[00:00:01]
TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN IT DID LAST TIME.
WHEN, WHEN THE LAST MEETING WHERE I CHAIRED IT OVER MY PHONE AND THERE WAS SOMETHING ON MY SCREEN, LIKE THE SLIDES, BUT THIS LOOKS LIKE THE ACTUAL INTERFACE NOW.
[CALL TO ORDER – June 15th , 2021 at 3:00pm]
OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND CALL, UM, THE WATERFORD TASKFORCE, AKA AUSTIN, INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLANNING, COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO ORDER.UM, WE'VE GOT, UH, UM, AND, UM, I'M GOING TO BE CHAIRING THE MEETING TODAY.
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, JNL SEE A NOD.
ALL RIGHT, Y'ALL MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
AND THEN J NOW THE CITIZEN SHOULD BE UNMUTED NOW.
UH, CHAIR WALKER AND TASKFORCE MEMBERS AND STAFF.
THIS IS DAVID FOSTER ONCE AGAIN WITH, UH, CLEAN WATER ACTION.
I MAY WANT TO SPEAK ON ITEM TWO B UM, THAT'S ON YOUR AGENDA AND THAT'S ABOUT THE UPCOMING CITY COUNCIL, UH, PUBLIC HEARING ON SOME IMPORTANT PARTS OF WATERFORD.
BEFORE I DO THAT, I JUST WANT TO BRIEFLY MENTION, UM, FAIRLY SUGGEST AND THEN HOW STAFF COULD IMPROVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
UH, I DID EVENTUALLY FIND OUT ABOUT THIS MEETING, BUT WHEN I, WHEN I WENT TO THE WEBPAGE, UM, IT WAS POSTED FOR TODAY, BUT THE TIME THAT THE MEETING WAS GOING TO START, IT'S NOT ON THE WEBPAGE.
SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS WHO DON'T GET THAT ELECTRONIC, UH, EMAIL NEWSLETTER THAT I NOW GET.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, THAT, THAT DOES IT.
AT LEAST THIS LAST ONE DOES HAVE THE TIME OF THE MEETING THAT YOU ALSO ADD THAT TO THE WEB PAGE.
SO OTHER PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED, BUT NOT YET SUBSCRIBED TO THAT NEWSLETTER CAN FIND OUT WHAT TIME THE MEETINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN.
UM, BUT AGAIN, BACK TO THE MAIN THING I WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT, I IT'S GREAT NEWS THAT IT FINALLY SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING.
UH, CITY COUNCIL IS POISED, I THINK, TO MOVE INTO A CITY CODE AT THE END OF NEXT MONTH, UH, REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO THE DISTRIBUTED WATER FEATURES OF WATER FORWARD.
AND, AND THESE WERE FEATURES PROVISIONS THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST TWO DRAFTS OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE ABOUT WHICH IS, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW WERE PUT ON HOLD, UH, BY THAT ONGOING LEGAL DISPUTE OVER THE ENTIRE CODE.
AND THAT LEGAL DISPUTE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THESE PIECES OF WATER FORWARD.
SO I THINK IT'S PRUDENT AND WISE AND FORWARD-THINKING TO TAKE THOSE OUT OF THE DRAFT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND MOVE THEM INTO CITY CODE SEPARATELY.
AND THESE ARE OF COURSE OF THEIR CARBON, UH, UH, ON WATER BENCHMARKING AND WATER BUDGETING, AS WELL AS THOSE REQUIREMENTS THAT NEW DEVELOPMENTS OF 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE, UH, B UH, DUAL POND SO THAT THEY CAN CAPTURE AND USE EITHER A WATER THAT THEY CAPTURE ON SITE, UH, LIKE AC CONTENT SAY STORMWATER TREATED, GRAY WATER TATTOO, OR, UM, WATER, UH, FROM THE CITY'S RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, IF THEY'RE WITHIN A CERTAIN SHORT DISTANCE OF THAT SYSTEM.
SO I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS GREAT STUFF.
UM, AND I WANT TO TAKE EVERYBODY WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS EDW STAFF, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, AND, AND NOT LEAST THE MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE FOR YOUR PERSISTENCE IN GETTING US TO THIS POINT.
UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE COUNCIL HASN'T APPROVED IT YET, UM, AND I'M CONFIDENT, BUT THERE DO SEEM TO BE LINGERING CONCERNS IN SOME QUARTERS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS, UH, TO AFFORDABILITY THAT THESE, THAT THESE NEW MEASURES MIGHT HAVE.
SO I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, NOT FOR THE FIRST TIME, BUT STILL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT YET, AGAIN, AT LEAST TWO BENEFITS TO AFFORDABILITY THAT, THAT THESE, UH, UM, REQUIREMENTS CAN BRING ABOUT.
SO IT SEEMS CLEAR TO ME THAT ANYBODY LIVING IN OR USING ONE OF THESE NEW BUILDINGS, UH, THAT IS DUAL PLUMPED, WE'LL SEE THEIR WATER BILLS DROP, UH, AT LEAST RELATIVE TO WHAT THEY MIGHT OTHERWISE TOO, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT HAVING TO PURCHASE NEARLY AS MUCH POTABLE WATER FROM THE CITY, RATHER THEY'RE USING THE WATER, BUT THE BUILDING ITSELF PROVIDES, UM, AS I'VE ALREADY DESCRIBED.
AND I ALSO THINK WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND, ALWAYS, ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF THIS AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY, UH, WHICH OF COURSE WE PREPAID FOR A WATER, UH, WITHDRAWN FROM THE RIVER UP TO 200, 1000 ACRE FEET.
AND WHEN WE REACHED THAT TRIGGER, UH, FOR EITHER TWO YEARS IN A ROW OR AVERAGE IT, THEN, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO START PAYING FOR ALL WATER ABOVE 150,000 ACRE FEET AT WHATEVER THE CURRENT MARKET RATE IS.
AND SO THIS IS YET ANOTHER TOOL IN THE ARSENAL TO POSTPONE WHEN WE REACHED THAT TRIGGER AND THAT WILL SAVE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY MONEY.
SO WHEN WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, LET'S, LET'S ALSO BE MINDFUL OF THOSE.
[00:05:01]
JUST THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR WORK.I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS, UH, UPCOMING PUBLIC, UM, PROBABLY CONVERSATION AT CITY COUNCIL, I THINK ON JULY 29TH.
AND I'LL CERTAINLY BE THERE AND AGAIN, PUT IN A GOOD WORD FOR, FOR THESE PARTS OF WATERFORD.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS OR OTHER QUESTIONS FOR DAVID? OKAY.
UM, LET ME ASK A HOUSEKEEPING QUESTION.
CAUSE I WAS THINKING ABOUT VANESSA GOING OFF FROM FOUR TO FOUR 30 AND THEN BILL LEAVING AT FOUR 30 IS A CORUM, THE CORUM OF THE APPOINTED MEMBERS.
SO WE HAVE 10 APPOINTED MEMBERS OR OF THE FULL TASKFORCE, WHICH IS 11 CAUSE WE'RE MISSING AN APPOINTEE FOR S FOR DISTRICT TWO I'M OF COURSE, IN MY KITCHEN.
SO I DON'T HAVE THAT BYLAWS WITH ME, UH, QUORUM WOULD BE, UM, SIX MEMBERS, SIX MEMBERS.
SO, UM, SO W W WE CAN'T HAVE, UM, BILL AND VANESSA GONE AT THE SAME TIME.
SO IF YOU GUYS CAN PERFECTLY COORDINATE YOUR, UM, EXITS AND ENTRIES BACK INTO THE MEETING, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
AND IS THAT, IS THAT, UH, JUST FOR US TO HAVE THE MEETING OR JUST TO, UH, TAKE ACTION ON SOMETHING, THE MEETING TO HAVE THE MEETING, WE CANNOT BE WITHOUT A QUORUM.
BILLY PERRY MAY HAVE JUST JOINED AS WELL.
WELL, PERRY SOLVES EVERYTHING AS USUAL.
I WAS SITTING THERE DOING SOME MENTAL GYMNASTICS GOING, OKAY, WAIT A SECOND.
WHAT IF SHE'S LEAVING AND HE'S COMING BACK OR, OKAY.
EVERYTHING IS SOLVED OUR CORN, OUR POSSIBLE CORUM ISSUES AROUND THE FOUR 30 HOUR ARE SALT.
HARRY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
I SUSPECT IT INVOLVES, UM, PARTYING CHILDREN AROUND AND THAT'S WHAT WE GOTTA DO.
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
UM, ALL RIGHT.LET'S MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES FOR OUR MAY 7TH TO TASKFORCE MEETING HAS ENDED.
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? THIS IS ROBERT.
I MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
UM, AND ALL IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND, OR IS THAT APPROPRIATE? UM, RESA ANYONE'S OPPOSED.
AS OPPOSED ANY, OKAY, EVERYONE GOOD.
UM, I WANTED TO SAY, UM, ONE THING, IF I MAY, IF FOLKS ARE USED TO, I MEAN, THE STAFF, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB, LIKE COMMUNICATING WITH THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETINGS.
UM, THANK YOU, JANE L YOU'VE BEEN GIVING US ALL THE MATERIALS AND THE SIGNAGE AND STUFF.
UM, THERE'S USUALLY A MEETING, A NOTICE THAT GOES OUT TO LIKE THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND I WAS ON IT AS WELL AS ALL OF YOU PROBABLY ARE ABOUT THE MEETINGS AND ADVANCE OF THEM.
UM, THE ALSO WATER HAS SWITCHED OVER TO A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER, SO, UM, PEOPLE NEED TO SIGN UP FOR THAT.
UM, AND WE'LL, WE CAN SHARE THE LINK THERE'S IT'S ON THE WATER FORD PAGE.
I WAS LOOKING ALL OVER THE PLACE.
THERE'S A LINK ON THERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER TO GET INFORMATION ON MONTHLY.
UM, IF I'M MISSTATING ANY OF THAT, JUST LET ME KNOW J AND L MARISSA.
SO I BELIEVE THAT THE, UM, AND I'LL, UM, LET JANE I'LL ADD SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILS TO THIS, BUT I BELIEVE THAT THAT MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS STILL GOING OUT TO OUR STAKEHOLDER LIST AND THE TRANSITION OVER, I THINK THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS MAY HAVE BEEN, UH, REMOVED FROM THAT, UM, STAKEHOLDER LIST.
AND WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH AND MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, AND WHEN COMPARING THE TWO LISTS THAT WE'VE GOT ALL PARTIES COVERED, BUT THAT NOTICE IS STILL GOING OUT TO A LARGE LIST OF FOLKS, UM, TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
UM, I DON'T JENELLE, IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER THOUGHTS ON THAT.
UM, WE'RE GOING THROUGH, UH, TO CROSS REFERENCE BOTH LISTS THAT WE HAVE THIS WEEK.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY HERE FOR ALL OF Y'ALL AND JUST FOR WHOEVER'S WATCHING TV LAND, BUT THAT THERE IS A PLACE TO SIGN UP FOR A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER TO GET INFORMATION ON WHAT ARE FOR THERE'S A LOT HAPPENING.
UM, AND IT'S KIND OF, KIND OF A NEW THING AS MY UNDERSTANDING THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
[00:10:01]
UP FOR THAT SO YOU CAN GET NOTICES AND, AND, UH, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND ABOUT LIST MANAGEMENT AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S ON A PROPER LIST AND YOU'RE SWITCHING OVER.LET'S MOVE INTO OUR, UM, STAFF BRIEFINGS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS TO AGENDA ITEM TWO A, WHICH IS A WATERFORD IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS UPDATE AS SUPPLY OUTLOOK, WHICH HOPEFULLY IS DIFFERENT.
NOW THAT WE HAD ALL THIS RAIN BUSH SUDDENLY STOPPED.
UM, I WANTED TO ALSO ASK IF WE COULD REQUEST TO, UH, REVIEW ITEMS TWO OUT OF ORDER.
UM, MEDUSA HAS TO LEAVE, UM, IN A LITTLE BIT.
SO IF WE COULD, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE WATERFORD CODE AMENDMENTS AND OTHER COUNCIL RELATED ITEMS BEFORE SHE HAS TO GO, ABSOLUTELY.
[2.b. Water Forward Code Amendments and Related City Council Resolutions]
FORWARD TO A, TO B THEN, WHICH IS CODE AMENDMENTS AND RELATED CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS.WELL, WE'RE GETTING THE SLIDES TEED UP, I WILL SAY KIND OF AS A PREVIEW FOR THE WATER SUPPLY OUTLOOK, YOU KNOW, GOOD NEWS.
WE WERE, UH, WE DID GET A LITTLE BUMP UP IN, UM, COMBINED STORAGE.
WE'RE NOW AT 83% FULL, SO, UH, THAT'S GOOD NEWS FOR US GOING INTO THE 10TH OF THIS SUMMER.
SO NICE BIG GREEN BAR ON ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT WE'LL LOOK AT IN A LITTLE BIT.
SO I DO HAVE TO LEAVE IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES, SO I WANT TO CHECK, MAKE SURE TO BE HERE AT LEAST FOR THE BEGINNING OF THIS ITEM, IF YOU COULD PROCEED TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AT, UM, THE MAY 20TH COUNCIL MEETING COUNCIL, UH, APPROVED TWO REVOLUTIONS AND WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS OR PRESENT CONTENT OF THOSE RESOLUTIONS.
UM, IF HE WOULD LIKE TO READ THE RESOLUTIONS IN FULL WE'VE INCLUDED THE LINK TO THOSE RESOLUTIONS, UM, ON THE SLIDE, UM, THE FIRST RESOLUTION, UM, HERE WAS, UM, PROPOSED BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CIOBO.
UM, IT WAS SPONSORED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO.
THIS RESOLUTION DIRECTS THE CITY MANAGER TO CONSULT WITH AUSTIN WATER STAFF AND TO SEEK INPUT FROM THE WATERFORD TASKFORCE REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGIES LISTED ON THE SLIDE.
THAT INCLUDES A DUAL PLUMBING ORDINANCE FOR NEW, LARGER COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT EXPANSION OF OUR CURRENT, UH, RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS, WATER BENCHMARKING, AND BUDGETING FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT, LANDSCAPE, TRANSFORMATION, ORDINANCES, AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS AND IRRIGATION EFFICIENCY AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. UM, IN ADDITION, THIS RESOLUTION DIRECTS THE CITY MANAGER, UM, TO, UH, FOLLOW THE DETAILED, UH, IMPLEMENTATION PROFITS INCLUDED IN THE WATER FORWARD 2018 PLAN.
UH, THOSE ARE THE, THAT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN OR ARE THOSE 11 BY 17 SHEET BETTER AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF OUR PLAN, THE VERY LAST PAGES OF THE 2018 WATERFORD PLAN.
UM, THE, THAT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN INCLUDES, UH, STEPS TO PILOT STRATEGIES, COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT COSTS AND CONDUCT A STAKEHOLDER INPUT TO INFORM PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.
UH, THE RESOLUTION ALSO, UH, DIRECTS THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO MITIGATE THE IMPACTS TO AFFORDABILITY OF THE STRATEGIES.
UM, OUR NEXT STEPS FOR THIS RESOLUTION IN PARTICULAR, UM, AUSTIN WATER STAFF ARE GOING TO PLAN AN ITEM FOR A FUTURE WATER FOR TASK FORCE MEETING, UM, TO SEEK TASKFORCE INPUT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIFIC WATERFORD STRATEGIES.
AS A REFERENCE WITHIN THIS RESOLUTION, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS MAY LIKELY OCCUR WITHIN THE NEXT, UH, JULY 13TH, UH, TASK FORCE MEETING.
UM, AT THAT TIME WE'LL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THIS, UM, IN, IN FULL, UM, EH, IN ADDITION, I WAS GOING TO MENTION ONE OTHER THING AND IT JUST SLIPPED RIGHT OUT OF MY HEAD.
UM, LET ME
I WILL LET YOU KNOW, UM, IF YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, THIS NEXT RESOLUTION, UM, CAME FROM, UH, KANT'S MEMBER KITCHEN, UM, AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBER
THESE ARE THOSE CONE AMENDMENTS, UM, THAT WERE MENTIONED, UH, PREVIOUSLY
[00:15:01]
IN THE MEETING DURING CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.UH, THIS RESOLUTION ALSO INITIATED AN ORDINANCE WAVING TO REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW OF THESE CODE AMENDMENTS.
NEXT SLIDE, UH, THIS RESOLUTION, UM, ALSO DIRECTED THE CITY MANAGER, UH, TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS, TO MITIGATE THE IMPACTS TO AFFORDABILITY OF THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS, UM, IN, UH, ALIGNMENT WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORDINANCES, UM, AND IT DIRECTS THE CITY MANAGER TO ADDRESS THE INCREASED NEED FOR FLOOD PROTECTION, ALONG WITH WATER SUPPLY NEEDS, UM, THROUGH A STORMWATER AND RAINWATER HARVESTING STRATEGIES IN WATERFORD.
NEXT SLIDE, OUR NEXT STEPS ON, UH, THIS RESOLUTION, UM, THERE IS SOME UPDATE INFORMATION HERE, UM, ON JUNE 10TH, COUNCIL APPROVED THE WAIVER OF PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW FOR THOSE, UM, CODE AMENDMENTS TO THE LINE DEVELOPMENT CODE AND SET A PUBLIC HEARING ON JULY 29TH TO CONSIDER, UM, APPROVING AMENDMENTS, ESTABLISHING THE WATER BENCHMARKING, EXTENDED RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS, AND ON-SITE REUSE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, OPTIM WATER STAFF IS, UM, GOING TO BE WORKING TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE AFFORDABILITY CONSIDERATIONS, UM, AS DIRECTED IN THE RESOLUTION.
AND WE WILL BE WORKING WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION.
WE'LL ALSO BE PROVIDING INPUT ON THE FLOOD MITIGATION CONSIDERATIONS, UH, REFERENCED IN THIS RESOLUTION.
UM, BOTH OF THESE RESOLUTIONS, WE ANTICIPATE HAVING RESPONSES, UH, TO COUNCIL, UM, IN THE FALL OF 2021.
AND I THINK WE'RE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS FROM THE TASK FORCE? UM, LISA, WHEN THE, WHEN CITY COUNCIL HAS A PUBLIC HEARING ON JULY 29TH? WELL, WELL, W W WHAT'S THE PROCESS THERE? IS THAT JUST A PUBLIC HEARING OR WILL THEY ACTUALLY VOTE AND PASS IT OR WHAT HAPPENS? CAUSE I KNOW THEY ALSO GO ON BREAK AND, AND, UM, AUGUST, CORRECT.
AND THEN THEY JUMP INTO BUDGET.
SO IS IT GOING TO BE LIKE THE FIRST STEP OF MANY OR WILL IT HAPPEN THERE? I MIGHT LOOK TO KEVIN TO SEE IF HE HAS ANY INPUT ON THIS, UH, QUESTION KEVIN CHRITTON, THE NATIONAL WATER COUNCIL CAN DO A NUMBER OF THINGS.
UM, THEY HAVE AUTHORITY FOR INSTANCE, TO WAIVE SUBSEQUENT READINGS AND IN FACT, TAKE INPUT AND VOTE THAT NIGHT OR THAT DAY.
UM, THEY COULD, I MEAN, THE TYPICAL PROCESS WOULD BE THREE SEPARATE READINGS WITH THREE SEPARATE HEARINGS AND THEN VOTE AT THE END.
UM, WE HAVEN'T REALLY RECEIVED MUCH IN THE WAY OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM COUNCIL OFFICES.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, IF I WERE SPECULATING, UM, THERE, THERE MAY WELL BE AN APPETITE TO TRY TO WAVE MULTIPLE READINGS AND TRY TO GET TO PUBLIC HEARING AND, UM, UH, A VOTE ON THAT DAY.
AND I'M ONLY SAYING THAT AGAIN, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING.
I'M ONLY SAYING THAT BASED ON, UM, THE KITCHEN, UM, RESOLUTION THAT, YOU KNOW, ALSO WAIVE THE PLANNING COMMISSION ELEMENT.
SO CLEARLY I THINK THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, AN APPETITE FOR KIND OF GETTING DOWN THE ROAD.
AND SO I, BUT WE'LL SEE, WE'LL SEE.
OKAY, KEVIN, IF I MIGHT INTERRUPT, THIS IS, UH, SHOWS UP IN DOLLARS AND ARE IN ADVANCE OF BUDGET ADOPTION.
SO THEY WON'T BE TAKING ANY ACTION ON JULY 29TH TO, TO PROVIDE, UH, YOU KNOW, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC INPUT IN ADVANCE OF THE AUGUST 11TH THROUGH 13TH, UH, BUDGET READINGS AND ADOPTION READING.
UM, JOSEPH, YOU WERE CUTTING OUT AT LEAST ON MY END, SO I DIDN'T HEAR ALL THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF MAYBE IF YOU CAN REPEAT, I'M SORRY.
I THINK YOU HAD A BAD CONNECTION.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU STILL DO OR NOT, BUT, OR MAYBE KEVIN CAN TELL US WHAT YOU SAID.
HE MIGHT KNOW ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO CONNECT US.
MY HEADSET IS BETTER WAY BETTER.
SO, UM, THE JULY 29TH, UH, PUBLIC HEARINGS ARE, ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, NORMAL, UH, PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS FOR THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UH, COUNCIL WON'T BE TAKING ANY ACTION, UH, DURING THOSE MEETINGS PERTAINING TO, UH, THE PUBLIC INPUT,
[00:20:01]
UH, ALTHOUGH THEY WILL BE SETTING THE MAXIMUM PROPERTY TAX RATE.UM, THAT'S THE ONLY ACTION THAT'S SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE THAT DAY.
UH, SO THE PUBLIC HEARINGS ARE JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE, UH, PUBLIC INPUT IN ADVANCE, UH, A, THE BUDGET AND ADOPTION ITEMS ON, UH, AUGUST 11TH AND 13TH.
AND THAT COULD BE DONE AS KEVIN DESCRIBED IN ONE READING OR, OR THEY COULD TAKE IT AS A SERIES OF THREE READINGS OVER OVER THREE DAYS.
UM, THE, THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THEY THEY'VE ADOPTED, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL THREE READINGS ON, ON DAY ONE.
UM, SO I WAS WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE PLAUSIBLE FOR, UM, FOR ALLSTON WATER STAFF.
WE, SO EVERYBODY I'LL READ, ONE OF THE TASKFORCE HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY ONE OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR THE MAYOR.
UM, YOU KNOW, NOW BETWEEN NOW AND JULY EARLY AUGUST WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THIS AND LET THEM KNOW KIND OF WHAT THESE ITEMS ARE.
I MEAN, THEY'VE ALREADY HEARD ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT.
I HAVE THIS, UM, WATERFORD ORDINANCE SUMMARY THAT I WAS GIVEN AT ONE OF THE WORKSHOPS TO TALK ABOUT THE ORDINANCES THAT LOST HER WATER PUT TOGETHER.
THAT'S VERY WELL DONE, LITTLE NICE SUMMARY.
IT LOOKS LIKE THIS, UM, WHICH DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING, CAUSE I'M JUST SHOWING IT ON THE SCREEN, BUT, UM, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO GET LIKE A LITTLE SUMMARY OF WHAT THESE ARE TO HELP FOR US.
IF WE GO TALK TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, THAT APPOINTED US, IF WE'RE GIVING THEM UPDATES ON WHAT'S HAPPENING OR SAYING, BY THE WAY THIS ITEM IS COMING UP, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THOSE, IT'S KIND OF THE REST OF THE PIECES OF THE ONSITE ORDINANCE, UM, THAT YOU'VE ALREADY PASSED SOME PIECES OF, I JUST, IF WE HAVE LIKE A, MAYBE LEAVE BEHIND, ALTHOUGH UPON NOT MEETING IN PERSON FOR THAT, UM, I THINK IT COULD BE PUT TOGETHER PRETTY EASILY FROM EXISTING MATERIALS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'LL HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO DO THAT, BUT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER AND, AND, UM, SHARE IT WITH THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS FOR THEIR CONVERSATIONS, WITH, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT APPOINTED THEM.
UM, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA, JENNIFER.
UM, WE'LL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND GET BACK TO YOU ALL ABOUT THAT.
VANESSA, DID YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING? YES, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, UM, SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA TOO.
AND, UM, I, I'M HOPING THAT I CAN TRY TO SCHEDULE SOMETHING WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, UM, IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT LIKE WORKS WITH, UM, GOALS, TIMEFRAME ON POTENTIALLY GETTING A HANDOUT TOGETHER, BUT YOU KNOW, I'M ALSO HAPPY TO JUST MAYBE VISIT IN MORE DETAIL WITH ONE OF YOU OVER THE PHONE TOO, BEFORE I HAVE THAT MEETING WITH HER.
AND, AND MY, MY THOUGHT IS, IS THAT THERE'S EXISTING MATERIALS.
SO WHEN Y'ALL DO THE WORKSHOPS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ACTUALLY TITLED WATERFORD ORDINANCES AND THE LDC IS WHAT THE DOCUMENTS TITLE, THE ONE I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT, AND THAT I'VE ACTUALLY USED TO TALK TO, UM, THE COUNCIL MEMBER THAT APPOINTED ME ABOUT THIS.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY IT'S JUST A VERY LIGHT LIFT FROM A DOCUMENT THAT ALREADY EXISTS.
UM, BUT, BUT I DON'T, I HAVE A PIECE OF IT THAT I'VE WRITTEN ALL OVER, SO IT'S NOT VERY USEFUL FOR SHARING.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE AND I ENCOURAGE, UM, TASK FORCE MEMBERS TO TALK TO THE PERSON WHO APPOINTED THEM AND TO LET THEM KNOW, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS.
AND I SEE THAT DIANE HAS JOINED US.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU JUST POPPED IN OR IF YOU'VE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE, BUT HELLO.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS? THIS IS GREAT NEWS.
WILL THIS MAKE THE, UM, THE KIND OF ON-SITE REUSE PIECE AS FAR AS LIKE PASSING ORDINANCES AND STUFF HOLE FOR AUSTIN WATER? YEAH, THAT'S GREAT.
UM, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT.
IF FOLKS GO TALK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS IS THAT MANY COMPONENTS OF THIS HAVE ALREADY BEEN PASSED.
UM, THERE'S AN INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN PLACE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, UM, A LOT OF PIECES THERE THAT THIS MAKES IT WHOLE, SO, UM, IT'S A PROGRAM HAS ALREADY KIND OF ROLLING OUT.
SO LET ME GET MY PAPERS BACK IN ORDER HERE AND WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
[00:25:01]
WE WANT TO GO BACK TO TWO EIGHT WHO'S UH, WHO'S WHO'S THE PRESENTER NOW THAT MARIE SAYS, OKAY.[2.a. Water Forward Implementation Progress Update and Supply Outlook]
ALL RIGHT.SO LET'S GO BACK TO, TO THE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS, UPDATE AND SUPPLY OUTLOOK.
UH, AT ME, YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO AS OF TODAY, OUR COMBINED STORAGE HAS INCREASED TO 83% FULL, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT WITH ALL THE RAIN THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING.
UM, THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE AT 1.6, 7 MILLION ACRE FEET.
UM, IF WE LOOK AT OUR HISTORICAL, UM, INFLOWS, WE CAN SEE, UH, THAT WE ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOVE, UH, THE PERIOD OF RECORD FOR 2008 TO 2015.
UM, BUT A LITTLE BIT BELOW, UH, THE OVERALL AVERAGE AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND LCRA LAKE LEVELS FORECASTS, UM, AUSTIN WATER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONTINUING TO TRACK INFLOWS AND COMBINED STORAGE TO DETERMINE IF NEED TO ENTER JOB RESTRICTIONS IN THE FALL BASED ON THIS FORECAST.
SO I'M GLAD THAT WE GOT A LOT OF RAIN AT, AT JNL.
UM, THE LCRA UPDATES, THIS, I DON'T CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT'S MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY, HAVE THEY UPDATED THIS SINCE THE RAIN? UM, SINCE WE'VE THE RAINS WE'VE RECEIVED, I BELIEVE THIS WAS UPDATED ON THE FOURTH.
UM, YEAH, THEY, THE LCRA UPDATES IS ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
UM, THEY DID PROVIDE A, UH, AN UPDATE ON THE FIRST, UM, THERE IS SOME LAG WITH DATA, SO WE'RE, WE'RE NOW INTO THE MIDDLE OF JUNE AND IT MAY NOT REFLECT SOME OF THE EARLY MONTHS OF JUNE, YOU KNOW, UM, PRECIPITATION WE GOT.
SO JUST SORT OF THAT REFLECTION.
NO, YOU SAID THAT RECURRENTLY AT 1.6, NINE OR 1.7 MONTHS, 6, 7, 6, 7, YEAH.
YOU SAID NO, I'M NOT JENNIFER SO SHE CAN SPEAK FOR ITSELF.
SO JUST, JUST BASED ON THAT, IT LOOKS LIKE THIS IS A LITTLE LITTLE BEHIND.
CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, AS FOR WATER FORWARD TO 2018 IMPLEMENTATION, UH, WE'RE CONTINUING PLANNING FOR THE WATER FORWARD 2023 UPDATE.
UM, THE ASR PROJECT WE'VE COMPLETED CHARTERING AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DATA GATHERING AND CONTINUING TECHNICAL WORK.
UM, THERE WAS A SURVEY THAT WAS SENT OUT.
UM, AND AS OF LAST MONDAY, UH, THIS SURVEY IS FOR, UH, OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, AND IT'S FOR ASR, BUT ALSO A HIGH LEVEL INPUT ON OF WATER FORWARD.
AND WE RECEIVED ALMOST 600 RESPONSES AND THE SURVEY IS CLOSING TODAY AND THAT WAS SENT OUT TO OUR CUSTOMER BASE.
UH, WE WILL PLAN TO PRESENT RESULTS FROM THE SURVEY AT A FUTURE TASK FORCE MEETING.
UH, PROBABLY SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER, UM, AMI METER INSTALLATIONS ARE CONTINUING, UM, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF OTHER WATER FORWARD STRATEGIES, SUCH AS ONSITE WATER REUSE, UM, OUR COLLABORATIONS WITH LCRA AND REGION K, UH, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UPDATING THAT, UM, PLAN AND PROCESS.
AND WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO WORK ON OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP AND WE'LL BE, UH, BEGINNING RECRUITMENT THIS SUMMER FOR THAT GROUP.
UM, AND OTHER PLANNING EFFORTS RELATED TO CENTRALIZED AND DECENTRALIZED INFRASTRUCTURE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WATER SUPPLY OUTLOOK OR THE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS? UM, I HAVE, I HAVE A QUESTION JAY, NOW THAT SURVEY, CAN YOU, UM, I KNOW IT CLOSES TODAY.
DOES IT CLOSE AT FIVE OR THE END OF THE DAY? CAN YOU SHARE IT WITH THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS? CAUSE I MAY HAVE GOT IT, BUT I DID NOT.
I DON'T RECALL SEEING IT AND I USUALLY LOOK REAL CLOSELY AT STUFF FROM YOU ALL SURE.
SHOULD WE FILL THAT OUT AS TASK FORCE MEMBERS IS I'VE GOTTEN THE SURVEY, BUT I MADE A DECISION NOT TO FILL IT OUT.
[00:30:01]
OKAY.I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THAT.
KEVIN, YOU'RE STILL A CUSTOMER.
WAS IT BECAUSE IT'S A SURVEY? UM, NO, I JUST DIDN'T SEEM, I DON'T KNOW.
IT SEEMED A LITTLE, IT FEEL, IT FELT A LITTLE WEIRD, CAUSE IT'S A SURVEY THAT'S IN PART FOR OUR BENEFIT.
NOT THAT WE'RE UNDULY BENEFITING PROBLEM, BUT IT'S GOING TO HELP INFORM US.
AND SO IT KIND OF FELT LIKE I BE TALKING TO, TO MYSELF, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK GENERALLY SPEAKING, YOU KNOW, FILLING IT OUT WOULD BE FINE, BUT IF YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE'S, UH, UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST KINDA PUT YOUR CONSCIENCE THERE, SO, OKAY.
IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SEE THE SURVEY.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU RECEIVED IT OR MAYBE ROBERT CAN FORWARD IT TO ME, BUT DID OTHER PEOPLE SEE THE SURVEY? OKAY.
YEAH, I'M INTERESTED IN, I DON'T THINK THAT WE CAN RESEND THE SURVEY SINCE IT WAS DONE IN COLLABORATION WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, SINCE IT WAS SENT TO CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY.
I'M NOT SURE THAT WE CAN SEND THAT LINK.
SO HOW WAS IT DISTRIBUTED? WAS IT LIKE A RANDOM SAMPLE OR WAS IT TO ALL CUSTOMERS? CAUSE I'M, I'M JUST INTERESTED IN NOT ABOUT HOW IT GOT OUT THERE.
AND WHAT'S THE PURPOSE, I GUESS, I GUESS WE'LL HEAR MORE SAMPLING OF OUR GENERAL QUESTIONS.
WHAT'S WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THIS SURVEY? UM, IT'S A PART OF THE ASR STRATEGY, UH, TO FIND OUT WHAT, UM, TO FIND OUT WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT.
IT'S A PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PORTION OF ASR.
UM, YEAH, MAYBE I'M IN THIS, IN THE FUTURE FOR THESE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS.
WE COULD HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL FOR EACH OF THESE, UM, UH, FOR THE, EACH OF THE ITEMS. UM, I THINK WE HAVE IN THE PAST, WE MIGHT NOT HAVE JUST HAD TIME THIS TIME, BUT, UM, JUST KIND OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THEM.
AND MAYBE WE CAN DO THAT IN OUR SUBCOMMITTEE GROUPS TOO.
THEY HAVEN'T, THEY HAVEN'T MET BECAUSE OF ALL OUR CRAZY MEETING SCHEDULE WITH THE WINTER STORM AND TRYING TO GET EVERYTHING BACK ON TRACK.
SO, UM, JUST FOR FUTURE, MAYBE THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, I FEEL SPECIAL NOW THAT I GOT THE SURVEY, SO MAYBE I'LL FILL IT OUT.
YOU ARE A SPECIAL ROBERT YEAH.
FILL IT OUT ON BEHALF OF ALL OF US.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, A LOT ABOUT ASR TOO, SO YOU REALLY ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS TRUE.
AND WE, WE WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM IT WAS, IT WAS JUST A RANDOM SAMPLING.
SO RANDOMLY, UM, I MEAN, THAT'S SORT OF THE MECHANICS OF HOW IT WENT OUT.
AUSTIN ENERGY OF COURSE IS OUR, OUR BILLING CONDUIT.
AND SO THEY WERE THE ONES WHO ACTUALLY SENT THAT OUT.
I'VE GOT A, KIND OF A MORE GENERAL QUESTION.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS FOR MY WORK.
I WAS CURIOUS THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN WATER WOULD BE A RECEIVING ANY FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDING, LIKE EITHER THROUGH THE AMERICAN RESCUE ACT, UM, OR THE PREVIOUS BILL FROM BEFORE THAT TO KIND OF HELP SOME OF THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS OR WHETHER OR NOT ANY OF THAT COULD POTENTIALLY APPLY TO SOME OF THE PROJECTS AND THEN FUTURE LIKE GO THE ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WHAT WE KNOW NOW, UM, MOST OF THAT INFORMANT OR MOST OF THE MONEY, THERE'S SOME CONVERSATION OF HOW CARES MONEY WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN COUNTY AND CITY.
SO THAT'S A BIG CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT WOULD COME THE CITY'S PORTION OF IT WOULD COME TO THE CITY.
SO THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND AND THEREFORE BE A PORTION TO WHATEVER CITY PRIORITIES THAT THEY SEE FIT.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT COUNCIL IS LOOKING AT TRYING TO USE, UH, SOME PORTION OF THAT FUNDING FOR SOME FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AROUND RESILIENCE HUBS.
AND SO THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP DEVELOP, UM, YOU KNOW, RESILIENCE, HUBS, AND DISTRICTS TO PROVIDE FOR
[00:35:01]
THINGS LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, UM, FOOD DISTRIBUTION, WATER DISTRIBUTION, UM, UM, CELL PHONE CHARGING.SO THAT'S, THAT'S ALL ON A VERY EARLY STAGE.
I THINK THAT'S KIND OF WHERE THAT IS TARGETED NOW.
UM, PLASTICALLY IF THAT MONEY WAS WANTING TO BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR BROADER UTILITY SPECIFIC INVESTMENT, IT WOULD GENERALLY BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE BOARD DEVELOPMENT FLOOR BOARD AND USED IN AND, UM, OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES THERE.
SO AS, AS OF THIS POINT, I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT THERE'S ANY EVIDENCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR FUNDING, UM, ENHANCEMENTS OF EXISTING PROGRAMS, BUT THAT'S ALL WE KNOW.
BUT IT'S NOT, I MEAN, I, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY IMPOSSIBLE.
I JUST FEEL LIKE IF THERE'S SOME, IF THERE'S A AVENUE FOR THAT TO COME THROUGH THE CITY, AS WELL, AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, JUST THROUGH THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, LIKE IT HAS IN THE PAST, LIKE MAYBE THAT'S WORTH EXPLORING BECAUSE, UM, I MEAN, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE RESILIENCE HUBS ARE MORE REACTIVE, YOU KNOW, UH, AND IT'S A REACTIVE PLAN, WHEREAS I THINK WHAT WE'RE ALL TRYING TO DO HERE WITH ONE OR FORWARD IS BE PROACTIVE ABOUT HOW WE'RE, YOU KNOW, PLANNING AND PREPARING FOR A DROUGHT.
BUT ALSO I THINK SOME OF WHAT, WHAT WE'RE ENVISIONING HERE COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY, UM, PROVIDED SOME RESILIENCE AND OR WHETHER AN EXTREME WEATHER EVENT LIKE WE SAW WITH THE FREEZE.
I JUST, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO BRAINSTORM AND THINK THROUGH SOME OF THIS WITH ANYBODY ABOUT LIKE, WHETHER THERE'S KIND OF CREATIVE AVENUES TO BE SECURING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR ALL OF THIS WORK.
LIKE I SAID, WE'LL, WE'LL CERTAINLY KEEP OUR EYES OUT IN EARS OUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK WHAT MAY BE THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME IS THAT THE AMOUNTS OF MONEY AVAILABLE TO THE CITY WILL BE, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT PREFER, AND WE WILL HAVE TO LOOK FOR OTHER VENUES TO TRY TO MAKE INVESTMENTS AROUND OUR SYSTEM TO IMPROVE, UH, RESILIENCY, WHICH WE'RE DOING.
I MEAN, SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF RE RE COMING THROUGH OUR PLANNING PROCESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PRIORITIZATION IS CORRECT AND THAT WE'RE STILL, UM, PRIORITIZING IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR SYSTEM THAT IMPROVE RESILIENCE.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRY TO LEVERAGE WATER DEVELOPMENT, BOARD FUNDING, UM, AROUND THOSE.
SO, UM, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO OPPORTUNITIES FOR FREE OR REDUCED, UM, LOAN MONEY.
UM, JAY, NOW, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU MENTIONED THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP AND THE TIMELINE, CAUSE LOOKING BACK AT THE PREVIOUS MEETING, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP IS STILL QUITE UNDERSTOOD EXACTLY WHAT IT IS, BUT, UM, IT'S GOING TO PLAY A REALLY BIG ROLE IN THE UPDATE OF THE WATERFORD PLAN.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN MAYBE TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TIMELINE AND THEN I THINK WHEN ANYWAY, I'LL STOP THERE.
UM, THE IS TASK FOR US TO AT LEAST HAVE OUR MEMBERS SECURED BY SEPTEMBER SO THAT WE CAN START OUR EQUITY TRAINING.
YOU CAN HEAR ME, UM, IN SEPTEMBER SO THAT WE CAN START OUR EQUITY TRAINING IN THE FALL, UM, WITH THOSE ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS, AS WELL AS, UH, OTHER CONSULTANTS FOR OTHER STRATEGIES THAT WE HAVE FOR WATER FORWARD.
UM, WHAT, WHAT WAS YOUR OTHER QUESTION ABOUT WHAT THE ROLE THAT THEY WOULD PLAY? YEAH, I MEAN, JUST GOING THROUGH THE PRESENTATION FROM LAST TIME, WHICH WAS MORE DETAILED THAN WHAT WE HAVE TODAY, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I HAD MENTIONED IT, IT JUST, IT SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE'S GONNA, WELL, FIRST OFF IT SOUNDS LIKE THE UPDATE OF THE PLAN IS ENVISIONED AS LIKE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL UPDATE, WHICH IS INTERESTING TO ME AND A LITTLE SURPRISING BECAUSE WE'RE JUST BARELY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FIRST ONE.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE REASONS FOR THE CLIMATE STUFF, BUT THERE'S GOING TO BE AN UPDATE IN THE MISSION STATEMENT, GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PLAN OBJECTIVES AND SUB OBJECTIVES.
AND THAT, UM, IT WAS REPORTED LAST TIME, WE'LL HAVE BIG CHANGES TO HOW STRATEGIES ARE CATEGORIZED AND MAYBE THAT THE STRATEGIES WILL EVEN CHANGE.
AND THAT A LOT OF THAT IS GOING TO COME FROM THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP.
I'M JUST WONDERING HOW THIS ALL FITS TOGETHER AND IT MIGHT BE A BETTER CONVERSATION FOR A SUBCOMMITTEE, BUT, UM, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE WE'RE DOING A
[00:40:01]
COMPLETE AND TOTAL UPDATE AND ALSO CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF HOW IT'S DONE.I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IT'S AN UPDATE AND LIKE WE'RE NOT PLANNING ON CHANGING COMPLETELY EVERYTHING.
IT'S NICE THAT WE HAVE THE BLUEPRINT FROM THE LAST TIME.
UM, BUT FROM THE LAST PLAN, IT WAS, UH, STATED THAT WE WOULD BE UPDATING THE PLAN EVERY FIVE YEARS, UM, WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP.
UM, THEIR INPUT IS REALLY GOING TO BE ON OUR ENGAGEMENT PLAN AS WELL AS OUR, UM, EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP FOR US TO HELP, UH, GUIDE THE, THE PLAN UPDATE AS WELL AS FOR FUTURE STRATEGIES.
IT'S, IT'S THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP.
AND WHAT ELSE? THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
UM, I MEAN, I, I WOULD OFFER THAT.
I MEAN, IT IS TRULY AN UPDATE, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE, WE DID AT THE ONSET OF THIS, UM, AGREE AS A, AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE THAT WE WOULD GO BACK AND UPDATE THE PLAN EVERY FIVE YEARS, YOU KNOW, REALLY FROM A, UH, ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE.
AND I THINK, UM, WHILE WHAT YOU'RE SEEING MAY LOOK LIKE IT'S A KIND OF MORE SUBSTANTIAL KIND OF OUTCOME CHANGE.
I THINK THERE'S, THERE ARE CLEARLY SOME ENHANCEMENTS WE WANT TO ADD.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS YOU'RE AS PROUD AS WE ARE ABOUT OUR OUTREACH WITH WATERFORD 18, UM, WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT WE, WE NEED TO DO BETTER AND WE NEED TO DO MORE.
SO, I MEAN, THAT WOULD, THAT'S A BIG PIECE OF WATERFORD 24.
AM I RIGHT? 24, 25, 24, 23, WHATEVER, CAN'T DO THE MATH EITHER.
UM, SO, SO THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ENHANCE THE PROCESS.
UM, AND, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T EXPECT A, A, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I RAPID DEPARTURE FROM KIND OF THE ROADMAP AND KIND OF WHERE WE'RE HEADED.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE WILL, YOU KNOW, BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, GUIDING PRINCIPLES, MY MY GUESS IS WE'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE A LOT OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES, VERY HARD, BUT WE'LL PUT THAT OUT THERE TO THE TASK FORCE AND TO OTHER STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S, IF, IF IT'S THE TIME AND THE PLACE TO DO THAT, THEN WE'LL CERTAINLY CONSIDER THAT.
AND, AND, AND I, AND I THINK THAT THERE'S, AND HAVING BEEN THROUGH THE PROCESS NOW, LOOKING BACK, THERE'S DEFINITE PLACES THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TRY TO IMPROVE AND ENHANCE, UM, BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW NOW.
I MEAN, WE'RE DEFINITELY EXPERIENCING THAT IN THE CLIMATE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THAT CONNECTIONS MORE.
CAUSE I WAS GOING BACK THROUGH THE NOTES FROM LAST TIME AND THE PRESENTATION WAS VERY DETAILED, KIND OF NEXT STEPS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, ANYWAY, AND I'M STILL TRYING TO PIECE IT TOGETHER, BUT I ALSO TRUST THE PROCESS AS WELL.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE CLEAR I TRUST THE PROCESS, BUT I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT.
UM, CAUSE LAST TIME WE WERE JUST PROCEEDING REALLY STEP-WISE THROUGH IT.
NONE OF US HAD DONE IT BEFORE AND I WANT TO TRY TO GET A BIGGER PICTURE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE PIECES FIT TOGETHER FOR THIS UPDATE.
AND WE'RE ALSO AT THE SAME TIME DOING REALLY EXCITING AND BIG IMPLEMENTATION STUFF.
SO, UM, WHICH ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL HAPPENING.
SO IT'S JUST A LOT TO KEEP TRACK OF AND WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT ALL FITS.
UM, SORRY, I'VE BEEN TALKING FOR SO LONG.
DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS OR SHOULD WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM? OKAY.
[2.c. Winter Storm Event- Bill Relief]
UM, LET'S GO TO TC, WHICH IS THE WINTER STORM EVENT, UM, FOR BILL RELIEF AND THAT I BELIEVE THIS IS BEING BROKEN UP INTO, I THOUGHT THAT WE HAD TO WEAR WINTER STORM ITEMS THAT WOULD BOTH BE ON THIS AGENDA, BUT I COULD ONLY SEE ONE AND I GUESS THE OTHER PIECE THAT OUTREACH IS GOING TO BE ON THE NEXT.YEAH, WE HAD SOME AVAILABILITY ISSUES.
UM, RANDY JENKINS, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION.
UNFORTUNATELY, WASN'T ABLE TO BE HERE WITH US THIS EVENING.
SO WE DID, WE DID SEPARATE THESE TWO, UM, JOSEPH GONZALES ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR BUSINESS AND FINANCE.
OUR CFO, UM, IS HERE AND HE WAS AVAILABLE.
SO WE, WE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND GET IT ON THE LIST AND KIND OF HAVE HIM TALK THAT.
AND SO WE CAN AT LEAST KIND OF MOVE ON ON THAT PARTICULAR PIECE WITH THAT YAM YAMMERING I'LL, UH, INTRODUCE JOSEPH TO MAKE HIS PRESENTATION.
AGAIN, MY NAME IS JOSEPH GONZALEZ ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES WITH ALSTOM WATER AND I'LL BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE, UH, UH, AUSTIN WATERS, FINANCIAL RELIEF EFFORTS IN RESPONSE TO THE FEBRUARY WINTER STORMS. AND THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
[00:45:01]
NOW IN EARLY MARCH, COUNCIL APPROVED A SUITE OF FINANCIAL RELIEF MEASURES WITH THE GOAL OF AVOIDING, YOU KNOW, HIGH CUSTOMER BILLS AS A RESULT OF, YOU KNOW, DRIPPING FAUCETS AND BURST PIPES DURING THE STORM EVENT.UH, NOW THOSE MEASURES INCLUDED A PRAIRIE RESIDENTIAL, UH, VOLUMETRIC RATE REDUCTION AS WELL AS A REDUCTION IN MONTHLY RESIDENTIAL TIERED FIXED FEES.
UM, COUNCIL ALSO AUTHORIZED A STREAMLINED, UH, UH, BILL ADJUSTMENT PROCESS, UH, ADJUSTMENTS TO THE WASTEWATER AVERAGING CALCULATION AND A WAIVER OF EMERGENCY CUT ON AND CUT OFF FEES.
NOW, BECAUSE WE WERE UNABLE TO OBTAIN CUSTOMER READS FOR BILL CYCLES DURING THE WINTER STORMS, YOU KNOW, FROM FEBRUARY, 1915 THROUGH FEBRUARY 19TH, UH, DUE TO DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS, UH, AS WELL AS FROZEN METER BOXES, UH, WE BEGAN USING ESTIMATED READS BASED ON, UH, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMERS DURING THOSE BILL CYCLES BASED ON THEIR HISTORICAL USAGE PATTERNS, UH, FOR EITHER THE PRIOR MONTH OR PRIOR YEAR.
UM, SAME MONTH PRIOR YEAR OR PREVIOUS MONTH.
UM, NOW WE WERE ABLE TO RESUME READING METERS ON FEBRUARY 22ND.
HOWEVER, WE CONTINUED TO BILL, UH, BASED ON ESTIMATED READS TO ENSURE THAT CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BILLS BASED ON THEIR NORMAL EXPECTED CONSUMPTION WHILE WE IMPLEMENTED OUR HIGH BILL MITIGATION EFFORTS AND, AND TO AVOID, YOU KNOW, UM, THE HIGH LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION THAT CUSTOMERS MIGHT HAVE SEEN AS A RESULT, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UH, BURST PIPES OR, OR, YOU KNOW, DRIPPING, UH, FALSE SETS, FILLING TUBS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UH, NOW, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, COUNCIL APPROVED A, A TEMPORARY RATE REDUCTION, WHICH WAS EFFECTIVE, UH, FOR MARCH 19TH THROUGH FEBRUARY 26TH, UH, TO DROP THE RATES FOR OUR TOP THREE RESIDENTIAL TIERS, UM, YOU KNOW, TIERS THREE THROUGH FIVE TO 1 CENT PER THOUSAND GALLONS, UH, THAT RATE REDUCTION, UH, ESSENTIALLY KEPT RESIDENTIAL WATER BILLS AT THE 6,000 GALLON LEVEL, UH, DURING THE MARCH AND APRIL BILLING PERIODS WHEN THOSE RATES WERE IN EFFECT.
SO EVEN IF A CUSTOMER HAD, YOU KNOW, A A HUNDRED THOUSAND GALLON LEAK, UH, THAT CUSTOMER WOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED 94 CENTS FOR THE 94,000 GALLONS ABOVE TIER TWO OR THE 6,000 GALLON LEVEL.
IN ADDITION, THE USE OF ESTIMATED, UH, FOR, FOR THOSE BILL CYCLES ALLOWED US TO REPLACE POTENTIALLY HIGH LEVELS OF CONSUMPTION WITH NORMAL EXPECTED LEVELS OF CONSUMPTION OR THE FINAL MONTH OF THE WASTEWATER AVERAGING PERIOD.
UH, SO TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF HIGH CONSUMPTION DURING THE STORM ON, ON CUSTOMER'S WASTE WASTEWATER AVERAGING CALCULATIONS.
NOW, HOWEVER, WE ALSO PERFORMED A CONCERT, A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL WASTEWATER AVERAGING CALCULATIONS TO IDENTIFY ANY ACCOUNTS WHOSE WASTEWATER AVERAGING CALCULATION MIGHT'VE BEEN NEGATIVELY BEEN IMPACTED BY THE USE OF ESTIMATED RATES.
SO IF ACTUAL CONSUMPTION WAS ACTUALLY LOWER THAN THE ESTIMATED REE, AND WE WILL BE MANUALLY ADJUSTED THE WASTEWATER AVERAGE CALCULATIONS THAT WENT INTO EFFECT IN APRIL FOR, FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND SO IN FACT, WE, WE, UH, USE THE LOWER OF THE ACTUAL READ OR THE ESTIMATED RE WHICHEVER BENEFITED THE CUSTOMER YOU IN TERMS OF, OF, YOU KNOW, THEIR WASTEWATER AVERAGE CALCULATION THAT THAT WOULD BE IN EFFECT FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM AGAIN, FROM APRIL THROUGH, UH, NEXT MARK.
NOW, DURING THE BILLING PERIODS, WHEN THE TEMPORARY RATES WERE IN EFFECT, UH, BOSTON WATER PROVIDED OVER $4.5 MILLION IN RESIDENTIAL RATE RELIEF AS COMPARED TO THE AMOUNT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BILLED UNDER OUR NORMAL RATES FOR TIERS THREE THROUGH FIVE.
UM, AND, AND JUST AS A, JUST, JUST TO PUT THAT INTO CONTEXT, UM, HISTORICAL REVENUES FOR MARCH AND APRIL AVERAGE AROUND, UH, 7.3 MILLION FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE MONTHS FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND IN FACT, WE ENDED UP WITH ACTUAL REVENUES FOR BOTH MARCH AND APRIL AS OF 7.3.
SO THE ACTUAL BUILD REVENUE WAS IN LINE WITH OUR HISTORICAL AVERAGE.
UM, AS A RESULT, WE AVOIDED AN ALMOST 62% INCREASE IN RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER BILLS AS A RESULT OF THE TEMPORARY RATE REDUCTIONS.
AND MULTIFAMILY ACCOUNTS, ALSO WATER, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T DO A RATE REDUCTION ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.
UM, AND WE HAVE MUCH FEWER CUSTOMERS ON, ON THE COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY SIDE, AND WE MANUALLY REVIEWED THOSE ACCOUNTS TO IDENTIFY ANY UNUSUALLY HIGH LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION AND PROACTIVELY APPLY BILL ADJUSTMENTS TO REDUCE THE BILL
[00:50:01]
LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION DOWN TO THE NORMAL EXPECTED LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION FOR, FOR THAT TIME OF YEAR.AND SO FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, WE APPLIED, YOU KNOW, OVER 953,000 IN BILL ADJUSTMENTS WHILE MULTI-FAMILY CUSTOMERS RECEIVED OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN BILL ADJUSTMENTS.
SO IN TOTAL, WE PROVIDED OVER $6.5 MILLION IN BILL RELIEF, UH, TODAY FOR CUSTOMERS IMPACTED BY WINTER STORM.
AND WHILE WE, UH, MOST OF THE BILLS BILL ADJUSTMENTS HAD BEEN COMPLETED, UH, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE TO REVIEW ADDITIONAL CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS FOR ADJUSTMENTS AS, AS YOU KNOW, CUSTOMERS REACH OUT TO US WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR BILLS, BUT WE THINK WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY WELL DONE.
AND WE DON'T EXPECT THAT 6.5 MILLION NUMBER TO CHANGE SIGNIFICANT POINT, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND THEN FINALLY, I'D LIKE TO QUICKLY HIGHLIGHT TWO OTHER RELIEF EFFORTS THAT WERE FUNDED IN PART BY AUSTIN WATER.
UM, SHORTLY AFTER THE STORM AUSTIN WATER, UH, COMMITTED A MILLION DOLLARS IN FUNDING TO SUPPORT, UM, THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENTS, EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR INITIATIVE, UH, FOR, FOR PLUMBING REPAIRS THAT WERE CAUSED BY THE WINTER STORM EVENT.
IN ADDITION IN MARCH AUSTIN, WATER AND AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, BOTH COMMITTED, UH, $5 MILLION EACH OF FUNDING FOR RESIDENTIAL UTILITY BILL PAYMENT ASSISTANCE THROUGH THE PLUS ONE PROGRAM NOW, WHILE DEMAND FOR THE PLUS ONE PROGRAM ASSISTANCE, UM, INCREASED DURING THE PANDEMIC, THIS, THIS ASSISTANCE AND THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING WAS NOT LIMITED TO JUST CUSTOMERS IMPACTED BY COVID-19, YOU KNOW, W PLUS ONE PROGRAM IS A PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN IN EFFECT FOR, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
UM, HOWEVER, AUSTIN ENERGY COMMITTED ADDITIONAL FUNDING, BOTH IN FISCAL YEAR 20 AND IN THE CURRENT YEAR OF FISCAL YEAR 21, UH, TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S ADEQUATE BILL RELIEF FUNDING FOR CUSTOMERS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN IMPACTED EITHER AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC OR ANY OTHER ISSUES.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE WINTER STORM BILL RELEASE UPDATE.
AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, JOSEPH, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE TASK FORCE? I HAVE A QUESTION, BILL MORIARTY.
UM, I HAVE SEEN THIS PRESENTATION BEFORE, AND I WANT TO SAY WHEN I SAW IT BEFORE I ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, UM, AND I'M REFERENCING PRESIDENT BIDEN'S AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ENACTED IN MARCH OF 2021.
AS I UNDERSTOOD IT FOR RIDING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT CAN HELP LOW INCOME FAMILIES STRUGGLING TO PAY THEIR WATER AND SEWER BILLS.
MY QUESTION IS, HAS THE CITY RESEARCH STAFF PROGRAM TO SEE IF THEY CAN RECOVER ALL OF THE FUNDING THAT, UH, OR GAVE, AND IF YOU HAVE RESEARCHED IT, UH, WHAT HAVE YOU DISCOVERED THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, BOTH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE BIDEN PROGRAM THAT, THAT YOU REFERENCED AS WELL AS ONE THAT WAS APPROVED, UH, IN, IN DECEMBER, UH, BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE FUNDS ARE ALL ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE AND, UH, PASS THROUGH, UM, AT THE LOCAL LEVEL BY, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH EXISTING, UM, ARE MERELY EXISTING, UH, RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. SO IT'S BEING COMBINED WITH RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. AND SO FOR, UM, OR THE AUSTIN AREA, THOSE FUNDS ARE GOING THROUGH THE STATE AND THEM COMING DOWN THROUGH EITHER TRAVIS COUNTY OR, UM, WHEN HE WAS COUNT WILLIAMSON, BURNET COUNTY, UM, YOUR RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AND THEN I FORGET THE NAME OF THE HAZE PROGRAM, BUT, BUT THOSE FUNDS ARE COMING THROUGH AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, BUT THEY'RE NOT BEING ADMINISTERED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, AND, AND FUNDING ISN'T COMING DIRECTLY, UH, TO, TO THE CITY OR AUSTIN WATER.
UH, SO IN ORDER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT RELIEF KNOW THEY HAVE TO APPLY THROUGH, UM, THE, THE, THE LOCAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, UM, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, ALREADY HAVE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO PROVIDE THAT RELIEF.
UM, SO UNFORTUNATELY THAT MEANS THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE MONEY'S NOT COMING THROUGH THE CITY, UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S A WAY WHEREBY WE COULD BE REIMBURSED FOR ANY ASSISTANCE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE PLUS ONE PAYMENT ASSISTANCE FUNDING, UH, BECAUSE THIS MONEY IS GOING, YOU KNOW, EITHER TO, UM, DIRECTLY TO, UM, END USER
[00:55:01]
CUSTOMERS OR DIRECTLY TO, UM, TO, TO THE UTILITY.SO WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME FUNDING FROM, FROM THOSE PROGRAMS FOR, FOR CUSTOMERS WHO'VE APPLIED THROUGH, YOU KNOW, EITHER THE COUNTY ORGANIZATION.
UM, BUT IT, IT WOULD, IT'S, IT'S A WAY TO STRETCH THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE, BUT, BUT, UM, IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UH, REPLACE A REIMBURSE THE FUNDING THAT WE'VE PROVIDED.
I MEAN, I'VE ACTUALLY SPOKEN TO THIS RENTAL ASSISTANCE GROUP AND ASKED THAT QUESTION.
UM, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO THEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND AS KEVIN ALLUDED TO EARLIER, AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGES YOUR, BOTH OUR BILLING AND PAYMENT PROCESS, AND THEY'VE SPOKEN WITH THEM AND THEY WORK WITH THEM.
UM, SO IN FACT, IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK ON THE AUSTIN, A CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM WEBSITE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REFERENCE, UM, HOW TO GET PAYMENT ASSISTANCE THROUGH THOSE THIRD PARTY ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE INTEREST OF EFFICIENCY, THE STATE IS AGAIN, FOLLOWING THOSE, UH, FUNDS THROUGH THE EXISTENCE, UH, RELIEF INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO SOME PEOPLE WITHIN THE AUSTIN WATER SERVICE AREA ARE IN FACT GETTING THIS BENEFIT PERSONALLY, ANY IDEA HOW MUCH MONEY THAT RESULTED IN, UH, NO, I DON'T HAVE NUMBERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY SMALL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN THE LAST UPDATE I SAW WAS YOU MAY BE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF LESS THAN A HUNDRED CUSTOMERS.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS, THIS FUNDING TAKES A LITTLE WHILE TO, UM, TO, TO MAKE ITS WAY DOWN.
UH, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THE, THE DECEMBER PROGRAM, UM, THE STATE HASN'T, UM, HAS IT STARTED FUNNELING THAT MONEY DOWN YET, UH, TO THE, THE RENTAL AND UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. SO, UM, EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THAT FUNDING IS SET TO EXPIRE IN SEPTEMBER, SO I THINK THEY'RE WORKING TO DO IT PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, BUT, BUT IT, IT CAN BE, IT HAS BEEN A SLOW PROCESS.
I'M NOT SURPRISED THAT THE SLOAN IS, BUT, UH, HOW MANY CUSTOMERS HAVE BENEFITED FROM YOUR PROGRAM? UM, SO WE COUNT THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE RECEIVED RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UM, AND CUSTOMERS CAN RECEIVE YOUR, THAT, THAT ASSISTANCE UP TO TWICE A YEAR.
AND WE'RE OVER 30,000 CUSTOMERS, APRIL.
UM, I THINK IN TERMS OF UNIQUE CUSTOMERS, IT'S LIKE IN THE 16,000 RANGE.
WELL, THAT SOUNDS PECULIAR TO ME, BUT, UH, OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING THIS ALL DAY, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IF THERE IS A FEDERAL PROGRAM AND ONLY A HUNDRED CUSTOMERS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT, AND YET YOUR PROGRAM HAS, UH, AS A COMMUNITY OF, UH, 30 PLUS THOUSAND, IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE IF PEOPLE COULD BE INSTRUCTED BETTER TO FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK, THEY COULD GET THE REIMBURSEMENT BETTER.
AGAIN, WE HAVE ONGOING DISCUSSIONS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO, UM, TO, TO ENSURE THAT, UH, YOUR CUSTOMERS GET THE ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED.
UM, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO AGAIN HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, RECEIVED ASSISTANCE TWICE IN, IN, IN A 12 MONTH PERIOD.
I KNOW THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS, UH, SENDING THEM TO, TO THE OTHER RELIEF OPTIONS.
AND, AND SO POTENTIALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT RELIEF WILL, WILL START TO MAKE ITS WAY TO, TO OUR CUSTOMERS IN A, IN A MORE IMPACTFUL WAY.
WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SORRY.
SOMEONE WAS TALKING, I APOLOGIZE.
I'M SCROLLING THROUGH TO SEE IF ANYONE HAS RAISED THEIR HAND OR ANYTHING.
GO OVER, SET THE PIPE UP, IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
SO THE OTHER ITEM THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING ON WINTER STORM ERIE AS ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS, IS THAT CORRECT? KEVIN? UM, AND WE'VE BEEN, AGAIN, WE WE'VE BEEN BEEN KIND OF GIVING A SERIES OF PRESENTATIONS AND UPDATES TO VARIOUS, UM, COUNCIL COMMITTEES AND OTHER GROUPS.
UM, AGAIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, RANDY JENKINS, WHO IS OVER OUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE AGAIN, HAD A COMMITMENT AND COULD NOT BE HERE TODAY.
SO SHE WILL BE, UM, UH, ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT, UH, THE NEXT MEETING.
SO SHE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR VARIOUS, UH, COMMUNICATION EFFORTS, UH, THAT WENT ON DURING THE WINTER STORM OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR VARIOUS, UH, COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS THAT WE USE.
AND SO SHE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE
[01:00:01]
THAT INFORMATION AND ANSWER QUESTIONS.UM, YEAH, I THINK, UM, THAT'S GREAT.
SO LET'S, UM, ARE THERE MORE SLIDES ON THIS? I THOUGHT THERE WERE MORE SLIDES IN THE PACKET ON THIS TOPIC.
HOWEVER, UM, RANDY JENKINS IS PROBABLY BETTER SUITED TO GO INTO DEEPER DETAIL ABOUT, UH, OUR RESPONSE AS WELL AS COMMUNICATION TO CUSTOMERS.
OH, I JUST THOUGHT IT HAD LIKE NEXT STEPS.
I DIDN'T EVEN, YEAH, THAT WAS A SLIDE OR PRESENTATION THAT WE'VE, UH, BROUGHT FORWARD FROM, UM, FROM A PREVIOUS PRESENTATION AND WE NEGLECTED TO TAKE OUT THOSE, THOSE LAST TWO SLIDES.
SO IT WAS, WE WOULD HAVE HANDED OFF TO TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS IN TERMS OF, OR WINTER STORM AFTER ACTION REVIEW.
UM, I SUSPECT YOU ALL YOU'RE HOME FOR WINTER URI RESPONSE REALLY IS WHAT OUR WASTEWATER COMMISSION, MAYBE EVEN, UM, THE OTHER ONE, THE OTHER COMMITTEE, THEY ALL REPORT TO AS WELL.
I CAN'T THINK OF HER NAME RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS.
[2.d. Advisory Group and Task Force Subcommittee Reports]
SO LET'S KEEP MOVING ON TO TWO D, WHICH IS THE ADVISORY GROUP AND TASK FORCE, SOME SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS.CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? THANK YOU.
SO THE ORDINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE, THE LAST MEETING WAS ON APRIL 14TH.
IT SEEMS LIKE FOREVER AGO, UH, STAFF PROVIDED AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF WATER FORWARD LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REVISIONS STAFF ALSO PROVIDED AN OVERVIEW OF ONSITE WATER REUSE INCENTIVES, AND THE SUBCOMMITTEE BRIEFLY DISCUSS AFFORDABILITY CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE SUBCOMMITTEE.
JENELLE LET'S LET'S, UH, LET'S AS WE DO EACH OF THESE, LET'S LET US, CAUSE THAT'S A VERY BRIEF SUMMARY.
UH, DOES ANYBODY FROM IT THAT PARTICIPATES IN THAT SUBCOMMITTEE? YOU WANT TO PROVIDE ANY MORE DETAILS ON ANY OF THOSE ITEMS THAT SHE JUST LISTED? THIS IS SARAH.
SORRY, I JUST HAD A QUESTION SINCE YOU ASKED ABOUT THE ORDINANCE TASK FORCE SUBCOMMITTEE AND SORRY TO GO BACK, BUT I'M STILL A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED ABOUT THE ORDINANCE ADOPTION.
THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AT CITY COUNCIL.
AND I SAW THE RESOLUTION THAT SAID THERE WAS A PUBLIC HEARING SET FOR JULY 29TH, BUT THEN THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS SOUNDED LIKE THIS IS PART OF THE BUDGET ADOPTION.
THOSE ORDINANCES ARE PART OF THE BUDGET ADOPTION.
I WANTED TO SEE IF THAT'S CORRECT KEVIN CURTIN IN HERE.
I THINK, I THINK WE MAY HAVE CONFLATED AND CONFUSED SOME THINGS THERE.
UM, THERE WILL BE A LOT GOING ON ON THE, UH, JULY 29TH.
UM, UM, COUNCIL MEETING SPECIFICALLY THOUGH THERE WILL BE AN ITEM RELATING TO PROPOSE CHANGES TO CHAPTER 25 OF THE CURRENT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UM, AND, AND SEPARATE.
AND APART FROM THE BUDGET CONVERSATION, THIS ITEM WILL BE AT A HEARING ON PROPOSED ORDINANCE CHANGES AGAIN, AS I DESCRIBED, UM, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AT THAT POINT TO EITHER, YOU KNOW, HAVE SUBSEQUENT READINGS OR TO TAKE INPUT AND ACT THAT DAY.
SO I AGREE WITH YOU, UM, UM, AS FAUST THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE CONFUSION IN THE EARLIER CONVERSATION, BUT THOSE WERE SEPARATE ACTIVITIES.
UM, WHETHER OR NOT COUNCIL WILL AVAIL ITSELF OF THAT.
DON'T KNOW IF I WAS A BETTING INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT THEY MAY, UM, BUT WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANY SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL OFFICES ON THEIR INTENT, FRANKLY.
WE'VE JUST BEEN WORKING REALLY, REALLY HARD KIND OF IN THESE LAST FEW DAYS AND WEEKS OF THE, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR FINAL COUNCIL MEETING BEFORE THE SUMMER RECESS, UM, TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE READY FOR, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL ACTION ON THE 29TH.
UM, ANYBODY ELSE THAT PARTICIPATES IN THE ORDINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE TASKFORCE OR, SORRY, THAT WAS
[01:05:01]
MESSED UP THE WAY I SAID THAT, BUT, UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO SCHEDULE ANOTHER MEETING FOR THIS TASK FORCE FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 28TH.UM, SO THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON THERE I'LL WORK WITH JENELLE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN, UM, AND IN ADVANCE OF OUR NEXT, UM, FULL TASK FORCE MEETING, WHICH WILL BE IN JULY.
UM, SO OUR, OUR REGULAR TASK FORCE SCHEDULE IS EVERY WEEK, THE FULL TASK FORCE MEETS EVERY OTHER MONTH.
UM, WE GOT OFF SCHEDULE AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE UP STUFF BECAUSE OF WINTER STORM ERIE.
UM, SO WE SHOULD BE BACK ON TRACK NOW.
UM, SO EVERY OTHER MONTH THE TASK FULL TASK FORCE SHOULD MEET.
AND THEN IN THE INTERVENING MONTHS, UM, THE SUB COMMITTEE, THE ORDINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE WOULD MEET.
SO THAT WOULD MAKE THAT EVERY OTHER MONTH AS WELL.
SO WE'RE GOING TO SQUEEZE SOMEONE IN HERE TO TRY TO GET BACK ON SCHEDULE, CAUSE THERE'S DEFINITELY STUFF TO DISCUSS FOR THE, FOR THAT.
SO I WILL, UM, CIRCLE WITH JANELL TO GET THAT SCHEDULED POST TASE CAUSE I KNOW FOLKS NEED TO GET IT ON THEIR CALENDAR.
I KNOW MINE'S FILLING UP REAL FAST.
UM, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE TEST FIRST JNL.
YES, THIS WEEK YOU WILL ALL RECEIVE CORRESPONDENCE ABOUT SCHEDULING, UM, THESE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS, UH, BEFORE THE NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING.
SO FOR INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE, THE LAST MEETING WAS ALSO ON APRIL 14TH.
AUSTIN WATER STAFF PROVIDED AN OVERVIEW OF THE INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION CONTEXT AND CONSIDERATIONS, AND FIRST STEPS INCLUDED IN THE 2021, UM, IPR WORK PLAN.
THIS WILL INCLUDE FURTHER COORDINATION BETWEEN AUSTIN WATER AND WATERSHED PROTECTION AND UPDATES TO PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED WATER QUALITY MODELING.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT WAS AT THE MEETING OR ANYONE THAT WASN'T HAVE QUESTIONS? I HAVE A COMMENT.
AS I MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES, UH, I THINK THIS STRATEGY IS IN TROUBLE AND IT MAY BE THAT WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE UPDATE OF THIS MASTER PLAN, THAT THIS WOULD GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO EITHER CONTINUE THIS OR GET RID OF IT.
AND I GUESS THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING IS, UH, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE UPDATE, THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO LOOK AT, UH, IN LIGHT OF THE, UH, LG PROBLEM IN THE LAKES THAT THIS MAY NEVER WORK.
AND IF IT, IF IT WERE NOT TO WORK, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME FIRM YIELD THAT NEEDS TO BE PICKED UP SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO I JUST MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE UPDATE IS THERE TO DO AN UPDATE.
THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY.
UM, LET'S MOVE TO THE CLIMATE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
I KNOW THAT, UM, ROBERT AND I, ROBERT MASON, I BOTH SERVE ON THAT FOR THE TASK FORCE, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE IN IT.
I'M GOING TO GIVE THE UPDATE JANELL.
THE LAST MEETING WAS ON MAY SIX AND WE ALSO HAD THREE MEETINGS DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL.
THIS TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP INCLUDES ACADEMICS.
THE STATE CLIMATOLOGISTS REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER UTILITIES WHO ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF THE WATER UTILITY CLIMATE ALLIANCE, AS WELL AS AUSTIN WATER STAFF.
AS YOU SAID, TWO MEMBERS OF THE WATERFORD TASK FORCE ALSO ATTEND THESE MEETINGS, JENNIFER WALKER AND ROBERT MACE, AUSTIN WATER ALSO PRESENTED A DRAFT SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE UPDATE TO THE PREVIOUS CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGY ANALYSIS AND RECEIVED ADVISORY GROUP INPUT STAFF IS NOW EXPLORING OPTIONS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS SCOPE.
MOVING FORWARD, JENNIFER ROBERT, YEAH, I'LL SAY THIS.
THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY INTERESTING GROUP TO BE PART OF, UM, THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON IT.
UM, IT'S BEEN MORE OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ME RATHER THAN, UH, INPUT I'LL SAY, CAUSE THERE'S SOME PRETTY AMAZING CLIMATE SCIENTISTS ON THERE.
UM, BUT REALLY UNDERSTANDING KIND OF WHY WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DIG INTO THE CLIMATE DATA, UM, UH, AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH FOR THE,
[01:10:01]
FOR THE NEXT, THE NEXT PLANNING CYCLE.THE ONE THAT WE'RE IN NOW UPDATING THE, TO WATER FOR 2023.
SO, UM, I FEEL LIKE HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET A GOOD CONSULTANT, UM, OUR GREAT CONSULTANT ON BOARD AND IT'LL BE INTERESTING.
THEY WANT TO LOOK AT SOME EXTREME EVENTS AND, AND, UM, THERE'S SOME MORE CLIMATE DATA OUT THERE.
SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S REALLY BENEFICIAL AND I'M REALLY LIKE HAVING A FEW MEMBERS FROM THE TASK FORCES BEING ABLE TO, UM, PARTICIPATE IN THESE ADVISORY GROUP TYPE THINGS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF ROBERT WANTS TO SAY ANYTHING.
UH, YOU DID A GREAT JOB, UM, WITH, WITH THE SUMMARY.
UM, I DID WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE.
I'M NOT, UH, I'M NOT DOWN ON IT.
UM, YEAH, I THINK IT, IT STILL STILL NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT THERE'S WORK TO BE DONE AT DONE WITH IT, BUT IT WAS INTERESTING AT THE LAST MEETING TO JUST SEE SOME OF THE DETAILS OF HOW, HOW IT WOULD GO DOWN.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE INJECTION POINT IS JUST UPSTREAM FROM LONGHORN DAM, UM, AND, UH, OR WATER IS CURRENTLY TAKEN OUT OF THE, UH, LADYBIRD LAKE FOR USES MUCH FURTHER UP STREAM.
UM, SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS AN INTERESTING PART OF IT.
AND WHILE I THINK THE ALGAE IS OF CONCERN, UM, I ALSO FEEL LIKE THAT IT'S, IT WOULD BE TREATED WHEN WATER IS PULLED OUT OF THE LAKE.
AND EVEN SOME EVIDENCE OF THAT PERHAPS IS THAT WE'VE SEEN ALGAE UP IN THE LAKE, TRAVIS.
UM, AND, UH, AND YOU KNOW, SO FAR TO MY KNOWLEDGE, WE HAVEN'T HAD ISSUES WITH THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM, BUT IT CERTAINLY AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE ALL OF THESE STRATEGIES THERE NEEDS TO BE, AND THERE IS A METHOLOGIC METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO ANALYZING THEM AS THEY GET FLUSHED OUT.
AND DOES ANYONE FROM THE TASK FORCE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TECHNICAL CLIMATE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP? UM, SO AS FAR AS, UM, THAT STUFF'S GO, UM, WE'VE PROVIDED COMMENTS IN, ON THE SCOPE OF WORK AND THERE'LL BE FINALIZING THAT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ONE MORE MEETING, BUT, UM, THE SUMMER WILL BE USE TO, UM, ENGAGE WITH A CONSULTANT AND THEN THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP WILL BE MEETING UP AGAIN, BUT THE CONSULTANT WILL BE DOING THE WORK AND THE CLIMATE TECHNICAL ADVISOR GROUP WILL BE KIND OF LIKE A SOUNDING BOARD, LIKE WHEN STUFF COMES IN AND, UM, DIALOGUING WITH A CONSULTANT.
SO, UM, SO IT'LL BE WE'RE WE HAD A LOT OF MEETINGS RECENTLY, UM, BUT THAT WAS RELATED TO BRAINSTORM ABOUT THE SCOPE AND TO HAVE INPUT ON IT.
SO AUSTIN WATER COULD GET THAT OUT.
AND DID YOU ALWAYS, IN YOUR HAND, KEVIN? YEAH, I WOULD JUST, I WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEND THE LAST, UH, UH, CLIMATE TAG GROUP MEETING, BUT I WOULD JUST GOING BACK TO AN EARLIER COMMENT, YOU MADE ABOUT PREPARING FOR WATERFALL 3 23.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS WILL BE ONE OF THOSE AREAS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE WILL BE SOME SUBTLE CHANGES TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF HOW WE APPROACH, UM, YOU KNOW, REFLECTING CLIMATE AND OUR PLANNING.
CERTAINLY WE DID, I BELIEVE A, A GREAT JOB IN WATERFORD 18.
UM, THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO KIND OF ENHANCE THAT AND ENGAGE, UM, OTHER FOLKS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP AND THROUGH A DEEPER LOOK FROM, UH, CERTAIN, UH, TASK FORCE MEMBERS.
SO THIS IS SORT OF ONE OF THOSE, THOSE KIND OF EXAMPLES WHERE WE'LL BE DOING IT A LITTLE DIFFERENT, TRY TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE, TRY TO INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, UH, A BROADER, UH, GROUP OF, OF INSIGHTS.
SO JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THAT'S PART OF THE PROCESS OF BUILDING, UH, YOU KNOW, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE GOOD WORK THAT WE DID IN 2018 AND CARRYING THAT AND IMPROVING IT IN 2023.
UM, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE ASR, UM, TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
UM, SO, UH, I BELIEVE AT OUR LAST WATERFORD TASK FORCE MEETING, Y'ALL GOT A PRETTY GOOD OVERVIEW OF, UM, IMPLEMENTATION OF ASR.
UM, THE LAST ADVISORY GROUP MEETING WAS BACK IN MARCH AND PROJECT APPROACH WAS DISCUSSED AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TASKS.
UM, AND AS DISCUSSED EARLIER WITH THE ASR SURVEY, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HAS, UH, STARTED.
YEAH, WE DID OUR PACKET FROM LAST MEETING, HOW WE DID A PRETTY THOROUGH OVERVIEW OF THAT.
[01:15:01]
WANT TO ADD ANYTHING?SO THE SURVEY THAT SOME PEOPLE GOT THAT WENT OUT WAS PART OF THE ASR, UM, OUTREACH EFFORT.
AND I GUESS I REMEMBER FROM THE PRESENTATION THAT I THINK LINDA RIFE WAS A CONSULTANT TO DO SOME OUTREACH.
SO WAS THAT PART OF THE WORK THAT SHE'S DOING WITH THE, WITH THE ASR PROJECT? YES, THEY ARE ONE OF OUR CONSULTANTS.
UM, OKAY, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
DO WE, UM, SO THAT CONCLUDES THIS PART OF THE AGENDA.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY VOTING ITEMS, DO WE? OKAY.
[4. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
UH, JENNA ITEM FOR US TO DISCUSS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SO, UM, A COUPLE THINGS, ONE IS, IT SOUNDS LIKE, UM, J AND L IS GOING TO BE SENDING OUT SOME, SOME INFO ABOUT MEETINGS FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEES.SO, UM, SO THAT'LL BE GOOD AND THAT'LL COME THIS WEEK.
UM, THEN THE OTHER THING IS, IS WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE SO ASR SURVEY RESULTS IS SOMETHING I WAS HEARD THAT Y'ALL TALKED ABOUT, IS THAT INTENDED TO BE ON THE NEXT MEETING? UM, PROBABLY NOT UNTIL SEPTEMBER.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO CLARIFY THAT RIFLE AND A DECENT JACOBS AND HDR ARE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT TEAM, BUT AUSTIN WATER LED THE SURVEY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND, UM, SUPER THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
UM, SO, AND THEN ALSO HAVE REQUESTED AT THE LAST MEETING AND THERE WAS, WE THOUGHT NOT GOING TO BE TIME AT THIS MEETING TODAY FOR, UM, A PRESENTATION, UM, FROM WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION, UM, THEIR WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, THE CURRENT KIND OF SUITE OF PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE IN PLACE AND, UM, AND PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF WHAT ARE FOUR ELEMENTS, UM, WHICH ARE WATER CONSERVATION ELEMENTS.
UM, THERE'S SEVERAL WATER CONSERVATION ITEMS THAT ARE, UM, IN THE EARLY IMPLEMENTATION FOR WATER FORWARD.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE BIG 11 BY 17 CHART.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM THEM THAT WILL BE AT THE NEXT MEETING IN JULY, UM, AND HEARING FROM THEIR NEW DIRECTOR, KEVIN FLIGGY, I PRESUME WILL BE DOING THAT.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE KEVIN ON, UM, FOR TODAY'S MEETING, UH, IF YOU WANTED TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF TO Y'ALL OH YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT.
I KNOW THAT WE HAD PUSHED A FEW ITEMS JUST BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD ENOUGH TIME.
THERE'S NO TELLING HOW THINGS WILL SHAKE OUT AGENDA WISE.
SO LAST TIME WE WERE ALL JAMMED UP IN THIS TIME.
SO WE DID, WE DO OUR BEST TO PREDICT.
UM, YEAH, KEVIN, UM, I DON'T SEE YOU ON HERE, BUT I DID SEE YOUR NAME EARLIER.
SO DO YOU WANT TO SAY HI TO FOLKS? HE'S THE NEW CONSERVATION DIRECTOR? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN OUT TO JUST GET YOURSELF.
KEVIN KLUGIE I'M NEW WATER CONSERVATION MANAGERS STARTED BACK IN FEBRUARY, ACTUALLY THE WEEK OF THE WINTER STORM, UH, WAS MY FIRST WEEK.
SO, UH, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SMOOTH SAILING SINCE THEN, A LOT OF CHANCE TO, UH, MEET STAFF AND LEARN ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON.
SO I CAME FROM THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, SO I HAD A CHANCE TO MEET WITH A LOT OF WATER UTILITIES ACROSS THE STATE.
AND AFTER 20 YEARS THERE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DIRECTOR OF, UH, CONSERVATION AND INNOVATIVE WATER TECHNOLOGIES, I CAME OVER TO AUSTIN WATER.
SO I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT WORKING WITH Y'ALL AS WE REVISE THE FORWARD PLAN.
AND AS WE STARTED WORKING WITH THE DIFFERENT WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES.
SO I'LL TELL YOU MORE NEXT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
UM, SO DO WE HAVE, AND SO, SO WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM THEM, UM, AND THEN WE'LL, UM, IT'LL BE IN ADVANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE ON THE 13TH.
IS THAT TIME SET THREE TO FIVE ON THE 13TH, FOR SURE.
WE'RE NOT HAVING TO DO ANY NEGOTIATIONS FOR CALENDAR TIME ANYMORE.
I NEED TO CONFIRM THAT IT IS STILL GOING TO BE VIRTUAL.
[01:20:01]
THAT WASN'T A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, UM, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.THEY HAVE HAD OUR, OUR CALENDAR FOR SOME TIME.
IS THERE, IS THERE, UM, A POINT TO WHERE WE'LL BE TRANSFERRING TO IN-PERSON MEETINGS? UH, STILL WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT THAT.
OH, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I'LL KEEP YOU ALL UPDATED.
UM, WHEN I FOUND OUT I WILL BE SURE TO LET Y'ALL KNOW.
PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS POSSIBLE.
CAUSE I THINK SOME FOLKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, MIGHT BE TRAVELING AND PLANNING TO JOIN FROM THE ROAD OR SOMETHING.
SO WE MIGHT HAVE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE'RE IN THIS TRANSITION PERIOD OVER THE SUMMER OF ARE WE IN PERSON OR NOT? AND UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, UM, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL CONTINUATION PLAYS INTO THAT TOO.
SO ANYWAY, JUST EVERYBODY KEEP YOUR EARS PEELED FOR THAT.
THAT'S DEFINITELY A TOPIC COMING UP IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT MEETINGS THAT I'VE BEEN IN.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER WINDOW ITEMS THAT FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO, UM, PROPOSE FOR THE, FOR THE NEXT AGENDA IN JULY OR PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT AVAILABLE? CAN WE HAVE LIKE, UM, UM, VIRTUAL MEETINGS AND MEETINGS IN PERSON? I MEAN, W WE'LL WE'LL CHECK ON THAT? I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT AT THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNOR AND I, I MEAN, FRANKLY, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO PUBLIC MEETINGS USING, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFIC FORMAT, UM, BASED ON, UH, EXECUTIVE ORDER.
AND SO I DON'T HAVE A VERY CLEAR ANSWER TO YOU AT THIS POINT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE FUTURE EXECUTIVE ORDER WILL ALLOW SOME SORT OF A HYBRID MEETING.
CERTAINLY CERTAINLY LESS FORMAL MEETINGS WE EXPECT, YOU KNOW, LIKE OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS.
AND SO WE CERTAINLY HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY THERE.
UM, THESE THAT ACTUALLY HAVE TO GET POSTED AND HAVE TO, UM, REFLECT A QUORUM AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT MORE TO COME.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH, UM, OUR CITY CLERK AND TRY TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT'S GOING TO END ALL AND END UP LANDING.
THAT'S UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE QUESTION OF THE DAY RIGHT NOW FOR, FOR THESE TYPES OF THINGS.
UM, ANYONE ELSE WITH THE POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY.
UM, JAY NELL, DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF WHO'S ALL THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES? UH, DOES EVERYONE KNOW WHAT COMMITTEES THEY'RE ON AND STUFF? I THINK WE HAVE A, ACTUALLY I HAVE AN OPENING ON ONE OF THEM, BUT YOU MAY NOT HAVE A LIST HANDY.
SO BEFORE WE ADJOURN, LET'S JUST DO A QUICK, SO FOLKS CAN, WHICH ONES, AND I THINK THE ORDINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE ACTUALLY HAS AN OPENING OF, UM, IF FOLKS WANT TO JOIN THAT ONE, BUT LET'S LOOK AND SEE, OKAY.
FOR THE LEAD ABATEMENT SUBCOMMITTEE.
I HAVE BILL MORIARTY, DIANE KENNEDY, JENNIFER WALKER, CHARLENE LORIG AND SARAH FOST.
DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT TO EVERYONE? YEAH.
FOR THE ORDINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE, JENNIFER WALKER, CHARLENE LYRIC, PERRY LORENZ AND VANESSA WILLIAMS. SO THERE IS ROOM FOR ONE MORE MEMBER OF THAT COMMITTEE.
I TAKE IT BACK UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT TO BE THERE ANYMORE.
WHAT'S NEXT? OR IS THAT IT? UH, IPR SUBCOMMITTEE, CHARLENE, ROBERT, PHIL, VANESSA, AND HANEY.
I'M ACTUALLY NOT ON THE COMMITTEE ANYMORE AND HAVE BEEN ON THE COMMITTEE FOR QUITE DID ANY OF THE MEETINGS.
SO WE VOTED HIM OFF THE ISLAND.
IT'S ROBERT, IT'S HARD TO GET OFF THAT ISLAND.
APPARENTLY HANEY, CHARLENE, ROBERT, VANESSA ARE ON THAT ONE J NOW.
AND THEN THE CLIMATE, UM, ONE IS, UH, ROBERT MASON.
AND DO WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE AT THE ASR? ROBERT MASON GO MORIARTY AND HANEY MICHELLE.
WELL, AGAIN, I'M NOT ON THE ASR.
[01:25:01]
OKAY.DO YOU WANT TO BE ON IPR? UH, LET ME, LET ME, LET ME THINK ABOUT IT.
UH, YEAH, I CAN'T, I CAN'T REMEMBER FROM OUR DISCUSSION IF THERE'S ROOM, BUT, BUT I'M HAPPY TO STEP BACK TO BE MORE ABLE THAN ME.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE ALGAE OR AUGGIE, SO THAT'S NOT ME.
SO FOLKS KNOW WHICH ONES THEY'RE ON.
UM, AND IF EVERY, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, BESIDES, BESIDES HANEY BEING PUT ON LOTS OF COMMITTEES AND MAYBE WE'LL LET YOU OFF AND MAYBE WE WON'T.
UM, ANYONE ELSE ON COMMITTEES ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE, ARE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON A COMMITTEE.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING ALL MOTION TO ADJOURN? THIS IS ROBERT.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
YOU NEVER KNOW HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO TAKE.
I KNOW EVERYONE GET WE'LL HAVE FUN WITH YOUR EXTRA 30 MINUTES.