Speaker 1: On the record is presented by launch essay, San Antonio, small business owners.

San Antonio is a fast growing fast moving community with something new happening every day.

And that's why each week we go on the record with the Newsmakers who are driving this change.

Then we gather at the reporters round table to talk about the latest news stories with the journalist behind those stories.

Join us now, as we go on, Speaker 2: Welcome to on the record.

I'm TJ maids, homeless encampments throughout San Antonio are becoming a bigger and more prevalent issue.

There are many causes, but no easy solutions.

One encampment is that a city facility, the Vance Jackson field office of Councilman Roberto Trevino, which sparked the controversy last week in front of a live TV audience.

When Dell view neighborhoods express this may at the situation, Councilman, what is the status of the Bellevue field office?

And then also what the neighbors are saying about it?

Speaker 1: Well, again, the field office is a district one city council field office.

It's also neighbors to Westfall branch library.

And, uh, what we've done at at the, at the field office is essentially, uh, worked out of that field office to address, like you said, a very difficult issue with, with homelessness that occurs in that area through, uh, outreach efforts and those outreach efforts have been tremendous.

They're they're working, we've helped over 40 people get off the streets, get services every day we're we're, we're providing some help and support.

So if you look down the corridor, you see a very cleaned up, uh, area.

We we're picking up trash every single day with help, uh, with solid waste.

But the outreach specialists have really, really helped to, to understand what's going on in that entire neighborhood.

We want to, we want people to know that first and foremost, public safety is a priority for us.

Uh, we will work with SAP to continue that, but what's happening is the outreach specialists are working with people.

We're allowing people to, to be at our field office, to get those services, to connect them to, to something meaningful and that's what's happening.

Speaker 2: So what you're describing is your field office is a bridge to services for people who are in a transitional phase.

Speaker 1: The field office is a bridge and not an encampment.

And I resent anybody that would describe it that way, because what we're seeing is a lot of different people.

What, what, what we have is our folks who know that there's help and support that they can receive at the field office just yesterday evening, before I left, we took a, a man that we've been working with for quite a while to go get detox services.

It was just an amazing moment to finally get that person to agree, to get that help and support.

This is a human issue we want to.

Speaker 2: Exactly.

So based on some of the media coverage, it sounds like there are 40 people sleeping at the field office, shooting up drugs and causing all sorts of crime.

What is the situation in Turkey about Speaker 1: The actual situation is we don't tolerate crime.

So they're there.

If there's crime S a P D is there to handle it, we would never interfere with any of that.

Uh, the reality is, is that it ebbs and flows.

And sometimes we have five people.

Sometime we, sometimes we might have a dozen people that are there.

Additionally, we're in the winter months, in the middle of a global pandemic, uh, today it's drizzling a little bit.

And so they, they, a lot of them take cover under our overhang at the field at the field office.

So I think that there's also sort of a moral implication here, which, which is where do they go?

And this is the, the question about what's happening with encampments is that if we come in and we simply just abate encampments, but everybody simply asks, and we should ask the question and wait for an answer.

When we say, where are they supposed to go?

Speaker 2: We've all seen homelessness emerge as a bigger and bigger issue, especially the pandemic right here, outside the studio on Broadway downtown.

We see it.

I know that people around Hardberger park are seeing it more, all over town.

It's a complex issue, uh, no easy solutions.

And you're saying there's a problem that you're trying to fix it, but what do you think a citywide solution would be?

Speaker 1: CDI solution is printed right here.

Uh, we created the strategic plan to respond to homelessness and city of San Antonio bear County.

This is a plan created by Homebase.

Uh, the idea is to, is to take this plan.

Let's make it policy and let's fund it Speaker 2: Home base, a consultant hired by the city.

That is correct.

And when was that consultant contract?

Yeah, Speaker 1: That was over a year ago.

And, and so we we've just got this plan.

Uh, ironically was, it was presented to the city in December of last year.

So this is a plant.

It speaks to a lot of the issues that we're talking about right now, which is they're barriers that a lot of homeless people are facing to get help and support.

So, uh, we're, we're grateful for all the shelters that exist like Haven for hope.

But we also know that that, that efforts like outreach are not given enough time to do the work that they need to do.

We need adopt the housing first policy.

The housing first policy is it really talks about creating permanent supportive housing for people who need it.

This is, this is a broad issue.

We know what we, what we know is that there's a lot of cities that have failed.

Some, maybe have succeeded a little bit better, but this is a San Antonio issue.

Let's, let's create a San Antonio solution.

Speaker 2: So what you're describing is a housing first, which is expensive.

I'm sure.

What would you say to those people who say, well, we have other needs in our city and why are we going to spend so much money on the homeless population?

And there's a stigma associated with the homeless population too, which I'm sure a lot of people are thinking about.

Speaker 1: Well, you know, I say that, that what we're doing right now cost money too.

Right.

Um, in fact, I just drove by the, the encampment that was, uh, was abated last week.

And, uh, quite frankly, there there's a lot of Polk folks that are, that are back and what does it, what does it, what does it cost us to consistently do something where there isn't, uh, an answer for where do they go?

And, and of course, and then it happens again, look, we're in the middle of winter.

And we're about to experience a lot of very cold nights in the middle of a pandemic.

People have the right to shelter.

I don't know how else to say it.

And so I think that there is a plan that speaks to, uh, ways that we can help people, uh, let let's let's remember that this is a human issue and everybody's got issues that we should address individually Speaker 2: Is one of many issues in which you've been critical of the mayor and the city staff.

And the word on the street is that you're thinking about running for mayor.

Are you running for mayor this spring?

I've got running for mayor.

How'd you file papers for this.

Speaker 1: I filed for reelection district one, hope to have your support.

Speaker 2: All right.

Well, and so in district one is the Alamo and that's been an issue you've been really engaged in the redevelopment of the Alamo.

It's been years and years and years in the making a lot of moving parts.

What do you think the status of the Alamo master plan is as we speak?

Speaker 1: Well, the status is, is it, it's obviously, uh, in a holding pattern, uh, there's a lot of questions, uh, still to be answered.

Um, we were part of our effort last year to, to get past the THC was, was to explain the, the, sort of the, the complexity, uh, that, uh, not approving the permit would, would, would create in terms of how we move forward permit for relocating the Senate, the permit to relocate the Texas Speaker 2: Historical commission denied that permit, the Texas Speaker 1: Historical commission.

Well, let's be clear.

The Texas historical commission asked the city to create a separate permit that, that allow the cenotaph to be a part of the existing plan.

What we know is it's been adopted, uh, through, through different through city council and other entities and changing that plan was, was very difficult.

All the stakeholders have since left.

So those are the people that were funding the museum have left.

And what I can say is we need to, we need to take a closer look, uh, right now, uh, there's a proposal by the city to fund a portion or a fund, the redesign and the construction of state controlled property, which I do not support.

This is going to cost millions of city dollars on station.

Speaker 2: So you're talking about city dollars going to a property that's controlled by the state.

Speaker 1: That's correct.

I don't support that.

We shouldn't be doing that in the middle of a pandemic either.

Speaker 2: Well, Councilman Trevino, you have a lot on your plate.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you.

Our next guest is the new president of the San Antonio police officer's association, Danny Diaz.

You started on February 1st, is that correct?

That's correct.

Sure.

I hit the ground Full plate.

So first it's collective bargaining negotiations.

Those are supposed to start on Friday, February 12th.

Is that right?

That's correct.

And what are your priorities for the collective bargaining agreement this year?

So the, the idea is, is, uh, look, we had a turning of the page, so to speak.

Um, we're not dealing with, uh, we're dealing with a new city manager and a new association president.

So the idea is to come in and bargain in good, uh, in good faith and to sit down and, you know, have a good dialogue with the other side, with the city side, um, making sure that we get the best contract available, that benefits not only the city and the association, but the citizens of San Antonio.

So in 2016, there was a long kind of protracted collective bargaining and negotiation.

And it got a little heated.

What I'm hearing you say is you want a more good faith cooler negotiation this time around.

Yeah, there's look, let's face it.

Uh, city manager, Eric Walsh is not Cheryl Scully and I'm not Michael Haley.

So, uh, uh, we, we do have a dialogue going, uh, I did call, uh, the city manager when I got elected and let them know that I'm here to have an open dialogue and to communicate, right.

We get more things done when we communicate and not be adversary.

So that's the intent, The big sticking points this time around is going to be around discipline.

Everybody knows that it's been widely reported.

Um, you've talked about bad apples in the police force.

You've been quoted as talking about bad apples and how sometimes the good cops are the ones that point out the bad cops behavior.

What is your view about the disciplinary process going into this negotiation?

So look, I'll tell you that, that the discipline that we have in place works, um, call it politics, call it whatever you want.

You want to call it.

Um, that there's been incidents where, uh, it, it, it leads it to believe that the system that's in place doesn't, uh, but that's far from the truth.

Uh, there are things in there that, that, uh, that do good for both sides.

So that being said, though, we understand that reforms here.

Um, we keep an open mind.

Uh, look, the idea is to get better.

You don't want to regress.

You want to keep pushing forward and to get better.

So whatever it is that we can do to get, get better, as far as the department is concerned.

And as far as the membership is concerned, we're all for it.

But we have to be able to sit down with the city and be able to discuss that, to have that local control here, um, that, that, that would go, uh, make wonders.

So last summer there was a big dialogue nationally, internationally and locally about police reform.

It got very controversial, very heated.

What are you hearing from your members about the new dynamics in place, given those events?

So a lot of our, our membership, what they're worried about us, look, the, the activists are putting out misrepresentations and, and, uh, and, uh, misquoting the chief, not only the chief, but misquoting what our policies and procedures actually actually state.

So my job is, and quite frankly, we're, we're behind, uh, where we need to come out and educate the community as much as possible to let them know that, no, this is what they're saying, but I have a general manual right here that States, this is actually what it means.

Uh, so people would take the time and get educated and allow me to educate them.

They'll realize that, uh, we're telling the truth.

We're always coming with facts, documentation to support those facts, transparency.

Uh, that's what we're about.

And that's, that's the direction we're going in.

So we're having this collective bargaining negotiation against the backdrop of a petition drive to repeal the collective bargaining process from the San Antonio police officer's association.

That's going on the ballot here in a couple of months, what is suppose view of the fixed SAPD petition drive to repeal collective bargaining rights?

So look, some of the things that were being done when they were going out and getting their petitions, there were actual case numbers of citizens calling in that, uh, these petitioners were being a little forceful on getting their, their signatures.

Uh, we wholeheartedly believe that that the city of San Antonio loved their police.

Uh, but now it's, it's a challenge, right?

Um, and that challenges, we have to educate the citizens to tell them the truth, uh, of what the facts actually are and not what's being misrepresented from, uh, from the fixed SAPD, um, that there, one of the things that they keep mentioning is, is accountability.

And, and bringing that back, bring the power back to the chief chiefs, never lost his power.

He's always had it.

Uh, and to say that that we need to be held accountable.

Sure.

But with the policies we have in place, they work, uh, it's just, you know, one person here, there, uh, they talk about officers winning their job back, uh, in all actuality, the numbers stated the officer's at one, their job back through arbitration was 10 in a decade.

Wow.

A year.

Oh, you're very busy.

You got two big initiatives under your belt, come back and see us when it's all over.

Thank you for joining us.

Sure.

No problem.

Thank you.. And now for the reporters round table, joining us Gilbert Garcia at Metro columnist, San Antonio express news.

Thanks for being here.

Thank you.

So you've been writing a lot in your columns about the mayor's race.

It looks like we have a Nurnberg Brock house rematch.

What are the key elements of that race?

Speaker 1: The, uh, both of them had their official kickoffs last week.

They had virtual events and mayor Nierenberg is talking about how he's kind of been a stable leader, kind of helped guide the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, uh, Greg Brock house.

I think his entire campaign really hinges on this idea.

I think he's, he said I will be the job's mayor.

He has made the argument that mere Nuremberg, um, uh, has, uh, you know, been maybe overly strict as far as the, the, the mandates that have been applied to, to businesses, to, uh, during the pandemic.

And, uh, he's saying that he's going to be someone who's going to, who's going to be more aggressive.

One of the things he's talked about is dipping into the city's reserve fund to, uh, for, uh, a package that would, would aid small businesses.

Speaker 2: The reserve fund helps the city maintain its bond ratings.

It helps the city kind of manage its fiscal situation.

And he's saying he wants to use that money to pay for jobs packages.

Speaker 1: That's right.

The city has roughly about $120 million in that fund.

Um, and he's saying, well, you know, this is a rainy day fund.

It is a rainy day fund, but it's also, as you said, something that helps the city with big, you know, with bond projects to get low, a low interest, uh, borrowing.

And so, um, but he's saying that we need to dip into this.

This is an emergency.

Now on the other side, mayor Nuremberg would argue that the city had $191 million, uh, COVID relief package last year that included $38 million for small businesses.

So I think this is, these are the, the, the, the debate points that are gonna be made.

Speaker 2: So there've been other people rumored to run for mayor.

I've heard Councilman Trevino is one of those rumors.

He was on the show and said, he's not running for mayor.

He's running for reelection in district one, the filing deadline is tomorrow.

Is there going to be a bigger field?

Do we think, or do we think this is pretty static?

Speaker 1: The two major candidates?

Yeah.

And it's it, you know, the, the, the same, the same candidates that we saw two years ago, but, you know, so much has changed because of the pandemic.

Um, and I think mayor Nuremberg having been an office to, uh, you know, an additional term, I think the first term, he would say, you know, it was one crisis after another.

He was dealing with firefighters petition drive.

And so many things popped up that he didn't anticipate.

And I think that, uh, which is true this time too, with a pandemic.

But I think that, I think, I think he's certainly coming into it with more confidence in you.

Speaker 2: So in this first term, mayor Nurenberg was dealing with a charter petition that was brought by the fire union, supported by Greg Brock house, where the mayor caught a little bloodied going into his reelection campaign.

This time Marriner Ehrenberg brings the workforce initiative to the ballot for the sales tax dollars and wins with 77%.

So he's coming in stronger.

So is your sense of the sense of your sources that the dynamic has almost flipped from last time in terms of the dynamics of the race?

Speaker 1: I think that Marin, I think that the November election and the workforce development pre-K, uh, the public transit initiative, winning all those, I think has put them in a much stronger position.

What is interesting is that we also have fixed SAPD, which has there a ballot initiative, which would get rid of collective bargaining for police.

My sense is that mayor Nuremberg is going to kind of stay out of the fray on that one, but Greg Brock house is going to actively campaign against it.

And I think he's going to try to make that Speaker 2: We had Danny Diaz on the show earlier, the suppo the police officer's association is against the ballot initiative.

Sounds like Greg Brock house to mayor.

Nurenberg sounds like he's more interested in the current collective bargaining negotiations, which are occurring as we speak.

So a lot going on in the mayor's race.

Is there anything else you want to say before we close out?

Speaker 1: Um, uh, no, I, I, again, I think that there's, there's no love lost between these two candidates and I think it's, it's always fascinating to see the two of them.

Uh, Speaker 2: Got it.

All right.

Another reelection campaign in San Antonio with a little bit of heat behind it.

Gilbert Garcia, thanks for being here.

Okay.

And now in the reporters round table, Brendan Gibbon, senior reporter from the San Antonio report joins us.

Thanks for being here, Brendan.

Thanks for having me TJ.

So you wrote a big story in your trailer series about this, a lotto Creek Greenway expansion.

I know you're an avid cyclist, I'm an avid runner, so we both spend some time on the Greenway trails.

What is the news about this lotto Creek Greenway?

Uh, thanks to that new four mile or so segment from loop 1604 to Eisenhower park.

Um, the Salado is now connected from all the way from Eisenhower park, beta North of North of the loop down to Fort Sam.

There's a short gap around Fort Sam with some very kind of dangerous high traffic areas, but then you could pick it up again, uh, at Jack White park on Seguin road and then continue it all the way down to South side lions park.

So it is really coming together.

Um, you know, the last main thing is that segment through, uh, you know, the military base, which is tricky to get a trail easement through.

So people who live in San Antonio in the 1980s and nineties know that park space was a big weakness in our community.

And there was a concerted effort through Howard peak and others to expand the green space.

What is the scale of the Howard peak Greenway trail system?

As of, Yeah.

So in the past 20 years, San Antonio has built, uh, more than 80 miles of these paved, um, Greenway trails away from traffic.

Um, and there's been more every year.

I mean, I've lived here five years and this, you know, I'm, I'm constantly seeing new segments of trail open.

Um, and a lot of that's been funded, as you said, through this, uh, uh, Howard WP Greenway's sales tax.

So it, and the Edwards dock for protection program split an eighth of a cent of, um, sales tax revenue.

Um, and that's all that that shifted, you know, according to a vote, uh, last November and majority of, uh, of San Antonio voters approved shifting, uh, the sales tax to find, uh, first workforce development and then to go to via metropolitan transit.

So for the last 15 years, you and I go to the Valero corner store and we buy some candy, an eighth of a cent from every, every purchase goes to this aquifer protection and Greenway trails program.

It's funded lots of conservation easements on the aquifer side, this massive trail infrastructure on the park side.

And now that funding is being diverted.

So I know that there have been 80 miles built, they're planning more, how are they going to fund this new trail expansion without this one, eighth of a cent sales tax revenue to do it?

The, uh, the idea is that the County would sort of take over funding for the program.

And it's not entirely clear how the specifics of this would work yet.

Um, judge Nelson Wolff has committed to the County taking this up in the spring.

Um, and you know, we, we have kind of letters showing that that's something they intend to put on their agenda.

Um, you know, early last year is this whole sales tax shuffle was going on.

The mayor told me that, you know, one of the reasons that there were a lot of ways that you could fund Greenway trails, it was, it was difficult to find a way to fund Aqua for protection, um, just because of the way that state laws and bond covenants work.

Um, but that find that borrowing money to build trails within bear County is not the most difficult thing to do.

So we could see bond propositions from the city or the County related to trail expansion, um, in the future, even without the sales tax.

Well, as we couldn't see that for the aquifer protection program, That is something we could see.

But I think what I would tell, you know, listeners is that this, this ball is still very much play, um, their, their engagement in how the trails would be funded and what that's gonna look like going forward.

We'll make kind of maximum difference right now because it's definitely not set in stone.

So there are several Creek ways that have trails.

There's a Salado Creek Greenway, which you said goes from Eisenhower park, basically to Fort Sam.

Then there's a Leon Creek Greenway, which is more on the West side of town.

Is there going to be a connection between those two at any point, I'm sorry, between Salado and Leon, um, there, the, the connection points been designed and kind of, and built already at Eisenhower park.

So later this year, um, the summer we're supposed to see those two major Northern arks of the trail network come together.

And if you go up to Eisenhower, now you can see science pointing this way to Leon.

That way.

It's just a lot of it.

It looks, I think it looks pretty nice if you, if you go up there and have a look it's worth checking out.

So have you talked to people who have been on the trails and your reporting and look and learn why people like it and sort of what the, what the uses are that people use?

I mean, I know they use it for recreation, but did they use it for transportation as well?

What is the scope of the use and what are, what are readers and, uh, interviewee saying about the trails I hear from people who do use it for commuting, um, and getting, you know, and getting to, and from work, although that's a little difficult because there's not a direct way into downtown from some of these trails or to sort of our major employment centers.

Um, they're there, that's growing all the time, the network of connections and little spurs that take you into, um, different neighborhoods or like, or commercial development areas.

Um, people use them for access to other kind of specialized outdoor rec stuff.

So the new section of the slot of trail is the access point from medicine wall, which is a outdoor rock climbing crags, as they only officially sanctioned legit rock climbing area in San Antonio.

And the only way to get to it is to park at the trail head and walked North, um, Amenities associated with this Hardberger park, Eisenhower park, this rock climbing wall.

It seems like a really great, uh, recreational, uh, system for San Antonio.

I wanted to ask you about something else you covered that a lot of people are talking about, which is CPS energy.

It seems like the environmental community wants there to be less coal.

Let's call it capacity.

The business community wants to more coal capacity because it's cheaper.

I would imagine.

What are you finding in your reporting on CPS energy and the generation sources that they use?

Um, so there's last week, it was the release of, uh, this long awaited report from CPS energy, where they really put out their financial analysis for what it would, you know, how it would even affect our utility bills to take a couple of different paths for, um, for, for their coal plants.

And, you know, the big, the big issue over the last couple of years with CPS energy and, you know, tying into San Antonio, officially voting to go, you know, fossil fuel free by 2050 is what would happen with it.

Spruce coal units, spruce to its latest coal unit was finished in 2010, CVS energy still owes more than a billion dollars on that asset.

And it's, it's used to keep electricity reliable in San Antonio to not like have price spikes or rolling blackouts.

So can I follow up on that really quickly?

So we're hearing about the environmental impact.

We're hearing about cost and you just mentioned reliability, which we don't really think about until we turn our lights on and they don't come on.

Right.

And there are people saying that the coal plants are important for reliability.

And is that kind of true from your reporting?

CBS energy is saying that yeah, the spruce to coal plant is important to keeping service reliable.

Um, but there are other options too.

Um, there, for example, CVS energy is closing some of its oldest natural gas plants right now from the sixties and seventies to replace the, and just because they're at the end of their use for lives.

And they kind of say that they've gotten all that they can out of these assets.

So to replace that they're going with a massive new, a solar project, new battery storage, and then, um, another component of new generation they're calling from generation, and that might be natural gas, but it might be batteries, or it might be some kind of new technology.

They're exploring that right now.

So, you know, as they have these old plants come offline to keep them reliable, there are new technologies and, and, you know, fairly affordable ones that are coming in to replace that.

There's a living example of that right now.

Right?

And you're a talented reporter.

You can read Brendan Gibbons at San Antonio report on parks, on CPS energy and on many other subjects.

Thanks for joining us.

And thank you for joining us for another edition of on the record.

As always, you can go to dot org to you this episode or previous episodes in video or podcast format, we will see you next week.