* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. [ATD 1. Call to Order ] THANK YOU FOR JOINING TODAY. MY NAME IS LAURA CABELLA. I'M THE BOARD CHAIR. UH, IT IS NOW 5:05 PM AND I'D LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE MAY 26TH, 2026 A TD BOARD MEETING. LET'S BEGIN WITH ROLL CALL VICE CHAIR GOMEZ. PRESENT. SECRETARY MALONE. PRESENT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY COOPER. TRUSTEE FLORES. PRESENT, TRUSTEE TU WILL, TRUSTEE RENA. TRUSTEE DELEON. PRESENT, TRUSTEE HOWARD. TRUSTEE FERNANDEZ. PRESENT. TRUSTEE RETA PRESENT. WE DO HAVE A QUORUM. UH, AT THIS TIME. LET'S GO AHEAD AND [ ATD 2. Moment of Reflection, Pledge of Allegiance, Announcements ] MOVE FORWARD WITH THE MOMENT OF REFLECTION AND OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? DON'T NOT FOR THE A TD UH, BOARD MEETING MANAGER. THANK YOU. UH, ANY CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. NOT FOR THE A TD MEETING. NO. UH, CONSENT AGENDA. [ATD 4. Consent Agenda] THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. TRUSTEES MAY HAVE A MOTION. AND SECOND, IF WE HAVE NO QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, SO MOVE A MOTION. SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE A LEGAL BRIEFING, MS. HOLDER? NO, MA'AM. WE DO NOT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. WE'VE REACHED THE END OF OUR MEETING. MAY HAVE A MOTION, AND SECOND TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING. SO MOVED. SECOND. MOTION. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THE A TD MEETING IS ADJOURNED. WE'LL MOVE ON TO [1. Call to Order ] THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD MEETING. IT IS NOW 5 0 7. UH, WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED OUR MOMENT OF REFLECTION AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. THIS TIME WE HAVE A, A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. UH, WE'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE AN INDIVIDUAL THAT HAS PROVIDED SOME TIME, ENERGY, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, UH, AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD SINCE MAY OF 2022. UH, THROUGH THIS JANUARY, 2026. UH, TRUSTEE PAUL VASALDUA, UH, HE IS A, OR WAS A COUNTY APPOINTEE. HE SERVED ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT COMMITTEES. OUR OPERATIONAL OVERSIGHT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, OUR PLANNING AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, OUR AUDIT AND OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. HOW MANY COMMITTEES DID YOU SERVE ON, SIR? , UH, HE DID CHAIR ONE OF OUR OPERATIONAL OVERSIGHT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE AND AUDIT COMMITTEES. AND ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, OUR EXECUTIVE STAFF, AND OUR AGENCY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. UH, IT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS HELPED LEAD US TO THE EFFORTS OF WHERE WE ARE TODAY. UH, NOT ONLY WITH, UH, BETTER BUS PLAN AND OUR ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT, BUT IN MANY OTHER DIFFERENT SCENARIOS LEADING UP TO TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT IN SCOBY, UM, AND THEN OUR OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE THAT HAVE HELPED, UM, BRING IN THE NEW ERA OF TRANSFORMATION FOR VIA, UH, YOUR LEADERSHIP, UH, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE. UH, AN INDIVIDUAL THAT HAS GROWN UP IN THE WEST SIDE THAT GREW UP RIDING VIA, UH, TO SCHOOL, TO DIFFERENT PLACES, UM, HELPED DEMONSTRATE TO, UH, NOT ONLY OUR BOARD, OUR AGENCY, BUT NEIGHBORHOODS, MOST IMPORTANTLY, UH, WHY IT'S IMPORTANT. UM, IT'S AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DRIVER. UH, YOU, YOURSELF, SIR, ARE, IS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, INDIVIDUAL THAT IS A DEVELOPER FOR HOUSING, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT THAT, UH, AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE THERE. UM, AND WE WANNA RECOGNIZE YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND BEFORE I DO THAT, I KNOW I SAID A LOT RIGHT HERE, AND I APOLOGIZE. I SOMETIMES, UH, LOVE, UH, SPEAKING ABOUT INDIVIDUALS THAT GIVE THEIR HEART AND THEIR SERVICE AND THEIR TIME TO THIS AGENCY AND TO OUR COMMUNITY. BUT I DO WANNA OPEN IT UP. IF ANY TRUSTEES HAVE ANY THOUGHTS, UH, I'D LOVE TO OPEN THAT UP. IF NOT, UM, WE'LL GIVE IT TO JOHN GARY TO HAVE ANY THOUGHTS, AND THEN WE'LL GIVE YOU A PLAQUE AS WELL. TRUSTEE ALD? YES. UH, SINCE I DO SERVE [00:05:01] IN THE POSITION FROM THE COUNTY, I WAS APPOINTED, AND MR. BUA AND I HAVE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS, AND YES, HE IS A, A WONDERFUL SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE, BUT I'D LIKE FOR HIM TO INTRODUCE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE HERE TO SUPPORT HIM. GO AHEAD. MICROPHONE. COME ON UP. TRUSTEE VA, YOU KNOW THE DRILL. THANK YOU. I'VE NEVER BEEN ON THIS SIDE. CAN I COMPLAIN? NO, I'M KIDDING. UM, ALL RIGHT. WELL, FIRST, UH, WE HAVE, UH, MARINA GATO COUNCILWOMAN FOR DISTRICT SEVEN HERE. UH, AND MY GIRLFRIEND, UM, STAND UP. THERE'S MARCO ALUA, JULIAN, MY SON, JULIAN, MARIEL, RAQUEL AND GIGI. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. ANY THOUGHTS, ANY, ANY WORDS? UM, NO. WELL, SURE. UH, ? NO, I DON'T. SO, NO, I JUST, UH, HONESTLY, SERVING WITH ALL OF YOU WAS A PLEASURE. UM, I GOT TO SERVE WITH A FEW OF YOU VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. UH, BUT I WOULD TELL YOU IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE, UH, TOOK A LOT OF TIME AND WE DID SOME REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS WHILE I WAS HERE. UM, AND YOUR LEADERSHIP AS BOARD CHAIR HAS BEEN, UH, REALLY, REALLY FUN TO WATCH. UH, YOU FIRST AS VICE CHAIR NOW AS BOARD CHAIR. IT'S BEEN GREAT. JOHN, GARY, SO PROUD THAT WE, UH, BROUGHT YOU ON AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY BEEN FRIENDS FOREVER, BUT TO SEE YOU CONTINUE TO GROW IN THIS ROLE AS WELL, IT'S BEEN REALLY, REALLY FUN. SO LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING, SEEING WHAT THE BOARD DOES IN THE FUTURE. AND SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. APPRECIATE YOU. THANK YOU. UH, TRUSTEE FLOODS. SURE. I JUST WANTED TO, UH, I'M ONE OF THE NEWER MEMBERS OF THE VA BOARD, AND, UH, I CAN SAY, UH, WITH A STRAIGHT FACE THAT ONE OF THE REASONS I'M HERE IS BECAUSE I SPENT A LOT OF TIME, I'VE BEEN FRIENDS WITH PAUL FOR SOME TIME, MR. BUSSEL, DOA, SORRY. UH, AND, UH, AND SO HE, HE DID A LOT TO BRING, UH, TO, TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORTATION IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND HE SERVES ON BOARDS. UH, WE'VE SERVED TOGETHER BEFORE, BUT HE SERVES ON BOARDS BECAUSE, UH, HE GENUINELY WANTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS COMMUNITY. AND, UH, HE'S IN IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS. AND SO, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS FOR THE SHORT TIME WE HAD TOGETHER. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID TO HELP ME GET UP TO SPEED. UM, AND SO, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY ONE DAY, UM, SITTING AROUND THE TABLE AND DISCUSSING THE SUCCESSES THAT I THINK YOU HELPED INITIATE IN A LOT OF WAYS HERE. SO THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU, TRUSTEE FLORES. OKAY, LET'S GO TAKE A PICTURE. JOHN GARY. [00:11:18] OKAY. ALWAYS A FUN TIME. RECOGNIZE INDIVIDUALS THAT PROVIDE SERVICE. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, ITEM NUMBER THREE, CITIZENS TO BE, OH, I'M SORRY. WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? JUST, JUST, JUST, UH, ONE MORE ANNOUNCEMENT. I HAVE IT ON GOOD AUTHORITY, UH, THAT THERE WERE, UH, A CELEBRATION OF SOME BIRTHDAYS THIS PAST SUNDAY. UM, AND IT WAS BIRTHDAYS OF OUR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. SO I WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR BIRTHDAYS AND SAY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE SOME CUPCAKES FOR Y'ALL AS WELL. SO, THANK YOU. UH, WE, WE RECEIVED THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT. IF YOU CAN ALREADY KNOW GHOST SPURS, GO. THEY WON. THAT'S RIGHT. ABSOLUTELY. AND SO THAT WAS A BEST PART, A BIG WIN. WE'LL HAVE TO, UH, SHARE THESE RIGHT HERE. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. [3. Citizens to be Heard ] MADAM CHAIR, WE HAVE FOUR CITIZENS TO BE HEARD, SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS MS. OLGA MARTINEZ. UH, WE'VE NOW COME TO THE ASSISTANCE TO BE HEARD PORTION OF OUR PUBLIC MEETING. THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN HEARING THE COMMENTS AND CONCERNS FROM OUR PATRONS AND CITIZENS IN THE SAN ANTONIO BEAR COUNTY AREA. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS CONCERNING PUBLIC BUSINESS OR POLICY OVER WHICH THE BOARD HAS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL, MAY BE ASSESSED OR ADDRESSED AT A LATER DATE BY THE PRESIDENT, CEO AND OR HIS STAFF. THIS PROCESS ASSURES THAT YOU RECEIVE THE MOST ACCURATE RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION OR CONCERN. THANK YOU. AND VIA APPRECIATES YOU TAKING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO SHARE YOUR COMMENTS WITH US THIS EVENING. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. HELLO EVERYBODY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL GHOST SPUR GO AND ALL OF THIS STUFF. GOOD STUFF. UM, THIS IS ABOUT, UM, I GUESS I HAVE THREE MINUTES. IS THAT RIGHT? OKAY. HERE I GO. START A CLOCK AGAIN. . ANYWAY, THIS IS, UH, FROM SOUTHSIDE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. I'M GONNA READ SOMETHING FROM OUR, UH, SUPERINTENDENT. I'LL PASS DEAR VIA LEADERSHIP. ON BEHALF OF THE STUDENTS, FAMILIES, STAFF AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF SOUTHSIDE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT, RECONSIDER AND RESTORE BUS 42 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES TO OUR RURAL COMMUNITY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS PREVIOUSLY SERVED BY VIA RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION IS ESSENTIAL TO THE LONG-TERM SUCCESS AND WELLBEING OF OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. AS OUR DISTRICT CONTINUES TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE CAREERS, MILITARY SERVICE, AND WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITIES, ACCESS TO DEPENDABLE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT. MANY OF OUR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS DEPEND ON TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS TO ACCESS HIGHER EDUCATION, INSTITUTIONS, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, HEALTHCARE SERVICES AND INTERNSHIPS, WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS, AND OTHER CRITICAL RESOURCES THROUGHOUT THE SAN ANTONIO REGION. THE ABSENCE OF PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICE CREATES SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS FOR OUR MANY FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN UNDERSERVED AND RURAL AREAS. LIMITED TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS CAN DIRECTLY IMPACT A STUDENT'S ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN COLLEGE COURSES, AFTERSCHOOL EMPLOYMENT INTERNSHIPS, CAREER CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT SUPPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND FUTURE SUCCESS. RESTORING VIA SERVICES, WHICH WE ONCE HAD, BUS 42, WOULD NOT ONLY BENEFIT ISD STUDENTS AND FAMILIES, BUT ALSO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND REGIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION STRENGTHENS CONNECTIONS BETWEEN COMMUNITIES AND CREATES GREATER ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES THAT BENEFIT THE ENTIRE REGION. OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND DISTRICT LEADERSHIP [00:15:01] STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT EQUITABLE ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION IS A CRITICAL INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY. WE WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE WITH VIA AND OTHER LOCAL PARTNERS TO DISCUSS POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, PARTNERSHIPS, OR PHRASED APPROACHES TO HELP RESTORE SERVICE TO OUR AREA. WE APPRECIATE YOUR CONSIDERATION OF THIS REQUEST AND YOUR CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO SERVING THE RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED DIALOGUE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER IN SUPPORT OF OUR STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITY. BUS SERVICE. BUS 42. WE'RE IN PRECINCT ONE, DISTRICT THREE, AND OUR KIDS, AND THE NEW BUILDING THAT WE HAD OUT THERE, SENSEI, THEY HAVE A EDUCATION FOR ADULTS AS WELL, BUT THE TRANSPORTATION THAT WAS REMOVED, AND WE NEED IT BACK. BUS 42. THANK YOU. AND THIS IS FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT FROM SOUTH ISD RO ROLANDO RAMIREZ. THANK YOU. THE NEXT SPEAKER. AND I DO HAVE COPIES OF THIS, IF I CAN PASS THAT OUT SO Y'ALL CAN HAVE ONE PASSING. OKAY. NEXT SPEAKER. I APPRECIATE IT. NEXT, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SOPHIA CASTILLO. UH, YEAH, GOOD EVENING. UM, AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY. MY NAME IS SOPHIA CASTILLO AND I AND MY COLLEAGUES HERE REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD FOR THE SOUTH SIDE HEALTH COLLABORATIVE. A GROUP OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, LEADERS AND RESIDENTS WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR FAMILIES ACROSS SOUTH SAN ANTONIO, IN SOUTH BEXAR COUNTY. OUR MISSION IS SIMPLE, BUT URGENT TO STRENGTHEN THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY THROUGH ACCESS TO RESOURCES, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, ADVOCACY AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT ALLOW RESIDENTS TO THRIVE. TODAY, I AM HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, NOT AS A CONVENIENCE, BUT AS A NECESSITY FOR MANY RESIDENTS IN THE FAR SOUTH SIDE AND RURAL AREAS OF SOUTH BEXAR COUNTY. TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS AFFECT NEARLY EVERY PART OF DAILY LIFE. FAMILIES ARE STRUGGLING TO REACH DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS, GROCERY STORES, SCHOOLS, JOBS, PHARMACIES, CHILDCARE AND COMMUNITY SERVICES. IN SOME AREAS, PEOPLE TRAVEL MORE THAN 10 MILES JUST TO BUY GROCERIES OR RECEIVE MEDICAL CARE. OTHERS RELY ON FAMILY MEMBERS, COSTLY RIDE SHARE SERVICES THAT UBER IS EXPENSIVE OR SIMPLY MISS IMPORTANT APPOINTMENTS BECAUSE NO TRANSPORTATION OPTION EXISTS. MANY OF THESE COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN ISOLATED FOR YEARS. YET DURING THAT SAME TIME, THE SOUTH SIDE HAS CONTINUED TO GROW RAPIDLY WITH NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS, BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES MOVING INTO THE AREA. DESPITE THAT GROWTH, TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE HAS NOT KEPT PACE WITH COMMUNITY NEED. THROUGH OUR OUTREACH EFFORTS, WE ARE HEARING THE SAME CONCERNS REPEATEDLY. RESIDENTS SAY THERE ARE NO BUS ROUTES NEAR THEIR HOMES. TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS ARE LIMITED DURING EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS. SENIORS, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES WORKING PARENTS AND STUDENTS ARE ESPECIALLY AFFECTED. AND MANY RESIDENTS DESCRIBE FEELING ISOLATED BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY CANNOT GET WHERE THEY NEED TO GO SAFELY AND AFFORDABLY. THIS IS NOT JUST A TRANSPORTATION ISSUE, IT IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE, AN ECONOMIC ISSUE, AND AN EQUITY ISSUE. WE ARE COLLECTING DATA AND BUILDING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. RESIDENTS WANT TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. MANY ARE WILLING TO VOLUNTEER, ADVOCATE, ATTEND MEETINGS, AND WORK ALONGSIDE LOCAL LEADERS TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. THE SOUTH SIDE, SOUTH OF LOOP 10 TO BE EXACT, DESERVES THE SAME ACCESS, MOBILITY, AND OPPORTUNITY AS EVERY OTHER PART OF OUR CITY. AND COUNTING RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION CAN IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES, STRENGTHEN FAMILIES, INCREASED WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION, REDUCE ISOLATION, AND CREATE STRONGER, HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, YOUR LEADERSHIP AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO SERVING OUR COMMUNITY. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SITTING TOGETHER AT THE TABLE TO WORK TOGETHER TO HELP KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING, INCLUDING THE SOUTH SIDE. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MS. JAR KING RES. I'LL, UH, JUST, JUST REAL QUICK, I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE, OH, NO, WHAT, UH, I JUST DIDN'T WANNA REPEAT EVERYTHING THAT THEY SAID, BUT THE AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS, UH, 2 81. THE, THE SOUTH SIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH IS FOUR 10 SOUTH AND 1604 SOUTH DEEP SOUTH SIDE. THIS IS DEEPER THAN THE HARLANDALE AND MCCOLLUM AREA. SO, UH, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE ANY BUS SERVICE OVER THERE. SO WE HAVE GROWTH. UH, WE HAVE [00:20:01] 11, UH, SUBDIVISIONS THAT HAVE GONE UP WITH OVER A HUNDRED HOMES IN EACH ONE. SO WE DO NEED THE BEST SERVICE ON THE DEEP SOUTH SIDE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. AND OUR LAST SPEAKER IS CANDY DIAZ. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. MY NAME IS CANDY DIAZ. I REPRESENT SOUTHSIDE COLLABORATIVE. I'M A CO-CHAIR. I'M ALSO THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE, OUR, UM, VEHICLE, ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, AND A, THE FOUNDER OF A HIDDEN HEART, A NONPROFIT THAT HELPS, UH, SENIORS AND OTHER RESIDENTS WITH RESOURCES. SO HAVING THE BUS, UH, ROUTES AND TRANSPORTATION FOR THE COMMUNITIES OUT THERE IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE ASKING YOU GUYS TO, YOU KNOW, MEET WITH US AND, AND TELL US WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO FACILITATE THESE BUS ROUTES. AND, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT TAKES WE'RE WILLING TO DO, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD IT BEFORE. UH, RIGHT NOW THERE'S A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION OF ILLA CORONADO, SO THERE'S ONLY TWO BUS STOPS. AND, UH, ILLA CORONADO IS MADE OUT OF SENIORS. I, I WOULD SAY 75% IS SENIORS THAT HAVE TO TAKE THESE BUSES AND, AND THEY'RE BLOCKS AWAY. SOME OF A LOT OF 'EM ARE HANDICAPPED. WE HAVE AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, UM, THAT ALSO SERVICES, UH, THE BUS, THAT 42 SERVICES. AND, UH, GETTING THEM, YOU KNOW, FOR THEM TO GET TO THE BUS STOP AT, AT, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S RAINING, IS REALLY DIFFICULT. SO, ASKING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE LOOK AT THE ROUTES, WE LOOK AT THE SERVICE, AND THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO, YOU KNOW, SERVICE THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT'S BEEN LEFT, LEFT ALONE FOR A VERY LONG TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. THERE ARE NO OTHER CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT, CHELSEA, AS WE'RE ON [4. Consent Agenda ] TO, UH, CONSENT, AGENDA NUMBER FOUR, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THE AGENDA ITEMS ON CONSENT OR ANY CONCERNS? IF NOT, MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND TO APPROVE. SO MOVED. SECOND MOTION. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. A AYE. ANY OPPOSED? CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED. UH, ITEM NUMBER SIX, [5. San Antonio Housing Trust Briefing – Briefing by the San Antonio Housing Trust. ] WE HAVE A SPECIAL PRESENTATION FROM OUR FRIENDS AT THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST. UH, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, MR. ENA . HI Y'ALL. MY NAME IS PETE LANIS. I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL GIVING ME SOME TIME TODAY TO TALK TO Y'ALL. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, PROJECT DC, THE DISTRICT OF CATTLEMAN SQUARE. UM, WE HAVE A PRESENTATION AND A LITTLE VIDEO THAT WE WANNA SHOW YOU. UM, BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST IS A CITY OF SAN ANTONIO SPONSORED NON-PROFIT ENTITY WHOSE PURPOSE IS TO BUILD AND CREATE AND PRESERVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO. UM, WE HAVE OVER 14,000 UNITS THAT WE'VE CREATED OR PRESERVED THAT ARE IN CONSTRUCTION OR PLACED IN SERVICE. UM, AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO BUILD OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT, UM, OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY. UM, SO PART OF THIS IS WE'VE ACQUIRED SOME PROPERTY, UH, WITHIN THE DISTRICT OF CATTLEMAN SQUARE, UM, THE NATIONAL GROCER BUILDING, WHICH IS LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE SCOBY, ALL THE LAND THAT'S BEHIND THE SCOBY. UM, THE FORMER AVANSE BUILDING IN RICH BOOK BUILDING CLUSTER OF PROPERTIES, AS WELL AS, UM, THERE'S A SMALL L-SHAPED PROPERTY THAT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE MOTEL SIX, UM, WHICH IS, UM, RIGHT ACROSS FROM CENTRO, UM, FROM THE CENTRAL STATION. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES, UH, THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST IS DEEPLY INVESTED IN TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE ACQUIRED THOSE PROPERTIES IS TO BRING FUTURE OPPORTUNITY. BUT HOW DO WE GET THERE WITH FUTURE OPPORTUNITY? AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO Y'ALL A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CATTLEMAN SQUARE. UM, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT. UM, AND SO PART OF THIS WILL BE A LITTLE BIT OF A REFRESHER, BUT I THINK WE, LOOKING AT IT THROUGH A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LENS. WE'LL BE VERY HELPFUL TODAY. SO I'M GONNA SHOW YOU A REALLY QUICK VIDEO. IT'S ABOUT FOUR MINUTES. UM, AND HOPEFULLY IT GIVES YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, UM, ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE DOWN THERE. HOPEFULLY YOU CAN TURN THE VOLUME UP. CATTLEMAN SQUARE ON SAN ANTONIO'S HISTORIC WEST SIDE HAS LONG BEEN A PLACE SHAPED BY MOVEMENT FOR GENERATIONS. TRANSPORTATION, ROUTES, COMMERCE, AND COMMUNITY LIFE INTERSECTED. HERE, THE DISTRICT SITS AT A CROSSROADS OF THE CITY'S HISTORY WHERE PEOPLE WORK AND CULTURE CAME TOGETHER AND HELP SHAPE SAN ANTONIO ITSELF. SO CATMAN SQUARE IS, YOU KNOW, SUCH AN IMPORTANT [00:25:01] PART OF SAN ANTONIO. IT HAS SUCH A RICH HISTORY GROUPS SUCH AS THE AYA PEOPLE, PART OF THE KO. HU TAKE AND CULTURE MOVED THROUGH AND SETTLED ALONG THE WATERWAYS THAT CROSSED THE WEST SIDE CREEKS LIKE AZA CREEK AND THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER PROVIDED WATER, FOOD, AND NATURAL TRAVEL ROUTES ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE. THESE WATERWAYS SHAPED HOW PEOPLE LIVED, MOVED, AND CONNECTED WITH THE LAND. AND IT'S JUST THE PLACE WHERE PEOPLE HAVE COME TOGETHER OVER CENTURIES. BY THE 18 HUNDREDS, THE AREA BEGAN TO TAKE ON A NEW ROLE. SAN ANTONIO HAD BECOME A CENTER FOR RANCHING AND CATTLE DRIVES MOVED NORTH ALONG THE CHISHOLM TRAIL. THE DISTRICT THAT WOULD LATER BECOME KNOWN AS CATTLEMAN SQUARE BECAME A GATHERING PLACE FOR RANCHERS AND TRADERS MOVING LIVESTOCK THROUGH THE CITY. ITS CONNECTION TO THE CATTLE TRADE EVENTUALLY GAVE THE DISTRICT ITS NAME. THE MOST DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION CAME WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE RAILROAD. IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, THE INTERNATIONAL AND GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD ESTABLISHED A LINE THROUGH THE AREA. ALMOST OVERNIGHT, THE DISTRICT BECAME A MAJOR TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCIAL HUB. TRAINS CARRIED LIVESTOCK GOODS AND PASSENGERS INTO SAN ANTONIO, AND THE SURROUNDING BLOCKS QUICKLY FILLED WITH WAREHOUSES, MARKETS, HOTELS, AND BUSINESSES. SERVING THE RAIL TRADE COMMERCE STREET SOON DEVELOPED INTO ONE OF SAN ANTONIO'S MOST ACTIVE COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS. MARKETS, SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS SERVED WORKERS, TRAVELERS, AND NEARBY RESIDENTS AT THE SAME TIME. NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE WEST SIDE WERE GROWING MEXICAN AMERICAN, AND BLACK FAMILIES BUILD STRONG COMMUNITIES NEARBY, ESTABLISHING SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT SHAPED THE CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THE AREA. THE DISTRICT WAS NOT ONLY A CENTER OF COMMERCE, IT WAS CLOSELY CONNECTED TO THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS. IMPORTANT CIVIC INSTITUTIONS ALSO EMERGED HERE. ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WAS THE ROBERT B. GREEN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. CONSTRUCTED IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, THE HOSPITAL SERVED GENERATIONS OF SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS AND BECAME A LANDMARK WITHIN THE DISTRICT. LIKE MANY DISTRICTS SHAPED BY RAIL TRANSPORTATION, CATTLEMAN SQUARE, EXPERIENCED MAJOR CHANGE IN THE MID 20TH CENTURY AS AUTOMOBILES AND HIGHWAYS REPLACED TRAINS AS THE PRIMARY WAY PEOPLE TRAVELED. PASSENGER RAIL DECLINED. THE CONSTRUCTION OF INTERSTATE 35 INTRODUCED A MAJOR PHYSICAL BARRIER BETWEEN THE DISTRICT AND DOWNTOWN. WE KNOW THAT DISTRICT FIVE IN THE WEST SIDE IN PARTICULAR NEAR KAMEN SQUARE, HAS HAD A HISTORY OF DIVESTMENT AND NEGLECT. AND WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE COMMUNITY, TO ENVISION. HOW CAN WE REVITALIZE OUR COMMUNITY ON COMMUNITY'S TERMS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ACCESSIBLE COMMUNITY SPACE, WHETHER IT'S, UH, MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT WITH SHOPS, UH, HOUSING, AND SO MUCH MORE, BUT ALLOWING COMMUNITY TO HAVE A SAY, UH, WHAT'S GOING TO BE IN OUR, IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. THESE CHANGES DISRUPTED HISTORIC STREET CONNECTIONS AND CONTRIBUTED TO ECONOMIC DECLINE. YET MANY OF THE DISTRICT'S HISTORIC STRUCTURES REMAIN STOREFRONT BUILDINGS, WAREHOUSES, CIVIC INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURES STILL REFLECT THE DISTRICT'S EVOLUTION AS A RAIL ADJACENT COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CENTER. WE SAW IN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, 40, 50 YEARS, SUCH SIGNIFICANT DISINVESTMENT REALLY NEEDS REINVESTMENT. IT REALLY, WE ENVISION IT TO BE A DOWNTOWN FOR EVERYONE. SO SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST, UH, IS REALLY LOOKING AT THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HOW CAN WE INVEST AS ONE ORGANIZATION, AND THEN HOW CAN WE THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE PUBLIC, NONPROFIT AND PRIVATE OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING INVESTMENT IN A COLLECTIVE WAY. SO WE CAN SEE CHANGE THAT KETTLEMAN SQUARE DESERVES AND THE WEST SIDE DESERVES TOGETHER. THE COMMUNITY NOW HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE NEXT CHAPTER OF CATTLEMAN SQUARE'S STORY, HONORING ITS PAST, WHILE CREATING NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. SO PROJECT DC, UM, IS REALLY IN A MOMENT OF TRANSFORMATION. IT LED BY THE HOUSING TRUST PROJECT. DC IS AN EFFORT TO CREATE THIS SHARED COMMUNITY VISION, UM, WITH PARTNERS LIKE VIA, WITH PARTNERS LIKE UTSA, WITH PARTNERS LIKE UNIVERSITY HEALTH AND ALL THE OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND BUSINESSES THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA, RESIDENTS AS WELL. AND SO WE'VE COME UP WITH A, UM, A PROCESS TO WHERE WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER AT DIFFERENT SCALES TO HONOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S HISTORY, CULTURE, CREATE OPPORTUNITY AND STABILITY FOR RESIDENTS AS WELL AS OUR UNHOUSED POPULATION AND NEIGHBORS, WHILE GUIDING EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE FUTURE. UM, IN FRONT OF YOU IS THE STUDY AREA, UM, THAT INCORPORATES PROJECT DC. UM, YOU CAN SEE WHERE CATTLEMAN SQUARE IS LOCATED. OBVIOUSLY [00:30:01] YOU ALL KNOW WHERE THAT IS. UM, BUT FOR MANY OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE, ARE HERE IN THE, UH, THE ROOM, UM, THE NORTHWEST CORNER JUST OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN LOOP, UM, OUR STUDY AREA CONNECTS FROM RIVA STREET UP IN THE NORTH DOWN TO, UH, CESAR CHAVEZ, UM, AND THE, UH, UTSA CAMPUS, UH, DOWN TO THE SOUTH. AND IT'S BOUNDED BY THE HIGHWAY AND THE RAILROAD. SO THE HOUSING TRUST HAS TAKEN ON THREE PARALLEL TRACKS TO APPROACH THE DISTRICT REENVISIONING. THE FIRST IS TO START OUT WITH STREET OUTREACH WORK, WHICH WE'VE HIRED ROONE MINISTRIES BACK IN AUGUST, UH, OF THIS PAST YEAR TO DO SOME VERY ESSENTIAL STREET OUTREACH. WE HAD TO BUILD TRUST WITH THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY UNHOUSED, UM, IN THE AREA, WHILE ALSO COLLECTING VERY IMPORTANT DATA, UM, FOR US TO DEVELOP OUR SECOND TRACK, WHICH IS THE HOMELESS RESPONSE ACTION PLAN, WHICH I'M GONNA TALK TO Y'ALL ABOUT TODAY. THAT IS LED BY, UM, BOTH THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST AND CLOSE TO HOME SAN ANTONIO. UM, WHICH IS THE CITY'S CONTINUUM OF CARE THAT WORKS WITH THE NETWORK OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ADDRESS OUR UNHOUSED POPULATIONS HERE IN THE CITY. UM, EIGHTH AND HOME IS THE CONSULTING TEAM WHO WE'RE WORKING WITH, UM, ON THIS PLAN AS WELL. AND THE COMMUNITY VISIONING AND MASTER PLAN. WHAT IS COM? WHAT IS WELL, THE CATTLEMAN SQUARE AREA GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE? IT CAN'T BE PETE'S VISION. IT CAN'T JUST BE VIAS VISION. IT HAS TO BE A COMMUNITY CREATED VISION. AND SO WE'RE HONORING THAT, THAT LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY TO CO-CREATE WHAT CATTLEMEN'S WILL BE IN THE FUTURE. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE HOMELESS ACTION RESPONSE PLAN. 'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S A REALLY BIG ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. UM, SO WE STARTED OUR HOMELESS RESPONSE ACTION PLAN DEVELOPMENT BACK IN NOVEMBER, UM, WHERE WE LAUNCHED OUR CONSULTING TEAMS, UH, TO START, UM, FORMALIZING OUR, OUR PLAN AND SCHEDULING, START COLLECTING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA, UM, WORKING WITH, UM, OUR HOMELESS SYSTEM PROFESSIONALS, UM, WHO BOTH WORK IN THE AREA AND AT LARGE IN FIGURING OUT WHAT SORT OF RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO COME OUT IN THIS GEOGRAPHICALLY SPECIFIC AREA TO WHAT, ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS END HOMELESSNESS IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. CURRENTLY WE'RE FINALIZING THE RECOMMENDATIONS. THIS IS JUST THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE SHOWING YOU TODAY. AND, UM, WE'LL BE PROVIDING OUR OWN FINAL VERSION OF THE ACTION PLAN AT OUR JUNE 26TH BOARD MEETING OF THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST. SO, CATTLEMAN SQUARE, I BELIEVE, AND I THINK YOU ALL WOULD AGREE, UH, IS CENTRAL TO V'S. WORK, RIGHT? UM, A COORDINATED HOMELESS RESPONSE, UH, IS IN PART ON HOW VIA CAN ALSO ACHIEVE ITS GOALS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR ASSETS, RIGHT? WITH RESPECT TO YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE, WITH YOUR RIDERSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, HOPEFULLY WITH THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST AND THE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THE AREA. AND SO WE WERE ASKING YOU ALL TODAY, UM, TO HOPEFULLY LOOK AT THIS PROCESS, UM, WITH US AS A PARTNER, UM, TO HELP US THINK STRATEGICALLY AND TO FIND RESOURCES TO END HOMELESSNESS IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE AND BEYOND. SO BEHIND THE NUMBERS, UM, IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE, THERE ARE ABOUT 112 PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SURVEYED, UM, WHO ARE UNHOUSED AND UNSHELTERED THAT ARE LITERALLY HOMELESS IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. 74% ARE FORMERLY INCARCERATED. 72% HAVE NO ID OR DOCUMENTS. UM, 71% HAVE NO HEALTH INSURANCE. 61% HAVE IDENTIFIED SUBSTANCE ABUSE ISSUES. 70% OF THEM ARE MEN. UM, AVERAGE AGE IS ABOUT 48 AND HALF HAVE DISCLOSED MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS AND ISSUES. UM, AND MORE THAN HALF HAVE BEEN CHRONICALLY HOMELESS, WHICH MEANS MORE THAN FIVE YEARS. WHY 112? AND WHY ARE WE PLANNING FOR 169 PERSONS SERVE? SO THE 112 IS OF COURSE, WHAT WE'VE COUNTED, BUT 169 IS THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE TO BE READY FOR. UM, THE COUNT WAS A LITERAL HOMELESSNESS COUNT. UM, AND CATTLEMAN SQUARE HAS GROWN BY ABOUT 126% SINCE 2023. SO 169 PLANNING FOR THAT EXTRA BUFFER OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO HOUSE ALL THOSE UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS IS WHY WE'RE COMING UP WITH THAT NUMBER. RIGHT? WE NEED A PLAN FOR WHAT WILL BE A FUTURE GROWTH IN THE AREA. UM, BUT WE DO HAVE A PLAN AND THE PLAN WILL WORK. SO ONE FOUNDATION, THREE HOUSING PATHWAYS. UM, IT STARTS OUT WITH PRE-IMPLEMENTATION WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO. WE HAVE TO ESTABLISH OUR FUNDING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THIS PLAN, IDENTIFY THE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM, IDENTIFYING THOSE OP THOSE [00:35:01] OPERATING AGENCIES, AND COORDINATION WITH PROTOCOLS WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AND ALSO WITH THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT. WE HAVE TO HAVE DAILY MULTI-AGENCY PRESENCE IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW FOLKS ON A BUY NAME BASIS AND IDENTIFY THOSE NEEDS ID, RECOVERY STREET OUTREACH, ALSO, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND TRUST BUILDING IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONVINCE THAT PERSON THAT IT'S TIME TO GET OFF THE STREET. SO WE HAVE THREE PATHWAYS THAT WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH. WE'VE ESTIMATED AT ABOUT 13 PEOPLE WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RAPID EXIT. 56 FOLKS CAN GO INTO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. AND THEN ABOUT A HUNDRED NEED TO HAVE A VERY INTENT INTEGRATED ACT TEAM. AND I'LL EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS HERE IN A MOMENT. THE RAPID EXIT, WHO IS IT THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY, UM, WITHIN THE CATTLEMAN SQUARE AREA THAT CAN GO INTO HOUSING VERY QUICKLY. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOWER ACUITY INDIVIDUALS WITH STRONG NATURAL SUPPORT SYSTEMS. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NEED MINIMUM, UH, THAT'S AT A MINIMUM OR THAT'S ALREADY BEING MANAGED. UM, ROOMMATE MATCHING AND SHARED HOUSING VIABLE OPTIONS, RIGHT? WE NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE THINGS. AND WHAT DO THEY GET? THEY GET PROBLEM SOLVING CONVERSATIONS, CONFLICT RESOLUTION, BRIEFCASE MANAGEMENT, WARM HANDOFFS AS NEEDED. UM, SHORT TERM FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND CONNECTION TO MAIN MAINSTREAM RESOURCES. WE ARE ESTIMATING THAT THAT COST IS ABOUT $77,000 FOR THOSE 13 INDIVIDUALS. UM, AND THAT'S ABOUT $5,900 PER PERSON FOR THE 90 DAY WINDOW THAT THEY NEED ASSISTANCE TO MOVE IN. THAT'S DEPOSITS, SHORT TERM RENTAL ASSISTANCE, MOVE IN ESSENTIALS, ET CETERA. THE NEXT PATHWAY IS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. THESE ARE FOLKS WHO HAVE MODERATE BEHAVIORAL NEEDS THAT ARE MANAGEABLE WITH CASE MANAGEMENT THAT CAN BENEFIT FROM RESIDENT, UH, RESIDENTIAL SERVICES AND SUPPORT SERVICES. UM, HAVE PROGRESSIVE ENGAGEMENT, BUT SERVICES STILL NEED TO BE BUILT WITHIN THEIR FRAMEWORK OVER TIME. UM, THIS COST IS ABOUT 2.75 MILLION. THAT'S ABOUT $21,000 PER PERSON PER YEAR FOR TWO YEARS. AND WHAT DOES THAT INCLUDE? THAT INCLUDES CASE MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS, RENTAL SUBSIDIES FOR 24 MONTHS TO GET THEM INTO HOUSING, UM, ALONG WITH MOVE DEPOSITS AND ESSENTIALS. AND THE LAST ONE, WHICH IS THE MOST DIFFICULT, WHICH WE SEE A LOT OF THIS POPULATION WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE, UM, IS THOSE WITH THE HIGHEST ACUITY CLINICAL PATHWAY NEEDS SERIOUS AND PERSISTENT MENTAL ILLNESS, CO-OCCURRING SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS. MULTIPLE CLINICAL PROVIDERS ARE NEEDED WITH COMPLEX CARE. UM, THAT IS ABOUT $6.4 MILLION FOR THE TWO YEAR PERIOD, $26,000 PER PERSON PER YEAR. AND THAT INCLUDES WHAT'S CALLED AN ACT TEAM, UM, RENTAL SUBSIDIES, AS WELL AS THE MOVE IN DEPOSITS AND ESSENTIALS. AND WHERE I THINK IS A BIG QUESTION, WHERE ARE THESE FOLKS GOING TO GO? THE HOUSING TRUST IS PARTNERING WITH, UH, SAM MINISTRIES ON DEVELOPING OUT 201 UNITS, A PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, UM, OVER ALONG SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS. UM, THIS IS THE, THE FORMER AREA. THANK YOU LEO. UM, AND HELPING US WITH THAT, UH, THAT PROJECT, UM, THAT PROJECT IS GOING TO BE COMPLETED IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR. THAT'S WHEN MOVE-INS CAN START HAPPENING, 201 UNITS, AND WE HAVE 80 PROJECT-BASED VOUCHERS THAT CAN SUPPORT FOLKS, UM, TO START THAT PATHWAY IN ENTERING THAT HOUSING. SO WE LOOK AT THESE 100 FOLKS THAT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO WHAT'S CALLED COMMONS AT ASAKIA, THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE HOUSING TRUST IN SAN MINISTRIES. AND, UM, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNHOUSED IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. SO WHAT IS AN ACT TEAM? IT'S A, AN ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT PROGRAM. IT'S BUILT ON DATA AND PROVEN METHODS OF GETTING FOLKS OFF THE STREET AND STABILIZED PSYCHIATRISTS, REGISTERED NURSES, PROGRAMMING ASSISTANT CASE MANAGERS, ET CETERA. THIS OVERALL COST, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PLAN, IS $33,000 PER PERSON PER YEAR. UM, AND WHAT DOES THAT COVER? ABOUT 41% OF THAT IS RENTAL ASSISTANCE. ABOUT 45% OF THAT IS THE ACT TEAM AND THAT OUTREACH AND PEER SUPPORT. AND YOU HAVE ABOUT 15% THAT IS ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM-WIDE INFRASTRUCTURE AND EVALUATION. BUT WHAT ARE WE PAYING RIGHT NOW AS A COMMUNITY WITH, WITHOUT PROVIDING THESE SORTS OF SERVICES? WELL, WE LOOKED AT DALLAS AND CO IN COLLINS COUNTY. THEY'RE PAYING ABOUT $44,000 A YEAR IN TERMS OF THEIR COST TO THEIR PUBLIC SYSTEMS, HEALTHCARE, HOSPITALIZATION, MENTAL HEALTH AND SHELTER, NOT TO MENTION INCARCERATION. [00:40:01] AND YOU LOOK AT HERE LOCALLY, IT'S UP TO $91,000 PER YEAR. LOOK AT THE COST OF THE OVERRUNS WITH THE JAIL, WHICH IS THAT 96% CAPACITY COSTING ABOUT $85 A DAY FOR OVERFLOW INTO NEIGHBORING COUNTIES. AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THAT SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS, THAT'S ABOUT 250, EXCUSE ME, $250 A DAY. VERY EXPENSIVE WITH THOSE WAIT TIMES BEING ABOUT 287 DAYS. SO THE COST IMPACTS ARE TREMENDOUS WITH OUR IN-HOUSE POPULATION. AND WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS A PLAN THAT CAN HELP OFFSET THOSE COSTS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, WE REALLY CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO DO THIS SO CLOSE TO HOME. UM, THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST IS PARTNERING WITH THEM ON DEVELOPING OUT THIS PLAN. COSO SAN ANTONIO IS GONNA BE THE OWNER OF THIS PLAN. SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST IS GREAT AT BUILDING HOUSING, REDEVELOPING, IMAGINING WITH COMMUNITY. WHAT WE ARE NOT GOOD AT IS WORKING WITH UNHOUSED. THAT'S WHERE CLOSE TO HOME COMES INTO PLAY. HERE. THEY ARE THE SYSTEM BACKBONE. UM, THEY WILL BE THE FINANCIAL AND LANDLORD INFRASTRUCTURE, BRINGING ALL THOSE PARTNERS TOGETHER, UM, AS WELL AS THE CROSS SYSTEM CONVENING, UM, AND CLOSE TO HOME, UM, WHO IS HEADED BY KATIE VELA. I'M SURE MANY OF Y'ALL KNOW WHO SHE IS. UM, THEY ARE GOING TO BE INCORPORATING THIS PLAN, THIS SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL AREA PLAN INTO THEIR FIVE YEAR HOMELESS STRATEGY, UM, HERE THROUGHOUT THE CITY. SO THIS PLAN REQUIRES 13.2 MILLION ACROSS EIGHT PARTNER AGENCIES, THE CITY, THE COUNTY, AND ABOUT 28 MONTHS. AND WE FEEL THIS BACKBONE ALREADY EXISTS. WE JUST NEED TO FUND IT. SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? WE GOTTA FINISH DEVELOPING OUT OUR CONCEPT. UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE VALIDATING THIS THREE PATHWAY MODEL WITH OUR HOUSING CONTINUUM CARE SYSTEM. UM, WE HAVE THE BUDGET DIRECTION, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD. UM, WE NEED TO FIND THE PATHWAY TO FUNDING, AND WE NEED TO COURSE INCORPORATE THE CONTINUUM OF CARE PLAN OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE? BY THE WAY, THE GOAL IS ONCE WE START THIS PLAN, WE WILL HAVE EFFECTIVELY ENDED HOMELESSNESS WITHIN SEVEN MONTHS OF THE PLAN. THAT'S THE GOAL. THIS IS NOT A PLAN THAT'S DESIGNED TO, UM, TO DO A LITTLE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. THIS PLAN IS DESIGNED TO BE EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE AND GET PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS WITHIN SEVEN MONTHS. SO WHERE DOES VIA FIT IN? WE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THAT, OF COURSE. LET'S FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT WE CAN MAYBE HELP CONTRIBUTE RESOURCES TO THIS EFFORT, RIGHT? WE WANNA ENGAGE, UH, UH, THIS SYSTEM AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HOMELESS ACT, RESPONSE PLAN AND VIAS ASSETS SHARE THE SAME GEOGRAPHY, RIGHT? VIAS ENGAGEMENT ON HOMELESS RESPONSE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT AS IT DIRECTLY RELATES TO THE FUTURE POTENTIAL REDEVELOPMENT OF YOUR ASSETS, AS WELL AS INCREASED RIDERSHIP. UM, WE ALL KNOW THAT UTSA IS GROWING. WE WANNA SEE PEOPLE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO GET DOWN THERE. THE STADIUM IS COMING. THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY. LET'S FIGURE OUT A PATHWAY TO FIX OUR OHIO SITUATION WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. UM, AND I THINK Y'ALL ARE PRETTY EXCITED. Y'ALL JUST GOT BACK FROM UTAH. SO I HEARD, UM, AND SAW SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. HOPEFULLY THAT GETS YOU GUYS EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT. AND THAT'S THE COMMUNITY VISIONING AND MASTER PLAN. SO THE ACTUAL FUTURE OF WHAT CATTLEMAN SQUARE CAN BE, UM, IS A PROCESS OF CO-CREATION WITH THE COMMUNITY. WE'VE JUST FINISHED OUR LISTENING AND LEARNING STAGE, AND I'M ABOUT TO TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT WE HEARD FROM COMMUNITY. AND WE ARE STARTING THE VISIONING PHASE, WHICH WE HOPE THAT, UH, VIA WILL PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THE FUTURE. VISIONING OF CATTLEMAN SQUARE. SO WHAT WE HEARD OVER TWO PUBLIC WORKSHOPS, FOUR NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS, SIX, UH, UH, UM, MOU AND DC PARTNER ONE-ON-ONES INCLUDING WITH, UH, THE VIA TEAM. SIX POPUPS WITH COMMUNITY AND TWO WORKING GROUP MEETINGS. WE HAD OVER 650 ENGAGEMENT TOUCH POINTS, UM, THAT HAS BEEN CONTRIBUTING TO WHAT WE'VE HEARD IN THE COMMUNITY. SO WE'VE HAD A REALLY GREAT RESPONSE, UM, FROM COMMUNITY ON GIVING US THIS FEEDBACK. SO HERE'S WHAT WE HEARD. IN ONE WORD, DESCRIBE CATTLEMAN SQUARE TODAY. NEGLECTED, FORGOTTEN, DISINVESTED, DISCONNECTED HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY. THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ASSOCIATE WITH THE AREA. IN ONE WORD, WHAT WOULD THEY DESCRIBE THE FUTURE OF CATTLEMAN SQUARE? WHAT IT NEEDS TO BE, THEY WANNA SEE VIBRANCY. THEY WANT TO SEE A CULTURAL HUB, A GATEWAY TO THE WEST SIDE. THEY WANT TO, THEY WANT TO FEEL CONNECTION. THEY WANT TO HAVE STABLE AND SAFE PLACES TO WORK AND LIVE. THEY WANT IT TO BE HISTORIC, BUT THEY ALSO WANT IT TO BE MODERN, AND THEY WANT IT TO BE INCLUSIVE. DON'T FORGET HOUSING, RIGHT? WHAT [00:45:01] WE HEARD, UM, BY ACTUALLY TOUCH POINTING DIFFERENT AREAS. YOU KNOW, THEY TALKED ABOUT AN OUTDOOR MARKET. THEY TALKED ABOUT, UH, GETTING AROUND HERE IS EASY BECAUSE OF CENTRAL PLAZA AND THE CONNECTING ROADS. THEY WANT TO SEE KIDS PLAYING. THEY WANNA SEE MIXED USE. RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL FOLKS TALKED ABOUT A LIVE MUSIC VENUE. THERE'S A HISTORY OF FIESTA RIGHT WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NEED FOR RESTAURANTS. THERE'S A NEED FOR THAT VIBRANCY. IT'S, YES, IT IS CHALLENGING. WE NEED GREEN SPACES, WE NEED APARTMENTS. WE NEED GREAT FOOD AND NICE ART. THIS IS WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE WITHIN THIS AREA. UM, CONNECTIVITY, UM, IS THE DEFINING CONSTRAINT. UM, THIS AREA, UNFORTUNATELY, HAS SEEN ONE OF THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF, UM, OF PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICLE, UM, UNFORTUNATE INTERACTIONS IN THE AREA. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF NUMBER OF UNHOUSED FOLKS WHO UNFORTUNATELY HAVE PASSED WITHIN THE AREA. WE NEED TO MAKE THE AREA SAFER WITH RESPECT TO CONNECTIONS. SO THERE'S BETTER PEDESTRIAN OPPORTUNITIES, UM, FOR BOTH THE BUSINESSES THERE. AND OF COURSE, YOUR RIDERSHIP WHO ARE COMING THROUGH THE AREA. MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION. I AM, I'M TALKING TO THE CHOIR HERE. UM, IN STREET CONNECTIVITY. THESE ARE ALL MAJOR THEMES THAT WE NEED TO DO WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT THE VISIONING PROCESS THAT'S ABOUT TO COME FORWARD. AND ALSO RECOGNIZING THE HISTORIC LANDMARKS IN DISTRICTS AND THE LACK OF GREEN SPACES AND OPEN SPACES THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THIS PARTICULAR AREA. UM, AND THE MARKET. HOW IS IT PERFORMING? WELL, WE DO HAVE ACTIVITY WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. OBVIOUSLY WITH OUR IN-HOUSE POPULATION. A LOT OF THE, UH, THE VIBRANCY ISN'T QUITE THERE. UM, BUT THE DISTRICT IS JUST MISALIGNED. WE NEED TO CREATE THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD OPPORTUNITIES, UM, FOR FUTURE REDEVELOPMENT TO BE ABLE TO ATTRACT THE INVESTMENT TO ATTRACT THE PEOPLE TO WANT TO LIVE AND WORK AND PLAY AND RIDE WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. SO HERE'S WHAT WE HEARD. HERE'S THE TAKEAWAYS. I'M WRAPPING THIS UP GUYS. I PROMISE. DELIVER HOUSING FOR ALL WITH INTEGRATED SUPPORT. CREATE SAFE AND WALKABLE AND CONNECTED DISTRICT, BUILD A COMPLETE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH EVERYDAY AMENITIES. DEVELOP A NETWORK OF GREEN SPACES AND PUBLIC SPACES, LEVERAGE TRANSIT AS A CATALYST FOR EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT, PRESERVE AND CELEBRATE THE CULTURAL HISTORY AND STRENGTHEN OP OPPORTUNITY FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES. THAT'S WHAT WE HEARD. UM, SO WITH THAT NEXT STEPS, UM, WOULD LOVE TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK TODAY. UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO DO, UM, NOT ONLY WITH HOMELESS ACTION RESPONSE PLAN, BUT WITH THE VISIONING SESSION. UM, URBAN ALCHEMY IS OUR CONSULTANT LEADING THE WAY. UM, THANK YOU PAULA . AND, UM, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING PROJECT DC. AND BEFORE I ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS, JUST THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO TALK WITH YOU ALL TODAY. AND I'LL PROBABLY NEED A GLASS OF WATER AFTER THAT. THANK YOU TRUSTEES. UH, AT THIS TIME YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? YES, DO PLEASE. THANK YOU. THIS IS VERY INTERESTING TO ME. UM, I WORKED WITH THE HOMELESS POPULATION AND HOMELESS MOTHERS AND BABIES AT GUADALUPE HOME FOR OVER 10 YEARS, SO I KNOW THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY HAVE. UM, SO MY, SINCE I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT CHILDREN, DO YOU EVER HAVE CHILDREN THAT ARE LIVING IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE? UM, THERE ARE FAMILIES, UM, THAT FAMILY FAMILIES ARE ONE OF THE HIGHEST NEED RIGHT? IN OUR COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF OUR UNSHELTERED POPULATION. I THANK YOU SO MUCH, . UM, YOU KNOW, WITH RESPECT TO TO CHILDREN, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE ENCOUNTERED AS MUCH WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE. NOT TO SAY THAT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ENCOUNTERED, UM, BUT WE KNOW THAT FAMILIES RIGHT NOW ARE HAVING THE TOUGHEST TIMES, UM, IN FINDING SHELTER AND FINDING HOUSING. IT'S NOT ENOUGH SHELTER FOR FAMILIES. NO, ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. AND, YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAS JUST UNVEILED THEIR LARGER SCALE, UM, HOUSING AND HOMELESS PLAN. MARK CARMONA. UM, WHO IS THE, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE HOMELESS CHIEF, UH, HOUSING OFFICER AND ALSO IN CHARGE OF THE, UH, THE CITY'S, UH, DEPARTMENT WHO IS OVERSEEING THE HOMELESS RESPONSE. UM, THEIR PLAN ALSO TALKS ABOUT RAPID EXIT. IT ALSO TALKS ABOUT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SHELTER MM-HMM . UM, SO THOSE ARE ALL ELEMENTS THAT WE SEE. THE GOAL HERE THOUGH, FOR CATTLEMAN SQUARE IS TO IDENTIFY HOW WE CAN GET THOSE UNHOUSED FOLKS OFF THE STREET TO IMPROVE THOSE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND RIDERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. AND WE THINK HOUSING THE UNHOUSED IS THE WAY TO GO. UM, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS NOT THE ONLY STRATEGY FOR OUR COMMUNITY AT SANTON. RIGHT. OKAY. WELL, I I'M GONNA GO BACK TO THE CHILDREN. SO IF THERE ARE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIVING IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE, ARE THEY ON THE STREET AS WELL? OR THEY HAVE ANY KIND OF SHELTER? UM, I DON'T KNOW. CURRENTLY I'M IN THE BEST POSITION TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE HOUSING TRUST, UM, DID OPEN 4 25 SAN PEDRO, WHICH IS, UM, AN 80 UNIT DEVELOPMENT [00:50:01] RIGHT ON SAN PEDRO, JUST NORTH OF, OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA. UM, AND THAT IS PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING WITH TWO AND THREE BEDROOMS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR FAMILIES. AND WE'RE WORKING WITH SAN MINISTRIES TO HELP MOVE FAMILIES INTO PERMANENT SUPPORT HOUSE. THAT'S GREAT PROGRAM TOO. AND THEN PEOPLE THAT HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEY'RE, THEY HAVE A DIAGNOSIS, UM, I'M SURE THAT THAT'S A MAJOR PROBLEM RIGHT NOW. AND SO I REMEMBER SOME OF THE, THE SLIDES THAT YOU SHOWED, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE QUITE A CHALLENGE BECAUSE ABSOLUTELY. AT THE GUADALUPE HOME, THERE WERE SOME WOMEN PREGNANT THAT COULD NOT COME INSIDE A BUILDING YEAH. BECAUSE OF MENTAL ILLNESS. UH, ONE OTHER THING. SEVEN MONTHS. I, I APPLAUD YOU. I THINK THAT THAT'S WONDERFUL GOAL. I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT IT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED. YEAH. 'CAUSE THIS IS DEFINITELY A NEED. YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE WHOLE IDEA OF SETTING THESE GOALS, RIGHT, THAT ALMOST SEEM IMPOSSIBLE IS SO WE CAN TRY TO ACHIEVE, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE'RE NOT SETTING GOALS JUST TO SET THEM, WE'RE SETTING GOALS BECAUSE THERE'S A REALISTIC OPPORTUNITY THAT COME MARCH WHEN WE HAVE 200 UNITS OF PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING OPEN, THAT IS THE PERFECT TIME TO START MOVING FOLKS WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE INTO ONE OF OUR ASSETS IN ONE OF OUR PROPERTIES. SO, YOU KNOW, THE INTENSITY THAT'S IN THE PLAN, UM, IS SPECIFIC TO THE, THE WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING THIS WITHIN COUNT SQUARE, AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, BUT WE HEARD IT FROM THOSE BUSINESS, UH, OWNERS THAT ARE IN THE AREA. WE HEARD IT FROM THE RESIDENTS. THEY'VE SAID, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WE HAVE TO FIND A PATH FORWARD. SO THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE WITH TRYING TO FIND A PLAN THAT WE FEEL CAN BE ACHIEVABLE IN THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF TIME WITH A VERY INTENSE FOCUS. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DELIVER. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT. YES. THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUESTION. UH, . THANK YOU TRUSTEE DE. YES, SIR. UM, UM, IN MY FUTURE, UM, IN 2000, NO, EXCUSE ME, IN 20, UM, NO, 10 TWICE. I SERVED ON THE SAM IES BOARD AND I WAS CHAIR AND WE DEVELOPED, UM, WITH THE BOARD LEADERSHIP AT THAT TIME. UH, THE CENTER THAT IS OUT AT MOUNT SACRED HEART ON OBLATE, IT'S A TRANSITIONAL SHELTER FOR FAMILIES. AND I APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS. IT'S NEEDED MUCH MORE IN OUR CITY, AND I APPLAUD EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING. THE ONLY THING, AFTER STUDYING HOMELESS FOR QUITE SOME TIME WITH CASE MANAGERS AND THOSE THAT WERE INVOLVED, I QUESTION YOUR NUMBERS BECAUSE HOMELESS QUITE A FEW, ESPECIALLY WITH THE MENTAL ISSUES ARE TRANSIENT MM-HMM . AND YOU'RE BASING YOUR, YOUR NUMBERS ON THOSE BEING STAYING IN THE SYSTEM. SO HOW CAN WE MEASURE JUST WITH THOSE NUMBERS? THAT GREAT QUESTION. UM, THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE PLANNING FOR BUDGETING UP TO 169, RIGHT? IS THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL COUNT WAS 112. I THINK WHAT OUR, ONE OF OUR CHALLENGES HAS BEEN IS THAT FOR THE NUMBER OF SWEEPS VERY FREQUENTLY WITHIN THE AREA, AND WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU SEE A DISBURSEMENT OF FOLKS, UM, SOME GO INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS, SOME GO INTO DOWNTOWN, UM, BUT EVENTUALLY FOLKS COME BACK, RIGHT? AND SO HAVING THE ON THE GROUND OUTREACH WITH CORONE UHHUH, THEY'VE BEEN ACTUALLY ABLE TO START IDENTIFYING, GET PEOPLE INTO HMIS AND START THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL UNDUPLICATED COUNT OF THE FOLKS THAT THEY'VE SEEN DURING A DURATION OF TIME. AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. FOLKS ARE COMING AND GOING, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR A LARGER NUMBER THAN WHAT'S THERE TODAY AND WHAT WE'VE COUNTED THERE TODAY. UM, YES, BECAUSE THE TRANSITIONAL SHELTER FOR FAMILIES YEAH. UH, REALLY ASSISTS. BUT FOR, UM, WOMEN OR MEN THAT ARE, UM, WANT TO LIVE HOMELESS, THEY ARE TRANSIENT FROM CITY TO CITY. YEAH. AND THAT'S WHY, UM, THE HAVEN FOR HOPE, THEY WILL NOT GO IN MM-HMM . THEY, THEY RE REJECT THE SYSTEM MM-HMM . AND SO THEY MOVE ON TO ANOTHER CITY. BUT WHAT I'M SEEING IS THAT YOU'RE, UM, PUTTING A VALUE INTO ALL EACH ONE OF THEM IN YOUR PROPOSAL. AND I DON'T KNOW IF, IF THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S MORE FLEXIBLE AS FAR AS THE NUMBERS ARE CONCERNED, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED. OKAY. THANK YOU TRUSTEE. VICE CHAIR GOMEZ. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. PETE, UH, THE 200 UNITS YOU MENTIONED THAT THE COMMON SET AS HEA TRAILS, HOW MANY OF THOSE, OR ARE ANY OF THOSE SPECIFICALLY BEING HELD OR RESERVED FOR THIS TARGET POPULATION? UM, SPECIFICALLY FOR CATTLEMAN SQUARE? UM, THERE IS, THE PROCESS FOR SAM, UM, TO IDENTIFY WHO GOES INTO THOSE UNITS IS ABOUT A SIX MONTH LEAD TIME PROCESS. OKAY. SO [00:55:01] THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO START IDENTIFYING FOLKS COME SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER FOR THE VOUCHER PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO MOVE IN ONCE IT STARTS IN MARCH. RIGHT. IT'S A VERY LENGTHY PROCESS. UM, WE ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH SAM ON IDENTIFYING THEM AS ONE OF THE PARTNERS, BUT REMEMBER, THE HOUSING TRUST IS GOING TO GIVE UP THIS CONTROL OF THIS PLAN TO CLOSE ZONE SAN SAN ANTONIO WHO'S GONNA TAKE OVER THAT. RIGHT. I AM HOPING THAT BECAUSE OF THE TIMING OF THAT PROPERTY COMING ONLINE AND THE CAPACITY THERE, AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THOSE 80 PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING VOUCHERS THAT ARE READY TO GO AND DEDICATED FOR THE SITE, THAT THIS COULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FOLKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THAT HIGHEST ACUITY NEED INTO THOSE UNITS AT, AT, UH, AT COMMONS. UNDERSTAND. YEAH. SO, SO CLEARLY THERE AREN'T A NUMBER OF RESERVED UNITS, BUT THERE IS A PLAN TO BEGIN THE PROCESS FOR APPLYING THOSE VOUCHERS FOR THIS TARGET POPULATION FOR UNITS AT THAT PROPERTY. THAT IS THE PLAN, RIGHT? RIGHT. AND THAT COULD BE AS MANY AS 80 AND IT COULD BE, WELL, WE HAVE 201 UNITS THERE. RIGHT. OKAY. UM, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING IS, IS THERE A NEXT PROJECT THAT THE HOUSING AUTHORITY IS WORKING ON AFTER THE COMMON SET? THE SACRED TRAILS? UM, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. UM, WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADDITIONAL PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. I THINK WE DO HAVE SOME POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES, BUT IT TAKES TWO TO THREE YEARS TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP, UH, A PROJECT LIKE THAT. RIGHT. IT ALSO TAKES A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF RESOURCES. UM, THE HOUSING BOND WAS A VERY SUBSTANTIAL RESOURCE, RIGHT? THAT IS NOW VIRTUALLY COMMITTED, RIGHT? ALL THOSE DOLLARS ARE COMMITTED. UM, AND SO UNDERSTANDING THAT MARK CARMONA AND THE CITY'S, UH, UM, PUSH FOR ADDITIONAL PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, WE STILL NEED TO HIT OUR TARGET GOAL OF A THOUSAND, RIGHT? WE, WE HAVE ABOUT 400 PLUS THAT WE'VE CREATED OPPORTUNITIES TO DATE FOR, BUT WE NEED THAT ADDITIONAL FIVE, 600 UNITS. SO WE ARE GONNA BE WORKING, THE HOUSING TRUST WILL BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY IN IDENTIFYING THOSE SPOTS AND THOSE RESOURCES TO CREATE MORE, UM, PERMANENT SUPPORTING HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES. NOW, WHETHER THAT'S SPECIFIC, MAYBE TO OLDER ADULTS, OR THAT'S SPECIFIC TO A CERTAIN POPULATION, UM, I'LL GIVE YOU ONE MORE EXAMPLE. WE HAVE, UM, THE JUDY AT VITA PROJECT, WHICH IS 68 UNITS OF HOUSING FOR YOUTH WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. UM, THAT PROJECT IS, UM, UH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE CLOSING FINANCING AROUND JANUARY OF 27. IT'S A, IT'S A 9% TAX CREDIT PROJECT. UM, ONCE WE HAVE THOSE DOLLARS AND THEY'RE AWARDED, WE'LL START THE CLOSING PROCESS. AND, BUT THAT'LL TAKE TWO YEARS, RIGHT? TO GET THOSE UNITS ONLINE. SO THAT IS ANOTHER AVENUE, RIGHT, OF SPECIFICALLY A POPULATION. IF YOU'RE SEEING YOUTH WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UM, JUDY AVITA IS GOING TO BE A PLACE FOR THEM. THANK YOU. SICK TERM. THANK YOU. OKAY. ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE DRIVE-IN OFF OF WW WHITE ON DIETRICH ROAD TOWN? TWIN TOWN. TWIN TOWN. TWIN VILLAGE. MM-HMM . THEY BASICALLY DID THE SAME THING, UH, WITH THE MANAGEMENT, WITH THE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE, EVERYTHING THAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW, MOST OF THOSE HOMELESS THAT WERE IN THERE AND NOW BACK ON THE STREETS, LIVING WITHIN WW WHITE ROAD, AND UNFORTUNATELY WITHIN SEVERAL OF THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROPERTIES ON WW WHITE ROAD, WHAT GUARANTEE DO YOU HAVE THAT THESE PEOPLE WILL NOT DO THE SAME THING? I CAN'T GIVE ANY GUARANTEES. NONE. AND THAT'S THE HONEST TRUTH. MY JOB IS TO FIGURE OUT A PLAN THAT WE CAN GEOGRAPHICALLY TARGET CATTLEMAN SQUARE TO GIVE FOLKS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE IN A STABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH THE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED. BUT ULTIMATELY, IT'S THAT INDIVIDUAL'S DECISION ON WHAT THEY WANT TO DO WITH THEIR LIVES. SO I CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT, BUT I CAN FIND A PATHWAY TO GIVE FOLKS AN OPPORTUNITY. SEE WHY I'M ASKING THIS IS BECAUSE, YEAH, [01:00:01] BASICALLY THEY GOT SHIFTED FROM ONE AREA TO ANOTHER AREA WITH THEY DID WITH TOWN TWIN. AND NOW I'M NOT SAYING YOURS WILL GO DOWN, BUT YOU'RE SHIFTED IN THEM FROM CATTLEMAN SQUARE OUT TO SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS. AND MY THING IS THIS, I DON'T, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH YOUR PLAN. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH TRYING TO GET THEM OFF THE STREETS AND GET THEM TO HELP, BUT WHEN IT, I WILL NOT SAY FAIL, BUT THE PROBLEM ARISES, THEN YOU'RE SHIFTING THEM ON TO ANOTHER POPULATION WHICH REALLY CAN'T HANDLE THEM, WHICH IS THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED, UH, UH, SO, I'M SORRY, WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ALLEVIATE THIS NOT HAPPENING TO A CERTAIN POINT? YEAH. I THINK THAT, UM, THE SOLUTION RIGHT NOW IN NOT PROVIDING SERVICES, THAT'S NOT THE ANSWER. YEAH. YEAH. I CAN AGREE WITH THAT. RIGHT? RIGHT. SO IN TERMS OF PROVIDING A PATHWAY OUT OF HOMELESSNESS IS THE COMPASSIONATE THING TO DO. IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, RIGHT? WE COULD CERTAINLY HAVE A PLAN THAT SAYS, LET'S REDEVELOP CATTLEMAN SQUARE AND BECAUSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT, PUSH EVERYONE OUT. AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THEY GO INTO THE GARDENDALE NEIGHBORHOOD, RIGHT? THEY GO INTO THE WEST SIDE, THEY GO INTO DOWNTOWN. YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT DOESN'T HAVE A, UM, A, A PLEASANT SOUNDING, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITY EITHER, RIGHT? MM-HMM . HOW CAN WE FIGURE OUT WAYS TO GET THEM HOUSED, IS THE ANSWER, RIGHT? OR INTO SHELTER, RIGHT? IF THAT'S HOW THEY NEED TO LIVE, PRODUCE MORE LOW BARRIER SHELTER WHERE FOLKS CAN HAVE ACCESS, UM, TO, MAYBE THEY'RE NOT READY TO MOVE INTO A PERMANENT HOUSING SITUATION, BUT MAYBE THEY ARE READY TO GO INTO A SHELTER SITUATION. AND FOLKS LIKE C**N, UH, FOLKS LIKE HAVEN, UM, AND MANY OTHERS THAT WORK IN THIS SPACE ARE WORKING AS HARD AS THEY CAN TO FIND THOSE COMPASSIONATE PATHWAYS FORWARD. BUT WE KNOW WHAT DOESN'T WORK. DOING NOTHING DOESN'T WORK, RIGHT? HA NOT HAVING A PLAN WILL NOT, WILL, WILL NOT WORK, RIGHT? AND IF WE WANNA SEE A WAY TO CHANGE THE STARS IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE, WE NEED TO FIND A PATH FORWARD. WE NEED TO FIND A SOLUTION. AND SO THIS WAS WHAT THE EXPERTS AND THE COORDINATION WITH THE HOMELESS SYSTEM RESPONSE TEAMS. I MEAN, WE'VE HAD 30, 40 FOLKS AT THE TABLE WORKING ON THIS IN COLLABORATION, TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT. UM, WE FEEL THIS IS THE BEST PATH FORWARD. AND, AND, AND I AGREE WITH THAT. THAT'S A PATHWAY. BUT WHAT HAVE YOU, WHAT I'M SAYING IS YOU FOUND A WAY TO GET THEM HOUSED AND WORK WITH THEM. BUT NOW WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WHEN, IN TERMS, I DON'T WANNA SAY FAIL, BUT BASICALLY FAIL, AND IT ENDS UP LIKE WHAT'S GOING ON NOW ON WW WHITE ROAD IN THOSE DISABLED AND ELDERLY PROPERTIES, THESE PEOPLE ARE COMING IN THERE AND TRYING TO LIVE OFF THESE PEOPLE OR LIVE IN THE, IN THAT SITUATION AND GIVING THEM PROBLEMS. I, I WISH I HAD AN ANSWER FOR YOU. YEAH. YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? YES. YOU HAVE GOT THEM HOUSED, YOU HAVE GOT THEM THE THING, BUT I DON'T WANNA SAY FAIL, AND THEY LEAVE OUTTA YOUR PLACE AND GO SOMEPLACE ELSE. NOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS THERE, THERE, WHAT HAS NOW, WHAT OPTION IS THERE? WHAT OPTION IS THERE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE IN THAT LIKELIHOOD? WHAT, WHAT PLAN IS THAT FOR THAT LIKELIHOOD? RIGHT. AND UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION, RIGHT. WHAT I CAN SAY IS, BY GETTING FOLKS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE IN HOUSING, GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET OFF THE STREET AND STABILIZE THEIR SITUATION. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, IS PROVIDE THEM THOSE SUPPORTIVE RESOURCES AND THOSE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES SO THEY DON'T FALL BACK INTO HOMELESSNESS. IS THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT EFFECTIVE? NO. IT'S NOT. BUT DOING NOTHING IS ALSO A HUNDRED PERCENT INEFFECTIVE. YEAH. THANK YOU. SECRETARY MALONE? MM-HMM . VICE CHAIR GOMEZ? YES. THANK YOU, MA'AM. JUST [01:05:01] RELATED TO THE DISCUSSION THAT WAS JUST HAD PETE, UM, THE, THE HOUSING ON SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS IS GONNA BE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, RIGHT? CORRECT. SO IT'S NOT JUST HOUSING, THERE WILL BE SERVICES LOCATED LITERALLY IN THAT COMMUNITY ABSOLUTELY. OF VARIOUS KINDS. SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL ANYWHERE ELSE TO GET THOSE SERVICES ONSITE, 24 HOUR SERVICES. OKAY. CAN, CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT SOME OF THOSE SERVICES MIGHT BE LIKE? YEAH. UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ACT TEAM THAT WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER AND THAT HEAVY CASE MANAGEMENT, UM, SAM MINISTRIES IS THE ENTITY THAT IS GOING TO BE PROVIDING AND COORDINATING ALL OF THOSE SERVICES AT THE PROPERTY. UM, SO IT CAN BE ANYTHING FROM MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS TO CLINICAL NEEDS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT SETTING FOR SOMEONE WHO'S IN, IN DRUG TREATMENT OR DRUG REHAB, RIGHT? RIGHT. THERE IS A PLACE FOR THEM TO GO FOR THAT TYPE OF REHAB EFFORT. UM, BUT THEY NEED TO BE IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY'RE HOUSED SOMEWHERE, RIGHT? WHERE THEY HAVE THAT ABILITY TO RECOVER, UM, AND THEN MOVED INTO THE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING SITUATION, RIGHT? SO THERE ARE THAT COORDINATION FOR THAT CASE MANAGEMENT FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL IS, IS THE INTENSITY THAT WE NEED THAT CLOSE TO HOME. SAM AND THE OTHER PARTNERS WHO WILL BE IDENTIFIED CAN PROVIDE THAT SORT OF CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES. A LOT OF THAT IS MEDICAL NEEDS, RIGHT? NOT JUST MENTAL HEALTH DRUG ABUSE. THERE'S ALL SORTS OF THEMES. AND WE HAVE TO ALSO HAVE A TRAUMA-INFORMED PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TEAM, UM, THAT COULD ALSO HAVE EXPERIENCE IN WORKING WITH THE POPULATION FROM JUST A PROPERTY MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE, RIGHT? UM, SO WE WILL HAVE BOTH TRAUMA-INFORMED PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS HIGHLY ACUTE, CRITICAL SUPPORTIVE SERVICES THAT CAN HELP WITH THE POPULATION. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR GOMEZ, TRUSTEE ALTO, AND IT DOES WORK, LEO, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH SAM MINISTRIES. AND I APPLAUD YOUR EFFORT WITH SAM MINISTRIES BECAUSE THE CENTER, UH, THE TRANSITIONAL SHELTER THAT IS THERE ON OBLATE HAS BEEN THERE FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS NOW WITH NUMEROUS SUCCESS STORIES OF FAMILIES GETTING BACK TOGETHER, SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, FINDING JOBS, AND IT COMES WITH ALL THE CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, AND IT'S A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. SO I APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS FOR WORKING WITH SAM BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW TO DO IT. WE JUST NEED MORE OF IT. THANK YOU. AND KEISHA IS AN INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE LEADER. MM-HMM . THANK YOU PETE. I, I DO HAVE A, A FEW QUESTIONS BUT WANNA EXPRESS, UH, THE GRATITUDE TO WORKING WITH THE VIA TEAM. I KNOW THESE HAVE BEEN ONGOING DISCUSSIONS FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, DATING BACK INTO 2024, UM, WITH JOHN GARY'S PREDECESSOR, UH, JEFF ARN. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT PARTNERSHIP. UM, COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. I'LL START WITH WHAT IS V'S. ACTION? WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, UM, RIGHT NOW? I KNOW THIS IS A BRIEFING. YEP. UM, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT WHAT SUPPORT ARE YOU LOOKING FROM VIA AT THIS TIME? YEAH, UH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. I, I THINK NUMBER ONE IS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH OUR FUNDING PLAN, UM, ON HOW WE'RE GONNA FUND THAT 13.2 MILLION. WE ALREADY HAVE, UM, SOME OPPORTUNITIES THAT'LL HELP SHRINK WHAT THE GAP IS ON THAT 13.2. UM, SO THERE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, PATHWAYS THAT WE'RE LOOKING PHILANTHROPICALLY, UM, TO PHIL. UM, WE'RE ALSO HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH UNIVERSITY HEALTH ABOUT MAYBE SOME OPPORTUNITIES WITH, UH, STATE OF TEXAS. I'LL BE MEETING WITH SENATOR MENENDEZ HERE PRETTY SOON, GIVING HIM THIS BRIEFING, TALKING ABOUT WHAT STATE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE. UM, THERE ARE DOLLARS, UH, FROM, UH, LIKE THE OPIOID SETTLEMENTS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO, TO ASSIST WITH THIS EFFORT. UM, SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF RESOURCES AND AVENUES, AND THERE ARE GOING TO BE GAPS. AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR ARE RESOURCES TO HELP US FILL THOSE GAPS. SO I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC DOLLAR AMOUNT TO ASK TODAY, UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY IMPROVING THE RIDERSHIP WITHIN THE AREA, UM, YOU KNOW, IS, IS A BENEFIT LOOKING AT YOUR ASSETS AND WHAT THE FUTURE OF THOSE ASSETS WILL BE. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, NOBODY'S GOING TO INVEST IN CATTLEMAN SQUARE UNLESS WE CAN ADDRESS OUR OWN HOUSE POPULATION IN SQUARE, AND THAT'S JUST FACT. RIGHT? UM, SO I THINK THE ASK IS COMING. I THINK WE WANT CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT FROM VIA, WE WANT PARTICIPATION WITHIN THE VISIONING PROCESS. UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA BE LOOKING AT WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, NEED TO BE MADE WITHIN THE AREA. AND OF COURSE, YOU ALL ARE GOING TO BE MAKING SOME VERY SUBSTANTIAL ONES WITH THE SILVER LINE COMING THROUGH, UM, AND ALL THAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR RIDERSHIP. AND WE NEED TO HEAR THAT, RIGHT? SO WE [01:10:01] CONTINUE TO PUT THAT PLAN TOGETHER AND MAKE AN ASK IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? THIS IS JUST THE HOMELESS RESPONSE PART. WE HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDS TO OCCUR WITHIN CATTLEMAN SQUARE, AND WE HAVE DEVELOPMENT THAT NEEDS TO OCCUR AT CATTLEMAN SQUARE, AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO START LOOKING AT HOW WE'RE GONNA FUND THE VISION THAT WE PUT TOGETHER, BUT WE GOTTA PUT THE VISION TOGETHER FIRST. RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND, AND OF THE 13.2 MILLION THAT YOU SAY YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE COMMITMENTS FROM THE CITY AND COUNTY AT LEAST HALF, 75%? DO YOU, WHAT, WHAT IS THAT ESTIMATED COMMITMENT? GREAT QUESTION. SO, UM, YOU ARE THE SECOND FOLKS WHO HAVE GOTTEN THIS BRIEFING. MM-HMM . UM, WHERE WE'VE ACTUALLY SET A NUMBER. UM, OUR TEAM IS STILL WORKING ON FINALIZING THE PLAN. THIS IS NOT THE FINAL PLAN. THE PLAN IS STILL BEING, UH, UH, FINALIZED. AND THAT WILL BE, UH, RELEASED ON, ON JUNE 26TH TO OUR BOARD. UM, WE'LL HAVE ALL THE DETAILS OF THE FUNDING PATHWAYS AND SO FORTH ASSOCIATED WITH IT, BUT CLOSE TO HOME SAN ANTONIO, UH, THE CONTINUUM OF CARE, UM, THE ACTUAL FUNDING PATHWAYS WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH CLOSE TO HOME. UM, AND SO WE'LL BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM TO IDENTIFY WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE FOR FUNDING. THANK YOU. AND AS PART OF THE GAPS AND, UM, IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU MENTIONED THROUGH THE SILVER LINE, UM, REAL ESTATE THAT WE HAVE IN THE AREA, I'M ASSUMING, UM, IT IS NOT AN ASK RIGHT NOW FROM A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE OF RESOURCES, GIVEN THAT VIA IS A LEASE FUNDED AGENCY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS FROM A TRANSIT PERSPECTIVE, BUT MORE OF A PARTNERSHIP AND LOOKING AT THE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE, UM, AND THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE, UH, COMING UP THROUGH OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM. OR, I, I DON'T WANNA PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH, BUT I WANNA ENSURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR ON WHAT POTENTIAL DIRECTION YOU'RE ASKING OF VIA, UM, RIGHT NOW I'M ASKING YOU TO KEEP YOUR EARS OPEN AND, UM, AND YOUR, YOUR MIND'S OPEN RIGHT? TO WHAT THE NEEDS ARE GOING TO BE. UM, AND THIS IS JUST A PRELIMINARY BRIEFING, RIGHT? UM, I HOPE TO BE BACK HERE IN FRONT OF YOU ALL TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE VISIONING PROCESS AND WHERE WE LAND ON SOME OF THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS ON SOME OF THE REDEVELOPMENT IDEAS THAT ARE COMING ACROSS. UM, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, THE, THE SCOBY BUILDING RIGHT? IS A, IS A MAJOR COMPONENT OF CATTLEMAN SQUARE. AND, YOU KNOW, WE WANT THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UH, WHAT THOSE VISIONS ARE, RIGHT? NOT ONLY COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BUT STAKEHOLDERS HERE AS WELL. UM, AND SO IT'S GONNA BE A VERY COLLABORATIVE PROCESS THAT WE'RE ASKING. I THINK WITH A HOMELESS ACTION RESPONSE PLAN, WE HOPE THAT THERE ARE DOLLARS, UM, THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT SOME POINT. UM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT NEEDS. THAT'S WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE, IS ACTUAL DOLLARS TO DO THIS. THE HOUSING TRUST IS GOING TO PUT DOLLARS IN THIS AS WELL. I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE HARD CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS AT UTSA AND, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THE AREA ABOUT WHO BENEFITS FROM AN IMPROVED CATTLEMAN SQUARE THE HOUSING TRUST DOES. RIGHT? WE HAVE LAND AND PROPERTY THAT WE WANT TO SEE DEVELOPED, UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY VIA IN RIDERSHIP AND UTSA AND, AND STUDENTS AND FACULTY AND SO FORTH. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT THAT WILL BENEFIT, UM, FROM THIS. SO, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE FAIR TO, TO ASK FOR A, FOR SOME SORT OF RESOURCE OR ASSISTANCE, UM, IN SOME FORM OR FASHION, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS YET. THANK YOU. AND THEN FROM A A PLANNING TIMELINE PERSPECTIVE, YOU MENTIONED, UH, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, UH, WITH, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS AN EXAMPLE WITH SAND MINISTRIES, CORRECT? THAT'S AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT? THAT IS THIS YEAR OF, OF AS AN EXAMPLE, OR THAT IS IMPLEMENTATION FOR THIS YEAR. SO I DON'T WANT TO GET AHEAD OF THE COC BECAUSE THEY'LL BE CONSIDERING AND ADOPTING IT THROUGH THEIR GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE. UM, BUT THAT IS ONE OBVIOUS WAY BECAUSE THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST IS WORKING WITH SAM ON THAT 201 UNIT DEVELOPMENT. IT'S, IT'S OUR PROPERTY RIGHT ALONG WITH SAM'S. UM, SO IT JUST MAKES A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE THAT THAT PROPERTY IS DESIGNATED FOR OUR EFFORTS IN CATTLEMEN'S, BECAUSE WE ARE A STAKEHOLDER HERE AS WELL. SO THEN THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE, AFTER YOU GET THAT SOLIDIFIED WOULD BE THE INFRASTRUCTURE. UH, IT'S GONNA BE THE VISIONING PROCESSES RIGHT BEHIND YOU ON THE SCREEN. OKAY. UM, WHERE WE ARE GOING THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY SURVEYING PROCESS, OUR PUBLIC WORKSHOPS, THE WORKING GROUPS, WHICH YOU ALL ARE GONNA BE A PART OF THE ONE-ON-ONES. UM, WITH, WITH JOHN GARY AND THE TEAM, WE HAVE AMBASSADORS THAT ARE GONNA BE WORKING WITH COMMUNITY TO GATHER, UM, ALL THIS INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUTURE USES OF THE DIFFERENT SITES THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE PUBLIC REALM. UM, ALL THE COMMUNITY POPUP WORK THERE, THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S GOING TO BE DONE. THAT WORK WON'T BE DONE THIS SUMMER. THAT'S GOING TO BE A PROCESS THAT LEADS HERE INTO WINTER. RIGHT. UM, BUT THE PROCESS WITH THE HOMELESS ACTION RESPONSE PLAN SHOULD BE ADOPTED AT THE END OF JUNE. UM, AND FROM THERE IT GOES TO, UM, [01:15:01] CLOSE TO HOME SAN ANTONIO TO ADOPT IT INTO THEIR FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. AND FROM THAT POINT, THAT'S WHEN WE START THE PRE-IMPLEMENTATION PHASE. I HIT A SLIDE AND I DO HAVE, UH, THE PACKETS HERE FOR YOU ALL. UM, SO YOU CAN, UH, UH, REFER BACK TO THEM, UM, THAT SHOWS THE DIFFERENT STEPS THAT WE STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH FOR THIS PLAN. SO, UM, WE HOPE, UM, THAT WE CAN FIND THE FUNDING. 'CAUSE THE FUNDING IS WHAT LEADS TO THE ACTUAL START AND IMPLEMENTATION DATE, WHETHER THAT BE JANUARY ONE THIS YEAR, OR MARCH OF NEXT YEAR, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, OR SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR, IS, CAN WE FIND THE FUNDING TO START THIS PLAN? SO YOU WOULD NEED ALL OF THE FUNDING OF THE 13.2 IN ORDER TO START THE PLAN. I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO YEAR COMMITMENTS WITH RESPECT TO RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND WITH, WITH RESPECT TO HIRING THE MEMBERS OF THE ACT TEAM, UH, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. SO I THINK WE NEED TO BE WELL UNDERWAY IN TERMS OF OUR FUNDRAISING BEFORE WE ACTUALLY SAY, YES, THIS IS HOW WE GET STARTED. SO KNOWING, AND I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO CLOSE TO HOME BECAUSE THEY'LL BE THE ONES, UH, DOING IT. SO JOHN, ARE KNOWING THAT WE'RE GOING INTO OUR BUDGET, UH, SEASON HERE, UM, FOR APPROVAL OF OUR BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU AND THE TEAM WILL BE ACTIVELY LOOKING, UH, WITH THE HOUSING TRUST TO DETERMINE IF THERE'S ANY RESOURCE ALLOCATION THAT COULD BE PROVIDED? UH, KNOWING WHERE OUR PRIORITIES ARE FROM A TRANSIT PERSPECTIVE? YEAH, IT, IT, IT'S DEFINITELY AN ONGOING DIALOGUE THAT I KNOW WE WILL CONTINUE ON WITH, WITH PETE AND HIS TEAM. UM, I THINK IT IS IDENTIFYING WHAT THAT OPPORTUNITY LOOKS LIKE FOR VIA, WHAT'S THAT, WHAT'S THAT FIT FOR US? UM, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL, UH, YOU KNOW, CONTRIBUTION, IF THAT IS INDEED SOMETHING TO HELP WITH IS 13.2. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ON ON ONE SIDE OF IT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DEFINITELY, WE ARE, WE ARE INVESTED AND VESTED IN THE SUCCESS OF THIS AREA. UH, JUST BACK MATH, YOU KNOW, I ONLY, I THINK ONLY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL PROBABLY HAS MORE ASSET VALUE IN THIS AREA THAN WE DO. UM, AND THEN WITH GREEN, WITH SILVER LINE COMING IN, WE PROBABLY SURPASSED THAT, OR AT LEAST WE PROBABLY PRETTY MUCH COME INTO PAR WITH WHAT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IS DOING. SO WE HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF INTEREST IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE, AND, AND THE APPROACH THAT YOU HAVE HERE. I'M GONNA APPLAUD YOU FOR THE APPROACH BECAUSE IT IS A VERY COMPLEX APPROACH THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THAT YOU HAD TO TAKE CARE OF THIS ISSUE FIRST BEFORE YOU STARTED TALKING ABOUT LONGER DEVELOPMENT ISSUES AS WELL. BUT, UH, IT MADE ME GO TO A QUOTE I WAS LOOKING AT HERE ON MY PHONE TO SAY, SOMETIMES, UH, THE HARDEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE THE ONES MOST WORTH DOING. AND THAT'S, THIS IS HARD. THIS IS A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT APPROACH, BUT I AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT THAT DOING NOTHING, UM, AND STATUS QUO ISN'T SOMETHING THAT AS NEIGHBORS, WE'D, WE'D WANT THAT TO CONTINUE AS WELL, BECAUSE WE'RE SPENDING RESOURCES TODAY, UM, ADDRESSING THIS PROBLEM. SO IT, IT'S THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO TALK WITH PETE BECAUSE IF WE SEE A, A VISION OF THIS THAT WE CAN FOREGO SOME OF THOSE COSTS IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE WE HAVE AN INVESTMENT UPFRONT, THEN IT, THEN IT'S A BALANCE FOR US AS WE APPROACH THIS IN OUR BUDGET SEASON. SO I THINK WE OWE THIS BOARD THAT KIND OF LOOK AT IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF, OF WHAT ARE WE SPENDING TODAY, WHAT TYPE OF IMPACT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING FROM THIS ACTIVITY IN THOSE AREAS THAT IMPACT OUR RIDERSHIP AND IMPACT OUR ASSETS. AND THEN COME GIVE, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE, UH, THOSE THAT KIND OF LOOK FOR Y'ALL DURING THE BUDGET, UH, SEASON COMING FORWARD. SO THEN, UH, A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ESSENTIALLY WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING, THIS IS THE COST THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONTINUING, UM, ACTIVATION, UH, OR NON ACTIVATION OF THE AREA. RIGHT? UM, AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING DONE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE TRANSIT PRIORITIES, BUT THERE IS, LIKE YOU SAID, A, A LARGER, UH, VALUATION OF VIA HAVING INTEREST IN THE AREA, UM, KNOWING THAT OTHER STAKEHOLDERS ARE GONNA BE ALSO INVOLVED, UM, IN THIS, UH, I, I'D LOVE TO SEE HOW THE BOARD CAN BE INVITED, UM, TO THE VISIONING SESSION, UM, AT SEPARATE MOMENTS TOGETHER. UH, I KNOW THIS IS, UH, END OF THIS YEAR, I WOULD SAY VISIONING SESSION. WOULD YOU SAY THAT'S GONNA BE COMPLETED OR BY Q1 2027? LEMME ME LOOK OVER TO MY, UH, CONSULTING PART. MEETING STARTS, UH, NEXT WEEK. YEAH. SO NEXT, ALL OF JUNE IS VISIONING, RIGHT? UH, YEAH, SO FOR PUBLIC MEETING FOR JUNE, VISIONING IS JUNE 11 OR 13. SO THERE MAY, UH, TO THE PUBLIC. SO MAYBE, UH, SOMETIME IN [01:20:01] Q3, Q4 COMING BACK TO THIS BOARD FOR AN UPDATE, IF IT'S HELPFUL. UM, ALONG WITH THE SILVER LINE UPDATE, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING OF AN OPPORTUNITY, IF NOT TO COMMITTEE, UM, AT THE VERY LEAST, JOHN GARY. SURE. THAT WAY WE SEE WHERE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES LIE FOR, UH, CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP. YEAH. UH, TRUSTEE DEION, UH, THANK YOU. YES. UH, JUST VERY QUICKLY, I KNOW FUNDING IS ALWAYS THE MAIN ISSUE OF TRYING TO GET ANY PROJECT DONE OR STARTED, BUT ARE YOU ALSO GOING FOR FOUNDATIONS ASKING FOR GRANTS TO HELP FUND THE PRO PROGRAM? WE ARE LOOKING AT PHILANTHROPIC OPPORTUNITIES. UM, OKAY. DEFINITELY. ARE THERE ANY LOCAL, ARE THEY ALL, UH, I WOULD, I GUESS I WOULD PREFER NOT TO. UH, THAT'S FINE. I GOT IT. . THANK YOU. BUT YEAH, WE ARE DOING OUR BEST. WE'RE TRYING. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SORRY, ONE MORE. YES. VICE CHAIR GOMEZ. UH, THANK YOU, PETE. THE 13 POINT SOMETHING MILLION YOU REFERRED TO, THAT'S FOR THE PROGRAM OF RELOCATING THE POPULATION AT CATTLEMAN SQUARE TO APPROPRIATE SERVICES, RIGHT. TO HOUSING IT. THAT, THAT DOESN'T EVEN BEGIN TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF PREPARING FOR INVESTMENT IN THE ASSETS AND PROPERTIES AROUND CATTLEMAN SQUARE. CORRECT? NO PRE-DEVELOPMENT DOLLARS. NO. THAT'S A WHOLE SEPARATE ITEM. THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S A WHOLE SEPARATE THING. THAT'S RIGHT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT RETURN ON INVESTMENT, RIGHT. I, I TAKE IT BACK TO THIS SLIDE HERE THAT SHOWS THE CONTEXT OF WHAT, WHAT WE FOUND IN, IN DALLAS, UM, AND WHAT THEY WERE SPENDING, UM, ON WORKING WITH THE POPULATION WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING UP, UM, UH, GOING UP WITH KOON MINISTRIES AND, AND, UH, SOME CITY FOLKS, UM, TO, TO DALLAS ACTUALLY TO MEET WITH THE FOLKS WHO IMPLEMENTED THIS PLAN UP IN DALLAS, TO LOOK AT SOME OF WHERE, WHERE THEY SAW SUCCESS AND WHERE THEY DIDN'T. AND TO HELP LEARN AND HELP ADJUST THE PLAN BEFORE WE FINALIZE IT. SO WE'RE GONNA SPEND THREE DAYS IN DALLAS MEETING WITH A, A CONTINUUM OF FOLKS, UM, AND I'M GONNA TRY TO GET OUT TO FORT WORTH AS WELL. 'CAUSE THEY ALSO IMPLEMENTED AN ACT TEAM IN FORT WORTH. UM, AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S A PROCESS OF CONTINUALLY LEARNING, TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT AND TRYING TO DO BETTER THAN OTHER COMMUNITIES AND, AND LEARN FROM WHAT THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED, TRY TO DO BETTER. SO, SO AT WHAT POINT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL HAVE A WORKING PLAN, OR AT LEAST ON ALLY THINKING YEAH. TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. YEAH, RIGHT. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UM, I'M GONNA GO BACK TO OUR, OUR TIMELINE HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS FOR DELIVERING THIS IS GOING TO BE JANUARY OF 2027. UM, WE HOPE TO HAVE, UM, RUN FEASIBILITY AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, UM, ON THE AREAS THAT WE HAVE VISIONED BECAUSE THERE'S NO USE PUTTING FORTH A VISION IF IT'S ACTUALLY NOT ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. RIGHT. UM, AND I THINK THAT'S A, A BIG LESSON THAT WE'VE LEARNED, UM, IN, IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS IN DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE WORKED IN, UH, THROUGHOUT OUR CITY. UM, SO THAT IS PART OF WHAT OUR CONSULTING TEAM IS HIRED TO DO. THEY HAVE A WHOLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM THAT'S LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS AND THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THESE PLANS. UM, ALAMO ARCHITECTS IS HELPING US WITH THE, UM, THE, THE MASSING EFFORTS AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ACTUAL DESIGN EFFORTS OF THE VARIOUS SITES. UM, WE HOPE WE CAN INCLUDE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE VIA ASSETS AND, AND KIND OF THAT, THAT MODELING OF WHAT CAN BE, WHAT, WHAT CAN BE VISIONED. UM, AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THIS PROCESS. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. NO OTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OH, ONE MORE QUESTION, TRUSTEE DELEON. SO I ASSUME YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE NEW ROADS AND NEW INFRASTRUCTURE. WELL, I THINK, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE'S CRI CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, UM, TO WHAT THE FUTURE OF, OF THIS AREA IS GOING TO BE. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE IS PRIORITY NUMBER ONE, , RIGHT? I MEAN, VIA IS THE BIGGEST ASSET RIGHT THERE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO TRANSIT ORIENTED. YOU'RE THE TRANSIT IN TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. SO YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS PRIORITY, RIGHT? BUT WE ALSO NEED TO SEE WHAT MAKES A WALKABLE COMMUNITY, WHAT MAKES A SAFER COMMUNITY? UM, WHAT ARE SOME TRAFFIC CALMING THINGS? DO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, AT, UH, AT, AT, I, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO ESTIMATE WHAT WE COULD BE LOOKING AT, BUT THERE IS A LOT WITHIN THE URBAN SPACE AND THE URBAN PLANNING SPACE, UM, THAT WE CAN DO TO ACHIEVE THE VISION OF COMMUNITY. AND SO WE HAVE TO FINISH THAT PROCESS AND THEN START PUTTING PEN TO PAPER, START MODELING THINGS AND SEEING WHAT ARE THE ACTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE WE GET OUT THE LEGOS, RIGHT? [01:25:01] AND START LOOKING AT WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO ACTUALLY SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE CONNECTING AND SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE BUILT, UM, AND TO WHAT CAPACITY IT NEEDS TO BE BUILT. AND SO PART OF IT IS LOOKING AT THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE CONDITIONS, UM, AND LOOKING AT THE DELTA OF WHERE WE NEED TO BE. AND WE DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT YET, BUT WE'RE GOING TO NO, THAT'S GOOD. I MEAN, IT BROUGHT UP ANOTHER QUESTION I MIGHT HAVE , UH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THIS TIMELINE RIGHT HERE, WELL, WE GOT AN HOUR TO THE SPURS GAME. I, I KNOW. UM, BUT I'M ALSO COGNIZANT OF, AGAIN, MY REQUEST TO VIA STAFF. AND AT THE SAME TIME, I'M PERPLEXED BECAUSE IT, IT'S BRINGING HALF THE PLAN TO VIA, BECAUSE YOU WON'T HAVE THE, THE PLANNING SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT PHASE COMPLETED BEFORE THE END OF OUR BUDGET CYCLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION. SO THAT IS A CHALLENGE. I, AT LEAST FOR ME PERSONALLY, OKAY. TO SEE HOW MUCH RESOURCES, UH, VIA CAN PROPOSE ALTOGETHER. BUT AGAIN, STAFF, Y'ALL ARE THE EXPERTS OVER HERE AND WORKING WITH, UH, YOU GUYS. AND MAYBE THERE'S A PHASED APPROACH, UM, TO HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK, UH, HAND IN HAND MM-HMM . UH, BUT KNOWING HOW, UM, FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WE NEED TO BE WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE IN HAND HERE TOO. UH, UH, I, YOU KNOW, I, I'M GONNA BE COGNIZANT OF THE COMMITMENTS, UM, BEFORE BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION AND THEN, UM, AFTERWARDS AS WELL. OKAY? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING BY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND I'LL LEAVE THESE PACKETS HERE FOR Y'ALL. THANK YOU. UH, AGENDA ITEM [6. Proposed August 2026 Service Changes – For information, discussion, and possible action regarding the proposed fixed route service changes to be implemented in August 2026. (ss)] NUMBER SIX, WE'RE GONNA GO MOVE ON TO THE PROPOSED AUGUST, 2026 SERVICE CHANGES. MR. SANDEEP, YOU GOT THE HOT SEAT, BUT YOU'VE BEEN IN A GREAT PLACE THIS WHOLE YEAR, SO YOU SHOULD BE CELEBRATING. YEP. OKAY. BOARD CHAIR AND THE MEMBER OF THE BOARD OP TRUSTEES. I AM SANDEEP SAN VICE PRESIDENT OF SERVICE PLANNING AND SCHEDULING. AND WITH ME, I HAVE MARY WIRTH, VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, AND WE WILL PRESENT THE PROPOSED AUGUST, 2026 SERVICE CHANGES FOR INFORMATION, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION BY THE VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES. OUR FOCUS IS TO CREATE A SYSTEM THAT IS FREQUENT, DIRECT, CONVENIENT, AND SIMPLE FOR A BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. ALIGNING WITH OUR ORGANIZATIONAL PILLARS, YOU ARE PROVIDING FREQUENT AND CONS CONSISTENT SERVICE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. IMPROVEMENT ON THE ROUTES WILL GIVE THE COMMUNITIES ACCESS TO MORE G PHARMACIES AND JOBS IN THE REGION. THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGE IMPROVEMENTS WILL LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN OPPORTUNITIES FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE BUS OPERATORS. THIS IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH IS BASED ON BETTER BUS PLAN, WILL ALLOW US TO GREATLY IMPROVE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF OUR MOST COST EFFICIENT FORM OF TRANSIT. AS OF MAY, 2026, WE IMPLEMENTED 24% OF THE BE BUSS PLAN IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, AND ADDITIONAL 20% IN JANUARY, 2026. AND AN ADDITIONAL 21% WAS IMPLEMENTED ON MAY 4TH, 2026, MAKING IT A TOTAL OF 65% OF THE BETA BUSS PLAN, FIXED ROUTE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2026, WE BUDGETED 63% OF THE BETA BUSS PLAN, UH, PLAN COMPLETION. BUT WITH THE GUIDANCE OF OUR CEO AND OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES, WE TRY TO EXPEDITE OUR SERVICE, UM, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN SIX YEARS. UM, SO WE ARE ADDING AN ADDITIONAL 5% OF THE BETTER BUSS PLAN IMPROVEMENT FOR AUGUST, 2026, MAKING IT A TOTAL OF 70% OF THE BETTER BUSS PLAN, FIXED ROUTE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGE. THERE WILL BE FIVE ROUTES IMPACTED AS DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN. DERIVED FROM THE BE BUSS PLAN. WE PROPOSE TO REALIGN ONE ROUTE, IMPROVE FREQUENCY ON TWO ROUTES, IMPROVE SPAN OF SERVICE ON TWO ROUTES, AND REPLACE ONE ROUTE WITH OTHER ROUTES FOR, FOR AUGUST, 2026. SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS, WE ARE IMPROVING THE SPAN OF SERVICE ON ROUTE 51 IMPROVED, IMPROVING THE FREQUENCY AND SPAN OF SERVICE ON ROUTE 62 CORK. IMPROVING THE FREQUENCY ON ROUTE 89 POPULAR. WE ARE REALIGNING ROUTE 5 1 5 [01:30:01] SOUTH CROSS AND REPLACING 2 51 LINEUP WITH REGULAR 51 AND 62 ROUTES. SO WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS? IMPROVED CHANGES. THERE WILL BE 95,497 PEOPLE, UH, BENEFITING FROM THIS SERVICE. CHANGES. THERE WILL BE 76,000 JOBS, WHICH IS ACCESSIBLE WITH THIS SERVICE CHANGES. UH, 25,000 LOW INCOME PEOPLE, 87,400 MINORITY PEOPLE, 4,200 CAR FREE HOUSEHOLDS, AND 13,000, UH, 400 SENIORS WHO ARE 65 AND ABOVE WILL BENEFIT FROM THE SERVICE CHANGES. SO, GOING, GOING OVER THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, UM, WHICH HAPPENED BETWEEN MAY 10TH TO MAY 22ND, 2026, THERE WERE SIX POPUPS, UM, UH, UH, RIDE AND ROUTE EVENTS, UM, WHERE WE MET WITH 1,510 DIRECT CUSTOMER CONTACTS. THERE WAS ONE PUBLIC HEARING, WHICH WAS DONE, UM, BUT FOUR PEOPLE ATTENDED THAT PUBLIC HEARING. 13 COMMENTS RECEIVED 11 BY EMAIL, UH, ONE THROUGH WEBSITE, AND ONE THROUGH WRITTEN CARD AND VOICEMAIL. UH, THE SUMMARY OF THE SERVICE CHANGE COMMENTS, UH, PEOPLE WANTED MORE FREQUENT SERVICE REQUEST FOR MORE FREQUENCY ON ROUTE 62 89 AND 5 1 5, AND THERE WERE REQUESTS FOR SERVICE INTO THE LATE NIGHT. UH, WE WELCOME LATE NIGHT SERVICE ON ROUTE 62 AND 89, REQUEST FOR MORE LATE NIGHT SERVICE TO ROUTES 90 AND 5 1 5. I'LL BE PRESENTING THE CUSTOMER COMMUNITY OUTREACH, UH, INITIATIVES. I'M GONNA TAKE YOU THROUGH THREE PHASES. WE STARTED WITH OUR COMMENT PERIOD BETWEEN MAY 10TH THROUGH MAY 22ND, UH, WITH A PUBLIC HEARING, AS SANDEEP MENTIONED, AS WELL AS, UH, SIX POP-UP EVENTS. UH, WE HAD TARGETED COMMUNITY OUTREACH AT TRANSIT POP-UPS, AND RIDE THE ROUTE AND BILINGUAL LEGAL NOTICES. WE HAVE DIGITAL PROMOTIONS, UH, WEBSITES, SOCIAL MEDIA ON BUS SCREENS AND PAID ADS. WE HAD PRINTED MATERIALS WITH QR CODES FOR VIRTUAL COMMENTS. AND ON OUR WEBSITE, WE HAD OUR BILINGUAL EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS PER ROUTE DURING THE PRE-LAUNCH PERIOD, WHICH WE'RE IN NOW. UM, OUR BY TOMORROW, DEPENDING ON THE VOTE TODAY, THE WEBSITE WILL BE READY TO GO. WE'LL CONTINUE WITH DIGITAL PROMOTIONS, SOCIAL MEDIA, BROADCAST, AND TARGETED COMMUNITY OUTREACH WITH C*****G SOON. MESSAGE AT STOP NOTICES, E-BLAST AND ROCK CARDS WITH COMING SOON. MESSAGES, TARGETED COMMUNITY OUTREACH WITH OUR CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE, GEO-TARGETED AND BROAD REACH, AB ADVERTISING WILL START, UH, OUR PAID EFFORTS WILL START AUGUST 10TH. AND THEN AS WE MOVE INTO THE LAUNCH PERIOD, EVERYTHING THAT I JUST MENTIONED AS FAR AS PAID MEDIA WILL CONTINUE, BUT WITH, ITS AN, IT'S HERE RIDE ON MESSAGE. THE CALL CENTER WILL HAVE BE PREPARED WITH SCRIPTS, SO WE'LL HAVE CALL CENTER READINESS AND CONTINUED GEOTARGETING AND BROAD REACH ADVERTISING. ANY QUESTIONS, SIR? GOING OVER THE TIMELINE, THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGE WAS PRESENTED, UH, TO THE BOARD AT THE APRIL, 2026 BOARD MEETING FOR INFORMATION PUB, PUBLIC OUTREACH AND COMMENT, PD STARTED, UH, AFTER THE APRIL BOARD MEETING. I'M PRESENTING THIS INFORMATION TO THE BOARD TODAY AT THE MAY BOARD MEETING FOR THE BOARD TO TAKE ACTION, PUBLIC INFORMATION TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE APPROVED SERVICE CHANGE BEFORE AND AFTER. IMPLEMENTATION WILL START AFTER THE BOARD MEETING. SERVICE WILL BE IMPLEMENTED ON AUGUST 24TH, 2026. SO I'M REQUESTING THE VIA BOARD, UM, TO MOVE TO APPROVE THE PROVOST SERVICE CHANGES, UH, FOR AUGUST, 2020. UH, SIX. UH, TRUSTEE FLORES. OH, I WAS JUST GONNA MAKE A MOTION. MADAM CHAIR. OH, ARE WE, WE GOOD TO GO. ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? I'LL SECOND . MOTION. SECOND. WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? NO. OKAY. THAT WAS GONNA MAKE THE MOTION. AND THEN THE SECOND . OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY FAVOR? UH, OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. GOOD JOB. AND THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN. RIGHT THERE. SEE, YOU PUT A CHALLENGE RIGHT BEFORE YOU AND YOU MADE IT. GOOD JOB. THANK YOU. UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER [7. Financial Updates - Monthly / Quarterly Financial Reports ] SEVEN, FINANCIAL UPDATES. AND NOW HERE WE HAVE A ANNOUNCEMENT TO BE MADE HERE. IT'S NOT CUPCAKES, . SO, UM, THIS WILL BE JERMAINE'S LAST MEETING, UH, WITH US. SO, UM, JERMAINE HAS, UH, GOT AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, BACK IN [01:35:01] HOUSTON, UH, WHERE HIS FAMILY IS. AND, UH, HE HAS LET US KNOW AS MUCH AS HE LOVED HIS TIME HERE, HE IS, WILL BE MOVING ON FROM HERE. BUT I WANTED TO PUBLICLY THANK HIM FOR HIS TIME THAT HE HAS SPENT HELPING US, UH, RAISE THE BAR, UH, IN OUR FINANCIALS AND IN OUR APPROACH TO OUR FINANCIALS AT A VERY CRITICAL JUNCTURE FOR THIS AGENCY. AND JERMAINE, THANK YOU. UH, WE'RE GONNA MISS YOU, BUT WE STILL HAVE YOUR NUMBER , SO WE KNOW HOW TO FIND YOU. SO, UH, JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT TO THE BOARD, UH, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT, UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR MAIN'S TIME HERE AT VIA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. AND, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY BEFORE I JUST STARTED, SO REALLY THANK YOU, THE, UH, BOARD FOR YOUR RELATIONSHIP HERE. I'VE NEVER PRESENTED TO A BOARD ON A MONTHLY BASIS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT YOU ALL ENGAGE WITH THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AND EVERYTHING MAKES IT REALLY PLEASURABLE. AND SO APPRECIATE YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU. SO, I'M JERMAINE CHUBB. UM, I'LL BE PRESENTING THE MONTHLY, UH, FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS. UM, THIS, UH, EVENING HERE AND TOGETHER I HAVE WITH ME JOHN BULL BASIS, THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONAL OVERSIGHT EFFICIENCY. I'LL BE FOLLOWING UP ON SOME, UH, ITEMS THAT, UH, MADAM CHAIR HAD ASKED TO FOLLOW UP ON PREVIOUS BOARD MEETINGS. WONDERFUL. AND SO, MADAM CHAIR AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES, I'LL DROP RIGHT INTO THE, UH, STATEMENT AND NET POSITION HERE. YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THIS PARTICULAR PAGE HERE THAT OUR, UM, OUR TOTAL ASSETS AND DEFERRED, UM, OUTFLOW OF RESOURCES HERE STOOD AT 1.25, $1 BILLION. THEY'RE DOWN, UM, $36.9 MILLION. UH, THIS, UH, THIS DECREASE IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO, UH, UM, CURRENT ASSETS. THEY WERE ACTUALLY UP $37 MILLION. UH, WE HAD A, UM, INCREASE IN OUR UNRESTRICTED CASH IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA. THIS WAS DRIVEN BY OUR 53 0 7 FEDERAL GRANT AWARD, UH, AWARDS. OUR SALES TAXES WERE UP 6.8 MILLION. OTHER RECEIVABLES UP 0.3. UM, THESE INCREASES WERE OFFSET BY, UM, DECREASES IN OUR FEDERAL GRANT RECEIVABLE, 27.3 MILLION INVENTORY, 1.6. AND, UM, CASH AND DEBT SERVICE, 0.2, WE HAD NON-CURRENT ASSETS WE'RE DOWN 77.5 MILLION. AND THIS IS, UH, DUE TO DEBT PAID IN AUGUST, FISCAL YEAR OF 25. AND, UH, JANUARY FISCAL YEAR 26. THIS WAS, UH, $6.5 MILLION IMPACT. WE HAD USE OF, UH, TECH STOCK GRANT FUNDS WAS, UH, 11 POINT, UH, 1 MILLION OF THAT. WE SAW A LARGE DECREASE IN OUR, UM, RESTRICTED CASH FROM OUR CONSTRUCTION FUND THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN FISCAL YEAR 24. THAT WAS, UH, $63.6 MILLION, AND THEN BOND RESERVE DOWN 2.9. UM, WE ALSO HAD CAPITAL ASSETS UP, UM, 37 MILLION. THIS IS DUE TO ASSETS THAT WERE PLACED IN SERVICE. AND A CIP OF 100 POINT, UM, 104.7 OFFSET BY A NORMAL MONTHLY DEPRECIATION OF, UH, 67.7 MILLION. AND THEN OUR DEFERRED OUTFLOWS ARE DOWN, UM, 33.7 MILLION. AND THIS IS JUST A NORMAL MONTHLY AMORTIZATION OF OUR OUTFLOWS ASSOCIATED WITH PENSION AND OPAB HERE. OUR TOTAL DEFERRED, UM, OUR TOTAL LIABILITIES AND DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES WERE, UH, THEY STOOD AT 519.3 MILLION, DOWN 32.7 MILLION. UH, THESE WERE PRIMARILY A REDUCTION IN LONG-TERM LIABILITIES. 54.3 MILLION DUE TO, UH, DECREASES IN BOND PLAY PAYABLE AND BONDS. PREMIUM OF ABOUT 16 MILLION, UH, PENSION AND OPED WAS DOWN ABOUT 47 MILLION. THEN LEASE LIABILITIES FOR, AND, UH, FOR VEHICLES DOWN 14.5, UH, THAT DECREASE WAS OFFSET BY AN INCREASE IN DEFERRED INFLOWS OF, UH, 18 MILLION. AND THIS IS JUST ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, AGAIN, MONTHLY AMORTIZATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PENSION AND OPEP. UH, MOVING FORWARD HERE TO OUR TREASURY OVERVIEW, YOU CAN SEE HERE AT THE END OF APRIL, WE STOOD AT 690.9 MILLION IN, UH, TOTAL CASH RESERVES. THIS WAS DOWN 22.6 MILLION. I WILL NOTE HERE THAT, UH, WE HAVE, UH, BOND RE, I'M SORRY, GRANT REIMBURSEMENTS OUTSTANDING. SO THAT LARGER, UH, REDUCTION THAT YOU SEE HERE WILL BE OFFSET, UH, NEXT MONTH. UH, AND SO IT'S JUST SOMEWHAT OF A TIMING, UH, ISSUE RELATED TO THE, UH, CASH FLOWS. OUR ACTUAL, UH, DAYS, CASH ON HAND, UH, THEY WERE DOWN 29 DAYS AS WELL, BUT WE STOOD AT 559 DAYS, WHICH ARE, UH, WELL ABOVE THE 120 DAY REQUIREMENT THAT WE HAVE AS A BOARD HERE. IN TERMS OF INTEREST, EARN IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER, OUR ACTUAL YEAR TO DATE INTEREST EARN WAS, UH, 14.5 MILLION. AND SO THAT'S ABOUT 5.4 MILLION, UH, GREATER THAN THE BUDGET FOR THE PERIOD. AND, UH, WE'RE FORECASTING ALMOST $26 MILLION FOR THE YEAR, WHICH IS, UM, UH, WELL ABOVE THE 15.6 MILLION FOR THE FULL BUDGET. AGAIN, OUR TOTAL CASH RESERVES ARE HIGHER, AND THEN OUR INTEREST, UM, RATE THAT WE'RE EARNING ON THE CASH IS HIGHER AS WELL. CONTRIBUTING TO THAT INCREASE THERE. IN TERMS OF OUR INCOME [01:40:01] STATEMENT HERE, UH, YEAR TO DATE, REVENUE STOOD AT A 25.7 MILLION HERE. AND SO, UH, THIS WAS, UM, 37 POINT, UH, 4 MILLION HIGHER THAN OUR BUDGET HERE. UM, I WON'T GO OVER THE PARTICULAR DETAILS FOR THE, UH, REVENUE. THIS IS AT IN OUR APPENDIX, UH, SECTION HERE. AND THEN FOR THE, UM, THE EXPENSE CATEGORY, WE STILL HAD 204.2 MILLION. AND THIS WAS, AGAIN, ABOVE OUR, UM, BUDGETED EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR. AND SO, UM, CERTAINLY YOU HAVE INCREASES OF REVENUE ARE HELPING US WITH THOSE ADDITIONAL EXPENSES THAT WE, UM, SEE, UH, WE ARE INCURRING ACROSS THE YEAR. BUT ALL IN ALL, UH, STRONG FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OVERALL FOR, UH, VIA YEAR TO DATE. LOOKING AT THE, UH, SALES TAX, UH, TREND HERE, UH, YOU CAN SEE OVER TO THE LEFT OF THIS PARTICULAR TABLE, WE JUST HAVE THE MTA AND A TD, UH, ONE REVENUE STREAMS BECAUSE WE, WE HAVE A 12 YEAR, UM, I'M SORRY, A 12 MONTH ROLLING FORECAST HERE. AND WE DON'T WANNA BRING IN THE A TD TWO, UH, REVENUE STREAM WHEN DOING THIS ANALYSIS. WE'RE ESSENTIALLY TRYING TO SEE HERE, WE BUDGETED FOR FLAT GROWTH IN, UM, SALES TAXES. WE HAD COMMUNICATION WITH THE BOARD PREVIOUSLY, AGAIN, THAT THIS IS A VERY, UH, SENSITIVE INPUT FOR V WHEN IT RELATES TO THE LONGER TERM PLANS FOR THE ORGANIZATION. SO 4%, UH, SALES TAX GROWTH FOR THE YEARS ARE VERY STRONG FOR US, CONSIDERING THAT WE BUDGETED FOR FLAT GROWTH. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR LONGER TERM PLANS, WE ARE IN THE FOUR TO 4.5%, UH, RANGE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE EXPECT SALES TAXES TO BE. AND SO WE'RE JUST DEVELOPING A COMFORT LEVEL, IF YOU WOULD, THAT GET INTO THAT 4% FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. OF COURSE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR VIEW WITH THE, UH, A TD TWO REVENUE STREAM INCLUDED, THEN WE'RE UP 9.8% THAT YOU SEE IN THAT BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER. I'M GONNA MOVE IT ON TO A DISCUSSION ON, UH, VIA TRANS, AND THIS IS WHY I, DR. BROUGHT, UH, JOHN B HERE FOR THAT PARTICULAR DISCUSSION BEFORE I PICK IT BACK UP. GREAT. THANK YOU, JERMAINE. GONNA BE WELL MISSED. GOOD. UH, MADAM CHAIR. GOOD. UH, GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, UH, AS A FOLLOW UP FROM OUR LAST CONVERSATION, LAST BOARD MEETING, YOU HAD ASKED, UH, FOR SOME PARTICULAR INFORMATION AND SOME DETAILS. AND OUR, I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE THAT TO YOU, SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, . GOOD. UH, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE ACTUAL ON TIME PERFORMANCE, I THOUGHT IT'D BE RELEVANT IF WE COULD JUST GIVE A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON OUR GROWTH OVER THE PAST, UH, YEAR, AND PARTICULARLY LOOKING BACK FROM 2019 TO OUR PRE COVID TO WHERE WE STAND NOW AND WHERE WE ANTICIPATE GOING. SO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE NEXT, OVER THE LAST FOUR MONTHS, OUR RIDERSHIP HAS INCREASED FROM THE PRIOR YEAR FROM 2025 TO 2026. OUR YEAR OVER YEAR NET GAIN HAS BEEN ABOUT 5.7% FOR OUR PARATRANSIT OPERATION. UH, WE ANTICIPATE, UH, ABOUT 11% GROWTH YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, FROM 20 25, 20 26 TO THE OPERATING, UH, FISCAL YEAR COMING UP. UH, WE ANTICIPATE CLOSE TO, UH, 1.1 MILLION PASSENGERS. ADDITIONALLY, OUR AVERAGE MONTHLY APPLICATIONS, UH, THOSE ARE, UH, THE RIDERS THAT ARE APPLYING FOR APPLICATIONS FOR OUR VIA TRANS PROGRAMS, HAS GROWN ABOUT 110%. FOR EXAMPLE, IN 2020 TO CURRENT YEAR, UH, WE WERE PROCESSING ABOUT A 168 APPLICANTS PER MONTH. THAT NUMBER IS UP TO 150, EXCUSE ME, 353 PER MONTH. UH, ADDITIONALLY, UH, OUR RIDERSHIP NUMBERS HAVE INCREASED DRASTICALLY FROM OUR PRE COVID NUMBERS, UH, AND CONTINUALLY TO RISE AND GROW. ANYBODY HAVE ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS ON THIS CHART? JUST A LITTLE HISTORY IN THE BACKGROUND. OKAY, GOOD. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. GOOD. SO WHAT WE'VE PUT UP HERE IS OUR ON TIME PERFORMANCE FOR, UH, THE MONTH OF, UH, APRIL. AND I WANT TO GO BACK AND, AND DISCUSS ON TIME PERFORMANCE IS WHAT WE MEASURE, UH, FROM THE PICKUP TIME. THE SCHEDULED PICKUP TIME. WE GO 10 MINUTES PRIOR TO 20 MINUTES AFTER. SO AS YOU COULD SEE, UH, FROM 20 FROM THIS, THIS PAST MONTH, WE WERE 87.7%. AND IF YOU BREAK THAT APART INTO OUR, UH, OUR VIA TRANS OPERATION WAS 88.7. OUR PARTNERS AT MV WERE 86.7, AND OUR PARTNERS AT ZTRIP WERE 91.4. UH, NOW IF YOU KIND OF BREAK THOSE NUMBERS DOWN INDIVIDUALLY, YOU COULD SEE A YEAR OVER YEAR GROWTH INCREASE, NOT ONLY IN THE BOARDINGS, BUT THE SERVICE HOURS HAVE INCREASED, WHICH HAVE MARGINALLY CAUSED, YOU KNOW, UH, SOME OF THIS DISRUPTION THAT WE'VE SEEN WITH OUR EXPANSION AND OUR O OPERATION AND OUR GROWTH. WHAT'S HELD CONSTANT IS THE SAME NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WE'VE OPERATED OVER THE PAST, UH, FOUR YEARS. SO OUR GROWTH HAS GONE UP. OUR CURRENT NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WE'RE OPERATING ON, OUR, ALL OF OUR BUSINESS MODELS HAVE STAYED CONSTANT. UH, WE'VE, WE'RE ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. UH, WE, WE MEET EVERY WEEK AND DISCUSS WHAT OUR, OUR OPERATIONAL PLANS ARE. WE'VE, UH, SOUGHT HELP WITH OUR PARTNERS WITH [01:45:01] MV AND ZTRIP. THEY'VE COME UP WITH SOME HELPING WITH OUR SCHEDULE AND SCHEDULE OF CHANGING. AND IT WAS ALSO OUR NEW, UH, PLATFORM. OUR SERVICE PLATFORM WITH RIDE CO IS GONNA HELP US A LOT TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFICIENT TO PICK UP PASSENGERS AND HELP US WITH OUR ROUTING. WE SEE A LOT OF INTERRUPTIONS WITH SOME OF OUR ROUTING SOFTWARE THAT HAVE REALLY CONTRIBUTED TO A LOT OF THIS. UH, ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, EXPERIENCED WEATHER DELAYS, ENVIRONMENTAL DELAYS, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, LOADINGS CAN BE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THREE, FOUR MINUTES TO, UH, TO SECURE A PASSENGER PROPERLY. SO ALL THOSE TAKE INTO TIME INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE'RE, UH, WHEN WE'RE MOVING PASSENGERS AROUND SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY. SO, ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS ON THIS? AND WE, AND WE CONTINUE, MADAM CHAIR, TO MONITOR THIS, UH, EVERY DAY. WE HAVE A SERVICE, UH, UH, PLATFORM THAT WE LOOK AT EVERY DAY. WE MONITOR IT WEEKLY, MONTHLY, AND QUARTERLY. SO WE'VE HAD SEEN SOME POSITIVE CHANGES OVER THE LAST THREE, FOUR WEEKS. UH, SO I'M, I'M ANTICIPATING OUR MAIN NUMBERS WILL BE IN THE NINETIES. GOOD. MADAM CHAIR GOMEZ. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. UH, CAN WE GO BACK TO THE SLIDE THAT SHOWS THE NUMBERS, THE INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP FOR VIA TRANS? I'M SORRY, YOU MESSED ME UP. LET ME KNOW WHEN I'M THERE. RIGHT THERE, YEAH. YEAH. THE, THOSE ARE SOME HUGE NUMBERS. YES, SIR. UM, I ASSUME WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO HAVE ABSORBED THOSE NUMBERS YET. WE'RE WORKING ON IT. YES. YES. WE'RE THE, THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES. UM, BUT IT, IT, IT ISN'T AN ANSWER THAT, UM, I GUESS IT'S, IT TAKES TIME FOR US TO GET THE RESOURCES INTO PLACE TO CATCH UP TO THE GROWTH. SO THE GROWTH HAS OUTPACED OUR CAPACITY. YES, SIR. SO WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THAT COME INTO THE SYMPTOMS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN, IN THE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW. YEP. ON TIME PERFORMANCE USUALLY GETS IMPACTED BY THAT. OUR CALL CENTER STATISTICS ALSO START GETTING IMPACTED BY THAT AS WELL. UH, THEN YOU'LL SEE OUR SYSTEM CATCH UP TO THAT, AND THEN WE WILL, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A, A PRETTY SMOOTH ASPECT, BUT IT CONTINUES TO STAIR STEP BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T SEEMED TO HAVE CAPTURED THAT, UM, THAT, UH, CAP YET. OR AT LEAST THE, THE, THE CEILING. CORRECT. UM, IT IN APTA CONFERENCE LAST WEEK, IN, IN, UH, WHEN WE GET TOGETHER WITH OUR FELLOW NATIONAL, UH, MORE FELLOW TRANSIT AGENCIES ON A, FROM, ON A NATIONAL SCALE, EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT THE SILVER WAVE. AND EVERYBODY INCLUDING US IS SEEING THESE TYPE OF INCREASES, UM, FOR THEIR PARATRANSIT SERVICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. O ONE OTHER INTERESTING STATISTIC, UM, THAT I WANNA NOTE ON THE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE, SIR, IS 58% OF THE PASSENGERS, UM, LET ME REPHRASE THAT. UH, WE, WE MEASURE THE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE FROM 10 MINUTES PRIOR TO 20 MINUTES AFTER. SO FROM 21 MINUTES TO 30 MINUTES, THAT NINE MINUTE WINDOW, WE PICK UP, UH, 58% OF THE PASSENGERS IN THAT LITTLE TIMEFRAME. SO IF WE CAN MOVE THAT NEEDLE TO THE LEFT A LITTLE BIT, THIS CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, IS, IS POINTED IN A LITTLE BIT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DIRECTION. SO WE'RE VERY CLOSE AND THERE ARE DAYS AND WEEKS WHERE WE GO SUPERBLY, BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR US. WE WANT TO CONTINUALLY WORK TO GET BETTER, BUT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH HISTORY YET ON THE GROWTH OF RIDERSHIP TO KNOW WHERE THAT CAP IS GOING TO. THAT'S CORRECT. STABILIZE CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. BUT A GOOD BAROMETER IS THE NUMBER OF MONTHLY APPLICATIONS THAT WE'RE TAKING. RIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERY ONE OF THOSE APPLICATIONS CORRELATES TO BE A DAY-TO-DAY RIDER, BUT THEY'RE IN THE SYSTEM. SO WE HAVE TO REALLY PLAN AND ACCOUNT FOR THAT ACCORDINGLY. THANK YOU. MADAM CHAIR. TRUSTEE ELTA. YES, MA'AM. YES, SIR. I'M VERY IMPRESSED AS A NEW BOARD MEMBER OF, OF YOUR GRAPHICS THAT ARE HERE. AND I'M VERY IMPRESSED BY THEM. AND I KNOW YOU HAVE A CHALLENGE, BUT WHEN YOU TOLD ME THAT Y'ALL MONITOR DAILY YES, MA'AM. WEEKLY AND EVERYTHING, I THINK YOU'RE ON TOP OF THE GAME, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. I HAD, WE HAD SOME HELP, SOME PROFESSIONAL HELP PUTTING THESE SLIDES TOGETHER. . OKAY. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. JUST REAL QUICK, UM, BEFORE YOU GO TO THIS, UH, NEXT, WHAT IS VIA TREND'S, UM, MAKE UP OF OUR BOOK OF BUSINESS, ESSENTIALLY FOR THE THREE SERVICES THAT WE OFFER, CAN, CAN YOU, UH, VIA LINK, UH, BETTER BUS VIA TRENDS? YOU MEAN IN TERMS OF FIXED ROUTE? YES, FIXED ROUTE, PARA TRANSIT, AND MV. MADAM CHAIR, I CAN GET YOU THOSE BREAKDOWNS 'CAUSE I WANNA BE VERY PRECISE. CAN I GET YOU THAT THE NEXT OPERATION BALLPARK ARE, ARE YOU, LOOK, YOU'RE LOOKING AT RIDERSHIP PERCENTAGE WISE? RIDERSHIP. RIDERSHIP. OH. SO, UM, RIDERSHIP, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE AT ABOUT A MILLION A YEAR IN VIA TRANCE. 1,000,001. 1,000,001. YEAH. VIA LINK IS PROBABLY GONNA BE AT ABOUT A MILLION THIS YEAR. SO IT'S [01:50:01] ACTUALLY A LITTLE OVER A MILLION GROWN THE FASTEST, AND THEN 33 MILLION IS FIXED ROUTE. OKAY. TO PUT THOSE IN PERSPECTIVE. YEAH. SO OVERWHELMINGLY FIXED ROUTE IS STILL THE LARGEST, BUT FROM A CAPITAL EXPENDITURE PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS OH, ABSOLUTELY. UM, IT, IT, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE TOO, MAKE SURE MY MIC'S ON HERE. UM, OUR FIXER ROUTE CARRIES THE MOST SENIORS IN THE SYSTEM FOR SURE. 'CAUSE PARATRANSIT, YOU STILL HAVE TO QUALIFY FOR, AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE THAT QUALIFICATION THAT VERIFIES, ESSENTIALLY YOU'RE UNABLE TO TAKE OUR FIXED ROUTE SERVICE. UH, BUT MOST SENIORS TAKE OUR FIXED ROUTE SERVICE BY A, JUST A, A RAW NUMBER, A TOTAL VOLUME NUMBER, CORRECT. UH, BUT THEN IF THEY CANNOT TAKE OUR FIXED ROUTE, THEY COME OVER TO OUR, OUR PARATRANSIT SERVICE. GREAT. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. I, I DO HAVE A QUESTION. UM, I KNOW I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO KNOW OR TO DO PROJECTIONS, BUT IS THERE, DOES VIA TRANS HAVE SOME SORT OF METRIC THAT AT LEAST LIKE GOAL, OR MAYBE NOT A PROJECTION, BUT WHAT IS THE, THE GOAL WHERE YOU CAN MEASURE THIS AND CAN I CALCULATE A BIT BETTER ON HOW TO ACHIEVE OR PLAN YOUR RESOURCES? SO, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, BETTER BUS PLAN HAS SPECIFIC GOALS AND METRICS THAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH. WHAT IS, ARE, DOES VIA TRANSIT HAS ANYTHING SIMILAR THAT IS TRACKING AND THEN PLANNING AHEAD ON THESE GAPS? YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION, MA'AM. UH, WE DO HAVE SOME RESOURCES AND TOOLS. WE DO LOOK AT HISTORICAL DATA, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF EXPERIENCE, BUT WE KNOW DAYS OF THE WEEK, TYPES OF THE CERTAIN MONTHS, SCHOOL MONTHS SLOW DOWN. THERE'S CERTAIN MONTHS THAT ARE LESS PASSENGERS AND OTHER PASSENGERS. BUT WHAT WE DO DO, I MEAN, WE DO HAVE A RESERVATION SYSTEM THAT BOOKS FOUR DAYS OUT, SO WE CAN PLAN ACCORDINGLY, BUT LITERALLY SOME OF THOSE CHANGE THE DAY OF THE MORNING OF, THAT'S WHY WITH OUR NEW ROUTING SOFTWARE, IT'S A DYNAMIC CHANGE, SO IT'LL AUTOMATICALLY CHANGE THE MANIFEST IN THE VEHICLE. SO A DRIVER, AN OPERATOR WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO PICK UP THREE OTHER PEOPLE IF SOMEBODY WERE TO CANCEL. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THE SLICK ADVANTAGES OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, AND IT'LL REALLY HELP US SERVICE THE RIDING PUBLIC IN A MORE EFFICIENT MANNER. OKAY. GREAT. SURE. OKAY. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. UH, THE OTHER, I'M SORRY, GO RIGHT AHEAD. WE HAD, WE HAD ANOTHER, UH, METRIC IN THERE ABOUT COMPLAINTS. MA'AM, DO YOU WANT TO GO BACK? YES. CODY, THAT THAT WAS, UH, ONE OF THE, UH, ITEMS THAT YOU HAD REQUESTED? SO, UH, AGAIN, LET'S JUST KIND OF POINT OUT, WE WENT THROUGH THIS IN, IN A LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL, AND WE, THERE'S, UH, A NUMBER OF BREAKDOWNS THAT THEY TAKE. UH, SO THE COMPLAINTS COME IN ON, BUT WE'VE TAKEN THE TOP THREE, WHICH IS OPERATOR BEHAVIOR, LATE ARRIVAL, AND EXCESSIVE TRIP TIME. THOSE CALCULATED TO BE THE TOP GETTERS OF WHAT GETS PEOPLE'S ATTENTION. SO IF WE LOOK AT A, UH, A YEAR OVER YEAR, YOU COULD SEE THAT, UM, UH, THE OPERATOR BEHAVIOR IN THE MONTH OF APRIL OF 25 WAS 40 FOR OUR PARTNERS AT MV, AND IT JUMPED UP TO 55. THIS KIND OF CORRELATES DIRECTLY WITH THE SERVICE HOURS AND THE AMOUNT OF TRIP VOLUME THAT THEY HAD. SAME WITH OUR OPERATOR BEHAVIOR, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, THE LAKE TIME HAS SLIGHTLY GONE DOWN. SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFICIENT. UH, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO PICK UP SOME MORE ROUTES FOR US. SO THERE'S, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT THEY'VE DONE AS A PARTNER TO HELP US, UH, SERVICE THE COMMUNITY A LITTLE, A LITTLE, A LITTLE BIT MORE TIMELIER. NOW, IF YOU DROP DOWN INTO, UH, THE VIA, UH, CATEGORY, OUR OPERATOR BEHAVIOR HAD HAD DROPPED BY TWO, UH, AND OUR LATE ARRIVALS HAVE GONE UP A LITTLE BIT. AGAIN, THIS CORRELATES WITH OUR TRIP VOLUME AS WELL. YEAH. SO, OPERATOR BEHAVIOR, WHAT, IT GOES BACK TO OUR CORE VALUES, JOHN GARY, OF, OF HOW WE WANT TO TREAT OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, AND HOW WE DEMONSTRATE, UM, A GOOD EXPERIENCE, UH, FOR OUR RIDERSHIP. AND I WOULD EXPECT THAT THERE ARE, UH, OR PRESUME THERE ARE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF HOW YOU CATEGORIZE BEHAVIOR YEAH. UM, AGAINST THE COMPLAINTS AND THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS PER DRIVER. YEP. UH, AND THEN CONSEQUENCES THEREAFTER. YEAH. YEAH. SO, ONE INTERESTING FACT, AND YOU KNOW, CURTIS AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS THE OTHER DAY, THAT, UH, WE LOOK AT ALL THE VIDEOS RELATED TO CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS. SO WE GET A LOT OF COMPLAINTS COME IN, THEY'RE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY. AND, UH, OUR CUSTOMER CARE, UH, PRISCILLA'S GROUP DOES A VERY GOOD JOB, UH, BREAKING DOWN ALL THE FILM FOOTBALL TERMINOLOGY HERE, LOOKING AT EVERYTHING IN DETAIL. UH, AND OF THAT, OF THOSE COMPLAINTS, ONLY 8% ARE ACTUALLY VALIDATED THAT THERE'S TRULY, UH, BEHAVIOR ISSUES THERE. SO SOMETIMES MAYBE PEOPLE TAKE THINGS OUT OF CONTEXT, MAKE A, SO, BUT WHEN WE, [01:55:01] AFTER WE INVESTIGATE IT, IT'S, UH, ROUGHLY 8%. AND, AND, AND MADAM CHAIR, I, I CAN ASSURE YOU TOO, THAT THERE HAVE BEEN DIRECT AND INTENTIONAL CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR, UH, OUR PARTNER. OH, YES, SIR. UH, WITH MB TRANSPORTATION PRIOR TO EVEN THIS PRESENTATION OF THIS INFORMATION, UH, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE SEEING, UH, RELATIVE TO FEEDBACK FROM OUR CUSTOMERS. YEAH. SO, UH, THAT IS INDEED SOMETHING OF CONVERSATIONS THAT I KNOW THAT ARE HAPPENING. YEAH. MADAM CHAIR, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THERE, CEO, UH, AS WELL AS THEIR EXECUTIVES HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH US FOR THE LAST TWO MONTHS. WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH VARIOUS ISSUES. SO IT'S NOT BEING, IT, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A BIG RED DOT, AND WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAINTAIN THE CONTROLLABILITY AND MANAGE IT. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. UH, WE HAVE ONE MORE FINAL SLIDE. YEP. IF I CAN. OH, THAT WAS IT. THAT WAS OKAY. SKIPPED OVER ONE. SO DID WE. YEAH, YOU'RE GOOD. GO BACK. NO, YOU'RE GOOD. YES, MA'AM. IS THAT GOOD? OKAY. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU, JOHN. MOVING ON TO THE, UH, PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD HERE. PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD FOR A BUS. OUR WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP COMPLAINTS, MECHANICAL RELIABILITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. THERE ARE BETTER THAN TARGET COLLISIONS IS, UH, BETTER THAN TARGET THROUGH APRIL. UH, THERE WERE SEVEN NON-PREVENTABLE AND FOUR PREVENTABLE BUS COLLISIONS, UH, REPORTED THROUGH APRIL. UH, THERE WERE NO MAJOR COLLISIONS, UH, FOR THE DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY MONTHS. OUR ON TIME PERFORMANCE AND COST EFFECT, UH, EFFECTIVENESS IS WITHIN TARGET RANGE THROUGH, UH, APRIL AS WELL. AND THEN COSTS ARE UP, UH, DUE TO ACCELERATED HIRING OF BUS OPERATORS, WHICH WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO THE BOARD ABOUT MOVING OUR STRATEGIC, UM, INITIATIVE FORWARD IN TERMS OF BETTER BUS PLAN. WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION AT THE MIDYEAR REVIEW. MOVING ON TO, UH, PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD FOR, UH, VIA TRANS, THE, UM, WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP COLLISIONS, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND COST EFFECTIVENESS, THEY'RE ALL BETTER THAN TARGET. OUR ON TIME PERFORMANCE AND MECHANICAL RELIABILITY ARE WITHIN THE TARGET RANGE. AND THEN COMPLAINTS IS SHOWING WORSE THAN A TARGET TOP COMPLAINT BY PASSENGERS IS OPERATOR BEHAVIOR THAT WE JUST SPOKE ABOUT. BRIEFLY, IF, IF I'M, IF I MAY, HERE, UM, JOANNE POINT OUT, THERE WAS A QUESTION RELATIVE TO, UH, THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF VIA TRANS TO OUR SYSTEM. I DO WANNA ALSO POINT OUT THE COST OF THE SYSTEM, OR AT LEAST A VIA TRANCE COMPARED TO OUR BUS, OUR FIXED ROUTE. IT'S 56 18 CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW. UH, IF YOU SLIP, FLIP BACK TO WHAT OUR BUS IS, IT'S $8 79 CENTS. SO THAT MILLION THAT WE'RE TAKING IS COSTING US $56, UH, PER PASSENGER VERSUS IF THEY'RE ON THE FIXED ROUTE, THEY'RE COSTING US RIGHT ABOUT $9, $8 79 CENTS. SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A WHILE. IT'S A SMALLER NUMBER, IT'S A BIGGER FINANCIAL IMPACT ON A RATIO BASIS. WANNA MAKE SURE TO POINT THAT OUT. AND THEN FINALLY HERE FOR, UH, VIA LINK HERE, OUR AVERAGE MONTHLY, UH, RIDERSHIP AND ON TIME PERFORMANCE ARE BETTER THAN TARGET COSTS ARE UP DUE TO OUR RIDERSHIP. HOWEVER, THE COST EFFECTIVENESS, UH, PERFORMANCE IS STILL WITHIN TARGET RANGE. OUR RIDERSHIP HAS INCREASED BY 35%, UH, COMPARED TO LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME. AND THEN FOR OUR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATING, UH, VIA LINK SERVICES THROUGH APRIL IS 4.85. SO VERY STRONG THERE. WE MIGHT NEED A NEW DIAL ON THE ON TIME. IT'S ABOUT . IT'S RIGHT THERE, RIGHT? YEP. LET'S BREAK IT. YEP. AND I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU BOARD CHAIR FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD. TRUSTEES, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU FOR THE FOLLOW UP. APPRECIATE THAT JOHN AND JERMAINE, GOOD LUCK. UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO VIA TO OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU FOR STEPPING UP THE GAME ON OUR FINANCIALS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I, I THINK, UH, THERE IS IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE, AND YOU'VE HELPED US GET IN A GOOD PLACE. AND, AND I KNOW, UM, YOU'RE GONNA LEAVE THE TEAM IN GOOD HANDS, UH, WITH YOUR LEADERSHIP. SO THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM [8. Ridership Growth Strategy Update – For information and discussion provided by the Ridership Task Force. ] NUMBER EIGHT, RIDERSHIP GROWTH STRATEGY UPDATE. WE GOT LIKE THREE SLIDES AND THAT'S IT. TIKTOK, TIKTOK, . WE GOT ELECTION RESULTS BEING POSTED. THE LAST ACTION ITEM, RIGHT, OR LAST BRIEFING ITEM. I HAVE UHHUH, , UHHUH. WE HAVE A MOTION TO DEFER. I'M GONNA TAKE A MOTION TO DEFER. OKAY. GO AHEAD. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M BOARD CHAIR AND THE MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. UM, WE AS A TEAM, THERE WILL BE OTHER THREE, UH, TEAM MEMBERS, UH, WILL GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE RIDERSHIP STRATEGIES, UH, FOCUSING ON IMPROVING SERVICE QUALITY AND GROWING RIDERSHIP ACROSS THE REGION. WE, WE, OUR STRATEGIC FOCUS [02:00:01] IS, UH, ARE ACTUALLY THREE CATEGORIES. I WILL SAY ALIGNING OUR SERVICE WITH NEW, UM, GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES AND BUILD FOR WHILE WE ARE GROWING, UH, WE ARE FLEXIBLE BY DESIGN. SO WE ARE BRINGING MORE VIA LINK SERVICE TO MORE PEOPLE. UH, WE ARE STRONGER AT OUR CORE AND SYSTEMATICALLY IMPROVING ALL ASPECTS OF OUR SERVICE EXPERIENCE. WE ARE CREATING A TRANSIT SERVICE THAT IS FREQUENT, DIRECT, CONVENIENT, AND SIMPLE FOR BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. VIA IS DELIVERING BETTER SERVICE SOONER. AND WE ARE OUTPACING OUR INITIAL PLANS FOR BETTER BUS PLAN EXECUTION WITH 65% OF THE PLAN IN MOTION. RIDERSHIP IS ON THE RISE, UH, FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, 2026 FOR THE FIXED ROUTE. THERE IS A 8% INCREASE IN THE RIDERSHIP IN MARCH, 2026 COMPARED TO MARCH, 2025 VIA LINK AND VIA TRAN. BOTH, BOTH SAW SAW THE INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP. UH, SAW AN INCREASE IN 26% VIA TRANS, UH, SAW AN INCREASE IN 8% COMPARED TO MARCH, 2025. WHEN WE LOOK INTO THE ALL THE SURVEYS, UH, UH, COMBINED MARCH, 2026, UH, IF WE ARE COMPARING THAT TO MARCH, 2025, WE SAW AN INCREASE OF OVERALL 8.5% INCREASE IN THE RIDERSHIP. CONTINUING ON THE RIDERSHIP IN APRIL, UH, RIDERSHIP IS ON THE RISE IN APRIL TWO, WE SAW AN INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP, UH, ON THE FIXED ROUTE, WHICH IS 3.3%. VIA LINK RIDERSHIP HAS INCREASED BY 31%, UH, IN APRIL, 2026 COMPARED TO APRIL, 2025. AND VIA TRANSO INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP OF 3%. WHEN WE LOOK INTO THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE, IF WE COMPARE APRIL 20, 26 TO APRIL, 2025, THERE WAS A 3.8% INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP. UH, IN APRIL, 2026 COMPARED TO APRIL, 2025, WE HAVE SEEN A STEADY INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP ON THE IMPROVED ROU UH, ROUTES. AS DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN, THERE ARE 500, 220 2000 PEOPLE IMPACTED DUE TO APRIL, UH, 2025, AUGUST, 2025, AND JANUARY, 2026. SERVICE CHANGES, VIE SERVING, UM, 1,500, UH, 157,000 LOW INCOME PEOPLE, 407,000 MINORITIES. UH, 70,000 SENIORS, 46,000 CAR FREE HOUSEHOLD. AND WITH THIS SERVICE CHANGES THREE SERVICE CHANGES. UH, ALSO PEOPLE HAVE, THERE ARE ALMOST 422,000 JOBS, UH, PEOPLE CAN ACCESS DUE TO THESE SERVICE CHANGES, INCLUDING MAY, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED 65% OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN FIXED ROUTE, AND ADDING AN ADDITIONAL 5% FOR AUGUST SERVICE CHANGE, MAKING IT TOTAL OF 70%. SO AS WE IMPLEMENT MORE BETTER BUS PLAN SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS FOR BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE AN INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP. OUR RIDERSHIP IS GROWING IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS IN 2026, WHICH IS BETWEEN JANUARY TO APRIL 22, 6, WE ALREADY SAW AN ADDITIONAL INCREASE OF 825,000 RIDERSHIP COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, YEAR TO DATE, OUR TARGET IS 5% FOR THE WHOLE SYSTEM, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 1.58 MILLION. IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS. WE ARE OVER HALFWAY TO OUR 5% TARGET OF 1.5, UH, 8 MILLION MORE RIDERS. AND NOW I TO TOM. HELLO SANDEEP, UH, THANK YOU BOARD, UH, TOM MARKS VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. UH, YOU JUST SAW THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGE PRESENTATION. YOU SAW SOME OF THAT OUTREACH. WE DID. THIS IS SORT OF A, UM, A RETOOLING STARTING, UH, LAST APRIL WHEN WE ACCELERATED THE BETTER BUS PROGRAM. AND SO THESE ARE FOUR SUBJECT AREAS WHERE WITH, UH, STARTING IN THE APRIL OF LAST YEAR, WE, WE JUMPED UP. A LOT OF MY TEAM HAS BEEN TAKING THE, AFTER YOU HEAR IT IN THE WORK SESSION, UH, AND THEN WE, WE GO FORWARD AND COLLECT THE DATA ON THE PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGES PRIOR TO YOUR APPROVAL, WHICH THEN IT TRANSITIONS TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM. SO THIS IS, THESE ARE THE FOUR AREAS THAT WE WORK IN WITHIN THAT TIMEFRAME [02:05:01] WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, OBVIOUSLY LEVERAGE OUR LEGISLATIVE A, YOU KNOW, ADVOCACY AND POLICY WORK, RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE USING RESOURCES LIKE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS OUTREACH TOOLS IN ORDER TO, TO BROADEN THE, UH, FOR THE, THE INITIAL PUSH THAT WE MAKE, RIGHT? THESE ARE THE PROPOSED ROUTE CHANGES. HOW ARE THEY GONNA IMPACT YOU? WE HELP DELIVER THEM THE INFORMATION OF WHEN THOSE PUBLIC HEARINGS ARE HAPPENING, AND THEN FOLLOW UP WITH THEM OF WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE, THE DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS AT THE DIFFERENT EVENTS OF THE POPUPS AT, AT DIFFERENT TRANSIT CENTERS. AND THEN AS WELL THE, UM, THE, THE WRITING, THE ROUTES THAT, UH, THAT WE JUST USED FOR THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGES. SO ALL THIS IS TO HELP EDUCATE THEM ON, ON WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM, FROM THEIR CONSTITUENTS WHEN WE GO OUT WITH THOSE PROPOSED CHANGES AND HOW IT'S ALIGNING WITH, WITH, WITH THEIR, THEIR REGIONAL OR, OR LOCAL PRIORITIES, RIGHT? AND SO THEN WE TAKE THOSE AND, AND USE THAT IN OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AND NETWORKING, RIGHT? WE'RE ENGAGING WITH THEIR, THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS IN THEIR DISTRICTS, THEIR COMMUNITY PARTNERS. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COUNCILMAN, I THINK A VITO HAD THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE IDEA OF THE, THE STUDENT PASSES, RIGHT? HOW IS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, IM, YOU KNOW, GONNA BE IMPACTED WITH THESE SERVICE CHANGES. HOW ARE WE REACHING OUT TO THOSE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, THOSE SCHOOLS, THOSE STUDENT GROUPS, ALL OF THAT IN ORDER TO, TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, THEIR PRIORITIES. THEN WE GO INTO THOSE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS. THEN WE'RE DOING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE, THE PUBLIC OUTREACH AND AWARENESS, RIGHT? WE'RE UPDATING THE COMMUNITY, WE'RE GETTING STUFF IN NEWSLETTERS. UM, AND THEN WE'RE, YOU KNOW, GETTING THAT, UH, THAT PUBLIC COMMENT, RIGHT? SINCE THE, BEFORE APRIL, WE HAD MAYBE ONE OR TWO FOLKS ATTEND OUR, OUR, OUR PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC COMMENT EVENTS. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, A SMATTERING THAT WOULD COME IN ONLINE, RIGHT? WITH THE, THE POPS UP AT TRANSIT CENTERS AND THE, UM, THE, THE RIDING THE ROUTES AND, AND, AND REALLY HELPING, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH MARCOMS TO PUSH OUT THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE, UH, THE, THE PUBLIC MEETINGS. WE, WE'VE SEEN A TENFOLD INCREASE IN THE ACTUAL FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE GETTING THAT WE CAN DELIVER TO SANDEEP BEFORE IT COMES BACK TO YOU FOR FINAL APPROVAL. AND THAT'S PART OF THAT DIRECT FEEDBACK AND LISTENING, RIGHT? ALL OF THAT IS ENGAGING OUR, OUR COMMUNITY MORE IN THE FINAL PRODUCT THAT YOU VOTE ON, LIKE YOU JUST DID TWO ITEMS AGO, UH, WITH THE, THOSE SIX ROUTES. SO ALL OF THAT TOOK PLACE LEADING UP TO TODAY FOR THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGES. BUT THIS IS KIND OF A BREAKDOWN OF, OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING BEFORE, BEFORE YOU VOTE ON IT, OTHER CAST MEMBERS COMING UP. GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR DIRECTORS. MY NAME IS EDDIE ROME. I'M THE CUSTOMER SERVICE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR. UH, AND TODAY IS MY HUNDRED AND 30TH DAY AT VIA. SO I WAS TOLD TO KEEP IT QUICK 'CAUSE WE GOT THE SPURS, UM, COMING UP. AND EDDIE, IT, IT TOOK YOU 130 DAYS TO DO YOUR FIRST PRESENTATION. . OH MY GOD. I WAS TOLD TO KEEP IT QUICK. SIR. ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT. IN A TRANSITION. SO WE, WE, WE ALL, WE ALL KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF, OF, UH, TREMENDOUS TRAIN CHANGE AND ACCELERATED CHANGE. UH, BUT JOHN GARY HAS MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE CONFIDENCE IN OUR SYSTEM TO THE WRITER, UH, AND TO FUTURE PATRONS. UM, WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE SCREEN IN THE LOWER, UH, RIGHT HAND IS, UH, A SNAPSHOT OF OUR CALL VOLUME. THAT'S TO THE INFO LINE, THAT'S TO OUR RESERVATIONS LINE, THAT'S DAILY CUSTOMER VOLUME. IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU'LL ALSO SEE OUR AVA AI CHATBOT, UH, PERFORMANCE. OUR AI CHATBOT IS, UH, TAKING IN 116 UNIQUE CONVERSATIONS PER DAY AND ANSWERING OUR CUSTOMERS OUR PATRONS QUESTIONS. THANKS. UM, SO, SO WE'RE SHOWING THE DATA OF, OF THE CALL VOLUME, BUT WE'RE ALSO, WE ALSO WANNA SHOW YOU WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE ASKING ABOUT. THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW TO USE OUR SYSTEM. SOME OF THEM ARE ASKING SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR, UH, ABOUT THEIR PASSES, ABOUT THEIR BALANCES. AND THEN WHEN WE DO MAKE SERVICE CHANGES, UH, WE DO SEE AN INCREASED VOLUME OF QUESTIONS, UH, WHEN WE ARE IMPLEMENTING THOSE CHANGES. BUT OUR 2020 LINE IS SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT BECAUSE THOSE ARE ALL OUR CUSTOMER, UH, CALL CENTER AGENTS. BUT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT WHAT WE'RE, UH, HOW WE'RE SERVING OUR ONLINE CUSTOMER. UH, WE'RE SERVING OUR ONLINE CUSTOMER THROUGH MULTIPLE CHANNELS, WHETHER THAT'S OUR AVA AI CHATBOT OR ON OUR WEBSITE AND ON OUR APP, EMAIL, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND X. AND THIS IS WHERE WE'RE VERY, VERY RICH IN THE [02:10:01] DATA THAT AND WHAT WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT OUR CUSTOMERS. YOU'LL SEE SOME OVERLAP ON THE QUESTIONS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE ASKING DIGITALLY. UM, AND IF YOU DO HAVE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS, I DID ASK THE DIGITAL, THE DIGITAL SUITE TEAM, UH, TO, UH, TO ATTEND IF THERE ARE SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, SOME MORE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS THAT THEY CAN HELP ANSWER. AND YOU'LL SEE, UH, WHY IN A COUPLE MORE SLIDES. GO AHEAD. SO, UH, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR CALL CENTERS AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY A SLIGHT DIP IN PEOPLE CALLING. UM, IN ADDITION, YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THERE'S A SLIGHT DIP IN, UH, CUSTOMERS PAYING WITH CASH. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN INCREASE IN, UH, GO GO MOBILE APP REVENUE PAYMENT. AND YOU'LL SEE A MIND BLOWING INCREASE OF THIS DIGITAL OPTION, UH, THAT WE ARE PROVIDING CUSTOMERS AND OUR CUSTOMERS ARE, ARE CHANGING. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, VIA IS PROVIDING THOSE OPTIONS, UH, TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO USE OUR SERVICE. AND IF I CAN EXPAND ON THAT PLEASE A BIT MORE TO PROVIDE THE, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THIS, THIS BOARD HAD APPROVED ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, UH, A CAPITAL INVESTMENT AT ABOUT $8 MILLION TO PUT NEW, UH, NEW FARE BOXES ONTO OUR VEHICLES. UH, BEFORE THAT, OUR CUSTOMERS COULD NEVER USE A CREDIT CARD OR DEBIT CARD ON OUR VEHICLES. THEY WOULD ONLY PLACE THEY COULD DO THAT IS AT OUR TRANSIT CENTERS. WE PUT THAT CAPABILITY ONTO OUR SYSTEM RECOGNIZING THAT THAT'S A CUSTOMER SERVICE IMPROVEMENT. THIS IS HOW IT, IT IS ABSOLUTELY PAYING OFF LITERALLY, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NOW THE TAP AND GO CAPABILITY THAT WE HAVE ON OUR SYSTEM BECAUSE OF THAT CAPITAL INVESTMENT THAT WE DID TWO YEARS AGO. IN ADDITION, PART TWO OF THIS, I KNOW FOR THE EIGHT YEARS I'VE BEEN HERE, I VERIFIED THAT WITH SOME OF OUR VETERANS AROUND HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME, CASH IS NO LONGER THE MA THE KING, UH, WHERE IT WAS ALWAYS 50% OF OUR CUSTOMER BASE WAS ALWAYS PAYING WITH CASH. WE HAVE SEEN THAT NOW FALLEN BELOW 50% FOR THE FIRST TIME IN EIGHT YEARS BECAUSE THEY'RE USING OTHER WAYS TO, UH, TO INTERACT AND, AND, AND PAY THEIR FARE. YES SIR. THE THIRD PIECE OF THIS IS WE NOW SEE DWELL TIME FOR OUR SYSTEM IMPROVE BECAUSE A TAP AND GO IS A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT WAY FOR OUR SYSTEM THAN FUMBLING AROUND WITH CHANGE AND WITH CASH. SO THIS IS A, A GREAT EXAMPLE OF ALL OF THIS COMING TOGETHER. AND THEN ALSO LOWERING, IDEALLY SOME, SOME CALLS INTO THE CALL CENTER ABOUT, ABOUT FAIR PAYMENTS AS WELL. YES SIR. THANKS EDDIE. YES, SIR. THANKS A LOT. ALRIGHT, SO THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT I FLAGGED EARLIER AND, AND WHY I BOUGHT, UH, WE BROUGHT, UH, DIGITAL SUITE, UM, THE USE OF OUR AI CHATBOT AGENT. YOU'LL SEE, UM, SECOND QUARTER FISCAL YEAR LAST YEAR COMPARED TO THIS YEAR, 285%, UH, MORE CUSTOMERS, UH, SERVED ONLINE. AND THEN WHEN YOU GO SPECIFICALLY TO THE AVA AI CHATBOT WHO WAS LAUNCHED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR IT DEPARTMENT, YOU'LL SEE IN JANUARY WHERE WE STARTED AND WHERE WE, UH, WERE AT IN MARCH. AND IT'S, IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE. SO ALTHOUGH YOU SEE A SLIGHT DIP, UH, IN CUSTOMERS CALLING OUR, UH, OUR PHONE AGENTS, YOU SEE THIS BEHAVIOR CHANGE. UM, AND, AND REALLY WHAT IT IS, IT, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET CUSTOMERS WHEREVER THEY'RE AT. UM, WE'RE NOT TAKING CHOICES AWAY. WE'RE GIVING THEM MORE OPTIONS TO CONNECT WITH US. NEXT SLIDE. UH, I WANTED TO, UM, THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE BY THE WAY. UM, BUT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE HUMAN TOUCH ASPECT. UM, WE HAD A CALLER THAT WAS BLIND WHO EXPLAINED TO OUR CALL AGENT, UM, THAT HE WAS HIT BY A CAR BEFORE AND HE WANTED TO FIND A TRIP WHERE HE DIDN'T HAVE TO CROSS THE STREET. AND ONE OF OUR CALL AGENTS PROVIDING THAT HUMAN TOUCHED PROVIDED A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR HIM AND GAVE HIM THE EXACT LOCATION WHERE HE NEEDED TO GO SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO CROSS THE STREET. AND, UM, I DID WANNA PAUSE AND ACTUALLY ASK DAKOTA DEAN TO, TO STAND UP. UM, BECAUSE AS THIS CALLER REQUESTED DE GO, DAKOTA DESERVES TO BE PRAISED FOR HER EFFORTS. SO I ASKED HER TO BE HERE TODAY TO BE RECOGNIZED. AND, AND OUR CALL AGENT TEAM IS, IS REALLY INCREDIBLE AVERAGE OF, OF SEVEN YEARS, UH, TENURE. WE HAVE A CORE GROUP OF 10 PLUS YEARS. UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO INNOVATING, WE'RE AI FORWARD, UH, WITH OUR CHAT BOT AND Y'ALL [02:15:01] HAVE SEEN THE GROWTH WITH THAT. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH OUR, WORKING WITH OUR RIDERSHIP TASK FORCE, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING, UM, AT MEETING THE, THE CUSTOMER WHERE THEY'RE AT. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT BRIEFING. AND YOU KNOW, WHERE TERRY AND BRIAN WOULD, I WOULD GO IS INTEGRATION FOR OUR APP. I'M NOT GONNA ASK FOR ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW. I'D LOVE TO ASK QUESTIONS, BUT IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT, UH, OTHER PENDING ITEMS THAT WILL BE BEFORE US, I'LL, UH, WAIT AND DO THAT ANOTHER TIME. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. I'M STEPPING IN FOR, UM, OUR DIRECTOR OF COMMS, JOSH BALL. HE HAD TO GO AND HE BETTER NOT BE AT THIS FIRST GAME. UH, . UM, UH, OUR DIRECTOR JOSH, HE OVERSEES OUR TELE TOWN HALLS. UH, HE AND LENE, THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. I SEE IT MORE FROM A HIGHER LEVEL. UM, WE WILL BE CHANGING VENUES, SO SOMETHING TO COME, SOMETHING DIFFERENT NEW. SO SORT OF BEEN INVOLVED, UH, JUST UNDERSTANDING THE CONNECTIVITY OF IT ALL. BUT, UM, WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. IT'S A PLATFORM THAT ALLOWS US TO NOT ONLY SHARE IMPORTANT INFORMATION WITH THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO HEAR AND RESPOND TO THE PUBLIC'S QUESTIONS. WE LIKE THIS PLATFORM BECAUSE IT ALLOWS US TO MEET RESIDENTS WHERE THEY ARE RATHER THAN ASKING THEM TO COME TO A PHYSICAL LOCATION. WE'VE SEEN A TREMENDOUS RESPONSE IN PARTICIPATION FROM OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THESE EVENTS. IN THE PAST THREE EVENTS WE'VE HELD AUGUST, 2025, NOVEMBER 25, AND APRIL 26. WE'VE HOSTED APPROXIMATELY 12,000 GUESTS FOR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE GREEN LINE AND SERVICE CHANGES. THOSE ATTENDEES PARTICIPATED ON THE PHONE. WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED VIDEO ATTENDEES FOR EACH EVENT. THEY COLLECTIVELY SPEND 6,000 MINUTES OR 100 HOURS PARTICIPATING IN OUR TOWN HALL EVENTS. OUR NEXT EVENT IS SCHEDULED FOR THE EVENING OF JUNE 25TH, AND WE HOPE YOU'LL CONSIDER LISTENING OR WATCHING IN, IT'LL BE ABOUT THE GREEN LINE. THANK YOU. AND I THINK WE'RE DONE. AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION. HAPPY ANSWER OR ANY QUESTION YOU MIGHT HAVE. VERY GOOD. UH, I THINK THIS HAS BEEN A VERY INFORMATIVE, UH, PRESENTATION. NO ACTION TODAY, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, MS. ALDER. LEGAL BRIEFING. [9. *Legal Briefing ] YES. I HAVE A 20 MINUTE PRESENTATION. . I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO DEFER LEGAL BRIEFING. MOVE TO APPROVE. MOVE TO APPROVE. WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE. DO I HAVE A SECOND? WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND, SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. NO MOTION. OH, WE DON'T NEED A MOTION FOR THE RECORD. WHAT ARE WE MOTIONING OVER HERE? I DID NOT HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR THE RECORD. SHE, I UNDERSTAND. ALL RIGHT. PRESIDENT'S REPORT. THANK [10. President & CEO Report ] YOU. WELL, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, UH, TAKING MY COLLEAGUES', UH, UH, UH, PAT HERE. UH, WE CAN ACTUALLY SCRATCH THE NAME AND MAKE THAT TO JUNE HERE BECAUSE I RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A SPUR GAME TO GO OR TO GO WATCH. LET ME, LET ME JUST POINT OUT, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME FOLKS HERE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE, I SEE ANGELICA IN THE BACK. ANGELICA, IF YOU DON'T MIND STANDING UP SUPPORTING WITH YOU ANYBODY IN THE HR DEPARTMENT. UH, SHE'S ANGELICA. WE'LL TAKE, UH, OUR HR DEPARTMENT WAS JUST HONORED, UH, TO RECEIVE THE 2026 WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, ALAMO COMMUNITY IMPACT FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. MIA WAS RECOGNIZED FOR ITS EXTENSIVE HIRING EFFORTS ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES THAT STRENGTHENED OUR WORKFORCE, GREAT PATHWAYS TO OPPORTUNITY AND SUPPORT THE CONTINUED SERVICE THAT PROVIDES OUR COMMUNITY EVERY DAY. THIS RECOGNITION REFLECTS THE DEDICATION OF OUR EMPLOYEE LEADERSHIP, WORKFORCE PARTNERS, AND COMMITTED CONNECTING PEOPLE NOT ONLY TO TRANSPORTATION, BUT ALSO THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT MOVE THE CITY TOWARDS GROWTH, INSTABILITY. CONGRATULATIONS, ANGELICA, AND THE HR TEAM. AND WITH THAT MADAM CHAIR, I CAN BRING THE REST OF THIS PRESENCE REPORT 'CAUSE IT'S, UH, UH, STILL WILL BE TIMELY IN JUNE. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. UM, JOHN, GARY, UH, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN TODAY'S MEETING. MOTION TO ADJOURN A MOTION. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU EVERYONE. GHOST SPURS. GO. GHOST SPURS. GO. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.