* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] TONIGHT, [National Town Hall – LIVE] A ONE OF A KIND CONVERSATION THAT BRINGS YOU TO CENTERS STAGE. AS WE WORK OUR WAY THROUGH A PANDEMIC, WE'RE LOOKING FOR A VIEW FROM YOU. WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM YOUR COMMUNITY LEADERS? IS IT HELP WITH BASIS? IT NEEDS TRAINING FOR A NEW JOB, MORE PATROLS AND PROTECTION, AND WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR COMMUNITY TO BE LIKE WHEN WE'RE THROUGH THIS CRISIS? WHAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL READY TO RETURN TO WORK, TO PUBLIC PLACES, TO GATHERINGS? JOIN US TONIGHT BY PHONE, TEXT, MESSAGE AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND GIVE US A VIEW FROM YOU. TONIGHT'S PROGRAM IS PRESENTED BY SOCIAL PINPOINT AND CONSULTATION MANAGER, PART OF A SUITE OF FUN AND INTERACTIVE TOOLS FOR YOUR STAKEHOLDERS TO GIVE FEEDBACK AND FOR YOU TO EASILY RECORD, TRACK, ANALYZE, AND REPORT IT. VISIT THEM@SOCIALPINPOINT.COM FORWARD SLASH OF VIEW FROM YOU. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT COMES FROM THE NATIONAL CIVIC LEAGUE, HOME OF THE ALL AMERICA CITY PROGRAM AND THE CIVIC INDEX FOR TAKING YOUR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. GOOD EVENING. IN THESE EXTRAORDINARY TIMES, WE WELCOME YOU TO AN EXTRAORDINARY CONVERSATION OF YOU FROM YOU. WE'LL ALLOW YOU TO SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH KEY DECISION MAKERS WHO CAN HELP YOU MAKE IT THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC AT A TIME WHEN WE ARE ALL BEING DILUTED WITH INFORMATION. WE ARE GIVING YOU A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE WITH YOUR PUBLIC SERVANTS AND THEY'RE READY TO LISTEN. OUR PROGRAM IS BROUGHT TO YOU TONIGHT BY SOCIAL PINPOINT AND CONSULTATION MANAGER WITH HELP FROM THE NATIONAL CIVIC LEAGUE, TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETING AND MANY OTHERS. AND WE WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR PANEL IN JUST A MOMENT. OUR PLAN FOR TONIGHT WILL INCLUDE POLL QUESTIONS WITH REAL TIME RESULTS, BUT THE CENTERPIECE OF THE NIGHT WILL BE YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO TELL US YOUR STORIES AND RESPOND TO QUESTIONS FROM OUR PANELISTS. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DO THAT BY PHONE, TEXT, MESSAGE, AND WEB BROWSER, SO TO SPEAK, ON AIR, PLEASE CALL (888) 410-3427. YOU CAN ALSO CALL IN ESPANOL UNO . UH, YOU CAN TEXT VIEW FROM YOU KNOW, SPACES TO TWO TO THREE, THREE, THREE. YOU CAN TWEET US HASHTAG VIEW FROM YOU. YOU CAN ALSO VISIT DOT COM FORWARD SLASH VIEW FROM YOU. SO WE'VE GOT ROOM FOR EVERYBODY TONIGHT AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR COMMENTS. BUT WE WILL BEGIN THE NIGHT BY ASKING YOU A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS TO GET A SENSE OF HOW THINGS ARE GOING FOR YOU DURING THIS TIME. THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE LISTENING ON THE PHONE WILL GET INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE OPERATOR AND I WILL WALK THOSE OF YOU WATCHING ON TV OR ONLINE THROUGH THE QUESTIONS WHICH YOU CAN ANSWER USING TEXT MESSAGING OR A WEB BROWSER. SO WE SHOULD HAVE OUR FIRST QUESTION UP ON THE SCREEN AND THE QUESTION IS WHERE DO YOU LIVE? IF YOU'RE JOINING US FROM THE AUSTIN AREA, YOU'LL TEXT VIEW FROM YOU TO TWO TO THREE, THREE, THREE TO GET YOURSELF INTO THE POLLS. AND THEN ONCE YOU'VE SENT THAT TEXT, JUST SEND THE TEXT A, IF YOU'RE JOINING US FROM HOUSTON, YOU CAN TEXT B, GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA, SEE GRAND RAPIDS D OR ELSEWHERE. CHOOSE E. THESE CHOICES REFLECT OUR PANELISTS HOME BASIS FOR THE EVENING. SO AGAIN, TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR TEXT MESSAGE, PULL UP ON THE SCREEN, TEXT THE PHRASE VIEW FROM YOU KNOW, SPACES TO TWO TO THREE, THREE, THREE TO JOIN THE POLLS AND THEN PUT IN THE LETTER CHOICE, UH, FOR YOUR, UH, ORIGIN CITY TONIGHT. AGAIN, OUR PANELISTS TONIGHT COME FROM THE AUSTIN AREA, HOUSTON AREA, GAINESVILLE AREA AND GRAND RAPIDS AREA. TONIGHT IT LOOKS LIKE SO FAR WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS SHOWING FROM GRAND RAPIDS ON THE, UH, ON THE TELEPHONE LINE. SO I'M SURE OUR, UH, OUR, UH, PANELISTS, DR. WASHINGTON WILL BE VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT. WE'LL LEAVE THIS UP FOR JUST ANOTHER SECOND AND THEN WE WILL, UH, MOVE ON HERE IN JUST A MOMENT TO OUR NEXT QUESTION. WE'LL GO AHEAD TO OUR NEXT QUESTION. AND THIS KIND OF REFLECTS HOW, UM, A LOT OF OUR CONVERSATIONS MAY START THESE DAYS. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH? HOW ARE YOU FEELING PHYSICALLY IF YOU'RE NEEDING ROUND THE CLOCK CARE OR A MEDICAL ATTENTION, WHICH OF COURSE WOULD BE UNFORTUNATE. PLEASE CHOOSE A, IF YOU'VE BEEN HAVING SOME SYMPTOMS, BUT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ABLE TO FUNCTION, PLEASE CHOOSE B. IF YOU'RE FEELING FAIRLY NORMAL PHYSICALLY, UH, PLEASE CHOOSE C. SO AGAIN, THIS IS A QUESTION ABOUT YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH. IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE IN PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT STRAITS, PLEASE CHOOSE A, UH, HAVING SOME SYMPTOMS BUT DOING OKAY, BE FEELING FAIRLY NORMAL, PHYSICALLY CHOOSE. SEE, OBVIOUSLY THERE COULD BE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT HAVING SYMPTOMS AND ARE UNFORTUNATELY TESTING POSITIVE FOR COBRA 19. WE ALSO HAVE FOLKS WHO HAVE A LOT OF SYMPTOMS, BUT MAYBE A FEELING OKAY. IT CERTAINLY ENCOURAGING TO SEE UP ON THE SCREEN THAT A LOT OF FOLKS ARE FEELING. OKAY. AND THAT'S TRUE FOR OUR CALLERS ON THE PHONE AS WELL. WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION. AND WE NOW [00:05:01] GO FROM YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH TO A QUESTION ABOUT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. SO WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, HOW WOULD YOU RATE IT? IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE REALLY STRUGGLING MIGHTILY AND HAVING JUST, YOU KNOW, REAL DIFFICULTY KIND OF GETTING THROUGH THE DAY, CHOOSE A, IF YOU'D SAY YOU'RE HAVING A HARD TIME BUT MAYBE YOU FEEL ABLE TO MANAGE IT, UH, CHOOSE B. IF YOU FEEL, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF NEUTRAL, NOT, NOT SURE. ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, SEE FEELING REASONABLY OKAY. D AND IF YOU, IF YOU REALLY FEEL LIKE YOU'RE DOING PARTICULARLY WELL, HE CERTAINLY THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING MIGHTILY, WE WOULD RECOMMEND YOU TO SEEK OUT A CREDENTIALED MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER TO HELP YOU THROUGH THAT. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A CRISIS THAT HAS TREMENDOUS DIMENSIONS BOTH ON THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL SIDE BECAUSE WE CAN SEE UP ON THE SCREEN A NUMBER OF FOLKS DEALING WITH SOME EMOTIONAL CHALLENGES. AND THAT'S TRUE ON THE PHONE AS WELL. QUITE A FEW FOLKS KIND OF ON THE FENCE, BUT A NUMBER OF THEM HAVING HARD TIME, UH, BUT FEELING LIKE THEY'RE ABLE TO MANAGE. WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION. SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PHYSICAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH. WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR ECONOMIC WELLBEING AND ASK YOU HOW YOU WOULD DESCRIBE THAT. SO WE KNOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE OF COURSE UNFORTUNATELY LOST THEIR JOBS OR BEEN FURLOUGHED OR THEIR WORK HAS DRIED UP IN OTHER WAYS. IF YOU ARE AT THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE COVERING BASIC BILLS LIKE RENT AND FOOD, PLEASE CHOOSE A, IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR SITUATION IS UNSTABLE BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT FOR A FEW MONTHS, CHOOSE B IF YOU ARE OKAY NOW, BUT NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT THE FUTURE FOR YOUR WORK WILL HOLD. SEE. AND IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE DOING QUITE WELL ACTUALLY AND IT'S THINGS ARE FAIRLY STABLE FOR YOU, PLEASE CHOOSE A DATE. SO AGAIN, A FOUR, HAVING TROUBLE MAKING, UH, YOU KNOW, CURRENT BILLS BE UM, YOU KNOW, CONCERNED ABOUT IT DOWN THE ROAD BUT GENERALLY BE LIKE YOU CAN MAKE IT FOR A FEW MONTHS, SEE STABLE NOW, BUT DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'LL BE THAT WAY. OR D DOING PARTICULARLY WELL. WE WILL MOVE ON TO KIND OF THE CENTERPIECE QUESTION, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO TOUCH ON IN MUCH GREATER DEPTH HERE IN A MOMENT WHEN WE TAKE YOUR CALLS. BUT WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE MOST PRESSING NEED DURING THIS PANDEMIC FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS? AND PART OF THE REASON WE'RE ASKING THIS QUESTION IS THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND AGENCIES AND PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE RESPONDING TO THIS CRISIS. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, OF COURSE, IS RESPONDING. SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES ARE RESPONDING, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS RESPONDING. WE WANT TO KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOU THINK IS THE MOST PRESSING NEED FOR GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS. SO IF YOU FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD BE FOCUSED FIRST AND FOREMOST ON TREATING THOSE WHO WERE SICK WITH COBIT 19, YOU'LL PRESS A, IF YOU BELIEVE THEY SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON TESTING FOR AND TRACING COVERT 19 B IF YOU THINK THEY SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON PROVIDING PEOPLE WITH FINANCIAL AID, ALSO BUSINESSES AND OTHER AGENCIES, YOU'LL CHOOSE C CREATING JOBS WOULD BE D AND THERE'S A POSSIBLE WAY FOR GOVERNMENT TO HELP IN TERMS OF REVISITING SOME PUBLIC POLICY OR SOME ORDINANCES OR SOME STATUTES AND UH, EITHER TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY WAVING THEM IN ORDER TO MAKE CERTAIN, UM, FORMS OF, OF A DELIVERY EASIER. SO THAT WOULD BE CHOICE. E AGAIN, TREATING THE SICK WITH COBIT, 19 A A, TESTING AND TRACING. B, PROVIDING FINANCIAL AID. C, CREATING JOBS. D OR ENFORCING, UH, ADJUSTING THE ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN ORDINANCES TO HELP WITH, UH, CARE FOR COBRA 19. SO IT'S INTERESTING ON THE PHONE, A TESTING AND TRACING IS GETTING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TRACTION. UH, ROUGHLY ABOUT A HALF OF THE CALLERS ON THE LINE ARE SPEAKING TO THAT. AND THEN, UH, THAT'S ALSO THE CASE FOR THE, UH, THE TEXT MESSAGES. WE APPRECIATE THOSE ANSWERS AND WE WANT TO NEXT TURN TO OUR VERY DISTINGUISHED PANEL AND THIS PANEL IS GOING TO FUNCTION A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU MIGHT BE USED TO HEARING FROM PANELISTS. THEY WILL BE HERE PRIMARILY TO ASK QUESTIONS AND TO LISTEN. I WANT TO FIRST INTRODUCE, UH, UH, FIRST GO TO MY HOMETOWN AND INTRODUCED THE FIRST HISPANIC TO LEAD THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, A CUBAN NATIVE WHO STUDIED PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND BEGAN HIS CAREER WITH THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL. HE WAS ALSO CHIEF OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT BEFORE TAKING OVER THE HOUSTON ROLE AND HE HAS HELD INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLES AMONG, UH, THE ASSOCIATIONS OF CHIEFS OF POLICE. WANT TO SAY HELLO TO MY FRIEND CHIEF ART ACETO FROM THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT. CHIEF. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US. THANKS DR. SCHOOLER. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THIS CONVERSATION AND REALLY, UH, LEARNING FROM OUR COMMUNITY WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE AND HOW WE CAN DO BETTER AS A PUBLIC SERVICE. OKAY, NEXT WE'LL GO TO GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, WHERE THE CITY MANAGER HAS WORKED IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR SOME 25 YEARS AND HAS HELD MUNICIPAL LEADERSHIP ROLES IN BOTH AUSTIN AND FORT WORTH. HE HOLDS A DEGREES IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND A DOCTORATE IN EDUCATION AND HE'S ALSO AN ORDAINED MINISTER. WELCOME DR. MARK WASHINGTON CITY MANAGER OF GRAND RAPIDS. HOW ARE YOU SIR? GOOD, LARRY. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. IT'S GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE AND UH, CHIEF ACEVEDO GIGANTIC [00:10:01] CARD. HELLO. WE WILL NEXT GO TO GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA, WHERE THE CITY MANAGER HAS, UH, PRESIDED OVER FOUR FLORIDA CITIES OVER A LONG CAREER. HE'S ALSO A NAVY VETERAN, HAS DEGREES IN LIBERAL ARTS AND GOVERNMENT. HE IS THE PAST PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION. MY FRIEND IS THE CITY MANAGER IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA. LEE FELDMAN. GOOD EVENING TO YOU. THANK YOU, DR SPOOLER. GLAD TO BE HERE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO A REALLY THOROUGH AND INVIGORATING CONVERSATION AND A LITTLE WHILE WE'RE GOING TO BE WELCOMING AUSTIN'S 52ND MAYOR WHO WAS NAMED A GLOBAL RETHINK OR BY FOREIGN POLICY AND ONE OF THE NATION'S 25 MOST DISRUPTIVE LEADERS BY LIVING CITIES. HE'S ALSO A TRUSTEE OF THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS AND AN AWARD WINNING PERFORMER AS MOTHER GINGER IN BALLET. AUSTIN IS THE NUTCRACKER. HE IS MY FRIEND MAYOR STEVE ADLER AND I THINK WE'RE ARE WAITING TO HAVE MAYOR ADLER JOIN US HERE SHORTLY AND FINALLY WE WELCOME A VETERAN OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT WHO USED HER LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY DEGREES TO BECOME A TRAVIS COUNTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY AND ULTIMATELY A COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND COUNTY JUDGE. SHE WAS ALSO CHAIR OF THE TEXAS CONFERENCE OF URBAN COUNTIES, THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL AND THE CLEAN AIR COALITION AND WE ARE PLEASED TO HAVE TRAVIS COUNTY JUDGE SARAH ECKHART JOINING US. GOOD EVENING TO YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US. ALL RIGHT, SO WE ARE GOING TO GET TO QUESTIONS NOW THAT WE WANT YOU TO ANSWER EITHER BY PHONE OR TEXT MESSAGE OR TWITTER OR WEB BROWSER AND YOU CAN SEE UP ON THE SCREEN THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN CHIME IN. BUT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE PUBLIC'S ROLE TONIGHT IS TO TALK TO THE PANELISTS. THE PANELISTS HAVE SOME QUESTIONS THAT THEY WANT YOU TO ANSWER AND WE INVITE YOU TO CALL IN AND TEXT IN OR POST TO SOCIAL MEDIA WITH SOME OF YOUR SENTIMENTS. AND SO I'M GOING TO TURN FIRST FOR THE FIRST QUESTION TO DR. WASHINGTON AND GRAND RAPIDS. AND I KNOW SIR THAT YOU'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT THE TIMING OF FROM SHELTERING IN PLACE TO YOU KNOW, WHATEVER EXACTLY COMES NEXT. WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS. AND JUST A MOMENT I'M GOING TO PUT UP ON THE SCREEN. THE QUESTION THAT YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, HAVING TO DO WITH WHAT PRACTICES OR PROTOCOLS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE, MEANING THE PUBLIC, WHAT PRACTICES OR PROTOCOLS WOULD THE PUBLIC LIKE TO SEE IN PLACE IN ORDER TO FEEL SAFE INTERACTING IN PUBLIC SPACES LIKE RESTAURANTS, SCHOOLS, AND ENTERTAINMENT VENUES. SO VERY SHORTLY, THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THAT UP ON THE SCREEN. BUT DR. WASHINGTON, TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CONTEXT FOR YOUR QUESTION BEFORE WE GO TO THE PUBLIC. THANK YOU LARRY. AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON THE SHOW. UM, AS YOU ALLUDED TO EARLIER, THESE ARE VERY DIFFICULT TIMES THAT WE FIND OURSELVES IN, UH, ACROSS THE WORLD IN CERTAIN WITHIN OUR COUNTRY. AND EVEN IN OUR STATE. UH, MICHIGAN IS, UM, THE SIX HIGHEST, UH, STATE THAT HAS A NUMBER OF INFECTED PEOPLE AND WE HAVE TALES OF, OF DIFFERENT CITIES THROUGHOUT OUR STATE. WE'RE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW WHERE THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF OUR STATE, UH, WHERE DETROIT IS, IS, UM, UH, HAS ONE OF THE, AS, AS THE PREDOMINANT NUMBER OF CASES AND IN THAT AREA. AND, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE STATE GRAND RAPIDS WHERE WE'RE FORTUNATE, UM, NOT TO HAVE AS MANY INCIDENTS OF INFECTED PEOPLE AS, UH, THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF THE STATE. BUT, UH, ONE CASE IS TOO MANY AND CERTAINLY ONE DEATH IS TOO MANY. WE HAVE ABOUT 2,700 CASES IN, UM, THE KING COUNTY AREA OF THE COUNTY THAT, THAT, UM, WHEN RAPIDS IS IN AND ABOUT 48 DEATHS. AND SO WE HAVE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT BOTH OUR RESPONSE MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE SAFE, THEIR WELLBEING, PROMOTING SOCIAL DISTANCING, UH, MAKING SURE THEY STAY AT HOME. WE HAVE A STATEWIDE STAY AT HOME ORDER UNTIL THE END OF THIS MONTH. AND, UH, HOWEVER WE HAVE BEEN SLOWLY, UM, REACTIVATING PORTIONS OF OUR ECONOMY. UH, SCHOOLS ARE SHUT DOWN, COLLEGES ARE SHUT DOWN FOR THE REST OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. UH, BUT WE HAVE SOME ESSENTIAL THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN BEGAN TO REOPEN, UH, CONSTRUCTION, UH, MANUFACTURING, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, SOME OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES AROUND, UM, MAKE SURE PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO FOOD. HOWEVER, THE, THE MAJORITY OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, PARTICULARLY RETAIL, RESTAURANTS, BARS, ENTERTAINMENT VENUES ARE STILL CLOSED. AND SO, UH, WE ARE WORKING AS A COMMUNITY ON HOW TO BEST ACTIVATE OUR ECONOMY IN A VERY SAFE MANNER. WE UNDERSTAND THAT IT CANNOT BE A LIGHT SWITCH WHERE EVERYTHING COMES ON AT ONCE. AT THE SAME TIME EVERYTHING CANNOT REMAIN STAGNANT BECAUSE WE MAY ADDRESS THE PHYSICAL HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY BUT ALSO MAY RISK THE ECONOMIC HEALTH AS WELL. SO THERE'S A DELICATE DANCE. IT'S A DELICATE BALANCE, RIGHT? SO AS WE BEGAN TO WRESTLE WITH ISSUES, UM, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE BEGIN, UM, SAFELY REACTIVATING SOME OF THOSE PLACES AND, AND WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC, [00:15:01] UM, WANT TO SEE HAPPEN TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN FEEL SAFE INTERACTING IN PUBLIC? UH, AS WE START TO REOPEN AND WE KNOW THAT A PORTION OF OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED PEOPLE OF COLOR AND SO WE'RE VERY SENSITIVE SO THAT HENCE THE REASON FOR THE QUESTION TONIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH DR. WASHINGTON. AND I'M WANT TO GO IMMEDIATELY TO, I'M ACTUALLY A RESIDENT OF, UM, OF YOUR COMMUNITY WHO WANTED TO EXPRESS SOME SENTIMENTS AROUND THIS. KATIE IS, IS JOINING FROM GRAND RAPIDS. AND LET ME MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, READY TO TAKE HER CALL. AND I THINK WE ARE, KATIE, IF YOU CAN HEAR US, PLEASE GO AHEAD. UH, YES, I CAN HEAR YOU. I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, YEAH, IT WAS REALLY MORE OF A COMMENT JUST THAT, UM, THAT I APPRECIATE WHAT IS BEING DONE, HOW SERIOUSLY EVERYTHING IS, UM, BEING TAKEN ALL THE MEASURES TO KEEP US SAFE. I ALWAYS SAY SAY, UM, HEALTH AND SAFETY FIRST. AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT YOU, YOU SEE IT A DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN, AS YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT WE DO NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO OUR ECONOMY, BUT THAT YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, OUR STATE AND MICHIGAN HERE, WE HAVE BEEN TAKING STEPS TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE. ONE THING I DO WONDER ABOUT IS, IS THERE ANY, UM, IDEAS, WHAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING WITH SCHOOLS IN THE FALL IN ORDER TO KEEP KIDS SAFE AND THEIR FAMILIES SAFE? AND UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THE CHILD MAY NOT BE AT RISK, THEY MIGHT LIVE WITH SOMEBODY WHO DOES. AND, AND KATIE, I WONDER, UM, WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE SENDING, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU HAVE KIDS, SCHOOL AGED KIDS, BUT I MEAN, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT IN ORDER TO FEEL COMFORTABLE? IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL. IT'S REALLY HARD TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION SIMPLY BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, AT SCHOOLS THERE ARE SO MANY CHILDREN AND SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO BE EXPOSED. UM, THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, I, I CERTAINLY DON'T ENVY PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY THE, YOU KNOW, LESS CHILDREN, UM, MAYBE EVEN CONTINUING, UM, SOME HOMESCHOOLING OR VIRTUAL LEARNING. UH, I REALLY DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER. THAT'S OKAY. UH, NONE OF US, UH, PROBABLY HAVE ALL OF THE ANSWERS. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR, UH, JOINING US TONIGHT AND CERTAINLY HOPE THAT, UH, YOU AND YOUR FAMILY CAN, UH, CAN STAY SAFE, UH, AS THINGS MOVE FORWARD. UM, I'M GOING TO TRY TO GET A COUPLE OF OTHER COMMENTS HERE IN, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, YOU CAN TEXT YOUR COMMENTS IN TO TWO, TWO, THREE, THREE, THREE. IF YOU'VE ALREADY JOINED THE POLLING ON, UH, POLL EVERYWHERE, YOU CAN JUST START TYPING MESSAGE OR YOU MAY NEED TO TYPE VIEW FROM YOU. UH, WE HAD A COMMENT READ TO US, UH, A PERSON NAMED SEAN IN GAINESVILLE WHO FELT THAT GAINESVILLE NEEDED TO GET OPEN BACK UP. NOW YOU REALIZE HIS COBIT IS SERIOUS, BUT THINGS THAT CLOSING DOWN A MOM AND POP RESTAURANTS, BUT OPENING IN HIS WORDS, A STRIP CLUB IN HIS AREA IS NOT APPROPRIATE. UH, LEE FELDMAN IN GAINESVILLE, I KNOW YOU'VE, UH, HAD SOME, SOME DIFFICULT DECISIONS EVEN UP TO TODAY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT SHOULD BE OPEN TO REOPEN. AND, AND I GUESS I WONDER, UM, WHAT ARE FOLKS TELLING YOU, UH, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN ORDER TO DECIDE WHAT SHOULD OPEN AND WHAT SHOULD, WELL, IT'S INTERESTING CAUSE WE, WE PRETTY MUCH HAVE A DIVIDE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, EVERYBODY WANTS THINGS OPEN NOW AND THEY'RE WILLING TO PRACTICE PHYSICAL DISTANCING. I DON'T USE THE TERM SOCIAL DISTANCING BECAUSE WE STILL NEED TO SOCIALIZE IN DIFFERENT WAYS. UM, BUT PHYSICAL DISTANCING, UM, INDIVIDUALS TO WEAR MASKS, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE FACIAL COVERINGS. I'M SIGHT TYPE SEEMED TO BE THE STANDARD AND MOST PEOPLE ARE HEARING INTO IT. IN GAINESVILLE. WE ARE, YEAH, WE ARE IN WHAT WE CALL PHASE ONE, UH, FOLLOWING, UH, YOU KNOW, THE GOVERNOR, THE WAY THEY STRUCTURE HERE IS THE GOVERNMENT PROVIDES ORDERS. WE CAN BE MORE STRICT. UH, THE COUNTY CAN BE MORE RESTRICTED THAN WE CAN BE MORE STRICT THAN GOVERNOR IN THE COUNTY, BUT FOR RETAIL SPACES RIGHT NOW ARE OPEN, UH, BUT THEY ARE LIMITED TO 25% OF THEIR OCCUPANCY IN GAINESVILLE. IT'S FURTHER LIMITED TO ONE PERSON FOR EVERY 500 SQUARE FEET. RESTAURANTS ARE OPEN AT 25% OCCUPANCY, BUT ENCOURAGED TO HAVE OUTSIDE, UH, SEATING, WHICH IS NOT LIMITED TO ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE DISTANCE FROM TABLES. SO IN AN EFFORT TO, TO ASSIST RESTAURANT, WE'RE ALLOWING RESTAURANTS TO EITHER TAKE OVER PORTIONS OF THEIR PARKING LOTS OR ON STREET PARKING SO THAT THEY [00:20:01] CAN EXPAND THEIR OUTSIDE SERVICING. SO PEOPLE ARE MORE COMFORTABLE, UH, NOT BEING IN A CONFINED SPACE, BUT BEING ABLE TO GET, EAT, EAT OUT. UM, WE'RE, WE'RE STRUGGLING A LOT IS IN PARKS. UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE REASONABLE RULES. TODAY WE UM, OPENED UP TENNIS COURTS BUT WE TOOK DOWN THE KNITS AND EVERY OTHER COURT LIMITED EVERYTHING TO THE SINGLE SLAY. UH, DOG PARKS ARE OPEN, BUT CAPTAIN 10 INDIVIDUALS, UH, THE ISSUE I HAD THIS EVENING AND STILL DEALING WITH IS WE CLOSED A SKATE PARK DOWN, UH, BECAUSE WE HAD NO WAY TO SECURE IT. KIDS WERE USING IT AND UH, WE DECIDED TO PUT MULCH OUT IN A PARKING. YOU WOULD THINK THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING. OH YEAH. THAT, THOSE UH, THOSE SKATE PARKS, THE ENTHUSIASM SKATE PARKS ARE NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH. I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO BRING A, ANOTHER MEMBER OF OUR PUBLIC WHO HAS BEEN STANDING BY RALPH IS ON THE LINE FROM GRAND RAPIDS. AND UH, LET ME MAKE SURE I CAN LARRY, WHILE YOU BRING HIM RALPH ON, CAN I, CAN I JUST REAL QUICKLY TO KATIE'S RESPONSE JUST EARLIER ABOUT THE SCHOOLS AND, AND MY, MY WIFE WAS ON HOLIDAY WITH ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT ABOUT THEIR PLANS FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR. WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AND CERTAINLY WE LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FALL. AND I THINK EVERYONE'S TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT AT THIS TIME. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S BEING CHALLENGED, UH, CHALLENGING FOR THE SCHOOL THAT THINK OF LIKE RESTAURANTS, RETAILS WHERE YOU CAN LIMIT THE NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS, UH, BASED ON SIZE OR FOR SCHOOL, WE START SHRINKING THE CLASSROOMS. THAT PUTS A DEMAND ON HAVING MORE TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOMS WITHOUT THE USE OF ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY. SO ALL OF THOSE ARE RESOURCE ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE DISCUSSED. YEAH. IF I CAN JUST TACK ONTO MARK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE NEED TO BE VERY CONSCIOUS OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE THAT EXISTS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO BROADBAND, UH, UH, ACCESS TO COMPUTERS. YOU MAY HAVE ONE HOUSE THAT HAS ONE COMPUTER IN THREE KIDS, BUT THE THING WE FOUND A LOT IS, IS A BIG ISSUE IS INK. UM, THESE INK CARTRIDGES ARE EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND LOW IN LOW TO MODERATE INCOME. HOUSEHOLDS ARE STRUGGLING TO GET INK, UH, TO PRINT A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. YOU NEVER, YOU'D NEVER THINK IN THIS DAY AND AGE THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE WOULD DEPEND SO MUCH ON. AND NOW HERE WE ARE. MMM. I JUST, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MS LUPO AND MR. HOLT. THEY ARE MY TWO SONS, KINDERGARTEN AND THIRD GRADE TEACHERS RESPECTIVELY. AND THEY'VE DONE AN PHENOMENAL JOB OF PIVOTING TO A DISTANCE LEARNING. LET ME TURN TO RALPH IN GRAND RAPIDS. RALPH, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME PLEASE GO AHEAD. YES. YEAH. MY QUESTION WOULD BE FOR LIKE MARK HERE AT GRAND RAPIDS, UM, HIS BUSINESSES ARE OPENING UP AND, AND WE SEE MORE FUTURE WE'LL BE OPENING UP, UH, THE REQUIREMENT IN MICHIGAN. IT'S THAT THESE BUSINESSES THAT ARE OPENING UP MUST REQUIRE, I THOUGHT EVERYONE TO BE WEARING MASK, WHETHER THEY'RE EMPLOYEES OR, OR PEOPLE COMING INTO THE BUSINESS. UM, IS THAT, ISN'T THAT TRUE? AND THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY SUPPORT. WHAT ABOUT THESE BUSINESSES THAT AREN'T REALLY, UM, ENFORCING THAT RULE? SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. AND WE ARE, WE ARE WORKING WITH A COALITION OF BUSINESSES HERE IN KING COUNTY AND JUST DID A RELEASE YESTERDAY ABOUT GUIDANCE FOR WORKPLACES AND HAVING SAFE RE-ENTRY AND SAFE RETURN TO WORK WHERE WE'RE TAKING TEMPER, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO TAKE TEMPERATURES DAILY, DO DAILY SCREENINGS OF THEIR EMPLOYEES IN WORKING WITH OUR LOCAL COUNTY LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY. I THINK A PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IS, IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RESOURCE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. AND WE KNOW THAT THIS CAN, CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE THAT AS PART OF THE WORKFORCE, BUT SMALLER BUSINESSES MAY STRUGGLE WITH THAT. WE ARE LOOKING AT WAYS IN WHICH AS A COMMUNITY, IF WE, AS WE GET RESOURCES FROM FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT TO ASSIST AND PERHAPS THE PROCUREMENT FOR SOME OF THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE UNABLE TO DO THAT. BUT THEN YOU HAVE THE EXPECTATION FOR CUSTOMERS, UM, NOT ONLY THE EMPLOYEES BUT THE CUSTOMERS WHERE THAT EQUIPMENT AND THAT HAS BEEN, UM, BEAR SENSITIVE IN CERTAIN PLACES IN PARTICULARLY IN, IN, IN, IN PUBLIC SPACES. CAN WE ACTUALLY REQUIRE, UH, THE PUBLIC TO, UM, TO WEAR THAT KIND OF PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT HAS TO COME IN. AND WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTEN SEVERAL OPINIONS ABOUT THE, OUR INABILITY TO MAKE THOSE REQUISITE REQUIREMENTS. [00:25:01] UH, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH FOR, WITH THE VARIOUS EMPLOYERS HERE AND INTO THE SYSTEM AND, AND THOSE KINDS OF WORKPLACE POLICIES. AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL LEARNING TOGETHER. I WANT TO TURN TO, UH, TO PASA VEDO. UH, AND I WANT TO POINT OUT, UH, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO TELL THIS TO POSSIBLY IS IN HIS VEHICLE. UH, HE HAD TO GO TO A SCENE AND ASSESS IT AND WE WOULD JUST WANT TO SAY AN EXTRA THANKS. OF COURSE WE APPRECIATE WHAT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT DOES FOR US AT ALL TIMES, BUT CERTAINLY THAT YOU WOULD, UM, JOIN US IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS. THIS IS VERY COMMENDABLE. THANK YOU CHIEF BANKS. THANKS FOR THE BEER. I'M GOING TO, UM, MOVE TO A QUESTION THAT, UM, KIND OF RELATES TO SAFETY THAT, UH, THAT WAS BEING DISCUSSED IN THE LAST QUESTION THERE, BUT I THOUGHT YOU HAD A PARTICULARLY INTERESTING, UM, ANGLE ON THIS, GIVEN YOUR ROLE AS A POLICE CHIEF. SO IF YOU SEE UP ON THE SCREEN, WE HAVE A QUESTION THAT THE CHIEF SENT US IN LIGHT OF THE INCREASE IN VIOLENT CRIME IN MANY MUNICIPALITIES, DO YOU BELIEVE THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS SHOULD AUTHORIZE MUNICIPALITIES TO USE CARE'S ACT FUNDING TO PREVENT THE REDUCTION OF POLICE STAFFING? SHE TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT. WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT, UH, I'M ALSO THE PRESIDENT OF MAJOR STATE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION WITH THE 69 LARGE POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTRY AND NINE LARGEST IN CANADA. AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE NATION RIGHT NOW AND TOO MANY A LOT OF OUR CITIES IS THAT A VIOLENT CRIME STARTING TO CREEP UP. AND IN MY CITY, OUR HOMICIDES ARE UP SIGNIFICANTLY ABOUT 50%. A LOT OF IT DRIVEN A SENSE THIS COVEAGE CHALLENGED BY, UH, THE VIOLENCE SURROUNDING THE DRUG TRAFFICKING, UH, ACTIVITY. THERE. THERE SEEMS TO BE A REDUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF A DRUG. SO I'VE, I'VE DESCRIBED THE PANDEMIC FROM A LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE. I THINK FROM A GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE AS A THREE PRONGED THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY. ONE IS A PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT FROM THE VIRUS, A TUESDAY ECONOMIC THREAT AND DAMAGE FROM THE VIRUS. AND A, THAT'S THE SECOND PRONG. AND THE THIRD PRONG IS THE, THE THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY FROM THE INCREASE IN CRIME THAT WE KNOW WITH ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS. UH, HISTORICALLY, UH, IT HAD, IT IMPACTED IT. AND HOUSTON, WE HAVE, WE'RE LOOKING AT A, UH, AT A BUDGET SHORTFALL THAT IS A HISTORICAL PROPORTION, HAS BEEN A PERFECT STORM. AND SO MY MAYOR, UH, MAYOR TURNER, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO CANCEL ALL FIVE CADET CLASSES FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT NEXT YEAR. UH, HE'S COUNSEL, HE HAS TO COUNCIL THE LAST CLASS WITH THIS YEAR AND WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR MORE CARES FUNDING AT THIS TIME, BUT WE ARE ASKING IS FOR OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO AUTHORIZE CITIES TO, UH, UTILIZE THE FUNDING TO DEAL AND ADDRESS THE BUDGET ISSUES IN TERMS OF THE CHALLENGES RAISED BY THE THREE PRONGED THREAT OF KOBE. UH, AND WE'RE, HIS NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS TO RESTORE THE, THE CLASSES TO THIS VERY UNDERSTAFFED POLICE DEPARTMENT. UH, AND WE'RE JUST, UH, I JUST WONDER WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S PRIORITIES WOULD BE ACROSS THE NATION IN TERMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY. UH, AND THAT'S WHY I POSTED THE, WE CAN SAVE IT IF WE CAN USE SOME OF THAT FUNDING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO EXCUSE ME FOR INTERRUPTING. I WANT TO TURN TO ONE OF YOUR, UH, CITIZENS. UM, MICHELLE HAS JOINED US TONIGHT FROM HOUSTON AND, UM, MICHELLE, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND SHARE YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS. WELL, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, THE MAYOR GETTING RID OF THOSE CADET CLASSES BECAUSE LIKE THE CHIEF SAID, THE UPTICK IN CRIME. WE NEED MORE OFFICERS. WE'RE THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES. AND FOR SOME REASON WE KEEP PUSHING BACK AND PUSHING BACK MORE POLICE OFFICERS. AND YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE KNOW YOU JUST DON'T FEEL SAFE AND YOU DON'T, YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO SEE THE POLICE VISIBLY IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE THEY'RE SO BUSY DOING OTHER CALLS. AND IT'S A CONCERN FOR ME AND THE OFFICERS WHO ARE WORKING, UH, BEHIND THE DESKS, UH, IN, UH, JOBS THAT COULD BE FILLED BY CITIZENS. YOU KNOW, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THOSE OFFICERS CAN'T GO OUT ON THE STREETS. AND I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO ASK THAT QUESTION. AND AS FAR AS COBIT GOES, I MEAN, TRY, EVERYONE IS ADULTS AND I THINK EVERYONE HAS GOOD INTENTIONS AND I DON'T THINK THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO TREAT US LIKE CHILDREN AND MAKE US WEAR MASKS AND MAKE US DO ALL THESE OTHER THINGS. UM, AND SOME PEOPLE JUST CAN'T AFFORD A MATH OR, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN'T, THEY DON'T HAVE A CAR TO GET TO WHERE THE MASS GIVEAWAYS ARE. AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE CLAUSTROPHOBIA MYSELF, BUT I STILL TRY TO WEAR ONE, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE ARE MAL INTENDED WHENEVER THEY'RE NOT WEARING MASKS. THANK YOU. CAN I, CAN I ADDRESS THAT A LITTLE BIT? AND I REALLY, I REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, I THINK IT WAS MICHELLE THAT MADE THE COMMENTARY IN HOUSTON. AND LET ME JUST [00:30:01] SAY THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS ONE OF MAYOR TURNER'S, UH, HIGHEST PRIORITIES. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, UH, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS TELL HIM HE HAD AN EXORCISM. OUR CITY, IT'S NOT A HURRICANE, IT'S A TROPICAL STORM. UH, BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE ONE THING AFTER THE OTHER, WHEN HE STOLEN, HE, WE, WE RISE TO THE CHALLENGE. LET ME JUST START OFF, UH, BY THE, UH, THE, THE, THE ISSUE OF STAFFING. UH, YOU KNOW, HE ACTUALLY STARTED RAISING STAFFING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 20 YEARS. WE ACTUALLY INCREASED STAFF FROM OVER A HUNDRED POSITIONS, UH, IN OUR DEPARTMENT. AND THEN, BOOM, HERE'S WHAT, HERE'S WHAT, LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED. WE HAD COLVIN AND OUR ECONOMIC FORECAST IS JUST MISERABLE RIGHT NOW. SO IF WE CAN JUST PUT SOME PRESSURE ON OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP, UH, THE MAYOR IS NOT ASKING FOR MORE COVERT, UH, MONEY THROUGH THE CARES. ZACK, RIGHT NOW, WE CAN'T PRINT MONEY AS A CITY. WE JUST CANNOT DO THAT. WE, WE DON'T, OUR RESERVES WILL BE GONE IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET. SO THIS UPCOMING BUDGET, SO WHAT WE'RE SIMPLY ASKING IS FOR CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION TO ALLOW THE PEERS THAT FUNDING TO BE USED TO PLUG SOME OF THE HOLES IN OUR BUDGET THAT ARE A DIRECT OR INDIRECT RESULT OF THE IMPACT. THE THIRD, THE SECOND PRONG, UH, TO ADDRESS THE THIRD, WHICH IS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVERT TO ADDRESS THE THIRD PROBLEM, WHICH IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY. UH, THE LAST THING I WILL SAY FOR US HERE IN HOUSTON IS THAT, UH, PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT 20 YEARS AGO, UH, IN THE LAST 20 YEARS, THE CITY BECAUSE OF BUDGET SHORTFALLS HAS REDUCED OUR CIVILIAN NON-SWORN STAFFING IN HALF. WE USED TO HAVE OVER 2000 CIVILIANS IN OUR DEPARTMENT. WE NOW HAVE, UH, HOVERING OVER ABOUT A THOUSAND. WELL, THE WORK DOESN'T GO AWAY. SO WHAT THAT FORCES ME TO DO AS THE POLICE CHIEF IS ACTUALLY, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE'RE IN SOME INSTANCES WE'RE USING OFFICERS TO DO THE WORK THAT CAN CIVILIANS DO. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, UH, IF WE, IF WE DON'T GET, UH, MORE, UH, IF WE, IF WE GET RID OF MORE OFFICERS TO HIRE CIVILIANS, IT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN DO IT. WHEN THE HURRICANE COMES OR THE CRIME SPIKE COMES, WE CAN'T USE CIVILIANS TO DO POLICE WORK, BUT WE CAN TAKE SOME OF THOSE OFFICERS OFF OFF THE DUST DUTY TEMPORARILY, WHICH IS WHAT WE DO FOR SURGERIES ACROSS THE CITY. SO REALLY GOOD OBSERVATIONS AND PLEASE HELP US BY REACHING OUT TO THEIR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO THE WHITE HOUSE. UH, JUST ASK THEM TO LET US AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THE FUNDING TO, TO PLUG SOME OF THOSE HOLES IN PUBLIC SAFETY. SO CHIEF OF THIS LEAF ELVIN, IF, UH, IF FOR SOME REASON YOU, UH, YOU CAN'T GET THE WHITE HOUSE FUNDING, UH, LET YOUR CADETS KNOW WE'RE STILL HIRING, WE'LL RETURN THEM TO YOU AFTER 28 YEARS. OH LORD. I HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT I DID NOT ANTICIPATE SOME, UH, INTRAMURAL COMPETITION ON THIS. UH, YEAH, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ADMINISTRATION DOES KNOWS THAT SO WE CAN GET SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT WAS GOING TO YOUR CITY TO COME HERE AND YOU SEEM TO BE DOING WELL. I WANT TO LET FOLKS WHO ARE CURRENTLY ON THE PHONE KNOW THAT IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO GET IN, THEY CAN PRESENT ZERO AND THEY'LL BE SPEAKING WITH THE SCREENER AND BE ABLE TO UH, JOIN US ON THE AIR. YOU CAN SEE UP ON THE SCREEN THAT YOU CAN CALL IN. IF YOU, IF YOU'RE NOT ON THE PHONE ALREADY, YOU CAN ALSO TEXT US AND WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THE TEXT MESSAGE RESPONSES THAT WE'RE GETTING. AND IF YOU'RE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU CAN USE THE HASHTAG VIEW FROM YOU. ALSO WANT TO SAY HELLO TO MY FRIEND, MAYOR ADLER AND, AND UH, I KNOW HE AND, UM, JUST ABOUT ALL OF OUR PANELISTS ARE BEING PULLED IN APPROXIMATELY 17 DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, MAKING SOME SPACE FOR US TONIGHT AND UH, AND JOINING US AND WE INTEND TO GET TO YOU HERE IN JUST A MOMENT. BUT, UH, UH, COULD IT BE ONCE YOU'RE HERE? WELCOME. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, WELL WE ARE GOING TO STEP ASIDE FOR JUST A SHORT BREAK AND WE'RE GOING TO BE BACK WITH MORE OF YOUR COMMENTS AND ANSWERS TO THE PANELISTS. QUESTIONS RIGHT AFTER THIS, YOU ARE WATCHING A VIEW FROM YOU FROM SOCIAL PINPOINT AND CONSULTATION MANAGER. WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK, A VIEW FROM YOU AS BEING PRESENTED BY SOCIAL PINPOINT AND CONSULTATION MANAGER THERE A SUITE OF TOOLS THAT TOGETHER CREATE A FULL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM. SOCIAL PINPOINT PROVIDES INTERACTIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT TOOLS LIKE INTERACTIVE MAPS, IDEATION, WALLS, SURVEYS, PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING, AND MORE TO MAKE IT EASY TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT WAYS FOR YOUR COMMUNITY TO GET INVOLVED FROM ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. WITH THIS DATA CONSULTATION MANAGER MAKES IT EASY FOR YOU TO TRACK, UNDERSTAND AND ANALYZE YOUR STAKEHOLDER DATA AND INTERACTIONS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE FEEDBACK YOU RECEIVE IN YOUR PLANNING PROJECTS. ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE US, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AND THE UK USE THESE TOOLS TO BUILD A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF STAKEHOLDER INFORMATION AS A BASE FOR CREATING OUTCOMES BASED ON COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT SOCIAL PINPOINT AND CONSULTATION MANAGER, VISIT SOCIAL PINPOINT.COM FORWARD SLASH OF YOU FROM YOU TO GET IN TOUCH, ONE OF THEIR FRIENDLY TEAM MEMBERS WILL REACH OUT TO YOU. THAT'S A SOCIAL [00:35:01] PINPOINT.COM FORWARD SLASH A VIEW FROM YOU. WELCOME BACK TO A VIEW FROM YOU, A NATIONAL CONVERSATION ON RECOVERY FROM THE COBIT 19 PANDEMIC. I'M LARRY SCHOOLER JOINED TONIGHT BY GAINESVILLE CITY MANAGER, LEE FELDMAN, GRAND RAPIDS CITY MANAGER, DR. MARK WASHINGTON, AUSTIN MAYOR, STEVE ADLER, TRAVIS COUNTY JUDGE SARAH ECKHART AND HOUSTON POLICE CHIEF ART ACEVEDO. WE'RE VERY HAPPY THAT YOU HAVE JOINED US AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF WAYS FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE. YOU CAN CALL US ON A TOLL FREE LINE, EITHER IN ENGLISH OR AN ESPANOL. YOU CAN TWEET US ON MEDIA HASHTAG VIEW FROM YOU, UH, OR YOU CAN TEXT US AND WE'RE ABOUT TO PUT A QUESTION NUMBER. ACTUALLY, WE DO HAVE A QUESTION UP ON THE SCREEN FROM, UH, MR FELDMAN IN, UH, GRAND RAPIDS. SO, UH, LEE, I'LL LET YOU SPEAK TO IT. IT'S AN INTERESTING, UM, SET OF QUESTIONS AROUND THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. IT KIND OF TIES BACK INTO WHAT CHIEF ALSO VEDO WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF THE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR QUESTIONS. SO CERTAINLY. SO, UH, JUST SO MARK IS IN FOUR, EIGHT, I'M STILL NOT IN GRAND RAPIDS, BUT, UH, BUT ADHERING GAINESVILLE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ISSUE REALLY IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THAT THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF CONFUSED CONFUSION IN THE MESSAGING THAT IS OUT THERE. UM, THE WHITE HOUSE HAS DAILY, OR AT LEAST I THINK THEY STILL HAVE DAILY PRESS CONFERENCES. UH, OUR GOVERNOR IS MESSAGING OUT THERE ALMOST DAILY. THE, UH, THE CHAIR OF OUR COUNTY COMMISSION IS IN AND OF COURSE THE CITY IS, AND WE'RE NOT ALWAYS ON THE SAME PAGE. AND SO IT'S HAPPENING. UM, A LOT I THINK IS THAT, UH, PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHERE TO TURN FOR THE ANSWERS, UM, ON THERE. YOU KNOW, IS IT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS COUNTY, IS IT STATE OR IS IT THE FEDERAL? UM, YOU KNOW, TO SOME DEGREE THAT IT PROBABLY IS SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME COMBINATION THEREOF. AND HOW DO YOU SORT THROUGH THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, THERE CAN'T BE A ONE SIZE FITS ALL RESPONSE TO, UH, TO THIS KOBE 19 PANDEMIC IN REOPENING, YOU KNOW, THE CITY, THE COUNTY, THE SCHEME, ULTIMATELY THE, UH, THE NATION IN THE WORLD. SO I THINK IT'S, UH, IT'S, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, YOU KNOW, GET AN UNDERSTANDING AS ARE WE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE WHERE WE NOT, NOT THEN THE QUESTION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL THAT I'VE BEEN FACING IS WHO SHOULD THE MESSAGE COME FROM? SHOULD IT BE THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS, WHETHER IT'S THE MAYOR OR THE CITY MANAGER, OR SHOULD WE BE DEFERRING TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS, UM, FOR GIVING THEM THAT MESSAGE OR AGAIN, SOME COMBINATION THEREOF. AND SO I THINK THAT BECOMES A VERY DELICATE BALANCE AS WE'RE, UM, AS WE'RE TRYING TO PUT THE MESSAGING OUT THERE. YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, UH, AN EPIDEMIOLOGIST HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE CREDIBILITY, UH, THEN, UH, EITHER THE CITY MANAGER OR THE MAYOR, SOMETIMES THE CITY MANAGER OR THE MAYOR HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE THAN THE EPIDEMIOLOGIST. AND SO I THINK IT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING THAT PLAY OUT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, RIGHT? WHITE HOUSE TO CONDUCT WITHOUT A DEGREE IS EVEN PLAYING OUT IN OUR OWN COMMUNITIES. I WANT TO TURN MAYOR ADLER, I'M, I'M PUTTING HIM PRETTY MUCH ON THE SPOT HERE. HE JUST GOT HERE. BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE, UM, IN WORKING ALSO WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, JUDGE ECKHART, WHO OF COURSE CAN JUMP IN AS WELL, UM, ON A SET OF GUIDELINES WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITHIN YOUR JURISDICTION. AND THERE'S BEEN, UM, KIND OF A, UH, A GIVE AND TAKE WOULD BE MAYBE A DIPLOMATIC WAY TO PUT IT, UH, WITH THE STATE OF TEXAS. AND I JUST, I WONDER, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF THOUGHTS ON, ON HOW THINGS MIGHT IMPROVE IN THE WAY OF COORDINATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT FROM WHERE YOU SIT. I'M NOT SURE THE ISSUE IS ONE OF ONE OF COORDINATION. UH, I THINK IT'S A QUESTION OF HOW MUCH, UM, UH, POLITICS PLAYS INTO, UH, WHAT SHOULD BE A HEALTHCARE, UH, RESPONSE. I THINK THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THE, THE ISSUE OF, OF FACE COVERINGS. UH, IN TEXAS, UH, OUR GOVERNOR AND OUR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR HAVE BOTH SAID THAT THEY BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD BE WEARING FACE COVERINGS, UH, WHEN THEY ARE, WHEN YOU'RE GOING OUT IN PUBLIC AND, UH, ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SOCIAL, SOCIAL DISTANCE. SO, UH, THERE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE ADVICE THEY'RE GETTING FROM THEIR PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. UH, WE'RE GETTING THE SAME ADVICE FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. AND FOR THAT REASON WE MADE WEARING FACE COVERINGS MANDATORY, UH, IN OUR, IN OUR CITY. OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS [00:40:01] SOME BLOW BACK FROM THAT. AND THEN THE GOVERNOR'S MOST RECENT ORDER. UH, HE SPECIFICALLY SAID THAT CITIES, UH, WERE, WERE NO LONGER ABLE TO ENFORCE WITH CRIMINAL OR CIVIL PENALTIES. THE FAILURE TO WEAR A FACE COVERING. I THINK THAT SENT A VERY CONFUSING MESSAGE, UH, BECAUSE I THINK THAT PEOPLE HEARING THAT WE'RE NOT SURE WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE IN FACE COVERINGS WAS, WAS AN IMPORTANT THING TO DO OR NOT. UH, WE HAD GOTTEN TO A PLACE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHERE MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WERE WEARING THEM. AND I WAS REAL CONCERNED ABOUT THE, THE, THE MESSAGING, UH, THE COMMUNICATION, UH, WITH RESPECT TO FACE COVERINGS WOULD BE LOST. SO WHAT WE DID WAS, IS SO THAT WE WOULD FOLLOW THE ORDER OF OUR GOVERNOR. UH, WE KEPT IT MANDATORY BECAUSE IT'S SO IMPORTANT WHAT WE SAID IN BOLD TYPE AND SAY ORALLY EVERY TIME WE TALK ABOUT IT. BUT AT THE FAILURE TO WEAR A FACE COVERING IS NOT ENFORCEABLE WITH EITHER A CIVIL OR CRIMINAL PENALTY. UH, IT'S STILL IMPORTANT. WHAT WE SAY IS THAT THE PENALTY FOR NOT WEARING A PACED COVERING IS THE MORE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GET SICK AND SOME OF THEM WILL BUY AND THAT OUGHT TO BE PENALTY ENOUGH. RIGHT. SO THERE'S A CONFUSED MESSAGE AT BOTH STAGES OF THE BAT, THE CONFUSION WHEN THE GOVERNOR SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT IT'S NOT IMPORTANT WORK. UH, PERHAPS CONFUSING THE MESSAGE WE'RE TOLD WHEN WE SAY IT'S MANDATORY, BUT THE PENALTY IS NOT THE USUAL KIND. YEAH, IT REMINDS ME A BIT OF PARENTING, I HAVE TO SAY. YOU KNOW, I CAN TELL MY KIDS SOMETHING IS MANDATORY. UH, THEY MAY NOT BELIEVE ME UNLESS THERE'S A SPECIFIC POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, WITH FOLLOWING MY MANDATES OR MY WIFE'S AND MY MANDATES. I WANT TO TURN TO A COMMENT FROM THE AUDIENCE. UH, WE HAVE GARRETT WHO HAS BEEN STANDING BY, YEAH, HE'S IN, UH, I BELIEVE EAST BERNARD, TEXAS AND GARRETT, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE GO AHEAD WITH YOUR COMMENT. YES, YES, I CAN HEAR YOU. SO MY QUESTION IS WHY NOBODY IS DISCUSSING, UM, WILLIAM BRYAN WHO IS THE HEAD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BACK IN APRIL, LIKE SOMEWHERE AROUND APRIL 20TH, HE WAS AT THE CORONA VIRUS TASK FORCE BRIEFING AND HE GOT UP AND SPOKE ABOUT HOW HIGH TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITY CAN KILL THE VIRUS ABOVE 80 DEGREES AND SUNLIGHT KILLED IT IN LESS THAN ONE MINUTE ON CONTACT. WHY ARE WE NOT DISCUSSING THAT WHEN IT IS 90 DEGREES AND SUNNY IN HOUSTON EVERY DAY AND EVERYWHERE THAT THE SUNLIGHT TOUCHES, IT KILLED THE VIRUS IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION. AND, AND YOU KNOW, OUR PANELS TONIGHT ARE, UM, ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ANSWER ANYTHING, UH, THAT THEY'RE HEARING. THE, LET ME, LET ME BE THE FIRST ANSWER. I CAN LEAVE YOUR DOCTORS. THE ANSWER HERE. UH, IT HADN'T GOTTEN 90 DEGREES HERE IN GRAND RAPIDS IN A LONG, I THINK PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE, UH, ALL THE SCIENTISTS HERE TELL US THAT THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT TRUE. UH, WE WISH IT WAS, UH, WE WISH THAT AT 90 DEGREES OR IN SUNLIGHT, THE VIRUS COULD GO AWAY. UH, BUT, BUT, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE IS, IS SAYING. YEAH. I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU HOW, HOW MUCH HAVE YOU ACTUALLY RESEARCHED THAT? WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU? SO, SO THIS IS LEE FELDMAN. SO I'M IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA. WE'VE HAD 90 DEGREE WEATHER, WE'VE HAD HUMIDITY THAT'S BEEN OVER 90%, AND WE STILL HAVE NEW CASES. OKAY. YEAH. THOSE AREN'T ALSO, UH, UH, SURE. I CAN SAY THAT THE VIRUS HAS, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A CHALLENGE IN, IN A HOT, HUMID ENVIRONMENT, BUT IT CAN STILL SURVIVE. AND I JUST HAD A POLICE OFFICER THAT WAS, UH, HOSPITALIZED JUST YESTERDAY MORNING. RIGHT NOW IT'S 86 AND HOUSTON SIDE OF HUMID. UH, AND I THINK THAT FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN THAT, UH, IT, IT WILL BE LESS PREVALENT IN THAT KIND OF ENVIRONMENT, BUT IT DOES CERTAINLY DOES NOT MAKE IT COMPLETELY GO AWAY. IT'S STILL VERY PREVALENT. AND THE CHALLENGE IS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FALL. WE ALL DON'T TAKE THE PRECAUTIONS. YOU KNOW, MY DEPARTMENT IS THE FOURTH ONE, THE FOURTH LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY. WE PUT IN THE PRECAUTIONS BASED ON CDC GUIDELINES. AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT IN OTHER CITIES WE'VE HAD OVER 70 POLICE OFFICERS DIE FROM KOBE SINCE THIS ALL STARTED. I'VE ONLY HAD THREE OFFICERS HOSPITALIZED IN A WORKFORCE OF 6,500 EMPLOYEES. AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS THAT WE DIDN'T WEAR MASKS BECAUSE WE [00:45:01] WERE TOLD WE HAD TO. WE WORE MASKS AND WE'VE PRACTICED THESE, UH, THESE, THESE THINGS BECAUSE WE WERE TOLD BY SCIENTISTS THAT IS THE BEST DEFENSE WE HAVE AGAINST AN INVISIBLE ENEMY. AND I REALLY BELIEVE OUR NUMBER ONE CHANCE TO MAKE THIS REOPENING WORK THAT I PRAY EVERY MORNING THAT IT WORKS IS FOR EVERY ONE THAT JUST DO THE DECENT THING. AND THAT'S JUST TO FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES, NOT BECAUSE YOU'RE BEING TOLD YOU HAVE TO, BUT BECAUSE IT'S A COURTESY AND IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. AND THE DECENT THING TO DO. IF WE TOOK IT SERIOUSLY, I PROMISE YOU WE'D BE MUCH BETTER POSITIONED TO CONTINUE HAVING THE SUCCESSFUL OPENING, NOT JUST HERE IN TEXAS, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND WHAT'S WORRYING ME RIGHT NOW IS I DRIVE AROUND, UH, THIS REGION IS A LOT OF PEOPLE WHEN WE OPEN, THEY'RE NOT WEARING ANY KIND OF FACE COVERINGS. UH, THEY'RE NOT FOLLOWING THE, UH, THE SUGGESTIONS. AND WHAT WORRIES ME IS ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'RE STARTING TO SEE MORE AND MORE CASES AND SOME OF THE WORST DAYS OF THE VIRUS IN TERMS OF SPREAD. UH, AND SO THE BEST DAYS, AND THAT WORRIES ME CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS ECONOMY SHUT DOWN AGAIN. SO, UM, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA JUST INTERJECT SO THAT WE CAN GET TO SOME MORE, UM, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, UH, FOLKS AND I, UH, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT, UM, FINDING TO, YOU KNOW, STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN ALL OF THE GOOD INFORMATION YOU ALL HAVE TO SHARE AND SOME OF THE SENTIMENTS WE WANT TO GET IN FROM THE PUBLIC. LET ME TURN TO, UH, LAURA WHO HAS JOINED US FROM AUSTIN TONIGHT AND HI, I'M SORRY. AM I THERE? YES, GO AHEAD. OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO MY QUESTION, I'M, I'M CALLING FROM TEXAS. UM, MY QUESTION IS I SUPPOSE SPECIFICALLY FOR, FOR THOSE FROM TEXAS, I KNOW THAT UM, THE GOVERNOR HAS PUT RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES AND LEADERS CAN DO ON A LEGAL FRONT. SO MY QUESTION WOULD BE DO YOU AGREE WITH THE WAY THAT TEXAS IS REOPENING AND IF NOT, UM, ARE THERE WAYS THAT, UM, I GUESS MAYOR ADLER THAT, THAT YOU PLAN TO, UM, INFORM THE PUBLIC THAT, THAT IT'S NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL AND, AND TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE ARE STAYING HOME IF THEY CAN. THANK YOU. AND THANKS FOR ALL YOU GUYS ARE DOING. YES, I WAS GOVERNOR, I WOULD BE DOING THIS LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. UH, THAT SAID, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WE KNOW WE CAN SHUT IT DOWN, BUT WE KNOW THAT THE WAY THAT WE SHUT IT DOWN, WE CAN'T SUSTAIN FOR ANOTHER YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE BACK TO THE GREATER PHYSICAL INTERACTIONS. I, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO DO IT SLOWLY. I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO DO IT IN A WAY WHERE WE CAN GET THE DATA AND THE TESTING AND THE EXPERIENCE BACK TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT ON THE WRONG THE WRONG PATH. UH, I WOULD HAVE DONE A LITTLE BIT SLOWER. I WOULD HAVE WAITED. WE GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING IN PLACE. BUT THAT SAID, I WANT THE GOVERNOR'S PLAN TO BE AS SUCCESSFUL AS IT CAN POSSIBLY BE. UH, AND I, I FEEL THE SAME WAY AS, AS CHIEF OFFICE DATA, UH, THAT, UH, WE SHOULD ALL BE WEARING MASKS. WE SHOULD ALL BE DOING A SOCIAL DISTANCING IN ORDER TO GIVE THAT AS BEST CHANCE POSSIBLE. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, OUR CITY IS LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS EVERY DAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T GET ON THE WRONG PATH. AND IF WE GET ON THE WRONG PATH, WE'RE GOING TO BRING IT BACK OUT TO THE PUBLIC WHO COULD WATCH THOSE SAME NUMBERS WITH US EVERY DAY AND WE'LL HAVE TIME TO BE ABLE TO REACT AND THEN PROTECT OURSELVES FROM A HOSPITAL SEARCH. I WANT TO GO TO LINDA FROM PFLUGERVILLE, WHICH IS A BEDROOM COMMUNITY OF, UH, JUST OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN. AND LINDA, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE GO AHEAD. YOU'RE ON THE AIR. OH, WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. HELLO, MAYOR ADLER AND HELLO. CHIEF ACEVEDO. WE MENTIONED DOWN HERE THEN YOU NEED, I WANTED TO SAY THAT, UH, I'M UH, CORRECT. UH, I'VE BEEN YOU, I, UM, I WORK AT A NURSING HOME AND WE HAVE BEEN HEARING THAT NURSING HOMES WILL BE TESTED. UH, ALL THESE, ALL THE EMPLOYEES AND ALL THE RESIDENTS. AND, UH, I'M JUST WONDERING, BUT SO MANY NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED LIVINGS AND WHAT, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES AS SUCH AND THE AREA ALONE ALONE STATEWIDE. HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU ALL GOING TO ACCOMPLISH THIS ONE TOO? AND I DID NOT HEAR A TIMELINE OR A DATELINE SET AS TO WHEN THIS WILL START. SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME HEADS UP ON THAT. I'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES US A LITTLE WORRIED AT THE HOME. HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW THINGS ARE GOING TO COME ALONG. IS IT, YOU KNOW, IS IT GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, SWAT TEAM ATTACKS OR ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE US NOTICE OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? THANK YOU. EVERYBODY WILL HAVE NOTICED. WE'VE ALREADY LOST AND TESTED ALL THE EMPLOYEES AND ALL THE RESIDENTS HAD NINE NURSING HOMES. WE ARE IN FOUR NOW. WE'VE TESTED THE MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTS AND THE STAFF. UH, AND WE'RE BUILDING OUT THE SCHEDULE, AMOUNT OF TESTS, [00:50:01] ALL THE HOMES WITHIN THE NEXT 14 DAYS. THAT WOULD BE ALL STAFF AND ALL OF THE RESIDENTS. UH, BUT EVERYBODY WITH NOTICE, UH, NO, NOT ABOUT A SURPRISE OR ARRIVAL. UH, BUT IT IS AN IMPORTANT THING FOR FIRST OF ALL TO KNOW WHERE THE VIRUS IS, UH, SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN HELP TREAT AND HELP PEOPLE HAVE IT. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH LINDA FOR YOUR CALL. I WANTED TO ALSO MENTION WE'VE HAD A COLOR, UH, WHO JOINED OUR SPANISH LINE IN ESPANOL, WHICH IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RESPON YARD. AND THE TRANSLATION OF HER COMMENT WAS, THIS IS LORD DEZ FROM HOUSTON SINCE THE GOVERNOR HAS DECIDED TO NOT FIND PEOPLE FOR NOT WEARING THE MASK, COULD THE MAYOR DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? I'VE SEEN PEOPLE ALL OVER SPECIFICALLY OR ESPECIALLY AT THE SUPERMARKET GETTING CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER AND THOSE PUT ALL OF US AT RISK. SO WE APPRECIATE, UH, THAT COMMENT FROM UH, LORDIS IN HOUSTON. I WANT TO MOVE TO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TOPIC HERE IN THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT BECAUSE I THINK YOU GET ME HER CONTACT. I WANT TO ANSWER THAT. I'LL DO THE VERY BEST I CAN ACHIEVE. YES. UM, UH, OUR QUESTION UP ON THE SCREEN IS A COMBINATION OF A FEW QUESTIONS. I THINK DR. WASHINGTON AND MAYOR ADLER HAD SENT IN. UM, AND I THINK THIS IS AT THE HEART OF WHAT A LOT OF OF, UH, ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS ARE STRUGGLING WITH. AND AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, HOW CAN WE EFFECTIVELY BALANCE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, ESPECIALLY WITH POPULATIONS DISPROPORTIONATELY INFECTED WITH COBIT 19 WITH ECONOMIC HEALTH AND RECOVERY? HOW DO WE BALANCE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY WITH ECONOMIC HEALTH AND RECOVERY? HOW MUCH RISK SHOULD WE TAKE AND REOPENING BUSINESSES AND PHYSICAL INTERACTIONS? SO THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT WE'D LIKE FOR YOU ALL TO RESPOND TO. YOU CAN TEXT TWO, TWO, TWO, THREE, THREE, THREE. YOU CAN CALL US. IF YOU'RE ALREADY ON THE LINE, PLEASE PRESS ZERO AND SPEAK TO A SCREENER OR SEND US A TWEET AT HASHTAG VIEW FROM YOU. UM, DR. WASHINGTON, I HADN'T HEARD FROM YOU IN A LITTLE BIT. MAYBE JUST GIVE US A LITTLE SENSE OF, OF WHERE YOU'RE SITTING WITH THIS VERY DIFFICULT DILEMMA. WELL, IT, IT'S, IT'S THE QUESTION OF THE DAY BECAUSE, UM, YOUR CHIEF ACEVEDO SPEAK ABOUT RESOURCES IN BUDGETING AND PART OF, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE REVENUE, UM, TO, UH, CONTINUE GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES AND CONTINUITY SERVICES. THAT IS PART OF THE REVENUE WE GAINED FROM THE ECONOMY AND A HEALTHY ECONOMY. UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE, WE DON'T DO THINGS TO, UH, WORSEN, UH, HEALTH OUTCOMES. AND SO WE HAVE BUSINESSES THAT WERE THE FIRST TO CLOSE RETAIL AND, UM, RESTAURANTS AND BARS AND ENTERTAINMENT VENUES. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE BEER CITY AND WE DO BELIEVE IN, UM, HAVING, YOU KNOW, GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE, GOOD SOCIAL INTERACTION AND IT LOOKS LIKE THOSE INDUSTRIES WILL BE THE LAST TO COME ONLINE. AND, UM, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO WORK WITH OUR PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES AND THE GOVERNOR MAKES SURE THAT WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE BALANCE AND RECONCILING THOSE TWO, UH, THOSE TWO ISSUES IN OUR COMMUNITY WHEN TO GO TO A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC. TULLEY HAS JOINED US FROM GRAND RAPIDS IN, UH, DR WASHINGTON'S BACKYARD. UH, JULIA, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE GO AHEAD. HI. CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE CAN. OKAY. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS I'VE BEEN HEARING EVERYBODY SAY, SO SOME PEOPLE HAVE ADDRESSED SOME OF THEM THINGS I'VE SAID, BUT, UM, I WANT, I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING BEFORE I SAY WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY, WHAT THE POLICE OFFICER HAD SAID. UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POLICE, IT'S NOT JUST A MATTER OF, UM, WE'RE SHORT ON MONEY FOR POLICE. WE HAVE DETROIT HERE IN MICHIGAN, HAS LIKE HALF OF THE FORCE IN LOCKDOWN BECAUSE THEY'RE QUARANTINED AT DIFFERENT TIMES BECAUSE THEY'RE CATCHING THIS THING AND IT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH THE PEOPLE. AND WE HAVE PEOPLE IN OUR CAPITOL WEARING ZERO MASKS AND THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THEM CARRYING GUNS AND SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE. AND I DON'T KNOW, I'VE LOST, I KNOW EIGHT PEOPLE PERSONALLY THAT HAVE DIED FROM THIS DISEASE. AND I THINK IF THERE'S A WAY FOR THE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ALL GET ON THE SAME PAGE AND SERIOUSLY TALK ABOUT WHICH I DON'T SEE OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TALKING. YEAH. AND OUR STATE GOVERNMENTS ALL SAYING, LOOK, WE NEED TO WEAR A MASK. SO THEY'RE NOT EVEN SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE. LIKE OUR GOVERNOR IN MICHIGAN, I KNOW SHE'S SERIOUS ABOUT PEOPLE NEED TO WEAR A MASK. BUT I MEAN, I'VE HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE, WHY SHOULD I WEAR ONE? THE GOVERNOR ISN'T WEARING ONE. I'M LIKE, YEAH, BUT YOU CAN'T HEAR HER TALK WITH A MATH ON HER FACE, KENYA. AND THEY'RE LIKE, I DON'T CARE IF SHE'S NOT LEADING BY EXAMPLE. SO I THINK IF THEY HONESTLY ALL GOT TOGETHER AND SAID, LET'S ALL WEAR MASKS, THIS IS MANDATORY. AND THEY ACTUALLY ENFORCED IT. I MEAN, IF THEY'RE GOING TO SAY IT'S MANDATORY AND YET I SEE NOBODY DOING ANYTHING TO ENFORCE IT. AND I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT I SEE WEARING A MASK [00:55:01] OUT OF WITNESS PAST 35 PEOPLE ON A HIKE THE OTHER DAY WITH MY KIDS. AND MY SON HAS ASTHMA. HE COULD DIE FROM THIS. I'M KIND OF PARANOID. UM, I MEAN, ONLY ONE, EVEN FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINE, IF YOU'RE NOT ENFORCING IT, THERE'S NO POINT IN EVEN DOING ANYTHING. WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST CATCH THIS AND WHOEVER'S GOING TO DIE. I DON'T, AND THAT'S HORRIBLE TO SAY, BUT I MEAN, IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FORCE THE GUIDELINES YOU'RE SETTING, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO OPEN OR WE'RE GOING TO OPEN AND EVERYBODY, THANKS JULIE FOR YOUR COMMENT. I'M SORRY TO HAVE TO CUT YOU OFF. WE'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT SHORT ON TIME. UM, DR MARSTON, ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO SAY IN RESPONSE TO WHAT JULIA HAD TO SAY? YEAH, JUST REAL BRIEFLY. IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A TOUGH DILEMMA. I THINK EMPLOYERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, EXERCISE WORKPLACE REQUIREMENTS. SO TO BE VERY, VERY RESPONSIBLE IN TERMS OF REQUIRING THE TYPE OF PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT THAT THEIR EMPLOYEES HAVE. AND SO I THINK THE EXPECTATION IS REALLY HEIGHTENED FOR EMPLOYERS. UM, I THINK THERE'S A, THERE'S A BALANCE BETWEEN MAKE SURE YOU HAVE APPROPRIATE DISTANCING AND, UH, FACE COVERING. AND IN SOME INSTANCES IT, YOU MAY NOT HAVE A FACE TO FACE COVERING, BUT IF YOU HAVE APPROPRIATE SOCIAL DISTANCING THAT THAT MAY BE ANOTHER MITIGATING FACTOR. AND, AND SO, UM, IN TERMS OF THE COORDINATION, THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION, I THINK THERE THAT WE CERTAINLY CAN DO BETTER. UM, AND, UM, I THINK YOU'VE SEEN STATES TRY TO REGIONALLY COORDINATE AREAS, UM, ACROSS THE COUNTRY. UM, AND, UM, I, I, I, I WISH I HAD AN ANSWER. I DON'T, AND, AND, UM, PERHAPS SOMEONE ELSE WHO'S, WHO'S ON THE PANEL WHO, UM, I GUESS MAYOR, MAYOR ADLER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE THE MAYOR OF THE WHOLE UNITED STATES AND, UH, MANDATE? UH, I WISH I HAD A BETTER ANSWER. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. IT ACTUALLY COMES DOWN TO THE ABILITY TO ENFORCE, RIGHT? SO I UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON IN TEXAS, BUT, BUT HERE IN GAINESVILLE, WE HAD AN ORDER THAT BASICALLY SAID EMPLOYERS, CUSTOMERS, OR RETAIL SPACES HAD WEAR MASKS AND WE CAN'T PUT A POLICE OFFICER AT EVERY LOCATION CLEARLY. RIGHT? AND SO WE ASKED THE CORPORATE AMERICA, YOU KNOW, LARGE, BIG BOX CHAINS TO, UH, TO HELP POLICE STAFF BY NOT LETTING PEOPLE INTO THEIR STORES WITHOUT MASS. AND WE, UH, WE GOT FLOODED WITH CALLS FROM CORPORATE LAWYERS, UH, TELLING US THAT THEY VALUE CUSTOMER RELATIONS MORE THAN, UH, ANY, UH, YOU KNOW, ENFORCEMENT ACTION THAT THE CITY MIGHT TAKE AGAINST THEM. UH, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THEY'D RATHER LET SOMEBODY IN THEN TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY TURN OFF A CUSTOMER OR FOR THE FUTURE. SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT CORPORATE AMERICA GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT THIS TOO, UH, WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY GOOD ENFORCEMENT OF FACIAL COVERINGS. DUDE, GO AHEAD IN THERE REAL QUICK SQUIRT REAL QUICK. CAUSE I AGREE WITH THAT BECAUSE I THINK BUSINESSES ARE REAL TUNED TO THEIR CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS WHY I THINK THAT A COMMUNITY COMPANIES TO REQUIRE FACE MASKS IF THE COMMUNITY NEVER, THE COMMUNITY AGREED TO, TO NOT GO TO RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS THAT WERE PARTICIPATING. UH, AND, AND I THINK WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THAT IN AUSTIN AND I ENCOURAGED THAT. YES SIR. FORGIVE ME FOR CUTTING IN THERE. I WANT TO TRY TO GET US IN ONE, UH, FINAL, UH, QUESTION FOR THE TIME BEING. I MEAN THERE, THERE'S SO MUCH WE COULD TALK ABOUT AND HOPEFULLY YOU ALL WILL JOIN US FOR A FUTURE BROADCAST ON THIS TOPIC SO THAT WE CAN COVER MORE OF THIS. BUT, UM, BOTH I THINK, UH, MANAGER FELMAN AND TUCSON SAVEDO HAD RAISED THE SORT OF THE, WHAT HAVE WE DONE WELL AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO RETHINK QUESTION. AND I THINK IT'S VERY INTERESTING TO BE THAT REFLECTIVE. I MEAN, CERTAINLY WE'LL HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK BACK AND DETERMINE WHERE GOVERNMENT SUCCEEDED AND WHERE THEY NEEDED TO PLAY A DIFFERENT ROLE. BUT I THINK IT'S HELPFUL FOR THE PUBLIC TO SHARE NOW, UH, WHERE THEY THINK, UM, THE PUBLIC, THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT HAVE, UH, SUCCESSFULLY HELPED THEM GET THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC. AND WHAT DO THEY NEED? THREE THINGS. SO IF YOU'RE ON THE PHONE AND WANT TO WEIGH IN, YOU CAN PRESS ZERO TO SPEAK TO A SCREENER OR YOU CAN CALL US TOLL FREE AT THE NUMBERS THAT ARE ON THE SCREEN. YOU CAN ALSO TEXT US WITH THE INFORMATION THAT'S UP ON SCREEN OR GO TO THE WEBSITE. YOU CAN ALSO TWEET US AT HASHTAG, UH, VIEW FROM YOU. UM, I'M GOING TO SEE IF I CAN TAKE A CALLER THAT'S BEEN STANDING BY AND KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF, UH, UM, A NUMBER OF CALLERS WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING, UH, FOR QUITE A WHILE. UM, [01:00:01] LET ME GO TO, LET'S SEE. LET ME TRY TO GO TO DANIEL, WHO'S ACTUALLY JOINED US FROM NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. UH, SO I'M GOING TO STAND BY FOR DANIEL IN NEW ORLEANS AND IF DANIEL, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE GO AHEAD. YES SIR. I HEAR YOU JUST FINE. HOW ARE YOU DOING TONIGHT? DOING FINE. OKAY. I SAID I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THE $1,200 IN THE STIMULUS MONEY IS GOOD THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD HAVE REALLY EXPANDED THE STIMULUS MONEY $5,000 AND GLITTER UP AT THAT TOBY OPERATOR WHO I'M SPEAKING TO. WHEN YOU GO TO THE STORAGE SITE TO GET BOXED FOOD OR WHATEVER, INDIAN AMOUNTS, THE FOOD HAS BEEN TREMENDOUSLY CUT DOWN. THE PRICES HAVE GREATLY GONE UP AND SERIOUSLY, YOU DON'T HEAR THAT MANY POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON DC SOAPING THEIR CARTS OR WHATEVER, YOU END UP THEM SCUFFLING WRONG. I LIKE TO KNOW TO RUN MASS THAT MEANT DONE TO MONITOR AND DO FOR THE WATER SYSTEMS ARE CHANGING WATER FILTERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS CORONA VIRUS AS WELL AS TO DEVELOP BRAND NEW FILTERS THAT COULD TEST THE CORONA VIRUS LIKE IN THE AIR CONDITION ADEX OR WHATEVER. WE, UH, WE APPRECIATE THE CALL. UM, I, THERE'S A LOT THERE TO UNPACK. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS WHO ARE WITH US TO CONTINUE TO, TO GIVE THOUGHT TO THE QUESTION THAT THAT'S UP ON THE SCREEN RELATED TO WHAT HAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND UH, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT IS UNWELL AND WHAT DO THEY NEED TO, TO CONSIDER DOING DIFFERENTLY. I WOULD ASK OUR PANELISTS IF THEY COULD VERY BRIEFLY JUST SHARE, YOU KNOW, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR AGENCY OR YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UM, HAS DONE THAT YOU EITHER DIDN'T IMAGINE LOCAL GOVERNMENT WOULD BE DOING OR THAT YOU, UM, WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOUR AGENCY IMPROVE ON IN THE FUTURE? LET'S DO A LITTLE OF THE REFLECTION PERHAPS THAT WE'RE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO DO IN TERMS OF YOUR AGENCY PERFORMANCE. I'LL JUST, I'LL, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO ANY OF ANY OF YOU. SO PAT, CAN I, WHAT CAN I START GUYS, WAS THAT I HAVE TO GET BACK TO THIS INCIDENT. I HAVE TO GET GONE. PLEASE DO. AT 34 YEARS AGO, ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO, I WAS ASKED BY A GUY IN AUSTIN WHAT, WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT? AND UH, HIS NAME IS DALE DUDLEY. HE'S A RADIO SHOW GUY IN AUSTIN. I'VE TOLD HIM A PANDEMIC A LITTLE BIT, I BELIEVE THAT WE ENDED UP IN THIS SITUATION AND THAT WE ENDED UP BEING THE SOCIAL DISTANCING POLICE AND YOU KNOW, THE MASS POLICE AND EVERYTHING ELSE. BUT I WILL SAY THAT THE ONE THING THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS DONE VERY WELL IN OUR CITY AND IN MOST CITIES IS WE'VE NAVIGATED THE POLITICS BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE POLITICIZED THIS ISSUE, WHICH IS REALLY A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. AND I CAN JUST SAY THAT IN OUR CITY AND MOST OF OUR CITIES HERE IN TEXAS, THE POLICE HAVE USED SUGAR. WE'VE USED HONEY AND WE'VE USED A LOT OF LOVE WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND IN HOUSTON WE HAVE YET TO MAKE AN ARREST BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO IS KEEP PEOPLE SAFE, UH, AND, AND TO THROUGH THEIR CONSENT. SO THANKS SARAH FOR READING, FOR GOING ON, BUT I'VE GOT TO GO TO GET, UH, GET GOING ON THE SCENE YOU SAY IF EVERYBODY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, I'M GOOD AT IT. BEFORE I HEAR FROM THE OTHER PANELISTS, JUST TAKE ONE, UH, LAST CALLER THAT I THOUGHT WAS RAISING AN INTERESTING QUESTION. UM, WE HAVE, UH, PAUL JOINING US FROM ATLANTA AND UH, WE ALL, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE GO AHEAD. HI LARRY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING MY QUESTION. I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO HEAR WHAT THE PANELISTS THINK ABOUT THE LONGER TERM. UM, CHANGES THAT THEY SEE ARE POSSIBLE IN OUR NATION AS A WHOLE AND IN THE LOCALITIES WHERE THEY'RE SERVING IN TERMS OF OUR SOCIAL LIFE, OUR POLITICAL LIFE OR ECONOMIC LIFE. I KNOW IT'S A KIND OF BIG LONGTERM QUESTION AND WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON THE SHORT TERM NOW, BUT MY HOPE IS THAT WE DON'T MISS OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE SOME REALLY GREAT CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR GREAT COUNTRY. OKAY. LARRY, GO AHEAD. DR. WASHINGTON. YUP. I'LL RESPOND TO BOTH QUESTIONS BRIEFLY. I THINK ON THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, UM, I, I THINK WE HAVE DONE A, A BETTER JOB AND WE'RE STILL LEARNING IT AS WE GO AND STILL IN, IN IMPLEMENTATION MODE. SO WE HAVEN'T HAD A WHOLE LOT OF TIME TO DO DEBRIEFING AND ASSESSMENT, BUT IT, WE'VE DONE A BETTER JOB OF, UH, SEEKING COMPLIANCE AND AS CHIEF ACEVEDO AND SAID, AND NOT OVER ENFORCING AND HAVE BEEN SENSITIVE TO, UM, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF EDUCATION AND AWARENESS AND CONFUSION BECAUSE YOU HAVE DIFFERENT, [01:05:01] DIFFERENT ORDERS, DIFFERENT STANDARDS FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, CDC, STATE GOVERNMENT, LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY. AND SO A LOT OF PEOPLE, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CONFUSED. AND SO WE HAVE DONE WELL IN RESPONDING WITH EMPATHY. UH, AND LIKEWISE, THERE HAVE BEEN NO, UM, ARRESTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE BECAUSE OF, UH, ANY ISSUES RELATED TO SOCIAL, SOCIAL DISTANCING. IT'S A MATTER OF FACULTIES. WE'VE TRIED TO EVEN DEESCALATE AND HAVE A NON-SWORN, UH, OFFICERS ARE CALLED ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS HELP TO RESPOND TO SOME OF THOSE COMPLAINTS AND SEEKING EDUCATION. I THINK, UM, MOVING FORWARD, OUR WHOLE NARRATIVE IN OUR WHOLE WAY OF THINKING ABOUT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IS CHANGE. I THINK IT'S BROUGHT UP THE LACK OF, UM, OUR, THE HEIGHTENED, UH, AMPLIFIED, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS AMPLIFIED, UH, WHERE WE'VE HAD THIS PORTION, THIS PORTION OF HEALTH OUTCOMES THAT'S BROUGHT LIGHT TO THAT. AND IT'S ALSO MADE US RETHINK ABOUT ENVIRONMENTALISM AND SUSTAINABILITY. WE SEE NOW WHAT IS POSSIBLE AROUND CARBON REDUCTION AND TELECOMMUTING WHEN WE HAVE TO DO IT GIVEN PEOPLE HAVE THE TOOLS TO DO IT IN, HAVE EQUITABLY THOSE TOOLS TO DO IT. AND MANY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE LACK OF CARBON FOOTPRINT IN THIS ENVIRONMENT AND WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL THAT, THAT SOME OF IT, SOME OF THAT LOWER COSTS, THE COST OF, OF, UH, ENERGY HAS NOW SHIFTED FROM THE WORKPLACE TO SOME PEOPLE'S HOMES. AND UM, THAT'S, THAT'S AN ADDED BURDEN FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO, WHO MAY NOT BE HAVING THE SAME LEVEL OF INCOME THAT THEY HAD BEFORE. AND NOW HAVING TO DO THINGS OUT OF THEIR HOMES. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO UM, TO, TO LEAVE IT THERE FOR RIGHT NOW. UM, I'M DEEPLY INDEBTED TO THE PANELISTS AND I WANTED TO JUST ASK THE AUDIENCE, THIS IS A BIT OF AN EXPERIMENT FOR US. AS YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS THAT HAVE BEEN BROADCAST ARE MEANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO CALL IN AND ASK QUESTIONS OF, OF EXPERT PANELISTS. AND BY, BY ALL MEANS, OUR PANELISTS ARE EXPERTS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE ROLES. BUT, UM, THIS WAS KIND OF A REVERSE TOWN HALL WHERE THE GOAL WAS TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO BE THE FOCUS OF THE BROADCAST. AND SO WE WANT TO KNOW HOW LIKELY YOU WOULD BE TO ATTEND ANOTHER BROADCAST LIKE THIS ONE. AND SO IF YOU'RE RESPONDING VIA TEXT, YOU CAN SEE THE CHOICES UP ON THE SCREEN. UH, HIGHLY LIKELY WOULD BE A PRETTY LIKE, ALL RIGHT, COMES IN OUR PHONE AUDIENCE. WE'RE GOING TO RUN THIS LAST POLL HERE AND YOU CAN VOTE ON YOUR PHONE. AS USUAL. WE WANT TO KNOW HOW LIKELY, WHAT'S A CONVERSATION LIKE THIS? UH, SO YOU CAN RESPOND VIA A TEXT MESSAGE AND THOSE ON THE PHONE CAN ALSO RESPOND VIA PHONE. I'M VERY ENCOURAGED BY WHAT I'M SEEING THERE AND I WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY AS WE'RE, UM, FINISHING THIS OUT TO THANK THESE EXTRAORDINARILY BUSY PANELISTS WHO ARE SERVING SO SELFLESSLY THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES. LEE FELDMAN AND CITY MANAGER, GAINESVILLE MAYOR, STEVE ADLER IN AUSTIN, DR. MARK WASHINGTON, THE CITY MANAGER OF GRAND RAPIDS. WE WERE ALSO JOINED BY TWO FONTS SAVEDO AND WE WERE JOINED BRIEFLY BY JUDGE SARAH ECKHARDT AND WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THEM MAKING THE TIME TO THE THREE OF YOU THAT ARE STILL WITH US. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING SOME TIME TO, TO CONVERSE, UH, WITH YOUR, UH, WITH YOUR PUBLIC. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, WE WANT TO JUST GIVE YOU AN INDICATION OF HOW YOU CAN KIND OF STAY APPRISED OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT. UM, SO WE WANT TO ACTUALLY PUT ONE MORE SLIDE UP ON THE SCREEN BEFORE WE DROP AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE OUT. UH, SO GIVE US JUST A SECOND. WE'RE GONNA SHOW YOU, UH, THE WEBSITE AND THE WAY YOU CAN . I ALSO WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL THE, UH, SPECIAL, UH, BACKDROP THAT WAS DEVELOPED BY SAMMY SCHOOLER, AGE EIGHT. HE'S MANAGED TO GET ALL OF THE STATES REPRESENTED IN AND DRAW THEM FAIRLY ACCURATELY. I THINK DR. WASHINGTON AND MR FELDMAN WILL AGREE THAT MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA ARE DRAWN, UH, FAIRLY ACCURATELY TO SCALE. SO THANKS TO SAMMY AND TO THE REST OF MY FAMILY PUTTING UP WITH THIS BROADCAST TONIGHT. THEY'RE ALL HERE WATCHING. UH, WE JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU WAYS THAT YOU CAN KEEP IN TOUCH. UH, YOU CAN REVIEW THE VIDEO@AVIEWFROMYOU.COM. YOU CAN CONTINUE TO POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAG VIEW FROM YOU. YOU CAN REACH US@LARRYATAVIEWFROMYOU.COM OR YOU CAN CALL OUR HOTLINE AND LEAVE US A MESSAGE AT 809 THREE, FOUR, NINE. ONE EIGHT TWO, AGAIN, 809 THREE FOUR, [01:10:01] NINE ONE 82, UH, WANT TO MAKE A SPECIAL NOTE TO THANK SOCIAL PINPOINTED CONSULTATION MANAGER FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF OUR PROGRAM TONIGHT TO THE NATIONAL CIVIC LEAGUE AND TO OUR PANELISTS, ESPECIALLY FOR TAKING THE TIME. MOST IMPORTANTLY THOUGH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR BEING PART OF THIS CONVERSATION AND WE HOPE YOU'LL STAY SAFE TONIGHT. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.