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Record of Proceedings

San Antonio Economic & Workforce Development Committee Receives Updates on Brooks and Procurement on February 24, 2026

Council Committees — Tuesday, February 24, 2026
BodySan Antonio, Texas
SessionCouncil Committees
DateTuesday, February 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:15:22

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

I know.

0:05

The time is now 2 01 p.m.

0:08

on February 24th, 2026, and the meeting of the Economic and Workforce Development Committee is now called to order.

0:14

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

0:17

Councilmember Castillo.

0:18

Here.

0:19

Councilmember Galban.

0:21

Councilmember Messa Gonzalez.

0:23

Councilmember Spears.

0:25

Chair Viegran here.

0:28

We have quorum.

0:29

All right.

0:30

Thank you.

0:30

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

0:34

Are there any corrections to the minutes?

0:37

Can I get a motion?

0:38

And a second?

0:40

All right, we've got a motion and a second.

0:42

Uh all those in favor say aye.

0:44

Aye.

0:45

All opposed say no.

0:47

Motion carries.

0:48

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

0:53

Chair, we have no public comment.

0:56

Great.

0:57

All right.

0:57

Um we have item number two and three.

1:07

We only have two items.

1:09

Love it.

1:09

Okay, so we have two items.

1:11

Uh item two, Chair.

1:13

Uh, go ahead and uh let's talk about I'm sorry, Madam Clerk.

1:20

Um everybody will have five minutes to speak the first round, three minutes to speak the second.

1:26

Um then item two is an update on Brooks, and there is a staff presentation.

1:33

Can we go ahead and get that?

1:36

Yes, ma'am.

1:37

The staff presentation is actually gonna be given by um Leo.

1:41

Leo Gomez.

1:42

Okay, thank you.

1:43

Leo, come on up.

1:46

The floor is yours.

1:47

Thank you, ma'am.

1:48

Good afternoon, madam chair.

1:50

May I call you that?

1:51

You are chair of the committee.

1:52

It's a it's wonderful to join you all and the council members and Ms.

1:56

Alex Lopez.

1:57

Uh pleasure to be here.

1:59

Uh, my first question is who's driving this presentation?

2:02

Is there a I think it's you ah never say that this is San Antonio doesn't have great technology.

2:15

All right, got it.

2:16

Got it.

2:17

It really is a pleasure to be here and provide you with an update on Brooks where we are, uh, what we've accomplished over the last 10 to 20 years, actually, and uh also get to where we plan to go moving forward and some requests that we may have of you all strategically in the long run.

2:35

So if I may, I'll go ahead and get started.

2:37

Okay.

2:38

With that, I'd like to really show us what Brooks used to look like back in 2003, about the time that it was conveyed to the city and then to the Brooks Development Authority.

2:48

You can see the established runways and plenty of open fields.

2:52

At that point in time, the campus plus the 1200 acres around it that make up the Brooks Turs were valued at 36.8 million dollars.

3:02

Fast forward to today, those runways are gone.

3:05

Most of them have been converted into streets.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Procurement and Contracting██████████████████████████27%
Public Education████████8%
Public Transportation██████6%
Affordable Housing█████5%
Transportation Infrastructure███3%
Procedural██2%
Childcare██2%
Summary of Proceedings

San Antonio Economic & Workforce Development Committee Meeting - February 24, 2026

The Economic and Workforce Development Committee met on February 24, 2026, at 2:01 PM. The committee received two presentations: an update on the Brooks development and a review of the city's procurement process. No public comments were made. The meeting adjourned at 3:16 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • The committee approved the minutes of the previous meeting by unanimous voice vote.

Discussion Items

Update on Brooks

Leo Gomez, representing the Brooks Development Authority, presented an update on the transformation of the former Brooks Air Force Base. Key highlights:

  • Property value increased from $36.8 million in 2003 to $2.1 billion in development value today, a 57-fold increase.
  • Projected 10,000 residents on 1,308 acres, with seven residential communities existing and seven more planned, including the first affordable senior (55+) community and a second affordable multifamily development.
  • Partnership with SAM Ministries for 200 units of permanent supportive housing at the Commons at Aseca Trails.
  • Six foreign-based companies on campus (originating from France, South Korea, Japan, Czech Republic) representing over 2,000 jobs, all leads from Greater SATX.
  • Education: three high schools (medical, STEM, IT curricula), University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (800 students), and Alamo Colleges' Texas FAME program for advanced manufacturing technicians.
  • In 2023, the City of San Antonio received $9.5 million in taxes from Brooks, with $8.5 million from sales tax alone.
  • Surrounding region (Brooks Regional Center) saw household incomes rise 36%, high school graduation up 10%, poverty down 2%, and unemployment down 4% over the past decade.
  • Upcoming priorities: seeking Opportunity Zone 2.0 redesignation, requesting bond funding for the second half of Sydney Brooks (estimated over $15 million, including a bridge), and identifying publicly owned parcels for continued development.
  • Council discussion: Councilmember Castillo requested data on return on public investment and emphasized affordable housing alignment with strategic goals (30-60% AMI). Councilmember Galvan inquired about assessed value vs. development value and praised the mix of housing. Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez highlighted multimodal transportation at Brooks. Councilmember Spears asked about elementary-age students and childcare; Gomez noted discussions with a potential childcare provider. Chair Viagran commended the partnership and the Viagran family's leadership.

Update on Procurement Process Review

Victoria Rader (Deputy Finance Director) and Anna Bradshaw (Economic Development Assistant Director) presented a review of the city's procurement process, initiated at the mayor's request. Focus areas:

  • Capacity Building: Revamped Vendor Development Academy (formerly mentor-protege) to a one-year intensive program; current cohort of 15 businesses. Partnership with Supply SA for certification and procurement navigation services.
  • Supplier Engagement: Monthly office hours at Launch SA (averaging 15 attendees) with plans to expand to libraries. Direct outreach to vendors regarding solicitations.
  • Procurement Process: Implemented recommendations from Civic Initiatives study, including city manager delegation for contracts up to $2.5M (goods/services) and $1M (construction/professional services), redefined high-profile process, annual procurement forecast covering items $50k+ (386 items in FY2026), and finance procurement reorganization with a dedicated training team.
  • Proposed Improvements: Consider aligning with state threshold increase from $50k to $100k for informal bids, consolidating preference programs, and increasing change order approval limit to $250k.
  • SAP Upgrade: Upcoming ERP system upgrade will include vendor engagement during design phase to address pain points.
  • Council discussion: Councilmember Castillo asked about communication channels and office hours attendance. Councilmember Galvan questioned alignment with economic development goals and the number of registered small businesses (690). Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez inquired about vendor development academy metrics and certification navigation. No formal votes were taken.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee received the updates and will continue to monitor progress.
  • Brooks Development Authority will provide detailed return-on-investment data for bond discussions.
  • The procurement team will bring further recommendations to the committee, including results from SAP upgrade vendor engagement.
  • Future updates on both items will be provided to the committee as developments occur.

Meeting Transcript

I know. The time is now 2 01 p.m. on February 24th, 2026, and the meeting of the Economic and Workforce Development Committee is now called to order. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Councilmember Castillo. Here. Councilmember Galban. Councilmember Messa Gonzalez. Councilmember Spears. Chair Viegran here. We have quorum. All right. Thank you. The first item on the agenda is approval in the minutes. Are there any corrections to the minutes? Can I get a motion? And a second? All right, we've got a motion and a second. Uh all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say no. Motion carries. Madam Clerk, are there any citizens signed up to speak on the items for public comment? Chair, we have no public comment. Great. All right. Um we have item number two and three. We only have two items. Love it. Okay, so we have two items. Uh item two, Chair. Uh, go ahead and uh let's talk about I'm sorry, Madam Clerk. Um everybody will have five minutes to speak the first round, three minutes to speak the second. Um then item two is an update on Brooks, and there is a staff presentation. Can we go ahead and get that? Yes, ma'am. The staff presentation is actually gonna be given by um Leo. Leo Gomez. Okay, thank you. Leo, come on up. The floor is yours. Thank you, ma'am. Good afternoon, madam chair. May I call you that? You are chair of the committee. It's a it's wonderful to join you all and the council members and Ms. Alex Lopez. Uh pleasure to be here. Uh, my first question is who's driving this presentation? Is there a I think it's you ah never say that this is San Antonio doesn't have great technology.

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