Hi.

Hello.

Welcome to San Antonio Files.

My name is Leigh Munsill.

I'm the editor in chief of the San Antonio Report.

And I'm joined today by EriK Walsh, the city manager of San Antonio, to have a conversation about Bexar County's growth and San Antonio's growth and what that means for our community.

So if you'll join me in thinking, Erik Walsh, for being here, he's now a native of San Antonio.

Erik Walsh began serving as city manager on March 1st, 2019.

He leads the city's operations, organizational development, budget, fiscal policy and contract management.

Previously, Walsh worked as deputy city manager and assistant city manager.

He's a product of Central Catholic High School and has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a master of Science in Urban Administration from Trinity University right here in San Antonio.

So thank you for being here.

Thanks for having me.

Our theme for City Fest 2023 is Meet the Moment, which actually jumps off in a way, a sit down we did with Mayor Nirenberg earlier this year about his priorities for his final term.

At the time, we talked a lot about the momentum that was building in San Antonio from excitement over the Spurs and other local sports efforts to the rebound of tourism and demographic growth that we're seeing in our city and county.

Now, what the mayor said in June was that our moment is now and all the stars are aligned, he said.

And the world is going to see what San Antonio has been working toward and capable of for so many years now.

I would say that's a very optimistic sentiment.

But as city manager, you're the person who's tasked with much of the responsibility for managing that growth.

The actual execution of winning the moment in many ways is up to you.

So to start, can you talk a little bit about this moment of growth and what it means for San Antonio from your seat as city manager?

Well, I'm optimistic also that, you know, San Antonio, the quarter between San Antonio and Austin's one of the fastest growing corridors in the country.

And we're an old city with old infrastructure.

And so, you know, the balance that I think that we have to strike is continuing to make sure that from housing, from an infrastructure standpoint, the airport's a big piece of this, that we are building the infrastructure for that growing city, while also maintaining what we have.

And that's not that's not anything that that that any other large municipality in this country has to deal with.

But because of the rapid growth that we have seen and that we will continue to see it, it means we've got to do it.

We've got to do it right.

We've got to do it thoughtful.

And, you know, the mayor and the council have laid out a number of priorities that we're executing on, you know, $1.2 billion bond program.

Our largest ever is.

And we're all in design.

So, you know, you drive around and you see all of the construction.

None of that is from the $1.2 billion bond program.

So progress is going to be painful.

But but it's that balance and making sure that we're being responsive to the the changing environment.

And all of that is underlay with the the the belief and the desire that, you know, you want San Antonio to stay San Antonio.

So it's it's a it's a big task, but a lot of a lot of positive things.

Yeah.

I'm glad you brought up the bond because that was something I wanted to ask about.

So we'll jump ahead a little bit.

But as you mentioned, many of the 2017 bond projects are still kind of reaching their completion or in the process of being completed.

And we're already well into the 2022 cycle.

The bond the city successfully asked voters to approve last May was the biggest in city history at a total price tag of $1.2 billion.

But when you pass a bond that big, you know this better than anyone.

You have to make sure the staffing is in place to pull it off.

You have to find and work with contractors, for example, when it comes to road projects, construction projects, you have to keep them on schedule so that there is non disruptive to local business as possible.

So I wanted to ask, have the size of our bonds exceeded our ability to execute on that?

No, I don't think so.

I mean, I think when you look at the 2017 bond program, there's eight or nine projects that are in construction are having begun.

Half of them are due to changes that tech start made, three or four of them are projects that were also added into the 22 bond program.

There are two or three projects that I think probably won't pan out.

One of them is Lone Star, that in 2017 the voters approved the project in that area and that development hasn't happened.

So we'll need to think through what we do with that.

A year ago, we added capacity to be able to deliver a much larger bond program.

To your point and and, you know, part of the part of the thinking is and the commitment is that by the time the voters go back to the ballot in 2027, that 90% of those projects will be completed or under construction.

And that's what we're staffed for.

Undoubtedly, You know, you can always do things better.

I think the council's given us the tools to better hold contractors accountable under state law.

We're trying to improve how we communicate to the public or to the business community or the corridor.

We are working hard with SaaS.

I mean, if the trick here is that if we're spending $10 million on a on a street that hadn't been worked on in 50 years, you know, we ask ourselves the question along with SaaS and CPS, does that underline infrastructure need to be updated because we haven't touched the street in 50 years.

I'm positive SaaS and it's real easy for for us to design sidewalks, lights and streets and then construct that, but we take a full approach.

The last thing I want to do is it's been $10 million on the street and two years later, the water, the sewer main breaks because it's 60 years old and we got to redo it all.

So we partner with Saw as a key piece to to to replace that that infrastructure.

And that can be painful.

You know I I've seen this video of of construction in Europe where they they shut everything down for four days and they build a bridge.

And so I have these dreams that we can do that here.

And so in the 2020 or 2022 bond program, we're in design right now, we'll start building those contracts, those projects in about a year, and we're going to change the way we do them.

And we're going to we're going to want contractors to finish them a lot sooner.

And so what's your message to local businesses who are concerned about, you know, construction happening on their streets or things taking a while?

Well, stay engaged.

I mean, stay engaged.

I mean, I think I think we have improved our communication to those corridors or those neighborhoods.

I personally stay engaged, but businesses have to stay engaged.

And part of the part of what we started last year was making sure that we add things like marketing for those businesses within our within our organization, the work of social influence, media, social media influencers to help guide that that traffic back.

Undoubtedly, when the street is torn up, we want to make sure that that that people still have access.

I want to talk a little bit about the scale of growth, what we're talking about right here.

Bear County, which houses San Antonio, is one of the fastest growing geographic areas in the country.

We're consistently at the top of the pack in terms of annual population growth for major cities with more than 2 million residents and greater San Antonio is projected to welcome another 1 million new residents between 2010 and 2040.

I'd like to ask you how hard is it to manage growth on that scale?

How do you make the changes to infrastructure, all of that as people are already arriving?

It's difficult and it's difficult because we've got $3 billion worth of street and sidewalk need.

We've got two and a half billion dollars worth of drainage need.

So prioritizing and making sure that we're maintaining our infrastructure is is really key.

And part of that is is the work of having a strategic housing implementation plan where I feel like the city worked hard in advance of of of of it really being a crunch in San Antonio where we have a plan with targets.

We have funded it, we have executed it.

The voters have approved a housing bond in 2022 of $150 million.

And, you know, we've contracted out $81 million of that already.

There are 4500 housing units under development in the pipeline as a result.

And we'll also contract the rest of it out this year.

But we've moved quickly because time is money and prices go up and values go up and more people arrive and there are neighborhoods, older neighborhoods that are changing.

What portion of any future housing stock that we add needs to be infill versus sprawl?

And how do you get developers to be partners on efforts to infill our city with more housing versus vacuuming up more land on the outskirts?

Well, it's a balance between working with the neighborhoods and the city, not making it difficult.

And and certainly there are some of nape, some neighborhoods that have already started.

You start to see that transformation.

But developers and neighborhoods have to communicate.

The city has to be a good facilitator and we can't make rules burdensome.

We are never not going to sprawl.

I mean, and as much as as much as and this is strictly from my perspective, we're not going to be a landlocked San Francisco.

We are not Manhattan.

We will continue to sprawl.

But I think coming with that with is the infrastructure challenges, the roadways.

And some of that happens outside the city of San Antonio.

But how is the city and the county working to make sure that those road systems, those infrastructure systems are built to be able to continue to withstand that?

You know, and whether that is out west, out, east, out, out I-10 or down on the south side, it will continue to sprawl.

Are you concerned about housing affordability as we sprawl and more people are coming in to San Antonio?

And of course, I would imagine you are.

But but how are you working on that issue?

I think it's I think it's a balance between market housing and affordable housing.

It's not one or the other.

And so, you know, I think when you look at infill opportunities versus new construction on the outskirts of the city limits market and affordability I think is I think there's a balance there.

I don't think it's one or the other in my mind, the economy doesn't work that way.

There's got to be there's got to be a balanced growth.

Our role is not to make it burdensome, make it efficient.

And as long as there are opportunities to grow again, whether that is on the outskirts of town or that's an infill, then I think the I think the I think the market will drive some of that.

Where we can tip the scale a bit is on the deployment of affordable housing dollars and making sure that from a location standpoint, you've got a good geographical spread of affordability, affordable housing.

One of the most challenging issues our city is facing right now is homelessness.

The Cities 2024 budget invested heavily in efforts like prevention programs, outreach workers, shelters and more clean up operations at encampments.

How long will it be until we start seeing a return on those most recent investments for efforts that are newer to San Antonio or a bit more experimental, like low barrier, low barrier or permanent supportive housing?

Have you given yourself a benchmark when you need to see them succeeding before you try a different approach?

Well, I've told the staff last week that's what I wanted, but in my mind it is probably by January, February, we have increased resources.

Let me back up a second.

We did a we did a budget survey this year that and hired a group out of out of state that does an of scientific statistically valid surveys and homeless encampments were the number one issue in nine of the ten district Council districts and it was number two in the 10th.

And so clearly encampments and homeless outreach is top of mind for the general public.

And so part of what we've done and and it's the first time we've ever done this, the last point in time count last earlier this year had a little over 800 unsheltered individuals that were counted.

And we've set a benchmark this year to get 400 of them into shelter.

We're doing that a number of different ways.

One, because of those investments that the city has made, we've got premier support of housing developments that opened up earlier this year.

We're using the last of our ARPA dollars to open a low barrier shelter so that we've got a place for people to go.

And then we increased our our encampment cleanup opportunities and resources, and that's literally staff or contracts where we're we'll go and clean up.

And I think the second commitment that we made to the public this year was that if you call 311, we'll do the outreach, which is a necessary part of this.

And the third thing that we're going to we're going to be more intentional about is is better communicating with those neighborhoods that are impacted or those commercial corridors.

There's so much speculation out there about this topic to the point where it's hard to tell what's actually going on.

But the new local ownership of the San Antonio Mission's minor league baseball team have signaled their desire to build a new stadium in or near downtown.

And the Spurs have a 30 year lease agreement with Bear County that expires in 2032, which is down the road.

But it hasn't stopped the very loud whispers about a new downtown arena for them as well.

What can you tell us about the possibility of a downtown sports venue or two in our near future?

So, I mean, those whispers have been going on for years and years and years.

The mayor and I have had preliminary conversations with the Spurs earlier in the year.

We've had conversations with the county about just generally the topic.

And the mayor and I have had preliminary actually last week, a preliminary conversation with the mission's ownership.

And they're trying to finalize a plan that I would expect we would see maybe by the end of the year.

And so that's going to take a very real long time for and it's a very public conversation.

Look at other cities, whether it's Major League Soccer or NBA or Major League Baseball.

These issues have to ferment out in the open.

I will tell you that from our standpoint, from the city standpoint, there is an opportunity for us to do something different downtown.

But a year ago, we started looking at you look at Austin and Dallas are going to tear down their convention centers and and build brand new.

So what are we doing from a competitive standpoint now?

Our convention center opened up in 2017.

We don't need to do that.

But where are our competitors at?

And and and in terms of market share.

And so we will be looking at expanding the convention center, likely vertical and making sure that we've got the ability to to keep San Antonio vibrant.

Part two of that is what are we going to do with the Alamo Dome?

The Alamo Dome celebrated their 30th anniversary this year, bought and paid for in five years when it opened up 30 years ago.

And we are bursting at the seams and we are going to have to we're going to keep that facility.

We're going to have to spend a significant amount of money to remain competitive with other major multi-purpose stadiums in the country.

And then you've got Hemisphere Park that has been incrementally over the last 20 years, 15 years been received funding from our every five year municipal bond program.

And, you know, by the time we finish that, it is going to be, you know, another 20 years from now.

So how do we do something different in that entire area?

Those are things we're looking at.

And I suspect that as the city and the county and the Spurs ownership and the mission baseball folks finalize their plan, that there may be an opportunity.

But when when that happens, there's going to be a whole lot of thought and financial analysis behind that and a lot of public conversation.

Do you think there's enough desire for new sports stadiums that voters would approve using tax or bond money to pay?

Yes, that's that's a better question for somebody else.

I mean, I mean, look, go look at how other cities do it.

There's they they run the gamut.

Some are 100% privately funded somewhere, 100% publicly funded.

That's the debate and the conversation that that needs to happen out in the public.

Yeah, deciding how to use surpluses from the cities, utilities, CPS, energy when they happen has been a pretty dramatic process in recent years.

On the city council.

Meanwhile, the state legislature has been looking critically at municipally owned utilities.

How much do you worry about the city's ability to protect that source of funding, which accounts for such a large share of the general fund?

Yeah, I mean, it's 25 26% of our general fund.

And it is important.

And I think it's I think we lose sight of the fact that the city purchased CPS 80 years ago and we have return on our on our investment.

And unlike a lot of major cities in the state that only have two main revenue sources, property tax and sales tax, we have three.

That gives us the ability to have a lower tax rate, that gives us the ability to be a little bit more diversified.

And whether recessions or changes in the economy.

But it is a big part and I think the city needs to continue to be a responsible owner.

If CPS was a private company, they'd be paying property taxes like you and me.

They would be paying for the use of our right away for all the lines.

And so they don't in this case.

And we get a return on their on on their revenue.

And so we all benefit from that.

And and with 25, 26% of that going to the general fund, that's where we fund all our our core functions public safety, public works, parks, libraries and what have you.

Mayor Nirenberg has signaled his intention to form a charter review commission to consider increasing salaries for the City Council, mayor and city manager, as well as adjusting the term limits for city manager.

As the charter is currently written, a city manager can only serve a maximum of eight years, meaning the last year you could hold the role is 2027.

If the charter were to change, would you be interested in keeping your job past 2027 or do you have ambitions outside City Hall?

I'm interested in keeping my job this week and next week that that is.

Boy, I get a lot of questions about that and I don't answer any of them because, you know, it's a there are there are other charter issues.

And I think the the mayor at some point is going to do that.

But I keep my my personal and professional opinion to myself because I don't think it's fair.

That's for everybody else to talk about.

I know you've been giving a lot of updates lately about the San Antonio Airport.

Why do you think the sorts of efforts were undertaking there, like adding a new terminal and routes in the years to come are important for our future?

Well, because we haven't grown that facility in forever.

And it it shows and it has not been a focus.

It is it is the most important thing that I have to do a city manager, he's used signs the airport director has who was the number two at Bush Intercontinental and ran Houston.

Harvey has put together a great team with a lot of experience.

I spend a fair amount of time, probably more time on the airport than any other topic.

And we've got to we've got to deliver.

I mean, look around.

I mean, it certainly is convenient, right?

The location.

But but the city has made it a focus and it has been a focus of mine.

I know it is a major focus of the mayor's.

The council has been extremely supportive.

We're moving at lightning speed.

We've spent a lot of time looking at other cities like Nashville and Kansas City that went through major renovations.

Well, the airport is a $5 billion a year economic impact of this region.

And because of changes in the airline industry, flights out of Del Rio, Laredo, Corpus Christi have been cut back.

And we've got folks driving from other parts of the state to use San Antone International, We have our first transatlantic flight next May.

We're up to 45 direct flight locations, our destinations, Mexico expansion is booming and making sure that we are thoughtful about growing that airport is critical and we just haven't done it.

The city hasn't done it.

The new terminal is going to be bigger than the two terminals that we've got now.

It is going to be the new front door to the airport and we're eager the council will be selecting the the general contractor here in December.

And we're finalizing we'll finalize design next year and begin working and open that up in 2028, because as we build this facility, we're looking not just what we need now, but what is the aviation industry going to pivot towards over the next 1015, 20 years?

And vetoes are are an important part of that.

Tampa airport just had their first test of the of those those aircraft.

And I know Dallas and Chicago O'Hare are looking at testing.

And so we're trying to be thoughtful.

We've hired folks.

Corgan is our designer.

And part of what they're looking at is just not the design of of, you know, where concessions are at the gates.

But what does that facility need to be for the next 20 years?

So there have been a number of recent high profile shootings of police officers by suspects with violent criminal records who are out on bail or parole.

And the San Antonio Police Department has been looking at its approaches to de-escalation and especially in mental health crises in the wake of the shootings of Eric Cantu and Melissa Perez by police officers.

San Antonio's hotspot policing strategy has shown some positive initial results with reports of violent crime down 12.6% citywide in the first six months of the year, though crime is up overall slightly by 1.5% due to an increase of property crimes, mostly driven by reports of motor vehicle theft.

Looking at the full picture as we talk about meeting the moment in San Antonio, are you confident that San Antonio is a safe place for people to live?

And what would you like to see change in our strategies on public safety?

Well, yes, I believe San Antonio safe and but and this is kind of rippling throughout the country.

There are, you know, violent crime seems more violent.

And I don't know if we are collectively being desensitized to violence because of things that happen in other parts of the world.

What we can do is make sure that we've got the resources and the follow through to be able to mitigate and respond whether it is violent or property crimes.

Part of that is making sure that we grow the police department.

And right now we report to the council in the springtime that on average, the average patrol officer spends 60% of their time on a call, add a call writing a report after a call and 40% of their time available available for patrol, available to talk to a neighborhood just being visible and the hotspot policing is is anchored in visibility.

And so what we shared with the council was a recommendation that let's flip that, let's let's have 60% proactive time and 40% of that officer's time spent on call.

And we'll need to add 360 officers over the next 3 to 5 years.

This year we had 117 50 of which were funded by the federal government and, you know, preliminarily, we're we're we're targeting an additional 65 in fiscal year 25.

We'll see how we how we stand financially next summer.

But increasing that visibility factor affects a lot of things.

It can deter crime.

It can provide a faster response time when something happens.

And and given the growth of the city that is happening and will continue to happen, we've got to make sure that we step that up.

But certainly we've seen a disturbing pattern.

And I think there's things that we've identified with the county that we can we can do better together because at the end of the day, it's about making sure the public feels safe and is safe and that folks are being held accountable for whatever they're tied up in.

Okay, we're just out of time.

So thank you so much for being here, City Manager Walsh, And thank you all for being here.

Thank you for joining us for San Antonio Files with Kayla and a Tony on the board having a conversation with City manager and.