[00:00:03]
33 AND IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE WE HAVE A QUORUM, LET'S GO
[CALL TO ORDER]
AHEAD AND GET STARTED.UM, I KNOW WE DO HAVE A NEW MEMBER.
UH, SO MAYBE IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO GO AROUND AND START BY JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, SAYING WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT COMMISSION YOU'RE REPRESENTING.
UH, IF EVERYBODY'S GOOD WITH THAT.
AND IF YOU'RE ABLE TO TURN ON YOUR VIDEOS, I THINK THAT WOULD, UH, BE NICE.
SO THE, UH, DIANA CAN, CAN SEE WHO WE ARE AND WE CAN SEE HER TO HOPEFULLY, UM, I'LL START.
MY NAME IS CABLE WHITE, AND I AM THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
AND LET'S JUST PASS IT AROUND.
UM, I WILL START BY PASSING THAT TO ALBERTA.
HI, I'M ALBERTA PHILLIPS AND, UM, UH, I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND, UH, I AM A COMMUNITY MEMBER MEMBER FROM THE COMMUNITY, UH, APPOINTED BY LESLIE.
OH, I'LL PASS IT ON TO, I'M SORRY TO KAREN.
HI, UH, THIS IS KAREN HEADS HERE ON BEHALF OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND HAPPY TO BE HERE AND I'LL PASS IT ALONG TO RUFF.
I'M THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE.
UH, UM, I'M DAVID CARROLL, UH, AND THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE DESIGN COMMISSION, UH, WHERE I SERVE AS CHAIR AND REPRESENT DISTRICTS ONE ABOUT NAT.
HI, I'M NOT HOW I SERVE ON THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
I WAS APPOINTED BY THE FORMER PARAPRO, TIM STALEY GUYS HAVE DISTRICTS TO PRETTY SURE THIS IS MY LAST YEAR.
SO I'M ROLLING OFF, HAD BEEN A FUN TRIP.
I REPRESENT DISTRICT TWO AND I SERVE ON ALSO THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION.
SO I, SO THIS IS, THIS IS EXCELLENT FOR ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I WAS JOINING.
SO MY NAME IS DIANA WHEELER AND LESLIE POOLE ASKED ME TO JOIN THE UTC, URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
AND IN MY FIRST UTC MEETING, THEY ASKED FOR LIAISON TO THE JOINT TO, TO THIS, TO THIS COMMISSION.
AND I THOUGHT I WAS JUST GOING TO BE A BYSTANDER, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE I'M LIKE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ALL MEMBERS FROM OTHER GROUPS AND THIS IS WHERE WE ALL MEET TO SHARE INFORMATION.
IS THAT TRUE? THAT IS CORRECT.
BUT BEFORE WE GO ON, I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE WE, WE MISSED PHYSIO AND THE INTRODUCTIONS I DECIDED IF I DO, I REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
UM, YES, SO I, I AM IN DISTRICT SEVEN, LESLIE POOLS DISTRICT, AND I'M ON THE UTC AND, AND I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE AND DO WHATEVER I CAN TO HELP WITH THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, AND YES, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
WE ARE, WE'RE ALL HERE ON THE, ON THE SAME, UH, FOOTING IN THAT WE'RE ALL, UH, WE'RE ALL, UM, SECONDARY, EXCEPT FOR ALBERTA.
SHE IS OUR ONE UNIQUE, UH, MEMBER IN THAT SHE, UH, IS NOT FROM ANOTHER BORDER COMMISSION.
SHE WAS APPOINTED BY COUNCIL, BUT, UM, THE REST OF US, THEY'RE ALL IN THAT WE HAVE KAREN TO INTRODUCE, OH, I'M SORRY, KAREN, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
IN AND OUT, I WAS HAVING AUDIO ISSUES.
I CAN START I'M ON A NEW DEVICE.
I'M HAVING ALL SORTS OF PERMISSIONS ISSUES TRYING TO START MY VIDEO.
UM, I REPRESENT THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD.
AND THEN I WAS IN AND OUT FOR A MINUTE, BUT I'M HERE.
UH, LET'S, LET'S MOVE ON, UH, INTO OUR AGENDA.
[00:05:01]
AND, UH, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION? ALL RIGHT.[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TAKE A LOOK AT THE MINUTES FROM OUR MARCH MEETING YOU TOO.ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS EDITS TO THE MEETING MINUTES FROM MARCH.
NOW, IF THERE'S NOT ANY DISCUSSION, THEN GO AHEAD AND VOTE.
AND IF YOU HAVE YOUR VIDEO TURNED ON, YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND, OTHERWISE, UH, SAY YOUR NAME AND LET'S GO WITH THE EYES FIRST.
RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY YOUR NAME.
UH, ANY OPPOSED AND ANY ABSTAINING ALBERTA? HOW ARE YOU VOTING? MM HOW'S THAT ACTUALLY GOING TO BE THE ONES OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING ALBERTA IS MAYBE OUT IN A BOAT OR SOMETHING.
DID YOU ASK ME SOMETHING? OH, YES.
UM, JUST, UH, ON THE MINUTES I DIDN'T GET YOUR VOTE.
UH, WHETHER IT WAS, I GUESS I HAD THE VIDEO ON, BUT I RAISED MY HAND IN FAVOR, SO, OKAY.
I THINK IT MUST'VE BEEN QUICK AND THEN I AM ASKEW.
SO, UH, HOWEVER MANY IT IS THAT WE HAVE ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, 10 IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES.
[2a) Chair and Vice Chair Elections (Discussion and/or possible action)]
ON TO OUR REAL BUSINESS HERE, STARTING WITH, UM, THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR ELECTIONS.WE DO THIS EVERY YEAR, SO WE'LL, WE'LL DO THE, THE CHAIR FIRST.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S APPROPRIATE THAT I, MAYBE I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO SOMEBODY, BUT KATIE'S NOT HERE.
AM I ALLOWED TO RANDOMLY TURN IT OVER TO SOMEBODY? YES, I REALLY, YOU ANSWERED VAN AND I'VE MAYBE, MAYBE I SHOULDN'T, YOU'RE NEW TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, BUT, UH, UH, I GUESS YOU CALL IT, I CAN CALL FOR NOMINATIONS IN A VOTE.
I NOMINATE GAVE WHITE FOR CONTINUING TO CHERISH IT.
AND WHO SECONDED? KAREN? I DIDN'T GET THERE FAST ENOUGH.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR THE, UH, THE CHAIR POSITION? NO.
WELL THEN I THINK WE CAN, UM, WE CAN CALL FOR A, A VOTE, UM, WHO SUPPORTS THE MOTION FOR KIBO TO BE THE CHAIR? RAISE YOUR HAND BECAUSE I ON THE PHONE AND SAY I TO SUPPORT OR I, OR SAY I, YES.
ANY OPPOSED? OH, I THINK THAT MOTION CARRIES SO KAVA.
YOU'RE THE CHAIR, IF YOU WEREN'T ALREADY.
AND THANK YOU DIANA FOR STEPPING IN THERE.
UM, I GUESS I SHOULD LOOK UP WHAT, WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN IN THOSE SITUATIONS WHEN THE VICE-CHAIR IS NOT THERE.
SO LET'S MOVE ON TO, UH, THE VICE CHAIR.
UH, CURRENTLY KATIE COIN IS SERVING IN THAT ROLE AND, UM, SHE IS UNABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT BECAUSE OF A CONFLICT, BUT, UH, SHE DID COMMUNICATE TO ME THAT SHE WOULD STILL BE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING ON IN THAT ROLE.
SO I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE HER, UH, TO CONTINUE ON AS VICE CHAIR.
[00:10:02]
I'LL SECOND THAT, THANK YOU, KAREN.WOULD ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO MAKE A NOMINATION FOR VICE CHAIR? OKAY.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF, UH, KATIE COIN AS VICE CHAIR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY YOUR NAME, THE FILE.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE TURNING YOUR VIDEO ON, WE'RE NOT SEEING, OR I'M NOT SEEING ANY WAY ON THIS END.
WELL, THAT'S HOW I GUESS ALBERTA IS ABSTAINING OR OFF THE DIAS.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE MAYBE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, UM, WHERE YOU TRYING TO VOTE FOR, OR KATIE I'LL TRY.
UM, MY CONNECTION IS BAD, BUT I DIDN'T CARE WHAT YOU SAID.
WE'RE JUST, WE'RE GOING TO COUNT YOU AS OFF THE DYES FOR THE LAST VOTE.
I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE OUR, OUR MINUTES.
UM, WAS THAT FOR THE CHAIR OR NO, THAT WAS FOR VICE CHAIR FOR KATIE CONTINUING ON AS VICE CHAIR.
ALL RIGHT, THEN WE CAN COUNT YOU VOTING IN FAVOR.
[2b) Energy Code Update Process – Kurt Stogdill, Austin Energy (Discussion and/or possible action)]
WE HAVE ENERGY CODE UPDATE PROCESS.WE HAVE KURT STARTED PILL, I BELIEVE, UH, LINED UP, UH, TO TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
UH, IS HE, YES, HE IS HERE ALREADY IN OUR PANEL.
KURT, DO YOU HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR US? I DO.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, I'LL JUMP IN THEN.
I'M THE MANAGER FOR GREEN BUILDING AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, THINK I'M ALSO JOINED BY BETH CULVER.
SHE'S THE CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL OR THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND WORKS WITH, OR FOR DEPARTMENT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
AND SHE'S ALSO HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
SO, UH, I'D LIKE TO TALK TODAY ABOUT AN OVERVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE.
I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE TIMELINES FOR WHAT THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION PROCESS LOOKS LIKE.
I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO SOME THINGS THAT ARE NOTABLE IN PARTICULAR WITH REGARDS TO THE 21 CODE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'LL BE CONSIDERING, AND THEN LIKE TO SPEAK TO SOME NEXT STEPS.
UH, I'VE ADAPTED THIS PRESENTATION FROM SOMETHING THAT WAS RECENTLY DELIVERED TO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
UH, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK FIRST A LITTLE BIT JUST TO SCOPE.
UH, SO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION IS THE COMMISSION THAT HAS IT EXPLICITLY OUTLINED IN THEIR CHARTER, THAT THEY ARE THE ONES THAT, UH, REVIEW, UH, AND RECOMMEND, UH, ACTIONS RELATED TO AMENDMENTS TO ENERGY CODE.
SO THEY'RE REALLY THE, THE COMMISSION THAT, THAT HAS DIRECT STATED PERFUMED WITHIN THEIR BYLAWS.
BUT WE ALSO LIKE TO REACH OUT TO OTHER BODIES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE ENERGY AND ENERGY CODE SPACE THAT MAY BE IMPACTED TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK AND REGISTER ANY CONCERNS THAT THEY HAVE AS TO WHAT THEY'VE HEARD AND SEEN SO THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT INTO OUR, INTO OUR PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, BEYOND JUST EDIFICATION TO YOU GUYS AS TO WHAT'S GOING ON, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THE, THE, THE AGENDA IS FOR THIS EVENING, UH, RELATED TO, TO JSC FEEDBACK.
SO ENERGY IS ONE OF A WHOLE BODY OF INTERNATIONAL CODES THAT ARE DEVELOPED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL.
UH, THEY ADOPT THESE AS A SUITE.
UH, IT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE FIRE, MECHANICAL PLUMBING, RESIDENTIAL, THERE'S A WHOLE HOST OF CODES THERE.
UH, THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL IS THE BODY THAT HAS PURVIEW AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADOPTION OF THESE CODES.
IT'S A, UH, A PUBLIC PROCESS WHERE THEY
[00:15:01]
HAVE A SERIES OF HEARINGS, UH, FOR THE RESPECT OF CODES TO GET INPUT AS TO WHERE THE, THE, THAT COMMUNITY WANTS TO GO WITH THOSE CODES.UH, THEY ADOPT THEM ON THREE-YEAR CYCLES.
UH, THAT SAID A JURISDICTION DOESN'T NEED TO ADOPT NEW CODES AS THEY, AS THEY COME FORWARD AND DOESN'T NEED TO ADOPT THE NEWEST CODE.
UH, WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING AT ADOPTION, UH, AUSTIN IS CURRENTLY UNDER THE 2015 IECC, UH, WE LOOKED AT THE 2018 ICC ICC AND DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT THE 18 CODE DIDN'T HAVE ANY DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE 15 CODE.
PAT, THE 15 CODE HAD A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ADOPTION OF SOME SECTIONS OF IT.
SO IT WAS ADOPTED A LITTLE LATER THAN WE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE A MOVE STRAIGHT TO THE NEXT CODE CYCLE, UH, AS WELL AS, AS DISTRACTION AROUND CODE NEXT, WE OPTED WE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES OPTED NOT TO, UH, ADOPT THE 2018 IECC.
UH, SO WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDER THE 2015 CODE, WHICH IS THE SAME CODE THAT IS, UH, MANDATED THROUGH THE STATE AS THE OFFICIAL CODE FOR FREE MUNICIPALITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, AS FAR AS THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE CODE.
IT TALKS ABOUT REGULATING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FOR EFFECTIVE USE AND CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, AND ALSO TO PERMIT THE USE OF INNOVATIVE APPROACHES.
NOW THEY'VE BACKED OFF A LITTLE BIT THAT THE ICC HAS BACKED OFF A LITTLE BIT, UH, ON THE FIRST HALF OF THAT BEING THE EFFECT OF USE, LOOKING AT ENERGY AND DIFFERENT ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES AND ARE LOOKING MORE THEY'VE STATED ON THE CONSERVATION SIDE, WHICH, WHICH SPEAKS TO A SUBTLE, SUBTLE SHIFTING IN THEIR PRIORITIES.
AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE IMPACTS IN A MINUTE.
UH, ENERGY CODE IS DIVIDED INTO TWO SEGMENTS.
YOU'VE GOT COMMERCIAL AND YOU'VE GOT RESIDENTIAL, UH, DIVIDING LINE FOR THAT FOR ENERGY CODE IS FOUR STORIES.
SO FOUR STORIES AND ABOVE IS COMMERCIAL, UH, BY BUS, UM, MAIN SECTIONS IN INVOLVED IN THE CODE INCLUDE INSULATION, UH, THE ENVELOPE, AND THERE'LL BE AN ENVELOPE.
SO THAT'S THE EXTERIOR, UH, INCLUDES THINGS LIKE WINDOWS, REFLECTIVE SURFACES, SHADING, THAT SORT OF THING.
UH, THEN YOU'VE GOT MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, UH, HVC SYSTEMS OR THE VICKY THERE, BUT OTHER ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS, UH, FALL UNDER THAT AS WELL.
UH, THERE ARE THREE BASIC WAYS MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF ENERGY CODE.
THERE'S THE PRESCRIPTIVE ROUTE WHERE BASICALLY YOU'VE GOT A CHECKLIST THAT SAYS, YOU MUST DO A, B, C, D WHATEVER.
AND THEN YOU'VE GOT A CHOICE OF, YOU KNOW, F AND G R F OR G, AND, YOU KNOW, H OR I, AND IF YOU MEET ALL THE REQUISITE CHECK BOXES ON THE PRESCRIPTIVE APPROACH, YOU'RE CONSIDERED TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH CODE.
THEN YOU'VE GOT A PERFORMANCE-BASED APPROACH WHERE YOU'VE GOT A MODELING PACKAGE AND ALGORITHM WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT SUITES OF OPTIONS OF TECHNOLOGIES AROUND CHOICES YOU CAN MAKE TO MEET THE OVERALL EFFICIENCY OF A BUILDING.
AND AS LONG AS YOU MEET THE REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE MODEL FOR THAT SORT OF, THAT SORT OF, UH, FOR BEING COMPLIANT WITH THE, WITH THE TECH OR WITH THE, UH, WITH THE MODEL AND YOU'RE CONSIDERED TO BE IN COMPLIANCE, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT EITHER COMCHECK OR REZ CHECK, WHICH ARE KIND OF A COMBINATION OF PRESCRIPTIVE AND PERFORMANCE-BASED, SO YOU'VE GOT SOME DIFFERENT PATHS TO MAKE IT THERE.
UH, IT ALLOWS MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR, UH, THE DIFFERENT COMPLEXITIES OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, UH, AS WELL AS OFFERING THEM SOME OPTIONS SO THAT THEY'RE NOT LIMITED TO JUST ONE APPROACH TO GET THERE.
IN ADDITION, MUNICIPALITIES ARE ABLE TO PASS LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO ENERGY CODE, TO MEET RELEVANT LOCAL GOALS AND PRIORITIES.
AND I'VE SPOKEN TO TWO RELEVANT HERE IN THAT GENERALLY THEY'RE THEY'RE IDEAS OR CONCEPTS THAT NEED TO BE TIED INTO ENERGY CODE ITSELF AND RELEVANT.
UH, WE WOULD LOOK, YOU KNOW, IF THINGS ARE PREDOMINANTLY PLUMBING, WE WOULD LOOK TO ADDRESS THOSE IN FRONT OF YOU, AS OPPOSED TO WITHIN THE ENERGY CODE IT'S PLEASE.
SO FOR THE PROCESS FOR COATED OPTION DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT, OR DSD IS THE ENTITY WITHIN THE CITY.
[00:20:01]
THE ADOPTION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF BUILDING CODES FOR THE CITY.UH, AUSTIN ENERGY'S ROLE IS MORE OF A FACILITATOR ROLE.
UH, SINCE THE 2000 CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS SERVED AS A FACILITATOR FOR STAKEHOLDER REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL AMENDMENTS.
AUSTIN ENERGY HAS STAFF THAT'S DEDICATED TO WORKING ON, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY CODE.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME, SOME MODELING CAPABILITIES THAT ALLOW US TO LOOK AT THE REPERCUSSIONS OF DIFFERENT CHOICES THAT WE MAY CHOOSE TO MAKE, AND A LOT OF EXPERTISE ON THAT.
SO WE'VE OFFERED UP OUR SUPPORT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR OUR SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE ON THE ENERGY CODE AND WORK WITH THEM CLOSELY HAND IN HAND, AND IN DEVELOPMENT OF THIS, THIS PROCESS, NEXT SLIDE, WE ALSO HAVE A STAKEHOLDER REVIEW AND INPUT PROCESS FOR THIS, UH, MUCH LIKE THE CODE IS SPLIT BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
WE HAVE SEPARATE BODIES THAT WORK ON BOTH THE RESIDENTIAL AND THE COMMERCIAL CODE SEGMENTS.
THERE'S A DIFFERENT EXPERTISE THERE.
SO WE LOOK FOR THAT, UH, THIS YEAR STAKEHOLDER REVIEW AND INPUT WAS HANDLED THROUGH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, PUBLIC INPUT PER PORTAL.
SO IT'S, UH, AN ONLINE APPROACH.
IT ALLOWS YOU TO DOCUMENT YOUR CONCERNS AND, AND MAKES THOSE TRANSPARENT AND VIEWABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
UH, THAT PROCESS WAS OPEN FOR MARCH 15TH THROUGH APRIL 15TH.
UH, ALTHOUGH THE PUBLIC INPUT PORTION THROUGH THE PORTAL DIRECTLY IS CLOSED RIGHT NOW, WE CONTINUE TO TAKE STAKEHOLDER INPUT WITH REGARDS TO THOSE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN REGISTERED.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH STAKEHOLDERS ON THOSE SO WELL, WHILE THE PORTAL IS CLOSED, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE DIALOGUE WITH STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT THE THINKING AROUND DECISIONS WE'RE MAKING AND GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THEM.
SO THERE'S SOME CONSTANT FEEDBACK LOOPS GOING ON THERE.
UH, WE'VE INCLUDED WITHIN THAT, THAT LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS, UH, HOME BUILDERS, THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION, ARCHITECTS, THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, NONPROFITS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND MEMBERS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY.
UH, WE'VE GOTTEN SOME FEEDBACK, UH, THROUGH THIS PROCESS THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN EXPANSIVE ENOUGH IN ADVERTISING.
UH, WE'VE ALSO AGREED MOVING FORWARD.
WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, NOTIFY THE RELEVANT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, INCLUDING THIS BODY.
DO YOU SEE IN THE RMC OF THIS PROCESS AS IT'S INITIATED SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A BETTER INCLUSIVITY ON THAT? UH, SO, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THIS PROCESS IS AVAILABLE AND OPEN TO ANYBODY.
SO ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO BE INVOLVED IN IT CAN SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS SCHEDULE, THIS IS A VERY COMPRESSED SCHEDULE, AND I'LL SPEAK TO THE RATIONALE IN A MINUTE.
THIS WAS VERY MUCH A, AN OUTCOME OF CIRCUMSTANCE, NOT A DEVICE OR DESIGN.
UH, WE INITIALLY ENGAGED WITH, UH, DSD BACK IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR ON PUTTING TOGETHER A SCHEDULE FOR DEVELOPING POSTS FOR THE CITY, LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE BODY OF CODES.
AND THE IECC IN OCTOBER WAS STILL UP IN THE AIR.
IT HADN'T BEEN FINALIZED AND THERE WERE SOME CONTENTIOUS ISSUES BEING WORKED OUT.
SO WE WEREN'T IN A PLACE IN OCTOBER THAT WE CAN ENGAGE AT THAT TIME IN, IN THE, THE PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF, OF HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CODE.
UH, WE AGREED WITH, WITH DSD THAT WE SHOULD DEFER THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS BECAUSE NOT A GREAT TIME FOR PUBLIC INPUT AND MET AGAIN WITH THEM IN JANUARY IN JANUARY, UH, DSD HAD TOLD US THAT THEY WERE AFFIRMING THEIR CONDUCT CONVICTION, THAT THEY WOULD REALLY LIKE TO TRY AND MOVE THE ENTIRE BODY OF CODES FOR IMPLEMENTATION, UH, SEPTEMBER 1ST, WHICH IS THEIR TRADITIONAL STARTING DATE FOR CODES.
UH, AT THAT TIME WE WERE TOO LATE FOR JANUARY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, FEBRUARY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FOR THE EDC AND THE RMC.
THEY HAD A JOINT MEETING THAT HAD A SET AGENDA.
SO WE GOT PUSHED OUT OF THAT MEETING.
AND THEN WE HAD THE WINTER STORM IN MARCH, WHICH PUSHED US OFF TO THAT, WHICH LEFT US WITH AN APRIL, UH, SCHEDULE THERE.
SO SUBOPTIMAL AND NOT THE DEGREE OF TIMELINE WE WOULD NORMALLY LIKE.
UH, BUT IT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
UH, SO ON THE 20TH, WE GAVE THIS, THIS INTRODUCTION, UH, PRESENTATION TO THE RMC, UH, TALKING TO YOU ALL THIS EVENING ON MAY 6TH, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL WITH A SET HEARING ANNOUNCEMENT, BASICALLY THAT'S NOTIFICATION TO THE COMMUNITY THAT IN THE JUNE MEETING, WE PLANNED TO HAVE A PUBLIC DISCUSSION ABOUT ADOPTION OF THE CODE.
SO THIS IS NOTIFICATION TO THE COMMUNITY THAT IT'S COMING.
AND IF YOU WANT TO REPRESENT YOUR INTEREST THERE, BE THERE ON COUNCIL.
[00:25:01]
A SIMILAR REVIEW THAT WE'RE DOING HERE, UH, WITH THE AUC AT THEIR MAY MEETING.UH, WE'LL COME BACK TO THE RMC IN MAY.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO GO MORE IN DEPTH.
WE'LL HAVE HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT'S BEING PROPOSED AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.
AND WE'LL ALSO LOOK TO A DSD FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO, UH, SUPPORT MOVING THIS FORWARD.
WE'LL ALSO DO REVIEWS WITH THE MECHANICAL AND PLUMBING BOARD, AS WELL AS THE BUILDING AND FIRE CODE BOARD OF APPEALS.
UH, THEY'RE INVOLVED IN, IN CODE ENFORCEMENT AND CODE DISCUSSIONS, AND SOMETIMES SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE PROPOSED IN ENERGY, UH, FLOW OVER AND IMPACT THEM.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE INFORMED AND THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INPUT.
AND THEN WE'LL LOOK TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL, UH, ON THE, UH, JUNE 3RD MEETING OR A MEETING, UH, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES WILL BE THE ONE TAKING THAT FORWARD.
THE REASON THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TRY AND GET THIS DONE IN, IN JUNE IS THAT DSD, AS A MATTER OF BEST PRACTICE TRIES TO HAVE 90 DAYS OR APPROXIMATELY 90 DAYS OF NOTIFICATION TO THE COMMUNITY FROM THE TIME THE CODE IS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL.
SO AT THE TIME IT'S IMPLEMENTED, SO THAT WOULD PUT US AT A SEPTEMBER 1ST IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, THE REASON THAT WE'RE GOING FORTH IN MAY IS THIS YEAR COUNCIL IS, UH, MEETING EARLIER OR BREAKING EARLIER, UH, FOR BUDGET DISCUSSIONS IN JULY.
IF WE LOST A LITTLE BIT OF BANDWIDTH AND TIME AT THE TAIL END OF THAT, THERE ARE REALLY THREE TO THREE ISSUES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TRY AND ADDRESS WITH GOING FORWARD ON THE NINE ONE DATE.
UH, THE FIRST IS THAT, UH, DSD HAS TRADITIONALLY GONE OR IMPLEMENTATION ON THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER.
SO THE COMMUNITY KNOWS TO LOOK FOR THESE, THESE CODES TO BECOME ACTIVE ON THAT DATE.
UH, IN ADDITION, WE'RE LOOKING TO TAKE THE ENTIRE BOOK BODY OF COATS TOGETHER IN JUNE, EITHER IN ONE OR TWO, BECOME EFFECTIVE ON THE SAME DATE.
UH, IT CAN BE HARD FROM, FROM A, A, BOTH FROM A COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE AND AN ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE.
IF YOU HAVE MULTIPLE EFFECTIVE, EFFECTIVE DATES FOR YOUR VARIOUS CODES, IT'S HARD TO KEEP UP WITH FOR A DSD PERSPECTIVE.
YOU'RE TRYING TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOUR BUILDING WAS PERMITTED IN BETWEEN THOSE DATES, WHICH, WHICH IS THE APPLE APPLICABLE, APPLICABLE CODE, AND THEN IT'S ALSO HARDER FOR THE COMMUNITY TO KEEP THAT STRAIGHT.
AND THEN THE THIRD ITEM IS THAT THE CITY WORKS WITH A GROUP CALLED THE INSURANCE SERVICES OFFICE, AND IT'S A PROVIDER OF STATISTICAL ACTUARIAL UNDERWRITING AND CLAIMS WITH A FOCUS ON, ON PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE.
SO BASICALLY THEY PROVIDE DATA TO THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT THIS GROUP COMES OUT WITH IS SOMETHING CALLED A BUILDING CODE EFFECTIVENESS GRADING SCHEDULE.
AND WHAT THAT LOOKS AT IS ASSESSING THE BUILDING CODES IN EFFECT IN THE COMMUNITY AND HOW THE COMMUNITY ENFORCES THEM WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON MITIGATION OF, OF LOSSES FROM NASH NASH OR NATURAL DISASTERS.
AND AS PART OF THEIR AUDIT PROCESS, ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THEY HAVE IS THAT THE BODY OF CODES THAT ARE IN PLACE IN A, IN A JURISDICTION HAVE BEEN ADOPTED WITHIN THE, OR THE, THE, THE CODE ADOPTED IS WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF CURRENT OF THE, THE CURRENT AUDIT TO TWO UNDER BEING UNDERTAKEN.
AND DST IS NOT SURE WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO GET AUDITED AGAIN, BUT IT COULD VERY WELL HAPPEN AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, OR CERTAINLY NEXT YEAR, IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT IN PLACE, WE'LL BE OUTSIDE OF THAT WINDOW BECAUSE WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDER THE 2015 CODE, WHICH PUTS US MORE THAN FIVE YEARS OUT.
SO, AND THE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS ARE THAT IF THROUGH THE VARIOUS FACTORS THAT ARE LOOKED AT THROUGH THIS, THROUGH THIS GRADING SCHEDULE, WE DROP A LITTLE BIT IN, IN THE RATINGS.
WE HAVE, IT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT INSURANCE RATES THAT ARE PAID IN THE CITY.
SO IT'S DEFINITELY THE COMMUNITY'S BEST INTEREST TO TRY AND KEEP THIS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO, SO THAT'S REALLY THE, THE THREE IDEAS BEHIND THE SCHEDULE THERE.
ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE 21 IECC.
SO THE 21 IECC IS A, IS A MARKET INCREASE FROM AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PERSPECTIVE, OR WERE THE, BOTH THE 2015, WHICH WERE UNDER NDA 18 CODES.
SO THERE'S ESTIMATES OF AN EIGHT TO 10% INCREASE IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY OVER EXISTING CODE ACROSS THE ENTIRE BODY OF BUILDING TYPES.
[00:30:01]
VARY QUITE A BIT.WE'RE JUST BEGINNING TO DO SOME, SOME ANALYSIS INTO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS GOING TO BE A STRETCH CODE.
IT IT'S ASKING YOUR DESIGN COMMUNITY IN YOUR CONSTRUCTION COMMUNITY TO DO A LOT MORE THAN THEY HAVE IN THE PAST.
AND WE ANTICIPATE A LITTLE BIT OF SHOCK THERE, UH, IN JUST GETTING THEM UP TO SPEED AND GETTING THEM TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE WHAT'S EXPECTED OF THEM.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS, WE LOOK AT THIS AS A STRETCH CODE, UH, FOR THE 21 ADOPTION PROCESS.
INITIALLY, WHEN DISCUSSIONS HAD BEEN ENGAGED UPON ON IN THE HEARINGS, THE ICC BODY WAS LOOKING AT ELECTRIC VEHICLE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION AS PASS FORWARD THAT THEY WANTED TO PURSUE WITHIN THE BODY OF THE CODE.
AND ELECTRIFICATION IS THE IDEA OF, UH, HAVING ELECTRIC OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR NATURAL GAS, FUEL SOURCES FOR PROVIDING SERVICES, UH, AS THEY GOT INTO THE VOTING PART OF THIS PROCESS, VERY LATE INTO THE DEVELOPMENT, THERE WAS A HARD LOBBYING EFFORT ON BEHALF OF A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES WITH VESTED INTERESTS AGAINST EBV READY AND ELECTRIFICATION.
UH, THE JUSTIFICATIONS THEY PROVIDED WERE AROUND COST AND ALSO RELEVANCE.
AND THEY SPOKE TO THE IDEA THAT THE ICC HAD BROUGHT UP, THAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO LOOK MORE AT THE ENERGY CONSERVATION SIDE, AS OPPOSED TO THE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY SIDE.
AND THE ICC CAME OUT AND SAID, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE ELECTRIC VEHICLE READY GOES, BUT WE DON'T THINK IT BELONGS HERE.
SO WE'RE NOT WILLING TO PUT IT HERE.
SO ELECTRIC VEHICLE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION WERE STRUCK DURING THE APPEALS PROCESS FROM 21 ICC ICC, UH, DEVELOPMENT.
AND FROM AN ADOPTION PERSPECTIVE, IF, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY WORD FROM A, FROM A BODY AND YOU'VE GOT SOME PRECEDENTS FOR PUTTING THINGS THERE, YOU'VE GOT A PRETTY GOOD COMFORT LEVEL WITH LOOKING AT THINGS, BUT IF YOU'VE GOT THE, THE CODE BODY ITSELF TELLING YOU, THEY'RE NOT SURE IT BELONGS THERE, THERE'S SOME RELUCTANCE FOR, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE FACTORS WE'RE LOOKING AT MOVING FORWARD.
ALSO LOCALLY, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, THERE'S BEEN SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY IN THE LEGISLATURE AROUND, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING CODES, AND OVERWHELMINGLY THE MESSAGE THAT'S BEEN SENT SO FAR IS THAT JURISDICTIONS ARE NOT TO LIMIT CHOICE, BUT TO ALLOW MORE CHOICE.
AND, AND SO, SO THERE'S, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S DEFINITELY SOME, SOME HEIGHTENED EXPOSURE AND SENSITIVITY TO DOING THINGS FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
UH, SO AS WELL IN, IN THE AREA AROUND NOT LIMITING CUSTOMER CHOICE AROUND, UH, PARTICULARLY FUEL CHOICE, BUT, BUT UTILITY TYPE.
UH, SO TO THAT END, RIGHT NOW, WE'RE NOT PROPOSING ANY NEW LOCAL AMENDMENTS, UH, TO THE, TO THE, TO THE CURRENT CODE, BUT WE WILL LOOK TO CARRY OVER SOME RELEVANT AMENDMENTS FROM THE 15 CODE.
UH, MOST NOTABLY IS SOLAR READY.
WE ABSOLUTELY PLAN TO CARRY SOLAR ALREADY FORWARD FOR BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, UH, SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY WON'T BE A NEW AMENDMENT.
IT'LL PROBABLY LOOK TO STRIKE AN OLD ONE.
UH, THERE'S A CURRENT, UH, AMENDMENT THAT SPEAKS TO ANY NEW CONSTRUCTION SITE THAT HAS NATURAL GAS, UH, CONNECTIONS AVAILABLE, UH, ADJACENT TO THE SITE REQUIRES THAT THEY USE NATURAL GAS FOR WATER HEATING FOR, FOR RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION.
AND WE WILL LOOK TO REVISIT AND STRIKE THAT SO THAT THAT'S NO LONGER A REQUIREMENT THAT, UH, IS, IS, IS VERY, UH, UTILITY CENTRIC IN, IN FAVOR OF ONE PARTY.
UM, WE WILL LOOK TO PROGRESS, EVIE, READY AND ELECTRIFICATION THROUGH OTHER MEANS.
UH, THEN THE ICC, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK TO THE DISCUSSION OF THE STAKEHOLDER INPUTS.
UH, WE HAD SOME TALK ABOUT A HEAT PUMP.
WATER HEATERS IS, UH, IS A PREFERRED PATH FORWARD, BUT OVERWHELMINGLY, UH, ON A BROADER SCALE, THE TWO THINGS THAT PEOPLE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WERE EVIE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION.
UH, WE DON'T FEEL GIVEN OUR CURRENT COMPRESSED TIMELINE THAT IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST TO TRY AND PUSH THESE FORWARD, UH, FOR ADOPTION AT THE TIME WE'RE DOING THIS, THIS BODY OF CODES, BUT WE'RE FULLY COMMITTED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT PROGRESS FOR EVIE READY
[00:35:01]
AND ELECTRIFICATION, UH, THROUGH WHATEVER MEANS WE CAN, UH, MOVING FORWARD.AND WE'LL LOOK TO HAVE A DISCUSSION, A COMMUNITY-WIDE DISCUSSION ON THESE ISSUES MOVING FORWARD.
AND THAT'LL BE PART OF THE NEXT STEPS AS WELL.
THE STEPS THAT WE'LL NEED TO TALK ABOUT, UH, WE, AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING WE'LL NEED TO MODEL THE LOCAL IMPACT SO WE CAN GET A BETTER QUANTIFICATION OF WHAT WE THINK THE IMPACT WILL BE LOCALLY, UH, AS PART OF THE CODE ADOPTION PROCESS, WE'VE TRADITIONALLY PUT TOGETHER AN AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL.
WE'VE DONE IT FOR, UH, A, A MODEL, LOW INCOME PROPERTY.
UH, WHAT WE DO IS WE LOOK AT ANY ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT ARE IMPOSED BY THE CODE, AND THEY INVARIABLY ALWAYS HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL COSTUME.
UH, BUT WE ALSO THEN LOOK AT THE BENEFITS AND IF YOU'VE GOT A NEW CODE, THAT'S LOOKING AT AN EIGHT TO 10% INCREASE IN, IN BUILDING AN EFFICIENCY, YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE A PRETTY FAIR, FAIR PAYBACK.
SO I THINK WE'LL HAVE A FAVORABLE STORY TO TELL WHAT THAT WE WORK WITH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING ON, ON, UH, PREPARING THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THE IMPACT PARTICULARLY TO OUR, TO OUR LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES.
SO WE, WE, WE INCLUDE THAT AS PART OF THE PACKAGE MOVING FORWARD OR WITH LEGAL CIVVY LEGAL ON REVIEW.
UH, AGAIN, WE'LL GO BACK TO THE RMC, LOOKING FOR A RECOMMENDATION, UH, GREEN BUILDING WILL HAVE TO UPDATE ITS RATINGS TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEW CODE.
UH, WE REALLY LOOK AT GREEN BUILDING AS AN AVENUE FOR INTRODUCING NEW CONCEPTS TO THE MARKET THAT CAN THEN BE CODIFIED.
UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING, UH, WELL, WE'LL NEED TO RESET, UH, TO FIT BETTER WITH THE NEW CODE.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO NEED TO UPDATE OUR CODE SAVINGS.
UH, OUR METHODOLOGY IN PARTICULAR, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT ON SOME BENCHMARKING OF OUR PROGRAMS AND FEEDBACK FROM THEM WAS THAT WE, WE SHOULD LOOK TO BENCHMARK OUR PROGRESS AGAINST THE CURRENT STATE CODE.
UH, WE RECENTLY MOVED TO, TO BENCHMARK AND AGAINST THE 2008, EIGHT CODE FOR CONSISTENCY, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE OVERSTATING OUR SAVINGS.
UH, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE TALK OPENLY ABOUT THAT AND WE'RE CONSISTENT WITH THE METHODOLOGY, BUT WE WANT TO CHANGE OUR METHODOLOGY MOVING FORWARD TO BEING MORE CONSISTENT WITH, WITH BEST PRACTICES, WITH THAT AS WELL, WE'LL NEED TO CHANGE, UH, CHANGE OUR GOALS.
SO WE'LL NEED TO REVISIT WHAT THE GREEN BUILDING GOAL IS.
LOOK LIKE MOVING FORWARD IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT THAT NEW METHODOLOGY IS.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I DIDN'T PUT IN HERE IS THAT AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR THIS, UH, CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE STAKEHOLDER COMMUNITY ABOUT ELECTRIFICATION AND EVIE READY, MOVING FORWARD, AND WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, KURT.
UM, I HAVE, UH, JUST ONE THING BEFORE WE MOVE INTO QUESTIONS, CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY, UM, YOU WERE USING THE TERM ELECTRIFICATION, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WHAT WAS ACTUALLY UNDER CONSIDERATION WAS SOMETHING CALLED ELECTRIC READINESS.
IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING AS WELL? I DON'T REMEMBER THE SPECIFIC, UH, UH, LABEL THAT THEY PUT ON IT, BUT IT WAS MUCH THE IDEA OF PUTTING, GOING THE EXTRA STEP IN NEW CONSTRUCTION TO ALLOW FOR A CONVERSION FROM A NATURAL GAS APPLIANCE TO A, AN ELECTRIC OPTION.
SO FOR SAY, HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER FOR A WATER HEATER FOR A GAS WATER HEATER, UH, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE THE SAME ELECTRICAL ENVIRONMENTS THAT YOU WOULD AT THE, AT THE POINT OF THE ELECTRIC, THE HEATER ITSELF.
SO YOU WOULD NEED TO HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO ADD A HIGHER ELECTRIC SERVICE TO THAT, UH, SPACE.
AND IN ADDITION SINCE HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS, UH, ARE SO EFFICIENT, BUT NOT, NOT BECAUSE THEY'RE SO EFFICIENT, BUT TO BE SO EFFICIENT, THEY NEED TO HAVE A LARGER FOOTPRINT.
SO YOU NEED MORE SPACE TO ALLOW, UH, OR FUTURE INSTALLATION OF A HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATER THAN YOU WOULD NORMALLY ACCOMMODATE UNDER A GAS SYSTEM.
SO YOU'D HAVE TO GIVE YOURSELF MORE SPACE.
SO THAT'S THE SORT OF THINGS THAT THEY'D BE LOOKING AT.
I, I KNOW IT PROBABLY JUST SEEMS LIKE SEMANTICS, BUT, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO USE ELECTRIC READINESS AS KNOW, AS OPPOSED TO ELECTRIFICATION BECAUSE ELECTRIFICATION KIND OF IMPLIES THAT YOU'RE REQUIRING ELECTRIFICATION.
UM, AND LIKE YOU SAID, THIS WOULD JUST BE ENABLING.
UM, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT AS WE MOVE INTO THE, THE CONVERSATION
[00:40:01]
THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING, UH, MANDATORY, UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, ELECTRIC, UM, KIND OF CA CAPACITY.UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YEAH, GO AHEAD, DAVID.
UH, HI KERR, I'VE GOT, UH, TWO, ONE'S MORE OF A COMMENT, UM, AND IT APPLIES TO SOMETHING YOU SAID, AND REALLY IT MAY BE DIRECTED TOWARDS BETH SINCE SHE'S HERE TOO.
I UNDERSTAND THE, UM, RATIONALE FOR REDUCING LOCAL AMENDMENTS, UM, AND ACROSS ALL CODES.
AND I WAS ACTUALLY VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
UM, AND, AND INVOLVED IN SOME OF THOSE PROCESSES.
UM, HOWEVER, MOVING FORWARD, UM, IN THE FUTURE, I THINK THE CITY NEEDS TO BE, UM, ESPECIALLY SUSPECT OF THE ICC CODES.
AND THE REASON I SAY THAT IS MAYBE BETH IS AWARE THAT RECENTLY THE ICC BOARD OF DIRECTORS VOTED TO ELIMINATE VOTING BY ITS MEMBERS AND CREATED A SPECIAL COMMITTEE, ESSENTIALLY MADE UP A SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS THAT ARE GOING TO DECIDE, UH, THESE CODES MOVING FORWARD.
AND, AND IT REALLY BEGINS TO ELIMINATE A LOT OF THE SORT OF PUBLIC INPUT IN THAT PROCESS OF THE MODEL MAKING THE MODEL CODE.
UM, AND SO I GUESS MY POINT IS TO THAT, I THINK IN THE FUTURE AND, AND FUTURE VERSIONS OF ALL THE CODES, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO REALLY ANALYZE THOSE FURTHER.
AND IT MAY MEAN HAVING TO GO BACK TO MORE LOCAL AMENDMENTS, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE THINGS WE WANT TO ACHIEVE HERE LOCALLY.
IF, IF WE START TO SEE A RESISTANCE WITH THE ICC TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CERTAIN THINGS.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST SORT OF A GENERAL COMMENT.
IT'S VERY CONCERNING TO ME THAT THEY MADE THAT MOVE.
UM, AND, AND SO I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO BE WATCHING THAT MOVING FORWARD, AS FAR AS SPECIFICALLY THE, THE 2021 IVCC I KNOW YOU ARE VERY INVOLVED WITH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
I WONDER IF THERE'S BEEN ANY DISCUSSION, UM, ONCE THAT IS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL, HOW THE CODES ARE GOING TO BE ADJUSTED TO INCORPORATE ANY NECESSARY CODE CHANGES GIVEN THAT IT WON'T BE DURING THIS CODE CYCLE.
AND HOPEFULLY WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT THREE TO SIX YEARS FOR THE NEXT CODE CYCLE TO BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE ANY OF THOSE THINGS.
WELL, YOU WANT TO CHIME IN FIRST ON ANY OF THIS, OR YOU WANT ME TO JUMP IN, OH, MY TAKE ON THE, UM, I GET THE NAME WRONG, THE ENERGY EQUITY PLAN, SORRY.
UH, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE CAN, SOME OF THESE CHANGES THAT'S KURT MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, WE FEEL, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DECIDE WHERE BELONGS, RIGHT.
DOES IT BELONG WITH THE TECHNICAL CODES OR DOES IT BELONG IN ITS OWN SECTION? SO WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE WE DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND FIGURING OUT WHERE DOES THIS ALL BELONG? AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, FLOODPLAIN REGULATIONS, WHICH I THINK YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT RIGHT NOW.
I THINK THAT IS ON OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PAGE IS TO CONSOLIDATE THINGS INTO ONE LOCATION INSTEAD OF HAVING IT ALL, JUST SPREAD OUT AND DUPLICATED AND OFTEN DUPLICATED WRONG.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE, IF WE DON'T DO A GOOD DEEP DIVE, EVERY CODE CYCLE, THINGS CAN BE MISSED.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS PUT IT ALL INTO ONE LOCATION.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WITH SOME OF THESE, UM, ENERGY CONSERVATION METHOD, UH, MEASURES THAT WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND SO I THERE'S, I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH LIKE, IF THESE CHANGES NEED TO GO FORWARD MID CYCLE, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS THOUGHT OUT REALLY WELL AND NOT JUST REACTING TO GET IT IN THERE.
SO WE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE PROPER STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND GET ALL OF THAT COVERED.
I PREFERRED NOT TO DO THINGS MID CYCLE IF WE CAN HELP IT, BUT IF WE'VE GOT A BIG COUNCIL INITIATIVE LIKE THIS, THEN YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO DO A LOT OF WORK, THEN IT'S, IT CAN BE WORTH DOING SOMETHING MID CYCLE.
BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO JUST, YOU KNOW, SNEAK IN ONE LITTLE CHANGE, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD WAY FOR EVERYBODY TO LIKE, MISS IT.
UM, IT MISS IT IN THE NEXT CODE CYCLE.
I MEAN, WE EVEN FIND WITH BIG CHANGES, UM, OFTEN AT THE END WHERE, YOU KNOW,
[00:45:01]
THE LAW DEPARTMENTS CATCHING SOMETHING THAT, OH, YOU FORGOT TO PUT THIS IN FROM THIS OTHER ORPHAN.SO YEAH, NOT MY PREFERENCE, BUT IF WE END UP DESIGNING, SOMETHING HAS TO GO IN THE IECC THEN, YOU KNOW, LET'S DO IT, BUT I'M JUST NOT SURE YET IF THINGS BELONG IN IECC OR IF THEY BELONG IN DIFFERENT SECTION OF THE CITY CODE.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'VE DONE A THOROUGH ANALYSIS AND REALLY WHERE THAT SHOULD BE.
I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT, ALTHOUGH WE DO HAVE A PRECEDENT FOR DOING IT, WE DID IT WITH SOLAR READY, UH, THE LAST, THE LAST CYCLE AS WELL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF THERE'S A HIGH VALUE TO IT, UH, WE'RE CERTAINLY CERTAINLY WILLING TO, TO MOVE IT FORWARD.
YEAH, BUT I THINK YOU, I THINK YOU ANSWERED THIS, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A, UH, MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE, UM, I GUESS THESE AMENDMENTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT AREN'T CURRENTLY IN THE DRAFT, WHEN YOU CONSIDER THEM TO BE BIG ENOUGH ITEMS TO WARRANT A MID CYCLE, UM, YOU KNOW, A MID CYCLE UPDATE, IF, YOU KNOW, ASSUMING THAT THEY DON'T MOVE FORWARD NOW.
I THINK SO MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE THAT WE HAVE LIKE A PACKAGE, YOU KNOW, TO GO FORWARD TO ADDRESS THE FACULTY PLAN, UM, THAT MAYBE IT MENDS THE IECC AND OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY CODE, BUT WHATEVER THAT PACKAGE LOOKS LIKE TO MAKE SURE IT'S ALL, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THE WHOLE THING, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT IS REPRESENTED, BUT I, I WOULD BE OKAY WITH THAT.
THAT'S FINE BECAUSE WE DO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TIMING OF THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY IDEAL, BUT WE ARE UP AGAINST, YOU KNOW, OTHER, OTHER CONSIDERATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO KEEP INSURANCE COSTS LOW SO THAT BACK, AND WE'LL HELP OUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE COMMUNICATION TO THE COMMUNITY, WHEN THOSE CHANGES DO ROLL OUT.
IF THEY ROLL UP MID CYCLE, I THINK THAT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING IN THE PAST THAT WE HAVE TO BE REAL CAREFUL OF THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT CHANGE IS HAPPENING MID CYCLE AND ARE CAUGHT OFF GUARD.
I MEAN, I, I THINK, I THINK KURT TOUCHED ON THIS, BUT, UM, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE KNEW THAT CHANGES WERE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW BEYOND THAT KIND OF, UM, REAL INSIDER GROUP THAT, THAT WAS ON THE, ON THE, UH, STAKEHOLDER LIST.
SO I, YOU KNOW, HOPE, I WOULD REALLY HOPE, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, GOING FORWARD THAT LIKE KURT SAID THAT THERE'S THERE'S MUCH BROADER OUTREACH, INCLUDING TO THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UM, ON THE FRONT END, SO THAT THERE CAN BE, YOU KNOW, JUST A MORE HOLISTIC CONVERSATION ABOUT THE OPTIONS.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT, UH, BASED ON THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE RMC LAST TIME I DID ASK OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT GROUP, IF WE CAN GET THE METRICS ON, YOU KNOW, WHO HAS VIEWED SO THAT WE CAN SEE, BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE THINGS ALSO GO OUT TO A STAKEHOLDER LIST THAT DSD HAS, WHICH IS A FEW THOUSAND PEOPLE.
UM, SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT, THAT IF THAT WENT OUT WITH THAT REACH, UM, SO I'M JUST LOOKING INTO THAT TO SEE IF WE CAN SEE, DID IT GO OUT TO THE FULL DSD STAKEHOLDER LIST OR WAS IT MORE OF OUR CONCENTRATED LIST? YEAH.
AND I HAVE, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S ON THAT LIST, BUT I GUESS WHAT I'M KIND OF CALLING OUT.
UM, AND THIS IS AGAIN, KIND OF IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT JUST THOSE WITH, UH, A BUSINESS INTEREST IN THE OUTCOME WHO ARE CONSIDERED STAKEHOLDERS, THAT THE COMMUNITY IS CONSIDERED STAKEHOLDERS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THOSE OF US SERVING ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, I THINK SEE IT AS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A CONDUIT TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO IF WE'RE INFORMED EARLY ON, THEN WE CAN IN TURN, HELP INFORM OTHER PEOPLE THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY.
PEOPLE WHO ARE RUNNING BUSINESSES THAT MIGHT THEN LAND THEM ON THE DSD KIND OF LIST.
UM, WELL, IF WE DON'T HAVE, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? OKAY.
I JUST WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY WHILE, WHILE BETH IS HERE AND ASK SORT OF A SIDE QUESTION, UM, IS THE CITY, DO YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF EMERGENCY PLAN GIVEN THAT THERE IS A HOUSE BILL TO ADOPT
[00:50:01]
THE INTERNATIONAL PLUMBING CODE AS THE STATE CODE AND AUSTIN DOESN'T USE THAT? UM, IS THERE ANY PLAN TO, YEAH, WE'RE JUST GOING TO WAIT UNTIL AND SEE THE F WHAT THE VOTE HAPPENS AND PLAYS OUT.I MEAN, WE HAVE IN SARAH, YOU KNOW, GAME PLAN OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO, UM, BECAUSE IF, IF THE BILL PASSES, UH, ULTIMATELY WE WOULD HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL BY THE JULY.
I THINK IT'S 27TH MEETING TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY LOCAL AMENDMENTS ARE CAPTURED.
THE STATE DOES REQUIRE CERTAIN TIMEFRAMES FOR ADOPTION OF CODES.
WE HAVE TO PROVIDE 30 DAY NOTICE.
WE LIKE TO PROVIDE 90 DAY NOTICE.
UM, WE HAVE A THREE WEEK NOTICE REQUIREMENT OF WHEN WE HAVE TO NOTIFY THE PUBLIC BEFORE WE HAVE THE, THE HEARING.
SO THERE'S CERTAIN DEADLINES WE HAVE TO MEET.
SO WE'VE ALREADY MAPPED THOSE OUT.
UM, DSD DOESN'T HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK FOR US TO DO ON IT.
SO IT REALLY FALLS HEAVILY ON AUSTIN WATER.
UH, THEY HAVE A LOT OF WATER CONSERVATION METHODS THAT, OR REQUIREMENTS THAT, UM, ALIGN WELL WITH THE UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE THAT IS NOT COVERED IN THE INTERNATIONAL CODE.
THE INTERNATIONAL CODE REALLY KIND OF PUSH THOSE THINGS TO THEIR GREEN BUILDING CODE.
SO WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE TO CONSIDER, DO WE ADOPT AT LEAST THAT CHAPTER OF THE GREEN BUILDING CODE, AND WE HAVE TO ADOPT THE FUEL GAS CODE, WHICH IS A SEPARATE CODE VERSUS THE UNIFORM CODE EVERYTHING'S INTEGRATED IN A UNIFORM CODE.
SO THAT'S ONE REALLY GOOD BENEFIT FOR US HOW IT IS NOW, BUT IF IT CHANGES, WE'LL HAVE TO, UM, WE'LL HAVE MORE CODES.
UM, WE MAY HAVE MORE AMENDMENTS AS WELL, BECAUSE IF, YOU KNOW, IF EVERYTHING'S BEEN ALIGNED WITH THE UNIFORM CODE FOR SO LONG, UM, AND COUNCIL INITIATIVES HAVE BEEN ALIGNED WITH THAT, IT IS GOING TO TAKE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WORK FOR US AND WATER AND MOVE THOSE THINGS OVER.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE LEGISLATURE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS IT'S PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
UM, BASED ON THE HEARING FROM IS EITHER A WEEK OR TWO AGO, NOTHING'S REALLY, IT HASN'T MOVED AGAIN.
UM, SEE WHAT HAPPENS, BUT IT'S, IT'S GETTING A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THE LEGISLATURE, SO WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN YET.
COULD BE A MESS WE'RE TRYING TO LIKE, NOT DO TOO MUCH WORK IN CASE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY FOR IT, IF IT DOES, AND MAKE SURE THAT, ESPECIALLY NOW, AS YOU HELPED, YOU KNOW, WITH WORKING GROUPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UH, UH, SOME OF THE AMENDMENTS, UM, AND SO FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THINGS WE LOOKED AT KEEPING IS ANYTHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT CITY COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, CITY INITIATIVE, WHAT OUR GOALS ARE.
AND THEN WE LOOKED THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S JUST BEEN LINGERING IN THE CODE FOR YEARS THAT WE HAS LOST MEANING, OR IS JUST TOO EXPENSIVE WITHOUT THE PAYOFF THAT WE NEED, OR, YOU KNOW, AND SO WE DIDN'T DO A WHOLE LOT OF THAT WITH THE ENERGY CODE, BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS, IS IMPORTANT TO HELP MOVE THOSE THINGS FORWARD.
AND I AGREE WITH YOU ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE ICC AND, AND THEIR NEW FORMAT MAY WORK.
WE JUST DIDN'T REALLY LIKE HOW THEY PUSH IT THROUGH AND KIND OF DISREGARDED, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CITY'S INPUT.
LIKE THAT'S WHAT IT FELT LIKE, WHETHER THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED OR NOT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS HOW WE FELT.
WE MAY HAVE TO AMEND THE ENERGY CODE MORE IN THE FUTURE.
WE'LL JUST HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT, OR, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO MAKE SURE AUSTIN IS INVOLVED AS POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE, WE DEFINITELY ALWAYS HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE MOVING.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE NO MATTER WHAT CHANGES, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH THE ICC OR THROUGH THE STATE LEGISLATURE, THAT WE'RE STILL MOVING OUR CITY'S GOALS FORWARD WITH OUR, SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE ALLEVIATE ANY FEARS ABOUT US, REMOVING THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT.
AND AS STAKEHOLDERS, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU LET US KNOW IF WE ACCIDENTALLY TOUCH SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT WE HAVE A, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON HOW WE TRACK THINGS BETTER SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M NOT A BUILDING OFFICIAL ANYMORE, THE NEXT BUILDING OFFICIAL CAN GO BACK AND SAY, WHY DID THEY TAKE THIS OUT? OR WHY DID THEY ADD THIS AND THEN BE DOCUMENTED, UH, WELL FOR THE FUTURE.
LIKE DAVID, I ALWAYS LIKE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHEN BETH IS THERE, UM, KINDA ON THE SAME NOTE, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE UPC, UH, COV AS IS IPC.
I THINK THERE'S DEFINITELY THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE MESSY.
AND I JUST WANT TO BRING, I'M SURE IT'S ALREADY ON YOUR RADAR WHEN IT COMES TO THE NEW, UM, CONDENSATION RECAPTURE AND, AND BENEFICIAL USE.
[00:55:02]
OBVIOUSLY AUSTIN WATER IS MOVING TOWARDS, UM, LARGE USER HAVING TO KIND OF INCENTIVIZE AND THEN EVENTUALLY REQUIRE TO HAVE BENEFICIAL REUSE.UH, BUT I KNOW FOR A SMALLEST SCALE, THE WAY THAT UPC IS SET UP WITH THE LOCAL AMENDMENT ON THE BACKFLOW PREVENTER, IT'S JUST EXTREMELY, YOU KNOW, PRETTY HIGH BAR.
AND I KNOW THAT THE GOAL IS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC WATER SOURCE AND I'M ALL FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK IF YOU, IF Y'ALL, HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO KIND OF LOOKING AT THAT AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT ARE EASILY SCALABLE DOWN TO THE SMALLEST GAL BUILDING THAT IS LOWER RISK, I THINK THAT WILL KIND OF HELP WITH THE, THE CONDENSATION AND BENEFICIAL REUSE.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT, BUT THAT'S, AS FAR AS THIS PARTICULAR, UH, COMMITTEES MEMBER, UH, COMMITTEES WORK, I THINK THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT AS, UH, IN TUNE WITH THE BUILDING CODE, LIKE DAVID AND KAYVON ON THE ENERGY SIDE.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD WAS THE TIMING OF THE CLIMATE PLAN, UPDATE BEING KIND OF DELAY AT COUNCIL.
AND THAT KIND OF PUT US IN THE POSITION WHERE WE KIND OF HAVE TO DRAG YOU ALL HERE.
AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE UPDATE, IF THAT CAN BE PLANNED BETTER.
AND YOU KIND OF, YOU KIND OF RAISE A REALLY GOOD POINT IS SAY, IF SOMEONE ELSE IS THE BUILDING OFFICIAL AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE ALIGNMENT DOESN'T QUIET BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE VERY ACTIVE IN KIND OF ENGAGING WITH OTHER FOLKS.
AND I KNOW ZACH IS ALSO AS WELL FROM THIS OFFICE.
I THINK JUST HAVING IN THE MANUAL OF THE CODE IS EVERY TIME THEY ALL LOOK AT IT, ALSO CHECK WITH THE CLIMATE PLAN, ALSO, CHECK THEM, SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO KIND OF ALIGN WITH THE COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN AND, AND REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINT, YOU KNOW, CAUSE THE IT'S THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE.
IT'S JUST, IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE THAT WE ACCELERATE THE AMOUNT OF CARBON, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST THE CONSERVATION ALONE, JUST TO SAVE OUR WAY OUT OF BUYING FROM TIME.
IT'S ALREADY A PRETTY STEEP CLIMB.
I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE PUT SOME URGENCY IN THE CODE CONVERSATION SO THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN MOVE THE NEEDLE FAST ENOUGH SO THAT WE CAN REALLY HIT THE TREND.
UM, SO I'M RAMBLING, BUT THANK YOU.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK FROM THAT.
I MEAN, MOSTLY I'LL, I'LL, I'LL TAKE YOUR FEEDBACK.
UM, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, SCALING DOWN THE CONDENSATE RECAPTURE FOR SMALLER PROJECTS, I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I CAN TALK TO US AND WATER ABOUT.
IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY TOO LATE FOR THIS CYCLES SINCE WE ALREADY GOT BOARD APPROVAL.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE CAN PUT THAT ON.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT WE'RE DOING BETTER RECORD KEEPING, IF WE CAN KEEP THAT IN THERE AND IF, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK AT WITH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE IMPLEMENTING SOME OF THOSE CHANGES AND THEN THE SAME THING WITH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, IF WE, YOU KNOW, MAKE NOTES TO, YOU KNOW, CHECK IN WITH THAT AND OUR LIKE RENT FOR HOUSING AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE OTHER PLANS THAT THE CITY HAS, I THINK THAT'S BEEN RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THANK YOU, BETH AND KURT, UNLESS THERE ARE ANY OTHER PRESSING QUESTIONS.
I THINK WE BETTER MOVE ON WITH OUR AGENDA, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL COMING ON AND TALKING WITH US TONIGHT.
OH, DOES THIS MEAN, IS IT ROB? WAS THAT JUST THE THANK YOU OR DID YOU YEAH.
[2c) City of Austin Green Building Policy Update – Lucia Athens, City of Austin Office of Sustainability (Discussion and/or possible action)]
HAVE LUTEA TO TALK ABOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN GREEN BUILDING POLICY UPDATE RELATED.YOU, UH, THANKS FOR GIVING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON SOMETHING THAT, UM, I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON, UH, FOR A WHILE NOW AND IT'S FINALLY GOING TO BE MOVING FORWARD.
SO IT'S A GOOD, IT'S A GOOD AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BRING THIS TOPIC TO JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AND IT'S IT'S, I THINK IT'S GOOD PAIRED WITH, UH, THE CODE UPDATE THAT WE JUST GOT.
THIS IS, THIS IS A POLICY PIECE, NOT A CODE PIECE.
UM, BUT WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU GUYS ABOUT TODAY IS A PROPOSED UPDATE TO THE CITY'S GREEN BUILDING POLICY.
SO HOW WE HANDLE OUR OWN, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS, NEW CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATIONS.
[01:00:01]
SO, UM, YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY VERY MUCH AWARE THAT WE HAVE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PORTFOLIO OF, OF GREEN BUILDINGS, UM, ALREADY.AND, UH, THIS JUST KIND OF GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE DIFFERENT LEAD CERTIFICATION LEVELS OF HOW MANY PROJECTS WE HAVE.
UH, THERE'S A WEBSITE, UH, THAT'S NOTED DOWN@THEBOTTOMHEREINLEADATX.COM.
THAT'S BEEN GETTING DEVELOPED BY THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
IT'S GOT A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION.
IT'S STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS AND SOME, UH, ELEMENTS ARE BEING ADDED TO IT, BUT IT'S VERY INTERACTIVE.
UH, AND SO IF YOU WANT TO DRILL IN AND ALL OF THE SCORECARDS, THE LEAD SCORECARDS FOR THESE PROJECTS ARE THERE.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY GOOD INFORMATION PACKED INTO THAT SITE.
THE DATE THAT WE'RE UNDERTAKING NOW, AS I SAID, IT ONLY APPLIES TO CITY ASSETS OR PROJECTS IN WHICH THE CITY PLAYS SOME VERY SIGNIFICANT ROLE.
UM, IT'S RESPONDING TO A COUNCIL RESOLUTION ACTUALLY FROM JUNE, 2019, BUT WE HAD ALREADY, UH, ACTUALLY BEFORE THE 2019 COUNCIL RESOLUTION HAPPENED, UH, A TEAM HAD BEEN SPENDING SOME TIME KIND OF PULLING OUT OF THE EXISTING POLICY, WHICH DATED ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2007 AND HAD NOT REALLY BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2007.
SO WE KNEW THAT WE WERE DUE IF NOT OVERDUE FOR AN UPDATE, BUT IT WAS USEFUL TO HAVE THIS COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT IT DID A MINOR TWEAK TO THE POLICY.
BUT THEN IT ALSO ASKED US TO LOOK AT A MORE FULL-BLOWN UPDATE.
UM, WE ALSO WANTED TO CREATE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE POLICY DOCUMENT, A POLICY TOOL BECAUSE THERE ARE MULTIPLE RESOLUTIONS AND POLICIES AND GOALS AND PLANS KIND OF FLOATING AROUND OUT THERE THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY ALL INTEGRATED TOGETHER INTO ONE PLACE WHERE, YOU KNOW, A DEPARTMENT THAT'S DOING A CAPITAL PROJECT OR A PROJECT MANAGER COULD EASILY FIND ALL THOSE THINGS.
UM, WE KNEW SINCE WE HADN'T DONE AN UPDATE SINCE 2007, UH, THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE GOING TO BE REFLECTING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE STATE OF THE MARKET AND BEST PRACTICES IN THE MARKET.
UH, WE WANTED TO EXPAND THE POLICY TO COVER LEASED SPACES, AS WELL AS PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, WHICH SOME PEOPLE REFER TO AS P THREES.
AND THERE WAS, UH, A REALLY USEFUL PIECE IN THE 2019 RESOLUTION ASKING US TO LOOK AT HOW WE MOVE TOWARDS NET ZERO, UH, WITH CITY PROJECTS AND OPERATIONS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, JUST FROM A BEST PRACTICE STANDPOINT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CONSERVING, LOWERING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT, ADDRESSING HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELLNESS AND SO FORTH.
AND BY THE WAY, I SHOULD'VE SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, I APOLOGIZE.
I KNOW A LOT OF YOU, BUT THERE'S ACTUALLY SOME OF YOU THAT I DON'T KNOW.
AND SOME WHO LISTENING THAT ARE LISTENING IN THAT I, THAT I DON'T KNOW, I'M THE CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO WE, WE HAD A VERY ROBUST INTERDEPARTMENTAL CROSS DEPARTMENTAL TEAM.
THE PROCESS HAS BEEN LED BY THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, UM, THE CITY ARCHITECT AND THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY MYSELF AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM.
UH, WE'VE ALSO, UH, HAD INTERSECTION WITH SOMETHING CALLED THE STRATEGIC FACILITIES GOVERNANCE TEAM, WHICH IS AN EXECUTIVE LEVEL GROUP THAT KIND OF OVERSEES THE CITY'S BUILDING AND FACILITIES PORTFOLIO AND THEN MANY, MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
UM, ONE THING THAT REALLY HELPED US IS WE ACTUALLY HAD A LOT OF PROJECT MANAGERS WHO HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF EXPERIENCE SINCE 2007, IMPLEMENTING GREEN BUILDING PROJECTS FOR THE CITY.
AND SO THEIR EXPERTISE AND THEIR JUST EXPERIENCE PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE, UM, HELPED INFORM THE POLICY UPDATE, NEXT SLIDE.
SO I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE PROPOSED CHANGES ARE.
THESE HAVE YET TO BE ADOPTED YET.
UM, I'LL GET TO THE ADOPTION PROCESS, UH, AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO FOR MAJOR CIP, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, NEW CONSTRUCTION, UH, WE HAVE A PUBLIC, WE CALL IT POLICY THRESHOLD.
WHEN DOES THE POLICY KICK IN WHAT SIZE PROJECT? AND WE USE THE BUDGET VALUE OF THE PROJECT TO CREATE THE POLICY THRESHOLD.
SO THE PREVIOUS THRESHOLD OF $2 MILLION STAYS THE SAME.
AND, UH, WE PREVIOUSLY ONLY USED LEAD AT THE SILVER LEVEL LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN FROM THE US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL.
UM, THAT COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT I REFERRED TO 2019 ADDED AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING AT A, AT AN EQUIVALENCY OF THE THREE-STAR LEVEL EQUIVALENT TO LEAD SILVER AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET.
UM, AND THIS WAS, YOU'LL SEE, THERE'S A COUPLE OF PROJECTS THAT I'M GOING, GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT USED THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING.
THE PROJECTS CAN, CAN SELECT IT'S REALLY UP TO THE DEPARTMENT AND THE PROJECT TEAM, WHICH TOOL THEY PREFER.
UM, A MAJOR ADDITION IS A REQUIREMENT FOR PARKS, EITHER AQUATIC OR LANDSCAPE ORIENTED, YOU KNOW, PARK TYPE PROJECTS, UM, THAT ARE AT THIS POLICY THRESHOLD TO CERTIFY UNDER THE SITES CERTIFICATION IS CALLED SUSTAINABLE SITES.
[01:05:01]
AND THEN I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL AS WE GO FORWARD ABOUT, UM, WHAT WE CAME UP WITH FOR MOVING TOWARDS NET ZERO.WE CAME UP WITH SOME MANDATORY FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS AND SOME KEY AREAS THAT WE WANT THE PROJECT TEAMS TO DO.
WE HAVE ALSO A NEW REQUIREMENT FOR THE PROJECTS TO PERFORM.
WHAT'S CALLED A WATER BALANCE CALCULATION THAT IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE WATER FORWARD PLAN.
UH, EVENTUALLY THAT'LL BECOME A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT.
AND SO WE WANT TO BE LEADING ON THAT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF LOOKING AHEAD TO WHAT IS GOING TO BE REQUIRED ANYWAY, BUT WE CAN START LEARNING THE PROJECT TEAMS CAN START LEARNING BY DOING THOSE WATER BOUTS CALCULATIONS.
UM, IF PROJECTS DON'T MEET THESE POLICY THRESHOLDS, BASICALLY WHATEVER THE SCOPE ITEMS ARE.
WE WANT THEM TO TRY TO MEET THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS THAT EXIST WITHIN LEADER AUSTIN, ENERGY, GREEN BUILDING, NEXT SLIDE.
FOR MAJOR RENOVATION PROJECTS, WE DID, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING A POLICY THROUGH A FIELD CHANGE.
UH, THE PREVIOUS POLICY THRESHOLD WAS ANYTHING OVER $750,000.
IT WAS ANYTHING UNDER $350,000.
WE'RE RAISING THAT THRESHOLD TO $750,000.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE, UM, THESE SMALLER PROJECTS HAD IN THE PAST EXPERIENCED A LOT OF CHALLENGES MEETING THE POLICY.
UM, IT'S PARTLY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE AS MANY AS MUCH CHOICE PERHAPS IN THE DESIGN TEAM YOU'RE GOING TO SELECT, UH, YOU MAY NOT HAVE DESIGN TEAMS THAT, THAT GET US GET SELECTED FOR THE PROJECT THAT HAVE AS MUCH GREEN BUILDING EXPERIENCE OR LEAD OR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING EXPERIENCE.
IT CREATES A LOT OF CHALLENGES AND THERE'S NOT AS MUCH FREE PLAY IN THE BUDGET.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THIS IS A WISE MOVE.
UM, THE MANDATORY FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS KICKS IN THE WATER BALANCE CAP KICKS IN AND SIMILARLY THE PROJECT DOESN'T MEET THE POLICY THRESHOLD.
WE WANT THE PROJECTS THAT MAJOR RENOVATIONS TO MEET THESE LEADER, AUSTIN ENERGY, GREEN BUILDING INTENTIONS, NEXT LINE.
SO FOR MINOR RENOVATIONS AND INTERIOR FINISH OUTS, UM, BASICALLY THE POLICY THRESHOLDS, YOU KNOW, JUST WENT TO ANYTHING UNDER THAT $750,000 THAT I JUST MENTIONED.
SO IT'S ANYTHING BELOW THAT LEVEL, UH, THAT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, A, A RECONFIGURATION OF A SMALL OFFICE SUITE TO WE'RE JUST GOING TO REPLACE CARPET OR FURNISHINGS IN A SUITE.
SO, UH, ONCE AGAIN, WE WANT THOSE KINDS OF SMALLER PROJECTS TO, UM, MEET THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS OF LEADER AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING.
THERE IS NO CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT FOR THOSE KINDS OF PROJECTS NEXT LINE SO THE THIRD PARTY FINANCED OR DELIVERED PROJECTS, THE
UM, THIS IS AN AREA OF THE CITY IS GETTING INTO MORE AND MORE NOW.
AND, UH, THIS WAS ADDRESSED THROUGH THE 2019, UH, RESOLUTION THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, UH, BECAUSE COUNCIL SAW THAT, YOU KNOW, AS THESE PRODUCTS WERE COMING FORWARD, WE DIDN'T HAVE A POLICY STANDARD FOR THEM.
SO TH THE, THE THRESHOLD THAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS IF THE CITY IS RESPONSIBLE OR ARE PROVIDING 50% THE COST OF THE FACILITY, OR IF THE CITY WILL ULTIMATELY BE RESPONSIBLE TO OPERATE THE FACILITY, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING AT THESE, UH, THESE POLICIES REQUIREMENTS KICK IN.
UM, AND BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT I'D WENT OVER PREVIOUSLY ABOUT CIP, UM, NEW CONSTRUCTION, IT'S THE SAME, UH, PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AS THOSE.
UM, SO WE HAVE PARODY THERE AND INCIDENTALLY, YOU KNOW, THE IMAGE SHOWN HERE OF THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CENTER.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS THAT THE CITY HAS RECENTLY COMPLETED USING A NEED DELIVERY MODEL, WHERE, UM, INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTING, SELECTING AN ARCHITECT AND, AND HAVING A DESIGN TEAM WORKING DIRECTLY WITH, UH, US AS THE CLIENT, WE PUT OUT AN RFP FOR SPECIFICATIONS OF A BUILDING THAT WE'D LIKE TO HAVE.
AND THEN WE ENTER INTO A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DEVELOPER AND WE EVENTUALLY BUY THE BUILDING FROM THE DEVELOPER.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A VERY, UH, COST-EFFECTIVE STRATEGY.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT TWO PR TWO MAJOR PROJECTS BEING DELIVERED WITH THIS METHOD.
UM, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE HERE WITH THE P THREE PROJECTS IS COUNCIL, UM, DIRECTED THROUGH THE 2019 RESOLUTION THAT THOSE PROJECTS MUST PARTICIPATE IN SOMETHING CALLED THE BETTER BUILDER PROGRAM FOR ANY PROJECT OVER $1 MILLION.
AND THAT'S A PROGRAM THAT LOOKS A LOT AT WORKERS, SAFETY, UH, TRAINING AND EDUCATION.
AND, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF OUR OWN, UH, CONTRACT STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS, UM, IN, IN PROJECTS THAT WE, UH, THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING OURSELVES.
SO WE DON'T REALLY NEED BETTER BUILDER FOR OUR OWN PROJECTS, BUT, UH, COUNCIL FELT LIKE THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT TO INCLUDE FOR PROJECTS THAT WERE BEING DELIVERED BY A THIRD PARTY.
[01:10:02]
NEXT SLIDE, UM, NEW TO THE POLICY IS, UH, ABE PREFERRED CRITERIA WHEN THE CITY IS LEASING SPACE IN SOMEONE ELSE'S BUILDING, UM, A LOT OF THESE THINGS HAPPEN ALREADY, UH, BUT WORKING WITH THE REAL ESTATE OFFICE, UH, WE AGREED THAT WE WANTED TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THEIR BEST PRACTICES INTO THE POLICY AND ALSO, UM, REALIZING IT'S, IT'S USEFUL TO HAVE SOMETHING OFFICIAL THAT CAN BE POINTED TO THESE ARE ALL PREFERRED.SO NONE OF THESE ARE REQUIRED.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE MAY BE LIMITATIONS ON SPACE THAT IS AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET.
IT MAY, UH, LIMIT THE REAL ESTATE OFFICE REPRESENTATIVES ABILITY TO DO THE NEGOTIATIONS THAT THEY NEED TO DO, UH, TO LEASE SPACE FOR THE CITY, IF WE START REQUIRING THESE THINGS.
SO WE'RE PREFERRING THAT WE'RE IN A, YOU KNOW, GREEN BUILDING THAT'S BEEN CERTIFIED.
WE'RE PREFERRING THAT WE'RE, WE WOULD LOCATE THE LEASED SPACE AND IMAGINE AUSTIN ACTIVITY CENTER OR CORRIDOR TO MINIMIZE OUR TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS.
WE WANT TO MINIMIZE TRAVEL DISTANCES.
WE WANT TO HAVE ACCESS TO ALTERNATIVE MOBILITY.
WE WANT TO HAVE, UH, JEEZ LEASED SPACES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE LOCATED WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE TO DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES, UH, THAT EMPLOYEES THAT WOULD BE HOUSED THERE WOULD NEED, WE WANT THESE FACILITIES TO HAVE A HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BICYCLE FRIENDLY AMENITIES, THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SHOWERS AND LOCKERS AND BICYCLE STORAGE.
UM, WE WANT IF POSSIBLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS, UH, NON-SMOKING FACILITIES AND GREEN HOUSEKEEPING.
SO THAT'S ALL GONNA, AND HOPEFULLY GO INTO THE POLICY FOR OUR PREF PREFERRED CRITERIA FOR WHEN WE LEASE SPACE, UH, THAT IS OWNED IN A BUILDING OWNED BY SOMEONE ELSE.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME NEW POLICY REQUIREMENTS WHEN WE LEASE SPACE IN A CITY BUILDING TO ANOTHER ENTITY.
UM, SOMETIMES THIS HAPPENS WHEN WE HAVE VENDORS LIKE THIS FOOD VENDOR AND THIS LOCATED IN THE CONVENTION CENTER.
WE PREVIOUSLY HAD A CAFE VENDOR IN CITY HALL AND A RETAIL VENDOR IN CITY HALL.
THIS HAPPENS SOMETIMES AT PARK PARD FACILITIES.
UM, IT HAPPENS AT THE AIRPORT.
SO, UH, THE CRITERIA HERE FOR A REQUIREMENT FOR A GREEN BUILDING LEAD SILVER OR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING THREE-STAR, AND THIS IS TYPICALLY GOING TO BE FOR A COMMERCIAL INTERIORS, UH, CERTIFICATION.
IF, IF THE PROJECTS RECEIVING CITY ASSISTANCE, IF THEIR, UH, RENT IS SUBSIDIZED WOULD BE THE PRIMARY WAY THAT THAT WOULD HAPPEN, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE REQUIRED TO HAVE THEIR TENANT IMPROVEMENT CERTIFY AND MEET LEAD SILVER OR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING THREE-STAR.
IF THEY'RE NOT RECEIVING CITY ASSISTANCE, THE CITY JUST SIMPLY DOESN'T HAVE AS MUCH LEVERAGE.
SO THEY'RE ENCOURAGED TO MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, AND, UH, TH THE INTENT OF LEAD CERTIFICATION OR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING, UM, BUT THERE'S NOT A REQUIREMENT.
AND THEN, UH, FOOD SERVICE PROVIDERS AND CITY BUILDINGS.
AND AS I SAID, THAT'S SOMETIMES WHERE THIS KIND OF THING SHOWS UP.
UM, WE WOULD BE ENCOURAGING THEM TO ADOPT SOMETHING CALLED THE GOOD FOOD PURCHASING STANDARDS.
THAT'S A PROGRAM ACTUALLY THAT THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN, UH, WORKING WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER ALREADY, UM, AND OTHER PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND IT'S FOR INSTITUTIONAL FOOD PURCHASERS TO INCREASE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR FOOD PURCHASES.
UH, THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UH, SOME PREFERRED, UH, ELEMENTS THAT WE FELT IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO TALK ABOUT IN THE POLICY.
SO THERE'S A RELATIVELY NEW BUILDING STANDARD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM CALLED THE WELL BUILDING STANDARD.
AND THAT IS ALL FOCUSED ON HUMAN HEALTH AND WELLNESS.
IT'S BEING USED ALREADY AT THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CENTER AND AT THE NEW AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS, WHICH IS, UH, JUST ABOUT COMPLETE NOW.
UH, AND WE ALSO, UH, SPECIFICALLY POINT OUT SOME ELEMENTS LIKE WE REALLY WOULD PREFER TO HAVE OPEN STAIRWELLS IN THE BUILDINGS THAT ARE ATTRACTIVE, THAT ARE PERMANENTLY PLACED, WHICH PROMOTES TO USE THE STAIRS INSTEAD OF THE ELEVATORS.
UM, WE WANT TO HAVE DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT INCREASE, UH, ACCESS TO DAYLIGHT AND PEACE FOR PEOPLE WHICH, UM, HELPS WITH WELLNESS AND ALSO MAKES PEOPLE MORE PRODUCTIVE.
AND IF POSSIBLE, THEY HAVE ONSITE HEALTH AMENITIES THAT COULD BE A GYM, BUT COULD ALSO JUST BE ACCESS TO OUTDOOR SPACE.
UH, AND THEN ALSO GREEN, ONCE AGAIN, GREEN HOUSEKEEPING, NEXT SLIDE.
WE ALSO SPECIFICALLY CALL OUT SOME OF OUR SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE PRIORITIES, MAXIMIZING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ON, UH, WHEREVER WE CAN ON OUR PROJECTS.
WE DO A LOT OF COLLABORATION ACTUALLY WITH THE URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAM AND SOME OF THE TREE MITIGATION FUNDS TO MAXIMIZE TREE PLANTING, UH, INTEGRATING INNOVATIVE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT, AND ALSO ALLOWING
[01:15:01]
ONGOING MONITORING OF THOSE SYSTEMS. UM, THERE IS, UH, UH, COUNCIL RESOLUTION FROM BACK IN 2007 THAT TALKED ABOUT THIS.SO WE JUST INTEGRATED THAT INTO OUR POLICIES DOCUMENT.
AND THEN WE, HOW ABOUT UNIQUE PROJECT TYPES? THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, TOOLS OUT THERE.
I MENTIONED THE SUSTAINABLE SITES, A TOOL THAT IS BEING USED AT THE WATERLOO PARK CREEK DELTA, UM, WITH WATERLOO CONSERVANCY.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS, NEARING COMPLETION.
I'M SURE YOU'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT IT.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO GET MORE EXPERIENCE WITH TOOLS LIKE THIS.
IT'S, UH, THIS, THIS TOOL IS VERY, UM, IT'S VERY CHALLENGING AND IT GOES VERY DEEP INTO, YOU KNOW, SOILS AND ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. AND I THINK THE VALUE THAT'S GOING TO BE DELIVERED TO THESE PROJECTS IS GOING TO BE, IT'S GOING TO BE PRETTY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW IT ALL PLAYS OUT NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND THEN OTHER UNIQUE PROJECT TYPES, WE HAVE BEEN USING SOME OTHER RATING SYSTEMS. SO WE DO TALK IN THE POLICY ABOUT HOW WE, IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A PARTICULAR PROJECT TYPE THAT A DIFFERENT STANDARD, OTHER THAN LEAD OR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING OR SUSTAINABLE SITES IS BETTER SUITED.
UH, WE ENCOURAGE PROJECT TEAMS TO, UM, PROPOSE THOSE.
AND, UH, WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING SORT OF AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR THIS POLICY, UM, AND, AND A PROTOCOL FOR HOW OUR PROJECT TEAM WOULD BRING AN ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL FORWARD AND GET APPROVAL FOR THAT.
UM, BUT THERE ARE SPECIFIC RATING TOOLS FOR PARKING STRUCTURES OUT THERE, AND THESE ARE ALL ORGANIZED AROUND SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, ENVISION IS A TOOL FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
UM, THERE'S ALSO SOMETHING CALLED QUAL FOR LARGE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROJECTS.
ANOTHER TOOL CALLED GREEN ROADS, ROADWAYS AND TRAILS, AND THE CITY HAS USED THE GREEN ROADS PROJECT HERE, TODDLING ROUNDABOUT, THAT'S PICTURED HERE.
I JUST WANTED TO SPEND A LITTLE, A LITTLE BIT OF TIME HERE AND I'M GOING TO BE WRAPPING UP SOON ON THIS ISSUE OF HOW DO WE GET MORE, MORE, UH, NET ZERO PERFORMANCE OUT OF OUR FACILITIES.
UM, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, NET ZERO, UH, RATING SYSTEMS OUT THERE, LIKE THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE, THEY ARE EXTREMELY CHALLENGING.
AND SO WE DIDN'T, WE WOULD ENCOURAGE PROJECT TEAMS TO USE THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE IS ONE OF THOSE ALTERNATIVES, BUT WE FELT LIKE IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO, UH, CREATE A MANDATORY PERFORMANCE STANDARD, UM, FOR NET ZERO BUILDINGS.
SO WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO WAS TO, WE CAME UP WITH WHAT I THINK IS A PRETTY PRACTICAL APPROACH, WHICH IS WE WENT THROUGH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, WHICH WOULD BE KIND OF YOUR GO-TO ELEMENTS TO GET CLOSER TO NET ZERO ON A PROJECT.
THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SHOWING UP IN PROJECTS THAT ARE NET ZERO OR CLOSER TO NET ZERO.
SO, UM, WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO IS REQUIRE PROJECT TEAMS TO DO FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENTS WHERE IT'S APPROPRIATE, WHERE IT FITS THE SCOPE OF THEIR PROJECT FOR EACH ONE OF THESE AREAS.
SO ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS FOR NEW OR REPLACEMENT HVAC OR HOT WATER SYSTEMS. THERE'S A MANDATORY FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT OF BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION, AVOIDING NATURAL GAS OR DISCONNECTING FROM NATURAL GAS.
IF IT'S A, IF IT'S A REPLACEMENT PROJECT, UM, WE WANT PROJECTS TO LOOK AT HOW THEY CAN REDUCE THE EMBODIED CARBON, IF THEY'RE PROUD OF THEIR PROJECT, PARTICULARLY THROUGH, UH, BUILDING MATERIALS AND WASTE REDUCTION STRATEGIES.
AND THEN THE LAST TWO, UM, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I HAVE TWO SLIDES ON THE LAST TWO ITEMS, UM, FOR NEW ROOFS OR ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECTS, WE'RE ASKING FOR MANDATORY FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT OF ROOFTOP, SOLAR, OR SOLAR READY DESIGN, WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT IT WOULD INCLUDE KIND OF A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.
IT WOULD INCLUDE A TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS.
YOU LOOK AT THE BUILDING OR REPORT MENTATION AND EXPOSURE, UM, AND ALSO A COMPLETE ASSESSMENT OF ALL INCENTIVES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PROJECT.
I MEAN, WE ALREADY HAVE A CODE FOR THAT.
SO, UM, WE'RE JUST REINFORCING THAT, BUT WE'D LIKE TO SEE, UM, IF, IF PROJECTS ARE NOT ABLE TO, UH, IF IT'S A PROJECT THAT'S APPROPRIATE OR A ROOF THAT'S APPROPRIATE TO RECEIVE SOLAR, BUT IT DOESN'T FIT INTO THE BUDGET.
WE'D LIKE TO SEE THE PROJECTS GO AHEAD AND JUST BE DESIGNED TO BE SOLAR READY BY DOING THINGS LIKE PROVIDING THE UTILITY CHASES THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY.
UH, AND THAT ACTUALLY IS WHAT THEY DID AT THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CENTER.
THAT PROJECT DOES NOT HAVE CURRENTLY HAVE ROOFTOP SOLAR, BUT IT'S BEEN DESIGNED TO BE SOLAR READY TO HOPEFULLY RECEIVE, UM, ROOFTOP SOLAR IN THE FIELD NEXT TIME.
WE HAVE A REQUIREMENT FOR, UH, MOST PROJECTS, UH, WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS I SUPPOSE, ARE GONNA HAVE PLUMBING SYSTEMS AND, UH, WATER WASTEWATER.
[01:20:01]
THE WATER BALANCE CALCULATION THAT I TALKED ABOUT, WE ARE ASKING FOR FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENTS, UH, DUAL PLUMBING SYSTEMS AND OF THE USE, THE BUGS JEWELRY WATER SYSTEMS. SO, UM, IF THERE'S PURPLE PIPE AVAILABLE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CONNECTING AFTER THE PURPLE PIPE OF POSSIBLE.UM, AND COMING THROUGH AND WATER FORWARD, EVENTUALLY PROJECTS WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE, THE PURPLE PIPE.
UM, I THINK THAT IT ACTUALLY ALREADY ARE REQUIRED TO CONNECT, UM, ON-SITE SYSTEMS LIKE RAINWATER CAPTURE CISTERNS, AND THEN EITHER YOU COULD DO ONSITE GRAY OR BLACK WATER TREATMENT.
UH, AND THEN DUAL PLUMBING IS SOMETHING WE REALLY WANT PROJECTS TO LOOK AT.
EVEN IF TODAY THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, THE TREATED EFFLUENT OR THEY DON'T HAVE AN ONSITE SYSTEM.
WE REALLY WANT PROJECTS TO BE LOOKING AT WHETHER OR NOT THEY CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND PUT DUAL PLUMBING IN.
NOW I HAD TO KIND OF FUTURE PROOF THE PROJECT, UH, FOR FUTURE TECHNOLOGY AVAILABILITY IN ADDITION.
SO THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CENTER THAT I KEEP TALKING ABOUT, UM, HAS A VERY INNOVATIVE, YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT THIS, UH, ONSITE BLACK WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM.
IT'S, UH, COMBINED WITH A 40,000 GALLON CISTERN THAT COLLECTS THE RAINWATER AND THE, UH, CONDENSATE AND THE BLACK WATER SYSTEM IS CREATES A COMPLETELY CLOSED LOOP FOR TOILET FLUSHING.
SO THROUGH A SERIES OF, I THINK, SEVEN, SIX OR SEVEN DIFFERENT TANKS, A DIFFERENT WATER POLICY, INCLUDING A LIVING MACHINE, WHICH HAS PLANTS, IT WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE PLANTS GROWING IN IT.
UM, THE WATER IS TREATMENT TREATED TO A STANDARD WHERE IT CAN ACTUALLY BE BROUGHT BACK INTO THE BUILDING AND USED AGAIN FOR TOILET FLUSHING.
UM, THIS WAS A HUGE COLLABORATION WITH THE AUSTIN WATER UTILITY.
UH, THIS WAS THE FIRST SYSTEM THAT WE KNOW OF LIKE THIS IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND IT'S, UH, ONCE IT'S FULLY OPERATIONAL, IT'S GOING TO RESOLVE HOPEFULLY IN A 75% POTABLE WATER OFFSET FOR THAT PROJECT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, REALLY WANTING TO LEAD THE WAY FOR ONSITE SYSTEMS, UH, IT'S NOT FULLY FUNCTIONAL YET BECAUSE THE BUILDING IS NOT FULLY OCCUPIED.
SO THERE'S ACTUALLY NOT ENOUGH WASTEWATER BEING GENERATED TO, TO, UH, TURN THE SYSTEM ON, BUT THE COURSE THAT WE'LL BE CHANGING NEXT LINE.
SO THAT'S PROBABLY NEXT STEPS.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO, UH, HER OFFICE IS WORKING ON AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL THAT WOULD HOPEFULLY, UH, FORMALLY ADOPT THE POLICY.
IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WE DID SEND A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL WITH THESE PROPOSED POLICY CHANGES BACK IN JUNE, 2020.
WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE A FEW ADDITIONAL POLICY TWEAKS SINCE THAT HAPPENED.
UM, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT RIGHT NOW TO PUT TOGETHER GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS FOR HOW PROJECT MANAGERS WOULD CONDUCT THESE FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENTS FOR NET ZERO STRATEGIES THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
WE WANT, WE WANT TO GIVE THEM SOME TECHNICAL GUIDANCE AND HELP THEM UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT THIS IS WHAT A FEASIBLE FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT SHOULD INCLUDE.
THIS IS KIND OF WHERE TO START.
SO I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE REALLY USEFUL.
UH, WE'LL BE DOING WITH PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT STAFF TRAININGS, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN CONDUCTING BRIEFINGS.
THERE WAS A CIP, UH, MANAGERS, QUARTERLY MEETING, I BELIEVE IT WAS YESTERDAY THAT INCLUDED ALL THIS INFORMATION TO GET FOLKS UP TO SPEED.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE DO HOPE THIS IS GOING TO BE KIND OF A LIVING TOOL AND WE CAN CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE AS WE GO.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE IN FUTURE POLICY UPDATES, ONCE WE GET MORE EXPERIENCE UNDER OUR BELT WITH SOME OF THESE ALTERNATIVE RATING SYSTEMS, WE MAY ADD, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR SOME OF THOSE RATING SYSTEMS. ONCE WE, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THEM BETTER AND HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE WITH THEM.
AND I THINK THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE.
AND, UH, I KNOW I WENT THROUGH A LOT OF INFORMATION THERE, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
WHO HAS QUESTIONS? GREAT QUESTION.
UH, OR I GUESS IT'S A COMMENT AND A QUESTION.
UM, SO I SERVE AS CHAIR OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND WE REVIEW ALL THE CITY PROJECTS AND ULTIMATELY ON THOSE PROJECTS, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GREEN BUILDING, I HEAR THE SAME RESPONSE FROM THE CITY PROJECT MANAGERS, AND THAT IS, WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR IT.
WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR IT.
I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR IT.
AND SO THERE SEEMS TO BE A MAJOR DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE CITY'S GREEN BUILDING REQUIREMENTS AND THE ACTUAL FUNDS ALLOTTED TO DO THESE PROJECTS.
AND MY CONCERN IS THAT THAT DISCONNECT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW IN THIS PROCESS, ESPECIALLY ON THESE PROJECTS WHERE YOU'VE INDICATED THAT THESE MEASURES ARE ENCOURAGED.
AND SO IF THEY'RE ENCOURAGED AND NOT REQUIRED, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE CITY IS PROBABLY GOING TO GIVE THEM LESS FUNDS THAN THEY WOULD IF IT WAS REQUIRED.
AND SO EVEN IF THE ENTIRE TEAM WANTS TO DO THIS, THEY PROBABLY WON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO
[01:25:01]
ACCOMPLISH IT.SO MY QUESTION IS, HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT INCREASING THE FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS? I THINK IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I, I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION BACK TO YOU TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PROJECT TEAMS COMING TO SPEAK TO, TO YOUR GROUP AND YOU ASK ABOUT GREEN BUILDING AND THEY, AND THEY TELL YOU THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY.
WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? BECAUSE WE, WE, I MEAN, THERE, THERE'VE BEEN A FEW MISSES ON THE CITY'S ABILITY TO MEET ITS POLICY, BUT OVERALL, I WOULD SAY WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT TRACK RECORD WITH OUR PROJECTS THAT FALL UNDER THE EXISTING POLICY WITH MEETING THE POLICY REQUIREMENTS.
SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SMALL PROJECTS OR DIFFERENT PROJECT TYPES THAT LIKE THAT ARE NOT BUILDINGS OR IT'S REALLY BEEN ALL KINDS OF PROJECTS, BUT NOT ALL OF THE CITY PROJECTS ARE HIGH-PROFILE LIKE THE DSD OFFICE IS RIGHT WHERE THEY OBVIOUSLY GOT A LOT OF MONEY TO DO THAT PROJECT, TO DO THESE WASTEWATER AND THINGS.
THE CITY DOESN'T PUT AS MUCH MONEY INTO SAY A FIRE STATION AND WILDLIFE FIRST STATIONS ARE ACHIEVING THESE STANDARDS THOUGH SAYING THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO ACHIEVE THESE STANDARDS, BUT THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO ACHIEVE EVERYTHING ELSE THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO DO.
FORDABLE TECHS ARE NOT ABLE TO DO OTHER THINGS.
THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY'RE DOING LOW VOC PAINTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO ACHIEVE THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO DO OTHER THINGS, UH, AS PART OF THAT SYSTEM OR GO ABOVE AND BEYOND.
UM, AND, AND THEY, AND THEY SEEM TO STRUGGLE JUST TO, YOU KNOW, MEET THE BARE MINIMUM.
SO AGAIN, ESPECIALLY FOR THESE PROJECTS, NOW THAT YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS THAT ARE YOU'RE ADDING SITES AND WELL, AND ALL THESE SAYINGS, AND IF THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED, I IMAGINE THE CITY MIGHT NOT GIVE THEM ANY MONEY TO DO IT.
AND SO NO ONE'S GOING TO DO THESE PROGRAMS. UM, SO YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
UM, SO I THINK AS A PRACTICE HOPPING THE, UH, OR RAISING THE THRESHOLD FOR RENOVATION PROJECTS, I THINK THAT'S A PRACTICAL MATTER OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DESIGN SERVICES THAT ARE REQUIRED IN SOME, IN PART IT'S PARTLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COST TO, TO CONSTRUCT A PROJECT, BUT IT'S ALSO THE COST OF THE DESIGN SERVICES TO ACTUALLY GO THROUGH CERTIFICATION.
UM, SO I HEAR YOU, IF SOME OF THESE THINGS ARE NOT MANDATORY, CERTAINLY IT RELAXES THINGS A LITTLE BIT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, A LOT OF THOSE SMALLER RENOVATION PROJECTS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY A BIG COST IMPACT FOR, YOU KNOW, SPECIFYING YOUR CARPET CORRECTLY, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE I THINK WE REALLY DO HAVE A CHALLENGE THOUGH.
AND, AND I THINK YOU'RE BRINGING UP A REALLY VALID POINT.
YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO MAXIMIZE RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION ONSITE THROUGH ROOFTOP, SOLAR AT CITY BUILDINGS, WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A DIFFERENT WAY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S GOING TO MEAN WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO ESTABLISH A SPECIAL FUND THAT PROJECTS COULD TAP INTO TO APPLY, YOU KNOW, TO GET PART OF THAT FUNDING, TO GET THE ROOFTOP SOLAR FOR NEW PROJECTS, BUT ALSO FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS, BECAUSE WE PROBABLY HAVE A LOT OF EXISTING BUILDINGS THAT COULD RECEIVE ROOFTOP SOLAR.
SO I THINK SOME THINGS LIKE THAT, WE REALLY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
UM, I'M GOING TO JUMP IN AND JUST BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF RELATED TO THAT, UH, I, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS, I THINK THOUGHT GOING ON THAT MAYBE CITY BUILDINGS, UH, COULD BE USED TO BE THE SOLAR ON CITY BUILDINGS CAN BE USED TO ADD CAPACITY CAPACITY TO THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM.
AND, UM, I'M WONDERING WHAT THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ON THAT AND KIND OF WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THAT TRADE-OFF OF GETTING SOLAR INSTALLED ON THOSE BUILDINGS, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S FEEDING INTO COMMUNITY SOLAR, THEN OF COURSE THE DEPARTMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER'S IN THAT BUILDING, THE BUILDING ISN'T BENEFITING, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO A DIFFERENT PURPOSE.
DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT GNOSTIC ON THE QUESTION YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT THE BENEFITS? I THINK IT ALL ACCRUES TO THE COMMUNITY, THE, THESE, THESE ARE ASSETS THEY'RE OWNED BY THE CITY, THEREFORE THEY'RE OWNED BY THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I, I'M FINE WITH IT EITHER WAY.
MY UNDERSTANDING FROM MY MOST RECENT CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM IS THEY REALLY, UH, THE PROJECTS WORK A LOT BETTER FOR THEM AT SCALE.
SO, UM, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE GOING TO BE SUPER INTERESTED IN A LOT OF REALLY, REALLY SMALL PROJECTS, BUT, YOU KNOW, A BIG SOLAR INSTALLATION
[01:30:01]
AT THE AIRPORT THAT'S ATTRACTIVE FOR COMMUNITY SOLAR.SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SOMEWHAT LIMITED ON THE, THE KINDS OF PROJECTS THAT, THAT MAKE IT PENCIL OUT FOR THEM AND THE NUMBERS THAT THEY NEED TO, TO MEET, TO MAKE IT COST-EFFECTIVE FOR COMMUNITY SOLAR.
THAT, THAT WAS NOT THE IMPRESSION THAT I GOT.
UM, SO MAYBE, MAYBE A MARRIAGE.
I DON'T WANT TO DERAIL THIS, UH, CONVERSATION HERE, BUT MAYBE WE CAN COME BACK TO THAT ANOTHER TIME.
UM, THE KIND OF IDEA OF AGGREGATING ROOFTOP SPACE.
AND YOU KNOW, I, I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON THAT.
SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO ASK COMMUNITY SOLAR FOLKS TO COME IN AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT.
BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE AN OBJECTION.
YOU DON'T THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A BARRIER FOR, YOU KNOW, CITY BUILDINGS GETTING SOLAR, NO FOOD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CENTER THAT I MENTIONED.
I MEAN, I JUST LIKE TO SEE SOLAR ON THE PROJECT.
THANKS FOR, UM, SHOUTING OUT TO AUSTIN WATER, UH, INITIATIVE ON BLACK WATER TREATMENT.
I AM VERY EXCITED GEEKY ABOUT IT.
UM, I WAS THINKING YOU SHOULD JUST PRESENT IT, THAT SLIDE.
I'M VERY INTERESTED IN SEE HOW IT WORKS.
AND, UM, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GO OVER THERE AND CONTRIBUTE SOME EFFLUENT TO THE SYSTEM.
UH, NEXT TIME YOU, IN THE BUILDING FOR ANY MEETING, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE THE BATHROOM TO THE JEREMY HAS SOMETHING THAT HE, UM, BUT IN TERMS OF THE POLICY, I THINK I APPRECIATE THE, YOU KNOW, DAVID'S QUESTION IN TERMS OF, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE FINANCIAL PLANNING, UH, MATCHES WITH THE SORT OF THE GREEN POLICY PLANNING.
NOW I WOULD SAY TO COUNTERPOINT THERE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE OF IS, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE EQUITY COMPONENT IS ALSO BENCHMARKED.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD ASK OUTSIDE OF CONTEXT OF, DO WE WANT MORE SOLAR? DO WE WANT MORE GREEN INITIATIVE? THE ANSWER IS ABSOLUTELY.
BUT I THINK IT KIND OF GO BACK TO MY QUESTION EARLIER TO BETH.
I DON'T KNOW YOU WERE THERE FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
THE CONDENSATION COLLECTION IS SOMETHING THAT I ZEROED IN BECAUSE WE'VE DESIGNED EIGHT AND WE OVERSEE AT LEAST 22 SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT IN THE LAST, UH, YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS.
THAT'S PART OF THE AISD, A BILLION DOLLAR BOND.
AND WITH EVERY PROJECT, RIGHT.
THERE'S COMPENSATION THAT COME UP LIKE COLLECT, YOU KNOW, COLLECTION.
AND I'LL BE HONEST, I THINK IT'S THE COLLECTION SYSTEM ITSELF.
IT'S NOT THE COST THAT IT SCARE PEOPLE IS THE BACKFLOW PREVENTER AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT COMES WITH IT.
THAT COSTS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THAT DOESN'T REALLY ADD VALUES TO THE CLASSROOM.
IT DOESN'T ADD VALUES TO THE, UH, THE CISTERN AND I KNOW WHY PARENTS PROTECT THE WATER SOURCE AND I GET IT, YOU KNOW, I, I WANT AUSTIN WATER TO BE PROTECTED, BUT I THINK FROM AN EQUITY STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE TO SAY, HEY, LET'S PUT A CISTERN, BUT THAT TRIGGER HALF A MILLION DOLLAR OF, OF EXPENSE THAT COULD HAVE GONE TO THE BA, UH, COULD HAVE GONE TO THE CLASSROOM.
I THINK THAT'S ALSO LIKE A SENSITIVE POINT THAT WE ALSO HAVE TO BENCHMARK OURSELVES AGAINST.
SO I THINK WITH ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT Y'ALL DO IN TERMS OF ENCOURAGING PROJECT, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WATER, UH, DEMAND WORKSHEET IS A GREAT ONE.
I'D LOVE TO SEE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT BUILT INTO THE, UM, THE SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT, UM, SO THAT WE ARE VERY MINDFUL OF THE FINANCIAL BURDEN THAT WOULD HAVE GONE TO AN EQUITY COMPONENT.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS.
I JUST THINK THAT THAT'S A HARD QUESTION THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE TO KIND OF ASK OURSELVES BECAUSE AS A DESIGNER, I'VE LOVE TO PUT THE SYSTEM IN WITH THEM TIME.
IT COST MONEY THAT COULD HAVE GONE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND I KNOW DAVID, I DO A LOT OF WORK OUTSIDE OF THIS, IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
YOU KNOW, 500,000 COULD MEAN THREE EXTRA UNITS THAT IS AFFORDABLE.
SO JUST WANT TO THROW IT OUT THERE, BUT I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
I MEAN, THE QUICK THING I WOULD SAY TO YOU NOW IS THAT I THINK WE'RE A LOT FURTHER ALONG IN THE SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN BUILDING WORLD AND BENCHMARKING SOME OF THE TECHNICAL ELEMENTS AND NOT AS FAR ALONG A BENCHMARKING, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL EQUITY.
SO, AND THEN MY ONLY OTHER THOUGHT IS THE MORE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAKE OUR PORTFOLIO MORE EFFICIENT AND LOWER THE COST TO OPERATE OUR PORTFOLIO.
HOPEFULLY SOME OF THOSE SAVINGS, YOU KNOW, THEN CAN BE USED BY THE CITY TO ON OTHER AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AREAS.
WHETHER IT'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR SOMETHING ELSE.
BUT THANKS FOR THE COMMENT THOUGH.
NO FURTHER COMING THINGS, NOT JUST ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO HOP INTO THIS CONVERSATION OR ARE WE
[01:35:01]
GOOD TO MOVE ON? ALL RIGHT.LUCHEA WHEN YOU LOOKING FOR ANY SORT OF, UM, AND JURISTS MAN OF WHAT YOU PRESENTED TO US AS IT GOES TO COUNCIL WOULD BE HAPPY TO RECEIVE THE ENDORSEMENT.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU GUYS TO DO THAT.
IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CHOOSE TO DO, I'D CERTAINLY WELCOME.
AND, AND THIS IS, YOU SAID SOMETHING, W WHAT WAS YOUR TIMELINE IN TERMS OF, I DON'T, I DON'T REALLY HAVE A DATE RIGHT NOW.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
IT'LL, IT'LL BE AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL, BUT I NEED TO CIRCLE BACK WITH COUNCIL MEMBER TOBRA HIS OFFICE, UM, AND CHECK IN ON THE TIMING.
SO I JUST DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT EVEN IF WE TOOK THE SEPARATE ACTION NEXT MONTH, IT MIGHT, IT WOULD PROBABLY STILL BE TIMELY.
WELL, UM, I WANT TO HEAR FROM MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS HERE, DO WE WANT TO, UM, TAKE ANY ACTION ON THIS ITEM OR DO WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT FOR NEXT MONTH? UM, HEY PAT, THIS IS ALBERTA.
I'VE BEEN HAVING TECHNOLOGY ISSUES, BUT I DON'T SEE WHY WE WOULD WAIT.
I THINK THE PRESENTATION WAS A FULL, UM, PRESENTATION WITH A GOOD DISCUSSION, AND I'M AFRAID, AT LEAST SPEAKING FROM MYSELF, I'M LIKE FORGETTING WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT NEXT MONTH.
AND SO A COUPLE OF NODDING HEADS, DO OTHERS AGREE WITH THAT? I MET SUPPORT, BUT I JUST, I SORT OF REALLY, DON'T LIKE CRAFTING RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE DIETS.
I WOULD, IF IT'S TIMELY TO WAIT, I JUST ALWAYS FEEL LIKE I JUST, I'M REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH US WRITING RECOMMENDATIONS AND VOTING ON THEM ON THE FLY.
OTHER THAN KAREN, DO YOU FEEL LIKE IF IT WAS JUST SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SUPPORT WHAT'S PUT FORWARD, UH, IN THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT, IS THAT, AND I GUESS I WANT TO HEAR FROM OTHER FOLKS, LIKE, DO, DO WE SUPPORT EVERYTHING AS PRESENTED OR IS THERE, WOULD THERE BE ANY EXCEPTIONS THAT SHE HAS GO AHEAD.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, IF IT WOULD HELP, WHAT WE CAN DO IS, IS TRANSMIT TO YOU THE DRAFT POLICY.
UM, I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY GO AHEAD AND DO THAT.
I'LL, I'LL DOUBLE CHECK WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER'S OFFICE, BUT IF YOU PREFER TO SEE, YOU KNOW, A DOCUMENT, AS OPPOSED TO JUST A, YOU KNOW, A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THAT MIGHT, THAT MIGHT HELP WITH THAT, PEOPLE WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO REFER TO IF YOU DO WAIT UNTIL NEXT MONTH.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE CORRECT.
I THINK WE COULD CRAFT A MUCH STRONGER RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, IT'S ONE THING TO SAY WE APPROVE OF IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, CAN WE ADD ANY, YOU KNOW, ACTUAL INPUT AND THERE'S BEEN SOME GREAT DISCUSSION, LIKE STRENGTHEN A RECOMMENDATION BEYOND JUST GREAT, YOU KNOW? YES.
I, I, THAT'S A BROADER, I FEEL LIKE IMPORTANT POINT.
DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT? I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
WE'LL GET THE DRAFT IN WRITING.
UM, AND THAT, THAT SHOULD BE OKAY.
UM, AS I SAID, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS WHY SOMETIMES WE DO HAVE TO VOTE IN THE MOMENT, UM, WHEN WE HAVE A FULL PRESENTATION.
SO I DON'T HAVE THE SAME ISSUES JUST ON PRINCIPLE.
UM, BUT BECAUSE TO ME, YOU CAN, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND HOW MUCH INFORMATION YOU HAVE, BUT I HAVE NO PROBLEM WAITING FOR THE, UH, FOR THE DEAL AND, AND, AND HOPING WE'LL HAVE A QUORUM THE NEXT TIME WE MADE.
YEAH, ALBERT, I MEAN, I HEAR YOU.
AND I VOTED ON THINGS WHEN WE HAVE, WHEN THERE'S BEEN A VERY TIMELY ISSUE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, BUDGET ITEMS THAT WE HAVE TO GET IN, YOU KNOW, AT A SPECIFIC TIMELINE.
BUT SINCE WE HAVE THE TIME IN THIS SITU I THINK IT'S A BEST PRACTICE FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP A RECOMMENDATION, NOT IN SITU WHEN POSSIBLE, BUT IT DOES NOT, UH, YEAH, NOT, NOT A, NOT AN ALWAYS.
UM, NOT, NOT HEARING ANY STRONG OBJECTION TO WAITING.
LET'S, UH, GO AHEAD AND WE'LL, WE'LL GET THAT WRITTEN
[01:40:01]
A DRAFT POLICY.UM, I'M SURE I CAN SEND THAT AROUND TO EVERYBODY.
AND THEN, UM, WE CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING FOR NEXT TIME.
DOES ANYBODY, WHILE WE'RE HERE, WANT TO VOLUNTEER TO TAKE A LEAD ON DRAFTING THAT RECOMMENDATION VOLUNTEER KAREN, KAREN, EXCEPT NOT ACCEPTING THAT, THAT IT'S NOT MY REALM.
I WOULD THROW IT TO ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT WERE MORE ACTIVE IN THE DISCUSSION AND ARE MORE STRONGLY LINKED.
I, I WANT TO TAKE THE, YOU KNOW, A PIECE BACK TO THE FOOD POLICY BOARD AND DISCUSSING WITH THEM, UH, SPECIFICALLY ON, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD FOOD PURCHASING PROGRAM, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ACCEPT THAT CHARGE.
I WILL PARTICIPATE IF ELSE WILL, FROM A, UM, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S WORTH IT TO, TO DISCUSS, UH, THE, THE FORMAT OF IT.
I MEAN, AS YOU MIGHT RECALL, LAST TIME WHEN WE WERE DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR, YOU KNOW, I SUGGEST THAT WE TAKE A VOTE THAT SUPPORT THE, THE POLICY IN, IN, IN NOT THE RIGHT TERM, BUT THEN SPIRIT IN TERMS OF LIKE THE OVERALL, I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING THAT DIVE INTO THE NITTY AND GRITTY OF THE POLICY ITSELF.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO TAKE LIKE AN OVERALL, UM, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT AT THE POLICY IS WRITTEN, UM, BUT NOT GETTING TO THE WEEDS OF IT.
I, YOU KNOW, AND TRUST STAFF TO KIND OF CONTINUE TO WORK THAT OUT.
YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING LIKE THAT WE CAN DO.
UM, I UNDERSTAND IF, IF IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE DRAFTING THE CODE LANGUAGE RECOMMENDATIONS OR SOMETHING THAT IS HIGHLY SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SPEND TIME BEFORE DEBATING NUMBERS BETWEEN FIVE AND FOUR OR FOUR AND A HALF.
UM, IN THIS CASE, IT SEEMED LIKE THE POLICY PRETTY WELL IN LINE.
SO IF THAT'S THE GENERAL DIRECTION, I'M HAPPY TO VOLUNTEER, TO DRAFT LIKE AN OVERALL HIGH-LEVEL POLICY.
I WON'T BE ABLE TO DO LIKE A DEEP DIVE AND, AND FLOATING A, UH, UM, I GUESS A RESOLUTION THAT IS CHECKING EVERY SINGLE POLICY AND KIND OF BREAK IT APART.
UM, BUT AT THE HIGH LEVEL, I FEEL LIKE IF THIS BODY IS FEELING LIKE STAFF HAS DONE A GREAT JOB, WHICH I PERSONALLY FEEL SO, UH, AND THE PRESENTATION HAD ENOUGH LEVEL OF DETAIL NOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE ONE OF THOSE CODE WHERE YOU GET REALLY DETAILED, BUT I THINK TO ME, THAT'S ENOUGH FROM A POLICY STANDPOINT.
SO IF WE CAN AT LEAST TAKE THAT FIRST STEP, THEN, THEN I'M PERFECTLY FINE WITH, WITH, YOU KNOW, UH, WORKING WITH LEUKEMIA TO, TO COME UP WITH LIKE A VERY SUCCINCT POLICY THAT WE CAN RECOMMEND.
UM, I HEAR KAREN IN TERMS OF NOT VOTING ON THE FLY.
UM, UM, BUT I ALSO DON'T WANT TO HAVE LIKE AN OPEN-ENDED THING WHERE YOU JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU WRITE SOMETHING AND IT'S COMPLETELY ON NOT EVEN DOING SOME AT THE SAME PLANE WHERE THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU WRITE A HIGH LEVEL POLICY RECOMMENDATION, AND THEN YOU ENDED UP DEBATING ALL THE FINAL POINTS SO WELL FOR DIRECTION.
AND, UM, BECAUSE HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO WRITE IF YOU DON'T HAVE DIRECTION? I, I GET THAT.
NOW IT SEEMS LIKE, I MEAN, I'M NOT HEARING, UM, CONCERNS HERE TONIGHT BEYOND A FEW PLACES WHERE MAYBE SOME OF THE SUGGESTED, UM, ACTION, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW, MA MAYBE SOME THOUGHT ABOUT SOME OF THAT BEING REQUIRED OR, UM, I DON'T KNOW SOMETHING ELSE, BUT OVERALL IT SEEMED LIKE POSITIVE, UM, POSITIVE FEELINGS, THE PROPOSAL.
SO, YEAH, I THINK YOU CAN KEEP IT AT A, AT A HIGH LEVEL.
AND LIKE I SAID, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO PARTICIPATE AS WELL AND GAVE IT, I DUNNO IF, IF YOU'RE WILLING, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ALSO HAVE EXPERTISE IN THIS AREA.
ARE YOU WILLING TO HELP ON THAT FOR NEXT MONTH? I'M WILLING TO CONSULT? YES.
JASMINE WILL BE 10 SEX SENTENCES OF FEWER ENGINEERS.
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME HERE AND TRYING TO MEET AND ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.
[2d) PM2.5 Emissions Reduction Plan – Andrew Hoekzema and Christiane Alepuz, Capital Area Council of Governments (Discussion and/or possible action)]
WE HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THE PARTICULATE EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS PLAN FROM ANDREW, AND I ALWAYS FORGET HOW TO SAY YOUR NAME.SO I'M JUST GOING TO SAY ANDREW, AND YOU CAN INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
UH, AND THAT SAYS THAT THE CAPCHA ACTION THAT I DO BELIEVE IS HEADING TO COUNCIL
[01:45:02]
SOMETIME SOON.AND SO I THINK STEVIE SAID SOME THINGS SHE WANTED TO SAY FIRST.
UM, YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO, TO PROVIDE LIKE A KIND OF BRIEF, UM, FRAMING AND, UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A NEW COMMISSIONER, SO JUST TO TRY TO EXPLAIN SOME CONTEXT ON THIS, BUT, UM, ON TOP OF BEING THE LIAISON FOR THE JSC PART OF MY JOB IS ALSO TO BE THE AIR QUALITY PROGRAM COORDINATOR AND WORK ON REGIONAL AIR QUALITY ISSUES WITH ANDREW AND CALF COG.
AND SO, UM, AS A REGION, WE HAVE A CLEAN AIR COALITION, WHICH IS MADE UP OF, UM, ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM THE FIVE COUNTY REGION AND THEIR JURISDICTIONS.
AND THEN THERE'S AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MADE UP OF STAFF FROM THOSE JURISDICTIONS AND THEN ADDITIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE REGION.
UM, AND SO TRADITIONALLY, UH, AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM WHAT I CAN FIND IN THE PAST DECADE, A LOT OF THE AIR QUALITY WORK THAT THE REGION HAS FOCUSED ON HAS BEEN, UM, ON REDUCING BROWN LEVEL OF OZONE BECAUSE OF THE REGIONAL LEVELS BEING CLOSE TO, TO NON-ATTAINMENT.
UM, AND SO A LOT OF THE PLANNING HAS REALLY FOCUSED ON A GROUND LEVEL OZONE REDUCTION STRATEGIES AND, AND MUCH OF IT HONESTLY, ON, ON TRANSPORTATION.
UM, SO NOW PA, UH, WORKED WITH THE, UH, CLEAN AIR COALITION AND CAP COG TO, UM, RECOMMEND PARTICIPATION IN AN EPA, UH, PARTICULATE MATTER ADVANCED PROGRAM.
AND SO EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE CLEANER COALITION VOTED, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PM ADVANCED PROGRAM.
AND AS PART OF THAT, A COMMITTEE WAS FORMED FROM THE CLEANER COALITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WORKED, UM, DEVELOPING SOME BREAST PRACTICE, UH, MEASUREMENT STRATEGIES, AND THEN SEND THOSE OVER TO, UM, DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO SIGN ON WITH.
AND SO OUR OFFICE HAS MET WITH, UM, KELSEY MEMBER ELLIS'S OFFICE, WHICH, UM, SHE'S THE VICE CHAIR OF THE CLEANER COALITION, UM, TO, TO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE SOME COMMENTARY AND SOME PERSPECTIVES FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS ON THESE STRATEGIES.
AND, UM, THIS SHOULD COME AS AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL.
UM, PROBABLY AT THE, TOWARDS THE END OF MAY, I BELIEVE MAY 20TH, UM, OR AT THE LATEST IN EARLY JUNE.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF SOME BACKGROUND THERE.
AND THEN, UM, ANDREW, WE'LL GO INTO MUCH MORE DETAIL IN HIS PRESENTATION.
UM, SO, UH, I APPRECIATE THAT.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF REGIONAL PLANNING AND SERVICES AT THE CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS.
UH, MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT CAP CROCK IS.
WE'RE A REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION.
WE ARE CONSIDERED A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE.
UH, WE COVER A 10 COUNTY REGION HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, AND WE DEAL WITH REGIONAL ISSUES THAT EITHER CROSS JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES OR HELP PROVIDE, UH, SERVICES ACROSS REEF, THE REGION.
UH, SO AIR QUALITY IS ONE OF THOSE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THAT'S OUR 10 COUNTY REGION, UH, THE, UH, FOR THE AIR QUALITY PROGRAM, WE FOCUS ON THE FIVE COUNTY METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA, WHICH IS ALONG AGE 35.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO BASS DROP IN CALDWELL COUNTIES.
UH, WE REPORT TO AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THAT IS MADE UP OF ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM THE REGION.
SO A CITY OF AUSTIN HAS A SEAT AND A COUNCIL MEMBER.
KELLY IS, UH, THE CITY'S REPRESENTATIVE.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, COUNTY JUDGES AND A FEW NON-VOTING STATE REPRESENTATIVES ON THERE AS WELL.
SO, UH, JUST AS A STARTING POINT, UH, WHAT IS PARTICULATE MATTER, UM, FOR THOSE OF US WHO PAY ATTENTION TO AIR QUALITY, UH, EVEN IF WE, WE DEAL WITH IT ON A DAILY BASIS, WHICH VERY FEW PEOPLE DO, UM, YOU KNOW, IN TEXAS, MOSTLY WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT OZONE FOR DECADES.
UM, THERE'S A FEW PLACES THAT HAVE, HAVE HAD SOME PARTICULATE MATTER CONCERNS, BUT, UM, MANY PEOPLE, IF THEY'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO AIR QUALITY, THEY'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ZONE.
SO PARTICULARLY ANOTHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE.
IT'S BASICALLY SMALL PARTICLES.
UH, IT COULD BE SOLID OR LIQUID DROPLETS IN THE AIR, UM, AND THEY THEY'RE DIFFERENT TYPES.
UH, SO IT'S REALLY BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE PARTICLE.
UM, AND THEY'RE, THEY CAN BE DIFFERENT CHEMICAL COMPONENTS AND SO FORTH.
SO JUST AS A MATTER OF ORIENTATION THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, HUMAN HAIR AND THEN, UH, YOU'VE PM 10, WHICH MEANS IT'S 10 MICROMETERS OR SMALLER.
AND THEN PM 2.5, WHICH MEANS IT'S BELOW 2.5 METERS.
[01:50:01]
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S, UM, THAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT PM 2.5 IS IT'S BOTH A PRIMARY POLLUTANT MEAN MEANING IT CAN BE DIRECTLY ADMITTED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.IT'S ALSO A SECONDARY POLLUTANT.
SO OZONE IS, IS ONLY BASICALLY A SECONDARY POLLUTANT.
UM, YOU DON'T HAVE OZONE COMING OUT OF A TAILPIPE OF A CAR OR, UH, UM, SMOKESTACK FROM A FACTORY OR A POWER PLANT.
IT'S A SECONDARY POLLUTANT CAUSE IT'S ONES WITH NOX AND VOC IN THE ATMOSPHERE, BUT PM 2.5 IS BOTH A PRIMARY POLLUTANT AND A SECONDARY POLLUTANT.
AND THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT, UM, PRECURSORS TO AMBIENT PM, 2.5.
SO, UH, THESE ARE LISTED HERE CRUSTAL PM 2.5 OR BASICALLY PARTICLES FROM DUSTIN SOIL FROM THE EARTH'S CRUST.
ELEMENTAL CARBON IS BASICALLY, UH, PARTICLES OF GRAPHITE.
UM, ORGANIC CARBON ARE BASICALLY ANYTHING THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, HYDROCARBONS THAT ARE, UH, HAVE FORMED PARTICLES IN, UH, IN THE ATMOSPHERE, UH, IN, UH, YOU KNOW, SULFATE, UH, PMT 0.5 AND NITRATE PM 2.5, UH, RELATED TO, UH, SULFUR AND, AND NITROGEN AND THEN AMMONIUM OR NH FOUR.
SO, UM, MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARTICULAR MATTER, WHICH MAKES IT, UH, EVEN AS, AS COMPLICATED AS OZONE IS PARTICULATE MATTER IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED BECAUSE OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT TIMES.
THERE'S, UM, THE TYPE OF PM 2.5 THAT APPEARS TO BE CONTRIBUTING MOST TO THE PEAK PM 2.5 CONCENTRATIONS IN OUR REGION, UH, ON SORT OF AN ANNUAL BASIS IS ORGANIC CARBON PM 2.5.
SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF MODELING DATA THAT'S AVAILABLE.
UM, WE HAVE ONLY A FEW, UH, PARTICULATE MATTER MONITORS AND, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST MIGHT TELL US LIKE THE TOTAL MASS OF PARTICULATES, BUT NOT HOW THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, WHICH, WHICH TYPES OF SOURCES THEY'RE COMING FROM.
SO WE DO HAVE SOME MODELING AND THAT SUGGESTS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST PARTICULATE MATTER LEVELS IN THE REGION, UM, YOU KNOW, AND COMPARE THESE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PM, 2.5, THAT ORGANIC CARBON PM 2.5 MAKES UP THE LARGEST PART OF THAT AND BASICALLY ACCOUNTS FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LOWER PARTS OF THE REGION AND HIGHER PARTS OF THE REGION IN TERMS OF THE PM 2.5.
SO THAT'S A MAJOR PRIORITY FOR US IN BRINGING DOWN THE PEAK PM 2.5 LEVELS AND REGION.
UM, THE OTHER SIDE IS, UH, HEALTH AFFECTS FROM PM 2.5 ARE MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN THEY ARE FOR OZONE.
UM, SO, UH, PMT 0.5 OR A SMALL ENOUGH TO KIND OF TREAT, UM, BASICALLY THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS, BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THAT WE HAVE, UM, AND CAN REALLY CAUSE SOME SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS, CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS, NERVOUS SYSTEM EFFECTS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S AND, AND DEATH, AND THAT'S AN ADDITION TO JUST REGULAR RESPIRATORY EFFECTS.
SO, UH, BY COMPARISON, UH, OZONE REALLY YOU GET RESPIRATORY EFFECTS, UM, BUT, AND, AND MAYBE SOME METABOLIC EFFECTS, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE SOME OF THESE OTHER EFFECTS.
AND A PRIOR ANALYSIS BY EPA INDICATES THAT ACTUALLY SOMETHING LIKE 80% OF THE HEALTH BENEFIT THAT THEY ATTRIBUTE TO, UM, MEASURES TO REDUCE OZONE COME FROM CO-BENEFITS OF PM 2.5 REDUCTIONS.
SO, UM, EPA HAS TO REVIEW THESE STANDARDS PERIODICALLY, UM, AND THEIR MOST RECENT REVIEW WAS COMPLETED LAST YEAR.
UH, THAT AGAIN INDICATED THAT THERE'S NOT REALLY A THRESHOLD BELOW WHICH FURTHER REDUCTIONS TO BM EXPOSURE WOULDN'T, UM, WOULDN'T PROVIDE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS.
SO EVEN, EVEN THOUGH OUR REGION IS IN ATTAINMENT OF THE PMT 0.5 STANDARDS, UM, WE'RE STILL EXPERIENCING HEALTH IMPACTS FROM IT, AND WE WOULD STILL GET HEALTH BENEFITS FROM FURTHER REDUCTIONS.
UM, SO ONE OF THE KEY ISSUES WITH, UM, AIR QUALITY IS THAT NOT EVERYBODY IS EQUALLY AFFECTED.
SO, UM, GROUPS THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED AND HAVE HEALTH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, PM ARE PEOPLE WITH HEART AND LUNG DISEASES, CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS, AND THEN OLDER ADULTS, UM, COLLECTIVELY THESE GROUPS ACCOUNT FOR AT LEAST 40% OF THE POPULATION OF THE METRO AREA.
UM, AND THEN IN THIS LAST REVIEW OF THE PARTICULAR MATTER STANDARDS, EPA ALSO FOUND CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT THERE, UH, THAT, UH, UH, PEOPLE OF COLOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND LOW INCOME PEOPLE,
[01:55:01]
UH, TEND TO HAVE DISPROPORTIONATE EXPOSURE TO HIGHER A PM 2.5 LEVELS.SO, UH, THEY WOULD ALSO BE CONSIDERED, UH, A SENSITIVE OR, UH, YOU KNOW, HIGH-IMPACT GROUP 2:00 PM.
I THINK TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT EVEN IF WE'RE IN ATTAINMENT OF THE STANDARDS, WE STILL HAVE, UH, ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE DAYS OUT OF THE YEAR WHEN AIR QUALITY ON A GIVEN DAY IS NOT GOOD OR NOT CONSIDERED GOOD, ACCORDING TO EPA OR QUALITY INDEX.
SO LAST YEAR ABOUT A THIRD OR MODERATE, UM, OR WORSE, WE HAD TWO DAYS THAT WERE CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS FOR OZONE, AND THEN ONE THAT WAS UNHEALTHY FOR EVERYONE FOR PM 2.5.
AND THAT WAS WHEN WE HAD THAT, UH, SAHARAN DUST EVENT.
SO, UM, WE'RE IN ATTAINMENT OF THE STANDARDS FOR OZONE AS WELL, BUT WE STILL EVERY YEAR, UM, KIND OF USUALLY AT LEAST A COUPLE OF THOSE DAYS THAT GET ABOVE THE LEVELS THAT EPA CONSIDERS SAFE FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS, THAT MODERATE, UH, RANGE MEANS THE BASICALLY, UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE 40% OF THE POPULATION THAT I JUST MENTIONED, BUT IT MIGHT BE A NARROWER GROUP OF THAT, UM, THAT SUBSET THAT MIGHT, UH, BE PARTICULARLY PRONE TO, TO HEALTH ISSUES.
BUT THAT MEANS THAT THERE'S, THERE'S STILL, YOU KNOW, A, A PART OF OUR POPULATION IN THE REGION THAT'S EXPERIENCING AIR QUALITY THAT WILL CAUSE SOME HEALTH PROBLEMS. UM, SO OF THOSE DAYS, MOST OF THOSE ARE RELATED TO PARTICULATE MATTER RATHER THAN OZONE.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE EPA REQUIRES THE, UH, UH, OR THE CLEAN AIR ACT REQUIRES THAT EPA SETS, UH, NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR SIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF POLLUTANTS, INCLUDING PARTICULATE MATTER.
AND THEN REVIEW THEM PERIODICALLY, UH, WITH INPUT FROM SCIENTIFIC AND INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC BOARD, UM, TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S ADEQUATE PROTECTIONS FOR HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THEN UPDATE THEM AS NEEDED.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, HOW TO COMPARE AIR QUALITY TO THESE STANDARDS, WE CALL THAT A DESIGN VALUE.
SO THAT'S USUALLY THREE YEARS WORTH OF DATA.
AND THEN IT MIGHT USE SOMETHING LIKE IN THE CASE OF OZONE IN THE FOURTH, HIGHEST DAY, UH, OVER THREE YEARS, AND THEN THE AVERAGE THAT, AND THAT'S THE DESIGN VALUE.
AND THEN THEY COMPARE THAT TO THE STANDARD OR IN THE CASE OF THE SHORT-TERM PARTICULATE MATTER STANDARD.
THEY USE THE 98TH PERCENTILE VALUE.
UM, SO JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS COMPLETED THEIR REVIEWS OF THE PM AND OZONE NEXT, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, THEY KEPT THE SHORT TERM NEXT OF 35 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER, AND THEN ALSO KEPT THE LONG-TERM NEXT OF 12 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER.
HOWEVER, IMPORTANTLY, EPA BASIC, UH, EPA STAFF IN ONE OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT WAS USED FOR THIS REVIEW, UM, ADVISE THE ADMINISTRATOR THAT THEY FELT LIKE THE ANNUAL STANDARD WAS NOT ADEQUATE TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND RECOMMENDED TIGHTENING IT TO AS LOW AS EIGHT MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER, UH, BY COMPARISON, OUR 24 HOUR DESIGN VALUE, UH, FOR 2019, WHICH IS STILL CURRENTLY, UH, UH, CONSIDERED OFFICIAL UNTIL THE STATE CERTIFIES ITS 2020 DATA WITH 23 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER.
AND THEN THE ANNUAL DESIGN VALUE WAS 9.8 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER.
SO, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO OZONE ON ACCOUNT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT AND OUR, UH, HOW CLOSE WE ARE AT PREVENTATIVE VIOLATING THAT OVER OVER TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOW LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY, MAYBE NOT THIS LAST NEXT REVIEW, BUT MAYBE THE NEXT TIME THAT THEY COMPLETE A REVIEW OF THIS, WHICH WOULD BE DUE IN FIVE YEARS, UH, OR SOONER IF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION DECIDES TO RECONSIDER THAT DECISION, THERE COULD BE A TIGHTER PM, 2.5 NEXT.
UM, AND, UH, WE WOULD BE POTENTIALLY AT RISK OF EITHER BEING CLOSE TO VIOLATING IT OR HAVE AIR QUALITY THAT IS VIOLATING, UM, ON A RELATIVE BASIS.
IT'S ALSO WORTH POINTING OUT THAT OUR ANNUAL PM 2.5 LEVELS ARE HIGHER THAN 89% OF ALL OF THE PM.
2.5 MONITORING STATIONS IN THE COUNTRY.
AND THEN BY COMPARISON, IT'S BASICALLY 75% FOR THE SHORT TERM PM 2.5 AND 75% FOR OZONE.
UM, LET'S JUST SHOWS THE TRENDS OVER TIME.
UH, WE HAVE SORT OF A LONGTERM TREND DOWNWARDS FROZEN, ALTHOUGH YOU CAN SEE, UH, THAT SORT OF WENT DOWN AND THEN WENT UP A BIT, UM, MAYBE MORE CONCERNINGLY.
[02:00:01]
WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE SAW A DECLINE IN THE ANNUAL PM 2.5 CONCENTRATIONS FROM 2010 TO 2015, BUT THEY'VE CLIMBED SINCE THEN.AND THEN WE ALSO SAW A CLIMB IN THE SHORT TERM PM 2.5 CONCENTRATIONS RELATIVE TO THE STANDARD AS WELL.
UM, SO WE ANALYZED THE LARGEST SOURCES OF DIRECT EMISSIONS, A PM 2.5, AS WELL AS THE, THE PORTION OF THAT THAT'S ORGANIC CARBON.
AND WE IDENTIFIED THESE AS THE LARGEST, UH, THESE SOURCES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM HERE, UM, AS THE LARGEST SOURCES OF DIRECT EMISSIONS OF PM 2.5.
AND THEN WE ALSO, UM, JUST IDENTIFIED HERE FOR THIS, UH, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS ORGANIC CARBON AND WHAT SHARE OF TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON PM 2.5 EMISSIONS, EACH OF THESE SOURCES CONTRIBUTES.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS TO KNOW HERE IS THAT, UH, ALL OF THESE SOURCES, THERE'S, THERE'S NONE OF, THERE'S NO OVERLAP BETWEEN THIS LIST OF SOURCES AND THE SOURCES THAT ARE CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS TO OZONE.
UM, WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF EMISSIONS, DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WOULDN'T BE NEEDED TO REDUCE PM 2.5 THAN WHAT HAS BEEN DONE UP UNTIL THIS POINT FOR ROSEANNE.
UH, WE DO HAVE A REGIONAL PLAN.
UH, THE AUSTIN AREA HAS BEEN A NATIONAL LEADER IN TRYING TO STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE OF THESE STANDARDS AND KEEP OUR AIR POLLUTION LEVELS, UH, ENTERTAINMENT OF THE STANDARDS AND PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, WE'RE ON, I BELIEVE OUR FIFTH, UH, ITERATION AS A VOLUNTARY REGIONAL AIR QUALITY PLAN.
AND WE'RE, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS NOW OF UPDATING IT TO DIRECTLY ADDRESS PMT 0.5.
UM, AFTER THE CLEANER COALITION APPROVED, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THE EPA, UH, ADVANCED PROGRAM, WE'D ALREADY BEEN PARTICIPATING IN OZONE ADVANCE.
UM, SO NOW WE'LL BE PARTICIPATING IN, IN THE PM ADVANCED PROGRAM.
AND PART OF THAT IS, UH, IS SUBMITTING AN UPDATE TO OUR REGIONAL AIR QUALITY PLAN TO ADOPT NEW MEASURES IN WHAT'S CALLED A PATH FORWARD.
AND THOSE MEASURES DON'T HAVE TO BE FULLY DEVELOPED AT THE TIME WE SUBMIT THEM, IT'S A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS, UH, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET A, TRYING TO GET THIS PLAN PULLED TOGETHER, UM, TO SUBMIT IN AUGUST.
UM, AND WE FULLY, WE'RE FULLY AWARE OF HOW MUCH CONSULTATION, YOU KNOW, CITY OF AUSTIN AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS HAVE TO TAKE TO DEVELOP, UM, CONCRETE PLANS AND CONCRETE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, MEASURES FROM THE SORT OF GENERAL LIST THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY LISTENING TO THE PROCEEDINGS TONIGHT.
SO, UM, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT WHAT'S BEING BROUGHT TO COUNCIL, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN A MINUTE, BUT BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, IS, IS GOING TO BE A REQUEST TO, UM, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFY SOME BROAD CATEGORIES OF MEASURES AND THE LEVEL OF, UH, KIND OF, UH, ACTIVITY THAT THE CITY WISHES TO PURSUE RELATED TO PARTICULATE MATTER.
AND THEN LET US KNOW, UH, AT THE COCK AND THE CLEANER COALITION, LET YOU KNOW, THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS IN THE REGION KNOW WHAT THE STUDY IS DOING SO THAT WE CAN PUT THAT INTO THE PLAN AND THEN, UM, KIND OF HAVE, UH, HAVE THAT BE PART OF THE REGIONAL PLAN, BUT, UM, WE PROVIDE ANNUAL UPDATES TO EPA AND THE DETAILS OF THESE THINGS WILL TAKE TIME TO FULLY DEVELOP, UH, WE'RE FULLY AWARE OF THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, YEAH, SO EPA ADVANCES PROGRAM IS JUST BASICALLY A FRAMEWORK FOR FACILITATING VOLUNTARY PLANNING TO REDUCE THOSE OWN AND OR PARTICULATE MATTER FOR AREAS, UM, THAT ARE CLOSE TO, UH, VIOLATING THOSE STANDARDS, BUT, UM, ARE STILL IN ATTAINMENT.
SO THE REGION HAS BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROGRAM AND ITS PREDECESSORS, UH, DATING BACK TO 2002, ACTUALLY, UH, THE ADVANCED PROGRAM ITSELF, UM, CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN 2012 AND THEN IN 2020, THE REGION, UM, DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PM PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT LED US TO THIS POINT.
SO, UM, GENERALLY WHAT WE'VE DONE IS JUST IDENTIFIED THE MAJOR SOURCE CATEGORIES WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE OTHER TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION THAT PROVIDES A LOT OF DETAIL ON THE TYPES OF EMISSION REDUCTION MEASURES
[02:05:01]
THAT, UM, HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED AND CAN BE IMPLEMENTED COSTS AND BENEFITS AND WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THESE.UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT ASKING, UH, ANY JURISDICTION TO GIVE US THAT FULL RUNDOWN JUST YET.
WE JUST KIND OF WANT TO KNOW GENERALLY WHICH EMISSION CATEGORIES, UH, THE CITY OR COUNTY OR ORGANIZATION IS LOOKING AT, UM, TAKING AN ACTION ON.
AND THEN WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THAT? SO IS THE, IS THE ORGANIZATION LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT IT FOR ITS OWN OPERATIONS, OR MAYBE GO BEYOND THAT TO, UM, ENCOURAGE OR REQUIRE THIRD PARTIES TO IMPLEMENT MEASURES, UH, OR, UM, PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC, UM, BEYOND THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS IS A TABLE THAT WE DISTRIBUTED AS PART OF, UH, THE, THE EFFORT.
AND BASICALLY WE'RE LOOKING FOR EACH ORGANIZATION IN THE CLEAN AIR COALITION TO PROVIDE A RESPONSE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS AN INTENT TO IMPLEMENT THE MEASURE WITHIN THE, UH, YOU KNOW, OWN ORGANIZATION, IF IT DOESN'T APPLY OR TO A THIRD PARTY AND SO FORTH.
SO THIS IS BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE ASKING TO GET BACK FROM THE CITY AFTER, UM, IT, IT REVIEWS THIS, UH, AT COUNCIL, UM, EITHER LATER THIS MONTH OR IN JUNE.
SO THE TIMEFRAME FOR THIS, UH, AS PHOEBE MENTIONED, UM, WE DID HAVE A SUB COMMITTEE THAT DEVELOPED, UH, THIS SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ANALYZED, UH, ALL THE DIFFERENT MEASURES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED BY OTHER FOLKS AND PRACTICALITY OF ALL THAT.
SO IN PHOEBE PARTICIPATED IN THAT, AND WE HAD, WE HAD OTHER REGIONAL, UM, PARTICIPANTS FROM THE CLEAN AIR COALITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS EPA, UH, WHICH WAS GREAT.
UM, SO WE HAD A CLEANER COALITION MEETING IN FEBRUARY PRESENTED THIS INFORMATION, UM, STARTED ACCEPTING PUBLIC COMMENT.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD WAS BASICALLY TO PROVIDE SOME, UM, MECHANISM FOR FOLKS WHO, UH, UM, WHY TO AT THAT TIME WEIGH IN ON, ON A, IN A BROAD WAY.
AND THEN WE COULD DISTRIBUTE THAT INFORMATION TO ALL OF THE CLEANER COALITION MEMBERS.
SO WE DIDN'T GET MANY COMMENTS.
UH, BASICALLY WE GOT SOME COMMENTS ABOUT MINING AND QUARRYING, UM, AND THEN SOME COMMENTS ON, UM, PRESCRIBED BURNING AND INCLUDING FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WE DISTRIBUTED THAT EACH OF THE PLANNER COALITION, UH, MEMBERS FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
UM, SO, UH, JUST AS A NOTE, THE NATIONAL AIR QUALITY AWARENESS WEEK IS NEXT WEEK.
SO, UM, IT'S A VERY GOOD TIME FOR Y'ALL TO, UH, PAY ATTENTION TO AIR QUALITY.
AND IF YOU HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AND DO THAT KIND OF STUFF, UH, PLEASE, UH, YOU KNOW, TAKE A LOOK OUT FOR AIR CENTRAL TEXAS POSTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S A GOOD TIME TO START TALKING ABOUT THIS IN LIGHT OF OUR NATIONAL AIR QUALITY AWARENESS WEEK.
WE HAVE A CLEAN AIR COALITION MEETING ON MAY 12TH.
WE'RE GOING TO REVIEW PROGRESS AND WHERE WE'RE AT.
ONE OF THE GOALS OF THAT IS TO JUST SEE WHO'S SCHEDULED ANYTHING EVEN FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THEIR, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEETINGS AND, UH, COMMISSIONERS COURT AND SO FORTH.
WE'RE HOPING TO GET RESPONSES BACK FROM EXISTING CLEAN AIR COALITION MEMBERS BY THE END OF MAY.
UM, IF THERE ARE NEW CLEAN AIR COALITION MEMBERS WHO WE WERE ABLE TO RECRUIT, UM, WE'RE GOING TO ASK THEM TO PROVIDE INFORMATION BY THE END OF JUNE, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ALL THAT INFORMATION, DRAFTING AN UPDATE TO THE PLAN, DISTRIBUTED TO THE AIR COALITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR REVIEW IN JULY, AND THEN BRING IT TO THE CLEANER COALITION IN AUGUST AND THEN SUBMIT IT TO THE EPA AT THAT.
AND THEN AFTER THAT IS WHERE THE HARD WORK COMES IN.
AND I'M SURE PHOEBE AND ZACH WILL BE IN FRONT OF YOU AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, TALKING ABOUT THE DETAILS OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT MEASURES AND WHAT'S, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT Y'ALL GET FROM COUNCIL, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT TO PROCEED WITH AND HOW TO PROCEED WITH IT AND SO FORTH.
SO HOPE THAT WAS A HELPFUL AND INFORMATIVE.
UM, PHOEBE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ASK IS, UH, FOR THIS GROUP.
UM, BUT, UH, I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU AS TO CLOSING OUT THE, THIS ITEM.
I'M SURE THERE ISN'T NECESSARILY AN ASK.
OBVIOUSLY I THINK A LOT OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE POSTED ARE UP FOR, FOR EXTRA NOTES IF NEEDED, BUT, UM, THIS WAS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL WERE IN THE, IN THE LOOP.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AS WELL NEXT WEEK.
UM, AND JUST MAKING SURE THERE'S THERE'S AWARENESS AND, YOU KNOW, BE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF YOU CAN ACTUALLY,
[02:10:01]
UH, PUT THE PRESENTATION BACK UP AND THERE WAS THAT LIST OF POSSIBLE ACTIONS OR THE CITIES TO TAKE.UM, NOW MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT SOMETHING IS GOING TO COUNCIL SOON.
WHAT EXACTLY IS IF THAT COUNCIL WILL, WILL BE VOTING ON? UM, SO THIS LIST OF, OF ACTIONS IS LIKE A REALLY HIGH LEVEL.
UM, LOOK, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE EITHER, YES, NO, UM, OR NOT APPLICABLE.
AND, UM, SOMETHING THAT I DID OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS IS, IS SET UP MEETINGS WITH VARIOUS DEPARTMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS WHO, UM, ARE CLOSELY, YOU KNOW, LIKE PUBLIC WORKS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN IT COMES TO CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION ACTIVITIES, AND THEN TRY TO COLLECT, UM, KIND OF, I MEAN, DO A BIT OF A LITERATURE REVIEW, I GUESS, SO TO SPEAK ABOUT JUST, UM, WHAT WE'RE ALREADY CURRENTLY DOING, UM, AND WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE FEASIBLE TO, TO ACT ON.
UM, AND SO A SUMMARY WAS PROVIDED TO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS'S OFFICE, UM, YOU KNOW, LISTING EVERYTHING THAT, UM, DEPARTMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS WHO ARE MORE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON THIS SIDE.
AND SO FROM THERE, UM, WE'RE REALLY KIND OF WAITING TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER DECIDES TO TAKE UP WHEN IT COMES TO, TO THESE ACTIONS.
QUESTIONS, GO AHEAD, ROB, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE YOU ACKNOWLEDGING THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND YOUR PRESENTATION I JUST SAW TODAY.
AND, UH, I, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN IT AS WELL.
NEWS REPORTS ABOUT, UH, AN ARTICLE RELEASED TODAY IN SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES THAT TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT PARTICULAR MATTER AT THE 2.5 LEVEL DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE UNITED STATES.
I'M ASSUMING THAT WHEN IT COMES TO PARTICULAR MATTER THAT IT AFFECTS REGION 12 EVENLY, THAT THAT STATISTIC OF THAT DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT, UM, ON THE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IS LIKE UNITED STATES WIDE.
BUT WHEN WE HAVE RE WHEN WE HAVE PARTICULAR MATTER IN THIS AREA, IS THERE A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON PARTICULAR COMMUNITIES, OR IS THAT SORT OF MORE OF AN OVERALL ISSUE? UH, IT IS AN OVERALL ISSUE.
WE ALSO DID AN ANALYSIS WITH THE MODELING DATA AND THERE IS, THERE IS ALSO DISPROPORTIONATE, UM, IMPACT, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO TELL WHETHER IT'S STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT OR NOT BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH UNCERTAINTY THERE IS IN THE MODEL AND THESE EMISSIONS ESTIMATES.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THEY DID IN THE NEXT REVIEW WAS BASICALLY LOOKED AT WHAT THE AVERAGE EXPOSURE OF DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS WERE.
SO THE AVERAGE ANNUAL EXPOSURE OF BLACKS, AFRICAN AMERICANS WAS HIGHER THAN IT WAS FOR NON-WHITE HISPANICS AND NONWHITE HISPANICS.
I MEAN, SORRY, HISPANICS LATINOS WAS HIGHER THAN NON WHITE NON-HISPANIC WHITES.
SO, SO THAT'S BASICALLY HOW THEY DID THAT ANALYSIS.
AND THEY, THEY WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THERE WAS AT A NATIONAL LEVEL STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN EXPOSURES OF THOSE GROUPS IN PARTICULAR, RELATIVE TO NON-HISPANIC WHITES.
UM, SO WHAT WE DID AT CAPE COD WAS WE TOOK MODELING RESULTS THAT WAS AVAILABLE, THAT WERE AVAILABLE FOR THE REGION THAT TELLS US OVER A, SAY, 12 KILOMETER BY 12 KILOMETER AREA.
UH, YOU KNOW WHAT THE AVERAGE ANNUAL PM 2.5 EXPOSURE WAS.
AND THEN WE USED DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ON, YOU KNOW, CENSUS BLOCK GROUP LEVEL, UH, RACE DATA TO AN ETHNICITY DATA TO BASICALLY TRY TO CALCULATE A SIMILAR AVERAGE EXPOSURE FOR THESE GROUPS, UM, OVER THE, THE, THE AREA.
AND THERE IS, THERE IS, IT IS CONSISTENT DIRECTIONALLY WITH WHAT EPA FOUND IT IS.
IT IS THE MARGINS ARE SMALLER THAN WHAT EPA HAS, UM, HAD INDICATED.
AND THAT MAY REFLECT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE HIGHEST PM 2.5 LEVELS IN THE COUNTRY.
SO WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT AS, WE'RE NOT AS LARGE OF A METRO AREA AS DALLAS OR HOUSTON OR PHILADELPHIA, OR SOME OF THESE OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT, THAT WOULD HAVE MOVED THAT NEEDLE MORE.
[02:15:01]
SO WE DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE MAPS THAT KIND OF SHOW GRAPHICALLY WHERE WE'RE ATTIRE AND WHERE IT'S LOWER, AND IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT LOCATION WHERE THE PM 2.5 IS HIGHER THAN WHERE THE PO'S ON IS HIGHER.AND SO THAT'S KIND OF AN INTERESTING ISSUE TOO, IS SO YOU SEE, YOU SEE HIGHER OZONE, I MEAN, UH, BASICALLY TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE AUSTIN URBAN AREA, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE PREDOMINANT WINDS GO, THE PM 2.5 IS DIFFERENT.
AND SO YOU GET HIGHER LOCALIZED CONCENTRATIONS FOR INSTANCE.
SO WE SEE MORE OF THAT FOR INSTANCE, ON, ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF
AND, UM, SO YOU SEE MORE OF THE HIGHER PMT 0.5 IN THE URBAN CORE THAN YOU DO FOR OZONE, FOR INSTANCE, THANKS.
JUST ANOTHER REASON TO BE CONCERNED.
UM, I REMEMBER A PRESENTATION AND I WAS LOOKING FOR IT IN MY RECORDS FROM PROBABLY OVER A YEAR AGO, BECAUSE WE WERE IN-PERSON UM, ABOUT WHERE THE MONITORING STATIONS ARE LOCALLY.
AND I JUST WANTED, YOU KNOW, THE INTERSECTION WITH THAT, BECAUSE I SEEM TO RECALL THERE WERE ONLY TWO, AND THIS WAS THE OFFICIAL EPA STATION.
I'M FORGET, THIS IS WHERE I WISH I HAD THE RESOURCE.
I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW THAT INTERSECTS, BECAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GRANULARITY OF DATA, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE SEGREGATION IN AUSTIN, LIKE WANTING TO KNOW THAT INTER THAT INTERSECTION.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A, UM, THERE ARE REGULATORY MONITORS THAT, UM, THAT THE STATE IS REQUIRED TO PLACE IN, IN LOCATIONS THAT EXPECT TO SEE THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THOSE POLLUTANTS AND ACTUALLY SET LOCATION OF THE, SO THE PARK, YOU KNOW, AND THEN THERE'S A CERTAIN MINIMUM NUMBER THAT THEY HAVE TO HAVE BASED ON POPULATION AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO, UH, WE HAVE ONE IN FOR PARTICULATE MATTER IN EAST AUSTIN ON WEBER ROAD.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE ONE ALONG I 35, WHICH IS A NEAR ROAD BETTER.
UM, AND ACTUALLY THE ONE, UM, AT WEBER VILLE ROAD HAS HIGHER PMT 0.5 CONCENTRATIONS THAN THE ONE ALONG I 35 AND WHAT'S, AND IT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT OUR MODELING.
SO WITH NOT OUR MODELING WITH EPS MODELING SHOWS.
UM, SO THE FORMAL REGULATORY MONITORS FROM WHAT I CAN TELL ARE, ARE PRETTY MUCH IN, YOU KNOW, IN GOOD SPOTS.
UH, BUT BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF IT, WE, WE'RE JUST NOT GETTING A LOT OF DETAIL ABOUT IT.
SO THERE'S A LOT WE DON'T KNOW FOR OZONE TCQ OPERATES TO REGULATORY OWES ON MONITORS.
THEY'RE BOTH TO THE NORTHWEST OF AUSTIN, BUT THEY DON'T PROVIDE MUCH IN THE WAY OF A REGIONAL PICTURE OF THAT.
SO CAP COD OPERATES ANOTHER EIGHT WEEK, INCLUDING ONE IN EAST AUSTIN, BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY AN UPWIND ONE FOR MOST OF THE TIME BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE WINDS GO AND, AND HOW I WAS ON WORDS.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE THEM KIND OF AROUND THE METRO AREA AS WELL.
UM, WE JUST PURCHASED SOME LOW COST PM, 2.5 SENSORS, PURPLE AIR MONITORS, AND HAVE SENT THEM OUT TO OUR OZONE MONITORING STATIONS SO THAT WE CAN START GETTING SOME OF THAT DATA.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO GIVE YOU ALL SOME IDEA, AN OZONE MONITOR COST $12,000 TO PURCHASE.
WHEREAS ONE OF THESE PM 2.5 SENSORS IS $250.
SO YOU CAN DO A LOT MORE MONITORING WITH SOME OF THIS EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND THAT'S SORT OF, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IF YOU LOOK RIGHT NOW AT WHERE THOSE MONITORS ARE LOCATED, THEY'RE NOT RANDOMLY LOCATED EITHER.
SO YOU'VE GOT LIKE A TON OF THEM AROUND THE UT CAMPUS, AND THEN OTHER PLACES WHERE PEOPLE SORT OF HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY A $250 MONITOR, UM, UM, AND THEN LARGE AREAS WHERE THERE ARE NONE OF THEM, RIGHT? SO, UM, THERE IS A QUESTION ON, YOU KNOW, GETTING BETTER DATA OR MORE DATA ON PARTICULATE MATTER.
AND THERE ARE WAYS TO DO THAT NOW WITH LOW COST SENSORS THAT ARE PRETTY GOOD.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE DON'T HAVE IS A, UH, A MONITOR THAT WOULD ENABLE US TO KNOW WHAT COMPONENTS THEY ARE.
SO, UH, THAT'S CALLED A SPECIATED MONITOR.
JUST, UH, IT'S ONE THING TO PUT ON Y'ALL'S RADAR IS THAT THERE IS A, AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON THE TCEQ ANNUAL MONITORING NETWORK PLAN.
UM, THERE, IT COMES UP EVERY YEAR, OBVIOUSLY IT'S, WHAT'S RIGHT, IT'S AN ANNUAL MONITORING NETWORK PLAN, AND THIS IS BASICALLY THERE A PLAN FOR WHERE TO PUT MONITORS, HOW MANY MONITORS TO PUT THERE, WHAT TYPE OF MONITORS? UM, AND
[02:20:01]
WE OFTEN ASK FOR MORE MONITORS FOR THE AREA, BUT WE NEVER GET IT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK.SO IF Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED IN THE APP, THERE IS A, UH, I THINK IT JUST GOT RELEASED YESTERDAY OR THE DAY BEFORE.
I CAN'T, I CAN'T JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO.
UM, AND SO THAT, THAT COMMENT PERIOD IS AVAILABLE IF Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED IN THAT.
UM, GO AHEAD AND ASK, UM, YEAH, ANDREW, THANK YOU.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, REPORT.
AND, UM, DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY DATA OR IS THERE A SOURCE OF DATA FOR POINT SOURCES, UM, TO THE SOUTH OF AUSTIN COMING IN FROM LIKE THE KYLE BUDA AREA? YEAH.
UH, SO WE, I MEAN, SO WE DO, UH, THERE TCQ HAS POINT SOURCE EMISSIONS DATA THAT ARE COLLECTED ANNUALLY.
SO IF YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE TEXAS LEHIGH, THEY HAVE TO REPORT THAT DATA ANNUALLY TO, UM, TO TCQ.
UH, I WILL SAY ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THOUGH WITH THIS ISSUE IS IT IS JUST NOT, IT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS THOSE ZONE, RIGHT? LIKE THE FACT THAT IT, THE FACT THAT THE TEXAS LEHIGH PLANT IS THERE AND A POINT SOURCE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SLIDE I SHOWED BEFORE SHOWING THE MAJOR SOURCES OF PM 2.5 ACCOUNT FOR 76% OF ALL THE PM 2.5 EMISSIONS.
SO THESE ARE WHAT WE CALL AREA SOURCES OR NON-POINT SOURCES DON'T HAVE TO REPORT TO EPA.
WE FOUND, WE FOUND OUT RECENTLY THAT, UM, CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS ARE AREN'T IN THE EMISSIONS INVENTORY ANYWHERE.
THEY'RE NOT IN THE POINT SOURCES AND TORY OR THE NON-POINT SOURCE INVENTORY.
SO THAT'S NOT, IT, WE DON'T EVEN, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH EMISSIONS THOSE ARE.
UM, BUT I, SO I DON'T MEAN TO SORT OF DOWNPLAY THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT THERE ARE POINT SOURCES OF PM 2.5, BUT IN TERMS OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION, FROM WHAT WE CAN TELL TO, TO THE PEAK PM 2.5, WE'RE SEEING IN EAST AUSTIN, FOR INSTANCE, I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR TO IT, PARTICULARLY SINCE THOSE TYPE OF PM EMISSIONS AREN'T NECESSARILY THE ONES THAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST ISSUE, UM, IN THAT AREA, WHICH WOULD BE ORGANIC CARBON EMISSIONS.
I HAVE A QUESTION ON YOUR SLIDE PRESENTATION.
NUMBER 10 SPECIFICALLY WAS A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT, UM, EDUCATING THE PUBLIC.
AND, UM, SO IN REGARDS TO THAT, IT DOES SEEM LIKE THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO EMISSIONS, THEY RELATE THAT MORE TO OVERALL CLIMATE CHANGE AND NOT NECESSARILY THEIR PERSONAL HEALTH.
AND SO, UM, YEAH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THAT EDUCATION IS PROMOTED FOR THAT.
AND THEN, AND IT MADE ME THINK TOO ABOUT, UH, WITH THE MASKS AND HOW THEY CAN HELP, UM, US LIMIT THE SPREAD OF AIRBORNE DISEASES.
IF IT COULD ALMOST, THEY COULD ALSO HELP LIMIT THE INHALATION OF THESE PARTICLES, OR IF YOU, IF YOU CAN SPEAK ON THAT.
UH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT MASKS, UH, THE TYPE OF MASKS WE USE RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE EFFECTIVE OR NOT AT THAT, UM, SCREENING OUT PM 2.5.
SO THEY SHOULD PROBABLY BE EFFECTIVE AT SCREENING OUT PM 10, BUT ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH PM 2.5 IS THEY'RE SO SMALL, UH, THAT THEY CAN REALLY PENETRATE MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND THEN EVEN WITHIN THAT CATEGORY, THERE'S A CATEGORY OF THAT CALLED ULTRA FINE PARTICLES, WHICH ARE LESS THAN 0.1 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER, AND THOSE CAN PENETRATE BUILDINGS, UH, FOR INSTANCE.
SO, UM, I THINK THERE IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GET THEM ON TO PAY ATTENTION TO AIR QUALITY, EXPLAINING TO THEM THAT THERE'S DIFFERENT TYPES OF AIR POLLUTION AND THIRD FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET THEIR ATTENTION FOR ANYTHING ON, ON THESE THINGS.
BUT, UM, I THINK TO THE EXTENT THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR REGIONAL AIR QUALITY EFFORTS ARE, ARE TRYING TO PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH, WE W THERE'S MULTIPLE STUDIES JUST RELATED TO COVID NPM 2.5 AND JUST A NEW ONE I SAW OUT TODAY THAT, YOU KNOW, HIGHER LEVELS OF PM 2.5
[02:25:01]
EXACERBATE HEALTH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH WITH COVID.AND SO THAT MAKES SENSE, CAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PARTICLES THAT MIGHT BE CARRYING COVID FOR INSTANCE, OR IT MIGHT BE DIMINISHING YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR ABILITY TO, UM, HEAL ITSELF OR TO FIGHTING OFF A VIRUS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF RELATED COST ISSUES, UM, TIE IT IN WITH PM 2.5 AND WE'RE ONLY KIND OF NOW REALLY, UM, STARTING TO, UM, ON A REGIONAL LEVEL, LOOK AT THIS, UH, IN A MORE COMPREHENSIVE WAY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE REALIZING IS THERE'S A LOT, WE DON'T KNOW.
SO ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE DISADVANTAGES OF SORT OF THIS PROCESS COMPARED TO SAY, OZONE, WE'RE PRETTY CLEAR ON HOW MUCH NOX EMISSIONS THERE ARE.
WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN ABILITY TO, TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY PRETTY MUCH HOW MUCH NOX EMISSIONS IS COMING OUT OF A POWER PLANT AND VEHICLES.
WE'RE PRETTY, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT SURE ON A LOT OF THESE OTHER, UH, SOURCES, LIKE HOW MUCH EMISSIONS ARE COMING FROM CONSTRUCTION DUST, CAUSE IT'S, THESE ARE, THESE ARE THINGS WE JUST DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT ON A, ON A LOCAL LEVEL.
AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO KNOW A LOT, BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SIGNIFICANT HEALTH IMPACT.
AND WE KNOW THAT, UM, THERE ARE STEPS PEOPLE CAN TAKE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES WHEN WE HAVE HIGH POLLUTION LEVELS.
BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ANNUAL PARTICULATE MATTER, WHICH IS THE MAIN HEALTH CONCERN, WE HAVE TO REDUCE EMISSIONS IN ORDER TO GET THE PUBLIC HEALTH BENEFITS FROM THAT PEOPLE CAN'T JUST STAY INSIDE ALL THE YEAR, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO FOCUS, YOU KNOW, UM, IF THEY'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT AIR QUALITY, I THINK PART OF THE, PART OF THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION, IN ADDITION TO, YOU KNOW, LETTING YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS, THIS OTHER ITEMS COMING TO COUNCIL IS TO RAISE THE ISSUE AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN.
AND THAT WHEN, WHEN Y'ALL TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY, I ENCOURAGE ALL TO THINK ABOUT PARTICULATE MATTER AS A MAJOR PART OF THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE'S A LOT MORE WE CAN DO LOCALLY TO CONTROL OUR MATTER CONCENTRATIONS.
AND THEN WE CAN, SOME OF THE OTHER PROBLEMS I KNOW THAT Y'ALL DEAL WITH THAT, THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE LESS CONTROL OVER, UH, YOU KNOW, GLOBALLY OR REGIONALLY OR SO FORTH.
OTHER QUESTIONS, ANDREW, I'M WONDERING, UM, GOING BACK TO THE KIND OF LIST OF ACTION ITEMS, IF YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT THE CITY OF BOSTON SHOULD BE SELECTING FROM THAT LIST, UH, I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED TO STAFF WHAT I BELIEVE AND, AND I MEAN, I'LL JUST GENERALLY SAY THAT THIS IS IN THE ORDER IN WHICH I THINK THERE IS A, AN ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IN, IN TERMS OF THE TOP.
WELL, I THINK, I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME OF THESE, THE, UM, WE KNOW OUR MAJOR SOURCES.
THERE'S NOT MUCH THE CITY CAN DO ABOUT SOULS MINING AND QUARRYING THE CITY ISN'T REALLY, ISN'T IN A POSITION TO REGULATE A MINOR QUARRY FOR INSTANCE.
UH, BUT IT DOES HAVE SOME LEVERS THAT IT CAN, UM, LOOK AT SAY CONSTRUCTION, UM, OPERATIONS.
AND IN FACT, Y'ALL ALREADY HAVE SOME SPECIFICATIONS REGARDING DUST AND WHATNOT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME OF THESE THAT ARE JUST NOT GOING TO BE APPLICABLE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT, OR, OR THAT IS NOT ADVISABLE AT THE MOMENT, UM, SO I WOULD JUST SAY SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING.
I THINK CONSTRUCTION, UH, EMISSIONS ARE AN AREA THAT THE CITY HAS SOME ABILITY TO HAVE SOME LEVERAGE OVER.
I THINK THAT THERE ARE OTHER PIECES LIKE AWARENESS AND MONITORING THAT, UM, THE CITY COULD DO OR, OR, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, WE COULD WORK ON COLLABORATIVELY AS A REGION.
ONE OF THE OTHER ISSUES IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THE, FOR SUB COMMERCIAL COOKING IS, IS SURPRISINGLY A MAJOR SOURCE OF ORGANIC CARBON EMISSIONS.
WE DON'T REALLY WANT TO ASK A BUNCH OF RESTAURANTS NECESSARILY TO STOP THEIR OPERATIONS IN THE SITUATION WE'RE IN TO INSTALL, YOU KNOW, OXIDIZERS, BUT, UH, MAYBE THERE'S SOME KIND OF WAY WE COULD GET A GRANT PROGRAM GOING THAT COULD, YOU KNOW, FUND THIS AND MIGHT PEOPLE MIGHT BE INTERESTED.
SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT HELPS
[02:30:01]
THAT MUCH, BUT, UM, I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PURPOSE OF THIS PLAN IS TO GET ACTUAL EMISSION REDUCTIONS.AND, UM, WE'RE JUST LOOKING FOR FOLKS TO DO SOMETHING, UM, BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SAW FROM THAT TREND LINE, WE REALLY WE'VE, WE'VE KIND OF NOT SEEN DECLINES IN THIS AND IF ANYTHING, IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN GOING SOMEWHAT UP IN RECENT YEARS.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE CONSTRUCTION, YOU WOULD SAY IS THAT SHOULD BE THE TOP PRIORITY FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, I THINK ALL OF THE CITIES AND COUNTIES, I THINK ALL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING ON CONSTRUCTION.
UM, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL ON PM 2.5 ON SOME OF THE REST OF THIS.
I THINK THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S GOING TO BE Y'ALL ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT MAKES SENSE AND WHAT DOESN'T, BUT I THINK THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE CONSTRUCTION THAT, YOU KNOW, COULD BE DONE BY EVERY JURISDICTION THAT PARTICIPATES IN THE CLEAN AIR COALITION.
WELL, I'M, I'M ASKING, CAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE, YOU KNOW, OUR PURPOSE TO ADVISE THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS MUCH AS WE CAN HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT SHORTLIST AND I REALIZED LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S THE LONG LIST.
WE NEED TO BE DOING A WHOLE BUNCH OF THINGS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS A PRIORITIZED LIST I THINK WOULD BE PROBABLY HELPFUL FOR US TO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST KNOW WHERE SHOULD WE BE PUTTING OUR ATTENTION IN TERMS OF, YEAH, I GUESS THE OTHER ONE I WOULD CALL ATTENTION TO THAT'S MAYBE WELL-SUITED TO CITY GOVERNMENTS, THAT WOULD BE THE ROAD.
I MEAN, SO WE DON'T HAVE UNPAVED ROADS.
WE REALLY DON'T HAVE AN UNPAVED ROAD ISSUE IN, IN AUSTIN, BUT WE DO HAVE UNPAID PARKING LOTS AND WE DO HAVE DUST ON OUR PAVED ROADS AND ARE THINGS THAT THE CITY COULD LOOK AT DOING TO, YOU KNOW, REDUCE SOME OF THAT EITHER WITH ITS OWN OPERATIONS OR, YOU KNOW, THIRD PARTIES.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER ONE FOR CITY GOVERNMENT.
WELL, IF THERE ARE NOT OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, THANK YOU, ANDREW.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME HERE TONIGHT.
AND, UM, I GUESS IT SOUNDS LIKE PHOEBE, WE COULD MAKE SOME SORT OF RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNCIL OR NOT.
YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING FOR THAT.
IS THIS GOES TO COUNCIL OR WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FROM US? UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY UP TO, YOU KNOW, UP TO YOU WHILE IT IS THE ESTIMATED DATE WOULD BE MAY 20TH.
UM, SO IT IS I THINK BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING, UM, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, AS PRIVATE CITIZENS Y'ALL ARE WELCOME TO, TO, YOU KNOW, VOICE YOUR SUPPORT AT ANY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
UM, BUT IF YOU WERE GOING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE, UH, PROVIDE ANY, ANY FORM, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE MORE OR LESS NOW, BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I KNOW BASED ON THE BIGGEST CONVERSATION, THAT COULD BE A LITTLE, WHAT, WHAT I MIGHT OFFER IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN DID I SAY WE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE PROVIDED THE FULL, THE FULL DOCUMENT THAT WE HAD DISTRIBUTED AS BACKUP FOR THIS, BECAUSE THAT'S GOT ALL THE DETAIL STUFF IN IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IF I, IF, IF YOU, IF YOU WERE INCLINED TO MAKE SOME KIND OF RECOMMENDATION A RECOMMENDATION TO DO SOMETHING RELATED TO PM, RATHER THAN NOTHING I THINK WOULD BE CERTAINLY CONSTRUCTIVE, UM, UH, EVEN THAT I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL TO JUST LET THE COUNCIL KNOW THAT THIS GROUP FEELS LIKE PM'S IS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR SUSTAINABILITY.
AND SO IS THERE IS THIS, IS THIS PLAN GOING TO COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION? SO COULD IT BE AS SIMPLE AS SAYING WE SUPPORT THE ADOPTION OF THIS PLAN AND TAKING ACTION TO REDUCE PM IT'S UP TO YOU.
I THINK THAT, I THINK THAT, YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THE, I THINK THAT THE CONVERSATION PHOEBE AND I HAVE HAD AS TO WHAT THAT COUNCIL ACTION MIGHT LOOK LIKE OR HOW THAT MIGHT FEED INTO THE OVERALL PLAN, RIGHT.
WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, OBVIOUSLY COMING BACK TO Y'ALL WITH DETAILS ON OTHER THINGS
[02:35:01]
LATER.SO I THINK IF YOU, IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATION ON THIS, THAT WOULD BE TIMELY FOR CONSIDERATION FOR COUNCIL, IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE COMMITTEE, UH, SUPPORTS, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL TAKING ACTION TO REDUCE PM EMISSIONS AND EXPOSURE, UM, EVEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR, OR TO SELECT, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST ONE MEASURE FROM THAT LIST TO IMPLEMENT AS PART OF THE REGION'S UPDATE TO THE AIR QUALITY PLAN.
SO, W W WHAT DO FOLKS THINK ABOUT THIS, OR ARE WE COMFORTABLE DOING JUST A REALLY KIND OF BASIC RECOMMENDATION THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HIGHLIGHTS THE FACT THAT THERE IS DISPROPORTIONATE EXPOSURE IN, UH, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND THAT WE SUPPORT COUNCIL TAKING ACTION TO REDUCE PM AND BABY, UH, GIVEN ANDREW'S COMMENTS, HIGHLIGHTING CONSTRUCTION AS A PLACE TO, UM, TO DEFINITELY TAKE ACTION SUPPORT THAT CAVAN.
UM, DOES, DOES ANYBODY HAVE CONCERNS WITH THAT? WOULD I JUST PUT FORWARD? NO CONCERN.
I'M GONNA, I'M GOING TO PROMOTE YOU PUT THAT IN.
I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION THAT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, UH, RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE, UH, PM COALITION AND WITH A FOCUS ON CONSTRUCTION, UM, JUST REDUCTION AS A PRIORITY, UH, AND REC WITH AN WITH RECOGNITION THAT PM JUST PROPORTIONATELY HARMS COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
AND AUSTINS WHEN WE, UH, BEDDING THAT LANGUAGE FOR THE RCA.
NOW I CAN, IF YOU'D LIKE, I CAN WRITE IT OUT EXACTLY RIGHT NOW, OR I CAN, UH, WRITE THE EXACT WORDS LATER.
I WILL DO WHATEVER PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THE SPIRIT OF THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION.
I THINK PUT IT IN, IN WRITING AND CIRCULATED AND TAKE ACTION AS THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE GREAT.
SOUNDS LIKE THE NEXT MEETING IS TOO LATE ON THIS ONE.
I THINK THAT THIS IS GENERAL ENOUGH THAT I HAVE FEWER CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE LAID OUT AND THAT WOULD BE FINE WITH IT.
THERE'S NO STRONG OBJECTION IF POSSIBLE.
I WOULD SAY, UH, A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, UH, UM, SEE IF WE, UH, SUPPORTED IN, IN CONCEPT AND THE FINAL LANGUAGE WAS TO BE STIMULATED.
I DON'T KNOW HOW, IF THAT'S A LIE, I CAN TAKE A SECOND RIGHT NOW, IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, WE CAN ALLOW YOU TO SHARE YOUR SCREEN IF THAT WOULD HELP.
UM, OR THAT WOULD BE GREAT TOO.
I CAN FIND THE RIGHT OF MY MONEY.
CAN Y'ALL SEE A WORD DOCUMENT HERE? YES.
CAN IT BE ENLARGED THOUGH? IT'S SMALL.
[02:40:03]
YEAH, BUT IT'S HALF THE PAGE.SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YOU CAN SEE THE, NOT THE WHOLE THING.
I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT THAT BECAUSE ON MY END IT SHOWS.
LET'S SEE BETTER NOW, I GUESS.
I MEAN, IT'S SUPER SHORT RIGHT NOW.
UM, HOW DOES THAT LOOK TO FOLKS INSTEAD OF ENCOURAGED? CAN WE DO RECOMMEND, OH, WE CAN RECOMMEND, WE CAN, MAYBE WE SHOULD, UH, UM, FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO ADD.
UM, THAT'S RECOMMENDED BY CAPE COD REPORT OF SOME KIND.
UH, I FEEL LIKE THE PRESENTATION WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND I FEEL LIKE I HATE TO PIGEON HOLE THE RECOMMENDATION TO JUST WHAT'S WRITTEN OUT HERE, BUT, AND ANDREW, JUST TO SHOUT OUT, I KNOW CAP GOT EGGS AND I DEAL WITH IT EVERY DAY.
WHAT DATA DO YOU WORK WITH? MOSTLY GIS AND AERIAL IMAGES.
I SUPERVISE THE GIS PROGRAM AS WELL.
LET THEM KNOW THAT IT'S HIGH QUALITY STUFF.
HOW DOES THIS LOOK? ALL RIGHT.
I NEED TO GO BACK WHERE I CAN ACTUALLY, HOW DO I DO THIS? I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GO BACK SO I CAN SEE EVERYBODY.
SO I THINK I MADE A MOTION AND SOMEBODY SECONDED IT.
I THINK YOU ALREADY, I THINK YOU ALREADY DID.
UM, AIMS THAT WE'VE HAD OUR DISCUSSION, UNLESS THERE'S ANY MORE SUGGESTIONS HERE.
WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THIS? IF FOLKS CAN TURN ON THEIR, UM, VIDEOS THAT MAKES IT REAL EASY.
IF YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND FOR, I IT'S NOT SAY YOUR NAME IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE COUNTED AS VOTING VOTING.
THAT IS WHATEVER WE HAVE HERE, EVERYBODY IN FAVOR AND MUSLIN.
DID I MISS ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE COUNTED ISABODY AND AGAINST FOR ABSTAINING? ALL RIGHT.
ANDREW TOOK MY DAUGHTERS SOME TACOS.
[02:45:03]
ALL RIGHT.[2e) Commission members report back on any relevant discussions from their respective boards and commissions – (Discussion and/or possible action) ]
UH, SO OUR LAST AGENDA ITEM IS JUST REPORT BACKS FROM, UH, RESPECT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND ANYTHING RELEVANT TO OUR WORK HERE.UM, JUST WANT TO CHAT A LITTLE BIT ON WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
WE HAD, UM, BRIEFING RELATED TO, UM, UH, RELATED TO, UM, THE, UH, THE, THE SNOW STORM.
UH, IT'S NOT PIE, A FULL AFTER ACTION REPORT.
A LOT OF THE DISCUSSION WAS MAINLY THE BRIEFING WITH REGARDS TO THE BOIL ON A NOTICE AND SORT OF THE TIMELINE OF THE EVENT, UM, WAS DEFINITELY VERY INTERESTING.
SO IF YOU WANT TO HAVE LIKE THE FULL DETAIL, DEFINITELY LOOK AT THE BACKUP OF THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION LAST TIME.
UH, I THINK IT GIVES A PRETTY DETAIL, UH, LOOK UP WHY WE WERE IN THAT POSITION.
UM, BUT AT THE HIGH LEVEL, I THINK THERE WAS, UH, LOTS OF, UH, DISCUSSION TO COME.
THERE WAS A COMMITTEE THAT WAS SET UP SPECIFICALLY TO LOOK AT, UM, THE IMPACT AND WHAT ACTION TO TAKE.
UH, SO AUSTIN WATER, I THINK GONNA DO A PRETTY DEEP DIVE INTO THIS SNOWSTORM AND THE IMPACT AND HOPEFULLY POLICY GOING FORWARD TO, UM, INCREASE RESILIENCY.
I DID PLUGGED IN THE WORK OF THIS COMMISSION AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A CHIEF BRAZILIAN OFFICER, UM, TO THE LEADERSHIP SO THAT THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT CONVERSATIONS.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THE EQUITY EQUITY COMPONENT AS WELL.
AND THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THERE WAS A LOT MORE, UH, BURDEN ON, ON CERTAIN POPULATION.
SO JUST WANT TO SHARE, UH, THAT IS AN ONGOING, UH, I'M GLAD THAT AUSTIN WATER IS TAKEN THE, UM, THE APPROACH OF SETTING UP A COMMITTEE OR THE COMMISSION IS SETTING UP A COMMITTEE, A WORKING GROUP, UH, TO, TO DIVE DEEPER AND NOT RUSHED THROUGH THE AFTER ACTION.
UM, AND BACK TO BACK TO THE NORM.
SO LOOKING FORWARD TO SHARE THE RESULTS OF THAT IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
OTHER REPORTS BACK FROM COMMISSIONS.
UM, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION OBVIOUSLY TALKED ABOUT THE ENERGY CODE AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT, SO I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
IF ANYBODY WANTS TO, UM, MAKE ANY REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. RIGHT NOW, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT ARE, UM, IN OUR, UH, WAITING LIST.AND I THINK BOTH OF THEM HAVE BEEN THERE A WHILE, SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET TO THEM NEXT MONTH.
UM, BUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE THAT FOLKS WANT TO ADD, PLEASE SPEAK UP.
WELL, AS ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AND KATIE AND ZACH, IF YOU HAVE ANY AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS, UM, WE DO CHECK IN ONCE OR TWICE, UH, USUALLY BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT ALL OF THE, UM, ALL OF THE THINGS ON THE WAITING LIST.
SO, UM, DEFINITELY LET ME KNOW ANYBODY, WANNA MAKE THE MOTION TO BE, GET US OUT OF HERE.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.