* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:32]
          TANK FIVE IS A 52 ACRE TANK FARM SITE, WHERE WE HAD SIX OF THE LARGEST, UH, OIL COMPANIES, UH, THAT WAS STORING THE PETROLEUM BYPRODUCTS HERE SPECIFICALLY IN EAST AUSTIN ON DECEMBER THE 18, UH, DR. 
          SYLVIA ODETTA WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE CAST OF, AND SHE SAW THAT MOBILE WAS WANTING TO EXPAND THE TANK FARM. 
          AND SO IT WAS SEEKING A PERMIT. 
          AND WE BEGAN TO LOOK AT THE RESEARCH AND WE SAW IN THAT RESEARCH THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAD WRITTEN A LETTER SAYING WE'RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT EXPANDING THE MOBILE FACILITY BECAUSE OF ALL THE ADMISSIONS. 
          AND BECAUSE YOU HAVE RESIDENTS LIVING SURROUNDING THE AREA ABOUT ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES IS WHEN THEY RECEIVED THEIR PERMIT. 
          AND WHEN THEY LOOKED AT THEIR ADMISSION RATES, IT WAS LOOKED AT AS IF IT WAS ONLY ONE CORPORATION HERE. 
          WHEN IN ESSENCE, YOU HAD SIX CORPORATIONS HERE ALTOGETHER. 
          SO THEY WERE NOT LOOKING AT THE CUMULATIVE EMISSIONS, UM, THE 52 ACRE SITE. 
          AND SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE WHOLE ISSUE OF THE BENZENE EMISSION, WE SAW THAT BENZING WAS BEING ADMITTED IN THIS AREA 720 TIMES OVER THE ALLOWABLE RATE. 
          BENZENE IS A KNOWN CARCINOGEN IS KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER. 
          AND ALSO A LOT OF THE TIME THEIR VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM WAS DOWN. 
          AND SO THEIR MISSIONS WERE GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY FULL BLOWN, AND THE COMMUNITY WAS NOT REALLY AWARE OF JUST HOW MUCH EXPOSURE WAS HAPPENING, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE FEELING THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF THE EXPOSURE OF LIVING NEXT DOOR AROUND THE CORNER TO THIS TANK FARM, THE TANK FARM WAS ONE OF THE MOST INSIDIOUS THINGS THAT THE CITY ALLOWED. 
          AND HE STARTED RIGHT ON TOP OF NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE TALKED TO HAVE SAID, WELL, PEOPLE KNEW THAT THE TANKS WERE THERE. 
          WHY DID THEY MOVE THERE? WELL, THE HOUSES WERE THERE BEFORE THE TANK FARM, THE HOUSES WERE THERE BEFORE THE POWER PLANT. 
          AND SO AT THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY, WE HAD OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND WE BEGAN TO SAY, HERE ARE, HERE ARE THE CHEMICALS THAT ARE BEING ADMITTED IN THIS AREA. 
          AND HERE ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THIS PARTICULAR EXPOSURE. 
          UH, FROM THEN WE WENT ON TO DEVELOP A HEALTH SURVEY, LOOKING AT IF YOU'RE EXPOSED TO CERTAIN CHEMICALS, WHAT ARE, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACTS OF THESE CHEMICALS. 
          I'VE BEEN GETTING REAL BAD HEADACHES FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS. 
          NOW. 
          MY HAIR IS FALLING OUT. 
          UM, MY, EVERYTHING IN MY HOUSE TAKES FROM THE VIBRATION, FROM THE TANKS AND, UM, THE TREES ARE DYING BACK THERE. 
          THEY'RE ALL ALMOST ALL DEAD BACK THERE. 
          I LIVE RIGHT IN BACK OF IT. 
          MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAD GARDENS BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD SURVIVE BECAUSE FOOD IS PRETTY EXPENSIVE. 
          SO THEY PLANTED AND WERE EATING VEGETABLES THAT THEY HAD PLANTED IN POLLUTED LAND. 
          SO THE KIDS AND EVERYBODY WAS GETTING SICK. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND OUT WAS JUST ABOUT EVERYONE'S HOUSEHOLD HAD THESE BIG BOTTLE OF ASPIRINS, UH, AND IT'S SEEMED LIKE JUST ABOUT EVERYONE WAS EXPERIENCES HEADACHES. 
          IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA. 
          WE ALSO FOUND A LOT OF THE CHILDREN WHO WERE HAVING NOSEBLEEDS FOR NO APPARENT REASON AND RASHES. 
          AND WE FOUND A LOT OF CANCERS IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA TO, UH, WHICH WAS NOT NORMAL. 
          AND SO THAT COULD BEGAN THE PROCESS OF HAVING WEEKLY MEETINGS WITH THE RESIDENTS TO FIND OUT JUST HOW THEY WERE BEING IMPACTED, WHAT THEY HAD EXPERIENCED AND SO FORTH. 
          WHEN THEY TESTED MY MOM, THE DOCTORS WITH THEM WERE AMAZED THAT, UM, SHE WAS SO ILL AND THEY CAME AND ASKED US SHE WAS A HOUSEWIFE ALL HER LIFE, EXCEPT WHEN WE WERE MIGRANT WORKERS. 
          UM, THEY, THEY ASKED HER, HAD SHE EVER BEEN A COAL MINER? OKAY. 
          THEY FOUND THAT HER LINES WERE AS BADLY AFFECTED AS A COAL MINERS BECAUSE OF ALL THE TOXINS THAT SHE HAD BEEN BREATHING ALL HER LIFE. 
          AND THEY LIVED THERE FOR 40, SOME ODD YEARS. 
          AND, UM, 
          [00:05:01]
A FEW YEARS LATER, SHE PASSED AWAY AFTER THAT WHOLE ORGANIZING IN JANUARY, UM, FEBRUARY THE 10TH, WE'VE PUT TOGETHER THE FIRST TOXIC TOUR AND THAT TOXIC TOUR WE GOT, UH, COUNCILMAN GARCIA WAS ABLE TO GET A CAPITAL METRO BUS FOR US. 
          AND AT THE OAK SPRINGS LIBRARY, WE LOADED UP THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, SOME OF THE PRINCIPALS FROM THE SCHOOL, SOME OF THE COMMUNITY LEADERS. 
          AND WE ACTUALLY CAME OUT HERE TO THE TANK FARM. 
          ONE OF THE FIRST HOUSES WE STOPPED OUT WAS MISSED BY THE US HOUSE ON OWL. 
          AND SHE TALKED ABOUT HOW HER CHILDREN AND HER FAMILY WERE FEELING. 
          THESE IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, DIZZINESS, HEADACHES, RASHES, BUT WHEN THEY LEFT AND GO OUT TO VISIT THEIR FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, LIKE LOCKHART OR BASS DROP, THEY FELT JUST, WELL, AND THEN THEY'D COME BACK AND THEY'D REALLY FEEL AGAIN, THE IMPACT AND HAVING THAT TOXIC TOUR WAS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS WE EVER DID BECAUSE WE HAD STATE REPRESENTATIVE, GONZALO, BODY ANKLES WITH US AND STATE REPRESENTATIVE GLEN MAXEY. 
          AND THEY THEN ADVISE THE AIR CONTROL BOARD TO COME OUT AND DO THE TESTING. 
          AND THEN THEY ASKED THE WATER COMMISSION TO COME OUT AND DO THE TESTING ON THE RUNOFF THAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITIES. 
          AND WE ALSO INVITED OF COURSE THE MEDIA. 
          SO OF COURSE THE MEDIA WAS, WAS DOCUMENTING ALL OF THIS TAKING PICTURES AND THEY FOLLOWED UP ON THE, THE WATER TESTING AND, AND THE AIR TESTING IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          OKAY. 
          WHERE I'M NOW GOING DOWN, UH, SOUTH STREET AND HERE AT THE END OF SAW STREET IS WHERE THEY HAD ONE OF THE BIG, UH, PETROLEUM TANKS. 
          THAT'S HOW CLOSE IT WAS TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITY AROUND HERE, JUST DIRECTLY ACROSS THAT, THAT FENCE, WHEN THEY WOULD HAVE SPILLS, IT WOULD COME OVER TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, AND SO THEY WOULD CREATE PUDDLES HERE. 
          AND THE KIDS, OF COURSE, BEING KIDS, THEY PLAYED IN THE WATER, UH, NOT KNOWING THAT THERE WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WATER WAS CONTAMINATED. 
          SO YOU CAN SEE RIGHT THERE, SEE PIPELINE SINCE WE HAVE THE TOXIC TOUR AND ALL OF THESE PARTICULAR ISSUES. 
          OUR NEXT STEP WAS HOW DO WE ADDRESS THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT ARE ELECTED OFFICIALS? WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID IS THAT WE WROTE TO THE AGENCIES OF TOXIC DCS AND REGISTRY THE FEDERAL ONE AND SAY, LOOK, THIS IS HAPPENING HERE IN EAST AUSTIN. 
          YOU NEED TO COME AND CHECK IT OUT. 
          WHAT THEY DID WAS THEN THEY CALLED THE TEXAS HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND SAID, LOOK, WE'VE GOT THIS COMPLAINT. 
          YOU NEED TO GO CHECK IT OUT TOO, TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT COMMUNITY. 
          WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING NOW. 
          SO BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, WE ALSO WENT TO THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND WE TOOK, UH, COMMUNITY PEOPLE THERE TO TALK ABOUT THE ISSUE HERE. 
          PRETTY MUCH IT FELL, IT FELL ON DEAF EARS WITH THE CITY COUNCIL. 
          THERE REALLY DIDN'T LISTEN TO US. 
          AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED IS WE WENT TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND IT WAS JUDGE  AND COUNTY COMMISSIONER MARCUS DELYON DID APPROPRIATED $350,000 TO DO A CIVIL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION. 
          UH, ON THE TANK FARM, THE COMMISSIONERS AT THE TIME WERE WILLING TO TAKE A RISK AND FUND SOME OF THE INVESTIGATIONS THAT I NEEDED TO DO IN ORDER TO HAVE A CREDIBLE THREAT POTENTIAL AGAINST THE OIL COMPANIES. 
          YOU DON'T FIGHT SIX OR THE BIGGEST CORPORATIONS IN THE WORLD. 
          IF YOU CAN'T PUT TOGETHER EXPERT TESTIMONY AND THEY COST MONEY. 
          AND THAT WAS, I THINK, SORT OF LIKE THE REALLY BOOST THAT WE NEEDED TO REALLY, UH, BE ABLE TO SAY THERE'S A BIG ISSUE AND THE PROBLEM THAT IS HAPPENING HERE AT THE SAME TIME, THE AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN DECIDED THAT IT WOULD ALSO DO A HEALTH SURVEY OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO THEY HIRED PEOPLE ALSO TO BE DOOR KNOCKING AND TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHAT PEOPLE WERE EXPERIENCING HERE. 
          I THINK THE OTHER ISSUE THAT I WANT TO REALLY TALK ABOUT WAS THAT WE PUT TOGETHER THE CITIZENS MONITORING COMMITTEE AND THE WAY WE ESTABLISHED THAT COMMITTEE IS THAT THE COMMITTEE WAS AT THE TABLE AND THE STATE AND CITY AND COUNTY WAS IN THE AUDIENCE AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO COME UP AND THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS OF THE COMMUNITIES. 
          AND THAT WAS A VERY POWERFUL ORGANIZING TOOL IN FLIPPING THE USUAL MODEL OF, YOU KNOW, YOU COME TO US AND WE CONTROL THE AGENDA VERSUS THE COMMUNITY CONTROLS THE AGENDA. 
          AND YOU, YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE TO THE COMMUNITY. 
           
          [00:10:01]
THERE WAS A MASS ORGANIZING MASS ORGANIZING HAPPENING, UH, OUT HERE, THE TANK FARM, UH, NOT ONLY GAINED LOCAL MEDIA COVERAGE, IT GOT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE ALSO. 
          UH, AND THE OTHER THING WE HAVE TO REMEMBER IS THAT WE WERE SORTA AT THE BEGINNING PHASE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM MOVEMENT THAT WAS HAPPENING, UH, NATIONWIDE WITH, UM, LOW-INCOME AND PEOPLE OF COLOR COMMUNITIES BEING THE FRONT LINE COMMUNITIES BEING EXPOSED TO ALL THESE PARTICULAR EMISSIONS. 
          AND SO IT WAS LIKE AT THE RIGHT TIME TO REALLY BE EXPOSING WHAT WAS HAPPENING HERE, UH, AT THE TANK FARM IN, IN PARTICULAR, HERE IN, IN EAST AUSTIN, THE TANK FARM BECAME A RALLYING CRY FOR EVERYBODY THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          IT WAS A VERY ONE OF THE VERY FIRST TIME THAT WHITE ENVIRONMENTALIST HAD ACTUALLY COME OUT AND SUPPORT ISSUES, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN EAST BOSTON. 
          WE DIDN'T WANT THEM TO SPEAK FOR US. 
          WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY PEOPLE WERE THE SPOKESPERSONS AND NOT THE MAINSTREAM GROUPS AND THAT YOU'RE SHOWING YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR FAMILIES THAT YOU CARE ABOUT THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF YOUR FAMILY AND OTHER FAMILIES. 
          AND YOU'RE SETTING A VERY GOOD MODEL. 
          AND HEY, MY GRANDMOTHER WAS THERE. 
          MY AUNT WAS THERE. 
          MY GREAT GRANDMA, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S TAKING THAT STAND. 
          AND THAT WAS THE YOUNG. 
          THE OTHER THING IS THAT IT WAS LIKE 90% WOMEN INVOLVED IN THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE AND ABOUT 10% MALE. 
          SO WOMEN WERE REALLY OUT THERE BECAUSE THEY WERE THE ONES THEY WERE HAVING TO TEND TO THEIR CHILDREN BEING SICK TO THE FAMILY MEMBERS. 
          THOSE THAT HAVE CANCER, THEY SELECTED FIDELINA RIVERA, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE ELDERS AS A SPANISH SPOKESPERSON. 
          SHE SPOKE ABSOLUTELY NO ENGLISH. 
          AND WE HAD A BIG AMOUNT OF PEOPLE HERE. 
          THERE WERE SPANISH SPEAKERS, ACTUALLY. 
          SHE WENT TO THE TEXAS AIR CONTROL BOARD TO TESTIFY, UH, AND SHE TESTIFIED IN SPANISH. 
          I THINK WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SURPRISED ABOUT WAS THAT WE WERE SO SUCCESSFUL THAT IN A WHOLE YEAR, AND THAT FOLLOWING YEAR, THE TANK FARM CLOSE, WE CAME TO AN AGREEMENT BECAUSE OF ALL THE INFORMATION THAT THE SCIENTISTS AND BIOLOGISTS FOUND, UH, KEN ODIN WAS ABLE TO USE THAT LEVERAGE TO SIGN OF AGREEMENT, TO RELOCATE, UH, THEIR FACILITY, JOHN HENRY FAULT HAD SAID, THE PROBLEM WITH ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CORPORATIONS IS UNLIKE HUMANS. 
          THEY ARE FICTITIOUS PEOPLE AND THEY DON'T HAVE A HEART TO FEEL OR TO KICK. 
          SO ARGUING PRINCIPLES IS NOT ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL AND YOU CAN'T INCARCERATE A CORPORATE PERSON. 
          SO ACCOUNTABILITY HAS TO COME ECONOMICAL. 
          AND WHEN WE STARTED THAT NEGOTIATIONS REALLY, THEY WANTED 10 YEARS TO RELOCATE. 
          AND WE WORKED IT DOWN TO THREE YEARS BECAUSE WE KNEW THEY WOULD HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER SITE. 
          THEY WOULD HAVE TO GET THEIR PERMITS, BUT WE SAID 10 YEARS IS TOO LONG. 
          WE WOULD AGREE WITH THREE YEARS OF THEM DOING IT. 
          AND SO ONE BY ONE, THEY BEGAN TO SIGN THE AGREEMENT TO RELOCATE. 
          UH, BUT IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL VICTORY, SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL VICTORY THAT HAPPENED IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. 
          UH, BUT IT TOOK A MASS ORGANIZING TO DO IT. 
          IT TALKED ABOUT RAISING THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF PEOPLE ABOUT ADDRESSING HUMANITY, ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WERE BEING EXPOSED. 
          UM, BUT IT, IT, IT ALL CAME, YOU KNOW, GETTING ALL OF THEM TO AGREE TO, TO RELOCATE WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS WAS THEN, UH, LOOKING AT THE ZONING ISSUE. 
          WE KNEW THAT ZONING WAS THE BOTTOM LINE WHEN WE WERE ORGANIZING. 
          WE SAID, OKAY, WHAT IS IT THAT HAS ALLOWED 90% OF ALL THE INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES TO BE IN EAST AUSTIN? AND IT WAS ZONING ZONING HAD ALLOW TOXIC CORPORATIONS TO BE ADJACENT TO HOMES AND SCHOOLS. 
          AND SO WE KNEW THAT OUR NEXT STEP WAS EMBARKING ON CHANGING A LOT OF THE ZONING IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND CHANGING THE ZONING HERE AT THE TANK FARM SO THAT WE WOULD NEVER, EVER HAVE ANY POLLUTING FACILITY 
          [00:15:01]
BE ABLE TO BUILD HERE ON THE 52 ACRE, UH, TANK FARM SITE. 
          THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENED WAS THAT THE TAX APPRAISAL T CAT HAD REDUCED A VALUES AND HIS HOMES BY 50% BECAUSE THE PERCEPTION OF ALL THE CONTAMINATION, AND OF COURSE, THEN WE HAD TO WORK ON THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE. 
          THEN THE LAWYERS CAME IN AND DECIDED THEY WOULD DO A COURT CASE, UH, TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITIES ABOUT THE IMPACT AND THE TOXIC EMISSIONS FROM THE CORPORATIONS. 
          AND SO THAT WAS ANOTHER, UH, KIND OF ORGANIZING TOOL THAT HAD TO HAPPEN. 
          AND THEN THE LAST PART WAS MONITORING THE CLEANUP, MONITORING THE CLEAN UP HERE AT THE TANK FARM TOOK 15 YEARS, 15 YEARS WE HAD TO MONITOR THE CLEANUP. 
          THE OTHER THING WAS THAT THE STATE LEFT IT UP TO EACH CORPORATION TO DECIDE IF THEY WANTED TO CLEAN UP TO A DUSTIEST STANDARDS OR TO A SINGLE FAMILY, STAN STONEY. 
          AND WE WERE TRYING TO GET THE CITY TO REZONE EVERYTHING, SINGLE FAMILY. 
          SO THEY WOULD CLEAN UP TO TWO SINGLE FAMILY STANDARDS, BUT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. 
          AND SO THERE WAS ONLY ONE COMPANY, WHICH WAS THE GOLF COASTAL STATES, UH, THAT CLEANED UP TO A RESIDENTIAL STANDARDS. 
          EVERYBODY ELSE CLEANED UP TO INDUSTRIAL STANDARDS, WHICH MEANT YOU COULD LEGALLY LEAVE CONTAMINATION ONSITE, BUT YOU COULD NEVER BUILD HOUSING, UH, ON THESE PARTICULAR SITES. 
          BUT THE BIGGEST VICTORY THAT BROUGHT TEARS TO OUR EYES THAT WE ALL CRIED ABOUT WAS CLOSING THE TANK PAR. 
          THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST VICTORY, UH, THAT WE COULD EVER EXPERIENCE IN OUR LIVES WAS BEING ABLE TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF OUR ELDERS, OUR CHILDREN, THE FAMILY, THE UPCOMING GENERATIONS. 
          I MEAN, TO US, IT WAS SUCH A SWEET VICTORY TO HAVE THAT. 
          UM, AND SO, I MEAN, THAT, THAT WAS THE BLESSING OF ALL OF THIS WORK. 
          AND ORGANIZING WAS, UH, CLOSING DOWN THE TOXIC TANK FARM. 
          OUR HISTORY IS A TREASURE TROVE. 
          THE WORK I'M DOING NOW IS ONLY POSSIBLE BECAUSE PEOPLE DOUBLE AND TRIPLE AND QUADRUPLE MY AGE BROKE DOWN SO MANY BARRIERS AND BUILT UP SO MUCH TO FOSTER MY UPBRINGING AS A COMMUNITY LEADER. 
          SO WE HAVE LESSONS TO LEARN. 
          UM, WE HAVE A TRAJECTORY TO PLOT BASED ON THE HISTORY THAT GOT US HERE, BUT IF WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE LAND AND PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO STAY HERE, TO LIVE HERE, UM, THE ABILITY OF THE ECOSYSTEM TO CONTINUE TO REPAIR ITSELF, THEN NONE OF THAT REALLY MATTERS BECAUSE IF YOU CAN'T STAY IN AUSTIN, WHAT GOOD IS, AUSTIN'S PROGRESSIVE AGENDA, RIGHT? AND IF ENVIRONMENT IS DEGRADED, WHAT GOOD IS IT TO HAVE, UM, ACCESS TO THAT GREEN SPACE IF IT'S POISONOUS TO YOU? RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO FACTOR THOSE THINGS IN. 
          UM, AND OUR HISTORY HAS A LOT TO OFFER US TO FIGURE IT OUT. 
          IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS. 
          YOU KNOW, IT SEEMED LIKE THE CITY HAS FORGOTTEN THAT THE EAST SIDE IS WE'VE ALWAYS LIVED IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AND WE JUST HAD ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO SEE SOME CHAIN. 
          WE WANT TO SEE SOME ACTION. 
          OKAY. 
          AND IT'S TIME THAT PEOPLE GOT OVER HERE AND DID SOME THINGS TO MAKE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS SAFE. 
          THERE NEEDS TO BE JUSTICE FOR EVERYBODY IN THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT JUST ONE SIDE OF TOWN, BECAUSE WE CARE ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT TOO, IN EAST AUSTIN. 
          I THINK THAT, WELL, WHICH YOU REMEMBER IS A LEGACY OF RACISM THAT THIS CITY HAS HAD FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THEIR 1928 MASTER PAN TO RELOCATE PEOPLE OF COLOR EAST OF THE HIGHWAY, BUT NOT ONLY THAT TO ALL THE UNWANTED FACILITIES WOULD ALSO BE IN PEOPLE OF COLOR. 
          I THINK THAT WE CAN NEVER FORGET THAT RACIST HISTORY, UH, THAT THIS, THIS CITY WAS FOUNDED ON AND HOW WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO CORRECT THAT RACISM AND THAT WHOLE STRUCTURE OF RACISM THAT CONTINUES TO, YOU KNOW, LET PEOPLE OF COLOR AND LOW INCOME PEOPLE BE EXPOSED TO SUCH CHEMICALS. 
          UH, AND TO ALWAYS BE LOOKING AT THE, THE ISSUE OF ZONING, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK TODAY IS IN, IS NOT MAYBE CONTAMINATING CONTAMINATION AND POLLUTION, BUT IT'S NOW GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT. 
          AND AGAIN, THAT'S ALL ABOUT LAND USE AND ZONING. 
          AND SO I THINK WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ZONING AND CHANGING CATEGORIES, IF WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION AND HOW THAT POPULATION GOT TO BE THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION, I THINK WE'RE DOING A DISSERVICE TO HUMANITY BY NOT LOOKING AT THOSE PARTICULAR ISSUES. 
          THERE'S ONLY ONE SITE THAT'S BEEN CLEANED UP TO RESIDENTIAL STANDARDS, AND IT WAS NEGOTIATED INTO A VERY SUCCESSFUL, MIXED INCOME MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT SUBSIDIZED BY THE SESSA CHAVEZ FOUNDATION. 
          AND THAT WAS ONLY 
          [00:20:01]
MADE POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THAT COMMUNITY COLLABORATION FROM THE GET-GO TO GET THE TANKS OUT THEN TO LOOK RESPONSIBLY AT LAND USE. 
          AND SO IT'S VERY MUCH A, AN ONGOING CONVERSATION. 
          IT DOESN'T STOP WITH JUST ONE CONTAMINATION SITE OR ONE PLAN. 
          WE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE LOOKING TO THE FUTURE AND SEEING HOW CAN WE, HOW CAN WE NEGOTIATE AND PLAN GROWTH AND CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AROUND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST IMPACTED. 
          SO, UM, THIS IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE AN ISSUE FOR US, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET CLEANER AS A SOCIETY, YOU KNOW, POLLUTE LESS PERIOD. 
          SO NOBODY HAS TO LIVE NEXT TO IT AND PLAN MORE EQUITY. 
          OH, ALL RIGHT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THE GIRLS GOT IT. 
          I LOVE WORKING WITH THE YOUNGER GENERATION BECAUSE TO ME THAT'S A THING IS THAT, UM, THE ELDERS AND THE YOUTH HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER. 
          WE HAVE A LOT TO OFFER TO THEM, BUT THEY HAVE A LOT TO OFFER TO US TOO. 
          AND I SEE A LOT OF THAT ADVOCACY, LIKE IN HOUSING PEOPLE LIKE, NO, WE GOTTA BILL, NOT JUST WHAT YOU CALL AFFORDABLE, BUT ALSO LOW INCOME HOUSING AND ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT ISSUES, IMMIGRATION, EVERYTHING. 
          SO I SEE A WHOLE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. 
          AND SO I SEE IN THE FUTURE, A LOT OF MORE INTEGRATION AND INCLUSION IN OUR SOCIETY THAN, THAN IT'S BEEN HAPPENED IN THE PAST. 
          AND ALSO JUST RECENTLY 
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.