LEADERS’ RETURN ‘LIKE LIFE AGAIN’
City Council holds in-person meeting for first time since June
Mayor Ron Nirenberg kept his distance from City Council members at their meeting Thursday.
But it wasn’t political. Or personal.
It was for purely health reasons. Nobody, including city leadership, wants to get COVID-19.
The City Council was meeting in person for the first time in more than three months as more and more of the city moves toward a new normal.
District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-sullivan said it was like coming back on the first day of school.
“There’s nothing like personal interaction. It makes a difference,” Andrews-sullivan said. “Today was one of those days where it felt like life again.”
She was sworn in as mayor pro tem as her colleagues applauded.
There were plenty of precautions taken at Thursday’s meeting. Council members, staff and visitors all were wearing masks. Acrylic screens were installed between each council member on the dais. Many of the seats in the audience area were blocked off to ensure so
cial distancing.
Police Chief William Mcmanus had his temperature taken just like everyone else who was entering the chambers. The microphone at the lectern was wiped off between speakers. There was sanitizer everywhere.
But the band was back together. “It was great to see most of my council colleagues again,” Nirenberg said. “The interactions are always more effective under one roof. Though it still looks a little different, I’m thankful that the public will have greater access to our A sessions.”
Nirenberg and seven other council members were at their usual places. District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales and District 8 Councilman Manny Peláez were on video screens at their places because they were out of town. District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry was absent for personal reasons.
“The work hasn’t stopped for my council colleagues and I, but having the opportunity to come together safely allows us to serve our residents better,” District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran said. “Returning to the council chambers today was a visual reminder that we are here for them every step of the way, and we will get through.”
The decision to return to in-person meetings came after infection rates and other coronavirus metrics continued to trend downward.
The last council A session held in person was June 25, when four council members participated remotely.
While the council’s Thursday meetings will be in person for the foreseeable future, council committee meetings and B sessions, which are held on Wednesdays, will remain virtual, said city spokeswoman Laura Mayes.
Residents who aren’t ready to venture out into the brave new world still can submit their comments online by going to the Thursday agenda posted at sanantonio.gov and clicking on ecomments. And the meetings still are livestreamed.
Thursday saw little action.
In the back of the chambers, more than a dozen protesters sat silently, holding up signs asking for justice for Darrell Zemault Sr., a West Side resident who was killed last month in a confrontation with police in front of his home.
Police said officers served two family violence warrants on Zemault on Sept. 15 and were attempting to handcuff him when he resisted. During the ensuing struggle, Zemault grabbed an officer’s gun, had his finger on the trigger and was trying to point the weapon at the officer, police said. A detective who was on the scene fired a single round into Zemault’s back.
“We pretty much want them to keep the same energy that they’ve kept for the national cases like Breonna Taylor,” said Hector Rodriguez, one of the silent protesters, “so that council can pressure Mcmanus or SAPD to release that body cam footage of what actually happened that day.”
The Zemault family has yet to see the body camera footage and hasn’t been told the names of the officers involved in the incident, said Celeste Brown, a close friend of the family.
Brown, Rodriguez and several others have been calling the mayor’s office to get the footage released to the family. They also have submitted an open records request on the family’s behalf. However, they have yet to hear back, Brown said.
According to state law, recordings documenting incidents involving deadly force by a police officer cannot be released to the public until all related investigations have concluded. Nirenberg has requested the release of the footage once the review is complete.
But a law enforcement agency can permit a representative of the deceased person in the footage to view the recording “providing that the law enforcement agency determines that the viewing furthers a law enforcement purpose,” the law states.
“We are still here and are not going anywhere,” Brown said. “We will be here every step of the way holding those with power accountable.”
The matter wasn’t on the agenda, and the protesters didn’t talk during the part of the meeting when residents can be heard. But Andrews-sullivan acknowledged their presence.
“Thank you for continuing to advocate for justice,” she told them.
“No one should be ignored when they’re taking a stance on having a voice heard,” she said. “Even though it was silent, it was powerful.”
The one item on Thursday’s consent agenda to be voted on individually was an almost $2.5 million contract for Meals on Wheels San Antonio to provide meal preparation and delivery for the Senior Nutrition Program.
Starting in January, Meals on Wheels will supply and deliver about 2,500 prepackaged meals to 52 sites around the city. The nonprofit, staffed largely by volunteers, will hold the contract until the end of September, but the city has the option to renew the contract annually for four more years for a total contract value of almost $18.2 million.
Gonzales was the only council member to vote against the contract; she preferred Selrico Services, which has held the contract for the last 15 years.
However, many seniors have complained about the meals, Andrews-sullivan said.
City staff recommended Meals on Wheels after interviewing and visiting the bidders and conducting a taste test. Staff scored each bidder based on experience, background, qualifications, plan, taste and pricing.
Though Selrico Services has other government contracts, such as providing meals for inmates and deputies at Bexar County Jail, Gonzales was concerned about the fate of the 200 San Antonians employed by the minority- and veteran-owned business.
Also, with the council’s recent push for racial equality, she said she was concerned about the lack of diversity on the Meals on Wheels board.
“We just passed another ordinance saying that racism is a public health crisis,” Gonzales told her colleagues Thursday. “And while this is not so obvious as we’ve seen with the police brutality, it’s still a form of racism when we deny our Latino organizations.”