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[ STRATEGIC PLANNING COUNCIL & STAFF MEETING AGENDA City Council February 7, 2025 8:30 A.M. ]
WELL GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.UH, WELCOME TO OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, MEETING, UH, FOR FEBRUARY 7TH, UH, 2025.
[ Opening Remarks Mayor Ralph Gutierrez City Manager Steve Williams]
WELL, WE'LL START OFF WITH A, UH, FEW COMMENTS HERE.UM, YOU KNOW, HOW'S THAT? OH, I FORGOT TO TURN THAT ONE OFF.
WELL, WE'RE COMING TOGETHER TODAY, UH, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A SHARED VISION, UH, OUR TO PLAN FOR OUR CITY.
UH, OUR PAST COUNCIL HAS SET THE PATH AND NOW WE'RE HERE TODAY TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT WE CONTINUE THIS PATH.
GO RIGHT OR GO LEFT, OR WHICHEVER DIRECTION WE, WE DECIDE.
BUT OUR GOAL IS TO BUILD A STRONGER COMMUNITY THAT IS OUR STRONG, UH, OUR, OUR MAIN GOAL.
AND WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON, OF COURSE THE, THE GROWTH THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING, UH, ANY SOLUTIONS THAT WE NEED TO COME UP WITH.
AND ALSO THE MOST IMPORTANT, ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
AND WE'RE GONNA DO THIS THROUGH COLLABORATION, INNOVATION, AND JUST OVERALL INPUT AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE IN THE THAT RIGHT DIRECTION, OR WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED TO STEER A LITTLE BIT TO THE RIGHT OR A LITTLE BIT TO THE LEFT.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, IT'S THE DECISIONS WE MAKE HERE THAT WILL REFLECT THE PROGRESS, NOT JUST TOMORROW, BUT FOR YEARS TO COME.
THREE, FIVE, OR EVEN 10 YEARS.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE TODAY FOR.
UH, WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, TURN IT OVER TO STEVE AND HE'LL KICK US OFF WITH OUR PLANNING.
OUR COMMENTS AND THEN WE'LL OPEN UP THE HEARING OF RESIDENTS
UH, IF YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND DO THE HEARING OF RESIDENTS AND LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO THE HEARING OF RESIDENTS.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY SIGNED UP.
THERE IS NO ONE HERE FOR THE HEARING, THE RESIDENTS.
[1. Staff will conduct a workshop to discuss the strategic planning and a prioritizations process. This may include discussion related to the City’s strategic plan, operating budget, capital improvement plan (CIP), or City operations. (S.Williams/Executive Team)]
THANKS.THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S TIME BEING HERE.
THIS IS OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT, IF YOU WILL REMEMBER LAST YEAR WITH THE EXCEPTION OF COUNCIL MEMBER GUERRERO.
WE MET THIS TIME LAST YEAR AND MET WITH, UH, RON COX FROM RON COX CONSULTING.
AND WE DEVELOPED OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND IT HAD NOT BEEN UPDATED IN SOME TIME, ABOUT FIVE YEARS, FIVE, SIX YEARS.
AND WE TOOK THE TIME AS A COUNCIL AND STAFF TO SIT DOWN AND UPDATE OUR STRATEGIC PLAN QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY AND SET IT UP THE WAY IT IS NOW.
AND IT, WE RETAINED OUR MISSION AND VISION AND OUR, OUR CORE VALUES.
BUT THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGE CAME IN THE FORM OF OUR, OUR, THE WAY THAT WE IMPLEMENT THE REMAINDER OF THE PLAN.
AND THAT WAS TO TAKE WHAT WE CALLED OUR OPERATIONAL VALUES AND OUR POLICY VALUES, AND ESSENTIALLY CHANGE THOSE TO BE GOALS AND GOALS FOR OUR CITY OF WHAT WE WANT TO BE.
AND, AND LIKE THE MAYOR JUST VERY WELL STATED THAT HOW WE WANT TO LOOK IN THE NEXT, NEXT FIVE TO 10 TO 20 YEARS, ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE WANT TO BE WHEN WE GROW UP.
SO WE REALIGNED THAT TO BE A, A SET OF FIVE GOALS.
AND THEN UNDERNEATH THOSE GOALS, WE HAD A SERIES OF OBJECTIVES RANGING FROM FOUR TO SIX, SOMEWHERE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, UNDER EACH ONE OF THE GOALS.
SO TODAY OUR PROCESS WILL BE TO GO THROUGH THOSE GOALS AND INTENTIONALLY TOUCH ON EACH OF THE GOALS, AND THEN WITHIN THOSE, THE OBJECTIVES.
AND, AND UNDERNEATH THOSE OBJECTIVES, WE HAVE THINGS THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED ALREADY THAT ARE SPRINGBOARDING US INTO THE FUTURE, AS WELL AS THINGS THAT ARE IN PROCESS AND THEN THINGS WE PLAN TO DO.
SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH THAT, WE'RE GONNA COVER THAT, AND IT, IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PROCESS.
ASK QUESTIONS, ADD COMMENTS, AND WE CAN STOP AND DISCUSS AT ANY POINT.
SO I'M NOT GOING TO REHASH OR, OR RESTATE THE MISSION AND VISION AND THE POLICY.
I MEAN, I'M SORRY, THE, THE CORE VALUES.
'CAUSE 'CAUSE WE KNOW THOSE AND WE'RE GONNA JUMP RIGHT TO THE GOALS.
AND WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS THE GOALS AND THE OBJECTIVES.
AND THEN WHAT THE WAY I JUST DESCRIBED.
SO WHAT ARE OUR OBJECTIVES? OBJECTIVES, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM,
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FOR THE RETREAT TODAY.WE WANNA SEEK VALIDATION FROM COUNSEL WHERE WE'RE HEADED.
AND THEN WE ALSO WANNA DISCUSS THE IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT ARE OUT ON THE HORIZON, AS WELL AS IDENTIFYING ANY PRIORITIES THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT TOUCHING ON HERE, THAT WE SEEM TO HAVE MISSED OR THAT THAT YOU'VE BEEN, UM, THAT YOU'RE READY TO SHARE NOW AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
SO THE, THE FIVE DIFFERENT GOALS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, YOU CAN SEE 'EM UP THERE AND WE'LL WALK THROUGH THESE ONE BY ONE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE GOAL AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE OBJECTIVES WITH EACH OF THOSE.
AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO THE LATTER PART LIKE I DESCRIBED.
SO WE HAVE SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT, SAFE AND LIVABLE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE, INVESTMENT, SENSE OF COMMUNITY IN THE THRIVING ECONOMY.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU DON'T NECESSARILY CHECK THEM OFF AND YOU DON'T NECESSARILY SAY, OKAY, WE'RE THRIVING ECONOMY, WE'RE DONE WITH THAT.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU CONTINUOUSLY WORK TOWARDS AND YOU, YOU, YOU BUILD AND BUILD AND BUILD, ACHIEVING YOUR OBJECTIVES TO WORK TOWARDS THE GOALS.
SO I'LL JUMP RIGHT IN UNLESS ANYBODY'S GOT ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS REGARDING ANYTHING I'VE SAID SO FAR.
IF YOU NEED MORE COFFEE, GET SOME MORE COFFEE.
ALRIGHT, SO THE FIRST ONE THAT WE HAVE IS SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT.
AND YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE FOUR OBJECTIVES UNDERNEATH SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT.
WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO US AS A CITY? AND IN TERMS OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN? SO THE FIRST THING IS WE WANNA PROTECT OUR FINANCIAL STABILITY, INTEGRITY, AND CREDIBILITY.
AND THEN WE HAVE RECRUIT DEVELOPMENT, RETAIN A QUALIFIED, COMPETENT, AND DIVERSE MUNICIPAL WORKFORCE.
IDENTIFY THE AREAS WHERE IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED THROUGH THE USE OF DATA, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE APPROACHES.
AND LASTLY, TO ENSURE GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY.
NOW, NORMALLY I WOULDN'T SIT UP HERE AND READ THESE TO YOU, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ANYBODY WHO MIGHT BE WATCHING THIS AT HOME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THESE ARE THE GOALS, UH, UH, THE OBJECTIVES AS THEY ARE EXPLICITLY STATED IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
THIS IS DIRECTLY FROM OUR WEBSITE, SO I AM TAKING THE TIME TO GO AHEAD AND READ THEM SO THEY CAN, THEY CAN BE HEARD.
NOW ON THE NEXT PAGE, WE HAVE SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT AND, AND ANY THINGS THAT ARE ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO FAR AND THEN ARE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.
THESE INDIVIDUALLY RELATE BACK TO ONE OF THE ONE OR, AND POSSIBLY TWO OF THE OBJECTIVES ON THE PRIOR SLIDE, BUT THEY ALSO MIGHT PERTAIN TO A DIFFERENT GOAL AND A DIFFERENT OBJECTIVE BECAUSE THEY CROSS OVER.
THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T FIT NEATLY JUST UNDER NECESSARILY ONE OBJECTIVE.
IT COULD BE IN A COUPLE OF AREAS.
SO WHEN WE GET TO A CERTAIN GOAL AND WE GET TO A POINT WHERE THE, THE, THERE, THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT SOME OF THESE REALLY THEY CAN FIT IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT AREAS.
WE'RE JUST DISCUSSING IT IN THIS PARTICULAR, IN THIS PARTICULAR GOAL.
SO THE FIRST ONE IS OUR CIP AND OPERATING BUDGET.
AND I WANTED TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO KIND OF, KIND OF BRING US UP TO WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
FIRST, THE OPERATING BUDGET, OPERATING BUDGET IS A TOOL THAT I, I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE PUBLISH IT, BUT I, I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY WIDELY KNOWN REALLY WHAT IT IS.
IT'S OF COURSE IT'S OUR, OUR SPENDING PLAN FOR THE YEAR.
AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE LOOK AT AND SAY, OKAY, THIS DEPARTMENT HAS THIS MUCH, THIS FUND HAS THIS MUCH TO SPEND.
WE WANNA BRING IN THIS, THIS MUCH IN REVENUES, BUT IT'S ALSO A COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS A COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE TO LET THE PUBLIC AND LET OUR, OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE WHO IN INVEST IN THE CITY ASSURANCE.
AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY, BUT WE DO HAVE INVESTORS IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS.
THOSE ARE OUR, THOSE ARE OUR BOND HOLDERS, THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO LOAN US MONEY.
SO WE CAN DO ALL THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO, ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT WE DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE, ET CETERA.
UH, WE, WE DO HAVE INVESTORS IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS.
WE USE THAT BUDGET AS A COMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR EVERYBODY.
AND IT'S ALSO THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR ACCOUNTING RECORD WHEN IT'S WHAT WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO, RIGHT? OR WHAT WE COMPARE TO WHEN WE AUDIT THE NUMBERS.
AND, UH, IT, IT'S, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HITTING OUR BUDGETS AND WE'RE HITTING OUR TARGETS.
IT'S FLUID, BUT IT'S A LITTLE BIT, IT'S A LOT DIFFERENT FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY PROFIT DRIVEN OR LOOKING AT A P AND L TO, TO GENERATE A CERTAIN MARGIN TO HAVE A HIGHER STOCK PRICE, RIGHT? WE ARE MAXIMIZING OUR SERVICE WITHIN THE, THE MEANS THAT WE HAVE.
AND WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE AMOUNT OF REVENUES WE'RE GONNA BRING IN, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR SPENDING LIMITATIONS ARE RELATIVE TO THOSE REVENUES.
SO WE'RE GONNA DELIVER THE MOST SERVICE POSSIBLE.
ALRIGHT? THAT BEING SAID, OUR OPERATING BUDGET,
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IT'S A GOOD OPERATING BUDGET, BUT WE HAVE SOME ENHANCEMENTS AND WE WANNA MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS.WE INTEND TO APPLY FOR THE GFOA, UH, BUDGET AWARD, WHICH IS, UH, ESSENTIALLY HELPS YOU DESIGN YOUR BUDGET IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU CAN, UH, MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE FULFILLING OR DOING THE BEST YOU CAN TO FULFILL EVERYTHING THAT I JUST SAID.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.
WE INTEND TO UTILIZE THAT OR, OR MEET THAT GOAL OR OBJECTIVE.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
PRIOR TO THIS YEAR, THE CITY NEVER REALLY HAD A COMPREHENSIVE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
AND WHAT DO I MEAN BY A COMPREHENSIVE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM? WHAT I MEAN IS A CIP THAT ENCOMPASSED EVERYTHING THAT MIGHT BE SUPPORTED BY A PARTICULAR REVENUE SOURCE, LIKE A GENERAL GOVERNMENT CIP, THAT YOU USE A VARIETY OF SOURCES, BUT MOSTLY SAY GENERAL OBLIGATION TYPE BONDS TO SUPPORT YOUR GENERAL GOVERNMENT.
CIP AND THEN YOU HAVE A WATER AND SEWER, CIP WHERE YOU MIGHT USE WATER AND SEWER REVENUE BONDS.
THOSE TWO ARE SEPARATE, BUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ALL OF THOSE PROJECTS ON THE LIST AND EVERYTHING LISTED OUT.
AND IT, IT'S, IT ALSO HELPS YOU DEVELOP A PLAN TO PLAN, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZE AS WELL AS TO PLAN YOUR PLAN OF WORK OVER THE NEXT FIVE TO 10 YEARS.
WE NEVER REALLY HAD THAT ORGANIZED IN THE FASHION THAT WE DO NOW.
AND WE'VE GOT AN EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT START ON THAT.
EVERYBODY DID A GREAT JOB PUTTING ALL THAT TOGETHER.
EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY WHO'S INVOLVED IN THAT, AND I'M, I'M SPENDING A LITTLE TIME TALKING ABOUT BOTH OF THESE.
'CAUSE THEY'RE CRITICAL FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EVERYTHING THAT WE WANT TO DO.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE UTILIZATION INTEGRATION AND ENHANCEMENTS COME INTO PLACE.
I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE WANT TO DO, BUT THE UTILIZATION IS, FIRST OF ALL, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE APPROPRIATELY LONG TERM FORECASTING, RIGHT? LONG TERM FORECASTING IN TERMS OF OUR CAPITAL NEEDS, OUR PLAN OF WORK, HOW MUCH CAN WE AFFORD TO DO? TYPICALLY, THE LIST IS LONGER THAN WE CAN AFFORD TO DO AT THE CURRENT LEVEL OF REVENUES THAT WE HAVE.
BUT, BUT WHAT CAN WE ACHIEVE AND HOW, WHAT, WHAT TIMELINE ARE WE GONNA ACHIEVE THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE? SAME THING WITH OUR OPERATING BUDGET.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PLANNING OUR WORK IN SUCH A WAY AND WE'RE NOT MAKING DECISIONS THAT MAKE US INSOLVENT FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, 10 YEARS FROM NOW.
SO TAKING THOSE TWO DOCUMENTS, ENHANCING THEM, AND THEN INTEGRATING 'EM INTO WHAT WE DO, UH, WILL GO BEYOND WHAT I JUST SAID ACTUALLY.
BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR IMPACTS FROM THE CIP ON THE OPERATING BUDGET.
IT'S THE, THE CLASSIC STORY OF, WELL, IF WE DECIDE TO BUILD A FIRE STATION, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM IN OUR, OUR OPERATING BUDGET TO HIRE FIREFIGHTERS, YOU'VE GOT A REALLY NICE FIRE STATION, BUT IT'S EMPTY.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE CALCULATING THE EFFECT OF THE CIP PROJECTS ON THE OPERATING BUDGET.
ANOTHER STEP DOWN THE LINE IN TERMS OF THE CIP AND THE OPERATING BUDGET MORE.
SO THE CIP IS, WELL ACTUALLY BOTH IS INTEGRATING THAT INTO HOW WE IMPLEMENT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO REALLY EVALUATING THE THINGS THAT WE DO.
SO WHEN WE GET INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE'LL START EVALUATING, UH, EXPANDED PROGRAM REQUESTS IN LIGHT OF HOW THEY FIT INTO THE CI INTO THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
IF THEY DON'T FIT INTO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, IF YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY AN, UH, AN OBJECTIVE OR YOU CAN, UH, IDENTIFY HOW THAT OBJECTIVE ROLLS UP INTO A GOAL AND HOW IT ROLLS UP INTO ALL, ALL THE WAY UP TO OUR MISSION VISION, THEN REALLY SHOULD WE BE DOING THAT? SHOULD WE BE FUNDING THAT? NOW, THE THE REASON FOR TODAY IS TO LOOK AT THE PLAN AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? ALL RIGHT, HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE IN HERE, ARE THE THINGS THAT BELONG IN THERE, ET CETERA.
OR, OR, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT THIS THING.
WHERE DOES IT FIT? DOES IT FIT IN THERE? AND IF IT DOESN'T FIT, IS IT WORTH SAYING, MAKING AN ADDITION TO THE PLAN IN SOME CAPACITY? I DON'T RECOMMEND WHOLESALE CHANGING THE PLAN 'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THAT AND A LOT OF THOUGHT WENT INTO THAT AND IT COVERS A LOT OF AREAS.
BUT THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE POINT.
SO, AND A LOT, THAT'S A LOT BEING SAID ABOUT THE OPERATING BUDGET AND THE CIP, BUT EVENTUALLY START UTILIZING THOSE TWO KEY PLANNING DOCUMENTS AND EXPENDITURE DOCUMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WITHIN THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT THEN ALSO EVENTUALLY ON THE BACK END TO MEASURE PERFORMANCE.
AND AS WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THESE THINGS, HOW DO THEY, HOW DOES IT CYCLE THROUGH THE BOTTOM AND THEN RELATE ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE TOP FOR, FOR FUTURE PLANNING? IT'S A PROCESS.
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GET THERE OVERNIGHT.IT'S NOT GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA DO, BE ABLE TO COMPLETELY DO SAY THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK CONTINUOUSLY TO GET BETTER AT AND TO INTEGRATE MORE INTO THE, INTO THE PROCESS.
ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT.
I, BUT I DID, I DID DO FEEL LIKE IT'S IMPORTANT.
THAT'S KIND OF WHY IT'S THE FIRST ONE LISTED.
AND I DO WANT TO COMMENT ABOUT THESE, THE GOALS, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY IN PRIORITY ORDER EITHER.
THERE IS NO PRIORITIZATION AMONG THE FIVE DIFFERENT GOAL AREAS.
OKAY, NEXT IS SOMETHING THAT THE STAFF IS SICK OF ME SAYING.
IT'S CALLED BUILDING THE BRAND, BUILDING THE BRAND BRANDED SHIRTS.
Y'ALL HAVE TOLD ME, I MEAN, YOU HAVE HEARD ME SAY THIS OVER AND OVER, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S WORKING.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, OUR STAFF IS DOING A GREAT JOB.
COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB, QUITE FRANKLY AS WELL.
BUT BUILDING THE BRANDED SHIRTS IS SOMETHING THAT IS, IS IMPORTANT TO OUR ORGANIZATION.
AND IT'S, IT, IT RANGES FROM HAVING A CONVERSATION ON THE STREET, BUT EVEN TO THE NOTION OF PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND SERVING ON THE BOARD OR A COMMITTEE OR WRITING AN ARTICLE OR DOING A PRESENTATION AT THE CONFERENCE OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
IT'S GETTING OUR NAME OUT THERE.
WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE FRUITS OF THAT LABOR ALREADY IN TERMS OF MORE PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN COMING TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF SHIRTS BECAUSE WE'RE STARTING TO BUILD THAT BRAND.
PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO GO, YEAH, SHIRTS IS A PRETTY COOL PLACE.
NOW WE'RE STRONGER IN SOME AREAS THAN OTHERS IN DOING THAT, SO WE'RE GONNA WORK ON, YOU KNOW, RAISING THE BAR ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BOARD.
BUT IN THE FUTURE WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO ENHANCE THAT AND AWARENESS AND KEEP WORKING ON THAT.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WHEN WE GET TO THE BUDGET PROCESS, YOU'LL SEE THAT IN THERE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR ORGANIZATION TO CONTINUE TO DO.
AND, AND Y'ALL HEAR US SAY, AND YOU SEE EMAILS LIKE, SO AND SO DID THIS AND CONGRATULATIONS.
THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE OUT THERE DOING THAT.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING, PUTTING THE FEET ON THE PAVEMENT.
SHE DID A PRESENTATION LAST FRIDAY AT A BIG CONFERENCE WITH A WHOLE LOT OF IMPORTANT PEOPLE AT IT AND KNOCKED IT OUTTA THE PARK.
AND TRAINING, UH, IT, THIS COULD RANGE ALL THE WAY, UH, MOSTLY WHERE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS IN-HOUSE OR LOCALIZED, BUT REALLY WHERE WE FEEL LIKE THERE'S A FOCUS AREA THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON IS OUR MID-MANAGEMENT AND OUR LINE SUPERVISION AND, AND REALLY KIND OF, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE DO A REALLY GOOD JOB.
THE CONSENSUS IS DO WE DO A REALLY GOOD JOB KIND OF AT THE BASELINE? WE DO A GOOD JOB AT THE TOP, BUT REALLY WHERE ARE WE FOCUSING ON THE MIDDLE? ARE WE HELPING THE MIDLINE OR THE, THE MID-LEVEL MANAGEMENT AND LINE SUPERVISION GET BETTER AND BETTER AT WHAT THEY DO TO HELP THEMSELVES IMPROVE, SERVE THE ORGANIZATION BETTER AND HELP THEIR CAREER ADVANCE.
ALSO, SUCCESSION PLANNING IS A BIG DEAL AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR ORGANIZATION.
MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER WHERE PEOPLE ARE READY TO MAKE THE NEXT MOVE TO STEP UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
AND WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF THAT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN IMPROVE ON AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE INTEND TO, UH, CONTINUE TO BUILD ON.
SO IN CASE YOU'RE CURIOUS AND YOU'RE WONDERING WHICH ONES WE REFER TO EACH YOU, YOU CAN TOGGLE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO.
BUT THE FIRST ONE IS, IS OBVIOUSLY FOR THE FIRST BULLET, THE, THE, THE, UH, FINANCIAL STABILITY.
AND THEN THE NEXT ONE IS, UM, RECRUIT AND RETAIN, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO IF, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, YOU CAN TOGGLE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO, UH, PAGES, IF YOU'VE GOT IT HANDY THERE.
SOFTWARE ENHANCES IS ANOTHER BIG ONE.
UNDER SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT IS SOMETHING THE CITY HAS INVESTED A LOT OF RESOURCES IN OVER THE LAST, I DON'T EVEN KNOW, SEVERAL YEARS.
WE'VE INVESTED A LOT OF RESOURCES AND INTENTIONALLY WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO INVEST IN RESOURCES THAT LIKE THAT, THAT MEET THIS DEFINITION.
BUT WE'RE ALSO GONNA TAKE THE ONES THAT WE HAVE AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AT 'EM.
A A PITFALL THAT A LOT OF ANY ORGANIZATION, A PRIVATE COMPANY OR A GOVERNMENT FALLS INTO A LOT OF TIMES AS YOU BUY SOMETHING, YOU BUY THIS FANCY SOFTWARE AND YOU USE ABOUT 20% OF IT.
WE'RE GONNA WORK TO GET TO WHERE WE'RE UTILIZING MORE AND MORE OF THAT CAPACITY.
SO YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE ONES WE HAVE ON THERE.
CITYVIEW, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS WITH CITYVIEW, LISA AND HER GROUP.
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT TOOK UP AN AREA WHERE WE WERE QUITE FRANKLY NEEDED A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT
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AND HAVE IMPROVED IT TREMENDOUSLY IN TERMS OF ORGANIZATION AND ACCESSIBILITY TO OUR BUILDERS, DEVELOPERS.EVERYBODY CAN GET RIGHT INTO CITY VIEW AND GET WHAT THEY WANT WITHOUT WAITING FOR A RETURN PHONE CALL.
SO IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR, FOR THAT.
BUT THE, BUT IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE COULD PROBABLY DO A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH AND WE'RE WORKING TO USE IT MORE AND MORE.
INCODE IS OUR, OUR GENERAL LEDGER SOFTWARE AT ITS CORE.
AND THEN WE HAVE OTHER MODULES THAT SURROUND THAT.
BUT INCODE IS A, A PRODUCT THAT WE JUST DID A MAJOR UPDATE TO.
WE WENT FROM VERSION NINE TO VERSION 10.
WELL, WHAT THAT MEANS IS USUALLY WHEN YOU HAVE A VERSION UPGRADE, IT'S DOESN'T CHANGE A WHOLE LOT.
WELL THIS ONE CHANGED A LOT, RIGHT? JAMES PRETTY MUCH CHANGED THE ENTIRE INTERFACE.
SO IT'S A MAJOR UPGRADE AND A MAJOR CHANGE.
AND I, THE, THE SUCCESS AROUND THAT WAS WE WERE ABLE TO STREAMLINE A LOT OF THINGS.
TYLER CONTENT MANAGEMENT IS KIND OF AN ADD-ON ON TOP OF THAT.
IT'S A TYLER TECHNOLOGIES PRODUCT WHERE NOW WE GOT RID OF THE PAPER SHUFFLE OF REQUISITIONS AND INVOICES.
WE ALSO CHANGED THE WAY WE PROCESS PAYMENTS, SO NOT TO GET TOO BORING INTO THE WEEDS ON IT, BUT IT WAS A MAJOR UPGRADE IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY AND SECURITY OF OUR, OUR INFORMATION AND RECORD KEEPING, BECAUSE ALL THE RECORDS ARE DIGITIZED, THEY'RE ALL ONLINE.
THEY'RE EASILY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE, THE SOFTWARE THAT, THAT'S ONE THAT WAS A BIG SUCCESS.
WE GOT RID OF THREE FILING CABINETS,
I, I'M, I'M SURE WE CLEANED OUT SOME STUFF.
SO WHEN YOU GO TO, TO A DIGITIZED PROCESS, NOT ONLY DO YOU ELIMINATE THE GIANT FILE CABINETS FULL OF FILES, YOU COULD PULL THAT INFORMATION IN ABOUT ONE SECOND AND YOU CAN ALSO, YEAH, YOU CAN HAVE, INSTEAD OF JUST ONE YEAR SITTING THERE, YOU CAN HAVE 10 YEARS SITTING THERE IN, IN YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.
AND YOU CAN ALSO ELIMINATE THE, THE FLOAT AND THE DRIVING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN BUILDINGS TO GET SOMETHING SIGNED AND MOVING.
IT JUST KEEPS, SO ANYWAYS, NOT TO GET TOO MUCH IN IT, BUT, BUT THAT IS A BIG WIN FOR US.
THE OTHER ONE IS BONFIRE AND IMAGETREND AND TYLER, RMS AND OPENGOV.
I'M NOT GONNA PRETEND LIKE I KNOW WHAT THOSE DO AS MUCH, BUT, UH, BONFIRE IS LIBRARY CONTRACTS.
BONFIRE IS THE E-PROCUREMENT SOFTWARE WHERE WE DON'T TAKE OUR BIDS.
THEY COME IN ELECTRONICALLY NOW.
THERE'S NO MISSING THE DEADLINE BECAUSE THE DEADLINE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE TURNING IN YOUR HOMEWORK ON CANVAS IF YOU'RE A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT OR A COLLEGE STUDENT.
BUT IT, IT'S, IT STREAMLINES OUR, OUR PURCHASING PROCESS MAKES IT WAY MORE EFFICIENT AND, AND WAY EASIER TO USE.
UH, IMAGE TREND IS FIRE AND EMS AND IT DOES SOMETHING WAIT, TURN IT OVER.
TURN YOUR MIC BEING FOR PATIENT CARE REPORTS.
SO WE HAVE TO DOCUMENT THOSE PATIENT ENCOUNTERS AND, AND, AND IT SAVES THAT FOR US.
SO THEY'RE PROBABLY BETTER THAN PAPER.
AND THEN, AND THEN TYLER RMS IS A RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
IT HELPS, IT INTEGRATES WITH OUR CAD SYSTEM.
IT'S REPORTING AND IT ALSO GOES HAND IN HAND WITH OUR MDCS THAT ALLOW OFFICERS TO GET, TAKE THE MDCS OUT OF THEIR CAR TO DO THE REPORTS IN THE FIELD INSTEAD OF COMING BACK TO THE STATION.
WHAT'S THE MDC? MOBILE DATA? COMPUTER.
AND THEN LASTLY, OPENGOV, IT USED TO BE KNOWN, WELL, IT'S A PRODUCT CALLED GRAPH THAT OPENGOV THE COMPANY OWNS.
AND IT WILL BE OUR, IT'LL BE LIKE A ASSET INVENTORY TYPE SOFTWARE FOR FACILITIES AND SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
YOU CAN USE IT FOR A LOT OF THINGS.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY INTEGRATE YOUR GIS WITH IT.
AND IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A VERY EFFECTIVE TOOL THAT WE CAN USE TO ORGANIZE OUR ASSETS.
BUT THEN ALSO YOU CAN USE IT FOR A NUMBER OF THINGS.
I IS FLEET GONNA USE IT? SO LIKE FLEET INVENTORY FLEET, MAINTAINING YOUR ASSETS THERE.
UH, IT'S A, YEAH, AND IT'S, IT, IT'S A HIGH POWERED WORK ORDER SYSTEM AS WELL, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE QUEUING, I I UH, I'VE USED IT IN THE PAST AND YOU COULD USE PHONE IN AS WELL AS THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE NETWORK, UM, EMAIL, ET CETERA, TO TO, TO UTILIZE THAT.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN? AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S OUT ON THE HORIZON IN THE TYLER RMS AND I THINK, UH, IMAGE TRAINER IN PROCESS OR THEY DONE, DONE, DONE IN RMS. WE LAUNCHED, WE LAUNCHED IT THREE WEEKS AGO AND SO FAR IT'S,
[00:25:01]
WE'RE STILL IN MAKING SURE EVERYTHING'S A HUNDRED PERCENT OKAY.AND SO I'M SPENDING A LITTLE BIT OF TIME ON THIS Y'ALL, BECAUSE THAT REPRESENTS PROBABLY A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS INVESTMENT BY THE CITY.
AND IT DOESN'T EVEN ENCOMPASS A LOT OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT THE OTHER SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE HAVE OR THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE THAT ARE SMALLER OR REALLY KIND OF NETWORK BASED AND THINGS THAT FOR, FOR OUR INTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
BUT IT REPRESENTS MILLION, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INVESTMENT PROBABLY OVER TIME AND INCLUDING THE, THE MAIN, THE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WE'RE NOT JUST SPENDING THAT MONEY TO SPEND THAT MONEY, WE ARE UTILIZING IT TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN WHAT WE DO AND MORE EFFICIENT AND IN THE LONG RUN, THAT SAVES US TIME AND IT SAVES US MONEY AND IN FACT, EVEN PROBABLY LESS PERSONNEL REQUIRED.
SO ANY COMMENTS? SOMETHING I LEFT OFF, THINK I LEFT OFF? OKAY.
I DO WANT TO SAY ONE MORE THING AND IN TERMS OF MOVING INTO THE FUTURE, UM, IT'S, IT'S IN THIS, BUT IT, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT LATER, BUT CYBERSECURITY IS A BIG ISSUE.
WE HAD, UH, WE THAT HAS, THAT AS A PRIORITY HAS BEEN PUSHED TO THE FOREFRONT RECENTLY.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE INTEND TO INVEST MORE IN AND TAKE FURTHER STEPS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF THAT.
AND THAT'S ALL I'LL SAY ABOUT THAT.
LASTLY, PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.
REALLY, THAT'S GOES BACK TO, TO THE TALK TOUCHED ON IT ON THE, THE CIP AND THE AND THE BUDGET, THE OPERATING BUDGET AND THAT IMPLEMENTATION OR INTEGRATION WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND EVENTUALLY WE WANT TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE MEASURING PERFORMANCE MORE IN IT'S MORE STRUCTURED FASHION AND THEN UTILIZING THAT, HOW EFFECTIVE ARE WE BEING WHEN WE DO THINGS? AND IT'S NOT THE END ALL BE ALL.
I'M NOT GONNA STAND HERE AND PROFESS TO YOU THAT DOING PERFORMANCE MEASURES IS THE END ALL BE ALL.
BUT IT CAN BE ANOTHER TOOL THAT YOU CAN USE TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS.
AND IF SOMETHING'S UNDERPERFORMING, YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY NEED TO APPLY MORE RESOURCES TO THAT AREA OR YOU MIGHT NEED TO ENHANCE IT IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN GET A BROADER IMPACT FROM.
SO, ALRIGHT, THAT IS IT ON SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT? UH, NO, IT'S NOT, IT, WE HAVE ONE MORE BULLET AND IT'S LEGISLATIVE FOCUS.
YOU, YOU ARE ALL AWARE THAT OUR, UH, OUR, OUR, UM, LINDA KLE IS OUR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND SHE HAS BEEN TASKED IN THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF TO BE OUR PERSON THAT HEADS UP OUR LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS.
WE'RE IN THE SESSION RIGHT NOW AND WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A LOT OF LEGISLATION THAT IMPACTS THE CITY, BUT REALLY THE AREAS THAT WE ARE CONCERNED THE MOST ABOUT AT THIS POINT IN TIME ARE THINGS THAT IMPACT OUR FINANCES AS WELL AS OUR PLANNING AND LAND DEVELOPMENT AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES AROUND OUR PLANNING EFFORTS FOR THE FUTURE.
WE'VE DEALT WITH A LOT OF THOSE ISSUES LATELY.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF UNCERTAINTY IS HOW IT'S GONNA BE AFTER SEPTEMBER 1ST OF THIS YEAR.
THERE MIGHT BE LEGISLATION THAT PASSES AND IMPACTS US.
ONE OF, YOU KNOW, LINDA'S DONE A GREAT JOB SO FAR.
SHE'S, SHE'S NOT FEELING WELL.
BUT ONE THING SHE'S DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB AT IS REALLY GETTING US STARTED.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AS AN ORGANIZATION WE ARE GOING TO GET, CONTINUE TO GET BETTER AND BETTER AT.
AND THAT IS HAVING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR LEGISLATORS, BEING INVOLVED NOT ONLY DURING THE SESSION, BUT IN THE OFF YEAR AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE IN CONTACT.
SO WHEN SOMETHING MAJOR COMES UP AND YOU'RE ALL AWARE OF THE DISABLED VETERANS HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AND THE A HUNDRED PERCENT AND HOW THAT IMPACTS OUR FINANCE HAS A DRAMATIC EFFECT ON OUR FINANCES.
THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING AT THE LEGISLATURE MEETING WITH OUR DIFFERENT LEGISLATORS TO HOPEFULLY GET THE PROGRAM FUNDED, LIKE THE STATE INTENDED TO DO ORIGINALLY WHEN THEY PUT IT INTO PLACE.
YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S BEEN SAID A MILLION TIMES, BUT I'LL SAY IT AGAIN.
WE ARE, WE ARE SEEKING FUNDING FROM THE STATE TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM.
WE'RE NOT DESIRING TO CHANGE THE PROGRAM IN ANY SENSE OF THE WAY IT'S IMPLEMENTED.
WE JUST WOULD LIKE THE STATE TO, TO PAY FOR IT AS THEY INTENDED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SHIRTZ TEXAS BECAUSE OF OUR PROXIMITY, THE MAKEUP OF
[00:30:01]
OUR RESIDENTS.AND, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE AS AN ORGANIZATION, IT'S WORTH OUR TIME AND OUR EFFORT AND OUR RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR LEGISLATORS ARE, ARE FULLY AWARE OF HOW IT AFFECTS US.
AND, AND QUITE FRANKLY, NOT JUST THE CITY GOVERNMENT, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
IT IMPACTS THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE IN TERMS OF LOWER SERVICE THAT WE COULD PROVIDE OTHERWISE.
SO, NOT TO GET OFF ON TOO MUCH OF A TANGENT ON THAT, BUT THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES AS WELL.
AND THEY DO AFFECT THE THINGS WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT MORE AS WE GO ALONG.
BUT ANOTHER THING AT THE LEGISLATURE THAT COULD IMPACT US PRETTY DRAMATICALLY IS DENSITY ISSUES.
AND, AND OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AS IT LOOKS RIGHT NOW POTENTIALLY COULD LOOK COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
AND NOT BY OUR OWN DESIGN, BUT BY THE DESIGN OF THE STATE.
SO THESE ARE JUST TWO KIND OF HIGH HIGHLIGHTED AREAS.
THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER AREAS THAT ARE MORE SPECIFIC THAT THAT COULD IMPACT US, BUT WHAT DOES ALL THAT MEAN? IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING UNTIL THEY GO TO COMMITTEE, THEY GET OUTTA COMMITTEE, THEY PASS THE HOUSE OR THE SENATE, AND THEN THEY CONFERENCE AND YOU KNOW, RECONCILE AND THE GOVERNOR SIGNS IT.
BUT YOU HAVE TO BE AWARE OF WHERE IT IS IN THE PROCESS AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US.
AND THERE'S, I BELIEVE, AND MAYBE MAYOR PRO TEM HAYWARD CAN CORRECT ME, 11,000 BILLS CLOSE TO 11,000 BILLS FILED THIS SESSION.
SO, UH, I WOULD SAY AT LEAST A THOUSAND OF THOSE PERTAIN TO CITIES.
DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT ON THAT? NO, NO, NO.
SO I I WOULD SAY THERE'S A LOT AND THEY STILL CAN FILE.
SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A RECORD NUMBER OF BILLS AND THEY'RE GONNA COME AFTER CITIES HARD.
SO WE'RE LIMITED, BUT WE ALSO PARTICIPATE WITH OTHERS RIGHT NOW WITH DISABLED VETERANS HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE WORKED WITH AND CONTINUING TO WORK WITH OTHER CITIES, KIND OF A GROUP OF CITIES THAT ARE AFFECTED DRAMATICALLY BECAUSE NOT, THIS ISN'T A STATEWIDE ISSUE, IT'S REALLY FOR A HANDFUL OF US THAT ARE JUST HIT REALLY, REALLY HARD.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER HAND, WE'RE WORKING WITH TML AND THE RESOURCES THAT THEY PROVIDE AND THE EXCELLENT WORK THEY DO TO, TO FOLLOW AND MAKE SURE WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US, BECAUSE WE CAN ONLY COVER SO MUCH GROUND.
WE CAN'T COVER 10,000 BILLS GROUND, RIGHT? WE CAN COVER A HANDFUL OF GROUND, BUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT, WHAT'S MAKING IT THROUGH THE PROCESS AND, AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO SUPPORT, BE NEUTRAL ON OR, OR BE AGAINST, QUITE FRANKLY.
SO IT'S A LOT OF COMMON ON THAT.
IT IS AN IMPORTANT AREA FOR US.
AND THE INTENTION IS THAT WE KEEP GOING FORWARD UNLESS TOLD OTHERWISE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE FORWARD AND WE'RE CONTINUE TO MAKE A PUSH.
IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES MORE RESOURCES IN THE FUTURE TO BE A LITTLE MORE IMPACTFUL.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
I'M, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT MAYBE WE NEED TO, TO KEEP IN THE BACK OF OUR MINDS THAT AS IF IT GROWS IN IMPORTANCE, WE MAY NEED TO FOCUS ON IT A LITTLE HARDER.
ALRIGHT, BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE NEXT GOAL, DOES ANYBODY NEED A BREAK? DOES ANYBODY WANNA MAKE ANY COMMENTS ON ANY OF THESE? YES MA'AM.
WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT CYBERSECURITY, ARE WE ALSO PARTICIPATING WITH T-M-L-R-P CYBERSECURITY INSURANCE? YES.
SO IN THE PAST, OH, DO YOU WANNA COMMENT? GO AHEAD.
I WAS JUST GONNA MAKE A COMMENT THAT I BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS A RESOLUTION THAT WE TOOK AND COUNSEL APPROVED.
SO YES, WE ARE, OH, JESSICA'S NOT HERE, BUT YES WE ARE.
'CAUSE I DIDN'T REMEMBER, THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING.
I JUST WANNA ADD TO THE LEGISLATIVE FOCUS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT, THERE IS A BIG IMPACT THAT THEY DO UP IN AUSTIN AND THE MAJORITY OF THE REPRESENTATIVES UP THERE HAVE NO MUNICIPAL EXPERIENCE.
AND I ALWAYS SAY IT'S NOT WHAT'S COMING, IT'S WHAT THEY BROKE.
IN MOST CASES, WE HAVE TO LOOK AND SEE HOW WE HAVE TO ADJUST TO WHAT THEY PASSED AS, UH, WE WITNESSED WITH THE DISABLED VET EXEMPTION, UH, THE STEPS WE NEEDED TO GO, GO BACK AND, AND IN THIS PAST YEAR, INCREASE OUR TAXES BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT IT HAS.
UH, AND I WANNA ADD THAT, UM, LINDA IS DOING A GREAT JOB COMMUNICATING WITH OUR STATE REPS, COMMUNICATING WITH OUR STATE SENATORS TO GET THE POINT ACROSS TO MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT IT HAS ON OUR CITIES AND I, AND JUST PLEASE, UH, PASS, UH, OUR GRATITUDE FOR THE WORK SHE'S DOING.
[00:35:02]
YOU ARE THE IMPORTANT ONES TO TALK TO THE LEGISLATORS, THEY LISTEN TO MAYORS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS A LOT MORE THAN THEY LISTEN TO STAFF MEMBERS OR TML QUITE FRANKLY.SO IT'S IMPORTANT Y'ALL'S VOICES ARE IMPORTANT AND LOUD.
YOUR VOICES ARE LOUD AND IMPORTANT, AND WE DO BRING TO Y'ALL A RESOLUTION THAT, THAT EN ENCOMPASSES KIND OF OUR PRIORITY AREAS, RIGHT? WE KIND OF HAVE WHAT WE'RE FOR AND WHAT WE'RE AGAINST.
AND Y'ALL, WE BROUGHT THAT TO Y'ALL NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, SOMEWHERE IN THAT RANGE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE WILL BRING TO YOU EVERY PRIOR TO EVERY SESSION AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE TOUCHING ON THE PRIORITIES.
BUT, BUT Y'ALL ARE MORE THAN WELCOME AND I QUITE FRANKLY ENCOURAGE IT IF YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, UH, YOUR, OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATION TO MEET WITH THEM.
I KNOW SEVERAL OF Y'ALL HAVE RELATIONSHIPS AND HAVE MET.
AND THE ONLY THING I WOULD ASK IS THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ACT AS A BODY AND, AND KIND OF ALL ARE SINGING FROM THE SAME SHEET OF MUSIC, IF YOU WILL.
I, I DON'T THINK THAT'S REALLY A PROBLEM FOR THIS GROUP, BUT, BUT YOU DO HAVE THE, YOU CAN LEAN ON THAT IN TERMS OF OUR RESOLUTION THAT Y'ALL PASS AS WELL AS STAFF TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
DID YOU WANT I WAS GONNA ADD TOO, WITH THIS SESSION, IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE IMPORTANT THAT WE TRY TO ENGAGE SOME OF OUR RESIDENTS BECAUSE THEY WILL LISTEN TO THEM EVEN MORE THAN THEY LISTEN TO US.
AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE IS NOT VERY FOND OF CITIES.
SO THINK ABOUT THAT AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
DO YOU WANNA, JAMES, WHY DON'T YOU COME UP HERE ON THE MIC.
I WAS AT THE LONE STAR INVESTMENT POOL BOARD MEETING YESTERDAY AND ONE OF THE LEGISLATION ITEMS THAT THEY WERE CONCERNED WITH AND AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, WAS THE, UH, INCREASING SUPPORT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR, UH, ANTI LOBBYING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, UH, TRYING TO BANNING ALL ORGANIZATIONS AND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.
UM, WHICH AGAIN GOES TO STEVE'S POINT THAT Y'ALL'S CONTINUED DISCUSSION AND, AND THE CITIZENS CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS WITH THE, UH, THE, OUR LEGISLATURES, UH, EVEN MORE IMPORTANT 'CAUSE SOON, MAYBE EVEN TML MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO
THEY'RE MAINLY GOING AFTER WHAT THEY CALL TAXPAYER FUNDED LOBBYISTS.
AND TML DOES NOT USE TAXPAYER FUNDS TO LOBBY.
WE HAVE A MARKETING DEPARTMENT THAT GOES OUT AND, UM, GET FUNDS FOR THAT.
UM, THEY'RE MAINLY PROBABLY GOING AFTER, WHETHER, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT'S PROBABLY TASK B THAT THEY ACTUALLY ARE TRYING TO HIT MORE THAN TML.
WE USUALLY TEND TO ESCAPE BECAUSE WE HAVE THE FUNDING TO DO THAT, BUT WE STILL NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT AND WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH THEM AND, AND RIGHT NOW IT SEEMS LIKE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BYPASS THIS ONE, BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE ARE NOT FUNDED BY TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
AND, AND THEN ALSO SINCE LINDA'S NOT HERE, BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING, SHE AND I HAVE BEEN, UM, SHE SHOULD BE COMING BACK, I WOULD SAY SOMETIME IN MARCH, YOU KNOW, ONCE KIND OF OF THE DUST SETTLES, THE BILL FILING CLOSES, UM, TO PROVIDE COUNSEL AN UPDATE, UM, WITH KIND OF THE SITUATION OVERVIEW AND, UM, JUST ANY OTHER, YOU KNOW, PERTINENT INFORMATION.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE MORE DISCUSSION ON THAT TOO.
AND THEY'RE STILL ALLOWED TILL FEBRUARY 11TH AND THEY HAVEN'T EVEN MADE THEIR COMMITTEES YET.
SO WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF WIGGLE ROOM TO WORK ALL THAT OUT, BUT WE'RE ON TOP OF IT.
ALRIGHT, ANY, ANY COMMENTS ON ANY OF THE OTHER ONES BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE NEXT? YES MA'AM.
THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING AT HOW CITIES INVESTOR MONEY AND MAKING, I THINK IT'S THE TWO BETWEEN TEX POOL AND ANOTHER ENTITY.
THE ONE THAT I THINK THAT YOU'RE INVOLVED IN.
SO YEAH, SO, UH, BRIEFLY, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH SUPPORT IT'S GONNA GET, BUT IT HAS AN IMPORTANT AUTHOR ATTACHED TO IT.
SO JAMES IS ON THE LONE STAR BOARD THAT IT'S, AND I'M ACTUALLY ON THE TEXAS CLASS BOARD IS TEXAS COOPERATIVE LIQUID ASSET SECURITY SYSTEM BOARD.
THEY'RE LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT POOLS.
AND IN A NUTSHELL, IT'S LIKE A MONEY MARKET MUTUAL FUND FOR GOVERNMENTS.
YOU PUT YOUR MONEY IN, YOU COULD GET IT OUT THE NEXT DAY, PUT A DOLLAR IN, YOU GET A DOLLAR OUT PLUS A A A RETURN.
THERE IS A POOL THAT WAS CREATED BY THE STATE THAT USED TO BE RUN BY THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE AND THEY'VE OUTSOURCED IT
[00:40:01]
TO FEDERATED.AND SO YEAH, FEDERATED, UH, IT'S CALLED TEXT POOL.
WHAT THE, WHAT THE LEGISLATION WOULD DO WOULD EFFECTIVELY FORCE ALL THE OTHER POOLS TO SHUT DOWN AND MOVE IT INTO EITHER TAX POOL OR INTO, SAY THE STATE TREASURY IN ESSENCE.
AND THOSE FUNDS BE MANAGED THERE.
WELL, THAT IS COUNTERINTUITIVE TO THE PUBLIC FUNDS INVESTMENT ACT AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF HAVING A DIVERSITY OF INVESTMENTS AND, AND, AND IN, IN TERMS OF A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU JUST KIND OF HAVE ONE COMPANY RUNNING EVERYTHING.
AND, AND SO I, I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA GO VERY FAR, BUT IT IS, AND, AND IT'S JUST TO PUT IT IN SCALE, IT'S ABOUT $200 BILLION THAT WOULD, THEY CAN'T HANDLE IT.
THEY CAN'T MANAGE ALL THAT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAD TO DIVEST WITHIN A YEAR.
SO IN IN, IN ESSENCE, IT'S A, IT'S A PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT'S OUT THERE THAT IF IT REALLY MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE GOVERNOR'S DESK, MADE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH, IT WOULD BE NOT GOOD FOR ALL TYPES OF GOVERNMENTS.
SOME, SOME BELIEVE THAT IT'S A REACTION TO A SB AND SOME FUNDING THAT MAYBE COMES FROM ONE OF THE POOLS TO TAS B.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, WE'LL WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS FROM THERE ON THAT ONE.
IT'S ONE THAT WE'RE WATCHING PRETTY CLOSELY AS WELL.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DETAILED, PROBABLY MORE THAN Y'ALL WANTED TO KNOW, BUT THAT IT HIGHLIGHTS THE NOTION THAT WE NEED TO BE INVOLVED.
WE NEED TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE ONES THAT CAN REALLY IMPACT US.
SO ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU ON THIS SIDE.
ARE WE GOOD TO MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE? ALL RIGHT, WE'RE MOVING ALONG PRETTY QUICKLY Y'ALL.
SO NEXT IS SAFE AND LIVABLE COMMUNITY.
SO WE WANT TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC SAFETY, IMPROVE PROPERTY CONDITIONS AND OVERALL APPEARANCE OF THE CITY, PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND HEALTH, AS WELL AS MAINTAIN AND EXPAND PARKS AND TRAILS IN OUR NETWORK SYSTEM.
SO HOW ARE WE DOING THAT OR INTEND TO DO THAT? SOME OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FUTURE PLANS.
SO ONE IS DEALING WITH DIRECTLY WITH PUBLIC SAFETY, RIGHT? WE'VE HAD A BUNCH OF EQUIPMENT UPGRADES AND ENHANCEMENTS.
WE, WE INTEND TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS WELL.
SO FOR THE PD, GOT ALL NEW BODY-WORN CAMERAS, UH, A NEW FIREARM PLATFORM.
I, I GUESS TO MAKE IT CONSISTENT CHIEF, IS THAT RIGHT? MAKE YOUR PLATFORM CONSISTENT OR ON A BETTER PLATFORM.
WE REPLACED ALL OF THE TASERS IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH A MORE MODERNIZED, UH, PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AS WELL AS WE WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE SOME BODY ARMOR AND SHIELDS.
WE REPLACED THE CANINE ARI, ARI NOT, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH SHAKIRA
WE WERE DONATED A DRONE FROM THE POLICE, UH, POLICE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAD A NEW LADDER TRUCK AND HAVE RECEIVED AND PUT INTO SERVICE OF A LADDER TRUCK.
AND THAT IS AS, AS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW, THAT'S A ESSENTIALLY A TWO YEAR PROCESS AS IT'S PROBABLY EVEN LONGER THAN THAT NOW TO BUY A NEW PIECE OF FIRE EQUIPMENT LIKE A FIRE TRUCK OR A LADDER TRUCK, AN ENGINE, ET CETERA.
WE ALSO HAVE AN ENGINE THAT'S CURRENTLY BEING CONSTRUCTED.
AND WHAT'S THE DELIVERY ON THAT? OUR RY WE WILL BE GOING UP AT THE END OF THE MONTH TO DESIGN AND LAY ALL THAT OUT CONSTRUCTION.
WE SHOULD HAVE IT HERE IN SEPTEMBER OF OCTOBER OF NEXT YEAR.
OKAY, SO IT'S NOT BEING BUILT THIS YEAR, I MEAN, Y'ALL ARE STILL WORKING ON, ON DESIGN.
SO IT, IT'S A VERY EXPENSIVE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
UH, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB OF THAT GOING UP TO THE ACTUAL FACTORY AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING'S DONE CORRECTLY.
FIRE STATION FOUR IS ALSO OUT THERE ON THE HORIZON.
AND THAT, THAT WE'VE REENTERED THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR FIRE STATION FOUR.
WE HAD AN A SITUATION WHERE WE HAD TO PULL BACK AND SELECT A DIFFERENT ARCHITECT, BUT IT'S BETTER TO DO THAT AND KIND OF TAKE YOUR LUMPS RIGHT NOW THAN IT IS TO BUILD SOMETHING THAT'S BUILT INCORRECTLY AND THEN YOU LIVE WITH IT FOREVER.
[00:45:01]
GOOD THING AND WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.IT'S BETTER TO PULL BACK NOW, SUFFER THE ADDITIONAL TIME THAT IT TAKES TO GET IT DONE RIGHT AND DO IT RIGHT.
I THINK GREG AND HIS TEAM HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB OF THAT.
AND WE'RE TALKING MOSTLY IN THE POLICE AND THE EMS AREA POLICE AND EMS POLICE IN THE EMS AREAS.
SO THIS IS A FUTURE ITEM THAT'LL, IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL CONTINUE.
WE'RE GOING TO, WE NEED TO REPLACE THE RADIOS TO BE ON THE MOST CURRENT PLATFORM.
ONE OF Y'ALL WANNA COMMENT ON THAT.
OUR RADIO, SO OUR CURRENT HANDHELD RADIOS, THAT RADIOS THAT WE HAVE WERE PURCHASED IN 2013, AN AVERAGE LIFE OF A RADIO DEPENDING ON THE BRAND.
AND THE CITY DID PURCHASE, UH, WHAT I WOULD CALL A TIER ONE RADIO MOTOROLA AVERAGES FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS.
AND WE'VE HAD 'EM SINCE 2013 AND ALSO SPEAKS FOR THE OFFICERS TAKING CARE OF THE EQUIPMENT.
98% OF THE CURRENT RADIOS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR INVENTORY RIGHT NOW ARE NO LONGER WITHIN SERVICE LIFE.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS, IF THERE'S ANYTHING AT ALL THAT GOES WRONG WITH 'EM, WE SEND THEM TO MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SENDS 'EM BACK TO US AND SAYS WE'RE NOT REPAIRING 'EM.
SO, UH, WE'RE IN DESPERATE NEED WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, TWO YEARS MAX OF COMING UP WITH A NEW RADIO SYSTEM.
WHEN I SAY RADIO SYSTEM, IT'S THE ACTUAL HARDWARE FOR UH, WHAT WOULD WE CALL A MOBILE UNIT THAT GOES IN A CAR OR A HANDHELD, WHICH IS MOST PEOPLE REFER TO AS A WALKIE TALKIE.
SO THIS IS JUST A HIGHLIGHT OF STUFF THAT WE'VE ALREADY BOUGHT AND IMPLEMENTED OR ARE CURRENTLY IMPLEMENTING AND STUFF THAT IN THE FUTURE THAT IT'S, IT'S A CHALLENGE, RIGHT? AND IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DEDICATE RESOURCES TO PLAN FOR, MAKE SURE THAT IT'S BUILT INTO OUR STRATEGY.
ARE WE STILL PLANNING ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT TO HAVE THE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY ON THE BALLOT? SO WE WILL NEED A BOND ELECTION.
THE, THE CIP AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW DOES NOT HAVE THE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY THAT CLOSE IN.
IT'S IN THE FIVE TO 10 YEAR RANGE OUT.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY BUILD IT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE CIP PROCESS THAT CAN BE EVALUATED AS A PRIORITY AND AND WE WILL DO THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS.
WE'LL, WE'LL DO THAT, BUT AS IT'S BEEN ON THE CIP IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE IN THE FIVE TO 10 YEAR RANGE OUT AS IT EXISTS ON THE CIP RIGHT NOW.
'CAUSE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A BIG TICKET ITEM, PROBABLY CLOSER TO 30 TO $40 MILLION.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, AND BACK TO THE LEGISLATIVE STUFF, WE USED CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION FOR OUR ROADS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT COULD CHANGE.
WE MAY NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION FOR ROADS AND, AND THE THINGS THEY'RE ALLOWED FOR THEM TO BE ISSUED AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW.
SO COME SEPTEMBER 1ST, WE MAY HAVE TO RETHINK OUR STRATEGY ON OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND HOW WE FUND OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND MAY NEED TO HAVE A BOND ELECTION IN NOVEMBER.
WE HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT THE LEGISLATURE DOES.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? GOOD QUESTION.
OKAY, WELL I'LL MOVE ON FROM THE EQUIPMENT UPGRADES AND ENHANCEMENTS.
IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING WE DON'T REALLY THINK ABOUT, BUT IF YOU ADD ALL THOSE UP, IT'S IN THE MILLION, MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS RANGE.
SO IT'S EXPENSIVE, THE RADIOS ARE EXPENSIVE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, IT'S THE EQUIPMENT THAT GETS USED EVERY SINGLE DAY.
NEXT WE HAVE FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION.
SO SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE ALREADY IS THE DISPATCH, YOU KNOW, POLICE RE YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A SMALL ITEM, BUT I WANNA HIGHLIGHT IT BECAUSE IT COST A COUPLE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO DO.
BUT IT MADE THEIR LIFE AND THE WAY THEY OPERATE A LOT MORE EFFICIENT.
IT'S A, IT'S A MORE COMFORTABLE SPACE IS IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN OVER THERE OR BEEN AROUND DISPATCHERS, IT'S PROBABLY THE TOUGH, TOUGHEST JOB.
I MEAN, THESE GUYS HAVE TO BE OUT ON THE STREET, BUT THEY GOT A TOUGH JOB TOO.
AND IT'S, IT TAKES A CER A LOT OF DEDICATION FOR THAT POSITION.
AND HAVING THE A A GOOD ENVIRONMENT WITH WITHIN WHICH TO WORK IS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND THE BEST THING ABOUT IT IS, IS I THINK WE GOT A GRANT FOR ALMOST ALL OF IT.
SO WE DIDN'T, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE GOT A GRANT FOR AND WE'RE ABLE TO UPGRADE SIGNIFICANTLY.
SO NEXT IS THE, I I JUST HAVE IT LISTED AS COUNTY FACILITY.
SO ON FM 78, THE COUNTY HAS THE, WHERE
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THE TAX OFFICE IS AND ALL THAT.THEY HAVE SOME UNUTILIZED SPACE THERE.
WE ARE IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE COUNTY TO PUT, I BELIEVE IT'S NOT EVIDENCE, BUT JIM, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE PUTTING IN THE COUNTY FACILITY DID? SURE.
OUR INTENT IS TO MOVE OUR PROPERTY ROOM INVESTIGATIONS AND OUR CRIME VICTIMS LIAISON.
WHICH WILL FREE UP SPACE TO ALLOW US TO DO SOME REMODELING AT THE MAIN STATION TO HOPEFULLY GET US THROUGH WHEN WE MOVE ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY FOR FIVE TO EIGHT YEARS.
'CAUSE WE'RE MAXED OUT ACROSS THE PARKING LOT OVER HERE IN THE POLICE STATION IS, THAT'S THE BRIDGE TO GET US TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE, WE GOTTA PRAY TO REMODEL IT, BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA CHARGE US ANY RENT.
AND I HAVE THAT ON AN UPCOMING AGENDA ITEM, SO Y'ALL WILL BE ASKED TO VOTE ON THAT SOON.
SO, BUT, BUT IT IS A GOOD DEAL FOR THE CITY AND IT HELPS UTILIZE THE SPACE.
THERE'S PROBABLY EVEN SOME SYNERGIES THAT'LL BE BUILT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, AT LEAST THAT PRECINCT.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THE COUNTY AND FOR, UH, COMMISSIONER CARPENTER.
BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA HELP US QUITE A BIT AND BE A REALLY, QUITE FRANKLY, A CHEAP WAY TO DO IT UNTIL WE CAN GET INTO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY DOWN THE ROAD.
STEVE BY PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY.
WILL THE EOC BE THERE OR WILL? HOW DO WE HANDLE BIG INCIDENTS HERE? OKAY, SO FIRST PART OF THE QUE GO AHEAD.
NOTHING'S BEEN FINALIZED, BUT ABSOLUTELY WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING WORKING WITH THE OTHER DISCIPLINES AND PUBLIC SAFETY THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT HAVING AN EOC AT THAT NEW PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING.
YEAH, TYPICALLY IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO PLANS DRAWN UP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT I, THE, THE, I BELIEVE THE INTENTION WAS TO HAVE POLICE OVER THERE, FIRE STATION ONE AND EMS, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, CONSOLIDATE WHAT'S OVER HERE ON CAMPUS HERE AND IT WOULD MOVE OVER THERE ON THAT SITE.
AND I, IN, IN MY PAST EXPERIENCE, IT'S BEEN A HARDENED BUILDING, SO IT IS A GREAT PLACE TO PUT YOUR EOC AND YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS SURVIVABLE RIGHT NOW.
WE KIND OF OPERATE OUTTA HERE AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T REALLY, WELL, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, GREG OR WHOEVER, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE AN EOC, RIGHT? WE, WE KIND OF JUST OPERATE AT PRESENT.
WE DON'T HAVE AN ADEQUATE FACILITY SPACE-WISE TO RUN THE EOC AS WE SHOULD.
WE WOULD HAVE TO PIECEMEAL THAT A LITTLE BIT TOGETHER.
EVEN IN THE OLD SPACE THAT WAS IN FIRE STATION ONE, IT WAS NOWHERE NEAR ADEQUATE ROOM WISE.
SO WE WOULD, WE WOULD USE DIFFERENT PIECES AND ROOMS TO PUT DIFFERENT AREAS TOGETHER AND, AND WE ARE AS AN INTERIM MEASURE, TRYING TO FIND A PLACE THAT COULD SERVE AS AN EOC.
AND I DON'T WANNA JUMP AHEAD, BUT MAYBE COUNTY, I DON'T KNOW, WE'LL SEE.
WELL IN, IN STATION FOUR WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SPACE THAT WE CAN SERVE AS AN EEOC, MORE OF AN OPERATING CENTER IN THE EVENT SOMETHING HAPPENED FOR THE CITY AND ITS PARTNERS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT PER SE WHEN WE HAD SNOWMAGEDDON AND WE IDENTIFIED THAT AS A LITTLE BIT OF A PROBLEM AND SOMETHING WE CAN IMPROVE UPON, UH, FROM THAT POINT.
UM, IDENTIFYING ALTERNATE LOCATIONS, THERE'S A COUPLE OF STRATEGIES IN ADDITION TO WHAT CHIEF LOWERY SAID THAT I THINK WE CAN TALK THROUGH AND BETTER SERVE.
NOT JUST SHIRTS, BUT MAYBE EVEN THE REGION.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S BRINGING IN PARTNERS AND THAT'S A BIGGER UP PROJECT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT AS WELL.
AND I KNOW WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT FIRE STATION FOUR, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR, IT'S OVER OFF STEIN ON PROPERTY THAT THE CITY OWNS.
AND OUR ADJUSTED TIMELINE IS WHAT GREG, WE, WE WE'RE REENTERING DESIGN.
SO, UH, AT PRESENT ON FIRE STATION FOUR, WE'RE WORKING, UH, WITH OUR OWNER'S REPS TO GET SOME GEO WORK DONE AND MOVING ON WHILE THE ARCHITECT IS WORKING ON FINISHING OUR BASIC PLANS.
UH, FROM THAT THEY'RE BEGINNING THE CONVERSATIONS WITH IT ON THOSE NEEDS.
AND THEN WE HAVE THEM IN TOUCH WITH DIFFERENT PARTNERS IN THEIR CITY TO WHERE IT CAN TRY TO DO THINGS IN ADVANCE.
AS YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES PEOPLE WAIT TILL THE END AND THEN WE, THERE'S THIS THROUGH THE PROCESS, IT SLOWS DOWN.
WE'RE GONNA TRY TO GET AHEAD OF THAT AND LET THEM ALL TALK IN ADVANCE.
SO WE GET THROUGH THE PROCESS A LOT QUICKER.
UH, FROM THAT, THE ESTIMATED TIME SHOULD BE SEPTEMBER OF 26 AT PRESENT.
I'M WAITING FOR A, A NEW CALENDAR DATE ON IT.
[00:55:01]
FACILITY WE TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT, THE CITY DOES OWN PROPERTY.UH, RIGHT NOW THE, THE PLACE THAT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED IS KIND OF THAT TRIANGLE.
IT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF DETS CREEK FROM WHERE COMMUNITY CIRCLE PARK IS GONNA BE.
IS THAT CORRECT? STILL THE TARGETED AREA ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DITCH.
BUT THE CI CITY DOES ALREADY HAVE A LOCATION AND WE DO ALREADY OWN THE PROPERTY, WHICH IS A GOOD THING 'CAUSE WE WON'T HAVE TO FIND THAT LATER.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FACILITIES OR RENOVATIONS? I'LL, I'LL, I'LL ROUND IT OUT BY SAYING THIS.
WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO UTILIZE THE RESOURCES WE ALREADY HAVE TO THEIR MAXIMUM CAPACITY BEFORE WE GO AND JUST TRY AND BUILD MORE AND MORE AND MORE.
WE'RE WE'RE RENOVATING SPACE THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE OR MAKING A DEAL IF WE CAN WITH ANOTHER ENTITY TO, TO GAIN EFFICIENCIES SO THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING OUR BEST TO BE THE BEST CARETAKERS.
IS THERE STILL A PLAN TO MOVE THE COURTS HERE AND USE, UTILIZE THE MUNICIPAL COURTS AS OFFICE SPACE AS WELL? YES.
SO I YOU WANT TO COMMENT ON THAT? YES, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, AND, AND JAMES CAN PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IF NEEDED, BUT THE PLAN RIGHT NOW IS TO, UM, START HAVING COURTS HELD IN HERE IN MARCH, SO FAIRLY SOON.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE REMODELING RENOVATION OF THAT SPACE OVER THERE, IT WOULD JUST BE DEPENDENT UPON KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE PLAN, THE FACILITY'S PLAN GOING FORWARD.
SO YEAH, REPURPOSING THAT SPACE OVER THERE, MOVING THEM IN HERE FOR COURT DAYS, THAT KIND OF THING.
SO OTHER, UH, ANOTHER ONE, UH, KIND OF A SMALLER ONE IS PARKS ADMIN BUILDING.
THEY'RE CURRENTLY IN A BUILDING AND WE WOULD RECONFIGURE AND REDO THAT SPACE.
IF YOU'VE BEEN OVER THERE, YOU'VE SEEN IT, THEY'RE KIND OF CRAMPED IN THERE AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, NEEDS, NEEDS SOME REFRESH.
BUT THAT'S A LOT MORE TO BETTER UTILIZATION OF THE PROPERTY THAT WE ALREADY HAVE RATHER THAN GOING OUT AND TRYING TO ACQUIRE RENT SOMETHING ELSE.
WHEN WE RENOVATE SPACE IN THE OTHER BUILDING, ARE WE ALSO GONNA PUT IN SPACE FOR LIKE NURSING MOMS? UM, OH, OH, I'M SORRY.
YOU KNOW, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS COME TO LIGHT, YOU KNOW, TO THE FOREFRONT RECENTLY AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BUILDING SPACE, SOMETHING THAT THAT'S PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT.
ANY OTHER FACILITY RELATED QUESTIONS? IS THERE SOMETHING WE'RE MISSING ON THIS ALL RIGHT PRO THAT MAKE ANYBODY ELSE THINK OF A BIG MUG OF BEER? I DON'T KNOW, IT'S A ROAST.
OPEN SPACE AND TRAILS, PARKS AND RECREATION, OPEN SPACE AND TRAILS.
THIS IS OUR POST PLAN THAT LAUREN AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, IT'S ESSENTIALLY THEIR MASTER PLAN.
THEY BROUGHT IT TO Y'ALL AND SHE PRESENTED IT, I BELIEVE IN DECEMBER.
AND IT'S A REALLY, IT'S REALLY WELL THOUGHT OUT PLAN AND GOT A LOT OF INPUT FROM OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE ESSENCE OF WHAT WE WANT TO TRY AND DO.
AND IN TERMS OF INCORPORATING THIS INTO OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, IS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT OUR COMMUNITY WANTS AND WHAT OUR, OUR RESIDENTS WANT.
AND, AND THEN PUTTING THAT INTO ACTION THE BEST WAY WE CAN.
SO THE PROS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE ALREADY DONE, WE'VE GOT THE SOCCER FIELD LIGHTS THAT ARE NEARLY COMPLETE, I BELIEVE.
WHEN ARE WE TURNING THOSE ON LAUREN? MARCH 1ST WHEN THE FIRST SOCCER BALL GETS KICKED? NO, I DUNNO.
BUT YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE TURNING ON THE, THE LIGHTS SOON AND THAT WAS A $1.2 MILLION ENHANCEMENT TO THAT FACILITY.
ALSO, WE'VE GOT HILLTOP PARK AND THAT IS WHAT LAUREN, WHY DON'T YOU COME UP HERE, COME OVER HERE TO THE HOT SEAT OR YOU CAN SIT IN MY SEAT.
HILLTOP PARK RIGHT NOW IS A 1.5 MILLION, UM, INVESTMENT FUNDED BY TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE GRANT AND OUR MATCHING FUNDS IN, IN OUR DRY AL CREEK, UH, PROPERTY THAT WE ACQUIRED, UM, OFF OF 4 82 AND BUNKER STREET.
THAT'S ALSO A GRANT FUNDED PROJECT.
AND THEN, UM, COMMUNITY CIRCLE PARK AGAIN, THAT WOULD BE AN EDC FUNDED PROJECT.
AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF WORKING ON RFPS TO GET ALL THE, UM, ALL
[01:00:01]
THESE PROJECTS TO CONSTRUCTION.SO IT, YOU KNOW, IF Y'ALL HAVEN'T PICKED UP ON IT YET, READING LEFT OR RIGHT, THEY GENERALLY, THE WAY THESE ARE LISTED, THINGS WE'VE ALREADY DONE OR ARE ABOUT TO FINISH UP AND THINGS WE'LL BE DOING OUT INTO THE FUTURE.
THE HILLTOP AND DRY KAMAL CREEK OR GRANT FUNDED FOR THE MOST PART, AND WE'VE GOT IT.
WE WE'RE MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY ON THOSE.
'CAUSE THOSE GRANTS HAVE STIPULATIONS.
YOU HAVE A FIVE YEAR TIMELINE TO GET THOSE PROJECTS COMPLETED WHEN THEY'RE GRANT FUNDED.
SO WE, WE SHOULD SEE THOSE DONE REL PRETTY QUICKLY.
AND THEN THE TRAILS IS SOMETHING THAT'S IDENTIFIED IN OUR RESIDENT SURVEY YEAR OVER YEAR, AS PROBABLY THE NUMBER TWO PRIORITY HIKING BIKE TRAILS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT IT, IT GETS IMPLEMENTED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
A GOOD EXAMPLE BEING 1518 PROJECT, IT'S GONNA HAVE, WHAT, A 10 FOOT TRAIL ON ONE SIDE AND SIX FOOT SIDEWALK ON THE OTHER SIDE.
I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE WE HAVE, AND, BUT THEN ALSO WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE OUR OWN PROJECTS THAT WE'LL DO, THAT WE'LL FUND IN RCIP THAT A DEVELOPER OR, UH, IT WON'T BE INCLUDED IN SAY, A, ANOTHER CIP PROJECT, LIKE A ROAD.
IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WE FUND ON, ON OUR OWN.
BUT PUTTING ALL THAT TOGETHER AND LINKING THOSE TOGETHER, HAVING 'EM INCORPORATED INTO NEIGHBORHOODS AND LINKING NEIGHBORHOODS TOGETHER IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK IN THE LONG RUN, IT'LL REALLY BENEFIT THE CITY.
IT'LL REALLY ENHANCE OUR MOBILITY IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO BIKE AND WALK AND JOG, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THEN COMMUNITY CIRCLE, LAUREN TOUCHED ON THAT, THAT IS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER OUT.
UH, TRAILS OF COURSE, ARE ONGOING IN THE COMMUNITY.
COMMUNITY CIRCLE, I THINK IS IN THE FIVE YEAR TIMELINE, FIVE YEARS OUT, BIG PROJECT RIGHT OVER HERE, BEHIND CITY HALL NEXT TO THE BALL FIELD.
I HAVE BEEN REQUESTED, TOLD A MILLION TIMES THAT NEEDS HAVE PICKLEBALL.
COURTS JUST SAYING MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT, BUT IT NEEDS TO HAVE PICKLEBALL COURTS AS PART OF IT.
IT'S, IT'S SPACE THAT THE CITY ALREADY OWNS, IT'S PRIME REAL ESTATE AND IT'S, IT'S A GREAT PLACE FOR OUR PARK.
I THINK EVERYBODY'S EXCITED ABOUT IT.
AND I GUESS THE GOOD NEWS THERE IS, IS THAT IT, IT HAS A FUNDING SOURCE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, UM, AND, UH, FROM THE EDC AND THERE ARE FOUR B SALES TAX.
AND, UM, WE, THAT WILL EVOLVE.
Y'ALL WILL BE IN PART OF THAT PROCESS IN TERMS OF INPUT, I'M SURE.
AND IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, I THINK IS GONNA BE A BIG, BIG ENHANCEMENT FOR THE CITY AND A BIG MOVE FORWARD.
SOMETHING THAT'S NOT LISTED ON THERE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN THINKING IT, WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT PARKS AND YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE AND FUTURE PARKS, I DON'T REALLY KNOW.
MAYBE SOMEBODY KNOWS WHEN DID WE BUY ALL THIS LAND FOR THIS CAMPUS, BUT IT WASN'T LAST YEAR AND IN THE SEVENTIES, RIGHT? SO WITH THAT MINDSET AND THAT FOCUS, THE LAND WAS BOUGHT FOR ALL OF THIS CAMPUS AND THE BALL FIELDS IN THE 1970S, OUR GROWTH AREAS AT THIS POINT IN TIME ARE SOUTHERN SHIRTS AND FAR NORTH.
WE NEED TO BE LOOKING FORWARD WITH A FORD MINDSET TO ACQUIRING PROPERTY AND SOUTHERN SHIRTS AND POSSIBLY IN FAR NORTHERN SHIRTS.
SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT'S, IN TERMS OF LOOKING FORWARD OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORTS, IS THAT REALLY THE BIG THING IS IF YOU CAN LOCK DOWN THE LAND NOW AND BUY IT, YOU CAN DEAL WITH BUILDING ON IT LATER.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? COMMENTS? YES, MA'AM.
I'M HEARING FROM THE SOCCER FOLKS THAT THEY NEED SHADE AND IRRIGATION AND I GUESS EXPANDING THE SOCCER FIELDS.
THIS IS WHAT I'M HEARING, IS THAT IN THE PLAN? ONE OF THOSE IS IN THE WORKS.
YES, I WAS GONNA SAY, WE DO HAVE A NEED FOR MORE ATHLETIC FIELDS BY 2030.
THAT'S WHAT THE PROS PLAN CALLS FOR.
SO LIKE STEVE MENTIONED, WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR PROPERTIES THAT WOULD BE KEY FOR THOSE TYPE OF ATHLETIC FACILITIES.
AND YES, IRRIGATION WOULD TAKE US TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
BUT CURRENTLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WE'RE KIND OF BRONZE, SILVER LEVEL.
MAYBE WE WANNA GET TO GOLD OR PLATINUM ONE DAY.
UM, BUT THAT WOULD WE, WE WANNA REALLY WORK TO, UM, USE RECLAIMED WATER IN THE CITY, RIGHT.
SO THAT WOULD BE OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO BUILD OUT THE RECLAIM WATER SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN UTILIZE THAT FOR IRRIGATION.
BUT THAT'S, IT COMES AT A HIGH COST.
WE'LL WORK THAT IN THE CIP IN THE FUTURE AND, AND WITH LEAGUES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, WE WILL BE LOOKING TO
[01:05:01]
PARTNER WITH THEM IN ACCOMPLISHING SOME OF THOSE GOALS.I, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S INCUMBENT UPON THE COMMUNITY TO INVEST, BUT ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S A LITTLE BIT SPECIALIZED, IT'S REALLY INCUMBENT UPON THE, THE USERS TO, TO HAVE A STAKE IN IT AS WELL.
SO WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR FUTURE EXPANSIONS TO INCLUDE A STAKE FROM THE, THE, THE STAKEHOLDERS OF THAT PIECE OF, UH, PROPERTY OR, SO.
ANYTHING ELSE LOOKED LIKE YOU WANTED TO ASK
NO, I MEAN, IT IS JUST LIKE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, OUR RECREATION TRAILS AND PARKS IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE IN THE TOP THREE, YOU KNOW, CITIZEN, UH, DESIRES.
SO IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU'RE NEVER GONNA FINISH THE PROJECT
THEN ALSO THAT'S LISTED THERE IS THE SHIRTZ HOUSING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS SHEEP.
I WILL LET MAYBE BRIAN OR LISA COMMENT ON THAT, BUT THAT AND DESCRIBE IT'S A GO AHEAD.
SO THE SHEEP PROGRAM, TURN YOUR MIC.
THE, THE SHEEP PROGRAM IS THE, THE NEW PROJECT WE JUST STARTED KIND OF END OF LAST YEAR, WHICH IS THE FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM TO, UH, HELP FOLKS, UH, IMPROVE THEIR HOMES TO, TO ACHIEVE GREATER ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
UM, SO WE'VE KIND OF ROLLED THAT OUT.
BIG SPLASH STARTED TRYING TO GET FOLKS SIGNED UP.
I WILL SAY THAT WE GOT, UH, A NOTICE YESTERDAY THAT, THAT, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO SEE IF IT APPLIES TO US OR WHY WE WOULD'VE GOTTEN IT IF IT DIDN'T APPLY TO US, UH, BASED ON A PAUSE ON FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO AT THIS POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OF A PAUSE MODE TO TRY TO GET SOME ANSWERS FROM FOLKS, UH, AS HOPEFULLY WE'LL DO THAT SHORTLY.
SO, AND, AND THAT ONE'S NOT A HUGE PROGRAM, BUT IT IS AN EXAMPLE WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THE ACTUAL, THE ACTUAL OBJECTIVES FOR THIS GOAL, IT TOUCHES ON A COUPLE OF THEM PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND HEALTH, RIGHT? BETTER HEALTH FOR SOME OF OUR FOLKS THAT REALLY CAN'T AFFORD TO MAYBE UPGRADE THAT.
AND THEN IMPROVING THE PROPERTY CONDITIONS AND OVERALL APPEARANCE OF THE CITY.
IT'S MORE ON THE PROPERTY CONDITION SIDE, BUT IT, IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT AND IN TERMS OF LOOKING FORWARD, IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK TO GROW.
AND THEN LASTLY, THIS IS ON HERE, AND THIS IS MORE OF A MENTION THAN A PROBABLY IN DEPTH DISCUSSION BACKED UP BY DATA AND FACTS AND, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
BUT I'LL LEAD OFF, AND MAYBE JASON CAN FILL IN SOME COLOR, BUT OUR EMS DEPARTMENT, IF YOU'RE, WELL, OUR EMS DEPARTMENT, AS YOU KNOW, IS A REGIONAL SERVICE.
WE SERVE THE CITY OF EARTH, BUT WE ALSO SERVE A LOT OF SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING, SAY, CILO, UNIVERSAL CITY, THE BASE, ALL OF UNINCORPORATED, MOST OF UNINCORPORATED GUADALUPE COUNTY, UH, IN A VARIETY OF OTHER SMALLER AREAS.
AND SO WE HAVE A LARGE SERVICE.
IN FACT, WHEN I WAS PREPPING FOR MY INTERVIEW TO COME HERE, I WAS LOOKING AT THE BUDGET AND I'M LOOKING AT THE STAFF AND GO, OH MY GOSH, WHY DO THEY HAVE 80 PEOPLE IN THE EMS DEPARTMENT? WELL, WE HAVE 93 PEOPLE IN THE EMS DEPARTMENT NOW, AND THE REASON WHY WE DO IS BECAUSE WE SERVE THIS ENORMOUS AREA AND WE COVER A LOT OF SPACE, AND THEY DO AN EXCELLENT JOB DOING IT.
NOW, THE CAVEAT IS NOW INTO THE FUTURE, WE HAVE IT SET UP AS WHAT'S CALLED AN ENTERPRISE FUND.
AND ALL THAT IS, IS A FANCY NAME FOR SAYING THE WAY, INSTEAD OF BEING IN THE GENERAL FUND, THIS IS AN ENTERPRISE FUND LIKE YOU WOULD HAVE FOR YOUR WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENT WHERE WE OPERATE LIKE A BUSINESS, RIGHT? SO WE, WE, WE OPERATE LIKE A BUSINESS.
THE ACCOUNTING IS MORE LIKE IT WOULD BE IN, IN, IN PUBLIC ACCOUNTING, AND IT, AND IT JUST FUNCTIONS DIFFERENTLY.
SO ALL OF THOSE FOLKS, NOT IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS THAT WE SERVE, WE CHARGE THEM FOR THE SERVICE, BUT WE ALSO GENERATE REVENUES FROM MEDICAL BILLS FOR TRANSPORTS.
AND BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE STATE LAW AS WELL AS A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT IN A GROWING WORLD, WE'RE FACED WITH SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL CHALLENGES WITH THE EMS DEPARTMENT.
AND IT'S NOT A DISCUSSION WE NEED TO HAVE RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT IT, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO, AND WE REALLY NEED TO PLAN FOR MOVING INTO THE FUTURE BECAUSE
[01:10:01]
WE ARE ON A TRAJECTORY WE BELIEVE THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY SUSTAINABLE.SO, UH, AND IT'S DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS, NOT, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH BEING THE CLASS IN COMP THAT WE DID, RIGHT? WE DID A CLASS IN COMP, THERE WAS A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO MAKE THAT THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY TWO BUDGETS AGO, AND TO TRY OUR BEST TO MAINTAIN IT.
AND THAT THAT'S FOR ALL ASPECTS OF CITY OPERATIONS.
SO, AND, AND THAT INCLUDES EMS. SO IT IS A CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE, BUT I WILL SAY THE, THE FRUITS OF THAT LABOR ARE IS SOMEBODY WHO, A DEPARTMENT THAT HAD A LIKE 30% TURNOVER RATE AND 18 TO 20%, UH, UM, VACANCY RATE IS SITTING AT UNDER 10 AND TYPICALLY IS UNDER 10.
AND I AT POINTS FULLY STAFFED, WHICH I DON'T THINK HAS HAPPENED.
SO, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER ASPECTS TOO.
LIKE MOVING FROM 24 HOUR SHIFTS TO 12 HOUR SHIFTS MAYBE REQUIRES A LITTLE MORE PEOPLE AND MAYBE A LITTLE MORE EXPENSIVE.
BUT THE DECISION WAS MADE YEARS AGO TO TRY AND TRANSITION TO THAT.
AND BECAUSE OPERATIONALLY IT, IT MAKES MORE SENSE.
SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER, JASON, IF YOU'VE GOT ANYTHING YOU NEED TO ADD TO THAT? NO, I, I THINK YOU HIT ALL OF THE, THE KEY POINTS.
UH, SENATE BILL 24 76, WHICH, UH, BANNED BALANCE BILLING FOR US.
UM, THAT CUT, UM, ABOUT $500,000 IN REVENUE.
UM, YOU SAID THE CLASS AND COMP, UM, ALSO THE TASK REDUCTION.
UH, SO TASK IS THE TEXAS AMBULANCE SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENT PROGRAM.
UH, WE WERE GETTING REIMBURSED FOR PATIENTS WHO HAD MEDICAID AND OUR CHARITY CARE PATIENTS.
UM, THAT HAS REDUCED, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY AS WELL OVER THE YEARS.
I THINK OUR BIGGEST REIMBURSEMENT ONE YEAR WAS $400,000.
WE'RE NOW GETTING, IT'S LESS THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AS WELL.
SO THOSE THREE THINGS, UH, REALLY HURT US.
AND, AND I'LL SAY IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, ANY SITUATION OF WHAT WE DO, AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT A LONG RANGE PLAN, YOUR OPTIONS ARE SIMPLE.
EITHER INCREASE REVENUES, REDUCE SERVICE, OR SOME COMBINATION OF THE TWO.
SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR HOMEWORK AND WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO YOU AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE A PLAN THAT IS SOMETHING, DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, IT'S SUSTAINABLE OVER TIME THAT WE DON'T PUT OURSELVES INTO AN INSOLVENCY POSITION IN TERMS OF CASH, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S A VIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE, HIGH LEVEL, HIGHEST LEVEL SERVICE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE OVER TIME.
SO, QUESTIONS, I KNOW I THREW A GRENADE OUT THERE, BUT ANY QUESTION IS
ANY IDEA? UH, HOW MUCH? UH, SO JAMES, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU, UH, WE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE, THE FINER DATA, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE OUR AUDIT DONE FOR 24, BUT IN TERMS OF 23 WAS OUR LAST A CFR THAT WE COMPLETED, I THINK WE, WE WERE A $400,000 IN TERMS OF, OF NET POSITION CHANGE.
SO WE HAD A NEGATIVE NET POSITION CHANGE OF 400,000.
I THINK THIS YEAR WE'RE TARGETING CLOSER TO $1 BILLION.
SO IN TERMS OF NET POSITION, WHEN YOU CONSIDER ALL OF OUR ASSETS AND ALL OF OUR LIABILITIES WE'RE, WE WERE AT THE END OF 23, ABOUT $2.3 MILLION POSITIVE, $2.5 MILLION POSITIVE.
BUT THAT IS DEPLETING SO AT, AND THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING IN A NEGATIVE NET POSITION AND BEING CASH FLOW NEGATIVE ESSENTIALLY.
AND IT'S REALLY THE CASH FLOW AND THE OPERATING DEFICIT THAT WE'RE FACING RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WANT TO, YOU DON'T WANNA SUSTAIN THAT FOR A LONG TIME.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE JUST INCREASED THE RATES FOR THE CITIES.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE PROPOSALS.
I THINK IT, WE SHOULD ALSO, UH, WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING THE RATE INCREASE, UH, BRING THE CITIES IN AND THE COUNTY TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW, WHAT OUR SITUATION IS AND WHY THE RATES ARE GONNA GO UP.
UH, AND IF THEY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT 1750 PER PER PERSON AT THIS TIME.
I MEAN, IF WE GOTTA GO TO 20, WE HAVE TO GO TO 20.
UH, MOST OF THESE CITIES CANNOT AFFORD EMS SERVICES.
UH, BUT ON THEIR OWN, I MEAN ON THEIR OWN.
UH, BUT IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER ALSO IS BRINGING THE CITIES TOGETHER FORM LIKE THIS SO THAT WE CAN DISCUSS THE RATES.
WELL, I, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, MAYOR AND I, AND YOU TOUCHED ON SOMETHING THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS THE ECONOMIES OF SCALE THAT ARE GAINED BY DOING IT THE WAY WE DO IT ARE TREMENDOUS.
[01:15:01]
ENTITIES WANTED TO GO DO IT ON THEIR OWN, RATHER THAN THEIR COST GOING UP BY X PERCENT, IT WOULD BE FIVE X PERCENT.RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN REALLY JUST GET INTO THE BUSINESS AND DO.
THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF ECONOMIES OF SCALE, LIKE I SAID, GAINED BY DOING IT THE WAY WE DO IT AND COLLECT ADVISING THAT NOW I'LL, I'LL, I'LL MAKE THIS COMMENT, AND THIS IS A, A STEVE COMMENT, IS THAT MY BELIEF IS THAT EVERYBODY WHO PARTICIPATES SHOULD SHOULDER THE BURDEN.
AND IT'S OUR JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS FULLY INFORMED ON THE SCENARIOS AND, AND WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE FACING AND HOW WE NEED TO ADJUST.
BUT THAT BURDEN NEEDS TO FALL TO ALL THE CUSTOMER BASE.
SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS ANOTHER, UH, UH, LEGISLATIVE, UH, HIGH POINT AS WELL.
'CAUSE THIS IS A COMBINATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL, UH, RULES THAT HAVE CHANGED CAUSING THE, UH, THE CHANGE IN, IN THE WAY WE WORK.
UH, SENATE BILL 24 76, OF COURSE, THE STATE, UM, AND THEY KIND OF MIRRORED THE FEDERAL LAW ON BALANCE BILLING AS WELL.
AND THEN ALSO THE TASK PRODUCTION IS STATE, UM, AS WELL.
AND SAYING THAT, BUT I DON'T WANT TO IGNORE THE, THE FACT THAT SOME OF IT IS US INCREASING THE OPERATIONAL COST BY MAKING SURE THAT THE SALARIES ARE COMPETITIVE AND WE CAN KEEP GOOD PEOPLE.
THAT THAT IS A COMPONENT OF IT.
AND IT, IT'S NOT, I MEAN, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO IGNORE THAT OR, OR, BUT IT IS A CULMINATION OF THINGS LIKE, LIKE YOU POINTED OUT.
WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF EXPERTISE IN THIS AREA, SO WE MAY LEAN ON THEM FOR INFORMATION.
SO, BUT, BUT IT IS AN ISSUE THAT'S OUT THERE.
WE WANT TO BRING IT UP EARLY ENOUGH TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO DEAL WITH OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, FIVE YEARS, WE WANT YOU GUYS TO BE AWARE OF IT, THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ADDRESS THIS.
DOES ANYBODY NEED A BREAK? IT'S 10, 9 50.
DO WE NEED A QUICK BREAK? YEAH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A BREAK.
ALRIGHT, SO MOVING ALONG MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
OUR NEXT OBJECT, UH, GOAL IS INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT COURSE IS A BIG ONE.
WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF TALKED ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT JUST TO COVER THE FOUR OBJECTIVES THAT ARE UNDER THAT GOAL.
DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN ROADWAYS, SIDEWALKS, AND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE, DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN WATER WASTEWATER AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE WATER SUPPLY NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE AND SUPPORT STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN CITY FACILITIES.
SO IN TERMS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FUTURE PLANS, THIS IS ONE WHERE WE'VE DONE QUITE A BIT RECENTLY, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A TON MORE TO DO.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS GONNA DRIVE US FOR THE NEXT 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 YEARS.
SO STREET MAINTENANCE, AS YOU'RE AWARE, TWO YEARS AGO ON THE LIST IS STILL WRITTEN ON MY WALL AND MY OFFICE IS THE, IS STREET MAINTENANCE AND MAINTAINING A MORE AGGRESSIVE POSTURE IN TERMS OF OUR STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.
I BELIEVE WE'VE SEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT GAINS.
WE'VE SEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT GAINS AND WE'VE STARTED DOWN THE ROAD OF BEING ABLE TO KIND OF MEASURE OUR PERFORMANCE AS WELL AS, AS MAYBE A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE AND REDIRECT AND, AND KIND OF GAIN MORE RESOURCES FOR IT.
SO SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE ALREADY IS YOU'VE, YOU SEE LARRY AND THE, FOR THE STREET MAINTENANCE COMPONENT AND, AND THEN JOHN GETS UP AND TELLS A HORRIBLE ENGINEER LEVEL JOKE AND THEN, BUT HE'S DEALING MORE WITH SOME OF THE MAINTENANCE LEVEL STUFF AND THEN SOME OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT LEVEL STUFF.
BUT THE DASHBOARD FOR STREET MAINTENANCE THAT'S ON THE WEBPAGE HAS BEEN A, AN EXCELLENT ADDITION.
IT SHOWS US AND THE ENTIRE WORLD AND Y'ALL, WHERE WE'RE DOING THE WORK WE'RE DOING, IT HAS A PICTURE OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE AND YOU CAN SCALE IT BY TIME TIMEFRAME TO SEE HOW MUCH WE'RE ABLE TO GET DONE AND WHERE IT'S BEING DONE.
[01:20:01]
SO IT'S BEEN A REALLY NICE TOOL.IT'S STILL EVOLVING AND IT'S STILL SOMETHING THAT WE'LL PROBABLY LEARN TO UTILIZE BETTER OVER TIME.
BUT I THINK IT'S BEEN A REALLY GOOD ADDITION.
IT'S, IT'S A VERY, FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME, IT'S A VERY VISUAL WAY TO, TO LOOK AT, UM, OUR, EVERYTHING I JUST MENTIONED, PERFORMANCE, ET CETERA, AND ALLOWS US TO KIND OF PLAN, UH, AND, AND DO A BETTER JOB THERE.
WE'RE DOING THE QUARTERLY UPDATES, WE'LL PROBABLY TWEAK THOSE AND ENHANCE THOSE OVER TIME.
AND MAYBE AS WE GAIN THE ABILITY TO, AS WATER PASSES UNDER THE BRIDGE AND WE HAVE MORE DATA TO DEAL WITH, LARRY WILL BRING YOU MORE OF A PERFORMANCE BASED KIND OF LOOK AT THINGS EACH QUARTER AND YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH AND, AND HOW, HOW WHERE, AND, AND IS IT A GAIN, IS IT A SLOWDOWN, IS IT, YOU KNOW, A MAINTAINING, ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AS WE GET SOME WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE AND WE DO MORE AND MORE, WE'LL HAVE THAT DATA COMPILED AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO MEASURE.
THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE SET IT UP.
YOU KNOW, WE SET IT UP AND REALLY KIND OF GOT IT GOING ABOUT 6, 8, 6, 7 MONTHS AGO MAYBE.
AND WE'LL JUST BUILD OVER TIME.
AND THOSE QUARTERLY UPDATES WILL BE, I DON'T WANNA SAY MORE DETAILED, BUT THEY'LL BE MORE IMPACTFUL IN TERMS OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO RECEIVE.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO PACKAGE IT UP IN A WAY WHERE IT'S NOT JUST A BUNCH OF NUMBERS OR, YOU KNOW, JUST DUMPING A BUNCH OF DATA ON YOU.
IT'S, IT'S A VISUAL REPRESENTATION.
WE COULD SHOW YOU PROGRESS, MORE DASHBOARDY STUFF, BUT WITH GOOD SOLID DATA BEHIND IT.
SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE DONE ALREADY.
POTHOLE TRUCK, YOU GUYS SAW THAT AND I'M SURE YOU SAW THE, NOW YOU KNOW, Y'ALL WATCHING THAT.
THE POTHOLE TRUCK DOING REPAIRS, THAT'S AN ALL IN ONE VEHICLE THAT CAN CARRY THE ASPHALT THAT, YOU KNOW, HAS THE EQUIPMENT.
WE CAN DO A PATCH REPAIR INSTEAD OF JUST THROWING AND GOING IN A HOLE AND WITH SOME COLD MIX OR, OR RUNNING AROUND WITH SOME HOT MIX AND TRY AND DUMP IT OUT REAL FAST.
SO THAT'S BEEN A BIG GAIN FOR US.
IT WAS AN EXPENSIVE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AND, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS IN THE LONG RUN, IT'S GONNA HELP US A BUNCH.
WE ALSO HAD A BACKHOE, I GUESS, THAT WE'RE USING FOR STREET MAINTENANCE.
AND THEN THE, NOT THIS YEAR, BUT THE PRIOR YEAR WE BOUGHT A LAY DOWN MACHINE.
OR WAS IT THE YEAR BEFORE THAT? GO AHEAD LARRY.
YEAH, IT WAS, UH, TWO YEARS AGO IT WAS ON EXPANDED PROGRAM LIST.
WE GOT A LAY DOWN MACHINE AND UH, WE REPLACED OUR, UH, ROLLER THAT, UH, SO OUR CHIEF FOOT ROLLER, OUR PAD FOOT ROLLER.
SO WE CAN DO A LOT, UH, MORE AREA AND HAVE LESS DOWNTIME ON THE MACHINE.
SO, AND WHAT ARE WE ABLE TO DO WITH THAT? SO THE PAD FOOT ROLLER, UH, REALLY IS GOOD FOR, UH, THE SUBGRADE AND, UH, BASE LAYERS.
AND SO WHEN WE'RE, UM, UH, WHEN WE'RE DOING LARGER PATCHES, WE CAN, UH, REALLY COMPACT THAT SUBGRADE AND BASE A LOT BETTER THAN YOU CAN.
UM, AND, UH, IN THE LARGER AREAS.
AND SO, AND THEN THE LAY DOWN MACHINE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S VERSATILE SO WE CAN USE IT FOR THE SMALLER ONES, OBVIOUSLY BIGGER THAN THE PATCH TRUCK, SO KIND OF THE THREE BY THREE.
BUT IF WE'RE DOING A UTILITY TRENCH, UH, IT JUST MAKES IT A LOT QUICKER.
UH, ALSO, UH, WE CAN DO SOME, UH, LARGER OVERLAYS INSTEAD OF HAVING A CONTRACT THAT WORK OUT.
SO LARRY, MAYBE JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, RECENTLY WE HAD THE ISSUE COME UP WITH SOME OF THE MANHOLES THAT FOLKS HAVE NOTED ALL OF THAT EQUIPMENT WE WOULD NOW USE TO REPAIR THOSE SITUATIONS.
WHEREAS IN THE PAST WE HAD EQUIPMENT WE COULDN'T COUNT ON, WASN'T ALWAYS WORKING 'CAUSE IT WAS OLD, WE'D HAVE TO BORROW, WE'D HAVE TO RENT.
SO NOW WE CAN SORT OF SCHEDULE THIS STUFF BETTER, KNOW OUR EQUIPMENT'S GONNA WORK, GET OUT THERE, DO IT OURSELVES, THE FOLKS BECOME BETTER AT USING IT.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THAT? ALRIGHT, SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE, WE'VE STARTED, AND THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE'VE INVESTED IN THAT WE'RE ABLE TO SPRING FOR SPRINGBOARD AND CONTINUE ON WITH OUR MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.
WE'RE LIKELY GOING TO NEED MORE EQUIPMENT AT SOME POINT TO, TO ENHANCE THAT.
BUT RIGHT NOW I THINK OUR BIGGER CHALLENGE IS STAFFING.
AND SO IN OUR STAFFING PLAN THAT WAS ADOPTED THREE YEARS AGO, FOUR YEARS AGO, IT, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REALLY ADDRESS MOST OF THE AREAS.
ONE AREA WHERE WE'RE STILL LACKING IN THE GENERAL FUND SAY IS STREETS AND MAYBE INCREASING STAFFING THERE.
WE DID QUITE A BIT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PUBLIC WORKS HOUSE ON THE WATER AND SEWER SIDE, WE WERE ABLE TO ADD STAFF AND, AND BEEF THAT UP.
BUT IN CONCERT WITH THAT, THERE ARE THINGS LIKE, WE HAD THE PRESENTATION THE OTHER NIGHT FROM SARAH AND OUR CONSULTANT ABOUT THE RFP PROCESS FOR, FOR THE GARBAGE COLLECTION.
[01:25:01]
WE, RIGHT NOW, IF SOMEBODY HAS LIMBS OUT ON THEIR FRONT YARD OR OUT IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE, THEY CAN HIRE US PUBLIC WORKS CREW TO COME STREETS, FOLKS TO COME OUT AND CHIP THAT WOOD AT A COST OF SAY, WHAT, 40 BUCKS AN HOUR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.SO WE SEND THREE GUYS OUT FROM THE STREETS CREW TO CHIP WOOD AT $40 AN HOUR.
IN OUR NEW CONTRACT, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LOOK TO REDIRECT.
WE WOULD EFFECTIVELY OUTSOURCE THAT FUNCTION AND, AND PROBABLY WON'T BE CHIPPING JUST TO MAKE THAT CLEAR.
BUT THE BULKY AND THE BRUSH PICKUP AND ALL THOSE THINGS WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACT DONE BY THE CONTRACTOR.
IT'S A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO DO IT.
IT IT'S VERY LITTLE ADDITIONAL WORKLOAD FOR THEM.
AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PULL THAT AND REDIRECT THOSE FOLKS BACK TO STREET MAINTENANCE AND, AND STREET RELATED STUFF.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE THROUGH SAY THE GARBAGE CONTRACT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT.
IF ANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES ARE LIKE THAT TO REDIRECT AND PUT THOSE RESOURCES BACK INTO THE STREET MAINTENANCE, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY MORE OPPORTUNITIES, BUT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO LOOK AND SEE IF THERE ARE.
AND ANOTHER THING THAT'S WORTH WORTHY OF NOTE THAT IS AN INVESTMENT, BUT WE, WE ARE, ARE PLANNING TO INVEST IN THAT IS STREET STRIPING AND BEING MORE AGGRESSIVE IN OUR STREET STRIPING THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
IT'S A CHALLENGE WITH ASPHALT ROADS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE A NEW ASPHALT ROAD WHERE YOU PAINT IT AND THEN YOU TURN AROUND AND THERE'S A BUNCH OF ASPHALT ON TOP OF IT FROM PEOPLE DRIVING.
SO WE, WE INTEND TO BE MORE DELIBERATE AND AGGRESSIVE IN DOING THAT AND WITH A STREET STRIPING PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE.
SO, ANY QUESTIONS? THIS IS A BIGGIE FOR US.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T GET A LOT OF THE FLASH, BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE GET A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT.
AND IT IS A GIGANTIC ASSET OF THE CITIES THAT WE BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUOUSLY INVEST IN THE MAINTENANCE ASPECT OF IT AND NOT JUST, AND YOU GUYS SEE THE, THE CHART THAT JOHN NOAC PUTS UP THERE WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A POINT OF DIMINISHING RETURNS ON THOSE ASSETS THAT IF YOU DON'T MAINTAIN THEM, THE COST TO DO THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO SOONER BECOMES EXPONENTIALLY MORE, THE LONGER, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU HIT THE TIPPING POINT AND IT STARTS GOING DOWN.
SO MAKING SURE THAT WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN.
IT, IT'S, IT'S EXPENSIVE AND IT HURTS SOMETIMES, BUT IT SAVES YOU A TON OF MONEY IN THE LONG RUN IF YOU SPEND THE MONEY NOW TO MAINTAIN AND EXTEND LIFE.
SO ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD, LARRY? ALL RIGHT.
ANY QUESTIONS, COUNSEL? ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
ALRIGHT, I'LL MOVE, I'LL MOVE ON THEN.
THE CIP, WE TALKED ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT FROM THE OUTSET WITH THE CIP AND THE OPERATING BUDGET.
JUST A LITTLE MORE COLOR HERE.
WHAT, WHERE WE ARE NOW IS WE'VE CREATED THE DOCUMENT AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED AND PRIORITIZED JUST ABOUT EVERY PROJECT THAT WE KNOW OF.
AND KATHY AND LARRY OR WHOEVER IS AND HAS A CAPITAL PROJECT, GREG, THEY DO WHAT'S CALLED A PROJECT SHEET.
AND ON THAT PROJECT SHEET THEY DESCRIBE WHAT THE PROJECT IS AND THEY HAVE A TIMELINE AND THEY HAVE A FUNDING SOURCE WITH A TIMELINE OF THE FUNDING.
AND THEY HAVE A TIMELINE OF, OF BUILDING THE THING, WHETHER IT'S DESIGN INTO CONSTRUCTION AND HOW THAT PLAYS OUT.
AND THEN IT HAS AN IMPACT ON THE OPERATING BUDGET AND SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, KIND OF LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, YOU DON'T WANNA BUILD A FIRE STATION AND NOT BE ABLE TO STAFF THE THING.
SO DON'T BUILD A FIRE STATION IF YOU CAN'T STAFF THE THING.
AND THEN IT ALSO HAS A MAP AND YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED AT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE THAT MAP SITTING THERE AND, AND BE ABLE TO SAY, THIS IS WHERE THE ROAD IS OR THE SEWER LINE IS, OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S BEING BUILT AND ALL OF THAT TOGETHER.
THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AND I'M, I'M EMPHASIZING IT BECAUSE IT'S A LOT OF WORK, BUT IT ADDS A TON OF VALUE TO WHAT WE DO BECAUSE WE ARE ABLE TO KEEP TRACK BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP, FROM THE INDIVIDUAL PROJECT, THE ENTIRE LIST OF PROJECTS, PRIORITIZING THOSE PROJECTS AND THEN FIGURING OUT WHEN WE CAN ACTUALLY WITH THE MANPOWER THAT WE HAVE, BUILD THESE THINGS AND DEVELOP A SCHEDULE AND THEN OVERLAY WITH THAT.
JAMES HAS THE TASK OF SAYING, ALL RIGHT, AT OUR CURRENT TAX RATE OR OUR CURRENT WATER RATES OR ASSUMING A CERTAIN INCREASE IN WATER AND SEWER RATES, WE CAN AFFORD TO DO THESE THINGS OVER THIS AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND THEN PUTTING ALL THAT TOGETHER, IT'S A BIG JOB, BUT WE GOT IT DONE.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IS PERFECT RIGHT NOW OR IS EVER STATIC.
[01:30:01]
DOESN'T STAY EXACTLY THE SAME.IT'S SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL WILL LOOK AT AND WE'LL LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE YEAR THERE'S GONNA BE TWEAKS, THERE'S GONNA BE ADJUSTMENTS, THERE'S GONNA BE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT AND GO, OKAY, WELL WELL THIS ONE NEEDS TO MOVE UP ON THE PRIORITY OR WE CAN'T REALLY DO THAT BECAUSE OF WHATEVER THE FACTORS MIGHT BE.
SO IT IS A LIVING, BREATHING THING THAT IS CONSTANTLY EVALUATED.
AND EVEN ON THE BACK END, AS PROJECTS ARE IN PROCESS, WE'LL REVIEW THOSE AND WE'LL LOOK AT 'EM AND WE'LL GAUGE THE PRO PROGRESS.
'CAUSE ONE THING THAT'S IN THE FUTURE MAY BE DEPENDENT ON THAT THING THAT'S BEING DONE RIGHT NOW AND FINISHING THAT TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT IS IMPORTANT.
SO USING THAT DOCUMENT AND THE, NOT NECESSARILY THE DOCUMENT ITSELF, BUT THAT, THAT STRUCTURE AND THEN EVALUATING AND MONITORING THE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN PROCESS, WE'RE ABLE TO SEE BALANCES.
IS THIS ONE COMING IN UNDER, IS IT COMING IN OVER, MOVE THINGS AROUND OR MAYBE MOVE IT OUT TO A FUTURE PHASE.
THERE'S A LITTLE, A TON OF MOVING PARTS AS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO USE.
SO WE CREATED THE DOCUMENT, WE IDENTIFIED THE PROJECTS, WE'VE IDENTIFIED KIND OF A SCHEDULE AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED FUNDING STRATEGIES.
BUT SOME OTHER THINGS THAT ARE IN THE FUTURE THAT REALLY ARE KEY TO THE CIP ARE THE WATER AND SEWER MASTER PLANS.
SO THOSE ARE BEING DONE RIGHT NOW.
WE'LL BRING THOSE BACK SOON, MARCH, THEY'LL BE COMPLETED AND PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL IN MARCH.
AND THAT, KATHY, DO YOU WANT TO MAYBE COME UP HERE AND MAYBE TALK FOR A MINUTE ON THE, THE WHAT, WHAT IS A WATER AND SEWER MASTER PLAN AND WHAT ARE WE GONNA USE IT FOR? OKAY, SO, UM, WE DID COME LAST, UH, COUNCIL MEETING TO HAVE YOU AUTHORIZE THE PUBLIC HEARING OR SCHEDULE THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE IMPACT FEE UPDATES.
WELL, PART OF DEVELOPING THOSE IMPACT FEE UPDATES WAS ACTUALLY DEVELOPING THE WATER AND WASTEWATER MASTER PLANS.
AND THEN PART OF THE MASTER PLANS BECOMES THE CIP FOR THE IMPACT FEES.
BUT THE, THE REAL BASE IS THOSE WATER AND WASTEWATER MASTER PLANS WHICH COME OUT OF LAND USE PROJECTIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF OUR CURRENT SYSTEM TO DETERMINE WHAT IMPROVEMENTS WE NEED GOING FORWARD TO UM, CONTINUE TO SERVE AND SERVE, UH, GROWTH IN THE CITY.
SO WE'LL PROBABLY BE COMING THE FIRST MEETING IN MARCH TO REQUEST ADOPTION OF THESE UPDATED WATER AND WASTEWATER MASTER PLANS.
AND THEN WE'LL FOLLOW THAT UP WITH THE UM, IMPACT FEE UPDATE.
SO LIKE KATHY JUST MENTIONED, THE NEXT THING ON THERE IS WATER AND SEW AND IMPACT FEE UPDATES.
AND YOU CAN KIND OF SEE HOW THEY GO HAND IN HAND.
YOU GOTTA DO ONE BEFORE THE OTHER.
IT'S A BIG PART OF OUR, THEY HAVE A SEPARATE CIP BRIAN HAD THIS DISCUSSION YESTERDAY IN TERMS OF TALKING ABOUT CIP, BUT THEY HAVE THEIR OWN CIP BECAUSE THERE'S RULES AND LAWS THAT GOVERN HOW YOU CAN USE IMPACT FEES, BUT THEY HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE OVERALL CIP AND BECAUSE IF A PORTION OF THAT PROJECT HAS TO BE FUNDED BY ANOTHER SOURCE THAT'S COMPETITIVE TO EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO ANYWAY, IN THE, IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS AND EVEN BEING ABLE TO COMPLETE WORK AND DEDICATE RESOURCES, THE WATER AND SEWER MASTER PLANS ARE CRITICAL.
AND THEN THE IMPACT FEES IS ANOTHER DISCUSSION THAT IF WE NEED TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION NOW CONCEPTUALLY ABOUT IMPACT FEES, WE CAN, BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT DOES AN IMPACT FEE DOES IS PLACES THE BURDEN OF EXPANSION ON THE PERSON WHO'S NEW TO THE SYSTEM, RIGHT? AND INSTEAD OF PUTTING IT SOLELY ON THE CURRENT RESIDENT WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE IMPACT FEES, THAT'S WHERE IT ENDS UP.
IT ENDS UP IN THE GENERAL RATE ONE OR SEWER RATES FOR THE CITY AND IT GETS PAID FOR THAT WAY OR YOU CAN DEFRAY A PORTION OF THE COST OR A LOT OF THE COST OR SOME OF THE COST BY HAVING IMPACT FEES.
AND THAT PUTS IT ON THE PERSON WHO'S JOINING THE COMMUNITY.
CITI HAS TRADITIONALLY TAKEN THAT STANCE OF SAYING, OKAY, SOME PORTION OF THE COST IS GOING TO BE BORN BY THE NEW RESIDENT BY THE NEW BUSINESS BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT THAT THEY'RE PLACING ON THE EXPANSION OF SYSTEMS THAT SERVE.
IS THAT AN ACCURATE WAY OF DESCRIBING IT? THAT'S ACCURATE.
BUT THE, BUT THE MASTER PLANS INCLUDE ALSO THE IMPROVEMENTS FOR EXISTING DEVELOPMENT.
OKAY, WELL VERY GOOD CITY MANAGER.
SO THE, THE, THE MASTER PLANS,
[01:35:01]
THE, UH, IMPACT FEES AND SO IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ARE THEY SITTING AT THE TABLE? 'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE THEY ALL SORT OF INTERMINGLE TOGETHER FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPACT FEES AND TO WHAT EXTENT IMPACT FEES HAVE ON NO, I I THINK WELL WE HAVE, SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A UM, UH, MASTER PLAN, COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN, RIGHT? BRIAN, YOU WANNA CHIME IN? YEAH, SO, SO AGAIN, I THINK WHAT I WOULD START WITH IS MOST APPLICABLE IS THAT OVERALL WATER AND SEWER MASTER PLAN, RIGHT? THAT'S REALLY WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE DO WE NEED TO BUILD TO CATCH UP FROM WHERE WE'RE BEHIND, UH, MEET, UH, FUTURE GROWTH, RIGHT? THAT'S THE PLAN THAT WEIGHS OUT FROM AN ENGINEERING STANDPOINT.WHAT IT THEN GETS INTO IS THIS QUESTION OF WHEN WE COME BACK FOR OUR NORMAL, REGULAR CITY CIP RIGHT? WITH, WITH STREETS AND WATER AND SEWER AND DRAINAGE AND CITY FACILITIES, PART OF WHAT WE DO IN PRIORITIZING THERE THAT COMES TO YOU GUYS IS STAFF TALKS ABOUT WHERE WE HAVE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AND WHERE WE SEE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO PRIORITIZE, DO I NEED TO BUILD A WATER LINE OVER HERE OR DO I NEED TO BUILD IT OVER HERE, PART OF WHAT STAFF DOES IS SAYS, WELL WHAT IS OUT THERE KICKING AROUND, RIGHT? SO WHERE ARE WE GETTING DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS COMING IN FROM THROUGH LISA'S FOLKS? WHERE ARE SCOTT AND HIS FOLKS COMING TO US AND SAYING, HEY, WE'RE HAVING A BUNCH OF FOLKS KICK AROUND WITH THAT, RIGHT? SO YEAH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENERAL CITY CIP THAT TAKES INTO THOSE FACTORS INCLUDING WHAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS WORKING AND SEEING, UM, AND WE INCORPORATE THAT IN TO TRY TO PRIORITIZE AND AND PLAN FOR THAT.
YEAH, I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS PART OF THE INPUT DATA AND THAT'S THE OUTCOME, RIGHT? AND I'LL EVEN SAY THIS, YOU KNOW THAT AS KATHY MENTIONED, ONE OF THE WAYS WE HELP FUND THAT INFRASTRUCTURE JUST ONE ARE THOSE IMPACT FEES, THOSE WATER AND SEWER IMPACT FEES.
AND SO AS YOU, YOU MAY KNOW WE GO TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION UNDER THE GUISE OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THEY GIVE US A RECOMMENDATION.
WE ACTUALLY WENT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT REQUIRED TO THE EDC BOARD AND TALKED THEM THROUGH THAT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE DECISION FOR YOU GUYS COMING UP IS HERE'S ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE WE NEED TO BUILD TO KEEP UP WITH DEVELOPMENT.
HERE'S HOW MUCH DEVELOPMENT WE'RE GONNA HAVE, HERE'S HOW MUCH WE COULD CHARGE NEW DEVELOPMENT TO HELP PAY FOR THAT.
AND THE QUESTION FOR FOLKS IS, WHO DO YOU WANT TO PAY FOR IT AND HOW QUICK DO YOU WANT THAT TO, TO TO GET PAID FOR, RIGHT? SO YOU COULD SAY WE ONLY WANT NEW DEVELOPMENT FOR PAY FOR HALF OF THAT, RIGHT? BUT THEN WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE WANT OUR EXISTING RATE PAYERS TO PAY FOR THE OTHER HALF AND IT MAY MEAN IT COMES IN SLOWER OR WE MAY SAY, WELL, IT'S NOT FAIR TO HAVE EXISTING RESIDENTS PAY FOR THAT NEW DEVELOPMENT COMING IN NEEDS TO PAY ITS OWN WAY.
RIGHT? YOU COULD, YOU COULD GO THAT ROUTE.
THE OTHER PART THAT'S AN ELEMENT IS EDCS ROLE IN HELPING INCENTIVIZE DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT? THEY GET A BIG PROJECT WE REALLY WANT, BUT THEIR IMPACT FEE WOULD BE REALLY HIGH, MUCH AS THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
AS PART OF THE INCENTIVES THEY'VE OFFERED, THEY'VE OFFERED TO EFFECTIVELY, UH, REIMBURSE FOR THOSE IMPACT FEES.
AND WE CAN BE SELECTIVE ON, HEY, HERE'S A PROJECT THAT REALLY BRINGS A LOT TO THE COMMUNITY.
HERE'S A PROJECT THAT DOESN'T BRING AS MUCH TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE WOULD PERFECTLY FINE IF IT WENT SOMEPLACE ELSE, WE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY INCENTIVE THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
SO I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF DECISION POINTS.
THESE THINGS ARE INTERRELATED AND, AND AGREE WITH YOU ENTIRELY.
EDC NEEDS TO HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION BECAUSE THEY SEE THESE APPLICATIONS A SEAT AT THE TABLE.
COUNCIL OBVIOUSLY NEEDS TO HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE, UH, AS WELL AS WE TRY TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
SO I WILL TELL YOU, IT IS GOING TO BE A VERY TOUGH MEETING OR A COUPLE OF MEETINGS WHEN YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO THIS BECAUSE THERE'S NO PERFECT ANSWER WHEN YOU HAVE TO LEVY THESE CHARGES AGAINST FOLKS, RIGHT? BUT SOMEBODY'S GOTTA PAY FOR IT OR WE'RE GONNA FIND OURSELVES FURTHER BEHIND THAT'S GONNA HURT OUR ABILITY TO BRING IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT, RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, SIR? YES, SIR.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT'S IN PROGRESS NOW AND YOU'LL SEE THAT PLAY OUT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
IN THE FUTURE, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING THE SAME PROCESS FOR OUR ROADS.
SO WE'LL BE DOING A, A ROAD MASTER PLAN AND THEN A ROAD IMPACT FEE OR JUST A ROAD IMPACT FEE UPDATE.
WE ALREADY HAVE THE MASTER PLAN.
AND THEN, AND THEN ANOTHER THING THAT WAS IN THERE, THIS IS A SMALLER ITEM, BUT JUST IN TERMS OF OUR CIP IDENTIFYING GAPS IN THE SIDEWALKS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT CAME UP THROUGH THE PROCESS AND NOW IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ADDING TO THE CIP IDENTIFYING, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO WE HAVE THESE GAPS
[01:40:01]
AND IS IT LIKELY TO DEVELOP WHERE SOMEBODY WOULD, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY BUILDS SOMETHING THEY GOTTA PUT IN A SIDEWALK.WELL, IF YOU GOT AREAS WHERE IT'S NEVER GONNA BE BUILT OR BACK WHEN IT DEVELOPED, IT WASN'T REQUIRED, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE A PLAN TO, TO ADDRESS THOSE? THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN ADDED TO THE CIP.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT? ALL RIGHT.
SO THIS, I WANTED TO PUT THIS ON THERE BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING, IT'S, IT'S LIKE ONE OF THOSE ISSUES LIKE THE EMS ISSUE WHERE IT'S OUT THERE, IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE HAVE A SOLUTION FOR RIGHT NOW, AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A DISCUSSION AND, AND ANSWER EVERY SINGLE QUESTION ABOUT.
BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT TO BRING UP AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS FLOATING OUT THERE THAT WILL BE AFFECTING US OVER THE NEXT 1, 2, 5, 10 YEARS BECAUSE WE ARE STARTING TO SEE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF GROWTH ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
SO IF YOU'RE NOT AWARE, WE'VE GOT DEVELOPMENTS LIKE SADDLEBROOK AND CARMEL AND THEN SOME OTHERS THAT ARE PLANNED CLOSE BY THAT ARE GAINING A LOT OF MOMENTUM.
WE'VE GOT CROSS VING THAT'S IN FULL SWING.
I DRIVE BY TWICE A DAY EVERY DAY.
AND I'VE SEEN IN THE LAST, LITERALLY IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, PROBABLY A HUNDRED HOMES BE BUILT IN JUST THE TWO NEW PHASES THAT THEY'VE OPENED UP.
AND EVEN THE FURTHEST SOUTH PHASES, YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE HOMES BE BUILT IN THERE.
AND SO IT'S MOVING QUICKLY IN SOUTHERN SHIRTS AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IMPACTS YOU IN ONE YEAR, BUT IT ROLLS UP ON YOU PRETTY QUICKLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CAPITAL PLANNING AND PROVIDING SERVICES LIKE WATER, SEWER AND, AND ROADS.
OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW YOU SEE 20, YOU SEE 15, 18, IT'S A GIGANTIC 73, 70 $4 MILLION PROJECT THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
IT'S MY BELIEF, AND I THINK, I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS WOULD AGREE WITH ME, THAT ONCE THAT'S COMPLETED IN THREE YEARS, YOU'LL SEE AN ACCELERATION OF DEVELOPMENT ALONG 78 AND AROUND 78.
I MEAN, I'M, I'M SORRY, 15, 18 IN SOUTHERN SHIRTS AND ESPECIALLY THE HOMES AND THE IMPACT THAT THE HOMES PUT ON THINGS LIKE OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT.
RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF LIFT STATIONS THAT WILL SEND SEWER UP TO THE NORTH SIDE PLANT FOR CCMA, BUT THEN ALSO CCMA HAS CONSTRUCTED A PLANT ON THE SOUTH SIDE THAT SHOULD BE, WILL VERY SOON BE TAKING WASTE FROM PLACES LIKE CROSSE AND KELLY'S COVE AND, AND ALL OF THE SUBDIVISIONS OVER THERE, SMALLER SUBDIVISIONS.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A BIG IMPROVEMENT.
IT'S GONNA HANDLE SOME OF THE FLOW.
BUT WE ALSO, AS SOON AS WE TURN ON THAT TAP, WE'RE FACED WITH A SCENARIO WHERE WE PRO WE'RE GONNA NEED TO EXPAND THE PLANT RIGHT AWAY.
AND THAT'S A BIG CAPITAL EXPENDITURE.
IT'LL BE SHARED AMONG A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES, BUT IT'S A BIG CAPITAL EXPENDITURE THAT WILL NEED TO ADDRESS BECAUSE OF THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT, THE ACCELERATION OF DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN SHIRTS.
THAT'S WHERE MOST OF THE LAND IS THAT'S AVAILABLE AND IT'S WHERE WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE DEVELOPERS COME AND YOU, I THINK IN FIVE YEARS WE'RE GONNA OPEN OUR EYES AND IT'S GONNA, IT'S GONNA LOOK PRETTY DIFFERENT DOWN THERE.
SO SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, NOT ALL OF THE CHALLENGES, BUT TWO OF THE MAJOR CHALLENGES ARE EXPANDING THE, THE, THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.
CCMA WILL DO THAT, BUT WE WILL BE A PART OWNER IN THAT.
AND THE SLO WEST SEWER LINE, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER TRUNK LINE THAT'S ON THE WEST SIDE OF SLO CREEK AND IT'LL SERVE SOME OF THE MIDDLE AREAS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE SOUTHERN AREAS.
AND I MEAN, KATHY CAN DELVE INTO SOME OF THE, THE ENGINEERING AND THE ACTUAL ASPECTS OF WHERE IT WOULD SERVE, BUT JUST KNOW THAT IT, IT'S SOUTHERN SHORE, IT'S PROBABLY LOWER SEGE AND DOWN EVENTUALLY.
SO IT WILL ALSO A, ACTUALLY TAKE FLOW FROM EVEN NORTH OF SCHAFER ROAD OKAY.
ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE TREATMENT PLANT OFF TRAINER HALE ROAD.
AND IT WILL ALLOW US TO DECOMMISSION, UH, TWO OF THE LARGER LIFT STATIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY OPERATIONAL.
AND THAT'S THE, UM, THE, WE CALL IT THE CORBITT LIFT STATION.
IT'S ALSO KNOWN AS THE CROTON LIFT STATION.
IT'S IN RHINE VALLEY AND THEN THE SADDLEBROOK LIFT STATION THAT WAS JUST BUILT.
AND THERE'S A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF, UH, THOSE LARGER, UM, FARM TRACKS THAT ARE ALREADY COMING IN WITH DEVELOPMENT INTEREST THAT WOULD
[01:45:01]
FEED INTO THIS LINE.SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T IGNORE NOW.
BRIAN, DID YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT OR NO? YEAH.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT SINCE IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO BUILD MAJOR TRUNK LINES AND EXPAND WATER AND SEWER PLANTS, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE PLANNING FOR NOW AND SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE, WE NEED TO ACTUALLY TAKE SOME ACTION VERY, VERY SOON.
NOT NECESSARILY BUILD THE THING RIGHT AWAY, BUT TAKE SOME ACTION IN IN MOVING THAT DIRECTION.
AS YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED WITH AN ALIGNMENT STUDY FOR THE CIVIL O WEST TRUNK LINE, AND THAT'S IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN WE WOULD DO WHAT AFTER THAT, AFTER THAT WE'LL HAVE TO ACQUIRE EASEMENTS ALONG THE ROUTE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LINE AND THEN, UH, DO DESIGN OF THE LINE AND CONSTRUCTION.
SO IT'S A PROCESS THAT TAKES MULTIPLE YEARS TO DO.
YOU DON'T DO IT IN SIX MONTHS.
SO WORST CASE SCENARIO IS WE WAIT TOO LONG AND NOW WE HAVE ALL OF THESE HOMES DEVELOPERS THAT WANNA BUILD THOUSANDS OF HOMES, THREE OR 4,000 HOMES, AND WE HAVE TO PUT A MORATORIUM IN PLACE UNTIL WE CAN GET CAUGHT UP, OR WE CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD LIFT STATIONS TO TAKE IT THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
THAT WILL BE A SUNK CAPITAL COST WHEN WE TAKE IT OFFLINE AND GRAVITY IT DOWN TO THE SOUTH.
SO IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT, BRINGING IT UP NOW JUST AS AN ISSUE BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF FOCUS AND EFFORT OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
SO ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA ADD CA ANY QUESTIONS, COUNSEL? ALRIGHT.
THE S-S-L-G-C AND C-B-L-G-C, THIS IS JUST A, AS ANOTHER ISSUE AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE HALF OWNERS OF THE SINE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION.
WE CURRENTLY RECEIVE PROBABLY 90% OF OUR WATER FROM THERE OR MORE.
IS THAT RIGHT, LARRY? OF THE, THE TIER ONE WATER? YEAH, IT SAWS SENDS A LOT OF WATER THROUGH THE PIPELINE, BUT YEAH, SO CAPACITY WISE, FROM OUR WELL FIELDS, WE RECEIVE THE MAJORITY OF IT, BUT NO, NO, NO.
IN TERMS OF THE WATER THAT WE USE AS A CITY, MOST OF IT IS SOURCED FROM S-S-L-G-C 90 95 PLUS 95 PLUS PERCENT.
SO WE HAVE SOME WELLS THAT WE OWN THAT ARE SEPARATE, BUT MOSTLY WHERE WE GET OUR WATER IS FROM S-S-L-G-C.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE S-S-L-G-C IS DOING A CAPACITY STUDY AND WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT ON OUR END IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR ULTIMATELY ULTIMATE NEED IS AS A COMMUNITY.
WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE TAKING A GOOD HARD LOOK AT IN THAT WE BELIEVE THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET WHAT WE NEED FROM THE S-S-L-G-C.
NOW WE ARE ALSO HALF OWNERS OF THE C-V-L-G-C AND YOU KNOW, THAT IS AN ENTITY.
THERE ARE NO, THERE'S NO INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WE'RE JUST EVALUATING THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE MOVING FORWARD.
WHAT IS OUR ULTIMATE NEED AND WHERE DO WE NEED TO GET THAT FROM? WATER SOURCING AND, AND GETTING WATER IS EXPENSIVE.
IT'S BEEN A HUGE INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY HAS MADE.
THE CITY OF SHIRTS AND THE CITY OF SEINEN HAS MADE, HAVE, HAVE BOTH MADE.
BUT I THINK IT WAS A REALLY, REALLY SMART MOVE TO DO THAT 25 YEARS AGO BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING THAT THE FRUIT OF THAT RIGHT NOW, AND WHERE DO WE NEED TO BE IN THE FUTURE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BEST WAY WE CAN DO THAT, WHAT THE MOST EFFICIENT AND COST EFFECTIVE WAY IS TO DO THAT.
SO JUST KNOW THAT THAT'LL COME BACK AS AN ISSUE FOR THE COUNCIL.
Y'ALL ARE THE DECISION MAKERS IN THAT REGARD AND YOU CONTROL HALF OF BOTH ENTITIES.
AND SO THE, THERE'S SOME DECISIONS THAT'LL NEED TO BE MADE IN THE FUTURE.
SO ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ABOUT THAT? YES, SIR.
NO, THERE'S EVERYTHING YOU SAID.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF GET SOME OF THE CITIZENS OR TO INVEST OR, YOU KNOW, HOW GVC SORT OF CALLS YOU UP AND SORT OF SAYS, HEY, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT DOING, UM, SOLAR PANELS ON YOUR HOUSE? WHAT ABOUT, UH, CATCHING WATER COLLECTION, RAINWATER COLLECTION? DO WE EVER, HOW DO I SEE IT? LIKE A CISTERN PROGRAM? YEAH.
DO WE EVER PROMOTE THAT BETWEEN CITIZENS? I I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MAYBE WE WOULD DO AT THE CITY LEVEL.
IT'S, IT'S AN IDEA AND WE COULD INVESTIGATE THAT AND MAYBE WORKSHOP IT FOR THE COUNCIL, GET YOU SOME DATA AND MAYBE BRING BACK, YOU KNOW, IN OUR WORKSHOP FORMAT THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE, UH, BEFORE OUR COUNCIL MEETINGS.
BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY MAKE A NOTE OF AND RESEARCH.
BUT I WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE A PROGRAM THAT WE WOULD DO.
UH, THERE ARE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY, UH, COMMUNITY I WORKED IN BEFORE WE HAD THAT
[01:50:01]
PROGRAM, WE HAD A PROGRAM LIKE THAT.JUST REAL QUICK ON S-S-L-G-C, UH, THE, THE TOPIC OF WATER, UH, UH, UH, CONSERVATION IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS THERE.
THEY DON'T WANT TO DO A, UH, WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM PER SE.
THEY JUST EXPECT THE CITIES TO, YOU KNOW, REMIND THE PEOPLE THAT WE ARE A LIMITED CAPACITY.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, SSL GCS GOT ADEQUATE WATER SUPPLIES FOR MANY YEARS FOR MORE POPULATION.
SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF RUNNING THE PIPES AND, AND BUILDING THE TREATMENT PLANTS.
AND THOSE TAKE MANY, MANY YEARS TO GET APPROVED AND, AND FINALIZED.
SO THEY GOT ONE MORE COMING ONLINE REAL SOON.
SO LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, IT, IT, UH, ANY CAPITAL PROJECT, IT HAS A LONG LEAD TIDE, BUT EVEN LONGER BECAUSE OF WHAT COUNCILMAN BROWN JUST SAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU'VE GOT MORE OF SOME SIGNIFICANT, I DON'T WANNA SAY ONEROUS IS PROBABLY THE WORST, UH, WRONG WORD, BUT A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS TO GET THERE, JUST TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN START BUILDING AND, AND, AND THE BUILDING PART IS, IS A LONG TIME AS WELL.
SO, BUT YES, WE'VE GOT, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH S-S-L-G-C, WE HAVE TWO WELL FIELDS, ONE IN GONZALEZ COUNTY, ONE IN GUADALUPE COUNTY, AND THEY'RE, UH, THE, THERE'S TWO TREATMENT FACILITIES ESSENTIALLY, RIGHT? SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE, THE S-S-L-G-C IS IN THE PROCESS OF OPENING UP THAT NEW WELL FIELD AND OPENING UP THE NEW TREATMENT FACILITY AND TRANSPORTING THE WATER.
AND, UM, IT'S, IT'S A BIG DEAL.
IT'S A BIG CHANGE FOR US AND IT HELPS US WITH OUR CAPACITY ISSUES OR IN TERMS OF THE CAPACITY THAT WE'LL HAVE ACCESS TO.
IT'S JUST HOW MUCH MORE DO WE NEED AND HOW MUCH MORE IS THAT GONNA COST AND WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO GET IT.
SO LARRY, ANYTHING ELSE? UM, YEAH, I'LL JUST MENTION THAT, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE COMMUNITY A LONG TIME AGO MADE A HUGE INVESTMENT IN THAT AND IT'S, UH, BEEN GREAT FOR US.
YOU KNOW, OTHER, OTHER FOLKS IN THE REGION HAVE, HAVE STRUGGLED FARTHER BEHIND.
UH, BUT IT IS A LONG PLANNING HORIZON AND, AND WE NEED TO START TODAY, RIGHT? BECAUSE, UH, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE'S LIKELY A NEED.
WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS, RIGHT? BUT WE KNOW THERE IS A, A NEED AND, AND WE KNOW THAT, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A COUPLE PARAMETERS THAT WE HAVE THESE, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE, RIGHT? SO WE NEED THIS, UM, UH, WE NEED A CERTAIN SUPPLY OF WATER, UH, TO MEET OUR TCQ DEMAND.
AND THEN OUR SYSTEM HAS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FROM TCEQ AS WELL.
AND SO GENERALLY WE DON'T STRUGGLE WITH THE, UH, CAPACITY REQUIREMENT YET, BUT LIKELY WE WILL GET THERE.
AND THEN ALSO THE INVESTMENT IN OUR, UH, SYSTEM ITSELF.
UM, BUT, UH, SO NEIGHBORING ENTITIES AND, AND WE'RE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO IT, IS WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS REQUIREMENT OF A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CAPACITY TO SET ASIDE PER CONNECTION, RIGHT? AND SO WE MIGHT NOT USE ALL THAT WATER, BUT WE DO HAVE TO HAVE IT AVAILABLE.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GET TO THAT POINT FASTER THAN WE ACTUALLY NEED THE WATER, RIGHT? AND SO WE NEED THESE AGREEMENTS AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP THESE, UH, THIS EXTRA WATER FOR, FOR THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
RIGHT? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ON, ON EITHER ONE OF THOSE OR WATER GENERALLY? OKAY, THE NEXT ONE, SLO CREEK IS ANOTHER ONE.
THIS IS MORE OF A HEADS UP AND UH, JUST A DISCUSSION POINT, BUT SLO CREEK AND FLOOD FLOODING ISSUES AND FLOODPLAIN ISSUES OVER IN THAT PART OF TOWN ARE A BIG ISSUE THAT WE'RE KIND OF MORE ON THE FRONT END OF DEALING WITH.
AND WE ARE REFOCUSING OUR EFFORTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE REGIONS THAT, THAT DEAL WITH THAT TYPE OF ISSUE.
AND WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO START DOWN THE ROAD OF BEING ABLE TO SEEK ASSISTANCE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, STATE GOVERNMENT, WHOEVER, OR, AND HAVING A PLAN ON HOW DO WE ADDRESS THAT LONG TERM GOOD CHUNK OF AVIATION HEIGHTS IS IN A FLOODPLAIN AND REQUIRES YOU TO LIFT OUTTA THAT FLOODPLAIN BEFORE YOU CAN DEVELOP.
IT ALSO PUTS A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR POPULATION AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT.
SO WE OF COURSE WANT TO ADDRESS THAT.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT LARRY AND HIS CREW AND I MAYBE ENGINEERING AS WELL IS INVOLVED IN.
INVOLVED IN HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD? WHAT IS THE PLAN? HOW DO WE IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM? HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM? AND THEN HOW DO WE PLAN FOR IT AND WHERE DO WE SEEK RESOURCES FOR IT? SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE INTEND TO RESHIFT OUR FOCUS AND RESHIFT OUR EFFORTS TO TRY AND ADDRESS THAT.
[01:55:01]
LEAVE ANYTHING OUT? BRIAN? OKAY.UM, YOU KNOW, UH, BEAR COUNTY INVESTED CLOSE TO $240 MILLION IN THEIR WATERSHEDS AND NOTHING ON THE SYBIL CREEK.
AND I THINK MAINLY BECAUSE IT IS A BOUNDARY BETWEEN GUADALUPE AND BEAR COUNTY.
UH, AND, AND THE, AND THE BIGGEST, UH, DISASTER FACTOR THAT WE HAVE.
YOU KNOW, CALIFORNIA HAD THE FOREST FIRES AND WE CANNOT PREVENT WEATHER ISSUES, BUT FLOODING ISSUES, I THINK IS THE BIGGEST, THE BIGGEST, UH, CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE.
AND WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO MITIGATE THE FLOOD.
WE HAVE CLEANED THE CREEK THAT'S COMING UP, BUT WE'RE JUST CLEANING THE CREEK.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON CLEARING THE CREEK AND, AND REMOVE SOME OF THOSE, UH, THE TREES BEFORE THEY, THEY REALLY REACH A, A MUCH BIGGER DIAMETER THAT WE CANNOT HANDLE OURSELVES.
UH, SO WE NEED TO WORK WITH BOTH THE COUNTY OF, WELL, YOU KNOW, GUADALUPE COUNTY AND BEXAR COUNTY TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL HELP US CLEAN THIS CREEK AND, AND CLEAR IT.
UH, AND IT JUST AMAZES ME HOW MUCH THEY PUT IN IN BEXAR COUNTY AND, AND $0 HERE.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE DON'T KNOW A HUNDRED PERCENT WHAT THE SOLUTION IS, BUT YEAH.
MAINTENANCE RIGHT NOW IS AN ISSUE.
AND HOW DO WE, HOW CAN WE MAINTAIN IT AND, AND, AND ENTER THE INTERIM IN TERMS OF HOW DO WE MAINTAIN UNTIL WE CAN FIND A MORE PERMANENT SOLUTION? WE GOTTA, WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING NOW AND WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING LONG TERM, BOTH.
SO, AND I'LL PUT IN A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES CLEAN.
THE CREEK PROGRAM IS ON THE 22ND OF FEBRUARY, FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, LAST ABOUT TWO OR THREE HOURS.
YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME OUT AND VOLUNTEER.
WE WILL HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES OUT THERE VOLUNTEERING THEIR TIME AND HELPING AS WELL AS COMMUNITY GROUP.
SO WE'RE GONNA CLEAN THE CREEK.
SO I'M GLAD YOU SAID THAT, MAYOR.
NO, IT'S AN EXCELLENT PROGRAM.
UH, I DO RECOMMEND YOU BRING THE UGLIEST CLOTHES THAT YOU HAVE, THE WORST SHOES THAT YOU HAVE AND, AND TWO PAIRS OF GLOVES, UH, AND, AND HELP US CLEAN THAT CREEK.
WEAR YOUR BOOTS IF YOU GOT 'EM.
IT'S, BUT YEAH, COME GOOD SHOES FOR SURE.
SO IF I MAY, YOU BROUGHT UP SOMETHING.
SO IN THE PAST BEFORE, UM, THEY KIND OF DEVELOPED THIS STATE FLOODPLAIN, THE REGIONAL FLOOD PLANNING GROUPS, RIGHT? IT WAS KIND OF A COUNTY BASIS, RIGHT? AND SO I THINK THEY WE'RE DOING A BETTER JOB.
NOW ON THE STATE LEVEL, THESE REGIONAL FLOOD GROUPS ARE BUILT AROUND WATERSHEDS AND NOT, UH, COUNTY LINES NECESSARILY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A SMALL PIECE IN THE REGIONAL 11, UH, ONE THAT'S THE GUADALUPE ONE, TRICOM MOUNT, KIND OF THE AREA UP NORTH FLOWS OF THAT LARGELY WE FLOAT TO THE CILLO CREEK, RIGHT? WHICH IS PART OF THE SAN ANTONIO FLOOD PLANNING GROUP.
UH, THEY DO HAVE A CALL COMING UP.
AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, UM, THE, THE FIRST GO AROUNDS, LIKE JUST TO CATCH ALL, BUT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR MORE DEVELOPED PROCESS.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING IN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS, WE DON'T HAVE TO REALLY CONCENTRATE ON, UH, UH, QUEUING UP, DEVELOP WELL, WELL THOUGHT OUT PROJECTS AND, AND HAVING THEM READY TO GO INSTEAD OF JUST, UH, JUST KIND OF PLANNING STUDIES AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO WHAT, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
THIS GO AROUND, AGAIN, IT'S COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS.
I THINK THE NEXT IMPLEMENTATION IS 2028, MAYBE 27, 28.
I CAN'T REMEMBER THE, THE TIMEFRAME, BUT, UH, AND SO, UH, WE DO DUTY INVEST NOW IN, IN GETTING THOSE, UH, WE'LL CALL IT SHOVEL READY PROJECTS, KIND OF, KIND OF A CONCEPT, UH, GOING FORWARD.
AND SO, AND THAT'S, UH, CERTAINLY, UM, THE LOCAL PROJECTS, UM, THAT WE CAN DO, DON'T MAKE AN IMPACT.
SO WE DO NEED TO REACH OUT AT, AT A HIGHER LEVEL TO THESE OTHER COMMUNITIES, UH, AND THESE OTHER ENTITIES SUCH AS SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY OR OR GBRA, UH, TO COORDINATE ON THESE PROJECTS SO WE CAN MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT TO THE WATERSHED AS A WHOLE.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE SMALLER PARTNERS IN THAT.
AND SO, UH, THE MORE COMMUNICATION WE HAVE WILL HELP.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE NEED TO REFOCUS AND, AND PUT MORE OF OUR EFFORTS INTO, WE'RE, WE'RE STARTING DOWN THAT PATH.
IT'LL LIKELY REQUIRE A, A HIGHER LEVEL OF COMMITMENT MOVING FORWARD AND INTO THE FUTURE.
IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ADDRESS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE NEED A BREAK.
[02:00:02]
WE'RE GOOD.WE HAVE SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS OUR NEXT GOAL, AND THE, THERE'S THREE OBJECTIVES WITH THAT.
AND THIS ONE IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA SCARE YOU WITH.
THE, THE OTHER ISSUES WHERE IT'S LIKE, OH MY GOSH, DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING OF BUILDING THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND IT'S MORE CONCEPTUAL IN NATURE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING QUITE A BIT IN THIS AREA AND INTEND TO DO MORE AND KEEP MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION.
BUT THE FIRST ONE IS ACTIVELY ENGAGE AND COMMUNICATE WITH OUR RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS.
HOST EVENTS THAT CREATE A SENSE OF PLACE IN COMMUNITY AND GROW QUALITY OF LIFE PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES.
SO SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE ALREADY DOING OR ALREADY HAVE DONE, OR IN PROGRESS OR MOVING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.
ONE OF THE THINGS TO COMMUNICATE WITH IS IT'S, IT'S A FINANCIAL DOCUMENT, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT A FINANCIAL DOCUMENT.
IT'S MORE OF A YEAR END REPORT THAT SHOWS WHAT ARE THESE THINGS THAT, THAT THE CITY IS DOING, OR WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT THE CITY IS DOING FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND GIVING DATA RELATED TO, SAY, FIRE DEPARTMENT OR POLICE DEPARTMENT OR EMS OR ROADS AND STREET MAINTENANCE, ET CETERA.
SO IT'S CALLED THE POPULAR ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT OR PR AND IT ALSO INCLUDES SOME FINANCIAL DATA, BUT IT'S A REALLY NICE YEAR END TYPE SUMMARY, COMMUNICATION REPORT.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE HAVE, UH, UH, OR THAT ARE NEW COMMUNITY EVENTS.
AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE DONE SOME AND WE PLAN TO DO MORE, BUT A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES THAT ARE OUT THERE ARE THE, DON'T REALLY KNOW THE NAME.
SO I PUT POWER WHEELS, WE WEREN'T CORRECT.
IS THAT THE NAME OF IT? POWER WHEELS? IS IT THE SOAPBOX RACING? IS IT THE LITTLE CARS? DON'T YOU? NOT THE HOT WHEELS LITTLE CARS.
POWER WHEELS ARE THE LITTLE TODDLER MOTORIZED, BATTERY OPERATED.
SO THAT'LL BE A RACE OF SORTS.
THEY'LL BE A RACE RIGHT OUT HERE OUTSIDE COMMUNITY CIRCLE.
SO THEY'VE BEEN VERY POPULAR IN OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE NATION.
SO WE'RE STEALING A GREAT IDEA.
AND YOU CAN'T SOUP UP THE CAR.
IT HAS TO JUST BE STOCK
SO DO WE HAVE INSPECTORS?
YOU JUST VOLUNTEERED FOR THAT JOB.
WELL, IF YOU GET ONE THAT GOES LIKE 14 MILES AN HOUR AND YOU KNOW, SOMETHING'S GOING ON, SO, OKAY.
SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A NEW PROGRAM AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO OFFER A COMMUNITY, ANOTHER AMENITY PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN SOMETHING THAT'S FUN AND, AND, YOU KNOW, FROM THE DEPARTMENT FUND, BRINGING THAT TO OUR COMMUNITY, GIVEN THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
ANOTHER ONE'S THE FARMER'S MARKET.
YOU WANNA ELABORATE ON THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, WE ARE CALLING IT OUR, UM, HOMETOWN HARVEST FARMER'S MARKET SERIES.
AND WE'RE ALREADY GETTING A LOT OF INTEREST FROM LOCAL, UM, YOU KNOW, FARMS IN THE AREA.
EVEN, UM, I KNOW THERE'S THE, UM, HOMEGROWN BEEF, THEY'RE ON 15, 18 THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ARTISANS WHO MAKE, YOU KNOW, SOAPS AND LOTIONS AND CANDLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT, UM, REALLY TRYING TO NETWORK WITH THE LOCAL FARMERS TO BRING THE EGGS AND CHEESE AND ALL THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE MAKING OUT THERE AND PROVIDING IT FOR SHIRTS, RESIDENTS TO COME SHOP.
UH, IT'LL BE, UH, WE HAVE THREE DATES PLANNED ALREADY.
I THINK IT'S THE, UM, SECOND SATURDAY, IS THAT RIGHT? UM, APRIL, MAY AND JUNE IS THE, UH, COMMUNITY GARDEN GONNA BE THERE? IS THERE ONE BEHIND THAT AT ZOO? THERE IS A COMMUNITY GARDEN.
THAT'S RUN BY THE MASTER GARDENERS, UH, GUADALUPE COUNTY, CHESTER GARDENERS, UM, WE WORK WITH THEM ON OTHER THINGS, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY LET THEM KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING THIS, BUT WE WILL.
YEAH, IF ANYBODY, UM, WANTS TO SELL, THEY'RE ABLE TO GET A BOOTH FIRST SATURDAY MONTH, FIRST SATURDAY THE MONTH, SORRY, NOT SECOND.
SATURDAY OF THE MONTH THROUGH JUNE.
SHE, IT'S IN OUR GUIDE, WHICH WENT LIVE ON FEBRUARY 1ST.
SO IT'S, UH, FIRST SATURDAY, THE MONTH, APRIL THROUGH JUNE NINE TO ONE, AND IT'S AT PICKLE PARK LARGE PAVILION.
WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THE BIG ONES, RIGHT? WE KNOW ABOUT JUBILEE AND, AND HOLLE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT WE ALSO DO A LOT OF OTHER SMALLER PROGRAMS. WE'RE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO WHERE WE CAN DO THESE PROGRAMS LIKE THOSE TWO THAT REALLY ADD VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, AREN'T, AREN'T A GIGANTIC EVENT.
UM, THIS IS AN AREA WHERE IT'S AN EVOLUTION.
[02:05:01]
KNOW, WE, WE, THERE MAY BE OTHER EVENTS OUT THERE OR IDEAS OUT THERE THAT WE DO THAT MAYBE GO LARGER SCALE OR SMALLER SCALE LIKE THESE, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT THAT'S AN EVOLUTION.SO IT'S, I'M KIND OF THROWING THAT OUT THERE FOR DISCUSSION AS WELL FOR THE COUNCIL IF THERE'S ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THAT? NOPE.
LAUREN, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA ADD THERE? NO, I THINK THAT'S IT.
UM, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT THROUGH THE MASTER PLAN PROCESS THAT, UM, RESIDENTS WANNA SEE MORE CULTURAL ARTS, MUSIC, FOOD TYPE FESTIVALS.
AND SO THAT'S REALLY GONNA BE OUR FOCUS GOING FORWARD, IS TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOME CREATIVE IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE THAT KIND OF TOUCHES ON THE COMMUNITY WIDE ASPECT OF IT.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE COMMITTED TO MOVING FORWARD, FEEL LIKE IT REALLY ADDRESSES THESE OBJECTIVES THAT ARE IN THIS GOAL OF SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
THE OTHER NEW PROGRAMS ASPECT IS WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
SO YOU'VE GOT THE SUMMER PROGRAMS THAT PARKS IS DOING.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT, I MEAN, IT'S NEW.
I MEAN, IT'S REALLY SPRINGBOARDED AND REALLY BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S POPULAR THAT, ALONG WITH THINGS LIKE THE, THE, UH, ADULT SOCIAL LEAGUES, YOU KNOW, REALLY TAKING OFF SOMETHING THAT WE HADN'T DONE AND, AND THAT WE'RE DOING IN HOUSE.
SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT SUMMER? YEAH, I THINK WE SAW, YOU KNOW, 40 NEW PROGRAMS OVER THE SUMMER.
THAT'S, UH, KIDS CAMPS, YOU KNOW, THE HALF DAY CAMPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
PARENTS ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FOR KIDS TO DO OVER THE SUMMER.
AND UM, YOU KNOW, WE SOLD OUT, I THINK OF LIKE 80% OF THE ONES THAT WE HAD OFFERED.
SO THERE'S STILL A NEED IN THE COMMUNITY FOR THOSE KIND OF PROGRAMS. AND THEN WE CONTINUE TO SEE RECREATION FOR ADULTS, UM, BE A SPACE THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO OFFER MORE.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY IN A LEAGUE AFTER WORK, UM, YOU KNOW, PLAY KICKBALL, PLAY SOFTBALL, WHATEVER, AND NOT HAVE TO DRIVE TO SAN ANTONIO OR NEW BRAUNFELS TO DO THOSE THINGS.
SO THOSE LEAGUES CONTINUE TO BE POPULAR AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO OFFER 'EM WITH WITHIN THE CAPACITY THAT WE HAVE.
SO, INSTRUCTOR AND THEN, YES, WE ALSO, UM, HIRED OUR REC INSTRUCTORS THIS, THIS SUMMER.
WE HAD PARK MAINTENANCE SEASONAL TECHNICIANS THAT DIDN'T REALLY OFFER A LOT OF VALUE FOR US.
BY THE TIME THEY GOT IN AND GOT TRAINED, THEY WERE, THEY WERE DONE.
AND SO WE SWITCHED THAT TO REC INSTRUCTORS AND THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO HELP US ADD THAT CAPACITY IMMENSELY IN THE SUMMERTIME MONTHS.
YOU SAID THE, UH, COMMUNITY'S ASKING FOR, YOU KNOW, ARTS AND THINGS ALONG THAT LINE.
UH, HAVE YOU, UH, TALKED WITH THE, UH, THE CHAMBER AT ALL? 'CAUSE THERE USED TO BE A, UH, SHIRTS LIKE ARTS SOCIETY OR WHATEVER, UH, AND THEY DID A FEW EVENTS, UH, BUT IT'S BEEN 12, 15 YEARS, RIGHT? WE HAVEN'T, UH, TALKED TO THEM YET, BUT WE WILL.
UM, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT WHERE THERE WAS AN ARTS LEAGUE AND TRYING TO TAP INTO THAT.
I KNOW THERE'S A NEW BRAUNFELS ARTS LEAGUE THAT'S REALLY STRONG AND WE'VE NOTICED SOME OF THE SHIRTS PEOPLE ARE IN THAT, AND SO WE MIGHT WANNA TRY TO HELP BRING THAT BACK OVER HERE AND OFFER THINGS IN THIS AREA.
YES, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IT'S IN HERE THAT WE INTEND TO TALK ABOUT IS, UH, THE POTENTIAL OF AN ARTS PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, BEEN WORKING ON HERE A LITTLE BIT.
COUNCILMAN DAVIS HAS BEEN WORKING ON AS WELL IN, OR HAS BEEN WORKING ON IN TERMS OF, UH, AN ARTS PROGRAM ITSELF.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING MOVING FORWARD THAT COULD BE A BIG, BIG COMPONENT OF WHAT WE DO.
JUST NOT COMPLETELY FLESHED OUT YET.
LIKE I SAID, DON'T, DON'T TRY TO REINVENT SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ALREADY HAVE, UH, INFORMATION ON, IS ALL I'M SAYING IS, YOU KNOW, UTILIZE THIS CHAMBER AS A, AS A SOURCE, NOT NECESSARILY, UH YEAH.
MAKE IT, MAKING IT ALL YOUR OWN.
ALRIGHT, KINDA SHIFTING GEARS A LITTLE BIT.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOKED AT IN TERMS OF OUR, OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH RESIDENTS, LINDA AND HER CREW DO AN AWESOME JOB IN TERMS OF INFORMATION OUTPUT.
WE'VE GOT THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SHIRTS, MAGAZINE AND THE WEBSITE.
A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE USE, WE'VE ACTUALLY REALLY UPPED OUR GAME FROM FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM AND, AND THE VIDEO SERIES THAT NOW, YOU KNOW, I ALLUDED TO EARLIER, IF YOU GUYS AREN'T ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, OUR INSTAGRAM PAGE, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO SUBSCRIBE TO IT.
BUT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE NEW, WE, WE'VE HAD A FACEBOOK PAGE FOR A WHILE NOW AND WE'VE HAD AN INSTAGRAM FOR A WHILE NOW, BUT WE'VE REALLY UPPED OUR GAME IN TERMS OF THE CONTENT AND WHAT WE'RE PUSHING OUT.
WE GET A LOT MORE HITS AND INTERESTS ON THAT.
AND WE EVEN DO IT, YOU KNOW, PARKS DEPARTMENT, LAUREN REPORTED IN HER REPORT, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY USE IT AS WELL.
AND SOME OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, POLICE, FIRE, ET CETERA, USE IT.
[02:10:01]
CORE, PUBLIC AFFAIRS HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB AND REALLY PUSHING INFORMATION OUT.IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN 'EM, THE NOW, YOU KNOW, SERIES IS WHERE I GO AROUND TO A DIFFERENT FUNCTION IN THE CITY EACH MONTH.
WE JUST DID THE SEVENTH ONE WAS PUBLISHED THE OTHER DAY, AND WE WILL, AND I'LL INTERVIEW AND HIGHLIGHT, AND SCOTT WAS JUST HERE WHEREVER HE IS, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE SCOTT STARD IN OUR LAST ONE DID A GREAT JOB, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF FUN TO MAKE.
BUT ALSO THEY TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT THE CITY DOES GET THE WORD OUT.
SO WE'RE REALLY GOOD AND WE'VE BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL IN THAT COMMUNICATION OUTPUT.
WHERE WE WANT TO EVOLVE TO IS COMMUNICATION INPUT.
AND YOU HEARD THE OTHER DAY DURING THE, THE GODRIDGE RFP PROCESS USING A PRODUCT CALLED FLASH VOTE.
FLASH VOTE IS WHERE YOU CAN DO SURVEYS, SURVEYS, IF YOU WILL, AND GET THAT KIND OF A, A, A QUICK SURVEY THAT'S EASILY DONE, STATISTICALLY VALID, AND, BUT IT GETS THAT INPUT COMING BACK INTO YOU.
AND SO THAT, NOT THAT THAT'S THE ONLY SERVICE OUT THERE, BUT USING SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO REALLY KIND OF MAKE THE COMMUNICATION LEVEL TWO WAY, BECAUSE WE WANNA UNDERSTAND NOT ONLY, NOT ONLY DO WE WANNA PUSH THAT INFORMATION OUT, WE WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT FOLKS ARE THINKING OR WHAT THEY'RE WANTING, ET CETERA.
AND AGAIN, JUST 'CAUSE LINDA'S NOT HERE TOO QUICKLY, TOUCH ON THAT.
UM, SO WITH THE FLASH VOTE, YES, ONE OF THE, UM, USES THAT WE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, UTILIZING IT FOR IS FOR THE, THE FEEDBACK ON GARBAGE AND SOLID WASTE.
BUT, UM, IT ALSO COMES WITH, YOU CAN USE IT I THINK SIX TIMES.
AND SO THE GARBAGE WILL BE ONE.
AND SO WORKING TO COME TOGETHER AND KIND OF BRAINSTORM AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD WE WANNA USE THE REMAINING FIVE FOUR.
SO I KNOW, UM, SHE AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT AS FAR AS THIS COMMUNICATION OUT OR INPUT AND HEARING BACK FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, ON COMMUNICATION ITSELF.
SO HOW RESIDENTS ARE WANTING TO RECEIVE INFORMATION.
SO I KNOW THAT MAY BE ANOTHER ONE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE HAVE HAVE MORE AFTER THAT, SO MORE TO COME ON THAT.
SO LIKE I SAID, I THINK WE DO AND WE DO A, A REALLY NICE JOB.
LINDA AND HER CREW DOES A GREAT JOB.
AND I WILL SAY WE'RE WORKING ON THE STATE OF THE CITY, THE ONE THAT'LL COME OUT AT THE NEXT CHAMBER MEETING, IT'LL BE THE BEST EVER.
JUST SAYING NO, IT'S GONNA BE REALLY GOOD.
WE HAD A LOT OF FUN MAKING IT.
I HAVE A QUESTION ON COMMUNICATION.
WHEN WE REACH 50,000, IS THERE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS, UH, THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE REGARDING OUR RESIDENTS? UM, COMMUNICATION? SO IF YOU'RE MAYBE WITH THE, THE PEG CHANNEL AND YES.
KIND OF PROVIDING, UH, CONTENT PROGRAMMING.
SO YES, I BELIEVE THERE IS SOMETHING WITH THAT.
UM, AND AGAIN, ON OUR RADAR AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE THAT, THAT ACCESS CHANNEL, AND I KNOW THERE'S A CERTAIN NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK THAT HAVE TO BE, YOU KNOW, PROVIDED LIKE STREAMING, THE COUNCIL MEETING WOULD COUNT, UM, AND P AND Z MEETING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO YES, THAT'S ON OUR RADAR AS WELL.
WHENEVER IS ON OUR RADAR TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A PLAN READY, BECAUSE WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA HIT OVER 50 K ON THE NEXT CENSUS.
SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY NEED TO, UH, YES.
WELL, I'M GLAD THE FOCUS IS ALREADY THERE.
I I HAVE HIGH LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE, OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS FOLKS, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO MANAGE THAT AND WE'LL COME UP WITH OUR OWN CONTENT.
ALSO, I'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT PROCESS BEFORE IS YOU CAN ACTUALLY PURCHASE CONTENT AS WELL, AND THAT COUNTS AS BROADCASTED AND IT'LL MEET THAT, MEET THAT REQUIREMENT.
UM, BUT YET YOU PAY FOR IT WITH THE FEES THAT ARE GENERATED, THE PEG FEES THAT ARE ON THE CABLE BILLS.
AND SO THAT, THAT'S HOW YOU END UP PAYING FOR IT.
AND YOU CAN USE THAT UNTIL YOU GET, SAY, BIGGER AND YOU REALLY START DEVELOPING YOUR OWN CONTENT.
AND YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF STUFF THAT YOU, YOU PUT ON THERE THAT YOU, YOU GENERATE.
BUT YES, UH, IT'S ACTUALLY A, IT'S ACTUALLY A NICE TOOL TO HAVE.
IT'S A, IT'S A NICE WAY TO, TO GET THAT COMMUNICATION OUTPUT.
SO ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES, MA'AM.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE NOW, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN WANTING THAT FOR A LONG TIME AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT.
'CAUSE I THINK IT HELPS THE RESIDENTS KNOW HOW CITY GOVERNMENT CAN WORK.
WHO'S SEEN THEM? ANYBODY SEEN THEM? OKAY.
UH, IT, IT'S NOT JUST ON INSTAGRAM, BUT IT'S ON IT, IT'S ON YOUTUBE.
IT'S ON INSTAGRAM, IT'S ON FACEBOOK.
SO IT'S NOT JUST IN, IN ONE PLACE YOU CAN GO TO, IF YOU JUST HAVE INTERNET ACCESS, THE EASIEST WAY TO DO IT IS GO TO YOUTUBE.
STEVE JUST WANTS Y'ALL TO SEE HIM ACTING.
THERE'S WHAT I SAID, YOU JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO SEE YOU ACTING
THE HOST IS REALLY BAD, BUT THE CONTENT IS REALLY
[02:15:01]
GOOD.SO THE PRODUCTION VALUE AND THE, AND THE CONTENT'S GOOD.
SO YES, SIR, DE DE DEFINITELY THE, UH, THE RESIDENTS DEFINITELY WANNA SEE MUCH AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE.
AND BY YOU DOING THIS, IT'S DEFINITELY GONNA HELP OUT.
'CAUSE THEY WANNA BE INFORMED, THEY WANNA KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITHIN THE CITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT.
AND WE ALWAYS WELCOME YOUR IDEAS TO, YOU KNOW, COUNCILWOMAN HAYWARD MENTIONED THIS IS SOMETHING SHE HAD BEEN WANTING TO SEE THERE, THERE ARE THE COMMUNITIES THAT DO THAT, AND IT'S SOMETHING WE HAD BEEN LOOKED AT, BUT ALSO SHE CA CAME ACROSS IT AND SAW IT IN ANOTHER COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE IDEAS IN GO IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ESPECIALLY, BUT IN GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY GOOD AT STEALING EACH OTHER'S IDEAS.
AND NOBODY'S REALLY UPSET ABOUT WHEN SOMEBODY STEALS YOUR IDEA.
SO IF Y'ALL COME ACROSS SOMETHING AND YOU THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA, LET US KNOW.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S HOW WE GENERATE NEW, NEW AND FRESH CONTENT AND IDEAS.
SO KIND OF NEXT ON THE LIST IS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND HAVING THOSE, MELISSA YOU CAN COME ON NOW.
SO REALLY ONE THING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO AND MOVE FORWARD IN HELPING BUILD THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS ENHANCING OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS IT THAT WE CAN DO TO PARTNER? AND QUITE FRANKLY, IT, IT ACTUALLY BUILDS INTO THAT TWO WAY COMMUNICATION ASPECT.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT THE LIBRARY HAS DONE WITH THE NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY AND MASTER GARDENERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ELABORATE ON THAT.
THESE ARE TWO OF OUR NEWER PARTNERSHIPS.
I MEAN, THE LIBRARY, WE, WE RUN ON PARTNERSHIPS WITH ALL KINDS OF, UH, GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY, IN THE COUNTY ALL OVER.
BUT, UH, IN THE LAST YEAR WE HAVE, UM, CREATED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY TO CREATE A, UM, UM, NATIVE PLANT SEED LIBRARY, UM, WHERE IT'S SORT OF A PAY IT FORWARD PROGRAM.
IF YOU COME TO THE LIBRARY, YOU CAN TAKE SEEDS FOR NATIVE PLANTS THAT GROW WELLNESS IN THIS AREA, AND THEN YOU GROW THEM IN YOUR HOUSE, IN YOUR HOME, WHEREVER.
AND THEN WHEN THE PLANTS DRY OUT, YOU COLLECT THE SEEDS AND THEN BRING THEM BACK TO US.
AND THEN THE NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY HAS GROUPS OF PEOPLE WHO COME, AND WE DO THIS AT THE LIBRARY TOO, WHERE THEY COME AND THEY CLEAN SEEDS, REPACKAGE THEM, THEY GO BACK INTO THE SEED LIBRARY, AND THEN IT'S JUST A, A CONTINUOUS SELF-SUSTAINING PROGRAM AFTER THAT.
SO FAR WE'VE HAD A LOT OF EXCITEMENT.
WE'VE HAD, UM, ACTUALLY THE SOCIETY TOLD US THAT THE SEED CLEANING PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR, WE'VE HAD THREE OF THEM.
AND THEY'VE BEEN SOME OF THE BIGGEST TURNOUT THAT IN THE ENTIRE AREA.
SO I THINK THE LAST ONE, WE HAD CLOSE TO 25 PEOPLE THAT CAME AND WORKED TO, UH, CLEAN AND PACKAGE SEEDS.
WE ALSO HAVE A, ANOTHER PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GUADALUPE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS, UM, UM, GROUP.
AND THEY ARE COMING ONCE A MONTH ON THE SECOND SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH TO DO WHAT, UH, THEY CALL LUNCH AND LEARNS, AND THEY PICK A NEW TOPIC.
UM, THE FEBRUARY TOPIC, WHICH WILL BE THIS WEEKEND ACTUALLY, IS, UH, SPRING GARDENING NEXT WEEK WILL BE CANNING.
SO THEY PICK A TOPIC AND THEY DO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
THOSE PROGRAMS ARE VERY, VERY, WE HAD TO MOVE THEM OUT OF THE FRONT MEETING ROOM AND INTO THE PROGRAM ROOM 'CAUSE WE HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE COMING TO THEM.
WE DO TONS AND TONS OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS. UH, WE WORK WITH THE YMCA, WE WORK WITH BOYS FILL, WE HAVE HUGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PROVIDE ALL KINDS OF PROGRAMS FOR THEM.
JUST, IT'S JUST SORT OF ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE DO.
IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS OR ONE OF THE DRIVERS FOR THE AMOUNT OF PROGRAMMING WE DO.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO, JUST TWO SMALL EXAMPLES OF OUR EFFORT TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND KIND OF ENHANCE THAT QUALITY OF LIFE ASPECT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY, LAST ONE ON THERE IS HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES.
THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION, AND I'VE SPOKEN TO A FEW OF Y'ALL.
IN FACT, THERE'S AN EMAIL THAT WENT OUT ON THE AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES.
THAT THAT'S, IT'S A TAX THAT WE COLLECT AND THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THAT FOR CERTAIN THINGS.
AND WE ARE INVESTIGATING WAYS THAT WE CAN SPEND THAT MONEY.
IT'S VERY LIMITED IN TERMS OF WHAT THE STATE REQUIRES THAT YOU USE IT FOR, BUT YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE IDEAS OUT THERE, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COULD BE A WAY TO PAY FOR THEM.
WE JUST HAVE TO EVALUATE IT ON A
[02:20:01]
CASE BY CASE BASIS.SO I PUT IT ON THERE IN CASE THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION OR IF ANYBODY WANTS TO TALK ABOUT 'EM AT ALL.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS SOMETHING THAT SARAH HAD FORWARDED INFORMATION, I THINK FROM JESSICA DICUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BALANCES AND WHAT WE HAVE THAT MERIT HAD REQUESTED.
WE'VE GOT CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THERE AND IT'S BUILDING SO USES FOR THAT, THOSE FUNDS AND HOW CAN WE APPROPRIATELY PUT IT TO WORK.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, WE INTEND TO FOCUS ON.
AND GOING INTO THE FUTURE, OF COURSE, IF YOU HAVE IDEAS, PASS 'EM TO US AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL RUN IT THROUGH THE TRAPS AND SEE IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WORKS.
OBVIOUSLY THIS IS, YOU KNOW, IT, UH, FLOWS RIGHT INTO BUILDING THE BRAND AND GETTING THE BRANDING OUT THERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, MORE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE A WELCOME TO SHIRTS, UH, SIGNAGE AND, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT, UH, AT OUR ENTRY POINTS AROUND TOWN, WHETHER IT'S I 35, WHETHER IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE'VE DONE WITH CHURCH'S PARKWAY THERE.
THAT, THAT'S VERY NICE AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THE LAST COUPLE YEARS HAS UPPED THE, UH, THE MAINTENANCE AND LOOK ON IT, YOU KNOW.
MAYBE OTHER AREAS, YOU KNOW, AROUND 78 OR, UH, EVENTUALLY ON 15, 18 WHEN IT GETS FIXED UP.
BUT I, I'M NOT SAYING I WANNA DO THAT RIGHT NOW, I'M JUST SAYING NO, NO.
THROW THAT, THROW THAT OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, AS USES OF, UH, THE HOT TAX.
SO WHAT WE WOULD DO IS ANY, ANY IDEA OR ANYTHING THAT WE COME UP WITH, Y'ALL COME UP WITH A COMMUNITY COMES UP WITH, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD JUST RUN IT THROUGH THE FILTER THERE.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, THERE IN, THERE ARE RESOURCES THAT OUTLINE THIS.
THERE'S A TWO PART TEST FOR THE USE OF HOT FUNDS.
SO THE FIRST PART IS, DOES IT PUT HEADS AND BEDS? SO YEAH.
YOU KNOW, IS IT WHAT YOU'RE DOING? DOES THAT PUT HEADS AND BEDS? AND THEN THERE ARE NINE CATEGORIES, AND SOME OF 'EM ARE ACTUALLY BRACKETED WHERE IT'S REALLY SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN CITIES.
THERE'S NINE CATEGORIES OF DOES IT DO THIS, DOES IT PROMOTE THE ARTS? IS IT A SPORTS FACILITY? IS IT THE, SO THERE'S, SO WHAT YOU DO IS YOU, YOU APPLY PART ONE AND THEN YOU SEE IF IT'S ONE OF THE NINE.
SO ANYTIME YOU HAVE AN IDEA, YOU KIND OF LOOK AT IT, YOU SAY, ALL RIGHT, SIGNAGE IS ACTUALLY ONE THAT WAS CLARIFIED, WHICH I DON'T, YOU KNOW, IT'S WHAT KIND OF SIGNAGE.
BUT IF WE WANTED TO PUT A BILLBOARD, RIGHT, WE HAVE A BILLBOARD UP BY STATION FIRE STATION TWO, IF WE WANTED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, COME TO SHIRTS, WE HAVE HISTORIC MAIN STREET, OR, YOU KNOW, COME VISIT SHIRTS, WE HAVE THIS GREAT PLACE AND COME STAY THERE.
THAT'S WOULD BE SOME, IN MOST CASES, AN ACCEPTABLE USE.
'CAUSE YOU'RE PROMOTING TOURISM AND PEOPLE TO COME AND STAY IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
IF YOU HAD A FESTIVAL, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT POTENTIALLY THAT, YOU KNOW, AFTER EVALUATION, YOU LOOK AT IT AND SAY, OKAY, THIS BRINGS PEOPLE TO COME STAY HERE.
THAT WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE USE.
AM I, DID YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? YES, YOU'RE GOOD.
SO NO, I MAY ANSWER THAT, SIR.
YOU KNOW, ANY IDEA IS WELCOME.
UH, EVEN THE WILDEST IDEA THAT YOU HAVE IS, IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CONSIDER.
THEY HAVE THE CADILLAC FARM THAT THEY PUT A BUNCH OF CADILLACS IN THE GROUND AND, AND THE AMOUNT OF TOURISM THAT GOES JUST TO SEE THOSE CADILLACS.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN HAVE YOUR BRAIN JUST GO OFF THE DEEP END AND BRING THOSE IDEAS SO THAT WE CAN GO AHEAD AND LOOK AT 'EM CAREFULLY AND, AND MAKE OUR OWN DESTINATION.
THIS IS WHERE, THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DESTINATION FOR OUR CITY AND BRING IN THOSE HEADS AND BEDS AND THOSE TAX DOLLARS ON OUR, ON OUR EATERIES AND, AND, UH, MAKE THE IMPACT THAT WE CAN, UH, ACTUALLY BENEFIT FROM IT, RIGHT? HEY, IDEAS ARE IDEAS, THEY'RE GREAT.
YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT OR CREATIVE IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN IDEA.
SO THROW THE IDEAS OUT THERE AND IT MAY OR MAY NOT WORK WITH HOT TAXES.
IF AND IF IT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY REALLY LIKES A GREAT IDEA TO MOVE FORWARD WITH.
IF IT'S NOT HOT TAX, MAYBE IT'S SOME OTHER WAY TO FUND IT.
SO, ALL RIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE ABOUT TO SPEAK.
ANYTHING ELSE? IF NOTHING ELSE, I'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE.
THE LAST CATEGORY, AND I WILL SAY THIS, WE DO HAVE LUNCH AFTER THIS.
IF, IF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO STICK AROUND, I KNOW WE'RE MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY.
SO LAST ONE IS THRIVING ECONOMY.
AND LIKE I SAID, THESE ARE IN NO WAY IN ANY KIND OF PRIORITY ORDER, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE, MAINTAINING A THRIVING ECONOMY IS A HUGE THING FOR US.
AND IT, IT GOES RIGHT TO THE HEART OF
[02:25:01]
OUR MISSION STATEMENT AND OR VISION STATEMENT RATHER.SO THE GOALS, I MEAN, I'M SORRY.
THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO SUPPORT STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORT REVITALIZATION OF TARGET AREAS, SUPPORT BUSINESS RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT, AND EFFECTIVELY PLAN AND MANAGE LAND USE.
SO SOME AREAS WHERE WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THINGS THAT, TOWARDS THOSE GOALS AND THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS IN THE FUTURE.
THE BIG ONE BEING OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO WE NAILED THAT DOWN IN 24, WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF UPDATING OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
THAT'S A BIG ACHIEVEMENT, RIGHT? THAT LAYS OUT, IT FEEDS INTO EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND EVERYTHING IS INTERCONNECTED, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT FROM STRATEGIC PLAN, OUR CIP, OUR OPERATING BUDGET AND, AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND ALL THE STRATEGIC, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, I'M SORRY.
AND ALL THE STRATEGIC PLANS THAT, I MEAN, I'M SORRY, COMPREHENSIVE PLANS THAT, THAT GO UP TO OUR COMPREHENSIVE, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, UH, MASTER PLANS THAT GO INTO OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS SOMETHING THAT KIND OF LAYS OUT THAT ROADMAP OF HOW DO WE DEVELOP AND HOW DO WE, HOW, HOW ARE WE GONNA LOOK AND WHAT ARE WE GONNA LOOK LIKE WHEN WE GROW UP? SO THAT WAS A BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT.
AND OBVIOUSLY MOVING FORWARD, IT'S THE ROADMAP, EXCUSE THE PUN, IT'S THE ROADMAP ON, ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD IN TERMS OF HOW OUR CITY DEVELOPS.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL SEE ALL THE TIME IN COUNCIL MEETINGS.
WE DEAL WITH A, A MULTITUDE OF ISSUES RELATED TO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? BRIAN? DID I LEAVE ANYTHING OUT THERE? NOPE.
SO MAIN STREET, OBVIOUSLY MAIN STREET IS A BIG PROJECT FOR US AND WE ARE ON THE FRONT END OF THAT PROJECT REALLY GETTING GOING AND ACCELERATING, KICKING OFF.
IT'S A MULTIFACETED PRO PROJECT.
IT'S GONNA INCLUDE UTILITIES, WATER, SEWER, ELE, UNDERGROUNDING, ELECTRIC MOVING, MOVING THINGS AROUND.
SO WE'RE IN THE SCENARIO SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE TO RE REHAB, REPLACE WATER AND SEWER LINES.
SO DOING EVERYTHING IN CONCERT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
ALSO, UNDERGROUNDING UTILITIES.
AND WHEN YOU'RE ALL DONE WITH THAT REPAVING THE ROADS, OF COURSE THERE'LL BE A LOT OF, THERE'LL BE AN AESTHETIC COMPONENT TO IT WITH SIDEWALKS THAT LOOK REALLY NICE.
UPGRADED LIGHTING, SIGNAGE, PARK BENCHES, ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THE DOWNTOWN MASTER OR THE, THE MAIN MAINSTREAM MASTER PLAN.
AND THEN ALSO WE HAVE OUT IN THE FUTURE, WE HAVE A FUNDING SOURCE FOR IT.
WE'VE HAD SOME BONDS AND THEN, UM, FOUR B SALES TAX IT AND, AND HAS WE MOVE FORWARD AND THIS THING FULLY FLESHES OUT, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE FUNDING TO CARRY THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.
SO, QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? YES, SIR.
SO YOUR COMMENTS REMINDED ME OF THIS.
UM, THERE WAS THIS BEAUTIFUL BUILDING DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO.
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL BUILDING BUT ONLY HALF FULL, RIGHT? SO YOU BUILD THIS AESTHETICALLY PLEASING MAIN STREET.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TENANTS AND WHAT DRIVES TRAFFIC THERE? AND I KNOW IT'S A, THAT'S NOT A DISCUSSION TO BE HAD HERE, BUT YOU'RE PREACHING ABOUT THE UTILITIES, ROADS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT YOU HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL BUILDING, BUT IT DOESN'T DO US SO ANY GOOD IF NOBODY SHOWS UP TO, TO SEE IT.
I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S ALWAYS WHEN YOU MAKE A PUBLIC INVESTMENT, DOES IT COME TO FRUITION? IT'S ALWAYS A CONCERN.
AND, UH, ONE THING THAT THAT IS A COMPONENT OF THAT REALLY IS THE FLOODPLAIN ASPECT OF IT AND REALLY ADDRESSING THAT AND HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE FIX THAT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT IMPACTS ALL OF THOSE PROPERTIES OVER THERE, OR ALMOST ALL THOSE PROPERTIES.
I SOME OF Y'ALL MAY KNOW THIS BETTER THAN I DO, BUT, AND THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IMPACTS IT AND YOU KNOW, ADDRESSING ALL OF IT IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
WELL, I THINK BIG, BIG THING WHAT WE'RE DOING DOWN THERE IS WE'RE ENCOURAGING THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS TO DO OWN THE, UH, THE LAND DOWN THERE TO INVEST IN THEMSELVES AS WELL.
'CAUSE WE ONLY OWN THE STREETS.
WE DON'T OWN THE, THE BUILDINGS, THE PROPERTIES, THE LOTS, YOU KNOW, SO WE WE'RE NOT GOING IN THERE TO REDEVELOP THOSE OR TO IMPROVE THOSE OR ANYTHING ALONG THAT LINE.
ALL WE'RE DOING IS, IS IMPROVING AND, AND MAKING THE, THE PUBLIC AREAS, YOU KNOW, MORE, UH, UH, DESIRABLE.
HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS DOWN THERE WILL IN TURN INVEST IN THEMSELVES
[02:30:01]
AND, AND IN THE COMMUNITY AND, AND MAYBE TAKE THAT OLD RUNDOWN RESIDENCE AND TURN IT INTO A SHOP OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW.BUT, UH, YEAH, WE WE'RE NOT GONNA GO DOWN THERE AND BUY 'EM AND TURN 'EM INTO SOMETHING OURSELVES.
BUT I THINK THIS IS WHERE, AGAIN, IT'S A MULTIFACETED APPROACH, RIGHT? WE, WE'VE HAD THE ZONING AND THE ORDINANCE UPDATES TO MAKE IT EASIER TO DEVELOP TO ENCOURAGE THAT.
WE'VE HAD THE GRANT PROGRAMS AND WE'VE CERTAINLY SEEN THAT INVESTMENT IN THE BUILDINGS WE HAD, THE PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT AS THAT GETS GOING AT THE RIGHT TIME DOING THE, UH, PROGRAMMING OF EVENTS IN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH PARKS AND WHATNOT TO ACTIVATE THAT SPACE, RIGHT? HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE DOWN THERE TO SEE IT, TO DRIVE TRAFFIC, THINGS LIKE THAT.
ONE ELEMENT THAT STEVE MENTIONED IS THE SIGNAGE, RIGHT? WE HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC ON 78 WHO DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON ON MAIN STREET.
UM, SO YEAH, I, I THINK YOUR POINTS WELL TAKEN AND I THINK THE COMMITTEE'S HELPED US LOOK AT THAT SORT OF THING.
AND AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S WHY WE'RE APPROACHING IT FROM THE WAY WE ARE.
AGAIN, WE'VE GOT EDC AND ASHLEY WITH EDC INVOLVED WITH THE GROUP, WITH NOAC AND SAM AND I, UH, TO TRY TO DO THAT.
SO WE'RE BRINGING ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS WE KICK OFF HERE AND GET CLOSER TO HAVING AN IDEA, PART OF IT IS LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS THAT THE CITY CAN DO TO CONTINUE THAT EFFORT TO TARGET CERTAIN TYPES OF BUSINESSES, UH, THAT FOLKS WANT TO SEE DOWN THERE.
RIGHT? BUT, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE WHEN I STARTED HERE, LITERALLY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF I THINK THIRSTY JOE'S, WHO SOME OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH.
Y YOU, THERE WAS REALLY NOTHING OPEN AT ALL AFTER FIVE O'CLOCK, RIGHT? AND THERE WERE, THERE WERE REALLY LIMITED OPTIONS IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU COULD EAT OR NOT, WHERE WE WANNA BE.
YOU CERTAINLY HAVE MULTIPLE PLACES YOU CAN GO AFTER FIVE O'CLOCK, MULTIPLE PLACES TO GO EAT.
SO I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE MADE SOME OF, SOME SUCCESSES.
AND AGAIN, PART OF THIS IS CONTINUING DOWN THAT PATH, BUT, BUT POINT WILL TAKEN, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER TOO, I, I'D CERTAIN COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE DONE REGARDLESS WHETHER YOU UPGRADED IT.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE YOU'RE TAKING A PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT OF REPLACING WATER AND SEWER LINES AND THEN YOU GOTTA REDO THE STREET 'CAUSE YOU JUST HAD TO DESTROY THE STREET TO, TO DO THE WATER AND SEWER LINES AND THEN YOU'RE ADDING ON TOP OF IT, UH, SOME AESTHETICALLY PLEASING ASPECTS TO IT.
IT INCREASES THE COST, BUT ALSO HOPEFULLY WE CAN SPRINGBOARD OFF THAT AND DO A LOT OF THINGS BRIAN WAS JUST SAYING.
SO, ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, UNLESS ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON MAIN STREET? OKAY.
COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF SUCCESS THERE.
JUST THREE OF 'EM ARE LISTED TO TITAN CORE FIVE AND IDS.
UH, AS WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT ALL THE STUFF.
SCOTT, YOU WANNA COME UP, CAN'T TALK.
WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT PROSPECTS OR, YOU KNOW, WHO'S OUT THERE AND, 'CAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO COMPROMISE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE, BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITY AND A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE OPENED UP NOW THEY'RE, THEY'LL GET TO THE POINT, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTION OR INDUSTRIAL, GET TO THE POINT WHERE IT STARTS FILLING UP.
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB OF NOT NECESSARILY JUST EVEN ATTRACTING NEW, BUT WHAT DO WE HAVE IN INVENTORY? WHAT CAN WE ATTRACT TO THAT OPEN SPACE AND HOW CAN WE FILL UP THAT, THAT SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT'S OUT THERE? IT DEVELOPING THAT COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL BASE REALLY HELPS TO OFFSET THE BURDEN OF PROPERTY TAXATION FROM OUR RESIDENTS.
I THINK WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE IN TERMS OF WHERE OUR TAX RATE IS, THAT WE HAVE SUCH A LARGE INDUSTRIAL BASE CONSIDERING THINGS LIKE OUR D-V-H-S-A HUNDRED PERCENT THAT, THAT TEND TO TIP THINGS THAT WAY.
IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL BASE, IT, IT WOULD REALLY PUT A STRAIN ON THE RESIDENCES.
JUST KNOW THAT THERE ARE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CAN EVEN SAY SCOTT, BUT OTHER PROSPECTS OUT THERE.
I'VE PREPARED ABOUT 20 MINUTES OF COMMENTS, SO IF YOU GUYS PLEASE IF CUT ME OFF IF I GET TALKING TOO MANY.
UH, LAST YEAR AFTER Y'ALL THOUGHTFULLY SET YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, THE EDC BOARDS ALSO MET WITH THEIR STRATEGIC PLAN AND A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT WE HAVE SET AS GOALS MIRROR Y'ALL'S PLANS ALMOST TO A T SO THERE THERE IS A LOT OF WHAT WE CONSIDER, UH, TARGETED IN INFRAS TARGETED INDUSTRIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TO, TO GO IN SOME OF OUR AREAS.
WE DO HAVE INDUSTRIAL ON THE NORTH SIDE OF 35.
THAT IS, THAT IS REALLY, REALLY TREMENDOUS RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE, UM, AT ONE TIME THEY WERE SAYING THAT THERE'S NO MORE MILLION SQUARE FOOT USERS OUT THERE.
WELL WE'VE GOT TWO OF THEM RIGHT NOW ON THE LINE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIND A HOME FOR.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE KICKING TIRES.
AND ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, STEVE KIND OF SPOKE TO THE SOUTHERN PART OF, OF CHURCHS I 10 IS ACTUALLY PRETTY EXCITING TOO RIGHT NOW.
[02:35:01]
IF YOU'VE BEEN DOWN THERE, YOU'LL SEE CORE FIVE AT 1604 AND I 10 AND YOU CAN'T MISS IT.AND THAT'S JUST TWO OF THE BUILDINGS THAT'LL BE OUT THERE AND IT'LL BE A TOTAL OF 2 MILLION SQUARE FEET AT THE END OF THE DAY.
SO THOSE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF OUR, OF OUR MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS.
WE HAVE A TOTAL OF ABOUT 8 MILLION SQUARE FEET RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FILL, UH, WITH USERS.
AND UH, WE'RE, WE'RE OPERATE, WE'RE HELPING THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND THEY'RE HELPING US.
WE'RE HELPING THEM FIND USERS THAT COMES FROM THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE THAT LOOK FOR PROJECTS AND, AND WE'RE TRYING TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.
ALRIGHT? AND IT'S, IT, IT'S CONSTANTLY MOVING AND CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AND IT'S SOMETHING MOVING OUT IN THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FULFILL THAT MISSION.
UH, ON THE FLIP SIDE, WELL NOT FLIP SIDE, BUT KIND OF THE OTHER SIDE IS RETAIL DEVELOPMENT.
AND IF YOU, IF YOU HADN'T SEEN IT LATELY, SHIRT STATION STARTING TO GO VERTICAL.
SO WE'LL SEE SOME OF THOSE BUILDINGS GOING VERTICAL AND THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE, THE SITE ITSELF DEVELOP WITH A LOT OF LANDSCAPING.
ALL THE THINGS THAT GO ON EITHER LOOK MORE LIKE A REAL SHOPPING CENTER.
THERE'S THE RESIDENTIAL COMPONENT THAT'S BEHIND IT THAT'S MOVED VERY QUICKLY.
AND SO WHAT THAT, THAT'S AN EXCITING DEVELOPMENT.
AND SCOTT, YOU WANT TO, THAT IS, THAT IS VERY EXCITING.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T REALLY USE OUR FOUR B FUNDS TO, TO PROMOTE, UH, RETAIL, BUT WE CAN DO THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ANY TYPE OF BUSINESS.
SO THE, THAT VERY, VERY NICE ROAD THAT RUNS IN BEHIND EVO IN BETWEEN, UH, THE SHIRT STATION AND THE, AND THE MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT THAT'S BEING PLACED THERE, THAT ROAD WAS ALL PAID FOR BY THE EDC.
AND THEN WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA BE HOPEFULLY USE THAT TO PARLAY EVEN MORE DEVELOPMENT IN THAT AREA AS WELL.
AND IT'LL BE JUST ANOTHER EXTENSION OF OUR FUTURE THOROUGHFARE PLAN THAT'LL PROVIDE NON INTERSTATE ALTERNATIVES THAT ALLOW OUR PEOPLE TO MOVE AROUND.
BUT THE PANERA BREAD, LIKE STEVE WAS TALKING ABOUT, WE'VE ALSO HAD TO DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, THE BIG BOX.
IT IS ON THEIR, IT IS ON THEIR WEBSITE AND I HATE TO GO AROUND, UH, USING NAMES BECAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S MANY A SLIP BETWEEN A CUP AND A LIP AND THINGS COULD CHANGE OVERNIGHT.
UM, BUT Y'ALL CAN GO ON THE WEBSITE AND YOU SEE IT'S A GREAT BIG HOME DEPOT SIGN THAT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL ON MERIT'S WEBSITE.
WE'VE BEEN WORK, YEAH, ON MERIT'S WEBSITE.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY PROVIDE US WITH A NICER PRODUCT AND THEY TYPICALLY DO.
UM, THERE'S CHIPOTLE, THERE'S PORTILLOS, THERE'S ALL OF THOSE ARE OUT THERE AND THEY'RE GONNA PROVIDE NICE ALTERNATIVES FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO COME, UM, LEAVE THEIR TAX DOLLARS BEHIND AND, AND GO HOME.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HEAR A LOT OF IS THERE'S A DEMAND FOR RESTAURANT AND RETAIL AND THIS IS A GOOD START IN TERMS OF THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
LIKE SCOTT MENTIONED, CAN'T USE THE FOUR B SALES TAX TO INCENT THOSE, BUT WHAT WE CAN DO IS HELP WITH INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACTUALLY IT'S A PERFORMANCE BASED PROGRAM WHERE EVENTUALLY EVEN THE EDC WILL RECOUP ITS INVESTMENT THROUGH ADDITIONAL SALES TAX.
SO, SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS UM, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT.
IT GETS US MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION OF RETAIL.
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A TON OF POTENTIAL FOR RETAIL ALONG 35 AND EVENTUALLY ALONG I 10 AND 1518 AND SOME OTHERS.
SO THE SALES TAX IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF YOUR BUDGET IN TERMS OF JUST LIKE THE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL IT OFFSET, OFFSET SOME OF THAT NEED FOR PROPERTY TAX.
AND THEN IT ALSO GIVES YOU ANOTHER LEG.
IT TENDS TO BE A MORE ELASTIC SO IT GROWS FASTER THAN SAY, PROPERTY TAX REVENUES.
IT ALSO SHRINKS FASTER INTO, IN A CONTRACTION IN THE ECONOMY.
BUT IT IS, UH, THE ANOTHER LEG IN THAT STOOL THAT WE SUPPORT OUR, OUR FINANCES WITH.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THAT RETAIL BASE AND THAT'S SOMETHING MOVING FORWARD WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST TO TO KEEP DOING THAT.
SO ANYTHING ELSE? SCOTT, YOU GOOD? I HAVE NOTHING.
THANK YOU FOR THE ABILITY TO, TO ADDRESS COUNSEL TODAY, SIR.
QUESTIONS COUNSEL? ANYBODY WANT TO TRADER JOE'S? EVERYBODY'S I WAS JUST KIDDING.
SCOTT CAN SP SCOTT CAN SPEAK TO THAT IF YOU WANT.
YOU NEED TO WATCH N NOW YOU KNOW THAT'S COMING UP.
OH, YOU'VE ALREADY, ALREADY IT'S, YEAH, IT'S ALREADY OUT, SIR.
ANYWAY, AVA AND CRACKER BARREL.
I'D ALSO OFFER THAT AT THE LAST EDC MEETING, WHICH MEETS ON LIKE TOWARDS THE END OF THE MONTH ON THURSDAYS.
WE WENT THROUGH KIND OF OUR, WHAT DID Y'ALL DO IN 2024? IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT PRESENTATION OR, OR HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PROJECTS THAT WE CONTRIBUTED TO IN 2024, I'D BE HAPPY TO RUN THROUGH THAT WITH YOU GUYS.
[02:40:01]
CATEGORY IS UPDATES TO THE UDC AND IT REALLY TALKS ABOUT, IT TALKS TO THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT ASPECT OF OUR, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.SO THIS YEAR, THE UDC UPDATES THAT WE HAD, WE, WE HAD A PARKING UPDATE, WE HAD LANDSCAPE, WELL WE ARE IN PROCESS.
NO, WE HAD THE LANDSCAPING UPDATES AND THEN WE'RE IN PROCESS.
I DON'T KNOW, LISA, YOU WANNA COME UP, COME ON UP.
AND THEN LIKE YOU HEARD THE OTHER NIGHT, YOU KNOW WHEN WE'LL BE BRINGING A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT OUR SIGN COMPONENT.
SO THERE'S PIECES OF THE UDC WE WE'RE GOING THROUGH AND HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF TAKING PARTS OF THE UDC AND UPDATING 'EM AND MODERNIZING 'EM.
AND SO DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? SURE.
SO THE, UH, PLANNING DIVISION HAS BEEN WORKING ON UPDATES TO THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE.
UM, THEY STARTED OUT THINKING THEY WERE GONNA START COMPREHENSIVE AND START WITH, UH, CHAPTER ONE.
AND SO THEY WORKED THROUGH ONE THROUGH FOUR, BUT STILL, UM, AT TIMES WE'VE HAD TO PULL THINGS OUT.
SO THEY'RE WORK RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A OVERHAUL OF THE SIGN ORDINANCE, LOOKING TO SIMPLIFY IT, UM, TAKE SOME OF THE FLUFF OUT AND TRY TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT USER FRIENDLY, A LITTLE BIT MORE USER FRIENDLY.
UM, AND THE GOAL IS TO HAVE THAT TO, UH, THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION IN MARCH AND THEN TO COUNCIL IN APRIL.
AND THEN AS THEY CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH, THEY'LL CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THE OTHER LARGER ITEMS, UM, IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE.
BUT TO ADD TO THAT, ALSO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES IS WORKING ON SOME, UM, CODE AMENDMENTS TO THE NUISANCE ORDINANCE THAT YOU SHOULD SEE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AS WELL AS OUR BUILDING DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING AT UPDATING THE BUILDING CODES TO THE 2024 CODES AS SAN ANTONIO JUST ADOPTED THEIRS AND SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING TO BE CONSISTENT FOR OUR, UM, CONTRACTORS AND DEVELOPERS, UM, SO THAT WE'RE ALL USING SIMILAR CODES THROUGHOUT THE, UM, REGIONAL AREA.
YOU'LL SEE MORE ACTIVITY WITH THE UDC AND BRINGING, YOU KNOW, UPDATES AND KIND OF IMPROVEMENT.
WELL, DON'T RUN OFF LISA, DON'T RUN OFF.
THERE MIGHT BE QUESTIONS THERE.
SO, COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? NOPE.
THE LAST BULLET THAT'S UP THERE.
I, I ADDED THIS AND YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF LIKE A QUESTION THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR AND I KNOW COUNCILMAN GUERRERO WAS NOT ON THE COUNCIL THEN, BUT ALL OF Y'ALL REMEMBER WE BROUGHT IN RON AND WE WENT THROUGH, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I ASKED IS LIKE, DESCRIBE MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF COMING TO SHIRTS AND DRIVING DOWN SHIRTS, PARKWAY AND SEEING ALL THE MASONRY WALLS AND SEEING THE UPGRADED BUILDING STANDARDS AND STANDARDS IN THE UDC COMPARED TO SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES.
AND IT REALLY MADE A POSITIVE IMPRESSION.
I THINK IT REALLY MAKES A POSITIVE IMPRESSION ON ANYBODY WHO DRIVES DOWN THE STREET.
SO THE QUESTION THAT I ASKED WAS IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT COMMUNITY DO WE WANT TO BE? DO WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO BE A MASONRY WALL COMMUNITY? AND WITH A LITTLE BIT OF THAT UPGRADED STANDARD, WHICH COULD APPEAR IT, IT COULD, IT COULD CAUSE A LITTLE PAIN SOMETIMES DURING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, BUT THE END RESULT IS EVERYBODY BENEFITS, THE DEVELOPER BENEFITS, THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, AND WE BUILD THE COMMUNITY THAT WE WANT.
SO STAFF IS HELD ONTO THAT PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO WHEN WE BRING THINGS TO YOU, WE ARE COMING TO YOU FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THAT, THAT MINDSET AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STILL IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE COUNCIL AND, AND THAT'S THE DIRECTION WE NEED TO BE HEADED.
AND IF IT'S NOT, THAT'S JUST WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW AND WE CAN SHIFT DIRECTIONS IF THAT'S THE CONSENSUS OF THE COUNCIL.
DID I BRIAN ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THAT OR LISA? OKAY.
SO I'M JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE FOR COUNCIL.
I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO VOTE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT IF YOU DO, GO AHEAD MAYOR.
NO, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
I MEAN THAT'S FIRST IMPRESSION PEOPLE GET WHEN THEY COME DOWN TO I IH 35.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT FM 1518, WHAT IT'S GONNA LOOK IN THE FUTURE, THE IMPACT IT'S GONNA HAVE.
AND THEN JUST ON THE EAST SIDE OF IT, YOU COULD ALREADY START SEEING THE SOUTH SIDE, THE SOUTH PORTION OF FM 30 0 9.
UH, AND THOSE TWO ROADS ARE GONNA BE PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER.
BUT THAT, THAT, THAT SIGNIFIES THE STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE.
AND, AND, AND THAT ONE MILE STRETCH OF ROAD THAT'S ALREADY BUILT OFF, UH, ON FM 30 0 9, IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, YOU NEED TO DRIVE IT DOWN THERE AND JUST IMAGINE IT CONNECTING TO 78 AND ALL THE WAY TO IH 10.
AND THAT'S WHAT THAT'S ALL ABOUT.
THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT, MAYOR, IF YOU HAVEN'T
[02:45:01]
DRIVEN THROUGH SADDLEBROOK, RIGHT? YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STRETCH OF THE STRAT.IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN OVER THERE, DRIVE THROUGH AND TAKE A LOOK.
IT DOESN'T HAVE THE, THE, THE LIVE OAKS OR ANYTHING YET.
BUT EVENTUALLY IT'LL GROW UP AND, AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT IT MEANS.
AND THE MAYOR TOUCHED ON A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT IS THAT SOUTH SHIRTS IS WHERE THAT DEVELOPMENT WILL BE.
15, 18 AND WHATEVER IT'S GONNA BE CALLED.
THAT EXTENSION OF 3 0 0 9 ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 10.
IS IT GONNA, IS SOUTH SHIRTS GONNA LOOK LIKE NORTH SHIRTS OR IS IT GONNA BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT? AND WE, WE HAVE THE IMPRESSION AS A STAFF THAT MOVING FORWARD THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
WE WANT TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE SHIRTZ PARKWAY.
NO, AND I JUST WANT TO REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL THAT THAT WAS THERE, UH, APPROVED THE SOUTH BROOK DEVELOPMENT AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID FIVE YEARS AGO.
AND, AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT INPUT AND UH, I JUST DROVE, I MEAN, I'M SO IMPRESSED BY IT 'CAUSE I JUST DROVE BY IT.
I, I HAD A COUPLE DEVELOPERS LOOKING FOR SITES AND THEY FOUND SIX DIFFERENT SITES THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN AND, AND IT'S, UH, WE'RE GONNA SEE A DEVELOPMENT JUST HIT ONCE 15, 18 IS FINISHED.
AS FAR AS OUR GOALS AND THE OBJECTIVES AND OUR RESPONSE AND PLANS, THE NEXT THING WE HAVE IS JUST, UH, ARE THERE OTHER OBJECTIVES THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT WE MIGHT HAVE MISSED? IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE MISSING THAT THIS IS, THIS IS THE FORUM TO DISCUSS THAT WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, START PLANNING FOR THAT? OR ARE THERE IDEAS OR THINGS THAT WE, WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT OR ARE MISSING? I GUESS THIS IS WHERE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK THAT.
ACTUALLY, I GOT A QUESTION THAT, UH, BACKTRACK, UH, COUPLE NOTCHES.
UM, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE SOME CITIES THAT CANNOT AFFORD EMS SERVICES BY THEMSELVES.
RIGHT? YOU, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT ARE, UM, AND MY QUESTION IS PROBABLY DID CHIEF, UH, MA WHAT, WHAT ARE THE NEIGHBORING CITIES THAT, THAT WE, UH, PROVIDE SERVICES TO? YEAH, SO WE HAVE THE COUNTY CONTRACT FOR GUADALUPE COUNTY, FOR ALL UNINCORPORATED AREAS FOR GUADALUPE COUNTY.
UH, WE'VE GOT THE BASE, SO, UH, JBSA RANDOLPH, AND THEN THE CITIES WE HAVE ARE MARION, SANTA CLARA SLO SHIRTS, SELMA, UC, LIVE OAK, AND THEN AU COUNTY ESD SIX, WHICH IS THE GUARD BRACKEN AREA.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, EVEN A CITY AS LARGE AS CILO, NOT THAT THEY COULDN'T AFFORD IT, BUT IN TERMS OF PER CAPITA COST OR LIKE THE ECONOMIES OF SCALE GAINED BY PARTNERING WITH US, IT PROBABLY COST HIM TWICE AS MUCH.
SILLA WOULD BE QUADRUPLE SHIRTS WOULD BE QUADRUPLE.
UM, OH, I DO WANNA TALK ABOUT SANTA CLARA OR MARION.
ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE'RE MISSING? YES, SIR.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I THINK WE'VE GOT A GREAT FOUNDATION AND THANKS FOR, YOU KNOW, ALL THE EFFORT LAST YEAR TO, UH, TO BRING US BACK TO WHERE WE ARE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GO BACK 25, 30 YEARS, S-S-L-G-C, UH, TAKING THE OTHER SIDE OF 35 AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT'S OUR INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX VERSUS RESIDENTIAL.
UH, JUST A LOT OF GOOD STUFF THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, SHIRTZ HAS DONE OVER, OVER MANY, MANY YEARS.
AND IT'S, IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTINUE THAT AND NOT SCREW IT UP MORE THAN ANYTHING.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA GROW, SO LET'S JUST GROW.
ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S FRESH THAT, I GUESS THE LAST SLIDE IS DISCUSSION OR IF YOU, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY KIND OF CLOSING COMMENTS THEY WANNA MAKE.
MAYOR, IF YOU WANT TO CLOSE ANY CLOSING COMMENTS OR WE'RE PRETTY MUCH TO THE END OF WHAT WE HAVE, BUT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY CAT, LIKE REFLEXES THERE.
UH, THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE COMMENTS.
I JUST WANNA SAY, UH, THANK YOU TO THE STAFF FOR, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, BUT I ALSO WANT TO CHALLENGE THE COUNCIL TO, UH, IT DOESN'T STOP HERE.
IT, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST BECAUSE WE HAD THIS PRESENTATION, IF YOU HAVE IDEAS, THIS, YOU KNOW, ANYTIME, UH, BRING THEM UP, UH, BECAUSE THAT ACTUALLY IS A SPARK THAT WE NEED TO MOVE, UH, MOVE IN THE DIRECTION THAT, UH, THAT WE WANT TO DO.
[02:50:01]
UM, TALK TO STEVE.UH, AND THE STAFF IS AVAILABLE, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, JUST TO TALK TO, TALK TO YOU AND LISTEN TO WHAT YOU HAVE.
AND, AND, AND, AND WE HAVE A, A SHARED GOAL BASICALLY.
AND, AND WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
OUR, OUR VISIONS ARE DIFFERENT.
YOU KNOW, OUR VISIONS ARE DIFFERENT, BUT THERE'S NO QUESTIONS, UH, THAT WE ALL HAVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF THIS CITY.
AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR, FOR COMING OUT HERE AND, YOU KNOW, WE VALUE YOUR INPUT.
ANYBODY ANYTHING ELSE? ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YOU WANNA OFFICIALLY CLOSE IT AND WE CAN HAVE LUNCH AUR.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND OFFICIALLY CLOSE OUR, OUR SESSION IS, IT'S 1137.
Y'ALL BREAKFAST? UH, BREAKFAST LUNCH IS IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM.