[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
ON SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2021 TO ORDER AT, UH, 6:04 PM.UH, WE'LL START WITH A ROLL CALL.
UH, HARRIS QURESHI, UH, AUDREY BARRETT PRESENT LINDA GUERRERO PRESENT.
RACHEL SCOTT, UH, RICK BRETT BREMMER HERE, PAM THOMPSON.
UH, JENNIFER BRISTOL HERE, PERRY BEDFORD, KATIE COIN HERE.
UM, WE'RE GONNA MOVE FIRST TO CITIZENS
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
COMMUNICATION.UH, WE DO HAVE ONE PERSON SIGNED UP FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO REMIND COMMISSIONERS THAT, UM, WE CANNOT FOLLOW UP WITH QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION ON TOPICS THAT COME UP FROM CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
WE CAN ASK FOR FUTURE BRIEFINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, BUT WE HAVE THREE MINUTES, I BELIEVE ON THE CLOCK FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION FROM CRAIG NASER.
AND GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF IN ANY AFFILIATION.
I'M HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING YOU.
UM, SO THIS IS CONCERNING THE MCCULLOUGH SITE WHERE THEY BUILT THE Q2, UH, UH, STADIUM.
AND, UH, WHEN, WHEN THAT STADIUM ORIGINALLY WENT UP, UH, WE, UH, SIERRA CLUB OPPOSE BUILDING SUCH HIGH DENSITY ON A SITE THAT WAS HEADWATER CREEK WITHOUT SOME FURTHER STUDY AS WHAT WAS GOING ON UP THERE.
UH, WE DIDN'T FEEL THAT THE STUDY NECESSARY HAPPENED, UH, BUT THE STADIUM WENT UP ANYWAY.
SO IN THE MEANWHILE I HAVE BEEN, UM, MONITORING THAT AND HERE IS A PICTURE.
UM, W YOU CAN SEE THAT THE STADIUM IS ON THE LEFT, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT BIG GRAY AREA IS A RAINWATER DETENTION POND.
AND THAT POND IS AT THE PLACE WHERE THERE WAS A, UH, CAT TAIL WETLAND.
UM, AND SINCE THE STATEMENT'S BEEN BUILT, THAT POND HAS PRETTY MUCH STAYED, FILLED WITH WATER, AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A DETENTION POND, BUT IT'S MAINTAINING MUCH MORE WATER THAN A DETENTION POND SHOULD.
UM, IT DRAINS THE WHOLE SITE, BUT IT ALL STRAINS A LOT FROM THAT PARKING LOT TO THE NORTH.
AND LOOK AT THAT, YOU'LL SEE THERE'S A LITTLE CORNER TO THE PARKING LOT, THE LOWEST PART, THAT CORNER, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT DRAINS OF THE POND.
I THINK THAT'S THE ONE THAT DOESN'T WORK.
WHAT HAPPENED? YOU CAN CAN SEE THE STADIUM UP ON THE LEFT.
THE WATER GOES UNDER THE RED LINE RAILROAD TRACKS AND A STRIP AND STRAIGHTENED OUT, AND IT GOES DOWN THERE AND THEN IT GOES DIAGONAL.
AND IT GOES UNDER METRIC BOULEVARD WHERE THERE ARE THREE BIG CULVERTS, AND THEN IT GOES ON DOWN, AND THEN IT GOES INTO A WOODED AREA AND IT GOES INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THIS WAS A CAT TAIL MARSH THAT WAS THERE BEFORE THE STADIUM WAS BUILT.
NESTLE RED WERE BLACKBIRDS, CAT TAILS, BLACK WILLOWS, ET CETERA.
THIS IS ABOUT WHERE THAT ONCE WAS.
AND YOU SEE THE CORNER OF THE PARKING LOT, THAT LITTLE WATER TRICKLING OUT OF THAT CORNER.
EVERY TIME I'VE BEEN UP THERE, THERE HAS BEEN THE WATER TRICKLING THERE.
SO I DO THINK THERE IS GROUNDWATER THERE, AND I DO THINK IT WAS TRICKLING OUT THEN.
AND I THINK IT'S STILL TRICKLING OUT NOW.
NOW THAT GOES INTO THEIR DETENTION POND.
THIS DETENTION POND IS ALWAYS FILLED WITH WATER.
IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE THE STADIUM IS IRRIGATING THEIR GRASS, AND THEY'RE PUTTING THE IRRIGATION WATER INTO THAT POND ALSO.
UH, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S ALL OF IT.
UH, BUT I MEAN, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER REALLY FULLY EXPLORED BEFORE THEY BUILT IT.
HOW MUCH WATER IS ACTUALLY THERE ON SITE AND COMING FROM UNDERGROUND.
UH, THIS IS THE CREEK FURTHER DOWN, AND THIS IS JUST TO SHOW SOME MISMANAGEMENT.
THEY PUT IN ANOTHER DEVELOPMENTAL BREAKER LANE AND IT SILTED IN THIS.
THE STADIUM DID THIS TOO, DURING HIS PROJECTION.
AND MEANWHILE, THEY'RE MANAGING THAT BY MOWING EVERY DOWN TO THE EDGE OF THE CREEK AND THEN SPRAYING ROUNDUP ALONG THE EDGES OF THE CREEK, WHICH I, IT'S NOT GOOD MANAGEMENT NEXT.
AND HERE IS JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A METRIC.
THIS IS, THAT CREEK IS BEING MOWED DOWN PERIODICALLY, AND THAT'S A POOR LITTLE UNHAPPY YELLOW CROWN NIGHT.
AND WONDERING HOW HE'S GOING TO FIND ALL THE CRAYFISH NEXT.
[00:05:01]
OKAY.SO WHAT I HAVE NOTICED IS, SINCE THE STADIUM HAS GONE IN THESE THREE TUNNELS UNDER METRIC, THEY ALWAYS HAD, AT THE PROPER TIME OF YEAR, THEY ALWAYS HAD, UH, UH, UH, CLIFF SWALLOWS.
WE HAD A BIG RAINFALL ON MAY 28TH.
I MENTIONED THIS IN MY EMAIL, UH, THE NEXT DAY ALL THE CLIFF SWALLOW THAT'S WERE GONE.
THE WATER LEVEL WAS VERY HIGH IN THE CREEK.
I THINK WE NEED A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ADDRESS ALL THE DEVELOPMENT GOING ON THERE RIGHT NOW.
CAUSE I THINK WE'RE RUNNING THE DANGER OF FLOODING.
[1. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION UPDATES]
ON TO, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER UPDATES NEXT.CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? IS IT BECAUSE I HAVE THIS INSTEAD OF A REGULAR MIC, I'LL JUST DO THIS FROM NOW ON.
WE'LL GO ON TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION UPDATES UPDATE ON BRODY OAKS PLAN, UNIT DEVELOPMENT, PUD, UH, IT'S LIZ JOHNSTON, UH, DEPUTY ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER.
GOOD EVENING, LIZ JOHNSTON, AS YOU SAID, ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, DEPUTY ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER.
UM, SO THIS WAS A REQUEST FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER BARRETT BRICKLER TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE REVIEW OF THE BRODY OAKS PUD, BUT LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT A PUTT IS FIRST IN CASE, UH, THAT IS A NEW CONCEPT FOR THE, UM, SOME OF Y'ALL A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT IS A ZONING PROCESS BY WHICH A PROJECT CAN HAVE SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS, UM, VARIOUS CODE MODIFICATIONS, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT THEY NEED OR WHAT THEY'RE ASKING TO, TO, TO BUILD.
IT ALLOWS THE PROJECT TO HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY TO, TO LOOK AT THEIR PROJECT HOLISTICALLY, UM, IN EXCHANGE FOR CODE MODIFICATIONS, UM, PUDS ALSO HAVE TO BE, UH, SUPERIOR AND THEY HAVE TO BE, UH, UH, IN ORDER TO BE RECOMMENDED ENVIRONMENTAL SUPERIORITY AS ONE TYPE OF SUPERIORITY, THERE ARE OTHER KINDS OF SUPERIORITY ELEMENTS, BUT WE FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL TYPES OF SUPERIORITY.
UM, SO THE, THE PROJECT HAS COME IN.
THIS IS A, THE IN CASE YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR.
IT'S THE, THE SITE AT THE CORNER OF LAMAR AND 360 WHERE THE OLD TOYS R US STORE USED TO BE.
UM, THEY HAVE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION FOR REVIEW AND, UM, UH, THE, THE, THE VERY FIRST ROUND OF REVIEW HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
UM, AND THE COMMENTS HAVE GONE OUT TO THE APPLICANT.
UH, NEXT, THE APPLICANT WILL NEED TO RESPOND TO THOSE COMMENTS, UM, WITH A FORMAL SUBMITTAL.
UM, AND SO SOME OF THE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD, UM, WITH THEM ARE RELATED TO THE, WHERE THE LOCATION OF THE RE IRRIGATION WILL BE LOCATED.
SO THIS IS A LOW, UH, A PUD THAT ISN'T LOCATED AND THE BARTON SPRINGS ZONE, WHICH HAS A, UH, NONDEGRADATION WATER QUALITY STANDARD THAT REQUIRES, UM, A SYSTEM OF DEALING WITH THE STORMWATER CALLED RETENTION RATE IRRIGATION, WHERE THE WATER IS HELD AND THEN IRRIGATED.
UM, AND SO THE LOCATION OF THOSE DRAIN FIELDS, THOSE IRRIGATION FIELDS IS UNDER, UH, CONVERSATION.
THE APPLICANT WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE THEM AND THE GREENBELT.
SO THIS PROJECT BACKS UP TO THE BARTON CREEK GREENBELT AND STAFF DOES NOT, UH, WANT, UH, TO, TO SEE THAT HAPPEN.
THAT WOULD NOT BE A SUPERIORITY ITEM.
UM, THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH AN ELECT LOCATION OF AN ELECTRIC SUBSTATION.
UM, SO THE, THE AMOUNT OF POWER THAT THE PROJECT WOULD NEED WOULD, UH, REQUIRE AUSTIN ENERGY TO, UH, LOCATE A SUBSTATION.
AND, UH, WERE THERE OFF THE, UH, COLLEAGUES AT AUSTIN ENERGY OR TRYING TO LOCATE A PLACE FOR THAT EITHER WITHIN THE PUD ITSELF OR SOMEWHERE ELSE? UM, THERE IS A CAVE UNDERNEATH THE EXISTING DEVELOPMENT CALLED AIRMAN'S CAVE.
UM, AND SO, UH, CAVES HAVE ON 150 FOOT BUFFER AROUND THEM.
UM, THE CAVE THAT'S THREE THREE-DIMENSIONAL, SO IT GOES, EXTENDS UNDERGROUND.
UH, THE, THE CAVE IS WITHIN THAT 150 FOOT FROM THE, THE SURFACE, BUT, UH, WE ARE, WE'RE WORKING WITH HYDROGEOLOGISTS TO EXAMINE THAT, TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY, UH, HYDROLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY FROM THE GROUND, FROM THE GROUND TO THE CAVE.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE WHAT THE ACCEPTABLE LEVEL OF DEPTH OF ANY PEERS COULD BE ABOVE THE CAVE TO ENSURE THAT THE CAVE ISN'T COMPROMISED.
UM, WE ARE HAVING CONVERSATIONS SURROUNDING PARKLAND DEDICATION, AND THE APPLICANT IS ALSO PROPOSING TO WAIVE THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY ORDINANCE.
UM, SO PUDS CAN TAKE SOME TIME TO WORK THROUGH ALL THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, SOME CAN TAKE YEARS IF THE APPLICANT DOES IS RESPONSIVE
[00:10:01]
AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, COMES TO THE TABLE AND WE, WE WORK TOGETHER.IT COULD BE FASTER, BUT AT ANY RATE, WE, UH, DO NOT EXPECT PUTT THIS PARTICULAR PUB TO COME BACK TO THIS COMMISSION BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
HOWEVER, WHEN WE ARE READY TO BRING IT FORWARD AND WITH A RECOMMENDATION, IT DOES GO TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FIRST FOR A RECOMMENDATION BEFORE GOING ON TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL FOR FINAL ADOPTION.
AND THAT IS MY HIGH-LEVEL BRIEFING.
IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS, UH, PAM COMMISSIONER THOMPSON? UM, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE DANGERS TO AIRMAN'S CAVE OR IF THERE ARE ANY THAT WE KNOW OF AT THIS TIME.
UM, SO, UM, AND HEARING WHAT THE HYDROGEOLOGY HYDROGEOLOGISTS HAVE SAID, IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT THERE IS, UH, INFILTRATION FROM ABOVE, UH, FROM THE SITE INTO AIRMAN'S CAVE.
THERE IS WATER, UM, FLOWING, BUT THEY BELIEVE THAT THAT HAS MAYBE MORE CONNECTIVITY TO THE AQUIFER FILLING UP AND THEN SUBSIDING.
SO, UH, IT, I THINK IT'S LIKE 60 FEET BELOW GRADE.
AND SO THERE IS SOME ROOM TO DO SOME EXCAVATION, TO HAVE PEERS INTO THE, UM, ABOVE THE GEOLOGY, ABOVE THE CAVE, WITHOUT IMPACTING THE CAVE COMMISSIONER THOMPSON.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER BRISTOL.
UM, I'M WONDERING, WILL THIS AFFECT ANY SORT OF UNDERGROUND PARKING THAT MIGHT BE A SUGGESTED YES, WE ARE LOOKING TO SEE WHAT THEIR UNDERGROUND REQUEST WOULD BE, AND WE WILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT THE LEVEL OF EXCAVATION CAN BE IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE CAVE.
SO THAT WILL BE PART OF OUR RECOMMENDATION NOT TO GO BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL.
AND WE'LL W WE'RE GOING TO SET IT OUT AT AM MEAN SEEN MEAN SEA LEVEL ELEVATION TO MAKE IT CLEAR HOW FAR DOWN THEY CAN, THEY CAN GO.
AND I'M TRYING TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
WILL THIS MEAN THAT AIRMAN'S CAVE WILL NOT BE SAFE ANYMORE IF THEY BUILD SOMETHING HEAVY ON TOP OF IT? UM, NO, THAT IS WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO PREVENT FROM HAPPENING.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CAVE IS SAFE.
SO ALL OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE TO ENSURE THAT THE CAVE IS SAFE AND IT'S STILL A AVAILABLE FOR ACCESS FOR SCIENTISTS TO, TO, UM, TO GET IN WHEN THEY NEED TO.
UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER SCOTT.
SO, UH, I'M FAMILIAR WITH THE PROPERTY, UM, SINCE BACK WHEN IT WAS A SHEEP FARM, UH, WAY BACK WHEN, AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS NOTICED ABOUT THAT PROPERTY IS THE, THE PARKING LOT IS ALWAYS BUCKLING AND THEIR SEATS THAT COME OUT FROM IT, UM, YOU KNOW, PRETTY CONSISTENTLY AFTER EVERY SINGLE YEAR, HOW, HOW WERE THOSE, HOW IS THAT GOING TO BE ADDRESSED? AND, AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S COME UP ON THE, UM, IN THE STUDY? UM, I AM NOT AWARE OF ANY DISCUSSION SURROUNDING A GROUNDWATER AT THIS TIME, BUT I CAN LOOK INTO THAT AND GET BACK WITH YOU, UM, AFTER TALKING TO THE HYDROGEOLOGISTS, WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA.
ESPECIALLY GOING DOWN THAT HILL THERE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU WATCH HIM REPAIR THAT YEAR AFTER YEAR, AND YOU HAVE TO WONDER AT WHAT POINT DO YOU JUST HAVE TO REALLY DRESS YOU, WHAT ALL IS GOING ON RIGHT THERE.
AND, AND, UM, WHEN YOU EXCAVATE, THERE COULD BE POTENTIAL TO HIT GROUNDWATER AS THIS IS, UH, SOMETIMES MAKES THE NEWS WHEN THIS HAPPENS AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A PLAN IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THAT.
SHOULD THAT HAPPEN? COMMISSIONER SCOTT.
UH, JUST, I, I ASKED SOME QUESTIONS.
I'M JUST WANT TO CLARIFY, UH, WHAT AREA YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS THIS THE, ON THE, UM, THE NORTH SIDE THAT THE NORTH CORNER OF, UH, UH, SOUTH LAMAR BOULEVARD AND 360 INTERSECTION, HOW MUCH, UH, AREA IS THAT, IS THAT ALL THAT, UH, DEVELOPED AREA THERE THAT CURRENTLY HAS, UM, UH, ABOUT 12 DIFFERENT, UM, BUSINESSES, UM, OPERATING THERE.
IT WAS THE TOYS R US AND SOME OTHERS THAT'S KIND OF THAT STRIP MALL.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GOING TO ENCOMPASS THE THERE'S APARTMENTS AND SOME OTHER THINGS RIGHT NEXT TO THAT.
IT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE GREENBELT NECESSARILY,
[00:15:01]
BUT IT IS THAT, THAT AREA THERE.SO IT WOULD BE LIKE WHERE THE PINT HOUSE PIZZA IS, THE RLK GOLF HOBBY LOBBY, BRODY, OAKS, DENTAL, UH, SPIRIT, HALLOWEEN RDA, PRO MARK, SOUTH AUSTIN POKEY JOE'S SMOKEHOUSE.
UH, THOSE, ALL THAT AREA THERE.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT SPECIFICALLY.
SO THAT'S APPROXIMATELY HOW LARGE AN AREA.
I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW, BUT I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION TO THEM EASILY.
AND, AND I'M, I'M NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH, UH, AUSTIN TO KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW.
THERE WAS A CAVE THERE, WHAT'S THE STORY WITH THE CAVE? WHERE DO YOU, HOW, HOW IS THAT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND NO, IT, UM, IT IS NOT CURRENTLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, IT'S BEEN KNOWN FOR DECADES, UH, THAT IT'S THERE.
IT'S BEEN STUDIED BY HYDROGEOLOGISTS WITH WATERSHED AND WITH, UH, BALCONIES CANYON LANDS AND WITH AUSTIN WATER, UM, WILD LANDS CONSERVATION GROUPS.
SO IT'S WELL KNOWN WITHIN THE CAVING COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT IT IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THE CONCERN IS NOT TO BUILD A STRUCTURE THAT WOULD COLLAPSE BECAUSE OF THE CAVE THAT WOULD, YES, WE ARE INTERESTED IN THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE BUILDINGS, BUT WE ARE PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH THE S THE PRESERVING, THE, THE CAVE THAT IS OUR SCOPE, BECAUSE THE CAVE IS A, IS AN, IS AN ACTIVE LIVING CAVE WITH WATER GOING THROUGH IT IS THAT, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, I BELIEVE SO.
SO, UH, AND, AND WHAT KIND OF SETBACK, UH, WOULD BE REQUIRED FROM, UM, THE GREENBELT? UM, SO THERE ISN'T A SETBACK THAT I'M AWARE OF FROM THE GREENBELT NECESSARILY.
WE JUST DON'T WANT THE PROJECT, THE WATER QUALITY CONTROLS TO ENCROACH INTO THE GREENBELT, BUT PART OF THE PROJECT MAY ALSO INCLUDE CONNECTIVITY FROM THE PROJECT TO THE TRAILS.
SO THERE COULD BE A TRAIL SYSTEM INCORPORATED INTO THIS.
SO, AND THAT WOULD BE A GOOD THING.
I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT PARKS WOULD BE ASKING FOR.
SO WE CAN, EVERYBODY CAN GET FROM HERE TO THERE.
UM, UH, I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
HI, LIZ, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION FOR THE UPDATE.
UM, TO ONE QUESTION, ACTUALLY, TWO QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY WERE PROPOSED, THE APPLICANT WAS PROPOSING TO WAIVE THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY ORDINANCE, AND I'M NOT VERY FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT'S SUGGESTING FOR THEM TO WAIVE IT AND WHAT THAT KIND OF, WHAT THAT MEANS.
SO THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY IS, UM, AN ORT.
IS IT THE ZONING OVERLAY THAT AFFECTS, UH, CERTAIN ROADS, UH, 360 BEING ONE OF THEM.
AND THERE ARE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.
SO, UM, DEVELOPMENT IS INTENDED TO BE SET BACK FROM THE ROAD AND THE, UH, THE SETBACK IS INTENDED TO EITHER BE RE, LIKE REMAIN IN A NATURAL STATE OR BE RESTORED.
UM, AND SO THEIR PROJECT IS MORE, UM, BEING ON THE LAMAR.
UH, IT'S MORE URBAN THAN THAT, THEN WHAT THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY ANTICIPATES.
AND SO THEY ARE PROPOSING TO, TO WAIVE THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
THERE'S OTHER REQUIREMENTS AS WELL.
UM, BUT I COULD, I COULD GIVE YOU THE LINK TO THAT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO, IF YOU COULD LOOK AT IT, UM, THERE'S IMPERVIOUS COVER, OPEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS, SETBACK REQUIREMENTS, HEIGHT, AND I RE I RE I RECALL WHEN YOU, NOW THAT YOU MENTIONED IMPERVIOUS COVER THAT I THINK WHEN, UM, BOBBY LEVINSKY FROM SAVERS SPRINGS COMMENTED, HE WAS REQUESTING THAT THE APPLICANT CALCULATE IMPERVIOUS COVER THE SAME WAY.
I THINK THAT THE, EITHER THE SAVER STRING ORDINANCE OR THAT THE CITY HAS TRADITIONALLY CALCULATED IT, I REMEMBER THAT COMING UP.
UM, SO THE BARTON SPRINGS ZONE HAS VERY LIMITED IMPERVIOUS COVER REQUIREMENTS.
UM, THIS IS FAR IN EXCESS OF THAT.
SO THIS IS, UM, BARTON SPRINGS ZONE IN BARTON CREEK WATERSHED OVER THE AQUIFER.
THE NET SITE AREA IS 15% OF THE SITE CAN BE DEVELOPED UNDER THE, THE SOS ORDINANCE.
[00:20:01]
THERE IS ANOTHER PROVISION THAT THE APPLICANT COULD CHOOSE INSTEAD OF A PUD, UH, CALLED THE BARTON SPRINGS ZONE, REDEVELOPMENT EXCEPTION, UM, THAT WOULD, UM, OFFER THEM SOME RELIEF.HOWEVER, WE HAVE SAID THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO LOOK AT THAT EXCEPTION IN TERMS OF DETERMINING WHAT IS SUPERIOR.
WE ARE GOING TO USE CURRENT CODE AS THE BASELINE FOR OUR DETERMINATION OF WHAT IS SUPERIOR.
UM, HOWEVER, WE ALSO WANT TO CONSIDER THE FACT THAT IT'S VERY HIGH IMPERVIOUS COVER WITH SUBSTANDARD WATER QUALITY CONTROLS WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.
SO NOW TO MY SECOND QUESTION, BECAUSE I SKIPPED OVER, UM, AT THE TIME AS WELL, I GUESS WHEN WE GOT THE BRIEFING ON IT, WHAT WAS THAT FORMERLY CALLED IN THE PROCESS? IT WAS JUST LIKE A, SO BEFORE PUDS CAN BE SUBMITTED FORMALLY, THERE'S A DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT, AND THEN THAT IS WHERE THEY COME AND THEY BASICALLY JUST GIVE A BRIEFING.
IT'S A HEADS UP, THIS IS COMING.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK AT THAT TIME, THEY WOULD, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AS THEY MOVE THROUGH THEIR FINAL DESIGN.
SO DURING THE DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT THAT IN THE BRIEFING, UM, THEY HAD MENTIONED THAT THEY WERE PLANNING TO, I GUESS, BUILD TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY LEVEL TO, UM, STANDARD.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF I SAID THAT COMPLETELY ACCURATELY, WHAT IT'S CALLED, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN ENERGY BUILDING TIER TWO, TWO.
AND I KNOW THAT, THAT I BELIEVE IS, WAS, IS THE MINIMUM.
AND SO THAT WAS A SUGGESTION THAT WE HAD WAS TO, UM, DEFINITELY TRY TO ACHIEVE, UM, A HIGHER LEVEL.
AND SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE HAD BEEN ANY, UM, FURTHER CONVERSATION WITH THEM, UM, CHECK IN WITH OUR OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY COLLEAGUES AND SEE WHERE THEIR CONVERSATIONS ARE WITH THAT.
UH, COMMISSIONER GUERRERO, AND THEN WE CAN GO BACK TO COMMISSIONER BRISTOL, AND THEN WE SHOULD REALLY WRAP UP.
UH, LIZ, THANK YOU FOR THIS UPDATE.
WE HAVE SO MANY NEW COMMISSIONERS THAT THEY DIDN'T SEE THE PREVIOUS BRIEFING WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT DETAILS.
SO, UH, PERHAPS WE CAN RE SEND THAT BRIEFING OUT TO OTHER PEOPLE.
AND ONE THING I'D LIKE KAYLA TO DO IS SEND OUT A DOODLE POLL.
I THINK WE SHOULD GO AHEAD AND LOOK TO SEE WHO MIGHT BE WILLING TO BE ON A WORKING GROUP PRIOR TO THIS COMING TO THE FULL COMMISSION.
WE HAD AGREED THAT PEDS WOULD HAVE A DEEPER DIVE AND I WORKING GROUP PRIOR TO COMING TO THE FULL COMMISSION.
SO, UM, THINGS WILL MOVE QUICKLY IN THE FALL.
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN, UH, GET SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN, UH, ROLLING UP THEIR SLEEVES AND LOOKING AT THE SPECIFICS OF THIS, UH, IN A WORKING GROUP.
ACTUALLY, I THINK, I THINK ALL MY QUESTIONS WOULD BE RESOLVED IF, UH, IF WE DO HAVE SOME OF THAT BACKUP AND, UM, BECAUSE I WAS, MY QUESTIONS WERE, YOU KNOW, AROUND WHAT ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS? LIKE, WHAT DOES THIS PROJECT EVEN LOOK LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE? SO, UM, IF WE HAD THAT BACKUP, THAT'D BE AWESOME.
APPRECIATE THE BRIEFING AND, UH, WE'LL MOVE
[2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND ACTION]
ON NOW TO ITEM TWO EIGHT.TWO A'S APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND ACTION, UH, FROM THE AUGUST 25TH ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SPECIAL CALLED MEETING.
UM, AND THE SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2021 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, REGULAR MEETING, HAS EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE, I MOVED TO APPROVE BOTH SECOND.
YOU HAVE A FIRST BY COMMISSIONER HAMBURG AND A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER BARRETT.
UH, WE'LL DO, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF FOLKS ON SCREEN.
JUST RAISE YOUR HAND, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, AYE.
SO THE BULK OF OUR MEETING TODAY IS FOCUSED
[3a. Update on the Watershed Protection Strategic Plan—Andrea Bates, Watershed Planning Manager and Sari Albornoz, Community Engagement Planner, Watershed Protection Department (1 hour)]
ON THREE A, SO WE HAVE A BRIEFING ON THE WATERSHED PROTECTION STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I'M EXCITED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS.UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ANDREA BATES FIRST, UH, TEAM, IF YOU COULD TURN ON YOUR CAMERAS, THERE YOU GO.
DID YOU WANT ME TO START IT OFF ANDREA? OR DID YOU WANT TO START FIRST PLEASE? GO AHEAD.
WELL, GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR COMMISSIONERS.
I'LL BE HERE, NOT FOR THE WHOLE MEETING, BUT FOR PART OF IT.
UH, BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED, UM, IT'S ALMOST BECOME CUSTOMARY THAT I COME IN
[00:25:01]
INTRODUCE FOLKS THAT ARE ABOUT TO RETIRE.IT'S NOT A RETIREMENT, BUT WE DO HAVE A VALUED MEMBER OF OUR TEAM, UH, THAT IS MOVING ON TO BE PART OF ANOTHER VALUED, UH, GROUP IN, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, MATT HOLLAND, UM, HE'S BEEN WITH OUR DEPARTMENT FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
UH, HE'S BRIEFED THE COMMISSION MULTIPLE TIMES.
UM, HE'S TAKEN A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, A PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY.
SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF MATT, YOU KNOW, BUT HE IS EFFECTIVELY WORKING FOR THE WATER UTILITY.
SO I WANTED TO COME TODAY AND INTRODUCE HIM.
SO HE COULD SAY A FEW WORDS TO THE COMMISSION BEFORE WE JUMP INTO STRATEGIC PLANNING, WHICH HAS BEEN HIS BABY.
UH, HE, HE HE'S, HE WAS A CONSULTANT BEFORE HE CAME TO US.
SO I TELL MATT HE'S, HE REALLY HAS ABOUT 30 YEARS TENURE WORKING WITH THIS DEPARTMENT FROM HELPING US, UH, CREATE THE VISION FOR THIS DEPARTMENT.
AND NOW GETTING READY TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL, AS I'VE TALKED TO YOU ALL BEFORE, WHERE WE'RE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE AND THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS WHAT'S GOING TO DRIVE US AND WE'RE GOING TO BE COMMUNITY FOCUSED.
UM, I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT MATT.
YOU KNOW, HE'S ALWAYS TAKEN ON CHALLENGES FROM LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, A FLOOD MITIGATION TASK FORCE, YOU NAME IT.
IT'S WANTING TO SHARE ONE, ONE PARTICULAR ITEM THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE WHEN I WAS IN WATERSHED.
THE FIRST TIME, UH, MATT ASKED ME, HEY, COURTNEY, WILL YOU HELP ME? I'VE GOT SOME DENTAL DELEGATES COMING FROM MEXICO.
AND SO HE LITERALLY HOSTED THESE DELEGATES FROM MEXICO FOR ABOUT A WEEK, I THINK.
SO MATT WAS THERE, SITTING THERE, PRESENTING EVERYTHING IN SPANISH.
AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH MATT AND EVERY TIME WE TALK, I'M ALWAYS LIKE TALKING TO MATT IN SPANISH.
SO, UH, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE, MAN.
UH, AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
SO AS HE CAME AT MATT, LET'S PRESENT TO OUR MAP, PACK ELLIS, UH, INTRUSIVE TO EVACUATE
IT'S, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL HERE.
I KNOW THIS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, A VIRTUAL EVENT HERE AND APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO JOIN.
UM, I'VE GOT SO MANY EMOTIONS RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD RIGHT NOW.
IT'S JUST BEEN A GREAT, UH, I'VE JUST HAD A REALLY, UM, THE LOVE OF MY LIFE TO, TO BE WORKING ON THESE PROJECTS, UM, WITH, WITH YOU GUYS.
UH, I WAS, I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT ANDREA IS ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT THE INTERFACE.
IT'S ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT WAS A, LIKE JORGE SAID, IT WAS A PROJECT THAT I, UH, WHEN I WAS A YOUNG PERSON STARTED ON IN THE MID NINETIES, UM, AND IT'S HAD A LONG HISTORY AND, UH, AND IT, IT KINDA DEFINES THE DEPARTMENT IN SOME WAYS DURING THE PERIOD THAT IT WAS, IT WAS DONE.
AND BASICALLY, UM, THE DEPARTMENT AT THAT TIME, UM, DIDN'T HAVE A REALLY ORGANIZED WAY OF, OF, OF, OF COMING UP WITH PROJECTS AND, AND, AND SO PEOPLE WOULD KIND OF, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT, UH, AT RANDOM PICK PICK, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD STUFF, BUT IT WAS, WE NEEDED, WE NEEDED MORE, UM, WE NEEDED MORE ORGANIZATION AND THAT, THAT WAS GIVEN BY THIS, UH, INCREDIBLE, UH, HEAD START, WHAT WAS CALLED THE WATERSHED PROTECTION MASTER PLAN AT THE TIME.
SO ANYWAY, IT WAS A REALLY HARD PROJECT.
IT WAS, IT WAS A DIFFICULT ONE AND ALMOST KILLED A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE WORKING ON IT AT THE TIME.
UM, AND, AND HONESTLY, WE DIDN'T HAVE AN EXEMPLARY, UH, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AT THE TIME WE DID IT.
AND SO I'M INCREDIBLY PROUD OF WHERE WE ARE ALL THESE YEARS LATER, AS WE'RE ROLLING OUT THE NEW VERSION OF THIS, YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM, FROM, FROM, UM, ANDREI.
YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM SAUDI, SAUDI ALBINOS.
UM, WE'RE DOING IT A VERY DIFFERENT WAY NOW, AND WE'VE LEARNED A LOT, UH, THROUGH TIME WHEN WE'RE INCORPORATING CLIMATE CHANGE, WE'RE INCORPORATING, UM, UH, COMMUNITY EQUITY.
UM, AND SO I GUESS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ME AND NOT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT I REALLY, I DID, THIS IS A BIG, BIG DEAL FOR ME.
AND I'M, I'M, UM, UM, I'M GOING TO BE DEFINITELY FOLLOWING ALONG AND HELPING YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN, AS HE GOES FORWARD.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF GOOD WORK TOGETHER.
I'M SEEING, I'M SEEING LINDA, I'M SEEING PAM, I'M SEEING KATIE.
AND I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW ALL OF YOU GUYS ON THE COMMISSION AT THIS POINT, BUT I DO HOPE TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND MY NEW ROLE WITH WILDLANDS, UH, CONSERVATION DIVISION, AUSTIN WATER.
BUT, UM, THIS IS, UH, IT'S, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT JORGE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND TALK, UM, SPEND A LOT OF TIME HERE DURING THE WATERSHED PROTECTION ORDINANCE.
WHEN WE, WE, UH, ULTIMATELY, UM, UH, THERE WAS, GOSH, SO MANY THINGS, WAS IT TWO, IT WAS LIKE 150 PAGE ORDINANCE OR SOMETHING, BUT WE PROTECT THE 360 PLUS MILES OF HEADWATERS CREEKS, MOSTLY IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT, UH, IN THE, IN AN AREA THAT HAD BEEN UNDERSERVED BY OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.
SO MUCH GOOD WORK HAS BEEN DONE, AND SO MUCH MORE REMAINS AHEAD OF US.
AND I THINK GETTING COMMUNITY INPUT THROUGH THIS STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS IS GONNA AS JUST A CLEAR AND EXCELLENT WAY TO GET THAT DONE.
SO, ALL RIGHT, I'M GOING TO STOP TALKING AND LET THESE GUYS GET THEIR GET GOING, BUT I REALLY
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DO HOPE TO STAY IN TOUCH.AND, UM, AND SO YOU GUYS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, THANKS, MATT.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF, UM, MADAM CHAIR WANTS TO SAY SOMETHING TOO.
I CAN HAND IT OFF TO YOU IN A MINUTE, LINDA, IF YOU WANT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I COULD TEAR UP THINKING ABOUT YOU LEAVING.
UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S KINDA MY PERSONALITY.
I CRY, UH, OFTEN, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE SEEN THAT ON THE DAYAS, UH, BUT, UH, IT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TOO FAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, JUST PERSONALLY, YOU'VE BEEN A ROLE MODEL IN TERMS OF DOING REALLY IMPACTFUL WORK WITH BOTH YOUR HEART AND YOUR HEAD, UM, AND, AND REALLY ALSO INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE WITH SUCH A JOY AND WARMTH THAT YOU'VE JUST BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH.
AH, MATT, I WILL JUST ECHO THOSE WORDS, HOW IMPORTANT AND SIGNIFICANT NEWARK HAS BEEN, I'M HEARTBROKEN UP, BUT IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE HAVING ME AT THIS DAPHNE THESE YEARS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WENT THROUGH CODE NEXT, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE RIGHT THERE WHERE YOU'RE SHARING US ALL ALONG, WE WOULD KEEP THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL REGS, WE WOULD PROTECT THIS ENVIRONMENT AND WE WERE ALL FREAKING OUT AND YOU REALLY GOT US THROUGH THAT WITH YOUR STEADINESS AND YOUR CALMNESS AND JUST YOUR PRESENCE.
I COULD GO ON FOREVER, BUT RIGHT NOW I'M JUST TOO EMOTIONAL TOO.
AND WE'LL GO ON TO, UH, TO, I BELIEVE OUR PRESENTATION WITH, I GUESS I CAN PASS IT OFF BACK TO YOU, UH, DIRECTOR MIRALIS OH, UM, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON.
DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT? I JUST LIKE TO PUBLICLY SAY BY MATT AND ECHO THE WORDS YOU'RE NOT GOING FAR, AND I COULD SAY, WOW, ALL THE MEETINGS ALL THE TIME.
I JUST, I MEAN, IT'S SUCH A VALUE THAT WE CAN'T EVEN MEASURE.
SO JUST THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS AND HELP US WHEN YOU CAN'T.
AND I WANTED TO, I, ONE THING I ABSOLUTELY SHOULD SAY IS EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE DONE HERE HAS BEEN THROUGH TEAMWORK.
WE HAD A HUGE LIFT FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION OR AMANDLA BOARD AT THE TIME ON THE WATERSHED PROTECTION ORDINANCE, BUT ALL THROUGH ALL OF THESE PROJECTS WE'VE WORKED ON, WE'VE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY WITH YOU GUYS.
UM, I THINK THAT'S PART OF TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION IS INTERACTING WITH YOU GUYS.
AND, UM, AND THEN, AND THEN ALL THE MENTORS I'VE HAD OVER TIME, ALL THE PEOPLE I'VE WORKED WITH MY TEAM AND MY, MY BELOVED PLANNING AND GIS TEAM, UM, IT'S GOING TO BE, IT'S, IT'S HARD.
UM, BUT I, AND I, BUT I'M, I'M, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE IN A GREAT SPOT AND ARE READY TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GRAB THE MANTLE.
SO ANYWAY, IT'S VERY BITTERSWEET, BUT MOSTLY, MOSTLY SWEET.
MIRALIS DO YOU WANT TO TAKE US TO THE NEXT STEP? YES.
UH, FOR, FOR THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION, I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO ANDREA BATES AND SHE CAN INTRODUCE THE TEAM AND THEY'RE GOING TO GET STARTED.
I AM ANDREA BATES WATERSHED TO PLANNING MANAGER FOR THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
CAN WE PULL UP THE PRESENTATION PLEASE? OUR TEAM IS ALSO VERY SAD TO LOSE MATT AS OUR GUIDE AND PARTICIPANT IN THE UPCOMING STRATEGIC PLAN PROCESS.
AND WE WILL DO OUR UTMOST TO BUILD ON THE FOUNDATION THAT HE HAS LAID AND CHANNEL ALL OF HIS INCREDIBLE POSITIVE ENERGY.
AND LUCKILY WE ENVISIONED AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL ENGAGEMENT COMPONENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND SO I TRUST THAT WE WILL BE REACHING OUT TO HIM WITH HIS AUSTIN WATER HAT ON AS WELL.
SO I'LL BE PRESENTING ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN WITH SAUDI ALBERT NOTES, A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLANNER FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION.
OUR COLLEAGUE ERIN WOOD IS ALSO HERE AND CAN HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS AND PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION AFTER THE PRESENTATION.
SO AS WE START, I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN AUDIENCE, SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT DOES.
OUR DEPARTMENT'S MISSION IS TO PROTECT THE LIVES PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY BY REDUCING THE IMPACT OF FLOODING EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION.
OUR WORK HELPS TO KEEP AUSTIN'S CREEKS AND LAKES HEALTHY AND SAFE PREVENTS CREEK BANKS FROM ERODING AND STRIVES TO KEEP PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES SAFE FROM FLOODING.
WE DO THIS WORK THROUGH A WIDE VARIETY
[00:35:01]
OF ACTIVITIES.FOR EXAMPLE, WE PERFORM MODELING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT BUILDINGS AND ROADS ARE AT RISK OF FLOODING.
WE CONDUCT ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND RESTORATION THINGS LIKE TESTING, WATER QUALITY, AND PLANTING THE TREES ALONG CREEKS.
WE OFFER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, BOTH FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS.
WE INSPECT AND MAINTAIN THE CITY'S DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE, DOING THINGS LIKE CLEANING INLETS AND STORM DRAINS.
WE BUILD CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS LIKE SHORING UP ERODING CREEK BANKS, BUILDING NEW STORM DRAINS, INSTALLING RAIN GARDENS.
WE CARRY OUT FLOOD PLAIN TO HELP PEOPLE MOVE AWAY FROM FLOOD PRONE AREAS.
AND WE WRITE REGULATIONS THAT PREVENT POLLUTION, EXCESSIVE STORM, WATER, RUNOFF, AND DEVELOPMENT IN UNSAFE AREAS.
OUR DEPARTMENT PRIORITIZES THE PROJECTS THAT WE DO USING WHAT WE CALL A WORST FIRST METHODOLOGY.
THAT MEANS THAT WE ASSIGN SCORES TO KNOWN PROBLEMS AROUND THE CITY AREAS WHERE WE KNOW THERE'S FLOODING EROSION OR POOR WATER QUALITY.
AND THE PROBLEMS WITH THE HIGHEST SCORES ARE PRIORITIZED TO GET FIXED.
THERE ARE SOME OTHER FACTORS THAT WEIGH INTO PROJECT SELECTION AND PRIORITIZATION LIKE WHETHER SUFFICIENT FUNDING IS AVAILABLE TO TAKE ON HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS, BUT THAT WORST FIRST METHODOLOGY IS A KEY COMPONENT OF HOW WE'VE DONE OUR WORK FOR A LONG TIME.
IT'S OUR WATERSHED PROTECTION STRATEGIC PLAN THAT GUIDES ALL OF THIS WORK.
THE STRATEGIC PLAN DOES SEVERAL THINGS.
IT ACTS AS THE GUIDING BLUEPRINT FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
IT SETS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE WORK ESTABLISHES THE METHODS THAT WE USE TO PRIORITIZE THOSE PROBLEMS AND IDENTIFY AS A WIDE VARIETY OF POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS.
SECOND, THE PLAN PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING FUTURE PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND REGULATIONS, AS WELL AS MEASURING OUR SUCCESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT THE DEPARTMENT SETS.
AND THIRD, THE PLAN SERVES AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL TO HELP EXPLAIN WATERSHEDS WORK AND PRIORITIES TO OUR OWN STAFF, OF COURSE, BUT ALSO TO CITY EXECUTIVES, WORDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND IDEALLY THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
SO A QUICK NOTE NOW ABOUT THE NAME OF THE PLAN WE USED TO CALL THIS THE WATERSHED PROTECTION MASTER PLAN, BUT LIKE MANY OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, WE ARE MOVING AWAY FROM THE TERM MASTER PLAN BECAUSE OF THE NEGATIVE ASSOCIATIONS OUR COMMUNITY HAS WITH THE RACIST AND HARMFUL 1928 MASTER PLAN.
SO IT WILL BE THE STRATEGIC PLAN GOING FORWARD.
SO THE STRATEGIC PLAN WAS ORIGINALLY ADOPTED AS THE WATERSHED PROTECTION MASTER PLAN IN 2001, THE PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS AT THAT TIME INCLUDED A CITIZENS ADVISORY GROUP, A PHONE SURVEY, AND SOME PUBLIC MEETINGS.
WE DON'T HAVE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF THE PEOPLE WHO PROVIDED INPUT.
SO WE CAN'T SAY FOR SURE, WHO WAS REPRESENTED, BUT ANECDOTALLY WE KNOW IT WAS NOT A GROUP THAT REFLECTED THE DIVERSITY OF OUR CITY.
THE LAST MAJOR UPDATE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN WAS COMPLETED IN 2014, THAT UPDATE INCORPORATED REVISED DATA AND PRIORITIZATION METHODOLOGIES.
IT WAS ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE, THERE WAS NOT A NEW PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS OR ANY UPDATES TO THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES IN THE PLAN.
SO NOW WE ARE PREPARING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE REVISION OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN BECAUSE AT THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORIGINAL PLAN, IT'S DEFINITELY TIME TO RE-ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY UPDATE, THE PLAN TO ADDRESS BOTH THE CITIES AND THE DEPARTMENT'S CURRENT CHALLENGES.
SO IN GENERAL, THE PURPOSE OF THE UPDATE IS TO LEARN ABOUT THE COMMUNITY'S VALUES AS RELATE TO WATERSHED, REEVALUATE OUR CURRENT PLANS, GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND INCORPORATE NEW PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD GUIDE OUR WORK, UPDATE THE GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND PRIORITIZATION METHODS THAT ARE THE HEART OF THE CURRENT PLAN AND SET TARGETS AND CREATE SYSTEMS TO TRACK OUR PROGRESS GOING FORWARD WITH FUNDAMENTALLY OUR GOAL OF MAKING THIS PLAN AND ADAPTIVE AND LIVING DOCUMENT.
SO IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE 20 MORE YEARS BEFORE WE GO BACK AND TWEAK IT AND CONTINUE TO REFINE WHAT IT SAYS.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT UNDERTAKING A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO INFORM THE STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT TONIGHT.
BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE HEARD A LOT FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS THROUGH ENGAGEMENT ON SPECIFIC TOPICS
[00:40:01]
OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS OR MORE.SO WE WILL BUILD ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD DURING RECENT INITIATIVES, LIKE THE WATERSHED PROTECTION ORDINANCE, THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP AND THE FLOOD MITIGATION TASK FORCE.
WE'LL ALSO CAPTURE WHAT WE HEAR THROUGH PROJECT SPECIFIC OR NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIFIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE MORE INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS OUR STAFF HAVE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS EVERY DAY.
WE HAVE THREE MAIN GOALS FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE.
FIRST THAT THE RESULTING PLAN WILL REFLECT COMMUNITY VALUES.
THE GOALS, PRIORITIES, KNOWLEDGE, AND EXPERIENCE OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
AS A WHOLE SECOND, WE WANT THIS PLAN TO INCORPORATE EQUITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE.
WE WANT TO ADVANCE RACIAL EQUITY AT ALL DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS AND ACHIEVE EQUITABLE WATERSHED OUTCOMES FOR ALL.
WE ALSO WANT TO INCORPORATE CLIMATE ADAPTATION INTO THE PLAN TO HELP INCREASE THE COMMUNITY'S RESILIENCE TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND THEN FINALLY WE WANT THE RESULTING PLAN TO BE UNDERSTANDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE AND INFORMATIVE TO A VERY BROAD AUDIENCE.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR DEPARTMENT'S WORK, BUT WE WANT IT TO BE ACCESSIBLE AND USEFUL TO ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS WELL.
AS I MENTIONED, MY COLLEAGUE, SADIE WILL NOW DESCRIBE OUR PROPOSED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
UM, AS ANDREA MENTIONED, I'M
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO BE WITH YOU IF THIS EVENING.
UM, SO TO CONTINUE DURING OUR PRELIMINARY PLANNING, WE'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT OUR GOALS FOR THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
FIRST, WE WANT TO BE RESPECTFUL TO PARTICIPANTS.
WE WANT TO MAKE IT EASY AND ENJOYABLE TO PARTICIPATE.
WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW WE'LL USE PEOPLE'S FEEDBACK AND ONLY SEEK FEEDBACK THAT WILL CAN BE, AND WILL BE USED TO INFORM A DECISION.
WE WANT TO USE STRATEGIES THAT ARE TAILORED FOR SPECIFIC GROUPS OR TOPICS, AND WE WANT IT TO BE AN ITERATIVE PROCESS WHERE WE SUMMARIZE WHAT WE THINK WE'VE HEARD AND THEN CHECK BACK IN WITH THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT IT RIGHT.
SECOND, WE WANT TO USE AN ADAPTIVE PROCESS.
WE'RE DEFINING METRICS FOR SUCCESS, AND WE'LL USE THEM TO TRACK HOW WE'RE DOING.
WE HOPE TO CONTINUE THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS UNTIL WE'VE MET THOSE METRICS.
WE WANT TO ADAPT TO THE CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS CAUSED BY THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC AND ANY OTHER EMERGENT EVENTS OR CONDITIONS THAT COULD OCCUR, INCLUDING THE LONG-TERM IMPACT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE WANT TO COORDINATE AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
FINALLY, WE WANT THE PROCESS TO FOCUS ON BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST, ESPECIALLY WITH HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED GROUPS AND GROUPS IMPACTED BY NEGATIVE WATERSHED OUTCOMES.
AND WE WANT TO CREATE ENGAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT CAN BE USED BEYOND THIS PARTICULAR PLANNING PROCESS.
ONE ASPECT OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN THAT WE'VE INCLUDED TO MAKE OUR PROCESS MORE EQUITABLE IS THE FACT THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING SEEKING INPUT FROM CERTAIN GROUPS PAST WATERSHED, STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORTS HAVE NOT EXPLICITLY PRIORITIZED ENGAGING PEOPLE OF COLOR, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND OTHER GROUPS THAT ARE STATISTICALLY MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES IN AUSTIN FOR THIS STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE PROCESS, WE'LL DEDICATE EXTRA TIME AND RESOURCES TOWARD ENGAGING GROUPS WHOSE VOICES HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM PAST FUNDING PROCESSES.
OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WILL PRIORITIZE THREE GROUPS, WHICH I'LL TALK THROUGH IN MORE DETAIL IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES.
FIRST RESIDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY MARGINALIZED FROM OR DENIED A FULL OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PAST PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES, EVEN IF THAT HAS BEEN UNINTENTIONAL AND OR WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES, SECOND RESIDENTS, INCLUDING RENTERS, HOMEOWNERS, AND PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED OR ARE AT AN INCREASED RISK OF EXPERIENCING IMPACT OF NEGATIVE WATERSHED OUTCOMES.
SO THAT'S FLOODING EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION, AND THIRD GROUPS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY EXPERTISE AND FOCUS AND GOVERNMENT OR INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS.
SO ALTHOUGH THESE GROUPS WILL BE OUR PRIORITY AND WE'LL RECEIVE EXTRA TIME AND RESOURCES DURING OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, OUR GOAL IS TO REACH A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
SO THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO USE BROAD ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES LIKE SURVEYS AND READINGS THAT ARE OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE.
SO AGAIN, OUR FIRST PRIORITY GROUP IS FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED AND DENIED A FULL OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PAST PLANNING PROCESSES
[00:45:01]
AND OR WE'RE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES.WE'VE INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING GROUPS IN PRIORITY GROUP ONE.
THE GROUP INCLUDES PEOPLE OF COLOR, LOW INCOME PEOPLE, NON ENGLISH, SPEAKERS, IMMIGRANTS, AND REFUGEES, FOLKS WHO HAVE PHYSICAL OR TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION, INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, PEOPLE LACKING DIGITAL LITERACY AND OR INTERNET ACCESS AND PEOPLE LACKING ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION, LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLE, YOUTH AND SENIORS.
THE SECOND PRIORITY GROUP IS RESIDENTS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED OR ARE AT AN INCREASED RISK OF EXPERIENCING IMPACTS OF NEGATIVE WATERSHED OUTCOMES.
SO AGAIN, FLOODING EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION.
THIS INCLUDES PEOPLE WHO ARE AT RISK, BUT HAVEN'T NECESSARILY HAD A NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE.
FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLAIN, BUT HASN'T EXPERIENCED A FLOOD.
THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED NEGATIVE IMPACT, FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCED A FLOOD EVENT OR SOMEONE WHO'S EXPERIENCING SEVERE EROSION ON THEIR PROPERTY, OR PEOPLE WHO SWIM PADDLE OR FISH AND BODIES OF WATER THAT ARE IMPACTED BY SIGNIFICANT POLLUTION OR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS, AND ALSO PEOPLE WHO HAVE A EXPERIENCE WITH A WATERSHED SOLUTION, FOR EXAMPLE, BUYOUTS OR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, AND MIGHT HAVE HELPFUL INPUT FOR US ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT THOSE SOLUTIONS HAVE HAD ON THEIR LIVES.
FINALLY, OUR THIRD PRIORITY GROUP IS ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK ON ISSUES RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
WE'RE INTERESTED IN TALKING WITH THESE GROUPS BECAUSE OF THE RELEVANT EXPERIENCE THEY BRING AND BECAUSE OF THEIR NETWORKS OF FOLKS INTERESTED IN AND IMPACTED BY OUR DEPARTMENT'S WORK.
WE'VE LISTED EXAMPLES HERE, AND IT'S NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BUILD THIS LIST OUT.
AS WE PREPARE FOR OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, WE'RE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN GROUPS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT FALL INTO EITHER OF PRIORITY GROUPS, ONE OR TWO, AS WELL AS THIS PRIORITY GROUP.
SO GROUPS ON THIS LIST INCLUDE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY GROUPS, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITY HEALTH, AND PUBLIC SAFETY, ETHICS, ADVOCACY GROUPS, OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, AND THEN FACULTY WITH RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AT LOCAL UNIVERSITIES.
SO OUR DRAFT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN INCLUDES A WIDE VARIETY OF STRATEGIES, INCLUDING A LOT THAT WATERSHED HAS NOT TRIED BEFORE, BUT THAT WE'VE LEARNED OUR BEST PRACTICES FOR INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE ENGAGEMENT.
SOME OF THESE STRATEGIES ARE FOCUSED ON COLLECTING QUALITATIVE INFORMATION.
SOME ARE ABOUT GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR UPDATE PROCESS, DO STRATEGIC MARKETING AND OUTREACH, AND SOME HAVE TO DO WITH SEEKING GUIDANCE FROM COMMUNITY ADVISORY BODIES BECAUSE WE'LL WILL BE PRIORITIZING CERTAIN STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
WE'LL USE MORE TAILORED STRATEGIES FOR THOSE GROUPS, STRATEGIES THAT REQUIRE MORE TIME AND MORE RESOURCES TO CARRY OUT.
BUT LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WE ALSO WANT TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE.
SO WE'LL USE BROADER STRATEGIES THAT WILL ENSURE THAT WE CAN REACH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
THE STRATEGIES THAT WE PLAN TO USE FOR OUR PRIORITY GROUPS INCLUDE A COMPENSATED COHORT OF COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS.
UM, PARTLY MODELED OFF OF THE WORK THAT THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY DID WITH OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, COMPENSATED FOCUS GROUPS, AND THEN ALSO PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS AND EVENTS OF COMMUNITIES WHERE OUR PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS ARE REPRESENTED BROADER STRATEGIES ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS WILL INCLUDE SURVEYS, A VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE EVENT, AN ONLINE EDUCATIONAL EVENT, PARTNERSHIPS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS PAID ADVERTISEMENTS, A WEBSITE AND WEB BASED COMMUNICATIONS SEEKING ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION INPUT AND COMMISSIONS AND COUNCIL REVIEW.
SO I JUST MENTIONED SEEKING INPUT FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION THIS BODY.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU AND REQUEST THAT YOU PLAY A ROLE AS A COMMUNITY ADVISORY BODY FOR US DURING THE STRATEGIC PLAN PROCESS.
UM, WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEEK YOUR INPUT THROUGHOUT THE UPDATE PROCESS, PRES EXCUSE ME, THROUGHOUT THE UPDATE PROCESS, IN ADDITION TO SEEKING YOUR APPROVAL FOR THE UPDATED PLAN AT THE END.
AND WE'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT HOW YOU'D LIKE TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS.
SO WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME FOR DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION.
SO PLEASE BE THINKING ABOUT THAT.
OUR PLAN IS TO MEET STAKEHOLDERS VIA DIVERSE PLATFORMS, SUCH AS QUALITY OF LIFE, COMMISSIONS, ADVOCACY GROUPS, SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, AND STANDARD AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND I DID WANT TO MENTION THAT I WATCHED THE RECORDING OF THE PREVIOUS, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MEETING AND NOTICE THAT ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAD ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT HOW WATERSHED HAS BEEN REACHING OUT THROUGH WHAT CHANNELS WATERSHED HAS BEEN REACHING OUT TO HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED OR UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS.
AND SO I DID WANT TO MENTION THAT THIS LIST THAT WE'RE BUILDING OF THESE DIVERSE PLATFORMS FOR REACHING FOLKS, UM, IS A PLACE WHERE, WHERE SOME OF THOSE, UM, OUTLETS ARE LISTED OUT MORE SPECIFICALLY.
AND SO IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT LIST, WE'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE IT.
AND IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT LIST THAT WE MIGHT BE MISSING, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
WE'D APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING
[00:50:01]
TO CONTINUALLY GROW THAT LIST AS WE GET CLOSER TO LAUNCHING ENGAGEMENT.OUR PLAN IS TO DIVIDE THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS INTO THREE PHASES.
THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE ONE, AS WE ARE ENVISIONING IT IS TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT AND ANSWER OUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
USING A BROAD RANGE OF STRATEGIES.
PHASE ONE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF BEHIND THE SCENES SYNTHESIS WORK.
THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE TWO IS TO EVALUATE HOW EFFECTIVELY WE TRANSLATED, WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY DURING PHASE ONE INTO PLAN CONTENT.
ALSO WE'LL GATHER INPUT ON COMMUNITY PRIORITIES FOR THE ISSUES AND STRATEGIES THAT WE IDENTIFIED DURING PHASE ONE.
AFTER PHASE TWO, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER BEHIND THE SCENES PERIOD WHERE WE ACTUALLY WRITE THE PLAN.
AND AFTER THAT WE'LL LAUNCH PHASE THREE, THE OBJECTIVE OF WHICH WILL BE TO PRESENT THE DRAFT PLAN TO THE COMMUNITY, GATHERED THEIR REACTIONS TO THE CONTENT, AND THEN FINALIZE THE PLAN FOR ED FOR ADOPTION.
SO NOW I'M GOING TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO ANDREA TO TALK ABOUT OUR PLAN FOR INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE ARE PAIRING THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WITH A ROBUST APPROACH TO INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AS WELL.
AND THEN THINKING ABOUT WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE.
WE HAVE THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT GOALS FOR INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AND HOW BEST TO INVOLVE WATERSHED STAFF.
WE REALIZED THAT MANY OF OUR GOALS FOR INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT ARE ACTUALLY THE SAME AS THEY ARE FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO FIRST WE WANT TO HAVE AN INCLUSIVE INTERNAL PROCESS AS WELL.
WE WANT TO LEARN AND DRAW FROM THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE OF ALL WATERSHED STAFF TO DO THAT.
WE WANT TO MAKE IT EASY AND ENJOYABLE TO CONTRIBUTE INPUT AND TO USE THE MOST APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES AND TOOLS OR THE SPECIFIC GROUPS OR TOPICS WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THAT FIELD OPERATIONS STAFF INTERACT WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS EVERY DAY.
WE WANT TO HARNESS THEIR EXPERTISE AS PART OF THE PLANNING PROCESS, BUT WE RECOGNIZE THAT IN THE PAST, THERE HAVE BEEN BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION BY FIELD OPERATIONS STAFF IN DEPARTMENT WIDE INITIATIVES.
AND WE ARE WORKING ACTIVELY WITH WATERSHED LEADERSHIP TO ADDRESS THOSE BARRIERS AND ENABLE MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION.
WE WANT TO SUPPORT STAFF WHO ARE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING AT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS BY PROVIDING TRAININGS AND INCENTIVES, IF WE CAN.
AND WE WANT TO INCLUDE OTHER CITY STEPS AS WELL IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO COLLABORATE, TO ADDRESS COMMUNITY CONCERNS AND OBJECTIVES THAT GO BEYOND WATERSHED THAT INVOLVE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.
SECOND, JUST LIKE WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT AND RESPECTFUL TO OUR INTERNAL PARTICIPANTS.
THIS INCLUDES BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW THEIR FEEDBACK IS BEING USED, HOW COMMUNITY FEEDBACK IS BEING USED, AND THEN ONLY SEEKING FEEDBACK INTERNALLY WHEN IT WILL BE USEFUL TO INFORM A DECISION, WE ARE GOING TO SEEK CONSENSUS, BUT PART OF BEING TRANSPARENT AND RESPECTFUL IS A COMMITMENT TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS AND MAKE DECISIONS WHERE WE CAN.
SO WE WANT THE PLANNING PROCESS TO ENABLE THAT BECAUSE WE EXPECT TO HAVE SOME CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS AND WE WILL KEEP OUR WATERSHED STAFF WITH UPDATES ABOUT THE RESULTS OF ENGAGEMENT, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES, AND OUR PROGRESS.
WE ARE PROPOSING A TEAMS BASED APPROACH TO INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT WITH FOUR CROSS DEPARTMENTAL TEAMS, THE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY TEAM, THE STEERING COMMITTEE, A TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP, AND THE FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM.
THE FOCUS OF THE INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT EFFORT WOULD BE ON THESE TEAMS, BUT THROUGH THEIR WORK AND THROUGH DIRECT OUTREACH BY CLEANING STAFF, WE WILL ALSO BE SEEKING FEEDBACK FROM ALL STAFF IN THE DEPARTMENT.
SO IT'S A REPRESENTATIVE STRUCTURE WITH A GOAL OF REACHING EVERYBODY OR INCORPORATING EVERYBODY'S PERSPECTIVE AND EXPERTISE.
SO THE FIRST TEAM IN THIS LIST IS THE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY TEAM.
IT'S PURPOSE IS TO CREATE AN IMPLEMENT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM TO CREATE THIS DRAFT PLAN, STAFF MEMBERS WITH EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ASSISTING THE PLANNING TEAM.
WE'RE COMING UP WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROPOSALS.
THEY WILL THEN HELP US CONTINUE TO EVALUATE IT AND IMPLEMENT IT OVER TIME.
SECOND TEAM IS THE STEERING COMMITTEE.
THEY WILL EVALUATE DEPARTMENT AND COMMUNITY INPUT, DISCUSS TECHNICAL CONTENT.
THAT'S GOING TO GO INTO THE PLAN AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO UPPER MANAGEMENT ON WHAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN SHOULD INCLUDE.
THIS WILL BE A FAIRLY SMALL TEAM.
[00:55:01]
WILL BE A FOCUS ON REPRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION.THE THIRD TEAM IS THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
THIS WILL BE A SUPPORT NETWORK FOR THE STEERING COMMITTEE AS A WAY TO INVOLVE MORE STAFF IN KEY STEERING COMMITTEE CONVERSATIONS AND DECISIONS.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS GROUP IS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE TO MEMBERS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE TO INFORM THEIR WORK.
SO IT'S BROADENING OUR DIRECT STAFF INPUT AND INFLUENCE ON THE CONTENT.
THE FOURTH TEAM IS A FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT HOW TO DESIGN AN INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
THAT INCLUDES MEANINGFUL REPRESENTATION FROM FIELD OPERATIONS.
WE WANT TO ADAPT OUR ENGAGEMENT APPROACH TO MEET FIELD OPERATIONS STEPS, LOGISTICAL NEEDS, WHICH ARE DIFFERENT THAN MANY OF THE STAFF WHO OFFICE IN ONE TEXAS CENTER AND WHO ARE MORE FAMILIAR AND USED TO WORKING ON DEPARTMENT WIDE INITIATIVES LIKE THIS, THE ROLE OF THE FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM WOULD BE THE SAME AS THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE TO INFORM THE CONTENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
HOWEVER, WE'RE CONSIDERING HAVING A SEPARATE OR TO BE ABLE TO BETTER TAILOR IT, TO FIT, FILL THE OPERATION STAFF BETTER, MEETING TIMES MAYBE DIFFERENT OR MORE CLEAR ASSIGNMENTS AND ADDITIONAL LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO ENABLE PARTICIPATION FROM FOLKS WHOSE CORE JOB IS NOT OFFICE BASED, OR IT DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME FLEXIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A NINE TO FIVE MEETING AT ONE TEXAS CENTER THAT MANY OF THE OTHER STAFF DO.
SO THAT'S THE THINKING BESIDE, BESIDES HAVING A SEPARATE TEAM THAT CAN BE TAILORED TO THOSE SPECIFIC NEEDS.
FINALLY, THERE'LL BE THE PLANNING TEAM WHO WILL LEAD THE PROCESS TO UPDATE THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND ORGANIZE AND SUPPORT AND FACILITATE THE WORK OF THE OTHER TEAMS. SO A LOT OF THE BACKGROUND WORK AND THE FACILITATION WILL BE DONE BY THE PLANNING TEAM TO MAKE IT AS EASY FOR OTHER STAFF TO PARTICIPATE AS POSSIBLE.
IN ADDITION TO ALL THESE WATERSHED BASED TEAMS, PLANNING TEAM WILL ALSO COLLABORATE WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER KEY DEPARTMENTS LIKE THOSE LISTED HERE.
SO AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL, WE ARE GEARING UP FOR A PRETTY AMBITIOUS UNDERTAKING.
WHEN WE FIRST STARTED SCOPING THIS UPDATE, WE WERE AIMING FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF LONG PROCESS WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STARTING THIS SUMMER OR FALL.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE NOT READY TO LAUNCH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT YET THE PLANNING PHASE HAS TAKEN LONGER THAN WE EXPECTED, AND WE HAVE SOME KEY MATERIALS TO PREPARE AND SOME FINAL STEPS TO TAKE BEFORE THE OFFICIAL KICKOFF.
BUT AS WE'VE DONE THIS PLANNING WORK, AS WE'VE DEVELOPED THE SCOPE OF THE PLAN AND DETAILED PROPOSALS FOR COMMUNITY AND INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT, WE ALSO REALIZED THAT TO DO IT WELL, WILL BE MORE LIKE A THREE YEAR PROCESS THAT SAID, WE KNOW THREE YEARS IS A LONG TIME.
SO ALTHOUGH WE WANT TO BE REALISTIC, WE WILL CONTINUALLY LOOK FOR WAYS TO STREAMLINE AND TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS IF WE CAN, AS WE GO.
SO RIGHT NOW, OUR VISION IS TO START COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH ESSENTIALLY A SOFT LAUNCH IN JANUARY, 2022.
THIS COMING JANUARY WE'LL CONDUCT FOCUSED OUTREACH AND START DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIPS OR CALLING UPON EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH KEY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, JANUARY THROUGH MARCH, IN ORDER TO PREPARE FOR WHAT WOULD BE THE CITY WIDE LAUNCH.
THEN IN MARCH, WE PLAN TO OFFICIALLY KICK OFF PHASE ONE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
THIS PHASE ONE LAST NINE MONTHS THROUGH NOVEMBER, 2022, WITH THE PRIMARY INFORMATION GATHERING HAPPENING IN THE FIRST SIX, AND THEN SOME ANSWERING OR SOLICITING INPUT ON SOME MORE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS IN THE SECOND THREE MONTHS.
AND THIS TIMELINE, YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A BREAK BETWEEN PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WOULD START THE NEXT MAIN BAY 2023.
AND AS SOMEBODY DESCRIBED IN BETWEEN THE TWO, WE WILL BE LAUNCHING INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AND STARTING TO WORK ON CONTENT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH HAS SHOWN AS INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT DOES HAVE COLLAPSED INTO PLAN DEVELOPMENT.
IN THIS TIMELINE, WE DON'T GO INTO THE DETAILS THERE, BUT IT WILL ALSO BE STARTING AND RUNNING CURRENTLY WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE THE POINT OF PHASE TWO OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS TO TAKE INFORMATION BACK
[01:00:01]
TO THE COMMUNITY, TO HAVE RECEIVED INPUT TRANSLATED THE IMPORT, TURNED IT INTO DRAFT PRODUCTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN TO TAKE THOSE BACK OUT AND ASK, DID WE GET IT RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S A BREAK BETWEEN THE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PHASES.SO WE CHECK BACK IN WITH THE COMMUNITY ON OUR PRELIMINARY PRODUCTS AND WE KEEP DOING INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AND KEEP WORKING ON PLAN DEVELOPMENT.
AS WE GO THROUGH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS THAT WOULD BE ROOTED IN THE UPDATED STRATEGIC PLAN, THEN THAT WOULD CONTINUE THROUGHOUT 2023.
AND WE WILL BE DEVELOPING THE ACTUAL DRAFT PLAN, THAT DRAFT PLAN THAT GOES BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS PHASE THREE OF ENGAGEMENT.
SO CHECKED IN ON PRELIMINARY RESULTS, CORPORATED INFORMATION, TURNED IT INTO A DRAFT PLAN COMING BACK WITH A DRAFT.
AND THEN AFTER A SHORTER COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON THE DRAFT IN THE SUMMER OF 2020 FOR COOPERATING THE FINAL REVISIONS BEFORE TAKING THE PLAN THROUGH THE FORMAL ADOPTION PROCESS.
SO THIS IS SOME KEY CONTACT INFORMATION OR FUTURE REFERENCE, BUT NOW WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED UPDATE PROCESS.
AS SANDY MENTIONED, WE WOULD ESPECIALLY LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU MIGHT LIKE THE COMMISSION, THIS COMMISSION TO BE INVOLVED THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS AS AN ADVISORY BODY, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD YOU LIKE THE FULL COMMISSION TO RECEIVE REGULAR BRIEFINGS OR BRIEFINGS AT KEY MILESTONES? WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET MORE INTO THE DETAILS THAN THE FULL COMMISSION COULD IN A STANDARD MEETING SETTING? WE'RE EXCITED TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS TONIGHT AND CAN CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AND BUILD THAT OUT AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE LAUNCH OF COMMUNITY ENGAGED NEXT AND FINAL SLIDE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TO ME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, SADIE AND ANDREA, UM, WE'LL START WITH COMMISSIONER BEDFORD.
UM, HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, I SAW THAT Y'ALL ARE GOING TO USE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS.
AND SO I WAS KINDA CURIOUS IF Y'ALL ARE DOING THAT VIA RADIO STATIONS OR IS IT LIKE JUST GOING TO BE ON TV OR INTERNET? UM, AND OUR INTERNET ADVERTISEMENTS? I THINK LIKE THAT ONE, UM, THE ANSWER IS YES.
UM, ALL OF THE ABOVE, WE WANT TO, UM, TRY TO REACH A REALLY BROAD AUDIENCE.
AND SO, UM, MULTIPLE RADIO STATIONS, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE ADS ON MULTIPLE RADIO STATIONS, INCLUDING ONES THAT ARE SORT OF MORE SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GET ON SOME OF THOSE AND ALL THE ONES THAT YOU MENTIONED.
CAUSE I KNOW, UM, I COULD THINK OF AT LEAST ONE THAT IS PROMINENT FOR REACH OUT TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS 88.7 K Z.
I LIKE, I GREW UP LIKE LISTENING TO THAT WITH PARENTS IN THE CAR, CAR RIDES ALL THE TIME.
SO I KNOW THAT WOULD AT LEAST REACH A STRONG DEMOGRAPHIC.
YES, THAT'S DEFINITELY AN OUR LIST.
OH, AND ALSO Y'ALL SAID THAT Y'ALL WOULD BE SENDING OUT THE LIST.
UM, IF Y'ALL LIKE, IF WE REQUESTED, ARE YOU ABLE TO GET A COPY OF THAT AS WELL? ABSOLUTELY.
AND, UM, THERE'S ONE QUESTION THAT I WAS THAT POPPED IN MY HEAD ABOUT LIKE, WHEN YOU, UM, AS FAR AS LIKE INTERNAL JOB RECRUITING OR INTERNAL JOB, UM, PROMOTIONS, UM, LIKE HOW DO YOU TAILOR THOSE? UM, LIKE WHEN YOU'RE LIKE HIRING IN THE HIRING PROCESS, LIKE, IS IT LIKE, UM, I GUESS LIKE, DO YOU LIKE KIND OF SEPARATE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF JOBS, LIKE THE FIELD JOBS TO LIKE A CERTAIN, UM, CERTAIN CAREER FAIRS OR LIKE CERTAIN GROUPS, LIKE, CAUSE I REMEMBER ON THE LAST PRESENTATION THAT WE HAD, IT WAS SEPARATE.
LIKE THERE WAS A, UH, DEFINING SEPARATION OF LIKE THE TYPE OF, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC FOR CERTAIN FOR OFFICE JOBS VERSUS FILL JOBS.
SO IT WAS KIND OF CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, ABOUT THAT INTERNAL PROCESS.
IT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, BUT UNFORTUNATELY BEYOND MY FAMILIARITY, BUT LUCKILY WE HAVE OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, SARAH KIRTLEY HERE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, WE DO ACTUALLY HAVE MULTIPLE WAYS IN WHICH WE'RE REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE.
[01:05:01]
UM, BOTH FOR MORE ARE MORE ADMINISTRATIVE JOBS AND THEN OUR FIELD JOBS.AND WE DO GO OUT TO JOB FAIRS IN DIFFERENT UNIVERSITIES BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
WE WERE REACHING OUT TO, UM, A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF UNIVERSITIES, SMALLER SCHOOLS, HPC USE, UM, REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE TRYING TO PULL IN A LOT OF FOLKS THAT MAY NOT THINK ABOUT WATERSHED AS A CAREER, INCLUDING OUR HIGH SCHOOLS.
UM, AND SPEAKING WITH THEM, WE HAVE, UM, INTERNSHIPS THAT WE'VE HAD HIGH SCHOOLERS COME INTO, UM, AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AROUND THE CITY WHERE WE TRY AND INVOLVE FOLKS IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT, NOT JUST OUR SCIENTISTS OR ENGINEERS DO, BUT WHAT OUR FIELD OPERATIONS DO.
AND WE CONTINUE TO, TO STRIVE TO FIND MORE WAYS TO ENGAGE PEOPLE IN THAT WAY.
UM, WE'D LOVE TO GET MORE WOMEN IN THE FIELD TOO.
SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS THAT.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN FOR THOSE.
HEY Y'ALL UM, YEAH, SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, GOING OFF OF, UH, WHAT COMMISSIONER, UH, BEDFORD SAID, UM, I WAS WONDERING, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS LIKE THESE MEDIUMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO USE, UH, FOR ADVERTISEMENTS AND THEN ALSO SORT OF CONTENT, UH, REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AND ALSO JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC, UH, AT LARGE, UM, I ASSUME SOCIAL MEDIA WILL PROBABLY BE A STRATEGY FOR THIS, UH, BOTH, YOU KNOW, UH, EARNED AS WELL AS PAID MARKETING.
UH, YOU COULD CALL IT, UM, WHERE SOME OF Y'ALL TRY AND I KNOW THIS IS PROBABLY A SUPER EARLY, SO THINGS AREN'T REALLY SET IN STONE YET, BUT I WAS WONDERING SORT OF LIKE WHAT Y'ALL'S STRATEGIES WERE CAUSE, RIGHT.
SO I COULD REALLY CARE LESS IF I RADIO ADS OR TV ADS OR PRINT ADS, UM, NO SHADE.
UM, SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS, SORT OF WHAT Y'ALL'S PLAN IS AS FAR AS LIKE, YOU KNOW, CREATING, UM, RIVETING CONTENT THAT WILL REALLY SPEAK TO OUR COMMUNITY AND WANT TO GET THEM INVOLVED.
YOU KNOW, ALSO APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
NO, I SAID JUST APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
WANTED TO END ON SOMETHING NICE.
SO YES, AS A FELLOW MILLENNIAL, UM, I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE IS.
AND LUCKILY WE ALREADY HAVE A WONDERFUL TEAM, UM, IN WATERSHED AND OUR EDUCATION, UM, IN OUR COMMUNITY EDUCATION GROUP THAT IS, UM, ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO, UM, BUILD ON THE WORK THAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING.
UM, DEFINITELY WE'LL USE BOTH PAID SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING AND, UM, AND UNPAID IN ORDER TO, UM, REACH KIND OF KEY FOCUSED, UH, GROUPS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO REACH THAT ARE IN OUR PRIORITY GROUPS AND MORE BROAD KIND OF STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, AND HAPPILY OUR, OUR TEAM IS, UH, PRETTY GOOD AT CREATING A COMPELLING CONTENT.
AND THEN ONE THING THAT, THAT, THAT BROUGHT TO MIND IS THAT IN BRINGING ON THE COHORT OF COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO DO, UM, IS SO BACKING A LITTLE, THAT GROUP.
UM, OUR INTENTION IS THAT IT'S GOING TO BE FOLKS WHO ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR PRIORITY GROUPS.
AND SO THERE'LL WILL BE FOLKS WHO REPRESENT THE DIVERSITY OF AUSTIN, PEOPLE WHO ARE PRIMARILY PEOPLE OF COLOR AND MAY FIT INTO SOME OF THOSE OTHER GROUPS THAT WE LISTED.
SO WE HOPING THAT BY HAVING THEM ON BOARD, WE CAN SHOW THEM SOME OF OUR CONTENT AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S GOING TO RESONATE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO WE'RE HOPING TO REACH.
UM, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT IT'S MORE LIKELY TO BE RIVETING OR AT LEAST INTERESTING AND RELEVANT TO, UM, TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE ARE HOPING WILL GET THE MESSAGE.
YEAH, ONE THING I WOULD ADD TO POSSIBLE MEDIUMS OR PLATFORMS TO CONSIDER CONTENT OR ADVERTISING WOULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOUTUBE, SPOTIFY, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THESE THINGS ARE LIKE SORT OF SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, PLATFORM BASED, BUT ALSO SORT OF JUST LIKE MEDIA IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, POSSIBILITY.
SO ADD THAT TO OUR LIST OF POSSIBILITIES.
UH, WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER SCOTT, THEN WE'LL GO VIRTUAL AND THEN WE'LL GO TO THE END OF THE DICE.
HI, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I, UM, WHAT I'M NOT CLEAR ABOUT IS WHAT THE END POINT OF THIS IS.
UM, AND I, WHAT I, WHAT, WHAT I I'VE HEARD, UM, IN THE, IN YOUR PRESENTATION IS, UH, IS ENTIRELY STRUCTURAL.
UH, I, I DID HEAR THAT THE GOALS ARE OF COURSE,
[01:10:01]
UM, FLOOD MITIGATION, UM, AND, UH, WATER, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SO FORTH, BUT, UM, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE ARE ALREADY, UH, AS A CITY AND THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DIVISION IS ALREADY, UM, TASKED WITH DOING.UM, SO, UM, AND, AND, AND THIS IS A THREE YEAR, UH, TIMELINE THAT YOU'VE PROPOSED AND, AND I WANT TO, UH, PREFACE ANYTHING FURTHER THAT I SAY, BECAUSE I FEEL I, I, I, I, I KIND OF HAVE A FEELING THIS IS NOT GOING TO GO OVER REAL WELL, THE WAY I'M SAYING THIS, BUT THAT I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE GIVEN A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT TO, UM, TRYING TO, UM, ESTABLISH A, UH, A STRUCTURE WHICH IS INCLUSIVE AND, UH, BRINGS IN, UM, EVERYONE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO DO THE BEST POSSIBLE JOB TO, UH, TO PROTECT AUSTIN, UM, BETWEEN NOW AND NINE WISHES, 20, 21 AND 2023.
I ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL BE SEEING, UM, SOME SIGNIFICANT, UH, ISSUES THAT CROP UP BECAUSE, UH, WELL, LOUISIANA AND TEXAS ALREADY KNOW, AND NOW NEW YORK CITY IN CONNECTICUT KNOW THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS ALREADY HERE.
SO, UM, THE TIMELINE SEEMS LIKE, UM, A LONG ONE FOR AS, UH, AS MUCH OF A CRISIS AS WE'RE IN.
I'M ALSO AWARE THAT, UM, PROCESSES DO TAKE TIME ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, THE FEEDBACK THAT I HEAR FROM, UM, PEOPLE THAT I KNOW, UH, AND WHEN I'M ON, UM, UH, UH, NEXT DOOR IS, IS, UH, IS A REAL, UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A, THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF, UH, SEDIMENT AND, AND I, AND I CAN'T REALLY QUANTIFY IT, BUT, BUT THERE THERE'S, UH, THERE IS, THERE IS BITTERNESS THAT, UM, PROBLEMS, UH, THAT ARE BROUGHT UP A TIME AND AGAIN, ARE NOT ADDRESSED.
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE LONG TIME RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN AND WHO HAVE HELD IMPORTANT POSITIONS IN, IN GOVERNMENT WHO FEEL THAT THE CITY IS COMPLETELY DYSFUNCTIONAL.
AND, UM, I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT, THAT THIS IS THE BACKDROP UNDER WHICH, UH, WE'RE, UM, WE'RE WORKING.
AND WHEN, WHEN I HEAR THIS, UM, THAT GOES THROUGH MY MIND AT THE SAME TIME.
AND I, AND I, AND I, AND I HEAR YOU'RE, UM, YOU'RE VERY, UM, THOUGHTFUL AND IN PASSIONS AND WELL-MEANING WORDS.
AND I, AND I, UM, AND I DON'T WANT TO DISCOUNT THEM FOR A MINUTE, BUT I DO QUESTION WHETHER, UM, UH, THREE YEARS IS A, UM, IS GOING TO BE, UH, A TIMELINE THAT IS APPROPRIATE GIVEN THAT WE'RE IN, I DUNNO, IN MY MIND FACING A CRISIS THAT NEEDS, UM, SOME FASTER SOLUTION.
SOME THINGS CAN BE DONE OVER TIME, LIKE DEVELOPING TRAILS, FOR EXAMPLE, I'D LOVE TO SEE A TRAIL SYSTEM SO THAT YOU COULD GET ANYWHERE IN AUSTIN WITHOUT EVER NEEDING TO HAVE A CAR, OR YOU COULD GET ON A, UH, SOME SORT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, THINGS LIKE THAT, UH, WHICH REALLY DON'T HAVE TO DO WITH WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.
BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT I CAN SEE TAKING TIME, BUT, UM, I KNOW I PERSONALLY LIVE IN AREA THAT HAS BEEN REZONED FROM, UM, I DON'T KNOW, WHATEVER IT WAS BEFORE TO, UM, MODERATE RISK.
UH, I'VE ALSO NOTICED THAT, UM, FEMA HAS, UH, PUT US AT, UH, 70%, UH, OF 47, I'M SORRY, 47% RISK FOR TRAVIS
[01:15:01]
COUNTY, UH, OF, UM, A TORNADO.UH, TRAVIS COUNTY HAS A HIGHER RISK.
UM, THEN SOMETHING LIKE 90% OF THE COUNTIES IN THE, IN THE REST OF THE, OF THE COUNTRY.
SO, UM, WHEN, WHEN I SEE THOSE KINDS OF FIGURES, UM, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I HAVE, UH, THREE YEARS TO PLAN, UH, SOMETHING TO HELP.
I THINK I JUST I'VE I HEARD THREE QUESTIONS IF YOU'LL LET ME DISSECT A LITTLE BIT, UM, JUST, UM, MAYBE KIND OF, NO, YOU'RE GOOD.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE DIRECTLY ASKED OF, OF STAFF.
SO NUMBER ONE IS WHAT GOOD IS A PLAN.
IF WE'RE ALREADY DOING, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THESE THINGS ALREADY, HOW IS THIS GOING TO COURSE CORRECT CHANGE DIRECTION? HOW DOES THIS CHANGE, WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING? NUMBER TWO, DOES A PLAN DELAY THE SENSE OF URGENCY OF ACTION THAT WE NEED TO TAKE, BECAUSE OF ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON, UH, NUMBER THREE WAS WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO FOLKS WHO FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN SAYING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND THEY DON'T WANT TO PLAN ANYMORE.
SO THAT SOUND RIGHT? UH, THINK YES.
AND IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE GRAPPLE WITH AS WELL.
SO FOR THE FIRST QUESTION, WHAT GOOD IS A PLAN.
IF WE'RE ALREADY DOING THESE THINGS, I THINK OUR DEPARTMENT DOES SOME FANTASTIC WORK AND WE HAVE A CLEAR MISSION AND WE MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS THAT MISSION AND HAVE FOR MANY YEARS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AS WE GO.
I THINK THE BENEFIT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND UPDATING THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS TO CHECK BACK IN AND MAKING SURE, MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT BODY OF WORK, BUT THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS THE MOST.
WE OFTEN ENCOUNTER TRADE-OFFS AND WORK URGENT ISSUES, YOU KNOW, ISSUES THAT ARE ON THE COMMUNITY'S MINDS.
NOW THAT WEREN'T 20 YEARS AGO, OR WEREN'T AS OBVIOUSLY AS AN EXTENSIVELY 20 YEARS AGO.
AND RIGHT NOW OUR GUIDING DOCUMENT IS SILENT ON THAT.
AND SO WE GRAPPLED WITH IT INTERNALLY AND WE MAKE DECISIONS AS BEST WE CAN.
BUT I THINK THE BENEFIT OF RELOOKING AT THE PLAN IS TO TAKE THE TIME TO GATHER THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND THEN SET GOALS AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES TO HAVE, UH, UH, ALL BE ROWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION, GOING FORWARD TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE DOING OUR UTMOST WITH OUR RESOURCES, THAT WE ARE PRIORITIZING THE THINGS THAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY AND HAVING EVERYONE IN THE DEPARTMENT, UH, MOVING TOWARDS THE SAME GOALS AND, UH, ADVANCING THOSE.
SO WE'RE NOT ENVISIONING AT THIS POINT FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE AND WHAT WATERSHED IS ABOUT, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE COMPLETELY ALIGNED WITH WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN LOOKING TO THAT COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, TO START TO ANSWER SOME OF THE REALLY TOUGH QUESTIONS, LIKE HOW DO WE INCORPORATE EQUITY INTO OUR WORK? YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE BEST EFFECT MOST EFFECTIVELY INCORPORATE CLIMATE ADAPTATION TO INCREASE RESILIENCE? WE HAVE AD HOC ANSWERS TO THAT RIGHT NOW THAT WE CAN TRY TO IMPLEMENT INCREMENTALLY.
BUT I THINK THAT WE WILL BENEFIT FROM COMPREHENSIVE THINKING AND ALIGNMENT ON THOSE KEY TOPICS.
SO DOES PLANNING DELAY THE SENSE OF URGENCY AND ACTIONS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE? I AM VERY EMPATHETIC TO THAT CONCERN AND FEEL IT MYSELF.
AND LUCKILY OUR DEPARTMENT'S WORK DOES NOT STOP OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
NOW WE HAVE, WE HAVE PRIORITIZATION SYSTEMS IN PLACE.
NOW WE HAVE MANY PROJECTS IN THE WORKS.
WE'VE HEARD A LOT FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN RECENT YEARS.
AND SO OUR WORK, WHOOPS, STOP WHILE WE ARE DEVELOPING THIS NEW BLUEPRINT TO GUIDANCE GOING FORWARD.
SO WE LUCKILY THE PLANNING PROCESS CAN RUN SIMULTANEOUSLY AND WE CAN BE THINKING ALWAYS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OTHER THAN THE PLAN? WHAT DOES THAT DEPARTMENT NEED TO BE DOING THIS YEAR? WHAT ABOUT NEXT YEAR? WHAT ABOUT 2024? AND SO THOSE TWO THINGS CAN COEXIST.
[01:20:01]
KNOW, EVEN THOUGH WE CAN, OUR DESIRE IS TO HAVE BROAD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE COMMUNITY, MAYBE TIRED OF PLANS.AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT WE THINK THAT FUNDAMENTALLY THE ENGAGEMENT IS WORTH DOING, AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO SET IT UP SO THAT WE'RE NOT RE ASKING THE SAME QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE BUILDING ON.
WHAT WE KNOW ARE CONFIRMING WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW, AND THAT WE CAN TAKE ANY INPUT THAT'S ACTIONABLE IN THE NEAR TERM AND ROUTE IT TO THE RIGHT PLACE.
AND SO HOPEFULLY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WILL BE USEFUL NOT ONLY FOR THE LONGTERM PLANNING PROCESS AND PLAN DEVELOPMENT, BUT ALSO FOR THESE NEAR TERM NEEDS.
KNOW, IT'S NOT ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN HOW THINGS CURRENTLY WORK, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS. THEY GET INCORPORATED INTO OUR DATA AND OUR PRIORITIZATION SYSTEM.
THE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW IS VERY INTERESTED IN COMING UP WITH WAYS TO TAKE ACTION MORE QUICKLY, EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY WHILE WE WORK ON LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS TOO.
SO I DON'T THINK THAT THERE IS ANY SORT OF, YOU KNOW, FOR THE DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE IS NOT BANKING ON A PLAN AND TO DIFFERING MORE URGENT SOLUTIONS.
I THINK WE'RE JUST TRYING TO DO BOTH LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS AND NEAR TERM SOLUTION SIMULTANEOUSLY.
AND THEN WE RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN WE DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, FOLKS WHO HAVE TOLD US THINGS BEFORE MAY FEEL LIKE THEY NEED TO TELL US AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND NOTHING IS HAPPENING.
AND THAT IS A, THAT IS A REAL CONCERN AND CAN BE VERY DISHEARTENING TO HAVE TO BE TOLD OVER AND OVER THE SAME THING.
SO I THINK THAT BURDEN IS ON US TO REFLECT WHAT WE HAVE HEARD, EXPLAIN THE ANSWERS TO IT SO FAR, AND THEN EXPLAIN IF AND HOW THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS.
THINGS COULD CHANGE FROM OUR ADOPTED WORK FRAMEWORK, OUR ADOPTED PRIORITIZATION AND PROJECT SELECTION FRAMEWORK TO DEVELOPING SOMETHING NEW, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WITHOUT THE PLAN, WE DON'T HAVE THE SUITE OF SOLUTIONS THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR, BUT THE PLAN BUILDS ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD BEFORE TO HAVE A GROUNDSWELL OF SUPPORT FOR A CERTAIN COURSE OF ACTION.
AND SO I THINK OUR BEST COURSE THERE IS TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT WE HAVE HEARD, EXPLAIN WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST AND WHY THERE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ACTION SO FAR AND THEN SET A PATH FOR THAT INPUT ON OFF IN THE FUTURE.
YOU HAVE A QUICK FOLLOWUP, QUICK FOLLOWUP, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO, AND THANK YOU, ANDREA.
AND WE'LL GO TO, UH, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON.
UM, I, EVERYONE HERE IS SO, UH, HARDWORKING AND DEDICATED THAT, UM, I, UM, I, UM, I FIND IT HARD TO, UH, UH, SAY THESE THINGS THAT'S TAKING, TAKING ME LONGER, JUST BECAUSE OF THAT.
I'M TRYING TO TRY TO BE DIPLOMATIC, UM, WHICH IS NOT MY STRONG POINT OUT.
I WILL BE THE FIRST, BUT, UM, THE CITY HAS, UH, REALLY, UM, VERY SPECIFIC AREAS THAT DO SPECIFIC THINGS, BUT, UM, MOTHER NATURE, UM, DOES NOT.
UM, I, UH, I THINK THAT CITIZENS ARE GOING TO BE CONCERNED NOT ONLY WITH WATER QUALITY IN FLOODING, BUT WHERE, UM, WE'RE DO, DO I GO IN A, IN A, IN A TORNADO, WHERE DO I, I GO IN A HURRICANE OR A FLOOD, UM, WHAT COMMUNITY STRUCTURES ARE AVAILABLE TO ME, UH, WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO ME TO HARDEN MY HOUSE AGAINST A WINTER STORM, ET CETERA.
SO, UM, UH, THOSE TO ME, UM, I AM I FEEDBACK WOULD, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE BASICALLY THAT WE NEED TO, UM, WE NEED TO THINK, AND WE THINK THAT NEED TO THINK MORE ABOUT INTEGRATING, UH, CITY, UH, UH, PROGRAMS. I HAVE A GREAT RESPONSE FOR YOU.
UH, THE CITY'S HIRING A CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER TO LOOK VERY HOLISTICALLY AT RESILIENCE FOR THE CITY, NOT JUST ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE, BUT ALSO SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCE.
THE ENTIRE ROLE OF THAT PERSON IS TO CREATE OUR FIRST RESILIENCE PLAN AND WE'LL CONNECT ALL THESE DOTS THAT ARE MAYBE NOT BEING CONNECTED IN THE WAY THEY NEED TO BE RIGHT NOW.
YEAH, THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S, UH, IMPORTANT.
I HOPE I'M NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THEM FROM A, UH, HOMEMADE, UM, ARC ACCURATE.
SO WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER THOMPSON
[01:25:01]
NEXT, AH, HECK TO ON MUTE.UM, FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS, IS A DAUNTING TASK AND IT HAS TAKEN YEARS.
SO I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS UP TO THIS POINT.
I JUST LIKE TO GIVE A REALLY QUICK EXAMPLE.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, WE HAD A COMMUNITY MEETING AND SOME PEOPLE FROM AN APARTMENT CAME AND THEY SAID, WE'RE AFRAID TO TELL YOU WHAT WE THINK ABOUT THIS OR HOW IT AFFECTS US IN OUR FAMILY LIVING IN THIS APARTMENT BECAUSE THE MANAGEMENT HAS A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW ENTIRELY.
AND SO WE ASSURED THEM EVERYTHING WAS FINE.
AND THEN LATER WE FOUND OUT THAT THEY HAD BEEN EVICTED BECAUSE THEY HAD CONFLICTS WITH MANAGEMENT.
AND SO THE USE OF, UM, THE INPUT THAT YOU GET THAT YOU GET FROM, UH, DIFFERENT AREAS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE.
I'M JUST TRYING TO TELL YOU THINGS THAT WE'VE FACED IN TRYING TO INVOLVE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY HISTORICALLY.
UM, THERE IS AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN THAT LIVES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WHO IS NOW HOMELESS BECAUSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
HE'S 80 YEARS OLD AND IS THE LONGEST, UM, BORN AND RAISED IN THIS COMMUNITY.
SO I WOULD REALLY HATE FOR HIS OPINIONS TO BE OVERLOOKED, BUT HE IS HOMELESS AND THERE ARE THINGS LIKE THAT THAT HAPPENED IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO INVOLVING EVERYONE IS A FEEL GOOD THING, BUT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DO.
AND THE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO OFFER INPUT.
UM, ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE FEMA WATERSHED THAT ARE HOMELESS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOODING JUST THE SAME AS PEOPLE WHOSE HOUSES HAVE BEEN IN THE BUYOUT PROGRAM.
AND SO THE COMMUNITY HAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT SET OF VALUES OF WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN IN THAT AREA.
THEN THE HOMELESS PEOPLE WHO HAVE A DIRE NEED OF BEING HOUSED.
SO I'M SAYING THIS IS ALL IN WATERSHED AND YOU HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TASK IN FRONT OF YOU HISTORICALLY YOU HAVE, I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THE HISTORICAL INPUT BECAUSE AS YOU SAY, THINGS HAVE CHANGED, COMMUNITIES HAVE CHANGED AND EVOLVED.
AND THAT, THAT IS A FACT, WE HAVE MORE APARTMENTS NOW THAN WE EVER HAD BEFORE MORE PEOPLE LIVE THERE.
AND THE DENSITY OF THOSE APARTMENTS ACTUALLY, UH, WOULD BE MORE THAN THE DENSITY OF SAY A RESIDENTIAL, SINGLE FAMILY COMMUNITY.
IF YOU ACTUALLY JUST LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS.
SO THERE'S ALL SORTS OF THINGS FOR YOU GUYS TO, TO DO AND SURVEYS TO TAKE, BUT YOU NEED TO NUMBER ONE, PROTECT PEOPLE, BECAUSE WHAT YOU THINK IS, UM, PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN SOMETIMES CAN, AND THE PEOPLE THAT YOU EXPERIENCE IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, PEOPLE THAT HAVE JUST MOVED INTO THE COMMUNITY HAVE DIFFERENT SETS OF GOALS AND ISSUES THAN PEOPLE WHO'VE LIVED THERE HISTORICALLY.
AND SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO WEIGH.
THESE ARE ALL PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE TO SOLVE.
AND SO I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT AND THE LONGTERM, UH, COMMITMENT TO DO THESE THINGS AND TO VALUE EACH AND EVERY COMMUNITY.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT AS YOU REACH OUT, YOU DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKES THAT WE HAVE HISTORICALLY MADE AND THAT EVERY PERSON IS VALUED AND EVERY COMMUNITY IS, HAS SOME INPUT.
THE COMMISSIONER THOMPSON SATURDAY, UH, I BET YOU CAN RESPOND TO THAT JUST REAL BRIEFLY, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER BRISTOL.
UM, I THINK CORRECT ME IF I, IF I'M WRONG, I DIDN'T HEAR LIKE A SPECIFIC QUESTION.
I JUST HEARD SORT OF A MORE OF, UM, ADVICE, WHICH IS SUPER HELPFUL, BUT, UM, WAS THERE A QUESTION THAT I MISSED? THE QUESTION THAT WE'VE HAD HISTORICALLY IS HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT? AND SO I, I WAS TRYING TO TELL YOU, I APPRECIATE YOUR GOALS.
I THINK THEY'RE WORTHY AND THE PROCESS, THE PROCESS YOU SEEM TO HAVE WORKED ON, AND YOU SEEM TO HAVE IT DOWN, JUST REALIZE THAT THE VALUE AND THE COMMUNITY
[01:30:02]
IS, UM, DIVERSIFIED AS WELL.UM, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE WANT TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING IT THE TIME THAT IT DESERVES, EVEN THOUGH I ALSO FEEL THE URGENCY CLIMATE CHANGES IS HAPPENING, AND THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WANT TO ACT ON, UM, NOW, BUT REALLY IT WILL TAKE TIME TO REACH ALL THESE DIVERSE GROUPS AND, UM, TO BUILD SOME OF THE NEW RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE ACTUALLY, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS, UM, WITH ORGANIZATIONS, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF INROADS THAT WE STILL NEED TO MAKE.
UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMUNITIES THAT, THAT WATERSHED HAS AN ESTABLISHED, UM, STRONG CONNECTIONS TO.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE NEEDING TO DO A LOT OF THAT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
UM, A LOT OF PROBABLY COLD CALLING, A LOT OF NETWORK, UM, NETWORKING AND, UM, ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS, UM, JUST TO BUILD SOME OF THAT TRUST AND, AND SOME OF THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WILL HELP US REACH SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO REACH IN THE PAST.
UM, SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
IT'S DEFINITELY, UM, SOMETHING THAT'S ON OUR MINDS, UM, THAT IT'S GOING TO BE, IT WON'T BE EASY.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST.
UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL, AND WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER GUERRERO.
UM, SO FIRST OFF I WANT TO, I WANT TO CIRCLE BACK A LITTLE BIT TO WHAT COMMISSIONER SCOTT WAS, UH, ASKING THERE A LITTLE BIT, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR ME, A GOOD MASTER PLAN IS, UH, OR, OR STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, IS ALWAYS IN THE WORKS.
YOU'RE ALWAYS MOVING TO THAT NEXT ONE SO THAT YOU HAVE, UM, AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A TERM THAT I LOVE SO THAT YOU'RE NO LONGER UNDER THE TYRANNY OF URGENCY AND THE TYRANNY OF URGENCY MEANS THAT YOU'VE, YOU'RE ONLY REACTING TO THE URGENCY.
YOU'RE NEVER ACTUALLY GETTING TO ALL OF THOSE NIGHT, THE STRATEGIC THINGS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN, UM, TO HAVE THAT GOOD, SOLID BASE.
I COMMEND YOU ON GIVING YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME AND SPACE TO GET THIS DONE.
UM, THREE YEARS, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A LONG TIME, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY PUTTING YOU ON TO GO PRETTY QUICK AND ESPECIALLY TO DO ALL THE COMPREHENSIVE THINGS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT TO GET BACK TO A QUESTION THAT YOU ASK US, UM, WHICH IS, DO YOU WANT, UM, UH, DO, DO WE WANT YOU TO GET QUARTERLY MONTHLY REPORTS? UH, I THINK FOR THE BEGINNING, QUARTERLY REPORT SEEMS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DOABLE AND THEN AS WE GET FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD, UM, MAYBE STEP THOSE UP A LITTLE BIT.
SO I JUST WANT TO FOLLOW UP, CAUSE I DID HEAR YOUR QUESTION AND I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THIS INCREDIBLE PRESENTATION.
UH, I AM ONE OF YOUR, UH, BIGGEST CRITICS WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, OUTREACH COMMUNITY OUTREACH, STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH.
AND SO I WANT TO SAY THAT I WAS VERY, VERY PLEASED TO SEE HOW THOUGHT OUT Y'ALL ALL HAVE BECOME WITH THIS PLAN, THE STEPS THAT YOU'RE TAKING, PEOPLE THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED IN GROUPS ALREADY IDENTIFIED, UH, REALLY WONDERFUL.
AND THIS IS A HIGHLY COMPLICATED, LAYERED PROCESS THAT Y'ALL ARE TAKING ON.
SO, YOU KNOW, I COMMEND Y'ALL ON THAT.
AND, UH, MY TWO COMMENTS ARE, I THINK THAT AS THIS COMES FORWARD, I WOULD WANT HOPEFULLY A GROUP OF US TO COME TOGETHER AND DO A WORKING GROUP SO THAT WE CAN'T CAN HELP SUPPORT STAFF AND, UH, KIND OF BE ON, ON TOP OF THIS AS IT MOVES FORWARD.
AND THEN, UM, ANOTHER SUGGESTION POSSIBLY IS TO LOOK AT, UH, FUNDING FOR A FACILITATORS, SHOULD THEY NEED TO STEP IN FOR SOMETHING THAT'S HIGHLY CONTENTIOUS, WE'RE NOT RESOLVING IT.
AND WE REALLY JUST NEED THAT OUTSIDE PUSH TO GET US TO CONSENSUS.
I'M VERY IMPRESSED BY WHAT Y'ALL HAVE PUT FORWARD.
AND AGAIN, I CONCUR THAT THREE YEARS.
WE'LL GO QUICKLY WITH THE AMOUNT OF GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT ALL HAVE, UM, ARTICULATED.
UH, PREPARING THIS, UH, I MADE AN ATTEMPT TO READ THE LAST, UH, MASTER PLANNING PUT OUT WELL, SCAN IT AS MORE ACCURATE.
[01:35:01]
UH, SO I HAVE A COUPLE OF, UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR SOMETHING BASED UPON THAT.AND BASED UPON THE PRESENTATION MATE, UH, I GUESS I'D LIKE TO SEE GOING FORWARD IN THE NEW PLAN, KIND OF, UH, UH, I KNOW YOU COMPARE THE 2001 PLAN WITH THE 2015 PLAN, BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE AS PART OF THE, THE UPCOMING PLAN, UH, WHAT'S BEEN MET FROM THE 2015 PLAN AND WHAT HASN'T BEEN BAD AND WHY MIGHT THAT BE THE CASE? YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WHERE ARE WE? WE AS AN ORGAN, AS A CITY WHERE WE'VE FALLEN SHORT.
UH, NOW I, I DO HAVE A QUESTION, UH, AND THAT IS THAT IN, UH, SOMEWHERE IN HERE, UH, YOU HAD PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS AND, UH, YOU LISTED, UH, UNDER GROUP THREE.
I THINK IT WAS A NUMBER OF WELL-KNOWN GROUPS THAT, UH, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE CONTACT WITH.
AND THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT YOU USUALLY CONTACT.
I MEAN, EVERYONE CONTACTS THESE PEOPLE, BUT, UH, WHEN YOU GO LOOK AT THE IMPACTED GROUPS IN WHICH IS GROUP TWO AND UNDERSERVED GROUPS, YOU, YOU GROUP THESE PEOPLE IN A BROAD SENSE, LIKE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, BUT YOU DON'T MENTION ANY ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SPECIFICALLY OUTREACH TO.
AND I'M JUST GOING TO MAKE ONE UP.
NOT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S ANY GOOD, BUT JUST BECAUSE IT POPPED INTO MY HEAD GOODWILL.
SO THERE'S NO LIST OF, OF ORGANIZATIONS HERE AS STAKEHOLDERS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GO NOW IN COMMUNITY GROUPS OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
I DON'T, ARE YOU GOING TO REACH OUT TO, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS, UH, PTA GROUPS, THESE ARE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE A PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
WHEREAS SOME OF THESE PEOPLE IN A GROUP THREE, LIKE A BIKE AUSTIN, I MEAN, THEY'RE GREAT GROUPS OF PEOPLE I'VE MET WITH THEM BEFORE ON OTHER THINGS, THEY'RE REALLY NOT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UH, AND THEY DON'T HAVE REALLY THE OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE.
SO ARE YOU GOING TO MEET MAKING ATTEMPTS? I MEAN, WHO ARE THESE COMMUNITY GROUPS YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO REACH OUT TO YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE BY NAME? YEAH, I CAN, I CAN ANSWER THAT ONE.
UM, SUPER IMPORTANT QUESTION, AND I CAN ANSWER IT IN TWO PARTS.
UM, FIRST, UM, WE DO HAVE A FLUSHED OUT LIST OF GROUPS, UH, THROUGH WHICH WE HOPE TO REACH SOME OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS LISTED IN PRIORITY GROUPS, ONE AND TWO.
UH, IT DIDN'T FIT ON A SLIDE, SO, AND WE THOUGHT THAT THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT DETAILED THAN, UM, THEN WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO GO THROUGH IN THIS PRESENTATION.
BUT, UM, I AM GOING TO SEND IT TO YOU GUYS.
UM, AND, UH, W WE HAVE STARTED IT, UM, I WOULD SAY THERE'S PROBABLY 30 OR 40 GROUPS ON THERE, BUT, UM, WE DEFINITELY ARE LOOKING TO GROW THAT LIST.
UM, AND SO I COULD JUST, UM, LIST OFF A COUPLE THAT JUMPED INTO MY MIND.
UM, THERE WAS ECHO THAT, UM, ENDING COMMUNITY HOMELESSNESS COALITION, UM, WE HOPE TO REACH FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS THROUGH THAT GROUP.
UM, THERE'S, UH, DEV SPRINGS PROUD.
WE HOPE TO REACH FOLKS IN THE DOVE SPRINGS COMMUNITY THROUGH THAT VERY COMMUNITY-BASED GROUP.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S JUST, I MEAN, I COULD, I COULD LIST OFF SOME OTHER RANDOM ONES, BUT, UM, THERE IT'S A LOT MORE REFINED, UM, KCI IS ON THERE.
UM, AND SOME OTHER RADIO STATIONS THAT ARE KIND OF SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GROUPS.
THERE'S MEDIA GROUPS, THERE'S GOVERNMENT, UM, ORGANIZATIONS OR DEPARTMENTS OR PROGRAMS THAT, THAT TARGET, UM, WE'RE FOCUSED ON CERTAIN GROUPS.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO, UM, JUST COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT, THAT WORK WITH CERTAIN GROUPS OR IN CERTAIN GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.
SO, SO THAT'S THE FIRST PART OF MY QUESTION.
I MEAN, MY ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
UM, THE SECOND PART IS THAT, THAT LESSER PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS, WELL, I GUESS THERE'S THREE PARTS.
UM, SO, SO THE, THE THIRD GROUP OF PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS, SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT YOU SEE LISTED THERE, WE INCLUDED BECAUSE WE WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT WE'RE NOT BY PRIORITIZING THESE GROUPS FROM WHOM WE HAVE NOT HEARD IN THE PAST.
WE'RE NOT SAYING WE'RE GOING TO COMPLETELY LEAVE BEHIND EVERYONE THAT WE'VE TALKED TO BEFORE.
UM, WE STILL REALLY VALUE THE INPUT OF GROUPS LIKE SOS, UM, WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH WATERSHED FOR YEARS AND YEARS.
UM, AND YOU HAVE A LOT OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND, UM, AN INPUT TO BRING.
UM, SO WE STILL WANT TO HEAR FROM THAT WE STILL WANT TO MAINTAIN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
UM, SO WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE GROUPS ON THAT, ON THAT SLIDE, UM, AND, AND TO CONTINUE TO CONSULT WITH THEM.
UM, ALSO SOME OF THE GROUPS MAY HAVE A BROADER GEOGRAPHIC REACH LIKE BIKE AUSTIN, UM,
[01:40:01]
BUT THEY MAY HAVE A REALLY SPECIFIC KIND OF TOPIC RELATED FOCUS AREA.SO IF WE'RE INTERESTED IN, UM, BIKE USERS WHO ARE USING TRAILS AT JASON TO WATERWAYS, UM, THEN WE WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, TOUCHING BASE WITH BIKE AUSTIN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING INPUT FROM THOSE STAKEHOLDERS THAT MATTER TO US.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS THE OTHER, THE THIRD PIECE IS THAT, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT INTERSECTIONALITY HERE ALSO.
SO IF THERE'S A GROUP THAT FITS IN, UM, PRIORITY GROUP THREE THAT ALSO FITS IN PRIORITY GROUP ONE OR TWO, WE'RE GOING TO PRIORITIZE DEDICATING EFFORT TO THAT GROUP, UM, OVER A GROUP THAT MAY ONLY FALL INTO PRIORITY GROUP THREE.
SO IF THAT MAKES SENSE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IF WE'RE HAVING TO DECIDE, YOU KNOW, WHO WE'RE GOING TO DEDICATE MORE RESOURCES TO BETWEEN GO AUSTIN, VAMOS AUSTIN, AND IN ANOTHER GROUP, WE MIGHT CHOOSE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME FOR GO AUSTIN, VAMOS AUSTIN, OR GABA, BECAUSE THEY WORK WITH, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE, UM, PREDOMINANTLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
UM, MANY OF WHOM ARE LOW INCOME AND SOME OF WHOM ARE NOT ENGLISH SPEAKERS.
UM, AND ALL OF THOSE ARE PRIOR TO GROUP ONE, UM, SUB GROUPS, AND THEN ALSO WHO MAY BE IMPACTED BY WATERSHED IMPACTS.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, SO, SO HOPEFULLY THROUGH THAT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, REALLY REACH THE FOLKS THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING MOST.
AND AGAIN, I'LL DEFINITELY SEND THAT LIST SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE MORE GRANULAR, UM, LIST OF GROUPS OR THAT CHRISTIAN PARTY.
AND JUST AS A SIDE NOTE, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN THIS TIME FOR 30 YEARS AND, UH, I CAN COUNT ON THE FINGERS OF NONE OF MY HANDS, THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT AN ORGANIZATION SUCH AS THIS AS APPROACHED MY NEIGHBORHOOD ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
AND I'M, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LIKE TRADITIONALLY THE GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ALWAYS IS INCLUDED IN THIS TYPE OF THING THAT IS WHITE, UPPER MIDDLE CLASS, OLD PEOPLE, AND I'M NEVER BEEN ASKED THIS.
SO I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE UNDERSERVED GROUPS ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF INPUT THEY'RE BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE.
UH, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE OUTRAGE TO INCLUDING EVERYONE IS, UH, NEEDS TO BE FOCUSED ON A GREAT DEAL.
UH, SO THE, AND THEN THE ONLY OTHER COMMENT I HAVE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN GLANCING THROUGH THE, UH, THE PREVIOUS REPORT, UH, THERE WERE A LOT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, GOALS AND, AND THINGS THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED IN THERE, BUT I EVER SAW ANY, UH, RESPONSIBILITY ASSIGNMENTS IN THE PREVIOUS REPORT IN 2015, YOU KNOW, IT SAID, WELL, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF BACTERIA AND WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS, WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT.
AND, UH, I REALIZED THAT, UH, THE ORGANIZATION OF THE, UH, VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY IS KIND OF FLUID, BUT, UH, NEVERTHELESS IT WOULD BE NICE TO, UH, MAKE A STAB AT SAYING THAT, UH, THIS DEPARTMENT OR THIS ORGANIZATION, OR WHATEVER IT IS, HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR, YOU KNOW, SEEING THIS PARTICULAR ACTION ITEM THROUGH AND HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, I FIRST HAVE A COMMENT AND I WAS JUST THINKING HOW, UM, IT WILL LIKELY BE REALLY CHALLENGING TO BALANCE THE, LIKE THE WORST PROBLEMS FIRST APPROACH, UM, WITH RECEIVING SO MUCH INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT IT WAS ALSO, IT WILL ALSO BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT INPUT, BUT MAY NOT BE URGENT OR LIFE THREATENING OR A PUBLIC SAFETY RISK, AS I WAS JUST, I WAS JUST THINKING, UM, AGAIN, OF THIS, THIS TASK THAT YOU ALL HAVE AHEAD OF YOU.
UM, BUT I WAS ALSO THINKING THAT THAT MIGHT BE LIKELY TIED TO A BUDGET.
SO I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE BUDGET FOR THIS PROCESS.
I MEAN, I'M ASSUMING THAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN PROCESS IS BUDGETED, BUT THEN AT THE POINT, ONCE YOU HAVE THE PLAN, HOW TO, LIKE, CAN YOU MAKE A PLAN WAS SORT OF LIKE, IS IT GOING TO BE LIMITED BY, UH, YOU KNOW, AN AMOUNT ALREADY IN MIND, LIKE, OH, WE'RE ONLY GOING TO HAVE THIS MUCH.
SO OUR PLAN CAN ONLY, YOU KNOW, ENCOMPASS SO MANY AREAS OR, UM, HA HOW DOES THAT, HOW IS THAT GOING TO IMPACT YOUR WORK? LIKE THINKING ABOUT BUDGET, I GUESS THAT WILL BE ONE OF THE CONSTRAINTS, NOT MEANING A NEGATIVE CONNOTATION THAT WE
[01:45:01]
WILL BE WORKING IN.SO I THINK, I THINK IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE PLAN TO RECOGNIZE THE CONTEXT IN WHICH OUR DEPARTMENT OPERATES, YOU KNOW, THE LEGAL CONTEXT, OUR MANDATE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR ROLE AS A DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE CITY AND CERTAINLY OUR CURRENT BUDGET AND POTENTIAL FOR THE BUDGET TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.
AND SO I THINK THAT ONE OF OUR HOPES FOR THE REVISED PLAN IS THAT THE OBJECTIVES, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO HOLD OURSELVES TO IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE SOME BROAD ASPIRATIONAL GOALS, THE OBJECTIVES GET MORE SPECIFIC.
AND SO TO BE ABLE TO MAKE MORE SPECIFIC TIME-BOUND COMMITMENTS, I THINK IT WILL HELP IF WE RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR OPERATING CONSTRAINTS, INCLUDING THE BUDGET, WHICH IS NOT TO SAY THAT IT IS COMPLETELY FIXED, BUT WE SHOULD CERTAINLY KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH NOW AND WHAT THE POTENTIAL LEVERS FOR CHANGE WOULD BE IN THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR CURRENT RESOURCES, WHAT CAN WE DO OVER A REASONABLE TIMELINE IF WE WANT TO DO MORE, WHAT WOULD THAT TAKE AND HOW COULD THAT BE ACHIEVED THROUGH DIFFERENT OP YOU KNOW, THROUGH DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW WE FUND REALLY, REALLY LARGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THROUGH BONDS.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD CONSIDER GOING FORWARD IS THE POTENTIAL FOR BOND FUNDING.
WE RECEIVE OUR DEPARTMENT'S REVENUE THROUGH THE DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE, WHICH HAS A SET RATE.
IF WE WANT TO INCREASE THAT, WHAT'S THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN FOR THE COMMUNITY AND FOR OUR ABILITY TO TAKE ON MORE, UM, AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
AND SO I THINK WE'LL BE THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THAT AS WE'RE DEVELOPING SOME OF THE SPECIFIC ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN TO TRY TO MAKE IT MORE REALISTIC.
UH, BUT WE WON'T JUST, YOU KNOW, WE WON'T JUST SET A STATUS QUO WITH NO DISCUSSION OF THE POTENTIAL LEVERS FOR CHANGE.
AND TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HOW WOULD YOU LIKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO BE INVOLVED? UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE, I HEARD MADAM CHAIR, UM, THIS MENTION OR SUGGEST A WORKING GROUP.
AND SO, UM, I, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
WHAT DID, WHAT A WORKING GROUP IN THIS SITUATION LIKELY ENTAIL? LIKE COMMISSIONERS PARTICIPATING IN AN, IN AN, LIKE IN A MEETING WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, OR IS IT USUALLY LIKE, WOULD IT BE AS SEPARATE WORKING GROUP WHERE IT'S JUST LIKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONERS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE OTHER DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS, HOW DOES THAT, HOW MUCH INTERACTION WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT YOU'RE ALREADY GOING TO BE MEETING WITH? LIKE, WOULD IT, WOULD THERE BE, OR, I MEAN, MAYBE WE HAVEN'T THOUGHT THROUGH THAT, BUT I WAS JUST, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU MENTIONED A WORKING GROUP, SO YOU WANT ME TO RESPOND TO THAT? SURE.
I THINK WE CAN, UH, BUILD IT ANY WAY WE WANT, WHERE WE FEEL THERE'S A NEED.
IF WE FEEL THERE'S A NEED TO BRING IN SOME SPECIFIC COMMUNITY LEADERS, UH, OUR, WE FEEL LIKE, UH, WE WANNA, WE WANT STAFF TO ADDRESS SOMETHING, UM, THAT WE'RE WANTING MORE INPUT ON THAT WE CAN REPORT BACK AT OUR REGULAR MEETING.
UH, W WE CAN, WE CAN DESIGN IT ANY WAY WE WANT, THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF A WORKING GROUP.
AND SO AS THE PROCESS MOVES FORWARD, THE WORKING GROUP CAN MORPH AND CHANGE, BUT IT WILL STILL STAY CONSISTENT WITH THIS PROCESS THAT WATERSHED HAS PROPOSED.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, TOO, LIKE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMITTEE AND WORKING GROUP COMMITTEES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PERMANENT AND ARE MORE FORMAL, HAVE STAFF SUPPORT WORKING GROUPS TRADITIONALLY ARE MORE INFORMAL.
IT CAN BRING IN COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO BE A PART OF THAT WORKING GROUP AND CAN HAVE, AND USUALLY DON'T HAVE STAFF SUPPORT.
AND JUST SINCE IT'S RELEVANT, UM, I WILL SAY I, I'M DEFINITELY IN SUPPORT OF A WORKING GROUP FOR THIS.
UH, AND I THINK THAT INITIALLY QUARTERLY IS FINE, BUT I THINK WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IN OUR FIRST WORKING GROUP MEETING.
IF WE HAVE ONE, I'M HAPPY TO BE ON IT.
UH, I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT WE PULLED COMMUNITY LEADERS INTO THE FOLD IN THIS.
AND I, I THINK, ESPECIALLY ALIGNED WITH YOUR ENGAGEMENT PRIORITIES AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE BIPAP FOLKS IN THE ROOM AS A PART OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THAT WORKING GROUP.
UH, I THINK THAT THAT WAS CRITICAL IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY
[01:50:01]
PLAN PROCESS AS A PART OF THAT STEERING COMMITTEE.UM, AND THEN I JUST, DO YOU MIND THAT I'M GO PIGGYBACKING? YEAH, GO, GO.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO ASK OF Y'ALL OF STAFF IS TO EXPLORE THE OPPORTUNITY, ESPECIALLY FOR BRINGING COMMUNITY LEADERS INTO THE, INTO THE FOLD, UM, UH, EXPLORE THE OPPORTUNITY OF POTENTIALLY PROVIDING OPTIONAL STIPENDS, IF THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FOLKS PARTICIPATING AND NOT PARTICIPATING.
I KNOW THAT THAT WAS NOT ONE OF YOUR COMPENSATED ITEMS. UH, YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE-ON-ONES WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE, UH, THAT PIECE ABOUT KIND OF PARTICIPATION IN A COMMITTEE WE'RE WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND THEN I DID WANT TO ALSO ASK IF WE DO A WORKING GROUP SINCE THIS IS EMBEDDED IN THIS PLANNING PROCESS, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE STAFF SUPPORT THAN MAYBE WE WOULD TRADITIONALLY HAVE IN AN, ANOTHER WORKING GROUP? DOES THAT ALL SOUND GOOD? OKAY.
WE HAVE A OUTSTANDING NUMBER OF, UH, SCIENTISTS AT THE UNIVERSITIES IN AUSTIN WORKING ON CLIMATE CHANGE SPECIFICALLY, WHO I WOULD LIKE TO BE ALSO INVOLVED IF, UH, WE HAD A WORKING GROUP TO BE ABLE TO TAP SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES.
AND I THINK BALANCING KIND OF COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP, COMMUNITY, VOICE, AND AGENCY EQUITY GOALS WITH TECHNICAL GOALS, I THINK SOUNDS GREAT.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I FORGOT TO MENTION ABOUT IT IS I ALSO FEEL LIKE IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT A MORE FORMAL STRUCTURE IS FOR HOW THAT WORKING GROUP WILL OVERLAP WITH THE INTERNAL STEERING COMMITTEE AND AT WHAT INTERVALS AT WHAT MOMENTS IN TIME.
AND I THINK OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION ACROSS THE INTERNAL COMMITTEE AND THAT WORKING GROUP, I THINK WILL BE REALLY FANTASTIC.
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE ENTIRE UNITS.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING TO YOU ABOUT IT.
ANYONE HAVE ANY QUICK COMMENTS ABOUT, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP IDEA THAT THEY WANT TO GET IN RIGHT NOW? AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO A COMMISSIONER BARRETT.
SO, UM, UH, MR. COHEN, I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A WORKING GROUP, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THE STEERING COMMITTEE.
UM, BUT I KIND OF FEEL LIKE ALMOST OUT OF RESPECT FOR, UH, WATERSHED, YOU KNOW, THAT WE STEPPED FORWARD TO BE ON THAT STEERING COMMITTEE FIRST AND THEN BRINGING BACK, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION, UM, TO THE COMMISSION.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK WE GET TOO MANY THINGS GOING ON AGAIN, THAT'S JUST ONE MORE THING AND SOMETIMES JUST ONE MORE THING.
UM, AND SO IF THEY, IF, IF THEY ARE ALREADY IN THE STRUCTURE OF PUTTING TOGETHER A STEERING COMMITTEE THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PULLING FROM THE COMMUNITY, PULLING ALL THESE DIFFERENT PEOPLE, UH, PERHAPS WE JUST PIGGYBACK ON THAT AND THEN THERE'S A PERSON OR A POINT PERSON THAT COMES OUT OF THAT STEERING COMMITTEE.
IT WAS MY IMPRESSION THAT THE STEERING COMMITTEE WAS ONLY INTERNAL.
SO THE STEERING COMMITTEE IS INTERNAL WITH WATERSHED STAFF.
WE HAVE NOT PROPOSED A COMMUNITY-BASED STEERING COMMITTEE AND FOR, FOR SEVERAL REASONS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE RE WE'VE CONSIDERED IT AND THEN LANDED ON A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES.
AND SO I'D BE REALLY INTERESTED TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT AND HOW, YOU KNOW, THE, IF WE'RE ENVISIONING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SERVING AS THE COMMUNITY BODY, OR THEY CONTINUE TO ADVISORY BODY, IS THERE THE ABILITY TO BRING, WHAT COULD THEY RELATIONSHIP BE WITH SPECIFIC COMMUNITY LEADERS? UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS PROGRAM AND THE INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIP BUILDING? AND SO I THINK THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SOME VERY INTERESTING IDEAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, UH, UH, HAVING MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC OR COMMUNITY MEMBERS SERVE HER FORMALLY IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY.
AND SO HOW WOULD THAT HAPPEN? HOW WOULD THAT BE, UM, ARRANGED AND THEN WHAT WOULD THE EXPECTATION BE BETWEEN THAT WHOSE ROLE EXACTLY.
AND THE, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL WATERSHED ORGANIZATION, CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO EXPLORE MORE.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE'S FEEDBACK.
I THINK COMMISSIONER RANDBURG, UH, HAS A COMMENT SPECIFIC.
OH, ARE YOU COMMISSIONER BARRY? YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ANYWAY.
DON'T HAVE TO LOOP BACK AROUND RANDBURG.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE, THE ENTHUSIASM FOR THE ROAD AHEAD OF YOU GUYS.
IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG PROCESS AND, AND A GREAT, UM, MY ONE COMMENT, UH, IS THAT I WOULD BE EXCITED AND THIS KIND OF BALANCES WITH COMMISSIONER THOMPSON'S COMMENT, OR ACTUALLY COUNTERS IT,
[01:55:01]
BUT FIND SOME KIND OF A BALANCE TO WHERE YOU GUYS CAN RECORD INFORMATION ON THE COMMENTERS.UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT PRIORITY GROUP THEY'RE IN, BUT ALSO, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT KIND OF, WHERE THEY ARE, UM, MAYBE NOT SPECIFIC TO WHAT DEPARTMENT THEY'RE IN, BUT CENSUS BLOCK, CENSUS CENSUS GROUP, SOMETHING TO WHERE WE CAN ANALYZE AND, AND ILLUSTRATE KIND OF WHERE THE OUTREACH OCCURRED.
UM, AND SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS WE'VE BEEN GETTING OVER THE YEARS, THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD GIS INFORMATION THAT, THAT YOU CAN DIVE INTO, AND I'D BE REAL EXCITED IF AT THIS, AT THIS GO ROUND, WE KIND OF START THE FRAMEWORK OF THAT.
SO THAT'S JUST MY LAST, UH, OR MY ONLY COMMENT.
UH, THANKS SO MUCH, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW HOW MUCH THOUGHT AND INTENTION HAS BEEN PUT INTO THE STRUCTURE OF HOW YOU'RE SETTING UP THIS PLAN.
AND SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THIS CAN BE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THIS SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIMELINE, I'M, I'M EXCITED THAT YOU'RE GIVING IT THE TIME IT DESERVES AND STILL, YOU KNOW, REMEMBERING THAT THERE IS A SENSE OF URGENCY AND OUR ABILITY TO DO THIS WORK IN THE NEAR TERM AND IN THE LONG-TERM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST HAVE TWO COMMENTS SLASH QUESTIONS.
YOU KNOW, I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT HOW EQUITY IS GOING TO INFORM ENGAGEMENT, BUT NOT AS MUCH ABOUT HOW YOU'RE GOING TO INTEGRATE THAT AS REALLY A CORE DRIVER FOR ACTIONS COMING.
AND SO THAT, TO ME, THOSE ARE TWO FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? UH, THANK YOU.
IT IS OUR INTENT TO INCORPORATE EQUITY AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE INTO THE UPDATED PLAN.
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE IS INCREDIBLE CITYWIDE MOMENTUM TO IMPROVE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES, AND WE DON'T FEEL LIKE THAT.
THAT'S A QUESTION OF, SHOULD WE, THAT GOES TO THE COMMUNITY.
IT IS A STAFF INTENT TO DO SO TO ENSURE THE PLAN IMPROVES EQUITABLE WATERSHED OUTCOMES AND THE QUESTIONS OR THE COMMUNITY INFANT STAFF WILL BE WORKING ON PLAINTIFFS.
HOW, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR WATERSHEDS BUSINESS? HOW DO WE BEST DO THAT? HOW DO WE INCORPORATE EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS INTO OUR PROJECT SELECTION AND PRIORITIZATION PROCESSES IN A WAY THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY FORMALIZED? AND SO SORRY TO LEAVE THAT UNSAID, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY IN OUR CURRENT INTENT TO MAKE IT A GUIDING PRINCIPLE, JUST LIKE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW WHERE'S PROBLEMS FIRST BROADENING THAT, CHANGING THAT, HOWEVER IT NEEDS TO BE TO ENSURE THAT THE PLAN IS TRULY EQUITABLE, UH, AS A STARTING POINT.
I'D LOVE TO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT ATX WALKED BY ROLL, UM, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, YOU KNOW, IN, IN OTHER PLANS, EVEN BEYOND THE CITY ARE REALLY STARTING TO USE, UH, REALLY THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK FOR DECISION-MAKING.
UH, SO THAT IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S MORE TANGIBLE THAT ALL, ALL PARTNERS CAN USE.
YOU KNOW, PART OF MY CONCERN IS THAT THERE IS SOME SILOING GOING ON, UH, ACROSS THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES THAT YOU'RE CULTIVATING THAT ARE TOPICAL, INCLUDING FIELD OPS, ET CETERA.
AND I THINK MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, ENGAGE WITH THESE TOPICS, EVEN IF FOLKS ARE AT DIFFERENT STARTING POINTS IN THEIR, IN THEIR EQUITY JOURNEY IS I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND, AND MY, MY LAST QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH CLIMATE ADAPTATION.
I, YOU KNOW, I'M SO GLAD THAT THAT, UH, IS STARTING TO BE MORE OF THE NARRATIVE ABOUT HOW WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT.
UM, AND I KIND OF HAVE TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, GIVE ME A LITTLE PREVIEW ABOUT WHERE YOU THINK THAT'S HEADED.
DO YOU, DOES THAT FEEL A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE HOW YOU THINK ABOUT YOU THINK ABOUT MULTI-FUNCTIONALITY IS A CORE PRINCIPLE OF KIND OF ANY MONEY SPENT IN WATERSHED, DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE UTILIZING MORE OF THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE AND MAYBE OUR, OUR REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, UH, AS A CITY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD COMMISSIONERS AND, AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YEAH, WE HAVE THESE REGULATIONS THAT SAY, IT'S GONNA, YOU KNOW, IF WE BUILD TO THIS WAY, IT'S GOING TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORS, BUT HOW DO WE REALLY KNOW THAT THAT'S TRUE.
IF, IF YOU KNOW, WE HAVE UNPRECEDENTED CHANGE IN CLIMATE THAT WE'RE NOT EVEN CURRENTLY PROJECTING FOR.
UM, SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF INTEGRATING CLIMATE INTO, INTO THIS GOOD QUESTIONS.
YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T FULLY SCOPED THAT OUT IN MY MIND.
THEY'RE TRYING TO STAY OPEN TO ALL THE POTENTIAL WAYS THAT THAT COULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THE PLAN AND USING BOTH COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND INTERNAL STAFF RESOURCES TO COME UP WITH THAT.
BUT CERTAINLY THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE MENTIONED, PLUS THINGS LIKE A LEVEL OF SERVICE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS, WHAT DO CHANGING RAINFALL PATTERNS MEAN FOR OUR CURRENT LEVEL OF SERVICE? CAN WE CONTINUE TO
[02:00:01]
CHASE THAT, UH, AND TRY IT TO MANAGE THE 100 YEAR STORM, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE FUTURE SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON REALLY BIG PROJECTS OR FROM A CLIMATE RESILIENCE PERSPECTIVE.DOES IT MAKE MORE SENSE TO TRY TO DO, YOU KNOW, SMALLER POTENTIALLY MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE INDIVIDUALLY RESILIENT, BUT WITH A LOWER LEVEL OF SERVICE PROJECTS, UM, THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE TYPE OF SOLUTIONS THAT ARE MOST ADAPTABLE OR MOST RESILIENT TO A CHANGING CLIMATE, YOU KNOW, TRADITIONAL GREEN, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN A TRADITIONAL GRAY INFRASTRUCTURE APPROACH VERSUS A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE APPROACH? YOU KNOW, HOW, AS YOU SAID, HOW FAR CAN REGULATIONS GO, UH, YOU KNOW, IS IT REASONABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE INCREASINGLY MORE PROTECTIVE? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THAT? WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES OF THAT, BUT ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO LIKE THINKING ABOUT ALL THAT, SOME OF THE, KIND OF THE WATERSHED OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVE, WHAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS NEED FROM US TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE CLIMATE IMPACTS, CERTAINLY TO PREVENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO PREVENT ANY IMPACTS THAT WE CAN, BUT IF THEY CANNOT BE PREVENTED, THEN WHAT CAN OUR DEPARTMENT DO TO HELP MITIGATE THE IMPACTS AND, YOU KNOW, PLAN FOR THEM, AVOID THE WORST AND THEN RECOVER QUICKLY.
AND SO THAT WOULD TIE INTO, YOU KNOW, OUR PORTION OF THE CITYWIDE RESILIENCE INITIATIVE, AS WELL AS IF WE CAN'T PREVENT EVERYTHING, THEN WHAT DO WE, WHAT DO WE DO TO MANAGE THE RISK AND THE IMPACTS THAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE? SO I'M AFRAID THAT IT'S NOT A COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER ON ALL THE WAYS I EXPECT.
THERE ARE MANY, MANY WAYS THAT IT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO OUR OPERATIONS.
I GUESS WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT WE WILL BE OPEN TO ABSOLUTELY AS MUCH AS WE CAN AND HAVING THOSE IN DEPTH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT NO, I PUT YOU ON THE SPOT.
I THINK WE COULD TALK FOR HOURS ON THIS TOPIC AND NERD OUT TOGETHER, BUT I THINK JUST ONE FOLLOW UP, MAYBE FOR THIS MIGHT BE MORE FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR HARTLEY, OR MAYBE EVEN OUR DEPUTY ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER, BUT, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST IN MY OPINION, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING MORE CLIMATE ADAPTED WORK THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THROUGH THE WORK OF WATERSHED PROTECTION THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION, ONCE THIS PLAN IS ADOPTED, THAT HAS TO INCLUDE MORE THAN JUST WATER.
AND, AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE PARTIALLY THE WORK OF, OF THE RESILIENCE OFFICER, BUT THAT WORK IS EVEN MORE EXPANSIVE THAN JUST ENVIRONMENTAL.
UM, SO IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WAYS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROMOTING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, WE'RE PRESERVING BIODIVERSITY, WE ARE MITIGATING URBAN HEAT ISLAND.
YOU KNOW, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ACTUALLY HAVE THE DIRECTIVE TO DO THAT WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT? OR DO WE REALLY NEED TO THINK MORE RADICALLY ABOUT WHAT COUNCIL HAS DIRECTED YOUR DEPARTMENT TO DO? I GUESS MY SENSE IS THAT THERE'S A BIT OF FEELING A LITTLE BIT HAMSTRUNG ON YOUR DIRECTIVE FOCUSED SOLELY ON WATER RATHER THAN MORE HOLISTICALLY AROUND ENVIRONMENT.
AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR HARTLEY, I THINK LOST HER CONNECTION.
SO UNFORTUNATELY SHE JUST, UH, CRASHED, UM, I THINK SHE WAS ABOUT TO ANSWER, BUT, UM, I DO THINK THAT THERE IS A PLACE FOR, UM, FOR LOOKING AT, AT CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH OUR REQUIREMENTS, UM, AND, AND RULES AND REGULATIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE, UM, A BIT OF A CONSTRAINT CONSIDERING OUR FUNDING, UM, RELATED TO, UH, THE STATE, THE DUFF FUNDING, WHICH HAS TO BE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, ATTRIBUTED ONLY TO CERTAIN THINGS RELATED TO WATER, BUT THERE IS A BIG INTERSECTION WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND FLOOD CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE WAY THAT CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS HEAT ISLAND AND HOW THAT AFFECTS EVERYTHING AND THE ECOSYSTEM.
SO I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE COULD BE SOME OVERLAP, WE'D HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT IT AND MAYBE POTENTIALLY LOOK AT DIFFERENT FUNDING FOR CERTAIN THINGS.
AND, AND, UM, WE HAVE TIME FOR, I THINK ANOTHER COMMENT FROM COMMISSIONER SCOTT AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR RESPONSE TO THAT.
I THINK I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE FOLLOW UP ON THAT BECAUSE I THINK STRUCTURALLY HOW FUNDING WORKS.
I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE LIMITATIONS THERE, BUT I THINK EVEN IF THERE NEEDS TO BE COUNCIL ACTION, THAT FOLKS IN THIS COMMISSION NEED TO ADVOCATE FOR TO EXPAND THE PURVIEW OF THE WORK THAT YOU CAN DO.
I WANT YOU TO FEEL ENABLED TO DO THAT BECAUSE I THINK IT IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF WHAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN NEEDS TO COMMISSIONER SCOTT.
I THINK YOU'RE SPOT ON WITH THIS.
AND, UM, I SPEND A LOT OF TIME AND DID EVEN, UH, I HAVE BEEN FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUALLY LOOKING
[02:05:01]
AT THINGS THAT HAVE TO, THEY DO HAVE TO DO IS WATER HALE HAS, IS WATER.UM, ANYTIME YOU HAVE, UH, AN INCREDIBLY, UH, UH, VIOLENT WEATHER PATTERN, HELL CAN STAY HIGH LONG ENOUGH TO DEVELOP, TO BE AS BIG AS GRAPEFRUIT SIZE.
AND THAT HAS THAT'S BEEN REPORTED.
I WAS IN, UH, DULUTH WHEN IT WAS REPORTED A FEW, YOU KNOW, 12 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE I WAS IT'S, THIS IS STUFF THAT'S.
AND THAT WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
THIS IS, THAT WAS AT LEAST 10 YEARS AGO.
THIS IS STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING NOW.
AND SO I THINK THAT, UH, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT WATER, UH, WATER HAS TO DO WITH FLOODS AND HURRICANES AND HAIL.
AND, UH, IT'S ALL CERTAINLY, UH, FEMA DOESN'T SPLIT HAIRS BETWEEN, UM, THE WATER IN THE, AND THE AIR DAMAGE THAT COMES TOGETHER WHEN YOU HAVE A TORNADO OR A STORM.
SO THAT I JUST, UM, I THINK THAT SOMEHOW WE HAVE TO THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, HOLISTICALLY AND, UM, AND, UH, AND, AND I SEE A RESILIENCE OFFICER, UH, TURNING INTO A RESILIENCE DEPARTMENT.
AND I THINK WE'LL WRAP IT UP THERE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, JUST EXCITED TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH Y'ALL LET'S TOUCH BASE ON THE WORKING GROUP, GOT A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK TONIGHT FROM COMMISSIONERS ABOUT PRIORITIES.
UM, I THINK WE SHOULD ALSO TOUCH BASE ABOUT KIND OF THE PURVIEW QUESTION THAT I JUST RAISED, AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH STAFF ABOUT THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, EXCITING POINT IN YOUR JOURNEY AND THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK TO DATE.
AND I KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT MORE BEFORE WE'RE DONE, SO, ALL RIGHT.
[4. COMMITTEE REPORTS]
UH, ITEM FORAY COMMITTEE REPORTS, UH, ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING TO REPORT BACK FROM COMMITTEES? UH, MADAM CHAIR.JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT IT LOOKS LIKE THE STATESMAN PET IS GOING TO BE COMING TOGETHER QUICKLY AND MAYBE COMING FORWARD ON OUR AGENDA.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL NEED TO GET A WORKING GROUP TOGETHER.
I'LL HAVE KAYLA SEND OUT A POLL ABOUT THAT AND JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT ON EVERYONE'S RADAR.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GUERRERO.
UH, IF THERE'S NO OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS, WE WILL ADJOURN AT EIGHT 11 AND, UH, CRISTIANA.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
YOUR AGENDA.AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE IS FOR STAFF LIZ, AND I DON'T KNOW, I THINK WE NEED TO ADDRESS, UH, THE, UM, ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED BY OUR SPEAKER, UH, CRAIG NASER.
AND I THINK THAT PERHAPS STAFF SHOULD RESPOND VIA A MEMO TO US REGARDING SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS I'M CALLING THAT OUT IS BECAUSE THAT, UM, THAT AREA IS, UH, ON MY, ON OUR ANNUAL REPORT, THAT WE ARE GOING TO KEEP UPDATED ON ANYTHING THAT CAME FORWARD, UH, AT THAT SITE.
SO, UM, LET'S START OUT WITH POSSIBLY IF IT'S OKAY.
A MEMO REGARDING SOME OF HIS ISSUES HE RAISED.
WE'D BE HAPPY TO DRAFT A MEMO ON THAT.
AND IF YOU WANT A MORE IN-DEPTH FOLLOWUP AFTER THAT, WE CAN BRING FORTH A BRIEFING IF YOU'D PREFER AS WELL.
ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, OTHER THAN THAT, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
I WILL ADJOURN THEN AT EIGHT 12, AND I'M SORRY, I'M GOING TO RUN OUT THE DOOR.