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City Hall moves to single point of entry; Community Health & Safety reports staffing and senior services updates
Summary
The committee heard that City Hall now has a single point of entry for staff and the public; the Community Health & Safety Department also reported senior program growth, a new human services director hire, and an investigation into Austin's termination of Urban Alchemy contracts.
City staff told the Quality of Life Committee on Sept. 17 that City Hall now operates with a single point of entry for staff and the public, a security change the department said responds to recent public-safety incidents and aligns city practice with other government entities in the capital region.
The Community Health & Safety Department representative said, "We now have a a single point of entry for, staff and the public to come in through the main doors on Lincoln Avenue. This is in response to a handful of, public safety incidents across the country as well as here in Santa Fe and New Mexico more broadly." The representative added the change is intended to improve constituent experience through greeters who can orient visitors to offices.
Staff also reported progress on senior services and staffing. Director Sanchez Tucker will speak Sept. 24 at the New Mexico Conference on Aging in Glorietta and has been working on an age-friendly action plan alongside Councilor Chavez. The department said the Baile de Oro senior event drew more than 300 attendees this year, up from about 125 at the event's start three years ago.
The committee was told the human services division hired a new director, Leah Salaveri, who began work Monday. staff said Salaveri previously served as a district director for a city council president in Oakland and most recently worked at Pallet Shelter LLC, which designs emergency housing for people experiencing homelessness and displacement.
Staff said they are "working to investigate and understand more of the context around, the city of Austin's decisions to end their contracts with Urban Alchemy" and promised a briefing to the committee when additional information is available.
No policy actions, budget changes or formal directives were taken during the update; staff presented informational items and commitments to return with more information on the Austin/Urban Alchemy contract review.
