All right, we're gonna go ahead and get started.

Um the time is now 11 a.m.

on October 20th, 2025, and the meeting of the Economic and Workforce Development Committee is now called to order.

Madam Clerk, can you please call roll?

Councilmember Galvan.

Councilmember Spears.

Councilmember Castillo.

Chair Via Gran here.

Chair, we have quorum.

Thank you.

Um due to the time constraints, I will be allowing member speakers three minutes to speak on the first round and then three minutes on the second round.

The first item on the agenda is approval of the minutes.

Are there any corrections to the minutes?

And if not, can I get a motion and a second to approve the minutes?

I move to approve the minutes.

We've got a motion and a second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All opposed say no.

Motion carries.

Madam Clerk, are there any citizens signed up to speak on the item for public comments?

Chair, we have nobody signed up to speak.

All right, thank you.

All right, so let's move on to item number two, which is an interlocal agreement with the Alamo Colleges.

This is on the consent agenda.

Does anyone want a presentation?

Okay, no.

All right.

Can I get a motion to approve the item?

Motion to approve.

We've got a motion and a second.

Uh, any discussion?

Yes.

Councilman Castillo.

Yes.

Um, no, I just wanted to thank the Alamo Community Colleges for their partnership, and it's great to see that high school students have the opportunity to receive their OSHA certifications.

And this is a great opportunity for us to ensure that we're providing our youth with the skill and the trades and connecting them to the industries that we know uh most importantly are recession proof, right?

Um, so just really grateful for that work that you all do.

Uh offline, I'd like to get connected in terms of how can we collaborate with some of our district five high schools uh to connect kids to this program because again, uh the the tools and the skills that are provided uh we know are just really important.

And as the city of San Antonio continues to move towards a construction boom with potentially Project Marvel and so much more.

We know there's a high demand for um folks in the trade.

So just grateful for all of you all.

Uh any way we can be supportive of this program.

The district five teams happy to provide uh support, and we'd love to connect you all.

I know you are in district five, um, but we'd like to get together to connect you all to some more district five schools.

So just thank you all for y'all's work on this program.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Any other discussion?

Just one quick thing.

Yes.

I just have one good question, but we can go into a follow-up.

Um, I just wanted to ask we have a breakdown of how many participants uh utilize the technical and trade skills trainings that are provided by Elma Colleges within the city of San Antonio.

Um that's it.

Uh Mike, did you want to respond or will you get back with us on that?

Sure.

Um the entirety breadth of their technical and trade skills number.

Sorry, breath.

Yeah, we'll have to follow up with that.

You're welcome.

All right, thank you.

Any other questions, comments?

Okay, with that, we have a motion and a second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

No opposed.

Motion carries.

All right.

So let's move on to item three.

Madam Clerk, please read the caption.

A resolution to extend and amend composition requirements for the San Antonio Ready to Work Advisory Board.

All right, and we have a staff presentation.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Next slide, please.

Oh shoot.

There's nobody doing it.

It's me.

Sorry, Alex, I've been a little rusty.

Uh so the initial board resolution, December 17th.

Um, the city council in 2020, city council established the current non-person ready-to-work advisory board.

The responsibilities including provided input and advisement on the program's target occupations, which is the main thing that our board is charged with, ensuring that we're aligned with local business needs, the level of wraparound support for our participants, training alignment to those skills that are most in demand for our local employers, and providing feedback on the annual budget.

The board's current term expires on December 31st, 2025.

So the proposed resolution is to amend the board composition and extend to extend the term through December 31, 2030.

The original term in 2020 decided that the board would sunset December 31st, 2025, coinciding with the ending of the sales tax collection for ready to work.

And to add one additional seat for training providerslash higher education institution in that category, and to add one seat to a new category reserved for organizations with expertise and experience in serving individuals with high barriers to employment.

Change the board member term from two years to four years, and responsibilities of the board will remain unchanged.

So the proposed board composition, local employers and in-demand occupations, four seats, two seats for former or previous or current city workforce development program participants, trade and labor organizations, one seat, community organizations, one seat, training provider or higher education institutions, one seat, organizations serving high barrier populations, one seat.

And I think we may have a typo on a slide, but Alex, correct me if I'm wrong, we're expanding to two training provider or higher education institutions, and only one trade and labor organizations.

My apologies for that chart discrepancy.

So the staff recommendation for EWC to move the resolution to extend the and amend the ready work advisory board for full council consideration.

Happy to answer any questions.

All right.

So if you could explain that to me, is will it be the authority of this board to then remove people who are not showing up to meetings?

Because it is key, especially we're meeting how many times a year?

Three times a year or four times quarterly, or how often does this advisory board meet?

Six times per year every other month.

Okay.

Attendance is key.

And from what I saw and read regarding some of the applications is attendance has been problematic for some.

And that is that's that's where I this extension of from two to four.

What do we do if they don't show up for meetings?

If they if they meet and if they consistently miss three meetings in a row, that's more than half.

That is correct.

If that occurs, work with our court our clerk of courts office to ensure that they are aware of what the attendance requirements and priorities are for the Red Work Advisory Board.

And at that point in time, with three meetings missed in a row, we would move to have that individual removed from the advisory board.

We'll bring that information to this economic workforce development committee, and then a new appointment could be recommended and made at that time.

Because that wasn't done with some of the as we and I know we're that's the next topic, but that wasn't done with some of the members that missed three in a row beforehand.

And so I'm very concerned, I'm very concerned about extending it.

Um I do want to give consistency to this.

So I will be expecting at least after every three meetings, an update on actually after every meeting.

I want uh a form that tells me who's not attending because this doesn't function if if the board is not uh in attendance of that, and I see that happening with other groups and boards that I serve on where people are not in attendance, so we spend half the next meeting trying to catch up people that were absent, and that's problematic.

We can't move forward if we're doing that, and time is critical here.

So I'll be supporting this, but my expectation is that after the first meeting I get um I get a list of attendance in terms of who's who's showing up to the meeting and who who hasn't, and that we move a lot faster if we are not um if we are not having people attend the meetings because we need that representation, and that's why I think um the next item will be very interesting as we have conversations here.

So um that's that those are my thoughts on on the extension and amendment.

I do think we need um more representation from the trade uh the trade provider higher educational institution, and I do look forward to making sure we get some consistent consistency on the trade and labor organization's seat in attendance.

So uh, with that, does any of my other council colleagues have any questions?

Yeah, councilman Castillo.

Karen, thank you, Mike, for the presentation.

I want to thank Councilwoman Spear who shared um served on the committee uh to go over some of these recommendations.

Uh and we're really grateful to see the additional seats that were included.

I think having more opportunity, more voices can also help with issues in terms of quorum, but I do share the concern of attendance and uh if we could get updates if there are issues in terms of folks not uh showing up.

I understand folks have uh commitments with the organization they work for or to family, but I think it's important that we are checking in to see how we can be flexible, um, but also ensuring that we do have representation so that way folks can meet and we can move things forward.

Uh I'm really grateful to see um the additional slot for serving high barrier populations.

We know the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, uh, with one in three Americans having a criminal record uh and speaking to folks and providers uh and employers, right?

There's there's often a lot of barriers.

So I think having a voice in terms of sharing what that experience is, how we can best serve uh individuals will be impactful, uh, not just for the resident participating in the program, but I believe for the overall success of ready to work.

Um, so grateful for the the partnerships that Ready to Work Mike and your team have fostered with these organizations already doing that work, um, but also now providing an additional space for them to give uh more input in terms of how to move ready to work forward.

So just grateful for that, and then also to see the additional labor seat.

Uh, we know they've played uh instrumental role with policy here at City Hall, and of course, giving input uh with apprenticeship programs and so much more.

Uh and I think you know, having these strong voices uh at the table will only strengthen ready to work.

So just thank you, Mike, and thank you to the team.

Thank you, Chair.

Any other discussion?

I just want to um affirm what my colleagues are saying about how the communication will go between um again a concern about the attendance, make sure everyone is is participating because it is a coveted seat.

We have a lot of applicants, so we want people that are active and involved and engaged, and we want to see results.

And um, yeah, councilwoman Castillo, it was it was it was it was kind of fun doing that together.

So yeah, um I like the the new expanded categories, and we saw so much interest that we had to add that one seat that I think it will be beneficial in meeting quorum.

But just wanted to reaffirm what my colleagues already said.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Alex, you wanted to address something?

Yes, I just wanted to clarify.

Mike made this clarification during the presentation, but just before the committee takes any action, the additional seat would be added in the training provider or higher education institution category.

It was it was a mistake we didn't catch on the trade and labor chart on the slide.

So I just wanted to clarify.

Thank you.

Councilman Gavlin, any thoughts?

I don't have anything too big.

Uh thank you, of course, for the work, and of course, to my committee members who uh helped put this uh together and looking at this work.

Um is there is there any reason that uh the trades one uh I know of course it was a maybe a mistake on to the presentation, but we want to keep that one at one versus adding an additional one.

There was just focused primarily on these two.

No, it is uh you know, at the discretion, you know, of this committee to make additional recommendations.

Umly thing I think that has to be considered is keeping a balance of the number of people so that you know you have an odd number.

But I don't believe that you know, is anything restricted at Christina?

No.

Um, council member, what I would also sh uh share is the perspective that it was very important when the board was being created that we include the voice of employers um very strongly.

So they still have four seats, I believe, out of this.

Um, but these different categories were very important to include representation or to provide that representation.

But we want to make sure that at the end of the day we have a strong voice of the people who are actually hiring of course um some of our participants.

Got it.

Thank you very much, and thank all my questions.

All right, so we have a motion and a second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstentions?

Motion carries.

All right, we're gonna go ahead and move on to item four.

Um item four.

Oh, um, item four is the interviews for at-large applications to the ready to work advisory board.

Is there a stop presentation?

Yes, ma'am.

Good morning, Debbie Rocka Sitter, City Clerk.

Uh, good morning, economic and workforce development committee.

It's a pleasure to be here talking about the Ready Work Advisory Board.

I think you have gotten a briefing from Mr.

Ramsey about uh what the Ready to Work Advisory Board does.

There are 11 members representing local employers, workforce program participants, trade labor organizations, community organizations, training providers, higher education institutions, and also to liaisons of the council still to be appointed by the mayor.

Each member is appointed to a two-year term running concurrently with the council terms.

We had a call for applications outreach outreach process that the city clerk opened on March the 1st.

The communication and engagement department helped us with web postings, social media postings, and on TVSA.

We had a special text message that was also sent out to invite people to apply.

And we had a vetting by the city attorney.

We appreciate the city attorney's work in vetting those applications.

Out of the 33 applications that were received, 25 were eligible.

Chair Via Gran created an ad hoc committee consisting of Councilmember Castillo and Councilmember Spears, and they shortlisted those uh applicant applicants down to the short list that you see today.

And today you'll be interviewing uh the short listed candidates.

Uh Aurora has brought around the script, which includes uh information about the questions and the names of the applicants as well for your information for the to help with the interviews.

So once this uh committee selects its board members, it would go to city council a session.

The city clerk's office will notify the board member and board liaison the day after that is approved.

Uh we'll coordinate a swearing in.

We'll ask them to fill out a financial disclosure report and ask them to participate in the municipal leadership and strict institute.

Uh, that's an online training that they're required to take.

Uh that training does include information about attendance as well.

So hopefully they have to watch that within the first 90 days of being appointed.

And the board member then begins serving on the board for the remainder of their term until they're removed or replaced.

Uh, we have these applications to be interviewed.

Uh want to note that since uh this morning, early this morning, we got a withdrawal uh from Gilbert Martinez and the training provider higher higher ed seats.

So if you can strike him from the list, he will not be uh the participating in the interviews, he will not be part of the the selections.

So the way things will run today is the applicant will give a two-minute opening statement.

If they cannot attend a written statement has been accepted, and we have those listed, uh the ones that have been uh provided already.

Uh you should have received a copy.

Do we have copies of the written statement for everyone?

Okay.

Everyone should have received a copy of the written statements.

Then once all the interviews are completed, the committee will break into executive session to deliberate.

No formal action will be taken in executive session, and then Chair Via Gran will reconvene the committee back.

Uh and we will hopefully have a motion and a second to approve some folks to be on this committee, and then city clerk will take that to city council.

If there is any uh questions about the process, uh I'm here to answer, but I think you guys have done this before, and Chair Via Grande is very, very used to uh how this process goes and and is more than capable of making this go smoothly.

So thank you very much.

Thank you, Debbie.

Thank you for the presentation.

Before we move on to the interviews, I'd like to take a moment to thank the applicants for their interest in serving on the Ready to Work Advisory Board.

The advisory board plays an essential role in ensuring that the Ready to Work program continues to meet the needs of both our residents and our local employers.

The insights and guidance provided by board members help shape how we connect individuals to training, education, and meaningful employment.

Today's interviews are an opportunity for the committee to learn more about your experience.

We all got your resumes, your ideas, and your passions for this work.

We appreciate the time you've taken to be here and your desire to contribute to the important initiative.

Each applicant will have two minute opening statements and two minutes for questions.

Let's begin with the first applicant and the rest will leave the room so we may begin the interviews.

I believe our first applicant is Alexandra Bettis.

Chair.

Chair?

Yes.

I didn't want to let you know that Amanda and Anthony are here, so you could check them off on your list.

Great.

I'm short.

All right.

Hi.

Hi.

Good to see you.

Good to see you.

All right.

It's all formal, Alexandra.

I was like, Allie, okay.

It's my formal government name that I barely recognize myself.

So you have two minutes for an opening statement, and then we'll get into some questions from my uh committee members.

Great.

Thank you so much for having me here.

I want to share briefly a little bit about my experience.

Um, I'm a native to San Antonio.

I've lived here the majority of my life.

Went to college in New York, came right on back because I do not like those cold winters, and I do love this city so much.

I come with about 15 years of construction industry experience.

I used to run plumbing and HVAC companies.

I became licensed in those trades to be able to properly manage the teams of mostly men.

Um, and in that time, I also found a need for um recruitment of more individuals.

So I started an organization, Texas Women in Trades or Texas Women Work to bring more women and young people into skilled construction trades.

Um, as a board member, I have served for the last two years.

Um I'm highly involved.

I'm also a stickler for attendance.

So I did make a recommendation that our subcommittee uh groups be joined because we weren't getting the attendance we needed to be effective.

Um that motion did pass, and so we have done that, which is great.

Um, I have perfect or near perfect attendance, not to brag, but it is a priority for me.

Um additionally, I've worked with ready to work on a bevy of events over the last few years, before and after I've been a board member.

Um we've planned state of the workforce events um encouraged by Mayor Ron that focused on construction, energy, and manufacturing.

Um, I just on Friday helped to convene an intake manager training about um union trades.

So I got some union trades people to come on and present to the intake managers about the opportunities in the skilled trades.

Um, and we've also done some apprenticeship week events as well.

Um, I've also been uh instrumental in planning some cohorts with CPS and SAWs.

That has not been easy, but it is very well worth it.

So um I would appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve.

I try to be as active as I can.

I'm sure I annoy them, but um it is with the best of intentions I really want to see this program and the participants um break through the systemic challenges that they face for most of their lives.

Thank you.

Great, thank you.

All right, we'll go around uh and council uh committee members.

I encourage you to ask the same questions of all the candidates, but if someone would like to begin, somebody picked the question.

No questions?

No?

Do you have a question?

Okay.

What strategies would you use to encourage more residents to enroll and ready to work and to motivate local employers to hire program graduates?

That's a great question.

Um, I think awareness is probably key.

Um, I have worked and collaborated pretty closely with uh the marketing department at Ready to Work about potential campaigns, how to um make it appealing, particularly when it comes to construction.

I think we think of those as dirty jobs incorrectly.

They are high-wage jobs with lots of access to uh high-level high-wage careers.

Um, so I think just you know, keeping it very simple, but actively engaging, particularly through social media and marketing campaigns is key.

Um, I used to be a contractor for 15 years.

Um, so fortunately and unfortunately, I speak contractor.

Um, and sometimes they're their own worst enemy.

They often complain that there's not enough skilled workforce, but then they don't contribute to that challenge or that problem.

So um going to meet them where they are, I think is key.

Um, asking employers to do more than what they're already doing and running their business.

That's uh that's a high lofty ask.

But meeting them where they are at their trade associations, um, at their golf tournaments and their ski shooting, you know, bringing that message to where they are, I think is is a really important part of ensuring that the employers are continuing to learn about the program and stay engaged.

All right, I have a question.

What do you think are the most important challenges facing our local workforce today, and how should Ready to Work help address them?

I think that um the barriers, the obstacles and the barriers.

So IT was really pleased to hear that there was a seat opening up for that.

Um I think that people in general want to work.

I think there are some again systemic challenges that prevent them from doing that.

So having organizations, supportive services, um, incentives for employers to provide those services are really key to making sure that we reduce all the barriers so that we can get people working.

It sometimes it's as simple as not having enough money to renew your driver's license.

The fact that Ready to Work is there to supply those dollars, and now we have a worker in our San Antonio system, I think is really really cool and pivotal.

So I'm a little sick today.

I hope that answered your question.

Yeah, thank you.

I appreciate it.

All right, if there are no other questions, thank you, Allie, and um you can go ahead and uh you've got two minutes to close.

Oh, I have two more minutes.

Yes, to close.

I try to put it down to the two.

Terry, I loved what you were saying earlier.

I'd love to maybe connect on that about um having opportunities for for skilled workers.

Did anyone encounter construction on the way to work today?

We all did.

Um, so there's definitely a divide and a gap.

And I think that together with having programs like ready to work that pay for that training, um, having supportive services is so key.

This program has to work.

Um, I think nationally, we've made an impression, um, a positive impression that a program like this could even be proposed in a state like Texas.

Um, but not just for our the impression of of our city or the program, but for those people.

I think of of the women, particularly, the single mothers.

Um, it's not just gonna change her life, it changes her kids' life and their kids' lives and their kids' lives, and I get goosebumps thinking about it because they may not have had that opportunity without this program.

So um this program has to work, and I am committed um, as I'm sure you all are to seeing that happen.

So thank you.

Thank you.

All right, uh, you can step out and we will bring in uh Anthony Garcia.

All right, welcome, Anthony.

You have uh two minutes to do an intro, then we'll have some questions and then we'll close.

All right.

So the time is yours.

All right, thank you.

Good morning, everybody.

My name is Anthony Garcia.

Um my background, a little bit about me.

I recently relocated to San Antonio, just over two years ago.

Um I was born here, but I come from a military family, so that led me to move all over.

Um, but I've really made San Antonio my home.

Uh first I was a participant and I am a participant in the Ready to Work program.

Um I also actually work for the contractor for workforce solutions Alamo, and I'm the recruiter uh for workforce solutions Alamo and the Ready to Work Program.

Ultimately, uh I want to see this program succeed, and I want to use my unique insight, the experience I have as a participant and working amongst this program and with these relationships that I have established across training providers, employers, and all the partners in the consortium.

Thank you.

Uh community members, any questions?

Councilman Councilman.

Uh what strategies would you use to encourage more residents to enroll in ready to work and to motivate local employers to hire program graduates?

Yes.

Um strategy I truly believe in is grassroots.

So meeting a community where they're at.

Uh going deeper into the community into these public spaces, such as libraries, uh really going into these organizations such as Goodwill that is coming on board uh with ready to work, utilizing our centers more effectively, um, but also your coffee shops, your local staples in the city of San Antonio, uh, maybe events in hemisphere.

Uh a lot of outreach, you know, but truly going into the community uh to meet with these people uh instead of uh waiting for them to come to us, um, not to engage employers.

I think it's really uh feedback-based.

We need to understand what employers are looking for, what credentials, what experience, and we need to use our training providers that are in this program uh to adjust curriculums or to correct or to add as well if they're looking for X, Y, Z experience, we should lean on the training providers that are forward and public facing in the Ready to Work program to assist in providing that experience to these students uh to better connect with the employers.

If they're looking for XYZ experience, we should lean on the training providers that are forward and public facing in the Ready to Work program to assist in providing that experience to these students uh to better connect with the employers.

Thank you.

So, my question for you is what do you think are the most important challenges facing our local workforce today and how should Ready to Work help address them?

I think that goes back uh just to the experience that employers are looking for and the credentials.

I think it stems from access to information.

So the more we can educate uh local citizens in all 10 districts, the more information that we can provide.

The barrier to entry is lower, and we can see engagement.

Uh I feel when people are informed, they make great decisions.

And if we can just provide this information more concisely, uh more understandably, I think people will gravitate towards the program.

But again, it it really boils down to meeting people where they are in the community.

Um it's a more proactive approach instead of passive.

Great.

And uh you've got uh a minute to you to just wrap up.

Anything you want to share with us.

Yes, um, you know, I ultimately I like I've mentioned I'm a participant in the program.

I'm also employed uh by the program, but I truly believe and want to be a champion.

I just think it really takes a more active approach and get more engagement from the community, uh, just really really meeting people where they are.

Um, and that just leaning on over all of our local spaces that San Antonio has to provide, the local spaces where our community gravitates to uh and just connecting it, but bringing everybody into the same room ultimately participants, the employers, and the training providers.

When we can bring everybody together, we can expect that connection, and it really just it lowers the barrier to entry for participants.

But thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

All right.

Uh, yes, we'll bring in the next person.

Thank you.

Thank you, Anthony.

Thank you all for your time.

Chair, I want to let you know that Benjamin PV did arrive.

Okay, great.

So um Jerry Graeber has given us a statement.

Next would be Amanda Wright.

Good morning.

Good morning, Amanda.

You've got two minutes, and then we'll ask some questions, and then you'll be able to wrap up.

All right, thank you.

Hi, my name is Amanda Wright.

Um, I've lived in San Antonio since 2019, 2018, and I'd just like y'all to know that I have served on the board since about 2023 on the advisory board, and then became the chairman of the communications board as well.

My biggest role in the board that I have really strove for is to be the voice of those that don't have voice.

I have actually walked in the shoes of those that have been not only homeless but jobless.

Um I went through y'all's program back in 2020 during COVID and was one of the few that took advantage of it and actually used it.

Um I got my certification in bookkeeping and accounting and QuickBooks and went on and have the job that I have today as an assistant manager for HR and accounting with Winco of South Texas.

Um with all of my experience through all of that, I also was staff member and house mom of a homeless shelter here in town, local homeless shelter, that uh I dedicated my time outside of work back to the community and understanding and helping those that are homeless and recovering from addiction to get back up on their feet.

Um, along with that, we set up a program with uh CPS for mothers trying to gain custody of their kids back.

And I actually walked through the program myself and helped develop it through strong foundation ministries, and so I helped develop a pretty decent program of walking the mothers hand in hand and not only rebuilding their lives, the importance of education, um, financial stability and how to be a mother on their own.

As a single mom myself, it's pretty difficult at times to not only find a career that supports you being a single mom, but that pays well enough.

So the this board and the work that they do really hits home for me.

I've been able to meet a lot of amazing people through all the 501c interactions that I've gained over the past two, three years.

And I would just like to continue that work and continue building those relationships.

Like I said, I admire the work that the city's done in placing this program in place, and very privileged to be part of the board and to advocate for the voices of those that are in the demographic of people that we're trying to help through this program.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What strategies would you use to encourage more residents to enroll and ready to work and to motivate local employers to hire program graduates?

Strategies to get local residents.

I'm gonna be blunt and honest.

I'm known for that.

I don't think it falls on the residents as much at this point as opposed to the community as a whole who's over this program and the voice of the PR that gets out.

We have to gain the trust of the residents and the trust of the employers on both ends to be able to build the program into the success that we have started.

Trust is a big factor, not only with the demographic of people coming in if they hear word or wind of this program is not living up to what they say they do, that demolishes the trust factor right there.

So less residents are gonna roll on the back end with the employers.

If they are also hearing negative things about this program, it discredits the program as a whole to where they don't want to actually get involved with the program.

Why would they?

So I believe the strategies that need to be taken are on the inside out and getting more people to enroll and more employers to engage.

It would be building the trust and turning our PR and our words that we say towards this program into a positive influence instead of negative and bashing each other and finger pointing.

Let's come up with solutions if somebody sees a problem and fix those problems, and let's move forward.

Thank you.

Thank you, Matt.

I have one question regarding participants.

Um, what participant support services do you believe should be enhanced within the SA Ready to Work program to improve uh participant participation and program success?

Again, this is more internal than it is what the program itself can do.

It goes back to child care for mothers.

Yes, we have C C DS, and yes, we have a lot of amount of funds set aside to help with daycare services, but there's not enough daycare slots.

So it goes back to the city as to what can we do to create more daycares and child care services that accept C C DS and those funds and have the places to enroll the kids so that mothers can advance their careers and fathers too, of course.

Um it is more of an internal thing of we have a major issue with providing the spots for those kids as opposed to the funds and that program actually being there.

It's there, the funds are there, but we don't have anywhere to use it because there's nowhere to put the kids.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

Um one minute, just if you want to sum up anything you hadn't shared that you'd like to share with us.

Just that I absolutely am blessed and love to be able to serve on this board.

The people I serve with were amazing, highly diverse, intelligent.

Everybody thinks outside of the box when there's problems, everybody's so respectful to just work together and come up with creative ideas to then bring to city council or anybody else that needs to be brought up to.

Um I really am just enjoying the fact that I can be one of those voices as one of those people that have walked in the shoes of those that we try to help in our community.

Great, thank you.

Thank you so much.

All right, uh, we'll bring in the next person that's here is Benjamin.

PD.

Uh there are two written statements for Jennifer and Kanhu and Stephanie Gaines in y'all's packet.

Hi, Benjamin.

You have two minutes to do your opening, and then we let we have a couple of questions for you, and then you can close.

Good, thank you.

Time is yours.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today and represent SA Ready to Work.

I've been uh original member of the Ready to Work Board from the beginning.

My name's Ben Peavy.

I'm a managing director with Accenture, been with Accenture 30 years.

I grew up in San Antonio, I'm from San Antonio and and uh know the importance of education.

Uh for this program, I just wanted to start with gratitude.

Uh, this this program is one of the reasons why I love San Antonio so much, because it was set up to help the most needy and underserved citizens, especially during a time that we're going through a lot of issues and turmoil, and San Antonio people stepped up.

Quick quote from Bill Gates.

Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10.

I really feel this program's gonna be one of those examples.

We're gonna look back in five and ten years and say, whoa.

This program has had an impact to our business community, to our workforce development, to our training providers that we don't even see today, but it's happening.

I get to see it from a different perspective from the employer perspective, but getting to work and be with city staff, the training providers, the workforce development providers.

I know how much they care, and we get to see the people that are actually going through the program and being impacted.

It's it's incredible.

Think you guys know the stats about ready to work.

We just passed 3,000 people getting an approved job last week, which is incredible.

Uh, one of the things that we said that we wanted to do with this program, which again, when it started, started from scratch.

Uh, we didn't have the training providers or um workforce development providers to begin with, so it took time to ramp up.

But we wanted to do it at scale, and we wanted to make sure that we were still focused on the people that needed the most, and we've done that.

Great.

Councilman Spears.

Thank you.

What strategies would you use to encourage more residents to enroll in ready to work and to motivate local employers to hire program graduates?

Great.

Um thing I would say, just overall, the strategy I think we really need to think about with this program is pretty much every business person I speak to, or a lot of people on the street that aren't as involved, always talk about man, the ready to work program.

Why is it struggling?

Why what why is it you know, why isn't it doing that well?

And I I always come back to I think we need to do a better job as a community, as a as a council, as people on our board to be the best advocates of this because so many other cities would die for a program like this, and I just feel like we're we're letting lagging indicators drive the narrative of this program.

And what I mean by that, the big thing that we keep getting beat up on is we don't we're at 59% for people getting a job in six months.

True, it's facts.

One of our guiding principles was to be very transparent and tell it like it is, but also we're also have stats out there that says 3,000 people have been getting a job, and they're making 44,000 in their original job that they get after they graduate, and they increase their salary by 33,000.

So we're not gonna focus on that, but we're gonna focus that we didn't get people a job in six months when a lot of higher ed institutions and training programs themselves don't meet that, and we're again serving the most hard to serve.

So again, it's it's it's how we tell the narrative, and we and I and I don't deal with this every day.

This isn't my main job.

City staff and the training providers that deal with this every single day are doing incredible work going through all this, and then every week pretty much getting beat up.

Why isn't the program better?

That's really hard.

So when you're I'm going back to answering your question, we have this incredible program that provides all these services and training and wraparound services, but then the still the narrative is it's a troubled program.

It makes it very difficult for a lot of the businesses to say, well, let's move in.

And even saying that, we've had over a thousand people hire at least one ready-to-work participant.

Imagine how much more momentum would we have if we were actually talking about the program the way we should.

And then that would be build momentum to having even more of our residents go.

But a lot of the residents that we're supporting are word of mouth.

So many people that I've talked to that have gone through the program, and a couple of them uh women are saying, Well, my kids are going through ready to work now, and they're going through training because they were able to do it.

So that's the kind of thing that this program is doing, and it's so wonderful.

I just struggle to understand why there's so much negative press still about the program that that it is.

Can it be better?

No doubt.

Is 80% target for six months a great KPI?

Yes, it's a great aspirational, but to me, it doesn't judge is the program successful or not.

I think uh thank you, Benjamin.

So my question is what do you think the most important challenges facing our local workforce today are, and how should ready to work help address them?

It the some of the greatest challenges are the workforce environment changes so quickly.

And I I'm I represent IT, I'm from the IT area, and I can tell you every six months there's major new changes from a technology perspective.

So I think that's one of the things I love about this program is it is flexible and we can make changes and focus on different type of training providers or aspects.

So I think it's going to be very important going forward that that remains part of the advisory board's mission is to help make sure are we focusing on the right training that's gonna be in demand for the company's hiring.

You guys know what's happening with Gen AI.

That's going to impact at least 80% of the jobs in the next five to ten years, right?

So what does that mean?

Well, it's it means being able to work with your training providers to adjust their curriculum, train change and add training where it's needed, but to me, jobs aren't going away, they're changing, and that's what this program needs to be set up to do.

All right, any other questions?

Okay, you got a minute to just wrap up.

Oh I'm uh so I'm very passionate about this.

Um I would say uh I've been honored to be on the board uh since the beginning and being the board chair for the last two years.

Uh and it's not because I work with Accenture, I I appreciate Accenture, it's because I grew up here.

It's because I know a lot of the kids that I grew up with could greatly benefit from a program like this to give them a chance to get the training that they need, to get the education that they need to get the jobs that they need.

And this is what this program does.

And if we continue to have that mindset of being bold and courageous about continuing to support this, even with all the negative um obstacles we hit sometimes, uh it's worth it.

It is absolutely worth it.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

All right, we'll bring uh Maria in.

Mania science.

Hi, Mania.

You have uh two minutes to do your intro.

We have a couple of questions, and then you can wrap up with some closing remarks.

Okay, wonderful.

Thank you.

Uh good morning.

Um it is a pleasure to be here with you guys today.

My name is Maria Jimena Science.

I go by Himena, and I serve as the vice president for workforce strategy and development for Methodist Healthcare System.

A little bit about me.

I was born in Medida, Yucatan, Mexico, and have proudly called San Antonio home for the past 33 years.

I currently live in District 9.

I've been incredibly fortunate to have a family that always pushed me to keep learning and to never lose sight of the power of education.

My father grew up in Progreso, a small beach town outside Medida, in a home with dirt floors and no running water.

Taking a shower was a luxury.

My grandmother worked endlessly saving every bit she could, and through her sacrifices, my dad was able to attend Texas AM university at just 16.

That opportunity completely changed the direction of his life and of course mine.

My parents instilled in me and my brother that education is the bridge out of generational poverty, and that hard work paired with opportunity can transform family's future.

I graduated from college in 2009, right in the middle of a recession with a degree in economics.

Like so many young graduates, I took the only job available.

At that time, that was as an assistant manager at Walgreens.

I knew I wanted to do more, and excuse me, but I knew I wanted to do work that made more of a difference.

So I went to grad school full-time, juggling part-time work and many student loans in order to get into my dream industry enroll.

It wasn't easy.

And I know for many adults in our community, it's even harder when you're raising kids, and you can't just pause your life to start over.

That's why I'm so passionate about creating real career pathways in healthcare.

This field is one of the most proven ways to lift families into stability and long-term success.

It will beat the cycles of intergenerational poverty.

At Methodist Healthcare, we're the largest healthcare provider in San Antonio, and through a partnership with Ready to Work, we're proud to be the largest single employer program participants with over 145 hires so far across our hospitals and clinics.

Our goal has always been to build innovative workforce pipelines that meet not just our needs but the needs of the entire community.

Together with Alamo Colleges, we have built four pipelines at Methodist in the almost three years I've been in this role.

If I'm given the opportunity to serve on this advisory board, I'll focus on bridging the gap between training and employment because job placement truly starts at enrollment.

The earlier we connect training programs to real employer needs, the stronger our outcomes will be for everyone, for job seekers, for employers, and for the city of San Antonio.

Together, we can strengthen ready to work and make sure it continues to open doors, helping more residents find stability, purpose, and opportunity right here at home.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Jimena.

Councilman Spears.

Thank you.

And you started to touch on it.

What strategies would you use to encourage more residents to enroll in ready to work and to motivate local employers to hire program graduates?

I definitely believe that utilizing our academic partners and helping to influence students as they are entering into training programs is one of the ways that we have utilized the strategy at Methodist.

We work with the majority of the academic partners through the healthcare side.

One innovative thing that we've been able to do is actually employ a career navigator.

I would probably want to replicate a model like that to be able to talk to students and to prospective students.

So we would want to continue to utilize and discuss the opportunities.

Personally, at Methodist, one of the things that we do is we host fairs for our employees, and we have somebody from Ready to Work that comes, so we invite them over to discuss opportunities if they're able to qualify for those programs.

So I think a lot of it is just really having those relationships built, having opportunities to talk to prospective students and to current students, and then really identify career pathways for them to continue in their in their journey.

All right, so you you mentioned Methodist Healthcare Ministries and their how they're utilizing SA ready to work.

So my question is how will you encourage other employers to do so as well?

I would probably utilize things like the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and some of their councils and committees to probably discuss some of the successes that we've had.

Again, a lot of it I think has just been not enough communication about the successes of the programs, maybe utilizing some success stories and discussing how that's also a retention play for the industry.

And then as the employer, you can continue on.

But really, kind of having those opportunities with the other employers through things like chamber meetings where we can kind of share these successes.

Great.

You have a minute to wrap up.

Anything else you'd like to share?

As the largest employer, we would just be extremely honored to serve and be able to have a voice in this.

We know how important it is for our community.

And we just want to be able to amplify those successes.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right, we're moving into the next section.

Marty Garza has written a statement.

But next up will be Priscilla Aguilar.

Hi, Priscilla.

You've got two minutes for an intro.

We're going to ask you.

Okay, perfect.

Well, first off, thank you for having me here this morning.

My name is Priscilla Aguilar.

I'm proud to be a lifelong resident of South San Antonio.

I currently serve as a director of administrative operations for the Office of the President at Baloalta College, a part of the Alamo Colleges district.

I began my journey with the college as a work studies student over 14 years ago.

I've dedicated myself to supporting and advocating our mission of empowering our community through education.

I hold a bachelor's degree in communications, a master's and higher ed, and I'm currently a doctoral student at Texas Lutheran.

I come from a community that has been historically underserved where less than 50% of our young people pursue higher education.

But I am passionate about giving back and making a difference.

At the Adamo Colleges, we believe in ending generational poverty through access and higher education and credentialing.

I firmly believe that education is the one thing that no one can take away from you.

And it has certain it serves as a foundation of opportunity and hope.

During my two years serving on the San Antonio Ready to Work Board, I have foreseen firsthand how collaboration and strategic planning are vital to in creating pathways for workforce development.

I am reapplying because I remain deeply committed to the mission and want to continue advocating for initiatives that prepare our community members for meaningful careers.

On reflection, I have witnessed how education and workforce development can change lives, just as it did mine.

I began attending college with my mother who had returned to school after 15 years.

Her journey inspired me and showed me that transformative power of perseverance and support and opportunity can change someone's life.

That experience reinforced my belief that education is catalyst for change, not only for an individual, but an entire community.

Thank you.

Councilman Spears.

Thank you, Chair.

What strategies would you use to encourage more residents to enroll and ready to work and to motivate local employers to hire program graduates?

But I do believe, you know, it's all about knowing what the program entails and ensuring that our employers know that the credentialing and the training that are ready-to-work members are getting through our program are preparing them to be the best employee that they are looking for.

So I believe having those relationships with employers and having the relationship with community members and community programs and different entities that we go through currently is one of the best things that we can do because it's ensuring that one, we're all in the same page of moving this together, moving this forward together, but also knowing that the outcome is there for the um the participant, and that they know that the participant that they're getting is of top quality, and that's why they want to hire them.

Great.

So my question for you is um what do you think are the most important challenges facing our local workforce today, and how should ready to work help address them?

I believe one of the biggest challenges is that um we're currently in a state where many different employers that are in the same field all need the employees.

Um so there's a need there, which is a good thing, right?

But at the same time, there's that competing force for those um participants that are coming out.

So I believe that ensuring that we're meeting the demand of the employers and that we're training our participants to the best of the ability is crucial in ensuring that the program is successful, which we're doing already, but just continuing to push that forward because of course, like anything else, nothing happens overnight.

It takes time.

Really would break cycles and provides opportunity.

And we know through programs like ready to work that that's what we're giving to our community is opportunity for a more successful and better life.

And I think that that's what holds true and dear to my heart because it's a community that I come from.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh so um champion is next.

And then that is it.

Hi, John.

You'll have two minutes for an intro, then we'll ask a couple of questions, and then you'll be able to wrap up.

Okay, excellent.

Good morning, everybody.

My name is John Champion.

Uh I guess the easiest way to put this is I moved here in 1992 from my hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas.

Uh I have a bachelor's degree from Southwest Texas State.

I have a master's degree from Webster University.

I've been working in education since 2008, when I was stuck in traffic on 281, saw UAW, said, Why don't I make use of this hour and make some money?

And start working there as an adjunct, was hired as a full-timer in 2012, and been in education pretty much ever since.

Um I greatly enjoy watching the aha moment in students' eyes.

Uh I teach cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, uh, anything to do with the computer.

I consider myself the best geek in San Antonio.

So if you need your computers fixed, call me.

Um but in all seriousness, um, my reason for wanting to be on this committee is because I see our students at from Palo Alto College that are in the ready to work program.

And the difficulties that we have finding connections with them to employers, getting them their first jobs.

Working in IT is not like working in other fields.

You can have a degree, you can have certifications, but unless you have experience, employers aren't gonna waste their time on you.

They want somebody with experience as well as the certs as well as the degree.

So I tell my students from day one, and they hear this coming out of my mouth multiple times during the semester.

Get a job in IT, get a job in IT, get a job in IT.

I don't care what it is.

Only by doing that do they benefit and do they grow?

And I was telling a young lady outside, I had my birthday over the weekend, and I sat there and actually went through the last couple of days going through my LinkedIn, looking at all my former students and where they are now.

And the ones that listen to me are doing very well.

I have several executives.

I have about a hundred of them are management, so it's in it's enjoyable.

Great.

Uh Councilman Spears.

Thank you, Chair.

What strategies would you use to encourage more residents to enroll in ready to work and to motivate local employers to hire program graduates?

The first step in getting people to actually want to use a program like ready to work is to make them knowledgeable of it.

There are a lot of residents that don't know that exists because they're their head is down, they're working their regular job, whatever that may be.

Uh, and they know they want something else, they don't know how to get there.

So putting it in front of them is the first step.

Showing them that the access to resources, the access to things will help them tremendously.

I gotta tell you, most of this community is under the under the guise that I'm just gonna exist and live my life, and whatever happens, happens.

Um, I see this in students, and it's not until they actually get into a classroom with instructors or teachers that actually care that they actually benefit.

Um with employers, that's easy because they have a ready-made workforce that's being handed to them.

All they have to do is look up, and we just have to make them aware that these young people are these young people, these middle-aged people are there to switch careers or whatever they're trying to accomplish.

Sure.

Thank you.

So um I'm gonna I wanna kind of um kind of want to do like a mashup of uh the participants because this is a participant question, but I feel like you see the participants.

So what parti like what support services do you believe should be enhanced within the essay ready to work program to improve participant participation and program success.

So the major hurdles for people right now are knowledge of the program, access to child care, especially for single mothers, um, access to health care, because a lot of these people that are in these positions that are trying to get up, they have health issues.

Um the other thing is is to make sure that we can find employers that are willing to work with people that have the necessary uh oh not sorry that have the issues that they have.

You know, there I have a lot of students that have health issues that won't allow them to work a normal job, and they're trying to get jobs in IT so they can fix that.

So that's that's what my my thing is is just making sure that we overcome the hurdles, whatever they are.

Uh I worked at Fort Sam Houston for a while, and one of the things that our my boss told us was we don't say no, and that's just it.

We have to get the individuals involved in these programs to a point where we can't say no to them, and we overcome whatever obstacles that they face.

Great, thank you.

And you have a minute to wrap up.

Okay.

Um I wish a program like this would have existed when I was younger, not as gray, not as bald.

Um, we would have had a I would have had a better background.

There would have been more room for training, more room for education.

Um, I had to do it the hard way, and I'd rather help people not have to go the same route I went because my way had to go through going through a whole lot of back doors that were open that people didn't know were open, and that's my whole reason for wanting to do this.

Tell people walk into the front door where the welcome at is so thank you, John.

Uh uh and you can step out and wait, I believe in the hall, and then uh the time is now 1208, and the economic and workforce development committee will recess into executive session for discussion pursuant to Texas Government Code, Section 552.074, and personnel matters and to discuss related legal issues pursuant to Texas government code section 551.071 constitute consult consultation with the attorney.

All right, oh you did all right.

The time is now 12 31 p.m.

in the economic workforce and development committee when we convene in open session, no official action was taken in the executive session.

As chair of the economic workforce and development committee, I want to express my sincere gratitude for all of those who came out who applied who are willing to serve who uh took time out of their day to come and answer some questions.

While not all can be appointed, your interest is deeply valued, and we encourage you to remain engaged with the city of San Antonio and our community.

Can I get a motion and a second to recommend appointments?

Chair, I move the Economic and Workforce Development Committee recommend to full city council the following individuals to serve on the ready to work advisory board through May 31st, 2027.

Alexandra Bettes for the community organization category, Jerry Grabner and Amanda White for the current and previous workforce development program participant category, Jennifer Ganthu, Stephanie Gaines, Benjamin PV, and Maria Signs for the local employer of in-demand occupations category, Priscilla Aguilar for the training provider and higher education institution category, and if the additional seat is approved by council, John Champion as recommended for the new seat in the training provider and higher education category.

Second, all right.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstention?

Motion carries.

Thank you so much for your service.

We look forward to you hearing from you.

Come report at this committee.

Thank you.

All right.

And we're gonna move on to item five.

It's the economic development strategic framework.

Can we get the staff presentation?

Good afternoon, Chair, Economic and Workforce Development Committee members.

I'm Brenda Hicks Orenson, director of the economic development department.

And I'm pleased to be back here this afternoon to follow up from our September meeting on the economic development strategic framework.

As you may recall, at the September meeting, provided a brief update that we were going to be moving forward as follow-up from budget discussions and so forth and updating the economic development strategic plan or what we call the framework, really looking at it as a refresh.

That plan or update will include the Metro Priority Plan, which is really the driver for our global uh strategies, as well as a deep dive into the small business ecosystem assessment that was published in 2020.

At the September 25th meeting, uh following conversation, it was recommended that we go forth and brief with each of the the mayor and council members.

So we did hope we offered that, we met with the majority of uh the mayor and council members from October 8th to the 17th.

Uh there's still a few out there that we've offered that we hope to get scheduled.

So we've taken that feedback.

Um, really the common themes are around a lot of the items that we discussed in September, really honing in on those metrics.

How do you measure success?

Uh, looking at some of those longer term trends, for example.

Um community engagement uh was really a highlight throughout that process, making sure that we're again not just getting those folks who are normally at the table, but but how do we engage with individuals throughout our community, uh, really focusing on that small business support, continuing to work with our small businesses.

And then, of course, uh, with our our being the third um highest concentration of poverty for cities our size and so forth across the country.

How do the economic development efforts address poverty?

And then, of course, as we just heard with workforce are ready to work, um, you can't really talk about work for your economic development without talking about workforce.

So, how do we continue to integrate our workforce efforts and opportunities into the strategic framework?

Uh so a lot of that was already incorporated into the scope of work.

The feedback that we did collect though is really has been really helpful in helping to hone in on some of those questions that we can ask those consultants as we go through the solicitation process.

And then, of course, we've been capturing all of those notes to make sure that those are included in those early conversations with any of the selected consultants as we go forward.

And then throughout the process and in here, what we're looking at doing is concluding those briefings, issuing the solicitation, and then in spring, uh moving forward with the consultants, and throughout that, again, there will be multiple opportunities for mayor and council to be engaged in the process as well as the broader community.

Uh, and so we are still targeting, as I mentioned, that spring timeline uh for going through that process as well as then the preliminary findings, which of course we'll bring back here.

Uh, we historically have also done B sessions with City Council, um, so move forward with those as well.

With final wrap up uh looking at fall of 2027, so that we can look at implementation.

Um, so again, really brief, just wanted to circle back on the conversation from September.

Happy to address any questions or any other thoughts you may have.

Thank you, Brenda.

Um, so uh thank you for the briefing.

Uh just as we go in and we we look at this, and I I'm looking at slide eight for the six, um, refresh the scope of work, the target industry deep dive.

Um, my concern is that we make sure we understand what is happening lately in the city and with the the Army North Command and Army South Command uh based out of Fort Sam Houston that's moving to the end of the year, how that will impact some of our small businesses in and around that area, uh, because we still don't have all the details in terms of how much personnel we're going to lose there, and that will impact small businesses like coffee shops and stores and things like that.

So I think we need to take a look at that in terms of how much can we, as we look at the economic at the framework for economic development, what new industries are there possibly out there that we can bring in and incentivize, whether it's um film, arts and culture, you know, uh expanding the cyber tech, like we need to look at that because we know that we are going to see businesses hurt because of uh of this move.

Uh and the other is really looking at what happens when we do lose a headquarters or a major business, and how does that what's the ripple effect on that?

Um currently, I think about both on the south side when I think about Brooks and I think about uh port on either side of military drive, we think about what businesses come in, we have to start thinking about what happens if we lose some of those businesses and what how we can how we can um kind of survive and and hold that on either side while we while we wait for um new growth and thing and and new opportunities to come.

Um so just make sure that they understand that in terms of the framework because this recent this recent uh news isn't isn't what we wanted to hear, and we we have to make adjustments quickly to that.

So I I appreciate you going out, the the scope of the work.

I think we have opportunities still.

Uh San Antonio is a great place to come in headquarters, so we have other opportunities, but the the loss immediately for the small businesses on not having those soldiers there to patron their businesses in and around Fort Sam is what I'm concerned about.

So thank you for that.

Uh, do any of my council colleagues uh like this is for briefing purposes only, correct?

Correct.

Uh any other comments my colleagues like to make?

Councilman Galvan.

Thank you, Chair.

And thank you, Brenda, for the presentation and uh for meeting with my team.

I know I wasn't available personally, but I'm really grateful for the feedback I heard.

And of course, what I see here today too, right?

I know some of the comments we gave last time uh were really fleshed out here uh in the presentation, so I really appreciate that uh being taken into consideration.

Um things I wanted to ask uh was I guess with with the sum of deliverables here, um, are we still gonna kind of break into those uh main six categories that we looked at last time?

Of course, some adjustments there, and mainly asking uh about the placemaking one.

Um is that one still gonna be considered within the scope of work?

Yes.

Yes, so revitalization and the placemaking is still incorporated into that, yes, sir.

Got it, perfect.

Thank you.

Glad to hear.

Um, I definitely want to second what the what uh Chair Viergon mentioned about um kind of identifying some of these potential what if moments, right?

Uh I think it's part of the conversation about target industries, right?

Whether it's uh military or with other places or other industries of employment, uh keeping those in mind and seeing what can we do to make sure that not only those uh drivers are maintained, but also understanding what happens if they do go away, what can we do to make sure that our residents are ready to adjust and shift as needed?

Um I think some of that will come too from some of the the placemaking efforts primarily around the small businesses, right?

That if it's not just the uh the anchor that moves away, but if we make the site or the place a place of it that's an anchor of its own, that'll be helpful.

Um, and whatever work we can do to support that, I think will be will be great.

Um, I think those are all my questions.

So thank you very much.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Any other uh councilman Castilla?

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Brenda.

Um, our office recently submitted two council consideration requests, one regarding a community benefits agreement, and then another second chance hiring initiative.

And while uh those CCRs haven't gone to governance yet, I'm curious if there's opportunity to integrate some of those requests within the framework.

Um for for example, like in terms of data tracking within the framework, like are we asking, you know, like for example, how many participants are ready to work through this contract?

Are you hiring or committed to hiring?

Uh, and how many with a criminal record, right?

So I think just collecting that data to the chair's point, um, but also how can we uh better incentivize folks that are helping us meet those goals?

Because, like, as mentioned in part of the framework, right?

It's how these economic development efforts address poverty and integrating workforce opportunities.

And I think those two CCRs again, right?

They haven't gone to governance.

I think there is opportunity for us to strengthen some of those requests, and then of course, ultimately help address some of the poverty levels that we're seeing in our city.

So not necessarily looking for a response, but I'm hopeful, right, that there's opportunity to pull some of some of the pieces from those CCRs uh into the framework.

Um, but also if you could just help me understand like would potential changes to the framework potentially um create barriers for the C CRs, right?

Like, for example, right, staff recommends uh no action because we adopted a strategic framework.

So I just want to make sure that they're complementing each other or where there's opportunity to weave in some of the requests, um, is what I'm I'm hopeful for.

Sure.

So what we asked city council to do last time, and I fully anticipate that this would be the same approach, is instead of adopting the specific strategic framework because there's so many different policy considerations within the document.

What city council did is they accepted the plan and then individual items came forward.

So, for example, um the economic development incentive policies, both the chapter 312 and 380 were items that were certainly looked at as part of the strategic framework.

Um, you know, looking at, for example, that site consultant perception survey as we talked about target industries, also the wraparound support that's incorporated into those current policies were items that were significantly discussed during the the strategic framework discussions, and then the policies were adopted as um as additional or subsequent, if you would, um, policy items, same with a number of programs.

So I would anticipate again that going forward, we would look at an acceptance so that those individual items and there were some items that were included in the framework that just didn't move forward because of some of those policy conversations.

All right, thanks, Brenda.

I appreciate that.

And then in terms of the stakeholder groups that are going to be uh occurring, I think there'd be value now that Prosper West is in a good position, and Rebecca's been doing a lot of outreach with Z5 small businesses or Prosper West rather, uh small businesses.

I think there'd be value in including uh some of our BDOs and the folks that are doing that on the ground work and conversations uh to share with their input uh maybe.

Thank you.

Yes, and last time uh that's something that we'll certainly be discussing as part of the stakeholder engagement plan.

Um, but we had 20 some stakeholder groups last time, several with small businesses.

We didn't incorporate all of those those business development organizations and partners, so fully anticipate.

In fact, we're in the process of updating as we've been briefing uh with all of the council members were asking if you have any recommendations.

So give us specific names, contacts.

We want to make sure that we have broad participation in this.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Spears.

I think I'd also like to see um legislative potential legislative opportunities and limits or shifts we need to keep an eye on.

So if this is rolling out to us at the end in fall of 26 with 27 looming, I'd like to have an idea of if we need to make some outreach to legislative to our leaders in the legislative way of anything we need to change here in San Antonio or ask for, be proactive in.

So that's the only thing I'd want to add.

Thank you, Brenda.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, if if there isn't any other uh discussion, we look forward to uh getting the next update and having you make those decisions.

Thank you so much.

Uh the time is now 12 46, and the economic workforce development committee meeting is adjourned.