Good morning, everyone.

Thank you all for being here today.

The time is now 10.06 a.m.

on April 15th, 2026, and the meeting of the governance committee is now called to order.

Madam Clerk, please call roll.

Council Councilmember Viegeran.

Here.

Councilmember Mungia.

President.

Councilmember Spears.

Mayor Pro Tim Mickey Rodriguez.

Present.

Mayor Pro Tim, we have quorum.

Thank you so much.

Today should um hopefully be a pretty straightforward day.

We're gonna start off with the first item on the agenda, which is approval of the minutes.

Um I'll entertain a motion for approval.

I make a motion to approve.

We have a motion and a second.

All in favor.

Aye.

Aye.

Motion carries.

Um we do have three members of the public signed up to speak.

Um, each speaker will have three minutes to speak.

Um we have two speakers for item one, Angelica Cervantes and Juan Ramos.

We'll start off with Angelica.

Good morning.

Um, my name is Angelica Cervantes.

I'm the chief operating officer for YWCA San Antonio.

And today we just wanted to make a comment on behalf of YWCA San Antonio and our support for the expansion of the ambassador program to include opportunity youth.

Um YWCA directly serves opportunity youth, so we see firsthand the need for additional on-the-job training opportunities for our youth and some of our most vulnerable.

Um YWCA San Antonio also in partnership with United Way has some additional apprenticeship dollars as well that we also feel um can help benefit this initiative as well as an opportunity to also continue to expand the length of time of the on-the-job training program that the ambassador program also can currently offer.

So we just wanted to go ahead and and comment on you know how beneficial this would be for our opportunity youth and continue to think of ways that we can continue to partner to continue to expand those opportunities.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, and thank you for being here.

Uh, Juan Ramos.

Good morning.

Uh my name is Juan Ramos.

Um, I am the executive director and founder of R3 Student Outreach.

In short, R3 provides mentorship-rooted educational and career readiness support for youth and young adults.

Um, I am here today to voice our strong and unwavering support for the opportunity youth internship pilot program as proposed by Councilmember Castillo.

Currently, Bear County is grappling with a crisis of over 36,000 disconnected youth.

While the City of San Antonio's ambassador program serves as a vital and proven bridge to professional careers, its current eligibility requirements, which ask for a high school diploma and two years of college, exclude the very disconnected youth who need these opportunities the most.

This pilot program represents a critical opportunity to mend the gap and connect our young people to meaningful, gainful paid employment.

At R3 Student Outreach, we see the human faces behind these statistics every single day.

We work with young people who are enduring, incredibly talented, and unquestionably resilient, but have been sidelined by their involvement in the juvenile or municipal court systems.

When we fail to provide legitimate pathways to employment, we leave a vacuum that illegitimate markets are too happy to fill.

Through our three programs, we have seen firsthand that when you provide a young person with a professional mentor and a paycheck, their trajectory changes instantly.

By expanding internship opportunities like um what councilwoman Terry is proposing to at-risk youth 16 or older.

We aren't just offering a summer job.

We are providing the occupational skills and supportive systems that are proven to reduce recidivism, lower youth violence, and improve community safety.

We have watched our three students who were once considered at risk become leaders in their neighborhoods simply because someone gave them a legitimate path to follow.

With major funding cuts that are happening to nonprofits and programs across the country, we need programs like these now more than ever.

We are seeing national trends in 2026 where federal, state, and local funding for critical youth mental health and supportive services are being reduced, leaving many local safety nets under significant strain.

As mentioned in the CCR, San Antonio would be following a proven model already uh established successfully in cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, which have established paid internship programs specifically for opportunity youth.

I myself have sat with city leaders and walked through these very programs in the heart of Chicago, where amazing organizations like New Life Centers are reducing crime, working with justice involved youth and paving the way for bright futures.

In Chicago, the reliability and accessibility of these programs to local justice involved youth have shifted the perspectives not only of the community, but of youth who have never thought they could live beyond the lifestyles and barriers they were born into.

With our unique blend of local talent and dedicated organizations, San Antonio is poised to lead the nation and demonstrating the transformative power of investing in our future leaders.

Did I go to three minutes?

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.

Well, I'm just saying I'm here to support this.

So thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Ramos.

Up next for item four, we have Jessica Palacios.

Hi, good morning, Chair, members of the committee.

My name's Jessica Palacios, and I'm here on behalf of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce representing nearly 900 businesses across San Antonio.

I'm here today to speak in support of item number four.

And I'd like to begin by thanking the councilwoman for bringing this forward and to require transparency and reporting of city funds going to local businesses.

It's an important step toward strengthening transparency and ensuring that the public investment is delivering a meaningful impact.

At its core, this effort is about understanding the impact and by analyzing where the public dollars are going, the city can better identify the gaps in the supplier network and strengthen procurement strategies and increase the transparency for residents.

For example, in industries such as engineering and construction, we often see strong participation at the prime contractor level, but fewer opportunities reaching local small businesses for subcontractor, subcontracting opportunities.

So improved visibility into the how funds are uh distributed can help highlight where participation can be expanded.

Similarly, across professional services and emerging sectors, there are qualified local businesses ready to compete, but not always connected to the city opportunities, and this type of reporting can help bridge that gap and create more intentional pathways for engagement.

The strongest economic development efforts begin with a simple principle support, retain, and grow the businesses already serving our residents and contributing to the local economy.

Business retention and expansion efforts is consistently generate the majority of new jobs in local economies.

And San Antonio is fortunate already to have strong partners in this work.

Programs like Supply SA are helping businesses become procurement ready and better positioned to compete for government and institutional contracts.

Efforts like these combined with improved reporting can significantly expand the pool of businesses that are able to participate.

And this is where the Hispanic Chamber can also be a strong partner.

We're ready to connect local businesses to opportunities, provide insight directly from our membership, and support efforts that expand participation across underrepresented industries.

Ultimately, this initiative isn't just about the reporting, it's about building a stronger, more inclusive local economy.

I appreciate the leadership behind this again and look forward to working with the city to ensure its success.

So thank you so much for your time and your consideration.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Ms.

Palacios.

Um, we have three staff presentations.

I will take them all at once, then we'll do one discussion on all three items.

Okay.

So good morning, um, Chair McKee Rodriguez and Council members.

I'm Melody Weasley, Human Services Director.

So this item provides a briefing on a council consideration request that was filed by Councilwoman Terry Castillo on March the 5th.

The item was also supported by council members via Grand, Mungia, Galvan, and Mesa Gonzalez.

The CCR requests that the City of San Antonio develop a pilot program that would allow at-risk youth and youth who may be involved in the justice system to participate in the ambassador summer internship or a similar program.

So Human Services operates the ambassador summer internship program and provides an eight-week paid career opportunity to students currently enrolled in college.

Every summer, approximately 200 interns participate in professional work experience in private, government, and nonprofit organizations, including the City of San Antonio, City Council offices, and departments.

These internships encourage students to remain in or return to San Antonio upon graduation, and they often lead to employment for the graduates.

The program requires participants to be in a high school graduate and a resident of the city of San Antonio, authorized to work in the United States.

They must pass the city's human resources background check, which includes criminal history and drug screenings, and they must currently be enrolled in a college or university and have completed at least two semesters one year.

They also must have a minimum grade point average of 2.5.

And so ambassador interns work up to 30 hours per week through the eight-week program.

They are paid the city's current minimum hourly rate of $18 an hour and can earn up to $4,300 over the summer.

The program also includes several professional development opportunities designed for the college students, such as resume workshops, speed interviewing with HR representatives from organizations across the city, and workshops on landing the job you want.

We also co-host the stay in SA event with San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, where ambassadors have the opportunity to practice networking skills with the chamber board members, business leaders, and city leadership.

The fiscal year 2026 budget, adopted budget includes a total of $838,000 to operate the program.

And so as noted in Councilwoman Castillo's CCR, other communities across the country have administered internship programs for at-risk youth and justice involved youth.

There is a good amount of research demonstrating the benefits of paid summer work opportunities for these outreach at risk youth.

Three specific programs are highlighted on the slide that focus on at-risk youth, disconnected youth, andor justice involved youth.

The programs have differences and similarities, serve a little bit different age of the population, but you know, in all anywhere from 14 to 24 years old.

In Chicago, a randomized control demonstrated that if those who received paid employment opportunities, soft skills training and mentorship opportunities showed a 43% decrease in violent crime in the 16-month post-complion.

With the action for Boston Summer Youth Employment Program, youth offered the paid internship programs showed a 35% decrease in violent crime charges and a 57% decrease in property crime charges in the 17 months after completion.

The New York City Summer Youth Internship Program used a lottery to place youth in youth who are 14 to 24 in summer youth employment programs.

Those youth who completed the program showed a 10% reduction in incarceration and a 20% reduction in mortality rates.

These studies suggest participation in paid work programs guide youth away from dangerous outcomes and not just for the duration of the summer work.

And this is particularly important for youth with previous involvements in the justice system.

And then staff will do a deeper dive into best practices and internship programs for opportunity and justice involved youth to develop potential best practice models and cost estimates.

And so that concludes my program or my presentation.

Thank you so much.

Good morning.

Let me lower this just a little bit.

I'm the director of communications and engagement, and I'm here to present on City Hall for All, the council consideration request that was assigned to our department.

City Hall for All.

This CCR was submitted by District 5, Councilman Terry Castillo on March 3rd, 2026.

The request proposes to improve the public's accessibility to local government, promote the inclusion of underrepresented neighborhoods, and increase public engagement and trust by creating a pilot program to determine the civic engagement impact of holding SLEC B session meetings outside of City Hall or Municipal Plaza and within the community.

The goals of this pilot program would be to expand access, increase participation and engagement, and reach residents who face real barriers to attending weekday meetings downtown.

Today, the city offers multiple ways for residents to engage.

The City of San Antonio currently hosts city council meetings at City Hall and Municipal Plaza, spaces that were built for broadcasting, where established television production infrastructure supports public access, live broadcasting and interpretation services.

Meetings are also streamed online and broadcast through TBSA, ensuring residents can stay informed and engaged from anywhere.

Through continued investment and broadcasting technology and ADA compliant facilities, the city has built a strong foundation for transparency, accessibility, and reliable public participation.

These systems support compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and federal accessibility requirements while delivering consistent access to city governance.

In addition to our formal meetings, the city offers a wide range of engagement opportunities, including our budget town halls in every council district, special events like we just had with our community listening sessions, input through essay speakup, and targeted outreach efforts designed to meet residents where they are.

Together, these efforts expand access and create meaningful opportunities for community participation.

And while there are multiple ways for residents to engage today, what we do not currently do is relocate our city council meetings into community settings.

In aligning this request with community needs or priorities as identified in the community satisfaction survey, this request does support goals around transparency and community engagement, but it is not currently funded or identified as a budget priority.

In the 2024 statistically valid community satisfaction survey, 58% of residents positively responded that they strongly agreed or agreed that the city gave them opportunities to participate and share.

Following discussion with the city attorney's office from a legal and policy standpoint, the charter is silent as to participation of the public at meetings.

When we asked is the CCR request consistent with city ordinances, we were told yes.

A process for public comment is listed in Chapter 2, Article 2 under meetings.

And when we asked are there state and federal laws that would impact implementation, we were told yes.

The Texas Open Meetings Act, or TOMA, requires proper notice and meetings access and public participation prior to council action on an item.

Also, there are federal ADA requirements for both physical and digital access.

When we asked if there are any legal risks, we were told no, not with the request of the CCR.

In looking at the future state of this CCR, there are a few key considerations and also questions for discussion.

As we evaluate the City Hall for All concept, again, there are several key considerations for us to keep in mind.

First, the level of engagement.

Council B sessions are typically briefing focused and do not generate high levels of public participation.

That raises an important question about process or about purpose, whether this effort is intended to increase transparency or meaningfully expand engagement.

Next, production and logistics.

These meetings require locations that are fully equipped to support live broadcasting, including reliable Wi-Fi, adequate space, and proper acoustics.

Taking production on the road adds complexity, including transporting equipment, extending setup and testing times, and potentially increased costs.

Location is another critical factor for us to keep in mind.

Sites must offer ADA accessibility, free parking, and be located near public transit.

There is also an expectation of geographic equity to ensure that all districts have access over time.

We must also ensure language access, including span Spanish and ASL interpretation, along with any ADA accommodations throughout the space.

Security protocols must also be considered, including either controlled entry and or staffing to ensure that safe public meeting that we have a safe public meeting environment.

From a staffing and support standpoint, these meetings require significant coordination.

Multiple city teams must be involved, including TVSA, ITSD, the city clerk's office, and communications and engagement.

In some cases, we might want to consider vendor support from the production standpoint.

Taken together, these factors highlight that while the concept is aligned with goals around accessibility and transparency, it's going to require careful planning, clear expectations, and potentially additional resources to accomplish all of the above successfully.

So as we consider this pilot, there are a few core questions to discuss and hopefully workshop together.

First, if the goal is to expand access, increase participation and engagement.

I want us to have clear expectations of what success looks like and how we're going to measure that success beyond just attendance.

Second, what level of engagement can we expect?

Again, B sessions are typically briefings, not high participation meetings, and don't include public comment.

So are we reaching new audiences or just shifting the same audience to a no new location?

Third, what is the minimum viable pilot that we can execute well?

How many meetings, what format, and what level of production can we realistically support within our current capacity?

We also need to be clear on budget.

If there is if there is no dedicated funding today, are costs absorbed by the departments, or does this require a new funding strategy?

And what is the cost per meeting, especially if we're moving those meetings to the evenings?

Next, are there any alternatives to achieve the same goal?

And finally, are there any risks that we need to consider or plan for?

Um this create confusion about meeting locations, increased cost or staffing demands.

Will we have enough Wi-Fi for broadcasting?

Again, just items to discuss as we're moving forward.

So first, thank you for allowing me to present this today.

The again, the intent of this CCR does absolutely align with our city's engagement goals and with what our department does best.

This recommendation has slightly changed this morning from what we were sent in your packets.

Um recommendation is to create a pilot program to determine the civic engagement impact of holding select public comment meetings instead of B sessions outside of municipal plaza and within the community.

So again, I would recommend that you give us time to meet with the city clerk's office, the city attorney's office, compliance opportunity and access, the San Antonio Police Department for safety protocols, IT and building equipment services, and we come back in 60 days to present what that pilot might look like.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Uh item four good morning, Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Troy Elliott, I'm the Chief Financial Officer for the City, and this morning I'll be presenting to you a CCR that was submitted by Councilmember Govito with respect to reporting on city funds going to local businesses.

This item was submitted last month on the 19th.

Um, kind of going through at a high level the background of the request.

One of the key items in this item is really how do we define the term local?

In a couple of minutes, I'll give you a sense of what we do today, and then hopefully, as we look forward through the CCR, we'll kind of better define and come to agreement on what that term is.

Some of the other items that it requests is developing and implement a standardwise city reporting framework based on that definition of local, um, how to report departmental and citywide expenditures to local businesses, and also using that data to identify the gaps in local services.

More specifically, and I'll kind of read through these, but in more detail, defining what a local business reporting framework is or the specifics of the requests.

Is coming forward and developing a standardized reporting process to track how much the city is spending going to local businesses, including grants, prime contracts, subcontracts, and other expenditures and other expenditures.

So, in other words, presenting a comprehensive look of what we spend in terms of our local businesses based on the definition that we would propose and council would ultimately approve.

Require departments to include local spending data whenever they present department specific spending to council.

Incorporate that information into our budgeting process for visibility during our six plus six budget presentation, and then continuing every year thereafter.

As I mentioned, establishing a consistent definition of local for reporting purposes, then using that data based on kind of you heard earlier looking at certain industries and identify where there may be gaps and where locals participate on our contracts and our services and using that information to inform workforce development initiatives.

As I mentioned a little bit, one to give you a little sense of what we do today and some of the things that we'll be considering as we look at defining this definition.

We have several programs in place today.

One is the local preference program.

It was actually originated under very early on.

And this is actually predicated or based on state statute.

It's defined and designed after state statute.

And it is a geographic preference, basically looking at the municipal boundaries of the city of San Antonio.

And if you have a business that is headquartered and resides in those municipal boundaries, and you've been here for a year or more, you give certain preferences primarily on our discretionary programs that are prime level.

That is based on two different thresholds.

If you're headquartered, you can get a full 10 points.

If you have a significant business presence here in San Antonio, defined by 20% of the employees being based in San Antonio or 100 or more employees, then you get half of those points, which is five.

And that is designed to basically incentivize on our procurements the local participation.

In addition to the local preference program, we also have our small business economic development advocacy program, or Sebeta as everybody's familiar with.

This takes a little different flavor than the local preference.

Basically, it is looking at the eight counties being the Bear County and the surrounding seven counties as our geographic preference.

So it differs from the local preference, and I'll kind of talk to you why that is why we do that, why that's important.

That focuses, as I mentioned, all those businesses that are headquartered in the SAMHSA or the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.

You have to be certified as an emerging or a small business enterprise through Supply SA, and each majority owner must have a personal net worth not exceeding roughly two million dollars.

So in terms of our procurements, these things kind of layer on top of each other in certain cases.

We look at the SAMHSA and the small business, and then we we um provide additional preferences narrowing down on the miss municipal geographic boundary for our local, and they kind of stack on top of each other.

In addition to these two programs, you know, in the past we come to city council primarily in the forecast or certain times to the audit committee as well.

We will also report out to the committees and to the council in terms of who we have contracts with or who do we pay in terms of local businesses.

Because you may not have been the benefit of a local preference or the subata program.

You may have won a contract naturally, just being the low bid or based on the experience, the qualifications, background, and your proposed plan.

Um, roughly, I think that's been in excess of about 40 to 50 percent in the past of who we actually do business with.

Um, so that'll certainly be a consideration as we define this definition of local and bring that forward.

There's gonna be a lot of other considerations.

I mean, depending on how we define local, there may be gaps in our data that we may have to pull forward and actually um identify those so we can actually, for example, at the subcontracting level with local.

We may not have that information.

So once we have that definition and um we'll define the program, we'll look at what the gaps are and how we proceed forward.

Do not have a full recommendation on what the local definition is today.

Would like to take the opportunity to visit more in-depth, and we've started those discussions with um our office of management and budget and also the economic development department.

As you heard today, deal with some of our stakeholders as well, as well as supply SA.

Um, go forward and make a recommendation and get policy impact from the um EWDC or the Economic and Workforce Development Committee, and come forward with a recommendation of what that definition of local looks like, how that program may be actually defined, and then how we'll be reporting out it.

So, Chair, that ends my um presentation, and I think we'll be happy to take questions.

Thank you so much.

I do want to note for the record for items two and three, we have a letter of support from Council Member Castillo in support of staff's recommendation.

Uh, councilwoman uh Aldreta Carrito, uh, if you'd like to um come speak on your item.

Thank you.

Well, good morning, Chair and colleagues.

Um, thank you, Troy, for the presentation and Jessica, thank you um for being here on behalf of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

So I followed the CCR because we talk a lot about supporting local businesses, but today we do not have a clear picture of how city spending is actually staying in San Antonio, and that is the gap that this CCR is meant to address.

Before we set new goals or expand programs, we need a full picture.

This CCR asks for standard reporting across all city departments, so we can track how much we're spending locally, we'll define what local is, and for my council and colleagues, for my council colleagues and I to receive this regular updates.

We what I I and I know that Troy had mentioned how the city does report this every once in a while, but I really want this information to be front and center for us as we're making uh decisions.

You know, we saw this model work really well when we were um talking about the airport concessions, right?

We were all saying we want local businesses in our airport.

So we know that when we're um pushy with this, and we know that when we're making a concerted effort to to hire local businesses, that's what happens.

And so I want us to to take that same energy for all other um items too.

And I and I we what I also intended for the CCR is that if we are finding that we're not hiring local businesses in certain areas or another, then we can start partnering with other um economic development programs, greater SATX and and others to say what do we need to address in our local workforce so that they can get these engineering contracts so that they can get these marketing contracts so that they can get these design contracts.

Um, and so that way we can compete um in that way too.

We all know that better data leads to better decisions, and with this, we can better see how we are truly investing in our local economy and putting uh San Antonio's money back into the hands of San Antonians.

That's all.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Uh, and since we're gonna take all three items, I will do a 10-minute discussion and a five-minute discussion uh because I know I didn't give y'all a heads up, we would be doing that.

Um I'll be brief with my remarks.

I am in support of each of staff's recommendations, um, but I'll restate those for those watching at home.

Uh item two uh should council uh follow staff's recommendation will be further researched with findings and recommendations sent to educational opportunities.

Item three will be further developed into a pilot program where public comment will be held throughout the community, uh, and we can expect a full council briefing for feedback within 60 days.

And then item four would be developed into a framework with recommendations sent to economic and workforce development for further direction or feedback.

Um I'll give individual feedback on each of the items as they progress through committee.

Um, I guess for the the big one for um item three with regards to city hall for all and public comment being throughout the district or throughout the the city.

The question that I have should we move to the fruit fuller model, which was uh what councilwoman Castillo mentioned, which was uh B sessions.

Um I worry about the impacts of certain items being held in certain districts versus others.

If we were to, for example, have uh discussions about infrastructure in district nine, it would look very different than if we had that discussion in district two in terms of who would come out to speak and what the resounding message would be or what the prevailing message would be.

Uh, just as if we had a discussion about the airport in district five versus district nine or ten.

Um, and so I those are questions I'd like to add to uh the discussion as it progresses.

Um, but overall I'll be supportive of the items today, and I look forward to uh my colleagues' feedback.

Councilmember Via Grun.

Yeah, uh I'm gonna start with uh item two.

Why is it going to educational opportunities and not economic workforce and development?

So we have gone to the economic um educational opportunities committee on several items related to the ambassador program, also the next level program that um has some connection to this as well, and so we were following up.

Okay, um you can take it to educational opportunities, that's fine.

Um as chair of economic workforce and development, I see a lot of um holes in this regarding departments that need to be addressed.

If we're talking about at-risk youth, what accommodations need to make them uh because this is very similar to what we do with EWDC.

So I I mean you can take it there, that's fine.

I don't know that it's gonna be as effective as if you brought it to EWDC.

So I'll I'll be supporting that, but again, this is this is a specialized unit.

We're talking about workforce.

If you're talking about getting kids college ready, that's fine, but what about the kids that don't want to be college ready and we need to send them through ready to work?

It it should be through the uh economic workforce and development.

So I mean I'll support it moving forward today because you're taking it to educational opportunities, but again, a committee that I appreciate, but I'm just not sure that they they just have a lot tasked to do right now, and I was with like I was at San Antonio Education Partnership.

I'm there because of I'm chair of economic workforce development.

I need to be there, but in terms of my participation, that's getting kids college ready.

That's not getting them ready for the workforce.

So just that that's just my two cents there.

Um, and I I don't want to create more work for my committee, but I don't I want this to be successful, and I don't understand how it will be.

I I'm thinking Rick's doing a good job, but I would need to see more as it comes forward.

For item number three, I am in support of um public comment.

I am not in support of B session.

I think we have B sessions that could be just memos.

So I I am fine with taking public comment.

The thing I think we need a price tag on that, and what I need to see is if there is a council member that wants it in their district, they should be taking from their funds to host that in their district, and asking the council members that are neighbors.

So if I hosted one at Southside Lions, you can bet Jalen be the first person I'd ask for some money for to host and make sure that my residents have snacks.

But I think public comment is best.

I really am concerned about the logistics technology wise, it's too easy for people to hack in, too easy for people to uh disable our Wi-Fi systems in some parts of town.

So I I'm looking forward to moving this forward with a pilot program, but I do think that council members need to put some money in this because it is not going to be cheap.

So thank you as you move forward on this.

So I I look forward to moving that forward.

And in terms of the last one where we we talk about the reporting, Troy, you know I'm gonna I was gonna have a lot to say.

So if you could come on up here.

Um so we've got local, we've got SAMHSA.

Do we have like a state where we think by state by Texas?

Do we have that when we we give points for as people come?

No, ma'am.

We focus purely on the city limits from our local preference and the SAMHSA for our programs.

So I think we need to do two things here is one, we do need to report, and we need to get that data from the departments of who's using what and what best value versus low bid versus you know uh what stays in town, what where they fit in that process.

The other thing I think we need to do though is really start talking to the council members and the department directors or are the purchasing people in each department, and what does local mean to them?

Um because you and I know we have both had some contracts come through audit where maybe they were not here in Texas, but their values and priorities for caring about employees spoke to our values and priorities here as the city of San Antonio.

So there's just a lot of definitions that we need to do because if I have if I have two groups coming out of Houston, and one of them does really well with their employees, and you know, best place to work in Houston, and one of them's like nothing but complaints, high turnover.

I I'm gonna lean towards in terms of state.

I would I would hope that you guys would lean towards somebody that does a good job for Texas too.

So I think that's where we kind of need to work parallel in that, and I look forward to having more conversations.

And I really do think the council members need to get those maps of what local look what what our map of of local looks like, what SAMHSA looks like, and council members and their offices need to start giving you more input and information about when they say local, what do they think?

Because when I think local, I think Bear County, because my border is um county commissioner uh Rebecca Clay Flores and County Commissioner Tommy Calvert.

So if they sit right outside district three, they're local to me.

And that may be the same way some of the other council members think.

So I think we need to kind of have that conversation, look at those maps, look at those county.

The other thing is I'm gonna I'm gonna tend to think local more valley than I do Austin.

So I think we need to have those conversations because that may be uh kind of helping as as we go in and we we use that whole reporting system of local and then letting everybody know in terms of supply SA and things.

What what do we do?

Are they are they southern region?

Are they northern region?

Are they state of Texas?

Um as we start to report that because honestly, we are going to have to start thinking Team Texas and thinking about our state and our GDP as we move in this in these next phases.

So if we could do that, I'd appreciate that.

And um just let's let's start with what the C CR asked for, which is local, and then the SAMHSA, but then also get a definition of do we want to expand this into state and we can discuss it at EWDC.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Uh Councilmember Amungia.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh, when it comes to item number two, if we can go to slide, I think it was five on that presentation.

That's uh really good to see that um mentorships and summer jobs um for the ages 14 to 24 actually reduces crime.

So I want to point that out to everybody who's watching this meeting.

Uh that's a really good way to uh reduce crime in the city and give people opportunities.

So I think this is great to expand this.

You know, every year we get interns in our office through ambassadors, and also people who find us outside of the program.

Um, and some of those you might consider opportunity youth, and they've done extremely well and learn a lot.

So totally uh support of this program expanding that.

Uh and if that's a budget ass, then we need to um advocate for that this upcoming cycle.

Uh for number three.

Um, I know Councilman Castillo supports the modified um recommendation to start with public comment, which is great.

Uh but you know, going back to to some things here.

I know back in 2019 we did a B session at pre-K4SA on the east side campus.

Did the city pay for that?

I'm probably the the uh OG here, so uh I'll chime in, council.

Uh absolutely, right.

That was a part of what was going on.

It was at a city facility.

Um it took some uh logistical work to make it happen.

It it it doesn't necessarily meet the standard that we're at today, to be clear, right?

Um, but we were able to pull it off.

Yeah, yeah.

I think we've got great partners out there.

A lot of our colleges have great audio systems already embedded.

So I think you know, I'm not sure what frequency we're looking at if we start with once a quarter or something just to kind of get the ball rolling.

Uh, but I just want us to be aware that most of us here have really good parking when it comes to downtown, right?

Um as someone who used to park in the parking garage across the street, it's not convenient always, right?

And there's issues elevators have been out.

So for regular residents, especially in district four, that you have to drive downtown and it takes 25, 30 minutes to get here.

Um it's not easy to show up and and say something.

So district four usually has very, very low numbers when it comes to public comments, uh, even on an important topics when it's here at this building.

So when I do my own meetings, we get a great turnout, right?

We we block walk, we let folks know it's easier for them to get to.

There's front row parking for folks that's easily walkable.

Uh, but again, I think we do have to acknowledge that people it's challenging for people to get here downtown, especially with construction and what it's been.

So um I think that's that's why we're pushing for this.

Some of us really want this to happen, because it's important to give that opportunity to other people to see that.

Um it's also an opportunity for other folks to see the problems that we have in our districts when you drive down our roads and things like that.

You can get to see the perspective from somebody in district four, district two, district three.

So I think it's a great way to start um that process.

So thank you for that.

And I'm number four, uh, fully support this.

Great job, councilwoman.

I think this is a really good way to make sure we're actually um delivering on a promise that we always say we're giving to small businesses, and I don't you talk to small businesses, they don't feel like we we do enough for them or that we're doing enough locals.

So I do agree with councilwoman via Grant that we should uh not just have the city limits right, but just Bear County, because there are some folks that have their business right outside the city limits, and and they are a small business and they probably might live in the city limits also.

So that's a lot of agriculture folks that do you know trees and and things of that nature, industrial facilities.

Um so I think it's important to have a little bit larger scope than the city limit, but I do support that.

Um so yeah, those are all my comments.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Viacron.

Uh back to the youth opportunities.

How young can the city hire at?

And I know I think it's parks that they can hire the youngest at 16.

I that would be my guess.

Um there was a high school internship program and HR for a while.

Do you know Alex?

Okay.

Councilman, we can we can confirm 16 and I'll I'll reach back up.

Uh just um District Three has piloted high school uh well they do it for free though, because they want the experience or they need the office hours.

So we've had high school kids there.

We we normally require them to be um in high school.

And I don't know if 14 is high school still, but um, and then again with this program in particular, we may have 14 year olds that are uh we won't we may not have 14 year olds that are in in high school or we might not have 16 year olds in high school.

So um just really think through this program because I really do want it to be successful.

Uh the other thing I want to look at if it was coming through EWDC, but um is council members need to be when we pilot council members need to be committed to this.

So if they're not willing to find a way to hire uh in this youth internship pilot program, um that's problematic for me.

So um looking for that those opportunities, whether it's um tabling at events, you know, helping out on on days where we we pay them where we do outreach in the community, knocking on doors, things like that with the ACS.

I mean, this this can come from the city council budget also, and what we have for our staff.

So I'd like to see us um carve a path of expectation that at least every council member hires uh one at least youth internship to help knock on doors, help help do something part-time during the summer.

It won't be fun because it'll be hot, but um we we do have the budget to do that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

John Chair, thank you.

Uh Councilman, I just wanted to confirm that 16 is the youngest that we can hire.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any further questions, comments, concerns, any songs maybe actually actually, Councilman Roomia.

No.

Um I'll entertain a motion for we'll do uh each item separately.

So I'll entertain a motion for item two.

Motion to approve staff recommendation.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Motion carries.

Uh item three.

Motion to move uh item number three to where are we moving it to?

It it I'll help you, ma'am.

It's it's gonna come back here in 60 days.

To move to governance back in 60 days.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Let's make okay.

Just uh we'll reconcile let's redo that just for clarity.

So what's the clarity for this?

Let's accept staff's recommendation.

Move to accept it.

It's it's the full council, I think.

Okay, so we're accept uh staff recommendation.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Motion carries.

Item four.

Motion to um approve staff recommendation.

Second.

All in favor?

I aye.

Motion carries.

There being no further business to consider.

The time is now 10 55, and this meeting of our governance committee is adjourned.

Thank you.