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NANCY, COUNCIL MEMBER REO HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER ILLA GRANT HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, GONZALEZ HERE.
OUR FIRST ITEM WILL BE, UH, HERE AND OUR A C S ITEM.
[1 20-5696 Approval of the meeting minutes for the August 7, 2020 Community Health and Equity Committee Meeting.]
[2 20-5698 Approval of the meeting minutes for the August 28, 2020 Community Health and Equity Committee Meeting.]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE DATE.IS THE AGENDA'S NOT IN FRONT OF ME.
CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE DATE IS? AUGUST 7TH.
AUGUST 7TH AND AUGUST 28TH, MA'AM.
UM, SHOULD THOSE BE, CAN WE TAKE THOSE UP AS A SINGLE MOTION? I BELIEVE SO, YES, MA'AM.
IS IS THERE A MOTION? YES, MA'AM.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THE AUGUST 7TH AND AUGUST 28TH, COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
[3 20-5571 Review of proposed amendments to Chapter 5 entitled Animals and Chapter 20 entitled Municipal Court of the City Code to regulate the retail sale of pets, expand eligibility for the animal care compliance assistance account, and to make additional changes consistent with the strategic priorities of Animal Care Services. [David McCary, Assistant City Manager; Heber Lefgren, Director, Animal Care Services]]
TO OUR FIRST, UM, PRESENTATION ITEM, WHICH IS CHANGES TO CITY CODE RETAIL, PET SALES AND COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE.I'M GRATEFUL TO BE ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY.
UH, FOR CLARIFY FOR, MY NAME IS HEBER LN.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF ANIMAL CARE SERVICES.
UH, TODAY I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO SOME, TO CHAPTER FIVE AND 20 OF THE CITY CODE, AS WELL AS, UH, THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT WE UNDERWENT TO HELP TO INFORM OUR US OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, SO YOU ARE AWARE, UM, I HAVE BOTH SHANNON SIMS, UH, A C S'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AS WELL AS CHASE FOSSE, UH, A C S'S ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR HERE TO HELP ME ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AFTER THE PRESENTATION.
UM, BEFORE I BEGIN, I'D LIKE TO JUST, UH, EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO THE TWO OF THEM AS WELL AS TO ERIC SOCEDO, A MEMBER OF MY TEAM, UH, FOR THE EXTENSIVE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST YEAR IN PREPARATION FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'LL DISCUSS HERE TODAY.
UM, IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, AS A, AS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, UM, THIS PROCESS BEGAN DURING THE FISCAL YEAR OF 2019, UH, BUDGET PRESENTATION WHEN A C SS COMMITTED TO THE STUDYING THE ISSUE OF PET SALES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, SINCE THEN, A C S HAS CONDUCTED BEST PRACTICE RESEARCH ON THE RULES AND REGULATIONS ADOPTED BY OTHER COMMUNITIES IN TEXAS AND AROUND THE NATION.
WE FOUND THAT WHILE THE RESTRICTIONS PREVIOUSLY IMPLEMENTED FOR INDIVIDUAL PET CELLS WERE VERY SIMILAR TO THOSE OF OTHER COMMUNITY, OUR REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR RETAIL PET CELL STORE CELLS NEEDED TO BE IMPROVED.
UH, FOR INSTANCE, WE FOUND THAT OVER 280 CITIES HAVE PASSED RESTRICTIONS OR BANS ON THE RETAIL CELL OF DOGS AND CATS AT PET STORES, AND ALSO FOUND THAT MANY, MANY OF THE LARGE NATIONAL ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES, AS WELL AS BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY, SUPPORT A MORE AGGRESSIVE RESTRICTION ON RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT AS A METHOD TO HELP MANAGE THE IMPROPER, UH, OR TO REDUCE THE IMPROPER ANIMAL CARE STANDARDS THAT ARE FREQUENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH PUPPY MILL.
UH, IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
NOW, AS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE, A C S HAS ENGAGED THE PUBLIC, OUR A C S ADVISORY BOARD, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY HEALTH, UH, AND EQUITY COMMITTEE OVER THE PAST YEAR IN ORDER TO GATHER, UH, FEEDBACK ON HOW TO ADDRESS THE RETAIL, UH, PET CELLS.
AND I'LL GO MORE INTO DETAIL IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDE.
GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
IN JULY OF 2019, A C S LAUNCHED AN ESSAY SPEAK UP SURVEY AND DESIGNED TO, UH, ESSENTIALLY TAKE A TEMPERATURE READING OF THE ISSUE, UH, AMONG THE COMMUNITY, AND TO FIND OUT WHETHER RESIDENTS WOULD BE IN SUPPORT OF THE CITY INVESTIGATING OR INVESTING TIME AND RESOURCES INTO CREATING NEW REGULATIONS.
AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS INDICATE STRONG SUPPORT FOR CITY TAKING ON TAKING THIS ISSUE ON.
UH, WE SHARED THOSE SURVEY RESULTS WITH THE ANIMAL CARE SERVICE ADVISORY BOARD IN NOVEMBER OF 2019, WHO ALSO VOICED A STRONG SUPPORT FOR A C S CRAFTING NEW REGULATIONS.
AS YOU REMEMBER, WE ALSO PRESENTED THESE REPO RE THESE RESULTS TO THIS COMMITTEE, UH, LAST DECEMBER, UH, WHO SUPPORTED A C S PROCEEDING WITH THE DRAFTING OF
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PROPOSED ORDINANCE CHANGE.I'M GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, BASED UPON THE DIRECTION RECEIVED, UM, A C S PROCEEDED AND CONDUCTED A SECOND ESSAY SPEAK UP SURVEY THIS PAST FEBRUARY IN ORDER TO GATHER ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ON SPECIFIC POLICY PROCEDURE PROPOSALS THAT A C SS WAS LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT.
ALL POLICIES WE ASKED ABOUT TO RECEIVE STRONG SUPPORT, UH, NEARLY 80% OR HIGHER, UH, AND WERE INCORPORATED INTO THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, PRESENTED TODAY.
I BELIEVE THAT PROVIDED TO YOU WAS A, A SUMMARY OF THAT SURVEY THAT WAS CONDUCTED IN MAY OF 2020.
A C SS PRESENTED THOSE FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY, UH, AS WELL AS OUR RECOMMENDED POLICY CHANGES TO THE MEMBERS OF THE A C S ADVISORY BOARD, UH, WHO EXPRESSED FULL SUPPORT AT THAT TIME.
UH, PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, BOTH ESSAYS SPEAK UP SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED BY A C S UTILIZING A MULTI-CHANNEL OUTREACH STRATEGY, AS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE.
UH, PARTICULAR POINT OF EMPHASIS FOR THE SECOND SURVEY WAS, AND AS REQUESTED IN OUR LAST MEETING WITH THIS COMMITTEE, UH, WAS IMPROVING OUR DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES ACROSS THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
UH, WHAT THAT MEANT WAS ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, UH, WE MADE IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF RESIDENTS, PARTICULARLY LIVING IN DISTRICT TWO, FOUR, AND FIVE.
AND SO THIS GRAPH, UH, ON THE CHART HERE DEMONSTRATES IN THE GREEN LINE REPRESENTING THE SECOND SURVEY AND COMPARED TO THE YELLOW LINE REPRESENTING THE FIRST SURVEY.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT IN PARTICULARLY IN THOSE, IN THOSE DISTRICTS, THERE WAS A MORE OF A BALANCED APPROACH IN BRINGING, LIFTING UP AND GETTING MORE INVOLVEMENT FROM FROM THOSE COMMUNITIES.
UM, WHAT I CAN TELL YOU THAT AS WE LOOK AT THE RESULTS OF THIS SURVEY, UM, IT WAS FAIRLY CONSISTENT ACROSS THE BOARD, AND EVEN WHEN YOU DO BROKE IT DOWN INTO EACH, THERE WAS NOT ANYTHING UNIQUELY DIFFERENT FROM ONE DISTRICT TO ANOTHER DISTRICT.
UH, GO AHEAD AND PROCEED TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THAT, THAT LEADS US TO THE CHANGES OF CHAPTER FIVE OF THE CITY CODE THAT'S BEING PRESENTED, UH, HERE TODAY AND PROPOSED, UM, WHICH FALL INTO THREE MAIN CATEGORIES.
FIRST IS ADDED RESTRICTIONS OF THE CELL OF OF PETS.
SECOND, THE IMPROVING THE EQUITABILITY OF THE A C SS COMPLIANCE ASSISTANT ACCOUNT, AND THEN THIRD, OTHER MINOR CHANGES THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH ACSS STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
SO FOR THE PET CELLS, THE BIGGEST CHANGE THAT WE ARE PROPOSING IS NEW RESTRICTIONS ON THE RETAIL CELL OF DOGS AND CATS.
UH, IF ADOPTED BY COUNCIL, RETAIL PET STORES WOULD STILL BE ABLE TO SELL DOGS AND CATS, BUT THEY WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO SOURCE THOSE PETS FROM PUPPY MILLS.
UNDER THESE CHANGES, PET SHOPS CAN STILL, UH, SELL PETS OBTAINED FROM A ANIMAL SHELTER AND ANIMAL CONTROL AGENCY, OR A RESCUE ORGANIZATION LICENSED BY THE CITY.
ADDITIONALLY, UH, ANY PET SOLD BY RETAIL STORES MUST BE STERILIZED MICROCHIP IMMUNE, UH, IMMUNE AGAINST COMMON DISEASES, AS WELL AS A FEW OTHER SMALL REQUIREMENTS.
UH, THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE VERY CONSISTENT WITH MANY OF THE STORES THAT ARE OFFERING ADOPTION SERVICES, SUCH AS, UH, PET SHOP OR, UM, PETCO OR PETSMART, AS WELL AS POLY PETS IS THE LOCAL ORGANIZATION, UH, THAT IS STILL, UM, SELLING, UH, SELLING AND ADOPTING OUT PETS.
AND SO WE'RE NOT RESTRICTING THAT.
ATHEIST IS ALSO PROPOSING TO RAISE THE MINIMAL FINE FOR ALL PET CELLS OFFENSES, UH, NOT JUST THE RETAIL FROM A HUNDRED DOLLARS TO $500 FOR FIRST TIME OFFENSE.
ADDITIONALLY, CHART CHANGES AIMED AT TIGHTENING UP INDIVIDUAL SELLER REGULATIONS INCLUDE ONLY ALLOWING ONE SELLER PERMIT PER YEAR PER ADDRESS, AND REQUIRING STERILIZATION OF ALL PETS PRESENT AT A LOCATION WHERE A SELLER'S PERMIT VIOLATION OCCURS.
A C S IS PROPOSING CHANGES TO THE CHAPTER 20 OF THE CITY CODE, WHICH COVERS THE ANIMAL CARE COMPLIANCE ASSISTANT ACCOUNT.
UH, THIS ACCOUNT WAS ESTABLISHED IN FISCAL YEAR 2018 AND PROVIDES RESOURCES TO ASSIST THE VULNERABLE RESIDENTS WHO ARE TRYING TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITH CHAPTER FIVE.
IN THE PAST, THIS ASSISTANT LARGELY FOCUSED ON FENCE REPAIRS AND PROVIDING DOG HOUSES AND LEASHES.
WE ARE PROPOSING MAKING SOME CHANGES TODAY OR CHANGES THAT WOULD EXPAND THE ELIGIBILITY TO SOME OF THE MORE VULNERABLE POPULATION BY ALLOWING A C S TO PROVIDE AND FUND FREE MICROCHIPS AND VACCINATIONS FOR RESIDENTS IN NEED.
A C S WOULD ALSO NO LONGER BE PROHIBITED FROM OFFERING ASSISTANCE TO RESIDENTS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT IN COMPLIANCE
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WITH THE MICROCHIP AND, UH, AND VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS.PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
FINALLY, WHILE REVIEWING CHAPTER FIVE, A C S CAME ACROSS ADDITIONAL, UH, IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, UH, THAT ASSIST A C S IN FULFILLING OUR MISSION, UH, AS WELL AS THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND HELPED, UH, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION TOWARDS THE CITY CODE CODE'S INTENDED PURPOSE.
UH, THESE OTHER CHANGES INCLUDE ESTABLISHING A TIMELINE FOR HOW QUICKLY DANGEROUS DOGS MUST COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE REGULATIONS THAT HAVE, THAT ARE ALREADY IN EXISTENCE WITHIN CHAPTER FIVE.
UM, THAT, THAT TIMELINE WOULD BE 30 DAYS, UH, FROM DESIGNATION RESTRICTION ON NUISANCE FEEDING OF FERAL CATS ARE ALSO FURTHER CLARIFIED PRO BY CLEARLY PROHIBITING THE OPEN FEEDING WHERE RESIDENTS DUMP LARGE AMOUNT OF FOOD ON THE GROUND THAT LATER ATTRACT WILDLIFE.
UM, IT IT'S MORE IN LINE WITH THE STANDARD PROTOCOLS FOR THE BEST CARE OF AND TREATMENT OF FERAL CATS.
OTHER CHANGES, UH, MADE ARE INTENDED TO SIMPLY IMPROVE THE READ READABILITY AND THE ORGANIZATION, UH, HOW IT'S STRUCTURED IN THE CODE.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE PERMIT SECTION OF CHAPTER FIVE, THERE ARE CHANGES IN THAT SECTION THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE SUBSTANCE, BUT JUST MAKES IT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND, UH, BY INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE VIEWING IT.
PLEASE PROCEED WITH THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, IN SUMMARY, THE RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO CHAPTER FIVE AND CHAPTER 20 OF THE CITY CODE PRESENTED TODAY, AS I MENTIONED, WERE PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED TO THE A C S ADVISORY BOARD WHO EXPRESSED SUPPORT, UH, THAT THESE CHANGES BE BROUGHT TO YOU TODAY.
THEY ARE ALSO CONSISTENT WITH THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED, UM, BY THE SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS THROUGH THE ISSUANCE OF THE TWO AS THEY SPEAK UP SURVEY.
AND SO, A C S IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE PROCEED BY TAKING, BY SEEKING CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL DURING A CITY COUNCIL A SESSION SOMETIME IN LATE OCTOBER IN ORDER TO SEEK THE SUPPORT AND WE SEEK THE SUPPORT OF THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, IT IS MY INTENT THAT ONCE APPROVED THAT THESE CHANGES COULD GO INTO EFFECT AS EARLY AS BEGINNING OF THE CALENDAR 2021, UH, AFTER A C S SPENDS TIME NOTIFYING THE COMMUNITY, UH, AND STAKEHOLDERS OF THE CHANGES IN, IN A WAY SIMILAR TO HOW WE HAVE, UH, NOTIFIED THE COMMUNITY WITH PREVIOUS CITY CODE CHANGES.
AND SO WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND I AM HERE FOR, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT MAY COME UP.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL OF YOUR TEAM'S, UH, HARD WORK ON THIS.
UM, I'LL GO AROUND TO COUNCIL COMMENTS.
UH, BUT FIRST, UH, MS. CANO, ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? NO, NOT ON THIS ITEM.
UH, JUST GENERAL, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS.
WE'LL, HERE THOSE, UM, UH, AFTER THE ITEM, UH, UM, COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRA, LET ME GET SITUATED.
UH, FIRST I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THIS WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
THANK YOU FOR STARTING THE PROCESS EVEN PRIOR TO ME BEING HERE ON THIS COMMITTEE.
BUT FIRST OF ALL, I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED, HEBER, THAT YOU DID NOT HAVE A PUP DELIVERED TO MY HOUSE WHILE WE WERE HAVING THIS COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, TO WHAT I WAS EXPECTING AFTER YOUR PROMISE FROM THE BUDGET SESSION.
UM, I, I DID, I DID WANNA KNOW ABOUT THE NUISANCE, UM, THE NUISANCE FEEDING, YOU MENTIONED FERAL CATS, BUT IN IT, IT TALKS ABOUT ANIMALS.
SO CAN YOU PLEASE GO INTO, UM, A LITTLE MORE CLARIFICATION ON THAT? YOU BET WHAT IT IS, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY CHANGING THE LAW, WE'RE JUST MORE PROVIDING ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION.
UM, AS, AS A ORGANIZATION, WE ARE, WE CONTINUE TO BE IN FAVOR OF THE T N R PRACTICES, WHERE FERAL CATS ARE ALLOWED TO ROAM FREE OF RESTRAINT, UM, AS WELL AS INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DESIROUS TO FEED THOSE CATS THAT THEY, THAT THERE IS A MECHANISM FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO SO.
WHAT THE CHANGES DO IS CLARIFY THE IMPROPER FEEDING TECHNIQUE THAT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED, SUCH AS TAKING A LARGE BAG OF CAT FOOD AND PLACING IT IN A FAR REACHING AREA, AND JUST LEAVING IT THERE FOR DAYS.
UM, THE REASON WHY WE DISCOURAGE THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR IS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT ATTRACTS OTHER WILDLIFE INTO THE AREA, AND IT'S, IT'S NOT A GOOD PRACTICE.
UM, WHAT IS TAUGHT BY THE FERAL
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CAT COALITION, AS WELL AS ENCOURAGED TO AND TAUGHT TO THOSE PEOPLE THAT WE WORK WITH, UM, IS THAT WHEN YOU'RE FEEDING THE CAT, THAT YOU LEAVE THE FOOD OUT AND THEN ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, YOU BRING IT BACK IN AND HE LEFT OVER.AND SO WE'RE JUST, WE'RE JUST KIND OF PROVIDING THAT ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION TO HELP US ON THOSE THAT ARE CLEARLY VIOLATING, UH, THE, THE BEST PRACTICES ON THE CARE OF FERAL CATS.
SO, BUT THIS IS JUST FERAL CATS BECAUSE I KNOW, UM, IN SOME OF OUR PARKS, IF THERE ARE STRAY DOGS, PEOPLE WILL LEAVE DOG FOOD THERE FOR THE DOGS.
SO, UH, YES, THAT IS STILL CUR DISCOURAGED.
AND ONTO THE, UM, THE RETAIL AND GETTING FROM OUR LICENSED NONPROFITS OR OUR RESCUES, ET CETERA.
DO YOU ALL AND DOES OUR ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. GARCIA.
UM, DO, DO THEY BELIEVE AND FEEL THAT THIS GOES FAR ENOUGH, OR DO YOU, DO THEY THINK WE NEED TO PUT EVEN STRICTER, OR DO YOU ALL THINK WE NEED TO PUT EVEN STRICTER RESTRICTIONS ON THERE? SO I BELIEVE THAT THE TOOLS THAT ARE, ARE IN PLACE TO, ON THE ENFORCEMENT SIDE, THE TOOLS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE.
I THINK THAT THESE HELP STRENGTHEN THOSE TOOLS.
UM, BUT I BELIEVE THAT WHAT WE HAVE IS WHAT IS NEEDED AND WHAT IS, WHAT IS ALIGNED WITH, UH, WITH BEST PRACTICES.
SO I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS GIVES US THE FRAMEWORK TO BE ABLE TO WORK FROM.
UM, SO WHEN, UM, SO WHEN THIS DOES, IF THIS DOES PASS FORWARD THROUGH COUNCIL, WHEN COULD WE SEE THIS PRACTICE START AT THE LARGE PET STORES? SO WE CAN HAVE, UH, AS WE GO TO CITY COUNCIL, WE CAN HAVE IT GO INTO EFFECT AS EARLY AS, UH, CALENDAR YEAR, JANUARY, 2021.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, CAN YOU PLEASE REMIND EVERYONE, OR JUST PUT OUT THERE AGAIN FOR THE RECORD, UH, FOR PEOPLE WHO TRY TO SELL DOGS AND OR CATS ON THE STREET, AT THE STREET CORNERS ON, UH, AT, UM, IN, OUT OF THEIR TRUNKS OR AT, UH, FLEA MARKETS.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, SELLING, SELLING PETS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AT FLEA MARKETS, UM, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
IT WAS PROHIBITED PRIOR TO THIS CHANGE, AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE PROHIBITED.
WHAT THIS CHANGE DOES DO IS CHANGE IT SO THAT IF WE'VE CATCH SOMEBODY WHO IS SELLING, UH, SELLING ON THE ROADSIDE OR ILLEGALLY SELLING PET, IT ENHANCES THE, UM, THE FINANCIAL COST WHERE THE, THE CITATION OF THAT CITATION IS NOT A MINIMUM OF 100, BUT IT'S A MINIMUM OF $500 PER, PER OFFENSE.
AND SO, WHAT, WHAT WE'VE NOTICED, PARTICULARLY WITH SOME OF THE, UH, PREVALENT ROADSIDE SELLERS, IS THEY CONSIDER THE CITATIONS THAT WE ISSUE AS PART OF DOING BUSINESS.
AND SO BY RAISING THAT MINIMUM FROM 100 TO 500, IT BASICALLY, UH, IS INTENDED TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM TO FIND A BETTER WAY TO, AND, AND THE RIGHT WAY TO DO THAT.
COUNCILWOMAN COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
COUNCILMAN TREVINO, IS IT, UH, I, I SUPPORT THIS.
DO YOU NEED A MOTION? HEBER? SO WE WOULD, OH, GO AHEAD.
OH, I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU,
UH, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, IT, SINCE PETS CAN'T BE, UM, SOLD WITHOUT BEING STERILIZED FIRST, UH, IS THAT WHY WE NOW HAVE THE AGE OF EIGHT WEEKS PRIOR TO SELLING? IS THAT A SAFE TIME FOR, IT'S, IT'S NOT SO MUCH, YEAH.
IT'S NOT SO MUCH ASSOCIATED WITH THE STERILIZATION AS IT IS THAT DURING THAT FIRST, UH, FIRST FEW WEEKS OF THE ANIMALS' LIVES, THAT THEY'RE, THAT IT DOES NEED SPECIALIZED CARE.
IT NEEDS TO BE, IT CANNOT BE VACCINATED DURING
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THAT TIMEFRAME.AND SO IT REALLY, IT'S NOT THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO BE ABLE TO SELL A PET.
UH, NOW THAT, THAT LENGTH DOES NOT CHANGE, THAT WAS, THAT WAS INCORPORATED BEFOREHAND AND IS A COMMON COMMON PRACTICE.
UM, BUT IT'S MORE TO PRESERVE AND TO HELP THE, IN THE CARE OF THE ANIMAL, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT ANIMAL'S NOT TRANSFERRING OR CATCHING, UH, VERY DEADLY DISEASES SUCH AS, UH, DISTEMPER OR PARVO.
SO, AT, AT WHAT AGE IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR A DOG OR CAT TO BE SPAYED OR NEUTER? SO, UH, IT IS LESS ABOUT THE AGE AND MORE ABOUT THE WEIGHT, ALTHOUGH THE AGE, UM, SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, A CAT NEEDS TO BE, SHANNON, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IT, IS IT TWO POUNDS? YES, SIR.
TWO POUNDS FOR A CAT, WHICH IS ROUGHLY ABOUT, UM, TWO MONTHS, TWO MONTHS OLD.
SO THEN, UM, I GUESS I'M JUST HAVING, UH, TROUBLE FIGURING OUT THE TIMELINE.
SO THE, THE PET MUST BE STERILIZED BEFORE IT'S SOLD, AND IT CAN'T BE SOLD BE, UH, UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHT WEEKS.
SO ARE THOSE, SO THEY GO, THEY DO GO HAND IN HAND.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
THAT, UH, THE, THAT, THAT THE TIMEFRAME DOES MAKE IT SO THAT THOSE PETS CAN BE STERILIZED.
UM, BUT THERE'S OTHER REASONS FOR WHY THAT TWO MONTHS REQUIREMENT IS THERE.
UM, OR THE EIGHT WEEK REQUIREMENT.
SO THE, UH, MY, MY OTHER QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH, OBVIOUSLY THIS WOULD APPLY WITHIN THE, THE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
UH, HOW DO OUR SUBURBAN CITIES, UH, FARE IN THIS ISSUE? IS THAT, IS THAT ANYTHING WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT WORKING WITH THEM ON? ARE THERE PET STORES IN, IN, YOU KNOW, LEON VALLEY OR KIRBY? SO THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME OF THEM THAT ARE OUTSIDE IN NEIGHBORING CITIES.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES IS LOOKING TO BE ABLE TO PROMOTE A, UH, A SIMILAR BILL ON THE STATE SIDE.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF STATES THAT HAVE INCORPORATED THE, UH, SIMILAR REQUIREMENTS, UH, TO THIS.
SO, WE'LL, WE WILL SEE IT ON A STATE SIDE.
UM, I, I HAVE NO PROBLEM IF, UH, WORKING AND REACHING OUT TO SOME OF THOSE ANIMAL AGENCIES OF THOSE CITIES TO SEE IF THEY ARE INTERESTED AS WELL.
UM, BUT THERE ARE A FEW OF THEM THAT ARE ASSOCIATED IN THOSE, IN THOSE AREAS.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD BE BEST SUITED TO, TO ADVISE US ON WHETHER IT'S, IT'S WORTH YOUR WHILE, UH, TO DO THAT BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANNA PUT IN ALL THIS WORK ON, ON YOUR BEHALF AND, AND YOUR STAFF, UH, DOING THIS IF, YOU KNOW, JUST DOWN THE ROAD, UH, SOMEONE DOESN'T HAVE TO COMPLY.
SO, UM, COULD YOU BRING US AN UPDATE ON THAT WHEN WE GO TO FULL COUNSEL? ABSOLUTELY.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH AN ENFORCEMENT PLAN ENFORCE.
UM, HOW, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ENFORCE IT? UH, DO YOU HAVE THE STAFF IN ORDER TO DO THAT? WHAT TYPE OF COMPLIANCE DO YOU SEE? UM, ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES, PETER.
SO THE, UH, PET SHOPS ARE ALREADY, ARE CURRENTLY REQUIRED TO PROVIDE, TO GET, TO OBTAIN A, AN ANNUAL PERMIT TO ALLOW THEM TO, UH, TO BE IN OPERATION.
AND SO OUR OFFICERS ARE ALREADY VISITING ON AN ANNUAL BASIS BASIS.
UH, WHAT THE CHANGES DOES IS IT KIND OF SPECIFIES, UH, WHEN WE DO THE VISITS, WHAT IS SOME OF THE DOCUMENTATION THAT WILL BE NECESSARY IN ORDER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, TO LOOK AT WHERE THE PETS ARE COMING FROM.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE CODE, THE CODE TA CHANGE INDICATES THAT THE RECORDS OF THOSE PETS, WHERE THE PORTS CAME FROM, UH, NEED TO BE RETAINED BY THE ORGANIZATION FOR 12 MONTHS, FOR A MINIMUM OF 12 MONTHS.
AND SO IT GIVES OUR OFFICERS THE ABILITY WHEN WE GO AND DO THE PERMIT, TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION AND TO DO A REVIEW AS TO WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, AND SO WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT.
IT'S JUST CHANGING THAT PROCESS A LITTLE BIT.
UH, IN REGARDS TO THE, UM, THE, THE BACKYARD, THE INCREASE IN FINE, WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT.
IT'S JUST THAT WHEN WE ISSUE THE CITATION, WHEN THEY GO TO THE COURT, UM, THE FINE IS GOING TO BE A MINIMUM OF 500, NOT A MINIMUM OF 100 FOR THE COURTS.
WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO PROVIDE US AFTER THIS MEETING, UH, SOME KIND OF SUMMARY IN TERMS OF FINES THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, ISSUED AND ASSESSED, OR CITATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND FINES ASSESSED? YEAH, I CAN, YEAH.
SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT I CAN GET MORE,
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DE MORE DETAIL.UM, AND I'LL PUT THAT IN THE PRESENTATION TO CITY COUNCIL, UH, WHAT I CAN TO 19, THE CITY COUNCIL DID APPROVE AN OFFICER THAT, WITH THE INTENT TO SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE, UH, ILLEGAL CELL OF DOGS AND CATS.
AND SINCE, SINCE THAT OFFICER HAS BEEN HIRED AND BEEN PUT INTO EFFECT, WE HAVE INVESTIGATED OVER 522 CASES, UM, IN SAN ANTONIO.
MANY OF THEM, OR MANY OF THEM, RESULTED IN CITATIONS BEING ISSUED.
OTHERS FOUND THAT THERE, UM, UM, THAT THERE WASN'T AN ISSUE IN PLACE.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THAT THERE'S 522 CASES THAT WE'VE INVESTIGATED.
AND THAT'S FOR SALES? CORRECT? FOR SALES.
AND YEAH, THAT WOULD BE ROADSIDE SALES.
THAT WOULD BE BACKYARD, UH, THAT WOULD BE, UM, UH, IMPROPER SELLING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES THE, ANY VIOLATIONS ASSOCIATED AT, AT A, UH, PET, PET SHOP.
AND AS WELL AS CITATIONS FOR ANY OF THE OTHER, UM, UH, REGULATIONS, UH, CHAPTER FIVE REGULATIONS, I THINK, UM, LIKE ANIMAL CRUELTY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND, UM, I THINK THAT'S, UH, THAT'S MY LAST QUESTION FOR NOW.
I HAVE ANOTHER ONE, BUT, UM, I'LL JUST TALK TO YOU OFFLINE IF AND WHEN I REMEMBER IT.
UH, SO IF THERE'S, UH, IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NOPE.
[4 20-5686 Briefing and review of public participation practices, including selection of a facilitator to work with the City of San Antonio to solicit input from residents. [Carlos J. Contreras III, Assistant City Manager; Jeff Coyle, Director, Government and Public Affairs]]
OUR NEXT ITEM IS, UH, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FACILITATOR PRESENTED BY, UH, JEFF COYLE.ARE YOU THERE? I'M HERE CHAIRWOMAN.
CAN YOU SEE AND HEAR ME? I CAN HEAR YOU.
WE JUST HAVE A, A BRIEF UPDATE FOR THE COMMITTEE.
I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS TOPIC ON A FEW PRIOR OCCASIONS, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE AS WE MOVE ALONG.
UH, THIS IS SPECIFICALLY A CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR PROCUREMENT OF A FACILITATOR, UH, TO LEAD A, A REVIEW OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PRACTICES, UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH INPUT FROM, UH, THE COMMUNITY, FROM PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELD, AS WELL AS RESIDENTS WHO HAVE HAD EXPERIENCES, UM, ENGAGING WITH THE CITY.
JUST A VERY BRIEF HISTORY THAT, UH, THERE WAS A, A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST IN FEBRUARY, 2018, AUTHORED BY THIS CHAIR, UH, ABOUT ADVANCING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
UH, FOLLOWING THAT, WE, UM, CONDUCTED AN INTERNAL REVIEW, MADE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNANCE.
THERE WAS THEN AN ADDENDUM TO THE C C R BY COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL AND THE MAYOR REQUESTING SEVERAL OTHER ITEMS. UH, WE, YOU, AS A COUNCIL, ADOPTED SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN JANUARY OF 2019, AND WE WANNA STEP BEYOND THAT AND HAVE THE CITY MANAGER ISSUE AN ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE THAT LAID OUT MINIMUM STANDARDS TO DEPARTMENTS FOR ENGAGING WITH THE PUBLIC ON POLICY ISSUES.
VERY QUICK, UH, REMINDER OF THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
WE, WE COMMIT TO MAKING SURE OUR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION EFFORTS ARE MEANINGFUL.
THEY'RE TRANSPARENT, THEY'RE RESPECTFUL OF DIVERGING VIEWS, THEY'RE INCLUSIVE OF ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS ACCESSIBLE, MEANING WE ELIMINATE BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATING.
UH, WE USE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO INFORM, UH, WE RESPOND.
MEANING IF THEY GIVE US COMMENTS, WE, WE PAY THEM THE RESPECT OF A, OF A RESPONSE AND A FOLLOW UP REPORT.
WHEN WE'RE DONE, THE, THE EFFORTS ARE GONNA BE TIMELY, MEANING, UH, IN ADVANCE OF DECISIONS MADE BY COUNCIL COMMITTEES OR THE BODY AS A WHOLE.
WE TRY TO BE AS CONVENIENT AS POSSIBLE TO GO TO WHERE RESIDENTS ARE, AND WE SEE THIS AS A CONTINUOUS EFFORT.
WE BUILD ON EACH EFFORT, UH, FOR THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I'LL ADD TO THIS, THAT FROM THE C C R, WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF, OF THINGS ALREADY THAT YOU'VE SEEN.
WE'VE ADDED THE, UH, E-COM AND THE NON-DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN COUNCIL MEETINGS.
UH, WE ARE PRODUCING REPORTS FOR EVERY PARTICIPATION EFFORT THAT WE DO, SO THAT THE PUBLIC SEES THE RESULTS.
UH, WE'RE STREAMING COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETINGS LIKE THIS THAT WERE, WERE NOT DONE, DONE BEFORE.
UH, AND SO IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, FOR ME, AMANDA.
UH, ONE OF THE PIECES THAT WE HAD NOT, UH, DONE YET WAS SELECT A FACILITATOR TO LEAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE
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COMMUNITY.UH, THIS CURRENT BUDGET YEAR, WHICH IS WINDING DOWN, UH, BUDGETED $25,000 FOR THE HIRING OF THAT FACILITATOR.
WE WERE INITIALLY PLANNING TO DO IT IN THE SPRING, AND THEN COVID HIT, SO WE PUT IT OFF, UH, UNTIL JULY THIS SUMMER.
UM, BUT IT'S ALSO GIVEN US AN OPPORTUNITY, AS WE ALL KNOW, TO LEARN A WHOLE LOT ABOUT PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
UH, AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC, WE, UH, SOLICITED PROPOSALS FROM FIVE, UH, LOCAL FACILITATORS.
WE GOT FOUR PROPOSALS BACK, AND A SELECTION COMMITTEE OF LORI HOUSTON, MYSELF, UH, LAURA JONATHAN BUTLER IN THE EQUITY OFFICE.
AND MICHELLE MARTINEZ, AN EXTERNAL PARTICIPANT WHO'S ALSO A PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PRACTITIONER HERSELF, UH, REVIEWED THOSE FOUR PROPOSALS, AND OUR SELECTION WAS NEXT SLIDE, LAURA, WITH A, OUR AMANDA WITH A DRUM ROLL.
SA 2020, UH, SUBMITTED A PROPOSAL AS AN ORGANIZATION.
AND IF YOU RECALL BACK TO THE, UH, COUNCIL CONVERSATION LAST YEAR, UM, I BELIEVE MANY OF YOU, I'M LOOKING AT COUNCILMAN TREVINO IN PARTICULAR, UH, HAD COMMENTS ABOUT WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, SA SPEAK UP WAS BETTER ALIGNED WITH SA 2020.
AND BY NATURE OF SA 20 TWENTY'S WORK, THEY DO, AS, YOU KNOW, EXTENSIVE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, AS DO WE HERE AT THE CITY.
UH, IN ADDITION, UM, THEY, THEY HAVE AN ANNUAL CONTRACT WITH THE CITY FOR THE OTHER WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND SO WE SAW THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY, NOT JUST TO HAVE THE SHORT TERM FACILITATION PROJECT, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, BUT ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SA 2020 TO REMAIN ENGAGED WITH THE CITY, UH, AND PROVIDING SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE, UH, BEYOND THAT.
SO, THE SCOPE OF WORK, UH, THAT WAS, UH, UH, IN THE CONTRACT AND THAT THEY'VE AGREED TO IS TO, NUMBER ONE, REVIEW OUR EXISTING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES, UH, TO THEN, UH, UH, PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS TO SERVE ON, UH, THE COMMUNITY INPUT, UH, GROUP.
IT HAD INITIALLY BEEN PROPOSED AS AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE ESSAY 2020 AS, UH, SHAKEN THAT UP A LITTLE BIT AND SUGGESTED WE OUGHT TO MAYBE DO MORE THAN JUST ONE STANDING GROUP, BUT RATHER SEVERAL FOCUS GROUPS WHERE WE COULD REALLY DIVE IN DEEPER ON SPECIFIC ISSUES.
SO, UH, WE'VE LIKED THAT IDEA, WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU HERE.
UH, THEY WOULD, UM, FACILITATE THOSE DISCUSSIONS AMONGST THE FOCUS GROUPS WITH THE PURPOSE OF IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTS, OPPORTUNITIES, UH, TO CLOSE GAPS THAT MIGHT EXIST IN OUR, IN OUR INPUT AND ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
AND ULTIMATELY, FOR THEM TO SUMMARIZE THE, THE FEEDBACK OF THOSE GROUPS AND PRESENT A REPORT TO THE CITY WITH, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
NEXT SLIDE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS THE LAST SLIDE.
UM, A LITTLE BIT OF OUR TIMING.
SO WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN, WE KICKED OFF WITH, UM, ESSAY 2020 ON, UH, SEPTEMBER 15TH.
AND I KNOW, UH, CHAIRWOMAN SANDOVAL HAS HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH THEM A LITTLE BIT AS WELL.
WE HAVE PROVIDED THEM A, A LONG LIST OF RESOURCES TO REVIEW REPORTS FROM PAST, UH, EFFORTS, PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'VE DONE, UM, DATA IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'VE GATHERED ON POLICY ISSUES AND SO FORTH, OUR ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVES, GUIDING PRINCIPLES, ALL OF THE RESOURCES THAT EXIST ACROSS OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ENGAGED IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
AND SO THEY ARE, ARE BURIED DEEP SOMEWHERE, LOOKING THROUGH ALL THOSE THINGS AS, AS THEIR SORT OF ONBOARDING PROCESS.
THEY'VE ALSO SUGGESTED THEY'D LIKE TO DO A SURVEY OF CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO GATHER, UH, INPUT FROM, UH, FROM ALL THE DEPARTMENTS ON, ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
I BELIEVE THAT WILL BE, INCLUDE COUNCIL OFFICES AS WELL TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE, PROVIDE YOUR FEEDBACK ON YOUR EXPERIENCES, YOUR EXPECTATIONS, WHERE YOU SEE OPPORTUNITIES AND SO FORTH.
UH, AND THEN THEY WILL KICK OFF THE, THE FOCUS GROUP PROCESS HERE, UH, IN ANOTHER MONTH OR TWO.
SO, NO, NO HARD SET DEADLINE YET, BUT THE INTENT IS FOR ALL THIS WORK TO BE WRAPPED UP IN SIX MONTHS, ROUGHLY THE FEBRUARY, 2021 TIMEFRAME.
I BELIEVE THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE, AND I WILL, UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
SA 2020, BY THE WAY, UM, HAS A, AN EVENT TOMORROW AND UNFORTUNATELY WASN'T ABLE TO JOIN US.
THEY'RE ALL PREPPING FOR THAT.
I ASSUME YOU'LL, YOU'LL WANNA ASK THEM QUESTIONS, AND WE'LL MAKE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO ALL OF YOU.
UM, BUT FOR NOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO DO OUR BEST ANSWERING THEM AND, AND TAKE, UH, INFORMATION BACK TO OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH ESSAY 2020.
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ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS, NANCY? OR IF YOU JUST WANNA YES, MA'AM, THERE ARE.UM, THE FIRST ONE IS FROM JENNIFER
SHE STATES, THE CITY'S PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS IS A FOREST.
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR WORKING PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE.
I HAVE TO MISS HOURS OF WORK ON SEVERAL THURSDAY MORNINGS TO PARTICIPATE IN OSA'S BUDGET PROCESS.
HOW DO PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF THEIR WORK SUPPORTING THEIR COMMUNITY WORK, PARTICIPATE AND BE HEARD? WHY SHOULD WE SPEND HOURS LISTENING TO YOU? YOU ALL STROKE ONE ANOTHER'S EGO THANKING EACH OTHER WHILE YOU SILENCE THE HUNDREDS OF COMMENTS LEFT DURING THE ESSAY SPEAK UP PROCESS.
THE SECOND COMMENT IS FROM A NICK SWANSON.
HE STATES, YOU HAD 22,000 PEOPLE ENGAGE IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, REFUSED, AND YOU REFUSED TO HEAR THEIR VOICE.
YOU MADE A MOCK OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
SO FAR HOW WE FIX THAT, IT MUST BE MADE CLEAR EXACTLY HOW WE'LL INCORPORATE PUBLIC FEEDBACK EFFECTIVELY AND HOW YOU'LL OBTAIN IT EQUITABLY ACROSS DIGITAL AND LANGUAGE DIVIDES IN THE COMMENTS MATTER.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, NANCY.
UH, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL COMMENTS.
UM, COUNCILMAN TREVINO, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS AT THIS TIME? NO COMMENTS.
UM, YEAH, JEFF, COULD YOU PLEASE PUT ON THE SCREEN WHAT THEIR SCOPE OF WORK IS? AND SO YOU'VE ALREADY AWARDED THIS TO SA 2020.
WE HAVE, WE'VE SIGNED, COMPLETED A CONTRACT, UH, WITH THEM, UH, FOR THE $25,000 BUDGET.
AND, UM, AND THIS IS THE SCOPE OF WORK IN THE, IN THE CONTRACT.
I'M NOT SURE IF AMANDA CAN BRING IT, BRING IT BACK UP FOR US.
I BELIEVE IT WAS SLIDE FIVE, IF THAT HELPS.
AND SO HOW LONG IS THIS CONTRACT SUPPOSED TO LAST FOR? UH, INITIALLY IT WAS PROPOSED AS FIVE MONTHS.
I THINK IN TALKING WITH THEM, UH, AND, AND RECOGNIZING THE HOLIDAYS, UH, LATER THIS YEAR, WE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ROUGHLY PUSHED IT A LITTLE BIT TO FEBRUARY.
I THINK THE BIGGER POINT THOUGH, IS THAT WITH THEIR ANNUAL CONTRACT WITH, UH, THE CITY THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, THAT THEY'RE NOT A FACILITATOR THAT'S GONNA, UH, COME AND WORK WITH US FOR A FEW MONTHS AND THEN BE GONE.
UH, I THINK THE, ONE OF THE EXCITING THINGS ABOUT THIS WAS THE IDEA THAT THEY WERE INVESTED IN, IN LONG-TERM, UM, ENGAGEMENT WITH US AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, BUT, BUT IN TERMS OF THE INITIAL SCOPE OF WORK, THE, UH, THE INTENT IS FOR THEIR REPORT BACK, UH, TO BE COMPLETED BY FEBRUARY.
SO IS YOUR, THEN, I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE PART OF, WE CONTINUE TO GIVE THEM, OR THEY'RE PART OF THE CITY MANAGER MANAGER'S BUDGET, BUT IS THIS A WAY FOR YOU TO CONTINUE TO GET MORE MONEY TO SA 2020 OR NO, OUR, OUR, UH, OR WHAT? NO, OUR, OUR, UH, WE'VE BEEN REMO, WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE BEEN, BEEN RAISING A LOT OF MONEY NOW ON THEIR OWN, ET CETERA, AND DOING A LOT OF WORK.
UM, SO THEY'RE SO, SO, YEAH, GO AHEAD.
WELL, THEY'RE OUR, UM, THIS SCOPE OF WORK AND OUR CONTRACT WITH THEM IS FOR A DEFINED AMOUNT OF MONEY.
SO THERE'S NO INTENT OF, IN FACT, I DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE BUDGET IN MY DEPARTMENT TO GO BEYOND THAT.
WE WERE YOU ALL AS A COUNCIL, APPROPRIATED THE $25,000 AND THAT'S IT.
UM, THE MANAGER'S OFFICE, AND I'M NOT AS, AS WELL INFORMED ABOUT THE OTHER WORK THAT THEY DO.
BUT, BUT THEY DO HAVE AN ANNUAL CONTRACT, UH, FOR OTHER SUPPORT WORK, UH, THROUGH THE MANAGER'S OFFICE.
AND WHAT, WHAT THEY'VE, WE'VE AGREED TO IS THAT THEY WOULD ADD LANGUAGE TO THAT CONTRACT THAT, UH, INCLUDES ONGOING SUPPORT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH US IN THE REALM OF, OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
IT DOESN'T CHANGE A DOLLAR AMOUNT.
THERE WAS NO, UH, REQUEST FOR MORE, MORE BUSINESS OR MORE FUNDING, ANY, ANYTHING TO THAT EFFECT.
IT'S JUST THE IDEA THAT THEY'RE A LONG-TERM PARTNER WITH US.
AND, UH, AS, AS OPPORTUNITIES ARISE IN THE FUTURE, UM, WE'LL POTENTIALLY BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THEM ON THINGS.
AND THEY'RE A, THEY'RE A SMALLER, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE A SMALL TEAM, BUT THEY'RE A SMALL BUT MIGHTY TEAM.
UM, AND THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF, OF, UM, FOCUS GROUPS,
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FEEDBACK, ET CETERA.SO, UM, I'M, I'M, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW THEY, UH, ARE GOING TO APPROACH GETTING ALL OF THESE FOCUS GROUPS AND ALL OF THESE CONTACTS.
UM, SO I, I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE THAT TOO, NOT JUST THE POWERPOINT.
SO THOSE ARE ALL OF MY COMMENTS.
THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT? UH, I DO.
SO, UH, THANK YOU, UM, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ESPECIALLY TO, UM, MY, UH, COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCILMAN ZAL FOR WORKING SO HARD ON THIS ISSUE.
I KNOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATING WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS AND GETTING FEEDBACK FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS, IT'S, IT'S, I FEEL LIKE IT'S ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS TO DO, ESPECIALLY THESE DAYS WITH SO MUCH NOISE AND, UM, SO MANY WAYS TO COMMUNICATE.
IT FEELS LIKE WE HAVE LESS COMMUNICATION THAN EVER.
UM, BECAUSE IT USED TO BE RIGHT THAT WE WERE, UH, NOT JUST, NOT JUST, UM, PRE COVID, BUT IT USED TO BE THAT, UM, PEOPLE WERE JUST HAVING MORE FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION, WHICH IT SEEMS LIKE WE DON'T HAVE ANYMORE AS WE USED TO.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M TALKING PERHAPS A GENERATION AGO.
UM, AND SO I, UM, I, I'M, I'M GRATEFUL THAT WE, UM, IN MANY WAYS HAVE THIS FORMAT TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.
AS I HAD MENTIONED BEFORE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FIRST WENT TO A LOT OF THIS ONLINE DIGITAL, UH, SORT OF FORMAT, UM, MY SENSE WAS THAT PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING TO LIKE IT.
BUT WHAT WE HAVE FIGURED OUT IS THAT ACTUALLY PEOPLE DO, AND WE GET A LOT MORE FEEDBACK AND A LOT MORE PARTICIPATION BY HAVING THESE VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
SO I FEEL LIKE IT'S, THERE ARE PLUSES AND MINUSES.
I PERHAPS WE GET A LOT OF INFORMATION, BUT, UM, IT'S NOT ALWAYS MEANINGFUL, WHICH IS, UH, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE, UM, GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
UM, IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, UM, WE APPROVED AND THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR SUPPORTING, UM, A PROGRAM, UM, NOT EXACTLY LIKE
AND IT WAS A PROGRAM THAT WE ARE, UM, TRYING TO MODEL OUT OF PHILADELPHIA, UM, FROM, WITH LISC AND THEIR NATIONAL PROGRAM TO, UM, TRAIN, UH, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO BE THEIR OWN FACILITATORS.
AND SO THAT WILL BE A PILOT, UM, AND WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES.
I'M HOPEFUL, UM, THAT PERHAPS WE COULD GET A LITTLE BIT MORE MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK, UM, WITH A DIFFERENT KIND OF A PROGRAM THAT TRAINS THEM TO GET THAT FEEDBACK THEMSELVES.
SO NOT JUST TO GET THE FEEDBACK, BUT ALSO COMMUNICATE THE INFORMATION.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH COVID, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UM, WE WERE WORKING, UH, WITH JEFF AND, AND EVEN WITH DR.
BRIDGER, LIKE, HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING THIS INFORMATION TO OUR CONSTITUENTS? BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE'RE, WE HAVE LIKE SO MANY PLATFORMS, CLEARLY WE WERE JUST MISSING THE MARK.
SO I AM, I, I, I THINK THIS IS, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, A GOOD MODEL, BUT I, I, THAT ONE THAT WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY, AND I'M SUPPORTIVE OF IT.
UM, I JUST HOPE THAT, UM, WITH THE MODEL THAT I'M, I'M PILOTING IN THE DISTRICT THAT THAT MAY BE, UM, ANOTHER MEANINGFUL WAY TO GET INFORMATION.
I KNOW ONE OF THE WAYS THAT I ALWAYS GOT FEEDBACK IN THE COMMUNITY WAS JUST BY BEING PLACES.
AND WITH COVID, THAT'S KINDA SHUT DOWN.
AND WHEN I'M TALKING ABOUT BEING PLACES, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE
SO, UM, I WAS ALWAYS STOPPED, UH, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE I WAS WITH PEOPLE SAYING, UM, HOW THEY FELT ABOUT A PARTICULAR THING THAT WE WERE DOING AT THE COUNCIL.
SO, UM, I, I, I, I'M GRATEFUL FOR THIS, BUT I DO HOPE THAT THAT COMMUNITY CONNECTOR, UM, MODEL ALSO GIVES US BETTER, I DON'T WANNA SAY BETTER FEEDBACK, BUT PERHAPS, UM, MORE, UH, MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK, UM, AS WE TRY TO MAKE DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, ALWAYS WORKING ON, UM, THIS ISSUE.
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YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP? YEAH, I, I'M GLAD COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, GONZALEZ MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE EVEN, UH, WITH, UM, THE ARTS DEPARTMENT AND LOOKING AT A BOND PROGRAM FOR OUR ARTS, UM, A BOND PROJECT OF ARTS IN OUR DISTRICT ARTS IS PARTNERING WITH A VERY, UH, THE TERM YOU USE CHAIR IS HYPER-LOCAL GROUP WHO KNOWS THE AREA, WHO'S TRUST, WHO'S A TRUSTED AGENT IN THE AREA.AND I THINK THIS COMMUNITY CONNECTOR OR HYPER-LOCAL, UM, AGENT WOULD, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AS WE CONTINUE TO REALLY DRILL DOWN TO FIND OUT WHAT ARE THE BEST METHODS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
I DID GET TO SEE THE, UM, ALSO THE METRO HEALTH, UH, SURVEYS FROM WHEN THEY WERE DOING THE SURVEYS IN DISTRICTS THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE, AND WHAT WERE THE BEST, UM, TOOLS THAT PEOPLE SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY GOT THEIR INFORMATION AND THE TELEVISION WAS, IS HUGE RIGHT NOW, UH, HOW PEOPLE ARE GETTING THEIR, THEIR INFORMATION.
BUT WHERE DID OUR WORKERS GO OUT? THEY WENT TO THE LAUNDROMAT, THEY WENT TO, UH, DIFFERENT PLACES TO GATHER THESE, THESE SURVEYS.
UM, SO I GUESS, I GUESS THE TERM FACILITATOR IS HAVING ME TO CONFUSED, BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE, AND THAT'S WHY I ALSO SIGNED ONTO THIS TO, FOR THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DRILLING DOWN, AND GOSH, HOW IT'S CHANGED SINCE WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THE C C R UNTIL WHERE WE ARE NOW.
UM, BECAUSE I ALSO HEAR THE COMMENTS AND I ALSO HEAR COMMENTS OF, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE COMPLAINTS OF PEOPLE UPSET THAT THEY'RE, UM, THEY CAN'T GET THROUGH ON THE PHONE AND THEN THEY CAN'T BE THERE IN PERSON, AND THEN THEY CAN'T BE THERE, UM, IN THE AFTERNOON AT CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
SO THERE'S A WHOLE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE EVER GONNA BE ABLE TO FILL THE NEED FOR EVERYONE AT ONE TIME.
UH, BUT I THINK THAT'S ALSO A COMBINATION WHERE I HOPE THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO CONNECT WITH, UM, OUR CITY CLERK'S OFFICE CHAIR TO REALLY WORK WITH OUR CITY CLERK'S OFFICE TO MAKE SURE WHAT ARE NEW AND DYNAMIC THINGS THAT CITY CLERKS ARE DOING THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES IN ORDER TO GET, UM, CITIZENS TO BE HEARD AND TO GET THOSE PUBLIC, UH, COMMENTS.
SO THOSE ARE ALL, UH, THOSE ARE MY REMAINING REMARKS.
MAY I SAY A COUPLE OF THINGS? I, UH, COUNCILMAN THANK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS.
AND, UM, THE, THE WORLD HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.
UH, AND, AND I THINK A COUPLE OF THINGS.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER FROM OUR LAST PRESENTATION BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE, WE HAVE THE PROCUREMENT UNDERWAY FOR SOME IT SOLUTIONS THAT WE HELP WILL PULL A LOT OF, UH, THE PIECES TOGETHER.
UM, I THINK THOSE ARE GONNA BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY, UH, ADVANCE SORT OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO DO THIS SORT OF THING.
AND, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE MAKING SA 2020 AWARE OF SO THAT THEY CAN BE REVIEWING THAT AND PUTTING THAT IN FRONT OF FOCUS GROUPS AS WELL.
UM, SECOND, UM, YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S, EVERYBODY'S GOT DIFFERENT NEEDS IN TERMS OF AVAILABILITY AND WAYS THEY WANNA ACCESS AND SO FORTH.
OUR GOAL, UH, REALLY STEMMING FROM THESE GUIDING PRINCIPLES AT THE BEGINNING IS TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ANYBODY TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY WAY THEY CAN.
AND SO, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, HEBREW'S PRESENTATION RIGHT BEFORE THIS WAS A PERFECT EXAMPLE BECAUSE FIVE, 10 YEARS AGO, THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT THAT WOULD'VE GONE INTO THAT PROPOSED ORDINANCE WOULD'VE BEEN PROBABLY A FEW PUBLIC MEETINGS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE CITY.
AND YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD A FEW DOZEN PEOPLE PARTICIPATE, BUT INSTEAD THEY DID TWO SURVEYS, HAD, I THINK THEY SAID 4,000 RESPONSES FOR EACH ONE.
THEY ASKED SOME VERY, VERY DETAILED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY, AND THEN PRODUCED A REPORT THAT SUMMARIZED EVERYBODY'S FEEDBACK, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE, WHICH ARE ON THE ESSAY SPEAKUP WEBSITE RIGHT NOW.
UH, SO WE'RE, WE ARE, OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TO TRY TO MAKE AS, UH, OPEN AS MANY DOORS FOR PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO ENGAGE WITH US AT THE END OF THE DAY.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEIR WISHES WILL ALWAYS BE ACTED UPON.
UH, YOU ALL, AS, AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, HAVE TO BALANCE A NUMBER OF COMPETING INTERESTS.
UM, BUT SO LONG AS WE'VE, WE'VE MADE SURE THAT WE'VE GIVEN AS MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO HEAR FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS AS WE CAN FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS, UM, THEN WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE OUR JOB AND, AND IT'S A EVER EVOLVING ISSUE, UH, WITH TECHNOLOGY AND SO FORTH.
BUT, UM, THE INTENT IS TO TRY TO KEEP, UH, WITH ALL THE THINGS WE'VE ADDED, IDENTIFY WHERE ELSE THERE MIGHT BE GAPS AND WHAT OTHER THINGS WE CAN SHORE UP.
AND ALSO, NOW THAT WE'VE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES, TALK TO PEOPLE AND HEAR FROM THEM ABOUT WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN, UH, IN OUR CHANGED APPROACH.
[00:50:01]
PUT A BOW ON, ON WHERE, WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS.ARE YOU MUTED? THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS FOR TODAY.
UM, I JUST HAVE A, A COUPLE OF OF COMMENTS.
FIRST, THANK YOU, JEFF, FOR, FOR WORKING ON THIS.
UM, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF TRANSPARENCY, WOULD YOU MIND TELLING US HOW MANY, UM, COMPANIES BID FOR, FOR THIS PROJECT? YES.
WE HAD FOUR PROPOSALS ALTOGETHER.
WE HAD A, A, UH, WE HAD SOLICITED FIVE.
WE, WE WANTED THIS TO BE SOMEBODY LOCAL.
UH, SO WE SOLICITED, UM, UH, FIVE, UM, FACILITATORS WHO WE, WE KNEW OF THAT DID THIS SORT OF WORK, UM, DIVERSITY ACROSS THE, UH, THE POTENTIAL BIDDERS.
UH, AND FOUR OF THE FIVE, UH, BID, UH, MOST OF THEM WERE, UH, EITHER INDIVIDUALS OR, OR PRIVATE COMPANIES.
SA 2020 WAS ONLY, WAS THE ONLY SORT OF INSTITUTIONAL PROPOSAL, UM, AND A SURPRISE ONE AT THAT.
AND, UH, WE WERE, WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT IT FOR ALL THE REASONS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN TO, TO MY COLLEAGUES KIND OF HOW WE GOT TO, TO THIS POINT.
SO WHEN I HAD REQUESTED, UH, THIS, THIS BUDGET ASK A WHILE BACK, IT WAS BECAUSE I HAD ANTICIPATED THAT WE'D HAVE SOME SORT OF WORKING GROUP THAT WE COULD GO TO TO ADVISE US ON THINGS LIKE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD, AND HOW DO WE MAKE IT, UH, BETTER.
UM, BUT, UH, AFTER YOU SELECTED SA 2020, UM, AND, UH, YOU HAD THE CONVERSATION WITH THEM, THEY ACTUALLY RECOMMENDED, UH, A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SCOPE OF WORK, RIGHT? WHICH WAS DOING THIS, THIS ASSESSMENT, UM, AND THEN HAVING DIFFERENT FOCUS GROUPS AS OPPOSED TO JUST ONE GROUP THAT YOU GO TO FOR ALL OF YOUR INPUT.
SO, UM, I, I LIKE THE IDEA OF GOING TO DIFFERENT GROUPS, UM, BUT I DO THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN WE, WHEN SA 2020 DOES THAT, THAT UH, THEY HAVE THE TOOLS TO CONNECT WITH THOSE LOCAL COMMUNITIES, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY VARY.
IF YOU GO TO 7 8 2 1 2 VERSUS, UH, YOU KNOW, 7, 8, 2, 1 0, I THINK YOU, YOU MIGHT FIND PEOPLE ENGAGING IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND I, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SPEAK WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE SCOPE OF WORK IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY THINK IS THE BEST WAY TO REACH SOME MEMBERS OF, OF THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND EVEN LIKE COUNCILWOMAN GERRAN SAID, IS POSSIBLY EVEN PARTNERING WITH OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, THOSE TRUSTED AGENTS IN, IN THE AREA.
DO YOU THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT, JEFF? ABSOLUTELY.
I, I, THERE'S NO QUESTION WE, WE CAN DO THAT.
AND I THINK, UM, THE, THE MEMBERSHIP ON THE GROUPS THAT THEY, UH, THAT ARE PUT TOGETHER ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TOO, TO YOUR, TO YOUR POINTS.
UM, AND I, UH, BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY, UM, IT'S, IT'S MY INTENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SET UP CONVERSATIONS WITH EACH OF YOUR OFFICES IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, TO BE ABLE TO TALK WITH THEM DIRECTLY AND SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK AND PICK THEIR BRAINS AND, AND SO FORTH.
SO WE'LL MAKE THAT A A TO DO, UH, AFTER THIS MEETING.
UM, ARE THERE ANY MORE COMMENTS? UH, NO.
THERE'S A YAWN AND THERE IS A, UH, UM, ALRIGHT, WELL, UH, JEFF, WHEN CAN WE EXPECT TO HEAR ANOTHER UPDATE AT THIS COMMITTEE? I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAD MAPPED IT OUT YET.
UM, BUT I, I THINK THE IDEA, WELL, NOT, I THINK THE IDEA IS FOR THEM TO, UH, FOR US TO COME BEFORE YOU SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THIS PROJECT.
SO PERHAPS ONCE, UM, ONCE THEY'VE DONE THEIR REVIEW OF OUR PRACTICES AND, AND MAYBE ARE PREPARED TO MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT HOW THE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS GO FORWARD, WE COULD COME, COME TO YOU FOR THAT.
SO A MONTH, TWO MONTHS, SOMEWHERE IN THAT RANGE, DEPENDING ON HOW QUICKLY THAT ALL COMES TOGETHER.
DO YOU KNOW IF PART OF, UH, IN PART OF THEIR WORK, UH, THEY'RE GONNA REVIEW, UH, INFORMATION THAT, THAT YOU HAND OVER TO THEM, BUT WHAT ABOUT PARTICIPATING IN OR ATTENDING SOME OF OUR PUBLIC MEETINGS BY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS? IS THAT SOMETHING? YEAH, THAT WAS ACTUALLY, UH, SO TWO ANSWERS FOR THAT.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE IMPRESSED ABOUT WITH THEM WHEN THEY DID THE INTERVIEW, WAS THAT THEY HAD BEEN REGULARLY FOLLOWING AND PARTICIPATING IN A LOT OF THE EFFORTS THAT THE CITY HAD BEEN MAKING OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
SO THEY KNEW A LOT ABOUT OUR WORK ALREADY AND HAD, HAD EXPERIENCED IT FROM THE EYES OF A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, UH, NUMBER ONE.
[00:55:01]
AS YOU, AS YOU KNOW, UM, MY DEPARTMENT IS ONE DEPARTMENT OF 40, UH, UM, IN, OUT OF 40 DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY.AND WHILE WE DO THE BIG ESSAY SPEAKUP, UH, EFFORT EVERY YEAR ON THE BUDGET, MOST OF THE OTHER PUBLIC PARTICIPATION EFFORTS ARE MANAGED BY OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
UH, AND SO WE PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE LAYS OUT SOME MINIMUM STANDARDS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE DIRECT CONTROL OVER EACH OF THOSE CAMPAIGNS AND EFFORTS.
UH, AND SO THAT'S BEEN A FOCUS OF OUR CONVERSATION WITH THEM AS MAKING SURE THEY UNDERSTAND THE FULL BREADTH OF CITY OUTREACH, UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, RESIDENT COULD IS GONNA GET AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE CITY THROUGH ANY ONE OF THOSE, UH, CHANNELS.
AND SO WE'VE SENT THEM A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT OUR WORKING COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, WORK THAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAVE DONE, AND I THINK THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF SORT OF GETTING THEIR ARMS AROUND ALL OF THAT TO BE ABLE TO THEN BE EDUCATED ENOUGH TO, TO LEAD THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS.
UM, AND DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT THE FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS WILL BE COMPENSATED FOR THEIR WORK? WE HADN'T TALKED ABOUT IT YET.
DO YOU HAVE FEELINGS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER? I, I HAVE FEELINGS OF, YES.
I THINK IT, UM, IT SORT OF LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD IN TERMS OF PEOPLE HAVING, UH, MAKING TIME FOR IT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE'S TRADITIONALLY PEOPLE THAT WE, WE DON'T HEAR FROM BECAUSE IT'S, THEY JUST HAVE TOO MUCH ON THEIR, ON THEIR PLATE OR KIDS OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, UH, WHAT I WANTED TO ADD, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THIS.
I THINK, AND WE HEAR THIS WHEN WE HEAR, UH, OUR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TELLING US, UH, EXPRESSING FRUSTRATION WITH OUR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESSES.
I THINK ONE THING THAT'S GONNA BE REALLY CRITICAL AS AN OUTCOME IN THIS IS UNDERSTANDING HOW WE AS A CITY, WHEN WE GO OUT AND WE SEEK INPUT, HOW WE CAN BE ENTIRELY TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW THE DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE AND WHAT EXPECTATIONS THOSE PEOPLE WHO GIVE US INPUT CAN HAVE.
SO FOR INSTANCE, UM, I, I JUST, I FIND IN, IN MY EXPERIENCE, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE FRUSTRATION COMES FROM IS THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENT EXPECTATION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO BE DONE WITH YOUR INPUT, UM, IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO'S COMMENTING AND IF YOU ARE A STAFF MEMBER.
SO I THINK JUST, UM, BEING ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHERE THOSE LIMITS ARE FOR, FOR INPUT.
YOU KNOW, IF I SUBMIT AN ESSAY SPEAKUP OR 20,000 ESSAY SPEAKUP SURVEYS, UH, IN THIS WAY, DOES IT MEAN THE BUDGET IS GOING TO LOOK DIFFERENT? UM, SO I THINK, UH, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT ESSAY 20 CAN 2020 CAN PROBABLY, UH, ASSIST US WITH.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I, I BRING UP AS THEY SPEAK UP BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S YOUR PROGRAM, BUT I THINK THIS CAN BE DONE ACROSS THE, ACROSS THE BOARD AS WELL.
SO JUST HAVING THAT UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE, THE PUBLIC AND THE CITY IS, I THINK, FUNDAMENTAL TO, TO BUILDING TRUST AND, AND HAVING A MORE HEALTHY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UH, THERE'S NO OTHER COMMENTS.
I THINK THIS WOULD, UH, THAT WOULD BE THE END OF THE ITEM.
AND, UM, ANY MORE COMMENTS? NOPE.
WELL I THINK THAT ADJOURNS OUR MEETING.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.