* 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. [00:00:13] IT STARTED. I'M GOING TO CALL TO ORDER THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, UH, HERE ON JANUARY 4TH, 2022. WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT, UH, TWO OF US HERE IN PERSON, UH, FOUR OTHER THREE HERE IN PERSON. I, AND, UM, UH, AT LEAST, UH, FOR, UH, PARTICIPATING, UH, REMOTELY, UM, HEADS UP, UH, UH, COLLEAGUES THAT WE MAY BE PUTTING ANOTHER SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT WEEK. UH, SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, TO ACT IN THE EVENT THAT THE PETITION THAT WAS SUBMITTED IS CERTIFIED. SO WE CAN ACT TIMELY ON THAT IF THAT HAPPENS. UH, BUT THE, THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND LEGAL BE REACHING OUT TO, TO EVERYBODY ON, UH, ON THAT POSSIBILITY. WE HAVE ONE [1. Approve an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 20211118-002 declaring a vacancy in the office of City Council District 4 and ordering a special municipal election to be held on January 25, 2022, to elect a council member for District 4, to add Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H that provide early voting information, adopt English and Spanish versions of the ordinance calling the election, adopt election day and early voting polling places, attach the executed contract for election services and any executed joint election agreements, and list election day judges, central counting station staff, and early voting ballot board members; and declaring an emergency. 1. Strategic Outcome(s): Government that Works for All.] ITEM IN FRONT OF US TODAY. UH IT'S TO A MAN, THE ORDINANCE THAT DECLARED A VACANCY IN, UH, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT FOR ORDERING THEM AND ITS SUPPLE, UH, ELECTION. UM, AND I THINK THIS, UH, UM, UH, MANS, THE PRIOR ORDINANCE THAT WE HAD BY, BY ATTACHING SOME DIFFERENT EXHIBITS TO IT. IS THAT CORRECT? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AMENDED ORDINANCE WITH ITS EXHIBITS COUNTS? REMEMBER KELLY MAKES THE MOTION COUNCILOR POOLS, SECONDS. THAT MOTION DISCUSSION HAS REPORT. UM, I WANTED TO ASK OUR CITY CLERK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDING, UH, EARLY VOTING AND ELECTION DAY POLLING PLACE, UH, TO INCLUDE CHINATOWN CENTER IN 7 8, 7 5 3. IT HAS A TRANSIT ACTION ACCESS AT THE CHINATOWN BUS RAPID STATION. THIS WAS A REQUEST THAT CAME IN FROM FOLKS WHO LIVE IN DISTRICT FOUR. UM, AND I FORWARDED THAT EMAIL ALONG TO YOU. UM, MS. RIOS FOR YOU TO LOOK AT, IS THERE A CHANCE THAT YOU COULD MAYBE CHECK AND SEE IF WE COULD ADD THAT POLLING PLACE? UM, I HAVE REACHED OUT TO TRAVIS COUNTY. UM, AS SOON AS I HEAR BACK, WE WILL, UM, I'LL GET BACK WITH YOU MAYOR, IF WE'RE GOING TO, UH, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT IF WE'RE GOING TO ADD ANOTHER SITE, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT OUR ACTIONS TODAY? WE WOULD HAVE TO RETURN, UM, DURING ANOTHER SPECIAL CALLED MEETING AND, UH, THE COUNTY WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE THE SITE AS WELL. COMMISSIONER'S COURT. GOTCHA. I THINK, UM, THIS CAME IN YESTERDAY AFTERNOON OR YESTERDAY EVENING. IT LOOKS LIKE I GOT IT AT SEVEN 12, MONDAY, JANUARY 3RD. SO IT IS A QUICK TURNAROUND ITEM. WHAT DOES EVERYBODY THINK WE SHOULD DO? UH, MAYOR? YES, CITI LEGAL. IS IT POSSIBLE TO, OR US TO VOTE, TO APPROVE THAT CONTINGENT ON TRAVIS COUNTY'S APPROVAL OF IT AS WELL, SO THAT WE DON'T NEED TO COME BACK. I REACHED, UM, LOOKING AT THE VOTING LOCATION SITE AND WE DO HAVE TIE-IN A CHINATOWN IS AN EARLY, I MEAN, ELECTION DAY VOTING PLACE OR LOCATION. SO ARE YOU ALSO ASKING THAT IT'D BE ADDED AS AN EARLY VOTING? SO YES, PLEASE. BOTH EARLY VOTING AND ELECTION DAY. OKAY. I WOULD NEED TO WORK WITH, UM, LEGAL AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO FIND OUT. SO I THINK THE QUESTION THAT WAS JUST ASKED BY KENT THROUGH HER TOE WAS CAN WE PASS OR QUESTION WAS, CAN WE PASS THIS, IDENTIFYING THAT AS A LOCATION CONTINGENT ON APPROVAL BY TRAVIS COUNTY? I THINK THE BEST THING TO DO WOULD BE TO COME TO APPROVE WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US. AND THEN, UH, SCHEDULE ANOTHER MEETING TO, TO, UH, APPROVE THE SECOND LOCATION. THE OTHER LOCATION HAS TRAVIS COUNTY DOES APPROVE IT. COULD WE ADD IT AS, UH, AN ITEM ON THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING THAT WE HAVE COMING UP? WE DEFINITELY COULD DO THAT. WHAT KIND OF TIME CONSTRAINTS DO WE HAVE THAT WORKS ON OUR END? HOWEVER, I WOULD NEED TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY TO ENSURE THAT THEY APPROVE THE, IF IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THEY APPROVE THE, THE EARLY VOTING LOCATION AS WELL BEFORE COUNCIL TAKES ACTION, RIGHT? WE'LL [00:05:01] DO EVERYTHING. WE CAME TO TIMEFRAMES, BUT WE'LL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET IT TO. AND I'M IN TOUCH WITH THE COUNTY ALREADY. I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED. OKAY. IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN TO ADD THE EARLY VOTING. I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT CHINATOWN IS INDEED A ELECTION DAY LOCATION. THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL. THANKS. YEAH, IT JUST, FROM A TIMING PERSPECTIVE, IT SEEMS AS IF TRAVIS COUNTY IS VOTING ON THAT TODAY. AND SO THEY WOULD NEED, I THINK FOR THIS TO WORK, THEY WOULD NEED TO, TO MAKE THAT DECISION TODAY SO THAT THEY'VE MADE IT BEFORE OUR SPECIAL CALLED MEETING. IS THAT RIGHT? OTHERWISE THEY WOULD NEED TO COME BACK TO SO AN EARLY VOTING STARTS ON MONDAY. THAT WAS THE PIECE THAT WAS OKAY. WELL THEN MAYBE WE BETTER GO AHEAD AND APPROVE IT IS OTHERWISE WE WON'T HAVE TIME. ANY OBJECTION TO AMENDING THIS MOTION TO, UH, IDENTIFY THAT CHINATOWN LOCATION IS ALSO AN EARLY VOTING SITE CONTINGENT ON TRAVIS COUNTY APPROVAL. NO OBJECTION. HEARING NANNETTE AMENDMENT IS INCORPORATED OKAY INTO WHAT'S BEFORE US NOW IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY DISCUSSION ON THE FURTHER DISCUSSION SIDE HAS ALREADY, SIR, MAYOR, SORRY. I WAS HAVING TROUBLE JOINING THE LINK EARLIER AND I FULLY SUPPORT HAVING CHINATOWN CENTER AS A LOCATION. IT'S A GOOD VOTING LOCATION. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT JUST BECAUSE IT'S SO TIME SENSITIVE AND WE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH STATE LAW. DO WE HAVE OUR, IS THERE WE HAVEN'T, WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE HAVE LIKE THE BUDGET AND THE SPACE TO DO IT. DO WE, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH, I CERTAINLY KNOW THE PEOPLE AT THE CHINATOWN CENTER, BUT I HAVEN'T BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THEM. I KNEW IT WAS ELECTION DAY LOCATION. UH, SO I JUST GUESS I JUST WANT TO CHECK WITH CITY LEGAL TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE APPROVE IT THIS WAY AND TRY THE COUNTY APPROVES IT THEIR WAY, BUT IF THERE'S ANY LOGISTICAL ISSUE, IF WE WIND UP WITH ANY CHALLENGES, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH. WHAT HAPPENS IF WE PASS THIS, IDENTIFYING IT AS AT A LOCATION, BUT PHYSICALLY THERE'S NOT, OR FINANCIALLY THERE'S NOT THE CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO DO IT. IN OTHER WORDS, WE DON'T HAVE SOMEONE THERE THAT'S OFFERING SPACE. AND MY SENSE IS THAT THEY WOULD, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THEY WOULDN'T JUST, SINCE WE HAVE TO VOTE TODAY AND I HAVEN'T CAUGHT, SO, AND I KNOW I'M JUMPING, JUMPING IN HERE LATE. I WANT IT TO HAPPEN. I'M JUST CHECKING. AND WE HAVE CAROLINE WEBSTER ON, ON A CALL TO PROVIDE ANY RESPONSE. HI, UH, CITY COUNCIL, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. THIS IS CAROLINE WEBSTER. UM, I WANTED TO JUMP IN BECAUSE JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE STATE LAW REQUIRES THE EARLY VOTING POLLING PLACES TO BE SET BY THE TIME EARLY VOTING STARTS, UH, WHICH IS JANUARY 10TH. YOU CANNOT ADD ONE AFTER THAT POINT. AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO HAVE THE SAME HOURS AND LOCATIONS OR SAME HOURS AS THE MAIN EARLY VOTING LOCATION. SO IF YOU WANTED TO TAKE THIS ACTION, THEN IT WOULD HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND BY CITY COUNCIL BEFORE JANUARY 10TH, WHICH IS WHEN EARLY VOTING BEGINS, CAROLINE, HELLO, THIS IS MYRNA CLERK'S OFFICE. UM, I'M LOOKING AT THE VOTING LOCATIONS AND GOOD NEWS. IT'S ON BOTH EARLY AND ELECTION DAY ALREADY. SO WE DON'T NEED TO DISCUSS FURTHER, SORRY. OH, I HAVE A CRACKED PHONE. SO IT'S HARD TO SEE, BUT THANKS. SO WE'RE GOOD. IT'S ON THERE. EXCELLENT. GREAT. THANK YOU. WELL, THAT MAKES THAT ONE EASY. THAT IT'S NO LONGER PART OF THE RESOLUTION WE'RE PASSING. NOW THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT. I JUST THANKS TO THE CLERK FOR FINDING THAT AND THANKS TO THE FOLKS AT CHINA TOWN CENTER FOR A WASTE BIG SILICONE EMANATING. WE ALL REALLY APPRECIATE. SO THAT HAS BEEN MOVED IN SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION, LET'S TAKE A VOTE THOSE IN FAVOR. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. I HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER, ALICE HARPER, MADISON TOBO KITCHEN CAUSE OUR, UH, KELLY, UH, POOLE AND MYSELF VOTING. I RENT THE REIA VOTING. AYE. UM, WITH THAT NUMBER OF, OF AFFIRMATIVE VOTES, IT PASSES. I THINK THOSE ARE ALL THE ITEMS WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US. UH, STAFF WILL BE REACHING OUT, UH, EACH OF YOU TO TALK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR A SPECIAL CALL NEXT WEEK, AS WE DISCUSSED JUST A MOMENT AGO WITH THAT HAPPY NEW YEAR, UH, EVERYBODY, UH, AND, UH, SEE YOU NEXT WEEK. * 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.