Commissioners Court - Regular Meeting

All right. Are we on? Good morning. Welcome to Commissioner's Court meeting on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026. It's my pleasure to preside over this meeting. Commissioner Grant Moody, I believe you will open with the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. The floor is yours.

Thank you, Judge. I would like to welcome Reverend Mike Mickey to the... podium uh reverend mickey's from the saint thomas episcopal church uh he's been there for about seven years after uh coming down and from north texas um reverend mickey and his wife lori is an educator and a warm welcoming spirit they both have three daughters together yes and uh we welcome you here today uh reverend mickey the floor is yours good morning let us pray

Almighty God, source of all wisdom and the giver of every good gift, we pause at the beginning of this meeting to seek your presence and your help. We give you thanks this morning for those who serve as commissioners of this court. We thank you for their willingness to take up the work of public service, for the burdens they carry on behalf of their neighbors, and for the trust other people of Bexar County have placed in them. We give you thanks, too, for all who labor in service of this county, those seen and unseen, in offices and on roads, in courtrooms and clinics and county yards, whose daily work holds up the common life we share. Bless them, we pray, and let their work be honored. Now, as this court turns to the business before it, grant to those who lead a measure of your wisdom. Give them clear minds and discerning hearts. Where there is disagreement, grant patience. Where there are hard decisions, grant courage. And in all things, keep before them the good of every person in this county, the powerful and the forgotten alike. Guide this meeting, O God. Let what is done here serve justice, mercy, and the flourishing of all your people. Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Reverend Mickey. If you'll join me in the pledge now. I pledge allegiance to the flag of

Thank you, Reverend.

All right, let's take up agenda item three, request of Commissioner's Court to identify items from consent agenda for additional discussion to approve remaining consent agenda items. Commissioner Clay Flores.

Yes, I would like to pull item number 29. 29. Okay. Okay.

Commissioner Rodriguez. Commissioner Moody.

Judge, I'd just like to poll 24, please. Which one? 24. 24.

Commissioner Calvert. All right. All right. Is there a motion to approve the remaining items? So moved. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez. Second. Second by Commissioner Clay Flores. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Motion carries. Let us now move through the, we'll come back to those individual items. I believe we had two. We'll come back, but let's now go to ceremonial. For a presentation proclamation on behalf of the Commissioner's Court recognizing June as Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month in Bexar County, Commissioner Rodriguez.

Thank you, Judge. Good morning. We have those that are here for this proclamation come up to the dais, the podium. While you do that, I will read the proclamation. Good morning. Thank you for being here this morning. The proclamation reads, whereas Alzheimer's disease is a progressive and devastating brain disorder that affects millions of Americans. including many families throughout Bexar County and remains a leading cause of disability and dependency among older adults. And whereas brain health is essential to the well-being and quality of life of residents of all ages, and Alzheimer's and Brain Health Awareness Month serves as an opportunity to increase public awareness, encourage early detection and healthy lifestyles, reduce stigma, and recognized caregivers, health care professionals, researchers, and advocates supporting those affected. And whereas Bexar County is home to the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, a nationally recognized leader in research, patient care, clinical innovation, caregiver support and community education dedicated to advancing the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. And whereas Bexar County recognizes the importance of supporting individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, their caregivers and the organizations and healthcare professionals whose work advances brain health strengthens our community, and improves the lives throughout Bexar County and South Texas. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Bexar County Commissioner Court hereby proclaims June 2026 as Alzheimer's and Brain Health Awareness Month. witness our signatures signed this 23rd day of June 2026, signed by Judge Sakai and your Commissioner's Court. Thank you very much for being here. Thank you for bringing awareness to this devastating disease. Let's welcome our visitors and give them a round of applause. And the floor is yours for a few words as well. Thank you so much. Can you guys hear me?

Yes.

and distinguished guests. My name is Dr. Campbell Sullivan. I am a clinical neuropsychologist at UT Health, where I have had the privilege of serving patients and families for the past decade. So as a fifth generation Texan who was recruited back home to help build the Biggs Institute, it is especially meaningful to stand before you today. So over the past 10 years, I have been continually impressed by the commitment of UT Health San Antonio, the support of Bexar County, and the remarkable dedication of this community to improving the lives and families facing Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. So thank you for recognizing June as Alzheimer's and Brain Health Awareness Month. On behalf of patients, caregivers, researchers, clinicians, and families we serve, I am deeply grateful for this proclamation and for your ongoing partnership. The need for that partnership has never been greater. Today, more than 500,000 Texans are living with Alzheimer's disease, and that number is projected to grow. The impact extends far beyond those diagnosed. Alzheimer's disease costs Texas tens of billions of dollars through health care expenditures, long-term care, and the extraordinary burden carried by family caregivers. Here in South Texas, we face an even greater challenge. Our region is among the areas most heavily impacted by Alzheimer's disease in the United States. This is driven by a combination of demographic, vascular, genetic, and socioeconomic factors. As a result, South Texas has become a critical region for research, treatment, and innovation in brain health. Most of us have seen a silver alert and felt a moment of concern for a family searching for a loved one. For many Texans, that is the public face of dementia. Behind every alert is a family navigating years of uncertainty, caregiving, and loss. For me, this mission extends beyond Alzheimer's disease alone. So dementia comes in many forms, and my own family has been affected by a rare genetic form of frontotemporal dementia and ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Earlier this year, my aunt passed away from this devastating disease. Like so many families, we experienced the heartbreak of watching someone we love gradually lose independence, lose communication, and ultimately losing life itself. It's just a reminder that behind every statistic is a person, a family, and a story. Yet there is genuine reason for hope. Thanks to the state of Texas and the creation of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT, we have an unprecedented opportunity to change the trajectory of these diseases. As we know, the vision for DPRIT is to recruit the best scientists and clinicians in the world, accelerate clinical trials, expand access to innovative treatments, support caregivers, and train the next generation of researchers and clinicians. For the first time, we can realistically envision a future where dementia is detected earlier, treated more effectively, and in some cases, prevented altogether. When future generations look back, I hope they will see this as a moment when Texas chose to lead and when communities like Bexar County chose to stand with patients, families, caregivers, and researchers. Together, we can build a future where fewer families experience the devastation of dementia, where caregivers have the support they deserve, and where every Texan has the opportunity to age with dignity and brain health. Thank you so much.

Could I ask a question, please?

Yes, sir.

It's a bit loaded. What would be a message from a public health perspective, since the county has a public health, and I don't know if our director's here. Is she here, Dr. Guerrero? Yeah, she is. What message would you want the county to give our citizens on this complex, complicated issue, at least from a medical forensic perspective of why this happens and why me and why my family? But is there a message that you would want to make sure as a governmental entity? Is it wellness? Is there a preventive? Is there obviously or is it a referral of, okay, these are the resources that you have. What can we give our citizens on this complex, complicated issue that affects, hopefully, may affect all of us at some point in time. Did you get my question?

I did. I think the main message is one of hope. We are sort of at a precipice. And I think we are working together with our scientists, our clinicians, not only in Texas, but across the United States and across the world to find cures to stop this disease. And I think the message of hope is really strong right now. But while we're working on that, while we're trying to solve this disease, I think the other message is that we rely on community, and community like the Biggs Institute or the Center for Brain Health, where patients and families can come together, can congregate, can learn about the disease, can learn about ways to sort of modify or stop disease progression. And we can support not only the patient, but the family and the community.

Do you believe the community in some ways still views Alzheimer's dementia from a perspective of shame, guilt, depression? And is it, from what you're saying, an opportunity to turn it into an awareness, hope, and a triumph of this disease.

Yes, and I think we've come a long way in a short amount of time. When I was recruited down here 10 years ago, I was confronted with a lot of physicians who said, why would I diagnose it? I can't treat it. So I had patients and families coming to me with really no idea what was going on, why it was happening, or what they could do to maintain that sense of independence, maintain their integrity, maintain their sense of self. And now we have a place, we have clinicians, we have education, not only for our community physicians, but also our community in general. So I think there's a better understanding of what the disease is, recognizing that the individual who may have a dementia process is still that same person, even though they're losing faculties.

Well, thank you for what you do.

Thank you so much.

Is there any other questions or comments from the guys?

Mr. Rodriguez. Judge, Doc, I'd just like to thank you for bringing this awareness to court. I think that's part of the education piece, too, is making the community aware of the resources, but also acknowledging the fact that there are neighbors of ours that get up every day, go to work to try and find the cures, how to treat patients. Those are heroes that walk amongst us as well. And so I wanted to make sure we acknowledge the fine work of UT Health Science Center here in San Antonio, UT Health. because that is hopefully an inevitability that we will find solutions and a cure, but it's not by accident. It's because of the resources and the smart brainpower we have here in South Texas. So thank you very much.

Thank you. All right, thank you. Let's give another round of applause. Would you please come forward and take a picture with us? At time certain, let's make sure we're jumping down to 6A, 1 and 2. Presentation, discussion, appropriate action regarding, one, approval of the First Amendment to the tax abatement agreement between the county of Bexar, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, Inc., to replace the legal description of the real property set forth in agreement with a new and updated legal description, and two, approval of a tax abatement and grant agreement between the county and Barrett Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, Inc. for a 10-year, 100% abatement of county ad valorem taxes on qualified real and personal property and skills development grant up to $250,000. It's my understanding that we're going to take up both at the same time, and I'll ask for a motion on both. So with that, Ms. Debra.

Thank you, Judge and Commissioners. I'm Deborah Carter. I'm the Director of Economic Development with Bexar County, and it's my pleasure to bring this item forward today. So background on the First Amendment. On June 18th, 2025, Commissioner's Court approved a tax abatement and grant agreement between the County of Bexar and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, TMMTX. for a 10-year, 100% abatement of county ad valorem taxes and qualified real and personal property and a skills development grant up to $250,000. The site configuration for the Project Iceberg is now final. The company has requested to update the legal description of the real property of the original agreement with an updated legal description that reflects the final configuration. I'd also like to introduce Sarah Karabi Rush, President and CEO of Greater SATX, to tell us a little bit about Toyota and the impact that they've had in our community over the last 23 years.

Judge and commissioners, I'm honored and delighted to be here with you today. Thank you so much for the opportunity to bring this project before you. We are truly lucky, as you all know, to have a company such as Toyota operating in this community. And the impact that they have made over time really As you know, the company broke ground here originally in 2003 and began production in 2006, so 20 years have gone by. Today there are 3,700 direct Toyota team members working at the facility in South San Antonio. And that is not including the additional 400 jobs that are projected to come online soon for Project Iceberg, as was just discussed. The facility today, as you know, is 2.2 million square feet, and more than $4.7 billion of investment have gone into this site. already at this point. Last year, there were almost 200,000 vehicles produced onsite at the facility. And you'll see that there are a couple of Toyota's onsite suppliers that are also here today. There are 23 that operate and partner with Toyota on their campus, again, already today. And those companies employ an additional 5,600 employees. So the impact to our community is tremendous. And I think it's also an important note to showcase how Toyota shows up in the community as partners. So for a long time, South San Antonio was essentially a healthcare desert, right? And so the Toyota team stood up an onsite health center that provides services to Toyota team members and their families as a way to help solve that challenging issue. Additionally, the Toyota Experience Center is an incredible destination for thousands of students every year to go and learn about manufacturing and learn about the impact of a company like Toyota, the new technology and innovations that are happening in our community. We're honored that we get to support the production of the Tundra hybrid electric vehicle and the Sequoia right here in San Antonio. And we're super excited that the rear axle manufacturing will be coming online as well. As I mentioned, those are 400 additional jobs. As I think about, you know, the discussions and the decision that's ahead of you today, it is sort of a once in a generation type of opportunity that we get to decide on today, right? 2,000 jobs, $2 billion in capital investment coming into this community that will help drive and impact families for generations to come. I want to just quickly, while I have the mic, take a moment to congratulate the team here, the Bexar County staff, David Smith and Deborah and her team. They have done a tremendous job in working to pull together a proposal today that I think we should all be proud of. And we're honored and proud to partner with each of you. The leadership that this body has shown during this process does not go unnoticed, and we're super grateful. Deborah, over to you.

Thank you, Sarah. So Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, TMMTX, is considering a project which, if brought to Bexar County, would entail an expansion of existing facilities with the implementation of a new product assembly line. The proposed project entails the construction of a state of the art manufacturing facility and would double the existing plant size and capacity. This project will serve as an expansion for TMMTX operations. It is a $2 billion project. In real property, it's $1 billion and $50 million. And in personal property, it's $950 million. 2,000 new jobs with a base hourly wage of $20.18. Total current Toyota plus on-site supplier jobs would be at 9,700, inclusive of the rear axle plant. If San Antonio is selected for ORCA, new total jobs on TMMTX campus will equate to 11,700. This project is in precinct one on one lone star pass. The incentive offer, 10-year, 100% tax abatement on investments of $2 billion. Using the investment numbers provided by the incentive value is estimated at $55,266,200. Skills Development Grant of up to $250,000 calculated at $1,000 per new job for up to 250 jobs paying a minimum of $73,756.80 annually, excluding benefits, bonuses, and commissions, provided these positions are created and filled within the first two years of operation. The Recommended Motion. For 6A, approval of the First Amendment to the Tax Abatement Agreement between the County of Bear and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, TMMTX, to replace the legal description of the real property set forth in the agreement with a new and updated legal description. 6B is approval... of a tax abatement and grant agreement between the county of Bear and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, TMMTX, for a 10-year, 100% abatement of county and ad valorem taxes on qualified real and personal property and a skills development grant up to $250,000. Judge? Is there a motion?

Yeah, I'd like to make a motion for approval of both A and B, and then I have comments.

Motion by Commissioner Clay Flores, second by Commissioner Calvert. Commissioner Clay Flores, you have the floor.

Yeah, so I just want to thank Toyota for being here today and also Greater SATX and, of course, our Community Economic Development Department. We've been working on this for quite some time. I don't see everyone. I know that Frank Voss is here, who is our local CEO. So he's here. And then Melinda, who gets everything done, calls me and we get things done together. And I also want to thank David Wegman. We are working together to try to get this done. So I'm grateful to Toyota for looking at the southern sector of Bexar County to expand here. We know it is not a done deal yet. And so that's why I want to thank David Wegman for working with us to make sure we can get everything in terms of infrastructure done that we need to get done in a timely manner. I also want to recognize some of our suppliers. I see Berto Guerra, I think. Okay. I don't know if anyone else is here. I can't see everybody. Some people are hiding behind other people in pillars. So no offense if I forget any of those great people. businesses that continue to support the southern sector of Bexar County. And this is really also about economic development and creating jobs. And as we create jobs, we create infrastructure and resources. And as you all know, that's what I'm about in Precinct 1. So I'm so happy to support this and so happy to make the motion. Thank you.

Commissioner Calvert. Thank you, Judge. I want to congratulate Precinct One on this phenomenal advancement for jobs creation in San Antonio, and thank the Judge for his leadership in Japan and otherwise in economic development, along with our EDF and Bexar County economic development and city team. We've all worked together at the state and local level to have this day come. It is a dream come true for a lot of us in economic development. The dream really started with our workforce improvement. We had to make sure that we could supply the talent pipeline that Toyota needed. And we're excited about some $90 million in investment that Alamo Colleges is making to the advanced manufacturing industry. effort there at Brooks. I think that's going to be a game changer for that pipeline. And so there's been a great team that has assembled, but Toyota has been a great partner in our community. I personally want to thank them for the investment of 6.5 million dollars in the East Central School District for kinesthetic learning related to STEM, that is hands-on learning that will help I think that talent pipeline as well understand what is needed in order to work in advanced manufacturing. There are a lot of suppliers I'm sure that are going to be very happy and I just want to mark the very groundbreaking and important movement in progress in Bexar County that Toyota had when they came in and said that the minority suppliers would be the majority stakeholders in those particular developments, so they would be at least 51% owners. That is a tradition that had not reigned always in Bexar County, and so we're excited that People like Beto and Christian have just flourished. Their employees have flourished. They've been able to bring back best practices from this incredible company that, Judge Sakai, I've heard him talk about the Kaizen concept, the continuous improvement that they always try to make in all of the processes. It's exciting, and we should be very proud of the generational transformation that will happen because people have an anchor economic development entity. That anchor for many years was Kelly in the South Side, and now Brooks is putting itself in the... the group of great employers that have impacted generations and taken them out of poverty. Thank you also for the health care investment. I think that is very much in line with their holistic look at their employees. And now we have the benefit of a new university health hospital and the Vita Clinic that are going to be close by. We also know that, as Commissioner Clay Flores mentioned, the challenge of infrastructure, which had long been neglected on the south side, is being addressed by the South Texas Parkway. We're going to work to get the funding to get those projects completed so that ingress, egress, that additional capacity they need is not something they have to worry about, not something the neighbors around have to worry about that everyone has infrastructure that suits both the residential and the business needs of our growing community so we thank you we have 1.5 million people moving to bear county in the next decade And we're going to need great employers like Toyota that provide health care, that provide workplace benefits, pensions, and transformation for many families. So here's to another home run for Bexar County, and we look forward to the partnership going into the future.

Commissioner Moody. Thank you, Judge. And I just want to echo some comments my colleagues have made, and also what Sarah shared. This is a once in a generation opportunity. I mean, we see some big investments here, but $2 billion is in a category all by itself. I want to just recognize the collaboration, you know, that the community, both Greater SATX, Barrett County, the city of San Antonio, Public Works, TxDOT, all of our elected officials coming together and working on this project and being supportive, being focused on... focused on jobs, focused on creating real economic opportunities for our constituents and for our community. So I think this is a great thing. I hope we continue to lean into this. Two weeks ago, I was out in California meeting with some companies. I think this is one of our, you know, it needs to be one of our bread and butter issues, right, as we continue to expand opportunities here in Bexar County and the city of San Antonio.

Mr. Rodriguez.

Thank you, Judge. As I was listening to the numbers and the presentation and the timeline that Sarah laid out, I was reflecting on 2007 when I was first on city council serving with than Mayor Phil Hardberger and someone with a better memory correct me on this but I think Mayor Hardberger got one of the first or bought one of the first tundras that came off the line back in 2007 and I just remember coveting that truck like man that is a great looking truck. I had to wait a couple years till I got a gently used one to afford it but I eventually got my tundra. I don't have it anymore but I miss that truck. Great vehicles but A couple things I wanted to highlight, and I think Commissioner Calvert and Commissioner Clay Flores both touched on this. Sometimes we get, and Sarah and I talked about this yesterday, we get a little bit Enamored by trying to chase the next big deal and attract new business into our community and we lose sight of the good work that our current partners are doing. And I think this is a good example of doubling down on. The work that Toyota has done for decades now in San Antonio and investing in them as they've invested in our community. So this is a win win in that regard. And I think back to about the generations before ours. and my family's included in this, the families that worked at Kelly Air Force Base that helped build the Latino middle class in San Antonio, Toyota's doing the same thing in multipliers in terms of, we talked, again, I think I talked to Frank the other day about those who started working back in the early 2000s, now their kids are working at Toyota. Just an amazing success story. I'd echo what has been said with respect to Judge Sakai's leadership and doubling down, making the effort to be there and be present. Certainly will be something, Judge, that you're remembered for in terms of leaving your mark in our community. So thank you for this investment. Thank you, Judge, for your work. And Commissioner Clay Flores, congratulations to you. I know you've also put a lot of time and effort into this project in your backyard, and it's something we're all proud of. So thank you, Judge.

Thank you all. Let me T.F. Frank Voss, the president of TMNT, to come forward. And as you come forward, Frank, let me just put on the record that. It's been a privilege to work with the president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas to the dais to share some remarks. Toyota has been a catalyst for growth in our community and a great corporate partner here in Bexar. As your county judge, it has been an honor to represent Bexar County in Japan to tell our community's powerful story and advocate for community development. And Commissioner Calvert, you're right. Kaizen is Japanese, and as a Japanese-American, that means continuous improvement, and that is something that I believe this court has accomplished. I, along with all four of you, have continuously improved Bexar County, and this is really a crowning moment among many, but I really want to make special recognition to Toyota. I also want to say thank you to Sarah Karabias Rush with Greater SATX for a great partnership. And we have really sold the story, so to speak, in Japan. And we have brought two additional Japanese manufacturing industries to Bexar County that will come online in the next year or two. I also want to thank Commissioner Clay Flores. You and I have had a great partnership for Precinct 1, especially in that south side. And as people don't realize, I'm married to a Hispanic woman who put 32 years in Harlan-Leal Independent School District. So the south side is a very important part of my legacy and history here in Bexar County. So with that, Frank, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Judge Sakai. And good morning, Judge, members of the court, county staff, and community members. So on behalf of the 3,700 team members at Toyota Texas and our 23 on-site suppliers, and as you mentioned, some of them are here today supporting us and representing us, as well as their 5,600 team members, thank you for your leadership and support for this potential expansion here in Bexar County. And Bexar County has been home to Toyota Texas for more than two decades. It isn't just where we build trucks and SUVs, it's where our team members and where our supplier team members have raised families. They've purchased homes, they've put down roots in neighborhoods across every precinct in this county. And although our plant is very proudly located in Precinct 1 and it's helped drive growth and development on that side of town, we're also proud of the reach that Toyota Texas extends to all four precincts. The county has been a true partner in our journey over the 23 years that we've been here. From the infrastructure that supports our operations to the services that supports our workforce, Bexar County's investments in this region have helped Toyota Texas grow and thrive, and we thank you all for that. If Toyota Texas is selected for this expansion, we believe it would deepen our impact, creating new jobs, strengthening the supply chain, and generating economic opportunity that extends well beyond our plant's gates. We also want to extend our deep gratitude to the judge, Commissioner Clay Flores, to County Manager Smith, the Economic Development Department, and the many county leaders and staff who work diligently to prepare a package that will help Toyota Texas compete for this important opportunity. So thank you all for your continued partnership, for your confidence in our team, and for your vote of support today. Thank you very much.

Let's give a round of applause. All right. I want to make sure, for the record, we have a motion that includes 6A, 1, and 2. Is that correct? Is there any objections?

6A and B.

1 and 2. We're combining them, right?

Yes.

So just to make sure everything's correct, on the printed agenda, it says 1 and 2, but on the presentation, it said A and B. So to cover everything, my motion will be to cover 1 and 2 and or A and B. Is that good, Larry? All right.

I'm dotting the I's and crossing the T's, guys. We ain't going to mess this up, all right? All right. All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? The motion unanimously passes. Congratulations to Uta. All right. I understand y'all are getting back to the plant and producing more trucks for San Antonio and the world. Thank you, Bertha Guerra, Christian Guerra, and the Guerra family for your involvement, too. Thank you very much. And all other suppliers and all other people that have helped make this a wonderful, wonderful opportunity. So with this, let me allow Toyota to exit. All right, we have a time certain, 9.30, to take up. Presentation, discussion, appropriate action, approval, resolution of support for advanced funding agreement between Bexar County, Texas Department of Transportation for the East-West State Spur Project, initial county contribution of $20 million toward eligible project costs, up to additional $20 million for an approved project cost overruns, and certain other eligible project costs for a total county participation not to exceed $40 million countywide. Mr. Wegman, the floor is yours.

Good morning, Judge and county commissioners. It's my pleasure to be in front of you today to talk about this advanced funding agreement with TxDOT. Resolutions supporting advanced funding agreements are necessary whenever we enter into an advanced funding agreement with TxDOT. As the caption read, Bear County has committed $20 million to an east-west spur from U.S. 281 south to about two miles west where it would abut the Toyota property. It will provide connectivity. The department has proposed the agreement for planning development, environmental clearance, engineering, right-of-way, utility coordination, construction, and related transportation activities associated with that spur project. Subject to a combined local funding commitment from Bexar County and the City of San Antonio, TxDOT's Executive Director will recommend the Transportation Commission consider approval of matching state transportation funding for the East-West State Spur project. I did speak with Charles Benavidez with TxDOT yesterday afternoon, and indeed that money is available for $40 million. The City of San Antonio has committed to provide $20 million in local matching funds as well. As I mentioned earlier, the resolution is required by TxDOT prior to entering into the advanced funding agreement, so subsequent to the approval of the resolution, we'll begin the drafting of that agreement. Commissioner's Court finds that the participation in the East-West State SPUR project serves a valid public purpose. Our participation consists of an initial $20 million for eligible project costs and an additional $20 million will be authorized for approved project cost overruns, escalation, accelerated delivery, supplemental project phases, and certain other eligible project costs for the east-west state spur for a total county participation amount not to exceed $40 million. Following approval of the resolution, Public Works will negotiate an advanced funding agreement with TxDOT and bring it back to Commissioner's Court for approval. So the recommended motion is for the approval of the resolution of support for an advanced funding agreement between Bexar County and the Texas Department of Transportation for the East-West State Spur Project.

I'd like to make a motion for approval of this resolution. Second. And I have comments.

Motion by Commissioner Clay Flores, second by Commissioner Cowan.

So this is what I was talking about in the previous item. As we continue to work together to bring economic development, this is the type of infrastructure, and I know this is a lot of money. $40 million sounds like a lot of money to the community, and indeed it is. But the investment, as you saw in the previous presentation that Toyota will continue to invest is well worth it, and it's long overdue. Unfortunately, we should have had these infrastructures before, so that's why I'm happy to support it. And again, David, thank you to you and your team, Jesse, for all the work you guys have been doing on this. And I know David Smith isn't here, but I want to thank him and the county manager's office for helping get this done with TechSat. Happy to support.

Commissioner Calvert.

I AGREE THIS IS AN IMPORTANT INVESTMENT AND I SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION. I DID JUST WANT TO MAKE A QUESTION COMMENT FOR THE RECORD AND I'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS. BUT I KNOW WE PREVIOUSLY WITH THE RMA FUNDING HAVE KIND OF OPENED UP THAT BUCKET OF FUNDING and obviously we have appointees there that make those decisions. How do we think about that RMA funding and whether that can potentially be utilized for any of this advanced funding agreement or other projects, or is it kind of separated?

Well, it's interesting that you mention that. At the last Alamo RMA board meeting, the board did authorize staff to start negotiating with two individual firms for the completion of an environmental document and environmental approval. of the entire South Texas Parkway project, which will extend from I-35 to I-37. This east-west spur project would be a segment of that. So the Alamo RMA is going to be an important funding partner in the overall extension of that South Texas Parkway, which this is going to be part of. That's great to hear. Thank you.

Mr. Rodriguez? All right. Any further discussion? Call for a vote. All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion unanimously carries. Carry on. Thank you, Deborah. Thank you, Marshall. All right. UTSA. Tee all up. Commissioner Moody, let's take up the special presentation. Presentation discussion from Dr. Brian Gervais, Director of UTSA Center for Public opinion, research regarding the results of a countywide budget survey focused on residents' budget priorities. Commissioner Moody, I'll let you open.

Yeah, I'll turn it over to Dr. Gervais here in a moment. He can speak to his experience at UTSA working these types of projects. public research polls and surveys and their methodology and everything. But really this stemmed from just the concept of a lot of times we get around budget season and, you know, We're doing town halls and we may have a handful of people show up and express their opinions. Sometimes we put out various Facebook requests for information, survey monkeys and stuff like that. I thought in a county with a $3 billion budget and over 2 million people. We should try to professionalize that feedback from our community. And this was one way to go about doing that. So I'll turn it over to Dr. Gervais. He can say more about how they operate and their sample panelists and everything.

But please, the floor is yours. Thank you Commissioner Moody and good morning Judge Sakai and commissioners. So I've been directing the Center for Public Opinion Research at UT San Antonio for about three years. We launched it in 2023 and really the goal here was to have public civic oriented polling in Bexar County. Most major metropolitan areas in the country are serviced by survey research centers that do public polling. covering things like civic health, covering things like health attitudes. We didn't have anything like that in Bexar County. And so that's why our center was launched, and that's why the center has launched what we call our Bexar County Panel, which is meant to be a panel of representative citizens and residents of Bexar County that allows us to really track trends and changes over time to make sure that Bexar County is served in the same way that Harris County and Dallas County and Travis County and other counties throughout the country are served. So this particular study was in the field between May 1st and 12th. It was a countywide survey of Bexar County residents using our Bexar County panel, and it focused on residents' budget priorities. And just a little bit of background about the panel, and if you have any questions, please interrupt. I'm happy to talk more about it. But it's a probability-based panel, so we use a number of different methods to recruit people to the panel, including random digit dialing, registration-based sampling using the official voter file, and address-based sampling as well to really make sure we're recruiting people across the county, and we're picking up folks from zip codes we wouldn't get from through these other methods. And so we have about 3,000 people that are part of the panel right now. There's a lot of advantages to doing a probability-based panel over simple cross-sectional surveys. A couple of them is that we're able to really track trends over time. It enables longitudinal research that you can't do with a cross-sectional study because we're really looking at the same people over time, we're asking them the same questions, and so we can be sure that any changes that we actually witness are due to a real trend and not just a different sample each time. The other big advantage is because we've had these people a part of our panel we've already collected lots of information on them and so each survey we put out can be much more focused on substantive questions rather than collecting demographic and basic information again because we already have it about folks and so For this particular survey, we were able to just fill up the survey with just budget-related questions, not additional information, which is a big advantage so we can do longer substantive surveys that way. So we've got a number of different things in place to prevent what we call ballot stuffing, fraud prevention, et cetera, which I'm happy to talk about. But for this particular survey, the response rate was 47%. So about half of our panel responded. We had a completion rate of 98%, which is really good. And that's due to the fact that it was a shorter survey. And that, again, is the advantage of the panel. And so we had an initial sample of 1,300. We do also weight the sample to ensure that it is truly representative of Bexar County. And so we base that on American Community Survey, that Census Bureau estimates here. And so we weighted on education, we weighted on race and ethnicity, age, gender, and income. We also weighted on commissioner precinct. And so we wanted to ensure we had an even distribution across our sample, and so approximately 25% of the sample is from each precinct. And so the effective sample with weighting was 1,285, and we had a margin of error of minus 2.7%. So I'll try to go through the results pretty quickly here, but if you have any questions, please ask me to stop and I'll explain them. So the first question asked about if there was a gap between revenues and expenses, what sort of approach would residents prefer? And about 47% of plurality chose reduction of spending. Another 41% said do some of both. 6.3% said they'd like to see taxes raised, so do some of both in title spending, reducing spending and raising taxes. And then 6.1% said not sure. The second question asked folks about what approaches the county should do to try to reduce its total debt. We gave a little bit of background about the total debt that the county is in right now. 64% said they wanted to see reduced spending on services and use savings to pay down debt later. A quarter said keep both spending and current debt repayment the same. Another 11% were not sure. We also asked about reserve funds and what residents would like to see the county do with its reserve funds. 48% selected keep at the current level, keep reserve funds at the current level. Another 23% said increase reserve funds and 17% decrease reserve funds. 13% were not sure. We also asked our panelists about what they think the top financial priority for Bexar County should be. 52% selected funding county services and programs, 38% said paying down debt, another 7% said maintain strong reserve funds, and another 4% or so were not sure. We also asked folks what they'd like to see the county do in particular areas, one of which was day-to-day services. We described what day-to-day services entail. And we asked folks if we think that the county should spend more or less or about the same on these day-to-day services. About 46% said the same, 23% said somewhat more, and I'll let you read the rest there, but 13% said somewhat less. So pretty even distribution there. We also asked about financial stability. That includes paying down the debt and increasing reserve funds. Again, about 38% of plurality said about the same. 35% said somewhat more spending in those areas. So I'm going to show you a few different images here because it's hard to really get a sense of what's happening here. But we asked about different areas and what people would like the county to do, spending more or less or about the same in these areas, everything from law enforcement staffing to other county services. And I'll point out a couple things here. Road maintenance and repairs, it probably came out on top here when it came to what people would like to see, where they'd like to see more spending. In public health services, economic development programs, and affordable housing incentive programs all came in the top four when it came to more spending. These are the percentages. This is the same question. This is just broken down a different way. Again, we see 25%. would like to see much more when it came to road maintenance, 29% would like to see much more when it came to public health services, and so on down, 27% for affordable housing incentive programs. When we take the difference between those who selected more and less, so we're taking the net approval or net support for more spending, this is how it sort of ranks. Road maintenance repairs, about 59% net. And public health services, 44% net. Economic development programs, 25% net. Affordable housing programs, 23% net. Coming in at the lowest were criminal courts and the district attorney's office. My apologies to the DA's office there. And law enforcement staffing was net at 8.5. We also asked about the 10-year capital improvement plan and whether or not the county should spend more or less or about the same in areas associated with that plan. Roads and bridges, flood control projects, creeks and trails, parks and county buildings and facilities are what we asked about. Again, we see roads and bridges getting lots of support for more spending, and flood control projects were also requested. Popular as well, so we take just breaking it down a different way We get we see flood control projects getting the most support when it comes to more spending roads and bridges Getting some support as well creeks and trails probably in county buildings and facilities or Received more support for less funding and So again, we take the net and we see flood control projects were net 34, roads and bridges net 20, and at the bottom, county buildings and facilities was negative 31 net for the lease support for more spending. OK, finally, we asked folks to rank the same areas, the same programs associated with the capital improvement plan. And this is just there's ranking them in order of issue priority. So the question is slightly different than the previous one. But we see roads and bridges coming out on top as the highest priority. So this is the mean rank. So the average ranking that roads and bridges received was two. followed by flood control, the second highest priority. And again, lower creeks and trails and county facilities were at the bottom. And with that, that is at the end of the presentation here. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Well, I'll just make a brief comment and then open it up to any other questions from the court. Listen, this was a scientific study survey, and I think it's a lot of great information for us to kind of look at and digest as we get into this budget and future budgets. This was also kind of just a pilot, right? I mean, we'd never done this before, and we were kind of... feeling our way through it. I'm sure there's other questions we could have asked. There's different ways we could have asked it. But I think, you know, for a pilot, first time through, I think it came out really well and I appreciate UTSA's support in it. I'll also just highlight, but listen, I was surprised by some of these responses. And some of them are in line with what my budget priorities would be and some of them aren't. But I think it's important that we get that information from our constituents across the county to get a good sense of what their priorities are as we kind of go forward. So, again, I think it was a success, but appreciate everybody's work in putting it together. Thank you.

Mr. Rodriguez.

Thank you. Thank you, Judge. Thanks for the information. I think all of this information is always helpful feedback. I mentioned to Commissioner Moody that mine was more unscientific, but we did something similar in, I can't remember what year it was.

Was it cheaper? It was a little bit cheaper.

Yeah, it was a little bit cheaper. It was door to door. And just to get feedback from constituents on what is on their mind and what is, I think, their most pressing needs. I do think, just a couple of observations, and maybe you've got the answer to this now, maybe it's something we kind of talk about for the future. In terms of the sample size, I assume you're talking to, I think you said county-wide residents. That includes folks that live in unincorporated municipalities as well as the city of San Antonio, is that right? Correct, yeah. Okay, so I think what would be, I think probably more instructive at some point is, you know, when you look at some of the net positives, one of them was the road maintenance and repairs. If I'm a city of San Antonio resident, which I am, that is always a high priority, but I may not know that the county can't pay for the city of San Antonio streets infrastructure. So that's something that I think, I don't know how you flesh that out, but, you know, That number may change depending on I'm sure it's still a high priority for unincorporated. But again, it may be significantly higher if I'm a city of San Antonio resident and I don't really know the dynamics of the different roles of government. So I wanted to mention that. The other thing I think that stood out was The high marks on reducing the debt, and I think that always is a popular talking point politically. But when you look at the other significant net positive, I think was the flood control projects. RESIDENTS MAY NOT KNOW. THOSE ARE NOT PAY AS YOU GO PROJECTS. THOSE ARE ALL PROJECTS YOU HAVE TO ISSUE BONDS FOR. THE COUNTY HAS DONE THAT SUCCESSFULLY OVER THE YEARS AND WE PAID IT BACK IN A DISCIPLINED MANNER. SO THOSE ARE LITTLE THINGS THAT, NUANCES, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CAN accurate reflection in because you really have to do more of an information campaign before you do the opinion survey. But again, just some observations. You know, you're the professional here. I wanted to give you some feedback on how we could maybe improve it, get a little bit better information. But I don't know if you have any comments on those two observations. I just wanted to relay that because those are the two things that stood out for me.

Well, you know, I'd say with any commissioned survey, it's an iterative process. And so it's you know, we can make suggestions and and we get we get feedback as well. Right. So if we were to do this survey again and we'd be happy to partner with with Commissioner's Court to do a survey like this again, I really think it's just getting that sort of feedback and putting it in place and maybe changing question wording here and there. It is always a balance between overwhelming people with information and also keeping the survey brief enough that people actually complete it as well and they're reading it. So you're absolutely right. That's the dilemma. That's the dynamic. And, you know, how much background do you give to people about this? But I'm sure there are ways, working with your offices, that we could refine the questions to get at that better in the future. Thank you.

Commissioner Calvert. Thank you so much. We appreciate the feedback and the information. I took it as somewhat of a contradiction in terms of the survey data where you had folks talking about, you know, you need to pay down your debt, but then when you asked, should the county spend more, less, or about the same on day-to-day services, you had 46 saying about the same and then 23% saying somewhat more. So that outweighs reductions in the debt. Any thoughts about that contradiction with the voters?

Well, you know, I think those contradictions just exist. You know, I'm not sure if people always have... That sort of internal consistency. I think it's like that with anything where, you know, we can ask in generality sometimes about what sort of general approaches you might prefer. And then when you get down into details, you ask people about specific things. Sometimes they think, well, I like this and these are the types of things I like to support. Yeah, I'm sorry.

No, no, I'm sorry. You go ahead.

So I think what sometimes seems like contradictions like that is just how people make sense of these ideas in their heads. And also keeping in mind that budget issues aren't things that people think about constantly all the day. They probably don't have refined opinions from the get-go. And so part of this is we're informing them, letting them work through this perhaps for the first time, really think about how they balance these things as well.

So, you know, I think one of the things we can do in the future is work with you on the lay of the land for your survey because, you know, we get one-third of our calls are on illegal dumping. Yeah. And so that's not polled here, right? Sure. So, you know, those are things that are eyesores. And we get a lot of calls about homeless encampments, right? Sure. And that's not necessarily – and so what would happen if those specific issues that people are calling our offices about – are actually polled in the context of understanding you know budget because I would venture to say that Those issues would probably, you know, people don't necessarily think about the affordable housing issue as also homeless prevention, right? And so couching it in those polling terms is important. And then I'd be curious just to get a little bit more detailed policy items in one of the surveys just because the affordability issue, you know, is rising in Gallup and other polls as a top one. And I think when you start to pull policies specifically that people think can help their family, whether that be child care or whether that be a housing policy, down payment assistance or whatever that may be, I would be curious to see how some of those issues come out in a future survey. So, you know, let's try to collaborate next time on the lay of the land portion of the survey so that we can also get you some of the unincorporated issues which are vastly different than maybe a municipal or any other. I mean, county government is such a weird form of government. Right, right. that you have to kind of... I like it, Commissioner. No, I do, too. I do, too. But it is different. I mean, you know, I've been an aide at city council. I've been an aide at the state legislature. I've been an aide at Congress, and I've helped school districts. So it was... It still is very different, but I've come to love it. But... You know, I just keep smoking my peace pipe. Everything is all love. Everything is all love, then. Um... Um, yeah, I think, I think, um, we could give you some feedback about what we're getting calls about and, and see also some, some policy things that, that we, we, we need to know whether we're, when we're experimenting with certain policies, how will the reception be? Um, and I agree with Commissioner Rodriguez about, um, kind of that education process because it is so nebulous, uh, what we do in, in county government. Did you have this broken down by precinct?

We can break it down by precinct. I've talked to a few of your offices just explaining that happy to provide precinct-level data, but it's not meant to be representative at the precinct level. That would be a different approach. We'd just get a larger sample, and we'd separately ensure that we have large amounts so that the data is really useful at the precinct level.

Yeah, I think that's an important thing to kind of help us collaborate. You know, if we kind of understand like the top three priorities in precinct three and two and one are different and we have to figure out, you know, happy medium in terms of budgeting that, you know, we want to help our colleagues be successful in their precincts and how do we look at the budget, you know, both collectively and in a precinct response level. And the precincts are vastly different in terms of rural and unincorporated territory. So there's a lot of help that we could gain working with you in the future. So thank you very much. This is a wonderful thing. Thank you, Commissioner.

Commissioner Clay Flores. Hi. So thank you for the work and time you put into this. So I want to thank Commissioner Rodriguez for it's really important to talk about financial jurisdiction and whether or not they live in the city of San Antonio or unincorporated areas or even in our small suburban towns because we do have political jurisdiction, including financial. So I think that's a really important point. So thank you, Commissioner Rodriguez. I'm also curious, who wrote these questions? Where did you get these questions from?

It was an iterative process with Commissioner Moody's office, and so it sort of goes back and forth, and we formulated them in collaboration.

Okay, so with one office, which has different needs from different precincts. Okay. And then also, I noticed that you said it was done... It was conducted online, is that correct?

That's correct.

So then we have a lot of constituents, namely in Precinct 1, who don't necessarily have internet access.

Yes.

And it also leaves out a lot of our seniors who are still trying to figure out the whole technology thing. So I don't know how much of a skewed...

Yeah, it's absolutely an issue where we're aware of the digital divide. It's something we think about. Luckily, in the era of smartphones, it's become less of an issue because the surveys are also, people are able to conduct them on smartphones when they're possible. It's why we keep in the random digit dialing aspect of it so we're able to reach and connect to people we wouldn't normally be able to connect with. and the address-based sampling to pull people into our panel. So we do have people who traditionally aren't necessarily online, but may have email addresses, are able to go to a community library, et cetera, to complete the poll. So we're not exclusively recruiting people into the panel only through email, only through online means, but through some of these classic ways as well. There's not an easy solution in terms of just sending out paper surveys and trying to field this quickly, but it is something that we're aware of and something we do try to address.

And do you have a breakdown on where the survey sample residents live? Obviously, that's confidential information, but like a GPS so we can generally see?

Yeah, we do. We have geocoordinates. We have zip codes, et cetera. For many of our panelists, we have their actual addresses. But, yes, we keep that all confidential, and we're required to. Okay. All right. Thank you.

Dr. Reyes, hold on, but let me ask county staff, and Tina, I'm going to look at you because as budget officer, chief budget officer, what's your takeaway from this survey from a perspective of the last four years, especially since I've been your county judge, along with this court? Is this survey consistent as to where the court has been? where it is now, and obviously in our next budget year coming up, FY 26, 27 in October. These are important indicators for the court as to where we're going to have to put our priorities with limited resources. So can you extrapolate that to see what your takeaway, what To be real blunt, we paid a premium for this, which I appreciate, but let's get something out of it. So what's your takeaway?

So I do believe the current budget and the past few year budgets are consistent with this survey results. The court has invested it. 34% to 35% of the budget in capital projects, which include roads, flood control. I would also say that the court has been sensitive to that question regarding debt and the outstanding debt that we have, because we have not issued any new bonds in, I want to say it's two or three years. One thing that's important to note, I think, is that the investment that the court has made in housing and, what was the other, housing and, I can't remember off the top of my head, was ARPA.

You need to study that report some more, okay?

I'm sorry, public health. Public health and housing was ARPA. A lot of the money that's been invested is ARPA funds, which are going away.

And those are the decisions we have to make for the fall as to when the ARPA funds run out, what will remain and what will not, correct?

Correct.

Those are tough decisions.

Those are my thoughts.

Okay. Well, let me come back to you, Dr. Bates. First of all, let me thank you for your team and for your time and expertise in conducting this countywide budget survey from the UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research. Obviously, Can we call it a premier resource in our community? And you help provide elected officials, appointed officials, direction from the opinions and the feelings of our community. So let me kind of put on the record my takeaways. The majority of residents surveyed are not in support of a tax increase. And I and this court have not increased no new taxes for the last four years in at least The new budget has yet to be voted, but I will not be supporting a tax increase, and I hope my colleagues will join me. Also, my big takeaway is the top financial priority for the county at 51.7%. respondents said funding county services and programs. And so I think we are definitely on the right track. On the question asking which area residents would like to see more spending, 63.2% said road maintenance and repairs, which is a nuts and bolts operation of county government. 51.8% said affordable housing incentives, for which this court has really leaned into and on which I have appreciated the support of my colleagues. I don't believe the court was in that area with the emphasis and the commitment that we have done in these last four years. 53.7% said public health services. And Dr. Guerrero's in the room, and she continues to advocate for some of the more complicated, complex issues, especially at the jails. So in contrast, only 31.7% said more law enforcement staffing and 37.6% said law enforcement training and equipment. But we do know that in the last four years, we have made a strong commitment to law enforcement and training. But this also tells you that the county or the residents of the county through this survey want to see a balanced approach. And I say that for the record because we will continue to negotiate with the sheriff's office, our constables, our JPs, our criminal district court, district attorney's office, as they continue to advocate for staffing and funding. Again, very tough decisions that we have to make when the residents say you need to put the nuts and bolts operations of county government at the top. So with that, Commissioner Mooney, let me say this. I appreciate what you have done with this opinion poll. I appreciate your advocacy. And you have asked some really hard, tough questions, especially when it deals with public service, housing, issues that sometimes you have questioned. And I think you asked the right questions. But this survey has validated where this court as a whole, as a group, has gone. And that's to take care of people for their basic services, whether it's food, whether it's housing, whether it's basic safety and protection. And so I'm very proud of the four years of this court that I presided over as I exit at the end of the year. And so with county facilities rated low and the low demand for tax increase, It's going to be real tough as to big capital projects. And so I am laying the predicate to the court that we should use this opinion poll as a starting point, so to speak. And we're going to have our hard arguments. We're going to have our hard questions. But I think this gives us a foundation. And Dr. Gavez, thank you for this. Obviously, our colleagues at the city Perhaps you should see this report too. And Commissioner Rodriguez, thank you for pointing out so that the public understands that city, county, although there's overlap, obviously, we have a core function by the legislature. We're an extension of the state. We have to take care of the unincorporated areas and the suburban cities. And so that has to also be balanced with the fact that, especially housing, that the city of San Antonio is also a part of the county. And sometimes we get siloed, so to speak, to say, well, the city and the county, those are separate issues. No, I want to put on the table that those issues, we have to always, and we just have to balance it all out. So we have many more tough discussions, Tina, to do, and we will rely on our staff to come back and try to put this all into perspective. I also want to recognize Albert Carrizales. Albert, why don't you step up here? Because you have been there for these four years. I just wanted to say thank you to UT San Antonio, right? It's not... And that's, I think, the official name. But just say thank you for your leadership. Dr. Taylor Amey, I've had the pleasure of working with him since he's coming to town with his lovely wife Peggy and all the awards that they have won. And we have really had some really great collaboration on programs such as foster care. And so I just wanted to say thank you to the team at UT San Antonio. Do you have a few words for us?

Yes, sir. I also have my colleague, Virginia. Well, come on up here. Get the whole team up here. UT Health, now that we're merged, one big institution, but we have a longstanding partnership with Bexar County. The foster care initiative program that you just mentioned in partnership with the Children's Court, the County Children's Court, A&M-San Antonio-Alamo Community College District. The property, San Pedro 1 and 2, used to be the county city property. Now we've got two great buildings, athletic facilities, the Joint School of Public Health. So a longstanding partnership with Bexar County. So, Judge, I want to thank you and all the county commissioners and the county judge as well. County manager.

Let me get Dr. Vance for the closing. Yes. What's your takeaway from the survey, the results of the survey and the discussion had today, and from the feedback you've gotten from the dais here? What more could we ask of you in order to give us more information, to be more inclusive, to be more open and transparent? And more importantly, have connection to our community through its citizens, that they feel that they've been heard. And I want to close on that. How do we make our citizens feel that they have been heard? We did a survey, and we did it, but I don't believe that in itself. shows connection. So do you understand my question from a scientific forensic perspective? Yeah, these numbers are great, but how do we help the community understand that we are listening and that we are connected and that we are addressing the needs of our community as they see it?

Yes, sir. Well, I certainly think in future iterations, including even open-ended items, allowing people to voice their opinions, express themselves openly would be a great idea, not limiting them to multiple-choice options. Dealing with open-ended data is tougher, to make sense of it all, just a qualitative perspective, but it is something that we're capable of doing, and I find that people... Well, it's a mixed bag. Some people don't like the extra work of having to type out their own answers, but some people really feel validated and included when they're able to express that. In terms of implementation, obviously I can't say how you take these results and demonstrate to people that their voices are being heard, but I do think That's sort of the point of our panel is really to try our best to give voice to people's priorities and their attitudes. And in working with your offices to make sure that these questions really do hit at the issues people care about, they're asking ways that tap into people's concerns and positions, and that the questions are written in a way that really are able to represent their viewpoints and perspectives. And again, I'm more than happy to do this and work with your offices in the future and the Commissioner's Court in the future. You know, this is supposed to be a tool, a resource for the panel itself, for civic-oriented research. We're starting a longitudinal study in health attitudes right now as well, using our panel, measuring health attitudes in Bexar County, so getting a different aspect, but making sure people are heard there and we understand where people's concerns are and are able to have a resource for the health community as well. And so that's really our approach. And I'll close by just adding the majority of the funds that we collect for the service, they go back to our respondents. They go to the panelists. We offer incentives. And that's really, I think, just a measure. It's both practical, and I think it's an ethical thing as well, and it builds trust with our panelists. They know this is a legitimate survey. They know that we're good for this, and it's not just sort of some scam email or thing that shows up in their mailbox, but a real actual survey there. And so I think we do have trust of our panelists, and We're happy to make use of it.

Thank you, Dr. Reyes. It's serendipitous that Commissioner Calvert, Commissioner Moody, that we will have the county judges budget town hall meetings Wednesday, tomorrow over at Holy Redeemer on the east side. Tomorrow and Thursday we'll be at Walker Ranch, and then another week or two we'll be at Precincts 2 and 1. So we will continue to be open and transparent. We will continue to listen to our community. And then we will continue to make those hard decisions as they come forward. Thank y'all very much. Let's give UT San Antonio a round of applause. All right. Let's go to the time certain, right? 9.45? Public hearing. The court's going to call a public hearing of the commissioner's court and vice public input. regarding the proposed allocation to the U.S. Department of Justice, Justice Assistance Jack FY 2025 program fund, an amount of $973,878 to be shared between Bexar County and the City of San Antonio during the FY 26-27. I'm looking at citizens to be heard. I do not see anybody signed up for six. C, is there anybody here that has signed up for 6C public hearing in regards to the Department of Justice JAG grant program and the reallocation, I believe it's a reallocation. Hearing none, then let us go to 6D. Presentation discuss appropriate action regarding the FY 2025 JAG program. Recommended allocations and ratification of the submission of the final application to the U.S. Department of Justice. Execution of certifications and assurances document by the County's Chief Executive Officer and permission to apply the digital signature of the County Judge to the electronic application upon award. Present the finalized award to Commissioners Court at a later date. Ms. Gaithon.

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. Tanya Gaithon, Budget and Finance Director. Today I have a very brief presentation to discuss our annual JAG program application. The Justice Assistant Grant is an annual grant opportunity for the city and the county to apply for. The funding can be used for justice-related type projects and positions ranging from law enforcement to the courts. In March, the solicitation was released, and the county has a JAG committee that consists of the same offices and departments as the GRC, and they provide recommendations on the county programs that they're going to fund for this, or recommend to fund for this grant. The application was due at the end of April, and now we're required to hold a public hearing, which we just had and which we're doing today. And we want to also, we should expect a notification from award in the next few months regarding this grant, at which point we'll work with the city on an interlocal agreement, since we do split the funding 60% with the county and 40% with the city. We are projected to receive $973,878 for this year's grant. This is an increase from last year and upon the split, or with the split, we will receive the county $584,327. So when the committee met, they are recommending to continue funding of eight existing positions. However, with the rising cost of these positions due to market studies as well as cost of living adjustments, there will be an estimated shortfall of about $100,000 in the next fiscal year. So this will need to be identified and budgeted in the general fund for next year, unless there's additional savings from the previous grant years that we can reallocate to this cost. So we will be keeping an eye on that as well. So funding will preserve the Adult Drug Court, which is the misdemeanor and the felony courts, the DWI Court, which is for the misdemeanor courts, and the Women's Mental Health Court, and maintaining their staffing levels. This is a list of the positions that are recommended to remain on the grant, which is similar in the last couple of years. So today we're requesting the approval of the committee's recommendations and ratification of the grant application submission, as well as approval to accept the funds and approve the signed certification required by the grant from the county judge. I'm open to any questions that the court members may have.

Questions? Motion approved. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez, second by Commissioner Cliff Lars. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any oppositions? Any abstentions? Motion carried. Thank you. Thank you. Let us, Kate, let's, I believe we go back to those individual items, I believe 24 and 29.

No, let's get through them.

Let's get through the consent. 24, Commissioner Mooney, MT and Young authorizing the approval of a fourth contract modification with Blanco Landscaping LLC for an annual increased amount of $22,149.40, bringing the contract total to $110,151.88 for the purpose of initiating services at the light fleet maintenance location, increasing the frequency of services at the AgriLife urban farm location and at the Bibliotech Lerma parking lot as requested by the facilities management department authorized and personaged and executed and filed a proper award document for record with the county clerk. Commissioner Moody, you have the floor.

Yes, Judge. You know, in the past hour and a half, I've gotten additional information that answers my questions related to the item, so I have no further questions. I'll move approval.

I'm sorry.

All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Moody, second by Commissioner Calvert. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of the motion signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposition? Any abstentions? Motion carries. Thank you. Item 29, approval and request by Justice Peace Precinct 3 to utilize general fund monies to reimburse payments collected between February and March 2025 for citations issued through the unlawful use of an automated traffic enforcement system by the Precinct 3 Constable's Office in the amount of $11,480. Commissioner Cliff-Lorris, do you have the floor?

Yeah, I'm just baffled by What exactly happened and how it happened, if my understanding is correct. So I just have some questions, but you can introduce yourself.

Certainly, yeah. My name is Judge Julie Patterson. I'm the Justice of the Peace out at Precinct 3. And just before we get started, I'd like to kind of tail on what you said, Commissioner Calvert, of like, what does county government do? What do Justices of the Peace do? So just in brief, as you all know, four precincts, and each precinct has one Justice of the Peace, and there are four main cases that are heard in each JP court. So one is small claims, small claims of the amount of $20,000 or less. Most people represent themselves as opposed to higher attorneys. Second, we have hundreds of credit card debt claims that get filed in our courts. People completely stop paying a debt bank loan. Third, we handle landlord-tenant cases. Mainly those are evictions for folks who have back on their rent. And fourth are traffic tickets. The traffic tickets that come to each J.P. level, for us, they come from three different law enforcement agencies. So one is roaming Bexar County Sheriff's deputies. They give tickets within that particular precinct. The second is in-house constables' tickets that come. And third, we have tickets from DPS officers that get filed in our court. So last year, February, March, Constable Vavidich instituted a... to do some tickets by LIDAR by a system where there was a stand set up with a LIDAR. There was not an officer there. And it could take pictures and do the tickets like in North Texas as far as the toll tags. You don't have a toll tag. Sometimes they take a picture. You get a ticket in the mail to say, hey, you didn't pay your toll. So that happened last year, I'm going to say for probably a month and a half. During that time, the assistant, the DA's office heard about this and thought, you know, this might not be a legal way to get tickets. Why? Because the state of Texas has said some red light cameras are not legal. So once our office, as the Justice of the Peace Office heard that a request from the DA's office had been made to the Attorney General's office as to the legality of these tickets. We stopped processing them. We stopped it right then. And then we assumed that the AG's office would get an opinion by last August. That didn't happen. But it came earlier on this spring. And what that opinion said was that the tickets that were given in this particular manner, they're not legal. That's not a legal way to get tickets. So then knowing that, we had to go back and figure out, OK, how do we make sure if anyone paid money on these tickets it gets refunded. If any convictions came out of these tickets, that these convictions are reversed to put people back in the position. So just so you know, just some more statistics, there were approximately 516 tickets that were issued on this. There were 57 tickets that people paid money, whether they just paid it outright and it was a conviction or whether they paid it and got put on deferred disposition, or they went through a driving safety course. So the money we are requesting today, again, is for those 57 tickets where people paid money to refund that money to those folks, as well as there were, and I know, Jessica, you and I talked about this, some folks just paid it outright in a conviction, a traffic ticket conviction went on their record. You just go online, you just pay. it turns into a conviction versus asking the court to be put on deferred disposition or do some driving safety course. So again, Judge, I know we talked about this, there were 31 people who just painted a line, it was a conviction. So what we need, A, we need to refund those, but also we've reached out to DPS, and actually did that earlier this month, to ask them, to request that those convictions be reversed. As far as, they have not answered yet on the portal through DPS, it's still under their review. I'm not saying DPS is a black hole, but it's hard to get people to respond to you. But certainly we know, We want to make things right. We didn't ask for these tickets to get filed in our office. We want to make sure folks aren't penalized for something they shouldn't have gotten a ticket in the first place.

So I appreciate you being here. I'm sure you have a full docket. I don't know if you just came because it was on this, but I guess I'm just baffled how this happened in the first place. Commissioner Moody, I don't know if you knew about this. I just don't know how... a law enforcement elected official or agency is doing something, and then it turns out it was illegal. So I'm just curious.

Yeah, certainly. I can't answer that question when another elected official does. You'd certainly have to ask that to a constable on that one.

I'll just make a quick comment. You know, I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a legal expert. Obviously in the court system there's different opinions in many different cases. Obviously there were different opinions with regard to this. A decision was made that came down from hire and judge is just trying to obviously make our constituents whole based on that decision that came out of AG's office. So that's, I think, the overarching thing here. I think this is ministerial at this point. We just need to make sure that if tickets were issued using a system that has since been ruled that it can't be utilized, that we make those individuals whole. That's what we're going to do. Is there a motion?

Well, I just still have some questions. Hold on.

Let's get the motion. Motion by Commissioner Moody. Second. Second by Commissioner Cowley. Commissioner Cliff-Loris.

Yes, I think this is more than ministerial. Like, I think this is huge. I mean, if one of my constituents was over on the north side, which often we have to go to Precinct 3 because we have lack of... lots of things, then it's not just I'll just erase it. It could have cost someone to take the day off. It could have cost someone to go into your office. Everyone doesn't have however much money tickets cost. Everyone just doesn't have extra dollars laying around. So I think this is really a big deal. I want to commend you for you and your staff for recognizing that and calling that out and doing due diligence. Larry, I don't know if you have anything to add.

Well, thank you, Commissioner. I think there's a bigger issue about the equipment that was employed. I want to be sure to note that the court had nothing to do with that because that equipment was. procured and implemented without the court's knowledge. So the court wasn't aware and I think that's the bigger issue. Right. Is that the court had no knowledge of what was going on and that to me is the bigger issue because that equipment was given for free by a vendor who wanted to and that really is sort of inappropriate because the court didn't know what was going on, didn't have the opportunity to weigh in on whether that was appropriate or whether it was legal because I think everyone who at least the legal experts kind of understand hey look there was no authority to that there was an existing ag opinion that had already addressed this issue in another part of texas and i i do also commend the judge for taking immediate mitigating measures to make sure that the rights of citizens were protected so that was good but i think the bigger issue is here is is that the court wasn't aware of this and had no knowledge about that equipment it was being put to use without the court weighing in on whether that was a good policy decision or not regardless of the legal basis so

Thank you, Larry.

You're welcome.

So, Judge, to be clear, were all the convictions expunged, or you guys are working on that?

Right, so right now, so we contacted, our staff contacted DPS June 16th to say, okay, because we went through also and dismissed all the 516 tickets with the help of the Assistant District Attorney's Office.

You said how many, 516?

Well, 516 tickets were given. Okay. There weren't... People didn't pay on all 516. So in once, we had to figure out. Yeah, not yet.

You guys caught it on time. So, yeah, it could work.

So to answer, I think, what the question was with DPS. So we reached out to DPS. Again, that was on June 16th through the portal they provide us to reach out to to say, basically, here's the issue. We need those convictions that people that paid, again, that was, let's see. 31. Okay. We need those convictions reversed. Once they confirm that, then what we're going to do, we need to figure out how to get those expunged. So if anyone ever to try to look up, it shows there was never a ticket. Okay. So right now we're waiting to hear back from DPS.

Well, I just want to applaud you and your staff because on top of everything else that you guys are doing, I know this created, I would imagine this created a lot more work for you all. So thank you for being diligent about that. Thank you. No further questions.

All right. Is there any further discussion? Call for a vote. All those in favor of the motion, signal by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion carries. Let me put on the record, Judge Patterson, thank you for coming in. You are a licensed attorney of law and elected Justice of Peace of Precinct 3, and so I want to applaud your service and your dedication, your professionalism, and then obviously as an attorney, and we go back ways, I believe your father is an attorney too? Yes. And so... I've had the pleasure of working with him when I was a district court judge. So thank you for what you do. Thank you how you handle this. And I just got to put this, this is not, I don't want to violate it, but did Dan Curry take care of your thing over there at your building?

In process.

What's that?

It's in the process. It's in process.

All right, okay. Keep us impressed on that. We'll fix that one, okay?

Thank you.

All right. Thank you very much. All right. I think that concludes the consent, correct, Kate? All right, let's then go to item number seven, filing for the record of following legal administrative documents directed to the Criminal District Attorney's Office. Take action if necessary, A through E, and court takes note. Approval of the minutes for Tuesday, June 9th, 2026. So moved. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez, second by Commissioner Clay Flores.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say an aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Motion carries. Number nine, communications to be heard from citizens who have registered to speak. Let me pull up. Is Michael Taylor still here? You had signed up for 30. Michael, come in for 3536. I believe that was in consent. I believe. Apologize. I probably should have called you up before that, but didn't catch it till these requests were put in front of me. So I believe they have passed. So congratulations. And I was at your office. It was a grand opening over on the east side on Yucca, right there by the old convent. And what a wonderful celebration and a housing program that you have created for 15 families. And I had the pleasure to speak there. So thank you very much. And thank you for Habitat for Humanity. So Mr. Taylor, the floor is yours.

Thank you for being a part of our dedication ceremony, and thank you for approving items 35 and 36. So this was two grant agreements to allocate just over $858,000 to support our affordable homeownership program. This is for a new neighborhood we're building in Precinct 2, just near Monterey Park. So these funds, 4.6 acres, will help us to acquire that land and build out the public infrastructure for 28 new single-family homes. So this is, after the neighborhood you were in, Judge, and then we have another neighborhood, this is the third one down the road. But in order to keep up our production, 50 to 60 homes per year, we're building out these neighborhoods very quickly. And of course, these funds, they leverage millions more in donations from individuals, faith and civic groups, and the business community to make home building possible. And really your support today, it's supporting families, it's an investment in families. And I did want to just take this opportunity to say that, just to remind you, it's a very special year for Habitat. We're celebrating our 50th anniversary this year. 50 years of building affordable homes in San Antonio. The very first Habitat home in the world is actually built here in San Antonio on the west side. And we're doing something very unique to celebrate our 50th anniversary. We're going to be building a house in 50 hours. That's July 16th, 17th, and 18th. Just wanted to take this opportunity to invite you all, your staff, to come out and be a part of that. We need about 1,800 volunteers from the community to build this home. We're also going to be building wall panels for future homes. All during this 50-hour period, we're all going to be delirious, but it's going to be a party. So our staff will be reaching out to your staff to try to get those times scheduled. What date was that? That is July 16th, 17th, and 18th. So we're starting at 10 a.m. on the 16th. Hold on, hold on.

County, I'm putting you on notice. Let's make it a county day. How about all the county employees participating? How about that? I'll leave it at that, Mr. Taylor. See what response, if any, do I get.

Thank you, Judge. That would be fantastic. It's excellent for team building.

I'm sorry, where did you say it is located?

So this will be at our development Methodist Meadows, which is South Cross and WWI.

Okay, thank you.

So Thomas, I'm looking at you. All right. Mr. Taylor, finish up.

Just want to thank you very much for your continued support. It's the county's ongoing support that allows us to continue our production, 50 to 60 homes every year, and that's 50 to 60 families that we're providing really... HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY, TOO. SO THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ? WHERE'S IT AT? PRECINCT 2. FORTUNA? FORTUNA? WHERE'S THAT?

NO, PRECINCT 4, RIGHT?

NO, WHAT'S THE PRECINCT 2 ONE?

YEAH, THE PRECINCT 2 ONE'S OFF FORTUNA RIGHT OFF OF NEAR 36th STREET, IS THAT RIGHT?

CORRECT, YEAH, RIGHT BY MONTEREY PARK. DEEP WEST SIDE? COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES? ANYTHING?

NO, JUST THANK YOU FOR THE INTERPRETATION. Thank you for your continued work. I know the first house was in the west side, but you are headquartered in my precinct.

Absolutely.

Thank you to continue to do the good work that we do.

Building a lot of homes in your precinct as well.

And happy 50th. Looking good at 50. Thank you.

Commissioner Calvert? All right. Commissioner Moody? All right. Where's your partner, Stephanie?

She's back at the office.

She's probably building.

She's getting ready for this 50-hour build. Got it.

All right.

Thank you.

Okay, Thomas. I want to see a little hard hat. All right. All right. Continued citizens will be heard. Kathleen Vale. And then I'm also calling Elaine Cummings because you have said that you are yielding your time to Ms. Vale. So Kathleen and Elaine, why don't you all come up? And is that still the situation? You're passing out some information. Elaine, do you want to yield your time? Yes. All right. So Kate, let's proceed.

Okay. Good morning, Judge Sakai and Commissioners. Good morning. My name is Kathleen Vail. I am a ninth generation Texan. I am a homeowner in the Shearer Hills Ridgeview neighborhood in Bexar County Precinct 2. I have a long history of civic engagement and volunteer effort in our community. I currently serve as Vice Chair of the Bexar Elections and Voter Engagement Advisory Board. I am one of 13 appointed members to the Mayor's Commission on Municipal Voting. and I am a current member of the Northside ISD Community Bond Advisory Committee. I am a Bexar County Volunteer Deputy Registrar. I'm an election worker and a Texas Secretary of State trained poll watcher. I worked as an election clerk all 10 days of the regular primary vote and on election day at Tobin Library. As you know, that location was one of the busiest voting locations in the county. And I spent the Monday after primary runoff representing the Luz Helena Chapa campaign as an unpaid volunteer official poll watcher at bear elections during the mail and provisional ballot board and tabulations. from 9 in the morning until 6.45 in the evening. Looking ahead to the general election coming in four months in early voting in October, I am here today to advocate for an increase in hourly compensation for Bexar County election workers. As you can see from the handout I provided you, among our peer urban counties in Texas, Bexar County compensation is the lowest. today's agenda includes several election items requiring your approval for significant financial investments in equipment technology and other resources that will be a windfall for private vendors these investments are crucial and i wholeheartedly support them however We must not forget the importance of also investing in our human capital. We are the driving force behind the elections in Bexar County. Without us, the entire system of new, upgraded equipment would be rendered ineffective. Bexar County relies on a pool of over 2,500 election workers to serve 1.3 million registered voters and growing every day. However, we face a significant challenge finding enough election judges and clerks to cover all of the voting locations. This past primary, during the regular election and runoff, Bexar Elections was scrambling the day before trying to find enough judges and clerks to cover all of the locations. Retired election workers and young people are increasingly disinterested in this high demanding work because of the low pay. In addition, the general election coming up with early voting starting in October will see an increase of approximately 40 more election day locations and eight more early vote locations. Despite these changes, our election worker pay remains below that of our peer urban Texas counties. An investment of less than $150,000 per major election will significantly improve recruitment, retention, morale, and workforce stability while helping Bexar County remain competitive. As we prepare for the consequential November general election staring down at us, Investing now in competitive compensation is important for four main reasons. First, recruitment and retention. Competitive wages help attract qualified new workers and encourage experienced workers to return to elections one after another. We've just come off of three three elections, one right after the other. Second, accuracy and integrity. Election workers often work long shifts ranging from eight to 12 to 16 straight hours while also handling substantial legal and administrative duties. Fair compensation supports focus, professionalism and compliance with increasingly scrutinized election laws and procedures. Third, professionalization is crucial. Modern election administration demands technical expertise, cybersecurity awareness, strong interpersonal skills and continuous training. Compensation should always align with these expectations. Right now, an entry-level supervisor at Bill Miller BBQ has a higher hourly compensation than our Bexar County election workers. Fourth, public confidence. Adequate, well-trained staffing helps reduce wait times, minimize errors, and strengthen voter trust and confidence in our electoral process right now that is increasingly under intense scrutiny. Many election workers are retirees who, despite long hours, physical demands, and high-pressure work conditions, continue to serve their community. And the majority of these workers are women. Their service and commitment to elections and the ideal of democracy deserve recognition and respect. I respectfully urge the Commissioner's Court to officially support an immediate, across the board, $3 an hour increase for election clerks and judges, and I ask you to share this support with the Bexar County Election Commission, who will be meeting next week. This modest investment will ensure the security, efficiency, accessibility and public trust in Bexar County's elections. It will also ensure that the pool of election workers is sufficient to meet the coming demand. Let's do what we can now so we don't see photographs of long lines of voters this coming October. I also invite all of you to join us at any early vote polling location. Donate an hour. Come stand in our shoes and see what the environment. We have fun. We also deal with a lot of pressures. And I invite each of you to come and join us at any location. We'd be happy to have you. Thank you for considering my request. And as always, I'm here to provide you and your staff with any information you may need. Thank you.

Thank you, Kathleen. All right. Uh, Susan Flores? Thank you, Ling. Here, pass it to staff, please.

Judge Sakai, commissioners Clay Flores, Rodriguez, Moody, and Calvert. Good morning. I am here regarding my newly issued Bexar County voter registration certificate, and I intend to honor my three minutes as you peruse the document that I submitted to you. My surname is Torbon Flores. It is not a hyphenated name. It is just two words like thousands of Bexar County residents, especially those of Latin American descent. As you can see by my federal ID, my passport, my state ID, my Texas driver's license, and up until April of this year, my Bexar County voter registration certificate. I am Toribone Flores. When I received my new voter registration certificate, half of my surname was missing. I contacted their main office to request a corrected version. I was told that the vendor, VR Systems, probably did not have enough room to accommodate my full last name, even though it was never an issue in years prior. And I was told just to use my driver's license. I then contacted the Secretary of State's office, the Elections Division, and they indeed had my full name on file, and I was told again just to use my Texas driver's license to vote. I even sent both copies to my commissioner, Mr. Moody, as I was wondering why I was even sent a voter registration certificate which implies certification. I went to vote. As a former Bexar County voter registrar myself, I showed the election officers my new voter registration certificate with half of my surname. Her response was, I have seen a lot of these errors. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, even though I've been told that I may have been part of a statewide Hispanic surname purge that happened earlier in the year. However, I am really suffering from red state fatigue regarding voter registration. So why am I here? I'm here because of Commissioner Rebecca Clay Flutter. She reminded me last Thursday that I am my brother's keeper. I figured out that I can vote, but I worry about the people who received incorrect certificates People who are Spanish-speaking-only residents, people who don't have the resource, can't go through this labyrinth to figure out that, yes, indeed, they can vote. And those who are just inclined to just give up and say, well, I'm not going to go to the polls because I'm already intimidated by what's happening, so I'm just going to give up. So in closing, I would just like to mention that in just a few days, we will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding. At that time in which all men were created equal, only 6% of our population was eligible to vote. It's taken nearly 200 years for all the rest of us to have that privilege, and I'm sure that you want to keep it that way. Anyhow, just thank you for listening to my issue.

Hold on. Commissioner Moody, and then we'll go to Commissioner Clifford.

Yes, I just wanted to see if you had had this resolved through the elections administrator.

No, it was not resolved, because when I asked for another certificate, I was told that the another would not be coming forth. I contacted Austin to see whether or not I had fallen off some kind of role, whether I was still eligible to vote, and they said yes, that they still had my full name.

Okay. Because I know Jenny on my staff had connected you with the Elections Department, but they still haven't been able to resolve that.

No, your office did not get back to me. No, they did not.

Well, my staff was just telling me yes, but we can talk offline about it. We want to obviously try to fix this, and I'm sure you're not the only one.

I am not the only one.

Yeah. So I know that the elections administrator is going to be here for some other items, and maybe this is something else that we can bring up with her as we go forward. But we are always happy to help, and we've had many constituents reach out about various issues with changes in systems and everything else going on.

Well, I know that you have a lot of things to deal with today, and I just wanted you just to bring this to, you know, that there are some things that need to be corrected in this so-called certificate.

And Jenny, if you could just talk to her a little bit.

Thank you.

Thank you. It's nice to meet you. I guess for the record, you're referring to my speech on Juneteenth.

Absolutely. Yes.

So I'm glad you were there. And thank you. I'm glad I'm glad someone heard heard that. I'm also going to request this is a lot of personal information. So to my colleagues. No, I think you should take this back, because we don't need it, and it's personal information that you need to have. I'm going to ask Kate if you can collect this, please, so my colleagues can turn it in back to you, because this is very private.

I just wanted to show you that that is who I am by federal and state government, but not Bexar County.

Thank you, Commissioner. I agree. There's too much personal information. Commissioner Calvert.

I thank you for your testimony as well as Kathleen. Thank you so much for coming and having such a strong, succinct message. Number one, I'd like the Elections Administrator to bring to the Commissioner's Court an increase for our election judges and workers. I think that's very much merited in light of the huge election that we're about to undertake. It's gonna be very stressful and we need to make sure that we recruit all we can. One of the things we've learned in this time that I think back to 2020 when we had a contagion, we had the COVID virus and that limited a lot of folks who were more senior just didn't feel like they could work and expose themselves and anything could happen like that again. So we have to have a competitive wage to make sure that, as Ms. Vail said, maybe younger people are also interested because they may be the vanguard of upholding our election system if we ever do have another COVID-19. So as for... The constituent who just spoke a moment ago, I believe that the system is not the VR system. I believe it's the team system that we're using, the Texas Secretary of State system. And that system is really replete with errors. One of the ones that I learned last night from the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, he sent me a text message that said the team system is displaying the incorrect behavior. winners of the precinct chair races across the state of Texas. And as a result of the team system displaying, they are displaying people who've lost as the winners of precinct chairs, which is an elected office in many cases. This gives me extreme concern, as I've had consistently over civics and teams. I also spoke with CNN correspondent Maria Cardona last night who indicated that civics is a very partisan entity and that in fact the president was looking to have civics be the entity that looked at the purge list and provided him with lists. And that also gives me great concern because the vendors that we have to utilize should be independent, particularly in the administration of voting. And so I think we do need to come as a court in a future executive session to look at whether or not we file litigation related to civics, that entity that has not allowed our CSV files to be exported and has not allowed Kauffman County to have their voter data exported for nine, ten months now. when experts in that arena say that it shouldn't have taken more than two or three months to make the functionality of that program operate. So we have some serious shaving off of potential votes that some are trying to do. We actually created a video that will be heard at the statewide convention, not just about Bexar County's problems, but about the problems around the state with respect to the purging of people, with respect to the name changes issues, with respect to so many problems, including the fact that the team system has a glitch that is sending 13 mail ballots to folks who request a mail ballot, a glitch that hasn't been uh... fix and i believe that the the the commissioner's court we actually bear responsibility to litigate that issue and and join maybe texas civil rights project or others who are thinking about litigating uh... to make sure that we get uh... the things that are so uh... so important to the administration of our voting so uh... judge i'd like to you know, see that the district attorney's office that they bring to us an executive session, some sort of, some sort of update about what we could do in the legal purview to, to make sure that, because that, that registration card that we saw is as a result of the issues with the team system. Um, and there's just a lot of smoke with respect to our voting system that's going on right now.

Noted for the record. Anything else? All right, last but not least, Damon Fogley? Damon? There he is. Damon Fogley? No, that's not you. Okay. One more time, Damon Fogley? All right. Is there anybody else who signed up that's named that I not call? I have two people. It's Kevin Smith and Tiffany Smith. Y'all are coming up actually right next because that's an agenda item. Anybody else? All right. I believe we now go to individual items and we're moving along. So let's keep it going. Item number 50, discussion of appropriate action regarding the following. A presentation updating Commission's Court recommended census tracts eligible for Opportunity Zones 2.0 and an approval for greater SATX to submit Bexar County's recommended Opportunity Zone 2.0 eligible census tracts to Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office of the Governor for consideration of the Opportunity Zones 2.0. Deborah, let me ask you to hold. We have two citizens to be heard. I have Tiffany Jones-Smith, Kevin Smith from the Texas Kidney. Welcome back. Y'all were here, so let me give you an opportunity to speak. Do you wish to individually speak or speak as one?

Individually.

Individually, all right. So I'm going to yield to y'all. Who needs to go first, Tiffany or Kevin? I'll go first. All right, Tiffany, you go first. You've got three minutes, and then Kevin's got three minutes.

It won't take me three minutes. I learned from you, Commissioner Glade-Flores, my mentor here. Good morning, Judge Sakai. Commissioner Moody, Commissioner Calvert, Commissioner Rodriguez, and Commissioner Clay Flores. Commissioner Moody, I just want to take the time while I've got you face to face, eyeball to eyeball, to say thank you for the proclamation and for working with us. It was in your precinct that one of my dreams and goals has always been to find other people who have kidney disease. and who are dealing with the perils of health. And we were able to do that over and over again in your precinct, in Commissioner Rodriguez's precinct, and to help them connect upstream to early detection and prevention. So living out our mission and our vision, you all have helped us do that. So I'm here in support of today's Opportunity Zone designations. I want to bring you the view from the ground. And to be clear about what we do there, because it's often misunderstood. Texas Kidney Foundation is not a health fair that comes and goes. We built a community clinic platform We meet people in the places they already trust. We use the kidney as a window into the bigger picture. Diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, and metabolic risk. And our community health workers walk alongside them from that first conversation through to a real connection with ongoing care. That's what you were missing in your survey. You actually need boots on the ground because in your precinct, in Commissioner Rodriguez's precinct, people do not necessarily even have cell phones where they're getting those digital messages. So having a person there. Humanity is still the most important aspect of the community experience. Having eyeballs to eyeballs. I love our PhDs, but you actually have to have a trusted community citizen there talking to you and doing those surveys. That's the missing piece. The kidney is our anchor, not our limit. When you screen a kidney, you're seeing the whole story of someone's cardiometabolic health, and you've created a moment to act before that story ends in crisis. And we don't do this alone. Our platform is the entry point that brings our agencies and organizations into the same trusted space. Food, transportation, insurance enrollment, clinical care, we're more than a convener. We don't just gather partners around a table. We connect them to residents and route each person to the help they actually need. And Commissioner Calvert, you know that. You stood with us on this. One platform, one front door, many partners. What we see in these neighborhoods is need and readiness. People want to take charge of their health.

Go ahead and wrap up, Ms. Tiffany, or do you want to use some of Kevin's time? Go ahead.

I'm going to use a little bit of his time. All right. Keep the clock running.

Let's go.

What we see in these neighborhoods is need and readiness. People want to take charge of their health. They need a bridge to do it. From the community to the clinic, that's the infrastructure we've built and operated in Bexar County for years. And we're ready to help make sure the investment you approved today reaches people's health, not only the buildings around them, Thank you for your leadership and for seeing these communities.

Mine is the numbers, right? So that's what I focus on. So thank you very much, Judge Sakai, Commissioner Clay Flores, Commissioner Rodriguez, Commissioner Moody, Commissioner Calvin. So one of the things that we want to come out and that we support the Opportunity Zone 2.0, as my kids call it, Oz now, as we've gone through this whole exercise here. And we want you to really understand that where there's the greatest investment opportunity, there's also the greatest sickness opportunity. in those areas, right? So our numbers show that the Opportunity Zones make up about 26% of the population in Bexar County, but they also make up over 50% of the dialysis centers, over 50% of the dialysis stations. Right? And as well as the largest number of diabetes, obesity, hypertension. Right? And we could break the numbers down by precinct as far as the number of dialysis unit. But they make up the largest percentage of overall. And that is the greatest amount of opportunity. And that's why we're in there. Think about that. 26% of the adult population in Bexar County. but yet over 50% of the dialysis centers, 50% of the dialysis chairs. In those communities, all the places where you're going to decide, that's where we work. Tiffany gave you a grounds perspective of what we see in there. Often, I'm amazed by University Health System. I personally didn't know it was a county hospital. Can you believe that? One of the top hospitals in the United States is a county hospital right here in San Antonio. And you guys are doing an excellent job at building all the different facilities in each of the precincts. But the issue that we see on the ground is navigation. It doesn't matter if you're in Precinct 3, allegedly where they have resources. The number of calls that we get there are still navigation issues. You know, we have people who are diagnosed with some rare kidney disease and they don't know how to navigate the system. If we're in Precinct 2, where the majority of dialysis centers are, right? The issue is resource and navigation. But what we see on the ground is that what we do is we provide the community to health care model. We've partnered with you guys before, and we support 100% the opportunity zones. It welcomes good investments. It also brings in people. But at the same time, there needs to be an investment in the health, because those opportunity zones, doesn't matter which precinct they're in, bear the brunt of the burden of the health issues. And I only have 10 seconds left, so I yield.

Thank you, Kevin. All right, Ms. Deborah Carter, come on back, do the presentation, and then we have a motion to take up at the appropriate time.

Thank you, Judge. This is a follow-up presentation from the last court date on June 9th. A friendly reminder that Opportunity Zones are economically distressed census tracts designated by the federal government where investors can receive tax incentives for reinvesting their capital gains into local businesses and real estate. The program is designed to stimulate economic development and job creation in low-income communities. Eligible tracts must be less than or equal to 70% of the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area median family income, which is $61,950 annually for a family of four, or a tract that has a poverty rate of at least 20%. There are 2,420 eligible census tracts in Texas. 146 of those are in Bexar County. The governor can nominate up to 25%, which would be 605 eligible census tracts for Texas, to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Bexar County can nominate up to 80%, which is 116 eligible census tracts to the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office. So Bexar County's approach. Our approach is to support City of San Antonio's recommended census tract nominations and to not duplicate them. City of San Antonio updated their recommendation from June 9th from 69 tracts to 73. The four additional census tracts align with Bexar County's recommendations. Bexar County recommends submitting the remaining balance of eligible census tracts to make up the 116 to maximize our nominations. We prioritize the six eligible census tracts in suburban cities, which include Balcones Heights, Kirby, Leon Valley, Somerset, Vaughn Army, and Windcrest. Nominate the eligible census tracts that score the highest per the governor's matrix. And greater SATX as our local EDO will be submitting Bexar County's nomination packet to the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office. Just a quick reminder of our timeline. On June 9th, we had our initial presentation and open for public comment. Today we are here on June 23rd for the motion with Commissioner's Court. Our application will be submitted by greater SATX by June 26th. We should know by August 3rd, the governor's office will be sending their final selections to the U.S. Department of Treasury. And by December 31st, the U.S. Department of Treasury will announce the opportunity, the certified or qualified opportunity zones. So this is the map of Bexar County. Everything that's highlighted in the navy blue is an eligible census tract. In precinct one, there are 40 eligible opportunity zones. City of San Antonio is nominating 19. Bexar County is recommending an additional 14 for a total of 33. Precinct two has 59 eligible. City of San Antonio is recommending 31. Bexar County is recommending an additional 10 for a total of 41. Precinct 3 has eight eligible Opportunity Zones. City of San Antonio will be recommending five. Bexar County is recommending zero for a total of five. And Precinct 4 has 39 eligible Opportunity Zones. City of San Antonio is recommending 18. Bexar County is recommending an additional 19 for a total of 37, which would bring us to our maximum nominations of 116. So precinct one, Commissioner Clay Flores, you'll notice that the two at the bottom that are highlighted, those were previously recommended by Bexar County. The city of San Antonio has decided to proceed with recommending those. So nothing changed in your census tracts. They just moved over to the city nomination. Precinct two, there were no changes to the city's recommendation or Bexar County's. In precinct three, the one nomination that we previously had Commissioner Moody, the city has decided to recommend, so we just shifted that over to a city recommendation. And then in precinct four, Commissioner Cavalier, you'll see the one that's located at the bottom that shifted over from a Bexar County recommendation to a city of San Antonio. SO THE RECOMMENDED MOTION IS APPROVAL FOR GREATER SATX TO SUBMIT BEAR COUNTY'S RECOMMENDED OPPORTUNITY ZONE 2.0 ELIGIBLE CENSUS TRACKS TO THE TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR FOR CONSIDERATION UNDER THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE 2.0 PROCESS.

OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. MOTION AND A SECOND. MS. CARTER, THANK YOU. ANY DISCUSSION, QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE?

I JUST HAVE A CLARIFICATION QUESTION. So this really isn't different than what we approved last time, only that some moved to under the city, but we still are submitting the maximum number allowed, correct? That's correct. Okay, thank you.

Okay, any other discussion? Hearing none, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion carries. Thank you, Ms. Carter.

I understand that item 51 is there's a couple of matters in executive session. So let's pass on that. Is it my understanding 52 is also executive session or not? No. So Tina. So let's pull up 52. Presentation, discussion, appropriate action regarding adoption of new administrative policy number 3.3, grants management as directed by Commissioner's Court on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Ms. Smith-Dean.

Good morning. Tina Smith-Dean with the County Manager's Office. I'm here today to present a new grants management policy. At the last Commissioner's Court meeting, the outside auditor made a presentation to court regarding the outcome of the federal grants audit, and there were a few issues that were pointed out by the auditor. As a result, the court directed us to come back and see about making some improvements to our current process. And we believe that that begins with the actual policy itself. So that's what we'll be discussing today. So some of the issues that we've noticed over the past few years are on this slide. So some of the grant proposals that we receive and sometimes that the court receives don't necessarily align with what the county goals and objectives are. Their grant research is intermittent and it's not centralized. Everybody's kind of out there doing their own thing. Roles and responsibilities aren't clearly defined. There's a lack of grant planning activities. The grant review committee is ministerial versus more strategic. There's no established process for accessing grants management applications, meaning software applications that the grantors use. The process for accepting grants is not clearly defined. And then, of course, there have been some issues with missing reporting obligations from offices and departments. So this is not a revision of the existing policy. This is a totally new policy. We believe that it clearly defines all of the roles and responsibilities. So ultimately, the Commissioner's Court is the policy-making authority. The county judge provides executive oversight. The budget officer will be responsible for countywide grants administration and management. The county auditor has financial oversight. Office and department heads are responsible and accountable for the administration of grants within their respective offices and departments.

So let me just ask you, I see the grant review committee coming up on the next slide. What does that do to that entity?

So, yes, so what we're proposing is that it, let's see. Do you want me to move to that slide or just? Okay, yeah. So, and then continuing with roles and responsibilities, the grant, each office and department will have a grant program manager. That's the person that's responsible for administering the grant, the day-to-day activities associated with the grant. The new policy incorporates the county grant writer. So we have a actual county grant writer. That's the title of the position. So under this proposed policy, they will write, review, and submit all grant proposals. We do have offices and departments out there that write grants, and that's still going to happen. It's just that they will then submit that to the grant writer for review. Under the Grant Review Committee, they will evaluate the operational, personnel, technology, facilities, procurement, administrative impacts, and short and long-term budgetary impacts of a grant. So sometimes we've seen people come to court and ask for grants for new positions. This grant review committee will make sure all of the technology that's being purchased is in line with what BCIT requires, that all of the procurement processes will be followed as they should be. And then personnel will be evaluated by the HR team to make sure proposed positions are in line with the county's current compensation plans. And then the grant policy committee is a new committee. So that will be kind of a group of four of us that will make sure all of the grant applications align with the commissioner's court goals and objectives and with the office and department core missions. I'm sorry, sir, I didn't hear you.

Who's on the policy committee?

So that will be the budget office, the auditor's office, the office of the county manager, and ex officio from the district attorney's office. So the Budget and Finance Department Grants Division will be responsible for making sure all of the grant portal registration and access management is tracked. We've had issues in the past where different people have access to different systems. Passwords have been changed without other people knowing. So that creates an issue. The grant writer will live in the Budget and Finance Department and handle the grant application process, the vetting, the writing, and the submitting. We'll handle the grant award and acceptance process. All of the grant oversight will happen in the budget department to make sure all of the reporting is completed timely and accurately. And then the grants division will do a grant closeout review, which will entail looking at the sustainability of the grant, seeing if the performance measures that were laid forth in the application were actually met. and then ultimately come up with a recommendation to court as to whether a grant program should be continued or not. Then the grant writer will monitor grant opportunities now. This will be centralized, and this will also, I think this will also help us make sure that we're, because we're actively looking for grants, we don't get these last minute requests for applications where the deadline's seven days away. And then The county grant writer will review the grant opportunities identified by offices and departments. So this is a lot of responsibility for the grant review committee. I kind of touched on this already. And then the grant impact analysis, which will come from the grant review committee, will be reviewed by the grant policy committee. And we will determine whether all of the criteria are met. And then if approved, The county grant writer will then write the grant with the assistance of the office and department. And then if not approved, the office and department can make an appeal to commissioner's court to get the grant application approved. So the recommended motion is approval of the new grants management policy.

Let me open with the fact that I've asked the budget office, the county management office, to come up with this new policy. Obviously, through these four years, the grant issues have been problematic at times. We just had a big discussion about a grant that ran out and a bill that was run up and the unfortunate circumstance that we were not able legally to take care of this debt. And so there's... It just reemphasized the need to streamline. So I want to just put on record that this policy aligns with my North Star, as your county judge, which is fostering transparency and accountability. It will help centralize and achieve efficiencies with the grant review process in areas such as tracking, compliance, authorizations, renewals. This policy puts the county in the right position to address some of the issues related to grant flag in the annual audit. And we have been dinged, so to speak, with some of these grants. I want to thank the staff for their diligent work on this policy. I'll ask for a motion to approve.

So moved.

Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez. Second by Commissioner Calvin. All right. Any further discussion? Commissioner Moody.

I just have a high-level comment. I think that... This policy is necessary. I think there needs to be some more oversight and process added to our grant writing. However, my concern is just that this doesn't become overly burdensome, any of the policies have a chilling effect on initiative from departments in order to go out and continue to seek grants, which oftentimes are a huge benefit to our budget on an annual basis. If we didn't have any grants today in Bexar County, we'd be in a bad place. from a budget standpoint. So I just want to be mindful of that as we go forward and think about these policies and ensure that they're not having a detrimental effect on continuing to push the process of grant writing, as long as they're aligned with our strategy and there's the proper oversight.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Any further comment? I'll ask for a vote. All those in favor of the motion, second by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion unanimously passes. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, we'll move on to 53. Discussion of appropriate action regarding approval of requests by Commissioner Justin Rodriguez to add one deputy council position in Precinct 2 to enhance civil service capacity, improve response times, address workload and staffing disparities. Commissioner Rodriguez, you have the floor.

Great. Thank you, Judge. I will try to be brief with this. I am advocating and bringing this on behalf of Constable Leticia Vasquez, who's been a great partner in Precinct 2. She couldn't be here this morning. She's been dealing with some family health issues. I know as a resource we have A few of her officers here, I think Chief Moreno and Captain de la Serta here, if we need you guys. But thank you for being here. The information is in the backup, and I brought some extra copies just for the court. This is really a request that she brought to me months ago for two additional officers in her department. The request today is not for two, it's for one. And notably, what I wanted to point out, I know we had some discussion that spilled over from last court meeting with respect to the constables. Let me try and distinguish this request a little bit if I can. So first of all, even though this is a little bit of a request about parity, She's got the fewest number of positions compared to the other precincts. It's not really just a parity for the sake of parity request. If we distinguish the core functions of the office, notably by statute, the constables are mandated to process, serve process and provide court security. This is a request. that speaks to the volume of the number of process serving that they're doing in precinct two as it compared to the resources they have available. So right now the current count And correct me if I'm wrong, budget staff, but I think we got this from you guys. Precinct 2, she's got 28 current deputies compared to 32 in Precinct 1, 30 in Precinct 3, and 29 in Precinct 4. And I know one of the things I had considered was waiting until we get to the budget, which is a few months away. But as you all know, what we've done in at least the past couple years, when we consider adding positions, the constables have worked together, and it's typically equal number of positions every budget cycle, and that would still kind of put her at a deficit. As I mentioned in the background documentation, she's got, it looks like, somewhere around the highest civil service workload. Precinct two, about 21,600 papers. The writs of possession, which are notable and considerable amount of work, she's at over 2,500 in precinct two compared to the next highest number in precinct one, which is at 1,500. So almost 1,000 more. And so I just, you know, I think this is an important thing for her. Again, she's been a great partner. She works hard. She does what she needs to do. Her team is great. So this is just, again, addressing in part that deficit, but more the resource to position disparity. And, again, I combed over the numbers. I think they're pretty self-evident. I know that we're, you know, all... Trying to do what's best for our constables. I get it. I don't want to sound like a hypocrite, but this is something that she's advocated for, and it does go to those core functions of her office. So, Judge, in court, I'd ask for your support, and I'd make a motion to approve the one position for her office.

Second. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez. Second by Commissioner Clay Flores. Any further discussion? Commissioner Moody.

Well, I respect that Commissioner Rodriguez is advocating for his constable. I spoke to Constable Vasquez about this item, and I think it makes sense. When our constables have needs, whether they're in precinct two or in precinct three or in precinct four, Or precinct one, I think it's incumbent upon this court to show them the respect as elected officials, show them some deference and listen to the needs that they have. I think that that's what we're doing with Constable Vazquez here today, understanding the needs that she has and trying to address them. So from a public safety standpoint and from a deference to an elected official in precinct two, I'm going to go ahead and support this item. However, I think we need to look at ourselves when we talk about how we're operating consistently in these regards. So we're showing the same deference across precincts, and either we're waiting for budget or we're not waiting for budget. I'm fine with doing things outside the budget cycle, but we can't do one for one precinct and not do the same for another precinct. Um, Many of the things we just heard in terms of advocating for your constable, same thing I was trying to do two weeks ago, advocating for my constable. And I just think that we need to continue to show some deference across precincts and show deference to other elected officials, especially when they're doing their best to answer the questions that we have as a court. But I'm not going to let that stop me from supporting Constable Vasquez on this item and making sure that she has what she needs.

Any fair comment? I'll call for a vote. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion carries. Thank you. 54, discussion appropriate action regarding creation of a committee to vet candidates and bring recommendations to the veteran service director for commissioner's court consideration. I believe I have put this together. Do we have any PowerPoint to pass out? Thomas?

Judge, Commissioner, this is Thomas Guevara, Office of the County Manager. No PowerPoint presentation for this particular item. The item that we're asking for court's consideration is to convene a committee to vet the candidates that Human Resources has received. Again, just as a reminder to Commissioner's Court, we open up the Veterans Services Director position April 21st of this year. We closed that application around June 4th of this year. HR is currently vetting those applications to meet minimum qualifications requirements. as well as some of the qualifications that Commissioner's Court has guided us as well. So our recommendation is to convene a committee to interview candidates that are qualified and then run those candidates through your military services committee that was established, and that's per the MOU and bylaws that we have with that committee. Ultimately, though, the responsibility and final selection is this commissioner's court. In past, our position is we will bring back a number of, at a minimum, at least two candidates, if not more. It's always been kind of this body's request to make sure that they're interviewing. So the recommendation here through this item is to create this committee that would consist of County Judge Peter Sakai, Commissioner Grant Moody, County Manager David Smith, myself, and one of our directors, Jackie Evada, with our Community Resources Department to try to get a full-scale committee. uh, and, and, uh, in that process. So, uh, that's the recommendation here before you, um, available to answer any questions. Is there a motion?

Salute. Yeah. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez. Second by Commissioner Moody. Commissioner Clay Flores.

So I want to make sure when we talked about this previously, I was the one who said there's all men. That's good and all. But we need a woman. So you guys, I guess, have chosen Jackie, but I know she's here. But I want to make sure that she feels empowered to ask questions and to push back if needed, regardless if it's two people from the court and the county manager and a deputy county county manager. So I want to make sure that that is made clear to her. And gentlemen, if you would help to ensure that happens as well.

Thank you. So noted, Commissioner. And if you know Jackie, she'll be willing to push back. She's a great resource.

Well, let me put this on the record. I worked with the County Manager David and Deputy Manager Thomas in regards to this recommendation that I'm asking approval for. It is my intent in light of previous discussions in regards to selection of department heads to bring the short list, whatever that may be, to the entire court for discussion and executive session so that the court can see all the So we have, I believe, what we now know is over 100 applications. I presume we will have some very well-qualified candidates. I believe we have an interim director in there at this time, which I believe is part of that application pool. We have attempted to try to make sure that there is input from the court. Thank you, Commissioner Moody, for allowing me to appoint you on this committee. using your expertise. Quite frankly, I'm going to put on record that we need strong leadership in this department. And so it is a very important decision that this court must make in light of the history. And I just say history because this goes way back to the formation. And also for the record, Thomas, the foundation board by bylaws of its own bylaws has a involvement which I intend to make sure that they are involved and we have I believe reactivated and we have made sure that they will have a recommendation that they may make or short list so we need to recognize the foundation board and I believe we've made some substitutions in order to get that board re-energized and reinstituted. So I just want the public to understand and the court to understand that this is a position that I think is very valuable in the life of our veteran services and what we continue to do. And I really want this selection before the new budget year. in order so that we know and have representation from the budget department in the budget process. So with that, unless there's any further discussion, Commissioner Moody.

Well, I look forward to serving with you on this committee, and I would reiterate, I think it's important that we move quickly and make a wise choice here going forward, not to get into the history, but there has been significant turnover in this role, which is unhelpful to our veteran community. And I think we need to make sure that we get this right. So I stand ready to jump in as soon as we're ready to have that first meeting and dive into this work and look forward to working with the other members of the committee to bring in a short list back to this court.

And Commissioner Clay Flores, your... Recommendations are noted for the record, and we will make sure we are sensitive to all applicants for the record. I'll call for a vote. All those in favor, signal by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion carries. We'll now go to 55, the Elections Department. Ms. Crew, you're teeing it up. 55, discussion appropriate action regarding approval to award a purchase order to Blue Crest, Inc. in the amount of $461,111 for the purchase of a vote-by-mail sorting system as requested by the Elections Department pursuant to and according to the Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 271, Subchapter F, Section 102, Cooperative Purchasing Program Participation, authorizing the purchase agent to execute and file the appropriate award document for record with the county clerk. Good morning.

Good morning. How are you?

I'm fine. You have the floor.

Thank you. Judge Sakai and commissioners, today I'm bringing forward a request to purchase this mail ballot sorter. When we received the grant for $4 million in the state, we had to put a lot of thought into where does this money need to go and how is it going to make voting by mail even more efficient. So I reached out and with the help of the purchasing department, we were able to speak to many vendors that have similar capabilities to where we can streamline vote by mail. As you know, we no longer have Votech to be able to verify signatures or even compare them, and we're using the team system until VR systems is able to be implemented. This particular mail sorter is used in Tarrant County as well. It does a lot of things. One of the things that it does is it takes photos of the front and the back of each ballot that comes in, which is required by law. These are some of the things we have to provide to the Early Voting Ballot Board. It can weigh it. It can sort it by ballot style. It can let us know if there's more than one ballot in an envelope, which does happen from time to time. In this previous back-to-back-to-back election that we just had, several of our voters were mailing more than one ballot in their envelope. And if it was for a different election, it wasn't counted. So this is going to be able to help us streamline it, make sure that we're meeting all of the requests by the state, and also that we're in accordance with the law.

Motion by Commissioner Calvert. Second. Second by Commissioner Rodriguez. Any further discussion? Question, Commissioner Moore.

Ms. Carew, so is this replacing an existing mail sorter?

No, we've never had a mail sorter.

Okay. So it's a new piece of equipment that we're trying to get to do the functions that you just mentioned?

Yes, sir.

How have we done it to date?

Everything's been done manually to date. That's why we have as many attempts that we have in there. When the ballots come in, they have to physically scan each one individually, which takes a very long time when it comes in. The process is extremely, how could I even explain this to you? When they come in, each one of the reps in that particular department grabs a stack and has to work them individually. This particular piece of equipment will do it for us. It'll streamline it, saving us time and money.

So do we anticipate cost savings?

Absolutely.

do we have an estimate of how much time is spent manually doing these processes today?

I didn't bring in any type of money figure to be able to share with you in regards to how much we pay our temps, but currently our temps are working anywhere from eight to ten hours a day working this. I anticipate that it'll possibly cut that in half.

Well, this is a new item, a new piece of equipment, so I don't have a great sense for it specifically, and I haven't been able to gather any feedback from other individuals because they've never worked with one before. I guess, and this speaks to all these items, and we've had some of these conversations off the record, I still don't have a great sense for what the plan is and whether we are that far behind in terms of our equipment or whether we just want, you know, the latest, the greatest on all these items. And I do have some more direct thoughts on some of the other items that are being requested here. But, you know, just I have a data point here I got from budget. But let me see if I can share it. Over the past four FYs before we turned over, the average spend total in the Elections Department averaged $8.8 million per year. Last FY was $12.5 million. That's probably a 40 percent increase. And then this year so far, I have 17 million dollars. So now we're getting close to doubling our total spend on the elections department. And what I've tried to get at is like. whether these are all nice-to-haves, like we're trying to just upgrade and get the latest, or what are necessities that were deferred maintenance that is absolutely necessary to execute our elections? Because clearly we weren't spending this much in elections previously, and now we are. So we have these individual items come, and it's $460,000 here and $350,000 there and $1.1 million for something else. It's really hard without a plan or a budget from elections to understand what are we replacing and why. And that's what I need to be better informed about the disparate asks for different types of equipment and that just keep coming because, I mean, I don't know, there's been six, seven, eight of these requests now, and I still don't see how they all connect or what the end state is or what the ultimate budget is. I don't know, I mean, from a budget standpoint, how... You're keeping up with the request from the elections department. You agree those numbers were correct that were provided to me?

Yes, sir. Yes. And I will say that, I mean, quite a bit of that money was grant funding that we received. So that kind of explains that huge amount.

And it's great to get grant funding, which goes back to my previous comment. I'm all about grant funding. But then again, how are we not necessarily using that grant funding to reduce the impact on the general fund rather than actually seeing an increase in the general fund on top of grant funding and what's necessary? So I hope you understand where I'm coming from.

I do. I do understand where you're coming from. One of the items that was given to me when I was appointed to this position was to bring this department moving forward with technology. So the things that have been done in the past were all done manually. So when you're comparing what we're doing now to what was done in the past, it's not apples to apples. Everything was done manually in the office. What I'm bringing forward are items that are covered 100% with the grant funding that's going to help make this office run smoother and rely less on temporary employees to come in and do the work that this machine that I'm asking for will be able to take care of.

So I'm not opposed to modernizing. Again though, without a plan, I can't write a blank check either to the elections department over and over again. So the only other question I have with regard to this, to the purchasing department, have all of these gone through our standard bidding process?

Commissioner, in this case, I believe this one was utilizing the cooperative contract, so satisfying the competitive bidding process. Like a buy board? Yes, sir.

Okay.

Sourcewell was the named competitive contractor. Okay, thank you.

Yeah, Michelle, how long have you been here now? A year and almost four months. Okay, so not even a year and a half. And you also instilled funding to have new voting gadgets, I don't know what it's called, for hearing impaired, correct? That's correct. And new ones also for people who are disabled, who can't come out, who are like in wheelchairs like my mother when I take her to go vote, and they come and bring that curbside, correct? Correct. So, and Commissioner Moody, if my memory serves me correctly, you voted against the one for hearing impaired. And so part of what you've been doing Michelle and why I'm supporting this is I don't expect every Year for you to continue to come with all these millions of dollars of requests This is to get you set up in your early tenure as you haven't even been here a year and a half and we have a big election coming up to make sure that that whether you're hearing impaired or whether you're disabled or whatever one's circumstances are, that they can vote. That's correct. So in the state of Texas, we are the 48th hardest state in the union to vote in. Which is still much easier to vote in this state than in other countries. But nonetheless, we want to enable and empower our constituents, regardless of your political party, to go vote. Because it's not that Texas is a red state or a blue state. Texas is a non-voting state, and we want to encourage people to vote. So I applaud your efforts to try and get everything that's possible so that people don't have excuses to stay home and say that voting is too hard or they can't vote. So I'm happy to support this. Thank you.

Commissioner Calvert. Thank you, Michelle, for bringing this to us. I believe I can speak to the positive fiscal benefit. You spoke to it. in terms of temporary workers. We've had to pay a lot of money for manual administration of that system. And so you had mentioned the number you think might be reduced in half with temporary workers with the new equipment. So do you have an estimate about how much in temporary workers would fall, how much money we spend on the mail ballot process?

Not particularly for the mail ballot process, but I can tell you that within my department, we've spent over $450,000 in temporary workers. And that's divided between our warehouse, our voter registration, and our mail room.

So I also think that as we grow as a county and the amount of – I will just say I think we've got a silver tsunami of baby boomers who are going to be utilizing the mail ballot process. It would help the hands on deck at the elections department just to have a – more modern way to administer and take photos of those particular documents. I imagine it's much longer in time for a person to, I guess, take a picture of both sides versus a, I guess it's like a scanner of some sort, that manually feeds a whole bunch of them. How many of these ballots are put roughly into the machine?

How many can it process, I guess, in a- Well, it will have eight different sorter sections. So you could put upwards of a thousand at a time and let it just sort through. So that in itself is going to save a tremendous amount of time. I can tell you when the ballots come in, they typically get in about 9.30, 10 o'clock. Our team then has to get them, put them into team that we received them, put them into our poll book that they received them, and also do the manual process of taking the photos Not only that, they then have to make a copy of their application, put it in an envelope, seal the envelope, and put it away into our ballot boardroom. And when these ballots are coming in, upwards of 800 or 900 a day, like they did during the primary, our staff is not able to process each one timely. This particular sorter will take care of that and cut that amount, possibly in time, by 50%.

You said they come in, you said 9.30 in the morning or the evening?

Morning.

In the morning, okay. And so in terms of just the reporting of our election in general, because of this order, might this expedite some of the election day final results?

Absolutely. So what it's going to do for us is not only take the photo of the front and the back, it's going to be able to help compare signatures. So when it gets to the ballot board, they're not having to sit around and manually look at upwards of 20,000 applications. I'm sorry, ballots that come in to compare signatures. This will actually already have the history of the signatures in there and flag ones that don't match.

That sounds like a great service to the ballot board as well, because we forget they're volunteers that citizens help review those ballots, and that's a tedious process as well. So, you know, for that reason, I am supporting this technology and the improvement. It sounds like something we probably should have had a while ago. Thank you, Judge.

Commissioner Moody.

I'm just gonna respond to the comments about, I guess it was the deaf functionality on some of the poll pads that was presented. It's just one small piece of this. what we were really doing was replacing vast amounts of our equipment. It was sold to the court based on that functionality that's almost never utilized, if we're going to be honest. I believe I asked the question about how many people would use this service in the past. because the vast majority of those individuals will do ballot by mail as they can. And I believe there was only 15 people who had used it in a previous election. So we're just like we can talk politics or we can talk like being real about managing this department and managing our elections and doing it responsibly from a budget standpoint. And that's what I'm trying to do. I don't think we should write blank checks. I think we should modernize, but we have to have a plan. And it can't just continue to come. If I'm sitting in the budget seat and every time I turn around there's another request for $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 without a long-term plan that I can factor into this year's budget, next year's budget, the budget after that, makes it really difficult.

all right are we any further discussion well i just want to comment since we're going talking about this um if hearing impaired people haven't used things in the past it's because there was no access to it so michelle i hope that you and your team are educating the community to let them know that this is now possible because i know that people do want to go vote but because of difficulties in the past, they haven't. So if you can keep us posted on how the number increases, as I'm sure it will. Thank you.

And Michelle, let me also put on the record that. We're going to vote on 55, but 56, 57, 58 are also your agenda items. A couple of them were late filed, so we'll get to them. But this is all out of that. Have a HAVA grant, correct, for which you helped get for Bexar County, I believe, what, $4 million?

It was $4 million.

And so these are all grant-funded purchases, correct? Correct. And if we don't spend it, we're going to lose it, correct?

Yes, sir.

So I will lend my support for this motion. Any further comments, I will call for a vote. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion carries. Let's carry on. 56, discussion of appropriate action granting the discretionary exemption competitive bidding requirements set forth in the Texas County Purchasing Act for the purpose of awarding a purchase order to Election Systems Software in the amount of $403,500 for a purchase of 300 curbside cars. Pursuant to and according to the Local Government Code, Chapter 262, Subchapter C, Section 262.24, Subsection A7, authorizing the person to execute and file the appropriate document for the record. Ms. Carew, we've got the basis of why you need it. So what is this for? And let's ask for a motion.

This is an ADA-accessible cart that would allow those voting from their vehicles to not only have privacy, but have the ability to move the machine from left to right, up and down. So this particular piece of equipment is being acquired from Election System and Software, who's also our voting machine manufacturer.

Is there a motion? So moved. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez, second by Commissioner Clay Foese. Any further question or comment?

Commissioner Moody. This is one that I did get direct feedback on from election judges that are out there in Precinct 3. They didn't think this was necessary. They don't think it's needed. The fact is we have these carts today for all early voting sites, I believe.

That's correct.

So we have these carts available for what would be 70% of all of our voters by the time you use them on election day, as well as early voting. We're buying another 300 carts to service all potential sites and have leftovers for election day, correct?

That's correct.

And what I heard from individual election judges is, THEY'VE HAD ON ELECTION DAY, SOMETIMES THEY'VE NEVER USED THE CARD OR HAD ONE OR TWO OR THREE INDIVIDUALS UTILIZE THIS CARD. AGAIN, IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF IS THIS NEEDED? OR COULD WE USE THAT GRANT FUNDING FOR SOMETHING ELSE? SO I'M NOT GOING TO SUPPORT THIS IDEA.

GOOD.

COMMISSIONER COVINGTON.

And during my service as commissioner, I have taken many folks with disabilities to vote personally and have seen some of the difficulties that they have. And the curbside opportunity is one that is cherished by those of us who take folks to the polls. Earlier in commissioner's court, we heard the Texas Kidney Foundation talk about the zip codes that had the the Opportunity Zone were comprised of 50% of healthcare elements. And so it may be that because there is a 20-year difference in life expectancy in the north side versus the south side or the east side or the west side that the health conditions of the people who come to the elections clerks may be worse in the east side south side and west side and that's where um but you know i mean It's for everybody. Everybody's going to have that opportunity. And, of course, you know, I'll be supporting these tools and modernization. I think it's a good use of our grant funding that we've gotten through Halva. Thank you very much.

Anything else? Is there a motion? Motion by Commissioner Calvert. Second. Second by Commissioner Rodriguez. Any further discussion? Call for a vote. Oh, I think I made the point. Oh, I'm sorry. All right. Well, then, staying corrected. Commissioner Rodriguez, seconded by Commissioner Clay Flores. For the record.

We're so excited about this, we just all want to try it again.

All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed. Any abstention? Motion carries. All right. Now we are going to late file. Can we have one motion to approve discussion of appropriate action for those in 57, 58, 59, 60, 61? I believe are all late file. Approval of the late file. Motion by Commissioner Calvert, second by Commissioner Rodriguez. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion carries. We'll take up 57. Eight. Discussion of appropriate action regarding approval of grant and discretionary exemption to the competitive bidding requirements set forth in the Texas County Purchasing Act for the purpose of awarding purchase order to the election system software in the amount of $351,813 for the purchase of 350 ballot printers. pursuant to, in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 262, Subchapter C, Section 262.24, Subsection A7, authorizing the person agent to execute and file the appropriate documents for record. Ms. Crewe, I assume this is all in line with the use of the grant. So what do we bind with this particular agenda item?

So in the last commissioner's court, the approval for 350 additional poll pads to be used in the upcoming election, each poll pad must have a ballot printer attached to it in order to utilize it. There's not a way to attach multiple poll pads to one printer. So these printers are just to be used with the poll pads.

Okay, so moved. Motion by the commissioner of the election. Rodriguez, second by Commissioner Clay Flores. Any further comment? Commissioner Moody. How many ballot printers do we have today?

We have one for each poll pad. We have 1,100.

1,100. So that's almost like four per polling site?

the busier polling locations will be able to have upwards of four or five at their polling locations. The slower locations will have anywhere from one to three. When we initially purchased it last year, it was so that each location would have three, but we found that our busier locations need more. So by being able to utilize the HAVA fund to purchase the poll pads and now these ballot printers, we'll be able to provide as many as these larger precincts need, or as fewer, take away from some and give to the other. But as of right now, this will prevent from having two separate lines. When I visited the poll sites, I saw people waiting in line to log in to a poll pad and then waiting to use a machine. I'm trying to think of the terminology that I always talk about, but it's not coming to me. So there's basically two lines in a polling location. By giving additional polling pads for them to check in and additional voting equipment, it'll be able to streamline the voting process.

And how many have we had in the past?

Prior to when?

Three years ago.

Three years ago, there was one laptop per location. So when the voters were waiting in line upwards of three or four hours, it was due to the fact that they had one laptop that they could sign in on. And then they would sign on a paper form showing that they signed in. Now what we're doing is we're streamlining it to where they can have multiple check-in stations to prevent any type of bottlenecks that could be occurring.

So we went from one to four or five?

We went from one to three. One of those units is for curbside only, which would allow us to go to the curbside voter, have them check in and sign there.

Again, I just think it's kind of overkill and I wish we could have talked through this plan in more detail before court. No further questions.

Any other comments, questions? Call for a vote. All those in favor, call for a motion. Yes. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez, Commissioner Clay Flores. All those in favor, say an aye. Aye. Any opposed? No. Any abstention? Motion carries. Is that it?

I have one more.

One more. Which one?

58.

58? Okay. Oh, that's why I couldn't. 58-8. Discussion. Appropriate action regarding discretionary exemption to the competitive bidding requirements set forth. Texas County Purchase Act for the purpose of awarding purchase order election system software in the amount of $125,100 for the purchase of 1,004 gigabytes USB drives pursuant to and in accordance with Texas Local Government Code Chapter 262, Subchapter C, Section 262.24, Subsection A7, authorizing the person to execute and file the appropriate documents for record. Ms. Carew.

Yes, these USB drives are proprietary to our voting equipment. After looking at previous purchases, these are the original USBs that were purchased back in 2019. If you recall on election night, there is a slowdown when it comes to processing the voted ballots. And a lot of it has to do with the age of our equipment. In the last commissioner's court, you guys approved a complete DO OVER IN OUR TABULATION ROOM WITH NEW EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING THE TABULATION EQUIPMENT, THIS WILL ALSO HELP SPEED THAT UP. SO OUR EQUIPMENT WE HAVE IS FAILING, AND THIS IS JUST TO REPLACE WHAT WAS PURCHASED BACK IN 2019.

MOVE FOR APPROVAL.

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CLAYFLORES, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? COMMISSIONER COWARD, LET'S START WITH YOU.

I DO HAVE TO ASK ONE QUESTION, BECAUSE THE WORD FAILING, RIGHT? I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S FAILING?

So, for example, when they come in at nighttime and we're reading these USBs into our tabulation equipment, they were corrupt. Luckily, our voting equipment requires two. One is a backup in case the first one fails. And we're noticing more and more that they are failing, which means we then have to go out to the warehouse, pull out their supplies, and run off of their duplicate. So we're just trying to refresh what we currently have.

Well, let me hurry up and vote for this. Anything else?

Question. Commissioner Moody. So you're saying the thumb drives are failing or the equipment?

We have a little bit of everything that's failing. So in the last purchase that we did in the last commissioner's court, it was to trade in some of our express votes. that for some unknown reason just don't turn on when they get to the polling location. We've had ES&S come in and review all of our equipment, double check it, and some of them are just old. When I asked them for the, how long do one of these last? They said it depends on the amount of usage. And so our usage is high when we have back to back to back elections, upwards of five or six in one calendar year. They're just run down.

Doesn't seem like you use the USB drives that often with elections.

Well, I would encourage you to come to our office to see how we use our equipment. I think it would help bring some light to the questions that you're asking.

I would love to. Why are these proprietary?

I actually brought a letter from ES&S that I just received this morning from them that gives a breakdown to it. Like you, I asked, why do these cost $1,250 each? And they're only allowed to be used with our voting equipment. So I have a copy for everybody that I... can get over to you, but the letter came directly from the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of ES&S that talks about these thumb drives are industrial-grade quality and contain certain security features, which include unique hardware identified specifically for the use of the ES&S equipment.

Anything else? Well, it's clearly a problem if we get trapped in the proprietary, like, Ancillary equipment like this because you can go to Walmart and get these things for four bucks apiece Versus what are they charging 125 apiece or more?

No further questions Commissioner so I just want to back up for a second because I Our election integrity and safety is also governed by the state. And when you certify equipment, you're certifying the system and certifying that it's encrypted and safe and so on and so forth. So we couldn't take a... jump drive from Walmart and utilize it in these machines because it's not certified. And I don't think the ES&S would attest to the same results. And that creates a whole avalanche of issues. But I also know that some of these jump drives, don't they have a certain way they lock into the machine and activate certain things?

Each one of the jump drives has a serial number. So when we distribute our equipment, we know which serial numbers went to which location. And when they come back, we have to verify that what we sent them is what they brought back. So there's several checks and balances when it comes to tabulating the votes on election night. As I mentioned, they are proprietary. They do have certain specifics that only we can use them for that particular, and they were certified by the state. I can just tell you from my previous experience, even using the competitor of Hart InterCivic, theirs are the exact same way.

So there's a great five-minute, if anybody ever wants to look at it, there's a great five-minute video on the S&S's website about the security functions of the voting machines, and that will kind of give at least nine different things that are trying to keep that very important data safe. So, like I said, I need to hurry up and vote for this. Thank you, Judge.

Any further comments, questions? Did we have a motion on the floor? Whose motion was it? Was it Commissioner Cliff Loris? All right. And second by Commissioner Rodriguez. All right. All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed?

No.

Any abstention? Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Crewe. I think that concludes your presentations. 59-8. Discussion of appropriate action regarding approval of the request for County Judge Peter Sakai to appoint the following individual to the listed board commissioned to the terms specified. It's my honor and privilege to appoint Marcus Prim, replacing Mr. Christopher Sandels, to the Military and Veterans Service Board, as I indicated indicated earlier they're an integral part by bylaws on the selection of the military veterans directorship motion by Commissioner Rodriguez second by Commissioner Clay Flores any further discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying aye aye any opposed any abstention motion carries congratulations Mr. Marcus Priam I hope you'll there'll be and for the record this was not my idea no it wasn't this was all Judge Sakai it was all mine He is a veteran.

He is a veteran.

All right. Item 60A, discussion of appropriate action regarding approval of interlocal cooperation agreement between Bexar County, City of San Antonio to provide funds to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office in the amount of $190,400. for the reimbursement of Bexar County Services Goods Eligible Texas Anti-Gang Center grant received by City of San Antonio for travel, training, the leases for 12 vehicles by BCSO, and technology effective on approval of the agreement. I think Chief, I saw Chief Sanford. There you are. I think this is merely a ratification, or not a ratification, but an interlocal agreement that we already have in existence. So, Chief, if there's any questions or comments that you wish to make, I think this is a long-standing program, correct?

It has been, Judge.

And very successful, correct?

It has been, and it's merely a reimbursement.

Got it.

Motion approved, Judge.

Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez. Second by Commissioner Clay Flores. Any questions or comments? All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Motion carries. Did you want to say anything, Chief? Or Chief? Or Chief?

It's good afternoon.

We still got some sheriff stuff, so Chief, see y'all, y'all.

I get to go, though.

Yeah, we got, yeah, but Chief Sandberg, thank you. Yes, sir. And thank you for your involvement with the Family Violence Collaborative Commission of Family Violence. You're one of the voices that are still there, and you still advocate, especially from the perspective of law enforcement, from the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, which I really appreciate, and you kind of have been a leader and an advocate for the victims of family violence, and thank you. So I'd like to give her a round of applause. Chief, I wish that we'd done it at the front. You'd have had a lot more blog.

No, thank you. We still have a lot of work to do. We do have a lot of work. But I think we're making progress.

You're welcome. All right. 61A, discussion, appropriate action regarding approval of Second Amendment to the Opioid Mitigation Grant Agreement between Bexar County, San Antonio, and Nexus Connection. in order to extend the term to April 30th, 2027, with total unchanged not to exceed amount of $489,480 from the Bexar County Opioid Settlement Fund. Dr. Querido.

Hi, thank you, Judge, Commissioners. This is another request for an extension on a contract that was previously awarded from the Opioid Settlement Fund. San Antonio Nexus Connection provides a number of harm reduction strategies aimed at reducing substance use.

Is there a motion? Motion approved. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez. Second by Commissioner Clay Flores. Any further discussion or comments? All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposition? Any abstention? Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you. All right. I need a little bit, I believe, Kate. All we have left are two items for our executive session. That is item 51 and 62. And so court, I'm suggesting that we keep going. We do have, I believe, lunch, Kate. So could we have the court come back with its lunch and have staff Is that appropriate? I know that commissioners like sitting with staff and with lunch. I don't know if staff enjoys with commissioners, but it's always appreciated. So is that approved? So we're going to now, Larry, help me out. We have some matters, I believe. Don't we have to get a motion to go on executive session in regards to... Is it deliberation regarding the contract being negotiation under 64A? All right, we need a unanimous approval to go to executive session to discuss and deliberate the issues between Bexar County, San Antonio Livestock Exposition, and the Coliseum Advisory Board. Is there a motion to that effect? Second. Second by Commissioner Clay Flores. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposition? Any abstention? Motion unanimously carries. We'll take that into executive session. At this time I'll put on record the court will now convene into executive session. Executive session may be discussed and act upon in open session pursuant to section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code. Executive session will be held for consultation with the court's attorney for advisory guarding A, pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers in the matters of Fulmer Stewart v. Bexar County, Gonzalez v. Bexar County. B, legal issues pertaining to the following matters in which the duty of the attorney for the Bexar County under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of State Bar, Texas, clearly conflicts with the Open Meetings Act. One, legal issues related to the receipt of a notification appointment of a court coordinator, demand for release of funds by judges of the 225th, 285th District Courts, as well as consideration of potential staff and resource needs of the remaining 12 civil district court judges. Two, legal issues related to currently expired interlocal agreements between Bexar County and counties of Burnett and Kerr counties for jail services for the out-of-county detention of Bexar County inmates. Three, legal issues related to the potential retention of outside legal counsel to assist Bexar County and the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office with obtaining a H-1B visa. Related immigration services as necessary for the recruitment of a medical examiner position and pursuant to 551-0725 of the Texas Government Code to deliberate matters related to contract being negotiated specifically. I believe I have noted that for the record. The time is now. 1220 and the court will recess its open meeting and reconvene but let's go ahead and take a break and get 51 62 but we're going to do 62 first hello did we get wake up hey Yeah, but they're moving up there. There we go. All right. Times 117 p.m. We're back in the open session. We'll take up agenda item 62, discussion of appropriate action related to the receipt of a notification of appointment of a court coordinating demand for release of funds by the judge of the 225th and 285th district courts. As well as consideration of the potential staffing and resources needed of the remaining 12 civil district court judges. Mr. Robeson, on 62. Is there any action to take or anything to put on record?

Thank you, Judge. I think Assistant County Manager Thomas Guevara is going to address that item.

Thank you, Judge. Yes, just to report out to commissioners, on June 10th, the county manager responded to both Judge Nieto and Judge Hortick regarding their resource request. He has since assigned a team to conduct a review for operational staffing and resource considerations. Again, just as a reminder, our staff's review is meant to be both collaborative and with minimal intrusiveness to the court's operations. So I'm pleased to report that both Judge Hortek and Judge Nieto have positively responded to the manager's letter. And so we've scheduled time to meet with both of them individually next week. Our team has introduced ourselves. Again, the county staff, we remain committed to conducting that review in the most efficient manner to ensure that the Commissioner's Court receives a complete and accurate understanding before making any policy or budgetary decisions. And again, once we review, complete our review, we'll bring back to Commissioner's Court for consideration. Next court meeting, which is July 7th. So that's the goal here.

So no action required today, correct? No action. All right. Let's then take up then 51. Discussion. Appropriate action regarding a request for Berk County Sheriff's Office to pay for physical 26 invoices that are listed therein. And I believe there'll be an amendment to that motion. Commissioner Rodriguez?

Yes, Judge. I have a motion that I'd like to make to approve the listed costs with the exception of the Kerr and Burnett items, which will be deferred until the July 7th meeting with instructions to staff to bring back an appropriate amendment to the agreements related to those items.

That's the motion.

I'll second, but is anyone here for the Sheriff's Office? I have some questions.

Is the sheriff, the chief still here? I don't believe the sheriff's here, but are the chiefs still here? I didn't see them.

I mean, if not, I'll just ask the sheriff to reach out to me because I have questions about this.

So on the record, Commissioner Clay Flores has made a request to the sheriff's office.

They're gone?

Yeah. All right. Any further discussion on this motion? All those in favor, signal by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Motion carried. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Motion by Commissioner Rodriguez. Second by Commissioner Calvert. Commissioner Clay Flores.

I'd like to adjourn in memory of a college classmate who died of colon cancer, Patricia Zavala, and also in memory of Eva Torres.

Commissioner Rodriguez. Thank you, Judge. I would like to adjourn in the name of Carlos M. Mujica, one of the Rafael Consejo members, very active, and his wife, also Jennifer Salazar Mujica.

Commissioner Calvin. Thank you, Judge. I'd like to adjourn in honor of John Barry Stevens. He was an ESD 11 vice president, an appointed commissioner, done a lot of great work, and he'll be missed. Daniel Walker, Leon Thomas, Janelle Halston, Judge Alan Warwick Sr. passed away. It was a trailblazer in San Antonio. Alvin Xavier Waters, Joseph Hudson III, and Willie Belva Arch Jr. Did Commissioner Moody have any memorials?

All right, I'll join in with Carlos and Jessica Mojica. What a tragic loss. My sympathies to the family and the children of Carlos and Jessica, and I'll also join in with Judge Alan Wark, a lawyer, a judge, a good person. So with that, all those in favor of the motion to adjourn, say aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Motion granted.

Have a good day. Good meeting.