City to Spend Over $1.2 million for Four $20,000 Jobs

 

The City of San Angelo Development Corporation will consider a $1.2 million economic incentive for SkyWest Airlines to begin air service from Mathis Field to Houston Intercontinental.

COSADC will make available up to $1,000,000 in revenue guarantee to offsetdemonstrable quarterly revenue shortfalls in the operation of the air service per the agreement

COSADC shall provide $200,000 to the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce for direct advertising support of SkyWest air service.

SkyWest anticipates the creation of at least 4 FTE employees with an average salary of $20,000, and an initial operational investment of $1,000,000 resulting from the establishment of its regional corporate headquarters facilities within the City.

San Angelo saw Delta (Dallas), Conquest (Austin) and Continental (Houston) come and go from Mathis Field.  American Airlines has been the faithful air provider.  

Providing $1.2 million  for four jobs paying a mere $20,000 seems steep.  That's $300,000 in public money per job created.  There's more subsidy.

City will waive all airport rental and landing fees at the airport for a period of two years to facilitate SkyWest's operations in San Angelo

The value of waiving rental and landing fees was not included in the background packet.

COVID-19 Crisis Continues

 

The City of San Angelo reported three new COVID-19 deaths, 237 deaths to date  On November 2nd there had been 91 coronavirus deaths.

Positive tests increased from 5,076 on November 2nd to 14,305.  Currently hospitalized rose from 38 in early November to 106 patients as of today.  Total hospitalizations went from 700 to nearly 1,600 over that period..

Shopping in Walmart and Sam's Club this week I encountered a number of people without facemasks.  I was struck by their lack of respect for senior shoppers at greater risk for serious disease, even death.

At City Council Mayor Gunter cited a large number of deaths in the last week (12) and she encouraged people to get tested and seek treatment early if citizens have any symptoms.  Council did not hear from public health emergency staff about their response and actions/funding needed for improvements.  They did hear an item to support people struggling economically due to the pandemic.    The alarm bell is not audible from City Council members other than the Mayor.

The crisis continues given our 27% test positivity rate and the revelation that new variants have been found elsewhere in our country that are more efficient in spreading from one person to another. 

Consider the progression of COVID-19 from studies:

• The first symptoms begin from two to 14 days after you have been exposed to the virus. A new study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests a median time of about five days.
• The average duration of fever was 12 days. Ninety-nine percent of the patients studied had a fever. About 50% felt fatigued and had a dry cough, with 33% having difficulty breathing and complaining of muscle pain.
• The study showed that 85% of those with the virus only experience “phase one” of the virus’s course. Phase one encompasses the first seven days of symptoms (see below). Those with more critical cases of COVID-19 went on to suffer more severe symptoms that last for two more weeks, on average.
• Age is a strong risk factor for severe illness, complications and death
• For those who do not survive the virus, the average number of days from onset of symptoms until death is 18 1/2 days.
  

Citizens could be developing symptoms now from exposure over the New Year holiday.  Those that perish from the disease could do so the end of this month.   This progression is important to understand.  Mayor Gunter continues to stress our medical community has medicines that can change the course of COVID-19 for citizens.  That word should be spread far and wide.   

Update 1-17-21:  With five more deaths reported today the total is now 250.   The New Year began with 211.  We've had 39 deaths reported in seventeen days.

Update 1-25-21:  Texas deals with high hospitalizations and hundreds of daily deaths from COVID-19

Update 2-1-21:  COVID-19 related deaths for January totaled 64.  There have been 275 deaths reported by the City Health Department since the pandemic began.

Update 8-26-21:  The Delta variant of COVID-19 hit San Angelo in July and is running through our community, hitting citizens of all ages.  Deaths rose greatly in the last week.  Local Health Official Dr. James Vretis ordered people to wear masks in schools.  The order starts today and runs until October 15th. 

Health Department Makes COVID-19 Vaccine Call

Mayor Brenda Gunter and Tom Green County Judge Steve Floyd held a press event mostly focused on vaccines on December 30th.   Yahoo News reported:

For the most part, state health departments say vaccines will be available at some combination of local hospitals, health departments, pharmacies, medical offices, and Federally Qualified Health Centers. The federal government has partnered with large chain pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. 

Texas said the decisions and procedures would be left up to each of its 50 individual local health departments.

San Angelo City Council cut the budget for the City-County Health Department in the midst of a pandemic.  The only clinical functions left at the Health Department are STD testing and treatment, TB testing and treatment and the administration of vaccines.  The Health Department is not listed a possible source for COVID-19 vaccines.  Sites given include Shannon Pharmacy and HEB's two pharmacies.  

On December 15, 2020 Shannon Medical Center received 1,950 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine, and began administering doses to the Phase 1A priority group. The Phase 1B priority group should begin soon.

The City referenced State of Texas priorities for vaccines.  Local police received the vaccine even they are not expressly in the 1A group for receiving vaccines.

The San Angelo Health Department is remaining vigilant and monitoring the developing outbreak, alongside its public health partners, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the CDC.  

The Health Department is responsible for Public Health Emergency Preparedness.

Public Health Emergency Preparedness is responsible for planning, preparing for and responding to all types of public health threats and emergencies that impact the health of San Angelo.

COVID-19 vaccine administration is part of that response.  The Health Department has staff capable of administering vaccines to the public.  It's unclear if City staff will play any role in vaccinating citizens.  Department leaders are making that call.  The City chose not to use any federal funding for testing citizens by health department staff.

The San Angelo Health Department does not administer COVID-19 tests. The Health Department is responsible for reporting testing information to the state. 

Houston's Health Department offers COVID-19 testing, alongside many partners.

"Remaining vigilant and monitoring the outbreak" sounds relatively hands off for a department charged with responding to a pandemic that has killed 218 and hospitalized 1,448 people in our community.

Update 1-6-21:  The City announced it would administer a limited number of COVID-19 vaccinations to citizens without a primary care physician

Mayor Gunter Recommended Early COVID Testing

 

 Mayor Brenda Gunter encouraged citizens with mild COVID-19 symptoms to get tested.  She made her recommendation during public comment at this morning's City Council meeting.  Area health care providers have Regeneron's antibody drug in stock and it is expressly for patients in the early phase of COVID-19.

One had to watch the Council meeting or view the video to learn this information.  A search for Regeneron on the City's COVID-19 webpage produced no matches.

Facebook users learned several days ago that hair and nail salons produced a higher number of positive cases recently.  This is the first information shared from contact tracing since a warning to people who'd visited the Walmart on Sherwood Way at a specific time/date.  That was early in the pandemic.  Council is yet to hear a presentation on how the public health emergency plan is going and what resources/changes are needed to keep citizens safe.

Bad Month for COVID-19

 

COVID-19 cases nearly doubled in just over a month.  Hospitalizations rose 60% while deaths soared 88%. 

The crisis is here which is why the Rodeo was postponed until April.

 While nearly everyone wore a mask local leaders sat elbow to elbow.

PGAP Application Withdrawn

 

The Concho Valley will not have a new natural gas pipeline from Tellurian anytime soon.  Yahoo Finance reported:

Tellurian Inc. discarded its plan of developing the Permian Global Access Pipeline (“PGAP”) worth $4.2 billion in Texas and Louisiana, following the departure of CEO Meg Gentle from the company.

Tellurian stated that it revoked its application from U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC”) review. 

The company previously dropped the project from its capital budget, as shown in an investor presentation   Tellurian CEO Meg Gentle left the company with a robust exit package.

Update 6-9-21:  Morgan Stanley said the pipeline could be back on the table.  "The project features plans to build a $4.2 billion pipeline to bring supply from the Permian Basin.  While those plans have hit snags in recent months, Morgan Stanley analysts expect a final decision on the project within a year."

Update 3-10-23:  Tellurian's Chief Financial Officer resigned effective today according to an SEC filing.  The company's Chief Accounting Officer will assume the CFO duties.  That gentleman is a CPA but that means less and less in today's world of ethical lapses and distorted numbers.

Update 2-25-26:  Tellurian sold out to Woodside Energy, which is developing the LNG export site in SW Louisiana but is yet to resurrect the PGAP pipeline.  The LNG trains are part of the Trump administrations trillions in new U.S. investment, even though the project broke ground in March 2022.

Coronavirus Emergency Deepens

 

San Angelo Mayor Brenda Gunter stressed the serious outbreak of COVID-19 in West Texas and the impact on Shannon Medical Center.  Tom Green County Judge Steve Floyd could not attend the meeting as he'd been exposed to someone who tested positive.

Had 61 people been murdered in the Concho Valley in November citizens would be in an uproar. That's how many people died of COVID-19 last month.  

Deaths continue at a rapid pace for December, eight patients in three days.   It's long past time for everyone to do their part.  Yet, that's the message local leaders continue to give.  Lives depend on citizens wearing masks, social distancing and frequently washing hands until a vaccine can be administered in sufficient numbers to protect our population.  

Update 12-4-20:  The City reported five more COVID-19 deaths today.

Update 12-7-20:  One week into the month and our community has had 20 COVID-19 deaths.  This is the emergency folks.  

Update 12-9-20:  The Rodeo has been postponed until April, however the Livestock Show will remain as scheduled in February.  Local leaders were present for announcement, roughly elbow to elbow.