[00:00:04]
[*This meeting was joined in progress* 1. Public Comment]
NAME IS JEREMY HENDRIX AND I'M A MEMBER OF THE ATP COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.AND I'M ALSO WITH THE LABORERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA LINE IS THE FIFTH LARGEST CONSTRUCTION UNIT IN NORTH AMERICA.
AND A MORE JORDY OF OUR MEMBERS ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR, UH, WORKING IN POVERTY, UH, BEFORE THEY COME TO US.
SO TEXAS IS DEFINITELY THE MOST DANGEROUS STATE FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND HAS THE MOST WORKER MISCLASSIFICATION, THE MOST WAGE THEFT.
AND THAT'S WHY WE FIGHT EVERY DAY TO ENSURE WORKERS ARE PROTECTED AND ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES WITH DIGNITY.
I'M ALSO PROUD TO BE THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRAL TEXAS BUILDING TRADES AND AN ALLY OF THE WORKERS DEFENSE PROJECT.
WHO'S ALSO HERE TODAY AND WE HAVE FOUGHT TO PASS PROJECT CONNECT AND TO ENSURE THIS PROJECT PROVIDES THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THE WORKERS BUILDING IT, WHICH INCLUDES LIVING WAGES ON TOP OF PREVAILING WAGES, THE CITY OF AUSTIN CONSTRUCTION TRAINING PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND INDEPENDENT ONSITE MONITORING PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M HERE TODAY TO JOIN MS. WOLF, TO ASK THE ATP BOARD, TO DELAY THE VOTE OF THE CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION RESOLUTION UNTIL WE GET THE LANGUAGE FINALIZED AND CORRECT WITH THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, WE MUST GET THIS RIGHT UP FRONT TO ENSURE THE INTENTIONS OF THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS IS FOLLOWED AND TAXPAYER DOLLARS ARE PROTECTED.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT COMMUNITY INPUT INPUT FROM GROUPS THAT FIGHT TO PROTECT WORKERS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUPS AMONG OTHERS ARE LISTENED TO AND RECOMMENDED LANGUAGE IS INCORPORATED IN THE PROJECT, UH, TO PROTECT THIS COMMUNITY, THE VOTERS, AND TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THIS MASSIVE, MASSIVE PROJECT.
SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY, AND I HOPE THAT YOU WILL PLEASE, UH, DELAY THIS VOTE UNTIL WE GET THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS, UM, LANGUAGE, UH, CORRECTLY INTO THE NEW JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT.
UM, BEFORE WE CALL THE NEXT SPEAKER, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. HENDRIX? NO.
UM, NOW THE SECOND SPEAKER IS MS. JESSICA WOLF, MS. WOLF.
UM, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE IN PERSON AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UH, BOARD CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBERS.
I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF BETTER BUILDER AND POLICY AT WORKERS.
DEFENSE IS A MEMBERSHIP BASED ORGANIZATION THAT SUPPORTS TEXAS AS LOW-INCOME CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND IMPROVING THEIR LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS.
I'M HERE TO ASK YOU TO PLEASE DELAY VOTING ON THE CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION RESOLUTION.
WORKER'S DEFENSE, ALONG WITH OTHER COMMUNITY AND LABOR ORGANIZATIONS HAVE PROVIDED EDITS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO ATP STAFF ON LANGUAGE RELATED TO THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS AMONG OTHER ITEMS IN THE JPA.
WE STILL HAVE CONCERNS RELATED TO THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM, LIVING WAGE AND CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM LANGUAGE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED PRIOR TO VOTING ON THIS.
TEXAS IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE TO BE A CONSTRUCTION WORKER.
AND THIS PROJECT WILL IMPACT THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS FOR OVER A DECADE.
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE GET THIS LANGUAGE, RIGHT, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY THAT IT ALIGNS WITH THE INTENT OF THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS RESOLUTION.
THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS STATES THAT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE BETTER BUILDER PROGRAM OR SIMILAR PROGRAM.
THE INDEPENDENT ONSITE MONITORING IS MOST THE MOST CRITICAL PIECE OF THE PROGRAM.
THIS MEANS INDEPENDENT OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND THE PROJECT ITSELF SO THAT THE WORKER CAN SAFELY REPORT ANY POTENTIAL ISSUES ON THE JOB WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS WORK FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS, AND WE HAVE EXPERIENCED ACCREDITING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MONITORING ENTITIES IN OUR EXPERIENCE IN OUR, IN OUR EXPERIENCE, REGARDLESS OF THE STANDARDS REQUIRED BY POLICY, IF THERE IS NOT INDEPENDENT, TRULY INDEPENDENT MONITORING FROM THE LIKE IT'S, IT'S VERY CRITICAL THAT THERE'S TRULY INDEPENDENT MONITORING FROM THE DEVELOPER, FROM INDUSTRY AND FROM THE OWNER STANDARDS REQUIRED ON PROJECTS ARE MEANINGLESS WITHOUT MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE BEING FOLLOWED.
ADDITIONALLY, WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE RECEIVING THE LIVING CITY, BOSTON'S LIVING WAGE AND PREVAILING WAGE, WHICH IS WHICHEVER IS GREATER THAN THE TWO PREVAILING WAGES FOR SOME TRADES ARE FAR LOWER THAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S LIVING WAGE.
WE ALSO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INTENT OF THE CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM LANGUAGE.
WE ARE AGAIN, ASKING YOU TO DELAY THIS VOTE UNTIL THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT LANGUAGE IS FINALIZED AND CONTINUE TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS LIKE OURSELVES WHO HAVE MEMBERSHIPS, WHO WILL BE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY YOUR DECISIONS.
UM, WE WANT TO THINK ATP STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE, AND ARE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH US ON THIS, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS CONVERSATION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. WOLF, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM MS. POOL? ANYONE? UM, WHEN WE GO ON TO DISCUSS THAT, UM, ACTION ITEM NUMBER THREE, UM, WOULD YOU BE STILL AROUND TO THERE'S ANY FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS? YES.
UM, OUR FIRST ITEM TODAY IS A TECHNICAL ADVISORY
[2. Technical Advisory Committee Reports]
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COMMITTEE REPORTS TO START US OFF.UM, I'M GOING TO BE GIVING THE REPORT ON MY COMMITTEE AND, UM, WE DISCUSSED FOUR ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA, THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT REVIEW, AND WE ALSO HAD IN ATTENDANCE, THE, UH, FINANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE MEMBERS BECAUSE THEY ONLY MEET QUARTERLY.
SO THEY JOINED OUR MEETING AS WELL.
UM, WE DISCUSSED PLEASANT VALLEY, RIVERSIDE STATION, DESIGN OPTIONS AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK REVIEW, UH, THE LADY BIRD LAKE BRIDGE, COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP PREVIEW, AND THE METRO RAPID SHELTER DESIGN REVIEW.
UM, WE HAD THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS.
THERE WERE FOUR, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE, THE JPA REGARDING THE JPA, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED INCLUDING TIMELINES, MILESTONES, AND DEADLINES FOR CRITICAL PATH ITEMS IN THE PROGRAM IN ORDER TO HOLD ALL PARTIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE SCHEDULE AND EACH PARTY'S RESPONSIBILITIES IN MAINTAINING THE SCHEDULE.
AS WE ALL KNOW, THE SCHEDULE IS ONE OF THE PROGRAM'S GREATEST RISKS.
SO THE JPA SHOULD HELP THE PARTNERSHIP MINIMIZE THAT RISK, UH, REGARDING THE PLEASANT VALLEY, THE COMMITTEE SUPPORTED THE EMPHASIS ON PLACE-MAKING AND FACILITATING MULTIMODAL TRANSIT USE AND CONNECTIONS.
AND ALL OF THIS IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
IN PARTICULARLY THE COMMITTEE LIKED OPTION NUMBER TWO WITH LADY BIRD, LAKE BRIDGE WORKSHOP.
THE COMMUNITY IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE SIGNATURE ELEMENT OF THE PROGRAM AND RECOMMENDS THAT WE MAINTAIN OUR ASPIRATIONAL APPROACH.
THERE WAS CREATING AN INSPIRING ARCHITECTURAL ICON THAT ADDRESSES MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY AND PLACEMAKING FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE GOING TO GET AN IN-DEPTH, UH, PRESENTATION TODAY FROM MR. MULLEN ON THAT REGARD METRO RAPID SHELTER, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED ADDING BIKE RACKS TREES, AND A PLACE FOR PUBLIC ART, AS WELL AS SUBMITTED A DETAILED LIST TO THE DESIGN TEAM ON THE ELEMENTS THAT STILL NEED TO BE REFINED ON FABRICATION INSTALLATION, LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE AND IDENTIFYING KEY AMENITIES FOR WRITERS PROVIDED AT THESE SHELTERS.
SO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE GIVEN AFTER WE HAD THE COMMITTEE WITH THE MEMBERS AND WE JUST WORKED IN A SMALLER GROUP DIRECTLY WITH THE TEAM IN TERMS OF REQUESTS, FOR MORE INFORMATION, THE COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON THE THROUGHPUT FOR ALL MOBILITY MODES, INCLUDING OTTO'S RAIL BUS, PEDESTRIANS, AND BICYCLISTS, UM, FOR EACH OF THE TWO PLUS AND VALLEY RIVERSIDE DESIGN OPTIONS.
AND THEN THE SECOND REQUEST FOR INFORMATION THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH THE TEAM IS THE COMMITTEE REQUESTED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE DESIGN REFINEMENT OF THE BUS SHELTERS AS THIS WILL ALSO BE THE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IN TERM OF ITS ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE AND RIDER AMENITIES.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT STEPS ON OUR REVIEW IS TO PROVIDE A RECAP OF THE LADYBIRD BRIDGE COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP IN NOVEMBER.
UM, AT OUR NEXT MEETING, WE WILL ALSO RECOMMEND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 3D MODELING OF THE TUNNELS, DISCUSS THE MERITS OF THE TUNNEL COMPARED TO A BRIDGE DOWNTOWN.
AND THE CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY THE TECHNICAL TEAM IN REGARDS TO UTILITIES PROVIDE GRAPHICS, SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VEHICLES SO THAT WE CAN ALL SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE BETWEEN LIGHT RAIL, COMMUTER, RAIL, AND STREETCAR, AND TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THE TRANSIT SYSTEM BETTER.
AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DEBRIEF FROM THE TECHNICAL TEAM ON THE PROCUREMENT OF THE METRO RAPID SHELTERS AND THE NEXT STEPS.
SO NEXT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UH, JACKIE NIERENBERG GIVE THE REPORT FOR DR.
BURNETT WHO UNFORTUNATELY IS NOT FEELING WELL TODAY.
SO WE'RE SENDING HER HEALING WISHES.
SO THANK YOU, JACKIE, FOR BEING HERE, THE SUN, UH, PLANNING, SUSTAINABILITY EQUITY AND DBE COMMITTEE KNOWN AS PEACE SAC.
WE MET ON OCTOBER THE SEVENTH, THE PRIMARY AGENDA ITEMS WERE THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES AND COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS, DESIGN WORKSHOPS UPDATE.
UM, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ASKED FOR, UH, SOME CONNECTION POINTS WITH THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S NEWLY CREATED EQUITY PLAN.
SO THAT WAS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.
UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXPRESS THE VOLUME OF CONTENT BEING CREATED, UH, BEING PRESENTED WAS A BIT OVERWHELMING FOR THEM.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO PARE THAT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FOR THEM.
SO IT'S MORE DIGESTIBLE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALL IN THIS AREA AND SO WE WERE BREATHING, LIVING IT, TALKING IT ALL THE TIME, AND WE FORGET SOMETIMES THAT WE NEED TO PUMP THE BRAKES AND LET PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, UM, GET A BETTER FEEL FOR WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING INTO ANOTHER DATE IN TIME FOR THE MEETING.
WE HAVE SEVERAL MEMBERS THAT ARE HAVING TROUBLE MAKING THE MEETINGS, SO WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING BACK TO THEM FOR, UM, INPUT ON WHEN, WHEN WOULD BE THE MOST CONVENIENT
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FOR THEM.SO THAT WAS IT, BASICALLY ALL.
UM, SO NOW WE MOVE ON TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
[3. Executive Director Report]
MR. THANK YOU CHAIR.UH, I WANTED TO TAKE A COUPLE MOMENTS HERE, UM, AND KIND OF START FRAMING UP AS WE'RE, AS WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THE PROGRAM AND WE ARE MAKING CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS ON, I'LL SAY THE, UM, I WANNA SAY, UH, LEAST COMPLICATED OR, UH, LEAST RISK ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH ARE PICKUP METRO RAPID RED LINE.
SO THINGS THAT ARE COMPLICATED IN THEIR OWN, RIGHT, BUT NOT OBVIOUSLY AS COMPLICATED AS THE RAIL, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE'RE GOING TO, UH, BE ENDEAVOR, YOU KNOW, MOVING, MOVING ON, UM, THE, THE FINANCIAL ASPECT OF THAT PLUS THE FTA PROCESS AND THE CONSTRUCTION ASPECT ARE JUST MUCH HIGHER LEVEL FROM A RISK POINT OF VIEW.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS A GROUP, WE'VE TALKED THE WORD, THE WORD RISK A LOT, AND THAT WE START FOCUSING OVER AND OVER ON AT THE END OF THE DAY AS A TEAM, HOW ARE WE GOING TO IDENTIFY AND MANAGE AND MITIGATE OUR RISKS? UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW WE REALLY ARE DOING A PROGRAM.
I KEEP EMPHASIZING THE WORD PROGRAM.
WE'RE NOT DOING A PROJECT, WE'RE DOING A PROGRAM AND THEREFORE ALL THE PIECES HAVE TO PLAY OFF EACH OTHER.
SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT AS WE WORK INTO THE RAIL, UM, UH, THE RAIL PARTS OF THIS PROGRAM, UH, THE KEY MILESTONES, AND WE'VE USED SOME SNAKE DIAGRAMS AND SOME OTHER DIAGRAMS, AND I'VE GOTTEN SOME FEEDBACK FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE THAT SAID THAT, SAY, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS ON THERE.
CAN YOU JUST TELL YOU WHAT ARE THE TWO OR THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS? AND I THINK THAT IS A GOOD REMINDER FOR US A LITTLE BIT, LIKE JACKIE JUST MENTIONED STUFF THAT THE TEAM LIVES OR STUFF FROM PEOPLE, THE INDUSTRY, WE, WE KINDA KNOW PROCESS.
THIS IS SO NEW FOR THE COMMUNITY.
HOW DO WE GROUND EVERYONE AROUND TWO OR THREE INCREDIBLY MILESTONES AND THEN MANAGE OUR ENTIRE PROGRAM AROUND THOSE MILESTONES? SO THE FIRST ONE TO HIGHLIGHT IS WHEN THE CAP METRO BOARD AND APPROVED, AND THE CITY COUNCIL AFFIRMED SUPPORT FOR W FOR REFERRED TO IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS AS LOCAL PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES.
AND TO GO THROUGH THOSE, THERE WAS A WHOLE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS PROCESS.
SO KIND OF WORK IT THROUGH SHOULD BE STUFF ELEVATED OR AT GRADE OR UNDERGROUND, UH, WHAT STREET CORRIDOR THINGS SHOULD BE ON THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND THAT WAS A LONG PROCESS OVER ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF PROCESS FOR BOTH ORANGE AND BLUE.
IT WAS HOW WE GOT TO DECIDE WHERE WHICH CORRIDOR WAS HAPPENING IN WHICH MODE, THE DISCUSSION, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, BOARD MEMBER STRATTON.
AND, UH, THE MAYOR WOULD REMEMBER THIS THE MOST WOULD JUST ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF CONVERSATION AROUND BRT VERSUS LATE RAIL GAWAD VERSUS RIVERSIDE OR RED RIVER, ET CETERA.
SO THAT LANDED THE COMMUNITY ON LOCAL PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES.
AND THAT IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN THE FDA PROCESS.
FROM THERE, THE COMMUNITY PASSED SUPPORT FOR THE REFERENDUM FOR THE PROJECT CONNECT PLAN.
AND THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT NOT ONLY AFFIRMED COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR LOCAL PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES, IT THEN DEDICATED THAT LOCAL FUNDING SOURCE FOR US TO BUILD OUR ENTIRE FINANCIAL MODEL ON AND TO GIVE DIRECTION, TO MOVE FORWARD INTO THE FEDERAL PROCESS, TO DO, TO DO THE FULL FUNDING, UH, CIG PROCESS CAPITAL, UH, UH, INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM TO END UP WITH A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT FROM THE FTA.
SO THOSE TWO THINGS ARE PAST TENSE, BUT THEY'RE IN PEDLEY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF EVERYTHING WE ARE DOING FOR THIS PROGRAM.
THE THREE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO FOCUS THE ENTIRE BOARD, THE COMMUNITY, CAUSE THIS IS HOW THE STAFF HAS FOCUSED AND WE'RE GOING TO BRING BACK KIND OF ACTIONS AND INFORMATION GOING FORWARD TO THE BOARD THAT WE CAN CONTINUALLY GET EVERYONE FOCUSED AROUND THREE BIG MILESTONES.
AND THESE MILESTONES ARE WHERE ALL OF OUR RISKS ARE AND WHERE WE NEED TO BE FOCUSED ON HOW TO MANAGE THE OVERALL PROGRAM.
AND THE FIRST ONE IS THE NEPA RECORD OF DECISION.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO GET THAT FINALIZED IN WINTER 23.
SO I'M NOT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GOING TO BE JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, YOU KNOW, IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME, WE WANT TO LOCK IN RECORD OF DECISION FOR THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINE.
AND WE ARE IN VERY DEEP CONVERSATIONS ALREADY WITH THE FTA, BOTH REGION AND HEADQUARTERS ON THAT PROCESS.
WE'RE OBVIOUSLY DOING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON THAT PROCESS.
JACKIE'S LEADING THAT EFFORT, UH, AND THAT'S EVERYTHING FROM THE PLEASANT VALLEY WORKSHOPS TO JUST OUR REGULAR COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK GOING ON WITH OUR CITY PARTNER, UH, GINA'S TEAM HAS BEEN, UH, UH, JUST FANTASTIC WORKING THROUGH THAT PART OF THE NEPA PROCESS.
WE ARE DOING OUR WORK TO GET TO THE NEPA RECORD DECISION.
ONCE WE GET NEPA RECORD DECISION, IT CAN ALLOW US TO MOVE INTO AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT POINT WITH FTA.
AND THAT'S MOVING FROM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WE WERE IN AND IN PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, WE HAVE 24 MONTHS TO GET OUT OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
THERE'S A CLOCK AND IT'S TICKING.
ONCE WE'RE IN WE'RE IN FOR THAT PERIOD OF TIME,
[00:15:01]
THAT GETS US INTO PROJECT ENGINEERING.UM, W TH THE FCA WILL CALL PE BY SUMMER 23.
THAT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE GOT OUR NEPA PROCESS LOCKED IN, WE'RE INTO PROJECT ENGINEERING.
WE'RE REALLY GOING IN DEEP RISK ANALYSIS WITH, WITH THE FTA.
ALL OF THAT GETS US ON OUR CLOCK, AND WE GOT TO GET SUMMER 23 TO BE LISTED IN THE FTAS BOOK CAUSE THEY PUBLISH A BOOK AND A RATINGS IN AUGUST EVERY YEAR.
AND THAT AUGUST TIMETABLE DELIVERS WHAT THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET WILL BE FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE BUDGET AND EVENTUALLY GET LISTED, YOU CAN'T HAVE FUNDING IN THE NEXT FISCAL CYCLE.
SO EVERYTHING IS ABOUT GETTING INTO PROJECT ENGINEERING TO GET OUR RATING FOR AUGUST.
SO WHEN WE'RE INTO THE NEXT YEAR'S FISCAL FISCAL BOOK AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THAT ALLOWS US TO WRAP UP OUR RISK, RISK WORKSHOP AND ALL OF THE RISKS ASPECTS WITH FTA FINALIZE OUR ACTUAL NUMBERS AND THEN GET INTO WHAT'S CALLED A SIGNING OF A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT.
WE WILL OBVIOUSLY START SOME CONSTRUCTION BEFORE WE EVER GET TO AN FDA OF ANYTHING.
THE FDA WILL WANT TO SEE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN MOVING FORWARD BEFORE THE SIGNATURE AGREEMENT, BUT THAT IS FALL 2024.
AND THOSE THINGS ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE FED THE FEDERAL SIDE, WE ARE ASSUMING A 45% SHARE FOR THE RAIL PROGRAM.
SO ANY DELAY IN THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT CHANGES OUR ENTIRE FISCAL MODEL.
AND SO IF OUR GOAL IS TO LOCK IN INCREDIBLE GREAT, UM, PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FEDS FOR A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT, AGAIN, WE BACK UP, WE GOT TO GET OUR PROJECT ENGINEERING AT A CERTAIN DATE, AND TO GET THAT WE HAVE TO GET A RECORD DECISION BY A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME SO THAT I JUST WANT TO GROUND THE BOARD.
AND AGAIN, THE COMMUNITY, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED THROUGH THIS, BUT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DATES, A LOT DIAGRAMS. WE WANT TO REALLY JUST GROUND EVERYONE IN THESE THREE DATES, UH, THREE MILESTONES.
AND THAT IS WHAT THE TEAM IS WORKING ON ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, HOW TO WORK THROUGH VERY SMOOTHLY PURPOSELY AND WITH THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THOSE THREE, THREE MILESTONES.
SO TO GET THAT, WE HAVE TO OBVIOUSLY CONTINUE TO BUILD THE TEAM AND THE RESOURCES.
SO SINCE ATP, UH, STARTED, WHICH IS JANUARY 1ST, AND I BELIEVE CASEY WAS AN EMPLOYEE, UH, OF 0 0 1.
I THINK IT'S EMPLOYEE NUMBER, UH, THAT WAS MID JANUARY.
UH, PEOPLE HIRED AT ATP, WHICH IS JUST AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF EFFORT.
AND I JUST THINK, UH, THE, THE PEOPLE AND CULTURE TEAM AND EVERYONE WITH THE ONBOARDING PROCESS, IT'S BEEN JUST QUITE AN EFFORT.
AND WE HAVE, AS YOU'VE ALL SEEN PEOPLE FROM DALLAS AND PHOENIX AND, UH, NEW YORK AND, UH, A FEW PEOPLE FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN MAYOR HAVE COME TO JOIN THE TEAM AS WELL.
UM, JUST A GREAT GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE JOINED ORGANIZATION AND REALLY COMMITTED TO THE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE OVER 300 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE MOVING FORWARD ON THE PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S INCREDIBLE BECAUSE IN THE FDA PROCESS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT IS WHAT IS YOUR LOCAL FUNDING COMMITMENT? WE THINK WE HAVE ONE OF THE BEST BOXES MAYBE EVER CHECKED FROM THE FDA PROCESS GOING FORWARD, BUT ON THE OTHER SIDE, IT'S TECHNICAL CAPACITY AND WE HAVE NOT DONE THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO WE NEED TO BUILD A GREAT TEAM TO BUY DOWN THAT RISK FROM FTA THAT SAYS YOU HAVE SKILLED PEOPLE THAT HAVE DONE THIS TYPE OF WORK IN OTHER PARTS OF OUR INDUSTRY.
AND WE HAVE REALLY BUILT A GOOD TEAM.
SO WE'LL HAVE HIRING WAS WE WERE STILL LOOKING FOR A FEW TEAM MEMBERS AND OVER THE COURSE OF A DECADE, I'M SURE WE'LL BE ADDING OTHER TEAM MEMBERS, BUT THEN WE NEED A LOT OF GOOD CONSULTANT OR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AROUND US, SO LEGAL SERVICES, AND THAT ACTION WILL BE IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY.
AND THAT IS AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THING.
WE HAVE REAL ESTATE WORK TO DO FDA WORK TO DO.
WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, PROCUREMENT WORK TO DO REALLY DETAILED, COMPLICATED STUFF THAT WE NEED A LOT OF LEGAL ASSISTANCE.
CASEY AND BRENDA ARE DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE NEED A LOT MORE THAN THEM FOR THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM RISK ANALYSIS.
AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS AND BOARD MEMBER OUT, CAUSE HE'S BROUGHT THIS UP MULTIPLE TIMES, SO THAT PROCUREMENT HAS GONE OUT.
WE EXPECT TO BRING THIS BOARD, UH, UM, UH, AN ACTION ITEM IN JANUARY TO BRING SOMEONE ON BOARD TO HELP US REALLY BUILD OUR RISK PROCESS, OUR RISK REGISTER, HOW WE ARE GOING THROUGH, UH, CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE, METHODOLOGY, UH, SPLITTING OF CONTRACTS, ALL OF THAT TYPE OF THING.
THEY CAN LOOK AT IT FROM THAT DIFFERENT TENANT LENS.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WE NEED A LOT OF REAL ESTATE SERVICES SUPPORT.
AND WE LOOK TO BRING THAT BACK PROBABLY IN THE FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME TO THE BOARD, UH, FOR IDEAL ACTION, THERE WILL BE OTHERS, BUT I WANT TO FLAG AND HIGHLIGHT THOSE THREE SPECIFIC ACTIONS, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE FORESHADOWING THINGS WE WANT TO TAKE TO THE BOARD AND HOW WE ARE AGAIN, BUILDING THE TEAM.
AND I'VE USED THE TERM A LOT, CRAWL, WALK, RUN, FIRST THING IN THE BASEBALL GAME.
I PROBABLY NEED A BETTER ANALOGY AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROGRAM AND THOSE WILL GET OLD, BUT IT REALLY IS IMPORTANT TO AS MUCH AS WE'VE HAD AN AMAZING FIRST YEAR OF MOVING THE PROGRAM FORWARD, WE ARE REALLY STILL EARLY IN THE PROGRAM.
AND SO I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY, WHERE'S THIS WHERE'S,
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THIS WHERE'S THIS.WE CONTINUE TO BUILD THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO DO THE WORK, TO BRING PEOPLE GOOD INFORMATION, TO ULTIMATELY BRING TO THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE ON THIS DIET TO MAKE REALLY COMPLICATED DECISIONS.
AND SO I WANT TO JUST AGAIN, HIGHLIGHT WHERE, WHERE THE STAFF IS WORKING EVERY DAY A LOT.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS A PREVIEW OF DECEMBER.
SO, UH, WE WILL LOOK AT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE PROGRAMMATICALLY IN DECEMBER, AND WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH A LITTLE DEEPER DIVE.
SO PRETEND I'M AT THE 20,000 FOOT LEVEL TO MAKE IT EASY.
UH, DAVE, UH, MAYBE JOHN BRIAN BUCHANAN, UH, I BELIEVE FROM HDR'S, OUR PMO ARE A FEW PEOPLE LIKE THAT WILL BE COMING IN DECEMBER AND KIND OF NOW GOING FROM 20,000 FEET TO MAYBE LIKE 5,000 AND THEN THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE, YOU KNOW, INTO 22, WE'LL BE GOING INTO THAT 1000 FOOT TO 500 FOOT LEVEL GETTING MORE GRANULAR BY TOPIC.
SO DAVE WE'LL WRAP, WRAP EVERYONE AROUND AGAIN, JUST QUICKLY THE RECAP OF HOW THE LPA PROCESS WORKED AND REMIND EVERYONE THE COMMUNITY THAT WE JUST DIDN'T START IN JANUARY.
WE STARTED SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AND THIS IS WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.
AGAIN, LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEPA RECORD OF DECISION, HOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKS AND HOW THE WILL GO FROM A DRAFT EIS TO A FINAL EIS DOCUMENT AND HOW THAT WORKS, HOW THE FTA CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM FULLY WORKS IN THE DETAILS A LITTLE BIT AGAIN ON RISK AND HOW THEY DO THE RISK WORKSHOP.
AND I ANALYZE OUR FUNDING, HOW THEY'LL ANALYZE CAP METRO'S PERFORMANCE, TRI-ANNUAL REVIEW, STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND THEN, THEN START BREAKING DOWN TOPICS ON RISK AND OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THOSE ARE THINGS LIKE REVENUE COSTS, UM, CONSTRUCTION, METHODOLOGIES, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT WILL THEN GET EXPLORED, YOU KNOW, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, MAY, THOSE TYPES OF TIMEFRAMES.
AS WE DRILL DOWN INTO THOSE TYPES OF TOPICS, YOU KNOW, TUNNELING SINGLE VERSUS DUAL BORE TUNNELING THINGS LIKE, UM, REAL ESTATE, YOU KNOW, JUST THOSE TYPES OF THEMES.
WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO BRING TO THIS BOARD IN A DEEPER DETAIL THAT WE WANT TO FLUSH OUT OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS RELATED TO THOSE TOPICS.
AND THEN LASTLY, UM, SO THAT'S, AGAIN, THE GROUNDING, JUST MAKING SURE WE'RE ALL KINDA THE SAME PAGE.
I WELCOME ANY CONVERSATION THAT YOU THINK THAT'S VALUABLE TO HAVE ON THAT.
AND THEN I WANNA HIGHLIGHT A REALLY GREAT EVENT THAT WE HAD, UH, ON OCTOBER 13TH, THIS WAS THE MEET THE TEAM EVENT.
SO WE HAD AN EVENT, UH, OUTSIDE OF OUR NEW OFFICE SPACE, UH, ON, UH, COLORADO.
AND WE HAD OVER 150 PEOPLE SHOW UP AND I WILL SAY, THIS WAS GREAT.
WE HAD EVERYTHING FROM A COUPLE OF, YOU KNOW, I HAD AN 11 YEAR OLD COMMON TALK ABOUT HOW HE CAN'T WAIT TO BE ON TRAINS TO EVERY VENDOR IN THE WORLD, COMING TO LOOK FOR CONTRACTS TO A BUNCH OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND, UH, THERE WAS A GROUP OF STUDENTS.
SO PEOPLE ARE INTO THE PROGRAM.
PEOPLE ARE HAPPY THAT WE'RE MOVING THIS PROGRAM ALONG AND EXCITED TO PARTICIPATE.
SO I JUST WANT TO THANK STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK THEY DID TO PUT THAT EVENT TOGETHER.
AND WE PLAN ON DOING A LOT MORE OF THOSE AND ACTIVATING BOTH THERE AND AROUND THE COMMUNITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT CHAIR, THAT IS MY ED REPORT.
AGAIN, TRYING TO SET THE FRAMEWORK OF HOW WE WANT TO MOVE ITEMS THROUGH, UH, TO, TO THE BOARD.
UH, BUT I WELCOME ANY THOUGHTS OR CONVERSATION OR THINGS THAT WE CAN HELP THE BOARD WITH AS WE MOVE THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. CLARK? YES.
FOR MY RAIL AGAINST, OH, JUST A COMMENT.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DR.
I MEAN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S EASY FOR US TO SIT HERE AND ASK FOR ALL THIS INFORMATION, BUT WE ALWAYS NEED TO KEEP IN PERSPECTIVE WHERE WE ARE.
WE'RE 10, 11 MONTHS INTO THIS PROGRAM AND WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROGRESS THAT'S BEEN MADE TODAY, ALL THE HIRES AND THE CONSULTANTS OFFICE SPACE, YOU NAME IT, IT'S, IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE.
SO IT IS HELPFUL THAT YOU GROUND US IN WHERE WE ARE AND HOW FAR WE'VE COME AND, AND WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE.
AND, AND I, UM, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL TO SEE YOU TALK ABOUT THE RISKS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES.
CAUSE I THINK LARGELY HOW WE AS A BOARD AND HOW STAFF MANAGES AND ALLOCATES RISK AND OPPORTUNITIES IS LARGELY GONNA DETERMINE HOW THIS PROGRAM'S ULTIMATE SUCCESS IS GOING TO BE.
I MEAN, THAT'S, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT OTHER TRANSIT SYSTEMS AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE MAYBE HAD SOME HICCUPS, IT'S BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T MANAGE RISK WELL, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON THAT VERY EARLY, I THINK IS GOING TO BE A GOOD, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, HELPING OUR SUCCESS.
UM, I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I DIDN'T SEE A PHOTO OF IT INCLUDED, BUT I KNOW YOU ALSO DID WITH CAPITAL METRO, THE DOUBLE TRACKING, YOU HAD AN EVENT THERE IN THE ANDREW.
THAT WAS THE FIRST, UM, I THINK DAVE, I MENTIONED THIS IN HIS PIECE, BUT I'LL, I'LL STEAL DAVE SLENDER SINCE, SINCE I'M UP HERE RIGHT NOW AND DAVE WILL BE HAPPY WITH THAT.
UH, UH, WE, WE DID OUR KICKOFF ON THE DOUBLE TRACKING PROJECT.
SO BOARD MEMBER STRATTON WAS UP THERE AND THAT WAS AGAIN, ONE OF THE PRO PROJECTS IN THE PROGRAM THAT WE WERE COMMITTED TO THE SEQUENCE PLAN FOR THE
[00:25:01]
CONTRACT, WITH THE VOTERS AND AGAIN, ON SCHEDULE.SO THAT IS OUR THREE PICKUP ZONES WE'VE HIT.
THE SCHEDULE IS WE SAID WE WERE COMMITTED TO DOING THE RED LINE, DOUBLE TRACKING WE'RE ON SCHEDULE, AS WE SAID, UH, THE CAP METRO BOARD, LAST BOARD MEETING, UH, PROCURE THE NEW ELECTRIC BUSES FOR THE TWO METRO RAPID THREE METRO RAPID LINES, AND THAT'S DONE ON SCHEDULE.
SO, UM, I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE TEAM, EVERY SINGLE ITEM THAT WE WERE COMMITTED ON THE SEQUENCE PLAN, WE ARE ACTUALLY ON SCHEDULE FOUR.
SO THANKS FOR RECOGNIZING THAT YOUR, YEAH, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MENTION, UM, THAT AGAIN, AS PART OF THE PROGRAM, THESE ARE ALL ELEMENTS THAT ARE CONNECTED AS PART OF THAT ECOSYSTEM.
UM, AND WITH THAT, UM, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. CLARK, I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO
[4.1. Community Engagement and Involvement Update]
OUR MONTHLY PROGRAM UPDATES.UM, TODAY WE HAVE MS. JACKIE NIERENBERG AGAIN, WELCOME.
GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD MEMBERS.
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO PRESENT OUR MONTHLY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UPDATE.
SO WE HAD OUR SPEAKING OF METRO RAIL.
WE HAD A METRO RAIL VIRTUAL COMMUNITY UPDATE ON SEPTEMBER THE 10TH WITH 109 PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN THAT, UM, WE HAD ON THE SAME DAY, A SIMILAR VIRTUAL COMMUNITY UPDATE FOR OUR METRO RAPID SERVICES, OUR NEW, UH, LINES.
AND WE HAD 41 PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
UM, AND THEN WE HAD A COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP FOR THE PLEASANT VALLEY EAST RIVERSIDE, UH, BLUE LINE STATION HAD 92 PEOPLE, UH, PARTICIPATE IN THAT AND HAD SOME WONDERFUL CONVERSATION.
UH, PETER MULLIN, OUR CHIEF ARCHITECT IS GOING TO BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE HEARD AT THAT COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP.
WE ALSO HAD A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY UPDATE ON THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT.
UM, THAT TOOK PLACE ON OCTOBER THE FIFTH.
WE HAD 29 COMMUNITY MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
UM, AND THEN MOST RECENTLY WE HAD A BLUE LINE BRIDGE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP, UM, WAS VERY POPULAR, HAD 191 PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN THAT, UH, WITH FIVE BREAKOUT SESSIONS.
SO PEOPLE ARE DEFINITELY ENGAGED.
THESE ARE, THESE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAVING IT VERY SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE CORRIDORS.
SO TO HAVE ALMOST 200 PEOPLE WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN A VERY SPECIFIC ITEM ON THE BLUE LINE CORRIDOR WAS VERY EXCITING AND CLEARLY THE COMMUNITY IS ENGAGED IN AND LOOKING FORWARD TO PARTICIPATING MORE.
WE ALSO HAD A, AN INTER-AGENCY, UH, TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETING ON THE 5TH OF OCTOBER.
WE HAD OUR ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE SIXTH, THE P SEC COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE SEVENTH.
WE HAD COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING ALSO ON THE SEVENTH, UM, UH, PROJECT CONNECT AMBASSADOR NETWORK MEETING ON THE 14TH.
AND THEN OF COURSE THE CAC MET AGAIN YESTERDAY, UM, TO DISCUSS THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND THAT CULMINATED IN SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE COMMITTEE WILL BE SUBMITTING TO YOU THROUGH ME, UM, AS A MEMO, UM, WHICH YOU'LL BE RECEIVING VERY SOON.
LET'S SEE, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE HEARD FOR THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINES, UH, 15% DESIGN FEEDBACK, UH, MEETINGS.
UM, WE HAVE PROCESSED THOSE, THOSE MEETINGS, THE FEEDBACK WE GOT, AND NOW WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF SOME OF THE THEMES THAT ARE RISING TO THE TOP.
UM, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, IN OUR LAST BOARD MEETING, YOU KNOW, WE, WE PROCESS FEEDBACK, WE GET ALL KINDS OF RAW COMMENTS, BUT CERTAIN PATTERNS START TO EMERGE.
AND THAT'S HOW WE KNOW, UM, THAT THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ROSE ROSE TO THE TOP WAS, UM, ENTHUSIASM FOR INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY SUGGESTIONS FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE OR INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY.
AND THESE WERE FROM, UM, FOLKS IN THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO FOLKS IN THE BIKE COMMUNITY AND PEDESTRIAN ADVOCATES AS WELL, ENTHUSIASM FOR THE FOURTH STREET UNDERGROUND CONCOURSE CONCERN FOR IMPACTS ON SMALL BUSINESSES IS SOMETHING WE HEARD A LOT, UM, REQUESTS FOR MORE PEDESTRIAN, SAFE CROSSINGS SAFETY CONCERNS OVER THE USE OF SHARED USE PATHS RATHER THAN SEPARATED BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES CONCERNS OVER DISPLACEMENT ASSOCIATED IN PARTICULAR WITH THE BLUE LINE, WE HEARD A LOT OF CONCERN REGARDING THE RIVERWALK CONDOS.
UM, AND SINCE THEN, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT OUR BLUE LINE DIRECTOR, ALVIN LIVINGSTONE HAS WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY AND HAS COME UP WITH SOME ALTERNATIVES.
WE HAD A MEETING WITH THAT GROUP, AND THAT IS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED AT THESE MEETINGS.
SO THAT'S A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT LOOP WORKS.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON BUS TRANSFERS AT THE INTERIM NORTH AND
[00:30:01]
SOUTH LINES.THESE ARE THE POINTS, UH, THAT ARE THE, THE EXTENSIONS, THE FUTURE EXTENSIONS OF THE ORANGE LINE TO TECH RIDGE IN THE NORTH, AND, UH, SLAUGHTER TO THE SOUTH.
UM, LAST TIME I WAS HERE, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DASHBOARD, WHICH HAS NOW BECOME MORE OF A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LIBRARY.
WE HAVE SOME NEW ADDITIONS TO THAT BASED ON FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED FROM YOU, SPEAKING OF FEEDBACK LOOPS.
SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE ADDED NOW IS THE SUMMARY OF THE INPUT FOR THE 15% DESIGN.
SO THAT THE PATTERNS THAT THEMES THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, YOU CAN SEE THOSE THERE, BUT YOU CAN ALSO SEE THEM IN RAW FORM, EVERY SINGLE COMMENT WE RECEIVED.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, PUT SOMETHING UP ABOUT THE FEEDBACK LOOP ITSELF.
HOW DO COMMENTS GET RECEIVED? WHAT DO WE DO WITH THEM? HOW DO THEY GO INTO THE CONSIDERATIONS FOR DECISION-MAKING ON THE PROGRAM? AND SO WE REALIZED THAT PEOPLE REALLY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR FEEDBACK WAS BEING USED, AND THAT WAS BAD ON US.
WE NEEDED TO REALLY BE SPECIFIC AND ARTICULATE HOW THAT WORKS.
AND SO THIS IS THE NEXT STEP IN THAT.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS LAST TIME.
WE'VE REFINED THIS PROCESS A BIT MORE TO MAKE IT MORE, UM, MORE UNDERSTANDABLE FOR THE PUBLIC.
UM, BUT BASICALLY THE FIRST STEP IS THAT THE COMMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND THIS CAN BE AT A PUBLIC MEETING.
IT CAN BE AT A STAKEHOLDER MEETING, IT CAN BE VIA EMAIL OR EVEN PHONE.
UM, AND THEN THE PROJECT TEAM REVIEWS AND SUMMARIZES THOSE COMMENTS.
UM, OFTEN THOSE COMMENTS GET PUT IN BUCKETS OF THEMES.
LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT THAT TEND TO RISE TO THE TOP, UM, THE TECHNICAL TEAM AND CITY AND COUNTY AND OTHER PARTNERS REVIEW THE SUMMARIZED INPUT FROM THE TECHNICAL TEAM.
UM, AND THEN COMMENTS ARE INCLUDED WITH PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS ALONG WITH OTHER VARIABLES, INCLUDING TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS, CITY AND REGIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING, NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO JUST AN IDEA OF HOW THAT, HOW THAT INPUT GETS PUSHED ALONG THE PROCESS, AND THEN FINALLY CONSIDERED, UH, TO INFORM OUR DECISION-MAKING AND JUST, YOU KNOW, LAST TIME WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SHOWING PEOPLE, LIKE, WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW THIS FEEDBACK? AND I THINK THAT WAS A BOARD MEMBER ELKINS WHO BROUGHT THAT UP TO, TO PROVIDE SOME, SOME, UH, SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF HOW INPUT HAS ACTUALLY INFORMED PROJECT CONNECT.
WELL, THE FIRST EXAMPLE COMES BACK FROM THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS PROCESS WHERE LIGHT RAIL WAS SELECTED AS THE MODE OF CHOICE, UM, DEDICATED RIGHT OF WAY.
YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE REALLY FELT LIKE WE NEEDED TO HAVE SOLUTIONS IN DEDICATED TRANSIT WAYS SO THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO FIGHT TRAFFIC.
THAT WAS AN EARLY WIN FOR THE COMMUNITY INCLUSION OF A DOWNTOWN SUBWAY TUNNEL FOR FREE FRICTIONLESS PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE, SEPARATE BICYCLE, PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES, TREE FURNITURE, BUFFER ZONES THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, WORKING WITH THE AUSTIN STATE HOSPITAL.
ANOTHER VERY SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, UM, TO AVOID IMPACTING BUSINESSES ON THE EAST SIDE OF NORTH GUADALUPE WAS A FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED.
UM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOURTH STREET TRANSIT MALL CONCEPT CAME OUT OF COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
THE RAINY MAX STATION BEING CLOSER TO THE RAINY RAINY NEIGHBORHOOD CAME FROM FEEDBACK.
WE RECEIVED FROM A RAINY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING AND ENHANCING TRAIL COLLECT CONNECTIONS AT THE LADY BIRD LAKE BRIDGE CROSSINGS.
THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE EXAMPLES.
YOU CAN SEE A LOT MORE OF THOSE.
WE'RE GOING TO BE PUTTING THESE EXAMPLES.
THAT'S GOING TO BE THE NEXT STEP FOR THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LIBRARY TO START SHOWING PEOPLE WHAT FEEDBACK THEMES ACTUALLY INFORM THE PROJECT TO COMPLETE THE PICTURE AND COMING UP.
UM, WE HAVE OUR NEXT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING.
THIS WILL BE THE THIRD TIME THIS MONTH, UH, ON OCTOBER 27TH, UH, 27TH.
UM, OUR NEXT, UH, ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION MEETING WILL BE NOVEMBER 3RD.
THE NEXT PIECE THAT MEETING WILL BE NOVEMBER 4TH, AND THEN WE HAVE OUR NEXT COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP ON THE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER, NOT THE TRANSIT CENTER ITSELF, AS MUCH AS HOW DO WE CONNECT, UM, THE ORANGE LINE SERVICE TO PEOPLE USING OUR BUS SERVICE, BOTH METRO BUS AND, UH, RAPID BUS.
AND HOW DO WE MAKE THAT ALL SEAMLESS AND, AND SAFE AND, UM, EASY TO USE.
SO THAT WILL BE COMING UP ON NOVEMBER 10TH.
AND THEN WE HAVE A FEW MORE THAT ARE IN THE WORKS.
WE STILL DON'T HAVE DATES FOR THEM, BUT YOU CAN SEE THEM LISTED HERE.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING YOU DETAILS ABOUT THOSE NEXT TIME.
WHO HAS QUESTIONS, MR. ELKINS? NOT A QUESTION, BUT A COMMENT.
UM, THIS IS REALLY GREAT STUFF.
[00:35:01]
HATS OFF TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM.YOU KNOW, I WROTE A COMMENT HERE IN MY LITTLE CHEAT SHEET THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC HELP TO SHAPE THE PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
I'VE SEEN OTHER PROGRAMS AND OTHER JURISDICTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY GO THROUGH PUBLIC COMP AND AS MORE OF A KIND OF FOR SHOW TYPE OF THING.
AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS REALLY ACTIVELY SOLICITING THE PUBLIC'S INPUT TO HELP SHAPE THIS PROGRAM.
THE OTHER WORD THAT I HAVE IN MY MIND IS AVOID THAT RANDY USES A LOT, WHICH IS TRADE OFFS.
YOU KNOW, THESE COMMENTS ARE GOING TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR STAFF AND FOR THE BOARD, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THERE'LL BE TRADE OFFS HERE.
AS WE ALL KNOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ADDING SCOPE HAS PRICE AND SCHEDULE IMPLICATIONS, BUT WE CAN'T MAKE THOSE DECISIONS UNLESS WE HAVE THIS TYPE OF INPUT.
I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN.
YOU, YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE BEEN AMAZING AND SO FLEXIBLE AND ON THE FLY I'VE, I'VE JUST NOTICED OVER THE YEARS, EVEN PREDATING ATP, WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS, JUST HOW MUCH YOU ALL HAVE GROWN AND HOW MUCH YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO PIVOT AND ADJUST LEARNING ALONG THE WAY.
I THINK I'VE SAID THIS MULTIPLE TIMES WITH WHAT YOU ALL HAD TO DO WITH COVID AND MAKING THE ADJUSTMENTS WITH VIRTUAL.
AND THEN NOW, THEN AS WE'RE COMING OUT OF COVID AND GETTING MORE IN-PERSON MEETINGS, BEING ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIND THAT SWEET SPOT OF GETTING BOTH THE IN GOING TO WHERE PEOPLE ARE IN PERSON, BUT ALSO WITH THE VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
AND I THINK WE'VE GOT A REALLY YOU'VE KOREA HELPED CREATE A VERY ROBUST PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS FOR THE COMMUNICATION AND REALLY REACHING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE BOTH IN-PERSON AND ONLINE, AND TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT A BOARD MEMBER ELKINS HAS SAID.
I REALIZED THAT WE'VE GOT A PRESENTATION LATER TODAY WHERE WE'RE IN OUR BOARD AGENDA HALL, WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE BLUE LINE AND THAT REALLY KEY CRITICAL INTERSECTION AT RIVERSIDE AND PLEASANT VALLEY.
AND AS I WAS LOOKING THROUGH THAT, WE'VE GOT SOME DESIGN, UH, DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES AND OPTIONS THERE, AND A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO US.
AND I THINK WHAT'S GOING TO BE KEY IS GETTING THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC.
AND I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE THERE AS A RESULT OF WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE BRINGING US, AND THAT'S GOING TO HELP TAKE US TO THE NEXT POINT AT THE 30%.
AND I JUST, JUST WANT TO GIVE AGAIN, THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND TAKING THE FEEDBACK FROM US.
AND, AND WHAT I WOULD THINK MIGHT BE IN SOME CASES, UM, DIFFICULT, IF NOT INSURMOUNTABLE REQUESTS ABOUT HOW TO PACKAGE AND REPACKAGE THIS TO MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, MORE TO MAKE IT POTENTIALLY IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT OR MORE USER-FRIENDLY.
AND TO SEE THAT YOU'RE LIKE, YEP, NO PROBLEM.
AND THEN WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, HEY, GUESS WHAT? YOU'RE BACK HERE AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, GUESS WHAT? WE'RE HERE TO ANNOUNCE WE'VE DONE EXACTLY WHAT YOU REQUESTED AND WE'VE REPACKAGED THIS INFORMATION AND THE WEBSITE'S BEEN CHANGED.
AND NOW THEN WE'VE GOT A NEW WAY THAT PEOPLE CAN ENGAGE EVEN MORE GOING BACK AND LOOKING OVER THIS INFORMATION.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE DOING.
AND, UM, TO, TO, AGAIN, ECHO BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, UH, THIS IS, THIS IS I, I, I LIKE THAT PHRASE, UH, TONY AND I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND IF, IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO COPYRIGHT IT, I MAY COME BACK AND REVISIT IT TOO.
I THINK IT WOULD DO US ALL, SOME GOOD TO, TO KIND OF LOCK THAT AWAY AND KEEP SAYING IT IS PUBLIC HELP TO SHAPE THE PROGRAM AND, AND APPRECIATE THAT.
THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO MAKE THAT POSSIBLE.
I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION, JACKIE.
UM, AND THANK YOU BOARD MEMBER STRATTON.
I THINK IT WAS ME RATHER WHO REQUESTED THE, THE SPREADSHEET OF ALL THE COMMENTS.
IT'S LIKE THE RAW FORM, BUT I'D REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU'RE ANALYZING IT AND GIVING US THE SEGREGATED DATA, YOU KNOW, THROUGH GENDER AND ETHNICITY AND HOW THE WHO'S SHOWING UP TO SPEAK, WHO IS THE AUDIENCE AND WHOSE VOICES ARE WE, ARE WE, UM, SEEING REFLECTED IN THE PROGRAM? SO I HAD AN INTERESTING MEETING WITH, UM, COURTNEY CHAVEZ, OUR DIRECTOR OF, UM, EQUITY.
AND, UM, AND SO SHE IS ALSO LOOKING THROUGH THAT DATA AND THEN PUTTING IT THROUGH THAT BUCKET, THROUGH THAT LENS, WHAT ARE THE SALIENT ISSUES REGARDING EQUITY THROUGH THAT? SO I APPRECIATE WHAT THE TEAM IS DOING AND HOW YOU ALL ARE BEING VERY RESPONSIVE TO OUR NEEDS.
AND WHAT WE'VE ASKED FOR HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE RESPONSIVENESS AND THE IDEAS THAT YOU BROUGHT FORWARD, MAYOR ADLER WITH GIVING US THAT KIND OF BEHIND THE SCENES, DUMB, YOU KNOW, DUMP OF INFORMATION, BUT THAT'S SPREADSHEET TO SIT.
PART OF THAT ANALYSIS IS THERE'S SOME WORD THAT PEOPLE, BECAUSE WE DID RECEIVE IT FOR BOTH THE BLUE LINE AND THE ORANGE LINE, THEY'RE BOTH ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THE, IN THE LIBRARY.
SO IF PEOPLE CLICK ON THOSE MEETINGS, THEY CAN SEE ALL OF THAT DESEGREGATED DATA.
THAT'S JUST WHAT I WANTED TO CONFIRM.
UM, AND YES, KEEP UP THE GOOD PAYS BECAUSE I, ONE THING THAT DOES CONCERN ME IS THAT
[00:40:01]
WE DO RELY A LOT ON COMMUNITY INPUT, BUT I DON'T WANT US TO REACH, UH, INPUT FATIGUE.SO AS NOW IT'S A NEW THING AND EVERYBODY'S REALLY EXCITED AND MOTIVATED TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
HOW DO WE KEEP THAT MOMENTUM GOING WITHOUT, UM, ABUSING ABUSING IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD, BUT, YOU KNOW, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL OF THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SHOW UP.
SO I THINK AS LONG AS WE KEEP THE FLEXIBILITY TO HELP SHAKE, CONTINUE TO SHAPE THE PROGRAM, WE'LL BE RESPECTFUL OF THEIR TIME.
WELL, YEAH, AND THAT IS WHY WE OFFER A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO GIVE INPUT LIKE THE COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOPS OR ON A VERY SPECIFIC LEVEL.
SO PEOPLE CAN SORT OF PICK AND CHOOSE, UM, AND HOPEFULLY AVOID THAT FATIGUE.
THAT THAT'S A REALLY IS AN ISSUE, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO ARE GOING OUT FOR PUBLIC INPUT IN THIS COMMUNITY EVERY DAY.
UM, SO YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT CONCERN.
UM, SO NEXT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR CHIEF
[4.2. Project Connect Technical Update ]
PROGRAM OFFICER DAVE COUCH WITH A MONTHLY TECHNICAL UPDATE.GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR, BOARD MEMBERS, UH, AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COURT.
MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE, UH, TODAY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH THE OVERALL PROGRAM.
UH, I'D LIKE TO START WITH THE BLUE AND THE ORANGE LINE, UH, AND HOW WE'RE PROGRESSING RIGHT NOW WITH THE ENGINEERING PROCESS.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS AND MEETINGS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS TOUCHED ON BEFORE, UH, IS PLEASANT VALLEY.
AND I THINK WE'VE HEARD THAT THREE OR FOUR TIMES ALREADY, AND PETER WILL BE OUT TO GIVE A DETAILED PRESENTATION LATER, BUT THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE PARTNERSHIP, NOT ONLY WITH THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO WITH THE CITY, UH, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN TOTALLY INVOLVED AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT ARE THERE AT PLEASANT VALLEY, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT ONLY LISTENING TO WHAT THE COMMUNITY IS SAYING, BUT ALSO INCLUDING WHAT IT IS IT'S NEEDED AND THE PART OF THE CITY.
SO GINA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM, UH, IN HELPING AND WORKING THROUGH IT SO THAT WE CAN COME TO A GOOD SOLUTION, UH, THAT WILL BE THERE FOR ALL OF TRANSPORTATION.
UH, THE SECOND THING THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH IS THE UTILITY RULES OF PRACTICE.
THIS REALLY GIVES US SOMETHING THAT IS A GOOD, CLEAR PATHWAY GOING FORWARD.
WE KNOW THERE'S A SERIES OF UTILITIES THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE RELOCATED, UH, THAT EITHER GO PERPENDICULAR OR PARALLEL TO THE GUIDEWAY.
SO WE'RE COMING UP WITH WHAT THOSE RULES WILL BE, HOW THEY WILL BE RELOCATED THOSE TYPES OF THINGS NOW, UH, FOR TYPICAL LOCATIONS ALONG THE 18 MILES, UH, THAT WILL GIVE US A GOOD WAY TO GO AHEAD AND NOT HAVE TO LOOK AT EACH ONE INDIVIDUALLY BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE THOSE TYPICALS AS WE GO AHEAD AND BE ABLE TO START TO GO FORWARD WITH THE UTILITY RELOCATION.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO STARTING THAT SOMETIME NEXT SPRING.
UH, THE GEO-TECHNICAL ONGOING ABOUT TO FINISH UP A DESIGN CRITERIA MANUAL WAS BEING UPDATED TO LOOK AT WHAT THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES ARE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND WHAT THE POTENTIALS ARE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE STATION UNDER THE ENTRANCES TO THE UNDERGROUND STATIONS.
UH, THERE WAS A MENTION A FEW MINUTES AGO, UH, OF MOVING, UH, THE MAC RAINY STATION FURTHER TO THE SOUTH, UH, THAT GIVES US SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTRANCES AT THAT LOCATION, UH, AND LOOKING FOR AN ENTRANCE WAY THAT WILL BABY BASICALLY BE ABLE TO COME IN AND FROM THE GREEN AND RED LINE DIRECTLY ONTO A CONCOURSE THAT WILL CONNECT TO THE STATION.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON IN, IN THAT DIRECTION, ALONG WITH OUR OTHER PARTNERS THAT ARE THERE, UH, AT TEXTILE, UH, UT, UH, AS WE GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD AND THROUGH THE ENGINEERING AND INTO THE, INTO THE FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS SPECIFICALLY, UH, ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS NEPA, UH, WE CONTINUE TO RECEIVE GREAT SUPPORT, UH, WITH FTA.
WE'VE GOT THE 1 39 J WHICH IS BASICALLY SUPPORT TO HELP THEM DO THEIR REVIEW IN PLACE.
UH, THAT'S UM, HELPING IMMENSELY, UH, BECAUSE WE ARE GOING FORWARD WITH BOTH OF THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINE AT THE SAME TIME.
AND THAT'S A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WORK AND REVIEW THAT'S REQUIRED, UH, BY FTA THE, THE NEXT LISTING, THERE IS DRAFT TECHNICAL REPORTS.
UH, THERE'S 15 OF THEM THERE, UH, AND THERE'S MORE THAT NEED TO BE DEVELOPED.
WE CONTINUE TO MOVE THOSE THROUGH, UH, FTA AND TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A FLAVOR OF THAT.
UH, SO THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND HAVE THAT SUPPORT AND REALLY ENCOURAGEMENT BY FTA.
UH, THE REGION IS GREAT, UH, AND THEY CONTINUE TO HELP AND SUPPORT US AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROGRAM.
IF I GO ON TO, UH, BASICALLY METRO RAPID, UH, THOSE PLANS ARE BEING FINALIZED.
WE'RE AT THE 90% FOR BASICALLY WHAT THE CIVIL WILL BE FOR THE LOCATIONS, UH, AND FOR ALL
[00:45:01]
OF, UH, THE STATION CONCRETE TYPES OF THINGS.UH, WE'RE AT THE POINT THAT NEXT WEEK, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ISSUE THE RFP, UH, TO START TO GET PROPOSALS ON WHAT THE SHELTERS COULD LOOK LIKE.
UH, SO THAT'LL BE A PROCESS THAT WE WILL GO THROUGH.
THERE WILL BE AN EVALUATION TEAM.
UH, WE'LL LOOK AT WHAT THOSE COULD BE SHOULD BE AND WHERE THEY COULD BE LOCATED IN DIFFERENT SIZES AND DIFFERENT TYPES, SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND GET THAT BENEFIT, GET THE INPUT, AND BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD, BASICALLY WITH THE SHELTER PART OF THE PROGRAM, LOOKING FOR THE DECEMBER, UH, TO HAVE THE FIRST GROUNDBREAKING, UH, ON THE, ON THESE LINES TO GO AHEAD AND GET THAT ONE KICKED OFF, JUST LIKE WE HAVE SEVERAL OF THE OTHER PROJECTS, UM, GO LINE AND SOUTH LAMAR, UH, WE'RE STARTING TO WORK OUR WAY THROUGH ONE OF THE TWO LEGS.
THAT'S THERE AT THE SOUTHERN END OF 8 0 3 SOUTH LAMAR THAT WE'LL GET DOWN TO MANCHESTER.
UH, AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED IN SELECTION PROCESS TO START ON THE GOAL LINE, WHICH WILL BE THE INITIAL BRT, UH, AS YOU KNOW, WHICH LATER COULD BE CONVERTED OVER TO ALSO THE PORTION THAT WOULD BE THE LIGHT RAIL.
SO THOSE ARE THE PROCESS, AND THOSE ARE THE STEPS THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH WHEN IT COMES TO METRO RAPID.
UM, THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK MR. CLARK STOLE THIS AND ALREADY TALKED TO THIS AS I WENT THROUGH, UH, IT, IT IS SOMETHING THAT YES, AND ANOTHER SUCCESS STORY, UH, AS WE GO AHEAD AND GO THROUGH THE PROGRAM, UH, WITH THE RED LINE, UH, AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE THE GROUNDBREAKING THERE WITH THE SUCCESSFUL ROLLOUT OF THE THREE NEIGHBORHOOD CIRCULATORS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM, IT'S THAT CONTINUED ADVANCEMENT, UH, THAT WE'RE STRIVING FOR, UH, TO HOLD THE SCHEDULE THAT IS THERE, WHERE THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, UH, AND TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INCREASED ADDITIONAL SERVICE, UH, FOR TRANSIT, UH, FOR THE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU, MR. COUCH, IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE DIOCESE, THE BOARD, NO QUESTIONS.
[4.3. Administrative Update]
FROM ATPS GENERAL COUNSEL AND CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER CASEY BURROCK WITH AN UPDATE ON HIRING AND RECRUITMENT FOR THE MONTHLY ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATE.I AM CHANGING CHIEF ADMIN HAT.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY OUR DIRECTOR OF HR, JULIANA HARRIS, WHO GAVE THIS PRESENTATION BACK IN JUNE, WASN'T ABLE TO MAKE IT.
SO, UM, I'M GOING TO TRY TO DO JUST AS GOOD OF A JOB, BUT WE ESSENTIALLY JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU ALL KIND OF UPDATED, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT THE, AND I KNOW RANDY ALREADY ALLUDED TO THIS OR MR. CLARK, UM, THAT WE HAVE, WE'VE DONE AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF HIRING AND INCLUDING AN ADDITIONAL 190 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE.
EXCUSE ME, SINCE THE LAST TIME THAT WE WERE UP HERE IN JUNE.
SO, UM, WE HAVEN'T CHANGED THE MAP MUCH, BUT WE HAVE HIRED SOME MORE FOLKS FROM THE NEW YORK AREA, FROM THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY THERE.
UM, WE'VE GOT FOLKS IN THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT, LEGAL, REAL ESTATE FINANCE.
AND LIKE I SAID, ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE, SO WE'VE UPDATED OUR MAP AND WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU ALL.
THERE'S THE QUESTIONS THAT WAS QUICK, BUT I KNOW THAT BEHIND THE SCENES HAD TO BE ARDUOUS HIRING AN AUSTIN IS SO EASY, RIGHT? NO COMPETITION AT ALL, NOT TO MENTION ONBOARDING, RIGHT.
SO I KNOW IT'S A, IT'S A REALLY INCREDIBLE TEAM AND, UM, I FEEL VERY LUCKY TO BE WORKING WITH ALL OF THEM.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO, NO QUESTIONS.
SO NOW MOVING ON TO OUR ACTION ITEMS, UM, OUR FIRST ACTION ITEM TODAY
[5.1. Approval of minutes from the September 15, 2021 Board Meeting]
IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2020 FIRST AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING.IF EVERYONE HAS HAD A TIME THAT HAS HAD TIME TO REVIEW THE MINUTE, THE MINUTES WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE ACTION ITEM NUMBER ONE.
BOARD MEMBERS STRAPPED MOVES TO APPROVE SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS.
EVERYONE IN AGREEMENT SAYS, AYE.
THE MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
[5.2. Approval of Resolution Awarding On-call Legal Services Contracts to the following law firms for a base period of three years in an amount not to exceed $13,217,000 with two, twelve-month option periods for a total of five years in an amount not to exceed $23,000,000: Ashurst; Dubois, Bryant & Campbell; Greenberg Traurig; Hogan Lovells and Hunton Andrews Kurth; Husch Blackwell; Hyatte O. Simmons; Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell; Mayer Brown, LLP; McCall Parkhurst & Horton; Nossaman LLP; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; and Winstead PC]
ON TO ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO, THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AWARDING ON-CALL LEGAL SERVICES CONTRACT TO MULTIPLE LAW FIRMS FOR A BASE PERIOD OF THREE YEARS IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 13 MILLION, $217,000 WITH TWO 12 MONTH OPTION PERIODS FOR A TOTAL OF FIVE YEARS IN[00:50:01]
AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $23 MILLION WITH US TODAY, WE HAVE VICKY REDERICK, THE DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT WHO WILL NOW GIVE US A PRESENTATION ON THE AWARD OF THIS ON-CALL LEGAL SERVICES CONTRACTS, MIKE.HI, GET UP THE NEW CHAIR BOARD MEMBERS AND, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CLARK.
UH, SO I'M SUPER EXCITED BE HERE AND PRESENT APPROVAL OR FOR OUR FIRST, UH, PROCUREMENT ON THEIR AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE THE ON CALL LEGAL SERVICES.
UH, WE, IT LOOKS LIKE I'M MISSING A SLOT.
SO THE PURPOSE OF THE ON-CALL LEGAL SERVICES IS TO PROVIDE, UH, LEGAL SERVICES AND ABOUT EIGHT DIFFERENT, UH, SCOPE AREAS TO ASSIST CASEY AND BRENDAN AND SUPPORTIVE PROJECT CONNECT THAT THOSE SERVICES RANGE ANYWHERE FROM GENERAL COUNSEL SERVICES, LITIGATION, EMPLOYMENT, LAW, PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, AND ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY, REAL ESTATE AND EMINENT DOMAIN, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, LAW, FINANCE, AND TAX LAW, AND THEN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
SO AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, UH, AS EVERYONE KNOWS LEGAL SERVICES, DO NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS BECAUSE THIS WAS OUR FIRST PROCUREMENT.
UH, CASEY, THE TEAM FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE TRANSPARENCY AND TO TAKE THIS THROUGH THE PROCESS SO THAT WE COULD SHOW WHAT WE WERE DOING AS AN AGENCY.
SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE ISSUED THE SOLICITATION ON JULY THE 15TH.
WE HAD A PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE ON JULY, THE 27TH.
WE ACTUALLY HAD PROPOSALS COME IN ON AUGUST THE 18TH.
UH, WE HAD A SOURCE EVALUATION TEAM THAT CONSISTED OF THREE MEMBERS, UH, WHICH, UH, WHO LOOKED AT THE PROPOSALS AND EVALUATE AWAITED THOSE BASED ON THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND OUR SOLICITATION FROM AUGUST 24TH THROUGH SEPTEMBER THE 17TH, THE TEAM CAME TO A CONSENSUS ON SEPTEMBER THE 29TH, WHICH, WHICH FIRMS WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD WITHIN EACH OF THE SCOPE AREAS BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION.
AND THEN TODAY, OF COURSE, WE'RE HERE FOR THE BOARD ACTION.
WE'VE ALREADY GONE OVER TO SCOPES.
SO AS PART OF THE SOLICITATION, WE SENT THAT OUT TO 29 UNIQUE FIRMS, 19 OF THOSE FIRMS RESPONDED TO OUR SOLICITATION, WHICH WAS REALLY GOOD FOR A FIRST SOLICITATION.
UH, I EVALUATION CRITERIA BASED ON, UH, FOCUSED ON PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS, THE FIRM CAPABILITIES, THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCOPE AND THE PRACTICE AREA AND HOW THAT WOULD BENEFIT PROJECT CONNECT.
WE LOOKED AT THEIR APPROACH TO DELIVERING, UH, THOSE SCOPES AND THEN BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE EVERYTHING SET UP AND THIS WAS MY FIRST SOLICITATION AND WE DIDN'T HAVE A DB EGO, WHAT WE LOOKED AT AND GRADED ON.
AND THIS WAS HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED ATTORNEYS, WHICH, UH, FROM WHAT CASEY HAS EXPLAINED TO US IS THAT THAT'S A GOAL THAT A LOT OF THE LAW FIRMS USE TO, UH, BRING IN DIVERSITY.
AGAIN, THIS IS THE CONTRACT WITH A BASE TERM OF THREE YEARS WITH TWO ONE-YEAR OPTIONS.
SO TODAY WHAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING IS THAT 12 OF THOSE FIRMS ACROSS EIGHT DIFFERENT SCOPES OF WORK THAT WE BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE NEGOTIATING AND AWARDING, UH, THOSE 12 FIRMS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES.
REMEMBER, UM, ELKINS, THANK YOU, VICKI.
I'M CERTAINLY IN FAVOR OF, UM, SUPPORTING THIS RESOLUTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I SOMEHOW THINK I SHOULD HAVE, UH, CHANGED MY PROFESSION WAY BACK IN THE DAY AND BECOME A LAWYER, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE HOURLY RATES OF THESE PARTNERS.
THEY'RE, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE STAGGERING, BUT, BUT THEY ARE IMPORTANT.
UM, MY QUESTION IS 23, MILLION'S A LOT OF MONEY IT'S NECESSARY.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, I THINK, UH, TO SEE A BREAKDOWN OF HOW WE ENVISION SPENDING THE 23 MILLION BY CATEGORY ON PAGE 27 AT PERHAPS A LATER MEETING.
AND I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN BUDGETS AS MR. CONNELLEY KNOWS.
I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SEE THAT BY CATEGORY.
NOT THAT WE HOLD PEOPLE TO THAT, BUT IT'S JUST THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'D BE HELPFUL TO SEE HOW WE'RE SPENDING AGAINST BUDGET, BECAUSE IF WE JUST HAVE A $23 MILLION NUMBER THAT CAN GO REALLY QUICKLY, IF WE DON'T HAVE BUDGETS SO THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME YOU PICK UP THE PHONE AND YOU SPEAK WITH A LAWYER, IT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A HELPFUL PROCESS TO MANAGING THE SPEND AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING ON TRACK.
AND UNDERSTANDABLY, WE MAY SAY THAT A 20% GOES TO LITIGATION, BUT WE FIND OUT IT MAY BE 30% GO
[00:55:01]
INTO LITIGATION, BUT IF WE'RE TRACKING IT, THEN WE CAN KIND OF MAKE ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY WE CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT.WE'LL GET TOGETHER WITH CASEY AND WITH DIANE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REPORTING THAT INFORMATION AND GET THAT INFORMATION BACK.
NO, AND, UH, THIS IS A BIG MILESTONE.
I KNOW, BECAUSE THIS IS OUR FIRST PROCUREMENT ON OUR OWN.
SO I, I, NOT THAT I WANTED TO BE A LAWYER, BUT I WISH OUR FIRST PROCUREMENT WAS FOR DESIGN SERVICES BLOB, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT TO START SOMEWHERE AND, UM, AND I KNOW THIS IS A REALLY INTER I MEAN, I'M, I'M, I'M GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT THE TEAM HAS DONE TO CREATE THIS AND THE INTEREST FROM THE COMMUNITY TO PUT FORWARD AND, UM, SUBMIT APPLICATIONS TO GET THIS CONTRACT.
SO CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM.
AND, UM, SO WITH THAT, IF THERE'S NO, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY, I KNOW YOU GAVE US AN UPDATE, CASEY, WHEN YOU GAVE US, UH, THE TECHNICAL BRIEFING.
UM, ARE THERE ANY WORDS YOU'D LIKE TO SAY ABOUT THIS SOLICITATION, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WORKED REALLY HARD ON, ON THIS TOO.
UM, JUST THAT I'M VERY EXCITED TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE HELP, SO THANK YOU ALL.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT, I LIKE TO CALL FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS, UH, ACTION ITEM.
NUMBER TWO, DO I HAVE A MOTION MAYOR ADLER.
AND DO WE HAVE A SECOND BOARD MEMBERS STRAPPED ON, THANK YOU.
AND ARE THERE ANY NAYS? NO, THE MOTION PASSES.
[5.3. Approval of Resolution to Direct Staff to Develop a Construction Mitigation Program and include in Future Construction Contracts certain Workforce Protection and Living Wage Provisions in accordance with the JPA]
TO OUR THIRD ACTION ITEM, THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION TO DIRECT STAFF TO DEVELOP A CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION PROGRAM AND INCLUDE A FUTURE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS, CERTAIN WORK FOR PROTECTION AND LIVING WAGE PROVISIONS IN ACCORDING WITH THE JPA.UM, SO NOW WE HAVE SOME SERGEANT, OUR DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM STRATEGY WHO WILL NOT PRESENT THE RESOLUTION RELATED TO THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND THE FUTURE ADP CONTRACTS.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CLARK.
UH, I'M HERE TO PRESENT, UH, SHOULD PROBABLY PUT MY GLASSES ON.
I'M HERE TO PRESENT A, UM, A RESOLUTION, UH, THAT YOU HAVE HEARD OF, UH, WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING THIS AT THE OCTOBER 4TH JPA WORK SESSION.
AND WHEN YOU, IF YOU REMEMBER THE CROSSWALK THAT WE SHOWED THAT LAID OUT SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS FROM THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, AS WELL AS THE CAPITAL METRO COMMUNITY COMMITMENT AND SOME OF THE FOUNDATIONAL ILS FOR ATP.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE MENTIONED IN A COUPLE OF PLACES WAS THAT IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE ATP, WHICH WILL ISSUE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE CONTRACTS TO IMPLEMENT PROJECT CONNECT, TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE ABIDING BY THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, THAT ATP WOULD CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO BUILD IN SOME OF THESE CONTRACTS, WITH THE VOTER REQUIREMENTS, INTO OUR OWN FUTURE CONTRACTS.
AND THAT IS THE INTENTION OF THIS RESOLUTION.
UM, AND IT COVERS A NUMBER OF, UH, TOPICS THAT ARE REALLY CRITICAL.
UM, AND ONE OF THEM THAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE BACKUP IS, UH, DIRECTING STAFF TO DEVELOP, UH, THE FOLLOWING PROGRAM AND BRING BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, WHICH I THINK IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT, UH, SO THAT THE PUBLIC, UM, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE A NEAR CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK LOOP, SO THAT THERE'S ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
BUT THE FIRST ITEM HERE IS DEVELOPMENT OF A CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION PROGRAM.
AND WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS IN THE PAST, AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A HUGE PART OF OUR PROGRAMS. WE BUILD OUT PROJECT CONNECT AND IT'S GOING TO BE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND SO THIS WOULD REQUIRE THAT AN ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS THAT STAFF DEVELOPS AND IMPLEMENTS A BUSINESS IMPACT MITIGATION STRATEGY, INCLUDING APPROACHES, UH, TO ESTABLISH ROBUST BUSINESS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT, BUSINESS ACCESS, AND OPERATIONS, CREATING EFFECTIVE PROJECT SCHEDULING AND SEQUENCING THAT MINIMIZES THE LENGTH OF CONSTRUCTION IMPACT.
SO THIS IS FROM THE CONTRACT FOR THE VOTERS AND, UH, YOU ALL SAW THIS LANGUAGE DURING THE OCTOBER 4TH WORK SESSION.
WE ALSO HAVE A VERY CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THE CONTRACT TO THE VOTERS THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER THIS MONTH, WHICH IS DEVELOPMENT OF A WORKFORCE PROGRAM.
SO THIS WOULD ALSO BE A DIRECTION TO STAFF TO DEVELOP AND BRING BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, A WORKFORCE PROGRAM TO ENSURE WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN BETTER BUILDER PROGRAM OR SIMILAR PROGRAMS, COMPLETION OF OSHA TIN, UH, TRAINING WORKERS, COMPENSATING, INDEPENDENT OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES, OR THEIR AFFILIATES AND COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE STATE, FEDERAL, AND LOCAL LAWS LIVING WAGE.
[01:00:01]
ALSO IN THE CONTRACT TO THE VOTERS.SO DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING POLICY TO ENSURE LIVING WAGE ESTABLISHED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR PREVAILING WAGE UNDER DAVIS BACON AND SHARING ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, PAID SICK LEAVE TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.
AND AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE DEVELOPED BY STAFF AND BROUGHT BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, AND THEN FINALLY, CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM.
THIS COMES FROM, UH, THE PORTION OF THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS THAT RELATES TO CITY OF AUSTIN HIRING GOALS.
UM, AND THIS I THINK IS ALSO REALLY CRITICAL.
AND IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE HEARD, UH, DURING RECENT PRESENTATIONS TO COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND OTHER CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS OUT IN THE PUBLIC.
UM, BUT THIS WOULD BE DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM THAT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL LAW AND REGULATIONS AND INCLUDE CITY OF AUSTIN HIRING GOALS TO HIRE WORKERS FROM APPRENTICESHIP AND CRAFT TRAINING PROGRAMS AND PROMOTE THE HIRING OF LOCAL WORKERS, UH, SO LONG AS POSSIBLE WITH THE THEN EXISTING WORKFORCE.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE WORKFORCE AT THE TIME THAT WE'RE ISSUING THESE CONTRACTS.
SO THOSE ARE THE, UH, THE ELEMENTS OF THE RESOLUTION.
AND AS WE DISCUSSED AT THE WORK SESSION, UM, THE INTENT IS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE INCORPORATED AND ATP CONTRACTS GOING FORWARD.
SO IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM, AND YOU WILL SEE SOME OF THIS LANGUAGE AS WELL NEXT WEEK AT THE TRI-PARTY, UM, MEETING, UH, FOR JPA ADOPTION.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD BOARD MEMBER ELKINS? UM, THANK YOU, SAM.
SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, WE HEARD A COUPLE OF COMMENTS ABOUT, UM, RECOMMENDING DELAYING THIS ACTION ITEM TILL AFTER THE JPA, UH, IS, UH, VOTED ON AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
I GUESS MY QUESTION IS WHAT, WHAT ARE THE RAMIFICATIONS OF DELAYING THIS VOTE? IS THIS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE RIGHT NOW, OR IS THERE MERITS TO DELAYING IT TIL AFTER THE JPA MEETING? I PERSONALLY THINK, AND I THINK THE REASON WHY WE, UH, WE MENTIONED OCTOBER 20TH AND THE WORK SESSION, THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET THIS OUT EARLY AND TO SHOW THE ADP'S COMMITMENT TO THESE ITEMS AS WE GO INTO THE JPA MEETING.
UM, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST CRITICAL ELEMENT, UH, OF DOING IT THIS MONTH.
I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY SOMETHING HERE.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS A COUPLE THINGS, UM, THE LANGUAGE, CAUSE I DID SEE, I READ THROUGH THE, THE RESOLUTION, UM, THE LANGUAGE HERE THAT IS FOR CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION WORKFORCE PROGRAM, LIVING WAGE POLICY, AND THE CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM ARE ALL PULLED FROM THE WATER.
WHAT ARE REFERENCED HERE IN THE VERY FIRST, WHEREAS CLAUSES ARE COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS THE QUOTE UNQUOTE PROJECT CONNECT RESOLUTIONS, THOSE RESOLUTIONS BEING THE CAPITAL, METRO FUNDING AND COMMITMENT RESOLUTION THAT CAP METRO PASSED.
AND THEN ALSO THE CITY OF AUSTIN CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
SO THIS IS LANGUAGE LITERALLY LIFTED DIRECTLY FROM THE CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOCUMENTS THAT WERE ESSENTIALLY THE, UM, UH, GET THE, THE, THE COMMITMENT TO THE VOTERS, THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS THAT WENT ALONG WITH WHAT WAS PUT ON THE BALLOT ON BACK IN NOVEMBER WITH PROPER, THAT IS CORRECT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM, WHICH IS MEANT TO REFLECT THE SPIRIT OF THE CONTRACT FOR THE VOTERS, SPECIFICALLY THE CITY OF AUSTIN HIRING GOALS, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A SPECIFIC ITEM IN THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS ABOUT APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. UM, OTHERWISE THE PREVIOUS THREE DO COME DIRECTLY FROM THE LANGUAGE OF THE CONTRACT FOR THE VOTERS, OKAY.
WITH THE CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM, UM, THAT LANGUAGE, WHERE WAS IT SPECIFICALLY COMING FROM THEN? IS THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, THAT, THAT STAFF HAS DEVELOPED TO TRY TO ALIGN WITH SOME TH THIS WAS DEVELOPED BY STAFF AND IF OUR DEPUTY COUNCIL HAVE OTHER COMMENTS, I WILL LET THEM SPEAK TO BRANDON CARR, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL FOR AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
PART OF THE CONCERN THAT WE SAW FROM THE COMMUNITY WAS THAT, UM, THE LOCAL WORKFORCE HIRING PROGRAM WAS KIND OF MIXED INTO ONE OF THE WHEREAS CLAUSES AND KIND OF A CONFUSING WAY.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS, UM, THERE IS A LINE ABOUT, UH, INCLUDING WORKER PROTECTIONS ALONG WITH THE BETTER BUILDER PROGRAM.
AND THE COMMUNITY SAID THAT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE ACTUALLY SEPARATE.
SO WE WANTED TO PULL THAT OUT INTO ANOTHER BULLET POINT.
[01:05:01]
YOU LOOK AT THE LAST, WHEREAS, OR BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, IT ALSO TALKS ABOUT HIRING LOCAL WORKERS AND THAT'S MAKES AN WITH THE LIVING WAGE AND DAVIS BACON.SO WE'RE NOT ADDING ANYTHING REALLY TO THE, THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS OTHER THAN OFFERING, ALSO TO DO THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM AND MAKE THAT MORE CLEAR.
UM, SO WE'RE JUST CLARIFYING WHAT WE, WHAT WAS ALREADY COMMITTED.
SO BASICALLY THAT EVERY, EVERY POINT I'M UNDERSTANDING IS EVERYTHING IN THE FIRST TWO RESOLVED CLAUSES RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION WORKFORCE PROGRAM AND LIVING WAGE CAME STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS.
AND THEN THE PROPOSAL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION CAREERS PROGRAM, PRETTY MUCH Y'ALL WERE HAVING ALREADY TAKEN THE FEEDBACK AND SEEING THE FEEDBACK FROM, UH, FROM THE COMMUNITY UP TO THIS POINT, IT WAS SORT OF SEPARATING THAT OUT AND EXPANDING ON IT TO TRY TO MEET THE, SORT OF THE INTENT AND THE FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
BUT IT'S TRYING TO MEET THE SORT OF THE, UM, I GUESS IF NOT THE LETTER, THE, THAT DEFINITELY THE SPIRIT OF WHAT WAS INTENDED FROM THAT PROVISION WITHIN THE CONTRACT WITH BOTH VOTERS AND PUT SOME MORE MEAT ON THE BONES WITH IT AT WORK.
IN HINDSIGHT, WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE PUT THOSE IN THOSE, UH, PREVIOUS WHEREAS CLAUSES, WE WOULD HAVE HAD THEM IN A SEPARATE BULLET POINT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT ADDITIONAL UP QUESTION.
UM, JUST TO, AND MAYBE THAT, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M, THAT I'M CLEAR ON THIS BECAUSE BASED ON WHAT I'M SEEING HERE, THIS RESOLUTION IS NOT, THIS RESOLUTION IS NOT DIRECTLY PER SE, RELATED TO THE JPA.
I KNOW THAT WHEN WE POSTED THIS ITEM, THAT, THAT THE ITEM AS IT'S RED, WHEN IT'S IN THE POSTING ITSELF MAKES REFERENCE TO, UM, THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION TO DIRECT STAFF TO FUND, UH, OR TO, TO DIRECT STAFF, TO DEVELOP THESE PROGRAMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE JPA, BUT WE HAVEN'T PASSED THE JPA YET.
HOWEVER, WHAT, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE ACCURATE, AT LEAST ON THE AGENDA TO, TO HAVE SAID IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONTRACT, WITH THE VOTERS OF WHICH THE JPA ULTIMATELY IS PEAKS.
DOES THAT MATTER? I MEAN, MAYBE I'M SPLITTING HAIRS HERE, BUT I GUESS WHAT I'M GETTING IS EVERYTHING THAT IS IN HERE WAS ULTIMATELY ALREADY DIRECTED OR, OR WAS, WAS ALREADY PASSED AND DIRECTED TO US BY CAP METRO BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND BY THE VOTERS THEMSELVES, THEY SAID, GO DO THIS THAT'S CORRECT BOARD MEMBER.
SO THE, THE, THE JPA IS KIND OF THAT THIS IS, THIS IS THIS.
THEN IF WE WERE TO PASS THIS, IT REALLY IS KIND OF MORE OF A CASE OF IF WE WERE TO DO THIS, WHERE ACKNOWLEDGING, INPUTTING INTO OUR DOCUMENTS AND OUR INTENTIONS HONORING WHAT OUR PARENTS, THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS CAP, METRO CITY, BOSTON, AND THAT MATTER, THE VOTERS SAID, WE WANT TO DO THIS.
AND THEN AT THAT POINT, WE'RE NOW, UM, MOVING IT FORWARD SO THAT IN THE JPA, THE JP, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THAT, THAT SORT OF, YOU KNOW, THAT CROSSWALK, THAT WOULD BE A WAY OF SAYING, OKAY, AND NOW ATP HAS NOW PASSED THAT WE CAN GO BACK AND REFERENCE, IS THAT CORRECT? SO, SO IF ANYTHING, I GUESS MY ONLY, THE ONLY THING I WOULD SAY IS THERE, MIGHT'VE BEEN A LITTLE CONFUSION AMONG PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE THIS IS NOT PER SE THE JPA IT'S, WE'RE CODIFYING AS AN ORGANIZATION HERE.
IF WE WERE TO PASS THIS, IT'S FROM ONE OF MY UNDERSTANDING, ISN'T, UKC SOMEBODY JUMPED IN ON THE LEGAL TEAM.
IF I'M MISSING THIS, WE'RE BASICALLY JUST, CAUDIFYING WHAT CAP METRO CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE VOTERS ALREADY SAID, WE WANT ATP TO BE DOING THAT IS ACCURATE.
AND THEN THE JPA IS GOING TO GO BACK AND REFERENCE AND SAYING, YES, IT'S IN THERE.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE I HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THAT AND THAT THAT'S KIND OF PART OF THE DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE WATCHING THE KIND OF, BECAUSE SOMETIMES I THINK PEOPLE MIGHT BE THINKING, WE PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE, BUT IN FACT, THIS IS PART OF THIS LONG PROCESS THAT HAS BEEN RATHER TECHNICAL IN NATURE, BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR OVER A YEAR AND A HALF AS WE WERE MOVING THINGS DOWN THE LINE.
AND THIS IS JUST, IT SEEMS TO ME, AT LEAST THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING US TO, AND THEN I GUESS MY, MY FINAL QUESTION WOULD BE IF, YOU KNOW, IF WERE TO PASS THIS, UM, THOSE, THE POLICIES THAT ARE REFERENCED HERE, UM, WILL THERE BE OPPORTUNITIES AS YOU ALL SEE IT, WILL THERE BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PUBLIC TO CONTINUE TO HAVE FEEDBACK AND INVOLVEMENT, TO HELP ADVISE THROUGH OUR VARIOUS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES TO PROVIDE CONTINUED FEEDBACK AS TO WHAT THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO LOOK LIKE? ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK THAT, THAT, THAT IS THE BIGGEST VALUE AND WHY WE SPECIFICALLY CALL OUT,
[01:10:01]
COMING BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL IS THAT EVERY SINGLE TIME THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING BUILT INTO ONE OF OUR BOARD AGENDAS, IT MEANS THAT ULTIMATELY, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'M WORKING ON WITH JACKIE AND MANY OTHER FOLKS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ALSO BUILT INTO THE, THE TAX PROCESS AND OUR OTHER COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SO THAT THERE IS ALWAYS A CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK LOOP, UM, LEADING INTO ANY OF THESE AGENDA, THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND OTHERS, THAT THEY WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT, TO SEE COMMENT AND GET, GET FEEDBACK AND HELP US DRAFT AND DEVELOP IT IN A WAYS THAT PER WHAT IT SAYS HERE, YOU KNOW, MEETS THIS MEETS THE SPIRIT OF AUSTIN, BUT ALSO DOESN'T RUN AS A FOUL OF WHAT THE FEDERAL LAW ACTUALLY IS GOVERNING THESE THINGS AS WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION PROCESS.I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME.
I DO HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS, THIS, UM, MAYOR, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO, GO AHEAD.
I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK ON THIS.
AND AS WE GET THROUGH TODAY'S MEETING, AND AS WE GO INTO THE MEETING AT THE END OF THE MONTH, OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE GOING TO BE THINGS FOR EVERYBODY TO, TO TALK THROUGH IS EVIDENCE FROM THE FOLKS THAT SOME OF THE FOLKS WE'VE HEARD, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I, AND I THINK, UM, UH, JESSICA AND JEREMY FOR, UH, THE HELP THEY'VE ALREADY GIVEN US.
UH, AND, AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE STAFF AS IT WAS DOING THIS WORK, UH, INCORPORATING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE RAISED BY, BY SEVERAL FOLKS WHO THE COMMUNITY MOST SIGNIFICANT MADE, ESPECIALLY THE WEATHER YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT, WHICH WAS TO SAY THAT WE WOULD NOT BE AUTHORIZING THE POLICY TODAY, BUT THE DRAFTING OF THE POLICY WITH THE REQUEST THAT THE POLICY COME BACK TO THE BOARD.
UH, SO I UNDERSTAND FROM THAT, YOU KNOW, CONSISTENT WITH OUR POLICIES, IT WOULD BE POSTED.
WE WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO HEAR IT, LEARN ABOUT IT.
THE COMMUNITY WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THE POSTING AND, AND, AND WATCH THAT AND LEARN FROM THAT.
AND THEN TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE, THAT IS WE ACTUALLY, I ENDED UP VOTING ON IT AND THERE WOULD BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NOT ONLY THE COMMUNITY, BUT FOR THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES AS APPROPRIATE AND FOR THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL TO, TO COMMENT ON ALL OF THESE POLICIES.
AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE POLICIES ARE GOING TO CONTAIN MORE THAN JUST THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS IN THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS IS A REALLY HIGH LEVEL, UM, UM, UH, GUARANTEE OR HIGH LEVEL STATEMENT OF, OF, OF INTENT.
I REMEMBER BEING, UH, INVOLVED IN THE CONVERSATIONS AS WE DEBATED THAT LANGUAGE.
UH, AND I RECALL THERE NOT BEING, UH, AN IMMEDIATE MEETING OF MINDS ON THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS PUT INTO THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
AND WE HAD QUITE FRANKLY, DIFFERENT PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT PRIORITIES, ARGUING FOR DIFFERENT EMPHASIS, UH, AND, AND DIFFERENT STATEMENTS, UH, BUT ULTIMATELY REALLY PROUD TO BE PART OF A COMMUNITY THAT WAS ABLE TO COME TO A COMMON UNDERSTANDING THAT GOT EVERYONE OUT, EVEN GROUPS THAT, THAT, THAT HAD INITIALLY PUSHED AGAINST EACH OTHER CONTRIBUTING TO HELP WIN THE ELECTION.
AND WE WON THE ELECTION BECAUSE WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN, IN, IN THREADING THAT NEEDLE.
UH, FIRST I WANT TO GO BACK TO, TO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES SAID.
UH, CAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
THE LANGUAGE THAT'S BEING BROUGHT TO US TODAY IS REALLY NOTHING MORE OR LESS GENERALLY, NOTHING MORE OR LESS THAN WHAT WAS THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
SO SOMEONE GOING TO THE POLLS WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOOK AT A RESOLUTION AND SAY, WHAT IS IT THAT I'M VOTING ON? AND THAT CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS BY THE WAY BECOMES AN ENFORCEABLE COMMITMENT.
SO IT'S POSSIBLE TO GO INTO COURT.
IF PEOPLE ARE SPENDING THE MONEY INCONSISTENT WITH THE BALLOT LANGUAGE, IT'S ALSO FOR PEOPLE TO GO INTO QUARTER FOR SPENDING THE MONEY CONSISTENT WITH THE ELEVATES THAT WERE SPECIFICALLY MADE ANCILLARY TO THE BALLOT LANGUAGE AND, AND COURTS, UH, CAN GIVE THAT, UH, UH, GREAT WEIGHT, UH, IN DECIDING WHAT IT WAS THAT WAS THE INTENT OF WHAT PEOPLE VOTED ON.
SO YOU'VE GIVEN US AN ESSENCE FOR PROPOSITIONS HERE, THAT STAFF IS SUPPOSED TO GO BACK AND COME BACK WITH A POLICY WITH THERE'S THE CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION PROGRAM, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT I DON'T REMEMBER STAYING IN THE CONTRACT FOR THE VOTERS PROBABLY COULD HAVE BEEN THERE, NOT SOMETHING I FOCUSED ON.
SO IF IT WAS THERE, I MISSED IT, BUT I THINK IT'S GREAT.
WE'RE HAVING A POLICY ON THAT.
WE'VE DISCUSSED THAT AS A BOARD AND CONCERNED ABOUT THAT AND WE SHOULD GET THAT POLICY DONE SO PEOPLE CAN, CAN, CAN SEE IT, THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM.
[01:15:01]
THE, THE, AND I DON'T SEE IN THE ACTUAL RESOLUTION ITSELF, THE ACTUAL WORDING OUT OF THE, OUT OF THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, UH, BUT VERY SIMILAR TO THE CITY MANAGER'S DIRECTED TO INCLUDE IN A JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT WITH THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PARTNERSHIP, THAT METRO, OUR REQUIREMENT THAT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PARTICIPATE IN A BETTER BUILDER PROGRAM OR A SIMILAR PROGRAM WITH WORKER PROTECTIONS FOR ALL CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, INCLUDING CITY OF AUSTIN, HIRING GOALS AS ALLOWED BY FEDERAL LAW AND REGULATIONS COMPLETION OF OSHA, 10 HOUR TRAINING, WORKERS' COMPENSATION, ONSITE MONITORING, INDEPENDENT OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES AND THEIR AFFILIATES, AND IT COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE STATE, FEDERAL, AND LOCAL LAWS.YOU'VE PRETTY MUCH TRACKED THAT LANGUAGE, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT WE HAD.
AND I THINK THAT AT THIS POINT, AS WE DEVELOP THE POLICY, I DON'T THINK WE COULD DO ANY MORE OR LESS THAN THAT.
NOW, IF THE GROUPS GET TOGETHER THE THREE BODIES AND DECIDE THEY'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND, AND THE THREE BODIES AGREED TO THAT, THEN OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD NEED TO MAKE OUR POLICIES CONSISTENT WITH WHATEVER THE, THE ACTION IS IN ANY JPA, IF THERE'S A CHANGE.
BUT AT THIS POINT, I THINK IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR US TO REPEAT THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS IN THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS AND ASK FOR A POLICY THAT, THAT DOES THAT NOW IN THAT REGARD, UM, UH, THE SPEAKERS THIS MORNING HAVE SAID WE WANT THERE TO BE A DISCUSSION AND DEBATE ABOUT SOMETHINGS THAT, UH, UH, MAY VERY WELL BE FAIR GAME IN ACTUALLY DRAFTING OF THE POLICIES THEMSELVES.
IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND, AND DISCUSSION.
UH, IT'S GONNA REQUIRE STAFF TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND DECIDE WHAT THE, WHAT THE POLICIES ARE.
I MEAN, THE LANGUAGE, UM, SAYS, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH THE LIVING WAGE POLICY, THAT'S IN OUR RESOLUTION, UH, UM, MIRRORS, THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS IN THE CONTRACT THAT CITY MANAGER DIRECTOR TO INCLUDE, INCLUDING THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, AUTOTRANSPLANT PARTNERSHIP GOT METRO, OUR REQUIREMENT THAT ALL CONTRACTS ARE AWARDED BY AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP ENSURE A LIVING WAGE IS ESTABLISHED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR PREVAILING WAGE UNDER THE DAVIS BACON ACT, UH, FOR ALL WORKERS UNDER THE CONTRACT, ENSURE ACCESS TO HEALTH AND PAID SICK LEAVE.
THEY SENT POSSIBLE AND LOCAL WORKERS BE AFFORDED A HIRING PREFERENCE.
THAT LANGUAGE AGAIN IS, IS VIRTUALLY VERBATIM IN THE LIVING WAGE SECTION OF WHAT WE PASS AS, AS, UM, UM, UH, BOARD MEMBER STRATTON POINTED OUT AS, AS WELL.
UH, THE LANGUAGE AT THE END ABOUT, UH, LOCAL HIRING PREFERENCE IS IN THE CONSTRUCTION CAREER PROGRAM, UM, WHICH PROMOTES THE HIRING OF LOCAL WORKERS.
SO AS LONG AS POSSIBLE WITHIN EXISTING WORKFORCE.
SO THOSE PROVISIONS ARE PRETTY MUCH THERE, BUT THERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT ARE THAT OUTSTANDING, WHERE WE HAVE THE LANGUAGE THAT SAYS IT'S PREVAILING WAGE OR DAVIS BACON, THERE'S AN, OR THERE, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHEN IT IS THAT YOU DO, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN IT IS, DID YOU DO THE OTHER, AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
AND THE QUESTION IS, WHEN IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION? I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DECIDE TODAY.
UH, WHETHER WE USE EXACTLY THAT LANGUAGE OR IN OUR POLICY, WE COULD COME AND KEEP IT OPEN AND AMBIGUOUS.
AND THAT WAY WE COULD COME BACK IN AND MAKE VERY CLEAR THAT, THAT, THAT WHERE THERE'S A JOB OR AN OCCUPATION THAT'S NOT COVERED BY DAVIS BACON.
IT WILL ALWAYS BE THE CITY OF AUSTIN LIVING WAGE POLICY.
WE COULD COME BACK IN AND SAY, WHERE IT'S BOTH, THIS IS THE CRITERIA OR HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET RESOLVED, OR HOW ARE WE GOING TO DEAL WITH FORCE CHOICES WHEN WE HAVE TO MAKE CHOICES BETWEEN THINGS, WHATEVER IT IS, BUT WHATEVER IT IS, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH US MOVING FORWARD NOW, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO TRY AND FIGURE THIS OUT ON THE DAYS.
I THINK WE NEED, HAVE MUCH MORE DELIBERATE PROCESS AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE, FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET ENGAGED.
BUT I DO HIGHLIGHT THAT POINT WITH RESPECT TO THAT, OR IN THAT SENSE, SIMILARLY, WE TALK ABOUT AN INDEPENDENT, UM, UM, UM, UH, UM, THE INDEPENDENT, UM, UH, CONSTRUCTION REVIEW, UH, OR ONSITE MONITORING.
I MEAN, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE INDEPENDENT? I WOULD THINK THAT THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT, UH, UH, THE, UH, UH, STAFF SHOULD, WILL BE LOOKING AT WHEN THEY BRING US BACK THAT POLICY.
UH, UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT TRAVIS COUNTY DOES IT IN-HOUSE, BUT TRAVIS COUNTY'S IN-HOUSE MONITORING HAS BEEN CERTIFIED BY SOME OF THE GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT DO WORKERS ADVOCACY STILL IN-HOUSE, BUT THEY'VE DEMONSTRATED TO
[01:20:01]
THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT, THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO PROTECT THEIR WORKERS INTEREST.UH, AND I URGE OUR STAFF IN DEVELOPING THE POLICIES TO LOOK AT THAT AND SEE IF THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS.
AND IF THAT ACTUALLY WORKS OR, OR, OR, OR DOESN'T WORK.
SO I PICKED THOSE TWO OUT BECAUSE THOSE WERE TWO OF THE THINGS THAT WERE, WERE, WERE MENTIONED.
THERE'S GOTTA BE A LONGER CONVERSATION ABOUT THEM.
IT'S JUST, I DON'T THINK THAT PLACE TO HAVE IT AS RIGHT NOW.
AND IF THERE'S A CHANGE IN A JPA THAT, THAT CHANGES LANGUAGE THAT THE THREE BODIES DECIDE TO, TO ADOPT COLLECTIVELY, UH, THEN THAT WOULD, I WOULD IMAGINE BECOME PART OF THE, THE DIRECTION THAT STAFF WOULD HAVE IN ADOPTING, COMING BACK WITH WHATEVER DRAFT POLICIES IT COMES BACK WITH.
SO TO CONCLUDE AND MUCH TOO LONG A CONVERSATION, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THIS, UH, ANTICIPATE MORE, UM, UH, THEY'VE POINTED IT OUT.
I THINK SOME AREAS THAT WE'RE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE LOOKING AT POLICIES TO SEE HOW THEY'RE DEALT WITH, BUT NOW I AM COMFORTABLE MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE ALL WE'RE DOING TODAY IN ESSENCE IS ADOPTING THE LANGUAGE WITH THE CONTRACT, WITH THE VOTERS.
UH, AND, AND IT MAKES ME A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS TO BE CHANGING THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS AT THIS POINT, EITHER WAY, BECAUSE HOWEVER, WE WOULD CHANGE THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
THERE'S GOTTA BE SOMEBODY WHO SAYS, HEY, WAIT A SECOND.
I ONLY SUPPORTED THIS OR VOTED FOR THIS BECAUSE OF THE REPRESENTATION, UH, THAT YOU, THAT YOU GAVE TO ME, HARDER DECISION DOWN THE ROAD, NOT FOR TODAY.
UH, I'M PREPARED TO VOTE FOR THIS.
THANK YOU, MARY, FOR FURTHER CONTEXT, TOO.
AND, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND WE LIKE JUST LATE LAST NIGHT, WE DID RECEIVE SOME MORE OF THE COMMENTS FROM THE CAC AND THE RED LINES THAT THEY FORWARDED TO THE BOARD.
SO I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE ENERGY AND EFFORT TO REALLY LOOK THROUGH THE FINE LANGUAGE OF WHAT HAS BEEN DRAFTED.
UM, SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE WILL MOVE IF THIS EFFORT IS FOR YOU GUYS TO RUN WITH AND START CREATING THE IN-DEPTH POLICY.
AND THROUGH THAT IN-DEPTH POLICY, WE WILL THEN HAVE MORE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY AND CONTINUE TO INVOLVE THE GROUPS.
MY QUESTION IS IN TERMS OF THE JPA, THAT'S NINE DAYS FROM NOW ON THE 29TH, HOW DOES THIS RESOLUTION IMPACT THAT JPA NINE DAYS, UM, THIS, THIS LANGUAGE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION CAREERS MINI PROGRAM, IT'S BEEN AGREED TO AT LEAST ATP AND CAP METRO.
SO WE ARE SUGGESTING THAT AS A RED LINE FOR RED LINE VERSION, TWO OF THE JPA REDLINE VERSION, TWO OF THE JPA, UM, HELP ME UNDERSTAND.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING THROUGH.
UM, BEFORE WE VOTE ON THE 29TH IS HOW YOU GUYS ARE IMPLEMENTING IN DEPTH.
THE COMMUNITY'S COMMENTS, YOU WILL, SAM CAN ANSWER THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT WE DO HAVE A RED LINE VERSION AS YOU REQUESTED, THAT WILL ALSO BE A BACKUP FOR YOU TO SEE WHAT'S CHANGED.
AND SO THIS, THIS CHANGE SHOULD HOPEFULLY BE REFLECTED IN AS A RED LINE FOR YOU TO SEE THAT THIS PARTICULAR LANGUAGE HAS BEEN PUSHED INTO THE JPA.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IF SOME OF THE ELEMENTS THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS BROUGHT FORWARD ARE STILL NOT INCLUDED IN THAT RED LINE FROM YOU, BUT IT'S INCLUDED ON THE RED LINES THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS SUBMITTED.
SO WE'VE BEEN TAKING ALL OF THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE COME BACK EITHER FROM POLICYMAKERS, BUT ESPECIALLY OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS FROM OUR, FROM THE CAC, FROM THE HBX MOBILITY COALITION, FROM THE TAX, FROM CAPITOL METRO SEASICK AND ACCESS COMMITTEES, AND WE'VE BEEN LOGGING THEM AS INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS.
SO, UM, IF WE RECEIVED A MEMO, FOR INSTANCE, THAT HAD RECOMMENDATIONS, NOT IN REDLINED FORM FOR THE CAC, WE'VE BEEN SORRY FOR THE JPA.
WE'VE BEEN LOGGING THOSE AS INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS.
AND SO THAT WAY, THE PUBLIC, WHEN WE POST THE PACKET, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED AND REVIEWED ALL OF THEIR COMMENTS.
THEY WOULD THEN BE ABLE TO LOOK AT A RED LINE TOPPY AS REQUESTED BY THE POLICY MAKERS AND SEE WHAT HAS, AND WHAT HAS NOT BEEN INCLUDED.
AND SO THAT IS A, A RECOMMENDATION IN ESSENCE, FROM THE THREE PARTIES, UH, STAFF FOR WHAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED BASED ON COMMUNITY FEEDBACK,
[01:25:01]
AS WELL AS THE TWO BOARDS AND COUNCIL.THERE MAY BE ELEMENTS THAT ARE NOT ULTIMATELY INCLUDED IN THE JPA AND, AND HAVING DONE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT, THAT ULTIMATELY WINDS UP BEING A PART OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO TAKE AS MANY COMMENTS AS YOU CAN, AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE STILL ABIDING BY YOUR GOVERNING RULES.
IN OUR CASE, IT'S FEDERAL LAW, IT'S THE CONTRACT TO THE VOTERS, IT'S CAPITAL METRICS, COMMUNITY COMMITMENT, AND SOME THINGS MAY NOT MAKE IT INTO THAT DOCUMENT.
I WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE THOUGH, AND I, I HOPE THAT THIS RESOLUTION DOES THIS IS THAT THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE CAC, FOR THE TAX TO COME BACK AND PARTICIPATE IN REALLY MEANINGFUL WAYS.
AND IT MAY BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE SPECIFIC POLICIES.
IT MAY BE WHEN CONTRACTS COME BACK TO THIS BOARD.
AND THAT JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING DOESN'T WIND UP IN THE FINAL JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT HASN'T BEEN THOUGHTFULLY CONSIDERED BY STAFF.
UM, AND THAT IT WON'T HAVE A HOME IN ANOTHER DOCUMENT DEEPER INTO THE PROGRAM.
I SAY FOR SURE, TO VERY LARGE PROGRAM, BUT HOPEFULLY THE, THE COMMENT LOG AND THE RED LINES WILL SHOW PEOPLE WHAT WAS INCORPORATED, WHAT WASN'T, UM, IN THAT, THAT, THAT IS TRANSPARENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THAT'S THE APPROACH, THE STAFF STATE.
SO WITH THIS, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS.
I THINK I WOULD STRESS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT PART OF THE ANSWER THEN THAT OUR STAFF DID, ALTHOUGH I THINK WHAT YOU SAID WAS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
SO THERE'S GOTTA BE A JPA, APPARENTLY THAT COMES BEFORE ALL THREE BODIES FOR US TO VOTE ON AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
UM, IN ORDER FOR THAT TO GET PASSED, IT HAS TO BE APPROVED BY, BY ALL THREE BAR PARTIES, BECAUSE IT'S A TRI-PARTY AGREEMENT I WOULD ANTICIPATE, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW, I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT SOMEBODY IN THAT ROOM WILL WANT TO, WHAT OUR STAFF HAS SAID IS THAT, THAT WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO PROPOSE WILL BE THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS IN THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS AS REPRESENTED HERE.
I WOULD ANTICIPATE AT THAT MEETING THAT SOMEONE COULD COME FORWARD AND SAY, LET'S MAKE A CHANGE TO THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS EITHER BECAUSE IT'S BETTER POLICY OR BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THAT IT REPRESENTS WHAT THE INTENT OF THE POLICY WAS, OR FOR WHATEVER REASON.
SO ON THE 29TH, ONCE WE'VE GOTTEN THE STAFF PROPOSALS, THEN THE THREE BODIES, THEN WE'LL DELIBERATE WHETHER OR NOT TO MAKE CHANGES, FOR EXAMPLE, TO TAKE OUT THE, OR IN FRONT OF DAVIS BACON.
AND WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION THEN ABOUT POLICY.
WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT, UH, WHETHER THAT'S WITHIN OUR POWER, GIVEN THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, UH, WE CAN HAVE ANY CONVERSATION WE WANT TO, UH, AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
UM, AND I DON'T, YOU KNOW, PRESUPPOSE WHETHER SOMEONE WILL ACTUALLY DO IT OR NOT, I WOULD IMAGINE, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
AND I CERTAINLY DON'T PREDISPOSE PRE DETERMINED, AND I CAN'T KNOW WHAT THE THREE BODIES WILL DO, BUT FOR US, I'M COMFORTABLE SAYING TODAY, THIS WAS WHAT WE SAID TO THE VOTERS.
LET'S HAVE A POLICY THAT IMPLEMENTS THIS, AND WE WANT OUR STAFF AND DEVELOPING THAT POLICY THAT THEY BRING BACK TO US AND THE PUBLIC TO REALLY SPEND SOME TIME ON THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENT AND WHAT THAT MEANS, BECAUSE THERE COULD BE A WIDE RANGE OF INDEPENDENCE.
THAT WORD DOES NOT ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS AND TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, THE, UH, HIRING AND WAGE QUESTIONS, BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS A TRADE-OFF WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THINGS.
UH, WE ALSO KNOW WE WANT TO EMPOWER THE WORKERS IN OUR COMMUNITY AS MUCH AS WE CAN, AND THE MORE OUR COMMUNITY WORKERS MAKE MONEY, THE LESS SUBSIDIES THERE ARE IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE BETTER THE HEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO THERE'LL BE ALL THOSE KINDS OF FACTORS, UM, THAT INVOLVE THE TRADE-OFFS THAT WE'RE EXPECTING STAFF TO BRING BACK TO US THAT THEN THE COMMUNITY, AS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ENGAGED UPON AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO US.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY WE DECIDE, SO WE HAVE OUR TRACK THAT WE STAY ON, UNLESS, AND UNTIL THERE'S A THREE-PARTY AGREEMENT THAT TELLS US CHANGE DIRECTIONS, IN WHICH CASE WE'LL CHANGE DIRECTIONS, UH, BUT OTHERWISE, UM, AND WE'LL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION TO SEE.
BUT WHAT WE'RE SAYING TO OUR STAFF TODAY IS WE MADE A, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THERE WAS A CONTRACT I'LL COME BACK WITH THE RULES THAT ENFORCE IT, PAYING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO SOME OF THOSE SECTIONS THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO WANT TO DISCUSS.
[01:30:02]
OKAY.UM, I THINK ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT I HAVE, OR MORE OUT OF MY OWN UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PROCESS, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE ME RATHER GIVING US, UM, A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT IS A CONTRACT WITH A VOTE OR SOMETHING, HOW WE TRANSLATE IT INTO RESOLUTIONS.
IT NEEDS TO BE AS VERBATIM AS POSSIBLE TO NOT DEVIATE, DO NOT TRIGGER ANY QUESTIONING OR ANY, UM, CHANGE IN OUR PROMISE TO THE COMMUNITY OF WHAT WAS PUT OUT FOR, FOR A VOTE.
UM, SO MY UNDERSTANDING AND WHAT I BELIEVE NEEDS TO HAPPEN WITH THE JPA IS THAT WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS MORE CLARITY OVER ALL OF THIS, SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK AND RETRACE OUR STEPS LATER.
AND I WANT US FIVE STEPS FORWARD, PERHAPS ONE BACK, BUT EVERY TIME, JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
UM, WITH THAT SAID, IF, IF THIS IS A RESOLUTION FOR THE STAFF TO THEN GO ON AND DO THE HEAVY LIFTING BEHIND THE SCENES, WHAT I WANT TO SEE IS THAT WE TRIED TO FOCUS ON REMOVING CONFLICTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH A BETTER BUILDER PROGRAM.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE'S A 30% HIRING OF LOCAL FORCE VERSUS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S HIRING PERCENTAGES.
SO THAT'S ALREADY, ONE IS 15%.
AND THEN WE ADD THE COMPLEXITY OF DAVIS BACON.
SO NOW WE HAVE THREE ENTITIES THAT HAVE ALL THEIR OWN PERCENTAGES.
SO HOW DO WE HELP MANIFEST A CLEARER PATH THAT IT'S BASED ON THE SEGMENT OF THE PROGRAM? IS IT BASED ON A VERY SPECIFIC SCOPE OF WORK? IS IT VERY SPECIFIC TO THE AVAILABILITY OF WORKFORCE? SO I REALLY WANT US TO REALLY DELINEATE WHAT HELPS US NOT HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD IN DEPTH TO THEN REHASH THIS THINGS, COME IN, THE COMPLEXITY THAT IT WOULD TAKE BECAUSE, UM, THE AVAILABILITY OF WORKFORCE AND WHO ARE WE TRAINING TO NOT ONLY DEPLOY AND MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM IS GOING TO BE EXCEPTIONALLY IMPORTANT.
THE OTHER PIECE THAT, BUT ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I, I SEE IT OFTEN WHERE WE RELY ON STAFF INTERPRETATION, WHEN WE GO, I'LL USE THE EXAMPLE OF PERMITTING, WE FOLLOW THE CODE AND IT'S UP TO CITY STAFF TO INTERPRET HOW IT'S APPLICABLE.
SO THEN THERE'S A LOT OF DEBATE THAT GOES ON TO THE INTENT.
WHAT IS THE INTENT OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, BUT I'M GLAD YOU ALSO MENTIONED SOMETHING THAT I'M ALSO VERY CURIOUS ABOUT BECAUSE ON THE RED LINES THAT I RECEIVED, THERE WAS SOMETHING SPECIFIC ABOUT THE HIRING GOALS FROM CRAFT TRAINING PROGRAMS, INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY, LIKE THE KEYWORD WAS INDEPENDENT.
THIRD PARTY ONSITE MONITORING IS INCLUDED, BUT ACCREDITED BY A LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT IS INDEPENDENT OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES AND THEIR AFFILIATES.
SO TO ME, IS THAT THAT ACCREDITATION BY LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, HOW DOES THAT WORK IN TERMS OF HELPING US SET UP OUR OWN MONITORING, IF WE'RE THE ONES DOING THE CONSTRUCTION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE ESTABLISH THOSE THINGS BASED? LIKE WHAT YOU SAID RIGHT NOW WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, DID YOU MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT THAT THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PROGRAM? SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, AND MAYBE I WANT TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR THE, UM, OUR SPEAKERS TODAY, IF THEY CAN BRING SOME CLARITY OR COME BACK AT A LATER DAY AT ANOTHER BOARD MEETING, IF YOU'RE NOT READY TO DISCUSS THIS, BUT REALLY, I I'D RATHER HAVE MORE CLARITY EARLY THAN LATER BECAUSE WE HAVE A VERY STRICT SCHEDULE.
SO HELPING US UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THOSE CONFLICTS THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO RESOLVE EARLY AND HOW MEANINGFUL IT IS TO HAVE IT IN WRITING NOW THAT DOESN'T DEVIATE FROM THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, BUT ALSO HELPING US MOVE FORWARD ON THE 29TH.
SO MY QUESTION IS SPECIFIC AND YOU MR. CARR, OR, OR OUR SPEAKERS IN THE AUDIENCE, IF Y'ALL COULD PLEASE HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW, HOW DOES THIS AFFECT FROM THE REDLINES AND COMMENTS YOU'VE SUBMITTED? HOW DOES THIS, UH, IMPACT YOUR, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, WITH TODAY'S, UM, RESOLUTION, BOARD MEMBER STRATTON, YOUR, YOUR LIGHT CAME ON.
I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT GO AHEAD.
UM, I APPRECIATE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE COMMENTING ABOUT.
UM, I WOULD SUBMIT, WE GOT FEEDBACK FROM, YOU KNOW, WE GOT FEET WE'VE
[01:35:01]
WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PEOPLE WHO TOOK THEIR TIME TO COME HERE AND I GREATLY APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, ANY FEEDBACK THAN ANYBODY HAS TO TAKE THE TIME OUT OF THEIR SCHEDULES TO COME OUT HERE AND TALK TO US.I VERY MUCH GREATLY APPRECIATE THAT.
THEY JUST, AS MUCH AS I APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK FROM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE, THE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE TIME TO COME IN AND TELL US ABOUT WHAT, WHERE THEY WANT THINGS, WHAT THEY WANT THIS PROGRAM TO LOOK LIKE, TO MAKE IT, TO MAKE IT TRULY REFLECTIVE OF WHO AUSTIN IS AND WHO WE ARE, AND, AND, AND TAKE CARE OF AND, AND, AND, AND LOOK LIKE AUSTIN, PROTECT AUSTIN, KEEPING AUSTIN IN THE CULTURE THAT WE ARE AND THE ORGANIZATION THAT WE ARE.
UM, I THINK THESE ARE ALL VERY VALID QUESTIONS AND THINGS WE NEED TO LOOK INTO AND ASK.
UM, I, I THINK THOUGH THAT AT LEAST AT THIS POINT IN TIME, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IT, I FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT THIS ISN'T, THAT WE CAN DISCUSS THIS AND RESOLVE THIS IT FUTURE MEETINGS, BUT THAT WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW IS TO CONSIDER AND PASS THE RESOLUTION WE HAVE BEFORE US, BECAUSE THAT THIS RESOLUTION IS CODIFYING BASICALLY WHAT CAP METRO AND WHAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND A MORE IMPORTANTLY THAN THAT, THE VOTERS OF AUSTIN SAID, WE WANT THIS, WE WANT THIS DONE.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT I, I FEEL CONFIDENT FROM WHAT I HEARD FROM, FROM STAFF HERE A MINUTE AGO IS THAT THIS IS NOT THE END.
THIS IS MERELY BASICALLY STATING THAT THIS IS WHAT THE, THIS IS THE FRAMEWORK ATP ISN'T WOULD NOW BE ADOPTING THE FRAMEWORK BY WHICH WE WANT TO CAN HAVE THE CONTINUED FEEDBACK, HAVE THE CONTINUED DISCUSSION HAVE CONTINUED FEEDBACK FROM INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE PASSIONATE AND ACTIVE ON THESE ISSUES AND WANT TO CONTINUE TO ENSURE THAT, THAT, THAT THE RIGHT TYPE OF PROGRAM, THAT THE RIGHT TYPE OF WAGES, THAT THE RIGHT TYPE OF WORKER PROTECTIONS ARE PROVIDED OUT THERE, THAT WE BUILD THIS, RIGHT.
WE ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT AT THIS.
AND IF WE, IF WE DON'T GET IT RIGHT, THEN IT'S GOING TO BE HARD TO UNDO IT.
BUT I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE ALSO HAVE THE TIME TO DO IT BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE WE'RE WHERE WE'RE STILL IN THE FIRST, AS BRANDY SAID, WE'RE STILL IN THE FIRST ENDING.
AND I FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WE'VE GOT TIME TO DO THIS, BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE THIS PAST NOW, AND THEN IN TURN, GO AHEAD AND CODIFIED IN THAT JPA WHERE WE'RE STILL STANDING AT THE PLATE, YOU KNOW, TO USE THE BASEBALL ANALOGY, WE'RE STILL STANDING AT THE PLATE, YOU KNOW, GETTING OUR CLEATS DUSTY AND DIRTY AND TAKING PRACTICE SWINGS.
AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN STEPPED UP TO ACTUALLY ENGAGE IN THE GAME.
AND THAT'S MY CONCERN IS THAT WE WE'VE GOT, UH, AN AGAIN, RANDY SHIFTING, SHIFTING, AND SHIFTING GAMES HERE.
NOW WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTA CRAWL, RUN WALK.
WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO, TO TAKE THE BABY STEPS TO MOVE IT TO THE NEXT, THE NEXT STAGE.
AND IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO PUT MEAT ON THE BONES, TO DESIGN THE POLICIES, TO MAKE THESE THINGS LOOK LIKE WE WANT TO, WE'VE GOT TO GET PAST THIS STAGE.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THESE ARE IMPORTANT.
QUESTIONS ARE THEY'RE, THEY'RE CRITICAL FOR HOW WE GO TO HOW WE DO THINGS GOING FORWARD.
BUT IF WE DON'T GET THIS LANGUAGE CODIFIED HERE, WHICH THEN AGAIN, THE JPA IS SIMPLY GONNA, MY UNDERSTANDING IS SIMPLY, THIS IS PART OF THE LOOKING BACK, AND IT'S GOING TO CHECK THE BOX AND LOOK BACK AND SAY, OKAY, YES, THIS HAS BEEN DONE.
AND WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE THAT THIS IS WHAT WE WANT IT.
THIS IS THE, THE JPA IS ABOUT WHO'S ON FIRST AND WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT, AND WE WANT ALL THREE PARTIES, ACKNOWLEDGING ATP WILL DO THESE THINGS, AND HERE'S HOW THEY SHOULD DO IT.
NOW, JPA RUN WITH IT, EXCUSE ME, ATP RUN WITH IT, GET WITH YOUR STAFF AND GET WITH ADVOCATES AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THE MEAT ON THE BONES IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE WITH THIS KEY CRITICAL FRAMEWORK THAT ALL THREE OF THESE AND THE VOTERS HAVE ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY WANT.
SO I THINK IT, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S IMPORTANT, BUT THAT THIS IS NOT THE VENUE TO GET INTO THOSE WEEDS RIGHT NOW.
AND WE'VE STILL GOT TIME TO LET STAFF, TO LET STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGED, TO COME BACK AND HAVE A ROBUST DISCUSSION SEPARATELY ABOUT THAT.
BUT IF WE DON'T DO THIS NOW, THEN WE'RE POTENTIALLY TRIPPING UP.
THE WHOLE THING BEFORE WE EVEN GET STARTED IS MY FEAR.
I THINK FROM THE STAFF PERSPECTIVE, A BOARD MEMBER, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT'S CORRECT.
WE'RE, WE'RE ABOUT, UH, JUST SHY OF A YEAR SINCE THE ELECTION, BUT WE ARE STILL, UH, WE'RE STILL A FAIRLY NEW ORGANIZATION AND WE'RE UNDERTAKING A BRAND NEW ENDEAVOR.
THAT'S NEVER BEEN DONE IN THIS COMMUNITY BEFORE.
AND SO THE JPA, THIS RESOLUTION TODAY, WE ARE CREATING A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND RULES OF THE ROAD.
THAT'S STILL TRACK WITH WHAT THE VOTERS REQUIRED OF US, WHAT THE PARENTS REQUIRED OF US.
UM, AND I, AND I THINK THAT THERE WILL BE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO COME BACK TO DO SELF-EDUCATION TO LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY, TO EDUCATE THE BOARD AND TO TAKE FEEDBACK ON OUR, ON OUR FUTURE RESOLUTIONS AND FUTURE CONTRACTS TO LEARN FROM OUR PEERS.
I THINK THAT THE MAYOR'S POINT IN ABOUT LEARNING, WHAT HAS, WHAT IS THE COUNTY THEN, WHAT OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES OR OTHER CONSTRUCTION ENTITIES DONE
[01:40:01]
BEFORE? SO WE HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO KEEP LEARNING BEST PRACTICES AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PRACTICES THAT WE ADOPT HERE WITHIN THESE CONTRACTS, UH, AND TODAY ARE, ARE THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.SO I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS, UH, CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBER.
I KNOW THIS IS, UM, SO, AND JUST HAVE ONE COMMENT.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GOOD DISCUSSION.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TO HAVE THESE HEALTHY DEBATES AND DISCUSSIONS AND TO HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
SO I'M GLAD WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC TOO.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME SINCE I WASN'T HERE IN THE EARLY DAYS TO HAVE THE HISTORY OF, OF MAYOR AND BOARD MEMBERS STRATTON TELL US KNOW W WHERE WE WERE AND HOW WE GOT THERE IN THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
SO THAT HISTORY I THINK IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I'M COMFORTABLE PASSING THIS RESOLUTION TODAY.
MINDFUL WHAT WE'RE SETTING IN HERE IS NOT ETCHED IN STONE FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
WE, AS A BOARD HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE.
I THINK THE KEY THING THAT WE NEED IS MORE TIME AND MORE INFORMATION, WHERE WOULD IT CHANGE ANY OF THESE POLICIES HERE? AND, UM, AS I SAID EARLIER, IN MY COMMENTS, EVERYTHING REQUIRES A TRADE-OFF.
IF WE CHANGE WORDS IN SOME OF THESE POLICIES HERE, THERE'S TRADE-OFFS THAT WE MAY HAVE TO DEAL WITH DOWN THE ROAD.
AND I THINK BEFORE WE START COMMITTING OURSELVES TO CERTAIN DECISIONS THAT THAT MAY COMMIT US ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ALL OF THOSE TRADE OFFS OR SOME OF THOSE TRADE OFFS AND HOW THEY PLAY OUT AND WHICH ONES MAKE SENSE AND WHICH ONES WE NEED MORE TIME.
SO, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US RIGHT NOW TO HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY, TO CHANGE THINGS AS WE SEE FIT, BUT BASED ON MORE INFORMATION, SO THAT THAT'S, THAT'S KINDA WHAT I HAVE THAT.
I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT TO THAT IN THE COMMENTS THAT I'VE SEEN COME FROM THE COMMUNITY, SOME OF THEM RELATE TO THE WORDING THAT WAS IN THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
MOST OF THE CHANGES THAT I THINK PEOPLE ARE MAKING SUGGESTIONS FOR THE JPA ON THE 29TH DEAL WITH NOTICE PROVISIONS AND TRANSPARENCY, PROVISIONS, AND ENGAGEMENT PROVISIONS, AND OTHER GUARANTEES THAT WERE NOT PART OF THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE A FREER HAND, UH, WITH THOSE THAN SOMETHING THAT, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED IN THE CONTRACT WITH VOTERS.
SO JUST TO, TO, TO MAKE THE MORE COMPLETE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION THAT YOU ASKED MATT, I'M SURE THERE THERE'S ALSO THAT OTHER UNIVERSE OF CHANGES, UH, THAT I WOULD IMAGINE WE'LL BE WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT STAFF'S GOING TO RECOMMEND IN THE RED LINE THAT THEY SHOW, BUT SOME OF THE THINGS THEY'VE DONE HERE ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE KINDS OF POLICIES WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ADOPTING AS A BOARD OURSELVES ANYHOW, SO THEY, SO THEY MAKE SENSE AND IT COULD CERTAINLY BE CODIFIED.
SO THERE'S THAT UNIVERSE AS WELL.
SO TO SUM IT UP AND HOW I'VE PROCESSED ALL THIS INFORMATION.
SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME IS THAT THERE IS A CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS THAT IS LITTLE BY LITTLE WE'RE CODIFYING THROUGH THIS RESOLUTIONS, AND THIS IS GIVING STUFF, THE ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH GETTING INTO DEEPER POLICY.
THE SECOND PIECE IS THAT ON THE 29TH WITH THE JPA, THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A MORE ROBUST REDLINE PROCESS WHERE THINGS ARE STILL GOING TO BE THE CERN, UM, DISCUSSED WITH A LARGER GROUP, BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE TODAY STILL KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE ROAD, BUT THAT THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK UP.
AND THAT IF THERE ARE CHANGES IN THE JPA, LIKE WE APPROVE THIS IN TERMS OF TIMELINES.
IF WE, IF WE WERE TO APPROVE THIS TODAY AND SOMETHING CHANGES ON THE 29TH, THAT ACTION ON THE 29TH INFORMS HOW STAFF WOULD THEN PROCEED TO CODIFY THE POLICY THAT WILL BE BROUGHT FORWARD LATER.
SO WITH THAT, UM, IF THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, I WILL REQUEST, UH, A MOTION TO, UM, APPROVE ACTION ITEM, NUMBER THREE.
DO I HAVE A MOTION BOARD MEMBER ELKINS MOTION TO APPROVE? I HAVE SECOND, SECOND BOARD MEMBER STRATTON.
SECOND, EVERYONE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.
[01:45:01]
AND I'M AGAINST IT.UM, AND THIS NOW, UH, WE'RE MOVING ON TO MR. MULLEN.
[6.1. Community Design Workshop Update]
GREAT, THANK YOU, CHAIR, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, UH, DIRECTOR CLARK.UM, I WANTED JUST TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOPS THAT WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED IN RECENTLY AND WILL BE ONGOING FOR, UM, SUBSEQUENT WEEKS.
UM, WE, YOU KNOW, SUBSEQUENT TO FOLLOWING THE 15%, THE RELEASE OF THE 15% DESIGN THIS SUMMER, AND AS WE ANTICIPATED GETTING INTO GREATER DETAIL ON SOME SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE PROGRAM THAT ARE PARTICULARLY, UM, COMPLEX AND, BUT ALSO REPRESENT GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROGRAM, UM, ON A NUMBER OF LEVELS, WE'VE IDENTIFIED A SERIES OF, OF SPECIFIC MOMENTS OR PLACES WHERE WE WANTED TO REALLY ENGAGE WITH THE PUBLIC IN GREATER DETAIL.
AND SO WE'VE SET UP A SERIES OF COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOPS.
I THINK JACKIE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THIS EARLIER IN THE AGENDA.
UM, AND SO THOSE ARE, THOSE HAVE STARTED IN IT.
THEY ARE PROVING TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL AT ENGAGING THE PUBLIC, UM, GETTING INTO A GREATER LEVEL OF DETAIL.
AND I THINK ALSO HELPING US ADVANCE THE DESIGN.
SO THIS IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS, AND I THINK ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH WE'RE, UM, BRINGING THE COMMUNITY INTO THAT PROCESS IN AN INTEGRAL WAY.
SO I WANTED TO GO THROUGH, UM, JUST REVIEW OF THE ONE RECENT WORKSHOPS THAT WE HAD, UM, REGARDING THE EAST RIVERSIDE PLEASANT VALLEY TRANSIT CENTER, UM, AND SHARE SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED.
UM, SO YOU CAN GET A SENSE OF HOW THAT'S GOING AND HOW THAT'S WORKING, AND THERE WILL BE OTHERS COMING FORWARD, UM, ON THE DRAG AND, UH, THE SOUTH CONGRESS TRANSIT CENTER IN NORTH MAR TRANS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO, UM, SO THIS IS JUST TO, TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE LOCATION, REMIND EVERYBODY, THIS IS, UH, AT THE INTERSECTION OF RIVERSIDE AND PLEASANT VALLEY ON THE BLUE LINE, YOU CAN SEE THE, KIND OF THE BRIGHT LIGHTS THAT'S ESSENTIALLY, UH, UM, THE, THE ALIGNMENT OF THE BLUE LINE RUNNING FROM THE AIRPORT TOWARDS DOWNTOWN, UM, AND, UH, APOLOGIZE FOR THE OUT PROJECTION, BUT ON THE, ON THE SCREEN, YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE SITE, WHICH RIVERSIDE RUNNING EAST WEST AND PLEASANT VALLEY RUNNING NORTH, SOUTH, UM, AND, UH, THIS VERY WIDE MEDIAN STRIP BETWEEN THE EAST AND WESTBOUND LANES OF RIVERSIDE, UH, WHICH I THINK GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING, UH, THAT REALLY SERVES THE TRANSIT NETWORK AND ALSO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS WELL, UM, ON THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE COUNTRY CLUB CREEK, UH, RUNNING AND THAT FLOWS NORTH INTO THE COLORADO RIVER.
AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THIS AREA AS WELL.
UM, UH, THIS AREA IS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY UNDERGOING A LOT OF CHANGE RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO THE, DIRECTLY TO THE NORTH, THERE IS A, UM, THE CITY HAS APPROVED A 95 ACRE PLANNED DEVELOPMENT CALLED THE RIVER PARK, WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO BRING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF NEW RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES TO THE AREA.
BUT THAT WAS JUST ONE OF MANY, UM, CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING HERE.
AND SO WHICH WE WANT TO TAKE, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE WE'RE AWARE OF AND TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.
UM, HERE'S ANOTHER VIEW OF THE SITE LOOKING WEST TOWARDS DOWNTOWN.
UM, YOU CAN SEE ONE OF THE REALLY IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE SITE IS THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF, UH, TOPOGRAPHY AND LEVEL CHANGE AND SLOPE ACROSS THIS MEDIAN RUNNING, UM, HIGH FROM THE SOUTH, GOING DOWN TO THE NORTH, UM, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY DRIVES A LOT OF THE DESIGN OPTIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPLORING.
AND I'LL HOPEFULLY MAKE THAT CLEAR AS WE GO FORWARD.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE LINE, UH, LIGHT RAIL RUNS EAST WEST, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF RIVERSIDE, SO THROUGH THE MEDIAN ITSELF, UM, AND THEN IMPORTANTLY, WE HAVE THE METRO RAPID, UM, UH, PLEASANT VALLEY LINE THAT RUNS NORTH SOUTH ON PLEASANT VALLEY.
UM, AND SO HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE ACTUALLY GET, HAVE THE ABILITY TO LEVERAGE THE SYSTEM, RIGHT? THIS IS ABOUT BRINGING TOGETHER BUS AND RAIL AND PLACE INTO ONE COHESIVE HOLISTIC DESIGN.
UM, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS VERY STEEP SLOPE AND THE TOPOGRAPHY TO REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S DRIVING, ALL OF OUR DECISIONS ABOUT HOW DO WE DESIGN THIS TO BE, UH, FOR UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DESIGNING IT FOR, UM, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE DISABLED OR WHO ARE MOBILITY CHALLENGED, KNOWING THAT IF WE DO THAT, WE'RE DESIGNING FOR EVERYONE.
AND A LOT OF THE DECISION-MAKING REALLY CENTERS AROUND HOW WE MAKE THAT WORK TO THE BEST DEGREE POSSIBLE.
UM, SO AS WE APPROACH THESE DESIGN PROBLEMS OPPORTUNITIES, UM, WE TRY TO LAY OUT
[01:50:01]
FOR OURSELVES AND FOR THE COMMUNITY SERIES OF CRITERIA THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT, RIGHT? THIS IS NOT JUST A ONE ISSUE PROBLEM TO SOLVE, RIGHT? THERE ARE A WHOLE SERIES OF DIFFERENT CRITERIA THAT WE HAVE TO BALANCE.WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND AND WE TRY TO SHARE THOSE AS EXPLICITLY AS WE CAN WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO THEY CAN HELP BE A PART OF THAT DECISION MAKING PROCESS WITH US.
UM, HERE AT THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION, THERE ARE FOUR THAT WE ARE CALLED OUT IN PARTICULAR, UM, OBVIOUSLY EASE OF TRAVEL AND ACCESSIBILITY, WHICH I JUST TALKED ABOUT AND THE USER EXPERIENCE GENERALLY SPEAKING, BUT ALSO PLACEMAKING AND SUSTAINABILITY.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT HOW THOSE PLAY OUT, UM, BRIEFLY.
UM, SO AGAIN FOR JUST GO THROUGH EACH OF THOSE, UH, JUST AN IMAGE OF THE SITE, YOU CAN SEE THAT STEEP SLOPE RUNNING UP TO THE SOUTH.
UM, ALSO THE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, VERY LARGE ROADWAYS.
I MEAN, THIS IS A PLACE THAT'S CURRENTLY DESIGNED FOR CARS MORE THAN FOR PEOPLE CLEARLY.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE TEXAS YOU COMING AROUND THERE.
AND SO YOU IMAGINE TRAVERSING ALL THIS AS A PEDESTRIAN IS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING.
UM, AND IT WOULD BE ON A FLAT GROUND, BUT MORE SO ON A SLOPE.
UM, JUST ANOTHER VIEW OF, OF THE WIDTH OF THE ROADWAYS THAT, THAT PEDESTRIANS HAVE TO CROSS.
UM, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF SERVICES IN THIS AREA.
THERE'S A VERY LARGE HEB, UM, ON THE CORNER.
UM, AND SO THIS IS THE PLACE THAT OBVIOUSLY ACCESSIBILITY IS A, IS A CRUCIAL ASPECT THAT WE NEED TO IMPROVE AS PART OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING.
UM, AGAIN, THIS, THIS IDEA OF BRINGING TOGETHER MULTIPLE MODES, RIGHT? THE RAIL AND THE BUS TOGETHER INTO A SINGLE TRANSIT CENTER, UM, I THINK IS AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT FOR US TO KEEP IN MIND.
THIS IS NOT JUST A STOP ON THE BLUE LINE, RIGHT? THIS IS A, A TRANSIT CENTER THAT ALLOWS, UM, CONDUCTIVITY, YOU KNOW, THAT INCREASES OUR REACH MUCH BEYOND JUST THE, THE BLUE LINE CORRIDOR ITSELF.
AND SO HAVE TO MAKE THAT WORK AS WELL AS WE CAN, BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO INCREASE OUR REACH INTO THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF PROVIDING ACCESS TO TRANSIT AND THE EFFICACY OF OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM.
UM, WE DO ALSO THINK THAT ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN DO THAT TO ENCOURAGE TRANSIT USE AND TO MAKE THAT AS FRICTIONLESS AS POSSIBLE IS BY CREATING A BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN WHICH TO ENGAGE TRANSIT, RIGHT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE THINGS, UM, CAN REINFORCE ONE ANOTHER AND SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER.
AND SO, BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS LARGE, UH, AREA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEDIAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY MAXIMIZE THAT, UM, THAT IS ALSO COMBINED WITH SOME SIGNIFICANT WATER QUALITY AND WATER MANAGEMENT, UM, REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SITE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S BOTH, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UH, INCONSISTENT WITH ALL OF OUR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS FOR THE PROGRAM.
UM, WE NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SITE TO, TO MANAGE WATER IN THE BEST WAY WE CAN.
AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT, GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF IMPERVIOUS COVER OR PERVIOUS COVER THAT WE COULD PROVIDE HERE.
UM, AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AGAIN, A SENSE OF HOW THAT AREA OF THE MEDIA, AND AGAIN, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, THAT'S THE, YOU CAN SEE THE INTERSECTION AT THE VERY BOTTOM, UM, ALSO AS THE POTENTIAL TO CONNECT TO OTHER SURROUNDING AND ADJACENT INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, THE COUNTRY CLUB CREEK AND COUNTRY CLUB CREEK TRAIL.
UM, NOW THAT I'VE SAID THAT A FEW TIMES OF GETTING BETTER AT IT, UM, BUT, UH, THAT CONNECTS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, TO, UH, TO, UH, THE LAKE AND TO LADY BIRD, LAKE TRAIL AS WELL, THE BUTLER TRAIL, UM, AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN AREA THAT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN IDENTIFIED AS BEING PARKLAND DEFICIENT.
SO HAVING THIS ACCESS TO GREENSPACE AND CONNECTING TO THAT OVERALL NETWORK, UM, IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK IT JUST DEMONSTRATES THE WAY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOT JUST OUR LITTLE PIECE, BUT HOW OUR PIECE FITS INTO THE, ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT THE CITY AND OTHER PARTNERS ARE DOING, UM, ON THE CITY.
SO WHEN WE, UM, WHEN WE HOST THESE WORKSHOPS, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST THING WE DO IS REALLY TRY TO ESTABLISH SOME FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE WITH OUR COMMUNITY THAT'S PARTICIPATING.
UM, AND SO IN THIS CASE, WE, WE DID A REALLY, REALLY FUN, AND WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING NEW TOOLS TO BE HONEST, AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS NEW VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT, UM, TRYING TO LEVERAGE THAT TO REALLY, TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AS INTERACTIVELY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, SO IN THIS WORKSHOP, WE HAD A, UH, A KIND OF INTERACTIVE MAPPING EXERCISE WHERE WE ASKED MEMBERS WHO WERE IN ATTENDANCE TO, UM, BASICALLY DROP PINS ON A, ON A WEBSITE TO DESCRIBE EITHER, UM, PLACES THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO THEM OR, UH, DESTINATIONS WHERE THEY WERE COMING OR GO COMING FROM, OR GOING TO, UM, OR BARRIERS TO ACCESS IN THE AREA.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS A LITTLE SCREENSHOT OF, OF SOME OF THE, ONE OF THE, HOW THAT WORKED OUT, UM, BASED ON THE PARTICIPANT'S FEEDBACK.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF RED DOTS, RIGHT? SO THERE ARE A LOT OF BARRIERS ON THIS SITE THAT WE REALLY NEED TO SEE TO ADDRESS.
UM, AND I THINK IT WAS REALLY, IT WAS JUST A GREAT WAY TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE, UM, THE GROUP, BUT ALSO GET SOME COMMON UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD
[01:55:01]
IN THIS CON IN THIS SITE, UM, AS A FOUNDATION FOR DECISIONS AROUND DESIGN.UM, SO WE PRESENTED TWO, AND THESE ARE TWO, THE TWO PRELIMINARY OPTIONS THAT WE ARE, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE CARRYING FORWARD, UM, AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE DESIGN.
UM, AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE WANTED TO PRESENT THESE TWO OPTIONS BECAUSE THEY HAVE VERY DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR HOW TO, UM, ACTUALLY ORIENT OR ORGANIZE THE, THE LIGHT RAIL IN PARTICULAR.
AND AS WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE LIGHT RAIL IS NOT VERY AGILE, UM, AS A PIECE OF VISCERAL INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T, IT WANTS TO BE FLAT.
UM, ONCE YOU PUT IT IN, IT'S HARD TO, IT'S HARD TO MOVE IT.
UM, SO WE WANT TO GET THAT RIGHT.
SO THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, ONE WHICH WE'RE CALLING THE BLUE LINE UNDER PASS, WHICH IS A GRADE SEPARATED OPTION.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THESE IN DETAIL ON THE ONE CALLED THE ACCURAY TRANSIT PLAZA, WHERE THE, THE LIGHT RAIL IS AT GRADE, AND THEY HAVE DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS, BOTH WITH THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE, WITH THE STREET NETWORK AND ALSO THE, THE BUS NETWORK.
UM, SO THIS IS THE OPTION ONE, WHICH IS THE BLUE LINE UNDERPASS.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S A LITTLE FUZZY, BUT YOU CAN SEE PLEASANT VALLEY CONTINUES ACROSS THE MEDIAN.
UM, BUT IT WOULD BE ON ESSENTIALLY A NEWLY REBUILT STRUCTURE WITH THE LIGHT RAIL PAYSLIP PASSING UNDERNEATH IT.
SO ESSENTIALLY WE HAVE TO CARVE OUT A LITTLE BIT OF A TRENCH FOR THE, THE LIGHT RAIL, THE BLUE LINE COMING DOWN TO GET UNDERNEATH PLEASANT VALLEY.
UM, AND SO THAT'S EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF GRADE SEPARATION, RIGHT? IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT MODES, UM, WHICH OPERATIONALLY HAS SOME ADVANTAGES.
UM, BUT IT ALSO CREATES SOME CHALLENGES BECAUSE YOU NOW HAVE A VERTICAL SEPARATION THAT YOU HAVE TO MANAGE, UM, AS A PEDESTRIAN OR, OR, UM, PARTICULARLY AS SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE DISABLED.
UM, SO THERE ARE TWO ELEVATORS ON EITHER SIDE OF PLEASANT VALLEY THAT HELPED TO MAKE THAT TRANSITION.
THERE ARE A SERIES OF RAMPS THAT COULD BRING YOU DOWN.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF THE SCHEME THOUGH, HOWEVER, IS, IS THAT, UH, THE BUS STOPS FOR METRO RAPID WOULD BE LOCATED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF RIVERSIDE.
SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A GREATER SEPARATION BETWEEN THE BUS STOPS AND THE LIGHT RAIL STOP.
UM, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE SLOPE OF THE MEDIAN OF PLEASANT VALLEY, WE COULDN'T CREATE A TRULY ACCESSIBLE BUS STOP ON THE MEDIAN ITSELF, RIGHT.
SO WE'D HAVE TO PUT THAT AT A FLATTER SPOT TO MAKE THAT REALLY ACCESSIBLE.
SO JUST INCREASES A LITTLE BIT OF THE, THE, THE CONNECTION TIME BETWEEN THOSE TWO MODES.
UM, UH, HERE'S UH, UH, A CROSS SECTION THROUGH THE SLOPE OF PLEASANT VALLEY.
SO LOOKING AT ESSENTIALLY, UH, TO THE EAST, YOU CAN SEE HOW THE, THE TRAIN IS BASICALLY PASSING UNDERNEATH PLEASANT VALLEY, AND YOU GET A LITTLE BIT OF A SENSE OF THE SLOPE OF PLEASANT VALLEY ITSELF.
UM, WHICH AGAIN, IS THAT AN EXISTING 8%.
AND IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T REALLY CHANGE THAT SLOPE BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT'S GOT TO CONNECT AT THE NORTH EITHER END.
UM, SO NOT IDEAL TO HAVE A BUS STOP ON THAT SLOPE.
UM, THIS IS A, UH, RENDER VIEW OF MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD WORK.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING, UH, OR CONSIDERING IS ESSENTIALLY TAKING THE ROADWAY AND THEN EXPANDING THE LANDSCAPE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ROADWAY TO, AGAIN, SO THAT FOR THE POINT OF VIEW OF A PEDESTRIAN, FIRST OF ALL, IT GIVES US MORE SPACE FOR PEDESTRIANS TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE DOWN THE HILL.
UM, BUT IT ALSO IT'S THE IDEA IS TRYING TO ENHANCE THE, THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST, YOU'RE NOT JUST ALWAYS AT THE EDGE OF A VERY FAST MOVING VEHICULAR PILOT, RIGHT.
UM, SO JUST INCREASE THE, THE BENEFITS TO THE BAD.
AND SO WE'RE MAKING THESE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THESE DIFFERENT AND TO CREATE A BIT OF A PLACE.
SO THAT'S OPTION ONE BLUE LINE UNDER PASS, RIGHT? THE SECOND OPTION IS THE ACCURATE TRANSIT PLAZA.
UM, AND THIS, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE LINE, WHICH IS, UM, ESSENTIALLY ON THE, ON THE SLIGHTLY ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE INTERSECTION WITH PLEASANT VALLEY.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF KEY MOVES HERE THAT WE ARE PROPOSING, UM, AS POSSIBILITIES OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, ONE IS THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY DIVERTING THE PLEASANT VALLEY, VEHICULAR LANES AROUND THE MEDIA TO CREATE KIND OF EXTENDED, UM, EXTENDED ROUNDABOUT OR SOMEBODY DESCRIBED, UH, AN OVOID ABOUT, UM, TO BRING THE TRAFFIC AROUND, UM, THE MEDIAN.
AND THAT THIS IS AN IDEA THAT HAS BEEN IT DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T COME UP WITH THIS CAME OUT OF THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM, SOME DESIGNS FOR THAT A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO.
UM, SO WE'VE TRIED TO TAKE THAT IDEA AND DEVELOP IT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, WE WOULD ALSO BE CREATING A DEDICATED BUS LANE THAT ALSO CONTINUES AROUND THAT MEDIA, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT PINK, UH, LANE, AND THEN AS PART OF THAT, WE WOULD CREATE A, KIND OF A DEDICATED BUS STOP ON THE NORTH SIDE OF RIVERSIDE, BASICALLY ADJACENT TO THE LIGHT RAIL STUDY AT THE NORTH SIDE OF THE MEDIA.
IT WOULD CREATE A KIND OF PLAZA, A PLACE TO CREATE THAT VERY EASY
[02:00:01]
TRANSFER BETWEEN BUSES AND LIGHT RAIL.UM, WE DO HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME ADDITIONAL VEHICULAR CROSSINGS OF THE LIGHT RAIL.
SO, UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO MANAGE.
UM, AND THERE ARE SOME, YOU KNOW, IMPACTS TO THE VEHICULAR TRAVEL TIME AROUND THE MEDIA AND JUST CAUSE IT'S, IT'S A LONGER, UH, UH, LONGER TRIP TO GET ACROSS RIVERSIDE.
UM, AND HERE IS A, AGAIN, A RENDERED VIEW OF THAT.
I THINK ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THIS IN ADDITION TO CREATING THAT REALLY CONCENTRATED TRANSIT PLAZA SPACE ON THE, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE MEDIAN IS THAT WE COULD USE THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE MEDIA AND FOR A, A MORE INTENSIVE, UM, MORE HIGHLY PERFORMING LANDSCAPE, JUST IN TERMS OF WATER MANAGEMENT AND OTHER ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, UM, WITH THE, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLING PATHS, KIND OF MOVING THROUGH THAT.
UM, SO WE PRESENTED BOTH THESE OPTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY AND GOT THEIR FEEDBACK AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT.
AND I WILL SAY WE WERE A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT THE, THE VOLUME OF INFORMATION THAT WE WERE TRYING TO SHARE AND THE COMPLEXITY IT'S ISSUES FROM THE, FROM THE FEEDBACK WE GOT, WE REALLY GOT THE SENSE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD WHAT WE WERE DOING AND TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH, AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SCHEMES.
CAUSE WE HAD A REALLY INFORMED, UH, CONVERSATION, WHICH I WILL SAY THAT WAS THE MOST GRATIFYING THING ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE IS THAT PEOPLE FELT LIKE PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO PRESENT, WHICH IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SOME OF THE THINGS WE HEARD AND AGAIN, NOT INCONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE EXPECTED, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR OPTION NUMBER ONE, THE UNDERPASS SCHEME, UM, CERTAINLY CONCERNS ABOUT SOME OF THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS, JUST BECAUSE, JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE ROADWAYS PASSING THROUGH SOME OF THESE PEDESTRIAN ROUTES, UM, AND, UM, CONCERNS ABOUT ELEVATORS.
ONE OF THE, ACTUALLY THIS IS, THIS IS A CONSISTENT THEME.
NOBODY LIKES PUBLIC ELEVATORS, RIGHT? UM, THEY BREAK, THEY ARE PERCEIVED TO BE UNSAFE.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THEM SOMEWHERE IN THE SYSTEM.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ADDRESS THROUGH DESIGN.
SO IT'S GOOD FEEDBACK TO GET THAT APPLIES ELSEWHERE.
UM, AND THERE WAS SOME CONCERN ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY JUST BECAUSE OF THE SLOPE ON PLEASANT VALLEY AND HOW YOU NAVIGATE THAT VERTICAL CIRCULATION DIFFERENCE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AN OPTION TO, I THINK THAT THERE'S SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF THE OVOID ABOUT ON TRAFFIC, UM, AND YOU KNOW, CONCERNS ABOUT SOME OF THE EXCHANGES AROUND, YOU KNOW, HOW HAS THAT TRAFFIC AND IT GOING TO INTERACT WITH THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS.
UM, BUT I THINK AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT IT'S REALLY BETTER FOR TRANSIT BECAUSE OF THE PROXIMITY OF THE MODES.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL AND POSITIVE, CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK.
AND AGAIN, IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US AND WE TRY TO MAKE THIS CLEAR.
WE WEREN'T ASKING PEOPLE TO CHOOSE ONE OR THE OTHER NOW NATURALLY PEOPLE EXPRESS THEIR PREFERENCE, BUT THE POINT WAS, WE WANT TO MAKE BOTH OF THESE OPTIONS AS GOOD AS THEY CAN BE.
CAUSE WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO CARRY THEM FORWARD.
UM, BECAUSE THERE WASN'T A CLEAR CHOICE.
UM, AND SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO STUDY THE, THE VARIOUS BENEFITS AND PROS AND CONS OF BOTH.
UM, ANYWAY, THERE'S MORE DETAIL ON THIS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THINGS THAT WILL REALLY HELP US AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THESE OPTIONS, UM, SO THAT WHEN WE GET TO A POINT WHEN WE HAVE TO CHOOSE WE'RE DOING IT, UM, IN AN INFORMED, UH, AND, UH, CONSENSUS BUILDING WAY.
SO HAVING TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR GET YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS, AND WE'LL BE DOING SIMILAR KIND OF EXERCISES WITH OTHER AREAS OF THE PROGRAM, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL, THEY'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE TAILORED SPECIFICALLY TO THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE SPECIFIC AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT, UM, PROVING SO FAR TO BE A REALLY, UH, PRODUCTIVE MODEL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. MULLEN, UM, IS, DOES THIS CONCLUDE YOUR PRESENTATION? MY PRESENTATION.
UH, THIS IS REALLY GREAT WORK.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? YES.
I ALWAYS LIKED THAT YOU GO LAST BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF THE PROGRAM LIKE INSPIRED LIKE THE PICTURES, AND THEN I WANT TO, I WANT TO SHOW THEM TO PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, CAUSE IT, IT MAKES IT ROUTES BEFORE YOU GET TO THE DESERT AND THAT'S HOW IT FEELS.
UM, THE, UH, SO I, TO THE DEGREE THAT WHAT YOU WERE SHOWING TO US WAS THE PROCESS THAT YOU'RE DOING TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND TO MOVE THE PROCESS FORWARD A WELL-TAKEN.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT AND, AND I'M EXCITED THAT THE COMMUNITY IS INVOLVED AND ANXIOUS TO SEE HOW THAT TURNS OUT, UH, TO THE DEGREE THAT YOU PRESENTED THIS TO US.
SO THAT WE, AS PART OF THE PUBLIC COULD LIKE ENGAGE SUBSTANTIVELY.
I DID HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON OPTION TWO.
UH, IS IT, IS IT REQUIRED THAT THERE, THAT IT, THAT IT HAPPENED AT GRADE CROSSING? CAN YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE OPTION TWO THAT HAS THE ADVANTAGE
[02:05:01]
OF THE CONNECTIVITY WITH THE BUSES, WITH THE RAIL THAT HAS THAT, UH, UH, CIRCLE, WHICH I THINK OVER TIME WOULD ACTUALLY BE KIND OF A NEAT THING FOR PEOPLE TO DO.AND I RECOGNIZE IT LIKE SLOWS PEOPLE DOWN A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT'S A NEAT MOVEMENT TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT KIND OF CIRCULAR MOVEMENT.
I'M ALWAYS NERVOUS ABOUT AT GRADE TRAIN CROSSING.
UH, SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF, IF THERE WAS AN OPTION THAT, THAT BEGAN TO ELEVATE THE, THE TURN LANES SO THAT THEY COULD JUST CLEAR THE CARS AND THEN COME BACK DOWN JUST BECAUSE THOSE THINGS MAKE ME NERVOUS.
SO THE, UM, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND, UM, I WILL SAY THAT THE, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOOK AT.
WE'VE STUDIED A LOT OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR HOW TO MAKE THESE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS WORK TOGETHER AS SAFELY AND SEAMLESSLY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, THE CHALLENGE, I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE TOPOGRAPHY HERE IS MORE CHALLENGING THAN YOU WOULD EVER THINK IT WOULD JUST BECAUSE MAKING CURVES HORIZONTALLY AND ON A VERTICAL SLOPE, UM, IT PROVIDES A LOT OF LIMITATIONS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY VEHICULAR STANDARDS AND ROADWAY STANDARDS.
AND, UM, IT JUST MEANS THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, WIDER RADIUS ON THE TERMS TO BASICALLY BE ABLE TO MANAGE THAT.
AND WE JUST, WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH SPACE TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE THE TYPOGRAPHY, UM, AND MAKE THOSE KINDS OF ADJUSTMENTS.
SO, UM, I WOULD SAY IT'S, I THINK IT'S UNLIKELY.
I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO DESIGN THOSE CROSSINGS WITH THE KINDS OF VISUAL CUES AND DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT DON'T REQUIRE A HIGH DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
WE HAVE TO MAKE IT INTUITIVE FOR PEDESTRIANS AND, UM, DRIVERS.
UM, SO THAT TO, TO NOT GET INTO A CONFLICT IN THAT LOCATION, THOSE LOCATIONS, UM, AND THAT'S TRUE THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM AS WELL RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO I THINK WHY DON'T WE HAVE SOME BENEFITS HERE THAT ALLOW US PARTICULARLY ON THE, ON UNCERTAIN ENDS WHERE, YOU KNOW, IS NEXT TO A STOP, RIGHT? SO THIS IS A PLACE WHERE THE TRAINS ARE ALREADY STOPPING, SLOWING DOWN, OR THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING FROM A STOPPING POSITION TO, UH, UH, A MOBILE POSITION.
SO, UM, I THINK THERE ARE WAYS OF CONTROLS WE CAN PUT IN ON THE RAIL SIDE AS WELL TO HELP MANAGE THAT.
UM, AND, BUT THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO COME OUT AS WE MOVE THE DESIGN FORWARD IS HOW DO WE ACTUALLY MAKE SURE WE, WE COVER ALL THOSE BASES.
UM, I KNOW THOSE LIGHTS ARE, I DON'T SEE THEM NUMBER, BUT, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO THE PLACEMAKING AND SUSTAINABILITY SLIDE WHERE YOU'RE ZOOMING OUT AND TAKING A LOOK AT THE, AT THE CONNECTION WITH THE CREEK, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WELL, FIRST OFF, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REALLY DOING THAT BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S, IT'S A NETWORK IT'S PART OF THAT ECOSYSTEM RIGHT.
AND IDEALLY IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC IF WE COULD SEE THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND CONNECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE ALIGNMENT FOR THE ENTIRE PROGRAM.
WHEN YOU GO TO THE OPTION, NUMBER TWO, ONE THING THAT I REALIZED UNTIL NOW, BECAUSE I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T REALLY SEE THIS, UM, WITH OPTION ONE, THEN CONNECTS US TO THE COUNTRY CLUB CREEK BETTER THAN OPTION TWO, BECAUSE WHAT I'M SEEING WITH OPTION TWO IS THAT YES.
UM, WITH OPTION TWO, THERE'S THE TURNAROUND THERE THAT THEN IMPEDES THAT CONNECTIVITY TO THE CREEK.
IT'S LIKE WE'RE SOLVING ONE YOU'RE I MEAN, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S A PINCH POINT IN OPTION TWO BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THE TRAIL CONNECTING TO COUNTRY CLUB CREEK TRAIL, YOU'VE GOT THE TURNAROUND AND THE LIGHT RAIL ALL CAME TOGETHER AT THE SAME LOCATION.
UM, SO I WOULD SAY THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WHERE WE HAVE TO ZOOM IN AND TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WITH MORE PRECISION THE SORT OF DIMENSIONALITY OF ALL THOSE ELEMENTS AND HOW THEY FIT TOGETHER.
UM, SO YES, THAT IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT NEEDS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT ON THAT SCALE.
I CAN SEE IT ON, ON THE SLIDE WITH THE BLUE LINE UNDER PAST WHERE YOU'VE ADDRESSED ADDRESS, YOU TOOK IT ALL THE WAY TO THE CREEK, WHICH HELPED INFORM MY, UM, OH NO, YOU DID DO IT.
AND, AND JUST WITH THAT CRITERIA, I
[02:10:01]
DO SEE HERE SOMETHING I HAD NOT SEEN BEFORE WITH, WITH, BECAUSE I WAS VERY MUCH ATTRACTED TO THE OPTION TOO, UNTIL I SAW THAT CONNECTION WITH THE CREEK.UM, AND I, I THINK, YEAH, I MEAN, DEFINITELY SWIMMING IN AND RE REALLY TRYING TO RESOLVE THAT BECAUSE HAVING THAT TURNAROUND SO CLOSE TO THAT CREEK AND IN A PINCH POINT AND THAT, UM, HAIR PAINT HER PIN TURN THERE.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT COULD BE REFINED BECAUSE I KNOW FROM THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUPS RECOMMENDATION, THEY WERE ALL LEANING MORE TOWARDS THIS SCENARIO.
AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GIVE YOU THE CORRECT, UM, OR, OR JUST A MORE INFORMED, UH, ADVICE ON, ON HOW TO PROCEED.
BUT I HAD NOT PICKED UP ON THAT PIECE.
AND I ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES IT THE MOST COMFORTABLE AS A PEDESTRIAN IN WALKING THIS QUARTERS, THAT THIS IS SO WIDE, THAT ANOTHER COMMENT THAT I'VE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY PAST OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY MEETING WAS, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE SOME OF THIS LAND FOR HOUSING AND, AND HAS THE TEAM TAKEN A LOOK AT THIS, UH, AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THIS LAND, BECAUSE SOME OF THE COMFORT IN THAT OUTDOOR ROOM PROPORTION FOR THE HUMAN, I THINK IT MAKES, UM, IN TERMS OF THE GREEN SPACE, WE CAN STILL HAVE THE GREEN SPACE PLUS HOUSING PLUS TRANSIT PLUS.
UM, SO, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD THAT COMMENT AS WELL.
UM, I THINK THAT THE COUPLE OF THINGS, OBVIOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM, RIGHT, WE WANT TO CONNECT HOUSING TO TRANSIT WHEREVER IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, RIGHT? OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS IN OUR CITY.
TRANSIT IS PART OF THE SOLUTION HOUSING AS PART OF THE SOLUTION.
THESE THINGS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER, OR IF THEY WORK TOGETHER, THEY BOTH WORK BETTER.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS SITE, PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY, PARTLY BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE, THE CONSTRAINTS.
I MEAN, YOU CAN TELL, YOU CAN GET A SENSE OF HOW, UM, INTEGRATED ALL THIS HAS TO BE.
UM, ADDING ALSO THE CREATION OF A BUILDING THAT HAS TO BE SERVICED THAT ALSO HAS TO HAVE ACCESS AND ITS OWN FRONTAGE.
I THINK, WHERE WE FEEL LIKE IT WAS, IS CHALLENGING.
UM, WE'RE ALSO JUST HAVING TALKED TO THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM WHO DO A LOT OF WORK IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING DESIGN, UM, WHO HAVE CONCERN THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVING A BUILDING THAT'S KIND OF MAROONED ON AN ISLAND THAT HAS NO, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOT ALL THIS FRONTAGE AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A WIDE, OPEN SPACE IS NOT REALLY THE GREATEST LOCATION FOR HOUSING, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO TALK TO HOUSING EXPERTS ON AND CERTAINLY HOUSING PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR INSTINCT IS THAT THIS IS NOT THE BEST SITE FOR THAT, BUT CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT, WHEN WE'RE NOT, WE'RE MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION ABOUT PETER'S SO CARD WHEN HE TELLS ME AND, YOU KNOW, SORRY, I GOING TO SAY YOU'RE SO WHEN YOU TELL ME, NO, NOT REALLY.
AND YOU DO YOU DO IT IN SUCH A KIND WAY? WELL, I'LL ADD ONE THING UNDER P UH, WHAT PETER SAID THERE, AND I APPRECIATE THAT THE IS COMMENT, BUT I REALLY DO THINK BOARD MEMBER ELKINS CONTINUALLY HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WITH THE WORD TRADE-OFF.
AND A GOOD EXAMPLE IS THIS SITE, WE, YOU KNOW, KNOW ONE THING THAT I THINK THE TEAM'S EXCITED ABOUT AT THIS SITE AND AS PETER, UH, IS BRINGING A LOT OF INSPIRATION TO THE TEAM.
AND I THINK THEY'RE LOOKING AT THESE KEY LOCATIONS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DRAG SOUTH CONGRESS FORCE THERE'S THESE, THESE LOCATIONS THAT WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO BE TRANSFORMATIONAL IN A REALLY FAST GROWING PART OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT THERE ARE TRADE OFFS AND TRADE-OFFS TRANSIT TRADE OFFICES, YOU KNOW, CARS, ONE, ONE MOVES CARS FASTER.
ONE, ONE DOES NOT ONE WILL HAVE INTERCONNECTIVITY.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF US, ONE OF THE TOPICS WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT IS UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY, HOW THAT VALUE IS SO CRITICAL FOR US AS A TEAM AND AS A COMMUNITY AND HOW WE DESIGN THINGS FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE USER IS MOST IMPORTANT TO ALL USERS, YOU KNOW, AND SAY, TAKE JEAN AND I'S EXAMPLE.
SO, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY WAS NOT THE IDEA IN 1897, PUTTING THE GREEN LINE TOGETHER, RIGHT? AND NOW AFTER ULTIMATELY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, THE MBTA IS MORE ACCESSIBLE, BUT IT'S RETROFIT.
AND HOW DO WE, YOU LEARN FROM THAT TO DO THAT ON THE FRONT END, OTHER TRADE-OFFS, OR IT COULD BE HOUSING, BUT OTHER THINGS ARE WATER MANAGEMENT, WATER MANAGEMENT IN OUR PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH BECAUSE WE GET THREE INCHES OF RAIN IN 20 MINUTES AND WE DON'T RAIN FOR TWO MONTHS.
AND SO THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE EXAMPLE, PLACES WHERE WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP MIGHT ACTUALLY DICTATE HOW WE USE A PART OF THE SITE TO JUST MANAGE THAT WHOLE AREA, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR TRACKS DRY.
WE HAVE TO KEEP THE WATER QUALITY.
AND SO I JUST, I REALLY, I THINK MORE MEMBER ELKINS THAT, THAT, THAT TOPIC WE HAVE TO GO TO
[02:15:01]
OVER AND OVER.WE ALL STAY UNIFIED THAT THIS PROCESS TO THE COMMUNITY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE INPUT, AND WE WILL HAVE DIFFICULT CHOICES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T GET WHAT THEY WANT, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH SPACE FOR WHAT EVERYONE WANTS AND THERE'S NOT ENOUGH MONEY.
OR THE KEY IS THIS PROCESS PROCESSES WHERE WE'RE AFTER.
AND THIS IS WHERE WE'RE MAYBE AN INNING THREE IN THIS PIECE, BUT THESE COMMENTS ARE REALLY GREAT BECAUSE THEY LEAD TO AN OUTCOME ULTIMATELY, UH, IN THE NEPA.
IT'S THE BEST OUTCOME POSSIBLE FOR ALL THESE FACTORS.
I THINK YOU MENTIONED COST, AND I DIDN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT THAT.
YOU KNOW, ONE SCHEME IS CERTAINLY HAS SOME COST PREMIUM OVER THE OTHER, RIGHT? SO OBVIOUSLY THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO CONSIDER.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S RELEVANT TO THE SUBJECT OF HOUSING TOO.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS PROBABLY A VERY EXPENSIVE SITE TO BUILD HOUSING ON GIVEN ALL THESE OTHER CONSTRAINTS, IS THAT THE BEST USE OF OUR HOUSING FUNDS TO PUT HOUSING ON THIS LOCATION? AND THAT, AGAIN, THAT'S NOT FOR US TO ANSWER THAT'S FOR, FOR HOUSING PLANNING TO ANSWER, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO COME TO THE RIGHT SOLUTION.
I WOULD SAY IF THERE COULD BE A THEME FOR TODAY'S MEETING, IT WOULD BE THE WORD TRADE-OFF, THESE ARE ALL TRADE OFF TYPE DECISIONS.
I THINK IT'S REALLY HELPFUL, PETER, FOR US TO SEE THE PROCESS THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM GO THROUGH, AS YOU LOOK AT THESE VARIOUS OPTIONS, WE SAW SOMETHING SIMILAR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WHEN WE HAD THE TUNNEL EXTENSION, UH, PRESENTATION, UM, AND TO SEE THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU GO THROUGH AND THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU GET FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THAT KIND OF THAT LOOP.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK IT'S NOT FOR US RIGHT NOW, GIVEN WHAT WE KNOW TO SAY YOUR NAME, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST THING I SAW IS WHEN, WHENEVER YOU START GETTING DEPRESSED OR UNDERGROUND, EVERYTHING STARTS TO MULTIPLY.
SO THAT WAS MY FINANCIAL MIND STARTED TO GO OFF, YOU KNOW, AESTHETICS VERSUS COST, YOU KNOW, SO AESTHETICS MAY BE NICER AND OPTION ONE BUT MORE COSTS.
AND THOSE ARE THE TRADE-OFFS THAT HAVE TO BE MADE.
AND THOSE WILL, WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING, BUT, UH, UH, WE NEED MORE INFORMATION AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE DO ONE THING, IT MAY COME AT THE COST OF ANOTHER THING.
SO APPRECIATE THE, UM, WALKING US THROUGH THE PROCESS.
I THINK THIS IS ANOTHER AREA WHERE THIS IS A SUFFICIENTLY COMPLEX AREA THAT WE FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE TO CARRY BOTH OPTIONS FORWARD, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK TO, TO DIRECTOR CLARK'S POINT, THERE ARE, THERE ARE A LOT, IT'S NOT JUST TWO VARIABLES.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE VARIABLES THAT HAVE TO BE MANAGED AND WE HAVE PARTIAL INFORMATION RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO RAISE, GET DEEPER, UNDERSTANDING ABOUT ALL THOSE DIFFERENT VARIABLES SO THAT WE CAN MAKE AS INFORMED DECISION AS WE CAN.
I THINK THIS WAS ONE OF THE MEETINGS I WAS AT AND YOU HAD ALMOST A HUNDRED PEOPLE, 120, 120.
UM, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF SORT OF RE REMINDING US OF, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE KEY ATTRIBUTES TO LOOK FOR? AND I NOTED THAT IN THE MEETING, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH THE DISCUSSIONS YOU'VE TAKEN A REALLY COMPLEX SORT OF ISSUE AND, UM, TYPOGRAPHY THERE'S, BOTH OF THESE OPTIONS ARE WINNING.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT TRANSPORTATION TRANSIT IS LESS ABOUT, WHAT IT DOES AND MORE ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE CONNECTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY OPTION TWO, YOU'VE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF SORT OF BUILDING IN THE INTEGRATED TRANSIT CENTER.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE COMMENTS THAT, THAT I HEARD, I THINK THAT THAT WAS REALLY, UM, UH, A KEY PART OF THIS.
AND CERTAINLY THERE ARE STRONG ATTRIBUTES OF BOTH OPTIONS, BUT, UM, AS YOU LOOK AT WHAT THEY, THAT SORT OF, THE NEXT STEPS ARE AS YOU GO BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, CERTAINLY SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT, UM, AND INTEGRATING THE TRANSIT CENTER I THINK IS ALSO QUITE IMPORTANT.
GLAD WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THIS AND GET SO MANY PEOPLE THAT ATTENDED AND GET IN THE FEEDBACK LOOP ON THIS AND WHICH I'LL PUT TOGETHER AND PROVIDED AS OPTIONS.
UM, QUESTION THAT I HAVE, I GUESS, GENERAL KIND OF PROCESS QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS, UM, W HOW DO YOU EXPECT, OR THE BOARD TO TAKE ACTION, OR WHAT, WHAT WOULD THIS BE A PART OF? I MEAN, ULTIMATELY, IS THIS GOING TO BE A CASE OF WHEN WE'RE GETTING DOWN AND WHERE THE, I'D SAY RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD IN THIS CASE, I GUESS IT'S WHERE THE TRAININGS TRACKS, UM, AND WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING DOWN TO THE T TO THE END OF THIS THING, AND WE NEED TO, TO, TO MAKE THE NEXT STEP, TAKE THE NEXT STEP.
IS THIS A CASE OF WHERE YOU'RE
[02:20:01]
GOING TO BRING THE ENTIRE BLUE LINE AS IT STANDS, AS YOU ALL HAVE TAKEN ALL THE FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC, AND YOU'VE LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS AND EVERYTHING, AND YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S THE BLUE LINE.AND OUR PROPOSAL IS THAT IT'S GOING TO COST, YOU KNOW, X NUMBER OF DOLLARS WITH THE FOLLOWING.
HERE'S THE RENDERINGS OF EACH ONE OF THESE STATIONS, INCLUDING WE'VE SELECTED.
REMEMBER YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE SEEN OPTION ONE VERSUS TWO.
WE WENT WITH OPTION ONE MODIFIED, OR WE WENT WITH TWO SLIGHTLY MODIFIED.
AND SO HERE'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
AND YOU'RE GOING TO LAY THAT OUT AS A WHOLE, AND THEN WE, AS A BOARD, JUST VOTE ON IT THAT WAY, OR ARE WE GOING TO BE GETTING THIS KIND OF PIECEMEAL AND GOING ALONG SAYING, OKAY, SO BEFORE YOU TODAY, AS A BOARD, HERE'S, HERE'S THE, THE RIVERSIDE PLEASANT VALLEY TRANSIT CENTER, AND WE BELIEVE IT'S GOING TO COST ROUGHLY THIS MUCH.
AND SO WE NOW NEED TO BRING THIS FOR YOU FOR YOUR APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NEXT STEP IN THIS.
SO MY, MY, MY ANSWER IS PROBABLY BOTH.
UM, JUST CAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL THE DECISIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WHOLE, RIGHT? SO WE DON'T WANT TO LOOK AT THEM IN PIECEMEAL FASHION.
CAUSE I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE YOU MAKE MISTAKES, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT IN THE, IN THE, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WHOLE.
SO WHEN WE GET THROUGH 30% DESIGN AND WE'VE GOT THE COST ESTIMATES BACK AND WE'RE VETTING ALL THESE VARIABLES EMBEDDED IN THAT WILL BE A SERIES OF OPTIONS AND A SERIES OF CHOICES.
AND WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD TO PRESENT THE WHOLE.
AND THEN WE'LL PROBABLY ZERO IN ON A COUPLE OF KEY DECISION POINTS, RIGHT? SOME OF WHICH I WOULD IMAGINE WE'LL HAVE VERY CLEAR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STAFF AND THE TEAM.
UM, SOME OF WHICH I THINK WILL BE TOUGHER CHOICES THAT WE'LL HAVE TO TALK THROUGH.
AND PART OF THE PURPOSE OF DOING SOME OF THESE BRIEFINGS IS WE ALL NEED TO GET FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THESE VARIABLES ARE SO THAT WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT, IT'S NOT ALL IT'S NOT COMPLETE, IT'S NOT AN, AN AVALANCHE OF INFORMATION.
UM, AND I THINK PART OF OUR JOB IS TO FIGURE, DISTILL WHAT THE KEY LEAVERS ARE THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE DO HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT WE CARRY FORWARD, BUT IT, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE THAT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT YOU ALL AS A TEAM WERE ALREADY THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF LAYING OUT BOTH OPTIONS, WHICH COME FROM A, UH, I GUESS, AN ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN PHASE, UM, THE COMMUNITY KIND OF, IT SOUNDS LIKE AT LEAST SORT OF ALIGNED WITH KIND OF WHERE YOU, AS THE DESIGNERS WERE KIND OF IN TERMS OF THE PRESSURE POINTS, THE CONCERNS, THE ISSUES, THE, THE TRADE-OFFS AS IT WERE.
I MEAN, GOOD THAT LOOK, THERE ARE CERTAIN, THERE ARE PROS AND CONSTANTLY SCHEMES, RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, SOME POINT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICES ABOUT WHICH PROS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHICH OTHER PROS.
UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK THAT WILL BE A, UH, CONVERSATION, UM, AND THAT WILL CONTINUE AND WE'LL LEARN MORE AS WE DEVELOP THESE SCHEMES, RIGHT.
THINGS WE CAN FIX AND THINGS THAT AREN'T REALLY WORKING OUT THAT GREAT, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, OR AS WELL AS WE HAD HOPED, WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING.
I KNOW IT'S, UM, BEEN A GREAT, UH, ALREADY A LONG TIME.
SO I THINK WITH THAT, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. MULLEN, NO MORE.
[Executive Session]
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION.THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL NOW ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO SECTION 5, 5, 1 0.07, ONE OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE FOR PRIVATE CONSULTATION, WITH LEGAL COUNSEL TO DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT OF SUCCEEDING, ATP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, AND THEIR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
SO WE'RE OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THIS CONCLUDES THE OCTOBER ATP BOARD MEETING AGENDA.
AND I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE, THE BOARD AND THE STAFF AND ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO HAVE WATCHED AND HELPED US, UH, WITH THEIR PARTICIPATION TODAY.
AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THE IMPORTANT WORK AHEAD.
THIS MEETING OF THE ATP BOARDS STANDS ADJOURN AND THE MEETING TIME, UM, IS EXACTLY SIX O'CLOCK.