Economic and Workforce Development Committee Meeting - October 20, 2025
Economic and Workforce Development Committee Meeting - October 20, 2025
The Economic and Workforce Development Committee met on October 20, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:46 p.m., chaired by Councilmember Via Gran. The committee approved minutes, a consent agenda item, a resolution to amend the Ready to Work Advisory Board, conducted interviews for board appointments, and received a briefing on the economic development strategic framework. Public comments were not presented.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The committee approved the minutes of the previous meeting unanimously.
- Interlocal Agreement with Alamo Colleges: The committee approved an interlocal agreement supporting high school students to earn OSHA certifications. Councilmember Castillo expressed gratitude and requested collaboration to connect District Five high schools. Councilmember Spears requested follow-up data on the number of participants utilizing technical and trade skills trainings.
Discussion Items
- Resolution to Extend and Amend the Ready to Work Advisory Board: Staff presented a proposal to extend the board’s term through December 31, 2030, add one seat for a training provider/higher education institution, add one seat for organizations serving high-barrier populations, and increase member terms from two to four years. Councilmember Via Gran raised concerns about attendance, requesting attendance reports after each meeting and swift removal for three consecutive absences. Councilmember Castillo supported the expanded seats and emphasized the importance of representing high-barrier populations. Councilmember Spears affirmed the need for active participation. The resolution passed unanimously.
- Interviews for At-Large Applications to Ready to Work Advisory Board: The committee interviewed eight candidates (Alexandra Bettis, Anthony Garcia, Amanda Wright, Benjamin Peavy, Maria Jimena Science, Priscilla Aguilar, John Champion, and one withdrawal). Candidates provided opening statements and answered questions on strategies to increase enrollment and employer engagement, challenges facing the workforce, and needed support services. Key points included the need for trust-building, grassroots outreach, childcare access, and positive messaging to counter negative narratives. Benjamin Peavy noted the program had passed 3,000 job placements and highlighted a 59% six-month placement rate and average salary increase of $33,000. After executive session, the committee recommended appointments.
- Economic Development Strategic Framework Update: Staff briefed the committee on the refresh of the framework, incorporating feedback from meetings with council members. Common themes included metrics, community engagement, small business support, poverty reduction, and workforce integration. The target timeline is spring 2026 for consultant selection, with final adoption in fall 2027. Councilmember Via Gran expressed concern about the impact of the Army North/South Command move from Fort Sam Houston on local small businesses and suggested targeting new industries (film, arts, cyber tech). Councilmember Galvan asked about placemaking and preparing for potential loss of major employers. Councilmember Castillo requested integration of proposed community benefits agreements and second-chance hiring initiatives. Councilmember Spears asked to monitor legislative changes.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda (Item 2): Approved unanimously.
- Resolution to Extend/Amend Ready to Work Advisory Board (Item 3): Approved unanimously.
- Appointments to Ready to Work Advisory Board: The committee recommended the following individuals to full city council for terms through May 31, 2027:
- Community Organization: Alexandra Bettis
- Current/Previous Program Participants: Jerry Grabner, Amanda White
- Local Employers (In-Demand Occupations): Jennifer Ganthu, Stephanie Gaines, Benjamin Peavy, Maria Science
- Training Provider/Higher Education: Priscilla Aguilar
- Additional Training Provider Seat (if approved): John Champion
- Next Steps: Staff will issue solicitation for the economic development strategic framework consultant, continue council briefings, and integrate feedback. The committee will receive updates in spring 2026.
Meeting Transcript
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?
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