Our 2022 Chamber Chair of the Board Phil Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. and Frost Bank, kicked off the February Board of Directors meeting last Thursday by welcoming members, both in person and virtual, and thanking them for their support and service to the board. Following the pledge of allegiance and an invocation from Sister Kathleen Coughlin, Senior Advisor to the President for Special Gifts and Sponsored Ministries for the University of the Incarnate Word, Phil called on Taylor Dawson, the Chamber’s Public Policy Council Chair and Senior Vice President for Pape-Dawson Engineers to present the Chamber’s position statement on the City’s $1.2 Billion 2022 Bond Program.
Taylor shared that on February 8, the Public Policy Council heard from Assistant City Manager Rod Sanchez as he presented the final list of 2022 Bond Projects, and on February 10, 2022, the San Antonio City Council unanimously voted to approve the final projects list for the 2022 Bond Program and voted to call for the City of San Antonio General Obligation Bond Election.
The Final Project List for the 2022 Bond Program includes 183 projects, with the following estimated allocated budgets for each of the six propositions:
- Streets, Bridges, and Sidewalks: $472 million
- Parks and Recreation: $272 million
- Drainage and Flood Control: $170 million
- Housing: $150 million
- Municipal and Public Safety Facilities: $78 million
- Library & Cultural Facilities: $58 million
Key features of the 2022 Bond Program:
- The $1.2 Billion Bond program will not require a City Property Tax Rate increase
- 53% of the Bond dollars will be dedicated to Street and Drainage Infrastructure Projects
- 21 Planned Miles of New Linear Greenway Trails are included in the project list
- Improvement for 30% of our City’s parks and 9 new park properties
- 13% of the Bond dollars will be dedicated to Priority Funding Categories and Strategic Objectives for Housing
- $269.4 million dollars will be leveraged by the City from other funding sources (Federal, State, Bexar Bounty, TIRZ, Storm Water Regional)
The Bond Program will be split into 6 propositions on the May 7 ballot, and San Antonio voters will have the opportunity to consider each of the propositions when voting. The Board voted unanimously to support the bond and the Chamber’s President and CEO Richard Perez thanked them for their votes on this historic Bond. He shared that this Bond represents a huge opportunity to boost our infrastructure, advance commerce, and facilitate the pursuit of happiness for all citizen throughout our city. Now we must rally the business community and the community at large to unite to support this momentous bond election. There was additional discussion among Board members about the importance of joining the educational campaign efforts and helping to raise money.
Next, the Chair of the Chamber’s 2022 Education and Workforce Council Tyler Schroeder, Senior Manager of Government Operations for the Boeing Company, presented the Northside Independent School District $992 Million Bond Package, which is the work of a 250 member citizen bond committee that reviewed the needs of the district to make a list of projects and it was supported unanimously by NISD Board of Trustees. The majority of the bond will be used to pay for renovations and upgrades of the many campuses that are more than 20 years old. There will also be on new elementary school constructed. Additionally, the district plans to use funds to enhance CTE programs, expand middle school magnet opportunities, and improve safety and technology. The Board voted unanimously to approve the NISD Bond Program.
Phil Green then gave a brief update on the first meeting of the Chamber’s Governance Task Force that included a presentation on research conducted by the American Society of Association Executives regarding the size and structure of Chamber Boards. This research showed that small boards are generally more effective. Another key take away from the survey findings was that 85% of Chambers have a strategic plan that guides the staff and Board. In order to help us enhance our voice as a force for good, the Chamber will work to develop a strategic plan.
Finally, Richard Perez gave his President’s Update and touched on the Chamber’s Brand Success initiative. We received eight responses to our recently released RFP and have whittled the responses down to four finalists who will present their plan to help boost the Chamber’s brand and image. Richard called on Lori Stinson, Vice President of Military Affairs and Leadership Development, to give an update on Military Affairs. The Chamber has long advocated for cost savings opportunities and partnerships for our military community, and we are currently helping secure meetings with the Defense Health Agency in an effort to secure an Intergovernmental Support Agreement for University Health to provide medical laundry services to all Air Force medical treatment facilities in our area. This would result in a 30% cost savings over what the Air Force is spending now.
Richard briefed the Board that Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddock has reached out to the Chamber, because she is doing a Texas listening tour and is planning to come to San Antonio in March or April. She wants to meet with the business community to discuss the oil and gas industry in the state and see what she can do to help our businesses. He also reported that Cacie Madrid, Vice President of Public Policy, has been appointed to serve on the SAWS Rate Advisory Committee, and Cacie shared that the group is charged with looking at rate design and ultimately presenting a restructured design to the SAWS Board and City Council.
Richard also mentioned that the Chamber was proud to sponsor the recent Routes Americas Conference that brought more than 2,000 people and 70 airlines to San Antonio. The conference focused on expediting the region’s recovery and fueling future air service growth and provided a platform for the City to showcase improvements planned for the San Antonio International Airport to attendees and airline decision makers. He also announced that SA to DC will take place March 27 – 30, 2022, and because we have not traveled to D.C. in two years, the trip is more important than ever. There are a lot of federal infrastructure dollars available, so this trip will focus on advocating to bring funding to San Antonio. Richard concluded his report by talking about immigration reform. The Chamber has been a long-time proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, and we are currently working with an organization called FWD.us to amplify our work.