* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [CALL TO ORDER] [00:00:09] A SPECIAL CALL MEETING. THIS IS A MIC, UH, MAKE-UP MEETING SCHEDULED TO MAKE UP FOR OUR SEPTEMBER, UH, CANCELLATION DUE TO LACK OF QUORUM. BEGIN WITH A ROLL CALL. UH, I'VE INTRODUCED MYSELF ALREADY. I'LL GO AHEAD AND START IF I COULD AT THE VERY FAR END OF THE DIOCESE. HELLO, I'M NICOLE THOMPSON REPRESENTING DISTRICT NINE. UH, LILIA SEVERSKY REPRESENTING DISTRICT SIX. UH, HI, I'M SOPHIE GARAH REPRESENTING MAYOR STEVE ADLER. I'M DAVE FLOYD REPRESENTING DISTRICT FIVE, STEVEN APODACA REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, JEN RAMOS REPRESENTING DISTRICT EIGHT. THANK YOU. AND AS I MENTIONED, HOW MANY OF MY PITS, THE THIRD REPRESENTING MAYOR PRO TEM NATASHA UPPER MADISON FROM DISTRICT ONE. AND WITH THAT, WE ARE CALLED TO ORDER. FIRST ITEM IS CITIZEN COMMUNICATION. AT THIS TIME, WE HAVE NO ONE SIGNED UP, I BELIEVE SO WE'LL PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA [1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – July 14, 2021] TO AGENDA ITEM ONE, THE APPROVAL OF OUR JULY 14TH, 2021 MINUTES SHOULD ALL HAVE A DRAFT IN YOUR FOLDER. AFTER A QUICK REVIEW, I'LL LOOK FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED. IF THERE ARE NO CHANGES, THIS IS JEN RAMOS. SO MOVED. WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RAMOS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED SECOND AND A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER IS FIRSTLY THAT WE'LL CALL A VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED. PLEASE SAY, AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? WE HAVE ONE OPPOSITION, UH, COMMISSIONER GATES, ANYONE ABSTAINING? OH, WAIT, COMMISSIONER GATES. ARE YOU OPPOSED OR YOU, UH, AFFIRMING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED? WELL, VOTING MAY BE A CHALLENGE THIS TIME. I'M NOT CERTAIN, UH, BUT I DO HAVE NINE OR EXCUSE ME, EIGHT IN THE AFFIRMATIVE AND EITHER ONE ABSTENTION OR ONE OPPOSED? UH, YES. COMMISSIONER DID YOU CALL ME AS YET? YES. UH, YES. COMMISSIONER SCOOPED UP. GOT YOU AS AN AFFIRMATIVE COMMISSIONER GATES. NO, I AM NOT OPPOSED DIET. THAT WAS OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. THEN WE ARE UNANIMOUS IN OUR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES WILL REMAIN. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, COULD GO AHEAD AND ENTER INTO THE RECORD AS APPROVED AND [2A. Autonomy Institute Fellow Presentation on Public Infrastructure Network Nodes] WE'LL PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM TWO STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS. WE HAVE A PRESENTATION BY THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE FELLOW ON THE PRISON, UH, EXCUSE ME, PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK NODES. UH, THIS IS JEFF. THE PRESIDENT OF THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE. JEFF, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY. I GREATLY APPRECIATE THE TIME, UH, CHAIRMAN PITTS AND, UH, COMMISSIONERS. UM, UH, I FIND IT EXTREMELY EXCITING TO THE ORGANIZATION THAT YOU GUYS REPRESENTS. UH, WE BELIEVE IT'S A VITAL SERVICE, UM, THAT IS GOING TO BE HIGHLY IMPACTFUL TO COMMUNITIES ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE PIN NETWORKS AND HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAN HELP END THE DIGITAL WIDE AND ALSO PROVIDE ADVANCED SERVICES TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITIES I'M GOING TO BE SHARING. UM, UH, SOME SLIDES YOU GO AHEAD AND PICK THAT UP AND JUST TO CONFIRM THAT THE SLIDES DIDN'T COME UP. YES. THANK YOU. PERFECT. SO AS MENTIONED, MY NAME IS JEFF DICKO, UH, CHAIRMAN OF THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE. UH, THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE IS A 5 0 1 C3. UM, IT'S AN ORGANIZATION THAT'S PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON HOW, UM, INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE CAN HELP ACCELERATE THE ADOPTION OF NEW INNOVATIONS WITHIN A CITY. UM, PRETTY MUCH ELIMINATE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND ALSO SUPPORTS A LOT OF THE ADVANCED SERVICES THAT'S. UM, I THINK THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, HAS BEEN REQUESTING FOR QUITE SOME TIME. AND, UM, WE ALWAYS LIKE TO, TO SHARE THIS SLIDE FIRST TOO, TO KIND OF HELP UNDERS UH, COMMUNICATES [00:05:01] WHERE THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE FITS. UM, WE DO NOT PROVIDE TECHNOLOGY. WE DO NOT PROVIDE SERVICES, UM, OR A 5 0 1 C3 THAT WAS ESTABLISHED, UM, AFTER A GREAT COLLABORATION WITH, UH, FEDERAL AGENCIES BACK IN 2018. UM, AND THE REALIZATION THAT, UH, THERE HAD TO BE SOME TYPE OF, UM, BRIDGE BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT BODIES. UM, I THINK SOME OF THE INDIVIDUALS ON THE CALL, UM, CAN REMEMBER BACK, UM, UH, ADMIRAL EDMUND'S, UH, PHENOMENAL WORK WORKING WITH, UH, STATES AND INDUSTRY LEADERS IN ESTABLISHING, UM, MCC AND SEMATECH, WHICH WAS FOCUSED ON EMBEDDED SYSTEMS. THINK OF THE, UM, AUTONOMY INSTITUTES, A SIMILAR VEIN, BUT FOCUSED ON THE DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL BE CRITICAL TO SUPPORTS, UM, RESILIENT CITIES AND, UH, BETTER RESPONSIVE, UH, UH, SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITIES, UM, THAT CITIES LIKE AUSTIN SERVE, UM, IN THERE'S INVESTORS THAT ARE INVOLVED THERE'S INDUSTRY PARTNERS THAT ARE INVOLVED, BUT MORE IMPORTANT. UM, WHAT YOU'LL SEE AND WHY WE'RE HERE TONIGHT IS THE LEADERSHIP FROM THE CITY. AND ESPECIALLY THIS SPECIFIC COMMISSION, UM, WILL HELP, UM, ADOPTS HOW THE STRUCTURE OF TECHNOLOGY GETS IMPLEMENTED WITHIN A CITY THAT REALLY IS CONDUCIVE TO THE AESTHETICS AND THE COMMUNITY, UM, SUPPORT, UM, THAT, THAT, UH, THE CITY IS LOOKING FOR. UM, AND, UM, THE MAJORITY OF THE FOCUS OF THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE IS, IS WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT BODIES IN INDUSTRY AND ESTABLISHING LARGE-SCALE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE UNDERLINE COSTS OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE SPEAKING OF TONIGHT IS REALLY SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SUPPORTED BY LARGE, UM, $150 MILLION PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FUNDED BY PRIVATE, UM, INDUSTRY PARTNERS OR IN COLLABORATION WITH, UM, OTHER WAYS THAT THE CITY MAY DEEM, UM, ADEQUATE. BUT, UM, THERE IS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS OF DOLLARS THAT CAN BE LEVERAGED TO ADOPT THIS INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN A CITY AND PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. AND AS WE'VE EXPERIENCED GETTING THIS CALL GOING, UM, JUST BASIC CONNECTIVITY IN A CITY HAS BECOME A CHALLENGE AT TIMES AS WE GET MORE AND MORE SERVICES LIKE VIDEO, UM, ACTIVATED. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, THAT PROBABLY MEANS NOTHING TO ANYBODY YET. UM, BUT WE INTEND TO KIND OF LAY OUT WHAT INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE IS. THE IMPORTANT THING TO UNDERSTAND IS IT'S NOT JUST ONE THING. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT GETTING BROADBAND ACROSS THE CITY OR 5G OR, UM, INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS THAT PROVIDE SAFETY SERVICES AND VISION ZERO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE CITY TO, TO KEEP IT SAFER AND MORE RESILIENT. IT ALSO AFFECTS PUBLIC PRIVATE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY APPLICATIONS AND, UH, DISASTER RESPONSE, UM, AND MANY, MANY OF THE CASES. SO WE, WE USE THE, UM, THESE ARE THE, THE STICKS, UM, STRATEGIC INITIATIVES THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS LAID OUT. AND WE TRIED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THERE ARE IMPACTS EACH ONE OF THOSE, BUT IT'S BEST SUMMARIZE THAT WHAT THIS INFRASTRUCTURE WILL DO IS NOT ONLY PROVIDE BETTER CUNY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT IT ALSO ADDRESSES WHAT CITIES REALLY NEED TO, UM, THRIVE, WHICH IS THE CREATION OF JOBS, INNOVATION, GROWTH, UM, AND DIVERSITY WITHIN THE CITY. UM, TONIGHT WE'RE HOLDING, UH, UM, HONE IN ON THE INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE ITSELF, BUT WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THERE ARE TWO OTHER INITIATIVES THAT THE CITY WILL BE, UM, VITAL IN ITS CREATION. AND THAT IS, UM, AN ACTIVE DIGITAL TWIN AND A DATA EXCHANGE ON HOW DATA, UM, IS ACTUALLY LEVERAGED IN USE WITHIN THE CITY, COMES DOWN TO, UM, COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY, AS WELL AS THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY. UM, BUT AS I SAID TONIGHT, WE'RE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON THE, UM, EDGE INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, ONE THING I'D HIGHLIGHT RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EDGE INFRASTRUCTURE IS, UM, A CITY BOSTON IS, IS BEEN A PIONEER IN LOOKING AT HOW DIGITAL EDGE INFRASTRUCTURE CAN BE ADOPTED. UM, IN FACT, IN 1994, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, LOOKED AT, UH, IT ACTUALLY PUSHED OUT AN RFI ON HOW THEY COULD, UM, BETTER SUSTAIN LONG-TERM [00:10:01] VALUE, UH, FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY. UM, BUT THAT WAS RIGHT BEFORE THE 1996 BROADBAND, UM, ACT ON THE FEDERAL SIDE. UM, BUT I THINK WE'RE NOW SEEING A CRITICAL REASON THAT IT'S GOING TO COME BACK TO LEADERSHIP FROM CITIES AND STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN ORDER TO SOLVE, UM, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE ISSUES THAT WE'RE WE'RE CHALLENGED WITH TODAY. UM, THIS HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE. UM, THE REASON WHY ALL THE FEDERAL AGENCIES ARE ENGAGED WITH THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTES AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PULLING IN MANY OF THE INDUSTRY PARTNERS THAT ARE LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, BETTER SUPPORT CITIES IS THINK ABOUT PAST TIMES THAT LARGE SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE HAS BEEN ADOPTED, UM, EVERYTHING FROM RAIL TO ELECTRICITY, TO THE ROADS, TO THE AVIATION INDUSTRY, UM, WITH THE FAA. AND I THINK ALL OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED. IN FACT, WE'RE EXPERIENCING THAT TODAY. UM, THE INCREDIBLE IMPACT THE INTERNET HAS HAD AND THE DATA CENTERS AND THE CELL TOWERS AND THE ISP THAT HAVE PROVIDED THOSE SERVICES, UM, WHAT IS HAPPENING, UM, AND WHAT A LOT OF THE LEADERSHIP FROM THE CITY OF BOSTON HAS IDENTIFIED IS MANY OF THE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THIS NEXT WAVE, UM, TO PROVIDE RESILIENT SERVICES IS ACTUALLY BEING DEPLOYED, UM, UH, AT A DENSITY MUCH GREATER THAN WE'D SEEN IN THE PAST. AND I THINK ALL OF US HAVE SEEN, UM, ON ESPECIALLY DOWNTOWN, UM, SMALL CELLS POPPING UP ON, ON CITY CORNERS WHERE YOU'LL SEE A BOX ATTACHED TO A POLE AND AN ANTENNA, UM, ABOVE IT. WELL, THAT'S USUALLY A SINGLE CARRIER ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY. AND, UM, RATHER THAN LOOKING AT IT AS A UNIFIED SOLUTION TO SUPPORT MANY DIFFERENT VENDORS, IT'S ALL BEEN A ONE-OFF, UM, SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN BEEN ADOPTED. AND THIS HAS LED TO THIS CHALLENGE AND THIS, THIS GRAPHIC DEPICTS THE CHALLENGE THAT THE CITIES, UM, AND THE DEPARTMENTS THAT RUN DELLA, UM, YOU KNOW, MANAGES OF THE, THE, THE CHALLENGES IN THAT. THERE'S A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS THAT WANT TO PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES IN THE CITY, WHETHER IT BE 4G OR 5G OR WIFI, UM, SERVICES, UM, TO PROVIDE BETTER CONNECTIVITY. BUT IT ALSO GOES BEYOND THAT THERE'S TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN ON THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE HAS BEEN STARTING TO ADOPT THINGS LIKE LIDAR AND PROVIDE BETTER SAFETY, UH, TO THE PEDESTRIANS WALKING THROUGH DOWNTOWN THERE'S EDGE COMPUTING SERVICES, THERE ARE SMART CITY IOT SENSORS, AND THEN WE HAVE THE ELECTRIC GRID TECHNOLOGIES ALL COMING INTO THE CITY. AND WHAT, UM, HAS COMPOUNDED IS IN THE PAST, WE'VE SIMPLY STRAPPED BOLTED OR ATTACHED A PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY OR A NEW DEVICE ONTO CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE. AND WE'VE REALLY HIT THE PLATEAU WHERE, UM, THE MANAGEABILITY OF THAT IS BECOME VERY DIFFICULT, BUT ALSO THE SECURITY AND LONG-TERM UPGRADABILITY OF IT. IT DOES NOT REALLY SERVE THE AESTHETICS THAT THE CITY IS LOOKING FOR AS WELL. AND THIS HAS LED TO THE REALIZATION THAT THIS IS, UM, UH, A SIMILAR CHALLENGE HAS BEEN EXPERIENCED IN THE PAST. IN FACT, UH, THE PICTURES ON THE RIGHT ARE PICTURES THAT WERE SENT TO US, UM, FROM THE CITIES IN THE PAST. UM, THESE ARE, UM, PICTURES OF WHEN THE ELECTRIFICATION AND AS WELL AS THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPLOSION TOOK PLACE WITHIN CITIES, WE ENDED UP WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF, UH, TECHNOLOGIES AND DEVICES, WIRES, PRIMARILY BEING SPRAWLED ACROSS THE CITY AND THE FEAR. AND THE REALITY THAT WE'RE SEEING IS WITHOUT A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM, IT WAS GOING TO BE COMPOUNDED. AND IT WAS GOING TO BE FAR WORSE THAN WHAT WE SAW IN THE, THE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES. THIS HAS LED THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTES, UM, WHICH, UH, THE FOCUS OF THE AUTONOMY SUIT WAS INITIALLY ON PROVIDING THINGS LIKE AUTONOMOUS SHUTTLES, PICKING UP GRANDMA AND TAKING HER TO THE DOCTOR AND BACK HOME AND ROVERS, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY DELIVERING GROCERIES TO PEOPLE'S HOMES AND AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY OF JUST PACKAGES AND ADVANCED CITY SERVICES, BUT WITHOUT SOLVING THIS PROBLEM, NONE OF THOSE NEW, UH, SERVICES COULD BE ACTIVATED. SO IN WORKING WITH NOW OVER 150 INDUSTRY PARTNERS, A NEW SOLUTION OR A NEW ASSET CLASS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT, WHICH IS CALLED THE PIN AT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK NODE. UM, THINK OF IT AS A CONDO, BUT NOT A CONDO FOR PEOPLE, [00:15:01] BUT A CONDO FOR ELECTRONICS, BECAUSE, UM, WE MIGHT BE LOOKING TO ADOPT 5G AT SCALE TODAY. UH, BUT FOR TWO TO SIX YEARS FROM NOW, IT'S GOING TO BE SIX G AND THEN SEVEN G. AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT IMPLEMENTING OTHER ADVANCED IOT SENSORS IN THE CITY, UM, EDGE COMPUTING, INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION DEVICES, AND THIS PICTURE SHOWS MANY OF THOSE DEVICES, UM, AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE ALREADY ADOPTED WITHIN OUR CITY TODAY. UM, BUT WHAT THIS DOES IS UNIFIES THAT AND ALLOWS MULTI, MULTIPLE SERVICES TO BE DEPLOYED, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO CONTROL THE AESTHETICS AND CONTROL, UM, WHAT ACTUALLY GETS TO BE PUT IN THESE, UM, AS A NEW SERVICE DEPLOYED WITH THE CITY, UM, WE EQUATE THIS VERY, VERY MUCH TO WHAT THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS DID TO THE NATION. IT, IT TOTALLY CHANGED THE DYNAMICS AND THE ECONOMIES OF THE NATION. UM, UNFORTUNATELY WHERE THE, UM, MANY PEOPLE WILL REFLECT BACK THAT THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS CREATED STARS ACROSS OUR CITIES, BECAUSE THEY BASICALLY ARE RIPPED THROUGH THE HEART OF THE CITY AND USUALLY CREATE, UH, A DIGITAL DIVIDE OR, OR A DIVIDE, NOT A DIGITAL DIVIDE AT THAT TIME, UM, WHETHER THE CITIES, UM, BUT WE ARE ALL REALIZING THERE'S A DIGITAL DIVIDE TODAY. UM, AND WHAT'S WHAT WE FIND EXCITING ABOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS IT NOT ONLY SETS UP, UM, CITIES FOR FUTURE RESILIENCE AND SUPPORTING 21ST CENTURY, UM, SERVICES, BUT IT REALLY ELIMINATES THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND CREATES STRONGER, UM, MORE, UH, COHESIVE COMMUNITIES, UM, ACROSS THE CITY. AND THIS ALSO IS CAPTURED THE ATTENTION OF ALL THE FEDERAL AGENCIES REALIZING THAT TWO MAJOR THRUSTS ARE OCCURRING, UM, WITHIN OUR NATION. UM, ONE THAT WE HEAR ABOUT QUITE OFTEN, UM, WHICH IS BROADBAND AND 5G, UM, THE OTHER IS THE ELECTRIFICATION OF MOBILITY, WHICH IS GOING TO REQUIRE A MASSIVE DENSITY OF CHARGING STATIONS ACROSS THE U S SO WHAT'S, UM, VERY UNIQUE ABOUT THIS NEW INFRASTRUCTURE IS IT AFFECTS MANY OF THE FEDERAL AGENCIES, JUST LIKE IT AFFECTS MANY OF THE, UM, CITY DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY THAT'S THAT HAS TO BE INVOLVED. YOU HAVE THE PUBLIC WORKS, OF COURSE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, TARA AND OTHERS. AND THAT LEADS TO THE, THE, THE NEED TO HAVE A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO HOW TO SOLVE THIS. AND REALLY, UM, WE BELIEVE IN LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH GETTING PINS AND GETTING A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP THAT ALLOWS $150 MILLION INVESTMENT TO TAKE PLACE IN THE CITY, REALLY, UH, AS PARALLEL TO THE, UH, THE 1994 RFI THAT THE CITY OF LAWSON HAS PUT OUT. BUT NOW, UM, IT'S VITAL. THAT'S THAT TYPE OF SERVICE, THAT TYPE OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IS, IS ESTABLISHED TO ACCELERATE THE ADOPTION OF THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, ACCELERATES THE RE YOU KNOW, THE ELIMINATION OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE ACROSS OUR CITY. SO I'M GONNA STOP THERE BECAUSE I THREW A LOT OUT, UM, HOPEFULLY IT WAS VALUABLE TO, TO SEE, AND, UM, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BEST TO TRY TO LOOK FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, JEFF, FOR THAT PRESENTATION. I'M SURE THERE'S GOING TO BE A FEW QUESTIONS HERE FOR YOU. I SEE ONE APPROACHING HERE SHORTLY. I SEE YOUR HAND THERE, COMMISSIONER. DASGUPTA JUST ONE MOMENT. UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR JEFFREY, UH, YOU KNOW, I WASN'T ASSIGNED YOU TO CEMETERY. SO WHEN YOU MENTIONED SEVEN NAKED, THEY TRACK A BELL. SO IF EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE SAYING, YOU'RE SOUNDING LIKE THE SEMINARY OF THE, UH, CONNECTIVITY INDUSTRY. SO DO YOU SEE YOURSELF GROWING TO BECOME THE CEMETERY OF THIS BUSINESS? BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS NEEDED. AND SHE SAID, UM, IT VERY MUCH IS. UM, I THINK WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS WE TRY TO HIGHLIGHT WHERE SEMATECH CREATED A, AN ENTITY IN AUSTIN ONLY. AND, AND, AND BASICALLY EVERYTHING TOOK PLACE HERE WHERE WE DO BELIEVE, BECAUSE THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE WAS ESTABLISHED AND FOUNDED IN AUSTIN. IT'LL HAVE A CENTER OF GRAVITY FOR, YOU KNOW, A TIME IN AUSTIN, BUT IT'S KEY THAT IN COLLABORATION LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN BECOMES THE REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAN THEN SHARE TO ALL THE OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE U S BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ONE FACILITY, IT'S ABOUT HOW CAN WE DO THIS ACROSS ALL 50 STATES. AND IT [00:20:01] REALLY TAKES A LEADING CITY LIKE AUSTIN TO HELP ESTABLISH, UM, THE, THE REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE THAT THAT CAN BE REPEATED. THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. THERE'S ANOTHER QUESTION I'D LIKE TO UP TO RECOGNIZE, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PRESENCE OF OUR ONLINE COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE NOT PART OF A ROLL CALL, BUT ARE HERE COMMISSIONED DASGUPTA, WHO'S JUST SPOKEN COMMISSIONER ISLAND AND COMMISSIONER GATES. I WANT IT TO SET A LITTLE CONTEXT BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER RAMOS FOR QUESTION, BECAUSE AS JEFF KNOWS, WE MET FACE TO FACE WHEN THIS TECHNOLOGY WAS INTRODUCED AS A CONCEPT AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDERS HERE IN AUSTIN. UH, THE FIRE CHIEF, THE POLICE CHIEF, AS WELL AS, UH, CAMP, MAYBE REPRESENTATIVES WHO WERE FOCUSED ON THE, UH, THE DEFENSE APPLICATIONS, UH, THAT WOULD BE COURSE PART OF THIS. UH, THE, THE MAIN REASON WHY, AS YOU NOTICED, UH, A FOCUS ON BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, UH, AS JEFF MENTIONED, THE MAIN REASON WHY I WAS MOST EXCITED ABOUT THIS EFFORT IS BECAUSE OF OUR FOCUS AS A COMMISSION ON BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, OUR FOCUS ON INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH THIS SQUARELY PUTS US IN A POSITION TO HELP PROVIDE OVERSIGHT AND, UH, TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT BLIND SPOTS ARE CHECKED. UH, SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT TO COMMISSIONER RAMOS FOR HER QUESTION. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN, UH, TO MALCOLM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION. UH, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE, UH, THE WORK THAT YOU PUT INTO THIS, BUT THE QUESTION I HAD WAS, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS RELATIVELY UNIQUE IN ITS OPPORTUNITIES, IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY. PART OF THE REASON WE HAVE THIS COMMISSION IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND SO WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE PINS, WITH THIS, UH, POTENTIALLY SET UP THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO CREATE CITY AND COUNTY WIDE BROADBAND INTERNET FOR ACCESSIBILITY TO BE USED ACROSS THE CITY. UH, AND LIKEWISE, COULD THIS ALSO BE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE USE TO INTERACT WITH PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICES, OR EVEN JUST PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, SUCH AS CAPITAL METRO? IT IS THAT, UM, 100%. SO, SO, UH, TO, TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT IS, UM, STARTING BACK THREE YEARS AGO, WHEN THE PIN CAME ABOUT, IT WAS MAINLY SOLVING A TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE ABOUT HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY BE INCORPORATED, UM, WITHIN A CITY AND, UH, IN A AESTHETICALLY PLEASING WAY, WHAT THAT QUICKLY, UM, EVOLVED TO THE REALIZATION THAT BY HAVING PINS DEPLOYED IN UNDERWRITTEN AS AS ASSETS. SO THINK OF THIS AS MORE OF A, A REAL ESTATE CONDO ACROSS THE CITY. UM, IT REALLY RESOLVED THE ISSUE THAT THE CARRIERS HAVE, WHERE THE CARRIER RIGHT NOW COME INTO A CITY AND THEY CHERRY PICK WHERE THEY DEPLOY, UM, UM, 5G SERVICES, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT CAN ACTUALLY UNDERWRITE THE COSTS FOR THEM TO DEPLOY A SINGLE, UM, SMALL CELL. THIS TAKES A DIFFERENT APPROACH, REALIZING THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN BE ADOPTED. AND BY HAVING PINS DEPLOYED ACROSS THE CITY, THEY GO EVERYWHERE, KIND OF LIKE ELECTRICITY. WE DON'T PICK AND CHOOSE WHO GETS ELECTRICITY. EVERYBODY HAS ELECTRICITY, EVERYBODY HAS A TRANSFORMER, UM, THAT ALLOWS POWER TO BE DELIVERED TO THEIR HOME. THIS FLIPS THE EQUATION VERY SIMILARLY. AND WHEN LET'S SAY THE PINS WORKING, WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH LIKE CAP METRO AND THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS, IF THE PINS ARE DEPLOYED, UM, LIKE IN EAST AUSTIN AND NONE OF THE CARRIERS DECIDE TO DEPLOY THEIR RADIOS, THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, 5G OR 4G, UM, NETWORKS TO THOSE, THE ECONOMICS TO DEPLOY BROADBAND USING WIFI OR OTHER TECHNOLOGIES BECOMES EXTREMELY LOW COSTS TO PROVIDERS TO COME INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES AND UNDERWRITE THOSE SERVICES TO THOSE COMMUNITIES. OR EVEN FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE CITY, WE'VE TALKED TO MANY CITIES THAT ARE LOOKING AT UNDERWRITING, THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE RADIO ACCESS NETWORKS OR WIFI TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE PROPER SERVICE FROM THE CARRIERS. GREAT QUESTION. UH, YES, GOING TO SHUT OFF.COM ALSO WANT TO ECHO, UM, ALL OF OUR APPRECIATION FOR YOU COMING AND, UH, DOING THE PRESENTATION. UH, MY QUESTION IS MORE AROUND THE, UM, THE HARDWARE AND A GREAT ABILITY AS YOU ALLUDED TO, YOU KNOW, THESE 5G IS JUST THE LATEST THING. UM, FOR LONG, IT'S GOING TO BE 6, 7, 8 G. SO TO WHAT DEGREE, I GUESS, UM, DO YOU, DO YOU THINK IT'S GOING TO BE NECESSARY TO, UH, TO GRADE THE HARDWARE ON AN ONGOING BASIS? UM, ARE YOU FINISHED? [00:25:01] YEP, THAT'S IT? UM, I, I WOULD SAY A VERY HIGH DEGREE. UM, SO, SO THE, THE NEED TO UPGRADE AT THE EDGE IS GOING TO BECOME MORE OF A REALITY, UM, THAN WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST. UM, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF ESPECIALLY CONNECTIVITY WITHIN CITIES OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS, UM, BEFORE IT WAS, IT WAS RADIO TOWERS WITHIN THE CITY AND THE RADIO TOWERS. WE MIGHT HAVE A FEW, YOU KNOW, LIKE A HANDFUL, MAYBE SIX RADIO TOWERS WERE DEPLOYED WITHIN THE CITIES. UM, THAT CHANGED DRAMATICALLY IN THE LATE EIGHTIES AND EARLY NINETIES WHEN CELL PHONES, UM, BECAME A BIG THING. AND YOU ENDED UP HAVING CELL TOWERS, UH, ACROSS THE ENTIRE, UM, YOU KNOW, CITY, THOSE GET UPGRADED QUITE OFTEN. NOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE, THE, THE PIN, THINK OF THAT. ONCE AGAIN, THE PIN HAS MANY SHAPES AND SIZES, UM, BUT THE UNDER THE, THE SKELETON OF IT ARE ALL THE SAME. UM, AND, UM, IT'S DESIGNED IN A WAY LIKE A 19 INCH RACK. UH, I MIGHT BE TALKING TO TECHNOLOGY, BUT IT, DATA CENTERS ADOPTED A STANDARD CALLED A 19 INCH RACK, UM, UM, AND ACTUALLY 1922. UM, AND IT'S ACTUALLY STAYED WITH US THAT LAW WAS ORIGINALLY FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS, AND NOW IT'S FOR ALL, UM, COMPUTE, WHETHER IT BE SERVERS OR NETWORK YEAR, OR, YOU KNOW, OTHER OBSTACLE, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY. UM, THE PIN IS DESIGNED EXACTLY, UM, UNDER THE SIMILAR GUIDANCE WHERE WHATEVER YOU PLUG INTO IT TODAY, IT'S, IT'S REALLY A SLOTS OR A, A CLOSURE THAT ALLOWS 5G TO BE SNAPPED IN TODAY, BUT THEN EASILY PULLED OUT AND IN SNAPPED IN SIX G YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SIX YEARS FROM NOW. SO BY TAKING THE, THE CONCEPT THAT THE 19 INCH RACK, UH, FULFILLED FOUR DATA CENTERS, UM, BUT TAKING IT TO THE EDGE, IT TRANSFORMS HOW THE TECHNOLOGY IS DEPLOYED, HOW IT'S UPGRADED, HOW IT'S SECURED, HOW IT'S MANAGED, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, RATHER THAN JUST LOOKING AT S STRAPPING BOLTING OR ATTACHING THINGS TO THE OUTSIDE OF WOOD POLES OR THE SIDE OF BUILDINGS, IT ALLOWS FAR MORE LEADERSHIP AND, AND MANAGEABILITY, UM, UM, FOR ALL OF THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES. GREAT QUESTION. GREAT QUESTION. UH, I'D LIKE TO ASK ALONG THE SAME LINES, AS I RECALL FROM OUR EARLIEST CONVERSATIONS, THE PRESENTATION OF THIS AS EFFECTIVELY INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE GETTING AWAY FROM, OR IF, IF YOU ARE, COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT DEPARTURE AND IF NOT, THEN, UH, EXPLAIN HOW THAT MIGHT MAYBE HELPS TO, UH, CAST A LIGHT ON WHAT THIS IS. WELL, YOU COULD DEFINITELY, YOU COULD CLASSIFY IT AS INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE. UM, UH, I THINK THE KEY THING WE'RE TRYING TO DIFFERENTIATE IS, IS BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE IN CITY EASEMENTS OR STATE EASEMENTS, OR IN SOME CASES, FEDERAL EASEMENTS. UM, IT'S VERY MUCH ABOUT A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP THAT SUPPORTS THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE. SO, UM, MOST PEOPLE THINK OF INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE, MAYBE NOT YOU, BUT A LOT FROM THE INDUSTRY, THINK OF IT AS A, A COMMERCIAL VENTURE, BUT WE SEE THIS VERY MUCH AS A PUBLIC PRIVATE VENTURE, UM, AND IT IT'S CONDUCIVE SUPPORTING, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY. SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH, UM, THE, THE PUBLIC SAFETY, THE FIRE, THE EMS, AND THE APD, AND WHAT TECHNOLOGIES THAT THEY NEED TO DEPLOY AT THE EDGE, BUT IT ALSO SUPPORTS OF COURSE, ALL THE ADVANCED SERVICES THAT CITIZENS ARE LOOKING FOR TO HAVE BETTER CONNECTIVITY AND NEW TYPES OF CAPABILITIES, UM, WITHIN THE CITY THAT THEY'RE PART OF. UM, BUT, UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT THIS IS, THIS WOULD BE INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE, UM, UM, IN, IN THE WAY IT'S IMPLEMENTED. WELL, JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT THEN, UH, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVE CONVERSATION, UH, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COLLABORATING WITH, UH, THE RESEARCH SIDE OF UT, UH, WITH HOUSTON TILLOTSON AND OTHER ENTITIES THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME ROLE AND REQUIREMENTS GATHERING AND HELPING TO AID WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, IN AN INFORMATION EXERCISE AND CAMPAIGN TO REALLY HELP, TO MAKE SURE TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THIS EFFORT. UH, WOULD YOU SPEAK TO SOME OF THOSE DYNAMICS AND SOME OF THOSE COLLABORATIONS PLEASE? UM, 100%. SO, UM, IN FACT, JUST LAST MONDAY, UM, UH, A ALMOST $90 MILLION NSF PROPOSAL WAS SUBMITTED, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, [00:30:01] WAS THE LEAD CITY AND THE GRANT. SO THIS WAS A, UM, IDENTIFIED BY THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTES IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR, THE NSF REACHED OUT AND SAID, UM, WE SEE, UM, HOW THE, THE, THE PIN CAN PROVIDE, UM, CONTINUITY FOR RESEARCH APPLICATIONS AND, UM, PROVIDE A LOT OF, UM, UH, CAPABILITY, UH, FOR, UH, THE SCIENCE ASPECTS, UM, THAT LED TO US WORKING WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND IDENTIFYING SEVERAL AREAS ACROSS THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR PENS TO BE DEPLOYED. AND THAT'S, UM, AS I STATED, IT WAS A $90 MILLION, UM, UH, PROPOSAL, UM, AND, UH, FULFILLS MANY OF THE RESEARCH ASPECTS, UM, THAT THE, THE, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IS LOOKING AT AND REALLY, UM, UH, KIND OF OVERLAPS WITH THE, THE LEADERSHIP, UM, THAT CITY OF AUSTIN AND UT HAVE DONE ON THE, UH, THE RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT YOU GUYS HAVE IN PLACE. AND, UM, I CAN SHARE, IT'S PROBABLY GOOD TO KIND OF PUT THIS IN CONTEXT OF WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE AND HOW IT WAS SUBMITTED. UM, I'M GOING TO SHARE ONE WORD GRAPHIC. UM, ONE SECOND, SORRY ABOUT THAT. OKAY. LET ME KNOW WHEN THE GRAPHIC COMES UP, WE CAN SEE IT NOW. THANK YOU. OKAY, GREAT. SO, UM, THIS IS SHOWING ONCE AGAIN, THERE'S DIFFERENT PENS, DIFFERENT, UM, CHARACTERISTICS OF PENS. SO DON'T THINK IT'S, IT'S CRAZY AND IT HAS TO BE UGLY LIKE THIS. IN FACT, THIS IS, THIS IS SHOWING IT EXPOSED. THIS IS WHAT A ROLL IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, WHEN IT'S DEPLOYED. SO YOU DON'T HAVE THINGS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, HANGING OFF THE SIDE OF IT, IT'S ALL ACTUALLY ENCOMPASSED INSIDE OF THE POLE ITSELF, BUT WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN BE ADOPTED TO SUPPORT, UM, THE CITY SERVICES AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES WHERE NSS OD IS THEY COULD ACTUALLY HAVE SPECIFIC CONDOS OR MODULES THAT COULD SUPPORT DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTS. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR, FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, 10 YEARS FROM NOW, UM, AND BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE, UM, UH, WORKING WITH, UM, UH, UNIVERSITIES LIKE THE UNIVERSITY OF AUSTIN. UM, UM, PART OF THAT, THAT PROGRAM IS HAD, UH, CARNEGIE, MELLON AND PITTSBURGH, UM, AND NC STATES AND RALEIGH, UH, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, AND WEST LAFAYETTE'S, UM, AND PURDUE, OR INVOLVED WITH THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU. WELL, THAT'S BEEN GREAT. UM, I KNOW THAT THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING PRESENTATION FOR THIS COMMISSION AS A WHOLE. YOU'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PRESENTATIONS IN WORKING GROUP SESSIONS, AND I INVITE MY COLLEAGUES TO JOIN THOSE WORK GROUP DISCUSSIONS, TO BE ABLE TO ASK MORE IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS NOW THAT YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO BE ABLE TO INTERPRET THIS INFORMATION AND, AND, UH, NATURALLY HAVE MORE QUESTIONS DOWN THE LINE. IN THE MEANTIME, THOUGH, ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR MR. DE COUPE? YES. THIS IS COMMISSIONER YATES. I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, YOU SEEM TO BE DOING A LOT IN CREATING STANDARDS FOR NETWORK NODES. ARE YOU ALSO WORKING ON THE PROBLEM OF THE FIBER CONNECTIVITY AND ACTUALLY GETTING THE FIBER TO THE NODES? YES, YES WE ARE. UM, WE'VE NOW WORKED WITH, UM, I THINK THERE'S NINE DIFFERENT FIBER PROVIDERS THAT WE'VE COLLABORATED WITH. UM, HERE IN AUSTIN, UM, FIBER LIGHTS, UM, IS EXAMPLE WE'RE WORKING WITH FIBER LIGHT RIGHT NOW TO GET FIBER A HUNDRED GIGABIT CONNECTION, UM, FROM A SOUTH, UM, DATA CENTER TO THE AUSTIN PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER. UM, SO THEY CAN ACTUALLY BE PART OF A BIGGER COLLABORATION WITH THE DIGITAL TWIN, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM. UM, BUT I, I WANT TO, TO EMPHASIZE, IT'S GOING TO TAKE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF LEADERSHIP AND COLLABORATION WITH THIS GROUP, WITH THIS COMMISSION AND OTHER PROVIDERS IN THE CITY TO, TO REALLY GET, UM, AN ARCHITECTURE THAT CAN BE SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT CAN BE REFLECTED BACK TO THE FEDERAL SIDE THAT BECOMES THE NATIONAL STANDARD. AND, UM, I, YOU KNOW, IN WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL AGENCIES, UM, THEY'VE ACTUALLY SAW WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, UM, WITH THE, THE [00:35:01] PEN, UM, AND UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE TO WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE FIRST POWER STATION. AND FIRST DEPLOYMENT OF THE ELECTRIC GRID UP IN NEW YORK IS ONCE THAT ARCHITECTURE WAS DESIGNED AND DEPLOYED, IT BECAME SOMETHING THAT WAS QUICKLY REPLICATED IN MANY CITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND, UM, AUSTIN AS A TRULY UNIQUE POSITION IN THE TYPE OF COMPANIES THAT ARE HERE. UM, THE CITIZENS THAT ARE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF, OF COURSE CONNECTIVITY AND, UH, THE ADVANCED SERVICES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO. UH, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, YOUR, UH, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF, UM, ADJACENT JOHN MICHAEL HAS DONE A LOT FOR SUPPORTING SMART CITY INITIATIVES THAT ALIGN WITH THIS. YOU'VE GOT CITY OF AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, THAT HAS DONE A LOT TO PIONEER, HOW THEY COULD BE MORE SUPPORTIVE OF, OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES BEING DEPLOYED. AND OF COURSE, YOU GUYS ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH, UM, THE, THE, THE FIBER NETWORKS THAT HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED, UM, UM, UNDER THE, UH, UH, THE COLLABORATION OR THE COALITION THAT YOU GUYS ESTABLISHED BACK IN THE, UH, THE LATE NINETIES. UH, YES. YOU'RE FIRST TO THE GUT NETWORK. YEAH. YES. SO, UH, SO WOULD THIS MEAN IF YOU'RE USING THE SAME MODEL AS THE ELECTRIC INDUSTRY, UH, UTILITIES AND THE TELEPHONE UTILITIES, WILL THIS REQUIRE A PUBLIC REGULATED MONOPOLY? UM, OH, I'M NOT A, UM, I THINK WHERE THIS ENDS, UM, IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN IT BEGINS. UM, BUT I, I THINK IT'S, UM, WHAT'S, WHAT'S PARAMOUNT AND THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CITY THAT DOES LEAD WITH THIS IS THE, THE REALIZATION THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS BEING ADOPTED IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. AND, UM, I THINK THE MORE WE CAN JUST ACCELERATES AND, YOU KNOW, ITERATES SOLUTIONS THAT REALLY, UM, MEET COMMUNITY NEEDS AND CREATE A REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE IS, IS, SHOULD BE THE CORE FOCUS VERSUS THE REGULATION, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING, UM, WHAT, WHAT WILL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN AS IT GETS ADOPTED, BUT TO, TO HIGHLIGHT YOU THINK ABOUT COUNTRIES LIKE CHINA NOW HAVE OVER 1 MILLION 5G NODES DEPLOYED IN ALL OF THE UNITED STATES. WE HAVE YET TO CROSS OVER 25,000. AND, UM, IT'S REALLY KEY THAT WITH FIBER NETWORKS AND WITH, UM, THIS NEW INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS MANY OF THE KEY TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN PROVIDE MORE RESILIENT CITIES, THAT WE DO IT IN A SMART, UM, IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY THAT MEETS COMMUNITY NEEDS, BUT THAT WE DO IT FAST. AND, UM, I THINK THIS WILL LEAD TO, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, ITERATIONS ALONG THE WAY. UM, BUT LUCKILY THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS A LOT OF GREAT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AREAS, UH, TO ACCELERATE THIS, YOU HAVE THE INNOVATION ZONE DOWNTOWN, YOU HAVE THE PROJECT CONNECT INITIATIVE THAT IS GOING TO BE LAYING OUT. UM, IN FACT, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF, UH, RANDY CLARK, THE CEO, HE HAS A VISION TO PROVIDE, UM, ROBUST SERVICES TO THE INDIVIDUALS THAT RIDE THE BUSES AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY SERVE. YOU HAVE THE PROJECTS THAT IS ABOUT TO GO THROUGH A MASSIVE RENOVATION IN DOWNTOWN. UM, WE HAVE AN MOU ALSO WITH THE, UH, UH, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR, UM, ADOPTION OF PINS ACROSS THE STATES, PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON THE SH ONE 30 CORRIDOR IN EAST AUSTIN, ALL THESE THINGS. UM, ONCE AGAIN, ARE GOING TO TAKE ENGINEERING, A LOT OF LEADERSHIP IN A LOT OF COLLABORATION. UM, BUT I, I FEEL I'VE LIVED HERE FOR OVER 40 YEARS. I, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO STATE THAT CAN PULL IT OFF AND CERTAINLY NO CITY, THAT'S MORE PRIME TO TAKE THE LEADERSHIP AND, AND MAKING THIS HAPPEN. THANK YOU. YEAH. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING, THE COMPARISON YOU MADE WITH CHINA WITH 1 MILLION, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, 5G TOWERS COMPARED TO 25,000 IN THE U S UH, IS IT TRUE THAT FOR 5G, YOU NEED A WHOLE LOT MORE OF THESE SMALL CELL TOWERS, BECAUSE WHILE IT PROVIDES GREATER BANDWIDTH, IT ALSO NEEDS TO BE REPEATED MORE FREQUENTLY. SO WE WERE IN CHINA AND, YOU KNOW, A SMALL CITY IS 3 MILLION PEOPLE. SO I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THERE WOULD BE MANY MORE TOWERS BECAUSE WITHIN A CITY, [00:40:01] UH, YOU NEED MANY MORE TOWERS TO REACH THE KIND OF BANDWIDTH THAT SUCH A HUGE POPULATION NEEDS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE SETS IN IS AT 15 MILLION SMALL CITIES THAT 2 MILLION, SO I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WOULD NEED A MILLION, BUT DO WE NECESSARILY NEED A MILLION BECAUSE I TOOK A TRIP FROM HERE TO DENVER AND I SWITCHED OUT OF 5G. THE MOMENT I LEFT THE CITY ALL THE WAY THEN YEAH. BECAUSE IT'S TOTALLY EMPTY OUT THERE. W WELL IT IS. BUT, BUT, UM, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S A PROBLEM WHEN PEOPLE, UM, UNFORTUNATELY IN THE UNITED STATES, WHEN WE THINK OF 5G, THAT CARRIERS HAVE CONVINCED US THAT 5G IS ABOUT DOWNLOADING NETFLIX FASTER. UM, WHEN YOU LAYER IN THE OTHER SERVICES FOR, UM, A RESILIENT SUPPLY CHAIN, THAT'S WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO ACTIVATE, UM, UH, AUTONOMOUS FREIGHT, UH, CORRIDORS DOWN LIKE I 10 CORRIDOR OR DOWN OR DOWN I 45. AND THAT, UM, IT PROVIDES A LOT OF DOLLARS THAT WILL UNDERWRITE THE PINS AND THOSE LOCATIONS THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SUPPORT IT THROUGH, UM, CONSUMER APPLICATIONS, BUT CAN CERTAINLY SUPPORT IT THROUGH ALL THE FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AROUND THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND THE LOGISTICS THAT ARE GOING TO BE VITAL TO THE PRODUCTIVITY OF, OF THE NATION AS A WHOLE. AND, UM, TO THAT POINT, WE, WE CREATED, UM, A SLIDE CAUSE WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU HIT UPON IS THE FOURTH THING IS, UM, RADIO TOWERS, REGULAR MASS THAT WE SEE IN THE CITY. UM, THOSE, UH, A SINGLE RADIO TOWER CAN COVER THE ENTIRE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND OF COURSE BACK AT THE TIME OF THE, THE RADIO TOWERS, THAT WAS BROADCAST ONLY THERE WASN'T ANYTHING CALLED DATA CENTERS BACK THEN. UM, AND THEN OF COURSE DATA CENTERS CAME ABOUT AND THEN, AND THEN CELL CAME ABOUT AND W CELL BEGAN FIRST AS JUST ALLOWING US TO COMMUNICATE VOICE, UH, QUICKLY BECAME DATA NETWORKS. AND THIS HAD TO BE FAR MORE DENSE THAN RADIO TOWERS. IN FACT, THERE'S, THERE'S ONLY LIKE A HUNDRED RADIO TOWERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THERE ARE WELL OVER 300,000 CELL TOWERS. AND NOW WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE MERGER OF THE DATA, UM, AND THE CAPACITY OF THE WIRELESS NETWORK, UM, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE PENS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, EXCEEDING 1.5 MILLION ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, UH, TO MEET THESE NEW DATA SERVICES AND PROVIDE THE PROPER SERVICES TO OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST THOSE THAT ARE CHERRY PICKED BY THE CURRENT VENDORS. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. DO YOU COMMISSION US GOOD? THE ROOM FROM COMMISSIONER THOMPSON? BEAVERS. THANK YOU SO MUCH, SIR. UM, I SAW IN YOUR SLIDE DECK THAT YOU MADE MENTION OF JOB CREATION ON A COUPLE OF YOUR SLIDES. AND SO I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, THE TYPE OF JOBS THAT WOULD BE CREATED SPECIFICALLY WITH THIS TYPE OF INITIATIVE, YOU KNOW, ARE THESE JUST LATERAL JOBS FOR THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY IN THE TECH INDUSTRY HERE, OR WOULD THERE BE A WAY FOR FOLKS WHO WANT TO ENTER INTO THE TECHNOLOGY FIELD TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITH THIS TYPE OF INITIATIVE IN THAT TYPE OF WORKFORCE? UM, PHENOMENAL QUESTION. AND I'M GLAD I WAS ASKED BECAUSE I FAILED TO EVEN REALLY TALK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE, UM, WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, UM, WITH, WITH THE BUILD-OUT OF, OF THIS IT'S, IT'S AT A MAGNITUDE EVEN GREATER THAT THAN THE BUILD-OUT OF THE, THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS THAT STARTED IN 1956, AND IT'S IT'S MANY JOBS THAT EXPAND CAPABILITY, BUT IT GOES FROM THE VERY BASIC, ALL THE WAY TO THE ADVANCED SCIENTISTS THAT IS, YOU KNOW, PIONEERING SOME NEW, NEW INNOVATION. UM, WE'VE WE SPENT A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME WITH A LOT OF THE, THE FENCES, UM, THAT, THAT HAVE CAPABILITIES TO SERVE THIS. AND THIS IS A SLIDE THAT WE KIND OF HIGHLIGHT, UM, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HIGH END SCIENTISTS. IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND PEOPLE THAT DRILL. I MEAN, W WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO REPURPOSE A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT USED TO BE DOING, UH, DRILLING FOR OIL TO NOW DRILLING THE HOLES DOWN INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS TO LAY THE FIBER AND THE, THE, THE POWER LINES NEEDED FOR THE ELECTRIFICATION OF MOBILITY. UM, BUT THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN LOOK AT THIS AND NOT REALIZE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS OF JOBS ACROSS PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF OUR SOCIETY. AND, UM, UH, W WE'D BE [00:45:01] MORE THAN HAPPY TO TAKE OFFLINE AND TALK ABOUT THAT AND COLLABORATE WITH YOU ON DIFFERENT BUSINESSES THAT WE CAN PULL IN AND BRING UP THE SPEED AND FIND OUT HOW WE CAN REALLY HIGHLIGHT THAT ASPECT OF THIS, UM, IN, IN THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. GREAT QUESTION, UH, QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER GUERRERO. HI. YES. UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU, JEFF, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, I'M PARTICULARLY CURIOUS ABOUT THE PIN PLACEMENT, AND I KNOW YOU REFERENCED THAT, UM, A LOT OF THE FACTORS DETERMINING FACTORS OF THAT CAME FROM A RESEARCH COALITION ACROSS, UM, ACADEMIC AND IN GOVERNMENT. UM, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD SHARE ANY INSIGHTS, UM, ON THOSE DETERMINING FACTORS WITH US POPULATION DENSITY, DEVICE DENSITY, THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, UH, YEAH, I CAN. SO AS FAR AS WHAT GETS IT HAS TO BE WITHIN THE CITY, AS FAR AS WHERE OUR PAIN WOULD GO. YES. WELL, UM, THINK ABOUT IT. UM, HAVE YOU NOTICED, UM, THE, THE AT AND T UM, UH, CELL, UH, SMALL CELLS DEPLOYED ACROSS THE CITY? YES. OKAY. AND WELL, THINK ABOUT RIGHT NOW THAT DEPLOYMENT SERVES ONE SINGLE VENDOR. IT DOES NOT SERVE THE CITY KNOW THERE'S NO CITY DEVICES ON THAT. THERE'S NOT VERIZON, THERE'S NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, T-MOBILE, THERE'S NOT DISH AND OTHERS. SO IMAGINE THAT HAVING TO BE REPLICATED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS OF THE CITY, UM, AND WITHOUT A NEW APPROACH, UM, ON UNIFYING, HOW TECHNOLOGY GETS DEPLOYED, UM, IT WILL GET FAR WORSE, UM, WITHIN THE CITY OF HOW THE TECHNOLOGY IS DEPLOYED AND WE'VE, WE'VE DONE A LOT. UM, I, I, MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE THE, UM, THE, THE NSF PROPOSAL, BECAUSE WHAT WE DID IS WE WENT THROUGH AND ACTUALLY HIGHLIGHTED, UM, ACROSS THE STATE, ALL THE EXAMPLES OF CURRENT DEPLOYED, UM, TECHNOLOGY AND HOW THAT WOULD CHANGE OVER TIME WITH, WITH, UH, A UNIFIED ARCHITECTURE. UM, BUT, UM, TO THE POINT OF, OF THE DENSITY IN DOWNTOWN, UM, IF YOU ALSO DRIVE AROUND THE CITY, YOU ALSO SEE AT EVERY SINGLE CONTROLLED, THERE'LL BE A SILVER BOX AT ONE OF THE CORNERS. UM, THAT SILVER BOX REPRESENTS THE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION, UH, DEVICES THAT CONTROL THE, THE LIGHTS, THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, AND THE OTHER TYPES OF, UM, SENSORS THAT ARE THERE TO TRY TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS, UM, FROM, UM, THE, THE VEHICLE TRAFFIC, UM, THAT WILL EVENTUALLY BE MERGED INTO THE PIN, IF NOT FROM, FROM DAY ONE. UM, IT'LL BE MARCHED IN, IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. SO YOU'RE BASICALLY REMOVING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF, OF, OF DEVICES THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE CITY THAT DIDN'T ANSWER YOUR QUESTION OR, OR, OR PLEASE EXPAND IF I, I FAILED. YEAH, OF COURSE. UM, I VERY MUCH LOOK FORWARD TO GIVING THAT NSF, UM, UM, PROPOSAL, UH, EVERY LEAD. GREAT, UH, REALLY QUICK, YOU MENTIONED A PRICE EARLIER 90 MILLION FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT ESTIMATE FROM? WELL, ACTUALLY THAT'S NOT. SO THE, THE 90 MILLION WAS BASICALLY ALL FIVE CITIES. SO, UM, THE, THE W A NUMBER THAT WE CAN, UM, TELL YOU IS WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY NOW FOR, FOR, FOR THREE YEARS. UM, THERE'S NOW BEEN PROBABLY, UH, OVER 160 PEOPLE FROM THE CITY THAT HAVE BEEN ENGAGED ON THIS AND HELPING TO LEAD THE, THE COLLABORATION. UM, WE'VE PROPOSED A, ABOUT $150 MILLION PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, AND THAT IS BASED OFF OF 800 TO A THOUSAND PINS BEING DEPLOYED, UM, UH, ACROSS THE CITY, THE NSF PROPOSAL, UM, APPROXIMATELY 25 TO 30% OF THAT IS, IS, UH, DIRECTED TOWARDS AUSTIN, JUST BECAUSE AUSTIN WAS THE MOST PREPARED, UM, WITH, WITH LOCATIONS THAT THE PIN COULD BE ADOPTED WITHIN. SO, OKAY. THAT MAKES SENSE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. WELL, ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? OKAY. WELL, ONCE AGAIN, JEFF, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU. AS YOU MENTIONED, UH, THIS COMMISSION WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY A ROLE [00:50:01] AND LOOK FORWARD TO ENGAGING WITH YOU, EITHER IN THE COLLABORATIONS WITH OTHER ENTITIES LIKE UT HOUSTON TILLOTSON AND OTHER CITY PARTNERS, OR DIRECTLY HERE WITHIN OUR WORKING GROUP SESSIONS, RIGHT. BUT, UM, CHAIRMAN AND COMMISSIONERS, I GREATLY APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US THE TIME, UH, TO PRESENT THIS, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO MANY MORE COLLABORATIONS IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL. THANK AGAIN, WITH ABIGAIL AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA TO AGENDA ITEM THREE NEW BUSINESS, WE'LL [3A. City of Austin Strategic Outcomes Review] HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THE CITY OF BOSTON STRATEGIC OUTCOMES, GOT A REEF SLIDE SHARE TEED UP. NOW, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS INTRODUCED IN 2018 AS PART OF A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT HERE WITH CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. UH, THIS IS A SYNOPSIS. THERE IS A MUCH MORE DETAILED DOCUMENT ONLINE AVAILABLE. UH, HOPEFULLY WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH IT. IN FACT, REFERRING TO THE LAST PRESENTATION, THERE WAS ALIGNMENT AND MENTION OF THESE OUTCOMES. I WANTED TO BRING THEM UP TODAY AS PART OF OUR DISCUSSION HERE IN NEW BUSINESS, REALLY, TO HELP TO CENTER OUR COMMISSION. IT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING YEAR AS WE'VE MANAGED THE TRANSITION FROM BEING COMPLETELY REMOTE WITH THE WAIVER OF THE TAMARA REQUIREMENTS BY THE GOVERNOR, TO THE RECEPTION OF THAT WAIVER, AND THEN NEEDING TO TRANSITION INTO AN IN-PERSON FORMAT. AND THEN ALSO WITH THE EVOLUTION OF OUR EFFORTS AS A COMMISSION TO GET REMOTE PARTICIPATION ACTUALLY PILOTED, AND THEN A HYBRID MEETING APPROACH NOW AUTHORIZED FOR OUR BOARD AND COMMISSION. WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE COMMISSIONERS PARTICIPATING REMOTELY, AND OF COURSE, THERE'S SEVEN OF US HERE TODAY. SO IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A COMMISSION THAT HAS SHOWN LEADERSHIP, ADAPTABILITY, AND YET A NEED TO STILL FOCUS ON OUR VISION AS A CITY. SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I'D LIKE TO JUST GIVE US ALL A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THESE OVER AND TO READ THIS INTO THE RECORD, JUST TO STATE THE VISION. AUSTIN IS A BEACON OF SUSTAINABILITY, SOCIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY WHERE DIVERSITY AND CREATIVITY ARE CELEBRATED, WHERE COMMUNITY NEEDS AND VALUES ARE RECOGNIZED WHERE LEADERSHIP COMES FROM ITS COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND WHERE THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE ARE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL THAT VISION HAS YIELDED THESE SPECIFIC STRATEGIC OUTCOMES BEGINNING WITH ECONOMIC AFFORDABILITY, EXCUSE ME, OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY, HAVING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES THAT ENABLE US TO THRIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY MOBILITY, GETTING US WHERE WE WANT TO GO WHEN AND WHERE WE WANT TO GET THERE SAFELY. AND COST-EFFECTIVELY SAFETY BEING SAFE IN OUR HOME AT WORK AND IN OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT, ENJOYING A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT AND A HEALTHY LIFE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY CULTURE AND LIFELONG LEARNING, BEING ENRICHED BY AUSTIN'S UNIQUE, CIVIC, CULTURAL AND ETHNIC, ETHNIC, AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. AND LASTLY, BUT NOT LEAST GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL BELIEVING THAT CITY GOVERNMENT WORKS EFFECTIVELY AND COLLABORATIVELY FOR ALL OF US, THAT IT IS EQUITABLE, ETHICAL, AND INNOVATIVE. I KNOW THAT WE HAVE THREE CORE WORKING GROUPS IN THIS COMMISSION THAT CENTER AROUND THESE VISION POINTS, THESE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES. THEY BEGAN WITH OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION, WORKING GROUP, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOM POLICY. THEY CONTINUE CERTAINLY WITH THE KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP, AND THEY CERTAINLY CONTINUE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION WORKING GROUP. WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TO BASICALLY GIVE US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE OPERATING NOW, CURRENTLY MAKING THE MOST OF OUR OPPORTUNITIES TO BE HERE IN THE SCHEDULED MEETINGS, BUT THEN HOW WE COULD GET MORE PERHAPS FROM OUR WORKING GROUP SESSIONS IN SERVICE OF THESE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES. AND I'D LIKE TO GIVE US ALL FRANKLY, AN OPPORTUNITY TO OPINE ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE AS A COMMISSION. NOW WITHSTANDING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT [00:55:01] WE'VE OBVIOUSLY BEEN DOING AND A PROUD OF FROM AN ACHIEVEMENT STANDPOINT, WHETHER THEY BE THE ADMINISTRATION OF G TOPS, WHETHER THEY BE IN PROVIDING BRIEFINGS, LIKE WE JUST SAW THAT WOULD IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE, THAT'S ALIGNED WITH OUR OBJECTIVES OR OTHER THINGS THAT WE MAY BE INVOLVED IN AS INDIVIDUAL LEADERS OR MEMBERS IN OUR COMMUNITY. I DON'T WANT TO PUT ANYONE ON THE SPOT, BUT I'D LIKE TO GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO PILE ON THIS AND TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING AND WHERE WE CAN GO. I'LL GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN. SINCE I'VE MADE THIS A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION. I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS STRUCK ME IS HOW ACTIVELY INVOLVED OUR COMMISSIONERS ARE AND HOW WE HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THOSE WORK GROUP SESSIONS, INVITING PEOPLE IN TO TALK ABOUT CITY BUSINESS, TO TALK ABOUT OUR WORK PLAN AND TO ADVANCE DISCUSSIONS, TO DIRECTLY IMPACT THESE OUTCOMES. I KNOW WE'VE HAD A CHALLENGE OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL YEARS WITH CERTAIN WORKING GROUPS, HAVING MORE OF A ROBUST PARTICIPATION THAN OTHERS, BUT IT'S BEEN ENCOURAGING AS WE'VE SEEN THAT EVOLVE, PARTICULARLY, UH, IN THE MOST RECENT MONTHS WHERE WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD CONSISTENT WORK GROUP MEETINGS AND, AND, AND HAVE ROBUST CONVERSATIONS. WE'VE HAD SOME CHANGES, UH, WE'VE HAD SOME EVOLUTION AND OUR MEMBERSHIP AND OUR BODY, THERE'S NO OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, BUT THERE WILL LIKELY BE SOME CHANGES AGAIN, AND WE'LL NEED TO HAVE FUTURE ELECTIONS. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE CURRENT COMMISSIONERS FELT YOU WERE COMFORTABLE ENOUGH WITH THE DIFFERENT MACHINATIONS OF THE DIFFERENT WORKING GROUPS. AND TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO THROW YOUR HAT IN THE RING OR TO, TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT WORKING GROUPS, BASED UPON THE OUTCOMES, IF WE COULD LEAVE THOSE OUTCOMES UP, THAT'D BE GREAT. I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER. TWERSKI OH, WE SHOULD PROBABLY FIX THE TYPOS, BUT YEAH. WELL, THANK YOU FOR NOTICING THAT I'LL MAKE SURE TO PASS IT ON TO OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE. THEY'RE THE AUTHOR OF THIS DOCUMENT. YEAH. UM, I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, RE REVIEW, UM, AT LEAST MY OWN INVOLVEMENT IN SOME WORKING GROUPS. UM, I BELIEVE I MET IN ONE AT THE MOMENT, UM, BUT HEARING, UM, JEFF PRESENT TODAY AND ALSO SEEING THESE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY THAT I'D LIKE TO GET INVOLVED IN WITH THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION WORKING GROUP. UM, I ALSO THINK IT MIGHT BE AN INTERESTING EXERCISE IF ANYTHING, UM, TO SEE POTENTIALLY CAUSE WE KNOW, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR ROLE, UM, IN, IN THE COMMUNITY AND WE KNOW TECHNOLOGY POLICIES, ROLE, UM, AND HOW IT AFFECTS EACH ONE OF THESE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES. I THINK IT'D BE REALLY INTERESTING EXERCISE FOR US ALL AS WORKING GROUPS TO ESSENTIALLY MAP THESE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES, UM, TO EACH WORKING GROUP. AND, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD GIVE US SOME GOOD, UM, ALIGNMENT WITH, UH, THE LARGER CITY OUTCOMES AND WOULD HELP US ALIGN OUR WORKING GROUPS TO THE DEDICATED OUTCOMES THAT THE HAS BEFORE. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. GAROL COULDN'T AGREE MORE. AND, AND THAT'S A PERFECT SEGUE. IF WE COULD GO AHEAD AND TEE UP THE NEXT DOCUMENT, THAT IS OUR WORK PLAN. THIS IS A GOOD STOPPING POINT. ACTUALLY, THESE ARE INDICATORS AND IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE COULD ACTUALLY DO A SPLIT SCREEN, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S POSSIBLE. IT'S POSSIBLE TO HAVE TWO DOCUMENTS UP AT ONCE. OKAY. UH, BECAUSE WE COULD THEN REVIEW THE WORKING GROUP MEMBER ASSIGNMENTS, UH, AS WELL, AND THEN GIVE OUR NEW COMMISSIONS A CHANCE TO, TO OPINE ON WHICH WORKING GROUPS YOU'D LIKE TO GET INVOLVED IN GERMANS. UH, YES. COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA. YEAH. Y Y Y WHILE YOU'RE TEEING UP YOU COMMISSION NUMBERS, I JUST WANT [01:00:01] TO MAKE A COMMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE SIX INITIATIVES OUTCOMES, UM, MAYBE AT OUR NEXT WORKING GROUP MEETING, WE SHOULD BE DISCUSSING THIS PARTICULAR TOPIC IN DETAIL. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THEM THAT OBVIOUSLY JUMP OUT AT ME THAT WE DEFINITELY, THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP IS OBVIOUSLY FOCUSED IN, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHERS THAT WE MAY NEED TO DELVE INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAILED SO THAT WE CAN REFOCUS A WORKING GROUP. YEAH. THANK YOU. I, I CONCUR, UH, COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA. I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT EXERCISE AT EVERY WORKING GROUP MEETING. UH, AND THEN IF WE CAN ACHIEVE ONE THING, I THINK THAT WOULD ADVANCE THAT OBJECTIVE TODAY. UH, IF WE COULD ALL KIND OF SETTLE IN, ON WORKING GROUPS THAT WE'D LIKE TO BE INVOLVED IN AND, UH, AND THEN, UH, GET SOME COMMITMENTS ON SCHEDULING AND WHAT WOULD WORK BEST FOR EVERYONE, AT LEAST INITIAL THOUGHTS. UH, UNDERSTANDABLY PEOPLE MAY HAVE TO GO BACK AND CHECK THEIR CALENDARS IF THEY DON'T HAVE THEM AVAILABLE TODAY. UH, IF YOU COULD ADVANCE DOWN, UH, ON THE WORK PLAN, DOCUMENT THE WORD DOCUMENT TO, UH, THE FIRST WORKING GROUP, IT'LL BE COMING UP HERE SHORTLY A LITTLE FURTHER AHEAD THERE. OKAY. AFTER THIS SECTION, I THINK ANOTHER TWO PAGES DOWN. OKAY. WE'RE ALMOST THERE. OKAY. HERE WE GO. PERFECT. THANK YOU. OKAY. SINCE WE'VE GOT THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP ON, UH, AND I KNOW THAT THERE'LL BE A NEED FOR A NEW CHAIR FOR THIS WORKING GROUP. I'D LIKE TO START WITH THIS WORKING GROUP AS PART OF THIS DISCUSSION, UH, AS A WORKING GROUP, AS A COMMISSION, WE ALL WEIGHED IN ON THESE OBJECTIVES. UH, THIS ORDER DOES NOT REFLECT AN ORDER OF PRIORITIZATION, BUT JUST TO READ OVER THEM AS A WORKING GROUP, WE IDENTIFIED THAT THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP, SHE'D WORKED TO CITY OF AUSTIN, COMMUNICATES CITY PROGRAMS, RESOURCES, ET CETERA, UH, TO UNDERSERVED AREAS AND WITHOUT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND TO HELP CITIZENS ENGAGE USING, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY, FURTHER CAP COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND UT TO HELP CREATE IN THIS CASE SPEED UP AMERICA, BANDWIDTH MAP, THIRD EQUITABLE BROADBAND GEOGRAPHIC DATA, UH, DATA REPORT, AND ANALYSIS TO MONITOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBPAGE REDESIGN PROJECT COUNCIL VOTE, TABLATURE DATA DATABASE, UH, THE RESIDENTIAL TECHNOLOGY STUDY CITY OF AUSTIN, UT UH, INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT, RESEARCH COLLABORATION, UH, CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY, PILOT, AND AUDIT ASSESSMENT, UH, THIS QUITE A BIT. AND IT CONTINUES THERE WITH, UH, WITH MORE ALONG THOSE LINES, INCLUDING SOFTWARE. UH, WE WERE ALREADY DELVING INTO AN ANALYSIS OF THIS ALICE APD APP, OTHER TECHNOLOGIES, COMMUNITY 3D PRINTING FOR HOMELESS SOLUTIONS, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES. THIS IS ONE EXAMPLE, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, OBVIOUSLY, BASED UPON THE OBJECTIVES WE IDENTIFIED, BUT WE COULD CLEARLY SEE HOW MEETING IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSION TO REALLY FOCUS ON. THESE COULD ALLOW US TO PRIORITIZE SOME OVER OTHERS. FOR EXAMPLE, AGAIN, NO ORDER PRIORITY HERE, BUT THE RESIDENTIAL TECHNOLOGY STUDY IS SOMETHING WHICH WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY PROMOTING AND FUNDING AS A COMMISSION THAT HAS EVOLVED NOW TO INCLUDE, INCLUDE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS THAT WOULD HELP TO INFORM GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL, UH, THAT WOULD HELP TO INFORM ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY, UH, THAT COULD HELP TO INFORM SAFETY, UH, AMONG OTHER THINGS, WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFIC DETAILS. SO LUCKILY WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO, TO REFLECT ON THIS AND THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS WORKING GROUP AND THE OBJECTIVES UM, IF SOMEBODY IS INTERESTED IN TAKING MY SPOT, THAT WOULD BE FINE WITH ME BECAUSE, UH, I LIKED THE, UM, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CO-CHAIR WITH THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP, BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO BOTH. SO THIS IS A REALLY COOL GROUP THAT DO A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS. AND SO I DO RECOMMEND IT. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER FLOYD. UH, IT HAS BEEN VERY INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, AND, AND [01:05:01] THERE ARE A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS, PARTICULARLY ON THE RESEARCH SIDE, UH, THAT ARE UNFOLDING, THAT I CAN SEE THIS WORKING GROUP IS GOING TO BE MORE AND MORE INVOLVED IN. UH, SO IT'S CERTAINLY RIPE FOR CONTRIBUTION AND LEADERSHIP. ANYONE COULD SEE THEMSELVES PLAYING A, A CHAIR ROLE IN THIS. AGAIN, THE KEY IS JUST TO BE ABLE TO MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE, UH, TO SCHEDULE THESE MEETINGS AND TO HOST THESE MEETINGS. UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, TO HELP TO GUIDE THE CONVERSATION AROUND OUR OBJECTIVES AS A COMMISSION, UH, NO NEED TO FORCE ANYONE INTO THAT NOW, BUT YOU KNOW, FOOD FOR THOUGHT, HOW OFTEN THESE COMMUNITIES MEET THESE WORKING GROUPS. I MEAN, UH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SWARSKI, UH, MONTHLY IS THE OBJECTIVE IDEA BEING THAT WE WOULD HAVE ENGAGEMENT IN A WORKING GROUP SESSION BEFORE OUR COMMISSION MEETING, UH, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE CASE MIGHT BE IF IT'S JUST AFTER, BUT STILL BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING, THAT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT. YEAH. CHAIRMAN PITTS, IF I MAY, YES, PLEASE. UH, YEAH, NO, I DEFINITELY AM VERY EXCITED TO SEE THIS. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE SOME OF MY COMMENTARY, LOOKING AT THE PRIORITY OUTCOMES IN COMPARISON TO SOME OF OUR WORKING GROUPS. IF I CAN MAYBE OFFER THIS RECOMMENDATION BEFORE WE GET FURTHER INTO THE WORK GROUPS, THAT IN ORDER FOR US TO REEVALUATE OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, IT MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL FOR US TO DO WHAT IS CALLED A SWOT ANALYSIS, STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND THREATS. AND THAT WAY WE CAN FURTHER LOOK OBJECTIVELY AT WHAT IS BEING DONE IN EACH WORKING GROUP FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ANALYZE WHAT OUR OPPORTUNITIES ARE. I THINK WITHIN OUR BODY, AS A COMMISSION, WE DO HAVE VARIOUS LEVELS OF EXPERTISE AND LIVING EXPERIENCES. AND I THINK THIS COMES WITH REFLECTING IN OUR PRIVILEGES AND BIASES TO BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THESE WORKING GROUPS BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE WORK AND REALLY EVALUATE IF WE'RE MEETING THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS COMMISSION. THANK YOU. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION. UH, I WOULD DEFINITELY SECOND THAT RECOMMENDATION. I THINK THAT, UH, SWAT ANALYSIS IS VERY VALUABLE, INVALUABLE TOOL WITHIN BUSINESS AND WITHIN GOVERNMENT. I THINK THAT WE CAN UTILIZE THAT AT THE WORK GROUP LEVEL AND SURFACE THOSE INSIGHTS UP, I GUESS, COMMISSIONER AMERICA. AND JUST TO TAKE YOUR RECOMMENDATION A WELL FURTHER, YOU KNOW, LET ME JUST ASK THE QUESTION. DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO EVENLY PRIORITIZE, UH, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, ALL EIGHT OF THESE ITEMS OR THE WORKING GROUPS GIVEN OUR LIMITED TIME BANDWIDTH AND ALL THAT MAYBE THE SWAT ANALYSIS CAN HELP PERHAPS GUIDE WHERE OUR FOCUS AREAS, PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, THREE TO FIVE OF THESE ITEMS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE REST ARE A LITTLE BIT LOWER PRIORITY. JUST ASK THAT QUESTION NOW. I, I DEFINITELY AGREE. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS LOOKING AT, JUST FOR EXAMPLE, THIS A WORKING GROUP AND THE EIGHT PRIORITIES, SOME OF THESE CAN BE MOVED INTO SUB CATEGORIES OR SUB OBJECTIVES. AND SO PART OF THIS IS ALMOST US DOING AN INTERNAL AUDIT. NOW I HATE TO USE THE WORD AUDIT, BUT YEAH, TO SOME FORM OF ANALYSIS TO REALLY FIGURE OUT HOW CAN WE CAN BE EFFECTIVE WHILE ALSO BEING CONSIDERATE AND FIGURING OUT THE WEAKNESSES. I MEAN, FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE LOOK AT THE PRIORITY OUTCOMES OF CULTURE IN LIFELONG LEARNING, WE TALK ABOUT THE CITY BEING ENRICHED BY AUSTIN'S UNIQUE CIVIC, CULTURAL ETHIC AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. YET WE FAIL TO RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE EQUITY ISSUES THAT ARE KEEPING THE CITY OF BOSTON FROM FULLY ENGAGING IN THESE OPPORTUNITIES. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, TO YOUR POINT, UH, COMMISSIONER APODACA, THAT'S ENTIRELY THE SPIRIT OF THIS EXERCISE, UH, IN LOOKING AT THIS, I'M LIKE REALLY GLAD THIS IS THE FIRST EXAMPLE BECAUSE IT SPEAKS TO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PRIORITIZATION AND OR SUBCATEGORY DICTATION. AND THEN FOR US TO BE ABLE TO THEN REALLY FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT WE'RE BOTH INTERESTED IN AND ALSO, UH, THAT ARE THE MOST IMPACTFUL. SO A COMMISSIONER GOVERNMENT, I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT, UM, WHERE YOU TIRPITZ, OR PERHAPS FOR JESSE, UM, ARE WE AS A COMMISSION CAPABLE OF DOING THAT OR WOULD IT HAVE TO BE WITHIN THE WORKING GROUP TO, UH, PRIORITIZE THE ITEMS IN THE WORKING GROUP? SURE. COMMISSIONER GOT RID OF THIS IS COMPLETELY WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OR ABILITY OF THE COMMISSION. UH, EACH WORKING GROUP HAS THE ABILITY TO SET ITS OWN AGENDA. UM, YOU KNOW, W WE USUALLY REVIEW THESE, UH, ITEMS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AS A PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION OF THE COMMISSION. UH, YOU KNOW, DURING COVID OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING ABILITY HAS BEEN LIMITED TO, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, ONLY HAVING LIMITED TIME TO, TO DO THE COMMISSION MEETING, UH, REMOTELY, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, WHEN, WHEN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION CAME AROUND, UM, BUT THE COMMISSION CAN DO EDIT TO IT'S A WORK PLAN AT ANY TIME, UH, VIA VOTE. UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE ANNUALLY, WE REVAMP THE WHOLE THING. UH, SO THAT'LL BE ANOTHER, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO THAT. BUT AT ANY MOMENT THAT THE COMMISSION [01:10:01] CAN ADD WORKING GROUPS OR, UH, CHANGE WORKING GROUPS OR CHANGE THE PRIORITIES WITHIN WORKING GROUPS OR CHANGE THE LEADERSHIP OF WORKING GROUPS. SO ALL OF THAT'S WITHIN YOUR PURVIEW. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. AND TO ADD TO THAT, UH, THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WHICH I THINK, UH, WE CAN EITHER, WE'VE CLEARLY GOT A CONSENSUS, I THINK ESTABLISHED THAT I'D SAY HERE ABOUT REEVALUATING THESE, AND THEN FOCUSING ON WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT. SO I THINK IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR THOSE THAT SEE THE NEED THEN TO HOPEFULLY GET ENGAGED IN THAT SPECIFIC WORKING GROUP SO THAT WHEN THEY CAN HAVE THAT DIRECT IMPACT THERE AND ESTABLISHING THOSE PRIORITIES. UH, SO WITH THAT, THEN BEFORE WE MOVE ON FROM THIS ONE, ANYONE WANT TO EXPRESS THE INTEREST IN JOINING THIS WORKING GROUP. AND IF I MADE SURE IT FITS, I'D BE HAPPY TO JOIN THIS WORKING GROUP. WONDERFUL. GREAT. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER RAMOS. APPRECIATE THAT, UH, WITH THAT THEN WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND BRIEFLY MOVE ON TO THE NEXT WORKING GROUP, ALTHOUGH WE'LL SEE A SIMILAR DYNAMIC AND I'D SAY WE'D PROBABLY ARRIVE AT A SIMILAR CONCLUSION. UH LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO THAT JUST TO ESTABLISH WHICH THE WORKING GROUPS WHO'S IN, WHAT WORKING GROUP AND THEN WHERE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITION OR CHANGE. WE JUST HAD AN OPENING FROM COMMISSIONER FLOYD, AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAD COMMISSIONER RAMOS JOIN. SO NOW HERE FOR THE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP, AND TO BE CLEAR, WE CAN HAVE FIVE COMMISSIONERS AND ANY WORKING GROUP, AS LONG AS WE DON'T HAVE A WALKING QUORUM OF SIX OR MORE, WE'RE GOING TO BE IN COMPLIANCE. SO WITH THAT, I BELIEVE THERE IS AN OPENING LET'S. CAN WE GO BACK TO THE ATTENDANCE, THE MEMBERSHIP PLEASE? UH, THERE, WELL, THERE, THERE IS AN OPENING AND, UH, AS COMMISSIONER GARBER EXPRESSED INTEREST EARLIER IN JOINING THIS WORKING GROUP, UH, SHE WILL BE THE FIRST PERSON TO THROW HER HAT IN THE RING FOR THAT. BUT THEN THAT WOULD PUT US AT A COUNT OF FIVE FOR THIS WORKING GROUP, BE THAT AS IT MAY, THERE IS LISTING OF DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES. WE'VE BEEN VERY FOCUSED IN THIS WORKING GROUP. UH, I'LL SPEAK BRIEFLY FOR, FOR THE CHAIRS, UH, ON INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY. UH, THE GATTON NETWORK CAME UP EARLIER AS AN ONGOING DISCUSSION POINT OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO HEIGHTEN OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND LEVERAGE SHARED CONDUIT. ALTHOUGH THAT SPECIFICALLY DIDN'T COME UP DURING THE PRESENTATION BY JEFF, I KNOW THAT EXERCISE AND THAT COLLABORATION IS SOMETHING WHICH, UH, THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE IS HELPING TO SHEPHERD AS WELL. AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE GOALS OF THIS WORKING GROUP. UH, NOT TO MENTION OF COURSE, INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE, WHICH IS DIRECTLY WHAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER. UM, SO WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS, AGAIN, SAME DYNAMIC, BUT I'D LIKE TO GIVE THE, THE, THE CHAIRS, THIS WORKING GROUP, A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO, TO THE SHAPING CONSENSUS AND IDEA OF PRIORITIZATION UM, IS THERE A BREACH EVERY WORD ABOUT IT? I THINK A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WHEN I LOOK AT THE SIX INITIATIVES, I THINK IF I WERE TO GET A STEP BACK, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON A LOT IS, UH, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY, BECAUSE IT'S ULTIMATELY ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE CITY DOESN'T GET REDLINED ELECTRONICALLY. SO WE FOCUSED ON HOW SERVICES ARE ENDED IN THE CITY, WHICH IS WHY IT GETS INTO SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC THAT WE TALK ABOUT AS WELL AS MOBILITY. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ATD ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING OUT THERE AND MOVING, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY FORWARD. SO THOSE ARE THE TWO THAT JUMP OUT RIGHT AWAY. UM, THE OTHERS THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT, BUT THOSE ARE THE TWO THAT I'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON AS WE WERE TALKING EARLIER. DAVE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ? UH, YEAH, THOSE, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT, YEAH. MAKING SURE THAT THE BROADBAND IS, IS DEPLOYED EQUALLY THROUGHOUT THE CITIES. EVERYBODY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE. UM, AND WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT 5G AND SMALL CELL OVER THE YEARS, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT ROLLS UP INTO THAT, ESPECIALLY WE TALKED ABOUT SMART CITIES A LOT TOO, WHICH, UM, THERE ARE THINGS IN HERE, I THINK MAYBE LIKE WE COULD CONSOLIDATE A COUPLE OF THESE BULLET POINTS, [01:15:01] LIKE PUT THE 5G AND THE SMART CITIES TOGETHER AND SOME OTHER THINGS, BUT BASICALLY, I MEAN, OUR, OUR, OUR OVERRIDING THEME OVER THE YEARS HAS BEEN MAKING SURE THAT THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE REACHES EVERYONE IN THE CITY SO THAT EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE. NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND. YEAH. I CONCUR WITH THAT, UH, GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL CLEARLY DEFINITELY A FOCUS OF THIS WORKING GROUP AND ECONOMIC AFFORDABILITY IS AN OPPORTUNITY AS YOU SUGGESTED. UM, WELL, THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE IMPORTANT WORKING GROUPS FOR US TO DISCUSS IN THIS FORMAT BECAUSE WE ARE SO AT CAPACITY, RIGHT. AND, UH, IN THE COMMISSION MEETINGS, UH, WE'LL WANT TO MAKE THE MOST OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE ALL THE COMMISSIONS A CHANCE TO WEIGH IN ON THESE THINGS BECAUSE, UH, UNLESS FIVE COMMISSIONERS DECIDES THEY DON'T WANT TO PARTICIPATE, UH, OR THEY'RE UNAVAILABLE FOR A MEETING, UH, THEN, UH, THIS'LL BE THE FORMAT WITHIN WHICH TO HAVE THIS INTERCHANGE. SO, UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO INVITE EVERYONE TO DO IS TO FEEL FREE, TO OFFER YOUR INSIGHTS ON HOW TO COMBINE THESE PRIORITIES AND TO THEN SHARE THAT WITH JESSE. SO WE CAN THEN DISCUSS THAT IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSION, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF OUR AGENDA AND OUR TIMETABLE THIS EVENING. UH, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR STREAMLINING, UH, BUT YET STILL A GREAT WORK. CAN WE GO AND CONTINUE TO THE NEXT WORKING GROUP, UNLESS THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ONE FURTHER, JUST THE LAST ONE THERE. OKAY. OKAY. AND THIS IS ANOTHER WORKING GROUP, UH, SIMILARLY, WHICH HAS FIVE MEMBERS. AND SO THEREFORE WE'LL WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S A VIDE AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE IN THIS SESSION TO REVIVE THEIR THOUGHTS AND INSIGHTS. AND THEN ALSO PROVIDE JESSE WITH FOLLOW-UP, UH, FOR US TO BE ABLE TO THEN CONSIDER IN THE WORKING GROUP, UH, WITH DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AND STRATEGIC STRATEGIC POLICY IMPACT. UH, THERE'S CERTAINLY YOU CAN TELL A DIRECT ALIGNMENT TO SEVERAL OF THESE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES AND DIRECTION, WHETHER IT'S GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL ECONOMIC AFFORDABILITY OPPORTUNITY RATHER, AND AFFORDABILITY OR CULTURE AND LIFELONG LEARNING, UH, OR, OR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT FOR THAT MATTERS. WE OF COURSE HAVE SEEN DURING THE PANDEMIC, THE HEIGHTENED IMPORTANCE OF TELEMEDICINE AND OTHER THINGS DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE DIGITAL DIVIDE. ONE OF THE MAJOR THINGS, OF COURSE, THIS WORKING GROUP ALSO PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO IS THE ADMINISTRATION OF G TOPS, UH, WHICH IS, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CERTAINLY MOST PROUD OF AS A COMMISSION TO BE INVOLVED IN AND TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT FOR. UH, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THOUGH THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STREAMLINING AND, UH, YOU KNOW, A WAY TO REALLY DIG DEEPER. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE PERSONALLY, UH, IS IN THAT CAPACITY, UH, IS DECA EXPANSION, UH, WHICH WOULD ALLOW US TO LEVERAGE THE GREATER COMMUNITY AT LARGE, TO HELP WITH STRATEGY AND, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. CLEARLY PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ARE GOING TO PLAY AN INCREASING ROLE AS WE LOOK TO TRY TO EXPAND CITY SERVICES AND, AND ALSO FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, NONPROFITS AND OR COMMUNITY ENTITIES THAT ARE IN NEED. AND WITHOUT BELABORING THE POINT, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO GIVE ANYONE A CHANCE TO, TO WEIGH IN ON THEIR THOUGHTS, PARTICULARLY MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP, UH, ON WAYS THAT WE CAN IMMEDIATELY IMPACT OUR PRIORITIES HERE TODAY AND GIVE THINGS FOR OTHERS TO WEIGH IN ON THAT. WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO JOIN OUR NEXT WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, UH, REALLY QUICK, WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE? UH, IF YOU'LL SCROLL BACK UP THERE FOR A MOMENT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN AND BY THE WAY, IF THERE'S ANY CONCERNS, UH, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OR DESIRE TO JOIN A WORKING GROUP THAT'S FULL, UH, THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY THROUGH A SHIFTING AND OBJECTIVES TO ALLOW FOR SOME OF [01:20:01] THESE TO THEN SWITCH TO ANOTHER WORKING GROUP WHERE THERE COULD BE DIRECT IMPACT ON THEM. UH, SO WHAT COMES TO MIND, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, REMOTE DISSIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS AND COMMISSION MEETINGS, AS ONE EXAMPLE, UH, CLEARLY KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP IS ENABLED BY REMOTE PARTICIPATION, UH, AS ADVISORS, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING WHICH IS A MAJOR, MAJOR TOPIC THAT POTENTIALLY COULD SHIFT TO A DIFFERENT WORKING GROUP IF ALL THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS AGREED. UH, THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE. UH, I JUST WANT TO SAY, I FOUND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OPPORTUNITY I'VE HAD TO WORK, UH, IN, IN HAVE INVOLVEMENT IN THESE OBJECTIVES, IN THIS WORKING GROUP, EXTREMELY REWARDING. UM, THAT BEING SAID, UH, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO, UM, TO, TO VOLUNTEER MY, MY POSITION IN THIS WORKING GROUP, AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ALSO JOINING IN ON THESE OBJECTIVES. UM, OF COURSE, IF THERE'S NO INTEREST, I'M HAPPY TO STAY. UM, BUT I I'D LIKE TO OFFER THAT UP TO THE COMMISSION. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GARA. AND THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO PUT ANYONE ON THE SPOT TODAY, UNLESS YOU REALLY HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY TO JUMP INTO THIS WORKING GROUP. AND THIS IS A, THIS IS THE TIME. OTHERWISE YOU CAN CERTAINLY FEEL FREE TO FOLLOW UP WITH JESSE OR, OR MYSELF, AND EVEN TO JOIN ONE OF THE WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS, YOU KNOW, WE'LL LET COMMISSIONER WILL KNOW THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN JOINING SO THAT SHE WILL SIT OUT THAT MEETING AND THEN WE'LL AVOID A WALKING QUORUM. SO EITHER WAY WE CAN GET TOGETHER AGAIN PRIOR TO OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING AND PROVIDE THAT TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY. OKAY, WELL, UH, THE MAIN REASON WHY I WANTED TO DO THIS AGAIN WAS, UH, IN AN EFFORT TO CREATE ALIGNMENT WITH OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES. UH, I'VE GOT THE ACTUAL IN DEPTH DOCUMENT IN ADDITION TO THIS HIGHLIGHT DOCUMENT, UH, THEY'RE INCLUDED IN, IN A FOLDER ON JESSE'S, UH, LAPTOP. UH, SO I'M GOING TO ASK HIM TO SEND THOSE OUT TO EVERYONE, UH, AND GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO THEN ANALYZE THAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE WORKING GROUPS, UH, PRIOR TO THE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS. AND THAT WILL BE THE NEXT THING, I GUESS, AS A BRIEF POINT OF DISCUSSION, BUT WE'LL GO INTO THAT DURING THE COMMISSION UPDATES PORTION OF OUR AGENDA. SO UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS OR ANYTHING FURTHER, I THINK WE CAN PROCEED. OKAY. [3B. Digital Inclusion Week 2021 Planning] ALL RIGHT. MOVE FORWARD TO AGENDA ITEM THREE, B DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK, 2021 PLANNING, UH, NATIONAL, THE NATIONAL DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE, AND THE IAA HAS ESTABLISHED DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK AS A TIME FOR THE NATION TO REALLY FOCUS ON, UH, BRIDGING THE DIGITAL AND HELPING NONPROFITS AND COMMUNITIES WITH THE ISSUES OF TECHNOLOGY, ACCESS, INTERNET ACCESS, AND A TECHNOLOGY LITERACY AND DEVICE TRAINING. UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, PARTICIPATES IN THIS EFFORT AND OUR COMMISSION SUPPORTS IT. IT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING TIME, UH, BECAUSE, UH, WE HAVE MANAGED THE EVOLUTION OF GOING FROM, UH, OUR REMOTE MEETINGS TO THEN HAVING A HYBRID SESSIONS. AND UNFORTUNATELY, UH, THAT HAS CREATED A, YOU KNOW, SMALL SNAFOOS IN TERMS OF CORN, UH, EXCUSE ME, QUORUM ACHIEVEMENT. AND AS A RESULT, UH, WE'VE HAD HAVE HAD LESS AN OPPORTUNITY AS A BODY TO, TO MEET TOGETHER, TO DISCUSS THESE THINGS. UH, BUT DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK WILL STILL GO ON AND THERE'S, THERE'S SOME GREAT PROGRAMMING. UH, DO WE HAVE THAT CALENDAR? WE CURRENTLY HAVE A COUNTER THAT WE MANAGE, UH, WITH ATX EXCUSE ME, DIGITAL ATX, UH, THAT HAS A LISTING OF A FEW OF THE EVENTS. THIS IS BY NO MEANS A COMPREHENSIVE DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK EVENTS, CALENDAR, ALTHOUGH IT'S THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN UPLOADED. UH, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHER EVENTS GOING ON AROUND TOWN, UH, THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO PEOPLE, AND I'D LIKE TO INVITE ANY AND EVERYONE, UH, TO SHARE IF YOU KNOW OF ANYTHING GOING ON THAT WEEK, THAT'S FOCUSED AROUND DIGITAL INCLUSION OR IN GENERAL, THAT MIGHT AFFECT THIS CALENDAR AND CERTAINLY FEEL FREE TO UPLOAD. BUT THE KEY THING IS REALLY TO GIVE US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE EITHER IN REMOTE MEETINGS AND, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR CITIZENS TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES, EITHER WITH TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES DURING THE PANDEMIC OR THEIR WORK WITH OTHER NONPROFITS TO REALLY [01:25:02] DEAL WITH THE ISSUES OF LIFE AND, AND, UH, REALLY FINDING A WAY TO THRIVE, UH, DURING A PANDEMIC, EVEN THOUGH THERE MIGHT BE AN IMPACT TO SERVICES AND, AND THE AVAILABILITY OF, OF, OF DIFFERENT SERVICES. SO THERE'S QUITE A FEW SUCCESS STORIES OUT THERE ABOUT HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHOW RESILIENCY AS A COMMUNITY AND THINGS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO TO, UH, TO RESPOND TO OUR COMMUNITY. AND I THINK WE CAN TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN THE ROLE THAT G TOPS HAS PLAYED IN ENABLING THE NONPROFITS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND TO AID IN DIGITAL INCLUSION. ONE OF THE THINGS I HOPE TO DO, UH, WAS TO GET AN AGREEMENT ABOUT THE TIMING OF ONE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WOULD LEAD, UH, OR AT LEAST BE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN AS MEMBERS. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DECIDE TODAY. UH, LAST YEAR WE HAD OUR FIRST SPECIAL CONVERSATION ON DIGITAL EQUITY, UH, IN A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING. UH, WE INVITED A VARIETY OF, OF NONPROFIT ENTITIES AND POLICY MAKERS TO COME AND THEY PARTICIPATED, IT WAS A REALLY ROBUST EXERCISE AND IT YIELDED A REPORT INDICATING LIVED EXPERIENCES AND CHALLENGES THAT THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE AND HAVE HAD WITH DIGITAL INCLUSION, WHETHER IT'S ACCESS TO THE INTERNET OR DEVICES, OR, UH, TO LITERACY. AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, WE'VE HAD SOME CHALLENGES, UH, WITH SCHEDULING AND, AND DYNAMICS OF QUORUM CONTROL TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT SAME TYPE OF MEETING. UH, BUT WE'VE HAD, UH, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE MISSION CAPITAL, UH, STEP UP AND LEND THEIR SERVICES, UH, TO HELP US TO BE ABLE TO STILL BE PART OF A CONVERSATION OR TO ACTUALLY CONVENE ONE. WE WERE LOOKING AT TWO DIFFERENT DATES INITIALLY, OCTOBER 4TH, UH, OR ACTUALLY OCTOBER 4TH WAS THE ONE DAY DURING DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK THAT WE HAVE SLATED. UM, THAT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ACTUALLY HAVE ANOTHER SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, UH, THAT WOULD REQUIRE THE SAME QUORUM REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAD TO HAVE TODAY TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. AND THAT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS GONNA BE QUITE A DAUNTING TASK AND MAYBE EVEN DIFFICULT TO PULL OFF DURING THE DAY, WHICH WAS OUR ONE SLOT, UH, FROM ONE TO FOUR OR ONE TO THREE ON MONDAY. UM, SO IN THE INTEREST OF PRIORITIZING A WAY FOR CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT EFFORT, WE ENGAGED, UH, SEVERAL OF THE NONPROFITS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE PAST TO GET THEIR IDEAS ON WHAT MIGHT WORK BEST AND CONSISTENTLY, UH, THE PROPOSAL WASN'T MADE THAT THE WEEKEND WE WORKED BEST FOR THOSE CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE. AND, UH, I WANT IT TO GIVE US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT THAT, UH, BECAUSE, UH, ALTHOUGH I WOULD HAPPILY PARTICIPATE ON THE WEEKEND, UM, I WOULD NOT BE SO HAPPY IF I WAS THE ONLY COMMISSIONER THAT WAS THERE. SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GET, UH, UH, UH, THOUGHT PROCESS AND THOUGHTS ON WHETHER OR NOT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE, UH, PARTICIPATION AS A BODY. NOW WE CAN AVOID A WALKING QUORUM IF WE ALLOW ONE OF THE OTHER ENTITIES TO ACTUALLY HOST THE MEETING, BECAUSE THEN WE CAN JUST JOIN AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT, UH, IT OFFICIALLY BEING COMMISSIONED BUSINESS. WE WOULD JUST BE PARTICIPANTS IN THE DISCUSSION. SO I'D LIKE TO GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO WEIGH IN ON THE THOUGHTS AND, AND NOT NECESSARILY A ROLL CALL, BUT KIND OF DO A ROLL CALL AND ABOUT, UH, BEING ABLE TO JOIN ON SATURDAY THE NINTH. WOULD THIS BE A REMOTE MEETING? UH, YES. THANK YOU, MR. GATES. IT WOULD INDEED BE A REMOTE MEETING. UH, WE WANT IT TO ENABLE A HYBRID MEETING. I THINK WE WOULD STILL ENTERTAIN THAT IF WE HAD A FACILITY, UM, ALTHOUGH, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND, AND, UH, MAKING IT MORE CONVENIENT FOR EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE THAT HAS ACCESS, UM, WE WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE A REMOTE COMPONENT. SO THE REASON WHY, OF COURSE, IN THE INTEREST OF EQUITY, WE WANT TO MAYBE ENTERTAIN HAVING A FACE-TO-FACE CAPABILITY IS BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY NOT EVERYONE CAN GET ONLINE. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M WORKING TO CONFIRM QUICKLY IS IF WE'LL BE ABLE TO ALLOW MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO DIAL IN, UH, THERE'S BEEN SOME EVOLUTION OF THAT WITH CITY COUNCIL. YOU ALL MAY HAVE HEARD, THEY FIRST [01:30:01] WERE ALLOWING IT ALONG WITH OTHER CITIES IN THE STATE, BY VIRTUE OF THE WAIVER. AND THEN ONCE THE GOVERNOR WAS SENDING THE WAIVER, WE STOPPED ALLOWING IT AS A CITY, UH, BUT THEN AN OBSERVANCE OF OTHER CITIES CONTINUING TO ALLOW IT. AND I THINK A REASSESSMENT OF OUR CAPABILITIES AND POTENTIAL BUDGET, UH, CONSTRAINTS AND OR REALLOCATIONS, THEY DECIDED THAT THEY CAN DO IT AS A CITY COUNCIL. SO I'VE ENGAGED MY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AND HAVE RECEIVED WORD BACK THAT THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK INTO IT TO SEE IF THEY CAN ENCOURAGE THE CITY MANAGER AND A BUDGET ALLOCATION THAT ALLOW BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO HAVE CITIZENS CALL IN. SO I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'LL BE RESOLVED IN A WEEK, BUT THAT IS IN THE WORKS. UM, SO HOPE THAT HELPS TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, COMMISSIONER GATES. SO THIS WOULD FOLLOW A PA HYBRID MEETING MEN. UH, YEAH, SO, UH, RIGHT NOW, UH, WE DON'T HAVE A FACILITY, UH, RESERVED FOR THIS MEETING, ALTHOUGH WE WOULD WORK TO TRY TO SECURE ONE BECAUSE WE RELIANCE UPON A NONPROFIT ENTITY TO HOST THE MEETING ITSELF. UH, WE CAN'T BE TOO INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS. THEY WOULD HAVE TO, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP TO A BIRD DOG OR TO, TO, YOU KNOW, PINPOINT RESOURCES THAT THEY COULD LEVERAGE, UH, BUT IT WOULD NEED TO BE THEIR MEETING. UH, SO THEY NEED TO SIGN OFF ON THAT. UH, SO I KNOW AT THE VERY LEAST IT WILL BE REMOTE. UM, AND BEST CASE MEMBERS FROM THE COMMUNITY WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DIAL IN. UH, BUT WE STILL NEED TO PUT A PIN ON WHAT WE'D BE ABLE TO DO FACE TO FACE, BUT IT WOULDN'T CHANGE THE DATE THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TARGET FOR THE MEETING AND THAT IT WOULD BE DURING THE DAYTIME, UH, PRIMARILY TO ALLOW MEMBERS FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT HAVE CHILDCARE CONCERNS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE TO PARTICIPATE. I THINK COMMISSIONERS FIRST, HE HAD A QUESTION. MY QUESTION WAS GOING TO BE WHAT THE EXACT TIME ARE YOU THINKING, BECAUSE ACL IS HAPPENING THAT WEEKEND. NOW THIS, THIS, THIS IS A GOOD POINT. IT'S A GOOD POINT. UH, WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK AGAIN WITH, UH, EVERYONE'S SCHEDULE IN MIND, UH, YOU KNOW, I, AS A PARENT, I KNOW, UM, MY SATURDAY START FAIRLY EARLY. UH, BUT YOU KNOW, I CAN UNDERSTAND IF ANYONE WANTS TO JUST PLAY NICE YELL THAT WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA START TO LOSE THEIR ATTENTION IN, IN MID-AFTERNOON. UH, RIGHT. YEAH. RIGHT. SO MAYBE THERE'S A SWEET SPOT THERE. MAYBE WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, AN, AN EVENT FROM SAY 10 TO NOON OR TEN ONE. NO, NO, NO, NO. I DON'T THINK I CAN ATTEND THAT MEETING ON SATURDAY. I HAD A FULL DAY ALREADY. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, I REGRET TO HEAR THAT. UM, UH, I'M SORRY, DID YOU, I DIDN'T WANNA HEAR WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY, COMMISSIONER GUIRO DID YOU WANT TO, OH, I GOT YOU. I GOT, SO I LIKE IT. I LIKE IT RIGHT NOW. THIS IS ANOTHER GOOD POINT, RIGHT? COMMISSION ISLAND. UM, I COULD PARTICIPATE ON THE NINTH, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD, UM, FOR EARLIER IN THE MORNING, CAUSE IT IS, GETS ONCE NOON HITS. I WON'T BE ABLE TO TIBBLE, UH, ATTEND, NOT BECAUSE OF ACL. OKAY. UH, YES, COMMISSIONER RAMOS. FORTUNATELY I DO HAVE A FAMILY WEDDING THAT DAY THAT WILL REQUIRE ME TO BE NEW DIFFERENT CITY, SO I CAN'T MAKE IT, BUT I DO THINK THIS CONVERSATION IS WORTH HAVING, BECAUSE THIS SETS THE PRECEDENT FOR FUTURE EVENTS AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS, NOT ONLY WITH DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS, BUT ARE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WE REPRESENT AND WE WORK WITH, WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, ONE THING THAT I'D LIKE TO MENTION THAT HOPEFULLY WILL GIVE YOU SOME COMFORT IS THAT, UH, EVERYTHING THAT IS GARNERED FROM THE MEETING, ALL THE INSIGHTS, ALL THE LIVED EXPERIENCES THAT ARE SHARED WILL THEN BE OFFICIALLY READ INTO THE RECORD AT OUR FOLLOWING COMMISSION MEETING ON THE 13TH. SO EITHER WAY THERE'LL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO, YOU KNOW, SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS TO THOSE INSIGHTS AND TO TILL EXPERIENCES. I'LL JUST THROW OUT THERE. I'M CAPABLE OF ATTENDING IN THE MORNING. OKAY. SAME, SAME HERE. AWESOME. [01:35:01] AWESOME. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, HEY, WE, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE AN OVERWHELMING CONSENSUS AND THE CUP AND MAYBE, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A COUPLE THAT HAVE CONFLICTS, SO FOUR COMMISSIONERS ARE SCOOPED UP AND COMMISSIONER RAMOS, UH, CERTAINLY FEEL FREE TO SHARE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE ASKED OF THE PARTICIPANTS PRIOR TO THAT EVENT. AND AS I MENTIONED, ALL THE INSIGHTS FROM THAT MEETING WILL BE READ INTO THE RECORD AT OUR FOLLOWING COMMISSION MEETING ON THE 13TH. SO YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO THEN REFLECT ON THEM THEN AT THAT TIME AS WELL. BUT WITH THAT, THEN I THINK WE DO HAVE A CLEAR CONSENSUS AND, UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO THEN RESPOND TO OUR, UH, ESTEEMED COLLEAGUES AT MISSION CAPITAL THAT WE'D LIKE TO TARGET THE NIGHT. AND IT SEEMS LIKE 10 TO TWO IS A SWEET SPOT. SO THAT SEEMS TO BE IN DIRECT ALIGNMENT WITH THE FEEDBACK WE'VE BEEN GIVEN ALREADY, WHICH IS GREAT BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO INCREASE OUR ODDS OF HAVING ROBUST PARTICIPATION FROM THE COMMUNITY. SO THAT'S WONDERFUL. UH, YES, I'M SURE. AND JUST SO I UNDERSTAND THAT THE FULL SORT OF SCOPE OF THIS MEETING THE OBJECTIVE IS, IS TO HEAR FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ON TECHNICAL CHALLENGES. UM, SO WE COULD POSSIBLY TAKE ACTION, IS THAT THAT'S FAIR. IN FACT, WITH THE DIGITAL VIDE, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY INTERNET ACCESS DEVICE ACCESS AND DIGITAL LITERACY THAT IMPACTS TELEMEDICINE THAT IT IMPACTS SCHOOL. IT IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICE DELIVERY CHALLENGES THAT THEY MAY HAVE HAD DURING THE PANDEMIC. AND THEN WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND, WITH SPECIFIC OUTCOMES IN MIND, THAT WOULD HELP THEM. THANK YOU FOR THAT. OKAY. WELL WITH THAT, THEN I THINK WE'RE IN AGREEMENT ON THAT AND WE'VE RESOLVED THE MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESS THERE RELATED TO DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK 2021. ALTHOUGH I WILL BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MAKE MENTION OF THE ART POSTER CONTEST, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO PLAY A ROLE IN AS A COMMISSION, UH, JESSE HAS BEEN LEADING THE EFFORT TO, UH, HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT CAMPAIGN TO ALL OF THE LOCAL AREA SCHOOLS, UH, AND, UH, FOR STUDENTS AGE 10 TO 18 TO PARTICIPATE, UH, AND PROVIDING, UH, IT'S A CONTEST WHERE WE'RE AWARDING A PRIZE CASH PRIZE FOR WINNERS. FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD, AS WE'VE DONE EXITED, WE DID LAST YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME. UH, DID YOU WANNA SPEAK ON THAT, JESSE? SURE. UH, THANKS. TIRPITZ JESSE RODRIGUEZ, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS. UM, AS TIRPITZ MENTIONED, UH, THIS WILL BE OUR SECOND YEAR HOSTING THE DIGITAL ART COMPETITION. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, DIGITAL INCLUSION, ISN'T JUST ABOUT CONNECTING FOLKS, UH, TO COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET. THERE'S ALSO A CREATIVE MEDIA SIDE AND WE WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THAT IN OUR YOUTH. SO, UH, WE'RE HOSTING THIS COMPETITION THAT THE THEME IS DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT MEANS BLANK. AND SO WE'RE ASKING FOR, UH, ARTWORK THAT CAN BE, UH, PHYSICAL OR DIGITAL, UM, AND SUBMITTED TO US. UH, AGAIN, AS TIRPITZ MENTIONED, THERE'S GOING TO BE, UH, PRIZES AWARDED FOR FIRST PLACE, SECOND PLACE. AND THIRD PLACE. THE FIRST PLACE AWARD WILL BE $400 AND THEN SECOND PLACE WILL BE $200. AND THIRD PLACE WILL BE AT $100. UH, THE POSTER COMPETITION WILL BE, UH, IS, UH, ELIGIBLE. ANYBODY IS ELIGIBLE. UH, KIDS TEND TO 18 AS LONG AS THEY'RE IN THE AUSTIN AREA. SO IF YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY WHO FITS THAT DESCRIPTION, UH, LET THEM KNOW, UH, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO PARTICIPATE. UM, LAST YEAR WE HAD ABOUT 20 SUBMISSIONS. UM, SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN KEEP THAT AND INCREASE ON THAT THIS YEAR. UM, I'VE ALREADY ADVERTISED THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ALL OF THE AISD SCHOOLS VIA THE PRINCIPALS WHO ARE KIND OF FILTERING THAT DOWN, UH, THROUGH THEIR NETWORKS. BUT I, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IF YOU KNOW, UH, OF KIDS IN THAT AGE RANGE, FEEL FREE TO, UH, SEND IT THEIR WAY, OR IF YOU'RE CONNECTED WITH ANY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHO WORK WITH KIDS, THEN THAT WOULD BE APPRECIATED AS WELL. UM, ONE PARTICULAR REQUEST THAT I HAVE FOR THE COMMISSION IS THAT I'M STILL TRYING TO PULL TOGETHER A REVIEW PANEL TO, UH, DECIDE FOR, UH, WHO'S THE, WHO'S GOING TO BE THE WINNERS. UM, RIGHT NOW I HAVE, UH, ONE OR TWO POSSIBLE PEOPLE ON THAT, UH, ON THAT LIST. AND I'M LOOKING FOR THREE TO FIVE. SO IF, IF ANY OF YOU ALL ARE INTERESTED IN THAT INTERSECTION OF DIGITAL EQUITY AND ART AND KIDS, UH, THEN THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND, UH, UH, [01:40:01] SHOOT ME AN EMAIL AND I CAN MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOU IN THAT. AND I THINK I SAW A QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER RAMOS. OKAY. YEAH, NOT SO MUCH A QUESTION, BUT MAYBE A SUGGESTION. UH, I KNOW WE DO HAVE OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT ARE WITHIN THE CITY OF BOSTON, FOR EXAMPLE, DEL VALLEY ISD, LEANDER, ISD MAYNOR ISD. AND SO I THINK IF I CAN MAYBE OFFER THE RECOMMENDATION IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE MORE DIVERSITY AND MAYBE MORE ENTRIES IS REACHING OUT TO THOSE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AS WELL, KNOWING THAT WE DO HAVE TALENT ALL ACROSS THE CITY. EXCELLENT. YEAH. EXCELLENT. UH, ADVICE THERE. UM, I, WE, WE HAVE ADDED A COUPLE OF NON AISD CONTACTS. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF FINDING GOOD PEOPLE TO SEND IT TO. SO CERTAINLY IF, IF YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, PERSON OR NODE IN MIND, UH, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO SPREAD THE WORD IN THOSE DIRECTIONS AND IN, YOU KNOW, FEEL IF YOU'D LIKE TO COMMUNICATE THAT DIRECTLY AS WELL. JESSE, ARE YOU INCLUDING THE CHARTER SCHOOLS ALSO THAT WE HAVE INCLUDED A COUPLE OF THEM, BUT, UH, IT, UH, THAT'S ANOTHER CASE WHERE IT'S JUST HARD FOR US TO KIND OF FIND, UH, ALL OF THE CONTEXTS. OKAY. UH, SO I, I CAN SHARE TO THE COMMISSION, LIKE THE LIST OF FOLKS THAT WE SHARED IT TO ALREADY. UM, AND THEN IF Y'ALL SEE SOMEBODY OR, YOU KNOW, AN ORGANIZATION THAT ISN'T REPRESENTED THERE THAT, THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND, WE DO, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOOT ME AN EMAIL. OKAY. WHAT IS THE, YOU SAID THERE WAS A CASH PRIZE. WHAT WOULD BE THE CASH BUYERS? THAT'D BE A GOOD WAY TO ADVERTISE IT THROUGH IT. DO WE KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER IS? WE DO? AND HE WAS ASKING WHAT THE CASH PRICE WAS A JESSE. YES. THE FIRST PLACE IS $400 AND SECOND PLACE WILL BE $200. AND THIRD PLACE WILL BE $100. UH, JUST AS A SUGGESTION, WE CAN GET THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO POST IT ON THOSE SOCIAL MEDIA. AND THAT SHOULD PROBABLY HELP QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY. SOME OF THEM HAVE QUITE A FOLLOWING. YEAH. I WAS GOING TO SAY MAYBE CITY OF AUSTIN, FACEBOOK PAGE, THAT'D BE A GOOD, EASY, I LOVE THE IDEAS. I THINK THE MORE CHANNELS, THE BETTER. RIGHT. UH, I KNOW THAT WE COULD GIVE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT MIGHT HELP IN THE EFFORT. UH, THERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE PREVIOUS WINNERS. THAT'S EXCITING TO LOOK AT. UH, WE COULD MAKE SURE ALL THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE THAT, UH, THAT OF COURSE THE LINK TO THE PAGE THAT DESCRIBES THE CONTEST, UH, THAT WOULD GIVE YOU AN EASY WAY TO THEN CONVEY TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER WHAT'S GOING ON. THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION. SURE. SO MAYBE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. I UNDERSTAND OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE WORKS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES TO BE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, THINGS IN AN ACCESSIBLE FORMAT GIVEN THAT SPANISH AND VIETNAMESE ARE THE SECOND AND THIRD, MOST COMMON LANGUAGES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. I WOULD MAYBE RECOMMEND EITHER WE DO A PRESS RELEASE OR DO ALL THE MATERIALS. IF, FOR EXAMPLE, WE DO A FLYER OR ANYTHING FOR THE PREVIOUS WINNERS IN ENGLISH, DO IT IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES TO FURTHER ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY. OKAY. I THINK IT'S ALSO A GREAT SUGGESTION. I KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UH, WE'VE GOT, OBVIOUSLY OUR TIMEFRAME IS A LITTLE CONDENSED, BUT WE DO HAVE CAPABILITIES. WE HAVE A THEME FROM LAST YEAR. IF WE'VE GOT THAT IN AN EDIT, WE CAN REPURPOSE THE POSTER FROM LAST YEAR AND THEN GET WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO ADJUST IN LANGUAGES. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S EXCELLENT SUGGESTIONS. AND I HAVE, UH, AN EMAIL THAT I CAN SEND TO THE WHOLE COMMISSION WITH ALL OF THE DETAILS AND THE LINKS AND, UM, UH, I THINK THE SUGGESTION TO TRANSLATE IS GREAT. UM, UH, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THE, WE CAN DO SPANISH VERY QUICKLY AND EASILY. I'LL HAVE TO FIND A TRANSLATOR FOR, UH, OTHER LANGUAGES. UH, BUT WE DO HAVE BILINGUAL FOLKS ON STAFF, SO, UH, ENGLISH, SPANISH. UM, SO YEAH, WE CAN DO THAT. AND I'LL, I'LL DEFINITELY SHARE THAT TONIGHT, UH, WITH THE COMMISSION, WITH THE INFORMATION AND ALONG THE SAME LINES. IT'S IMPORTANT JUST TO MENTION IN THE RECORD THAT, UH, WE HAD GREAT PARTICIPATION FROM, UH, THE AUSTIN SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED, AS WELL AS THE, UH, AUSTIN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND HEARING IMPAIRED. UH, SO WE'LL ENGAGE IN THAT OUTREACH AS WELL, JUST SO YOU KNOW, AWESOME. WELL THAT I THINK, UH, IS A GOOD END TO OUR DISCUSSION ON DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK. REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE EVERYONE PUMPED ABOUT THAT, THAT LET'S GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE WITH COMMISSION AS OUR AGENDA, UH, COMMISSION UPDATES. UH, THIS MIGHT BE FAIRLY BRIEF, UH, IN LIGHT OF OUR PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF WORK GROUPS TODAY. UH, BUT I'D LIKE TO GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO WEIGH IN ON THIS, UH, IN GENERAL, FOR ACTIVITIES THAT YOU MAY BE INVOLVED IN THAT IMPACT OF THESE WORKING GROUPS, UH, FOR MY PART TO BEGIN WITH, UH, JENNA [4A. Digital Inclusion, Civic Engagement, and Strategic Technology and Telecom Policy Working Group] ITEM FOUR B EXCUSE ME, FOUR, A THE DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, A STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOM POLICY WORKING GROUP. UM, [01:45:01] OBVIOUSLY A BIG ROLE IN OUR PRESENTATION TODAY WAS FOCUSED AROUND DIGITAL INCLUSION FROM OUR PRESENTER, JEFF TO COO, UH, VERY EXCITED TO SEE THAT DISCUSSION TAKE PLACE IN THIS SESSION HERE, AS WELL AS TO SEE THE COLLABORATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN HAPPENING TO REALLY FOCUS ON REQUIREMENTS GATHERING AS I SEE IT, UH, AND THE ROLE THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN PLAY AND DIRECTLY IMPACTING, UH, BOTH THE EDUCATION EFFORT AND THE REQUIREMENTS GATHERING EFFORT FOR WHAT'S REALLY NEEDED IN THE COMMUNITY. UH, ONE OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS IS TAKING PLACE BETWEEN HOUSTON TILLOTSON AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, VARIETY OF PEOPLE FROM THE INNOVATION OFFICE, AS WELL AS, UH, THE, UH, RESEARCH AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVE OFFICE, UH, WITH OUR NEW CHIEF ALBUS SORENTO, UH, VERY EXCITED TO SEE, UH, HANDS ON INVOLVEMENT FROM OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION, UH, FELLOW, UH, UH, UH, CARMEN. UH, WHO'S BEEN A GREAT, A GREAT ASSET FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY. UH, OF COURSE, UH, IS ONE OF THE MAJOR FOCUSES OF THIS WORKING GROUP AS WELL. AND, UH, WE HAD A ROBUST DISCUSSION ABOUT G TOPS AND WAYS TO MAKE IT MORE IMPACTFUL IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT IS AS A GRANT, SOMETHING THAT GOES THROUGH IT, IT'S A CONSTANT ITERATION. YOU KNOW, I, I SAY CONSTANT MEANING, UH, VERY PLANNED AND REGIMENTED, BUT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, UH, THERE'S A RETROSPECTIVE AND THAT HAS RESULTED IN G TOPS EVOLVING, UH, IN MY TIME AS A COMMISSIONER I'VE SEEN YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, IN WAYS THAT HAVE BEEN MORE IMPACTFUL IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, BEGINNING WITH THE CREATION OF DIFFERENT FUNDING PATHWAYS, UH, BEYOND THE INITIAL ONE, TO HAVE CORE, TO HAVE, UH, CAPACITY, UH, AND TO HAVE A DETOX MINI, UH, TO THEN EVOLVING FROM BEING INITIALLY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS GRANT TO A $200,000 GRANT TO A $400,000 GRANT. UH, SO BASED UPON THAT TREND, UH, I COULD SEE US MAKING A RECOMMENDATION FOR THAT TO BE, YOU KNOW, A $500,000 GRANT NEXT YEAR. AND, UH, I COULD EASILY SEE 50 TO 75,000 BEING DEDICATED JUST FOR MARKETING, UH, AND, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN AROUND G TOPS TO GET ACCESS TO MORE PEOPLE AND MORE PANELISTS AND MORE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. UH, BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE MAIN HIGHLIGHTS. I THINK, AGAIN, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE OBJECTIVES OF EACH WORKING GROUP BEING DISTILLED AND BEING ALIGNED TO OUR STRATEGIC OUTCOMES AS A CITY AND FROM OUR ROBUST, UH, WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS. BUT I'D LIKE TO GIVE ANYONE A CHANCE, UH, THAT MAY HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE, UH, THAT IMPACTS THIS WORKING GROUP IN THE REALM OF DIGITAL INCLUSION, UH, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OR STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY. SO A CALM POLICY IMPACT OKAY, [4B. Knowledge, Information, and Data Stewardship Working Group] BUT THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TRANSITION TO THE NEXT WORKING GROUP, WHICH IS THE KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP, UH, VICE CHAIR, ALEXANDER IS NOT PRESENT. SO I'LL, I'LL SUB IN, UH, WITH THAT BRIEFLY TO SAY, I THINK ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS, UH, THAT WORKING GROUP HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON IN ADDITION TO THE DIGITAL INCLUSION WORKING GROUP IS REMOTE PARTICIPATION AND, UH, AS ALLUDED TO EARLIER AND DISCUSSION ABOUT DIAL-INS AND LEVERAGING HYBRID MEETINGS AND OUR CHALLENGES, UH, TO, UH, WORK THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, BUT TO BE EFFECTIVE. UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT COMES OF THAT IN THE FUTURE. UH, I KNOW THAT OUR CITY COUNCIL IS COMMITTED TO, UH, GIVING CITIZENS A WAY TO PARTICIPATE AND TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR IDEAS AND INSIGHTS, THEIR CONCERNS, AND, UH, AS A BOARD AND A COMMISSION, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO CERTAINLY USE ALL TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL TO HELP THE COMMUNITY DO THE SAME. SO, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW THAT CONVERSATION UNFOLDS, UH, BUT LIKE IT GIVE ANYONE A CHANCE TO WIN OR TO ASK QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THIS WORKING GROUP. AGAIN, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE'LL BE DISTILLING THE PRIORITIES AND OBJECTIVES IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSIONS. OKAY. WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL PROCEED TO THE NEXT AND, UH, I'LL PASS THE MIC. UH, THIS IS WHERE THE TECHNOLOGY [4C. Technology, Infrastructure, and Innovation Working Group] INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION WORKING GROUP, UH, TO THE CO-CHAIRS, UH, COMMISSIONER FLOYD AND COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA. SO THE LAST MEETING WAS WITNESS TO THE COUP IT WAS [01:50:01] WONDERFUL. EVERYTHING YOU TALKED ABOUT, PLAGUE FITS RIGHT INTO THIS WORKING GROUP AND ALIGNS SO BEAUTIFULLY WITH THE SIX INITIATIVES THAT THE CITY IS FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, THE PRIORITIES. AND SO I REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO A CONTINUING DIALOGUE WITH MR. , UH, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT SHARED CONDUITS, ET CETERA, WELLS, WE HAVE SHARED TOWERS, SO MAYBE WE CAN LEAVE THE COUNTRY TOPIC FOR AWHILE AND, AND FOCUSING, BUT THESE TOWERS SO THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE THIS. UM, JUST GO A LOT FOR CONNECTING EVERYBODY WITH HIGH SPEED, UH, BANDWIDTH PREDICATION. SO THAT'S WHAT WE SPENT THERE IN THERE AN HOUR TALKING TO HIM. DO YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT A COMMISSION REPORT? I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO ADD OTHER THAN THE, THE PRESENTATION WE SAW TODAY WAS A CULMINATION OF MANY THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UH, OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, IT'S NICE TO SEE THEM ALL KIND OF COALESCE. SO IT WAS GOOD. I ENJOYED IT. OKAY, WELL, LET'S GIVE ANYONE ELSE A CHANCE, UH, AS WELL, UH, EVEN NEW WORKING GROUP MEMBERS OR, UH, OR THOSE THAT ARE UNABLE TO JOIN THE WORK GROUP SESSIONS. AND IF NOT, AGAIN, AS WE TALKED ABOUT, WE'LL BE GETTING INTO THOSE OBJECTIVES AND DISTILLING THOSE PRIORITIES MORE SO IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSIONS. SO THIS WILL BE A BRIEF AGENDA ITEM, AND THAT [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] BRINGS US TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, THIS IS CERTAINLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US ALL TO BASICALLY WEIGH IN, UH, AS A BODY ABOUT PRESENTATIONS. WE MIGHT WANT TO HAVE, UH, BRIEFINGS THAT WE MIGHT REQUEST FROM CITY DEPARTMENTS. UH, I KNOW I MADE MENTION OF OUR NEW CHIEF RESEARCH, STRATEGIC INITIATIVE OFFICER, AND I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE HER TO COME AND SPEAK TO OUR BODY AND TO, TO PRESENT ON HER PRIORITIES. I KNOW HAVING MET WITH HER IN SOME OF THOSE COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS WITH HOUSTON TILLOTSON AND, UH, THE INNOVATION OFFICE, UH, MEMBERS, UH, CHARLES PERMA, TED LAYER, UH, AND, UH, UT, UM, THAT, UH, SHE'S A GREAT ADDITION, UH, TO OUR, OUR CITY TEAM. AND, UH, SHE HAS A VERY INTENSE FOCUS ON EQUITY, WHICH IS A DIRECT ALIGNMENT TO ONE OF OUR OBJECTIVES AND FOCUSES AS A COMMISSION. SO, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO INVITING HER IN AND HOPEFULLY SHE'LL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE. UM, ALSO WANTING TO INVITE SOME PEOPLE FROM HOUSTON TILLOTSON TO, TO COME AND JOIN OUR NEXT WORKING GROUP MEETING, TO TALK ABOUT THEIR RESEARCH EFFORTS, UH, THERE, AND, UH, SOME FUNDING THEY'RE PURSUING, UH, THAT WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY, UH, BASED UPON THEIR STATUS AS A HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITY. IN ADDITION TO OTHER THINGS THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON WITH UT, UH, IN TERMS OF MATCHMAKING AND, AND PURSUING FUNDING SOURCES AND GRANTS IN GENERAL. UH, BUT I'D LIKE TO GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO SHARE THEIR IDEAS ON WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE IN OUR FUTURE AGENDA, OUR NEXT MEETING, BEING ON THE 13TH, BY THE WAY. SO JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AWAY NOW. UH, YES. COMMISSIONER SKIPTON. YEAH. I MADE A PROPOSAL, NOT SURE THAT IT'S RIGHT FOR THE NEXT MEETING, BUT IN SOME FUTURE MEETING IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, UM, I AM, UH, A MEMBER OF THE FINANCE AND RISK ASSESSMENT SUBCOMMITTEE FOR THE AUSTRIAN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP. AND AS YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING A LOT OF BIG AS THEY PUT IN NEW RAIL LINES AND THIS AND THAT FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CITY. SO I AM SURE THERE'S A LOT OF TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED AS THE LADIES LINES DOWN. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT LINES UP WITH WHAT JEFF TALKED ABOUT WITH HAVING THESE TOWERS ALONG THE, UH, ALONG COMMUNICATION ALONG THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS, SO WHAT ARE THEY DOING AND HOW CAN WE PARTNER WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR, UH, EFFORT? WOULD YOU BELIEVE, WOULD YOU CONSIDER THAT TO BE A WORTHWHILE DIALOGUE WITH THEM, A PRESENTATION FROM THE MAYBE? UH, YES, CERTAINLY I WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY BASED UPON THE ALIGNMENT OF ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON. AND AS YOU SUGGESTED, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY THAT SURELY MUST BE INVOLVED, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LEND INSIGHT AND TO ADVISE OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, AND, UH, TO SHARE OUR PERSPECTIVE. UH, SO YOU WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE MY SUPPORT, UH, FOR THAT FOR A FUTURE MEETING. LIKE YOU SUGGESTED IT MAY BE TOUGH TO SQUEEZE [01:55:01] THEM INTO THE VERY NEXT MEETING ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE, BUT PERHAPS OUR NOVEMBER MEETING WILL BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT. DO YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN PARTICULAR IN MIND THAT WOULD COME AND PRESENT? I CAN, I CAN, UH, MAYBE START AT THE TOP, YOU KNOW, I FIND OUT THAT , WELL, JESSICA CAN HELP. I THINK WITH THAT, CAUSE OBVIOUSLY, UH, AS STAFF LIAISON, HE HE'LL BE ABLE TO PINPOINT CANDID VISUALS THAT MIGHT BE BEST SUITED FOR THAT, OR TO HELP YOU WITH, UH, THE ORG CHART, SO TO SPEAK. SO, YEP. AWESOME. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR IDEAS CAN MR. ROB.COM SHARE PITS? I'M A PART OF A ORGANIZATION CALLED CEO ACTION FOR RACIAL EQUITY AND THEY HAVE A WORKING GROUP FOCUSED ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, UM, WOULD LOVE FOR THAT GROUP TO COME AND PRESENT THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING. UH, IT'S, IT'S REALLY A COLLECTION OF CEOS HAVE SIGNED ON. SO THERE'S, FULL-TIME FELLOWS FROM VARIOUS COMPANIES WORKING TO ADVOCATE FOR, UM, FOR POLICY PROPOSALS, THE STATE, FEDERAL, AND LOCAL LEVEL. UM, SO I'LL WORK WITH MY NETWORK TO SEE IF, UM, THEY'RE AVAILABLE NEXT MEETING, UM, AT THE VERY LEAST JUST TO RAISE AWARENESS ON THE WORK THAT THAT WE'RE, THAT THEY ARE DOING, UM, THAT GROUP SPECIFICALLY, BUT, UM, PERHAPS THERE'S, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH THEM IN THE FUTURE. THAT SOUNDS VERY INTERESTING. UM, WITH THE TIMEFRAME OF THE NEXT MINUTE, HE MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE CONDUCIVE TO THEIR SCHEDULES, UH, OR, UH, DEPENDING UPON HOW BIG THE AGENDA IS WITH OTHER PRESENTATIONS, BUT I COULD ABSOLUTELY SEE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM, WHETHER IT'S THE 13TH MEETING OR THE NOVEMBER MEETING, OR, UM, PERHAPS EVEN OUR NEXT WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, UH, FOR THEM TO COME AND JOIN AND TO ALLOW US TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO AND HOW, HOW WE CAN COLLABORATE ANYTHING FOCUSED AROUND EQUITY INVOLVING, UH CEO'S AND OUR COMMUNITY. IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR COLLABORATION. ALSO, PERHAPS IF WE HAVE TIME TO HAVE THE WORKING GROUPS MEET BEFORE THE NEXT, UM, MEETING ON THE 13TH, UM, MAYBE WE COULD SAVE SOME LARGER COMMISSION TIME NEXT MEETING BY HAVING THE WORKING GROUPS DO IT PROPOSE PRIORITY OF OBJECTIVES, UM, FACTORING IN VELOCITY OF EACH OBJECTIVE, PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN OBJECTIVES WE KNOW ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, UM, HAVE HAD DIFFERENT SETBACKS OR, OR REQUIRE PARTICIPATION FROM OTHERS. UM, SO MAYBE WE COULD, UM, WITHIN EACH WORKING GROUP, UH, COME UP WITH A PROPOSED PRIORITY THAT WE COULD THEN, YOU KNOW, CONFIRM, DISCUSS THINGS LIKE THAT AS A LARGER GROUP. UM, NEXT MEETING. YEAH, I CONCUR, I THINK THAT'S A NATURAL EVOLUTION TO WHAT WE BEGAN TONIGHT AS A OVERVIEW OF THE NEED TO MAP THE OBJECTIVES AND THE PRIORITIZE, AND THEN TO MAP THEM TO THE STRATEGIC STRATEGIC OUTCOMES. SO, UH, I WOULD DEFINITELY SECOND THAT AND SUPPORT THAT, AND WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO HAVE A VOTE ON THAT OUTCOME BASED UPON THE CONSENSUS THAT WE HAD EARLIER. UH, SO IT WILL BE A MATTER OF, UH, PRIORITIZING, UH, AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MEETINGS IN LIGHT OF WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO ACHIEVE IN THOSE WORK GROUP SESSIONS. UM, BUT I THINK AS LONG AS WE TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET THERE. AWESOME. WELL, ARE THERE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS? OKAY, WELL THAT TAKES CARE OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, AND THAT BRINGS US TO OUR LAST AGENDA ITEM, UH, GERMAN. I NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN, MOTION TO ADJOURN AND EMOTION BY KASPERSKY SECOND, HIDDEN BY COMMISSIONER. DASGUPTA ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF A GERMAN, PLEASE SAY, AYE, AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? WE ARE UNANIMOUS AND WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. HAVE A GOOD DAY OR NIGHT TIME TO FINALLY RELAX. YEAH, YOU SAID THAT MUSIC THAT'S EASY WHEN YOU GO ON MR. BASS, MAN. YOU ON ALL THE SONGS. YOU GET THE DUDE, THE DUDE, HEY MR. FACE, MAN. THE HIDDEN IN THE GANG OF ROCKIN BANG, BANG DOWN. GOOD. [02:00:01] DO MEAN THING. WHEN LEADERS SAY, OH, HI, MR. FACE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.