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CITY CLERK, ARE WE READY TO BEGIN? OKAY, GREAT.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO
[CALL TO ORDER]
ORDER[ ROLL CALL ]
COMMISSIONER COH HERE.IT'S GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE TODAY.
EVERYONE'S HERE ON THE COMMISSION, SO, UM, GLAD TO SEE EVERYONE.
AND MILTON, WE WILL MAKE SURE FOR THE NEXT MEETING, WE HAVE A SETUP HERE.
AND ALSO, UM, WE WILL, UM, MAKE SURE WE GET YOU COUNTED IN THE COUNT IN THE VOTES.
UM, SO WHY DON'T WE MOVE INTO THE AGENDA.
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION READ, AND THEN WE WILL MOVE ON FROM THERE.
ITEM NUMBER ONE IS RECOMMENDATION
[1. 24-55057 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Economic Development Commission meeting of Wednesday, August 7, 2024. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7TH, 2024.WE HAVE A FIRST FROM COMMISSIONER SANDOVAL AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER COHN.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE MINUTES? OKAY.
SEEING NO QUESTIONS OR HEARING NO QUESTIONS.
UM, IS THERE ANY, UH, CLARIFICATION OR EVERY, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE COM ON THE MINUTES? OKAY.
THEN CAN WE TAKE A, UH, ROLL CALL ON THE VOTE? UH,
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MOTION CARRIES.OKAY, WHY DON'T WE MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO AND, UM, PLEASE READ OUT THE, THE NEXT ITEM.
[2. 24-55058 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on City of Long Beach digital equity and inclusion efforts. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION ON CITY OF LONG BEACH DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION EFFORTS.COULD I HAVE A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SUAREZ AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER SMITH.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM OUR STAFF.
SO, YES, UM, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
SO ITEM NUMBER TWO IS OUR PRESENTATION, UH, WITH OUR TID TEAM.
AND WE HAVE STEPHANIE ALA, WHO'S A DIGITAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC INCLUSION OFFICER, AS WELL AS, UH, RAILROAD VASQUEZ, WHO'S A DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION COORDINATOR.
AND THEY'RE GONNA BE PROVIDING, UM, AN UPDATE ON THE DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION HERE IN LONG BEACH AND WHAT, UM, TID DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY, UH, HAS BEEN UP TO.
SO THANK YOU STEPHANIE AND RAUL FOR BEING HERE.
UH, WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE AND TO GIVE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AN OVERVIEW OF ALL OF THE WONDERFUL WORK THAT IS GOING ON CITYWIDE RELATED TO DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN LONG BEACH.
SO, UH, WHAT WE WILL BE COVERING WITH YOU TODAY IS A VISION, VISION STATEMENT FOR HOW WE THINK ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY, JUST THAT TIMELINE OF DIGITAL INCLUSION AND SOME CONTEXT.
UH, WE'LL ALSO GO OVER OUR COLLECTIVE IMPACT APPROACH, OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
AND THEN PROBABLY WHAT IS MOST RELEVANT TO YOU ALL IS THE WAY THAT, UH, OUR WORK ALIGNS WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BLUEPRINT.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
SORRY, THIS CLICKER GAVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE LAST WEEK, AND IT'S STILL GIVING ME TROUBLE.
UM, SO I WANTED TO GO OVER OUR VISION STATEMENT.
UM, EVERYTHING THAT YOU HEAR US TALK ABOUT TODAY HAS BEEN CO-CREATED WITH COMMUNITY, AND I WANNA GIVE AN EXTRA SHOUT OUT TO COMMISSIONER LARKINS, WHO HAS KIND OF BEEN THERE WITH US SINCE THE BEGINNING.
AND SO A LOT OF THIS WILL SOUND REALLY FAMILIAR TO HIM.
UM, BUT OUR VISION STATEMENT IS THAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL IN LONG BEACH, REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND, NEIGHBORHOOD, OR IDENTITY, HAS HIGH QUALITY ACCESSIBLE TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AND THE SERVICES TO BE CIVICALLY ENGAGED AND SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY EMPOWERED.
SO THAT IS A BIT OF A MOUTHFUL, BUT WE THINK THAT IT, UH, REALLY ENCAPSULATES THAT RACIAL EQUITY LENS, UH, AND THAT, UH, ECONOMIC INCLUSION COMPONENT THAT WE KNOW IS SO CRITICAL TO DIGITAL INCLUSION.
SO, UH, WE THINK ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION, UH, AS A THREE LEGGED STOOL, AND WE THINK ABOUT THREE MAJOR FOCUS AREAS.
SO DIGITAL SKILLS, ESSENTIALLY, DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO BE ONLINE AND TO FUNCTION IN SOCIETY? THE SECOND ONE IS CONNECTIVITY.
DO YOU HAVE THAT LOW COST, HIGH SPEED QUALITY IN-HOME INTERNET ACCESS? AND THE THIRD ONE IS TECHNOLOGY.
DO YOU HAVE THE DEVICES THAT ARE RIGHT FOR YOU IN ORDER FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY AND IN DEMOCRACY? UH, AND HERE WE HAVE OUR TIMELINE.
SO SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS REALLY SPECIAL ABOUT LONG BEACH IS THAT WE ARE ONE OF THE FIRST CITIES TO REALLY THINK ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION AND TO REALLY PRIORITIZE IT AS AN ISSUE.
OUR WORK, UH, IS I THINK EVERYBODY IS AWARE THAT DIGITAL INCLUSION IS AN ISSUE NOW POST PANDEMIC, BUT LONG BEACH IS SPECIAL BECAUSE WE BEGAN THIS WORK BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
SO IN JANUARY, 2018, THE COUNCIL DIRECTED CITY STAFF TO LAUNCH A MULTI-DEPARTMENTAL CROSS-SECTORAL DIGITAL INCLUSION INITIATIVE.
IN JULY OF 2019, UH, WE HAD THAT FIRST DIGITAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC INCLUSION PROGRAM MANAGER.
AND SO THAT WAS REBECCA KOMA, WHO I THINK MAYBE ALL OF YOU REMEMBER.
UM, IN JULY, 2020, BECAUSE OF THIS REALLY FOUNDATIONAL, UH, COMMUNITY WORK, BECAUSE OF OUR OUR FOUNDATIONAL STRATEGIC WORK, WE WERE ABLE TO LAUNCH COVID-19 RECOVERY PROGRAMS REALLY QUICKLY.
UH, IN JUNE OF 2021, OUR CITY COUNCIL APPROVED OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION ROADMAP, WHICH IS OUR, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UM, AND THEN SKIPPING OVER TO JULY, 2023, WE DID CLOSE OUT ALL OF OUR COVID RECOVERY PROGRAMS. IN OCTOBER OF 2023, THE CITY OFFICIALLY ESTABLISHED THE OFFICE OF DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
SO WE ARE NO LONGER JUST AN INITIATIVE, ALTHOUGH WE ARE STILL OBVIOUSLY MULTI-DEPARTMENTAL AND CROSS SECTORAL, BUT WE ARE STRUCTURALLY FUNDED, UH, WITHIN THE CITY.
AND THEN SEPTEMBER OF 2024, JUST LAST MONTH, WE LAUNCHED OUR DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
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SO, AS I SAID, THE CITY REALLY VIEWS DIGITAL INCLUSION AS A STRATEGIC FOCUS.SO RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE, YOU HAVE OUR STRATEGIC VISION.
UM, THE LONG BEACH STRATEGIC VISION IS, UH, A CITYWIDE, UH, STRATEGY THAT INCLUDES HOUSING, THAT INCLUDES, UH, HOW WE FORM OUR GOVERNMENT, THAT INCLUDES OUR ABILITY TO THINK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND THE CITY HAS, UH, REALLY OUTLINED DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION AS A KEY COMPONENT OF HOW WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT THE CITY, HOLISTICALLY CITY LIKE, UH, STRATEGICALLY.
UM, ON THE LEFT, YOU WILL SEE OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION ROADMAP.
SO THAT IS STILL OUR CO-CREATED STRATEGY, UH, FOR HOW WE THINK ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION THAT WAS FORMED WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN 2021.
AND THEN OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, AS I MENTIONED, CAME OUT JUST LAST MONTH.
AND THAT INCLUDES OUR, ESSENTIALLY OUR, OUR WAY OF THINKING ABOUT HOW WE COME OUT OF THE PANDEMIC AND WHAT WE DO NOW THAT OUR COVID PROGRAMS HAVE, UH, HAVE CLOSED OUT.
SO NOW I WILL TURN IT OVER TO RAUL TO TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS DATA.
UM, I'LL BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT, UM, THE STATUS OF DIGITAL INCLUSION AS IT RELATES TO INTERNET ACCESS.
AND FROM THIS CHART, WE ARE SEEING OUR 2019 DIGITAL INCLUSION ROADMAP DATA, AND WE ARE ALSO SEEING OUR 2022, WHICH IS THE MOST RECENT A CS DATA ON INTERNET ACCESS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.
SO FROM THIS, UH, CHART, WE CAN SEE THAT FOR THE MOST PART, WE HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON INCREASING BROADBAND ACCESS TO HOUSEHOLDS.
UM, SO THIS IS FOR INTERNET ACCESS.
THE NEXT CHART I WANNA SHOW YOU IS THE, SORRY, HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT COMPUTER ACCESS.
SO PART OF THAT SECOND LAYER OF, UM, FO FOCUS AREA, THIS IS VERY SIMILAR, 2019 AND 2022 A CS FIVE YEAR DATA.
AND FOR THE MOST PART, WE'VE ALSO MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON PROVIDING RESIDENTS WITH ACCESSIBLE, UH, COMPUTING DEVICES.
UH, AS I'LL EXPLAIN LATER IN SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE LAUNCHED THROUGH THE COVID PANDEMIC, I DO WANT TO SHARE THAT FOR THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER, THAT IS A HUGE DISCREPANCY.
AND FOR THE REASON BEING, IT'S BECAUSE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THIS ETHNIC GROUP MAKES UP A VERY, VERY SMALL PORTION, WHICH MEANS THAT ANY VARIATION WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE, UH, THE PERCENTAGE.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT EXPLAINS WHY, UM, THERE'S, THAT'S SUCH A SIGNIFICANT DISCREPANCY THERE.
SO I WILL ALSO TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT OUR APPROACH TO DIGITAL EQUITY.
SO ESSENTIALLY HOW WE THINK ABOUT DOING THIS WORK.
SO WE HAVE A LONG BEACH DIGITAL EQUITY STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE.
I ALREADY GAVE OUR SHOUT OUT TO CHAIR, UH, TO COMMISSIONER LARKINS, WHO'S BEEN HERE FOR, UH, A WHILE ON OUR STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE.
UM, OUR COMMITTEE IS COMPRISED OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, DIGITAL INCLUSION, NONPROFITS, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND THEIR STAFF AS WELL AS CITY DEPARTMENTS.
UH, SO TOGETHER, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT THIS GROUP IS REALLY THE BEST GROUP TO THINK ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION AND TO FORM STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT EACH OTHER SO THAT TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, WE ARE MORE THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS.
SO, UH, AS I SAID, WE USE THE, UH, WE USE COLLECTIVE IMPACT TO THINK ABOUT THIS.
AND THERE ARE FIVE PRINCIPLES TO COLLECTIVE IMPACT.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS COMING TOGETHER TO, UH, DEFINE A VISION.
AND SO THAT VISION STATEMENT THAT I READ OUT AT THE BEGINNING, THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE USE EVERY SINGLE MEETING.
WE ARE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT THAT.
THE SECOND ONE IS SHARED MEASUREMENTS.
SO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE TRACKING DATA IN THE SAME WAY AND COMMUNICATING THAT DATA OUT.
THE THIRD ONE IS MUTUALLY REINFORCING ACTIVITIES.
UM, SO MAKING SURE THAT IF THERE IS A DIGITAL LITERACY COURSE IN ONE PART OF THE CITY THAT MAY BE IN THE OTHER PART OF THE CITY, WE'RE OFFERING A SIMILAR, UH, COURSE, AND THAT WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT EACH COMMUNITY HAS THE RESOURCES
[00:15:01]
THAT THEY NEED.UH, THE FOURTH ONE IS CON CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION.
SO ESSENTIALLY BUILDING TRUST, STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS, JUST ALWAYS MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS AWARE OF WHAT EVERYBODY IS WORKING ON.
AND THE LAST ONE IS THE STRONG BACKBONE.
SO THIS IS THE ROLE THAT THE CITY PLAYS.
SO OUR TEAM IS DEDICATED TO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE BRINGING THE, THESE, THE STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE TOGETHER, THAT WE HAVE THAT AGENDA, THAT WE ARE, UH, ESSENTIALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS ON THAT VISION STATEMENT AND HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE TO IT.
SO, UH, AS I MENTIONED LAST MONTH, WE DID, UH, LAUNCH OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
UM, AND I'M GONNA REALLY BRIEFLY GO OVER ALL OF THAT.
SO OUR IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY NUMBER ONE IS COALITION BUILDING AND STRENGTHENING CROSS-SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, UM, THAT IS ESSENTIALLY OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE.
WE TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PRACTICING THOSE PRINCIPLES OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT.
UM, WE ARE ALSO REALLY LOOK AT LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO, UH, PARTICIPATE WITH THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, UM, AND TRYING TO FORM INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS THERE, UM, SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO LEVERAGE GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO PARTICIPATING STATEWIDE ON ALL OF THE DIGITAL EQUITY WORK THAT IS GOING ON THERE.
AND I CAN SHARE THE SECOND STRATEGY, WHICH IS PREPARING FOR AND LEVERAGING FUNDING AND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS STRATEGY.
WE'RE PREPARING FOR THE, UH, DIGITAL EQUITY ACT PROGRAM AND, UM, BROADBAND EQUITY ACCESS AND DEPLOYMENT, UH, PROGRAM FUNDING THAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE THROUGH A DIGITAL INCLUSION SERVICES, UM, RFP PRO.
UM, SO WE'RE INVITING MANY OF OUR PARTNERS WHO HAVE WORKED WITH US IN THIS TYPE OF WORK TO CONTINUE, UH, FOCUSING ON THE THREE AREAS THAT STEPHANIE HAS SHARED, WHICH IS TECHNOLOGY CAPACITY, UM, AND SO FORTH.
AND THE SECOND PART, IT'S REALLY STARTING TO PREPARE ON THINKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS, UM, THAT LIE AHEAD.
AND THAT'S FROM WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM THE RECOVERY ACT PROGRAMS. WE HAVE INTERVIEWED OUR PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
WE HAVE CONNECTED WITH, UM, OUR COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
SO IT'S REALLY ABOUT THINKING HOW WE CAN CONTINUE, UM, IMPLEMENTING AND SERVING, UH, AMMAR LONG BEACH RESIDENTS.
OUR THIRD STRATEGY IS ABOUT SUSTAINING AND LAUNCHING DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAMS THAT MEET LONG BEACH'S NEEDS.
SO, UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH ALL OF THE KEY ACTIVITIES HERE.
I THINK WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO TAKE AWAY HERE IS THAT, UH, BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 RECOVERY FUNDS, THE CITY WAS ABLE TO LAUNCH REALLY INCREDIBLE DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAMS, WHICH WE WILL, UM, TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT MORE LATER ON.
BUT THAT FUNDING HAS SINCE RUN OUT.
AND SO CURRENTLY WE ARE IN A STAGE WHERE WE ARE LOOKING TO DEVELOP NEW PROGRAMS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN LONG TERM, UM, KNOWING THAT WE ARE UNLIKELY TO GET THE KIND OF FUNDING THAT WE GOT FOR COVID RECOVERY, UH, EVER AGAIN.
AND I KNOW THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE BIT DIRE, BUT THERE ARE REALLY INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW, UH, AS RAUL JUST MENTIONED.
AND I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT WE ARE STARTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CITYWIDE FIBER NETWORK, WHICH WILL SERVE AS A BACKBONE, UH, FOR THE CITY, UH, WITHIN TWO MILES OF ANY ADDRESS IN THE CITY.
AND OUR FOURTH STRATEGY, UM, REALLY REVOLVES AROUND, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, IN ESSENCE, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO CONTINUE SEEING WHAT THE STATE OF DIGITAL INCLUSION IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH LOOKS LIKE.
UM, WE ALSO WANT TO ENGAGE, UM, ELECTED OFFICIALS, UM, TO REALLY, UH, ADVOCATE FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION, UM, POLICIES SUCH AS, UM, PREVENTING DIGITAL DISCRIM, DIGITAL DISCRIMINATION.
UM, WE ALSO KNOW THAT THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM HAS WINDED DOWN, SO IT'S REALLY AFFECTING MANY OF OUR LONG BEACH RESIDENTS.
AND SO IT REALLY IS ABOUT PROMOTING EITHER A SUCCESSOR LOW COST INTERNET PROGRAM AND ALSO SHARING LOW COST RES INTERNET RESOURCES WITH OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, YEAH, AND OUR FINAL STRATEGY IS STRENGTHENING THE OFFICE OF DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION'S ADMINISTRATIVE
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CAPACITY.UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE STRUCTURALLY FUNDED NOW WITHIN THE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DEPARTMENT.
WE ARE ONBOARDING A DIGITAL INCLUSION PARTNER TO HELP US STRATEGIZE ON GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO ON BOARDING A PARTNER THAT WILL HELP US DEVELOP A STRATEGY FOR PROVIDING INTERNET CONNECTIVITY TO MULTI-FAMILY DWELLING UNITS, UH, WHICH INCLUDES IDENTIFYING PRIORITY BUILDINGS.
ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR HOW TO BEST CONNECT AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO INTERNET.
OKAY, SO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BLUEPRINT.
SO JULIAN AND I WERE REALLY FOCUSED ON HOW TO, UH, ENSURE THAT THERE IS ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE PLANS THAT I JUST MENTIONED AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PR BLUE, UH, BLUEPRINT.
UH, SO WE HAVE THREE PRIORITY OBJECTIVES THAT MATCH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BLUEPRINT.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS INCREASING ACCESS TO BROADBAND NETWORK AND INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, IN NEIGHBORHOODS MOST IMPACTED BY THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
THE SECOND ONE IS ESTABLISHING STRUCTURAL FUNDING FOR, UH, CITY DIGITAL INCLUSION STAFF AND CITYWIDE DIGITAL INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS.
AND THE THIRD ONE IS INCREASING COMPETITION AMONGST INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS FOR ALL AND DECREASE THE COST OF SERVICE TO HIGH-NEED AREAS OF THE CITY.
SO ON THE FIRST PRIORITY OBJECTIVE, I WANTED TO AGAIN TALK ABOUT THE FIBER MASTER PLAN.
SO THE CITY HAS A FIBER, UH, A FIBER NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE THAT WILL BRING FIBER WITHIN TWO MILES OF ANY LOCATION WITHIN THE CITY.
UH, THIS WAS APPROVED IN 2018, UH, AND, UH, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, WE DID EXPERIENCE SOME DELAYS, BUT WE ARE EXPECTING TO SEE AN INVITATION TO BID TO BEGIN THIS WORK, UH, SOMETIME WITHIN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE MONTHS.
SO, AND ONCE COMPLETED, THE CITY'S FIBER NETWORK WILL CONNECT TO 90% OF CITY OWNED BUSINESSES, UH, BUILDINGS.
THE SECOND ONE IS TO ESTABLISH SUC STRUCTURAL FUNDING FOR CITY DIGITAL INCLUSION STAFF AND CITYWIDE DIGITAL INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS.
UH, AS I'VE MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES, OUR OFFICE OF DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION IS STRUCTURALLY FUNDED.
UH, AND THESE POSITIONS WORK TO LEVERAGE AND AT ATTRACT FUNDS TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND IN INCLUDE STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS.
AND FINALLY, OUR PRIORITY OBJECTIVE THREE, THAT IS IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BLUEPRINT.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY ADVOCATING FOR THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM EXTENSION ACT OF 2024.
THIS BILL EXTENDS AND PROVIDES, UH, FY 24 FUNDING FOR THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
UM, SO RAUL DID MENTION THAT THE FIRST ITERATION OF THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, UH, CLOSED OUT AROUND 60% OF LONG BEACH HOUSEHOLDS WERE USING THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, AND THAT WAS A $30 CREDIT ON THEIR MONTHLY INTERNET BILL WITHOUT THAT FUNDING, UM, WE DON'T HAVE GOOD DATA ON THIS, BUT WE KNOW THAT A LOT MORE FAMILIES ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY THAT INTERNET BILL.
SO ONE OF OUR TOP PRIORITIES IS TRYING TO GET BACK THAT AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM.
THE SECOND ONE IS THE CITY FIBER NETWORK, WHICH I'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED.
UH, BUT WE DO BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL EVENTUALLY, UH, LEAD TO MORE AFFORDABLE INTERNET ACCESS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO RAUL IS GOING TO COVER OUR CURRENT EFFORTS.
UM, AS STEPHANIE MENTIONED, THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, UH, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THEM.
THEY'VE, UH, CREATED THE, UH, TRIC GOVERNMENTAL BROADBAND COORDINATING COMMITTEE, OR THE IBCC.
AND THE FOCUS OF THE IBCC IS TO, UM, CONVENE MULTIDISCIPLINARY STAKEHOLDERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO REALLY LEVERAGE, UM, THE DIGITAL EQUITY ACT CAPACITY, COMPETITIVE, AND BE PROGRAMS, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE I-A-B-C-C HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO HELPING OTHER CITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, UM, TRAIN AND DEVELOP, SO THAT AS A, A COUNTY AS A WHOLE, CAN'T REALLY FOCUS ON DIGITAL INCLUSION, SHARE BEST PRACTICES, AND SEE HOW WE CAN, UM, REALLY COLLABORATE, UM, TOGETHER, UM, PART OF THAT COLLABORATION.
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EFFORT IN SUBMITTING THE COMPETITIVE GRANT, UH, THROUGH THE DIGITAL EQUITY ACT.UH, THIS APPLICATION, UM, WAS DUE, UH, SEPTEMBER 23RD, AND OUT OF THE 47 PARTNERS THAT JOINED, UM, WE CAN CONFIRM THAT 37 PARTNERS, UH, JOINED THE FINAL APPLICATION.
AND SO THIS COMPETITIVE GRANT WILL ALLOW, UM, THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, AS WELL AS THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, UH, IMPLEMENT, UH, A DIFFERENT DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, DIGITAL SKILLS, UM, AND DIGITAL SKILLS ON AI TRAINING, UH, REALLY WORKING WITH OTHER NONPROFITS WHO HAVE THE EXPERTISE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES TO DISTRIBUTE LAPTOPS OF, UM, TWO, UH, DIFFERENT RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, AS WELL AS PROVIDING THEM WITH A ONE YEAR OF FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT IN CASE THEIR LAPTOPS STOP WORKING IN CASE THEY NEED SOME SUPPORT.
THEY CAN ALSO BE REFERRED TO A DIGITAL SKILLS PROGRAM, UM, AS WELL AS FUNDING FOR OUTREACH EVENTS.
WE KNOW THAT MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS THAT ARE DISCONNECTED ARE THE MOST HARD TO REACH.
SO THIS FUNDING WILL ALLOW US TO, UM, CREATE, UM, DIFFERENT OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLY TRY TO CONNECT WITH THEM.
AND OUR NEXT EFFORT REVOLVES AROUND THE CALIFORNIA EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FUND, UH, THROUGH THE CETF, WE HAVE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION AND RECEIVED $21,000, UH, THROUGH, UH, THIS GRANT THAT WILL ALLOW US TO CONTINUE OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION WORK.
AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS GRANT, IT'S ALLOWS US A BIT OF FLEXIBILITY.
AS LONG AS OUR WORK IS FOCUSED ON DIGITAL INCLUSION, UM, REALLY THE FUNDING CAN BE SPENT.
BUT ON TOP OF THAT, WE ARE ALSO JOINING THE CETF IN THREE LEARNING COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS.
UH, THE FIRST ONE STARTED LAST MONTH AND REALLY CONNECTED WITH OTHER CITIES TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES, UM, SHARE, UM, INFORMATION ON BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AND REALLY LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER.
AND, AND MY NEXT, UM, UPDATE, IT'S REGARDING THE DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK.
OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK REALLY FOCUSES ON SPRING AWARENESS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL INCLUSION, UM, SHARING RESOURCES, HOSTING DIFFERENT EVENTS, AND IT'S A NATIONWIDE, UH, EVENT THAT'S LED BY THE NATIONAL DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE.
UM, WE HAVE PARTICIPATED IN DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK, UH, FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, UH, MOSTLY THROUGH A SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN, UH, WHICH WILL ALSO BE LAUNCHING THIS, UH, COMING WEEK.
SO WE WOULD HOPE, UM, THAT YOU CAN JOIN US BY VIEWING OUR CITY, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 7TH THROUGH THE 11TH.
UM, WE HAVE ALSO CREATED TOOLKITS FOR OUR PARTNERS, AND THESE TOOLKITS WILL ALLOW THEM TO SHARE SOME OF THE CONTENT WE CREATED TO SHARE INFORMATION ON PUBLIC WIFI AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS LIBRARIES SUCH AS THE TECHNICAL PROGRAM, AND REALLY, UM, SHARE AWARENESS ABOUT WHAT DIGITAL INCLUSION IS.
SO THAT REALLY CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION FOR TODAY.
UM, WE ARE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, AND WE WANTED TO PUT OUR CONTACT INFORMATION UP HERE IN CASE YOU ALL HAD ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO, UH, BE ABLE TO PRESENT TO YOU ALL AND TO INVITE YOU ALL TO, UH, PARTICIPATE WITH US IN, UH, OUR WORK ON DIGITAL INCLUSION.
SO, ESTE, ESTE, ESTEFANIA, AND RAUL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, AND ALSO FOR SHARING MORE ABOUT HOW WE CAN GET ENGAGED.
AND I SEE YOU HAVE SOME ELSE, UH, ADRIANA, WHO'S BEEN WORKING WITH YOU.
SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
SO I'M GONNA OPEN UP TO THE COMMISSIONERS FOR QUESTIONS, UM, COMMENTS, ANYTHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT.
WELL, COMMISSIONER COH, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.
JUST TO CLARIFY, IS THIS A TO-DO LIST OR IS THIS COMMITTEE ALREADY CREATED, UM, WITH THOSE MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS? YES, THIS, UH, COMMITTEE HAS BEEN ACTIVE SINCE 2018.
[00:30:01]
OKAY.AND, UH, DO WE HAVE, OR HAVE WE IDENTIFIED THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE BEEN MOST IMPACTED BY THIS DIGITAL DIVIDE? YES, THAT WOULD BE NORTH WEST AND A CENTRAL LONG BEACH.
WELL, APPRECIATE YOUR GREAT WORK.
UH, HAVE BEEN, UH, YOU OVER THE YEARS, THIS COMMISSION AS WELL AS BLAIR, WE WERE LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, MORE SEASONED PEOPLE ON THE COMMISSION THE FIRST TIME THIS COMMISSION WAS FORMED.
UH, DIGITAL EQUITY WAS ONE OF THE PRIMARY THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT EVEN THEN.
AND THE COMMISSION HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HUNDRED PERCENT ON BOARD IN MAKING THIS A, UH, OVER SOMETHING THAT WRAPS AROUND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT.
AND AS WE CAN SEE, SOME THINGS THAT ARE OCCURRING, UH, ARE, I WOULDN'T CALL IT SETBACKS, BUT DEFINITELY A CHALLENGE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW, WHAT A BIG MAGNITUDE, UH, CHANGE THAT WAS.
BUT THE WORK THAT WE HAD DONE TO GET EVERYONE CONNECTED AND BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO BE CONNECTED, UM, HAS CERTAINLY, UH, HAS BEEN ESSENTIALLY DEFUNDED.
AND SO NOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING BACK TO THE SCENARIO WHERE THEY ARE, AS, AS STEFANI WAS SAYING, UH, WHETHER THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER TO BUY FOOD OR HAVE INTERNET CONNECTED CONNECTIVITY.
SO I THINK THE PHILOSOPHY, UH, OF THIS COMMISSION, I THINK, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE DEBATING IT, IS INTERNET CONNECTIVE CONNECTIVITY A RIGHT, OKAY.
OR IS IT A LUXURY? AND, AND, AND IF WE THINK IT'S A, A, RIGHT, AND IT'S FUNDAMENTAL, UH, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T APPLY FOR BENEFITS, YOU CAN'T GET MEDICAL ATTENTION, YOU CAN'T SUBMIT YOUR DOCUMENTS FOR ANY KIND OF SUPPORT PROGRAM, UH, YOU CAN'T LEARN OR BE TRAINED, UH, IF YOU DON'T HAVE HIGH SPEED INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.
AND NOW WITH, UH, AI ENTERING INTO THE, UH, EQUATION, YOU CAN'T EVEN PARTICIPATE IN THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES THAT AI IS GONNA PRESENT IN THE FUTURE.
SO THIS IS LIKE A CALL TO ACTION.
I MEAN, THIS IS LIKE AN URGENT PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS.
AND THEN IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION.
SOME OF THE COMMISSIONERS KNOW AS WELL THAT THERE ARE BUSINESSES THAT ARE ATTEMPTING TO MOVE IN AREAS OF LONG BEACH THAT ARE CHALLENGED, THAT CAN'T GET ANY INTER CONNECTIVITY.
AND THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT WE'VE KNOWN ABOUT FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND THE ISPS, GOD LOVE THEM, UH, HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIMES TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE.
AND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE FREE WIFI FOR A, FOR A YEAR ARE GREAT, BUT A YEAR ISN'T GOING TO SOLVE ANY PROBLEMS, UH, LONG TERM.
SO I THINK, UH, WHAT ESTEVAN AND OTHERS ARE SAYING, AND I THINK YOUR COMMISSION HOPEFULLY WILL AGREE THAT WE NEED TO REALLY, THE, THE BOX IS CERTAINLY DUCT TAPED TOGETHER.
LIKE YOU CAN THINK OUTTA THE BOX IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A BOX.
WE HAVE A DUCT TAPED SOMETHING THAT USED TO BE A BOX.
AND SO WHAT IS DIFFERENT, AND SOME THINGS, AS COMMISSION TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST, IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE MUNICIPAL BROADBAND TO ADDRESS THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE HAVING THESE CHALLENGES.
AND THE THOUGHT PROCESS IN THE PAST WAS THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO TO, UH, DO MUNICIPAL BROADBAND.
IT WAS GONNA BE TOO EXPENSIVE AND TOO MUCH A LOAD ON THE CITY.
I THINK WITH THE INITIATIVES THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS PUT, UH, ON THE TABLE AND SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT IS, I THINK WE NEED TO GO LOOK BACK AT THAT AS A POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY.
THERE ARE MODELS AROUND THIS COUNTRY, INCLUDING IN CALIFORNIA, WHERE MUNICIPAL BROADBAND IS THERE.
IF WE WOULD'VE SOLVED THIS PROBLEM WITH THE EXISTING SOLUTIONS, WE WOULDN'T BE TALKING ABOUT IT STILL.
SO I HOPE THAT THE COMMISSION AS WE GO FORWARD, UH, CONTINUES TO GIVE THIS ISSUE MORE LIGHT BECAUSE WE CAN'T HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THOSE AREAS.
IF THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE TIPPING TO GO IN THOSE AREAS, ESPECIALLY HIGH TECH COMPANIES, CAN'T GET THEIR COM THEIR, THEIR BUSINESSES CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET WITHOUT CLUING TOGETHER SOME, YOU KNOW, STRANGE WAY OF HOPPING INTERNET CONNECTED TO PART OF THE CITY THAT DOES HAVE INTERNET.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S A REAL PROBLEM.
AND IF WE'RE GONNA LEAD, THEN I THINK WE NEED TO START THE AS CITIES TO LONG BEACH AS, AS WE DO OTHER CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY EXECUTE THIS IS, I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LONG BEACH TO REALLY SHINE ON TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO SOLVE THIS, THIS PROBLEM.
ONE SIDE NOTE, SORRY FOR MAYBE PREACHING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS, BUT, UH, THERE IS OTHER WAYS OF GETTING INTERNET CONNECTIVITY TO PEOPLE'S HOMES.
SUSAN CALIFORNIA EDISON, AS YOU ALL KNOW, YOU ALL HAVE ELECTRIC, UH, BILLS.
THERE'S NO LONGER A PERSON CRUISING AROUND YOUR BACKYARD.
EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAVE IS CONNECTED BY FIBER TO YOUR HOUSE, AND THAT'S HOW THEY READ YOUR, YOUR METERS.
UH, THAT IS A RELATIONSHIP THAT MAY, UH, BE IN ADDITION TO, UH, OR A PARTNERSHIP THAT THE CITY MIGHT BE ABLE TO EXECUTE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO USE THAT BANDWIDTH OTHER THAN THE LITTLE BIT OF BANDWIDTH THEY NEED TO READ OUR METERS.
[00:35:01]
THERE'S LOTS OF WAYS TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF SMART PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM IN THE CITY THAT CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK.
OTHER COMMISSIONER COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER NOVIN, THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT.
I JUST, I GUESS I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS AND THEN MAYBE A COUPLE, UM, THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR A FUTURE MEETING.
UM, A FEW SESSIONS AGO, WE HAD A CAPSTONE PROJECT PRESENT ON SOME BUSINESS CHALLENGES IN THE CITY.
I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A GREAT REPORT, UM, FOR AN EAGER CAL STATE LONG BEACH GRADUATE STUDENT TO TALK ABOUT MAYBE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NOT HAVING THIS BE SOLVED.
IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S LEFT ON THE TABLE FOR THE CITY IF WE'RE NOT ACTIVATING OUR BUSINESSES, OUR STUDENTS, OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO I THINK THAT'D BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD REALLY STRENGTHEN THIS FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE AND FOR OUR COMMISSION TO THINK ABOUT GOING FORWARD.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD, UM, WAS AROUND THE FUNDING.
YOU TALKED ABOUT USING COVID FUNDS FOR THIS.
HAS THE, UH, DEPARTMENT THINK THOUGHT ABOUT OTHER FEDERAL GRANTS, UH, SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT? I KNOW THERE WAS LIKE $65 BILLION TIED TO BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND I THINK EVERYBODY ALWAYS THINKS ABOUT THAT FROM LIKE RURAL COMMUNITIES, AND WE ALWAYS ASSUME THE CITIES ARE WELL CONNECTED.
I'M WONDERING IF WE'RE ELIGIBLE FOR THOSE THINGS BASED ON OUR CHALLENGES AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO TO KEEP THE GOOD WORK YOU HAVE GOING ON.
AND THEN KIND OF A, A BOLT ONTO THAT IS, IS THERE A WAY TO PRIORITIZE LIKE L-B-U-S-D STUDENTS AS WE'RE STARTING TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO ROLL THIS OUT? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT AS WELL THAT WE CAN MAYBE PLUG INTO AS WELL? UM, SO SOME OPEN QUESTIONS, THINGS TO CONSIDER? YEAH, I CAN RESPOND TO THAT.
UM, SO THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW HAS, UH, TWO ACTS THAT PERTAIN TO US.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE BROADBAND EQUITY AND ACCESS AND DEPLOYMENT, THE OR BEAD, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY ABOUT BROADBAND ACCESS.
AND TO YOUR POINT, IT IS MORE ABOUT RURAL DEPLOYMENT.
SO WE'RE STILL UNDERSTANDING WHETHER WE WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR ANY OF THOSE FUNDS.
IT DOES NOT SEEM LIKELY BECAUSE LONG BEACH IS A BUILT OUT AREA.
WE ARE NOT RURAL BY ANY MEANS.
BUT THE OTHER COMPONENT OF THAT IS THE DIGITAL EQUITY ACT, UM, WHICH WE DID, UH, TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT DURING OUR PRESENTATION, BUT, UH, JUST TO KIND OF MAYBE UNDERLINE THE, THAT WE DO EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO APPLY AND HAVE APPLIED FOR THE DIGITAL EQUITY ACT FUNDING IN TWO WAYS.
ONE OF THEM IS, UH, APPLYING TO A FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY.
AND THE SECOND ONE IS THROUGH THE STATE'S ALLOCATION OF THAT MONEY.
UM, AND WE ARE THAT THAT FUNDING, UM, HASN'T BECOME AVAILABLE YET, BUT IT WILL BECOME AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER.
AND WHEN IT DOES, WE WILL APPLY FOR THAT FUNDING.
AND JUST TO PITCH IN HERE ON THE KIND OF THE CHAMPIONS PIECE THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING WITH THE, WITH THE BLUEPRINT, YOU KNOW, THIS WOULD BE A GREAT WAY TO KIND OF FOLD IN FROM THE COMMISSION TO COME IN AND START HELPING US, YOU KNOW, STAFF AND, AND THE FOCUS AREAS, UM, TO WORK TOGETHER, UH, ON THESE PIECES.
UM, WELL, WALTER, GOOD JOB FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
AND, AND I WILL BE TAKING SOME OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY OVER AS COMMISSIONER BEING A CHAMPION FOR THIS WONDERFUL PROGRAM.
UM, AND MY COLLEAGUE, A FELLOW COMMISSIONER HERE AS WELL.
AND, UM, REALLY I'M JUST EAGER TO LEARN MORE TO BE, BE MORE EDUCATED.
I KNOW WALTER IS A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND I, I HOPE THAT I'M, I'M HELPFUL IN THAT WAY AS WELL.
UM, NO QUESTIONS HERE, BUT I'M JUST EAGER TO LEARN ABOUT THE CONNECTIVITY AND THE PARTNERSHIPS THE SURROUNDING CITIES TOO, BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF SUR, YOU KNOW, UH, HOMES AND RESIDENTS THAT BORDER CITIES MAYBE DON'T GET A LOT OF, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THAT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS THAT ARE CENTRALLY LOCATED TO THE CITY TO, UH, DO.
UM, AND SO I'M EAGER TO LOOK AT THAT AND ALSO AROUND THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS AND SUPPORT AROUND FINANCING AND FUNDING AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, GRANTS ARE FANTASTIC, BUT WITHOUT PARTNERSHIPS, SO YOU, YOU DON'T REALLY GET TO ACCESS THAT.
SO, UH, LOOKING TO, UM, EAGER TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT OTHER OPTIONS OR OPPORTUNITIES MAY BE AVAILABLE TO YOU AND WHAT ELSE WE CAN ALSO, UM, UM, BRING TO THE TABLE, UM, TO HELP AND SUPPORT THAT AS WELL.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER TOYER.
YEAH, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR, FOR THE REPORT.
I, I THINK MY QUESTION JUST LARGELY CENTERS AROUND THE, THE FUNDING ASPECT, UM, AND THE, UH, THE IDEA, FORGIVE ME, MY KNOWLEDGE AROUND THIS IS VERY LIMITED.
SO, UH, THE IDEA AROUND MUNICIPAL BROADBAND IS NEW TO ME.
AND MY QUESTION IS REALLY IS, IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, SOME TYPE OF, UH, UM, TAX CREDIT FINANCING TOOL TO HELP SUPPORT THE INFRASTRUCTURE? SO LIKE, ENHANCE INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING DISTRICTS THAT THE STATE APPROVED SOME TIME AGO.
UM, THIS SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE AN INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED PROJECT.
[00:40:01]
THIS COULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN THREE KEY ZONES THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, TO HELP SUPPORT THIS OR OTHER PROJECTS.AND SO IS THAT A TOOL THAT THE CITY IS LOOKING AT? UM, IF IT IS LOOKING AT A MUNICIPAL, UH, BROADBAND APPROACH, I REALLY, UH, APPRECIATE ALL OF THOSE IDEAS.
UM, BECAUSE THE DIGITAL EQUITY ACT IS LITERALLY COMING OUT, LIKE RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK.
WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSING OUR EFFORTS ON THOSE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES KNOWING THAT REALLY THAT'S GONNA BE ONCE IN A LIFETIME.
UM, IT'S REALLY THAT, THAT MONEY IS REALLY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S EFFORT TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
UH, KNOWING THAT IT MAY NOT CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, I WOULD LOVE TO LOOK AT TAX INCREMENT FINANCING AND REALLY THINK ABOUT WHETHER WE COULD ACTIVATE ZONES, UM, AND REALLY LOOK INTO THAT.
SO I, I THINK THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS YES, WE ARE GOING TO DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THAT AND WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER WITH THIS COMMISSION OR WITH YOU TO RESEARCH THAT.
COMMISSIONER WON, AND THEN COMMISSIONER SMITH.
UM, TO EXPAND ON THAT, I REMEMBER A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE HAD SEVERAL EXPERTS IN THAT WERE DISCUSSING, UH, PUTTING, YOU KNOW, ALTERNATIVES TO HELPING ON THE FUNDING.
I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T REMEMBER WHO'S THE PERSON WHO BROUGHT THEM IN, BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD REVISIT THAT A LITTLE BIT AS WELL.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REPORT.
I JUST HAVE A QUESTION, UM, IN ONE OF YOUR STRATEGIES.
UM, NUMBER THREE, UM, YOU SPOKE ABOUT EXPANDING THE TRAINING PROGRAMS. AND SO IS THERE, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO SHARE SOME EXAMPLES OF WHERE YOU HAD THE TRAINING PROGRAMS? WERE THEY WITHIN THEIR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTERS OR WITH FUTURE LB OR WITH WORKFORCE PARTNERS? WHERE DID THOSE, UH, TAKE PLACE? SURE.
SO DURING THE LONG BEACH RECOVERY ACT, WE DID LAUNCH A DIGITAL CONFIDENCE PROGRAM, UH, WHERE WE PARTNERED WITH CENTRO CHA.
UM, THIS WAS IN COORDINATION WITH OUR FREE LAPTOP AND HOTSPOT GIVEAWAYS TO ELIGIBLE COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO ESSENTIALLY THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH CENTRO CHA WAS MAKING SURE THAT OUR RESIDENTS WHO WERE RECEIVING THESE UH, DEVICES KNEW HOW TO USE THEM.
AND WE KNOW THAT WITH DIGITAL SKILLS, WE REALLY, REALLY HAVE TO START AT THE BEGINNING.
SO IT'S REALLY ABOUT TEACHING FOLKS HOW TO PLUG IN THEIR DEVICE, HOW TO TURN ON THEIR DEVICE, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY THE BASICS.
UH, SO THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PROGRAM THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE EXPANDED UPON AND THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO APPLY TO GRANTS TO, TO GET PROGRAMS LIKE THAT, UM, DIGITAL SKILLS AT THE VERY BEGINNING FOR, UH, OLDER ADULTS AND FOR, UH, RESIDENTS WHOSE FIRST LANGUAGE MAY NOT BE ENGLISH.
I JUST WANNA THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR REPORT.
I JUST HAVE A QUESTION ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN.
TO THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET, HOW ARE THEY GONNA SEE THOSE POSTS AND HASHTAGS? THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING THAT.
UM, SO, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK, WHICH RAUL TALKED ABOUT, IS REALLY OUR ABILITY TO PROMOTE THE ISSUE OF DIGITAL INCLUSION AND DIGITAL EQUITY.
SO WHO WE'RE TRYING TO REACH IS NOT NECESSARILY THE FOLKS WHO ARE IN THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, BUT MAYBE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE DOING THIS WORK BUT DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THEY ARE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THERE ARE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, OFFER IMMIGRATION SUPPORT.
AND BECAUSE THEY ARE TRUSTED PARTNERS, FOLKS COME IN AND SAY, HEY, MY PHONE IS STUCK, OR, HEY, I NEED, UH, HELP RESPONDING TO AN EMAIL.
UM, AND SO WE REALLY ARE TARGETING THOSE TYPES OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
WE WANT THEM TO KNOW ABOUT THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
WE WANT THEM TO KNOW ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY AND DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UM, AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT THAT CAMPAIGN IS FOR, FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE, FOR THE RESIDENTS WHO ARE ACTUALLY IN THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
WE CONTINUE TO HAVE OUR LIBRARY, UH, COMPUTER LABS, OUR TECH TO GO PROGRAM AND OTHER KINDS OF RESOURCES.
I APPRECIATE THE, UM, EDUCATION.
UH, MY CURVE IS TRYING TO CATCH UP, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, I SHARE MR. LARKIN'S CONCERN AND DISAPPOINTMENT WITH THE ISP COMMUNITY AS WELL.
THAT'S BEEN VERY DISAPPOINTING.
AND I WONDER WHY THE MUNICIPAL, UM, PROCESSES NOT MOVING ALONG FASTER, INCLUDING STUDIES, UM, TO GET US WHERE WE NEED TO GO WHEN WE HAVE THE FUNDING TO GO THERE.
UM, IN THE 19 HUNDREDS CITIES TOOK BACK WATER RIGHTS
[00:45:01]
AND CREATED THEIR OWN WATER DEPARTMENTS BECAUSE THEY REALIZED WATER WAS IMPORTANT TO THE CITIZENS, THE SAFETY, THE AVAILABILITY, CONTINUITY AND, UM, PRICE SHARING, UM, BUYING WATER FROM MWD ESPECIALLY.SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR LONG BEACH.
WE ALWAYS LEAD WITH OUR CHINS IN THESE KIND OF MATTERS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND THIS IS JUST FALLING PITIFULLY AND EMBARRASSING FOR A CITY OF OUR SIZE AND MOMENTUM THAT WE'VE HAD IN OTHER AREAS OF, UH, SHOWING SOME REAL LEADERSHIP AND GROWTH.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THERE WITH THE MUNICIPAL.
UH, I THINK THAT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THERE'S SHOULD BE A ROLE IN THE ISPS PROVIDING SOME ASSISTANCE THAT DIRECTION.
THEY WANNA BE IN THE CITY, AND I, I KNOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALREADY PAYING CITY FEES, TAXES, I'M SURE, BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
WE DON'T WANT, WE DON'T WANNA INDIRECTLY IMPACT THE CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES THAT REQUIRE THE SERVICES, BUT WE NEED TO GET THEIR ATTENTION.
'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT VOLUNTEERING.
ALSO, CAN YOU JUST EDUCATE ME ON THE NETWORK, THE FIBER NETWORK, UM, WALTER MENTIONED ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICAL LINES, EXISTING TELEPHONE LINES, EXISTING CABLE, UM, IT'S ALREADY PLUMBED INTO BUILDINGS AND OR AVAILABLE AND DISTRICTS AND AREAS.
IS THE NEW FIBER NETWORKS, ARE THEY GONNA BE ABOVE GROUND OR ARE THEY GONNA BE WIRE? UH, THEY'RE GONNA BE, HOW'S THAT NETWORK WORK, I GUESS? YEAH, SO THIS, UH, WHAT WE ARE PLANNING FOR OUR FIBER NETWORK DOES REQUIRE DIGGING UNDERGROUND.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE A DIG ONES POLICY WITH OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
UH, THERE IS A LOT OF WORK IN ENSURING THAT WE GET PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS THAT WE'RE MESSAGING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE IMPACTED BY US DOING CONSTRUCTION.
BUT TO VERY BRIEFLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YES, WE WILL BE DIGGING UNDERGROUND AND, AND THAT IS COSTLY AND IT IS, UH, DISRUPTIVE TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO WE HAVE TO BE REALLY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE DO THAT.
IS THAT A NATIONAL MODEL TO GO UNDERGROUND? BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT MOST CITIES ARE TRYING TO GO EVERYTHING ABOVE GROUND 'CAUSE IT'S EASIER TO MAINTAIN AND ACCESS WITHOUT DIGGING UP PREVIOUSLY ASPHALTED STREETS, UM, THAT SORT OF THING THAT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT.
UM, BUT I CAN LOOK INTO THAT FOR YOU.
AND I WOULD HOPE THAT THERE WOULD BE INTERNAL CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND THEIR PLANS FOR PAVING, AND THAT'S THE TIME TO INSTALL THE NETWORK, IF THAT'S THE AREA WHICH THEY, UH, ARE WORKING IN.
YES, WE HAVE A DIG ONES POLICY WITH OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS OUR UTILITIES DEPARTMENT, SO THAT WE ARE COORDINATING ON THAT.
AND MY LAST QUESTION, I PROMISE, AS COMMUNITIES BUILD OUT, AND WE'RE PRETTY MUCH A BUILT OUT CITY, BUT AS PARTS OF OUR CITY GET BUILT OUT, WHETHER IT BE, UM, FOR BUSINESS OR FOR RESIDENTIAL, IS THERE AN ABILITY TO, TO PRE PLUM A FIBER NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT WHEN THE COMMUNITY'S BUILT OUT THE BUILD IS THERE ALREADY VIS-A-VIS BEST PRACTICES OR STANDARDS WE KNOW AT THE TIME THAT I WILL ALSO NEED TO GET BACK TO YOU ON.
I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
EVERYBODY ASKED ALL THE QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT ON YOUR STRATEGY NUMBER THREE OR FOUR FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION, ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATIONS, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR COMMISSION BEING ABLE TO DO ADVOCACY, IS I WANTED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE DATA THAT YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY PRESENTED OR IF YOU ARE THINKING OF PRESENTING IN THE FUTURE THAT IS SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO WHAT COMMISSIONER LARKINS TALKED ABOUT AS COMPARISONS OF SIMILAR SIZE CITIES AROUND THE UNITED STATES, UM, AND SOME OF THE BENCHMARK METRICS THAT WE LOOK AT.
'CAUSE YOU GAVE US SOME COMPARISONS OF HOW LONG BEACH HAS PROGRESSED IN CERTAIN AREAS, BUT HOW DO WE COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES? IS THERE A FORUM OR, UM, COMING UP OR IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, UM, ASK TO GET ADDITIONAL DATA ON? THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
UM, YES, I I WOULD ALSO LOVE TO, UH, BE ABLE TO GET THAT DATA.
UM, WE DO USE THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, UM, TO DO THE ANALYSIS THAT RAUL JUST SHOWED TO YOU.
UM, SO WE COULD CERTAINLY TAKE A LOOK AND MAYBE TALK TO SOME OF OUR PARTNER CITIES AND ASK THEM FOR THAT AND THEN GET BACK TO YOU ALL WITH THAT.
AND I MAY COVER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT SOME OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS ARE ASKED, HAVE ASKED YOU.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE FINAL QUESTION I HAD WAS ABOUT THE AFFORDABILITY CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM IS, CAN YOU, UM, CAN YOU SHARE, ARE YOU ABLE TO SHARE LIKE WHAT KIND OF FUNDING YOU'RE LOOKING AT AND HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS OR INDIVIDUALS IS THIS IMPACT? IF THIS GOES
[00:50:01]
AWAY, IT'S ALREADY GONE.SO, SO UNFORTUNATELY THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM DID WIND DOWN IN MAY OF THIS YEAR.
UM, WE HAVE DATA THAT SHOWS THAT 60% OF LONG BEACH HOUSEHOLDS WERE ON THE PROGRAM, WERE RECEIVING THAT $30, UH, CREDIT TO THEIR INTERNET BILL.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE DATA YET OF HOW THAT HAS IMPACTED OR EXACERBATED THE DIGITAL DIVIDE HERE IN, IN LONG BEACH, BUT IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT IT HAS NOT.
SO WE ARE ADVOCATING TO REINSTATE THAT PROGRAM.
WANNA THANK YOU STEPHANIA AND RAUL, UM, AND YOUR TEAM FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
AND ALSO CHAIR OR COMMISSIONER LARKINS, OUR PAST CHAIR
UM, AND WE'LL ALWAYS BE OUR CONNECTOR.
I THINK WE NEED ARO ROLL CALL FOR THE VOTE TO RECEIVE AND FILE BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD.
IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? OH, UM, EXCUSE ME, SORRY.
HOW ABOUT ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? OKAY, UM, SEEING AND HEARING NO PUBLIC COMMENTS THEN, UM, CAN WE GET A ROLL CALL FOR THE VOTE? MOTION CARRIES.
NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE THIRD RECOMMENDATION, UM, IF WE CAN HAVE THAT READ OUT.
[3. 24-55059 Recommendation to receive and file an update on the Revolving Loan Fund and Grow America Fund. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
THREE IS RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE AN UPDATE ON THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND AND GROW AMERICA FUND.CAN I HAVE A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SMITH AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER NOVIN.
UH, HOW ABOUT THE, UM, PRESENTATION? 2 MILLION.
SO AS FOR ITEM THREE, WE HAVE PRESENTER, UM, SORRY, PROBABLY JUST IS, YEAH, ITEM THREE.
WE HAVE CARLA AND GANO, WHO'S PART OF OUR COMM DEVELOPMENT TEAM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND BUREAU.
AND SHE IS OUR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGER.
SO SHE OVERSEES OUR VARIOUS LOAN PROGRAMS AND WORKED WITH GROW AMERICA AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HANDLE OUR PORTFOLIO.
UM, AND THEN, UH, ALSO OUR REVOLVING LOAN, UH, FUND, UM, AS WELL AS I MENTIONED EARLIER.
SO I'LL NOW PASS IT ON TO CARLA, UH, TOLEDO SEAL REPRESENTATION.
THANK YOU JULIAN, AND THANK YOU C COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING US TODAY, TEAM AND I.
UM, AND I'D LIKE TO FIRST START OFF BY THANKING, UM, THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION THAT MAKE UP OUR REVOLVING LOAN FUND COMMITTEE.
UM, COMMISSIONER LARKINS, COMMISSIONER COHEN, AND COMMISSIONER MATOYA.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK WITH THE REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM.
UM, BEFORE I GET D DEEP INTO THE, UH, PRESENTATION, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE DIFFERENT LOAN PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE.
SO SINCE SINCE 2000 THOUSAND AND ONE, THE CITY HAS USED THE US ECONOMIC DEVELOP DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION, EDA AND LOCAL MATCHING FUNDS TO FUND THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND RLF TO ASSIST LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES WITH EXPANDING THEIR BUSINESS IN CREATING OR RETAINING JOBS.
SO THERE ARE TWO MAIN, UH, LOANS THAT I'M GOING TO BE REFERRING TO IN THE PORTFOLIO.
IT'S THE MICROENTERPRISE LOAN AND THE, UH, EMERGENCY LOAN.
SO THE MICROENTERPRISE LOAN, UM, IS BETWEEN 25,000 UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
WE ACTUALLY GO TO 99,000 BECAUSE IF WE WERE TO GO UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND, THAT WOULD HAVE TO GO IN FRONT OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THAT WOULD ADD AN EXTRA STEP IN THE PROCESS.
THE INTEREST RATE THAT WE UTILIZE IS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL PRIME PLUS 1.5%, BUT AS OF LATE, WE'VE BEEN USING 75% OF PRIME.
SO THE LAST FEW LOANS THAT WE'VE DONE HAVE BEEN ABOUT 6.0, A LITTLE BIT OVER 6%.
WE DO HAVE A FEE THAT WE ASK, UH, THAT IS ACTUALLY TAKEN OFF OF THE TOP OF THE LOAN, AND THAT'S A 2% FEE.
AND, UH, THAT'S IF THE LOAN CLOSES AND THE TERMS OF THE LOANS FOR MICRO ENTERPRISE IS BETWEEN FIVE YEARS UP TO 10 YEARS.
AND THEY CAN UTILIZE THE LOAN, UH, PROCEEDS TOWARD ANY BUSINESS EXPENSE, PERSONNEL, RENT, SUPPLIES, MATERIALS, UTILITIES, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND MORE.
UH, THE ONLY THING THAT THEY CANNOT USE IT FOR IS
[00:55:01]
ANYTHING CONSTRUCTION RELATED.SO THAT'S THE MICRO ENTERPRISE LOAN.
WITH THAT, THEY MUST CREATE OR RETAIN AT LEAST ONE FULL-TIME JOB FOR EVERY $35,000 LOAN.
AND THERE IS A PERSONAL GUARANTEE REQUIRED FOR EACH LOAN.
AND THESE LOANS ARE FOR, FOR PROFIT BUSINESSES ONLY.
DURING THE PANDEMIC, UH, WE HAD INSTITUTED THE EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM AND WITH THE EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM, THAT WAS TO ASSIST BUSINESSES THAT WERE AFFECTED BY COVID-19 TO HELP THEM TO STAY IN BUSINESS.
SO THOSE LOANS WERE BETWEEN 20 510,000.
AND AGAIN, ALL OF THESE LOANS ARE FOR BUSINESSES THAT ARE OPERATE WITHIN THE, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
ALL OF THOSE, THE INTEREST RATE WERE 75% OF PRIME AT THAT POINT.
MOST OF THEM WERE LIKE 2%, 2.4% AT THAT TIME, THERE WEREN'T ANY FEES ASSOCIATED.
AND THERE, THE TERM OF THE LOAN WAS BETWEEN FIVE AND SEVEN YEARS.
AND WE INSTITUTED GRACE PERIOD.
SO WITH MOST OF OUR LOANS, THEY HAVE TO PAY THEM BACK WITHIN A MONTH OF RECEIVING THE LOAN.
BUT WITH THE EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM, THEY GOT 18 MONTHS THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE TO PAY THEM BACK.
AND SAME THING, THE, THE LOAN PROCEEDS COULD BE USED FOR THE SAME THINGS THAT I MENTIONED FOR THE MICRO ENTERPRISE LOAN.
SO NOW THAT I'VE GIVEN YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND ON THAT, UM, I'M GOING TO GO INTO THE, UM, THE PORTFOLIO AND THE UPDATE.
LET'S HOPE THAT THIS CLICKER WORKS FOR ME.
MAKE SURE, GIMME ONE MINUTE PLEASE.
SO CURRENTLY, SO WE JUST HAD THE MONTH IN.
SO WE, UM, WE JUST GOT AN UPDATE FOR OUR PORTFOLIO FOR SEPTEMBER 30TH.
SO SINCE TODAY IS OCTOBER, OCTOBER 2ND, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO UPDATE, UM, OUR PO PORTFOLIO TO THE END OF THE QUARTER.
SO OUR INFORMATION THAT WE ARE PROVIDING TODAY IS THROUGH AUGUST 31ST.
UH, WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY, WE HAVE ACTUALLY 124 ACTIVE LOANS THAT ARE ABOUT 3.7 MILLION.
UM, THE MICRO ENTERPRISE, WE HAVE 47 OF THOSE THAT ARE ABOUT 3 MILLION.
AND WE HAVE 77 EMERGENCY LOANS THAT ARE SIX, 765,000 FOR OUR OUTSTANDING BALANCE FOR OUR MICROENTERPRISE LOANS.
SO OF THE, UM, NUMBER THAT I MENTIONED, WE HAVE 1.8 MILLION THAT'S OUTSTANDING, MEANING THAT'S HOW MUCH THEY STILL OWE TO PAY BACK FOR THE EMERGENCY LOAN, WE HAVE 437,000 THAT'S OUTSTANDING.
SO WE HAVE A TOTAL LOAN THAT, THAT OUR OUTSTANDING FOR BOTH THE MICRO ENTERPRISE AND THE EMERGENCY LOAN OF 2.3 MILLION.
SO WE HAVE, FOR OUR LOAN PORTFOLIO IN GOOD STANDING MEANS THAT THEY ARE CURRENT ON THEIR LOAN DELINQUENT.
THEY ARE DE LATE ON THEIR LOAN BETWEEN 10 TO 90 DAYS DELINQUENT, 90 PLUS DAYS.
AND THEN WE HAD SOME LOANS, AS I MENTIONED, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN IN DEFERMENT.
AND THE TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT, THE TOTAL LOAN.
SO FOR MICRO ENTERPRISE, WE HAVE 29 LOANS THAT ARE IN GOOD STANDING AND THEIR TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT THAT WE LOANED OUT TO THEM IS 1.6.
AND FOR THE EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM, WE HAVE 43 LOANS THAT ARE IN GOOD STANDING FOR A TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT OF 430,000.
UH, FOR THE MICRO ENTERPRISE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY THAT ARE LATE.
UH, AND WE HAVE 13 FOR EMERGENCY LOANS THAT ARE LATE RANGING 130,000 FOR THOSE THAT ARE DELINQUENT MORE THAN 90 DAYS.
WE HAVE ABOUT 18 OF THOSE FOR OUR MICRO ENTERPRISE AT 1.3 MILLION.
AND FOR THE EMERGENCY LOAN, WE HAVE 18 THAT ARE AT 175,000 LOANED OUT.
AGAIN, THE MICROENTERPRISE LOANS DID NOT HAVE DEFERMENT AT ALL.
AND SO WITH OUR EMERGENCY, WE HAD THREE LOANS THAT ARE IN DEFERMENT CURRENTLY FOR 30,000.
SO THEY DON'T, THEY HAVE NOT HAD TO PAY ANYTHING BACK.
SO THAT'S OUR TOTAL LOAN OF 47 FOR MICRO ENTERPRISE AT 3.3 3,000,077 EMERGENCY LOANS AT 765,000.
SO THIS IS THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING.
SO FOR THE ONES THAT ARE IN GOOD STANDING, WE HAVE NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTY NINE HUNDRED SIXTY $8,000 THAT IS OUTSTANDING FOR THE MICRO ENTERPRISE LOAN.
AND THE FORTY THREE, A HUNDRED AND NINETY
[01:00:01]
8,000 THAT IS OUTSTANDING FOR THE EMERGENCY LOAN.UH, WE HAVE NO DELINQUENT, WE HAVE NO DELINQUENT 10 TO 90, 90 DAYS FOR OUR MICRO ENTERPRISE, BUT WE HAVE 13 LOANS FOR OUR EMERGENCY THAT WE HAVE A TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE OF 80,000 MORE THAN 90 DAYS.
FOR OUR MICRO ENTERPRISE, WE HAVE 18 AND THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING IS 909,000.
FOR THE EMERGENCY LOAN, WE HAVE 18 WITH THAT TOTAL, 128,000.
AGAIN, NO LOANS IN DEFERMENT FOR MICRO ENTERPRISE THAT WAS NOT OFFERED.
AND FOR THE EMERGENCY, WE HAVE THOSE THREE THAT ARE IN DEFERMENT.
SO TOTAL OUTSTANDING OF THE 47 FOR MICROENTERPRISE, 1.8 MILLION 77 IS 437,000.
AND THIS IS JUST THE PIE CHART SHOWING WHAT I JUST MENTIONED TO YOU.
SO LAST YEAR WE WERE, WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE CDBG FUNDING, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING, AND WE RECEIVED $651,104 AND 57 CENTS, AND WE HAD LITTLE OVER 10 MONTHS TO ISSUE ALL OF THOSE.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S LISTED IN FRONT OF YOU HERE.
UM, THE NAMES OF THE LOANS, THE COUNCIL DISTRICT THAT THEY'RE IN, THE INDUSTRY AND THE AMOUNT.
SO NOT ONLY DID WE ISSUE 651,000, WE ACTUALLY ISSUED 661,000.
UH, SO WE USED, UH, OUR RLF PROGRAM INCOME FOR THE BALANCE OF 9,800 TO FULFILL THE LAST LOAN THAT WE HAD.
SO OUR TEAM REALLY WORKED HARD TO ENSURE THAT WE NOT ONLY MET BUT EXCEEDED THE CDBG FUNDING.
WITH THAT, WE HAVE RETAINED 20 JOBS FOR THOSE NINE BUSINESSES.
SO WANTED TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAD, UH, AN UNDERSTANDING OF JOBS CREATED AND RETAINED.
PART OF OF OUR ADMIN PLAN, UH, FOR, FOR THE AMOUNT OF BUSINESSES THAT WE LOAN, UH, THESE LOANS OUT TO, FOR EVERY $35,000 WE LOAN OUT, WE ASK THAT THEY CREATE OR RETAIN ONE JOB.
SO FOR ALL THE LOANS WE HAVE FOR OUR PORTFOLIO OF 124 LOANS, WE HAVE CREATED OR RETAINED 612 JOBS.
UM, WITHIN THE TIMEFRAME THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, I HAVE BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR A NU A NUMBER OF YEARS, BUT I'VE ONLY BEEN WITH THE LOAN PROGRAM SINCE FEBRUARY OF 22.
CURRENTLY TO CURRENT, UH, WE HAVE 27 LOANS THAT WE'VE ISSUED AND WE'VE HELPED TO, UH, RETAIN OR CREATE 41 JOBS WITH THE CDBG LOANS THAT WE MENTIONED.
THE NINE AT 661,000, UH, WE'VE ISSUED, WE HAVE CREATED OR RETAINED 20 JOBS.
SO WITH OUR LOAN PORTFOLIO, WE REALLY TRY TO MANAGE IT WELL.
SO THE TEAM AND I REALLY TRY TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING UP WITH THE, THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE, UM, LATE DELINQUENT BEFORE WE MOVE THEM INTO DEFAULT.
UM, MY MOTTO IS I NEVER WANT TO HAVE ANY, UH, BUSINESS BE SUED BY THE CITY.
WE NEVER WANT TO, WE DO REFER SOME TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, BUT WHEN WE REFER THEM TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, IT'S REALLY TO HELP US IN USHERING THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS TO COME BACK TO GETTING THOSE LOANS PAID OFF.
SO WITH OUR EMERGENCY LOANS, WE WORK WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY FOR A RESTRUCTURING.
SO WE HAD MORE FLEXIBILITY WITH THE EMERGENCY LOANS WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO GIVE THEM, UH, AN OPTION.
WE GAVE THEM FOUR DIFFERENT OPTIONS SO THAT THEY CAN RESTRUCTURE THEIR LOAN AND HELP THEM IN PAYING THE LOAN OFF.
SO WITH THAT, WE GAVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, LOWER, THE FIRST ONE WAS TO LOWER THE MONTHLY PAYMENT.
THE SECOND ONE WAS INTEREST ONLY.
THE THIRD ONE WAS EXTENDING THE TERM.
AND THE FOURTH ONE WAS YOU COULD PAY 50 OR 70% OF YOUR LOAN.
AND THE OTHER, THE REMAINING PERCENTAGE, WE WOULD PAY IT OFF, WRITE IT OFF, AND YOU WOULD BE DONE WITH YOUR LOAN.
OF THE EMERGENCY LOANS THAT WERE POTENTIALLY DEFAULT THAT WE OFFER THIS TO.
UM, WE HAD NINE BUSINESSES THAT TOOK US UP ON THAT.
WE HAD A FEW THAT ACTUALLY PAID THE 50% AND WE WERE ABLE TO WRITE OFF THE REST.
[01:05:01]
REFER THE REMAINING SIX TO THE CITY ATTORNEY AGAIN, JUST TO HELP US WITH USHERING THEM THROUGH THE OTHER ONES THAT WERE POTENTIALLY EITHER BANKRUPT OR OUT OF BUSINESS.UH, SO THAT'S THOSE, UH, 15 BUSINESSES THERE.
FOR THE MICRO ENTERPRISE, THEY DID NOT HAVE ANY AN OPTION FOR THE, THE PAYMENT RESTRUCTURING, BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE ONES THAT ARE ON THE VERGE OF DEFAULT BY TRYING TO HELP WITH RE AMORTIZING THEIR LOANS.
UM, BUT WITH THE, UH, MICRO ENTERPRISE, WE HAD TO REFER 14 BUSINESSES OVER TO, UH, THE CITY ATTORNEY.
BUT AGAIN, NOT FOR SUIT, BUT TO HELP US WITH GETTING THEM TO LIKE LIGHTING THAT FIRE TO GET THEM TO, UH, TO BEGIN TO PAY, TO PAY BACK.
SO AS I MENTIONED, UM, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO, AND WE CALL IT THE ROAD TO GOOD STANDING RIGHT.
AGAIN, WE DON'T WANT, I LOVE, LOVE WORKING WITH AND HELPING PEOPLE.
I WAS WITH WORKFORCE FOR MANY YEARS AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DID.
TRANSITIONING OVER TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, WE LOVE MEETING WITH BUSINESSES AND TRYING TO GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP TO GROW THEIR BUSINESS.
WE KNOW THAT LOANS ARE NOT THE FIRST OPTION FOR THESE BUSINESSES.
IF A GRANT COMES, THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT.
THAT'S WHAT WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE.
SO WE NEVER FORCE ANYONE TO TAKE, TO TAKE ON A LOAN.
WE HAVE MET IN THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH OVER 175 BUSINESSES AND, YOU KNOW, ONLY A FEW REALLY BITE FOR THE LOAN, WHICH IS FINE.
SO IT, WE'VE DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE BY CALLING, MAKING NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS FOR BUSINESSES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, ARE NOT PAYING.
UM, WE DO EMAILS, WE DO LETTERS.
THEY'VE BEEN REALLY INTERESTING SITE VISITS.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE TO GET THEM BACK INTO PAYING ON TIME.
UM, SOMETIMES IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT FEASIBLE.
SOME OF THEM HAVE TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS A LOT, HAVE TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS, BUT GIVING THEM THE OPTION TO, TO GET BACK IN GOOD STANDING, WE WAIVE AS MANY LATE FEES AS WE CAN.
WE ALREADY KNOW THAT GETTING A LOAN IS HARD AND WE, THERE IS A 50 TO $50 LATE FEE BUILT INTO THEIR LOAN AGREEMENT.
UM, SO WE HAVE A LOAN FEE WAIVER THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO SUBMIT TO US FOR APPROVAL.
AND THERE ISN'T ANY THAT I WON'T APPROVE THAT JULIAN WON'T APPROVE.
WE JUST ENSURE THAT THEY GIVE US, YOU KNOW, THAT GOOD STORY AND WE, WE WAIVE IT OFF.
'CAUSE WE WANNA ENSURE THAT IF WE WAIVE THAT LATE FEE, THEN THEY'LL HAVE, YOU KNOW, A BETTER CHANCE OF PAYING THEIR LOAN PAYMENT.
AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, FOR THE PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR THE EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAMS, AS I STATED EARLIER, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION IF YOU GUYS, UH, SCAN THE QR CODE, A LOT OF THE INFORMATION THAT I MENTIONED IS THERE.
AND THAT IS, UM, THE FLYER THAT WE, UM, UM, ARE DISTRIBUTING TO, TO THOSE THAT MAY BE INTERESTED IN THE LOAN PROGRAM.
THIS HAS BEEN REALLY A WONDERFUL PROGRAM TO PARTICIPATE, BUT IT, AGAIN, I, I CAN'T DO THIS ALONE.
AND I'D LIKE TO LOOK IN THE AUDIENCE AND HAVE THE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM THAT ASSIST ME PLEASE STAND UP.
UM, THAT'S COLTON, CONNOR AND PAULINA TOUCH AND BEKO.
AND WITHOUT THEM I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO THIS S LOAN PROGRAM.
AND THEY, THAT IS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M MORE THAN WILLING TO ANSWER.
IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE TO UPDATE US ON THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND, AND THANK YOU TO YOUR TEAM FOR BEING HERE TOO AND ALL THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
SO I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSIONERS NOW FOR QUESTIONS, UM, ON THE PRESENTATION.
SO, UM, I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT, UH, THIS PROGRAM IS, UH, IS FOR ME, HAS BEEN INSPIRING.
UH, YOU KNOW, BEING A BUSINESS, UH, PERSON, MYSELF AND THERE OTHER BUSINESS PEOPLE ON THIS, UH, COMMISSION AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO APPLY FOR A LOAN AND GET REJECTED BY A TRADITIONAL BANK.
IT'S ALMOST, YOU'RE GOING TO GET REJECTED.
IN FACT, YOU HAVE TO QUALIFY BY BEING REJECTED BY A BANK.
THAT'S HOW YOU QUALIFY FOR EVEN BEING
[01:10:01]
IN THE PROGRAM IN THE FIRST PLACE, WHICH ISN'T TOO HIGH A BAR TO, UH, TO ACHIEVE FOR MOST BUSINESSES.SO TO HAVE THIS AS PART OF THE CITY, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA BE TURNING OFF, SO HOPEFULLY THERE'S A COUPLE OF COMMISSIONS COMMISSIONERS HERE THAT WILL TAKE MY PLACE.
AND ALSO BLAIR'S PLACE ON IT IS ONE OF THE MORE REWARDING EXPERIENCES YOU GET, WHERE YOU REALLY ARE ABLE TO KNOW HOW YOU FEEL AND YOU FEEL TO HELP THE BUSINESS, UH, MAKE IT.
AND WHEN THINGS ARE REALLY BAD.
DURING COVI, UH, IT WAS REALLY A LIFELINE TO, UH, KEEP THOSE COMPANIES IN BUSINESS UNTIL THINGS WERE ABLE TO TURN AROUND.
AND YES, THERE WERE SCENARIOS WHERE, UH, COMPANIES, UH, YOU KNOW, FAILED, THE BUSINESSES FAILED.
IT WAS A, A STRUGGLE FOR EVERYONE DURING THAT TIME.
AND THE RESIDUAL EFFECT IS STILL BEING FELT, ESPECIALLY BY, UH, BUSINESSES THAT ARE SUFFERING NOW FROM A, UH, SITUATION WHERE THERE'S COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE VACANCIES.
SO, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM.
I I ENJOYED WORKING WITH IT SINCE THE BEGINNING AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO, AND YOU'VE DONE SOME REALLY FANTASTIC WORK KEEPING THE PROGRAM ALIVE, DESPITE ALL THE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES.
JULIAN KNOW HOW YOU DID IT, BUT YOU GUYS REALLY
AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE GOOD NEWS FROM YOUR, YOUR TEAM.
COMMISSIONER MATOYA, AND THEN COMMISSIONER DUO.
YEAH, SO, UH, I, I JUST WANT TO ECHO COMMISSIONER LARKINS COMMENTS AND JUST SAY KUDOS TO THE ENTIRE TEAM.
UM, THE, SINCE BEING ON THE REVOLVING LOAN COMMITTEE, THE ONE THING I'VE NOTICED, UM, GREATLY IS THAT THE TEAM IS CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE IN ITS APPROACH.
THE FACT THAT, UH, YOU BROUGHT THIS CONCEPT OF AN EMERGENCY LOAN DURING THE PANDEMIC, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THE KIVA LOAD PROGRAM HAD GONE AWAY OR WEREN'T REALLY BEING ACTIVATED, AND PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR THESE MICRO LOANS JUST TO KEEP THEM AFLOAT DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME.
AND YOUR FLEXIBILITY IN THE REPAYMENT PLAN WAS CRITICAL.
AND THEN AS COMMISSIONER LARKINS HAD MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST YEAR, YOU'VE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE LOAN PROGRAM.
IT HAD KIND OF DIED OFF A LITTLE BIT, OR AT LEAST IT WASN'T AS ACTIVE AS IT ONCE WAS.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE REPORTING HOW WELL YOU'VE GOTTEN, HOW WELL YOU'VE GONE OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE OPPORTUNITY AND FOR THEM TO UTILIZE IT.
UM, SO IT'S INCREDIBLE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, THE, THE ONE COMMENT THAT I DID WANNA BRING UP, AND IT'S BEEN A CONVERSATION THAT WE DID HAVE IN THE LAST REVOLVING LOAN COMMITTEE, IS AROUND KIND OF, UH, THE INTENT OF THE LOAN.
UM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE RETENTION OF JOBS AND THE JOBS THAT ARE CREATED.
UM, BUT AS WE BEGIN TO REALLY KIND OF MOVE IN THIS LIKE REMOTE DIGITAL AGE, UM, IS IT, UH, NECESSARY FOR THE BUSINESS TO EITHER EMPLOY, EMPLOY PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE CITY THAT MAY BE REMOTE REMOTELY, BUT THE BUSINESS IS LOCATED IN THE CITY.
IF THE BUSINESS IS A HOME-BASED BUSINESS VERSUS A BRICK AND MORTAR.
I THINK THESE WERE KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT WE WERE DELVING INTO AT THE LAST REVOLVING LOAN COMMITTEE.
UM, AND AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW THESE FUNDS ARE USED, LIKE WHAT IS THE INTENT BEHIND IT? IS IT TO HAVE US DIRECT BUSINESSES INTO VACANT STOREFRONTS? AND BY GIVING THESE LOANS, IS IT BY HELPING TO CREATE MORE JOBS WITHIN THE CITY ITSELF OR TO CREATE JOBS FOR RESIDENTS OF THE CITY? UM, SO IT IS JUST SOMETHING TO, TO THINK ABOUT AND TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION ON, BUT GREAT JOB IN TERMS OF GETTING THOSE FUNDS OUT AND SUPPORTING THE BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SORRY, YOU'RE LIKE BEHIND ME, BUT I JUST WANT TO GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO CARLA.
I'VE SEEN HER AWESOME WORK AND I RARELY SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT THE CITY.
USUALLY I'M LIKE, WE NEED TO BE BETTER.
BUT CARLY IS ONE OF THE, RIGHT, EXACTLY.
SO I JUST WANT TO GIVE CARLA HUGE SHOUT OUT.
'CAUSE ALL THE, I I'VE SEEN HER DO ALL THE HARD WORK AND I'M REALLY GLAD THAT WE HAVEN'T LOST THIS TOWN.
OUR CITY'S VERY LUCKY TO HAVE HER.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING I JUST WANT TO GIVE OUT A SHOUT OUT TO YOUR TEAM ON IS THE JOBS, YOU KNOW, RETAINED, THAT'S WORKING FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, THAT TO ME THAT'S BIG.
KEEPING PEOPLE EMPLOYED, THAT'S SO WE COULD PAY OUR BILLS TO KEEP A ROOF OVER OUR HEAD.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I SEE IN THIS.
UM, SO I JUST, UH, I WISH YOU THE BEST, CARLA.
COMMISSIONER SANDOVAL, GREAT PRESENTATION, UH, TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM.
UM, I DID HAVE A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UM, MAYBE NOT TO DEEP, TO DO TOO MUCH OF A DEEP DIVE, BUT YOU, I IMAGINE, AND I'M, AND I'M LEARNING, AND THIS IS, UH, UH, VERY NEW TO ME, BUT I IMAGINE YOU'RE GETTING, UM, YOU ORIGINALLY GOT THE CAPITAL FROM A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT SOURCES, OR WAS IT STRICTLY LIKE S-S-B-C-I OR EDA? UM, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW THAT, UH, AND, AND HOW YOU CAN LEVERAGE THOSE PROGRAMS AND HOW THEY PARTNER WITH NEW PROGRAMS THAT ARE CURRENTLY OUT, LIKE SBA SEVEN.
I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, ANYONE FROM YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN LOOKING IN.
SO I HEAR, SEE SOME NODDING OVER THERE.
UM, AND ALSO CRA COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT.
UM, THERE'S, I CAN SEE POTENTIAL COLLABORATIONS WITH BANKS TO DEPLOY FUNDING INTO THESE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY ABSOLUTELY NEED TO GET OUT.
[01:15:01]
OTHER WAY IT GETS, IT GETS CLAWED BACK AND THEY'D RATHER HAVE IT OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAN THAN THAT GET IT BACK.UM, SO THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE TO EXPLORE OTHER, UH, UH, OTHER, UH, FUNDING SOURCES THAT CAN GET STACKED OR POTENTIALLY, UM, MAKE UP SOME OF THE DIFFERENCE OR A GAP THAT MAYBE, UM, YOUR TEAM CAN'T, CAN'T DO.
UM, AND ALL ALL OF THIS IS TO REALLY STRENGTHEN THE POSITION OF THE BORROWER TOO, THAT CAN, UM, POSITION THEM TO BORROW MORE IN THE FUTURE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE THAT ARE DOING A GOOD JOB.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO KIND OF MENTION THAT.
WE, LAST YEAR WE, UH, SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION WITH THE ED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION FOR A GRANT.
UH, WE WERE, UH, AWARD, WE WILL BE AWARDED THE GRANT FOR $750,000 BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, AND WE WILL BE PUTTING IT INTO OUR LOAN PROGRAM.
UH, THE REVOLVING NATURE OF THE PROGRAM IS SUCH THAT AS WE LOAN MONEY OUT TO THESE BUSINESSES AND THEY PAY US BACK, THAT MONEY BECOMES PROGRAM INCOME.
AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE ABLE TO THEN LOAN IT OUT TO OTHER BUSINESSES.
SO I ALWAYS TELL THE BUSINESSES, THE CITY DOES NOT MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THIS.
IT GOES RIGHT BACK INTO THE LOAN FUND TO LOAN OUT.
BUT, UH, THAT IS ONE THING THAT, UH, JULIE AND I ARE LOOKING AT.
WE ARE CON WE'RE GONNA CONNECT UP WITH, UH, OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES UNDER THE, UH, BANKING INSTITUTIONS.
FIND OUT WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER AND SEE HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH THEM.
COMMISSIONER COHEN? YEAH, JUST BRIEFLY, CARLA, I THINK THE BEST PART OF THIS HAS ACTUALLY BEEN THE MEETINGS THEMSELVES AND THE RICH DISCUSSION AND, UH, ASKING THE QUESTIONS AND THE DEVIL'S ADVOCACY, YOU KNOW, UM, TO REALLY VET AND MAYBE PUT CONDITIONS ON OR DRILL DOWN ON THESE.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN, MOST OF THIS IS WELL VETTED BY THE TIME THE LOAN COMMITTEE GETS TO IT, BUT I THINK IT'S BEEN, UM, GREAT EXPERIENCE AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHO THE RECEIVER IS, HOW IT WILL HELP, BUT THEN MAKING SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A SMART MOVE AND, AND, UM, IT'S WELL SERVED FOR THE CITY AS WELL AS, UH, THE BUSINESS.
IT'S BEEN, I MEAN, VERY SATISFYING.
AND IT IS REALLY, IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO US.
LIKE I SAID, WE'VE MET WITH OVER 175 BUSINESSES AND JUST HAVE A THREE-PRONG APPROACH TO THIS, RIGHT? WE LISTEN TO THE BUSINESS, WE LISTEN TO WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, AND THEN BASED ON THAT, WE RECOMMEND WHAT TYPE OF LOAN WOULD BE GOOD FOR THEM.
AND WE ARE WALKING THEM THROUGH FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE, THE, THE MOMENT THAT WE DO THE WHOLE BIG CHECK THING AND, UH, ISSUE THEM THAT THEIR LOAN CHECK.
SO IT'S BEEN REALLY REWARD REWARDING.
IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE AND THANK OUR TWO, UH, EXITING OR SOON TO BE EXITING, UM, COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR, YOUR WORK AND YOUR EFFORT.
UM, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT OUTREACH, WHAT OTHER METHODS DO WE USE? BESIDES THE CALLS ARE, I MEAN, ALL THE COUNCIL OFFICES INFORMED.
UM, HOW ABOUT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS LICENSE? SO, WE GET A LOT, MOST OF OUR REFERRALS ARE FROM, UH, MEMBERS OF THIS COM COMMITTEE RIGHT HERE.
WE GET A LOT OF REFERRALS FROM THE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL.
UH, THE DIFFERENCE CITY COUNCIL OFFICES, UH, WE GET IT FROM BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN FUNDED AND THEY TELL THEIR FRIENDS.
SO WE GET A LOT OF THE REFERRALS FROM THEM.
UH, WE ALSO GET A LOT OF REFERRALS FROM THE BIZ CARE TEAM THAT ARE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THEY TAKE OUR INFORMATION OUT AND MOST PEOPLE CONTACT US AND SAY, HEY, I WAS, YOU KNOW, I TALKED TO SOMEONE FROM THE BIZ CARE TEAM.
SO WE, WE, WE ARE GETTING OUT THERE, BUT WE ACTUALLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, A PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER.
UM, AND WE MET WITH HER TODAY.
AND WE HAVE OTHER STRATEGIES THAT WE ARE PUTTING INTO IN PLACE.
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN OUR BIG CHECK THAT WE'RE UTILIZING, LIKE PUBLISHERS CLEARINGHOUSE.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT,
BUT WE'VE DONE THE BIG CHECK AND THEY'VE POSTED IT ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PEOPLE, THEY WOULD SAY, OH, I'VE SEEN YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO THOSE ARE THE WAYS IN WHICH WE ARE GETTING THE, THE WORD OUT TO THE BUSINESSES.
I CAN SEE YOU KNOCKING ON THE DOORS, LIKE ED MCMAHON
WELL, WHEN WE COME OUT TO SITE VISITS, IT'S NOT REALLY LIKE ED MCMAHON, BUT WHEN WE ARE GIVING
IT'S WHEN THEY COLLECT, IT'S THE OTHER VERSION.
UM, WE ARE NOT TAKING PICTURES WHEN WE'RE COLLECT, TRYING TO GET THEM TO PAY.
SO ON THE, ON THE, UM, INFORMATION SIDE, IS THERE A WAY TO ASK FOR CONTINUATION UPDATE ON TERMS OF JOB INCREASES OR DECREASES? YES.
[01:20:01]
HAVE THEY ADDED JOBS? EXCUSE ME.
HAVE THEY LOST JOBS? AND ARE THE JOBS CREATED WITH BENEFITS? MM-HMM.
WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO NOW IS, WHICH IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN BEFORE, SINCE IN OUR ADMIN PLAN IT'S CREATED OR RETAINED.
SO WE PUT THAT AS A PART OF OUR APPLICATION.
SO SINCE IT'S RE ALSO RETAINED AS A PART OF OUR APPLICATION, THEY'RE COMPLETING THAT FORM.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO FOR THE PAST JOBS THAT WE WEREN'T HERE FOR IS CONNECTED WITH THEM TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE STILL RETAINING THOSE JOBS.
THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT INFORMATION TO SEE THE, THE CONTINUITY AND THE, THE JOB CREATION THERE.
AND WHEN THE LOAN IS, UH, ORIGINATED, WHAT'S THE POSITION OF THE LOAN SHOULD THE BUSINESS SELL? THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
WE HAD SOMEONE JUST, THAT HAPPENED.
IF THE, SO WHOEVER IS ON THE LOAN DOCUMENTS, THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOAN.
SO IF THE BUSINESS SELLS, THAT STAYS WITH THE ORIGINAL PERSON THAT SIGNED OFF ON THE LOAN.
WE JUST HAD THAT ISSUE HAPPEN AND THE BUSINESS OWNER SAID, WELL, I SOLD MY BUSINESS.
I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT ANYMORE.
AND I SAID, THE LOAN DOCUMENTS THAT HAS YOUR NAME TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY.
SO IT GOES ALONG WITH WHO SIGNED THOSE LOAN DOCUMENTS.
AND I ASSUME THAT THAT ISSUE WOULD GO TO THE CITY ATTORNEY SHOULD IT NEED FOR THEIR ATTENTION.
AND IT HAS, AND UNFORTUNATELY THAT BUSINESS WENT BANKRUPT.
SO THEY SENT THEIR BANKRUPTCY NOTIFICATION AND ONCE WE RECEIVED THAT, WE SEND IT TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AS WELL.
COULD, COULD THE LOAN BE TRANSFERRABLE TO NEW OWNER AS AN INCENTIVE FOR CONTINUING THE BUSINESS AND CONTINUING THE JOBS? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I COULD RESEARCH THAT A LITTLE BIT NOW.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU STAFF FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND ASSISTANCE TOO.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SANDOVAL.
UM, YOU BROUGHT UP AN INTERESTING POINT.
SO I, THERE'S ANOTHER LOAN, UH, I BELIEVE IT'S THE GROW LONG BEACH LOAN.
THAT IT'S FOR A HIGHER AMOUNT THAT'S REALLY DESIGNED FOR BUSINESSES TO EXPAND, HIRE, UH, AND GROW THE BUSINESSES.
WHILE THE MICRO ENTERPRISE LOANS ARE REALLY DESIGNED TO JUST LIKE, FOR OPERATIONS TO, TO MAINTAIN.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T SEE A LOT OF DATA POINTS ON, YOU KNOW, HIRING SOMEONE WITH A, YOU KNOW, 20,000 OR $50,000 LOAN.
BUT FOR THE OTHER ONE, I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE THOSE DATA POINTS ON, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY ACQUIRED UP ANOTHER FACILITY, THEY EXPANDED, THEY, YOU KNOW, UM, HIRED, YOU KNOW, X AMOUNT OF STAFF.
UH, 'CAUSE THEY THINK THERE'S, UH, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY WITHIN, WITHIN HAVING, IS IT 2 MILLION PLUS POOL UP TO THREE, THE POOL UP TO 3 MILLION PLUS.
SO THAT WILL BE OUR NEXT PRESENTATION.
HIRO, UH, WE, UM, WE HAVE, WE WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GROW AMERICA.
OUR UNDERWRITER IS, UH, WITH GROW AMERICA AND A LOT OF THE LOANS, THE MOST RECENT CDBG LOANS THAT WE MENTIONED, WE WOULD, WE DID THE 99,000.
AND THEN WITH GROW AMERICA, THEY GOT ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
SO IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION, WHEN WE COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL, COME BACK TO THE COMMISSION, THEN WE WILL, UH, TALK MORE ABOUT THE GROW AMERICA FUND.
UM, ONE OF THEM IS, IS THE C-D-G-C-D-B-G FUNDING THAT YOU HAD, IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU MENTIONED IT WAS A ONE TIME.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU GET ANNUALLY OR YOU COULD CONTINUE TO GET ANNUALLY? ANNUALLY? IT WAS A ONE TIME, IT WAS ALREADY A PART OF, UH, OUR BUDGET AND WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, IT WAS WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT AND WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, UTILIZE THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR, UH, LOAN PROGRAM.
UH, 'CAUSE IT WAS EXPIRING AT THE END OF, OF SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR.
SO WHEN WE WERE RECEIVED IT, WE KNEW THAT WE HAD A YEAR TO, TO, UH, FUND THESE LOANS.
UM, WHETHER OR NOT WE WOULD HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY IS WHETHER OR NOT THE, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT RECEIVED ADDITIONAL, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS AND WOULD GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR THEM.
UH, SO I'M FAMILIAR WITH THAT HUD PROCESS, WITH THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS AND HOW OTHER CITIES UTILIZE THAT.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BENEFIT OUR CITY TO PUT MORE EMPHASIS OR EFFICACY IN GETTING SOME OF THAT FUNDING.
'CAUSE IT IS ABOUT JOB RETENTION AND JOB CREATION.
SO WE'D LOVE TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT, ABOUT HOW THE CITY MIGHT PURSUE THAT.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY, UH, SOME MORE THAN SEVERAL YEARS WHERE THE LARGER CITIES MM-HMM.
AND SO I, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PLAN, BUT, UM, IT DEFINITELY IS SOMETHING THAT HELPS CITIES TO HAVE THAT FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS FOR JOB CREATION AND JOB RETENTION.
[01:25:01]
DEFINITELY.UM, AND THEN THE OTHER, THE OTHER ONE IS THE 750,000 FOR THE EDA FUNDS.
IS, UM, IS, IS THAT GONNA BE, ARE THERE GONNA BE REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICULAR TYPES OF BUSINESSES? UM, AND WHEN WILL THAT START GOING OUT TO BUSINESSES? SO WE ARE STILL WAITING TO GET OUR AWARD LETTER ONE.
AND THEN TWO, UH, THEY HAVE MENTIONED THAT WE WOULD BE GETTING THAT AT THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
AND THEY'RE, IT'S, IT'S USED THE SAME WAY THAT WE'VE UTILIZED, I'M SORRY, UH, THE PREVIOUS FUNDING THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THEM.
SO IT CAN GO TO SMALL BUSINESS AND WE ARE GONNA USE THAT FOR OUR MICRO ENTERPRISE LOAN PROGRAM.
SO JUST AS I MENTIONED, 25 TO 99,000 AND ALL OF THE, THE REQUIREMENTS THAT I MENTIONED.
SO MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU CALL FOR THE VOTE? MOTION CARRIES.
I WANNA THANK YOUR TEAM, COLTON PALINA VIKO, AND OUR COMMISSIONERS WHO PUT A LOT OF TIME INTO THE REVOLVING LOAN FORM.
COMMISSIONER CONE LARKINS AND MATOYA.
OKAY, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION.
IF I MAY JUST, UH, MAKE A SUGGESTION, UM, SURE.
JEFF WILLIAMS IS HERE FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE, UH, IF YOU ARE AMENABLE TO BUMPING UP ITEM NUMBER FIVE TO AN INSTEAD OF FOUR? I THINK HE MAY HAVE SOMEWHERE, MAYBE NO
DO WE NEED A MOTION TO DO THAT, OR IS THAT YOUR DISCRETION? BUT ONCE WE OPEN THE ITEM, WE'LL NEED A MOTION TO, TO HEAR IT.
[5. 24-55061 Recommendation to recognize Commissioner Cohn, Commissioner Larkins, and Commissioner Suarez for their time served on the Economic Development Commission. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
AN ITEM THAT'S ON HERE, ITEM NUMBER FIVE.AND I WANNA THANK JEFF WILLIAMS FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, FOR COMING TODAY TO OUR MEETING.
UM, HE, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND NOT ONLY DOES HE WORK A LOT WITH THE COMMUNITY, BUT HE WORKS WITH COMMISSIONS.
AND HE ALSO SAT THROUGH MOST OF OUR MEETING.
I MADE HIM DO THAT BECAUSE I WANTED HIM TO SEE THE GOOD WORK OF THE COMMISSION
SO JEFF, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
WE'RE GONNA RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR COMMISSIONERS.
IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE ALL OF YOU.
I, UH, UH, WAS THINKING BACK THERE.
YOU KNOW, IT REMINDS ME OF I'M DATING MYSELF HERE, THE HALLS OF JUSTICE
YOU, YOU GUYS ARE THE SUPER FRIENDS.
WE'RE SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU GUYS.
Y'ALL ARE THE SUPER FRIENDS OF THE CITY, AND, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE WE, WE GET THE WAY WE GET TO WORK WITH YOU.
AND IT'S, IT IS GREAT TO SEE HOW YOU'VE SERVED ON THIS.
WE'RE HERE TO, UH, CELEBRATE SOME OUTGOING COMMISSIONERS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN ON SERVING FOR A LONG TIME.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF MAYOR RICHARDSON.
UH, I HAVE A COUPLE CERTIFICATES FOR YOU ALL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR'S VERY, UH, WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS SINCE HE STEPPED INTO OFFICE.
WE HAVE ALMOST DONE OVER A HUNDRED.
UM, AND THE WHOLE IDEA IS, YOU KNOW, HE REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE FROM ALL DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY WITH DIFFERENT VOICES TO BE A PART OF THESE, THESE GROUPS TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY AND MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S HEARD.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOKING AT YOU ALL, AND I KNOW WHO YOU KNOW YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DO.
I KNOW YOU'RE SUPER BUSY, UM, THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TIME TO THIS AND YOUR PASSING AND ENERGY AS, AS A RESIDENT MYSELF, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
UM, BUT, UH, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY LUCKY TO HAVE YOU ALL, UH, SERVE IN THE WAY THAT YOU DO.
SO, SO THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE MAYOR AND BEHALF OF, UH, OF OUR TEAM AND THE CITY.
UM, BUT WE WANNA RECOGNIZE A COUPLE OF THE OUTGOING FOLKS HERE WHO, WHO'VE BEEN SERVING.
SO, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER LARKINS IS, HE'S BEEN GIVING US TIME AND ENERGY AND LEADERSHIP TO SO MANY THINGS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND YOU'RE LIKE THE, YOU'RE LIKE THE DOING DIGITAL INCLUSION BEFORE IT WAS COOL GUY, LIKE EVEN GETTING LAPTOPS TO YOUNG PEOPLE FOR, FOR A DECADE.
SO, UH, UH, AND I KNOW YOU BRING YOUR, YOUR, THAT SAME PASSION HERE.
AND THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, WHO I, I'M SO GRATEFUL TOO THAT YOU, UH, YOU HAVE YOUR ARTS AND CULTURE LENS ON EVERYTHING.
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE OUR CITY BETTER.
UM, I KNOW IT MAKES THIS COMMISSION BETTER AND EVERYTHING.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR TIME YOU GIVE.
AND THEN MR. CONE, UH, KNOWN EACH OTHER A LONG TIME.
HE, UH, I ADMIRE HIS CULTURE OF YES, THAT HE WANTS TO BRING TO THE CITY FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I, I, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER COHEN'S GREATEST LEGACY WILL BE THAT HE CREATED A PARKING AND TRAFFIC PROBLEM IN BIXBY KNOWLES.
SO, UH, HE TOOK A SLEEPY, SLEEPY COMMUNITY AND TURNED IT INTO ONE OF OUR MOST THRIVING BUSINESS DISTRICTS.
SO YOU HAVE QUITE A LEGACY HERE TOO, AS WELL.
BUT, UM, JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU ALL.
UH, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE A COUPLE CERTIFICATES FOR YOU.
MAYBE WE COULD DO A PHOTO WITH THE, WITH THE OUTGOING COMMISSIONER AND ACTUALLY WITH, WITH THE WHOLE COMMISSION, IF THAT'D BE ALL RIGHT.
SO IF YOU GUYS WOULDN'T MIND COMING UP FRONT, IS THAT OKAY? YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT.
JUST ONE, UM, POINT OF JUST ADMINISTRATIVE IS AS WE HAVE A MOTION TO RECOMMENDATION TO RECOGNIZE COMMISSIONER COHN, COMMISSIONER LARKINS AND COMMISSIONER SUAREZ.
IT WAS MOVED BY COMMISSIONER SUAREZ,
[01:30:01]
AND IT WAS SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER NOVIN.SO THE PRESENTATION, THE PICTURES RIGHT? OKAY.
DO WHO'S OUT THERE WITH THE CAMERA? YEAH, LET'S DO IT.
WE'LL DO THE PRE THE PICTURE FIRST, AND THEN WE CAN DO COMMENTS.
CAN WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S THE ONLY TIME BLAIR WEARS A SUIT EVER? IS THESE MEETINGS ONCE A MONTH, ONCE A QUARTER, WHATEVER, ONE TIME? ONCE, ONCE, ONCE A MONTH.
HOW'S IT GOING WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU NEXT YEAR? NEXT YEAR.
LOOKS LIKE A COMMISSION THAT LIKES TO HANG OUT TOGETHER.
PRETEND LIKE TO JUMP HOW OUR HOW ABOUT PUT OUR THREE, LET'S MIDDLE BOTTOM.
IT DOES LOOK LIKE THE CALLS OF JUSTICE HERE.
SO FRIENDS, YOU LET ME JUMP IN ONE.
OH, IS THAT OKAY? YEAH, WE GOT A LITTLE TIME.
WHAT DO ALL YOUR FREE TIME NOW? I DON'T HAVE ANY TIME,
SO IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, WE DO HAVE A A LITTLE CELEBRATION AFTER THIS TOO.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO GET ANY COMMENTS FROM OUR COMMISSIONERS.
THIS IS NOT A ROAST, BUT ANY COMMENTS FROM
QUESTIONS? WHEN DID BO BO I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE ON TIME.
BO, WHAT'S YOUR CAR KEYS? ANY QUESTIONS? AND JUST A COMMENT FOR ME, UH, AUSTIN'S NEXT, BUT, UH, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE, UM, SERVING WITH, WITH OUR FELLOW COMMISSIONERS AND LEARNING FROM YOU ALL AND, AND SEEING YOU OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, BEING VERY ACTIVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND MAKING SOME REAL CHANGE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO IT'S BEEN, UH, IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO SERVE WITH YOU.
UM, AND WE ARE EXCITED TO, TO SEE YOU ALL IN NEW ROLES IN OTHER CAPACITIES AND, AND PARTICIPATING IN OTHER COMMISSIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER MATOYER.
UM, IT, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE SERVING WITH ALL THREE OF YOU.
UH, COMMISSIONER LARKINS, COMMISSIONER COHEN, UH, AS LIKE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THIS, UH, COMMISSION.
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE STEWARDS.
UM, COMMISSIONER COHEN, APPRECIATE YOU ALWAYS COMING AT THE POINT OF BEING A DEVIL'S ADVOCATE AND ASKING THE QUESTION AND PUSHING THE CITY TO THINK ABOUT WHY DO YOU DO THIS PROCESS? IS THERE A WAY TO DO IT MORE CREATIVELY AND MORE EFFICIENTLY? YOU'VE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE CHAMPION FOR SMALL BUSINESS COMMISSIONER LARKINS.
UH, YOU'VE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE MENTOR TO MYSELF.
UM, YOU'VE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE LEADER FOR THE COMMISSION, AND YOU HELPED STEER IT PERHAPS DURING ONE OF THE, THE HARDEST TIMES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, WHICH WAS THE, THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
AND THEN COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, MY FRIEND, THANK YOU FOR BEING AN INCREDIBLE LIGHT, UH, ON THIS COMMISSION TO ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, UM, EQUITY ACROSS THE CITY.
HOW WE'RE I THINKING ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ARTS, AND BUSINESS, UM, AND CONTINUING TO BE THAT CHAMPION.
[01:35:01]
ALL THREE OF YOU.COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER, MUNCH, UH, YEAH, I JUST WANNA SAY, UH, SORT OF ECHO, YOU DID SUCH A GOOD JOB OF THIS
AND, UH, OF COURSE, AS ALWAYS, WALTER GETTING ME, UH, INVOLVED WITH THIS
SO HE GETS ME INVOLVED WITH A LOT OF THINGS.
UM, WELL, UH, I, I'M GONNA LOSE MY FRIEND FROM THE ARTS COMMUNITY, BUT I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND I KNOW YOU'RE GOING ON TO, TO, UH, EVEN BIGGER THINGS WITH TWO MEETINGS A MONTH AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
BLAIR, YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT FRIEND, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY IN NORTH LAWN BEACH.
NOT JUST BIXBY KNOLLS, UM, BUT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY.
AND YOU, YOU'VE SHINED A LOT OF LIGHT ON A LOT OF POSITIVE ITEMS AND SOME THINGS THAT THE CITY NEEDED TO GET SOME ATTENTION TO.
SO THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE HERE, WALTER.
YOU, UM, AFTER 25 YEARS IN SERVING ON DIFFERENT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, I WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR AN SOFT EXIT.
AND WHEN THE MAYOR GARCIA CALLED ME AND ASKED ME TO CONSIDER, I IMMEDIATELY TALKED WITH YOU AND A FEW OTHERS, AND YOU ENCOURAGED ME.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO HUG YOU,
I CAN TAKE IT OR TO, I HEAR OUTTA YOUR TIRES IF YOU'RE STILL DRIVING, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT I WANNA, I WANNA THANK YOU, UM, FOR YOUR ASSURANCE, BRINGING ME ON BEFORE COVID, AND THEN OF COURSE, YOUR LEADERSHIP DURING COVID.
THAT'S ALREADY BEEN SAID, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU.
THAT COMMUNITY AT LARGE IS SO BENEFITED BY GOOD FOLKS LIKE YOU.
YOUR DEDICATION TO SERVICE IN THE CITY IS NOT ONLY IMPRESSIVE, IT COMES FROM THE HEART.
SO THE CITIZENS ARE REALLY THE WINNERS.
SO, UM, AS MANY OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, GRISELDA IS GONNA BE MOVING ON TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
SO I WANNA THANK GRISELDA NOT ONLY FOR HER LEADERSHIP HERE, HER VISIONARY LEADERSHIP IN THE, IN THE CITY, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT NOT QUALITY OF LIFE IS IMPORTANT TO ELEVATE THOSE VOICES, ARTS AND CULTURE.
AND SHE'S SO PRESENT IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN HELPFUL FOR OUR COMMISSION, THAT YOU ARE THERE IN THE COMMUNITY WORKING WITH PEOPLE.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR LEADERSHIP.
UM, AND FOR BLAIR, YOU KNOW, BLAIR, EVERYONE KNOWS HIM.
SO BETWEEN THAT TACTICAL ACTIONS YOU DO BLAIR, AND BETWEEN THE WAYS THAT YOU HAVE THE VISION AND THE STRATEGY TO HELP OUR COMMISSION FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WHEN YOU AND WALTER WERE TOGETHER, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENDA FORWARD, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THAT BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE A FOUNDATION BETWEEN BLUEPRINT 1.0 AND NOW THE GROW LONG BEACH BLUEPRINT TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS AND CONTINUE TO ENGAGE YOU IN THAT WORK.
AND THEN FOR COMMISSIONER LARKINS, WELL, YOU KNOW, UM, AS WE ALL KNOW, IS NOT ONLY DID HE, WAS HE THERE AT THE BEGINNING FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION FOR BLUE POINT ONE 0.0? HE MOVED US THROUGH THE PROCESS FOR BLUE, FOR GROW LONG BEACH, AND, UM, MADE SURE THAT IT WAS VERY INCLUSIVE WITH PUBLIC COMMENT, UM, ENGAGING THE PUBLIC, ENGAGING US IN THE WORK.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, ME REALLY KEEPING IT ON TRACK.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS SEEN, NOT ONLY IN ALL THE COMMISSIONERS, BUT IN WHAT WALTER DOES IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD INCLUSION ACROSS ALL OF THE VARIOUS PRIORITIES.
AND IT'S BECAUSE OF NOT ONLY WHO THE LEADERSHIP ARE ON THE COMMISSION, BUT ALSO I DO BELIEVE IT WAS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OUR CHAIR, OUR FORMER CHAIR WALTER, MADE SURE THAT WE WERE INCLUDING ALL PEOPLE IN OUR CITY OF LONG BEACH COMMUNITY.
SO THANK YOU, WALTER, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, YOUR VISION, AND MORE THAN THAT, DOING A LOT OF THINGS BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THEM.
AND THEN I THINK ALL OF YOU SHOULD KNOW IS, IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING A CELEBRATION FOR ALL OF US IN DECEMBER.
WE'VE LEFT THAT OPEN ON OUR CALENDAR, UM, TO RECOGNIZE OUR COMMISSIONERS.
UH, YOU'LL BE MEETING SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS, UM, AND THERE WILL BE WAYS WE WILL KEEP OUR COMMISSIONERS ENGAGED.
[01:40:02]
OKAY? SO ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE A COMMENT BEFORE WE MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? OH, PRIVATE.
UM, CAN CLERK, CAN WE CALL THE VOTE FOR RECEIVE AND FILE MOTION CARRIES
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO OUR MAYOR'S OFFICE, JEFF WILLIAMS, FOR BEING HERE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU WITH OUR COMMISSIONERS.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE CALENDAR ITEMS. UM, WE'RE GONNA JUST
[4. 24-55060 Recommendation to receive and file a calendar of anticipated focus areas; and Receive feedback. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
BRIEFLY GO THROUGH, AND I'M GONNA TELL YOU THE CONCEPT OF THE CALENDAR ITEMS SO THAT WE CAN, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE ADJOURN OUR MEETING ON TIME.UM, BUT ON THE, ON ALL OF YOU RECEIVED, UH, A, IT'S, UH, THE UPCOMING YEAR FOR CALENDAR ITEMS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH, UM, SELECT SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO PUT ONTO THE CALENDAR, UM, ALSO FOR EACH ONE OF OUR COMMISSION MEETINGS, AND ALSO, UM, JUST KNOW THAT WHAT'S, WHAT IS ON HERE NOW IS A DRAFT.
I WANNA THANK JULIAN FOR PUTTING THIS DRAFT TOGETHER.
WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, AMPLE TIME TO POST OUR AGENDAS SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN BE INVOLVED ALSO, UM, WE WILL GET INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, UM, SPEAKERS ACCORDING TO THE CHAMPIONS WE ALL HAVE ON YOU, UM, YOUR FOCUS AREAS FOR THE COMMISSIONERS.
AND ALSO WHAT, WE'LL, WE, UM, WE'LL HAVE YOU DO IS ENGAGE SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, AND SO WHAT I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO JUST DO IS TAKE A LOOK AT THIS CALENDAR, UM, AND LET US KNOW, EITHER EMAIL US, UM, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD, UM, OR ELSE, UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT TODAY, WE CAN DO THAT.
BUT WE THOUGHT WE'D DO IS GIVE YOU A TIME TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE AGENDA, KNOW WHAT FOCUS AREAS YOU'RE WORKING ON, AND SEE WHAT MONTH YOU MAY WANT SOMETHING TO BE PRESENTED IN.
BECAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE WORK ON OUR PART.
LIKE I AM, I'M MOVING THINGS AROUND.
I'M ALREADY TAKING MARCH
AND, YOU KNOW, AND SO THAT'S THE KIND OF THINKING I'M THINKING FOR EVERYONE SO THAT IT'S NOT THAT WE WILL BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT MAKING CHANGES, BUT IT'LL GIVE OUR STAFF MORE LEAD TIME TO BE ABLE TO GET INTERNAL SPEAKERS AS WELL AS US TO KEEP, UM, ADDING THINGS TO THE AGENDA.
ANY QUESTIONS? WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO THE MOTION FOR THE, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER MONTOYA AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER LARKINS.
JUST REAL BRIEFLY, UH, STAFF, I, I'D LIKE TO BE, UH, ADDED BACK ONTO NUMBER ONE, RETENTION AND ATTRACTION, PLEASE.
OKAY, SO ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENTS ON, OH, COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS CALENDAR.
AND, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, ADD OR SUGGEST THE INCLUSION IN WHENEVER BUSINESS LICENSES AND PROCESSES AND USE OF FUNDS COMES ON THAT, UM, EITHER IN TANDEM OR IN ANOTHER MONTH, SPECIAL EVENTS AND EVENT PERMITS, INCLUDING, UM, IN SPEAKING ABOUT BUSINESS LICENSES, HOW, UH, BUSINESS LICENSE AND BUSINESS PERMITS ARE, ARE USED CURRENTLY FOR, UM, EVENTS, CRAFT FAIRS, FESTIVALS WITH A LOT OF OUR SMALL BUSINESS LOCAL VENDORS.
UH, I'VE BEEN APPROACHED BY SEVERAL FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND, UM, I'VE NOW BEEN AT LEAST THREE OLYMPIC MEETINGS IN THE LAST MONTH AND A HALF.
AND, UM, AS WE PREPARE, THIS IS GONNA BE IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS COMMISSIONER KINS.
WELL, I'M NOT GONNA BE AROUND DURING THE TIME THAT, THAT THESE MEETINGS OCCUR.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT THE, UH, THE DISCUSS BRINGING SOME OF THE MEETINGS, I THINK, UH, WELL, I'M SURE, I'M NOT SURE IT WAS AUSTIN, BUT BRINGING SOME OF THOSE SPEAKERS, OR I MAY, IT WAS BRENDA BACK TO DISCUSS MUNICIPAL BROADBAND ON ONE OF THESE, UH, MEETINGS.
UH, I KNOW JILLIAN, UH, YOU HAVE INFORMATION.
IF YOU DON'T, I CAN GET YOU, THERE'S A NUMBER OF EXPERTS THAT PRESENTED DURING THE TIME WE'RE EXPLORING THAT TOPIC.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, UH, TO DO THAT.
NOW, I DON'T KNOW, I THINK THE BLUEPRINT ADDRESSES AI.
I'VE BEEN ONE OF THE EARLIER TESTERS
[01:45:01]
AND TRYING TO TALK ABOUT IT DURING RANDOM MEETINGS, AND PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY AT THE TIME, WHICH IS OKAY.THE ENTREPRENEURS ARE USUALLY CONSIDERED CRAZY UNTIL THEY'RE NOT.
WE DEFINITELY ARE IN A WORLD WHERE AI IS GONNA BE AN ISSUE.
IT'S GONNA IMPACT WORKFORCE, IT'S GONNA IMPACT BUSINESSES THAT'S ALREADY HAVING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON HIRING, ET CETERA.
UH, WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH POTENTIAL JOB LOSSES, AND THERE ARE SOME IDEAS THAT I THINK WE NEED TO BRING TO THE TABLE.
AND I'M NOT SURE WHERE WE PLUG THAT INTO THE BLUEPRINT.
I THINK THERE'S ENOUGH SPACE FOR IT TO BE A LINE ITEM.
UM, BUT I THINK IT DESERVES, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS LIKE DIGITAL DIVIDE THAT KIND OF OVER REACHES ALL THE OTHER AREAS THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH, INCLUDING HOUSING AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WANNA APPROACH THAT CHAIR.
THE SECOND ONE THAT'S KIND OF RELATED TO THIS IN A WAY IS THAT THE EVENT, SINCE BOTH BLAIR AND I ARE GONNA BE NOT ON THE REVOLVING LOAN COMMITTEE, UH, USUALLY THAT ROLE IS FILLED BY A VOLUNTEER FROM THE COMMISSION.
I DON'T BELIEVE MADAM CLERK IF THAT REQUIRES A VOTE PER SE.
UH, BUT THAT IS A REQUIREMENT THAT, THAT THE COMMISSIONERS, UH, FILL THAT THOSE TWO SLOTS.
I KNOW JULIAN'S TAKING NOTES ON THIS TOO.
WE WILL GET THOSE ADDED TO THE CALENDAR AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH COMMISSIONERS ON THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND.
ANY OTHER, UM, COMMENTS BEFORE I OPEN IT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? OH, COMMISSIONER MATOYER.
YEAH, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD THAT WE BRING BACK THE DISCUSSION AROUND, UM, TAX INCREMENT FINANCING S AND CRES AS WELL.
UM, WE BROUGHT IN COSMO LAST TIME, UH, TO DO DISCUSSION ON THAT TOOL.
IT MAY BE WORTH IT TO BRING, UM, THAT ORGANIZATION BACK OR, OR UTILIZING CALED AND THEN ALSO EXPLORING WHERE IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, UM, TO ESTABLISH THOSE AND, AND WHAT INDUSTRIES IT CAN HELP TO, UM, SUPPORT.
AND COMMISSIONER MORTOYA, WE WILL ASK YOU MORE ABOUT POTENTIALLY WHEN YOU WANNA SCHEDULE THAT.
COMMISSIONER SCHWARZ, UM, I GUESS SINCE THIS IS MY LAST DAY AS A COMMISSIONER HERE IN THIS COMMISSION, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, RESTATE, UM, IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE A TOT PRESENTATION.
THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE, I'VE BEEN ASKING SINCE I JOINED.
AND AGAIN, IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE LANDSCAPE OF, UM, HOSPITALITY TOURISM AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND WE HAVE SOME REALLY BIG EVENTS HAPPENING IN OUR CITY.
UM, SO IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF THIS COMMISSION WERE TO HEAR A REPORT.
COMMISSIONER LARKINS, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE? NO.
UM, ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? OH, QUESTION, COMMISSIONER NOVIN.
UH, KNOWING THAT NEXT MONTH THERE'S, UH, SEVERAL ITEMS ON THE BALLOT THAT, UM, WILL IMPACT, UM, INDIVIDUAL TAXES, BUSINESS TAXES.
IT'D BE NICE MAYBE TO HAVE, UM, JUST LIKE A GENERAL OVERVIEW OR A PROJECTED IMPACT FROM CITY STAFF ON HOW THEY THINK THOSE THINGS WILL BE ROLLED OUT.
AND, UM, IMPACTED, I THINK IN, ESPECIALLY IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT OF INFLATION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, FOLKS TRYING TO MAKE MORE WITH LESS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE SALES TAX POTENTIAL INCREASE.
JUST LIKE SO WE CAN START EDUCATING FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION ON OUR SIDE.
IT WOULD'VE BEEN NICE TO HAVE THAT IN ADVANCE, BUT WE WILL HAVE MORE OF A CLEAR PICTURE AFTERWARDS.
SO IF WE CAN GET THAT ON THE AGENDA, MAYBE FOR, MAYBE NOVEMBER'S TOO AGGRESSIVE, 'CAUSE IT'LL BE RIGHT AFTER THAT, BUT MAYBE DECEMBER OR JANUARY TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A REVIEW ON THAT SO WE CAN HELP, UH, SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, JULIAN ALSO HAS A LIST FROM OTHER ITEMS THAT PEOPLE HAVE AS REQUESTED ABOUT, SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THAT LIST.
WE'LL PUT TO TOGETHER A DRAFT OF THE SCHEDULE, UM, FOR THE MONTHS AHEAD.
AND THEN THAT'S WHERE I SAID WE'RE FLEXIBLE IS WE'LL WORK WITH THE VARIOUS, UM, FOCUS AREA COMMITTEES TO MOVE, MOVE THAT AROUND THEN.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? OKAY, THEN, UM, MADAM CLERK, WE CALL FOR THE VOTE.
COMMISSIONER LARKINS, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE A VERBAL VOTE, I CAN TAKE THAT.
AND COMMISSIONER SANDOVAL? YEAH, MY SCREEN IS ON WAITING.
[6. 24-55062 Recommendation to receive and file Executive Director’s Report. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
[01:50:01]
ON THE AGENDA IS THE REPORT FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.UM, SO A COUPLE OF EVENTS COMING UP THAT YOU'LL BE RECEIVING INVITES TO, UH, ONE EVENT IS GOING TO BE THE, THE LEGACY BUSINESS PROGRAM LAUNCH.
THAT'LL HAPPEN LATE THIS MONTH.
SO PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING.
UM, WE'LL INVITE YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE VIA EMAIL, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE EVENT DETAILS FOR THAT.
AND AGAIN, THAT IS A LEGACY BUSINESS PROGRAM LAUNCH.
SECOND, UM, EVENT THAT I WILL SEND AN INVITE OUT, UM, BY NO LATER THAN TOMORROW IS, UM, GONNA BE INFORMATION ON, THERE'S THE UPCOMING, UH, GATEWAY SEMINAR.
SO IT'S THE REGISTER, IT'S THE GATEWAY CITIES REGIONAL SEMINARS.
IT'S GONNA BE TWO SEMINARS, UH, ONE FOR FOCUSED ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND THEN ONE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
SO I'LL SEND YOU GUYS, UH, AN INVITE AS WELL, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT IS ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10TH, 2024.
IT'S GONNA BE FROM ESSENTIALLY, UM, NINE TO FOUR.
AGAIN, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, UM, THERE'LL BE MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM THAT'LL BE THERE PRESENT AS WELL.
UH, IF YOU WANNA GO ATTEND THESE SEMINARS, WE'LL BE HANGING OUT THERE TOO.
AND THEN, UM, FROM MY END, ALSO, JUST A PERSONAL THANK YOU FOR, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONERS IN GENERAL, BUT YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE THREE COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE GONNA BE TAKEN OFF SOME SOONER THAN LATER.
UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE ONLY BEEN WITH YOU GUYS FOR A YEAR, BUT I CAN GENUINELY TELL YOU THAT'S BEEN, UH, A PLEASURE WORKING WITH, UH, THIS FUN BUNCH, UH, AND VERY INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, I REALLY, UM, HAVE ENJOYED, UH, WORKING WITH YOU ALL TO, YOU KNOW, GET US IN LINE AND, AND KEEPING OUR AGENDAS GOING AND OUR FOCUS AREAS AND, AND BRINGING THE BLUEPRINT, YOU KNOW, BACK INTO THE CONVERSATION AND SEEING ABOUT HOW, HOW THAT WORKS IN COLLABOR, YOU KNOW, IN COLLABORATION WITH ALL THE INITIATIVES THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH EACH OTHER, UH, IN MANY OTHER WAYS AND CAPACITY.
SO I KNOW THAT I ACTUALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THAT AND I'M VERY EXCITED.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, JULIAN, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT? NO.
COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, I, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION.
I JUST WANT TO, UM, CONGRATULATE THE, THE TEAM ON THE LEVEL OF CULMINATION.
UM, IT WAS REALLY WONDERFUL TO BE THERE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INVITATION.
UM, I GOT TO SIT DOWN WITH TWO BUSINESSES AT MY TABLE AND LEARN ABOUT THEIR PROCESS AND I APPRECIATED THAT THEY HAD INTERPRETERS THERE FOR THEM, UM, AS PART OF THE, THE, THE PROJECT, BUT THEY WERE JUST SO EXCITED AND, AND REALLY, UM, THEY FELT REALLY PROUD AND I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF ALL THE WORK THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER FOR THAT.
UM, SO, UH, THE ONLY OTHER COMMENT I WOULD MAKE IS, UM, IS FOLLOW, JUST FOLLOW UP IS, IS IF YOU COULD SEND AN EMAIL OUT ON SOME OF THESE SPECIAL EVENTS FOLLOWING OUR COMMISSION MEETING SO THAT IT'S LIKE PRESENT FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE, UM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO ECHO THE THANKS TO THE, TO THE YOU, JULIAN, AND TO THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE DO OUR COMMISSION MEETINGS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT SOME TRANSITIONS THAT ARE GOING ON.
THEY PUT SOME EXTRA TIME INTO IT, SO, UM, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS, UH, WE APPRECIATE THE STAFF AND WELL, COMMISSIONER LARKINS AND COMMISSIONER COHEN WERE RECOGNIZED TODAY IS THEY WILL BE ON THE COMMISSION UNTIL JANUARY OR SOMETIME WHEN THOSE SPOTS ARE FILLED.
SO JUST KNOW YOU'LL BE CONTINUING TO SEE.
WE'RE FORTUNATE THEY AGREED THAT WE CONTINUE TO SEE COMMISSIONER SUAREZ WILL BE SWEARING IN ON OCTOBER 24TH.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SHE WILL STILL BE A PART OF OUR EDC FAMILY
ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT? OKAY.
MME. MCCLURE, COULD YOU CALL FOR THE VOTE? TRISH? MARIA, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE A VOICE VOTE, I CAN TAKE THAT.
AND COMMISSIONER MY VOTE IS YES, THE SCREEN? YES.
[ANNOUNCEMENTS]
ARE, WE DO HAVE A, A CELEBRATION WE'D LIKE TO DO FOR THE COMMISSIONERS IN THE BACK ROOM, AND THEN THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED.AND THEN WE DO HAVE CRYSTAL HERE TO HELP, UH, WITH THE PAPERWORK AS WELL.
SO, AND BEFORE WE ADJOURN THE MEETING,
[PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Economic Development Commission on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.]
IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA? OH, OKAY.[01:55:03]
OH, SHE WAS SHE GONNA COME UP? IF YOU'RE READY TO ADJOURN THE MEETING, YOU CAN NOW WE CAN ADJOURN ME.WERE YOU READY TO COME UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT? NO.
OKAY THEN THE MEETING SHE'S GONNA GIVE YOU YOUR A WORK IS
[ADJOURNMENT]
ADJOURNED.