* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] DID SHE MISS A PICTURE? YEAH. OH, DAMNIT . [2. Meeting called to Order The AACOG Board of Directors is meeting in accordance with Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code (Open Meetings Act). As such, the Board of Directors reserves the right to retire into executive session concerning any of the items listed on this Agenda whenever it is considered necessary and legally justified under the Texas Open Meetings Act.] IT'S COMING TO ORDER. IT IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH THE 27TH, 2024. IT'S A LITTLE AFTER 10 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. AND THE ALAMO AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING IS NOW IN SESSION. UH, AND WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL HAVE A ROLL CALL. SUZIE, JUDGE KELLY. HERE. MAYOR DENNIS. HERE. COMMISSIONER CALVER. AMY PUTNEY FOR COMMISSIONER CALVER. JUDGE CAMACHO. GREG CALLO FOR JUDGE CAMACHO. COMMISSIONER CARPENTER. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER RE JUDGE. CO COMMISSIONER GLASSY FOR JUDGE COO. MAYOR DE HERE. MAYOR DODGEN. JUDGE EVANS. HERE. MAYOR EKER. HERE. COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA JEAN RODRIGUEZ FOR HER COUNCILWOMAN GOTO. IKA SIM FOR COUNCIL MCG. MR HAS LOCKER. JIMMY HAS LOCKER FOR JIMMY HAS WALKER. JUDGE ED KEY HERE. JUDGE JONES. HERE. MISS JUDGE KRAUSE IS EXCUSE. MS. LEWIS. ANGELA RODRIGUEZ. FOR LISA LEWIS. JUDGE. REPRESENTATIVE MENENDEZ. HERE, GONZALEZ. REPRESENTATIVE MENENDEZ OFFICE. COMMISSIONER MOODY, KRIS SKIS WITH COMMISSIONER MOODY. REPRESENTATIVE MURR KELLY EARLY FOR REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL. MAYOR SCHROEDER. COUNCILMAN BRADLEY? HERE. JUDGE LAR. JUDGE TEAL. HERE. MR. BASQUEZ. MR. VALVIA, JUDGE WHITMAN, UH, COMMISSIONER KING. FILLING IN FOR JUDGE WHITMAN. YOU MAYOR WILLIAMS IS EXCUSED. REPRESENTATIVE IAN VERONICA, REPRESENTATIVE MR. HOFFMAN. HERE. REPRESENTATIVE TEMPLE, WE HAVE A QUORUM. GOOD. AND IF YOU WOULD PLEASE RISE TO THE PLEDGES PLEDGE ANCE, THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD ON THE REASONABLE WITH LIBERTY, POSSESS FRAUD ON TEXAS FLAG P TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER SEATED MAYOR. THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA OR PUBLIC COMMENTS, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS TODAY? VERY WELL. THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST. ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST BEING NONE. WE'LL MOVE ON, UH, TO THE PRESENTATIONS. ITEM [7. Solar Eclipse of April 8, 2024 - Dawn Davies, Night Sky Program Manager, Hill Country Alliance ] NUMBER SEVEN IS THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF APRIL 8TH, 2024. MS. DAVIES, LAST TIME I GAVE THIS ONE OF THESE TALKS, ASKED PEOPLE IN THE ROOM, RAISE YOUR HAND IF THEY HAD A PRESENTATION ON THE ECLIPSE. I PROBABLY HAVEN'T. AND THEY ALL WENT UP AND I SAID, HOW MANY HAVE HAD MORE THAN ONE? AND THEY ALL WENT UP. SO I KNOW EVERYBODY'S HAD PRESENTATIONS ON THE ECLIPSE, BUT WE NEED THE LAST MINUTE REMINDERS TO SO WE STAY ON TRACK. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. THERE'S SO MUCH, MUCH FOR HAVING HERE TODAY. SO AT THE LAST TIME I PRESENTED HERE ON THIS ECLIPSE, WE WERE 200, AND NOW WE'RE 12. NOT THAT ANYONE ABOUT TODAY. ALRIGHT, SO I WILL ASK, JUST 'CAUSE I, I KNOW WE DO HAVE SOME, SOME NEW FOLKS. SO HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE EVER OBSERVED A TOTAL SOLAR CLIPS? OKAY, WELL GOOD, THEN THIS WILL BE A BENEFICIAL PRIMER. SO ON THE SCREEN, NOW, MIND, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THAT YOU SHOULD EVER USE YOUR EYES UNSHIELDED TO LOOK AT THE SUN. BUT THIS IS GONNA GIVE YOU A BIT OF AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE IF YOU ARE ON A PATH OF, SO A FEW THINGS TO NOTE ARE ALL THE CHANGES, CHANGES IN LIGHT, IT'S GOING TO GET DIMMER LIGHT'S, GOING TO GET MORE MEAT MUTED IN COLOR. SHADOWS ARE GONNA BECOME SHARPER. ANIMALS WILL STOP BUSTLING ABOUT YOU WON'T HEAR MANY BIRDS, IF ANY. AND AS WE APPROACH TOTALITY, YOU'RE GONNA START HEARING A LOT MORE NOCTURNAL BIRD OR NOCTURNAL ANIMALS. THAT'S OKAY. UM, ANOTHER SURPRISING FACTOR FACTOR IS THE TEMPERATURE CAN DROP BETWEEN BETWEEN 10 TO 20 DEGREES, WHICH IS WONDERFUL. IT HAPPENS, HAPPENS TO BE PARTICULARLY WARM DAY. AND THEN THERE ARE AMAZING THINGS THAT, THAT HAPPEN DURING TOTALITY. UH, A LOT OF RESEARCH RESEARCHERS, A LOT OF SCIENTISTS, UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS ARE COMING TO CENTRAL [00:05:01] TEXAS, COMING TO HILL COUNTRY ON THE PATH OF TOTALITY BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT THEY CAN CONDUCT IN A LABORATORY. WE CAN'T ARTIFICIALLY RECREATE A TOTAL SOLAR CLIP. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS EXPECT EXPECTED HERE. ANOTHER THING WE'D BE SURPRISED BY, BY IS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE MULTIPLE PLANTS UP IN THE SKY. SO YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE SOME OF OUR BRIGHTER PLANET, IT'S LIKE JUPITER AND SATURN, AND WE EVEN HAVE A COMMENT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SEE DURING TOTALITY. SO IT'S A VERY EXCITING ECLIPSE OUTSIDE OF, YOU KNOW, THE NORMAL, UH, EXCITEMENT AROUND A, A TOTAL EVENT LIKE THIS. SO WE HAVE POINTS OF CONTACT AND WHERE THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND A LOT OF YOU MOST LIKELY EXPERIENCE THE ANNULAR CLIPS ON OCTOBER, UM, AT WHICH THERE'S NO TIME. IT WAS SAFE TO TAKE OFF YOUR SOLAR GLASSES. IF YOU'RE ON THE PATH OF TOTALITY, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU TAKE THEM OFF DURING TOTALITY. NOW, THAT MAY SEEM LIKE A SILLY COMMENT TO MAKE, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT I'VE HEARD OF WHO HAVE LEFT THEIR GLASSES ON DURING THE PERIOD OF TOTALITY AND HAVE MISSED THE ENTIRE PHENOMENON TOGETHER. ALSO, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT DURING THE ECLIPSE LEADING UP TO TOTALITY AND AFTER TOTALITY, WHEN IT'S IN ITS PARTIAL PHASE, YOU MUST WEAR YOUR SOLAR GLASSES TO LOOK AT THE SUN SAFELY. BUT THAT'S THE ONLY TIME YOU NEED TO WEAR THEM. IF YOU'RE WALKING AROUND SOCIALIZING WITH FRIENDS, YOU NEED TO TAKE THEM OFF. SO YOU CAN SEE, AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE GONNA LAUGH. BUT THESE SORT OF THINGS COME UP. ALTHOUGH I'M VERY HAPPY TO SAY THAT THIS IS, UH, OUT OF, YOU KNOW, THE EVENTS OF 2017 AND THE COMMENTS I GOT, I HAVE YET TO HAVE SOMEBODY ACTUALLY ASK ME, UM, IF I COULD CHANGE THE SCHEDULE OF THE ECLIPSE BECAUSE IT'S INCONVENIENT. WE HAD A LOT OF THOSE IN 2017. SO JUST TO KIND, OH, THERE WE GO. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF SCIENCE BEHIND IT. THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE WE ARE PERFECTLY ALIGNED WITH OUR SUN AND WITH OUR MOON. THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN, BUT IT'S NOT RARE. SO TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES, AS YOU MOST LIKELY KNOW, THEY HAPPEN ABOUT EVERY 18 MONTHS ON THE PLANET. SO AGAIN, NOT RARE, BUT WHAT IS EXCEPTIONALLY RARE, WHAT IS VERY UNIQUE IS THE FACT THAT WE LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL TO SEA ONE. AND IN FACT, IF YOU LIVE ON THE PATH OF TOTALITY, IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE AMOUNT OF TOTALITY YOU ARE GOING TO GET BASED ON WHERE YOU PLAN TO BE, DON'T LEAVE. AND I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF WHY. SO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO, UH, FROM OUR ANNUAL ECLIPSE LAST OCTOBER IS THE MOON IS CLOSER TO US. SO IT COMPLETELY OBSCURES THE SUN. UM, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WEARING THE SOLAR GLASSES IS SO IMPORTANT DURING THE REGULAR DAYTIME, OUR SUN IS ANYWHERE FROM HALF A MILLION TO A MILLION TIMES BRIGHTER THAN OUR FULL MOON. BUT DURING TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE, IT ACTUALLY IS JUST THE BRIGHTNESS OF THAT FULL MOON. SO THAT'S WHY WE CAN WEAR IT SAFELY. SO PATH OF THE ECLIPSE, VERY IMPORTANT. YOU MUST BE BETWEEN THOSE TWO ORANGE LINES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TOTALITY. IDEALLY, AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN GET TO THE CENTER LINE, WE'LL EXTEND THE AMOUNT OF PERIOD OF TIME THAT YOU HAVE. FOR TOTALITY, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN COMMUNITIES LIKE SAN ANTONIO AND THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, BECAUSE WHILE PART OF THE CITY AND A VERY SMALL PART OF THE CITY IS ON THE PATH OF TOTALITY, THE REST OF THE CITY IS NOT. SO WE'RE WORKING VERY DILIGENTLY WITH NEWS, RADIO MEDIA TO TRY TO COMMUNICATE WHERE YOU NEED TO BE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE. IF YOU ARE NOT WITHIN THAT PATH OF TOTALITY, IF YOU'RE EVEN JUST ON THE EDGE, 99.9% IS NOT TOTALITY. MY FAVORITE ANALOGY SO FAR IS BEING WITHIN 99.9% RIGHT ON THAT EDGE. AND NOT EXPERIENCING TOTALITY IS LIKE THROWING ALL OF YOUR KIDS IN A CAR, DRIVING TO ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UP TO THE GATES OF DISNEY WORLD AND TURNING BACK AROUND. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO YOURSELF? SO GET TO THE PATH OF TOTALITY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. AND HERE'S ANOTHER REASON WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. SO WE HAD 18 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES THAT CROSSED AT LEAST ONE, IF NOT MULTIPLE STATES IN THE US IN THE 20TH CENTURY. NONE OF THEM WERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. AND IN THE 21ST CENTURY, WE HAVE FOUR. WE HAVE STARTING WITH THIS ECLIPSE, WHICH IS CROSSING 85 OUT OF THE 234 COUNTIES IN THE STATE. BUT AFTER THAT, 2045 IS THE NEXT TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE. AND AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE MAP, IT IS A TINY PORTION OF THE NORTHEAST PANHANDLE. THE NEXT TWO, UH, 2052 AND 2078, UH, WHICH ARE CROSSING THE VERY TINY SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE. UM, BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE COMING ANYWHERE NEAR SAN ANTONIO UNTIL THE YEAR 2343. SO IF YOU'RE NOT LOOKING TO TRAVEL OUT OF THE STATE OR UP INTO THESE PORTIONS OF THE STATE OVER THE NEXT 50 PLUS YEARS. SO YOU'RE NOT LOOKING TO TRAVEL OUT INTO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY TO SEE ONE OF THESE, UH, OR YOU KNOW, OUT INTO THE WORLD. THIS IS THE EVENT. IN FACT, [00:10:01] OVER JUST THE NEXT 50 YEARS, UH, WE WILL HAVE VERY FEW, IF ANY OPPORTUNITIES IN NORTH AMERICA. AND THE MOST TIME THAT NORTH AMERICA SHOWS UP ON THIS LIST IS USUALLY IN CANADA OR ALASKA. SO NOWHERE NEAR OUR SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTRY, IN FACT, OVER THE REMAINDER OF THIS MILLENNIA, NOT EVEN VERY MANY OPPORTUNITIES. SO NOW IS THE TIME. AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, MOST OF THIS, UH, REGION IS, IS ON THE PATH OF TOTALITIES. YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT RED LINE ON THE MAP DELINEATES THE FARTHEST EDGE OF THE PATH, AND THAT BLUE LINE IS YOUR CENTER LINE. AND SOME PRETTY GOOD TIMES ALL AROUND. WE DO HAVE SOME COUNTIES, SOME COMMUNITIES THAT ARE NOT ON THE PATH. BUT THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS ECLIPSE IS THAT EVERY SINGLE STATE IN OUR NATION, MOST OF ALL OF THE STATES WILL HAVE FULL COVERAGE. I THINK ALASKA ONLY HAS A, A VERY SMALL PORTION OF THE STATE, BUT ALL OF THE STATES, ALL OF CANADA, ALL OF MEXICO, ALL OF CENTRAL AMERICA, PRETTY MUCH ALL OF NORTH AMERICA GETS TO EXPERIENCE THIS IN ONE RESPECT OR ANOTHER. AND IF FOLKS CAN'T, YOU KNOW, GET TO THE PATH OF TOTALITY, PARTIALS ARE STILL DECENT BUT THEY'RE NOT TOTALITY. SO AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, YOU KNOW, THIS COMES WITH A LOT OF GREAT OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE FIELDS OF RESEARCH EDUCATION. THIS IS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO EXPOSE YOUTH AND STUDENTS TO, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS SPACE SCIENCES, HELIOPHYSICS, UM, ASTRONOMY. IT'S A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITIES TO, TO BOLSTER THEIR FUNDING, THEIR FINANCES. WE HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, POSTING ABOUT THIS EVENT AD NAUSEUM ON SOCIAL MEDIA, MULTIPLE NEWS OUTLETS. YOU KNOW, IT HAS ALREADY BEGUN. AND THE PRESS THAT WE GET FOR THIS EVENT LOCALLY, STATEWIDE, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, IS GOING TO BE RATHER PHENOMENAL. THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS TO OBSERVE THE ECLIPSE BOTH DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY. UM, OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO EDUCATE FOLKS OF ON WEARING THE SAFE SOLAR GLASSES, BUT ALSO OTHER WAYS THAT THEY CAN VIEW THE ECLIPSE. UH, WHETHER IT'S WITH A COLANDER, THOSE ARE VERY POPULAR. I EXPECT A PRETTY BIG RUN ON, UH, COLANDERS IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO. UM, DOWN TO EVEN MY FAVORITE, WHICH IS USING A RITZ CRACKER. PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING WITH A HOLE IN IT. AND IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE A CIRCLE. IT COULD BE A SQUARE, IT COULD BE A SLOT. IT'S GOING TO PROJECT THESE WONDERFUL CRESCENT ON THE GROUND. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF VISUALS THAT WE GET TO EXPERIENCE OUTSIDE ON EITHER SIDE OF TOTALITY. AND WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OTHER TELESCOPIC WAYS. BUT THE ONE IMPORTANT THING I WANT TO ESTABLISH, IF YOU ARE A PHOTOGRAPHER, IF YOU HAVE A FANCY NEW TOP OF THE LINE, IPHONE OR ANDROID, NO MATTER WHAT TECHNOLOGY YOU HAVE TO PHOTOGRAPH OR RECORD THIS ECLIPSE, YOU MUST HAVE A SAFE SOLAR FILTER ON IT, ON YOUR EQUIPMENT, ON YOUR EYES. IT'S NOT WORTH TAKING THE RISK OTHERWISE. AND THE LAST THING YOU WANNA DO IS DAMAGE THAT, DAMAGE THAT VERY EXPENSIVE CAMERA OR THAT VERY EXPENSIVE PHONE, WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH JUST A GLORIFIED CAMERA WITH MAKES PHONE CALLS. ANOTHER GREAT THING ABOUT THIS ECLIPSE IS WHAT IT HAS DONE. AND COMING OUT OF 2017, WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE? SO SAN ANTONIO HAS ACTUALLY HOSTED, UM, AT UTSA AND AT THIS KBI CENTER TO BUILDING WORKSHOPS TO CREATE WHAT ARE CALLED LIGHT SOUND DEVICES. AND THESE ARE DEVICES THAT SONIFY THE ECLIPSE EXPERIENCE. IT TAKES THE AMBIENT LIGHT AND IT CREATES IT INTO SOUND. SO IT STARTS AS A HIGH PITCH FLUTE SOUND, AND AS WE GET CLOSER TO TOTALITY, IT CREATES A LOW CLARINET. AND WHAT THIS IS DOING IS THIS IS MAKING AN EVENT LIKE THIS ACCESSIBLE TO THE BLIND, LOW VISION AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED COMMUNITIES. WE HAVE OVER 950 OF THESE HAVE BEEN BUILT AND DISTRIBUTED, AND A LARGE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY AND THROUGHOUT THE REGION. THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY TO TAKE PART IN COMMUNITY SCIENCE FOR OUR YOUTH, FOR INDIVIDUALS, YOU KNOW, THAT HAVE SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS OR JUST WANNA PROVIDE PHOTOGRAPHS, VIDEO, OR EVEN WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF WHAT THEY EXPERIENCED. UM, AND ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS ALSO ON OUR PORTAL, WHICH I'LL SHOW YOU SHORTLY. SO THE CHALLENGES, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF THEM. I KNOW BOTH THE TIMES I'VE PRESENTED HERE. I'VE, UH, GIVEN A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON MY FIRST EXPERIENCE, WHICH WAS IN 2017, AND CASPER, WYOMING, WHICH WAS A PHENOMENAL OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND AN UNFORTUNATELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, ABOUT TWO MINUTES AND 17 SECONDS UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ECLIPSE. I'M AN ASTRONOMER, SO I HAD GEAR PACKED EVERYTHING UP, WENT AND HAD LUNCH WITH THE FOLKS I WAS WITH AND STARTED MY TREK BACK TO AUSTIN. [00:15:01] AND FROM CASPER TO CHEYENNE, IT'S A 200 MILE DRIVE AND IT TOOK ME ALMOST 10 HOURS. YEAH. AND I'M, I'M FROM THE BAY AREA. I KNOW TRAFFIC NEVER LIKE THIS. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE IN THE COMMUNITIES, ESPECIALLY IN OUR MORE RURAL COMMUNITIES. THOSE WITH VERY LIMITED ACCESS ON ROADS. WE ALSO ALL KNOW THAT THE HILL COUNTRY, CENTRAL TEXAS, NOTORIOUS FOR HAVING VERY SMALL SHOULDERS. WE'VE GOT BEAUTIFUL BLUE BONNETS OUT. SO THERE'S A TREMENDOUS CONCERN WITH REGARDS TO CARS PULLING OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, CARS STOPPING ON THE ROAD, CARS PULLING OVER THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND POTENTIALLY CAUSING FIRES. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE EXPECTED HERE, AND A LOT OF THEM HAVE NEVER BEEN TO TEXAS, HAVE NEVER DRIVEN IN TEXAS, DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT BEING HERE IN TEXAS. SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THESE COMMUNITIES TO REALLY IMPLEMENT A LOT OF EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS. ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN IN REGULAR CONTACT MEETING WITH THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAMS, WITH REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. UH, WE'VE BEEN INSTRUCTING OUR RESIDENTS TO MAKE THEIR PURCHASES NOW AS FAR AS GROCERIES, FUEL, GET THEIR PRESCRIPTIONS EARLY, MAKE SURE IF ANYBODY IN THIS ROOM HAS AN APPOINTMENT FOR LIKE THE DOCTOR OR THE DENTIST ON MONDAY, THE EIGHTH CALL RIGHT AFTER THIS MEETING, RESCHEDULE NOT EVEN TILL THE NINTH, LIKE RESCHEDULE TILL AT LEAST THE 10TH. UM, BUT WORKING TO LET THEM KNOW, GET YOUR RESOURCES NOW. FILL UP ON YOUR FUEL NOW TO GIVE THOSE BUSINESSES AND THOSE, UH, DISTRIBUTION CENTERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REPLENISH THE SUPPLY FOR THE VISITORS COMING IN. WE DO ANTICIPATE ALSO A HEAVY DRAW ON OUR CELL SERVICE. SO MINIMIZING THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. WE'RE TELLING FOLKS TO GO VERY OLD SCHOOL. AND WHEN I SAY THAT, I'M NOT TALKING PRE COVID, I'M TALKING, LET'S GO 20TH CENTURY, PRINT OUT YOUR MAPS, GO GET CASH. 'CAUSE MOST PLACES, ESPECIALLY IN OUR RURAL COMMUNITIES, ARE GONNA HAVE A HARD TIME DOING TRANSACTIONS THAT REQUIRE WIRELESS OR INTERNET CAPABILITIES, UH, LET ALONE TRYING TO USE THEIR PHONE GPS TO GET DIRECTIONS. I ACTUALLY WAS VERY HAPPY THAT I CARRY A RAN MCNALLY SET OF MAPS IN MY CAR BECAUSE IT GAVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF A WORK AROUND IN THE BACK ROADS OF WYOMING. SO I, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY WHY I GOT BACK IN TIME TO PICK UP MY KID FROM SCHOOL. AND AGAIN, ICE SAFETY IS A BIG CONCERN. I CANNOT DRIVE THIS HOME ENOUGH. SOME REPORTS HAVE JUST COME OUT AFTER THE ANNULAR ECLIPSE THAT PEOPLE TRY TO OBSERVE IT WITHOUT SOLAR GLASSES THINKING THEY WERE PROTECTED AND HAVE PERMANENTLY BURNED THE SHAPE OF CRESCENT INTO THEIR CORNEAS. FOR SOME REASON, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY SORT OF MEDICAL ABNORMALITIES OR ISSUES COMING OUT OF THE TOTAL ECLIPSE. BUT THE ANNULAR ECLIPSE, I THINK, HAVE TRIPPED UP A FEW FOLKS. THIS IS A GENTLEMAN WHO PUT ON A PAIR OF SOLAR GLASSES CERTIFIED AND THEN LOOKED THROUGH A PAIR OF BINOCULARS. THEY WERE UNFILTERED. SO IT MIGHT BE HARD TO SEE, BUT THERE ARE TWO LITTLE PINPOINTS ON BOTH OF THOSE LENSES, AND THAT'S WHERE THE SUN BURNED THROUGH THOSE FILTERS. SO AGAIN, IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY CANNOT DRIVE THAT HOME ENOUGH. WE HAVE ALSO HEARD THAT THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF COUNTERFEIT GLASSES THAT ARE BEING SOLD RIGHT NOW. SO THEY HAVE TO HAVE THEIR CORRECT ISO CODE. IF YOU AREN'T CERTAIN, IF YOU HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND THAT ISN'T CERTAIN, IF THEIRS ARE CERTIFIED AND GOOD, TOSS THEM OUT, GET THEM CERTIFIED ONES. AGAIN, IT'S NOT WORTH TAKING THE RISK. AND OF COURSE, THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE FROM MIGRAINES TO LOSING YOUR EYESIGHT IF YOU CHOOSE TO OBSERVE UNPROTECTED. SO ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE ARE EXPECTING SO MANY FOLKS TO THIS AREA IS BECAUSE THE WEATHER, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE MAP, IS FORECAST TO BE SOME OF THE BEST OUTSIDE OF MEXICO ON THE ENTIRE PATH OF THE ECLIPSE. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY ADJUSTED PROBABLY FROM THE LAST TIME I SPOKE WITH YOU ALL BECAUSE THE, UH, METEOROLOGISTS WHO HAVE DONE THIS RESEARCH HAVE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION EL NINO FACTORS. SO WE'RE EXPECTING, IN FACT, WE'RE PLANNING, PRAYING, WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO TO WHOEVER GOD YOU BELIEVE IN THAT WE HAVE CLEAR SKIES, BUT THEY'RE ALSO COMING BECAUSE FOLKS LIKE TO PICK A SPOT THAT'S NOT ONLY GONNA BE CLEAR OR THAT HIGH CHANCE OF CLEAR SKIES, BUT ALSO SOMEPLACE THAT THEY CAN ALSO TAKE IN THE HERITAGE, THE CULTURE, THE AMBIANCE OF A COMMUNITY. AND I MEAN, IT DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN WHERE WE LIVE HERE. IT'S ALSO BLUEBONNET SEASON, WILDFLOWER SEASON PEAK BIRD MIGRATION. THE BATS ARE COMING OUT. IT'S NOT TOO HOT, IT'S NOT TOO COLD, IT'S NOT TOO HUMID. WE ARE REALLY LUCKY THIS IS HAPPENING IN TEXAS IN APRIL. BUT THE THING THAT WE DON'T KNOW OTHER THAN THE WEATHER IS HOW MANY PEOPLE TO EXPECT. SO 2017 WAS THE FIRST TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE THAT CROSSED THIS COUNTRY DURING THE DIGITAL AGE. SO WE DO AND HAVE HAD RESOURCES, UM, AND ACCESS TO REPORTS AND DOCUMENTATION, [00:20:01] BUT THOSE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. AND THE LARGEST COMMUNITY THAT WAS ON THE PATH OF TOTALITY IN 2017 WAS NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE WITH ONLY 320,000 PEOPLE. SO WE HAVE NOT HAD SOMETHING LIKE THIS CROSS ACROSS OUR COUNTRY SINCE THE INTERNET CAME ABOUT WHERE IT IS CROSSING, ESPECIALLY HERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, SO MANY LARGE MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS, IN EXCESS OF A MILLION PEOPLE, WE ARE EXPECTING AT THE VERY LEAST, OVER 1 MILLION PEOPLE COMING INTO THE STATE OF TEXAS ALONE FROM OUTSIDE OF THE STATE AND OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY. SO TO THAT END, WE CREATED THE HILL COUNTRY ECLIPSE TEAM. UM, WHEN I STARTED IN THIS POSITION WITH, UH, HILL COUNTRY ALLIANCE ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, UH, WE HAD ABOUT 200 FOLKS ON THAT TEAM. AND WE WERE JUST SHY OF 700 ACROSS 23 COUNTIES AND ABOUT 60 CITIES IN PARTICIPATION. AND THAT'S FOLKS, EVERYTHING FROM RESIDENTS TO BUSINESS OWNERS, CITY OFFICIALS, LEADERS, YOU NAME IT. ANYBODY THAT LIVES WITHIN A COMMUNITY THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE AFFECTED BY THE ECLIPSE HAS BEEN PARTICIPATING. AND WE'VE PROVIDED A LOT OF RESOURCES, INCLUDING A LOT OF WHITE PAPERS REPORTS THAT CAME OUT OF 2017. UM, WE HAVE RECORDINGS FROM ALL OF OUR QUARTERLY ROUND TABLE MEETINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN CONVENING SINCE OCTOBER OF 2020. AND WE JUST FINISHED OUR LUNCH AND LEARN SERIES YESTERDAY. UH, WE HAVE A 12 PART SERIES THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING SINCE AUGUST TO FURTHER PREPARE FOLKS FOR THIS OCCURRENCE. UM, WE ALSO HAVE A AMOUNT OF EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION, RESOURCES, ACTIVITIES INCLUDING, UH, LINKS TO ALL OF THE COMMUNITY SCIENCE PROJECTS THAT I HAD NOTED PREVIOUSLY. ONE OF THE OTHER DOCUMENTS WE HAVE, UH, THAT WE PUT TOGETHER WITH SEVERAL OF OUR PARTNERS IS THE THREE PAGE DOCUMENT ADVISING RANCHERS, LANDOWNERS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOLKS THAT HAVE A LARGE SWATH OF LAND THAT MAYBE THINK, HEY, WANNA BE SUCH A BAD IDEA, MAKE A FEW EXTRA BUCKS, OPEN IT UP FOR PARKING AND EVENT, BUT NOT REALIZING HOW MUCH THEY HAVE TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BY MAKING THEIR LAND AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC, WHETHER IT'S ACCESSIBLE BY MORE THAN JUST A HIGH CLEARANCE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE. DO THEY HAVE WASTE MANAGEMENT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION? HAVE THEY COMMUNICATED THEIR INTENTIONS WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT? DO THEY KNOW WHERE THEY CAN, UH, SEND FOLKS IF MAJOR OR MINOR MEDICAL NEEDS ARE, UH, SHOULD ARISE? SO WE'VE GOT THAT RESOURCE AVAILABLE. WE'VE ALSO BEEN PULLING FROM A LOT OF INFORMATION FROM PLACES IN 2017. CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS IS PROBABLY ONE I REFERENCED THE MOST. THEY WERE ON THE PATH IN 2017 AND THEY'RE ON THE PATH IN 12 DAYS. SO THEY, UH, WERE WONDERFUL IN PROVIDING US WITH A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED, UH, THINGS THAT THEY WISH THEY HAD DONE DIFFERENTLY AND ARE PLANNING TO DO DIFFERENTLY. BUT A LOT OF IT IS JUST VERY COMMON SENSE. UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE SOME SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES, UH, THAT RESOURCES MAY BE LIMITED AND IT MIGHT TAKE A FEW DAYS AFTER THE ECLIPSE FOR RECOVERY UNLESS OF YOUR, OF COURSE YOU'RE THE TOWN OF BURNETT THAT HAS THE ECLIPSE ON MONDAY AND BLUE BONNET FESTIVAL ON THURSDAY. I'M PRAYING FOR THEM. UH, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FOLKS AGAIN THAT ARE COMING IN THAT ARE NOT ACCUSTOMED TO BEING IN TEXAS TO DRIVING AROUND. FOLKS MAY GET LOST, FOLKS MAY NEED HELP. SO JUST UNDERSTAND YOU, YOU MIGHT NEED TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A EXTRA NEIGHBORLY, UH, GOOD DEED WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING THROUGH, UH, THE FEW DAYS PRIOR TO AND, AND THE DAYS AFTER THE ECLIPSE. WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING VERY HEAVILY WITH, UH, AS I MENTIONED, EMERGENCY SERVICES WITH EMS. UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIG FOCUSES IS GETTING INTO THE COMMUNITY, MAKING IT AVAILABLE, WHERE TO GO FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, MAKING SURE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE LARGE SCALE EVENTS HAVE EMS STATIONS HAVE MEDICAL STATIONS FIGURED OUT, MAKING SURE THAT MEDICAL FACILITIES HAVE SOME KIND OF SECURITY OR SOMEONE WATCHING OVER THEIR PARKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR PARKING IS RESERVED JUST FOR THOSE THAT REQUIRE MEDICAL SERVICES AND NOT FOLKS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR A GOOD SPOT TO PARK FOR THE ECLIPSE. UM, WE DO KNOW OF A FEW COUNTIES THAT HAVE ALREADY DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY AND WE EXPECT PROBABLY A FEW MORE WILL JUMP ON THAT LIST IN THE COMING WEEK AND A HALF THAT WE HAVE REMAINING. SO THIS JUST GIVES YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THAT HILL COUNTRY ECLIPSE TEAM PARTNERSHIP, UH, ACROSS THE BOTH PATHS IN OCTOBER, UM, AND THIS ONE NEXT MONTH. AND, UH, A FAIR NUMBER OF WHICH ARE, HAVE BEEN ON THE PATH FOR BOTH INCLUDING HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. AND THESE ARE JUST A FURTHER LIST OF THOSE PARTICIPANTS, BUT IT'S NOT BEEN JUST THOSE IN THE HILL COUNTRY OR THOSE THAT ARE EVEN ON THE PATH OF THE ECLIPSE OR TOTALITY. UH, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF FOLKS FROM OUTSIDE OF THE HILL COUNTRY PARTICIPATING IN THIS IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND COUNTIES AROUND THE STATE, AND EVEN FOLKS OUTSIDE OF STATE HAVE BEEN REGULARLY ATTENDING, EITHER BECAUSE THEY PLAN ON BEING HERE OR THEY'RE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD AND HAVE BEEN HELPING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE INFORMATION GATHERING. [00:25:02] ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. YOU, YOU SAID THAT KEEP THE GLASSES ON UNTIL IT'S TOTALITY. MM-HMM. AND THEN YOU CAN TAKE THEM OFF. YES. YES. FOR, AND THEN WE, FOR THE DURATION OF TOTALITY. SO DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE, IT COULD BE AS LITTLE AS 20 SECONDS. IT COULD BE A MAXIMUM OF FOUR MINUTES AND 20 SECONDS, 26 SECONDS. BUT IF, IF YOU'RE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE IN A LARGE CROWD, IF YOU'RE GOING OUT INTO COMMUNITY, IF YOU'RE GOING TO ONE OF THE MULTITUDE OF EVENTS IN SAN ANTONIO AROUND THE AREA, ODDS ARE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOME AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS THERE, THERE ECLIPSE ENTHUSIASTS, THEY'LL PROBABLY BE SHOUTING, SHOUTING OUT A FEW THINGS TO BE AWARE OF. WE HAVE, UH, SOME, SOME PRETTY PHENOMENAL OCCURRENCES, UH, THAT OCCUR RIGHT BEFORE TOTALITY, LIKE BABY'S BEADS, WHICH IS LIGHT THAT PIERCES THROUGH THE VALLEYS ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON THAT WE SEE IN A COLLECTION OF DOTS. UH, THE DIAMOND RING EFFECT IS THAT LAST BURST OF LIGHT. SO IF YOU HEAR A DIAMOND RING, IF YOU SEE SOMEBODY SHOUTING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE RIGHT AT TOTALITY AND IT'S GETTING READY TO TAKE THOSE GLASSES OFF. UM, BUT IF YOU'RE NOT CERTAIN, THERE ARE DEFINITELY, UH, VARIED MAPS AND RESOURCES ON OUR WEBSITE. YOU CAN LINK TO FIND OUT EXACTLY HOW MUCH TOTALITY HAVE AND WHEN THOSE TIMES ARE SPECIFIC TO YOUR LOCATION. LOCATION. AND THEN I WOULD JUST SET AN ALERT BECAUSE YOU DEFINITELY DON'T WANT, OKAY, THANK YOU. SO THE SOUTHERN PART OF MY PRECINCT WHERE I LIVE IS OUTSIDE, BUT THE NORTHWEST PART OF MY PRECINCT IS INSIDE THE TOTAL. SO IF I DRIVE TO THE OTHER PART OF MY PRECINCT, UM, IS ARE THERE ANY SUGGESTIONS IN TERMS OF TRAFFIC? LIKE SOON AS IT'S OVER, JUMP IN MY CAR AND TRY TO GET HOME. GO, JUST HANG OUT. JUST HANG OUT AND DO SOME BLOCK WALKING. SO ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE ASPECTS REGARDS TO, YOU KNOW, CHANGES IN LIGHT AND COLOR AND TEMPERATURE. TEMPERATURE, IT'S AWESOME BECAUSE IF YOU MISS THAT IN THE FIRST PART, LEADING UP TO TOTALITY, YOU WITNESS THAT AGAIN, JUST IN REVERSE AFTER TOTALITY. SO WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO, YOU KNOW, STICK AROUND. THERE'S MORE TO SEE, THERE'S MORE TO DO. WE HAVE A HIGH PERIOD OF SOLAR ACTIVITY RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS PERFECT DURING THE ECLIPSE, WHICH MEANS THERE'S A CHANCE THAT YOU COULD PUT THOSE SOLAR ECLIPSE GLASSES ON AND AFTER, YOU KNOW, DURING, DURING THE LEAD UP TO TOTALITY, AFTER YOU MIGHT SEE SUN SPOTS JUST WITH THE GLASSES BECAUSE THEY'RE THAT LARGE THESE DAYS. UM, SO YOU HAVE SAFE SOLARS OR IN TELESCOPES OF BINOCULARS. IT'S A GREAT TIME TO LOOK AT, BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. SO TRAFFIC GONNA BE LESS? NO, BUT I'M SAYING TRAFFIC WILL BE LESS RIGHT AFTER , SO I CAN, MY CAR TRAFFIC WILL BE GRIDLOCK. GRIDLOCK, PERIOD. TRAFFIC WILL. OKAY. THANK YOU. TAKE TRAFFIC FROM, FROM PRETTY MUCH TOTALITY TO SEVERAL HOURS STILL. PERIOD. OKAY. THANK YOU. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF WHERE YOUR PRECINCT IS LOCATED, BECAUSE IT'S PARTIALLY IN PERSONALLY OUT, YOU'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF FOLKS, YOU KNOW, NEEDING TO GET BACK TO WHERE THEY ARE. UM, AND ALSO TAKING INTO CONSIDER CONSIDERATION THAT SO MUCH IS HAPPENING WEST OF THIS AREA. AND AFTER, AFTER ECLIPSE, A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS ARE GONNA BE WORKING THEIR WAY BACK EAST TOWARDS THE AIRPORTS, TOWARDS THE I 35 CORRIDOR. WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING COMMUNITIES TO GO WITH THE ADAGE AND FOR THE SUN STAY FOR THE STARS. SO HAS, HAS STRAC BEEN ADVISED OR? YES. OH YES. HE'S BEEN A MAJOR PARTNER IN THIS SINCE THE BEGINNING. SO ERIC EPLEY'S INVOLVED IN THIS? MM-HMM. . OKAY. PRETTY CLEARLY IMPORTANT. WE'VE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS FOR OVER TWO YEARS. YEAH. AND I THINK FROM EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN, WE'RE AS PREPARED AS WE CAN BE, BUT THERE'S GONNA BE PROBABLY FOUR TO EIGHT HOURS OF NEAR GRIDLOCK. I I'VE SAID IT REPEATEDLY IN THE, FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS, NOT GOING ANYWHERE THERE IN MY MIND AT LEAST, AND ACTUALLY I'VE HEARD THIS FROM OTHERS THAT ARE PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELD. UH, THERE IS REALLY NOT A SINGLE BETTER PREPARED REGION THAN HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, THE COUNTRY. IT'S REALLY, UH, IT'S A, IT'S A HUGE TESTAMENT TO OUR COMMUNITIES, TO THE LEADERSHIP, TO THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE RESIDENTS. UM, I, I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING THAT FOLKS REALLY HAVE ATTENDED TO. I'M REALLY QUITE ACROSS, QUITE PROUD THE PEOPLE, THIS AREA. AREA. AND ONE THING THAT I'LL SHARE THAT WE TALK ABOUT UP IN THE HILL COUNTRY, UH, WE ARE A RURAL COUNTY, UH, AND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TRESPASS. THERE CAN BE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING TO TEXAS FOR THE FIRST TIME. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND US , WE ARE THEIR HOST. UH, AND THIS IS NOT A TIME FOR US TO GET INTO FIST FIGHT OR EXERCISE OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO GET 'EM OFF THE PROPERTY. , UH, IT'S GOING, IT'S GONNA BE FORBEARANCE. WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO ACCEPT WHAT IS, GET THROUGH IT AND, AND LEAVE SAFELY. THAT'S WHAT IT'S GONNA TAKE. I TELL PEOPLE, I TELL PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, TREAT IT LIKE WE DO IN AUSTIN WHEN IT COMES TO SOUTH BY OR A C WE WON'T YOU TO COME. WE WILL WELCOME YOU. WE WILL FEED YOU, WE WILL ENTERTAIN YOU. YOU WANT [00:30:01] YOU TO SPEND YOUR MONEY, WE WANT YOU TO GO HOME. GO HOME AT SOME POINT IN TIME, THIS, BUT THEN GO HOME, . ARE THERE LOCAL FIGURES THAT SELL THE GLASSES? YES, THERE ARE. UM, AND ACTUALLY THE ALAMO AREA STEM ECLIPSE ECOSYSTEMS TEAM AS A WEBSITE. I THINK IT'S THROUGH THE WOODY MUSEUM THAT HAS A MULTITUDE OF LISTINGS AND ALSO ON OUR ECLIPSE PORTAL PORTAL AS WELL. WE LINKED TO THE AMERICAN ASTRONAUT ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, WHICH HAS A LIST OF REPUTABLE VENDORS. THE THING IS, IS IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR GLASSES, YOU TO GRAB THEM TODAY. BUT IF YOU KNOW ANYBODY WHO NEEDS THEM STILL TELL THEM TO GET THEM NOW BECAUSE EVEN PRIOR TO ANNULAR, I, I HAD A GENTLEMAN FROM SAM MARCUS DRIVE UP IN DRIPPING SPRINGS TO OUR OFFICE THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE ANNULAR FOR FIVE PAIRS. 'CAUSE HE COULDN'T FIND THEM ANYWHERE. WE HAVE PLENTY. YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER YOU NEED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU DON. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, LET'S GET BACK ON OUR AGENDA. NEXT ITEM IS, UM, NUMBER EIGHT, THE EXECUTIVE [8. Executive Director’s Monthly Report - Cliff Herberg A. Staffing Updates: B. Program Status and Operational Updates: Agency Contract Performance Report (CPR) Aging Services Alamo Regional Transit (ART) Environmental Conservation Intellectual & Developmental Disability Services (IDDS) Military & Veterans Affairs Natural Resources Public Affairs & Communications Public Safety Regional Services Weatherization Assistance Program C. Organizational and General Administration Updates: Building Update Administration Policy Review Chief Financial Officer General Counsel] DIRECTOR'S MONTHLY REPORT. AND HE BROUGHT HIS REPORT WITH HIM. YES, I REMEMBER. THANK YOU FOR RUBBING SALT IN MY WORDS . BUT, UH, AS DAWN SAID, AND AS YOU SEEN, WE DO HAVE THE GLASSES IN THE MARKET. NOT YOUR QUESTION SAW. THE GLASSES ARE BEING SOLD AT HOME DEPOT. SO EVEN THEY AVAILABLE EVEN THERE. OH, AND WHILE WE HAVE YOUR ENGINEER, WHILE GET MYSELF ADJUSTED HERE, PLEASE DON'T FORGET YOUR P MEDALS. SO WE'VE GOT A BOWL OF THEM HERE FOR ALL OF YOU. YOU HAVEN'T GOT 'EM ALREADY. PLEASE GET YOUR PSTA MEDAL. AND I HAVE TO GET A SHOUT OUT TO OUR STAFFER QUEZ, WHO WORKS IN OUR ACADEMY POLICE ACADEMY. UH, SHE DESIGNED THAT METAL. OH WOW. SO WE WONDERFUL WE LITTLE CONTEST. AND ACTUALLY LEE IS WON SEVERAL YEARS IN A ROW. SO THE METALS THAT YOU'VE SEEN THROUGH THE YEARS HAVE BEEN DONE BY HER. AND YOU'LL SEE THE LITTLE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CALL LITTLE WORK, THE LITTLE THINGS HANGING OUT ON LITTLE TOURNAMENT. THOSE ARE, UH, REPRESENTATIVE EACH OF THE MAJOR PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE. SO, SO SHE DOES REALLY THOUGHTFUL PREPARATION OF THAT, UH, LEVEL. SAME. SO, THANK YOU LISA. UM, ALRIGHT, SO FROM RECORD THIS, UH, MORNING, I'M GONNA TRY TO GO AS FAST AS I CAN, BUT WE'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON. BUT THE FIRST THING I WANTED TO ADDRESS IS THE ISSUE THAT WAS, UH, OF, OF MAJOR CONCERN LAST, UH, MONTH AT THE MEETING IS OUR STAFFING UPDATE AND OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HOME FROM WORK FLEX SCHEDULE. UH, WE ARE MOVING GRADUALLY AND WORKING WITH MANAGERS TO PUT IN PLACE APPROPRIATE MONITORING TO ENSURE THAT WE MEET OUR PERFORMANCE GOALS. AS WE ROLL OUT THIS PILOT PROGRAM, WE'RE ALLOWING STAFF TO WORK FROM HOME FOR A MAXIMUM OF TWO DAYS PER WEEK. UH, WE HAVE RESERVED THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR TERMINATE THE PROGRAM AT ANY TIME IF WE EXPERIENCE A DECREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY. UH, AS OF THIS WEEK, I HAVE APPROVED FIVE PEOPLE IN OUR IDD PROGRAM TO WORK FROM HOME FOR ONE DAY PER WEEK. AS YOU MAY RECALL, A FLEX SCHEDULE WAS THE NUMBER ONE REQUESTED BENEFIT WHEN OUR IDD EMPLOYEES WERE ASKED WHAT WE COULD DO TO BETTER THEIR WORKING ENVIRONMENT. WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT THIS QUALITY OF LIFE BENEFIT WILL ENCOURAGE OUR STAFF TO STAY WITH ACOG FOR THE LONG TERM AND REDUCE THE TURNOVER THAT IS CURRENTLY AFFECTING OUR PERFORMANCE GOALS. UH, AND AS YOU REQUESTED, WE WILL BE UPDATING YOU AT EACH MEETING TO KEEP YOU INFORMED OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ANY ISSUES THAT WE ENCOUNTER. UH, REGARDING OUR PROGRAM UPDATES ON AGING SERVICES, UH, ALAMO AND BARREN OMBUDSMAN'S PROGRAMS PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS. THEIR STATE OMBUDSMAN THREE DAY MONITORING AUDIT CONDUCTED IN FEBRUARY. UH, THE TWO PROGRAMS SURPASSED ALL BENCHMARKS, AND SO WE'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THAT. UH, ONE OF OUR BENEFITS COUNSELOR, LYDIA ALEJO, HAS RECEIVED A CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION FROM THE SENIOR MEDICARE PATROL FOR EXEMPLARY OUTREACH SERVICES IN THE BEAR AND ALAMO REGION. SO WE WANT TO RECOGNIZE HER EFFORTS, UH, REGARDING ALAMO REGIONAL TRANSIT ART. ART WILL BE PROVIDING SERVICE, UH, OF COURSE TO THE GREAT TEXAS AIR SHOW, WHICH IS ON APRIL 6TH AND SEVENTH. AND OF COURSE, UH, ONE DAY BEFORE THE ECLIPSE. AND SO, UH, OUR RESOURCES AT OUR WILL BE STRETCHED TO CAPACITY. WE'RE ALSO PARTNERING ON THE DAY OF THE ECLIPSE WITH THE CITY OF KERRVILLE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC SUB, UH, PUBLIC SHUTTLE SERVICES, UH, TO SUPPORT THE CITY. AND WE WANT TO REMEMBER AND REMIND YOU ALL THAT AS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, WE EXPECT GRIDLOCK IN MUCH OF THE REGION. SO PLEASE PREPARE YOUR CITIZENS FOR POSSIBLE, UH, SCHEDULE DELAYS AS OUR BUSES NAVIGATE THAT TRAFFIC AND THAT GRIDLOCK. UM, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AREA IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PROGRAM WILL PARTICIPATE AT CONVERSE, GOES GREEN ON APRIL 13TH FROM 10:00 AM TO 1:00 PM AT RUTLEDGE STADIUM. [00:35:01] UH, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION WILL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE CITY OF SEGUINS EARTH DAY ON APRIL 27TH FROM 10:00 AM TO 3:00 PM AT CENTRAL PARK IN SINE IDD SERVICES. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY BUSY MONTH FOR THEM. UH, THE IDD TRANSITION SUPPORT TEAM PROVIDED TRAINING TO THE STAFF AT LANCER WORLDWIDE. THAT LOCAL BUSINESS, UH, IS THE WORK SITE FOR OUR EMPLOYMENT SERVICES APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, WHICH COMMENCED, UH, ON MARCH THE 25TH. THE PURPOSE OF THE TRAINING IS TO HELP THE EMPLOYER GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE POTENTIAL CHALLENGES IDD INDIVIDUALS FACE IN THE WORKPLACE. BEXAR COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT APPROVED A ONE YEAR GRANT TO ACOG IN THE AMOUNT OF $200,000. THE GRANT WILL FUND AND CONTINUE TO FUND THE JAIL LIAISON PROGRAM AT THE BEXAR COUNTY ADULT DETENTION CENTER. UM, COMMISSIONER'S COURT ALSO APPROVED THE PRELIMINARY SELECTION OF PROJECTS TO BE FUNDED BY, UH, ARPA FUNDS. THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT AND ACOG'S INTAKE AND ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION PROPOSAL WAS, WAS AMONG THOSE PROJECTS PRELIMINARY, SELECTED TO BE FUNDED. FINAL APPROVAL TAKES PLACE ON APRIL THE EIGHTH. UH, TWO OF OUR IDD PERSONNEL STAFF, ABIGAIL GARCIA AND VICKY GARZA. UH, RECEIVED AND COMPLETED TRAINING IN THE ROAD TO RECOVERY TRAUMA INFORMED CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH IDD, WHICH IS A COURSE OFFERED BY THE HOG FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS CENTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES, UH, DISABILITY STUDIES. ABIGAIL AND VIKI ARE NOW CERTIFIED AS MASTER TRAINERS AND CAN BEGIN TEACHING THIS INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC, UH, IN MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS. THE QUARTERLY MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS SUPPORT COMMITTEE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL THE SECOND AT ACOG. PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR COUNTY VETERAN SERVICES OFFICERS TO ATTEND IN NATURAL RESOURCES FROM APRIL 3RD FROM 12 TO ONE. UH, THE ALAMO AREA, CLEAN CITIES AND LONE STAR CLEAN FUELS ALLIANCE ARE CO-HOSTING A VIRTUAL WORKSHOP TO SUPPORT THE JOINT OFFICE OF ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION'S CLEAN BUS PLANNING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES FREE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND TRANSIT AGENCIES TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE AND CUSTOMIZED FLEET ELECTRIFICATION TRANSITION PLANS. AND, UH, PLEASE CONTACT LYLE HUFFSTETLER FOR DETAILS, UH, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN REGISTERING FOR THAT COURSE. UH, LIKEWISE. ACOG IS HOSTING AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY ROOFING WORKSHOP ON APRIL 18TH FROM 10 TO 12, UH, NOON. THE WORKSHOP WILL FEATURE A LESSON ABOUT THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT AND EXAMPLES OF GREEN ROOFS AND WHITE ROOFS AS POTENTIAL MITIGATION MEASURES, UH, THAT WILL ALSO BE PRESENTED. AND ONCE AGAIN, PLEASE RE REACH OUT TO LYLE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THAT AND FOR HOW TO REGISTER ON APRIL 16TH FROM 10 TO NOON, ACOG WILL BE IN MEDINA COUNTY SPEAKING TO GO MEDINA ABOUT SERVICES THAT WILL ENHANCE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, POTENTIAL, POTENTIAL AND WAYS WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE OUR COMMUNITIES. UH, PROGRAMS. SERVICES THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED INCLUDE GRANT WRITING, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, AIR QUALITY, SOLID WASTE, TRANSPORTATION, HOME WEATHERIZATION, AND MORE. SO, UH, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET YOUR PEOPLE OUT THERE IN MEDINA COUNTY TO, UM, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT PROGRAM IF YOU'RE LOOKING PARTICULARLY AT THIS TIME. AS I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, UNPRECEDENTED AVAILABILITY OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. SO WE, WE WILL BE OFFERING GRANT WRITING SERVICES. NATURAL RESOURCES IS STILL SEEKING PARTICIPANTS. AND ONCE AGAIN, AS I ASKED YOU LAST MONTH TO BE EXCITED ABOUT THE HYDROGEN PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO BE ON ANOTHER COMMITTEE. WE NEED MEMBERS, UH, FOR THE HYDROGEN PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, HAZARD MITIGATION AND ENERGY EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS WHEN PLANNING, PLANNING THE HYDROGEN FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE. AND ONCE AGAIN, LYLE WILL BE GLAD TO HELP YOU WITH THAT. AND, UM, UH, HIS EMAIL ADDRESS IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR PACKET, L HUFFSTETLER@ACOG.COM. IN OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS AREA, UH, CRYSTAL COMPOST ROSALES IS, IS HAS BEEN NAMED AND PICKED TO SERVE AS ACOG'S REPRESENTATIVE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE SOUTH TEXAS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP. AND FINALLY, IN, IN COMMUNICATIONS, A ROAD SHOW WAS PLANNED FOR MARCH 29TH FROM 10:00 AM TO 1:00 PM AT SILVER SAGE IN BANDERA COUNTY IN PUBLIC SAFETY. THE DOMESTIC EX DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EXTREMISM PROJECT TEAM HELD A BASIC THREAT EVALUATION AND REPORTING COURSE TRAINING IN VAUGHN ARMY. ON MARCH 11TH, THE TRAINING HELD AT SOUTHWEST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT INVOLVED A TOTAL OF 47 PARTICIPANTS CONSISTING OF SCHOOL, FACULTY, STAFF, AND PEACE OFFICERS. THE TRAINING TEACHES PARTICIPANTS HOW TO PREVENT, UH, ACTS OF TARGETED VIOLENCE BY IDENTIFYING THOSE THREATS OR OBSERVABLE BEHAVIORS. ON MARCH 21ST THROUGH AND 22ND, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY HOSTED THE US POSTAL SERVICE INVESTIGATORS [00:40:01] TACTICAL TRAINING AT THE ACADEMY. AND THIS WEEK, THE ACADEMY IS HOSTING A FIVE DAY FBI TRAINING COURSE IN DEFENSIVE TACTICAL TRAINING. UH, ON ANOTHER NOTE, OUR NEXT BASIC PEACE OFFICER COURSE WILL BEGIN APRIL THE 29TH WITH APPROXIMATELY 19 CADETS, THOSE THUS FAR REGISTERED IN ORDER TO REALLY HAVE A SUCCESSFUL CLASS. AND BY THAT MEAN, BY THAT I MEAN ONE THAT PAYS FOR ITSELF. WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST 30 CADETS. UH, IF ANY OF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING SENDING SOME CADETS OR SPONSORING SOME, WE WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IF WE COULD SQUEAK 'EM INTO THIS CLASS. UH, WE HOPE TO HAVE AT LEAST 24. WE KNOW THERE ARE OTHERS THAT ARE COMING, BUT WE REALLY NEED TO GET INTO THAT THIRTIES TO MAKE THE CLASS SELF-SUSTAINING. AND SO WE'D APPRECIATE, UM, IF YOU WOULD LET YOUR, UH, LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES KNOW ABOUT THAT, UH, AVAILABILITY IN THE CLASS. UM, FINALLY, AND REGARDING THE PROGRAMS AND REGIONAL SERVICES, WE WILL HOST THE ELECTED OFFICIALS WORK WORKSHOP, WHICH IS CO-HOSTED BY DENTON NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ, BERNAL SANTI, AND ZACK. AND, UH, MR. RODRIGUEZ'S DAUGHTER, BY THE WAY, IS THE RODRIGUEZ IN THAT NAME. UM, AND WE WILL BE HOSTING THAT WORKSHOP ON MAY THE 31ST IN THE ACOG BOARDROOM. THIS WORKSHOP WILL FEATURE OPEN RECORDS AND OPEN MEETINGS, TRAINING AND REGISTRATION TO ATTEND. THE WORKSHOP WILL OPEN ON APRIL 30TH. ON A SIDE NOTE, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS OR KNOW OTHERS WHO ARE NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS, I CANNOT ENCOURAGE YOU ENOUGH TO GO TO THAT TRAINING. AS A FORMER WHITE COLLAR CRIME CHIEF PROSECUTOR, UH, I USED TO HAVE TO INFORM MANY ELECTED OFFICIALS HOW THEY HAVE INADVERTENTLY OR INTENTIONALLY, UH, VIOLATED THAT OPEN MEETINGS ACT. UH, THIS TRAINING IS VALUABLE AND WILL KEEP YOU ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LAW, SO PLEASE, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS TRAINING. UH, EVEN THE MOST, WELL-MEANING AND WELL-INTENTIONED PUBLIC OFFICIAL CAN VIOLATE THAT OPEN MEETINGS OR REQUIREMENTS, UH, OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE ACT. SO IT'S VALUABLE TRAINING AND IT'S, IT'S, UM, WELL WORTH IT, WELL WORTH THE TIME. UH, ON JUNE THE SEVENTH REGIONAL SERVICES WILL HOST AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP. THE WORKSHOP WILL FEATURE STATE AND FEDERAL PARTNERS WHO WILL DISCUSS FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND PROGRAMS. REGISTRATION WILL OPEN MAY THE EIGHTH. AND FINALLY, IN REGIONAL SERVICES GRANT APPLICATION AND GRANT ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANCE ARE AVAILABLE FOR STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS THROUGH OUR REGIONAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR CONTACT CLAUDIA MORA. AND HER INFORMATION IS ON YOUR PACKET. AND Y'ALL KNOW CLAUDIA, SHE'LL BE PRESENT EARLIER TODAY, I MEAN LATER TODAY. AND SHE WILL BE GLAD TO HELP YOU. UM, FINALLY, IN OUR GENERAL ADMINISTRATION UPDATES ON OUR BUILDING UPDATE, UH, APRIL'S GONNA BE A BUS. THAT FIRST WEEK OF APRIL'S GONNA BE BUSY FOR US. WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO REPORT THAT OUR NEW CHILLER HAS ARRIVED AND WILL BE INSTALLED ON APRIL THE SIXTH. SO, UM, THAT CHILLER GOES UP ON THE SIXTH FLOOR OF THE BUILDING. IT'LL BE QUITE AN UN ENDEAVOR WITH ALL THE CRANES OUT THERE TO REMOVE THE OLD CHILLER AND PUT THE NEW ONE IN PLACE. AND, UM, IT WILL THEN BEGIN THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS TO CONNECT IT TO THE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THE, AND THE, UH, CONTROL SYSTEM. MUCH OF THE WORK FOR THAT ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS COMPLETE. AND WITH UNUSED CONTINGENCY FUNDS, WE'RE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF RETROFITTING ALL OF THE INOPERABLE VAV BOXES, WHICH ARE THE CONTROLLERS UP IN THE CEILINGS, WHICH DISTRIBUTE THE AIR AND BALANCE IT IN THE BUILDING. LIKEWISE, WITH THE RETROFIT OF ALL OF OUR TWO BY FOUR AND TWO BY TWO LIGHTING, WHICH YOU SEE UP HERE ABOVE YOU, UM, THAT IS COMPLETE. AND WITH UNUSED FUNDS, AND I MIGHT POINT OUT A VERY NICE REBATE FROM CPS ENERGY, WE ARE ABLE TO UPGRADE AND REPLACE ANOTHER 200 CAN LIGHTS THROUGHOUT THE BUILDINGS AND UPGRADE THOSE TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS. AND MANY OF THEM HAVE, ARE JUST BEYOND THEIR SERVICE LIFE, THEIR OLD FIXTURES, THEY'RE CORRODED AND THEY'RE BREAKING. AND SO WE ARE USING THOSE REBATE FUNDS TO UPGRADE THOSE, UH, CAN LIGHTS AS WELL. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS PROJECT, THIS $1.7 MILLION PROJECT WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE BOARD WHEN THE BOARD APPROVED ACOG'S APPLICATION FOR A LOAN FROM THE STATE ENERGY CONSERVATION OFFICE. AND FOR ALL OF OUR NEW, NEW MEMBERS WHO MAY BE UNAWARE OF THIS PROGRAM, CCO OFFERS 2% LONG-TERM LOANS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES FOR PUBLICLY OWNED FACILITIES. UH, THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM THAT WILL PAY FOR ITSELF THROUGH THE SAVINGS AND FROM, AND, UH, THROUGH THE SAVINGS FROM THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES. AND SO IT'S WELL WORTH INVESTIGATING IF YOU HAVE FACILITIES THAT NEED THESE UPGRADES. UH, AND THAT COMPLETES MY REPORT, EXCEPT IF YOU WILL INDULGE ME FOR JUST A FEW MORE MINUTES, I WANT TO ALERT YOU ALL TO A SECURITY, A CYBERSECURITY, UH, EVENT THAT WE HAD HERE YESTERDAY. THAT IS THE MOST EXTENSIVE [00:45:01] THREAT THAT I THINK WE'VE EXPERIENCED HERE AT ACOG IN THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN HERE. AND, UM, THE HACKERS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, DAMN NEAR, GOT THROUGH. AND SO I, WE, THERE IS NO DANGER AT ACOG. WE DID NOT HAVE A BREACH. BUT FOR PARTICULARLY OUR RURAL COMMUNITIES, AND THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT UPGRADED YOUR SYSTEMS, I WANT YOU, I JUST WANT YOU TO HEAR THIS STORY SO THAT YOU KNOW THE PERILS THAT ARE OUT THERE. AND ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT WHEN I STARTED AT ACOG ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO, WE DIDN'T HAVE HARDLY ANY KIND OF THREATS IN THE, IN THE INTERNET AND CYBERSECURITY WORLD. NOBODY KNEW WE EXISTED. UM, WE GOT THE NIGERIAN PRINTS, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT WE GOT. WE GOT THE EMAILS THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, PLEASE SEND ME A MILLION DOLLARS AND I'LL RUN IT THROUGH YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. THAT'S WHAT WE GOT TODAY. THESE HACKERS THAT HIT US YESTERDAY WERE FROM CHINA AND SAID, THEY KNOW, THEY KNOW ACOG EXISTS. THEY KNOW YOUR COUNTIES EXIST, AND THEY'RE COMING FOR US. AND I WANT TO ASK BRENDA TO COME UP AND JUST EXPLAIN IT TO HIM ABOUT EXACTLY, I MEAN, HAVE HE EXPLAINED IT TO YOU ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AND REALLY JUST SORT OF DRIVE HOME THE NEED FOR YOU TO REALLY EVALUATE YOUR SYSTEMS. AND I WANNA LET HIM TELL YOU HOW THEY EVEN GOT THROUGH OUR TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION. AND SO, UH, I JUST WANT YOU TO HEAR THAT STORY AND THEN, UH, SO THAT YOU WILL KNOW THE THREAT THAT'S COMING TO YOUR COUNTIES. YES. COMMISSIONER TO THAT. WHO DID YOU SAY IS THE NEW BOARD MEMBER FOR THE SOUTH TEXAS PARTNERSHIP FROM ACOG? UH, CRYSTAL. YES. OKAY, COOL. CRYSTAL, ALL GREAT. THANKS. CERTAINLY. ALRIGHT, SO, SO IF YOU, A FEW MINUTES, BRENDA, YOU COME ON. WE'RE INVITING TECHIE TALK. YES, THERE YOU GO. EXACTLY. OH, BOY. OKAY. GOOD MORNING. UH, CHAIRMAN BOARD MEMBERS, I'M BRENT HERRERA. I'M YOUR INFORMATION AND PRIVACY OFFICER. AS, UH, CLIFF MENTIONED, UH, HE JUST WANTED ME TO TAKE A MINUTE OR TWO TODAY TO REALLY EVANGELIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF CYBERSECURITY BY INFORMING YOU OF A RECENT EVENT THAT WE EXPERIENCED. UM, AS HE, AS HE MENTIONED, I ALSO WANT TO REITERATE AND EMPHASIZE THAT DUE TO OUR LAYERED APPROACH THAT WE TAKE TO OUR SECURITY, NO CRITICAL SYSTEMS WERE AFFECTED, NOR DO WE HAVE ANY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ANY SENSITIVE INFORMATION WAS COMPROMISED. UH, THE EVENT, UH, RATHER ILLUSTRATES, UM, AS I LIKE TO SAY, THAT YOUR END USERS REALLY ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AND THE WEAKEST LINK IN YOUR CYBERSECURITY ENVIRONMENTS. AS A FEW OF OUR STAFF, UNFORTUNATELY, WERE FOOLED BY A, UH, PHISHING ATTEMPT. SO RECENTLY AN EMAIL ACCOUNT BELONGING TO ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY PROVIDERS WAS COMPROMISED, AND THIS PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL CORRESPONDS PRETTY REGULARLY WITH ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS. SO IT DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RAISE SUSPICION WHEN ACOG STAFF RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM THIS ADDRESS IN THEIR INBOX. UH, USING THE GUISE OF ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, HACKERS SENT AGENCY STAFF EMAILS DIRECTING THEM TO NAVIGATE TO AN ATTACHED LINK ALLEGING THAT RELEVANT DOCUMENTS WERE READY FOR THEIR DOWNLOAD AND REVIEW. THE ENCLOSED LINK LED USERS TO A WEBPAGE, WHICH WAS NEARLY IDENTICAL TO A MICROSOFT OFFICE 365 SIGN-IN PORTAL, USERS WOULD ENTER THEIR USERNAMES AND PASSWORDS UNAWARE THAT THEY WERE PROVIDING THESE CREDENTIALS NOT TO MICROSOFT, BUT INSTEAD TO MALICIOUS OVERSEAS ACTORS. THE SIGN IN BUTTON INSTEAD INITIATED A REQUEST TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE END USER'S SHAREPOINT DRIVES. THIS IN TURN, TRIGGERED A TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION PROMPT FOR OUR STAFF AND A FEW END USERS, ASSUMING THAT THIS WAS A STEP IN THE PROCESS TO DOWNLOAD BUSINESS DOCUMENTS SUBSEQUENTLY APPROVED THE TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION REQUESTS, UNAWARE THAT THEY WERE INSTEAD INADVERTENTLY GRANTING FOREIGN ACTOR ACTORS ACCESS TO THEIR SHAREPOINT DRIVES. UH, THANKFULLY, AND TO REITERATE OUR LAYERED SECURITY TOOLS, WERE ABLE TO BOTH BLOCK FOREIGN ACCESS TO OUR STAFF MEMBERS' ACCOUNTS, AS WELL AS ALERT BOTH MYSELF AND OUR IT VENDOR IN A TIMELY FASHION SO THAT REMEDIATION COULD BE APPLIED. UM, ON MY END, I CONTINUE TO REFINE PROCESSES AND TRY TO IDENTIFY THOSE WEAK POINTS IN OUR, IN OUR SECURITY ENVIRONMENT. BUT UPON BRIEFING CLIFF ON THIS INCIDENT, HE WANTED ME TO COME AND SPEAK BRIEFLY TO YOU ALL, JUST TO EMPHASIZE CONTINUOUSLY GROWING IMPORTANCE OF THIS AREA. TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION REALLY REPRESENTS THE BARE MINIMUM THESE DAYS. AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE BEING INCREASINGLY TARGETED SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE LESS MONEY TO SPEND ON CYBERSECURITY THAN THE EQUIFAX IS TARGETS AND UNITED HEALTHS OF THE WORLD AND ARE OFTEN PRIVY TO VALUABLE INFORMATION. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE ARE RESOURCES AVAILABLE AND, UH, UH, AND, AND A LOT OF THEM COME AT THE CORRECT PRICE POINT OF BEING FREE. UM, I'VE WORKED WITH JUDGE TEAL TO COORDINATE SOME THINGS FOR MCMULLIN COUNTY AND I'LL ABSOLUTELY BE ALSO BE HAPPY TO HELP ANY OF YOU, UH, SERVE AS A RESOURCE TO HELP ANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS TO GET POINTED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU ALL MAY HAVE MEET WITH ANY OF YOU. AND MY INBOX IS ALWAYS OPEN, SO THANK YOU ALL. I'M SORRY, WHERE YOUR BACKUP OUR, OUR BACK, UH, UH, OUR BACKUP IS, IS, IS CLOUD-BASED. SO IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A AWARE, BUT WE, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CONTINUALLY TESTING OUR, [00:50:01] OUR BACKUPS AS PROOF OF CONCEPT THAT WE CAN RECOVER FROM A, UH, MAJOR EVENT. I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU TALK TO BILL PHILLIPS AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL. UH, BILL'S BEEN TEACHING THE FBI AND OTHERS ON HOW TO DO THIS. UH, WE HAVE AN ONGOING SITUATION THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT VERY, VERY CAREFULLY. AND, UH, BILL PHILLIPS WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT INDIVIDUAL FOR YOU TO COMMUNICATE WITH. I WILL MAKE THAT HAPPEN IF THAT'S PERMISSIBLE. UM, WE'RE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THIS STUFF AND LIKE I SAID, BILL HAS BEEN TEACHING THE FBI, UH, AND MET WITH THEM ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THAT'S PERMISSIBLE. YES, OF COURSE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. THE LOCATION, UH, OUR SECURITY INCIDENT EVENT MANAGEMENT, UH, UH, TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE ALERT, THAT'S BASICALLY TO WHICH IP ADDRESS IS TRYING TO GAIN ACCESS, UH, TO OUR, TO OUR ACCOUNTS. AND I WANT TO STRESS THIS. THE REASON I WANNA SAY, LOOK AT THE WORK THAT WENT INTO ACOG IS A RELATIVELY UNKNOWN AGENCY WORLDWIDE. AND LOOK AT THE WORK THAT WENT INTO FABRICATING ONE OF OUR WEB, OUR VENDORS WEBSITES, UH, TO CONNECTING TO OUR WEBSITE. LOOK AT ALL THE WORK THAT WENT INTO CREATING THAT PHONY, UH, IP ADDRESSES AND THEN THE TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION. THIS IS THE LEVEL OF WORK THAT THEY'RE PUTTING IN JUST TO GET TO US AND OUR RECORDS. SO THEY'RE GOING TO HIT YOU IN IT IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT BRAND KEEPS STRESSING THE LAYERED LEVELS OF SECURITY. WE HAVE A PROVIDER THAT MONITORS ALL OF THAT ACCESS. MARCUS, TO GET TO YOUR, YEAH, SO WE WERE ALERTED THAT WE HAD CHINESE ACTORS TRYING TO PENETRATE OUR WEBSITE AND CHINA IS ONE OF THE COUNTRIES THAT'S BLOCKED. BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THAT GEO-FENCING TO BLOCK ACCESS FROM OUTSIDE ACTORS. CHINA, RUSSIA, INDIA, CANADA, OF COURSE IT'S ALL OVER THE WORLD. THOSE ARE SOME MAJOR ACTORS. AND SO, UH, YOU NEED TO WATCH THAT AND YOU NEED TO KEEP, AND WE HAVE, UH, THAT LAYERED SECURITY. WE HAVE ARCTIC WOLF, THEN WE HAVE OUR MANAGED CARE, UH, HOSTING PROVIDER. OUR LICENSING THROUGH MICROSOFT, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE THE TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION, ALLOWED THEM TO GET INTO OUR SYSTEM THAT THEY COULDN'T GET BEYOND THE HOMEPAGE BECAUSE MICROSOFT BLOCKED IT. BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT CHINA IS ONE OF OUR, UH, PROHIBITED AREAS. AND SO IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT MULTI-LAYER, IT WOULD'VE ABOUT IN 'CAUSE THEY GOT AROUND OUR END USERS. WE USE A TRAINING SERVICE CALLED FISH LINE THAT REPEATEDLY SENDS OUT TO OUR EMPLOYEES TRAINING TO BE ALERT. NEVERTHELESS, BEST LEG PLANS. WE HAVE FIVE PEOPLE THAT RESPONDED TO THAT TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION AND APPROVED IT. AND SO, UH, AND BRENT SAID IT, I WANT TO REITERATE WHAT HE SAID. YOU KNOW, YOU ARE FRONTLINE ACTOR, YOUR FRONTLINE END USER IS YOUR FIRST LAYER OF DEFENSE AND THEY'RE ALSO YOUR WEAKEST LINK IN THE CHAIN. SO I JUST WANT TO, I REALLY WANT TO STRESS THIS BECAUSE, UH, WE HAVE PROVIDERS OUT THERE FOR YOU. BRENT CAN HELP YOU THAT CAN EVEN DO A FREE ASSESSMENT OF YOUR NETWORKS. AND BECAUSE THE THREATS ARE COMING AND THEY'RE ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. AND SO WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES OUR REPORT. BRENT, WE'LL BE GLAD TO HELP YOU. IF YOU NEED ANY HELP IN ASSISTING, I MEAN IN ANY ASSISTANCE IN SETTING UP EVEN JUST A FREE, UH, ANALYSIS OR A LOW COST ANALYSIS OF YOUR NETWORK AND VULNERABILITIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, AND I WANT TO COMMEND YOU AND YOUR STAFF FOR CATCHING THIS. UH, I THINK IT WAS, I KNOW THEY GOT IN, BUT THEY, THEY GOT STUCK IN THE FOYER AND NEVER GOT TO GO IN THE REST OF THE BUILDING. AND I WANNA COMMEND YOUR STAFF, UH, ALSO, AND I WANNA REMIND THOSE OF US THAT ARE ON THE BOARD, UH, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US THAT HAVE MY COLOR HAIR, UH, WISH YOU HAVE WE OR NO HAIR OR NO HAIR. UM, WE NEED TO GO BACK TO OUR RESPECTIVE STAKEHOLDERS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS COORDINATE WITH OUR INSURANCE CARRIERS, WHETHER IT'S WITH TAC, WE USE TAC, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TML, BUT JUST HAVE SOMEBODY REPORT BACK TO YOU SO THAT YOU CAN AT LEAST REPORT BACK TO US THAT WE'RE ALL PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS BECAUSE WE NEED TO. THAT'S THE MORAL OF THE STORY. OH, AND ONE THING I FORGOT TO MENTION, PLEASE GO BACK AND LOOK AT YOUR INSURANCE CARRIERS TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD CYBER COVERAGE. YES, SOMEDAY YOU MAY NEED IT. JUST A REMINDER. WITH THAT WE'LL [ Consent Agenda The consent agenda consists of items considered being of a routine nature and contains items recommended for approval by the Executive Committee or by the Board Chair and the minutes from previous Board of Directors meetings. These items will be enacted in one motion, or any member of the Board may request that items be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately for purposes of discussion and voting.] MOVE ON TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. THAT INCLUDES ITEMS 9, 10, 11, AND 12. MOVE FOR APPROVAL. MOVE TO APPROVE. OKAY. GOT A MOTION, JUDGE TEAL. SECOND. SECOND, UH, COMMISSIONER CLAY FOR AYE. ANY DISCUSSION? OPPOSED [00:55:01] IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. WE'LL MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS, WHICH WOULD BE ITEM [13. Consider and act upon the recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to enter into a 3-5 year agreement not to exceed $100,000 for the first year for budget software and implementation costs. This item will not require a budget amendment. - Julio Elizondo] 13. UH, CONSIDER AN ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DEC DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO A THREE TO FIVE YEAR AGREEMENT, NOT TO EXCEED A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST YEAR FOR BUDGET SOFTWARE AND IMPLEMENTATION COSTS. THIS ITEM WILL NOT REQUIRE A BUDGET OF JULIO ELIZONDO. GOOD MORNING, MR. GENERAL MEMBERS OF THE BOARDMAN ELIZONDO. I'M YOUR CHIEF, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. UH, I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE BRINGING THIS AGENDA ITEM TO YOUR ATTENTION, UH, TO YOU TODAY. AS SOME OF YOU MAY, UH, BE AWARE, I DID IN MY PREVIOUS ROLES SERVE AS BUDGET OFFICER AGENCY FOR A FEW YEARS. SO I KNOW FIRSTHAND THE DIFFICULTIES OR BUDGETING LIMITATIONS IS WITH AND BUDGET PREPARATION. ACOG IS SEEKING APPROVAL TO PURCHASE BUDGET SOFTWARE TO HELP STREAMLINE BUDGET PROCESS. THE ACOG BUDGET HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED IN THE LAST FIVE, FIVE INSIGHTS, INSIGHTS, AND HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSUSTAINABLE FOR PROGRAM STAFF TO USE, UH, TO BUDGET USING EXCEL. TRANSITIONING TO BUDGET SOFTWARE WILL CREATE EFFICIENCIES FOR ACOG STAFF DURING BUDGET PREPARATION AS WELL AS INCREASED TRANSPARENCY. ACOG HAS NARROWED IT DOWN TO TWO POTENTIAL VENDORS WHO ARE BOTH ON A DIR STATE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT AND THEREFORE ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR, UH, FORMAL SOLICITATION. I HAVE RECEIVED BOTH OF THOSE QUOTES, BUT WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, REACHING OUT TO REFERENCES FOR BOTH VENDORS TO ENSURE THAT THE VENDOR THAT WE SELECT IS A GOOD FIT FOR THE ACOG. ACOG WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS IMPLEMENTED PRIOR TO THE 25 BUDGET SEASON AND DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS IS RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF THIS AGENDA ITEM THIS MONTH. THE, AN THE ANTICIPATED ANNUAL EXPENSE FOR THE SOFTWARE ONCE IMPLEMENTED, AS CLIFF MENTIONED, IS APPROXIMATELY 50,000 PER YEAR. THIS ITEM WILL NOT REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR THE 2024 BUDGET. I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY, UM, OCKER HAD MADE THE MOTION AND SECOND, AND, UH, MS. UH, JUDGE HEKE SECONDED. OKAY, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? OKAY. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU ALLISON. MOVING ON TO [14. Consider and act upon the recommendation to ratify the Executive Director's acceptance of funding from Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) in an estimated amount not to exceed $355,000 for the Employment Services Apprenticeship Pilot program. This Item will require a budget amendment for the 2024 AACOG budget. - Virginia Charles ] 14, CONSIDER AN ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO RATIFY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDING FROM THE TEXAS HUMAN HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION IN AN ESTIMATED AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $355,000 FOR THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES APPRENTICESHIP PILOT PROGRAM. THIS ITEM WILL REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR THE 24 ACOG BUDGET. MS. CHARLES, GOOD MORNING MR. CHAIRMAN. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, I'M VIRGINIA CHARLES, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY SERVICES. AND THE JULY, 2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WAS APPROVED TO ACCEPT THE STATE FISCAL YEAR 20 24 25 INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY SERVICES FUNDING FOR THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES APPRENTICESHIP PILOT PROGRAM. HOWEVER, AN AMENDMENT FROM THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION IN LATE FEBRUARY WHERE YOU RAISED THE, THE CONTRACT VALUE ABOVE THE AMOUNT PREVIOUSLY APPROVED. THIS REQUEST IS TO, BY ACCEPTANCE OF THE AMENDMENT INCREASE, INCREASE THE CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 355,000. THE CONTRACT FUNDS FOR STATE FISCAL YEAR 2024 WILL ALLOW ACOG TO CONTINUE AN APPRENTICE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM THAT IS ROOTED IN EMPLOYMENT. EMPLOYMENT FIRST OBJECTIVES SEEK THAT SEEKS TO PROVIDE, TO PROVIDE TRANSFERABLE SKILLS THAT MAY LEAD TO FUTURE INTEGRATED AND COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT. THE MAJORITY OF THE PROJECTED HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION FUNDING WAS INCLUDED IN THE ACOG 2024. BUDGET. HOWEVER, THIS ITEM DOES REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO INCREASE THE TOTAL AMOUNT TO APPRO BY APPROXIMATELY $125,000. I'LL ENTERTAIN YOUR QUESTIONS NOW. ANY QUESTIONS TO APPROVE? SECOND, THERE'S A QUESTION. YES, SIR. WE GOT A MOTION TO SECOND. ARE WE ADDING THEN ADDITIONAL FOLKS ONTO, UH, THAT YOU'RE GONNA GO INTO APPRENTICE AS A RESULT OF INCREASE? YES. WE WILL, UM, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE TWO DIFFERENT COHORTS OF 12 EACH, EACH COHORT ABOUT 20 WEEKS EACH. AND, AND WE ARE DOING THE APPRENTICESHIP AT LAST WHEN WE PROVIDED TRAINING THIS PAST MONTH. RODRIGUEZ, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? COUNCIL AND THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. NEXT [15. Consider and act upon the recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to submit a continuation grant application to the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) for Supporting Aging Caregivers in the amount of $125,000. This item will not require a budget amendment. - Virginia Charles] ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS NUMBER 15. CONSIDER AND ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SUBMIT A CONTINUATION GRANT APPLICATION TO THE TEXAS COUNCIL FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES FOR SUPPORTING AGING CAREGIVERS IN THE AMOUNT OF $125,000. THIS AMOUNT WILL NOT REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT. MS. CHARLES. GOOD MORNING AGAIN. THE ITEM BEFORE YOU IS A CONTINUATION GRANT APPLICATION TO REQUEST FUNDING FROM THE TEXAS COUNCIL FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES FOR OUR SUPPORTED AGING CAREGIVERS PROGRAM. DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY COUNCILS [01:00:01] WORK TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY OF THEIR CHOICE, BE INDEPENDENT, HAVE JOBS, AND HAVE OTHER SERVICES NEEDED TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN THE LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY. PEOPLE WITH IDD HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PLANNING THE CARE OF THEIR PARENTS AND THEIR FAMILY CAREGIVERS. THIS PROGRAM SEEKS TO PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH IDD THE RESOURCES TO FULLY PARTIC PARTICIPATE IN THESE IMPORTANT FAMILY DISCUSSIONS AND DECISIONS. THIS ITEM WAS INCLUDED IN THE ACOG 2024 BUDGET AND WILL NOT REQUIRE BUDGET AMENDMENT. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL TO APPLY FOR AND ACCEPT FUNDING FROM THE TEXAS COUNCIL FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES FOR SUPPORTING AGING CAREGIVER PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $125,000. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. GOT A MOTION FOR JUDGE EVANS SECOND MAYOR. OKAY. ANY DISCUSSION? SEEMS LIKE A NO BRAINER, HUH? YES. THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. [16. Consider and act upon the recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the SSG Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Program for $500,000 and accept funding if awarded. This item will require budget amendment. - Julie Gudgel] NEXT ITEM IS 16. CONSIDER AN ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STATE GRANT APPLICATION TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR THE, UH, STAFF SERGEANT PARKER GORDON FOX SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM FOR $500,000. AND ACCEPT FUNDING IF AWARDED. THIS ITEM WILL REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT. JULIE GURICK. GOOD MORNING MR. CHAIRMAN. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. JULIE GLE. I'M YOUR VETERAN PROGRAMS MANAGER AND TODAY I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF PRESENTING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ACOG TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE LIVES OF VETERANS IN OUR REGION. THE STAFF SERGEANT FOX SUICIDE PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM IS A CRITICAL INITIATIVE AIMED AT ADDRESSING THE PRESSING ISSUE OF VETERAN SUICIDE. THE PROJECT WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH ACOG'S EXISTING PROGRAMS THROUGH THE MILITARY AND VETERAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT. OUR GOAL IS AN IMPACTFUL EXTENSION OF OUR SERVICES TAILORED TO THE VETERAN'S NEEDS, INCLUDING MENTAL HEALTH AND SERVICES AND SUICIDE PREVENTION MEASURES. THIS GRANT DOES NOT TAKE THE PLACE OF A CRISIS RESPONSE LINE OR DUPLICATE EMERGENCY HOTLINES. IT'S SIMPLY A REFERRAL PROGRAM TO THE VA, WHICH OPENS UP BENEFITS THROUGH THE GRANT'S FUNDING. THE GRANT WILL ENHANCE MANY OF OUR CURRENT SERVICES, LIKE TRANSPORTATION AND BENEFITS NAVIGATION, WHILE ADDING IN ONE OF THE MOST REQUESTED SERVICES THAT WE CURRENTLY DON'T PROVIDE, WHICH IS DAYCARE. NOT ONLY DOES IT ALIGN WITH OUR MISSION, BUT IT ALSO LEVERAGES OUR EXPERTISE IN SERVING VETERANS AND ENHANCING ACOG'S ROLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. THIS ONE YEAR GRANT WILL START ON SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2024 AND GO THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2025 IF AWARDED, THIS ITEM WILL REQUIRE AN AMENDMENT TO OUR 2024 ACOG BUDGET. STAFF RECOMMENDS AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS FOR THE STAFF SERGEANT PARKER GORDON FOX SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM AND ACCEPT FUNDING IF AWARDED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION PENDING YOUR QUESTIONS. A MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND. GOT A, UH, MOTION AND A SECOND, UH, TO APPROVE THAT THE MATTER IS PRESENTED FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS. ANY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR HER? YES. YES, SIR. QUICK QUESTION, JULIE. IS THIS ONLY FOR VETERANS REGISTERED WITH THE VA? YES. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY, THEN THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. [17. Consider and act upon the recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to submit a grant application to the US Aging National Center of Excellence (COE) for the Community Care Hub (CCH) program for $468,800 and accept funding if awarded. This item will require a budget amendment. - Miguel Juarez] ITEM 17, CONSIDER AN ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION TO THE US AGING NATIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR COMMUNITY CARE HUB PROGRAM FOR $468,800. AND ACCEPT FUNDING IF AWARDED, THIS ITEM WILL REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT. MIGUEL JUAREZ. GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS MIGUEL JUAREZ AND I'M THE MANAGER FOR COMMUNITY CARE. TODAY I PRESENT, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ACOG TO FURTHER OUR MISSION THROUGH, THROUGH THE COMMUNITY CARE HUB INITIATIVE. THE EXPANSION OF THE AAA COMMUNITY CARE HUB AIMS TO ELEVATE OUR CURRENT SERVICE MODEL BY ADOPTING A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. WE'RE NOT JUST EXPANDING SERVICES, BUT ARE ENHANCING ACOG'S OVERALL MISSION. THIS PROJECT DOVETAILS WITH OUR EXISTING PROGRAMS, CREATING A SEAMLESS NETWORK OF CARE AND ADDRESSES HEALTH RELATED SOCIAL NEEDS MORE EFFECTIVELY. THIS TWO YEAR PROGRAM STARTS MAY 1ST, 2024, AND ENDS APRIL 30TH, 2026. SHOULD IT BE AWARDED AN AMENDMENT TO THE ACOG BUDGET WILL BE REQUIRED. STAFF RECOMMENDS AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION TO THE US AGING NATIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE COMMUNITY CARE HUB PROGRAM FOR $468,800 AND ACCEPT FUNDING IF AWARDED THIS. THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THE OPPORTUNITY. I AM NOW OPEN [01:05:01] TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. MOVE SECOND. THE JUDGE HAS MOVED AND JUDGE HEKE SECONDED, UH, TO APPROVE THIS, UH, REQUEST FOR THE COMMUNITY CARE HUB. ANY DISCUSSIONS? THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [18. Consider and act upon the recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Nutrition providers and execute contracts with selected providers. This item will not require a budget amendment. - Miguel Juarez] 18, CONSIDER AND ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO RELEASE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR NUTRITION PROVIDERS AND EXECUTE CONTRACTS WITH SELECTED PROVIDERS. THIS ITEM WILL NOT REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT. MR. JUAREZ, THANK THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. WE ARE SEEKING TO RELEASE TO RELEASE THE RFP TO AWARD CONTRACTS QUALIFIED ELIGIBLE CONTRACTORS WITHIN BAYER COUNTY. DEPICTED IN YOUR HANDOUTS IS OUR TOTAL BUDGET. WE WILL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO, FOR CONGREGATE MEALS AT $2.2 MILLION AND HOME DELIVERED MEALS AT $1.6 MILLION. STAFF RECOMMENDS AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UH, TO RELEASE THE RFP AND EXECUTE CONTRACT WITH SELECTED VENDORS FOR NUTRITION SERVICES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION PENDING. ANY QUESTIONS? NOTHING FURTHER. THIS IS BEAR COUNTY ONLY BE COUNTY. COUNTY, CORRECT. THIS I SO MOVE. OKAY. MAYOR NER MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY. MS. SECOND BY JUDGE EVANS. UH, THIS IS FOR BEAR COUNTY ONLY. DO I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY? CORRECT, SIR. ANY DISCUSSION? THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. THANKS. ITEM [19. Consider and act upon the recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to release a Request For Proposals (RFP) to provide broadband consultation and grant writing services. - Claudia Mora] 19, CONSIDER. PARDON? I I WAS JUST GONNA ASK IF IT'S ONLY FOR BEXAR COUNTY, IS THERE ANY POTENTIAL FOR RURAL COUNTIES IN THE FUTURE OR IS THAT SOMETHING, SO THIS IS ONLY FOR BEAR COUNTY COUNTY, THE, THE AMO AREA COUNTY, THE, WE'LL HAVE TO, YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM 19. CONSIDER AND ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO RELEASE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE BROADBAND CONSULTATION AND GRANT WRITING SERVICES. MS. MORA, MR. CHAIRMAN MEMBERS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, I'M CLAUDIA MORA, THE, UH, REGIONAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR HERE AT ACOG. ACOG WANTS TO ASSIST MEMBER GOVERNMENTS IMPROVE BROADBAND AC ACCESS FOR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES. OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR SO, SEVERAL BROADBAND FUNDING SOURCES WILL OPEN AND OR CLOSE GRANT FILING OPPORTUNITIES. A NUMBER OF STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES LIKE THE TEXAS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION AGENCY AND THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HAVE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE ALLOCATED ADDITIONAL FUNDS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE TEXAS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE WAS ALLOCATED $3.3 BILLION IN BROADBAND EQUITY ACCESS AND DEPLOYMENT FUNDS. UH, YOU'VE HEARD OF, PROBABLY HEARD OF IT. IT'S CALLED THE BEAD PROGRAM. THESE FUNDS WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH 2031. ALSO, THERE ARE NEW PROGRAMS IN THESE AGENCIES THAT WILL HAVE FUNDING TO HELP PROMOTE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE IN UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED AREAS IN ORDER TO DEVELOP PROJECTS AND GRANT APPLICATIONS TO MEET THE SUBMISSION DEADLINES. ACOG STAFF SEEKS APPROVAL TO RELEASE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO SOLICIT BROADBAND VENDORS AND CONSULTANTS. THE VENDORS AND CONSULTANTS WILL WORK WITH ACOG AND MEMBER GOVERNMENTS IN PREPARING STRATEGIES, DEVELOP PROJECTS AND WRITE GRANT APPLICATIONS. EACH VENDOR WILL BE REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY THEIR PARTICULAR BROADBAND EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE SO THAT ACOG CAN HELP OUR MEMBER GOVERNMENTS WITH GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR SHOVEL-READY PROJECTS AND PROJECTS THAT ARE RESPONSIVE TO GRANT APPLICATION EVALUATION CRITERIA IF APPROVED, THE RFP WILL BE RELEASED ON OR ABOUT APRIL 3RD AND CLOSE ON OR ABOUT MAY 3RD. CURRENTLY, THERE IS NO IMPACT TO THE FY 2024 BUDGET. STAFF RECOMMENDS THE BOARD AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL TO SOLICIT BROADBAND VENDORS AND CONSULTANTS FOR BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT IN THE ALAMO REGION. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. I'LL MOVE TO ACCEPT. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. WE'VE GOT A MAYOR ENER AND MOTION AND SECONDED, UH, TO APPROVE THE BROADBAND CONSULTATION. DO, DO WE HAVE OR, OR THAT, WOULD THAT BE PART OF THE STRATEGY, UH, LIFTING IN THE PRIORITY AREAS THAT MEET THE BROADBAND IN THE REGION? UH, WE, ACOG ITSELF, ITSELF DOES NOT HAVE A LIST. HOWEVER, WE WORK WITH, WITH DIFFERENT A, UH, GROUPS IN THE AREA LIKE ANTONIO DIGITAL CONNECT TO IDENTIFY, IDENTIFY THOSE AREAS. [01:10:01] WE ALSO WORK WITH THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE. WHEN THEY CAME OUT AND VISITED SOME OF THE COUNTIES, UH, THEY VISITED KARNS, THEY VISITED, UH, JUST TO NAME A FEW. I WENT ON THOSE, I WENT ON THOSE VISITS. AND, UH, FROM, WE KNOW FROM THOSE PERSONAL VISITS THAT, UH, THOSE AREAS, UH, EITHER NEED OR DON'T NEED THE ASSISTANCE AT THIS TIME. BUT, UH, WE CAN COME UP WITH A, A LIST OF TARGETS SPECIFIC AREAS. BUT I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I ASKED CLAUDIA TO PUT IN HER PRESENTATION IS, FUNDING IS AVAILABLE THROUGH 2031. I MEAN, SO THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY OUT THERE, AND THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR COUNTIES TO GET IN ON THIS PROGRAM TO INCREASE BROADBAND AVAILABILITY FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR COMMUNITIES. SO WE WANT THESE GRANT WRITERS TO BE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST THE COUNTIES. ALL OF YOU IN, UH, IN GETTING THESE FUNDS, I MEAN, THIS IS, AND I KEEP STRESSING, THIS IS WHAT'S STRESSED AT NARC ALL OF THE TIME. THIS IS ONE OF THE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES IN OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY, AND WE'RE POURING MONEY INTO INFRASTRUCTURE. SO NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT TO, UH, INCREASE YOUR CAPABILITIES AND YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. IS THIS, YOU'RE GONNA BE WRITING, UH, PROPOSALS THROUGH THESE CONSULTANTS AND THEN WILL THESE SAME CONSULTANTS OR OTHERS ACTUALLY ESTABLISH THE BROADBAND CAPABILITY? OH, UH, ONCE, UH, ONCE OUR, UH, GRANTS ARE APPROVED FOR FUNDING, THEN UH, WE WILL WORK WITH, UH, CONTRACTORS THAT ACTUALLY DO THE, THE INSTALLATION OF THE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE. SO IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WE'D GO THROUGH AN RFP PROCESS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT A LOT, THAT'S WHAT THE PROGRAMS WILL REQUIRE THAT WE GO THROUGH AN RFP PROCESS TO FIND THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES OR THE BROADBAND COMPANIES NEED TO ACTUALLY, UH, PUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE. AND THEN THERE, THERE WOULD BE A, A SEPARATE PROCESS TO FIND THE SERVICE PROVIDERS. SO THERE'S A WHOLE, UH, SERIES OF, UH, RFP PROCESSES THAT WE WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH, UH, BEFORE WE CAN, CAN ACTUALLY CONNECT HOMES AND BUSINESSES. SO IT'S NOT, IT'S, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. IT'S GONNA HAPPEN OVER PROB I WOULD THINK AT LEAST TWO YEARS. SO THIS PROPOSAL IS TO HELP ENTITIES, COUNTIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CITIES PREPARE THE GRANT APPLICATION? YES, YES, YES. PROPOSAL. THE PROPOSALS. YES. YES. AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION THOUGH, I THINK MORE SPECIFICALLY ON IT THOUGH, IS THE CONSULTANTS WILL NOT BE THE CONTRACTORS WHO ACTUALLY DO THE IMPLEMENTATION. IF THERE WAS ANY WAY TO DO IT FURTHER, I KNOW CARNES COUNTY, WE, WE DEDICATED FUNDS FROM ARPA FOR BROADBAND. UH, HOWEVER, I THINK THAT WE'VE GOTTA SPEND THOSE FUNDS BY 25 6, I THINK THE END OF THIS YEAR INTO THIS YEAR. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON. I THINK THAT HAVE TO BE ALLOCATED BY THE ALLOCATED YEAR AND SPENT OUT SPIN OUT LIKE IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS. YES. WELL, JUST, THE POINT I I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS, IS THAT IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT THIS, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND THAT WE APPROACH IT THE RIGHT WAY. IN OTHER WORDS, THAT WE KNOW WHERE THE MAJOR NEEDS ARE, WHAT OTHER RESOURCES MIGHT BE AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT THE EFFORT, BECAUSE IT CAN BE A VERY EXPENSIVE PROCESS. AND THE O THE OTHER, THE OTHER PART IS THE USERS. BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY, BUT THE USERS DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY, THEY DON'T HAVE, THEY DON'T HAVE COMPUTERS, THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE 'EM AND SO FORTH. SO IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH YOU'VE GOTTA CONSIDER, AND I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS EFFORT. UH, IT CAN BE. WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT IN REVIEWING THE DIFFERENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IS WHAT CAN THE MONIES BE USED FOR? EXACTLY WHAT, BESIDES I IMPLEMENTING OR BEING AN INFRASTRUCTURE TECH, CAN IT BE USED, CAN IT BE USED FOR TRAINING, TRAINING? CAN IT BE USED, UH, TO IDENTIFY, UH, SPECIFIC BUSINESSES THAT THE, THOSE FUNDS WANT US TO TARGET? SO WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT AS WELL. IN ADDITION, UH, THROUGHOUT THE STATE, UH, MY COLLEAGUES AND I ARE UNDERGOING TRAINING TO GET THE CERTIFICATION IN ORDER TO LOOK THROUGH THE VARIOUS, UH, AREAS IN WHICH SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE WE PROVIDE SERVICE TO THESE AREAS. UH, YOU COULD, YOU COULD SAY THAT, UH, YOU COULD, YOU PROVIDE SERVICE TO THIS AREA, BUT IT MIGHT BE THE VERY NORTHEAST CORNER OF THAT PARTICULAR COUNTY. NOW, ONCE THAT'S IDENT IDENTIFIED, FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE FCC SAYS, WHOLE COUNTY IS PROVIDED SERVICES. SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING IN OF, UH, IN TANGENT WITH THIS WHOLE PROCESS. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? YES, MA'AM. JUST A SUGGESTION. UM, I KNOW THAT IN WILSON COUNTY, FOR US PARTICULARLY WORKING WITH [01:15:01] A CERTAIN BROADBAND COMPANY, IT HASN'T BEEN GOOD. SO JUST SUGGESTING THAT ONCE YOU'VE DESIGNATED WHERE AND, AND HOW, IN LOOKING AT THE VENDORS, THE CONTRACTORS THAT WILL BE DOING THE ACTUAL WORK, MAYBE SPEAKING TO THE COUNTIES AND CITIES AND FINDING OUT, HAS THERE BEEN PAST EXPERIENCE THAT THIS VENDOR IS NOT, OR THIS COMPANY IS NOT? YES, THEY PROVIDE THE SERVICES, BUT HOW HAVE THEY ACTUALLY BEEN? WHAT IS THEIR, THEIR, UH, HISTORY ALREADY OF WHAT THEY'VE DONE AND WHAT THEY HAVEN'T DONE RIGHT NOW? THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT. I'M BRINGING THAT UP. I WORKED WITH ONE OF OUR COUNTIES AND I WON'T, I WON'T IDENTIFY THEM. WE WON'T IDENTIFY THEMSELVES. PLEASE GO AHEAD. UM, WE WILL HAVE ON A PROJECT OR AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDS, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY WE DID NOT RECEIVE. AND IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH THE ONE OR THE STRONGEST PROVIDER IN THAT COUNTY. SO WE ARE VERY OPEN TO WORKING WITH A LOT OF, UH, SERVICE PROVIDERS, A LOT OF CONTRACTORS, WHICH IS WHY, ANOTHER REASON WHY WE WANNA GO THROUGH THE RFP PROCESS, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST GONNA SELECT ONE, WE'RE GONNA SELECT A NUMBER OF THEM SO THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND, EXPAND THE SERVICES, TO EXPAND THE OUTREACH TO OUR MEMBER GOVERNANCE. BUT I APPRECIATE YOU MENTIONING, MENTIONING THAT, THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. NEXT [20. Consider and act upon the recommendation of the Resource Recovery Committee to authorize the Executive Director to submit a conformance review letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for the proposed Type V Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Permit Application for the San Antonio Transfer Station. - Claudia Mora] ITEM NUMBER 20. CONSIDER AN ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE RESOURCE RECOVERY COMMITTEE TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SUBMIT A CONFORMANCE REVIEW LETTER TO THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY FOR THE PROPOSED TYPE V MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR THE SAN ANTONIO TRANSFER STATION. MS. MORTA. THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. THE RESOURCE RECOVERY COMMITTEE ACTS AS AN ADVISORY BODY TO THE ACOG BOARD OF DIRECTORS. ITS RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE REVIEWING REQUESTS FOR PERMITS OR AMENDMENT APPLICATIONS FOR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES ON MARCH 13TH. THE RRC REVIEWED THE REQUEST OF WEAVER CONSULTANTS GROUP ON BEHALF OF TEXAS REGIONAL LANDFILL COMPANY TO REVIEW THE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR THE PROPOSED TYPE FIVE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SAN ANTONIO TRANSFER STATION TO BE LOCATED IN BEXAR COUNTY. THE TRANSFER STATION WILL ACTUALLY BE LOCATED AT 1 0 2 4 4 FM 1346 IN ATKINS, TEXAS, UH, BEXAR COUNTY PRECINCT FOUR. THE PROPOSED TRANSFER STATION IS A TYPE FIVE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE TRANSFER TRANSFER STATION THAT WILL ACCEPT MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE, WOOD WASTE, GREEN WASTE RECYCLABLES, AND NON-HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIAL WASTE AS ALLOWED BY TCEQ REGULATIONS. COPIES OF THE COMPLETED CHECKLIST AND MAPS ARE ATTACHED TO THE AGENDA MEMO. REPRESENTATIVES OF WEAVER CONSULTANTS GROUP LLC MET WITH BEAR COUNTY PRECINCT FOR STAFF TO DISCUSS THE PROJECT. SO THEY HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEY, UH, WERE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT AS WELL. THE RRC CONCLUDED THAT THE PROPOSED SAN ANTONIO TRANSPORTATION COMPLIES WITH THE ACOG REGIONAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN AND RECOMMENDED THE ACOG BOARD APPROVE THE SUBMITTAL OF A LETTER TO THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, ACKNOWLEDGING THE COMPLIANCE. THE RRC RECOMMENDS THE ACOG BOARD OF DIRECTORS AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO TCEQ, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE PROPOSED TYPE FIVE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE SAN ANTONIO TRANSFER STATION COMPLIES WITH THE ACOG SOLID, UH, REGIONAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN. AND I WILL TRY AND ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS. OKAY. UM, MOTION TO APPROVE, BECAUSE I WANNA DISCUSS SECOND. SO WE'VE GOT A MOTION BY MAYOR, UM, DENNIS, AND SECOND BY MAYOR ENER, UH, TO APPROVE THE AUTHOR AND AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UH, TO SUBMIT A CONFORMANCE REVIEW TO THE TCEQ FOR THE TYPE FIVE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE PERMIT, AS REQUESTED. ANY DISCUSSION? QUESTION? QUESTION? YES, SIR. THANK YOU. UH, MR. CHAIR, AMY, UH, SINCE THIS IS YOUR OFFICE, HAVE YOU ALL, DO Y'ALL HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THIS PERMIT OR THIS LOCATION OR HOW THE RESIDENTS FEEL OR WHAT'S GOING ON THERE? THE RESIDENTS ARE KIND OF STILL SORTING THROUGH IT. UM, 'CAUSE THEY WERE KIND OF NOTIFIED. THEY FEEL LATE IN THE PROCESS, BUT COMMISSIONER DID MEET WITH THE WEAVER GROUP, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, HE'S KIND OF BEEN LEADING TO THE RESIDENTS. I DON'T KNOW WHEN THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD TO TCQ ENDS. I DON'T REMEMBER IF THERE WAS A DATE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. UH, THERE WAS, THERE WASN'T. UNFORTUNATELY. I DON'T KNOW THAT, BUT I CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON IT. SO HE WAS ENCOURAGING THE RESIDENTS TO REACH OUT TO TCEQ TO EXPRESS ANY CONCERNS THEY HAD. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE [01:20:01] AT RIGHT NOW. I, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS ITEM HAS TO MOVE FORWARD TODAY OR IF IT COULD BE DEFERRED TILL NEXT MEETING. I DON'T KNOW THE TIMELINE. RIGHT. UH, IF THE BOARD DECIDE, IF BOARD DECIDES TO APRIL THIS TO THE NEXT, UH, MONTH, T-T-C-E-Q-Q WILL WAIT FOR THE LETTER, UH, THEY, UH, THERE IS NO, UH, SET TIME AS TO WHEN WE SUBMIT THE LETTER. AS LONG AS WE LET THEM KNOW, LET THEM KNOW WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. UH, WE CAN TABLE IT, TABLE IT TILL THE NEXT MEETING. IF YOU'LL, THEN I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST THAT WE TABLE IT TILL THE NEXT MEETING. THIS IS NOT A SUPPORT LETTER, RIGHT? THIS, THIS SAYS THEY'VE COMPLIED, WE'RE NOT SUPPORTING IT. RIGHT. IT'S A CONFORMANCE REVIEW LETTER. RIGHT. SO THEY'VE COMPLIED WITH OUR PLAN, RIGHT. PUTTING IT OFF'S NOT GONNA CHANGE. THAT IS, UNLESS WE CHANGE OUR PLAN. TO ME THAT IS CORRECT. IT IT, WHAT WE, WHAT THE RRC DID WAS TAKE A LOOK AT THE VERY SPECIFIC ITEMS OF THE PROJECT, UH, WHAT WOULDN'T TAKE DETAIL. AND A TYPE FIVE FACILITY IS ALLOWABLE UNDER THE OUR REGIONAL CELEBRATION MANAGEMENT PLAN. UH, WE DO, WE DO ASK, ASK QUESTIONS REGARDING, UH, THE IMPACT IT HAS THAT GOES AROUND THE COMMUNITY. LIKE, UH, WHAT, WHAT THE CLEANUP PROCESSES ARE, UH, WHAT ARE EXPECTED, UH, RUNOFFS OR, UH, POLLUTION RELEASING TO THE AIR, THAT TYPE OF THING. AND SO EVERYTHING TCEQ, IT MAKES THE FINAL DECISION IF THEIR RESPONSES ARE NOT IN THE AREA THAT TCEQ WOULD LIKE FOR THEM TO BE, AND TCEQ WILL NOT ISSUE THE PERMIT PERMIT AND THAT FACILITY CANNOT BE CONSTRUCTED. ALL WE'RE SAYING IS THAT ACCORDING TO OUR ORIGINAL PLAN, TYPE FIVE FACILITIES ARE ALLOW, AND ALL, ALL, I THINK THE POINT THAT JUDGE EVANS IS MAKING IS ALL WE'RE DOING IS CON, CON, CONFORM CON CONFIRMING THAT IT'S BEEN DONE THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE AND THAT DIDN'T CHANGE. WE'RE NOT SUPPORTING IT OR WE'RE NOT CONDEMNING IT. YEAH, WE'RE JUST REPORTING TO TCEQ THAT IT'S DONE CORRECTLY. RIGHT, BUT THEY'RE JUST GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS CORRECTLY. YES, SIR. SO IT DOESN'T REALLY DELAY THE, THE ACTION BY TCEQ. RIGHT? I I, I'LL AMEND OR REMOVE MY REQUEST TO DEFER IT TO THE NEXT MEETING. OKAY. SO WE'VE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THE FLOOR. TAKE A VOTE. THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. ITEM 21, [21. Annual No Conflict of Interest Statements - Cliff Herberg] UH, THIS IS, UH, ANNUAL NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENTS. MR. HERBERT? YES, MR. CHAIRMAN MEMBERS, MR. JUST SO YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU PROBABLY, PROBABLY ALREADY RECEIVED, RECEIVED AN EMAIL, DIDN'T GET BLOCKED BY YOUR SPAM FILTERS, UH, WITH THE ANNUAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORMS FOR YOUR SIGNATURE, BUT SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE NOT RETURNED THEM YET. THIS IS REQUIRED BY OUR FUNDING SOURCES. IN YOUR PACKET, THERE IS A, IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE, THERE IS A CHART THAT SHOWS YOU THE THIRD DEGREES OF AFFINITY AND CONSANGUINITY, UH, TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE ANYBODY THAT MAY BE, UH, IN YOUR FAMILY THAT'S INVOLVED WITH ACOG THAT IT COULD POSE AS A CONFLICT. BUT BARRING THAT, OR, UM, IF YOU DON'T, OR WE'D APPRECIATE IF YOU WOULD SIGN THOSE FORMS, SIE IS HERE, UH, TO COLLECT YOUR SIGNATURES AND NOTARIZE THEM FOR YOU AT THE END OF THE MEETING AS WELL. AND SO, UH, AS I SAID, THIS IS REQUIRED BY OUR FUNDING SOURCES. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY POTENTIAL CONFLICT ISSUES, BE GLAD TO ANSWER 'EM FOR YOU AFTER THE MEETING WHEN YOU'RE MEETING WITH SUSIE. AND THAT'S IT. BUT THERE'S NO ACTION TO BE TAKEN, NO ACTION TO BE TAKEN OTHER THAN PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR FORMS. AND I DO HAVE, DIDN'T ALREADY DO IT. I DO HAVE ONE FOR YOU WITH YOUR NAME ALREADY FILLED OUT. HAVE, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GET THAT FROM ME. SO THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS ANY OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT FILLED IT OUT, JUST GET WITH SUSIE. SHE'S GOT IT READY FOR YOU. YES. WE'LL BE FORCED TO CHASE YOU DOWN. I UNDERSTAND. MAYBE SHE SHOULD CALL 2022 WE'RE, SHE'S GOT THE NEXT PAGE 22. AND I'VE [22. Consider and act upon the recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to extend the original agreement with AACOG's website provider for website development, management, and hosting services. This item will not require a budget amendment. - Crystal Campos-Rosales] BEEN ADVISED THAT WE PULLED ITEM NUMBER 22 BECAUSE THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE BOARD APPROVAL. THAT'S JUST PART OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REGULAR JOB [23. 2023 Customer Satisfaction Survey Report Presentation. - Crystal Campos-Rosales] RESPONSIBILITIES. SO WE'LL GO ON DOWN TO 23, WHICH IS THE 2023 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY REPORT. PRESENTATION MS. ROSALES. GOOD. GOOD MORNING, MR. MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME ISO ROSALES. I AM THE EXTERNAL AFFAIRS COORDINATOR AT, AT ACOG. THE ITEM BEFORE YOU IS A DEAR INTERVIEW OF OUR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TION SURVEYS FOR 2023. THE AGENDA FOR THIS ITEM WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING. I WILL REVIEW THE VARIOUS METHODS IN WHICH THE SURVEYS ARE DISTRIBUTED. I WILL THEN HIGHLIGHT THE SUMMARY OF RESULTS. AND FINALLY, I WILL REVIEW THE QUESTIONS FEATURED ON [01:25:01] THE SURVEYS AND THE RATING OF SATISFACTION BASED ON THE RESPONSES COLLECTED. THE SURVEY IS ACCESSIBLE AND DISPERSED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. A LINK TO ACCESS THE SURVEY IS AVAILABLE ON THE ACOG WEBSITE. A LINK TO ACCESS THE E-VERSION OF THE SURVEY IS ALSO AVAILABLE BENEATH EACH ACOG EMPLOYEE'S EMAIL SIGNATURE. AS FOR HARD COPIES, HARD COPIES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE ACOG RECEPTION AREA. HARD COPIES ARE ALSO DISTRIBUTED BY EMPLOYEES. THIS INCLUDES FOLLOWING ONE-ON-ONE APPOINTMENTS WITH CLIENTS AND OR DISCUSSIONS WITH RESIDENTS AT RESOURCE FAIRS. SURVEYS ARE ALSO DISTRIBUTED BY ART BUS DRIVERS FOLLOWING TRIPS. PARTICIPANTS OF WORKSHOPS HOSTED AT ACOG ARE ALSO PROVIDED A SURVEY TO COMPLETE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE WORKSHOP. AND FINALLY, SURVEYS ARE DISTRIBUTED FOLLOWING COURSES AND TRAININGS OFFERED BY THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY. THE SLIDE BEFORE YOU DISPLAYS A SUMMARY OF THE SURVEYS FROM 2023. IN 2023, WE COLLECTED AND LOGGED A TOTAL OF 5,490 SURVEYS. THE BREAKDOWN BY PROGRAM CAN BE SEEN ON THE SLIDE THAT APPEARS 2023 SAW A 4,447 INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF SURVEYS COMPLETED VERSUS 2022. IN 2022. 1043 SURVEYS WERE COMPLETED AND LOGGED. THIS NEXT SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS QUESTIONS CONTAINED ON EACH SURVEY. AFTER THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SURVEYS FOR EACH QUESTION WAS DETERMINED, THOSE NUMBERS WERE DIVIDED BY THE GRAND TOTAL OF 5,490 TO DETERMINE PERCENTAGES FOR QUESTION NUMBER ONE. 96% OF PEOPLE AGREED THAT THE PERSON WHO ASSISTED THEM PROMPTLY GREETED THEM AND ACKNOWLEDGED THEIR REQUEST. IN RESPONSE TO QUESTION NUMBER 2, 94 0.93 AGREED THAT THE PERSON WHO ASSISTED THEM WAS COURTEOUS, FRIENDLY, AND DEMONSTRATED A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. QUESTION NUMBER THREE, REQUEST THAT THE INDIVIDUAL COMPLETING THE SURVEY PROVIDE A RATING IN RESPONSE TO HOW KNOWLEDGEABLE THE STAFF MEMBER WAS ABOUT THE PROGRAM DISCUSSED. 95 POINT 35% OF PEOPLE AGREED THAT THE PERSON WE DEPARTMENT WHO ASSISTED THEM WAS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE PROGRAM. THIS SERVES AS A TESTAMENT THAT OUR STAFF REALLY ARE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE AREAS AT THE AGENCY. DELIVERING ACCURATE INFORMATION IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE. IF A STAFF MEMBER IS UNCERTAIN OF A QUESTION ASKED OF THEM, THEY INFORM THE INDIVIDUAL BEING SERVICED THAT THEY WILL WORK TO LOCATE THE ANSWER FOR QUESTION NUMBER FOUR. 95.95% OF SURVEYORS AGREED THAT THE PERSON ASSISTING THEM RESEARCH THEIR REQUEST RESPONDED APPROPRIATELY OR ADDRESSED THEIR CONCERNS IN RESPONSE TO QUESTION NUMBER FIVE, THE PERSON WHO ASSISTED ME RESOLVED MY QUESTIONS OR MET MY EXPECTATIONS. 95 POINT 68% OF PEOPLE AGREED THAT THE STAFF MEMBER RESOLVED THEIR QUESTIONS OR MET THEIR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FINAL QUESTION ON THE SURVEY, WHICH REQUEST THE SURVEYOR TO STATE THEIR OVERALL SATISFACTION OF THE SERVICE PROVIDED BY ACOG. 96.84% OF PEOPLE AGREED THAT OVERALL THEY WERE SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICE THEY RECEIVED FROM ACOG AND ITS TEAM. THE AGENCY IS PROUD OF THESE EXEMPLARY SCORES AND WE CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE OURSELVES TO PERFORM AT A HIGH LEVEL WHILE MOST IMPORTANTLY, MEETING THE NEEDS OF THOSE WE SERVE. IN 2024, WE WILL IMPLEMENT THE USE OF A QR CODE TO PROVIDE EVEN MORE CONVENIENCE FOR OUR CLIENTS AND RESIDENTS TO ACCESS THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY. I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS? YES, MA'AM. I NOTICED THE, ON THE GRAPH ON YOUR AGING THAT IT WAS, I DON'T [01:30:01] WANNA SAY NO FOR THAT POPULATION, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE GONNA DO THE QR CODE. ARE THERE GONNA BE OTHER METHODS BESIDES THAT TO REACH OUT TO THOSE, THAT POPULATION? OF COURSE. WE WILL DEFINITELY CONTINUE HAVING THEM AVAILABLE IN PERSON, ESPECIALLY AT, IN OUR AGENCY MEETINGS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY AT RESOURCE FAIRS AND COMMUNITY FAIRS. UM, AND YES, THE QR CODE WE FEEL IS GONNA BE OF THE UTMOST, YOU KNOW, CONVENIENCE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. QR CODES ARE OF THE NORM THESE DAYS AND IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING MORE CONVENIENCE AND ACCESSIBILITY. AND I WILL, AND I WILL ALSO STATE THAT IF YOU GET AN EMAIL FROM ACOG, YOU GET A LINK TO THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY AS WELL. SO WE TRY TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE AS WE CAN. I WILL POINT OUT, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THE AGING. WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN AGING IN OUR CUSTOMER CONSUMER AGING DATABASE OR, OR CLIENTELE I SHOULD SAY, THAT AREN'T TECH SAVVY. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OLD SCHOOL AND SO THEY DON'T ACCESS THE LINKS AND, AND, UH, BUT WE, WE DO OUR BEST TO GET IT OUT TO EVERYBODY AND WE HAVE IT IN A HARD COPY, IN A HARD COPY FORM. WE HAVE IT IN A LINK. WE'RE NOW GONNA HAVE IT IN A QR CODE. SO WE DO OUR BEST TO GET IT THERE. BUT YOU HAVE NO, I YOU HAVE AN AVERAGE AGE. DO YOU HAVE ANY WAY OF KNOWING AGES? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. WE HAVE NOT TRACKED, TRACKED PRIOR TO THIS YEAR, AVERAGE AGE, AGE. BUT WHAT I WILL SAY, SAY IS THE QR CODE, UH, PROVIDER WHO WE SECURED, UM, THEY WILL PROVIDE ANALYTICAL DATA FOR US WHERE WE WILL BE ABLE TO TRACK THOSE SORT OF, UH, STATISTICS. UM, WE CAN ALSO TRACK BY ZIP CODE, UH, AS WELL AS TIME OF ACTIVITY, WHICH WILL REALLY BE BENEFICIAL FOR OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR OUTREACH TEAM, UM, TO LEARN WHERE WE'RE RECEIVING THE MOST ACTIVITY AND AT WHAT TIMES OF THAT PARTICULAR DAY. VERY GOOD. ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU. YEAH, I DO THINK I OUGHTA, I WOULD BE REMISS TO, I KNOW WE HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT MENTIONED THAT WATCH THIS BOARD MEETINGS AND THEY REALLY DESERVE A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THEIR 97% APPROVAL RATE SATISFACTION. THAT'S PRETTY HARD TO GET. YEAH. , THANK YOU. I THINK WE CAUGHT SOME, I THINK WE CAUGHT SOME PEOPLE GETTING SOMETHING RIGHT. SHOUT OUT TO COVID SAFETY THE MOTION. [24. Consider and act upon the recommendation to ratify the submission of recommended applications from the Regional Emergency Preparedness Advisory Committee (REPAC) for FY2024 regional funding allocations due to the Office of the Governor - Homeland Security Grants Division on March 18, 2024. This item will not require a budget amendment. - Marcela Medina] HEY, ITEM 24. CONSIDER AND ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO RATIFY THE SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDED APPLICATIONS FOR THE REGIONAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR FY 2024 REGIONAL FUNDING ALLOCATIONS DUE TO THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT DIVISION ON MARCH 18TH, 2024. THIS ITEM WILL NOT REQUIRE BUDGET AMENDMENT MARCELLA MEDINA. YES, GOOD MORNING BOARD, BOARD CHAIR MEMBERS. MY NAME IS MARCELLA MEDINA. I'M THE PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGER. I'M SAFETY MANAGER. THIS ITEM INCLUDES FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE REGIONAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, ALSO KNOWN AS REPACK FOR THE YEAR 2024. FOR THE SUBMISSION GOES TO THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS DIVISION. THE RANKING WAS DUE AND SUBMITTED ON MARCH 18TH THIS YEAR THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 28 PROJECTS SUBMITTED, TOTALING JUST OVER 5.3 MILLION THROUGH THE REPACK REVIEW AND RANKING PROCESS. ONE PROJECT WAS WITH WITHDRAWN AND SEVERAL WERE REDUCED, BRINGING THE TOTAL REQUEST TO 2.7 MILLION. THE ATTACHMENTS TO THIS ITEM INCLUDE A LIST OF THE PROJECT RANKINGS AND A LIST OF THE PROJECTS AND DESCRIPTIONS IN A MATRIX ALSO IN RANK ORDER. ALTHOUGH THE PROJECTS RECEIVE FAVORABLE REVIEW, NOT ALL OF THEM WILL RECEIVE FUNDING. THE O OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR HAS TOLD US TO ESTIMATE RECEIVING THE SAME AMOUNT AS LAST YEAR, WHICH IS ONLY ABOUT 1.4 MILLION. THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, UH, WILL FUND PROJECTS IN RANK ORDER, HOWEVER, THEY WILL HAVE A TENDENCY TO JUMP AROUND AND MEET DIFFERENT PRIORITIES, STATE PRIORITIES, AND FEMA PRIORITIES, WHICH HAVE YET TO BE, UH, RELEASED. TIED TO THIS FUNDING, THESE PROJECTS WILL OPERATE OCTOBER 1ST, 2024 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2025. THEY DO NOT HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE ACOG BUDGET. UM, I DO WANNA REFER BACK TO THE ATTACHMENTS JUST SO YOU CAN, UH, NOTE THE LISTING THAT HAS THE BLUE AND WHITE LINES. I DID, UH, PUT A, IN A RANK ORDER, IF THEY WERE GOING TO BE FUNDED IN RANK ORDER, IT WOULD FULLY FUND ONE THROUGH 11, AND THEN A PARTIAL FUNDING WOULD GO TO THE CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS, UH, RANKED NUMBER 12. SO THAT'S, IF THEY'RE GOING IN RANK ORDER, THEY HAVE SEVERAL REQUIREMENTS. ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS, YOU COULD SEE THE, UM, THE INITIALS IN THE NOTES, UH, THE ACRONYM, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PREVENTION OF TERRORISTIC [01:35:01] ACTIVITIES. THAT REQUIREMENT IS 35%. SO IN DOING THE MATH, THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE MIGHT JUMP RANK IF WE'VE MET THAT RANK. UM, THEY HAVE SEVERAL OTHER, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR 3%, UH, FOR INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S DOWN BELOW THAT LINE THAT MEETS THE REQUIREMENT, THEY WILL JUMP RANK. I JUST WANTED TO, TO LET YOU KNOW, UM, NINE TIMES OUTTA 10. THEY, THEY DO HAVE TO DO THAT TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS AT THE FEMA LEVEL. SO IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS? ANY DISCUSSION AT ALL? MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY, JUDGE HEKE, YOU MADE A MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT. OKAY. UH, JUDGE TE SECONDED THE MOTION, UM, REGARDING THE REPACK GRANT ALLOCATIONS. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? AND THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. NEXT [25. Annual Training for Local Intellectual and Development Disabilities Authority (LIDDA) Board members. - Virginia Charles] IS A SHORT TRAINING. UH, SESSION NUMBER 25 IS AN ANNUAL TRAINING FOR LOCAL INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENT DISABILITIES AUTHORITY, A BOARD MEMBERS, MS. CHARLES. GOOD MORNING. ONCE AGAIN. I'LL ADMIT THIS SHORT. THAT'S A LOT OF SLIDES. I'M VIRGINIA CHARLES, SENIOR DIRECTOR OVER INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY SERVICES. ACOG SERVES AS THE LOCAL INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY AUTHORITY, ALSO KNOWN AS A LITTA IN BEXAR COUNTY. THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION REQUIRES THAT EACH LOCAL AUTHORITY PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING ANNUALLY TO ALL MEMBERS OF THEIR GOVERNING BODIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH ATTACHMENT A 19 OF THE PERFORMANCE CONTRACT. THIS TRAINING WAS DEVELOPED WITH INPUT FROM OUR IDD SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. NEXT SLIDE. UH, THIS IS MY TRAINING OUTLINE I'M GOING TO GO OVER TODAY. UM, THE HISTORY OF IDD SERVICES IN BEXAR COUNTY, THE ROLE OF THE LITTA, OUR MISSION AND PRINCIPLES, ELIGIBILITY, DETERMINATION, SERVICE DELIVERY, PHILOSOPHY, AVAILABLE SERVICES AND IMPACT ON LOCAL ECONOMY. THIS SLIDE PROVIDES RELEVANT ACRONYMS USED FOR OUR IDD SERVICES SYSTEM, SUCH AS LITTA, WHICH STANDS FOR LOCAL INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY AUTHORITY, PDP PERSON DIRECTED PLANNING AND DSM FIVE DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL FIFTH EDITION. THE IDD SERVICES SYSTEM BEGAN IN 1963 BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY, AND FROM 1966 TO AUGUST OF 2006, THE CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES WAS THE LOCAL AUTHORITY. AND THEN ON SEPTEMBER OF 2006, ACOG WAS CERTIFIED AS THE BEXAR COUNTY LOCAL AUTHORITY. THERE ARE 39 LITTERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND ACOG SERVES AS THE LITTER FOR BEXAR COUNTY. SOME OF THE OTHER LIT THAT YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH ARE CAMINO REAL BLUE BONNET TRAILS AND HILL COUNTRY. THE MISSION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES LISTED HERE ON THIS SLIDE WERE DEVELOPED A FEW YEARS AGO IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR IDD SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THE IDD SERVICES SYSTEM REQUIRES SEVERAL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENTAL INVOLVEMENT. AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, WE HAVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION AND THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID. AT THE STATE LEVEL, YOU HAVE THE TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION THAT ENTERS INTO CONTRACT WITH THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES WORK WITH OTHER COMMUNITY RESOURCES SUCH AS OUR IIDD SERVICES, ADVISORY COMMITTEES, AND OTHER ADVOCACY GROUPS. ANY PERSON WHO IS THOUGHT TO HAVE AN INTELLECTUAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY OR RELATED CONDITION MAY BE ELIGIBLE IDD SERVICES AND SHOULD SEEK OUT OUR SERVICES. TO BEGIN OUR ELIGIBILITY PROCESS, THE PERSON SHOULD CALL OUR INTAKE DEPARTMENT AT TWO TEN THREE EIGHT THREE TWO FIFTY TWENTY AND SET AN APPOINTMENT. THE ELIGIBILITY PROCESS CONSISTS OF THREE STEPS, THE INTAKE APPOINTMENT, FINANCIAL REVIEW, AND DETERMINATION OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY ASSESSMENT. THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, UH, WE'LL DISCUSS THE TARGET POPULATION THAT WE SUPPORT IN OUR IDD SERVICES DEPARTMENT. ACCORDING TO THE DSM FIVE, INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY INVOLVES IMPAIRMENT OF GENERAL MENTAL ABILITIES AND IMPACT ADAPTIVE FUNCTIONING IN THREE DOMAINS, CONCEPTUAL, SOCIAL, AND PRACTICAL. AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY ORIGINATES BEFORE THE AGE OF 18 AND IS CONSIDERED A LIFELONG CONDITION, WHICH OCCURS WITH OTHER COMORBIDITIES SUCH AS DEPRESSION OR MAYBE EVEN AUTISM. THERE ARE FOUR DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES THAT RANGE FROM MILD TO PROFOUND AND ALL HAVE AN IQ. BELOW 70 DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES ARE CHRONIC CONDITIONS THAT ARE DUE TO MENTAL AND PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS AND CAN BEGIN ANYTIME DURING THE DEVELOPMENTAL PERIOD UP TO THE AGE OF 22. [01:40:02] AN EXAMPLE OF A DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY IS AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER, WHICH IS THE ONE MOST PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH. IN ADDITION TO INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, THERE IS AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF RELATED CONDITIONS THAT QUALIFY A PERSON. FOR IDD SERVICES, SOME OF THE MORE COMMON RELATED CONDITIONS ARE DOWN SYNDROME, FRAGILE X OR EPILEPSY. C. WE OPERATE UNDER THE PHILOSOPHY OF PEOPLE FIRST WITH USE OF RESPECTFUL LANGUAGE AND PERSON-CENTERED THINKING PRACTICES. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT WE DO NOT PRESCRIBE TREATMENT OR MAKE DECISIONS FOR PEOPLE IN SERVICES, BUT INSTEAD WE ALLOW THE PERSON TO DIRECT THEIR SERVICES AND MAKE THEIR WISHES KNOWN AND DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR PERSON DIRECTED PLAN. AND THAT IS HOW TREATMENT IS PROVIDED. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE. THESE, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE AVAILABLE SERVICES HERE AT ACOG AND WHO WE, WE, WHERE WE ENROLL PERSONS INTO NURSING FACILITIES, INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES, SAFE SUPPORTED LIVING CENTERS, COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE SAFETY, NET SERVICES, TEXAS HOME LIVING AND HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES. AS THE LITTA ACOG PROVIDES THE SERVICES YOU SEE ON THIS SCREEN WITH TARGETED CASE MANAGEMENT BEING THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR SERVICE ARRAY. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, THE COST TO SUPPORT SOMEONE IN THE CONS IN THE COMMUNITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THAT OF A ESTATE FACILITY. AS AN EXAMPLE, THE MOST IT CAN, THE, I'M SORRY, THE COST OF SOMEONE LIVING IN A COMMUNITY GROUP HOME CAN COST A LITTLE OVER $79,000 ANNUALLY. WHILE A STATE FACILITY CAN COST WELL OVER $340,000 ANNUALLY. SO THERE IS CERTAINLY A COST SAVINGS IN SUPPORTING PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. NEXT SLIDE. ONE OF THE SERVICES THAT PEOPLE RECEIVE IN THE COMMUNITY IS COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE, WHICH IS A STAR PLUS MEDICAID SERVICE THAT PROVIDES ATTENDANCE SERVICES AND ASSIST INDIVIDUALS WITH ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AND OR HABILITATION SERVICES TO LEARN NEW SKILLS. OUR SAFETY NET PROGRAM IS OUR GENERAL REVENUE FUNDED PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES SERVICES TO PERSON WAITING ON OTHER LONG-TERM SUPPORTS. THERE IS A LIMITED AMOUNT OF FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR THIS PROGRAM, THEREFORE, A PERSON'S PERSONAL BUDGET HAS LIMITS WITH ADULTS CA AT $3,500 ANNUALLY AND A CHILD AT $2,000 ANNUALLY. WE SERVE APPROXIMATE 360 INDIVIDUALS IN THIS PROGRAMS, AND NOT ALL PERSONS IN THIS PROGRAM HAVE MEDICAID. THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE SAFETY NET SERVICE AR ARRAY. ALL PERSONS ENROLLED IN OUR SAFETY NET RECEIVE SERVICE COORDINATION AND THE MOST POPULAR SERVICES ARE DEBILITATION AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES. OUR TEXAS HOME LIVING PROGRAM IS ONE OF OUR TWO MEDICAID WAIVERS. WE SERVE APPROXIMATELY 250 INDIVIDUALS IN THIS PROGRAM. THE MEDICAID WA THIS MEDICAID WAIVER PROVIDES SERVICE COORDINATION AND HAS A COST CAP OF $17,000 ANNUALLY. THIS IS THE SERVICE ARRAY FOR TEXAS HOME LIVING. THE TWO MOST POPULAR SERVICES IN THIS WAIVER ARE DEBILITATION AND PERSONAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES. HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES OR HCS IS ONE OF THE MOST COVETED MEDICAID WAIVERS. THIS WAIVER PROVIDES SUPPORT TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN THEIR OWN HOME, FAMILY, HOMES, AND OTHER COMMUNITY SETTINGS SUCH AS GROUP HOMES AND HOST HOMES. THE PERSONAL BUDGET AVERAGES ABOUT 57, A LITTLE OVER 57,000 PER YEAR. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME THAT HAVE COMPLEX NEEDS WITH BUDGETS WELL OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ANNUALLY. , THIS IS THE SERVICE ARRAY FOR HCS. WE SERVE ABOUT 2,400 PERSONS IN BEXAR COUNTY ENROLLED INTO THIS MEDICAID WAIVER AND ALL RECEIVE SERVICE COORDINATION, TARGETED CASE MANAGEMENT. THE WAIVER HAS A RESIDENTIAL COMPONENT AND THEREFORE PEOPLE CAN CHOOSE TO LIVE IN SMALL GROUP HOMES, A HOST HOME, OR THEIR OWN HOME OR FAMILY HOME. OUR PRE-ADMISSION SCREENING AND RESIDENT REVIEW PROGRAM PROVIDES SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH IDD THAT ARE RESIDING MEDICAID CERTIFIED NURSING FACILITIES. CURRENTLY, WE SUPPORT ABOUT 250 INDIVIDUALS THROUGH OUR PASS ART PROGRAM. OUR ENHANCED COMMUNITY COORDINATION PROGRAM PROVIDES INTENSIVE SERVICE COORDINATION SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS THAT TRANSITION TO THE COMMUNITY FROM INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS THE STATE SUPPORTED LIVING CENTER AND OR NURSING FACILITIES. WE HAVE A CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM, AND THEY PROVIDE SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE AT RISK OF REQUIRING A HIGHER LEVEL OF SUPPORT, SUCH AS INPATIENT TREATMENT OR ADMISSION TO A STATE SUPPORTED LIVING CENTER. THE INTENT OF OUR CRISIS SERVICES IS TO PROVIDE A TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION OR INTERVENTION TO KEEP THE PERSON IN THE MOST APPROPRIATE LIST, LEAST RESTRICTIVE SETTING, AND TO PROVIDE THERAPEUTIC CRISIS RESPITE WHEN NEEDED AND AVAILABLE. A CRISIS [01:45:01] MAY PRESENT DIFFERENTLY FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER, BUT GENERALLY THERE IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO SELF, TO HARM FOR HARM TO SELF OR OTHERS, AND OR THE SITUATION MAY POSE A RISK OF THE PERSON'S MENTAL OR PHYSICAL HEALTH DETERIORATION. THIS SLIDE LISTS THE RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTS WHERE IDD SERVICES ARE DELIVERED, SUCH AS GROUP HOMES, FAMILY HOMES, HOST HOMES, AND NURSING FACILITIES. BASICALLY WHAT THIS SLIDE DEMONSTRATE IS THAT PERSONS WITH IDD LIVE INTEGRATED IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS SLIDE PROVIDES THE RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTS WHERE IDD SERVICES MAY BE DELIVERED DURING THE DAY AS DAY PROGRAMS, SCHOOLS, PLACES WHERE THE PERSON MAY BE VOLUNTEERING AND EMPLOYMENT SITES. AND AGAIN, WHAT THIS DEMONSTRATES IS THAT PEOPLE WITH IDD LIVE, WORK AND PLAY INTEGRATED WITH OUR COMMUNITY. I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS FINAL SLIDE AND BRING IT ALL TOGETHER AND DEMONSTRATE THAT THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE HAS HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT, NOT ONLY FOR THOSE WE SUPPORT, BUT BUT ALSO OUR LOCAL ECONOMY. ON AVERAGE, WE PROVIDE OVER $14 MILLION IN TARGETED CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, WHICH SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY PROVIDERS IN DELIVERING ALMOST $150 MILLION OF COMMUNITY SERVICES IN BEXAR COUNTY. I WILL ENTERTAIN YOUR QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMITTEE, ANY QUESTIONS UNDER NINE MINUTES? I'M RACE CAR STYLE THERE, THAT'S FINE. BUT MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE THAT. IS THAT WHAT WE DON'T TRAINING? WELL THEN, THEN I DO. CAN I, MAY I JUST TALK TO YOU OFFLINE? I'LL JUST GET WITH YOU. ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THIS AND WANTING TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE STATE IS HELPING WITH THEIR PART OF THE FUNDING. AND SINCE YOU'RE HERE, SERGIO AND VERONICA, WE NEED TO TALK TO OUR LEGISLATORS ABOUT RAISING THAT AMOUNT. AND SO, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND BEFORE I ANNOUNCE WHEN THE NEXT MEETING IS GONNA BE, I HAVE THE, UH, BITTERSWEET JOB OF INTRODUCING GENERAL DRIGGERS FOR HIS LAST ACOG MEETINGS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU. THIS HAS BEEN VERY MEANINGFUL FOR US AND I HOPE YOU'VE GOT AS MUCH OUT OF IT AS WE DO. WELL, THE, THE RUMORS OF MIND DEMISE ARE A LITTLE EXAGGERATED. UM, , I, I, WE DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT'S, UH, WHAT COMES IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. AND SO THERE, THERE MAY BE ONE MORE. UH, BUT I CAN'T, I I CAN'T COMMIT TO IT BECAUSE, UH, THE NEXT, UH, 45 DAYS IS RATHER, IS RATHER BUSY AT JOINT BASED SAN ANTONIO. UM, AND SO, UH, FIRST I JUST SAY THANK YOU TO, UH, TO THIS BODY AND THANK YOU TO, UH, EVERYONE THAT, THAT, UH, PROVIDES SUCH AMAZING SUPPORT TO OUR MILITARY FOLKS WHO, UH, LIVE IN THE LOCAL AREA WHO WORK AT J SAN ANTONIO AND IN ON, IN THEIR BEHALF. YOU KNOW, THE, THIS COMMUNITY, UH, IN ALL ITS FORMS, UH, IS THE, IS EASILY THE HANDS DOWN THE BEST, UM, MILITARY SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY CAREER. AND I'VE SEEN QUITE A FEW, UM, AND, AND THAT THAT SUPPORT CONTINUES. AND IT'S BEEN, UH, IT'S BEEN AMAZING. SO, UM, I DID HAVE A COUPLE THINGS I WANTED TO SAY IF I COULD. I WANTED TO ECHO MR. BERG'S COMMENTS ON, UH, CYBERSECURITY AND THE CHALLENGES AND THE THREATS THAT WE FACE RIGHT NOW. UM, MANY OF YOU, I HOPE, HAVE SEEN THE NEWS WITH DR. RAY'S TESTIMONY, MULTIPLE TESTIMONIES, BOTH, UH, INTO CONGRESS AND TO THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM ABOUT THE THREATS THAT THE CHINESE POST TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. AND SO IF THERE'S ANY QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD BE INVESTING MONEY RIGHT NOW IN GETTING AFTER CYBERSECURITY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND FOR YOUR SYSTEMS, UH, THERE SHOULD BE NO QUESTION THAT THAT IS MONEY THAT HAS TO BE SPENT, THAT'S RESOURCES, THAT HAVE TO BE SPENT, TRAINING THAT HAS TO BE SPENT, BECAUSE AS, AS WAS RIGHTLY BROUGHT UP, EVERY SINGLE USER IS A POTENTIAL ACCESS POINT. SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST GETTING INTO THE FOYER. YOU HAVE NOW AS MANY, AS MANY EMPLOYEES AS YOU HAVE. THOSE ARE THE DOORS INTO YOUR BUILDING. AND, UH, AND THEY'RE, AND THESE, THESE FOLKS ARE VERY SMART AND SAVVY ABOUT GETTING, UH, MULTIPLE WAYS TO TRY AND GET AFTER THOSE DOORS. SO, I, I ECHO THE COMMENTS. IT'S VERY HIGH ON MY MIND RIGHT NOW. AND, UH, MANY THANKS HERE. IN FACT, TO, TO ACOG FOR THE WORK THAT'S DONE TO HELP US WITH AM MIRROR GRANT, WHICH IS GETTING AFTER, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE, CYBER, THE CYBER IS GONNA BE A KEY ASPECT OF THAT ANALYSIS. SO THAT ACOG HAS BEEN CENTRAL AND ONE OF MY HIGHEST PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF THE, THE SECURITY OF THE, UH, OF THE INSTALLATION. UH, AND THEN, UH, AND I'LL JUST SAY PLUG FOR THE GREAT TEXAS AIR SHOW SIX AND SEVEN APRIL. NOW WE, WE DON'T DO ANYTHING SIMPLY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO OR AT JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO. UH, SO WE HAVE THE VALERO AT THE SAME TIME, FOLLOWED BY THE ECLIPSE. SO WE WANNA MAKE IT A FULL EXPERIENCE FOR FOLKS. UH, BUT, UH, [01:50:01] GATES OPEN AT 9:00 AM ON, UH, SATURDAY. AND, UH, AND SUNDAY WE'LL START FLYING AROUND 11 O'CLOCK. AND THEN THUNDERBIRDS WILL DO THEIR PERFORMANCE STARTING AT THREE O'CLOCK. UH, IF YOU'VE GOT FAMILIES THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THIS, UH, WE'VE GOT SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. UH, WE'VE GOT A STEM EXHIBIT WITH DOZENS AND DOZENS OF FOLKS THAT ARE COMING OUT TO PROVIDE, UH, SOME PRETTY GOOD, UH, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE KIDS TO BE ABLE TO GET INTERESTED IN STEM. SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE A, UH, A GREAT SHOW. WE LEARNED A LOT FROM THE 2022 AIR SHOW ABOUT CROWD MANAGEMENT AND ABOUT VEHICLE MANAGEMENT AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT. UH, BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN THE, IN THAT AREA, IN UNIVERSAL CITY, IN THE SHIRTS AREA, UM, LIVE OAK. LIVE OAK, YES MA'AM, , IT IS GOING TO BE PACKED. IT'S GOING TO BE PACKED. AND JUST LIKE THE NEXT DAY WITH THE, UH, WITH THE, UH, ECLIPSE, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF TRAFFIC IN THE AREA. WE'RE DOING OUR BEST TO MANAGE IT. SO I JUST ASK FOR, UH, GET THERE EARLY, STAY LATE, UM, YOU KNOW, STAY FOR THE STARS, RIGHT? THAT, YEAH, JUST COME FOR THE ECLIPSE, STAY FOR THE STARS, COME FOR THE, UH, COME FOR THE AIR SHOW AND STAY WE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT BOTTOM LINE IS, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO IT. WE HAD, UH, HALF A MILLION VISITORS COME ONTO OUR PROPERTY IN 2022, AND WE EXPECT TO HIT THAT AND, AND, AND EXCEED IT QUITE A BIT. SO IT'S GONNA BE A REALLY GOOD TIME. SO ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU. UH, I HOPE THAT I CAN COME TO ANOTHER ONE IF I CAN'T. UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU FROM THE, UH, THE MILITARY FOLKS ACROSS SAN ANTONIO IN THE AREA, UH, FOR ALL THE SUPPORT THAT YOU PROVIDE. IT'S BEEN, UH, IT'S BEEN FANTASTIC AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT AS WE GO ON. THANK YOU. THE [26. Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at AACOG.] NEXT MEETING IS APRIL THE 24TH. SAME TIME, SAME PLACE. UH, WE ARE ADJOURNED. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.