Travis County Commissioners Court
October 27, 2009,
Citizens Communication
Citizens communication is next.
this item gives residents an opportunity to address the court on any matter not on the agenda.
for up to three minutes.
cindy perrington and mike hancock first, gus pena second, ronnie reeferseed is third.
good morning.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners, cindy perrington, human resources, with me is mike hancock with white glove house call service, house call accept.
this is a new provider for united health care.
and therefore is available to Travis County employees.
most of you got an e-mail the other day announcing their service.
we did provide the names and addresses of our employees to this company.
one reason we're excited about this service is that we're expecting a bad flu season, we're already experiencing a bad flu season.
>> can I attest to that.
my husband is home with it now.
>> white glove will come to you.
where you don't have to leave your home or even if you're at the office.
they will come to you at the office.
they will come and see you within two to three hours of you calling them and asking for service.
they bring medication with them and all of the things that you see here as part of their service.
you pay your primary care office visit co-pay.
just like you would if you went to the doctor.
but they come to you.
they bring generic medication.
they triage you on the phone when you call to make your appointment, so they know what type of services that you need and make sure that -- that white glove is the appropriate level of service.
if it's an emergency situation like a heart attack or something like that, white glove would not be who you would want to call and they would refer to you the appropriate care.
but we're real excited about this because we definitely want people that are experiencing the flu to stay home.
we don't want to make -- spread the flu more than we already, you know -- it's humanly possible to with all of the kids in school and whatnot.
so we are excited about this.
this is an optional service, downtown have to use it.
all you pay is your office visit co-pay, or if they have to send out labs, they will run the labs through the regular health plan.
you pay your -- you don't pay for your pharmacy, your generic pharmacy that they bring to you.
so they throw the drugs in with the cost of your office visit co-pay.
now, if you need a name brand drug, they will run that through the health plan.
but generic, they will not.
i'm going to turn it over to mike right now and let him tell you a little bit more about white glove.
>> hi, I'm mike hancock in charge of business development for white glove house call health here in Austin.
we are certainly excited to have the opportunity to provide this service to the county employees, independents, cindy did a great job I think of summarizing what our care is all about.
i might also add that from the county's perspective there are a couple of significant value points that you will see over time.
the -- the way our business model is set up, we defer a very large number of claims away from the plan.
so over the year, what we would expect to see if we can get utilization and awareness of the availability of the service up is some significant savings to the county in terms of your health care spending against the plan.
in addition, of course, since we are coming to see the folks at work or at home, there are going to be times when for instance if you have a sinus infection or something and you feel like your head is about to fall off your shoulder, rather than have to leave and be gone for two or three or four hours a day to seek care and foods and beverages and over the counter meds.
you call white glove, we will be there in a few hours, we will bring everything to you.
you can get on the mend immediately and get right back to work.
so the productivity within the council -- the impact on productivity within the county could also be very good.
>> okay.
so county employees should contact human resources?
>> they can always contact me, judge, for anything benefits related.
everyone is going to get a welcome packet like we passed out to you this morning.
we're going to be providing those to the departments to pass out.
and you will get an occasional e-mail from white glove, not a lot, but you will get an occasional e-mail just to keep it where you are thinking about using them because it does save the plan money as we go along.
we do want this to be -- work in conjunction can our health care clinic, not to replace it by any means.
>> okay.
>> thank you.
>> thank you guys.
>> thanks.
>> mr.
pena is next.
ronnie reeferseed and then morris priest.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners, gus pena.
native east Austin night, 2327 east fifth.
number one, what I would like to deviate a little bit from my usual presentation briefly, talk about economic development and job creation.
there is a restaurant and I know it's going to sound like a commercial, but it's not.
it's the owners are a rainbow coalition I call it and they created jobs without the help of governmental entity funding.
hispanic female excuse me laura templeton, ronald chank, african-american male lawrence simton who played for the university of Texas, sherri schnieder, anglo.
they have brought in employees, set up a business to prosper, called china town, a chinese restaurant.
but two locations.
the issue is this: that we have gone to the city council many times to ask for assistance for economic development for people that prosper, want to build a -- a business and create jobs.
this is exactly the thing that we're looking at right now, to create jobs, economic development, being a restaurant in two locations.
like I said, good job, job well done to them.
veterans, support the veterans and show your appreciation for their service to our country and other people's country.
when vietnam was over, winding down, when we came back, we didn't have any kind of appreciation and support.
not that we asked for it or sought or looked for it.
our military personnel deserve our support and our appreciation.
please tell them, if you see a military veteran, thank them or her or him because they have taken a lot of -- to serve our country.
whatever your position of the war is, please support our troops.
reentry counseling, ptsd treatment, substance abuse treatment, job training, all are needed by the veterans that are coming back.
lucio and I attended a stand up for homeless veterans Saturday at the vfw post on alpine.
i wanted lucio to experience exactly what a homeless veteran goes through.
it was very emotional for me.
usually they don't walk up to anybody, they did to lucio.
he's 17.
but lucio learned a lot.
mentors, tutors, needed for our students in Austin independent school district, math, reading, et cetera, help us to keep students in school and not lose them to the dropout, data.
my last item is this, judge and Commissioner, social service agencies are running out of funding.
i know what our budgetary process looked like, be prepared because there's a lot of poverty out there.
the gap widens between the haves and have nots and the poor are becoming poorer.
we are losing more people to the homeless ranks and people that used to have jobs, there is no middle class, I don't care what anybody says, there is no middle class anymore.
please help them.
they need help.
our city, you on county needs our help, our kids need help.
let's keep them out of gangs, keep them out of the dropout rate, keep them educated.
i need to go, I want to say this much.
(brown) I loved ms.
pauline brown, I met her, she asked me to help her become part of the board over there, I couldn't, because -- I will wrap up -- at dove springs recreation, pan am recreation center, but you know what, I appreciate her, love her, miss her very much.
i talked to her two daughters this morning, wasn't to thank you for allowing us to appreciate your mom, also.
>> thank you, mr.
pena.
mr.
reeferseed.
>> thank you, all, I would like to thank mr.
pena as usual.
my name is obviously ronnie
>> [inhale] reeferseed.
saying no to drugs for growing brains, obviously.
but yes to peace and freedom through leadership.
true leadership on the world stage is possible for our very own president obama to help solve many problems with freedom.
absolutely freedom for farmers here at home will demonstrate to anyone that stabilization of family farms with absolute freedom to grow anything actually benefits the future for life on our garden planet by canceling the war on drugs, more money for family farmers means less money for organized crime, suddenly here in the u.s.
topsoil conservation with organic farming will explode overnight, doubling the number at least of farmers and gardeners here at home.
doubling the number, at least, among devoted farmers and gardeners here at home helps us all with better food, water, security for our nation.
more freedom for farmers to go organic means less relied on genetically modified organisms and pesticides.
it goes hand in hand, fist and claw, with in fluoride, msg, aspertane, face it, people, we are all being exterminated in many ways with many poisons because we are all just pests to evil people like john p.
holden science czar to the obama regime.
obama's true mission is to kill us, science, population resources and the environment, they call for population reduction through forced sterilization and tainted vaccines and fluor dated water, it's all in there, people, clearly not unrelated to the ongoing hysterical hype job to force us all to illegally line up to take those untested experimental vaccines, the fact that they are frantically saying pregnant women first for these untested experimental vaccines should prove to anyone that all out evil is in charge here.
whatever then a truly satanic worship of death could be behind this.
obama -- from american free press, 9-21 first edition, the best things that we could possibly do now is to to bring our troops home from afghanistan, iraq, japan, germany, all occupied countries and concentrate on mending badly damaged relationships around the world.
free and honest trade has always been the best way to do that without fail.
not understanding the benefits of peace, freedom and non-intervention, will always bring about catastrophe.
for weekly updates from dr.
paul, 888-322-141, on line Ron paul.org, lewrockwell.com.
infowars.com and for alex jones 90.1 f.m.
monday through Friday, 11:00 to 3:00, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
on Sundays, thank you so much.
>> thank you, mr.
reeferseed.
>> mr.
priest.
>> thank you, judge, Commissioners, morris priest for the record speaking on my own behalf.
i did want to bring to your attention that herbert r.
mcmain passed away, a battalion chief in the fire department for I guess 37 years, member of the faith lutheran church, served our community well.
i did want to say that we have a lot of people in our community and I'm glad that when I made a request earlier that one of the previous meetings of the Commissioners court recognized ms.
brown.
we have a lot of people in our community, mr.
mcmains was just another one of these people that searched our community well -- served our community well.
this great man, sweet, gentle, quiet person that everybody loved and I just wanted to let everybody know that his funeral will be tomorrow.
getting out way ahead of tyranny, we have this comprehensive plan at the city of Austin -- that the city of Austin is undergoing with land use tied into our transportation program.
when we go down to these agencies you can get these cd's that they have, this one says verbatim t.i.f.
plan comments petitions one through five, take on traffic letter and
>> [indiscernible] opinion analysis, inc., survey dated August the -- August of 2007.
the reason I bring that up is these documents that you see at these campo meetings, like I have here, they are authored by people that the public doesn't know who they are authored by.
they are authored in large part by the chamber of commerce and other agencies.
if you will look on their own website, you will see this transportation policy board and look up in the left-hand corner, this report that came out to the public on October the 21st was actually dated may the 11th, 2009.
when we go to these txdot meetings, we find out things that it appear that's the campo board doesn't know.
like I announced previously at a campo meeting that channel 6 chose not to air, as well as in the Commissioners court, we are having problems with our communication when we go down to the city council at these campo meetings.
i went to one meeting, channel 6 was supposed to be there, didn't even show up.
another meeting, they filmed it, showed it on channel 6 when it was going to be showed.
then that tape was destroyed.
the last meeting that I spoke at, the first seven minutes of the meeting wasn't broadcasted they lost the audio feed.
it doesn't matter.
one thing that you can always know if you are having an effect on people if they try to sensor you.
so -- censor you.
this activity has been going on for quite some time.
i have still been able to get on large radio networks, over 1:00 a.m.
stations, 100 f.m.
stations.
as much as they try to keep you from getting the word out there's a way to do it.
just wanted to let you know, when we go to these meetings it's important to be inform.
lack of knowledge, if you get informed, to go these meetings, ask for the documents, they will give them to you.
you can stay informed like they are trying to do right now with this comprehensive plan.
thank you, mr.
priest.
if you are holding slip number 4, now is your time.
slip number 4.
okay.
anthony walker.
jenani fritarto.
here on number 4, right?
then we will be at number 4 real soon, okay.
mr.
walker?
>> I want to start out by saying greetings and may peace be unto you.
to everyone who had a chance and opportunity to make it out here, I want to wish everyone and their family the best of health and the greatest in spirit.
i'm not here today because I'm trying to gain a friendship nor am I here to gain an enemy.
when I look back during the civil rights struggle when so many people who lost their life, black, white, hispanic, people who were concerned with equality who wanted changes, I have a lot of pain in my heart.
because I appreciate those who did what they did.
i made a promise and took an oath that I am my brother's keeper and my sister's keeper, something that I take to my grave with me.
we look at a lot of youth in our community who you might consider as gang bankers, criminals and thugs, who are living in low income housing projects.
a lot of these individuals is really looking for a way out.
they are not looking for hand out.
but this is america, america is a great nation.
but america is not about poor people.
america is about rich people, privileged people and powerful people.
and when you are an elected official, no matter what task you are, you have the duty and responsibility, you are the governor of the people forks the people, by the people, which means that you have to respond to the critical needs of the people.
if you are not going to respond to the needs of the people, that government need to be reformed or it need to be abolished.
how could we possibly affect it when all of the Commissioners are not here to hear what need to be said in this city, in this county.
there's a lot of issues going on in Travis County that's being ignored.
i'm not here today because I want to address one particular issue.
but I made a promise to a lot of residents that live at 8,000 decker lane.
subsidized housing complex which are leased out to low income families.
and they have a -- serious issues dealing with public transportation.
these people in this housing project have to walk more than one and a half to two miles to the closest capital metro bus stop.
when I see the 70-year-old lady that have to walk 45 minutes on a cane just to get to a bus drop to go to h.e.b.
to pay on her electric bill and 45 minutes to get back, that's pitiful.
when the man in the wheelchair who is struggling to get to a bus stop more than one and a half mile or two miles away, the city is not responding, that's pitiful.
when you go to the councilmember, Commissioners, everybody seeing everyone else, instead of taking up responsibility for themselves.
we have to find out what to do to get these people proper service.
that's something we owe to these people.
when capital metro made a promise and commitment to the city of Pflugerville when they voted capital metro out of their service area, they still made a promise to provide service.
they still provide service up to the h.e.b.
out there in Pflugerville until they built a multi-million dollar park and ride for them.
when they made a promise they committed to the people out in Cedar Park, service area, they built a multi-million dollar operation out there in northwest park and ride.
so who are we servicing for.
if you are going to stand up, stand up for everyone.
i want to close here.
on November 42008 america went to the polls and voted for changes.
it is time to start implementing those changes, every citizen in this city represents Austin being the city of Texas.
texas is the lone star state in america.
in america, my brothers and sisters in christ is one nation under god with liberty and justice for all.
may god bless us all.
>> > thank you, mr.
walker.
>> [ applause ]
>> anybody else for citizens communication?
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 1:40 PM
