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I'D LIKE TO CALL

[00:00:01]

TO ORDER THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MONTHLY

[Community Development Commission on December 5, 2024.]

MEETING ON DECEMBER 5TH AT 6:00 PM VICTOR, IF WE CAN, WILL YOU PLEASE BEGIN OUR ROLL CALL, VICTOR CHAIR, THIS FROM, UH, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

I'M SORRY, BUT WE STILL CANNOT SEE, UH, THE SCREEN FOR THE MEETING.

IT'S STILL, UH, IT'S STILL BLACK RIGHT NOW, LUCY, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, WHOEVER OPERATES THE CAMERAS DID NOT LEAVE IT ON, SO THERE IS NO ONE CONNECTED, SO WE ARE UNABLE TO TURN THE VIDEO ON FOR THE BRIEFING ROOM.

UH, I'M SORRY IF YOU CANNOT TURN THE CAMERA ON, UH, UH, UH, THAT'S, WE, THE, THE MEETING CANNOT BE CONTINUED IF THE PUBLIC CANNOT SEE IT.

THANK YOU, MS. SWUNG.

I HAD A POINT OF ORDER ON THAT.

THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING.

I'LL BE BACK MOMENTARILY.

OKAY.

WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY RECESS FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TO TRY SOLD THIS CAMERA ISSUE.

IS THERE A WAY TO EVEN HOOK UP FROM AN IPHONE VIDEO,

[00:07:08]

MS. SWANG? IF SOMEBODY WHO IS IN THE CHAMBER, LOGS IN AND THEIR CAMERA CAN SHOW EVERYONE, WOULD THAT BE ADEQUATE? NO, UNFORTUNATELY, AS OF RIGHT NOW, ANY PUBLIC MEMBER THAT, YOU KNOW, LOCK IN AND TRYING TO WATCH THIS MEETING, UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S, IT'S BLACK.

THE SCREEN IS BLACK RIGHT NOW AND THEY CAN'T SEE THE MEETING.

SO THAT WOULD NOT SATISFY THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE TOMA, FOR THE, FOR, FOR THE MEETING.

BUT IF SOMEBODY WAS LOGGED IN AND THEY COULD SHARE THEIR SCREEN OF THE VIDEO OF EVERYONE IN HERE, I CAN TRY TO LOG IN FROM THE WEBEX LINK FOR THE PUBLIC AND I'LL TRY TO SEE IF I CAN SEE SOMETHING.

UH, BUT ASOP, RIGHT NOW, I CANNOT SEE ANYTHING, SO I WILL TRY TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW.

OKAY, WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL TRY TO DO THAT ON THIS SIDE AND THEN SEE WHAT YOU CAN SEE.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

OH, THANK YOU.

VICTOR, CAN YOU MAKE COMMISSIONER GARZA? UM, WAIT, WOULD IT BE ON UNDER? YEAH.

AS THE MAIN SCREEN.

CAN YOU MAKE COMMISSIONER GARZA'S SCREEN THE MAIN SCREEN? HE'S LOGGED IN ON HIS PHONE, AND WE'RE GONNA SEE IF WE CAN SEE A VIDEO THAT WAY.

THERE WE GO.

YEAH.

YEAH, BUT WE DON'T WANT YOU TO HAVE TO HOLD.

I COULD SEE, YEAH, I COULD SEE, UH, THE BOARDROOM.

I THINK, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT LOOKS CLEARER THAN I USUALLY SEE IT ONLINE.

YOU GUYS

[00:10:01]

KNOW THAT MS. SWUNG? IS THAT, CAN YOU GUYS SEE US? I CAN SEE.

IS LUCY ON? SHE STEPPED AWAY TO TRY TO LOG ON ANOTHER WAY.

SHE'S NOT ON RIGHT NOW.

SO WHAT WE'RE NEEDING TO VERIFY OR CONFIRM WHEN SHE RETURNS, IS THIS SUFFICIENT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE MEETING OR WE DO HAVE ITS STAFF, UM, THAT'S TAKING CARE OF LOGGING ON.

THEY JUST SAID THEY NEEDED FIVE MORE MINUTES, SO I'VE BEEN TALKING TO THEM AS WELL.

SO IF THIS IS FINE, THEN I GUESS, BUT WE NEED HER.

OKAY.

AND IN THE MEANTIME, ITS IS LOGGING ON.

JAN, THIS IS MARISSA HINES, ALSO WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

UM, I'M WORKING WITH LUCY TO GET IT BACK ONLINE AND WE'LL HAVE A TO YOU SHORTLY.

SORRY.

WE'RE ALSO HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

COMMISSIONER MILLS, CAN YOU SEE THE CHAMBER? SORRY, I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE.

YES, I AM.

UM, UNFORTUNATELY, NO, I CANNOT, I CANNOT ONLY SEE THE CHAMBER CEILING FROM, UH, THE OTHER, HOLD ON.

HOLD ON.

WE JUST, IT JUST MOVED.

ONE SECOND.

ONE SECOND.

RIGHT.

HOW ABOUT NOW? NO, AND WELL, I CAN SEE YOU ALL BECAUSE THE PHONE.

THANK YOU FOR THE COMMISSIONER WHOSE PHONE IS AT USE RIGHT NOW.

UM, COMMISSIONER GARZA HAS A BACKGROUND IN VIDEOGRAPHY, WHICH WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR.

OUTSTANDING.

YOU ARE OUR RENAISSANCE MAN.

I SEE, I SEE THAT LUCY HAS REJOINED.

UH, LUCY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? SHE MAY STILL BE STEPPED AWAY.

CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? YES.

OKAY.

THIS IS MARISSA HINES, ALSO AT THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

LUCY IS UNABLE TO HEAR Y'ALL.

SHE, I WANTED TO CONFIRM SHE'S THERE, BUT WE ARE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THERE.

OKAY.

SO WE HAVE A COMMISSION MEMBER WHOSE PHONE IS WORKING AND THERE IS VISUAL NOW.

SO WE WANTED TO KNOW IF THAT'S SUFFICIENT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE MEETING, OR DO WE NEED TO WAIT FOR THE CITY'S ITS DEPARTMENT TO LOCK US BACK ON? THEY'RE WORKING ON IT AS WELL.

OKAY.

WILL IT TAKE LONG FOR THE IT DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO FIX THAT? BECAUSE THE QUALITY OF THE VIDEO IS REALLY BAD.

WELL, THANK YOU.

IT'S FUNNY, WE SEEM TO THINK IT WAS BETTER THAN BEFORE.

I DO THINK IT'S BETTER THAN BEFORE.

AND WE, WE DO HAVE SOME COMMISSIONERS WHO NEED TO LEAVE FOR ANOTHER EVENT.

SO IF WE COULD GET STARTED, IF IT'S ADEQUATE ENOUGH, WE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO.

OKAY.

I GUESS AT THIS POINT, YES.

IF, UH, IF THAT'S THE CASE, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND PROCEED AND HOPEFULLY IT CAN COME DOWN AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE VIDEOS.

THEY'RE WORKING ON IT NOW.

UH, LUCY, UH, THEY ASKED FOR ABOUT FIVE OR 10 MORE MINUTES, SO I DO KNOW THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON IT.

WE'RE IN TOUCH WITH, IN CONTACT WITH

[00:15:01]

THEM NOW, SO THANK YOU.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

MM-HMM .

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR CREATIVITY AND EFFORTS AND LET'S GET GOING.

SO, APPRECIATE IT.

SO, I WOULD AGAIN, LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING ON DECEMBER 5TH AT 6:15 PM VICTOR, CAN YOU PLEASE BEGIN OUR ROLL CALL CHAIR RUBIN.

HERE.

COMMISSIONER DAVIS.

COMMISSIONER KY PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER BLACK.

YES.

COMMISSIONER BLACK.

I CAN'T HEAR YOU.

I'M PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER GARZA.

PRESENT BARIENTOS.

MR. BARTOS? VERY, VERY.

COMMISSIONER HOWARD? HERE.

COMMISSIONER CLUB.

HERE.

COMMISSIONER MENDEZ.

PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER MILLS HERE.

CHAIR RUBEN.

WE HAVE A QUORUM.

GREAT.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS JOINING US THIS EVENING? WE DO HAVE ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER ONLINE, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT THEY HAVE LOGGED ON.

LOGGED.

OKAY.

RICH, IF YOU WOULD KEEP YOUR EYE.

OKAY.

I SEE THEM NOW.

THEY, THEY JUST JOINED.

I SEE THEM NOW.

OH, GREAT.

THIS WOULD BE JESSICA ROSS.

UH, MS. ROSS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, I CAN HEAR YOU.

OKAY.

OKAY.

AND MS. ROSS, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES AND GOOD EVENING.

STARTING NOW.

MY JOURNEY TO BECOMING A MASSAGE THERAPIST BEGAN IN 2012, A TIME WHEN ACCESS TO SUCH TRAINING IN SOUTH DALLAS WAS SEVERELY LIMITED.

THE NEAREST SCHOOL REQUIRED A GRUELING COMMUTE INVOLVING TWO TRAINS AND A BUS, A SIGNIFICANT HURDLE FOR A SINGLE MOTHER JUGGLING CHILDCARE RESPONSIBILITIES.

EVEN TODAY, THE LACK OF VOCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 30 REMAINS A STARK REALITY HIGHLIGHTING A CRITICAL EDUCATIONAL DISPARITY IN OUR COMMUNITY.

THIS SCARCITY OF OPPORTUNITY DIRECTLY IMPACTS THE WELLBEING OF RESIDENTS AND UNDERSCORES THE URGENT NEED FOR ACCESSIBLE HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION IN SOUTH DALLAS.

MY IS TO ESTABLISH A MASSAGE THERAPY SCHOOL IN THIS UNDERSERVED AREA UNDER PROVIDING A PATHWAY TO FULFILLING CAREERS AND FOSTERING ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

THIS IS NOT MERELY A PERSONAL AMBITION, IT'S A RESPONSE TO A DEEPLY FELT NEED.

IN RECENT ENCOUNTER WITH THE CLIENT, POWERFULLY ILLUSTRATED THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF ACCESSIBLE SELF CARE.

SHE SHARED THAT MY SERVICES WAS A CRUCIAL FACTOR IN HER DECISION TO PRIORITIZE HER WELLBEING RATHER THAN RESIGNING FROM HER JOB DUE TO OVERWHELMING STRESS.

THIS ANTIDOTE UNDERSCORES THE PROFOUND IMPACT MASSAGE THERAPY CAN HAVE ON INDIVIDUALS AND BY EXTENSIONS, THE BROADER COMMUNITY.

BY FOSTERING SOME OF CARE, WE CULTIVATE EMPATHY AND IMPROVE INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, EMBODYING THE PRINCIPLE OF LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELF.

THE MASSAGE THERAPY INDUSTRY IS A THRIVING SECTOR GENERATING $18 BILLION ANNUALLY IN THE UNITED STATES WITH THE PROJECTED GROWTH RATE OF 7.2% FROM 2024 TO 2030.

THIS PRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION, PARTICULARLY WITHIN COMMUNITIES LIKE SOUTH.

MY REQUEST BEFORE YOU IS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN REACHING THE, THE EDUCATIONAL GAP AND BRINGING THE TRANSFORMATIVE BENEFITS OF, OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THRIVING SCIENCE THERAPY INDUSTRY TO A DESERVING COMMUNITY.

YOUR INVESTMENT IN THIS PROJECT WILL NOT ONLY EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS, BUT ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL WELLBEING AND ECONOMIC VITALITY OF SOUTH DALLAS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

VERY INTERESTING AND REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE YOU HIGHLIGHTING THAT AND BRINGING IT TO US AND SHARING YOUR VIEWS.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH US THIS EVENING.

COMMISSIONERS, DOES ANYONE HAVE A QUESTION? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.

I'D NOW LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION

[00:20:01]

FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MONTHLY MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 7TH, 2024 MEETING.

YOU HAVE RECEIVED THEM ALL VIA EMAIL.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO RECORD? SEEING NONE.

I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES.

COMMISSIONER GLOBIN.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.

SECOND.

THANK YOU.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.

AYE.

ANY AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? THANK YOU.

MINUTES ARE ACCEPTED.

CAN NOW HAVE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIVISION REPORT? UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

I'M CHAN WILLIAMS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES, THE GRANT ADMINISTRATION DIVISION.

UM, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

UH, TONIGHT'S REPORT, WE WILL BE BE PROVIDING A BRIEF PRESENTATION OF OUR EXTENSIONS AND PROCESS.

TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION WILL JUST BE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW.

MOST OF THE WORK AND THE DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED AT THE COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW COMMISSION MEMBERS AND TO JUST INFORM AND PREPARE FOR THAT MEETING TONIGHT, OUR HUD BUDGET MANAGER, ANDREW HOR, WILL GO OVER THIS PRESENTATION, PROVIDE SOME HIGH LEVEL INFORMATION, AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE, THE COMMISSION COMMITTEE WILL BE SETTING A MEETING FOR THIS MONTH, AND YOU ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND THAT MEETING AND GET INTO THE DETAILED STAFF WILL BE AVAILABLE, AND WE'LL GO THROUGH

[00:26:16]

YOU ALL.

I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE BEING HERE, SO THANK YOU ALL.

I'D LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MONTHLY MEETING ON DECEMBER 5TH AT 6:00 PM VICTOR, IF WE CAN, WILL YOU PLEASE BEGIN OUR ROLL CALL, VICTOR, THIS CHAIR FROM, UH, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

I'M SORRY, BUT WE STILL CANNOT SEE, UH, THE SCREEN FOR THE MEETING.

IT'S STILL, UH, IT'S STILL BLACK RIGHT NOW, LUCY, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, WHOEVER OPERATES THE CAMERAS DID NOT LEAVE IT ON, SO THERE IS NO ONE CONNECTED.

SO WE ARE UNABLE TO TURN THE VIDEO ON FOR THE BRIEFING ROOM.

UH, I'M SORRY IF YOU CANNOT TURN THE CAMERA ON, UH, UH, UH, THAT'S, WE, THE, THE MEETING CANNOT BE CONTINUED IF THE PUBLIC CANNOT SEE IT.

THANK YOU, MS. SWUNG.

I HAD A POINT OF ORDER ON THAT.

THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING.

I WILL BE BACK MOMENTARILY.

OKAY.

WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY RECESS FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TO TRY SOLD THIS CAMERA ISSUE.

IS THERE A WAY TO EVEN HOOK UP FROM AN IPHONE VIDEO,

[00:33:29]

MS. SWANG? IF SOMEBODY WHO IS IN THE CHAMBER LOGS IN AND THEIR CAMERA CAN SHOW EVERYONE, WOULD THAT BE ADEQUATE? NO, UNFORTUNATELY, AS OF RIGHT NOW, ANY PUBLIC MEMBER THAT, YOU KNOW, LOCK IN AND TRYING TO WATCH THIS MEETING, UNFORTUNATELY IT'S, IT'S BLACK.

THE SCREEN IS BLACK RIGHT NOW AND THEY CAN'T SEE THE MEETING.

SO THAT WOULD NOT SATISFY THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE TOMA, FOR THE, FOR, FOR THE MEETING.

BUT IF SOMEBODY WAS LOGGED IN AND THEY COULD SHARE THEIR SCREEN OF THE VIDEO OF EVERYONE IN HERE, I CAN TRY TO LOG IN FROM THE WEBEX LINK FOR THE PUBLIC AND I'LL TRY TO SEE IF I CAN SEE SOMETHING.

UH, BUT ASOP, RIGHT NOW I CANNOT SEE ANYTHING.

SO I WILL TRY TO DO THAT.

RIGHT.

DO THAT.

OKAY.

WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL TRY TO DO THAT ON THIS SIDE AND THEN SEE WHAT YOU CAN SEE.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

OH, THANK YOU.

VICTOR, CAN YOU MAKE COMMISSIONER GARZA? UM, WOULD IT BE ON UNDER YEAH.

AS THE MAIN SCREEN.

CAN YOU MAKE COMMISSIONER GARZA'S SCREEN THE MAIN SCREEN?

[00:35:04]

HE'S LOGGED IN ON HIS PHONE AND WE'RE GONNA SEE IF WE CAN SEE A VIDEO THAT WAY.

THERE WE GO.

YEAH.

YEAH.

WE DON'T WANT YOU TO, TO HOLD IT.

I COULD SEE, YEAH, I COULD SEE, UH, THE BOARDROOM.

I, I THINK, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT LOOKS CLEARER THAN I USUALLY SEE IT ONLINE.

JUST WANTED TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW THAT MS. SWUNG.

IS THAT, CAN YOU GUYS SEE US? I CAN SEE.

IS LUCY ON? SHE STEPPED AWAY TO TRY TO LOG ON ANOTHER WAY.

SHE'S NOT ON RIGHT NOW.

SO WHAT WE'RE NEEDING TO VERIFY, CONFIRM WHEN SHE RETURNS.

IS THIS SUFFICIENT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE MEETING OR WE DO HAVE ITS STAFF, UM, THAT'S TAKING CARE OF WALKING ON.

THEY JUST SAID THEY NEEDED FIVE MORE MINUTES, SO I'VE BEEN TALKING TO THEM AS WELL.

SO IF THIS IS FINE, THEN I GUESS, BUT WE NEED HER.

OKAY.

AND IN THE MEANTIME, ITS IS LOGGING ON.

SHANNON, THIS IS MARISSA HINES, ALSO WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

UM, I'M WORKING WITH LUCY TO GET HER BACK ONLINE AND WE'LL HAVE A TO YOU SHORTLY.

SORRY.

WE'RE ALSO HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

I, COMMISSIONER MILLS, CAN YOU SEE THE CHAMBER? SORRY, I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE.

YES, I AM.

UM, UNFORTUNATELY, NO, I CANNOT, I CAN ONLY SEE THE CHAMBER CEILING FROM, UH, THE OTHER .

HOLD ON, HOLD ON.

WE JUST, IT JUST MOVED.

ONE SECOND.

ONE SECOND.

RIGHT.

HOW ABOUT NOW? NO, AND WELL, I CAN SEE YOU ALL BECAUSE THE PHONE.

THANK YOU FOR THE COMMISSIONER WHOSE PHONE IS AT USE RIGHT NOW.

UM, COMMISSIONER GARZA HAS A BACKGROUND IN VIDEOGRAPHY, WHICH WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR.

OUTSTANDING.

YOU ARE OUR RENAISSANCE MAN.

I SEE, I SEE THAT LUCY HAS REJOINED.

UH, LUCY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? SHE MAY STILL BE STEPPED AWAY.

CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME?

[00:40:01]

YES.

OKAY.

THIS IS MARISSA HINES ALSO AT THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

LUCY IS UNABLE TO HEAR Y'ALL, AND SHE, I WANTED TO CONFIRM SHE'S THERE, BUT WE ARE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THERE.

OKAY.

SO WE HAVE A COMMISSION MEMBER WHOSE PHONE IS WORKING AND THERE IS VISUAL NOW.

SO WE WANTED TO KNOW IF THAT'S SUFFICIENT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE MEETING OR DO WE NEED TO WAIT FOR THE CITY'S ITS DEPARTMENT TO LOCK US BACK ON? THEY'RE WORKING ON IT AS WELL.

OKAY.

WILL IT TAKE LONG FOR THE IT DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO FIX THAT? BECAUSE THE QUALITY OF THE VIDEO IS REALLY BAD.

WELL, IT'S FUNNY.

WE, WE SEEM TO THINK IT WAS BETTER THAN BEFORE.

I DO THINK IT'S BETTER THAN BEFORE.

AND WE, WE DO HAVE SOME COMMISSIONERS WHO NEED TO LEAVE FOR ANOTHER EVENT.

SO IF WE COULD GET STARTED, IF IT'S ADEQUATE ENOUGH, WE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO.

OKAY.

I GUESS AT THIS POINT, YES, IF, UH, IF THAT'S THE CASE, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND PROCEED AND HOPEFULLY IT CAN COME DOWN AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE VIDEOS.

THEY'RE WORKING ON IT NOW.

UH, LUCY, UH, THEY ASKED FOR ABOUT FIVE OR 10 MORE MINUTES, SO I DO KNOW THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON IT.

WE'RE IN TOUCH WITH, IN CONTACT WITH THEM NOW, SO THANK YOU.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

MM-HMM .

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR CREATIVITY AND EFFORTS AND LET'S GO.

SO APPRECIATE IT.

SO I WOULD AGAIN, LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING ON DECEMBER 5TH AT 6:15 PM VICTOR, CAN YOU PLEASE BEGIN OUR ROLL CALL CHAIR RUBIN? HERE.

COMMISSIONER DAVIS.

COMMISSIONER SUKI.

PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER BLACK.

YES.

COMMISSIONER BLACK.

I CAN'T HEAR YOU.

I'M PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER GARZA.

PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER BARTOS.

COMMISSIONER BARTOS.

IT'S VERY, VERY COMMISSIONER HOWARD HERE.

COMMISSIONER GLOBIN? HERE.

COMMISSIONER MENDEZ.

PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER MILLS HERE.

CHAIR RUBEN.

WE HAVE A QUORUM.

GREAT.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS JOINING US THIS EVENING? WE DO HAVE ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER ONLINE, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT THEY HAVE LOGGED ON.

OKAY.

RICH, IF YOU WOULD KEEP YOUR EYE.

OKAY.

I SEE THEM NOW.

THEY, THEY JUST JOINED.

I SEE THEM NOW.

OH, GREAT.

THIS WILL BE JESSICA ROSS.

UH, MS. ROSS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, I CAN HEAR YOU.

OKAY.

OKAY.

AND MS. ROSS, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES AND GOOD EVENING.

STARTING NOW.

MY JOURNEY SUPER.

BECOMING A MASSAGE THERAPIST BEGAN IN 2012, A TIME WHEN ACCESS TO SUCH TRAINING IN SOUTH DALLAS WAS SEVERELY LIMITED.

THE NEAREST SCHOOL REQUIRED A GRUELING COMMUTE INVOLVING TWO TRAINS AND A BUS, A SIGNIFICANT HURDLE FOR A SINGLE MOTHER JUGGLING CHILDCARE RESPONSIBILITIES.

EVEN TODAY, THE LACK OF VOCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 30 REMAINS A STARK REALITY HIGHLIGHTING A CRITICAL EDUCATIONAL DISPARITY IN OUR COMMUNITY.

THIS SCARCITY OF OPPORTUNITY DIRECTLY IMPACTS THE WELLBEING OF RESIDENTS AND UNDERSCORES THE URGENT NEED FOR ACCESSIBLE HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION IN SOUTH DALLAS.

MY VISION IS TO ESTABLISH A MASSAGE THERAPY SCHOOL IN THIS UNDERSERVED AREA, PROVIDING A PATHWAY, FULFILLING CAREERS, AND FOSTERING ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

THIS IS NOT MERELY A PERSONAL AMBITION.

IT'S A RESPONSE TO A DEEPLY FELT NEED.

A RECENT ENCOUNTER WITH A CLIENT POWERFULLY ILLUSTRATED THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF ACCESSIBLE SELF CARE.

SHE SHARED THAT MY SERVICES WAS A CRUCIAL FACTOR IN HER DECISION TO PRIORITIZE HER WELLBEING RATHER THAN RESIGNING FROM HER JOB DUE TO OVERWHELMING STRESS.

THIS ANECDOTE UNDERSCORES A PROFOUND IMPACT MASSAGE THERAPY CAN HAVE ON INDIVIDUALS AND BY EXTENSIONS, THE BROADER COMMUNITY.

BY FOSTERING SOME OF CARE, WE CULTIVATE EMPATHY AND IMPROVE INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, EMBODYING

[00:45:01]

THE PRINCIPLE OF LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELF.

THE MASSAGE THERAPY INDUSTRY IS A THRIVING SECTOR GENERATING $18 BILLION ANNUAL IN THE UNITED STATES WITH THE PROJECTED GROWTH RATE OF 7.2% FROM 2024 TO 2030.

THIS PRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION, PARTICULARLY WITHIN COMMUNITIES LIKE SOUTH.

MY REQUEST BEFORE YOU IS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN BRIDGING THE, THE EDUCATIONAL GAP AND BRINGING THE TRANSFORMATIVE BENEFITS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THRIVING SCIENCE THERAPY INDUSTRY TO A DESERVING COMMUNITY.

YOUR INVESTMENT IN THIS PROJECT WILL NOT ONLY EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS, BUT ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL WELLBEING AND ECONOMIC VITALITY OF SOUTH DALLAS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

VERY INTERESTING AND REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE YOU HIGHLIGHTING THAT AND BRINGING IT TO US AND SHARING YOUR VIEWS.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH US THIS EVENING.

COMMISSIONERS, DOES ANYONE HAVE A QUESTION? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.

I'D NOW LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MONTHLY MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 7TH, 2024 MEETING.

YOU HAVE RECEIVED THEM ALL VIA EMAIL.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO RECORD? SEEING NONE OF THE.