[Veteran Affairs Commission on March 14, 2024. ]
[00:00:26]
SO CHAIR, WE HAVE QUORUM, AND, UH, IT'LL BE KNOWN IN JUST A MINUTE.
WE DO REMIND THOSE WHO ARE ON THE COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE ONLINE TO PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CAMERAS ARE ON, THAT YOUR CAMERAS ARE TURNED ON, PLEASE.
COMMISSIONER CHASE, IF YOU GOOD, PLEASE.
UH, IT'S, UH, 12 O'CLOCK AND, UM, WE HAVE A QUORUM.
SO WE'RE GONNA CALL TO ORDER THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION, UH, REGULAR MEETING FOR MARCH, UH, THE 14TH AND THURSDAY.
AND, UH, OUR FIRST, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS GONNA BE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
SO WE PLEASE STAND EVEN AT HOME.
OUR PLEDGE REASONS TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FORWARD TO STANDS MORE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
SO, UH, NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE ITEMS THREE THROUGH SIX.
OH, ON, YOU KNOW, I'M SORRY, I, I SHOULD DO A ROLL CALL.
I'LL GET USED TO THIS EVENTUALLY.
UM, COMMISSIONER AYERS PRESENT.
CAN YOU HEAR US? HE'S TAKING A ROLL CALL.
COMMISSIONER SHAKE CHASE PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER RAY A SMITH PRESENT.
SO NEXT ITEM IS, UM, OR THE SECOND ITEM IS THE, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS, UH, THREE THROUGH SIX.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE, UH, APPROVE THE, UH, MINUTES FOR OUR LAST MEETING.
UH, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN A COPY OF THAT AND, UH, LOOKED IT OVER.
AND I'LL GIVE YOU A MINUTE AND WE'LL NEED A VOTE ON THIS.
SO, UM, WE'LL HAVE A MOTION TO, UH, APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE REGULAR MEETING ON FEBRUARY THE EIGHTH.
MR. COMMISSIONER AYERS, I MAKE A MOTION.
WE ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING.
DO I NEED A SECOND COMMISSION WALKER? I SECOND THE MOTION.
OKAY, MOVING ON TO ITEM, UH, NUMBER FOUR.
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THIS IS A, THIS DISCUSSION ON VETERANS NEEDS ASSESSMENTS, AND I THINK THIS WILL BE MS. SILVA.MY NAME IS CHRISTINA DE SILVA.
UM, I'M THE WELCOMING COMMUNITIES AND IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS DIVISION OFFICER.
I, WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH
SO, UM, IT'S A, A PRIVILEGE TO SERVE THIS COMMISSION.
UM, PERSONALLY, JUST TO SHARE, I'M CHILD OF, UH, MILITARY VETERANS, SO WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE.
UM, SO I'M HERE PRESENTING THE VETERAN NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND, UH, CITY COUNCIL HAS APPROVED A BUDGET FOR 70 5K, 75,000 TO FUND A VETERAN'S NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND YOU MIGHT ASK, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF A VET OF A NEEDS ASSESSMENT? UM, SO A NEEDS ASSESSMENT CAN BE HELPFUL IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, I THINK IT CAN BE A WAY THAT WE CAN FORMALIZE A LOT OF THE INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN COLLECTED THROUGH THESE MEETINGS.
UM, I THINK IT CAN ALSO PROVIDE A SUPPORT FOR YOU ALL AS, UM, YOU DISCOVER HOW THE CITY OF DALLAS CAN BETTER SERVE DALLAS RESIDENTS WHO ARE VETERANS.
UM, AND SO AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, WE WANTED TO FIRST REVIEW THE SCOPE OF WORK.
SO ESSENTIALLY IT, IT'S KIND OF LIKE OUTLINING WHAT, WHAT, UM, A VENDOR WOULD DO, WHAT A CONSULTANT WOULD DO.
AND THEN, UM, FROM THERE WE WOULD THEN GO THROUGH A PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
AND I ALSO DO SEE ONLINE IS A, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM OUR OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT.
UM, AND THEY'RE HERE ALSO TO HELP ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THAT PROCESS WOULD LOOK LIKE.
BUT MY MAIN FOCUS FOR TODAY I WANTED TO DO IS, UM, TALK ABOUT THIS SCOPE OF WORK.
'CAUSE ESSENTIALLY IT WILL OUTLINE WHAT THE DUTIES WOULD BE FOR THIS VENDOR.
UM, AND BASED OFF OF YOUR FEEDBACK, WE WOULD THEN INCORPORATE IT TO THE, UH, ULTIMATE SCOPE OF WORK AND THEN MOVE FORWARD FROM THERE.
SO, UM, HAS ON THE SCREEN THE, THE DRAFTS SCOPE OF WORK.
UM, AND SO IT PROVIDES, YOU KNOW, INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE, SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
SO IT INCLUDES INFORMATION ABOUT THE VETERANS NEEDS, ASSESS THE VETERANS COMMISSION, BUT REALLY, UM, WHERE I'M HOPING THAT, UH, I CAN GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL IS IF YOU SCROLL DOWN, UM, TO THE REQUIREMENTS, WE HAVE THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.
SO THIS IS BASICALLY OUTLINING WHAT KIND OF VENDOR WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, AND THEN ALSO BELOW THE SPECIFICATIONS, WHAT IT, WHAT IT IS EXACTLY THAT THE VENDOR WOULD BE PROVIDING.
UM, SO WE PROVIDED THIS TO YOU ALL, I THINK, UM, IT WAS EARLY MARCH TO REVIEW, AND, UM, OUR HOPE IS THAT WE CAN COLLECT ANY FINAL COMMENTS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ALREADY START, UH, THE PROCESS OF GETTING THIS, UH, SCOPE FINALIZED AND THEN WORKING WITH PROCUREMENT TO GET IT PUBLISHED.
UM, SO IF IT'S HELPFUL, I CAN GO THROUGH, UM, THE BIDS, SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS, UM, SO THAT IT'S CLEAR.
UH, SO IF YOU LOOK ON PAGE ONE, BID SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS, PART A, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS A DEMONSTRATED TRACK RECORD OF CONDUCTING QUALITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO SOME, SOME ORGANIZATION OR CONSULTANT THAT HAS EXPERIENCE COLLECTING DATA FROM RESIDENTS AND BEING ABLE TO ORGANIZE THAT DATA.
UM, WE ALSO ARE HOPING TO IDENTIFY SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCE COLLABORATING WITH THE RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, VETERANS SERVING ORGANIZATIONS, UM, CITY STAFF, LOCAL NONPROFITS.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, WE, WE ARE HOPING TO IDENTIFY A CONSULTANT THAT KNOWS HOW TO LOOK AT THE DATA AND BE ABLE TO SEPARATE IT INTO RELEVANT GROUPS.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE DON'T WANT JUST A CONSULTANT THAT JUST GOES TO ONE PART OF THE CITY OF DALLAS AND SAYS, OH, WE DID OUR JOB.
WE WANT SOMEBODY WHO ACTUALLY CAN LOOK AT THE DATA AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SURVEYING ALL KINDS OF VETERANS, VETERANS, UM, WHO ARE, UH, BROKEN DOWN BY RACE.
THE DATA BEING BREAK BROKEN DOWN BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, UM, GENDER OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, UM, RELIGION, DISABILITY, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF, YOU KNOW, THE DIVERSITY THAT EXISTS HERE IN DALLAS WHEN IT COMES TO THE VETERANS COMMUNITY.
AND THEN ALSO UNDERSTAND THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS.
UM, AND THEN FOR THIS, FOR THE SPECIFICATION OF SCOPE OF WORK, UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE THINGS THAT ARE OUTLINED.
ONE IS, UM, PROJECT PLANNING, A KICKOFF.
SO WE WANT TO, ONCE THE CONTRACT IS FINALIZED, WE WANT THE VENDOR TO PROVIDE A DETAILED PROJECT PLAN THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UH, NOT ONLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT ALSO WHEN THEY'RE PLANNING TO ACCOMPLISH
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THAT, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, UM, UH, ON TRACK WITH, WITH THEIR, UH, EFFORTS.UM, WE ALSO WANT THAT INFORMATION TO BE SHARED WITH THE RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION, UM, WE'D HOPE THAT THE VENDOR WOULD BE ABLE TO SHARE WHAT THEY'RE, UH, PLANNING TO DO AND COLLECT THAT FEEDBACK AND THEN BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, WE ALSO HOPE THAT THE VENDOR WOULD BE ABLE TO REVIEW WHAT RESEARCH HAS ALREADY EXISTED.
I KNOW THAT THE STATE HAS CONDUCTED A VETERANS NEEDS ASSESSMENT, BUT IT WAS ON A STATE LEVEL, RIGHT? IT WASN'T SPECIFIC TO THE CITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, SEEING WHAT INFORMATION IS ALREADY OUT THERE THAT WE CAN, UM, BE INCLUDING, UM, ESPECIALLY WHAT'S, UM, WHAT'S, UH, RELATED TO VETERANS NEEDS AND SERVICES.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, UH, SO STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
THIS ONE'S ACTUALLY ONE THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT BECAUSE I THINK AS A VENDOR, UM, WE WOULD BE INCLUDING, UH, THIS ASPECT OF ASKING THE VENDOR TO GO OUT AND SURVEYING, UM, INTERVIEWING, HOSTING FOCUS GROUPS WITH VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY, LIKE LISTENING FROM VETERANS, WHAT, WHAT IT IS THAT, UM, THEY'RE NEEDING.
UM, AND THEN, UH, IN TERMS OF DATA COLLECTION, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HEAR NOT ONLY WHAT, WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS, BUT ALSO WHAT ARE THE STORIES BEHIND THOSE NUMBERS.
SO COLLECTING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA, UM, THAT ENCOMPASSES, UH, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGES RELATED TO HEALTH, EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, EDUCATION, AND OTHER FACTORS.
UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, FACILITATING DISCUSSIONS WITH VETERAN SERVING ORGANIZATIONS, UM, FAMILIES OF VETERANS.
WE KNOW THAT CAREGIVERS ALSO PLAY A, A KEY ROLE, UM, IN PROVIDING SUPPORT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, WE WANT THE VENDOR TO ENGAGE WITH ALL 42 MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENTS AND SEE WHAT IS IT THAT EACH OF THESE DEPARTMENTS CURRENTLY DO.
ARE THERE ANY MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENTS THAT CURRENTLY SERVE VETERANS? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE TRACKING? IS THAT, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD BE DOING BETTER? UM, SO THAT'S, UH, PART OF THE DATA COLLECTION.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT METHODS OF COLLECTING THAT DATA.
YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO AN ONLINE SURVEY.
SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY NEED THAT FACE-TO-FACE TO COLLECT THAT DATA.
SO WE'RE HOPING VENDOR THAT CAN TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE WANT THE VENDOR TO ALSO, YOU KNOW, COLLECT THE DATA AND ALSO ANALYZE WHAT ARE THE TRENDS, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE, UM, KEY FINDINGS, AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT THOSE KEY FINDINGS ARE, UH, BASICALLY VALIDATED.
YOU KNOW, WE WANT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT JUST, UH, LISTENING TO, AGAIN, LIKE ONE POPULATION THAT WE'RE ABLE TO VERIFY THAT THESE ARE ARE REAL PRIORITIES.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE WANT THE REPORT TO INCLUDE, UM, ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAN, UM, UH, INCLUDE REALLY, UH, I GUESS A, A WAY TO PRIORITIZE SOME OF THE EFFORTS.
'CAUSE I KNOW THERE'S PROBABLY GONNA BE A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT I THINK THE VENDOR WOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT WITH, UM, IDENTIFYING THIS IS, THIS IS THE TOP NEED.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZE FROM THERE.
UM, AND ALSO, UH, OUTLINING THE STEPS FOR POTENTIAL IMPLEMENTATION.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WITH ALL OF THIS DATA COLLECTION, WITH ALL OF THIS REPORTING SUPPORTING WITH, UM, A PRESENTATION TO MAKE THE INFORMATION PUBLIC.
UM, AND THAT WOULD HELP WITH TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, UM, AND ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, ENSURING THAT, UM, THIS BODY, THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL, UM, RECEIVE THE FINAL DELIVERABLE.
SO, UM, THAT IS, UH, THAT IS KIND OF A, I GUESS A ROUGH OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE HOPING THE SCOPE OF WORK TO INCLUDE.
UM, AND I WANNA HEAR IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK OR ANY SUGGESTIONS YOU'D LIKE TO ADD.
MISSIONARY, HE, UH, THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE A GREAT TRACK RECORD ON PICKING CONSULTANTS.
WE WASTE A LOT OF MONEY ON CONSULTANTS AND NOT GET MUCH FOR IT.
UM, I DON'T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THE VETERANS COMMISSION BEING INVOLVED IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.
I THINK WE NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.
TWO, THE PERSON OR CONSULTANT THAT IS SELECTED NEEDS TO HAVE
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SOME EXPERIENCE WITH VETERAN.THEY DON'T NEED TO PICK A CONSULTANT WHO CAN WRITE A REPORT AND HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH VETERAN THREE.
UM, ALL THIS SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD, BUT WHO'S GONNA IMPLEMENT? OR WHEN DOES THE TIMELINE COMPLETE IT? BUT IF THE CONSULTANT IS SELECTED, THEY COME UP AND SAY, THEY'RE GONNA DO THIS.
WHAT IF THEY PROVIDE US A REPORT? HOW ARE WE GONNA GET OUR MONEY BACK? IT'S NOT, IF IT'S NOT WORTH IT, IT NEEDS TO BE A PAID TO PLAY
AND I SUGGEST THAT THEY DON'T JUST GIVE US A REPORT, WALK AWAY TO GIVE US A REPORT, AND THEY'RE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS AFTER THE REPORT.
AND GENERAL, THOSE ARE MY INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS HAVING BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS KIND OF PROCESS IN THE PAST.
YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT FEEDBACK.
UM, I'LL TRY MY BEST TO IDENTIFY AND RESPOND TO EACH OF THESE POINTS.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO PICKING A CONSULTANT, WE DO NEED TO COME UP WITH A SCORING CRITERIA.
UM, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, FOR THE MOST PART, WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS INCLUDE, UH, CRITERIA THAT LOOKS AT THEIR EXPERIENCE.
SO, AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, UH, IN THIS, IN PART OF THE, UH, REQUIREMENTS, WE DO WANT, UM, AN A VENDOR THAT HAS EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THE RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS LIKE VETERAN RESIDENT CITY STAFF, WE CAN MAKE THAT MORE CLEAR THAT IT'S NOT JUST RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS, BUT SPECIFICALLY VETERAN SERVING STAKEHOLDERS OR VETERANS THEMSELVES.
UM, AND THEN, UM, I THINK THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ROLE OF PICKING THE CONSULTANTS, I MIGHT NEED TO VERIFY WITH PROCUREMENT ABOUT WHAT, WHAT ROLE THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION CAN PLAY, WHAT'S APPROPRIATE.
UM, I DO FORESEE THAT, UM, THE VENDOR ULTIMATELY WILL HAVE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, COME PERHAPS TO OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS AND MAYBE PROVIDE A MONTHLY UPDATE ON HOW THINGS ARE PROGRESSING.
UM, AND ESPECIALLY IN THE VERY BEGINNING, PROBABLY HAVING A LOT OF, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COMMISSIONERS TO GIVE INPUT ON THE TIMELINE AND, YOU KNOW, THE MILESTONES, UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT SEEING PEOPLE SHOW UP AT THE END OF WHEN EVERYTHING'S, UH, COMPLETED.
UM, I WILL ALSO SAY, UH, IN REGARDS TO, UM, WHO IS GOING TO IMPLEMENT, UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WANNA INCLUDE IN THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION PLAN.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALSO EMPHASIZE MORE IS, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT YOU KNOW, WHO, UH, WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDED, UM, OR CORRESPONDING, UH, STAKEHOLDER THAT WOULD BE INVOLVED.
AND THEN, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO PAYING CONSULTANTS, THE CITY ONLY PAYS UNTIL THE SERVICE HAS BEEN DELIVERED.
SO, UM, USUALLY WE INCLUDE THAT IN THE CONTRACT, WHAT THE PLAN IS FOR PAYMENT.
UM, NORMALLY, UH, WITH A KIND OF PROJECT LIKE THIS, WE CAN REVIEW, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT THE MILESTONES AND WHAT THE DELIVERABLES ARE, AND, YOU KNOW, ENSURE THAT THOSE DELIVERABLES OR THOSE MILESTONES ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, MADE ON A TIMELY MANNER.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HERE ON THE LINE, AND I KNOW, UH, THEY WORK REALLY HARD TO INCLUDE CLAUSES THAT PROTECT THE CITY FROM PAYING A VENDOR FOR NOT, YOU KNOW, AND THEY DON'T DO THE WORK.
UM, SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY, FOR EXAMPLE, IF A VENDOR IS NOT PERFORMING AS WE EXPECTED OR AS WAS INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACT, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO TERMINATE A CONTRACT.
UM, IF THAT'S, IF THE VENDOR IS NOT, UM, PERFORMING AS EXPECTED.
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TO MAKE SURE I GOT ALL YOUR POINTS.UH, AND YEAH, I, I, I REALLY DO HOPE THAT, UH, THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION CAN BE INVOLVED, UH, AT EVERY STEP.
YOU KNOW, WITH THIS FIRST STEP OF REVIEWING THE SCOPE OF WORK.
AGAIN, WE HAVEN'T EVEN, WE, I'VE SENT AN EMAIL TO PROCUREMENT, BUT I HAVEN'T, UH, GONE THROUGH THE FORMAL PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING THIS PUBLISHED.
'CAUSE WE WANTED TO GET THIS, UM, BEFORE YOU ALL, BEFORE WE GOT TO THAT POINT.
CHRISTINA, THIS IS, UH, SCOTT CHASE.
UM, I, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD THING FOR US TO BE DOING.
I DO THINK, UH, I AGREE WITH MONTY THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE OVERSIGHT BY THE COMMISSION ITSELF TO, UM, IN TERMS OF BOTH THE, THE RFP AND SELECTING THE, UH, ULTIMATE VENDOR, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
I DO KNOW THERE'S PROCUREMENT RULES, OBVIOUSLY, THAT HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE CITY OF DALLAS.
BUT, UH, WHAT WAS THE TIMEFRAME YOU THOUGHT IN TERMS OF GETTING, UH, A CONSULTANT TO DO THIS? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE WERE TRYING TO DO WITH SOME RESEARCH, UH, OF WHAT OTHER NEEDS ASSESSMENTS HAVE DONE AND SEEING WHAT WAS POSSIBLE, UM, WE HAVEN'T CONFIRMED A TIMELINE, UM, BUT I KNOW THAT THIS IS A BIG PRIORITY FOR CITY COUNCIL.
SO, UM, I THINK THE ANTICIPATION WAS THAT, UH, THE CONTRACT WOULD BE PUT INTO PLACE, UM, BY MAY.
SO WE WOULD IDENTIFY A VENDOR, UH, BY MAY.
AND THEN, UM, I MEAN, POTENTIALLY I THINK HAVE A, A YEAR FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TIME FOR, UH, NOT ONLY THE VENDOR TO, UH, CONFIRM WITH THE, UM, VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION, THE SCOPE OF WORK, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, CONDUCT THE NEEDS AND ASSESSMENTS, UH, INTERVIEW THE RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS.
BUT I'M ALSO OPEN TO FEEDBACK IF YOU ALL THINK A YEAR ISN'T APPROPRIATE TIMEFRAME FOR A CONTRACT LIKE THIS, WELL, I THINK A YEAR IS APPROPRIATE.
I, I THINK MAYBE THE PRE-PLANNING IS GONNA BE AS IMPORTANT AS THE ULTIMATE, UH, STUDY ITSELF.
'CAUSE WE CERTAINLY NEED SOME OF THESE THINGS.
WE, WE GO THROUGH THE, THESE MEETINGS IN EVERY MEETING.
THERE'S A NEW VETERANS AFFAIR, A VETERANS HELP GROUP SHOWS UP, AND IT WOULD BE NICE TO GET IT ALL IN ONE PLACE THROUGH THIS STUDY.
I THINK THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS THAT COULD BE CONSOLIDATED INTO A VERY USABLE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE FIRST STEP IS.
I THINK IT, I THINK THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO, TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RFP ITSELF AND COME UP WITH MAYBE SOME, UH, A LITTLE FULLER, UM, RENDITION OF SOME OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT ALREADY.
COMMISSIONER AYERS, UH, I THINK MAY, MAY BE TOO SOON, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO DO A SCOPE OF WORK.
YOU HAVE TO LOOK, GO OUT AND SOLICIT BIDS, AND YOU HAVE TO FIND, UH, PEOPLE WHO CAN DO THIS WORK.
MM-HMM,
YOU THINK THAT, UH, ONE, ONE, WELL, SO I, I GUESS THE WAY I SEE IT IS THERE'S ALMOST TWO PHASES FOR THIS STARTING, RIGHT? THERE'S THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, UM, AND, UM, WHEN WE POST ON WHAT'S CALLED BONFIRE, WHICH IS THE SYSTEM THAT THE CITY USES TO PRO TO NOTIFY PUBLICLY WHEN THERE'S AN RFP OR A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS THAT'S AVAILABLE, UM, WE WORK WITH PROCUREMENT REALLY CLOSELY.
AND, UH, BASICALLY THEY MANAGE THAT, UH, PART TO ENSURE NOT ONLY, UM, WILL, UH, WE BE ABLE TO SHARE THE LINK TO RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS.
SO EVEN ALL THE PARTNERS THAT WE'VE MET WITH, WE ARE, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE BONFIRE LINK WITH THEM.
UM, WE CAN ALSO MONITOR TO SEE HOW MANY BIDS WE'RE RECEIVING.
SO IF WE'RE NOT RECEIVING, LET'S SAY WE DON'T RECEIVE, IT'S, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, SET A DEADLINE AND WE DON'T RECEIVE ANY BIDS, WE CAN WORK WITH PROCUREMENT TO EXTEND THAT DEADLINE AND ENSURE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CHANCE TO PROMOTE THE RFP OPPORTUNITY.
AND THEN ONCE WE SELECT A VENDOR, THEN THERE'S THE CONTRACTING PROCESS.
AND SO THAT BY ITSELF, I AGREE, I THINK IS, IS GONNA BE ITS OWN, UH, STEP.
UM, AND THAT'S WHERE WE WORK WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THE VENDOR.
UM, AND SO WHEN I SAY A YEAR, I IMAGINE THAT YEAR BEING FROM WHEN THE CONTRACT STARTS TO WHEN THE CONTRACT WOULD BE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED.
SO I, I AGREE THIS WHOLE THING IS PROBABLY GONNA BE MORE THAN A YEAR.
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THEN, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACTING ITSELF, THE CONTRACTING PROCESS ITSELF IS GONNA, YOU KNOW, TAKE ITS OWN TIME.YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT TAKES TWO WEEKS, SOMETIMES IT TAKES MORE DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE.
UM, AND, UH, YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, IF WE COULD COME BACK AND GIVE UPDATES.
UM, ESPECIALLY, UH, ESPECIALLY AS WE, UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME PROCUREMENT RULES THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T, UM, COMMUNICATE CERTAIN THINGS UNTIL A CERTAIN POINT.
UM, SO I CAN DEFINITELY COME BACK TO PROCUREMENT AND CONFIRM WHAT IS IT THAT WE CAN COMMUNICATE TO YOU ALL, WHAT IS IT THAT WE WON'T BE ALLOWED TO COMMUNICATE? AND THEN THAT WAY YOU ALL CAN HAVE THAT CLEAR INFORMATION UPFRONT.
ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD DO IS FIND OUT IF THERE'S ANY OTHER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY WHO HAVE DONE THIS FOR VETERAN.
AND I KNOW WE, UM, WE ACTUALLY DID FIND EL PASO, UM, DID CONDUCT A VETERANS NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
I THINK THAT WAS ALL SENT TO YOU.
UM, SO THAT WAS ACTUALLY PART OF OUR, BEFORE GETTING TO THIS POINT, WE WANTED TO KIND OF HAVE AT LEAST SOME RESEARCH DONE.
SO SPENDING'S BEEN ACTUALLY KIND OF LOOKING AND, AND CURATING ALYSSA.
AND ACTUALLY WE KIND OF PULLED SOME OF THE INFORMATION FROM THOSE REPORTS.
AND, UH, WE, THAT'S WHAT WE DEVELOPED WITH THIS DOCUMENT.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S ALSO THE, THE TEXAS STATE VETERANS NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO I THINK THAT THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE DONE SIMILAR THINGS, SIMILAR.
UM, AND WE'VE ALSO, YOU KNOW, USING THE MODELS OF WHAT WE'VE DONE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH OUR RACIAL EQUITY PLAN, UM, OUR RACIAL EQUITY PLAN ACTUALLY LOOKS AT HOW EACH CITY DEPARTMENT WILL HELP REDUCE RACIAL DISPARITIES.
UM, AND SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO INCORPORATE IN THIS SCOPE OF WORK, IS SEEING HOW EACH DEPARTMENT WOULD HELP REDUCE DISPARITIES SPECIFICALLY FOR VETERANS.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, ANIA CLARK FROM PROCUREMENT WHO HAD HER HAND UP.
OH, I THINK SHE WANTS TO ACTUALLY, UH, SPEAK.
UM, YES, I JUST WANTED TO CHIME IN ON THAT TIMEFRAME THAT CHRISTINA WAS, UM, SPEAKING ON AS FAR AS THE RFPP PROCESS, THE, FROM THE TIME OF ADVERTISEMENT UP TO THE TIME OF RECOMMENDATION FOR AWARD, A TYPICAL RFP TAKES US ABOUT SIX MONTHS.
SO YES, YOU'RE RIGHT, CHRISTINA.
IT WILL BE WELL OVER A YEAR BEFORE WE COULD ACTUALLY, UM, START TO BENEFIT, UM, SOMETIMES FOR SERVICES, DEPENDING ON NEGOTIATIONS.
UM, THE RFP PROCESS, HOW LONG THAT MAY TAKE, DEPENDING ON PRESENTATIONS.
UM, SO YES, UM, YOUR TIMEFRAME IS JUST ABOUT RIGHT WHEN YOU SAY A YEAR.
JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM COMMISSIONER BURGLE HERE, UH, FOR DISTRICT SEVEN, ONE OF THE THINGS, I'M NOT SURE WHERE IN THE RFP PROCESS OR ONCE THE, THE CONTRACT IS GIVEN, UM, IF IT CAN BE PUT INTO THE CONTRACT.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S ONE THING ABOUT AWARDING IT, UM, AND HOW MUCH DETAIL GOES INTO IT VERSUS HOW MUCH, ONCE THE GROUP OR THE ENTITY IS GIVEN THE AWARD THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, FINE TUNE WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO.
BUT, UM, THE CHAIR AND I WERE KIND OF HAVING A SIDE CONVERSATION ABOUT MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE A, UH, A SUBCOMMITTEE ON THIS.
ACTUALLY, WHAT I WOULD PREFER IS WIDER THAN THAT, IS THAT WE HAVE A, THAT WHATEVER VENDOR GETS THIS CONTRACT, THAT THEY HAVE A WORKSHOP WITH US, NOT JUST A MEETING.
THE PROBLEM WE HAVE IS WE MEET ONCE A MONTH FOR ABOUT AN HOUR TO AN HOUR AND A HALF.
UH, WE, WE TALK ABOUT THINGS AND THEN WE WAITING 30 DAYS AND THEN NOTHING'S GETTING DONE.
SO TO ME, WAITING SIX MONTHS FOR A CONTRACT IS NOT ABNORMAL.
I WAS IN DISD FOR 25 YEARS, THAT'S HOW LONG IT TAKES.
BUT BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE IN DISD, I KNOW THAT WHAT THEY'LL FIND IS THERE ARE SILOS OF ACTION OR INFORMATION, THE SILOS WHERE ONE DEPARTMENT'S DOING ONE THING, ANOTHER DEPARTMENT IS DOING ANOTHER, AND THEY NEVER TALK TO EACH OTHER.
SO IF THEY CAN, I FIND AND IDENTIFY EITHER DUPLICATION OF EFFORT, REDUNDANCY, OR GAPS, UH, EITHER BASED ON RACE INCOME OR VETERAN STATUS WITHIN THAT, UH, BECAUSE THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, OUR VETERANS ALSO DEAL WITH INCOME LEVELS, RACIAL, GENDER, ET CETERA, ISSUES.
UM, THAT WOULD BE A PART OF IT.
BUT I THINK THAT WE COULD GET THAT APPROVED WHERE WE WOULD HAVE LIKE A WORKSHOP, A FULL DAY, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE LAW, YOU KNOW, FOR MEETINGS AND THE ADVERTISEMENT OR WHATEVER WE HAVE TO DO TO MAKE THAT, BECAUSE WE REPRESENT THE CITY STAKEHOLDERS FOR THE VETERANS.
THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS COMMISSION.
WE HAVE TO BE INTEGRAL TO THIS.
AND THEN LET THEM DO THEIR JOB AND THEN REPORT BACK TO US, AS YOU SAY.
'CAUSE SOME THINGS THAT'LL TAKE TWO OR THREE MONTHS FOR THEM TO SIFT THROUGH THE INFORMATION, BUT WE CAN ALSO HELP GUIDE THEM.
[00:30:01]
WHEN WE MEET WITH THEM TO HELP FINE TUNE WHAT GROUPS THEY NEED TO MEET WITH.IF THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON WITH HOUSING, OUR SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING CAN TALK TO 'EM ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN WEST DALLAS VERSUS PLEASANT GROVE VERSUS NORTH DALLAS.
IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE AT THE VAMC ON LANCASTER, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EDUCATIONAL ISSUES WITH DALLAS COLLEGE, ET CETERA.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE THAT INPUT, UM, WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE LAW AND ALL THAT.
BUT ALSO JUST TO, TO COMMISSIONER ARIS, AND HE KNOWS THIS, WE ALL DO THAT.
IMPLEMENTATION IS DIFFERENT FROM ASSESSMENT.
AND I'M ALWAYS WARY OF ANY COMPANY THAT COMES IN TO ASSESS AND THEN BECOMES OUR SAVIOR.
THAT IS WHAT, WHERE WE SEE THE WASTE OF MONEY.
'CAUSE THEY'LL ALWAYS FIND SOMETHING WRONG SO WE CAN PAY 'EM TO FIX IT.
SO ALL OF US HAVE BEEN IN THE MILITARY.
I'VE BEEN IN EDUCATION FOR 25 YEARS.
I KNOW HOW THAT GAME IS PLAYED.
SO TO BE HONEST, I WANT JUST AN ASSESSMENT OF THE, UH, AND AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT THEY SEE.
THEY CAN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT THEN THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO COME TO US AS A COMMISSION FOR US TO TAKE FORWARD WITH THE CITY BECAUSE THEY MAY RECOMMEND SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW IN OUR HEARTS IS WRONG OR IT'S NOT ACCURATE OR AS NOT HELPFUL OR COULD GO FURTHER.
THE OTHER ISSUE WITH THAT IS THE BUDGETING FOR IT.
WHEN IT'S GONNA HIT THE NEXT BUDGETING CYCLE WITH THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, IF THEY COME UP WITH A, WHEN IS THE BUDGET AGREED ON IN JUNE? UM, IT'S VOTED ON IN SEPTEMBER.
IN SEPTEMBER, AND THEN THE FISCAL YEAR STARTS IN OCTOBER.
'CAUSE IN DIC THEY VOTE ON IT IN JUNE, THEY PRESENT IT IN APRIL AND MAY, AND THEN THEY VOTE IN JUNE AND IT GOES IN INTO EFFECT IN SEPTEMBER.
SO IF THEY, YOU KNOW, COME UP WITH THE END IN DECEMBER, THEN WE'VE GOTTA WIDE WAIT ANOTHER SIX, SEVEN MONTHS BEFORE THEY PRESENT.
SO THAT WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE SO FAST THAT IT'S EITHER TAKE IT OR NOT.
BUT WE NEED TO HAVE TIME TO GO OVER THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS SO THAT WE CAN WORK WITH OUR COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE BUDGET.
BECAUSE IF THEY FIND A BIG GAP THAT WE NEED, THAT WE RECOGNIZE AND AGREE TO ON HOUSING, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE HOUSING AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY ARE GOING TO BACK IT WITH MONEY.
'CAUSE MONEY, YOUR INTENTIONS GO WHERE THE MONEY GOES AND MONEY GOES WHERE THE INTENTIONS GO.
SO IF WE MAKE ALL THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGH THIS ENTITY, AND THEN WE DON'T SEE THE CITY FUNDING IT, WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE EXERCISE? SO I THINK THAT THE COMMISSIONERS CAN BE IN AGREEMENT WITH ME THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, NOT MICROMANAGEMENT, BUT WE NEED TO BE, UM, GUARDIAN ANGELS ON THIS PROCESS.
AND SINCE I'M RETIRING, I'LL HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, UH, TO HELP OUT.
UM, I WANNA RESPOND TO THE IDEA OF INCLUDING A WORKSHOP.
WE CAN, UM, HAVE A BULLET UNDER PROJECT PLANNING AND KICKOFF THAT MAYBE BEFORE DEVELOPING A DETAILED PLAN THAT THERE'S A, A, A WORKSHOP THAT IS PLANNED WITH THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION.
UM, AND THAT WAY THEY CAN INCLUDE THAT INFORMATION THAT THEY RECEIVED FROM THE WORKSHOP AS PART OF THEIR DETAILED PLAN.
AND, UM, IN RESPONSE, I THINK TO YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, YEAH, I THINK WE CAN MAKE THIS MORE CLEAR, BUT WHEN I THINK OF IMPLEMENTATION, I REALLY WANT IT TO SPECIFY THE DEPARTMENTS, WHICH DE WHICH CITY DEPARTMENT WOULD ADDRESS WHAT GAP.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY SCOPE.
SO MAYBE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PLANS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, IDENTIFY THE COMMUNITY PARTNER THAT CAN HELP WITH THAT ISSUE THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, CITY SCOPE.
BUT, UM, UH, WE CAN, UM, SO WE CAN, WE CAN INCLUDE THAT.
UM, BUT I WILL ALSO SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BECOME A PRIORITY FOR THE VETERAN FOR THE COM CITY COUNCIL.
UM, AND I THINK THIS IS GONNA BE A FIRST STEP TO, UM, I, I GUESS I SEE THIS AS A TOOL FOR YOU ALL AS COMMISSIONERS, UM, AS YOU MENTIONED, TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE IN YOUR DISTRICT.
UM, AND, UM, I THINK, I THINK THIS WILL BE REALLY IMPACTFUL WHEN IT COMES TO ADDRESSING CHALLENGES.
ANYONE ELSE QUESTIONS ONLINE? I'M JUST GONNA FOLLOW UP ON A COMMISSIONER.
VERDER WILL'S, UH, SUGGESTION ABOUT THE SUBCOMMITTEE.
I THINK FOR US, UH, AS COMMISSIONERS TO REALLY HAVE A FIGHT IN ANYTHING WE'RE DOING, UH, I THINK WE DEFINITELY NEED TO BE MORE, UH, THAN JUST A, UM, A ONCE A MONTH MEETING FOR THIS, THIS PROJECT.
WE, WE HAVE TO BE ENGAGED A SUBCOMMITTEE, I THINK SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT, THAT THEY CAN WORK DIRECTLY WITH THAT.
'CAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S PRETTY DIFFICULT FOR US TO EVEN GET A QUALM, TO BE HONEST, SO THEY CAN WORK DIRECTLY WITH THIS GROUP AND THEN COME BACK AND WE CAN ALL, YOU KNOW, GET THE SAME INFORMATION AND WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
UH, I, I THINK IT WOULDN'T, IT'S NOT GONNA WORK WITHOUT OUR INPUT OR I, I WOULD NOT
[00:35:01]
FEEL LIKE IT'S WORKING WITHOUT OUR INPUT.UM, GOING OVER THE, A COUPLE OF THE, UH, SURVEYS THAT WERE TAKEN FROM A COUPLE OTHER GROUPS AND EL PASO AND I FORGET THE OTHER ONES, BUT, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYTHING'S BASED AROUND HEALTH AND BENEFITS.
AND JUST LIKE WE SAW THIS GENTLEMAN, UH, THE VETERAN THAT CAME IN TODAY, HE WAS ASKING ABOUT HI HIS BENEFITS AND HE WAS ASKING ABOUT HEALTH.
UM, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT WAR ERA, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I THINK A LOT OF THESE SURVEYS ARE, ARE GEARED TOWARD THE OLDER OR THE, UH, UM, MORE, UM, LEMME SAY ELDER, UH, SENIOR, SENIOR VETERANS.
AND WE NEED TO GET, UH, CAUGHT UP WITH A LOT OF THE YOUNGER FOLKS COMING OUT OF, OUT OF THE MILITARY AND GET THEM INVOLVED SOMEHOW OR OTHER.
I THINK, UM, AS A, AS SOMETHING, I GUESS AS STAFF, WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN WORK WITH, UM, THE CHAIR TO INCLUDE AS AN AGENDA ITEM FOR NEXT MEETINGS.
UM, THE VOTE TO ESTABLISH A SUBCOMMITTEE FOR, UH, THE, THE THIS CONTRACT.
UM, I KNOW WE CAN'T VOTE ON IT RIGHT NOW 'CAUSE IT'S TECHNICALLY NOT AN AGENDA ITEM, BUT WE CAN INCLUDE THAT IN THE FOLLOWING MEETING.
UM, SO THAT IT'S A CLEAR AGENDA ITEM THAT YOU ALL CAN VOTE ON.
AND THAT WOULD GIVE US ALL TIME A CHANCE TO, UH, THINK ABOUT VOLUNTEERING FOR SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR.
SO I THINK IT GIVES US A MONTH FOR PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT IT.
AND I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
PLUS, I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO DO BECAUSE WE HAVE TO RUN ON OUR AGENDAS THAT ARE PUBLISHED.
SO IF WE CAN HAVE, GO AHEAD AND JUST, DO WE NEED TO HAVE A MOTION TO PUT IT FOR NEXT AGENDA? NO, I THINK IT WOULD BE JUST SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE WOULD TALK WITH THE CHAIR AND THEN NO NEED FOR THAT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE ON OUR AGENDA FOR APRIL.
UM, SO ACTUALLY, UH,
SO, UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE MEETING TO CANCEL THE APRIL MEETING.
BUT, UM, DO, DO WE HAVE A MEETING IN APRIL? I, I'M HEARING WE NEED TO, WE'RE WE NEED TO CANCEL IT.
'CAUSE ALSO UNFORTUNATELY THE MEETING SPACES FOR THE COMMISSION ARE ALL GOING TO, ARE ALL BEING USED.
UM, AND SO IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE MARCH, APRIL, MAY.
SO THE NEXT MEETING WOULD ACTUALLY BE IN MAY.
WELL, WE TRIED TO SEE IF THERE WERE OTHER DATES THAT WERE AVAILABLE FOR SPACES THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR A HYBRID MEETING.
ZACH, WE HAVE TO HAVE A HYBRID MEETING.
SO WE HAD TO HAVE A SPACE THAT ALLOWS THE CAPACITY FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL THE TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY, UM, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FIND A DATE THAT WOULD, THAT'S AVAILABLE.
UM, AND SO IN APRIL, NO APRIL 11TH MEETING.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S CLEAR.
IS EVERYBODY ON BOARD WITH THAT? DO WE HAVE TO MEET, DO WE HAVE TO MEET AT CITY HALL? WE, WE DON'T HAVE TO MEET IN, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE TO MEET IN CITY HALL, BUT WE NEED A ROOM THAT HAS THE CAPACITY FOR LIVE STREAMING AND UH, BASICALLY HAVE A HYBRID SPACE.
WELL, I, I THINK THAT THE, THIS ISSUE OF THE, THE, THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT WE OUGHT TO DO IT RIGHT.
AND IF WE CAN'T DO IT IN APRIL, WE DO IT IN MAY.
YOU KNOW, START THE PROCESS IN MAY.
ALTHOUGH BETWEEN THEN AND BETWEEN NOW AND MAY, WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO, IT SEEMS TO ME SEND SOME COMMENTS TO YOU.
SO IT MAYBE, UM, YOU, YOU COME UP WITH A, A UPDATED, UH, NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UM, PRESENTATION LIKE YOU DID TODAY.
UH, I THINK THERE'S SOME COMMENTS TODAY THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO PUT IN TO WHAT YOU JUST PRESENTED TO US.
YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE.
IF YOU ALL HAVE MORE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, YOU CAN EMAIL THEM DIRECTLY TO
UH, THE QUESTION IS EITHER FOR YOU OR FOR CINDY.
UM, YOU'RE SAYING THAT WE CAN'T MEET ON THURSDAY THE 11TH, AND WE NORMALLY MEET THAT SECOND ONE IF WE AGREE WE CAN MAKE A NEW MO A
[00:40:01]
MOTION OF NEW BUSINESS AT THE END TO CHANGE OUR MEETING FOR APRIL.ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE ENTIRE MONTH OF APRIL IS THIS ROOM IS BEING USED? BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE TO BE HYBRID, SO I UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T JUST MEET IN AT THE CAFE KIND OF THING, BUT ARE Y'ALL SAYING THAT WHAT'S PREEMPTING US, BECAUSE WE ARE REGULARLY SCHEDULED AND WE ARE CREATED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO WHY ARE WE NOT GETTING ANY PRIORITY ON THIS? WELL, SO THE PO THE CHALLENGE IS OUR, ALL OF OUR STAFF IS GONNA BE INVOLVED WITH A CONFERENCE, UM, FOR HOW MANY DAYS? FOR, UM, APRIL.
SO THAT REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING IS WHEN WE'RE UNABLE TO DO IT.
BUT THEN, UM, BUT THEN WHEN WE, UH, COMMUNICATED WITH BUILDING SERVICES TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANOTHER DATE THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR MEETING, UM, I DON'T THINK WE HAD MUCH LUCK WITH IDENTIFYING, LIKE THERE WAS, IT WAS HARD TO FIND A DATE IN WHICH THE SPACE WOULD BE AVAILABLE, BUT WE CAN TRY AGAIN AND SEE IF THERE WAS ANY CHANGES TO THE AVAILABILITY AND SEE IF THERE'S, UH, ANY OTHER, IF THERE'S ANY FLEXIBILITY WITH THAT, UM, WE CAN COME BACK AND, UM, CONFIRM.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT OKAY FOR, WE GET THAT THOUGH, THE 10TH THROUGH THE 12TH, BUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS, AND I'M NOT FAMILIAR, SINCE I DON'T WORK DOWN HERE ON EITHER THE FOURTH, I'M LOOKING AT MY CALENDAR EITHER THE FOURTH, THE 18TH, OR THE 25TH, UM, WHICH ARE THURSDAY SINCE WE'RE USED TO DOING THURSDAYS, WE CAN ALSO CHANGE THE DAY.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT THIS ROOM IS ALREADY BOOKED UP BY EVERYTHING ELSE? CORRECT.
UH, THAT HAS THAT HYBRID WE HAVE IN AT CITY HALL, I THINK WE HAVE THREE SPACES THAT ALLOW FOR HYBRID CAPACITY.
UM, SO, BUT I, I DO WANNA SAY, UM, I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT ON THE AGENDA, SO I I THINK WE CAN, I'M LOOKING AT MAYBE TRY AGAIN AND SEE IF THERE'S ANOTHER DATE THAT WORKS.
SO JUST SO YOU KNOW, SO THE, EXCUSE ME, THE, THE AVENUE WE HAVE TO FOLLOW IS COMMUNICATE WITH ROOM RESERVATIONS.
AND WHAT WE SPECIFICALLY ASKED WAS FOR ANYTHING IN APRIL, ASIDE FROM THE DAYS THAT ARE GONNA BE BUSY WITH THAT CONFERENCE.
AND WHAT WE WERE TOLD, UH, AFTER TWO COMMUNICATIONS FOR FOLLOWING UP FOR FEEDBACK WAS THAT TILL NOW THERE'S NOTHING IN THE SCHEDULE THAT SEEMS TO SHOW ANYTHING OF AVAILABILITY.
BUT WHAT WE CAN DO IS, AS CHRISTINA IS SAYING, IS WE CAN STILL EVEN AFTER THIS MEETING LOOK TO FOLLOW UP.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S NOT THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING FOR THE NEXT 30 OR 60 DAYS INDEPENDENTLY, YOU'RE CERTAINLY ABLE TO LOOK INTO THIS, UH, SCOPE AND LOOK TO DEVELOP IT TO ADD WHATEVER IT IS, THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE TO SHARE THAT.
AND WHAT I'LL BE DOING ON MY SIDE IS LOOKING TO COLLECT AND GATHER ALL OF THAT AND TRY TO ORGANIZE IT IN A WAY THAT IN THE BACKGROUND WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE WORKING.
IT'S JUST ABOUT IN THE MEETING UP TO NOW.
BUT WE WILL STILL FOLLOW UP AS CHRISTINA SAID, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIND SOMETHING AND IF WE DO, WE'LL NOTIFY YOU IMMEDIATELY.
UH, BUT UP UNTIL THEN, UNFORTUNATELY IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S NOTHING THAT IS AVAILABLE IN APRIL.
JUST AS A QUICK THING, SINCE I'M OFF TODAY, WHAT OFFICE HAS THAT CALENDAR? UH, ROOM RESERVATIONS.
I CAN'T WHAT ROOM? WHERE ARE THEY? THEY'RE WITH, I THINK THEY'RE WITH BUILDING SERVICES? NO, NO, NO.
LIKE WHAT FLOOR ARE THEY ON? OH, WHAT FLOOR? UH, GOOD QUESTION BECAUSE AFTER THE MEETING, I'M MORE THAN WELCOME TO BE NICE AND FRIENDLY AND SOUTHERN AND GO OVER THERE AND I WANNA SEE THAT CALENDAR.
I WANNA SEE THAT CALENDAR WITHOUT GETTING Y'ALL INTO TROUBLE, BUT I WANNA SEE THAT, THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY, AND THEY COULD BE RIGHT.
THIS IS A CITY OF A MILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE AND THERE ARE COMMISSIONS AND MEETINGS AND ORGANIZATIONS ALL OVER THE TIME.
SO THEY ALREADY MAY BE BOOKED OUT, BUT I JUST WANNA KNOW IT FOR THE FACT THAT IT IS, THE MEETINGS AREN'T ALREADY POSTED ON THE CITY CALENDAR.
SO THE, THE MEETING, THE CHALLENGE WE'RE FACING IS THAT THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING ON THE 2ND OF APRIL, THE SECOND THURSDAY OF APRIL IS A DATE THAT ALL STAFF IS GONNA BE AT A CONFERENCE.
I'M SAYING ALL THE OTHER MEETINGS, UM, ARE THEY NOT POSTED ON THE CITY CALENDAR? LIKE FOR THE DAYS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO OUTSIDE OF THAT TO RESERVE THE ROOM, SHOULDN'T IT BE POSTED ON CITY CALENDAR IF IT'S A PUBLIC MEETING? CORRECT.
AS I UNDERSTAND THAT'S HOW THAT YOUR WORKS.
SO THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHECK, CHECK WHO TO SEE WHO'S SPEAKING, WHO'S SPEAKING? THIS IS VERONICA BARBOSA, I'M THE CITY, UM, ATTORNEY.
UM, AND SO I WAS JUST SAYING THAT MOST OF THE PUBLIC MEETINGS ARE POSTED ON OUR CITY WEBSITE.
IF YOU JUST LOOK AT THE CITY, CITY CALENDAR, SO YOU CAN ALSO, THAT'S ANOTHER AVENUE TO CHECK.
BUT AGAIN, WITH MY, THIS BIRDWELL HERE, THIS WITH MY EXPERIENCE IN GOVERNMENT, BOTH MILITARY AND EDUCATIONAL, I LIKE TO SEE THE MASTER CALENDAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY PUT ON, YOU KNOW, ONLINE ISN'T
[00:45:01]
ALWAYS, I LIKE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE MATRIXSO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM WITH ME FINDING AN OFFICE PERSON THAT CAN HELP ME ABOUT ONE 30 THIS AFTERNOON.
I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT IT HAS TO BE POSTED LEGALLY FOR, UM, TOMA COMPLIANCE.
DON'T, DON'T, I, WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT ON THAT.
IT'S JUST THE FACT THAT I HAVE, I HAVE OFTEN FOUND IN MY 63 YEARS OF LIFE THAT WHEN YOU GO IN PERSON, IT'S AMAZING HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN CHANGE.
SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL BOOKED UP.
BUT IT'S AMAZING HOW SOMETIMES YOU CAN FIND A LITTLE SPOT SOMEWHERE AND ALL WE NEED IS 90 MINUTES.
SO I'M VOLUNTEERING MYSELF, MY PARKING'S FREE DOWNSTAIRS IN THE GARAGE SO I DON'T HAVE TO RUSH AND I'LL, I'LL GO KNOCKING ON DOORS IF I HAVE TO.
AND THEN THE LAWYER OVER THERE, SHE MAY HAVE TO COME HELP ME.
COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER BIRDWELL.
I WILL SAY MY COLLEAGUE HERE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO PULL UP THE ADDRESS OF THE BUILDING SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
UM, IT'S 32 0 2 CANTON STREET, SO IT'S NOT IN DALLAS CITY HALL.
UM, BUT UH, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE NEEDING, BUT WE CAN ALSO TRY AGAIN, ANY EMAILING, UH, TO SEE AGAIN IF MAYBE THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME CANCELLATIONS OR THINGS HAVE MOVED AROUND THAT THERE MIGHT BE A NEW AVAILABILITY.
AND WE'LL WORK WITH THE CHAIR TO, I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE ON.
I GUESS TO SUMMARIZE, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER FEEDBACK, YOU CAN ALWAYS, UH, SEND THOSE COMMENTS TO SPEND AND WE'LL WORK TO INCORPORATE THAT AND PROVIDE AN UPDATE AT THE NEXT MEETING.
I WANT, I WANNA ENCOURAGE DIANE AND BONNIE TO SEND THEIR COMMENTS TO, UH, SPIN BECAUSE THEY MADE SOME GOOD COMMENTS TODAY ABOUT THE RFP.
DID EVERYBODY GET THAT? IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE COMMENTS ON, ON THIS ITEM, UH, PLEASE SEND THEM INTO, UH,
UM, UH, NUMBER FIVE, DISCUSSION ON THE CREATION OF, UH, HUMAN RIGHTS, UH, COMMISSION.
UM, SO, UM, I'M HERE TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION BEING ESTABLISHED.
UM, IF YOU CAN GO TO NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUE CHRIS GRAVES.
UM, SOME OF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET HIM EARLIER.
HE'S OUR NEW HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER THAT JUST STARTED.
UM, AND HE'LL BE GIVING A CHANCE TO, UH, INTRODUCE HIMSELF AND THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO ADVANCE HUMAN RIGHTS.
UH, ANOTHER PURPOSE OF THIS CONVERSATION IS THAT WE WANNA COLLECT FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL AS CURRENT COMMISSIONERS ON THE POTENTIAL OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION.
AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS, THIS IDEA ACTUALLY CAME FROM CITY COUNCIL.
UM, SO THEY ARE, I GUESS, IN THIS EXPLORATION DISCOVERY PHASE OF UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT COULD LOOK LIKE IF A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION WERE TO BE CREATED.
SO AS STAFF, WE'RE JUST HERE TO COLLECT THOSE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK.
AND WE HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS, UM, THAT ARE ACTUALLY ON A SHEET.
UM, AND WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH THESE QUESTIONS IN AS PART OF THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I THINK THERE MIGHT BE A SLIDE THAT'S MISSING.
WELL MAYBE WE'LL GO IF YOU COULD.
CAN, IF YOU CAN GO BACK TO THAT ONE.
IS EVERYONE ABLE TO HEAR ME OKAY? YEAH.
SO AS CHRISTINA SAID, MY NAME IS, OH, YOU HAVE TO SPEAK UP.
IS THIS BETTER? ALRIGHT, EXCELLENT.
SO AS CHRISTINA SAID, MY NAME IS CHRIS GRAYS, I'M THE, YOU HAVE TO SPEAK UP.
SO, UH, MY NAME IS CHRIS GRAYS.
I'M THE NEW HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO FIRST I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME TODAY AND PRESENT ON THIS.
SO I'VE COME FROM A LONG LINE OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE ARMED SERVICES AND MY FATHER, BROTHER, AND THEN GRANDFATHER WERE ALL IN THE NAVY.
AS CHRISTINA HAD ALREADY MENTIONED.
UM, I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DIVISION.
MY DIVISION IS ALONGSIDE CHRISTINA'S, IN ADDITION TO A FEW OTHERS WITH THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
SO WE HAVE A FOCUS ON PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF THE MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND THAT INCLUDES REALLY A FOCUS ON IMPROVING SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AS WELL AS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
[00:50:01]
BOTH INTERNALLY WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS EXTERNALLY.AND REALLY OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE A DALLAS WHERE EVERYONE CAN THRIVE.
WE INCLUDE A RANGE OF SERVICES IN OUR OFFICE.
THE VERY FIRST THING WE DO IS WE DEVELOP A COLLABORATIVE RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE THAT THEN INCLUDES FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING, WHICH ESSENTIALLY INVOLVES THE DEPRIVATION OF FREEDOM OF SOMEONE FOR THE PROFIT OF ANOTHER PERSON.
THAT CAN BE THROUGH SEX TRAFFICKING, THAT CAN BE THROUGH LABOR TRAFFICKING.
WE ALSO WORK WITH A WIDE RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS ON ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS EFFORTS FOR A VARIETY OF COMMUNITIES.
AND THIS IS IN ADVANCE OF DALLAS HOSTING THE 2026 EFA MEN'S WORLD CUP.
MOVING ON, WE ALSO ENSURE THAT ALL THE PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND ACTIVITIES OFFERED AT THE CITY OF DALLAS ARE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
IF THEY HAVE ANY ISSUES AND THEY REPORT IT TO 3 1 1, WE THEN WORK TO RESOLVE THOSE ISSUES.
WE, OF COURSE, ALSO ORGANIZE THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES AND THAT PLAYS A REALLY CRUCIAL ROLE TO ADVISE CITY COUNCIL ON HOW TO REALLY BEST MEET THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE DALLAS RESIDENTS.
WE ALSO WANTED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT AS FAR AS HUMAN RIGHTS EFFORTS.
DALLAS CITYWIDE, OF COURSE, I'M JUST JOINING THE CITY DALLAS.
PREVIOUSLY I WAS WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON MAYOR'S OFFICE AND I WAS INVOLVED IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS SUBCOMMITTEE OF HOUSTON'S BID FOR THE WORLD CUP.
AND SO HOUSTON, ALONG WITH DALLAS, HAD VERY EXTENSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACROSS HUMAN RIGHTS AREAS.
AND WHAT FIFA WAS WANTING TO MAKE SURE WAS THAT CITIES WHO ARE HOSTING, THEY HAVE TO RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS, ACTIVELY PROTECT THEM AND PROVIDE AN ACCESS TO REMEDY.
SO WITH THE DALLAS HUMAN RIGHTS PLAN, IT WORKED ACROSS A NUMBER OF HUMAN RIGHTS AREAS.
AND WHEN WE ORIGINALLY WERE EXPLORING THIS IDEA FOR CITY COUNCIL, WE HAD PROPOSED ALIGNING, RIGHT THIS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION WITH SOME OF THE GUIDING PILLARS WITHIN THE FIFA HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK, WHICH IS GOING TO RELEASE IN A FEW, UH, WEEKS, ACTUALLY THIS MONTH.
ALRIGHT, SO HOUSTON, ALONG WITH DALLAS, ALTHOUGH DALLAS HAS GOT MORE GAMES AND HAS GOT A SEMI-FINAL GAME, I CAN ONLY SAY THAT NOW BECAUSE I WORKED FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS AND NOT, I'M NOT WITH HOUSTON ANYMORE.
UM, SO, UH, DALLAS HAD A NUMBER OF AREAS THEY WERE WORKING IN TO ADVANCE HUMAN RIGHTS EFFORTS.
THAT WAS ENSURING FAIR HOUSING, THAT WAS ENSURING THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS, RIGHT? THOSE WHO IDENTIFY AS LGBTQIA PLUS.
THERE'S ALSO A LENS ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM ENSURING MIGRANT RIGHTS.
WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT VENUES ARE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND WE'RE ACTIVELY RAISING AWARENESS OF THE ISSUE.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS A BIG ISSUE, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ACTIVELY PREVENTING THAT.
AND THEN FINDING AVENUES FOR SURVIVORS TO BE EMPOWERED.
WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PREVENTING CHILD ABUSE AS WELL AS PREVENTING DOMESTIC AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE.
STAKEHOLDERS REALLY WANTED TO RAISE AWARENESS OF GENOCIDE AND REALLY HATE CRIME PREVENTION.
THE WORLD CUP'S GONNA BE AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO ALSO ADVANCE GENDER EQUITY AND REALLY PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.
SO THESE WERE ALL AREAS THAT DALLAS HAD ENGAGED STAKEHOLDERS ON TO NOT ONLY MITIGATE RISKS, BUT THEN IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES.
WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE BIG ROLE OF HOUSING THAT WAS IN THE INITIAL TASK THAT FIFA HAD SET FOR CITIES, RIGHT? TO MAKE SURE THE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES WERE NOT ADVERSELY IMPACTED, WHETHER THEY'RE IN SHORT TERM RENTALS, WHETHER THEY'RE IN HOTELS, OR WHETHER THEY'RE THE UNSHELTERED, WHETHER THEY'RE HOMELESS.
AND IT ACTUALLY CONTINUES TO BE A PRIORITY.
SO FIFA'S DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR ALL THE CITIES TO FOLLOW, AND IT WANTS TO MAKE SURE THOSE WHO ARE HOUSING UNSTABLE AND THAT INCLUDES VETERANS, RIGHT? THAT RISK IS ACTIVELY MITIGATED AND WE TRY TO ADVANCE SOME LEGACY OPPORTUNITIES.
WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HOUSING BECAUSE IT'S AN INTERSECTIONAL ISSUE, AND THAT COULD BE ONE WAY THAT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION WORKS, RIGHT? HOUSING IS AN ISSUE THAT NOT ONLY INTERSECTS WITH VETERANS, BUT ALSO THOSE WHO IDENTIFY AS LGBTQIA PLUS IF THERE ARE HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVORS, IF THEY'RE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS.
SO ONE POTENTIAL WAY THE COMMISSION COULD WORK IS TO BRING STAKEHOLDERS TOGETHER ACROSS STAKEHOLDER GROUPS TO WORK ON THESE INTERSECTIONAL ISSUES.
AND I THINK I'LL TURN IT BACK TO CHRISTINA.
SO AS, UM, CHRIS MENTIONED, WE SEE THE OPPORTUNITY OF HOSTING THE PEOPLE WORLD CUP AS A WAY TO LEVERAGE HUMAN RIGHTS, UM, NOT JUST FOR THE MATCHES FOR THE GAMES, BUT BEYOND, RIGHT? SO, UM, WE ALSO SEE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT HOW CAN WE COLLECTIVELY ADDRESS CONCERNS SUCH AS HOUSING, UM, WHILE ALSO ENSURING REPRESENTATION FROM DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.
SO AS PART OF THIS MEETING, WE DO WANT TO, WE DO HAVE A, A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT WE WANNA ASK YOU ALL AS IF AS COMMISSIONERS.
UM, AND THERE ARE NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWERS.
REALLY, AGAIN, WE WANT TO COLLECT THIS FEEDBACK SO THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH OUR
[00:55:01]
DECISION MAKERS AND THEN THAT WILL HELP THEM WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF, YOU KNOW, IF THERE WAS A ESTABLISHMENT OF A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE AND HOW DOES IT INTERSECT WITH THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION.SO, UM, OUR FIRST QUESTION THAT WE WANTED TO ASK, AND I KNOW WE'RE, WE HAVE SIX MINUTES LEFT OF TIME, SO I WANNA BE CONSCIOUS OF EVERYBODY'S TIME AND, AND I THINK WE'LL TRY TO GET THROUGH THESE QUESTIONS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE UNTIL WE LOSE QUORUM.
UM, SO THE FIRST QUESTION WE WANTED TO ASK WAS, WHAT IS WORKING WELL AND WHAT IS NOT WORKING WELL CURRENTLY? I, I CAN, YOU'RE ASKING US THAT 'CAUSE I CAN TELL YOU THAT'S CORRECT.
I'VE BEEN TEACHING IMMIGRANTS, CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES FOR 25 YEARS.
BUT WHEN I HAD, UH, IRAQI REFUGEE WHO WAS A VETERAN WHO'S WORKED AS A TRANSLATOR FOR OUR TROOPS, UM, IN IRAQ, TWO YEARS, IT'S BEEN ALMOST TWO YEARS NOW, I NEVER REALIZED HOW FRAGILE POST COVID, UM, THE SERVICES WERE.
I ENDED UP BEING TOLD TO HELP HIM, TO GET HIM HOUSING.
I HAD TO HAVE HIM GO TO THE BRIDGE, HOMELESS SHELTER TO QUALIFY TO GET IT.
AND WE HAD HIM ON OUR OWN DOWN.
WE WERE PAYING FOR HIS LITTLE HOTEL ROOM IN A REALLY CRAPPY PART OF TOWN.
UM, THERE SEEMS TO BE A GAP FOR THAT.
THESE ARE REFUGEES WHO WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT SOMEBODY WHO COMES TO THIS COUNTRY LOOKING FOR A JOB.
AND I'M TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE WHO WAS RUNNING FROM DESK SQUADS WHO HAD ALREADY BEEN TORTURED IN HIS HOME COUNTRY.
AND I WAS SHOCKED THAT I WAS TOLD THAT I HAD TO TAKE HIM TO A HOMELESS SHELTER TO GET IT, BUT THEN HE DIDN'T QUALIFY BECAUSE HE HAD SPENT THE NIGHT IN A HOTEL.
SO THERE IS A GAP THERE BETWEEN BEING HOMELESS AND BEING HOUSED BECAUSE OTHERWISE THEY TOLD HIM TO CHECK OUT OF THE HOTEL AND THEN CLAIM HOMELESSNESS AND THEN HE COULD DO IT.
AND WITH THE IRC, UH, WITH CATHOLIC CHARITIES, THEY DO THEIR BEST.
I'VE SEEN THEM WORK MIRACLES, I'LL BE HONEST, WITH OUR AFGHAN REFUGEES, WITH OUR SERBIANS BACK WAY BACK WHEN WITH OUR SERBIAN AND, UH, HERS COVINA REFUGEES AND OUR KIDS FROM ERITREA SUDAN.
BUT THERE IS A HUGE GAP IN THIS CITY ON GETTING THEM SETTLED, UH, IN SAFE CONDITIONS RIGHT NOW, IF YOU'RE, I'M NOT AWARE, THEY MOSTLY SETTLED THEM NEAR CONRAD HIGH SCHOOL IN THE MOST HIGH CRIME APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
THESE PEOPLE RAN FROM WAR AND WE STICK THEM IN REALLY BAD PLACES AND THAT'S GOTTA CHANGE.
AND, AND I THINK AND ABOUT, AND I THINK ALSO CHRISTINA, I THINK WE'RE ALSO, UM, APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK ABOUT THE CONCERNS AND GAPS OF SERVICES, BUT I THINK WE'RE ALSO WANTING TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE CURRENT STRUCTURE AS A COMMISSION AND YOU KNOW, HOW THAT OPERATES AND HOW YOU KNOW, WHAT YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S A AND YEAH.
I OWN, I OWN CONSULTANT FIRM BERNARD.
I OWN, OWN A COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE GROUP.
SO WITH MY CONSULTING FIRM I SET UP HOUSING FOR LIKE, UM, RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTERS AND GROUP HOMES.
SO I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING WITH THE HOUSING THING, IT'S, IT'S NOT A LOT OF PLACES THAT OFFER THAT EVEN LET PEOPLE RENT NICE HOUSES IN BETTER COMMUNITIES FOR ASSISTANCE LIVING.
'CAUSE I'M TRYING TO SEE LIKE WHAT, WHAT STEPS ARE YOU GUYS TAKING TO, OKAY.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING AS PART OF PUBLIC COMMENTS.
BUT I THINK RIGHT NOW, AS PART OF THE AGENDA ITEM, WE'RE DISCUSSING THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION.
AND I SEE ONLINE THERE ARE TWO COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE THEIR HANDS UP.
I WILL ADD IF THE CHAIR WANTED TO AMEND THE, TO ALLOW FOR ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS, THAT THE CHAIR HAS THE RIGHT TO DO THAT.
THAT I WANTED TO AMEND THE WHAT IF YOU WANNA AMEND THE AGENDA, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
IF YOU WANNA CHANGE THE AGENDA RIGHT NOW, WE NEED FIRST THOUGH, NO OFFENSE TO THE LADY THERE, BUT WE NEED TO FIRST FIND OUT WHAT IT IS AS A COMMISSION THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR.
BECAUSE BEING THAT WE'RE EITHER NATURALIZED OR NATIVE AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO JOINED THE MILITARY, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO HAVE LEGAL STATUS.
IF YOU'RE NOT BORN HERE TO BE IN THE MILITARY AND DEALING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS, WE USUALLY APPROACH THAT AS CITIZENS AND WE HAVE ISSUES, BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS OTHER SUBPOPULATIONS IN THE CITY.
SO I'M NOT REALLY SURE HOW MUCH WE CAN ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION.
I MEAN, I MAY BE WRONG ON THIS, BUT I KNOW FROM WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE GONE THROUGH, BUT NOT ME PERSONALLY.
AND, AND I'M LOOKING AT THE QUESTIONS BECAUSE IT JUST SAYS A CURRENT STRUCTURE OF, OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS THAT THE CITY OF DALLAS.
UH, WELL, I THINK WE'RE ASKING YOU ALL AS YOUR EXPERIENCE AS COMMISSIONERS OF, OF A COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, BEEN CHARTERED TO PROVIDE ADVICE, UM,
[01:00:01]
AND SEEING, YOU KNOW, HOW WHAT IS WORKING WELL AND WHAT IS NOT.UH, I AM, WHAT I'M LOOKING AT THOUGH IS MORE LIKE A, UH, WHAT YOU'RE ASKING US ON A GLOBAL, LIKE THIS IS A GLOBAL THING BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE FROM EVERYWHERE COMING TO DALLAS.
UH, AND I KNOW THAT DALLAS WANTS TO PRESENT ITSELF AS THIS GLOBAL CITY.
UM, I'M, I'M, AND MAYBE IT'S NOT RIGHT, BUT I'M MORE CONCERNED ABOUT VETERANS AND VETERANS HERE IN DALLAS OR, OR IN OUR, OR IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE MOST APPALLING THINGS THAT HAPPENED WAS THAT I JUST HEARD WAS, UH, THIS VETERAN THAT URINATED ON HIMSELF.
IT TOOK NINE MONTHS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO EVEN ADMIT THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING ON THERE.
AND THIS MAY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ME, BUT AGAIN, ON A GLOBAL, UH, QUESTION, I'M, I'M STILL MORE FOCUSED ON DALLAS.
YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE DOING? I DON'T SEE NOTHING.
WELL, SO WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG? YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S PART OF IT.
'CAUSE WE, WE HANDED OUT RESOURCES CARDS, UH, WE, YOU KNOW WHAT LITTLE WE COULD DO.
AND APPARENTLY THAT DIDN'T HELP AND IT DIDN'T GET OUT TO EVERYBODY.
AND I SEE THE GENTLEMAN HAS A QUESTION.
GETTING OUR MESSAGE OUT HAS BEEN OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM.
THE, THE AWARENESS OF, THAT'S THE THING.
WE COME TOGETHER, WE MEET, WE'RE ALMOST IN ALMOST UNANIMOUS AGREEMENT ON ALMOST EVERY ISSUE.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK WELL IS GETTING THE REST OF THE CITY TO LISTEN TO US.
AND THAT'S WHERE THIS PREVIOUS PRESENTATION BY CHRISTINE WOULD HELP IN GETTING THAT, UH, INFORMATION.
'CAUSE WE FEEL LIKE WE COME ONCE A MONTH AND WE DON'T REALLY MAKE MUCH PROGRESS.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT WITH OUR MISSION STATEMENTS.
SO ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IN THE CITY IS IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE WHOLE CITY CAN GRAB ONTO, UH, IT NOT, DOESN'T GET GRABBED ONTO.
AND SO HUMAN RIGHTS IS ENTIRELY WORTHY.
IT'S JUST THE FACT OF WHO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CARE MORE ABOUT PARKS THAN PEOPLE.
THEY CARE MORE ABOUT THE ANIMALS THAN THEY DO THE PEOPLE.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, THAT'S A VERY TRIGGERING, UH, POLITICAL POLITICIZED THING.
SO BE AWARE THAT ANYTHING Y'ALL DO, IT'S GONNA BE POLITICIZED BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY.
AND, AND THAT'S A DEEP CONVERSATION THAT'S GONNA TAKE MORE THAN WHAT TIME THAN WE HAVE.
SO WE HAVE TO BE AWARE OF Y'S TIME AND, AND THE COMMISSIONER'S TIME TO A GOOD EXAMPLE IS, YOU KNOW, WE GOT CANCELED FOR APRIL.
YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HOLD MUCH PRIORITY.
SO YEAH, EVERYONE ELSE SEEMED TO GET ON THE CALENDAR, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
BUT AS FAR AS YOUR QUESTION OF WHAT WORKS, I THINK THE FACT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, I THINK CHOSE WISELY IN THE PEOPLE THEY GOT TO REPRESENT.
UM, I'VE ENJOYED WORKING ON THIS FOR NOW, WHAT, TWO YEARS I'VE BEEN ON THIS JUST ABOUT NOW.
AND, AND THE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THAT I SERVE WITH DO WELL, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A COMMON GOAL AND WE HAVE, YOU CAN LOOK AT US.
WE HAVE, WE ARE DIVERSE IN WHO WE ARE ON DEMOGRAPHICS.
AND IT, IT GOES EVEN FURTHER FOR US AS VETERANS ON WHAT OUR EXPERIENCES WERE, WHETHER WE WERE ENLISTED OFFICER, WHAT OUR JOB WAS, WHAT BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT.
AND THANKS FOR YOUR FAMILY BEING NAVY.
SO
BUT THE THING IS, WHAT YOU'VE GOTTA FIND WHEN YOU COME UP THAT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, THEY NEED TO BE IN RECEPTIVE MODE MORE THAN I'M GONNA GET MY PERSONAL ISSUES OUT THERE AND DONE.
THEY NEED TO NOT, THEY NEED TO DIAL BACK POL POLITICAL, UM, RHETORIC, ESPECIALLY ON SOMETHING LIKE HUMAN RIGHTS.
'CAUSE HUMAN RIGHTS CAN BE JAPA, GETTING WATER AND HUMAN RIGHTS CAN ALSO MEAN ALLOWING TRANS KIDS TO DO WHATEVER IN A PLAY IN DALLAS OR WHATEVER.
I MEAN, THAT IS SUCH A BROAD TOPIC.
WE ARE LIMITED AS VETERANS ON WHAT OUR TOPIC IS, SO WE KNOW WHAT OUR ROLE AND WHAT OUR LANE IS.
BUT WITH HUMAN RIGHTS, YOU'VE LITERALLY GOT, LIKE HE SAID, THE WHOLE WORLD.
SO THEY NEED TO REALLY BE SPECIFIC ON WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE AND WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO.
BECAUSE WE HAVE INTERNATIONAL, NATIONAL, STATE, AND OTHER LOCAL ENTITIES TO HANDLE HUMAN RIGHTS.
WHAT CAN THE CITY REALLY DO EXCEPT ENFORCE LAWS THAT ARE ALREADY ON THE BOOKS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT VIOLATING SOMEONE'S HUMAN RIGHTS AT A TRAFFIC STOP, WELL THAT'S VIOLATING MY CIVIL RIGHTS AT A TRAFFIC STOP MORE THAN HUMAN RIGHTS.
SO DON'T REINVENT THE WHEEL IF IT'S COVERED BY THE CONSTITUTION.
LET IT GO INTO THE CONSTITUTION AND THEN FIND 'EM ON THAT ONE.
SO I, I DID WANNA TAKE JUST ONE STEP BACK.
COULD YOU SPEAK UP? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I JUST TAKE ONE STEP BACK.
SO IT IS THE WORLD CUP, BUT THE FOCUS IS ON, YOU KNOW, DALLAS IS HOSTING, RIGHT? IT'S ONE OF THE HOSTING CITIES.
PEOPLE WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SITUATION IN DALLAS IS PROTECTIVE OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE ALSO COMING TO YOU, BECAUSE YOUR ISSUES INTERSECT WITH THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AND THROUGH WORLD CUP EFFORTS, RIGHT? AS WE WORK WITH IKA.
[01:05:01]
WHY WE WANTED YOUR FEEDBACK.YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS HUMAN RIGHTS, PARTICULAR GROUPS AREN'T MENTIONED, BUT RIGHTS ARE MENTIONED.
HOUSING IS ONE OF THOSE RIGHTS, HOUSING IS A RIGHT THAT INTERSECTS WITH ALSO ISSUES THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE INCLUDED IN THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE THERE'S THAT INTERSECTION.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ENGAGED WITH YOU AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE WHAT'S WORKING WELL, WHAT'S NOT.
WE'RE ALSO TALKING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
SO FAR WE'VE TALKED TO 11 CITIES, WE'RE ADDITIONALLY SCHEDULED TO TALK TO FIVE MORE CITIES, RIGHT? SO WE WANNA UNDERSTAND TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES, WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES, HOW CAN WE TAKE CONCRETE ACTIONABLE SETS? AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE 'CAUSE THAT INTERSECTION.
AND WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU AND MAKE SURE THAT VETERANS ARE INCLUDED IN THESE EFFORTS.
THERE'S PETE SMITH, DISTRICT 14, AND I THINK THE NATURE OF YOUR QUESTIONS ARE AROUND AS YOU GO AND ESTABLISH THIS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S HAPPENING, YOU WANNA UNDERSTAND FROM US, UH, SORT OF STRUCTURAL WAYS OF WORKING OR THINGS THAT WE DO THAT WORK WELL AND DO NOT, UH, AND ISSUE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ASIDE.
I THINK AS AN AD, AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, ONE THING THAT WE STRUGGLE WITH IS COLLABORATION ACROSS, UH, THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY.
UM, SO WE, WE DO, WE ARE FOCUSED PREDOMINANTLY ON, UH, HEALTHCARE JOBS, HOUSING, HOUSING, HOMELESSNESS AND EDUCATION AS LIKE A MANDATE WE SPENT MOST OF OUR TIME ON, ON HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS BECAUSE THAT'S THE ISSUES, THOSE MAJOR ISSUES OF THE CITY.
BUT WITHOUT THE, WITHOUT A BUDGET AND DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY AND REALLY ONLY MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, IT'S INCUMBENT ON US OR VERY IMPORTANT ANYWAY IN ACCOMPLISHING ANY WORK THAT WE COLLABORATE WITH THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CITY THAT DO HAVE BUDGETS AND DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY.
AND SO AS YOU'RE ESTABLISHING IT, LIKE I, I THINK THE WAY THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION WAS CREATED WAS VERY GOOD.
IT TOOK US A LONG TIME TO GET TO, WE STILL HAVE SOME VACANCIES, I BELIEVE.
UM, IT IT, LIKE, IT TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
AND, AND PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE THE CITY IS FOCUSED ON OTHER THINGS WHERE MONEY ACTUALLY FLOWS.
UM, WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT VOICE IN BEING THE REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE CONSTITUENCY OF VETERANS WHEREVER THEY ARE ON THE SPECTRUM OF JOBS, JOBLESSNESS HOMES, HOMELESSNESS, UH, EDUCATED, NON-EDUCATED, LIKE ANY OF THOSE AREAS.
UH, AND I THINK AS YOU ARE GOING THROUGH IT, IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE, THE PARTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS THAT YOU WANT TO ACTUALLY TACKLE.
AND THEN FIGURING OUT THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT THAT YOU NEED TO INTERACT WITH AND INTERFACE WITH TO CREATE LIKE A SET OF DELIVERABLES OR, OR WHATEVER THAT'S ACTUALLY GONNA EFFECTUATE SOME AMOUNT OF POSITIVE CHANGE.
I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
I I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT.
AND SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES HAVE ALSO COME UP AND US SPEAKING TO OTHER CITIES.
AND SO OUR GOAL, AS CHRISTINA HAD SAID, IS DEFINITELY TO COLLECT THE INFORMATION BOTH FROM YOU AS WELL AS FROM OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONS ACROSS THE US AND THEN PRESENT THAT TO THE WE COMMITTEE FOR CITY COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION.
YEAH, IT'S ONE OF THE, IT IT'S REALLY INTERESTING AND I DON'T THINK I'M, I THINK I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE, BUT THIS IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT WORK AND, AND A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
AND ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE THE VA AND THE TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION AND THERE'S ALL THESE DIFFERENT 5 0 1 C THREES.
THERE'S ALMOST TOO MUCH OUT THERE THAT LIKE, YOU JUST KIND OF GET, FOR US, IT'S ABOUT RAISING AWARENESS OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, WORKING WITH THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY.
SOME OF THE BEST IMPACT THAT WE'VE HAD, HAD NOTHING REALLY TO DO WITH THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS, UH, COMMISSION.
IT WAS AROUND THE BOND PACKAGE, AND THAT WAS JUST WORKING WITH THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY HAD THE VOICE AND THE LEVERS TO CHANGE CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF INVESTMENTS IN THE BOND.
AND NOW THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF MONEY THAT'S GONNA GO INTO HOMES, PARTICULARLY THINKING ABOUT THE WAY THAT IT AFFECTS VETERANS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING LIKE A QUARTER BILLION DOLLARS.
SO IT ACTUALLY LIKE, KIND OF WORKS.
IT'S JUST, IT TAKES, IT TAKES REALLY CONCERTED EFFORTS ON THE, ON THE THINGS THAT, UM, ON LIKE, ON THE AVENUES WHERE MONEY AND DECISIONS ACTUALLY GO.
[01:10:03]
THANK YOU.YOU CAN ALSO ASK WHEN THE, THAT COMMISSION FORMS, IF THEY WANNA MEET WITH OUR CHAIR OR WITH CHAIRS OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONS.
UH, WHATEVER'S LEGAL, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, HOW WE DO THE WR LEGAL WR WRANGLING OR IF THEY WANNA HAVE US, UM, TESTIFY, YOU KNOW, COME TO ANY OF THEIR MEETINGS, WE CAN, IF THEY HAVE ANY ISSUES THAT INTERSECT WITH US, THAT IS NOT A PROBLEM.
COMMISSIONER CHASE ALSO HAS HIS HAND UP COMMISSIONER WALKER? NO, UH, HE WAS UP A WHILE.
SO I DON'T, MY, MY HAND IS NOT UP.
COMMISSIONER WALKER, WHAT IS WORKING WELL? I THINK AWARENESS IS WORKING.
WHAT'S NOT WORKING IS IMPLICATION GOVERNMENT PUTTING LAWS IN PLACE THAT'LL MAKE IT WORK.
I THINK, EXCUSE ME, WE'VE RECEIVED A LOT OF GREAT FEEDBACK.
UM, WE HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS.
UM, SO, AND I THINK SOME OF THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO OVER IT.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT AND WHAT KIND OF STRUCTURE DO YOU THINK WOULD BE IMPACTFUL AND HOW WOULD YOU SEE THE VETERANS ISSUES INTERSECTING? THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION? AND WHEN YOU ANSWER, UH, I'M NOT TRYING TO CUT ANYBODY SHORT, LET'S JUST GET TO THE ANSWERS AND, AND, AND NOT, NOT SPECULATE OR, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
JUST ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BECAUSE, UH, WE ARE RUNNING OVER TIME AND I SEE INE IS A TAPPING OF HIS FEET, SO I'LL GO BACK AGAIN.
HI, THIS IS VERONICA BARBOZA WITH CAOI JUST WANT TO SAY, AND I MEANT TO SAY THIS EARLIER, THAT WITH THE PRESENTATIONS, ALTHOUGH THE STAFF CAN PRESENT TO THE COMMISSION, UH, THE STAFF IS NOT SUPPOSED TO JUST ASK THESE QUESTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.
ONCE THE, UM, PRESENTATION'S CONCLUDED, THEN IF THE, UM, COMMISSION THEN WANTS TO SPEAK ON THE PRESENTATION OR PROVIDE FEEDBACK, THEY CAN DO THAT.
BUT IT REALLY SHOULDN'T BE THE STAFF ASKING QUESTIONS OF THE, OF THE COMMISSION AS GOING ON HERE.
I GUESS WE'LL GO THROUGH ALL THE QUESTIONS AND THEN WE CAN OPEN IT UP FOR COMMENT.
SO THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE IS WHEN DO YOU, WHEN YOU THINK OF A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT, WHAT KIND OF STRUCTURE DO YOU THINK WOULD BE IMPACTFUL AND HOW WOULD YOU SEE VETERANS ISSUES INTERSECTING WITH THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION? AND THEN OUR NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS.
SO HOW WOULD YOU FORESEE THE POTENTIAL COMBINATION OF, OF THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION WITH THE PROPOSED HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION INFLUENCING REPRESENTATION AND EFFECTIVENESS? WHAT ARE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AND WHAT KINDS OF RESOURCES DO YOU ENVISION THIS COMMISSION MEETING? AND WE WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR THE TIME.
WE HAVE PUT OUR INFORMATION THERE, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY BE FOLLOWING UP SO THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK FOLLOWING THIS MEETING, YOU COULD ALWAYS SHARE THAT WITH US.
SO, UM, THAT'S ALL THAT WE HAVE.
SO WOULD IT BE, UH, THIS IS A QUESTION FROM A LAWYER.
WOULD IT BE OKAY FOR US TO RECEIVE THOSE QUESTIONS AND THEN PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO HER INDIVIDUALLY LATER AS INDIVIDUAL? UM, WELL, THE ONLY THING THAT I WORRY ABOUT WITH THE FEEDBACK, 'CAUSE I DID HEAR HER SAY THAT EARLIER, IS JUST WE WANNA ENSURE THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT HAVING LIKE A WALKING QUORUM ISSUE.
UM, SO IT WOULDN'T, IT WOULD NEED TO BE MAYBE, UM, MAYBE IT COULD BE THAT EACH INDIVIDUAL SEPARATELY LIKE PROVIDES, UM, SOME FEEDBACK.
BECAUSE IF IT'S EVERYONE ON ONE EMAIL, THEN YOU HAVE A WALK QUORUM ISSUE.
SO, UM, BUT THE COMMISSIONERS CAN, SORRY.
PERHAPS WHAT PERHAPS WHAT MAY BE BETTER IS THAT, UM, FOR THE NEXT MEETING YOU CAN GET TOGETHER AND DISCUSS, UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND THEN COLLECTIVELY FROM THOSE, FROM THE MINUTE MEETINGS, I'M SAYING IT WRONG, FROM THE MI FROM THE MEETING MINUTES, THEN THAT COULD BE UTILIZED AS ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS.
BUT I, I DON'T WANT TO RUN INTO THAT WALK AND QUORUM ISSUE WHERE EVERYONE'S EMAILING AND RESPONDING BACK AND, YOU KNOW, THEN WE HAVE A TRAUMA ISSUE.
BUT IF, WELL LET, LET ME INTERRUPT THAT, THAT POINT YOU SAID THAT IF WE INDIVIDUALLY WANTED TO SEND SOMETHING AND WE DIDN'T COPY ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, SOUNDS LIKE IT'D BE ALL RIGHT.
IT, I, AT FIRST I SAID THAT YES,
[01:15:01]
THAT'S TRUE.UM, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, BETTER TO JUST PUT IT ON THE A IF YOU WANT TO, YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT TIME AND YOU CAN DISCUSS THOSE, UM, QUESTIONS AND THEN THOSE QUESTIONS ARE DOCUMENTED IN THE MINUTES, AND THEN THEY HAVE THE RECORD OF THE ANSWERS, UM, THAT THEY ARE SEEKING.
AND ALSO, JUST TO ANOTHER POINT OF CLARIFICATION, JUST BECAUSE STAFF IS PRESENTING IT IS NO DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER PRESENTER.
UM, CHAIR IS STILL, UM, YOUR MEETING THAT YOU'RE PRESIDING OVER AND ANYTIME, OF COURSE SOMEONE'S PRESENTING, THEY STILL FOLLOW THE SAME, YOU KNOW, PROTOCOL THAT THEY PRESENT.
AND THEN THE CHAIR ALLOWS FOR THE COMMISSIONERS, IF THEY CHOOSE TO PROVIDE COMMENTARY OR ANSWER QUESTIONS, IT'S, IT'S NO DIFFERENCE JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE DEPARTMENT.
WELL, I'M GLAD YOU TOLD ME NOW, UM, YOU KNEW AT THIS, SO THANK YOU.
THIS IS CHRISTINA DI SILVA, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION.
SO, UM, SO WE CONCLUDED OUR PRESENTATION.
DOES THAT MEAN THAT WE CAN NOW ASK FOR FEEDBACK FOR AS LONG AS WE HAVE A QUORUM? YOU DON'T, AS A, AS A PRESENTER, YOU'RE JUST A GUEST.
YOU DON'T GET TO ASK, UM, FOR FEEDBACK.
ONCE YOU PREVENT FINISH YOUR PRESENTATION, THE CHAIR CAN THEN SAY TO THE COMMISSIONERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE PRESENTERS? DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? BUT IT'S JUST, IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN ANYONE ELSE.
YOU DON'T HAVE A, UM, A BACK AND FORTH DIALOGUE UNLESS THAT DIALOGUE IS INITIATED BY THE CHAIR.
SO NOW WITHIN THE TOPIC THEN THAT WOULD, IN OUR DISCUSSION ON, ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS, IF WE, WE DECIDE, WE'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND, AND, UH, GIVE OUR, OUR ANSWERS, OUR REPORTS ON THE NEXT MEETING IN MAY.
WELL, I SEE IT AS WE HAVE 2, 2, 2 OPTIONS.
ONE, WE CAN TAKE THE QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK INDIVIDUALLY THE NEXT TIME WE HAVE A MEETING IN SIX MONTHS OR SO, OR, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TAKE THE TIME NOW TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
I, I THINK RIGHT NOW IT'S, IT'S 1 1 15, WE, THIS PROBABLY IS GONNA TAKE US LIKE TILL TONIGHT SOMETIME TO, TO FINISH UP ON, ON JUST THIS TOPIC.
SO I THINK, I THINK IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK, UH, IT WOULD BE BETTER IF WE SUBMITTED OUR, OUR RESPONSES TO THIS TOPIC AND THEN WE CAN DISCUSS IT IN THE MAIN MEETING IF, UH, WE'RE IN AGREEMENT.
THE COMMISSIONERS, DID YOU UNDERSTAND MY REQUEST? I DID, YES.
THEN WE'LL JUST, UH, NOT TABLE, BUT WE WILL HOLD OUR RESPONSES UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING IN MAY ON THIS, ON THE HUMAN, ON THE ITEM NUMBER FIVE, DISCUSSION OF THE CREATION OF A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION.
WELL, IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, THERE'S NOTHING THAT WE SAY THAT INFLUENCES THAT, THAT'S FOR THE CITY TO DECIDE.
I THINK THEY'RE JUST COMING TO US FOR INFORMATION OR FEEDBACK.
SO THERE'S NOTHING FOR US TO VOTE ON OR DO.
NO, ACTUALLY IT'S DIS INFORMATIONAL, CORRECT ATTORNEY.
ALRIGHT, THIS CAN ASK ME THE QUESTION AGAIN.
SO THIS IS JUST INFORMATIONAL THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO SEEK INFORMATION FROM US, WISDOM FROM US EXPERIENCE, AND WE CAN GIVE IT EITHER INDIVIDUALLY, OFFLINE, OR AS A CITIZEN, EVEN AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION OR THEY CAN DO IT NOW.
UM, WE ARE NOT NEEDING TO VOTE ON ANYTHING.
WE ARE NOT TAKING ANY MEASURES ON ANYTHING.
WE'RE NOT TAKING ANY POSITIONS ON ANYTHING.
SO I DON'T SEE, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT SHE WASN'T IN THE POSITION TO OFFER A DISCUSSION.
IT SHOULD BE THE CHAIR THAT DID THAT, BUT OKAY, NOW WE KNOW, BUT I DON'T SEE THERE'S A PROBLEM IF PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO STAY AND IF WE HAVE A QUORUM, WHY WE CAN'T COMMENT IF THAT'S THE LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA.
FORGET WHAT I JUST SAID, MS. BARDA.
YEAH, WE'RE TRYING TO, NO PROBLEM, BECAUSE I DIDN'T SAY THAT YOU COULDN'T COMMENT.
WHAT I SAID WAS, UM, IN TERMS OF EMAILING, LIKE THE INFORMATION, LIKE I COULDN'T, DIDN'T SAY THAT YOU COULDN'T COMMENT DURING THE, THE MEETING, RIGHT? YOU CAN'T PROVIDE YOUR FEEDBACK.
THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE WITH QUORUM.
BUT IF YOU WERE TO LEAVE THE MEETING AND THEN GO BACK AND, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT'S NOT BUSINESS, YOU START EMAILING, WE COULD RUN INTO A WALK AND QUORUM ISSUE AND WE WANT TO DO EVERYTHING TO AVOID THAT.
SO I THINK THE EASIEST THING IS JUST IF THOSE ARE QUESTIONS YOU WANT TO
[01:20:01]
ADDRESS AT THE NEXT MEETING, JUST TAKE THOSE QUESTIONS AND PUT 'EM ON THE AGENDA AND THEN YOU HAVE TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT.IT, IT'S GONNA BE RECORDING IN THE MINUTES AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN MOVE ON.
THAT I, THAT WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDATION FROM CAO FOR THAT.
WELL, WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING YOUR RECOMMENDATION AND WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS.
ITEM NUMBER SIX, DISCUSSION OF INCREASING AWARENESS OF VETERAN SERVING ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, SO WE HAVE BEEN, UM, AS A COMMISSION WORKING DILIGENTLY TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO VETERANS.
UM, SPENDING HAS ALSO BEEN COMPILING A DOCUMENT THAT LISTS THE SERVICES THAT WE'VE RECENTLY BECOME AWARE OF FOLLOWING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RESOURCE CARD.
UM, AND ALSO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IS HOW WE CAN, UM, KEEP THIS INFORMATION MORE AS A LIVING DOCUMENT.
SOMETHING THAT COULD BE CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED AND SO THAT, THAT WAY IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S EASIER TO UPDATE.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE A CONTRACT WITH A COMPANY THAT'S CALLED FIND HELP.
AND THEY ARE A, UH, BASICALLY A, THEY CREATE LIKE A ONLINE PLATFORM THAT CAN ALLOW YOU TO CURATE RESOURCES, UM, BASED OFF OF A SPECIFIC POPULATION OR A SPECIFIC SERVICE OR SPECIFIC NEED.
SO, UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH FIND HELP TO SEE HOW WE CAN POTENTIALLY CREATE A VETERAN SERVICE, UM, VETERAN SERVICE LIST THAT CAN BASICALLY BE LINKED WITH A QR CODE.
AND THAT WAY, UM, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO GET ACCESS TO INFORMATION, IT'S NOT GONNA BE JUST A PAPER LIST.
IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE UPDATED ON THE BACKEND.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND THAT'S, UH, JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT UPDATE.
ANYBODY DISCUSSIONS? UH, I THINK, UH, THE AWARENESS WAS ALREADY MENTIONED.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS. YOU KNOW, WE DID CREATE THAT RESOURCE CART AND THAT HELPED OUT, UM, SOMEWHAT, BUT, UM, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THE, THERE'S A COUPLE OF, UH, CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT DIDN'T GET THE WORD.
AND, UM, I, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY HOW TO GET, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE GONE TO THE REC CENTERS, UH, COMMUNITY CENTERS, UH, IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, PASSING OUT THE CARDS AND INFORMATION AND UH, I GUESS WE JUST HAVE TO JUST KEEP COUNTING THE GROUND, YOU KNOW, TO, TO WE GET THE INFORMATION OUT.
I KNOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS A BIG, BIG HELP.
UM, I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED MAYBE EVEN SOME, UH, ADVERTISEMENT OR ADVERTISEMENTS ON, ON, UH, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ON THE SIDES OF THE BUSES.
UM, OF COURSE WE DON'T HAVE FUNDING FOR THAT, SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT COULD, THE CITY COULD LOOK AT.
I ANYBODY ONLINE? ANYONE? OKAY.
WE'LL JUST MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER, UH, SEVEN.
THE APRIL 11TH MEETING WILL HAVE TO BE, UH, CANCELED.
I THINK WE ALL ARE AWARE OF THAT.
UM, WELCOMING AMERICA HAS THEIR CONFERENCE THAT'S THREE, FOUR DAYS.
UH, ACTUALLY I'LL BE PART OF THAT.
THANK YOU CHRISTINA, FOR INVOLVING US IN, UH, WEST DALLAS.
AND, UH, THE CITY HALL DOES NOT HAVE ANOTHER.
SO WE HAD TO RESCHEDULE FOR MAY.
SO RIGHT NOW, THE NEXT MEETING FOR OUR, OUR OUR VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION IS IN MAY, THE SECOND, THURSDAY OF MAY.
AND IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS, THERE'S NO ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS ONLINE.