[00:00:07]
[Call to Order & Introductions]
OUR MEETING, UH, OF THE CARDBOARD TO ORDER AT 1:05 PM.UM, UH, FOLKS, I AM CITY GARAGE.
I AM JOINED BY IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR, JIMMY FLANAGAN.
THANKS JIMMY AND HAPPILY BY 2021 VICE CHAIR.
WE'RE SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU JOIN THE EXECUTIVE TEAM.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, BEFORE WE EVEN START WITH CITIZENS COMMUNICATION, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU AGAIN TO THE CAN STAFF, TO CARLOS GELINA FOR A BEAUTIFUL BUTLER AWARD CELEBRATION.
UM, I REALLY DO THINK IT WAS INCREDIBLY INSPIRING AND PEOPLE LEFT REALLY MOTIVATED AND THAT'S REALLY HARD TO DO OVER ZOOM.
UM, FIRST WE ARE GOING TO SEE, IS ANYBODY PRESENT FOR CITIZENS COMMUNICATION? IT DOESN'T.
[Consider Approval of Minutes for February 12th, 2021 CAN Board meeting. (Action Item)]
ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO, UH, REVIEW AND APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST, UH, MEETING.AND SO I'LL ASK FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
AND SO MAYBE JALINA WE CAN, UM, SHARE THE LINKS RIGHT TO THE AGENDA FOLDER.
AND, UM, IN CASE KIDS, I MEAN, IT WAS IN THE EMAIL THAT YOU GOT, BUT SOMETIMES YOU MISS THOSE AND, UM, MADAM CHAIR I'LL MOVE.
I, AND WHO I OWE IS THAT TAMAR YOU OKAY.
UM, AND A SECOND, IS THERE A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THOSE TO SHERRY FLEMING? I'LL SECOND.
UM, ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MINUTES OR ANY CORRECTIONS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE BASED ON, AND I SEE THAT NORA IS NOT HERE, SO THERE MAY BE SOME MINI EDITS THAT WE, THAT WE'RE GOING TO MISS THIS TIME, BUT IF, IF THE MINUTES LOOK OKAY TO EVERYBODY, UM, I WILL GO AHEAD AND ASK THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES TO EITHER RAISE YOUR VIRTUAL OR REAL HANDS.
UM, ANYBODY OPPOSED, UH, SHERRY, ARE YOU RAISING HAND FOR APPROVAL OR, OKAY.
ANYONE OPPOSED TO APPROVING THE MINUTES? OKAY.
THE MOTION PASSES AND THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED, UM, WHO IS NOW? I'M NOT, I DON'T KNOW IF NANCY IS HERE.
NANCY HAD A FAMILY EMERGENCY AND NORA SAID SHE WAS GOING TO BE LATE.
CAUSE WE, WE DO HAVE RACHEL HAMPTON OR SHE IS HER NAME DISAPPEARED, I GUESS.
CAUSE SHE TURNED ON HER VIDEO TO
[Community Council Update]
RECOGNIZE RACHEL, UM, TO GIVE US HER REPORT FROM THE CANNED COMMUNITY COUNCIL AND RACHEL'S OUR VICE CHAIR FOR THEM FOR THE YEARS.SO THANK YOU RACHEL, FOR GREEN TO TAKE THAT ON.
UM, SO IT'S GOING TO BE A PRETTY BRIEF UPDATE RIGHT NOW.
UM, WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON CURRENTLY IS I THINK, AS WE HAVE MENTIONED, WE ARE TRYING A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE IN THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL THIS YEAR, WHERE WE TACKLE KIND OF THREE BIG ISSUES IN GROUPS.
UM, AND THAT FIRST ISSUE THAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT AND HOW IT'S COMING UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY IS EVICTION.
UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT EVICTIONS FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LENSES AND WE'VE INVITED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UM, SPEAKERS TO COME IN AND KIND OF GIVE US THE LAY OF THE LAND IN TERMS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH EVICTIONS AS IT RELATES TO COVID.
UM, AND THEN EVEN TO LOOKING AT HOW, UM, EVICTIONS AND APARTMENTS AND HOUSING CROSS WITH WINTER STORM JURY, UM, AND WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE HAPPENING INSIDE OF COMPLEXES AS IT RELATES TO THAT STORM.
SO IN OUR LAST, UM, MEETING, WE HAD, UM, WE HAD A COUPLE OF PEOPLE COME IN TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE STRUCTURE OF EVICTION AND HOW IT WORKS INSIDE OF OUR COURT SYSTEMS AND, UM, WHAT, WHAT IS, AND IS NOT BEING DONE AS IT RELATES RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT MOST FOLKS WHO GO TO AN EVICTION HEARING DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE LEGAL SUPPORT.
THEY HAVE A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE WHO'S GOING WITH THEM TO EVICTION COURT.
AND SO THAT WAS AN INTERESTING PIECE THAT WE ARE KIND OF TAKING AND INCORPORATING INTO OUR WORK.
[00:05:01]
THE DOCUMENT THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA PROVIDE TO YOU GUYS AND PRESENT ON WHAT WE ARE HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY AS THE ACTION THAT'S NEEDED AROUND EVICTION, UM, AS IT RELATES TO COVID, AS IT RELATES TO THE WINTER STORM AND JUST IN GENERAL, HOW OUR EVICTION PROCESSES INSIDE OF THE CITY AND INSIDE OF THE COUNTY HAVE BEEN STRETCHED TO THE MAX AND ARE REALLY SHOWING WHERE A LOT OF OUR GAPS ARE, UM, INSIDE OF THE CITY.AND SO WE ARE, WE HAVE A ROUGH DRAFT OF OUR KIND OF FIRST SET OF, UM, CALL TO ACTIONS THAT WE'D LIKE FOR THE BOARD THAT WILL GET PRESENTED HOPEFULLY NEXT MONTH.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO MOVE INTO FOOD INSECURITY AND LOOKING AT HOW FOOD INSECURITY IS SHOWING UP AS IT RELATES TO COVID THE COMMUNITY'S RESPONSE TO REOPENING, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO MENTAL HEALTH.
AND SO THAT IS WHERE, WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
I'M EXCITED TO SHOW YOU GUYS THE CALL TO ACTION AND KIND OF THIS DIFFERENT FORMAT AS WE WON'T WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR TO GIVE YOU A REPORT, GOING TO TRY VERY HARD TO GIVE YOU REPORTS AS, AS THEY COME UP AS WE'RE LEARNING AND ENGAGING AND GATHERING DATA FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THESE DIFFERENT TOPICS.
UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS ACTUALLY FOR RACHEL AND THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL? I WOULD JUST ADD RACHEL THAT WE, UM, AT UT I, WE MAY HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, OUR HOUSING HUB, OUR HOUSING RESEARCH SOURCE HUB THAT WE'RE JUST PUTTING TOGETHER AS SORT OF A GROUP OF RESEARCHERS WHO ARE, UM, FOCUSED ON THIS TOPIC, UM, PARTICULARLY AROUND EVICTION.
AND SO SHOULD THAT BE OF SUPPORT TO THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AGAIN, JUST THE RESEARCH SIDE, UM, I'LL REACH OUT.
I THINK ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO KIND OF CROSS ALL OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE RIGHT NOW ON EVICTION, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
AND THANKS FOR REPRESENTING AND THANK THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FOR US.
UM, NEXT WE'RE I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE
[Executive Director’s Report]
IT.I WILL FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
AND THANKS FOR, UM, FOR TUNING IN OR PARTICIPATING.
UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO SHARE NOTHING.
IT'S LIKE I'M HAVING A LITTLE LAPSE HERE.
UM, UM, SO I'M GOING TO DO A FEW SLIDES.
THERE'S ONLY EIGHT SLIDES TOTAL.
I LIKE TO LIKE TO WARN FOLKS, BUT FOR, FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS REPORT FOR WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE TUNA.
SO LIKE AGAIN, I'M TRYING TO BE A LITTLE MORE FOCUSED IN MY PRESENTATIONS HERE.
UM, LET'S GO TO THE SLIDE SHOW.
AND SO, UM, AGAIN KIND OF STARTED WITH THE KIND OF SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION, UM, THE BUTLER AWARDS AND CANNES CELEBRATION WE JUST HAD.
AND THE GROUP SAID WE, UM, THAT WE RECOGNIZE, UM, WHICH WAS AGAIN IN AND OF ITSELF, JUST HEARING FROM THE GROUPS WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST, UM, SUCH AN ENLIGHTENING AND INSPIRING, UM, SORT OF A THING, YOU KNOW, USUALLY IN AWARDS THINGS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, IT SEEMS A LITTLE PERFUNCTORY, RIGHT? JUST THE ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES, BUT I MUST SAY I LEARNED QUITE A BIT JUST FROM LISTENING TO HOW FOLKS TALKED ABOUT THEIR WORK AND DESCRIBE THE WORK.
AND, UM, AND SO AGAIN, I THINK IT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD DELAYED THIS FROM JANUARY AND THEN FROM FEBRUARY, THEN FROM MARCH, FROM BEGINNING OF MARCH TO END OF MARCH BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING WITH COVID AND THEN WITH THE WINTER STORM, BUT IT SEEMED LIKE WE FINALLY HAD A NICE WINDOW TO AT LEAST TRY TO SQUEEZE IN A CELEBRATION BEFORE WE ALL GET BACK TO WORK AND PUT OUR HEADS DOWN RIGHT.
BUT, UM, IT WAS A EXCITING AND THANKS TO ALL WHO KIND OF PARTICIPATED AND DEFINITELY THANKS TO THE GROUPS THAT WE HONORED, BECAUSE I'M JUST SO IMPACTFUL, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS JUST A SUBSET AGAIN, DON'T THINK THESE ARE THE ONLY GROUPS OUT THERE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY HARD TO PICK WHO TO RECOGNIZE, RIGHT, BECAUSE THEY'RE, THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY GROUPS THAT ARE OUT THERE HAVING AN IMPACT, BUT, UM, UM, I DO THINK BEING ABLE TO KIND OF BRING IN THE POLICE REFORM ELEMENT AND BRING IN THE CENSUS OUTREACH AGAIN, ALL OF WHICH JUST GET COMPLICATED BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, AND THE OTHER GROUPS OBVIOUSLY MORE HAD A FOCUS ON SORT OF THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE, BUT, UH, WE DO THANK EVERYONE, RIGHT.
WHO WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON CAN MAKE A, NOT PANDEMIC ISSUES ALIVE.
BUT THAT WAS, THAT WAS A FUN EVENT.
AND FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T GO YET, WE HAD A LITTLE MINI CONCERT WITH PATRICIA VAN, WHICH IS NEW FOR THE CAN THING WE NEVER HAD HAD LIVE MUSIC BEFORE.
[00:10:01]
MAYBE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL KEEP SOME OF THAT, UH, FOR FUTURE PERFORMANCE OR FOR FUTURE CELEBRATIONS.UM, NOW IN TERMS OF, UH, SOME OF OUR WORK PLAN ITEMS WHERE WE FINALLY HAVE ESTABLISHED IT'S CENTRAL TEXAS LANGUAGE ACCESS FUND AT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS, SO IT'S OFFICIALLY, UH, A VEHICLE WE CAN USE TO TRY TO, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, OBTAIN RESOURCES FOR OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS WORK THAT WE WANT TO DO.
UM, AND, UM, I GUESS I'VE BEEN ASKED A FEW TIMES, SO DOES THAT MEAN WE CAN SEND YOU STUFF TO TRANSLATE REVEL? AND I'M LIKE, NO, NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN TRANSLATION BUDGET, RIGHT? IF YOU'RE A, IF YOU'RE A RECIPIENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS, RIGHT? YOU HAVE A, YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, RIGHT.
TO PROVIDE YOUR INFORMATION TO, UH, IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL, UM, LANGUAGE SERVICES.
WHAT, WHAT THIS IS INTENDED RIGHT, IS TO KIND OF FACILITATE SORT OF THE ENGAGEMENT RIGHT BETWEEN SERVICE PROVIDERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, RIGHT.
SO IT'S, HOW DO WE CREATE THOSE TOOLS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, RIGHT.
WHO SPEAK LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH TO CONNECT WITH THE SERVICES AND THE SERVICE PROVIDERS MORE EFFECTIVELY, OF COURSE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRANSLATE A LOT OF STUFF.
BUT FOR ME, THAT ENGAGEMENT PART IS THE IMPORTANT PART THAT KIND OF DOESN'T EXIST RIGHT NOW.
SO THAT'S ONE THRUST OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO WANT TO TRY TO USE THE FUND TO DO.
AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS JUST FOR TRAINING PURPOSES, RIGHT.
TO HELP CAMP PARTNERS AND OTHERS, RIGHT.
LET'S SAY YOU USE, UM, YOUR STAFF TO SERVE AS INTERPRETERS THEN.
WELL, MAYBE WE CAN PROVIDE TRAINING FOR THOSE STAFF MEMBERS WHO AREN'T CERTIFIED INTERPRETERS TO, TO KNOW HOW TO DO A BETTER JOB.
LET'S TRAIN OTHER LOCAL FOLKS TO BECOME CERTIFIED INTERPRETERS, RIGHT.
AS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY.
SO THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THAT IDEAS.
UM, MOVING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY ADOPTED A BUDGET FOR THE FUND, RIGHT ALONG WITH THE CANNED BUDGET IN DECEMBER, WE ADOPTED THE BUDGET FOR THIS FUND.
AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, JUST FEEL FREE TO KIND OF REACH OUT.
I CAN LAY OUT A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HOW THAT WORKS AND WHAT ARE WE COMMITTED TO DO WITH THE FUNDING? WHERE ARE WE TO GET THE FUNDING RIGHT NOW, JUST AS AN INITIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM REVEL, BECAUSE WE NEEDED AN INITIAL CONTRIBUTION TO CREATE THE FUND.
BUT, UM, SO AGAIN, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SORT OF, UH, HOW WE CAN GET SOME RESOURCES AND, AND BUILD ON THE WORK WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.
NOW, THIS IS A LITTLE, LET ME SEE IF I CAN MINIMIZE THAT.
YOU KNOW, I KIND OF ALWAYS, AGAIN, I'M ONE OF THOSE WHO ALWAYS STEPS BACK TO LOOK AT KIND OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AND TRY TO PUT SOME CONTEXT IN TERMS OF WHY WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT.
OR WHAT IS, UM, WHAT DOES THIS SUGGEST ABOUT WHERE WE'RE HEADED? UM, AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, TO ME, THAT SURPRISES ME A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I BECAME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IS THAT ALMOST THE ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTION ABOUT KEN WAS IT'S THE DASHBOARD, RIGHT? SO NO MATTER WHAT THE QUESTION, RIGHT, THAT WAS THE ANSWER.
AND I'M LIKE, LIKE CLEARLY WE DO MORE THAN JUST THE DASHBOARD.
SO, UM, CAUSE YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE ENGAGEMENT AND THE CONVENING PART, BUT I THINK PART OF IT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE NEW TOOLS WE'VE CREATED, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE NEED TO PRIORITIZE ISSUES BASED ON DATA, ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT.
USING NEW TOOLS, MAINTAINING THE FOCUS ON RACIAL EQUITY.
SO YOU KIND OF SEE ON THAT CONTINUUM SORT OF HOW SOME OF THESE NEW TOOLS HELP US IN THOSE, IN, IN, IN, IN APPROACHING, RIGHT? THOSE KINDS OF THE KIND OF WORK WE DO IN THOSE AREAS.
SO THE RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK, WHICH REALLY INFORMS ALL THREE AREAS THAT WE CAN ATX AGAIN, WHICH JUST MEANT AS MORE OF A ENGAGEMENT TOOL.
SO LET'S THE PODCAST, RIGHT? THE PODCAST ITSELF IS CALLED GET ENGAGED, RIGHT? SO IT'S A PODCAST OF, YOU KNOW, THAT'S BASICALLY A COMMUNITY CALENDAR SAYING IF YOU WANT TO GET ENGAGED, HERE'S A FEW IDEAS THIS WEEK TO KIND OF GET PLUGGED IN.
AND THEN OF COURSE, LAST, UM, LAST YEAR WE ALSO LAUNCHED THE CENTRAL TEXAS COLLECTIVE FOR RACIAL EQUITY, YOU KNOW, AS A VEHICLE, RIGHT.
TO HAVE FOLKS COLLABORATE MORE SPECIFICALLY ON RACIAL EQUITY ISSUES.
NOW WHAT ISN'T REPRESENTED HERE, ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES ALONGSIDE THIS RIGHT, HAS ALWAYS HAS BEEN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OR SUPPORTING THE WORKFORCE PLAN.
AND REALLY, I THINK, UM, SORT OF THE NEXT STEP, ESPECIALLY AS WE GET INTO RECOVERY MODE FROM THE PANDEMIC IS LOOKING AT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR WORKFORCE PARTNERS AND EDGE EDUCATION AND HIGHER ED PARTNERS, BUT KIND OF LOOKING AT WORKFORCE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT
[00:15:01]
THESE THREE SORT OF TYPES OF WORK, LIKE PRIORITIZATION OF ISSUES BASED ON DATA, ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY AROUND THAT TOPIC, MAINTAINING A FOCUS ON RACIAL EQUITY.SO I DO THINK, UM, THAT'S GOING TO BE AN EMPHASIS GOING FORWARD IN ADDITION TO OBVIOUSLY A CONTINUATION OF, OF ARE THESE, THESE AREAS OF FOCUS WHERE WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OR SUPPORTING THE WORKFORCE PLAN IN THESE DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, CAUSE THE OTHER ONE GETS US INTO THE TUNA CONVERSATION, WHICH IS A WHOLE NOTHER CONVERSATION.
UM, SO, UH, SO ANYWAY, I'LL JUST OPEN IT UP A LITTLE BIT.
WE DO HAVE, UM, IF FOLKS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, SORT OF WHAT I'VE LAID OUT AND WHAT ELSE MIGHT BE IN STORE, RIGHT.
FOR, UH, FOR 2021, JUST A COMMENT ABOUT HOW FORTUNATELY I REACTED TO THE NEW FOCUS ON RACE, UM, IN MY LIFE, UM, I WENT THROUGH A PERIOD WHERE I WAS BLISSFULLY UNAWARE.
UM, WHEN IN MY YOUTH, MY MOM AND DAD PROTECTED US FROM EVERYTHING THAT WENT ON.
SO WE DIDN'T KNOW FOR EXAMPLE, WHY WE COULDN'T GO IN THE STORE AND TRY ON CLOTHES.
MOM WOULD KIND OF SIZE IT BY SORT OF EYEBALLING US.
UH, AND UH, THEN I WENT TO BED WHEN I WOKE UP AND I WAS AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON AND I KIND OF BLAMED EVERYTHING THAT WENT WRONG WITH ME WITH THAT.
AND THEN I PUT IT ASIDE AND I, UM, AND I WENT ON, I DECIDED THERE WAS TOO NEGATIVE AND TO THINK ABOUT, AND I WOULD JUST BASICALLY GO WITH SOMETHING MORE POSITIVE AND UNTIL I DID THAT AND UM, BUT ALL THIS TALK HAS GONE INTO REVISIT AND, UH, SO SENTENCES AND, AND SUMMARY, UH, IS SURFACING.
I HAVE TO ADMIT, UM, THE, I HAD WANTED TO GO TO UT FOR EXAMPLE.
AND, UM, I SCORED 90TH PERCENTILE IN THE ACT SCORES.
AND ACCORDING TO MY, UH, CULTURE, I WOULDN'T QUALIFY FOR UTI.
AND, UM, IT WAS JUST, UM, AND TO SEE OTHERS IN MY CLASS, I WENT TO A NUMBER UT WITH MUCH LOWER SCORES THAN I HAD GOTTEN ANOTHER AS OTHER HISPANICS HAD GOTTEN THERE IN COTULLA.
UM, IT JUST, UH, IT'S KINDA HARD TO DEAL WITH.
UM, AND AT MY AGE, I WOULDN'T THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD THINK AT THAT KIND OF ALL OVER WITH, BUT REALLY IT DOESN'T REALLY DIE.
IT KIND OF STAYS WITH YOU DEFINITELY GOT IT.
AND I THINK THAT'S A PART OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO ON THE RACE EQUITY PIECE IS KIND OF CREATE TOOLS FOR THAT CONTINUED EXPLORATION RIGHT.
AND GROWTH IN TERMS OF HOW WE VIEW RAISED AND HOW WE CAN ACT ON RIGHT.
UM, THE DIFFERENT BARRIERS THAT EXIST FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND, UM, SO I DO THINK IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, WE CREATED OUR EQUITY AND INCLUSION TOOLKIT, LIKE BEFORE I GOT EVEN HIRED.
SO KEN WAS ALREADY KIND OF FOCUSED IN, ON RACE EQUITY OR EQUITY AND INCLUSION AS A PRIORITY.
AND THEN WE'VE, UM, WE'VE KIND OF TRIED TO LOOK AT OUR DASHBOARD NOW THROUGH AN EQUITY LENS.
AND THEN FIGURE OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN APPROACH THE ISSUE BECAUSE AGAIN, THERE'S VERY COMPLEX SORT OF, UH, UH, ISSUE TO ADDRESS, RIGHT.
CAUSE THERE'S THE INDIVIDUAL GROWTH AND INDIVIDUAL CHANGE THAT HAS TO HAPPEN.
OUR ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO GROW AND THEY NEED TO CHANGE AND OUR SOCIETY NEEDS TO GROW AND IT NEEDS TO CHANGE.
SO, UM, SO PART OF IT IS KIND OF LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE WAYS THAT WE CAN SUPPORT WORK ON AN INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATION OR SORT OF COMMUNITY WIDE LEVEL.
AND I THINK SOME OF THE TOOLS THAT WE'VE CREATED REALLY KIND OF CAN BE APPLIED RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, IN THESE DIFFERENT INSTANCES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S USUALLY KIND OF THE DIRECTION I TRY TO GO IS HOW CAN WE CREATE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE APPLICABLE, YOU KNOW, IN DIFFERENT WAYS BY DIFFERENT GROUPS OR DIFFERENT, UH, ORGANIZATIONS.
SO, SO THANKS FOR SHARING THAT.
I KNOW, I KNOW A LOT OF FOLKS OBVIOUSLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RACE EQUITY STUFF IS RIGHT.
KIND OF FRONT AND CENTER BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF THE WINTER STORM.
AND NOT THAT IT WASN'T BEFORE.
BUT I DO THINK, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING AS WE COME FOCUS ON RECOVERY, RIGHT.
IS, IS THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, THE IMPACT OF THE WINTER STORM SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE DISPARATE IMPACTS ON PEOPLE OF COLOR OR CERTAIN ZIP CODES, RIGHT.
CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH THE DATA CLEARLY SHOWS, RIGHT.
THAT THERE'S A LACK OF ACCESS OR ADVERSE IMPACTS RIGHT.
[00:20:02]
UM, I DO THINK WE'RE ALL AWARE OF THAT, BUT WE'VE BEEN SEEING IT RIGHT.YOU KNOW, AND ACTUALLY PLAY OUT BEFORE OUR EYES OVER THE LAST 12 PLUS MONTHS.
AND, UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK THERE'S A LOT TO BE LEARNED AND, UH, WE CAN BRING BACK AGAIN, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE WAYS, UM, FOLKS ARE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT.
UM, CRISIS RESPONSE OR JUST SUPPORTING, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, MORE EFFECTIVELY SO THAT WE DON'T REPEAT SOME OF THESE, UM, SOME OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, ALARMING SORTS OF OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE NOT HAPPY WITH.
SO, UH, SO THANKS FOR THAT AGAIN, HAPPY TO, UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, EACH MEETING I'LL BRING BACK SOMETHING DIFFERENT, RIGHT.
TO LIKE THE, THE LANGUAGE ACCESS, FINE.
I MIGHT SPEND MORE TIME ON THAT OR HIGHLIGHT A DIFFERENT TOOL OR A DIFFERENT PROJECT OR PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE.
BUT, UM, BUT I WANTED TO KEEP IT BROAD TODAY SO THAT WE COULD DIVE INTO THE TUNA, THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE TUNA, WHICH IS A TEXAS UNIFORM UNINCORPORATED NONPROFIT ASSOCIATION ACT.
SO THAT'S WHAT I, WHEN I SAY TUNA, AND THAT'S TALKING ABOUT LUNCH AND TALKING ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES, SO DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING SUSHI, SUSHI? NO.
I JUST, I WANTED TO SAY, UM, UH, REALLY IN RESPONSE TO JUAN'S POINT ABOUT, UH, WHERE WE ARE AT THIS MOMENT.
I MEAN, I, I REALLY DO THINK THAT'S A STRENGTH OF CANDACE AND ORGANIZATION BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN SO ROOTED IN THE DATA AS WELL.
AND THE DATA SHOWS US, YOU KNOW, IF NOTHING ELSE, WE, WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE COMMITTED TO AS PEOPLE AS A GROUP, BUT THE DATA SHOW US, UM, THAT, THAT THIS IS THE TIME TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THOSE, TO THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO KUDOS TO, TO YOU GUYS THAT I WILL AND TEAM FOR, FOR MOVING US FORWARD ON BOTH THE LANGUAGE ACCESS AND THE RACE EQUITY FRAMEWORK.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO KUDOS TO LIKE ALL OF THOSE WHO WORKED ON THAT STRATEGIC PLAN THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT KIND OF RESPONSIVENESS AS WE, AS WE GO THROUGH MOMENTS AND TIMES LIKE THESE.
SO, YEAH, AND I DO THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LANGUAGE ACCESS RIGHT, IS KIND OF A SUBSET OF OUR FOCUS ON RACIAL EQUITY, RIGHT? BECAUSE I MEAN, DURING THE PANDEMIC, RIGHT, THERE'S A NEED TO GET INFO AND TO CONNECT WITH THESE COMMUNITIES THAT MIGHT BE MORE ISOLATED DURING THE WINTER STORM.
AGAIN, THAT WAS MAGNIFIED MANY TIMES OVER BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH TRAFFIC ABOUT, WE NEED INFORMATION AND THIS LANGUAGE AND THAT LANGUAGE WHO'S GOING TO TRANSLATE IT.
AND WHO ARE WE GOING TO GET IT TO? AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THE INFORMATION TO THE RIGHT HANDS? AND SO, SO PART OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS, IS CREATE A SYSTEM WHERE THAT KIND OF COMMUNICATION, RIGHT.
CAN, CAN HAPPEN MORE, MORE EASILY, RIGHT? AND MORE EFFECTIVELY, UM, IN TIMES OF CRISIS.
AND IN TIMES WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A CRISIS, BUT PEOPLE, THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP WHO WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE TO FIND HELP AND, UM, NEED TO NAVIGATE RIGHT.
SOME COMPLEX SYSTEMS THAT ARE, THAT, UH, THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO DO TO GET THEM THE SUPPORT THEY NEED.
SO, UM, SO AGAIN, APPRECIATE THAT THE SUPPORT, RIGHT.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE, THE LAST FEW YEARS, THOSE AREAS OF FOCUS AND PRIORITY, UM,
[Discussion & Possible Action: Establishing CAN as an Informal Association per the Texas Uniform Unincorporated Non-profit Association Act (TUUNAA)]
GOODNESS SHIFT TO THE, UM, UM, TALKING ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND SORT OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, UM, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THE PROCESS WE'RE TRYING TO BEGIN TODAY, RIGHT.TO BEGIN, UH, THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING CAN AS AN UNINCORPORATED NONPROFIT ASSOCIATION.
AND SO I KNOW THERE'S SOME FOLKS WHO WERE KIND OF NEW TO CAN.
SO, UM, AND EVEN FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH KEN FOR AWHILE DON'T KNOW THAT KEN, ISN'T, IT, ISN'T A FIVE OH ONE C THREE, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT INCORPORATED.
WE'RE NOT A NONPROFIT STANDALONE SORT OF ORGANIZATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE UNDER THE FISCAL UMBRELLA OF INTEGRAL CARE AND CAN STAFF ARE ACTUALLY STAFF OF INTEGRAL CARE AND WE RECEIVE BENEFITS.
UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY ALL THE HR SUPPORTS FROM INTEGRAL CARE AND THEY ALSO ACCEPT OR MANAGE OUR FUNDING AND DO ALL OF THE BACK OFFICE STUFF IN TERMS OF FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING.
AND, UM, AND BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE FOLLOW THEIR POLICY PROCEDURES OR OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
SO, UM, NOW WE DO HAVE OUR OWN BYLAWS, AS YOU MAY KNOW.
AND SO WE OPERATE UNDER THERE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THOSE, UH, THOSE PARAMETERS THAT DEFINE EMISSION AND THE STRUCTURE DECISION-MAKING, UM, BUT BECAUSE WE'RE NOT AS AN ACTUAL ENTITY, RIGHT.
PER STATE LAW, WE DON'T HAVE A WRITTEN AGREEMENT WITH INTEGRAL CARE THAT OUTLINES THE RELATIONSHIP.
UM, AND SO THAT'S, AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO RIGHT.
[00:25:01]
TO CAN, BUT ALSO THE FACT THAT THE FACT THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD TROUBLES NECESSARILY IN THAT RELATIONSHIP IS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD IN OVER 28 YEARS, WE'VE HAD THREE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, RIGHT.OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, IT HELPS WHEN YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, COMPETENT AND TRUSTWORTHY FOLKS RIGHT.
AND THAT WE'VE ONLY HAD JUST A SMALL NUMBER OF EDS, BUT I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE, WELL, YOU, SHOULDN'T JUST, YOU SHOULDN'T JUST REST ON THE FACT THAT, OR THE HOPE THAT YOUR, YOUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IS GOING TO BE A TRUSTWORTHY INDIVIDUAL, RIGHT.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE CHECKS AND THE BALANCES AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN PLACE.
AND, UM, SO I WANTED TO KIND OF SAY THAT BEFORE WE, BEFORE I JUMPED INTO WHAT THE TUNA, WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? UM, BUT, UM, BUT I DID WANT TO JUST KIND OF LAY THAT OUT AND, UM, GO BACK TO THIS POWERPOINT, GO AHEAD, JIMMY, JIMMY, AND I JUST WANT TO REMIND FOLKS, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD THE TUNA CONVERSATION.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE TUNE, THE CONVERSATION, IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A WHILE.
UH, YOU KNOW, DURING 2020, THAT WAS THE THING I MOST WANTED TO GET DONE.
IF MY, IF MY ONE YEAR AT THE HELM AND THE PANDEMIC VERY MUCH DISTRACTED OUR ABILITY TO DO SO.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, RURAL, I THINK YOU CAN, YOU CAN EXPEDITE YOUR CONVERSATION, UH, BECAUSE I THINK ALMOST EVERYONE IN THE CALL NOW HAS BEEN A PART OF THESE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE NEED FOR, AND THE VALUE OF, AND WE'RE REALLY AT THE END OF THE DOTTING, THE I'S AND CROSSING OF THE T'S.
AND SO I'M REALLY EXCITED AND THANKFUL TO YOU ROLE ON YOUR TEAM AND, UH, DAVID AND INTEGRAL INTEGRAL CARE AND ALL OF THE, THE, THE, THE PHALANX OF LAWYERS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED TO TRY AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS ALL MAKES SENSE, UH, BECAUSE I FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE ARE HERE AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS.
AND JUST TO, TO, UH, UH, MAYBE PIGGYBACK ON WHAT JIMMY WAS SAYING, UM, I'M APPRECIATIVE TO PATRICIA AND JIMMY FOR GETTING THIS WHOLE PROCESS STARTED WITH RAUL, WITH DAVID, UM, AND JUST MOVING THIS FORWARD.
AND YES, WE HAVE BEEN HAVING ONGOING CONVERSATIONS, UM, TO BE CLEAR, RAUL AND TEAM HAVE TALKED WITH, UH, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, UM, AT LEAST A COUPLE OF TIMES IN 2020 ABOUT THE TUNA.
IT DIDN'T COME TO THE BOARD BECAUSE WE WERE ALL, UM, INVOLVED IN PANDEMIC RESPONSE.
AND SO IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD IT IN THIS BOARD MEETING, UM, THAT IS WHY, BUT YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
TO, TO AGREE WITH JIMMY, THIS HAS BEEN, UH, UH, A LONG TIME COMING FOR THE CAMP OR THE, THE TUNA AND THE CAN, RIGHT.
SO, UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
UM, BUT I WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION BEFORE, OH MY GOSH.
I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNEW THAT I WAS GOING TO GO WITH THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR.
UM, BUT I WANT TO PASS IT TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.
I WOULD ALSO LOVE FOR DAVID EVANS TO, UM, TO GIVE US HIS COMMENTS ALSO ABOUT THIS PROCESS, BECAUSE HE'S BEEN A PART OF THIS THE ENTIRE, THE ENTIRE TIME.
WELL, I MEAN, I'LL LET I'LL HAND, I'LL GIVE DAVID A CHANCE BEFORE WE KIND OF GO INTO THE MORE, UH, UM, WHATEVER, ALL THE DIFFERENT MOVING PIECES OF ACTUALLY KIND OF CREATING THE ASSOCIATION.
BUT, UM, UM, BUT WE'VE DONE IT KIND OF WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH, UM, WITH INTEGRAL CARE STAFF.
SO THANK YOU TO INTEGRAL CARE, YOU KNOW, THE GENERAL COUNCIL AND OTHER FOLKS, UM, DAVID WIEDEN'S BEEN INVOLVED AND OTHER FOLKS, UM, AND WE REALLY, UM, AGAIN, HAD TO, UM, WE HAVE OUTSIDE COUNSEL TOO, RIGHT? SO WE'VE HAD OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR, UM, UH, OUTSIDE COUNSEL ADVISING US, YOU KNOW, ALONG THE WAY.
BUT, UM, UH, AND I'LL TALK THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF SORT OF WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DO WE NEED TO EXECUTE GOING FORWARD? YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO TACKLE ONE SMALL PART OF IT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THIS MEETING, BUT I DID WANT TO GIVE DAVID A CHANCE TO SAY A COUPLE OF THINGS, IF YOU WANTED TO AHEAD OF TIME, OR YOU CAN, YOU CAN SPEAK AT THE END TOO, IF THAT'S YOUR PREFERENCE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION, AND IF YOU TAKE A STRENGTH BASED APPROACH, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO PICK UP THE BACK ROOM, UH, AFTER THE UNITED WAY, UH, PROVIDED THIS, UH, SERVICE FOR A YEAR TO GET US STARTED.
AND SO I THINK THIS IS A MATURING OF THE ORGANIZATION WHILE WE'RE COMPLETELY ON BOARD.
AND, UH, THANK YOU, RACHEL, FOR YOUR DILIGENCE AND, UH, STAYING AT IT.
WE WON'T GET INTO IT TODAY, BUT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REVIEWED WHY THIS, UM, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL TYPE, WHY NOT JUST SIMPLY A FIVE OH ONE C3? SO THERE ARE SOME, SOME OTHER HISTORY I WON'T GET INTO, BUT IS, UH, ALLOWING, UH, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AGENCIES TO REALLY WORK TOGETHER WITHOUT VIOLATING A GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY, UM, UM,
[00:30:02]
WHAT, UH, LIMITATIONS IN ANY DISILLUSION POLICIES AND OTHER TECHNICAL ASPECTS, SO RIGHT.AND, UH, I THINK WE'LL SEE THAT THERE'LL BE, UH, UM, SOME LEVERAGED OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE OF, UH, THE COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK BECOMING A FREESTANDING ORGANIZATION.
AND, UH, THIS IS A STEP IN THAT DIRECTION AS WE'VE DISCUSSED, UH, THIS CURRENT AGREEMENT GOING FORWARD, IT'S GOING TO BUILD ON WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, BUT IT'S ALSO GOING TO ALLOW FOR SOME NEXT INCREMENTAL STEPS.
AND IF ANYBODY CALLS ON ME, I'D BE HAPPY TO, UH, SPEAK ON ANY ANCIENT HISTORY, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH ANCIENT.
AND I THINK, UH, WELL, THANK YOU, DAVID.
AGAIN, YOU ALL HAVE BEEN GREAT PARTNERS.
UH, JUST OBVIOUSLY WHEN, BEFORE, WHEN I WAS A BOARD MEMBER, AS WELL AS NOW, WHEN, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS A STAFF MEMBER AND, UM, YOU JUST HAVE FABULOUS, UH, ORGANIZATION AND TEAM OVER THERE, WE'VE BEEN, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE THAT CAN JUST BE ABLE TO BE MORE, UM, ENGAGED WITH INTEGRAL CARE IN THIS WAY, YOU KNOW, THIS UNIQUE WAY.
SO THERE'S, SOME OF THIS IS A WHATEVER ALREADY DISCUSSED, UM, GIVEN THAT WE'VE OPERATED UNDER THE FISCAL UMBRELLA OF INTEGRAL CARE FOR OVER 25 YEARS AND INTEGRAL CARE HAS DONE A GREAT SERVICE FOR CAN, RIGHT.
UM, BUT IT'S AN IDEAL SITUATION, RIGHT? THE INTENTION, YOU KNOW, FOR DOING THE TUNA RIGHT, IS TO FORMALIZE THE RELATIONSHIP, RIGHT.
UM, YOU KNOW, BY HAVING A WRITTEN AGREEMENT RIGHT BETWEEN PARTIES.
UM, BUT WE FIRST NEED TO CREATE THE, THE ASSOCIATION FROM, UM, FORMALLY IT ADDRESSES SOME LIABILITY ISSUES ON BOTH SIDES FOR KEN AND FOR INTEGRAL CARE, WHICH I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, IT EASES ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS FOR BOTH PARTIES CAN ADD INTEGRAL CARE CAUSE SOME, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME SIMPLE STUFF, YOU KNOW, I STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND MAKE SURE INTEGRAL CARE, UM, FOLKS THAT ARE INVOLVED WITH THE DECISION, YOU KNOW, KNOW AND ARE OKAY WITH WHATEVER WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
SO, UM, SO THAT IS ELIMINATED.
AND THEN FINALLY WE HAVE MORE AND FISCAL INDEPENDENCE, UM, AGAIN, SO, YOU KNOW, AS A THREE, AS A THREE OR FOUR STAFF, UM, ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, WE CAN BE A LITTLE MORE NIMBLE, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, AND, AND WHEREAS INTEGRAL CARE HAS, HAS A LOT OF OTHER, UH, FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN, IN THE WAY IT OPERATES IN THE WAY IT, IT MOVES FORWARD IN ITS DECISION-MAKING.
THAT IS, UM, THERE IS A BACKGROUND DOCUMENT IN THE SHARED DRIVE AND MAYBE GELINA, IF YOU CAN SHARE THE LINK TO THE TUNA FOLDER, RIGHT.
THERE'S FOUR OR FIVE DOCUMENTS THERE.
AND ONE KIND OF SUMMARIZES THE HISTORY OF WHY WE'RE DOING THIS AND, AND, AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH AS I JUST, YOU KNOW, LAID OUT.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A SUMMARY OF WHAT IS A TUNA AND WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION SORT OF IN THE CODE, UM, THE TEXAS STATUTES, WHICH IS UNDER THE TEXAS BUSINESS ORGANIZATION CODE, NOT THE NONPROFIT CODE NONPROFIT CORPORATION.
AND, UM, SO THAT IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AND WE DO HAVE, UM, AGAIN, A COUPLE OF MEMOS SUMMARIZING SORT OF THE TUNAS, UH, UH, HOW THEY WORK AND, YOU KNOW, UM, AN A BIT OF A Q AND A ON THOSE, IF YOU WANT US TO SHARE THOSE IN THE FUTURE, HAPPY TO KIND OF SEND THOSE TO YOU.
AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN IN TERMS OF LIABILITY? UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO SORT OF HOW NONPROFITS OPERATE, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENCES, UM, IN TERMS OF LIABILITY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, BOARD LIABILITY, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT AUTOMATIC, YOU HAVE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU HAVE TO ADOPT A POLICY, RIGHT.
SORT OF THAT, THAT STIPULATES, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD MEMBERS AREN'T LIABLE, AND THEN YOU CAN HAVE YOUR INSURANCE AS A RESULT OF HAVING THAT POLICY AND THEN VOLUNTEER LIABILITY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
SO AGAIN, THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF, OF THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM LIKE A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION PER STATE LAW.
NOW, THE ACTUAL ASSOCIATION, WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT, RIGHT? THAT'S THE DOCUMENT THAT CREATES THE, THE TUNA, RIGHT.
AND SO IT'S REALLY LIKE A PAGE AND A HALF DOCUMENT THAT OUTLINES THE PURPOSE POWERS PARTICIPATION RIGHT.
HOW DO YOU BECOME A MEMBER? WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES, UM, THAT YOU MAY HAVE, YOU HAVE,
[00:35:01]
YOU CAN HAVE THIS PICKLES, FISCAL SPONSOR, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT, BUT YOU CAN.AND IN THIS CASE, WE NAME INTEGRAL CARE IS, UH, INITIALLY SERVING IN THAT FISCAL SPONSORSHIP ROLE.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS WITH AMENDMENTS AND DISILLUSION OF THE DOOR OF THE ASSOCIATION.
AND AGAIN, SO IT REALLY, YOU KNOW, THIS WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF A NONPROFIT, RIGHT? SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THE COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT IS SORT OF THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S IN THAT SHARED FOLDER.
AND WE, UM, AND WE DO HAVE, WE DO SHOW FIVE FOLKS SIGNING AS, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, TO CREATE THE ASSOCIATION.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ONE OF THE ATTACHMENTS, WE'LL INCLUDE A MEMBER AGREEMENT FROM EACH CANNED PARTNER.
AND SO ESSENTIALLY ANYBODY WHO'S, YOU KNOW, HAS A SIGNED FORM THAT'S ATTACHED TO THE COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT IS BASICALLY IT HAS, IT'S LIKE ASSIGNING ASSIGNING MEMBER.
AND SO REALLY TODAY AGAIN, CAUSE WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH MAYBE AND APPROVE ONE OF THESE, UM, UM, EACH TIME MAYBE, UM, DEPENDING ON HOW OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WANTS TO PROCEED, UH, IN TERMS OF FINAL APPROVAL, BUT TODAY WHAT WE WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO.
AND, UM, AND IT'S IN THAT SHARED FOLDER AS WELL.
AND IT SAYS MEMBER AGREEMENT, IT IS ONE OF THE ATTACHMENTS.
SO IT'S ALSO PART OF THE BIGGER PACKET, BUT I WANTED TO PULL IT OUT.
SO IF YOU WANT HER TO JUST SEE THAT ONE PAGER, YOU WOULD KNOW WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, INFORMING THE TUNA, THE, A NONPROFIT ASSOCIATION I'LL HAVE TO HAVE EACH CANNED PARTNER SIGNED THE MEMBER AGREEMENT.
AND THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY OF WHAT'S THERE.
I MEAN, THERE'S SOME LEGAL EASE ON TOP OF THIS, BUT, UH, BUT BASICALLY, UM, LIKE I SAID, THE FOUR OF YOU SIGN THE, THE FORM, THEN IT'S LIKE YOUR INITIAL SIGNATORY TO THE, TO THE AGREEMENT.
YOU AGREE TO DESIGNATE A PROXY.
I MEAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN A PROXY AND A 10 70% OF THE BOARD MEETINGS TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL OR IN KIND SUPPORT TO THE ASSOCIATION IN SUPPORT OF THE PURPOSE.
UM, THERE IS A LINE WHERE WE STIPULATE THE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT AND THAT OBVIOUSLY THAT'S SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON YOUR, YOUR BUDGETING PROCESSES, UM, PARTICIPATE IN ACTIVITIES OF THE ASSOCIATION AND, UM, AND RECOGNIZE AGAIN THAT THE INITIALLY THE, THE ORGANIZATION WILL OPERATE, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP OF INTEGRAL CARE.
SO IT'S, IT'S PRETTY BIG, IT'S PRETTY BASIC, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF PARTNERS.
SO IT'LL TAKE AWHILE FOR ME TO SEND YOU THE FORM AND SAY, SEND IT THROUGH YOUR PROCESS, RIGHT.
UM, AND REALLY BEFORE WE FORMALLY CREATE THE ASSOCIATION, RIGHT, WE'LL, WE'LL GET ALL THE MEMBERS TO AGREE OR TO SIGN THAT MEMBER AGREEMENT.
AND THEN THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE OBVIOUSLY TO FORM THE ASSOCIATION.
UM, BUT THAT'S REALLY, UH, WHAT I WANTED TO GET THE MOST FEEDBACK ON RED IS THAT MEMBER AGREEMENT.
CAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE FROM ME.
AS I SAY, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO FORM US AS A NONPROFIT ASSOCIATION AND HERE'S THE MEMBER AGREEMENT, AND YOU MAY HAVE TO TAKE IT TO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE RIGHT, THE HIGHER UPS OR THE LEGAL COUNCIL OR ELSEWHERE, RIGHT.
TO GET THE APPROVALS AND ROLL.
I WANT TO BE REALLY CLEAR THAT WE'RE NOT TAKING ANY ACTION.
NOW WE ARE, WE ARE COGNIZANT THAT EVERYBODY HAS A DIFFERENT MEANS BY WHAT PARTNER, YOU KNOW, THE, THE IDEA OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS, UH, IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERY ORGANIZATION.
AND SO IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING TOO, THAT I WILL IN TEAM WILL BE AVAILABLE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE, WITH YOUR, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER IT IS AT YOUR ORGANIZATION OR YOUR STAKEHOLDERS IN CASE THERE ARE QUESTIONS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE, UM, WE ARE JUST CELEBRATING AND THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS, JIMMY AND DAVID, AND ALL WHO HAVE BEEN CHAMPIONING THIS FOR, FOR PROBABLY FOUR YEARS NOW.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION THAT MAYBE HAS BEEN ALREADY BEEN ENTERED AT A MEETING ON THIS? UM, WHAT'S THE, CAN YOU NAME LIKE THE TOP THREE OR FOUR, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BE AWARE OF THAT, THAT ARE ALREADY OUT THERE DOING THIS, THIS STRUCTURE? I MEAN, I KNOW THAT DAVID'S AWARE.
I MEAN, IT'S BEEN, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY, BUT I KNOW DAVID HAS SHARED A FEW EXAMPLES OF, OF, UH, OTHER TUNERS, RIGHT.
THAT THEY'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S SPECIFIC TO ANY PARTICULAR INDUSTRY.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW, DAVID, IF YOU COULD SHARE SOMETHING CAUSE I DON'T, I DON'T.
[00:40:01]
VERY BRIEFLY, THIS WAS BORN OUT OF AN IDEA WHERE IN THE DALLAS AREA PARKLAND AND SOME OF THE PUBLIC HOSPITALS WANTED TO GET TOGETHER WITH SOME OF THE PRIVATE HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS, OTHER FOR PROFIT HOSPITALS, AND THEN HANDLE MEDICAID AS AN ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATION, WHEREAS, OR AS AN MCO.THERE WAS NO VEHICLE TO DO IT BECAUSE THE ISSUE WOULD BE, UM, HOW DOES GOVERNMENT, UH, HAVE FUNDS THAT THEY CAN ACCOUNT FOR IF SOMEHOW THEY WERE LOST IN A LARGER COLLABORATION.
SO IS THIS A UNIQUELY TEXAS SOLUTION? AND IT WAS ORIGINALLY DONE TO HANDLE COLLABORATIVELY PRIVATE MANAGEMENT OF MEDICAID IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, TH THIS, UH, IDEA HAS BEEN USED TO FORM THE HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE.
SO ST DAVID'S FOUND FOUNDATIONS, UM, THAT'S OUT RIGHT ST DAVID'S FOUNDATION, SETON, THE MED SCHOOL, UH, OURSELVES, UH, ARE ABLE TO, UM, MANAGE FUNDS, STAFF AND TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THAT KIND OF AN ARRANGEMENT.
UH, ONE WOULD KNOW THIS BETTER THAN I DO, BUT I THINK THAT THE SEAT, UM, UH, CENTRAL HEALTH, UH, COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE, THE CCC WAS STRUCTURED ON A, UH, TUNA, UM, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL, UM, WORK.
SO IT HAS BEEN USED IN DIFFERENT WAYS HERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND EVEN THOUGH THE WORD IS A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE, THE DESIGN FEATURES ALLOW FOR THINGS THAT I THINK WE WOULD WANT AS AN ORGANIZATION.
AS WE GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY WITH ALL OF THIS LOOK GOING TO PARTNERS AND THINGS, WOULD IT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE THOSE LOGOS SOMEPLACE IN THE, IN THE MEMPHIS, IN THE MEMO OR IN THE DOCUMENT THAT SAYS WELCOME TO TUNA LAND OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THAT'S, IF IT'S ALL THE OTHER FOLKS THAT ARE ALREADY TUNAS AND THEY ARE JOKING ABOUT THE TUNA LANDS, YOU KNOW, WE FOCUSED ON THE, UM, WE FOCUSED ON THE TITLE OF THIS PARTICULAR KIND OF, UH, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.
I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THAT MYSELF.
I THINK THEY CARE THAT WE'RE EFFECTIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE.
SO I CAN SEE IF YOU WOULD HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOUR BOARD, WHY IT WOULD BE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'D WANT THE MATERIALS THAT A REBEL HANDED OUT.
BUT, UM, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY A D A LITTLE BIT DIVERSION DIVERSIONARY, WHAT GETS OUR ATTENTION OFF THE, OFF THE, UM, THE MISSION TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON IT.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE APPROACH NON-PROFITS OR OTHER FOLKS UNDER FOR A PARTNERSHIP OR WRITTEN, DOCUMENTED, EXECUTED PARTNERSHIP, UM, THAT THE BOARDS AND THE CEOS AND EVERYBODY, THEY HAVE TO VOTE ON THOSE THINGS AND KNOW IT'S SAFE.
AND I THINK WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF INFORMATIONAL THINGS WE CAN STAND ALONG WITH IT, YOU KNOW, NECESSARY.
UM, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE TOOL IS THAT IT GIVES YOU MORE FLEXIBILITY, RIGHT.
THEN IF YOU GO DOWN THE ROAD OF LET'S CREATE A FIVE OH ONE C THREE, OR TOTALLY MAKES SENSE, AND I'M NOT POKING AT IT AT ALL.
I JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE SALE OF IT VERY EASILY.
WHEN WE WALK INTO PARTNER POTENTIAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, AND WE MAY WANT TO WORK ON SOME COMMON LANGUAGE SO THAT WE CAN DO THAT WHEN WE, WHEN WE'RE TALKING WITH PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL.
AND WE'LL, WE'LL KIND OF STREAMLINE SORT OF THE MATERIAL, BECAUSE AGAIN, AT THIS POINT, IT'S THE MEMBER AGREEMENT, BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I KNOW WE KNOW SOME, SOMEBODY YOU WERE GOING TO WANT TO GO IN AND LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT DOES THE COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT SAY AND WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE ALL THE PARTS RIGHT.
THAT, THAT ARE ATTACHED TO IT.
UM, BUT I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S BASICALLY AN AGREEMENT, RIGHT.
TO COLLABORATE, RIGHT? SO INSTEAD OF AN AGREEMENT TO CREATE A NONPROFIT, WHICH AGAIN MIGHT BE A DIFFERENT SELL, RIGHT.
FOR YOU AS AN ORGANIZATION, RIGHT.
IS TO ACTUALLY CREATE A NONPROFIT, IS WE AGREE TO WORK TOGETHER SORT OF IN THIS WAY, UM, WITH THESE PARAMETERS.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, LIKE THE WHOLE IDEA OF HAVING, FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T USUALLY SEE THAT RIGHT.
UM, SO I DO THINK THERE'S, UM, THERE'S, I THINK SOME FLEXIBILITY IN HERE IN TERMS OF HOW YOU DEFINE THE STRUCTURE AND THE PROCESSES AND THE WAY THINGS WORK, AND ALSO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD THE DEBATE ABOUT FIVE OH ONE C THREE OR NOT RIGHT FOR A LONG TIME.
BUT PART OF THE REASON WE HAVEN'T WANTED TO DO FIVE OH ONE C3 IS, CAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE THAT SENSE
[00:45:01]
OF WE'RE COMPETING WITH OTHER NONPROFITS FOR FUNDING.CAUSE IT'S, WE'RE MAKING MAINLY FUNDED THROUGH PARTNER INVESTMENTS, WHICH IS MORE OF A MEMBERSHIP SORT OF A PROCESS.
SO AGAIN, WE DON'T DO A LOT OF FUNDRAISING OR ANY FUNDRAISING RIGHT.
WHERE WE HAVE TO MAKE THE, THE CONTRIBUTIONS TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY THIS KIND OF INFORMAL STRUCTURE SEEMS A LITTLE MORE, UM, MORE USEFUL.
UM, AND IT, UM, FOR ME, I THINK IT'S THE FLEXIBILITY, RIGHT? THAT, THAT, THAT REALLY IS, IS, UH, ALLOWS, CAN TO DO THINGS, UH, IN THE WAY IT HAS BEEN RIGHT.
AND SO I DO THINK THAT THAT'S, UM, SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO, TO CONSIDER, BUT WE'LL TRY TO DO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, SUMMARIZE THE TALKING POINTS MORE EASILY AND, AND TRY TO FIND SORT OF, UM, THE RIGHT TOOLS THAT MAKE EVERYONE, UM, UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT'S USED AND, UM, AND THAT'S SAFE.
AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT, UM, ALL OF THIS, UH, BACKGROUND INFORMATION IS INTENDED TO SHOW, WELL, BASICALLY THE AGREEMENT SAYS WE'RE GOING TO OPERATE BY OUR BYLAWS, RIGHT.
SO, WHICH MEANS WHAT, WE'RE NOT GOING TO REALLY CHANGE ALMOST ANYTHING IN TERMS OF THE WAY WE OPERATE, BECAUSE AN ATTACHMENT TO THE COLLABORATION AGREEMENT IS OUR EXISTING BYLAWS, WHICH MEANS WE'RE JUST GOING TO CONTINUE OPERATING THE WAY WE ARE CURRENTLY.
AND SO, UM, SO WE'LL TRY TO LAY THAT OUT MORE CLEARLY, AND THAT'S IN 40 PAGES WORTH OF STUFF.
BUT JUST KNOW IT'S AVAILABLE IF YOU, OR YOUR LEGAL COUNSEL WANTS TO LOOK AT IT, OR, UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I THINK WE HAVE JUST, JUST A FEW MINUTES AND I DON'T SEE OUR PRESENTERS YET, SO YEAH.
WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME FOR, FOR THE CONVERSATION.
THERE SHE IS, HAD TO MAKE A MARGARITA RUN.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR JIMMY, IS IT, YOU WANT TO TAKE A VICTORY LAP? CAUSE WE HAVE WE'RE, WE'RE ALL RESERVING ALL VICTORY LAPS ON ALL ITEMS UNTIL WE CAN BE A PERSON IT'S JUST GOING TO BE PARTY CENTRAL ACROSS ALL OF THE THINGS WE ALL DO AND ALL THE LITTLE SUCCESSES WE'VE HAD WE'LL PARTY LATER THIS YEAR.
SO CON CONGA LINES AND EVERYTHING, RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, BUT I DO WANT TO GET, I DON'T SEE OUR PRESENTERS YET, SO I DID WANT TO JUST RECOGNIZE A FEW OF, UH, THE NEW, UH, POINT APPOINTEES TO THE BOARD FROM MY PARTNERS.
UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, AMY FROM ST.
DAVID'S, UM, AND JOANNE FROM CAP METRO.
HELLO, ROSEMARY HAD BEEN ON, BUT IF, EITHER OF YOU WANTS TO SAY HELLO OR JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELVES.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE TIME BEFORE OUR PRESENTERS GET HERE, WHICH IS A LITTLE CLOSER TO TWO O'CLOCK I'LL GO AHEAD.
UM, I'M A SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER AT ST.
AND IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE WITH YOU ALL TODAY.
I AM AN INTERIM APPOINTMENT TO THE, UM, CANNED BOARD AS WE, UM, LOOK TO HIRE A NEW VP OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS.
SO I'LL BE HERE WITH Y'ALL ON AN INTERIM BASIS, AND I OVERSEE OUR CLINIC SCHOOL AREA WHERE WE TRY TO, UM, HELP, UM, CLINICS AND HEALTH PROVIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY TRANSITION TO BE COMMUNITY HUBS FOR HEALTH.
I'M JOANNA FACE WITH CAP METRO AS A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR AND AM TAKING OVER FOR JACKIE NIERENBERG, WHO HAS BEEN WONDERFULLY AND DESERVEDLY PROMOTED TO A DIRECTOR COMMITTEE ENGAGEMENT FOR OUR ATP.
UM, SO I WILL BE STEPPING IN AND BEING A PART OF THIS GROUP WAS FANTASTIC.
CAUSE I KNOW MANY OF Y'ALL FROM DIFFERENT GROUPS, SO THIS IS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH.
WONDERFUL AND RESUME YOU'VE BEEN HERE, BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO, TO, UH, STICK ONE OFFICE ON BEHALF OF MAYOR PRO TEM HARBOR MADISON, I'M JUST HERE TO LISTEN AND LEARN AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR HAVING ME.
I DO THINK IT'S, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, EXCITING TIME.
I MEAN, THERE'S SOME VERY EXCITING CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING AND I KNOW A LOT OF FOLKS ARE IN ON THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
I WILL KIND OF NOTE THAT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, UM, IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE, I THINK, UH, SUCHI AND TAMRA ARE ON THE AES CD OR AEDC WHAT IS THAT? CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THAT IS? IT'S AC IT'S AC DC.
WHY DON'T YOU, UH, LET US KNOW.
[00:50:01]
GIVE THE OVERVIEW.UH, WELL WE OFFICIALLY GET OUR FIRST MEETING AND ORIENTATION ON MONDAY.
UM, IT IS IT AEDC IS THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL NEWLY FORMED, I BELIEVE 23, 23 BOARD MEMBERS WHO CHOOSE THAT CORRECT.
UH, JIMMY MAY BE ABLE EVEN TO SHARE, UH, BETTER THAN I CAN ABOUT THE BACKGROUND ON THIS.
I'M, UH, REALLY EXCITED LOOK AT BEING PART OF A BOARD, UH, FOR MY PART REPRESENTING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TO REALLY HELP LOOK AT HOW WE CAN LEVERAGE THE, THE HARNESS, THE POWER OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR TO CONTINUE TO BRING REALLY POSITIVE CHANGE, UH, IN OUR CULTURAL ARTS, IN OUR COMMUNITY LAND DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER TYPES OF ISSUES THAT ARE IMPACTING AUSTIN CURRENTLY IN, INTO THE FUTURE.
UH, THE SPECIFICS, UH, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T TALK ABOUT YET AND PROBABLY CAN'T TALK ABOUT, UM, UH, DUE TO CONFIDENTIALITY, BUT NONETHELESS, JUST REALLY HONORED TO HAVE BEEN, UH, NOMINATED AND APPOINTED TO THIS COUNCIL WHILE Y'ALL HAVE A, Y'ALL HAVE A BIG BOARD, BUT I'M LIKE, MY BOARD IS EVEN BIGGER.
SO THE, THE IT'S IT'S THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
IT IS, IT IS ONE OF THOSE, UH, LITTLE QUASI GOVERNMENTAL THINGS THAT THE CITY IS ALLOWED TO SPIN OFF AS A SEPARATE ENTITY, UH, UNDER STATE LAW.
AND, UM, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS CREATED IN 2019, ORIGINALLY CREATED BY THE COUNCIL.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO WROTE THEIR RESOLUTION, BUT I KNOW THE WHOLE COUNCIL WAS VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
MYSELF INCLUDED THE, THE MAIN AREAS THAT I THINK THIS IS NOW PRIVATE CITIZENS, JIMMY FLANAGAN'S OPINION, BUT THE, THE MAIN AREAS THAT I THINK IT CAN REALLY PROVIDE VALUE IS IN HOUSING AND FINDING WAYS TO LEVERAGE THE ECONOMIC SUCCESS OF THIS REGION, NOT JUST TO THE BENEFIT OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS, BUT ALSO TO THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC.
UH, THERE'S ALSO SOME WORK I KNOW IT'S GOING TO DO AROUND CULTURAL PRESERVATION AND I DON'T MEAN NECESSARILY THOSE BUILDING PRESERVATION, BUT MORE THE, YOU KNOW, CAN WE GET VENUES? CAN WE GET SPACES THAT FOLKS WHO ARE CREATING CULTURE AND SUPPORTING CULTURE CAN, CAN CONTINUE TO EXIST MAYBE WITH SOME PUBLIC PROTECTION OUTSIDE OF THE ECONOMIC PRESSURES THAT WE KNOW ARE ON THOSE VENUES? UM, IT IS SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF CITIES IN TEXAS DO, BUT, BUT, UH, SMALLER CITIES THAT HAVE THESE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS ARE TYPICALLY FUNDED THROUGH SALES TAX, LARGE CITIES LIKE AUSTIN HAVE TO FIND OTHER SOURCES OF REVENUE.
IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IT'S GOING TO MAGICALLY DO.
THINGS LIKE SMALLER COMMUNITIES CAN DO WITH EDCS.
I ALSO AM STILL THE VICE CHAIR OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD THROUGH CAP COX.
SO I'M VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT THE ADC IS UP TO AND I, AND I STILL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL ON THESE ISSUES.
WELL, I APPRECIATE BOTH OF Y'ALL FOR SPEAKING TO THAT.
AND I, I SIT ON THIS BOARD IN THE HIGHER ED IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION SPOT, SO I'M AM GRATEFUL AND HONORED AND EXCITED TO SEE WHAT KIND OF CONVERSATIONS MOVE FORWARD.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO, UM, WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER POINT THIS, TO THIS CALL.
AND THEN I SEE SOMEBODY HAS JOINED, UM, FROM IPAD, IPAD THREE.
I'M USUALLY, UH, ERIC CARTER, BUT TODAY ON MY THREE, I LOVE IT.
WE WELCOME YOU AND ARE SO EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU IN JUST A MOMENT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, UM, A LOT OF, UH, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, JUST PROBABLY YOU AND PART OF DOING THE TUNA PART, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, RIGHT.
ALL THESE ARE JUST CREATING TOOLS THAT ALLOW YOU TO MORE EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS COMMUNITY NEEDS.
THEY, THEY PROVIDE SOME MEASURE OF FLEXIBILITY, RIGHT.
UM, SO I DO APPRECIATE, AGAIN, THAT, THAT WAS A LOT OF THE CONVERSATION AROUND AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, RIGHT? NOT JUST ABOUT FORMALIZING, SORT OF WHAT WE DO, BUT ALSO CREATING A VEHICLE WHERE WE CAN, UM, BE MORE NIMBLE, RIGHT.
AND BE MORE FLEXIBLE IN OUR APPROACH TO THINGS.
UM, AND, UM, I THINK THAT AS WE GO FORWARD AND SHIFT TO RECOVERY MODE, CAUSE WE'RE STILL IN RESPONSE MODE, RIGHT.
TO THE PANDEMIC AND THE HEALTH AND ECONOMIC SORT OF FALLOUT, UM, IS THAT WE'RE GONNA WANT TO LOOK AT THIS IDEA OF CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT.
AND THE WAY WE DO THINGS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MORE EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS ISSUES THAT EMERGE, YOU KNOW, IN A MORE TIMELY FASHION, RIGHT.
UM, SO FOR ME, I IT'S, IT'S A BIT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT MECHANISMS THAT WE'RE CREATING, I THINK ARE GOING TO ALLOW US TO BETTER ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS AND BECOME STRONGER BECAUSE OF THAT
[00:55:01]
INFRASTRUCTURE WE'RE CREATING.SO, SO THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR SUPPORTING WHAT IS TRYING TO DO, YOU KNOW, THE LITTLE PIECE WE HAVE, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S FOLKS HERE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS LIKE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THE PROJECT CONNECT PROCESS, ALL OF WHICH ARE VERY EXCITING.
UM, AND SO WE'LL JUST, UM, AGAIN, I THINK I KNOW WE'RE ALL GONNA, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR REGIONAL SUMMIT IN THE FALL.
SO I THINK AGAIN, THAT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT MECHANISM BY WHICH TO, UH, UH, TO WORK TOGETHER AND THINK THROUGH SOME OF THESE WAYS OF FOLLOWING UP TO THESE, UM, UH, THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, THE WINTER STORM RESPONSE AND, UM, AND WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT.
TO BETTER PREPARE AND BETTER SUPPORT EACH OTHER, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE TIMES.
UM, AND SO THAT KIND OF, UH, IS A LEAD INTO, TO THE NEXT, THE NEXT PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ABSOLUTELY.
WE'RE SORT OF SWITCHING GEARS, BUT IT'S ALL, UM, REALLY UNDER THE SAME THEME, WHICH IS HOW ARE WE COLLABORATING AND ALIGNING TO, TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES, UM, IMMEDIATE FOR IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND ALSO LONG-TERM NEEDS, RIGHT, AS WE THINK ABOUT RECOVERY, BUT TODAY'S PRESENTATION,
[Discussion: Winter Storm Crisis Response: Challenges & Opportunities]
WE'RE REALLY CONCENTRATING ON THE WINTER STORM CRISIS RESPONSE.UM, THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAME UP IN FEBRUARY WHEN WE WERE HIT A COMMUNITY, UM, AS A WAYS TO EVALUATE OUR LEARNING FROM THIS, AND MAYBE, UM, AFTER OUR TWO STEAM SPEAKERS SPEAK, UM, FOR US TO HAVE, UM, UH, A MOMENT TO SORT OF THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN BETTER ALIGN OUR RESOURCES, OR ARE THERE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE THAT WE CAN OFFER TO OUR CANNED PARTNERS AS WELL.
SO, UM, TO, TO SET THE SCENE AND TO GIVE US, UM, REALLY, UH, THEIR, THEIR STORY ABOUT HOW, UH, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY RESPONDED DURING THIS CRISIS, WE ARE SO APPRECIATIVE OF OUR TWO GUESTS, JUAN ORTIZ, WHO IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WELCOME HON AND ERIC CARTER, WHO IS THE COORDINATOR OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND I WILL HAND IT OFF TO YUBA.
MY NAME IS
AND THEN WITH ME HERE IS ALSO ERIC CARTER.
AND, UH, UM, AND ERIC CARTER IS ACTUALLY TRAVELING AND I BELIEVE HE IS PULLING OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND HE'S GOING TO BE A SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE HE CAN BE.
UH, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE.
UM, I TOLD JUAN, THIS IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT I DID PLAN THE SCHOOL OVER AND PARTICIPATE.
UH, BUT YES, I AM ON THE ROAD.
UH, THE IMAGE THAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME IS NOT ACTUALLY ANYWHERE I AM, BUT I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT I'M ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT PLEASING LOCATIONS TO BE.
AND SO THIS IS A PICTURE FROM MAINE, UH, UH, AND SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT, BUT, UH, JUAN HAS GOT TO CONTINUE ON, HE'S GOT THE PRESENTATION AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK THROUGH IT AND WE'RE HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY TO SHARE OUR EXPERIENCES, RESPONDING TO THE WINTER WEATHER.
AND I AM GOING TO TRY AND SHARE MY SCREEN.
CAN I HAVE A CONFIRMATION THAT YOU SEE MY, UH, PRESENTATION? YEAH, WE CAN SEE IT.
I PASSED THAT TEST, UH, I GUESS, UH, THE CITY INCORPORATED, UH, UH, MICROSOFT TEAM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE, OF THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC AND, UH, UM, RULE USED TO IT.
AND I FORGOT HOW TO USE SOME OF THE OTHER, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER TOOLS.
SO, UM, UM, I, AT LEAST I WAS ABLE TO FIGURE THIS OUT AS, AS WE START AGAIN, UH, THIS SURNAMES, I'M GONNA JUST KINDA GO THROUGH A, A QUICK PRESENTATION ON A WINTER STORM URI.
IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS STARTED NAMING A WINTER STORMS AND OTHER STORMS, UH, SIMILAR TO HOW THE DEER HURRICANES.
AND THAT'S LARGELY IN PART, BECAUSE WE WOULD SAY, OH, THE WINTER STORM OF 2021.
WELL, THAT'S ONLY REALLY RELEVANT ONLY TO, TO US THAT EXPERIENCED IT, BUT THOSE FOLKS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING TO THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE WITH THE SONG WITH 20, 21 COULD HAVE HAPPENED AT A DIFFERENT TIMEFRAME.
SO, UM, SO FROM THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO BE REFERRING TO THIS IF THE WINDS OF STONE
[01:00:01]
URI, UH, THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION.UM, JUST A LITTLE, GIVE A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT OF OUR, FROM OUR BACKGROUND, UH, BOTH ERIC AND I HAVE BEEN IN THE FIELD OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UH, FOR OVER 27 YEARS.
AND WE'VE BEEN COORDINATORS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES AND WE'VE ACTUALLY KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A VERY LONG, LONG TIME, AND WE'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING TOGETHER.
AND WE WERE GLAD THAT WE BOTH ENDED UP HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, MYSELF WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, UH, ERIC WITH, UH, WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND, UH, UH, AND, AND WE WORK HAND-IN-HAND, WE ACTUALLY WORK IN THE SAME BUILDING.
UH, WE ARE LOCATED AT THE COMBINED EMERGENCY, UH, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER CALLED CTECH.
UH, AND OUR OFFICES ARE REALLY RUN RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY BOTH OPERATE, UH, A ONE CENTRAL FACILITY.
AND THAT IS THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, WHEN EVERYTHING IS ORGANIZED, EVERYTHING IS CLEAN AND THERE'S NO EMERGENCIES GOING ON.
UH, AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, UH, THE, THE, THE FACILITY ACTIVATED AND, UM, MARCH 1ST OF 2020 AS PART OF THE PANDEMIC AND HAS BEEN IN AN ACTIVATION MODE SINCE THEN.
UH, AND, AND THAT IS THE PART OF THE, THE, THE, UH, HOW I WANT TO START.
UM, AND FOR, FOR OVER A YEAR NOW, WE'VE BEEN RESPONDING TO A PANDEMIC AND THE, THE, OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN, IN A DISASTER FOR THEM FOR THAT LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME, WE ALSO NEED TO BE READY TO HANDLE OTHER EMERGENCIES THAT COME UP AS WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT TESTING AND VACCINATION EFFORTS, ISOLATION FACILITIES, UM, UM, ALTERNATE CARE SITES.
WE STILL NEED TO BE READY AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY FOR OTHER UNNATURAL OR, UM, OR TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTERS THAT MAY, THAT MAY IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, IN THE SUMMER, WE HELP, UH, SUPPORT, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITH THE, UH, UM, UH, WITH THE PROTEST THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE MONTH OF JUNE, AS WELL AS WE RESPONDED TO, UH, SUPPORT THE STATE OF TEXAS W UH, WHILE COASTAL COMMUNITIES WERE EVACUATING IN RESPONSE OF HURRICANE LAURA, THIS PAST FALL, WE ALWAYS CONDUCT AN ANNUAL WINTER WEATHER SEMINAR WITH ALL OUR EOC PARTNERS, OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER PARTNERS.
UH, AND WE BRIEF ON WINTER WEATHER ACTIVITIES.
IF YOU DID NOT KNOW THIS, UH, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY HAVE A COLD WEATHER SHELTER PLAN THAT WE WORK WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND ALL OF THE OTHER, UH, AGENCIES THAT SUPPORT HOMELESSNESS OR OTHER, UH, SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT WE, WHEN THE, WHEN CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MET, WE OPEN UP OVERNIGHT COLD WEATHER SHELTERS TO ENSURE THAT ANYBODY IN OUR COMMUNITY HAS A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN GO AND SPEND THE NIGHT AND GET OUT OF THE COLD.
UM, WE DO THIS WELL, ONE OF THE CENTERS OVERNIGHT, AND WE'VE DONE IT SEVERAL TIMES THIS YEAR PRIOR TO THE STORM.
UH, AND, AND SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY MONITORING THOSE CONDITIONS TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE READY TO GO QUICK NOTE, JUAN, UH, WE'RE SEEING YOUR, UH, PREP SCREEN OF THE CHOOSE YOUR DUAL MONITOR SET UP.
SO AS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THE SLIDES, WHICH IS OKAY, WHAT I WOULD DO IS JUST TELL YOU, USE THAT SCREEN AND JUST HIGHLIGHT THE SLIDE THAT WE'RE ON AS WE GO.
SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE TO, WHATEVER, I'M THE ONE TO MESS IT UP BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANT TO RUIN IT.
SO, UH, THE, THE PICTURE HERE THAT I'M FOCUSING ON IS THE PICTURE ON THE, UM, UH, THAT HAS THE TABLE AND THE CHAIRS AROUND, UM, WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE, WE STARTED FOCUSING, UH, SHIFTING OUR FOCUS FROM, UH, COVID RESPONSE.
WE ALSO STARTED TAKING ON, UH, THE MONITORING OF THE, OF THE WINTER WEATHER SITUATIONS.
AND WE STARTED COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC.
WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING TOOLS, UH, THAT WE USE, UH, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AND OTHER WAYS OF COMMUNICATING, UH, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS ISSUE AN AUDIO INFORMATION, LETTING FOLKS KNOW THE POTENTIAL FOR WINTER WEATHER LATER ON THAT, UH, LATER ON IN THE WEEK AND EVEN OUR LOCAL BROADCASTERS.
SO THERE ARE A KEY PART OF OUR, OF OUR TEAM AND, AND THEY STARTED, UH, UH, PASSING INFORMATION ON, ON THE POTENTIAL FOR SUPER WINTER WEATHER OUT THROUGH THE COMMUNITY ON THE LOCAL BROADCAST STATIONS.
AND THIS ACTUALLY COMES ABOUT FROM A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH BETWEEN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, LOCAL BROADCASTERS AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
AND EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE ACTUALLY IN, IN THE EARLY FEBRUARY, UM, WE ACTUALLY CONDUCTED WHAT WE CALL A SKY ONE CLASS, WHICH IS A CLASS DEDICATED TO, UH,
[01:05:01]
TO, TO, UM, UM, ON, ON WEATHER OBSERVATIONS AND HOW THAT SYSTEM WORKS AND HOW THAT INFORMATION GETS, UH, GETS REPORTED BACK IN, UH, THESE, UH, THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE DONE IT VIRTUALLY.UH, NORMALLY WE, WE, WE HOSTED THROUGHOUT THE, THE CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE SCOTT WARREN CLASS IN OUR REGION IS ACTUALLY THE ONE CONDUCTED IN AUSTIN.
AND FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, IT HAS BEEN HELD IN THE BOSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE, UH, CAMPUS, UH, IN, IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
ONE, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT WE'RE WE'RE STILL SEEING YOUR INTRO SLIDE.
SO I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANT TO STRESS YOU OUT WITH THIS SLIDE, SO MAYBE WE COULD EVEN TALK ABOUT IF YOU'RE ABLE TO ADVANCE IT TO THE SLIDE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
OTHERWISE, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOUR SHARE YOUR DECK WITH THE ENTIRE, UM, BOARD WHEN IT'S, WHEN IT'S EASIER.
OR JUST MOVE THE, UH, THE, THE PREPARATION.
SO THIS IS THE, THIS WAS MY SECOND SLIDE, LIKE I SAID, WE SHIFTED OVER.
SO THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY THE EIGHTH, AND THEN, UH, WE, UH, WE ACTUALLY ACTIVATED THE EOC ON THAT, ON THAT FRIDAY.
UM, UH, AT THIS POINT WE HAD ALREADY, UH, OPERATED OVERNIGHT COLD WEATHER SHELTERS, ONE OR TWO NIGHTS EARLIER THAT WEEK.
AND, UM, ON THIS, ON THIS FRIDAY, WE ACTUALLY HAD STAFF STAY OVERNIGHT, UH, BECAUSE THE, THE STORM CAME IN TWO WAVES AND THE INITIAL WAVE CAME IN ON FRIDAY, FRIDAY NIGHT.
AND THEN THE SECOND WAVE THEN, UH, STARTED COMING IN UNTIL, AT SOME POINT ON SUNDAY.
UM, AND, BUT THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER IS WITH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER.
AND SOME OF YOUR AGENCIES, REPRESENTATIVES, UH, WE'RE A PART ARE A KEY PLAYER IN THE RESPONSE TO EMERGENCIES.
UM, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, WE DO NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF DISASTER WE HAVE, WHETHER IT'S, UH, WENT TO WEATHER OR FLOODING OR HURRICANE EVACUATION.
AND I'LL ALSO LIKE TO NOTE IN MARCH, OR EXCUSE ME, IN FEBRUARY OF 20, 20, A YEAR AGO, UM, WE ACTUALLY TOOK 70, UM, UH, COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES TO IT FOR A WEEK LONG TRAINING COURSE AT EMMITSBURG, MARYLAND.
UH, AND THIS ALSO INCLUDED THE THEN CURRENT COUNTY JUDGE, OUR CURRENT MAYOR, OUR CITY MANAGER, AND SEVERAL OF THE OTHER CITY COUNTY LEADERSHIPS, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES.
AND WE TRAIN FOR A WEEK ON DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, ALL CENTERED AROUND WINTER WEATHER.
UH, AND, AND, AND SO, UH, THIS IS, WAS DONE IN AN EFFORT TO TRY TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING THAT, UH, COLLABORATION, UH, ENVIRONMENT BETWEEN, UH, THE CITY, THE COUNTY, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR AGENCIES AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL WORKING TOGETHER.
WE WISH, UH, WE, WE WISH WE CAN GO BACK, UH, BUT WE, WE ONLY GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THAT SCHOOL, UH, MAYBE ONCE EVERY FIVE TO SIX YEARS, ERIC.
WELL, I WAS JUST GOING TO THROW IN HERE.
I ALWAYS LIKE TO EMPHASIZE ON THE EOC SLIDE THAT, UM, THAT'S, WE TALK ABOUT THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, YOU KNOW, IT'S THERE, THE COMMUNITY HERE IS THE PHRASE A LOT, UH, BUT IT EARNS ITS MONEY.
WHEN WE GET INTO A, A REALLY RELATIVELY FAST MOVING COMPLEX EVENT LIKE YURI, BECAUSE ITS PURPOSE IS TO PUT AGENCIES WHO ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH OPERATING TOGETHER IN A ROOM, THEN IT HELPS FACILITATE THE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS AND THAT, THAT, THAT FUNCTION AND THAT PROCESS CAN'T BE UNDERSTATED.
SO, UH, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS, THE POLICE IS USED TO WORKING WITH EMS FOR CLEARING A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT OFF REVIVE 35, WHICH IN ITSELF CAN BE A VERY HAZARDOUS EVENT.
UH, BUT WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH EMERGENT ISSUES, ICE STORMS, UH, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, DEPENDING ON SCALES, ET CETERA, YOU KNOW, YOU OFTEN ARE PUTTING TOGETHER, UH, AGENCIES WHO ARE, WHO ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR MISSIONS, BUT HAVE TO DO IT IN A, UH, EITHER STRESSFUL, FAST MOVING.
AND THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH OTHER AGENCIES TO MAYBE FIT RESOURCES TOGETHER.
AGAIN, THAT'S THE CRITICAL NEED AND FUNCTION OF THE EOC.
AND WE'RE REALLY LUCKY HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS AREA THAT WE HAVE SUCH A, UH, WELL-INVESTED IN FACILITY.
UM, AND, UH, OF COURSE, UH, THE TEAMWORK BETWEEN THE CITY AND COUNTY THAT ALLOWS US TO, TO PULL THOSE PARTNERSHIPS TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION.
DURING THIS FOUR, WITH THE STONE URI, HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF SOME
[01:10:01]
OF THE AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS FROM THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UH, UM, AND THE COMMUNITY THAT CAME TOGETHER.UH, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND REALLY, THIS IS JUST A SMALL SAMPLING OF, OF, OF THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT WERE, UH, THE PARTICIPATED.
AND, UM, AND, AND WE HAVE THE, THE, THE PHYSICAL CAPACITY TO HAVE, UH, UH, 75, UM, UH, AGENCIES REPRESENTED.
AND THERE'S OTHER AGENCIES THAT WE ALSO WERE WORKING WITH, UH, THAT WE WERE, UM, COLLABORATING WITH THEM IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT, AS BEST AS WE POSSIBLY COULD.
UM, THIS WAS, UH, STILL TRYING TO MEET, UM, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS FROM SOCIAL DISTANCING FROM AN ACADEMIC STANDPOINT, BUT, UH, AT A CERTAIN POINT IN TIME, I HAVE TO SAY THAT, UM, IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE DOING WHAT EVERYTHING WE COULD TO SAVE LIVES AND PROTECT PROPERTY, UH, NOW, AND, AND DEAL WITH THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THE PANDEMIC, UH, FOR THE DOWN, DOWN, DOWN THE, THE DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, SO IN SOME, UH, IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WE WERE NOT BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE EVENT, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO MEET THEIR SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENT.
UH, AND SO WE DIDN'T LET THAT STOP US FROM DOING WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO SAVE LIVES AND PROTECT.
YOU'LL SEE SHIFTED THE 24 HOUR OPERATIONS ON, ON THE, ON THAT SUNDAY AT NOON.
UM, AND, AND, AND THIS BECOMES VERY CRITICAL.
UM, THE, THE KEY THING ABOUT WINTER WEATHER IS THAT, UM, ONCE IT GETS HERE, IT'S STEAKS AND IT'S NOT GOING TO GO AWAY UNTIL, UH, UNTIL THE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS CHANGE UNTIL THE SUN COMES OUT AND STARTS TO MELT THINGS OUT.
UM, SO THEREFORE WHAT WE ARE COMMUNICATED WITH FOLKS, HEY, WHEN IT COMES TO THE EOC, BE PREPARED TO STAY.
AND SOME OF US, INCLUDING MYSELF, WE WERE THERE FOR EIGHT DAYS.
AND SO, UM, UM, WE WERE WORKING LONG HOURS.
WE'VE THE FACILITY WAS WORKING 24 HOURS A DAY.
UH, STAFF WAS WORKING, UH, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 16 TO 20 HOURS, AND WHENEVER, UH, FOLKS GOT RELIEVED, UH, THEY FOUND A SPOT SOMEWHERE IN THE FACILITY AND WERE ABLE TO, TO GET TO SLEEP AS BEST AS YOU POSSIBLY COULD.
UM, UH, BUT THAT WAS THE NATURE OF THIS DISASTER.
THIS WAS UNLIKE OTHER DISASTERS WHERE, UH, WHERE YOU COULD END YOUR SHIFT AND GO HOME.
UH, SOME FOLKS, ONCE YOU GOT HERE, YOU CAN NOT GO HOME.
AND IF YOU DIDN'T GET HERE, UM, UM, ON THAT SUNDAY, IT WAS GOING TO BE REAL DIFFICULT FOR YOU FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, UH, TO, TO GET TO THE FACILITY.
AND THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO OPERATE, UH, VIRTUALLY AS BEST AS YOU POSSIBLY COULD.
AND THEN, UH, AS WE, AS WE ALL KNOW, UH, THAT WAS EVEN A GREATER CHALLENGE FOR THOSE THAT ARE WORKING REMOTELY.
UH, ONCE WE START, UH, EXPERIENCING, UH, ROTATING, UH, UM, POWER, UH, SCENARIOS, AS WELL AS, UH, WATER BREAKS AND OTHER, UH, OTHER TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
SO JUST LIKE THE COMMUNITY WAS IMPACTED BY THE, UH, BY THE STORM.
SO WAS THE, YOUR STAFF THAT PLAYED A KEY PART IN THE RESPONSE.
UM, AND, AND SO WHAT ARE THE OTHER, UH, KEY AGENCIES AND SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED TO OUR COMMUNITY, UH, THAT, THAT, UM, UM, HAD NOT EXPERIENCED SOMETHING LIKE THIS? UM, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS, UH, UH, THING WAS A LITTLE BIT OVER, UM, UH, CLOSE TO OVER A HUNDRED HOURS WITHOUT, UH, BELOW FREEZING AND NOT JUST BELOW FREEZING.
AND, UH, WE, YOU KNOW, JUST TO RE REMIND EVERYBODY, IT WAS A DEEP FREEZE, SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE HAVE NOT EXPERIENCE.
AND PROBABLY, I THINK THE LAST REPORT I GOT WAS SINCE THE EARLY EIGHTIES OR EARLY EIGHTIES, I WAS IN SOUTH TEXAS.
SO I WAS THAT HERE DURING THAT EVENT.
UH, BUT WE, WE, I, I, I WAS FORTUNATE THAT I RECEIVE A LOT OF CALLS FROM A PREDECESSORS, UH, ADVISING AND ADVISING ME, REMINDING US OF THE LESSONS THAT WE HAVE LEARNED, UH, BEFORE.
AND WE COMMUNICATED THAT TO OUR AGENCIES AS BEST AS IT POSSIBLY COULD.
UM, BUT THE KEY THING HERE IS ONCE THIS WEATHER CAME IN HERE, IF YOU TOOK IT SERIOUSLY, THEN YOU WERE PREPARED.
AND IF YOU DID NOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY, THEN YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AS PREPARED.
AND YOU HAD WHAT YOU HAD, AND THIS WAS NOT JUST IN AUSTIN OR CENTRAL TEXAS.
THIS WAS REALLY A STATEWIDE IMPACT THAT IMPACTED EVERYBODY.
UM, UH, AND, AND, AND, UH, IT WAS A CHALLENGE THAT WE HAD TO OVERCOME, UH, ERIC APOLOGIZE, GETTING INTO THE UNIT IN AN NVIDIA, BUT YES, WHY DON'T YOU HIT ON IT? UM, I ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED A, UH, A WATER BREAK IN MY HOME AS WELL WHILE
[01:15:01]
I WAS IN THE EOC.AND I SAY THAT ONLY TO SAY, UH, THIS, THIS EVENT STRESSED EVERYBODY OUT.
UM, AND, AND, AND PART OF THE REASON WHY WE'RE HAVING THIS FORUM TO LEARN HOW WE CAN WORK BETTER TOGETHER, ALL THOSE THINGS WHILE WE'RE SAYING IS VERY DEAD ON THE PREPAREDNESS AS CRITICAL.
IT'S WHY WE INVEST IN RAW, UH, PREPAREDNESS YEAR ROUND, UH, TO HELP FOLKS BE READY TO RESPOND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
UM, THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I OFTEN GET IS WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THERE IS NO EMERGENCY? AND THAT IS PART OF THE, WHAT WE DO BESIDES THE TRAINING.
IT'S THE MESSAGING CONSTANTLY TO FOLKS THAT, UH, THEY'VE GOTTA BE READY, THEY'VE GOTTA BE PREPARED AND TAKING THE VERY BASIC PRECAUTIONS, UH, TO PROTECT THEMSELVES IN THE LOSS.
IN THE CASE, WE LOSE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, LIKE POWER, LIKE HE LIKE WALKED US.
SO, UM, THERE YOU GO, THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
THIS WAS A RECORD BREAKING EVENT.
UM, AGAIN, THIS WAS A RECORD BREAKING, UH, CLIMATE EVENT THAT IMPACTED THE ENTIRE REGION.
UM, AND, AND, AND, AND RECORDS WERE BEING BROKEN ON A, ON A, ALMOST ON A DAILY BASIS, UH, WITH LOW TEMPERATURES, 10 SNOW ACCUMULATIONS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED.
UM, UM, BUT, UH, IT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, THAT IF IT'S HAPPENED HERE BEFORE WE NEED TO PLAN, LIKE IT'S GONNA HAPPEN HERE AGAIN.
AND THAT'S FOR, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW HOW EXACTLY HOW, UH, WHAT WERE ALL THE IMPACTS AND, AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, UH, LOOKING AT WHAT WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE FROM THIS SITUATION AND LEARN AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
AND REMEMBER, THIS WAS NOT JUST A LOCAL EVENT, THIS WAS NOT AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, OR, UH, THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGION.
THIS WAS A STATEWIDE IMPACT WITH, UH, IMPACTS WHO ARE POWERED WITH, UH, ON-TIME DELIVERY SYSTEMS WERE IMPACTED.
THE ABILITY TO DELIVER FUEL, UH, TO GAS STATIONS WAS, WAS, UH, WAS DELAYED AND IMPACTED BECAUSE OF THE CONDITIONS IN THE ROADS, UH, W UM, FIRST WATER LINES, UH, WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN NOT JUST HERE IN AUSTIN, BUT THEY WERE HAPPENING, HAPPENING EVERYWHERE.
AND IT IMPACTS TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE WAS SOMETHING THAT, UH, LOTS OF COMMUNITIES, UH, SUFFERED THROUGH AND HAD TO RESPOND AS BEST AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD.
UM, ONLINE THE 2018 BULL WATER NOTICE, UH, THAT WE EXPERIENCED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CASCADE AND IMPACTS OF THE COLORADO RIVER FLOODING OF THAT YEAR.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO GET SUPPORT FROM SOME OF OUR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES AND THIS SITUATION, EVERY COMMUNITY THAT WE NORMALLY WOULD RELY ON TO FOR ASSISTANCE THERE WERE ALSO, UH, AND DEALING WITH THIS EVENT IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES.
AND IN FACT, WERE CALLING US, ASKING US, WHAT DID YOU DO DURING THE LAST BULL WATER NOTICE? WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME THAT I NEED TO BE PLANNING FOR? BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO DO A, A, UH, A BOIL WATER NOTICE FOR MY ENTIRE COMMUNITY, AND I'M NOT, AND THESE WERE SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE, UH, COMMUNITIES THAT WERE REACHING OUT TO US ASKING US, OR, UM, UH, FOR INFORMATION, BECAUSE THEY NEEDED TO, UH, TO FORMULATE A PLAN VERY QUICKLY IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO THE IMPACTS OF THE STORM IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
I'M GOING TO JUST WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE IMPACTS AND CHALLENGES THAT WE EXPERIENCED.
UM, UH, AGAIN, UH, THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE IMPACTS, AND I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THEM AT A PRETTY HIGH LEVEL.
UM, YOU KNOW, EMS REPORTED THAT THEY EXPERIENCED THE TOP FIVE HIGHEST CALL VOLUMES DURING THE WINTER STORM.
UH, IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY DAY THEY WERE BREAKING, UH, THE PREVIOUS HIGH.
AND SO, UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT, THAT THE STRESS, THE SYSTEM OUT CHALLENGED THEM, NOT JUST IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT IN SOME OF THE OTHER EMS SYSTEMS ACROSS THE STATE AS WELL.
UH, WE PROVIDED, UH, SHELTER SPACE FOR OVER 3000, UH, RESIDENTS, UH, ACROSS TRAVIS COUNTY AND, AND SOME OF THESE WHERE THEY CAME IN FOR A, FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
AND SOME OF THESE, UH, WERE, UM, THEY STAYED FOR MULTIPLE DAYS.
AND WHEN I'M TALKING ABOUT AN EMERGENCY SHELTER, SHELTERING, I'M TALKING, NOT JUST WARMING CENTERS, UH, UH, BUT, UH, BUT AS WELL AS COLD WEATHER SHELTERING, WE STARTED WITH OVERNIGHT COLD WEATHER SHELTERING, BUT BECAUSE THE TEMPERATURES WERE NOT GOING BACK UP ABOVE FREEZING ALL THOSE OVERNIGHT COLD WEATHER SHELTERS ACTUALLY BECAME, UH, SHELTERS THAT OPERATED 24 HOURS A DAY UNTIL, UH, UM, UH, UNTIL THE
[01:20:01]
EVENT, UH, CAME TO AN END.UH, AND WE WERE ABLE TO CONSOLIDATE SOME OF THOSE AS BEST AS WE POSSIBLY COULD.
THE INITIAL, UH, STRATEGY ON WAS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE THAT LOST POWER, A PLACE FOR THEM TO GO AND STAY INTO POWER, GOT RESTORED IN SOME PLACES.
AND SOMETIMES THEY WERE ABLE TO STAY FOR ONLY A COUPLE OF HOURS, AND SOMETIMES THEY HAVE TO STAY FOR MULTIPLE DAYS BECAUSE OF THE, OF THE ROTATING POWER OUTAGES.
AND THEN ALSO THE DAMAGE IS FROM THE, THE STORM ITSELF, UH, WITH THE ACCUMULATION OF ICE AND, UH, ON SOME OF THE TREE LIMBS OR SOME OF THE LINES THAT, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LOST SOME OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, OR EVEN SOME OF THE APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
THEY HAD, UH, THEIR OWN GENERATORS, UH, GENERATOR FAILED, OR THEY, OR, OR THEY RAN OUT OF FUEL.
AND THEREFORE THEY LOST THEIR ABILITY TO PROVIDE, UH, UH, SOME POWER IN THOSE FACILITIES.
THEY HAD TO COME IN AND WE HAD CONDUCTED MAJOR EFFORTS TO, TO OPEN UP AS MANY, UH, FACILITIES, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT IS VERY CHALLENGING TO MOVE A, UH, PULL A TRAILER WITH CODS PILLOWS AND BLANKETS FROM A WAREHOUSE TO A, TO A, TO A COMMUNITY CENTER OR A, OR, OR A, OR CONVENTION CENTER WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH ICY CONDITIONS.
UH, AND, AND, AND SO IT WAS VERY SLOW.
UH, AND SO, AND WE TRIED TO MOVE AS, UH, AS MANY RESOURCES AS WE POSSIBLY COULD, UH, BEFOREHAND, UH, BUT, UH, THOSE WERE VERY QUICKLY OVERRUN AS THE DAYS CONTINUE IN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE DISASTER, UH, GOT WORSE AND WORSE.
UM, I CAN'T, I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU, BUT, UH, WE EXPERIENCED POWER INFRASTRUCTURE, FAILURES, WATER, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE FAILURES, AND THAT IMPACTED THE ABILITY OF, UH, SOME OF YOU TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, UH, UH, OUR ABILITY OF, UH, HOSPITALS, UH, IT BECAME A CHALLENGE TO KEEP THEM OPEN.
UH, AND, AND LET ME TELL YOU, WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP THE HOSPITALS OPEN, UH, HOW TO, UH, HOW TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO DIALYSIS FACILITIES, HOW TO, AND, AND WE ALSO CONDUCTED, UH, CONFERENCE CALLS WITH THE, UH, GROCERY STORE INDUSTRY, HEB AND WALMART AND WHOLE FOODS, UH, TO LOOK AT HELP US, HELP YOU, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOU OPEN YOUR STORES UP, UH, FASTER AND, AND, AND, AND, AND QUICKER.
AND SO, UH, THAT BUSINESS EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT THAT, THAT, THAT WE, THAT WE WANT TO CREATE IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WAS, BECAME VERY CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE IMPACTS WERE TO OUR IN INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, UH, SO THAT, SO WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, MINIMIZE ANY IMPACTS TO THE COMMUNITY.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO ASSIST, UH, THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK MEALS ON WHEELS? YOU NAME IT, UH, WE WERE TRYING TO DO, UH, WE WOULD TRY TO REACH OUT AND FIND OUT WHAT WE CAN DO AND, AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.
YEAH, IT WAS JUST AS CRITICAL TO KNOW, UM, THAT THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE LAST MILE AND THAT EVERYBODY NEEDS HAS NEEDS, SO THAT THE ROAD SANDING AND THE EFFORTS AROUND THAT WENT COUNTYWIDE, RIGHT? SO THAT INVOLVED A LOT OF COORDINATION AROUND THE COUNTY, THE DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES AND THE STATE AGENCIES, BECAUSE WE, WE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED, UH, COMMUNITIES OUT THERE THAT, UH, THEY'RE THEY'RE ARE OFTEN IN THE BOONIES QUOTE UNQUOTE, BUT THEY, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT HAVE TWO OR 3000, UH, FOLKS, UH, HUNDREDS OF HOUSES OUT THERE, AND THEY ARE LOSING WATER.
SO, AND, AND SO THINK ABOUT THAT LOGISTICAL TRAIN OF GETTING SUPPORT AND SERVICES TO THEM.
IT WAS JUST AS CHALLENGING AS REALLY RESPONDING TO THE 100 OR MORE APARTMENTS THAT COULDN'T GET WATER IN AUSTIN, JUST BECAUSE ONE WAS QUANTITY.
AND IN BOTH INSTANCES, IT JUST TOOK A LOT OF EFFORT AND THE CRITICALITY OF COORDINATION AND WORKING WITH THE DIFFERENT PARTNERS.
YOU KNOW, AND LET ME SAY ONE OTHER THING HERE.
UH, IT SEEMED FOR A WHILE THAT THERE THAT EVERY TIME THE PHONE RANG, IT WAS A NEW PROBLEM THAT WE NEEDED TO FIX.
AND SOMETIMES WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, AND SOMETIMES WE HAD NO TIME.
IT WAS, UH, IT WAS IN CRITICAL SITUATIONS.
AND I HAVE TO SAY, I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM.
EVERYBODY PITCHED IN, UH, NOT JUST EVERY CITY AND COUNTY DEPARTMENT, BUT OUR COMMUNITY DEPARTMENTS OUT THERE, UH, UM, CAPITOL METRO, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, UH, AND EVEN IN ALL THESE HUNDREDS OF SPONTANEOUS OF VOLUNTEER AGENCIES THAT STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE, THEY TH THEY BROUGHT, THEY BROUGHT TO THE TABLE, WHAT THEY COULD
[01:25:01]
DO.AND EVERY, UH, EVERY WHAT WE, WHAT WE TRIED TO DO FROM THE EOC IS FIND A PROBLEM, FIND A POTENTIAL SOLUTION, AND TRY TO MATCH THEM UP AND THEN COME BACK AND MONITOR AND SEE WHAT THE PROGRESS IS AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO ASSIST THEM AND MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ALL GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
UM, AT TIMES, UM, UH, WE WOULD GET A CALL FROM A ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES TELLING US THAT THEY HAD A HUNDRED, 130 SENIORS, UH, SENIOR CITIZENS THAT, UH, WERE BEING, UM, KEPT, UH, UM, UM, UM, THAT WERE RELYING ON THE GENERATOR TO, TO, TO KEEP THEM WARM.
BUT THE GENERATOR WAS ABOUT TO RUN OUT OF FUEL AND THEIR CONTRACT FOR FUEL DELIVERY WAS NOT GOING TO GET THERE IN TIME.
AND OUR OPTION WAS EITHER MOVE THE 130 RESIDENTS AND OPEN UP A NEW SHELTER OR HELP THEM FIND FUEL.
SO THE CITY AND THE COUNTY AT TOMS HAD TO BE THE, THE, THE, THE EMPATHY THAT PROVIDED THEM FUEL.
UH, AND THAT COULD BE GASOLINE.
THAT COULD BE, UH, THAT COULD BE DIESEL.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW THIS, BUT THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS OF DIESEL.
UH, BUT NOW I KNOW, AND, AND THEN THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, THAT WHEN ANYBODY NEEDED HELP, THE CALL ENDED UP COMING TO THE EOC.
AND WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT WORKING TOGETHER AS A TEAM, AS A COMMUNITY, FIGURE OUT HOW TO BEST RESOLVE IT, UH, AND, AND, AND KEEP A COMMUNITY GOING.
IT STRETCHED US VERY EXTREMELY THIN, UH, AND IT STRAIGHTS ALL OF YOU EXTREMELY THIN.
UH, AND, AND THAT IS, THAT IS THE CHALLENGE.
HOW DO YOU DO THIS? WELL, WHAT CAN YOU DO TO, UH, TO BE BETTER PREPARED? BECAUSE THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS YOU WANT, YOU DON'T WANT TO BE A STATISTIC.
ANOTHER PART OF THE DISASTER YOU WANT TO, YOU DON'T WANT TO BE THE WEAKEST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
YOU WANT TO BE THE STRONG PART OF THE CHAIN.
UH, SO THAT, UH, SO, SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE PART OF THE SOLUTION AND PART OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE NEED TO OVERCOME.
SO WHOLE COMPUTER RESPONSE, THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I CAN, I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY VOLUNTEER AGENCIES CONTACTED US.
UH, BUT HE SAME LIKE, UH, UM, JUST AS WE WERE HAVING LOTS OF PROBLEMS COMING IN, WE WERE HAVING COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS, COMMUNITY AGENCIES FOR OTHER SECTOR AND INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS, PEOPLE STEPPING FORWARD, UH, TO, TO, UH, TO SAY, WE CAN TAKE THIS ON, OR WE'RE DOING THIS.
AND OUR JOB IS NOT TO GET IN THE WAY OF THAT.
IF SOMEONE IS ALREADY FIGURED OUT A WAY OF HOW TO FEED A CERTAIN PART OF THE COMMUNITY, OUR RESPONSE WAS, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOU? HOW DO WE NEED TO GET OUT OF YOUR WAY? GUESS IF YOU GOT IT, YOU GOT IT RIGHT.
AND IF YOU NEED SOMETHING, THEN CALL US.
AND I THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE NEED TO, THAT THAT BECOMES REALLY CRITICAL IN THE SUCCESSFUL RESPONSE TO A COMMUNITY-WIDE DISASTER.
LIKE WHAT WE EXPERIENCED IS NOT A MATTER OF WHAT IS THE CITY OR THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT DOING TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS, BUT REALLY MORE OF ASKING WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY TO HELP EACH OTHER OUT.
AND I'M ALMOST, AND I'M PARAPHRASING IN THERE A FAMOUS QUOTE FROM JOHN F. KENNEDY, RIGHT? BUT IN ESSENCE, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
THAT IS EXACTLY THE BIGGEST LESSON THAT WE NEED TO TAKE OUT OF THIS EVENT AND, AND HELP US MOVE FORWARD AND HOW WE CAN BETTER ORGANIZE HOW WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER OUT AND DOING THIS DISASTERS, BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU, THERE'S ONLY SO MANY CITY AND COUNTY EMPLOYEES OUT THERE.
UH, AND, AND, AND THERE, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH FOR, FOR ALL OF US TO GO AROUND.
WE WERE ALL, AND ALSO ADD TO THE FACT THAT WE WERE ALSO IMPACTED BY THE DISASTER AS WELL.
AND SO, UM, PREPAREDNESS IS A KEY PART, UH, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, UH, AND IT'S CENTERED AROUND WHAT WE DOING BEFORE WITH JUST THAT COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM.
UH, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, THAT WE WERE WORKING PRIOR TO THIS EVENT IS WORKING ON TAKE THAT COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM CONCEPT AND TAKE IT DOWN TO THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL AND BUILD A SMALLER COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM SEARCH, UM, BY ESTABLISHING LOCAL CHAMPIONS THAT CAN HELP GET A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ORGANIZED.
AND ONE OF THE PILOT PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS ACTUALLY IS IN, UH, IN GABA GO AUSTIN, VAMOS AUSTIN, WHERE WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO BUILD THAT CONCEPT.
AND WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND IT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, BUT I JUST, I JUST GOTTA SAY, THANK YOU, UH, TO YOU, TO YOUR AGENCY, IF YOU PLAYED A PART IN THAT RESPONSE, I WOULD JUST WANT TO SAY, THANK YOU.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF EFFORTS THAT I WAS NOT EVEN AWARE THAT WERE TAKING PLACE.
UM, BUT I, I'M VERY THANKFUL THAT PEOPLE STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE AND DID EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO ENSURE THAT THEIR NEIGHBORS WERE TAKEN CARE OF.
[01:30:01]
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO.THIS NEIGHBOR, HELPING NEIGHBOR.
THIS IS OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE ALL NEED TO BE WORKING TOGETHER.
ERIC, NO, YOU, YOU NAILED IT, MAN.
IT'S THE TEAM OF TEAMS, NETWORK OF NETWORKS.
AND, UH, WE SAW IT ALL AT PLAY DURING THE EVENT.
UH, SO, UH, I LOVE THE CONVERSATION AND I, I ENCOURAGE IT AND I LIKED, UH, UH, EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, JUAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT WHAT, WHAT THE CITY OR THE COUNTY COULD DO FOR ME, IT'S WHAT WE COULD DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I HOPE EVERYBODY HERE TAKES THAT TO HEART AS WE, AS WE CONTINUE FORWARD AND WORK TO BE PREPARED.
AND, AND OF COURSE, RESPOND TO FUTURE DISASTERS WITH THAT.
I JUST WENT, I'M GOING TO SHIFT OVER THE PERSON STATION HERE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE STEPS ON PREPAREDNESS, RIGHT? WE TALK ABOUT MAKING A PLAN, BUILD A KID, KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR, SUSTAIN A FORM, THOSE FOUR BASIC STEPS THAT, UM, THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO DO.
AND WE'VE BEEN PREACHING ABOUT THIS BEFORE THIS EVENT, BEFORE EVERY OTHER DISASTER AND SINCE EVERY OTHER DISASTER TO TRY AND GET THE COMMUNITY TO, TO DO THAT IS TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN WITH A FAMILY AND MAKE A PLAN, UH, AND, AND, AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO GO? UM, I I'M ORIGINALLY FROM SOUTH TEXAS ALONG THE BORDER, UH, AND, AND DOWN IN BROWNSVILLE AND WE WERE SUBJECT TO HURRICANES AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD A PLAN ON OUR FAMILY PLAN.
WE ALL KNEW WHERE, WHAT HOME ARE WE GOING TO GO TO? AND WE ALL GONNA, UH, GO TO THAT HOME EVERY NIGHT AND STAY DOING THE, DURING THE HURRICANE.
AND, AND, AND MY GRANDFATHER HAD, UH, RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EACH ONE OF US.
AND SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES WERE TO ALSO GO CHECK ON THE NEIGHBORS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE, UH, PREPARED BECAUSE, UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S PROTECTED, UH, AND, AND IS HELPING OUR NEIGHBORS MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S READY.
UM, UH, BUILDING A KIT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, ON, ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I'M NOT A PREPPER, BUT I'M A PREPPER.
UM, I, EVERY TIME I GO TO THE GROCERY STORE, I'LL BUY A LITTLE EXTRA AND MY WIFE HATES IT.
SHE WANTS ME TO STICK TO THE LIST, UH, BUT WELL EXTRA, UM, BY A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA, UH, UH, CANNED FOOD ITEMS, A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA OF, OF, OF MODEL WATER.
UM, AND MANUEL CRITICIZE ME, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS BUY SO MUCH SEXUAL WATER? AND I WOULD SAY, HEY, THERE'S FIVE OF US, ONE GALLON PER PERSON PER DAY FOR FOUR, SEVEN DAYS.
SO I WANT TO HAVE SOMEWHERE AROUND 35 GALLONS OF WATER, AND IT'S NOT EASY TO STORE 35 GALLONS OF WATER.
SO IT'S SOMETIMES FLUCTUATE, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN I HAD TO COME TO THE EOC UNDOING THIS WINTER STORM, UM, AND MY FAMILY WAS ON ITS OWN BECAUSE MY JOB HAD ME HERE AND I COULD NOT GO BACK HOME.
MY WIFE CALLED ME AND SAID THAT SHE WAS SO THANKFUL THAT WE HAD PLENTY OF BOTTLED WATER IN THE HOUSE.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CANNOT DO RIGHT BEFORE A STORM, RIGHT BEFORE DISASTER IS SOMETHING.
AND DO YOU NEED TO DO NOW WHEN THE SUN IS OUT AND THERE'S NOT A CLOUD IN SCOTT, WELLMAN CLOUDS UP THERE, BUT, UH, THE POINT BEING IS YOU NEED TO DO IT WHEN, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO, TO, UH, TO BE PREPARED NOW ON A PERSONNEL.
UH, I JUST WANT TO MAKE A NOTE HERE.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SLIDE, WE TALK ABOUT ONE GALLON PER DAY FOR THREE DAYS.
UH, THAT'S THE NATIONAL STANDARD, I WOULD SAY THE THREE DAY EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR THIS EVENT.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS SHIFTING THIS TO MORE INTO A SEVEN DAY, UH, EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT, AS MANY COMMUNITY, AND AS MANY INDIVIDUAL FAMILY MEMBERS THAT WE CAN GET TO, TO THE HABIT OF EMERGENCY SUPPLIES, UH, IT, IT, AND IT GIVES EVERYBODY A GREATER CHANCE TO, UH, TO BE ON THE RIGHT AROUND DOING, DOING A MAJOR DISASTER, LIKE WHAT WE EXPERIENCED.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERYBODY IN OUR COMMUNITY IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO PART OF THE CHALLENGE IS HOW DO WE DO THIS WITH, UH, WITH, UH, THE COMMUNITIES, UH, SEGMENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITIES OR THE MEANS TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE THIS THROUGHOUT THE BUILD THIS KID THREAT A YEAR.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE DO THIS TO ENSURE THAT, THAT EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY HAS A, AN OPERATION TO ME TO BUILD AN EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT AND BE READY FOR, FOR THE NEXT, UH, AGAIN, THAT HAPPENS BY KNOWING YOUR NEIGHBORS, HELPING EVERYBODY OUT.
UH, AND WE'RE WORKING ON A WAYS WE CAN DO, WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE AND CREATE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN ALL HELP EACH OTHER OUT, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S READY FOR THE NEXT DISASTER.
UM, HOW DO YOU STAY IN A FORUM? THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU HAVE NOT SIGNED UP WITH ONE CENTRAL TEXAS, PLEASE DO, IT'S A WAY OF HOW WE CAN GIVE YOU AN EMAIL TEXT, OR A PHONE CALL
[01:35:01]
DURING AN EMERGENCY TO DELIVER YOUR EMERGENCY INFORMATION.UH, WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE INTRODUCED THIS PAST FALL IS AN APP THAT'S AVAILABLE ON THE APPLE STORE AND GOOGLE STORE.
AND THIS CALLED ALREADY CENTRAL TEXAS APP.
IF YOU CAN GET YOUR APPLE OR GOOGLE DEVICE AND OR DEVICE AND DOWNLOAD THAT APP, WE WILL BE ABLE TO, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GET INFORMATION FROM BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UH, WITH, UH, UM, THE KELP GROUP PREPARE, UH, IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH, AND ALSO, UH, BE ABLE TO, UH, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE EMERGENCY INFORMATION FROM US, UM, UM, IN A WAY THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO USE IT, UH, IN, IN, IN ANY KIND OF A DISASTER.
AGAIN, ALSO THE SUPPORT, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH A LOCAL MEDIA, RIGHT? SO MAKE SURE YOU'RE ABLE TO LISTEN TO LOCAL AND FOLLOW LOCAL MEDIA, RIGHT? IF YOU HAVE A TV MADE SURE THAT YOU, THAT YOU HAVE, UH, AN ANTENNA IN YOUR HOME, SO YOU STILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE SIGNAL BECAUSE WE RELY A LOT ON THE INTERNET.
AND I THINK THE, THE CHALLENGE FOR THIS EVENT IS THAT YOU COULD HAVE SERVICE DISRUPTED, YOU COULD HAVE POWER DISRUPTIONS, SO HAVING A LOCAL BATTERY OPERATED RADIO, UM, UH, AND YOU MIGHT NEED TO EXPLAIN TO YOUR YOUNG KIDS WHAT A BATTERY OPERATOR RADIO IS OR WHAT A RADIO IS IN GENERAL.
UM, UH, BUT, BUT, UH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A TOOL THAT YOU GOTTA HAVE, EH, BECAUSE IT'S VERY HELPFUL DURING THESE EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS OR THIS DISASTER ENVIRONMENTS.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, LAST, UH, IS HAVE ACCESS TO A NOAA WEATHER RADIO, UH, AND MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE LOCAL FITCODE FOR TRAVIS COUNTY IS.
UM, THIS IS HOW WE KIND OF STAY CONNECTED, UH, BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY HAVE A SERIES OF, UH, UH, TWITTER ACCOUNTS, FACEBOOK.
AND I FORGET WHAT THE LAST ONE IS.
UH, BUT IF YOU DID NOT KNOW WHERE THE FIFTH GOAT IS, THIS IS THE FIVE DIGIT CODE THAT NEEDS TO BE ENTERED, UH, IN ORDER TO, UH, PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER RADIO HAVE TO ACTIVATE FOR, UM, UM, UM, UM, EMERGENCIES IN, IN THAT COUNTY, IF YOU LIVE IN, IN, IN, UH, IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, UH, IT IS FOUR EIGHT, FOUR NINE ONE.
AND IF YOU LIVE IN HAYES COUNTY, IT IS FOUR EIGHT, TWO ZERO NINE, AND I WILL UPDATE THE SLIDE AND, AND, AND, OR THOSE FIP COATS AS WELL.
JUST GOOD GENERAL INFORMATION FOLKS.
IT'S, UH, YOU, YOU NEED TO, AND YOU SHOULD BE ENCOURAGING YOUR PARTNERS AND YOUR CUSTOMERS TO STAY IN TOUCH AS INDIVIDUALS.
WE NEED TO BE IN A, BE IN A POSITION TO GET THE MESSAGE, RIGHT? IF WE'RE, IF WE AS CONTRIBUTORS TO THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATION AROUND EMERGENCIES AND ARE PUTTING OUT THE MESSAGE, WE NEED OUR, OUR NEIGHBORS, OUR FRIENDS, OUR PARTNERS, TO BE IN A POSITION TO RECEIVE THE MESSAGES.
SO WE HOPE THAT YOU GUYS ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO HAVE THEIR ANTENNAS UP AND LISTENING.
UM, AND LAST, BEFORE WE MOVE INTO THE QUESTION SESSION, UM, I, I JUST WANT TO SAY, OH, I'M ERIC.
AND MY JOB IS TO COORDINATE THE RESPONSE.
UM, UM, VERY RARE DO WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO GET OUT INTO THE FIELD? UM, AND, BUT AT TIMES WE DID HAVE TO GO OUT INTO THE FIELD.
WE THREW EVERY RESOURCE WE COULD ADD IT, UM, UM, THAT, THAT WE COULD GET OUR HANDS ON, THAT COULD GET ON THE ROAD AND SAFELY GET TO THE DESTINATION AND BE ABLE TO RESPOND.
UM, AS THE, AS THE WEATHER CONDITIONS IMPROVED, IT GAVE US MORE FLEXIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO DO MORE, UM, UM, UH, AND THEREFORE THE BETTER WE CAN PREPARE IN ADVANCE AS A COMMUNITY AND THE BETTER CHANCE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IN, IN, IN MINIMIZING THE IMPACT OF THESE COMMUNITY-WIDE DISASTERS, THE STATEWIDE DISASTERS THAT WERE TAKING PLACE.
AND THIS WAS VERY DIFFERENT, UH, VERY UNIQUE, UH, WHERE, WHERE WE'RE STARTING OUR AFTER ACTION REVIEW PROCESS.
AND, AND DON'T BE SURPRISED IF WE REACH OUT TO YOU SPECIFICALLY, UH, TO, UH, TO CONTRIBUTE IN THIS AFTER ACTION REVIEW PROCESS, UH, BECAUSE WE WANT TO LEARN AS MUCH AS WE CAN FROM THIS EVENT, UH, AND, AND, AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO PREPARE FOR, FOR THE NEXT ONE.
AND WITH THAT, UM, UH, UM, LIKE, UM, THIS ENDS OUR PRESENTATION AND WE'RE, UM, WE'RE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR ELECT TO HEAR ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS OR ANY ADDITIONAL STORIES.
YOU ALL MAY HAVE SO MUCH ERIC AND JUAN, THANK YOU.
NOT ONLY OBVIOUSLY FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND LETTING US KNOW WHAT THOSE HARROWING DAYS WERE LIKE FOR YOU, BUT ALSO ALL THE WORK THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THAT YOU DID BEFORE AND DURING THAT STORM TO HELP US OUT
[01:40:01]
IN THE COMMUNITY.I KNOW FOR ONE, I WAS, UM, UH, FEELING RATHER HELPLESS AT HOME.
AND SO THIS IS A VERY HELPING GROUP.
AND SO THAT WAS REALLY, UM, KIND OF UNFAMILIAR.
AND WE APPRECIATE ALL OF WHAT YOU WERE DOING OUT THERE.
UM, PUTTING, PUTTING YOUR, YOUR OWN SELF AT RISK, AND ALSO TAKING THAT TIME AWAY FROM YOUR OWN FAMILIES TO HELP US OUT AS A COMMUNITY.
UM, COUPLE OF THINGS FOR ME, ONE, IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO SHARE THAT PRESENTATION WITH US, UM, AND JUST MAYBE SHARE WITH
BUT I GUESS I WOULD JUST BEFORE I OPENED TO THE, TO THE REST OF THE GROUP, UM, JUST ASK YOU, YOU KNOW, CAN, IS A COLLECTIVE, A COLLABORATIVE, A COLLECTIVE OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS, MANY OF WHOM, UH, WORKED WITH YOU OR ALONGSIDE, UM, DURING THAT EFFORT.
AND I, I WOULD WANT TO KNOW, UM, MAYBE IF YOU HAVE SOME IDEAS NOW, UM, IF EITHER OF YOU HAVE IDEAS OF HOW WE CAN BETTER CONNECT WITH YOU ALL OR SUPPORT YOU ALL IN GOOD TIMES, UM, AND IN ADVANCE OF ANY OTHER CRISIS THAT MIGHT ARISE.
AND JUST REAL BRIEFLY, I WOULD, I'D SAY IT'S, IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR EVERY AGENCY TO CONDUCT AN INTERNAL REVIEW AND AN INTERNAL HOTWASH OF HOW THEY WERE IMPACTED AND WHAT THINGS THEY CAN LEARN OR BETTER PREPARED FOR THE NEXT EVENT.
UH, I, I, UM, THERE'S NO HARM IN THAT.
UM, THERE MAY BE SOME THINGS THAT YOU CAN, THE EASY, LOW HANGING FRUITS, THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO VERY EASILY.
SOME MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE CHALLENGING, BUT I THINK KNOWING WHAT THOSE ARE, IT GIVES A GREATER CHANCE OF TRYING TO ADDRESS THEM AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.
I'M NOT SAYING WE DID EVERYTHING RIGHT.
UH, WHAT I'M SAYING IS I'M NOT LOOKING TO TRY TO EMBARRASS ANYBODY.
NOW, THE POINT HERE IS HOW CAN WE LEARN? HOW CAN WE GET BETTER? RIGHT.
AND, AND, AND, UM, AND IT IS AN ESSAY, A IT'S A COMMUNITY-WIDE EFFORT.
HOW CAN WE BE THE STRONGEST LINK IN THE CHAIN AND NOT BE THE WEAKEST LINK IN THE TANK? WELL, THANK YOU.
AND I'D LOVE TO OPEN IT UP TO OTHER, UM, CAN REPRESENTATIVES WHO WANT TO ASK THEIR QUESTIONS OR SHARE THEIR STORIES AS WELL.
UM, I LOVE THE IDEA OF HAVING THE COMMUNITY EMERGENCY CENTER, WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SMALLER PODS AND IT'S KIND OF LIKE A FISH NET AND ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE LITTLE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NEIGHBOR YOU GO TO OR THE COMMUNITY CENTER THAT YOU GO TO.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT ALLOWS US TO BUILD COMMUNITY AND GET TO KNOW IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS, MAYBE WE MAKE A PLAN TO DO THAT.
AND YOU, YOU, YOU FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT THERE'S, THERE'S CENTRAL PEOPLE WHO KIND OF HAVE INFORMATION AND WHO KIND OF LINKED TO OTHERS AND, AND, AND SHARE.
AND I JUST LOVE, UM, I LOVE THAT IDEA IN IT.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU, JUAN.
AND, UM, MISS THE OTHER NAME, ERIC.
UM, I AM ENCOURAGED THAT WE CAN DO BETTER.
I THINK THAT, UH, I THINK A, A, UM, I THINK IN OUR, FOR, FOR, FOR YOUR FEEDBACK, AND I THINK THAT COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM CONCEPT BROUGHT DOWN TO THE LOWEST POSSIBLE LEVEL THAT THEY WERE HEARD LEVEL THAT HOMEOWNER'S SOCIAL LEVEL, THAT CHURCH BASE, UH, UH, LEVEL ALLOWS THE COMMUNITY TO HELP EACH OTHER AND, AND WHAT, WHAT THE CITY AND THE COUNTY CAN IS AS, AS, UH, AS PROVIDES STRUCTURE FROM A, FROM A TECHNICAL SUPPORT, UH, AND, AND TRY TO FIND THAT LOCAL CHAMPION THAT CAN HELP EVERYBODY ELSE, UH, BE PREPARED.
AND THAT, AND THAT'S NOT JUST FOR WINTER WEATHER, UH, WILD LAND FIRES, FLOODING, UH, YOU NAME IT, RIGHT.
UH, IT'S WE CAN ALL WORK, WORK TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, WHO YOU CAN GO IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOR HELP.
UH, AND, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIND.
UH, AND, AND THAT PERSON CAN, CAN HELP US GET THE WORD OUT.
I W I WOULD OFFER THAT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS KIND OF EXPOSED, WE WON, AND I TALK ABOUT RESILIENCE, A LOT, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, INDIVIDUAL RESILIENCE, THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT EXPOSED WITH THIS KIND OF EVENT.
AND I THINK THAT IT'S EMPHASIZED IN THE KNEE AS WE TALK ABOUT NEIGHBORHOODS AND DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, TIGHTENING THOSE NETWORKS, BUT ALSO TIGHTENING THOSE AREAS OF RESILIENCE.
SO, AND, AND, AND THAT'S THINKING ABOUT HOW WE, WHEN WE INVEST THE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE, WE OUGHT TO BE INVESTING WITH
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IT A LITTLE BIT MORE.I KNOW IT'S SOMETIMES IT'S CHALLENGING, BUT A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH AN EYE TOWARDS THE RESILIENCE, UH, ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLIES AT COMMUNITY CENTERS, MAYBE, UM, UH, HAVING SOME COTS IN THE CLOSET, RIGHT.
JUST, JUST AS A MATTER OF PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS.
UM, I THINK THAT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO HELP OUR COMMUNITIES OUT, REGARDLESS OF THE INCIDENT AND WHEN, WHETHER IT'S LOCALIZED OR WHITE BREAD, UM, HAVE GIVEN US A HEADSTART ON BEING ABLE TO RESPOND TO THESE KINDS OF CATASTROPHES.
JAMIE, THANKS FOR, FOR BEING IN THE MEETING TODAY.
UM, I WAS INVOLVED IN A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY CALLS, COUNCIL, OR MAYOR PRO TEM HARPER.
MADISON INVITED ME TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME OF THOSE EARLY COMMUNITY CONVENINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING ON ZOOM.
UM, KIND OF IN THE, IN THE TIME PERIOD WHEN IT WAS JUST ABOUT HOMELESS COLD WEATHER SHELTER, BUT BEFORE IT BECAME A WIDER COMMUNITY ISSUE.
AND ONE THING THAT REALLY STRUCK ME WAS HOW THE CITY SEEMED TO APPROACH THE PROBLEM.
SO CENTRALIZED THAT THEY WERE AT ONE POINT ASKING ALL THE HOMELESS PEOPLE, SEEKING SHELTER TO COME TO THE PALMER EVENT CENTER.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS WHY THAT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA, BUT, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM THE FAR, FAR, FAR NORTHWEST HALF WILLIAMSON COUNTY SIDE OF THE CITY, IT WAS JUST NOT POSSIBLE, JUST NOT POSSIBLE.
AND AS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, PALMER EVENTS CENTER IS NOT THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER.
DOWNTOWN IS NOT THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER OF THIS COMMUNITY.
THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER IS CLOSER TO, YOU KNOW, THE OLD NORTH CROSS MALL.
SO, SO YOU WERE ALSO ASKING FOLKS NORTH OF THE RIVER TO TRAVEL MUCH FARTHER TO ACCESS RESOURCES.
SO, UM, I'M INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED AND THE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS YOU'RE IN ABOUT, ABOUT HAVING MORE DISTRIBUTED IN A MORE DISTRIBUTED APPROACH FROM THE GET-GO IN THE FUTURE AND HOW WE'RE ENSURING THAT RENTERS ARE ALSO INVOLVED IN THIS ORGANISM, IN THIS RESILIENCY CONVERSATION.
AND IT'S NOT JUST RELYING ON HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, YOU KNOW, MR.
UM, UH, AND, UM, AND, AND, AND NOW REQUIRES THAT ONE, WE IDENTIFY THE LOCATIONS AND TWO, THE, WE BUILT THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT THERE AT THEIR SITE.
UM, BECAUSE THE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAD DURING THIS WINTER STORM IS, UH, YEAH, I HAVE 5,000 COTS, BELLS, AND BLANKETS, BUT I COULD NOT MOVE IT BECAUSE THE ROADS WERE FROZEN OVER.
AND THE W AND, AND, AND THE ONLY ONES THAT COULD MOVE, UM, WERE CLOSER TO PALMER EVENT CENTER THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WHERE THE PEOPLE WERE, WHERE THEY NEEDED HELP.
AND THAT WAS THE FRUSTRATING PART.
UH, AND, AND IT WAS VERY THANKFUL THAT WE, THAT SOME OF THE CHURCHES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, UH, WERE ABLE AND WILLING TO OPEN UP.
UH, AND, AND I THINK THAT, THAT WE WANT TO MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
WE WANT TO TRY TO DISTRIBUTE THOSE RESOURCES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN BE CLOSER.
UH, COUNCIL RECENTLY PASSED THAT, UM, UH, RESILIENCY, RESILIENCY, HUB, UH, RESOLUTION.
AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF A START TO LOOK AT THAT, HOW CAN WE, UH, HOW WE CAN DO THAT? UM, THERE WAS A SECOND PART TO YOUR COMMENT.
UM, AND, UM, UM, UH, UM, I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD REPEAT THAT SECOND PART.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A, THERE WAS A KIND OF A THOUGHT PUT OUT ABOUT WORKING WITH HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, RIGHT? AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE OBVIOUSLY SEEING RENTERS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE HAVING THE LONGER TERM EFFECTS, THEY'RE THE ONES LESS LIKELY TO KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO I, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
I THINK THAT IN ORDER FOR THIS TO WORK IS WE WANT TO BRING IT DOWN TO THE LOWEST, LOWEST LEVEL THAT CAN BE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, APARTMENT COMPLEXES, SCHOOLS, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, RIGHT? BECAUSE AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, THAT'S S THAT'S ITS OWN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY.
THEY ALL KNOW EACH OTHER, OR WE, THEY SHOULD KNOW EACH OTHER.
LET ME, LET ME SAY IT THAT WAY.
AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP THAT COMMUNITY AND THAT APARTMENT COMPLEX BE ABLE TO HELP EACH OTHER OUT.
AND I, I, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE THERE YET.
AND I THINK THAT I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS CERTAIN CONCEPT TO THAT APARTMENT COMPLEX PROCESS, UH, OR, OR, UH, UH, LEVEL, UH, AND, AND
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FIND A LOCAL CHAMPION AND NAVY AND EVERY COMPLEX THAT CAN HELP US ORGANIZE THE REST OF THE RESIDENTS.AND, UH, IN, IN, WITHIN ALL THOSE UNITS, I THINK THERE'S ALSO A RESPONSIBILITY AND A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LANDLORDS OF THOSE COMPLEXES, UH, OR THE WANT TO RELIEVE THEM OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY, BUT IT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN, BETWEEN ALL OF THEM.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
SO REALLY A COMMENT I WAS STRUCK BY HOW, UM, UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE WORK AT YOUR DESK.
UM, THE, UM, BUT I DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS, BUT THEY DON'T DIRECTLY AFFECT YOU LET'S TURN BY, BY HOW UNBELIEVING WE WERE ABOUT THIS STORM EVENT, THE NEWS MEDIA, WHETHER PEOPLE HAD BEEN WARNING US THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE SIX AND SEVEN DEGREE WEATHER FOR OVER A WEEK.
AND I DON'T THINK WE WILL LEAVE THEM.
UM, I CHECKED WITH MY NEPHEW WORKS FOR CALPINE, UM, AND ADD THEM UP.
ALL MY PREPARATION JOEL GOES THROUGH TO PREPARE FOR THE EVENT.
UH, YOU SAID ZERO, UM, BUT YOU CAN DO ANYTHING.
IT TOOK HIM SOME SPACE HEATERS AND SOME GO TORCHES TO GET YOUR PAPERWORK.
AND AGAIN, IT WAS REALLY PRETTY MINIMAL EXPENSE.
SO THERE WAS SOME, SOME OF THE, I THINK MOST OF US WERE UNBELIEVING THAT IT WOULD HAVE THAT MUCH OF AN EFFECT.
UM, IN THE, IN THE MINUTES OF THE EVENT, I FOUND THE, THE, UH, BRIDGING THAT THE STATE OF AMERICA IN AMERICA CONDUCTED KIND OF DISORIENTING.
UM, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THEY DISCUSSED THE POWER OUTAGES, UM, IT TOOK SOME INTERPRETATION TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE, YOU WERE OUT, YOU WERE GOING TO BE OUT FOR THREE DAYS OR MORE.
AND THEY HAD A HARD TIME SAYING THAT.
UM, AND, UH, AND I RUN THAT COMPANY.
SO I KNEW THAT MAX FLEXIBILITY WITH 40% OR 35, THAT MEANT YOU WERE OUT.
UH, SO, AND THEN SHE JUST SAID THAT, AND THEN THEY HAD TOO MANY PEOPLE, UM, TWO OR THREE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE SUFFICED TO GIVE THE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC NEEDED AT THE, HOW, WHAT IS HAPPENING, EFFECTED THEM, WHAT THE THING WAS DOING, UH, TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS, THAT KIND OF THING.
BUT LISTENING TO SEVEN OR EIGHT PEOPLE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING, THEY CAME TO JUST JOIN HER AT SOME POINT.
AND, UM, I MADE MY, MY APPOINTMENT TO THE, TO THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT THEY REALLY ARE CONSIDERED THAT, THAT IT WAS WAY WAY TO JUST JOIN IT.
UM, BUT THEN REFLECTING YOU ALL, BECAUSE THAT'S MAKE THE JOB OF WHAT YOU DID, BUT THEY, AT THE TOP, YOU HAD TO GET SOME ISSUE.
AND ERIC, NOT ONLY FOR IT AGAIN, NOT ONLY FOR A GOOD PRESENTATION, BUT FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, JIMMY AND JUAN'S COMMENTS, UM, CAUSED ME TO THINK THAT HOW IMPORTANT THE AFTER ACTION REVIEW IS BECAUSE THINGS EVOLVE DURING THE CRISIS.
SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, UH, THE PALMER AUDITORIUM STARTED AS A WARMING CENTER, AND THEN THAT WENT TO SHELTERING AND THEN THAT WENT FOR THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH.
SO INTERVAL CARE BEING OUR PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, UH, WORKED WITH THE CITY AND WERE CALLED IN TO PROVIDE THOSE, UH, COUNSELING AND SUPPORT SERVICES IN PALMER.
HOWEVER, THAT EVOLVED INTO A TRANSPORTATION CRISIS BECAUSE OUR STAFF WERE WILLING TO GO, BUT COULDN'T GET FROM THEIR HOME TO THE, UM, THE PALMER.
SO EMS OFFERED TO DO ALL THE ESSENTIAL TRANSPORTATION.
SO THEY WERE MOVING OUR STAFF, UH, IN PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, UH, AROUND TOWN, UH, AT THAT TIME.
SO PRETTY COOL, BUT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO REFLECT ON FOR, UM, OTHER TYPES OF PREPARATION, UH, WE OPERATE A NUMBER OF VANS.
YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH CAPITAL METRO AND OTHERS, BUT NOT HAVING A SINGLE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE AS AN EXAMPLE.
SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAD POWER AND PLUMBING ISSUES IN OUR RESIDENTIAL AND HOUSING UNITS, UM, AGAIN, TRANSPORTATION WAS SOMETHING WE HADN'T ANTICIPATED IN THE WAY THE, UM, THAT THE STORM BROUGHT UP.
AND THEN I JUST WANT TO MENTION SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT, JUST THE SERENDIPITY IS THAT, UH, SOMEONE PUT ON THE INDEED, UM, EMPLOYEE SLACK, SOCIAL MEDIA, THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR SOME, UH, SUPPORT.
AND, UM, WE RECEIVED BETWEEN THEM AND AN AMAZON WISHLIST, 300 LARGE BOXES AND $10,000 THAT WERE JUST MADE BY INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE RESPONSES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
NO ONE HAD ANTICIPATED OR THOUGHT ABOUT ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND THEN I JUST WANT TO DO A SHOUT OUT TO THE RESTAURANTS THAT, UH, STEPPED UP AND PROVIDED MEALS, PRIVATE RESTAURANTS DO SOME OF OUR HOUSING UNITS.
AND OF COURSE THESE BECAME, UH, ESSENTIAL.
AND, UM, THIS IS A SMALL NUMBER OF GALLONS OF WATER, BUT WE DID COLLECT AND DISTRIBUTE 800 GALLONS, BUT FOR
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FOLKS THAT HAD NO WATER, UH, THAT GALLON OF WATER, UM, A DAY MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE.SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD A LITTLE BIT FROM, UM, UH, THE MENTAL HEALTH AND, UM, UM, THE COOPERATIVE NATURE.
I KNOW THAT WE COULDN'T HAVE MADE THIS STORM AS A FREESTANDING SINGLE ORGANIZATION, UH, BECAUSE WE HAD TO HOLD OPEN OUR URGENT CARE AND ANYTHING THAT HAD TO DO WITH RESIDENTIAL OR HOUSING.
AND SO THANK YOU AGAIN, THAT'S JUST A COUPLE OF REMARKS, UH, AS A PARTNER HERE IN THIS COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY, UH, I'LL POINT OUT THE, UM, YOU, YOU BROUGHT UP SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ILLUSTRATE THE IMPORTANCE OF NETWORK OF NETWORKS.
IT'S THE WHOLE, UM, AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY UBER SERVICE THAT DEVELOPED DURING THE COURSE OF THIS EVENT, NOT THROUGH, UH, OWNED RESOURCES, BUT THROUGH COMMUNITY RESOURCES, UH, TO MOVE PEOPLE AND MATERIAL AROUND IN THE ICU, WHETHER, AND WE WE'RE ABLE TO WORK WITH THEIR GROUPS, UM, UH, TO, UH, VOLUNTEERS, UM, TO MOVE MOVES FOLKS, UH, COUNTY EMPLOYEES, CITY EMPLOYEES, AND OTHERS.
AND, AND, AND IF YOU DID NOT GET PLUGGED INTO THAT OR USED TO HAVE THE EMS WILL SUPPORT YOU, THAT'S AWESOME.
BUT AS AN EXAMPLE OF JUST TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER A, UH, AN AD HOC SOLUTION FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT, OR GETTING JUAN'S DAY JOB, DISPATCHING, ORGANIZING TRANSPORT, PER SE, AND, UH, WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO DO THAT, HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO HAVE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS TO BUILD ON, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND I WANT TO THANK DAVID AND JUAN FOR SHARING THEIR PERSPECTIVE ALSO AS PARTNERS.
UM, WE ARE AT OUR TIME, BUT YOU CAN SEE THIS AS SUCH A CRITICAL CONVERSATION FOR US TO HAVE HAD, AND I APPRECIATE YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO.
AND, UM, EVERYTHING YOU'VE TOLD US TODAY, PLEASE COUNT ON CAN TO BE YOUR, YOUR PARTNER CAN AS A COLLECTIVE, TO BE A PARTNER IN THIS WORK AS WE GO FORWARD, WE'RE, WE'RE HOPING WE'VE GOT ALL FINGERS AND TOES CROSSED THAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT ANYTHING FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, BUT, UM, BUT ALWAYS PREPARED.
UM, AND I TOO AM A PREPPER UPON, SO I TOTALLY GET, I, I GET WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM.
UM, FOLKS, I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
I KNOW THAT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING, UH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MAY 14TH.
UM, SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND I'M GOING TO, I'M A LITTLE LATE TODAY, AND I APOLOGIZE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO ADJOURN.
UM, UNLESS I HEAR ANY OBJECTIONS AND WITH THAT, WE'RE ADJOURNED AT THREE OH TWO.