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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 05/15/1997 - SpecialI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Council Meeting of the City of Corpus Christi of May 15, 1997, which were approved by the City Council on May 20, 1997. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 20th day of May, 1997 Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAL MINUTES CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL CITY HALL BASEMENT TRAINING ROOM MAY 15, 1997 7:30 a.m. Council Members Present Staff Members Present Mayor Loyd Neal Council Members Arnold Gonzales Alex L. Garcia, Jr. Edward A. Martin John Longoria Jaime L. Capelo, Jr. City Manager Bill Hennings City Secretary Armando Chapa City Attorney James R. Bray, Jr. The Corpus Christi City Council met with members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors on Thursday, May 15, 1997 at 7:30 a.m. in the City Hall Basement Training Room. Mayor Loyd Neal opened the meeting by welcoming and thanking the Hispanic Chamber Board members for being present. The Hispanic Chamber President/CEO Diana Garza introduced the Board Chairman Juan Salinas. Mr. Salinas thanked the Council Members for attending the meeting. He then gave a brief history of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, introduced the Board Members present, stated the purpose of the organization and the strategies to achieve their purpose. Mr. Salinas noted that there are 6,000 Hispanic businesses in the SMSA area and approximately 400 of those are members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The Hispanic Chamber, he said, will be involved in three major fundraiser projects this year. The first will be as host for the Statewide Hispanic Chamber Convention to be held July 24-26, 1997. In September, they will hold their annual banquet and sometime during the year they will also sponsor a Golf Tournament to raise money for scholarships to Hispanic students. Mayor Neal spoke about the Alliance Mentoring Program and asked how the Hispanic Chamber could be involved. Board Member Corina Garcia responded that they had already begun discussion regarding the mentoring program and were ready to get involved. Council Member Martin asked if there was coordination between the Minority Business Opportunity Committee (MBOC), the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Hispanic Chamber Minority Business Center (MBC). Board Member Guadalupe Gomez stated that several of the Hispanic Chamber members sit on the MBOC but that coordination is limited to that. He then went into a brief summary of the purpose of each organization. Board Member Abey Flores, stated that one of the problems in doing business with the City, as a minority contractor, is getting bonded. He mentioned the minority contractor goals established Minutes City Council/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Meeting May 15, 1997 Page 2 by the City of Austin and the City of San Antonio which do not include women. He stated that in Corpus Christi it appears that less than five percent of contracts go to ethnic minority contractors. The ordinance in the City of San Antonio and the City of Austin clarifies the definition of minority, and consequently the members are higher for ethnic minorities in their cities. Discussion followed regarding the confusion of potential business owners in dealing with the three organizations previously mentioned (MBOC, SBDC, MBC). Mayor Neal stated that ideally all three should be honored together. Board Members responded that minority business owners were hesitant to go to the Alliance Office. They are comfortable dealing with the Hispanic Chamber in the worksite area. Council Member Arnold Gonzales stated that there are two issues: one is how persons can start a new business and the other is how ethnic minority businesses can receive more city contracts. He stated that the meeting needed to focus on the issue of the relationship with the City and to put a receptive policy in place. Council Member Alex Garcia, who is also on the Board of the Hispanic Chamber, stated the current City ordinance does not sufficiently define or represent ethnicity. He also restated an earlier comment that potential minority business owners do not have a good comfort lead to go to the SBDC. Council Member Martin stated that the words "minority" and "small business" need to be defined, and it needs to be determined what is the under-utilized sector. City Manager Hennings stated that there is a perception by the Black and Hispanic businesses that they do not have access to City Hall. Mr. Hennings stated that they have to deal with this perceptual problem. He said that recently some efforts have been made to deal with this issue but more can be done. However, he stated we must be cognizant of legal constraints. County Commissioner Frank Schwing stated that the County has no efforts in place to include minority contractors. He said he feels that they should analyze the numbers first and then make a commitment or goal in terms of dollars to be spent with minority businesses. Mayor Neal stated that it is important to get the statistics first. He said he is committed to fairness across the board. Council Member John Longoria cautioned the group that opening up the process may bring in more ethnic minority bids from outside of the City. He also stated that the Hispanic Chamber should investigate Alliance funds, perhaps on a fee-for-service basis, whereby they could be the business contracts with Mexico. He asked City Manager Hennings to investigate that possibility. Minutes City Council/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Meeting May 15, 1997 Page 3 Chairman Salinas asked how they could tap CDBG reprogrammed funds and apply for General Funds from the City for Hispanic Chamber operations. He also asked how to get their membership modified in the City Board and Commission appointment process. The Council responded. Chairman Salinas thanked the Council for attending the meeting. He stated that the Hispanic Chamber is focused and has existed for over 50 years because there is a need and it fills a void. Mayor Neal thanked the Board Members present and announced that Council Member Arnold Gonzales will be the liaison between the Hispanic Chamber and the City. He asked for public comment. Abel Alonzo expressed that it was important to hold all meetings in locations that are handicapped -accessible. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 a.m.