[00:00:03]
MEANING THE, UH, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL WORKS ACTUALLY HERE ON THE FOURTH, 2021, UH, 11 O'CLOCK.
THIS IS BEING CONVENED, UH, REMOTELY.
UM, WE HAVE TWO, UH, ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN TOLD COLLEAGUES AND IN NUMBER 44 BY CATHERINE WITH THE STAR 41 OR BY THE MAYOR PRO TEM AND COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN, UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, SOME, UH, OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS. UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, TWO BRIEFINGS.
UH, THE BRIEFING ON KROLL HAS BEEN SET AT A TIME.
CERTAIN WE'LL START THAT AT TWO 30 BECAUSE OF THE CONSULTANTS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING.
SO WHEREVER I'LL GO, WE'LL START THAT.
THEN WE CAN DO THE HOMELESSNESS BRIEFING BEFORE WE WILL DO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE WE KNOW.
AND WE'LL PLAY THAT BY A YEAR.
WE HAVE A FIVE O'CLOCK HARD STOP, UH, TODAY, UH, BECAUSE THEY NEED A SPACE TO GET TO MICHIGAN, BUT THAT SAID, LET'S BEGIN.
THE, UH, THE GOAL IS TO TAKE A LUNCH BETWEEN 12 AND ONE.
AND THAT'D BE TOLD THE MAYOR PER TIME.
I NEED TO STEP OFF THE DAYAS FROM LIKE ONE 15 TO ONE 30 ISH.
[A. Pre-Selected Agenda Items]
ITEMS, KATHERINE, SORRY, YOU PULL THAT NUMBER 40.I DID MAYOR AND WE WERE GOING TO GO OVER SOME OF THIS DURING OUR HOUSING COMMITTEE YESTERDAY, BUT, UH, IT WAS PRETTY SHORT.
I JUST WANTED TO TAKE, UH, FIVE MINUTES OR LESS, UH, TO SHOW SOME PHOTOS THAT ARE, UH, IN BACKUP.
AND THAT AB HAS, BECAUSE WE ALL WENT THROUGH, UH, AS A WHOLE COMMUNITY, THE WINTER STORE TOGETHER.
SOME PEOPLE IMPACTED, UH, MANY, MUCH MORE THAN, THAN OTHERS, BUT EVERYBODY WENT THROUGH IT TOGETHER, BUT WE ARE STILL, SOME PEOPLE ARE STILL IN REALLY HORRIBLE CONDITIONS, UH, FROM THE STORM.
AND I KNOW IT WAS SEVERAL OF Y'ALL HAVE VISITED WITH CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE STILL SUFFERING FROM PRETTY SEVERE DAMAGE.
UM, BUT I WANTED, UH, IF AAV COULD TO JUST SHARE BRIEFLY SOME OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS, UM, WE TOOK AND
SO, UM, AND Y'ALL CAN, IF YOU JUST FLIP THROUGH, I THINK THERE'S SIX PICTURES.
SO IF YOU JUST SIT ON EACH ONE OF THEM FOR TWO SECONDS, UM, I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO SEE AND FOR THE COMMUNITY TO, TO SEE WHY IT IS THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING ON WORKING ON, ON THIS.
AND THESE ARE ALL APARTMENTS THAT, THAT ARE CURRENTLY OCCUPIED BY FOLKS.
AND SO IN PART, WHAT THE RESOLUTION DOES IS ASKS FOR US TO, UH, CHANGE THE WAY AND IMPROVE THE WA LOOK AT HOW OTHER CITIES ENFORCED MOLD ISSUES.
CURRENTLY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS MANY OF THE PHOTOS THAT YOU SEE AREN'T A VIOLATION OF CITY HEALTH OR SAFETY CODE IN AND OF THEMSELVES JUST MOLD ITSELF.
UM, IT IS SOME OF THE UNDERLYING CONDITIONS ARE A VIOLATION, BUT THAT CAN BE REALLY HARD TO, UH, REALLY HARD TO ENFORCE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE THINGS LIKE FUNGUS JUST STRAIGHT UP GROWING OUT OF THE GROUND, UM, NOT A VIOLATION OF ITSELF.
AND THIS LAST SLIDE, THIS WAS FROM OUR HOUSING COMMITTEE YESTERDAY.
UM, I THOUGHT IMPORTANT TO SHOW HERE.
THIS IS HOW MANY, A WINTER STORM DAMAGE CODE VIOLATIONS AND DEFICIENCIES THERE ARE PER DISTRICT, AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY EXIST ACROSS EVERY SINGLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
UM, BUT THERE IS JUST SUCH A CONCENTRATION OF, UM, OLDER HOUSING STOCK THAT HASN'T BEEN KEPT UP IN DISTRICT FOUR IN PARTICULAR, THAT I THOUGHT IT'D BE IMPORTANT JUST FOR FOLKS TO, TO SEE HERE.
THE SECOND CHART ON THE BOTTOM IS DEFICIENCIES THAT IS, UH, DAMAGED, SPOTTED SPECIFICALLY BY THE CODE DEPARTMENT, AFTER A CALL COMES IN AND THE NUMBER OF DEFICIENCIES LISTED IN AND BEFORE.
UM, I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE JUST HOW FAR IT OUTSTRIPS EVERY PART OF THE CITY, THE WHOLE CITY COMBINES.
UM, IT DOESN'T EVEN GET CLOSE TO THE NUMBER
[00:05:01]
OF, OF DAMAGED UNITS THAT THE CODE DEPARTMENT HAS FOUND IN, IN D FOUR.UM, AND I THINK THAT IS JUST SOMETHING TO NOTE HOW WE HAVE JUST THIS REALLY SERIOUS CONCENTRATION OF, OF UNITS OF HOUSING THAT ARE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE VULNERABLE TO EXTREME DAMAGE LIKE THIS, AND THEN NOT REPAIRED, UM, IN, ACROSS THE CITY.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT IN ANY PERSON LIVING IN THOSE CONDITIONS IS A TERRIBLE THING, BUT I JUST THOUGHT THAT DISPROPORTIONALITY HERE IN THE NORTHEAST NORTH CENTRAL PART OF, OF OUR CITY WAS IMPORTANT TO, TO NOTE AND TO SEE TO THAT, THAT IS, UH, THAT IS IT WITH THIS JUST QUICK SLIDESHOW, BUT JUST, UM, THE LAST THING THAT I WANT TO MENTION TO PEOPLE THAT YOU MIGHT SEE IN THE NEWS THAT NOW SOME FOLKS HAVE COME FORWARD AND STARTED CALLING THE CITY, UM, ABOUT CONTINUING TO LIVE IN MOLD, UH, OR DAMAGED UNITS.
NOW COMING UP ON THREE MONTHS AFTER THE STORM, AND NOW SOME PROPERTY OWNERS IN THOSE PLACES ARE, ARE NOW SAYING THAT THOSE UNITS ARE UNLIVABLE EVEN AFTER THEY'VE COLLECTED RENTS FOR MULTIPLE MONTHS TELLING FOLKS THAT NOW THEY, NOW THEY NEED TO MOVE.
UM, AND THAT IS THAT'S HORRIBLE BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO GO.
SO AS WE LOOK AT HOW TO ADDRESS MOLD ISSUES, WE ALSO NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT LEGAL PROTECTIONS WE CAN HAVE FOR TENANTS, SO THAT IF THEY RAISE THESE ISSUES AND CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR REPAIRS, THAT THEY DON'T WIND UP ON THE STREET, UH, BUT INSTEAD GET ACCOMMODATED BY THEIR PROPERTY OWNERS.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THE MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, AND PASTA AND, UH, HAKA WORKED REALLY HARD ON SOME OF THOSE ISSUES AT MOUNT CARMEL TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED.
AND WE STILL HAVE SO MANY, UM, RENTERS THAT ARE, THAT ARE STILL SUFFERING FROM THE DISASTER FROM THE STORM, BUT WE HAVE TO IMPROVE HOW IT IS WE ADDRESS MOLD IMPROVE, UH, THOSE TENANTS RIGHTS TO NOT WIND UP BEING DISPLACED OR LIVING IN HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT FINANCIAL MECHANISMS WE CAN HAVE IN PLACE OURSELVES AND FOR LANDLORDS TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE AREN'T KICKED OUT, BUT ALSO ARE ENTRAPPED IN THESE SORTS OF UNITS.
COMMENTS ON THIS COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
UH, REALLY APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, I REACHED OUT TO ASK TO BE A CO-SPONSOR I THINK, I THINK THAT WAS OKAY.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT ON THE RECORD.
UM, YEAH, WE SHOULD ADD YOUR NAME IF IT ISN'T ALREADY.
AND I KNOW I'VE HEARD FROM A FEW CONSTITUENTS STILL THAT ARE GOING THROUGH WATER REPAIRS.
UM, AND SO THIS IS DEFINITELY HAPPENING IN EVERY DISTRICT.
UM, IT'S CERTAINLY A CITYWIDE ISSUE, BUT IT'S CLEAR FROM THESE GRAPHS THAT SOME DISTRICTS ARE AFFECTED MORE THAN OTHER OTHERS.
AND SO I DO LOOK FORWARD TO JUST SEEING HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD TO HELP, UM, APARTMENT RENTERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I THINK THE COUNCIL MEMBER RENT THE RHEA.
IS THERE ANY DIFFICULTY GETTING ON IT AS WELL? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN REACH OUT TO, TO GET THEM ANSWERED MEMBER POOL.
I THINK THIS ALSO POINTS UP THE IMPORTANCE OF, UH, BUILDING CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS, UM, BECAUSE, UH, CHEAPER BUILT STRUCTURES WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO FAIL AND THAT ALSO INCREASES THE IMPORTANCE AND THE EMPHASIS WE SHOULD BE PUTTING ON THE LANDLORD'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE REPAIRS TIMELY.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THOSE WHO MAY BE RENTING TO IDENTIFY THEM WHEN THEY SEE THEM SERVE AT THE REPAIRS CAN ALSO BE DONE TIGHT.
SO A WHOLE ECOSYSTEM THAT, THAT WE ALL NEED TO WORK TOGETHER AND, UH, IN ORDER TO GET THE POSITIVE OUTCOMES, BUT IT IS, IT REALLY IS, IS PRETTY APPARENT TO BE LIVING IN, UH, THOSE KINDS OF CONDITIONS.
AND SO WE, WE NEED NOT ONLY TO, UH, BOOST THE REPAIRS AND EMPHASIZE THEM WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS, BUT ALSO TO BRING TO OUR POLICY DISCUSSION, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF, UM, PROPERLY BUILDING TO GOOD STANDARDS, UH, AND NOT NECESSARILY THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR.
I RECOGNIZE THAT THAT GETS INTO AFFORDABILITY ISSUES AS WELL, BUT FRANKLY, IT'S CHEAPER TO BUILD REALLY WELL AT THE FRONT-END AND THEN TO MAINTAIN THAN IT IS TO GO BACK AND RETROFIT OR MAKE COSTLY REPAIRS LIKE WHAT IS LIKELY HAPPENING HERE.
AND I JUST THINK IT'S JUST AWFUL TO HEAR THAT NOW THE LANDLORDS ARE USING THE FACT THAT THE PROPERTIES ARE DAMAGED AND UNHEALTHY AS A REASON TO EVICT OR MOVE PEOPLE OUT BECAUSE THEY WERE SO DELINQUENT AND DILATORY IN MAKING THOSE REPAIRS.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUR, UM, LANDLORD COMMUNITY STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND, AND ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ENSURING THE HEALTHY
[00:10:01]
ENVIRONMENTS FOR, FOR THEIR TENANTS.THAT'S THE LEAST THAT WE CAN ASK THEM THAT THEY CAN DO.
SO, THANKS GREG FOR BRINGING THIS.
I JUST WANT YOU TO THINK COUNSELOR COSAC LEADERSHIP ON THIS ISSUE.
WE HAD MANY IN MY DISTRICT AS WELL, THAT FACE SIMILAR EXPERIENCES AS YOUR DISTRICT.
AND I JUST WANT TO APPLAUD YOUR LEADERSHIP AND WHY I'M GRATEFUL FOR LANDLORDS WHO ARE DILIGENT AND MAKING THE REPAIRS NEEDED.
WE KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE AND FOR SOME IN OUR COMMUNITY, THEY ARE AFRAID TO REPORT MOLD IN THEIR APARTMENTS.
AND SO WE HAVE, IT'S INCUMBENT UPON ALL OF US TO DO MORE, TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THOSE PROTECTIONS.
AND I THINK THAT THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE THING IS THAT, UH, LANDLORDS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE THE RESULTS FROM A MOLD TEST, UH, WITH THEIR TENANTS.
AND SO IF THERE'S WAYS THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY TO AS A CITY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO TENANTS AND GETTING ACCESS TO MOLD, SCREENINGS, MOLD TESTS, UM, SO THAT THEY'RE ARMED WITH THAT INFORMATION AND KNOW WHAT KIND OF CONDITIONS THEY'RE LIVING WITH.
I THINK I'M SUPER OPEN TO EXPLORING THAT, AND CERTAINLY THERE'S A NEED.
AND SO AGAIN, JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND I'M, I'M HAPPY TO BE A CO-SPONSOR ON THIS RESOLUTION.
IF YOU TRANSFORM OUR KITCHEN, IT COMES MORE OFTEN.
UM, I THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE, UM, THAT'S SOME OF IT, SORRY, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE DATA.
UH, THAT'S AVAILABLE TO US, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE CITY.
UH, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT THE ABILITY TO DRILL DOWN ON THAT DATA? IS IT PRETTY MUCH WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU PRESENTED OR IS THERE, WOULD YOU SUGGEST THAT THERE'S ABILITY FOR US TO GO DEEPER IN OUR DISTRICTS, UH, WITH REGARD TO LOCATIONS AND THAT SORT OF THING? YEAH, I THINK THAT IT COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR ANY OF YOU, AND WE'VE ASKED FOR THIS, FOR THE CODE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE ADDRESSES FOR EACH OF THOSE DATA POINTS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A SENSE OF, OF WHERE CASES STAND AND WHICH ONES STILL NEED REPAIRS.
UH, AND I THINK THEY EVEN HAVE THAT UP OF COURSE, ABOUT CLOSED OUT CASES, BECAUSE I THINK AS SOME OF YOU MENTIONED, UH, THERE CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN PROPERTY OWNERS THAT HAD DAMAGE TO THEIR RENTAL PROPERTIES AND GOT IT FIXED WITHIN DAYS OR AT A MINIMUM WEEKS.
AND SO IT IS ALSO A FAIRNESS ISSUE TO THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS THAT HAD A COMPLAINT AND THEN GOT IT FIXED FOR US TO HAVE SOME FOLKS AT THIS POINT, STILL WITH SUCH OUTSTANDING DAMAGE.
AND SO COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK EACH OF US, UM, UH, TOUCHING BASE WITH, WITH CODE IN OUR DISTRICTS CAN BE, UH, CAN BE A USEFUL TOOL BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE ALL THE DEEPER DATA BEHIND THAT CHART.
IS THAT HELPFUL? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING COUNSELING? YES, IT IS.
SO I'LL REACH OUT TO THE CODE DEPARTMENT OR PERHAPS I CAN JUST ASK RIGHT NOW IF THEY'RE ON A, I THINK I SEE JOSE, WELL, I'LL JUST SAY I'LL SEND AN EMAIL.
WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP YOU WITH THAT.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, DEPARTMENT.
WE, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WANT TO ANSWER THEM.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON A PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD THAT IS GOING TO HAVE ALL THAT DATA AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO FILTER BY DIFFERENT CASES AND ADDRESSES.
SO THAT'S GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, AND I WOULD ALSO LOVE TO SEE THAT, UM, FOR MY DISTRICT AS WELL.
UM, THANK YOU GREG, FOR BRINGING THIS.
UM, I SAW SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE MISSING FROM THIS THAT I THINK COULD BE VERY HELPFUL, UM, WHICH IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DID HAVE A DISASTER DECLARATION FOR STORM URI, AND THIS IS DIRECTLY FROM THE AFTERMATH.
UM, AND I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING HERE ABOUT ASSISTING LANDLORDS WITH THAT APPLICATION PROCESS FOR FEMA.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE IS A CERTAIN PORTION OF THIS RESPONSE THAT DEPENDS ON FUNDS BEING AVAILABLE AND MAKING THAT EASIER.
UM, AND IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO NAVIGATE THOSE PROCESSES, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE FOLKS AT THE CITY WHO CAN SUPPORT THAT.
UM, SO I HOPE I PLAN TO MAKE A AMENDMENT TO, TO ADD SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT.
UM, AND SINCE IT LOOKED LIKE YOUR, YOUR BASE QUORUM WAS FOUR AND COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS ADDED TO BE A CO-SPONSOR, YOU KNOW, IN HERE, UM, MAYBE MY STAFF AND YOURS CAN, UM, COLLABORATE THAT TO MAKE SURE WE GET THAT RIGHT, AND THEN WE CAN POST IT TO THE MESSAGE BOARD.
UM, WOULD THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH, THAT SOUNDS GREAT.
CAUSE I THINK THERE'S A THERE'S MOLD REMEDIATION SHOULD BE A FEMA REIMBURSABLE EXPENSE.
[00:15:01]
AND IT MAY ALSO BE AN EXPENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WE CAN FUND, UM, RESPONSES BY THE CITY TOO, AS WELL.I DON'T KNOW UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES I DON'T HAVE THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL.
UM, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THAT SHOULD BE PART AND PARCEL OF THE RESPONSE.
I, I I'M, I'M SURE WE CAN FIND A WAY THAT IT WOULD BE FRIENDLY AND SOMETHING THAT WE COULD JUST BAKE INTO THE, THE RESOLUTION AS WE BRING IT FORWARD THURSDAY.
AND THEN I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR RIGHT.
WELL, WE'LL NOTE THAT, UH, AND I JUST APPRECIATE EVERYBODY TAKING THE TIME ON THIS.
IT WASN'T ONE THAT I PULLED BECAUSE I THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE DISAGREEMENT, BUT, UM, BECAUSE OF THIS, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, UH, UH, UH, I THOUGHT HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO, TO TAKE A MOMENT TO SEE IT BECAUSE THE DISASTER IN SOME WAYS IS REALLY STILL ONGOING FOR PEOPLE IN EACH OF OUR DISTRICTS.
I WONDER IF THAT'S OUR ARE IN FOLLOWING UP ON COUNCILMEMBER ALTO, A REFERENCE TO THE VENA PROGRAMS AND NOW ALLOW DIRECT APPLICATION BY INDIVIDUALS.
THERE'S AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA, DEALING WITH NAVIGATORS.
AND I THINK THEY WERE THINKING ABOUT THE OTHER PROGRAMS. MAYBE THERE'S AN APPLICATION OR A TIE, UH, UH, THE CITY HELPING TO FACILITATE, UM, UH, PEOPLE'S, UH, ACCESS.
SO EVERYBODY SHOULD TRY TO NOT HAVING TO FIGURE THAT OUT ON THEIR WAY.
UH, ANY OTHER CONVERSATIONS I'VE DECIDED FROM THE 40 LET'S GO DOWN TO NUMBER 41.
THEN THIS WAS PULLED BY THE MAYOR PRO TEM AND COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
I THINK I'M ASSUMING YOU'RE RECOGNIZING ME.
UM, SO ITEM NUMBER 41 IS OUR ETO D ITEM, AND IT MIGHT NOT FEEL LIKE IF A PROJECT CONNECT IS COMING UP SO FAST THAT, UH, MY TEAM AND I, AS WE WERE WORKING THROUGH THIS, UM, WE REALLY WANTED TO TAKE ALL THE NECESSARY POINTS INTO CONSIDERATION, INCLUDING OUR RANDY CLARK.
IF YOU, IF YOU TALKED TO HIM ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT, YOU KNOW, IT'LL SAY THIS IS NOT A SINGLE PROJECT.
UM, IT'S A WHOLE BUFFET OF INVESTMENTS, UM, WITH DIFFERENT TIMELINES.
SO THE BLIGHT RAIL ROUTES MIGHT NOT OPEN UNTIL THE END OF THE DECADE, BUT THE METRO RAPID COMPONENTS ARE GOING TO COME ONLINE.
AND JUST TWO YEARS, WE CAN'T COUNT ON THE FACT THAT THE MARKET IS ALREADY GEARING UP FOR THE NEW DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES ALONG THE CORRIDORS.
AND FRANKLY, THAT CLOCK IS TICKING TO GET IN FRONT OF IT.
SO WE KNOW TRANSIT INVESTMENTS ARE LIKE CATNIP FOR DEVELOPERS.
AND LIKE I'VE SAID BEFORE, THAT'S JUST THE MARKET'S WAY OF TELLING US THAT PEOPLE REALLY, REALLY LIKE LIVE IN AND WORK IN HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT AND WE'LL PAY A PREMIUM FOR IT.
SO PROJECT CONNECT CAN DO A LOT TOWARDS HELPING US ACHIEVE OUR 50 50 MODE SHIFT GOALS, OUR CLIMATE GOALS, OUR VISION, ZERO GOALS, AND A LOT MORE.
UM, AND THE, THE ONE THING THAT WILL HELP US GET THE MOST BANG FOR OUR BUCK IS RIDERSHIP.
SO WE NEED TO BE READY FROM THE WORD, GO TO LET AREAS NEAR OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM, OUR NEW TRANSIT SYSTEM, RATHER BE ABLE TO GROW IN A WAY THAT MAXIMIZES RIDERSHIP POTENTIAL.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE CANNOT, WE MUST NOT AND WILL NOT LET OUR RESIDENTS WHO CURRENTLY DEPEND ON TRANSIT LOSE ACCESS TO IT ONCE IT BECOMES A FIRST-CLASS SERVICE.
SO, UM, THE INTENT OF THIS RESOLUTION IS TO WORK IN LOCKSTEP WITH CAP METRO, AS IT CONDUCTS IT'S ETO D STUDIES OF THE ORANGE, BLUE AND GREEN LINES.
AND WE'RE ALSO CREATING ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO ENSURE IMPACTED RENTERS WRITERS, PROPERTY OWNERS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS HAVE A CLEAR VOICE IN SHAPING THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, SO THE TIMELINE THAT I PROPOSE HERE IS BASED ON A THOROUGH CONVERSATIONS WITH CAP METRO AND WITH OUR CITY STAFF, IT'S LINKED TO THE ANTICIPATED COMPLETION OF THE ETO D STUDIES, BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS STAFF THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK TO US AT THE HALFWAY POINT TO PROVIDE SOME INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND TO BE CLEAR, THE END GOAL IS TO HAVE A POLICY PLAN IN PLACE THAT SERVES AS A GUIDE TO MAKE NECESSARY CHANGES, TO AVOID POTENTIAL DISPLACEMENT, MAINTAIN AFFORDABILITY, AND PROVIDE FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE PEOPLE OF ALL INCOME LEVELS TO LIVE AND WORK NEAR THESE TRANSIT INVESTMENTS.
SO LIKE ANN SAID IN HER MESSAGE BOARD POST, WE NEED TO BE MOVING FAST.
SO I DON'T SEE THIS AS A RESOLUTION THAT ASKED STAFF TO COME BACK IN A YEAR WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, FOR FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, THIS RESOLUTION IS ABOUT COORDINATING WITH CAP METRO TO SET UP THE CITY FOR SUCCESS, TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE NECESSARY CHANGES TO SUPPORT PROJECT CONNECT, AS SOON AS WE CAN GET THE GREEN LIGHT.
UM, THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ALLOW CAP METRO AND STAFF THE FLEXIBILITY TO PROVIDE THE BEST, EXCUSE ME, RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE DESIGNATED
[00:20:01]
TIMELINE.SO OUTSIDE OF THE GREEN LINE, WHAT PROJECT CONNECT DOES IS LARGELY INVEST IN UPGRADES TO EXISTING TRANSIT SERVICES, KEPT METRO HAS DECADES OF DATA AND EXPERIENCE THAT GIVES THEM AN ADVANTAGE AND EXPERTISE WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING HOW WE CAN BEST MANAGE THE POTENTIAL OF TRANSIT, UM, TRANSIT STATIONS AND STOPS.
SO THROUGHOUT ALL THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT OUR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND GROWTH IN AUSTIN IN GENERAL, THE OVERWHELMING CONSENSUS HAS BEEN THAT WE SHOULD ADD MORE DENSITY TO OUR CORRIDORS.
UM, AND NOW THAT WE HAVE A TRUE WORLD-CLASS TRANSIT PLAN IN THE PIPELINE, WE NEED TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET IT GOING.
WE NEED THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL STRATEGIES TO GUIDE US IN OUR EFFORTS TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT.
AND I'M GLAD WE HAD PEOPLE LIKE OUR NEW COMMUNITY, DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION, OFFICER KNEPPER, TD JACKMAN ON BOARD TO HELP STEER THAT BIG BOAT, UM, BECAUSE IT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE.
AND AS WE'RE RETROFITTING PARTS OF OUR CITY TO BE MORE WALKABLE AND TRANSIT FRIENDLY, WE DO IT IN A WAY THAT PRIORITIZES EQUITY AND STABILITY.
THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET MORE OF THOSE COMPACT CONNECTED, MIXED INCOME, COMPLETE COMMUNITIES THAT IMAGINE AUSTIN TALKS ABOUT.
SO I WANT TO THANK SOME FOLKS WHO HELPED THE D ONE OFFICE PUT THIS RESOLUTION TOGETHER, UM, PLANNING OUR COMMUNITIES, THE AUSTIN HOUSING COALITION, HOUSING WORKS, CITY STAFF CAP, METRO STAFF, AND EACH OF MY CO-SPONSORS INCLUDING OUR NEWEST POST BOXER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, KITCHEN, YOUR LEADERSHIP ON ALL THINGS.
MOBILITY HAS BEEN INSPIRING, AND I APPRECIATE THE LEVEL OF EXPERTISE THAT INFORMS THE AMENDMENTS THAT YOU'VE OFFERED TO THIS RESOLUTION.
SO THERE'S A LOT, UM, THERE, AND A LOT OF, A LOT OF IT LOOKS TO BE FRIENDLY REINFORCEMENT OF THE ORIGINAL INTENT.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSING THEM A LITTLE FURTHER SO WE CAN ALL UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT ARE RESPECT CAUSE WE'RE KITCHEN.
YES, I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, THE AMENDMENTS AT LEAST ARE INTENDED, UH, TO ALIGN.
WE, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT THE TIMELINE, SO WE CAN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO I DO APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
I THINK IT IS, UM, IS VERY, VERY TIMELY.
SO, UM, IT IS TIME FOR US TO, UH, ALIGN OUR LAND, USE PLANNING PROCESSES AROUND TODS, UH, WITH WHAT CAP METRO IS PLANNING AROUND PROJECT CONNECT.
AND AS YOU POINT OUT, THAT'S COMING QUICKER THAN WE THINK, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, UM, THE METRO RAPID THAT'S SO TRUE VERY QUICKLY.
SO JUST, JUST QUICKLY, I KNOW, UM, THAT YOU WILL NEED SOME MORE TIME TO THINK THROUGH THE AMENDMENTS.
I WAS ONLY ABLE TO GET THEM POSTED YESTERDAY, AND I KNOW OTHERS MAY WANT TO THINK THROUGH THEM ALSO, BUT I THOUGHT WHAT I'D DO TODAY IS JUST QUICKLY TELL YOU WHAT THEY'RE INTENDED TO DO, UM, AND THEN HAPPY TO WORK ON LANGUAGE.
SO THE BIGGEST THING IN TERMS OF ANY KIND OF CONTENT IS JUST A, UM, I WANTED TO ADD, UH, SPECIFICALLY THE PROCESS FOR PROPOSING ADDITIONAL TOD AREAS, THE WAY OUR CURRENT TODD LAND USE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WORK IS THAT YOU HAVE TO START BY NAMING AN AREA AS A TOD.
UM, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF THEM NAMED ALREADY THAT WERE NAMED BACK IN 2005 AND 2006.
AND THOSE ALL ALIGN WITH, UH, PROJECT CONNECT AREAS.
BUT WE'RE MISSING SOME THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO THINK ABOUT REALLY DOES FOCUS ON SOUTH AUSTIN.
SO IF WE WANT, UM, THINK IN PARTICULAR ABOUT LOTS LIKE THE PLEASANT VALLEY OR SOUTH CONGRESS, OR EVEN SOUTH LAMAR, WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHETHER IT'S APPROPRIATE TO GO AHEAD AND NAME IT.
NOW, WE DON'T WANT TO NAME THEM TOO, AS SOON IN THE PROCESS.
SO WE NEED TO, SO WHAT I DID IN HERE IS I SUGGESTED THAT, UH, THAT AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS IN, IN AUGUST, THAT THE STAFF MIGHT WANT TO RECOMMEND TO US SOME ADDITIONAL AREAS TO NAME, I'LL LEAVE IT TO MY COLLEAGUES THAT REPRESENT THOSE AREAS TO THINK ABOUT THE, THEY, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY LEAVE IT TO COUNSEL MY ROUGH WINTERS, UH, ABOUT WHAT SHE THINKS, PLEASANT, VALET COUNCIL MEMBER, AND RENTERIA, THOSE OF YOU WHO REPRESENT THAT AREA, WHETHER THOSE IT'LL BE NAMED, BUT I DID WANT TO POINT OUT IF WE JUST GO FORWARD WITHOUT NAMING ADDITIONAL TODDS, WE WON'T BE, WE KEPT METRO ISN'T, DOESN'T HAVE A TOD PLAN PROCESS FOR ALL THOSE AREAS.
SECOND, THEY DON'T DO THE LAND USE SIDE.
SO WE NAMED SOME INITIAL TOD DISTRICTS.
THEY WON'T BE SELLING SUBJECT TO EITHER THE COURT TODD PROCESS OR ANY, UH,
[00:25:01]
IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU SUGGESTED MAYOR PRO TEM.SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE CURRENT, UM, TOD REGULATIONS THAT ARE IN PLACE RIGHT NOW, THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL, ALL THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU ADDED ABOUT THAT.
SO TO CIRCLE BACK AROUND, WHY AM I AMENDMENTS, UM, POSES THAT, UM, STAFF COME BACK TO US, OR PERHAPS WE COULD SUGGEST AREAS TO ADD, UH, TO BE CONSIDERED AS TODD'S.
UH, THE SECOND THING IS THE TIMING THAT I WAS TRYING TO LOOK AT, AND THIS MAY BE HANDLED BY WHAT YOU JUST SAID MAY OR PROTESTS IS THAT WE WANT THE POD PROCESS IS A TWO-STEP PROCESS.
I MEAN, THE PROCESS FOR ACTUALLY DETERMINING WHAT HAPPENED ON THE GROUND IN A PARTICULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IS A TWO-STEP PROCESS.
FIRST, THEY HAVE TO BE NAMED AS A TOD.
SO WE COULD PERHAPS, UH, UH, THAT, BUT SECOND, IF WE'RE GOING TO GET THE KINDS OF, OF, UH, OF CHANGES THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED, WE GOT TO PUT THEM IN ORDINANCE, UH, BECAUSE THE ORDINANCE, RIGHT, NOT JUST POLICY, THAT COULD BE HELPFUL TO PUT IT IN POLICY, BUT UNTIL WE PUT IT IN, IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE ORDINANCE, WE'RE NOT NAILING DOWN THOSE CHANGES.
SO THAT'S WHY I WAS JUST SUGGESTING CHANGING FROM 12 MONTHS TO 14 MONTHS.
THERE'S ONLY TWO MONTHS, THIS, THIS DIFFERENCE ABOUT WHETHER THAT'S APPROPRIATE OR NOT.
I JUST WANTED TO US TO GET TO A POINT WHERE WE WERE ACTUALLY CONSIDERING CHANGES THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO MAKE IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR TOTS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
BUT AGAIN, I'M OPEN TO, I APPRECIATE THAT.
WHAT YOU'VE DONE IS YOU HAVE A SHORTER TIME PERIOD FOR INTERIM RECOMMENDATIONS COMING BACK TO US THOUGH.
SO THAT MIGHT TAKE, THAT MIGHT TAKE CARE OF MY CONCERNS ABOUT TIMING, AS LONG AS WE DO GO AHEAD AND QUICKLY CONSIDER WHAT WANT TO ADD ADDITIONAL AREAS.
THE OTHER KIND OF LANGUAGE THAT I ADDED WAS MORE JUST CLARIFICATION CONCEPT LANGUAGE.
UH, I WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT WE WERE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, ALIGNING OUR DESIGNATION OF TODD'S AND OUR SPECIFIC PLANNING PROCESSES AROUND TAGS WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT CLIENT ON.
SO WE WEREN'T TOO LATE ON DOING STATION AREA PLANS.
AND ALSO JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, AS YOU MENTIONED, THAT NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AND ANTI-DISPLACEMENT ARE A PART OF THIS, YOU'VE GOT ALL THAT IN THERE.
SO I JUST HAD SOME CLARIFYING AND I MAY ALSO WANT TO ADD A FEW THINGS ABOUT DISABILITY, ACCESS ACCESS FOR PEOPLE, UM, WHO RELY ON, UM, YOU KNOW, AND OTHER KINDS OF THINGS.
UM, IF THEY'RE, IF, IF THEIR WHEELCHAIRS OR SO DISABILITY ACCESS, I DIDN'T SEE THAT MENTIONED, UM, THE POTENTIAL TO, TO CONSIDER CREATIVE SPACES.
I MAY WANT TO MENTION THAT ALSO.
UH, BUT THOSE ARE THE THINGS, UM, TWO THINGS I'M THINKING ABOUT.
UM, SO THAT'S THE ESSENCE OF IT.
I KNOW THAT PEOPLE NEED TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE AMENDMENTS, BUT THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE SIDE OF THE 41? OKAY.
THEN I READ THEM COLLEAGUES, UH, COUNSEL EVER ALTER, UH, HAS ASKED TO SPEAK ON ITEM TWO.
UM, SO ITEM TWO IS, UM, SORT OF THE ALLOCATION OF THE FIRST TRAUNCH OF THE ARP FUNDING.
UM, AND I HAVE BEEN, UH, CHANGING WITH THE CITY MANAGER, UM, AND MR KNOW, AND LANG SORT OF ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CLARIFY, UH, PUBLICLY A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
UM, SO I'M NOT SURE I SEE MR. KRUNK, I GUESS YOU'RE, YOU'RE ABLE TO SPEAK, BUT NOT VISIBLE RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR HIM AND THEN WANTED TO MAKE A COUPLE, UM, COMMENTS.
SO, UM, MR. GREG, WHEN WE'LL OR MR. VAN, WHOEVER'S GONNA RESPOND HERE.
UM, CAN YOU CLARIFY WHEN ONE SECOND LET'S CONFIRM THAT'S OUR MANAGER.
CAN YOU HEAR MR. VAN NINA OR ED'S HERE? ALL RIGHT.
UM, CAN YOU TELL ME, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN COUNSEL WILL BE ALLOCATING THE FUNDS, WHICH WILL REMAIN AFTER ADOPTION OF ITEM TWO, UM, OUR INTERIM BUDGET OFFICER CARRIE LANE, SPEAK TO THAT QUESTION.
WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO GET DIRECTOR BERSANI ON THE LINE, IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEXT STAGE OF OUR ARB PROCESS, GOOD MORNING, CLASSICAL
[00:30:01]
CHERRY LANKAN, OR A BUDGET OFFICER.UM, SO RIGHT NOW THE STAFF IS WORKING ON, UM, THE ITEMS FROM THE RESOLUTION BACK IN MARCH AND, AND PRESENTING THOSE ITEMS AND BRIEFING TO, UM, MARCH 8TH, EXCUSE ME, ON MAY 18TH RIGHT NOW, TO THE COUNCIL, SO THAT YOU ALL CAN SEE THE, UM, RECOMMENDED SPENDING FRAMEWORK AND ON JUNE 3RD, WE'RE ANTICIPATING POTENTIALLY COMING FOR THOSE ITEMS TO BE BROUGHT TO COUNCIL FOR ACTION.
AND OF COURSE WE'RE STILL WORKING ON, UM, OR WAITING TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE US TREASURY ON GUIDELINES.
AND SO THAT WILL DETERMINE HOW SOON WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME TO COUNCIL FOR ACTION.
UM, AND THEN THE BACKUP ON ITEM TWO INCLUDES, UM, THE MARCH 12TH MEMO.
UM, AND I WANT TO JUST CLARIFY THAT IT IS NOT STAFF'S INTENTION, THAT APPROVAL OF ITEM TWO NEXT WEEK SERVES AS COUNCIL'S APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 12TH FRAMEWORK, CORRECT.
THAT ITEM WAS INCLUDED IN THE ACTION ITEMS FOR HISTORICAL CONTEXT.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE INCLUDED ALL THE INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THIS ITEM SO THAT YOU ALL COULD HAVE ALL THE RELATED INFORMATION.
UM, AND I HAVE REQUESTED THAT YOU POST, UM, THE, THE FINAL VERSION OF ITEM ONE 11, UM, TO THE BACKUP.
THAT IS WHERE WE LAID OUT SOME ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES.
YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY DONE THAT, UM, THAT I WOULD JUST REITERATE THAT.
UM, SO COLLEAGUES, UM, I JUST WANTED TO FLAG, I ALSO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT WE POSTED IN THE Q AND A, AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT I WILL HAVE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS, UM, BY WEDNESDAY.
UM, THEY'RE PRETTY BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE MONEY IS BEING SPENT ON.
UM, HOWEVER, IF THEY'RE NOT ANSWERED, I'M NOT GOING TO BE COMFORTABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT FULL ITEM, I HAVE SOME CONCERN ABOUT ANY DELAY FOR THE NAVIGATOR PIECE.
UM, BUT I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL GET THOSE QUESTIONS ANSWERED, BUT I DID NOT WANT IT TO BE A SURPRISE IF, IF NOT, AND YOU CAN LOOK IN THE Q AND A, UM, TO SEE IT'S REALLY JUST MORE DETAIL ON THE BUDGET AND WHAT IT'S BEING SPENT ON.
UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE SO MUCH OF OUR DOLLARS ARE FEMA AND, AND, AND THE VACCINE PIECES, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PUBLIC HEALTH PIECES ARE BEING FUNDED BY THIS LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY, UM, IN MORE SPECIFIC DETAIL, RATHER THAN JUST A GIANT POT GOING, I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR US, FOR INSTANCE, TO HAVE THAT DETAIL.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S SOME OTHER PIECES TO THAT.
UM, AND I WILL NOTE THAT IN, IN CLARIFYING QUESTIONS, THE EAT AND ASD CAREGIVERS DO NOT CONSTITUTE THE SOUL FOOD SECURITY EFFORTS THAT WE MAY BE UNDERTAKING.
UM, BUT THEY ARE INCLUDED IN THE BASE, UM, HEALTH PROPOSAL AS THEY WERE IN THE MARCH 12TH OR WHENEVER THE MARCH, THE MARCH MEMO.
UM, SO IF THERE WERE ADDITIONAL THINGS FOR THAT FOURTH PRIORITY THAT WE HAD IN ONE 11, THOSE WOULD STILL POTENTIALLY GO FORWARD, BUT THOSE TWO, UM, WERE INCLUDED IN THE BASE FOR, FOR ITEM TWO.
SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF THROW THIS OUT THERE SO THAT WE HAD SOME GREATER CLARITY ON THE PROCESS, CAUSE WE'RE GETTING, UM, SOME QUESTIONS AND I KNOW OTHER COLLEAGUES WERE ASKING THAT.
UM, AND SO I THOUGHT THAT THE TRANSPARENCY ABOUT THE PROCESS WAS IMPORTANT.
UM, AND JUST ALSO WANTED TO SIGNAL THAT I DO NEED ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS, WHICH STAFF ARE WORKING ON, UM, DILIGENTLY.
I UNDERSTAND, UM, BUT DID WANT TO FLAG THAT FOR, FOR MY COLLEAGUES.
IF STAFF COULD GO AHEAD AND PUBLISH THOSE QUESTIONS, I DON'T BRING GREATEST TO NUMBER TWO AND EIGHT YET.
LET US ASK THE QUESTIONS YOU'RE ASKING, UH, COUNSELOR KITCHEN.
UM, THANK YOU FOR, FOR BRINGING THAT OUT.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT, UM, THAT WE DEFINITELY VOTE BY JUNE 3RD.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT OUR USE OF THE REMAINING ARP FUNDS.
UH, I TYPICALLY AM INTERESTED IN, UM, DEDICATING A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THEM TO, UM, TO REACHING THE, THE GOALS THAT ARE SET OUT THAT WERE SET OUT BY THE SUMMIT REGARDING, UM, REHOUSING, UH, UH, PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
UM, I THINK IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY WORKING WITH THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY TO, TO, UH, TO REALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH A GAME CHANGER.
UH, AND I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE FOR US TO DO THAT.
SO I, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, I'M HOPING THAT THAT IS INTENDED TO BE REFLECTED, UM, COMES BACK TO US FROM OUR STAFF.
AND AS REGARDLESS OF THAT, CERTAINLY WANT TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT WHAT LEVEL OF INVESTMENT, UM,
[00:35:01]
UH, TO REACH THE SUMMIT GOALS AS APPROPRIATE.I ALSO WANT TO SUGGEST THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF US HAVE, UM, IDENTIFIED, UH, SPECIFIC, UM, UH, AREAS THAT WE THINK ARE IMPORTANT, UH, GLUED.
UM, SOME OF THOSE MAY BE REFLECTED, UM, IN THE BACK OF MY NOT SO CITY MANAGER, I'M HOPING THAT YOU WILL FOLLOW A PROCESS THAT WILL ALLOW EACH OF US TO INDICATE, UH, WHAT OUR PRIORITIES MIGHT BE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT, UM, BE MORE EXPEDITIOUS IF THAT IS, IF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE HAD WITH EACH OF US PRIOR TO WHAT IS BROUGHT BACK TO US, UH, SO THAT, UM, THE, THE, THE SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE BROUGHT BACK TO US CAN REFLECT WHAT EACH OF US HAVE AS PRIORITIES, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'LL NEED TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS AS WE ALWAYS DO.
BUT AS YOU HAVE DONE IN THE, WITH BUDGETS IN THE PAST, WHEN YOU HELP US PUT TOGETHER A, A LIST OR A SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS, STARTING POINT THAT IS HELPFUL, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT, YOUR PROCESS, A CITY MANAGER? YEAH, I APPRECIATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER, AND CERTAINLY WE'VE STARTED THAT, BUT REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING ANOTHER ROUND WITH INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WILL HELP INFORM WHAT WE BRING FORWARD AT THE NEXT WORK SESSION.
THAT'S SORT OF A COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
I JUST WANTED TO GO BACK TO CUSTOMER ALTERS THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDING AND JOIN HER IN CALLING FOR MORE DETAILS IN THAT LEVEL OF FUNDING.
YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WHAT I AM CURIOUS ABOUT IS IF THERE IS SPACE FOR US TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ON HOW WE SPENT OUR CARES ACT FUNDING AND HOW EFFECTIVE THE USAGE OF DOLLARS WERE IN THAT REGARD AND HOW THAT MIGHT INFORM HOW WE SPEND THIS, UH, BUCKET OF FUNDS COMING IN FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN AND HOW THAT LINES UP WITH THE PREVIOUS RESOLUTION THAT COUNCIL ADOPTED AROUND OUR COVID RESPONSE EFFORT, THAT OUTLINED STRATEGIC PRIORITY AREAS AND OUR RESPONSE EFFORTS.
UM, AND SO I REALLY WANT TO GET MORE DETAIL AND CLARITY AS TO HOW WE ARE GOING TO ALLOCATE THOSE FUNDS THAT ARE ALIGNED TO THOSE SPECIFIC AREAS, BUT ALSO THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW WITH RESCUING OUR COMMUNITY FROM THIS PANDEMIC.
AND SO, UH, DEFINITELY WANT TO WELCOME THAT CONVERSATION AND, AND HOPE THAT WE CAN HAVE A MORE DETAILED CONVERSATION ON THE SPENDING OF THOSE DOLLARS.
ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, THIS MORNING WE MET WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE HESITANCY RATE AMONGST OUR COMMUNITY.
SO JUST WANT TO THINK INNOVATIVELY AND IN A FLEXIBLE WAY SO THAT WE MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND WITH THAT, UM, SO JUST WANTED TO, TO MENTION, AND THAT, UM, THAT QUESTION FOR EDD ACTUALLY IS EDD ON THE LINE THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, I KNOW VERONICA IS ON THE LINE BY PHONE.
I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S ABLE TO YOUR QUESTIONS, VERONICA, CAN YOU HEAR US AND RESPOND? HI, GOOD AFTERNOON.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR FOR SAMUEL.
MY QUESTION WAS, I KNOW I MENTIONED THAT WE HAD 125, UH, SPEAK WITH RESPONDENTS ON HOW THE COMMUNITY BELIEVES WE SHOULD SPEND OUR FUNDS.
AND I JUST WANTED SOME CLARIFICATION OF HOW MANY OF THOSE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS HAVE COME THROUGH THIS YEAR 21.
AND IF THOSE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS ARE FOCUS GROUP MEETINGS WITH THE COMMUNITY, OR, UH, AN ENGAGEMENT MEANS, UH, RESPONDENT, UH, RESPONSE TO THE SURVEY THAT WE HAVE UP ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, SO I CAN, I DON'T HAVE THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW MANY HAPPENED THIS YEAR, BUT WE CAN GET THAT FOR YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND THE ENGAGEMENT INCLUDES, UM, FOCUS GROUP MEETINGS, AS WELL AS, UM, PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'VE MADE TO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THAT REGARD.
I BELIEVE THE SURVEY IT, IF IT'S INCLUDING THE SURVEY, IT'S THE FACT THAT WE CONDUCTED SURVEYS, BUT NOT EACH RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY, BUT LET ME MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE ON THAT AND WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR OFFICE.
I JUST WOULD BE CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THE COMMUNITY'S THOUGHTS HAVE CHANGED SINCE A YEAR AGO OR WHEN WE FIRST RECEIVED THE CARES ACT FUNDING TO WHERE WE'RE AT NOW AND JUST SEEING IF THERE'S ANY, UH, PRIORITY AREAS THAT HAVE BUBBLED UP IN THOSE RESPONSES.
[00:40:01]
WE CAN, WE CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT.UM, THE RESCUE PLAN, A COUPLE OF THINGS.
UM, I THINK WHAT, UH, VANESSA WAS SUGGESTING, UM, ABOUT COMPARING HOW THE CARES ACT WAS SPENT, UH, WITH THE RESCUE IS GOOD FOR US TO LEVEL SET.
UM, I WANT TO LOOK AT OUR DEFICIT POSTURE FOR FISCAL 22 IN THE LONGER RANGE FIVE-YEAR FORECAST AND CENTER THAT BECAUSE FOR US TO HAVE A BETTER POSTURE, FIVE YEARS OUT, WE NEED TO BE ADDRESSING IT, UH, THIS YEAR IN, IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING FOR FISCAL 22.
THAT IS PART OF WHAT I THINK IF I'M REMEMBERING RIGHT, THAT'S PART OF WHY THE RESCUE ACT WAS PUT TOGETHER WAS TO HELP FUND THOSE OPERATIONS AND PROGRAMS THAT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF OTHER REVENUES, UH, ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE RED.
SO I WANT TO CENTER US ON OUR DEFICIT SITUATION BECAUSE THAT RELATES TO OUR TAX RATE AND FOR US TO BE IN A GOOD POSITION GOING FORWARD AGAIN, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FIVE-YEAR FORECAST, WHICH I HOPE EVERYBODY WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE ONE-ON-ONE WITH OUR MOST EXCELLENT FINANCIAL STAFF, UH, REALLY GET A SENSE OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND, UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE ARE ALSO ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS OF OUR COMMUNITY, ONE OF THE BEST WAYS WE CAN DO THAT ACROSS THE BOARD IS BY SCRUTINIZING OUR TAX RATE, BECAUSE THAT APPLIES TO EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU'RE RENTING OR OWNING, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, AND THE COST OF OUR SERVICES AND SO FORTH.
SO, UM, SO I'D LIKE TO PUT THAT OUT THERE FOR, UH, SOME CONSIDERATION, I SUPPORT THE, UH, ADDITIONAL MONEY REQUESTS FOR OUR MUSIC VENUE FOLKS, OUR CREATIVE SECTOR.
THAT WAS A CONCERN THAT WE HEARD REPEATEDLY LAST YEAR.
AND WE DID GET TO ADDRESSING IT MORE SPECIFICALLY AND DIRECTLY AT, TOWARD THE END OF THE YEAR, LAST YEAR, BUT IT WAS INSUFFICIENT AS, AS WE KNOW.
AND, UM, SO WE NEED TO RAMP UP OUR ATTENTION TO THAT SECTOR IN SOME SIGNIFICANT WAYS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN WITH REGARD TO THE HOMELESSNESS PIECE, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT CARVE OUT OF MONIES FOR HOMELESSNESS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE, I THINK THAT WAS $11 MILLION.
IT'S NOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT IT'S, IT'S A GOOD AMOUNT OF MONEY.
THAT'S ABOUT 5% OF THE TOTAL THAT WE'RE GETTING.
UH, IF THE TOTAL IS AROUND 200 MILLION.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS FACTORED IN AS WELL.
AND THAT WE LOOK AT ALL OF THE STRANDS AND THE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS AND THE FUNDS THAT ARE COMING DOWN INDIVIDUALLY, UH, WHEN WE'RE HAVING THE, UH, WHEN WE'RE REVIEWING AND, AND PARSING THROUGH WHAT THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING ON THE RESCUE PLAN, SO THAT WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO THOSE PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT DID NOT GET THE DIRECT ATTENTION OR ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF ATTENTION IN THE PANTS.
UM, FIRST I WANT TO APPRECIATE ANN'S SUGGESTION ABOUT THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND, AND, AND DOING THE ROUNDS TO REALLY SEE WHERE WE'RE, WHERE WE'RE AT.
I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT, UM, ROLE THAT THE CITY MANAGER CAN PLAY HERE TO HELP US, UM, TO FURTHER SHARPEN OUR, OUR PRIORITIES SO THAT WE CAN SPEND THESE FUNDS IN A, IN A TRANSFORMATIONAL WAY, BUT ALSO HIT SOME THINGS WHERE WE JUST, WE JUST NEED TO INFUSE SOME FUNDS, UM, AND ALSO APPRECIATE, UH, VANESSA'S COMMENTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTIVENESS.
UM, I WILL ADD THAT IN TERMS OF THE CLARITY THAT I'M SEEKING, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S THERE'S MONEY THAT'S GOING INTO THE PUBLIC HEALTH VACCINES IS SORT OF LIKE, NOT IN THAT BUCKET, BUT LIKE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE, SOME TOTALITY OF WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO, TO SPEND AND, YOU KNOW, WHICH PORTION IS FEMA.
AND WHAT'S THE PORTION THAT LIKE SPENDING OF OUR, OF OUR OWN MONEY ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT.
AND WHAT IS THE TARGET AND WHAT ARE WE FUNDING WITH THAT WITH RESPECT TO PUBLIC HEALTH? I THINK WE ALL HAD SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TO PRIORITIZE PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, WITH THIS, THIS FUNDING.
UM, BUT I THINK WE NEED SOME GREATER CLARITY AT THIS STAGE ON KIND OF WHAT THOSE DETAILS ARE.
UM, AND THEN I WANTED TO FLAG THAT I WILL, UM, POST SHORTLY, UH, UM, AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE CHILDCARE PROPOSAL FROM SUCCESS
[00:45:01]
BY SIX, WHICH A MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL, UM, SUPPORTED.UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING UP ON, UM, REQUESTS BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, ONE, DUSTIN CASAR WITH SOME DUAL LANGUAGE, UM, PRESCHOOL TARGETS, UM, WHICH WILL BE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UM, AND I CONTINUE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY TO ENCOURAGE, UM, THEIR PARTICIPATION.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE, UM, FRIENDS OVER IN THE COUNTY THERE, I HOPE THAT YOU WILL REACH OUT TO THEM AND SHARE YOUR SUPPORT OF THE CHILDCARE PROPOSAL AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO BE INVOLVED.
UM, I THINK THE, THE CHILDCARE PROPOSAL FOR ME, UM, EPITOMIZES KIND OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE AIR, HE, IN TERMS OF GETTING UP TO RESILIENCY AND MAKING INVESTMENTS THAT ULTIMATELY CAN BE SUSTAINED OVER TIME, UM, IN, IN IMPORTANT WAYS.
UM, AND THAT ACHIEVE KIND OF MULTIPLE GOALS.
YOU KNOW, WE CANNOT GET OUR ECONOMY MOVING IF PEOPLE CAN'T HAVE, UM, DECENT CHILDCARE, IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, FOR THAT CHILD CARE, UM, TO BE THERE AT THE ODD HOURS AND, AND OTHER KINDS OF THINGS THAT THAT PROPOSAL, UM, MAKES HAPPEN.
UM, THERE IS, UM, SIMILAR BENEFITS IN TERMS OF ACHIEVING MULTIPLE GOALS, UM, FROM SOME OF THE WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, IN THE BASE PROPOSAL, THERE WAS FUNDING FOR THE AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS, WHICH PUTS PEOPLE TO WORK, UM, TRAINS, TRAINS THEM, UM, EVEN CAN TRAIN THEM IN DISASTER STUFF AND PUT SOME TO WORK, DOING STUFF THAT HELPS, UM, OUR ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE HAVE MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO SCALE THAT, AND OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE ALSO USING IT AS A WAY TO, TO RECRUIT FOLKS.
SO I HOPE THAT WE WILL SEE, UM, ADDITIONAL FUNDING THERE THAT WILL THEN ALLOW US TO BRING DOWN FURTHER FUNDING.
AND SIMILARLY, THERE'S A PROPOSAL FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, UM, FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THAT I THINK, UM, IS, IS, IS KEY TO OUR ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
IT ALSO HAS A LOT IN THERE, UM, THAT WILL HELP US, UM, UPSCALE FOLKS IN THE TRADES, WHICH IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR ACHIEVING AFFORDABILITY.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONSTRAINTS, UM, THERE IS ACCESS TO SKILLED LABOR, UM, AND THERE'S ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO TARGET THOSE EFFORTS, UM, AT TRAINING, UM, TO POPULATIONS, UM, THAT HAVE HAD MORE TROUBLE GETTING EMPLOYED IN OUR ECONOMY, UM, BEFORE.
AND THEY HAVE NOW TESTED SOME PROGRAMS THAT HAVE HAD REALLY HIGH, UM, SUCCESS RATES AND ALLOW THAT TO BE DONE, UM, ONLINE.
SO I WOULD CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THOSE, UM, PROPOSALS AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN, UM, FUND.
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE, UM, SOME CHOICES ON DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, BUT I THINK WE REALLY DO HAVE TO HAVE THE SUM TOTAL OF THE OTHER AVAILABLE RESOURCES, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN OUR AWARENESS AS WE, AS WE DO THAT.
UM, AND I MAY BE MAKING AN AMENDMENT, AN ITEM TO THAT THAT REINFORCES SOME OF THE NAVIGATOR ROLES, BUT EVEN WITH RESPECT TO OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS STAFF AND THEIR ABILITY TO BE HELPING, UM, SOME OF OUR SISTER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID, UNTIL IT'S AN ET CETERA WHERE PERHAPS, UM, THE CITY CAN HELP PUT SOME, UH, BEHIND SOME EFFORTS TO BRING DOWN DOLLARS, UM, THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN ARP ELSEWHERE, AND JUST KINDA MAXIMIZING THAT FLOW, WHETHER IT'S OUR DOLLARS OR NOT, UM, SEEMS TO BE A REALLY HIGH PRIORITY.
WE, WE EMPHASIZE THAT IN ONE 11 AND I APPRECIATE THE NAVIGATORS, BUT AS CURRENTLY DEVISED, I THINK THERE MAY STILL BE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT ARE LEFT OUT OF THAT NAVIGATOR APPROACH THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON.
UM, I AGREE WITH MOST EVERYTHING EVERYBODY HAS SAID, I'M STILL REAL ENCOURAGED AND INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT STUFF'S GOING TO COME BACK WITH THEIR SHIT BACK TO ONE 11, WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING REAL TRANSFORMATIONAL GENERATIONAL CHANGES WITH THESE DOLLARS, BECAUSE THEY GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING THAT WE JUST NEVER WOULD HAVE WITHOUT THIS KIND OF SCALE.
UH, I THINK THE COMMUNITIES INDICATED THEY WANTED TO REALLY DO SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
UH, I AGREE THAT, UH, BURN BROUGHT ANXIOUS TO SEE WHAT THE TRANSFORMATION ON GENERATIONAL CHANGES ON CHILDCARE.
UH, THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO US AND STILL BELIEVE THAT THAT PRIORITY AROUND ALLOW THEM.
I AGREE WITH THE STATEMENTS ABOUT THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, CAUSE THOSE THINGS ARE,
[00:50:01]
ARE SO TIED TOGETHER AND, UH, FOOD SECURITY, SO ANXIOUS TO SEE THAT COMING BACK.I AGREE THAT THE NAVIGATOR IS REALLY KEY AND, UM, AS MUCH AS WE COULD DO THAT, EVEN EXPANDING IT TO THE EARLIER CONVERSATIONS WE HAD ABOUT FEMA REIMBURSEMENT, IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THAT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE ZACK, MY BAKERS APPLIED FOR JUST UNDER TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, AND I, I HOPE I'D TRUST THE FACILITY AROUND THE ORGANIZATIONS AROUND SITTING THE LINE, UH, FOR THAT KIND OF LEARNING THAT COMES OUTSIDE.
UM, AND ALSO THAT THE, THE, THE ALLOCATION THAT WE'VE GOTTEN, UM, SO THAT WE CREATE THE BIGGEST, ALRIGHT GUYS, ANY MORE COMMENTS BEFORE WE GO TOO BIG, WE WERE RUNNING THE EXECUTIVE SESSION REAL FAST.
THAT WAS NEVER KITCHEN FOCUS JUST QUICKLY.
I WANT IT TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTARS, UM, UM, OR TA, UH, MENTIONING THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
I THINK WE CAN ALSO, AS PART OF THIS, THIS PROCESS, LOOK AT SYNERGIES.
UH, I KNOW THAT ONE ASPECT OF THE, UM, OF THE THINKING OR RECOMMENDATIONS OR IDEAS AROUND THE SUMMIT POINTED OUT THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, FOR NAVIGATORS AND CASEWORKERS AND SOCIAL WORKERS, UH, BUT PARTICULARLY, UM, UH, NAVIGATORS IN THAT SENSE, UH, TO HELP CONNECT PEOPLE TO HOUSING.
UM, AND THE SUMMIT IDENTIFIED, I THINK 200 ADDITIONAL, UH, STAFFING NEEDS THERE.
THE OTHER ASPECT ALSO COURSES THAT WE HAVE TALKED IN THE PAST, AND WE DO HAVE PROVISIONS AROUND HELPING INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESS MS. CONNECT TO JOBS FOR THOSE WHO CAN, UM, OR, OR SKILLS TRAINING.
SO I THINK THERE'S SOME SYNERGY THERE.
SO MY COMMENT IS AROUND THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR PIECE FROM THE ITEM NUMBER TWO, TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY APPLY FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.
UM, AND I GUESS MY COMMENT IS AROUND, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT JUST YESTERDAY, THE RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND OPENED UP THROUGH THE SBA AND THEY HAVE LAID OUT A PROCESS OR IT'S FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, BUT THEY ARE PRIORITIZING MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST THREE WEEKS.
AND SO I WOULD HOPE WE KNOW IF WE PASS ITEM ON, ON THURSDAY, THAT WE QUICKLY WORK TO HELP OUR RESTAURANTS, YOU KNOW, GET IN THE LINE AND APPLY, ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE IS THIS PRIORITIZATION FRAME AND WE HAVE ONLY JUST A FEW WEEKS TO HELP OUT.
AND SO JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE, UM, THE, THE NEED TO MOVE QUICKLY IN THAT OUTREACH AND PLEASE, YOU KNOW, COUNT ON MY OFFICE AS SUPPORT AND, AND HELPING WITH THAT OUTREACH AND, AND WANTING TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT INFORMATION GETS TO OUR RESTAURANTS.
I AGREE ALSO WITH, WITH A LOT OF WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID WITH REGARD TO THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, BUT I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE A COUPLE OF PRIORITIES FOR ME.
I AM INTERESTED IN SAYING, UM, FIRST OF ALL, LET ME STEP BACK AND SAY, COUNCIL MEMBER SOCCER.
THEY LIKED THE IDEA OF LOOKING AT HOW OUR INVESTMENTS THAT WE MADE IN THE CARES FUNDING, UM, HOW THOSE, WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE, HOW, HOW WE BENEFITED FROM THEM.
I ALSO THOUGH I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN, IN SOMETHING, UM, THAT COMES TO MEMBER ALTAR AND OTHERS OF US HAVE TALKED ABOUT THROUGHOUT THIS AND REALLY LOOKING AT HOW WE USE THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN TO INVEST IN TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE AND TRY TO ALWAYS LOOK FOR THOSE, UM, SITUATIONS WHERE THERE ARE MULTI BENEFITS.
SO THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF PROGRAMS THAT I'M GOING TO BE MOST INTERESTED IN, IN HELPING INVEST IN.
I ALSO AM INTERESTED IN SEEING US INVEST A GOOD AMOUNT AND HOMELESSNESS, UM, AND REALLY USING THAT TO SET A CHALLENGE FOR THE PRIVATE COMMUNITY TO COME FORWARD AND, AND INVEST IN THAT CHALLENGE AS WELL.
AND I DID WANT TO JUST SPEAK TO, UM, THE IDEA OF, UH, FOR ME, THE MULTI-BENEFIT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING FOR THOSE PROGRAMS WHERE WE CAN ACHIEVE MULTIPLE BENEFITS.
I THINK THE KIX WORKERS AND NAVIGATORS ARE A GREAT EXAMPLE.
AND I HAD MENTIONED THIS IDEA IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTED ME TO KEEP US IN THIS SUMMIT.
AS COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN MENTIONED, THERE WAS AN IDENTIFIED NEED FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED MORE CASE CASE MANAGERS HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND I JUST WANT TO LET MY COLLEAGUES KNOW THAT THIS IS AN IDEA THAT, THAT MY OFFICE HAS BEGUN TO EXPLORE.
I'VE TALKED WITH A FEW OF YOU WHO I KNOW HAVE INTEREST IN IT AS WELL.
AND WE DID HAVE A REALLY PRODUCTIVE MEETING WITH ONE OF OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROVIDERS LAST WEEK, BUT I SEE THAT AS A REALLY USEFUL AND USEFUL FOR YOU TO POTENTIALLY ACHIEVE SOME BENEFITS IN BOTH OF THOSE AREAS, BY INVESTING IN INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR TRAINING AND THEIR EMPLOYMENT, BUT ALSO HELPING, UH, HELPING, UM, GENERATE SOME EXPERTISE
[00:55:01]
AND SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES IN AN AREA WHERE WE KNOW WE NEED THEM.I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS WORK AND I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE TAKING TIME WITH IT AND ARE GOING TO BE THOUGHTFUL IN OUR APPROACH AND REALLY SEE AS SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE SAID, WELL, WHAT OTHER RESOURCES ARE OUT THERE SO THAT WE'RE NOT SO THAT WE CAN REALLY TARGET OURS EFFECTIVELY? IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY.
WE STARTED, I MEAN, IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT'S BUDGET TIME.
I RE WE'RE GETTING SO MANY EMAILS ABOUT THIS, UM, EVERY HOUR FROM LOTS AND LOTS OF INDIVIDUALS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF INDIVIDUAL GROUPS, UH, AND IT'S GOING TO BE CHALLENGING AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE SOME HARD DECISIONS.
AND I JUST WANT TO URGE THE COMMUNITY TO, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS, WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE THOSE GAPS AND THOSE NEEDS THAT WE NEED TO FILL, BUT IT IS ALSO OUR JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INVESTING IT IN TRANSFORMATIONAL, THAT THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST IN TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE AND WE'RE, AND THAT'S GOING TO MEAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SAY NO TO SOME OF THOSE REQUESTS OR FOR FUNDING AND FOR INVESTMENTS.
SO IT, AGAIN, I HOPE THAT WE'LL TAKE THIS ON A TIMELINE THAT REALLY ALLOWS US TO DO VERY THOUGHTFUL WORK AND HAVE LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS AMONG OURSELVES.
I HAD A, UM, A DIFFERENT ITEM BEFORE WE CONCLUDE.
SO AT, AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, IF YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE ME FOR THAT THAT'S NUMBER RIGHT THERE VIA COSMETIC, SIR.
UM, I, MY, UH, BIGGEST PRIORITY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE INVEST ENOUGH IN OUR DAYCARE CENTERS.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW, UH, UH, WOULD THAT WOULD THE DAYCARE SERVICE SO EXPENSIVE TO OUR, OUR WORKING MOTHERS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO REALLY BE ABLE TO HELP OUT.
AND IN THAT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, LIKE WE DID IN THE CARE THAT WE ALSO PUT FARM IN THE RICE FIRMS SO THAT NO ONE GOT THAT BEHIND.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT
HE SAYS MIGHT NOT QUALIFY, SIR.
NO, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING FOLKS HAVE SAID HERE.
THE ONLY THING THAT, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE SOME SET ASIDE FUNDS THAT ARE SEPARATE FROM THE LOCAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FUNDS FOR, UM, FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
BUT I THINK REALLY IMPORTANT AS THE, UM, EVICTION RULES CHANGE AND WE'VE TO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE BEYOND FIVE MONTHS BEHIND THAT EVICTION WOULD HAPPEN THAT WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING AVAILABLE, THAT THOSE FOLKS WHO STILL CAN'T MAKE IT WORK AT THAT POINT, THAT WE, UM, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO ASSIST THOSE PEOPLE, UH, BEFORE, BECAUSE WE DON'T OBVIOUSLY DON'T WANT TO WAIVE EVICTIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE'VE DONE SUCH A GOOD JOB OF KEEPING EVICTIONS LOW, NOT JUST RELATIVE TO TEXAS, BUT RELATIVE TO PRETTY MUCH ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY.
AND, AND WE, I THINK WE CERTAINLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT THROUGH THE YEAR USING OUR ASSISTANCE.
UH, MY ONLY QUESTION FOR YOU MANAGER IS, UM, GIVEN THE CONVERSATION HERE TODAY, AND THEN THERE'S BEEN MULTIPLE MEMOS THAT HAVE COME BACK AND FORTH.
UM, IT, IS THERE ALREADY A SENSE OF TIMELINE ABOUT WHEN WE WOULD BE VOTING ON THESE ISSUES OR IS THAT STILL IN FLUX? I FEEL LIKE I'VE SEEN VARIOUS TIMELINES AND DATES BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY.
UH, SO I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE LATEST WAS GIVEN THIS CONVERSATION TODAY.
AND I'LL JUST, UH, HAVE OUR BUFFET OFFICER CONFIRM THIS, BUT WE WERE GOING TO PRESENT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE NEXT WORK SESSION.
AND THEN THAT FIRST CYCLE IN JUNE IS WHEN WE WOULD POST FOR ACTION.
AGAIN, CONTINGENT ON HOW THAT WORK SESSION DISCUSSION GOES AND THE ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE THAT WE'D BE GETTING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BUT INTERIM BUDGET OFFICER.
DID I MISS ANYTHING ABOUT THOSE DATES? THANK YOU FOR THAT.
GOD, IS ANYBODY GONNA SOLVE THIS? ALL RIGHT.
IT IS, UH, UH, STRAIGHT UP DO NOW, OR YOU HAVE OTHER ITEMS AS WELL, JUST VERY QUICKLY, MAYOR.
I JUST WANT TO CALL MY COLLEAGUES ATTENTION TO THE WORK SESSIONS THAT OUR STAFF, OUR AGENDA STAFF HAVE SCHEDULED FOR MAY 10TH AND MAY 11TH, AS, AS YOU ALL REMEMBER IN ONE OF OUR FIRST AFTER STORM MEETINGS, UM, WE PASSED AN AMENDMENT THAT THEN I FOLLOWED UP WITH A RESOLUTION THAT MANY OF YOU SPONSORED TO CREATE THESE RATE TO ANALYZE THE WINTER STORM FROM A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
ONE OF WHICH WAS TO CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COUNCIL TO HAVE, UM, SOME WORK SESSIONS
[01:00:01]
WHERE WE CAN JUST DO KIND OF A QUESTION AND ANSWER FORMAT AND GET SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS ANSWERED THAT WE HAVEN'T YET BEEN ABLE TO REALLY DRILL DOWN ON.UM, OUR IT'S BEEN TREMENDOUSLY CHALLENGING OUR AGENDA STAFF, UM, AND MY OFFICE STAFF.
I'VE WORKED REALLY, REALLY HARD AND HAVE SPENT MANY HOURS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SCHEDULE THIS CALENDARS.
IT'S BEEN, IT'S TAKEN US THIS LONG.
SO, UH, AGAIN, THESE ARE SCHEDULED FOR MAY 10TH, MAY 11TH, AND I, I HOPE SINCE THIS WAS PASSED ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY, I REALLY HOPE EVERYONE CAN, CAN, UM, CAN GET THERE FOR SOME PIECE OF IT.
IT IS, UH, I I'VE THE MAYOR AND I HAVE MET WITH, UM, JASON ALEXANDER SEVERAL TIMES.
I KNOW I'VE TALKED WITH HIM TOO.
WE'VE REALLY, I THINK, CARVED OUT A PLAN THAT WILL ALLOW US TO COVER A LOT OF GROUND AND NOT COVER SIMILAR GROUND TO WHAT WE'VE ALREADY COVERED IN THE PREVIOUS SESSIONS.
AND SO AGAIN, IT'S REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ASK, TO DO KIND OF QUESTION AND ANSWER, AND ALSO TO PROVIDE THE MANAGER WITH A LIST OF SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD LIKE THEM TO ADDRESS IN THE AFTER ACTION REPORT.
BUT FOR SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS, I THINK THEY NEED TO BE AIRED IN, IN A PUBLIC SESSION AND ALSO TO PROVIDE US WITH SOME INITIAL FEEDBACK ON THAT, BECAUSE I KNOW MANY OF OUR, MANY OF US ARE THINKING THROUGH AND WORKING THROUGH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS AND PRIOR TO KIND OF JUMPING INTO MORE RESOLUTIONS AND MORE, MORE PROVIDING NEW DIRECTIVES TO THE CITY STAFF.
I KNOW I NEED A LITTLE BIT BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT, WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
AND, UM, SO THAT'S, THAT IS AGAIN CIRCULATING.
UM, OUR AGENDA OFFICE HAS GOTTEN FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF YOU ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU'LL BE ATTENDING.
AND I WOULD JUST REALLY ASK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU ALL.
WE CAN ALL MEET WITH STAFF INDIVIDUALLY, BUT I JUST THINK WE HAVE A FULLER CONVERSATION WHEN I CAN HEAR YOUR QUESTIONS WHEN YOU CAN.
HER MIND, WHEN WE, WHEN WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER THROUGH SOME OF THESE ISSUES, UH, THE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE HAS BEGUN MEETING AND THEIR LAST SESSION, THEIR FIRST PUBLIC HEARING WAS LAST WEEK.
THEY WERE INITIALLY GOING TO HAVE THOSE SESSIONS FOCUSED ON, ON BY DISTRICT BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
LAST WEEK'S WAS, UH, COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX AND EIGHT, AND I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER LS DID WELCOME.
I WAS ABLE TO HEAR THIS SESSION.
I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, YOU HAD INTENDED TO, AND THEN WE'RE NOT ABLE TO, THEY HAVE SWITCHED THEIR PROCESS, WHICH I THINK MAKES GREAT SENSE.
THEY'RE GOING TO NOW DO THEM, JUST HAVE A SERIES OF PUBLIC SESSIONS THAT ARE NOT, THAT ARE NOT FOCUSED ON COUNCIL DISTRICT.
AND SO PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CONSTITUENTS THAT THERE WERE NOT VERY MANY SPEAKERS AT LAST WEEKS, BUT IT WAS AN EXTREMELY GOOD GROUP OF SPEAKERS AND A VERY THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION.
AND IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GET THE WORD OUT AMONG THE COMMUNITY GROUPS AND THE INDIVIDUALS WHO WE KNOW WERE VERY ACTIVE DURING THE STORM TO COME AND PROVIDE, PROVIDE THAT, UH, PUBLIC GROUP, THAT TASKS, THAT COMMISSION WITH, WITH INFORMATION, WITH TESTIMONIES, WITH EXPERIENCES, SO THAT THAT INFORMATION CAN GET FORWARDED TO US.
IT IS REALLY JUST A LISTENING SESSION AS WE DESCRIBED THEIR ROLE.
THEY ARE NOT PROVIDING US THAT COMMISSION IS NOT PROVIDING US WITH RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEY ARE PROVIDING US WITH A SUMMARY OF THE TESTIMONIES ON THE ACCOUNTS THAT THEY'VE HEARD, AND IT IS, YOU KNOW, I FOUND IT TO BE, UM, VERY USEFUL AND ALSO VERY MOVING TO HEAR, UM, TO HEAR THOSE, THOSE COMMENTS, THOSE COMMENTS, AND THOSE ACCOUNTS FROM THE PUBLIC.
AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE PIECE OF THE BODY OF INFORMATION FOR US AS POLICY MAKERS.
THIS IS A HUGE LIFT FOR OUR STAFF.
SO THANK YOU CITY STAFF FOR TAKING THIS ON AND MAKING THESE THESE OPPORTUNITIES POSSIBLE.
WE'VE BEEN WRANGLING, UH, LOTS OF PIECES.
YOU GET THAT, DARREN, I APPRECIATE YOUR DILIGENCE.
AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY HELPFUL.
THEY'VE GOT SOME REMEMBER ALTA.
I JUST WANTED TO GIVE PEOPLE A HEADS UP THAT, UM, ITEM NUMBER 11, WHICH IS RELATED TO THE DIRTY ART CENTER, UM, IS BEING POSTPONED UNTIL, UH, MAY THINK IT'S OUR NEXT MEETING IN MAY, WHATEVER THAT DATE IS.
UM, AND THAT, UM, THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PART STAFF IS ALIGNED WITH WANTING TO SPEND SOME MORE TIME THINKING THROUGH THE OPTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE, THAT'LL BE NOTED ON CHANGES IN CORRECTIONS AND JUST WANTED TO GIVE PEOPLE A HEADS.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO FLAG THAT, UM, MONDAY AFTERNOON, FOUR OF US HAVE A CAMPO MEETING, UM, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR US TO BE THERE FOR THE SESSION.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS CONVEYED YET.
I HAD ASKED MY STAFF TO CONVEY THAT WHEN I SAW THAT THE OTHER DAY, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW THE WAY AROUND THAT, BUT, UM, THAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR US TO, TO PARTICIPATE.
I DID JUST NOTE THAT, UM, ON THE FEEDBACK THAT I GOT ON THE INFORMATION, JASON ALEXANDER GOT IT.
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AGENDA STAFF AND MY STAFF WERE TRYING TO AVOID THOSE CONFLICTS.SO I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN, BUT WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT ANOTHER SOLUTION, BUT IT'LL PROBABLY MEAN PULLING IT OUT, PUSHING IT OFF OF THAT DAY AND, AND, AND TRYING TO GET ANOTHER, ANOTHER DATE ON THE OTHER, IF IT DEPENDS TO SOME EXTENT, SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE NOT PROVIDED FEEDBACK TO THE AGENDA OFFICE ON WHETHER YOU CAN BE PRESENT.
AND AT SOME POINT WE MAY JUST HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH WHICH DAYS WE HAVE THE MOST CRITICAL MASS ON, BUT IF WE CAN AVOID CAMPO, UH, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING TO BE ABLE TO DO.
UM, LET'S, UH, UM, BILLY HAD, AND WE'RE GOING TO RECESS NOW.
LET'S COME BACK INTO A EXECUTIVE SESSION AT ONE O'CLOCK, UH, AND THAT WAY WE CAN COME OUT, MAYBE HAVE THE BRIEFING ON HOMELESSNESS AND THEN THE BRIEFING ON, UH, POLICING AT TWO 30.
[E. Executive Session (Part 1 of 2)]
ONE O'CLOCK, UH, WE'RE GOING TO RECESS.UH, OUR COUNCIL MEETING NOW WORKS AS AZURE.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP TWO ITEMS PURSUANT TO FIVE, FIVE, ONE OH SEVEN MORE OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE.
WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO EAT TWO, UH, WHICH IS THE MAY 1ST, 2021 ELECTION PURSUANT TO FIVE, FIVE, ONE OH SEVEN TWO OH SEVEN.
ONE OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS REAL ESTATE MATTERS AND LEGAL MATTERS RELATED TO E THREE, UH, PURCHASE OF THE KEVIN WOOD SUITES.
UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE'LL GO AWAY INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, AT, UH, ONE O'CLOCK THIS AFTERNOON.
I'LL SEE YOU GUYS THERE CLOSED SESSION.
WE DISCUSSED REAL ESTATE MATTERS, AND THEY GO ABOUT IT RELATED TO ITEM MAY 4TH, TWO 58, AND A MANAGER I'LL TURN OVER THIS PRESENTATION TO YOU.
UH, MORE RECOGNIZING THAT I TRY TO MOVE FAIRLY QUICKLY AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO EXECUTIVE SESSION OR IT STOP AND START LOSING COUNCIL COLLEAGUES.
[B2. Briefing from Kroll & Associates regarding their Final Report: Assessment of the APD Training Academy.]
THANK YOU, AMERICAN COUNCIL.I AM, UH, EXCITED TO BRING FOR YOU AN UPDATE FROM OUR CONSULTANTS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH US, UH, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS ON REVIEWING, UH, OUR POLICE ACADEMY TRAINING AND CURRICULUM.
AND SO, AS YOU REMEMBER, BACK IN MARCH, SO WE PROVIDED YOU WITH A PRELIMINARY REPORT BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS, BOTH SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING, UH, AND A BLUEPRINT FOR HOW WE WOULD GO FORWARD.
AND YOU GAVE APPROVAL FOR THAT BLUEPRINT ON MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR CADET ACADEMY.
WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TAKE THAT NEXT STEP AND ASK FOR A FULL CONFIRMATION OF GETTING THAT ACADEMY STARTED AND JUNE SEVEN, UH, AND WE ARE HERE TODAY TO LEARN FROM OUR PARTNERS AT CROWELL, UH, WHAT THEY HAVE FOUND AND PUT IN THEIR FINAL REPORTS AND THEN AN UPDATE FROM OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND OUR CHEAT, OUR INTERIM CHEAPEST HERE TO PROVIDE THAT PRESENTATION.
SO TO KICK THINGS OFF, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO OUR DIRECTOR OF OFFICER POLICE OVERSIGHT, WHO HAS BEEN TASKED WITH REALLY LEADING THIS PROJECT.
AND I REALLY WANT TO THANK A FAIRER FOR HER DILIGENCE IN THIS EFFORT.
AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO FARAH THINKING.
YOU'RE GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THE FINAL REPORT FROM OUR CONSULTANTS, COLON ASSOCIATES.
WE ARE JOINED THIS AFTERNOON BY MARK EHLERS, RICK BROWN, AND DAN LINSKEY.
AND AS YOU KNOW, THEY PRESENTED THEIR PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS TO YOU IN MARCH.
THIS IS A PRESENTATION OF THEIR FINAL REPORT, AND I WILL JUST, UM, PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, FARAH AND GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK IN FRONT OF YOU.
UM, AGAIN, UM, WELL, I HAVE THE ABILITY TO SHARE THE SCREEN, UH, AT THIS TIME.
I WAS GONNA, I WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO SHARE A DIFFERENT, UH, SET OF SLIDES IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
CAN EVERYONE HOPEFULLY SEE THAT WE CAN.
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I'M SORRY.SO FOR THE NEXT, UH, JUST 15 MINUTES OR SO, WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT OUR OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF THE POLICE TRAINING ACADEMY.
UH, THAT'S CONTAINED IN OUR FINAL REPORT OF APRIL 23RD.
UH, HOPEFULLY YOU'VE ALL HAD A CHANCE TO, UM, AT LEAST RECEIVE A COPY OF THAT, UH, UNDERSTANDING IT'S A LONG REPORT.
SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO TRY TO UP, UH, HIGHLIGHT OVER THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, UM, SOME UPDATED FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE NOT REFLECTED IN OUR PRELIMINARY REPORT, UM, THAT WE SUBMITTED IN AT THE END OF FEBRUARY AND PRESENTED TO YOU ON MARCH 2ND.
SO AS WE STAYED IN OUR REPORT ON APRIL 23RD AND CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES, UH, KROLL WAS RECOMMENDING THAT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT SHIFT FROM A STRESS ORIENTED MILITARY STYLE ACADEMY TOWARD A RESILIENCY BASED APPROACH, SUPPORTED BY ADULT LEARNING AND STUDENT CENTERED INSTRUCTION THAT THEY ADOPT THE GUARDIAN CENTRIC OR CARETAKING TRAINING MODEL THAT EMPHASIZES SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY AND THAT THEY BECOME AN EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING ORGANIZATION.
AND W W WE BELIEVE THAT BY DOING, DOING SO, UH, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL, UH, ESSENTIALLY DEVELOP INTO A TRANSFORMATIONAL BEST-IN-CLASS POLICE ACADEMY.
NOW IN SECTION FOUR OF OUR REPORT, UH, THERE'S ABOUT A 20 PAGE SECTION THAT DISCUSSES BEST PRACTICES IN POLICE TRAINING TO CORRECT ACADEMIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
AND OUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT ACADEMIES WITH SUCCESS IN BUILDING RESILIENT, CARETAKER POLICE DEPARTMENTS ARE ONES THAT MOVE AWAY FROM A WARRIOR MENTALITY, REFRAME FRAME POLICE CULTURE, INTO A COMMUNITY ORIENTED SERVICE PROVIDER WITH LESS EMPHASIS ON A PARAMILITARY STYLE OF POLICING THAT EDUCATES CADETS ON THE HISTORY OF HOW POLICING IN THE UNITED STATES HAS IMPACTED COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND AFFECTED HOW THE POLICE ARE PERCEIVED IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS THE LACK OF TRUST THAT COMES WITH THAT, THAT ARE NOT AFRAID TO INCLUDE CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP IN SENIOR ACADEMY POSITIONS AND WHO EMPHASIZE RESPECTFUL AND CONSTITUTIONAL POLICING.
SO OUR REPORT HIGHLIGHTS A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS THAT WE BELIEVE SHOULD BE PART OF ALL POLICE ACADEMIES, INCLUDING ON SUCH TOPICS AS PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, COMMUNITY POLICING, DEESCALATION TRAINING, CRISIS INTERVENTION, TEAM TRAINING, PEER INTERVENTION, AND IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING PROGRAMS ON OFFICER WELLNESS AND TRAINING ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS, SUCH AS COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.
AND WHILE, UH, THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT TRAINING ACADEMY COVERS CERTAINLY SOME OR ALL OF THESE AREAS IN PART, UM, WE'VE INCLUDED ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, AT THE END OF OUR FINAL REPORT, THAT ADDRESS GAPS IN WHAT WE PERCEIVE TO BE, UH, APDS CURRENT TRAINING PRACTICES FROM BEST PRACTICES.
NOW, SINCE WE LAST, UH, ADDRESSED, UH, THE COUNCIL IN EARLY MARCH, WE'VE UPDATED SOME FINDINGS THAT WERE CONTAINED IN OUR PRELIMINARY REPORT AND WE'LL HIGHLIGHT, UH, SOME OF THEM OVER THE NEXT FEW SLIDES.
SO FIRST BASED ON THE NUMBERS PROVIDED TO US AS OF MARCH 31ST, THE 140 FOURTH CADET CLASS REMAINS ON TRACK TO BE AMONG THE MOST DIVERSE CADET CLASSES IN APD HISTORY, UH, AT PRESENT, UH, NEARLY 58% OF CADETS IDENTIFY AS EITHER BLACK, HISPANIC, ASIAN, OR MULTI-RACIAL.
AND APPROXIMATELY 20% ARE FEMALE.
IN ADDITION, UH, ACADEMY STAFF IS ALSO MORE DIVERSE WITH APPROXIMATELY 43% OF STAFF IDENTIFYING AS BLACK, LATINO, ASIAN, OR MULTI-RACIAL.
UH, ALTHOUGH ONLY 10% OF THE TRAINING UNIT ARE, ARE MADE UP OF WOMEN.
UH, SEVERAL OF ITS TOP LEADERS ARE CURRENTLY FEMALE AND OVER ONE QUARTER OF THE CADET TRAINING DIVISION, UH, IS FEMALE.
AND AS THE LOWER, UH, CHART REFLECTS THE RECRUITING UNIT, UH, ALSO IS, IS, IS FAIRLY DIVERSE WITH OVER 50% OF THE RECRUITING UNIT STAFF IDENTIFYING AS EITHER BLACK OR HISPANIC.
NOW, ONE OF THE SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS SINCE WE LAST SPOKE TO YOU, UM, ON MARCH 15TH, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HIRE DR.
ANNE CRINGING TO FILL THE VACANT ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING MANAGER POSITION.
AND THEY MADE HER A DIVISION MANAGER WITH THE EQUIVALENT RANK OF COMMANDER.
AND THEN ON MARCH 31ST, THE, THIS INSTITUTIONAL BACKING WAS AFFIRMED BY INTERIM CHIEF, JOSEPH CHACAN AND ASSISTANT CHIEF JAMES MASON.
WHEN THEY MET WITH ACADEMY STAFF ON APRIL 1ST, UH, DR.
CRINGING SUBMITTED PLANS TO UPDATE ALL CURRICULUM WITH A FOCUS ON ADULT LEARNING METHODS AND TO ENSURE THAT DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION CONTENT IS INCORPORATED THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMY.
UH, SHE'S ALSO WORKING TO ENSURE A PROPER BALANCE BETWEEN ACADEMIC STYLE LEARNING, PHYSICAL AND TACTICAL TRAINING, DISCIPLINARY MEASURES AND CHAIN OF COMMAND STRUCTURES.
CRINGING WAS A POLICE OFFICER BEFORE
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SHE PURSUED HER PHD IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE FROM TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY.AND SHE'S CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE RESEARCHING RESEARCH INTO POLICING, INCLUDING ON SUCH ISSUES AS MENTAL ILLNESS, STIGMA, CRISIS INTERVENTION, GENDER IMBALANCES IN POLICING COMMUNITY POLICING THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND IDENTIFYING BARRIERS TO BLACK APPLICANTS IN POLICE EMPLOYMENT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF DR.
AND THE ACADEMY HAS UPDATED ITS JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOR INSTRUCTOR POSITIONS TO REQUIRE THAT INSTRUCTORS MODEL PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR AND COMMUNICATION AND EXHIBIT APPROPRIATE, UH, BEHAVIOR AND LANGUAGE AMONG OTHER THINGS THAT THE UTILIZE PROCEDURAL JUSTICE PRACTICES SUCH AS TREATING CITIZENS WITH RESPECT AND DECISION-MAKING BASED ON FACTS INSTEAD OF BIASES, AND THAT THEY MAINTAIN AN APPROPRIATE AND PROFESSIONAL CLASSROOM ATMOSPHERE AND TRAINING ENVIRONMENT TO ENGAGE STUDENTS AND FACILITATE LEARNING THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS FURTHER, EMPHASIZE THAT TO BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE ACADEMY.
ONE MUST BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE IN WAYS THAT DISPLAY EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING, BE ABLE TO APPLY EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SKILLS, TO UNDERSTAND AND COLLABORATE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND BUILD TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS.
NOW, EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY POLICING STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES KNOW THE DIVERSE CULTURAL GROUPS THAT MAKE UP AUSTIN, NO APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUES FOR DEESCALATING SITUATIONS AND CONTACTS.
ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ESTABLISH EFFECTIVE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE DIVERSE, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL GROUPS IN AUSTIN.
AND THEY MUST HAVE GOOD LISTENING SKILLS AND THE ABILITY TO MAINTAIN PROFESSIONALISM DURING DIFFICULT INTERACTIONS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, ESSENTIALLY THE INSTRUCTORS, OR TO MODEL THE TYPE OF OFFICER WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE AND DEVELOPING THE DEPARTMENT, RECOGNIZING THAT IT ALL STARTS WITH TRAINING.
NOW, ANOTHER TOP PRIORITY OF THE ACADEMY AND DR.
CRINGING IS ESTABLISHING AN ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE TO HELP TRANSITION THE ACADEMY TO A BLENDED CIVILIAN POLICE LED TRAINING INSTITUTE WITH A STRONG COMMUNITY FOCUS.
AND TO DO THIS, THE COMMITTEE IS TO CONSIST OF THE DIVISION MANAGERS, DR.
CRINGING, AND A SOON TO BE HIRED TRAINING SUPERVISOR.
UH, IT WILL HAVE AT LEAST TWO ACADEMY INSTRUCTORS SPECIFICALLY SELECTED TO SERVE ON THAT COMMITTEE.
UH, AT LEAST TWO OUTSIDE ACADEMIC EXPERTS, UH, THREE OR FOUR OUTSIDE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH OF THE, UH, THESE, UH, CITY AGENCIES, VICTIM SERVICES, EQUITY OFFICE, AND OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.
AND THE PURPOSE OF THE, OF THE COMMITTEE IS TO REVIEW ALL DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION CONTENT TO EVALUATE AND RECOMMEND, UH, OUTSIDE, UH, ACADEMIC AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPANTS, AND TO ENSURE A APPROPRIATE EMPHASIS ON DEI CONTENT, AS WELL AS DEESCALATION TRAINING AND TRAUMA INFORMED TRAINING.
NOW PAGES A 55 TO 66 OF OUR FINAL REPORT, UM, EVALUATED THE ACADEMY'S CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING, UH, WHICH FOCUSED PARTICULARLY ON THE COURSES LISTED HERE.
UM, AND WE RECOMMENDED UPDATES AND REVISIONS TO SOME OF THESE COURSES IN ORDER TO KEEP THEM CURRENT AND PREVENT A QUOTE UNQUOTE, CHECK THE BOX APPROACH TO THIS TRAINING.
AND THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDED REVISIONS AND UPDATES ARE INCORPORATED INTO AN ADDITIONAL SHORT TERM RECOMMENDATION.
AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT, WE ALSO NOTED IN OUR, OUR, OUR PRELIMINARY REPORT THAT THE ACADEMY HAS ADDED APPROXIMATELY 30 HOURS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OR LIVED EXPERIENCES PROGRAMMING FOR A TOTAL OF, I BELIEVE 36 TO 37 HOURS.
UM, AND WE'VE ASKED THAT ACADEMY STAFF WERE ON THE LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS AND CAN POTENTIAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT THEY'VE REACHED OUT TO.
AND THAT WE INCLUDED IN OUR PRELIMINARY REPORT TO EXPAND THEIR OUTREACH, TO INCLUDE THE ORGANIZATIONS LISTED HERE AND OTHERS, INCLUDING CRITICS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
I'LL NOTE IN OUR PRELIMINARY REPORT, THE COMMUNITY VIDEO REVIEW PANEL MADE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THAT CALLED FOR, UH, ELIMINATING BIASES AND TRAINING MATERIALS, DEVELOPING MORE EFFECTIVE TEACHING METHODS, UH, BUILDING COMMUNITY TRUST AND ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC CHANGE.
AND WE'VE ATTEMPTED TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, UH, IN OUR, IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE REPORT.
AND IN RESPONSE, THE DEPARTMENT HAS ESTABLISHED A FORMAL PROCESS AND GONE THE SECOND PHASE OF THE COMMUNITY PANELS WORK, WHICH WE'LL REVIEW AND PROVIDE INPUT ON TRAINING VIDEOS, NOT PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED.
AND THE WORK OF THE PANEL WILL CONTINUE TO BE A JOINT COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES AND ACADEMY INSTRUCTORS.
NOW, SECTION SEVEN OF OUR REPORT OUTLINES OUR SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS.
MOST OF THESE ARE UNCHANGED FROM OUR PRELIMINARY REPORT WHERE THEY'VE BEEN SLIGHTLY UPDATED SLIGHTLY, UH, TO REFLECT DEVELOPMENTS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS.
UM, BUT WE DID ADD A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS.
ONE WAS A SHORT TERM RECOMMENDATION.
IT'S RECOMMENDATION NUMBER 17, UH, I BELIEVE ON PAGE 97 OF OUR REPORT.
AND THIS IS TO, UM, UPDATE AND REVISE THE CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING COURSES THAT WE DISCUSSED
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ON PAGES 55 TO 66, UH, SPECIFICALLY THESE COURSES LISTED HERE, UM, SO FORTH.AND THEN WE'VE ALSO ADDED SEVERAL LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS, IDENTIFY DEPTHS, UH, FROM BEST PRACTICES.
AND, UH, THESE ARE SPECIFICALLY LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, EIGHT THROUGH 11, WHICH ARE ON PAGE 99 OF OUR REPORT, AND THEY URGED THE ACADEMY TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL CONTENT ON PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, THAT'S RECOMMENDATION, NUMBER EIGHT, COLLABORATE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS OUTSIDE OF CIT TRAINING, OR AN ADDITION TO CIT TRAINING THAT'S NUMBER NINE, A TO DEVELOP A FORMAL PEER INTERVENTION INTERVENTION TRAINING PROGRAM, SUCH AS PROJECT ABLE OR ETHICAL POLICING IS COURAGEOUS TO TWO PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING ADOPTED BY, UH, AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
APD IS CURRENTLY LOOKING AT BOTH.
AND, UH, AS I UNDERSTAND IT PLANS TO, UH, ADOPT AT LEAST ONE OF THESE, UH, OR SOMETHING SIMILAR.
UM, AND WE'RE JUST ASKING THEM THAT'D BE DONE, UM, AS PART OF THE LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, ALSO WE'VE RECOMMENDED THAT THE DEPARTMENT CONSISTS OF WAYS TO INCORPORATE CONTENT ON COGNITIVE DECISION-MAKING SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE AND EFFECTIVE SOCIAL INTERACTION SKILLS.
AND THEN THE LAST SEVERAL LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS, ALL ADDRESS ASPECTS OF THE DEPARTMENTS, FIELD TRAINING OFFICER PROGRAM, UH, RECOMMENDATION NUMBER 12 WAS ALREADY INCLUDED IN OUR PRELIMINARY REPORT, BUT WE'VE ADDED FOUR MORE RELATED TO THE FTO PROGRAM THERE IN NUMBERS, 13 TO 16 IN THEIR OWN PAGES, 99 TO ONE OR OF OUR FINAL REPORT.
UM, AS WE SUGGESTED PREVIOUSLY, THE ONLY WAY TO DETERMINE HOW EFFECTIVE ANY OF THESE, UH, CHANGES ARE CARRIED OUT AND WHETHER THEY HAVE THE INTENDED EFFECT IS, IS TO EVALUATE THE ACADEMY IN ACTION AND THEN COME BACK AND REPORT ON FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS AND NEEDED MEASURES MOVING FORWARD.
WE'RE HAPPY TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS ON THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR PROCESS, AND THEN WITH RESPECT TO APD IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO DATE.
UM, WE WOULD NOTE THAT OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS, WE'VE CONTINUED TO CONSULT WITH ACADEMY LEADERSHIP, UH, WHICH HAS ACCEPTED OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY TO IMPLEMENT THEM.
UM, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, I THINK KEY MEASURES THAT HAVE BEEN DONE TO DATE THAT ARE QUITE SIGNIFICANT, UH, FOR THIS NEW ACADEMY IS, UH, THE INCREASED CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP THAT EXISTS NOW WITH THE DIVISION MANAGER AND TRAINING SUPERVISOR POSITIONS, AS WELL AS THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE, UH, WHICH INCLUDES COMMUNITY AND ACADEMIC, UH, REPRESENTATION, UH, THEY'VE EXPANDED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING TO INCLUDE THE 30 ADDITIONAL HOURS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, LIVED EXPERIENCES PROGRAMMING AS WELL AS ADDING A TWO WEEK COMMUNITY IMMERSION ORIENTATION PROGRAM, WHICH WILL BE IN PLACE FOR THE 140 FOURTH ACADEMY.
UH, THE DEPARTMENT HAS INCREASED EMPHASIS ON RACIAL EQUITY ISSUES WITH ANTI-RACISM TRAINING, UM, PURSUANT TO GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS, RACIAL EQUITY TRAINING OF DR.
JANE OR JAMES JOYCE CONSULTING.
UM, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE FOR ACADEMY STAFF AS WELL AS CADETS, UM, AS PART OF THE CURRICULUM, THEY'VE ALSO ADDED AN EIGHT HOUR COURSE ON THE HISTORY OF POLICE AND RACE IN AMERICA.
THAT WILL BE CO-TAUGHT BY A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
UH, THEY FORMALIZE THE PROCESS FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT A REVIEW PANEL THEY'VE EXPANDED PHYSICAL FITNESS TRAINING AND ADOPTED FEWER WEEK LONG BLOCKS OF TECHNICAL COURSE CONTENT.
UM, AND THEY HAVE LESS EMPHASIS NOW ON MILITARY STYLE TRAINING, THEY'VE ELIMINATED SUCH THINGS AS SANDPITS AND SANDBAGS, UH, AND THEY'VE ELIMINATED, UH, OR ESSENTIALLY CHANGE WHAT WAS USED TO BE CALLED FIGHT DAY OR WILL TO WIN IS NOW A SELF-DEFENSE EXERCISE NEAR THE END OF ACADEMY AFTER CADETS HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE TRAINED PROPERLY ON TECHNIQUES.
SO AS A RESULT, THE ACADEMY PROGRAM NOW COVERS, UH, 34 WEEKS, WHICH HAS INCREASED FROM 26 WEEKS, UM, WHICH IS WHERE IT WAS WHEN WE FIRST SORT OF STARTED THIS PROCESS.
SO IN A SENSE, THEY'VE ESSENTIALLY ADDED EIGHT WEEKS OF, OF PROGRAMMING TO THE ACADEMY AND THEY'VE INCORP INCORPORATED INCREASED COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT A D EMPHASIS ON MILITARY STYLE TRAINING, INCREASED EMPHASIS ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ADULT LEARNING METHODS, UH, AND INCREASED EMPHASIS ON OFFICER SAFETY AND WELLNESS AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS. AND JUST BY WAY OF COMPARISON, UM, IF YOU EXCLUDE EUROPEAN POLICE AGENCIES, MANY OF WHICH HAVE MUCH LONGER TRAINING PROGRAMS THAN IN THE UNITED STATES AUSTIN'S TRAINING PROGRAM IS NOW LONGER THAN MANY OTHER COMPARABLE POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN TEXAS AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
SO WITH THE PLAN SET FORTH BY THE DIVISION MANAGER TO ACHIEVE ALL SHORT-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS BY MAY 31ST, UH, WE BELIEVE A STATE OF READINESS FOR THE 140 FOURTH CADET CLASS IS ACHIEVABLE BY THE START OF THIS SUMMER, UM, WITH THE CAVEAT THAT THERE BEING INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF THE ACADEMY PERFORM ONCE IT'S UP AND RUNNING.
SO ULTIMATELY A LOT OF HARD WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE, TO ESTABLISH THE LONG-TERM FOUNDATION
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FOR A RESILIENCY BASED COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICE DEPARTMENT.UM, BUT WE SEE NO REASON WHY THIS CANNOT BE ACCOMPLISHED, UH, GOING FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR, UH, PROCEED, HOWEVER, HOWEVER YOU AND I'LL STOP SHARING THE SCREEN.
UM, IF WE CAN BRING UP THE POWERPOINT THAT YOU HAD STARTED TO PUT UP FOR, UH, COLON ASSOCIATES.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY MANAGER, UH, JOSEPH CHUCK, AND INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE.
I'M VERY PLEASED TO BE DISCUSSING OUR RE-IMAGINED PILOT POLICE, UH, CADET ACADEMY AND THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE ON THE BLUEPRINT, UH, PURSUANT TO THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UH, THAT BLUEPRINT LAID OUT 23 TASKS THAT WOULD NEED TO BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO BEGINNING A NEW ACADEMY CLASS.
AND I'M HERE TO REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THOSE TASKS AND TO ASSURE YOU THAT THESE TASKS WILL ALL BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE PROPOSED JUNE SEVEN START DATE FOR THE ACADEMY OF THE 23 TASKS, 11 HAD BEEN COMPLETED, AND THE REMAINDER ARE ALL IN VARIOUS STAGES OF COMPLETION.
I'LL START BY GIVING A VERY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRESS SINCE MARCH AND THE TIMELINE FOR COMPLETION, AND THEN PUT FEED TO HIGHLIGHT EACH OF THE TASKS AND GIVE YOU A GREATER LEVEL OF DETAIL FOR EACH THAT WILL HELP TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE THE LEVEL OF ASSURANCE THAT I KNOW YOU NEED IN ORDER TO KNOW THAT THIS RE-IMAGINED THE COUNTY CLASSES HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
SO BEGINNING IN MARCH AND NEW, UH, AS MENTIONED A NEW TRAINING DIVISION MANAGER, DR.
ANNE CRANIUM WAS HIRED AND BEGAN HER WORK AT THAT TIME.
UH, SHE BEGAN WITH EVALUATING THE, THE CORE SCHEDULE IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT ACTIVE LEARNING COMPONENTS AND BEGAN HER ACA ACADEMIC CURRICULUM REVIEW FOR ALL THE COURSES THAT ARE TAUGHT DURING THE DURATION OF THE ACADEMY.
WE BEGAN ADDING NEW COURSE CONTENT, INCLUDING THE HISTORY OF RACE AND POLICING COURSE THAT WAS MENTIONED AND ENSURING THAT ALL COURSES ARE BEING EVALUATED TO INCORPORATE DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION CONTENT.
UH WE'RE WE ALSO DEVELOPED AN EVIDENCE-BASED EXIT INTERVIEW AND FOLLOW UP PROCESS FOR THOSE CADETS WHO LEAVE THE ACADEMY PRIOR TO GRADUATION, MOVING TO APRIL.
AND WE BEGAN THE PROCESS OF HIRING A TR A TRAINING SUPERVISOR, AND WE STILL HAVE THAT PERSON FULLY ONBOARDED.
UH, BY THIS MONTH, WE'VE CONDUCTED SIGNIFICANT OUTREACH TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO PLAY A PART IN LONG-TERM CURRICULUM REVIEW, UH, PROVIDING COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, TO ASSIST WITH INSTRUCTION.
AND, UM, AS MENTIONED FORMALIZING A FINAL VIDEO REVIEW PROCESS, THE FINALIZED CORE SCHEDULE INCLUDES A SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE, WHICH IS A TWO WEEK PRE ACADEMY PILOT PROGRAM KNOWN AS COMMUNITY CONNECT.
THIS WORKSHOP WILL PROVIDE NEW CADETS, AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AND ITS COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THE PROCESS OF IDENTIFICATION, SELECTION, AND RETENTION OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO TEACH THEM SELECTED COURSES WAS ALSO ACHIEVED.
AND, UH, FINALLY THE KROLL REPORT WAS ISSUED AND AN ACTION PLAN DEVELOPED TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE REPORT COMING THIS MONTH IN MAY, UH, ACADEMY FACULTY CONTINUES TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION AND GUIDANCE IN ADULT LEARNING THEORY, AS WELL AS ALL FACULTY WILL GO THROUGH MS. JOYCE JAMES GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSE, WE CONTINUED CONDUCT FINAL REVIEWS OF PILOT COURSES THAT WILL ENTER LONG-TERM ACADEMIC REVIEW, A FINAL REVIEW OF ANY VIDEOS TO BE USED AND DEVELOPING A FIELD TRAINING.
OFFICER REFRESHER COURSE WE'LL FINALIZE THE PROCUREMENT OF A LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND RETAIN A INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF COURSES TO ENSURE THAT THE RECOMMENDED CHANGES HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
UM, COMMUNITY CONNECT BEGINS, UH, FOR ACADEMY CADETS ON JUNE THE SEVENTH AND WILL RUN FOR TWO WEEKS AND THEN IN-CLASS INSTRUCTION, UH, WOULD BEGIN ON JUNE 21ST.
UM, THE ASSESSMENT WOULD BE CONTINUOUS AND ONGOING ASKING THE QUESTION, WHICH CHANGES WORKED, WHAT ELEMENTS MET COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS, WHAT INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES WERE NOT EFFECTIVE AND WHICH ELEMENTS NEED ADDITIONAL REVISION.
I FEEL QUITE CONFIDENT THAT ALL OF THESE MEASURES, WHICH I WILL DETAIL
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IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES WILL ALL BE COMPLETED ON TIME AND IN FULL THANKS TO ALL OF OUR PARTNERS WHO HELPED US GET TO THIS POINT.SO I KNOW THAT WE'RE RUNNING A LITTLE SHORT ON TIME TODAY.
I'M GOING TO TRY TO GET THROUGH ALL OF THESE AS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY AS I CAN, BUT I DON'T WANT TO OVERLOOK OR MINIMIZE ANY OF THESE STEPS AS THEY'RE ALL VERY CRUCIAL.
SO I'M GOING TO BEGIN WITH THE MARCH TASKS AS DISCUSSED.
WE'VE HIRED OUR NEW, THE FIRST ONE HIRED OUR NEW TRAINING DIVISION MANAGER, DR.
AND WE ARE MARKING THAT STEP AS COMPLETE.
THE SECOND, WE HAVE EVALUATED THE ACADEMY CORE SCHEDULE IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT ACTIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES.
ALL LESSON PLANS HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AND REVISED AND INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE ACTIVE LEARNING COMPANY.
SO ACTIVE LEARNING COMPONENTS OR INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES THAT INCORPORATE DISCUSSION, PRACTICE, REVIEW AND APPLICATION IN OUR LARGE PART OF ADULT LEARNING THEORY AND ACTIVITIES, THESE ARE PROVEN TO BE MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE IN HELPING LEARNING, UH, LEARNERS TO PROCESS AND RETAIN NEW INFORMATION.
THE THIRD WE HAVE, UH, ESTABLISHED AN, UH, ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE.
UH, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED AND CONTRACTS ARE BEING APPROVED FOR ALL THE MEMBERS.
UH, WE ARE MARKING THIS TASK IS COMPLETE.
THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS COME FROM A CROSS SECTION OF OUR COMMUNITY, INCLUDING COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, MEMBERS FROM THE EQUITY OFFICE, FROM VICTIM SERVICES.
AND FROM APD, I'LL BE TALKING MORE ABOUT THE ACADEMIC CURRICULUM REVIEW IN A FEW SLIDES, THE FOURTH, UH, WHICH IS THE EIGHT HOUR HISTORY OF RACE AND POLICING COURSE HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED INTO OUR ACADEMY SCHEDULE.
AND THIS TASK IS ALSO COMPLETED JUST AS BACKGROUND.
THE COURSE, UH, HISTORY OF POLICING AND RACE IN AMERICA WAS CREATED THROUGH A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF LAW.
AND IT WILL BE TAUGHT BY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.
UH, THE FIFTH COURSE CONTENT EVALUATION HAS BEGUN AND IS UNDERWAY.
SO THE LENGTH OF SNYDER, UH, REVISION WAS DIVIDED INTO TWO PHASES IN PHASE ONE.
IT WAS REVIEWED TO ENSURE THAT THE CONTENT IS CURRENT, UH, PER TIKAL STANDARDS.
IT LINKS BACK TO A LEARNING OBJECTIVE, AND IT HAS AT LEAST ONE ACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITY IN EACH LESSON PLAN IN PHASE TWO, THERE'LL BE A NUMBER OF OBJECTIVES, INCLUDING ANALYZING EACH LESSON PLAN TO INCLUDE CONTENT RELATED TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION, ENSURING EACH LESSON INCLUDES PRESENTATIONS OF IDEAS VISUALLY.
SO FOR INSTANCE, USING GRAPHS OR INFOGRAPHICS THAT EACH LESSON PLAN HAS AN ASSESSMENT COMPONENT TO ENSURE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND THAT ALL LESSON PLANS INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE CURRENT EVENT OR A LOCAL EXAMPLE THAT IS RELEVANT TO EACH UNIT GOAL.
A FULL CONTENT EVALUATION WILL BE COMPLETE NO LATER THAN JUNE 4TH.
UM, NUMBER SIX, A NEW EXIT INTERVIEW AND FOLLOW UP PROCEDURE HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED.
AND THIS TASK IS NOW COMPLETE.
THE NEW EXIT INTERVIEW TOOL IS EVIDENCE-BASED AND THEREBY ELIMINATING ANY POTENTIAL BIAS IN THE INTERVIEWS AND WILL BE MORE HELPFUL IN PRODUCING USABLE DATA FOR ACADEMY STAFF TO HAVE BETTER RETENTION RATES IN FUTURE CLASSES.
THE TRAINING SUPERVISOR HIRE IS IN THE FINAL STAGES, AND WE WILL HAVE THAT INDIVIDUAL ONBOARDED THIS WEEK.
UH, THIS PERSON WILL BE ASSISTING DR.
CRIMEAN IN THE COORDINATION OF ALL OF THESE TASKS AND WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL MOVING FORWARD AND KEEPING EVERYTHING ON PACE.
UH, WE WILL VERY QUICKLY BE MOVING THIS TASK TO THE COMPLETED COLUMN.
NUMBER EIGHT, APD STAFF HAS CONDUCTED OUTREACH WITH ESTABLISHED AND NEW COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSIST WITH INSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY IMMERSION.
THEY COME FROM A BROAD SPECTRUM OF OUR COMMUNITY AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS, UH, LIFE, A NEW RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, JUST LIBERTY JAIL, THE JOBS, THE AUSTIN AREA, URBAN LEAGUE MEASURE, A MOBILE LOAVES AND FISHES, THE NAACP, THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF MEXICO, AND MANY OTHERS.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO BE MARKING THIS TASK AS COMPLETE NUMBER NINE.
THE VIDEO REVIEW PROCESS HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
UH, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE MET THREE TIMES SINCE THE MIDDLE OF MARCH.
AND, UH, IN ORDER TO CONTINUE THE VIDEO REVIEW WORK, UH, CONTRACT TERMS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE LAST WEEK.
SO THOSE MEETING MEETINGS WILL BE ONGOING.
AND THERE'S ANOTHER ONE THIS WEEK.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE VIDEO REVIEW PROCESS AND JUST A LITTLE BIT, NUMBER 10, THE CORE SCHEDULE HAS BEEN, UH, HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY, HOWEVER, THE CRO RECOMMENDATIONS REQUIRED US
[01:35:01]
TO ADD SOME ADDITIONAL FISCAL FITNESS HOURS, WHICH IS BEING WORKED INTO THE SCHEDULE NOW.SO WE HAVE MOVED THIS TASK BACK INTO THE ONGOING COLUMN, BUT ONCE THAT IS COMPLETED, WE WILL BE MOVING IT BACK TO COMPLETED.
NUMBER 11, THE COMMUNITY CONNECT PRE ACADEMY WORKSHOP IS ALMOST COMPLETE.
THE CONTENT HAS BEEN FINALIZED AND ALMOST ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS AND PANELISTS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED.
UH, THERE ARE STILL SOME COMMUNITY INPUT ON DESIGN THAT IS ONGOING.
AND AGAIN, UH, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TASKS THAT WE'LL BE MOVING, UH, TO COMPLETED VERY SOON.
NUMBER 12, WE CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY THOSE COURSES THAT CAN AND SHOULD BE EITHER TAUGHT OR CO-TAUGHT BY MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
WE'RE FINALIZING THE CONTRACTS WITH ALL THE INSTRUCTORS AND SHOULD HAVE THOSE COMPLETED BY MAY, MAY 21ST, UH, AT WHICH TIME THIS TASK WILL BE MARKED AS COMPLETED.
NUMBER 13, THIS TASK IS, IS RELATED TO THE LAST TASK NUMBER 12, AND IT'S ON THE SAME TIMELINE.
WE SHOULD HAVE ALL OF THE CONTRACTS EXECUTED HIM AND IN PLACE BY MAY 21ST, NUMBER 14, WE RECEIVED THE REPORT FROM KROLL ASSOCIATES ON APRIL 23RD AND HAVE BEEN WORKING ON ANALYSIS OF ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE PLAN TO HAVE ALL REMAINING RECOMMENDATIONS IMPLEMENTED BY JUNE THE FOURTH, AS YOU, UH, AS YOU HEARD JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO FROM, UH, DIRECTLY FROM KROLL, UH, APD HAS BEEN IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION AND CONTACT WITH THEM TO ENSURE THAT THE STEPS WE ARE TAKING ARE ACTUALLY FULFILLING THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THAT THEY APPROVE THOSE NUMBER 15, UH, WE'VE INCORPORATED ADULT LEARNING THEORY ELEMENTS INTO ALL OF OUR ACADEMY COURSES.
SO I TOUCHED ON THIS BRIEFLY EARLIER, AND ADULT LEARNING THEORY REALLY CONTAINS FIVE KEY ASSUMPTIONS AND ELEMENTS.
THE FIRST IS SELF-CONCEPT ADULTS ARE MORE INDEPENDENT THAN CHILDREN AND PREFER SELF DIRECTED LEARNING.
THE SECOND ADULT LEARNER EXPERIENCE, ADULTS HAVE MORE EXPERIENCES THAN CHILDREN AND LEARN BETTER WHEN WE INCORPORATE THOSE EXPERIENCES.
THE THIRD IS A READINESS TO LEARN.
ADULTS, WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE REASON WHY THEY ARE LEARNING.
AND SO WE ARE INCORPORATING THOSE TYPES OF THINGS INTO OUR COURSES, UH, AND HOW THAT KNOWLEDGE RELATES TO THE ULTIMATE GOAL.
THE FOURTH IS DEVELOPING AN ORIENTATION OF LEARNING ADULTS WHO WANT TO LEARN MORE PRACTICAL SKILLS THAN GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.
IT HELPS THEM SOLVE PROBLEMS AND WORK BETTER.
AND THEN FINALLY THE MOTIVATION TO LEARN.
AND THAT IS, UM, DEVELOPING THE INTRINSIC VALUE THAT PEOPLE WILL GET FROM THE PROCESS OF LEARNING.
SO ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS ARE BEING WORKED INTO THE CURRICULUM AND WE ARE MARKING THIS TASK AS COMPLETE, UH, NUMBER 16, UH, THE PROCESS, THE PROCESS FOR ONGOING, UH, ACADEMY FACULTY EVALUATION AND REVIEW IS BEING DEVELOPED AT THIS TIME.
WE'VE CONTRACTED WITH, UH, INSTRUCTORS FROM TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP THIS PROCESS.
AND IT WILL BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO JUNE 4TH, NUMBER 17.
UM, I SPOKE EARLIER ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSE FOR THE ACADEMY FACULTY AND FOR THE CADETS.
UM, ALL OF THAT WILL BE COMPLETED.
UM, PRIOR TO BEGINNING TO SIT DOWN PORTION OF THE ACADEMY, WE'RE ALSO PUTTING ALL OF THE COMMAND AND EXECUTIVE STAFF FOR THE DEPARTMENT THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN THROUGH THAT COURSE, UH, THROUGH THAT TRAINING, UM, OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, NUMBER 18, THE FIRST MEETING, UH, WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE OCCURRED ON APRIL 27TH.
AND ANOTHER MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR THIS MONTH.
SO AS BACKGROUND, THE EQUITY OFFICE CONDUCTED AN ASSESSMENT THAT ESSENTIALLY WAS A SWAT ANALYSIS AND RESULTED IN MANY OF THE SAME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN THE KROLL REPORT.
AS A RESULT, THERE IS SIGNIFICANT OVERLAP BETWEEN THOSE TWO, UH, EFFORTS.
THE EQUITY ASSESSMENT CAN REALLY BE BROKEN DOWN INTO FOUR KEY AREAS FIRST, UM, ENGAGING THE EQUITY, UH, OFFICE AND CHANGES, UH, WITHIN THE ACADEMY RELATED TO EQUITY ISSUES.
UH, THIS WAS THE INITIAL MEETING THAT KICKED OFF THE EFFORT AND SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS, UH, WILL BE HELD, SECONDLY, IMPLEMENTING SPECIFIC REVISIONS TO ACADEMY CURRICULUM, AND COURSE MATERIALS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS.
UH, WE ADDED THE HISTORY OF POLICING COURSE INTO THE CURRICULUM AND ALL CURRICULUM MATERIAL IS BEING RE REVIEWED AS PART OF PHASE TWO.
AS I DISCUSSED THIRD IMPLEMENTING PERSONNEL CHANGES TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AMONG ACADEMY STAFF, WE'VE ALREADY MADE SOME STAFFING CHANGES, AS YOU HEARD, UH, DURING THE CROLL PRESENTATION, UM, AND HAVE, UH, INCREASED OUR DIVERSITY, UH, WITH THE STAFF.
AND WE'RE WORKING TO FURTHER DIVERSIFY OUR STAFF
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IN THE FUTURE AND FINALLY IMPLEMENTING INTERNAL, UH, ASSESSMENTS TO QUANTIFY EQUITY ISSUES.SO WE WILL BE COLLECTING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF NEW INFORMATION AS NOTED IN THIS BLUEPRINT.
IT WILL INCLUDE THINGS LIKE CADET INJURIES, REASONS FOR SEPARATION, UH, COMPLETION RATES, UM, AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS, INCLUDING OUR EXIT INTERVIEW PROCESS AND SURVEY, UH, WILL HELP US TO ADDRESS THE EQUITY CONCERNS.
SO THIS, UH, ACTION PLAN WILL BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO JUNE 4TH.
NUMBER 19, THE REVIEW PROCESS FOR ACADEMIC, OUR ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW IS BEING ESTABLISHED THROUGH A SERIES OF MEETINGS OCCURRING DURING THE MONTH OF MAY AND EARLY JUNE.
A TOTAL OF FOUR MEETINGS WILL OCCUR.
UH, THE FIRST, UH, WAS YESTERDAY, MAY 3RD, THERE'S ANOTHER ON MAY 10TH MAY THEN MAY 24TH.
AND FINALLY ON JUNE 7TH WITH THE REVIEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THE CLEAR PATH FORWARD IN THE COMING MONTHS FOR THE FULL ACADEMY, CORRECT LOAN REVIEW, OR AS ARE REFERRED TO IT JUST AS ACR, THE ACR WILL BE ORGANIZED INTO THREE WORKING GROUPS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE A NON-ACADEMIC ACADEMIC COMMUNITY MEMBER, AN ACADEMIC COMMUNITY MEMBER, AND AN APD OFFICER IN EACH GROUP, AS WELL AS AT LEAST ONE STAFF MEMBER FROM THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT FROM VICTIM SERVICES AND FROM THE AUSTIN EQUITY OFFICE.
THESE GROUPS HAVE WORKED TOGETHER TO EVALUATE AND RECOMMEND REVISIONS TO THE ACADEMY.
THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM, PROVIDING A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
EACH WORK GROUP WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING ONE LESSON PLAN PER MONTH AREAS THAT THEY ARE REVIEWING FOR OUR DIVERSITY EQUITY, INCLUSION, CONTENT VERIFYING, ACTIVE LEARNING COMPONENTS, VERIFYING THAT DEESCALATION COMPONENTS ARE INCLUDED IN EVERY LESSON THAT THERE ARE COMMUNITY TEACHING COMPONENTS WHERE POSSIBLE, UM, THE ADDITION OF SPANISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN MANY LESSON PLANS, AND THAT WE HAVE AN ACCEPTABLE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAUMA INFORMED TRAINING IN THESE LESSON PLANS.
SO THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING EFFORT PRIOR TO, AND DURING THE ACADEMY AND GOING FORWARD.
UM, THE REVIEW, THE VIDEO REVIEW COMMITTEE WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE ACADEMY AND NO VIDEOS WILL BE SHOWN WITHOUT APPROVAL OF THAT COMMITTEE.
AS YOU KNOW, THE COMMITTEE HAS BEEN WORKING FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AND HAS OFFERED VALUABLE INSIGHT INTO THE VIDEO SELECTION PROCESS.
VERY IMPORTANTLY, THEY ARE DEVELOPING THE LENS THROUGH WHICH OUR ACADEMY STAFF WILL WORK THROUGH IN THE FUTURE WHEN WANTING TO BRING FORTH VIDEOS FOR USE IN INSTRUCTION.
SO CONTRACTS FOR THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE IN PLACE IN THAT TASK IS NOW COMPLETED NUMBER 21 IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE INCORPORATING TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICES.
AND TO ALL OF OUR TRAINING MODULES, I'VE KIND OF GONE OVER THE STEPS OF HOW WE ARE DOING THAT ON A LARGE SCALE, BUT MEMBERS OF THE VICTIM SERVICES UNIT WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW AND WILL ALSO BE PARTICIPATING IN ACADEMY.
ROLE-PLAY A SCENARIO BASED TRAINING.
THERE'LL BE CO-TEACHING THE VICTIMS OF CRIME AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURSES, AND THEY ARE CURRENTLY REVISING THOSE LESSON PLANS.
SO THIS TASK WILL BE COMPLETED BY JUNE 4TH AND IS ONGOING NUMBER 22.
WE HAVE BEGUN THE PROCESS TO SELECT A VENDOR FOR OUR NEW LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
WE HAVE A SECOND ROUND OF VENDOR EVALUATION SCHEDULED FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 10TH, AND WE, UH, HOPE TO HAVE THIS DONE BY THE BEGINNING OF THE ACADEMY.
AND FINALLY WE HAVE RETAINED, UH, KROLL ASSOCIATES AS THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR AS THEY, AS THEY DISCUSSED DURING THEIR PRESENTATION.
UH, AND THIS TASK IS NOW COMPLETE.
SO, UM, JUST TWO OTHER KEY ELEMENTS THAT WE THOUGHT WERE IMPORTANT TO, UM, DISCUSS IN THIS RE-IMAGINED CADET CLASS THAT ARE NOT LISTED IN THE BLUE BLUEPRINT, BUT THEY ARE NOTEWORTHY.
AND I'LL JUST BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THEM, UH, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE JOYCE JAMES CONSULTING GROUP CONTRACT, THERE WILL BE THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF A MENTORING PROGRAM FOR OUR CADETS.
SO WE HAVE HAD A WOMEN'S MENTORING GROUP IN EXISTENCE FOR SOME TIME NOW, AND THE NEXT THAT WILL BE, UH, DEVELOPED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF MS. JAMES AND HER GROUP IS A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN CADETS.
AND THEN FINALLY WE ARE DEVELOPING A REFRESHER COURSE FOR OUR FTOS AND ENSURING THAT THEIR TRAINING IS ALSO IN LINE WITH THE NEW DIRECTION OF THE ACADEMY, SPECIFICALLY WITH REGARDS TO THE ELEMENTS OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION, UH, THIS COURSE WILL BE FULLY DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED PRIOR TO THE END OF THE 144TH CADET ACADEMY CLASS WHEN CADETS WOULD BEGIN THEIR FTO, UH, TRAINING.
SO JUST IN CONCLUSION, I WANT TO ASSURE MAYOR AND COUNCIL AS WELL AS OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE WORKING DILIGENTLY
[01:45:01]
AND URGENTLY TO FULFILL OUR COMMITMENT TO RE-IMAGINING OUR CADET TRAINING ACADEMY, AND THAT WE ARE DELIVERING INSTRUCTION IN LINE WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT WE ARE BUILDING EFFICIENT, CAPABLE, CARE, CARING GUARDIANS OF OUR COMMUNITY.I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION, AND, UM, I'LL BE STANDING BY FOR ANY PORTIONS THAT WE MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU, UH, TEAM FROM KROHL AND CHIEF, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, UH, EXPLANATION ANALYSIS.
AND AGAIN, WE STAND FOR QUESTIONS, BUT REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONTINUING WORK AND ALL THE ONGOING EFFORTS TO DO THIS REIMAGINED ACADEMY MAYOR.
UM, APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS REPORT.
UM, BOTH BY OUR CONSULTANTS AND OUR STAFF ON VARIOUS TEAMS, UM, AND ALSO THE INSIGHTS OF THE REIMAGINING TASK FORCE, UM, AS WELL.
UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UM, THAT I'D LIKE SOME FURTHER CLARITY AND SOME OF THEM TO SOME DEGREE, UM, SHE CHACONE YOU, YOU ANSWERED, BUT I'D LIKE THEM KIND OF, UM, MAYBE CONDENSED AND FOCUSED, UM, ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC.
UM, THERE WAS MUCH MORE IN YOUR PRESENTATION THAN IT WAS ON THE SHEETS.
UM, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE A, A REALLY PHENOMENAL TEAM OF VICTIM SERVICES COUNSELORS AT APD.
UM, AND WE'VE HEARD A DESIRE FROM THAT UNIT TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE ACADEMY TRAINING AND THEY'VE OFFERED TO HELP INTERTWINED THE TRAUMA INFORMED MORE HOLISTICALLY THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM.
UM, WE ALSO RECEIVED A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE TO EXTEND THE NUMBER OF HOURS THAT COULD SPEND ON VICTIM SERVICES FROM 16 UP TO 30.
UM, THAT RECOMMENDATION ALSO INCLUDED BUILDING VICTIM SERVICES INTO ONGOING TRAINING, THE FIELD TRAINING OFFICER PROGRAM AND RECERTIFICATION, UM, AND THEN INCREASING JUST COMPETENCY AND TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACHES TO VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS I THINK IS JUST CRITICAL TO TRANSFORMING POLICING.
UM, SO I WANTED TO ASK YOU TO COLIN, IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO HOW VICTIM SERVICES ROLE IN THE ACADEMY WILL BE EXPANDED, UM, AND HOW WE ARE INCORPORATING THEIR WORK INTO THE ACADEMY, AS WELL AS THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT CONSISTENTLY.
AND I KNOW YOU DID TOUCH ON THIS IN PIECES, BUT I WANT TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND IT TOGETHER RATHER THAN VIA THE BULLETS.
AND IF YOU CAN ALSO SPEAK TO THE NUMBER OF HOURS THAT, THAT ROUGHLY AMOUNTS TO, OR GET BACK TO ME WITH THAT, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS, CERTAINLY, AND I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE QUESTION COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, SO THERE'LL BE TEACHING TWO CLASSES DIRECTLY, WHICH WE CAN, WHICH I WOULD DIRECTLY COUNT AS HOURS.
THE FIRST IS THE VICTIMS OF CRIME COURSE, WHICH IS A 10 HOUR COURSE, AND THEN THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATIONS, WHICH IS AN EIGHT HOUR COURSE.
SO THAT'S 18 HOURS, UM, WHICH I CAN DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTE TO, UH, KIND OF THAT VICTIM SERVICE, UH, ROLE, UM, AS WELL AS WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW PROCESS.
SO WE'RE BRINGING IN EVERY SINGLE, UM, COURSE THAT WE, WE LOOK AT AND WE'RE MAKING THOSE, THOSE CHANGES.
WE HAVE A MEMBER OF THE VICTIM SERVICES UNIT THAT WILL BE, UM, INDEXING AND PUTTING THOSE, UH, TRAUMA INFORMED PIECES INTO THAT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING FROM A VICTIM CENTERED TRAUMA INFORMED LENS AT EVERY SINGLE COURSE.
SO WHETHER, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHATEVER IT IS, THAT WE'RE OF THE COURSE THAT IS BEING TAUGHT, THAT THEY, THEY HAVE A FOCUS ON THAT.
AND THAT CAN BE, THAT CAN COME FORWARD DURING THE INSTRUCTION, UM, YOU KNOW, DURING THE ROLE PLAY PART OF IT, WHICH IS SO CRUCIAL FOR OUR CADETS, WE'LL HAVE VICTIM SERVICES THERE DURING THAT TIME.
SO AS, AS A ROLE-PLAY ENDS AND THEY CRITIQUE AFTERWARDS AND THEY DEBRIEF A VICTIM SERVICES, COUNSELOR CAN SAY, YOU, MIGHT'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THIS AREA.
YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO, UH, CERTAINLY, UH, RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR, FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME, UH, THAT MIGHT BE ANOTHER CALL TO THE OFFICER, BUT FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL, THAT'S THE WORST TIME IN THEIR LIFE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, BE CREATING THAT CAREGIVING ATTITUDE FOR OUR OFFICERS IS GOING TO BE CRITICAL DURING THOSE ROLE PLAYS AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO BE, UM, WATCHING AND, AND TRYING TO SEE
[01:50:01]
HOW, HOW THAT, UM, MOVES FORWARD.I THINK, UM, THOSE, THOSE LESSONS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AS WE WANT TO SHIFT TO MORE OF A GUARDIAN APPROACH AND BEING ABLE TO, TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THOSE PERSPECTIVES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN AGAIN AND AGAIN, WITHIN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO REALLY HAVE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING, SAY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE VICTIMS ARE EXPERIENCING THROUGH THAT, UM, PROCESS.
UM, I WANT TO, UM, FLAG FOR MY COLLEAGUES THAT I AM PLANNING PROBABLY AN AMENDMENT TO THE RESOLUTION THAT WILL, UM, JUST SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICALLY TO SOME MINIMAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SOME OF WHICH MAY ALREADY BE PLANNED, BUT KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, REITERATING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD, UM, LAST MONTH WHEN WE, WHEN WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BLUEPRINT IN THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE TRANSPARENTLY HAPPENING.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT, THAT, UM, SUNSHINE ON THIS PROCESS AND COUNSEL ATTENTION, UM, IS IMPORTANT TO REASSURE OUR COMMUNITY, THAT WE ARE COMMITTED, THAT THIS IS A PILOT AND WE'RE LEARNING FROM THIS PILOT AND WE'RE, AND WE'RE MOVING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD, BUT THIS IS A PILOT AND WE HAVE TO LEARN AND WE HAVE TO, UM, BE INCORPORATING LESSONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND WE MAY NOT GET IT ALL RIGHT THIS TIME.
UM, BUT THAT, THAT, WE'RE GOING TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO THE LAST THING THAT I WANTED TO ASK IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, REFLECTING ON THE PROCESS OF HOW WE GOT HERE, WE HAD A LOT OF REPORTS, YOU KNOW, FROM VERY NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CONSULTANTS, ALL KIND OF LEADING TO THE SAME CONCLUSION.
ONE OF THE OBSERVATIONS THAT WE OBSERVED WAS FRICTION BETWEEN THE ACADEMY STAFF AND, UM, DR.
VILLENUEVA, YOU HAD A VERY HARD TASK.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S MY VIEW THAT WE NEED TO HAVE FULL OPENNESS AND A WILLINGNESS TO MAKE CHANGES FROM SWORN STAFF.
UM, AND WE NEED, UM, LEADERSHIP AND IT CHANGED AT APD CULTURES SO THAT, UM, WE CAN HAVE A RECEPTIVENESS TO CHANGE, UM, WHICH IS WHAT WE WERE SEEKING, UM, THROUGH THE CHANGES IN THE ACADEMY.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE NEW LEADERSHIP AT THE ACADEMY AND I'VE HEARD NOTHING, BUT, UM, FABULOUS, UM, THINGS ABOUT THE WORK THAT DR
UM, I ALSO UNDERSTAND THOUGH THERE'S OUR CHAIN OF COMMAND CULTURE IN APD.
UM, AND SO IN TO HAVE A TRANSFORMATION HAPPENED, THAT MESSAGE HAS TO REALLY COME FROM THE TOP AND, AND I'VE APPRECIATED, UM, TEETH, CHICKEN, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP UP INTO THIS ROLE AND, AND, AND HELP US MAKE THIS PROCESS FORWARD.
UM, BUT I'D LIKE YOU TO SPEAK TO THE WAYS IN WHICH YOU AND YOUR DIRECT STAFF ARE SUPPORTING DR.
KLINGON AND ENSURING THAT SWORN STAFF WAS FACT AND HAVE RAISED FOR WORK.
UH, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, AS MENTIONED DURING THE CROWELL PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, SHORTLY AFTER DR.
CRANIUM WAS, WAS HIRED, UM, MYSELF, COMMANDER MASON, I'M SORRY, ASSISTANT CHIEF MASON, COMMANDER JOHNSON, UM, ALL MET WITH EVERY MEMBER OF, UM, THE TRAINING STAFF OUT THERE, UH, WITH DR.
AND, UM, I WELCOMED HER AND MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT SHE WAS THE TRAINING DIVISION MANAGER AND THAT SHE IS AT THE LEVEL, UM, WHERE SHE IS A PEER TO COMMANDER, UM, TO COMMANDER JOHNSON AND AS A DIRECT REPORT TO THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OVER THAT BUREAU.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, HER DIRECTION, UH, WHERE WE NEEDED TO GO WAS TO BE FOLLOWED.
AND, UM, THE, THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN VERY, VERY GOOD FROM, FROM OUR STAFF.
I THINK, UH, JUST, JUST CLEARLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE DIRECTION AND THE, UM, AND THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE COMING DIRECTLY FROM ME AND FROM THE OTHER MEMBERS OF LEADERSHIP HAS HELPED TO SET THAT TONE.
AND WE HAVE NOT HAD ISSUES WITH, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT YOU'RE DISCUSSING THAT WE'D SEEN IN THE PAST, UM, DR.
CREAGAN BRINGS A VERY GOOD, UH, MANNER WITH HER TO HOW SHE, HOW SHE CONDUCTS THE WORK AND HAS BEEN VERY WELL RECEIVED BY OUR STAFF.
THANK YOU, CONFLICT THE ALINSKY FROM CROWELL.
IF I CAN JUST, UH, ADD MY THOUGHTS ON THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID SEE TENSIONS BETWEEN THE CIVILIAN, UH, DIRECTOR.
THERE WAS PREVIOUSLY THERE AND STAFF, UH, WE FLAGGED THEM, UH, AS ISSUES, CONCERNS THAT WE GET COMMENTS FROM BOTH SIDES ON THAT THERE'S THERE'S REASONS AND CAUSE FOR THOSE TENSIONS, UM, I HAD A SIMILAR SITUATION IN MY FIRE DEPARTMENT WITH THE SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR THAT I HAD SOME TENSION WITH HOMICIDE UNIT COMMANDERS, AND IT TOOK US GOING
[01:55:01]
AND CHANGING THAT HOMICIDE UNIT COMMANDER AND HAVING A CONVERSATION SAYING THAT THIS IS, WE DECIDED TO GO IN AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT FULL SUPPORT HERE.AND I CAN NOT TELL YOU THE ACTIONS OF THE CHIEF AND THE ASSISTANT CHIEF GOING OUT THERE.
YOU'RE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT HADN'T OCCURRED PREVIOUSLY IS EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO SET THE TENOR AND TONE AND TO HELP REBUILD A NEW POLICE ACADEMY WITH A NEW CULTURE, UH, AND, AND, UH, AND SENSE OF PURPOSE.
SO IT W IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE HOPING FOR AND EXACTLY WHAT WE SAW, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO REITERATE THAT TOO.
I MEAN, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF SPECIFICS THAT ARE IN THIS REPORT AND THERE NEED TO BE BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF SPECIFICS THAT WERE RAISED BY THE CONSULTANTS LEADING UP TO THIS, AS BEST AS I CAN TELL THEM GOING THROUGH IT.
I THINK THAT YOU CAUGHT THE ONES THAT, THAT, THAT I HAD IDENTIFIED.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT SAWS THAT WERE, UH, CHIEF'S CAR.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LEADING INTO THIS PROCESS, UH, BECAUSE I THINK THAT YOU SAID AT A, AT A HIGH LEVEL, WHAT THAT, UH, UH, TONE IS.
UH, AND I THINK THAT, UH, UH, YOU'VE BEEN LEANING INTO WHAT THIS COMMUNITY HAS BEEN TRYING TO DO, EVEN WITH YOUR, UH, UH, VISITS UP AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND THE LIKE, AS WELL AS THE, THE COMMENTS YOU'VE GIVEN TO THE MEDIA.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT SHE'S DOING, SHE'S AT A PRETTY PIVOTAL PLACE IN THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION, AND ALSO NOT AN EASY PLACE TO, TO, TO BE IN AND SEEM TO BE NEGOTIATING THAT REALLY WELL.
MY QUESTION REAL FAST MANAGER GOES TO YOU.
PART OF THE BLUEPRINT PROCESS HAD US NOT ONLY IDENTIFYING WHAT THE STAFF AND STAKEHOLDERS WOULD BE DOING RELATIVE TO THE IDENTIFIED ISSUES, BUT ALSO SOME MEASURE OF, UH, UH, CERTIFICATION FROM, FROM YOU.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU'RE APPROACHING THAT OR WHAT YOU THINK YOUR TIMELINE IS WITH RESPECT TO THAT.
AS YOU KNOW, AND AS YOU'VE HEARD TODAY, THE, THIS IS AN ONGOING EFFORTS AND WE CONTINUE TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN ACHIEVING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OR, OR RESPONDING TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME FROM THESE REPORTS WE HAVE NOW, UH, HIRED A CROWELL AS AN INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR.
AND SO THEY WILL BE REALLY TASKED WITH HAVING, NOT JUST THIS KIND OF CERTIFICATION AS YOU'RE DESCRIBING, COMING FROM, UH, WITHIN THE CITY.
UH, BUT MAKING SURE THAT'S DONE FROM AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE.
UH, I KNOW, UH, FARAH HAS BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE, SO I'M GONNA ASK IF SHE WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING, BUT WE REALLY, UH, HAVE THIS ADDITIONAL, UH, INSIGHT INTO IF WE'RE READY TO GO OR NOT BASED ON THE ACTIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE TAKEN IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, UH, AND HAVE THE WAY THAT PAROLE HAS ALREADY BEEN LOOKING AT AND EVALUATING IT FOR READY.
UH, AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT GOING FORWARD.
UH, MS. MUSKEGON THINKING MANAGER.
I THINK I CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION IN TWO PARTS.
THE FIRST PART IS, IS THAT WE ALREADY KNOW THAT CURL HAS EVALUATED THE SHORT TERM RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT THEY'VE BEEN REVIEWING AND GETTING INFORMATION FROM DR.
CARDMAN OF ALL THE CHANGES THAT THEY'VE MADE THUS FAR.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THAT IS A FORM OF CERTIFICATION.
AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, THE WAY THAT WE DRAFTED, UM, THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR IS TO PARALLEL THE BLUEPRINT AND IT MATCHES, UM, THE THREE PARTS THAT WE SET OUT WITH THE, UM, TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE CULTURE OF ADULT LEARNING AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
AND IT'S SPECIFICALLY TIED TO TASKS UNDER THAT THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS OF THE BLUEPRINT THAT CRO WILL BE LOOKING INTO, THEY WILL BE ASSESSING REGULARLY, WE'VE SET IT UP WHERE THEY WILL MEET WITH THE ACADEMY STAFF ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
THEY WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN CLASSES, BOTH IN-PERSON AND VIRTUALLY.
AND SO IT PROVIDES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE IN REAL TIME FEEDBACK TO THE ACADEMY SO THAT THEY CAN ADJUST AND FEEDBACK IN A WAY THAT SUPPORTS THE OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
AND SO I THINK I'M ANSWERING THAT QUESTION IN TWO PARTS, IN TERMS OF ONE, WE HAVE A FORM OF CERTIFICATION IN TERMS OF PD STATUS ON THE SHORT TERM, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT THEN WE DO KIND OF HAVE AN ONGOING CERTIFICATION IN TERMS OF HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE ASSESSING THE PROGRESS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION DURING THE PILOT ACADEMY.
AND I THINK MANAGER, YOU SHOULD VALUE YOURSELF OF ADVICE.
UH, I THINK THAT THE COUNCIL'S RESOLUTION REQUIRED YOU TO MAKE THAT CERTIFICATION.
AND I THINK THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT, UH, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S YOU, THAT WILL, UH, COMMUNICATE TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITY, YOUR, YOUR PERSONAL ASSESSMENT.
UM, FIRST OFF, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT'S BEEN INVOLVED
[02:00:01]
IN THIS.I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK FOR ALL OF YOU, AND I APPRECIATE THE, I APPRECIATE THE, UM, THE EFFORTS GOING INTO THIS.
UM, I WANT TO THANK DAVE FOR GOING OVER EACH OF THE 23 ITEMS IN DETAIL.
I THINK THAT IS, UH, THAT HAS BEEN SO HELPFUL TO, UM, HELP THE COMMUNITY, SEE THAT ATTENTION WAS PAID TO EACH ONE OF THOSE ITEMS, UM, AND THE WAY THAT YOU PRESENTED IT WITH A STATUS REPORT ON EACH ONE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE KEY ONES HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
SO I REALLY WANT TO SAY THAT I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, I HAVE ONE QUESTION THAT YOU, UH, AGAIN, UH, SIMILAR TO WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ELLISON ULTRA SAID, I, YOU, YOU DID KIND OF COVER THIS, BUT I'D LIKE TO REITERATE IT.
UM, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, ONE ASPECT OF CERTIFICATION THAT WE DID TALK ABOUT PREVIOUSLY WAS THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
UM, AND, UM, I KNOW THAT THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, OR YOU TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, THE, UH, PARTICIPATION OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON THE ACR, UH, AND ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS, UH, AS WELL AS WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT WITH REGARD TO, UM, THE ROLE ROLE, BUT I'D LIKE TO YOU TO JUST SPECIFICALLY REITERATE FOR US WHAT THE ROLE IS FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN, IN REVIEWING THIS PROCESS AND ACTUALLY BEING A PART OF THIS CERTIFICATION, UH, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, SO JUST TO KIND OF REVIEW, UH, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING IS ACR.
SO BEING A PART OF THAT, AND THEY WILL BE INVOLVED, UM, IN THE LONGTERM REVIEW OF ALL OF OUR COURSES, THEY'VE ALSO BEEN INVOLVED IN OUR VIDEO REVIEW COMMITTEE, SO THEY WILL CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT PORTION.
UM, THE, THE NEW COMMUNITY CONNECT, UH, PIECE IS GOING TO, YOU KNOW, BE PRIMARILY COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WILL ALL, UH, BE AS WELL AS SOME, UM, SOME, UH, EITHER, UH, ADVOCACY BASED OR SYSTEMS BASED, UH, ADVOCATES THAT, THAT WILL, THAT OUR CADETS WILL INTERACT WITH AT THE BEGINNING OF, UH, THE ACADEMY.
UH, WE'RE BRINGING IN COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHEREVER WE CAN TO HELP TEACH.
AND CO-TEACH, UM, ALL OF THE DIFFERENT COURSES THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, INCLUDING THE, UH, THE HISTORY OF, OF, UH, RACE AND POLICING IN AMERICA.
AND, UM, AND SOME OF THE OTHER COURSES WHERE DEI IS SO IMPORTANT.
AND THEN FINALLY, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT, UM, WE HAVE PLANS TO HAVE, UH, MANY OF OUR COURSES BE MONITORED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS GOING, UH, THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMY.
THEY WON'T BE IN EVERY SINGLE CLASS, BUT ON THE ONES THAT WE KNOW THAT, THAT WE THINK IS CRUCIAL AND THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS A, UM, A HIGH INTEREST IN TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TEACHING IT, THAT THEY WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO KIND OF MONITOR HOW THAT'S GOING AND PROVIDE THE INPUT SO THAT WE CAN TAKE IT, TAKE IT AND IMPLEMENT IT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING THAT, UH, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF THE, UM, ITEMS THAT WERE ON THE BLUEPRINT THAT ARE IN PROCESS THAT ARE, ARE SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED, UH, BY JUNE 4TH.
AND SO, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE AN, UH, A PROCESS FOR REPORTING BACK TO US UPON THEIR COMPLETION.
UH, THAT MAY BE PART OF WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER WAS REFERRING TO IN HER AMENDMENT, WHICH IS, WHICH IS GREAT IF THAT'S WHAT SHE WAS THINKING OF.
BUT, UM, I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU CHIEF, UM, CAN YOU, UM, COMMIT TO SOME KIND OF PROCESS TO LET US KNOW AS THOSE ARE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE START START DATE OF THE ACADEMY? ABSOLUTELY.
AND I'LL WORK WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY STAFF, UM, TO MAKE SURE HOW THAT, HOW THAT REPORTING GOES, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET, UM, YOU GET THE TIMELY REPORTS.
MY QUESTIONS ARE BUILDING OFF OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY RAISED.
SO WITH THE CHRO, UM, ASSESSMENT AND I, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT THEY'RE AN INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR AND THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE GIVING IT'S AN ITERATIVE PROCESS, AND THEY'LL BE GIVING REAL-TIME FEEDBACK AS THE PILOT ACADEMY GOES ALONG.
UM, WE'LL WE WILL COUNSEL RECEIVE A REPORT AT THE END OF THE PILOT ACADEMY OF THE FINDINGS OF THINGS THAT WERE TWEAKED OR ANY PARTS OF THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM THAT STILL NEED TO BE CHANGED IS THAT I'M NOT SURE IF THAT IS FORMALLY PART OF THE PROCESS, OR IS IT THAT WE'LL BE GETTING BY MONTHLY UPDATES ON HOW THE ACADEMY IS GOING? I'LL TAKE THAT PAIR.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THE WAY WE DRAFTED THE SCOPE OF WORK IS THAT THERE WOULD BE AN INITIAL REPORT.
AND WE DID THAT REPORT, UH, MIDWAY THROUGH THE PILOT ACADEMY.
SO APPROXIMATELY THE DATE AND THE SCOPE OF WORK IS OCTOBER 18TH.
[02:05:01]
AND THEN THE FINAL REPORT WOULD BE ISSUED ON MARCH 7TH OF 2022.UM, AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, NOW, SINCE WE'LL POTENTIALLY BE DOING A PILOT ACADEMY AND WE'LL HAVE, UM, CADETS WHO REIMAGINED PROCESS, HOW CAN WE CHEAT, IF YOU CAN TALK THROUGH, HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT THE CULTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT THERE'LL BE WALKING INTO ONCE THEY GRADUATE WILL EMBRACE THOSE REFORMS AND WE'LL BE OPEN AND WELCOME TO THE REFORMS. AND IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO, TO THAT EFFORT, CERTAINLY.
UM, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I'LL JUST TELL YOU THAT I'VE BEEN, UM, WORKING WITH, UM, EXECUTIVE AND COMMAND STAFF ON ALL OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THROUGH THE REIMAGINATION PROCESS.
I DID MENTION THAT WHATEVER MEMBERS HAVE NOT BEEN THROUGH THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSE OF OUR LEADERSHIP CADRE, WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH IT WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
UM, AND I, I HAVE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH THAT COURSE.
IT'S ONE THAT I THINK OPENS A LOT OF PEOPLE'S EYES ABOUT THE WAY THAT POLICE ARE VIEWED IN THE COMMUNITY AND IT, AND IT LAYS SOME GOOD GROUNDWORK FOR, UH, FOR WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
UH, MOVING FORWARD, THEN THE EXPECTATION WILL BE, YOU KNOW, IS BEING SET AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE SET THAT, UM, THAT WE ARE AS MENTIONED EARLIER, THAT WE'RE REALLY LEANING INTO, UM, ALL OF THE, UH, CHANGES THAT OUR COMMUNITY WOULD LIKE TO SEE BE MADE WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE, WE STILL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO, TO MAINTAIN PUBLIC SAFETY AND WE WILL MAINTAIN THAT RESPONSIBILITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME HOW THOSE SERVICES ARE DELIVERED, UM, WILL BE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S WHY WE ARE MAKING THE CHANGES THAT WE ARE TO THE ACADEMY, BECAUSE WE DO WANT TO CREATE THOSE GUARDIANS AND THOSE CAREGIVERS, UM, THAT ARE, THAT REALLY IS THEIR ROLE, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE TIME.
IT'S, I'M GRATEFUL TO HEAR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THAT.
CAUSE THOSE ARE WHAT I'M THINKING OF IS LIKE ONCE THEY GRADUATE, WHAT KIND OF DEPARTMENT CULTURE ARE THEY WALKING INTO AND WILL THAT DEPARTMENT CULTURE ALIGNED TO THE REFORMATIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE? SO I APPRECIATE THAT COLLEAGUES, ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE GO BACK
I THINK MOST OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
I JUST WANTED TO ECHO THE APPRECIATION FOR EVERYBODY WHO'S BEEN DOING THIS VERY VALUABLE, IMPORTANT, AND IMPORTANT WORK, AND I FEEL A DISTINCT SENSE OF APPRECIATION FOR THE WORK THAT THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE DONE AS WELL.
IN WHICH CASE I, I WANT TO ALSO ECHO THE APPRECIATION FOR WHAT THEY'VE CONTRIBUTED.
I DO LOOK FORWARD TO ON THURSDAY.
I KNOW WE HAVE A FIVE O'CLOCK TIME CERTAIN, SO I'M TRYING TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.
UM, UH, AND SO I DO LOOK FORWARD TO A LITTLE BIT MORE CONVERSATION ON THURSDAY, UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION BY WAY OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, AND JUST WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THERE'S ROOM FOR, UM, CONTINUED DISCUSSION WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WE HAVEN'T HEARD YET FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS CUSTOMER RELEVANCE.
I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER HAD HER HAND UP TOO.
I DO LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING, UM, THE AMENDMENTS THAT SHE MIGHT BE BRINGING.
CAUSE I AGREE WITH HER LINE OF THINKING ON, ON THIS MATTER.
AND I THINK WHAT'S REALLY MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT WE MAINTAIN THIS LINE OF TRANSPARENCY AND UNDERSTANDING THAT A PILOT CLASS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE REVIEWED, CONTINUE TO HAVE PUBLIC INPUT AND THAT IT NEEDS TO BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY FINE TUNE IT AND MAKE SURE THAT IT IS OPERATING IN THE WAY THAT WE REALLY NEEDED MUCH COMMUNITY INPUT ALONG THE WAY THAT I AND MY COLLEAGUES ARE SO APPRECIATIVE OF.
UM, BUT WE ABSOLUTELY NEED THESE CHECKS AND BALANCES JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS ARE PERFORMING THE WORK IN A MANNER THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH OUR VALUES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
SO I DO LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTERS UPDATES, UM, AND CONTINUING TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
THAT WAS WHEN THE AUTHOR DID HAVE HER HAND RAISED, BUT SHE NODDED WHEN I ASKED IF IT WAS OKAY TO RECOGNIZE YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.
AND I WAS WAITING TO SEE IF ANYONE HAD THEIR HAND UP BEFORE AND IT WASN'T UP.
UM, SO I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE DEESCALATION LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATION, NUMBER SIX, UM, IT IS MARKED AS COMPLETE IN THE CROWELL REPORT.
UM, BUT WHEN I READ THE APD RESPONSE, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S STILL VERY MUCH UNDERWAY.
IT SAYS THE DEPARTMENT HAS PLANS FOR INCORPORATING DEESCALATION
[02:10:01]
TRAINING INTO THE MANDATORY IN-SERVICE TRAINING.UH, BUT IT ISN'T IN PLACE YET AND THEY WILL ENSURE VIDEOS WILL BE REVIEWED, BUT IT'S REALLY UNCLEAR IF THE REVIEW FOR DEESCALATION TRAINING VIDEOS HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AS HAS BEEN UNDERSCORED BY SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES THAT, YOU KNOW, MATTERS THE CULTURE INTO WHICH THE CADETS GO OUT AND WE'VE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM AND THE CHALLENGES IF YOU GET CONFLICTING SIGNALS.
SO THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, PIECE PIECE OF THE REFORM FOR THE TRAINING.
AND I DON'T WANT TO GET IT TO GET LOST BECAUSE IT'S BEEN MARKED COMPLETED WHEN IT HASN'T BEEN IN, IN SOME WAYS.
SO MY FIRST QUESTION IS, HAS THE VIDEO REVIEW FOR DEESCALATION TRAINING BEEN COMPLETED? SO WE HAVE, UH, AND I, I TAKE IT, THE QUESTION IS FOR ME, I'M NOT SURE WHO'S THE BEST PERSON, SO THANK YOU FOR JUMPING, RIGHT.
UM, SO THE VIDEO RE REVIEW PROCESS, UM, AS COMPLETED TO A POINT, BUT IT'S STILL AN ONGOING PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE VIDEO THAT WE WERE SHOWING PREVIOUSLY IN THE ACADEMY AND SPECIFICALLY TO ELIMINATE THOSE THAT WE KNEW EITHER SHOWED BIAS OR, UM, DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE DEESCALATION TECHNIQUES THAT YOU'RE HIGHLIGHTING HERE AND, AND WE NEEDED TO BRING THOSE KINDS OF THOSE FORWARD.
SO AS OUR STAFF CONTINUES TO, AS I DISCUSSED, DEVELOP THAT LENS THAT WE, UM, THAT IS GOING TO BE THE EXPECTATION FOR BRINGING VIDEOS FORWARD.
THEY'LL BRING IT TO, TO THE VIDEO REVIEW COMMITTEE THAT WILL HAVE TO APPROVE THE USE OF THE VIDEO.
AND IT HAS TO HAVE THOSE DEESCALATION, UM, COMPONENTS IN IT.
UM, DURING THE ACR, UH, DURING THE CURRICULUM REVIEW, THEY ARE, WE, WE ARE GOING TO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WILL BE REVIEWING IS DO WE HAVE DEESCALATION TECHNIQUES THAT ARE WOVEN THROUGH THIS PARTICULAR LESSON THAT THEY'RE REVIEWING AT THE TIME? AND, AND SO THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN FOR EVERY SINGLE COURSE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE TO, UM, TO TEACH THE ESCALATION.
AND THEN, UH, AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR ICAT TRAINING, UM, WHICH IS A STANDALONE TRAINING, UH, THE INTER INTEGRATING, UM, COMMUNICATIONS ASSESSMENT AND TACTICS.
THAT IS A PERF MODEL, UM, THAT WE HAVE INCORPORATED HAVE, HAVE BEEN TEACHING FOR SOME TIME AND WILL CONTINUE TO TEACH IN THE ACADEMY AND AN IN SERVICE TO ALL OF OUR OFFICERS.
SO WE, WE DO CONTINUE TO HAVE A VERY STRONG EMPHASIS ON THE ESCALATION.
SO NOT I KEPT TRAINING, UM, AS I RECALL, AND I MAY HAVE MY NUMBERS A LITTLE BACKWARDS, BUT OUR CADET ACADEMY, I THINK HAD IT, UH, THE TRAINING AT 10 HOURS, BUT THE NATIONAL STANDARD WAS 16.
I ASKED ABOUT THAT, I THINK IN MARCH.
AND I DIDN'T SEE WHERE THAT WAS RECONCILED, UM, WHY WE WERE CHOOSING THE LOWER AMOUNT.
UM, SO I DID SEE, UM, THAT AS WELL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE REASON THAT WE HAD INSTALLED 10 HOURS TO BEGIN WITH WAS BECAUSE WHEN WE CONDUCTED OUR TRAIN, THE TRAINER WITH PERF, UH, 10 HOURS IS, WAS THE LENGTH OF THE COURSE.
I BELIEVE THAT, UM, PERF HAS SINCE UPDATED AND SAID, UH, WE NEED TO INCREASE TO 16.
AND SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS THEN OF LOOKING AT HOW ARE WE GOING TO INCREASE THIS, UM, GIVEN ALL THE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE OTHER TIME CONSTRAINTS AND, AND DEMANDS ON OUR, UH, TO, FOR, FOR OUR OFFICERS.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT 10 HOURS, OUR IN-SERVICE RECEIVES, UH, HAS ALREADY RECEIVED EIGHT HOURS IN THE LAST TRAINING CYCLE WILL RECEIVE ANOTHER EIGHT HOURS, UH, IN THE COMING CYCLE, AS WELL AS SOME STANDALONE COURSES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THAT ARE 30 HOURS IN LENGTH THAT ARE, OR JUST ABOUT DEESCALATION.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE SOME, YOU KNOW, IN-SERVICE COURSES THAT WILL ALSO, UM, BE AVAILABLE, BUT, UM, WE ARE LOOKING TO SEE IF WE COULD POSSIBLY FIND A FEW MORE HOURS TO INCREASE BASED ON THE NEW PURCHASE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO HOW WILL WE KNOW HOW THAT'S EVOLVING? I THINK THAT, UM, AS THIS CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD AND WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE REPORTS TO COUNCIL THAT, UM, I'M TAKING, I'M TAKING IT AS A TAKEAWAY TO SEE WHAT ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IT, OR ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO PUSH IT TO, YOU KNOW, TO SOME, UH, IN SERVICE CLASS, UH, FOLLOWING GRADUATION FOR THOSE ADDITIONAL HOURS.
AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE WAY THAT THE ACADEMY IS STRUCTURED, WE WERE HEARING ONLY ABOUT THE HOURS THAT ARE HAPPENING BEFORE THEY GO FOR THEIR FIELD TRAINING, BUT IT WAS SORT OF DESIGNED THAT THERE WOULD BE LIKE IN SERVICE AT A LATER POINT.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT THAT INVOLVES WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE NUMBER OF WEEKS, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS MENTIONED AT ONE POINT, CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW THAT'S PLAYING OUT
[02:15:01]
SINCE IT WASN'T COVERED HERE? YEAH.I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION YOU'RE ASKING HOW MANY HOURS WE COVER IN, IN, UH, IN PRE-SERVICE AND THEN HOW MANY IN IN-SERVICE.
WELL, I, I HAD THOUGHT THAT WHEN WE WERE, UM, PICKING THE NUMBER OF WEEKS, BUT PART OF THE RATIONALE WAS THAT YOU WANT TO COME BACK AND LIKE REINFORCE STUFF AT A LATER DATE, AND IT WAS PLANNED TO DO THAT.
UH, BUT WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THAT PART OF THE TRAINING.
SO IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE WERE DOING THE ACADEMY OF THE 37 WEEKS, AND THEN THEY WERE GOING OUT TO DO THE FIELD TRAINING.
AND THEN THERE WAS, UM, I DON'T KNOW, POINT IN TIME BETWEEN THE FIELD TRAINING AND GOING OUT IN THE FIELD, BUT THERE WAS THE EXPECTATION THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER PERIOD OF TIME AS PART OF THEIR SORT OF INITIAL TRAINING, EVEN THOUGH IT'D BE AFTER THEIR FIELD TRAINING.
AM I REMEMBERING THAT CORRECTLY? WELL, UM, YES, YOU ARE.
UM, SOME OF THAT TRAINING HAS BEEN DELAYED BECAUSE IT WAS, WE WERE TEACHING INTERMEDIATE COURSES DURING OUR, UH, CADET TRAINING CLASS TO KIND OF GET PEOPLE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE INTO GETTING THAT MORE ADVANCED TRAINING.
UH, AND SIMPLY AT THAT POINT, UH, AND THIS IS TALKING PREVIOUSLY THAT WE HAD EXTENDED THE LENGTH OF THE ACADEMY SO THAT WE COULD DO THAT.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UM, INTRODUCING THE, UH, SECOND WEEK OF CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING DURING THE ACADEMY, UH, TIME.
AND ACTUALLY WHEN WE CAME BACK IN, FOR INSTANCE, REVISITED THAT ONE COURSE, IT ACTUALLY MADE SENSE TO GIVE THEM THE FIRST WEEK, WHICH WAS THE BASIC CIT FORCE, HAVE THEM GO INTO THE FIELD WITH A FIELD TRAINING OFFICER, TAKE THESE CALLS SO THAT THEY HAD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND THEN BRING THEM BACK FOR THE SECOND PART, UH, THAT THEY WOULD COMPLETE PRIOR TO COMING OFF HER PROBATION.
SO, UM, THERE ARE, THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME COURSES THAT IT'S ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL IN ORDER TO GET THEM EVEN LICENSED THAT, THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN DURING THE, THE ACADEMY.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE KNOW IT, THE 34 WEEKS, AND THEN THERE'S SOME OTHER ONES THAT WE CAN PUSH A LITTLE BIT AND WE STILL WANT TO DO IT IN A TIMELY MANNER, BUT IN ORDER TO, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, USE OUR, OUR TIME THE BEST, AND ALSO TO KIND OF CONFORM WITH BEST PRACTICES THAT WE WANT TO PUSH JUST A LITTLE BIT EITHER TO, UM, THE END OF THEIR, YOU KNOW, DURING THEIR PROBATION PERIOD AT THE END OF THEIR PROBATION PERIOD.
UM, BUT PRIOR TO, UH, MAKING THEM FULLY FUNCTIONAL OFFICERS.
SO, SO PERHAPS WHEN YOU REPORT BACK IN JUNE, YOU COULD GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE OF AN OUTLINE OF WHAT THAT PLAN IS.
CAUSE I'M NOT I'M, I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE SAYING THE ACADEMY'S OVER AT 34 WEEKS, BUT IN TERMS OF THE TRAINING, I SEE THAT AS, AS PART OF WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DELIVERING.
AND SO IT'D BE HELPFUL IF THAT'S READY AND OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE 30 SOME WEEKS UNTIL THAT HAPPENS.
SO IT MIGHT NOT BE FULLY FLESHED OUT, BUT IF YOU COULD GIVE US A SENSE OF THE, THE PROCESS, UM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND THEN MY, MY LAST QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE PARAMILITARY CULTURE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE CRO REPORT FOUND THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT VALUE IN SHIFTING AWAY FROM A PARAMILITARY CULTURE AND TOWARDS AN ADULT LEARNING THEORY.
UM, AND AT OUR LAST UPDATE FROM CROWELL, UM, WE HEARD HESITANCY FROM APD ABOUT MOVING AWAY FROM THE PARAMILITARY CULTURE.
SO CHIEF STRICTURES, ASIDE FROM MOVING PHYSICAL TRAINING AWAY FROM THE CLASSROOM SETTING AND CHANGING THE WILL TO WIN DATA SELF-DEFENSE DAY, CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW WE ARE STRUCTURING THE ACADEMY TO BE MORE OF A LEARNING FOCUSED ENVIRONMENT AND REDUCING ASPECTS OF THE PARAMILITARY TRAINING? SURE.
UH, I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION.
I THINK THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE.
UM, I TALKED DURING THE PRESENTATION ABOUT ACTIVE LEARNING COMPONENTS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PARAMILITARY CULTURE REALLY IS LECTURING.
LISTEN, AND TO HAVE PEOPLE SIT AT ATTENTION, STAND AT ATTENTION, UH, YOU DON'T SPEAK UNLESS YOU'RE SPOKEN TO, OR YOU'RE GIVEN PERMISSION TO THOSE ARE ALL ELEMENTS OF A PARAMILITARY OR A MILITARY ORGANIZATION.
UM, WE ARE CHANGING THAT AND IT IS GOING TO BECOME MUCH MORE OF THAT, UM, THAT ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT I THINK, UM, I DESCRIBED AS BEING A MORE CONDUCIVE TO LEARNING YOU HAVE, UM, WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THERE ARE COMPONENTS IN EACH ONE THAT ACTUALLY INCORPORATE THE, AND THE INTERACTION FROM THE STUDENTS, AS WELL AS TYING THEM TO EITHER LOCAL OR NATIONAL EVENTS THAT ARE GOING ON AT THAT TIME, SO THAT THEY SEE HOW IT ALL RELATES TOGETHER.
AND THEN THEY CAN, IT HELPS THEM TO INTERNALIZE THAT INFORMATION, UH, MUCH MORE, UH, MUCH MORE READILY.
UM, THE, THE, SO EVERY, UH, EVERY LESSON PLAN HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE ACTIVE LEARNING COMPONENT.
AND THERE, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF EXAMPLES.
UM, AND THEN, UM, AS I SAID, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS WITH,
[02:20:01]
ON THE ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OVERALL AND HOW WE ARE DOING IT, I GAVE SOME, SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF, OF, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THAT ARE, AND THAT WE ARE INCORPORATING THOSE INTO THE LESSON PLANS INTO THAT, UH, CURRICULUM REVIEW PROCESS, SO THAT WE GIVE OUR CADETS AN OPPORTUNITY IN THE CLASSROOM SETTING TO HAVE A LOT OF INTERACTION.I CAN TELL YOU WHEN I WENT THROUGH THE ACADEMY, THAT IS NOT HOW IT WAS YOU, YOU, I MEAN, IT WAS VERY STRUCTURED AND VERY, UH, DISCIPLINED, AND IT, WE ARE GOING TO, UM, BE ALLOWING PEOPLE TO, TO ASK THOSE QUESTIONS, TO UNDERSTAND THE WHY, BECAUSE IT'S SO IMPORTANT, I THINK FOR ADULT LEARNERS TO DO THAT.
AND THAT IS GOING TO, I THINK IN THE END, IT'S REALLY GOING TO PRODUCE A BETTER POLICE OFFICER.
ANYTHING ELSE? UM, CHIEF, UH, JACQUELINE, YOU JUST, YOU KEEPS MY INTEREST WITH SOMETHING YOU JUST SAID, UM, WITH YOUR COMPARISON ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A CADET AND WHAT, UH, THESE CADETS ARE GOING TO RECEIVE WITH OUR RE-IMAGINED ACADEMY.
AND I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW IF, YOU KNOW, SORT OF RETROACTIVELY OR AS CONTINUED EDUCATION, IF FOLKS WHO'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH OUR ACADEMY ARE GOING TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, BE EXPOSED TO SOME OF THIS NEW AND IMPROVED CURRICULUM.
UH, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, OR MAYOR PRO TEM.
UM, I THINK THAT, UH, YOU WILL SEE IT IN THE, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST DOING IT PER FOR, PRE-SERVICE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR IN-SERVICE COURSES AS WELL.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE THAT TO A LARGE EXTENT ALREADY BECAUSE, UM, IT'S ALMOST LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, ONCE, ONCE YOU GRADUATE FROM THE ACADEMY AND, AND MOVE ON THE NATURE OF THE COURSES REALLY CHANGES, AND IT DOES BECOME MORE OF THAT ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WHERE FEEDBACK IS SOLICITED INPUT IS SOLICITED AND, AND THERE'S MORE SCENARIO-BASED, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CERTAINLY HAVE ALWAYS SEEN THE VALUE OF IT, BUT I THINK IT WAS IMPORTANT IN THE ACADEMY SETTING THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT WAS THE THINKING WAS THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN BUILD DISCIPLINE.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S ACCURATE.
I THINK THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE GOOD, UH, PROFESSIONAL, UH, POLICE OFFICERS THAT WILL GRADUATE FROM OUR ACADEMY, UH, EVEN IN THIS NEW KIND OF ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
AND FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'LL PROBABLY FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON JUST TO SORT OF SEE WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW UP.
CAUSE I I'D REALLY LIKE TO GLEAN FROM WHAT A SEASONED OFFICERS EXPERIENCE WITH GOING THROUGH THE NEW CURRICULUM IS LIKE, I'M CURIOUS.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PICK THIS CONVERSATION BACK UP ON THURSDAY.
MANAGERS, STAFF, CHIEF, OTHERS.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
[E. Executive Session (Part 2 of 2)]
WE'RE GOING TO, UH, NOW, UH, GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP ONE ITEM, UH, PURSUANT TO FIVE, FIVE, ONE OH SEVEN, ONE OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE.WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO ITEM E TWO, WHICH IS THE MAY ONE ELECTION OUT.
WE'LL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
DON'T ANTICIPATE US COMING BACK OUT TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN ME COMING BACK UP TO CLOSE THE MEETING.
UH, AND AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE A HARD STOP AT FIVE O'CLOCK.
UH, SO WITH THAT HERE AT, UH, FOUR 15, GO AHEAD INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO IF YOU SEE HIM MAKE SURE YOU'RE YOU WISH HIM A HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
UH, WE ARE OUT OF CLOSED SESSION IN CLOSED SESSION.
WE DISCUSSED REAL ESTATE MATTERS, UH, LEGAL MATTERS RATHER RELATED TO ITEM
UH, AND WITH THAT, UH, THIS MEETING TODAY IS A JERK