[INVOCATION]
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>> SERVICE TO OUR CITIZENS, WE ASK FOR YOUR GUIDANCE AND YOUR PROTECTION, AND WE ASK FOR YOUR WISDOM IN DECISION-MAKING.
WE ASK FOR YOUR HEALING WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, ALL THOSE AFFECTED FROM TODAY'S AND SOCIETY'S EVENTS.
BE WITH US IN THE REMAINDER OF THIS DAY UNTIL WE MEET WITH YOU AGAIN.
JUST HELP US AS WE ADJUST TO A NEW WAY OF DOING BUSINESS, AND WE WELCOME YOUR HEALING AND YOUR GUIDING US INTO RECOVERY, INTO A DIFFERENT DAY.
SO JUST THANK YOU IN ALL THE WAYS YOU BLESS US MOST MOST OF ALL FOR JESUS CHRIST.
IN THE CHRIST NAME WE PRAY. AMEN.
[A. Review agenda items for regular meeting and attachments;]
>> OKAY. LOOKING AT AGENDA ITEM 1A, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE VERY MANY ATTACHMENTS, BUT JUST IN CASE SOMEBODY HAS SOMETHING THEY WANT TO BRING TO THE FRONT OF THE AGENDA, ANY QUESTIONS THERE, COUNCIL?
>> OKAY. LET'S MOVE ON INTO THE AGENDA ITEM 1B,
[B. Coronavirus Update;]
THE CORONAVIRUS UPDATE.>> THANK YOU, MAYOR. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF STAFF MEMBERS TO PRESENT SOME INFORMATION, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, AS WE'VE DONE THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WE'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT COUNCIL HAS IN FOLLOW-UP.
SO FIRST, I WANT TO THROW IT TO CASIE.
I BELIEVE CASIE STOUGHTON IS ON. THERE SHE IS.
CASIE, WHY DON'T YOU GIVE US A BRIEF UPDATE, AND THEN WE CAN TOUCH ON QUESTION'S FOR CASIE, AND THEN WE CAN MOVE ON.
>> GREAT. THANK FOR ALLOWING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY.
TODAY, AS OF A FEW MINUTES AGO, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 291 CASES HERE IN POTTER AND RANDALL COUNTY.
THE COUNTY BREAK-DOWN IS 174 CASES IN POTTER COUNTY AND 117 CASES IN RANDALL COUNTY.
WE HAVE 60 PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECOVERED FROM COVID-19.
THE BREAKDOWN OF THE COUNTIES IS 30 A PIECE.
SO EACH OF OUR COUNTIES ARE NECK-AND-NECK THERE, AND THEN WE DO HAVE SEVEN DEATHS.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT EACH FAMILY.
I DO HAVE A RACIAL BREAKDOWN FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE.
OUR ASIAN COMMUNITY, SEVEN PERCENT OF THE PERSONS WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE, THOSE PEOPLE ARE ASIAN.
AFRICAN AMERICAN IS NINE PERCENT, HISPANIC IS 37 PERCENT, AND CAUCASIAN IS 42 PERCENT, AND THOSE ARE OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE.
[NOISE] I JUST HAVE A FAIRLY SHORT REPORT OF NUMBERS AND I THOUGHT WE COULD OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM.
>> DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE READY FOR QUESTIONS, CASIE?
>> OKAY. DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR CASIE? CASIE, LET'S DO A LITTLE BIT OF DISCUSSION, IF WE CAN, ABOUT HOSPITAL CAPACITY.
WHERE DO WE STAND ON THAT, AND ARE WE TRENDING UP, ARE WE TRENDING DOWN? ALSO, IF WE COULD TOUCH BASE ON WHAT WE'VE DONE AS A CITY TO PREPARE FOR A HOSPITAL SURGE THAT OVERRAN OUR HOSPITALS.
>> ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE DEFINITELY TRENDING UP WITH OUR HOSPITAL CAPACITY.
OUR NUMBERS ARE A LITTLE DIFFICULT.
WE HAVE A SECTION OF NUMBERS ON OUR REPORT CARD THAT ARE REGIONAL NUMBERS.
THOSE ARE PEOPLE WHO LIVE OUTSIDE OF POTTER AND RANDALL COUNTY THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED INSIDE OUR RANDALL COUNTY.
THAT DOES NOT REFLECT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE REGION WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, [NOISE] THAT NUMBER IS SMALL IN COMPARISON TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN THE REGION WHO HAVE COVID-19.
THAT IS ALSO REFLECTED IN HOSPITALIZATIONS.
SO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HOSPITALIZED ON OUR REPORT CARD ONLY REFLECTS THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE HOSPITALIZED THAT ARE POTTER-RANDALL PATIENTS.
THERE'S ALSO A NUMBER OF PATIENTS WHO ARE OUTSIDE, WHO LIVE OUTSIDE OF POTTER-RANDALL COUNTY, WHO ARE HOSPITALIZED IN OUR HOSPITALS BECAUSE POTTER-RANDALL HOSPITALS ARE A REFERRAL SOURCE FOR THE HOSPITALS IN OUR REGION.
SO TALKING TO DR. LAMANTEER, AND DR. WEIS, AND DR. MILTON ROUNDS AT THE HOSPITALS EVERYDAY, OUR HOSPITALS ARE SEEING MORE PATIENTS, MORE CRITICAL PATIENTS.
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SO I KNOW KEVIN STARBUCK HAS BEEN PART OF THE PLANNING TEAM MEETS EVERY MORNING AT 8:45 TO TALK ABOUT AN ALTERNATE CARE SITE.SO KEVIN STARBUCK HAS BEEN PART OF THAT PLANNING COMMITTEE, AND HE SAID HE WOULD HAVE SOME MORE WORDS TODAY TO SHARE ON THAT PLANNING.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO KEVIN FOR THAT.
>> MAYOR AND COUNCIL, JUST TO BUILD ON WHAT CASIE HAS ALREADY PROVIDED.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT IN OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FROM OUR TWO HOSPITALS, AND FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY, WE FEEL THAT THERE IS A POTENTIAL THAT OUR HOSPITAL CAPACITY WOULD BE EXCEEDED.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE ARE LOOKING AT, PROBABLY AS EARLY AS A 10-DAY WINDOW, WHERE WE CAN SEE A SURGE IN PATIENTS COMING TO THE HOSPITALS THAT MAY NECESSITATE THE NEED FOR AN ALTERNATE CARE SITE TO DEAL WITH THAT OVERFLOW OF PATIENTS.
OUR PLANNING EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON THAT BEING A RECOVERY STYLE FACILITY, THAT IS DESIGNED THAT AS PATIENTS THAT ARE IN THE HOSPITALS REACH A THRESHOLD WHERE THEY DON'T NEED THE LEVEL OF CARE THAT THE HOSPITALS CAN PROVIDE, WE CAN TRANSITION THEM OUT OF THE HOSPITALS INTO THIS ALTERNATE CARE FACILITY TO CONTINUE THEIR RECOVERY UNTIL THEY'RE IN A POSITION WHERE THEY RETURN TO HOME OR ANOTHER LOCATION.
THOSE ARE OUR CONCERNS RIGHT NOW AND THAT'S WHERE OUR PLANNING IS FOCUSED.
SO THERE IS PLANNING TEAM THAT IS WORKING ON AN ALTERNATE CARE SITE.
WE ARE ACTIVELY MOVING FORWARD WITH PUTTING PLANS IN PLACE TO ACTIVATE THAT FACILITY WITH ABOUT A 48-HOUR NOTICE, AND THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS IS TODAY, TO BE PREPARED FOR A SURGE IN PATIENT LOAD AT THE HOSPITALS THAT EXCEEDS THEIR CAPABILITIES OF CONTINUING TO CARE FOR THEM.
NOW, WE REMAIN CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC AND EVERYONE OF THE DOCTORS WILL TELL YOU THAT THEY ARE CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC THAT THEY HAVE CAPACITY TO DEAL WITH ANY PATIENT LOAD THAT COULD EXIST IN OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT AS WE SEE GROWTH IN VARIOUS AREAS, ACROSS THE PANHANDLE OR EVEN WITHIN OUR OWN COMMUNITY, THAT CAN CHANGE VERY QUICKLY AND WE NEED TO BE PREPARED TO MOVE FORWARD SHOULD THAT BECOME NECESSARY.
>> KEVIN, YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS WOULD BE AN ALTERNATE SITE OR RECOVERY ONLY.
TALK JUST BRIEFLY ABOUT THE CHALLENGES STANDING AT THE HOSPITAL.
WE'VE ALL BEEN WATCHING THESE PICTURES OF CHANSON CENTRAL PARK AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO JUST TOUCH ON THE FACT THAT THIS ALTERNATE SITE WOULD NOT BE A HOSPITAL.
HOSPITALS DON'T WANT TO TREAT THEIR CRITICAL PATIENTS IN AN ALTERNATE SITE, AND TALK JUST ABOUT WHY AND WHAT THOSE CHALLENGES ARE.
>> ABSOLUTELY. THE FACT IS, IS THAT HOSPITALS HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES, HAVE A LOT OF CAPABILITIES.
THEY ARE DESIGNED TO CARE FOR ALL LEVELS OF PATIENT WITHIN THOSE WALLS OF THAT FACILITY.
IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO REPRODUCE THAT IN A ALTERNATE CARE SITE.
SO NO MATTER WHAT LOCATION WE LOOK AT, IT'S A MATTER OF THEM NOT HAVING ALL THE CAPABILITIES THAT EXISTS WITHIN A HOSPITAL.
SO IT IS FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE THAT OUR FOCUS IS TO USE THIS AS CONVALESCENT CENTER FOR THOSE RECOVERING FROM COVID.
WE'RE ABLE TO PUSH THEM OUT THE HOSPITALS INTO THIS ALTERNATE CARE SITE WHICH WOULD HAVE MEDICAL STAFF AND EQUIPMENT IN IT, OXYGEN, OTHER THINGS, TO CARE FOR THAT PERSON, BUT THEY WOULD NOT NEED THE ACUITY LEVEL OF CARE THAT EXISTS IN THE HOSPITALS.
SO THAT'S WHERE IT ALLOWS US TO TRANSITION THEM FROM A HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT TO A RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT, CONTINUE TO CARE FOR THEM WITH MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AT A LESSER LEVEL THAN WHAT IS AVAILABLE IN THE HOSPITAL, BUT BRING THEM TO FULL PATH OF RECOVERY SO THEY CAN RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY SAFELY AND RESUME NORMAL ACTIVITIES.
>> HOW ARE WE PAYING FOR THE SURGE LOCATION?
>> AT THIS POINT, WE ARE UTILIZING A COMBINATION OF RESOURCES.
THE CARES ACT WHICH IS FUNDING FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, WE HAVE GONE THROUGH THE COMMENT PERIOD AND WILL BE UTILIZING A PORTION OF THAT MONEY TO HELP US SECURE THIS FACILITY.
ONCE AGAIN, OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ENTITY IS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO NOT ACTIVATE THAT FACILITY UNTIL IT BECOMES NECESSARY, SO THAT WE CAN MINIMIZE THE EXPENDITURE ON THOSE GRANT DOLLARS RELATED TO THAT.
BUT SHOULD IT BECOME NECESSARY, WE WOULD UTILIZE THAT MONEY FIRST TO FUND THAT FACILITY AND THEN CAN EXPAND UPON THAT THROUGH REQUESTS TO THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS NEEDED.
>> ONE OF YOU, I DON'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS CASIE OR KEVIN, MENTIONED A 10-DAY TIME-FRAME.
>> THAT IS WHERE THE CONVERSATION FROM DR. BELL, DR. MILTON, DR. WEIS, AND DR. LAMANTEER HAVE ALL FOCUSED,
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IS THEY FEEL THAT THERE IS POTENTIAL THAT IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS, WE MAY SEE A SURGE OF PATIENTS AT THE HOSPITAL THAT MAY RESULT IN THEM NEEDING TO ACTIVATE THIS ALTERNATE CARE SITE.>> SO BASICALLY, WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS, WE'RE COMING RIGHT UP ON WHAT WE THINK COULD BE OUR PEAK.
WE DON'T KNOW, WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WEEKS HAVE GONE BY AND WE CAN ACTUALLY LOOK BACK AND GET THE ACTUAL DATA.
BUT THEY'RE PREPARING AS IF THAT'S COMING IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS?
>> ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S WHERE THEY'VE ASKED THE PLANNING COMMITTEE TO BE PREPARED WITHIN THAT WINDOW TO POTENTIALLY ACTIVATE THIS FACILITY IF WE SEE IT BECOMES NECESSARY.
>> I'LL ASK AN OBVIOUS QUESTION, YOU WILL BE READY IN 10 DAYS?
>> ABSOLUTELY. NORTHWEST TEXAS HOSPITAL AND BSA, ALONG WITH THE VA, AND OUR PANHANDLE REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL HAVE ALL STEPPED UP.
EVERYONE OF THEM IS WORKING AT THE TABLE.
THIS WOULD BE ADMINISTERED UNDER NORTHWEST TEXAS HOSPITAL, WITH BSA PROVIDING A LOT OF SUPPORT TO THAT FACILITY ALSO.
IN ADDITION, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT BRINGING IN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS.
WE HAVE A GROUP FROM THE PANHANDLE REGIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT IS WORKING TO HELP FACILITATE THAT EFFORT TO BRING IN BOTH PROFESSIONALS AND VOLUNTEERS WITH MEDICAL BACKGROUNDS.
SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE ALREADY ACTIVELY GOING IN-PLACE AND OUR PLANNING EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON BEING ABLE TO ACTIVATE THIS IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS.
>> COUNCIL, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SURGE CAPACITY, HOSPITAL CAPACITY?
>> YES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS ADDRESSED LAST WEEK WAS TALKING ABOUT DOUBLING RATE, THAT ORIGINALLY, WE WERE SEEING THAT DOUBLING OF CASES IN THREE DAYS AND THEN WE WERE GETTING CLOSER TO SEVEN DAYS.
SO A WEEK HAS PASSED, WHAT IS OUR RATE OF GROWTH RIGHT AND WHEN DID WE DOUBLE?
>> IF WE'RE AT 291 TODAY, WE COULD EFFECTIVELY DOUBLE MAYBE EIGHT DAYS.
>> SORRY, CASIE, FROM THE PAST, I'M LOOKING FOR SINCE LAST COUNCIL MEETING BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE MILESTONES WE WERE LOOKING AT TO SEE IF WE WERE SLOWING THE SPREAD, WAS SINCE LAST TUESDAY. DID IT DOUBLE?
>> SO FROM LAST MONDAY TO TUESDAY, WE'VE DOUBLED.
FROM MONDAY, IT TOOK US EIGHT DAYS TO DOUBLE.
>> OKAY. SO THAT IS A GOOD SIGN.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WE WERE LOOKING FOR, WAS BEFORE, AGAIN, ACROSS THIS STATE AND LOCALLY, WE WERE DOUBLING MORE IN THREE DAYS.
>> SO IT'S THREE, AND THEN SEVEN, AND NOW IT'S RIGHT AT EIGHT.
IT'S STILL NOT AS GOOD AS 10, OR 14 OR, 21 DAYS.
IT IS GOOD, BUT WE'RE STILL RIGHT IN THERE DOUBLING RIGHT AT A WEEK, EIGHT DAYS.
>> SO THE PROBLEM BECOMES THAT YOU'RE DOUBLING WITH A LARGER NUMBER?
>> WHEN YOU DOUBLE THREE CASES IN THREE DAYS TO SIX, IT'S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN DOUBLING 300 CASES IN ANOTHER WEEK?
>> I THOUGHT IT WAS CRAZY TO THINK THAT WE WOULD DOUBLE FROM 150 TO 300 FROM THE LAST WEEK.
SO YOU SAID, 10'S BETTER, 14'S BETTER.
SO DO WE HAVE A GOAL OF WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO SEE? OBVIOUSLY, IT MUST NOT BE SEVEN OR EIGHT DAYS.
>> IT IS. JUST LIKE YOU SAID, IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE WOULD DOUBLE FROM 150 TO 300, BUT WE'RE AT 291, AND SO WE'RE ABOUT THERE.
>> SO IS THERE A GENERAL RULE OUT THERE OF WHAT WOULD BE SOMETHING GOOD? IS IT A 14-DAY DOUBLE? IS IT A 21-DAY DOUBLE? IS THERE A NUMBER OR IS THAT NOT QUANTIFIABLE, REALLY?
>> I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENING OVERSEAS, WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH THE PLACES THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE US, AND I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT NUMBER IS.
I'LL HAVE TO LOOK AND GET BACK TO YOU.
BUT I THINK AT ANY AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE CAN PUSH THAT DOUBLE OUT IS BETTER AND BETTER.
>> YOU DON'T MIND GOING AHEAD AND FIGURING OUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING OTHERS ARE DOING? I'D LIKE TO HAVE A GAUGE OF HOW THIS ACTUALLY LOOKS.
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>> SO CASIE, IF YOU CAN EXPLAIN A COUPLE THINGS ON OUR MOST RECENT REPORT CARD, WHICH WOULD'VE COME OUT YESTERDAY AT 2:30.
I THINK I HAD IT OPEN AND THEN IT WENT BACK ONE MORE DAY.
LET ME PULL UP YESTERDAY'S. SORRY.
>> SO WHILE SHE'S DOING THAT, LOOKING IT UP, I'M GOING TO INTERJECT AND ASK YOU A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
SO IS THERE A CHANCE THAT BY FRIDAY, SINCE WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT ALL THESE ROUND-TABLES, THAT YOU COULD MAYBE GIVE US THAT, CASIE? I THINK ANOTHER THING THAT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT IS ALSO, I DON'T KNOW, IS IT PER CAPITA? HOW MANY CASES WE HAVE PER CAPITA, ANOTHER JUDGE? SO COULD WE HAVE WHAT OURS IS AND THEN HOW THAT COMPARES AROUND THE COUNTRY?
>> CASES PER CAPITA AND DEATHS PER CAPITA, I THINK, ARE TWO REALLY IMPORTANT STATISTICS AS WELL.
>> I'M SORRY. ELAINE, LET ME JUST INTERRUPT.
YOU DO HAVE TO ALSO, I THINK, FACTOR IN THEIR TESTING PER CAPITA.
>> HOW MANY WE'VE TESTED AS TO OUR POPULATION, IN ADDITION TO THE DEATHS, IN ADDITION TO THE POSITIVE CASES.
>> YEAH, BECAUSE IT'S ALL RELATIVE TO YOUR NUMBERS.
YOUR STATISTICS CHANGE BASED ON WHAT YOUR PERCENTAGES ARE.
THANK YOU, STEPHANIE, FOR GETTING THAT UP.
SO OFF OF THE REPORT CARD, WE SEE A REPORTED OF 340 CASES SINCE WE BEGAN TRACKING THESE NUMBERS.
SO THE RECOVERED IS JUST WHAT'S RECOVERED IN POTTER AND RANDALL.
>> SO I KNOW YOU CAN'T GET THOSE OTHER SPECIFIC NUMBERS FROM OUTSIDE OF OUR DISTRICT, BUT I WOULD ASSUME THAT THERE ARE SOME RECOVERIES.
DO WE HAVE ANY ESTIMATES? I GUESS WHAT I'M LOOKING AT IS, WHEN I LOOK AT THE REPORT CARD, I SEE THAT NUMBER GOING UP, THE 340, IT KEEPS GOING UP, AND IT'S LIKE, I HAVE TO MENTALLY THEN DO THE MATH AND SUBTRACT OUT.
THE 340 IS NOT HOW MANY CASES WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, THAT'S THE TOTAL WE'VE HAD SINCE WE STARTED TRACKING.
YOU HAVE TO SUBTRACT OUT THE 50 FROM THAT, TO JUST GO WHERE WE ARE.
BUT THERE WOULD BE MORE SUBTRACTIONS IF WE HAD THE OTHER NUMBERS FROM OUTSIDE OF JUST RANDALL AND POTTER COUNTY. IS THAT CORRECT?
>> COUNCILWOMAN HAYS, IF I MAY PROVIDE A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE THOUGH.
OUTSIDE THE AMARILLO PUBLIC HEALTH DISTRICT NUMBER IS SIMPLY A NUMBER OF CASES THAT TESTED POSITIVE FROM OUTLYING COMMUNITIES THAT WERE TESTED THROUGH OUR FACILITIES, THROUGH OUR DRIVE-THROUGH TESTING.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE REGION AS A WHOLE, THE NUMBER IS 475 AS OF YESTERDAY.
SO I THINK IT IS A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE THAT OUR 340 IS BASED ON THE 275 FOR POTTER AND RANDALL COUNTIES, AND THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL 200 CASES IN THE 24 COUNTIES THAT SURROUND US.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF PERSPECTIVE THAT NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED, THAT THE 340 IS ONLY BASED ON DATA THAT WE HAVE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATE DATA AND OTHER DATASETS, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND THAT THERE'S MORE PREVALENCE OF THE DISEASE THROUGHOUT THE PANHANDLE THAN WHAT IS BEING REPORTED.
WHILE THE RECOVERY NUMBERS ARE IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THAT PROVIDES US A FRAMEWORK FOR ANTIBODY TESTING AND OTHER THINGS TO COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVE FORMS FOR TREATMENT AND THE LIKES, THAT IS DATA THAT WE ARE RELIANT ON THE STATE TO PROVIDE FOR OUTSIDE OF POTTER AND RANDALL COUNTY.
>> IT WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE TO TAKE THAT LINE OFF OF THE REPORT CARD AND LET THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORT THEIR DATA, AND AMARILLO PUBLIC HEALTH DISTRICT REPORT DATA FOR POTTER-RANDALL COUNTY.
BECAUSE THAT NUMBER IS, AGAIN, JUST THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE OUTSIDE OF POTTER-RANDALL COUNTY WHO TESTED AT ONE OF THE FACILITIES INSIDE POTTER-RANDALL COUNTY, BUT IT CERTAINLY DOES NOT GIVE A COMPLETE PICTURE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF POTTER AND RANDALL COUNTY.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER TAKE IT OFF, AND WE CAN REFER PEOPLE TO THE PLACE WHERE THEY CAN GET THE MOST ACCURATE DATA FOR OUTSIDE OF THE REGION.
>> WE HAD PREVIOUSLY REMOVED THAT LINE AND
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OUR COMMUNITY WAS PRETTY CLEAR THAT THEY WANTED TO STILL HAVE THAT INFORMATION.OUR CHALLENGE IS, THE FARTHER WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, THE MORE AND MORE THAT NUMBER DOESN'T ACTUALLY REFLECT ANY ACCURATE REFLECTION OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN SURROUNDING COUNTIES.
AS KEVIN SAID, IT'S PURELY A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE TESTED HERE INSIDE OUR HEALTH DISTRICT THAT DON'T LIVE INSIDE OUR HEALTH DISTRICT.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY A BENCHMARK OF ANYTHING THAT WE CAN USE FOR ANY TYPE OF ANALYTIC PURPOSE, JUST BECAUSE IT'S A VERY ABSTRACT NUMBER.
IT'S NOT TIED TO THE EXPERIENCE OUTSIDE THE AMARILLO AREA PUBLIC HEALTH DISTRICT.
IT'S JUST THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAME IN FROM OUTSIDE TO TEST HERE.
>> SO SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT THAT IS, WHENEVER YOU LOOK AT THE CASE NUMBER OF RECOVERED AND THEN YOU GO BACK 14 DAYS, WE HAD 87 DIAGNOSED CASES 14 DAYS AGO, AND NOW THAT WE'VE 50 RECOVERY, AND THEN IF YOU ADD THE SEVEN DEATHS THAT WE HAD IN THERE, THAT'S 57.
REALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR RECOVERY RATE IS ABOUT MAYBE A 17-DAY RECOVERY RATE, THAT MOST OF THE PATIENTS ARE FULLY RECOVERED IN 17 DAYS.
IS THAT A FAIR ASSESSMENT? I KNOW IT'S NOT PERFECT.
MY LIGHT TURNS OFF IF I DON'T MOVE AROUND ENOUGH.
YES. WE ACTIVELY MONITOR ALL OF OUR CASES.
SOME ARE STILL HOSPITALIZED, LIKE DR.
WEIS AND DR. LAMANTEER HAVE MENTIONED, IF SOMEBODY GOES ON A VENTILATOR, IT TAKES A WHILE FOR THEM TO COME OFF OF THAT VENTILATOR OR THEY MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL CARE.
SO WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE WHO MAY STILL BE IN THE HOSPITAL,.
WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE WHO MAY STILL BE SYMPTOMATIC [INAUDIBLE].
WE REQUIRE THEM TO BE SYMPTOM-FREE FOR THREE DAYS BEFORE WE CONSIDER THAT A RECOVERY.
SO THERE'S A LOT FACTORS THAT GO INTO WHAT WE CALL A RECOVERY.
I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PIECES WITH THAT.
BUT YES, I THINK THERE'S CONCLUSIONS THAT CAN BE DRAWN, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
>> CASIE, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE HEARD FROM CITIZENS, THEY WANT TO KEEP UP WITH, THEY'RE DAILY CHECKING THE REPORT CARD.
BUT WHAT THEY REALLY WANT TO SEE RIGHT OFF THE BAT IS, WHAT'S THE NUMBER, HOW MANY CASES DID WE JUMP FROM YESTERDAY TILL TODAY? IT WAS EASY TO DO AT FIRST BECAUSE WE WERE ALL HOLDING THAT MATH IN OUR HEAD, AND NOW AS THE NUMBERS ARE GETTING BIGGER, IT'S HARDER FOR PEOPLE, UNLESS THEY GO BACK TO A PREVIOUS REPORT CARD TO SEE.
I WONDER IF WE COULD JUST, RIGHT AT THE TOP, CASES REPORTED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS, FOR COMBINED POTTER-RANDALL JUST SHOWING, "THIS IS WHAT WE JUMPED IN 24 HOURS."
>> COULD WE REVAMP THE REPORT CARD AND BRING IT TO YOU AS AN UPDATED REPORT CARD WITH THE DATA THAT WE THINK MIGHT BE BEST TO REPORT, THAT WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND PRESENT YOU WITH A MORE UPDATED REPORT CARD, LIKE A FORMAT OF AN UPDATED REPORT CARD?
>> I THINK, KEVIN, DOING IT LONG ENOUGH NOW, I'M HEARING YOU HAVE SOME CHANGES YOU MIGHT LIKE TO MAKE.
THAT'S A SUGGESTION I WOULD MAKE.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A SUGGESTION THEY WANT TO THROW OUT ABOUT, PERHAPS, SHIFTING THE REPORT CARD?
>> WELL, I'M GUESSING ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS IS GOING TO BE TO TAKE THE REGIONAL INFORMATION OFF THE WAY WERE.
IF THERE'S A WAY TO SEPARATE THAT OFF, I DON'T KNOW THAT I WANT TO TOTALLY REMOVE IT.
>> I THINK WE CAN PUT IT IN A DIFFERENT PLACE.
>> COUNCILWOMAN HAYS, I DON'T THINK THAT'S A DIFFICULT REQUEST.
THE STATE UPDATES THEIR NUMBERS EVERYDAY AT ONE O'CLOCK BASED ON DATA FROM PREVIOUS DAY.
THAT IS AVAILABLE ON THE DSHS WEBSITE ON A COUNTY BY COUNTY BREAKDOWN.
SO WE COULD TAKE THAT INFORMATION AND INCLUDE IT ON OUR REPORT CARD FOR THAT DAY.
[NOISE] JUST BASICALLY PUT A CAVEAT WHERE THE DATA CAME FROM AND THE LIKE.
SO I THINK THAT'S VERY EASY AND RELATED TO THE MAYOR, I THINK THE INCREASING CASES IN POTTER-RANDALL COUNTIES, BOTH OF THOSE ARE VERY EASILY DONE
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BECAUSE AS THE NUMBERS WE'RE UPDATING ON A DAILY BASIS.>> SO I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT YOU WITH AN UPDATED REPORT CARD BECAUSE THERE'S SOME ELEMENTS THAT I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL TO TWEAK.
>> BECAUSE I THINK ONE OF THOSE WOULD BE THE NET CASES.
SO WE HAVE 275 CASES, WE HAVE FIVE RECOVERIES, SEVEN DEATHS, AND SO THAT'S 218 ACTIVE CASES.
SO THAT IS THE MORE REALISTIC NUMBER FOR US TO KNOW.
I THINK INSTEAD OF REQUIRING US TO DO THE MATH IN OUR HEAD, TO GO, "THIS IS WHERE WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY." BEING ABLE TO REFLECT, OUT OF 218, JUST OUR NUMBERS, HOW MANY ARE AT HOME AND HOW MANY ARE IN THE HOSPITAL? BECAUSE I'M NOT RECONCILING THOSE NUMBERS RIGHT NOW ON HOSPITAL NUMBERS AND OUR AT-HOME STAY.
SO WE COULD SEPARATE THAT OUT MAYBE, BUT THEN, OUR HOSPITAL NUMBERS DO IMPACT US.
EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT JUST ALL PATIENTS THAT CAME FROM POTTER-RANDALL COUNTY, OUR CAPACITY, OUR NUMBER OF BEDS BEING USED ARE IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
>> SURE. ABSOLUTELY. AGAIN, I WOULD LOVE TO PRESENT YOU WITH AN UPDATED REPORT CARD.
SO TAKING ALL OF THESE SUGGESTIONS INTO ACCOUNT BECAUSE I THINK THEY'RE GOOD SUGGESTIONS.
>> CASIE AND KEVIN, WHILE WE HAVE BOTH OF YOU, WOULD GIVE US AN UPDATE ON TESTING CAPACITY? AGAIN, I THINK OUR TARGET FOR TESTING CAPACITY WOULD BE TO HAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS AVAILABLE.
EMPLOYERS WOULD BEING ABLE TO TEST THEIR EMPLOYEES ONCE A WEEK.
I WISH WE WERE GOING ON OFFENSE WITH TESTING RATHER THAN USING TESTING TO PLAY DEFENSE.
I KNOW THAT'S NOT WHERE WE ARE, BUT GIVE US AN ASSESSMENT OF WHERE WE ARE ON TESTING.
>> SO THE SUPPLIES ESPECIALLY FOR TESTING HAVE LOOSENED UP, SWABS ARE STILL IN SHORT SUPPLY.
HOWEVER, WE DO INTEND TO CONTINUE OUR DRIVE-THRU TESTING AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.
WE KNOW THAT PRIVATE PHYSICIANS, URGENT CARE CENTERS, THEY HAVE TESTING THAT IS BECOMING MORE AVAILABLE AS DIFFERENT COMMERCIAL LABS BECOME MORE AVAILABLE.
MANY OF THE COMMERCIAL LABS SUPPLY THE SUPPLIES TO BE ABLE TO DO TESTING, SO THAT'S VERY HELPFUL.
IT'S STILL, LIKE YOU SAID, NOT REALLY PRACTICAL TO TEST EVERYONE ON A SERIAL BASIS, FOR EMPLOYERS TO TEST THEIR EMPLOYEES ONCE A WEEK.
WE DO HAVE TO TEST PEOPLE AS NEEDED.
DR. MILTON ALWAYS LIKENS IT TO, YOU NEED TO TEST PEOPLE WHO YOU THINK ARE SICK WITH THE DISEASE.
WE NEED TO TEST PEOPLE WHO ARE CONTACTS, WE NEED TO TEST PEOPLE WHO ARE ILL.
THOSE THINGS ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND WE NEED TO SAVE OUR RESOURCES FOR THOSE PEOPLE.
>> SO CASIE, THAT BRINGS UP THE QUESTION ON PPE AS WELL, ENOUGH FOR OUR MEDICAL INDUSTRY, WHERE DO WE STAND FOR THAT, AND VERSUS ALSO AVAILABILITY FOR OTHER INDUSTRIES, FOR EXAMPLE, THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ENOUGH EQUIPMENT AND ACCESS FOR PPE TO OUR BUSINESSES AS WELL?
>> SO EACH TIME WE TALK TO OUR HOSPITALS, THEY INDICATE TO US THAT THEY HAVE SUPPLIES FOR PPE.
THEY INDICATE TO US THAT THEY ARE CONSERVING PPE AND BEING VERY FRUGAL WITH PPE, BUT THAT THEY DO HAVE SUPPLIES.
[NOISE] WE'RE WORKING WITH OTHER INDUSTRIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE SUPPLIES THAT THEY NEED.
THERE'S BEEN VERY GRACIOUS DONATIONS OF PPE.
WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THE HUSBANDING OF PPE, WITH THE LIMITING OF ELECTIVE SURGERIES AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, THAT CERTAINLY HELPED GET US TO WHERE WE ARE.
SO THOSE THINGS ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
WITH REGARD TO HOSPITALITY, INDUSTRIES, AND WHATNOT, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY, A FABRIC, NON-MEDICAL MASK IS OKAY.
WE'RE ALL IN OUR OFFICES OR OUR HOMES RIGHT NOW,
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AND SO WE AREN'T WITHIN SIX FEET OF SOMEONE ELSE, SO IT'S OKAY TO NOT WEARING A MASK.BUT ANYTIME WE'RE IN PUBLIC, WE NEED TO WEAR A MASK.
IT'S OKAY TO TAKE THAT LEADERSHIP TO DO THAT.
SO PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THAT IT'S OKAY TO WEAR A MASK ANYTIME THEY'RE OUTSIDE THEIR HOME.
SO THOSE FABRIC, NON-MEDICAL MASKS ARE ABSOLUTELY WHAT PEOPLE NEED TO WEAR, BECAUSE THEY PROTECT EACH OTHER FROM EACH OTHER.
I KNOW THAT'S A FUNNY WAY TO SAY THAT, BUT ANYTIME WE WEAR A MASK, WE'RE PROTECTING OUR NEIGHBORS.
>> SO I'M JUST WONDERING ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY.
DO WE DO ANY TYPE OF COORDINATION? ARE THERE ANY VOLUNTEER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE HELPING COORDINATE SOME OF THAT? I SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKING MASKS ONLINE, BUT I DON'T KNOW THE DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL.
IF THERE WAS A BUSINESS THAT WAS KNITTING MASKS FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES, THAT THEY CAN'T FIND IT THROUGH A RETAIL OR A WHOLESALE OPTION, LOGISTICALLY, IF THERE'S A WAY OF CONNECTING THOSE.
>> I DON'T KNOW ALL OF THE SPECIFICS.
I KNOW THAT ANYTIME SOMEBODY PRESENTS A NEED TO US, WE CONNECT THEM TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW, BUT I DON'T KNOW OF THE FORMAL CHAINS.
IF ANYBODY ELSE DOES, WE'RE HAPPY TO GET HOOKED INTO THOSE.
>> COUNCILMAN HAYS, LARGELY, THOSE TYPES OF REQUESTS HAVE TO BE FILTERED THROUGH THE NORMAL SUPPLY CHAINS, CERTAINLY, IF THERE'S A CASE-BY-CASE WHERE THERE'S HEALTH AND SAFETY INVOLVED, BUT THOSE LIMITED RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOCKPILE HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON BOTH PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC-HEALTH, AND THEN OUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, PROVIDING THEM RESOURCES.
SO WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF RESOURCES AND CERTAINLY, WE ARE WELCOME TO PROVIDE US INFORMATION ON PRIVATE ENTITIES THAT ARE PROVIDING NON-SURGICAL OR NON-MEDICAL GRADE CLOTH MASKS AND THE LIKE, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, PEOPLE ARE GETTING INGENUITY INTO PRIVATE SECTOR TO MAKE THOSE THINGS HAPPEN AND GET THOSE RESOURCES OUT INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
WE REALLY JUST GET IN THE WAY AND ARE AT LEAST EFFICIENT PROCESS TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
>> CAN YOU GUYS COMMENT ON WHY YOU THINK WE'RE SEEING A DIFFERENCE IN RANDALL AND POTTER COUNTY CASES? JUST LOOKING AT THE ACTIVE RANDALL COUNTY, WE'RE SEEING A TREND THAT'S DEFINITELY A PLATEAU, MAYBE A DECREASE.
POTTER COUNTY, ACTIVE, IS CLEARLY STILL GROWING.
SO DO WE HAVE A REASON WHY WE THINK THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN HOW THOSE COUNTIES ARE RESPONDING?
>> I THINK ANYTIME THAT YOU ARE IN A CONGREGATE SETTING, WHETHER THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO GO TO WORK OR YOU'RE LIVING IN LARGER GROUPS, OR YOU ARE GOING TO WORK IN LARGER GROUPS, THAT INCREASES YOUR RISK OF EXPOSURE.
I THINK THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENCES IN THE COUNTY MAKE-UP, AND SO THERE MAY LIKELY BE MORE PEOPLE THAT CONTINUE TO GO TO WORK [OVERLAPPING] AND WORK LARGER GROUP SETTINGS.
>> WE ALSO MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING IN POTTER COUNTY WHERE SOME OF THE RESIDENTS, THEY MIGHT BE WORKING IN OTHER LOCATIONS WHERE THEY MAY HAVE HOTSPOTS, SO THAT COULD BE INFLUENCING THAT AS WELL.
>> FOR THE NUMBERS, BEFORE, YOU HAD MENTIONED, CASIE, THAT WE SAW SEVERAL THAT WERE IN CLUSTERS.
ARE WE SEEING THAT? IS IT CLUSTER WHEN YOU ARE DOING YOUR CASE INVESTIGATION RATHER THAN JUST ONE-OFFS?
>> YES, WE'RE SEEING A NUMBER OF CLUSTERS.
>> MORE IN POTTER COUNTY THAN IN RANDALL COUNTY?
>> LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MOORE COUNTY.
I KNOW THAT THEY ARE MANDATING MASKS, THAT ALL OF THE CITIZENS ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS OUT IN PUBLIC?
>> NO. I GUESS THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO MITIGATE THEIR SPREAD, THEY'RE GROWING RAPIDLY.
>> YES. WE'VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES, THE LEADERSHIP THERE IN MOORE COUNTY.
AGAIN, WE HAVE A VERY REGIONAL COMMUNITY AND SO WE'RE GLAD TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE A REFERRAL SOURCE INTO OUR COMMUNITY.
WE SHARE EMPLOYEES. SO TODAY IS OUR 14TH ANNIVERSARY.
[00:35:02]
>> THANK YOU. I TOLD HIM I WOULD GIVE HIM A SHOUT OUT TODAY, SO I'M VERY GLAD.
BUT MY HUSBAND WORKS THERE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL IN [INAUDIBLE].
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE AND WORK, AND WE SHARE EMPLOYEES, WE SHARE RESIDENTS, AND SO WE HAVE A VERY REGIONAL AREA HERE WHERE WE SHARE PEOPLE.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE WORK TOGETHER AND COMMUNICATE TOGETHER.
SO A GROUP OF US WILL BE GOING TO MOORE COUNTY TOMORROW TO OFFER OUR ASSISTANCE AND TO SEE HOW WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT THAT COMMUNITY AS WELL.
>> I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THAT.
WE ARE REGIONAL AND WE'RE THIS THE BIG SISTER CITY TO ALL OF THOSE CITIES AND WE CAN HANDLE.
I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THOUGH THAT FOLKS UNDERSTAND THE WAY OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IS SET UP STATEWIDE.
IT IS COUNTY BY COUNTY OR PUBLIC HEALTH DISTRICT, AND OUR AUTHORITY ENDS AT THE BOUNDARIES.
SO WHILE WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSIONS, WE CAN ENCOURAGE, WE CAN SHARE THE RESOURCES TO THE EXTENT WE CAN SHARE THEM, WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES OF POTTER AND RANDALL COUNTIES.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN CONVERSATIONS, THERE HAVE BEEN OFFERS TO HELP AND TO COME ALONGSIDE, AND WE'RE GOING TO ABSOLUTELY DO THAT.
WHAT I DON'T WANT IS FOR PEOPLE TO THINK THAT WE HAVE JURISDICTION THERE. WE DON'T.
THE HEALTH DISTRICT DOESN'T, THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL DON'T, THE COUNTY JUDGES FOR POTTER-RANDALL COUNTY DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY THERE.
SO WE DO SHARE A LOT OF THINGS AND DO HAVE EMPLOYEES TO DRIVE BACK AND FORTH BOTH DIRECTIONS, BUT OUR JURISDICTIONAL AUTHORITY ENDS AT OUR COUNTY BOUNDARIES.
>> MAYOR, I JUST BUILD UPON WHAT CASIE HAS TALKED ABOUT BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES THAT IS BASED OUT OF [INAUDIBLE] AND THEY PROVIDE THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES FOR MOORE COUNTY.
IT WAS AT THE REQUEST OF MOORE COUNTY THAT PUBLIC HEALTH AND DSHS COME TO THEIR JURISDICTION TO PROVIDE THEM SOME ADVICE AND GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THEIR OPTIONS.
SO THIS WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE INSERTED OURSELVES INTO THAT, THIS WAS DONE AT THE REQUEST OF THEIR COUNTY JUDGE AND THE LEADERSHIP OF SOME OF THEIR KEY BUSINESSES IN THAT JURISDICTION.
>> YOU'RE RIGHT, WE'RE HAPPY TO HELP.
THEY CERTAINLY HAVE OUR PRAYERS.
I MEAN, ONE REASON POTTER'S NUMBERS SO HIGH IS BECAUSE THEY NEIGHBOR TWO MORE, AND WE SHARE SOME OF THOSE EMPLOYMENT SITES THAT ARE HOTSPOTS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, COUNCIL, QUESTIONS FOR CASIE?
>> CASIE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU AND JARED HAVE WORKED OUT ABOUT STAYING HOME ALIVE, BUT YOUR TIME IS REALLY, REALLY VALUABLE.
SO IF WE'VE GOT ANOTHER QUESTION, WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU IN ANOTHER WAY.
BUT IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING ELSE YOU NEED TO GO AND DO, WE WOULD WANT YOU TO USE YOUR TIME WISELY.
WE CAN'T CALL YOU, SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU GO AND DO ALL THE THINGS YOU NEED TO GET DONE TODAY.
SO FEEL FREE TO POP OFF OR WORK IN THE BACKGROUND, WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO.
>> OKAY, THANK YOU. YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY.
>> COUNCILOR, I ALSO WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE HOSPITAL CEOS.
OBVIOUSLY, DR. LAMANTEER AND DR. WEISSER ARE VISITING WITH CASIE AND DR. MILTON CONSTANTLY, BUT I AM ALSO HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THOSE HOSPITALS' CEOS.
JUST AS [INAUDIBLE] SUSPENDERS APPROACH OF WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS, WHAT ARE WE DOING SYSTEMICALLY TO PARTNER, AND COVER ANY COMMUNICATION GAPS.
SO I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE GOING ON, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE LEADERSHIP THAT WE HAVE IN THOSE CEO POSITIONS; BOB WILLIAMS AND RYAN AT NORTHWEST.
THEY'VE BEEN VERY EASY TO WORK WITH, EASY TO GET A HOLD OFF, THEY'VE CALLED ME IF THEY HAD ISSUES THAT THEY NEEDED ADDRESSED QUICKLY.
I THINK WE ARE WORKING WELL AS PARTNERS AND I'M REALLY PROUD TO REPORT THAT. ANY COMMENTS? JARED, I'M GOING TO PASS THE BATON BACK TO YOU THEN JUST TO CONTINUE REPORTING ON COVID THINGS. YOU'RE MUTE.
>> ALL RIGHT. I WANTED TO BRIEFLY TOUCH ON ANIMAL MANAGEMENT & WELFARE,
[00:40:02]
AND WE ALSO WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME POLICE DEPARTMENT ITEMS OR AT LEAST ONE POLICE DEPARTMENT ITEM.I MAY HAVE ASSISTANT CHIEF MARTIN BIRKENFELD ON TO TALK ABOUT THAT, IF HE'S NOT, I'LL TOUCH ON IT, BUT LET ME TOUCH ON AMW FIRST. THERE HE IS.
THEN WE'LL THROW IT TO CHIEF BIRKENFELD TO TOUCH BASE ON SPEEDING AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
SO FROM AN ANIMAL MANAGEMENT STANDPOINT, WE'VE DONE REALLY GOOD JOB OUT THERE, I THINK, WITH OUR PET PANTRY.
THE PET PANTRY'S GIVEN OUT A LOT OF FOOD.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE OPERATING TODAY FROM 3:00-6:00 PM OUT AT 3501 SOUTH OSAGE, WHERE THE ANIMAL MANAGEMENT & WELFARE FACILITY IS.
THEY'RE GIVING AWAY DOG FOOD, CAT FOOD FOR ANYBODY THAT COMES UP, AND THAT'S BEEN EXTREMELY WELL RECEIVED.
LOTS OF PEOPLE COMING IN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT OPPORTUNITY.
ON THAT, I DEFINITELY WANT TO RECOGNIZE MERRICK PET CARE.
THEY'VE BEEN A HUGE PARTNER IN THIS, AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE PARTNER.
IT WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE TO DO IT WITHOUT THEM.
WE COULDN'T ACCESS THE TONS AND TONS OF FOOD.
IN ONE DAY, WE PICKED UP EIGHT-AND-A-HALF TONS FROM THEM.
SO THEY'RE REALLY GOING OUT OF THEIR WAY AND STEPPING UP IN THIS TIME OF EMERGENCY FOR OUR CITIZENS.
THE OTHER THINGS OUT THERE, WE'RE STILL CONTINUING TO DO ADOPTIONS.
PEOPLE ARE ADOPTING ONLINE AND THEN COMING TO THE FACILITY, AND WE'RE DOING LIKE A CURBSIDE SERVICE.
WE'RE BRINGING THE ANIMAL TO THEM.
WE'RE BRINGING THE PAPERWORK TO THEM FOR THEM TO SIGN AND TAKE CARE OF ANYTHING THAT WASN'T TAKEN CARE OF ONLINE.
WE'VE HAD TO MODIFY SOME PAPERWORK SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO EFFECTIVELY DO TRANSFERS.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THAT, ALL THAT TOGETHER AND THROUGH THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. WRUBEL AND THE REST OF THE TEAM OUT OF THE ANIMAL MANAGEMENT FACILITY.
OUR LIVE OUTCOMES ARE RIGHT AROUND 87 PERCENT, [OVERLAPPING] WHICH RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, WE HAVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST LIVE OUTCOME RATES THAT WE'VE EVER EXPERIENCED AT OUR SHELTER.
I WANT TO COMMEND THE WORK OF DR. WRUBEL AND THE REST OF THE ANIMAL MANAGEMENT TEAM.
THAT IS A BIG EFFORT, AND TO AN EXTENT, THEY'RE STILL SHORTHANDED AND HAD BEEN FOR SOME TIME.
SO WE'RE WORKING TO ADDRESS THOSE CHALLENGES, BUT RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF GLOBAL PANDEMIC, ANY STAFFING CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE AND EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON, THEY'RE ACHIEVING SOME OF THE HIGHEST LIVE OUTCOME RATES THAT WE'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE OUT THERE.
THAT'S A CREDIT NOT ONLY TO OUR TEAM, BUT TO OUR PARTNERS.
THERE'S A LARGE CARING COMMUNITY IN AMARILLO THAT IS FOCUSED ON HOUSING AND CARING FOR ANIMALS THAT DON'T HAVE A HOME.
SO THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR PARTNERS, AND OUR TEAM, AND OUR COMMUNITY IS MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE OUT THERE.
SO I REALLY WANTED TO TOUCH ON ANIMAL MANAGEMENT & WELFARE IN THIS FORMAT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW THE GOOD THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING OUT THERE, AND THAT WE'RE STILL ADOPTING ANIMALS.
SO IF YOU ARE NEEDING AN ANIMAL, REACH OUT TO OUR WEB PAGE, ANIMAL MANAGEMENT & WELFARE.
YOU WILL HAVE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS ON DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN GO TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE IN THE FACILITY, VIRTUALLY, AND THEN ALSO TO GO THROUGH AND ADOPT THE ANIMAL INTO YOUR HOME.
ALSO, I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE IT NOW TO CHIEF BIRKENFELD TO TOUCH BASE ON A COUPLE OF POLICE ISSUES. CHIEF?
>> JARED, I HAD A QUESTION. [OVERLAPPING]
>> YES, MA'AM. I'M SORRY. HANG ON. YES, MA'AM.
>> ON THE PROCEDURAL CHANGES, I THINK YOU TOUCHED ON THIS LAST TIME, BUT HAVE OUR INTAKE PROCEDURES CHANGED AS MOSTLY IN THE PAST THAT PEOPLE COULD JUST BASICALLY COME ANYTIME, DROP OFF ANIMALS? IS IT BY APPOINTMENT ONLY NOW?
>> YEAH. PROCEDURES HAVE CHANGED.
I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND HAVE KEVIN TOUCH BASE ON THE SPECIFICS.
>> YES, SIR. COUNCILWOMAN HAYS, ALONG THOSE LINES, YES, WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS MANAGED INTAKE.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT WE HAVE TO REDUCE THE INTAKE IN THE FACILITY IF WE HAVE ANY HOPE OF KEEPING OUR NUMBERS DOWN, KEEPING OUR LIVE OUTCOME IN A VERY POSITIVE DIRECTION.
SO IT ISN'T JUST OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO COME IN THERE AND BRING ANIMALS TO THE SHELTER.
THAT IS A VERY MANAGED PROCESS, AND REALLY, FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO HELP PEOPLE KEEP THEIR ANIMALS AT HOME.
HENCE, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MERRICK TO PROVIDE FREE, BOTH, DOG AND CAT FOOD, AND ALSO CAT LITTER.
SO ALL THOSE OPPORTUNITIES CREATE THOSE DYNAMICS WHERE, HOPEFULLY, PEOPLE CAN CONTINUE TO KEEP THEIR PETS AT HOME, CARE FOR THEIR PETS AND NOT HAVE THAT BE AN ADDED WORRY DURING THESE STRESSFUL TIMES.
SO THAT IS THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH.
THE SHELTER, FOR THE MOST PART, IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.
WE DO HAVE ONLINE MECHANISMS FOR PEOPLE TO GET RECLAIMS. JARED ALREADY MENTIONED THE ONLINE ADOPTION, THE CURBSIDE ADOPTION OPTION, BUT WE ARE UTILIZING STAFF TO GET BETTER PICTURES OF THE ANIMALS SO THAT THEY HAVE BETTER OPPORTUNITIES TO RECLAIM THEIR ANIMALS.
[00:45:02]
WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THAT TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL.WHERE WITH THE BETTER PICTURES, PEOPLE ARE MORE EASILY ABLE TO IDENTIFY THEIR PETS THAT MAYBE WERE PICKED UP BY ANIMAL MANAGEMENT AND RECLAIM THOSE ANIMALS.
SO WE'RE GOING A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS TO REDUCE THE INTAKE INTO THE SHELTER, AND CONTINUE TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR POSITIVE OUTCOMES WITH EITHER ADOPTION, RECLAIM, AND CONTINUE TO WORK WITH RESCUES.
WE HAVE PUT IN SOME RESTRICTIONS ON THAT RELATED TO RESCUES, BUT WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM.
I HAD TRANSPORT GO OUT SATURDAY TO HELP US EFFECT THAT AND CONTINUE DO THOSE POSITIVE THINGS TO TAKE ANIMALS TO OTHER COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY MAY HAVE A SHORTAGE OF ANIMALS, WHERE WE DON'T HAVE THOSE ISSUES.
>> I APPRECIATE YOU TOUCHING ON THAT, KEVIN.
WHEN WE THINK LONG-TERM, PAST WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, OF JUST THE POSSIBILITY FOR KEEPING THAT MANAGED INTAKE IS PART OF OUR OPERATIONS, THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT OTHER SHELTERS, WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO INCREASE THEIR LIVE RELEASE RATES, THAT'S A HUGE FACTOR.
SO I APPRECIATE THAT IT'S IN PLACE NOW.
HOPEFULLY, WE CAN CONTINUE IT LONG-TERM.
I APPRECIATE DR. WRUBEL'S APPROACH IN JUST, EVEN WITH THOSE APPOINTMENTS AND ACCOUNTS OF TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE WORK THROUGH WHY ARE YOU ADOPTING YOUR PET.
IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THAT, WITH SOME HELP, YOU COULD KEEP YOUR PET? I'M VERY ENCOURAGED BY THE NUMBERS WE'RE SEEING, THE INCREASE AND THE RELEASE RATE.
>> THOUGH WE WERE STARTING TO SEE THESE TRENDS COME INTO PLACE PRE-COVID, WE WOULD HOPE TO KEEP THESE THINGS WELL IN PLACE, WELL AFTER COVID COMES AND GOES.
THE MANAGED INTAKE HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN THE TARGET ZERO REPORT, AND, BASICALLY, DR. WRUBEL, THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF NECESSITY, HAD TO PUT IT IN PLACE AS WE'VE WORK THROUGH THOSE CHALLENGES.
BUT IT IS WORKING VERY EFFECTIVELY TO REDUCE THAT, AND TO REALLY COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVES WHERE WE TRY TO WORK WITH THE INDIVIDUAL ON HOW CAN WE COME UP WITH AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO KEEP THOSE POSITIVE OUTCOMES GOING.
>> KEVIN, DO YOU THINK THAT MEANS WE WILL KEEP MANAGED INTAKE ONCE THIS ENDS, THAT THIS WAS ONE OF THE BIG GOALS? SO THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY REASON WHY, EVEN THOUGH COVID PUSHED US TO THIS POINT, NOW WE CAN JUST STAY THERE?
>> THAT WOULD BE OUR HOPE. SHE IS WORKING TO RECONFIGURE HER STAFF TO BETTER SUPPORT ALL THE ACTIVITIES THAT CREATE THOSE POSITIVE OUTCOMES, AND CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH RESCUES THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.
SHE'S ALSO LOOKING AT LARGE-SCALE TRANSPORTS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHE'S VERY FOCUSED ON WITH SOME OF THE CONNECTIONS SHE'S HAD FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING THOSE LARGE-SCALE TRANSPORTS TO GET MORE ANIMALS OUT OF THE SHELTER.
SO WHEN YOU COMBINE ALL THOSE THINGS, WE CERTAINLY REMAIN FOCUSED ON TRYING TO KEEP US MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR A CONTINUED POSITIVE MOVEMENT IN OUR ANIMAL MANAGEMENT & WELFARE OPERATIONS.
>> SO WE COULD HAVE ACTUALLY REALLY HAVE TURNED A BIG CORNER AS FAR AS ANIMAL MANAGEMENT & WELFARE GOES FOR THE CITY.
>> I WOULD SAY WERE CONSCIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC.
DR. WRUBEL CONTINUES TO LOOK AT OTHER THINGS THAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO VISIT WITH COUNCIL WITH, BUT RIGHT NOW SHE'S FOCUSED ON WHAT SHE HAS NOW.
AS WE GET SETTLED OR PAST THE COVID OPERATIONS AND THE ADJUSTMENTS RELATED TO THAT, I KNOW SHE WILL BE BRINGING ADDITIONAL ITEMS TO BOTH ANIMAL MANAGEMENT & WELFARE ADVISORY BOARD AND TO CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
>> ALL RIGHT, MAKING SURE I'M NOT MUTED.
WE ALSO HAVE CHIEF BIRKENFELD TO TALK TO US ABOUT POLICING ISSUES. CHIEF?
>> YES, SIR. SO WE'VE NOTICED ALL OUR OPERATIONS ARE GOING PRETTY SMOOTH FOR THE SITUATION.
[NOISE] [INAUDIBLE] STOPPED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
WE'VE HEARD A COUPLE OF PEOPLE OUT IN THE PUBLIC SAY THAT, "WELL, I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WEREN'T STOPPING ANYBODY?" THAT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE.
THERE ARE FEW THINGS THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS GIVEN PEOPLE TIME, SUCH AS REGISTRATION VIOLATIONS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A MAJOR UPTICK IN SPEEDING VIOLATIONS IN REGARDS TO THE SPEEDS INVOLVED.
WE'VE HAD NOT ONLY PATROL OFFICERS, BUT OUR MOTORCYCLE PATROLS HAD SOME UNREAL SPEEDS THAT THEY'VE STOPPED PEOPLE BEFORE.
IN ONE CASE, PERSON WAS GOING OVER 100 MILES AN HOUR IN 60-MILES AN HOUR ZONE ON INTERSTATE 27.
WE JUST WANT TO ASSURE COUNCIL, AND THE PUBLIC, THAT WE ARE STILL ENFORCING TRAFFIC SAFETY.
SPEEDING IS ONE OF OUR MAJOR VIOLATIONS THAT CONTRIBUTES TO A LOT OF OUR CRASHES, AND ESPECIALLY OUR FATAL CRASHES.
OUR OFFICERS ARE STILL OUT, THEY'RE NOT ENFORCING THOSE REGISTRATION VIOLATIONS
[00:50:03]
RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE GOVERNOR HAS EXTENDED THAT.SO IF A PERSON'S REGISTRATION IS RECENTLY OUT, THEN THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET TICKET FOR THAT.
BUT FOR SPEEDING VIOLATIONS AND ANY OTHER TRAFFIC SAFETY VIOLATIONS, WE'RE ABSOLUTELY ON-POINT, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE ENFORCING THAT BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT SAFETY.
ANOTHER THING WE'VE NOTICED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AS THE WEATHER'S GOTTEN NICER IS RACING.
RACING IS NOT JUST A TRAFFIC TICKET, IT'S A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR.
SO YOU CAN GET ARRESTED, YOUR CAR GET IMPOUNDED IF YOU'RE CAUGHT RACING.
WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS, IF YOU'RE TEMPTED TO DO THAT, I KNOW IT'S BEEN BORING OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN CERTAIN WAYS BEING STUCK INSIDE, BUT STREET RACING IS ABSOLUTELY NOT GOING TO BE ALLOWED.
IF WE ENCOUNTER THAT, WE'RE GOING TAKE CARE OF IT.
IN FACT, WE'RE WORKING ON A PLAN TO DO SOME ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT ON THAT AND IT'S NO SECRET.
WE WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING THAT BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO SEE A TRAGEDY HAPPEN BECAUSE OF STREET RACING.
>> SO TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
IT'S A MISDEMEANOR AND YOU CAN BE ARRESTED FOR RACING.
I GUESS I HADN'T HEARD THAT BEFORE.
>> YES. A RACING ON A HIGHWAY IS A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR, AND THAT'S AN OFFENSE YOU COULD END UP WITH SIX MONTHS IN JAIL FOR THAT OFFENSE.
IN THAT CASE WHERE YOU'RE JUST SPEEDING, THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE ACTUALLY ENGAGED IN A CONTEST FOR SPEED WITH SOMEBODY ELSE.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE SEE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME IN AMARILLO, BOTH ON OUR STREETS AND HIGHWAYS.
>> I THINK THE TEMPTATION INCREASES BECAUSE WE DO HAVE LESS TRAFFIC.
SO THE STREETS THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE SPACE AND I THINK PEOPLE GET A LITTLE MORE TEMPTED.
SO THAT'S A GREAT REMINDER THAT IT COMES AT A HIGH COST.
THERE IS LESS TRAFFIC AND I DID TALK TO THE HIGHWAY PATROL AS WELL OVER THE WEEKEND, AND THEY SAID THEY'VE SEEN SAME THING OUT ON THE HIGHWAYS AS WELL.
LESS TRAFFIC BUT HIGHER SPEEDS WHENEVER THEY'RE MAKING TRAFFIC STOPS.
>> IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF BIRKENFELD, I WANTED TO TOUCH BRIEFLY ON SOME OF THE TAKEAWAYS FROM GOVERNOR ABBOT'S RECENT EXECUTIVE ORDERS GA-15, 16, AND 17, AND ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW 16 RELATES TO 14.
I KNOW THESE ARE GOING TO START BLENDING TOGETHER, BUT JUST IN SUMMARY, GA-15 RELATED TO HOSPITAL CAPACITY.
IT WILL TOUCH ON WHAT DOCTORS CAN DO AND CAN'T DO OR SHOULD DO AND SHOULDN'T DO AS FAR AS PROCEDURES.
IT WILL MOST DIRECTLY AFFECT THE PAST GENERAL LOCAL HOSPITALS IN WHAT PROCEDURES ARE BEING DONE IN A LOCAL DOCTOR'S OFFICES.
GA-17 SPEAKS TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GOVERNOR'S STRIKE FORCE TO OPEN TEXAS.
IT ALSO HAS AN IMPACT ON STATE PARKS, IT WILL OPEN STATE PARKS WITH CERTAIN CRITERIA FOR DISTANCING, AND MASKS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT IT PRIMARILY IS FOCUSED ON CREATING A STRIKE FORCE TO CREATE POLICIES AND GOALS, AND TIMELINES, I BELIEVE, AS TO HOW THE STATE WILL OPEN BACKUP.
THE ONE I WANTED TO FOCUS ON, THOUGH, IS GA-16.
GA-16 IS THE ACTUAL DISASTER ORDER THAT TAKES STEPS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF CITIZENS, IE, CLOSING DOWN CERTAIN BUSINESSES WHERE YOU HAVE VERY CLOSE FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT LIKE THE TATTOO PARLORS, AND HAIR SALONS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
FOURTEEN, WHICH IS ONE THAT 16 REPLACES, 14 IS WHAT GUIDES ALL OF OUR ORDERS THAT ARE REPLACED THAT HAD BEEN DOWN BY THE MAYOR AND EXTENDED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
FOURTEEN REQUIRED THAT ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES STAY OPEN, AND CLOSE THOSE VERY SMALL NUMBER OF BUSINESSES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, AND THEN IT STATED THAT WE SHOULD MINIMIZE SOCIAL GATHERINGS AND MINIMIZED CONTACT WITH NON-FAMILY MEMBERS.
USING THAT, WE CREATED THE LOW-RISK BUSINESS CATEGORY THAT HAD THE CRITERIA UNDER WHICH BUSINESSES COULD BE OPEN.
THAT INCLUDED NO MORE THAN 10 IN AN ESTABLISHMENT, MAINTAINING SOCIAL DISTANCING OF AT LEAST SIX FEET BETWEEN CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES, BETWEEN EVERYBODY.
ENHANCED SANITATION MEASURES INSIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OUTSIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT FOR COMMON TOUCH SURFACES LIKE DOORS, CARTS, POINT-OF-SALE DEVICES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THEN ENHANCE SANITATION MEASURES FOR EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS, SO FREQUENT WASHING OF HANDS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THE PRIMARY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 14 AND 16, 16 ACTUALLY GETS A LITTLE BIT MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN 14.
THE GOAL IS TO START LAYING OUT THE GUIDELINES BY WHICH THE STATE WILL OPEN UP.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT IS A CHALLENGING SITUATION I'M SURE THAT THE STATE FINDS ITSELF IN AS IT'S TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER POLICY THAT CAN BE APPLIED IN ALL CITIES ACROSS TEXAS.
UNDERSTANDING THAT OUR EXPERIENCE IS NOT GOING TO BE THE SAME AS HOUSTON'S EXPERIENCE OR SAN ANTONIO'S OR DALLAS OR ANY OTHER VERY LARGE CITY, OR CONVERSELY LIKE SOME SMALL TOWNS AROUND US.
[00:55:01]
PLAINVIEW IS NOT GOING TO HAVE THE SAME EXPERIENCE AS AMARILLO.THE REASON FOR ANY AMBIGUITY INSIDE THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER, INSIDE THE STATE'S ORDER IS SO THAT CITIES AND LOCAL JURISDICTIONS CAN MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING.
IN THIS CASE, IT WILL HAVE SOMETHING OF AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON HOW WE ARE DOING OUR LOW-RISK BUSINESS, IN THAT THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER IN 16 SAYS, AND THIS IS STARTING ON FRIDAY MORNING.
SO AT 12:01 FRIDAY MORNING, RIGHT AFTER MIDNIGHT ON THURSDAY, THIS BECOMES EFFECTIVE.
IT SAYS THAT RETAIL SERVICES CAN BE CONTINUED THAT CAN BE WORKED THROUGH PICKUP, DELIVERY BY MAIL OR DELIVERY TO THE CUSTOMERS DOORSTEP IN STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH THE TERMS REQUIRED BY DSHS.
NOW, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN WORKING CONSISTENT TO THE TERMS AND GUIDELINES ISSUED BY CDC, THE PRESIDENT, AND DSHS.
THE DSHS REQUIREMENTS, HOWEVER, HAVE BEEN MODIFIED IN LIGHT OF THIS ORDER AND ARE INCLUDED AS REFERENCE INSIDE THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER.
THAT REFERENCE THAT MOST EFFECTS US HAS TO DO WITH, IF I'M A CUSTOMER, HOW DO I PURCHASE AND OBTAIN GOODS FROM A RETAIL STORE? CUSTOMERS MAY PURCHASE ITEMS FROM A RETAIL LOCATION FOR PICKUP, DELIVERY BY MAIL OR DELIVERY TO THE CUSTOMERS DOORSTEP, BUT MAY NOT ENTER THE PREMISES.
THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT MODIFICATION TO THE GUIDELINES ARE INCLUDED IN GA-14.
IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THAT, WE DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE THE CITY'S ORDER BECAUSE THE ORDER DOES NOT NECESSARILY [NOISE] SPELL OUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN AT A LOW-RISK BUSINESS, THAT HAPPENS THROUGH OUR LOW-RISK POLICY.
WE'RE GOING TO BE MODIFYING THE LOW-RISK GUIDELINES TO RECOGNIZE THIS GUIDANCE FROM DSHS, WHICH WILL WE HAVE TWO OBSERVE.
BARRING THE GOVERNOR MAKING SOME TYPE OF EXCEPTION IN CITIES THAT HAVE HAD DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES THAN, SAY, YOUR LARGER CITIES.
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT AS JUDGES AND MAYORS REACH OUT TO THE GOVERNOR FOR SOME CLARIFICATION ON THIS, THAT IT COULD CHANGE.
BUT AT THIS TIME, OUR PLAN IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE MODIFIED THE LOW-RISK BUSINESS CRITERIA TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE STATE HAS MODIFIED THEIR GUIDELINES SO THAT CUSTOMERS SHOULD NOT ENTER A NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESS PREMISES.
WE'LL MAKE THAT MODIFICATION, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THAT.
WITH THAT EXCEPTION, THE GA-16 IS VERY SIMILAR TO GA-14.
>> HOW ARE WE NOTIFYING OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES OF THAT CHANGE?
>> WE'RE GOING TO DO IN THE VERY SAME WAYS THAT WE NOTIFIED THEM ABOUT LOW-RISK BUSINESSES IN FIRST-PLACE.
WE'LL DO IT THROUGH ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.
WE WILL PUT OUT NEW LOW-RISK GUIDELINES OR MODIFIED LOW-RISK GUIDELINES THAT WILL TAKE EFFECT BEGINNING FRIDAY MORNING.
>> ARE YOU COORDINATING WITH THE CHAMBER? [OVERLAPPING]
>> I WILL WORK WITH THEM ABSOLUTELY.
WE'LL WORK WITH THEM AND HAVE THEM GET IT OUT ON ALL THEIR CHANNELS, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
I WASN'T ACTUALLY THINKING ABOUT WHEN I WAS GIVING YOU MY PREVIOUS ANSWER, BUT EVERY AVENUE THAT WE CAN REACH OUT, WE WILL REACH OUT.
WE'LL DO SOME BRAINSTORMING WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AND WITH THE CDC TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY AVENUES THAT WE HAVEN'T EXPLORED OR WEREN'T CONSIDERING EXPLORING.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE PUSH IT OUT IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE.
THE MAIN TAKEAWAY, THOUGH, IS THAT WHILE LOW-RISK BUSINESSES CAN CONTINUE TO OPERATE, CUSTOMERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GO INTO THAT ESTABLISHMENT IF THEY ARE A NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESS.
ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES WILL STILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE JUST AS THEY HAVE THROUGH GA-14, AND NOW INTO GA-16.
>> I THINK I NEED TO ALMOST MAKE THAT CLEAR THAT IT'S NOT THE CITY THAT'S DOING THIS.
[OVERLAPPING] IT'S THE PUBLIC [INAUDIBLE] OFFICE THAT'S DOING THIS.
I'M [INAUDIBLE] THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.
>> I'M SURE WE COULD FOR THAT.
>> WELL, WE ARE GOING TO TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT NUMBER 1, WE WILL COMPLY AND SUBMIT WITH WHAT THE GOVERNOR IS ASKING US TO DO, THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
NUMBER 2, THE GOVERNOR HAS GONE MORE RESTRICTIVE IN THIS LATER ORDER THAN HE DID IN HIS PREVIOUS ORDER, AND THAT NEEDS TO BE COMMUNICATED VERY CLEARLY.
THERE IS ROOM FOR INTERPRETATION IN THAT FIRST ORDER AND THEN HE CLARIFIED SOME INTERPRETATION IN HIS SECOND ORDER.
SO THAT'S WHY IT NARROWED THE FUNNEL AND HAS MADE IT ACTUALLY MORE RESTRICTIVE IN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OPERATE UNDER.
I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE CALL BACK THROUGH E-MAILS AND ALL OF THESE PEOPLE THAT WE PUSHED THEM OR PHONE CALLS TO, THE LOW-RISK BUSINESS CATEGORY OPERATION REQUIREMENTS, NOW, WE NEED TO USE THAT AS A TOUCH POINT TO LET THEM KNOW THE GOVERNOR HAS MADE
[01:00:03]
THIS MORE RESTRICTIVE AND THEIR CUSTOMERS CAN NO LONGER COME IN THEIR STORE UNTIL THE GOVERNOR LIFTS THAT.NOW, LET'S TALK FOR A MINUTE ABOUT THAT.
THE GOVERNOR HAS CREATED A STATE-WIDE TASK FORCE, AND WE HAVE A LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE ON THAT TASK FORCE IN MARK DIVENS.
MARK AND I HAVE TALKED A NUMBER OF TIMES AND HE HAS EVEN REJOINED ONE OF MY LEADERSHIP ROUND TABLES, THE RECOVERY ROUND TABLES, TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE SPECIFICS THAT WE WOULD LIKE THE GOVERNOR TO CONSIDER IN REOPENING.
REALLY [INAUDIBLE] THE MAIN POINT IS, WE WANT A LOW-RISK CATEGORY BUSINESS EXCEPTION.
SO I'M FINE WITH KEEPING THE ESSENTIAL BUSINESS VERSUS NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESS VOCABULARY.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS WE CONTINUE TO SPIKE AND WATCH NUMBERS SURGE OVER THE NEXT HOWEVER MANY MONTHS, WE MAY NEED A VOCABULARY AGAIN.
WE MAY NEED TO SAY TO EVERY BUSINESS THAT'S NOT ESSENTIAL, WE NEED YOU TO CLOSE OR RESTRICT YOUR OPERATIONS.
SO UNLIKE THE ESSENTIAL AND NON-ESSENTIAL CATEGORIES, BUT I THINK IT'S VERY FAIR TO NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES WHO CAN OPERATE AS A LOW-RISK OPERATION FOR THEM TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
SO WE'RE TALKING TO THE GOVERNOR THROUGH MR. VIVIENNES AND THROUGH OTHER CONTEXTS THROUGH THE WEST TEXAS MAYORS ASSOCIATION AND THEIR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THAT COMMITTEE.
WHAT WE WANT THE GOVERNOR TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW WE'RE CURRENTLY OPERATING AND WHAT SEEMS TO BE WORKING FOR OUR COMMUNITY IS, DON'T PAINT WITH THE GEOGRAPHIC BROAD-BRUSH.
EVERY COUNTY, EVERY CITY IS EXPERIENCING DIFFERENT NUMBERS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.
SO WE WILL LACK THE ABILITY TO BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY THAN LARGE POPULATION CENTERS BECAUSE PERRYTON SHOULDN'T HAVE THE SAME RESTRICTIONS AS HOUSTON.
THEIR SITUATIONS ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT ON ANY GIVEN DAY.
SO WE'RE ADVOCATING FOR DIFFERENCES BASED ON GEOGRAPHY REGIONS ACROSS THE STATE.
WE'RE ALSO ADVOCATING FOR ANY BUSINESS THAT CAN BE WORKING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CDC SIX-FOOT DISTANCE GUIDELINES, THEY SHOULD BE WORKING BECAUSE YOU HAVE BIG-BOX RETAILERS THAT ARE SELLING THINGS LIKE GROCERIES AND HAND SANITIZER, BUT THEY'RE ALSO SELLING GUNS AND AMMUNITION.
SO IF YOU'RE A STAND-ALONE GUNS AND AMMUNITION RETAIL MOM-AND-POP SHOP, YOU'RE CLOSED, BUT WALMART IS SELLING YOU THE SAME PRODUCT.
SO I'M GRATEFUL THAT WALMART IS OPENING ACTUALLY, I PICKED ON WALMART.
APOLOGIES, I PROBABLY SHOULD NOT HAVE PICKED A SPECIFIC NAME.
I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR OUR LARGE STORES, OUR ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES THAT ARE STAYING OPEN.
BUT THERE'S A DISPARITY AND AN UNFAIRNESS IN THAT THEY'RE OPEN TO SELL ANY PRODUCT THEY HAVE CURRENTLY STOCKED ON THEIR SHELVES, WHICH I'M FINE WITH, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT IF A SMALL RETAIL STORE HAS THAT SAME PRODUCT, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO SELL THAT PRODUCT.
SO THAT CREATES SOME UNFAIRNESS THERE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE GOVERNOR ADDRESS WHAT THE LOW-RISK BUSINESS CATEGORY.
THEN THIRD, I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL IF THE GOVERNOR WOULD NOT GOVERN US BY REGION, LET THE REGIONS GOVERN THEMSELVES.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK HIM TO CONSIDER DEMOGRAPHICALLY THE SAME THING.
DON'T GOVERN ALL OF US AS IF WE'RE THE SAME DEMOGRAPHIC.
I THINK MOST COMPLIANT, THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANT TO EDUCATED ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE HIGH-RISK CATEGORY.
THEIR CHILDREN ARE RAISED SO THEY'RE NOT SPENDING AS MUCH TIME EVERYDAY IN TAKING CARE OF CHILDREN.
MANY OF THEM ARE RETIRED, SO THEY'RE NOT SPENDING TIME TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE DAY-TO-DAY CHALLENGES OF RUNNING THE BUSINESS.
THEY HAVE MORE TIME ON THEIR HANDS TO BE EDUCATED AND INFORMED ABOUT SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WE'RE ASKING CITIZENS TO DO, WEARING A MASK AND CHANGING THEIR BEHAVIORS.
SO I THINK THEY ARE GENERALLY MORE ABLE TO COMPLY WITH SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT THE CITY IS ASKING THEM AND THE GOVERNOR AND THE PRESIDENT ARE ASKING THEM TO DO.
I THINK THE GOVERNOR SHOULD KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN HE MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEY'RE IN THE HIGHER RISK OR COMPLICATIONS ON THIS DISEASE, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE WISE FOR THE GOVERNOR TO GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON DEMOGRAPHICS, JUST AS HE'S ALLOWING US TO GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS ACROSS THE STATE.
SO THAT WAS A VERY LONG AND RAMBLING EXPLANATION FOR
[01:05:01]
THE THREE THINGS THAT I'VE ASKED MARK TO PASS ONTO THE GOVERNOR, AND THAT'S, GEOGRAPHY MATTERS, DEMOGRAPHICS MATTER, AND WHERE WE CAN BE WORKING WE SHOULD BE WORKING IF THEY CAN OPERATE THEIR BUSINESS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CDCS REQUIREMENTS.QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THAT?
>> I'D LIKE TO SEE AND HAVE SOME INFLUENCE OVER SOME STATE BOARDS OVER AT IT.
THAT'S MORE OF A PERSONAL STATEMENT THAN A PUBLIC ONE, I GUESS.
>> I THINK THAT IN THE ESSENTIALS LIST, SO ANY BUSINESS IN THE ESSENTIAL LIST AND ANY ESSENTIAL CATEGORY, IS STILL GOING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE CUSTOMERS INSIDE ON THE PREMISES.
THEY WILL HAVE TO OBSERVE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND OTHER THINGS.
BUT JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR, EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS IS LISTED ON THAT ESSENTIAL LIST, THE RESTRICTION FROM DSHS THAT CUSTOMERS SHOULD NOT GO ON-PREMISES OR INSIDE THE PREMISES DOES NOT APPLY.
THEY CAN HAVE CUSTOMERS INSIDE.
SO GUN STORES AND ALL THE OTHER ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES WILL STILL BE ABLE TO HAVE PEOPLE INSIDE.
SO JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT THE MODIFICATIONS TO A LOW-RISK BUSINESS CATEGORY, IT ONLY APPLIES TO NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES.
>> MILLER, I HAD A QUESTION ON CLARIFICATION.
SO WITH RETAIL, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS MORE RESTRICTIVE.
THE GOVERNOR'S CHANGES HAVE MADE IT MORE RESTRICTIVE ON OUR CATEGORY OF LOW-RISK.
BUT WITH THE ELECTIVE VS NON-ELECTIVE STRATEGY, AM I HEARING YOU CORRECTLY THAT IT IS ACTUALLY NOW LESS RESTRICTIVE THAT THAT HAS BEEN EXTENDED? SO IS THAT ALREADY EFFECTIVE OR DOES THAT START THIS FRIDAY, AND HOW DOES THAT IMPACT US LOCALLY?
>> GA-15 IS THE ONE WITH REGARD TO HOSPITAL CAPACITY.
[OVERLAPPING] IT TAKES EFFECT TOMORROW, THE MIDNIGHT TODAY.
AT 11:59 PM ON APRIL 21ST, SO THAT'S TODAY, THIS EVENING.
SO TOMORROW, IT WILL BE IN EFFECT.
>> SO THAT IS LESS RESTRICTIVE?
>> SO THAT MEANS THAT NOW, IT CAN STILL ALWAYS BE PRIORITIZED, BUT NOW INDIVIDUALS WITH ELECTIVE SURGERIES ARE ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE HOSPITALS AND SURGICAL CENTERS? AGAIN, HOW ARE WE COMMUNICATING THAT TO OUR MEDICAL COMMUNITY?
>> I'LL WORK AROUND THE SHEET THEY KNOW IT.
>> THAT'S BEING COMMUNICATED BY THE STATE TO ALL OF THOSE ENTITIES.
BUT IF THEY GOT ANY QUESTIONS, WE CAN CONNECT THEM WITH PEOPLE THEY CAN DO THE DETAILED ANALYSIS OF HOW THIS APPLIES TO THEM.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, NON-EMERGENCY PROCEDURES OR ELECTIVE PROCEDURES CAN CONTINUE IF THEY ARE CARRIED OUT IN STANDARD PRACTICE OR CLINICAL PROCEDURES AND IF THEY WON'T DEPLETE THE SUPPLY OF PPE FOR HOSPITALS OR HEALTHCARE GIVERS AS IT RELATES TO COVID-19 TREATMENT.
THEY CAN ALSO DO IT IF IT RESERVES AT LEAST 25 PERCENT OF THE CAPACITY OF ANY HOSPITAL FOR CONTINUED TREATMENT OF COVID-19 PATIENTS.
SO THEY CAN BEGIN TOMORROW WITH SOME NON-EMERGENCY OR ELECTIVE PROCEDURES.
>> UNLESS YOU HAVE [OVERLAPPING].
>> THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER REFERENCES INSIDE THAT DOCUMENT, THAT'S WHY I'M STAYING AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL ON IT.
IT DOES REFERENCE A LOT OF OTHER STATE LAW IN THERE.
WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE DETAILS ON THAT, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A HEADS UP ON IT.
>> UNLESS YOU HAVE A STATE BOARD THAT CHOOSES TO DO EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE, AND WE DO, THE DEMONSTRATE BOARD HAS DONE EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE.
THEY'VE RULED THAT THOSE EXCEPTIONS DON'T COUNT TO THE INDUSTRY, AND THAT'S PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE THAT SETS DOWN GENERAL PRACTICES FOR ANOTHER THREE WEEKS.
>> THAT'S THE DEAL WHERE THE STATE ASSOCIATION HAS [NOISE] TAKEN A POSITION THAT IT'S NOT THE SAME AS THE GOVERNOR'S, ALTHOUGH WE CAN GET MORE RESTRICTED JUST NOT LESS RESTRICTIVE.
SO I GUESS THEY'RE TAKING THAT SAME APPROACH WITH THE STATE ASSOCIATION.
>> WELL, IT'S NOT THE STATE ASSOCIATION, IT'S ACTUALLY THE STATE BOARD OF DENTAL EXAMINERS, SO IT'S THE LICENSING BOARD.
[01:10:01]
>> [OVERLAPPING] THEY DO. THAT'S THE ONE THAT MAKES IT PROBLEMATIC.
>> RIGHT. IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS ON 15, 16, OR 17, PRIMARILY 16 WHICH IS THE ONE THAT'S MOST DIRECTLY AFFECTS US, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR ITEM B ON THE AGENDA.
>> I JUST HAD ONE MORE QUESTION AND IT WAS RELATED TO OPENING BACK UP THE STATE PARK.
SO POWDER CANYON IS GOING TO BE OPEN AS OF FRIDAY?
>> IT WAS OPEN AS OF YESTERDAY, I THOUGHT.
>> IT WAS. WELL, IF 17 TAKES EFFECT.
>> I APOLOGIZE. I THOUGHT IT HAD THE SAME EFFECTIVE TIME AS 16. [INAUDIBLE]
>> WELL, IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO KEEP TRACK WHICH THINGS [OVERLAPPING]
>> IT'S NOT ALL REAL CONSISTENT.
>> WE CERTAINLY DON'T [LAUGHTER] JUDGE YOU THERE, JARED.
SO MY QUESTION IS THE PROCESS.
I'M GUESSING NOT MANNING THE BOOTHS FOR PEOPLE TO COME BY, IS IT STILL ALL A NON-CASH OPERATION? DO PEOPLE BUY THOSE TICKETS, PASSES ONLINE?
>> I KNOW KEVIN'S DONE A LITTLE BIT RESEARCH ON THIS.
KEVIN, DO YOU HAVE THE DETAILS ON IT? GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE 17 WILL REQUIRE GUESTS IN THE PARKS, WHICH ARE SOME OF THE MOST OPEN AND SOCIALLY DISTANCED AREAS YOU CAN FIND, TO WEAR A MASK AND TO MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING WHICH IS TO BE EXPECTED, THIS SOCIAL DISTANCING.
I KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE REGULATING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE PARKS.
KEVIN, ANYTHING YOU CAN TELL US ON HOW PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE PAYING OR HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE REGULATING THE NUMBERS, TAKING PAYMENT, AND THINGS LIKE THAT? [OVERLAPPING]
>> I APOLOGIZE, COUNCILOR HAYS, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE ANY BETTER ANSWER THAN WHAT JARED PROVIDED.
I WAS AWARE THAT THE STATE PARKS ARE REQUIRING EVERY PATRON THAT CAME INTO THE PARK TO WEAR MASKS.
LIMIT NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN A GATHERING, I BELIEVE TO FOUR AND THEN ALSO THE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND THE LIKE.
SO ALL OF THOSE MEASURES WERE IN PLACE IN THE STATE PARK BUT AS FAR AS THE BOOTH AND GETTING INTO THE PARK, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE ANY VISIBILITY ON THAT.
[OVERLAPPING] WE COULD DO SOME MORE CHECKING TO GET WORD BACK TO YOU.
>> YOU HAVE TO DO IT ONLINE AND THEN YOU DRIVE THROUGH AND SHOW THEM YOUR LITTLE DEAL AND THEY SEND YOU ON YOUR WAY BUT YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP ONLINE.
THAT'S ALL WHAT IT AMOUNTS TO GET INTO THE PARK.
>> I CAN SPEAK TO THAT. I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE TO CALL A PHONE NUMBER IN AUSTIN AND GIVE ME YOUR PASS NUMBER AND HAVE AN ANNUAL PASS AND THEN THEY E-MAIL YOU A CERTIFICATE THAT LET'S YOU IN IF IT'S NOT EXCEEDING THE NUMBER.
THEY DON'T CHARGE YOU ANYTHING FOR IT IF YOU HAVE AN ANNUAL PASS.
SO I TURN THAT IN WHEN I GO THROUGH THE GATE AND THEY LET ME IN.
>> WHERE DO YOU PAY FOR IT ONLINE? I WAS TALKING. I WAS MUTED AGAIN.
>> PROBABLY, IF YOU HAVE AN ANNUAL PASS YOU CAN DO THAT.
>> SO THE RESERVATIONS REQUIRED, DAY USE ONLY.
GROUPS OF NO MORE THAN FIVE PEOPLE, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND MASKS, THAT'S IT.
YOU CAN MAKE THOSE RESERVATIONS ONLINE AS COUNCILOR SMITH SAID.
SO THE GROUPS OF NO MORE THAN FIVE, THAT WILL CERTAINLY BE SOMETHING THAT IMPACTS LARGER FAMILY GROUPS INSIDE THE PARKS.
>> [INAUDIBLE] ANYTHING ELSE ON THAT? I'D LIKE TO GO BACK AND TALK ABOUT RECOVERY ROUNDTABLES WHILE WE'RE STILL ON THIS ITEM 1B.
STEPHANIE, DO YOU MIND SHARING THE SCREEN WITH EVERYBODY, THE SCHEDULE, THOSE ROUNDTABLES SO THEY CAN SEE HOW THOSE ARE PROGRESSING? AS USUAL, YOU GUYS KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK.
YOU FAR EXCEEDED WHAT YOU WERE ASKED TO DO.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU DID WHAT YOU'RE ASKED TO DO AND ADDED ON MORE TASKS.
AS YOU STARTED THESE ROUNDTABLES, YOU BEGAN TO SEE THIS INDUSTRY NEEDS TO BE COVERED OR THIS GROUP NEEDS TO HAVE A CHANCE FOR FEEDBACK AND SO YOU'VE BEEN ADDING TO OUR LIST.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S CONTINUED TO GROW.
SO WE HAVE POSTED A SPECIAL MEETING FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE FIVE OF US TO BRING OUR DATA BACK SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME SUMMARIZING YOUR DATA SO THAT IT DOESN'T JUST COME BACK TO US.
I'M LOOKING AT IT FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH ALL MY NOTES KIND OF FORMAT.
SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TRYING TO FUNNEL IT INTO THE THINGS THAT YOU SAW OUT OF EACH OF YOUR INDUSTRIES THAT WE NEED TO SPEND TIME TALKING ABOUT ON FRIDAY.
[01:15:06]
THE GOAL OUT OF FRIDAY'S TIME IS THAT WE WOULD HAVE ACTION STEPS.I THINK SOME OF OUR ACTION STEPS ARE GOING TO START TO LOOK LIKE ONE-PAGE GUIDELINES FOR EACH OF THESE INDUSTRIES WHERE WE CAN PARTNER WITH THEM ABOUT SOME LONGER-TERM GUIDELINES THAT WE THINK THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO DO AND THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH SEEING THEM DO AS OUR CITY STARTS TO OPEN UP AND WE'D START GETTING OUTSIDE OF THE GOVERNOR'S IMMEDIATE EXECUTIVE ORDER RESTRICTIONS.
SO I WANTED YOU GUYS JUST TO SEE THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING.
I WANTED TO HEAR JUST BRIEFLY IF YOU THINK THEY'RE GOING OKAY AND A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK.
DON'T GO INTO, HEY, THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, BUT JUST, YEAH, THEY SEEM TO BE WORKING WELL OR NO, WE NEED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES SO TO BETTER CAPTURE THESE NEXT 12 OR 15 MEETING CONTENTS.
[NOISE] HOWARD, FRIDA, I KNOW YOU ALL ALREADY HAD MEETINGS.
REAL TRUTH, CONSTRUCTION PEOPLE, AND APARTMENT ASSOCIATION.
>> I'VE HAD SOME MEETINGS WITH THE CHURCHES AND ALSO WITH THE RESTAURANT GROUP AND THOSE MEETINGS ARE GOING VERY WELL.
LOTS OF GREAT IDEAS ARE COMING OUT OF THOSE MEETINGS AND VALUABLE INPUT.
>> OKAY. EDDY, ELAINE. ANY SHIFT DO YOU WANT TO MAKE?
>> YEAH. [INAUDIBLE] GOT TO GO ON THE REST OF NEXT WEEK.
>> I'VE MET WITH THE HOTELIERS.
I'M MEETING WITH LARGE RETAILERS TOMORROW.
MAKING THAT SEPARATE ROUNDTABLE, I HAVE WONDERED WHO ELSE HAS ALREADY BEEN PART OF A ROUNDTABLE. IT'S NOT THAT BIG A DEAL.
IT'S LIKE A FIGHT. IF I CONTACT INDIVIDUALS AND THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN ON ONE, I CAN MOVE ON.
BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW EVERYONE ELSE WOULD FEEL OF JUST HAVING A LIST OF WHO ALL HAS ATTENDED, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT MATTERS, BUT I'M JUST ALWAYS LOOKING MORE DATA.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHO YOU'VE TALKED TO.
[LAUGHTER] WHO'S ON YOUR LIST SO THAT I'M NOT INVITING THE SAME PEOPLE? [LAUGHTER]
>> MAYOR, I DO HAVE A ROUNDTABLE SCHEDULE WITH FUNERAL HOMES TOMORROW.
>> MAYOR, I THINK IT IS UNIQUE, THIS APPROACH.
I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO CREDIT YOUR VISION ON DOING THIS, OF REACHING OUT.
IT GIVES SUCH A BROAD-BASED OUTREACH, INSTEAD OF MAYBE HAVING A TASK FORCE THAT'S 5-10 INDIVIDUALS IN THE COMMUNITY WORKING ON IDEAS AND STRATEGIES, IT'S JUST MULTIPLE GROUPS OF 5-10, TO BRING BACK JUST THE WEALTH OF INSIGHT, INFORMATION, IDEAS FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR MEETING ON FRIDAY.
>> THANK YOU. I WOULD SAY IT'S BEING VERY WELL EXECUTED BY THE COUNCIL.
THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
ANY IDEA IS ALWAYS AS GOOD AS ITS EXECUTION.
SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR PUTTING YOUR HAND TO THE PROW AND DOING THIS SO QUICKLY WITH DILIGENCE.
I THINK WE CAN MOVE ON THEN IF WE'RE DONE.
[C. Budget presentation; and]
IF NOTHING ELSE THERE, ITEM 1C THEN IS A BUDGET PRESENTATION.>> YES, MA'AM. MICHELLE BONNER'S GOING TO WALK US THROUGH A LOT OF MODELING AND STEPS THAT WE'VE TAKEN OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS OR SO.
AS SOON AS WE HAD INDICATIONS THAT CORONAVIRUS WAS GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON US LOCALLY, WE IMMEDIATELY FROZE NEW HIRES AND TOOK A NUMBER OF STEPS TO REDUCE EXPENDITURES AND BEGIN THE PROCESS MODELING WHAT THE IMPACTS COULD BE TO US FROM A SALES TAX STANDPOINT, FROM A HOT TAX STANDPOINT, AND ALSO FROM A PROPERTY TAX STANDPOINT.
WE'VE LOOKED AT ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT FUNDS AND ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT OPERATING AREAS, SO WITH ALL OF THAT SAID, I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND HAND IT OFF TO MICHELLE TO GIVE YOU THIS ANALYSIS, AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS FORWARD. MICHELLE?
>> THANKS, JARED. AS JARED SAID, ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO, ONCE WE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A LARGE EFFECT ON OUR ECONOMY,
[01:20:03]
HE SENT OUT AN E-MAIL TO OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS, FREEZING POSITIONS, STOPPING TRAVEL, AND LOOKING AT EVERY CAPITAL EXPENDITURES TO SEE IF IT COULD BE DEFERRED OR EVEN NOT DONE.SO WE DID AS WELL AS, YES, EVERY DEPARTMENT HEAD TO LOOK AT EVERY EXPENDITURE AND SEE WHERE THEY COULD CUT BACK.
WE DID THIS IN ANTICIPATION OF SEEING SOME REVENUE SHORTFALLS.
STEPHANIE, I THINK I'VE LOST CONTROL OF YOUR SCREEN.
CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE REVENUE SLIDE? THANK YOU.
SO WITH THAT, THE SALES TAX IS A HARD ONE.
THERE'S THAT TWO-MONTH LAG ON SALES TAX.
SO THE SALES TAX THAT WERE PAID IN MARCH BY OUR CITIZENS, THE CITY WILL NOT RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION UNTIL MAY.
SO THAT ONE IS A HARD ONE BECAUSE IT IS OUR LARGEST REVENUE SOURCE AT $66 MILLION AND ANY ONE PERCENT CHANGE ON THAT IS A BIG CHANGE.
HOW DO WE FORECAST THAT? ANDREW FREEMAN HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK, AND WE CAN DO THAT EITHER AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION OR IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT WHAT ANDREW HAS DONE AT THE BEGINNING ON SALES TAX, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE GEOFENCING DATA, LOOKING AT THE TRAFFIC AT ALL THE LOCATIONS.
SO WHAT ANDREW DID ON A SALES TAX CALCULATION IS HE ACTUALLY LOOKED INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS BY BUSINESS, AND CAME UP WITH A ESTIMATE, AND THAT ESTIMATE WAS ABOUT $2.6 MILLION.
WELL, I WENT AHEAD AND DOUBLED THAT ESTIMATE.
I HOPE THAT I'M SHOWING YOU WORST-CASE SCENARIO.
MY CONCERN IS THAT THE IMPACT WAS LARGER THAN WHAT WE ANTICIPATED.
WHAT I WANTED TO DO RIGHT AWAY WAS MAKE SURE THAT WE IDENTIFIED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF BUDGETED EXPENDITURES SO THAT WE COULD HAVE EITHER FROZEN OR DEFERRED.
IN THAT WAY, THE CITY COULD REACT FAIRLY QUICKLY ON REVENUE CHANGES.
SO YOU CAN SEE HERE WE HAVE A SALES TAX REDUCTION OF 5.2, THAT'S ALMOST NINE PERCENT OF THE BUDGET.
MIXED BEVERAGES ARE ALSO DOWN, 255,000.
NOW, AGAIN, THESE ARE PROJECTIONS FOR OUR YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30TH.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF ESTIMATES IN THERE.
EACH MONTH, AS WE GET ACTUALS, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MUCH BETTER FORECASTS FOR YOU GOING INTO YOUR BUDGET.
FRANCHISE FEES, WE'RE SEEING A DECREASE IN OUR ELECTRIC FRANCHISE FEE, 630,000.
THAT IS NOT RELATED TO COVID-19.
THAT IS TO THE EXTENT THAT WE HAVE LOW FUEL COST.
THAT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE CONTINUAL LOW FUEL COST ON THAT REVENUE STREAM.
WE HAVE ESTIMATED IN HOT TAX, WE'RE SEEING A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE.
I'VE GOT MORE DETAIL IN A LATER SLIDE ON HOT TAX, BUT WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT CAN BE TWO-AND-A-HALF MILLION DOLLARS DECREASE OF REVENUE FOR THIS YEAR.
BUILDING PERMITS, WE'RE SEEING A DECREASE OR IT'S ANTICIPATING DECREASE, 415,000.
TRANSIT GRANTS, AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION, I'M GOING TO GO OVER ADDITIONAL GRANT DOLLARS THAT THE CITY HAS RECEIVED.
TRANSIT RECEIVED A SIGNIFICANT GRANT AND ALL TRANSIT OPERATIONS ARE 100 PERCENT COVERED.
SO THAT ACTUALLY GOES THE OTHER WAY.
IT HELPS OUR BUDGET BY $1.5 MILLION.
CULTURE AND RECREATION, $2.3 MILLION DECREASE IN REVENUE.
SOME OF THAT IS WE'VE HAD OUR GOLF COURSES CLOSED AND WE'RE ANTICIPATING LOST REVENUE.
SOME OF IT IS JUST LOOKING AT MAYBE CLOSING OR SEVERELY DECREASING PARTICIPATION IN PARKS PROGRAMS. SO I'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION, AND MICHAEL KASHUBA, I THINK, IS ON THE LINE, THAT HE CAN GO OVER THOSE, AND MAYBE YOU ALL CAN PROVIDE US FEEDBACK AS FAR AS THE PARKS PROGRAMS. SO A LITTLE BIT MORE ON CULTURE AND RECREATION.
STEPHANIE, IF YOU'LL GO THE NEXT SLIDE, $2.3 MILLION DECREASE.
THE AREAS THAT ARE MOST AFFECTED IS THE CIVIC CENTERS.
CIVIC CENTERS CURRENTLY CLOSED RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S A $675,000 DECREASE TO REVENUE, AND THAT IS A PROJECTION FOR THIS YEAR.
[01:25:02]
WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT THE CIVIC CENTER FACILITY WOULD BE ONE OF THE LAST FACILITIES TO OPEN BACK UP TO THE PUBLIC.IT MIGHT NOT, THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, CONTINUE OPERATIONS, AS NOT BE FULLY OPERATIONAL AT THAT POINT.
LIBRARY, A SMALL AMOUNT, 28,000.
GOLF IS $1.1 MILLION DECREASE IN REVENUE.
THEN WE HAVE SWIMMING POOLS, ATHLETICS, AND THE ZOO.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE ANTICIPATING LESS REVENUE FOR THIS YEAR ON THOSE PROGRAMS. ANY QUESTIONS ON REVENUE BUDGETS OR PARKS PROGRAMS?
>> SO MICHELLE, EXPLAIN THE WARFORD, WHY YOU SEE THE ESTIMATE GO UP.
>> I THINK THERE WAS A SMALL AMOUNT IN THE WARFORD LAST YEAR PROJECTING THE REVENUE ON THE WARFORD, WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING IT COMING HIGHER.
SO THOSE ARE DOLLARS THAT WE PROBABLY HAD ALREADY REALIZED BEFORE WE CLOSED THE WARFORD CENTER.
>> IT IS CLOSED RIGHT NOW. YES. SO WHAT WE DID FROM THERE IS WE JUST STARTED WORKING ON OUR BUDGET TWO WEEKS AGO AND LARGE STORES SAT IN AND TALKED TO ALL OF OUR MANAGEMENT TEAMS DURING THE BUDGET TRAINING AND SHE TOLD EVERYONE THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR A FIVE PERCENT OF GENERAL FUND BUDGET WOULD MORE THAN OFFSET THE REVENUE DECREASES.
WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME BUDGETS SAVINGS THAT WILL OFFSET THESE REVENUE DECREASES AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO GO OVER WITH YOU NOW.
[NOISE] STEPHANIE, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED CLOSE TO $12 MILLION IN BUDGETS SAVINGS BUT THEY'RE SOME VERY BIG PROGRAM IMPACTS, SO LET'S GO OVER THOSE WITH YOU.
THE FIRST ONE IS PERSONNEL SAVINGS.
WE HAD UNFILLED POSITIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND WE BELIEVE THAT HAS GENERATED ABOUT $2.1 MILLION IN SAVINGS AND THAT'S THROUGH FEBRUARY 29TH.
NOW SOME OF THAT IS RELATED TO PARKS AND THEY'RE SEASONAL, SO THEY DON'T EXACTLY WORK BECAUSE THEIR NOT HIRED TILL THE SUMMER.
THE OTHER AMOUNT OF PROJECTED PERSONNEL SAVINGS IS ALMOST FOUR MILLION DOLLARS AND THAT'S RELATED TO THE HIRING FREEZE THAT JERRY IMPLEMENTED PLUS CANCELLATION OF PARKS' PROGRAMS. INCLUDED IN THAT HIRING FREEZE ARE 16 POLICE OFFICERS; THEY'RE CURRENTLY UNFILLED.
THEY HAD ANTICIPATED DURING THE ACADEMY THIS SUMMER TO GO AHEAD AND GET ACTUALLY, FULL STAFF AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
THE 16 POLICE OFFICERS FROZEN THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, $750,000 AND NINE FIRE FIGHTERS.
SAVINGS FOR NINE FIREFIGHTERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNFILLED IS $350,000, ALMOST $1.1 MILLION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY IN BUDGETS SAVINGS.
REMEMBER IN THE FIREFIGHTERS, YOU ALL ADDED FIREFIGHTERS DURING THIS BUDGET SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE THAT SECOND COMPANY STATION NOW THAT WE'RE REBUILDING STATION NUMBER FIVE TO MAKE IT A TWO COMPANY STATION AND NINE FIREFIGHTERS IS WHAT WAS NEEDED TO GO AHEAD AND GET THAT STAFFING FOR THAT SECOND COMPANY.
SO WE'VE ASKED FIRE TO DELAY THAT.
WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS LOOK AT THIS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, IF THE SALES TAX IMPACT IS NOT AS GREAT AS WHAT WE HAVE ON THESE SLIDES, PUBLIC SAFETY WOULD BE ONE OR THE FIRST GROUPS THAT WE COULD GO AHEAD AND UNFREEZE AND GO AHEAD AND GET THOSE POSITIONS FILLED.
>> MICHELLE, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THAT LINE REALLY QUICKLY; SO THAT 3.9 MILLION HAS CANCELLATION OF PARKS PROGRAMS INCLUDED IN IT WHEN YOU WERE LOOKING AT PROJECTIONS.
WAS THAT BEFORE THE MOVE TO REOPEN THE GOLF COURSES OR WERE WE ANTICIPATING PERSONNEL'S SAVINGS THAT WOULD LOWER THAT NUMBER?
>> WE ACTUALLY HAD NOT GOTTEN THAT FAR IN OUR PROJECTIONS SO THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT.
I BELIEVE THAT, LAURA, IF I'M SAYING THIS WRONG, PLEASE CORRECT ME BUT, SHE HAD WORKED WITH PARKS ON REDUCTION AND THOSE REDUCTIONS ARE STILL IN HERE AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH SAVINGS IN THE GOLF AREA, IT'S ACTUALLY SAVINGS IN FULL REC AND I'M GOING BACK TO LOOK AT THIS AND A LITTLE BIT IN ATHLETICS.
[01:30:02]
BUT THE BIG ONES ARE GOING TO BE IMPACTED ARE POOLS, THE WARFORD, AND THE ATHLETICS PROGRAM [INAUDIBLE] CONFIRMATION OR WHAT THE CHANGES WOULD BE TO THOSE PROGRAMS.>> MICHELLE, ON THE PARK'S PROGRAMS, SPECIFICALLY, ON GOLF COURSE, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE PROJECTED PERSONNEL SAVINGS THAT ARE REFLECTED THERE OF ALMOST FOUR MILLION DOLLARS, DO ALLOW US THE ABILITY TO GO AHEAD AND START PHASING BACK THE GOLF COURSE OPERATIONS EVEN WITH THAT NUMBER THAT'S PRESENTED HERE.
>> MICHEL KASIVA IS GOING TO BE ON IN JUST A LITTLE BIT TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON PARK PROGRAMS.
>> THE OTHER BIG CHANGES THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DEFERRED AND/OR CANCELED DEPENDING ON THE IMPACT OF THE SALES TAX REVENUE IS THE SOLID WASTE AND CAPITAL PROJECT FOR THIS YEAR IT'S $1.2 MILLION GOING TOWARDS A LANDFILL EXPANSION PROJECT.
THAT AMOUNT HAS BEEN DEFERRED.
THE OPERATIONAL SEAL COAT PROGRAM FOR OUR STREET DEPARTMENT, OF A MILLION DOLLARS AND ALL CAPITAL THAT HAD NOT ALREADY BEEN SPENT, ALMOST $1.3 MILLION.
THE BIG ONES ON THAT IS $637,000 FOR THE OVERLAY PROJECT AND $560,000 IN SOLID WASTE.
THOSE WERE CAPITAL PURCHASES FOR SOLID WASTE.
REDUCTION IN REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE AND THAT WAS ACROSS THE BOARD OF A MILLION BUT HALF OF THAT IS STREET.
SO AS YOU SEE ON THIS DEFERRAL CANCELLATION LIST THERE'S GOING TO BE A BIG IMPACT ON OUR STREET DEPARTMENT.
>> CAN I ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE SOLID WASTE PART REAL QUICK? SO THERE'S THE LANDFILL EXPANSION BUT FROM WHAT I HEAR WE'RE ACTUALLY GENERATING MORE TRASH WITH EVERYBODY BEING AT HOME ARE WE GOING TO RUN INTO A PROBLEM?
>> THEY ARE WORKING WITH CONSULTANT TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE LANDFILL, THE CURRENT STYLE THAT WE'RE WORKING IN AND HOPEFULLY DELAY THAT PROJECT BUT WE WON'T BE ABLE TO DELAY IT FOREVER.
>> [INAUDIBLE] WE'RE WORKING WITH TCQ ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT AVENUES AND THEY SHOWED APPROVAL, THAT WILL EXTEND THE LIFE OF OUR EXISTING CELL.
DEFERRING A YEAR OR TWO WILL NOT ADVERSELY IMPACT US.
WE ARE COLLECTING A LOT MORE TRASH RIGHT NOW THAN NORMAL IN THE ALLEYS, THE DUMPSTERS CONTINUE TO BE FAR MORE FULL THAN THEY NORMALLY ON OUR TWICE-A-WEEK PICKUPS.
TO THE EXTENT THAT WE'RE HAVING TO EMPTY THE TRUCKS MORE FREQUENTLY WHICH SOMETIMES CAUSES US TO MISS A PICKUP.
SO ONE WEEK, EVERY NOW AND THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE ONLY ONE PICKUP BECAUSE OF ALL THE EXTRA TRIPS TO THE LANDFILL THAT OUR TRUCKS ARE HAVING TO MAKE.
OUR GARBAGE IS DOING A GREAT JOB OF KEEPING UP AS BEST AS THEY CAN.
SO WE ARE PICKING UP A LOT MORE WASTEFUL THOUGH RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S LIKELY BECAUSE OF A LOT OF HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE WHILE PEOPLE ARE HOME.
>> THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF TANGENT BUT IT'S RELATED TO WASTE.
I HAD A CITIZEN ASK ME THE OTHER DAY THEY WERE SHOPPING FOR TOILET PAPER AND THEY WERE IN THE GROCERY STORE AND ON THE TOILET PAPER AISLE, THE GROCERY STORE HAD STOCKED IT WITH PAPER TOWELS.
SO THE CITIZEN QUESTION WAS, ''CAN OUR SYSTEM HANDLE PROCESSING PAPER TOWELS DUE TO OUR SEWER SYSTEM AS OPPOSED TO TOILET PAPER?''
>> I'M GOING TO LET FLOYD ANSWER THAT ONE, I BELIEVE HE'S ON WITH US.
>> ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT [INAUDIBLE] POSTED ON THE PRODUCT ITSELF, IT WILL CREATE MORE DAMAGE ON [INAUDIBLE] BLOCKAGES WITHIN THE CUSTOMER LINE BECAUSE [INAUDIBLE]
>> LET ME JUMP IN FLOYD REAL QUICK AND TRANSLATE WHAT THAT WAS BECAUSE I THINK FLOYD'S BREAKING UP JUST A LITTLE BIT.
WHAT HE SAID WAS THE PRODUCT SHOULD SAY WHETHER OR NOT IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH SEWER SYSTEMS AND CAN BE FLUSHED.
IF IT IS NOT, IT WILL CAUSE DAMAGE PRIMARILY TO THE CUSTOMERS' LINE RIGHT DOWNSTREAM FROM THE TOILET ITSELF.
SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT YOU HAD SAID UP TO THAT POINT. KEEP GOING FLOYD.
[01:35:03]
>> I APOLOGIZE, MY SETTINGS [INAUDIBLE] SO WE ASK THAT YOU DON'T FLUSH PRODUCTS THAT AREN'T IDENTIFIED AS FLUSHABLE.
I'VE SEEN THE ROLLS OF PAPER TOWELS ON THOSE AISLES WHEN WE WENT SHOPPING AND SOME OF THOSE ARE FLUSHABLE, SOME OF THOSE ARE NOT.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE PRODUCT.
WE ASK THAT YOU CHECK THAT AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE USING A PRODUCT THAT IS FLUSHABLE.
>> IT'S RELATED TO THE BUDGET BECAUSE IT DOES DAMAGE OUR SYSTEM AND HAVE WE FACTORED IN THE NEED TO REPAIR THAT? BUT IT IS A TANGENT, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME ASK THAT QUESTION.
>> YES. WE HAVE A MAINTENANCE BUDGET REPAIRED.
IT TYPICALLY IMPACTS OUR LIFT STATIONS, THE PUMPS, [INAUDIBLE] [NOISE] SO WE HAVE THAT FACTORED IN AND WE HAVE MAINTAINED THOSE BUDGETS BECAUSE OF THAT FACTOR WHEN WE ANTICIPATE INCREASING.
>> MICHELLE, I THINK YOU ARE MUTED.
>> OKAY. THAT MIGHT BE BETTER WITH SOME OF MY PRESENTATION.
THE LAST ONE ON THAT LINE WAS A REDUCTION IN THE TRANSFERS OF HOT TAXES ESPECIALLY RELATED TO THE REVENUE DECREASE.
WHAT I WANTED TO DO WAS GO INTO A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON HOT.
STEPHANIE, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE REVENUE BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS IMMEDIATELY DURING MARCH AND APRIL, WE SAW A DECREASE IN THE OCCUPANCY RATES FOR HOTELIERS.
THIS SLIDE HAS THREE BARS ON IT.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE ACTUAL RECEIPTS FOR 2018-19, THE BLUE LINE IS THE ORIGINAL BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR, AND THE YELLOW LINE IS THE REVISED BUDGET.
THAT IS ANTICIPATING AN IMPACT AS YOU CAN SEE, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES.
IF YOU CAN SEE THOSE NUMBERS, WE WERE AT 6.4 MILLION FOR THE ORIGINAL BUDGET AND WE'RE ANTICIPATING CLOSE TO FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.
WE'VE GOT THOSE RATES COMING DOWN TO 25 PERCENT OF WHAT WAS BUDGETED THIS TIME LAST YEAR, SO SPECIFICALLY FOR MAY, JUNE, JULY, WE HAVE ACTUALLY REVISED THOSE NUMBERS TO BE AT 25 PERCENT OF WHAT THEY WERE LAST YEAR, HOPING THAT THAT'S VERY CONSERVATIVE AND THOSE NUMBERS COME IN BETTER THAN WHAT WE ANTICIPATED.
>> YOU GOT THOSE NUMBERS BY VISITING WITH THE CVC, MICHELLE?
>> THAT'S RIGHT, WE DID THIS WITH THE CVC AND WE'VE LOOKED AT WHAT THEIR OCCUPANCY RATES AND THE AVERAGE DAY THE ROOM RATES THAT THEY HAD, WHAT THEY WERE REFLECTING.
THEY GET THAT INFORMATION WEEKLY AND THEY'RE NOW SHARING THAT WITH US AND WE'VE PREPARED A HANDOUT FOR COUNCIL THAT WILL BE UPDATING EVERY FRIDAY, AND MAILING OUT TO COUNCIL.
SO YOU'LL HAVE PRETTY CURRENT INFORMATION ON THE OCCUPANCY RATES AND THE AVERAGE DAY THE ROOM RATES.
SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I JUST WANT TO REVIEW WITH YOU ALL ON HOW WE SPEND THOSE HOT DOLLARS.[NOISE] IF YOU LOOK AT OUR ORIGINAL BUDGET, WE HAD A $6.4 MILLION BUDGET, WE'VE BEEN ANTICIPATING TRANSFERRING OVER $2.3 MILLION DOLLARS OF THE HOT DOLLARS THAT [BACKGROUND] WOULD BE USED FOR DEBT SERVICE AND CIVIC CENTER IMPROVEMENTS.
WE HAD A BUDGET FOR THE CIVIC CENTER OPERATIONS OF 1.6 MILLION, A BUDGET FOR CVC OPERATIONS OF JUST OVER TWO MILLION [BACKGROUND] AND A CVC PROMOTIONAL FUND OF $458,000.
SO WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU IS WHAT DOES A REVISED BUDGET LOOK LIKE.
IF A REVISED BUDGET FOR HOT RECEIPTS IS $3.9 MILLION, HERE'S HOW IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IN IMPACT.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, OUR TRANSFER FOR DEBT SERVICE IN CIVIC CENTER IMPROVEMENT IS $834,000 CIVIC CENTER OPERATIONS BECAUSE WE'RE RECEIVING LESS REVENUE,
[01:40:07]
THAT AMOUNT WOULD BE A 1,976,000, SO THAT'S AN INCREASE.NOW, WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, SINCE WE BELIEVE OUR CIVIC CENTER FACILITY IS NOT GOING TO BE OPEN FOR A WHILE IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH EMPLOYEES AND LOOK AT OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY THAT DOES HAVE FUNDING, THAT MAYBE THOSE EMPLOYEES CAN HELP AT, I MEAN, ONE OF THEM THAT COMES WITH A BIG NEED IS WE'RE SANITIZING OUR TRANSIT BUSES THREE TIMES A DAY.
SO THERE IS A BIG NEED FOR PEOPLE TO HELP WITH THAT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT BRINGING THAT NUMBER DOWN SO THAT THE CIVIC CENTER OPERATIONS DOESN'T NEED AS MUCH HOT TAX DOLLARS.
>> MICHELLE, LET ME JUMP. WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT SANITATION ON UTILIZING CIVIC CENTER STAFF, SANITIZING MANY TIMES A DAY AND THAT IS AN ALLOWABLE EXPENSE TO BUILD TO TRANSIT.
TRANSIT HAS RECEIVED ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR EXACTLY THIS PURPOSE.
SO THAT WILL BRING REVENUE TO THE CIVIC CENTER FROM TRANSIT FOR AN ALLOWABLE EXPENSE, AN ALLOWABLE FUNCTION, EXACTED DESIRED FUNCTION.
SO THEY'RE PROVIDING THAT SERVICE RIGHT NOW AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT WITH A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PERSONNEL.
THE CITY HAS GIVEN CVC A BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR OF TWO MILLION DOLLARS TO FUND THEIR OPERATION.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR REVENUE DECREASES, THEIR BUDGET WOULD GO DOWN TO 943,000.
NORMALLY, WITH THE CVC OPERATIONAL BUDGET, THEY GIVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT AND THEN WE COMPARE THAT AMOUNT TO WHAT THE ACTUAL RECEIPTS WERE AND WE DO A TRUE WORK WITH THEM THE NEXT YEAR.
SO IF WE DID HAVE CAN MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS ADJUSTMENT, THAT'S GOING TO BE A HUGE IMPACT WITH CVC.
LAURA AND I ARE GOING TO MEET WITH CVC WITH [INAUDIBLE] LATER THIS WEEK, WE'RE GOING TO SCHEDULE A MEETING AND GO OVER THESE NUMBERS SO THAT THEY CAN BE LOOKING AT THEIR BUDGET AND CUTTING BACK EVERY WAY THAT THEY CAN BECAUSE I SEE A BIG IMPACT TO CVC OPERATIONS GOING FORWARD.
THE CVC PROMOTIONAL FUND IS USED AND IT HAS A BUDGET OF 458,000, IT IS USED TO HELP FUND EVENTS AT GOVERNMENT OWNED FACILITIES AND IN THE CITY.
RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE SPENT JUST UNDER $198,000, I RECOMMEND WE FREEZE THE FUNDING IN THAT FUND AND DO NOT SPEND ANY MORE DOLLARS OUT OF THAT FUND.
THAT WOULD HELP FREE UP SOME DOLLARS.
SO AS YOU CAN TELL, THERE'S GOING TO BE A BIG IMPACT TO SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS BASED ON A REDUCED FUNDING ON HOTEL TAX REVENUE.
NOW, WHAT ALSO WANT TO GO ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS, GO OVER THOSE AMOUNTS AS THEY RELATE TO DEBT SERVICE, BECAUSE THE CITY HAS TWO BONDS THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY HOT REVENUE.
THOSE TWO BONDS ARE THE PARKING GARAGE AND THE BALLPARK.
THE FUNDING ON THE ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE IS $3.2 MILLION.
IF OUR REVISED BUDGET, AND I HOPE THAT THIS NUMBERS WORST-CASE AND THAT'S VERY CONSERVATIVE, IF THAT BUDGET COMES IN AT FOUR MILLION DOLLARS OR JUST UNDER, THAT MONEY FIRST GOES TO PAY THE DEBT SERVICE.
SO THERE IS FUNDING AVAILABLE, THAT MAY GET SERVICE.
NOW, ALSO WANT TO SHARES THE CITY ON HOT TAX.
IF WE DON'T SPEND THAT MONEY, THAT MONEY SITS IN RESERVES.
WE ANTICIPATE AT THE END OF YEAR WE ARE IN, EVEN WITH THE LOWER REVISED BUDGET, WE ANTICIPATE HAVING TWO MILLION DOLLARS OF HOT TAX MONEY IN RESERVES.
SO THOSE DOLLARS WOULD BE AVAILABLE ALSO TO HELP PAY FOR DEBT SERVICE.
BUT WHAT I WANTED TO STRESS WITH YOU ALL IS, EVEN IF OUR HOT TAX REVENUE GOES DOWN FROM $6.4 MILLION TO 3.9 MILLION, THERE'S SUFFICIENT HOT TAX DOLLARS AVAILABLE TO COVER THE ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE.
>> ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, COUNCIL? I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT CITIZEN TALKING POINT, THAT'S A QUESTION WE'RE GOING TO GET OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ALL HAVE THOSE NUMBERS IN OUR MIND AND WE HAVE ASKED ANYTHING, ANY QUESTION THAT WE HAVE IS A QUESTION A CITIZEN IS LIKELY THE HAVE.
>> THEN MY LAST TWO SLIDES ARE GOING TO REVIEW GRANT FUNDING AVAILABLE THAT THE CITY HAS ALREADY RECEIVED.
THEIR FIRST ONE, STEPHANIE, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
[01:45:04]
THE FIRST ONE IS OUR AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED $7.6 MILLION AND THAT FUNDING CAN BE USED ON AIRPORT EXPENDITURES.SO WHILE WE SEE MAYBE REVENUES COMING IN LESS THAN ANTICIPATED, THAT MONEY IS GOING TO HELP OFFSET AND FUND OUR OPERATIONS.
OUR TRANSIT DEPARTMENT HAS RECEIVED $9.9 MILLION AND THAT FUNDING IS GOING TO COVER A 100 PERCENT OF ALL TRANSIT OPERATIONS.
THE LAST TWO GRANTS ARE RELATED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS.
ONE MORE SLIDE, STEPHANIE. [NOISE] PUBLIC HEALTH HAS RECEIVED $617,000 IN GRANT MONEY, WHICH CAN BE USED AND WILL BE USED FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE TO COVID-19.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT HAS RECEIVED JUST UNDER A MILLION DOLLARS AND I HAVE LISTED THE MAJOR CATEGORIES WHERE THOSE DOLLARS CAN BE SPENT AND I UNDERSTAND THAT JULIANA IS ON THE LINE, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS SCREEN? [NOISE]
>> SORRY. IT'S HARDER BECAUSE I HAVE MY SCREEN TURNED OFF, SO I'M NOT SEEING NOBODY'S FACES AND ANYWAY, I'M LOOKING AT THE PROPOSAL, NOT THE PEOPLE'S FACES.
I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT TREASURY DEPARTMENT FUNDS, ARE WE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT IN YOUR PRESENTATION OR IT'S NOT A GOOD TIME FOR US TO TALK AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT?
>> ASK QUESTIONS ON THAT, I THINK JARED, IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON, I KNOW THAT STEPHANIE HAS DONE SOME RESEARCH FOR US ON THAT. [OVERLAPPING]
ANY FEEDBACK WE GAVE WILL BE EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY BUT STEPHANIE HAS DONE SOME RESEARCH, WE MAY CALL ON HER AT THAT TIME.
>> YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT NOW OR YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION? IT'S BUDGET-RELATED, IT'S EASILY UNDER THIS TOPIC.
>> OKAY. SO WHAT I KNOW, WHAT I'M HEARING COULD BE ON PHONE CALLS WITH BIG CITY MAYORS AND JUST OTHER ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS WITH WEST TEXAS MAYORS.
THERE ARE SOME FUNDS BEING RELEASED FROM THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT TO CITIES 500,000 POPULATION AND LARGER.
THEN THERE ARE OTHER FUNDS BEING RELEASED DIRECTLY TO THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES THE EXPECTATION THAT THE STATE WILL GIVE THOSE FUNDS TO CITIES, SMALLER THAN $500,000 TO HELP THEM OFFSET SOME OF THEIR COVID RESPONSE EXPENSES AND/OR MAYBE SOME OF THEIR BUDGET SHORTFALLS.
HOWEVER, WE DON'T HAVE ANY INDICATION FROM AUSTIN AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GOING TO RELEASE THOSE FUNDS TO THE CITIES.
THERE'S NOTHING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYING THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TO.
SO I HAD ASKED JARED IF THEY WOULD DO A LITTLE RESEARCH AND FIND OUT WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS, BIG CITIES GOT SOME RELIEF FROM FEDERAL DOLLARS, OUR FEDERAL DOLLARS WENT DIRECTLY TO AUSTIN.
WHAT ARE WE HEARING FROM AUSTIN ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO GET ACCESS TO THOSE FUNDS.
>> STEPHANIE, HAVE WE GOT ANY FEEDBACK YET ON THAT?
>>THERE ARE SEVERAL CITIES SIGNING THE LETTER REQUESTING THAT AUSTIN CONSIDER HELPING TO FIND CITIES UNDER 500,000.
>> STEPHANIE CAN YOU SAY WHAT YOU SAID AT THE START OF THAT?
>> YES. WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY FEEDBACK FROM AUSTIN OR ANYTHING, BUT WE DO HAVE A LETTER THAT, I BELIEVE IT'S EML, ORIGINATED FOR CITIES TO SIGN-ON, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO SHOW OUR SUPPORT IN THAT LETTER AND WE WILL TRY AND TO GET FUNDING FOR CITIES UNDER 500,000.
>> MAYOR JUST SO IGNORE, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WORKING WITH OTHER CITIES, CRAPPED THE LETTER ON APRIL 13TH, JUST TO ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS DELEGATION REGARDING THESE FUNDS, ASKING IF THEY'LL BE PASSED THROUGH TO COMMUNITIES SMALLER THAN 500,000 BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY RESPONSE YET.
[01:50:03]
>> MR. CITY MANAGER, I WOULD ALSO SUGGESTS THAT WE REACH OUT TO REPRESENTATIVE THORNBERRY'S OFFICE FOR SUPPORT, AND THAT IS WELL.
SINCE THESE ARE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT WERE AUTHORIZED TO GO TO THE STATE, I WOULD THINK THAT HE WOULD BE GOOD ADVOCATE FOR US TO ACTUALLY RECEIVE THOSE DOLLARS.
>> ABSOLUTELY. WE'D ABSOLUTE REACH OUT TO CONGRESSMAN THORNBERRY'S OFFICE.
>> JUST TO UNDERSTAND, THEY'RE LETTERS BEING DRAFTED BUT WE HAVEN'T SIGNED IT YET.
ARE MAYORS SIGNING THAT OR CITY MANAGER SIGNING THEM?
>> SO WHEN THEY PASSED AROUND MAYOR WAS SIGNED BY MAYORS AT THE VARIOUS CITIES, AND SO WE WOULD DRAFT ONE AND HAVE THE MAYOR SIGN IT.
>> SO THEIR LETTER ALREADY WENT?
>> [INAUDIBLE] DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF THAT LETTER?
>> YES, I CAN FORWARD IT TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL IF YOU'D LIKE ME TO.
>> THAT WILL BE GREAT. THANK YOU.
>> OKAY. [OVERLAPPING] GO AHEAD, ELAINE.
>> JUST A DOLLAR AMOUNT, AGAIN, DO WE HAVE ANY INDICATION OF WHAT WAS AUTHORIZED TO THE STATE OF TEXAS SPECIFICALLY, TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO CITIES THAT ARE SMALLER THAN 500,000? CAN WE GET THAT NUMBER?
>> YES, WE CAN DO SOME RESEARCH AND GET THAT NUMBER FOR YOU, ELAINE.
>> I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO ADD IN OUR LETTER.
[LAUGHTER] IT'S LIKE IF WE KNEW THAT NUMBER, AND LIKE THE STATE HAS RECEIVED X AMOUNT FOR THIS PURPOSE.
>> THANK YOU [INAUDIBLE] TAKE THAT SIDETRACK.
NOW, WHAT WE DO HAVE IF YOU WOULD LIKE, OR WE CAN GIVE SUMMARIES AND FOR THE COUNCIL SEPARATELY, ANDREWSON HAS PUT TOGETHER SOME INFORMATION ON THE HIGHER TAXES ON THE OCCUPANCY RATES AND THE AVERAGE DAILY RATES SHOWING THOSE COMPARISONS, ENSURING THAT INFORMATION WEEKLY.
HE'S WELL HAS PUT TOGETHER SOME INFORMATION ON THE GEODATA FENCING, BY THE INDUSTRIES WITHIN THE CITY, IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT NOW, OR WOULD YOU LIKE FOR US TO CONTINUE TO SENT THAT TO COUNCIL?
>> I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT IT IN CASE COUNCIL GETS QUESTIONS.
>> YES, MICHELLE, THIS IS FRIDA, I'D LIKE TO RECEIVE IT VIA E-MAIL PLEASE.
>> OKAY. SO ANDREW, I THINK IF YOU CAN PULL THAT UP, I THINK HE IS PREPARED TO GO OVER THAT, AND THEN WE'LL ALSO SEND IT SEPARATELY.
>> STEPHANIE, DO YOU WANT ME TO PULL IT UP OR YOU'RE PULLING IT UP?
>> YES, IF YOU'VE WANTED TO, I'VE CHANGED IT SO THAT ALL PANELISTS CAN SHARE, IF YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND PULL IT UP.
OTHERWISE, I HAVE IT READY TO ACCESS YOU HERE.
THAT WAY YOU CAN [OVERLAPPING]
>> YOU GOT IT, GO AHEAD AND PULL IT UP PLEASE.
I DON'T HAVE A PULL BACK ON MY COMPUTER.
THE GPS DATA BY INDUSTRY, PLEASE? ALL RIGHT. SO WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE, WE WORKED WITH A COMPANY CALLED BUXTON.
IT'S A CUSTOMER ANALYTICS TOOL COMPANY THAT PUTS TOGETHER, DEPENDING ON THE INDUSTRY, THEY ALSO FOCUS ON RETAIL, IT HELPS WITH RETAIL RECRUITMENT FOR CITIES AND GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE REACHING OUT, BUT THEY ALSO WORK WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR SIMILAR NEEDS.
THIS FIRST SLIDE, WE LOOKED AT JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH, BUT WE'VE ALSO STARTED TRACKING ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
WHAT THEY'VE DONE, THEY'VE GOT A GPS DATABASE BUILT OFF OF CUSTOMER'S PHONES BASICALLY.
IT'S BUILT INTO CERTAIN APPS WITH LOCATION SERVICES.
SO A CERTAIN POPULATION HAS THOSE LOCATION SERVICES ACTIVATED ON THEIR PHONE AND IF THEY GO IN GEO-FENCE AREA WHICH THEY HAVE SET GEOGRAPHICALLY AROUND ALL THE DIFFERENT RETAIL INDUSTRIES, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE ARE SOME OF THE TOP CATEGORIES THAT WE'VE BEEN MONITORING IN AMARILLO.
SO WHETHER IT'S FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANT, LIMITED SERVICE,
[01:55:02]
CLOTHING STORES, WE CAN SEE WITH A SAMPLED DATA SET, IT'S NOT EVERYBODY BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY HAS LOCATION SERVICES TURNED ON, BUT FROM A CERTAIN SAMPLE SIZE, WE CAN SEE HOW THE TRAFFIC PATTERNS HAVEN'T BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID.SO JANUARY AND FEBRUARY WE WERE LOOKING AT JUST GETTING THE IDEA OF WHAT THE PREVIOUS TRENDS WERE.
JANUARY, WE DID NOTICE WE HAD QUITE A FEW NEGATIVES BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GO INTO THE CONFIDENTIAL INDUSTRY DATA FROM SALES TAX THAT WE RECEIVED FROM COMPTROLLER OFFICE AND A LOT OF THESE MADE SENSE AS TO WHY SOME WERE SEEING SPIKES AND OTHERS WEREN'T.
ANOTHER KEY THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS WHAT THIS DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR IN THE INDUSTRY DATA IS THAT WE MIGHT SEE A BUMP IN SALES TAX BUT THAT CAN BE BECAUSE OF ONLINE SALES NOT OUR BRICK AND MORTAR SALES.
SO THAT'S ALSO A REASON WHY YOU MIGHT SEE A DECLINE IN GPS TRACKING, BUT AN INCREASE IN SALES TAX COLLECTIONS.
HERE'S A SNAPSHOT OF FEBRUARY GPS.
SO THAT WOULD BE APRIL COLLECTIONS.
SO THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHOSE SALES SPIKES AND WHOSE SALES DECLINES.
BUT WHAT I WANTED TO FOCUS ON WAS MARCH.
SO THESE ARE MARCH DATA EVERYDAY.
SO THIS IS GPS DATA THAT WE'LL IN MAY BE ABLE TO COMPARE THESE TO ACTUAL SALES.
SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS QUITE A FEW THAT ARE SEEING MAJOR DECLINES TO BE EXPECTED, BUT THIS HAS THE DATA TO REALLY PROJECT IT OUT.
SO SHOE STORES IS 91 PERCENT, JEWELRY STORES IS 90, BOOK PERIODICAL AND MUSIC STORES IS 93 PERCENT.
OF COURSE, THE MOVIE THEATERS FALL ON THAT 96 PERCENT RANGE.
REALLY, THE ONLY CATEGORIES THAT WE SAW ANY INCREASE IN IS BUILDING MATERIAL STORES, WHICH IF YOU'VE GONE TO ONE OR DRIVEN BY ONE, YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S SEEING A LOT OF TRAFFIC, SO THAT'S DOCUMENTED HERE.
THEN BEER, WINE, AND LIQUOR STORES.
GROCERY STORES ARE AT A SLIGHT DECLINE, BUT I COULD SHOW YOU AS WE GO THROUGH ON THE WEEKLY DATA, THAT ON CERTAIN DAYS THAT THEY SEE LARGE SPIKES OR CERTAIN WEEKS OF LARGE SPIKES AND THEN THE FOLLOWING WEEKS OF DECLINE.
SO IT'S REALLY THE PATTERN OF THE SHOPPERS.
SO JUST FOR EXAMPLE, HERE'S THE FULL SERVICE RESTAURANTS.
YOU CAN SEE MID-MARCH IS WHERE IT STARTED TO HIT.
THIRTY ONE PERCENT DECLINE IN THE WEEK OF MARCH 15TH.
FORTY THREE PERCENT DECLINE IN MARCH 22.
WHAT'S INTERESTING IS NOW THAT PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO ADJUST, MAYBE THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND DOING MORE PICKUP, MORE CARRY OUT, YOU'RE SEEING MORE STARTING TO VENTURE OUT COMPARED TO 2019.
SO IT'S NOT AS BAD AS IT WAS WHEN WE INITIALLY HAD THE CLOSURES.
THEN COMPARE THAT TO LIMITED SERVICE THAT ARE MORE SETUP FOR CARRY-OUT, THEY HAVE THE DRIVE-THROUGH WINDOW FOR PICKUP.
THEY DIDN'T SEE QUITE THE HITS.
SO THE LOWEST THEY'VE SEEN SO FAR IS 16 PERCENT, BUT THEY ACTUALLY ARE STARTING TO SEE INCREASES BACK INTO THE GOOD AS FAR AS APRIL 5TH IS CONCERNED.
SO WE HAVE THIS FOR ALL THE INDUSTRIES THAT WERE LISTED ORIGINALLY JUST TO GIVE YOU THE IDEA OF HOW THINGS ARE PERFORMING.
DEPARTMENT STORES, IT'S ALSO MADE DECLINES BUT IT'S STARTING TO COME BACK AROUND.
BOOK PERIODICAL AND MUSIC STORES WAS HIT PRETTY HARD.
APRIL 5TH SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN A PRETTY GOOD WEEK FOR EVERYBODY.
I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYONE WAS VENTURING OUT THAT WEEK TO GO SHOPPING AND MAYBE THEY GOT TIRED OF BEING STUCK IN THE HOUSE.
BUT BUILDING MATERIAL STORES, THAT MID-MARCH SAW AN INCREASE OF 16 PERCENT.
SPORTING GOODS CONTINUED TO SEE DECLINES COMPARED TO 2019, 35 PERCENT IN MID-MARCH.
APRIL 12 WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY STARTED TO SEE INCREASES IN TRAFFIC COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
CLOTHING STORES, MAJOR DECLINES.
JEWELRY STORES, MAJOR DECLINES.
I WANT TO TOUCH ON GROCERY STORES.
ELECTRONIC AND APPLIANCE STORES ALSO HAS SEEN SOME DECLINES AFTER THE MID-MARCH DIP, WHICH COULD BE BECAUSE PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME MAYBE NEED TO UPGRADE THEIR COMPUTERS, ADD WEBCAMS, THOSE THINGS SO THEY CAN TELECOMMUTE INSTEAD OF GOING INTO THE OFFICES.
BEER, WINE, AND LIQUOR STORES, MID-MARCH SAW A HUGE SPIKE.
SIMILAR TO GROCERY STORES ON THE RIGHT, I THINK IT'S JUST THE PATTERN OF PEOPLE STOCKING UP MAYBE FOR TWO WEEKS TRYING NOT TO GET OUT ON A DAILY BASIS OR WEEKLY BASIS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE TRENDS GOING UP AND DOWN FROM ONE WEEK TO THE NEXT.
THEN WE'VE ALSO GOT GASOLINE STATIONS, SIMILAR TREND.
OF COURSE, FOLKS AREN'T BUYING AS MUCH GAS SINCE THEY'RE NOT TRAVELING, BUT IN THEIR STORE SALES, YOU CAN SEE THAT PEOPLE AREN'T GOING EVERY OTHER WEEK IT SEEMS.
[02:00:02]
FURNITURE STORES HAVE SEEN INCREASES STARTING IN APRIL COMPARED TO MARCH WHEN THEY SAW A MAJOR DECREASES.AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE, WHICH IS ANOTHER STORE THAT'S ABLE TO STAY OPEN DURING THE CLOSURES, YOU CAN SEE IN MID-MARCH WAS STILL DECLINING BUT ALSO HAS HAD A SPIKE OF DECENT FOOT TRAFFIC IN LATER MARCH.
WE'VE GOT AUTOMOTIVE PARTS AND TIRE STORES ALSO SAW A MAJOR INCREASE IN TRAFFIC IN EARLY APRIL.
OFFICE SUPPLIES, EARLY APRIL STARTED TO SEE SOME INCREASE AS WELL.
THEN THE LAST ONE OF COURSE IS THE MOVIE THEATER JUST TO SHOW HOW THOSE MAJOR DECLINES HAD IMPACTED.
THE WAY THE DATASET WORKS, THEY TRY AND DISCOUNT THE EMPLOYEES THAT MAY BE GOING IF THEY'RE THERE IN A REGULAR BASIS, BUT RIGHT NOW, THEY MIGHT BE COMING IN SO YOU'RE STILL GOING TO SEE SOME HITS AS FAR AS PEOPLE GOING TO MOVIE THEATER, BUT IT'S NOT OF COURSE PEOPLE GOING TO WATCH THE MOVIES.
SO THAT'S THE SALES TAX GPS DATA.
WHEN WE TOOK THIS INFORMATION TO HELP WITH PROJECTIONS, WE WERE ABLE TO COMPARE, USE THIS DATA, BUT ALSO LOOK AT THE ACTUAL SALES OF THESE INDUSTRIES LAST YEAR, AND PROJECT HOW THESE DECLINES MIGHT AFFECT THEIR ACTUAL SALES.
SO IF IT'S THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY, DINE IN RESTAURANT, WE DID PUT IN THAT THEY MIGHT SEE A 75 PERCENT DECLINE, OR IF IT'S FAST FOOD, A 50 PERCENT DECLINE.
SO THAT GAVE US SOME REAL DATA TO USE TO MAKE OUR PROJECTIONS TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING.
THEN, OF COURSE, BY TAXPAYER, WE WERE ABLE TO PROJECT MAYBE AN INCREASE IN AMAZON SALES OR AN INCREASE IN ONLINE SALES.
KNOWING WHICH STORES ARE CLOSED LIKE A LOT OF THOSE IN SHOPS IN THE MALL, WE COULD GO IN AND GO AHEAD AND PUT ZERO IN THAT LINE, MAYBE ACCOUNT FOR A LITTLE ONLINE SALES BUT REALLY HELP TO SHORE UP THOSE PROJECTIONS SINCE WE WON'T KNOW THE ACTUALS UNTIL A COUPLE OF MONTHS OUT.
THEN AS FAR AS HOT, THIS SLIDE IS FOR THE OCCUPANCY, AVERAGE DAILY RATE, AND COLLECTIONS.
THIS IS A LITTLE BIT BETTER BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY A FEW WEEKS BEHIND SINCE WE COLLECTED THE LOCAL HOT OURSELVES.
THIS SHOWS YOU THE OCCUPANCY IN BLUE BY WEEK, AND THEN THE AVERAGE DAILY RATE IN GREEN, AND YOU COULD START TO SEE THE OCCUPANCY GOING FROM 65 PERCENT DOWN TO 24 PERCENT.
THEN AVERAGE DAILY RATE IS DROPPING FROM $80 DOWN TO $57.
THIS IS WHAT WE'LL TRY TO UPDATE EVERY SINGLE WEEK TO SEND OUT TO COUNCIL SO YOU CAN SEE HOW IT'S BEING IMPACTED.
IF WE START TO LEVEL OUT, RIGHT NOW, WE'RE STILL SEEING A DECLINE IN EACH WEEK.
HERE'S JUST THE OCCUPANCY SO YOU CAN COMPARE IT TO PREVIOUS YEARS.
MARCH IS TYPICALLY PRETTY HIGH YEAR IN THE 65-70 PERCENT RANGE, BUT NOW, IT'S CURRENTLY IN THE MID-FIFTIES.
THAT'S HOW WE SAW MARCH PLAY OUT.
THEN AVERAGE DAILY RATE, IN THE PAST, MARCH TIME-FRAME WAS BETWEEN 78 AND 80, AND NOW, IT'S DOWN IN THE 74-76 RANGE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH.
THE LAST SLIDE IS HOT COLLECTIONS.
YOU CAN SEE A BIG DIP IN APRIL.
WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ALL THE COLLECTIONS COMPARED TO PREVIOUS MONTH, WE'VE ONLY HAD ABOUT 76 TAXPAYERS PAY COMPARED TO 129 IN MARCH.
SOME OF THOSE WOULD BE AIRBNBS THAT HAVE BEEN PAYING AS WELL, BUT YOU CAN SEE WE'RE JUST ABOVE 275,000 COMPARED TO A LITTLE LESS THAN 660,000 IN PREVIOUS APRIL COLLECTIONS.
SO THIS IS JUST TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE MONTHLY OUTLOOK IS, AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE WEEKLY AS WELL AND TRACK THOSE NUMBERS.
THANK YOU [INAUDIBLE] WITH THE CBC, SHE'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL WITH PROVIDING THE ADR AND OCCUPANCY NUMBERS EVERY WEEK.
THEN THE LAST SLIDE JUST HAD A COMPARABLE TO OUR GPS DATA.
GOOGLE ALSO PUT OUT SOME ANALYTICS AS FAR AS GPS TRAFFIC.
THEY DID [NOISE] EACH STATE AND THEN BY COUNTY.
SO THIS IS TEXAS THAT SHOWS THE DECREASE IN RESTAURANTS, THEME PARKS, MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES IS AT 48 PERCENT, GROCERY AND PHARMACY 23 PERCENT, PARKS WITH 47.
THIS WAS COMPARED TO EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
AS FAR AS POTTER COUNTY, WE'RE SEEING PRETTY SIMILAR TRENDS WITH GPS DATA FROM GOOGLE.
[02:05:01]
PARKS BEING NEGATIVE 23 PERCENT, NEGATIVE 16 FOR GROCERY, NEGATIVE 48 FOR RETAIL.WHAT YOU CAN ALSO SEE IS THERE'S LESS PEOPLE GOING INTO THE WORKPLACE, AND MORE PEOPLE STAYING AT HOME COMPARED TO THE BASELINE DATA.
RANDALL IS SEEING SIMILAR FIGURES; 37 PERCENT LESS GOING TO RETAIL, 19 PERCENT LESS GOING TO GROCERY, 44 PERCENT LESS GOING TO PARKS, AND THEN 36 PERCENT LESS GOING INTO THE WORKPLACE, AND 11 PERCENT STAYING AT HOME, COMPARED TO THE BASELINE DATA. ANY QUESTIONS?
>> VERY, VERY INTERESTING DATA, ANDREW.
I'M GLAD YOU TOOK TIME TO SHARE IT WITH US.
>> YEAH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DATA OVERLOAD.
>> I'M ACTUALLY SURPRISED THAT GROCERY STORES AREN'T UP.
I GUESS IT COULD JUST BE THAT THEY STOCK BASED ON LAST YEAR'S NUMBERS, AND SO THEY COULD ONLY SELL WHAT THEY HAD IN STOCK.
IN SUPPLY-CHAINWISE, THEY COULDN'T GET MORE AND GET IT ON THE SHELVES.
THEN, IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT THE DEMAND WAS, THEY JUST COULDN'T SELL IT.
DO YOU THINK THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED?
>> WELL, THIS ISN'T SALES PER SE, THIS IS GPS.
THIS IS PEOPLE COMING INTO THE STORE, SO MAYBE LESS FOOT TRAFFIC, MAYBE THEY'RE BUYING MORE IN BULK SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO KEEP GOING OUT, SO THE NUMBERS ARE DECLINING THAT WAY.
NOW, SALESWISE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE IF THEY'RE SEEING INCREASES, AND I THINK WE WILL SEE THAT.
BUT IT'S ALSO NOT EVERYTHING THEY SELL IS TAXABLE.
>> ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT BUXTON DATA IS THEY'RE VERY MUCH A DATA-MINING COMPANY.
THEY TRADE IN TRAFFIC, THEY TRADED IN GPS INFORMATION, IT EVEN GOES SO FAR AS TO A PSYCHOGRAPHIC ACTIVITY OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
WHEN THEY SEE YOUR LICENSE PLATES SHOWING UP IN A NEIGHBORING COMMUNITY, THEY KNOW THAT PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN BOUGHT AT THE STORE WHERE THEY SHOWED UP AT AND NOT BEING BOUGHT IN YOUR STORE.
SO YOU CAN IDENTIFY WHEN YOU'RE HAVING LEAKAGE, YOU IDENTIFY MARKET AREAS THAT UNDER-REPRESENTED IN YOUR COMMUNITY, OR EVEN OVER-REPRESENTED.
SO IT IS INCREDIBLY USEFUL, BUT IT IS ALSO VERY MUCH A MINING ACTIVITY THAT ANDREW'S BEEN UNDERTAKING HERE WITH THE BUXTON DATA.
LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, IT DOESN'T SHOW NECESSARILY SALES, JUST THAT THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT THESE STORES ARE EXPERIENCING ON THE GROCERY STORE SIDE IS SIMILAR, IF NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY LESS, THAN LAST YEAR.
BUT I THINK WHAT WE'RE GOING SEE WHEN WE SEE THE SALES TAX INFORMATION, OR AT LEAST TAXABLE SALES FROM GROCERY STORES, IT'S LIKELY THAT EVEN THOUGH WE'RE SEEING A SLIGHT DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACTUAL VEHICLES GOING TO THOSE STORES, THAT WE WILL PROBABLY SEE AN INCREASE OF SOME KIND IN THE AMOUNT OF GOODS BEING PURCHASED BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES WHAT YOU WERE SEEING LAST YEAR AND PREVIOUS YEARS IS SOMEONE GOING IN TO GRAB A PAIR OF READING GLASSES, OR TO GRAB A BANANA, OR WHATEVER.
NOW, IF THEY'RE GOING TO GO OUT, THEY'RE GOING TO GO OUT AND GET ALL THIS STUFF THEY NEED TO GET, AND THEY'RE GOING TO GET IT IN ONE TRIP RATHER THAN MAKING A WHOLE BUNCH OF TRIPS BACK-AND-FORTH TO THE STORE.
>> [INAUDIBLE] SEE SALES TAX COLLECTIONS FROM ONLINE BECAUSE NOW THE PEOPLE ARE STUCK AT HOME.
ARE THEY GOING TO GO AND JUST BUY A LOT AND HAVE IT DELIVERED? SO THAT MAY HELP WITH SOME OF THE SHORTFALL OF BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORES.
>> IT DOESN'T HELP OUT BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORES, BUT ONLINE STORES ARE STILL A COMPONENT.
>> ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT ANDREW'S DATA, COUNCIL?
>> NUMBER 1, I REALLY APPRECIATE JUST THE EXTRA RESEARCH, AND WITH THE HOT COLLECTION, WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THAT FASTER.
WE SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO REAL-TIME.
IN SALES TAX, THAT TWO-MONTHS DELAY IS A KILLER FOR US TO KNOW WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AGAIN, THIS IS GOING TO HAVE IT'S WEAKNESSES AS YOU WERE DESCRIBING.
IT'S HARD TO EXACTLY CONNECT WHAT SALES ARE GOING TO BE, BUT IT IS SOBERING SEEING THIS DECLINES AND JUST THE AMOUNT OF FOOT TRAFFIC IN THOSE PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES AND STORES THAT THE PERCENTAGE SLOWDOWN OF TRAFFIC TO THEIR DOORS.
WE'VE BEEN WATCHING THE COVID CASES.
WE HAVE THAT MEASURED, AND IT'S JUST PRETTY STAGGERING TO LOOK AT THE OTHER ASPECT,
[02:10:06]
THE OTHER IMPACT, THAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR ECONOMY AND TO OUR LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS.>> ANYBODY ELSE? COMMENTS? JUST AS WE MOVE OFF THE BUDGET THINGS, JARED, I WANTED TO ASK YOU.
I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE HAD A CONVERSATION EARLIER IN THE WEEK ABOUT TRYING TO ANTICIPATE FURTHER FEDERAL STIMULUS PACKAGES.
SOME OF WHAT'S BEING DISGUSTED ARE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, PROBABLY WITH AN EMPHASIS ON TRANSPORTATION, AND JUST AS WE SAW, BUSINESSES WHO GOT THEIR PPP APPLICATIONS AND QUICKLY GOT FUNDED, AND I HOPE THERE WILL BE MORE FUNDING FOR THOSE TYPE LOANS, IF THE STIMULUS PACKAGE WERE TO COME OUT AND SAY, "WE WANT TO DO INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE WANT TO SEE IT IN TRANSPORTATION" WHAT ARE OUR SHOVEL-READY PROJECTS? HOW QUICKLY COULD WE MOVE TO GET IN FRONT OF SOME POTENTIAL FEDERAL FUNDING ON THOSE? SO CAN YOU JUST TELL THE COUNCIL WHAT YOU AND I VISITED THROUGHOUT ABOUT THIS WEEK ON THAT?
>> TRUE. YES, MA'AM. WE HAVE WELL OVER $60 MILLION, BUT WELL OVER $50 MILLION RIGHT NOW.
IT COULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IF WE WANT TO START LOOKING AT WATER AND WASTEWATER PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY PROJECTS LIKE THE AMI PROJECT, WITH THE AUTOMATED METERS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT ARE SHOVEL-READY RIGHT NOW PRIMARILY ON THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE, ROAD, CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, REPAVING, RESURFACING, PROJECTS LIKE THAT, BUT ALSO, A LOT OF DRAINAGE PROJECTS THAT ARE READY TO GO NOW, A LOT OF FACILITY PROJECTS THAT READY TO GO NOW.
ALL THOSE LIVE IN THE GENERAL FUND, SO THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SHOVEL-READY PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE READY TO GO.
IF WE WANT TO LOOK AT ENTERPRISE FUNDS LIKE WATER AND WASTEWATER, THEN IT REALLY JUMPS.
>> ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS OR THOUGHTS ON THAT COUNCIL?
>> IN THE BUDGET IN GENERAL OR THAT ONE PARTICULAR THING?
>> ON THAT ONE PARTICULAR THING, AND THEN WE'LL OPENED IT UP AND DO BUDGET IN GENERAL.
>> NOTHING ELSE ON THAT ONE PARTICULAR THING? NOW, BUDGET IN GENERAL.
>> WELL, GUESS MY QUESTION TO COUNCIL IS JUST SEEING THE ANTICIPATED REVENUE SHORTFALLS, AND SO FAR, WHAT WE HAVE IS A JUST LIKE FIRST-ROUND PASS OF HOW DO WE BEGIN FORECASTING? HOW DO WE LOOK AT WHERE OUR CHANGES ARE GOING TO BE? I JUST WANT TO THROW OUT THE QUESTION AND HEAR COUNCIL'S INPUT ON WHERE WE SEE THE PHRASES COMING IN PUBLIC SAFETY THAT I KNOW PART RIGHT NOW, IT IS TRYING TO BALANCE SERVICES AND ALSO STAFF, BUT JUST THOUGHTS ON IS THAT WHERE WE WANT TO DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER AND STAFF TO BE LOOKING FOR REDUCTIONS? [BACKGROUND]
>> WHO WANTS TO GO FIRST FROM GIVING A ROOM FOR YOU BACK THERE?
>> OKAY. IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A HARD QUESTION.
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS ANY BUSINESS PRETTY MUCH THAT DEALS WITH PEOPLE, THEIR NUMBER ONE EXPENSE IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE THOSE THAT ARE WORKING, AND SO THE FIRST PLACE YOU ALWAYS GO AND LOOK, MOST OF THE TIME IS, IS THERE AREAS THAT YOU CUT? I THINK PROBABLY, NUMBER ONE, IF THE 16 POSITIONS OF POLICE OFFICERS WERE GOING TO COME FROM THE ACADEMY THIS FALL OR SUMMER, THEN I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD PLACE TO SAY, "OKAY.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT THIS FALL." I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT ONE.
I WOULD ALSO TEND TO AGREE WITH [INAUDIBLE] ON THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SIMPLY BECAUSE, NUMBER ONE, THE BUILDING HADN'T BEEN FINISHED AND THAT WAS TO FUND A SECOND COMPANY OF OFFICERS.
SO I THINK IF WE HAVE TO HOLD OFF ON THAT, I THINK THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD PLACE TO DO THAT.
MR. CITY MANAGER, I BELIEVE THE CALLS, UNTIL REALLY RECENTLY, HAVE BEEN DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY FIRE OR POLICE-WISE, CORRECT?
>> YEAH, THE CALLS ARE DOWN, FIRE, AND EMS, AROUND 30 PERCENT.
[02:15:01]
IT VACILLATES 20-35 DEPENDING ON THE DAY.POLICE, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING SOMEWHERE AROUND 20 PERCENT DECLINE IN CALLS.
HOWEVER, TODAY, WE SAW OUR FIRST INCREASE IN CALLS, AND A LOT OF THOSE WERE AN INCREASE IN THEFT.
SO WE'RE DOWN ON THE MOVEMENT-RELATED VIOLATIONS, LIKE TRAFFIC AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT WE'RE UP ON SOME THEFT AND BURGLARIES, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
PART OF THAT IS RELATED TO WEATHER WARMING, BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE CONDUCIVE TO OPERATING AT NIGHT, THINGS LIKE THAT, SO WE'RE GOING TO WORK, AS CHIEF BIRKENFELD MENTIONED, TO ADDRESS BOTH THE HIGH RATE OF SPEED, WHEN THEY ARE SPEEDING, BUT ALSO THOSE PROPERTY CRIMES THAT ARE HAPPENING.
ALSO, PERSONAL CRIMES THAT ARE HAPPENING AT AN INCREASED RATE.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, FIRE IS DOWN VERSUS NON-CORONAVIRUS OPERATIONS.
POLICE, FOR THE MOST PART, DOWN, BUT THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE GESTATION TIME ON THE POLICE SIDE, IT TAKES SO LONG TO BRING AN OFFICER ON AND GET HIM ON THE STREET.
WE'LL BE WELL OUT OF THESE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS BY THE TIME WE CAN BRING THOSE NEW POLICE OFFICERS TO THE FIELD.
WHEREAS, WITH FIRE, THEY COME TO THE DEPARTMENT WITH THEIR FIREFIGHTER CERTIFICATION.
THEY JUST NEED TO GO THROUGH THE TRAINING PROGRAM, SO THEIR ENTRY INTO FRONT-LINE SERVICE IS AROUND FIVE OR SIX MONTHS.
>> I THINK I'M GOING TO BE MORE APT TO SAY THAT WE FREEZE POSITIONS THAN I'M GOING TO BE TO SAY THAT WE CUT POSITIONS.
WE'RE FREEZING ALL POSITIONS THAT ARE FILLED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF VERY FEW POSITIONS THAT WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND APPROVE BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING INCREASED DEMAND IN THOSE AREAS.
FOR EXAMPLE, CONSTRUCTION INSPECTORS, BUILDING INSPECTORS, PERMIT, PLAN REVIEW PEOPLE.
WE'RE STILL SEEING SOME OPERATIONS GOING ON THERE.
ALSO AUTHORIZING SOME ADDITIONAL POSITIONS OR FILLING SOME VACANT POSITIONS OVER AT [INAUDIBLE] MANAGEMENT, BECAUSE LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE ARE PRETTY SHORT STAFFED OVER THERE.
SO WE ARE GOING TO GO AND FILL SOME OF THE POSITIONS OVER THERE THAT ARE NEEDED, BUT NOT ALL.
POLICE CHIEF, FIRE CHIEF, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF POSITIONS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FILLING DURING THE EMERGENCY THAT ARE NECESSARY.
BUT WITH THOSE EXCEPTIONS, WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS, WE'RE GOING TO BE FREEZING POSITIONS THAT WE DEEM WE CAN OPERATE AT LEAST SHORT-TERM WITHOUT.
>> IT'S MUCH EASIER TO JUST NOT HIRE ADDITIONAL INDIVIDUALS RATHER THAN HAVE TO LAY OFF.
IT'S MORE COMMON, PRIVATE SECTOR RESPONDS QUICKER, WHEN YOU SEE THERE'S A LARGE OF A REDUCTION IN YOUR REVENUE, OF RECOGNIZING THE PROBABILITY, POSSIBILITIES, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LAY PEOPLE OFF.
GOVERNMENT DOESN'T MOVE THAT DIRECTION AS QUICKLY.
SO I THINK WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE A LOT OF OUR ISSUES UNTIL POSSIBLY MAY AND JUNE.
JUST IN ANTICIPATION OF THAT OF JUST PRIORITIZING, IS WHERE WE FREEZE WITH PUBLIC SAFETY POSITIONS OR IS IT THAT WE END UP HAVING TO BE PREPARED IN LOOKING AT LAYOFFS OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ACTUALLY ALREADY EMPLOYED?
>> ARE YOU ASKING ME OR THE COUNCIL?
>> I'LL WAIT. I DON'T WANT TO JUMP IN TO STIR THINGS.
>> IN MY OPINION, IT SEEMS A LITTLE EARLY TO MAKE SOME OF THESE DECISIONS.
I THINK OUR SENIOR MANAGER HAS REACTED APPROPRIATELY.
HE'S MADE ADJUSTMENTS ALREADY, AND FROM WEEK TO WEEK, WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS HERE.
WE HOPE WE'LL PULL OUT OF THIS, BUT WHO KNOWS? IT COULD GO ON FOR MONTHS.
BUT FOR NOW, I THINK HE'S REACTED APPROPRIATELY, AND WE MONITOR THIS WEEKLY OR EVERY TWO WEEKS, AND GIVING GUIDANCE IF WE THINK WE NEED TO GO ONLY IN ONE DIRECTION.
I HOPE WE DON'T HAVE TO GO CUT EMPLOYED PEOPLE.
BUT LIKE YOU SAID, THAT MAY BE THE LAST THING WE CONSIDER, PROBABLY SHOULD BE.
>> I'M THINKING ABOUT IT FROM OUR POLICY POINT OF VIEW.
WHAT WE TOLD JARED, THE CITY MANAGER IS CHARGED WITH HITTING THE BUDGET TARGET.
[02:20:04]
SO HE MUST MAKE A BUDGET THAT MATCHES OUR REVENUE.THEN WE APPROVE THAT BUDGET AND HE SPENDS IT ACCORDINGLY.
IN A LOT OF WAYS, THIS IS A MID-YEAR BUDGET REVISION.
SO TO MOVE FORWARD, I THINK, HE WILL VERY MUCH SO ON OUR INPUT ON HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT THE REVISION THAT HE'S PROPOSING.
I DO THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF OPERATIONAL DECISION ON HOW HE GOES ABOUT GETTING TO A BALANCED BUDGET TO PROPOSE TO US FOR APPROVAL.
SO WHETHER HE DECIDES TO PROPOSE IT BY CUTTING JOBS, OR BY NOT HIRING NEW PEOPLE, OR BY SHIFTING PEOPLE AROUND INTERNALLY, SO THAT CIVIC CENTER FOLKS ARE NOW SANITIZING BUSES.
I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS OPERATIONAL.
AS I'M SITTING HERE THINKING ABOUT IT, JARED, YOUR STOCK IS GOING UP IN MY MIND BECAUSE I RECOGNIZE JUST HOW HARD IT IS TO BALANCE EVERYTHING OUT.
INITIALLY, WHEN THEY PRESENTED THIS ITEM ONTO ME ON FRIDAY, I'M NOT COMFORTABLE DELAYING THE PUBLIC SAFETY HIRES BECAUSE WE'RE ALREADY BEHIND ON PUBLIC SAFETY HIRES AND WE ARE WORKING SO HARD TO GET OUR POLICE OFFICERS THE BACKUP AND SUPPORT THEY NEED TO MANAGE THE WORKLOAD THAT THEY HAVE.
BUT IN TALKING THROUGH IT WITH MR. OWEN, LAURA, AND JARED, NOT A LOT OF OPTIONS.
A SIX-MONTH DELAY THERE, IT'S NOT PERMANENT. WE'RE NOT DOING IT.
IT'S JUST WE'RE GOING TO HOLD OUR BREATH AND GO UNDERWATER JUST A LITTLE LONGER, AND THAT GETS US WHERE WE NEED TO BE IN THIS SHORT FALL.
SO THOSE ARE JUST THE THOUGHTS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH MY HEAD.
THEY'RE NOT VERY WELL ORGANIZED, BUT THOSE ARE THE THINGS I'M THINKING.
>> BECAUSE IN THINKING OF THE BUDGET TARGETS, IT'S ALSO BASED ON OUR PILLARS.
SO SOME OF THOSE START GETTING SHAKY.
SIMPLY, IT'S PICK AND CHOOSING OF PRIORITIES.
IT'S LIKE STREETS IS ONE OF OUR LARGE PILLARS AS WELL, AND WE'RE HAVING TO DELAY A STREET PROJECT.
PUBLIC SAFETY IS A BIG PILLAR AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DELAYING THAT.
SO IN THE INTERIM, I THINK THE ADJUSTMENTS ARE BEING MADE FOR US TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
I'M PROACTIVELY BEGINNING THE CONVERSATION OF THINKING IN JUNE, WHEN SOME OF THOSE CASH FLOWS CHANGE, AND AS WE GET PREPARED FOR THE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS IN AUGUST, WHAT WE MAY BE LOOKING AT, HAVING TO PICK AND CHOOSE.
>> REMIND ME THE DELAY IN THE POLICE ACADEMY CLASS, MICHELLE, WAS THAT $750,000? YOU ALL HEARD ME?
>> YES, THAT'S CORRECT, MAYOR.
>> YES. I WAS SLOW ON MY MUTE BUTTON, 750 FOR POLICE AND 350 FOR FIRE.
>> THEN THAT'S DELAYING THE START OF THAT ACADEMY TO OCTOBER.
>> SO JUST THINKING THROUGH WHAT LAYOFFS WOULD LOOK LIKE TO GO ON A $1.1 MILLION [INAUDIBLE].
A SIX-MONTH LAYOFF FOR, IF THE SALARY WAS $50,000, SOMEBODY WHO IS RUNNING NUMBERS, TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WOULD BE EFFECTED BY THAT.
>> ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT NON-PUBLIC SAFETY?
>> WE WOULD NEED TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT ALL THE DATA [INAUDIBLE].
>> PARTLY, SOMETIMES IN THAT TIME PERIOD, THERE WOULD BE ATTRITION AS WELL.
>> THE PEOPLE WHO JUST STEP DOWN FOR MULTIPLE REASONS.
>> WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE ATTRITIONS TO EXPAND THE FREEZE NUMBERS.
[02:25:05]
TAKING ADVANTAGE IS THE WRONG WORD, BUT WE ARE CAPTURING THAT AS WE GO.I WOULD SAY, IN THE GENERAL FUND, WITH ROUGHLY $188 MILLION BUDGET, 17 OR SO, A LITTLE OVER 17 MAYBE, ABOUT 18.5 IS SOLID WASTE OPERATIONS.
SO I THINK THAT GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE'RE HAVING SUCH AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF WASTE BEING GENERATED DURING THIS PERIOD, IT WOULD BE UNWISE TO LOOK AT THAT, AND TYPICALLY, THAT IS MORE OF AN ENTERPRISE FUND ANYWAY, OR AN ENTERPRISE ACTIVITY ANYWAY, WHICH MEANS THOSE OPERATIONS ARE PAID FOR THROUGH FEES, NOT THROUGH TAXES.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE THE PLACE THAT WE WOULD LOOK, GIVEN THAT THEY ARE ALREADY OPERATING AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN NORMAL, BUT WE'RE DOING IT WITH THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT $170 MILLION BUDGET, ROUGHLY, AGAIN, I'M ESTIMATING FOR YOU, THAT ONCE YOU TAKE OUT SOLID WASTES, PUBLIC SAFETY IS BY FAR THE BIGGEST CHUNK THAT WE HAVE IN THERE.
SO TO MAKE AN APPRECIABLE IMPACT ON THE SAVINGS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE, IF WE EXCLUDE PUBLIC SAFETY FROM THE POSITIONS THAT WE LOOK AT, EITHER FOR FREEZES OR FURLOUGHS, AND PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO UNDERSTAND THAT I'M SAYING WE SHOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS OR FIREFIGHTERS WE HAVE.
I'M SAYING FOR AN EXERCISE TO EVALUATE, WHAT YOUR OPTIONS ARE, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE VARIABLE THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO.
SO THE BOTTOM-LINE IS, IF WE'RE TO MAKE AN APPRECIABLE IMPACT INTO THE ESTIMATED LOSS OF REVENUE THAT WE'RE GOING TO EXPERIENCE THIS YEAR, WE DO HAVE TO FACTOR IN PUBLIC SAFETY, THAT EVEN IF WE'RE LOOKING AT REDUCTIONS IN PERSONNEL, EITHER THROUGH PERMANENTLY REDUCING THE SIZE OF THE WORKFORCE OR TEMPORARY REDUCING THE SIZE OF THE WORKFORCE THROUGH FURLOUGHS, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO HIT THE PERSONAL NUMBERS WE NEED IF WE DON'T CONSIDER PUBLIC SAFETY, JUST BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF WHAT WE DO IN THE GENERAL FUND.
IN THE GENERAL FUND, WITH THAT, AGAIN, IF I'M GOING TO ELIMINATE SOLID WASTE, AND WE ARE NOT ELIMINATING SOLID WASTE FROM THE PROJECT SIDE, AS I'M TALKING ABOUT THE LANDFILL, BUT FROM A PERSONNEL SIDE, THE PERSONNEL THAT WE HAVE IN THE GENERAL FUND REPRESENTS ABOUT 70 PERCENT OF WHAT WE SPEND IN THE GENERAL FUND.
BY FAR, THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE DO IN THE GENERAL FUND IS FUND PERSONNEL TO PROVIDE SERVICES OF A VARIETY OF TYPES.
SO OUTSIDE OF THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, WE DO SPEND A LOT MONEY.
PERSONNEL IS THE ONLY OTHER AREA WHERE WE CAN HAVE AN IMPACT.
WE HAVE EVALUATED, ACROSS ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, ESPECIALLY INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND, BUT ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE TOO THE VALUES WE HAD THROUGH FURLOUGHS OR THROUGH OTHER MORE PERMANENT REDUCTIONS IN SERVICE LEVELS.
BECAUSE WE'RE ESTIMATING AND USING THE GOVERNOR'S ESTIMATES AND PRESIDENT'S ESTIMATES, AND THEN USING OUR OWN GRAIN OF SALT, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? WE DON'T SEE OURSELVES BEING IN THIS POSITION FOR A VERY LONG TIME, SO WE DO NEED TO MAINTAIN AN ABILITY TO MOVE BACK TOWARDS FULL OPERATIONS WHEN APPROPRIATE.
UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WILL BE THE LONG-TERM CHANGES TO SOME OF OUR OPERATIONS, AND YOU'LL GET MORE OF THAT AS WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE PARTS OF OPERATIONS IMPACTS THAT WE'RE EXPECTING.
SO TO MAINTAIN THE ABILITY TO GO BACK INTO THOSE OPERATIONS, IF WE FURLOUGH NOW RIGHT WE'RE PROJECTING WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO A POINT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO BE EXPANDING BACK TO NORMAL OPERATIONS, INTERACTING WITH THE PUBLIC ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE WANTED TO RETAIN THAT ABILITY, AND THAT'S WHY WE WENT THROUGH THE EXERCISE OF MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN COVER PROJECTED LOSSES, MODELED LOSSES IN THE SHORT-TERM THROUGH THE REST OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
WE'LL HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE OR ACCOUNT FOR WHATEVER WE PROJECT IN THE MODELS MOVING FORWARD INTO 2020-2021, THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
YOU'LL BE SEEING THOSE BUDGET TALKS AS WE GO INTO BUDGET MEETINGS HEAR IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.
>> CAN I ASK A QUESTION REAL QUICK? [OVERLAPPING]
>> I WANTED TO ALSO POINT OUT, WE'VE MADE THESE ESTIMATES WITHOUT TOUCHING RESERVES.
WE KEEP THREE MONTHS RESERVES, FULL OPERATING RESERVES.
UNDERSTAND THAT 70 PERCENT OF THAT RESERVE IS BASED ON PERSONNEL.
SO WE DO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE RESERVES FOR 33 MONTHS OF 100 PERCENT OPERATIONS IN THOSE RESERVE FUNDS, THAT'S WHY WE MAINTAIN THEM.
SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS THE PICTURE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO "WHY DO YOU HAVE RESERVES." WE'VE DRAWN UP THE PLAN FOR HOW WE'RE GOING TO ACCOMMODATE
[02:30:04]
THE PROJECTED LOSSES OVER THE NEXT FIVE OR SIX MONTHS WITHOUT TOUCHING THOSE RESERVES.THAT'S NOT A PROMISE, IT'S JUST BASED ON THE SCENARIOS AND THE MODELS THAT WE'VE BUILT.
WE JUST THINK THAT WE CAN DO IT WITHOUT TOUCHING RESERVES, AND OUR GOAL WOULD BE TO DO IT WITHOUT RAISING TAXES.
>> I'VE GOT A QUESTION. SO OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS POLICY.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, HAVE WE JUST SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON AN INNER CIRCLE QUESTION?
>> I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND YOU ALL'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
YES, OPERATIONALLY, IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY UTILIZING THE FABULOUS TEAM THAT YOU ALL HAVE SUPPORTED AND HEARD FROM MANY OF THEM TODAY TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I WOULD BE REMISS IF I WASN'T TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE INPUT AND OPINIONS OF MY COUNCIL.
I DO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO ULTIMATELY MAKE SOME CHALLENGING DECISIONS BASED ON INPUT FROM STAFF AND ANALYSIS FROM STAFF.
BUT I THINK THAT IT'S GOOD TO HERE YOU ALL'S INPUT, AND I WOULD NEVER IGNORE IT.
>> I WOULD SAY I THINK YOU'RE GOOD AT NOT SURPRISING US AND COMING AROUND FOR THAT.
SO I AGREE, EDDY, SOME OF THESE THINGS BUDGET-WISE ARE INNER CIRCLE, BUT I THINK JARED IS GOOD AT USING US AS A SOUNDING BOARD WHEN HE HAS FORKS IN HIS ROAD AND HE HAD TO DECIDE LEFT OR RIGHT.
I FEEL RESPECTED IN THE WAY HE COMES AN ASKS US ABOUT THAT.
>> ANOTHER REASON FOR THESE CONVERSATIONS NOW IS THAT IT WILL IMPACT YOUR DECISION MATRICES THAT YOU HAVE AVAILABLE TO YOU AS WE GO THROUGH THE BUZZER PROCESS HERE IN JUST VERY FEW MONTHS.
>> THAT'S MY KEY CONCERN BECAUSE, AGAIN, I THINK YOU'RE DOING AN INCREDIBLE JOB IN THAT INTERIM.
YOU'VE GOT THIS IN-BETWEEN THE ANNUAL BUDGET AND YOU'RE GOING BASED ON THE DIRECTION WE GAVE YOU LAST YEAR.
IT IS STILL BASED ON ALL OF THOSE PILLARS.
SO ALL THOSE THINGS WE'RE HAVING TO TOUCH, THE WASTE, THE CHANGING THE STRATEGY IN THE LANDFILL, HAVING TO CHANGE PUBLIC SAFETY, HAVING TO CHANGE STREETS.
THOSE ARE ALL PILLAR ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE BUDGET, AND IT'S ALL GOING TO BE BECOMING UP.
SO IN THE INTERIM, I THINK YOU'RE FOLLOWING EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE ASKED YOU TO.
I'M JUST MAKING A POINT TO COUNCIL THAT THESE ARE, AS FAR AS IT'S GOING TO BE PICK AND CHOOSE PRIORITIES, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO BE TELLING JARED FOR THAT NEXT YEAR.
IF WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO COVER EVERYTHING, I DON'T THINK IT'S HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THOSE DIFFERENT PILLARS, THAT IS OUR NUMBER ONE JOB AND [OVERLAPPING] PROBABLY WILL BE IN THE BUDGET.
>> I WOULD SAY, WITH REGARD TO THE PILLARS, THEY'RE ALL STILL INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
WE HAVE FACTORED THEM IN AS WE'VE MADE THE MODIFICATIONS TO SERVICES THROUGH CORONAVIRUS, AND WE WILL ALSO FACTOR THEM IN AS WE PUT TOGETHER PROPOSED BUDGETS AND GO THROUGH THE BUDGET CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCIL OVER THE SUMMER.
HOW WE ADDRESS LESS RESOURCES TO PROVIDE SERVICES IN FY2021, THERE WILL BE WILL BE, I WOULD EXPECT, AN IMPACT TO ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS.
THERE WILL BE PROPORTIONAL IMPACT TO HOW EFFECTIVELY WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES IN ALL OF THE PILLARS.
HAD THAT SAID, THEY'RE GOING TO STILL MAINTAIN THE NUMBER ONE IMPORTANCE THAT'S GOING TO DRIVE HOW WE CREATE THE BUDGET.
SO WE WILL MAKE THE BUDGET REFLECT THE PILLARS WITH REGARD TO THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
IN THE MIDST OF MAKING THOSE DECISIONS IS WHERE ALL THE SAUSAGE IS MADE, I KNOW THAT.
>> ANY OTHER THOUGHTS IN COUNCIL ON THAT? ELAINE, OTHER DISCUSSION ON THAT?
>> NO. I JUST KNOW WE'RE GOING TO REALLY SEE IT IN JUNE, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE 60 DAYS.
SO THE SOONER WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND PREPARING, MAYBE IT'S A LITTLE PREEMPTIVE, BUT I DO GET CONCERNED LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS AND WHAT WE HAVE COMING IN.
[02:35:01]
>> I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED IT. ANYBODY ELSE HAVING THOUGHTS? WELL, IT SEEMS THAT WE ARE BREAKING RECORDS FOR MOVING THROUGH AGENDA ITEMS ONE HOUR AT A TIME [LAUGHTER] IN OUR MEETINGS LATELY.
[NOISE] I THINK THAT'S IT, THOUGH, ON AGENDA ITEM 1C.
>> I DID WANT TO MAKE AN OBSERVATION THERE, AND I DIDN'T WANT TO TATTLE ON MY MAYOR PROTEM, BUT SHE MADE THE OBSERVATION EARLIER TODAY THAT THE SHORTER OUR AGENDAS GO, THE LONGER OUR MEETINGS ARE.
[LAUGHTER] [INAUDIBLE] ONE AND TWO-ITEM AGENDAS.
>> FRIDA, SHE THOUGHT SHE GOT THE PITHY COMMENT, DOESN'T SHE? WELL, ANYTHING THEN ON ITEM 1D,
[D. Request future agenda items and reports from City Manager.]
REQUESTING FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS OR REPORTS? I WANT TO COMMENT TO WHOEVER'S RUNNING OUR ZOOM CALL, HOW NICE IT IS FOR COUNCIL TO ALL BE AT THE TOP.IT MAKES IT SO EASY FOR ME TO CHECK YOU ALL'S EYES AS WE'RE MOVING THROUGH, TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS.
[2. EXECUTIVE SESSION: City Council may convene in Executive Session to receive reports on or discuss any of the following pending projects or matters: 1) Section 551.072 - Discuss the purchase, exchange, lease, sale, or value of real property and public discussion of such would not be in the best interests of the City's bargaining position: (a) Discuss property located within the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #1 Boundary. (b) Discuss property located within the Southwest Quadrant of the City of Amarillo.]
MOVING ON THEN TO [NOISE] ITEM TWO ON OUR AGENDA.WE ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S LISTED THERE, SO THAT'S AN ITEM THAT WE CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND CHECK OFF AS DONE, WHICH BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR AGENDA.
I THINK THEN WE'RE READY TO ADJOURN.
WELL, LET ME DOUBLE-CHECK, MAKE SURE THERE WASN'T SOMETHING ELSE I HAD WRITTEN DOWN.
SO I THINK WE'RE HEREBY ADJOURNED.
COUNCIL, I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING ON THESE RECOVERY ROUNDTABLES, IT'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET THE DIVIDENDS FROM IT IN OUR CITY OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS AS WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS NOW TO STEER THEN, I THINK ITS GOING TO GET THE BENEFIT FROM IT.
WE WILL ALL BE BACK HERE FRIDAY AT ONE O'CLOCK TO CRUNCH THROUGH THAT INFORMATION. APPRECIATE YOU GUYS.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.