[00:00:01]
GREAT.[CALL TO ORDER ]
IS FIVE 33, AND WE HAVE A QUORUM.SO I AM CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE ANYBODY WHO SIGNED UP FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
WELL, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING.DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY EDITS THAT THEY THINK NEED TO BE MADE TO THE MINUTES? THIS IS PREMERA, OCTOBER 28TH MEETING.
IF NOT, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADOPT THEM, ACTUALLY.
YOU KNOW, WHAT, IS THERE ANY, CAN WE, DO WE NEED TO GO THROUGH ROLE OR IS IT OKAY SINCE EVERYBODY THERE'S WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY ON THE PHONE, RIGHT? NO, EVERYONE THAT IS IN THE MEETING IS ON THE PANELIST SIDE.
SO IS IT OKAY TO JUST, UH, GET THE ATTENDANCE FROM, FROM THE VISUAL? UH, SO, UH, ZACH SAYS LET'S DO ROLL REAL FAST.
I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH WHO I SEE HERE, ALBERTA.
MEGAN, KAREN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WERE, UH, TRYING TO SPEAK, BUT YOUR, THERE YOU GO HERE.
I MUST'VE UN-MUTED AND DAMIEN AND KAREN HADN'T I'M HERE.
DID I GET EVERYBODY? ALL RIGHT.
HE PUT IN THAT, THAT LITTLE DETAIL IN THESE VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
UM, ALL RIGHT, SO BACK TO THE MINUTES, DOES ANYBODY WANT TO MAKE A MOTION? MOVE IT UP.
OKAY, GREAT, GOOD EMOTION FROM ROB TO MOVE ADOPTION.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? KAREN HAD THANK YOU, KAREN.
UNLESS THERE IS ANY DISCUSSION, LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE.
UM, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL GO THROUGH THE ROLE AGAIN.
UM, UNLESS FOLKS ARE ABLE TO TURN ON THEIR CAMERAS AND, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND.
ANYBODY WHO CAN DO THAT, THEN I WILL, UH, NOT CALL YOUR NAME.
JUST, I GUESS, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE I, OKAY.
I'M SEEING ROB KAREN, DAVID, MYSELF, AND I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THE REST OF THE NAMES REAL QUICK.
AND YOU CAN SAY AYE OR NAY OR ABSTAIN ALBERTA.
I WAS PRESENT FOR THAT MEETING, SO I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN.
UM, MY NAME'S ARE SWITCHING OR LIKE MOVING ON ME.
SO THAT MEANS, I THINK WE HAVE ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN IN SUPPORT, AND ONE ABSTAINING.
THAT WOULD BE MELISSA ABSTAINING.
UM, ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP, WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM, UH, AN OFTEN ENERGY WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS FOR LIMITED INCOME CUSTOMERS.
SORRY ABOUT THE BLINKING LIGHT OVER HERE.
[00:05:02]
UM, AGENDA THAT I'M LOOKING AT THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH, I THOUGHT I WAS LIKE, GOD, I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE ON OUR AGENDA AGAIN.[2.a) Government Relations Update—Brie Franco, Office of Intergovernmental Relations (Discussion and/or possible action) ]
FIRST UP GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE.UH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE BRIEF FRANCO WITH THE OPPOSITE OF INTER GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS.
I'M THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU A PRESENTATION ON THE UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
AS YOU GUYS KNOW, THE STATE LEGISLATURE WILL CONVENE IN JANUARY, JANUARY.
THEY'RE ALREADY STARTED BILL FILING.
UM, AND SO WE'RE ALREADY GETTING A SENSE OF WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
UM, I JUST SAW THIS CHART TO SHOW A TEN-YEAR OVERVIEW OF BILLS BEING FILED, THEN ALSO CITY RELATED BILLS BEING FILED.
SO YOU SEE THAT TOP LINE SHOWS, UH, IN 1999 AND COMPARES IT TO THE BOTTOM LINE OF LAST SESSION IN 2019.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE SECOND COLUMN ON DOUBLE BILLS INTRODUCED, YOU'LL SEE ABOUT 7,000 BILLS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED LAST SESSION, AND THAT'S, UM, ABOUT 1500 MORE THAN IN 1999.
LET'S JUMP OVER TO THE COLUMN THAT SAYS CITY RELATED BILLS INTRODUCED, AND YOU'LL SEE A HUGE JOB OVER THE 10 YEARS TO CITY RELATED BILLS.
WE INTRODUCE ABOUT 1100 AND I'LL BE FRANK.
THE MAJORITY OF THOSE BILLS SEEK TO PREEMPT US TO LIMIT OUR AUTHORITY, TO PRESCRIBE MORE REGULAR REGULATIONS.
UM, AND THAT'S A HUGE JOB OUT OF THE 7,300.
AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT CITY RELATED BILLS PASSED, WE ALSO SEE A BIG JUMP FROM THAT TOP LINE OF ONE 30 TO THE BOTTOM LINE OF THREE 38.
AND IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TWO BULLETS, THAT'S ABOUT 182% INCREASE IN STUDY RELATED BILLS BEING PASSED.
WHY IS THAT SIGNIFICANT AGAIN? UM, WELL, ONE, LET ME SAY THIS, THAT IT'S ALWAYS HARDER TO PASS A BILL IS TO KILL A BILL AT THE LEGISLATURE ABOUT 10% OF BILLS THAT ARE FILED, GET PASSED, BUT IT'S JUST, AGAIN, THE, THE BILLS BEING PASSED ARE MORE PRESCRIPTIVE.
THEY DO LIMIT OUR AUTHORITY AND RESTRICT OUR ABILITY TO, UM, BASICALLY ADDRESS SOME OF THE NEEDS BROUGHT FORWARD BY OUR COMMUNITY AND, AND EVEN GROUPS LIKE YOU ALL NEXT SLIDE, UM, TO BREAK DOWN THESE BILLS A LITTLE FURTHER, THEY HAVE AT THE LEGISLATURE, THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED A FILING AND THEY HAVE UP UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF MARCH TO FILE BILLS.
REMEMBER SESSION GOES FROM JANUARY TO MAY.
UM, AND THE LAST SESSION THEY GOT TO FILE BILLS UP TO MARCH 8TH.
I BELIEVE THAT DEADLINE THIS YEAR IS THE 10TH OR THE 12TH.
AND IN THE LAST 10 DAYS OF BILLS FILING LAST SESSION, THAT'S WHEN THEY DUMPED ABOUT 4,700, 300 BILLS.
AND SO THAT'S A HUGE OF BILLS THAT MY OFFICE, UH, REVIEWS, ANALYZE WHICH ONES AFFECT CITIES, THEN SEND OUT TO OUR VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS FOR THEIR INPUT AND ANALYSIS AND PROVIDE, UH, LEGISLATIVE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION ON THOSE BILLS.
UM, LAST WE CHECKED, THEY'RE ONLY UP TO 800 BILLS FILED SO FAR, SO WE'RE BARELY STARTING THE, SEE THE FIRST TRICKLE OF THE BILLS COMING THROUGH.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO ELECTION UPDATE, THERE'S REALLY NOT MUCH OF AN UPDATE TO GET.
UH, THERE WAS VERY LITERALLY NO CHANGE IN THE TEXAS HOUSE BETWEEN REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS.
THE BREAKDOWN IS THE EXACT SAME AS THE SUCCESSION.
THERE, COUPLE CHANGES IN SEATS.
THERE WAS A REPUBLICAN PICKUP IN A SEAT OR TWO, AND SAME ON THE DEMOCRAT SIDE, BUT YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS BETWEEN THE PARTIES REMAINED THE SAME IN THE SENATE.
THERE WAS ONE CHANGE, UM, IN A REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED SEAT THAT IS NOW GOING TO BE CONTROLLED BY A DEMOCRAT.
THAT'S SEEN EXTENDS FROM SAN ANTONIO ALL THE WAY OUT TO A PATH.
SO IT WAS OCCUPIED BY, UM, PETE FLORES AND NOW IT WILL BE OCCUPIED BY ROLAND GUTIERREZ.
AND THAT DOES BRING TO ISSUE A RULE IN THE SENATE CALLED THE THREE-FIFTHS RULE.
THAT RULE USED TO BE CALLED THE TWO THIRDS RULE.
AND THE RULE IS ABOUT HOW MANY VOTES YOU NEED ON THE FLOOR TO BRING A BILL UP FOR THIRD READING.
UM, I MEAN, SECOND READING, I BELIEVE, SORRY, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I LOOKED AT THE ROLE MYSELF, SO THE THREE FIFTH ROLE NOW PUTS IT RIGHT AT 13.
AND THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WILL CHANGE THAT RULE.
SO THAT REPUBLICANS STILL MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THAT RULE.
SO DOES HE CHANGE THREE FIFTH, TWO? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEXT LEVEL IS, BUT I'M SURE HE'D FIND OUT WHAT IT IS.
HE COULD CHANGE TO MAINTAIN REPUBLICAN CONTROL OF HOW BILLS ARE HEARD.
SO DEMOCRATS CAN'T BLOCK BILLS.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, IN THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY DELEGATION, THE DELEGATION REMAINED THE SAME, INCLUDING SOME YOU CONTESTED SEATS ON THE
[00:10:01]
RIM OF THE DELEGATION TO THE SOUTH AND TO THE NORTH WITH GOODWIN, UCS WIENER.UM, THIS SLIDE WAS TO SHOW BEFORE WHEN I DID THIS PRESENTATION TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS BEFORE THE ELECTION LOOKS LIKE THOSE PHOTOS ARE COMING THROUGH A LITTLE WONKY, BUT I ALWAYS SAID, THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT AREN'T GOING TO CHANGE REGARDLESS IF THERE WAS A BLUE WAVE OR IF THAT BLUE WAVE DID NOT MATERIALIZE.
AND THAT'S AT GOVERNOR ABBOTT AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DAN PATRICK ARE NOT ON THE BALLOT.
THEY ARE ON THE BALLOT IN TWO YEARS, BUT ALSO THESE TWO GENTLEMEN HAVE, UM, PRETTY MUCH EXHIBITED THROUGH THEIR LEADERSHIP, A VERY STRONG ANTI CITY APPROACH.
AND THOSE TWO QUOTES ARE, ARE BOTH FROM THEM ACTUALLY FROM 2017.
AND THE TOP ONE IS GOVERNOR ABBOTT SAYING THAT HE THINKS THAT PREEMPTING LOCAL LOCAL REGULATIONS IS A SUPERIOR APPROACH.
AND WE'VE SEEN HIM, UM, FOLLOW THROUGH ON THIS PHILOSOPHY AGAIN AND AGAIN.
UM, HE NEVER CALLED A SPECIAL SESSION ON HURRICANE HARVEY WITH ALL THE FLOODING AND EVERYTHING HAPPENING TO THAT COMMUNITY.
HE NEVER CALLED A SPECIAL SESSION WHEN WE HAD THOSE, UM, SHOOTINGS OUTSIDE OF HOUSTON AND AT THAT CHURCH SOUTH OF US, AND HE HASN'T CALLED A SPECIAL SESSION ON THE PANDEMIC, BUT THE ONE SPECIAL SESSION HE DID CALL, UM, AND THAT WAS TWO SESSIONS AGO, HAD 10 ITEMS RELATED TO CITIES, INCLUDING ABOUT PREEMPTING OUR TREE ORDINANCE AND ABOUT PERMITTING AND ZONING AND, AND VERY TECHNICAL ISSUES THAT CITIES OVERSEE, UH, MOVING ON TO DAN PATRICK, HE SAID BACK IN 2017, UM, THAT HE BELIEVES THE PROBLEMS IN THE COUNTRY ARE IN CITIES CONTROLLED BY DEMOCRATS.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE STREET CRIME.
SO I KNOW WE'RE HEARING A LOT OF THAT BEING SAID NOW AS WELL, BUT THIS STARTED BACK IN 2017.
SO LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THAT ARE INFLUENCED THE SESSION, THEY WILL BE ELECTING A NEW SPEAKER BECAUSE A SPEAKER DENNIS BONNEN DO NOT, UM, CHOOSE TO FILE AGAIN, TO BE REELECTED.
HE HAS RESIGNED FROM THE TEXAS HOUSE.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE AS TO WHY.
UM, SO THEY, THE FIRST DAY THE HOUSE WILL ELECT THEIR NEW SPEAKER RIGHT NOW, DAVE FEELIN, WHO IS FROM BEAUMONT, SAYS HE HAS THE VOTES TO BE SPEAKER.
HE IS OUT OF THE DENNIS BOND AND WING OF THE PARTY.
AND UNDER THE DENNIS BONNEN ADMINISTRATION IN THE HOUSE, WE SAW THAT THERE WAS AN ATTACK ON CITIES, UM, BOUGHT IN, IN FACT, WENT SO FAR AS TO SAY THAT ANY CITY MAYOR OR JUDGE THAT MET WITH HIM AND I QUOTED HIM WAS A DUMB ASS.
HE WAS CAUGHT ON TAPE SAYING THESE THINGS BECAUSE, UM, HE WAS TAPED BY A POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, UM, THAT HE MET WITH.
SO HE COULD GO AFTER SOME OF HIS MEMBERS IN THEIR RACES.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT ON THE NEXT SIDE, THE OTHER ISSUE THERE'LL BE DEALING WITH THIS SESSION AS REDISTRICTING, WHETHER THAT ALSO MIGHT RESULT IN A SPECIAL SESSION, WE DON'T KNOW, BUT IT COULD REDISTRICT.
YOU USUALLY DOES GO THROUGH, IS KNOWN TO GO THROUGH MULTIPLE SESSIONS.
SOMETIMES WHEN I WORKED AT THE CAPITOL, I THINK I WENT THROUGH FIVE SPECIAL SESSIONS ON REDISTRICTING.
UM, THEY ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE SCHOOL FINANCE SYSTEM.
THEY PASSED A BILL ON SCHOOL FINANCE LAST SESSION THAT WILL REQUIRE THEM TO PUT EVEN MORE MONEY IN THIS SESSION.
AND THEY KNEW THAT WHEN THEY PASSED THE BILL, THEY JUST DIDN'T THINK THEY WOULD HAVE THE BUDGET THAT THEY HAVE NOW.
AND THEY DO HAVE A BIG BUDGET HOLE, AS MANY CITIES AND STATES ARE EXPERIENCING AROUND THE COUNTRY DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, BUT FOR TEXAS, LARGELY DUE TO LOWER SALES TAX AND DECLINING GAS AND OIL TAXES.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT.
THERE'LL BE A LOT OF CUTS ON THE TABLE.
THE THING WE KNOW THE LEAST ABOUT THOUGH, IS HOW THEY WILL PERFORM BUSINESS IN LIGHT OF COVID RIGHT NOW, THE CAPITOL IS CLOSED.
YOU CAN'T GO IN, UM, YOU CAN'T MEET WITH THE MEMBER.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC IN THE HEARINGS THAT HAVE BEEN HELD IN.
THEY HAVEN'T HELD MANY, SOME OF THEM, THEY TRY TO HOLD HEARINGS AND THEY'VE BEEN CANCELED.
THE HOUSE IS NOT HOLDING ANY HEARINGS.
THEY SAY THAT THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED BY THEIR RULES.
UM, WE DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'LL LIVESTREAM THE HEARINGS AND ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO, UM, CALL IN LIKE WE DO AT CITY COUNCIL.
UH, WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY'LL HAVE TEMPERATURE CHECKS OF THEY'LL ALLOW THE PUBLIC AND OFFICES.
WE REALLY JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS WILL LOOK LIKE.
AND MY BIGGEST FEAR TO BE FRANK IS THAT IT WILL BE A MUCH LESS TRANSPARENT PROCESS FOR THE PUBLIC.
THEY'LL SAY THEY'RE DOING ALL OF THE THINGS REQUIRED OF 'EM, BUT WHEN YOU DON'T ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO HAVE ACCESS, THAT IS A LESS TRANSPARENT PROCESS.
UM, THIS SLIDE SHOWS TO YOU ALL, WHAT ARE THE LEGISLATOR LEGISLATURES ISSUES RELATED TO CITIES? UM, ALL THE ONES IN RED, USUALLY THIS IS ALL RED, THE ONES IN YELLOW.
LET ME SAY WE ALREADY HAVE LEGISLATION CHILD OR A HEARING RELATED TO
[00:15:01]
THOSE BILLS.AS YOU CAN SEE THAT TOP ROW IS JUST PREEMPTION, PREEMPTION, PREEMPTION.
AGAIN, THIS HAS BEEN REALLY THE TOPIC.
DOES YOUR OR THE CAPITAL FOR THE LAST THREE SESSIONS? I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD A LOT ABOUT POLICE REFORM PREEMPTION DUE TO, UM, THE AUSTIN POLICE BUDGET.
AND THE GOVERNOR HAS TAKEN A VERY STRONG STANCE OF ATTENDING TO FILE BILLS RELATED TO THAT.
THERE HASN'T BEEN ANYTHING FILED YET, BUT HE'LL GIVE HIS STATE OF THE STATE IN JANUARY AND ALSO, UH, GOVERNOR, UH, DAN PATRICK WILL ALSO LAY OUT HIS TOP PRIORITIES AND I'M SURE THAT WILL BE IN THERE.
UM, WE ARE SEEING SOME BILLS FILED AND I'M SURE THERE'LL BE MORE COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE RELATED TO COVID PREEMPTION.
AND THAT'S, UH, OF THE BELIEF OF SOME ON THE, ON THE RIGHT.
I BELIEVE THAT MAYORS AND COUNTY JUDGES HAVE EXECUTED TOO, TOO MUCH AUTHORITY RELATED TO THE PANDEMIC AND THEY WANT TO, AND EVEN THE GOVERNOR, ALL THAT TWO, AND THEY WANT TO LIMIT THE AUTHORITY OF THOSE OFFICIALS IN THIS SETTING.
AND THEN THERE'S SUPER PREEMPTION AND SUPER PREMIUM.
SHANNON HAS GOTTEN OUT OF THE SENATE FOR THE LAST TWO SESSIONS.
AND BASICALLY THAT SAYS THAT UNLESS THE, THE STATE LAW SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZES A CITY TO ACT IN AN AREA, CITIES ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEGISLATE IN THAT AREA.
THIS IS BASICALLY AN END RUN AROUND HOME RULE AUTHORITY.
IT'S A STATUTORY, UM, AND ABOUT ROUNDABOUT, THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION OF HUMBLE AUTHORITY.
AND IT BASICALLY TURNS CITIES INTO HAVING THE LEVEL OF AUTHORITY THAT A COUNTY HAS.
UM, THE NEXT ROW, THOSE ISSUES YOU GUYS WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH IN TERMS OF EMPLOYEES, RIGHTS AND BENEFITS REFERS TO THINGS LIKE PAID SICK LEAVE AND THEIR CHANCE HIRING.
UM, ALSO OUR NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE IN OUR CITY, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR HAS REPEATEDLY FILED LEGISLATION RELATED TO THAT, STARTING WITH THE BATHROOM BILL SESSION, HE ADDED LANGUAGE THAT WOULD HAVE, UM, WOULD HAVE AFFECTED OUR NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE AND THE PAID SICK LEAVE BILLS.
AND THEN THERE WAS A BILL CALLED THE CHICK-FIL-A BILL RELATED TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THERE'S BEEN BILLS TO PREEMPT OUR ZONING AUTHORITY RELATED TO SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
UM, AND SO WE'VE HAD THAT AND THEN THE NO CITY LOBBYING BILL.
SO THIS IS BILL SAYS THAT CITIES CAN THAT ANY TAXPAYER ENTITY.
SO IT'D JUST BE CITIES, IT'D BE COUNTIES, IT'D BE, UH, COMMUNITY COLLEGES, IT'D BE HEALTH DISTRICTS CANNOT RETAIN LOBBYISTS.
AND IN ADDITION TO NOT BEING ABLE TO RETAIN OBVIOUS, WHICH WE DO THE CITY AS RETAINS LOBBYISTS AT BOTH A STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL, UM, IT ALSO SAYS THAT WE COULD NO LONGER PROVIDE INFORMATION TO A MEMBER OF THE CAPITOL UNLESS WE WERE REQUESTED BY THAT MEMBER TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.
SO RIGHT NOW, IN MY JOB, I REGULARLY PROVIDE UPDATES TO OUR DELEGATION AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE DELEGATION ON ISSUES THAT ARE CAPTURING HEADLINES OR THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING WITHOUT THEM ASKING.
AND I WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO DO THAT THE CITY, UM, OTHER THAN THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, THEY COULD STILL TESTIFY IN COMMITTEE, BUT CITY OFFICIALS COULD FINANCE THE NO LONGER TESTIFYING COMMITTEE UNLESS REQUESTED BY THE COMMITTEE CHAIR.
SO BASICALLY THIS BILL LIMITS OUR ABILITY TO PETITION THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
UM, AND IN FACT, THERE'S A HEARING ON THIS BILL SET FOR NEXT MONTH.
IT'S INVITED TESTIMONY ONLY, UM, AND IT INCLUDES THE TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION IS A GROUP THAT'S BEEN INVITED TO SPEAK WITH IT.
ALONG WITH ANOTHER LOBBY ASSOCIATION, IT'S CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC AND PUBLIC TESTIMONY IS NOT ALLOWED ON THEM.
UM, THAT DURING THAT HEARING, UM, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HEAR THE BILL YET BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T STARTED SESSION, BUT THEY'LL HAVE A HEARING ON THIS TOPIC.
UM, THIS BILL MADE IT ALL THE WAY OUT OF THE SENATE.
LAST SESSION, IT MADE IT ALL THE WAY THE HOUSE FLOOR, IT WAS KILLED ON A HOUSE FLOOR VOTE.
THERE WERE SOME REPUBLICANS THAT VOTED WITH DEMOCRATS TO KILL THAT BILL.
AND THOSE REPUBLICANS WERE THE ONES THAT THE SPEAKER, THE FORMER SPEAKER WANTED TO GO AFTER IN THEIR NEXT PRIMARIES.
UM, AND HE WAS CAUGHT ON TAPE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION.
AND HENCE WHY HE'S NO LONGER WITH US RIGHT NOW ON THAT LAST ROW OR ISSUES THIS COMMITTEE DEFINITELY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN.
THERE ARE, THERE IS A BILL TO DEREGULATE AUSTIN ENERGY ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES IN THE STATE.
UM, AND PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF THE RENEWABLE PROGRAMS WE DO AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND SO THAT BILL RIGHT NOW HAS BEEN FILED BY SENATOR SCHWERTNER WHO REPRESENTS A PART OF, UH, AUSTIN TO THE NORTH.
AND, UM, IT WOULD BASICALLY DEREGULATE AUSTIN ENERGY, PUT THEM INTO COMPETITION, OPEN UP COMPETITION HERE TO OTHER ENERGY UTILITIES.
UM, AND WE WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO SERVE THE INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY WE CURRENTLY SERVE.
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DEREGULATE AUSTIN WATER AT A TIME.SO WE'LL BE WATCHING FOR THAT.
UM, REVENUE CAPS PART TWO HAS TO DO WITH OUR ABILITY TO RAISE OUR PROPERTY TAX.
LAST SESSION AND ANNEXATION PART TWO, UM, ABOUT OUR ETJ REGULATION RIGHT NOW, IN ORDER TO ANNEX A PROPERTY, THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THAT PROPERTY GETS TO VOTE ON IT.
SO IT'S SEVERELY LIMITED A CITY'S ABILITY TO ANNEX.
UM, BECAUSE OF THAT, THERE IS A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE WHO IS ASKING HIS NAME IS TOM CRADDICK, SORRY, THAT'S MY BABY GIRL.
SOME OF YOU MIGHT, UM, REMEMBER MR. CRADDICK, HE WAS A FORMER SPEAKER.
UM, BUT BASICALLY HE'S ASKING, WELL, IF CITIES ARE NO LONGER GOING TO ANNEX, WHY SHOULD THEY GET TO REGULATE IN THE EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION? THAT'S A LIMIT OUTSIDE OF OUR CITY LIMITS, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, AND THAT REALLY AFFECTS THE CITY'S WATER QUALITY REGULATIONS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WATER PROCESS, CITY AND COUNTY LINES.
AND WE USE OUR ITI REGULATION ESPECIALLY TO REGULATE OUR WATER QUALITY IN AUSTIN.
SO THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT'LL BE ON THEIR AGENDA, THAT SESSION, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, IN TERMS OF OTHER ISSUES THAT THIS COMMITTEE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN AT THE LAST SLIDE, I'LL HAVE A LINK TO OUR AGENDA THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, IN SEPTEMBER IN SEPTEMBER, THE AGENDA CAN BE AMENDED AT ANY TIME.
SO IF THIS COMMITTEE SEES SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO ON THE AGENDA, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO WORK WITH WALL, BUT THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE ITEMS IN THE STATE AGENDA THAT DEAL WITH, UM, ISSUES THAT THIS COMMISSION WILL BE INTERESTED IN.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO NOTATE THOSE HERE.
AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, WE DON'T HAVE ANY BILLS FILED YET, BUT THESE ARE THE BILLS FILED SO FAR RELATED TO SOME ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES.
AS YOU CAN SEE, I THERE'S THE SHORTNER BILL.
UM, I'VE NEXT CONCERN IS A BILL THAT CAN KING HAS FILED THAT WOULD TAX ALL TYPES OF ENERGY GENERATED THAT ISN'T NATURAL GAS.
THEY WOULD BE THE ONE SOURCE OF ENERGY EXCLUDED FROM ATTACKS.
I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THAT BILL BECAUSE OF THE STATE'S RELIANCE ON TAX REVENUE FROM NATURAL GAS.
UM, SO I DO FIND THAT BILL CONCERNING IN A COURSE THAT GOES RIGHT TO THE, UM, THE RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS OF AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND THEN ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, REPRESENTS MEANER HAS FILED A BILL TO EXEMPT RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS FROM, UH, PROPERTY TAXATION.
UM, I'M SURE THERE'LL BE MORE FILED.
I'LL BE FRANK, IT'LL BE MOSTLY NOT FRO, UM, ENERGY CONSERVATION OR ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, ISSUES.
SO, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR TO MONITOR THESE BILLS AS THEY GO FORWARD.
UM, THERE'S THE LINK TO THE AGENDA THAT I SPOKE ABOUT.
I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS, ROB? HI, BRETT.
THANKS FOR THE, UM, THANKS FOR THE BRIEFING.
UM, UH, I KNOW THAT I NEEDED TO BELIEVE WE'RE PR UH, OFFICERS PART OF THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT REPRESENTATION AT THE CAPITOL, BUT I WONDER IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S UNIQUE, UM, THINGS THAT BIG CITIES ARE FIGHTING FOR AND ASKING FOR WHAT'S THE APPROACH THAT, UH, THE COUNCIL OR YOU AS, UH, THE LEGISLATIVE REP, UM, ARE TAKING IN TERMS OF BUILDING COALITIONS WITH, UH, THE OTHER BIG CITIES, CERTAINLY ISSUES LIKE, UM, UH, ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE ARE PRIORITIES IN BIG CITIES WHERE THEY'RE NOT IN KEN KING'S DISTRICT, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, SO I DO MEET REGULARLY WITH MY COUNTERPARTS AT THE OTHER BIG CITIES.
UM, WE'LL DISCUSS ALL THESE ISSUES.
UM, WE MEET REGULARLY DURING THE SESSION MORE FREQUENTLY, ALMOST WEEKLY.
UM, AND IN BETWEEN SESSIONS, WE MEET, I WOULD SAY ABOUT MONTHLY AND EVEN BY MONTH, THEY, WHEN WE NEED TO, AND THEN THE MAYOR ALSO RARELY WITH HIS MAYOR, HIS COUNTERPARTS AT THE MAYOR LEVEL AS WELL.
AND WE WORK WITH A TEXTING DISBELIEF, BUT I'LL BE FRANK ROB.
I MEAN, EVEN THE OTHER BIG CITIES ARE JUST NOT AS FORWARD, UM, IN THEIR PROGRESS.
WE ARE, I WOULD DEFINITELY LOVE TO SEE IF THEY, UM, WE NEED THOSE OTHER BIGGER CITIES IN THIS FIGHT IN ORDER TO HAVE SOME CHANCE.
AND THEN THERE ARE THE SMALLER,
[00:25:01]
UM, I WOULD SAY SUBURB CITIES, THAT IT'D BE GREAT TO SEE IN THIS BY, AND THEN YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU GET OUT TO THE RURAL, YOU KNOW, I I'LL SAY THIS TOO.I MEAN, SOMETIMES THE RURAL SURPRISINGLY ALSO CARE ABOUT SOME ISSUES, BUT YOU KNOW, IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT THE ISSUE IS, RIGHT.
SO WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH OUR TREE ORDINANCE BEING PREEMPTED, IT'S REALLY REMARKABLE.
HOW MANY CITIES IN TEXAS ACTUALLY HAVE THREE ORDINANCES? I WANT TO SAY, WHEN WE PUT THE LIST TOGETHER, WE CAME UP WITH ALMOST 200, UM, AND THAT'S A PRETTY, AND SO I THINK EVEN THE MEMBERS WERE SURPRISED BY THAT AND WE GAVE THEM A SPREADSHEET AND SAID, HERE THEY ALL ARE AND GAVE THEM TO ALL THE MEMBERS TO BE LIKE FYI.
THAT IT'S THAT COLD 10 BUILDING.
THAT'S ESSENTIAL BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'RE COUNTING BOOKS, RIGHT.
AND YOU'RE EITHER HERE TO COUNT MEMBERS IN THE VOTES OR WHETHER THEY'RE IN A VOTE FOR THEIR DISTRICT OR NOT.
I REMEMBER BEING SURPRISED AT THE LARGE NUMBER OF CITIES THAT HAD A BAG BAN AS WELL.
THAT WAS ANOTHER ONE WHERE YOU WOULD THINK THAT MAYBE IT WAS JUST ALL OF THE KIND OF BIG PROGRESSIVE CITIES, BUT THAT WASN'T THE CASE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, UM, WE ARE WHERE WE ARE WITH THEM.
AND JUST THE ISSUE OF, AGAIN, I'LL SPEAK, YOU KNOW, IF I CAN, ON MY SOAP BOX A LITTLE, IT'S JUST THAT PREEMPTION ISSUE OVERALL ON ONE END, IT WASN'T SO MANY CITIES THAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THAT OBTRUSIVE.
UM, AGAIN, ON THE OTHER SIDE THOUGH, YOU KNOW, THE CHEMICAL COUNCIL WEIGHED IN ON THAT ONE.
AND, UM, SO SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD THINK COULD SURVIVE AT THAT LEVEL, IT TAKES OVER THE WHOLE STUDIO.
JUST DIDN'T UNFORTUNATELY, HELEN IT'S FOR YOUR BRIEFING.
I REALLY LIKED THE PRESENTATION.
AND I WAS WONDERING THE DIFFERENCE, UM, THAT HAVING A DEMOCRATIC FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION WOULD MAKE IN THIS SESSION VERSUS THE LAST TWO.
THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION, KELLY.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY IT JUST GIVES THEM SOMEONE ELSE TO PUNCH AT.
YOU APPRECIATE MY CANCER, BUT THEY'LL PUNCH UP TOO.
AND YOU KNOW, THEY'LL PUNCH UP AT THE BIDEN HARRISON ADMINISTRATION TO YOUR POINT, UH, THAT OF JUST BEING SILENT ON ALL THOSE MATTERS.
IT JUST ADDS TO THE FUEL TO THE FIRE, I WOULD SAY.
UM, AND REALLY HELPED US IN ANY STRATEGIC WAY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS, DISCUSSION, MELISSA.
THANK YOU FOR THIS NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
I WONDER IF YOU COULD SPEAK ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
THE TESLA GIGAFACTORY IS CURRENTLY GETTING BUILT OUT HERE IN EAST AUSTIN, BUT THEY'RE NOT LEGALLY ABLE TO SELL DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMERS IN TEXAS.
IS THAT POTENTIALLY GOING TO CHANGE YOU THINK WITH THIS ONE NEXT YEAR? I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY INTERESTING MOST, I HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THAT CAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT.
THAT BILL WAS TWO SESSIONS AGO AND THAT WAS REALLY CONTESTED.
AND I THINK EVEN, UM, I HOPE GOD REMIND ME OF HIS NAME AND OTHER BILLIONAIRE CAME DOWN AND, AND, UM, PROMOTE BUFFET CAME DOWN AND WEIGHED IN ON THAT.
SO, UM, I'M SURE IT WILL COME UP AGAIN TO YOUR POINT ONCE ELON MUSK IS OFFICIALLY HERE.
I MEAN, I KNOW THEY'RE BUILDING IT AND SO FORTH, BUT ONCE THEY'RE FULLY UP.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS INCREDIBLY HELPFUL.
I ALWAYS APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO SPEAK WITH ALL OF YOU ALL IN AND I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, IT'S HELPFUL TO ME TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO YOU ALL, TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK UP THERE, KNOWING THAT I AM REPRESENTING OUR COMMUNITY ON THESE ISSUES ON THESE ISSUES.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION THAT MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE A CLEAR ANSWER TO YET, UM, GIVEN THE UNKNOWNS, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE LOGISTICS OF THIS SESSION BEING DIFFERENT, WOULD YOU EXPECT
[00:30:01]
YOU WERE BILLS TO MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE PROCESS? YEAH.I ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.
I DIDN'T SPEAK TO THAT AS MUCH AS I USUALLY SHOULD DO.
THEY ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE THE SOCIAL DISTANCING AVAILABILITY OF DIFFERENT HEARING ROOMS AND A LOT OF THOSE HEARING ROOMS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, DON'T PROVIDE THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING AVAILABILITY.
SO I DO THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE LESS BILLS GOING THROUGH, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT LEADERSHIP WON'T GET FIRST DIBS OF THEIR BILLS GOING THROUGH.
PROBABLY NOT THE BILLS THAT WE HOPE FOR.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, BREE, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND EXPERTISE.
AND WE SEND OUT UPDATES TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND WE'LL INCLUDE YOU ALL IN THAT LIST SO THAT YOU'LL SEE OF UPDATES.
AND IF YOU EVER HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT ANYTHING, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO ME.
I'VE BEEN STRUGGLING TRYING TO GET MY AUDIO UP IF IT'S NOT TOO LATE, I CAN BORROW YOU FOR 10 MINUTES.
I JUST ONE LASKA DIANE QUESTION I HAVE IS I FELT LIKE WITH TESLA BUILDING THE GIGAFACTORY, THAT THERE COULD BE LIKE ONE THING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE THAT THE REPUBLICAN IN, IN, IN TEXAS COULD GET BEHIND IS HOW MUCH MONEY TESLA IS BRINGING INTO TEXAS.
DO YOU ENVISION THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE LEGISLATURE RELATED TO ELECTRICAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE AT ALL? THAT WILL HELP THE CONVERSATION? I THINK TO THE POINT EARLIER, THAT WILL DEFINITELY BE SOMETHING THEY'LL LOOK AT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
YOU, YOU KNOW, TESLA'S GOING TO HAVE TO BRING THAT CONVERSATION TO BEAR.
UM, BUT JUST WHAT'S HARD IS THAT THE BUDGET SYSTEM, AS IT IS RIGHT NOW FOR THE STATE IS VERY MUCH RELIES ON OIL AND GAS AND REVENUES.
AND SO THEY HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN OIL AND GAS.
LIKE, I DON'T IMAGINE THEY GONNA PUT MONEY OUT THAT'S FOR SURE.
I, I SEE THAT, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PROPERTY FOR, YOU KNOW, CHARGED GRID AND THINGS THAT BE INFRASTRUCTURES THAT COULD BE MADE EASIER TO, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST SOLAR AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND I, YOU KNOW, MAYBE I'M BEING IDEALISTIC HERE.
AND, UM, MAYBE I'LL GO AS FAR AS SAYING THAT SOME KIND OF QUALITATIVE MEASURES OF CARBON FOOTPRINT OF A DIFFERENT INDUSTRY WILL GO A LONG WAY.
SO, AND I APPRECIATE YOU UPDATING US AND KEEP US UPDATED.
GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO GET YOUR AUDIO WORKING THAT I KNOW IT'S A STRUGGLE SOMETIMES.
UM, AND NOW I'M STRUGGLING TO GET MY PDF TO OPEN BACK UP, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE THAT IT IS THAT OUR NEXT,
[2.b) Presentation on Planet Texas 2050 initiatives—Dave Kramer, UT Austin (Discussion and/or possible action) ]
UH, PRESENTATION IS WITH DAVE KRAMER ON THE PLANET PLANET, TEXAS 2020.AND I THINK I'VE BUTCHERED THAT.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YEAH, THAT'S GREAT.
IT'S UH, ACTUALLY PLANET TEXAS 2050 OF PROGRAM THAT YOU AT UT, BUT, UH, SO YEAH, NO WORRIES.
SO IS THE BEST WAY TO RUN THIS.
YOU, YOU WILL FAST FORWARD FOR ME OR I WANT TO HAVE CONTROL, BUT, UM, CITY HALL, SOMEBODY IN CITY HALL.
SO I'LL JUST SAY NEXT AND WHATNOT.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVITING ME TO THIS.
AND, UH, I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES, MY NAME IS DAVID KRAMER.
I'M THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR PLANET, TEXAS 2050, A GRAND CHALLENGE AT UT AUSTIN, WHICH ALL I'LL EXPLAIN, BUT A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES ARE ALSO HERE ON THE LINE.
UM, FERNANDO LETCHER IS A PROFESSOR AT UT IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
SHE'S OUR FACULTY CHAIR AND JONATHAN LOWELL IS THE COMMUNITY LIAISON.
AND THEN JONATHAN IS ALSO, YOU CAN SEE ON THE LIST HERE.
SO IN JONATHAN FERNANDA DIVE, JUMP IN, ESPECIALLY IF I SAY ANYTHING THAT, UH, SEEMS INSANE, BUT, UH, I GUESS WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO REAL QUICKLY, I THINK ANY PRESENTATION I WANT TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHO I AM JUST REALLY QUICKLY
[00:35:01]
ON, UH, MY PRONOUNS.ARE HE HIM AND HIS, AND UH, THAT'S MY EMAIL THERE, UH, AT UT I STARTED AS PROGRAM DIRECTOR IN, UH, APRIL.
SO I'VE ONLY EVER WORKED FOR UT FROM HOME, BUT, UM, THE, UH, MY FAMILY AND I ARE RECENT TEXAS TRANSPLANTS.
LIKE A LOT OF FOLKS MOVING HERE FROM BOSTON.
AND, UM, ALSO PRIOR TO THAT IN COLUMBIA WHERE MY WIFE IS FROM AND WHERE I LIVED PREVIOUSLY.
SO WE LOVE BLUEBONNETS, BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THIS IS PART OF WHAT, WHY PLANET TEXAS 2050 EXISTS BECAUSE THERE'S GREAT PRESSURE BEING PUT ON THE RESOURCES OF THIS STATE AND IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, FROM FOLKS LIKE ME AND MANY OTHERS.
SO NEXT SLIDE, UM, THE PLANET TEXAS 2050 IS A PROGRAM, AS I MENTIONED, UH, FROM THE OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AT UT.
AND OUR VISION REALLY IS A RESILIENT TEXAS.
UM, WE HAVE A DEEP ROOTS IN AUSTIN BECAUSE WE'RE BASED AT UT AUSTIN, BUT OUR, OUR VISION IS TO, TO LOOK AT THE CHALLENGES THAT THE STATE FACES, UM, IN, IN THE MIDDLE OF, UH, WHAT IS CLEARLY A CLIMATE CRISIS, UH, AND BOOMING GROWTH AND THE RESOURCE STRAIN, UH, THAT COMES ALONG WITH IT, PLUS THE EQUITY ISSUES AND, AND, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CHALLENGES THAT ARE MORE APPARENT THAN EVER RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE'VE ASKED OURSELVES ARE REALLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS IF TEXAS CAN'T HANDLE THE CRUSH OF TRAFFIC, THE INCREASED STRAIN PUT ON OUR SYSTEMS FROM, UH, ENERGY USE, WATER USE, UM, ECOSYSTEM SERVICE, YOU KNOW, UM, SERVICES BEING OVERBURDENED RIGHT NOW.
I BELIEVE WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF A BIT OF A DROUGHT.
IT'S BEEN NICE, BUT, UH, I THINK WE'RE, UM, CLEARLY THERE, THERE ISSUES WE HAVE TO FACE TOGETHER.
AND OF COURSE THE HURRICANE SEASON HAS BEEN LIKE NO OTHER, LUCKILY NOT TOO MANY, UM, EXTREME HITS ON THE GULF COAST HERE, BUT STILL, UM, THERE'S, THERE ARE A LOT OF CHALLENGES TO FACE.
SO, UH, THE PLANET TEXAS 2050 IS WORKING IN AS, UH, A WAY ACROSS, UH, PRETTY MUCH, UM, UH, QUITE A VARIETY IT'S OVER 20 OF THE SCHOOLS AND UNITS AT UT.
UM, RESEARCHERS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO TRY TO THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE MAKE TEXAS MORE RESILIENT IN THE FACE OF THESE CHALLENGES, NEXT SLIDE, WHAT YOU MIGHT ASK, WHAT'S THE GRAND CHALLENGE, UM, AND HOW CAN WE BE INVOLVED OR HOW CAN WE CONNECT TO IT.
BUT, UH, A GRAND CHALLENGE ESSENTIALLY IS A WICKED PROBLEM THAT REQUIRES NEW KINDS OF COLLABORATION, UM, ACROSS DISCIPLINES IN GENERAL, RIGHT? A, UM, UH, AN A GRAND CHALLENGE INITIATIVE ADDRESSES PROBLEMS THAT IF THEY'RE SOLVED CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE IMPACT ON PEOPLE IN SOCIETY.
A GRAND CHALLENGE BY DEFINITION IS GRAND AS LARGE IN SCALE, AMBITIOUS IN SCOPE AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY.
UM, AND, AND UNIVERSITY-BASED GRAND CHALLENGES COME IN MANY SHAPES AND SIZES.
YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH OTHER TYPES OF GRAND CHALLENGES FROM, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, FOUNDER, UH, FOUNDATIONS, OR, UM, EVEN GOVERNMENTS OR THE UN, BUT IN THE CASE OF THE UNIVERSITY-BASED GRAND CHALLENGE, IT FOCUSES A LOT ON RESEARCH AND HOW TO MAKE RESEARCH, UM, MORE TRANSDISCIPLINARY AND MORE APPLICABLE TO SOCIAL AND SOCIETAL PROBLEMS. NEXT SLIDE.
SO JUST A FEW OTHER EXAMPLES OF GRAND CHALLENGES THAT ARE NOT AT UT I'M JUST QUICKLY SCANNING THROUGH THESE.
THE ONE ON THE FAR LEFT IS WITH THE CAMBRIDGE, UM, UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF THE UK FOCUSED ON INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND HOW TO BRING THEIR RESOURCES AND MINDS TO BEAR ON THAT, ON THOSE ISSUES.
UM, CORNELL UNIVERSITY HAS ONE THAT THEY LAUNCHED RECENTLY, UM, UH, FOCUSED ON MIGRATIONS.
SO IT'S SORT OF THEMATIC, UH, UCLA HAS SEVERAL GRAND CHALLENGES AND THE ONE THAT'S MOST SIMILAR TO PLANET TEXAS 2050 IS SUSTAINABLE LA UH, SUSTAINABLE LOS ANGELES WITH SOME VERY CLEAR GOALS TO HELP THAT CITY, UM, DEAL WITH SOME OF THE SAME ISSUES WE'RE DEALING WITH IN AUSTIN.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HAS COME ON SCENE WITH THEIR OWN, UM, GRAND CHALLENGES, UH, AND, UH, HAVE VARIOUS, BUT ONE IS ON FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT TO LEARN FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES AND, UM, THE WAY AND LESSONS LEARNED THAT THEY THEMSELVES HAVE.
SO I, I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE GRAND CHALLENGES AT UT WE RECALL THE BRIDGING BARRIERS.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE TITLE WE GIVE TO THE THREE DIFFERENT GRAND CHALLENGES THAT UT
[00:40:01]
HAS PLANET TEXAS 2050 IS ONE OF THEM.UM, THE OTHER TWO ARE, UM, UH, ONE IS CALLED GOOD SYSTEM FOCUSED ON HOW TO MAKE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MORE, UM, POSITIVE AND BENEFICIAL TO SOCIETY AND KIND OF MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE POTENTIAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
AND THE OTHER ONE IS CALLED WHOLE COMMUNITIES, WHOLE HEALTH, WHICH IS FOCUSED VERY, UM, IN A DRILLED IN WAY ON, ON ONE AREA OF AUSTIN WITH A NEW KIND OF COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH AND COHORT STUDY, UM, FOCUS.
SO IT'S, IT'S VERY LOCALIZED, BUT OVERALL BRIDGING BARRIERS AND THE GRAND CHALLENGE INITIATIVE THAT UT EXISTS FOR THE REASONS I MENTIONED THAT MOST GRAND CHALLENGES EXIST, BUT AT UT THAT DIDN'T HAVE A GRAND CHALLENGE PRESIDENT FEND BASE, UH, THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF UT, UM, MADE A CALL OR, UH, UH, IDEAS.
AND THEY'VE REALLY, UM, THEY, THE IDEAS FROM RESEARCHERS ACROSS CAMPUS WERE, UM, BUBBLED SORT OF, UM, CAME FROM THE BOTTOM UP AND WERE THEN PULLED AND CATEGORIZE.
AND THE FIRST ONE, AN IDEA THAT KIND OF JELLED WAS THIS IDEA OF EXTREME WEATHER, CLIMATE RESILIENCE, UM, THE UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH AND, AND, AND, UH, EXPECTATIONS OF GREATER GROWTH IN TEXAS.
SO, UM, AND THE TEXAS 2050 TOOK SHAPE IN 2017 WAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN 2018 IN JANUARY.
SO, YEAH, AS I MENTIONED, THE ORGAN OF THE OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH SOLICITED IDEAS, SORTED THEM MET AND LAUNCHED THESE THREE GRAND CHALLENGES.
UM, I KNOW YOU CAN'T READ THIS, UH, ALL OF THE TYPE UNDER EACH PERSON'S NAME, BUT THESE ARE, UM, KIND OF THE CORE OF PLANET, TEXAS 2050.
WE HAVE A LOT MORE PEOPLE INVOLVED, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, FERNANDA AND I, AND JONATHAN ARE, THEY'RE KIND OF AT THE TOP, RIGHT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE CURRENTLY EIGHT FACULTY LEAD THAT ARE ALL TOGETHER CALLED THE THEME ORGANIZING COMMITTEE.
UM, THEY COME FROM, UM, THEIR NAMES ARE J BANNER DAVE YOGI, TIM KIT, FERNANDO LHA ON THE CALL.
UM, CATHERINE LIBOR, NEC, UH, SUZANNE PIERCE, ADAM RABINOWITZ, AND MIRIAM SOLIZ.
AND THEY COME FROM A VERY WIDE VARIETY OF, OF DISCIPLINES, UM, FROM GEOLOGY TO CLIMATE ONTOLOGY, TO, UM, BIOLOGY AND, UH, UH, LANDSCAPE LEVEL, UM, CONSERVATION TO, UH, CIVIL AND ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING, UH, URBAN PLANNING, UH, COMPUTER MODELING, AND, UM, ACTUALLY, UH, ADAM IN THE, IN THE BOTTOM THERE, HE, UH, IS AN ARCHEOLOGIST AND, UM, STUDIES, ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS IN THE WAYS THAT THEY RESPONDED AND, AND, AND DIFFERENT CLUES.
WE CAN, THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE PAST.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE JUST QUICKLY, THIS IS HOW WE MEET NOW.
UH, DON'T NEED TO DWELL ON THIS, BUT WE RECENTLY HAD A, UH, KIND OF RETREAT ON ZOOM, BUT JUST TO SHOW YOU THAT WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
AND, UH, WE'RE ALL SORT OF MEETING ON ZOOM AND WEBEX AND ALL THAT, BUT THAT'S US IN ACTION.
UM, SO SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST PHASE OF
UM, BUT, UH, I THINK WHAT WE HAVE SEEN LIKE MANY OTHERS, UH, WE'VE HAD EXTREME CHALLENGES AND DISRUPTIONS, ESPECIALLY WITH COVID, SO, HAD TO ADAPT AND, UH, LEARN FROM THAT.
SO JUST SOME SHOW AND TELL HERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, PROJECTS THAT, UH, HAVE RELATED TO, UH, UH, AN ESCAPE ROOM, UH, HAVING, HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND THROUGH SIMULATIONS, WHAT IT MIGHT FEEL LIKE TO LIVE IN A DIFFERENT, UM, WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND WITH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT MAY HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE AND ALLOW GROUPS TO COME TOGETHER AND THINK ABOUT WHAT, WHAT MIGHT WE DO TO AVOID THAT, OR WHAT DO WE, HOW
[00:45:01]
DO WE SHAPE THE FUTURE COLLECTIVELY? UM, AND, UH, AS WELL AS, UM, MAPPING AND MODELING, UH, ONE THING I'D BE REMISSED TO, TO NOT SAY IS BASICALLY THE, UH, THE FACT THAT UT HAS A SUPERCOMPUTER AND THE THING CALLED THE, UH, UH, ORGANIZATION CALLED THE TEXAS ADVANCED COMPUTING CENTER, UM, THAT WE RELY ON TO REALLY LOOK AT HUGE DATA SETS AND TRY TO COMPARE, UH, BETWEEN PROJECTS IN ADAM'S CASE, LOOKING AT THE PAST, MAYBE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE SAME LAND THAT, UH, TIM MENTIONED EARLIER MIGHT BE LOOKING AT.SO TO BE ABLE TO COMPARE, UM, THE SAME, THE SAME, UH, UH, PARSES OF PARCELS OF LAND AND DATASETS, WE CAN DO THAT.
AND WE CAN ALSO DO SOME VERY SOPHISTICATED MODELING AND, UM, AROUND CLIMATE PROJECTIONS AND, UH, FLOODPLAINS AND CHANGES IN FLOODING PATTERNS AND IDEALLY GET COMMUNITIES, UM, TO HELP US REFINE THOSE.
AND GROUND-TRUTH THOSE, AND MAYBE EVEN HELP BEGIN THE DESIGN OF SOME OF OUR MODELS, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, YEAH, SO WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT THE HISTORY OF WATER.
UM, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THAT'S BULL CREEK ON THE RIGHT.
AND, UH, UH, ACTUALLY HAD RESEARCH SHOW THAT, UH, A LOT OF THE WATER FLOWING THROUGH, UM, SOME OF OUR CREEK SYSTEMS ARE AS FROM, UH, UM, SEEPAGE FROM HOMES, FROM LEAKY PIPES, AND IT'S NOT JUST ALL RAINWATER AND NATURAL.
SO IT'S INTERESTING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS AND HOW THAT IMPACTS US IN OUR LIVES AND THE ENVIRONMENT NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND THEN THIS, UH, ON THE LEFT WAS A PROJECT THAT FERNANDO WAS LEE IS, IS LEADING RIGHT WITH, UM, VIRTUAL REALITY.
UM, AND ACTUALLY IT'S UP FOR A SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, ON THE PANEL PICKER, WHICH IS THROUGH TOMORROW TO VOTE FOR IT, IF YOU CAN, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
BUT THE IDEA IS TO BE ABLE TO HELP USE VIRTUAL REALITY, TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO ENVISION AND SEE, UM, CLIMATE CHANGE FIRSTHAND, EVEN JUST VIRTUALLY, UM, ON THE RIGHT, UH, WITHOUT GOING INTO EXTREME DETAIL.
WHAT YOU SEE IS THE PROGRESSION OF TROPICAL DISEASES THAT ARE NOW ACTUALLY ENDEMIC TO TEXAS IS TEXAS WAS THE FIRST STATE IN THE U S IN DECLARED ENDEMIC FOR A CERTAIN, UM, UH, PATHOGEN CALLED BURKHOLDER BURKHOLDERIA, WHICH USED TO ONLY BE FOUND IN THE TROPICS AND CERTAIN CONDITIONS AND IS, UM, IS QUITE SERIOUS, BUT THAT'S ALL RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
HOW DO WE PREPARE FOR THAT AND MAP IT AND GIVE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS AND OTHERS, UM, UH, ADEQUATE TIME TO RESPOND.
AND AS I MENTIONED, WE HAD A DESIGN, UM, THE CENTER FOR INTEGRATED DESIGN AT UT, UM, IN, UH, DO KIND OF A CAPSTONE PROJECT THIS PAST YEAR.
I THINK MY VERY FIRST WEEK ON THE JOB, I GOT TO SEE THEIR PRESENTATION IN MID APRIL, AND IT WAS PRETTY AWESOME.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE, UM, HOW STUDENTS CAN HELP YOU RETHINK THIS.
AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE KEY WORDS LIKE, LIKE RESILIENCE, UM, WHICH IS THE KEY CORE AND KEYWORD OF A PLANET, TEXAS 2050.
UM, BUT THEY, THERE WERE THREE TEAMS IN THAT DESIGN STUDIO THAT, UM, CAME UP WITH ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT IDEAS TO BETTER REACH THE PUBLIC OR BETTER HELP INDIVIDUALS UNDERSTAND THE, THE CHALLENGES, UM, UH, FACING THEM WITH THINGS LIKE HURRICANE, UH, UH, HURRICANES FLOODS AND DROUGHTS THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO I'M NOT GOING TO READ ALL THIS, BUT THIS IS IN DOVE SPRINGS.
SO ONE OF OUR, OUR, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M PROUD OF THAT I THINK IS WORTH MENTIONING IS THAT THE PLANET IS THAT PLANET TEXAS 2050 IS, UM, IS SIGNIFICANT, BUT IT IS ABLE TO LEVERAGE SO MUCH MORE.
UM, IN PARTICULAR, IN THIS CASE, WE WERE ABLE TO GET A NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANT THAT HAS, UH, IS, IS GOING TO ENABLE US TO DO A MUCH MORE MULTIPLY THE INVESTMENT FROM UT, UM, TO WORK WITH AN ORGANIZATION CALLED GO AUSTIN VAMOS, AUSTIN, WHICH IS GABA, UM, AND WORKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF, UH, DOVE SPRINGS, UM, AND THEIR PROGRAM CALLED CLIMATE NAVIGATORS, WHICH IS BASICALLY HELPING, UH, AIMS TO HELP TRAIN NEIGHBORS, HOW TO ANTICIPATE, PREPARE FOR, AND RESPOND TO CLIMATE, UH, STRESSORS, SPECIALLY FLOODING.
IT'S VERY, IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH FLOOD PRONE AREA THAT, UM, UH, COMMUTE IN THE COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS THERE ARE, UM, OBVIOUSLY CONCERNED ABOUT AND WE AIM TO HELP, UM, THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAD THESE TWO, UM, PANELS FROM, UH, OUR, OUR TEAMS ACTUALLY FERNANDEZ ON BOTH OF THESE, BUT THE IDEA OF LOOKING AT, UM, CLIMATE, UH, AND BEING ABLE TO
[00:50:01]
INTERACT WITH CLIMATE ISSUES, EXPERIENTIALLY USING VR, VIRTUAL REALITY AND ESCAPE ROOMS. UM, AND THEN, UH, YEAH, BASICALLY, UH, SOMETHING WE WANT TO BRING.I THINK IT'S EXCITING TO SEE HOW THE STUFF THAT HAPPENS KIND OF BEHIND THE WALLS AND THE IVORY TOWER OF UTI COULD POTENTIALLY BE SOMETHING THAT CAN HELP SOCIETY AND TEACHERS AND COMMUNITIES, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
SO, UH, I THINK IN GENERAL, THESE ARE SOME OF OUR MAIN PRIORITIES MOVING FORWARD AS A, AS AN INITIATIVE.
UM, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY AFTER THIS SUMMER, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMITTED MORE THAN EVER TO JUSTICE, SOCIAL, RACIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, REALLY THINKING ABOUT HOW OUR, OUR, OUR KIND OF NEW FORMAT THAT I'LL MENTION IN A MOMENT AND TELL YOU ABOUT CAN ALLOW DEEPER ENGAGEMENT WHILE STILL, YOU KNOW, AS A UNIVERSITY PRODUCING THE KIND OF TOP NOTCH, UM, PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCH THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE RUNNING AND, AND GAINING, YOU KNOW, EVERY, UH, AND BEING PART OF A COMMUNITY OF RESEARCHERS INTERNATIONALLY.
UM, BUT I THINK REALLY THIS TRANS DISCIPLINARY WORK, UH, IS A MODEL THAT ACTUALLY STRETCHES BEYOND WHAT A LOT OF OTHER GRAND CHALLENGES ARE EVEN ABLE TO DO, BECAUSE FROM THE VERY GET-GO THE, UH, PEOPLE WHO WERE INVOLVED WITH PLANET TEXAS 2050 BEFORE ME WERE REALLY COMMITTED TO MAKING IT TRULY TRANSDISCIPLINARY AND VALUING, UH, THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES.
AND AS OPPOSED TO JUST THINKING ABOUT STEM, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND MATH, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, AND AS YOU SEE THE ARROW THERE POINTING TO WHAT STARTS HERE, CHANGES THE WORLD, WHICH IS UT SLOGAN.
WE REALLY, TRULY BELIEVE THAT.
AND THEN IN TEXAS, UM, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE COMMITTED MORE THAN EVER TO WORKING WITH FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES AND GROUPS THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE EXPOSED OR INVOLVED WITH, UM, CLIMATE ISSUES AND, AND BEARING THE BRUNT OF CLIMATE IMPACTS.
UM, THREE OF OUR PARTNERS, UH, IN, IN, IN OUR DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
SO THEY'RE MENTIONED GABA, GLOSSED AND BAMA SAW AUSTIN, UM, ECO RISE, UH, FANTASTIC NGO, NONPROFIT BASED HERE THAT WORKS ALL OVER TEXAS AND BEYOND WITH TEACHERS AND CLIMATE AMBASSADORS AND THEN COMMUNITY POWERED WORKSHOP.
THERE ARE MANY OTHERS, JONATHAN, UH, IS HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH BUILDING OUT EVEN MORE ACROSS THE STATE, BUT THESE ARE EXAMPLES OF, UM, THREE ORGANIZATION AND GROUPS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO COLLABORATE WITH MORE TO REALLY MAKE SURE WE LEAVE A LEGACY, UM, WELL BEYOND THE PUBLICATIONS AND, AND EVEN EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITIES THAT WE PRODUCE.
UM, SO FLAGSHIPS FLAGSHIP PROJECTS, THE IDEA HERE IS THAT WE'RE MOVING FROM A BUNCH OF RELATIVELY SMALL, I MEAN, NOT TINY, BUT RELATIVELY SMALL PROJECTS TO SIX, UM, MUCH LARGER LONGTERM FOUR YEAR PLUS ENDEAVORS, WHICH I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, AND THE SLIDE AFTER THAT, BUT WAS SECURE FIRST.
SO WE, WE ACTUALLY, I KNOW IT'S AT LEAST ON MY SCREEN, IT DOESN'T LOOK THAT BIG, BUT, UM, WE COMMISSIONED A ART FROM A RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE.
I BELIEVE HE WENT TO LHASA, BUT I CAN'T, I'M NOT ENTIRELY CERTAIN, UM, A YOUNG MAN NAMED CHAMP TURNER, FANTASTIC ARTIST CAN DRAW MAPS.
LIKE YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE FROM MEMORY, ANY, ANY MAP, ANY PLACE AROUND THE WORLD.
UM, WE FOUND OUT ABOUT HIM THROUGH OUR COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AT THE BRIDGING BARRIERS AND, UH, COMMISSIONED HIM TO CREATE A MAP OF TEXAS THAT INCORPORATES ALL SIX OF OUR FLAGSHIP PROJECTS THAT, UM, IF WE WERE TO ZOOM IN HERE, IT'S HIGHLY DETAILED.
HE DID THIS IN A, UM, IN PAINTING.
AND, UM, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE IS, IS A SYMBOLIC, YOU KNOW, LOCATION, BUT REPRESENTS ALL DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF TEXAS AND THE WAYS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK, UM, FROM COMMUNITIES, UH, UH, UM, WITH COMMUNITIES ACROSS TEXAS, BUT ALSO WITH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ISSUES.
SO THE SIX FLAGSHIPS REPRESENTED THERE ARE, ARE THESE, UM, THE FIRST IS CALLED SUSTAINABLE TEXAS COMMUNITIES.
UM, THE SECOND IS CALLED BIODIVERSITY AND CHANGING LANDSCAPES.
A THIRD IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING RESILIENT CITIES IN A POST CARBON FUTURE THAT IS, UM, FERNANDEZ, THE, UH, CO LEAD ON THAT PROJECT.
UM, NETWORKS FOR HAZARD PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE IS ACTUALLY A REALLY GOOD BLOG POST.
IF YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE, YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE A MEDIUM, UH, AS, UH, AS THE SITE WHERE WE KEEP OUR BLOG POSTS, BUT, UH, VERY RECENT POST ABOUT, ABOUT THAT PROJECT.
AND THEN, UM, UH, INTEGRATED MODELS FOR COMPLEX DECISION-MAKING AND
[00:55:01]
STORIES OF ANCIENT RESILIENCE.UM, AND EACH OF THESE INVOLVES TWO OR MORE, UH, CO-LEADS FROM ACROSS, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES, BUT THEN, UM, QUITE A FEW, YOU KNOW, A VERY, A LONG LIST OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESEARCHERS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND PARTNERS.
SO THE NEXT, NEXT SLIDE, UM, AS I MENTIONED, UH, WE HOPE TO, UM, REALLY MAKE OUR RESEARCH AS COMMUNITY DRIVEN, COMMUNITY ENGAGED AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE'RE AIMING FOR GREATER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND WITH JONATHAN IS OUR COMMUNITY LIAISON.
EACH OF OUR, EACH OF OUR FLAGSHIPS IS, AND TEAMS LEADING THE FLAGSHIPS IS COMMITTED TO, UH, THIS IDEA OF TAKING THINGS FROM BEING LIKE, LET'S JUST MAKE SURE COMMUNITIES ARE INFORMED OF THIS AND MAYBE CAN BENEFIT TO, UM, BEING INVOLVED IN POTENTIALLY EVEN DIRECTING PORTIONS AND HELPING LEAD, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT THEY NEED MOST? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORS NEED MOST AND HOW CAN WE HELP, UM, CO DESIGN ASPECTS OF THE RESEARCH AND, AND IMPLEMENTATION? SO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS IS ACTUALLY THE, UM, THE, A BLOG POST, AN IMAGE OF THE BLOG POST.
I HAD MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO, UM, BUT THAT'S, I BELIEVE FLOODING IN, UM, DOVE SPRINGS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, BUT, UH, MAKING SURE IN THAT PARTICULAR, UH, FLAGSHIP IS LOOKING AT HOW DO WE DO A BETTER JOB OF MAPPING THE FLOOD PATHWAYS AND PATTERNS, AND ALSO UNDERSTAND THE HUMAN NETWORKS.
SO LOOKING AT NETWORKS OF WATER AND NETWORKS, PEOPLE, AND HOW DO THOSE OVERLAY.
AND SO WE HAVE, UH, UH, UH, CO-LEADS ONE IS FROM THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY, THE LBJ SCHOOL AT UT, AND THE OTHER IS FROM THE COCKRELL SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS PRETTY TINY, BUT RECENTLY WE COMMISSIONED ANOTHER ARTIST TO HELP US CHART OUR FUTURE.
AND THIS IS BASICALLY JUST A DEPICTION OF SHOWING WHAT SOME OF OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ARE IN THE FUTURE.
WHAT KIND OF LEGACY WE WANT TO LEAVE? THIS IS KIND OF THE CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING AS A LEADERSHIP TEAM, UM, TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE IMPACT AND POSITIVELY IMPACT AND CHANGE THE STATE OF TEXAS AND PARTNER WITH GROUPS IN HOUSTON, UP IN LUBBOCK OR WHATEVER, TO, UM, TO MAKE, UH, THIS, SOMETHING THAT THIS AGENDA KIND OF PREVIOUS SPEAKER MENTIONED, UM, ON A LEGISLATIVE SIDE, YOU'RE TRYING TO COORDINATE BETWEEN, UM, CITIES.
WE ALSO WANT TO COORDINATE BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES AND COMMUNITIES AROUND THE STATE BECAUSE IT'S SO DIVERSE AND THE ISSUES ARE, ARE SO DISTINCT YET.
THERE'S THIS COMMON THREAD OF, WE NEED TO BUILD GREATER RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND HAVE COMMUNITIES AND, UM, POLICY MAKERS AND DECISION MAKERS AND PEOPLE ALL UP AND DOWN THAT KIND OF CHAIN, I GUESS, UM, UNDERSTAND AND HAVE INFORMATION BE ACCESSIBLE AND DIGESTIBLE AND ACCURATE, UM, TO INCREASE TRUST.
UH, SO THE NEXT SLIDE WE'RE ALMOST DONE HERE IS, UH, IT RECENTLY IN A MEETING WHERE WE PRODUCED THAT, UM, THAT DRAWING, UM, WE DID SOME ASPIRATIONAL BRAINSTORMING AND THE FACILITATOR ASKED US TO KIND OF CLOSE OUR EYES AND IMAGINE A WORLD, UH, THAT IN THE FUTURE, IF IT WERE KIND OF A MOVIE, UM, I GUESS, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, SHORT OR THE, UM, FORGET WHAT YOU CALL THAT.
BUT BASICALLY WHEN YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, THE MOVIE IS GOING TO BE ABOUT THE, UH, TRAILER.
SO, UM, BASICALLY WE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE COMPLEXITY IN A WORLD WHERE COMPLEXITY RAINS COMMUNITIES CAN COME TOGETHER TO HARNESS THE POWER OF MANY AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL.
UM, THIS IS VERY ASPIRATIONAL, RIGHT? BUT WE, UH, WANTED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND SAY, WELL, SO WHAT, WHY DO WE DO THIS WORK AND HOW CAN IT HELP THE WORLD? UM, HOW CAN IT BE FIRST RATE RESEARCH AND HELP AND NOT AN OR EITHER, OR, BUT AN AND, UM, AND I THINK RIGHT NOW WE'RE ALL, UH, ESPECIALLY I BELIEVE WE MET BEFORE THE ELECTION, ALTHOUGH I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER NOW, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT LIVING IN A WORLD OF DIVISION AND A DIVISION BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AND COMMUNITIES, BETWEEN PEOPLE IN NATURE BETWEEN WEALTH AND, AND, AND, AND FOR THE FEW AND A HEALTH FOR ALL.
BUT THE IDEA THAT A GROUP OF RESEARCHERS COULD SPREAD OUT, NOT THAT WE'RE HEROES BY ANY MEANS, BUT THAT WE COULD HELP CATALYZE AND, AND, UM, BRING THE RESOURCES, INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL, ET CETERA, FROM UT TO HELP, UM, UH, UH, CREATE A BETTER COMMON FUTURE.
SO NEXT SLIDE IS, UM, JUST THE LAST SLIDE.
I, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU ARE
[01:00:01]
FAMILIAR WITH A PROGRAM CALLED THE POST CARBON INSTITUTE, BUT THERE'S A, UM, UH, I THINK IT'S A BLOG OR PODCAST SERIES CALLED, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT MIGHT GO, RIGHT? AND ONE OF THEM WAS, UM, LED BY THIS WOMAN, SUZANNE DR.AND SHE SAID, HOPE REQUIRES UNCERTAINTY ONLY IF THE FUTURE ISN'T WRITTEN, CAN WE POSSIBLY WISH FOR HOPE? SO THAT'S WHAT DRIVES ME AND OUR TEAM TO CONTINUE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THESE REALLY, UM, UNIQUE TIMES.
DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY FOLLOW-UP THAT YOU'D LIKE TO DO VIA, UM, MY EMAIL OR, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
UH, WOULD A BODY OF WORK YOU'RE CREATING THERE? THAT'S AMAZING QUESTIONS, MELISSA.
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS PRESENTATION.
IT REALLY GOT MY SELF-LIKE HYPED UP AND ENERGIZED AND KIND OF MY, AND MY BRAIN.
JUST THINKING ABOUT ALL THE THINGS I'VE BEEN READING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND SOME BASICALLY I HAVE JUST A FEW COMMENTS, UH, JUST SOME PERSONAL THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN READING AND CONVERSATIONS THAT I'VE HAD.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF MISCONCEPTION WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND PEOPLE EQUATE CLIMATE CHANGE TO SEA LEVEL RISE, BUT CLIMATE CHANGE IS SO MUCH MORE THAT YOU'VE DETAILED WITH NATURAL DISASTERS, THE PANDEMIC SPECIES EXTINCTION, BUT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY UNDERSTOOD BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC ARE, I WOULD SAY EVEN BY SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS AND WHEN THE NEWS COVERS ALL THESE NATURAL DISASTERS AND ALL THESE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO US THAT ARE OBVIOUS TO US THAT IT'S CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED, BUT IT'S NEVER MENTIONED IN THE NEWS THAT IT'S RELATED AT ALL TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO IT SEEMS THAT JUST THERE'S A BIG GAP IN EDUCATION, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING, BUT I WISH THERE WAS MORE NEWS INVOLVEMENT, POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT, AND IT'S KIND OF WANT TO GET YOUR TAKE ON THAT ASPECT OF IT.
I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION THOUGH, AND ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
I CAN ACT, I CAN CHIME IN FROM AN EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE.
SO I'M A PROFESSOR IN THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AT UT AND, UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
THIS CHANGE IN, IN, UM, IN, IN, IN THE, IN THIS GENERATION OF PEOPLE, UH, THAT, THAT UNDERSTAND WHAT CLIMATE SCIENCE IS, WHAT CLIMATE ADAPTATION IS AND UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF ACTING NOW, BECAUSE IT TAKES DECADES FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO ACTUALLY BEGIN TO, TO, TO BE ADAPTED IN TERMS OF THE SIZE OF THESE, UM, MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE TO BE ADAPTING FOR THIS CHANGING CLIMATE.
UM, AND, AND PEOPLE JUST, UH, UT WE WERE CREATING A COMMUNITY, A CLIMATE SCIENCE COMMUNITY OF LEARNING, LEARNING THAT BASICALLY TEACHES PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THE DATA AROUND CLIMATE.
OBVIOUSLY THAT'S WHY WAS GRAND CHALLENGES AROUND IT, RIGHT? YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE CUTTING IN AND OUT.
UH, I WAS, I WAS, UH, CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME NOW? CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY, SO, SO YEAH, SO WHAT I WAS SAYING IS IT'S GONNA TAKE A GENERATION AND, UM, THAT'S WHY WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ACROSS DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES WITH RESEARCH WITH EDUCATION.
SO IT'S NOT JUST THE RESEARCH THAT PLANET TEXAS 2050 IS, IS WORKING ON, BUT ALSO SEVERAL COURSES THAT ARE TAUGHT THAT ARE RELATED TO PLANET TEXAS 2050, OR OTHER COURSES THAT ARE PART OF, OF UTS, UH, CLIMATE SCIENCE, COMMUNITY OF LEARNING ACROSS DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES.
CAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE A GENERATION OF PEOPLE TO, TO REALLY, UH, CHANGE THE MINDSET AND, AND HAVE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT CLIMATE SCIENCES IS REAL AND THERE'S DATA TO BACK IT UP.
I THINK THE BEST THING WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW, UH, TO, TO IMPACT THAT IS TO TALK ABOUT IT.
UM, AND, AND TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE, WE DO HAVE TO START ACTING NOW TO REALLY, UH, CHANGE, UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL PROTECT US, UM, UH, FROM, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE THAT WE'RE ALREADY SEEING TODAY.
BUT DAVE, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHIME INTO
[01:05:01]
YEAH, JONATHAN AND YOU'RE WELCOME TO AS WELL, BUT I JUST SAY WE, UM, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING FERNANDO SAID, I THINK IT'S, UH, A LONG SLOG.I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE, I'VE BEEN APPRECIATIVE OF LEARNING, UH, FROM COLLEAGUES AT UT OR THE, THE FOLKS WHO WERE TALKING ABOUT MODELS AND TRYING TO JUST MAKE IT THAT MUCH MORE, SLIGHTLY MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR FOLKS WHO MIGHT, YOU HA THEY HAVE TO BE RECEPTIVE AND WANT TO LOOK AT IT.
THAT'S CHALLENGING FOR SOME, FOR SURE.
BUT, UH, TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UM, NOT SOME SCARY COMPUTER MODEL THAT IS NOT INACCESSIBLE, THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO BRING THOSE, UM, UH, BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AROUND, UM, PROJECTIONS AND MODELS AND BEYOND, BEYOND, UM, AS YOU MENTIONED, MELISSA, THIS SEA CHANGE THERE, THE SEA RISE, THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT I THINK COMES HOME AND, UH, CAN AFFECT US IN VERY, UM, UH, UH, WAYS THAT ARE CLOSE TO US AND OUR LOVED ONES.
BUT I THINK THE CHALLENGE WITH LEGISLATIVE WORK AND POLITICS WITH UT, IF I WOULD SAY, IT'S DEFINITELY A DELICATE AND WE CAN'T GET TOO, UM, TOO INVOLVED IN POLITICS FROM UT, BUT WE'RE WORKING ON CLIMATE ISSUES ALREADY PUTS US IN A CERTAIN POSITION.
UM, BUT I THINK, UM, WE HOPEFULLY CAN EMPOWER OR CO POWER COMMUNITIES AND INSTITUTIONS AND TEACHERS AND OTHERS TO, UH, MAYBE UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BETTER AND THEN TAKE IT FROM WHERE DO THEY WANT TO TAKE IT.
BUT IT'S ALONG AS FERNANDO SAID, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A LONG SLOG AND HOPEFULLY BY 2050, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE IT HAPPEN.
THIS IS WELL, FIRST OF ALL, UH, FERNANDA AND DAVE, THANKS FOR COMING IN, JAY, YOUR PROGRAM, AND SHOUT OUT TO THE CROC ROAD, SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, MY AUTOMOTIVE RIGHT THERE.
AND, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, GREAT PRESENTATION AND I JUST WANT TO, UH, ADD SORT OF A LINK, YOU KNOW, FROM THE NAME I WAS RECENTLY EXPOSED TO, UH, THERE'S A, A INITIATIVE CALLED TEXAS 2036.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY FAMILIAR WITH IT, BUT ESSENTIALLY TRYING TO BENCHMARK TEXAS FOR 200 YEAR HISTORY, UH, WHERE WE HEADING.
AND I THINK, UH, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, CHINA REACH OUT ABOUT OWN ECHO CHAMBER HERE.
I THINK THE 2050 IS DEFINITELY ALIGNED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL, UH, GOALS AND BENCHMARK, UH, BUT BEING, BEING IN TEXAS AND WE JUST HEAR LEGISLATURE, YOU KNOW, UH, BRIEFING EARLIER, I THINK IT'S GONE INTO CHECK.
IT TAKES BEYOND THE ENGINEERING CHALLENGE OF JUST BRINGING CLIMATE CHANGE TO THE FOREFRONT TO MAKE IT MAINSTREAM.
AND I MENTIONED 2036 BECAUSE HONESTLY, I THINK A LOT OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THAT INITIATIVE ARE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE TYPICAL TEXANS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF ARE VERY MUCH GROUNDED IN AGRICULTURES AND THINGS THAT ARE FAIRLY TEXANS, RIGHT.
BUT THERE'S A VERY ROBUST TASK WHEN IT COMES TO NATURAL RESOURCES, THEY BENCHMARK, UH, CARBON INTENSITY, RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTIONS, ALL OF THE GOOD CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE IN OUR OWN SIDE OF THE FENCE WHEN IT COMES TO CLIMATE CHANGE PRIORITY.
SO JUST TO ECHO THE MEN, YOU KNOW WHAT FERNANDO MENTIONED EARLIER, YES, IT'S GOING TO TAKE A GENERATION TO CHANGE THE MINDSET, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF NEXUS THAT WE CAN WORK ON TODAY, BUT IT'S A LOT SOONER THAN 2050.
SO, UM, ALL THAT TO SAY, IS THERE, UM, IS THERE A PARTNERSHIP THAT YOU ACTIVELY REACHING OUT THAT ARE LOOKING AT, UH, A SHORTER TERM? I KNOW IT'S A GRAND CHALLENGE AND I KNOW IT'S 2050, BUT IS THERE ANY SHORT TERM CONVERSATION THAT YOU'RE HAVING NOW THAT YOU CAN CHECK? I SHOULD.
I SHOULD'VE STAYED NOW AND THINK I DID THAT.
THE GRAND CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE INVOLVED IN ACTUALLY ONLY HAS AN EIGHT YEAR LIFE, SO ONLY FOUR OR FIVE YEARS MORE SO 2050 IS WHERE WE, WE ASPIRE TO SEE SOME CHANGE BY PLANTING SEEDS AND CATALYZING THINGS, BUT, UM, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO, UM, UH, WORK WITH PARTNERS AND HAVE SOME VERY TANGIBLE KIND OF OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES, BUT BY, YOU KNOW, 20, 25 REALLY, UM, I HAVE HEARD OF TEXAS 20, 36, BUT, UH, HAVING AN ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH THEM.
I'M NOT SURE JONATHAN, IF YOU HAVE MORE, BUT, UM, THE, UH, I GUESS WE'RE DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN FINDING MORE PARTNERS TO DO, LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S NOT JUST GOING TO HAPPEN THROUGH, UH, ENGINEERING AND MAINSTREAMING CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT THERE ARE A BUNCH
[01:10:01]
OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET PEOPLE, UH, INFLUENCE PEOPLE, UM, GET PEOPLE ON BOARD OR MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY'RE AT.I MEAN, ONE OF OUR, OUR, OUR FLAGSHIPS IS FOCUSED ON BIODIVERSITY AND CHANGING LANDSCAPES.
SO WE'LL HOPEFULLY, UM, ENGAGE LANDOWNERS, RANCHERS, UM, OTHERS, BECAUSE THERE IS ALL THAT EVEN THOUGH TEXAS IS URBANIZING PRETTY QUICKLY, THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF AMAZING LAND AND, UM, SPREAD THROUGHOUT THIS BIG STATE.
JONATHAN, WOULD YOU, IF YOU'RE THERE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? SURE.
UM, SO YEAH, A COUPLE OF THINGS AND KIND OF MOVING BACK TO THE FIRST, UH, QUESTION AS WELL.
UM, SO WE HAVE MET, WE HAVE TALKED WITH TEXAS 20, 36 A COUPLE OF TIMES, BUT IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN A MINUTE.
UM, SO WE HAVE A, AN AWARENESS OF EACH OTHER.
WE WOULD LIKE TO, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY WOULD BE A GOOD PATHWAY FOR SORT OF POLICY RELEVANT WORK.
UM, AND ALSO I WANTED TO JUST MENTION THAT, HOW ABOUT A PROJECT THAT, THAT DID IT INTERVIEWED FARMERS AND RANCHERS IN THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS AND BASICALLY WHAT, WHAT HE LEARNED WAS THAT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU TALKED TO THEM, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE VERY, VERY RESISTANT TO THE TERM CLIMATE CHANGE.
UM, BUT IF THEY, BUT THEY WOULD DESCRIBE WHAT WAS HAPPENING EXACTLY THE SAME WAY THAT, UM, THAT WE, THAT SCIENTISTS AND OTHERS WOULD DESCRIBE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SO THEY'RE OBSERVING IT IN THEIR OWN LANDSCAPES AND IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, SEASONS CHANGING RAIN PATTERNS, CHANGING, UM, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST DECADES.
UM, BUT WE'RE NOT, BUT, BUT DID NOT LIKE THE TERM CLIMATE CHANGE FELT SHAMED BY IT OR, UM, OR VARIOUS THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO I THINK THAT POINTS TO CHALLENGES AROUND LIKE AROUND MESSAGING AND, AND NOT, AND NOT JUST AROUND LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING EDUCATION OR INFORMATION ABOUT I'M SCIENCE, BUT ALSO LIKE KIND OF MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY'RE AT, BECAUSE IF THEY ACCEPT THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, THEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE CAN, IN SOME, IN SOME INSTANCES WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO JUST I'VE PASSED THE, THE LANGUAGE AROUND SOME THINGS AND, AND MOVE TOWARDS SOLUTIONS.
UM, BUT YEAH, THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, SO THAT, I THINK THAT'S, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT AS ONE OF OUR, AS ONE OF OUR FINDINGS, AND I JUST WANTED TO, TO ANSWER, GO BACK TO NEXT QUESTION ABOUT, UH, UH, SHORTER TERM, UM, UM, IMPACT OF THE WORK.
SO WE ARE WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES, UH, VIA GABA, VIA COMMUNITY POWERED WORKSHOP DIRECTLY.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, THROUGH OUR NSF SMART AND CONNECTED COMMUNITIES, UM, UM, PROJECT WHERE I'M LOOKING AT DEVELOPING CITIZEN SCIENCE-BASED APPROACHES.
SO PUTTING DEVELOPING MODELS AND, AND DATA, UH, TWO WAY DATA ACQUISITION METHODS IN WHICH THE COMMUNITIES ARE PROVIDING, UH, DATA FOR THESE MODELS.
UM, SO MORE DETAILED, UH, GRANULAR DATA THAT THEY WOULD HAVE WITH BOOTS ON THE GROUND, IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
AND WE'RE ABLE TO, AS SCIENTISTS WE'RE ABLE TO, TO PROVIDE THEM, UM, RELEVANT, UM, UH, FLOOD RELATED INFORMATION SO THEY CAN BUILD RESILIENCE WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO WE CAN REFINE OUR MODELS VIA INFORMATION THAT THE COMMUNITIES ARE PROVIDING.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON ON THE CITIZEN SCIENCE-BASED APPROACH.
SO, SO WE ARE, UM, HOPING TO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE IS SHORTER TERM IMPACTS TO THE, AND TH THE, THE YEAR 20, 2050, ACTUALLY, IT'S NOT MEANT AS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WHERE ARE OUR RESULTS ARE GOING TO BE, UM, ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY 2050, THE YEAR 2050 ACTUALLY CAME WHEN, WHEN THE, UM, ORIGINAL GROUP OF, OF, OF RESEARCHERS ARE PROPOSING, UM, ON THIS IDEA, THAT'S THE YEAR THAT, UM, THE STATE OF TEXAS IS EXPECTED TO DOUBLE ITS POPULATION AS COMPARED TO 2017 WHEN THIS ALL STARTED.
SO THAT'S WHAT 2050 AT THAT NUMBER COMES FROM.
UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS PART OF THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.
THE SMART AND CONNECTED COMMUNITIES, I THINK, UH, MARK
I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S STILL THERE.
UM, AND SO, YEAH, REALLY TRYING TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE OFFICE STANDABILITY, UM, AND, AND AS WELL, THE CITY OF AUSTIN CIRCULAR ECONOMY GROUPS, UH, VIA NATALIE BETS.
UM, SO, SO THEY'RE, UH, PARTNERING WITH US IN OUR
[01:15:01]
FLAGSHIP PROJECT, OUR RESILIENT CITIES, FLAGSHIP PROJECT, THAT WE'RE INCLUDING CONCEPTS AROUND CIRCULAR ECONOMY TO MINIMIZE WASTE AND TO THINK ABOUT WASTE AS A RESOURCE, UH, FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF, OF RESOURCES LIKE FOOD SYSTEMS, WATER SYSTEMS, UM, AND, AND MATERIALS AS WELL.AND AGAIN, I THINK, UH, I JUST WANT TO INJECT SUTTON KIND OF PERSPECTIVE INTO THE CONVERSATION AND AGAIN, AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF Y'ALL COMING IN AND SHARING, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST A TINY BIT OF CLOSING REMARK.
THERE IS, YEAH, I'M ON THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
UH, I HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR FARMERS BECAUSE IN MY FAMILY HAVE GENERATIONS OF FARMERS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, PART OF OUR WORK ON THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION IS TRYING TO LOOK AT HOLISTIC, THE WATER RESOURCES, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WORRY ABOUT THE DROUGHT ABOUT DRINKING WATER SOURCE, AND THEN WE DON'T WANT TO, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN A SITUATION, BUT WE FIGHTING WITH FARMER DOWNSTREAM, BLUE, CHINA PROTECT CROP, RIGHT.
BECAUSE IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THING, HONESTLY, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN I MENTIONED SHORT TERM, THESE FARMER, THEY THINK EVERY CROP SEASONS, RIGHT, WHATEVER THEY CAN DO IN THE NEXT TWO, THREE MONTHS IN THE NEXT CROP SEASON, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO TRY TO DO.
AND WHEN IT COMES TO CARBON SEQUENCE DURATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, IF THEY CAN CHANGE THEIR PRACTICE JUST A TINY BIT GOING TOWARD THE, THE SORT OF THE, UM, SUSTAINABLE SIDE, USE A TINY BIT LESS WATER, OR USE A TINY BIT LESS, YOU KNOW, SEQUENCE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, CARBON, I THINK THAT'S A CONVERSATION.
I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO INVOKE IS LIKE NOT THE GRAND SCHEME OF THING, WHICH IS GREAT.
WE HAVE TO TRACK THOSE, BUT WE ALSO CAN REALLY DO A LOT OF GOOD IN COMMUNITY THAT IS OUTSIDE OF THE URBAN SETTINGS, UH, THAT I THINK HAVE, HAVE GREAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IMPACT.
UH, SO AGAIN, PREACHING TO THE CHOIR AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL COMING AND ELEVATING THE CONVERSATION.
UH, JUST WANT TO ADD, THANK YOU.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS IF OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU HAVE A GOOD EVENING.
[2.c) Update from the Climate Program Manager – Zach Baumer, Office of Sustainability (Discussion and/or possible action) ]
NEXT UP ON OUR AGENDA.ZACH IS GOING TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE CLIMATE PLAN.
I'M HERE AT CITY HALL TONIGHT.
UM, YEAH, SO, SO THE UPDATE ON THE CLIMATE PLAN.
SO FOR, FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, NOW, WE HAVE BEEN, UM, MAKING MODIFICATIONS TO THE DRAFT, PRESENTING THE DRAFT, UH, TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO THE, UM, IN, IN THE VERY, IN THE LAST LIKE FEW WEEKS PRESENTING TO LOTS OF DIFFERENT COUNCIL OFFICES, AS WELL AS THE CITY MANAGER IN HIS EXECUTIVE TEAM.
AND SORT OF WHERE WE'VE ENDED UP NOW IS, UM, WE WERE, WE WERE TRYING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, INITIALLY AIMING FOR A NOVEMBER, UH, NOVEMBER COUNCIL MEETING, THEN WE WERE TRYING TO GET ON A DECEMBER COUNCIL MEETING.
AND THE SORTA THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT WAS, AND THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, SORT OF LIKE UNCLEAR DIRECTION WE WERE GETTING AS WHETHER THIS SHOULD, UM, DIRECTLY COME FROM COUNCIL TO ADOPT THE PLAN OR THERE, WHETHER THEY SHOULD COME FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
SO THAT ALL KIND OF GOT CLEARED UP IN THE LAST WEEK OR SO.
AND SO THE CLARITY THAT WE HAVE NOW IS THAT, UM, THAT MAYOR AND COUNCIL DOES WANT THIS TO COME FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AS A REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION.
UM, SO WE HAVE TO SORT OF GET IN THE QUEUE FOR THAT PROCESS.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UM, IS THAT WE HEARD THAT THE PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMITTEE AND THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE, UH, WHICH ARE BOTH COUNCIL COMMITTEES, THAT THEY BOTH WANT TO HAVE PRESENTATIONS AND HAVE DISCUSSION ON THE CLIMATE PLAN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE SORT OF GOT THAT NEWS TOO LATE TO GET ON THEIR NOVEMBER AGENDAS.
UM, THEY DON'T HAVE MEETINGS IN DECEMBER AND THEN THE NEXT MEETING FOR THOSE COUNCIL COMMITTEES IS IN JANUARY AND MAYBE FEBRUARY.
SO THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT, SO FOR RIGHT NOW, WE'RE JUST SORT OF ON PAUSE TO, UH, TO GET THE PLAN ADOPTED.
UM, I MEAN, THE GOOD THING IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GETTING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK AND WE'RE NOT GETTING, UM, LIKE FEEDBACK, LIKE PEOPLE AREN'T EXCITED ABOUT THE PLAN.
UM, I THINK THEY'RE ACTUALLY MORE EXCITED ABOUT IT AND I THINK WANT TO HAVE THAT COUNCIL COMMITTEE TIME TO LIKE DAYLIGHT THIS ISSUE MORE AND LIKE REALLY DISCUSS LIKE THOSE TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE ISSUES, UM, IN CONNECTION WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, BECAUSE THOSE REALLY ARE
[01:20:01]
LIKE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.SO, UH, SO IT'S SORT OF TWO OTHER, SO, SO FOR RIGHT NOW, WE'RE JUST GOING TO SORT OF WAIT UNTIL EARLY 20, 21 TO SORT OF LIKE BRING IT TO THE FINISH LINE.
UM, WE ARE, UH, WORKING ON, UH, FINALIZING LIKE THE LAST TWEAKS ON THE DOCUMENT TO GET IT TO ITS FINAL STATE.
SO WE, UM, INCORPORATED ALL THE COMMENTS FROM THIS FALL, AND NOW WE'RE SORT OF GOING THROUGH LIKE ONE LAST REVIEW TO, TO GET IT TO ITS SORT OF LIKE FINAL FINISHED, UM, FINISHED STATE, UH, FOR THE PLAN DOCUMENT.
UM, THE, SO THE, YOU KNOW, SO ALL OF THAT NEWS, YOU KNOW, I WANT THE PLAN ADOPTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE I WANT US TO GET INTO IMPLEMENTATION AND LIKE, I WANT THIS THING TO COME ALIVE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT NEWS WAS SORT OF LIKE DISHEARTENING TO ME AT FIRST.
UM, BUT WE DID GET GUIDANCE ACTUALLY FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE THAT WE SHOULD GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED ON IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING, UM, BECAUSE THEY REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T GET THE PLAN ADOPTED UNTIL EARLY JANUARY AND THEN DON'T ER, UM, EARLY IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF MONTHS INTO 2021 ON THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE HEAVILY DELAYED IN PLANNING FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND THEN MISS NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET CYCLE.
SO THEY JUST GAVE US THE SORT OF GO AHEAD TO LIKE, UM, START LOOKING AT LIKE PRIORITIZATION OF THE STRATEGIES START HAVING THE CONVERSATION WITH DEPARTMENTS, UM, ABOUT, UH, IMPLEMENTATION AND LIKE PLANNING FOR BUDGET AND SPENDING ON THESE THINGS.
AND, UM, JUST TO CONTINUE TO LIKE ENGAGE WITH THE STEERING COMMITTEE AND ENGAGE WITH YOU THIS GROUP, UM, ABOUT OUR PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND LIKE, HOW IS THAT GOING TO GET ROLLED OUT? SO I JUST SORT OF GOT THAT DIRECTION, GO AHEAD THIS WEEK.
SO I'M GOING TO BE, UH, SORT OF NOW THAT WE, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT GOING TO BE WORKING DAY-TO-DAY ON THE PLAN, I'M GOING TO START GEARING UP THAT PLAN FOR, FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND COULD PROBABLY GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE LIKE IT, HOPEFULLY AT THE DECEMBER MEETING AND IF NOT DECEMBER, DEFINITELY JANUARY ON LIKE, HOW ARE WE GOING TO PLAN TO DO IMPLEMENTATION? WHAT'S THAT GOING TO LOOK LIKE? UM, AND THEN SORT OF LIKE, HOPEFULLY GET THAT GOING AND HAVE LIKE A RUNNING START.
SO WHEN COUNCIL DOES IT OUT, THE PLAN WE'VE KIND OF ALREADY GOT LIKE THE WHEELS IN MOTION, UM, TO SORT OF MOVE TOWARDS THIS YEAR'S BUDGET CYCLE.
UM, I THINK THERE'S ALSO LIKE A POSITIVE CONNECTION THERE AS WELL THAT LIKE, IF COUNCIL KNOWS THAT WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO LIKE DIG INTO LIKE COSTS AND ACTUAL LIKE PROPOSALS, UM, AND THE CA YOU KNOW, AND THE PLAN IS ADOPTED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, NEARER TO THE BUDGET CYCLE, IT HOPEFULLY WILL BE FRESHER IN THEIR MINDS AND LIKE MORE OF A PRIORITY IN THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UM, CAUSE WE, AS WE KNOW IN YEARS PAST, LIKE THINGS HAVE SORT OF FALLEN TO THE WAYSIDE OR KIND OF GETTING DEPRIORITIZED TIES FROM OTHER ISSUES.
SO, UM, I MEAN, I THINK THAT IS REALLY SORT OF LIKE A KEY THING THAT WE TO REALLY FOCUS ON IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PLAN IS JUST LIKE KEEPING IT AT THE FOREFRONT OF COUNSEL'S MIND AND LIKE REALLY, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, IMPLEMENTATION REALLY GETS SUPPORTED.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE SUMMARY OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, LET ME KNOW ANY QUESTIONS.
I'VE GOT A QUESTION OR A COMMENT REALLY.
UM, UH, THIS CONCERNS ME QUITE A BIT AND, AND THE REASON IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS GOING TO BE ADOPTING ALL NEW BUILDING CODES NEXT YEAR.
AND UNDOUBTEDLY, UM, THIS PLAN IS GOING TO REQUIRE BUILDING CODE CHANGES.
UM, AND DSD HAS ALREADY STARTED THE PROCESS, UH, WORKING ON AMENDMENTS TO THE CODES.
AND SO THE FURTHER THAT THIS PROCESS GETS DRAGGED OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MORE BEHIND IT'S GOING TO BE AND THE LESS CHANCE IT'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO BE ADOPTED WITH THOSE NEW CODES NEXT YEAR.
AND THOSE CHANGES MIGHT GET PUSHED OUT EVEN FURTHER, UM, FOR A FUTURE CODE UPDATE.
SO, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, I FEEL LIKE THE, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF SYNTHESIS IS THIS GETS WRAPPED INTO ALL OF THOSE OTHER CODE CHANGES THAT HAPPEN NEXT YEAR.
SO I REALIZE IT'S SORT OF OUT OF YOUR HANDS, BUT YEAH, BUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN, LIKE YOU SAID, KEEP HIM KEEP PUSHING INTERNALLY AND MAYBE, UM, WORKING WITH, UH, THE DSD THAT WITH THE CREEK THAT'S WORKING ON THOSE BUILDING COACHING AMENDMENTS.
I THINK THAT WILL HEADSTART ONCE COUNCIL DOES APPROVE IT.
[01:25:01]
FLAG, DAVID.I LIKE, I KNEW THAT IN 2021, THEY WERE GOING TO UNDERTAKE THAT PROCESS, BUT I HADN'T HEARD THAT THEY HAD ALREADY STARTED OR ALREADY MOVING.
UM, WHO, WHO WOULD DO DST, HAVE YOU HEARD FROM, OR LIKE, HEARD ABOUT THAT AND I WILL I'LL REACH OUT TO THEM BECAUSE YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THAT THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, ACTIONS IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIAL.
UH, UM, AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW ANYBODY, I'LL JUST REACH OUT TO MINE.
IS A BUILDING INSPECTIONS, PROGRAM MANAGER.
HE'S ONE OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS WHEN BETH CULVER, WE AT HILL.
BETH'S KIND OF RUN INTO DEPARTMENT.
I WILL, I'LL REACH OUT TO THEM AND, AND START THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT LIKE WHERE THEY'RE AT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE LIKE GET ALIGNED WITH, WITH THE TRAIN, EVEN IF THE PLANE ISN'T ADOPTED.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS LIKE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT DERRICK AND OTHERS SHOULD BE WATCHING FOR IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T MISS UP IN THESE INTERVENING MONTHS? UM, NOTHING QUITE AS SMART AS DAVID'S COMMENT, BUT I'LL TRY ONE ANYWAY.
UM, SO, UH, WATER FORWARD, UH, PLAN HAD SORT OF ROLLING OUT ORDINANCE CHANGES IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THOSE SORT OF THE, UM, NO WATER FORWARD PUN, INDENTED VISIONS.
UH, AND ONE IN PARTICULAR THAT WOULD JUST STARTED WAS THE ONSITE, UH, REUSE WATER SYSTEM.
THEY FINALLY STARTED A PERMITTING PROCESS FOR BENEFICIAL NON-POTABLE REUSE ONSITE.
UM, THOSE KINDS OF CODE CHANGES LIKE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ECHO ON THE BUILDING COMMENTS ARE HAPPENING AS WE SPEAK.
AND, UM, UNLIKE THE BUILDING CODE, I THINK AUSTIN WATER FOLKS ALREADY KIND OF PRETTY ACTIVELY THINKING ABOUT CONSERVATION.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT DOESN'T HURT TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A BIG PLAN TO TIED IT INTO AND, AND MULTIPLE LAYERS OF BENEFIT.
THE MORE WE CAN PUSH IT TO THE DEPARTMENT THAT, UH, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UH, UH, IS, IS, UM, YOU KNOW, FULL FLEDGE AND, AND HEADING TO IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION.
I THINK IT WILL BE, UH, MOST HELPFUL JUST TO KEEP THAT CONVERSATION TOP OF MIND.
AND I ACTUALLY, UH, PHOEBE AND I ACTUALLY HEARD FROM, UH, MERISSA AT AUSTIN WATER TODAY, AND THERE'S A NEW STAFF MEMBER WE'RE GOING TO MEET WITH THEM AFTER, UM, AFTER THANKSGIVING.
SO I WILL, I'LL MAKE SURE TO ASK ABOUT WHERE THEY'RE AT.
UM, SO SINCE WE LAST SPOKE, AUSTIN PASSED PROP A M B.
DOES THAT AFFECT, UM, YOUR TIMING OR IMPLEMENTATION AT ALL? NO, IT DOESN'T.
WE WERE, I MEAN, THE PROJECTIONS THAT WE HAD FOR, UH, FOR TRANSPORTATION AND MODE SHIFT, LIKE THEY, THEY HAD, UH, SORT OF PASSED A PRESS PASS PROP A AND PROP B SORT OF LIKE BUILT INTO OUR ASSUMPTIONS.
SO, UM, IT'S GREAT THAT THEY DID PASS BECAUSE NOW, YOU KNOW, REACHING THOSE TARGETS IS ENABLED.
UM, IF THEY DIDN'T PASS, I W WE WOULD PROBABLY ACTUALLY NEED TO GO BACK AND LIKE RETHINK SOME OF THOSE TARGETS.
YEAH, BOY, TRANSPORTATION IS ENOUGH OF A CHALLENGE AND I'M GLAD THAT AT LEAST, AT LEAST THOSE PROPOSITIONS PASSED OTHER COMMENTS QUESTIONS.
SO JUST TO MAKE SURE I HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING YOU'RE GOING TO HOLD THE DEPARTMENTS RIGHT NOW AND STARTING THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, BASICALLY LETTING THEM KNOW THAT WELL, IT HASN'T OFFICIALLY BEEN ADOPTED THAT THERE'S DIRECTION TO MOVE FORWARD IS IF THE ITEMS IN THE PLAN ARE ESTABLISHED POLICY IN TERMS OF PLANNING PROCESSES THAT ARE UNDERWAY AND BUDGET PLANNING FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
AND SO WE WILL, UM, YOU KNOW, START WORKING WITH THEM AND, YOU KNOW, IN THINKING ABOUT THE BALANCE OF
[01:30:01]
WORKING JUST WITH THEM, AS WELL AS LIKE INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY PROCESS IN THAT, UM, UH, TO, YOU KNOW, TO DEVELOP THE PLANS AND THE PROPOSALS, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, CAUSE THERE'S NO HARM IN DEVELOPING PROPOSALS ON THINGS.AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE PLAN IS ADOPTED, THEN IT'S LIKE, OKAY, IT IS ADOPTED.
LET'S MAKE SURE THAT THAT PROPOSAL IS ACTUALLY LIKE IN THE BUDGET, IN, IN WHAT'S PROPOSED TO GO FORWARD.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE.
UM, I GUESS IF WE DON'T HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS WE CAN MOVE ON.
I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UM, YEAH, DELAY IS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING TO BE SURE, BUT I THINK, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.
GIVEN THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
[2.d) Commission members report back on any relevant discussions from their respective boards and commissions – (Discussion and/or possible action) ]
RIGHT.SO, UH, NEXT STEP IS, UH, REPORTS FROM, UH, MEMBER COMMISSIONS, ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE RELEVANT TO OUR WORK HERE THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED OR ACTED ON IN YOUR COMMISSION MEETINGS.
ROB, I SORT OF MENTIONED THIS LAST TIME, SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, UH, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE PROPOSITIONS AND WHETHER, UH, PLANNING MY TAKE-UP, UM, SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UH, DENSITY AROUND TRANSIT STOPS.
YOU KNOW, WE ALREADY HAVE THAT, UM, SOME DEGREE FOR THE RED LINE.
SO, UH, WE'VE GOT A GROUP FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
THAT'S GONNA HAVE SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH, UH, CITY STAFF TO GET A HANDLE ON WHAT THEY'VE GOT CAPACITY FOR.
UM, AND WHETHER THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN PURSUING OR NOT.
DO YOU KNOW IF THAT, UM, I MEAN, IS THAT RELATED TO THE 300 MILLION IN KIND OF ENTIRE GENTRIFICATION? LIKE, WOULD THAT, WOULD THAT MONEY COME INTO PLAY IN THAT PROCESS? WELL, WE HAVEN'T, WE'VE ONLY DISCUSSED WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ON THE ISSUE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT, WE DIDN'T, WASN'T NECESSARILY TOP OF MIND WITH ANY OF THE INFORMAL DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING.
I THINK IT'S MOSTLY ABOUT, UM, HOW TO ENSURE THE MAXIMUM BANG FOR THE BUCK IN TERMS OF ENSURING THAT WE'VE GOT SUFFICIENT DENSITY TO, UH, ATTRACT FEDERAL MATCHES.
BUT I THINK PART AND PARCEL TO ANY SORT OF DENSITY BONUS HAS BEEN, UH, THE WAY THAT AUSTIN CAN BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING BY PROVIDING INCENTIVES, UH, IN EXCHANGE FOR PROVIDING AFFORDABLE, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND AFFORDABLE AFFORDABILITY IS ABSOLUTELY TOP OF MIND FOR PLANNING.
SO, UM, THANKS FOR MENTIONING THAT IT DIDN'T, I DIDN'T THINK OF IT THAT WAY, BUT THAT, THAT DOES MAKE SENSE WHETHER WE CAN USE THE ANTI-IGE ANTI GENTRIFICATION MONEY FOR, UM, THINGS LIKE INCENTIVES TO GET A LOT MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, BONUSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
ARE THERE UPDATES? THIS IS MAN.
UM, I HAVE SOME FROM WHAT IN WEIGHTS RUNNING.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE WONDERFUL WORD, SOME ORDINANCE CHANGE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE'S ALSO FAIRLY INTENSIVE, UM, BRIEFING, WHICH JUST GOTTEN FROM WATERSHED IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UH, AUSTIN WATERS STAFF ABOUT THE AL GADE, UH, IN THE, UH, LADY BIRD LAKE, UH, THE ONE THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD, UH, KILLED THE DOGS AND, UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH LIKE THE ZEBRA MUSCLE AND, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED IN THE WATER SUPPLY, UH, FORTUNATELY ICE AND WATER IS ON TOP OF IT.
UH, BUT THE TOPICS REMAIN RIGHT IS, UH, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN TERMS OF, UH, STRESSES IS THE RESILIENCY OF THINGS.
AND I IMAGINE WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE,
[01:35:02]
UM, UH, EVER CHANGING.UH, THE ONLY CONSTANT IS THE CHANGE TO THE WATER SOURCE WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE NORM AND CONTINUE TO TRACK.
AND SO I THOUGHT THAT THAT CONVERSATION IS A PRETTY INTERESTING NEXUS TO WHAT WE DO IN HERE.
UM, USUALLY WE TALKED ABOUT ADDITIONALITY AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT I THINK THE, UM, CHANGING IN THE WATER SUPPLIES, SOMETHING THAT WE ALL SHOULD GIVE AN EYE OUT AS WELL.
I DO HAVE ONE FROM THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
UM, WE HAD OVER OUR PAST COUPLE MEETINGS, A BIT OF CONVERSATION WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ABOUT, UH, WHAT WAS, WE HAD REQUESTED AN UPDATE ON ENFORCEMENT OF THE SOLAR READY PROVISION IN THE ENERGY CODE.
AND, UM, IN THE COURSE OF THAT, GOT A BIT OF AN UPDATE IN TERMS OF THE STATUS OF ENFORCING THE ENERGY CODE GENERALLY.
AND, UH, ESSENTIALLY THE, THE SOLAR READY PROVISION IS NOT REALLY BEING ENFORCED.
AND THERE ARE OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE ENERGY CODE THAT ARE REALLY BEING ENFORCED EITHER, WHICH IS PROBLEMATIC.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR PROBABLY CAUSE WITHOUT SAYING, HAVING, HAVING REGULATIONS THAT AREN'T ENFORCED, UH, DOESN'T, DOESN'T DO ALL THAT MUCH GOOD.
AND, UH, EFFICIENCY IS DEFINITELY, UH, WELL UNDERSTOOD TO BE, YOU KNOW, THE AFFORDABLE WAY TO REDUCE EMISSIONS, REDUCE BILLS, ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE.
UM, SO ONCE AGAIN, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UH, HAS MADE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL TO, UH, ASK THE CITY MANAGER TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE BY IDENTIFYING FUNDING FOR SUFFICIENT STAFF AND WHATEVER ELSE IS NEEDED, BUT REALLY IT'S STAFF, UM, TO, TO DO THAT, BOTH THE PLAN REVIEW AND THEN BACK-END ENFORCEMENT AND INSPECTIONS, UH, SO THAT THE ENERGY CODE PROVISIONS ARE BEING ENFORCED.
SO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE, THE OTHER SIDE OF, I GUESS, OF WHAT YOU'VE BROUGHT UP, DAVID, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT OUR ENERGY CODES ARE, UH, UP TO DATE AND ROBUST IS IMPORTANT, BUT IF WE'RE, IF WE JUST KEEP ADOPTING NEW CODES, BUT WE'RE NOT ENFORCING THEM, UH, DOESN'T GET US WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GO.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT MIGHT BE WORTHY OF A CONVERSATION HERE AT SOME POINT.
UM, HOPEFULLY, UH, THAT RECOMMENDATION MAKES ITS WAY THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WE ACTUALLY WERE NOT EVEN ABLE TO GET, UH, STAFF WAS NOT PERMITTED TO PROVIDE THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION WITH AN ESTIMATE OF EVEN HOW MANY STAFF WOULD BE NEEDED TO FULLY ENFORCE WITHOUT COUNCIL TAKING THE ACTIONS.
SO, UM, WE'RE A STEP OR TWO AWAY FROM GETTING SOMETHING DONE, BUT, UM, YEAH, I THINK IT'S, IT'S AN IMPORTANT ISSUE.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING? UH, KAREN, THANKS.
I HAVE MORE OF A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND IT DOESN'T, I'M GOING TO PUT IT OUT HERE AND THEN SAY, I THINK CONVERSATIONS WOULD BE BEST OFFLINE.
UM, BUT THE FOOD POLICY BOARD OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH OUR ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLANNING AND WE'RE TAKING A, A BIGGER PICTURE APPROACH THAN WE'VE TAKEN IN YEARS PAST, WHICH IS SORT OF EXAMINING HOW OUR WORKING GROUPS, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THEY'RE THE RIGHT TOPICS THAT WE WANT TO BE FOCUSING ON.
AND WE'VE TAKEN A STEP BACK AND WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON EXAMINING LIKE HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO AND, AND HOW CAN WE BE MORE EFFECTIVE OVERALL, YOU KNOW, AS AN, AND THEN THERE'S A COUPLE OF PRIORITY AREAS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THERE'S SORT OF INTERNAL STRUCTURES AND THEN THERE'S EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT OR TWO OF THESE PRIORITY IS.
AND SO I WANTED TO PUT IT OUT THERE TO THE COMMISSIONERS BECAUSE WE WERE LOOKING ONE OF THE WAYS WE WANT TO ASK OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND IS HAVE THERE BEEN AREAS, UM, FIRST OFF LIKE ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, FEELING LIKE YOU'RE DOING IT, NOT DOING IT AND DONE IT ON SPECIFIC TOPICS WHERE IT'S BEEN PARTICULARLY SUCCESSFUL.
IS IT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY TALKING ABOUT IT ON THE FOOD POLICY BOARD IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITHIN OUR RESTRICTIONS.
WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALWAYS, THAT'S ALWAYS THE CONTEXT HERE WITH OPEN MEETINGS, APPS AND OTHER, YOU KNOW, WAYS IN WHICH WE FUNCTION
[01:40:01]
AS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, BUT, UM, REALLY LOOKING TO SORT OF MAXIMIZE OUR IMPACT AND, AND ALWAYS BE EXAMINING OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR ENGAGEMENT AND WHAT VOICES ARE, UM, PRESENT AND NOT PRESENT.SO, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANYONE HAS, YOU KNOW, WILLING TO TALK ABOUT HOW THEIR BOARD OR COMMISSION IS DOING THAT OR IS NOT DOING THAT, IT'S, IT'D BE USEFUL TO EVEN HEAR ABOUT IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S COME UP, BUT YOU'RE NOT DOING IT.
AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE.
AND THEN ALSO IF THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION TOO, ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT THEN ALSO COMMUNICATION WITH OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS I'M, THERE'S THIS COMMISSION WHERE WE SORT OF TALK TO EACH OTHER, THERE'S A JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE, WHICH GETS TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS TOGETHER, BUT I'M INTERESTED IN JUST MORE INFORMATION AND IF THAT'S A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION, SO LOVE TO HAVE INFORMATION, IF ANYONE THAT WOULD WANT TO TALK.
YEAH, WE HAD THE, UM, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION DID A DIVERSITY AND EQUITY TRAINING, UH, CAUSE IT WAS LAST MONTH AND WE HAD SOME CONVERSATION FOLLOWING THAT KIND OF RUN ON THAT TOPIC.
DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A FEW CONCLUSION PER SE, BUT TOPICAL CONVERSATION.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER UPDATES BEFORE WE MOVE ON? ALL RIGHT.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
LAST THING IS IF THERE'S ANY REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS RIGHT NOW, WE JUST HAVE A COMMUNITY RESILIENCE UPDATE AND OBVIOUSLY ONGOING DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CLIMATE PLAN.IS THERE ANY UPDATES TO THAT PROCESS? UM, ANY OTHER REQUEST? OKAY.
WELL, IF ANYBODY OBVIOUSLY HAS A REQUEST, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME, ZACH AND KATIE.
UM, WELL, UH, WHO COULD YOU TO GET ANYTHING ON THE AGENDA THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO DISCUSS IT? FUTURE MEETINGS? OH YEAH.
UM, WHILE THE TOPIC OF NEXT MEETINGS IS UP NEXT MONTH AS WELL, BECAUSE THE FOURTH WEDNESDAY IS GETTING INTO CHRISTMAS.
WE HAVE, UH, AN, UH, STRANGE MEETING TIME.
SO WHERE WE ENDED UP WITH A CLERK'S OFFICE IS FOR THE NEXT MEETING TO BE, I THINK IT'S THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH AT 9:00 AM.
THERE WERE LIKE NO NIGHT MEETING TIMES.
IT WAS LIKE, THAT WAS THE BEST.
SO COULD WE JUST DO A QUICK POLL REAL QUICK, EVERYBODY JUST GLANCE AT YOUR CALENDAR.
AND LET ME KNOW IF THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH AT 9:00 AM IS GOING TO WORK.
YOU SEE DAVID SAYS NO, SO DAVID, NO, I'M SORRY.
IS THAT, WHAT WAS THAT DATE AGAIN? THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH AT 9:00 AM.
KAREN, I SEE YOU SHAKING YOUR HEAD.
DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN'T MAKE IT? YEAH.
I ALREADY GOT LIKE THREE MEETINGS AT THAT TIME.
THIS IS THAT I CAN MAKE IT WORK IF IT HELPS.
IT'S I'M UH, I'M AN ITEM NOW AT THIS POINT.
UM, ALBERTA, DID YOU GET THE ANSWER NOW? ALBERTA SAID NO.
I THINK WE ONLY HAD LIKE THREE YESES AND A MAYBE IF I'M HOW MANY RIGHT KAREN HAD AND I CAN DO IT ON MY YES.
AND THEN WE HAVE A COUPLE OTHERS THAT AREN'T HERE, SO, ALL RIGHT.
WELL, I WILL, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THE OTHERS AND WE WILL, BEFORE WE, YOU KNOW, CONFIRM ANYTHING, WE'LL MAKE SURE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A QUORUM AND IT'S LOOKING LIKE WE'RE SORT OF ON EDGE, SO I'LL LET EVERYBODY KNOW.
AND I MEAN, IF IT DOESN'T WORK, THIS, IT WON'T BE THE END OF THE WORLD SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A BUNCH OF THINGS LINED UP RIGHT NOW.
[01:45:01]
SO IF IT'S A MEETING THAT HAS TO BE SKIPPED TO BE GREAT, I'LL BE BACK IN TOUCH.UH, ANYBODY YOU WANNA MAKE THE FINAL MOTION? I'LL SECOND THAT AND, UH, IT MUST BE OBJECTIVE.
ROB'S GOT A SECOND AND UH, I THINK EVERYBODY CAN SIGN OFF AS AN INDICATION OF SUPPORT.
AND IF YOU OBJECT, YOU JUST STAY ON HERE, EVERYBODY.
THEY SAY GOOD THINGS, BROKEN HEARTS, AND YOU HEARD ME