[00:00:01]
5:00 PM.[ATD 1. Call to Order]
ACTUALLY IT'S 3:00 PM ON JANUARY 25TH, 2022.AND I WOULD LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
I AM BOARD CHAIR FOR AND I WELCOME EVERYONE TO THIS MEETING.
LET'S BEGIN WITH THE ROLL CALL.
BYE CHAIR, FROWN FIVE VICE CHAIR BROWN.
TRUSTEE COMO EAR TRUSTEE COOPER HERE.
TRUSTEE MATTHEWS TRUSTEE BY THAT IS TRUSTEE BY THAT IS OKAY.
TRUSTEE TWO WILL TRUSTEE TWO WILL.
AND TO OUR NEW TRUSTEE TRUSTEE WOLF HERE.
DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? I HAVE NO ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE ATD MEETING.
[ATD 3. Citizens to be Heard]
IS CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS THAT HAVE REGISTERED TO SPEAK WHERE THE ATD MEETING? WE HAVE ONE CITIZEN TO BE HEARD.
WE HAVE ONE CITIZEN TO BE HEARD.
UH, BASED ON THAT, I NEED TO READ THIS NEXT STATEMENT.
WE NOW COME TO THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD PORTION OF OUR PUBLIC MEETING.
THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN HEARING THE COMMENTS AND CONCERNS FROM OUR PATIENTS AND CITIZENS AND THE SAN ANTONIO BEAR COUNTY AREA QUESTIONS THAT MAY ARISE DURING THE PORTION OF THIS MEETING REGARDING PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, OUR SERVICE ISSUES, MAYBE ADDRESS AT A LATER DATE BY THE PRESIDENT SLASH CEO AND OUR HISTEP.
THIS PROCESS WILL ASSURE THAT BIA IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, WHICH DOES NOT ALLOW THE VIA BOARD TO DELIBERATE MATTERS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING.
ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROCESS ASSURES THAT YOU RECEIVED THE MOST ACCURATE RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION OR CONCERN.
AND VIA APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO SHARE YOUR COMMENTS WITH US THIS EVENING.
WELL, IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A SEAT RIGHT HERE, AND USUALLY THERE'S A CHAIR RIGHT HERE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT WENT WRONG WITH IT.
UH, VIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS, VICE CHAIR OR CHAIR FOR THE RECORD.
I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE ISSUES.
THAT IS MY RIGHT GUARANTEED TO ME BY THE U S CONSTITUTION, WHICH ALL TOOK AN OATH TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT HOWEVER, GIVE SOMEONE THE RIGHT TO SLANDER OR LIBEL SOMEONE WE AS THE TAXPAYERS PAY EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU THAT SIT ON THIS BOARD, $50 FOR YES.
SO IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT A CITIZEN HAS TO SAY, WELL, TOUGH COOKIES, SIT DOWN AND LISTEN, PUBLIC SERVANTS.
IF YOU'RE NOT QUALIFIED TO DO THAT, THEN I SUGGEST YOU RESIGN IMMEDIATELY.
MR. MARTIN, UH, THE WATER TRUSTEE, NOT ONLY SLANDERED THE LIGHT ASHLEY BABBITT, BUT LIBELED ME IN A NEWSPAPER TWO DAYS AFTER THE MEETING.
HOW MR. MARTIN GILBERT GARCIA OF THE CONSPIRACY THEORY, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS CAN OBTAIN THE MINUTES AND RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING PROMPTLY.
WHILE I HAD TO SIT AND WAIT TO GET THE RECORDS REQUESTED, UH, MIKE GILBERT GARCIA, I DON'T WEAR A POUND OF MAKEUP AND WORK FOR A BIG MEDIA ORGANIZATION SELLING OUT TO BIG PHARMA, A EUPHEMISM TAKEN FROM WHEELCHAIR TURBOT OF AUDITING AMERICA.
WHEN BUS STOPS ARE CLOSED, Y'ALL SHOULDN'T BE PROVIDING NOTICE AND PLACING A TEMPORARY STOP, NOT A FOOTBALL FIELD AWAY FROM THE CLOSE STOP.
I SERIOUSLY THINK VIA DOES NOT WANT RIDERSHIP.
THEY ONLY WANT FEDERAL FUNDING, BARE SHELVES BIDEN TO THE RESCUE.
OH, AND SOME OF YOUR OPERATORS HAVE TAKEN A REAL NASTY AND THEY NEED AN ATTITUDE
[00:05:01]
ADJUSTED LIKE THIS GUY DRIVING THE 5 34 ON FRIDAY, THAT GETS THEIR LESS, I GUESS, 10 MINUTES BEFORE 11, UH, THREE 11, UH, 11:00 AM.I MEAN HIS MISSION IS TO BE COMBATIVE AS POSSIBLE TO THE PATRONS.
WHEN A PATRON AT TRIES TO EXIT THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR, THE DRIVER DELAYS THE BUS AND SAYS, YOU MUST GO OUT THROUGH THE BACK.
THE WAY FORMER OPERATOR BARBARA WASHINGTON DRIVER, YOURS DID WITH HISPANICS AND WHITES WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING THE 25 EAST COMMERCE, EXCEPT SHE SAID ONLY BLACK PEOPLE EXIT THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR.
MEXICANS, GO OUT THE BACK, NO DISCIPLINE, NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND SOMEONE HAD TO MAKE A BIG STINK ABOUT THAT.
AND SHE ENDED UP WITH EARLY RETIREMENT.
YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP AND I WILL YOU'LL BACK AND CONTINUE ON WITH THE REST OF THE MINUTES.
UM, UH, WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY AT THE VIA TRANSIT, UH, MEETING.
NO MORE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD FOR THE, UH, NEXT WE
[ATD 4. Consent Agenda]
MOVE TO THE CONSENT AGENDA.ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS MR. CHAIR? I'D LIKE TO PULL ONE OF THE ITEMS. OKAY.
I CAN PULL UP THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR A BRIEFING ITEM B YES.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CHAIR? BOB COMO COOPER.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEM IS APPROVED.
MS. ELDERS, DO WE HAVE ANY LEGAL BRIEFING? THANK YOU.
WELL THEN WE GO TO ITEM NUMBER SIX.
WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF THIS MEETING.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN ON COMO? MAY HAVE A SECOND.
ANY OPPOSED? NAY MOTION CARRIES THE ATD.
[1. Call to Order]
NOW 5:10 PM.AND I CALLED TO ORDER THE JANUARY 25TH, 2020 REGULAR MEETING OF THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD OF TRUSTEE.
[2. Announcements]
DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? YES SIR.I HAVE ACTUALLY A FAIR NUMBER OF ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS EVENING.
SO AS WE ALWAYS BEGIN OUR MEETING, WE'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE STAR EMPLOYEES.
SO THIS MONTH WE ARE CELEBRATING OPERATOR OF THE QUARTER FOR OCTOBER BUS OPERATOR, ADRIAN DOMINGAS AND THEN ALSO VAN OPERATOR GABRIEL SANTANA PACHECO.
ADRIAN WAS FIRST HIRED AS A VAN OPERATOR IN 27, 2007, AND IS NOW A BUS OPERATOR.
HE RECENTLY SHOWED GREAT COMPASSION TO AN ELDERLY PATIENT WHO HAD A MEDICAL ISSUE WHILE RIDING HIS BUS.
HE STOPPED HIS BUS CALLED FOR ASSISTANCE, AND THEN HE SAT AND REASSURED THE PATRON UNTIL HELP ARRIVED.
GABRIEL HAS BEEN A VAN OPERATOR SINCE JULY OF 2018.
HE HAS THIS, HE HAS SAFELY OPERATED PARATRANSIT VAN SINCE THEN WITHOUT A SINGLE PREVENTABLE ACCIDENT WITHOUT ANY KIND OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
HE IS TO BE COMMENDED FOR HIS COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND QUALITY SERVICE.
AND SO CONGRATULATIONS TO BUS OPERATOR, DOMINGEZ AND VAN OPERATOR, BUT CHECKO.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO DO A BUNCH OF WELCOMES AND WE'LL START WITH A WELCOME OF NEW BOARD MEMBERS.
SO PLEASE JOIN ME FIRST IN WELCOMING OUR NEW BOARD TRUSTEE KEVIN WOLF, WHO WAS APPOINTED BY THE GREATER BEAR COUNTY COUNCIL OF CITIES TO REPRESENT SUBURBAN CITIES THAT ARE SERVED BY VIA TRUSTEE WOLF.
PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS THE BEAR COUNTY COMMISSIONER FOR PRECINCT THREE FROM 2008 TO 2019.
AND AS DISTRICT NINE MEMBER OF THE SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL FROM 2005 TO 2008, HE HAS PERHAPS MOST SIGNIFICANTLY SERVED AS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ALAMO AREA MPO OR THE AMBO WHERE HE LED THE LED THE CHARGE ON NUMEROUS TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS FOR THE SAN ANTONIO REGION, UH, TRUSTEE WOLF EARNED HIS BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION FROM ST MARY'S UNIVERSITY AND SERVED IN THE U S NAVY
[00:10:01]
HOLDING THE POSITION OF I, A BOARD, A GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER.SO WE'LL, WE'LL BE WATCHING OURSELVES HERE.
HE SUCCEEDS TRUSTEE DAVID MARNE, WHO SERVED THIS BOARD AND THE VIA FAMILY FOR EIGHT YEARS AND THEREFORE WAS TERM LIMITED.
AND WE WILL BE WELCOMING TRUSTEE MARNE BACK NEXT MONTH FOR US TO, UH, RECOGNIZE HIM.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE WILL WELCOME TRUSTEE WOLF AT THE SAME, SORRY.
UM, AT THE SAME TIME, I WOULD NOTE THAT TRUSTEE LOUIS COOPER WAS ALSO APPOINTED OR ACTUALLY REAPPOINTED TO HIS POSITION AT THAT SAME MEETING.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING WORKING WITH HIM.
FINALLY, UH, WE LEARNED TODAY THAT THE COUNTY UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED IDA GONZALEZ, P E TO SERVE ON THE VIA BOARD TRUSTEE GONZALEZ, A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WITH DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN VARIOUS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROJECTS IS ALSO AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF WOMEN IN TRANSPORTATION SYMPOSIUMS, LOCAL CHAPTER.
SHE IS TAKING THE POSITION THAT WAS RECENTLY VACATED BY MARINA VETO.
SO WE ALSO THANK TRUSTEE CAVITA FOR HER YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE BOARD AND WISH HER WELL AS SHE CONTINUES TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY AS THE FOUNDING, IF YOU WILL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ESSAY, DIGITAL CONNECT, A NONPROFIT THAT AIMS TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN SAN ANTONIO AND TRUSTEE GONZALEZ WILL JOIN US AT OUR VERY NEXT NEXT OCCASION THAT THE BOARD GATHERS.
NOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF VACANCIES WITHIN THE AGENCY THAT REALLY DATE BACK AS FAR AS EARLY 2020, UH, WHEN WE FROZE HIRING, UH, NOT ALL OF THESE DATE BACK THAT FAR, BUT THAT'S HOW FAR BACK THE AGE OF THE VACANCIES DO GO BACK.
AND SO NOW WE ARE FILLING THEM AND I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE YOU TO A NUMBER OF, UH, NEW MEMBERS OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM.
SO WE ARE GOING TO START WITH OUR NEW DIRECTOR OF MARKETING.
JESSICA GONZALEZ, JESSICA WILL OVERSEE VIA STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN AND LEAD OUR EFFORTS TO GROW RIDERSHIP IMPLEMENT THE NEXT PHASE OF THE KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING MESSAGING AND FURTHER OUR OVERALL BRAND.
SHE IS A SAN ANTONIO NATIVE WITH EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH LOCAL AND TEXAS BASED BRANDS.
SHE EARNED HER BBA IN MARKETING FROM ST MARY'S UNIVERSITY AND AN MBA IN MARKETING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX.
JESSICA, NEXT UP, WE ALSO WELCOME THE NEW MANAGER OF EMPLOYMENT AND TESTING MARIA MONROE.
MARIA HAS MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF WIDE RANGING HUMAN RESOURCES EXPERIENCE WITH OVER 16 YEARS FOCUSED IN LEADERSHIP ROLES WHERE SHE HAS FOSTERED A COMPREHENSIVE SCOPE OF SKILLS AND EXPERTISE AS AN HR PROFESSIONAL.
SHE NOT ONLY OFFERS VIA HER KNOWLEDGE AS A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT, BUT ALSO BRINGS AN INNOVATIVE MINDSET THAT SHE'S CALLED CULTIVATED THROUGH HER EXPERIENCE IN OPERATIONS LEADERSHIP.
AND SO SHE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL ADDITION TO OUR VIA AND TO OUR INDUSTRY.
ANOTHER NEWCOMER TO THE VIA FAMILY IS THE NEW MANAGER OF CUSTOMER INFORMATION.
HE BRINGS WITH HIM MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF MANAGEMENT AND SPIRITS AND CALL CENTER OPERATIONS, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION.
MOST RECENTLY HE WAS THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY PROCESS LEAD FOR THE 2020 CENSUS CONTACT CENTER OPERATIONS.
ADDITIONALLY, HE HAS BEEN THE DIRECTOR OF CALL CENTER OPERATIONS FOR FOUR WEST CORPORATION, ADVANCED CALL CENTER TECHNOLOGIES AND AETNA HEALTH.
UH, HE IS ALSO A US ARMY AND NATIONAL GUARD VETERAN.
THEN WE ALSO HAVE MOVEMENT FROM WITHIN, AND SO I WANT TO BE, AND I'M DELIGHTED ACTUALLY TO ANNOUNCE THE PROMOTION OF RAUL BOLT-ON TO THE POSITION OF MANAGER OF TNI CLIENT SERVICES.
HE BRINGS 16 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AT VIA IN HIS NEW ROLE.
HE'S WELL-RESPECTED PROFESSIONALLY AMONG THE TRANSIT COMMUNITY, AMONG HIS PEERS AT VIA.
AND HE'S IMPORTANT PART OF OUR FUTURE INITIATIVES.
NOTABLY RAUL STARTED HIS CAREER AS A BUS OPERATOR EMBODYING THE AGENCY'S DEDICATION TO SERVICE IN THAT POSITION AND HIS SUBSEQUENT ROLES AS COMMUTER, COMPUTER TECHNICIAN, TECHNICAL SUPPORT ANALYST AND ACTING CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER.
AND I THINK ALMOST EVERYBODY IN THE VIA FAMILY HERE KNOW WHAT RAUL CAN DO BECAUSE WHEN I, WHENEVER I HAVE A PROBLEM, IT'S GET REBEL ON THE PHONE, PLEASE.
SO CONGRATULATIONS ROLE, UM, I'M PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A PROMOTION OF SHAWNEE BARRETT TO THE POSITION OF MANAGER OF INFORMATION SECURITY.
HE BRINGS HIS DEEP INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE AND VARIOUS SECURITY CERTIFICATIONS INTO THE NEWLY FORMED INTO THIS NEWLY FORMED ROLE AT VIA HIS MOST RECENT ROLE AT VIA WAS AS A SECURITY ANALYST WHERE HE'S WORKED ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PORTION OF OUR FINANCIAL
[00:15:01]
AUDIT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION PROCESS.WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEAN BUILDING A STRONG NEW DEPARTMENT TO HELP PROTECT OUR AGENCY FROM CYBER THREATS.
SO IT SAYS HERE, CONGRATULATIONS, SEAN.
BUT I THINK I'VE SHARED WITH YOU THAT WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME WHAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT, CYBERSECURITY DEFINITELY KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT.
SO YOU GOT A BIG TASK AND WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU.
ALL RIGHT, I'M PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT, CAMMIE HORN HAS BEEN SELECTED AS PART OF THE LEADERSHIP SAN ANTONIO CLASS 46, ALSO KNOWN AS LSA 46.
THIS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM PROVIDES A FORUM IN WHICH LEADERS WITH DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, VALUES AND POINTS OF VIEW EXAMINE THE NATURE AND INNER WORKINGS OF SAN ANTONIO AND DISCUSS ISSUES, CHALLENGES, AND PROBLEMS FACING OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, OF COURSE, MANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE ALSO PART OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, IF YOU WILL, OF LSA.
AND AS A MEMBER OF THIS YEAR STEERING COMMITTEE, I KNOW THAT CAMMIE IS GOING TO REALLY IMPRESS EVERYONE.
SO CONGRATULATIONS CAMMIE ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2022 VIA RECEIVED THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION OF TWO SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE DECISIONS IMPACTING OUR AGENCY.
FIRST, AS I MENTIONED AT THE BOARD WORKS SESSION LAST WEEK, WE WERE CONTACTED BY CONGRESS AND CASTRO TO INFORM US THAT VA HAD BEEN AWARDED $760,000 GRANT FOR THE FTA PILOT PROGRAM FOR TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.
THAT WILL ASSIST US WITH PLANNING WORK RELATED TO THE A T A R T ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT PROJECT ON THE EAST WEST CORRIDOR.
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE PART OF PREPARING US TO MOVE THAT PROJECT FORWARD.
AS WE IDENTIFY FUNDING FOR IT IN THE AFTA NEWS RELEASE US SECRETARY, PETE BUDAJ ADS SAID TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT OFFERS EASIER, MORE AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO JOBS, HEALTHCARE, SCHOOL, SHOPPING, AND OTHER DAILY NEEDS.
WE'RE PLEASED TO AWARD THIS FUNDING TO HELP MORE COMMUNITIES DEVELOP AROUND TRANSIT IN A WAY THAT REDUCES POLLUTION INCREASES ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND CONTRIBUTES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
OUR AWARD OF $760,000 WAS AMONG A SERIES OF AWARDS THAT ONLY ADDED UP TO THE, TO THE $1 MILLION MARK.
BUT FOUR OF THOSE AWARDS WERE DONE WERE AWARDED TO TEXAS PROPERTIES.
AND SO OUR STATE ACTUALLY RECEIVED 25% OF THE FULL NATIONAL FUNDING, WHICH IS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
AND IN KEEPING WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING AND ART PROJECTS, I'M ALSO PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE A R T NORTH SOUTH LINE HAS RECEIVED ITS FIRST OFFICIAL FROM THE FTA AS THE BOARD MAY RECALL BACK IN AUGUST VIA FOR THE FIRST TIME SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION REQUESTING PERMISSION TO ENTER INTO THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROGRAM INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
AS A NEW STARTS, WE WERE ADMITTED INTO NEW STARTS AND UNDER THIS PROGRAM, EVERY SUBMITTED PROJECT IS RATED MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT ITS DEVELOPMENT.
AT KEY POINTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, ULTIMATELY LEADING TO RECOMMENDATION FOR FEDERAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION OF SELECTED PROJECTS.
I RECEIVED A CALL ON THURSDAY FROM FTA ADMINISTRATOR NARIA FERNANDEZ LAST WEEK TO INFORM US THAT V S A R T NORTH SOUTH LINE HAD BEEN RATED QUOTE, MEDIUM HIGH REFLECTING, BOTH THE EXCELLENT WORK DONE BY CAMMIE HORNS, EXEMPLARY STAFF, COUPLED WITH SUBSTANTIAL SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORT FROM OUR CONSULTANTS, WSP AND STEVEN GOUDREAU AND INFRASTRUCTURE, CAROLYN FLOWERS, SHARON GREEN, AND AMANDA VANDERGRIFF.
AND IT ALSO REFLECTS THE BENEFITS OF THE NOVEMBER, 2020 SALES TAX ELECTION, WHICH PROVIDES US THE ABILITY TO, TO FUND THE FIRST OF THE ART LINES IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CIG FUNDING, A PROJECT MUST RATE MEDIUM OR HIGHER.
AND SO WITH A MEDIUM HIGH PROJECT RATING, WE HAVE A VERY GOOD START IN THAT PROJECT.
SO WE HAVE THE DREAMLINER AND THE DREAMLINER IS A NINE.
AS YOU SEE, WE, WE NUMBERED THE BUS 1966, SO THAT I COULD REMEMBER WHAT YEAR IT WAS BUILT, BUT THIS IS A DREAMLINER WHICH MANY PEOPLE THINK OF AS THE CLASSIC TRANSIT BUS AND KIND OF WISH THAT, THAT THE DREAMLINER WAS STILL ON THE ROAD TODAY.
AND IT'S, SO IT'S PART OF THE LEGACY OF OUR REGION.
AND WE RESERVE THIS PIECE, A TREASURER REMINDER OF THE PROGRESS AND MONITORIZATION THAT WE SEE EVERY DAY.
SO ONE OF THE TREASURES THIS 1966 GMC DREAMLINER WAS ONCE IN SERVICE FOR SAN ANTONIO TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND FOR VIA THROUGH THE 1980S, IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST AIR CONDITIONED BUSES TO OPERATE IN THE NATION.
[00:20:01]
OF OUR MODERN BUSES, IT FEATURES A SEAT DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ROSA PARKS.THE 56 YEAR OLD DREAMLINER HAS BEEN FEATURED IN THE CITIES, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR MARCH AT BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS, ROSA PARKS, DAY OBSERVANCES, AND AS A REPRESENTATIVE, THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA AND PUBLIC TRANSIT'S ROLE TO MOVE PEOPLE TOWARD EQUALITY AND EQUITY THEN, AND NOW, SO IN 2021 EARLIER, I KEEP FORGETTING THAT LAST YEAR, BUT IN 2021, OUR VERY TALENTED MAINTENANCE TEAM UNDERTOOK A RESTORATION PROJECT TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE DREAMLINER FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, THERE ARE THOROUGH AND PAINSTAKING WORK REQUIRED, EXPERTISE, VISION, AND ARTISTRY, AND IS SO SPECIAL FOR A SPECIAL BUS.
THE RESTORATION ENSURES THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO INCLUDE THE DREAMLINER AND THESE CELEBRATIONS I'VE LOOKED AT THAT BUS AND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT IN THAT BUS TODAY, IT LOOKS BETTER THAN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT IN MY CAR.
NOT THAT I DON'T MAINTAIN MY CAR.
WELL, THEY JUST DID A REMARKABLE JOB.
AND SO THERE'S A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THAT AS YOU SEE IN THIS PICTURE, AND WE VERY MUCH VALUE THE WORK THAT YOU DID.
SO CONGRATULATIONS TO THAT TEAM AND AS IT ENDED UP.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WHEN THE, WHEN THE MARCH ITSELF WAS, UH, WAS NOT GOING TO BE PHYSICAL, IT WAS GOING TO BE VIRTUAL.
IT WAS KIND OF A DISAPPOINTMENT BECAUSE I THOUGHT, WELL, NOW PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO SEE THE DREAMLINER, RIGHT? BUT AS IT ENDED UP, WE HAD A REQUEST.
WE RECEIVED A CREST ACTUALLY THE DAY BEFORE MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY SAYING, ASKING WHETHER WE COULD GET THE MARTIN LUTHER KING BUS, THE DREAMLINER BUS, I SHOULD SAY, AND STAGE AT THE MLK ACADEMY, WHERE THERE WERE LIMITED ACTIVITIES THAT HAPPENED IN PERSON ON THAT DAY.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE, AS IT ENDS UP TO AT LEAST WITHIN A LIMITED AUDIENCE SHOW OFF THE GREAT WORKMANSHIP THAT WE HAD HERE ALSO VERY GRATEFUL THE TEAM OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED VERY QUICKLY AND VERY HARD TO GET THAT BUS LOCATED.
AGAIN, WE, WE HAD LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, UM, AND THAT GROUP INCLUDE HECTOR AGGIE, LEORA, EDMUND BENNETT, KENNY DAVIS, CURTIS COLA, BEAR, SAM MATA, UH, RAUL PENYA, JR.
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ AND LAUREN SAN.
SO THANKS TO THE MAINTENANCE TEAM THAT MADE IT LOOK GREAT.
AND TO THE REST OF THE TEAM THAT MADE US ALL LOOK GREAT BY BE SOME BEING SO RESPONSIVE.
SO I NOW ON A, UH, FAR LESS JOYOUS NOTE, WE WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT AND, OH, HERE, THIS IS THE TEAM OF PEOPLE.
THAT'S THE TEAM OF, OF PEOPLE THAT WORKED IN THE RESTORATION.
AND THEN I THINK THERE'S ONE THAT THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE TEAM OF THE PEOPLE THAT PUT THE THING TOGETHER.
SO WE WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT NOW TO NOTE THE PASSING OF VIA TRANSIT SECURITY OFFICER WILLIE O. WILLIAMS, WILLIE STARTED HIS CAREER AS AN ALLIED UNIVERSAL SECURITY OFFICER IN NOVEMBER OF 2018 AT THE LA HARP ENTRY GATE TO THE MAIN CAMPUS HERE AND HIS PASSION FOR SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND DEDICATION OF THE JOB WAS NOTICED BY SUPERVISORS WHO LATER PUT HIM IN CHARGE OF THE MAIN, VIA CAMPUS SECURITY PATROLS AND MAY OF 2019.
HE PASSED AWAY ON JANUARY 17TH, 2022.
AND OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME.
SO I'D LIKE TO ASK US ALL TO PAUSE IN HONOR OF THE MEMORY OF WILLIE WILLIAMS. IT TURNED OUT THERE.
I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO NOTE IN NEXT SLIDE NOTE, THE PASSING OF CHARLES CHEEVERS, JOHN CHEEVER JR.
WHO WAS A FORMER MEMBER OF THE VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES, MR. CHEEVER WAS APPOINTED TO THE VIA BOARD IN 1996 TO REPRESENT THE GREATER BEAR COUNTY COUNCIL OF CITIES.
HE SERVED ON THE BOARD UNTIL 1998 AND WE SEND OUR CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
SO LET'S HAVE A SECOND MOMENT OF SILENCE TO HONOR THE MEMORY AND THE RECORD OF SERVICE TO THE RIDERS OF VIA AND THE PEOPLE OF SAN ANTONIO.
FINALLY, I WOULD, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, AND WE DO A LOT OF COMBINATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS, BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND THE ENTIRE VIA TEAM.
THE, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE LAST MONTH IN PARTICULAR HAS BEEN CHALLENGING, UH, WITH THE ERUPTION OF COVID.
[00:25:01]
THANKFUL THAT, UH, WHILE THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IS HIGH, THE SEVERITY APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN MUCH LOWER THAN IN PAST CASES, BUT STILL IT'S A STRAIN.WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT ILL, THEMSELVES, PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT BECAUSE THEY HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE ILL AND THEY NEED TO QUARANTINE.
SO THAT MEANS THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING IN EVERY DAY DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME AND WORKING EVERY DAY ARE HAVING TO REALLY DOUBLE DOWN TO MAKE SURE THAT SERVICE GETS ON THE STREET AS RELIABLE AS POSSIBLE.
AND IT'S AN ENTIRE TEAM EFFORT FROM THE, UH, THE MAINTENANCE PEOPLE THAT MAKE SURE THE VEHICLES ARE ALL READY TO THE OPERATORS WHO OFTEN ARE HAVING TO WORK A SECOND SHIFT IN ORDER TO COVER, COVER THE WORK.
EVERYONE IS REALLY PUTTING IN A HUMANS EFFORT.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THAT.
AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY REC MY, UH, RECOGNITIONS FOR THE MONTH.
UH, PLEASE THANK, UH, FROM THE BOARD, OUR HONOREES TONIGHT, UH, THEY ARE, THEY THEY'RE DOING A TREMENDOUS JOB AND WE JUST NEED TO THANK THEM FOR THE WORK THEY DO EVERY DAY.
I ALSO WANT TO WELCOME OUR NEW AND REAPPOINTED TRUSTEES LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM.
I THINK WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL DO A LOT OF GREAT THINGS.
UM, ALSO CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR STAFF FOR THE WONDERFUL WORK THAT THEY DO EVERY DAY.
UH IT'S UH, IT'S UH, IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO WORK WITH THE PEOPLE HERE AT, VIA THE STAFF.
I MEAN, THEY, THEY ARE SO PROFESSIONAL AND I'M ALWAYS RESPONDED WHENEVER WE NEED A RESPONSE TO SOMETHING.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND THEN FINALLY, OUR CONDOLENCES TO THE, UH, PEOPLE THAT WE'VE LOST, UH, TO THEIR FAMILIES.
UH, I KNOW, UH, THEY GAVE A LOT TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BEAR COUNTY.
AND SO FOR THAT, WE WANT TO THANK THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES.
[3. Citizens to be Heard]
TO BE HEARD.DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS TO BE HEARD? MR. CHAIRMAN, WE HAVE FIVE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD BOTH VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON.
THE FIRST CITIZEN IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY IT'S WILLIE MAE CLAY.
SINCE WE HAVE A CITIZENS TO BE HEARD, UH, I NEED TO READ THIS STATEMENT.
WE NOW COME TO THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD PORTION OF OUR PUBLIC MEETING.
THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN HEARING THE COMMENTS AND CONCERNS FOR OUR PATRONS AND CITIZENS IN SAN ANTONIO BEAR COUNTY AREA QUESTIONS THAT MAY ARISE DURING THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING REGARDING PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, OR SERVICE ISSUES MAY BE ADDRESSED AT A LATER DATE BY THE PRECEDENT CEO AND HIS STAFF.
THIS PROCESS WILL ASSURE THAT BS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETING ACT, WHICH HAS NOT ALLOWED THE VIA BOARD TO DELIBERATE MATTERS THAT HAVE NOT, THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING.
ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROCESS ASSURES THAT YOU RECEIVE THE MOST ACCURATE RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTIONS OR CONCERN.
AND WE APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO SHARE YOUR COMMENTS WITH US THIS EVENING.
WILLIE, MAY CLAY LILLY, MAY CLAY.
THE NEXT CITIZEN TO BE HEARD HAS TIME YIELDED TO HIM FROM A MALEO SOTO FOR A TOTAL OF SIX MINUTES, JUAN.
BE AWARDED FOR STEVE CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD.
UM, I GOT A FAKE THANK YOU THEN REGARDING FOR THE COMMENDATIONS ON, UH, THOSE PEOPLE HERE VIA THANK YOU.
AND YEAH, AND THE REASON THAT I'M HERE IS BECAUSE I HAVE A FEW CONCERNS TO ADDRESS ON BEHALF OF OUR HOURLY EMPLOYEES.
UH, THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE IS Y'ALL MAY KNOW WE BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH OUR SERVICE AND MEETING SERVICE SOMETIMES DUE TO THE HIGH RISE OF ON THE CROWN, UH, WITH OUR EMPLOYEES.
SO ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT ALSO KIND OF BRINGS ME TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT IS THE WEEKLY TESTS ON THOSE, UH, PERSONNEL THAT DO NOT, ARE NOT, ARE NOT VACCINATED, YOU KNOW, DUE TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, TAKING MANY, MANY TESTS.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE REQUIRING THIS TEST.
UH, IF THEY CAN A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO GET THE RESULTS OF THE PEOPLE OF OUR PEOPLE, WHICH
[00:30:01]
THE REQUIREMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE, IF TO HAVE THOSE, UH, TEST RESULTS UPLOADED BY FRIDAY, UH, WE HAVE TRIED TO SOMEHOW POSTPONE THIS UNTIL THIS GETS TO A BETTER POSITION.SO I JUST THINK THAT THAT IS ALSO CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO PULL SERVICE BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES, IF THOSE RESULTS ARE NOT LOADED ON TIME, THE DRIVERS CAN NOT DRIVE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE, TO MEET SERVICE RIGHT NOW.
SO MY I'M ASKING, Y'ALL LEAVE US A POSSIBLE TO POSTPONE THIS.
I'VE ALREADY BROUGHT THIS UP TO MANAGEMENT.
THE OTHER SAFETY CONCERN THAT I HAVE IS AS YOU GUYS MAY SEE, AND TO BE ABLE TO, EXCUSE ME, SEE, WE HAVE NUMEROUS DRIVERS BEING INFECTED WITH THESE BUYERS.
AND MY CONCERN IS THAT WE ARE AT FULLY CAPACITY LOADING OUR BUSES AT ONE TIME, WE WOULD ONLY HAVE 16.
SO I'M ASKING YOU, THERE'S A POSSIBILITY TO LEAVE AND GO TO 20 PEOPLE.
UH, AS YOU ALL MAY KNOW, CDC ALSO SAID THAT, UH, THE N 95 MASKS ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN PROTECT YOU IN A BOX AND WEARING THEM IN A BOX.
AND WITH PEOPLE COMING IN, A LOT OF TIMES, THEY'RE IN THE BACK OF THE BUS AND REMOVING THEIR MATCH.
SO MY CONCERN IS OUT, ARE THEIR DRIVERS GETTING THE VIRUS? SO WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF MAYBE MINISTERING THE LOAD CAPACITY, IT COULD WORK A LITTLE BETTER FOR THE OPERATORS.
UM, MY SECOND ONE, AND I BROUGHT UP THIS UP TO, UH, MR. ARN AND THE DEPUTY CEO AND WORK WITH ME ON DUE TO THE SHORTAGE OF MANPOWER AND DOING THE JOB THAT WE'RE DOING, OUR OPERATORS, UH, HAVE STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND DOING THIS EXTRA WORK.
UH, THEY EXTEND THE RUN SOMETIMES PASS, BE UNDER TIME AND THEY STAY HERE.
SO I'M ASKING, AND I BELIEVE THAT THEY DID SAY THAT IT WAS OKAY, UH, ANYTIME OVER THEIR ASSIGNED DUTY TO BE DOUBLE TIME INSTEAD OF TIME AND A HALF THAT'S I THINK WAS SOME TYPE OF COMPENSATION REWARDING FOR THOSE PEOPLE STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE AND DOING THE EXTRA WORK.
THE OTHER THING IS, YOU KNOW, IF Y'ALL MAY KNOW, UH, WORK THE WORK WHERE OUR WORK OR JOBS, UH, NOWADAYS ARE VERY COMPETITIVE WITH OTHER JOBS.
I'VE BEEN, PEOPLE ARE MAKING 20 BUCKS AND MCDONALD'S PEOPLE ARE MAKING 20 BUCKS AT BILL MILLER'S.
OUR OPERATORS ARE STARTING AT $20.
UH, I DID EVEN OUR MAINTENANCE, OUR MAINTENANCE, OUR MECHANICS, THEY'RE STARTING AT 2153.
YOU KNOW, METRO START THEM AT 26, 88.
UH, DARREN STARTED THEM AT 84, 27, 73 AS A COMPENSATION.
THIS, YOU KNOW, IF WE ARE GOING TO GO TO THE POINT OF TRYING TO COMPETE AGAINST OTHER TRANSITS AND TRYING TO BRING PEOPLE IN OR TRYING TO COMPETE WITH OTHER JOBS, I THINK THE TIME RIGHT NOW IS TO REWARD THEM TO, TO BE ABLE TO BRING PEOPLE IN, TO BE ABLE TO KEEP PEOPLE IN.
AND IN ORDER ALSO BRINGING PEOPLE IN AND KEEPING PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE ALREADY IN HERE THAT SHOULD BE SOME TYPE OF RETENTION BONUS FOR THESE GUYS.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THE PEOPLE, BECAUSE IF PEOPLE KEEP LEAVING, THEY COME IN AND THEY LEAVE.
SO I'M ASKING Y'ALL, IF THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT WE COULD HAVE SOME TYPE OF RETAINING BONUS FOR THE PEOPLE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE, UH, HUMAN CAPITAL MAT.
METRO IS THERE ENTRY FOR A MECHANIC IS $30 AN HOUR, AND WE ARE PAYING 2153.
YOU GO AND WORK AT A DEALERSHIP.
THEY WERE GOING TO PAY YOU $30 AN HOUR.
SO HOW DO WE KEEP MECHANICS? HOW DO WE KEEP BUS OPERATOR? WE HAVE TO REWARD THESE PEOPLE.
I HOPE THAT THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN, WE CAN KEEP OUR PEOPLE.
WE NEED, WE NEED TO STEP UP TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I WOULD HATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO SUFFER DUE TO US, NOT HAVING THE AMOUNT OF MANPOWER THAT WE NEED.
I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT Y'ALL DOING.
OUR NEXT CITIZEN IS IN PERSON, CAROL SISINSKY.
[00:35:01]
TO THE BOARD.AND I'M A WRITER OF THE BUSES, AND I'VE BEEN DOING IT NOW FOR ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS BECAUSE MY CAR DOESN'T WORK AND THE 54 GUTS GOT, UM, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? YOU CUT THE 54.
SO IN ORDER TO RIDE INTO TOWN, I HAVE TO GO TO NOG, ELITIST TO CATCH THE 51 IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE IS FRIO CITY ROAD, BUT THAT'S GOING TO GO NORTH, NOT TAKING ME INTO THE CITY.
WELL, WE ALL KNOW THAT THINGS LIKE THAT HAPPEN.
SO BECAUSE I NOW HAVE TO GO TO POWELL STREET TO GET TO THE 51 ON UGLINESS, THE SIDEWALKS ARE VERY BAD.
SO OF COURSE, I KNOW THAT THAT'S A CITY THAT NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE NOW CITIZENS, WE HAVE TO GO THAT ROUTE.
SO MY DISTRICT FIVE, WE'LL BE HEARING ABOUT THIS.
UM, AND THEN THE PATRON WHO STOP ON THAT ROUTE WAS BY RAY LOPEZ, CONSTITUENT OFFICE OVER IN LEON VALLEY, HE SAID, CAN'T YOU READ AND POINTED OUT EXIT THROUGH THE BACK DOOR SIGNAGE.
THE DRIVER HELD UP THE BUS TWO MINUTES WHILE ARGUING WITH THE PASSENGER.
AND MY RESPONSE WAS, HURRY UP, PLEASE.
UH, I GOTTA PLAY, PLEASE HURRY UP.
I GOT A PLACE TO, I GOT TO GO TO WORK AND HE THREATENED TO CALL SECURITY ON ME.
I WISH HE DID, BECAUSE THEN HE WOULD HAVE A LAWSUIT ON YOUR HANDS AND THAT'S A PROMISE AND HE CAN TAKE HIS MOTTO ATTITUDE SOMEWHERE ELSE BECAUSE IT ISN'T GOING TO FLY WITH ME.
THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER LADY WHO DRIVES THE 5 34 SUNDAY LEAVES THE MEDICAL TRANSIT CENTER, SOMETIME BETWEEN THREE 15 AND THREE 30.
NOT ONLY DOES SHE GIVE THE ATTITUDE THE SAME ATTITUDE, BUT SHE'S NOT ENFORCING THE MASK REQUIREMENT.
CHILDREN TWO AND OVER ARE STILL REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS WHILE ON THE BUS.
AND IS ALSO BEING COMBATIVE, RUDE TO PATRONS AND VIOLATING THE ADA ACCESS SEPARABLE IS THAT ACCEPTABLE AND ENGRAVED IN THE WORK CULTURE OF VIA.
AND, UM, WHAT ABOUT THAT BUS STOP AT MYLAND PARK? WHEN IS THAT EVER GOING TO BE PUT IN OR TOOK IT OUT? WHERE IS THE SIGNAGE STILL? HAVEN'T GOT AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
CAUSE TOMORROW I'VE GOT TO GO TO CITY HALL AND I REALLY DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO WORK WALK FOOTBALL FIELDS, A YARDS OVER THE CENTRAL PLAZA, WHICH I CALL SKID ROW, BECAUSE IF ALL THE LIGHTS WERE OUT THAT DAY TOO, I MEAN, YOU HAD TO RISK YOUR OWN LIFE CROSSING THE FRONTAGE ROAD OF I TEND TO GET THERE.
SO WE NEED BUS STOP BY MARLIN PARK.
MYLAND PARK IS SAFE, IT HAS PARKED POLICE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, IN CLOSING, I WANT TO START OFF WITH A MOMENT OF REFLECTION FOR THOSE WHO WERE MURDERED BY A POLICE OFFICERS AND A POLICE OFFICER THAT WAS MURDERED WAS MURDERED LAST YEAR.
I WANT TO, UM, GIVE A MOMENT OF REFLECTION TO ASHLEY BABBITT.
I WAS MURDERED BY LIEUTENANT BIRD.
I WANT TO GIVE A MOMENT OF REFLECTION TO DETECTIVE MARCONI, WHO WAS MURDERED AS WELL, UH, BY, UM, OTIS, UH, MCCAIN.
AND I ALSO WANT TO GIVE A MOMENT OF REFLECTION, UH, TO LAQUAN MADONNA MCDONALD, WHO WAS SHOT 18 TIMES BY CHICAGO POLICE, OFFICER JASON VAN DYKE.
AND ALSO, I WANT TO GIVE HER A MOMENT REFLECTION TO, UM, TERRY WAYNE, BISHOP, WHO WAS KILLED BY ONE OF YOUR TRANSIT POLICE OFFICERS.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER HAS REJOINED US VIRTUALLY AND SHE'S READY.
UH, I WANT TO FIRST BACK TO YOU FOR GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO ALSO GIVE INPUT CITIZENS, TO BE HEARD VIRTUALLY.
UM, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE ISSUES OF, UH, ISSUES THAT ARE CONSIDERED IN THOSE SHOWS.
UH, OFTENTIMES YOU LOOK AT THE TIMES WHEN
[00:40:01]
THE DRIVER ARRIVED AT WHEN IT LEAVES, BUT I WANT THE STAFF TO START LOOKING AT THE, IN ADDITION TO THE TIME, BUT ALSO THE LOCATION OF THE VEHICLE, THE BEHAVIOR OF THE DRIVER AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.WHEN SOMEONE REPORTS A NO SHOW AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT INVESTIGATED.
SO THEY, AGAIN, I THINK YOU SHOULD NOT ONLY LOOK AT THE RIDER, BUT YOU SHOULD ALSO LOOK AT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE, OF THE DRIVER, THE LOCATION OF THE VEHICLE, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
IN INVESTIGATION CASE IN POINT ON THE 22ND ON SATURDAY, I WAS WAITING FOR THE BAND WHERE I, IT WAS COLD AND I WAS WATCHING FOR THE BAND.
I SAW I CAB, UH, PASS THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE STREET.
I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MY RIDE.
I CALLED BIA AND THE CLERK WOULD NOT LOOK.
HE SAID HE WOULD NOT CALL THE DISPATCHER BECAUSE HE SAID, IS THAT A WAIT UNTIL THE VEHICLE'S LATE? WELL, THAT VEHICLE WAS MINE AND IT WAS AT THE WRONG LOCATION AND I WAS CANCELED.
SO I, I'M GOING TO PUT IN A REQUEST TO LOOK AT AT THE CANCELLATION OF THAT ONE.
AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT I NEED TO HAVE THE STAFF CONSIDER, PLEASE.
SO JUST LOOK AT WHERE, WHEN THE VAN RIDE, WHEN IT LEFT, BUT LOOK AT THE ISSUES THAT, UH, WOULD LEAD TO A CANCELLATION OF AN INDIVIDUAL.
THERE ARE NO MORE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
UH, TRUSTEES ITEM NUMBER FOUR WILL BE DEFERRED TO THE FEBRUARY MEETING.
[5. Consent Agenda]
ITEM NUMBER FIVE.DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I'M SORRY, WHAT? YOU WANT TO PULL? THE ONE ITEM.
WE'RE GOING TO PULL, I'M SORRY.
WE'RE GOING TO PULL 5G AND THAT'S PULLED BY TRUSTEE, CARDINIA.
NOW, UH, NEXT OF COURSE, THE ITEM IS CONSENT AGENDA, ITEM NUMBER FIVE, TRUSTEES.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? IF NOT, I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS AS MOTION TO APPROVE CONSENT OF A FIRST TO A SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? NAY CONSIDERED THE ITEM AGENDA IS APPROVED.
NOW WE MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, DBE AND SB PROGRAM UPDATE MR. BRIDGES.
[5.G. November 2021 VIA Financial Report]
UH, CONSIDER ITEM G.WE PULLED IT FROM THE SUMMARY.
SO I, UH, SO NOW WE CONSIDER ITEM G SEPARATELY AND, UM, TRUSTEE CABIN.
ELLA, DO YOU WANT THE FULL PRESENTATION OR DO YOU WANT TO FOCUS ON SOME PORTION OF IT? YEAH, IF WE CAN JUST FOCUS ON ONE PORTION OF IT AND, UM, MY APOLOGIES FOR NOT ASKING THIS EARLIER, BUT IF YOU CAN GO TO PAGE ONE ON, UH, THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS, JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION, JEFF, REGARDING YOUR PROCESS, UM, AND HOW YOU, UH, GO AHEAD AND TAKE A LOOK AT REVENUES AND EXCESS OF WHAT THE BUDGET UM HAS.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, THE MTA AND THE ATD COMBINED, UH, WE HAVE A SURPLUS AND WANTED TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU DEAL WITH THE SURPLUS IN THE FISCAL YEAR.
DO YOU RE APPROPRIATE FOR OTHER PRIORITIES OR WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THOSE FUNDS? SO WE WOULD NOT REDIRECT IT TO OTHER PRIORITIES WITHOUT BECAUSE THE BOARD APPROVED A BUDGET, RIGHT? SO AS YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER FROM LAST YEAR, WHAT WE DO IS ROLL THE, THE, UH, THE SAVINGS INTO A UNRESTRICTED RESERVE AND RECALL THAT OUT OF THAT UNRESTRICTED RESERVE, WE DID PULL AT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE BOARD'S APPROVAL, WE DID PULL FUNDS TO HELP US BEGIN THE CASE, SAM ADVANCEMENT, BUT THAT'S, THOSE FUNDS WILL ROLL INTO AN UNRESTRICTED RESERVE AND THEN THE BOARD CAN DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO DO WITH THAT RESERVE.
[00:45:01]
OKAY.DO WE NEED TO HAVE A MOTION FOR IT TO ACCEPT THE REPORT RIGHT.
DO WE HAVE MOTION EXCEPT FIVE D A SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO ITEM
[6. DBE & SBE Program Update (Part 1 of 2)]
SIX DB AND S B E PROGRAM UPDATE MR. BRIDGES.GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. CHAIRMAN AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND SUPPLY DIVERSITY ALSO SERVE AS THE DBE LIAISON OFFICER.
UH, BACK IN SEPTEMBER, WE CAME AND PULLED THE BOARD AND DID A SPECIAL, A BOY MEETING WHERE WE UPDATED YOU ON THE DBE SBE PROGRAM.
WE SHARED WITH YOU OUR GOAL SETTING METHODOLOGY, HOW WE SET GOALS, UH, FOR THE THREE-YEAR TRINY GOAL.
AND ALSO WE WENT THROUGH A, UH, EDUCATIONAL PROCESS SHOWING YOU HOW WE SET INDIVIDUAL GOALS.
SO TODAY I JUST WANT TO UPDATE YOU ON SOME, UH, DB AND SBE PROGRAM UPDATES.
AND THIS IS FOR INFORMATION AND EDUCATION PURPOSES AND REQUIRES NO ACTION FOR THE BOARD.
CAN WE GO TO THE, YEAH, LET'S JUST GO TO THE SECOND SLIDE AND I CAN START FROM THERE.
THIS IS THE DBE AND THE SBE UPDATE.
THAT'S THE NEXT, THAT'S THE NEXT ITEM? MR. CHAIR, CAN I, UH, IF YOU COULD, I RECOMMEND WE MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM AND WHILE CAMMY AND HER TEAM IS, ARE PRESENTING THE CAPITAL UPDATE, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE LOCATE THE, UH, THE PRESENTATION FROM A REESE AND THEN WE'LL BRING MAURICE BACK ON HOW'S THAT? OKAY.
IS THAT OKAY WITH EVERYONE? IF IT IS THEN WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM
[7. Capital Projects Update ]
NUMBER SEVEN, CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE MS. KENNISON OKAY, GOOD AFTERNOON OR GOOD EVENING.UH, MY NAME IS ABIGAIL KENNIS AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL PROGRAMS. AND THIS ITEM IS PROVIDING THE BOARD AN INFORMATIONAL UPDATE ON THREE OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY COMPLETING DESIGN AND ARE PREPARING TO GO OUT FOR BID.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE WITH ME TO SEE EVENING AS BIANCA THORPE MANAGER OF ENGINEERING, AND SHE WILL PROVIDE MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.
AND I'M JUST GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
UH, WE'RE BOTH GOING TO BE AVAILABLE AFTER THE PRESENTATION FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
THIS SLIDE IS A MAP SHOWING GEOGRAPHICALLY WITHIN OUR SYSTEM, THE THREE PROJECTS.
UM, THESE ARE A MIX OF IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING LOCATIONS AND FACILITIES AS WELL AS BRAND NEW FACILITIES.
THIS IS A SUMMARY SLIDE DESCRIBING OUR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PROCESS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT.
IT SHOWS HOW A PROJECT STARTS AND IDENTIFICATION AND STUDYING CONCEPT THEN MOVES THROUGH INTO SCHEMATIC DESIGN, A FULL DESIGN CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION, AND BIDDING.
SOME EXAMPLES OF THE TYPICAL TASKS ARE BELOW, UM, WITH THE PHASES ALSO NOTED.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE IS, OOPS, THIS IS THE WRONG THAT'S OKAY.
SO THE NEXT, THIS SLIDE SHOWS A SUMMARY OF THE PROJECTS, A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SCOPE AND THE STATUS AS OF THIS MONTH AND AN ESTIMATE OF WHEN WE'LL BE BACK, UM, BEGINNING CONSTRUCTION TODAY'S BRIEFING AGAIN IS INFORMATIONAL.
SO THERE'S NO ITEM, NO ACTION REQUESTED.
AND THE AWARD OF THE CONSTRUCTION WILL BE BACK FOR BOARD APPROVAL AT THAT TIME.
AND WITH THIS, WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO BIANCA TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE PROJECT.
SO THE FIRST PROJECT THAT WE WANTED TO DISCUSS THIS EVENING IS NACCHO PASS MOBILITY HUB.
[00:50:03]
SO THIS IS JUST A QUICK LOOK.I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE SEEN IT BEFORE, BUT FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T, THIS IS AN INTERSECTION PROJECT, UM, THAT IS, UH, THE INTERSECTION OF EARLENE AND NACCHO PASS.
IT CURRENTLY HAS SERVICE FOR ROUTES NINE, 14 AND 5 0 2 AND SERVICES VIA LINK.
WE ARE MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO THE INTERSECTION ITSELF, AS WELL AS ADDING PASSENGER AMENITIES.
IN THE PAST, WE DID BRING INFORMATION THAT THERE WAS A REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION THAT IS COMPLETE, AND WE ARE ESTIMATING OUR CONSTRUCTION BUDGET AT $1.3 MILLION.
SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT WITH THIS PROJECT IN ORDER TO, UM, KEEP THE PROJECT MOVING AT A GOOD PACE.
WE FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO MOVE OUR, UM, ROUTES TO A TEMPORARY LOCATION, WHICH IS THERE ON NACCHO PASS.
IT IS SHOWN AS A STAR AND WHERE YOU SEE THE, UM, WORDS, TEMPORARY HUB LOCATION.
UM, OUR FOLKS IN ROUTE PLANNING LOOKED AT WHERE WERE THE BEST PLACES TO, UM, MAKE CONNECTIONS TO ENSURE THAT WE SERVE EVERYONE THAT WAS GOING TO THE NACCHO PASS HUB.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS ALREADY IN PROCESS.
UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT TIMES OF YEAR THAT WE MAKE SERVICE CHANGES.
AND SO WE PUT THIS INTO EFFECT.
UM, IT IS IN EFFECT AS OF JANUARY SO THAT OUR PATRONS CAN CONTINUE THEIR SERVICE THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION.
IT WILL RETURN SERVICE BACK TO NACCHO PAST WHEN THE PROJECT IS COMPLETE.
SO CURRENTLY THIS IS THE PROJECT TIMELINE.
UM, FOR OUR PROJECT, WE WERE LOOKING AT THE PERMITTING PROCESSES AND PREPARING OUR BID DOCUMENTS THROUGH NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER OF 2021.
CURRENTLY WE ARE LOOKING TO ADVERTISE THIS PROJECT IN JANUARY, AND YES, THAT MEANS BASICALLY THIS WEEK.
OUR PLAN IS TO OPEN BIDS IN FEBRUARY AND PREPARE OUR CONTRACT DOCUMENTS IN MARCH.
YOU WILL SEE THIS ITEM AGAIN FOR AWARD OF THE CONTRACT THROUGH BOARD ACTION.
AND WE ARE LOOKING TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION IN APRIL OF 2022.
THE PROJECT LENGTH IS ANTICIPATED FOR 160 DAYS.
SO THE NEXT PROJECT IS THE ITIN PARKIN POOL.
SO THIS PROJECT IS A PARK AND POOL LOCATION THAT IS GOING TO BE LOCATED IN THE FAR NORTHWEST BEAR COUNTY, VERY CLOSE TO THE KENDALL COUNTY LINE.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN ON THE MAP, THE INTENT IS IN THE FUTURE, THAT GROWTH OF THE 93 ROUTE WILL TAKE SERVICE THAT DIRECTION.
BUT CURRENTLY ITS FOCUS IS FOR CARPOOL AND VAN POOL FOR THOSE FOLKS THAT LIVE IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY.
AND, UM, ALSO THAT CAN BE FOR FOLKS THAT CURRENTLY USE THE HOV LANES THAT YOU SEE ON I 10 THAT WERE FINISHED RECENTLY.
UM, THIS IS A PARKING FACILITY RIGHT NOW.
IT WILL HAVE MOBILITY HUB, PASSENGER AMENITIES, SIMILAR TO THOSE AS NACCHO PASS.
IT IS A PROJECT THAT IS IN CONJUNCTION WITH ALAMO COLLEGES DISTRICT.
WE WORK TOGETHER WITH THEM AS FAR AS SITE LOCATION, AND WE KNOW THAT THEY WILL BRING FUTURE DEVELOPMENT THERE AS WELL.
THEY CUT THE CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATE IS AT $3 MILLION.
SO THIS IS JUST KIND OF AN UPDATED LAYOUT BECAUSE WE ARE AT THE A HUNDRED PERCENT DESIGN PHASE.
UM, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE THE FACILITY ITSELF, YOU CAN TELL HAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PARKING WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST WHERE WE WORKED VERY DILIGENTLY TO PRESERVE HERITAGE TREES THAT ARE THERE.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT PUTTING PUBLIC ART IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA.
WE DO HAVE IT'S TENSION BASIN IN THIS AREA SO THAT WE CAN CONTROL THE FLOODWATERS THAT WE HAVE THERE, BUT IT ALSO GIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, AN AREA OF GRASSY, UM, VEGETATION, SO THAT WE CONTINUE TO CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT AND, AND OUR PROJECTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE, UM, THE RENDERINGS OF OUR MONUMENT SIGNAGE.
THE ONE ON THE LEFT SHOWS A SIGNAGE THAT WILL BE AT THE CORNER OF BALCONIES CREEK AND THE ENTRANCE TO OUR FACILITY THAT IS DESIGNATING IT AS A V VIA FACILITY.
AND THEN THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS THE SIGNAGE THAT WILL BE AT THE I 10 FRONTAGE ROAD, NEAR BELL COUNTY'S CREEK ROAD.
IT WILL SHOW, UM, WHERE THAT WE HAVE A V A FACILITY IN THE VICINITY, AS WELL AS IT WILL SPEAK TO ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGES AS WELL.
WE'RE DOING DUAL BRANDING IN THIS AREA BECAUSE WE WILL BE OUT THERE TOGETHER.
SO OUR PROJECT TIMELINE IN DECEMBER, WE COMPLETED THE 100% PLANS.
AND IN JANUARY, WE ARE GOING THROUGH THE PERMITTING PROCESS WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IN BEAR COUNTY.
AND WE'RE CURRENTLY PREPARING OUR DOCUMENTATION TO BE READY FOR BIDDING.
UM, OUR INTENT IS TO BID IN FEBRUARY OF 2022.
AND ONCE WE RECEIVE THOSE BIDS AND MARCH TO REVIEW
[00:55:01]
THEM, AND THEN OUR INTENT IS TO COME BACK FOR BOARD APPROVAL OF THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT IN APRIL OF 2022 AND BEGAN CONSTRUCTION IN MAY OF 2022.THE CONSTRUCTION LENGTH IS ANTICIPATED TO BE 180 DAYS.
SO THE NEXT PROJECT IS THE RANDOLPH TRANSIT CENTER NEXT SIDE.
SO WE DO HAVE AN EXISTING TRANSIT CENTER, UM, ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF TOWN, WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A RENDERING OF THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE TRANSIT CENTER.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE ROUTES THAT WE SERVICE THERE AS WELL AS BE A TRANS BEING PULLING CARPOOL AND SOMETIMES SPECIAL EVENTS.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A REPLACEMENT OF THE FACILITY THAT IS THERE THAT PROVIDES CUSTOMER SERVICE AND PASSENGER AMENITIES AT THIS TRANSIT CENTER.
OUR PLAN IS THAT SERVICE WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE SITE THROUGH PHASE CONSTRUCTION.
WE HAVE OUR PHASES SET UP TO DO JUST THAT, THAT WE WILL ADJUST ON SITE AND THIS PROJECT IS ON TXDOT RIGHT AWAY.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE OUR AGREEMENTS WITH TECH STOCK, FOR US TO HAVE OUR FACILITY AND MAINTAIN THE PROPERTY.
OUR CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATE IS $9.5 MILLION.
SO THESE ARE SOME RENDERINGS OF WHAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING ON THE PROJECT.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN, WHERE THE BUS PULLS UP TO THE FACILITY, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT THE OVERHANGS LOOK LIKE AND OUR MONUMENT SIGNAGE, THE OVERALL VIEW OF HOW IT WILL KIND OF OPERATE IN THERE.
THE OTHER PICTURES, THE TOP, RIGHT, IS OUR INTERNAL WAITING CENTER AND WHERE PASSENGERS CAN RECEIVE THEIR AMENITIES, LOOKS LIKE THE TICKET WINDOW THERE, UM, GENERAL INFORMATION IN THE INSIDE.
AND THEN THE BOTTOM PICTURE IS KIND OF AN OUTSIDE VIEW OF OUR VEGETATION, OUR WAITING AREAS, OUR, UM, MESSAGE BOARDS TO TELL FOLKS ABOUT THEIR ROUTES, THE BLUE PHONES, AND A LITTLE BIT OF THE ART AS WELL AS LANDSCAPING.
CAUSE YOU CAN SEE THE CONTEXT OF HOW EVERYTHING WORKS.
SO THIS IS JUST KIND OF A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED TO SHOW.
UM, MORE ADVANCED PHOTOS ABOUT THE ART IN TRANSIT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
WE WILL HAVE LONGER PANELS THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT KIND OF LOOK LIKE THE WIND FLOWING WITH THE, UM, BUTTERFLIES IN THAT SENSE.
AND THOSE ARE GOING TO BE ALONG, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THE FENCING THAT SEPARATES THE PARKING LOT FROM, UM, THE ACTUAL BUS AREA AND THE PLATFORM AND, AND THE BUILDING ITSELF.
THEN YOU WILL SEE SOME DIFFERENT TRANSITION PIECES.
THERE ARE SOME MONUMENT PIECES KIND OF LIKE THE BURNT ORANGE WITH THE FLOWERS AND THE BUTTERFLIES AND OTHER ADDITIONAL PIECES THAT CAN BE SEEN.
LIKE THE LIGHT PINK WILL BE WITHIN THE AREAS THAT PASSENGERS ARE WAITING AND THEN JUST ADDITIONAL CORNER PIECES, UM, THROUGHOUT OUR INTENT IS THAT WE WILL CONTINUE, UM, THE PROCESS OF, OF KIND OF GIVING THAT VIBE OF THE MIGRATION AND THE CONCEPT AND BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION.
MAYOR'S MONARCH PLEDGE IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA.
UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT VEGETATION THAT WILL ALSO HELP, UM, WITH THE POLLINATION AND THE MONARCHS IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA.
SO OUR PROJECT TIMELINE IN DECEMBER OF 2021, WE REVIEWED OUR 90% PLANS.
AND IN JANUARY WE DID A CONCURRENCE REVIEW WITHIN OUR INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS AND WE ARE PROGRESSING TO A HUNDRED PERCENT PLANS.
WE INTEND TO RECEIVE THE PLANS, THE A HUNDRED PERCENT PLAN SET IN FEBRUARY OF 2022 AND ADVERTISE FOR CONSTRUCTION IN MARCH OF 2022.
THIS IS A PROJECT THAT IS LARGER THAN SOME OF THE OTHER PROJECTS YOU'VE SEEN.
SO WE INTEND FOR A MORE COMPLEX PROCUREMENT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO HAVE THIS PROJECT AWARDED IN JUNE OF 2022 THROUGH BOARD ACTION, WHICH YOU WILL SEE AND BEGIN CONSTRUCTION IN THE SUMMER OF 2022.
THE CONSTRUCTION LENGTH IS ANTICIPATED AT 280 DAYS.
SO WE'RE READY FOR OUR QUESTIONS.
TRUSTEES, YOU'VE HEARD THE PRESENTATION.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS I HAVE A, JUST A QUICK, WHEN YOU'RE PUTTING THE BEDS TOGETHER AND AS YOU'RE GETTING READY TO BID IT OUT, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT THE CONTRACTOR HAS TO CHECK OFF OR GUARANTEE THAT THE MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE SO THAT THERE IS NO DELAY IN PUTTING THESE PROJECTS? BECAUSE BASED ON WHAT WE HEAR RIGHT NOW, AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS IS CRITICAL IN CERTAIN AREAS.
AND, UH, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE AWARE THAT THAT'S HAPPENING AT THAT.
UH, WE MAKE SURE THE CONTRACTOR CAN, CAN DELIVER.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE FROM PROCUREMENT WANTS TO ADD ON TO THIS.
[01:00:01]
I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW IN THE INDUSTRY, WHAT TYPES OF ITEMS HAVE LONG LEAD ITEMS THAT WE DEFINITELY TRY TO WORK WITH THE CONTRACTOR TO SCHEDULE THAT IN A PARTICULAR WAY OR, UM, ORDER AND, AND PUT THAT IN OUR, UM, PROJECT IN A SPECIFIC PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT DOESN'T HOLD US UP.UM, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DEFINITELY THROUGH THE PRE-BID DISCUSSION THAT WE HAVE WITH CONTRACTORS.
THAT'S DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE SUBJECT MATTERS THAT WOULD COME UP IN THAT CONVERSATION.
AND WE WOULD COME UP WITH A PLAN OF ACTION OF HOW TO ADDRESS IF A PARTICULAR MATERIAL WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS SCARCE OR HAD A LONG LEAD TIME.
THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE SO MANY PRODUCTS COULD GET DELAYED.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, TRUSTEES, IF NOT TRUSTEES, YOU'VE HEARD THE UPDATES.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS DISCUSSION, IF NOT, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD MOTION TO APPROVE ITEMS, NO APPROVAL THE APPROVAL ON THE PRESENTATION.
THE NEXT ONE ITEM IS LEGAL BRIEFING.
MS. SHARE MS. ELDERS, DO WE HAVE ANY LEGAL BRIEFINGS TODAY? I, UH,
[6. DBE & SBE Program Update (Part 2 of 2)]
WE SHOULD MOVE BACK TO ITEM SIX NOW.I THINK I REMEMBER WE SKIPPED THROUGH ITEM SIX TO GIVE THEM TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT HAD THE PRESENTATION.
I'M HOPING THAT WE HAVE IT HERE.
UH, MY NAME IS MAURICE BRITISH DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND SUPPLY DIVERSITY PROGRAM.
I'M ALSO THE DBE LIAISON OFFICER AS MENTIONED EARLIER.
WE MET WITH THE BOARD, UH, BACK IN SEPTEMBER, GAVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE GOAL SETTING METHODOLOGY FOR THE TRI MUKUL.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT HOW WE'D SET GOALS ON INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AS WELL.
SO TODAY I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.
LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE FOUR THINGS I WANT TO COVER TODAY.
UH, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT AL FYI 21 DBE SBE CONTRACT AWARDS, AND, UH, WE HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE WITH YOU.
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT A CHANGE THAT WE'RE GOING TO MAKE WITH THE IDI TWO CONTRACTS, UH, WANTING TO DISCUSS THE DISPARITY STUDY AND ALSO PARTNERSHIPS.
AND, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, JUST FOR, UH, JUST AS A BACKDROP, WE HAVE TWO FUNDING SOURCES.
SO ALL OF OUR FEDERAL MONEY THAT WE GET FROM FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, IT HAS A DBE COMPONENT AND THAT'S ALL ABOUT USD, OT ASSISTED PROJECTS, UH, AND IT'S FEDERALLY MANDATED.
AND IT'S THE DBE PROGRAM OF COURSE IS RACE AND GENDER CONSCIENCE ON THE NSBE PROGRAM IS LOCALLY FUNDED, IT'S RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL.
AND IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH RACE BASED OR RACE SPECIFIC GOALS, IT REQUIRES A DISPARITY STUDY.
AND WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THAT LATER, AS FAR AS OUR GOAL SETTING METHODOLOGY AND ALL OF IT, THE SBE PROGRAM, IT MIRRORS THE FEDERAL PROGRAM AS TO HOW WE ESTABLISH GOALS ON EACH PROJECT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THIS TABLE IS A DB AND S B E PRIME CONTRACTOR AND SUBCONTRACTOR AWARD BASED ON FUNDING SOURCES.
SO JUST AS A BACKDROP, THE GOAL THAT WE HAVE FROM FYI 20 TO 22 IS 18.7, 3%.
THAT'S A FEDERAL GOAL FOR ALL OF OUR FEDERAL CONTRACT AWARDS.
I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT, UH, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED FOR FYI 21, 19% ON THE FEDERAL SIDE, WE GO ON THE LOCAL SIDE.
THIS WOULD BE ALL OF THE OTHER CONTRACTS THAT WILL HAVE AN SBE GOAL.
SO THAT WOULD BE A TOTAL OF, WE ACHIEVED A 40% WHEN YOU COMBINE THE TWO, UH, WE'RE FINISHING UP THE FYI 21 WITH A COMBINED TOTAL OF 39%.
AND WE ARE QUITE PLEASED WITH THAT NUMBER, PARTICULARLY THE 19% AS I DISCUSSED IN OUR LAST UPDATE IN TIME, WE ACHIEVE LESS THAN 19%.
THEN WE ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE AN, A FTA SHORTFALL ANALYSIS WITH A CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.
AND I SAW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TO BRING THOSE NUMBERS IN LINE.
UH, THIS, UH, CONTRACT WITH THE TRANSIT VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS HAVE NOT PART OF THAT.
[01:05:01]
IS ALL TRANSIT VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS ARE PRE-APPROVED BY FTA AND FTA, UH, PROVIDES THEY PROVIDE A, UH, ANALYSIS TO MTA AND THEY APPROVED A GOAL FOR EACH OF THOSE, UH, MTA, UH, TRANSIT VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS.SO FOR AN EXAMPLE, UH, WE DEDUCTED OR ATTRACTED THE 8 MILLION FOR THE EIGHT BATTERY ELECTRIC, 40 FOOT TRANSIT BUSES THAT WE, UH, PURCHASE IN THE AMOUNT OF $8 MILLION.
SO MTA HAS ALREADY BEEN ASSIGNED A GOAL OF 1.7% DBE GOAL FOR THAT.
UH, SO THAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THOSE NUMBERS THAT WE JUST SHARED WITH YOU NEXT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IS WE WENT BACK AND ANALYZE ALL OF THE DATA TO SAY, WHAT HAPPENS IF WE BROKE IT OUT BY IF YOU LOOK AT THE CERTIFICATION TIME, NOW, KEEP IN MIND AS A BACKDROP, A CONTRACTOR MAY HOLD MULTIPLE CERTIFICATIONS.
SO FOR AN EXAMPLE, I COULD BE A CERTIFIED DBE.
A CONTRACTOR COULD ALSO BE A CERTIFIED AS A HISPANIC AMERICAN BUSINESS THAT COULD ALSO BE CLASSIFIED AS MB.
SO THEY HOLD MULTIPLE CLASSIFICATIONS.
SO I JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT TO YOU.
SO YOU JUST LOOK AT THE SBE, GO WITH CHEAP 40% ON THE MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE OVERALL WITH ACHIEVED 27%.
UH, THE DBE WAS 25% WOMAN OWNED BUSINESSES, 23, HISPANIC AMERICANS, 18 AFRICAN-AMERICAN BUSINESSES, 5% VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE IS 2%.
AND IN BOTH THE ASIAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN, UH, IT WAS LESS THAN 1%.
I JUST WANNA POINT OUT ON THE ASIAN AMERICAN.
UH, WE AWARDED A CONTRACT FOR A DBE FIRM WHO WAS IRONICALLY IS ALSO ASIAN AMERICAN, BUT THAT FIRM IS CERTIFIED WITH TEXTILE AS A DBE, AND THEY'RE NOT CERTIFIED AS A ASIAN AMERICAN BUSINESS.
SO WE COULD NOT USE THAT IN THOSE NUMBERS.
SO WE DECIDED THAT, UH, WE WEREN'T AS SORT OF BACK CHECK OURSELVES AND GO BACK AND LOOK AT, WE WANTED TO COMPARE FYI 21 TO WHAT WE DID IN .
SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN WE ACHIEVED 30% SMALL BUSINESS WOULD ACHIEVE THE 40%.
SO THAT'S A 10 POINT CHANGE OR 33% INCREASE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE MBE FYI 20, IT WAS 11 FYI, 21 IS 27% AS THE INCREASE OF 16 POINTS OR 145% INCREASE ON THE DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE.
WE COMPARE THAT TO A NUMBER OF 25%.
SO THAT'S AN INCREASE OF 14 POINTS OR 127%.
THEN WE LOOKED AT THE WOMAN OWNED BUSINESSES OF ONE 20.
WE HAD 8% OF WHY 21, WE HAVE 23%, UH, THAT'S A 15 POINT INCREASE OR 186% HISPANIC AMERICAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES, FYI 20.
UH, WE REPORTED 18%, WHICH IS EIGHT POINT INCREASE OR 80% INCREASE AFRICAN-AMERICAN BUSINESSES, FYI 20.
IT WAS 1% FYI, 21 WE'RE AT 5%.
SO THAT WAS A FOUR POINT CHANGE OR 400% INCREASE, UH, VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
WE, UH, THAT WHEN WE BELL FROM 5% TO 2%, UH, SO WE WERE DOWN THREE OR 60%.
AND OF COURSE THE OTHER TWO CATEGORIES OF WAS LESS THAN 1% IN BOTH EARS.
NOW, WHAT THIS DOES IS IT JUST SHOWS US WHAT WE HAVE AND WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO CONSTANTLY IMPROVE THOSE NUMBERS.
SO WE'RE NOT NEVER SATISFIED WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO, UM, INCREASE THESE NUMBERS IN EVERY CATEGORY.
UH, AND IRONICALLY, THIS PARTICULAR PAGE IS MY SCREENSAVER, BECAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS THE PACE THAT I'M MOST PROUD OF AS FAR AS WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO, PARTICULARLY IN THIS COVID ENVIRONMENT AND WE COULD MAKE SOME
[01:10:01]
YEAR OVER YEAR IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS THIS NEXT PAGE, PLEASE.SO YOU ASKED THE QUESTION, WHAT WAS THE KEY TO THE LOCALLY FUNDED SBE PARTICIPATION? UH, WE'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK DIRECTLY FROM, UH, THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS WHENEVER POSSIBLE, OUR CONTRACTS WERE DEEP BUNDLED AND THAT JUST MEANS WE'RE BREAKING THEM OUT TO SMALLER PORTIONS SO THEY CAN, UH, MAKE IT MORE MANAGEABLE FOR A SMALL BUSINESS TO BE AT ALL.
AND IT ALSO HELPS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF AS OPPOSED TO BUNDLING, IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA WORK, BUT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF WHEN THE CONTRACTS ARE DEEP, VULNERABLE, BROKEN OUT INTO SMALLER PORTIONS AND JUST, UH, THEY HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF WINNING THAT PARTICULAR, UH, SOLICITATION.
AND THEN IN MOST CASES, CONTRACT SPECIFIC GOALS WERE ASSIGNED TO, UH, MOST SOLICITATIONS, UNLESS IT WAS, UH, ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER OR MAYBE SOME TYPE OF PROPRIETARY INFORMATION OR SUCH AS SOFTWARE THINGS THAT NATURE.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ACTUALLY HELPED A GREAT DEAL ALSO IS WE DID A PILOT PROJECT WITH ABOUT 20 FIRMS WHERE WE ACTUALLY PROVIDED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
UH, WE DID AN, A SWAT ANALYSIS TO KIND OF SEE WHAT THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES WERE AND WE, UH, OFFER A, A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WHEN POSSIBLE.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I ACTUALLY HELPED IS WE ACTUALLY HELPED SOME OF THE FIRMS AND GATHERING ALL OF THE INFORMATION, UH, FOR THE DBE OR SBE CERTIFICATION.
UH, SO WE DIDN'T DO IT ALL IN ONE SETTING, BUT WE WOULD ARRANGE SEVERAL DIFFERENT MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH TO HELP THEM GATHER THE DATA.
UH, THE, THE OTHER THING, AND JEFF, IF I CAN JUST BORROW YOUR STATEMENT ABOUT SAYING KUDOS TO THE, EVERY MEMBER OF THE, UH, VIA FAMILY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES THIS PROGRAM HAVE SUSTAINABILITY IS WE HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE BOARD LEVEL.
WE HAVE THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM FULLY ENGAGED, AND JEFF HOLDS EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DBE SBE, UH, PROGRAM.
AND ALL OF OUR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM HAVE A PART, UH, AND PLAYED A PART IN THE SUCCESS OF THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM AND THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE SHARING WITH YOU.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT AND THE DBE AND THE SBE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU AS WELL BECAUSE WHEN CONTRACTS ARE AWARDED IN THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, THAT MONEY TENDS TO TURN THREE AND A HALF TO FOUR TIMES, OR IT CREATES A GREAT DEAL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, EQUITY THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
UH, NOW WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE INDEFINITE DELIVERY, INDEFINITE QUANTITATE, AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS IDI KEY CONTRACTS.
CAN I STOP YOU FOR ONE SECOND, TRUSTEE THAT ARE RAISED HAND .
DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU DO WANT TO ASK AT THIS BOARD? OKAY.
SO JUST AS A, AS A RECAP, WE HAVE THREE PROCUREMENT METHODS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.
WE WERE OFTEN REFERRED TO IT AS AN RFP IMITATION FOR BEING, WHICH IS AN IFB AND THEN INDEFINITE DELIVERY, INDEFINITE QUANTITY.
AND THAT IS WHAT I'M SPEAKING TO YOU TODAY.
UH, IN OUR LAST UPDATE, WE W THAT WE ASSIGN GOALS ON AN REIQ.
WE ASSIGN GOALS ON A TASK ORDER BASIS.
SO ONE OF THE, THAT ACTUALLY HURT US ON THE REPORTING IS WHEN TASK ORDERS ISSUED FOR AN EXAMPLE OF A TWENTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLAR TASK ORDER IS ISSUED, AND IT HAS A DBE WE'RE GOING TO ASSIGN DBE GOALS TO EACH TASK.
THEN WE HAVE TO REPORT THAT NUMBER TO FTA.
AND SO WHAT'S GIVER REPORTED IS THE $50 MILLION OR 20 MILLION FOR THE CONTRACT, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T ASSIGNED A TASK, THEN IT SHOWS AS A ZERO PARTICIPATION.
SO THAT OVERTIME EQUATION US HAVING VERY LOW NUMBERS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO MEET OUR GOALS.
UH, THERE ARE SOME OTHER BENEFITS FOR BOTH THE PRIME AND THE SUBCONTRACTORS AS FAR AS CHANGING IT TO OVERALL.
[01:15:01]
SO WE WENT BACK AND JUST LOOKED AT THREE IDI JEWS.THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN AWARDED, AND WE'D LOOKED AT THAT AND A SERVICES, UH, THAT WAS AWARDED A FEW BUCKS AGO.
AND IF WE HAD PLACED A GOAL AND OVERALL GOAL ON THAT, THE GOAL WOULD BE 10%.
UH, WE JUST RECENTLY DID A PROJECT IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT.
SO THAT HAS AN IDEA IQ WHERE THE GOAL IS GOING TO BE ESTABLISHED ON A TASK ORDER BASIS.
AND HAD WE ASSIGN AN OVERALL GOAL TO THAT? THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN 13%.
UH, THE THIRD ONE IS THE GENERAL SERVICE PLANNING AND SCHEDULING, UH, THAT WE DID.
I THINK IT WAS LAST YEAR, THIS TIME IN JANUARY.
UM, AND IF WE HAVE PUT AN OVERALL GOAL ON THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT, IT WOULD BE 70%.
SO GOING FORWARD, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PLAN AND GOALS ON AN OVERALL CONTRACT AMOUNT AS OPPOSED TO EACH INDIVIDUAL TASK.
NOW WE, UH, TALKED ABOUT, WANT TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT A DISPARITY STUDY, AND THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND.
UH, THE FIRST PARTICULAR QUESTION IS WHY WOULD YOU NEED A DISPARITY STUDY? AND IT WILL REALLY BE TO DETERMINE IF THERE ARE ANY INEQUITIES EXIST IN THE PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING THAT HAS AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON MINORITIES AND WOMEN.
AND WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY? THE STUDY WOULD BE TO ENSURE THAT ANY RACE OR GENDER BASED PROGRAMS COULD WITHSTAND SCRUTINY IN A COURT OF LAW.
SO WE HAVE TO GO OUT AND HAVE A DISPARITY STUDY IN ORDER TO, IF WE EVER DECIDE THAT WE HAVE ONE, WE HAVE TO HAVE THE STUDY, OR WE CAN HAVE A GRACE BASED GOALS FOR PROJECTS, AND IT HAS TO MEET THE QUARTER.
I MEAN, THE, UM, IT HAS TO BE ABLE TO, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DEFEND IT IN COURT.
SO YOU GET JUST ARBITRARILY SAY GORDON FAULT.
WE'RE GOING TO SIGN A 10% GOAL ON ALL THE PROJECTS FOR AFRICA, UH, FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND 10% FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS OR WHATEVER YOU, SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE DISPARITY STUDY TO BE ABLE TO BACK THAT UP.
SO THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF A DISPARITY STUDY, IT'S QUITE FRANKLY, IT'S THE UTILIZATION ANALYSIS, THE AVAILABILITY ANALYSIS, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE DISPARITY STUDY AND THEN YOU HAVE THE ANTIDOTE OR DATA ANALYSIS, AND THAT WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO MAYBE GO ON OUT, UH, SORT OF GETTING THE OPINIONS AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, JUST ASKING PEOPLE ABOUT THE PROGRAM SO THAT YOU CAN GATHER SOME DATA ABOUT THAT.
SO THIS REPORT, SO IF YOU THINK OF IT, THINK IN TERMS OF AVAILABILITY.
SO THE FIRST COLUMN IS JUST SHOWS YOU WHAT THE BEAR COUNTY POPULATION IS.
UH, THIS CAME DIRECTLY FROM THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE BEAR COUNTY DISPARITY STUDY.
SO IF YOU JUST GO ACROSS FOR AN EXAMPLE, IF WE LOOK AT HISPANIC AMERICANS, WHY THE POPULATION IS 61%, BUT AS IT RELATES TO CONSTRUCTION AS A 29% AVAILABILITY IN THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY, AND YOU COULD GO ACROSS THE BOARD AND SEE THE DIFFERENCES HERE, UH, IS AN EXCELLENT ONE.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION IS 8%.
BUT IF I JUST USE THAT CONSTRUCTION, THE AVAILABILITY AFFIRMS IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN, UH, IN THAT SEGMENT IS 2%.
NOW ASIAN AMERICANS REPRESENT 3% OF THE POPULATION, BUT THE AVAILABILITY IN CONSTRUCTION IS 0.3 NATIVE AMERICAN.
THAT WOULD BE 1% POPULATION CONSTRUCTION IS 1.2.
AND YOU CAN JUST SORT OF LOOK ACROSS THE MATRIX AND SEE WHAT THE AVAILABILITY EQUALS.
WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? WHEN GOALS ARE SET, THE GOALS ARE SET BASED ON THE AVAILABILITY, NOT POPULATION.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE BECAUSE THAT'S A POINT OF CLARIFICATION SO THAT AS WE SET GOALS GOING FORWARD, IT'S ALWAYS BASED ON THE AVAILABILITY OF BURNED AS OPPOSED TO THE POPULATION.
UH, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT ONE, PLEASE.
[01:20:02]
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DISPARITY STUDY, UH, THIS WOULD BE THE TIMELINE.SO FOR AN EXAMPLE, UH, THIS IS NOT, THIS IS AN UNBUDGETED ITEM.
WE ESTIMATED THAT THE BUDGET WOULD BE ABOUT $700,000.
AND IF YOU, FROM THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, THE PROCUREMENT TIMELINE WOULD TAKE PROBABLY UP TO 90 DAYS WOULD TAKE ANOTHER 60 DAYS FOR CONTRACT AWARD.
AND THEN BETWEEN AUGUST OF 22 AND JULY 23, UH, THAT'S REALLY ABOUT THE 12 MONTHS THAT IT TAKES TO COMPLETE THE STUDY.
AND, AND WE FEEL THAT IT WOULD BE ESTIMATED AUGUST OF 23, UH, IF IT WERE APPROVED TODAY AND WITH THE BUDGET OF $700,000.
SO THAT JUST GIVES YOU AN OVERVIEW OF A QUICK TIMELINE.
AND WE'VE, WE'VE LOOKED AT SEVER, WE'VE TALKED TO BEAR COUNTY, THE CITY SOLS CAP, METRO HOUSTON, METRO, UH, DARK AND OTHER AGENCIES.
WHAT FROM THE APPROVAL DATE IS TAKEN ANYWHERE FROM 12 TO 16 MONTHS.
AND IN SOME INSTANCES WITH COVID, IT HAS TAKEN UP TO 18 MONTHS, UH, TO COMPLETE AND HAVE A FINISHED PRODUCT.
THE NEXT THING WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS JUST THE PARTNERSHIPS.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS, UH, THERE'S A BIG CONCERN AMONG THE DBE AND SBE PRIMES FOR BONDING AND INSURANCE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH BOTH BEAR COUNTY AND THE CITY, UH, IS, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE COULD CONTRIBUTE TO A COLLATERAL POOL WHERE ALL OF THE FUNDS, UH, SHARE IT AND WITH IT SET UP SOME TYPE OF, UM, SHARE PROGRAM WHERE WE COULD MAKE MONEY AVAILABLE TO THE FIRMS, UH, SO THAT THEY COULD GET BONDING.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU THAT EXAMPLE, IF YOU TAKE AWAY THE GREEN PART, THE THREE COMPONENTS OF A BOND WOULD BE THE CONTRACTOR.
UH, WE WOULD BE THE OWNERS AND THEN THE SURETY COMPANY.
SO IF THIS IS, IF THIS TAKES PLACE, THEN A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONSULTANT WOULD ACTUALLY BE IT ON THE SOLICITATION AND THEY WOULD ACTUALLY MANAGE THE PROJECT.
AND THEY WOULD BE THE ONES THAT INTERACT WITH A DBE OR SBE SUBS.
JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, JUST LAST WEEK, UH, THE CITY ACTUALLY ISSUED, UM, THEY'RE GOING FORWARD WITH A PILOT PROGRAM AND THEY ISSUED AN RFP JUST LAST WEEK.
AND I THINK THE DUE DATE FOR THEIRS IS SEVENTH.
WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS WITH BEAR COUNTY AS WELL.
AND WE THINK THERE'S SOME COULD BE SOME POTENTIAL SYNERGIES THERE.
AND SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE JUST COME UP IN OUR DISCUSSION IS IT JUST REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT THE FUNDING SOURCE OF THE DOLLARS.
AND THAT WOULD PROBABLY THAT'S GOING TO DICTATE WHETHER WE CAN ACTUALLY PUT THE DOLLARS IN A COLLATERAL POOL, BUT WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF INTEREST IN THIS FROM BOTH, UH, THE CITY AND BARRON COUNTY.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO TALK WITH ALL THE OTHER ENTITIES TO, UH, CERTAINLY SEE IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN, UH, JOINING US IN THIS, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
TRUSTEES, YOU'VE HEARD THE PRESENTATION.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, TRUSTEE, CABRINI THAT YOU STILL WANT TO ASK YOUR QUESTION? YOU HAD A QUESTION.
YEAH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
AND I JUST WANTED A COUPLE OF COMMENTS REALLY, AND I LEARNED TO DEMAND THE TEAM.
YOU KNOW, WHAT DASA MARIE, UH, THE PROGRESS YOU HAVE MADE SINCE THE LAST PRESENTATION IN SEPTEMBER ON THIS PROGRAM.
UH, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING A HARD LOOK AT AND DEVELOPING A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, ON THE WEBSITE, THERE'S A LANGUAGE THAT FIRMS CAN GO TO.
UH, THERE'S A PROCEEDS IF YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN A LOOK LATELY, UM, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE ROBUST INFORMATION AS TO HOW YOU CAN GET BUSINESS.
AND SO FIRST UP I WANTED TO COMMEND YOU GUYS ON THE PROGRESS AS FAR.
I KNOW THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WE'RE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, UH, IN THE BUSINESS OF TRYING TO GROW, UM, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES
[01:25:01]
OR DVD AND, UH, UH, YOU GUYS CONTINUE IN DISPARITY STUDY.I THINK WE'LL HIGHLIGHT A LOT OF AREAS THAT WE CAN OUTREACH, UH, FOR THOSE AFFIRMS. UM, THANK YOU FOR ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THE TIMELINE TOO, BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY HAD THERE ON MONDAY, A DISPARITY STUDY TOWN HALL, AND I ATTENDED THAT.
AND SO MY QUESTION RAISED IS ONCE WE GET INTO, UM, NEXT YEAR, THAT SUMMER, IS THERE ANY COMMUNICATIONS PLANS, UH, FOR OUTREACH? I THINK GETTING BACK FROM SMALL BUSINESSES OR TOWN HALLS ON DECK RIGHT NOW SCHEDULED OR PLANNED? WELL, I THINK THE FIRST WORD, THE FIRST STEP WOULD BE FOR US TO JUST PRESENT IT.
AS I STATED, WE DON'T HAVE A, WE DON'T HAVE IT.
IT'S NOT A BUDGETED ITEM, BUT WE'VE ALSO DEALT VERY DEEPLY INTO BEAR COUNTERS.
SOME OF IT IS THE SAME, SO WE'RE BEGINNING.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE, IT ACTUALLY SPEAKS TO WHAT SOME OF THE ISSUES ARE IN THAT HAVE BEEN POINTED OUT IN THEIR ACCOUNTING'S REPORT.
FOR EXAMPLE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, UH, THE FIRMS THEY HELPED WITH, UH, PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION, UH, BECAUSE OFTEN, OFTENTIMES, UH, THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL ON THE BONDING.
SO THAT WAS SPEAK TO A LOT OF IT.
SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN'T DONE A DISPARITY STUDY, BUT WE'RE TREATING IT AS IF ALL OF THE ISSUES WOULD BE SIMILAR TO WHAT HAS BEEN POINTED OUT IN OTHER STUDIES.
SO WE WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN PROACTIVE IN THAT REGARD AND THAT HAS ACTUALLY HELPED US AS WELL.
AND, AND WE GET, WE GET LOTS AND LOTS AND WE CONTINUE TO GET FEEDBACK FROM OUR, UH, DVE AND SBE COMMUNITY AND EVEN FIRMS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CONVINCE TO MOVE FROM.
MAYBE IF THEY ARE A H A B E, OR A B E, OR WHATEVER, WE'RE LITERALLY BUILDING THE BUSINESS CASE FOR WHY YOU SHOULD AT LEAST CONSIDER BEING AN SBE OR DBE.
SO IT'S LIKE A CONTINUOUS CYCLE OF CONSTANT IMPROVEMENTS.
I'M UNDERSTANDING SINCE THIS IS NOT A BUDGETED ITEM RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE GOING TO IN PLACE THAT WERE UTILIZING THEIR COUNTY.
SO LET'S, LET'S, LET'S THINK OF IT IN TERMS OF THIS.
WE DID A, WE CONDUCTED A PILOT PROJECT STARTED IN JANUARY OF 2020.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A GOOD FEEL OF WHAT SOME OF THE COMMON THEMES AND ISSUES ARE, UH, WHEN WE'RE OUT AND WE'RE SPENDING AN HOUR OR TWO WITH CERTAIN, UH, WITH 20 OR 30 FIRMS, THEN YOU BEGAN TO SEE THE CONSTANT THEMES.
AND THEN WE PUT THOSE THINGS IN A BUCKET.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THIS EXCAVATING IS ONE THAT'S THE DATE ACCESS TO CASSEROLE AWNING IS ONE CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION.
UH, OFTENTIMES THEY HAVE THE TECHNICAL SKILLS, BUT LIKE THE BACK OFFICE INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, SO THAT MIGHT BE HELPING WITH HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING, ACCOUNTING BOOKKEEPING UNTIL WEEK.
THAT'S THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE GATHERED FROM OUR PALLET PROGRAM NOW THAT WE COULD PROBABLY PARLAY THAT AND LOOK AT THE BEAR COUNTY STUDY, WHICH IS ONE THAT WE ACCESS TO AND IT'S RIGHT IN OUR MARKET.
AND YOU GO, YOU WHAT BEGAN TO SEE COMMON THEMES ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO THEN WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS FROM A PROACTIVE STANDPOINT, IF COMPLETED THE DBE OR SBE APPLICATION IS A BARRIER, THEN LET'S START HELPING WITH THAT.
UH, WE JUST TALKED TO UTS A TODAY, AND THEY HAVE GIVEN US A PROPOSAL FOR SOME OF OUR DBE FIRMS TO HAVE A TWO-DAY VIRTUAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT WEBINAR.
RIGHT? SO, BECAUSE A LOT OF OUR DBES, YOU KNOW, THEY KNOW THE TECHNICAL SIDE, OR THEY PROBABLY COULD USE HELP WITH PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT THEY DON'T HAVE 40 HOURS TO SAY, I CAN SIT IN A CLASSROOM OR WHETHER IT'S IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY.
SO WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO IS MAYBE
[01:30:01]
WE CAN HAVE TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT SERIES OF TRAINING, BUT AS LONG AS WE'RE, WE'RE HITTING THE MAJORITY OF THE NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE.AND I THINK IF I HAD TO PICK ONE RIGHT NOW, QUITE FRANKLY, IT WOULD JUST, IT WOULD BE PROJECT MANAGEMENT BECAUSE THAT'S A, THAT'S A BIG ISSUE THAT WE'RE SAYING WITH THE DBE AND NSBE COMMUNITY, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S TIMING IT'S FIGURING OUT WHEN THE PROGRESS PAYMENTS OF DO IT'S.
I MEAN, JUST MANAGING ALL THE DIFFERENT BALLS THAT YOU HAVE TO.
SO ONE ASPECT BECAUSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP, IS THAT ACCURATE? OH, NO, THAT IS NOT ACCURATE.
THE PURPOSE OF THE DISPARITY STUDY WOULD BE IF WE WANTED TO INTRODUCE RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS GOALS WITH OUR LOCAL PROCUREMENTS.
NOW, IF YOU THINK BACK TO THAT SLIDE THAT SHOWED FEDERAL DOLLAR SPENT AND LOCAL DOLLARS SPENT, MOST OF OUR DOLLARS ARE, ARE LOCAL RIGHT NOW, WITHOUT A DISPARITY STUDY, WE CAN PUT A SMALL BUSINESS GOAL BECAUSE SMALL BUSINESS IS RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL.
YOU CAN BE ANY RACE, YOU CAN BE ANY GENDER, WHATEVER, AND BE A SMALL BUSINESS.
THE PURPOSE OF THE DISPARITY STUDY IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER AT THE, AT THE COMPLETION OF THAT STUDY, WHETHER DISPARITIES EXIST AND WHETHER WE WANT TO START PUTTING RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS PORTIONS WITHIN THE LOCAL PROGRAM, WHICH WE CANNOT DO RIGHT NOW.
NOW THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS WE CAN DO, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN'T DO WITHOUT THE DISPARITY STUDY CLARIFICATION.
AND SO TRUSTEES, MY, SORRY FOR US TO COME FORWARD AND ASKING STAFF TO THINK ABOUT, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, UM, UTILIZING TRUST THE CABIN, ELLA, I KIND OF THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE, UM, GOING TO KIND OF GO IN THAT DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO THE, THE, UH, THE SURPLUS.
THE THING ABOUT THIS STUDY IS BASED UPON THE TIMING, UH, MOST OF THE EXPENSES WE'LL HIT THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR FYI 23.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY DO THAT WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE FYI 23 BUDGET, BUT THERE MAY BE SOME DOLLARS BASED ON THAT SCHEDULE THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE IN 2223, THAT SETS A DISPARITY STUDY BACK.
THE SCHEDULE WOULD HAVE THE WORK ON THE DISPARITY STUDY START IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE THE START-UP OF THE PROGRAM, BUT, UM, FISCAL YEAR ENDS IN SEPTEMBER.
SO YOU ONLY HAVE TWO MONTHS WORTH OF THE WORK AND IT'S ALMOST A YEAR STUDY.
SO THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT IN THIS FISCAL YEAR'S BUDGET, I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MONEY THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR THAT PIECE OF THE WORK.
AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE, OF COURSE, YOU'LL APPROVE, UM, OR YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVE WITH THE, WITH THE NEXT BUDGET, UM, TRUSTEE THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, AND THANK YOU MR. BRIDGES, AND THE REST OF THE STAFF FOR PROVIDING THIS REALLY GREAT PRESENTATION.
UM, SO I ROLLED OFF OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY COMMITTEE LAST YEAR AFTER SERVING ON AND OFF FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS.
I WAS AROUND WHEN WE DID OUR VERY FIRST DISPARITY STUDY WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO, UM, I DO WANT TO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR AT LEAST ENTERTAINING THE IDEA OF, OF DOING THIS.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THOUGH.
I, AND I GUESS MORE SO, BECAUSE THIS IS MY REALM.
SO, UM, DO WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF INDUSTRIES FOR DDSB AND MEANING IN WHICH, LIKE, WHAT ARE THE PERCENTAGES OF THE, UM, THOSE THAT ARE SAY M WBE OR, UM, ABE? DO WE HAVE ANY OF THOSE ALREADY, OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE STILL, WHEN WE, WHEN WE, IF YOU GO BACK TO MY CHART WHERE WE ACTUALLY COMPARE THE 20 TO 21,
[01:35:03]
SO THAT REQUIRED US TO LOOK AT EACH CONTRACT AND WE COMPARED IT TO THE DATABASE GAVE THAT.SO FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S HOW WE GOT THE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU ARE A WOMAN OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISPANIC, SO THAT'S THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT WE WENT THROUGH.
SO YOU DIDN'T GO BASED OFF OF INDUSTRY THAT ARE LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, UM, HR, HR, OR, UM, MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY.
SO I WAS, UH, THINKING IN TERMS OF BUCKETS, ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION FACILITIES, AND THEN THE GOODS AND SERVICES PROBABLY BE MORE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
SO THAT'S, AND THAT'S HOW I WAS AS A GROUP BASED ON THAT, UH, NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION PILL.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING IS BASED OFF OF THE NIX CODES, DID YOU ALSO HAVE THE BREAKDOWN OF A CERTIFICATION TYPE AS WELL? BASED OFF OF THAT? OH, YES.
I MEAN, WE KNOW, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHO IT IS AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE SHOWING YOU.
I MEAN, WE HAVE THE BACKUP, CAN YOU PROVIDE JUST THE BACKGROUND, LIKE THE BREAKDOWN OF, UM, INDUSTRY AND THEN THERE'S THEIR, UM, THEIR CERTIFICATION TYPE AS WELL.
AND THEN, SORRY, I HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS GOING BACK TO, UM, YOU DISCUSSING THAT WE HAVE THESE REALLY FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITIES TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THE BUSINESSES THEMSELVES.
ARE WE ALSO PROVIDING, UM, BILINGUAL SERVICES AS WELL? SO ASKING THESE QUESTIONS IN SPANISH AND OTHER LANGUAGES, RIGHT.
AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME, UH, WE WOULD DO THAT.
NOW, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO THE DISPARITY STUDY, IT WILL INCORPORATE ALL OF THAT, UH, INTO THE DISPARITY STUDY.
WELL, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE HAD THE THING, WHEN WE HAD THE, UM, THE TRAINING WITH UCSA WAS THAT PROVIDED IN SPANISH AS WELL, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M GETTING AT.
UH, WELL, WE HAVEN'T SET IT UP, BUT WE COULD VERY EASILY, WE COULD VERY EASILY DO THAT.
AND SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE OUTREACH THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE DO THE FIRST HOUR IN ENGLISH AND THEN WE REPEATED IT IN SPANISH.
UM, ARE THESE TRAINING WELL, WHENEVER WE DO START HAVING THE TRAININGS AND EVERYTHING, WELL, WE ALSO BE PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION, UM, IN THE FUTURE SAY, WOULD WE BE RE RE PROVIDING THESE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, LIKE A LINK SO THAT THEY CAN WATCH IN LATER TIME SAY THERE, THEY CAN'T ATTEND AT THESE PRESCRIBED TIMES.
AND OFTENTIMES WHAT HAPPENS IS, YOU KNOW, THE BEAUTY OF IT IS, UH, I TAKE THE 11 O'CLOCK HOUR BECAUSE THAT'S ENGLISH AND SOMEONE FOLLOW UP AT 12 IN SPANISH AND THEN IT'S RECORDED.
SO EVEN IF PEOPLE CAN'T DO IT A LOT OF TIMES, THEY GO BACK AND DO THE PLAYBOOK.
SO I JUST THOUGHT OF ONE MORE, WHAT ABOUT THOSE THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET? UH, THAT IS WE, WE I'M AWARE OF THAT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE JUST DISCUSS WITH, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THIS PROJECT MANAGEMENT, ONE THAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE DOING IT VIRTUAL, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO PRINT OUT ALL THE MATERIALS IN OUR COPY.
AND THAT WAY, EVEN IF PEOPLE THERE THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT EXPECTING, UM, EVERYONE TO BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD IT.
SO SOME PEOPLE LIKE TECHNOLOGY AND SOME PEOPLE LIKE PAPER, RIGHT.
SO WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO, ACTUALLY, WE, WE TRY TO LOOK AT THE PERSON THAT PERHAPS MAYBE NOT HAVE ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY PERSON THAT MAYBE NOT HAVE $69 TO PAY FOR CARTRIDGE IN ORDER TO RUN 20 PILLAR COPIES.
SO WE, WE THINK OF ALL OF THAT.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE, WE ACTUALLY ASKED TO HAVE THIS PROJECT MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM ALSO IN THE PRINT.
THANK YOU, TRUSTEE TO, WELL, A TRUSTEE COMO.
[01:40:01]
OF ALL, I WANTED TO THANK A TRUSTEE COMMITTEE AND TRUSTEE TO WILL FOR YOUR EXPERTISE AND YOUR, YOUR VAST EXPERIENCE ON THIS AND YOUR LEADERSHIP.SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, HELPS HELPFUL TO THE REST OF US AND, UH, UH, MR. BRIDGES, I THINK THAT, UH, YOU'RE EARNING YOUR PAY, BUT THANK YOU REAL GLAD TO SEE THOSE, THOSE REAL, UH, IMPROVEMENTS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE.
I DO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DISPARITY STUDY.
WHO DOES SUCH A STUDY? WHAT ENTITIES DO THAT? THERE ARE PROBABLY FIVE OR SIX FIRMS THAT, THAT ARE TRULY THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, YOU KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, FOR AN EXAMPLE, COLETTE HOPE IS DOING, UH, SAWS.
AND IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THEY MAY BE DOING THE CITY, BUT IT'S, IT'S ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN OF THEM, RODNEY STRONG OUT OF ATLANTA.
HE CAME AND HE MADE A PRESENTATION AT THE BEAR COUNTER EXPO OF AS A COUPLE OF COMPANIES IN CHICAGO, BUT THEY SPECIALIZE IN IT BECAUSE WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO IS ONCE YOU ASSIGN THESE RACE-BASED GOALS, IT HAS TO BE DEFENSIBLE, RIGHT.
SO, UH, THAT'S HOW YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD SIMPLY, YOU WILL PUT OUT AN RFP AND WE WOULD LAY IT OUT AND THEN THEY WOULD RESPOND TO, SO THE 700,000 IS A GUESSTIMATE OF WHAT A CONTRACT WOULD, WOULD COST IT'S IT'S, IT'S SAY IT'S A GUESSTIMATE, BUT IT'S A GOOD, YES.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, SOLVES IS THAT 348,000.
IF I ASKED ONE OF THE, UH, PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRMS THAT ACTUALLY DO THIS WORK, UH, THEY ASSUME WORST CASE.
SO THEY GIVE YOU, UH, ABOUT A MILLION OR 1,000,001.
UH, SO SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN IS THE 700 IS WHAT WE CAME UP WITH.
UH, THE CITY, AS THEY BUDGETED SEVEN 50 WITH A, MAYBE A $50,000 CONTINGENCY, JUST IN THE EVENT, THERE WERE SOME FOLLOWUP WORK THAT THEY HAD NOT THOUGHT ABOUT.
SO WE DID, UH, AND WE TALKED TO, UH, CAP METRO, HOUSTON, METRO, AND SEVERAL OTHERS, BUT WHAT ACTUALLY GAVE US A GOOD FEELING ABOUT IT IS WE TALKED TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THE VERY LAST, AND WE WERE WITHIN $50,000 A WEEK.
AND, UH, WE'VE ALSO LOOKED THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO HOPEFULLY TO BRING THAT NUMBER DOWN TO THE 700 WOULD BE NOT TO EXCEED 700, BECAUSE THE WAY YOU GIVE THE CONSULTANTS, THE DATA IS GOING TO DETERMINE, UH, WHAT THE COST IS.
SO IF WE CAN COLLECT THE DATA FOR AN EXAMPLE, IF THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY CONTRACTS HAVE YOU AWARDED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS? OKAY.
SO ONE EXAMPLE, FYI, 21, MAYBE WE DID 16 FYI 20, IT WAS 15.
SO AS MUCH DATA AS YOU CAN GIVE THEM UPFRONT, WHAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD IS INCLUDE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IN THE RFP, SO THAT THESE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRMS THAT KNOW THAT, UH, AND IF YOU HAVE SOME PAST STUDIES THAT YOU CAN INCLUDE, SO THAT'S WHAT WE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING RIGHT NOW.
WE REACHED OUT TO, UH, ONCE A YEAR, WE HAVE THE AMERICAN CONTRACT COMPLIANCE ASSOCIATION, OR WE OUT ALL OF OUR COUNTERPARTIES THAT NEED, AND WE'RE, WE'VE REACHED OUT THEM TO GIVE US DIFFERENT TEMPLATES, UH, THAT WOULD HELP US SO THAT ONCE WE PUT RFP ON THE STREET, WE, WE CAN GET THE BEST VALUE FOR VERY GOOD.
THE LAST POINT I WANTED TO MAKE WAS ABOUT THE COLLATERAL POOL.
I KNOW WHEN WE WERE DOING SOME BOND ISSUES WITH THE SAN ANTONIO SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES OF COURSE, WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT SOME OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, WHO WERE NOT AS WELL-ESTABLISHED AS OTHERS, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO GET THE, THE BONDING CAPACITY.
AND, UH, IT DID OPEN UP AN AWFUL LOT OF, OF SMALLER FIRMS WHO WERE ABLE TO THEN BID ON SOME OF THE PROJECTS.
SO I THINK THAT'S A VERY LAUDABLE THING.
AND WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, I THINK INTERACTING WITH MAYBE THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, BUT MAYBE, UH, WORKING WITH SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS MIGHT ALSO MIGHT ALSO EXPAND THE POOL.
THE OTHER ADVANTAGE TO THAT IS THAT A LOT, A LOT OF THE BONDING,
[01:45:01]
UH, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SEVEN 50 OR 800 CREDIT SCORE, SO THAT BECOMES A BARRIER.AND IF IT'S, AND YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE COLLATERAL POOL, THEN, YOU KNOW, AS THE, AS THE FIRMS COME UP AND THEY'RE QUALIFIED, YOU PUT THE MONEY INTO THE, YOU TAKE THE MONEY FROM THE POOL.
ONCE THE CONTRACT IS COMPLETE, IT ROLLS BACK INTO THE POOL, AND THEN YOU CAN USE IT FOR ANOTHER FIRM.
TRUSTEES, UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, MR. BRIDGES? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT ONE THING THOUGH, THAT I THINK YOU'VE DONE A, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB, UH, BUT I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, UH, IN A CITY THAT'S 63% HISPANIC.
I THINK WE NEED TO WORK A LITTLE BIT HARDER TO TRY AND GET MORE HISPANIC CONTRACTORS INVOLVED IN, IN THE BIDDING PROCESS.
UH, I ALSO, UH, ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS THAT ALWAYS COMES UP ARE NOT QUESTIONS, BUT CONCERNS THAT ALWAYS COMES UP FOR THE MINORITY BUSINESSES ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
THEN YOU GO ON THE OTHER SIDE AND YOU HAVE BANKS THAT ARE UNDER REQUIREMENT UNDER THE CRA COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT TO HA TO, TO FUND MONEY TO MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES, BUT SOMEHOW THESE TWO GROUPS NEVER GET TOGETHER.
SO WE NEED TO FIND A WAY HOW WE GET IN TO GET THE BANKS AND THE MINORITY BUSINESSES AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES TO FIND A WAY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT KEEPS MOST, MOST CONTRACTS OUT IS THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL BEING ABLE TO GET THE CAPITAL.
SO I'LL BE GLAD TO WORK WITH YOU ON THAT IF YOU LIKE.
AND, AND WE, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT, UH, THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS FOR IT, AND THAT WILL BE EXACTLY WHAT YOU STATED THE COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT.
SO IT QUALIFIES BECAUSE WE'RE DEALING WITH FIRMS PRIMARILY IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
SO THOSE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL BENEFITS THAT COULD TAKE PLACE AS A RESULT OF HAVING THAT POOL.
AND THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THAT PROGRAM MANAGER OR THAT PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONSULTANT.
THAT WILL BE THE CONTRACT GO ON THE CONSULTANT OF CHOICE THAT WOULD ACTUALLY WORK ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE, BUT I DEFINITELY WOULD APPRECIATE ANY, ANY FEEDBACK AND CONTACTS THAT YOU HAVE THAT WILL HELP US DO THIS.
MAYBE LAST A QUICK, MAYBE WE NEED TO PUSH THE BANKS A LITTLE BIT TO MAKE FUNDS.
IF I MAY ADD, THERE'S A LISTEN THAT ECOSYSTEM CO LISTEN, LISTEN AND TELL YOU STOOD UP TWO YEARS AGO OR SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND I'M PRETTY SURE THE BONDI PROGRAM THAT WAS AN ACTION ITEM OUT OF THAT ECOSYSTEM AS A RECOMMENDATION BEFORE TO HELP SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO THE BANKS ARE A PART OF THAT COALITION.
UH, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAYBE REACH OUT TO ALEX AT THE CITY, UH, THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, AND SHE CAN PROVIDE YOU ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT.
UH, AND THEN GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE INSIGHT ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH SMALL BUSINESSES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS, IF NOT, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD.
NOW WE COME UP TO LEGAL BRIEFINGS.
IF WE ARE REACHING IN OF OUR MEETING, I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN, SO MOVEMENT CURE.
I WAS AFRAID Y'ALL WANT TO STAY LONGER.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? NAY MOTION CARRIES.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND YOUR PARTICIPATION.
AND AGAIN, WELCOME TO OUR NEW BOARD PUSH, PLEASE.