* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] BUT WITH THE, WITH THE MEN, WE DON'T SEE HAVING COMMUNICATION. OKAY. SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN. [CALL TO ORDER] EVERYBODY GET TO SIT AROUND AND HOPE EVERYBODY'S. WELL, I KNOW IT'S BEEN CRAZY AND OXBY FOR MYSELF. I, UH, HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED MENTALLY, SPIRITUALLY, PHYSICALLY. JUST ABOUT EVERY WAY. IT'S BEEN A BIG TEST TO MY 42 THE LAST WEEK OR SO, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M RECOVERING HOPE. I HOPE YOU ALL ARE RECOVERING. A WHOLE BOSTON IS RECOVERING. IT'S HARD TO TELL THE SCENE STILL SEEMS TO BE SO MUCH NEEDED AND UH, SO MUCH TO BE DONE. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I HOPE EVERYONE, ANYONE THAT'S WATCHING THIS AS IS OKAY, WILL FINDING, HELP SUPPORT THE THINGY. WE ARE, UH, AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AUSTIN MUSIC COMMISSION TODAY IS MARCH 1ST AND WE ARE ONLINE. SO WE'RE GOING TO START WITH, [CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL] UH, A CITIZEN COMMUNICATION. UM, WE HAVE SONYA DRAVET SCHEDULED TO SPEAK FIRST. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. EXCELLENT. HOW DO, HOW DO YOU MENTION COMMISSIONER MUSIC, COMMISSIONER AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS? MY NAME IS SONYA DRAVET. I'M ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE AUSTIN, TEXAS MUSICIANS. AND I'M SPEAKING THIS EVENING ON BEHALF OF THE AUSTIN, TEXAS MUSICIANS AND THE FEMALE IDENTIFYING CONTRIBUTORS TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. I AM A GUITAR INSTRUCTOR, VIRTUAL LIVESTREAM, EDUCATOR, SINGER SONGWRITER MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST AND A MUSIC PRODUCER. AND I HAVE BEEN IN, BEEN ACTIVE IN THE MUSIC SCENE IN AUSTIN FOR NINE YEARS. I'M HERE ALONG WITH MY PEERS TO SPEAK TO THE, IN AN EQUITY WITHIN THE CURRENT MUSIC INDUSTRY, AS IT APPLIES TO WOMEN, AS WELL AS UNDER REPRESENTED COMMUNITIES IN THE TOWN. OUR GOAL IN COMING TO YOU TODAY IS TO INITIATE AND COLLABORATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO IMPROVE OUR LOCAL SCENE. FOR THOSE THAT PARTICIPATE IN IT SPECIFICALLY, WE ARE SEEKING AN INDUSTRY WIDE COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, VISIBILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND SAFETY, AS IT REFERS TO THE GENDER FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. ATX M'S MISSION IS TO SERVE THE TRUSTED, TO SERVE AS THE TRUSTED VOICE FOR AUSTIN MUSICIANS, ENGAGING OUR MUSIC COMMUNITY TO DETERMINE WHAT THEY WANT AND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE ENSURING THAT AUSTIN MUSICIANS ARE AWARE OF AND EDUCATED ABOUT CITY AND STATE POLICIES THAT PRESENT OPERAS OPPORTUNITIES OR CHALLENGES TO COMMERCIAL MUSIC, CREATING STRONG COMMUNITY AND CIVIC PARTNERSHIP, PROVIDING DATA DRIVEN RECOMMENDATIONS ON CITY AND STATE POLICIES THAT WILL DIRECTLY AFFECT MUSICIANS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING TOGETHER TO BETTER THE FUTURE FOR AUSTIN MUSICIANS. THANK YOU, SONIA LAUREN. HI, CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE CAN'T HEAR YOU. HELLO. HELLO, MUSIC COMMISSIONERS. UH, MY NAME IS LAUREN GOULD, AND I'M ALSO THINKING TO YOU THIS EVENING APPROPRIATELY, THE FIRST DAY OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH ON BEHALF OF AUSTIN, TEXAS MUSICIANS, AND, UH, FEMALE IDENTIFYING CONTRIBUTORS TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. AND I MAKE MY LIVING OR MADE MY LIVING IN THE BEFORE TIME AS A FULL-TIME PERFORMING MUSICIAN, BUT I'M ALSO AN ACTIVE EDUCATOR COMPOSER ARRANGER EVENT, PRODUCER AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. UM, I'M A NATIVE AUSTINITE AND I'VE BEEN MAKING MUSIC HERE FOR AT LEAST THE LAST 20 YEARS. THIS COMMUNITY IS MORE DEAR TO EVERYONE INVOLVED AND I CAN EXPRESS. I'VE SEEN FAMILIES BUILD LIFELONG RELATIONSHIPS. FORMS LIVES CHANGED LIVES SAVED WITH THE MUSIC COMMUNITY AS THE COMMON THREAD. THERE'S SO MUCH TO LOVE ABOUT OUR MUSIC SCENE AND THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE AS YOU ALL KNOW, TO ADDRESS THE INEQUITIES IN THE CURRENT MUSIC INDUSTRY. BUT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY NOW WITH MUCH OF OUR INDUSTRY AT AN UNFORTUNATE STANDSTILL TO DO THE WORK AND ENSURE THAT OUR POST PANDEMIC SCENE STARTS [00:05:01] TO REFLECT THE TRUE DIVERSE DIVERSITY OF HUMANITY AND CONTINUES ON A TRAJECTORY TOWARD INCLUSION. I'M HERE TO SUPPORT MY COLLEAGUES AND DISCUSSING ISSUES AS THEY APPLY TO WOMEN IN ALL OVER THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT THIS WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE ON BEHALF OF ALL UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES IN TOWN. I'M ALSO ONE PERSON WITH ONE SET OF EXPERIENCES WE'RE CURRENTLY GATHERING TOGETHER A LARGER GROUP OF WOMEN IN THE AUSTIN MUSIC INDUSTRY TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE HEARING AS MANY VOICES AS POSSIBLE AND PROVIDING A SAFE SPACE TO CONNECT AND SHARE EXPERIENCES. MY HOPE IS THAT THIS GROUP WILL BE A SEED THAT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW INTO CONCRETE PROJECTS THAT WILL INCREASE VISIBILITY AND REPRESENTATION ULTIMATELY RESULTING IN GREATER INCLUSION, AWARENESS, AND SAFETY. FOR ALL. I'D LIKE TO REITERATE THAT AS SONIA SAID, OUR GOAL IN COMING TO YOU TODAY IS TO INITIATE A COLLABORATION WITH THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO ASSIST IN YOUR WORK, TO IMPROVE OUR LOCAL SCENE. FOR THOSE WHO PARTICIPATE IN IT SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE SEEKING AN INDUSTRY-WIDE COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, VISIBILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND SAFETY, AS IT RELATES TO GENDER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO OUR WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE THE FUTURE FOR AUSTIN'S VIBRANT MUSIC COMMUNITY. THANKS VERY MUCH. THANKS AMMAN. UH, SELENA IS THIS MAN GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS AND I'M SPEAKING TO YOU THIS EVENING ON BEHALF OF FEMALE, IDENTIFYING CONTRIBUTORS TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. I IDENTIFY AS LATIN X, I'M A BOOKER PERFORMER AND EDUCATOR, AND HAVE BEEN ACTIVE WITHIN THE MUSIC COMMUNITY SINCE 2009. I ALSO HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SERVING ON THE ARTS COMMISSION WHERE RACIAL EQUITY AND REPRESENTATION ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CONVERSATION. TODAY, WE ARE CONTINUING TO DISCUSSION BY ADDING GENDER EQUITY TO THE DIALOGUE. WE ARE HERE TO REITERATE AS THERE HAVE BEEN MANY THAT HAVE COME BEFORE US, THAT THE STATUS QUO OF THE SCENE BEING DOMINATED BY CIS WHITE MALES IS NOT SERVING US, NOR WILL IT GUARANTEE A FRUITFUL FUTURE FOR AUSTIN'S CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM. THE CITY OF AUSTIN PRESENTS ITSELF AS A LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. YET THE WEIGHT OF THIS TITLE IS ON THE BACKS OF THE COMMUNITY FOR THE CITY TO BENEFIT FROM THE CULTURAL TOURISM AND ITS DOLLARS. IT MUST BE WILLING TO TAKE ACTION IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THOSE THAT CONTINUE THE TRADITION OF AUSTIN'S MUSICAL LEGACY. WE ARE A GROUP COMPRISED OF WOMEN, IDENTIFYING MUSICIANS, ENGINEERS, PRODUCERS, BOOKERS MANAGERS, LEADERS, ADVOCATES, AND PATRONS. WE ARE REQUESTING THAT EMOTION BE MADE TO ESTABLISH A GENDER EQUITY WORKING GROUP, AS WELL AS A STANDING AGENDA ITEM. TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION. WE SEE THIS AS AN ESSENTIAL FACET IN THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INDUSTRY WIDE COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, VISIBILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND SAFETY, AS IT RELATES TO GENDER, THESE POINTS WILL ACT TO SERVE THE GREATER USE OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, BY EXPOSING, ADDRESSING, AND CORRECTING THE ISSUES, CREATING THE HIGHEST BARRIERS WE WILL LOWER THE THRESHOLD FOR CULTURAL CONTRIBUTORS AND THE OBSTACLES THEY HAVE TO NAVIGATE. THANK YOU. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CHANGE AND PROGRESS WE WILL BE MAKING TOGETHER AMINA, JEANETTE, GREG GREGOR, GREGOR. HEY EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS JEANETTE. UM, I'M SPEAKING YOU ON BEHALF OF AUSTIN, TEXAS MUSICIANS, THE AMPLIFIED SOUND COALITION AND FEMALE IDENTIFYING CONTRIBUTORS TO OUR MUSIC INDUSTRY, UH, I'M UH, FURLOUGHED VENUE AND FESTIVAL WORKER COMMUNITY ADVOCATE, AND HAVE PROUDLY BEEN PART OF THE AUSTIN MUSIC SCENE FOR OVER 15 YEARS. UM, WHAT THE INCREDIBLE WOMEN WHO'VE JUST SPOKEN BEFORE ME HAS LAID OUT FOR YOU IS A COMMITMENT TO DO A LOT OF WORK FOR ONE VERY POWERFUL GOAL, WHICH I THINK CAN BE SUMMARIZED IN ONE WORD, WHICH IS INCLUSION. WE ARE FEMALE IDENTIFYING AND OUR SPEAKING TO YOU AS SISTERS IN OUR GROUP, BUT WE WANT TO WORK FOR EVERY MARGINALIZED AND UNDERREPRESENTED PERSON THAT'S EVER WANTED TO BE ONSTAGE OR BESIDE IT BECAUSE WE KNOW, AND WE HAVE EXPERIENCED FIRSTHAND HOW DIFFICULT, FRUSTRATING, AND AT TIMES DANGEROUS IT IS TO GET THERE. 84% OF WOMEN IN MUSIC STATE THEY'VE BEEN TREATED DIFFERENTLY IN THEIR CAREERS BECAUSE OF THEIR GENDER. 68% REPORTED GENDER AFFECTED THEIR EMPLOYMENT IN A STUDY COMMISSIONED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN OF CRITICAL BUSINESSES, THREATENED BY THE PANDEMIC LIVE MUSIC CAME IN DEAD LAST FOR WOMEN OWNERSHIP AT A MERE 19%. IF THIS IS WHAT HALF THE POPULATION IS EXPERIENCING, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR SMALLER DEMOGRAPHICS THAT ARE ALSO UNDERREPRESENTED? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR OUR LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY AND OTHERS? WE'RE ASKING FOR A COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MUSIC COMMISSION IN ORDER TO SEE OUR INDUSTRY COME BACK ONLINE, BETTER THAN IT EVER WAS. SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE SEEKING [00:10:01] AN INDUSTRY-WIDE COMMITMENT TO ALL DIVERSITY, VISIBILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND SAFETY. I WANT TO IMPRESS UPON YOU. THE URGENCY OF WHAT WE'RE STRIVING FOR. THERE IS A DEEP AND PAINFUL FEAR THAT RESONATES IN ALL FEMALE, IDENTIFYING PEOPLE. WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW IF THE VENUE YOU'RE WALKING INTO TO WORK TO PLAY OR TO WATCH ABANDON IS SAFE. ONE OUT OF EVERY SIX AMERICAN WOMEN HAS BEEN THE VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. 85% OF WOMEN HAVE EXPERIENCED SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE. AND THESE STATS SHOULD NOT BE TRUE WITHIN OUR CREATIVE AND BEAUTIFUL INDUSTRY, BUT WE ALL KNOW ALL TOO WELL THAT THEY ARE OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. I'VE WITNESSED LANGUAGE MEANT TO INCLUDE GENDER AND LGBTQ PLUS EQUITY AND DOCUMENTS THAT DID NOT MAKE THE FINAL CUT. IT'S A PAINFUL THING TO WATCH THAT REPRESENTATION STRIPPED FROM LANGUAGE BEING BUILT TO HELP LEVEL AND HISTORICALLY ON EVEN PLAYING FIELD. I GENUINELY BELIEVE WE ARE CAPABLE OF WORKING TOGETHER TO BRING ALL MARGINALIZED AND UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS UP IN OUR INDUSTRY. AND WE WANT TO HELP WITH THAT FOR EVERYONE. I THINK WE CAN DO BETTER. THIS IS THE TIME TO EFFECT LASTING CHANGES IN OUR INDUSTRY AND SCENES SO THAT THE EXPERIENCES OF FUTURE PERFORMERS, WORKERS, AND ATTENDEES HOLD MORE THAN JUST A SOLID SHOW. THEY HOLD INTEGRITY. I THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU, JEANETTE. APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL [1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES] OF MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING. UH, ASK THE COMMISSIONERS TO REVIEW. IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE ALREADY A MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. ANYBODY OPPOSE ALL IN FAVOR, SUEDE. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. UM, HOW ARE WE LOOKING AT WHAT THE MAN IS ANYWHERE ON THAT WE'RE STILL SENDING INSTRUCTION. CINDY MANAGED TO TRY TO GET THEM INTO SHAKA. YOU COULD POTENTIALLY JUST MOVE HIM TO MIDDLE OR THE END OF THE MEETING. UM, WE'LL JUST KIND OF KEEP YOU UPDATED WITH HIS STATUS. OKAY. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. THAT'S AWESOME. ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S GO TO A OLD BUSINESS HERE. WE GOT THE, WELL, I GUESS I'LL DO OUR TAX NOT HERE. UM, DO WE HAVE ANY UPDATES ON, IS AUGUST TERRORISTS, UH, READY TO ROCK IT'S AUGUST HARRIS ONLINE. THAT WAS TO SEE, [2C. Discussion and Possible Action following update on Downtown Commission following update from August Harris, Downtown Commission Chair.] BUT YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO BUMP HIM UP FOR THE SAKE OF HIS TIME. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. IS ALASTAIR IS AVAILABLE. I AM ONLINE. ALL RIGHT. UH, COMMISSIONER LEVITAN. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVITING ME CHAIRMAN HOEHN. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH YOU HERE TONIGHT. UH, WE ARE SO HAPPY THAT, UH, AT LAST, AFTER A COUPLE OF YEARS, UH, WE HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE MUSIC COMMISSION ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION. UH, OBVIOUSLY YOUR SUCCESS, UH, PIVOTS INTO THE SUCCESS OF DOWNTOWN AND VICE VERSA. UH, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, UH, AND OUR LIVE MUSIC VENUES HAVE SUFFERED, WHICH MEANS YOUR INDUSTRY HAS SUFFERED. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO FOCUS ON WHEN I BECAME CHAIR WAS TO, UH, DRIVE EFFORTS TOWARDS DOWNTOWN'S RESILIENCY AND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE HAS BEEN VERY PROACTIVE IN THAT REGARD, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE'VE GOT TO GET FOLKS BACK DOWNTOWN SO THEY CAN HEAR THE MUSIC YOU PLAY. UH, I'M HERE TO PARTICIPATE AND TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE AND SEE HOW THAT W HOW WE CAN BUILD A PARTNERSHIP. UH, SO THE, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND DOWNTOWN CAN RETURN TO THE VIBRANCY THAT IT ENJOYED UNTIL ABOUT THIS TIME LAST YEAR. SO I GUESS THE FLOOR IS OPEN FOR QUESTIONS. IT IS INDEED. I'VE GOT A QUESTION AND I'M HAPPY TO HOLD OFF SOMEONE ELSE'S SOMEBODY WANT TO START WITH. I MEAN, IS THERE ANYTHING BESIDES FINANCIAL RELIEF THAT WILL HELP RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM? I MEAN, ARE THERE ANY TECHNIQUES TO GET PEOPLE WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT [00:15:01] TO, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGE THEM TO GO DOWN THERE OR ANYTHING THAT'S POTENTIALLY EFFECTIVE OUTSIDE OF FINANCIAL RELIEF, BECAUSE FINANCIAL RELIEF IS GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS AS WE SPEAK, YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING. I WAS READING A BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE, I, I DO RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE, UH, BUT I WAS READING SOME, UH, MATERIAL ABOUT COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AND THE RETURN OF FOLKS TO RESTAURANTS AND OFFICES. IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. RIGHT. UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT IT'S WORTH TALKING TO VENUE OWNERS AND OPERATORS ABOUT IS IMPROVING AIR QUALITY. YOU WANT, YOU WANT THE CONSUMER TO COME BACK, YOU WANT YOUR AUDIENCES TO COME BACK AND THEY'VE GOT TO FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THAT. IT'S, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SOCIAL DISTANCING SHOTS, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, FOLKS HAVE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE GOING BACK IN. AND MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I THINK OF ALL THE BARS AND MUSIC VENUES I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN OVER WHAT A FEW DECADES, UH, AND AIR QUALITY WAS NEVER GOOD. UM, BUT NOW IT'S IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO FEEL SECURE. AND SO I THINK IT'S A WORTHWHILE CONVERSATION TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, IT'S CHALLENGING FOR SOME OF OUR HISTORIC BUILDINGS, BUT, BUT IMPROVING AIR QUALITY IN ALL OUR VENUES MAY MAYBE ANOTHER STEP BEYOND THE FINANCIAL, IN GETTING FOLKS TO COME BACK TO SEE, UH, OUR TALENTED MUSICIANS PLAY ONCE AGAIN. YEAH. THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, WHEN THEY COULDN'T THE CIGARETTE AND WENT IN A HUNDRED YEARS AGO OR WHATEVER IT WAS, THAT WAS REALLY A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE IN THE CLUBS AND THE IDEA OF DOING IT FOR THE HEALTH NATURE OF IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC. YOU KNOW, I THINK FOR SOME VENUES THAT COULD BE A SELLING POINT. I REMEMBER WHEN THE SMOKING BAN, UH, CAME THROUGH AND BARN BAR OWNERS WERE COMPLAINING THAT IT WOULD KILL THEIR BUSINESS. WELL, ALL THE FOLKS WHO COULDN'T STAND BEING IN BARS AND VENUES FILLED WITH CIGARETTE SMOKE STARTED TO SHOW UP AND IT DIDN'T HURT THE BUSINESS AT ALL. UH, I'M CURIOUS IF THERE, IF THAT'S ANECDOTAL OR IF THEY'RE ACTUAL NUMBERS FOR THAT. OKAY. I WOULD IMAGINE, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHO COULD PROVIDE YOU NUMBERS, BUT I'M SURE THERE ARE FOLKS THAT COULD DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE MIGHT BE, UM, THE CITIES. I DON'T KNOW IF THE CITY TRACK ANY INFORMATION ALONG THAT LINE. UH, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE DRAWN INTO A LAWSUIT, UH, BUT IF THEY WERE, THERE WOULD BE, UM, EVIDENCE THAT WAS PRESENT PRESENTED IN THE LAWSUIT TO DEFEND THE, THE CITY'S, UM, THE CODE. SO, UH, THANKS FOR, THANKS FOR REMAIN HERE TODAY. AND, UM, MY QUESTION IS, UH, WHAT YOU AND THE DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE AND THE CONSTITUENCY AT SURGE SEES AS THE FUTURE OF, OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN MUSIC AND HOW THAT'S, HOW WE GET THERE. I MEAN, PART OF, AGAIN, FOR ME, IT'S PARTLY AT LEAST PARTLY ANECDOTAL, OR JUST AS A WITNESS THAT IT SEEMED AS AUSTIN'S MUSIC SCENE, ESPECIALLY DOWNTOWN WAS BUILT ON AFFORDABILITY, PLUS THE CONCENTRATION OF PEOPLE BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY AND GOVERNMENT AND THE PEOPLE WHO MOVED HERE THAT WERE INTERESTED IN LIVE MUSIC. AND AS DOWNTOWN IS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY IN COST AND SMALL MUSIC VENUES, WHICH IS THE BACK, WHICH ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE AUSTIN MUSIC SCENE ARE VERY LOW MARGIN BUSINESSES. IT SEEMS HARDER AND HARDER TO MAINTAIN, UH, A VIBRANT LIVE MUSIC SCENE IN THE LONGTERM, IN A DOWNTOWN THAT'S THAT EXPENSIVE. SO WHAT COMMITMENT DO YOU SENSE FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THE FOLKS LIVING DOWNTOWN AND NOT JUST VERBAL, LIKE, OH, WE LIKE LIVE MUSIC, BUT WHAT KIND OF INVESTMENT OR ACTION IT IS THAT OUR, OUR DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE AND ITS ALLIES, UH, PLANNING ON TAKING TO MAKE SURE THAT LIVE MUSIC ACTUALLY IS SUSTAINABLE IN AUSTIN AND DOES REMAIN DOWNTOWN. YEAH, THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION. AND COMMISSIONER LEVITAN AND I HAD AN EXTENDED CONVERSATION ABOUT IT. I THINK, I MEAN, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IS EXPENSIVE AND GETTING MORE. SO, UM, FROM A DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, [00:20:01] THE VALUE OF DORK DOWNTOWN, THE VALUE OF DIRT IS MORE THAN A THOUSAND DOLLARS A SQUARE FOOT. AND THE Y VIEWED MUSIC VENUES ARE NOT THE DRIVERS OF, UM, REVENUE THAT CAN SUPPORT THAT. I MEAN, YOU SEE THAT WITH THE CLOSING OF ALL THESE RESTAURANTS DOWNTOWN, THEY JUST CAN'T MAKE THE NUMBERS WORK. UM, YOU KNOW, I GREW UP IN AUSTIN IN I'M A NATIVE, I GREW UP AND I STARTED COMING DOWNTOWN TO LIVE MUSIC VENUES IN THE SEVENTIES. WELL, THE REASON WE HAD SO MANY AND THEY WERE SO SUCCESSFUL AND YOU HAD SO MANY, SO MANY DIFFERENT GENRES OF MUSIC DOWNTOWN WAS BECAUSE A LOT OF RETAIL SPACE HAD BECOME VACANT BECAUSE YOU HAD THE MALLS, UH, YET HIGHLAND MALL, HIGHLAND MALL SUCKED ALL OF THE RETAIL LIFE FOR A LOT OF THE RETAIL LIFE OUT OF DOWNTOWN. WELL THAT CREATED A VACUUM AND LIVE MUSIC WAS ABLE TO COME IN THERE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. WELL, MOVE FORWARD 50 YEARS, WHICH IS A BIT FRIGHTENING TO SAY 40 SOME ODD YEARS, THOSE VENUES, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES DON'T EXIST BECAUSE THE RENT, THE COST, THE OVERHEAD COSTS OF THOSE BUILDINGS ARE SO HIGH THAT LIVE MUSIC, VENUES, RESTAURANTS ARE GOING TO STRUGGLE TO AFFORD TO BE DOWNTOWN. THAT'S THE CONUNDRUM. AND WHETHER IT'S, WE'RE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DEVELOPERS, AND THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE TOGETHER AND FOLKS LIKE THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE NEED TO GET TOGETHER AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH DEVELOPERS TO FIND OUT IF THERE'S A WAY TO CREATE, UM, AND SUSTAIN A VENUE, SPACE, PERFORMANCE, SPACE, PRACTICE SPACE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE SORTS OF THINGS THAT YOU GUYS NEED TO MAKE YOUR, KEEP YOUR INDUSTRY VIBRANT, PARTICULARLY IN DOWNTOWN, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THE SAME. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT SOME SOLUTIONS. AND AGAIN, IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S BRINGING SOME DEVELOPERS IN AND SAYING, HOW CAN YOU, WHAT BENEFIT DOES IT BRING TO YOUR DEVELOPMENT TO BRING IN THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY? AND I THINK WE'VE SEEN THAT WITH ACL. UM, BUT AS TOWERS GO UP AS PROPERTY GETS REDEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE COLLECTIVELY CAN LEVERAGE TO CREATE PERFORMANCE SPACE FOR YOU GUYS, IF NOTHING ELSE OTHERWISE, W YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT THEY'RE ABOUT 30 LIVE MUSIC VENUES OF DIFFERENT SIZES DOWNTOWN, HOW LONG ARE THOSE GOING TO BE SUSTAINABLE? I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS, LONG STORY, BUT THE FEW PLACES THAT I THINK HAVE MORE SUSTAINABILITY BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAXES, UM, OUR, OUR HISTORIC LANDMARKS, YOU KNOW, HISTORIC SIXTH STREET, THOSE PLACES HAVE A BUILT-IN BENEFIT THAT THERE'S A, UH, A MODERATED TAX BASIS, UM, FOR THEIR PROPERTY TAXES. THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT I THINK HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF SURVIVING BEYOND THAT. I THINK IT'S A BIT OF A FREE FOR ALL OR EARLY IN DOING THE MUSIC COMMISSION. I DID MEET WITH DEVELOPERS, UH, FOR ABOUT THIS VERY CONVERSATION. AND I GOT NO SENSE, SENSE OF ANY COMMITMENT OR NO ENCOURAGING FEEDBACK THAT, THAT IF THE NUMBERS DIDN'T WORK, THAT THEY WERE COMMITTED TO BUILDING A FUTURE OF AUSTIN DOWNTOWN THAT HAD A VIBRANT LIVE MUSIC SCENE, BECAUSE AS YOU'VE ALREADY SAID, THE NUMBERS DON'T ADD UP IN A PLAIN WAY, NOT IN A DIRECT WAY. CERTAINLY WE ALL, I THINK WE ALL GIVE AT LEAST VERBAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE VALUE THAT MUSIC BRINGS, BUT THAT'S THAT DOESN'T READ AS NUMBERS ON PAGE. AND SO, DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE ANY REASON TO GIVE US HOPE THAT THE DEVELOPERS WOULD HAVE AN INTEREST IN SUCH A DISCUSSION WOULD HAVE A COMMITMENT TO THAT KIND OF, UH, INVESTMENT THEY WOULD NEED TO MAKE, TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN? I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY A CASE BY CASE BASIS. I THINK THERE MAY BE SOME THAT ARE MORE SYMPATHETIC TO IT, AND THAT SYMPATHY IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. THERE MIGHT BE SOME WHO ARE, UH, OR MORE WILLING TO EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITY THAT LIVE MUSIC PRESENTS, UH, THAN OTHERS. BUT, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, A COMPANY WHO HAS A MODEL THAT THEY'VE DEVELOPED OVER AND OVER AGAIN, ALL ACROSS [00:25:01] THE COUNTRY, YEAH. THEY'RE GOING TO BE PRETTY HARD TO PERSUADE BECAUSE THEIR PROFORMAS DON'T WORK. UM, BUT THERE MAY BE SOMEBODY OUT THERE THAT SEES THE VALUE, SEES THE BENEFIT. UM, ONE THING COMMISSIONER LOVINGTON AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT WAS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE HOTEL DEVELOPERS ARE CREATING SPACES BECAUSE THEY NEED TO PRO PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT TO GET HEADS IN BEDS. AND THERE MAY BE SOME OPPORTUNITY THERE. UH, ONE THING THAT YOU FIND MORE AND MORE IS THAT, UH, THESE CONDO DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE GOING UP ALSO HAVE A HOSPITALITY COMPONENTS, WHETHER IT'S RESTAURANT OR HOTEL BOUTIQUE HOTELS, THERE MAY BE OPPORTUNITIES THERE. AND IT'S PERHAPS IT'S A CHANCE FOR THE INDUSTRY TO GO MEET WITH THOSE FOLKS AND SAY, HOW CAN WE CARVE OUT A SPACE IN THE HOSPITALITY ENVIRONMENT YOU'RE CREATING WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE SOME LIFE TO YOUR, TO YOUR VENUE? ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS LOOKING AT, I, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH IT. UM, IF YOU ALL HAVE FOLLOWED NAIPAUL AND WORLD-CLASS CAPITAL, UM, IT REMINDS ME A BIT OF THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES AND INTO THE NINETIES WITH, UH, A LOT OF THE FORECLOSURES AND A LOT OF HIS ASSETS, OR IN VARIOUS STAGES, THERE MAY BE SOME THERE NOW THAT MAY NOT BE THE LONGTERM, BUT IT MAY BE WORTH A CONVERSATION WITH THE LIEN HOLDERS WHO NOW OWN THE PROPERTY TO SEE IF, IF THERE'S A WAY TO CARVE OUT SPACE FOR YOU GUYS AS AN INTERIM REVIEWS, JUST TO THOUGHT NONE OF THOSE ARE LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS. AND I WISH I HAD ONE I DON'T, BUT THAT'S WHY WORKING TOGETHER IS SO IMPORTANT. YEAH. SO THAT WAS MY QUESTION, BECAUSE I WOULD ASSUME THAT DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE KNOWS TO DEVELOP DEVELOPER COMMUNITY MUCH MORE THAN THIS CIRCLE OF PEOPLE DO. AND I'M WONDERING IF IT'S, YOU SEE IT AS THE DOWNTOWN PART OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE IS MISSION TO LEAD THIS CONVERSATION AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AND SEE IF, UH, WHO WOULD, IS WILLING TO MAKE THOSE COMMITMENTS IN TERMS OF, UH, THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN MUSIC THAT WE'RE IMAGINING DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE. UH, I WOULD THINK AT THE VERY LEAST THEY WOULD BE A PARTICIPANT, PERHAPS THEY WOULD BE A CONVENER. UH, I THINK WE CAN CERTAINLY FUNCTION AS A CONVENER IF, IF THAT BENEFITS EVERYBODY INVOLVED. BUT I THINK THAT THEY CERTAINLY WOULD BE ACTIVELY ENGAGED TO THE PROCESS. RIGHT. RIGHT. OKAY. SORRY. I MIXED UP. SO YOU'RE THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, NOT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN LINE. EXCUSE ME. RIGHT. AND, UM, DO YOU THINK THIS IS MY LAST QUESTION, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU WERE TRYING TO HOW BUSINESSES MOVED OUT OF DOWNTOWN AND MUSIC MOVED, AND THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT OFFICES, UH, EMPTY OFFICE SPACE AFTER ALL THIS WORK FROM HOME AND SOME OF THESE TALLER BUILDINGS HAVING EMPTY SPACE. DO YOU SEE THAT TO BE LIKELY, AND DO YOU SEE ANY CHANCE FOR MUSIC TO FIND A PLACE THERE? I CERTAINLY THINK OPPORTUNITY. UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DOWNTOWN'S VACANCY RATE IS FOR OFFICE SPACE RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE 15, 17% AND THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH FOLKS, UH, TO SEE IF THERE'S SOME WAY TO, UM, TO PROVIDE SPACE, MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY FOR PERFORMANCE, BUT I MEAN, THERE'S CERTAINLY, UM, UH, OTHER THINGS THAT Y'ALL NEED, WHETHER IT'S, UM, RECORDING SPACE OR A PRACTICE SPACE, THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, CERTAINLY I THINK WOULD BE AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION WITH SOME OF THE BUILDING MANAGEMENT. THERE'S A, A, AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE BUILDERS BUILDING OWNERS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION, OR BOMA. AND I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE WORTHWHILE TO VISIT WITH BOMA AND SEE, GET THEIR FEEDBACK, UM, TO SEE WHAT'S AVAILABLE, WHAT FOLKS MIGHT BE LOOKING AT, WHAT THEY MIGHT BE WILLING TO DO. [00:30:01] BECAUSE I THINK COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC DOWNTOWN IS GOING TO, WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT THAN IT WAS. YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE 20 TO 30% OF, OF WHAT USED TO BE DOWNTOWN'S WORKFORCE WORKING REMOTELY. AND HOW DOES THAT AFFECT, UM, BUILDING OWNERS, TENANTS, THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SUBLEASE SPACE THAT'S AVAILABLE. HOW DOES IT AFFECT ALL OF THOSE FOLKS AND THE SPACE THAT'S AVAILABLE AND WHAT IT MIGHT BE USED FOR? THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO AT LEAST HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. AND I THINK IT'S AN, A VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION THAT COULD BE A WIN-WIN FOR EVERYBODY. HOW DOES THE CONVENTION CENTER FIT INTO ALL THIS, THIS, THIS PUZZLE PIECE HERE? UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING, UM, THE THEY'RE PLANNING ON EXPANDING THE CONVENTION CENTER, BUT CONVENTION BUSINESS. NO, I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES COMING OUT OF THIS AND I'M SOMEBODY THAT'S HAD TO ATTEND, UM, AND, AND HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND CONVENTIONS. HOW HAS, HOW HAS THE CONVENTION BUSINESS GOING TO CHANGE COMING OUT OF THIS? ALL OF A SUDDEN PROFESSIONS THAT MIGHT HAVE 30,000 PEOPLE WILL SHOW UP FOR A PARTICULAR CONVENTION, THEY'RE DOING IT VIA ZOOM. DO THEY NEED TO SPEND ORGANIZATIONS THAT I'M INVOLVED IN HAVE SAVED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, NOT HAVING MORE, NOT HAVING CONVENTIONS. AND THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO MESSAGE, MAYBE NOT AS EFFECTIVELY, BUT THEY'RE SEEING HOW THEY CAN DO IT, REDUCING THEIR COSTS AND REDUCING COST TO MEMBERSHIP. YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE CONVENTION BUSINESS GONNA COME OUT LOOKING LIKE AT THE END OF THE DAY? AND SO, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CONVENTION CENTER IT LOOKS LIKE PARTICULARLY, UH, FOR YOU GUYS. UH, I WOULD HOPE THAT THEY WOULD CARVE OUT SOME SPACE WITHIN THE CONVENTION CENTER FOR ALIVE MUSIC SPECIFICALLY. YEAH. I MEAN, CONVENTION CONVENTION BUSINESS NATIONWIDE WAS DECLINING PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC ANYWAY, SO THAT, THAT WAS ALREADY A FACTOR. SO, I MEAN, IT DOES BRING TO FORE THAT WE NEED TO BE EVEN MORE COMPETITIVE AS AN ATTRACTIVE CITY FOR PEOPLE TO VISIT, AND THAT PLAYS DIRECTLY IN, SO THE MUSIC SCENE HERE, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A HUGE WAY TO ATTRACT AND INCREASE TOURISM AND KEEP GETTING THOSE CONVENTIONS COMING IN. UM, BUT IN REGARDS TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UM, WHAT I'M WONDERING IS, UH, WITH EXISTING BUSINESSES THAT ARE DOWNTOWN, UM, IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES AND AS GRAHAM HAS SAID TO YOU, SPACE, WE ALL, I THINK MANY OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED DURING SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, LIKE SUDDENLY, LIKE THERE'S LOTS OF BUSINESSES, DOWNTOWN HOSTING, UH, INTERACTIVE EVENTS, HOSTING MUSIC EVENTS, AND THEY HAVE BEAUTIFUL SPACES AND CAPITAL FACTORY, UM, A GIRL JESSIE ON THE ROOF. I MEAN, WE COULD SIT HERE AND NAME PROBABLY 20 OR 30 PLACES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, HOST SHOWCASES AND, UM, THE REST OF THE TIME, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THAT COMPANIES HAVE PARTIES AND SO ON, BUT I MEAN, THOSE ARE SPACES THAT COULD BE UTILIZED. UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE NOT EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK, BUT THEY COULD HOST, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD PARTNER WITH, UM, MAYBE SOME EXISTING VENUE AND IT'S LIKE THE MOHAWK LOUNGE AT THE GOOGLE TERRORISTS OR SOMETHING. I DON'T REALLY KNOW IF GOOGLE HAS A TERRACE. I HAVEN'T BEEN IN THERE, BUT I'M SURE THEY'VE GOT SOME FULL SPACES. UM, BUT THEN ANOTHER POSSIBILITY IS JUST, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL SUBSIDY FROM SOME OF THESE, UH, TECH COMPANIES, WHICH I THINK IS, WOULD BASICALLY WORK INTO THEIR MARKETING BUDGETS, UH, TO PARTNER WITH VENUES AND HOST, YOU KNOW, ONE NIGHT A WEEK OR THEY HOST A CERTAIN SPACE OR IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN LIKE THE MOPOP GOOGLE LOUNGE OR SOMETHING LIKE THEY, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER CONVERSATION WITH VENUE OWNERS, UM, IN AUSTIN. AND, UH, BUT I, I DO THINK THAT THERE'S POSSIBILITIES THERE. AND SO I GUESS MY QUESTION FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION IS HOW COULD WE GO ABOUT PURSUING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH, WITH TECH BUSINESSES AND OTHER BUSINESSES THAT ARE DOWNTOWN. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO, HOW TO GET THAT GOING WELL, WHAT, UM, AND I DON'T REMEMBER, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE THE NAME CORRECTLY, BUT THERE WAS AN AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL OR SOMETHING [00:35:01] LIKE THAT. AND MAYBE IT'S A FUNCTION OF, AGAIN, WORKING TOGETHER AND, AND APPROACHING THESE, UH, AND BRINGING THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE ON, UM, AS THE PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNER, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROACHING THESE EITHER THE GROUPS, BOMA, THE TECHNOLOGY COUNTS, WHATEVER, AND SAYING, HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE THE STRENGTHS, THE STRENGTHS AND, OR THE FACILITY THAT YOU HAVE TO CREATE SPECS, WHETHER, YOU KNOW, BRING THEM INTO THE CONVERSATION, LET THEM FIGURE OUT HOW IT WORKS WITHIN THEIR MARKETING BUDGET. UM, SO TH TH THAT'S KIND OF WHAT OCCURS TO ME. WELL, I THINK THIS COMMISSION WOULD CERTAINLY BE SUPPORTIVE OF ANY EFFORTS, UM, THAT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WANTS TO TAKE IN THAT AREA. AND IF WE NEED TO DO, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE HAVE, WE HAVE JOINT MEETINGS WITH THE ARTS COMMISSION. UM, THEY HELP THEM SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CREATIVE SPACE THAT MET MANY TIMES. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A POSSIBILITY OF, I THINK THAT'S DEFINITELY A GREAT IDEA. AND CHARLOTTE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS OPPORTUNITY HERE. IT HAS TO BE EXPLORED. UM, AND I THINK A MEETING, UM, WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA BETWEEN THE MUSIC COMMISSION AND THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE, I WILL GET WITH OUR STAFF AND, AND, UH, SEE IF THERE'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO, UH, TO, AND KIMBERLY ARE YOU'RE, YOU'RE ON THE LINE, AREN'T YOU? YES. UH, PERHAPS YOU, CHRISTINE MONA COULD GET TOGETHER AND, UH, START FIGURING OUT, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO, UH, TO HAVE A JOINT MEETING. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. THIS IS ERIC. I DON'T KNOW WHAT JUST HAPPENED THERE, BUT, UH, YEAH, WE WILL, UH, WORK WITH CHRISTINE. I'LL TALK WITH CHRISTINE AND, UM, AND CHECK ON THAT. WOULD IT BE, WOULD IT BE WORTHWHILE BRINGING IN THE ARTS? UM, I JUST NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT TECHNICALLY WE, WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO. SO I'LL, I'LL FIND OUT ALL OF THE OPTIONS AND LET EVERYBODY KNOW, AND SO THAT WE CAN DECIDE ON BEST STEPS FORWARD. OKAY. OKAY. YEAH. YEAH. I MEAN, IF NOT, I'LL GO AHEAD. EXACTLY. I THINK THE ISSUE WOULD JUST BE MAKING SURE THAT WHEN WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, I THINK WE'RE ALLOWED SO MANY MEETINGS FOR QUARTER. I THINK THAT'S STILL LIFTED THE SPECIAL MEETINGS. UM, SO I'LL HAVE TO CHECK ON THAT. OKAY. YEP. UH, BOTH, UH, SYNOVIA AND I AGREE THOUGH THAT WE WILL WORK ON THIS SO THAT WE CAN SEE WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE. WHAT'S THE, UH, REASONING BEHIND IT, UH, THE CERTAIN NUMBER OF MEETINGS, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CHANGE OR IS THAT, WHAT IS IT? IT'S SOMETHING IN THE TOMA LAWS THAT THERE'S JUST, THERE'S ALLOWED SO MANY SPECIAL MEETINGS OUTSIDE OF THE REGULAR MEETING PER, PER QUARTER. UM, THEY'VE LIFTED IT WITH COVID AND I DON'T KNOW. I'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AND SEE IF NOW THAT WE'RE BACK TO REGULAR MEETINGS. CAUSE TECHNICALLY, EVEN THOUGH THESE MEETINGS ARE ONLINE, THESE ARE CONSIDERED REGULAR, NOT SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS RIGHT NOW. SO I'LL LOOK AND SEE IF THAT'S BEEN LIFTED OR NOT TO SEE IF THERE'S STILL A LIMIT ON SPECIAL MEETINGS, BECAUSE A JOINT MEETING WOULD BE CONSIDERED A SPECIAL MEETING. THANK YOU. UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT, IS THERE ANY OF THESE LAW, MANY OF THESE LAWS CHANGE CHANGEABLE? IS THERE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE, I MEAN TO, TO MAYBE EXPAND IT? CAUSE I, I FEEL LIKE WE KEEP RUNNING INTO THIS, LIKE, AND IT SEEMS LIKE A LIMITATION THAT MAYBE SHOULDN'T BE THERE. I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE ASKING TO DO THREE MEETINGS A QUARTER OR WHATEVER, BUT SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, AN EXTRA MEETING IS NECESSARY AND WE GOTTA KIND OF MAYBE PUSH IT OFF TILL LATER. I'M JUST, I'M JUST ASKING, I'M JUST TALKING OUT LOUD. YEAH. IT'S, IT'S SET BY THE STATE. UH, SO, BUT LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT NOT BE A LIMIT RIGHT NOW, SO I'LL CHECK INTO IT AND I'LL GET BACK TO YOU JUST AS SOON AS I CAN. OKAY. THANK YOU, KIMMY. UM, ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR AUGUST IS AUGUST STILL THERE? YEAH, HE'S STILL THERE. I DON'T, I DON'T MEAN TO DOMINATE THE CONVERSATION CONVERSATION. I MEAN, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, FOLKS FEEL THAT WAY, BUT I MEAN, DOWNTOWN IS A HUGE ENGINE. [00:40:01] UM, I KNOW A LOT OF BANDS, A LOT OF MUSICIANS PLAY DOWNTOWN PLAY DOWNTOWN, IT SAYS SOURCE OF THEIR INCOME. SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. I ACTUALLY HAVE A, I'M SORRY. NO, PLEASE, PLEASE. I'M MORE ABOUT THE JOINT MEETINGS SEEING IF THERE'S A WORK AROUND, BUT OH PLEASE. WHY DON'T WE CONTINUE THAT? UH, MY QUESTION IS A LITTLE BIT OFF, OFF OF THAT, BUT I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY SORT OF WORK AROUND IN WA UH, WHAT MAKES, UM, WHAT MAKES A JOIN MEETING SPECIAL? LIKE, CAN WE HAVE A SIMULTANEOUS MEETING THAT'S IN THE SAME ZOOM SPACE, BUT IT'S A, UH, REGULARLY CALLED MEETING AND WE, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, UH, TWO YEARS AGO WAS WE WERE HAVING A MEETING EVERY OTHER MONTH AND NOW WE'RE HAVING ONE EVERY MONTH. SO I DON'T KNOW. I CAN IMAGINE A FOCUS MEAN THAT'S IN OUR REGULAR TIME, BUT WE INVITE THE DOWNTOWN EMISSION TO JOIN US AS BALANCE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THIS IS STILL NOVIA. LET US CHECK WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE IN THE BOOK, WHEN YOU BACK SOME OPTIONS, YOU UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TRYING TO HAVE AS MANY MEETINGS. SO LET US GET SOME OPTIONS TOGETHER. OKAY. DID YOU GET THE NOTE THAT WE WANT TO TRY TO HAVE MORE MEETINGS? I DON'T WANT TO TRY TO HAVE ONE MEANS I GOT ENOUGH OF ME NOW JUST TO GET A LAUGH MEANINGS. UM, ANYBODY ELSE? QUESTIONS? YEAH. SO I HAD A QUESTION. THIS IS PAUL OVER HERE. UM, I WAS WANTING TO JUST TRY TO KEEP THIS IN MIND AS WE'RE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF CREATE SOME, EITHER SOME METRICS DEVELOPMENTS IN KEEPING VENUE, DENSITY DOWNTOWN, AS THEY BUILD UP OR FIND SOME, EITHER MARKET OR GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THAT. UM, I, I DON'T REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, FINDING DEVELOPERS THAT ARE SYMPATHETIC TOWARDS OUR, CAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD IT BE A HALF HAZARD AT BEST AND REALLY WOULD JUST, IT WOULDN'T BE ACCURATE BECAUSE WE'VE, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN COMPANIES MOVE IN AND NOT INVEST IN OUR COMMUNITIES. I THINK THERE SHOULD BE THOSE KINDS OF METRICS TO CREATE AND KEEP A CERTAIN DENSITY OF VENUES IN THERE IN OUR AREA, AND TO KEEP AN, UH, DEVELOPMENT WITH INTENTIONAL DESIGN, LIKE THE VENUES THAT ARE ON GROUND FLOORS OF HOTELS AND CONDOS OR, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE COMMUNITY SPACES. UH, ONE EXAMPLE THAT I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN IN AUSTIN IS THE TECH COMPANY, CIRRUS LOGIC. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL HAVE BEEN THERE, BUT THEY EVEN HOSTS LIKE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST SHOWS, THEY HAVE A GROUND FLOOR WHERE THE IT'S LIKE A TECH COMPANY. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY MAKE, BUT THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, A COMMUNITY AREA. I MEAN, THEY HAVE LIKE POOL TABLES AND PING PONG TABLES. YOU WOULD THINK IT WAS A BAR. IF IT WAS, IF YOU JUST WALKED IN AND HAVING THAT KIND OF INTENTIONAL DESIGN, I THINK IS A WAY FOR AUSTIN TO KEEP DEVELOPING UP WITHOUT SACRIFICING THAT COMMUNITY FEEL, UM, IT WOULD NEED TO BE INTENTIONAL THOUGH. SO I WONDER WHAT KIND OF MARKET OR GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES WE COULD DO FOR THAT. AND WE CAN'T REALLY JUST RELY ON, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPERS COMING IN AND REPLICATING THAT MODEL THAT HAS WORKED EVERYWHERE ELSE OR ELSE OUR DOWNTOWN IS JUST GONNA FEEL LIKE EVERYWHERE ELSE AS I KIND OF WANT TO JUST LEAVE THAT TO, TO THINK ABOUT. SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT LEGAL WOULD, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO TO, UH, CREATE THAT. BUT I FEEL THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME TYPE OF TEMPLATE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, TO SAY, YOU KNOW, BY TAKING DOWN SO MANY VENUES, WE NEED TO PROP UP. DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, THANKS, PAUL, IS IT AUGUST? DID YOU WANT TO RESPOND TO THAT BEFORE I ASK THIS QUESTION? NO. OKAY. IT WAS ASSIGNED MORE TO CHEW ON AND TO THINK ABOUT, AS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS THAT'S IMPORTANT. I LIKE THE DENSITY CONCEPT THAT WE SHOULD HAVE SOME TYPE OF, SOME TYPE OF MANDATE OF, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN AMOUNT OF VENT USE PER WHATEVER. UM, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA TO SOMETHING THAT CAN YOU RECOMMEND IT, UM, BUT WE'D HAVE TO, WE'D HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT IS, BUT I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION AND, UH, WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD FOLLOW UP ON THAT. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE IN, YOU KNOW, IN LANGUAGE, BUT I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD KEEP AS IF WE WANT TO KEEP AUSTIN HIGH DENSITY WITH BENEFITS. MY QUESTION IS THIS THOUGH, GRAHAM, YOU, YOU WANT TO JUST, JUST TO COMMENT ON THAT BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING WE WORKED ON FOR YEARS WITH A CODE NEXT, TRYING TO WEAVE THAT KIND OF THING IN THERE. AND THERE WAS A LOT OF STRONG LANGUAGE CA I MEAN, I CAN NOT TELL YOU HOW MANY MEETINGS WE WENT TO AND HOW MANY ITERATIONS OF THE LANGUAGE AND, UH, ALL SORTS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THEN CODE NEXT FAILED. AND SO, UH, THERE, THERE, THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD LANGUAGE OUT THERE. AND, UH, SO PAUL, I THINK MAYBE, UM, WE CAN CONNECT WITH SOME OF THAT AND DIG THAT UP AND SEE IF THERE'S A WAY TO TAKE IT OUT OF THE CODE NEXT CONVERSATION OR WHATEVER CODE NEXT NEXT IS, AND TRY TO MAKE THAT AN ISOLATED THING THAT WE COULD SUPPORT. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. [00:45:01] YEAH. THANK YOU GUYS TO TAG TEAM ON THAT. UM, AND, UH, YEAH, I'M GOING TO GET THAT DONE AND COME BACK TO US WITH SOME, WITH SOME INFORMATION NEXT MINUTE, FOR SURE. UM, MY QUESTION IS THIS, UM, DO WE KNOW HOW MANY RESTAURANTS, VENUES, WHATEVER WE'VE LOST, UH, BARS, WHATEVER WE'VE LOST SO FAR IN THE LAST YEAR? DO WE HAVE ENOUGH? I'M TALKING ABOUT JUST SPECIFICALLY DOWNTOWN, BUT WE HAVE LIKE, UH, WE HAVE AN IDEA, LIKE WHAT THE, WHAT THAT LANDSCAPE IS LIKE. I DON'T, BUT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE MAY HAVE SOME MORE UPDATED NUMBERS. I THINK THEY TRACK THAT. OKAY. WELL, IT'D BE GOOD. IT'D BE GOOD TO GET SOME OF THAT INFORMATION TOO, TO JUST KIND OF GET A SENSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING. CAUSE I KNOW LIKE WHEN I GO DOWNTOWN, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF PLACES BOARDED UP STILL, BUT I HAVEN'T BEEN DOWN THERE IN A LITTLE WHILE. SO JUST CURIOUS AS TO LIKE HOW, HOW MANY BUSINESSES, UH, SPECIFICALLY ON SIXTH STREET, BUT JUST DOWNTOWN IN GENERAL HAVE BEEN, UH, HAVE CLOSED DOWN LATE LEAPFROGGING FROM THAT QUESTION, UH, FROM THE CHAIR, UH, AUGUST, UH, WHAT IS THE, ARE YOU GUYS WORKING ON THE DOWNTOWN RECOVERY PLAN RIGHT NOW? UH, FROM THE COMMISSION PERSPECTIVE WHERE WE ARE DOING ANYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPORT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, WHOSE PLAN THAT IS, AND WE'RE TRYING TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THEM TO SEE WHAT SUPPORT THEY NEED FROM US, UH, PARTICULARLY AS IT PERTAINS TO ANY COUNCIL ACTIONS. UM, AND SO IT'S AN ONGOING PARTNERSHIP. I DON'T KNOW IF I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION WELL ENOUGH. YEAH. WELL, THE AI IS LEADING. IT YOU'RE STATING, SO YEAH, YOUR, YOUR INVOLVEMENT. YEAH. RESILIENCY IS CERTAINLY MY FOCUS AS CHAIR, BUT DAA HAS THE, THAT PARTICULAR PROGRAM AND IT'S A PRIVATE SECTOR PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UM, ADVOCATING TO GET DOWNTOWN AUSTIN BACK ON TRACK. SO AS DA'S ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MUSIC CHIEFLY THROUGH GROUPS LIKE RIVER CALLED FULL DISTRICT, THE CONCENTRATE ASSOCIATION, OR IS THERE ANOTHER CREATIVE SECTOR PORTAL THAT YOU KNOW OF? UH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT THE ONE THAT'S, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT THANKS. UH, SORRY, I CONFUSED EARLIER, BUT CAN YOU CLARIFY THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION'S ROLE AND THE DOWNTOWN, THE LINES, HIS ROLE AND HOW EACH IS FUNDED AND WHAT KIND OF FUNDING SUPPORT EACH RECEIVES? WELL, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION GETS THE SAME, WELL, I DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THAT'S ACCURATE. UM, WE HAVE S WE'RE CITY, BOARD OR COMMISSION JUST LIKE YOU AND OUR SUPPORT STAFF IS THE ONLY THING BUDGETED FOR US. UH, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE IS, UH, SUPPORTED PRIMARILY BY, UM, UH, PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. I BELIEVE THAT IS DOWNTOWN AND THAT'S. AND SO MEMBER, ORGANIZATION, OR MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS AND BUILDINGS PAY DUES TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE. SO THAT'S WHERE THEIR FUNDS COME FROM. I BELIEVE PRIVATE SECTOR, PUBLIC SECTOR. WE HAVE NONE MAY HAVE SOME. OKAY, GOT IT. UM, UH, AND, UH, BE CURIOUS WHAT THOSE ACTUAL NUMBERS ARE, NOT THAT YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING THEM, BUT THAT'S A QUESTION FOR, UH, WELL, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO PULL UP THE DA'S WEBSITE AND SEE IF THEY'VE GOT THEIR FINANCIALS AVAILABLE. CHAIRMAN, IF I COULD SPEAK. YES, IT IS. SO THERE'LL BE A WHOLE RAMP ACTING DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC INVOLVEMENT. SO THE DOWNTOWN PERIOD, UH, WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL AND THE TAX IS ASSESSED ON RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES WITHIN, UH, A PERIMETER. AND I CAN HAVE STAFF SEND YOU OUT A MAP EACH YEAR. UM, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, WHO IS THE PROVIDER THAT MANAGES THAT DISTRICT PROVIDES A BUDGET TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. SO BASICALLY THE, THESE, THE TAXES THAT ARE ASSESSED DAA SUBMITS A PLAN TO [00:50:01] COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL AND INCLUDES VARIOUS THINGS SUCH AS THE CLEANING OF THE STREETS, ET CETERA. BUT THE CONTRACT IS ONLINE. IT'S A PUBLIC DOCUMENT AND THAT PUBLIC PROCESS. SO NOW, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE TOTAL ANNUAL, UH, I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE IT CHANGES EVERY YEAR, BUT WHAT IT AVERAGES MAYBE. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT A PERCENTAGE OF THAT THEY'VE PUT TOWARDS? NOT RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, UM, RAM, BUT I CAN GET IT TO THE COMMISSION. I CAN GET YOU THE LATEST BUDGET. YEAH. I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT THEIR COMMITMENT TO LIVE. MUSIC HAS BEEN. OKAY. WE'LL GET THAT OUT. THANK YOU. VERY, VERY CHALLENGING STUFF HERE. YEAH. I THINK, UH, WE GOT, WE GOT TO GIVE SOME, SOME THINGS IN PLACE OR IT'S GONNA, IT'S GONNA NOT, IT'S NOT GONNA LOOK GOOD. UNFORTUNATELY I'M LAUGHING BECAUSE IT'S KEEP FROM CRYING REALLY. BUT, UM, WE GOT TO GET AGGRESSIVE. WE GOTTA, YOU KNOW, COME UP WITH SOME IDEAS THAT ARE GOING TO WORK FOR DIFFERENT PARTIES INVOLVED, MAN, WHEN SOMEONE WINS. BUT, UH, IT'S LOOK, IT'S LOOKING KIND OF BLEAK HERE LOOKING VERY CHALLENGING, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, LET'S KEEP, LET'S KEEP OUR HEADS OUT. LET'S KEEP, KEEP IDEAS FLOWING FOR SURE. UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, FOR, WELL, I DIDN'T HAVE A, IT'S A SORT OF A SEGUE, UH, AUGUST INTO OUR NEXT ITEM, BUT, UH, AND THEN WE'LL LIKE, WE'LL LET YOU GO. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, BUT D DO YOU KNOW THE DETAILS OR HAVING AN UPDATE ON KATHY TURBOS, DOWNTOWN ACTIVATION RESOLUTION? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THAT? I AM NOT AN UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T. OKAY. NO WORRIES. THANKS AGAIN FOR COMING AND SPEAKING WITH US, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WELL, AGAIN, WE'RE SO THRILLED TO HAVE COMMISSIONER LEVITAN ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMISSION AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO STRENGTHENING THE BONDS BETWEEN OUR TWO COMMISSIONS AS WE, UH, TRY TO GET, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR PURPOSES DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, BACK ON TRACK AND REINVIGORATING. AUSTIN IS THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU GUYS. GOODNIGHT. THANK YOU. ALWAYS APPRECIATE IT. UM, WOW. YEAH. OH, RIGHT. UM, [2A.Discussion and Possible Action Esquina Tango update by Al Duarte including discussion on downtown activation resolution, Shop the Block program amendments, and city support for leveraging underutilized and open spaces for creative use during COVID.] LET'S KILL IT ON MADNESS. MAYBE. I, I THINK, UH, I GOTTA, I GOTTA NOTE THAT DEMAND IS, IS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT, THERE WAS SOMETHING WITH THE WIFI. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE HIM NEXT NEXT MONTH, HOPEFULLY. UM, BUT WE, UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE NEXT, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA. WE SHOULD BE, I GUESS, UH, SINCE AL'S NOT HERE TODAY, WOULD HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD WHAT THEY'RE SEEING THE TANGO, UH, UH, SO FOR SKIN, THEN THEIR SPECIFIC SITUATION, THEY ARE MOVING AHEAD WITH THEIR, UH, SILENT DISCO OUTDOOR CLASSES. UM, SO THAT'S GOOD FOR THEM THAT DOESN'T REALLY QUITE SOLVE THE ISSUE THAT WAS AT HAND OF HAVING, UM, LIVE MUSIC EVENTS. AND WE HAD TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE COULD, YOU KNOW, PARKS COULD BE USED. WE DID A SCENARIO, PUT US IN TOUCH WITH SOMEBODY FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT THAT SAID, NO, I CAN'T DURING COVID THAT'S NOT ALLOWED. UM, AND SO WE MOVED TO STAGE TWO OR THREE. UM, SO IT'LL BE A LITTLE WHILE FOR THAT. UM, AND THEN I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH, UM, LESLIE POOL'S OFFICE AND KATHY TOBRA HIS OFFICE ABOUT TWO DIFFERENT RESOLUTIONS, UM, LINE OF AMENDING SHOP, THE BLOCK TO EXPAND OUTDOOR USES, UH, FOR MUSIC VENUES OR ARTS GROUPS. AND, UH, THE DOWNTOWN ACTIVATION THAT I BROUGHT UP AGAIN, I CAN, THAT, THAT DOES HAVE SOME COUNTER COMPONENTS DEALING WITH PUBLIC SPACE, BUT BECAUSE THEIR OFFICES HAVE BEEN SO CONSUMED WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, WINTER STORM RELIEF EFFORTS, ALL ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ON THE BURNER NOW. SO I THINK WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT ON THAT FOR THIS MEETING. WE'LL PROBABLY NEED TO REVISIT NEXT MONTH. UH, THANKS DAN AND CHARLOTTE, UM, TO [2B. Discussion and Possible Action after update from Systemic Racism Working Group.] BE THE DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ACTION AFTER UPDATE FROM GRADES AND WORKING GROUP. UM, SO WE WERE, [00:55:01] UM, SCHEDULED TO MEET LAST WEEK AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I COULD SPEAK PERSONALLY FOR MYSELF. THIS IS COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED LAST WEEK. I'M JUST GETTING, GETTING BACK ONLINE THIS WEEK, TO BE HONEST. UM, SO WE, UH, WE, WE SCHEDULED FOR THIS WEEK AND IN A NUTSHELL, WE'VE, UH, WE'RE KIND OF FINALIZING OUR MAIN BUCKETS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE EXPLORING THIS YEAR. AND WE'RE GOING TO, AFTER WE DO THAT, HOPEFULLY IN THIS NEXT MEETING, WE'RE GOING TO BE MOVING TO A MONTHLY MEETINGS CAUSE WE'VE BEEN MEETING TWICE PER MONTH. UM, SINCE WHEN ANGELA WAS AT LIKE NOVEMBER. YEAH. LIKE, YEAH, FALL EARLY FALL IT'S NOVEMBER. SO WE GOT, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY AS A GROUP IN TERMS OF JUST HAVING SOME DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS AND, AND, UH, REALLY UNDERSTANDING OUR MISSION AND, AND GETTING OURSELVES ON THE SAME PAGE AROUND RACISM AND ITS IMPACTS. UM, SO HOPEFULLY OUR NEXT MEETING AND, UH, WHAT IS IT APRIL? UM, WE'LL HAVE MORE TO TELL YOU ABOUT SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING TO ADDRESS, UH, ANGELA, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING OR, OR PAUL, YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT? YEAH, SO THAT WORK WILL LOOK LIKE REALLY SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOR POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS PROGRAMMING. SO WE REALLY ARE GETTING INTO THE MEAT OF THAT WORK. IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WEEK WE WERE SCHEDULED TO MEET ON THE 16TH AND NOT, NO, WE TRIED TO MEET AGAIN ON THE 23RD AND EVERYBODY'S SO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST STILL DEALING WITH THE AFTEREFFECTS. SO, UH, BUT WE, YEAH, WE ARE REALLY DRILLING DOWN TO SPECIFICS. SO NEXT MEETING WE'LL HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD STUFF TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL. AND, UM, I DID HEAR WHAT, UM, A BUNCH OF THE SPEAKERS WERE SAYING, UM, ABOUT GENDER. UM, IF THERE'S ANYBODY IN, IN A GROUP INTERESTED IN CREATING SOME TYPE OF A WORKING GROUP AROUND THAT, THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MAYBE SOMETHING WE COULD DISCUSS AT THE NEXT MEETING. I KNOW PERSONALLY I DON'T HAVE THE, DON'T HAVE THE BANDWIDTH FOR IT, BUT, UM, I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT ISSUE, SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ADDRESS AND SHOULD IT SHOULD ADDRESS. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, JUST PUTTING THAT ON THE TABLE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY HEARD Y'ALL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, TO BRING THAT DISCUSSION TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION. YEAH. SO THEN DO YOU REALLY WANT TO MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS ITEMS THAT WE'LL HAVE NEXT TIME? YES. SO, YEAH, SO THAT WOULD, I THINK WE SHOULD INCLUDE THAT ON NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA. SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION FOR A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON INCREASING EQUITY FOR WOMEN AND IDENTIFYING CONTRIBUTORS TO AUSTIN'S MUSIC INDUSTRY AND POSSIBLE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GENDER EQUITY WORKING GROUP. OKAY. UH, W I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO VOTE ON THESE IF WE GET RIGHT. THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. ANY OTHER, UH, ITEMS OR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS CHRIS GAVE US QUITE A BIT TO, UH, THINK ABOUT, UM, UM, JUST NOT BECAUSE WE DEFINITELY NEED TO GET SOMEONE FROM THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, I THINK TO PRESENT, UH, AT THE VERY LEAST ON THE STATE OF DOWNTOWN AND THE RECOVERY PACK PROGRAM THAT, UH, THEY, I GUESS MAYBE HAVE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL OR, UM, SO MOTION TO, UH, FOR, UH, ACTION OR A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON, UH, FOLLOWING PRESENTATION FROM DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE. I'M WONDERING IF WE ROLL THIS INTO A BROADER DISCUSSION THAT COMBINED, BUT YOUR TIME OUT, WHICH I THINK IS PERFECT AND WHAT PAUL IS TALKING ABOUT AND A DISCUSSION ON SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN MUSIC. AND PART OF THAT IS A DISCUSSION WITH A REP IN, I MEAN, WE CAN'T COMPEL THEM TO COME, BUT INVITE A REPRESENTATIVE OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE. AND THEN, UH, THEN SOMEONE WHO WAS INVOLVED IN CODE NEXT TO KNOW SOME OF THE DETAILS OF, UM, OF THE WORK THAT WAS DONE TOWARDS WRITING MUSIC VENUES AND PERFORMING ARTS VENUES AND ARTS VENUES IN GENERAL INTO A LAND USE CODE, I WOULD, I WOULD ALSO MAYBE, UH, THROW ANOTHER, UH, CARD ON THE ONO DECK, UH, THE AUSTIN [01:00:01] CONVENTION CENTER AS SOMEBODY FOR NOTHING ADVENTURE CENTER. UM, WHO ELSE, WHO ELSE? HER CULTURAL DISTRICT DISTRICT, UM, WHO ELSE DOWNTOWN, SHOULD WE INVITE REBECCA REYNOLDS CASINO? EL CAMINO. THEY'RE GOING TO BE THERE. I'M JUST KIDDING. JUST FIND THE VENUE ALLIANCE, THE VENUE ALLIANCE. OKAY. SO YEAH, LET'S, LET'S TRY AND GET ALL OF THEM IN THE MIX IF IT DOUG, IF YOU LIKE MY REWORDING, AND THEN WE CAN INVITE ALL THESE FOLKS UNDER THAT LARGER BANNER. I'M HAPPY TO SECOND YOUR, UH, MOTION. YOU ARE QUITE ELOQUENT WITH THE WORDS. YEAH. LET'S GO WITH YOUR VERSION. AWESOME. NOW I HAVE ANOTHER BIGGER, BIG ONE, BUT THE DOWNTOWN THING IS SO HUGE THAT THIS MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT TIME. OH YEAH. IT WAS THE, UH, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN MUSIC. AND THEN WE CAN INVITE ALL THESE VARIOUS FOLKS UNDER THAT LARGER BANNER. UM, ALRIGHT, PERFECT. UM, THE OTHER THING I THINK WE NEED TO KNOW, AND MAYBE IT NEEDS, WE NEED TO KNOW WHEN TO KNOW IS THAT I FEEL LIKE WE ALL COULD USE AN EDUCATION ON THE BUDGET PROCESS IN AUSTIN, HOW FUNDING WORKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IS FUNDED BY THIS, UH, PID PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. THAT WE'VE RARELY BEEN PART OF THE BUDGET CONVERSATION EARLY ENOUGH. WE'VE RARELY BEEN PART OF THE BOND CONVERSATIONS EARLY ENOUGH, SOME SORT OF PRIMER ON SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT OUR GOALS AND PRIORITIES GET FUNDED. UM, AND THIS, IT COULD BE, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NEXT MONTH, BUT I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. THAT WAS BASICALLY WHAT I THOUGHT OF WHEN YOU HAD ASKED US TO SET GOALS AND IS LIKE HOW TO DO, ACHIEVE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. HOW DO WE MAKE THE PIE BIGGER? I THINK IT STARTS WITH BASIC EDUCATION AS TO THE FUNDING MECHANISMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US, THE OTHER, UM, AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT NEXT TIME, DEMA EMOTIONAL STACK. OKAY. AND CHARLOTTE, UH, JUST, LET'S JUST ROLL FORWARD TO TWO A FROM THIS TIME AND IF THAT BACK UP NEXT TIME. OKAY. THINK WE'RE, WE'RE OVERALL TO BE AS WELL. YOU HAD A SECOND, YOU HAD A SECOND, MAN. I'M JUST TRYING TO GET US, KEEPS US MOVING SECOND RENTALS, THE SECONDARY, YOU GOT YOUR OWN SHELF, THE SECONDARY. ALL RIGHT. Y'ALL ANY OTHER, UM, ANY OTHER [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] IDEAS FOR OUR NEXT, DO WE WANT TO DISCUSS, UH, POSSIBLE SUBMISSIONS FOR PERFORMANCE AT OUR MEETINGS? MAYBE 20, 22? YES. THAT WAS ON MY, UM, ANOTHER, UH, YES, THAT IS. SO CAN WE, CAN WE MAKE THAT A, DEFINITELY PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA FOR HOW, HOW WE'RE GOING TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THOSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE CHOSEN? UM, WE NEED TO DISCUSS THAT. YEAH. SO DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A SUBMISSION PROCESS FOR A LIVE MUSIC PERFORMERS AT MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING. YEAH. I MEAN, I WAS GOING TO LEAVE IT UP TO STEWART, LIKE JUST PUT IT ALL ON STUART, BUT IF YOU WANT TO PUT THAT A DIFFERENT WAY AND IT'S ALL YOU DISCUSSING THE POSSIBLE ACTION TO STUART SUTHERLAND, CURATING A YEAR'S WORTH. NOT THAT, I'M SORRY. I'M JUST BEING SILLY WITH IT. OKAY. UM, SECOND, SECOND BASE THAT. OKAY. ANY, ANYTHING, ANYTHING ELSE? I'LL MOTION TO ADJOURN. FINAL THOUGHT. I JUST WANT TO BE SUPER QUICK, BUT, UM, JUST, I WANT THE SET AND THEN IN THE MEETING AND ON VIDEO AND RECORDED, I WANTED TO JUST GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO ALL OF THE MUSICIANS THAT PITCHED [01:05:01] IN FOR RELIEF EFFORTS LAST WEEK. UM, WHILE LIKE MY HEART GREW THREE STYLES, ONES, LIKE JUST SEEING ALL OF THAT INVOLVEMENT AND THOSE ARE PEOPLE I KNOW THEY'RE ALREADY BEEN REALLY HAD A REALLY ROUGH YEAR. I'VE BEEN REALLY BEAT UP AND THEY'RE ALSO DEALING WITH FROZEN PIPES AND NO WATER. AND THEY WERE JUST OUT THERE LIKE EVERY DAY. SO OUR, UM, OUR CITY IS REALLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE SUCH AN AMAZING GROUP OF TALENTED, BIG HEARTED PEOPLE. AND, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE HEART OF BOSTON. SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT. ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. THANKS FOR SHARING THAT Y'ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE. IF WE START NAMING GROUPS AND WE'LL LEAVE SOMEBODY OUT, BUT YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU CONTRIBUTED AND, UM, WE DEFINITELY SALUTE YOU FOR THAT, FOR SURE. THANK YOU FOR THAT ANSWER OUT IT. ALL RIGHT. UM, SOMEONE MOTION TO ADJOURN. THAT WAS A GRAM. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S A CARE, UM, BE SAFE. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES. UH, WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT, NEXT TIME. PEACE. . * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.