* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE TWO REMOTE SPEAKERS SIGNED UP. EACH PERSON WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK. UM, CLERK, WOULD YOU MIND CALLING UP THIS REMOTE SPEAKERS? THANK YOU, CATHERINE. RIGHT, RIGHT IN GER SHEN DIARY. RUPAUL. HI, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. MY NAME IS . MY FAMILY OWNS BUSINESS IN DISTRICT SIX, AND I'M ALSO A CANDIDATE FOR TRAVIS COUNTY. JUDGE. WE'VE ALL HEARD OFF THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON SURPRISE, BUT THIS TAKES IT TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL. WE, THE WATERS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY HAD THEM TO NOON MONDAY TO NOT ONLY STUDY AND ANALYZE THE COVID DESTRUCTION ORDINANCE, BUT ALSO SOME TEACHERS LEARN. IT WAS BEING TAKEN UP ON TUESDAY, WHO YOUR CENTER, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS READING FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA IS MY QUESTION. PERHAPS, IF THEY WERE MORE TIME, MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS COULD TELL US ABOUT THE FIELD AND INVITED THESE RESTRICTIONS HAVE COST AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN MENTAL AND AMONG YOUTH. AND WHETHER THAT IS WORTHY OF CONCERN, MAYBE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS COULD WEIGH IN ON HOW CLOSE THEY ARE HAVING TO SHUT DOWN AND LEAVE THE CITY AND ECONOMIC ANALYSTS COULD DISCUSS JUST HOW IT, HOW IT IS. WE LOST THE SAME THING, DEAL TO DEAL TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY. MAYBE WE, THE PEOPLE COULD POINT OUT HOW COVID-19 DOESN'T EXIST ONLY IN SCHOOLS AND VETERANS DAY PARADE, BUT ALSO AT FORMULA ONE RACES AND SOCCER STADIUM. AND THAT'S ASKED ABOUT WHY THERE THERE'S SUCH A GLARING DOUBLE STANDARDS IN PLACE, OR WE CAN CONTINUE TO HIDE BEHIND THE TERM EMERGENCY AS IF WE HAVEN'T BEEN LIVING UNDER THESE RESTRICTIONS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, BUT WE WON'T GET TO BECAUSE YOU BARELY GIVE US ANY NOTICE. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE BARE MINIMUM, AT LEAST THOSE OF THE THING. ATTENTION REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CLARK. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY THAT FIRST SPEAKER AGAIN? YES. I KNOW SHE'S HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME. LOGGING ON HER NAME IS CATHERINE RIGHT IN MEYER. IS SHE, ARE YOU AVAILABLE SINCE THOSE ARE ONLY TWO SPEAKERS, I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO GIVE HER A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO TRY TO LOG IN. CATHERINE, PLEASE GO AHEAD. OKAY. UM, THIS IS KATHERINE WRIGHT MEYER. I'M IN DISTRICT SIX AND I'M CALLING ABOUT THE, UH, APPROVING THE ORDINANCE. AND I'M SAYING DO NOT APPROVE THE ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE HEALTH AUTHORITY RULES TO PROTECT INDIVIDUALS FROM COVID-19, WHICH IS TO SUPERSEDE THE ORDINANCE NUMBER 20 20 12 0 3 DASH 0 4 3, WHICH WOULD CREATE AN OFFENSE AND PENALTY AND DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. AND SO, UM, MY VIEW IS IT IS NOT AN EMERGENCY ANYMORE. CASES ARE WAY DOWN AND IT IS, UH, LOOKING AT LINE 25. IT IS UNREASONABLE TO CONTINUE THESE RESTRICTIVE RULES AND IMPOSE PENALTIES. AND NUMBER TWO, THE INCIDENCES ARE RARE AND THEY ARE MILD. AND, UH, NUMBER THREE, IT'S TIME TO SHUN OR DIAL BACK THE FEAR AND MANAGE OUR LIVES AND TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES AND GET BACK TO NORMAL LIFE WITH FREE INTERACTIONS AND WORKPLACES SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY. SO MY VIEW IS, DO NOT APPROVE THE ORDINANCE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SPEAKERS. UM, WE APPRECIATE YOU PARTICIPATING IN TODAY'S MEETING. SO COLLEAGUES, WE DO, WE HAVE A MOTION [1. Approve an ordinance relating to health authority rules to protect individuals from COVID-19; superseding Ordinance No. 20201203-043; creating an offense and penalty; and declaring an emergency.] FOR TODAY'S ITEM. IT LOOKS LIKE THE MOTION IS BEING MADE BY MAYOR ADLER GUYS AND, UH, UH, AIR PER TAM. I WOULD MOVE PASSAGE OF VERSION TWO, UH, THAT WAS POSTED, UH, TODAY OF THE, UH, ITEM NUMBER ONE BEFORE US. AND I'D BE, I THINK A SECOND THING. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A SECOND AND COUNCIL MEMBER POOL. I BELIEVE YOUR MIC. YES. MAYOR PRO TEM. I NOTE THAT IN VERSION TWO, [00:05:01] THERE IS ONE SLIGHT CORRECTION THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE IN PART ONE FINDINGS. SUB-PART SIX STARTS WITH THE WORD ON THAT NEEDS TO BE DELETED AND THE WORD, THE SENTENCE NEEDS TO START WITH THE WORD COUNCIL. IT WAS JUST A TYPO. YEAH. SO IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED AND ADDRESS IT REAL QUICKLY, PLEASE. THANK YOU. CUT LEGS. UH, AS YOU RECALL, UM, UH, THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF AN ORDINANCE THAT WE PASSED LAST YEAR, UH, THAT GIVE THE, UH, RULES OF OUR HEALTH AUTHORITY, UH, THE WEIGHT AND ENFORCEABILITY, UH, UH, UH, ORDINANCES THAT WE WOULD, WE WOULD OTHERWISE PASS UNDER STATE LAW. AFTER THE HEALTH AUTHORITY THAT'S BEEN PASSED SUBSEQUENT TO US PASSING THAT ORDINANCE. THERE'S NOW A REQUIREMENT THAT WE ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE TO, UM, UH, EXTEND THE ORDER OF THE HEALTH AUTHORITY BEYOND 15 DAYS. UH, SO THAT'S BEEN INCORPORATED NOW THE HEALTH AUTHORITY HAS POSTED HER, UM, UH, EXTENSION OF HER PRIOR ORDER. SO THAT GETS EXTENDED. SO BY THIS ORDINANCE, WE ARE, UM, EXTENDING THE, UH, AUTHORITY OR ABILITY OF OUR HEALTH AUTHORITIES RULES TO HAVE A FOR SUBORDINATES. AND WE ARE ALSO SPECIFICALLY, UH, LOOKING AT THE RULE THAT SHE POSTED, UH, EARLIER TODAY, UH, AND CONFIRMING THAT IT SHOULD HAVE A LIFE BEYOND 15 DAYS. THIS IS THE ORDER THAT THE HEALTH AUTHORITY DID SIMILAR TO THE, UH, ORDER THAT I ISSUED IN MY EMERGENCY ORDER. AND THE COUNTY JUDGE DID AND HIS EMERGENCY ORDER, UH, WITH RESPECT TO SCHOOLS AND, AND, AND MASKING, UH, AND, AND, UH, OTHER ITEMS, UH, AND TO THE DEGREE THAT, UH, THERE'S A CHALLENGE IN THESE, THIS GIVES US THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO DEFEND, UH, THESE ITEMS AS MANY DIFFERENT WAYS AS WE CAN. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE DOING AS WELL AS WE'RE DOING IN A COMMUNITY. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY OUR NUMBERS ARE LOW IS BECAUSE WE HAVE A COMMUNITY THAT IS GETTING, UM, VACCINED AND BOOSTED. UH, BUT IT'S ALSO BECAUSE WE HAVE, UM, A GREATER NUMBER OF PEOPLE WEARING, UH, BASKING, I BELIEVE. UH, AND SO MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE, THE SCHOOLS, THE PRIVATE BUSINESSES, UH, REALLY WANT US TO, TO STEP FORWARD AND, AND JOIN WITHOUT AUTHORITY. UH, SO AS TO, UH, PROVIDE THAT MEASURE OF DIRECTION, THAT'S WHY I MOVED PASSAGE. I APPRECIATE THE SECOND AND HOPE. THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN PASS QUICKLY. THANK YOU, KELLY. THANK YOU. ONE OF THE FIRST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN AUSTIN WAS ON MARCH 13TH, 2020, TODAY. VACCINE SERVICES FOR COVID-19 ARE READILY AVAILABLE AND THE TRENDS ARE SHOWING RECOVERY AND VACCINE RATES ARE INCREASING THE INFORMATION THAT WE SEE ON THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY COVID-19 DASHBOARD IN MY VIEW, DOES NOT SUPPORT EXTENDING AN ORDINANCE THAT INCLUDES PENALTIES FOR AN ADDITIONAL YEAR. AS OF TODAY, WE HEARD WE HAVE 121 COVID 19 INPATIENTS, 43 ICU PATIENTS, 19 PATIENTS ON VENTILATORS TO PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE. AUSTIN HAS A POPULATION OF MORE THAN 950,000 RESIDENTS FURTHER. IT ALARMS ME THAT WE DID NOT GIVE OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS A CHANCE TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS ON HOW THE ORDINANCE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THEIR LIVES FOR NEARLY ANOTHER YEAR. THIS ITEM WAS POSTED THIS PAST FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH HEALTH RULES THAT ARE REFERENCED IN THE ORDINANCE FROM DECEMBER 10TH. TODAY'S REVISED ORDINANCE POSTED AT 8:54 AM THIS MORNING VERSION TWO REFERENCES HEALTH RULES FROM TODAY, DECEMBER 14TH. THIS GIVES THE PUBLIC ZERO TIME TO RESPOND OR SIGN UP TO SPEAK. WE ONLY HAD TWO SPEAKERS SIGN UP TODAY, AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT'S REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY IN THE BACKUP ON THE ITEM, OUR WEBSITE, THE HEALTH RULES REFERENCED IN PART FIVE OF THE ORDINANCE WEREN'T POSTED UNTIL THE LAST 24 HOURS AT MY REQUEST IN THERE FROM THE DECEMBER 10TH DATE THIS MORNING, WHEN VERSION TWO OF THE ORDINANCE CAME INTO MY EMAIL BOX, I SEARCHED THE CITY'S WEBSITE AND THE COVID 19 SITE WITH THE ORDERS AND EMERGENCY RULES DOES NOT HAVE A DOCUMENT THAT WAS POSTED FOR THE 14TH OF DECEMBER. THIS DOCUMENT DIRECTLY OUTLINES HEALTH RULES THAT AFFECT EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY UNTIL DECEMBER 31ST, 2022, AND NEEDS FURTHER REVIEW MY COLLEAGUES. AND I SIT UP HERE AND TALK A LOT ABOUT INCLUDING THE COMMUNITY IN OUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESS. THIS ITEM, HOWEVER, DID NOT GET THE SAME TREATMENT AS OTHERS DO. AND THAT WE DISCUSSED FROM THE DATAS AND THE NEW REVISED VERSION OF THE ORDINANCE. THERE ARE CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE REVIEWED AND NEED THAT TIME TO DO SO. ALTHOUGH I CANNOT AGREE WITH THE TIMELINE OF THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE, I DO REALIZE WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO TAKE REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR CITIZENS. THIS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ALLOWING OUR CONSTITUENTS TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR THEMSELVES TO PROTECT THEIR FAMILIES, NOT THROUGH MANDATES LIKE THIS AND NOT INCLUDE PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE. I BELIEVE EVERY PERSON'S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO EXERCISE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, TO PROTECT [00:10:01] THEMSELVES AND OTHERS FROM THE VIRUS IN THIS, WE SHOULD EITHER ALLOW FOR COMMUNITY INPUT AND ALLOW THEM TO BE THE CHIEF DECISION MAKERS IN HOW THEY DECIDE TO CONDUCT THEIR PERSONAL SAFETY REGIMEN AND WILL NOT BE SUPPORTING THIS ITEM TODAY. BUT I DO FULLY SUPPORT A MORE ROBUST CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMUNITY BEFORE WE PROCEED WITH AN ITEM THAT HAS AN IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF EVERYONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? I DON'T THINK I'M MISSING ANYBODY. DO YOU SEE ANY HANDS COUNCILMEMBER POOL? THANKS. I JUST, UM, WANTED TO REITERATE MY EMPHATIC SUPPORT FOR THE MANDATE. THESE IMPERATIVES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AND I WOULD URGE MY COLLEAGUES TO AVOID POLITICIZING THIS PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE ANY FURTHER THAN IT ALREADY HAS BEEN, BECAUSE IT IS SO DIVISIVE IN THE COMMUNITY AND IT'S OUR JOB TO HELP PULL PEOPLE TOGETHER. LET'S LIKE NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. THANK YOU. CAN'T REMEMBER POOL. SO IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING ITEM, NUMBER ONE, UH, UH, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM. I'M SORRY THAT I THINK YOU COULD SEE MY HAND. OH, I DIDN'T. I JUST WANTED TO DOUBLE CHECK SOMETHING WITH YOU AND OR THE MAYOR, UM, MAYOR OR MAYOR PRO TEM. CAN YOU REMIND ME, UM, IF WE HAVE A MAJORITY VOTE, DOES THIS GO INTO IMMEDIATE EFFECT OR DO WE NEED AS SEVEN PEOPLE? WE NEED SEVEN VOTES IN ORDER TO PASS THE AWARD AND THEN SO ON ALL THREE READINGS TODAY, WE NO LONGER NEED EIGHT VOTES BECAUSE THE, IT IS NOT BEING POSTED AS AN EMERGENCY ITEM. OH, I SEE. AND I'D FORGOTTEN. WE HAD SET. WE HAVE A TOTAL OF EIGHT OF US TODAY. I HAVE, I WAS COUNTING SEVEN. I THINK ONE OF SOMEBODY ELSE POPPED IT BACK IN. THANK YOU. I THINK THERE'S NINE OF US. CAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S SEVEN OF US IN THE SCREEN AND TWO ENOUGH TO, OKAY. WE READY TO MOVE FORWARD? YEP. ALL RIGHT. UH, THE ITEMS WERE MOVED AND SECONDED. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING ITEM. NUMBER ONE, IT APPEARS AS THOUGH THE ITEM IS YOU NANA MISS WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY VOTING. NO. AND COUNCIL MEMBERS WANT THIS AND KITCHEN OFF THE DICE. SO THAT'S 7, 8 1 AND THEN TWO OFF THE DYES. I THINK IT'S OH, EIGHT. YOU'RE RIGHT. SO EIGHT ONE AND THEN TWO OFF THE DYES. THANK YOU. AND THAT WAS OUR ONLY ITEM. YOU ALSO WITH THAT AT 10:39 AM. THIS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL IS ADJOURNED. HAVE A GREAT DAY, EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.