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AND I'M HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF A HARD TIME HEARING YOU.
[1. 20-5363 Approval of the minutes from the June 10, 2020 meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee.]
ON THE, UH, ON THE AGENDA IS, UH, A REVIEW OF AND APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 10TH MEETING MINUTES.AND I'LL BE, UH, LOOKING FOR A MOTION.
THIS IS KEVIN WOLF SECOND, AND WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COUNCILWOMAN VRAN.
UM, ALL OF THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? HEARING? NO OPPOSITION.
[2. 20-5364 Update and status of the items on the Federal Legislative Programs for the 116th Congress. [Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs, City of San Antonio; Melissa Shannon, Director of Governmental Affairs, Bexar County]]
IS AN UPDATE ON OUR FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMS. UM, MR. COYLE, HEY COUN.UH, COUNCILMAN, THIS IS COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.
UM, BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE AGENDA, HERE YOU ARE.
YOU'RE THE ONLY GUY ON THIS CALL WITH A TIE.
IT, IT, IT WAS, UH, IT, IT WAS, IT DOUBLED AS MY FACE MASK THIS MORNING AS I WALKED IN
UM, CAN WE GET, CAN WE GET, UH, JUST A QUICK, I KNOW THERE'S A BUNCH OF PEOPLE ON THE CALL.
UM, CAN WE GET A QUICK RUNDOWN ON WHO'S ON THE CALL? JEFF, YOU WANNA DO THAT OR SOMEONE? GREAT.
WHY DON'T I HANDLE THE CITY SIDE OF THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE, UH, FROM OUR FEDERAL LOBBY TEAM, UH, KEVIN, KELLY.
KEVIN, YOU WANNA WAVE JUST SO EVERYBODY SEES WHO YOU ARE.
UH, MELISSA, I THINK YOU'VE, YOU'RE DC LOBBYIST ON THE CALL TOO, RIGHT? YOU'RE MUTED.
UH, WE'VE GOT NOE GARCIA FROM SIGNAL GROUP, AND THEN WALTER ALSO, UH, REPRESENTS US IN DC AND HE'S ON HERE AS WELL.
UH, WALTER WALTER IS A SHARED CONSULTANT, SO WE, HE'S PART OF OUR CITY TEAM ALSO.
AND RON ANO IS ANOTHER NUMBER, ANOTHER OF OUR FEDERAL LOBBYISTS.
UM, SO RON, IF YOU'LL JUST WAVE SO THEY SEE YOU.
UH, AND THEN WE, UH, UH, COUNCIL JUST APPROVED OUR STATE, UH, LEGISLATIVE CONSULTANT TEAM.
AND, UH, I'M GRACIOUS FOR GRATEFUL FOR EVERYBODY TO BE ON THE CALL.
WE'VE GOT A WHOLE HOST OF STATE LOBBYISTS, UH, ON HERE IN A PARTICULAR ORDER.
UH, SNAPPER CARR, UH, RIGHT THERE, JESSE AND SARAH, UH, RUSTY KELLY, UH, NELDA HUNTER, CAROL MARA, AND CARRIE SIMMONS.
DID I MISS ANYONE FROM OUR STATE TEAM? I DON'T THINK SO.
AND I'M SURE YOU KNOW ALL THOSE FACES.
JUSTIN, FROM YOUR TIME AT THE CAPITOL, UH, MELISSA, ANY STATE FOLKS ON YOUR END? NO, I DON'T HAVE MY STATE TEAM ON HERE RIGHT NOW, BUT JUST AN F Y I FOR THIS GROUP, OUR STATE TEAM, UM, MARK, UH, RODRIGUEZ, JENNIFER RODRIGUEZ, WHO I'M SURE MANY OF YOU KNOW, AND THEN ALSO RUDY RODRIGUEZ.
UM, UH, NO RELATION TO THE OTHER TWO, THOUGH.
THAT'S OUR THREE ON OUR STATE TEAM, NOR NOR TO ME.
MELISSA, WE HAVE AN ALL RODRIGUEZ LOBBY TEAM, BUT NO RELATIONSHIP.
COMMISSIONER, WELCOME EVERYBODY.
UH, JEFF, UH, YOU WANNA, UH, NOW THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT ALL THAT, UH, I THINK THAT WAS IMPORTANT, UM, BECAUSE IT'S, UH, IT'S THIS TEAM.
IT'S GONNA HELP US THROUGH OUR, OUR FEDERAL AGENDA.
SO, UH, THE FLOOR'S, YOURS, JEFF.
AND OBVIOUSLY THE, OH, AND I JUST SAW HENRY BONIA JOIN US AS WELL.
HE AND RON ARE OUR AVIATION TEAM.
UM, FEEL FREE TO POSE QUESTIONS TO THEM.
UM, WE HAVE A FEW, UH, ITEMS FOR THE JOINT COMMITTEE.
THE FIRST, UH, WAS PROMPTED BY COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA AT OUR LAST MEETING.
SHE HAD NOTED THAT, UH, THE WORLD HAD SEEMINGLY CHANGED SINCE WE WERE ALL IN DC BACK IN FEBRUARY FOR SA TO DC AND SHE WANTED AN UPDATE ON WHERE THINGS STAND, UH, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN MOSTLY FOCUSED ON CARESS ACT FUNDING AND C R F AND, AND ALL THE COVID RELATED THINGS.
AND SO I, IT'S A GREAT TIME TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE PRIORITIES THAT WERE, THAT ARE IN OUR FEDERAL PROGRAM.
AND A REMINDER TO ALL OF YOU THAT THIS CONGRESSIONAL TERM COMES TO AN END AT THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
SO SALLY AND, AND OUR TEAM, UH, WITH OUR FEDERAL LOBBYISTS ARE BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A FEDERAL AGENDA FOR THE NEXT CONGRESS.
SO I'M GONNA KICK IT TO HAND IT OVER
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TO SALLY, UH, TO HANDLE THE CITY SIDE.AND, AND, UH, I'M SURE MELISSA WILL, WILL COVER THE COUNTY SIDE.
AM I COMING THROUGH LOUD AND CLEAR? AWESOME.
LET'S, UH, WAIT FOR THE PRESENTATION HERE REAL QUICK.
GOOD MORNING CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AS JEFF SAID AT TODAY'S PRESENTATION.
WE'LL INCLUDE AN UPDATE ON OUR FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM.
UM, THE FIRST PORTION OF MY PRESENTATION WILL INCLUDE THE PROGRESS OF OUR A HUNDRED AND 16TH, UH, CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAM UPDATE.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, OUR CURRENT PROGRAM IS A TWO YEAR PACKAGE THAT IS COUNCIL APPROVED AND ALSO ALIGNS WITH THE CURRENT CONGRESSIONAL SESSION ON A PARALLEL TRACK.
AS JEFF SHARED, WE LAUNCHED LAST MONTH, OUR 117 CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.
I WILL SHARE A TIMELINE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT PROGRAM IN THE MONTHS TO COME, ITS APPROVAL PROCESS AND, UM, ACTION ITEMS. LASTLY, WE WILL ALSO PROVIDE THE STATUS IN A REPORT ON THE FY 2021, SPENDING BILLS OR APPROPRIATION BILL, AND THE OUTLOOK FOR A CONTINUING RESOLUTION.
AS A QUICK REMINDER, EACH YEAR, EARLY IN THE YEAR, AROUND FEBRUARY, THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PROPOSAL KICKS OFF THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET PROCESS, AND THEN THE HOUSE AND SENATE DO THEIR WORK ON, UH, 12 SPENDING BILLS.
OUR CURRENT PROGRAM IS COMPRISED OF FIVE PRIORITIES IN A SET OF LEGISLATIVE AND AGENCY ISSUES.
IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, I'M GOING TO, UH, SHARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS ON SOME, DEFINITELY SOME MOVEMENT POSITIVE ONWARD MOVEMENT, UM, FOR OUR PRIORITIES AND AS WELL AS AGENCY AND LEGISLATIVE ISSUES.
I'M HAPPY TO KICK IT OFF WITH THE MILITARY PROTECTION OF, UM, OUR MILITARY PARTNERS, THE PROTECTION OF OUR MISSION READINESS FOR JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO.
AS PART OF THE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS, WE WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR FEDERAL CONSULTANTS AND THE GREAT SUPPORT OF OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO INCLUDE THREE APPROPRIATIONS REQUESTS IN THE HOUSE MILITARY CONSTRUCTION BILL THAT THE HOUSE PASSED IN JULY.
THE FIRST OF THOSE THREE SUBMISSIONS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE MILITARY CONSTRUCTION BILL IS THE BASIC TRAINING DORMITORY WITH A PRICE TAG OF 36 MILLION FOR LACKLAND.
THE SECOND ONE IS A FLIGHT SIMULATOR TRAINING SYSTEM WITH A PRICE TAG OF 19.5 MILLION FOR A T SEVEN EIGHT PILOT TRAINING FOR RANDOLPH.
AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS AN F 16 MISSION TRAINING CENTER, UH, WITH A REQUEST OF 10.8 MILLION FOR THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD.
THIS TRAINING CENTER WILL HOUSE FOUR SIMULATOR BASE TRAINING ROOMS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.
IT WAS VERY CRITICAL THAT WE HAD THE ASSISTANCE OF CONGRESSMAN WILL HURD AND OUR SENIOR APPROPRIATOR CONGRESSMAN KUER.
AND WE ARE HOPING, AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR, UM, ADVOCACY WORK WITH, UM, SENATOR CORNIN.
WHEN THIS GETS NEGOTIATED ON THE SENATE SIDE, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITIES IS THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION.
UNDER THE N D A A FRONT, THIS IS THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT.
THIS IS A MUST PASS BILL EVERY YEAR.
THE HOUSE AND SENATE WERE BUSY AT WORK THIS SUMMER, AND THEY EACH PASSED THEIR RESPECTIVE N D A A VERSION.
NOW, THIS BILL HEADS TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE, AND THE MOST RECENT REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE UH HA COMMITTEE WILL BE COMING TOGETHER IN THE NEXT, UH, WEEK OR SO.
LAST YEAR, THEY WERE ABLE TO GATHER FOR THEIR CONFERENCE COMMITTEE IN 2019, AROUND SEPTEMBER 18TH.
SO IT SHOULD COME, UH, SHORTLY WHEN THIS CONFERENCE COMMITTEE WILL BE FORMED, AND THEY WILL RECONCILE THE DIFFERENCES OF THE HOUSE IN SENATE BILLS ONWARD TO THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION SIDE.
ANOTHER ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES, AGAIN, THE HOUSE AS PART OF THEIR F Y 2021, UH, H H S APPROPRIATIONS BILL, THEY, UH, PASSED, UH, AND INCLUDED $2 MILLION FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION, AS WELL AS REPORT LANGUAGE THAT DIRECTS AND GUIDES C D C TO WORK WITH STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
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COLLECTION.EARLY ON THROUGH OUR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMMISSION, THEY SHARED WITH US THAT IT WAS VERY CHALLENGING TO SUBMIT FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATIONS WITH THE LIMITATIONS AND THE CHALLENGES OF VERY LITTLE, UH, LOCAL AND STATE AND EVEN NATIONAL DATA AVAILABILITY.
SO, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR CONSULTANTS, UH, THANKS TO LAUREN AND KEVIN, WE SUBMITTED LANGUAGE, UH, THROUGH THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS ON THE HOUSE SIDE.
AND SO THIS, IN THIS REPORT LANGUAGE WAS INCLUDED IN THE, UM, THIS PARTICULAR H H SS BILL ON THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT.
IT'S BEEN ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF.
IN APRIL OF 2019, THE HOUSE PASSED THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THIS BILL.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IT EXPANDS ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE, AND IT INCREASES FUNDING FOR STATE AND LOCAL PROVIDERS, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT FOR, UH, STATE AND LOCAL SERVICES.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE BILL WAS SENT TO THE SENATE AND, UH, THE SENATE IS YET TO TAKE IT UP.
BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE OUR SUPPORT FOR THESE SERVICES AND THIS FUNDING WITH OUR SENATORS AND OUR HOUSE MEMBERS AS WELL AS IT CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD.
TWO ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES, AVIATION AND TRANSPORTATION.
THE HOUSE PASSED THE TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BILL, OR THE TEA HUT BILL, AND THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT IT INCLUDES 1.6 BILLION FOR AVIATION SAFETY AND 500 BILLION FOR A I P GRANTS.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, OUR AIRPORT RELIES ON THESE A I P GRANTS FOR AIRPORT PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
BOTH OF THESE FUNDING SOURCES, UM, ARE UNDER F A A, SO THESE ARE DEFINITELY PLUSES FOR US IN OUR AIRPORT.
IN ADDITION, WE ARE ALWAYS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR BUILD GRANTS UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
AND THE HOUSE INCLUDED 1 BILLION FOR BUILD GRANTS.
THIS IS A HUNDRED MILLION ABOVE THE 2020 LEVELS, WHICH IS GREAT.
EVERY BIT OF ADDITIONAL MONEY HELPS BECAUSE THESE, THIS PARTICULAR GRANT IS VERY, VERY HIGHLY, UH, COVETED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND VERY COMPETITIVE.
IN ADDITION, THE HOUSE INCLUDED 750 MILLION FOR TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS.
THAT'S ALSO 50 MILLION ABOVE THE F Y 2020 LEVEL.
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US BECAUSE IT ALSO SUPPORTS OUR EFFORTS ON THE, UM, TRANSIT SIDE, UM, WITH OUR VIA PARTNERS ONWARD TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
IN JULY, JUST A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, THE HOUSE PASSED THE MOVING FORWARD ACT.
THIS IS A MASSIVE 1.5 TRILLION, UH, DOLLAR BILL THAT FUNDS, ROADS, BRIDGES, THE TRANSIT SYSTEM, AND IT ALSO INCLUDED BROADBAND AND SOME HOUSING FUNDING.
THE HOUSE DECIDED TO ATTACH THE FAST ACT REAUTHORIZATION ACT, UM, THAT IZED REAUTHORIZED THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BILL FOR FIVE YEARS.
UM, ON THE SENATE SIDE, THERE WAS SOME MOVEMENT.
LAST YEAR, THE SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE, SENATE E P W, UM, DID PASS THE FIVE YEAR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BILL, BUT IT STALLED AFTER THAT.
AND THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE OTHER COMMITTEES THAT HAVE JURISDICTION OVER THE, UM, TRANSPORTATION ISSUES ON THE SENATE SIDE.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR SENATORS AND OUR HOUSE MEMBERS, UM, TO SUPPORT, UH, THESE MEASURES.
AGAIN, THE HOUSE FOR THE F Y 21 HOUSING BILL, UH, THE BEAR WITH ME HERE, THESE ARE SEVERAL VARIOUS NUMBERS THAT WE KEEP VERY CLOSE TABS ON.
UM, THE HOUSE, UM, HUD BILL, UM, IS WHAT FUNDS MANY OF THE HOUSING PROGRAMS AND FUNDING STREAMS THAT I'M ABOUT TO SHARE.
THE HOUSE INCLUDED 3.2 BILLION FOR C D D G, OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT, 1.7 FOR HOME GRANTS.
OUR HOME PARTNERSHIP GRANTS 25, UH, 0.7 BILLION FOR THE HOUSING RENTAL ASSISTANCE, 3.4 FOR HOMELESS, 3.4 BILLION FOR HOMELESS ASSISTANCE GRANTS.
AND LASTLY, BUT NOT LEAST, 40 MILLION FOR HOUSING, FOR HOMELESS FOR VETERANS.
ALL THESE FUNDING LEVELS ARE AN INCREASE FROM F Y 2020.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ADVOCACY THAT WE HAVE JOINED IN WITH OTHER HOUSING ADVOCATES, N L C IN THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S INCREASED FUNDING EVERY YEAR, BECAUSE THERE'S REALLY NEVER ENOUGH MONEY FOR THESE TYPES OF SERVICES.
IN ADDITION, ON THE HOUSE SIDE, THEY PASSED THE EMERGENCY HOUSING PROTECTIONS AND RELIEF ACT IN JUNE.
THIS BILL PROPOSES 200 BILLION IN ADDITIONAL
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FUNDING FOR HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS.SO THIS BILL WAS SENT TO THE SENATE.
UM, IT DEFINITELY, UH, PUTS A VERY IMPORTANT, UM, EXCLAMATION POINT ON THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR HOUSING.
SO IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN HOW THE SENATE WILL ADDRESS, UH, THIS ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND THIS BILL THAT THE HOUSE PASSED IN JUNE.
UH, THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, I'M GONNA GO OVER SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE AND AGENCY, UH, ISSUES THAT HAD SOME MOVEMENT IN THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF.
UM, THE GREAT NEWS, UM, AS YOU MAY RECALL, UNDER THE PUBLIC SAFETY UMBRELLA, WE WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH OUR COPS HIRING GRANT.
WE RECEIVED A GRANT AWARD OF 3.1 MILLION.
SAN ANTONIO RECEIVED THE SECOND HIGHEST AWARD IN TEXAS, ONLY BEHIND HOUSTON.
AND THE 25 OFFICERS, UM, THAT ARE FUNDED UNDER THIS PARTICULAR GRANT WILL BE PART OF THE SS A P D CRISIS UNIT INTERVENTION UNIT WITH A FOCUS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION.
SO THAT WAS A GREAT WIN FOR, FOR THE CITY.
UM, THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF ADVOCACY THAT WENT INTO THIS GRANT, UM, AND SUPPORT FROM OUR DELEGATION.
SO WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS GRANT ON THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND HOMELAND SECURITY FRONT.
YOU MAY RECALL, WE SUBMITTED, UM, A U A C GRANT, UM, EVERY YEAR.
THIS IS A CHALLENGE FOR US BECAUSE, UM, HOMELAND SECURITY RANKS, UH, UI CITIES EVERY YEAR.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE FAILED TWO SLOTS THIS YEAR, WE ARE, OUR RANKING IS NUMBER 27.
WE WERE SUCCESSFUL TO SECURE A $3.5 MILLION GRANT.
THERE WAS ADVOCACY DONE FOR U O C DURING THE ESSAY TO A DC VISIT, SO WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL TO OUR I G R MEMBERS THAT JOINED US AND THE MAYOR FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE HOMELAND SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SEE THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THIS GRANT ON THE HOUSE SIDE, UM, AS WELL, UH, UNDER THE D H SS, UH, APPROPRIATIONS, THERE'S BEEN NO MOVEMENT ON THE HOUSE AND SENATE SIDE.
THE HOUSE HAS SCHEDULED THE HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATION BILL FOR A VOTE, BUT IT, IT GOT PULLED.
UM, THIS PARTICULAR BILL IN PAST YEARS HAS BEEN CONTROVERSIAL BECAUSE IT INCLUDES ITEMS SUCH AS THE BORDER WALL, SO IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
UM, I CHECKED WITH CONGRESSMAN QUAYS TEAM, UH, LATE LAST WEEK, AND IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN, UM, WHEN, UM, THIS WILL BE SCHEDULED ON THE, UM, FIREARMS, UM, SAFETY, UH, PART OF THE APPROPRIATIONS.
UM, THERE REALLY WASN'T MUCH INCLUDED THERE, BUT THE HOUSE DID PASS, UH, A FIREARM SAFETY BILL.
ACTUALLY, THERE WERE TWO BILLS THAT WERE PASSED THAT WERE RELATED TO FEDERAL, UH, BACKGROUND CHECKS.
SO NOW SINCE THEN, THOSE BILLS HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE SENATE AND THEY HAVE NOT BEEN, UM, TAKEN UP SINCE THEN.
AND LASTLY, UNDER THE LEGISLATIVE AND AGENCY ISSUES, YOU'LL RECALL THAT WE HAVE DACA, THE DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS ON OUR FEDERAL PROGRAM AS WELL.
LAST YEAR, THE HOUSE PASSED THE DREAM AND PROMISE ACT, AND THIS BILL, WHAT IT DOES IS THAT IT PROVIDES UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS BROUGHT TO THE US AS CHILDREN, OFTEN CALLED DREAMERS, THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBTAIN CITIZENSHIP BY MEETING CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS LIKE BEING, UM, ENROLLED IN HIGHER ED CLASSES, UH, IN ENROLLED IN THE MILITARY, OR HAVING HAD GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR THREE YEARS.
MOST RECENTLY IN JUNE, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, THE SUPREME COURT VOTED TO BLOCK THE ADMINISTRATION'S EFFORT TO END DACA.
SO THAT WAS GOOD NEWS FOR THE DREAMERS.
UM, THERE ARE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DACA RECIPIENTS IN TEXAS, AND MORE THAN 5,000, UH, DACA PARTICIPANTS IN BEXAR COUNTY.
UM, THE ASSISTANCE OF CONGRESSMAN HEARD, AND KU AND SENATOR CORNY, UM, ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR, UM, THE CONTINUATION OF DACA.
MOVING ON TO THE SAN ANTONIO MISSION, THIS IS, UM, GREAT NEWS TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
IN JULY, UM, THE, THE, IN JULY, THE HOUSE AND SENATE PASSED, UM, THE GREAT, UM, OUTDOORS ACT, AND THE PRESIDENT SIGNED IT INTO LAW ON AUGUST 4TH.
SO THIS BILL PROVIDES 1.9 BILLION ANNUALLY IN FUNDING FOR FIVE YEARS.
UM, OUR SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS HAVE HAD A BACKLOG OF MAINTENANCE PROJECTS, UM, IN THEIR, UM, FILES
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FOR, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.CURRENTLY, THEY HAVE 20 MILLION PLUS NEED AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE VERY BENEFICIAL.
UM, WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS WITH, UH, CONGRESSMEN HEARD, UM, QUAR AND AS WELL AS SENATOR CORNYN TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS PARTICULAR BILL WAS PASSED.
ONTO THE, UH, A HUNDRED AND 17TH CONGRESS PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.
AS I SHARED IN THE INTRODUCTION, IN AUGUST, WE KICKED OFF OUR IN-HOUSE COORDINATION, UM, WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS.
UH, THIS MONTH WE BEGAN OUR OUTREACH, UM, IN COORDINATION WITH CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES, OUR CHAMBER PARTNERS, HIGHER ED PARTNERS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE MONTH.
IN OCTOBER, WE ARE AIMING TO HOLD CONSULTANTS MEETINGS WITH OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS AND KEY COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE ISSUES.
BEFORE WE PRESENT A DRAFT PROGRAM IN NOVEMBER TO THE I G R COMMITTEE, WE WILL AIM TO PRESENT THE NEW DRAFT PROGRAM TO THE I G R COMMITTEE, UM, AS I SAID IN NOVEMBER, AND THEN HOPEFULLY FINAL AUTHORIZATION IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY.
I WILL ADD THAT AFTER THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER 3RD, WE WILL RECALIBRATE, UM, AS NEEDED BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION.
OUR ADVOCACY COORDINATION, UM, IS ONGOING, NOT JUST FOR THE A HUNDRED AND 16TH, BUT ALSO FOR THE A HUNDRED AND 17TH, UH, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.
UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH OUR DELEGATION, OUR CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS, COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS PARTNERS, LIKE I SAID, THAT INCLUDES THE CHAMBERS, THE COMMUNITY, UH, STAKEHOLDERS, UH, AND ALSO THE BUSINESS, UM, SECTOR.
UM, A AN IMPORTANT POINT, UM, TO SHARE IS THAT OUR COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION WITH THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES AND THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS IS PRETTY MUCH DAILY, WEEKLY, AND, AND MONTHLY.
IT IS, IT IS ON ONGOING, UM, THE LEADERSHIP OF THE MAYOR ON THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS AND COUNCILWOMAN VIA GRANT'S LEADERSHIP ON THE N O C BOARD.
IT HELPS TO REINFORCE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, UM, ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AND WITH CITIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO THEIR INVOLVEMENT, UM, IS CERTAINLY VERY, VERY WELCOME AND HELPFUL.
A FEW KEY CONGRESSIONAL DATES, UH, NOT JUST THE CITY'S, UH, END OF FISCAL YEAR 2020.
AT THE END OF THIS MONTH IS ALSO THE CONGRESSIONAL, UM, END OF THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN OCTOBER ONE, WE START THE 2021 LOCALLY AND IN CONGRESS.
AND THEN THE START OF THE A HUNDRED AND 17TH SESSION IS ON JANUARY 3RD.
SO THIS NEXT FEW MONTHS ARE GOING TO MOVE VERY, VERY FAST.
ON THE F Y 21, 20 21 APPROPRIATIONS FRONT, AS I SHARED EARLIER, WE, UM, SHARED, UH, VARIOUS DETAILS OF THE HOUSE SPENDING BILLS OR APPROPRIATIONS BILLS.
THE HOUSE WAS SUCCESSFUL IN PASSING 10 OF THEIR 12, AND THE SENATE AT 12 OF 12 IS STILL, UH, PENDING.
IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER THE SENATE WILL TRY TO TACKLE THESE THIS MONTH, UM, OR THEY WILL, YOU KNOW, JUST WAIT FOR ADDITIONAL ACTION UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION.
FROM THIS SLIDE, I WILL PASS IT ON TO GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE SLIDE BACK TO THE THANK YOU, EDUARDO.
I'M GONNA PASS IT ON TO OUR CONSULTANT, KEVIN KELLY.
UM, HE'S GONNA PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE WASHINGTON CLIMATE AND THE OUTLOOK FOR SPENDING BILLS IN A POSSIBLE CR.
UH, CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME OKAY? GREAT.
UH, SO AS YOU CAN SEE FROM A LOT OF THE, UH, THE NARRATIVE HERE, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN REASONABLY SUCCESSFUL, VERY SUCCESSFUL ON THE KEY PRIORITIES THAT, UH, YOU ALL HAVE IDENTIFIED, BOTH FOR THE PROTECTION OF YOUR MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, EMPHASIS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING.
AND THEN ROUGHLY, THERE'S A LITTLE MORE THAN A DOZEN OTHER ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TRACKED, BECAUSE LEGISLATIVELY, THEY REFLECT PRIORITIES THAT YOU ALL HAVE DESIGNATED, LIKE THE, UH, GREAT OUTDOORS ACT, UH, GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT, OR DACA, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE IN THE SLIDES THAT SALLY REFERRED TO THAT, IN FACT, UM, AS YOU GO AHEAD, UH, THERE'S
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A LOT OF GREEN ON THE GREEN CHECKS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE, AND X IS ON THE PART OF THE SENATE.AND THAT'S THE CHALLENGE HERE, IS THAT THE HOUSE, BECAUSE OF THE RULES OF GOVERNANCE OF THE HOUSE, THE WORKING MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE CAN PASS LEGISLATION.
NOW, THEY DID IT, OF THE 10 BILLS THAT ACTUALLY WERE DONE THIS YEAR, UH, THEY'VE REPORTED 12, ALL 12 OUT OF COMMITTEE, BUT THEY TOOK AND DID THEM IN TWO BATCHES, RIGHT? SO THERE WAS THE FIRST PATCH, THEY TOOK FOUR BILLS, FOUR OF THE BILLS TOGETHER, AND MOVED THEM THROUGH THE HOUSE.
AND THEN THE SECOND, WHICH WAS LED BY THE STATE FOR OPS BILL INTERIOR ON, AND, UM, AGRICULTURE.
AND THEN THEY TOOK THE REMAINING SIX BILLS THAT THEY WERE GONNA MOVE AND PUSHED THEM THROUGH WITH THE DEFENSE BILL AS THE MAJOR PLAYER.
SO THEY KIND OF COMBINED THEM INTO WHAT THEY CALL MINI BUSES, MINI BUS PACKAGES, UH, TO, TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS ONLY TWO, TWO UP OR DOWN VOTES.
IN TERMS OF FINAL PASSAGE OF EACH MEASURE, GIVEN THE CONSTRAINT ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, SOME MEMBERS ARE VOTING REMOTELY, UH, AND THE LENGTH OF TIME IT TAKES TO ACTUALLY MOVE LEGISLATION, EACH VOTE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR PER AMENDMENT TAKES ANYWHERE FROM 45 TO 70 MINUTES TO ACTUALLY DO NOW.
SO IT'S, IT'S MORE COMPLICATED BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BRING THEM IN IN, UH, STAGES BECAUSE OF THE NEED FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING.
UH, WE DON'T KNOW YET WHETHER THE SENATE WILL SHOW ITS HAND AT ALL BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, WHICH IS IN JUST A FEW WEEKS.
UM, WE BELIEVE THEY MAY POST BILLS, BUT THEY WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY NOT MARK UP ANY APPROPRIATIONS BILLS IN THE SENATE.
AND I THINK THERE'S SOME SKEPTICISM THAT THEY'LL EVEN RELEASE DRAFT BILLS FOR CONSIDERATION FOR PEOPLE, JUST BASED ON THE POLITICS AND SOME OF THE CONTROVERSIES THAT GO WITH MANY OF THESE MEASURES.
UH, THE BILLS THAT PASSED IN THE HOUSE WERE LARGELY ALONG PARTY LINES.
RIGHT NOW, THE CURRENT HOUSE DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN RATIO IS 2 32 TO 1 98 WITH ONE INDEPENDENT OR LIBERTARIAN.
AND THEN THERE'S FOUR VACANCIES FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
BUT BOTH OF THE MANY BUS APPROPRIATIONS BILLS PASSED ON LARGELY PARTY LINE VOTES, UM, WITH VERY FEW, I DON'T THINK ANY REPUBLICANS VOTING FOR, FOR EITHER MEASURE AT THIS POINT, OR VERY FEW, LET'S PUT IT THAT WAY.
THERE WERE A FEW ON THE FIRST BILL AND MAYBE ONE OR TWO ON THE SECOND BILL.
SO IT'S A VERY, IT'S A VERY PARTISAN CLIMATE, AS WAS REPORTED IN THE MEDIA OVER THE WEEKEND.
THE BELIEF IS THAT THEY WILL PASS A CONTINUING RESOLUTION BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH, PROBABLY DECOUPLED FROM ANY COVID RELIEF.
THE NEGOTIATIONS, WHICH ARE, UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, STALLED BECAUSE OF THE, THE DYNAMIC HERE, UH, AND THAT CONTINUING RESOLUTION, WHICH WOULD KEEP THE GOVERNMENT FUNDED THROUGH THE END OF, THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR, WILL PROBABLY RUN UNTIL SOMETIME AROUND MID-DECEMBER.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HEARING, AND WHAT WE BELIEVE IS THE CASE AFTER THE ELECTION, DEPENDING UPON THE OUTCOME OF THAT ELECTION, IF THE PRESIDENT IS REELECTED, WHICH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PICK HIM AT THIS POINT.
AS FAR AS THE CLIMATE GOES, I THINK PEOPLE ARE STILL NOT CONVINCED, UH, THAT THE PRESIDENT'S NOT GOING TO WIN.
AND IF YOU TALK TO HIS, HIS STRONGEST ALLIES IN MANY OF OUR FIRMS, UH, THEY'RE CONVINCED THAT HE WILL WIN REELECTION.
I THINK IF THAT HAPPENS, THEY WILL NEGOTIATE THE PACKAGE OF LEGISLATION THAT YOU'VE SEEN.
UH, THEY'LL FINISH WORKING ON THOSE THINGS BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND KIND OF SET THAT OFF TO THE SIDE.
IF VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN PREVAILS IN NOVEMBER, UH, THEY WILL KICK THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD, SO TO SPEAK, AND MOVE ALL OF THE BILLS INTO THE NEXT CONGRESS.
UH, AND THEY'LL DISPENSE PROBABLY WITH THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS.
MY GUESS WOULD BE SOMETIME RIGHT AFTER VALENTINE'S DAY THAT THEY'LL TRY AND GET THINGS COMPLETED.
UH, ONCE THE NEW ADMINISTRATION GETS ITS CABINET IN PLACE, AND, UH, THEY MOVE FORWARD, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD, OBVIOUSLY, UH, TO MAKE PROGRESS.
AND UNTIL THE SENATE AND HOUSE HAVE AGREED ON THE TERMS OF ALL SPENDING BILLS, THE REALITY IS THAT NOTHING IS AGREED TO FOR NEXT YEAR.
UH, AND A CONTINUING RESOLUTION WHEN IT GETS PASSED WILL CONTINUE POLICIES AND APPROPRIATION SPENDING AT THE LEVELS THAT WERE ENACTED LAST YEAR FOR FISCAL YEAR, UH, 2020.
AND THAT'S HOW THE, SO TO SPEAK, THE RUN RATE OR THE SPENDING RATES WILL, WILL BE, UH, APPORTIONED OVER THE FIRST TWO AND A HALF MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
UH, FOR KEY PROGRAMS LIKE BLOCK GRANTS LIKE C D B G AND SOME OF THE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING, MOST OF THOSE COMPETITIONS, OR MOST OF THOSE AWARDS COME IN THE SECOND QUARTER OR BEYOND OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO REALLY, IT WILL NOT HAVE ANY IMMEDIATE CASH FLOW, CASH FLOW, UH, IMPACT ON THE CITY.
IT SHOULD NOT A CONTINUING RESOLUTION.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, FROM THE LENGTHY BACK AND FORTH THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST MONTH BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP, ONE OF, IF NOT THE MAJOR STICKING POINT ON THE PART OF THE, UH, GETTING
[00:30:01]
AN AGREEMENT ON A CARES, YOU KNOW, A COVID FIVE, SO TO SPEAK.THE FIFTH BILL OF THE PACKAGE IS ON STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND THERE'S A VERY LARGE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION AS TO HOW MUCH IS NEEDED.
AND THERE'S NO INDICATION THAT THE HOUSE LEADERSHIP DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP'S GONNA BACK OFF THAT AT THIS POINT, WHICH, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY MEANS IT'S ALL PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET, THERE WON'T BE A BREAKTHROUGH BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN THEY ADJOURN BEFORE THE ELECTION.
AS MUCH AS WE'D ALL LIKE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN, IT SEEMS UNLIKELY GIVEN THE, THE WIDE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION THAT'S OUT THERE.
I MEAN, THE ADMINISTRATION AGREED TO A, TO GO UP TO 1.5 TRILLION, BUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE SENATE REPUBLICANS ACTUALLY CAN ONLY GET AGREEMENT ON A $500 BILLION PACKAGE, WHICH WHAT THEY'RE LIKELY TO VOTE ON SOMETIME, UH, THIS WEEK.
BUT THE PROCESS IS VERY VOLATILE.
AND, UM, I WILL SAY, HOWEVER, THE TEXAS, UH, DELEGATION AND THE MEMBERS FROM THE SAN ANTONIO METROPLEX ARE VERY STRONG IN SUPPORT OF YOUR CORE PRIORITIES.
AND, UH, WE'RE ENCOURAGED BY THAT.
AND IT'S NOW THE, THE, UH, OUR JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CLOSE ON ALL OF THESE THINGS AND THEN PREPARE FOR WHAT WILL LIKELY BE A VERY ACTIVE, UH, AND VERY VOLATILE HUNDRED 17TH CONGRESS.
CERTAINLY BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE FOLLOW ON ACTIVITY, UH, AS A RESULT OF THE CORONAVIRUS AND SOME OTHER THINGS LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH EVERYBODY, I THINK BELIEVES HAS A LARGE PIN UP DEMAND.
HOW PEOPLE PAY FOR IT IS ANOTHER QUESTION.
AND THAT'LL BE ONE OF THE, UH, CENTRAL ISSUES OF DEBATE BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES BETWEEN NOW AND THEN.
SO, UH, THAT'S ALL WE'VE GOT FOR NOW, SALLY, UNLESS YOU THINK WE'VE MISSED SOMETHING, THAT WAS A GREAT UPDATE.
WE CAN PROCEED TO ANY QUESTIONS, UM, IF YOU'LL ALLOW MR. CHAIRMAN.
WELL, I WOULD JUST JUMP IN AND ASK MELISSA IF SHE WANTED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE FIRST.
UM, WE SHARE A LOT OF THE SAME PRIORITIES.
I HOPE Y'ALL CAN HEAR ME WELL.
I'M DOWN HERE IN GOD'S COUNTRY, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO HEAR SOMETIMES.
UM, WE SHARE A LOT OF THE SAME PRIORITIES AS THE CITY.
ONE OF THE MAJOR ONES THAT WAS A BIG WIN FOR US AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL WAS THE MISSION REACH REIMBURSEMENT ON, UM, THE PROJECT THAT WE UNDERTOOK WITH THE, UH, UH, SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY.
WE RECEIVED OUR FULL FUNDING, UM, TO CLOSE OUT THAT PROJECT.
SO WE'VE, UH, FINISHED, UM, THE MISSION REACH REIMBURSEMENT.
UM, WE PUT IN 61 MILLION OF OUR OWN FUNDS AND GOT THAT, UH, MONEY BACK, I THINK ALL BUT LIKE 3 CENTS.
UM, ALSO A BIG WIN IN THE COMMUNITY WAS OPIOID FUNDING, UM, WHICH HAS, UH, BENEFITED A LOT IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN, UM, LASTLY, AT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WE RECEIVED FUNDING FOR, UH, BODY-WORN CAMERAS.
UM, SO THAT WAS A, A BIG ONE THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR.
UM, WE WILL BE DOING THE SAME AS THE CITY.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE INTERNAL COMMITTEES AT THE COUNTY, SO IT'S ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE ELECTED OFFICIALS.
SO I WILL BE MEETING WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS TO TALK ABOUT FEDERAL, UM, OUR NEW PROGRAM AS WELL AS OUR STATE PROGRAM.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY, UH, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING ON THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT AGENDA AND WORK CLOSELY TOO WITH THE CITY TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY ISSUES THAT WE CAN ALIGN ON THERE.
BUT REALLY THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S IT IN A NUTSHELL.
LET'S START WITH JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ.
MR. CHAIRMAN, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE ONLY THING I'D ADD TO WHAT MELISSA MENTIONED, I KNOW ONE OF THE REASONS, OR THE PURPOSES OF KIND OF ALIGNING THE GROUPS WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, TO FOCUS ON SHARED PRIORITIES.
UM, I KNOW WE HAD A CALL A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WITH THE COUNTY FOLKS AND, AND THE FOLKS AT THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY, UM, WHO ARE KIND OF THE CONSERVATOR OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RIVER, UH, THE MISSION REACH, THE WEST SIDE CREEKS PROJECTS.
AND I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT GREAT PEOPLE WORKING ON THAT.
BUT I THINK TO THE EXTENT WE CAN ALIGN ALSO THAT AS A CITY PRIORITY, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE WEST SIDE CREEKS IS, IS A HIGH PRIORITY.
UM, AND OF COURSE, IT'S AN ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PROJECT, BUT, UM, I, I WOULD JUST MENTION THAT AS SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IMPACTS THE CITY AS WELL.
UM, AND YOU, YOU GUYS ARE HAVING THE DISCUSSION NOW ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AQUA PROTECTION AND THE CONTINUATION OF THOSE, UH, TRAIL PROJECTS.
UM, SO, SO I JUST WANTED TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT.
UH, NOT A SPECIFIC ASK AT THIS POINT, BUT
[00:35:01]
AS WE MOVE FORWARD, AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'VE GOT THE RIVER AUTHORITY, UM, OUTSIDE LOBBYISTS AND THE COUNTIES WORKING ON THAT IN DC I THINK WALTER, UH, SERNA IS ON THE LINE.WALTER'S, UM, ARE ARE ONE OF OUR LOCAL FOLKS WHO WORKS ON THE FEDERAL CONTRACT.
BUT, UM, TO THE EXTENT WE CAN, WALT, WE MIGHT WANNA, MIGHT WANNA MAKE SURE THE CITY IS ALSO ALIGNED ON THAT.
AGAIN, NOT TO STEP ON EACH OTHER'S TOES, BUT I THINK THE MORE WE CAN SHOW, UH, THE URGENCY IN TRYING TO GET FUNDING FOR THE NEXT PHASE, THE WEST SIDE CREEKS, UM, WHETHER IT BE THROUGH APPROPRIATIONS OR THROUGH, UH,
UH, COUNCILWOMAN, ADRIANA ROCHA GARCIA, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, I, UH, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU.
THAT WAS A, A GREAT PRESENTATION.
IS THERE ANY UPDATE? UM, AFTER THAT, THE ITEM WAS PRINTED ON, AND I'M ASSUMING NOT, BUT ON BROWNFIELD AND THE EPA MEETING THAT, UH, WAS HAD WHEN SATC HAPPENED.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN OF BROWNFIELD WAS INCLUDED IN THE MEMORANDUM THAT OUR FEDERAL, UH, CONSULTANT, UM, PREPARED FOR THE COMMITTEE.
AND THERE WAS, UM, E P A BROWNFIELDS FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF 90 MILLION FOR BROWNFIELDS, UM, CLEANUPS.
AND YOU'RE RIGHT, DURING FA TO DC WE DID HAVE A REALLY GOOD MEETING WITH, UM, THE E P A.
OUR STAFF, UM, WITHIN THE CENTER CITY, UH, DEPARTMENT, HAVE KEPT IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE REGIONAL BROWNFIELD E P A STAFF.
UH, WE, I AM HAPPY TO GET AN UPDATE FROM OUR, UM, CENTER CITY STAFF ON OUR CURRENT BROWNFIELD PROGRAM.
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS, UM, THAT ALMOST EVERY YEAR WHEN THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL COMES OUT, UM, HE TENDS TO ZERO OUT BROWNFIELD.
BUT THE HOUSE HAS, UM, DEFINITELY, UM, INCLUDED 350 MILLION FOR THE BROWNFIELDS GRANTS AND 90 MILLION FOR THE BROWNFIELD CLEANUP.
I'M ALSO HAPPY TO SEE THE, UM, ANTI TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING.
AND, AND SO I KNOW THAT THE 35 CORRIDOR IS, IS A BIG PRO, UH, PROBLEM THERE.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO WANTED TO ASK, ARE WE WORKING WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO, ON THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT FUNDING? UH, HOW ARE WE ENGAGING THEM? SO, I DO KNOW THAT OUR, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS IN CLOSE COMMUNICATION, UM, WITH THE WORKFORCE COMMUNITY, UM, AND ALSO THE SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER AND THE OTHER CHAMBERS AS WELL, UH, THROUGH MY PARTICIPATION ON THE SA CHAMBERS LEGISLATIVE ADVISORY COUNCIL, THIS TOPIC, UH, CERTAINLY DOES COME UP.
AND SO BEING THAT WORKFORCE, UM, AND TRAINING IS PART OF OUR LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM, WE DO COORDINATE SOME WORKFORCE AND TRAINING EFFORTS AT THE G P A STAFF LEVEL WITH, UM, HIGHER ED AND WITH THE SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER, ESPECIALLY DURING OUR ANNUAL ESSAY TO DC VISIT.
BUT AGAIN, I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR MOST RECENT EFFORTS.
I KNOW THAT THE MAYOR IS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE HIGHER ED WORKFORCE AND TRAINING PROGRAMS AS WELL.
AND THEN JUST FINALLY, I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS, UM, MY, MY SUPPORT AND ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO.
LAST WEEK, COUNCILMAN PERRY AND MYSELF WERE OUT AT THE, UM, FAIR NATIONAL GUARD WITH COLONEL ROSARIO, AND HE GAVE US A GREAT TOUR.
AND, UM, THEY HAVE REALLY BEEN CRITICAL IN THE COVID RESPONSE AS WELL AS HURRICANE RESPONSE.
AND WE WERE OUT THERE WITH, UM, A A LOT OF THE FOLKS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST DO THIS WORK THAT GOES UNNOTICED.
AND SO, UM, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO ON THAT F 16 MISSION TRAINING.
AND THEN, UH, THERE'S A, THERE'S ANOTHER REQUEST.
UM, AND SO I, I, I'LL, I'LL TALK TO COUNCILMAN EZ.
I'LL OUTLINE, UH, AS I G OUR CHAIR ABOUT THAT.
AND I'M SURE COUNCILMAN CURY WILL JOIN ME HERE, UM, SHORTLY.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
AND SO JUST, UH, AGAIN, ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO, UM, BLACK ONE OF COURSE IS, UH, PART, UH, OF D FOUR, OR NOT TECHNICALLY SAN ANTONIO, BUT STILL, THEY'RE, THEY'RE KIND OF IN D FOUR, SO I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT I WATCH OUT FOR THEM.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, CHAIR, I HAVE NO OTHER QUESTIONS.
AND I, I JUST WANNA ECHO WHAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GARCIA JUST TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE GUARD AREA.
AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING THAT AT OUR NEXT M T T F MEETING, WHICH IS THIS NEXT MONDAY.
UM, VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR GUARD MISSION AND, AND SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO MOVE ON AND, UH, HELP THEM OUT.
'CAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT PROTECTING OUR MISSIONS AND, UH, KEEPING THEM HERE INSTEAD OF MOVING SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO, VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT, UM, SALLY, GREAT, GREAT WRAP UP ON THAT.
[00:40:01]
TO THE STATE ALSO.AND CHAIRMAN, I'D LIKE TO REALLY, UM, LOOK AT DEVELOPING SOME METRICS ON, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT WINS AND LOSSES OR HITS AND MISSES, YOU KNOW, HOW WE AND OUR LOBBY TEAM DID ACROSS, ACROSS THE FISCAL YEAR.
YOU KNOW, WHAT WERE OUR GOALS, WHAT WERE OUR REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN WHAT WERE, WHAT WERE WE SUCCESSFUL AT? UM, THEN WE CAN HAVE ANOTHER METRIC THAT SHOWS OTHER IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, THAT HAPPEN, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WEREN'T AWARE OF OR WHATEVER, BUT WE ARE BENEFITING FROM.
BUT I, I THINK WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, AND SALLY, YOU HAD SOME GREAT EXPLANATIONS, BUT THAT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, UH, DOWNLOAD FOR US.
I'D LIKE TO SEE US DEVELOP SOME KIND OF A METRIC THAT SHOWS OUR HITS AND MISSES AND, UH, BOTH AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND STATE LEVEL.
SO JEFF, YOU KNOW, BE HAPPY TO SIT DOWN AND TALK WITH YOU ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, I THINK, I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO DO THAT FOR THIS COMMITTEE.
YEAH, I, I'LL SAY COUNCILMAN, WE HAVE, UH, PERFORMANCE METRICS IN BOTH OUR FEDERAL AND STATE CONTRACTS.
UM, UH, A LOT OF THEM ARE PROCESS METRICS IN TERMS OF MONTHLY UPDATES, UH, UH, SCHEDULING MEETINGS WITH KEY MEMBERS, UH, DRAFTING LEGISLATION FOR US, ALL THOSE SORT OF, UH, PROCESS, UH, UH, SERVICES.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, AT LEAST AT THE STATE LEVEL, WE DO KEEP A TOTAL SCORE IN TERMS OF BILLS THAT WE TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN.
THAT MEANS, UH, EITHER WE BROUGHT IT TO THE LEGISLATURE SEEKING TO PASS IT, OR WE SIGNED ON IN SUPPORT OF SOMETHING, OR WE SIGNED ON IN OPPOSITION TO SOMETHING.
AND MY, ONE OF MY TOP PERFORMANCE METRICS AS A DEPARTMENT THAT GOES INTO THESE CITY'S ANNUAL BUDGET IS THAT HIT RATE.
UH, AND I BELIEVE, UH, I WANNA SAY FOR THE STATE LEGISLATURE WAS 88 OR 90% SUCCESS LAST SESSION.
WE'LL BE ESTABLISHING SOMETHING SIMILAR NEXT SESSION.
AND, AND THE WAY WE MEASURE THEM IS CHRISTINE, ON THIS CALL HERE, AND THEN ON OUR TEAM, UH, KEEPS A MATRIX OF ALL THE BILLS THAT WE ACTIVELY ENGAGE ON.
UH, AND AS THE SESSION GOES ON, YOU RECALL SEEING THOSE, THEY GET LONGER AND LONGER, BUT, BUT WE ULTIMATELY ARE ABLE TO SCORE ON A FINAL, FINAL SCORE.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, THERE'S A LOT THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN FEDERALLY.
UM, UH, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T REMEMBER SPECIFICALLY IF WE'VE GOT AN OVERALL, UH, SCORE ON THAT FRONT.
DO YOU, SALLY? UM, THANKS, JEFF.
I WILL ADD THAT WITH LAUREN'S ASSISTANT, UM, ON THE CLARK HILL TEAM, SHE DEVELOPED A TRACKING TOOL FOR THE APPROPRIATION SUBMISSION.
SO SHE AND HER TEAM ARE TRACKING THAT CLOSELY.
UM, IN ADDITION FOR ALL THE GRANT SUBMISSIONS, WE, UM, COLLABORATE WITH OUR FINANCE TEAM AND THEY HELP US TRACK, UH, THE GRANT WINS, UM, FOR THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
SO WE, WE CAN SHARE, UH, SOME OF THOSE SPREADSHEETS, UM, WITH THIS COMMITTEE.
AND, UH, WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, SALLY, IS NOT A DUMP OF ALL THE INFORMATION, BUT CONSOLIDATING IT INTO A, A METRIC, A CHART THAT WE CAN CLEARLY IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE WERE SUCCESSFUL AT AND WHAT WE WEREN'T SUCCESSFUL AT.
AND THEN, UH, UH, TO COMPLICATE A LITTLE BIT MORE, SINCE NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A JOINT CITY AND COUNTY, COUNTY, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
AND REMEMBER WE TALKED LAST TIME ABOUT WE NEED TO BE ON BOARD AND ON PAGE WHAT SAWS AND C P S IS DOING ALSO.
UM, SO WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SIT DOWN AND, AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS METRIC WOULD LOOK LIKE, SO THAT AT THE END OF THE SESSIONS, WE CAN LOOK AT OUR SCORECARD, SEE HOW WE DID, AND, UH, LESSONS LEARNED AND THAT KIND OF THING, AND WHAT WE NEED TO THEN PREPARE FOR THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
SO I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN THAT CHAIRMAN, LIKE, LIKE TO WORK TO GET, SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN ADA, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UH, THANKS FOR THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
UM, IT'S, IT'S, UH, I'LL JUST SAY IT.
I AM, UH, I THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA FOR, UM, REQUESTING TO PUT THIS FORWARD TO HAVE THIS PRESENTATION.
AND I KNOW WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY, VERY HARD ON CARES FUNDING AND TRYING TO JUST RUN WITH THAT BECAUSE OF, UM, EVERYTHING THAT'S COMING UP WITH US SO QUICKLY.
BUT I THINK WHAT I'M DISCOURAGED ABOUT IS GOING BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY'S, UM, POINT ABOUT METRICS.
WE NEED TO HAVE METRICS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS CONTINUALLY GOING ON WITH OUR, OUR, UM,
[00:45:01]
OUR SESSION THAT WE'VE, OUR PRIORITIES.AND AS YOU'RE CONTINUING TO PUT TOGETHER THIS PROGRAM OR WHAT OUR HUNDRED 17TH PROGRAM IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, I THINK THE METRICS, UM, IDEA, UM, NEEDS TO BE BUILT IN WITH THAT COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, UH, SHARED.
BECAUSE, UM, I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO SETTLE, AND IT'S EASY FOR ME TO SAY, 'CAUSE I'M NOT THERE IN DC AND I DON'T KNOW HOW, UM, ALL THE PLAGUE THAT IS HAPPENING UP THERE.
BUT TO HAVE THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT APPROVED BY THE HOUSE FOR OVER A YEAR AND A HALF WAITING THERE AND JUST SAY, THE SENATE HASN'T MOVED IT UP.
I WANNA KNOW WHAT STEPS MY LOBBYISTS HAVE BEEN TAKING TO MAKE SURE AND FORCE IT AS AN ISSUE.
AND I, I CAN'T JUST SETTLE TO WITH IT SAYING, WELL, MITCH MCCONNELL WON'T LET IT GO FORWARD.
THAT'S, THAT'S TOO, UM, DISCOURAGING AND FRUSTRATING FOR ME AND NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR ME.
OKAY, JEFF, THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M GOING TO, TO SAY, UM, RIGHT NOW.
UM, I DO THINK THE, THE WORK WITH THIS, UM, THE WORLD HERITAGE, UH, FESTIVAL, UM, AND THE WORLD HERITAGE AND THE, THE, UM, GREAT OUTDOORS ACT, I KNOW THAT WAS A LONG TIME COMING AS WELL.
UM, I ALSO WANNA THANK VERY SPECIFICALLY CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT, BECAUSE HE WORKED VERY HARD ON THIS AS WELL.
UM, AND JUST TO PLUG, IF ANY OF YOU ALL, BECAUSE YOU ALL ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE, THE WORLD HERITAGE FESTIVAL IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW, AND IT'S A VIRTUAL, SO ALL YOU NEED TO GO TO IS THE WORLD HERITAGE OFFICE AT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND PARTICIPATE IN OUR WORLD HERITAGE FESTIVAL.
UM, WANNA GIVE A, A BIG PLUG FOR THAT.
UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF MY, MY CONCERNS, UH, JEFF WITH THIS, WHEN WE'RE COMING TO OUR MILITARY MISSIONS, WHEN WE'RE COMING TO THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BACK, UM, SO MUCH.
AND IT'S JUST, UM, IT'S VERY DISCOURAGING TO SEE THIS, BUT THERE ARE 34 DAYS UNTIL EARLY VOTING STARTS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
THOSE, AND THAT'S, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT YOU'RE MAKING.
UM, AND, AND IF YOU CAN HELP US JUST BY UNPACKING THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU'RE THINKING METRICS, CAN YOU GIVE THE GROUP AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT METRICS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE? BECAUSE, UM, THAT THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THEY CAN START PROVIDING FOR US EARLIER THAN LATER? I THINK MORE THAN JUST A PROCESS OF THE PROCESS OF HOW THINGS GO, I WANT TO KNOW, OKAY, WHAT WERE THE, UM, IF YOU'RE REACHING OUT TO CORMAN'S OFFICE OR WHOMEVER'S OFFICE, AND IT STALLED IN ONE AREA WHERE WHAT WERE THE MANEUVERS? WHAT WERE THE ITEMS THAT YOU, YOU WANTED TO, ON OUR BEHALF AS THE CITY TO MAKE CHANGES, TO GET THINGS GO GOING FORWARD.
YOU GAVE AN EXAMPLE EARLIER ABOUT PUTTING APPRO, UH, LANGUAGE IN THE APPROPRIATIONS.
YOU WORKED ON IT TO GET THAT FORWARD.
THAT'S THE KIND OF METRICS THAT I WANT TO CONTINUE TO SEE, BUT NOT STOP WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, OH, SORRY, WE JUST HAVE TO WAIT.
WELL, THEN WHEN DID WE REACH OUT TO MCCONNELL'S OFFICE? WHEN DID WE REACH OUT TO SOMEBODY ELSE IN A DIFFERENT, UH, COMMITTEE? THAT'S WHAT I, I WANT TO KNOW THAT OKAY.
IF THAT SOUNDS, SOUNDS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW.
YEAH, IT SOUNDS LIKE MORE DETAILS ON ACTIVITIES WH WHICH ARE EASILY PROVIDABLE TO THE COMMITTEE.
WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, WE'RE REGULARLY, UH, SENDING LETTERS, ENGAGING WITH OUR OFFICES AND SO FORTH.
I WILL SAY, UH, OF STATING THE OBVIOUS HERE, A A A SENATOR FROM ANOTHER STATE ISN'T LIKELY TO CARE A WHOLE LOT, UH, ABOUT US TWISTING THEIR ARMS. WE TYPICALLY ARE WORKING THROUGH OUR MEMBERS AND OUR DELEGATION, UH, AND URGING THEM TO PUSH THINGS AND WORKING THROUGH OUR LARGER ASSOCIATIONS LIKE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES AND US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS TO LEND OUR SUPPORT TO THE BROADER EFFORTS.
BUT, UM, BUT WE, WE CAN CERTAINLY KEEP YOU UPDATED MORE ON, AGAIN, ON THE ACTIVITIES, ON THE EFFORTS THAT OUR TEAM IS MAKING, UM, UH, TO ADVANCE THESE THINGS.
MR. CHAIRMAN, THIS, THIS CARLOS, UM, PERHAPS KEVIN OR HENRY COULD TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THEY ARE IN FACT DOING, BECAUSE WE'RE LEAVING THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY DOING ANYTHING.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE TO TALK ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES THAT EFFORTS ARE MADE.
KEVIN, YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THAT, PLEASE? SURE.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO, AND LAUREN, YOU CAN JUMP IN AS WELL, WHO WORKS WITH ME AT CLARK HILL.
[00:50:01]
WE, YOUR FRUSTRATION ABOUT THE INS AND OUTS OF THE PROCESS HERE IN WASHINGTON? CLEARLY, WHEN THE, UH, AGENDA WAS APPROVED, THOSE FOUR KEY PRIORITY AREAS WERE AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, NOT IN LIE OF THE OTHERS.UH, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, IN TERMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UH, WHICH IS PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON GETTING MORE RESOURCES TO SAN ANTONIO FOR THE COLLECTION OF DATA AND FOR INTERVENTIONS.
AND THEN, UH, THE PIECES OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT YOU ALL TASKED AS HIGH PRIORITIES, WHICH IS IN BOTH THE AVIATION AND TRANSIT AND HIGHWAY AREA, AS WELL AS HOUSING, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT.
THEY'VE BEEN STALLED OVER THE DISPUTES THAT HAVE GONE ON FOR THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, BUT TRYING TO GET THIS THING REAUTHORIZED SINCE IT'S, SINCE THE REAUTHORIZATION, UH, LAPSED.
AND SO THE FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAMS CONTINUES THROUGH THE ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS, BUT THE BROADER LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR THE OVERALL BILL, YOU KNOW, IT GETS CAUGHT UP BETWEEN VERY SPECIFIC PARTISAN ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO HOW THEY, UM, HOW THEY DECIDE BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, UH, CERTAIN PROVIDERS OF SERVICES THAT THEY WANNA EXCLUDE ON THE PART OF CERTAIN MEMBERS.
AND CERTAIN REPUBLICANS, THE SENATE, THE HOUSE HAS PASSED THE BILL, THEY'RE GONNA PRESS FOR IT.
BUT MY GUESS IS, UNTIL THERE IS SOME CHANGE IN THE PARTISAN ALIGNMENT IN THE SENATE, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO GET THE 60 VOTES TO GET THE BILL THROUGH THE SENATE.
NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S OUT THERE THAT I WILL SAY IS POSSIBLE IN THE NEXT CONGRESS, IF THE DEMOCRATS WIN, THERE IS SIGNIFICANT SPECULATION.
UH, AND I'M NOT CONFIRMING OR DENYING IT, FRANKLY, THAT THE, AT SOME POINT, THEY WILL TEST WHETHER THE REPUBLICANS WANT TO COMPROMISE ON VARIOUS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
AND IF THEY DO NOT, THEY WILL END ATTEMPT TO END THE LEGISLATIVE FILIBUSTER OF THE SENATE, WHICH WOULD MAKE THE SENATE ALL ACTIONS SUBJECT TO A MAJORITY VOTE RATHER THAN A SUPER MAJORITY.
'CAUSE TODAY, THE PROBLEM WITH THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT IS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO GET THAT BILL UP ON THE FLOOR, THEY NEED 60 VOTES BASED UPON THE RULES AS THEY ARE TODAY.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, NOTWITHSTANDING ALL THE EFFORTS OF THIS, AND I CAN TELL YOU, UM, WHENEVER WE WERE UP IN THE SA TO DC UH, MEETINGS, WE WENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WE MET WITH SENIOR FOLKS THERE, AS YOU MAY RECALL, TO TRY AND GET BETTER ENGAGEMENT AND FIGURE OUT WAYS BY WHICH THE CITY AND THE REGION CAN GET MORE ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE AT THE HEART OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT.
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, UM, YOU ALL NEED MORE RESOURCES TO PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES.
AND THERE'S ALSO ISSUES ABOUT THE COLLECTION OF DATA, WHICH IS REALLY ONE OF THE KEY CENTRAL ISSUES IN SAN ANTONIO TO EVALUATE THE GRAVITY OF THE PROBLEM ACROSS THE BOARD TO HAVE BETTER COORDINATION WITH C D C AND STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ABOUT, ABOUT THE DATA.
SO WHILE WE CAN'T GET THE OVERALL BILL REAUTHORIZED AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEMS IN THE SENATE WITH THE PARTISAN BALANCE, NOTWITHSTANDING OUR BEST EFFORTS, WE ARE TRYING TO CHIP AWAY INCREMENTALLY AT THOSE AREAS THAT WE THINK ARE ACTUALLY FIXABLE.
SO, UH, I'M NOT MAKING EXCUSES, I'M JUST SIMPLY SAYING THE LAY OF THE LAND IS, IS COMPLEX ENOUGH THAT IT'S HARD FOR US TO, UH, GET THE FINAL RESULT IN EVERYTHING YOU'D LIKE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.
UH, COUNSEL
SO, UM, WHERE HAVE OUR, THE TEXAS SENATORS BEEN ON MOVING THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT FORWARD, UH, UH, HAVE THEY VOTED TO MOVE IT FORWARD? COUNCIL WOMAN, THIS IS, THIS IS SALLY.
UM, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, UM, IN, IN RECENT, UM, PAST, THERE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SUPPORT FROM, UM, MOST OF OUR HOUSE MEMBERS, UM, AS WELL AS SENATOR CORNY.
UH, BUT AS KEVIN SAID, BECAUSE OF, OF THE POLITICS INVOLVED ON CAPITOL HILL, THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS EQUAL A VOTE FOR SUPPORT.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT ON THE HOUSE SIDE, UM, MR. HERD, MR. QUAY, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT'S, I UNDERSTAND THE HOUSE SIDE.
I MEAN, I, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING VERY WELL TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY OUR DELEGATION AND DOING WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.
MY CONCERN IS THE SENATE SIDE MM-HMM.
SO IF ANYBODY CAN FIND ME, UM, WHERE OUR, OUR SENATORS HAVE BEEN ON THAT AND WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO ASK THEM TO SURE.
SO CONGRESS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GRO, SO SENATOR JODY ERNST OF OF IOWA
[00:55:01]
INTRODUCED A WAWA REAUTHORIZATION, FORGIVE ME FOR THE ACRONYM, THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT AUTHORIZATION LAST NOVEMBER.IT'S A PART, IT'S A, THE REPUBLICAN VERSION OF IT.
SENATOR FEINSTEIN, WHO WAS THE RANKING DEMOCRAT ON THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, HAS A PARALLEL BILL THAT IS SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT.
AND I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS, MY SUGGESTION IS COMING OUTTA THIS, WE'LL GIVE YOU THE COMPARISON OF THE TWO.
WE'LL SEE SENATOR CORNIN, WHO SITS ON JUDICIARY, HE IS ACTUALLY A CO-SPONSOR OF THE ERNST BILL, BUT THE ERNST BILL'S NEVER GOING TO OVERCOME BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE PROVISIONS THAT ARE IN IT.
THEY'RE NEVER, IT'S NEVER GONNA OVERCOME, UH, A FILIBUSTER IN THE SENATE.
SO, UNFORTUNATELY, UH, THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HAS NOT MARKED UP THE BILL, BECAUSE AGAIN, THEY DON'T WANT, THEY THINK THEY'RE, THE REPUBLICANS THINK THEY'RE VULNERABLE TO BEING ATTACKED FOR NOT PASSING THIS, UM, WITH WOMEN'S GROUPS, OBVIOUSLY, AND WITH COMMUNITIES WHERE THIS IS A REAL PROBLEM.
UM, BUT LET, WE'LL, WE'LL GET YOU A, UH, SUMMARY OF THIS.
THERE'S LOTS OF INFORMATION OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR THAT WE'VE GIVEN, UH, TO JEFF AND HIS TEAM
AND I THINK WE CAN, UH, GIVE YOU A BETTER LAY OF THE LAND OFFLINE WITHOUT TAKING UP MORE TIME THIS MORNING.
WE DO HAVE HENRY ON THE, ON THE CALL, AND I WANTED, UH, HENRY TO WEIGH IN.
AND THEN I'M GONNA ASK, UH, COMMISSIONER, WE HAVEN'T TALKED TO A FRIEND, UH, COMMISSIONER
THEN WE'LL CIRCLE BACK TO ADRIANA GARCIA ROTTA, AND THEN YOU, CLAYTON, IF THAT'S OKAY.
I WANT THE, UH, ON THE DISCUSSION IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MINUTES.
UH, IT IS FRUSTRATING AGAIN, UH, WE WORK ON THE AIRPORTS ISSUE, AND I'LL SUMMARIZE THAT VERY BRIEFLY IN JUST A SECOND.
BUT, UH, SOMETIMES, UH, A GOOD PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT MIGHT BE SUPPORTED BY 80% OF THE PUBLIC, UH, THE SYSTEM AND THE SENATE IS DIFFERENT.
WHETHER, WHETHER THE MAJORITY IS REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT, SOMETIMES ONE SENATOR CAN BLOCK THE ENTIRE BILL.
WE DO WORK ASIDE FROM THE CITY.
WE DO WORK ON APPROVING AMBASSADORS AND OTHERS IN THAT LEVEL, UH, ON THE SENATE SIDE.
AND RECENTLY WE HAD A CASE WHERE ONE SENATOR, UH, STANDS IN THE WAY.
AND IT'S, IT'S EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING.
SO THAT'S JUST A GENERAL COMMENT ON THE DISCUSSION THAT, UH, WAS JUST HELD.
UH, WE, AS YOU KNOW, HANDLE, UH, AIRPORT AVIATION ISSUES FOR THE CITY.
AND WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THUS FAR THIS YEAR TO HAVE HAD A, YOU KNOW, A $39 MILLION GRANT THAT WE WORKED ON WITH THE, WITH THE TEAM AT THE AIRPORT, AND WITH SALLY AND JEFF A VERY EARLY ON THIS YEAR, RIGHT AFTER THE, UH, VIRUS HIT.
UH, 'CAUSE WE ALL KNOW HOW TRAFFIC IS JUST INCREDIBLY, UH, LOW AT OUR AIRPORT, ALTHOUGH IT'S PICKING UP AGAIN, UH, IN, IN A SMALL WAY, UH, NOT JUST AT OURS, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY ALSO.
UH, WE'VE HAD SUCCESSES WITH A COUPLE OF GRANTS SINCE, UH, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS COVID CRISIS.
AIRPORTS ARE VIEWED ON A, WHETHER IT'S RIGHT OR WRONG, THEY'RE VIEWED DIFFERENTLY THAN THE CITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS GENERALLY, UH, WHETHER IT'S SAN ANTONIO, D F W, OR, UH, HOUSTON HOBBY OR BUSH, UH, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, SEE THOSE ENTITIES, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A LOT OF OVERLAP, WHETHER IT'S REAL OR JUST JOINT, UH, OPERATIONS WITH THE, WITH THE, THE CITY.
SO, UH, WE WE'RE FORTUNATE AND, AND THE NEXT BILL FOR STIMULUS, 'CAUSE THE AIR AIRPORTS AND AIRLINES ARE, ARE CONSIDERED, UH, PART OF THE, LIKE THE CITIES, THEY'RE CONS, BUT THEY'RE CONSIDERED DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT SOURCE OF LIFEBLOOD FOR THE COUNTRY DO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT IN THE PENDING HOUSE BILL.
THE SENATE HAS NOT PUT MONEY IN YET FOR IT.
HOWEVER, THE GENERAL FEELING IS THAT, THAT THE AIRPORTS WILL BE ALIGNED WITH THE AIRLINES IN GETTING SIGNIFICANT RELIEF IN WHATEVER NEXT STIMULUS BILL IS PASSED.
SO WE ARE, UH, OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE AIRPORTS, UH, CONTINUING TO GET HELP.
AND AGAIN, THEY'RE JOINED AT THE HIP WITH THE AIRLINES AND, UH, THEY WILL LIKELY GET SIGNIFICANT HELP BEFORE THE, THE END OF THE YEAR AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, IN SPITE OF WHAT, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE, UH, SEE ON, UH, UH, UH, NEWSCAST NATIONALLY, EVERY DAY YOUR DELEGATION IS WORKING, UH, UH, EVERY DAY WE HAVE A GOOD DELEGATION, UH, A HOUSE DELEGATION THAT REPRESENTS THE SAN ANTONIO AREA.
BUT AS I'VE SAID MANY TIMES, TO KEEP IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, LLOYD DOGGETT WORKS VERY HARD FOR SAN ANTONIO, BUT HE IS ALSO GOTTA BALANCE WHAT AUSTIN NEEDS, WHICH MIGHT BE DIFFERENT.
YOU KNOW, HENRY QUAR WAS JUST SPEAKING WITH HIM YESTERDAY AND HAD DINNER WITH HIS CHIEF OF STAFF LAST NIGHT.
THEY WANNA HELP SAN ANTONIO AS MUCH AS THEY CAN, BUT THEY HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND AND BALANCE WHAT LAREDO WANTS.
YOU KNOW, WILL HERD HAS 28 OTHER COUNTIES.
SO I, I MENTIONED THIS BECAUSE, UH, UH, AS MOVING FORWARD, YOU GOTTA KEEP THAT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND WITH HOUSE MEMBERS THAT, UM, THAT WANNA HELP SAN ANTONIO.
BUT THEY ALSO, THEY'RE, THEY, THEY LIKE HAVE, IT'S LIKE A FAMILY.
THEY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE, THE, THE BROTHER,
[01:00:01]
THE SISTER, THE DAUGHTER, THE SON ARE ALSO LISTENED TO AND, AND TAKEN CARE OF.AND SOMETIMES, UH, THE AGENDA FOR THEM IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT WHEN THEY HAVE LARGE, UM, UH, CONSTITUENCIES LIKE THAT, THAT SOMETIMES SPAN LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS AND DIFFERENT CULTURES, UH, EVEN IN OUR STATE.
SO, SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND.
AND LASTLY, I WAS JUST BRIEFED THIS MORNING, JUST AS GENERAL OBSERVATION, AS YOU ALL KNOW, B C F S DOES MEGA WORK ON COVID AND ON HURRICANE RELIEF AND SO FORTH.
YOU KNOW, THEY WENT THROUGH ONE PERIOD OF TIME, JUST A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, OVER A BILLION DOLLARS IN EMERGENCY CONTRACTS DEALING WITH, WITH, UH, COVID, UH, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS AND HURRICANES AND ALL THAT.
AND THE NEWS THIS MORNING FROM THEM, AND THEY'RE PLUGGED INTO THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS AROUND THE STATE AND AROUND THE COUNTRY, IS THAT THE, THE COVID SITUATION IS GETTING BETTER.
SO AS, AS OF TODAY, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT BECAUSE THE, UH, PRESIDENT OF THAT GROUP JUST, UH, INFORMED US THIS MORNING NO GOOD NEWS, WHICH IS, UM, AT LEAST FOR TODAY, UH, NO ONE KNOWS YET HOW THE IMPACT OF GOING BACK TO SCHOOL OR THE LABOR DAY GATHERINGS ARE GONNA IMPACT THAT.
BUT, UH, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE, I CERTAINLY ENJOYED HEARING THAT NEWS.
I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ENJOYED AS WELL.
RON, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO ADD ON OUR END? I, I DO NOT THINK SO, HENRY.
BUT I WILL SAY, I MEAN, BEYOND, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY JUST IN THE AVIATION SPACE, YOU HAVE A LOT OF FUNDING SUCCESSES THAT HENRY LAID OUT IN TERMS OF METRICS, YOU KNOW, TO CAPTURE IN THAT REGARD.
BUT THERE'S ALSO NON-FUNDING RELATED SUCCESSES THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WORKED ON WITH THE AVIATION TEAM.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S PROVISIONS, YOU KNOW, DETRIMENTAL PROVISIONS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE N D A THIS YEAR, UM, RELATED TO, TO, UH, FIREFIGHTING MATERIALS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAVE ON THE NONSTOP FLIGHT FROM D C A TO SS A T, UM, AS WE CONTINUOUSLY TRY TO POSITION THAT IN A FAVORABLE MANNER.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, I I WOULD SUGGEST AS YOU DEVELOP JEFF, SALLY, AND THE TEAM, YOU KNOW, METRICS SPLIT 'EM UP BETWEEN THE, THE FUNDING SUCCESSES, WHICH OBVIOUSLY ARE A LOT EASIER TO, TO TRACK, UM, WITH THE NON-FUNDING ONES THAT, THAT ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT, BETTER, MAYBE HARDER TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE DIRECT RETURN ON INVESTMENT, I FORGET WHAT IT STANDS FOR, LIKE FROM STARTING IN YOUR HOME, OUR TEAM AT THE AIRPORT PERMISSION IN THE MILITARY, AND WE WORKED WITH OUR, BECAUSE IT WOULD'VE BEEN EXTREMELY AND TIED THE HANDS OF, UH, A LOT OF, UH, GOOD PEOPLE THAT WORK AT THE AIRPORT.
BUT THAT'S NOT A DOLLAR ISSUE, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST KEEPING SOMETHING OUT OF YOUR HOUSE THAT WOULD'VE SET IT ON FIRE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
WE'VE GOT, UH, COMMISSIONER WOLF ON THE PHONE.
UM, I'M KIND OF A, UH, BELIEVER IN THE KISS METHOD.
UH, WE EACH HAVE OUR PARTICULAR BODIES, WHETHER IT'S COUNCIL OR COMMISSIONER'S COURT, WE EACH VOTE AS BODIES IN REGARDS TO WHAT WE WANT FROM NOT ONLY THE FEDERAL LEVEL, BUT THE STATE LEVEL.
UH, AND EITHER IT GETS DELIVERED OR DOESN'T.
UH, IF WE WANT A MATRIX OF THAT, THEN THAT'S WHAT IT SHOULD BE.
IF, YOU KNOW, WE WANT BILL X TO PASS AND IT DOESN'T, THEN THAT GOES ON THE MATRIX, IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PARTICULAR SITUATION IS AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN TIME, BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE LIKE THAT.
ULTIMATELY, WE HAVE A LIST AND EITHER THE LIST GETS FULFILLED OR IT DOESN'T GET FULFILLED.
UH, THAT'S, LIKE I SAID, SORT OF THE KISS METHOD IN, IN MY BRAIN.
UH, SO IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOME SORT OF MEASURING TOOL, THEN I WOULD MAKE THAT SUGGESTION AS A WAY TO DO IT.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA.
UM, COMMISSIONER WOLF, I, I, UH, AM A JOURNALIST BY TRADE AND UNDERGRAD, AND, AND THE KISS METHOD WAS KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE, SO, UH, UH, BUT, BUT YEAH, YOURS, YOURS WORKS TOO.
UM, AND, AND, UH, CHAIR, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT ON PAGE 2 87 OF OUR BUDGET BOOK, WE DO HAVE A SUCCESS RATE SPECIFICALLY FOR, UM, OUR TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION PRIORITIES.
AND BY THE WAY, IT'S GOING FROM, UM, 83% IN 2019 TO 75%.
SO, JEFF, I'LL HAVE A QUESTION ON THAT.
UM, BUT I'M JUST WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE SIMPLE ENOUGH TO ADD ANOTHER ONE AND MAYBE DO A PROGRESS, UM, MEASURE FOR THE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM AS WELL IN, IN THAT SECTION.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE, IT WAS THERE LAST YEAR MAYBE, AND, AND IT WASN'T THERE THIS YEAR FOR SOME REASON, OR, OR MAYBE I'M JUST CONFUSING, UM, MY, MY BOOKS NOW ALTOGETHER.
[01:05:01]
MIGHT BE ONE WAY OF KEEPING TRACK AS WELL.AND, UM, THAT WAS JUST PAGE 2 87.
UH, IF ANY OF YOU EVER WONDER IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE THE MOST PREPARED PERSON IN THE MEETING, COUNCILWOMAN READS, UM, COUNCILMAN PERRY, THANKS AGAIN.
AND, UH, WE WERE TALKING AIRPORT.
AND SIR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR BACKGROUND.
BUT ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE ITEMS, I'M ASSUMING WE ARE, BUT, UH, UH, WANTED TO JUST GET YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT THE POTENTIAL SUCCESS THIS SESSION, TO GET THAT DIRECT FLIGHT TO DC UH, FROM SAN ANTONIO, CARLOS, OR JEFF.
YOU WANNA WEIGH IN ON ANSWER IT VERY SHORTLY.
AND THEN IF YOU WANT MORE DETAILS FROM HENRY OR RON, UH, OR CARLOS.
UH, SHORT ANSWER IS THE F A A REAUTHORIZATION IS NOT UP.
IT WAS DONE, UH, LAST YEAR, I BELIEVE.
AND, UH, AND IT WAS, UH, WHAT, FOUR OR FIVE YEAR REAUTHORIZATION, UH, TEAM.
SO, UH, IN THEORY, UM, WE WON'T HAVE ANOTHER SHOT AGAIN UNTIL THEN.
WE DO HAVE SOME COMMITTED MEMBERS OF OUR DELEGATION WANTING TO SEEK OPPORTUNITIES TO SLIP IT IN ELSEWHERE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, SALLY WENT THROUGH THE APPROPRIATIONS.
A LOT OF THEM ARE, ARE STALLED RIGHT NOW BETWEEN THE TWO CHAMBERS.
SO REALISTICALLY, THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY WON'T COME UNTIL THE F A A REAUTHORIZATION COMES BEFORE CONGRESS.
AGAIN, COUNCILMAN, UH, A THIS, WE, WE WENT THROUGH A, A, A ALMOST A WAR ON THIS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
UM, AND, UH, OUR, OUR DELEGATION WAS UNITED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS.
UH, OUR SENATORS WERE ALL BOTH IN FAVOR OF IT, BUT, UH, THE ADVERSARY, THE BIGGEST ADVERSARY ON THIS, CONTINUES TO BE UNITED AIRLINES.
UH, AND THEY MOBILIZED THEIR UNIONS.
THEY MOBILIZED THEIR NATIONAL EMPLOYEE BASE TO, TO, TO REACH OUT TO OTHER MEMBERS AND SENATORS IN PLACES LIKE CHICAGO.
AND THEY EVEN REACHED INTO THE HOUSTON AREA WHERE THEY HAVE A HUGE HUB, AND, AND IN THE NEWARK, THE NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK AREA, AND ASKED ALL OF THEIR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR UNIONS TO, TO REACH OUT TO THEIR DELEGATION AND MAKE IT A KEY VOTE AGAINST IT.
BECAUSE UNITED WANTS TO CONTROL EVERYTHING, EVERY PARKING SPACE, YOU NAME IT, AT THE THREE AIRPORTS IN WASHINGTON.
SO IT BECAME A NATIONAL POLITICAL WAR.
UH, AND AS YOU KNOW, THE AIRLINES, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE GOT ALL OF OUR HOME TEAM MOBILIZED, BUT YOU KNOW, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY JOINED, IT JOINED FORCES WITH, UH, AMERICA TO SOME DEGREE.
JETBLUE WAS ON OUR SIDE, AND DELTA WAS ON OUR SIDE.
BUT, UH, U UNITED, AS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW, SPENDS ABOUT $5 MILLION A YEAR WITH, WITH LOBBYING FORCES AND, AND UNIONS THAT THEY CALLED, THEY CALLED IN TO, TO MAKE IT A KEY VOTE.
SO IT WAS A HIGH STAKES BATTLE BACK THEN.
UH, MAYOR NURENBERG WAS INVOLVED DIRECTLY.
HENRY CUELLAR TRIED TO, BUT HE WOULD'VE LEFT BLOOD ON THE GROUND FOR IT.
BUT THE VOTES JUST WERE NOT THERE NATIONALLY.
SO WE'LL REGROUP ON THAT NEXT YEAR IF THE COUNCIL WANTS US TO.
WELL, I, I'M JUST THINKING THAT YOU DYNAMICS HAVE CHANGED TREMENDOUSLY SINCE THIS, UM, PANDEMIC AND WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS ANY OPPORTUNITY TO SNEAK SOMETHING IN, UM, THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE THIS NEXT, NEXT SECTION, UH, TO SNEAK IT IN AND TO BUILD SOMEWHERE.
YOU HEAR ABOUT THOSE THINGS ALL THE TIME.
THIS GETS SNEAKED IN, OR THAT GETS SNEAKED INTO A BILL.
I USED TO, I USED TO SNEAK THINGS IN BUD.
IT, IT HAS TO, THEN YOU STILL HAVE TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ENEMIES ON THE HORIZON DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ARTILLERY TO COME IN AND, AND KILL IT.
AND THERE ARE TECHNICALITIES THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I DIDN'T, I I, I HAD NEVER EVEN RUN FOR STUDENT COUNCIL BEFORE I GOT INTO CONGRESS.
I LEARNED ALL THOSE PROCESSES ABOUT AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES AND, AND POINTS OF ORDER.
UH, SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE ALL OF THAT LINED UP.
SOMETIMES IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR AUTHORIZATION, A ACCORDING TO THE HOUSE RULES, ONE PERSON CAN STAND UP ON THE HOUSE FLOOR AND USE A POINT OF ORDER TO TAKE SOMETHING OUT BECAUSE OF A PARLIAMENTARY ISSUE.
SO, UH, BUT WE UNDERSTAND ALL THAT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO ENGAGE ON THAT NEXT YEAR AND, UH, TO, TO TAKE THE TEMPERATURE ON IT TO SEE IF IT, UH, IS POSSIBLE.
YEAH, CARLOS, CARLOS WAS ALSO IN THE WEEDS IN THAT BATTLE WITH US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
AND IF, IF WE CAN SNEAK IT IN, I MEAN, EVEN PUT IT IN THE, UH, ATIONS BILL, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE TO, UM, GET SOME MOVEMENT ON IT.
BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, THE DYNAMICS HAVE CHANGED TREMENDOUSLY IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY, AND MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, THEY WOULD BE OPEN TO AT THIS POINT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, I, I, I THINK THAT NEEDS TO STILL REMAIN HIGH ON OUR PRIORITY LIST
[01:10:01]
AND TRY TO, LET'S FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET IT IN INSTEAD OF WAITING THE FOUR OR FIVE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, YOU MADE SOME, YOU GAVE US SOME BODY LANGUAGE THERE THAT YOU'VE GOT A QUESTION.
UH, I KNOW WE'RE ABOUT TO MOVE ON, AND WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE TALKING FEDERAL NOW, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THE DISCUSSION ON METRICS HAS KIND OF BLED OVER TO, UM, THE STATE, UM, ADVOCACY GROUPS AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, AND I'M ALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, UM, THAT WE, WE ADD SOME CONTEXT TO THIS DISCUSSION WHENEVER, YOU KNOW, THE CITY MAY DO THEIR OWN, THE COUNTY MAY DO THEIR OWN, BUT YOU KNOW, THE REALITY IS WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH, UM, HOW WE BENCHMARK, UM, SUCCESS.
RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, I THINK THE LAST SESSION I WAS IN AUSTIN, THERE WERE MAYBE FIVE OR 6,000 BILLS FILED.
LESS THAN 10% OF THOSE MAKE IT TO, UH, THE GOVERNOR'S DESK.
UM, SO WHAT IS THE THRESHOLD, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE THRESHOLD FOR SUCCESS? IT'S NOT JUST PASSING BILLS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN SOME WAYS, UH, THE VALUE OF KILLING BAD BILLS IS EVEN MORE, UH, TO A CITY OR A COUNTY THAN, UH, PASSING SOMETHING.
SO, I, I JUST WANTED TO PUT A WORD OF CAUTION IN, AS WE, AS WE TALK ABOUT DEVELOPING, UH, METRICS FOR WHETHER IT'S OUR STATE OR FEDERAL TEAM, WE, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT CONTEXTUALLY WE UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT THAT BENCHMARK IS.
AND, AND AGAIN, I'M, I'M ALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE THINK THAT THROUGH BEFORE WE PUT SOME ARTIFICIAL, UM, BENCHMARKS ON THERE.
UH, COUNCILMAN, I KNOW WE GOTTA MOVE ON, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT.
THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS FROM WASHINGTON, DC.
ALL OF MY QUESTIONS WERE, WERE ASKED BY MY VERY SMART, UM, COLLEAGUES.
UH, I WILL COMMENT THAT I THINK THAT THE MOST DIFFICULT THING, UH, FOR US AT, AT, UM, IN DOING WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH TODAY IS THE LACK OF FACE-TO-FACE.
I, I WILL TELL YOU THAT I GET A LOT OUT OF SPENDING TIME WITH OUR, UH, OUR DC UH, CONSULTANTS SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I CAN ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS INDIVIDUALLY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL VERY, VERY PATIENTLY BRING ME UP TO SPEED.
UM, AND ALSO GIMME THE INSIDE BASEBALL.
UM, THESE ZOOM CALLS ARE NOT CONDUCIVE TO THAT.
AND THE, THE PURPOSE OF THAT ISN'T TO, UM, TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG.
BUT I, I THINK THAT, UM, WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN CONSIDERING THE, THE COVID RESTRICTIONS.
BUT, UM, THAT'S, I GUESS THAT'S MY LONG-WINDED WAY OF SAYING I MISS Y'ALL.
UM, HAVE A, HAVE A TERRIFIC, UH, HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEK.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR SECOND ITEM.
THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE IN DC WHO JOINED US TODAY.
[3. 20-5365 CARES Act Reporting. [Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs, City of San Antonio; Melissa Shannon, Director of Governmental Affairs, Bexar County]]
UH, ITEM IS OUR, UH, CARESS REPORTING, UH, CARESS ACT REPORTING.THE GENESIS OF THIS IS THAT COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ AND I, UM, SPOKE TO STAFF AND WE, WE ASKED, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST A MATTER OF RECEIVING CHECKS FROM WASHINGTON DC BUT WE IMAGINE THERE MUST ALSO BE STRINGS ATTACHED AS FAR AS REPORTING BACK UP TO THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES WHO SENT MONEY DOWN.
UM, THERE MUST BE, UH, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN, UH, MILESTONES THAT HAVE TO BE HIT.
UM, AND SO, UH, I ASKED, UH, JEFF, UH, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, CHECK WITH THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AT THE CITY AND, UM, REALLY KIND OF REPORT BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT, UH, WE ARE MEETING THOSE, THOSE, UH, THOSE MILESTONES.
AND, UH, ANNA BRADSHAW IS GONNA DELIVER THIS PRESENTATION.
SHE'S DOING A, UH, SOME, UH, PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN, UH, THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE THE FULL COUNCIL.
BUT SHE IS THE CITY'S POINT OF CONTACT ON ALL THE TRACKING AND REPORTING OF OUR EXPENDITURES AND KNOWS IT INSIDE OUT.
SO I WILL, UH, TURN IT OVER TO HER.
AND AGAIN, GOOD MORNING TO THE, THE CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A, A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THE CITY'S EFFORTS RELATED TO COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING FOR THE CARESS ACT.
UM, JEFF GAVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON MY ROLE, BUT, UM, RECOGNIZING THE, THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS FUNDING STRUCTURE AND THE FACT THAT THESE EFFORTS STANDALONE FROM OUR NORMAL CITY OPERATIONS, UH, THE CITY MANAGER ASKS THAT I LEAD OUR EFFORTS RELATED TO TRACKING AND REPORTING IN ALL THINGS RELATED TO OUR COVID 19 RELATED FUNDING.
SO THAT INCLUDES TRACKING OUR, OUR GRANTS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING, THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THOSE, AS WELL AS OUR PROGRAM BUDGETS AND COMPLIANCE, UM, WITH ALL THE FEDERAL GUIDELINES, APPLIC, AND THE APPLICABLE REPORTING.
SO, UH, IF EDUARDO CAN PULL UP THE PRESENTATION, PLEASE.
SO, JUST AS A, A MATTER OF A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON
[01:15:01]
HOW WE GOT TO WE ARE TODAY, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CARES ACT WAS PASSED ON MARCH 22ND.UM, THE CITY WAS NOTIFIED OF OUR AWARD ON, UH, APRIL 20TH.
UH, YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE THAT THE GUIDANCE INITIALLY WAS ISSUED BY THE TREASURY ON APRIL 22ND.
SO WE HAD THE, THE MONEY ON HAND BEFORE WE KNEW THE RULES IN DETAIL.
UH, THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED OUR RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN ON JUNE 4TH.
UM, ON JULY 17TH, WE SUBMITTED OUR FIRST SPENDING REPORT TO THE TREASURY COVERING SPENDING FROM THE PERIOD OF MARCH THROUGH JUNE.
UH, WE, WE EXPECT THE NEXT REPORT TO COVER THE PERIOD OF JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER, BUT WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED A TIMELINE THUS FAR ON WHEN THAT WILL NEED TO BE SUBMITTED.
UM, AND WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS THE DECEMBER 30TH GUY, UH, TIMELINE WHEN THE RESPONDING WILL NEED TO BE EXPENDED RELATED TO THE CARESS ACT OF THE, OR THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND SPECIFICALLY.
UM, JUST A LITTLE ON OUR RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN THAT THE CITY PASSED, IT TOTALS $190.9 MILLION ACROSS FOUR MAJOR PILLARS.
UM, THIS, ONE OF THE MAIN TENANTS OF THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN IS TO REALLY LEVERAGE ALL OF THE FUNDING SOURCES AVAILABLE TO US.
SO THAT INCLUDES OUR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, UH, DOLLARS, AS WELL AS GENERAL FUND DOLLARS AND OTHER FEDERAL GRANTS.
SO LOOKING TO, LIKE I SAID, LEVERAGE THE FUNDING AND HAVE MAXIMUM IMPACT, UM, ACROSS AREAS THAT ARE MOST NEEDED IN, IN THE COMMUNITY.
THIS SLIDE PROVIDES DETAILS ON OUR ENTIRE SPENDING PLAN BY, BY FUNDING SOURCE.
SO IN TOTAL, THE CITY HAS ALLOCATED $492 MILLION IN RESOURCES TOWARDS THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND COMMUNITY RECOVERY.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE ALLOTTED ALL $270 MILLION IN CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDING, AND OUR SPENDING SPENDING PLAN INCLUDES EXPENSING IT BY THE DECEMBER 30TH TIMELINE.
SO, WHILE THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME INITIAL CONCERN IN THAT, UH, REPORT THROUGH JUNE 30TH, UH, WANTED TO ASSURE THE COMMITTEE THAT THERE'S A PLAN TO SPEND THE FUNDING, AND THAT WE ARE MONITORING IT AS WE SPEND IT, AND WE'LL HAVE IT EXPENSED BY DECEMBER 30TH.
TIMELINE, UH, ACROSS ALL FUNDING SOURCES, WE HAVE SPENT $130 MILLION THROUGH THE MONTH OF JULY.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE PROVIDES A BREAKOUT OF THE MAJOR EXPENSE CATEGORIES.
SO, OF THE $130 MILLION WE'VE SPENT, THE BULK OF THAT HAS GONE TOWARDS THE CITY'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE THUS FAR.
UM, THE LARGEST PORTION OF THAT BEING COVERING PAYROLL FOR THOSE SUBSTANTIALLY DEDICATED TO THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, UM, FIRE, UM, SOME STAFF FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS STAFF FROM POLICE AND ACROSS THE CITY ORGANIZATION.
UH, OTHER AREAS INCLUDE OUR, OUR HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, UM, RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY.
WHILE IT MAY APPEAR A LITTLE SMALL, THAT WAS BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF OUR PROGRAMS KICKED OFF ON JULY 1ST, SO WE EXPECT TO SEE THAT PIECE OF THE PIE GROWING VERY RAPIDLY IN, IN THE COMING MONTHS, AND THE REMAINDER BEING THE, UM, HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
SO, THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND HAS, HAS PRESENTED A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY TO FUND BOTH OUR CITY, UM, CITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND THE COMMUNITY RECOVERY.
HOWEVER, IT DOESN'T FUNCTION NECESSARILY LIKE A TYPICAL FEDERAL GRANT.
SO TYPICALLY IN A FEDERAL GRANT, UM, EXPENSES ARE SUBMITTED AND, AND THE CITY WOULD RECEIVE A REIMBURSEMENT.
UH, GUIDELINES ARE TYPICALLY VERY WELL ESTABLISHED PRIOR TO AWARD, AND ALONG WITH THE PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING, UM, C R F, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE FUNDS WERE PROVIDED UPFRONT TO THE CITY.
SO WE ARE NOT SUBMITTING FOR REIMBURSEMENT.
UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE GUIDELINES WERE ACTUALLY ISSUED, UM, AFTER WE RECEIVED THE FUNDING, AND THEY CONTINUED TO EVOLVE.
UM, SO WE, WE STAY ABREAST OF ALL OF THOSE CHANGES.
UM, IN FACT, THE LATEST GUIDANCE WAS ISSUED ON THE SECOND OF THIS MONTH WITH BOTH GUIDANCE FROM THE TREASURY AND THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.
UM, AND WE ARE LEARNING OF REPORTING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AS WE GO ALONG THE WAY.
UM, INITIALLY WE SUBMITTED THAT FIRST REPORTING, UM, VIA SPREADSHEET, AND NOW, UM, THE TREASURY HAS SET UP A PORTAL AND WE ARE SUBMITTING NOT ONLY, UM, THE NEXT SET OF, UH, OF REPORTS THERE, BUT ALSO THEY'VE ASKED THAT THE CITY GO BACK AND UPLOAD THE FIRST MARCH THROUGH JUNE REPORTS THROUGH THEIR, THEIR PORTAL.
THE ONE THING THAT IS CONSISTENT ACROSS, UM, C R F AND TYPICAL GRANTS IS THAT WE WILL BE AUDITED.
UM, IN FACT, WE KNOW THAT WE'LL BE AUDITED AT LEAST TWICE, ONCE
[01:20:01]
BY OUR, UM, EXTERNAL AUDITORS BECAUSE IT MEETS THE, UM, EXPENSE THRESHOLD, BUT ALSO WE EXPECT TO BE AUDITED BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL UPON CONCLUSION OF THE GRANT PERIOD FOR THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND.UM, JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON THE THREE OVERARCHING REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND.
SO THAT, UH, EXPENSES HAVE TO BE INCURRED DUE SPECIFICALLY TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY THEY COULD NOT BE PREVIOUSLY BUDGETED FOR.
SO WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SUPPLANT OTHER, OTHER ANTICIPATED EXPENSES, UM, AND THEY MUST BE INCURRED BETWEEN MARCH 1ST AND DECEMBER 30TH OF THIS YEAR.
THE OTHER THING SPECIFICALLY STATED IN THE GUIDANCE IS THAT C R F COULD NOT BE USED FOR REVENUE REPLACEMENT.
UM, AND SUBSEQUENTLY, AFTER THESE INITIAL GUIDELINES WERE RELEASED, UH, THE TREASURY HAS CONTINUED TO UPDATE THEIR FAQS, PROVIDING ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE, UM, AND IT ALLOWS RECIPIENTS TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE TREASURY AND, UM, THEY WILL POST THEIR, THEIR, UH, RESPONSES ONLINE, UM, ON THEIR, ON THEIR WEBSITE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE, WE CONTINUE TO STAY ON TOP OF.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST FOUR REVISIONS OF THE GUIDELINES AS FAR AS FAQS.
SO, UM, IT IS A MOVING TARGET, BUT, BUT WE HAVE A STRONG TEAM KEEPING TRACK OF THOSE CHANGES.
SO THIS, UH, QUICK, UH, OVERVIEW OF, OF HOW WE ARE ENSURING COMPLIANCE, AGAIN, WANT TO, UM, ASSURE THE COMMITTEE THAT WE ARE COMPLIANT WITH, WITH ALL GUIDELINES THUS FAR, WE STAY ON TOP OF IT.
UM, WE HAVE SUBMITTED REPORTS AS REQUIRED.
AND AT TODAY'S BOOTH SESSION, AS, AS JEFF MENTIONED, WE ARE, UH, GOING TO BE PRESENTING SOME RECOMMENDED ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CITY'S PLAN BASED ON OUR ONGOING MONITORING.
SO ONE OF THE CHALLENGES HERE IS THE DECEMBER 30TH TIMELINE.
SO, UM, IT'S A VERY FLUID SITUATION AND, AND WE, WE WILL BE TRACKING AND RECOMMENDING CHANGES, UM, SO THAT OUR ACTUAL EXPERIENCE, IT MATCHES OUR, OUR BUDGET ALONG THE WAY.
IN THE AREAS OF OF REPORTING, UM, THIS IS A, A TOOL THAT WE ARE USING TO NOT ONLY KEEP THE COUNCIL INFORMED, BUT ALSO THE COMMUNITY AND, AND OUR DELEGATION.
OUR NEXT REPORT WILL BE PRESENTED IN OCTOBER, AND OUR PRIOR REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE.
UM, THEY ARE, ARE DETAILED NOT ONLY BREAKING OUT OUR EXPENSES WITHIN THE CORONAVIRUS RELEASE FUND, BUT THE OTHER FEDERAL GRANT, UM, AND, AND THE, THE GENERAL FUND DOLLARS THAT ARE SUPPORTING THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.
SO, UM, DEFINITELY IN SUMMARY, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THIS IS A, A, A VERY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY, UM, AND, AND WE HAVE SOUGHT TO LEVERAGE THE FUNDS TO, TO FUND THE RESPONSE AND THE RECOVERY.
UM, I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT OUR, OUR ONGOING MONITORING AND REPORTING IS AND OUR, OUR COMMITMENT TO REPORTING TO COUNCIL ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
UM, WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING TO, TO COORDINATE THROUGH, THROUGH JEFF'S GROUP WITH, WITH OUR DELEGATION THROUGH LETTERS AND, AND REPORTS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THEM WITH THE INFO THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF SAN ANTONIO, UM, WHETHER IT BE IN, IN AUSTIN OR IN WASHINGTON DC.
UM, THIS HAS DEFINITELY BEEN A, A TEAM EFFORT.
AND, AND I'D LIKE TO THANK THE TEAM FROM FINANCE, ESPECIALLY MELANIE KEATON AND CLARA SANTOS FOR THEIR WORK.
UM, IT, IT TAKES A STRONG TEAM IN THE BACKGROUND TO, TO KEEP THE DOLLARS MOVING IN THE RIGHT PLACES AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE COMPLIANT.
SO FOR THOSE PROVIDING THE SERVICES TO A COMMUNITY, THEY CAN FOCUS ON THAT IMPORTANT EFFORT AND KNOW THAT, UM, THE TEAM BEHIND THEM IS, IS MAKING ALL THE MOVES NEEDED TO, TO SUPPORT THEM.
UM, THIS CONCLUDES CONCLUDES MY BRIEF PRESENTATION, AND I'M AVAILABLE TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THIS IS, UH, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR.
UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, IF YOU HAVE, UH, ANY QUESTIONS.
I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, UH, COUNCILMAN, I, I KNOW THE COUNTY'S WORKING ON OUR END AS WELL.
UM, AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF MELISSA HAS THAT INFORMATION, BUT, UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WITH RESPECT TO, UH, THE PRESENTATION.
IN REVERSE ORDER FROM LAST TIME.
COMMISSIONER WOLF, I HAVE NOTHING AT THIS TIME.
COUNCIL, VIAGRA, LET ME UNMUTE EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU, ANNA, FOR THE PRESENTATION, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, UM, THAT YOU'RE HAVING TO BE LOANED TO DIFFERENT PLACES.
SO THANK YOU FOR STEPPING IN AND DOING ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE
[01:25:01]
DOING.UM, I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GET A BRIEFING AT B SESSION, BUT CAN YOU GIVE US A SNEAK PEEK, UM, AND FILL THE BEANS HERE ABOUT WHAT THESE MAKING MOVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ARE? UM, AND DON'T, AND DON'T LOOK AT CARLOS
LET THE, LET THE, UH, LET SET SENSE.
UM, JUST BRIEFLY AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN AT IT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW AND IDENTIFY SOME AREAS WHERE, UM, THERE, UH, IS SOME FUNDING THAT CAN BE REALLOCATED TO ADDRESS ONGOING NEEDS WE'VE IDENTIFIED.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY, UM, AGAIN, TRYING TO LEVERAGE THAT FUNDING AND RECOGNIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, A PLAN WAS, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, MOVED INTO THE ACTION PHASE AND WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO SUPPORT THOSE ONGOING EFFORTS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT PIE CHART THAT YOU HAD ABOUT, UM, THE DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN EXTENDED FROM MARCH TO JULY.
IF WE CAN GET, AND I'M SURE YOU'RE GONNA GIVE US AN UPDATE AS SOON AS WE GO FROM JULY UNTIL, UH, THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
AND I SEE THAT THERE ARE 92 DAYS BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 30TH TO DECEMBER 31ST FOR US TO USE ALL OF THOSE DOLLARS AS WELL.
UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY? UH, YEAH, THANKS FOR THE, UH, UPDATE ON THIS.
IT'S, UH, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHERE WE END UP AT THE END OF DECEMBER, I GUESS.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE ACTUALLY APPLIED, OR, OR DO WE HAVE THAT NUMBER, UH, FOR THE WORKFORCE?
YOU SAID HOW MUCH HAVE WE, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU.
HOW, HOW MANY, HOW MANY PEOPLE WORKFORCE ACTUALLY APPLIED FOR THE WORKFORCE TRAINING PORTION OF YEAH, THAT, THAT, THAT WAS KICKED OFF JUST LAST WEEK.
AND SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS NOW.
WE DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS YET.
THE PLAN IS TO SERVE UP TO 10,000 RESIDENTS.
BUT THAT WE DON'T HAVE AN ACTUAL YET.
I KNOW THAT'S THE PLAN, BUT IT'S BEEN OUT.
HAVE WE GOTTEN ANY RESPONSES AT ALL UP TO DATE? THEY, THEY'VE BEGUN IN EARNEST TO DO THE MARKETING AND THE INTAKE, SO THAT'S BEGUN.
UH, WE'LL HAVE, UH, OUR, UM, OUR MONTHLY, PROBABLY BI WEEK BIMONTHLY REPORTS TO E W D C ON THE STATUS, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH THE ENTIRE COUNCIL, GET SOME PROGRESS GOING.
COUNCILWOMAN, UH, GARCIA, CIA.
AND IT ACTUALLY, YOU'RE GREAT WORK.
I WAS JUST WONDERING, UM, HOW WE WERE GOING TO BE, BE, I GUESS, SHARED, UH, INFORMATION, BUT BEFORE WE START MOVING ANYTHING AROUND, IS THAT AT THE DISCRETION OF STAFF? IS IT, UM, I, I KNOW FOR ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, WE ALL, WE MENTIONED, OR YOU ALL MENTIONED TO US THAT THERE WAS SOME SHIFT IN SOME OF THE MONEY.
UM, AND I, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF LIKE, SO WALK ME THROUGH THIS.
IF YOU, YOU THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME MONEY SHIFTED AROUND, WHO DO YOU GO TO? UH, WHAT'S THE PROCESS? COUNSEL, LET ME TAKE A STAB AT THAT.
UM, THE, TO THE EXTENT THERE'S ANY ADJUSTMENTS, UH, AMONG THE PILLARS, COUNCIL HAS COUNCIL'S DECISION TO DO THAT.
UH, WHAT I INDICATED, UH, DURING E W T WAS WITHIN THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PILLAR, WE DETERMINED THAT, UM, THERE WAS AN ABILITY TO, UH, HAVE A, HAVE, HAVE A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY IN USING THE CORONAVIRUS LATE FUND BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO, SO THE CITY MANAGER DID MOVE WITHIN THAT PILLAR, SOME GENERAL FUNDS AND CORONAVIRUS LEAD FUND NOT CHANGING THE TOTAL AMOUNT AT ALL.
ANY CHANGES TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT WOULD'VE TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL.
TODAY'S PRESENTATION WILL DISCUSS SOME OPTIONS FOR THAT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THAT.
SO IF THE WORK SESSION IS AN OPTION PRESENTED TO COUNCIL, AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT.
AND SO, WHO, SO, SO IT, SO IS IT ANNA, UH, IS IT YOU THAT'S KIND OF MEASURING AND, AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, LIKE, THIS ISN'T BEING USED, AND SO DO YOU MAKE THE INITIAL, UM, STAFF RECOMMENDATION? I'M JUST TRYING TO START, LIKE, WHERE, WHERE DOES IT START? LIKE, WHO'S WATCHING THAT ON A DAILY BASIS? WHO'S WATCHING THE DASHBOARDS OR THE BURN RATE, OR HELP ME, HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHO'S DOING THAT.
I, I'D HATE TO THINK IT WAS JUST ANNA.
I FEEL BAD IF IT'S JUST
BUT YEAH, IT, IT IS AN ON A, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, IT, IT CITY MANAGER THAT ULTIMATELY IS GONNA BE MAKING ALL THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU.
[01:30:01]
SO HE, HE, WE, WE MEET REGULARLY, WE REPORT JUST LIKE WE DO WITH, WITH THE E W D C.AND SO, UH, HE HAS, OF COURSE, A PICTURE OF, OF ALL OF THE NEEDS ACROSS ALL THE PILLARS.
AND SO HE'LL BE MAKING THAT RECOMMENDATION, HONOR.
SO WHILE WE'RE, WHILE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING MONTHLY WITH THE COUNCIL, WE'RE REVIEWING WEEKLY, YOU KNOW, INTERNALLY.
AND AS, AS THINGS CHANGE, YOU KNOW, KEEPING A, A A LIST OF WHERE OUR, WHERE ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS NEEDED, AND ALSO WHERE, UM, WE KNOW, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SAVINGS OR, YOU KNOW, WE'VE IDENTIFIED AN ALTERNATE, UH, FUNDING SCHEME, UH, FOR, FOR SOME OF THE THINGS.
UH, ONE GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT IS, IS P P E.
SO WE'VE RECEIVED ADDITIONAL GRANTS TO FUND P P E.
UM, WE HAVE ALLOCATIONS IN, IN THE FUNDS THUS FAR FOR P P E.
SO RECOGNIZING WE HAVE A DIFFERENT REVENUE STREAM.
SO HOW CAN WE REALLOCATE THAT, UM, TO FUND OTHER NEEDS ACROSS THE BOARD OR THINGS THAT, UM, I'M LOOKING AT WITH THE, ON A DAILY BASIS WITH, WITH THE FINANCE TEAM.
AND ANNA, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TOLD ME THAT.
'CAUSE NOW I'M GONNA GET OFFLINE WITH YOU BECAUSE I HAVE A REQUEST FROM P P E, UM, AND, AND FOR, FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT, ACTUALLY.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS MAYBE A GRANT THAT HEY, SCHOOL DISTRICTS APPLY FOR, BUT WE'LL GET OFFLINE ON THAT.
UM, I THINK JEFF, UH, COYLE, DO YOU WANT TO BALL ON THIS? YEAH, LEMME JUST WRAP THIS BY SAYING, UM, ANA REPORTED ON THE FORMAL REPORTING THAT WE'RE DOING, IN THE INTEREST OF TALKING ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, VIS-A-VIS OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATION.
UM, SALLY HAS BEEN, UH, NOTIFYING THE DELEGATION AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
SO EVERY TIME THE COUNCIL HAS HAD A MEETING TO TALK ABOUT THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN, THE SPENDING OF CARESS ACT DOLLARS, WE'VE NOTIFIED THEM AHEAD OF TIME SO THAT THEY CAN WATCH VIRTUALLY AND THEN HAVE PROVIDED THEM SLIDES AND SUMMARIES AFTERWARDS.
UM, THAT REPORT THAT ANA MENTIONED, THE TREASURY CAME OUT WITH, UH, SHOWING THE SPENDING FROM MARCH THROUGH JUNE WAS USED POLITICALLY TO ARGUE THAT CITIES DIDN'T NEED ANY MORE MONEY BECAUSE LOOK, THEY'RE NOT SPENDING IT.
AND SO WE QUICKLY TURNED AROUND AND REINFORCED TO EVERYBODY THAT THAT SPENDING PERIOD WAS THROUGH JUNE 30TH, AND OUR RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN WAS THROUGH, WAS APPROVED TWO DAYS LATER.
UH, MAYBE I GOT THOSE REVERSED, BUT THE POINT WAS, VERY LITTLE SPENDING HAD BEEN DONE AT THAT POINT, UH, FOR GOOD REASON.
WE'VE BEEN, UH, FILLING OUT QUESTIONNAIRES THROUGH ML N L C SO THAT THEY CAN ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF CITIES NATIONALLY FOR THE NEEDS.
UH, AND WE ALSO SENT A LETTER TO TREASURY FROM THE MAYOR SAYING, WE WILL SPEND ALL OF THIS MONEY BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
HERE'S HOW WE'RE SPENDING IT IN, IN LINE WITH YOUR GUIDELINES AND SO FORTH.
SO, UH, IT'S BEEN A VERY AGGRESSIVE EFFORT TO MAKE SURE ALL OF OUR PARTNERS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL ARE AWARE OF HOW WE'RE USING THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS LOCALLY.
UM, THANK YOU, ANNA, EXCELLENT REPORT.
UH, YOU, UH, YOU DELIVERED EXACTLY WHAT IT'S, THAT WE ASKED YOU TO DELIVER.
[4. 20-5366 City and County State Legislative Program Issue Coordination. [Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs, City of San Antonio; Melissa Shannon, Director of Governmental Affairs, Bexar County]]
IS, UH, JEFF'S AS WELL.ALRIGHT, WELL, I, ALTHOUGH I HAVE SOME SLIDES, THIS IS REALLY MEANT TO BE MORE OF A CONVERSATION THAN A PRESENTATION.
UH, BOTH THE COUNTY AND THE CITY ARE BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF PUTTING OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDAS TOGETHER.
AND, UH, I WOULD ASSUME THAT EACH GOVERNING BODY WILL PASS ITS OWN AGENDA.
BUT THE BENEFIT OF THIS JOINT COMMITTEE IS HAVING SOME SHARED ITEMS THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER ON, WHICH, WHICH FRANKLY, WE'VE NEVER REALLY HAD THIS LEVEL OF COORDINATION IN THE PAST.
UH, SO WE'VE COME UP WITH A SHORT LIST OF ITEMS, BUT WE'RE REALLY ASKING YOU HERE WHAT SOME ITEMS ARE THAT, THAT YOU THINK OUGHT TO BE ON THE TABLE FOR CONSIDERATION AND, AND TO, UH, OFF, UH, FACILITATE A CONVERSATION BETWEEN OUR, OUR CITY AND COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIALS ON, ON SHARED, UH, INTERESTS.
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, YEAH, WE'RE IN AN INTERIM SESSION.
UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY HAS TALKED OFTEN ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, HIS CONCERN THAT WE'RE NOT ENGAGED, UH, AT THE, UH, DURING THE INTERIM, UH, WITHOUT A FULL LOBBY TEAM THAT WE JUST, YOU KNOW, BROUGHT ON LAST WEEK.
I WILL SAY THIS HAS BEEN A, A UNIQUE INTERIM.
UH, THEY'VE ESSENTIALLY PUT EVERYTHING ON HOLD IN MARCH WHEN COVID STARTED.
UH, UNLIKE THE CITY AND UNLIKE STATE AGENCIES AND SO FORTH, THEY'RE NOT PERMITTED UNDER HOUSE RULES, FOR EXAMPLE, TO DO, UH, THEIR COMMITTEE WORK VIRTUALLY.
UH, SO THE, UH, SPEAKER CAME OUT WITH, UH, A LIST OF OPTIONS FOR COMMITTEES, UH, A FEW WEEKS AGO, ACTUALLY LAST MONTH, TWO MONTHS AGO IN JULY, SAYING BASICALLY THAT THE COMMITTEES CAN, CAN DO ONE OF THREE THINGS OR SOME COMBINATION OF THREE THINGS.
THEY CAN POST INFORMATION RELEVANT TO THE COMMITTEE'S
[01:35:01]
OVERSIGHT ON THE WEBSITE, SORT OF PUSHING INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE COMMITTEE IS, UH, THINKING ABOUT FOR NEXT SESSION.SECONDLY, THEY CAN SOLICIT INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE PUBLIC, UH, ON INTERIM CHARGES, UH, BY POSTING THOSE REQUESTS ONLINE.
AND THAT REQUEST FOR INFORMATION PROCESS HAS STARTED, UM, OR THEY CAN DO PUBLIC FORUMS HOSTED BY THE COMMITTEE CHAIRS, WHICH REALLY HAVE NOT BEGUN INNERNESS.
SO WE ARE ALL SORT OF WATCHING THIS AND, AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHERE WE CAN ENGAGE.
WE'RE WELL AWARE OF ALL OF THE CHARGES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE CITY ORGANIZATION.
UH, I BELIEVE WE PUT OUT MEMBERS LAST YEAR WHEN THOSE CHARGES WERE ISSUED, UH, SUMMARIZING THEM FOR THE COMMITTEE.
UH, AND OUR LOBBY TEAM IS CLOSELY ENGAGED AND WATCHING THOSE THINGS AS WELL.
SO I'M STATING THE OBVIOUS HERE.
BUT THE INTERIM PROCESS IS HOW, UH, IS THE WORK THAT THE LEGISLATURE DOES IN BETWEEN SESSIONS TO SORT OF SET UP, UH, THEIR WORK WHEN THEY GAVEL IN, UH, WHICH WILL BE IN JANUARY OF 2021.
UH, SO A FEW ITEMS THAT WE'VE PUT ON THE TABLE HERE TO TALK ABOUT.
WE'VE HAD, UH, WE BELIEVE PRETTY CLEAR DIRECTION FROM THE CITY.
UH, WE CERTAINLY AT THE STAFF LEVEL INTEND TO PROPOSE, UH, SOME POLICE REFORMS, UH, SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE TWO STATUTES, UH, THAT AFFECT OUR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, THAT CHAPTER 1 43 AND 1 74 IN STATE LAW.
A NUMBER OF ISSUES HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED AT THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TABLE.
UH, BUT THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE IN STATE LAW.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE 180 DAY, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON THE CHIEF, UH, WHERE HE CAN ONLY DISCIPLINE AN OFFICER 180 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE INCIDENT, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER HE FINDS OUT ABOUT IT WITHIN THAT PERIOD OF TIME OR NOT.
UH, WE WOULD PROPOSE TO CHANGE, UH, TO MAKE THAT 180 DAYS SINCE AWARENESS OF THE INCIDENT BY THE CHIEF.
SIMILAR, THERE IS A, UH, A SECTION IN CHAPTER 1 43 THAT PROHIBITS, UH, CERTAIN PERSONNEL RECORDS OF POLICE OFFICERS FROM BEING, UH, PUBLIC AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE CHIEF IN DISCIPLINE IN, IN SUBSEQUENT DISCIPLINE.
IN OTHER WORDS, AS TIME GOES ON, UH, UM, UH, CERTAIN THINGS FALL OFF AN OFFICER'S RECORD AND GO INTO A FILE THAT IS NOT PUBLIC.
AND WE'D LIKE SOME IMPROVEMENT ABOUT SOME STANDARDS AROUND ARBITRATION WHEN AN OFFICER APPEALS A TERMINATION BY THE CHIEF.
I BELIEVE, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR MELISSA, BUT I BELIEVE THE COUNTY HAS SOME INTEREST IN TALKING ABOUT THESE ISSUES ALSO, WHICH IS WHY, UH, WE PUT IT ON THE TABLE.
I'LL PAUSE THERE BOTH FOR THE CO-CHAIRS TO LEAD THIS CONVERSATION AND, OR, UH, MELISSA TO WEIGH IN AS, AS YOU ALL WISH, AND THEN I'LL RESUME AFTER THAT.
YEAH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR MELISSA TO WEIGH IN BEFORE WE DO MELISSA.
SO, YEAH, WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS IN COMMISSIONER'S COURT, UM, ABOUT POLICE REFORM.
AND WE ARE ACTUALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR C B A RIGHT NOW WITH THE DEPUTY SHERIFF'S ASSOCIATION.
SO THAT IS ACTIVELY, MATTER OF FACT, THEY ARE ACTIVELY MEETING TODAY.
I'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO MONITOR THAT.
SO WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T KNOW CURRENTLY WHAT THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT FEELING IS ON THIS EXACTLY WHAT WE WILL PURSUE, BUT I DO KNOW THAT OF, UH, THE METRO SIX COUNTIES, WE ARE THE ONLY COUNTY THAT HAS A C B A.
SO IF WE ARE GOING TO DO ANYTHING WE ARE, BEAR COUNTY IS GOING TO HAVE TO, I BELIEVE.
UM, AND THIS IS STRICTLY MELISSA SHANNON SAYING THIS IS NOT, UH, COMMISSIONER'S COURT YET.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BAND TOGETHER WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UH, T M L AND OTHERS, UM, IF WE ARE GOING TO SEEK ANY TYPE OF CHANGES SPECIFICALLY TO, UH, CHAPTER 1 74 THAT WE BOTH SHARE.
SO I'LL LEAVE IT THERE AND ONCE I KNOW WHAT THE FEELING IS FROM THE FULL COURT, UH, WHAT WE WANT TO DO, I'LL, I'LL KNOW BETTER.
BUT I THINK WE MAY WANT TO, UH, WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY AND DO SOMETHING TOGETHER.
COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ? UH, YEAH, COUNCILMAN THANKS.
AND MELISSA, I THINK, UM, KINDA OUTLINED IT PRETTY CLEARLY.
UM, COMMISSIONER WOLF AND I WORKED ON A RESOLUTION THAT WE PASSED A FEW WEEKS BACK, UM, THAT TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THESE REFORMS. UM, I THINK PROBABLY 90% OF THESE THINGS, UH, COULDN'T BE ADDRESSED IN THE C B A NEGOTIATIONS, BUT, UM, THERE, THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME THINGS THAT I THINK, UH, PROBABLY ALIGN WITH WHAT THE CITY'S DOING.
UH, FOR US, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE COMPOSITION OF THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, I THINK CAN ONLY BE CHANGED,
[01:40:01]
UH, LEGISLATIVELY.UM, ANYWAY, BUT, BUT I THINK, UH, IT'S GOOD THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS, UH, CONVERSATION AND IT'S A JOINT EFFORT.
'CAUSE I DO THINK THERE'S GONNA BE SOME, SOME ISSUES THAT ALIGN THEMSELVES.
UM, AND AS MELISSA STATED, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T REALLY NECESSARILY IN THIS, UH, CASE HAVE THE SUPPORT OR BACKING OF, UM, THE, UH, URBAN, URBAN, UH, COUNTIES, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE, UH, C V A AGREEMENTS.
UH, SO THEY'RE NOT REALLY GONNA BE PART OF THIS KIND OF AN EFFORT.
BUT, UM, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER WOLF AND I, I, IN THAT, UH, RESOLUTION OUTLINES SOME OF THE, UM, THE MEASURES WE WANNA LOOK AT REFORMING, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO THE DISCIPLINARY ISSUES.
UM, AND SO I THINK THIS WILL CRYSTALLIZE AS WE CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION, BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD START.
UH, COUNSEL,
COUNCILWOMAN,
AND, UM, I'M NEW TO THE COMMITTEE, SO I, I HAVEN'T DONE THIS BEFORE.
SO I'M WONDERING, IS THIS, SO IS IT APPROPRIATE HERE TO START A DISCUSSION OF WHAT OTHER ISSUES WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO JOINTLY ADVOCATE, UH, BE ADVOCATING FOR? AND SO I'M THINKING LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, ANYTHING TO DO WITH SENIOR SERVICES OR, OR FOLKS WITH DISABILITY.
I MEAN, ONE IN, IN SEVEN FOLKS IN SAN ANTONIO, AS I UNDERSTAND IT HAS A DISABILITY AND ONE IN FOUR.
AND WE KNOW THAT OUR, OUR DEMOGRAPHIC, UM, THERE'S A BIG POPULATION, UM, THAT'S GROWING A LITTLE BIT OLDER.
AND I'M WONDERING IF WE SHOULD START FOCUSING A LITTLE BIT MORE ON SENIOR SERVICES.
UM, JUST, JUST, UH, THAT'S A QUESTION I GUESS FOR YOU, CHAIR.
SO THEN I WOULD, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO, WHO WOULD DO MAYBE SOME OF THE RESEARCH, BUT I DO THINK THAT THERE'S A SHIFT, UM, IN, IN A LARGE DEMOGRAPHIC OF FOLKS THAT ARE, UM, RETIRING.
UH, AND SO ESPECIALLY NOW WITH THE COVID CRISIS.
AND SO I'D JUST BE WONDERING ABOUT THAT.
UM, I BROUGHT THIS UP LAST WEEK AS WELL, ADULT CHANGING STATIONS.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THINKING OF, OF CARING FOR YOUR PARENTS AND WHERE TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM.
RIGHT? AND SO ANYWAYS, I'M, I'M JUST THINKING, UM, WHAT ELSE WE CAN ADD THAT MIGHT BECOME A SHARED ISSUE.
CHAIR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
COMMISSIONER, COULD I JUST VERY QUICKLY ANSWER AND, AND I'M SORRY IF I WASN'T CLEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T OUR PROPOSED AGENDA PER SE.
THE THE ENTIRE POINT IS TO, IS TO EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, COUNCILWOMAN, TO THROW SOME ITEMS OUT THERE THAT WE MIGHT WORK TOGETHER ON, GIVE STAFF SOME DIRECTION TO GO BACK AND DO THE WORK ON IT AS IT RELATES TO SENIORS.
UH, CERTAINLY WE'LL BE WORKING WITH OUR HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND ALSO BEFORE EVERY SESSION, UH, CHRISTINE AND I GO BEFORE THE JOINT CITY COUNTY ELDERLY AFFAIRS COMMISSION, AND THEY ARE VERY ACTIVE AT PROPOSING ITEMS FOR US.
SO THAT'LL BE A GOOD SOUNDING BOARD FOR US.
WE'RE GONNA DO THAT WITH OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AS WELL.
AND WE'LL COME BACK WITH A MUCH MORE BAKED, UH, PROPOSED AGENDA AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
BUT WE WANTED YOUR INPUT, SO THAT'S GREAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONER WOLF.
AND, UH, ADRIANA, I, I AGREE THIS IS ULTIMATELY THE FORUM FOR THAT, SO WE'LL, WE'LL KEEP THAT ON THE RADAR OF OUR SCREEN.
UH, GOING BACK A LITTLE BIT, UH, YEAH, UH, JUSTIN AND I, UH, DID PUT TOGETHER WHAT, WHAT I THINK WAS A REALLY GOOD TEMPLATE, CERTAINLY FOR GOING INTO CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS HERE LOCALLY.
HOWEVER, IT, IT ALSO ALLUDED TO THINGS, UH, THAT CAN, SHOULD BE DONE AT THE STATE LEVEL.
YOU KNOW, UH, ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, OUR OUR POINT OF VIEW ON THIS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, GOOD COPS DON'T WANNA WORK WITH BAD COPS.
OKAY? IT'S, IT'S
YOU KNOW, UH, BUT THE REALITY IS, IS BASED ON EITHER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND OR CURRENT STATE STATUTES, UM, WHOEVER IS THE ELECTED SHERIFF OR THE APPOINTED CHIEF OF POLICE ESSENTIALLY HAS THEIR HANDS TIED IN REGARDS TO HOW THEY, THEY MANAGE THEIR DEPARTMENTS.
UH, AND SO AT, AT THE STRATEGIC LEVEL, WHICH IS WHERE I THINK THE TWO, THE TWO ENTITIES, UH, YOU GUYS AND, UH, AND US, UH, CONCENTRATING AT THE STATE LEVEL, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY GROUND WE CAN MAKE UP IN REGARDS TO ENSURING THAT OUR ELECTED HEAD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OR OUR APPOINTED HEAD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS THE ABILITY TO ACTUALLY MANAGE THEIR SHOPS ACCORDINGLY.
BETTER OFF, I THINK, I THINK WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE SO, YOU KNOW,
[01:45:01]
UH, YEAH, I THINK WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH.UH, AND I THINK IT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE PART OF OUR, OUR STATE AGENDA.
UM, HOWEVER, TO A POINT THAT WAS MADE EARLIER, YOUR, YOUR RURAL COUNTIES, UH, PROBABLY AREN'T GONNA GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THIS AND OR BE ABSOLUTELY AGAINST IT.
UH, AND SO I, I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LIKELIHOOD IS OF, OF BRACKETING THIS KIND OF STUFF.
YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU GUYS ARE THE PROFESSIONALS THAT CAN FIGURE THAT OUT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UL ULTIMATELY FROM, FROM THE STRATEGIC LEVEL, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS FIGURE OUT HOW TO STRENGTHEN OUR MANAGEMENT ABILITY IN ORDER TO ADDRESS BAD ACTORS AS THEY HAPPEN.
UH, AND, AND WE NEED BETTER WAYS TO ADDRESS IT THAN WE CURRENTLY HAVE TODAY.
UM, CLAYTON PERRY, DID WE GET TO YOU ALREADY OR ARE YOU STILL NOPE, GO AHEAD, SIR.
UH, NO, IT, IT'S, UH, IT'S PROBABLY MORE OF A FEDERAL, FEDERAL LEVEL, UH, ISSUE.
BUT I, I THINK WE NEED TO, UM, SEE ABOUT GETTING US OFF OF THE DONOR STATE LIST.
I KNOW THIS WAS, I THINK, UH, UH, CHIP ROY MADE THIS AN ISSUE LAST, LAST YEAR, AND I THINK WE NEED TO, UH, GET BEHIND THAT.
AND WHAT, WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS OUR GAS TAXES, WE'RE ONE OF THE LAST, I THINK WE ARE THE LAST STATE THAT'S A DONOR STATE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
AND, UM, AND I, WE LOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WE DON'T GET BACK IN THAT, IN THAT POOL OF MONEY THAT COME, GOES TO THE STATE IN TRANSPORTATION FUNDS.
SO, UH, SOMEHOW I THINK WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT NEEDS TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RATE, OR IF WE CAN WORK IT THROUGH THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, UP THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, YOU NEED TO SEE ABOUT GETTING OFF OF THAT.
LIKE I SAID, WE'RE THE LAST STATE, AND WE NEED TO, WE NEED, WE, YOU KNOW, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS CRUMBLING.
WE NEED TO KEEP THOSE FUNDS HERE IN TEXAS.
SO, AND IT WOULD HELP OUT OUR M P O, UM, BECAUSE WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS HERE THAT ARE, UH, NOT BEING MET.
SO I I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE ON A LIST SOMEWHERE TOO.
AND SO, UH, JEFF, YOU'VE, YOU'VE HEARD THE COMMENTS OF, OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AND, UM, DO YOU MIND, UH, JUST SORT OF WRAPPING IT UP AND, UH, JUST TO WRAP IT UP, PUT A BOW ON IT? YEAH, I, I THINK, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER WOLF SAID IT PERFECTLY.
THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT THE, THE LANGUAGE ULTIMATELY THAT WE WOULD PROPOSE WOULD BE, UH, TO SUPPORT POLICIES THAT GIVE, UH, THE CHIEF, UH, THE AUTHORITY TO BE ABLE TO DISCIPLINE, UH, BAD ACTORS APPROPRIATELY.
AND, AND WE CAN WORK ON THE, THE DETAILS, UH, TOGETHER.
UM, BUT I THINK THE FACT THAT THE CITY AND COUNTY MAY HAVE A SHARED INTEREST IN THIS IS, IS WORTH NOTING.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE PUT IT ON THE LIST.
UM, I CAN MOVE FASTER THROUGH THE OTHERS IF YOU'D LIKE, CHAIRMAN.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE DID THERE.
UM, WE KNOW PUBLIC HEALTH WILL BE A PRIORITY WITH C O V I D, AND THERE WILL BE A NUMBER OF C O RELATED THINGS.
IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT THE COUNTY, OF COURSE HAS THE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM, UH, AND ONE OF OUR, UH, LOBBYISTS IS A, IS A HEALTHCARE EXPERT THAT REPRESENTS PUBLIC HOSPITAL SYSTEMS, INCLUDING U H S, UH, UNDER PUBLIC HEALTH.
WE MIGHT ALSO PUT, UH, MENTAL HEALTH, WHICH HAS BEEN A FOCUS OF THE LEGISLATURE.
UH, THERE WAS A, A LOT OF MONEY AND A CONSORTIUM CREATED LAST SESSION, UH, YESTERDAY YOU HEARD THE CITY CLERK TALKING ABOUT, UM, BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR HOMELESS, UH, PEOPLE.
THERE WAS A BILL PASSED LAST SESSION FOR HOMELESS YOUTH.
AND, UH, AND SHE'S REQUESTING THAT WE SUPPORT EXPANDING THAT TO HELP, UH, CREATE IDENTIFICATION FOR HOMELESS FOLKS TO HELP THEM GET BACK ON, ON TRACK.
UM, AND, AND ANY OTHER NUMBER OF PUBLIC HEALTH ITEMS. UM, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UH, THERE, THERE IS A LONGSTANDING STATE LAW AND SNAPPER CAR ON THIS CALL AS AN EXPERT ON IT, IF YOU WANT TO ASK KIM ANYTHING AFTERWARDS.
UH, THERE'S A LONGSTANDING STATE LAW THAT PROHIBITS US LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM PROVIDING WIFI SERVICES, UH, IN COMPETITION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND YET WE KNOW THERE ARE BIG POCKETS BOTH IN THE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY AREA AND ALSO IN THE INNER CITY, WHERE PEOPLE EITHER DO NOT HAVE GOOD BROADBAND OR IT'S NOT AFFORDABLE TO THEM.
AND SO WE THINK THE OPPOR THE TIMING MIGHT BE RIGHT NOW TO, UM, TO LOOK AT SOME SOLUTIONS EXACTLY HOW THAT WILL SHAPE OUT.
WE DON'T KNOW YET, BUT, UM, I, I BELIEVE WE MIGHT HAVE A SHARED INTEREST THERE.
UH, HOUSING, OF COURSE, IS A, IS A, CONTINUES TO BE A BIG PRIORITY, BOTH
[01:50:01]
THE STABILITY THROUGH EMERGENCY HOUSING MEASURES THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH NOW, AND THE CONTINUED, UM, EFFORTS TO ENSURE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.UH, MELISSA, DO YOU WANNA TACKLE THIS ONE? SO THE FIRST ONE IS, UH, TRANSPORTATION FUNDING.
WE WILL BE, UH, UH, ADDING TO OUR AGENDA, THE, UH, $10 VEHICLE, ADDITIONAL $10 VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE TACKLED LAST SESSION.
UH, WE WILL ADD THAT TO OUR AGENDA.
AGAIN, ELECTIONS, OF COURSE, UM, BIG ISSUE RIGHT NOW.
UM, THERE'LL BE QUITE A FEW ITEMS THAT WE WILL HOPEFULLY SEEK AT THE STATE LEVEL ON THIS.
UM, ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION.
UM, VOTER SAFETY, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW ISSUES HERE.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, BAIL BOND REFORM FALLS INTO THAT.
THAT'S A HUGE ONE THAT AFFECTS THE COUNTY GREATLY.
UM, WE ARE HAVING QUITE A BIT OF TROUBLE RIGHT NOW IN OUR JAIL.
UM, AS OF THIS MORNING, BECAUSE OF A LOT OF COVID ISSUES, WE'RE UNABLE TO RELEASE SOME OF THE INMATES THAT WE NORMALLY WOULD RELEASE.
UM, THAT'S KIND OF A SEPARATE ISSUE BECAUSE OF A EXECUTIVE ORDER, UM, FROM GOVERNOR ABBOTT.
BUT, UM, THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN TACKLE CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND THEN LASTLY, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
WE'VE GOT THAT JOINT COMMITTEE, CITY, COUNTY, UH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ISSUE.
UM, WE'VE SEEN THAT, UH, RAISE UP QUITE A BIT NOW WITH C O V I D.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET SOME RELIEF AT THE STATE.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY ANYTHING WITH FUNDING, I JUST REALLY HAVE A FEAR OF THIS NEXT SESSION BECAUSE OF ALL THE COVID ISSUES, EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE FACING RIGHT NOW.
UH, THE STATE, YOU KNOW, IS CUTTING THEIR FUNDING, TOLD THEIR DEPARTMENTS TO CUT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE REALLY, UM, CONCISE ON WHATEVER ISSUES WE'RE SEEKING, FUNDING, UH, FROM THE STATE ON RELIEF, UH, FOR, UH, THERE.
SO THAT, THAT'S IT IN A NUTSHELL.
UM, JUST LOOKING AT MY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, IS THERE ANYBODY WHO'S GOT A, A QUESTION, UH, OR A COMMENT? COUNCILMAN
UM, I GUESS IT'S AN OVERARCHING SHARED ISSUE FOR BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, AND IT KIND OF HAS TO DEAL WITH DIGITAL INCLUSION TOO, BUT WILL WE, I KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE ALIGNED WITH MAYBE SOME, UH, AND WHEN IT COMES TO EDUCATION AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY, SO I, I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE, THAT WHEN, UM, SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH WHAT THEY'RE REQUESTING OR, UM, WHAT THEY'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH AT, UH, THE STATE LEVEL, THAT WE GET THAT INFORMATION AND WHERE WE DIGEST IT AS WELL.
I BELIEVE, UH, JESSE, UH, DO YOU STILL WORK WITH RAISE YOUR HAND, TEXAS? YES, SIR, I DO.
AND I CAN, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE COORDINATE, WE'LL BE TRACKING THAT ISSUE ALSO, T M L, JUST, UH, FOR YOUR INFORMATION, T M L HAS A WORKING GROUP ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND SO, UH, WE'LL BE REPORTING BACK AT THE ANNUAL MEETING HERE A COUPLE OF MONTHS NEXT MONTH, ACTUALLY.
SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ALL THAT INFORMATION.
AND, UM, JEFF, I, I THINK THIS IS A QUESTION FOR YOU, UM, BECAUSE, OR, OR MAYBE IT IS MELISSA, SHE MENTIONED, UM, A $10 EDITION.
WHERE, WHERE IS THAT BE? WHERE WOULD THAT BE BE GOING, UM, FOR THE, UH, REGISTRATION STICKER IS, IS WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
SO, SO LET ME, LET ME CLARIFY.
FIRST OFF, IS ALL THAT WE ARE ASKING THE LEGISLATURE TO DO FOR US IS TO GIVE US THE ABILITY TO PUT IT ON THE BALLOT.
SO WE'RE SEEKING, UM, UH, THE STATE TO ALLOW US TO PUT IT BEFORE THE VOTERS.
IF THE VOTERS AGREE, THEN WE WOULD CHARGE AN ADDITIONAL $10 REGISTRATION FEE THAT WOULD BE MANAGED BY THE REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY, THE R M A.
UM, AND SO WHEN, IF, IF IT'S MANAGED BY THE R M A, SO I GUESS WE CAN, MAYBE I CAN CONNECT OFFLINE, MAYBE WITH THE R M A TO SEE HOW IT WOULD AFFECT THE CITY OR, OR WHAT KIND OF BENEFIT THAT THE CITY AND AND SURROUNDING AREAS WOULD HAVE REALLY, YEAH.
LET ME, UM, I WILL SHARE SOME DETAILS WITH JEFF IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO GREAT.
ON WHAT PROJECTS WE'VE DONE TO DATE ON THAT.
AND THEN IF YOU'VE GOT ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, AND WE'LL BE GLAD YEAH, UH, GET YOU IN CONTACT WITH THE R M A, BUT I THINK THAT MAY HELP TO SEE WHAT WE'VE DONE TO DATE, AND THEN WHAT WE'VE GOT PLANNED SO FAR WITH, UM, THE LAST ROUND OF FUNDING.
[01:55:01]
LEARN.THANK YOU, CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN.
I'LL JUST ADD, UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE TOUCHING ON A TOPIC THAT CAME UP LAST SESSION, WHICH WAS DESIRE FROM A NUMBER OF, FROM THE COUNCIL, I BELIEVE, TO ENSURE THAT, THAT IF ALL THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY WERE PAYING THAT EXTRA FEE, THAT, THAT THEY WOULD BENEFIT FROM IT, THAT SOME OF THE PROJECTS WOULD BE WITHIN THE CITY.
WE DIDN'T REALLY GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR WITH THE COUNTY LAST SESSION.
WE DIDN'T HAVE THIS JOINT COMMITTEE.
AND SO MELISSA AND I HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS UP AT THE CAPITOL, BUT, UM, I, THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO BRING IT UP AND, UH, SHE AND I'LL BE WORKING TOGETHER GOING FORWARD.
ONE OF THE, UH, I, I THINK, UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY, YOU MIGHT HAVE, UH, ANOTHER COMMENT OR QUESTION.
YEAH, I JUST WANTED IT, SINCE IT WAS DISCUSSED HERE, I'VE GOT HUGE CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, GOING FORWARD WITH THIS EXTRA $10, UH, FOR REGISTRATION FEES.
I, I WAS VERY MUCH AGAINST THAT LAST TIME BECAUSE THAT AFFECTS EVERYBODY IN THIS CITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP SAYING WE'RE THE, WE'RE THE POOREST LARGE CITY IN THE US AND MOST ECONOMICALLY SEGREGATED CITY IN THE US, BUT YET WE KEEP PILING ON MORE TAXES.
AND THIS APPLIES TO EVERYBODY, UH, ACROSS THE CITY.
AND SO I'VE GOT BIG CONCERNS ABOUT THIS.
WE'RE ALREADY AT THE UPPER LIMIT IN THE STATE OF REGISTRATION FEES, AND THIS WOULD PUT US AT THE MOST EXPENSIVE REGISTRATION FEE IN THE STATE.
SO, UM, UH, AGAIN, I HAD MAJOR CONCERNS AND I SPOKE OUT AGAINST IT LAST TIME, AND I'LL SPEAK OUT AGAINST IT THIS TIME AS WELL, IF, IF THIS CONTINUES TO GET PUSHED.
AND, AND I UNDERSTAND, UH, COMMISSIONER WOLF AND COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS.
AND SO, UH, JEFF, I DO WANT TO END, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, I THINK SOME OF US MAY HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY THE, UH, TRADES, PARTICULARLY THE PIPE FITTERS, UM, AND SOME, UH, LOCAL CONTRACTORS ABOUT LAST SESSIONS, UH, FAILURE TO REUP THE WHOLE PLUMBING LICENSES AND ALL THAT.
CAN YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SURE, YEAH.
THE, UH, THE REAUTHORIZATION OF, OR THE, UM, YEAH, I GUESS THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE PLUMBING BOARD, UH, FAILED IN THE FINAL DAYS OF THE SESSION FOR REASONS, UH, NOT RELATED TO IT REALLY.
THE GOVERNOR STEPPED IN AND HAD SOME EMERGENCY ACTION THAT TOOK CARE OF IT.
UM, BUT IN EFFECT, THE LEGISLATURE NEEDS TO, UH, RE-UP THAT, UH, THIS COMING SESSION SO THAT THERE IS STATEWIDE REGULATION OF PLUMBERS, UH, OTHERWISE IT FALLS TO LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.
IT COSTS AN UNFUNDED MANDATE TO US, AND IT'S ALSO A, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, CREATES A PATCHWORK OF REGULATIONS ACROSS THE STATE THAT, THAT OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOLKS DON'T THINK WE NEED.
SO, UM, I THINK IT'S A NO-BRAINER AND THEY'LL FIX IT THIS SESSION.
OUR LOBBY TEAM MAY HAVE MORE INSIGHT THAN THAT, BUT, UM, THAT, THAT SHOULD BE AN EASY ONE FOR US TO SUPPORT, I WOULD THINK.
UM, THAT CONCLUDES THIS PORTION OF OUR MEETING.
THERE IS A CITY, UH, PORTION AND SO, UH, I'LL, UH, I'LL LET MY FRIENDS FROM THE COUNTY DROP OFF AND, UH, INVITE Y'ALL TO HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEK.
[6. 20-5368 Bexar County Emergency Services District No. 2 Request to Incur Debt. [Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs]]
YOURS.ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA BE QUICK 'CAUSE THIS HAS BEEN A LONG MEETING.
UM, EDUARDO, GO AHEAD AND, AND BRING THE SLIDES UP.
THIS WAS A REQUEST FROM EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICT TWO, UH, TO INCUR DEBT TO BUILD, UH, SOME FIRE STATIONS AND, AND PURCHASE EQUIPMENT TO SERVE THEIR DISTRICT.
UM, GO AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
EDUARDO, YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS.
I THINK ESDS WERE CREATED UNDER STATE LAW.
THEY PROVIDE EMERGENCY SERVICES OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, SO IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF THE COUNTY.
UM, THEY, UH, THEY HAVE TO RECEIVE THE CITY'S APPROVAL, NUMBER ONE TO BE CREATED, UH, AND THEN WE NEGOTIATE CERTAIN CONDITIONS, UH, WITH THOSE ESDS UPON THEIR CREATION.
IF YOU JUST GO BACK ONE SECOND, EDUARDO, THESE ARE ALL THE ESDS, UH, AROUND BEXAR COUNTY RIGHT NOW.
THE ONE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THERE IS THAT E S D NUMBER TWO ON THE, UH, WEST SIDE OF TOWN.
UM, THE, THE, ONE OF THE AGREEMENTS THAT WE HAVE WITH ALL OF THE ESDS IS THAT THEY CANNOT INCUR DEBT MORE OF GREATER THAN $20,000 WITHOUT THE CITY'S CONSENT.
AND THERE'S A FEW REASONS FOR THAT.
UM, NUMBER ONE, IF THEY'RE GONNA BUILD STATIONS AND PURCHASE FIRE TRUCKS AND SO FORTH, WE WANNA ENSURE THERE IS EQUIPMENT COMPATIBILITY WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT SO THAT THERE CAN BE, UH, YOU KNOW, SHARED SERVICES BETWEEN THE, THE CITY AND THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS.
AND THEY ENTER INTO MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS TO DO THAT, MEANING OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT AND E S D, UH, CAN BOTH
[02:00:01]
RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY WHEN NECESSARY.UM, ACTUALLY, AND, AND A THIRD I REASON FOR, UH, OUR NEED TO CONCUR IS IF THE CITY IS TO ANNEX A PORTION OF THAT UNINCORPORATED AREA, WE THEN ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEBT.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE, BUT WE GOT THIS REQUEST FROM E S D NUMBER TWO, UH, UH, REQUESTING TO INCUR $30 MILLION IN DEBT FOR FIRE STATIONS AND FACILITIES.
HERE WAS WHAT I STARTED TO MENTION.
SO IF WE WERE TO ANNEX THAT AREA IN THE FUTURE BY STATE LAW, WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A SHARE OF WHATEVER INDEBTEDNESS THEY HAVE AT THE TIME.
SO IF WE TOOK 50% OF THEIR TAX BASE, WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY OFF 50% OF THEIR CURRENT DEBT.
NOW WE HAVE NO PLANS, UH, TO ANNEX WITHIN E S D NUMBER TWO.
UH, AND SO THAT'S A NON-ISSUE, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REVIEW WHEN THEY BRING, UH, A REQUEST TO US.
UH, SO WE'VE HAD A, BOTH OUR PLANNING DEPARTMENT REVIEW IT FROM A, A CITY PLANNING STANDPOINT.
AGAIN, NO PLANS TO ANNEX OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, REVIEW IT FROM A COMPATIBILITY STANDPOINT AND OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO REVIEW THEIR CURRENT TAX BASE, UH, TO ENSURE THAT THE, THE DEBT IS, UH, IS MANAGEABLE WITHIN THE E S D.
UH, WE'VE SIGNED OFF ON ALL THREE LEVELS AND OUR, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT, UM, UH, THE I G R COMMITTEE APPROVE THIS AND ULTIMATELY THE FULL COUNCIL APPROVE THIS SO THAT THEY CAN GO TO THE, THE BOND MARKETS AND, UH, AND MAKE THEIR INVESTMENTS.
UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? YEAH.
UM, JEFF, UM, THERE WAS, THERE WAS ONE SLIDE WITH E S D TWO AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER ONE WITH ESD THREE.
WHICH ONE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE? E S D TWO, CORRECT.
IT WAS A TYPO IN THE ONE SLIDE.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A DRAWING OR CAN YOU TELL US WHERE THIS IS? COULD YOU, CAN YOU PUT A SLIDE UP SHOWING WHERE THIS IS ACTUALLY AT.
EDUARDO, GO TO THE MAP, IF YOU WOULD.
I'M GONNA BRING UP THE, UH, THE PACKET, UM, AND SEE IF I CAN PROVIDE MORE SPECIFIC ON EXACT STREETS.
UM, IT MIGHT TAKE ME A SECOND, COUNCILMAN, BUT I WILL, EDUARDO, CAN YOU HELP ME OUT WHILE I'M LOOKING FOR THIS? I CAN, BUT I'LL HAVE TO START SHARING THE SCREEN FOR A SECOND.
UH, IT'S, IT'S IN THE MEMO THAT WAS POSTED FOR THE ITEM.
UH, THEY ARE LOOKING TO BUILD, UM, A FIRE STATION AT 1 4 5 1 5 OMNICON DRIVE.
UM, THEY'RE REPLACING A, UH, A FIRE STATION, UH, AND THEY'RE REMODELING TWO OTHERS, OTHERS.
UM, SO IT'S A, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PROPOSING A 20 YEAR, UH, TERM WITH AN INTEREST RATE OF JUST UNDER 4%, 3.98.
UM, AND THEY'RE ALL WITHIN THAT.
UM, THAT E S D OBVIOUSLY, UM, WE DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY MAP THE LOCATION OF THE STATIONS, BUT I CAN TRY TO ANSWER FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THERE.
WELL, I, I JUST WANTED TO, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IF IT'S FOR A NEW STATION, BUT YOU ANSWERED THAT QUESTION.
IT'S FOR, UH, REPLACING AN EXISTING STATION.
IT'S GONNA BE IN THE SAME LOCATION AND THEN REHABBING TWO OTHERS.
IS THERE ANY, UH, DID YOU SAY THAT THERE WAS ANY FIRE EQUIPMENT INCLUDED? YES, I BELIEVE THERE IS.
UM, UH, SHOOT, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THIS IN FRONT OF ME.
UM, YEAH, I'D JUST LIKE TO KNOW GENERALLY WHAT THE WHOLE, WHAT THE WHOLE PACKAGE IS.
YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, AND THE PROPOSED COSTS ON THAT, BECAUSE REPEATING A STATION AND REHABBING TO OTHERS AND IF THERE'S EQUIPMENT INVOLVED IN IT, $30 MILLION DIDN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT.
[02:05:01]
BUILDING A BRAND NEW IN HERE IN, UH, BETWEEN TWO AND 10, AND THAT'S, SHOOT, THAT'S RIGHT AT $30 MILLION JUST FOR ONE.SO I'M, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THEIR COST ESTIMATE IS AND, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY GONNA STAY ON, ON BUDGET, ARE THEY GONNA BE OVERRUNS, THAT KIND OF THING.
WELL, AS LONG, AS, LONG AS IT, THE FIRE CHIEF IS SIGNED OFF ON IT.
AS FAR AS LOCATION, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY, UM, ARE THEY FALLING WITHIN RULES RESPONSE TIMES THAT WE HAVE IS, I THINK, SEVEN MINUTES TO RESPOND TO A, TO A LOCATION WITHIN THEIR AREA.
THOSE ARE ALL KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE.
AND THAT IS PART OF THE REVIEW, UH, FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, ONE NOTE, UH, WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE, NOT THAT WE WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, OF COURSE, BUT WE'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF THEY DEFAULT ON THE DEBT.
SO WE'RE NOT BACKING THE DEBT PER SE, WE'RE, WE'RE CONSENTING TO IT.
SO THE, THE FINANCE REVIEW IS, UH, IS A LITTLE MORE BASIC IN TERMS OF WHETHER THE, THE DEBT THEY SEEK TO TAKE ON IS MANAGEABLE WITHIN THEIR TAX BASE.
UM, EDUARDO, I THINK YOU WERE STARTING TO CHIME IN ABOUT A EQUIPMENT ALSO, AND HE, HE'S BEEN THE ONE WHO'S, UH, HANDLED THIS CLOSELY.
SO I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT HAVING THESE ANSWERS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND EDUARDO, GO AHEAD.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC LIST OF, UH, EQUIPMENT, BUT IT IS RELATED TO THE REFURBISHING AND THE NEW FIRE STATION THAT THEY ARE CONSTRUCTING.
UM, AND, AND THE REASON I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THIS A LITTLE BIT CLOSER, AND I'D LIKE TO SEE A MAP WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE WE, WE JUST, UH, THERE'S A PIT OUT THERE THAT WE JUST, UH, APPROVED OUT IN THAT GENERAL AREA.
I'M NOT AS SURE EXACTLY WHERE IT IS, BUT, UM, FOR REDBIRD, UH, AND, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT AREA IS EXPLODING WITH THE GROWTH.
SO WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN ANNEXING, I, I'M, EH, EH, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULDN'T JUST PART WATCH, SAY THAT'S OFF THE TABLE BECAUSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT IN THAT AREA.
SO JUST, JUST SOME OF MY CONCERNS ABOUT THAT.
SO IF Y'ALL COULD GET THAT BACK TO ME, WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
WE CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE MORE, MORE DETAILS ON IT.
IF THIS IS SOMETHING YOU'D, YOU'D RATHER WAIT ON THE VOTE HERE.
UH, WE'VE GOT THE FULL PACKETS THAT THEY'VE SUBMITTED AND, AND WOULD, WOULD BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE YOU MORE.
I REALIZE IT'S BEEN A LONG JOB.
IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE STAFF IS THOROUGHLY, UM, VETTED IT AND EVERYBODY'S IN AGREEMENT WITH IT, I, I'LL, I'LL SUPPORT IT.
BUT WHEN I HEAR THINGS LIKE, WELL, WE'RE NOT GONNA ANNEX THIS AND WE'RE NOT PLANNING ON ANNEXING IT, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT OUT IN THAT AREA, SO JUST, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL SUPPORT IT.
AND, AND JUST TO BE CLEAR ON THAT, WHEN I, WHEN I SAY THAT IT, IT'S NOT PART OF A, OF A COUNCIL APPROVED ANNEXATION PLAN SUCH AS ONE THAT EXISTED SOME YEARS BACK, UH, A FEW YEARS AGO.
ANYWAY, UM, UH, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT A FUTURE COUNCIL COULDN'T DECIDE TO, UH, OF COURSE, STATE LAW HAS CHANGED AND AS YOU KNOW, WELL, AND SO NOW A VOTE IS REQUIRED IN THAT AREA.
UM, WE STILL DO, UH, TAKE SERIOUSLY THE, UH, THESE REQUESTS AND, AND LOOK AT THEM, UH, EVEN WITH THAT NEW LAW, BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY TIMES WHEN WE'LL DO AN ANNEXATION BASED ON A MUTUAL AGREEMENT WITH AN AREA OR WITH AN INDUSTRIAL, UH, PROPERTY OR, OR SO FORTH.
AND SO WE STILL WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE COMPATIBLE AND COVERED AND SO FORTH.
SO, UM, YES, THE, THE, THAT REVIEW WENT THROUGH FIRE, UH, FINANCE AND PLANNING AND, AND, AND ALL RECOMMENDED, UH, APPROVAL.
COUNCILMAN BRAN, ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, COUNCILMAN, UH, ROCHE GARCIA.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION BECAUSE I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE WHOLE RED BIRD PROJECT AS WELL.
UM, SINCE THIS IS, UH, SOUTH OF US HIGHWAY 90 AND EAST OF ROUTE 1604, UM, AND GOING INTO CBRA ROAD, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF RESIDENTS IN, IN DISTRICTS FOUR AND SIX, UM, THAT COULD POSSIBLY BENEFIT FROM THIS.
MY, MY, MY HESITATION IS IN THE, UM, IN THE DEBT INCURRING THE DEBT AND NOT UNDERSTANDING EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
AND ALTHOUGH I, I UNDERSTAND THIS WENT THROUGH FINANCE AND, AND PROBABLY THROUGH BEN GO, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO I DON'T QUITE FEEL COMFORTABLE MOVING IT FORWARD, EVEN THOUGH IN, IN, JUST IN, IN THEORY, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WOULD BE, UM, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BENEFIT A LOT OF RESIDENTS IN, IN, IN MY AREA THAT ARE IN, YOU KNOW, CLOSER, UH, OUT THERE.
BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I MIGHT CHAIR BE ABLE TO MAKE A MOTION TO, TO DELAY THIS OR, OR, OR TO HEAR IT MAYBE AT THE NEXT I G R MEETING.
I DON'T KNOW, UM, WHAT THE MOTION WOULD BE, BUT I'D LIKE SOME
[02:10:01]
MORE TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT.WELL THAT'S, UH, SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE MOTION WOULD BE.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, UH, IF WE DO GET A SECOND FOR THAT, UM, THAT WOULD GIVE, UH, JEFF AND THE TEAM TO SIT DOWN AND DO A DEEP DIVE WITH YOU AND COUNCILMAN PERRY ALSO, UH, SO THAT YOU'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT, UH, ON THIS.
AND SO, UM, I'LL SOUNDED LIKE A, YEAH, IT SOUNDED LIKE A MOTION.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF POSTPONING THIS FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
UM, THAT TAKES CARE OF THIS ONE ITEM.
[5. 20-5367 Approval of the minutes from the August 12 and August 26, 2020 meetings of the Intergovernmental Relations COSA Subcommittee.]
OVER ONE ITEM.IT'S A SHORT ONE, AND THAT IS, UM, THAT WE HAVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR OUR AUGUST 12TH AND AUGUST 26TH SUBCOMMITTEE, UM, MEETINGS.
AND SO, UH, COUNCIL ROCHA, I IMAGINE THAT YOU'VE COMBED THROUGH THESE I CHAIR.
I HAVE TO SAY THAT THESE MINUTE MEETINGS WERE PHENOMENAL, SO WHOEVER TYPED THEM UP, I JUST HAVE TO GIVE YOU AN A PLUS.
SO I JUST HAVE TO, UH, AND WITH THAT, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES.
Y'ALL, THAT CONCLUDES OUR MEETING.
WE'LL SEE YOU SHORTLY AT OUR, UH, AT OUR B SESSION.