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Good morning, good morning.

Today our City Council meeting opened with the alternative rock song, The Way I See You by San Antonio artist.

Mi Pelote.

Mi polote is led by multi-instrument instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Chesca Umeno, blending garage rock charm, dreamy melodies, and heartfelt songwriting.

What began as a project for funsies has grown into a musical journey for the artist.

As part of the Department of Arts and Culture's Local Music Spotlight Program, we continue to feature local musicians at the beginning of City Council meetings and on TVSA.

You can learn more about this program at sa.gov forward slash arts and by following at Gret Creative SA on social media.

The time is now 9 04 AM on September 4th, 2025, and the meeting of the San Antonio Council is now called to order.

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Cor.

Councilmember Castillo Angiano.

Councilmember Via Gran.

Here.

Councilmember Mungia.

Present.

Councilmember Castillo.

Here.

Councilmember Galvan.

Councilmember Alderetta Gabito.

Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez.

Present.

Councilmember Spears.

Here.

Councilmember White.

Mayor Jones.

Here.

Mayor, we have quorum.

Okay.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Okay, we're gonna wait for the photo opt to complete, and then we'll get started with our business here.

Great.

Thank you all.

This morning, I'd like to recognize Councilwoman Spears to introduce today's invocature.

Well, good morning, everyone.

I am truly honored to welcome today's guest.

This is my pastor, Pastor Rick Godwin.

He is the founder and senior pastor of Summit Church.

And this is my home church.

This is where I go every week, and he has been a source of encouragement and inspiration for me in my own life and many across the city and across the world.

He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, the author of five books, and an international speaker on faith and leadership.

But more than that, he is passionate about challenging people to live with purpose, serve others, and make a real difference in their community.

And he also has a commercial pilot's license, just in case you were wondering.

But if you ever need a church, I encourage you to come visit us at Summit.

It's a joy to have him here today.

Please help me welcome my pastor, Rick Godwin, to bring our invocation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning, Council.

Shall we bow for prayer?

Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning with grateful hearts for this wonderful city of San Antonio and for those who serve its people on City Council.

We ask for your presence to go with this gathering, guiding every decision and word spoken today.

Grant that our leaders have wisdom beyond their own understanding, discernment to seek what is just and good, and courage to act with integrity and humility.

Help them to listen with compassion to the concerns of neighbors, families, small business owners alike, and to pursue policies that strengthen our community, protect the vulnerable, and honor the dignity of every person.

Bless the city staff and all who work behind the scenes to keep San Antonio safe, healthy, and thriving.

May their efforts be effective, efficient, and carried out with kindness and respect.

We pray for unity in this chamber, even amid differing perspectives.

Let your spirit of peace settle here so that negotiations are conducted with calm patience and a spirit of service rather than conflict.

May your liberty and love guide our plans for growth, housing, transportation, public safety, and education in ways that reflect your character.

We entrust San Antonio into your hands, Father, asking for your protection, provision, and blessing over this great city and its great people.

May all that is done here today bring glory to your name and may it serve the common good we pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Thank you, Pastor, please remain standing for the pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United Nations to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God.

Today we are recognizing an important public safety awareness event called SA Neighbors Today.

I've got a proclamation and then we will invite Chief McManus to say a few words whereas the San Antonio police department will host this crime and drug prevention programio neighbors together on October 7th, 2025, to promote awareness and strengthen its community policing and neighborhood engagement efforts.

And whereas local law enforcement agencies, city officials and community leaders will join residents in their neighborhoods during this annual community building campaign to bolster police community partnerships and foster neighborhood and camaraderie this neighborly night out will feature educational opportunities, refreshments, games and family oriented activities and whereas the citywide event focuses on connecting neighbors with key city departments, providing crime prevention tips, encouraging greater citizen participation, and promoting ongoing community engagement throughout the year.

Now therefore I, Gina Ortiz Jones, mayor of the city of San Antonio, in recognition thereof do hereby proclaim October 7, 2025 to be San Antonio neighbors together.

And I see we have Chief McManus and Chief Frost here this morning.

So Chief if you'd like to say a few words.

Thank you mayor uh council members good morning.

Uh this is the one night of the year that first responders and the community get together in a formal way to celebrate community and safety this year so far we have 309 neighborhoods signed up to celebrate and we're on target to surpass last year's so we hope to all see we hope to see you all out there that night yes and fire department also looks forward to strengthening those neighborhood bonds and promoting public safety because it goes well beyond police fire and other city departments it's actually everybody's responsibility in in the community thank you.

Thank you Chiefs uh would any other council members like to speak Chair Viegadon thank you mayor I am so excited because what I love about San Antonio neighbors together is I feel like it's a San Antonio it's it's truly San Antonio and it's us coming together.

So I really look forward to this year all the faith community and churches that are hosting events all of you that are out there I I wish I could make it to everything but my staff and I we each take a section and head out and visit all the neighbors so thank you for all your work thank you for being there our first responders constantly as a reminder that we are team San Antonio and we're moving forward together so I look forward to this year I I'm hoping for good weather and cool weather so thank you so much.

Councilwoman Castillo thank you Mary and thank you to both chiefs and for both of you guys team for all that y'all do here in the City of San Antonio I am always excited and I know the district five team's always eager for neighbors together because district five residents in our neighborhood associations and we have some guerrilla neighborhood associations that are always excited to close down the streets and bring community together and I think it's a great opportunity to do what San Antonians do best which is party but with the purpose right building relationships with city departments to ensure that we're building safer community so just extremely grateful for all that y'all do as well as Pastor Robinson and Mrs.

Garrett for what y'all do at the West End Hope and Action Community Center truly serving as a model of how to build community together.

And it's just it's it's such a great feeling to see our neighborhoods interact with their safe officers to build those bonds, to build bonds with our firefighters.

Um and uh it's it's truly special night.

I'm gonna echo my council colleague when we when it when she said that we truly truly are Team San Antonio.

Thank you.

Uh Councilman Mesa Gonzalez.

Thank you to everyone for being here uh today.

This is uh will always be national night out for me, but um I appreciate the name change, but uh just thank you for all the time that you put into making these events so special.

District 8 has a number of uh HOAs and neighborhood associations that uh really come out for this night, and uh this is a way for us to talk and get to know each other as neighbors and just continuing those relationships.

So it's important for us, um, and thank you for everything that y'all do.

Councilwoman Spears.

Well, I guess I just want to echo what my colleagues are saying, and we are a city that loves to party, you're right.

Councilwoman Castillo.

Um I'm just excited.

This will be my first one as a council person.

I I too call it neighbors night night out, but I have to get used to the neighbors together.

But um thank you so much for all the effort.

I know so much effort goes into this night before we get there, and I'm so excited.

District 9's excited, and thank you for all your time and effort.

And I can't wait to do this with y'all this year.

Thank you.

Councilman White.

Yeah, same.

It's uh it's a special night, and uh the residents of District 10 love it.

And so I know we've got a bunch of uh neighborhoods that are that are excited uh for the evening, and having you guys there and at these events makes it makes it extra extra special.

And so we uh, on behalf of all the district 10 residents truly appreciate um what you guys and uh do every single day.

Um it's it's the most important work that that really I think is done here in our city, and so thank you uh for all of it.

Thank you, Chiefs.

Thank you, everybody that made time to join us this morning.

The second proclamation today is sponsored by municipal court presiding judge Carla Obleto, and I'll read the proclamation.

Whereas San Antonio Municipal Court dedicates the month of September 2025 as attendance matters awareness month, an annual campaign that highlights the importance of regular school attendance towards students' academic success and overall well-being.

And whereas improving school attendance and reducing chronic absences requires commitment, collaboration, and a tailored approach between schools, families, and local communities.

These efforts are critical in removing barriers, promoting success in the classroom, and preparing students for future careers and adulthood.

And whereas the court will partner with local schools by hosting events that address attendance challenges, including the fall senior summit 2025 rise to graduation, a three-phase program for high school seniors and their families.

Designed this initiative is designed to empower seniors to overcome obstacles and successfully navigate their journey to graduation.

Now, therefore, I, Gina Ortiz Jones, mayor of the city of San Antonio, in recognition thereof, do proclaim the month of September 2025 to be attendance and awareness month.

Judge of letto, if you'd like to provide a couple of remarks.

Mayor, City Council, thank you for this opportunity this morning.

I want to uh recognize Dr.

Jeanette Ball, who is a superintendent for Southwest ISD.

Dr.

Ball.

Good morning.

We also have Jerry Soto, who is a superintendent for Harlandale Independent School District.

Where's Mr.

Soto?

He's way back there.

Okay.

We also have uh Judge Clarissa Chavaria and Judge Kenneth Bell from Municipal Court.

Uh joining the court today are our uh teachers, school administrators, and support staff from Edgewood ISD.

Judge, one second.

May I ask for or excuse me.

Thank you.

Judge, please.

Okay.

Uh we also have support staff, school administrators and teachers from Edgewood ISD, East Central ISD, Harlandale ISD, North Side, San Antonio Independent School District, South SAN, South South Side, and Southwest ISD.

So I really want to uh make sure that we give them the um gratitude that I think that we need to show them.

We also are here with our juvenile case managers from the court who provide support to all these school districts throughout the the county throughout the year, and while September is recognized, nationally recognized as attendance awareness month, these dedicated individuals are addressing attendance issues year-round, not just in September.

They are addressing them year-round.

They are the boots on the ground, they are the front lines, and I think that their commitment to addressing attendance issues early.

Um making sure that San Antonio has a strong educated workforce, really needs to be applauded.

So I would like to ask everybody to give them a round of applause, please.

Thank thank you for this opportunity.

Councilwoman Via Gran.

Thank you.

I am I'm honored to chair as an interim for the municipal courts and to serve on that committee.

And what the work that you do is so important.

And attendance is key to I know what y'all are having to deal with.

And I want to thank uh Superintendent Ball and Superintendent Soto who are here today, everyone who's representing schools from my district, which includes SAISD, South Side, Harlandale, and East Central.

Thank you for the work you do.

And I know it's a team effort.

It takes social workers, the therapists that go in and talk at SAISD, the teachers, the administrators that are working on attendance, because it's just a whole different thing.

So thank you for your effort.

I am pro attendance and I will be I will be tagging and on social media to make sure that people understand that it's important to get there and to just try and get the through the day as best they can.

So thank you for all your efforts.

I look forward to seeing how we move forward and make sure that we get kids in school and we get them graduated.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Chairman Gia.

Thank you, Judge Little for bringing this to council, and thank you, Dr.

Ball, for being here.

You know, I met with all three superintendents in D4 early on, and I told them that you know children child education is very important.

Keeping kids in school is the most important thing that we can do as a community.

Uh because as we know, when kids are not in school, other things happen, and that's the best place for them to be and to graduate and to move on.

So I just want to thank each and every one of you for making that happen across the city of San Antonio and for caring about every child in every school district in every corner of the city is very, very important, especially to our community.

So thank you very much.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Judge Oblow and the entire team for all that y'all do in serving the City of San Antonio's youth.

This is a court and one of my favorite events that's hosted within the city of San Antonio, because every time I get up and speak to those kids, they're in a seat that I was in once.

And what I've shared with the committee before is I've spent some time in Truency Court or in the early 2000s.

And oftentimes when I get invited to schools or to give presentations, right?

They always ask, can you talk about your time uh on uh student council?

I'm like, that wasn't necessarily my experience, but it's always an opportunity to bring those at-risk youth along, right?

That opportunity, youth to show the potential and opportunity.

And what I value about this court is not only is it about accountability, but also opportunity, encouraging our families to get connected to services and seeing the amount of services that y'all provide around municipal court on this day uh is very valuable to the families, and I know that you all know that, that's why they're present.

Um, but just I want to speak to the importance of the work that each and every one of you all play, no matter your role in this court and in this program.

Uh I know the families really count on that service, asking those questions, connecting them to services.

So extremely grateful for your court and all that y'all do.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Castillo.

Let me also echo my my thanks.

Um, and uh the judge can speak just uh last week, I think we had uh the budget session, and there were lots of questions from this dais about how we can better think about and better understand some of the root challenges experienced.

Uh because you know, we can talk about addressing poverty all day.

We can talk about working to bring big good businesses here, we can talk about our future as military city USA, but all of it starts with making sure our kids are prepared, and that requires they're in the classroom.

And so I want to thank you for the work that you do.

And we know some of these challenges are not the same, right?

Uh, frankly, some of it may be as we have talked about understanding, you know, one of the main reasons some of our kids miss school is in fact asthma, right?

Not having adequate resources for asthma.

I mean, frankly, as we're also seeing some of the challenges in our own educational system, um, discrimination against LGBTQ kids is also a reason why some folks do not feel comfortable showing up.

So let me just thank you for what you do.

Um, and again, this body understands it in the context, not only of educational outcomes, um, but also in the longer term um aspects of our uh addressing poverty and as well as our um our our economic competitiveness.

I will also say thing I think it's extremely important we think about your work and the context of our important role and identity as military city USA to put on uh a former hat.

You know, the vast majority of people that serve in the military will come from just a handful of counties, and San Antonio, Bear County is one of them, right?

Because the number one indicator of whether somebody will serve in the military is if they know somebody who has served.

And so that requires that our if we are not producing enough healthy kids or enough academically prepared kids, then it's in fact a national security issue.

So I think many of us up here understand the responsibility that we owe to you to support your important work, not only for our local economy, but for the country's national security.

So thank you for all that you do, and we are proud to support you.

Thank you, Judge.

Thank you, Mayor.

I will now recognize um councilman uh Castillo and Guiana for a point of personal privilege.

Thank you, Mayor.

Today I am recognizing a very special district two resident and friend who passed away on Monday.

Now, if you ever drove down Walter Street, just up the road from Antioch Baptist Church, you saw Tamara.

Walter Street was her home for over 10 years, and she loved and she was loved and protected by so many of our district two residents.

Tamara's life was full in a lot of ways that many people don't understand.

Tamara was in her 40s and was so sweet and always willing to talk.

She would light incense as folks visited her, and for a time she had a box made out of plywood where she slept, lined with clothes and all the things she owned.

The box had a hole where she would peek out and see who was approaching.

As you can imagine, she saw everything that happened in the neighborhood, and nothing phased her.

Even though she had her own challenges, she had clarity, and she thought, sorry, she talked about taking care of the children who lived around the area.

Neighbors would constantly check up on her, and she had one treat, and she had one treat that she really enjoyed, which was a McDonald's coffee with 14 creamers and 14 sugars.

People in the neighborhood would say that she was good when she was on her meds, and her family, including her daughter, tried everything that they could to bring her in off the streets and to find her housing.

She went through countless abatements.

They took away her box, but she always reported back to her post in the neighborhood.

She was even emergency detained to an institution, but she was released when the money ran out.

Again, Tamara's life was full, and she had a family and community who loved and respected her.

Ultimately, after the enduring, after enduring the elements, she passed away from a heart attack.

Homelessness is a very, very, very complex issue, and often the solutions begin decades before a person decides they no longer trust the housing system enough to choose to live outside of it.

District 2 in our Eastside community respected and love Tamara like one of our own family members, and we wanted to take this time today to show our support to her family and everyone else whose life she touched.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Councilman.

Okay.

Um item three is approval of the minutes for the city council meetings of August 13th, 14th, 19th, 20th, and 21st, 2025.

Uh the city clerk is moving these to the next meeting to allow for uh more time for review.

Is there any objection uh to taking the consent agenda before the individual items so that we may clear the business of the day?

Great.

There is no objection, so we move on to the consent agenda.

Items five through 36 are on the consent agenda.

This means they will be considered as a group and there will not be a staff presentation unless pulled for individual consideration.

Note that item number 11 has been withdrawn by staff.

Are there any items council members would like to pull from the uh consent agenda to be heard individually?

Madam Clerk, do we have any members of the public signed up to speak on the consent agenda?

Just okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Sir, good morning.

You have two minutes total.

Thank you.

Um I'm just concerned over uh development over the Edwards Aquifra recharge areas.

If there's any that I saw a couple proposals there that would somehow affect the protected areas by Medina of the Edwards Aquifer.

So my question is what type of development will occur with creating easements onto those areas.

And I guess I will hopefully give some information either from District 1 or the Mayor's Office.

Appreciate it.

Okay.

There being no others signed up to speak.

Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

I make a motion to approve.

It is moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda except item 11, which was withdrawn by staff.

Council members, are there any highlights or questions about the consent agenda?

Please.

Councilman Councilman Galvan.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just wanted to highlight uh item 16.

We have some appointments uh for District 6.

Uh I mainly want to shout out um Mr.

Gonzalez.

I don't know if Richard's here today.

Let's see.

There he is.

Hey there.

Uh if you don't mind coming out to the front, if we can take a picture after I finish these words really quick.

Just wanted to uh no Richard Gonzalez was born and raised in San Antonio and has been a lifelong resident of the city.

He has professional experience in the automotive field and a strong record of community services, including volunteering during Hurricane Harvey Relief efforts and volunteering at the San Antonio Food Bank in District 6.

Richard probably represents District 6 uh on the San Antonio DC Sakes Commission, which advises the city on creating cultural educational events celebrating September.

September and San Antonio's long relationship with Mexico.

I also want to know Richard's uh honest conversation and advice that he gave to me uh on the campaign trail.

Uh seeing, of course, uh all of us there um at the Great of West Library in the scorching heat was always very helpful to hear what thoughts you had on the campaign trail, what thoughts you had on the district uh was always something that stays with me, uh not only during the general, but also in the runoff election, too.

Um and I also want to know, of course, you also have great initials for district six personally, I think.

So I'm gonna head down there, take a quick picture, and then we can call today.

Okay.

Councilwoman Messa Gonzalez.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just want to highlight uh Jamie Kowalski if you can stand up.

Uh Jamie Kowalski comes to us from the RK group, holding a bachelor's degree from UTSA as well as being a board member on the Hardwater Chamber of Commerce.

Her passion for serving uh her community is unwavering.

Jamie is being reappointed to Port SA board for District 8.

Thank you so much for your service, Jamie, to our community.

Also have an appointment for the Parks and Rec Board.

Um, Dr.

Linda Lopez George.

Hello, Dr.

Linda Lopez George has been a district eight resident for over two decades, possessing a deep appreciation for green spaces.

She's also served on the Hardburger Conservancy and co-chaired the fundraiser Farm to Fork to raise funds for the land bridge.

Dr.

George is being reappointed, excuse me, appointed to the Parks and Rec Board for District 8.

Thank you so much for your service, Linda, to our residents in District 8.

Uh last, Anthony Madrano, a lifelong resident of San Antonio, graduating from Churchill High School and the San Antonio College with over 50 years of expertise in the field of Mexican American celebration.

Anthony's passion for his cultural culture runs deep.

Anthony is being reappointed to the San Antonio the SECs Commission for District 8.

Thank you, Anthony.

I believe that is it.

Thank you so much, Mary.

Uh Chair Alter Thega Village.

Thank you.

I have um a couple of great highlights.

I'm so excited to share with y'all today.

I want to highlight item 17, appointing Clementine Pryor to the City County Joint Commission on Elderly Affairs, reappointing Dan Wallace to the small business economic development advocacy committee, and reappointing Jason Vasquez to the Historic Compliance and Technical Advisory Board.

All of these three District 7 residents are here with us today.

If y'all don't mind coming to the podium, please.

Clem is an absolute star of in District 7, and she is loved by all who know her, my team included.

She goes out of her way to check on my staff and me, even when we when she is dealing with her own struggles, and she brings the same energy to everyone she meets.

She currently serves as the resident committee chair for the Sorrento apartments and works as a caregiver to a person with dementia.

She is dedicated, she is a dedicated advocate for her community and goes above and beyond to make sure her neighbors are cared for.

Clem has committed her life to being an ally to older adults and to people with disabilities, which makes her the perfect fit for this commission.

I'm so excited to appoint her today, and I'm so very grateful to have her representing District 7.

Next, I want to shout out Dan Wallace, who is being reappointed to the Sabeta Committee.

Dan has been serving on this committee since January of this year, and he hit the ground running from the get-go.

He has a true servant's heart and comes at everything he does with warmth, enthusiasm, and a smile that lights up the room.

He's always willing to lend a helping hand and takes pride in being involved in his community.

Dan serves as the Lincoln Park HOA board president.

He is an Air Force veteran and retired from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after 25 years.

After leaving the state, he went to work in recruitment at several colleges and then joined workforce solutions Alamo.

Dan's life has been dedicated to service to his country, his state, and now his city.

I'm honored to reappoint him to this committee and so grateful for his lifetime of public service.

Thank you, Dan.

And last but certainly not least, I want to recognize Jason Vasquez, who is being reappointed to CTAB.

Jason has been serving on this board for the past two years and was elected by his peers to serve as vice chair, demonstrating his excellent leadership.

He is a truly valuable voice in the community and has a true passion for historic preservation and neighborhood collaboration.

Jason served as the vice president of the Jefferson Neighborhood Association and has been an active and has been active in his community since he was a teenager.

He has worked for UTSA since 2013 and previously worked at the UT Health Science Center.

His unwavering dedication to making San Antonio a better place is truly inspiring.

Thank you, Jason, for everything you have done for District 7 and our city.

I'm so excited to plead to appoint you today.

If y'all can stay down there, I'm gonna take a quick picture, but first let's give all of them a round of applause.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor I just have two quick item highlights.

I wanted to highlight item number seven, which is our exciting funding to continue to design and make ADA accessible, our main plaza, which is the plaza that we have right outside here.

I know it took us a little bit longer than we were hoping for, but I'm glad it's finally on the agenda today.

Um hoping all of my colleagues will approve it.

And thank you all to the advocates that are uh always here, making sure that our main plaza is accessible for all and one that everyone can come to and enjoy.

If you guys haven't come and seen the show at night, would totally encourage you to do it.

It's beautiful.

Um, I also wanted to highlight item number 26.

This is a partnership for dental screenings, and you know, a lot of our families don't.

I never had a dental screening as a kid.

Dental screenings are the one thing that gets left off in terms of health care for our kiddos, and so this one is a partnership between Head Start and Avance.

So I'm excited to see this funding go through.

Thank you, Mayor.

Councilwoman Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'd like to highlight item number 26.

Ensuring that our children in Head Start have an opportunity with preventative care is important, ensuring that they get ahead in terms of taking care of their overall health.

I'm thankful for this partnership between Metro Health, uh Parent Child Incorporated, and Avance through this program, they can service over 5,000 children.

Many people in my district can't necessarily afford dental care and not only that, preventative care.

So this is an important partnership, and we're extremely grateful for the work of Metro Health on this item.

Thank you, Mayor.

Chair Via Gran.

Thank you.

I want to highlight item 35 and 36.

Uh, this is uh the Roosevelt Pedestrian, all the hard work we've been doing in work session as we talk about moving forward, moving bond projects forward.

Uh, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm very excited about this.

I think it's gonna be Rossi's um Swan Song project where he gets started.

Uh again, uh, thank you so much for what you've done.

This is was the 2017 2022 bond, and we're starting to move forward, and I look forward to Mike Shannon moving this along and making sure we get this done.

So I wanted to acknowledge that today, and thank you for all your communication and answers on this project.

Thank you.

Okay, great.

There being no further discussion, there's a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda except item 11, which was withdrawn by staff.

Please vote.

So vote voice voice vote, excuse me, voice.

Yeah, thank you.

Um those in favor, please say aye.

I aye.

Opposed.

Okay, thank you.

The motion carries, thank you.

All right, um, let's get started with item four, which is interviews and appointment of up to three new SAWS board members for the remainder of an unexpired term ending May 31st, 2029.

These appointments will be effective September 10th, 2025.

Um the city clerk has a presentation.

Good morning, Mayor and City Council.

My name is Debbie Rocka Sitter, and I'm your city clerk.

Uh the SAWS was created by City Council in August and April of 1992, and SAS is governed by a board of trustees.

The board consists of the mayor and six members appointed by city council.

Trustees must reside in either within within the area served by SAWs or within the corporate limits of the city.

And each member is appointed for a four-year term, and no member may serve more than two terms.

This map shows the quadrants that the residents would be coming from.

We have three openings in the in each of the northwest, one each in the northwest, northeast, and southwest quadrant.

The city clerk opened applications in our board application system 90 days before the expiration of the term, which was March 1st.

The term would expire May 31st.

The communications and engagement department assisted the department, the office of the city clerk in posting on the web, social media, TVSA, and they sent out texts.

Saws distributed and posted uh on their website as well.

30 residents submitted their application by the deadline of August 13th.

This kind of goes through the process and timeline.

There were 30 applications received and vetted by the city attorney's office.

On August the 5th, Mayor Jones created an ad hoc committee.

The ad hoc committee can was consisted of Mayor Jones, Councilwoman Via Gran, and Councilman Galvan.

They reviewed and shortlisted the 30 applicants down to seven, and they were invited to this meeting to be interviewed.

Today, City Council would vote on board appointments.

The city clerk would swear in those new members immediately after the vote.

However, they're off they won't take office until September the 10th, as mentioned by the mayor.

The city clerk will send out a welcome letter and information about how to fill out their financial disclosure report, and they will be invited to attend and participate in the municipal leadership institute training.

And then board members begins serving on the board.

So the applicants to be interviewed today for the three open seats include three folks from the Northeast Quadrant, two from the Northwest Quadrant, and two from the Southwest Quadrant.

Again, there's one seat in each quadrant available.

So today the applicant will be given two minutes for an opening statement.

City Council will review all shortlisted applicants.

There are actually four questions that are already predetermined, but City Council has an opportunity to add additional questions and ask follow-up questions if they need clarification on any of the responses.

Mayor Jones will call the meeting into executive session to deliberate, but no formal action will be taken in executive session.

And then once city council reconvenes, uh there would be a motion to appoint candidates for each of the open seats, and then they would be sworn in.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

And just one point of clarification.

Um council members, if you have a question that is more than a clarification to what they have provided in their opening statement.

Um, in the interest of fairness, please ensure that you ask that question of all of all of the applicants.

Okay.

Each individual will have two minutes.

Um Gino Rodriguez.

Followed by Jack Finger, two minutes each.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Rodriguez, and I have to talk like an auctioneer to hopefully protect the jobs of county employees, city employees, and others, of which uh SAS is not just about water.

What happened is that in my neighborhood, SAS left abandoned as business cement pipes.

And I went to SAS spoke twice, and I they told me that it doesn't affect property values.

And I found out that it does.

And what happened is that the appraiser keeps repeating, you cannot include things outside of your property line.

You cannot include things outside of your property line, which I said, what if there's a bar all of a sudden next to my house?

What if there's a pleasant makes noise next to my house?

That's gonna affect the property value.

One of them thinking out loud said it's gonna affect sellability and it's gonna affect um uh also that.

Well, the other thing is that if you sell a property, you need to disclose everything.

And if you don't, they it can they can sue you.

So the property value on our property was 109,000, and one citizen panelist, because there were three, brought it down to 20,000.

The other two brought it down to 50,000.

But the appraiser insisted that you can't it cannot be, it only has to be things within your property.

Anyhow, people aren't aware of that.

And SAS wasn't aware of that.

So can you imagine that's just one house?

They also lead the hydrants.

Uh I mean, like anywhere, instead of the intersections.

So now even the property values of for those hydrants are in front of the house where you open your little gate to get the mail.

Come on.

So those that are gonna that are going to SAS, please be aware of this.

That abandoned as vista cement does cost property value devaluation, and the worst thing is that we have a walking trail.

Sarah does not test for his business event, and sadly Sarah washed its hands and all public works is responsible for that.

Uh Channel Ice Creek, now a walking trail.

Thank you.

Jack Finger, you have two minutes.

Well, Madam Mayor, another members of our illustrious San Antonio City Council.

For the record, my name is Jack M.

Finger.

Well, you're going to be selecting some people for the SAWS board, and they will be in charge of uh being the gatekeepers for rate hikes and so forth.

In fact, uh I just happened to know something, observed something, just headline that came out recently.

What does it say?

Uh SAWS considers potential rate increase for customers in 2026.

Thank you.

Please return the camera to the podium if you would.

Yeah, uh, so the question is will you be selecting people who will vote for the rate increase or to keep our rates the same?

Yes.

But even more disturbing than that, Ms.

Madam Mayor, you formed an ad hoc committee.

Just three, you and a couple other council people to shortlist the 17 out of 24 people that were there.

17 got cut out.

Well, the question is, we as citizens, we want to see observe and attend the meetings to see how you would you were doing this.

I didn't see anything posted on the website, and even more than that, I didn't see any criteria you publicly mentioned as to how you were going to be shortlisting these people.

Kind of disturbing to me.

But uh even more than that, uh uh if you return that to me there.

Yeah, thank you.

One thing about so some of your people whom you're going to be selecting.

I noticed that uh I just looking at some of their very own material.

Um Adriana Rocha Garcia.

Now she used to be a city council person here, but I was looking for her her uh uh her employer, her company, a website and so forth.

Her company that that she is a president CEO has no description of itself on on the on the internet.

It's completely absent.

Yeah.

She did advocate for its taxpayer funding uh last year as a city council person, just months before she became its CEO.

To me, that sounds like a conflict of interest.

You know, and uh and Copa Coda Ray Ogas Garza.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir.

So many scandals, so little time.

We'll move on to the interviews.

Um first I want to thank um all of everybody that applied to serve on the SAWS Board of Trustees.

Um as uh mayor and ex officio member of the SAS board, um, I emphasize the importance of volunteering to serve on on these positions.

Um in particular um is is coming into um an environment as Mr.

Finger just uh relayed, um, the need for major capital investments.

Um so we'll need SAWS uh members, board members that can think equally about cost, uh, can think about conservation, uh climate change, as well as capital infrastructure projects, right?

Um, not only for uh the individual in our community, the small businesses that we support, but certainly uh the corporate entities and and lar other large uh businesses that we're working to attract.

So um thankful for those that have expressed interest in serving their community uh for many once again.

So we'll begin with the applicants uh for the Northeast Quadrant, followed by the Northwest Quadrant and the Southeast Quadrant.

Candidates will not be allowed to hear each other's interview.

So all applicants, except for Jeff Wurzberg, uh, could move to the sequester area.

We can begin now.

Great.

Um so Mr.

Wurzburg is an applicant for the Northeast Quadrant.

Um he will make a two-minute opening statement.

Um he's been provided four questions beforehand, and so that everybody may follow along.

The questions uh that he will be answering, he has two minutes for each question.

Those will be provided on the screen for everybody's um everybody's uh awareness.

Over to you, thank you.

Thank you.

Mayor Mayor Jones, members of the City Council.

It is an honor to be considered for the SAWS Board of Trustees seat for the Northeast Quadrant.

After spending 11 years in Washington, DC, where I worked on Capitol Hill, where I handled Guantanamo Bay litigation for the Department of Defense, and then I advised the Department of Health and Human Services on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

My wife and I decided to return to San Antonio in 2017 to raise our then one-year-old twins.

But San Antonio has been my home since 1997 when my family relocated here.

I'm a proud graduate of Clark High School.

And today I'm a partner at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, where I advise hospitals and health systems on state and federal law, uh, and in particular regulatory affairs.

The decision to choose San Antonio as our home was deliberate.

We saw the exciting things that were happening here, but we also saw there were meaningful opportunities to substantively engage and have an impact on our community.

Uh since our return, I have sought those opportunities.

I'm proud to serve on the board of directors for the multi for Morgan's Multi-Assistance Center.

I've participated in leadership San Antonio, and I've served on the board of the Health Cell.

I applied for this seat on the Board of Trustees for two reasons.

One, out of a genuine passion and desire to serve the community in a meaningful and substantive manner.

Uh and two, because I do believe that my background as an attorney and in government service will benefit the board, SAWS, and our community.

Over the last 30 years, SAS has proven that educating our neighbors and communities to make smart choices today to support conservation benefits the sustainability and resilience of our water systems.

Smart choices today will ensure that San Antonio remains resilient, rates remain as low as possible, and San Antonio will hopefully continue to attract families like mine and businesses to our community.

And in addition, we all have a vested interest in protecting our most precious resource and ensuring that our vulnerable communities will have access to all the exciting things and the success of our community.

Thank you for your consideration.

So again, the first question is on the screen.

Yeah, thank you very much.

You know, I've learned a lot over the last week since uh I learned I was selected to interview today uh and spoken with a lot of of very knowledgeable people.

One of the things I I learned was the expertise that already exists at SAWS.

And as an attorney, I know where my expertise ends and others begins, and that's where the benefit I believe I I bring to the Board of Trustees would lie.

Uh I'm very excited about the idea and the opportunity to work with, learn from those those experts, and hopefully then be able to benefit them with my my expertise.

Um but again, as an attorney and one who advises on on government governance, I appreciate the responsibilities that lie not only to the Board of Trustees, not only to SAWs, but to the community as a whole.

Uh we as a city as a community, including Bear County, we are so fortunate to have a city-owned uh water utility.

We take a lot of pride in that.

People are knowledgeable about SAS, people recognize SAWS, and so I do feel an obligation to all.

Uh water is something that we hold in trust for all citizens.

Uh, it's a source of strength, is our community.

Uh, and and frankly, it's what brought people to San Antonio generations ago, were our bodies of of water.

So it's something that I take seriously.

Uh and oftentimes those needs are provided in inequitable ways.

I see that in healthcare every day, and so that's something that uh is important to me that we continue to strive for to serve everyone in the community.

Uh obviously we want to continue to harness water for economic development, ensuring that SAWS remains strong and a leader in terms of water systems across the country will be helpful as we try to attract additional uh businesses to San Antonio, which we'll need uh as our community continues to expand.

Yet uh in terms of the most urgent water related issues, uh, infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure, both aged and new, uh, in terms of what we have already uh that serves our community and those who are coming to our community and the new development that we need.

Um revenue water, water that's pulled from the ground but isn't ultimately paid for.

Some of that is is purposeful, uh, but about 20% of our law water, excuse me, is uh non-revenue water.

And even if while SAWS has set a very ambitious goal of cutting the amount of water that we we lose now, uh even 2%.

If you if you do the it is basic math, that's about all I can do, but uh that would save about two million gallons of water.

That would serve about 250 households a month just by making that that little difference.

Um wastewater investment.

It's my appreciation that our wastewater facilities are are older.

The last one was built in 1998.

Uh, just like any infrastructure or your your home, after time, there are major repairs that are are needed, and so we need to continue to invest in that.

Uh and then drought and sustainability.

Um we know that there are going to be periods of less water.

We're experiencing that right now.

We're in a drought situation uh that is unparalleled back to the 1950s.

This is happening at the same time that we are experiencing this tremendous and terrific growth.

So we do need to have an eye to sustainability.

Edwards Aquifier used to provide 50% of our, I'm sorry, used to provide almost all of our water today.

It's only 50%, but we have found these other water sources, and we need to continue to do that.

Uh and we need to consider uh continue to ensure that the aquifier storage and recovery is being used in an efficient manner.

In terms of uh innovation, I believe that innovation and fiscal responsibility go hand in hand.

It's my appreciation that SAWS has historically done an excellent job finding this balance.

Uh, in fact, we have one of the most innovative water systems in the country.

Uh, one of the things that I I learned uh was that despite our significant growth, which is 80 percent over the last 30 years in terms of population, we are using significantly less water per customer today than at that time, and and as a whole, just a little bit more water, and that has to do with SAW's innovation and efforts at conservation.

Um the SAWS app is a great example uh of innovation that meets people where they're where they are, seeing your water use in real term, getting an alert that you may have a leak.

Um that's that's a great investment that was made.

The the purple pipe, uh, as I noted, we have one of the largest recycled water systems in the country, and that benefits all of us.

Um that's smart innovation.

Uh, we are the first city to harness biogas in the country, and that's a revenue source, by the way.

So that was smart innovation that benefits everyone in our community.

In sum, I do believe that innovation shouldn't come at the expense of rape papers, it needs to be smart, but SAWS has a history of that smart innovation that pays back to everyone in our community.

And uh in response to the the final question, it is inconceivable to me uh that we wouldn't coordinate.

We we have a shared interest in maintaining SAWs as one of the leading water systems in the country.

Uh it's it's wonderful for San Antonio.

People take a lot of pride in that fact.

Uh my friend Jeremy, when I I told him I was interviewing, just hearing him talk about SAWs and the impact on the community and their work.

You can see the pride that we all take in in SAWS.

Uh that's unique, and we need to maintain that control at all costs, and that's very important.

Um we all have a vested interest, and I mentioned as sustainably managing our most important and basic resource for the city, but in a way that also allows our most vulnerable residents to share in San Antonio's excuse me, bright future.

Uh, and that is my interest and desire in serving on the Board of Trustees, and I thank you for this opportunity.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Wurzberg, uh please provide your thoughts on incorporating conservation efforts into proposed development efforts requesting SAWS service.

Sure, I think that is is necessary in this day and age.

Obviously, any development we want to ensure is up to date on uh the most recent and innovative uh conservation and sustainability uh ideas.

It wouldn't make sense to you.

Obviously, when we're investing uh in our infrastructure and that aged infrastructure, we wouldn't want to use technology uh that isn't up to date.

That's just gonna lead to uh challenges down the road, especially uh as I mentioned at a time when we are expanding tremendously in terms of our population uh and facing drought conditions.

Okay, great.

All right, thank you.

Now let me um recognize any of my colleagues that would like to ask a question on this side.

No, on this side.

Okay, those two.

Um Chair Aldrate Gabito, thank you.

Thanks for um interviewing today.

Uh it's no surprise that SAS loses so much water, a scarce resource on leaky pipes.

As of last report, it was over 21 billion gallons lost on our streets.

What are your thoughts uh around helping SAS solve that issue?

Yeah, thank you for the the question.

I think a big part of that uh, based on my conversations and and what I've learned, uh certainly is updating that infrastructure and that aged infrastructure, but in part some of the innovation and technology that's now available.

Uh I I learned how AI can be used to listen for leaks, how we can use rovers to find uh leaky pipes or copper pipes or lead pipes.

And so I think those go hand in hand.

Um as I mentioned, that that is a problem that I'm seriously concerned about.

Every drop of water that doesn't make it to a resident uh is a drop of water we don't have, as a friend of mine said, we all turn on the tap.

This this affects all of us.

Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez.

Thank you.

Uh, my question is how do you believe the board can improve community outreach and education regarding water conservation?

Absolutely.

You know, um back to my uh response to serving the entire community and and not just the the quadrant.

Obviously, I would be available and excited to uh engage with members of my my quadrant and citizens and and listen to what they're facing uh and also share what we're doing.

But I do think that that's a critical piece.

There is an obligation to be engaged in the community to be sharing that creative and innovative tools like the app that literally sits in our pocket on our phone so that we can see what SAWS is doing, our water usage, our role, how we can help with conservation and sustainability for the city, all critical.

And so I think being on the board of trustees, uh it's not just showing up to meetings, it's it's being in the community, engaging with members of the community, uh, and and a voice for members of the the quadrant.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Chair Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

So, as you know, one of the issues that we've faced significantly is coordination for construction and utility construction.

What is your um idea on how you would hold the leadership accountable for making sure that we are partnering together and uh taking the necessary steps to know where our water lines are underground?

Absolutely.

Look, we we have to work together, as I said, it's it's inconceivable that the the city and SAWS wouldn't be working together to address the needs of our citizens.

We have to meet folks where they are and where the needs are.

We have to walk and chew gum at the same time.

We have to identify the priorities that are most urgent and affect the most people and can have the most high impact to our our community.

Uh so I I think that's incredibly important.

I I we cannot be the city that we all want us to be without a strong water utility that is not only attractive to the businesses that we want to attract to San Antonio, but is ensuring that it is taking care of all of our residents existing and and those that are coming, uh whether we want them or not, we're gonna continue to grow.

Thank you, Mr.

Wurzburg.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you.

The next Northeast Quadrant applicant is Greg Mann.

Mr.

Mann, you can begin your your two-minute opening statement, and then there were questions will be posted on the screen for you.

Okay.

Uh Mary John Mayor Jones and distinguished members of City Council.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today as you consider my request to serve as a member of the SAWS Board of Trustees.

My name is Greg Mann.

My wife and I love our community and have raised our three daughters here.

We've been SAWS customers the entire time, and we've seen firsthand how vital our water resources are to the health, growth, and sustainability of this community.

Since the day that my oldest daughter was born, a guiding decision making principle has been to ask myself long after I'm gone, what is it that my daughters are going to say about me and how are they going to remember me?

This longstanding question has shaped the way I live my life and the values I strive to uphold every day.

Now that my wife and I are empty nesters, I feel a deep responsibility to dedicate more time and energy to giving back to a city that has given so much to me and my family, and to help ensure that future generations, including my daughter's families, inherit an affordable, secure, and sustainable water future.

Professionally, I've spent the last three decades as an active member of San Antonio's business and real estate communities.

I hold dual business degrees in finance and real estate from the un from the University of Texas, along with a strong educational and practical foundation in accounting.

My career has been built around handling complex transaction, complex contracts, and financing transactions, many of which have included collaboration with governmental entities and public utilities.

Mr.

Mann, thank you.

You can move on to the first question.

Thanks.

Would you like me to read it aloud or no?

Just go ahead and answer it.

Thank you.

So at a macro level, all of our interests are aligned in creating, maintaining, and preserving a safe, affordable, and sustainable water supply.

At a more micro level, each quadrant is going to have its unique priorities and challenges.

My professional experience in understanding and working throughout most of the SAWS service area will lend itself well to being able to comprehend quadrants that prioritize aging infrastructure, growing quadrants that need new and expanded infrastructure, as well as an ability to focus on watery quality and affordable for those quadrants that are most vulnerable and typically hit the hardest from drought, flooding, freezing, and other issues due to outdated and/or a lack of infrastructure.

Water leakage, currently almost 17 billion gallons annually, and aging infrastructure, in my opinion, are by far the most urgent challenges we face.

SAUS needs to be willing to embrace and invest in technology and innovation, along with prioritizing capital investments to expeditiously and responsibly address and reduce our leakage problem.

We need transparency in evaluating and identifying areas where our most vulnerable infrastructure exists, and to systematically make the necessary capital expenditures needed to refurbish and or replace this infrastructure.

Successfully addressing our water leakage and infrastructures alone will have a big impact on conservation and sustainability objectives in both the near and far term as our community continues to grow.

First and foremost, we need to prioritize sustainability and affordability.

In this regard, SAWS must operate as efficiently and effectively as possible and continue to explore and invest in non-Edwards Aquifer supply infrastructure resources.

In addition, in my opinion, SAWS needs to continue to prioritize investment in technology innovation in infrastructure geared toward reducing leakage and the constantly rising maintenance expenses, which significantly impact and decrease revenues.

SAWS appears to be in a healthy cash position and has equally strong credit ratings.

We need to be able to effectively leverage this into capital investments, like it like the brackish groundwater desaline program, and others geared specifically toward modernization, maintenance cost reductions, and sustainability.

With regard to coordination, the short answer is yes.

And if we start with the premise that each of us has the same common objectives and goals in providing a safe and sustainable water supply well into the future for the betterment of our community, why would we not take advantage of all human resources and expertise at our disposal?

Ultimately, we're all ratepayers.

We all want the same thing.

I believe the role of the board is to ensure that we focus on making the best decisions to protect our ratepayers.

Any input in coordination that achieves this objective is clearly in all of our best interests.

Mr.

Mann, please provide your thoughts on incorporating conservation efforts into proposed development projects requesting SAWS service.

Thanks.

Well, let me start by saying that conservation and development go hand in hand.

To make sure that I answer the question appropriately, are you talking about development in infrastructure?

Are you talking about the growth of the city?

However, you'd like to answer that question.

Because to your point, it includes many residential to the corporate entities.

So please go ahead.

Sure.

Again, I would say that we all have a common goal, and that is to protect and preserve and sustain our water at an affordable price.

We need to work together.

We need to rely on science and data and let science and data guide us to making decisions that protect our water source.

And so long as we continue to let science and data help us down the path, understanding that all of our objectives ultimately are the same.

I think there's solutions that will continue to allow our city to grow while preserving and protecting our water source.

Chair Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

So, as you know, one of the challenges that we've been facing is significant construction delays due to a lack of understanding of where water lines are underground.

How would you hold leadership accountable to making sure there is stronger partnership and that we're doing our job in that area?

The well, part of my statement that I wasn't able to finish is that I've got three decades of experience working with engineers, contractors, governmental agencies, SAWS as a matter of fact, in identifying and constructing this type of infrastructure.

Um we need to embrace technology, we need to embrace innovation to make sure we know what our infrastructure, what condition the infrastructure is, and frankly, on a more basic level, where the infrastructure issues are, and we need to need to proactively hold contractors accountable.

Um I think that there needs to be better coordination between SAWs, between public works, and all of the relevant parties to put timelines in contractual agreements in place that create accountability and transparency with these contractors.

I've spent my entire professional career doing that.

It is achievable so long as uh everybody is held accountable and expectations are managed appropriately from the onset.

I can assure you that costs are not going down.

And so if we don't proactively uh operate as efficiently as possible, we're going to be constantly uh subjected to delays, change orders, and additional cost considerations.

Chair Aldret de Govito.

First off, thank you so much for being here today.

You touched on this earlier, but it's it's no surprise that SAS loses so much water, a scarce resource in broken pipes.

As of last report, it was over 21 billion gallons.

What are your thoughts on how we make that right?

Um, first of all, we've got to uh uh we've got to reduce that.

I know it can't be reduced to zero, but we need to take significant steps to minimize leakage.

Uh again, I come back to a willingness to embrace technology uh looking at and implementing all our resources that allow for proactively detecting where leakage uh occurs, and we've got to be willing to make the capital investments to correct it and replace aging infrastructure.

Um that will have such a significant impact on our day-to-day operations and our day-to-day revenues.

We're operating at a significant loss if we don't continue to make uh um correcting this these infrastructure leaks our top priority.

Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez, Mr.

Mann.

Sorry, sorry.

Mr.

Mann, how do you believe the board can improve community outreach and education regarding water conservation?

Um we need to embrace input.

We need to embrace transparency.

Again, the fundamental premise is that we all want a safe sustainable water supply.

We need all stakeholders at the table.

We need to be as open book as we possibly can be.

Um, and we need to embrace the idea that at the end of the day, we're all in this together.

We all want and need the same thing for our city and for future generations.

Thank you, Mr.

Mann.

Thank you.

The last Northeast Quadrant applicant is Jeremy Roberts.

Mr.

Roberts, you'll have two minutes for your opening statement, and then the questions will be provided on the screen, and you can just go through them.

You'll have two minutes for each question.

Fantastic, thank you.

Good morning, Mayor Jones and Council members.

My name is Dr.

Jeremy Roberts, and I'm honored to be considered for the SAWS Board of Trustees.

I'm a lifelong San Antonian with over 20 years in the corporate tech world, managing multi-million dollar budgets, leading companies through rapid growth and driving strategies grounded in data efficiency and community impact.

Today I serve as the CEO of Tutelec, a fast growing international health care technology company, and I'm also a college professor for the past 12 years, preparing future leaders in marketing management and business strategy.

For SAWS, I currently serve as the chair of both the Community Experience Committee and the Dispute Resolution Committee, and I was honored to be the inaugural vice chair of the CEC and the inaugural chair of the DRC serving from their inception.

And this work has given me a unique perspective on how both committees can bridge policy, infrastructure, conservation, customer service to better serve our city and our citizens.

Beyond SAWS, I've consistently risen to leadership roles in civic and nonprofit boards, and I was the inaugural chair of the city's Small Business Advisory Commission, guiding COVID relief funds to protect and grow local businesses.

And this year I complete my term on the executive board of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and serve on the Lifetime Recovery Board.

With SAWS facing critical decisions on infrastructure investment, conservation and affordability, I want to offer my experience to help shape long-term and sustainable solutions for our community.

And I believe this role is about complementing the board's expertise with a different perspective that combines utility governance, executive leadership, and a deep community connection.

And if selected, I will approach this role with a commitment to inclusiveness, listening to council and the needs of the community, ensuring that priorities are understood at the board level, and making data-driven decisions that reflect the values of the community you represent for decades to come.

Thank you for your time and for your consideration.

Just go ahead with the Sure.

Okay, question one.

While my seat would represent the Northeast Quadrant, my responsibility, my commitment would be to all SAWS customers across the entire service area.

So for me, this means listening to the needs of every district, understanding the different challenges faced by urban, suburban, and rural customers, and making decisions that are equitable and beneficial to the system as a whole.

I will actively seek out feedback from all council districts, participate in site visits across the city, and use my committee experience to bring forward issues that may affect some areas differently than others.

The Northeast Quadrant would be my home base, but it would never be my boundary.

My goal is to ensure that every decision I support reflects the fact that we are one system, interconnected, interdependent, and responsible for delivering safe, reliable, and affordable water to all of San Antonio.

Okay.

So San Antonio's most urgent challenge will be securing reliable, affordable and water to meet growth while keeping infrastructure strong and conservation at the forefront.

So with rapid development, especially in the Northwest side and climate pressures, our water demand will rise.

Even with the Vista Ridge in place, projections will show that we could face shortfalls after 2035 if we do not act now.

So we must address this in two fronts.

First is supply security.

Maintain and diversify our water resources and invest in sustainable projects and ensure readiness for future needs.

And the second is demand management to reduce non-revenue water through aggressive leak detection, infrastructure upgrades, and expand conservation programs and help customers use less water without sacrificing quality of life.

And by reducing losses and managing demand, we can delay costly new resources, keep rates stable, and maintain resilience well into 2050.

So for me as a technology guy, um, innovation is critical.

Innovation initiatives like Connect H2O and the Brackish groundwater desalination plant have the potential to transform how we deliver and manage deliver and manage water.

But innovation must always be paired with fiscal discipline.

Every new investment must have a clearly defined purpose with measurable return on investment and a benefit to our customers.

Technology should improve efficiency.

It should extend infrastructure life and meaningfully reduce water loss and not just adopted for its own sake just to be adopted.

At the same time, proactive maintenance is one of the most cost-effective ways of innovation and extending the life of existing assets while strategically introducing new technology ensures we balance advancement with responsibility to our ratepayers.

So my approach to advanced technology is where it meets a defined need, right?

It delivers measurable results and supports a long-term financial stability.

So I fully support strengthening policy and practice coordination between the city and SAWS, particularly in finance, HR and legal.

San Antonio's ownership of SAWs is a unique advantage.

So it allows us to share expertise, align priorities and avoid uh duplicated efforts while keeping the utilities' operational dependence intact.

So better coordination brings three things transparency, efficiency, and cost savings.

So for example, working with public works early in a project ensures our schedules align, it prevents unnecessary rework, it reduces spending.

Even small steps like potholing at the start of a project can save significant money and delays.

So by building this strong partnership with the city departments, we can deliver better results for customers, use resources more wisely, and reinforce public trust.

Chair Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

Jimmy just kind of highlighted on this, but you know what construction delays is a result of not knowing where water lines are is a big challenge that we're facing.

How would you hold your leadership accountable to making sure that we are moving forward on projects on a timely basis?

I'm I'm a guy that goes to Vegas and doesn't gamble because I know my odds of success.

I don't gamble, I've never gambled.

I measure a thousand times and cut once.

So it's one of those things to where with our leadership, we don't act, we don't react.

We learn, right?

We research, we figure out what we do before we even put a single shovel in the ground.

And so for that, you hold your leaders accountable.

They sign up for hard jobs with KPIs and accountability, you hold them to that accountability.

But we make sure there's transparency in that.

It's not just standing behind a closed door and expecting them to do the right job, but being sure to be transparent with them at the beginning.

This is what's expected.

We have deadlines to follow, we have a budget to follow.

There's a lot of eyes on us.

We better do it right the first time.

Cheryl Drete Gavito.

First off, thank you for being here.

Thank you.

It's no surprise that SAWS loses so much water, a scarce resource in broken pipes.

As of last report, it was over 21 billion gallons of water.

What are your thoughts on how we make that right?

Great question.

Uh I did some research on that, thinking about that in anticipation.

Um the average city out there, the industry best right now is a practice between 12 and 15%.

If we can start by at least getting to that first, we're we're already winning.

Um, when you think about it, it's all about conservation, financial services, accelerating the smart metering implementation.

So one of the committees that I currently serve right now that I chair is looking to make sure that we have 100% usage all across our city with that.

Um the non-revenue water and the water loss is a big problem.

It's very difficult for us to think about what we can do beyond 2035 into 2050.

It's hard to us to think beyond Vista Ridge, it's hard to us for us to think about any type of rate hikes or infrastructure if we cannot fix our water loss.

It's it's just a leaking problem.

It's that that bill that you don't want to look at hoping that it just disappears, right?

It's one of those things we have to tackle first.

And so that would be one of the first things I do.

Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez.

Thank you.

Mr.

Roberts, how do you believe that the board can improve community outreach and education regarding water conservation?

Great question.

As the chair of the CEC right now for SAWs, a lot of times what we find out it's not the entire community that has a communication problem, it's the most vulnerable communities.

They're the ones who actually need the communication most.

So one of the things we've spoken about was doing initiatives where we send SAWS representatives out into the public.

It starts at the HOA level.

It starts with working with your city council districts to identify the neighborhood associations that are most affected.

From that going into neighborhood leaders and then going into service groups and organizations that really protect those people that are most vulnerable because of the affordability programs that are out there.

There's a lot of people that worry that they will not be able to pay their bill.

But the simple communication of that and the acceptance of using an affordability program allows us to be able to go into those communities and help them.

Sure.

Mr.

Roberts, uh, please provide your thoughts on incorporating conservation efforts into proposed development projects requesting SAWS service.

Thank you.

I I believe right now we don't have the right rules and regulations with development with regard to water usage.

A lot of it has to do with drip irrigation and sprinkler systems, especially in new development.

Uh what we've seen in some of our committees today is there is some lax policies, and there's organizations right now that have been fighting the city and fighting SAWs to make sure those are staying relaxed, and that is just a bad thing.

And that is just a bad thing.

You know, for example, drip irrigation, even though you don't see the water on the top, it uses more water and wastes more water than anything else, and that's a problem because there's a lax policy behind the builders and the people that implement and put those systems in.

Thank you, Mr.

Roberts.

Sure.

Thank you.

We'll now move on to applicants from the Northwest Quadrant.

The first Northwest Quadrant applicant is Coda Rayo Garza.

Mr.

Garza, you have two minutes for your opening statement.

The questions then will be shown on the screen, and you have two minutes to respond to each.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

My career is built on a foundation of data research and public service.

With a PhD in applied demography, I've dedicated my professional and academic career to understanding how population dynamics and trends, including growth and community characteristics intersect with public policy and impact community outcomes.

In my current role as senior director for research and data at Every Texan, I use this expertise to inform and advocate for effective and just public solution public policy solutions.

My work is about looking ahead, understanding not just who we are today, but who we will be in the future and what resources we will need to thrive.

My expertise gives me the unique demographic lens to understand how San Antonio's status as one of the fastest growing cities in the country will uh impact the water demand and needs.

With an analytic lens, I hope to uh bring uh my background uh to help plan for a more sustainable and equitable water future for all of San Antonio's residents.

Um, in addition to my professional background, I also bring hands-on governance experience.

Most notably, I currently serve as vice president uh on the board of directors for communicare health centers, which is a federally qualified health clinic.

Um it is actually the second largest of its kind in the state.

And this experience has taught me how to govern uh uh organization with a focus always on public well-being and fiscal responsibility.

Uh water is not just a utility, it's a foundation of public health economic opportunity in our community's future, including that of my own children.

I'd uh be honored to serve on the SAWS board to bring both my professional expertise and uh lived experience to the table to help secure uh uh sustainable water future for everyone.

So I believe that uh a successful SAS trustee uh to the first question will understand that this role, while representative of a geographic constituency, um it simultaneously uh serves uh as a position uh as a steward for all ratepayers.

The quadrant seat is a vital mechanism uh to ensure that the board hears from diverse communities.

But oftentimes the issues that are faced in one area are a microcosm of greater systemic issues faced across uh the service area.

Uh so with that, my approach would be to view my quadrant um as a weather glass for the broader systems health, bringing localized data and community feedback to the board's attention to inform and strengthen policies that benefit everyone.

And then to ensure broader representation, I would proactively try to engage with uh community beyond my own quadrant uh by participating in SAS community meetings when possible, but also listening to trustees who should themselves be collecting qualitative data and insight from their community on their experience, the customer experience and needs from the system.

From a data perspective, um I would be extremely interested in analyzing system-wide data that SAS collects from customers through I believe modalities like the My Account uh app that provide a channel for feedback and ensuring that we are uh being strategic with that data and information to then uh expand and provide the appropriate services or improve services where needed.

Yeah, some of the most urgent water related needs are actually outlined in the 2025 water management plan that SAWS uh has uh published.

In the next decade, or to borrow language from the water management plan, the near and midterm future, those challenges for San Antonio will be about meeting increased water demand.

And that's largely due to the population increase and mitigating, of course, the impact of climate change and weather.

We know for a fact that SAWS water supply availability is largely impacted by climate.

As an example, the intensifying and persistent drought conditions have led to Edward Aquifer reaching critical low levels.

In the next decade, another challenge will be to modernize the aging and address aging infrastructure to ensure that water service delivery is consistent for all residents.

SAWS currently has in place a strategic multi-decade plan to address these issues.

Supply diversification and conservation are two critical pillars identified in the plan as strategies to prepare for these challenges.

But essentially, SAWS must continue to be proactive in its approach, consistently monitoring these challenges and working with the community to ensure a resilient water future.

Fiscal responsibility, especially for a public utility, is about making smart, strategic, rational, and forward looking investments that mitigate future risks and create long-term value for ratepayers.

The Connect to H2O project that is mentioned is actually a great example of this.

The over 200 million dollar investment provides a measurable return by providing customers with real-time data to catch leaks early.

So this then reduces non-revenue water loss, which is a direct financial benefit to the system and the community.

Innovation must be paired with fiscal discipline, and we should always be able to measure impact with data.

Strategies like phased implementation, pilot testing new technologies before scaling, and rigorous cost benefit analysis are simple examples of due diligence.

In addition, maintaining open communication with the residents about both the benefit and cost of major initiatives that the system is making is going to be critical for preserving trust with the community.

At the end of the day, responsible innovation should reduce long-term risk and be beneficial for everyone.

Lastly, SAWS's success uh as a wholly owned public utility is truly intertwined with the city's broader strategic goals.

A collaborative partnership makes sense and stronger coordination may help unlock more efficient processes that will benefit the community.

From a financial perspective, aligning financial priorities can help strengthen transparency and accountability for ratepayers, and collaborating with legal can help reduce risk and streamline compliance and bring consistency.

The key though to successful collaboration will be measured by mutual benefit and increase in the quality of service that we provide or that is provided to residents.

Ultimately, coordination between the city and SAWS is not just a matter of good governance, but essential to the long-term success of the community writ large.

Chair Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

One of the things that we uh face a lot with SAWS is working on construction projects together and knowing where water lines are underground.

So, how would you work to better collaborate and also hold your leadership accountable for completing projects on time?

Yeah, absolutely.

I think the uh capital improvement uh projects uh through SAWS as well as the city, there's truly to the very last question an opportunity for alignment and uh committing to ensuring that the process will be the most efficient, but also that we will know exactly who to go to when something in the process falls short.

Um, and so as a trustee, it is ultimately our responsibility to represent and to do to meet the mission of SAWS, which is to ensure that everyone is receiving quality affordable uh water.

And all of these other elements are part of getting to that goal, ensuring accountability and transparency in things like capital improvements.

Chair Aldreda Gabito.

First off, thank you so much for being here today and your interest in it.

It's no surprise that SAWS loses so much water, a scarce resource in broken pipes.

As of last report, it was over 21 billion gallons.

What are your thoughts on how we can make that right?

Yeah, you the the 2025 water management plan has a scale-down sort of goal to reduce non-revenue water loss, and that is also associated with ensuring that we were catching leaks.

We all need to be informed and aware of the strategies that are being implemented.

Yeah, thank you.

Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez.

Thank you.

How do you believe the board can improve community outreach and education regarding education regarding water conservation?

Yeah, absolutely.

I think it's it's the job of the trustee to be a good steward and listen to the community.

So engaging with constituencies, as I mentioned, not just uh the sort of geographic constituency that the trustee for that quadrant represents, but to go out and listen and collect qualitative data so that we are consistently understanding how those needs are changing, especially in a climate or in an environment where the climate uh poses such a distinct uh threat to our water supply.

Uh Dr.

Rayogarza, please provide your thoughts on incorporating conservation efforts into proposed development efforts requesting SAWS service.

Yeah, I think we've already committed as a city and then SAWS as an entity to conservation.

The city's climate action and adaptation plan also has goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and so the idea is that we bring all of these elements together to reach that uh unified goal.

This uh would form a part of that.

We have to talk about conservation in almost every aspect so that we can secure by 2075, as the plan states that we've reduced our reliance on the Edwards Aquifer, continue to diversify diversify supply and secure that water future.

Thank you, Doctor.

The last Northwest Quadrant applicant is Teresa Sapansky.

Ms.

Skopanski, you'll have two minutes for your opening statement, and then the questions will be provided on the screens.

You'll have four, and you'll have two minutes to respond to each.

Thank you.

Okay.

Good morning, Mayor Jones and City Council members.

My name is Teresa Rodriguez Sapansky.

I serve as president and CEO of community first health plans here in San Antonio.

As a native San Antonio, I bring more than 30 years of experience in business and the health care industry.

Throughout my career, I have worked to advance initiatives that improve health outcomes and reduce disparities for our community.

Beyond community first, I contribute to statewide health care policy, serving as chair of the state Medicaid Managed Care Advisory Committee, and vice chair of the regional health information exchange.

I have dedicated my career to strengthening the health, well-being, and quality of life within our community.

I view safe access to safe, reliable, and sustainable water, not only as an infrastructure priority, but as a fundamental issue of health and equity.

I offer a perspective that bridges public health, community needs, and responsible stewardship of resources.

Through leading initiatives in food insecurity, health equity, and community development, I have seen firsthand how closely these challenges are linked to environmental sustainability and access to essential services such as water.

I am deeply committed to serving our community.

My husband, a retired SAPD captain with 33 years of service, and my two daughters, a nurse and a law enforcement officer, exemplify our family's dedication to public service.

It would be an honor to continue that tradition by serving the San Antonio Water System Board of Trustees.

Thank you very much for your time.

All right.

Question number one.

Do I need to?

Yeah, okay.

Just provide the response.

Thank you.

I understand as a board of trustee, I would represent the Northwest Quadrant.

However, I believe the responsibility of SAW's board members extends to the entire community.

Every decision would be based on equitable access to services, comparable rate structures, and consideration of the needs of all customers across the entire service delivery area.

As a board of trustee, I would also seek input from the SAWS executive team to understand how current policies impact different areas of the city.

I view my role as a trustee to govern and maintain water security for all of San Antonio, not just one neighborhood or one quadrant.

I would also work with my fellow board colleagues and the executive leadership team to ensure that we stay on the cutting edge of new technology and remain efficient and effective in delivering the required water supplies for our communities.

A person can live up to three weeks without food, but only three to five days without water.

Thank you.

Number two.

San Antonio is one of the largest growing cities in the nation.

Challenges that San Antonio may face in the coming decade include one, securing sustainable water supplies to accommodate the growth of our city to ensure that increasing populations have reliable access to clean and safe water.

Number two, modernizing our aging infrastructure, recognizing two of three plants were built in the 1960s and the newest plant built in the 80s.

Investment in the infrastructure will be vital to our future sustainability.

Three, ensuring affordability to all residents in our communities.

To address these issues, SAWS should continue diversifying its water sources through conservation and aquifer storage, while developing a short and long-term strategy to invest in infrastructure replacement.

Additionally, continuing to expand public education on conservation will ensure reliability, resilience, and affordability in the years ahead.

Thank you.

Three.

Projects like Connect H2O advancing meter metering initiative shows SAW's commitment to innovation.

However, every investment must balance long-term value with financial stewardship.

As a board of trustee, my approach would be to consider the following.

One, cost benefit analysis.

We must consider the return on investment.

Does the advanced technology provide measurable return?

Also, is the program generating the desired results as initially set forth?

Two, review the established key performance indicators.

While I do not have a comprehensive list of all the current KPIs, one example is to evaluate the success success of technology that translates in energy savings to the consumer.

And three, conduct regular audits and reviews, work with executive leadership to conduct performance audits to ensure compliance with financial and strategic goals as set forth by this governing board.

As a board of trustee, I will ensure a balance between the strategic goals and operational efficiencies by leveraging my business acumen to make informed decisions that align with the mission and vision of SAWS, community expectations, and this governing board.

Thank you.

Finally, absolutely.

As a board of trustee, I would be supportive of further coordination between the City of San Antonio and SAWS.

As an example, the City of San Antonio's finance department currently coordinates with SAWS, reviewing and analyzing financial impacts.

Further collaboration with the finance department will continue to strengthen the current fiscal policies.

Is also the city attorney, again, providing that continuity between the two organizations.

It is about building a unified approach to serving the residents of San Antonio while ensuring the delivery of essential water services remains a key priority.

Thank you.

Chair Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

As you know, one of the challenges that we have working with SAWS is knowing where water lines are underground when we're doing construction together.

So how would you uh essentially hold leadership accountable and ensure there's more partnership during construction projects?

Um first thing is the collaboration and essential meetings that are both engaging with both organizations to ensure number one that uh the due diligence has occurred prior to that construction, for example.

Uh we want to know exactly, and and again, leadership, of course, knows their infrastructure, uh, their organization, and where the pipelines may be, but that collaboration and that ongoing coordination prior to a project will definitely ensure that we minimize and mitigate any kind of risk to that particular area of the community and or to either one of the organizations and and also to uh the public in that area.

Cherald Rete Gabito.

First off, thank you for being here today.

Thank you.

It's no surprise that SAS loses so much water, a scarce resource in broken pipes.

As of last report, it was over 21 billion gallons of water.

What are you thought your thoughts on how we make that right?

Um, as I understand, sometimes those broken pipes are because of aging, uh, the overall infrastructure, also drought seasons could occur, uh which causes that natural, natural types of causes.

And so again, working with the leadership at SAWS to ensure that number one, they are developing and have a solid short-term and long-term strategy on how to mitigate all of those different types of risks.

So, how can we get ahead of it instead of being reactive to a situation?

And then bringing those ideas and those strategies before this governing body to ensure that everyone is working on the same towards the same goals and that we have support from the um the city council overall.

Absolutely.

Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez.

Thank you.

Good morning.

How do you hi how are you?

How do you believe the board can improve community outreach and education regarding water conservation?

So communication happens in so different in so many different modes, and it takes about five different interventions before an individual actually receives that communication and truly understands it.

And so I think again, with technology, if used correctly, we can definitely outreach to our community, holding public sessions, uh informational sessions to ensure that we are reaching every quadrant of the San Antonio area and beyond that we serve, and making sure that all of our residents understand what the uh what SAS brings to the community and how they can contribute as well to uh sustainability over a long period of time.

Um please provide your thoughts on incorporating conservation efforts into proposed development efforts requesting SAW's service.

And I'm sorry, conservation efforts to conservation efforts into proposed development efforts that are requesting SAW service.

Yeah, I think overall again, it's use utilizing the current expertise that we have, and then uh looking at other expertise within the community, um including this uh governing body to develop um the goals that we need to set forth for overall conservation, and then bringing that forward to get support and buy-in, whether that means financial uh uh investment andor other kinds of investment within for the organization to be successful.

Uh, but I but it it's gotta be a holistic approach to uh just overall conservation and what our long-term goals are based on not only the current needs that we have today as a city, but also thinking about the future needs ten plus years beyond because as we all know, we are growing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll now move on to applicants from the Southwest Quadrant.

Uh the first Southwest Quadrant applicant is Blake Porales.

Mr.

Corales, you'll have two minutes for your opening statement, then the questions for questions will be provided on the screen, and you'll have two minutes to respond to each.

Go ahead, thank you.

Good morning, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Blake Prolis, and I'm honored here today to be a candidate for SALL's Board of Trustees.

I'm currently a senior supplier relations manager with Niagara Bottling, where I lead cross-functional initiatives between suppliers and plant operations to improve reliability, efficiency, and long-term infrastructure performance.

Over the past decade, I've built my career in engineering operations management, starting as a maintenance technician and advancing through my roles in engineering, project management, and leadership.

My experience includes managing reverse osmosis water filtration systems, utility infrastructure, large-scale capital projects, as well as developing high performing teams.

I hold a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a master's in engineering leadership and management from the University of Oklahoma, which I completed this year.

My goal in serving SALS board is to contribute my technical expertise as a plant engineer who has overseen water purification systems while further developing my experience in public service.

I bring strengths in strategic planning, system optimization, and complex issue resolution, which I believe closely with is challenging and facing our city today.

Looking ahead, I'm especially motivated to supporting and building a robust and resilient water infrastructure for San Antonio and advancing the modernization of our system to technology and innovation.

With my industry experience, I aim to help ensure SALS continues to provide reliable, sustainable, and affordable water services for our community today and for future generations.

Thank you for your consideration.

Okay, thank you.

Even though I would represent the Southwest region, I believe every trustee has a responsibility to the entire service area.

Effective representation starts with active listening and engagement.

Not only within my region, but also across San Antonio's diverse community.

Drawing with my experience as a manager of supply relations, overseeing multi-facility operations, and leading cross-functional teams, I understand how to balance competing needs, drive efficiencies, and align priorities for long-term success.

My goal would be to ensure that all policies and decisions reflect equity and fairness, supporting families, businesses, and the underserved community.

So San Antonio faces three crossing challenges.

Rapid population growth, climate variability, and aging infrastructure.

Drought into extreme weathers will heighten our risk and deferred maintenance could drive higher cost and service interruptions.

To respond, SALS should continue diversifying water resources, including desalination, while also acknowledging the higher energy costs associated with this technology and exploring ways to mitigate them.

At the same time, conservation must remain a priority.

SAOS should consider partnering with irrigation equipment OEMs to encourage water, uh smart water management during droughts and reduce usage following rain events.

Similar to how CPS partners with uh thermostat manufacturers to manage uh peak demands.

Uh complementing these efforts with advanced analytics to forecast and manage demand along with accelerating preventative maintenance will strengthen our systems resilience with a proactive, innovative and equitable approach.

SALS can ensure reliable and affordable services for families and our businesses.

Thank you, so innovation and fiscal responsibility goes hand in hand.

SALS initiatives like the uh H2O and Breakers Water desalination plants demonstrate the importance of modernization.

Uh however, these investments must be carefully evaluated to ensure they deliver real value to our community.

In my career, I've successfully overseen capital projects by justifying not only their upfront cost, but also their long-term savings.

They generate through improved efficiencies, reliability, and risk avoidance.

On the board, I would apply these same principles.

Supporting innovations with backed strong data, lifecycle analysis, and transparency to the community with the public.

This ensures progress without compromising the affordability.

So given that SALS is a publicly owned uh utility, uh strong alignment within the city department, both natural and beneficial.

I would be supportive of these efforts to increase coordination, particularly in the finance, HR, and legal.

Greater collaboration can streamline operations, reduce redundancies, and ensure consistent policy execution across the city.

At the same time, I do believe that it's essential for SALS to maintain a dedicated team and organization focused on the mission specific.

SALL's ability to deliver reliable water service depends on its independence to prioritize operational needs and accountability to the community.

A balanced approach would be a close partnership with the city where it is appropriate, alongside a team that maintains a SALS focused that will help better achieve outcomes for both businesses and our community.

Chair Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

One of the challenges that we have with SAS is figuring out where water lines are underground and making sure there is more collaboration for construction projects.

How would you hold leadership accountable and also work to make sure construction projects are completed on time?

So there's definitely a large partnership that happens with SALS and its contractors that uh deploy these lines that barium.

So I think that's paramount first with my role as a supply relations manager.

I closely oversee uh similar situations between uh with my company and the uh companies that we contract with.

I would be taking that as an approach as far as understanding that the drawings are being executed as printed, and if there is deviations, making sure that there is uh engineering sign-offs uh to those deviations and being sure that they're recorded properly.

In addition to that, uh, I believe again, any new developments is that we update our drawings and being sure that it's it's digital and you know, bring all the old records into a digital format so that they're easily accessible and it reduces that lead time uh for not only SALS quoting a project or uh initiating a project but also the contractors quoting it.

So I think that would be paramount to being sure that the leadership focused on that uh to build a better system.

Chair Aldrada Gabito.

First off, thank you for being here today.

Uh it's no surprise that SAOS loses so much water, a scarce resource on leaky pipes.

As of last report, it was over 21 billion gallons.

What are your thoughts on how we make that right?

I think with SALS aging infrastructure, it's going to take time to get this replaced.

That amount of water is definitely alarming.

Uh things shown on the last board meeting that we are ranked higher compared to Dallas and Houston, but they can afford that.

San Antonio is a desert climate, and we need to learn to conserve that.

So there does need to be investment in replacement piping, um, and also looking at the engineering structure around the soil because we have sifting shoals around uh San Antonio to be sure that we anything that we do install can withstand those stresses and be able to go on for 30 to 40 years without uh maintenance.

Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez.

Thank you.

How do you believe the board can improve community outreach and education regarding water conservation?

Yeah, that'll definitely be a multi-tiered approach.

Is uh I think the board first needs to understand uh the different levels of stakeholders.

Obviously, the community at whole is our number one stakeholder to be sure that we are serving the community of San Antonio, but also uh the next generation, being sure that we teach them about water conservation, um about you know reducing lawn about you know the Edwards Aquifer and preserving that uh natural resource for us.

So it's definitely multi-tiered to say we need to be looking at our stakeholders, how do we communicate them?

How do they want to be communicated to, and then going down to the schools to say we need to develop programs to be able to educate uh the next generation so as they grow up, they can be able to be stewards of our water resources.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Parales, please provide your thoughts on incorporating conservation efforts into develop into proposed development projects requesting SAWS service.

Definitely.

So as I stated before, there's definitely a stress of higher population growth, which does drive a lot of this development.

So I I think SALS board needs to start considering um mandates as far as uh reducing the amount of a green field where we do more zeroscaping uh to reduce that uh water demand and also uh possible projects of grey water conservation where you know water that can be used, filtered and reused for other sources similar to what Toyota's been doing uh for the past decade.

Thank you, Mr.

Barralos.

Thank you.

The last Southwest Quadrant applicant is Dr.

Adriana Rocha Garcia.

Dr.

Rocha Garcia, you'll have two minutes for your opening statement, and then the questions, four questions will be provided on the screen, and you could just respond to those.

Uh two minutes each.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Good morning, council.

Uh I'm so excited to be here this morning, and thank you for allowing us to do this interview.

I am Adriana Rocha Garcia.

I am a recovering councilwoman.

Uh, and so uh I I I am excited that we have such a great opportunity before us today to um have representation for the SAWS board.

And I was talking to the candidates out there and um looking forward to to going back and reviewing the video later.

But um you all know that I served, or some of you all know that I served as chair of the municipal utilities committee.

I also want to thank all of you all because I reached out and either I talked with you all or I connected with your staff.

Um I felt pretty comfortable having just vacated the district four seat about some of the issues that were going on in your districts because I would also uh listen while you all had those issues.

Um but I uh wanted to still call you all and make sure that that hadn't changed in the last few months.

And so thank you for allowing me to speak with your staff.

Um so I bring that with me.

I was a former chair of the municipal utilities committee.

I have past service here on uh council, but then also I always prepare just in case, right?

And so um though one thing today and coming that I wanted to make sure that I got across is that SAWS not only stands for the San Antonio Water System, it also stands for sustainable affordable water services.

And that is the mission, and that is what I would hope to continue to do as an advocate of you and your residents, and I am looking forward to participating that with that.

Um I also wanted to let you all know that I have formally formally accepted um uh a position as uh inaugural CEO of the Center for Health Empowerment in South Texas.

Uh website is www.chest.org.

It went live on Tuesday.

If you all would like to check it out.

Um and I'm saying that because water is life and health is important, and that's why I decided to apply.

And so, do I just go on, Mayor?

Okay, wonderful.

So, even though I would be representing the Southwest Quadrant, um, I feel like I did a lot of work over the past few months just learning about the different neighborhoods, the different needs.

You all had the same concerns as I talked to you all and your staffer.

So water main breaks, we had the same issues with construction, the coordinating of construction was critical as well.

I know that some of you all have helped champion with a dashboard to make sure that people are coordinated, et cetera.

And so within that realm, I feel like I'm fully prepared and able to not only bring the expertise that I've had from learning with you all and with your residents across the city, but also from having lived in District 4 since I was three years old.

And so I was born and raised in 78207, so I still have family, and so I'm very familiar with that area as well.

But I feel like from you all, the my my former colleagues, and just from you all and watching your council sessions lately as well, I get to see a lot of the same issues still present, right?

And so the basic issues that we need to address.

One of the things that I would also love to focus in on is that sustainability aspect.

So I mentioned that that's in the SAWS mission.

And so it's critical for us to represent uh Councilman Mungia, my councilman, you mentioned youth earlier.

And so, how do we ensure that there is enough water for our great grandchildren eventually or for whoever it is that follows in our presence to be able to recruit jobs, to be able to sustain their families, to be able to just have a great quality of life, enjoy the parks that we do today, um, and and and be able to uh say that we have that not only for the next 50 years, but for a long period of time.

We see other cities that have been going through this.

Uh, Councilman uh Aldretavito and I attended a water conference a couple of years ago, and this was the number one issue facing Texas in general.

And um, as we think about the investments that were made at the legislature this um year, we need to take advantage of that and be fully represented as a city.

And um the most urgent water challenges you all probably saw a couple of days ago, the Corpus City Council, um, and it was Peter Zanoni is the city manager who we uh got to work with here.

Um they have some water-related challenges and their corpus.

And so you all saw that the desalination plant um came in way over budget, and so that's those are things that are happening today that are happening across the state.

Uh but we need to be responsible not only to our taxpayers, but also to the people who uh will come after us.

And so looking at and learning from best practices, seeing even where maybe some of those uh folks may have made a mistake or two, and learning from them as well is going to be critical for us to be able to sustain sustain the service levels that that that we have.

We're very fortunate here uh in Texas because we are not necessarily in tornado alley.

Um, but how do we ensure that we have that sustainable water?

We have ape sources, right, that can help us with that right now, but we also have very old infrastructure.

Some of the infrastructure that we have hasn't been updated since the 1980s.

And if we haven't updated that infrastructure, how long will it be able to hold?

How long will it be able to work properly?

The other thing that I think that is an issue is an issue is the cyber threats that we have.

And I know that some of you all have talked about it previously, um, but we absolutely have to consider that someone could come in and attack our most critical uh infrastructure, in my opinion, and that would be life uh water, because water is life.

And with that, um, I have sat on the National League of Cities on the Human Development Committee, and one of the things that we always talked about was the PFAS and PFOS contamination.

How do we make sure that we represent uh the folks who maybe don't know necessarily what could happen to their health should practices like those that have happened in other areas come also to San Antonio?

And um the Connect H2O Advanced Metering Initiative, so I I'm um familiar with that because uh because of the MUC committee.

Um I was a little bit worried at first, and so I think one of the things that I made sure to um to let SAS know is that I was worried about the the digital connectivity.

And we know that not everybody is digitally connected, uh not everybody is using um their uh their phone for information.

Maybe they don't have access, maybe they just don't feel comfortable enough just yet.

But I believe that the program uh is a great innovative program.

I think we need to continue to focus in on innovation while watching our costs.

Um I talked about earlier about the situation with Corpus Christi, for instance, and so if we have the um ability to continue planning for the future, what are we going to do to um to figure out the sustainability?

But I'm also talking in terms of sustainability of the organization.

In in my role, I wasn't sure that I always knew necessarily how sustainable SAS was in terms of their succession planning, for instance.

And so realities happen all the time.

That was one of the first things that I asked when I got on the city council in 2019 was what happens if we're all gone?

Who takes over?

And so I'd love to ask that same question at SAWS.

What happens if something happens to all of the leadership, including the board of trustees?

Like who at that point makes these critical decisions?

And I don't know that it might be something that's because of a safety reason that I didn't know about as a council member, but I feel like as a board of trustee member, that is one of these critical things that I would be looking at as well.

So not just in terms of figuring out how we sustain the actual uh water levels that we have, um, but also in terms of that planning for the future and making sure that there's always someone there that can step in.

Thank you.

And last one is um so I've always um uh uh recognize that the city attorney is actually the final legal say for SAS as well.

And so um I saw this question when it came in yesterday, and I understood the HR one.

I understand that the public utilities is overseen technically by the CFO Ben Ben Gorzell in his position, and as a representative, we of course have the mayor uh that represents the entire council.

And so I had no problem with the question.

I did need to do, and so I was like, oh, I'm gonna have to get get into this a little bit more.

The only problem that I had, or not that it was a problem, but the only question was actually gonna be the HR part of it.

Because I have not found on the SAS website, and maybe I just didn't know where I was looking last night.

Um I was not able to find like, for instance, I I know that there was um uh some documents, right, that that were formed in the 1990s.

I'm not entirely sure that I've seen anything in particular to HR, right?

To the human resources part of it, but I'd love to learn a little bit more about where we were going with that, or if it has anything to do, perhaps with succession planning, and I just didn't know about that, but I'm entirely comfortable with that question about being able to work through the finance office, with the legal office, with HR as well.

Um, but again, so I just I don't want to uh I don't know what I don't know.

And I didn't know that HR was already something that was addressed that we could or could not interfere with.

So uh be honest with you, I just did not know that part of it, but I'm I'm fine with three-fourths of the question, I guess.

Chair Corps, missed you.

Um so one of the things that you know that we've been working a lot on is the construction challenges that we have with SAWS.

And you mentioned this in your opening remarks.

And so, how do you think what you what do you think as a SAS board member now you could do differently to hold leadership accountable and continue that collaboration?

Well, I noticed that at the last board meeting, Mayor Jones actually asked about this.

And so I think that we would have two strong advocates uh that you know from the previous council member experience from previous municipal chair, municipal utilities chair experience, that we can ask a little bit more and maybe even like tag team on it, right?

Because we absolutely want to make sure that there's coordination, a little bit better coordination, even that is going on.

And I know that there's been changes.

I know that there's been some excellent inroads in there, and I want to thank, of course, the uh city manager and uh Ben Gorzell as well, because I think that they're really the ones that are out there making sure that we're staying connected because when we think of the San Antonio Water System, a lot of people think of the city, and so they just say, Oh, it's the city, and oh, why can't the city do this, etc.?

And I've heard it from a few of you all.

And so, in that regard, regard, I do think that we need to have some additional um I would say oversight.

Um, I would love to see if there's already committees established, which committee on the SAS board is responsible for this and and maybe try to get on that committee so that we could have a little bit more uh influence there.

Thank you.

Cheryl Dr.

Gabito.

Miss you too.

Um but thank you uh for for being here today.

It's no surprise that SAS loses so much water, a scarce resource every year in broken pipes.

As of last report, there was over 21 billion gallons of water lost.

What are your thoughts on how we make that right?

Yeah, um, well, we definitely have to look at advanced technology.

And I know that there's already some uh technology that's being deployed so that we could identify even from up a ground from from above ground where the leaks are.

But I think that we need to invest a little bit more in technology.

And councilman, I know that you are passionate about innovation and technology, um, and I appreciate your work there.

Um I think that we need to focus in on that technology expertise.

Um, we get to participate in SA Smart as council members, and so you all will be invited, and the mayor gets to decide um what the challenge is or help with the decision of that challenge every year.

And I tell you that that's one of the best things that I ever attended as a council member because it gives us hope.

It gives us hope from these young students that are giving solutions to problems that they really didn't even know that we had, but they start thinking outside the box.

So I'd love councilwoman to see like, you know what, one of these days, maybe that's one of the challenges that is posed.

Like to someone totally outside the box, that it's not just thinking in their normal engineering training or in their normal uh line of work, right?

But how do we bridge these different groups that have these creative, unusual um ideas, and how do we empower them eventually to make a difference?

I think that's the best way to do it.

Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez.

Thank you for being here.

Um, how do you believe the board can improve community outreach and education regarding water conservation?

Well, um, I gotta tell you that we're in stage three right now.

Uh, and uh my son worries, right, about like what our watering day is.

And so uh I asked him as I was preparing for this interview, and he's watching me right now, by the way.

Um, and so I asked him, hey, what's your number one water concern?

Or like if you think about the water supply in San Antonio, um, and he's like, watering days.

And so I said, okay, well, what about watering days?

And he's like, well, it makes it seem like if we have a watering day, just one watering day a week, then that makes it seem like we have an issue.

And so that was great, right?

Like for me to learn from him because that made sense.

So as we start reminding people all of the time, I mean, just a constant uh communication blitz, right?

Reminding them to uh conserve water, reminding them that if they if they hear something, right?

Like um uh uh check it out, see if there's anything that it's available.

Uh remind them that maybe they're the ones that don't have a pipe broken, but if their neighbor maybe needs help, that there's these programs that are available, right, to um to us.

And so it's constant communication, it's working with you all.

It's working with um all of your offices, but then also with other nonprofit organizations to push messages out for SAS.

Um, when I was little, we used to go to Mexico, and um my parents were born in Mexico, and it was very difficult to figure out at what time the water flow was gonna come because that was like the only time of day that you could take a bath.

And you had like 20 people trying to take a bath at the same time.

And so I never want to get to that point, so I think that it's uh definitely important, right, for us to prepare now for what we don't know is ahead.

Dr.

Rocha Garcia, uh, please provide your thoughts on incorporating conservation efforts into uh proposed development effort uh projects requesting SAS service.

Yeah, um well, I think that we um owe it to to future generations to have conservation efforts considered uh before we make any commitments to people who are coming in.

I think we do have the obligation to ask, what are you doing for us?

Uh and we have a great development committee uh community right now that says we will work with you all, but I think that the key point is like let's work together, let's ask them, let's prepare and let's see what we can do together.

We have um great members of our community that are already started doing that, that um they have families that live here.

Like we should want to support these members of our community that are employing our community members that by the way are gonna have uh future generations here that are already generational families that have lived here in San Antonio.

How do we continue to support them?

But how do you we continue to say that conversation needs to be had at the beginning?

The conversation on conservation needs to happen at the beginning before any of the incentives happen, et cetera.

Thank you, Dr.

Richard Garcia.

Thank you, Mayor.

At this time, the city council will recess into executive session.

The time is now 11.21 p.m.

excuse me, AM on September 4th, 2025.

City Council of the City of San Antonio will now meet in executive session to consult with the city attorney's office pursuant to Section 551 074 of the Texas government code and to deliberate or discuss personnel issues pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Texas government code.

The time is now 21 p.m.

on September 4th, and the San Antonio City Council will now reconvene in open session.

No official action was taken in executive session.

Um that is the conclusion of our business.

The time is still 2 11 p.m.

and this meeting is adjourned.

Okay.