[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:06]
BUT WITH THAT, THEN MY NAME IS NEHEMIAH FIFTH, THIRD ON THE CHAIR OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION.
AND I'M CALLING TO ORDER OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING HERE TODAY, NOVEMBER 19TH AT 6:38 PM.
LIKE THE BEGIN AS WE NORMALLY DO WITH CITIZEN, RATHER WITH A ROLL CALL, EXCUSE ME.
UH, AND WE HAVE A ROBUST AGENDA, BUT IT'S NOT TOO FULL ELVIS, DENOUNCE MYSELF AND GIVE EVERY COMMISSIONER A CHANCE TO ANNOUNCE THEMSELVES IN THE DISTRICT THAT THEY'RE WITH.
AS I MENTIONED, MY NAME IS ME AND MY FITS THE THIRD, AND I WAS APPOINTED FOR DISTRICT ONE.
UH, GO AHEAD AND PROCEED TO VICE CHAIR ALEXANDER.
THIS IS DAVID ALEXANDER, UM, IN DISTRICT FOUR.
AND, UH, BASED ON HIS, ON MY SCREEN, UH, COMMISSIONER REINHART.
HI, THIS IS MICHELLE REINHART.
I REPRESENT DISTRICT EIGHT THAT'S COUNCIL MEMBER PAGE ELLIS.
AND THEN, UH, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ON MY SCREEN, NOW I HAVE COMMISSIONER UTES.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GATES.
UH, AND THEN I HAVE COMMISSIONER NICOLE THOMPSON, BEAVERS.
HELLO, THIS IS NICOLE THOMPSON BEAVERS AND I REPRESENT DISTRICT 10.
I MEAN, I'M SORRY, NINE, I MEAN, I'M SORRY.
AND I HAVE COMMISSIONER ASSUME IT DASGUPTA.
THIS IS
UH, THAT COMPLETES OUR QUORUM.
UH, NOT PRESENTLY, UH, IN ATTENDANCE.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER
ALTHOUGH SHE DID CONFIRM THAT SHE MAY JOIN US HERE SHORTLY SO THAT WE ARE CALLED TO ORDER AND WE BEGAN WITH CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
HAS ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? WE DO NOT HAVE ANY COMMUNICATORS THIS WEEK.
THEN WE PROCEED TO THE APPROVAL
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – October 9, 2020 AND October 14, 2020]
OF THE MINUTES FOR OCTOBER 9TH AND OCTOBER 14TH, ALL THE COMMISSIONERS WERE SENT.YOU COULD TAKE A LOOK, UH, BRIEFLY, HOPEFULLY YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THEM ALREADY.
UH, WHAT I'LL BE LOOKING FOR IS A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES THAT SUBMITTED AND A SECOND ONE, UH, CHAMPIONS TO HAVE SEPARATE MOTIONS.
UH, I THINK THAT THEY DO NEED TO BE APPROVED INDEPENDENTLY.
UM, UNLESS I'M MISTAKEN, JESSE, I WAS ASKING JESSE FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
PROBABLY BE BEST TO HAVE THEM SEPARATELY JUST IN CASE THERE ARE ANY EDITS NEEDED TO ONE OR THE OTHER OR THE VOTES MIGHT DIFFER.
SO FOR THE SAKE OF PROCESS, ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT NECESSARY, WE'LL GO IN AND APPROVE THEM INDEPENDENTLY.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL LOOK FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 9TH, FIRST, UH, AND A SECOND.
I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 9TH FROM COMMISSIONER ABOUT SCOOP SAID, DO I HAVE A SECOND? OKAY.
WE HAVE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 9TH AND THE SECOND ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES I SUBMITTED, PLEASE SAY AYE.
THEN WE HAVE A UNANIMOUS VOTE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS SUBMITTED SIX TO ZERO FOR OCTOBER 9TH.
AND THEN WE PROCEED, UH, TO THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 14TH.
UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE SUGGESTION TO APPROVE THEM SEPARATELY.
UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 14TH AS SUBMITTED? I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES ARE SECONDED.
I'VE GOT A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 14TH FROM COMMISSIONER GATES AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER
[00:05:01]
UP.I'LL HAVE A ROLL CALL VOTE, UH, RATHER A VERBAL VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 14TH AS SUBMITTED, PLEASE SAY AYE.
IS ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY, SO WE HAVE APPROVAL OF THOSE MINUTES, UNANIMOUSLY SIX.
SO NOW THE MINUTES FROM BOTH OF THE OCTOBER MEETINGS HAVE BEEN APPROVED WITH THAT, WE PROCEED TO
[2.b. Presentation on the City of Austin Information Security Office Projects (Shirley Erp – Chief Information Security Officer)]
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS.WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE TWO SEPARATE BRIEFINGS.
THE FIRST WILL BE A PRESENTATION ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN INFORMATION SECURITY PROJECTS BY OUR NEW CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER, SHIRLEY EARTH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME FOR THERE'S A LITTLE CLOCK.
I HAVE THE OPTION TO DO VIDEO.
UM, CAN SOMEONE LOOK, STAFF HELP UP AND CONFIRM IF, UH, SHE HAS THE OPTION TO SHARE VIDEO FROM HER SCREEN? UH, WE DON'T HAVE THE, OR SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO SHARE HER SCREEN NOW, BUT WE WILL BE SHARING HER PRESENTATION FROM OUR END.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
WE READY TO GET STARTED? YES, MA'AM.
WELL, THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY AND I'M EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THE COMMISSION AND GIVE YOU A BRIEFING ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, I HAVE OVER 20 YEARS IN INFORMATION SECURITY EXPERIENCE, UH, HEALTH, UH, STATE GOVERNMENT, CITY GOVERNMENTS, UH, FORTUNE 200 COMPANIES IN BOTH RETAIL BANKING AND, UH, BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK.
I'VE A, MASTER'S IN, UH, TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND ALSO A LOT OF SECURITY, UH, PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS.
I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, UH, BASICALLY AN INTRODUCTION INTO THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICE.
WHAT WE DO, HOW WE'RE ORGANIZED, UM, WHAT OUR FISCAL YEAR, UH, 2021 HIGH-LEVEL PLAN IS.
UM, THE COMMISSION ASKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BLUE LAKES PROVIDE WHAT I KNOW AND, UH, MORE ABOUT HOW, UH, CTC CAN HELP WITH, UH, PROTECTING RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.
NEXT SLIDE, UH, FIRST AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR OFFICE.
UH, PLEASE KNOW THAT YES I HAVE JOINED THE CITY.
I STARTED AS A JUNE 21ST AND, UH, OUR INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM IS ALIGNED WITH FEDERAL, WITH STATE SECURITY, BEST PRACTICES.
AND YES, WE'RE INTERESTED IN THE PROTECTION OF INFORMATION, ASSETS, IT SYSTEMS AND PERSONAL DATA, INCLUDING HEALTH DATA, AND ANY KIND OF DATA THAT WE WOULD COLLECT ON INDIVIDUALS.
WE'RE VERY COLLABORATIVE AS AN OFFICE.
YOU GET MORE COOPERATION WITH BEING COOPERATIVE AND UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE'S ASPECTS.
SO WE WORK WITH EACH OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS.
WE WORK WITH OUR REGIONAL DEPARTMENT, THE, UH, PARTNERS, AND WE WORK WITH STATE AND LOCAL ENTITIES ALL THE TIME.
UH, SO AS A PART OF OUR INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM, WE COVER BOTH SECURITY AND PRIVACY.
UM, SECURITY IS ABOUT THE, HOW WE CARE ABOUT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF THE DATA.
DO YOU TRUST THE DATA THAT, THAT WE WILL RECEIVE? IS IT SECURED FROM MANIPULATION AND AVAILABILITY? ARE THE SYSTEMS AVAILABLE WHEN WE NEED THEM INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, SUCH AS ENERGY AND WATER THAT WE PROVIDE THE RESIDENTS, UH, PRIVACY IS ABOUT THE, WHAT, UH, WHAT KIND
[00:10:01]
OF DATA WE'RE PROTECTING AND HOW WE PROTECT THAT.SO SECURITY AND PRIVACY GO HAND IN HAND NEXT LEVEL.
THE INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICE IS DEFINED IN CITY CODE, AND THIS IS FAIRLY NEW.
WE BECAME A NEW OFFICE THIS FISCAL YEAR AND, UH, WE'RE, WE ARE DESIGNATED TO LEAD DIRECT THE CITYWIDE INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM.
THIS INCLUDES POLICY, OUR RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESSES, UH, CITYWIDE SECURITY, OPERATIONS, CITYWIDE SECURITY, ARCHITECTURE, INCIDENT RESPONSE, UM, OR HEAVILY INVOLVED IN RUNNING SECURITY, PRIVACY GOVERNANCE, AS WELL AS BEING INVOLVED IN OTHER IT GOVERNANCE OR INFORMATION GOVERNANCE, AND ALSO INVOLVED IN THE PRIVACY PROGRAM.
SO, UH, THE DUTIES, AS FAR AS OTHER DIRECTORS THROUGHOUT THE CITY ARE TO IMPLEMENT THE SECURITY PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
AND THIS INCLUDES THE, UH, RESOURCE EXPENDITURES FOR IMPLEMENTING SECURITY REQUIREMENTS, BOTH SECURITY AND PRIVACY, PLEASE.
SO OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS OF THE CITY ARE LISTED OUT HERE ON THE LEFT SIDE.
AND, UM, WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN FROM A SECURITY PRIVACY PERSPECTIVE, THE RISKS THAT THOSE SPACE IN DELIVERING THOSE, IT COULD BE THIRD-PARTY RISK, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, LOSS OF DATA, AND, AND JUST BEING, UM, PREPARED TO RESPOND IN THE EVENT THAT THERE ARE CYBER THREATS.
WE DO THIS THROUGH A METHODOLOGY, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO MATURE OUR PROCESSES, PROTECT OUR DATA, HAVE CONTINUOUS MONITORING, AND ALSO BE COORDINATED IN INCIDENT RESPONSE.
NEXT SLIDE METHODOLOGY WE HAVE CHOSEN IS THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY NEST, WHICH IS ALSO ALIGNED WITH THE STATE AND FEDERAL CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORK.
IT HAS FIVE FUNCTIONS, IDENTIFY KNOW YOUR ASSETS, RIGHT, PROTECT, UH, IMPLEMENT SAFEGUARDS TO PROTECT THOSE DETECT.
UH, IF THERE'S A CYBER EVENT, BE ABLE TO DETECT THAT AND RESPOND.
IF THERE IS A CYBER, YOU CAN'T BE ABLE TO REACT TO IT, MITIGATE RISKS.
AND IF THERE ARE SYSTEMS IMPACT, RECOVER, RECOVER THOSE SYSTEMS BACK TO THEIR GOOD KNOWN STATE.
NEXT SLIDE WITHIN THE, UH, CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORK ARE, UH, VARIOUS CATEGORIES.
AND WHILE THIS ENCOMPASSES OVER, I'D SAY 800 CONTROLS.
WE DEFINITELY HAVE CRITICAL CONTROLS, AND WE ARE DEFINITELY ON A RISK-BASED APPROACH WITH OUR SECURITY PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT MAKES MOST SENSE SECURITY CAN BE EXPENSIVE.
AND SO THERE'S THAT BALANCE OF, UH, PROVIDING SERVICES BUT SECURE SERVICES, ESPECIALLY FOR CRITICAL SERVICES.
SO, UH, WHAT DO WE HAVE PLANNED FOR OUR FISCAL YEAR 21? UM, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OUR POLICIES AND STANDARDS CITYWIDE AND PRODUCE THOSE, PUBLISH THOSE.
WE'RE GOING TO DEPLOY SOME TECHNOLOGY THAT HELPS US, UM, MONITOR AND HAVE THAT CITYWIDE VIEW SO WE CAN DETECT, UH, CYBER THREATS AND ALSO RESPOND TO THEM.
AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT PROCESSES AND BUILD PROCESSES AND GUIDELINES TO HELP THE CULTURE UNDERSTAND THE EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT A SECURE SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE.
SOME OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 21 PLANS INCLUDE, OF COURSE, LIKE I'VE SAID BEFORE POLICIES AND STANDARDS.
UH, WE, WE GROW THIS YEAR BY YEAR AND WE ALSO, UH, CONTINUE TO GROW OUR MULTIFACTOR AUTHENTICATION.
WE HAVE, OF COURSE, SOME OF THIS ON ALREADY.
WE'VE CONTINUED TO GROW THAT IN OUR CLOUD AREAS.
AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WHEREVER OUR DATA IS, IT IS PROTECTED BY A MULTIFACTOR AUTHENTICATION IS SOME, A PASSWORD AND A TOKEN AND TOKEN THAT CAN BE DELIVERED BY YOUR PHONE OR TO A OUTSIDE EMAIL
[00:15:01]
OR, UH, UH, A TOKEN THAT YOU CARRY WE'RE GOING TO IMPROVE ALSO IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT.UM, NO, YOUR PEOPLE ARE CONTROLLED THE ACCESS.
THEY HAVE NO MATTER WHERE THAT DATA IS BOTH ON PREMISES AND IN THE CLOUD, WHATEVER CLOUD SERVICES WE HAVE.
AND, UH, LOOK AT OUR DEFENSE AND DEPTH TECHNOLOGIES.
DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGIES? AND AS WE MOVE MORE TOWARD A CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES, ARE WE PUTTING THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGIES TO MONITOR AND RESPOND THERE AS WELL? AND THAT COVERS, UM, CYBER SECURITY MONITORING.
UM, WE WANTED TO KNOW A YODA TO KNOW ABOUT BLUE LEAKS AND, UH, WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND OF WHAT WE KNOW PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT BLUE LEAKS THAT IS OUT THERE.
UH, OF COURSE THIS WAS A THIRD PARTY VENDOR COMPROMISED.
IT IMPACTED OVER 200 NATIONWIDE, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES OF WHICH, UH, THE AUSTIN REGIONAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER WAS ONE OF THOSE.
AND, UH, THEY EXPOSED ON JUNE 19TH OVER 269 GIGS OF DATA OF LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA OF WHICH, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE IS, UH, INCLUDED, UH, PERSONAL DATA FROM OVER 700,000 POLICE OFFICERS.
NOW, UH, THE, A RECORD IS BOTH RECALL FOR SHORT AUSTRIAN REGIONAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER SPANS OVER 10 COUNTIES OF THE, WHICH INCLUDES THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT HAS OWN PRIVACY OFFICER AND ITS OWN BOARD.
AND, UH, YES, THE CITY OF BOSTON WAS INVOLVED CONSULTING, UM, PLANNING ACTIONS IN WHICH WILL BE GOOD FOR THE CITY TO TAKE AS A RESULT OF THIS THIRD PARTY BREACH MIX-A-LOT.
AND THEREFORE, UH, WE WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND DO IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION TO THOSE AT RISK IN THE REGIONAL AREA OF THESE COUNTIES COLLECTIVELY.
AND SO ON OUR WEBSITE, WE DID PUT NOTICE ABOUT THE BLUE LEAKS.
UM, THEY DON'T LOSS THE, A WEBSITE, THE THIRD PARTY VENDOR, MISSOURI WAS CUT, WAS SLOW TO PUT THE UNIFICATION APP, BUT WE WANTED TO PROTECT, UM, OUR, UM, CITIZENS AND OUR CLIENTS THAT WERE A PART OF THE DATA CENTER DATA COLLECTION.
AND SO, UH, WE, WE DID PUT UP A NOTICE FOR THAT THIRD PARTY BREACH NOT REQUIRED, BUT, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANTED TO DO FOR THE COMMUNITY NEXT IS GO AHEAD.
WELL, I THOUGHT THERE WERE TWO OF THOSE SLIDES.
UM, THE COMMISSION ASKED HOW, UH, CTC COULD HELP AND, UH, KNOWING THAT YOU DO GET INVOLVED IN A LOT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES OR DIFFERENT RESIDENTS ACROSS THE CITY, AS WELL AS, UH, INTERESTED IN INTERNET OF THINGS AND, UH, SMART CITIES AND, UM, ARTIFICIAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SECURITY GETS TOUGHER AND TOUGHER.
THE ATTACK SURFACES IN WHICH SOME OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES EXPAND.
AND IT INCLUDES PEOPLE SUFFERING NETWORKS PHYSICAL, AND, UH, SOME OF THESE SYSTEMS ARE BOTH IN THE CLOUD ON MOBILE PHONES.
AND SO WHENEVER WE'RE LOOKING AT TECHNOLOGY, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE THE SECURITY ARCHITECTURE ASPECTS OF THAT SOLUTION IN A PROPOSED BUDGET.
AND SO ALSO THE ATTACK VECTORS THAT KEEP THE CYBERCRIMINALS KEEP GETTING CLEVER AND CLEVER EVERY YEAR, DIFFERENT TYPES OF ATTACKS.
AND, UH, THEY TRY TO TARGET EACH OF THESE ATTACK SURFACES.
SO, UH, ON THE ONSET OF, OF A SALUTE, THEN WE WOULD JUST ASK THAT ALL SOLUTIONS INCORPORATE, UM, SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONCERNS.
WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO PUT THINGS OUT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO, UH, DO TELEHEALTH IN WHICH WE HAVEN'T PROVIDED THEM, UH, YOU KNOW, A PRIVATE SPACE TO TALK WITH THEIR DOCTORS AS WELL.
SO ALL OF THESE ASPECTS ARE A CONSIDERATION
[00:20:01]
WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE PROPOSING DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES, NEXT SLIDE.AND SO THAT, THAT BOILS DOWN TO, UM, IN CONSIDERATION, CONSIDER THOSE NIST CONTROLS, MAKING SURE IT'S COMPLIANT WITH CONTROLS.
IT NEEDS TO, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S HIPAA DATA OR HEALTH DATA, THAT'S VERY STRINGENT CONTROLS.
AND THEN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THAT, I DO BELIEVE IN SEPARATION FROM RESIDENT SERVICES FROM CITY, UH, BUSINESS, WE DON'T WANT TO TAKE ANY SERVICES DOWN, OR WE DON'T WANT ANY RESIDENTS, UM, PUTTING OUR, SAY OUR NETWORK ADDRESS AT RISK ON THE INTERNET BY, UH, ACCIDENTALLY GETTING COMPROMISED OR PUTTING INFORMATION OUT THERE THAT LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SPANNING THE REST OF THE INTERNET WHEN YOU GET, GET WHAT WE CALL BLACKLISTED IN WHICH WOULD HURT CITY SERVICES.
SO KEEP THE SEPARATION IN MIND AND, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, PHYSICAL PROTECTIONS OF WHERE WE PUT THAT TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP OUR RESIDENTS SAFE.
AND OF COURSE, UM, THINK ABOUT THE BUDGET FOR SECURITY SECURITY, ISN'T CHEAP, BUT, AND IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE IF YOU GET COMPROMISED WITH, UM, TRYING TO NOTIFY THOSE AND ALSO PROTECT THEM FROM, UH, THEIR PERSONAL INCOME, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED.
AND SO THIS CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION THAT I HAVE FOR TEAM FOR YOU TODAY, YOUR ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
WE'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER THOSE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHIEFER, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL QUESTIONS SUBMITTED ONLINE.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU'VE, UH, GOTTEN ALL THAT.
YOU NEED TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS DIRECTLY, BUT I'D LIKE TO GIVE THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADVISE AND LET US KNOW IF THEY'VE GOT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD NOT PHRASED ALREADY IN OUR LIST TO HER TO CHANGE 40 OVER BOTH.
AND THAT WAS MENTIONED IN CITY CODE, PLEASE LEAD MANAGE THE INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM, WHICH HAS THE POLICIES AND THE STANDARDS IN WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR THE DEPARTMENTS TO IMPLEMENT WHETHER, YOU KNOW, THEIR, UM, REVENUE GENERATING OR JUST GENERAL FUND.
BUT WE DO THAT IN VERY COLLABORATIVE WAY.
WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION, UH, SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES WITH IMPLEMENTING THOSE CONTROLS, SOME OF THE TESTING, SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT.
AND SO WE'VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE BEFORE WE IMPACT BUSINESS, THAT WE AT LEAST TESTED AND GET THEIR INPUT.
AND WE DO THAT THROUGH GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES.
WE'RE PART OF THE IT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE, AS WELL AS THE INFORMATION GOVERNMENT, WHICH IS DATA GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE.
AND SO NOT ONLY BODIES, BUT WE, UM, A LITTLE QUESTION REGARDING LAST THING, THE BOOT, WELL, IT'S ACTUALLY A THREE PART QUESTION.
HIS WORD WAS THE RESULT OF THE LEAGUE.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW MUCH DID WE LOSE? WHO GOT AFFECTED? WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WERE THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THAT? AND THIRD, I NOTICED YOU SAID THAT YOU POSTED A WARNING ON YOUR WEBSITE, BUT THAT'S NOT A WAY THAT I PERSONALLY GO TO, AND I'M SURE MANY OTHERS DON'T.
SO DID YOU CONTACT THOSE WHOSE IDENTITY WAS COMPROMISED? SO, UM, THAT'S NOT REALLY THE CITY OF AUSTIN ENTITY.
IT'S GOT ITS OWN, IT'S GOT ITS OWN PRIVACY OFFICER AND, UH, WHILE WE CONSULTED AND PROVIDED GUIDANCE ON WHAT THEY SHOULD DO, UH, THEY'RE ACTUALLY, UM, A SEPARATE ENTITY IN WHICH THEY MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS BY STATE LAW, THE VENDOR WHO WAS FOR EACH THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MODIFICATION.
SO I DO LOOK AT THE AVERY, UH, WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND POSTING A NOTIFICATION ABOUT THE BREACH, UM, AND, AND TRYING TO PROTECT, YOU KNOW, THE RESIDENTS
[00:25:01]
OR IN THE REGIONAL AREAS OF THOSE 10 COUNTIES FOR A PLACE TO GO TO, TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IT.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF MARK? YEAH, I KIND OF POLITICALLY CHARGED QUESTION.
AND THAT IS, UM, YOU FEEL THAT
WE, UH, WE'VE ALREADY HAD VERY, VERY COLLABORATIVE SUPPORT.
UM, FROM MY SHORT EXPERIENCE, THERE ONLY BEEN THERE SINCE JUNE 1ST.
UH, WE ARE VERY COLLABORATIVE WITH LAW OFFICES LEGAL AND WE'RE COLLABORATIVE WITH THE CITY CLERK.
UH, WE'VE ALREADY PUT IN SOME PROTECTIONS TO MAKE SURE WITH COVID AND, AND ALSO SAFE WITH SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES IN THE CITY.
WE ALWAYS SEE AN INCREASED AMOUNT OF CYBER TRAFFIC WITH NEAR CITY EVENTS.
AND SO, UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO WORK VERY WELL TOGETHER AND, UH, THIS COLLABORATIVE APPROACH HAS BEEN GOOD.
BUT IF I ALSO NEED TO TAKE A MORE, UM, WHAT DO YOU QUOTE, MANDATE AS FAR AS WE MUST DO THIS? I DO BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS I'VE JUSTIFIED WHY WE'RE DOING IT AND ALSO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS BEFORE WE JUST FLIP THE SWITCH AND WORK WITH THE IT, PEOPLE WHO IMPLEMENTED THAT, UM, DO YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY? YES.
SO SOME DEPARTMENTS HAVE DIFFERENT SECURITY REQUIREMENTS.
LIKE I BELIEVE LIKE, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, THERE'S AN ELECTRICALS STANDARD WATER UTILITY STANDARD, AND THE POLICE HAVE A FEDERAL STANDARD ALSO, AND THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN LIKE GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS.
UH, WE CANNOT MAKE ALL OF THESE TOGETHER.
AND YOU SEEM TO KNOW A LOT ABOUT SOME OF THESE STANDARDS.
SO, UM, YOUR, YOUR, HOW SO THE CITYWIDE, UH, INFORMATION SECURE OFFICE AS THAT UMBRELLA STANDARD IN WHICH IT OPERATES MUCH LIKE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THESE AREAS THAT HAVE MORE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS CAN DO OVERLAYS OR ADDITIONAL CONTROLS OVER WHAT WE HAVE, BUT OUR INTENT IS TO HELP THEM FROM AN HIGH LEVEL POLICY OR STANDARD REQUIREMENT, UH, TO HELP THEM MEET THAT COMPLIANCE AS WELL AS, UM, OF COURSE THEY THEY'RE AT, THEY CAN ADD TO, AND THERE'LL BE ART OF THE STANDARDS AND THE POLICIES WE PRODUCED AS WE MATURE THAT MODEL AS WELL.
THAT WAS A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
UH, IT DOES ACTUALLY TOUCH UPON, UH, SOMETHING WHICH I SUBMITTED, UH, AS A WRITTEN QUESTION PERTAINING TO ARCHITECTURE.
I'M REALLY CURIOUS, ESPECIALLY AS YOU'VE HIGHLIGHTED GOVERNANCE, UH, THE COURSE IS A KEY FUNCTION OF YOUR OFFICE.
IF THERE'S BEEN ANY FORECASTING FOR THE ROLE THAT ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE AND MAPPING ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE THROUGHOUT THE CITY WILL PLAY.
UM, WE ARE THE SECURITY EXPERTS IN THE CITY.
UM, WE DO HAVE ARCHITECTURE OR ARCHITECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS WELL WITH WE WORK WITH, WE'RE DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN THERE'S DIFFERENT STRUCTURES, AS YOU MAY KNOW, THERE'S DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES THAT THEY HAVE.
UH, WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER FOR THAT CITYWIDE VIEW AND, AND, AND MAKING SURE WE CAN MONITOR FOR CYBER THREATS, UM, NOT IN POCKETS, BUT OVERALL.
AND SO DEFINITELY THE DEFENSE IN DEPTH IN WHICH WE HAVE
[00:30:01]
THE TECHNOLOGIES WE'RE CHOOSING.I DO SEE US COMING TOGETHER MORE IN THE FUTURE TO MAKE THAT PICTURE EASIER AND ESTABLISHING A CITYWIDE CYBERSECURITY OPERATION CENTER IS VISION.
IF THAT VISION CAN ALLOW FOR REGIONAL PARTICIPATION, WHO CERTAINLY HAVE THAT IN MIND AS WELL.
UH, FIRST TAKE CARE OF THAT THE CITY MEANS, AND KNOWING WHEN SOMEONE'S PROBING US OR KNOCKING ON OUR DOOR AND WHO THAT MIGHT BE AND WHAT KIND OF, UH, TYPICAL THREAT INDICATORS OR TECHNIQUES THAT THEY MAY HAVE, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, PREPARED FOR THEM OR IN ANY, UM, REALLY NATION, STATE SPONSORED ACTORS NOWADAYS WITH, UM, THE CYBER WORLD GETTING MORE COMPLEX.
UH, DO YOU HAVE, UH, EXPERIENCED A PERSONAL, UH, BY CHANCE WITH BADASS OR TOGA OR OTHER FRAMEWORKS FOR ARCHITECTURE? UM, NOT PARTICULARLY WITH THOSE, UM, I HAVE STAYED MAINLY IN THE CYBER SECURITY.
WELL NOW I'VE BEEN IN CYBERSECURITY FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
LIKE I SAID, I'VE WORKED WITH THE ISO 2,700 SERIES.
UH, I'VE WORKED WITH, OF COURSE, NIST.
I HAVE DONE DEPARTMENT, UH, DOD CONSULTING IT'S WELL, FORTUNE 200 COMPANY USING, YOU KNOW, NIST AND ISO STANDARDS.
SO THE PROGRAM IS VERY MUCH BUILT ON THAT.
THERE'S ALSO OTHER FORUMS THERE, THE OPEN APPLICATION SECURITY FORUM THAT IS VERY USEFUL FOR APPLICATION CODING.
SO WE USE A LOT OF THE MOVES IN WHICH TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WE DEVELOP OUR STANDARDS.
NOT ONLY WHAT'S MENTIONED IN THE CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORK, BUT WHAT IS ALSO A BEST PRACTICE FOR PROTECTING SOMETIMES SOME OF THOSE FRAMEWORKS BEHIND.
UM, AND, UH, YOU CAN SET A LOT OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES FROM THE ASSOCIATIONS I'M A PART OF IN THE CITY, WHICH INCLUDES OWASSO.
UM, THERE'S AN ISS A AND THERE'S OTHER ISC SQUARED.
SO I'M DEFINITELY INVOLVED IN ALL OF THOSE AND ENFOCAR, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, CO COLLABORATING WITH THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES.
WELL, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CHIEFER? OKAY.
WELL, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
I'D LIKE TO INVITE YOU IF I COULD TO JOIN US IN A WORKING GROUP SESSION WHERE WE COULD THE ASK, PERHAPS SOME MORE IN DEPTH QUESTIONS OUTSIDE OF THIS, UH, PUBLIC FORUM, UH, AND SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
UH, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY AND FOR MAKING YOURSELF AVAILABLE HERE, AS YOU'RE CLEARLY GETTING FAMILIARIZED WITH EVERYTHING IN THE CITY AND, AND NEW TO THE ROLE.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AND VERY HAPPY TO HAVE YOU TOO FOR FAR.
AND THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME.
I LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING YOU IN PERSON SOMEDAY.
OKAY, SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA, UH,
[2.c. Update on Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs (TARA) Legislative Summary (John Speirs, TARA)]
TO OUR NEXT ITEM HERE FOR STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS, UH, ITEM TWO C, AND UPDATE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, UH, LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY FROM PROGRAM DIRECTOR, JOHN SPHERES.CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
UM, MY NAME IS JOHN SPEARS, A PROGRAM MANAGER AND THE CITY'S OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS.
I AM HERE TO PRESENT ON THE FYI 21 LEGISLATIVE BRIEFING FOR THE CITY'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY.
THE CITY'S LEGISLATIVE, UH, PROGRAM IS ESSENTIALLY CATEGORIZED INTO TWO TRACKS, A STATE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM, AND A FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM.
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UPCOMING FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE 117TH CONGRESS.THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA IS DRAFTED BY THE CITY'S OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS STAFF.
IT IS REVIEWED BY THE CITY'S INTER-GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE AND THE POLICY I'M SORRY.
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM WAS THEN ADOPTED BY THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AT THE NOVEMBER 4TH, 2020 MEETING.
THIS LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE CITY'S CONTRACTED LOBBYISTS TEAMS WHO WILL REPRESENT THE ISSUES FOR THE UPCOMING 117TH CONGRESS.
THE CORE PRINCIPLES GOING INTO THE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE UPCOMING 117TH CONGRESS INCLUDE OVERALL TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY, CABLE, TELEVISION, AND BROADBAND INTERNET.
UH, PRINCIPLE DRIVING THE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM IS THE CITY RECOGNIZES THAT COMPETITION IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS, BROADBAND AND CABLE T'S TV SERVICES CAN YIELD MORE CONTENT, DISTRIBUTION AND APPLICATIONS, BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE, AFFORDABLE RATES FOR ALL, AND TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL RESIDENTS TO ENGAGE IN A DIGITAL SOCIETY.
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC EXACERBATED THE DEEP DIGITAL DIVIDE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND ELEVATED THE NEED FOR EQUITABLE, AFFORDABLE, AND ADEQUATE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.
THIS PRINCIPLE STATEMENT, THE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE CITY'S TELECOMMUNICATION POLICY IS REPRESENTED BY THE CITY SUPPORTING AND PRESERVING THE CITY SUPPORT FOR PRESERVING LOCAL AUTHORITY.
THE IS OPPOSITION TO ANY PREEMPTION OF CITY'S ZONING AUTHORITY, THE CITY ENCOURAGEMENT OF CONGRESS TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR ACCESS TO BROADBAND SERVICES AND DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS TRAINING.
THE CITY'S STRONG SUPPORT FOR POLICIES AND FUNDING TO INCREASE ACCESS TO RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE INTERNET SERVICES AND REQUIRE REQUIREMENT FOR PARADE OR TRANSPARENCY AND DISCLOSURE DISCLOSURE OF PRICING, AND OF HOW PERSONAL DATA IS COLLECTED AND USED AND THE CITY'S ENCOURAGEMENT OF CONGRESS TO REMOVE THE UNNECESSARY REGULATORY RESTRICTION, UM, LIMITING THE USE OF PAID FUNDS.
NOW ON TO THE TEXAS STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, AGAIN, THIS POLICY AGENDA DRAFTED BY THE CITY'S OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS REVIEWED BY THE CITY'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE AND ADOPTED BY THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AT THE SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2020 MEETING.
THIS WILL BE SUPPLIED TO THE CITY'S CONTRACTED LOBBYISTS TEAMS AND LOCAL DELEGATION OF REPRESENTATIVES WHO WILL REPRESENT THE ISSUES FOR THE UPCOMING 87TH STATE LEGISLATURE.
THE FRAMEWORK AROUND THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY IS SUPPORTED BY PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, REVENUE, AND MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY.
NEXT SLIDE, THE TEXT, THIS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA OR TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY IS REPRESENTED BY THE PROTECTION FOR THE CITY'S ABILITY TO MANAGE AND CONTROL PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY THE OPPOSITION TO ANY LEGISLATION THAT LIMITS THE CITY'S ABILITY TO REGULATE AND ENFORCE THE CITY'S BUILDING CODES, LAND USE, AND ZONING REGULATIONS AND SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATION THAT PROTECTS OR ENHANCES MUNICIPAL REVENUES AND THE FLEXIBILITY TO USE SUCH REVENUES IN CONCLUSION, THAT IS THE BRIEFING FROM THE CITY'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY AND THE FYI 21 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, AS IT RELATES TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY.
AND I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THE COMMISSION MAY HAVE.
OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOHN.
THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION AND A GREAT BREAKDOWN OF THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AT EVERY LEVEL.
I'D LIKE TO GIVE THE COMMISSIONERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
SO IT SEEMS THAT PREVIOUS FEDERAL AND STATE LEGISLATION HAD PRETTY MUCH TAKEN AWAY THAT CITY IS ALREADY OVERWORKED RIGHT AWAY, AND EVEN WHAT THEY CAN CHARGE FOR, UH, IS THE GOAL TO TRY
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AND TAKE SOME OF THIS ALREADY BACK THERE, FURTHER ENCROACHMENT ON CITY AUTHORITY.COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION AND CONFIRM YOUR ARTICULATION OF THAT ISSUE.
YES, THE CITY'S PREEMPTION OF, UH, LOCAL AUTHORITY FOR, UM, FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS IS, UH, GOING BACK TO 2005 IN WHICH THE STATES, UM, ISSUED AND A BILL THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNOR AT THE TIME, IN WHICH LIMITED, I'M SORRY, I'M GETTING FEEDBACK.
UM, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT ME THAT LIMITED THE AUTHORITY OF, UH, LOCAL MUNICIPAL ENTITIES FOR ENTERING INTO LOCAL FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS.
IT IS THEN THEREAFTER THAT THE FCC, UH, FURTHER LIMITED THAT AUTHORITY.
UM, AND I WOULD CHARACTERIZE THE POSTURE OF THE CITY TO PROTECT THE CURRENT AUTHORITY THAT IT DOES HAVE, WHICH IS, UH, VERY LIMITED, BUT IN SERVICE OF BEING ABLE TO ENSURE EQUITABLE, EQUITABLE DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND INTERNET AND ASSURANCE THAT THOSE STANDARDS FOR, UH, THE PROVISION OF SERVICES ARE EQUITABLY PROVIDED TO ALL RESIDENTS AND, AND ASSURANCE THAT THE, OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE BASED ON THE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.
THAT POSTURE IS ONE THAT REALLY ENCOURAGES AND ADVOCATES FOR A, AN INVESTMENT FROM THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR, THOSE CARRIERS AND THOSE ENTITIES THAT REPRESENT THE CARRIERS TO, UM, INVEST THE NECESSARY BACKBONE FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO BE CONNECTED.
AND THAT POSTURE IS IN CONSIDERATION OF THE, THE YEARS OF, UH, LIMITING, UH, LEGISLATION THAT HAS LEFT US WHERE WE'RE CURRENTLY AT JOHN, YOU KNOW, RELATING TO THE, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
UH, I'M SORRY, ONE SECOND, PLEASE.
I JUST WANT TO GET JOHN TO CLARIFY SOMETHING BEFORE YOU ASK YOUR NEXT QUESTION, BECAUSE WHAT I HEARD JOHN SAYING ALL OF THAT, SO NOW I'M ON, BUT I GUESS SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT STILL BE ON.
SO WHAT I'VE HEARD JOHN SAYING, JUST TO CLARIFY IS THAT THROUGH A FOCUS ON EQUITABLE BROADBAND, THAT WE STILL HAVE AN IMPORTANT DEGREE OF INFLUENCE ON RIGHT OF WAY, UH, MANAGEMENT AND OTHER THINGS AS WELL.
UH, WOULD YOU CURRENT CONFIRM THAT FOR ME, JOHN AND THE REST OF THE GROUP BEFORE WE PROCEED CHERRY PITS, THE CHARACTERIZATION OF MY RESPONSE TO COMMISSIONER EATS IS ACCURATE.
AND, UM, SOMETHING THAT WITH THE, THE LIMITED AUTHORITY THAT WE DO HAVE THAT ADVOCACY FOR INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY IS ABSOLUTELY A, A CHARACTERIZATION OF OUR POSTURE.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS CLEAR BEFORE WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA POLICE.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR, UH, CHAIR PITS, YOUR, UH, QUESTIONING FOR CLARIFICATION ACTUALLY LEADS ME TO ANOTHER FOLLOW ON QUESTION BEFORE I ASKED THE QUESTION THAT I HAD IN MIND.
SO I REALLY HAVE TWO QUESTIONS NOW.
SO GIVEN THAT WE STILL HAVE SOME LIMITED AUTHORITY IN MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, WHY IS THE AREA AROUND LAMAR AND GRANDPA SUCH A LOW LINE MARSH? THERE'S SUCH A HUGE PROBLEM, EDUCATING CHILDREN IN THAT AREA.
WHY IS THE CITY MURDER HAPPEN? WHY ISN'T THERE A BETTER SERVICE THERE? I LIKE TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THIS SO I CAN HELP, UH, TO MODERATE, UH, THIS QUESTION IS FOR JOHN, THE QUESTION THAT WE BE FRAMING TO SOMEONE ELSE FOR JOHN, YOU HAVE CLARIFICATION TO YOUR QUESTION.
I'M SAYING, IF WE DO HAVE THE AUTHORITY, HOW CAN WE USE IT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN LIFT UP THAT NEIGHBOR TO REASONABLY GOOD STANDARDS IN BROADBAND AND POLITICS? OKAY.
SO NOW I'M HEARING A, HOW QUESTION? NOT A WHY QUESTION, UH, THEN I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS, BUT THE HOW QUESTION MIGHT,
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I THINK JOHN COULD POSSIBLY WEIGH IN ON THE WHY QUESTION? I THINK LESS SO, BUT THAT'S MY 2 CENTS.UM, THANK YOU, CHAIR PITS AND, UM, COMMISSIONER SCOOPED, UH, WITH RELATION TO THE, UH, UPSTREAM ISSUE, UH, FOR THIS QUESTION, IF I CAN FRAME MY RESPONSE IN SUCH A MANNER IS THE DISPARITY COMMISSIONER DOES SCOOP, UH, THAT YOU ARE, UH, REFERENCING IS A RESULT OF THE INABILITY FOR THE CITY IN PART TO HAVE A, UH, SPECIFIC, UM, BUILD OUT REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFIC EQUITABLE REQUIREMENT IN A LOCAL FRANCHISE BECAUSE LOCAL FRANCHISES DO NOT EXIST ANYMORE HERE IN TEXAS, THAT STATES SPECIFICALLY THAT ALL AREAS OF THE COMMUNITY SHALL RECEIVE EQUITABLE INVESTMENT.
THAT IS AN IDEAL, UM, ELEMENT OF A LOCAL FRANCHISE.
THE CITY WORKS UNDER A STATE ISSUED CERTIFICATE, A FRANCHISE AUTHORITY IN WHICH WE ARE ESSENTIALLY LIMITED IN OUR ROLE TO COLLECT REVENUES FOR THE USE OF CITY RIGHTS OF WAY.
AND THEN AT, UH, PLACING GUIDELINES AS IT RELATES TO STANDARDS FOR USE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY, USUALLY PERTAINING TO THE POLE ATTACHMENT REGULATIONS FOR THOSE POLES THAT ARE OWNED BY THE MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION AND FOR ANY REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AND, UH, UH, AN ASSURANCE FOR THE ONGOING MONITOR OF THE REVENUES ASSOCIATED FOR THE USE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY.
SO THE UPSTREAM ISSUE THERE IS WE ARE UNABLE TO ENSURE AN EQUITABLE BUILD OUT AS IT RELATES TO OUR LIMITED AUTHORITY.
HOWEVER, THROUGH THIS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA IS A CONTINUED CALL FOR THE PROVISION OF THE CITY'S ABILITY TO EXERT MORE INFLUENCE AND MORE LEVERAGE AND MORE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THOSE AUTHORITIES THAT PROVISION POWER TO THE CITY AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE THROUGH FEDERAL LEGISLATION AND FEDERAL RULES THAT CAN HOPEFULLY ADDRESS THAT IMBALANCE THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING TO YOU'RE MUTED RIGHT NOW.
SO LET ME ASK THE OTHER QUESTION NOW DO FOR THE ORIGINAL QUESTION THAT I WAS GOING TO ASK AT THE WORKING GROUP MEETING, WE TALKED ABOUT THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION STARTING AND DATES OPENING UP FOR FILING BILLS, ET CETERA.
AND I FORWARDED TO YOU A, AN ARTICLE FROM, I THINK THE AUSTIN AMERICAN, WHICH SAYS THE DATA'S OPENED THE GATE IS OPEN NOW.
SO IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU OR YOUR DEPARTMENT IS DOING RELATING SPECIFICALLY SPECIFICALLY FOR THE TOPIC THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT? REMEMBER I BROUGHT UP THE TOPIC OF HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH ITS DEMAND FOR INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF DATA CREATE USING DATA, CREATING DATA, ET CETERA, HOW THAT WOULD IMPINGE ON OUR PRIVACY AND WHETHER THERE SHOULD BE ANY KIND OF SAFEGUARDS TO THAT.
SO HAS ANY WORK BEEN DONE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION FOLLOWING OUR DISCUSSION, JUST IN LINE WITH THE OPENING OF THE DATE FOR FILING BILLS AT THE LEDGE, COMMISSIONER THE SCOOP, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, AND WITH REGARD TO OUR WORK, AS IT RELATES TO THE UPCOMING STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THERE IS BILL ACTIVITY UNDERWAY.
SO SPECIFICALLY THERE ARE TWO BILLS THAT ARE FILED AS OF TODAY, THE, UM, OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS CONDUCTS BILL ANALYSIS
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IN WHICH WE RENDER, UM, A RESPONSE ON, IS THE LEGISLATION FAVORABLE IN RELATION TO THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA? WILL IT HAVE AN IMPACT ON CORE SERVICES? WILL IT IMPACT OUR RESIDENTS? WILL IT HAVE A FISCAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPAL ON THE MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION AND WHO MAY SUPPORT AND WHO MAY OPPOSE THE ISSUE IN OUR OPINION, AND THAT THE, THE TWO BILLS THAT ARE FILED AS OF THIS COMMISSION MEETING THAT ARE RELATED TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY, UH, RELATE TO THE USE OF A, THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND FOR THE PROVISION OF BROADBAND SERVICE IN UNDERSERVED RURAL AREAS AND RELATING TO THE CREATION OF A BROADBAND OFFICE WITHIN THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BROADBAND SERVICE INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM, THOSE BILLS WERE FILED AS OF THIS WEEK.AND OUR OFFICE IS UNDERWAY WITH THE ANALYSIS FOR US TO REMIT THAT TO OUR LOBBYISTS TEAMS AND LOCAL DELEGATION.
UM, SPECIFICALLY TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, UH, THERE IS NO BILL ACTIVITY AS OF YET THAT RELATES TO THAT.
UM, HOWEVER, OUR RESPONSE TO ANY BILL THAT MAY BE FILED IN THAT SUBJECT MATTER WOULD THEN, UH, GO BACK TO OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA.
DOES IT PROMOTE LOCAL AUTHORITY? DOES IT, UM, PROMOTE THE EQUITABLE, UM, UH, AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY FOR ALL RESIDENTS? UM, WILL IT CREATE A POSITIVE IMPACT FOR OUR RESIDENTS SO THAT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA WILL HELP SHAPE ANY RESPONSE TO ANY LEGISLATION, TO YOUR POINT, UH, FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR MUTED? OOPS, THE, OUR VISION AI WAS THE BASIS FOR THE REAL QUESTION THAT I HAVE IN MIND, AND THAT IS REALLY INDIVIDUAL SECURITY, PRIVACY.
SO AI WAS SORT OF LIKE, UH, LIKE, LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS THE TURF ON WHICH I BROUGHT UP THE QUESTION OF SAFETY AND SECURITY.
THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION IS, IS DOING ANYTHING TO PROTECT PEOPLE'S PRIVACY IN THE ENVIRONMENT OF HUGE DEMAND.
UM, SO SPECIFICALLY THE, UH, STATE LEGISLATIVE, UM, AGENDA THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL LAST WEEK DOES, UM, INCLUDE MORE DETAILED LANGUAGE, UH, AROUND SECURITY AND INFORMATION, UM, SECURITY.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IF YOU, UM, I, I'M LOOKING HERE AT THE DETAILED AGENDA AND WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THE COMMISSION TO PROVIDE YOU THIS DOCUMENT.
UM, DOES SPECIFICALLY STATE THE, UM, LANGUAGE THAT ENSURES THAT THERE IS PROTECTIONS IN PLACE FOR CONSUMER INFORMATION AND GREATER AWARENESS OR HOW THEIR DATA IS UTILIZED.
SO THIS LANGUAGE IS SPECIFIC WITHIN THE ADOPTED POLICY OF THE CITY.
I HOPE THAT MORE DIRECTLY ANSWERED THE QUESTION THAT THE LANGUAGE IS THERE AND SHOULD ANY BILL BE FILED? WE HAVE A POINT OF REFERENCE.
SO YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE IS CURRENTLY A PENDING BILL TO HELP UNDERSERVED RURAL AREAS.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THIS BILL COULD BE LEVERAGED TO HELP OUT UNDERSERVED URBAN AREAS.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO DO THAT COMMISSIONER EATS? YES.
UM, I, I BELIEVE THAT THE, THE POSTURE WOULD REALLY BE TO RENDER OUR ANALYSIS, UH, AS IT RELATES TO WHAT OUR MUNICIPAL GOALS ARE, WHAT OUR MUNICIPAL PURPOSES AND REPRESENTING THE NEEDS OF OUR RESIDENTS
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AND OUR ORGANIZATION, AND PROVIDING THAT ANALYSIS TO OUR LOBBYIST TEAMS AND TO OUR LOCAL DELEGATION TO THEN, UM, CREATE THAT LEVERAGE THAT YOU SPEAK TO FOR THE ABILITY TO, TO THEN BEGIN THAT VERY IMPORTANT WORK OF LEGISLATING.IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RURAL AREAS, WELL, WE ALSO HAVE A, A NEED IN URBAN AREAS.
AND I THINK THAT MY RESPONSE THERE IS IT WOULD BE OUR GOAL TO CREATE A, UM, BILL ANALYSIS THAT IS STRONG ENOUGH TO HELP SUPPORT THE WORK OF LEGISLATING.
AND TO YOUR QUESTION, THEN LEVERAGE THE, UH, THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS TO ENABLE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLY, UH, TRANSPIRE WHERE IT'S NOT JUST REPRESENTING RURAL AREAS, BUT IT IS ONE THAT ALSO ENCAPSULATES THE NEEDS OF URBAN COMMUNITIES LIKE AUSTIN.
THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD SOMEHOW GET LANGUAGE LIKE THAT INCORPORATED INTO THESE BILLS.
SO THE LOBBYIST FIRMS THAT YOU CONTRACT WITH, ARE YOU PARTNERING WITH OTHER CITIES ON, DOES THE CITY HIRE THEIR OWN CONTRACTORS AND TRYING TO GO AT IT ALONE? COMMISSIONER UTES, THANK YOU FOR THAT INQUIRY.
UM, THOSE CONTRACTS ARE ADMINISTERED BY THE CITY'S INTER-GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE.
I KNOW THAT THOSE, UH, LOBBYISTS TEAMS THAT ARE UNDER CONTRACT, UM, NOT ONLY SERVE THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT OTHER COMMUNITIES, UM, AND I WOULD DEFER TO THE CITY'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE TO, UH, SPEAK TO THE RELATIONSHIPS THERE WITH THOSE FIRMS ALSO REPRESENTING OTHER ENTITIES.
UM, BUT I, I WOULD, UM, ASSUME THAT THERE IS A, UM, A TRUST THAT THOSE LOBBYISTS TEAMS, UM, ARE ABLE TO CREATE A, A BRAIN TRUST.
SO TO SPEAK FROM A MULTITUDE OF MUNICIPAL NEEDS THAT ARE BEING REPRESENTED THROUGH THE VARIOUS LEGISLATIVE PLANS THAT ARE EACH DEVELOPED.
AND, UH, ALL THE COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ONE OF, UH, MANY COMMUNITIES IN THIS STATE THAT ARE, UH, CREATING POLICY AS IT RELATES TO OUR LOCAL UNIQUE NEEDS.
UM, HOWEVER, THAT IS REALLY THE, THE WORK THERE IS TO KIND OF IDENTIFY THOSE PATTERNS, IDENTIFY THOSE REOCCURRING NEEDS FROM COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY, TO SHAPE A LARGER UNDERSTANDING AND TO CREATE THAT COHERENCE THAT IS ENTIRELY IMPORTANT IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, SO THAT WE CAN, UM, CREATE, UH, LEGISLATION THAT REALLY NOT ONLY ADDRESSES THE NEEDS, BUT MAKES A TRUE IMPACT.
SO WITH REGARDS TO THE SPECIFIC CONTRACTS, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD DEFER TO THE CITY'S INTER-GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE, UM, ON HOW IT IS THAT THEY CHOOSE AND HOW THOSE, UH, LOBBYISTS ARE REPRESENTING AUSTIN AND OTHER CITIES.
SO THIS IS AN OBSERVATION I A PRESENTATION HERE, AND IT SEEMS THAT THAT KARA IS DOING A GREAT JOB, UH, FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE AGAINST INDUSTRY PIERRE.
AND THAT WHAT THIS DOES IS THIS HIGHLIGHTS A REALLY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS COMMISSION IN THAT I SUSPECT THE ONLY WAY THAT WE ARE GOING TO GET UNDERSERVED AREAS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, SOME KIND OF EQUITY IN TERMS OF AVAILABILITY, AVAILABILITY, OKAY.
THE INTERNET IS THAT THE CITY IS GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE OVER SOME OF THESE FUNCTIONS AND THE CITY DOES HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN ORDER TO DO THAT.
AND IT'S JUST GETTING THE CITY TO PROVIDE MORE.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE THIS POSITION REALLY NEEDS TO STEP UP.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, UM, FEEDBACK THERE.
AND, UM, IT'S A GOAL FROM STAFF TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE, UM, PROVIDING YOU ALL THE, THE UPDATES AS IT RELATES TO THIS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AS WELL.
UM, AND ABSOLUTELY THIS IS, UM, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO FURTHER, UM, UH, EXPAND UPON THE SCOPE, THE VERY IMPORTANT SCOPE OF THE COMMISSION AS IT RELATES TO ADVOCACY AND BEING ABLE TO HELP,
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UM, UH, SUPPORT THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA.UM, SO I THINK THAT THIS IS, UM, TO YOUR POINT, A GREAT TIME TO STEP UP AND WORK TOGETHER, UM, SO THAT WE CAN AFFECT SOME REAL POSITIVE CHANGE.
I THINK FOR THAT QUESTION, I DON'T THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GATES FOR THAT QUESTION.
I KNOW THAT, UH, TO CHIME IN THERE, THERE'S BEEN QUITE A BIT OF, UH, WELL, PERSISTENT FOCUS ON THESE TOPICS WITHIN THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN.
AND ALTHOUGH THE FOCUS OF THAT COMMUNITY IS DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT.
AS WE ALL KNOW AS A BODY, THAT IS MORE THAN JUST ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION.
THAT'S ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THAT'S ABOUT KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION, DATA STEWARDSHIP, UH, IT'S ABOUT ALL THE WORKING GROUP FUNCTIONS NOW, INCLUDING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU COMMISSIONER DIETZ, UH, AND ALL THE COMMISSIONERS TO JOIN THOSE DECA CALLS.
UH, WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL OF NOT HAVING A WALKING QUORUM, BUT I BELIEVE IN PARTICULAR, UH, WITH YOUR BACKGROUND AND INFRASTRUCTURE HERE IN THE CITY COMMISSIONER YATES, UH, THAT YOUR INPUT WILL BE VERY VALUABLE IN THOSE SETTINGS AND IN THOSE FORUMS. SO, UH, I'D LIKE TO, I CAN TEE YOU UP FOR ONE OF THOSE, UH, CONFERENCE CALLS OR VIDEO CHATS TO JOIN US IF YOU'D LIKE TO.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, UH, FOR, FOR JOHN AS IT RELATES TO HIS PRESENTATION? OKAY.
WE'VE GOT A VERY ROBUST AGENDA, SO GOOD RECEIPT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT, JOHN.
AND THEN FOR YOUR DILIGENCE ON THIS EFFORT, UH, WE WILL MAKE A NOTE I'D LIKE TO, IF I CAN, UH, HAVE A FOLLOW-UP REGARDING GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, UH, PERTAINING TO PERSONAL PRIVACY, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, AS RELATES TO THAT LAST PIECE THAT WAS MENTIONED, UH, JESSE, SORRY TO YOUR PETS.
I, UH, I DIDN'T QUITE CATCH THAT.
COULD YOU REPEAT YOURSELF PLEASE? SURE, SURE.
SO I'D LIKE TO, IF I CAN, UH, A RANGE OF FOLLOWUP WITH GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, UH, AS IT PERTAINS TO, UH, THE SPECIFICS OF PERSONAL PRIVACY, UH, AS I KNOW THAT THAT WAS RAISED AS A POINT OF CONCERN ABOUT COMMISSIONED THAT SCOOP TO, AND THEN ALSO, UH, TO COMMISSIONER YATES, HIS LAST COMMENT, AS IT SOUNDS LIKE WE MAY BENEFIT FROM HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THEM AT THE WORK LEVEL, PERHAPS ABOUT THEIR LOBBYIST ACTIVITY.
I'M HAPPY TO ARRANGE FOR THAT.
SO WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA TO NEW BUSINESS.
AND WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO GET THROUGH.
UM, HOWEVER, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A PROPOSAL.
AND A LOT OF THE FACT THAT WE HAVE SOME STUDENTS, UH, THAT ARE STANDING BY THAT, UH, ARE CURIOUS IF THEY FARED WELL IN OUR POSTER COMPETITION.
I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE IF EVERYONE IS AMENABLE, UH, THAT WE BUMP UP THE DECKER POSTER COMPETITION AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT TO NOW, BEFORE WE JUMPED INTO DELIBERATING ABOUT AI, REMOTE DISSIPATION, OR EVEN THE, THE, THE CALENDAR SCHEDULE, UH, OR THE COMMISSION REPORT ON DIGITAL EQUITY, I'M THINKING ABOUT OUR YOUNGSTERS AND HOW THEY NEED TO GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW.
AND, UH, THEY PROBABLY WANT TO FIND OUT IF THEY WON.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO HAVE A VOTE FOR THAT CHANGE, JESSE, OR IF I CAN AUTHORIZE THAT OR NOT, THERE DOES NOT NEED TO BE A VOTE AS LONG AS IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, THERE'S UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
SO HOW'S THEIR MONEY FEEL? WHAT DO YOU THINK, SHOULD WE GO AHEAD AND NOT DO THE POLLSTER ANNOUNCEMENT SO WE CAN LET THE, OUR CREATIVE YOUNGSTERS KNOW? YES, I CAN.
UH, SOMEBODY, I DON'T PUT TOO MUCH OF A BURDEN ON JESSE, WHO I ASKED TO TEE UP THE ARTWORK, UH, THEN IF WE'RE GOOD TO GO WITH THAT, JESSE, THEN I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD
[3.d. DECA Poster Competition Award Announcement (Commission discussion and Action; Nehemiah Pitts III, Chair Commissioner; Jesse Rodriguez, Business Process Specialist)]
AND JUMP TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE, D R DECA POSTER COMPETITION AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT.WELL, LET ME BEGIN BY SAYING THAT THIS WAS REALLY EXCITING AND A DELIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN, UH, BOTH AT THE JUDGE AND SEEING THE WHOLE THING COME TO FRUITION WITH THE HELP OF OUR WONDERFUL DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN MEMBERS, A WHOLE HOST OF MEMBERS, UH, THAT HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN AND REALLY PLAYED
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A KEY ROLE.UH, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE FAMILIES, UH, FRANKLY, FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF THEIR, THEIR MANAGEMENT OF LIFE IN THIS DAY AND AGE WITH COVID-19 HAVING TO MANAGE DISTANCE, UH, ALONG WITH YOUR, YOUR OWN SCHEDULES, TO BE ABLE TO ALLOW YOUR, YOUR, YOUR YOUNG STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE, UH, OF COURSE, WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE, UH, THE PARTNERS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT HAVE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS CONTEST, INCLUDING OF COURSE, ALL OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO TOOK THE TIME TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE INDIVIDUALLY TO PARTICIPATE.
AND WITH THAT WHO HASN'T TALKED TO ABOUT THE CONTEST A LITTLE BIT.
SO THE CONTEST WAS PART OF DIGITAL INCLUSION, UH, WEEK WAS THE TARGET, BUT REALLY A CELEBRATION OF DIGITAL INCLUSION.
AND THE THEME WAS WHAT DOES DIGITAL EQUITY MEAN TO YOU? UH, WE AGREED YOU HAVE, UH, A REGIMENTED FORMAT AND TO THEN ALLOW AGES 10 TO 18 TO PARTICIPATE.
UH, AND THE KEY THING WAS THAT THEY HAD TO LIMIT THEIR SUBMISSION TO A STANDARD, UH, UH, A STANDARD SIX 16 BUCKETS.
THEN, UH, SHE, I, I APOLOGIZE.
I DON'T, I'M JUST GOING TO GET AN EMAIL THE TOP OF MY HEAD, UH, BUT STANDARD FORMAT, UH, IT WAS OPEN THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS DIGITALLY, UH, OR BY MAIL, UH, THAT COULD USE, AND IMMEDIATELY WANTED TO, THE KEY THING WAS TO BASICALLY IN THE, IN THE ACTUAL ART POSTER CONVEY WHAT DIGITAL EQUITY MEANS TO YOU.
SO WITH THAT, WE HAD 25 SUBMISSIONS, UH, ALL GREAT WORK, UH, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK OF EVERYONE THAT WE PAID IT, BUT WE ONLY HAVE THREE WINNERS AND WE HAVE A THIRD PLACE, A SECOND PLACE AND A FIRST PLACE WINNER.
SO IF I COULD, I'D LIKE TO JESSE, HAVE YOU GO AHEAD AND DISPLAY, UH, OUR THIRD PLACE WINNER TO BEGIN WITH, UH, WHICH IS A STUDENT FROM ST.
FRANCIS SCHOOL, UH, CAVEAT GUPTA WINNING THIRD PLACE, AND JESSE WILL BE ABLE TO HOPEFULLY TEE UP THE ARTWORK.
SO YOU COULD ALL SEE THE POSTER DESIGN THAT WAS SUBMITTED AND THAT WON THIRD PLACE.
AND AS YOU CAN ALL TELL, THEY ARE VERY ATTUNED TO THE WORLD THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THESE DAYS WITH COVID-19 AND DONE A REALLY CREATIVE DESCRIPTION HERE, UH, AS THEY DESCRIBED IT, UH, THIS AR IS ABOUT KIDS CONNECTING DIGITALLY IN THE STORE.
AND DIMMICK EVEN IF THINGS GET HARD, THIS ALSO REMINDS ME THAT EVERYONE IS HERE FOR YOU, AND WE ARE NOT ALONE.
THE STRONG LOTS OF RACES, CULTURES, AND ETHNICITIES CONNECTING TO EACH OTHER DIGITALLY, NO MATTER WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE OR WHERE YOU COME FROM.
I JUST WANT TO, TO GIVE IT MY ALL OWN APPLAUSE AND THANK YOUNG ARTISTS AND THEIR FAMILY FOR MUCH FOR THE SUBMISSION.
AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS, CAVEAT BUTTA.
YOU ARE THE WINNER AT A A HUNDRED DOLLARS CASH PRIZE, AND ALSO WITH THE HONOR TO HAVE YOUR ARTWORK USE THROUGHOUT OUR ACTIVITIES, UH, AT THE SINGLE LEVEL, UH, TO ADD TO YOUR PORTFOLIO.
SO, UH, WITH THIS TALENT, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, YOU MUST, YOU MUST HAVE A PORTFOLIO IN THE WORKS.
IF NOT, YOU GOT TO START AT ONE RIGHT HERE.
AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GO TO OUR NEXT WINNER, WHICH IS SECOND PLACE.
AND THAT WAS A SUBMISSION BY ARI BERNSTEIN COMING FROM FINE ARTS ACADEMY.
I'D LIKE TO ASK IF YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING, HE SAID, THANK YOU.
AND, UH, JESSE WOULD SHOW IN OUR PIECE HERE.
AND BY THE WAY, I SHOULD MENTION, UH, OUR PREVIOUS ARTISTS, THIRD PLACE WINNER WAS 11 YEARS OLD.
AND NOW FOR, UH, OUR SECOND PLACE WINNER HERE ARE, UH, BERNSTEIN WOULD COME TO FINE ARTS ACADEMY, THIS WONDERFUL PIECE HERE, UH, ARI IS 12 YEARS OLD, UH, AND HE PROVIDED THIS DESCRIPTION FOR HIS ARTWORK.
MY ARTWORK IS ABOUT EVERYONE, NO MATTER THE DIFFERENCE, HAVING EQUAL DIGITAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES NEEDED TO SUCCEED DIGITALLY.
I SHOWED THIS BY DRAWING DIVERSE PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT PLACES, EVEN DIFFERENT KINDS OF TECHNOLOGY TO LEARN AND CREATE THINGS ONLINE.
[01:10:01]
AND AS YOU CAN TELL, IT'S A VERY THOUGHTFUL PIECE.HE HAS DEPICTIONS OF A VARIETY OF TYPES OF PEOPLE IMPACTED BY A DIGITAL EQUITY.
AND IT'S VERY WELL DONE, VERY THOUGHTFUL PIECE, AND WE ARE JUST HONORED TO RECEIVE THIS AND TO HAVE THIS BE PART OF THE ARTWORK, WE'LL BE ABLE TO DISPLAY, UH, WITH, UH, THE DIGITAL INCLUSION OFFICE AND WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO IN ADDITION TO $200 PLACE, UH, CASH REWARD THAT ARI WILL BE RECEIVING, WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO ADD TO YOUR PORTFOLIO AND TO MAKE THE CITY OF BOSTON, ONE OF YOUR CREDITS AS AN ARTIST, TOO.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY FOR THIS WORK, BECAUSE ALL OF YOU ARE YOUR RUNNER APPLAUSE.
AND THEN WITH THAT, WE'LL DO A DRUM ROLL FOR OUR FIRST PLACE WINNER, AND YOU CAN SEE THE ARTWORK.
NOW, OUR FIRST PLACE WINNER IS MIRA PATEL.
MERYL PATEL IS A STUDENT, A 13 YEAR OLD STUDENT AT KEELING MIDDLE SCHOOL.
NO, EXCUSE ME, A 12 OLD STUDENTS, UH, AT TEELING MIDDLE SCHOOL MAKES SUBMITTED THIS DIGITALLY.
AND THEY USED, UH, ALCOHOL MARKERS AND PEN, UH, WITH A STYLE THEY REFERRED TO AS A MIX OF REAL REALISM AND CHARACTER ART OFTEN USED IN BULLET JOURNALING.
AND THEN WHAT THEY DESCRIBED FROM THE SUBJECT MATTER IS THIS, TO ME, VISUAL EQUITY MEANS TECH ADAPTED TO FIT DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE'S NEEDS.
EQUITY IS DIFFERENT THAN GIVING EVERYONE THE SAME THING, BECAUSE EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.
THAT WAS A VERY PROFOUND STATEMENT.
AND I COULD NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE IN THE SPIRIT OF ACCESSIBILITY AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE CHALLENGES THAT DIFFERENT POPULATIONS FACE HISTORICALLY.
UH, IT'S A VERY BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN STATEMENT.
AND AS YOU CAN ALL FILL A VERY BEAUTIFULLY DONE PIECE IS WHAT EQUITY AND ACCESS FOR ALL A BEAUTIFUL PIECE.
UH, AND SO FOR THIS FIRST PLACE AWARD MIRA PATEL WILL BE RECEIVING A $400 CASH PRIZE.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ADD THIS TO HER PORTFOLIO, UM, AND, UH, WE'LL BE PROMOTING THIS WORK THROUGHOUT THE CITY, BY THE WAY, I WANT TO MAKE A MENTION THAT ALL THREE OF OUR WINNERS WILL ALSO BE ANNOUNCED AT THE ART COMMISSION MEETING NEXT MONTH.
AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY GET A CHANCE TO SHOW THEIR ART THERE AS WELL IN FRONT OF A BIGGER AUDIENCE OF THOSE WHO APPRECIATE ART IN THE CITY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE.
BUT BEFORE WE PROCEED, LET'S GIVE HER A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR A FIRST PLACE ACHIEVEMENT HERE.
ALL WE CAN DO IS REALLY JUST THANK YOU AND APPLAUD THIS WONDERFUL WORK.
UH, SO WITH THAT, UH, I GET TO BE NOW, UH, AND TO SWITCH GEARS WITH A BIG SMILE, UH, BACK TOWARDS OTHER ITEMS IN OUR AGENDA.
[3.a. The long reach of Artificial Intelligence (Commission Discussion and Action)]
UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND SWITCH BACK TO NEW BUSINESS AGENDA ITEM THREE, A THE LONG REACH OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR COMMISSION DISCUSSION AND ACTION.NOW FOR THIS DISCUSSION, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE COMMISSIONER DON SCOOP TO JUMP IN HERE MOMENTARILY, BUT I'D LIKE TO FRAME IT FOR US ALL BRIEFLY.
UH, OBVIOUSLY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, PARTICULARLY FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATION BY OUR NEW CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER AND PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS WE'VE HAD ABOUT SMART CITY TECHNOLOGY AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS LEVERAGING EITHER MACHINE LEARNING OR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS GOING TO BE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT FOR THE WORLD AND FOR CITIZENS IN PARTICULAR, AS IT RELATES TO THE LEVERAGE AND USE OF THEIR PERSONAL DATA AND INFORMATION, NOT TO MENTION OTHER SERVICES THAT LEVERAGE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO DELIVER SERVICES, WHETHER IT'S AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL, UM, OR STATE OR FEDERAL, UH, WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO PASS THE BATON, UH, COMMISSION ABOUT SCOOP THAT THIS WAS ONE OF HIS MAIN, UH, POINTS, CONCERN.
AND, UH, THIS WAS SOMETHING HE PERSONALLY WANTED ON
[01:15:01]
THE AGENDA.UH, THIS IS A TOPIC THAT WE BROUGHT UP AT THE LAST WORKING GROUP MEETING THAT WE HAD ON THE 9TH OF NOVEMBER.
AND IT SORT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, AI HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN FOR, WELL OVER THREE DECADES AND IT IS NOW COMING TO FRUITION NOW, IT'S, IT'S GOOD.
IT'S GOT LEGS NOW BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF COMPUTATIONAL CAPABILITY THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE AT OUR FINGERTIPS, I JUST BOUGHT MYSELF A NEW CELL PHONE AND IT'S GOT EIGHT PROCESSORS.
THINK OF IT, ONE CELL PHONE, ONE SMARTPHONE WITH EIGHT PROCESSORS.
AND, UH, I'VE GOT A DESKTOP IT'S FOR, YOU KNOW, 2.4 GIGAHERTZ PROCESSORS WITH TERABYTES OF DATA, ET CETERA.
AND SO WITH ALL THAT MEMORY AND ALL THAT PROCESSING POWER NOW, AI TOOLS ARE COMING INTO EXISTENCE AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANKIND HUMANKIND THAT IT CAN BE APPLIED FOR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS.
IT COULD BE APPLIED FOR SMART SERVICES.
IT COULD BE APPLIED FOR A HAWK, YOU KNOW, SMART CARS, YOU NAME IT, IT'S IN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE SKY'S THE LIMIT ON WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH AI, BUT IT ALSO HAS THE DARK SIDE, RIGHT? IT NEEDS A LOT OF DATA.
SO MY QUESTION THAT CAME TO ME WAS WHO'S MINDING THE STORE.
WHO'S GOING TO BE PROTECTING ALL THIS DATA.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO PROACTIVELY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T LOSE CONTROL OF THAT, WHICH LED, YOU KNOW, WHICH ACTUALLY LED TO THAT QUESTION THAT I ASKED EARLIER TO JOHN SAY, OKAY, THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS STARTING.
ARE THEY THINKING ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH? OR ARE THEY GOING TO JUST SAY, OKAY, WE'LL PLAY CATCH UP BALL IN TWO YEARS, BECAUSE IN TWO YEARS, THE WORLD WILL BE VERY DIFFERENT, VERY, VERY DIFFERENT IN A HOST OF APPLICATION AREAS, WHETHER IT BE MEDICAL APPLICATION, CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, SMART TOOLS, SMART CARS, INTERNET OF THINGS, ALL OF THESE ARE COMING TOGETHER.
SO I THOUGHT I'D BRING UP THE TOPIC OF THE WORKING GROUP.
AND, UH, WE QUICKLY DECIDED THAT THIS IS A TOPIC THAT WE SHOULD BRING IT UP AT THE COMMISSION LEVEL AND OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION FOR IDEAS.
WHAT CAN THIS COMMISSION DO TO GO PROMOTE THIS TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS SAFEGUARD OUR CITIZENS FROM THE ILL EFFECTS OF THAT TECHNOLOGY? SO THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT I HAD IN MIND.
UM, AND THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF PUSHBACK FROM THE BIG COMPANIES LIKE AMAZON, FACEBOOK AND ROVERS.
SO THERE'S CURRENTLY SOME BIG FIGHTS GOING ON BETWEEN EUROPEAN UNION AND I BELIEVE FACEBOOK AND AMAZON.
SO, UH, UH, MONITORING, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE HELPFUL.
I DON'T THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT GIANT FIGHTING HERE.
WHAT WOULD YOU SPEND AGAIN, PROBABLY WILL BE A QUESTION PROBABLY THE QUICK TO TARA, ARE THERE ANY STATE LEGISLATION PENDING AND IT HAS TO DO WITH DATA PRIVACY? SURE.
UM, AS OF TODAY, THERE ARE NO BILLS PENDING SPECIFIC TO DATA PRIVACY.
IS IT TOO LATE TOO? IS IT TOO EARLY TO FIND SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES OR DO WE NOT HAVE THE HOMEWORK DONE TO PROCEED? WELL, I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE WORLD I'M ON THE SAME PAGE HERE BECAUSE, UH, I'M NOT SURE IF EVERYONE, EVEN ON THIS IN THE SPOTTY IS FAMILIAR WITH GDPR, UH, AS A POINT OF DEPARTURE.
SO I THINK ONE THING THAT IS GOOD BY THE WAY, FOR THOSE THAT AREN'T, UH, GDPR IS THE, UH, THE LEGISLATION THAT WAS PASSED IN THE EU, UH, FOCUSED AROUND GLOBAL DATA PRIVACY AND PROTECTING, UH, EU CITIZENS FROM THE KINDS OF THINGS, WHICH, UH, WE GET EXPOSED TO WANTONLY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
THERE'S AND, AND SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY
[01:20:01]
THESE ISSUES THAT STARTED IN CALIFORNIA, WHERE DATA PRIVACY IS TREATED MORE SERIOUSLY, PERHAPS MORE LIKE IT IS IN EUROPE, UH, AS OPPOSED TO OTHER STATES.SO WE, WE CLEARLY HAVE, UH, A WIDE VARIANCE IN OPINION AND THOUGHTS ON DATA PRIVACY IN THIS COUNTRY.
UM, AND I THINK WE COULD, IF WE WANTED TO SHARE OUR THOUGHTS ON THAT INDIVIDUALLY HERE NOW TODAY, UH, AND THEN DISCUSS A POSSIBLE CONSENSUS, OR IT MIGHT BE MORE PRODUCTIVE FOR US TO, UH, WEIGH IN ON THIS INDIVIDUALLY, UH, AND THEN UNDERSTAND WHERE WE STAND.
I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE, BUT I, BUT I DON'T WANT US TO DO IS TO, UH, MAKE PRESUMPTIONS ABOUT HOW WE ALL FEEL ABOUT THE PRIVACY, UH, BASED ON OUR OWN PERSONAL FEELINGS.
SO IF WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS IT AND DELIBERATE ABOUT IT, THEN WE HAVE TO DISCUSS IT, BUT NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HOW EACH OF US FEEL.
SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO GIVE US SOME COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK ON THIS TODAY, UM, OR TO WEIGH IN AT ALL TODAY, UH, A CHANCE TO CHIME IN, UH, BEGINNING WITH VICE CHAIR ALEXANDER.
UH, IF YOU'D LIKE TO CHIME IN ON THIS TOPIC, UH, PARTICULARLY AS IT IS CLEARLY, UH, KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP, UH, AND THE WORKING GROUP YOU CHAIR.
UM, I THINK, UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S VERY GOOD TO CALL ATTENTION TO, UM, THESE TOPICS.
I THINK I'M GLAD THAT FOOD'S A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, I SUPPOSE.
I MEAN, MENTIONING DATA PRIVACY LAWS IN EUROPE, FOR INSTANCE, AND CALIFORNIA'S APPROACHES TO IT THROUGH DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEGISLATION.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD FOR US TO KEEP IN MIND.
UM, I THINK THAT MAYBE LOOKING FORWARD IT, UM, IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO ALSO MENTION THAT, UM, YEAH, I GUESS IN ADDITION TAKING THESE, THESE LARGER PERSPECTIVES THAT WE HAVE TO SEE, UM, WHAT'S TAKING EFFECT LOCALLY, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF EFFECTS DAY-TO-DAY, UM, INDIVIDUALS.
SO, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I THINK PERHAPS THE, UM, THE WORKING GROUPS FOCUS ON, UH, ON THE TECHNOLOGY SURVEY CAN PERHAPS PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE INSIGHT THERE, INSIGHT THERE INTO, UM, DAY-TO-DAY CONCERNS.
UM, SO I, I THINK, I THINK ALL OF THIS CAN COME TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT THAT WILL ALLOW US TO, I SUPPOSE, MAKE INFORMED RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THINGS.
UM, AND IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING TOO.
I, I GUESS ON ONE HAND YOU HAVE THIS KIND OF COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE APPROACH.
AND I THINK AT THE SAME TIME YOU HAVE, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, UM, SHIRA PITS, THE POTENTIAL FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PERSONAL OPINIONS ON THIS.
UM, SO I THINK MAYBE THE, UM, THE BEST WAY TO MOVE FORWARD MIGHT BE TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE SURVEY RESULTS, DISCUSS AMONGST AS COLLECTIVELY AS A COMMISSION AND, UM, WITH THE WORKING GROUP, THE, UM, UH, I GUESS, UH, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WE CAN DO, AND PERHAPS MAYBE ANOTHER PIECE OF THIS TOO, IS, IS EDUCATIONAL.
I MEAN, MAYBE INDIVIDUALS DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT DATA IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
THEY MAY NOT KNOW WHAT'S ANONYMIZED TO USE OR GPS TRACKING THINGS, YOU KNOW, SO THAT, THAT MIGHT BE, WE COULD COME IN AS WELL.
SO, UM, UH, THAT MIGHT BE KIND OF A LONG-WINDED WAY TO SAY THAT.
YEAH, I THINK THEY'RE ALL A LITTLE DIRECTIONS TO GO AND I'M TRYING TO TACKLE THIS.
UM, BUT I THINK ONE THING THAT'S CLEAR IS THAT, UM, I THINK THAT THIS IS A TOPIC OF, OF INTEREST AND CONCERN,
[01:25:01]
UM, BOTH FOR THE CITY AND ITS RESIDENTS.SO THOSE ARE SOME KIND OF INITIAL THOUGHTS ON, ON THIS.
UM, THE OTHER TWO COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVEN'T SPOKEN, UH, DID YOU WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THIS AT ALL? COMMISSIONER REINHARDT, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON BEAVERS.
UM, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IT, THAT THIS IS DEFINITELY A TIMELY TOPIC, UM, THAT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE ADDED INTO THIS DISCUSSION.
HOWEVER, I THINK THAT, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DONE REALLY INTENTIONALLY AND WITH A LOT OF THOUGHTS AND WITH TIME, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT AND IT TAKES A LOT OF, UM, FINESSE, I GUESS, IF, WHEN YOU'RE REALLY TRYING TO PROMOTE SOME TYPE OF LEGISLATION, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ARE CREATING THAT LEGISLATIVE POLICY AND YOU'RE PREPARING BILLS TO GO FORWARD, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S JUST MORE THAN JUST, OH, THIS IS JUST A GOOD IDEA.
LET'S JUST PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER.
AND SO I THINK THAT WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS, WHICH IS OF COURSE, REALLY, UM, POLARIZING, BECAUSE THERE ARE, UM, THERE, THERE'S DEFINITELY A GAMUT OF VIEWS WITH REGARDS TO PRIVACY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
AND WHAT'S, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I THINK THAT IT'S WHY WE HERE IN AUSTIN MAY FEEL A CERTAIN WAY.
IF WE'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING, THAT'S GOING TO PROTECT THE GREATER GOOD THAT WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO PROMOTE, UM, AS IT GOES UP STATEWIDE, I THINK THAT WE REALLY, IN, IN THIS, IN THIS PARTICULAR STATE, WE NEED TO BE EXTREMELY, UM, INTENTIONAL ABOUT HOW WE GO ABOUT DOING IT.
AND SO TO ME, THAT MEANS THAT WE NEED TO BE EXTREMELY EDUCATED ABOUT THE TOPIC FROM ALL DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
WE WOULD BE PREPARED FOR ANY TYPE OF COUNTER-ARGUMENTS ARE ANY TYPE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST ANY TYPE OF ANY, ANY TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT MAY WORK AGAINST WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE MAY WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROPOSE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT DEFINITELY IS TIMELY, BUT I JUST WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE DO A LOT OF HOMEWORK AND NOT TRY TO RUSH JUST BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT RELIGIOUS CONVENING IN JANUARY.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON BEAVERS.
AND, UH, PROBABLY ECHO THAT SENTIMENT, BUT LET'S GO IN HERE IF WE CAN FROM COMMISSIONER REINHARDT.
NO, I THINK, UH, THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE SHARED LOTS OF GOOD THOUGHTS AND I WOULD JUST, UM, AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN SAID.
UH, WELL, YOU KNOW, GENTLEMEN AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I THINK THAT WE HAVE, UH, A UNIQUE SITUATION HERE BECAUSE AS COMMISSIONER THOMPSON ERAS MENTIONED, AND IT IS TIMELY, UH, I'D DEFINITELY AGREE WITH THIS BEING ON THE AGENDA, BUT, BUT, UH, AS WAS RAISED, WE, WE DEFINITELY HAVE SOME WORK TO DO, UH, AS A DELIBERATIVE BODY, UH, BEFORE WE CAN PROCEED WITH, UH, MORE THAN A DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, ABOUT FUTURE DISCUSSION, BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY WE, WE HAVE, UH, TWO WORKING IN REVERSE.
WE HAVE TO ARRIVE AT A CONSENSUS TO DETERMINE WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO AS A BODY.
AND THAT CONSENSUS HAS TO BE BASED UPON, UH, AN INFORMED PERSPECTIVE ON THIS TOPIC.
SO, UH, WE NEED TO ESSENTIALLY HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS, UH, AMONGST OURSELVES AND THEN AGREE ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO PROCEED WITH THEM.
I THINK THAT THE EDUCATION EFFORT IS ONE THAT WILL PROBABLY TAKE AT LEAST, UH, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL WEEKS, UH, PERHAPS BY THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING, BUT MAYBE NOT BY THEN.
UH, I THINK THAT, UH, BY THEN WOULD BE IDEAL BECAUSE THEN AT LEAST WE CAN HAVE SOME ACTION, UH, IN PLACE FOR THE NEW CALENDAR YEAR, UH, AND THEN HAVE A CLEAR DIRECTION AS A COMMISSION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
UH, AND WE'LL RECOMMEND THE CITY DO, UH, I'D LIKE TO LEVEL SET THAT BECAUSE WE STILL NEED TO ACTUALLY DO A CALENDAR, UM, TO CONFIRM THAT, BUT AS WAS STATED, I DEFINITELY HAVE A MIND, UH, THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A EDUCATION PROCESS FOR OURSELVES,
[01:30:01]
AT LEAST AS A BODY, UH, IF NOT INDIVIDUALLY, AND THEN TO BE PREPARED TO ADVOCATE FOR A POSITION, UH, INDIVIDUALLY, AT LEAST.AND THEN WE CAN ARRIVE AT A CONSENSUS BASED UPON HOW WE ALL FEEL.
AND I THINK IN ESSENCE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PROS AND CONS OF DATA, PRIVACY REGULATION, SIMILAR TO GDPR, LIKE IT'S BEING PROPOSED IN CALIFORNIA AND BEING ARGUED OUT THERE.
SO THAT SHOULD GIVE US ENOUGH AS INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS TO WORK WITH, UH, TO RESEARCH.
BUT I BELIEVE, UH, I COULD GET SOME HELP PERHAPS FROM COMMISSIONER DUCA AND OTHERS, IF YOU'D LIKE TO POINT OUT OTHER PIECES OR, UH, KNOWLEDGE BASIS FOR THIS TOPIC THAT WOULD HELP TO MOVE THINGS ALONG.
SO UNLESS THERE'S ANY REAL OBJECTIONS, UH, I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT WE TABLE THIS UNTIL WE CAN ALLOW THE EDUCATION EFFORT TO BE UNDERTAKEN.
AND THEN FOR US TO THEN DELIBERATE ON IN OUR NEXT MEETING ON A CONSENSUS ABOUT WHAT WE WILL DO, ONE OF THE WORK GROUPS FOR THEM TO START STUDYING.
WELL, I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHT, UM, BECAUSE THERE IS A WORKING GROUP FOCUSED ON THIS, I THINK, UH, IN THAT IT WILL BE THE KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP.
THE CHALLENGE THOUGH, IS IF WE'RE ALL GOING TO HAVE INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVES, WE ALL NEED TO BE STUDYING, NOT JUST THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS, WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE, IF WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE ABLE TO COME TO OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING AND EXPRESS OUR PERSONAL OPINION, WE ALL NEED TO BE EDUCATED.
SO I'M NOT ADVOCATING THAT WE DELAY THIS, UH, BEYOND THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
WHAT I'M ADVOCATING IS THAT WE ALL COMMIT TO EDUCATING OURSELVES ON THIS BY THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING THAT WE'LL, WE CAN ALL COME PREPARED TO ACTUALLY DISCUSS IT AND DELIBERATE ON WHAT WE SHOULD DO.
I AM GOING TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE RESEARCH AND SEE IF I CAN FIND THE ARTICLES, ET CETERA, THAT I CAN SHARE A WORK WITH JESSE AND WHATEVER I FIND SHARE WITH QUESTION THAT, AND I REQUEST THIS TO DO THIS.
SO, UH, MR. COMMISSIONER JACKSON ADDRESS YOUR CONCERN ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP, RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, I JUST THOUGHT THAT, UH, HAVING ONE GROUP FOCUS ON IT, BE HELPFUL THE DAY EVERYONE FOCUSES ON THOSE TOPICS.
WELL, AGAIN, I THINK YOUR POINT THAT THE WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION WOULD BE HELPFUL, BUT ONCE MORE, UM, SINCE WE NEED EVERYONE TO ARRIVE AT THEIR OWN POSITION, UH, I DON'T THINK WE CAN, UH, CAN, CAN ACHIEVE THAT UNLESS WE ALL STUDY THIS.
WELL, THANK YOU, UM, WITH THAT THEN, UH, UNLESS THERE'S ANY OBJECTION ON GLENN PROCEED TO OUR
[3.b. Remote participation at commission meetings (Commission Discussion and Action)]
NEXT, UH, NEW BUSINESS ITEM, WHICH IS FREEBIE, UH, REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT COMMISSION MEETINGS.UH, SO THIS IS, UH, THIS SHOULD HOPEFULLY NOT BE TOO LENGTHY OF A DISCUSSION, BUT I DO WANT TO TEE IT UP BY EXPLAINING, UH, WHILE WE'RE HAVING THE DISCUSSION, UM, WITH THE BACKDROP OF THE WORK WE'VE ALREADY DONE.
SO, AS WE ALL KNOW HERE, WE BEGAN THE DISCUSSION OF REMOTE DISSIPATION IN MEETINGS.
UH, ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO, IT WAS SPECIFICALLY IN AN EFFORT TO BOOST PARTICIPATION OR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION, UH, AT THE COMMISSIONER LEVEL, UH, OUR THOUGHT WAS BASED ON OUR OWN CHALLENGES, UH, WITH SCHEDULING, UH, HAVING TO DRIVE A CITY HALL, UH, HAVING TO MANAGE, UH, THE CHILDCARE, OTHER THINGS, UH, THAT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE IF WE HAD AN OPTION FOR REMOTE PARTICIPATION THAT WE WOULD AVOID ISSUES OF NOT BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A QUORUM, UH, AND BOOST ATTENDANCE.
WE THEN REACHED OUT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO, UH, DISCUSS PILOTING THIS EFFORT.
WE BEGAN, UH, AND DID ONE TEST PILOT, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO DO ANOTHER WHEN WE STARTED HAVING SOME CHALLENGES, UH, AND THEN RAN INTO COVID-19.
[01:35:01]
THAT, AS WE ALL KNOW, WE WERE SHIFTED INTO A MODE OF REMOTE DISSIPATION BEING THE ONLY OPTION.AND THEN THE CITY HAD TO RAMP UP A REMOTE DISSIPATION, UH, PROGRAM FOR COMMISSIONED MEETINGS AND THEY USE WEBEX AS A PLATFORM AND THEY ROLLED IT OUT, UH, BASED ON, UH, THEIR STAFFING CAPABILITIES.
AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HOLD MEETINGS EFFECTIVELY, UH, SINCE NOW, BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNOR'S, UH, EVOLUTION OF THE EMERGENCY DECLARATION.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME PERHAPS BEFORE COMMISSIONERS AND MASS ARE EXPECTED TO GO TO CITY HALL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS.
AGAIN, HOWEVER, AS WE ALL KNOW, WE WANTED TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY OR AT LEAST SEE WHAT WAS FEASIBLE, AND WE ALL KNOW THAT WE WANT NO ONE TO TAKE ANY HEALTH RISKS OR, UH, TO JEOPARDIZE THEIR HEALTH AND PHYSICAL SAFETY, UH, TO BE A COMMISSIONER.
SO WHAT WE FORESEE IS A WORLD WHERE, AND SOME MEMBERS MAY STILL NEED OR REQUESTS TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO THEN ENABLE THAT BY, UH, EITHER FULFILLING OUR PILOT AND, OR ELEVATING THE CONVERSATION.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE REACHED OUT BACK TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO HAVE A CONFERENCE CALL OR A MEETING RATHER TO DISCUSS THE NEXT STEP.
SO LOGISTICS, UH, WHATEVER CHALLENGES THERE MIGHT BE, UH, IMPEDIMENTS THAT, THAT THEY MIGHT, THAT WE MAY BE UNAWARE OF, UH, TO THIS HAPPENING.
AND BECAUSE THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE IS VERY FOCUSED ON, UH, THE, UH, SPECIAL ELECTION OR THE, UH, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE RIGHT WORD FOR IT, UH, NOT SPECIAL, BUT, UM, EXACTLY.
UH, THEY'RE GOING TO BE TOO BUSY TO MEET WITH US AND TO ENGAGE ON THIS TOPIC UNTIL THAT'S FINISHED, BUT THEY COMMITTED TO MEET WITH US AND ENGAGE AFTERWARDS BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THE APPRECIATE THE ASSISTANCE OF IT.
SO WITH THAT, AS A BACKDROP, I'D LIKE TO GIVE US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT, UH, KNOWING THAT WE DO HAVE A COMMITMENT FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE TO MEET, UH, AS SOON AS THE RUNOFF IS FINISHED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, UH, AND TO OF COURSE, CONTINUE TO ENGENDER GOODWILL, UH, BASED ON OUR DESCRIPTION OF OUR CHALLENGES.
AND THEN WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO, I BELIEVE THAT THE, UM, THERE WAS ALSO, UH, A COUNCIL REQUEST THAT PARALLELED THE REQUESTS FROM OUR COMMISSION OR REMOTE PARTICIPATION.
AND SO THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING HAPPENING WITH THAT ALSO.
UM, SO MY CONCERN IS THAT, YEAH, WELL, THIS IS GOING TO KIND OF GET LOST AND LESS, WE ARE VERY PERSISTENT IN GETTING THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, AND THAT IS PERFECTLY REASONABLE.
UH, I CONCUR AND I THINK OUR PERSISTENCE IS EVIDENT.
UM, AND, UH, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO REMAIN, UH, STALWART, LIKE YOU'VE BEEN, UH, IN ADVOCATING FOR THIS AND PUSHING FOR THIS.
UH, IN THE MEANTIME, I THINK AS A, AS I SAID EARLIER, WITH THE SPIRIT OF ENGENDERING GOODWILL, UM, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT WE CAN DO BESIDES JUST GET OUR DUCKS IN A ROW AND BE READY TO DIVE INTO THIS TOPIC WHEN THEY ARE, I'M NOT AWARE OF THE STATUS OF THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION OR THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION AT THIS TIME.
UH, I'M NOT SURE IF ANYONE FROM CITY STAFF CAN SPEAK TO THAT OR NOT.
TIRPITZ, THIS IS SEAN SPEAR'S PROGRAM MANAGER AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS.
YOU ALL ARE REFERENCING CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 20 1902 OH SEVEN DASH OH THREE.
ONE OF WHICH, UM, THERE IS NO UPDATED STATUS THAT OUR OFFICE HAS RECEIVED, BUT YES, THIS DOES APPEAR TO BE VERY MUCH CONNECTED TO THE, UH, PILOT FOR REMOTE PARTICIPATION OF COMMISSION MEMBERS AT THE MEETINGS.
UM, SO THE CONNECTED, UM, POLICY INITIATIVES THERE, UM, ARE VERY MUCH PENDING, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY SOME DELAYS THERE WITH RELATION TO A LOT OF ELECTION ACTIVITY, UM, AND THE, UH,
[01:40:01]
COVID-19, UH, IMPACT ON COURT SERVICES.BUT, UM, WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT THE COMMISSION'S, UM, PREFERRED DIRECTION AND CAN SUPPORT THAT AS SUCH.
JOHN, COULD YOU PLEASE SEND OUT SOME INFORMATION ON THAT COUNCIL REQUEST TO THE COMMISSION? YES, SIR.
I WILL, UM, WORK WITH STAFF TO SEND THE COMMISSIONER COURTESY COPY OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE HAVE ON FILE AS IT RELATES TO THAT RESOLUTION.
DOES HE WANT US TO BE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS TOPIC AT THIS TIME? OKAY.
I FEEL AS THOUGH I'VE GOT A PULSE OF THE COMMISSION, WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR DESIRE TO REMAIN SAFE, UH, YOUR APPRECIATION FOR THE REMOTE PARTICIPATION, UH, METHOD, UH THERE'S ANYONE THAT DOES NOT FEEL THAT WAY.
UM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE OPERATING IN GOOD FAITH BY PUSHING FOR THIS AS WE WERE BEFORE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WERE EXPERIMENTING WITH THIS, WHEN YOU WERE BENCHMARKING DAYS IN EVALUATING THIS, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE PURPOSE BEHIND THAT WANTS TO MAKE THE COMMISSIONS MORE FLEXIBLE AND EFFICIENT, BECAUSE THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE MORE PARTICIPATION, UH, EASIER TO FIND QUORA, ET CETERA, IN A WAY, THE, THE WAY WE'VE BEEN RUNNING OUR COMMISSIONS IN THE COVID ENVIRONMENT, WE'VE ALMOST PROVEN THAT, THAT IT DOES WORK.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VIRTUALLY HERE IN I'M IN MY OFFICE HERE IN YOUR HOME OFFICE, AND YOU'RE ALL CONNECTED AND IT'S WORKING, YOU'RE HAVING SOME VERY, VERY GOOD DISCUSSIONS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS SHOULD BE A GOOD CATALYST TO CONVINCE THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE KURT CLERK'S OFFICE THAT THIS METHOD DOES WORK.
SO I HOPE SOMEBODY IS WATCHING FROM HER OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER.
UM, I THINK, I THINK IT'S, UH, BEEN NOTED, UH, BY THE CLERK'S OFFICE, UH, BASED ON THINGS THEY'VE WITNESSED, INCLUDING OUR SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, ON DIGITAL EQUITY.
UM, I THINK WHAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN, WHICH WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET INTO, UH, IN THAT FACE-TO-FACE SESSION IS, UH, WHAT OTHER CHALLENGES, UH, NEED TO BE OVERCOME AND, OR IMPEDIMENTS, UH, WE NEED TO WORK AROUND AND OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEM.
UM, BUT I THINK WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
UH, IN FACT, I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT WITH NOT TO, TO DO THAT.
AS SOON AS THAT, UH, RUNOFF ELECTION IS OVER, THIS IS KIND OF A RELATED ITEM THAT I GREW UP AS A PROPOSAL BEFORE THAT IS IN, WE SHOULD MAKE A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION FOR THE FOLLOWING BUDGET YEAR TO HAVE THE CITY BUY A LICENSE THAT THEY COULD LOAN OUT TO NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS OR VIRTUAL PDX.
SO IN OTHER, SO THIS IS JUST AN EXTENSION, WHAT THE CITY ALREADY DOES ANYWAY.
UM, THEY ALLOW A LIBRARY TO BE USED BY NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS.
AND SO THIS WOULD JUST BE AN EXTENSION OF THAT.
THEY WOULD, THE LIBRARY HAVE MINISTRATION RATES OVER THESE FIVE FORMS THAT THEY COULD ALLOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS HAVE VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
I THINK THAT HELPED WITH MISLEADING.
I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE PURSUING.
I APPRECIATE THAT, ALTHOUGH I, I DO, UH, WANT TO, IF I CAN, UH, FOCUS THAT DURING, UM, THE COMMISSION UPDATE SECTION, MAINLY BECAUSE THIS NEW BUSINESS ITEM IS VERY SPECIFIC TO MOST THE PATIENT COMMISSION MEETINGS, IT'S NOT PERTAINING TO, UH, THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS, ALTHOUGH THERE WILL, THAT WILL TAKE HIM.
UM, I, AS, AS I HOPE YOU RECALL, I PERSONALLY WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UM, EVERY CITY FACILITY, UH,
[01:45:01]
ALLOW ACCESS, UH, YOU KNOW, TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, THROUGH LICENSES SOMEHOW.UH, BUT THEN OBVIOUSLY IT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST A BRAINSTORM AT THIS POINT.
UM, AND WE'D BE DELIBERATE ABOUT THAT AND THEN DISCUSS IT MORE IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSION.
UH, BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER MEETINGS.
SO WE CAN BRING THIS UP A NEW BUSINESS.
OR, UH, WHAT OUR NEW BUSINESSES IS ACTUALLY AGENDA HERE.
UH, BUT WE CAN MAKE IT A NEW, A NEW BUSINESS ITEM FOR OUR NEXT MEETING.
WELL, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION HERE OR NOTIFICATION AT MEETINGS BEFORE WE PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA? OKAY.
[3.c. Review and adoption of the proposed 2021 commission Schedule (Commission Discussion and Action)]
WITH THAT, THEN LET'S GO AHEAD.PROCEED TO A, DENIED THEM THREE C AND A I'LL MEAN JESSIE'S ASSISTANCE FOR THIS.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND REVIEW AND HOPEFULLY ADOPT THE PROPOSED 20, 21 COMMISSION SCHEDULE.
SO THE, UM, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL FOR US TO PULL THIS UP OR DOES EVERYBODY OKAY.
WE, WE HAVE IT PULLED UP ALREADY.
UM, I HAVE HERE THE PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR 2020.
IT FOLLOWS OUR STANDARD COMMISSION, UM, TIMELINE OF THE SECOND WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH FROM DECEMBER THROUGH NEXT YEAR.
WE SHOULD BE MOVING BACK TO OUR TRADITIONAL SCHEDULE.
UM, IF THERE IS ANY DESIRE TO DEVIATE FROM OUR SCHEDULE, UM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW NOW, AND WE CAN MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS, UM, READ THOSE ADJUSTMENTS INTO THE RECORD.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMISSION IS THEN ABLE TO TAKE A VOTE TO APPROVE THIS SCHEDULE.
UM, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO, OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE HAS REQUESTED THAT WE PROVIDE OUR APPROVED SCHEDULE.
SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A VOTE AT THIS SESSION.
JUST THE ELECT TO GET CLARIFICATION FROM YOU, PLEASE.
UH, ARE WE LOOKING AT A PROPOSED 20, 21 SCHEDULE OR THE 2020 SCHEDULE? I'M SORRY.
YEAH, IT SHOULD SAY 20, 21 AT THE BEGINNING.
AND IT'S PROPOSED AT THIS TIME.
SO, SO THESE DATES ARE 20, 21 DAYS, NO MATTER WHAT IT SAYS AND THE, AND THE BLOCKS THEY SHOULD BE.
LET ME JUST MAKE SURE THAT I DIDN'T ACCIDENTALLY UPLOAD THE WRONG FILE.
I SEE A MIXTURE OF 20, 20 AND 2021.
AND THE, AND THE CELLS NEXT TO THE DATES ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE FOR 2021.
YEAH, JEN, I JUST TOOK JANUARY 31 AND IT IS
SO WHAT WE'LL DO THEN, UH, JUST FOR CLARITY.
UM, OKAY, SO MAYBE, MAYBE YOU PUT, OKAY.
YOU KNOW, IN FAIRNESS TO JESSE, SOME OF THESE, UH, MENTIONED THE 2020 ARE APPROPRIATE, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, MARCH 20, MARCH 10, 2021, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AG TOP 2020 UPDATE, RIGHT.
FOR, I GUESS THIS WOULD BE THE G TOPS, 20, 20, 21 CALENDAR.
UH, BUT HE'S ONLY REFERRING TO THE 2020 AS THE, UH, THE START.
AND THEN IT CONTINUES, ALTHOUGH DOWN, OKAY.
APRIL 14, G TUFTS, 2020 AWARD RECOMMENDATIONS, ELECTION OF OFFICERS, THE FIRST MEETING AFTER APRIL ONE, 2020.
SO IT'S A MIXTURE OF BOTH, I GUESS, BUT MAYBE KEEPING IS FOR EVERYONE.
WE'RE TRYING TO CONFIRM THAT THESE CALENDAR DATES LISTED ON THE MEETING DATE SIDE WILL WORK FOR EVERYBODY.
HEY, JESSE, WELL, AS SOON TOWARD, YOU KNOW, CHAMPIONS, YOU SAID THE DATES ON THE LEFT SIDE, HAVE YOU CONFIRMED THAT THESE ARE THE WAYS THE SECOND WEDNESDAY MONTH? YEAH.
UM, I, I MADE SURE THAT THE DATES ON THE LEFT IN THE LEFT-HAND COLUMN ARE THE PROPER DATES FOR 2021.
UM, I DID A CONTROL F FOR, UH, THE REMAINDER OF THE DATES AND I PROBABLY JUST MESSED THAT UP.
SO MY APOLOGIES, BUT I I'M HAPPY TO GO BACK AND VERIFY THE, UH, YEARS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, BUT THE DATES ON THE LEFT ARE CORRECT? CORRECT.
SO THEN THE NEXT QUESTION IS IT'S GOING TO FOLLOW OUR REGULAR CALENDAR.
SO WE'RE GOING TO START AT 30 IN THE EVENING.
ALL, UH, MEETINGS WOULD BE SCHEDULED FOR SIX 30.
UM, I, UH, SPOKE WITH JOHN SPEARS ABOUT THIS EARLIER TODAY.
[01:50:01]
SCHEDULED, UH, WE COULD BE BUMPED AT ANY TIME BASED ON THE CLERK'S OFFICES NEED, BUT THIS IS JUST FOR OUR PLAN DATES.UH, I'M NOT SEEING DECEMBER ON THERE.
CAN YOU SLIDE THAT UP? THERE WE GO.
THAT WE GOT THAT WE JUST GOT THE DATES.
DO WE HAVE A DECEMBER, 2020 MEETING SCHEDULED YET? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR THE SECOND WEDNESDAY IN DECEMBER AT SIX 30.
AND WHAT'S THE DATE? THAT WOULD BE DECEMBER 9TH.
AND AGAIN, THE CLERK'S OFFICE HASN'T SENT OUT FINAL CONFIRMATION FOR DECEMBER, BUT THAT'S WHAT'S PLANNED.
SO THAT'S OUR PLAN UNTIL OTHERWISE.
WELL, LOOKING AT THESE DATES, I WOULD, I WOULD MOVE TO APPROVE HIM TO APPROVE THIS.
SO, AND LET'S, UH, UNLESS ANYONE HAS ANY ISSUES, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CALL A VOTE ON THIS ONE.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UM, THE, UH, PROPOSED 2021 COMMISSION SCHEDULE AS PRESENTED SECOND.
AND WE HAVE A SECOND, UH, I MADE THE MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA AND COMMISSIONER UK'S SECOND, SECOND, AND THIRD.
UH, SO WITH THAT, THEN LET'S GO AND HAVE A VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THIS 2021 COMMISSION SCHEDULE AS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
SO IT'S BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY SIX TO ZERO, AND THAT TAKES CARE OF THAT PIECE OF BUSINESS AND
[3.e. Commission Special Report on Digital Equity (Commission Discussion and Action)]
BRINGS US TO THREE E UNDER NEW BUSINESS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.THE COMMISSION SPECIAL REPORT ON DIGITAL EQUITY.
I'D LIKE TO, I COULD HAVE A JESSIE TEE UP THAT SLIDE, UM, TO JUMP RIGHT INTO DISCUSSING IT.
UH, AS WE ALL KNOW ON, UH, OCTOBER THE NINTH, THAT FRIDAY, WE HAD A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING TO SPECIFICALLY CONVENIENT CONVERSATION ON DIGITAL EQUITY.
AND THE KEY THING THAT I WANT TO FOCUS ON, UH, IN DESCRIBING IT IS HOW THAT CONVENING WAS REALLY THE CULMINATING OF A WEEK OF PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON DIGITAL INCLUSION AND ALSO OUR OWN 2018 2019 WORK PLAN, WHERE WE COMMITTED TO CONVENING A DIGITAL INCLUSION STAKEHOLDER SUMMIT, AS WE ALL KNOW COVID-19 OCCURRED AND PREVENTED US FROM DOING ANYTHING FACE TO FACE, BUT I WANT TO APPLAUD, UH, THE NIMBLENESS OF THE CITY STAFF AND THE SPOTTY FOR MAKING YOURSELF AVAILABLE FOR HAVING THE SAME CONVERSATION ONLINE AND DOING SO WITH AUSTIN RESIDENTS THAT ARE RECEIVING SERVICES, POLICY MAKERS, AS WELL AS MANY LEADERS OF LOCAL NONPROFITS.
THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE CONVENING WAS OF COURSE, TO ALLOW PHYSICIANS TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY TO POLICY MAKERS, TO US AND TO THE WORLD, THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCES, MANAGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, UH, PURSUING VISIBLE EQUITY, LEVERAGING CITY SERVICES, BUT YET MANAGING PERSISTENT CHALLENGES TO DIGITAL EQUITY TO ACCESSING AND THAT ENABLED DEVICES AND TO ACCESSING ECONOMIC BROADBAND,
[01:55:02]
THAT SPECIAL MEETING TOOK PLACE AFTER A PRIOR MEETING THAT INCLUDED LOCAL RESIDENTS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, ORGANIZATIONS, CITY, STAFF, AND LOCAL, AND THAT SERVICE PROVIDERS, I CALL IT OUT PRIMARILY BECAUSE THIS IS MEANT TO BE A FOLLOW ON, TO CONTINUE TO EVOLVE THE DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO FACE THE CHALLENGES THAT OUR CITIZENS ARE STRUGGLING WITH AND TO YIELD SOME ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS.UH, THESE CITIZEN ACCOUNTS AND COLLABORATION STORIES PROVIDE WHAT I'M REFERRING TO NOW, UH, IN THE ABSENCE OF A BETTER TERM, UH, TO AS CHALLENGED DATA POINTS, THEN BEING CHALLENGES TO DIGITAL EQUITY FOR US TO CATALOG, AND THEN TO POTENTIALLY RESOLVE THROUGH POLICY, UH, THROUGH COLLABORATION AND PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, THROUGH A VARIETY OF WAYS THAT WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL AT LEAST TO INFLUENCE IF NOT DIRECTLY.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, AS WAS DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY, THE CREATION OF A DIGITAL SCORECARD OR PERHAPS A EQUITABLE BROADBAND SCORECARD IS THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT I THINK OUR COMMISSION SHOULD UNDERTAKE.
NOT ONLY JUST BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE TOPICS, BUT BECAUSE OF OUR CHARTER.
SO PROVIDE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHO JUST PAID IN THIS CONVERSATION, WHICH WAS QUITE ROBUST.
UH, IT INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITY ENTITIES, UH, WITH STAFF AND CLIENTS, ACTUAL RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN.
THEY INCLUDE THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF DAVID COCO, THEIR OUTREACH SPECIALIST, THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED DANIEL WHEELER, THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR.
THEY INCLUDE UNITED WAY OF GREATER AUSTIN AND PAULA PAULA.
SYLVESTRI THEIR DIRECTOR OF FAMILY PATHWAYS, UH, AS WELL AS SEVERAL CLIENTS, INCLUDING BELFI MIRALIS MARIE LORD, TO GET WHO YOU WILL BE.
AND I APOLOGIZE IF I'M BUTCHERING SOMEONE'S NAME THERE.
IN ADDITION TO THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN PATHWAYS, CATHERINE, KRAGLE THEIR HEAD OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, BRIANNA STERLING, SMART CITY AMBASSADOR AND TEAM LEAD, JOSH BANKS, THE IPADS PROGRAM MANAGER, UH, CHESTER MARTEL, AN AMBASSADOR AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN URBAN TECHNOLOGY MOVEMENT AND THEIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER MICHAEL WARD, WHO ACTUALLY PARTICIPATED IN THE CITIZEN COMMUNICATION PORTION.
WE WERE PLEASED, UH, NEXT SLIDE TO ALSO BE JOINED BY A VARIETY OF POLICYMAKERS.
IN ADDITION TO MEMBERS FROM THIS LIMITED BODY HERE, UH, FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, SOPHIE GARA, WHO WAS APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR, OF COURSE, MYSELF AS CHAIR, COMMISSIONER, MALCOLM UTES, DISTRICT THREE, VICE CHAIR, DAVID ALEXANDER FROM DISTRICT FOUR, COMMISSIONER NICOLE THOMPSON, BEAVERS FROM DISTRICT NINE, UH, COMMISSIONER SUMIT, DASGUPTA FROM DISTRICT 10, AS WELL AS ELECTED OFFICIALS AND STAFF HONORED TO BE JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER.
NATASA HARPER, MADISON FROM DISTRICT ONE, AS WELL AS TO HAVE HER CHIEF OF STAFF, ERIC BIRD AND HER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, JENNIFER STROBEL.
WE'RE ALSO JOINED BY NICOLE GOLDEN FROM DISTRICT NINE, WHO IS THE COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR THERE, AND A VARIETY OF CITY STAFF, INCLUDING BYRON OAKS, EXCUSE ME, UH, BRIAN OAKS, SHE, OUR CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER, UH, JOHN SPEARS, WHO I REPEATEDLY KEEP, UH, PROMOTING TO DIRECTOR.
I APOLOGIZE, BUT OUR PROGRAM MANAGER, UH, FROM JESSE RODRIGUEZ, OUR STAFF LIAISON FROM FRANCISCO GUY DIEGO'S PROGRAM COORDINATOR AND AMELIA KRISHNAN, OUR COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY VISTA.
WHAT THEY DID THROUGH THEIR ACCOUNTS WAS PROVIDE, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, CHALLENGE DATA POINTS.
NOW, AS PART OF OUR PUBLIC RECORD, WE ACTUALLY HAVE MINUTES, A DETAILED MINUTE ACCOUNTING AND RECORDING OF, UH, THESE STATEMENTS AND STORIES AND, UH, AND LIVE EXPERIENCES.
[02:00:01]
WORKED TO CREATE DATA POINTS FOR EACH CHALLENGE STATEMENT, SO WE CAN BEGIN CATALOGING THEM AND THEN ADDRESSING THEM AS A BODY.SO WITH THAT, I'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH PROVIDES A LIST FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A VARIETY OF DIGITAL EQUITY CHALLENGE POINTS, SOME OF THEM, UH, DATA, UH, CHALLENGE DATA POINTS.
SOME OF THEM MAY REPEAT, UH, AS THERE WERE PERSISTENT THINGS, INCLUDING INCREASING BANDWIDTH REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL RESIDENTS, BUT FOR DEAF RESIDENT IN PARTICULAR INEQUITABLE BANDWIDTH DISTRIBUTION FOR ALL REVENUE, UH, OF THESE AFFECTED POPULATIONS IN PARTICULAR, BUT ALSO FOR DEAF RESIDENTS AS STATED WEBSITE DESIGN AND SCHOOL LEARNING PLATFORM ACCESSIBILITY WITH SCREEN READER, TECHNOLOGY FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED RESIDENTS, INSUFFICIENT PROCESSOR AND THE VR DEVICES, UH, PROCESSORS AND DEVICES FOR ACCESSIBILITY DEMANDS, THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED SCREEN READERS THERE BEING NO UNIVERSAL SCREENREADER STANDARD, UH, FINANCIAL STABILITY FOR A LOW-INCOME RESIDENCE, SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO CAREER AND EDUCATION ADVANCEMENT FOR PARENTS AND KIDS BANDWIDTH SHARING IN THE HOUSEHOLD DUE TO DISTANCE LEARNING.
AND THE FACT THAT STUDENTS ARE BECAUSE OF COVID-19 FOR SOMEONE REMOTELY AND HOUSEHOLDS WITH LIMITED DEVICES, BUT WITH ONLY ONE INTERNET CONNECTION AT BEST DEVICE SHARING ITSELF IN THE HOUSEHOLD, SOMETIMES THEY'RE NOT BEING MULTIPLE DEVICES AND YET THEY'RE BEING MULTIPLE CHILDREN, UH, AND OR ONE DEVICE, UH, TO BE USED WITH A FAMILY PARENT AND THE CHILD WHO'S ATTENDING SCHOOL, A LACK OF CULTURAL COMPETENT INSTRUCTION FOR ESL PRIMARY CAREGIVERS, A PERSISTENT CHALLENGE FOR ESL COMMUNITY AND FOR COMMUNITY AT LARGE, LOW BANDWIDTH FOR MULTI STUDENT FAMILIES.
AS I DESCRIBED EARLIER, WHERE THE, BY SHARING OF IMPORTANT DIGITAL FIELDS TRAINING FOR PARENTS AND WORKING STUDENTS, FAMILIES WHERE OFTENTIMES THE STUDENTS ARE HAVING TO EDUCATE THE PARENTS AS OPPOSED TO VICE VERSA, INSUFFICIENT MOBILE WEIPA HOTSPOTS TO MAKE UP FOR OUR AUSTIN FACILITY.
CLOSURES HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE.
ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING TO MEET AS BEST AS WE CAN, BUT NATURALLY THEY'RE GOING TO BE GAPS AS WE CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH INSUFFICIENT HOTSPOT BANDWIDTH FOR COMMON SHARE WHITE, UH, COMMON SHARE WIFI ACCESS SCENARIOS.
EXAMPLES WOULD BE WELL, YOU'RE HAVING TO LEVERAGE A SHARED CONNECTION AS IT IS, BUT YOU'RE PUT INTO THE NAMIC WHERE IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
THE FEASIBILITY IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE YOU'RE PERHAPS WORKING OUT OF A CAR OR YOU'RE WORKING IN A SPACE THAT HAS INSULATION CHALLENGES AS WAS VOICED BY MANY OF OUR SPEAKERS THAT ARE OCCUPYING LOW-INCOME HOUSING, A LACK OF CULTURAL COMPETENT DEVICE TRAINING AND RESOURCES.
UH, I REFER TO ESL EARLIER, BUT THAT INCLUDES ALSO THE DEAF AND THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED AND OTHERS, A LACK OF RELEVANCY AND TRUST AND INTERNET OR TECH COMPANIES.
THIS IS ANOTHER AREA WHERE CULTURAL COMPETENCY PLAYS A ROLE, A LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH ONLINE RESOURCES TO SCALE OFFLINE PROGRAMS LIKE
THE ONE THAT I REFERRED TO EARLIER, UH, THAT WAS LED ACTUALLY BY HAKA AND CATHERINE, CREGO A LACK OF AFFORDABLE INTERNET AND OR CHALLENGES WITH AFFORDABILITY AMONGST CARRIERS, A LACK OF GEOGRAPHIC EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OR EQUITABLE BROADBAND GEOGRAPHICALLY.
WE'VE SEEN THE IMPACTS OF THIS THROUGH A PAST DISCUSSIONS AND WHAT WE HAVE DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY AS DIGITAL LINING, COMING TO PASS EITHER IN TRUTH OR IN CONSEQUENCE.
AND THEN LASTLY, A LACK OF CULTURAL CAPITAL
[02:05:01]
OR DIVERSITY IN THE TECH INDUSTRY.THESE ARE BY NO MEANS ALL OF THE EQUITY, DIGITAL EQUITY CHALLENGE, DATA POINTS.
THIS IS MERELY A LIST OF SOME THAT WERE SHARED DURING OUR CONVERSATION.
AND AT THAT TIME, MANY CLEAR THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO BOIL THE OCEAN OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN ONE MEETING OR IN SEVERAL, IT PROBABLY WILL TAKE MANY, BUT OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO ADVANCE THE BALL AND TO MOVE THIS FORWARD AND TO DO SO IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS US TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAN POTENTIALLY DIRECTLY IMPACT THE POLICY.
SO WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO PIVOT TOWARDS OUR DELIBERATIVE BODY AND TO HAVE A DISCUSSION BRIEFLY ABOUT THESE CHALLENGE DATA POINTS, BUT PRIMARILY ABOUT, UH, YOUR THOUGHTS AND THE VALUE THAT YOU SEE IN US CREATING OR COLLABORATING WITH OTHER ENTITIES AND THE DECA COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS WITH CITY STAFF, PERHAPS THE EQUITY OFFICE AND OTHERS TO CREATE A DIGITAL EQUITY SCORECARD AND OR INEQUITABLE BROADBAND SCORECARD, A NUMBER OF THESE CHALLENGES.
WE HAVE A COMMON THEME IN THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE ADEQUATE INTERNET AXLES, AND THIS IS WHERE THE CITY CAN STEP UP BECAUSE WE ARE NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM COMMERCIAL CARRIERS TO SERVE ALL OR IT WAS CITY EQUITABLY.
WELL, I TELL YOU WHAT I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE, UH, UH, THE AWARENESS OF THE COMMONALITY OF THESE CHALLENGES, BUT I DON'T ACCEPT THAT WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING.
I THINK THE CHALLENGE IS HOW, UH, AND, UH, THE QUESTION MAY BE HOW TO GET THEM ALL PERHAPS, UH, TO DO IT.
UH, BUT I, I DEFINITELY RESIST THE IDEA THAT WE CANNOT, UM, ENCOURAGE THEM TOWARDS EQUITABILITY.
I THINK THAT AS WE WERE DISCUSSING EARLIER, UM, NARRATIVE PLAYS A HUGE ROLE AND NOT JUST, UH, EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE THINGS, BUT ALSO IN CONTROLLING THE CONVERSATION AND, OR AT THE VERY LEAST MAKING SURE THAT THE CONVERSATION IS NOT MANIPULATED IN A NEGATIVE WAY AND UNREALISTIC WAY AND UNTRUTHFUL WAY.
UH, I THINK THAT REGARDLESS OF THE INTENT OF ANY BUSINESS OR INDIVIDUAL IT'S, IT'S ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT THESE SERVICES ARE DELIVERED, UH, RELIANCE UPON PUBLIC DISCOURSE, UH, RELIANCE UPON COMMUNITIES THAT LEVERAGE THE SERVICES AND MUNICIPALITIES THAT NEED THE SERVICES FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS CONSTITUENCIES.
SO ULTIMATELY WE ALL HAVE A COMMON INTEREST AND IT BECOMES A CHALLENGE THEN OF COURSE, TO THEN INFLUENCE IN SUCH A WAY BACK TOWARDS COMMON INTERESTS AND TIMES WHEN COMMON INTEREST IS NOT SEEN TO BE THE FOCUS.
SO RATHER THAN TO, UH, RELENT TO CYNICISM, UM, OR NEGATIVITY, UH, WHAT I WOULD, I DON'T WANT TO BE IMPRACTICAL BY ANY MEANS.
UH, BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TO ASK US TO DISCUSS WHAT IS POSSIBLE, UH, CERTAINLY FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
UM, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT I FELT FELT AS THOUGH, PARTICULARLY IN OUR, IN OUR WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, UH, EFFORTS, INFRASTRUCTURE, WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, WE TALKED ABOUT BROADBAND.
WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE LEGISLATURE AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE ATTENTION, WHICH RURAL BROADBAND IS GETTING TO ME.
THERE'S A DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT BETWEEN EQUITABLE BROADBAND IN THE RURAL COMMUNITY AND IN THE URBAN COMMUNITIES, PRIMARILY BECAUSE SOME OF THE EXACT SAME CARRIERS ARE ALSO IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
[02:10:01]
SO I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT NO CARRIER WANTS TO HAVE A LEGACY OF INEQUITABLE BROADBAND AND THE BETTER JOB WE DO OF HIGHLIGHTING THE NEED FOR EQUITABLE BROADBAND AND THE CHALLENGES OF DIGITAL EQUITY.THEN THE MORE WE CAN ENCOURAGE CARRIERS TO ACHIEVE EQUITY, OR AT LEAST TO PURSUE EQUITY.
UM, I WANT TO PIVOT OFF A, YOU MADE EARLIER.
I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT TERM IN A LONG TIME.
EVER SINCE YOU MOVED FROM NEW YORK, I WAS TAUGHT, IT'S A FOREIGN TERM, AND I HEARD YOU USE IT.
IT'S CALLED BOILING THE OCEAN.
SO WHEN I LOOK AT THIS LIST, IT'S A LIST OF 21 ITEMS. IF YOU TRIED ANY ANYBODY SAYING, OKAY, HERE ARE ALL THE GRAY ONE THINGS WE NEED TO SOLVE.
I THINK THEY'LL RUN FOR THE HILLS.
MY SUGGESTION IS THAT WE BREAK THIS GROUP INTO MULTIPLE BUCKETS AND LET'S MAKE THIS AN EXERCISE FOR THE COMMISSION.
EVERYONE IDENTIFIES THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, IN PRIORITY ORDER, LET'S RANK ALL OF THEM AND LET'S COME UP WITH A CONSENSUS IN WHICH WE WILL AGREE ON THE RANK ORDER.
AND THEN WE BREAK IT UP INTO GROUPS.
THE TOP GROUP IS GOING TO BE WHAT IS CALLED LOW HANGING FRUIT.
I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF A LOW HANGING FRUIT.
IN MY MIND, YOU REMEMBER THE LADY WHO SPOKE AT THAT SESSION SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, WHERE SHE SAID THAT EVERY NIGHT SHE HAS TO PICK THE CHILD WHO GETS THE, THE, THE HUB.
SO ONE CHILD GETS TO BE DENIED HIS HOMEWORK TIME BECAUSE THE OTHER CHILD IS GETTING THE HUB TO ANOTHER HUB IN THAT HOUSEHOLD.
IS IT CHEAP INVESTMENT? IT IS VERY CHEAP TO BUY A HUB, RIGHT? SO LET'S CALL THAT LIKE A LOW-HANGING FRUIT, BUT THEN THERE MAY BE OTHER SYSTEMIC THINGS THAT MAY TAKE YEARS TO SOLVE.
SO LET'S BREAK THIS GROUP UP INTO MULTIPLE GROUPS, LOW HANGING FRUIT THINGS WE CAN SOLVE IN SIX MONTHS.
THINGS MAY BE, LET'S SAY A SIX TO ONE YEAR, SIX MONTHS TO ONE YEAR IN THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE.
NUMBER ONE COULD BE ONE TO THREE YEARS.
ANOTHER ONE COULD BE THREE YEARS AND LONGER, AND LET'S PUT A PLAN IN PLACE OR HOW WE ARE GOING TO ADDRESS THESE THREE GROUPS.
LOW-HANGING FRUIT, MEDIUM TERM LONG-TERM, AND THEN CREATE A STRATEGY TO GO AFTER ALL OF THEM.
I'M NOT SAYING IGNORE ANY OF THEM, BUT LET'S FOCUS DOWN THINGS THAT WE CAN HAVE QUICK SUCCESS, BECAUSE NOTHING BEGETS SUCCESS BETTER THAN SUCCESS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CONDITIONS OF SLEEP.
BUT YOUR POINT IS WELL-TAKEN, UH, RIGHT, THIS CLEARLY, UH, EXAMPLES LIKE FOR, YOU KNOW, SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO CAREER AND EDUCATION ADVANCEMENT FOR PARENTS AND KIDS, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S LITERALLY THE DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEMIC BARRIERS.
UH, WHEREAS, UH, AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF HOTSPOTS WE WE CAN PROVIDE OR THAT WE CAN ASSIST WITH IS, YOU KNOW, A FINITE NUMBER, BUT IT'S A NUMBER THAT IS DIRECTLY TIED TO, TO A BUDGET AND THEN CAN CHANGE, LIKE YOU SAID, IT COULD BE LOW HANGING FRUIT.
UM, I, I CONCUR, I THINK THAT THAT'S A GREAT WAY APPROACH IT.
I KNOW ONE THING THAT I DO WANT TO MENTION THOUGH, BECAUSE I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, WHILE WE DO THAT, IF WE CATEGORIZE THE THREE BUCKETS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WILL QUICK, YOU KNOW, SHORT, MEDIUM AND LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS, UM, I FEEL AS THOUGH CREATING A SCORECARD, WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE TASKED, UH, IN OUR BYLAWS TO DO IN, IN EVALUATING, UH, PROVIDERS, UH, NOT TASKED, BUT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO.
AND YET WE ARE PAST, UH, WITHIN ENCOURAGING EQUITABLE SERVICE DELIVERY.
AND SO THIS IS A GOOD WAY FOR US TO COMBINE THOSE TWO, UM, TO BASICALLY START TO MAP OUT WHAT WE FEEL AS THOUGH, UH, EQUITABILITY IN BROADBAND MEANS, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY ALL AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT MEANS A CERTAIN DEGREE OF BANDWIDTH SPEED UP AND DOWN, UH, THAT, UM, IT MEANS THEN THAT THERE ISN'T, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT, BUT, BUT THAT THERE ISN'T THAT THERE'S SOME KIND OF A WAY TO TRACK AND MONITOR AND IMPEDIMENTS TO THAT, WHETHER THEY'RE, UH, PHYSICAL OR STRUCTURAL, YOU KNOW, IMPEDIMENTS TO
[02:15:01]
THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AND ESSENCE, I'D LIKE FOR US TO GET A SENSE FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW MUCH LIKE WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN SAN ANTONIO, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, I WISH I HAD IT HANDY, UH, BUT THEY'VE CREATED A LINK FOR BROADBAND THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT DESCRIBES, UH, BY VIRTUE OF THE MAP, THE DIFFERENT SPEEDS YOU HAVE AND DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE, OF THE TOWN AND WHAT THAT ENABLES THEM TO DO, UH, SIMILARLY IS TO PROVIDE DUE PRESSURE ON CARRIERS TO INCREASE BANDWIDTH WHERE THERE'S THERE'S LASSES.I THINK THAT IF WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR, WHETHER IT WAS THROUGH A SCORECARD OR A MAP, WE COULD LIKEWISE ENCOURAGE CARRIERS TO STEP UP.
HAS THIS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN THE SPAN ANTONIO IN ORDER TO GET THE CARRIERS TO NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THEY PREVIOUS PREVIOUS MAY WANT TO GO? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, WHEN THEY SHARE THE MAT WITH US, UM, I DON'T RECALL IT WAS A NEW THING.
SO I THINK, I THINK WE NEED TO FOLLOW UP ACTUALLY TO FIND OUT, UH, HOW IT'S IMPACTED CARRIER BEHAVIOR.
AND IT WILL BE VERY TELLING BECAUSE CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S FAILED MISERABLY, THEN WE DON'T WANT TO DO IT.
UM, BUT, UM, I WILL BE VERY SURPRISED THAT WAS THE CASE, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT JUST GOT ROLLED OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, A MONTH OR SO AGO, I THINK WE HAVE TO MAYBE WAIT AND SEE TO SOME EXTENT AT THE SAME TIME ALSO FEEL AS THOUGH, UM, IT WOULD BE A WORTHWHILE UNDERTAKING TO SOME DEGREE, REGARDLESS, BECAUSE BEING THE STATE CAPITOL, UH, I THINK WE COULD SHOW SOME LEADERSHIP IN THIS SPACE AND ALSO FEEL AS THOUGH, UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT POLITICS THAT WE MANAGE HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE ARE THE CAPITOL.
AND SO, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE EFFICACY OF NARRATIVE CONTROL, I SEE THERE BEING A GREAT POTENTIAL, UH, NO MATTER WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOUR POINT IS WELL TAKEN AND WE NEED TO FIND OUT WELL, CHAMPIONS, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF HAVING A SCORECARD IS A BRILLIANT IDEA.
AND WHETHER IT'S THROUGH A MAP OR WHETHER IT'S THROUGH A LIST OF THINGS THAT WE MEASURE THESE PROVIDERS AGAINST, IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER WHETHER IT'S A CABLE OR A MAP, AS LONG AS YOU GET THE JOB DONE.
HOWEVER, IF I'M ON A CRUISE, A SCORECARD, THEN I WOULDN'T PUT ALL PUT IN ITEMS BECAUSE NOT EVERY ONE OF THEM VACATE KNOW, UH, AN INTERNET PROVIDER CANNOT REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO CAREER AND EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT.
THEY CAN BE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD THERE, BUT I THINK THERE ARE MORE, UH, FACTORS INVOLVED IN SOLVING THAT SYSTEMIC PROBLEM.
SO I THINK WE CAN, WE SHOULD PICK AND CHOOSE A CERTAIN NUMBER HERE THAT COULD FORM PART OF THAT SCORECARD, BUT EVERY ONE OF THESE ITEMS COULD BE IN A DIFFERENT SCORECARD.
WE SHOULD WRITE A SCORECARD FOR THE CITY ITSELF.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I TALK ABOUT PROVIDING HUBS, MAYBE THE CITY SHOULD BE IN THE LEAD THERE.
SO HOW MANY HUBS YOU REMEMBER THE LIBRARY WENT AND BOUGHT SOME HUBS THAT WAS A PARTIAL SOLUTION, BUT THE CITY COULD BE MORE AGGRESSIVE IN BUYING MORE HUBS AND DISTRIBUTING IT IN THE AREAS WHERE THERE THERE'S A NEED FOR GREATER ACCESS.
SO WE COULD HAVE, UH, THESE, THESE SCORECARDS FOR MULTIPLE ENTITIES, THE INTERNET PROVIDERS, THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, THE CITY ITSELF, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, YOU KNOW, NGOS.
SO THIS LIST IS A SUPER, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY A SUPER SET.
WE NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT, WHICH ONES BELONG TO WHICH, WHICH SET OF SCORECARDS.
UM, I THINK THAT, UH, WE'VE DEFINITELY NEED TO DO THAT.
I THINK THAT, THAT WHEN IT COMES TO EVALUATING CARRIERS, IT, WOULDN'T ALSO, I THINK IT'D BE SMART TO INVOLVE THEM IN THE PROCESS.
I THINK THAT, I THINK IT WOULD BE WISE FOR US TO, ONCE WE AGREE TO DO IT, THAT WE ENGAGE THEM DIRECTLY AND WHY NOT START BY ASKING THEM HOW THEY WANT TO BE MEASURED.
[02:20:01]
UH, AND THEN WE'LL LET, AND THEN WE'LL LET THEM KNOW, UH, WELL, WE'RE GONNA NEED PROBABLY MORE THAN THAT.AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO, WE'LL LET THEM KNOW WE'RE GOING TO MEASURE YOU IN THESE WAYS ALSO.
UH, BUT THEN THAT WAY WE'VE GOT A, A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT ON THE SCORECARD.
UM, AND I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT BASED ON PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS, UH, THAT WE'LL HAVE SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME LEADERS AMONGST THE CARRIERS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, FIRST, UH, TO STICK THEIR NECKS OUT, UH, THAT CAN SHOW SOME LEADERSHIP.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO, TO GET SOME OTHER STEPS TO CHIME IN.
UM, IF, UH, IF I COULD HAVE ANYONE ELSE, ESPECIALLY FROM THE, UH, VISUAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, UH, STRATEGIC POLICY IMPACT WORKING GROUP, UH, CHIME IN ON THIS AS THIS IS OBVIOUSLY CLEARLY ALL ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY, UH, DIGITALLY, UH, EXCUSE ME, INCLUSION.
I DEFINITELY THINK THAT A SCORECARD IS A GREAT IDEA.
UM, AND, AND I LIKED THE IDEA OF HAVING A MAP THAT MAYBE HAS EMBEDDED CHARTS IN IT, BUT I DON'T SEE IT AS US HAVING TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN WHICH ONE OF THESE DATA POINTS WE SHOULD INCLUDE.
I THINK IT SHOULD BE PROGRESSIVE.
AND SO I THINK THAT IF YOU START WITH THE MOST RUDIMENTARY METRIC, YOU KNOW, AND THEN YOU BUILD FROM THERE, I THINK THAT ONE SCORE CARD WOULD BE THE RESULTS OF THAT.
AND IT JUST, IT'S ALMOST LIKE SCAFFOLDING AND YOU JUST SCAFFOLD ONE POINT ON TOP OF ANOTHER.
I THINK THAT WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS, IS THAT AS PROVIDERS SEE HOW THEY'RE REPRESENTED AND NOT JUST PROVIDERS, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE REALLY SIGNIFICANT AND SALIENT TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, BECAUSE WITH AUSTIN, SUPPOSEDLY BEING THIS WONDERFUL HIGH TECH HUB, HOW, HOW THESE PARTICULAR DATA POINTS ARE DISTRIBUTED ON THAT PARTICULAR MAP, I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY KILLING, UM, TO, TO, AND IT WOULD, IT WOULD FORCE, UM, THE PROVIDERS, UM, TO DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT BETTER, WHETHER OR NOT WE INCLUDE THEM IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING THIS AND CREATING THE METRICS AND DETERMINING, UM, HOW THEY SHOULD BE MEASURED OR NOT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE DATA IS DATA IS DATA.
AND SO I THINK THAT IF WE JUST STARTED WITH THE MOST RUDIMENTARY, UM, POINT, AND THEN JUST BUILD ON TOP OF THERE, I THINK WE COULD CREATE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE.
IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT COULD USE WHEN THEY'RE MAKING PARTICULAR DECISIONS, BECAUSE PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF, IF PEOPLE HAVEN'T SEEN THIS PARTICULAR DATA, UM, GEOGRAPHICALLY DEPICTED, IF THEY HAVEN'T SEEN, UM, THE, THE QUANTIFIABLE MEASURES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, THEN, THEN THEY MIGHT JUST BE MAKING DECISIONS BASED OFF OF, UM, ONE PARTICULAR SET OF CRITERIA.
BUT IF WE SCAFFOLDED ALL OF THIS IN A WAY WHERE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT CREATED THIS COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF DIGITAL INCLUSION, I THINK IT COULD REALLY BE SOMETHING THAT'S SIGNIFICANT.
AND I LOVE THE ANALOGY OF SCAFFOLDING TOO.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT.
UH, I'D LIKE TO GET THE COMMISSIONER, UH, REINHARDT AND VICE CHAIR, ALEXANDER CHANCE TO CHIME IN TOO.
I WOULD, I THINK THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON'S COMMENTS ON THIS ARE RIGHT UP, THEY MAKE A LOT OF SENSE AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD, GOOD APPROACH.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER REINHART, UH, BY SHELL XANDER, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? UH, YES, I, I WOULD, UM, AGREE.
I THINK, UM, THE IDEA OF TYING IT TO GEOGRAPHY, UM, THE POINT THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON BEAVERS BROUGHT UP, I THINK IS A GOOD ONE BECAUSE I THINK IT ALLOWS US TO USE ADDITIONAL DATA POINTS THAT THE PROVIDERS COULD USE, THAT THE CITY CAN USE MED RESIDENTS CAN USE TO KIND OF SEE HOW ARE ANY CHANGES BEING, BEING MADE TO ADDRESS THE DATA POINTS.
HOW, HOW IS THAT AFFECTING THEM? AND WHEN MIGHT BE SEE THE EFFECTS, FOR INSTANCE, WHEN GOOGLE FIBER ANNOUNCED, UM, THEIR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LIBRARIES AND THEY TALKED ABOUT WHEN FIBER WOULD BE AVAILABLE, WE KIND OF HAD A TIMELINE, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN'T ALWAYS, UM, GIVE PROMPT UPDATES IN THAT REGARD, WE WERE
[02:25:01]
EVENTUALLY KIND OF MADE AWARE OF WHEN THINGS WOULD COME ONLINE.AND I THINK THAT WAS HELPFUL FOR US AND, UM, OUR DISTRICTS TOO.
SO I, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I THINK WE COULD MERGE THOSE THINGS TOGETHER.
UH, WELL, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS, UH, COMMISSIONER GATES.
DID YOU WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THIS? I KNOW YOU, YOU, UH, YOU MADE THE COMMENT INITIALLY.
DID YOU, DO YOU ALSO CONCUR? THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA.
I THINK THAT, UH, HAVING A MAP OF THE AREAS WHERE IT REALLY LACKS EQUITY WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA.
AND THEN I THINK THAT WE REALLY NEED TO GET THE CITY INVOLVED IN HELPING, UH, KIND OF LOCAL COMPLAINTS.
UH, YEAH, I, I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE, UH, IF YOU RECALL, FROM OUR DISCUSSION AND THE WORK INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP, UH, MEETING, UH, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S A, AND I THINK EVERYONE DOES AS WELL WITH THE APPROVAL OF PROJECT CONNECT.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY FOR INCREASING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THAT COULD BE FOCUSED ON, ON BANDWIDTH AND BROADBAND IN PARTICULAR, UH, FROM, AND CONNECTING THE CITY AND REALLY ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE HISTORICALLY RED LINE AREAS.
I MEAN, TO BE BLUNT, AND IT'S A GREAT, UH, TIME TO THEN BEGIN, UH, YOU KNOW, ADVANCING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS AND, AND THEN TO, UH, FOR US TO, AS A LIMITED BODY, UH, DOING WHAT I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO BE DOING THEN, UH, BECAUSE WE'LL HELP TO INFORM OTHER, UH, DEPARTMENTS HERE IN TOWN AS THEY ADVANCE THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF, UH, THAT INTERCONNECTION INTERCONNECTIVITY OF THE CITY.
UH, I THINK THAT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE WE DO IS, UH, BASICALLY, UH, NOW THAT WE HAVE AGREEMENT HERE, I THINK THE CONSENSUS, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE SHOULD HAVE A VOTE OR NOT, BUT, UH, WE COULD, WE HAVE CLEAR CONSENSUS THAT TO CREATE A, SOME TYPE OF SCORECARD MAP AND, OR ALL THE ABOVE, UH, RELATED TO DIGITAL EQUITY, UH, AND, UH, BROADBAND THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL, UH, JESSE, THAT YOU THINK FOR US TO HOLD A VOTE ON THAT, OR, UM, AT THIS POINT WITH THE CONSENSUS WE HAVE, UH, W WHAT I PROPOSE WE DO BASICALLY IS TO, ALONG WITH OUR DECA PARTNERS THAT HAVE DISCUSSED THIS, UH, THAT WE FORM A COMMITTEE, UM, THAT CONSISTS OF A NON QUORUM VIOLATION AMOUNT OF, OF COMMISSIONERS, UH, MYSELF INCLUDED AND, UH, OTHER PARTNERS TO HELP, UH, TO ESSENTIALLY SCOPE THE SCORECARD AND, OR MAP AND OR BOTH, AND WHAT WE WANT TO INCLUDE IN IT.
UM, YES, TIRPITZ, I, IT, SO IT DEPENDS ON THE SCOPE OF THE ACTION BEING TAKEN.
IF WE NEED TO HAVE A FORMAL VOTE OR NOT, IF FOR INSTANCE, THE COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A VOTE ON CREATING A WORKING GROUP OF THE COMMISSION TO WORK ON THIS, THEN I WOULD RECOMMEND A MOTION BE TAKEN.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IF THE, UH, THE ACTION IS JUST FOR THE COMMISSION TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO BEGIN THE PROCESS, TO CREATE, UH, A DASHBOARD OR A SCORECARD, UM, THEN THAT, THAT WOULDN'T REQUIRE A MOTION.
OKAY, WELL, UH, WE HAVE CLEAR CONSENSUS HERE AMONGST THE BODY.
UM, I DON'T THINK EMOTION IS NECESSARY, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE WORKING GROUP IDEA, UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AN EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE, UH, THAT INVOLVES COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE SAME LIMITATION WHEN IT COMES TO AVOIDING A WALKING QUORUM.
UH, SO I GUESS THAT'LL MEAN THEN IF I FIND INCLUDED THAT'LL MEAN THEN THAT NO MORE THAN, UH, FOUR OTHER MEMBERS, THE CORRECT.
JESSICA PARTICIPATE A TOTAL OF FIVE.
SO THAT WOULD MEAN THEN I'D BE OPEN TO TAKING ANY VOLUNTEERS FROM THIS CALL, UH, THAT WANT TO JOIN THAT IF YOU SUPPORT
[02:30:01]
THE IDEA, UH, BECAUSE I'D BE LOOKING TO, UH, GET BACK COHORT OF, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, THAT EXPECTS FOR TOUR COMMITTEE CREATED PRETTY QUICKLY.I HAVE A QUESTION FIRST, AND THAT IS HOW DID SAN ANTONIO GATHER THE RELATION FOR THEIR MAP? DID THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE CARRIERS AND ASK THEM FOR PROPRIETARY INFORMATION? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND I, JESSE, WHERE ARE YOU ON THAT CALL? I REMEMBER IF ROBERT CALL, UH, THEY WERE LEVERAGING, UH, OOP CLA AND SOME OTHER SOURCES.
I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH OF IT ACTUALLY RELIED UPON THE CARRIERS.
I, I'M NOT SURE IF I WAS OR NOT, BUT, UM, I DO THINK THAT OOLA SPEED TEST, UH, WAS INVOLVED IN THAT EFFORT.
UH, BUT COMMISSIONER GEEKS, WE CAN, YES, WE CAN DEFINITELY FIND OUT FOR SURE, BECAUSE CLEARLY, UH, ONE WOULD BE EASIER PERHAPS TO ACHIEVE THAN THE OTHER.
I'M NOT SURE THAT THE CARERS WILLING TO SHARE ANY INFORMATION.
AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE REASON WHY I, UH, AND I'M WRACKING MY BRAIN BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC NOTE.
UM, BUT THAT'S THE REASON WHY I FEEL LIKE 80% CONFIDENT THAT UWA, UH, SPEED TEST DATA WAS LEVERAGED.
AND THEY COLLECTED THAT IN AN AGGREGATE GEOGRAPHICALLY AND THEN ASSIGNED IT BASED ON, UM, ZIP CODES, I BELIEVE.
UM, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING WHICH WE WANT TO DIVE INTO IN THE EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I THINK IF YOU'RE AVAILABLE, UH, YOU SHOULD BE ON THAT COMMITTEE, COMMISSIONER YATES, UH, OKAY.
I KNOW, BUT IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE GAME, I THINK THIS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU WOULD HAVE ANTICIPATED, YOU WOULD, UH, YOU'D BENEFIT.
WE WOULD BENEFIT FROM YOUR INSIGHTS.
UH, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT WE CAN, WE CAN HAVE UP TO FOUR MORE, UH, VOLUNTEERS.
SO, UH, THERE'S ANYONE HERE THAT KNOWS THEY WANT TO PARTICIPATE.
IF YOU'D LET ME KNOW NOW, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOU IN THOSE MEETINGS.
AS WE WORKED WITH THEM, I DON'T WANT TO VOLUNTEER ANYBODY, BUT EVERYONE KNOWS WE'D LIKE TO DISSIPATE.
UM, WHAT'S, UH, WHAT'S THE TIMEFRAME THAT YOU'RE SHOOTING AT? IS IT LIKE ON A WEEKLY BASIS, MONTHLY BASIS, OR, WELL, UH, THIS IS, UH, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT EFFORT.
UH, I THINK WE SHOULD BE MEETING AT LEAST, UM, MONTHLY, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I COULD SEE US MEETING, YOU KNOW, EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS IT'LL SOMEWHAT DEPEND UPON THE, THE BANDWIDTH OBVIOUSLY OF, UH, OF ALL THE PARTICIPANTS.
UM, BUT BEFORE WE AGREE TO A CADENCE OR A SCHEDULE, UM, I GUESS I JUST REALLY LIKE TO TRY TO CONFIRM INTERESTS, UH, AND THEN LEAVE IT TO, UM, EVERYONE TO DETERMINE HOW OFTEN WILL SHE GET TOGETHER.
I KNOW THAT, UH, YEAH, THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE CAN BUY IN ON THAT.
SO WHAT WE NEED IS A, UH, UM, A GOAL HERE.
SO THE GOAL OF THIS WOULD BE TO CREATE A MAP OF BANDWIDTH, ESSENTIALLY.
AND I THINK THAT THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT, IF WE'RE USING THESE SPEED TEST IS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET THE COOPERATION OF ALL THOSE GROUPS THAT WERE ON THAT PREVIOUS CALL AND HAVE ALL OF THEIR, MAMMOGRAPHERS SEND US THAT INFORMATION.
DO YOU THINK THAT'S A FEASIBLE THING THAT WE COULD DO? I DO.
AND PROBABLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO FIRST IS TO JUST COME UP WITH A TEST SAMPLE THAT WE CAN SEND OUT.
[02:35:01]
AND, UH, SO THERE, THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT CREATED THIS SMALL GROUP THAT DID IT.SO I HAVE INTEREST FROM COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA.
AND WERE YOU ALSO INTERESTED COMMISSIONER YAKS OR, OR DID YOU WELL, YEAH, SO I'LL PARTICIPATE.
UH, WHAT ABOUT, UH, ANYONE ELSE ON THE CALL? UH, I KNOW EVERYONE HAS BUSY SCHEDULES, SO I DON'T WANT TO OVER-COMMIT ANYONE.
UH, WE CAN, WE'VE GOT A, IF NO ONE ELSE HAS BEEN SHIT FOR NOW, IT'S FINE.
COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, BEAVERS.
I WAS GOING TO SAY I'M REALLY INTERESTED.
I JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE TIMING, YOU KNOW, CAUSE I HAVE SO MUCH GOING ON AND I HATE TO COMMIT AND NOT HAVE THE TIME TO, TO REALLY PARTICIPATE IN DO IT.
UM, BUT, UH, BUT I JUST FIND THIS TO BE REALLY INTERESTING AND I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME KIND OF WAY.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS LONG AS WE DON'T EXCEED THE QUORUM, IT COULD BE THE KIND OF THING WHERE YOU DON'T NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, IF WE'VE GOT A CORE GROUP THAT THAT'S THERE EVERY TIME, IT, IT MIGHT BE THE CASE WHERE YOU CAN, CAN JUMP IN AND STILL ADD VALUE.
IN FACT, I WILL CONFIDENT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ADD VALUE.
I BELIEVE WE FELL BELOW QUORUM.
WE ONLY HAVE FIVE COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT AT THE MOMENT.
YEAH, WE LOST COMMERCIAL REINHART.
UM, SHE DID SEND ME AN EMAIL THAT SHE HAD TO DROP OFF, SO I DON'T EXPECT THAT SHE'LL BE BACK.
WELL, IN THAT CASE, UH, I THINK DO WE EVEN TO DO WE DO EVEN NEED A MOTION FOR A GERMAN IF YOU LOSE QUORUM? NO.
TECHNICALLY IF WE FOLLOW UP A LITTLE QUORUM, WE HAVE TO FORMALLY CLOSE THE MEETING OR SUSPENDED UNTIL WE ACHIEVE IT.
I'M SO DISAPPOINTED HAVING SUCH A GOOD DISCUSSION.
WELL, W WE DID HAVE A GOOD DISCUSSION.
UH, SO, AND I THINK WE JUST ACTUALLY RESOLVED, UH, TO, UH, RESOLVE AT LEAST THIS ONE DISCUSSION POINT.
IF I, IF I CAN, BEFORE WE CLOSE OUT THIS, UH, I DOUBT AT LEAST I HOPE THERE'S NO MORE STUDENTS ONLINE RIGHT NOW.
UH, HOPEFULLY THEY'RE ALL OFF THE BED AND, AND, UH, AND EXCITED ABOUT THE PRIZES.
UH, I WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE, UH, AGAIN, ALL THE STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED AND ALL OF THE JUDGES AND EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPATED.
I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE HERE ON THE CALL TODAY.
I JUST WISH WE COULD HAVE A FORMAL ADJOURNMENT.
AND, UH, WE CAN'T BECAUSE WE NO LONGER HAVE A QUAN.
SO WITH THAT, THANKS EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR MEETING TODAY AND, UH, FOR ACHIEVING THE BUSINESS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE.
BYE-BYE
SOME PEOPLE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT HER DISCRETION WHEN HER HUSBAND WENT MISSING, PEOPLE STARTED DISHING, BURY A SCENARIO, BUT THERE'S ONE A LAG, AND THIS IS THE WAY.