On Thursday, October 27, the San Antonio Chamber Board of Directors met for the October Board meeting. Chair of the Board Phil Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. and Frost Bank, welcomed the large number of Board members who attended in-person and virtually.
Following the approval of the September Board Meeting minutes, the meeting kicked off with a report from Immediate Past Chair Hope Andrade, Co-Founder & Partner of GO RIO San Antonio River Cruises, on the recommendations from the Nominating Task Force, including the Executive Board slate, which the Board voted unanimously to approve. The Board also approved the recommendations for the 2023 Council, Committee and Task Force Chairs, who will serve as part of our 2023 leadership team.
Public Policy Council Chair Taylor Dawson, Senior Vice President, Pape-Dawson Engineers, reviewed highlights from the Chamber’s State Legislative Agenda, which the Board approved, along with the Metro 8 Agenda, which will guide the work of the Metro 8 Chambers in Texas.
Cacie Madrid, Vice President of Public Policy, then presented the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) Rate Restructure Position Statement. After many questions from Board members, the Board approved the position statement. Next, Richard Perez, President and CEO, gave a brief update on the City’s Energy Benchmarking Ordinance, which will not go before City Council until late 2023.
Richard also presented a high-level overview of the Chamber’s Strategic Plan, which will be approved by the Board at the December meeting and will guide the Chamber’s efforts for the next three years.
During his President’s update, Richard called on Lori Stinson, Vice President of Military Affairs and Leadership Development, to give an update on Military Affairs and Leadership Development. Katie Ferrier, Vice President of Education and Workforce Development, also provided an update on the San Antonio Foundation for Free Enterprise (SAFFE), which is a 501(c)(3) organization that fosters economic and community prosperity for our region, and the Chamber’s plans to revitalize the foundation. Richard informed the Board members about a Charter Amendment Initiative being led by ACT 4 SA that, if passed, would decriminalize low-level marijuana possession and expand cite-and-release for nonviolent misdemeanors, in addition to other things. ACT 4 SA is currently gathering signatures necessary that would allow the amendment to be added to the May ballot. Finally, Richard reminded the board that as a result of a 2018 City Charter Amendment, our current City Manager Erik Walsh has a term limit of eight years and a salary cap of no more than ten times the annual salary of the lowest paid full-time city employee. Erik is four years into his position, and we need to begin preparing to change that City Charter Amendment.