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From YouTube: Inclusion Counts
Description
On this episode of Inclusion Counts, Rick Williams interviews David Pinkosky from the US Small Business Administration and Melissa Burrows from the City of Cleveland's Office of Equal Opportunity.
A
Hello,
my
name
is
rick
williams.
I'm
the
business
inclusion
manager
for
the
city
of
pittsburgh
office
of
mayor
peduto
office
of
equity.
Welcome
to
the
show
called
inclusion
counts,
inclusion
counts
as
a
show
that
educates
informs
and
inspires
minority
women
and
veteran
contractors
across
the
state
of
pennsylvania,
with
a
local
focus.
A
A
Our
first
guest
today
is
dave,
pakosky
business
opportunity.
Economic
development,
specialist
from
the
small
business
administration,
as
mentioned
in
our
last
show
dave
as
a
recurring
guest
will
provide
us
federal
program,
information
and
initiatives
occurring
in
our
region.
Welcome
to
the
show
dave
thank.
A
B
B
You
know
we're
getting
back
into
some
of
our
more
general
contracting
programs
and
certifications
and
trying
to
help
people
that
want
to
explore
that
space
a
little
more
and
get
into
the
federal
market,
because
one
of
the
things
that
you
know
we
noticed-
and
we
kind
of
mentioned
before-
is
federal
contracting,
really
wasn't
negatively
affected
by
the
pandemic,
which
was
great,
which
makes
a
lot
of
sense
when
you
think
about
it.
Our
federal
agencies
still
have
to
function
at
their
highest
level
in
their
fullest
capacity.
B
B
Well,
last
year,
we
actually
had
a
really
great
year
across
all
federal
agencies.
One
of
the
things
we
do
here
at
the
sba
is
to
help
the
other
federal
entities
meet
their
small
business
goals
and
our
overall
federal
small
business
goal
is
23
percent
for
all
federal
agencies
and
the
federal
government
last
year
actually
hit
26
percent,
which,
for
our
small
business,
clients
was
132.9
billion
dollars
that
was
set
aside
strictly
for
small
business
companies,
specifically
with
the
minority
disadvantaged
business
enterprises.
B
Those
companies
would
fall
under
our
8,
a
program
which
is
our
small
minority
and
disadvantaged
business
certification
program,
and
we
have
a
five
percent
annual
contracting
goal
in
that
program.
Last
year
we
actually
doubled
that
goal
hit
10.29,
which
was
our
highest
ever
for
our
firms
in
that
which
equated
to
about
51.6
billion
dollars
just
for
those
companies.
B
A
B
B
So,
instead
of
reinventing
the
wheel
and
coming
up
with
some
sort
of
other
mwdbe
acronym
to
confuse
people
even
more
about
some
of
those,
we
just
stick
with
the
regulatory
name,
but
it's
basically
an
eight-year
program
and
in
order
to
qualify
for
or
I'm
sorry
a
nine-year
program.
Now
you
got
me
saying
it
nine-year
program,
but
in
order
to
qualify,
you
have
to
be
socially
and
economically
disadvantaged.
B
So
you
have
to
be
a
small
business,
first
and
foremost,
and
the
ownership
of
your
small
business,
whether
it's
an
individual
or
a
group
of
individuals.
They
have
to
have
51
percent
control
and
ownership
of
the
company
itself
and
again
you
have
to
be
socially
and
economically
disadvantaged,
and
what
that
means
is
a
social
disadvantage.
B
Is
you
have
to
belong
to
say
a
minority
group?
You
can
be
an
african-american
hispanic,
american
native
american.
What
have
you,
those
people
that
belong
to
those
so
those
socially
disadvantaged
groups
that
have
traditionally
been
held
back
in
business
and
and
and
then
different
things
and
different
aspects
of
life
automatically
potentially
qualify?
But
then
the
second
piece
of
that
is,
you
have
to
be
economically
disadvantaged.
So
what
that
means
is
you
have
to
have
a
personal
net
worth
of
less
than
seven
hundred
fifty
thousand
dollars
your
three
year?
B
B
Right
now
we
have
13
in
our
portfolio
in
western
pa
and
that's
for
our
27
counties.
The
program
is
pretty
tricky
and
can
take
some
time
to
get
into.
So
we
have
a
lot
of
people
that
like
to
explore
it,
probably
the
biggest
things,
though
the
biggest
barriers
to
entry
we
really
see
with.
It
is
just
the
fact
of
getting
the
paperwork
together
and
the
actual
submissions
tend
to
be
incomplete.
B
So
one
of
the
things
we
try
to
do
in
conjunction
with
our
procurement
technical
assistance
center
partners
is
to
work
with
our
clients
before
they
actually
get
to
the
submission
process
to
increase
their
chances
of
not
having
their
application
kicked
back.
So
we
have
a
lot
of
good
quality
companies.
That
kind
of
look
at
the
program,
but
they
do
get
kind
of
put
off
sometimes
by
the
amount
of
paperwork,
but
we
do
our
best
to
streamline
that
for
people.
B
You
know
to
try
and
get
them
into
the
program,
but
for
right
now
western
va.
We
have
13,
we
probably
have,
though
another
I'd
say
15
to
20
applications
pending
at
this
point.
So
there's
always
people
looking
at
it
and
different.
You
know,
depending
on
where
they
are
in
in
the
acquisition
space
and
their
their
business
life
cycle.
Whether
or
not
it's
a
good
fit.
B
Another
thing
with
a
day
is
typically,
you
want
to
be
a
company
that
has
at
least
two
years
of
good
quality
sales
history
on
the
commercial
sector.
It's
not
a
program
for
startups,
because
you
kind
of
mentioned
that
nine
year
term
requirement
one
of
the
very
unique
things
about
the
8a
program
is
that
nine
year
term
limit
it's
a
true
business
development
program
and
once
you're
in
8
a
you,
get
access
to
all
kinds
of
training
and
things
like
that
to
actually
help
your
business
grow.
B
But
the
idea
is
at
the
end
of
that
nine
years
you
graduate
from
the
program
and
then
you
are
ready
and
able
to
compete
in
the
commercial
sector
in
the
federal
sector
without
having
to
lean
on
the
certification
once
you
get
to
that
level.
So
there's
a
lot
that
goes
into
it,
but
it's
a
tremendous
program,
it's
probably
actually
my
favorite
socioeconomic
program.
B
A
Do
you
find
in
the
the
child
the
most
the
challenges
and
obstacles
for
getting
in
the
program,
because
you
mentioned
that
there
was
a
number
of
incomplete
applications
and
you
have
to
kind
of
rely
on
the
p
tax
to
to
get
them
up
and
running.
So
you
know:
where
do
you
see
the
the
most
problems
you
know.
B
Yeah,
probably
in
in
overall
just
kind
of
of
business
record
keeping
and
management
it's
it's
kind
of
funny.
On
one
of
the
things
I
like
to
talk
about
some
of
my
outreach
programs,
especially
when
clients
are
first
looking
at
the
government
contracting
and
especially
our
certifications,
is
one
of
the
very
first
things
you
want
to
do
before
you
jump
into
anything
on
the
federal
sector
or
any
other.
B
You
know,
state
or
even
local
government
contracting
is
really
take
a
good
hard
look
at
your
business
and
one
of
the
things
I
always
talk
about
is
the
movie
dodgeball.
I
don't
know
if
you've
ever
seen
that
with
vince
bond
ben
stiller,
it's
probably
from
the
early
to
mid
2000s
but
vince
vaughn
knows
a
gym
called
average
joe's
gym.
It's
not
doing
real
well
and
it's
getting
foreclosed
on
by
the
bank
bank
examiner
comes
out
and
vince
vaughn's
character.
B
He
owns
the
gym,
takes
the
bank
examiner
to
his
office
and
she
says:
oh,
I
need
to
see
your
business
records
and
he
says
oh
yeah,
I
call
those
keepers
and
he
opens
up
a
closet
and
all
this
boxes
of
stuff
and
garbage
just
fall
out
and
go
all
over
the
place,
and
unfortunately,
I've
been
on
a
lot
of
client
visits
in
my
in
my
life,
where
some
businesses,
just
sort
of
you
know,
toss
their
payroll
records
in
a
drawer.
They
don't
keep
accurate
invoices,
they
can't
prove.
B
You
know
the
hours
worked
in
their
business
because
they're
not
keeping
good
detail,
quality
payroll
records
and
things
like
that,
so
just
having
your
house
in
order
can
really
go
a
long
way
before
you
even
jump
into
the
certifications,
especially
when
you
get
into
these.
If
you
get
into
a
situation,
you
know
when
you're
compiling
your
documents
up
front
before
you
even
apply.
It
really
enables
you
to
figure
out.
You
know
what
you
need
and
you
have
everything
in
order.
You
know:
do
you
have
an
operating
agreement?
Do
all
your
business
licenses?
B
Are
they
all
current
and
make
sense
like?
I
said
the
worst
thing
you
can
do
is
just
sort
of
toss
together
what
you
think
the
bare
minimum
you
can
get
away
with
this
and
send
it
into
the
review
team
because
they'll
just
kick
it
right
back
until
you
get
all
those
documents
square
away.
So
that's
probably
the
biggest
thing
we
see.
There
are
a
lot
of
good
companies
if
they
would
just
take
a
little
more
time
in
focusing
internally
on
their
operations
and
really
looking
at
their
day-to-day
business
and
how
they
conduct
themselves.
B
B
Right
around
the
eight-day
program,
usually
right
around
60
to
90
days.
Now
again,
you
can
that's
the
average
for
the
most
part,
you
can
streamline
that
quite
a
bit
if
you
submit
a
good,
complete
application.
In
the
first
time,
I've
seen
them
approved
in
as
little
as
25
days,
45
days
so,
but
for
the
average
for
most
clients
you're
looking
at
right
around
60
to
90.,
okay,.
A
So
that
that's
that's
a
good
explanation
of
that.
I'm
quite
sure
that
there's
there's
more
involved
with
that
as
people
kind
of
go
through
and
and
that's
why
you're
there
to
kind
of
help
them
in
the
process
and
we
were
prepping.
You
know
the
last
a
couple
days
ago-
and
we
mentioned
you
were
mentioning
the
hub
zone
and
with
the
hubzone,
creates
an
opportunity
for
businesses
to
open
up
with
some
level
of
support
to
certain
selected
areas
across
the
country.
B
Absolutely
right,
yeah,
the
hubzone
program
has
been
around
since
1997
is
when
it
was
actually
established
by
congress.
It
launched
in
1999,
and
this
year
in
2020
was
an
excellent
finally
got
around
to
getting
some
much
needed.
Excellent
updates
for
the
program
that
it
had
really
needed
over
the
years,
but
the
hubzone
program
itself.
B
The
hubzone
stands
for
historically
underutilized
business
zone
and,
as
you
mentioned,
the
idea
behind
the
hubzone
program
is
to
help
fuel
small
business
economic
growth
in
under
utilized
and
underserved
communities,
and
one
of
the
things
that
goes
into
hubzone.
That's
a
that's
substantially
different
from
our
other
socioeconomic
programs.
Is
it's
not
an
ownership
based
program,
meaning
with
our
women-owned
program,
the
veteran
program
and
also
the
aaa
the
person
applying
for
one
of
those
programs
has
to
have
that
status
and
maintain
a
51
ownership
and
control
for
those
certifications
with
the
hubzone
certification,
it's
location
based.
B
So
the
only
requirement
as
far
as
ownership
for
hubzone
is
that
the
individual
or
individuals
that
own
the
company
that
are
pursuing
hubzone
status
have
to
be
us
citizens
and
they
have
to
be
located
in
one
of
the
designated
hubzone
census
tracts
you
mentioned
now.
As
far
as
how
that
is
figured
out
and
calculated
sba
headquarters.
What
they
do
is
they
use
all
kinds
of
information
out
there
they'll.
B
Bases
in
the
area,
the
census
information
is
always
critically
important
for
the
establishment
of
pub
zones.
They'll
look
at
all
kinds
of
just
business
statistics
from
the
department
of
labor
employment,
unemployment,
things
like
that,
and
then
they
come
up
with
those
specially
designated
hubzone
census
tracts
and
if
your
business
is
in
one
of
those
hubzone
census
tracts-
and
you
can
also
show
that
35
of
your
employees
work
and
live
in
the
hub
zone,
then
you
can
actually
pursue
hubzone
status
and
what
that
will
do
for
you.
B
That
will
give
you
preference
for
those
socioeconomic
contracts,
the
sole
sources
and
the
set-asides
through
the
the
hubzone
program
itself
and,
like
I
said,
we're
really
excited
this
year,
because
the
hubzone
program
is
the
one
socio-economic
program
that
the
federal
government
has
always
had
trouble
meeting
the
goal
I
mentioned,
how
we
are
really
happy
with
the
8
a
program
and
performance
how
we
doubled
that
goal.
The
hubzone
program
is
a
3
contracting
goal
every
year
for
our
federal
agencies
and
we've
never
hit
it.
B
Last
year
we
were
about
2.28
percent,
which
was
around
11.4
billion
dollars,
but
there
were
some
problems
with
the
program
over
the
years.
It
had
a
lot
of
good
things
to
it,
but
it
definitely
needed
some
work.
So
I'm
I'm
really
glad
that
some
of
these
new
things
came
out.
You
know
for
us
to
kind
of
be
able
to
use
the
program.
A
B
Well
kind
of,
like
I
said
they
take
all
those
different
statistics
that
I
mentioned
as
far
as
employment
from
the
department
of
labor,
the
census.
They'll
take
a
look
at
the
businesses
in
a
particular
area
and
all
that
sort
of
thing,
and
then
they
have
a
very
detailed
algorithm
calculation
they
perform.
I
don't
have
the
detailed
breakdown
in
front
of
me,
but
they
kind
of
plug
it
into
their
system
and
then
that's
what
kind
of
designates
the
hubzone
census
tracks
throughout
the
entire
us.
B
And
if
you
want
to
see
the
map,
it's
very
easy.
You
can
just
go
to
hubzone
maps
on
the
certified
website
and
I'm
sure
we
can
probably
have
the
link
posted.
If
that
would
be
okay
rick.
We
can
add
that
in
where
you
can
just
go
on
there
and
plug
in
your
business
address
and
see
if
your
company
is
located
in
a
hub.
B
Pretty
much
all
counties
have
some
hub
zones
somewhere
again,
it's
more
like
little
pockets,
it's
hard
to
say,
like
specifically,
a
certain
neighborhood
is
going
to
be
a
hub
zone
or
isn't
a
hub
zone,
but
the
best
thing
to
do
would
be
to
look
at
the
map.
But
yes,
we
have
a
number
of
hubzone
areas
all
across
our
footprint
here
in
western
va.
B
B
Kind
of
the
same
way
as
the
8a
program,
our
mission
and
goal,
is
to
try
to
you
know,
help
people
streamline
their
application
process.
We
do
hubzone
reviews
just
like
we
do
a
day
reviews
to
make
sure
that
clients
that
are
participating
in
these
programs
are
getting
their
fair
share
of
government
contracts.
B
We
also
do
compliance
reviews
for
both
of
those
programs
to
make
sure
that
the
companies
that
are
participating
in
those
programs
actually
do
qualify
and
continue
to
meet
the
eligibility
requirements
and
and
everything
to
make
sure
those
contracting
dollars
that
are
being
awarded
to
them
or
going
to
people
that
actually
qualify
for
the
for
the
programs
and
the
statuses.
So
we
have
a
pretty
big
role
as
far
as
compliance
and
administrative
and
all
that
type
of
thing
to
make
sure
stuff
is,
is
moving
along
as
it
should
and
being
done
properly.
B
Right,
yeah
there's
really
no
leeway
or
no
kind
of
reciprocity.
I
should
say
between
those
two
programs
because
again
they're
looking
at
different
things.
Hubzone
is
worried
about
business,
location
and
number
of
employees
and
in
those
designated
tracks,
whereas
a
day
is
based
on
the
company's
ownership.
B
Now
you
can
qualify
for
as
many
socioeconomic
programs
as
as
you
are
eligible
for
so
we
actually
have
had
some
clients
in
the
past
doesn't
happen
too
often,
but
we
have
people
occasionally
that
hit
on
all
four
of
our
major
programs:
their
hubzone
certified
disabled
service,
disabled
vet,
certified
in
the
8a
program
and
also
a
women-owned
certification.
So
you
know
they
actually
have
all
four
but
yeah.
You
can
get
all
the
programs
you
qualify
for,
but
there's
no
real
reciprocity,
necessarily
between
them
and
one
isn't
necessarily
dependent
on
the
other.
A
Yeah
I
mean
the
hubzone
sounds
like
a
great
program
once
you're
in
it,
and
it
also
helps
the
neighborhood
and
also
hires
people
locally
from
those
particular
communities
that
are
designated
from
the
sba.
So
this
that's
a
great
thing.
Hopefully,
that'll
continue
and
it'll
be
more
successful,
gotta
kind
of
move
along
dave.
A
B
Yeah,
thank
you
so
much
rick
and
well.
I
guess
that
I
mean
I'm
very
happy
to
participate.
My
agency
loves
doing
stuff
like
this.
The
outreach
stuff
like
this
is
really
the
fun
stuff
of
our
job.
That's
the
fun
part.
You
know
getting
out
there
and
a
little
difficult
now
as
far
as
the
getting
out
their
part,
but
being
and
being
and
interacting
with
the
public
for
a
lot
of
a
lot
of
clients
and
a
lot
of
people,
especially
small
businesses.
B
You
know
working
with
us
here
at
the
district
office
is
their
first
interaction
ever
with
a
federal
agency.
So
we
we
do
want
that
to
be
a
positive
one
as
much
as
we
can
and
we're
always
happy
to
try
and
help
as
much
as
possible,
and
you
know
being
involved
with
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
This
inclusion
counts
program.
Has
it's
been
excellent?
I'm
looking
forward
to
many
many
more
of
these
sessions
and
yeah
anytime.
You
know
anything
from
us,
definitely
let
us
know
and
for
the
clients
out
there.
B
I
always
kind
of
wrap
up
and
sort
of
end.
Everything
with
this
don't
ever
feel
like
you're
alone.
There's
a
lot
of
great
business
resources
here
in
western
pennsylvania,
not
only
at
the
sba
but
through
our
local
government
partners
like
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
many
of
our
other
local
economic
development
groups,
we're
always
happy
to
help
you
and
get
you
pointed
in
the
right
direction.
So
thank
you
so
much
rick.
A
C
C
A
A
Additionally,
dr
burls
worked
at
key
bank
as
the
diversity
measurements
manager,
where
she
was
responsible
for
leading
efforts
in
translating
the
value
proposition
of
diversity.
Inclusion,
efforts
on
corporation
and
building
the
business
case
for
diversity,
also
she's
taught
as
an
adjunct
faculty
at
various
institutions
of
higher
learning.
D
D
So
we
can
keep
our
sanity
and
then
I
would
say
from
a
professional
perspective,
it's
been
difficult,
especially
for
our
small
businesses,
so
our
small
businesses,
of
course,
businesses
in
general,
are
suffering,
and
so
the
small
businesses,
the
mayor,
continues
to
say.
If
we
have
another
shutdown,
the
smaller
businesses
may
not
make
it,
and
so
it's
really
a
a
piece
around
or
a
challenge
around.
How
can
we
help
those
small
businesses
and
businesses
in
general
so
that
they
can
stay
alive
in
the
wake
of
what's
going
on
in
terms
of
covet.
A
It's
funny
you
must
have
been
reading
my
notes
here
that
was
kind
of
my
next
question.
You
know
how's
the
city
of
cleveland,
managing
the
outbreak
and
then
what
type
of
mandated
precautions
are
in
the
space
to
keep
the
residents
safe,
but
also
how
to
keep
your
businesses
going
so
yeah?
What
type
of
things
have
have
you
done.
D
So
the
city
of
cleveland,
especially
within
our
economic
development
department,
we
have
small
loans
that
individual
businesses
can.
Actually
you
know
if
they,
if
they're
interested
in
they
can
apply
for
those
those
loans.
One
of
the
things
that
the
mayor
just
tasked
community
development,
economic
development
and
my
department,
mayor's
office
of
equal
opportunity
or
oeo,
is
that
we
come
together
and
so
economic
development.
D
D
We
may
need
to
actually
sit
down
and
hold
hands
with
those
individual
businesses
and
assist
them
with
completing
that
application.
So
smaller
businesses
may
not
be
as
familiar
with
the
administrative
process,
especially
a
municipal
government,
and
my
role
will
be
to
just
try
and
help
those
businesses
complete
the
application,
whether
that
that
may
mean
sitting
down
with
them
virtually
and
helping
them
complete
that
application
step
by
step
and
then,
of
course,
community
development.
D
A
So
the
business
part
of
money
is
is
different.
That
you're,
you
know
you
have
to
kind
of
adjust
your
process
to
help
those
businesses
that
you
were
saying
hand
you
know
hand
holding
the
different
businesses
and
helping
them
complete
the
application.
So
I
guess
that's
different
from
your
your
normal
procurement
in
your
loan
programs
for
the
city.
D
Right,
it's
somewhat
different,
just
because
this
is
a
particular
pool
of
money,
and
the
mayor
has
instructed
economic
development
to
sort
of
broaden
that
perspective,
diversify
the
people
who
actually
receive
the
money.
So
I
believe
this
is
at
least
the
second
pool
of
money
that
the
mayor
has
given
for
economic
development
to
get
out
and
now
we're
trying
to
make
sure
that
we
reach
as
many
businesses
as
possible.
Some
businesses
may
not
have
been
aware
of
that
money
at
first
or
again,
as
the
mayor
has
suggested.
D
It
could
be
that,
because
of
the
administrative
process
of
completing
an
application
they
may
not
just
they
need
assistance
and
I'll
give
you
an
example
a
lot
of
times.
There
are
there's
information
that
I
can
send
out
electronically
through
our
systems,
especially
to
our
contractors,
our
certified
contractors
and
so
I'll.
Send
that
information
out
and
and
a
perfect
example
was
there
was
a
young
lady
that
called
me
this
week
and
said
hey.
I
need
help
with
this
application.
D
I
see
the
application,
but
I
don't
even
really
know
how
to
how
to
complete
it,
and
so
I
told
her
just
just
call
me
back
and
we
can
set
up
time
to
to
go
through
that
process,
one
by
one,
because
again
she
thought,
potentially
she
could
fill
out
the
application.
You
know
online,
but
it
is
unfortunately
it's
a
hard
copy.
So
there
are
certain
variances,
even
with
printing
out
the
application.
It
could
be
that
I
may
need
to
print
out
that
application
and
you
asked
about
our
public
as
as
well
our
public.
D
The
public
is
not
allowed
yet
inside
city
hall,
but
they
can
come
to
our
guard
gates.
You
know
the
the
security
gate
and
it
may
be
that
I
will
have
to
give
her
an
actual
hard
copy
of
that
application
and
put
it
in
her
hand
versus
she
may
not
have
access
to
a
printer,
and
so
it's
it's
those
little
nuances
that
can
make
or
break
whether
or
not
individuals
complete
the
process
relative
to
additional
assistance
that
they
may
need.
A
A
D
Still
still
rolling
out,
so
we
don't
know
yet
in
fact
the
three
departments-
economic
development,
community
development.
Oh
we,
oh,
we
have
a
meeting
later
on
this
afternoon
because
the
mayor
tasked
us
with
this
in
terms
of
the
three
departments
actually
working
together
to
figure
it
out.
So
we
have
a
meeting
later
on
today
to
really
dig
in
deeper
and
figure
out
where
we
can
assist
our
small
businesses.
D
I
always
say
small
businesses,
because
those
are
the
ones
that
are
at
the
point
where
this
pandemic
is
hitting
them
the
hardest,
because
they
may
have
been
at
the
point
where
again
they
were
able
to
survive
prior
to
the
pandemic.
But
now
that
they've
had
to
sort
of
readjust
it
could
be.
Even
I
even
have
another
example
I'm
reaching
for
it,
but
our
destination
cleveland
sort
of
our
chamber
of
commerce
to
some
extent,
but
it's
it's
destination
cleveland
in
terms
of
come
and
visit
the
city
they
have
ppe
kits.
D
D
Because
again,
we
know
that
there
are
times
where
acquiring
face
mask,
or
even
just
this,
these
three
little
individual
packages
of
perel
that
could
be
that
could
make
a
difference
to
individual
contractors
who,
in
assistance
with
our
small
businesses,
they
may
need,
though
this
particular
type
of
packet.
So
we're
working
on
strategy
to
get
that
out
too
yeah.
A
A
A
A
D
Right
and
most
importantly,
you
know
it's
very
difficult
for
those
business
owners
to
turn
away
business.
They
don't
want
to
turn
away
any
business,
but
they
they
need
the
protection
just
as
the
individual
who's
coming
in
there.
All
of
us
need
the
protection
of
this
mask
and
the
perel
as
well
so
good
point.
A
Yeah,
I
mean
I
mean
it
was
a
good
initiative.
You
know
it'd
be
good
for
us
to
kind
of
look
at
that
at
the
city
as
well.
You
know,
as
businesses
you
know,
have
a
supply
of
that
yeah
right.
Hopefully
we
could
get
it
on
a
large
scale
to
be
able
to
support
our
small
businesses
in
that
space
right
right.
A
A
D
Okay,
sure
so
I
don't
know
exactly
the
year
but
many
years
ago,
it's
almost
one
of
those
developments
that
you
hear
about
in
a
city.
That
long
ago,
people
were
talking
about
this
sort
of
development
of
a
road
and
the
road
was
sort
of
in
people's
minds,
but
it
it
now
is
really
being
built.
So
sometimes
it
takes
a
long
time,
but
it
finally
reaches
there.
D
So
we
have
a
section
in
the
city
of
cleveland
on
the
east
side,
known
as
opportunity
corridor,
and
it
connects
one
of
our
majors
freeways
or
interstates
interstate
77
and
it
the
the
roadway
that's
being
built
known
as
opportunity
corridor
is
it
will
it
will
connect
enter
the
interstate
into
university
circle
so
in
a
particular
neighborhood,
and
the
reason
why
that
connection,
when
I
say
university
circle
university
circle
on
the
east
side,
is
the
connection
between
and
what's
what's
there
it's,
our
museums?
It's
our
orchestra.
D
It's
also
our
two
major
hospital
institutions
so
and
I'm
saying
that,
because
that
means
that
l
and
also
case
western
reserve
university
so
that
particular
area
of
university
circle
is
a
major
hub
for
in
terms
of
our
workforce,
and
so
the
roadway
is
being
built
by
ohio
department
of
transportation.
So
they
are
near
the
completion
of
that
road,
probably
within
the
next
six
months,
and
once
the
road
is
built.
D
The
the
mayor
always
says
once
once
to
odot
ohio
department
transportation
once
they
complete
the
road,
their
work
is
done,
but
as
a
city
of
cleveland,
what
are
we
going
to
do
to
ensure
that
when
we
say
opportunity
it's
opportunity
for
whom?
And
and
because
of
that,
then
the
mayor
has
tasked
internally
economic
development,
our
planning
department
and
then
again
my
office
office
of
equal
opportunity
in
terms
of
leading
three
internal
committees.
But
those
committees
are
staffed
with
both
internal
and
external
constituents.
D
The
the
planning
is
planning
and
infrastructure
is
the
planning
phase
or
the
planning
committee,
and
then
there's
site
selection
and
environmental
sort
of
the
remediation
component
and
that's
our
economic
development
department.
And
then
my
area
is
the
neighborhood
economic
impact
and
equity
department
or
division
come
start
committee.
D
Let
me
explain
just
a
little
bit
about
those
three,
so
the
site,
selection
and
sort
of
that
environmental
component.
It's
looking
at
all
the
land
and
property,
because
this
was
sort
of
an
area
of
the
city
that
was
to
some
extent
abandoned,
and
so
here
the
roadway
is
being
built
in
there.
So
there
are
land
there's
land
there
that
needs
to
either
be
cleaned
up
or
purchased
or
acquired
by
that
site
selection,
environmental
committee,
so
they're
sort
of
overseeing
that
piece.
D
The
planning
and
infrastructure
they're
preparing
the
land
and
building
out
the
land
in
terms
of
what
types.
How
do
we
make
that
area
a
neighborhood?
So
it's
not
just
enough
in
terms
of
we're
cleaning
up
the
land.
How
are
we
going
to
now
build
housing?
How
are
we
going
to
make
that
to
some
extent,
a
neighborhood
of
choice?
What
will?
How
will
we
plan
that
area
where
there
are
businesses
so
that
we
can
plan
it
to
the
extent
that
individuals
who
also
work
in
opera
in
that
near
the
opportunity
corridor?
D
They,
as
the
mayor,
would
say
about
the
city
of
cleveland,
live
work
and
play?
How
do
we
prepare
that
area
and
then
the
neighborhood
economic
impact
and
equity
committee
we're
sort
of
in
the
middle
of
all
of
this,
from
a
planning
and
infrastructure
and,
more
importantly,
that
site
selection,
they're
thinking
about
the
workforce
and,
more
importantly,
the
building?
How
do
we
bring
businesses
into
opportunity
corridor?
Which
businesses
will
be
selected
to
reside
within
opportunity
corridor
from
a
neighborhood
economic
impact
and
equity?
D
D
And
so
the
dance
that
I
my
committee
takes
is
how,
if,
if
businesses
need
a
workforce,
what
type
of
workforce
do
they
need
in
terms
of
training?
Because
it's
up
to
us
my
committee
to
then
work
work
with
our
workforce
development
department
and
say
hey.
This
particular
company
needs
20
people
20
people
to
work
in
this
in
their
company.
They
need
them
to
be
trained
on
x,
and
so
we
have
to
it's.
D
A
D
D
One
of
the
things
right
now
that
that's
we're
looking
at
is
that
we
also
have
undergone
a
branding
strategy
for
that
area,
and
the
branding
strategy
will
help
with
identifying
and
sort
of
soliciting
what
types
of
businesses
will
come
in
the
only
business.
I
can
tell
you
right
now
and
it's
part
of
the
city
of
cleveland
that
we
are
locating.
We
will
are
building
our
police,
a
new
police
headquarters
in
that
area,
so
we
know
that
from
the
police
headquarters
that
we
will
have
jobs
related
to
obviously
law
enforcement.
D
So
we
know
that's
coming
in
and
then
as
it
relates
to
schools,
I
think
there's
one
school
in
the
fairfax
neighborhood
local
school,
so
I'm
not
really
sure
how
much
of
a
connection
we're
making
with
the
schools.
But
I
know
that
it
is
the
entire
process
in
the
space,
but
the
first
component
of
that
is
the
branding
strategy
and
we
haven't
decided
which
we've
been
presented
with
three
different
proposed
plans,
but
we
have
not
made
a
final
selection
on
that
branding
strategy.
B
A
D
We
have
one
similar
to
that.
I
now
I'm
gonna
get
it
wrong,
I
think.
But
what
exists
right
now
and
it
is
again
through
fairfax
renaissance
development
corporation,
and
it
is
a
program
that
attracts
people
to
live
within
fairfax
which
is
against
around
that
opportunity,
corridor
area,
and
then
it
gives
an
incentive
for
individuals
who
either
work
at
the
university
or
that
work
at
the
hospitals
to
receive
us
down
payment
assistance.
A
A
D
Yeah,
it's
it's
a,
I
have
to
say
thank
you
to
living
cities
and
really
to
say
that
it's
been
a
pleasure
being
part
of
the
cohort
and
and
even
beyond.
You
know
the
project
that
we're
working
on.
It
has
been
an
honor
to
to
have
connections
through
other
cities.
You
know
such
as
pittsburgh
yourself,
so
the
city
of
cleveland
we
years
ago,
and
I
really
think
this
was
part
of
the
last
disparity
study
that
we
had
so
back
in
2012.
D
We
had
our
last
disparity
study
and
as
part
of
that,
one
of
the
things
that
came
out
was
the
need
for
a
small
contract
rotation
program.
So
in
other
words,
how
do
we
rotate
vendors
and
contractors
within
our
particular
programs
and
allow
them
the
opportunity
to
work
on
contracts
here
within
the
city
of
cleveland,
and
so
we
had
a
ordinance
and
on
on
the
books,
but
we
had
never
really
utilized
that
particular
ordinance.
So
we
develop
amended
the
actual
ordinance
and
the
ordinance
really
is
around
for
contracts.
D
In
this
case,
under
fifty
thousand
dollars,
we
will
take
a
list
of
our
small
contractors,
and
small
contractors
for
us
are
defined
as
making
less
than
three
million
dollars
over
a
three
year
period.
Those
small
contractors
will
be
put
on
a
list
and
we
will
rotate
that
list
in
terms
of
the
contractors
and
their
ability
ability
to
work
within
on
our
particular
city
contracts.
D
D
We
also
need
assistance
with
painters
and
people
in
terms
of
flooring,
flooring
as
well
so
carpet
or
any
type
of
flooring.
So
we
will
take
those
smaller
contractors
they're
on
a
list
and
then
we
will
rotate
those
contractors
and
allow
them
the
opportunity
so
that
they
can
participate
on
the
contract.
D
We
have
started
and
amended
the
legislation
so
far.
We've
also
had
classes
for
those
small
contractors,
because
we
know
that
again,
it
sort
of
gets
back
to
what
we
talked
about
at
the
beginning.
That
smaller
contractors
may
not
know
or
have
the
administrative
support
that
they
need,
so
we've
had
online
classes
virtual
classes
for
them.
D
How
do
they
market
themselves
and
then
all
the
biggest
challenge
that
I've
seen
so
far
that
smaller
contractors
have
is
on
estimating
how
much
it
will
cost
them
to
do
the
work
they
will
a
lot
of
times
under
bid
because
they'll
have
the
cost
but
they're
not
thinking
about
charging
for
their
time
as
well
and
and
lastly,
when
you
work
with
the
city
and
a
lot
of
times
with
municipal
governments,
there's
a
checks
and
balance
piece
that
occurs,
and
so
we
can't
pay.
In
two
days.
D
We
there's
a
whole
process
that
we
have
to
undergo
so
allowing
as
a
small
contractor
building
in
that
time
frame
so
that
the
smaller
contracts
can
allow
for
that
payment
to
occur.
I
don't
know
the
net,
maybe
30
60.
I
don't
even
know
even
maybe
90
days,
so
one
of
the
things
internally
that
we're
talking
about
is
trying
to
make
sure
and
we've.
C
A
D
Yes,
so
yes,
so
it's
a
pilot
so
we're
trying
to
work
on
it.
The
commissioner
of
public
works
who's
overseeing
this
process.
He
keeps
telling
me
now:
I'm
gonna
hold
him
to
it.
He
keeps
telling
me
that
hey
once
it
reaches
my
desk,
I
can
do
make
that
payment
so
putting
it
through
advantage
and
all
those
kind
of
things.
D
A
D
Well
last
year
the
state
of
ohio
told
the
city
of
cleveland
that
we
no
longer
threw
a
lawsuit
that
the
city
of
cleveland
could
no
longer
enforce
that
that
ordinance
on
public
improvement
contracts.
So
we
can
still
use
it
on
our
development
contracts,
which
we
have
quite
a
few
of
those
as
well,
but
we
can
no
longer
use
it
on
our
public
improvement
contracts
and
because
of
that,
the
mayor
has
suggested
and
informed
us
that
we
need
to
figure
out
another
way.
D
What
can
we
still
do
to
employ
our
cleveland
residents,
because
his
goal
right
now
is
to
look
at
all
of
the
the
landscape
relative
to
what
we,
the
city
of
cleveland
internally,
can
do
to
assist
our
contractors.
So
the
example
of
you
know
helping
the
contractors
fill
out
the
paperwork
getting
down
to
that
minutia.
D
A
D
So
inclusion
means
not
using
the
same
same
network
that
you
had
in
the
past.
Inclusion
means
thinking
sort
of
outside
of
your
box
and,
to
the
extent
that
you
can,
you
can
include
others,
and
I
say
that
meaning,
let's
just
think
of
it
from
an
exam,
an
example
of
a
different
job
or
being
able
to
apply
for
a
job.
D
It's
not
that.
I
want
you
to
give
me
the
job.
I
want
you
to
at
least
see,
and
let
me
submit
my
resume
so
that
I
have
an
opportunity
to
compete
as
well,
and
so
inclusion
means
that
we're
looking
at
it
from
the
perspective
of
opening
up
and
creating
a
level
playing
field
so
that
everyone
has
the
opportunity
to
compete
on
the
same
at
the
same.
A
Yeah,
that's
that's
well
said
and
in
looking
at
your
bio-
and
I
know
I
was
going
to
talk
about
it
earlier,
you
worked
in
three
separate
entities.
You
worked
in
the
corporate
sector.
You
worked
in
the
university
sector,
now
you're
in
the
government
sector.
Now
is
it
the
same
type
of
commonalities
as
far
as
inclusion
is
concerned
in
those
spaces,
or
would
you
say,
there's
major
differences.
D
D
We
know
that
and
not
just
diversify
the
numbers
but
diversify
the
numbers
in
a
strategy
so
that
we
can
ensure
that
at
the
top
of
the
hou,
all
the
way
from
the
top
of
the
house,
all
the
way
to
the
very
bottom
that
the
numbers
were
people
of
color
and
gender,
that
there
was
a
mixture
right.
We
we
wanted
to
make
sure
that
there
was
a
mixture
of
individuals
throughout
the
entire
organization
from
an
executive.
Vice
president,
all
the
way
down
to
a
custodian
at
a
university.
D
Someone
told
me
that
when
I
moved
from
corporate
america
that
the
university
would
be
more
political
than
it
was
in
corporate
america,
and
I
told
them
there's
no
way
that
that
could
be
true
and
you
know
what
they
were
actually
right.
The
reason
why
universities
are
more
political
is
because
each
college
in
that
university
has
their
own
structure
and
culture
within
a
wider.
C
D
Still
now
taking
it
to
each
of
the
department
heads
and
making
sure
that
we
have
a
mixture
and
I'll
just
give
you
one
more
example,
because
I
know
we're
running
out
of
time,
so
the
mayor
has
tasked
me
with
now
that
we
no
longer
have
that
cleveland
resident
employment
law.
How
do
we
control
things
internally
and
here's
just
a
one
example.
D
I
asked
my
purchases
and
supplies.
Commissioner,
today
I
said:
hey,
you
all
are
really
busy.
The
mayor's
asked
me
to
you
know,
find
innovative
ways
that
we
can
create.
You
know
more
diversity
and,
most
importantly,
generational
wealth
for
our
residents.
What
way
can
we
think
of
something?
That's
innovative,
that
we
can
do
within
our
our
purchasing
department?
And
she
said
that
hey
you
all
have
this
system,
you
are
we
work
with
b2g
now
in
terms
of
the
database
of
certifying
our
contractors
and
maintaining
our
contracts
with
through
monitoring.
D
She
said
if
you
could
give
each
of
the
procurement
leads.
So
within
each
of
our
departments,
there's
a
person
who's,
mainly
responsible
for
purchasing
or
at
least
keeping
track
of
it.
She
said
we
should
give
each
of
the
procurement
leads.
The
ability
to
have
access
to
b2g
now
because
they
can
look
through
and
identify
certified
contractors
who
may
be
able
to
be
put
on
the
list
to
potentially
bid
for
contracts
and
I'm
like,
and
these
are
for
contracts
under
50..
D
We
already
do
it
at
50,
000
and
above,
but
now
we're
going
to
focus
on
below
50
000
again,
so
we
can
diversify
that
pool
of
potential
contractors,
because
otherwise,
here
we
go
we're
doing
business
and
relying
on
people
that
we've
used
over
and
over
again.
But
we
need
to
be
able
to
diversify.
That
pool
as
well.
A
Wow,
thank
you
again.
I
mean
for
being
upfront
and
very
frank
about
your
experiences,
it's
kind
of
refreshing,
so
to
speak,
to
hear
someone
in
the
government
space
to
really
being
honest
about
the
different
processes
that
you're
going
through
as
you're
doing
them.
You
know,
thanks
for
being
a
friend
of
me,.