[Public Safety Committee on November 12, 2024.]
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SAFETY COMMITTEE, AND I AM CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
WE ARE JOINED TODAY, UM, IN CHAMBERS BY COUNCIL MEMBER MARY NAN HUFFMAN, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN AND ONLINE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAROLYN EVAN SHABAZZ.
AND WE ARE ALSO JOINED BY STAFF FROM MAYOR PRO TEM CASTEX TATUM'S, OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE, COUNCIL MEMBER HUMAN'S OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S OFFICE AND ONLINE COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER'S OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER OFFICE.
WE HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS TODAY.
UM, THE FIRST PRESENTATION WILL BE BY CHIEF SATTERWHITE, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK AND EVERYBODY HERE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL HAVING US HERE TODAY AND HAVING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DO.
I DO WANT TO FIRST, UH, ONCE AGAIN, EXTEND OUR CONDOLENCES AND REMEMBER OUR FALLEN FIREFIGHTER, MARCELO GARCIA GARCIA, UH, TOMORROW WILL BE THE SERVICE FOR, UH, HIS FUNERAL.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE ABOUT HIM TOMORROW AND ABOUT, UH, ALL OF OUR FIREFIGHTER FAMILY AND, AND, UM, AND OUR, OUR HONOR FOR ALL OF THAT AND TO TAKE CARE OF THEM.
UM, SO I JUST DON'T WANT TO START WITHOUT FIRST ACKNOWLEDGING THAT AND MAKE SURE THE PUBLIC IS AWARE AND THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT THERE AND WHAT THE PUBLIC CAN DO IN HONOR TOMORROW, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU CAN DO.
UM, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION FOR THEM, SO WE PRAY FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILY.
I HAVE A LONG PRESENTATION THAT I'M NOT GOING TO GO DEEP INTO EACH SLIDE.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION ON ALL OF THE SLIDES IN THE SLIDE DECK THAT I HAVE TO PRESENT ON WHAT WE DO IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY.
BUT THAT INFORMATION IS THERE AND AVAILABLE TO ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, FOR A LITTLE BIT OF A DEEPER DIVE.
AND CERTAINLY WE'RE GONNA OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS.
SO I'M GONNA HIT IT ON A HIGH LEVEL, UH, INTO, INTO WHAT WE DO.
AND, AND THEN OF COURSE, KIND OF GO THROUGH IT AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE THE NEXT PRESENTATION IS GONNA BE A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN MY PRESENTATION, UH, BY CAPTAIN ERIC CARRE WITH THE PORT HOUSTON PORT BUREAU, UH, AND, UM, MY FORMER COLLEAGUE AND STILL A COLLEAGUE, UH, AS HE'S ON THE INDUSTRY SIDE.
GARY, GARY SHEY, A RETIRED LIEUTENANT FROM HPD, AND SOMEBODY I VALUE VERY MUCH FOR HIS ADVICE.
SO THOSE TWO GENTLEMEN WILL DELIVER THE, UH, THE BETTER PRESENTATION, AND I'M NOT EVEN JEALOUS ABOUT IT.
I WANT Y'ALL TO HEAR THAT, AND THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO BRING HIM FORWARD, 2% TO COUNCIL AND TO THE PUBLIC, UH, JUST ABOUT WHAT GOES ON DOWN IN THE PORT, BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY DON'T KNOW, AND I THINK YOU'RE GONNA BE AMAZED AT WHAT YOU SEE.
SO WITH THAT, LET'S MOVE ALONG.
UM, ONE OF MY RESPONSIBILITIES IS THE HOUSTON EMERGENCY CENTER ON SHEPHERD, UH, THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKING, UH, AND ALL THE, ALL THE DISPATCH.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT RESPONSE, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SERVING THE PUBLIC, UH, THOSE CALLS, IT FIRST STARTS WITH SOMEBODY CALLING THE POLICE AND ASKING FOR HELP.
AND, UH, THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS OVER THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER.
UH, AT THE OVER AT THE HECK, I HAVE A FANTASTIC DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND RODERICK JACKSON, WHO WAS A FORMER DISPATCHER HIMSELF.
AND SO HE KNOWS THE JOB VERY WELL, AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT, UH, HE WAS JUST APPOINTED, UH, BY THE MAYOR JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO, AND IT'S ALREADY BEEN FANTASTIC.
HE KNOWS A LOT OF THE TEAM OVER THERE.
HE KNOWS WHAT'S NECESSARY, AND HE'S DONE AN AWESOME JOB FOR US AND FOR THE CITY.
AND, AND AGAIN, WE, UH, WE JUST ALWAYS WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ACKNOWLEDGING, UH, THOSE DISPATCHERS, THOSE PEOPLE SITTING IN THOSE HIGH PRESSURE SEATS, UH, FOR THAT ARE TAKING THOSE CALLS.
IT IS NOT EASY TO TAKE SOME OF THE CALLS THAT THEY HAVE TO TAKE.
UH, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN SCREAMING AND THEY'RE IN, IN DIRE SITUATIONS, AND LIFE, LIFE IS ON THE LINE, AND THEY'RE HAVING TO MANAGE THROUGH THAT AND GET HELP TO THOSE, THOSE PEOPLE CALLING FOR HELP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AND, AND THEY DON'T GET PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THEIR SALARIES.
WE WANT THE VERY BEST, WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO, TO GO IN TO DO THIS JOB AND SERVE THE CITY AND THE PUBLIC THE VERY BEST POSSIBLE.
AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA ALWAYS BE ONE OF MY EFFORTS TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF THEM.
RODRICKS ON BOARD WITH THAT, AND I KNOW THE MAYOR IS AS BEST AS WE CAN.
WE WERE, FRANKLY SHORT, JUST LIKE THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT I DID 34 YEARS ON, UM, WE, UH, WE WERE PROBABLY, I'VE, I'VE SAID MANY TIMES.
WE WERE PROBABLY ABOUT 2000 OFFICERS SHORT.
UH, WELL, THEY'RE, THEY'RE SHORT TOO.
I MEAN, RIGHT NOW OUR STAFFING IS, IS, IS UNDER A HUNDRED AND, AND REALLY SHOULD BE
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ABOUT 135.AND THERE'S PROBABLY MORE THAN THAT.
WE NEED ALL OF YOU, UH, TO HELP US WITH RECRUITMENT.
IT'S A JOB, UH, OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND, AND NOBLE AND YOU'RE, YOU ARE TRULY IN A PART OF THE SAVING LIFE EFFORT.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE I SAY THAT, UH, RIGHT UP FRONT.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON RIGHT NOW IS A STRONG EFFORT AT, AT LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TO BE BETTER.
UH, WE KNOW THAT AI IS IN THE NEWS A LOT, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND, AND THERE'S A LOT OF OPINIONS AND THOUGHTS AROUND THAT, BUT THERE ARE PLACES WHERE TECHNOLOGY, EVEN AI, CAN REALLY HELP US AND ADVANCE US.
SO WE WERE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE WAYS THAT WE MIGHT LEVERAGE THAT TO BETTER SERVE THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE DO NEED A NEW CAD SYSTEM.
I KNOW OUR HOUSTON, UH, UM, OUR, OUR HITS, UH, TEAM IS WORKING ON THAT.
WE DO NEED A NEW CAD SYSTEM THAT WILL HELP US, AND THAT WILL BE A PART OF WHAT WE DO OVER THE HE.
UM, ALSO, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, WE NEED A BACKUP, PROBABLY 9 1 1 SYSTEM.
UH, IT'S A BEST PRACTICE, AND WE NEED TO START, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT NOW.
BUT AGAIN, IN CASE THE HECK GOES DOWN, WE USUALLY GO TO 3 1 1.
WE PROBABLY NEED SOMETHING MORE ROBUST IN TERMS OF BACKUP, AND IT'S SOMETHING TO BE THINKING ABOUT AS WE INVEST IN OUR FUTURE.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING THE VERY, HIRING THE VERY BEST, AND THAT'S GONNA TAKE SALARY INCREASES.
SO I APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU CAN DO WITH THAT, UH, AND IN RECRUITMENT AND IMPROVING THEIR SITUATION.
RIGHT NOW, A LOT OF THEM ARE ORDERED TO WORK OVERTIME, YOU KNOW, UH, AND HOLIDAYS, BECAUSE WE SIMPLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE.
AND SO IMAGINE THE, THE, THE LONG DAYS THAT THEY'RE IN, THEY'RE OUT SITTING IN THOSE SEATS AND TAKING THOSE HIGH PRESSURE CALLS.
AND THAT THE WAY WE GET THERE, PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST WAYS IS THROUGH, UH, BETTER PAY.
SO, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT, UH, SLIDE, UH, NEXT SLIDE AFTER THAT.
WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST GRANTS PROGRAM THROUGH OUR, MY SHOP, UH, FRANKLY, MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FLOW THROUGH, UH, OUR SHOP IN TERMS OF, UH, RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT AND ALL THOSE THINGS.
ALLISON BELCHER, UH, IS THE LEAD FOR OUR, AS OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER, UH, A LOT OF OUR, OUR GRANTS SECTION.
IT'S LITERALLY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU PULL 'EM UP, PULL US UP ONLINE, YOU SEE THAT WE ARE, ONE OF OUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES IS TO, UM, PREVENT TERRORISM.
UH, AND, AND OF COURSE TO BE RESILIENT AND ALL THOSE THINGS.
OVERALL, ALL OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND HOMELAND SECURITY, QUITE FRANKLY, IS A LOT ABOUT RESILIENCE.
IT'S ABOUT BUILDING IN RESILIENCE, UH, PREPARED FOR THE WORST, HOPING IT NEVER HAPPENS.
BUT IF IT DOES THAT, WE CAN, WE CAN RESPOND TO IT QUICKLY AND, AND WE CAN MITIGATE IT AND COME OUT OF IT, UH, EVEN STRONGER THAN BEFORE.
WELL, THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE DO THROUGH OUR GRANT SECTION.
UH, LOOKING AT ALL THE AGENCIES, POLICE, FIRE, UH, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC WORKS.
THERE'S ALL, THERE'S ALL THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY AS WELL AS AROUND THE CITY, STATE, AND REGION.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT JUST THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
IT IS ACTUALLY THE REGIONAL, IT'S A REGIONAL FOCUS.
I'VE OFTEN SAID THAT THE WAY I TAKE BETTER, WE TAKE BETTER BEST CARE OF THE CITY IS FOCUSING ON THE REGION TOO, AND MAKING EVERYBODY STRONG, BECAUSE A PROBLEM, UM, IN A, IN ANOTHER CITY, UH, IN A BORDER CITY IS GONNA BE OUR PROBLEM.
SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT EVERYBODY.
SO THESE GRANTS, THESE, THESE, THESE RESOURCES THAT WE HELP, UH, AND, AND WORK THROUGH AND MANAGE EVERYTHING WITH A LOT OF PLANNING TO, IN TERMS OF PLANNING FOR POTENTIAL DISASTERS AND HOW WE'RE GONNA RESPOND, BEST PRACTICE UPDATES.
THESE ARE ALL WAYS THAT WE CAN TARGET HARD IN THE CITY, UH, MAKE IT MORE ROBUST.
WE LOOK AT, WE'RE LOOKING AT HELPING WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND OUR OEM ON HOW WE, UM, DO WORK ON GETTING POWER GENERATION, BACKUP POWER GENERATION, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR MULTI AND OUR, UM, OUR, UH, MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS THAT WILL END UP BEING PLACES THAT WE CAN RETREAT TO IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND A NEED.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE HELP PUBLIC WORKS IN TERMS OF, UH, IN PROTECTING OUR WATER SUPPLY, UH, HOW WE ARE LOOKING AT PROTECTING ALL OF OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THE CITY THAT WE CAN IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION, WHEREVER, LOW-LYING AREAS.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN OUR CITY THAT FLOOD VERY OFTEN, AND THEY BECOME VERY DANGEROUS PLACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN GET TRAPPED AND PEOPLE CAN DIE.
AND I SADLY, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE LOST PEOPLE THAT, AND YOU ALL KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT, THAT, UH, WE'VE LOST LIVES.
SO WE WANNA DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO BETTER, BETTER PREPARE THOSE, EITHER TAKE AWAY THE THREAT FLOOD THREAT, OR AT LEAST BUILD IN BETTER BARRICADE SYSTEMS THAT WHENEVER, UH, WE ARE THREATENED WITH HEAVY STORMS AND HEAVY RAIN, THAT WE CAN BETTER SECURE THOSE LOCATIONS SO THEY CAN'T BE WASHED AWAY, BLOWN AWAY, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND WE CAN JUST BETTER PROTECT THE PUBLIC.
IT'S ABOUT ALL THE THING, IT'S ABOUT PLANNING FOR, FOR WHATEVER MAY HAPPEN, AND HOPING NONE OF IT HAPPENS, BUT WE HAVE TO DO THAT HARD WORK, DO OUR DILIGENCE, UH, BECAUSE GOD FORBID IF SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN AND WE NEED TO BE PREPARED AND RESPOND QUICKLY.
AND SO IT'S BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE'RE GONNA BEST SAVE LIVES AND IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON RIGHT NOW, AS YOU MIGHT
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ALL KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, UH, WE HAVE WHAT WE'RE GONNA BUILDING RESILIENCY RIGHT NOW, UH, JUST GENERALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT SOME BIG THINGS AHEAD.WE'RE PLANNING FOR WORLD CUP, AND WE'RE, UH, MY SHOP IS REALLY, UH, COORDINATING AND HELPING TO GATHER, UH, ALL THE PLANS.
WE HAVE FANTASTIC PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT, THE CITY, THE STATE, AND THE NATION, UH, AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT THAT ARE COMING TOGETHER AS COLLABORATIVE TEAMS TO BUILD IN, TO DEPEND DEPENDING ON WHAT IT IS, WHETHER IT'S PUBLIC SAFETY OR WHETHER IT'S, UH, HAZMAT OR WHETHER IT'S TRANSPORTATION OR HOTELS OR, OR STADIUMS. SO WE HAVE FANTASTIC TEAMS THAT ARE BUILDING AND WORKING ON ALL THOSE THINGS.
OUR, OUR SHOP HAS HELPING THEM COORDINATE THAT.
WE'RE ALSO HELPING COORDINATE ALL THE TRAINING THAT'S GONNA BE NECESSARY AS WE PREPARE FOR THIS BIG EVENT.
UH, IT'S BEEN LIKENED TO ABOUT, UH, 39 DAYS OF SUPER BOWL.
SO ALL OF YOU PROBABLY WERE HERE FOR OUR SUPER BOWL JUST IN 2017.
THEN, UH, THAT'S ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DAYS, SIX MAYBE.
UH, THIS IS PROBABLY ABOUT 39 DAYS.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY DEMANDING UPON THE PUBLIC, THE CITY.
IT'S A GREAT THING FOR US TO HOST, FANTASTIC FOR US.
BUT JUST KNOW IT'S ALSO GONNA REQUIRE A LOT OF COLLABORATION, A LOT OF COORDINATION.
WE'RE GONNA BE PREPARED WELL IN EVENTS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE PLANS UPON PLANS AND EXERCISE THOSE PLANS.
A LOT OF THAT STUFF WILL COME OUT OF OUR SHOP IN TERMS OF COORDINATION, GATHERING, RUNNING TRAPS, LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL GAPS, UH, TALKING BACK TO OUR PARTNERS WHO ARE ACTUALLY WRITING THOSE, THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND, AND BRINGING THOSE THINGS UP SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AS PREPARED AS POSSIBLE.
WHEN THAT COMES, FOLLOWED BY 2028, WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A LONG WAYS OFF, BUT THE RNC WILL BE HERE IN 2028.
AND, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S A MAJOR EVENT FOR ANY CITY TO HOLD.
SO HOUSTON HAS SOME BIG THINGS ON THE HORIZON BASED ON PLUS WHAT ALL, WHAT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR THAT WE DEAL WITH.
AND SO MY SHOP IS A PARTNER TO EVERYBODY ELSE IN THAT REGARD.
MOVING ON TO, UM, HOW WE MANAGE ALL THOSE GRANTS IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T, UH, GET, UH, IN TROUBLE WITH THE POLICY, THE LAW AND EVERYTHING ELSE, AND MAKING SURE ALL THE I'S ARE DOTTED, OR T'S ARE CROSSED IS OUR, IS OUR BUDGETING SECTION.
IT'S A SMALL UNIT THAT DOES BIG THINGS FOR US.
THEY KEEP MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ON POINT AND ON TARGET WITH ALL OF OUR, UM, ALL, ALL THE MONIES THAT ARE FLOWING IN, WHETHER IT'S THE, THE, UM, THE U OSSE GRANTS, THE URBAN AIR SECURITY GRANTS, WHICH ARE ANTI-TERRORISM, OR OUR PORT SECURITY GRANTS THAT WE KNEW, AND THAT I HAVE PARTNERS IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM RIGHT, THAT ARE GONNA SPEAK BEHIND ME, THAT SPEAK TO THAT.
AND GARY SHAW BE AND HOUSTON SHIP ACCOUNT, SECURITY DISTRICT, AND OUR PORT, UH, GROUP, UH, TO THE STATE HOMELAND, UH, SECURITY GRANTS THAT WE HAVE.
THE, UH, WE, THE, WE ALL THOSE HAVE TO BE MANAGED.
IT'S A LOT OF MONEY AND A LOT OF MOVING PARTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND HAVE A VERY SMALL TEAM LED BY KIM HOUSE, WHO MAKES SURE THAT WE STAY COMPLIANT WITH EVERYTHING, THAT THINGS DON'T FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS, UH, AND, AND THAT THE CITY CAN BE CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD SAFELY AND SECURELY.
UM, AND WITH ALL THE RESOURCES WE NEED, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH, BUT WE TAKE, UM, THAT, UH, AND, AND THIS IS OUR OUTREACH ON OUR, ON OUR VOLUNTEER SIDE AND OUR TRAINING SIDE, THAT'S LED BY JACKIE MILLER IN MY SHOP.
UM, SINCE IN THE LAST, UH, SINCE I THINK, UH, 2011, WE'VE TRAINED ABOUT 30,000 PLUS PEOPLE IN COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
IN FACT, IN THE, IN THE REGION, WE'VE PROBABLY TRAINED, AND YOU TALKED TO MARK SLOAN WITH THE COUNTY TOTAL OF OUR TOTAL NUMBER IS OVER 70,000.
NOW, WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR US? THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, UH, BECAUSE IT PREPARES THE PUBLIC, UH, FOR THOSE POTENTIAL TIMES WHEN SOMETHING BAD CAN HAPPEN, A CATASTROPHIC EVENT, AND WE GET THEM READY, UH, IN TERMS OF SEEING IT, UH, PREPARING IN ADVANCE AND MAKING THEMSELVES MORE CAPABLE OF DEALING WITH IT.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF, OF, OF WHAT WE MIGHT FACE IN TERMS OF TWO SIDES OF, OF A, OF A LEDGER, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE NOT PREPARED, YOU HAVE A REAL CHANCE OF BECOMING A VICTIM.
SO IF WE CAN PREPARE YOU, UH, THEN THERE'S FAR LESS CHANCE OF THEM BEING HARMED BY SOME CATASTROPHIC, OR AT LEAST NOT TO ANY GREAT DEGREE, LIKE IT COULD, UH, AND IT MOVES THEM OVER TO THE SIDE THAT THEY CAN HELP US AND THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO PROTECT EVERYBODY.
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO DO EVERYTHING WE NEED TO DO.
WE REALLY COUNT ON THE PUBLIC AS A PARTNERSHIP.
SO THE MORE PEOPLE WE TRAIN, UH, FOR BEING PREPARED FOR ANY KIND OF NATURAL EMERGENCY OR A DISASTER, AND MOVE THEM TO THAT SIDE OF, THEY CAN, NOT ONLY CAN THEY BE INDEPENDENT AND NOT END UP IN THOSE DIRE SITUATIONS, BUT THEN THEY CAN ALSO HELP THEIR NEIGHBORS HELP THEIR FRIENDS.
WE SAW THAT IN HURRICANE HARVEY WHEN WE SAW NEIGHBORS COUPLING NEIGHBORS, PEOPLE COMING OUT.
EVERYBODY WAS IN, EVERYBODY WAS WORKING TO PROTECT, AND, AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL THING FOR THE CITY, AND IT WENT AROUND THE WORLD.
WELL, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.
AND EVEN ON THE LARGEST, UH, IN
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A, IN A LARGER WAY, WE ARE LOOKING, AND COUNCILMAN PECK, I TALKED TO YOUR TOWN HALL ABOUT THIS TODAY, OUR VISION IS TO, IS TO GROW THOSE PERSONS, UH, TRAINED AND, AND HONESTLY ALSO TO KINDA LEAN INTO THEIR SKILL SETS.WE HAVE PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT CAN DO, UH, INCREDIBLE THINGS THAT ARE VERY SKILLED.
WE HAVE MASTER ELECTRICIANS, WE HAVE MASTER PLUMBERS.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT CAN RUN A CHAINSAW.
AND SO WE, AND WE HAVE THIS LARGE GROUP AND, AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WHEN I TALK TO THE PUBLIC, THEY WANT TO HELP.
THEY WANT TO, THEY WANT TO ENGAGE.
THEY'RE WILLING TO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME AND, AND THEIR EFFORTS AND THEIR, AND THEIR, UH, THEIR, UM, SKILL SETS TO, TO HELP MAKE IT BETTER.
AND, AND WITH, WITH THAT, WE COULD ACTUALLY LEVERAGE THAT.
WE CAN, WE CAN IDENTIFY THOSE SKILL SETS.
WE CAN PUT PEOPLE, UH, IN, INTO GROUPS THAT WE MIGHT CALL UPON IN TIMES OF CRISIS, THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME, WHETHER IT'S RUNNING A SHELTER OR RUNNING A CHAINSAW, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND MORE, WHAT WE CAN DO IS, IS GET THAT HELP TO THE PEOPLE IN NEED A LOT FASTER THROUGH VOLUNTEER EFFORTS.
IT TAKES A LOT OF COORDINATION.
IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK, BUT PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO DO IT.
WE JUST HAVE TO TELL THEM HOW TO PLUG IN.
AND THERE'S SOME WAYS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IT.
THIS IS GONNA BE A COLLABORATION BETWEEN CITY AND COUNTY.
AND, AND I'M TALKING TO A DIRECTOR SLOAN ON THAT, OR THE COUNTY, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN DO THAT AND HOW WE CAN BUILD THAT AND MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC THAT THIS IS HOW YOU CAN, THIS IS HOW YOU CAN PLUG IN, AND THIS IS HOW YOU CAN GIVE BACK.
BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO, THEY JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW.
IT'S GOTTA BE SOMETHING THAT'S EASY AND UNDERSTANDABLE.
AND THEN, AND THEN IF THEY'VE GOT FOUR, EIGHT HOURS TO DONATE, THEY'LL DO IT.
AND, AND I BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE I KNOW THE CITY, AND IT'S, IT'S SUCH A GREAT CITY WITH PEOPLE WILLING TO DO THAT.
WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE, WE HAVE TO LEVERAGE IT IN THE RIGHT WAY THAT THEY CAN, THEY CAN DO SO.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS. THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER STUFF WE DO, UH, THROUGH THAT.
UH, WE HELP WITH OTHER EVENTS, YOU KNOW, UH, RODEO, MARATHON, ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
THOSE ARE ALL IN THE SLIDE DECK.
BUT YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO THROUGH OUR, THROUGH OUR VOLUNTEER EFFORT RIGHT NOW.
UH, LET'S GO ALL THE WAY TO HOUSTON CRACKDOWN ON THIS LAST, THANK YOU.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THIS, BUT I'VE GOT RAY ANDREWS IN MY OFFICE, AND WE HAVE, UH, A HUGE OUTREACH IN TRYING TO, TO STOP, UH, PEOPLE FROM, FROM FALLING INTO SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ESPECIALLY CHILDREN.
AND RAY DOES A GREAT JOB ON MESSAGING AND LOTS OF EVENTS THAT DO OUTREACH, WHETHER IT'S ADULTS AND TO CHILDREN.
AND YOU CAN SEE IT ALL RIGHT THERE.
UM, AS YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN A PART OF WITH RED RIBBON AND, AND AWARENESS AND ALL THAT.
AND THAT'S BRINGING OUR PARTNERS FROM, FROM, UH, DEA AND EVERYWHERE ELSE TO GO OUT AND ADDRESS KIDS AND, AND TRY TO, AND, AND ADULTS AND TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO, UH, TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.
THE FACT IS, IS THAT, UH, WE ARE LOSING PEOPLE, THOUSANDS, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO DRUG ABUSE AND DRUG OVERDOSE, FENTANYLS RAVAGING OUR COUNTRY.
AND WE NEED MORE MESSAGING, MORE OUTREACH, MORE EFFORTS TO TRY TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM EVER EVEN STARTING ON THAT AND GETTING THEM OUT AND GETTING THEM THE CARE THAT THEY NEED.
AND THAT'S WHAT, UH, ONE OF OUR SHOPS IS RAY AND, AND HIS TEAM AND OUR UNIT IS WORKING ON TO TRY TO DO, UH, WE EVEN HAVE ANNUALLY A, UH, A VIGIL.
WE DID ONE RIGHT OUTSIDE OF CITY HALL, UH, JUST JUST THE LAST MONTH.
AND, AND THAT WAS A VIGIL TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST LOVED ONES TO, UH, DRUG OVERDOSE.
IT'S HEART WRENCHING EVERY TIME WE DO IT.
AND IT'S, IT, IT, IT'S JUST NOT NECESSARY.
WE CAN STOP THIS, BUT WE JUST NEED MORE OUTREACH, MORE EDUCATION AND, AND SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO DO THAT.
SO, UH, THAT IS PART OF MY SHOP, TOO.
SO LET'S, NEXT SLIDES, SECURING THE CITIES.
UM, LET'S GO TO THAT, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE A GRANT IN THAT FOR OUR REGION.
OUR CITY IS LEADING THE WAY IN THAT, AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT.
CHARLIE JOHNSON AND IAN FELDMAN.
UM, CHARLIE'S A RETIRED HPD, UM, SERGEANT.
HE WAS A LONGTIME, UH, BOMB SQUAD SERGEANT AND JUST DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB.
AND NOW HE IS, HE AND IAN ARE HELPING ON OUR, SECURING THE CITIES.
SO WHAT IS THAT? THAT'S ABOUT PREPARING US AND HOPEFULLY DETECTING, UH, ANY KIND OF RADIOLOGICAL DEVICE, UH, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
WE'RE ALWAYS STILL WORRIED AND CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE TYPES OF THINGS BEING WEAPONIZED AGAINST US AND HOW DEVASTATING THAT CAN BE.
WE HAVE A HUGE GRANT THAT THEY WORK OFF OF OUTTA MY SHOP, OUT OF OUR SHOP WHERE, UH, WE, WE ISSUE OUT, UM, UH, DETECTOR DEVICES THAT LOOK LIKE A PAGER THAT ARE, THAT ARE A ISSUE TO ALL OF OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, UH, THAT CAN DETECT ANY KIND OF RADIOLOGICAL SIGNATURE.
UM, AND, AND OF COURSE INVESTIGATE THAT.
MOST OF THEM ARE, UH, NOT, NOT NEFARIOUS.
MOST OF 'EM MIGHT BE, UH, SEISMIC EQUIPMENT, OR THEY MIGHT BE RIGHT METAL MEDICAL DEVICES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
REGARDLESS, UH, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE OUT THERE FOR.
AND WE'VE EXPENDED IT BEYOND THE CITY, THE COUNTY, EVEN BEYOND THE STATE.
WE NOW GO INTO OKLAHOMA AND SOME OTHER STATES BECAUSE,
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UH, THEY'RE DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB.AND THAT HAS BEEN THE, THE REQUEST AND THE DEMAND.
SO THE OVERALL EFFORT, AGAIN, IS TO IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S SAFETY.
AND THIS IS WHAT SECURING THE CITIES IS DESIGNED FOR, AND HOUSTON IS LEADING THE WAY ON THAT IN THIS PACIFIC FIELD, AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT.
THEY'RE, THEY DO A FANTASTIC JOB.
YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE PICTURES OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON THERE, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, IT WILL DETECT AND HOPEFULLY, UH, WE CAN GET IN FRONT OF IT BEFORE IT BECOMES A REAL PROBLEM FOR US.
WE, UH, WE ACTUALLY KEEP UP WITH ALL THE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY AND THE REGION.
UH, ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO, UM, UH, TO MAKING SURE THAT THE CITY, THE COUNTY, THE STATE, THE NATION RUN PROPERLY.
UH, AND IF, IF WE LOSE THEM, THEY MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR, MOST IMPORTANTLY, ON, ON THE POTENTIAL SAFETY OF PUBLIC, BUT ALSO ON THE ECONOMIC ENGINE OF THE, OF OUR AREA AND THE NATION.
SO WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY THEM, AND WE HAVE TO SAY, WELL, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS? AND HOW ARE WE PROTECTING IT TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T GET INTERRUPTED, UH, UNNECESSARILY.
UH, AND THAT IS ALWAYS THE GOAL OF OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND KATHERINE VOGEL SAYING, AND OUR, AND OUR IS HPD CURRENT POLICE OFFICER IN OUR DEPARTMENT IS, UH, SPEARING THAT UP, UH, OUTTA MY SHOP, AND, UH, DOES A GREAT JOB.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S DATA, UH, THAT THERE'S DIFFERENT DATABASES THAT WE KEEP IT IN.
A LOT OF IT IS, IT'S ALL PROTECTED INFORMATION, JUST SO YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, UH, WE DON'T WANNA TELL OUR BAD GUYS WHERE OUR BAD, WHERE OUR ROLLER CRITICAL STUFF IS.
BUT, BUT WE DO MAINTAIN AND WE ARE DOING OUR DILIGENCE TO MAKE SURE, AND WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS ALL THE TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS, UH, SAFE AND SECURE, UH, SO THAT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
SO WE ALSO HAVE A HUGE RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR PORT, UH, PORT SECURITY, OUR FIRST RESPONDER GROUP.
I GOT SCOTT BERRY, WHO'S A LONG TIME, 37 YEAR POLICEMAN, UH, PROBABLY 38.
I PROBABLY DON'T WANNA TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HIM, UH, IN MY SHOP.
AND HE IS, HE IS OUR PR PRIMARY, UM, CONNECTION TO THE PORT.
AND, UM, ALONG WITH MYSELF, WE GO DOWN THERE A LOT.
UM, BUT IT'S ABOUT PROTECTING OUR PORT.
IT'S ABOUT PROTECTING, USING THE GRANT DOLLARS THAT WE COME IN, THAT COME IN THROUGH, THROUGH OUR U OSSA AND THROUGH OUR PORT SECURITY GRANT AND STAY AT HOME LAND AND EVERYWHERE ELSE THAT WE CAN BUY THE EQUIPMENT, THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO PROTECT, UM, THE PORT AND PROTECT OUR OFFICERS WHEN THEY RE THAT, WHERE THEY MIGHT BE RESPONDING.
WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE BOATS IN THE WATER, AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, PLANES IN THE AIR BY THROUGH HPD AND OTHER PLACES.
AND, UH, AND OUR JOB IS TO HELP THEM GET WHATEVER RESOURCES THEY NEED, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO DO THE GOOD WORK THEY CAN TO PROTECT THE PORT AND PROTECT THE AREA.
AND SCOTT'S MY LIAISON FOR THAT, UH, UH, ON A, ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND, UH, JUST, JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING, UH, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR THE NEXT PRESENTATION BY, UH, CAPTAIN CARRERA.
UM, JUST THE IMPACT AND WHAT IT IS TO OUR COUNTRY AND JUST, JUST HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO MAINTAIN AND GROW, CONTINUE TO GROW OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OF OUR PORT PARTNERS.
UH, THE CITY, UH, HEAVILY RELIES ON, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND JUST HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO US.
SO I'M GLAD THAT THEY'RE GONNA DO THAT PRESENTATION.
I, SO I'M AT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.
I WILL, AND I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL JUST SAY, GENERALLY SPEAKING, AS I STARTED WITH, OUR SHOP IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN A LOT OF OTHERS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY, WE, WE REALLY FOCUS ON RESILIENCY.
WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON PREPARING THE CITY AND TARGET HARD THAN THE CITY AS BEST AS WE CAN.
THIS REQUIRES A LOT OF PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH OUR, WITH OUR, WITH EVERYBODY ELSE, WITH POLICE, WITH FIRE, AND NOT JUST HOUSTON POLICE OR HOUSTON FIRE, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVERYBODY IN THE CITY COUNTY, UH, IN THE ENTIRE 13 COUNTY REGION.
WHAT, WHAT WE COMMONLY REFER TO AS HOUSTON GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL, WE'RE WORKING WITH EVERYBODY.
UH, BECAUSE WE, WE TAKE A MORE OF A GLOBAL BROAD LOOK AT EVERYTHING OUT OF OUR SHOP.
UH, WE PREPARE, WE, WE WRITE PLANS, WE GET READY FOR ALL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE COMING, AND WE LOOK AT ALL THE THINGS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO GO WRONG.
AND WE SAY, WHERE ARE THE GAPS? AND HOW DO WE FIX IT? WE'RE NOT PERFECT.
THERE'S A LONG WAYS TO GO, BUT WE ARE GONNA BE WORKING DILIGENTLY TOWARDS THOSE EFFORTS TO, UH, PROTECT THE CITY AND IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S QUALITY OF LIFE AND GIVE 'EM A LITTLE BIT MORE ASSURANCE AND COMFORT THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THIS.
ONE LAST THING I'M WORKING ON RIGHT NOW THAT WE WON'T TALK ABOUT TODAY BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA COME, IS, UH, THE MAYOR HAS ASKED OUR, OUR, ME AND OUR, OUR DEPARTMENT, OUR SHOP TO, TO LOOK AT HELPING OUT AS A, AS A PARTNER IN DEALING WITH OUR, OUR TERRIBLE HOMELESS PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY.
WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB WITH THAT, BUT THERE'S STILL MUCH TO DO.
AND THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE SUFFERING, PEOPLE SUFFERING THAT ARE ON THE STREETS, HOMELESS AND PEOPLE AROUND THEM THAT ARE BEING IMPACTED BY THAT TOO.
SO I DON'T WANNA GO TOO DEEP INTO THAT, THAT'S FOR ANOTHER TIME.
BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, UH, WE, WE ARE LOOKING AT ALL CHALLENGES AND, AND WORKING AT IT.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, CHIEF, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO, YOUR DEPARTMENT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CITY.
UM, WE WERE JOINED DURING YOUR PRESENTATION,
[00:25:01]
UM, BY COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ AND STAFF FROM VICE CHAIR JACKSON'S OFFICE AS WELL.UM, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
AND THEN WE DO HAVE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, UM, FOR THE EMERGENCY CENTER.
YOU TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE NEED FOR MORE FUNDS.
UM, HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT WE WOULD NEED TO CLOSE THAT GAP? JUST IN STAFFING ALONE? WE PROBABLY NEED ABOUT 35 MORE PEOPLE RIGHT AWAY.
UM, SO IF YOU WORK THAT OUT IN TERMS OF THEIR SALARY AND BENEFITS, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER.
I'M DOING THE MATH IN MY HEAD.
I, BUT, UM, IT'S GONNA BE SEVERAL MILLION MORE DOLLARS.
AND, AND I CAN GET THAT TO YOU.
I DON'T WANT TO JUST THROW OUT A NUMBER JUST YET.
YEAH, YOU CAN GET THAT, BECAUSE IT MAY BE WAY LOW.
I DON'T THINK I'LL BE HIGH, BUT IT MAY BE WAY LOW, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT INFORMATION.
DO YOU KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE POSITIONS? I MEAN, IT'S ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.
SO I IMAGINE THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING OUT THERE.
SO THERE WE ARE LOOKING AT A LOT OF GRANTS THAT WERE BURNED AND EVERYWHERE ELSE, ALL THE OTHER GRANTS THAT WE CAN.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL WHAT, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PHILANTHROPY.
UH, NOT THAT PHILANTHROPY IS GONNA PAY FOR SALARY POSITIONS, BUT THEY DO PAY FOR EQUIPMENT AND OTHER THINGS.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING.
UH, ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE DO IN MY SHOP IS GRANTS.
AND I'VE GOT GREAT PEOPLE THAT KNOW HOW TO GO OUT AND FIND IT.
WE ARE PLUSING UP OUR STAFFING TO DO THOSE VERY THINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, UM, BECAUSE THAT MIGHT BE THE ONLY WAY.
THE PROBLEM WITH GRANTS A LOT OF TIMES IS THEY'RE ONE AND TWO AND THREE YEARS LONG.
WE NEED TO BUILD IN A SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY FOR FUNDING FOR ALL OF THESE THINGS TO TRULY MOVE DOWN THE, YOU KNOW, MOVE THE BALL FORWARD DOWN THE FIELD.
UH, BUT FOR NOW, WE'LL TAKE THE GRANTS AND WE'LL USE, THOSE ARE SEED MONEY THAT WE CAN USE TO AT LEAST GET A LITTLE BIT BETTER OFF THAN WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
AND EVERY, EVERY PROG EVERY BIT OF PROGRESS WE CAN MAKE, WE'RE GONNA GO FOR.
UM, AND AS FAR AS THE CERT PROGRAM, HOW ARE YOU WORKING WITH DIFFERENT COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND NONPROFITS TO KIND OF COORDINATE MM-HMM
THOSE VOLUNTEERS, UM, DURING DISASTERS? SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH RIGHT NOW AT MY SHOP.
LIKE I SAID, JACKIE MILLER, WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF OUR PEOPLE AND THEY ALREADY, WE HAVE A, A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HELP WITH DIFFERENT EVENTS AROUND THE CITY.
UH, WE JUST WANNA MAKE IT FAR MORE ROBUST AND FAR EASIER TO ACCESS.
UM, YOU KNOW, READY HOUSTON.GOV IS A WAY YOU PLACE YOU CAN GO TO FOR A LOT OF THESE THINGS.
'CAUSE DO A LOT OF PREPAREDNESS TRAINING IN THAT REGARD.
AND YOU CAN ALSO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SIGN UP.
YOU KNOW, THE CT CLASS IS A 24 HOUR CLASS THAT'S TAUGHT OVER EIGHT WEEKS, THREE HOURS A NIGHT FOR THREE HOURS EACH WEEK.
UH, AND, UM, I, I, I, I SIGN A LOT OF, UH, DEPLOY OR CERTIFICATES THAT THEY'VE, THEY'VE, UM, THEY HAVE, UH, UH, COMPLETED IT SUCCESSFULLY.
SO I, I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S HOW WORKING WITH YOU ALL IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE STILL SEEING HOW WE CAN MAKE IT MORE ROBUST.
WE ALREADY HAVE CONNECTIONS, BUT WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT MORE ROBUST AND WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, TO AND MESSAGE THAT HEAVILY.
AND I THINK WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IS, IN YOUR DISTRICTS, YOU'RE GONNA START SEEING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE SIGN UP, AND THEN WE CAN CERTAINLY MAKE YOU AWARE OF THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHO'S IN YOUR DISTRICT, WHO'S ALREADY CERT TRAINED, AND POSSIBLY EVEN SOME NEXT LEVEL TRAINING ON TOP OF THAT AND HAS CAPABILITIES THAT YOU CAN LEAN ON.
UM, WE GOTTA DO IT TOGETHER, WE GOTTA WORK TOGETHER.
BUT, UH, CERTAINLY, UH, A LOT OF TIMES THEY WILL GO TO YOUR, YOUR SHOP FIRST, AND THAT'S GREAT.
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT, FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN DO IT.
THE IDEA THAT THE MAIN GOAL IS HOW WE CAN QUICKLY GET RESOURCES.
ONE OF THE REASONS THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT IS THAT WE DO HAVE THE STATE'S HELP.
WE HAVE THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
I KNOW CHIEF NIM KID, I KNOW HIS NUMBER TWO, UH, ASSISTANT CHIEF SEAN MILLER.
BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THAT IT TAKES TIME.
IT'S PROBABLY 48 TO 72 HOURS AT MINIMUM FOR THEM TO GET THEIR RESOURCES HERE TO HELP US.
WELL, THAT'S A LONG TIME FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE IN SUFFERING RIGHT AWAY.
SO WE WANT TO SPEED UP THAT RESPONSE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
WE SEE ONE OF OUR BEST WAYS OF DOING THAT IS TO LEVERAGE THESE CAPABILITIES OF OUR OWN COMMUNITIES, UH, AS TO THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
AND SO EXPECT MORE MESSAGING ON THAT, MORE, MORE COLLABORATION, UH, WITH, WITH ME, WITH YOU ALL, AND MY TEAM WITH Y'ALL'S TEAM AND HOW WE BETTER, UH, BETTER DO THAT.
'CAUSE I THINK IT'S, IT'S GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
I WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU ON THAT COLLABORATION BECAUSE SURE.
WHEN WE HAVE DISASTERS, WE TEND TO GET A LOT OF VOLUNTEERS, WHICH IS GREAT, AND WE'RE THANKFUL FOR THEM, BUT IT WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL TO HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY TRAINED AS WELL.
UM, HOW MANY CT MEMBERS DO WE HAVE IN THE CITY? A LITTLE OVER 30,000 TRAINED RIGHT NOW.
I GOT THAT FROM JACKIE MILLER.
SO, UH, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL CHECK AGAIN, BUT, UH, WE'RE STEADILY ADDING MORE, SO THE NUMBER MIGHT BE 32 TO 33,000 RIGHT NOW, SO.
ON THE 35 PEOPLE, ARE THOSE ALL 9 1 1 PEOPLE YOU THINK AND LIKE THE PEOPLE YOU NEED TO ADD RIGHT NOW? OR ARE THOSE OTHER OKAY.
AND YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE SALARIES ARE LOW.
WHAT IS THE RANGE FOR A NINE ONE ONE
[00:30:01]
CALL TAKE? UH, I THINK IT'S BETWEEN 35 AND 45 RIGHT NOW.UH, LIKE THE HIGHEST YOU CAN MAKE IS 45.
WELL, AS THEY PROMOTE AND RANK, THEY COULD MAKE MORE.
I THINK IT'S IN THE HIGH THIRTIES, I THINK.
AND I COULD BE WRONG ABOUT THAT COUNCILOR OBJECT.
UM, ON, ON THE, THE HARRIS COUNTY, DID I HEAR TALK THAT YOU'RE MO WE'RE MOVING BACK OVER THERE? OR WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT? SO SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, WITH THE HARRIS COUNTY EMERGENCY CENTER, TRANS STAR PLACE, AND THEN WE'VE GOT OUR PLACE, AND THEN, SO I'VE HEARD THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING, I THINK THEY'RE JUST IN THE DISCUSSION PHASE OKAY.
ANYTHING LIKE THAT WOULD BE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW, UM, SPECIFICALLY THAT, THAT WOULD BE A, A, A, A QUESTION.
I WOULD PROBABLY DIRECT BACK TO THE MAYOR FIRST.
AND HIS TEAM BECAUSE, BECAUSE IT USED TO ALL BE TOGETHER.
AND THEN WE BUILT THE HEC CENTER AND WE KIND OF MOVED OFF AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE THERE AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE AT THEIR PLACE.
THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS ON THE CRACKDOWN, I, I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW INVOLVED YOU WERE ON THE OPIATE STUFF.
I MEAN, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT PRIMARILY WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT 'CAUSE THEY'VE GOT SOME INITIATIVES GOING.
DO YOU GOT, ARE YOU COM ARE YOU COORDINATING WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT? SO, DIRECTOR WILLIAMS AND I TALK A LOT.
UH, AND SO, UH, LIKE I SAID, I GOT RAY ANDREWS IN IS IS IN OUR, IN OUR SHOP ON PUBLIC SAFETY, HOMELAND SECURITY.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING WITH EVERYBODY AND RAY IS REALLY MAKING, HE'S EVERY DAY HE'S, WE'VE HAD INTERNS AND HE'S CONS.
BECAUSE I JUST, UM, THAT I THINK THERE'S SO MUCH GOOD WORK THAT CAN BE DONE.
I'VE MET WITH SOME NONPROFITS INCLUDING ONE CALLED GENERATION SOS THAT REALLY GOES INTO THE SCHOOLS.
YOUR SLIDE SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GET THE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS AND YOU CAN, THEY HEAR FROM PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND STUFF, UHUH, THEY NEED TO HEAR FROM LIKE, THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN THROUGH IT.
AND THAT'S WHAT THIS GENERATION SOS DOES, AND, AND OTHERS LIKE IT.
UM, THEY GO INTO THE SCHOOLS AND THINGS WITH REAL, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH, UM, THE ADDICTION, GOTTEN TO THE OTHER SIDE, UM, KIND OF THE WARNING ABOUT THAT VERY FIRST PILL KIND OF STUFF.
UM, ANYWAY, I I, I'D, I'D LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT.
AND I CAN TALK TO YOU OFFLINE KIND OF ABOUT MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THAT REALM.
I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE INVOLVED IN ALL THAT.
AND, UM, ANY KIND OF, UH, WAY WE CAN, YOU KNOW, CRACK IT, YOU KNOW, CRACK DOWN, IS THAT AS YOUR TITLE IS? WE, WE, UM, WE, IT'S, IT, YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S EDUCATION, BUT IN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY COMPELLING IN TALKING TO SOME OF THESE NONPROFITS THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING INTO THE SCHOOLS.
JUST HOW MEANINGFUL IT IS FROM KIDS TO HEAR FROM OTHER KIDS, YOU KNOW, RATHER THAN JUST GROWNUPS TELLING THEM, DON'T DO THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING, AND THEN I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR OFFICE HAS A LOT OF DIVERSE FUNCTIONS.
IS THERE AN ORGANIZATION CHART THAT YOU CAN SEND US JUST KIND OF EXPLAINING WHO'S OVER EVERY DIVISION? I CAN.
AND THEN COUNCIL SEES REQUEST FOR ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN SOUGHT THROUGH GRANT FUNDS.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT GUIDES HOW YOU'RE GONNA BE SPENDING THAT MONEY OR YOUR PRIORITIES WITH THAT? SO THESE ARE GRANT FUNDS, THE COUNCIL DISTRICT'S OFFICE OR REQUEST, I'M SORRY, REPEAT THAT.
WE'RE JUST CHECKING ON THAT JUST TO SEE HOW YOU'RE GONNA BE PLANNING ON USING SOME OF THESE GRANT FUNDS.
SO, SO WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS IS, UH, THERE THERE'S A NEED AND THERE'S A GRANT THAT MIGHT ALIGN WITH THAT.
AND USUALLY THE, THE, THE APPLICANT WOULD BE THE COUNCIL DISTRICT OR WOULD MIGHT BE A DIFFERENT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
SO WE CAN SAY THESE ARE THE GRANTS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
LIKE I, I MENTIONED YOU, THE BIG ONES MM-HMM
THAT WE DEAL WITH A LOT ARE THE U OS, THE URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVES.
THEY PORT SECURITY AND THE STATE HOMELAND GRANTS MM-HMM
AND WE SAID, THIS IS THIS, THIS IS A CRITERIA LIKE WITH THE U OSS, IT HAS TO HAVE A TERRORISM NEXUS OR IT WILL NOT BE APPROVED.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, FEDERAL GUIDANCE THAT HAS TO REACH.
SO ONCE WE GIVE YOU WHAT THIS, THIS IS WHAT THIS GRANT CAN COVER, AND WE IDENTIFY A NEED THAT YOU WANNA BE THE APPLICANT, THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE ONE THAT'S, UH, GONNA WORK ON THAT, THAT ISSUE, THEN WHAT HAPPENS IS IF WE HELP YOU WITH HOW TO WRITE THAT GRANT AND YOU WRITE THAT GRANT, AND THEN YOU ARE THE ONES THAT ARE INITI ARE DOING IT, UH, THEN IT'S MORE ABOUT OVERSIGHT.
AND LIKE I MENTIONED, UH, UH, KIM HOUSE AND OUR, AND OUR BUDGET OVERSIGHT, WE'RE LOOKING AT OKAY, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL THE BENCHMARKS, ALL THE MILESTONES ARE, ARE REACHED AND THE TIMELINESS OF THE GRANT AND THOSE THINGS.
BUT WE DON'T REALLY, UM, SPECIFICALLY, UH, DIRECT YOU SO TO SPEAK.
I MEAN, IT IS THE, YOUR, YOUR APPLICATION FOR WHAT YOU INTEND TO DO IS, IS THE DIRECTION.
AND WE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE WAY
[00:35:01]
YOU SAID, THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO DO WITH THESE FUNDS THAT ARE THEN GRANTED AND WE HELP FACILITATE THAT.BUT IT WOULD BE THE, IT WOULD BE THE, THE APPLICANT THAT WOULD BE ACTUALLY THE ONE DOING THE DIRECTION.
NOW, AGAIN, IF IT COMES, IF IT GETS OUTTA LINE WITH WHAT IS IN THE GUIDANCE, THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SAY, HEY, LOOK, YOU'RE OUTTA LINE WITH THIS GUIDANCE THAT'S NOT GONNA BE APPROVED.
BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY WANNA MAINTAIN GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL OF OUR, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, GROUPS.
THE PART OR FEDERAL PARTNERS WHO ARE, WHO ARE ALL, OR STATE THAT ARE AUTHORIZING THESE FUNDS MM-HMM
AND SO THEY EXPECT US TO MAINTAIN, DO WHAT WE SAID WE WERE GONNA DO.
SO, BUT THAT WAS REALLY MORE TO, TO THE APPLICANT.
AND THEN FINAL QUESTION, HOW DO YOU INTEND TO COLLABORATE WITH THE ADMINISTRATION FOR NEXT YEAR'S PLANNING? SO WE'RE TALKING, UM, I'VE ALREADY STARTED MEETING WITH ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IT'S, UH, IT'S ABOUT WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS, WHAT ARE YOUR, WHERE ARE YOUR GAPS? AND WHAT, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS A VISION? NOW WE KNOW THE OVERALL VISION FOR THE CITY, UH, UH, LED BY THE MAYOR IS TO IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UM, THAT'S OBVIOUS AND, AND I PROBABLY DIDN'T SAY IT EXACTLY RIGHT, BUT THAT, THAT'S THE GENERAL IDEA.
SO HOW DO, HOW DOES EACH ONE OF, WHEN I MEET WITH YOU AND, AND OUR TEAMS, WHEN WE HAVE THOSE COLLABORATIONS, WHAT DO YOU SEE WE CAN DO TOWARDS THAT END GOAL? AND UH, AND THEN, AND Y'ALL ALL TOLD ME AND MANY OF YOU, SO I MEAN, I GET MY DIRECTION A LOT OF TIMES FROM OUR ELECTED LEADERSHIP, UM, AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU BECAUSE YOU REPRESENT THE, YOUR, YOUR CONSTITUENCIES.
AND ULTIMATELY WE WORK FOR THE PEOPLE.
AND SO WHAT THEY WANT IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE AND THE BEST WAY WE KNOW HOW.
OUR NEXT PRESENTATION WILL BE, UM, THE GREATER HOUSTON PORT BUREAU.
I WANNA START WITH A BIG THANK YOU, UH, FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, PRESENT ABOUT THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL AND THE HOUSTON PORTS REGION.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A 30,000 FOOT LEVEL, UH, OVERVIEW OF WHY I SAY MY POOR COMMUNITY IS BETTER THAN YOURS.
SO HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF MY PRESENTATION, YOU UNDERSTAND MY HASHTAG.
UM, I'M CAPTAIN ERIC CARRERO, COASTAL RETIRE OFFICER AFTER 26 YEARS OF SERVICE, AND I BECAME THE PRESIDENT OF THE POOR BUREAU LAST YEAR.
WE WERE FOUNDED IN 1929 AS A DIVISION OF POOR HOUSTON.
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, WE CHANGED OUR MISSION STATEMENTS, BUT TODAY WE ARE COMPANIES WORKING TOGETHER TO PROMOTE OUR POOR REGION.
MY NUMBER ONE JOB IS ADVOCACY WITH THE STATE OF TEXAS LOCAL AND AS ALSO WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BECAUSE WE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL AND HOW WE ARE THE ARTERY OF THE NATION.
ALSO, AS YOU KNOW, THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL, WE HAVE ABOUT 200 PLUS WATERFRONT FACILITIES, SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO GET TOGETHER.
ONCE A MONTH, WE HAVE A COMMERCE CLUB LUNCH AND EVERYBODY GETS TOGETHER AND THEY'RE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LESSONS LEARNED AND ISSUES THAT WE HAVE ALONG THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL.
WE ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF THE MARINE INFORMATION SERVICES OF NORTH AMERICA.
SO IF THERE'S AN ISSUE IN THIS AREA, I HAVE 11 PEERS NATIONWIDE THAT I CAN REACH OUT AND REQUEST SOME ANSWERS FROM THEM.
WE ALSO, VERY PROUDLY ARE THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL SECURITY DISTRICT, AND I HAVE GARY SHIVE WITH ME TODAY, AND HE'LL BE BRIEFING YOU GUYS ABOUT THAT.
I'M PRETTY SURE YOU CAN RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE LOGOS OF MY EXECUTIVE OWNERS, BUT THIS IS NOT ONLY THE POOR COMMUNITY.
I ALWAYS SAY WHEN YOU HAVE THE LARGEST PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX IN THE US IT TAKES A VILLAGE.
WE HAVE BANKING, INSURANCE COMPANIES, LOGISTICS, TRUCKING.
EVERYBODY'S WORKING TOGETHER TO ENSURE WE ARE AN EFFICIENT PORT.
NEXT ONE, THE START OF THE SHOW IS THE HOUSTON HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL 52 MILES LONG, 530 FEET WIDE, AND A DRAFT OF 45.
WE ONLY HAVE ONE RESTRICTION IN ORDER TO HAVE TWO-WAY TRAFFIC VESSELS COMING TO OUR AREA.
CANNOT BE LARGER THAN 1100 FEET IN LENGTH.
THE REASON BEHIND IS BECAUSE OF THIS MANEUVER CALLED TEXAS TO A STEP, ALSO KNOWN AS TEXAS CHICKEN.
IT'S A MANEUVER THAT THE HOUSTON PILOTS AND GALVESTON, TEXAS CITY PILOTS ARE AN EXPERT ON THIS.
THEY FIGURE OUT, IN ORDER TO DO TWO-WAY TRAFFIC, THEY NEED TO DO THIS MANEUVER WHERE THE VESSELS ARE GONNA BE KIND OF AIMING AT EACH OTHER AND ABOUT A MILE AWAY, THEY READJUST THEIR COURSES AND THE WATER FORCES ARE GONNA KEEP THE VESSELS FROM HITTING EACH OTHER, AND IT'S
[00:40:01]
GONNA KEEP THE VESSEL IN THE CHANNEL.SO IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE GONNA BE CRASHING INTO EACH OTHER, BUT THEY ARE SO GREAT AT WHAT THEY DO THAT THEY KIND OF JUMP AHEAD OF EACH OTHER AND THEY CONTINUE WITH THEIR TWO-WAY TRAFFIC.
OUR RESTRICTION 1100 FEET IN LENGTH IS BECAUSE THEY FIGURE OUT THAT'S THE SIZE OF THE VESSELS THEY CAN USE FOR THIS MANEUVER.
ANY VESSEL LARGER THAN 1100 FEET IN LENGTH, THEY CANNOT DO THIS MANEUVER.
AND IT NEEDS TO BE ON A ONE WAY TRAFFIC IN THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL.
AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE THE LARGEST PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX IN THE US, SECOND LARGEST IN THE NATION, IN THE WORLD.
NEXT, IF WE ONLY DO ONE WAY TRAFFIC, THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE VESSELS WAITING FROM GALVESTON ALL THE WAY PROBABLY TO, UH, EUROPE OR AFRICA.
LAST YEAR WE HAD OVER 228,000 VESSEL MOVEMENTS IN OUR PORTS.
TO GIVE YOU, UH, A PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE WE, AT TWO WEEKS AGO, I WENT TO LALB TO VISIT.
THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE CONTAINER TERMINAL IN THE US.
WHEN I ASKED THEM HOW MANY VESSEL MOVEMENTS THEY HAVE IN A YEAR, THEY TOLD ME 28,000.
ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE LAST YEAR, 228,000 VESSEL MOVEMENTS.
AND I WANNA SAY WITH THAT AMOUNT OF VESSELS YOU DON'T HEAR ON THE NEWS OF A COLLISION.
A BECAUSE WHAT WE DO HERE, THE POOR COMMUNITY IS VERY SAFE.
NEXT, THIS IS A SUMMARY FROM LAST MONTH.
AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW, YOU CAN SEE OUR NUMBERS CONTINUE TO GROW AS WELL.
TEXAS CITY, GALVESTON AND HOUSTON, THEY ALL INCREASE THEIR NUMBERS YEAR TO DATE.
SO I'M VERY CONFIDENT THAT THIS YEAR WILL BE OVER 230,000 VESSEL MOVEMENTS IN OUR REGION.
NEXT, AS YOU CAN SEE, MOST OF OUR VESSELS ARE TANK VESSELS, BUT THIS IS NOT ONLY ABOUT OIL.
NEXT, OUR TANK VESSELS, YES, THEY BRING OIL AND THEY EXPO OIL, BUT THEY ALSO, UH, HANDLE CHEMICALS AS WELL AS GAS.
NEXT, WHEN YOU LOOK INTO THE MEDICAL FIELD, 99% OF PHARMACEUTICAL STOCKS ARE DERIVED FROM MEDICALS.
SO I'M VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL OR POOR COMMUNITY IS SUPPORTING THE LARGEST MEDICAL CENTER IN THE WORLD, THE HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER NEXT.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, IT IS NOT ONLY ABOUT TANK VESSELS.
WE HAVE TWO CONTAINER TERMINALS OWNED AND OPERATED BY POOR HOUSTON.
NEXT, THEY ARE THE LARGEST CONTAINER TERMINALS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE FIFTH LARGEST CONTAINER TERMINAL IN THE US PORT.
HOUSTON IS INVESTING OVER $2 BILLION IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS BECAUSE THEY KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE VESSELS, LARGER VESSELS COMING INTO AN AREA.
OUR POPULATION HERE CONTINUES TO GROW.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, BELOW THE SIZE OF THE VESSELS ARE INCREASING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
AND BECAUSE OF OUR RESTRICTION, WE ARE HANDLING VESSELS THAT THEY CAN BRING BETWEEN 3000 TO 4,000 CONTAINERS PER SHIP.
NEXT ONE, THE IMPACT OF THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL.
FOR THE THE STATE OF TEXAS, WE ARE OVER $400 BILLION TO THE ECONOMY.
1.7 MILLION JOBS TO THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WHEN WE ADD, THIS IS JUST FOR HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL, RIGHT? WHEN WE ADD GALVESTON IN TIX, WE ARE OVER $1.1 TRILLION TO THE US ECONOMY AND OVER $3 MILLION NATIONWIDE.
THREE, I'M SORRY, 3 MILLION JOBS NATIONWIDE.
NEXT ONE, IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT HOUSTON, BUT ALSO GALVESTON.
GALVESTON IS GROWING WITH OUR CRUISE SHIP AND IT'S GONNA IMPACT THIS AREA, THE ECONOMY OF THIS AREA.
GALVESTON CURRENTLY IS NUMBER FOUR, CRUISE SHIP TERMINAL IN THE US.
LAST YEAR THEY HAD RECORD BREAKING 1.4 MILLION PASSENGERS.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE FORECAST WAS 1.7.
AS I SPEAK, WE ARE ABOUT 1.8 MILLION PASSENGERS.
THE REASON WHY THEY'RE SO SUCCESSFUL IS BECAUSE WHEN IN A 12 HOUR DRIVE RADIOS, YOU HAVE OVER 30 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING HERE.
THEY CAN DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO GALVESTON, THEY CAN JUMP ON A CRUISE SHIP.
WHEN THEY RETURN, THEY GET BACK INTO THE CARS AND OFF THEY GO TO THEIR HOMES.
BUT USUALLY WHEN THEY COME HERE, IT'S NOT ONLY TO TAKE THE CRUISE SHIP, THEY STAY IN THE CITY FOR ONE OR TWO DAYS BEFORE DEPARTING, AND WHEN THEY COME BACK, THEY ALSO STAY ONE TO TWO DAYS.
SO IT'S BRINGING, IT'S DOING GREAT FOR THE ECONOMY OF HOUSTON AREA.
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EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND ACTUALLY TWO MONTHS AGO, WE DID A RECORD BREAK, UH, A GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR MSC CRUISE LINE.BY 2025, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THEIR OWN TERMINAL.
THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE MOVING FROM $1.8 MILLION TO PROBABLY 2 MILLION PASSENGERS A YEAR DOWN IN GALVESTON.
LIKE I MENTIONED, WE ARE NUMBER FOUR IN THE NATION.
ONCE THAT TERMINAL IS DONE, WE'LL PROBABLY BE MOVING INTO THE NUMBER THREE POSITION.
SO WHAT'S NEXT? I MENTIONED CONTAINERS.
CRUISE SHIPS WERE DOING AWESOME.
NEXT PROJECT 11, IT IS THE EXPANSION OF THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL FROM 530 FEET WIDE TO 700 FEET.
BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, THE, THE CONTAINER TERMINAL AT BAYPORT IS GONNA BE ABLE TO BRING LARGER VESSELS.
BY THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2025, BARBER'S GUT IS GONNA BE ABLE TO BRING LARGER VESSELS.
NEXT ONE, THAT MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE LESS VESSELS COMING HERE, BUT MORE CARGO WITH LESS VESSELS.
THEN WE'RE GONNA BRING DOWN THE RISK OF THE PORT NEXT ONE.
AND THOSE VESSELS THAT I SHOW YOU BEFORE BRING IN TWO 3000 CONTAINERS.
NOW THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO BRING SEVEN, 8,000 CONTAINERS PER SHIP.
THAT MEANS THAT WHEN WE HAVE TWO OR THREE OF THOSE VESSELS TIED ON THE TWO CONTAINER TERMINALS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE OVER 15, 17,000 CONTAINERS A WEEK.
MOVING AROUND, I MENTIONED WE ARE NUMBER FIVE IN THE NATION.
ONCE WE'RE DONE WITH PROJECT 11 AND EXPANSION, WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE MOVING OUR NUMBERS UP IN RANK.
WHEN I WAS IN THE COAST GUARD, I NEVER THOUGHT IN A MILLION YEARS THAT WE'RE GONNA USE PLANES TO ATTACK OUR NATION.
THERE IS NO SECRET, BUT, UH, BAD CHARACTERS ARE LOOKING INTO A MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TO DO HARM TO OUR ECONOMY.
DURING HARVEY, I WAS THE CHIEF OF OPERATIONS.
I WAS IN CHARGE OF ALL THE OPERATIONS TO OPEN THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL.
IT TOOK US FIVE DAYS TO OPEN THE CHANNEL.
AS I'M CELEBRATING WITH MY TEAM FOR A JOB WELL DONE, WE RECEIVED A CALL ASKING WHY IT TOOK SO LONG.
IN FIVE DAYS, THE PRICE OF GAS NATIONWIDE WENT UP 20 CENTS.
TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT WENT UP 40 CENTS.
CLOSING THE HOUSTON SHIFT CHANNELS IS A PRICE STACK OF $2.8 BILLION A DAY.
THAT'S HOW IMPORTANT WE ARE TO THE NATION.
NEXT ONE, AS AN INTERNATIONAL POOR SECURITY OFFICER WITH THE COAST GUARD, I TRAVEL OVERSEAS AND I SAW HOW WELL THEY WERE IMPLEMENTING POOR SECURITY IN THEIR COUNTRIES.
AND EVERYBODY ALWAYS ASKED ME ABOUT HOUSTON, WHAT IS HOUSTON DOING TO ENSURE WE ARE SAFE AND WE ARE SECURE? NEXT ONE.
AND I WAS VERY PROUD TO MENTION THAT YES, WE HAVE THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL SECURITY DISTRICT TO ENSURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO BE THE BEST PORT COMMUNITY IN THE NATION AND A SAFE COMMUNITY.
AND WITH THAT SAID, I WANT TO ALLOW GARY CHEBE, CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL SECURITY DISTRICT TO BRIEF YOU ON THEIR EFFORTS.
UH, CHIEF SATTER WHITE, UH, ASKING US TO BE HERE THIS QUICKLY.
I SPENT 27 YEARS WITH THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I WAS FIRST LIEUTENANT OVER HOMELAND SECURITY LA LARRY TOOK MY JOB WHEN I RETIRED.
AND, UH, FOUR YEARS, UH, SPENT WITH CHIEF KY IN THE OFFICE WHERE LARRY'S AT NOW.
SO HE TALKED ABOUT RESILIENCY.
I, I'LL SUMMED UP THIS WAY, IS THAT WE KNOW, AND ERIC MENTIONED IT, THE THREATS ARE THERE.
AND WE LOOKED AND FOUND WAYS WHERE WE HAD GAPS.
AND IN THIS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR DID SOMETHING VERY UNIQUE.
WE CREATED A ASSESSMENT TYPE DISTRICT.
WE'VE BEEN UP AND RUNNING ABOUT 18 YEARS, AND IN THAT 18 YEARS, WE HAVE TAXED OURSELVES OVER $50 MILLION.
THOSE DOLLARS WENT TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY DPS, THINGS WITH THE COAST GUARD TO HELP THEM, LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL PARTNERS.
WE ASSESSED THIS JUST THIS YEAR IN THE ROUND, SOMEWHERE AROUND $3 MILLION.
AND IN THAT IT SUPPORTS HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, HARRIS COUNTY AVIATION, AND MARINE BAYTOWN BOMB SQUAD, AND THEN THE SUPPORT OF MORE THAN 200 CAMERAS THAT WATCH THE ENTIRE DISTRICT.
WE SUPPORT THAT BY HAVING PEOPLE WATCH THOSE CAMERAS, 24 BY SEVEN SITTING IN THE COAST GUARD HEADQUARTERS OUT AT ELLINGTON.
THEY'RE SITTING IN DIRECT ON THEIR COMMAND FLOOR.
SO WHEN THEY SEE SOMETHING, THE ABILITY TO IMMEDIATELY RESPOND
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CALLING THE APPROPRIATE AGENCIES, IS THAT PART OF COORDINATION.SO BIG PART OF MY JOB IS COORDINATION BETWEEN AGENCIES, STEWARDSHIP OF MONEY, AND THAT STEWARDSHIP GOES IMMEDIATELY TO GRANTS.
CHIEF SATTERWHITE TALKED ABOUT THAT.
SO IF WE'RE SUPPLYING SOMEWHERE AROUND $50 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDS, AND YOU CAN TAKE A LITTLE BIT OUT, WE HAD FOR TRAINING AND SOME OTHER PIECES, BUT LET'S SAY 40 MILLION.
AND YOU EQUATE THAT BY TIMES IT BY 75 BECAUSE WE PAY THE 25% CASH MATCH THAT ALL OUR, UH, PARTNERS GET.
SO WITH CITY HARRIS COUNTY DPS, YOU START EQUATING THAT AMOUNT OF GRANT MONIES WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RECEIVE, THAT'S HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
AND SO THE WORK THAT CHIEF SATTERWHITE DOES WITH U OSSI GRANTS, PORT GRANTS BECOMES EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
ALL YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT.
HERE'S, HERE'S WHAT MY ASK WOULD BE OF THIS COUNCIL TO CONSIDER.
LAST YEAR I GOT WITH HARRIS COUNTY THROUGH, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER GARCIA FIRST STEP.
THERE WAS MAKING, UH, A RESOLUTION THAT SAID THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL CORRIDOR COULD BE DESIGNATED AS A NA UH, HOMELAND SECURITY CLUSTER CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE CLUSTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY SIGNIFICANCE.
WHAT THAT DOES FOR US IS THAT ONE, WHEN YOU DO THAT, WE DID IT FOR, I WAS PART WHEN WE ACTUALLY DID IT TO THE MEDICAL CENTER THAT ALLOWED THE MEDICAL CENTER ACTUALLY TO GET MORE FUNDING.
SO IF WE'RE TRYING TO PROTECT 52 MILES OF WATERWAY, AND RIGHT NOW WE ONLY KIND OF GO TO THE FRED HARTMAN BRIDGE, WE NEED TO START EXPANDING OUR GROUP COORDINATION ALL THE WAY TO GALVESTON, ALL THE 52 MILES.
SO AS WE'RE MAKING THESE, UH, RESOLUTIONS THAT YOU GIVE THAT DESIGNATION THE ABILITY TO GET MORE MONEY, THEY CUT $10 MILLION OUTTA PORT GRANTS THIS YEAR.
BUT THIS YEAR, BECAUSE WE DID REALLY GOOD GRANTS, WE GOT MORE GRANT MONEY THAN WE HAVE IN A NUMBER OF YEARS.
I'VE BEEN IN THIS POSITION FOR 12 YEARS, DON'T PLAN TO GO ANYWHERE.
IT'S MY PROMISE TO YOU, UH, UH, AND THIS COUNCIL AND COMMISSIONERS AND OTHERS THAT I WILL BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE DOLLARS THAT WE COLLECT AGAINST OURSELVES.
'CAUSE I HAD TO ANSWER TO MY INDUSTRY PARTNERS.
IT'S NOT THIS, I'M A, UH, MANAGER OF A VERY LARGE PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX.
AND I UNDERSTAND, AS LARRY TALKED ABOUT, EXCUSE ME, CHIEF OUTER WHITE, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING THE GRIDS.
IF YOU DON'T PROTECT ELECTRICITY, THE WATER, THE GAS, ALL THE GRID ELEMENTS THAT MAKE THE INDUSTRY RUN.
THEN WE COME TO A CRAWL, AND IF WE COME TO A CRAWL, THE PORT COMES TO A CRAWL.
SO THERE'S THESE COLLECTIVE PIECES.
SO APPRECIATE TIME TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT.
UH, I'M JUST STAYING WITH ERIC THROUGH HIS, UH, PRESENTATION, BUT THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO KIND OF TELL YOU WHAT THE DISTRICT IS DOING TO HELP SUPPORT THESE INITIATIVES.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE, THE GOOD JOB.
IT WAS A GREAT, UH, I'LL BE KEEPING THIS BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH GREAT DATA IN, IN THIS.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PORT, UM, I WORKED IN WASHINGTON A LONG TIME AGO WHEN THEY STARTED A PORT SECURITY CAUCUS OF CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS.
IS THAT STILL A THING? I I MA'AM.
AND, UM, AND I GUESS ON YOUR ASK OF US, THE, THE COUNTY GIVE GAVE YOU THAT DESIGNATION.
DO WE HAVE TO ALSO GIVE YOU THAT DESIGNATION? I, I WOULD SAY YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO.
I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, BENEFICIAL THAT THE CITY, 'CAUSE PART OF THE, UH, THE UPPER PART OF THE TURNING BASIN, ALL THAT'S IN THE CITY LIMITS OF HOUSTON.
SO THE PART THAT'S JUST IN THE CITY, RIGHT.
SO IT WOULD STILL BE THAT YOU'RE RECOGNIZING, JUST LIKE THE COUNTY DID, THAT THE CORRIDOR IS A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF SIGNIFICANCE.
AND SO THEY'VE, UH, WE'VE DONE THAT.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO WORKING BACK THROUGH, UH, WASHINGTON TO GET SOME OF OUR CONGRESS FOLKS TO MAKE THE SAME TYPE OF DESIGNATION FOR US.
IT WOULD ALLOW US TO GET MORE CRITICAL DOLLARS FOR, UH, PROTECTION OF NOT JUST THE WATERWAY, BUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE GRIDS, THAT WOULD BE INFRASTRUCTURE INC.
INCLUDING HOW DO WE IMPROVE OUR TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS IF YOU'RE BRINGING ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, EIGHT OR 10,000, UH, CONTAINERS, WE ALSO HAVE TO
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MOVE THEM.SO SOME OF THAT ALSO WOULD GO FOR DOLLARS FOR, UH, TRANSPORTATION.
WELL, I'M SURE WHATEVER YOU NEED FROM THE CITY, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU GET IT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFIN AND I, YOU KNOW, COUPLE YEARS AGO, WHEN DID WE DO THAT? WE WENT OUT TO THE, WE WENT ON THE DRILLS WITH THE COAST GUARD AND THE, AND THE POLICE OUT AT THE, THEY DID SOME, TOOK US ON SOME DRILLS OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SEE A SHIP THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, A BOAT THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.
HOW, HOW, I MEAN, ARE THERE A LOT, I, I KNOW YOU CAN'T TALK THAT MUCH ABOUT WHAT GOES ON WITH PORT SECURITY, BUT ARE THERE A LOT OF INSTANCES OF LIKE, BAD GUYS OUT THERE THAT ARE GETTING CAUGHT? OR IS IT MORE LIKE BOATS THAT ARE LOST AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON? IT, IT'S A COMBINATION OF THINGS, BUT IT'S, IT'S LIKE THE QUESTION YOU'RE POSING THE QUESTION, I'LL POSE IT BACK TO DON'T MEAN TO BE, BUT WHAT DOES A TERRORIST LOOK LIKE? YEAH, THAT'S TRUE.
SO, SO WHEN WE'RE HAVING TO RESPOND TO THESE VESSELS THAT ARE IN THE SECURITY ZONE OR SOME REASON OF THAT NATURE, THE ABILITY, UH, BETWEEN US, COAST GUARD, CITY OF HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY TO RESPOND, WE, WE, WE RESPOND, I WOULD SAY BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE.
NOBODY ELSE HAS THIS COLLABORATION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
NOWHERE IN THE US OR THE WORLD HAS INDUSTRY COME TOGETHER IN PARTNERSHIP, LIKE WITH, UH, CAPTAIN HERE WITH, UH, CHIEF SATTERWHITE AND OTHERS TO SAY, WE'RE GONNA WORK COLLECTIVELY AND WE'RE GOING TO RAISE DOLLARS TO HELP TO BE ON THE PREVENTATIVE SIDE.
OUR ABILITY TO PREVENT IS HUGE.
THE ABILITY TO SEE STUFF IN REAL TIME, JUST LIKE WHEN WE HAD THE PROTESTORS THAT WERE HANGING OFF THE BRIDGE MM-HMM
TO IMMEDIATELY RESPOND TO THAT AND SEE IT IN REAL TIME, UH, IT BECOMES EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND IF, IF I MAY, UM, WE'RE, I'M ALSO WORKING WITH, UH, SAN FRANCISCO BECAUSE THEY WERE LOOKING AT OUR SHIFT CHANNEL SECURITY DISTRICT AND THEY'RE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING SIMILAR THERE.
YEAH, I WAS GONNA ASK IF THESE ARE, ARE THESE DISTRICTS SET UP IN OTHER PLACES OR NOT? ARE WE THE ONLY ONE? WE ARE THE ONLY ONE IN THE NATION, AND NOW YOU HAVE OTHER STATES LOOKING AT US BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM VERY CLOSELY THAT WAY THEY UNDERSTAND.
HOW ARE THE, HOW ARE THE, UM, BUSINESSES ASSESSED? IS IT LIKE BASED ON IT, IT'S COMBINATION OF IF YOU'RE ON THE WATER WITH, IF YOU'RE A MARITIME TRANSPORTATION, UH, MTSA FACILITY ON THE WATER OR NOT, AND THEN WE USE THE CODES THAT ARE RECOGNIZED FOR, UH, THROUGH THE STATE ON WHAT TYPE OF FACILITY YOU HAVE.
THEN IT'S BY SQUARE FOOT OR, UH, ACREAGE OR A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT YOU ON SITE.
WE HAVE A METRIC WE FOLLOW EVERY YEAR.
UH, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I WANTED TO KIND OF FOCUS A BIT MORE ON THE VESSELS.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT 228,000 VESSELS THAT CAME IN LAST YEAR LOOKING AT THAT, THAT INCREASING, AND THEN AFTER PROJECT 11, YOU SAID LESS, LESS VESSELS, MORE CARGO, UM, WHICH MORE CONTAINERS? UM, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE, UM, CONVERSATION WHEN IT COMES TO LIKE HOW MANY, WHAT'S THE NUMBER OF TRUCKS THAT COME IN AND OUT NOW WHEN YOU'RE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF TRUCKS? YES.
I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION WITH ME, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, UH, IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT CONTAINERS.
RIGHT NOW OFFSHORE WE HAVE WHAT IS NAMED, UH, B LCCS, VERY LARGE CRUDE CARRIERS.
THIS IS, THESE ARE VESSELS THAT THEY HAVE OVER 1 MILLION, UM, BARRELS OF OIL AND THEY CANNOT COME TO THE PORT BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO LARGE.
WE HAVE A SMALL TANKERS GOING BACK AND FORTH, BRINGING THE CARGO TO THE FACILITIES.
THAT'S WHY WE HAVE 228,000 PLUS VESSEL MOVEMENTS.
WE HAVE ABOUT 11,000 DEEP DRAFT VESSELS COMING INTO THE PORT, BUT THEY ARE VERY LARGE VESSELS OFFSHORE, BRINGING CARGO.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, MY LAST YEAR IN TEXAS CITY AS THE COMMANDING OFFICER, WE HAD OVER 2000 SDS SHIPPED TO SHIP TRANSFERS.
THAT MEANS SMALLER VESSELS COMING INTO THE PORT.
ONCE WE'RE ABLE TO BRING THOSE LARGE VESSELS INTO THE TERMINALS, THEN THE SMALL VESSELS, THAT TRAFFIC IS GONNA SLOW DOWN WITH THE TRUCKS, YES, IT'S GONNA INCREASE, UH, THE PORT AND PORT HOUSTON, WHICH IS, THEY'RE GREAT AT WHAT THEY DO.
THEY'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE THEY NEED TO INVEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT ONLY FOR THE PORTS, BUT ALSO FOR THE ROADS.
AND, AND THAT, THAT BRINGS UP A, A, THE POINT THAT I WANT TO KIND OF ZERO IN ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND THE PORT.
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? HEAVY TRUCKS, UH, I REPRESENT THE DISTRICT THAT REALLY TOUCHES THE PORT AS SOON AS THOSE VESSELS COME HERE OR THE, THE CONTAINERS GET INTO THE PORT AND ONTO THOSE ROADS, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, TO WHATEVER EXTENT THAT Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE WITH, OF COURSE, TEXTILE, BUT JUST ALL THOSE, THOSE OTHER ENTITIES AS WELL AS IMPORTANT.
UM, AS FAR AS, UH, MANAGING THE, THE INDIVIDUAL, UM,
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SMALL OPERATORS.SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHO CONTROLS? 'CAUSE YOU HAVE FOLKS THAT GO POSSIBLY WAITING TO GET A CONTAINER, UM, NOT GET A CONTAINER END UP LEAVING, AND YOU'D STILL HAVE CONGESTION IN THAT SENSE.
WHAT DOES THAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE, UM, AT THE PORT AND DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY SAY IN, IN, UM, MANAGING THOSE, UH, SMALL OPERATORS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THAT HOPEFULLY GO TO PICK UP A CARGO? I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT INFORMATION FOR PORT HOUSTON AS THEY MANAGE THEIR OWN OPERATIONS, BUT IF YOU LOOK INTO THE POOR OPERATIONS 10 YEARS AGO, IT USED TO TAKE BETWEEN THREE TO FIVE MINUTES FOR A CONTAINER TO LEAVE THE VESSEL AND INTO THE TRUCK.
NOWADAYS, THEY'RE VERY EFFICIENT AT WHAT THEY DO, AND THAT SAME OPERATION TAKES BETWEEN TWO TO THREE MINUTES.
ALSO, DURING THAT TIME, ALL THE CONTAINERS ARE BEING SCREENED BY THE, UH, CUSTOMS ABORTED PROTECTION.
SO WHEN THEY COME TO THE PORT, THEY ALREADY SCREEN THOSE CONTAINERS AND THEY'RE ABLE TO DEPART.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE CONGESTION, UH, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BUT I KNOW THEY'VE BEEN, UH, UH, THEY'RE BEING, THEY'RE MORE EFFICIENT RIGHT NOW AT, UH, WHAT, WHERE THEY USED TO BE YEARS AGO.
UH, AGAIN, WE, WE KNOW THE IMPACT, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT TO THE, NOT JUST THE CITY, BUT THE REGION AND EVEN THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THOSE JOBS ARE, ARE USUALLY TO FOLKS THAT LIVE NOT, NOT TOO FAR FROM THE PORT, UH, WHICH IS APPRECIATED WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME JUST KIND OF MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON WHAT HEAVY CONGESTION LOOKS LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE WHEN IT COMES TO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AS WELL, UM, IDLING AND WHATNOT.
AND SO AS Y'ALL CONTINUE TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH THOSE NEIGHBORING COUNTIES, CITIES, I THINK CONTINUE TO HAVE, HAVE, UM, BEST INTERESTS OF COMMUNITY THAT ARE NEIGHBORING TO THE PORT IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING.
I WANT TO ADD ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS OF THE TWO-WAY TRAFFIC IS FOR VESSELS, UH, NOT TO WAIT THAT LONG IN OUR AREA, IF WE HAVE ONE WAY TRAFFIC, THAT MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF VESSELS OFFSHORE BURNING FUEL, WHEN WE DO TWO-WAY TRAFFICS, THE VESSEL, THEY'RE ABLE TO COME AND OFF THEY GO, BRING IN OUR, THEIR CO2 FOOTPRINT DOWN.
THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THIS, UH, TWO-WAY TRAFFIC AS WELL.
TO, TO ANSWER YOUR, YOUR, YOUR QUESTION.
I MEAN, WE CAN GET SOME INFORMATION OR HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE PORT GET BACK THROUGH CHIEF SATTERWHITE TO GIVE YOU MORE, BUT I KNOW THEY HAVE MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE LANES OUT THERE THAT THEY HAVE PUT IN WHERE THEY'RE, ONCE YOU'RE IN THE SYSTEM, YOUR ABILITY TO SCREEN GO THROUGH, LOAD AND COME OUT.
SO THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT SIT IDLING IS, IS REDUCED THEIR ABILITY TO SCREEN FOR RADIOLOGICAL, UH, THINGS OR THEY'RE ALSO, SO THEY'VE GOTTEN FAR MORE EFFICIENT, UH, WITH THE MOVEMENT.
YEAH, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THAT INFORMATION.
UH, I'VE, I'VE GOTTEN CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE SMALL OPERATORS, OKAY.
UH, THEY'LL GO OUT THERE, UH, SIT, AND IF THEY'RE NOT PICKED, THEN THEY, THEY LOSE OPPORTUNITIES IN THAT SENSE.
BUT THAT JUST BRINGS UP OTHER QUESTIONS OF, UM, HOW MANY FOLKS ARE, ARE, UH, ARE GOING OUT THERE FOR A TRIP AND NOT NECESSARILY GETTING A CAR GOING.
SO IT, IT BRINGS UP QUESTIONS OF IDLING OR, YOU KNOW, TRUCKS GOING AND NOT, NOT PARTICIPATING IN, IN THAT, THAT, UH, PROCESS HAVING TO LEAVE.
AND SO IT, YOU KNOW, JUST SOME LOGICAL THINGS THAT HAPPEN WHENEVER SOMEBODY GOES OUT THERE AND ISN'T PARTICIPATING IN THAT PROCESS.
I'LL, I'LL REACH OUT FOR THE PORT ON YOUR BEHALF AND GET BACK THROUGH CHIEF SATTERWHITE TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION.
APPRECIATE, THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS NOW.
DON'T BELIEVE THAT HE IS ONLINE AND LAURA GALLAGHER DON'T BELIEVE THAT SHE'S ONLINE EITHER.
UM, OUR NEXT PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH AT 10:00 AM WE STAND ADJOURNED.