
UM, BUT IS THERE ANY WAY TO, TO KNOW, UH, LIKE IN CURRENT DOLLARS, IS IT MUCH MORE FUNDED NOW WITH THE HOT TECHS OR NOT? NOT NOW DURING COVID, BUT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IN, IN PREVIOUS YEARS, COUNSEL, WE CAN PROBABLY IN THE, IN THE FOLLOW UP MEMO, GO BACK, I'M TRYING TO RECALL IN MY MIND WHEN THAT CHANGE IN STATE LAW HAPPENED.
'CAUSE IT WAS A, IT WAS QUITE A WHILE AGO, AND MAYBE WE CAN PUT TOGETHER KIND OF A HISTORY OF, OF, OF ARTS FUNDING, UM, BY, BY SOURCE.
AND OVER TIME, I SUSPECT IT'S GONE UP, BUT, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
SO, I MEAN, I, AND I, I, I THINK ALSO, RIGHT, I MEAN, THERE IS A PRECEDENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL MADE THAT DECISION AND, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE IT WAS OBVIOUSLY RELEVANT AT THE TIME, BUT PERHAPS WE NEED TO RECONSIDER THAT, JUST GIVEN I THINK THE INSTABILITY OF THE HOT TAX, UH, AND THE FUTURE OF THE HOT TAX AND, AND THE FACT THAT PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S NOT, UH, SUCH A STABLE, UM, UM, UH, RELIABLE SOURCE ANYMORE.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER AS A COUNCIL ONCE WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANNA, UH, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DISCUSS JUST AT A FUTURE DATE.
UM, I HAVE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS, SO I WANNA GET TO THOSE, UM, UH, REGARDING THE, UM, SO, UH, AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE, THIS EXAMPLE OF, UM, MY QUESTIONS YESTERDAY REGARDING ALTERNATIVE USES FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER AND PERHAPS THE ALAMO DOME.
UM, AT SOME MONTHS NOW, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MONTHS IT'S BEEN, UM, THAT RODNEY CAME TO US TO TALK ABOUT THE ROOF IN THE ALAMO DOME.
AND HE SAID THAT THERE HAD BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT SHOULD WE, WHEN WE REPLACED THAT ROOF ON THE ALMO DOME, SHOULD WE BUILD IT IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU COULD BUILD ON TOP OF IT? AND I THINK IT WAS DETERMINED THAT IT WAS NOT A COST EFFECTIVE, UM, THING TO DO.
BUT GIVEN WHAT WE KNOW NOW, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT STAGE WE ARE IN OF THAT ROOF, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING, UM, THAT PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, THINK ABOUT OFFICE SPACE ON TOP OR SOME OTHER WAY TO GENERATE INCOME.
I KNOW OVER THE YEARS THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT MOVING THE I T C INTO THE CONVENTION CENTER AND MOVING OTHER, UM, OTHER DEPARTMENTS OR OTHER PLACES INTO THE CONVENTION CENTER.
ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THAT AT ALL? AND, UM, AND, AND WHICH WOULD KIND OF LEAD TO MY NEXT QUESTION, UH, AND YOU ALLUDED TO IT IN A COUPLE OF THE PRESENTATIONS EARLIER, UM, PATRICIA, ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD SAID, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY BELIEVES THAT CONVENTIONS WILL COME BACK, UH, THE WAY THAT THEY WERE.
UM, BUT I, I JUST WONDER WHERE DO YOU GET THAT INFORMATION?
[01:25:01]
THAT THEY WILL IN FACT, COME BACK TO SOME LEVEL? BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT SOME THINGS IN FACT, ARE NOT GONNA COME BACK.AND, AND, UM, I, I, I, WE WERE DISCUSSING A DIFFERENT CONTRACT, BUT, UM, WE, I KNOW THAT WE ALL WANNA SEE EACH OTHER FACE TO FACE.
CLEARLY THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO BETTER WAY.
AND, AND AS AN ELECTED, WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PEOPLE.
AND, AND THIS IS NOT THE BEST WAY WE ALL KNOW, UM, BUT IT DOES SEEM LIKE WE'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT MORE PARTICIPATION WITH THE VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
WE'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT MORE, UM, ENGAGEMENT FROM DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT, UH, I GUESS GENERATIONS.
UH, AND THE OTHER THING IS JUST THAT I KNOW, I MEAN, AS A WORKING MOTHER, UM, THERE ARE SO MANY CONVENTIONS THAT I WOULD'VE LIKED TO ATTEND THAT I CAN'T BECAUSE CHILDCARE IS ALWAYS GONNA BE AN ISSUE.
AND SO I, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS IN THERE, BUT I, I, I WANTED TO GET THEM ALL IN SO THAT I DON'T RUN OUT OF TIME.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S FOR PATRICIA AND, UH, AND YOUR TEAM OVER AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
COUNCIL, UH, WOMAN, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
SO, A, AS FAR AS, UM, CONVENTION CENTER, UM, YOU KNOW, USE WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE INDUSTRY, UM, YOU KNOW, REGARDING, YOU KNOW, IN PERSON, UH, MEETINGS, WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE INDUSTRY IS THAT THERE IS A, A DEEP DESIRE AND THE NEED TO STILL CONTINUE TO MEET IN PERSON, THE NEED TO SEE PHYSICAL PRODUCTS AT TRADE SHOWS, UM, YOU KNOW, TO FEEL THEM, YOU KNOW, TO TALK TO EXHIBITORS AND VENDORS.
BUT, UH, THE INDUSTRY IS RECOGNIZING THAT IN THE FUTURE, THERE WILL BE A VIRTUAL COMPONENT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO IT, AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THE INDIVIDUALS CAN'T ATTEND MEETINGS.
UH, BUT AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE HEARING, UM, AND AS FAR AS THE EVENTS THAT WE HAVE, UM, SCHEDULED FOR FUTURE, THERE'S A STRONG DESIRE TO COME BACK AND MEET IN PERSON.
AND SO, REGARDING THE ROOF AT THE CONVENTION CENTER, AND PERHAPS OTHER USES OR OTHER WAYS TO GENERATE INCOME FOR THOSE, UM, THOSE FACILITIES, MM-HMM.
UM, AND, UM, REGARDING, YOU KNOW, ADDING, YOU KNOW, AN ANOTHER LEVEL, WE DO NOT HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE RIGHT THERE, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO BUILD, UH, ABOVE, UH, THE CENTER.
THAT WAS, UM, INFORMATION THAT WAS PROVIDED BY OUR PUBLIC WORKS WHENEVER WE BEGAN THIS PROCESS OF, UH, REPLACING THE ROOF IN THE 1998 PORTION.
UM, SO WAS IT THE CONVENTION, OKAY, SO NOT, IT WASN'T THE ALMA DOMA THAT WE WERE GONNA REPLACE THE ROOF.
IT WAS NO, NO, IT, IT IS, WE WERE REPLACING 450,000 SQUARE FEET OF ROOF IN THE 1998 PORTION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
IT WAS COMPROMISED, YOU KNOW, WITH WEATHER ACTIVITY.
AND SO, UM, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I, WHEN, WHEN THAT WAS PRESENTED, UM, THAT SOUNDED, YOU KNOW, LIKE A REALLY GOOD IDEA JUST GIVEN THE AGE OF THE FACILITY.
UH, AND THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, AND I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M THINKING OF A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE.
SO ANYWAY, I THINK YOU UNDERSTAND MY POINT.
I MEAN, I'VE BEEN, UM, FEELING LIKE, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE, UM, WITH THESE CITY OWNED FACILITIES.
WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN.
UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, THEY AGE.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE SHOULD ALWAYS BE A PLAN FOR WHAT HAPPENS, UM, FOR A FUTURE USE, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN.
I SUSPECT IT WON'T BE THE LAST TIME.
I MEAN, IT, MAYBE IT WON'T BE THE LAST TIME THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS.
UM, AND SO THEN I, I GUESS THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE BEFORE I RUN OUT OF TIME HERE, UM, I, UM, UH, FOR THE AIRPORT, UM, UH, DIRECTOR, SO, YOU KNOW, UM, A COUPLE OF MONTHS BACK, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, EVERYTHING'S HAS CHANGED SO MUCH, BUT YOU KNOW, IT, IT WAS REPORTED THAT FLYING WAS HIGHLY, UM, HIGHLY DANGEROUS ACTIVITY FOR CON FOR CONTRACTION OF COVID.
UM, HAS THAT CHANGED? UH, I MEAN, I STILL FEEL LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF, OF WAYS THAT YOU COULD CONTRACT IT, THAT FLYING WOULD STILL BE REALLY HIGH, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE Y'ALL HAVE DONE A LOT.
AND SO IS THERE A WAY TO CONFIRM THAT OR IS THERE AN AGENCY, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T SEEN AN UPDATE TO THAT SINCE IT WAS REPORTED, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL MONTHS BACK, THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS THAT YOU COULD DO.
YEAH, COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT, FOR THAT QUESTION.
I CAN TELL YOU, UH, WE HAVE INSTITUTED, UH, AS
[01:30:01]
I'VE MENTIONED A NUMBER OF TIMES, UH, A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS TO TRY AND INSTILL THE CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TO BRING PEOPLE BACK.UH, JUST YESTERDAY EVENING, UM, I SAW A REPORT,
SO I THINK THAT INFORMATION IS STARTING TO OCCUR.
UH, SO THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THAT THAT'S MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION.
UM, I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A LEARNING, IT'S A LEARNING PROCESS FOR ALL OF US, BUT FROM OUR STANDPOINT, WE ARE CONTROLLING WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, AND THAT'S ENSURING THAT OUR FACILITIES ARE CLEAN AT ALL TIMES.
AND SO, COULD YOU FIND A WAY TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, AND I MEAN, PERHAPS THAT'S PART OF OUR MARKETING TEAM AS WELL, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE, UH, UM, IF THINGS ARE EVOLVING, YOU KNOW, EVERY WEEK, UM, AND, AND EVEN, UH, THE INFORMATION THAT OUR CITY HAS, SO, SO PERHAPS YOU COULD WORK ON A MARKETING PLAN, UM, INTERNALLY, UH, SO THAT WE CAN TELL PEOPLE THAT THEY CAN FEEL CONFIDENT WHEN THEY COME TO SAN ANTONIO.
THANK, THANK YOU COUNCILOR GONZALEZ.
AND I THINK, UH, WHEN LIGHTNING HITS AN AIRPLANE, THAT SAME, ALMOST, ALMOST FIRE, ISN'T THAT JESUS? THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, SO I'LL TRY AND GET THROUGH THEM VERY QUICKLY.
AND I AM, UH, FIRST I HAVE TO SAY, I'M EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED THAT ERIC WALSH DID NOT GIVE THE OPENING REMARKS IN ESPANOL, YOU ALL.
I HAD TO THINK, I HAD TO LOOK TWICE TO SEE IF IT WAS REALLY HIS VOICE OR THE VOICEOVER.
AND THAT'S WHY I REPLAYED IT, JUST TO MAKE SURE.
UM, SO I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO GO CHECK THAT OUT.
UH, SLIDE NUMBER SIX ON, LET'S SAY THE REOPENING PLAN.
LET'S START WITH SLIDE NUMBER NINE ON THE REOPENING PLAN FOR THE, UH, CONVENTION CENTER AND THE, UM,
PATRICIA ASKED SO MUCH FOR THIS BECAUSE REALLY OUTLINING IT THIS WAY, REALLY, UM, HIGHLIGHTS TO US THE METICULOUS NATURE THAT YOU ARE WORKING ON, YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON AS WELL AS THE OTHER, UM, DEPARTMENTS HERE.
I THINK THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, AND THIS IS WHAT OUR VISITORS, AND THIS IS WHAT THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING TO DO BUSINESS STILL IN SAN ANTONIO ARE LOOKING FOR.
AND IF WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT OUR CONVENTION CENTER IS A FACILITY, WE NEED TO HIGHLIGHT THESE WORLD CLASS ITEMS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.
I WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT NEW TECHNOLOGY, LET'S LOOK AT SOME TECHNOLOGY ASPECTS THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING.
I KNOW YOU'RE DOING THIS ALREADY, BUT EVEN IN OTHER COUNTRIES WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, I KNOW WE HAVE CONTACTLESS APPLICATIONS, BUT WHAT ARE OTHER APPS THAT WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT TO HELP WITH, UM, MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IS KEEPING SAFE IN THIS AREA? UM, SO IT'S VERY MUCH FORWARD THINKING AND I THANK YOU, UH, PATRICIA.
'CAUSE I KNOW IT'S PROBABLY NOT EASY TO HAVE SO MANY OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS OFF IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND YOU CAN'T GET TO THEM TO HAVE THEM WORK WITH YOU DAY IN AND DAY OUT, WHAT YOU'RE ACCUSTOMED TO.
HANG IN THERE AND, AND KEEP GOING.
I DID WANNA ASK A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE, UM, N C A A AND IF YOU ARE, FOR THE WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR, ARE THEY LOOKING AT SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT THE NNC, UM, SORRY, THE N B A DID WITH THEIR BUBBLE, UM, THE N B A BUBBLE FOR THE PLAYOFFS? ARE THEY LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE THAT? 'CAUSE I KNOW SAN ANTONIO COULD ACCOMMODATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT RIGHT NOW THE PLAN IS TO, YOU KNOW, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE EVENT HAPPENING IN PERSON WITH A GUEST IN THE STANDS.
UM, THE, THE DATES THAT WE HAVE THEM SCHEDULED IN LATE MARCH AND EARLY APRIL.
[01:35:01]
WONDERFUL NEWS.AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE GOING TO BE READY TO BE FLEXIBLE WHENEVER WE NEED TO, IF SOMETHING ELSE MODIFICATIONS NEED TO HAPPEN.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL WILLING TO, TO MAKE THOSE MODIFICATIONS WHERE WE NEED TO NEXT.
I DO WANNA TALK JUST QUICKLY, UM, 'CAUSE I THINK IT WAS SOME GOOD IDEAS BROUGHT UP ABOUT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
AND I KNOW THIS IS OTHER, UM, CONVERSATIONS, BUT ALL OF THESE KIND OF ROLL INTO ONE ANOTHER WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARTISTS, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POTENTIAL CONTACT TRACING, THAT HOW THEY FIT INTO OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
UH, CARLOS, I KNOW YOU'RE TAKING NOTES FEVERISHLY TO REMEMBER THAT ALL OF THESE ARE TOGETHER AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WORKFORCE.
'CAUSE ALL OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, UM, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY HERE.
UM, WELL ACTUALLY, THIS GOES BACK TO SLIDE SIX IN BEN'S PRESENTATION.
BEN HASN'T TALKED MUCH, SO I WANTED TO BRING BEN BACK IN TO THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, FOR THE I SLIDE SIX, CAN, THESE ARE THE PROPOSED BUDGETS, 34.8 WITH THE VISIT SAN ANTONIO, 15.1 MILLION.
ERIC, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT SHOWS THE LAST YEAR, THIS YEAR AND WHAT'S TO COME WITH VISITS SAN ANTONIO? REMEMBER WE DO AS A BACKUP SLIDE, SLIDE 2022.
SO THEY'RE ADOPTED FFY 2020 BUDGET, THEIR REVISED BUDGET AND THE PROPOSED FFY 21, UH, CONTRIBUTION.
SO THE, THIS IS OUR CITY CONTRIBUTION OF, OF 15.1.
AND THIS IS OUR, THEIR PORTION OF THE 7% OF THE HOT TAX YES, MA'AM.
AND SO OUR, UH, MARKETING, OUR SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH THEM GOES UNTIL SEPTEMBER, 2021.
THE, THE B S A MR. SAN ANTONIO, UH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, CARLOS, UM, NEEDS TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL, UH, THIS FALL, UH, REGARDING THEIR TPI.
SO THAT'LL BE ANOTHER CONVERSATION THAT OCCURS IN THE FALL.
AND MY LAST QUESTION, WELL, ACTUALLY, MY LAST COMMENTS AND A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ARE GOING TO BE FOR STINSON.
UH, IT WAS A GREAT, IT WAS A GREAT TIME AT STINSON ON FRIDAY, SEEING OUR, UH, THE 90 NINES AND THE WOMEN IN AVIATION UP THERE, THE PILOTS.
IT WAS EXCITING TO SEE THEM OUT THERE.
UM, AND I WANTED TO, YOU'VE GIVEN A LOT OF PRESENTATIONS, JESUS, ABOUT THE AIRPORT, BUT YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN THAT MUCH LOVE TO SIMPSON.
SO LET'S TAKE A LITTLE MOMENT RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THAT IS, UH, I WANNA TALK ABOUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING WHAT IT IS THAT WE ARE INVESTING IN THE DOLLARS THIS YEAR.
I DO WANNA THANK MORRIS OUT THERE AT STINSON WHO LOVES AND BLEEDS THAT AIRPORT, WHICH IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
UH, AND ALL THE TEAM THAT YOU ALLOW, THAT YOU HELPED PUT OUT, UH, THERE AND, AND HELP US, UH, QUICKLY WITH BIG, BIG, BIG BIB BARBECUE.
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE RESTAURANT AND ARE THEY OPEN, OR WHAT ARE WE DOING? UM, HOW ARE THEY DOING? AND DID WE GIVE SOME SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS BECAUSE OF, BECAUSE OF COVID LIKE WE'VE DONE IN OTHER, UH, CITY, UH, FACILITIES? AND THEN DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF HOW, OF THE CHANGE OF FLIGHTS OR PEOPLE WHO USED STINSON DURING, UH, THE PANDEMIC OR SINCE MARCH? HOW HAS THOSE, HOW HAVE THOSE NUMBERS BEEN? UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR THE QUESTION COUNCILWOMAN.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BIG B IS CURRENTLY, YOU KNOW, UH, TEMPORARILY CLOSED.
UM, WE ARE MONITORING THAT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AS I SHOWED YOU ON A NUMBER OF SLIDES THAT, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, UH, PASSENGER ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE.
WE MONITOR THAT AT STINSON AS WELL.
I CAN SHOW YOU SOME OF THOSE SLIDES, UH, AND SIT DOWN AND, AND GO OVER THAT.
UM, WE ARE EAGERLY DISCUSSING WITH BIG, UH, WITH BIG BIBS EVERY DAY TO SAY, HEY, WE WANT YOU TO COME BACK AND OPEN BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, REALLY, UH, A LOT OF THAT, UH, ACTIVITY IS STILL PRESENT.
SO WE WANT THEM TO COME BACK AND OPEN UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, I I, I'LL MAKE IT A POINT TO ENSURE THAT I HAVE THE CONVERSATION WITH THEM PERSONALLY TO SAY, HEY, WE WANT YOU TO OPEN UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE I KNOW EVERYONE IS EAGER TO, TO GET BACK IN THERE.
AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE READY.
UM, THEY KEEP DRIVING BY TO SEE IF IT'S OPEN.
[01:40:01]
'CAUSE THAT HAS BEEN AN ASSET IN THE COMMUNITY.BUT OF COURSE, WE ONLY WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO OPEN UP IF THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY, AND THEY ARE ABLE AND STABLE TO SUCCEED AS THEIR SMALL BUSINESS, LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS.
UM, AND YES, LET'S LOOK AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE PUMPS AND AND MODERNIZATION OF OUR GAS PUMPS.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT.
UM, AND I DO JUST WANNA LET MY COLLEAGUES KNOW WE HAVE BEEN DOING, BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF CITY STAFF, UH, PUBLIC WORKS AND AIRPORT AND OUR AIRPORT, JUST A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WE HAVE MADE SO MANY IMPROVEMENTS.
IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE STINSON HIKE AND BY TRAIL, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO GO OUT THERE.
IT IS A GREAT TRAIL THAT CONNECTS TO THE MISSION, REACH RIGHT TO THE FRONT DOOR OF SIMPSON AIRPORT.
AND WE ALSO INVESTED DOLLARS, UM, FOR A MULTI-USE PATH.
THAT'S WHY I'M THE BIG ADVOCATE FOR THEM, A MULTI-USE PATH.
UH, SO PEOPLE CAN HIKE AND BIKE, WALK, UM, ALONG MISSION ROAD IN FRONT OF SIMPSON AIRPORT, BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE ANY, UH, SIDEWALKS IN FRONT OF THE AIRPORT RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE GETTING THEM AS WELL AS A BRAND NEW PARKING LOT THAT LOOKS FANTASTIC.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO PUT WHITE RIBBONS AROUND ALL OF THE TREES, UM, AND THEN SOME, UH, THERE AT THE, AT STINSON AIRPORT.
SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU ALL TO GO OUT THERE AND SEE THAT JEWEL THAT WE HAVE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
AND WE LEFT OUT, UH, COURTESY CARS, SO THANK YOU JESUS, FOR DOING THAT.
AND THE, THE NEW INSTANT TOWER.
SO THANKS TO THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE ARCHITECTS, UH, CLAYTON PERRY'S NEXT.
UM, JUST, JUST A FEW COMMENTS.
I, I'M, I'M GONNA AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN ELIAS AND HIS COMMENTS ABOUT THE ART COMMUNITY.
I MEAN, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT'S BEEN UNEMPLOYED AND PUSHED OUT OF THEIR JOBS AND, AND I CONTINUALLY HAMMERED AND, UH, POUNDED THE ROCK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GETTING MORE HELP OUT TO OUR SMALL BUSINESSES HERE SO THAT THEY CAN REHIRE THOSE FOLKS THAT THEY LET GO.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE, UH, TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
WE'LL SEE HOW THIS ALL TURNS OUT.
BUT, UH, UM, FOR US TO TURN AROUND AND UP THE, UH, ARTS PROJECTS DURING THIS YEAR OF, OF, UH, CUTBACKS, I, I'VE GOT CONCERNS ABOUT THAT.
I, I, I, I, I ENJOY PUBLIC ART.
I EN ENJOY, UH, THE ARTS IN TOTAL, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS YEAR A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THAN WOULD ANY OTHER YEAR.
SO I, I, I JUST GOT A, GOT A PROBLEM WITH, UH, DIGGING DEEPER INTO, UH, PROJECTS, DIGGING DEEPER INTO THE GENERAL FUND TO, UH, SUPPORT THE ARTS AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THINGS GET BACK ON TRACK, YOU KNOW, WE WERE DOING WELL, WE WERE DOING VERY WELL WITH THE HOT TAX AND, UM, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO, UM, SPEND A LOT OF MONEY IN THOSE AREAS.
SO I, I JUST, I, I, I'VE GOT A CONCERN ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW AND DIVERTING MORE FUNDS INTO THE ARTS PROGRAM THAN WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING.
UM, I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT, UM, PATRICIA, ON THE, UH, PROJECTS THERE AT THE CONVENTION CENTER IN ALAMO.
DO, AND YOU HAD A SLIDE THAT TALKED ABOUT THE PROJECTS.
CAN YOU JUST HAVE WE LET ALL OF THESE CONTRACTS ALREADY, UH, ARE THEY UNDERWAY AND AWARDED TO CONTRACTORS AT THIS POINT? COUNCILMAN, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE FISCAL, THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR OR ABOUT THIS, THE, THE NEXT, UH, I'M TALKING ABOUT ANY CONTRACTS RIGHT NOW, AND WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS CAN WE RES SCRUBB THAT LIST OF UPCOMING PROJECTS THAT WE COULD MAYBE DEFER FOR ANOTHER YEAR TO HELP OUT WITH, YOU KNOW, THE JOB SITUATION, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TO HELP SAVE SOME OF THAT MONEY UNTIL WE GET OVER THIS HUMP.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY LARGER CONTRACTS OUT THERE THAT WE'RE GOING TO EXECUTE NOW, AND, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO BUILD THAT, THAT DEFICIT, UM, AND US HAVING TO MAKE UP THE, MAKE THE DIFFERENCE ABOVE AND BEYOND THE HOT TAX FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE FACILITIES.
SO ARE THERE ANY PROJECTS THAT FALL INTO THAT CATEGORY? YES, SIR.
UM, THERE WERE TWO IN THIS FISCAL YEAR, AS I MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, WE HAD FUNDS, UH, TO DO, UH, DESIGN, UH, WORK FOR THE NCAA IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL AS THE, UH, DESIGN WORK FOR THE ELEVATORS AND THE ESCALATORS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
ALL OF THAT FUNDING WAS RELEASED THIS FISCAL YEAR.
[01:45:01]
UM, AND THOSE PROJECTS WERE DEFERRED.SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE DEFERRED TILL, TILL WHEN.
SO THE FINAL FOUR, THE DESIGN FOR THE FINAL FOUR IMPROVEMENTS, THEY WERE, THEY'RE BEING RECOMMENDED AND ARE PART OF THAT 25.1 MILLION THAT IS BEING RECOMMENDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 21 BUDGET.
THE, THE FUNDING FOR THE DESIGN WORK OF THE ELEVATORS AND ESCALATORS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
IT'S JUST BEEN DEFERRED AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE WILL RECOMMEND THO THAT TO BE DONE IN A FUTURE YEAR.
WELL, THAT, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY OTHER BIG PROJECTS COMING UP THAT WE COULD DEFER TO A FUTURE YEAR AND STILL HAVE A USABLE FACILITY THERE.
AND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WE DO HAVE THOSE TWO PROJECTS THAT ARE DEFERRED YOU, WHEN YOU SAY RELEASE THAT MONEY, WHERE DID THAT MONEY GO TO? IT WENT BACK TO, UH, TO THE FUND BALANCE.
AND PROBABLY BEN COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, BETTER THAN I ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY WERE UTILIZED AFTERWARDS.
YEAH, LET, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
BEN, CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE, WHERE DID THAT MONEY GO? WHAT WAS IT FOR SURE.
SO COUNSELING THAT WAS PART OF THE STRATEGY IN THE SPRING AS A HOT FAN, HOT FUND GOT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED.
THOSE PROJECTS WERE GOING TO BE FUNDED WITH CASH.
SO THOSE WERE THE PROJECTS THAT WE MOVED OVER TO THE PROPERTY TAX DEBT PLAN THAT I TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY.
THAT CASH WAS THEN USED TO SUPPORT THE FUND, SO OUR DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, THE STAFFING THAT WAS IN PLACE AT THE FACILITIES THAT WE DIDN'T FURLOUGH, UH, OUR CONTRACT WITH V S A, SOME OF THE ARTS FUNDING.
SO THAT WAS THE CASH THAT WE USED TO GET THROUGH F Y 20.
AND I DO WANT TO CLARIFY, WHEN PATRICIA TALKS ABOUT DEFERRING THOSE PROJECTS, THE 39.6 MILLION THAT I SHOWED YOU YESTERDAY, THAT IS BASED ON THE LIST THAT WAS SCRUBBED BY, UH, PATRICIA AND HER STAFF.
SO THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE ASSUMING WE'RE GONNA FUND ON THE PROPERTY TAX SIDE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, THOSE ARE THOSE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH.
EVERYTHING ELSE HAS BEEN DEFERRED.
AND HOW MUCH IS THAT TOTAL UP TO ON THE DEFERRALS? UH, I DON'T HAVE THE DEFERRALS IN FRONT OF ME.
I JUST HAVE WHAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH, WHICH IS A $39.6 MILLION.
THAT INCLUDES A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING FOR, UH, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING FOR THE ROOF.
UM, THE RETRACTABLE SEATING AT THE ALAMO DOME WAS THE SIGNIFICANT PIECE THAT WAS ALREADY UNDERWAY, I BELIEVE, IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR.
UH, SO WE MOVED FORWARD WITH THAT PROJECT AND CONTINUED, AND THEN THE N C A FINAL FOUR IMPROVEMENTS, BOTH THE DESIGN, UH, WHICH WOULD START, UH, EARLY NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND THEN WE WOULD BE FUNDING THE IMPROVEMENTS THEREAFTER.
UH, SO THE DEFERRAL WAS ABOUT $4.1 MILLION.
UM, HAVE THEY, HOW FAR ARE THEY WITH RETRACTABLE SEATING? SO, UH, THE SEATING IS ON SCHEDULE AND IT IS PROGRAMMED TO BE COMPLETE, UH, BY FEBRUARY, BUT WHERE ARE THEY RIGHT NOW? HAVE THEY STARTED PHYSICAL WORK IN THE, THEY HAVE, UH, THE SEATING ON THE SOUTH END OF THE FACILITY HAS BEEN COMPLETED WITH ADDITIONAL AREAS.
SO HOW MUCH WAS THAT TOTAL PROJECT WORTH? ABOUT 12 MILLION.
COULD YOU CALL ME LATER AND LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE? I WILL, SIR.
AND JUSTIN, JUST, SO WE DID LOOK AT THAT ONE BACK IN FEBRUARY, AND MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THE WAY THAT WORKS IS THE CONTRACTOR ORDERED ALL THE SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS UP FRONT.
SO WE DID LOOK AT THAT ONE AS A POTENTIAL DEFERRAL, UM, BECAUSE ALL OF THAT WAS ORDERED UPFRONT, IT WASN'T A REALLY GOOD CANDIDATE TO DEFER.
THAT'S WHY WE MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO VISIT WITH YOU MORE.
UM, LET'S TALK ABOUT, UH, VISIT SA AND THE HOT TAX GOING TOWARDS THEM.
WE, WE'VE HAD A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN VISIT SA RIGHT? RIGHT.
WHAT WAS THE TOTAL THAT, THAT WAS, UH, REDUCED BY 20, BY 22 JOHN, BUT I'M SORRY, $10 MILLION FROM 20? $20 FROM 2020.
UH, WELL, THEY START, THEY'RE STILL BEING FUNDED SOME, BUT THEY'RE ALL, THEY ALSO HAVE THAT, UH, WHAT IS IT THAT TPI DOWNTOWN, UH, IS THAT WHAT IT'S CALLED? THE TPI? YES.
WE'RE STILL GETTING FUNDING FROM THAT.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET IMPROVING FROM WHAT OUR INITIAL ESTIMATES WERE.
[01:50:01]
YOU KNOW, ONCE WE APPROVE THIS THING, THEN WE WE'RE SCHEDULED FOR MID-YEAR REVIEW.I, I WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR US TO MAYBE DO A QUARTERLY REVIEW ON OUR BUDGET ON WHERE WE'RE AT COMPARED TO WHAT OUR ESTIMATES WERE.
BECAUSE IF THINGS IMPROVE A LITTLE BIT MORE, I THINK WE NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE AND AS A TEAM, AS A COUNCIL SIT DOWN AND SEE ABOUT, UM, INCREASING SOME AREAS, MAYBE DECREASING OTHER AREAS THAT, UH, UH, WE SEE THAT NEEDS THAT DOESN'T NEED IT AT THAT POINT.
UM, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US BE MORE FLEXIBLE INSTEAD OF JUST WAITING TO THE MID-YEAR REVIEW TO, UH, MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO OUR BUDGET.
SO ERIC, I'D, I'D REALLY LIKE TO EXPLORE THAT SOME MORE WITH YOU TO SEE IF THAT'S THE THING WE COULD DO.
UM, SO, AND WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS IF THE HOT TAX, IF PEOPLE START COMING HERE TO SAN ANTONIO AGAIN AND START FILLING UP, YOU KNOW, HOTEL ROOMS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE SHOPPING DOWNTOWN SOONER THAN WE EXPECT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE, WE NEED TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE THAN WAITING TILL THE MIDYEAR REVIEW ON THAT.
AND ESPECIALLY FOR A VISIT SA BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS ONE TO BE AGGRESSIVE IN THE MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SIDE AND NOT WAIT UNTIL THINGS ARE BETTER TO, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, GET OUT THERE AND START MARKETING.
I, I, I LIKE TO BE AGGRESSIVE AND BE THE FIRST ONE, FIRST ONE TO THE TROUGH AND SOLICITING FOR CONFERENCES AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE, SEE IF WE COULD, UH, SEE ABOUT DOING THAT MORE OFTEN INSTEAD OF JUST THE MIDYEAR REVIEW.
THAT'S SO COUNSEL, COUNSEL, I'LL JUST, WELL, I DON'T WANNA TAKE YOUR LAST 10 SECONDS.
NO, THAT WAS, THAT WAS ALL I WAS GONNA ADD.
SO WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY, UH, IS THAT WE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO QUARTERLY FINANCIAL UPDATES AND, AND, AND, AND I THINK I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA MEAN MORE, ESPECIALLY IN SOME OF OUR KEY AREAS.
UM, AND, AND I'M THINKING ABOUT, UM, UH, THE AVIATION FUND, THE HOT FUND, THE GENERAL FUND, WHERE WE'VE SEEN SOME PRETTY LARGE, UH, DIPS IN REVENUE AND THERE'S STILL A FAIR AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY.
SO YOU CAN EXPECT TO HAVE THAT FIRST CONVERSATION BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER AND, AND KIND OF WHERE WE END, UH, SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN CONTINUE TO WATCH IT.
IT'S ONE OF THE OTHER REASONS WHY ALSO WE'RE GIVING YOU, UH, PROPOSED REDUCTIONS IN 2021 AND PLANNED REDUCTIONS IN 2022, BECAUSE AS THE YEAR GOES ON, THEN WE CAN LOOK AT THAT 22 PLANNED REDUCTIONS AND KIND OF KNOW WHERE WE CAN DIAL, IF WE CAN DIAL BACK, OR IF WE NEED TO DIAL FORWARD, UM, ON THAT CONDITION AND NOT HAVING TO DEAL WITH IT ALL AT ONCE.
WELL, YEAH, I'M, I'M ALL FOR THAT AND, UH, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS AT THOSE TIMES AND NOT, NOT JUST AT THE MIDYEAR REVIEW.
THAT'S ALL, THAT'S ALL MY COMMENTS.
UM, PATRICIA, LET ME KIND OF START WITH YOU SINCE YOU WERE JUST TALKING ON THIS.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAD A LOT OF CANCELLATIONS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, OH, BY THE WAY, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON HOW WELL YOU'VE USED THE ALAMO DOME TO HELP SUPPORT SO MANY OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE GONE ON DURING COVID TIME.
UH, BUT AT THE CONVENTION CENTER, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF MAJOR EVENTS DOWN THE LINE THAT I, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH THE, UH, RO JIMENEZ PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR THANKSGIVING DINNER AND WITH H E B ABOUT THEIR FEAST OF SHARON.
UH, HAVE THEY BEEN TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE BUT PAIRING THEM DOWN? AND HOW WOULD WE DO THAT WITH COVID STILL AROUND EVEN IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER? SOMEWHAT COUNCILMAN? UH, YES, WE HAVE BEEN HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
I THINK LIKE EVERY OTHER, UH, GROUP, THEY ARE LOOKING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS CLOSER TO THE EVENT, BUT THEY'RE LOOKING AT ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF OPTIONS, WHETHER IT IS A DRIVE THROUGH PICKING UP A BOXED LUNCH, UM, SO THEY'RE LOOKING AT REALLY AT, UM, DIFFERENT, UM, WAYS TO BASICALLY DO THEIR EVENT.
UM, BUT DON'T THEY DO A LOT OF PREPARATION AT THE CONVENTION CENTER IN THE KITCHENS THERE? THEY DO.
THERE'S A, UH, THERE'S VOLUNTEERS THAT COME TOGETHER.
RK PROVIDES A LOT OF THEIR, UH, WORKERS, SO THAT'S DEFINITELY OPERATIONALLY THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT AND FIGURE OUT WHETHER FIGURE, UM, YOU KNOW, WAYS TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO COMPLY WITH THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING.
[01:55:03]
OKAY.UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THERE'S STILL CANCELLATIONS HAPPENING.
YOU PROBABLY HAVE A LOT OF EMPTY DATES GOING FORWARD INTO, UH, NEXT YEAR, EARLY IN NEXT YEAR, MAYBE.
UH, ARE WE CONSIDERING GIVING ANY LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS SOME DISCOUNTS, SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE EVENTS TO THE CONVENTION CENTER AND TRY AND FILL IN SOME OF THOSE DATES? AS I MENTIONED ALSO EARLIER DURING THE PRESENTATION, WE HAVE, WE HAVE BEEN IN, UH, SEVERAL DISCUSSIONS WITH VISIT SAN ANTONIO TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE, UM, THE CONVENTION CENTER IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, WE ARE, UM, WHETHER IT IS FOR BOARD MEETINGS, UH, VIRTUAL MEETINGS, OR JUST RECORDINGS, UM, SO WE'RE JUST, WE'RE REALLY WAITING, UM, TO, FOR WHENEVER IT'S THE RIGHT TIMING TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE.
BUT AGAIN, TALKING TO OUR AUDIO VISUAL, UH, CONTRACTOR HERE, UM, AND POSSIBILITY OF FINDING WAYS TO, AGAIN, GENERATE NEW BUSINESS AND TO FIND, UH, OTHER USES FOR THE CENTER.
WELL, I HOPE VISIT SA LEADERSHIP'S TAKEN IT TO HEART AND IS ACTUALLY TRYING TO PROMULGATE BUSINESS HERE LOCALLY.
UH, I'D LIKE TO ASK JESUS A QUESTION OR TWO.
UH, HAVE WE HAD AT, AT, UH, S A T ANY CONCESSIONS THAT HAVE SIMPLY CLOSED AND SAID WE'RE GOING OUT OF BUSINESS? UH, NO, SIR.
WE, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY, YOU KNOW, PERMANENTLY CLOSED.
UM, WE, WE HAVE HAD SOME THAT ARE TEMPORARILY CLOSED BECAUSE OF THE COVID EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE OF THE COVID PANDEMIC, AND WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT AND OPEN UP AS, AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.
AND WE ARE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM.
UM, WE HAVE A FULL RE-IMAGINATION, UH, PLAN THAT WE WORK WITH THE COVID TASK FORCE AND OUR CONCESSIONS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THAT, UH, C OVID 19 TASK FORCE AS WELL, SO THAT WE'RE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION.
HAVE WE HAD ANY OF OUR, UH, PHYSICAL LESSEES WHO HAVE SPACES OR, UH, FACILITIES, UH, THAT HAVE ABANDONED THEIR AGREEMENTS OR WANT TO UH, NO, SIR.
WE, WE, WE, WE, WE ONLY HAVE, UH, ONE RENTAL CAR AGENCY THAT HAD BEEN EXPERIENCING SOME SHORTCOMINGS PRIOR TO C OVID 19 AS WELL.
SO THEY, THEY, THEY'RE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION, BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN FINALIZED AND WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY LETTERS NOTIFYING US THAT, THAT THEY ARE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION FOR, FOR BANKRUPTCY.
ONE, ONE OF THE PAR CAR RENTAL COMPANIES, I THINK DECLARE OFF OF BANKRUPTCY.
UM, AND THEN TAKE SHAKE, UH, OFF NOT TO RE REOPEN.
BUT THEY'RE AT THE END OF THEIR, THEIR TERM, THEY'RE COMING TO THE END OF THEIR TERM ANYWAY, COUNCIL.
WELL, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE DOING A GREAT JOB TRYING TO KEEP EVERYTHING OPERATING AT A HIGH LEVEL.
UH, DEBBIE, I HAD A QUESTION OR TWO FOR YOU ON ARTS.
UH, IT REALLY REVOLVES AROUND, UM, THE BOND PROJECTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 1% BUILT INTO ALL OF OUR BOND PROJECTS FOR ART.
UH, HOW DO YOU OVERSEE THAT 1%? I KNOW IT'S SEPARATE FROM YOUR USUAL ART BUDGET, UH, AND HOW MUCH MONEY HAS, DO YOU EXPECT TO EXPEND IN THAT AREA, AND HOW MANY ARTISTS LOCALLY, UH, GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET A LITTLE EXTRA OF, OF THAT, UH, BOND ART FUNDING? SO, YES, SIR.
WE HAVE A TEAM OF SIX POSITIONS IN THE PUBLIC ART DIVISION THAT OVERSEE THE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM.
UH, CURRENTLY WE HAVE, UH, TWO VACANCIES, BUT WE HAVE, UH, HOT FUNDED STAFF THAT ARE DEPLOYED THERE AND HELPING THEM OUT.
UH, SO WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE THAT OUT.
UH, AND IT'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DIFFERENT TEAMS ON MY STAFF.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, IDENTIFIED ABOUT 10 PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD THAT STILL NEED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH SOME PARTNER ARTS NONPROFITS TO HELP US WITH THAT.
IN FACT, I'M GONNA BE MEETING WITH YOU IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS ABOUT A PROJECT IN YOUR DISTRICT, UH, AS WELL.
AND WE ALSO HAVE SOME NEW PLANS TO, FOR FUTURE PROJECTS TO TRY AND SEE IF WE CAN BRING ARTISTS TEAMS TOGETHER, UH, MULTIPLE ARTISTS WORKING ON ONE PROJECT OR BREAKING PROJECTS INTO SMALLER ONES TO GIVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL CRAFTSMEN TO WORK WITH ARTISTS.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, UH, ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE DONE IS THE BLOOM SERIES
[02:00:01]
THAT HAS THE FLOWERS BY LOCAL ARTISTS, LETICIA HUTA, BUT IT IS ACTUALLY A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, WANDER LESS IRONWORKS WHO BUILDS THE FLOWERS.SO THEY'RE A LOCAL, UH, FABRICATOR THAT THEY'RE CRAFTSMEN AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE VERY ARTISTIC THEMSELVES TO BE ABLE TO BUILD THIS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL KINDS OF WAYS TO INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO KIND OF GROW THOSE FUNDS AND, AND BE ABLE TO EXPAND AND HAVE MORE FOLKS GET CONTRACTS THROUGH THE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM.
UH, YOU, YOU SAID THAT, UH, YOU KNEW THERE WERE SOME THINGS COMING DOWN THE LINE.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE VALUE IS OF THOSE POTENTIAL ART PROJECTS? I MEAN, IF, IF THEY'RE 1% OF THE VALUE OF A PROJECT AND YOU KNOW WHAT THOSE PROJECTS ARE, YOU MUST HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH IS AVAILABLE FOR ART.
SO OUR PUBLIC ART PROGRAM, THE PROJECTS, UH, ARE NOT PROJECT BY PROJECT.
SO WHILE THERE MAY BE 140 PROJECTS IN THE BOND, NOT EVERY PROJECT GETS PUBLIC ART.
WE POOL THOSE FUNDS AND WE DO PUBLIC ART PROJECTS WITH THAT ARE LARGER.
AND, AND SOMETIMES WHEN YOU HAVE A VERY SMALL PROJECT, YOU END UP WITH A $5,000 BUDGET FOR ART, AND THAT DOESN'T REALLY GET YOU VERY MUCH.
SO WE POOL THOSE AND WE HAVE, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO AT LEAST A DOZEN THAT HAVE NOT SELECTED ARTISTS YET.
AND SO WE'LL BE WORKING ON THOSE, UH, ANNUALLY.
WE GENERALLY SPEND ABOUT A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS ON PUBLIC ART TO BE ABLE TO FUND ALL OF OUR PROJECTS.
SO IT'S KIND OF A ROLLING AVERAGE.
AND IT'S NOT JUST BOND PROGRAMS. I'M LOOKING AT ZE.
WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC ART PROJECTS AT THE AIRPORT AS WELL THAT SUPPORT, UH, OUR LOCAL ARTS ARTISTS AND ARTS CRAFTSMEN.
I THINK THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
I WANNA THANK, UM, ALL OF OUR GREAT PRESENTERS TODAY.
YOU DID A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL JOB.
I KNOW THAT THIS IS, HAS BEEN A TRYING TIME FOR YOU COMING INTO THE CITY, BUT YOU ARE DOING IT WITH EXCEPTIONAL, UH, DIGNITY AND, AND PRIDE.
AND SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO.
UM, I ONLY HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
UM, FOR, UH, PATRICA, UM, IN IONS TO COUNCIL CONVENTIONS.
I KNOW A LOT OF THEM HAVE GONE VIRTUAL.
HAS THERE BEEN A LINK BETWEEN THOSE CONVENTIONS AND MAYBE VISIT SA TO DO A VIRTUAL TOUR OF SAN ANTONIO TO STILL ADD A COMPONENT OF WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE EXPERIENCED IF THEY CAME TO, UH, SAN ANTONIO? MM-HMM.
THEY'RE ALSO DOING A LOT OF MARKETING EFFORTS, UM, DOING A LOT OF, UH, VIRTUAL, UM, COMPONENTS, UH, WHERE THEY'RE SHOWING SAN ANTONIO.
I THINK THEY'VE DONE, YOU KNOW, WITH SEVERAL CHEFS AND, UM, THE, THE CITY DONE SEVERAL THINGS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE, UM, TO RETAIN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS, UH, AND LET 'EM KNOW THAT WE'RE STILL HERE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR ALLOWING THE ALAMO DOME TO BE A PLACE OF COMMUNITY RESOURCE.
UM, DURING THIS TIME, WE KNOW THAT MANY HAVE BEEN SERVED, UM, THROUGH THE SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK, AND WE HAVE THE HISTORICAL PICTURE THAT WILL ALWAYS, UM, FOLLOW US AS WE GO FORWARD, THAT WHEN WE LOOK BACK, WE CAN SAY WE TRULY HAVE COME THROUGH, UM, THIS STORM THAT WE CALL COVID, UM, WITH THE HELP OF THE FACILITIES THAT WE HAVE AS RESOURCES.
UM, THE NEXT QUESTION I HAVE IS FOR DEBBIE, AND I JUST WANTED TO KNOW AT THIS TIME, HOW MANY APPLICATIONS IN TOTAL DID YOU RECEIVE FOR THE GRANT FUNDING? YES, MA'AM.
WE RECEIVED, UH, FROM THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST, WE RECEIVED, I BELIEVE IT WAS A, AROUND 148.
I HAVE TO PULL MY REPORT FROM THE, UH, FOR THE COMMITTEE.
WE ARE ABLE TO FUND, UH, AROUND 130 OF THOSE BECAUSE THEY, UH, WE DID A REVIEW AND SOME OF THEM DIDN'T HAVE PROOF OF LOSSES, UH, AND SOME DIDN'T MEET ELIGIBILITY.
AND THEN FOR THE INDIVI, FOR THE AGENCIES, FOR THE CARESS ACT, WE RECEIVED 48 APPLICATIONS.
[02:05:01]
THINK WE'RE GONNA FUND, I, NO, I BELIEVE THAT'S HOW MANY WE'RE GONNA FUND, UH, OFF ALL OF THOSE APPLICATIONS.WE HAD SOME THAT WERE DISQUALIFIED BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T NONPROFITS, SO THEY WEREN'T ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AS WELL.
SO THOSE, I DIDN'T COUNT IN THE TOTAL.
UH, THEY HAVE TO BE AN ARTS ORGANIZATION.
THEY HAVE TO BE A NONPROFIT, AND THEY CANNOT BE JUST A MEMBERSHIP ONLY ORGANIZATION.
SO WE HAD A FEW THAT TRIED TO APPLY THAT WE, WE SENT THEM OVER TO LIFT FUND TO SEE IF THEY COULD QUALIFY OVER THERE.
AND THEN, UM, ONE OTHER QUESTION.
I KNOW THAT, UM, WE WERE DEEMED A MUSIC FRIENDLY CITY, AND I KNOW, UM, THAT B M I MOVED THEIR HEADQUARTERS TO AUSTIN, AND I'M STILL WONDERING IF THERE HAD BEEN ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING, UM, FOR ARTISTS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH B M I OR ASCAP OR THOSE OTHER AGENCIES THAT COULD GO INTO ASSISTING THOSE, UM, MUSICAL ARTISTS THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY FUNDS DEDICATED FOR ANY MUSIC INITIATIVES AT THIS TIME.
UM, ARE WE GONNA BE ABLE TO SEEK ANY, OR IS THAT JUST A PROGRAM THAT WE'RE JUST NOT LOOKING INTO? WHAT WE PLAN TO DO WITH MUSIC, UH, AND CONTINUING THE MUSIC PLAN IS TO WORK WITH THE TEXAS MUSIC OFFICE, AND WE ALSO PLAN TO CONTINUE WITH OUR MUSIC, UH, DATABASE.
UH, WE HAVE A DATABASE OF MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS THAT, UH, THEY CAN APPLY, THEY CAN GET ON THE DATABASE AND BE AVAILABLE FOR, UH, PEOPLE TO HIRE THEM FOR DIFFERENT EVENTS.
BUT WE ARE NOT FUNDED FOR ANY MUSIC EVENTS FOR THE FUTURE OR FOR ANY KIND OF MUSIC PROGRAMMING IN FISCAL YEAR 21.
THOSE, THOSE BUDGETS WERE ALL CUT DOWN, UH, AND THE STAFFING WAS ALSO REDUCED.
AND ARE WE WORKING WITH THE LOCAL GRAMMY ACADEMY TO SEE WHAT FUNDING? I KNOW THERE WAS EMERGENCY COVID FUNDING SPECIFICALLY FOR ARTISTS, UM, THAT THE GRAMMY ACADEMY WAS ACTUALLY, UH, TAKING DONATIONS FOR, HAVE WE CHECKED TO SEE IF WE'RE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE ANY OF THOSE FUNDS, ESPECIALLY MAYBE THROUGH THE TEJANO GRAMMY, UH, ACADEMY.
WE, UH, HAVE NOTIFIED, UH, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN NOTIFYING FOLKS ABOUT THOSE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
SO WE'VE COLLECTED INFORMATION ABOUT THE GRAMMYS, UH, GRANTS, AS WELL AS THE DIFFERENT, UH, TYPES OF PROGRAMS FOR ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, AND DIFFERENT, UH, GENRES.
AND WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT TO THE ARTISTS TO HAVE THEM APPLY FOR THOSE RELIEF FUNDS AS WELL.
SO WE DID INCLUDE THAT ON OUR, OUR WEBSITE, AND WE DID SEND IT OUT TO ALL OF THE ARTISTS THAT WE HAVE ON OUR DATABASE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, DEBBIE, FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO MAKE SURE OUR ARTISTS ARE CONTINUING TO HAVE A PLACE AND A PLATFORM.
AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING WITH OUR POET, UH, POETRY LAUREATE.
AND, UM, I, I'M JUST SO THANKFUL THAT WE ARE RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS ALSO A HARD TIME WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ARTS, BUT WE KNOW THAT ARTS IS ANOTHER WAY OF MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE TACKLING, UM, EVEN THE MENTAL CAPACITY OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, UH, PANDEMIC.
IT HELPS WITH STRESS, IT HELPS TO, UH, TO RELIEVE ANXIETY AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT OUR YOUTH UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR TALENTS AND THEIR GIFTS ARE NOT GONNA BE WASTED, UM, IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND THAT IS ONE PLACE THAT I DID NOT HEAR IS WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH OUR YOUTH WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, THE ARTS AND CULTURE.
UM, AND HOW WE'RE, UM, HAVING THEM BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS OR HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD.
WE GENERALLY WORK WITH OUR YOUTH SERVING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THAT WOULD BE, UH, YOUTH ORCHESTRA SAFETY AND OTHERS THAT FOCUS ON YOUTH CHILDREN'S CHORUS.
SO WE, WE WORK WITH THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR ARTS, UH, PROGRAMMING AND TO, WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE WORD OUT TO THEM ABOUT, UH, UPDATING THOSE POLICIES AND TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK AS WELL.
I'D LIKE TO SEE A FOLLOW UP ON, ON THAT.
AND THEN WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING THEM IN THE CONVERSATION, UM, AS WE GO FORWARD.
BECAUSE WE KNOW A LOT OF THE SCHOOL ACTIVITIES SUCH AS BAND AND, AND, AND A LOT OF THE ARTS AND THEATER ARTS HAVE BEEN, UM, KIND OF PUT ON HOLD AS THEY GO BACK TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE VIRTUAL WORLD THAT WE'RE NOW IN.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE ALL OF MY COMMENTS.
AND NOW FOR THE LIGHTNING ROUND.
[02:10:03]
JUST TO STAY ON ARTS, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO, UH, THROW OUT THERE AND REMIND EVERYONE, UM, GOING BACK TO STINSON, WE DO HAVE A GREAT, UM, MURAL, UM, AT STINSON AIRPORT, AND IT WAS PART OF, OF OUR WORLD HERITAGE MURAL, UM, SERIES THAT WE DID.
SO, UH, I WANNA CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE, UH, PATRICIA OR DEBBIE, UM, EVERYONE THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTEGRATE ALL OF THIS TOGETHER WITH OUR, WITH MURALS ON PLACES THAT HAVE, UM, THAT HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC, THAT HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC ART.
AND I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE WHEN IT CAME TO OUR, UM, TO ANYTHING WE CAN DO.
WELL, LET ME JUST SAY THIS, ANYTHING WE CAN DO WITH THE ALMO DOME TO GIVE THANKS TO ALL OF OUR METRO HEALTH WORKERS, UH, A A MURAL, SOMETHING THAT SAYS THANK YOU TO ALL OF THEIR HARD WORK AT THE CONTACT TRACING.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC.
AND I THINK, UH, THAT WRAPS IT UP AND WE HAVE OUR CITY MANAGER WHO WOULD LIKE TO CLOSE, ERIC.
UH, JUST A COUPLE QUICK THINGS.
UM, COUNCIL, UM, NO EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY, NUMBER ONE, NUMBER TWO IN THE END OF OUR DAY REPORT TODAY THAT WE SEND, THAT WE'VE BEEN SENDING SINCE MARCH.
WE'LL INCLUDE INFORMATION ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH A LOT OF THE EVACUEES FROM THE HURRICANE.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING TO TOWN ON THEIR OWN.
SOME ARE BEING BROUGHT BY THE STATE.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE IN THAT EMAIL TO YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, UH, I JUST WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, A A A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD AT THE CITY, BUT, UH, THE THREE EXECUTIVES THAT YOU HEARD FROM TODAY HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES AND FINANCIAL ISSUES AND, AND PATRICIA, DEBBIE, AND JESUS.
UM, BECAUSE THE, THE LEADERS OF THOSE, OF THOSE, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS HAVE HAD A LOT ON THEIR PLATE.
AND I WANTED TO, TO JUST THANK THEM AND RECOGNIZE THEM.
WE'RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET.
WE GOTTA KEEP MOVING IT, BUT, UH, THEY HAVE, UH, THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
UH, ERIC, UH, WE WE'RE ALL VERY GRATEFUL FOR, FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK AND WE KNOW EVERYBODY'S GOING THROUGH A VERY DIFFICULT TIME.
ALRIGHT, WELL I GUESS, UH, THERE IS NO EXECUTIVE SESSION, SO, UH, WITH THAT, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
WE'LL SEE YOU AT CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.