Jan 12, 2022 Community Technology &amp; Telecommunications Commission

AND THAT'S BEEN CONFIRMED THAT COMMISSIONER FLOYD WILL BE THE CHAIR OF THAT WORKING GROUP.

UH, SO WE NEED TO AMEND THE MINUTES TO REFLECT THAT, PLEASE, JESSE.

WITH THAT THEN, UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES WITH THAT AMENDMENT? I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS AMENDED SECOND.

HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS AMENDED EARLIER BY COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, BEAVERS AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER RAMOS.

ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES AS AMENDED, PLEASE SAY, AYE, IS THERE ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY.

LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT WE ARE UNANIMOUS IN OUR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES WITH A VOTE OF NINE TO ZERO.

WE'LL BEGIN WITH A BRIEFING FROM THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION, UH, BY OUR BRAND NEW CHIEF RESEARCH AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES OFFICER FOR THE INNOVATION OFFICE, ALBA SURENO, JOINING US ONLINE.

MOVING ON TO OUR AGENDA NOW TO STAFF COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS, UH,

[2.a. Office of Innovation Briefing (Alba Sereno, Chief Research & Strategic Initiatives Officer, Innovation Office)]

HELLO, ELBA.

HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? I AM DOING REALLY WELL, REALLY HAPPY TO BE IN THIS, UH, COMMISSION SPACE AS A FORMER COMMISSIONER ON ANOTHER COMMISSION.

SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR INVITING ME TO VISIT WITH YOU ALL TODAY.

OH, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

WE'LL GO OUT AND LET YOU TAKE IT AWAY FROM HERE.

GLAD TO HAVE YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO MY NAME IS ALVIN SERRANO AND I WORK AT THE CITY AS AN ADMISSION OFFICE, WHICH MANY OF YOU MAY BE AWARE OF, OR, OR MAY HAVE CROSSED PATHS WITH AND, AND COLLABORATION, UH, IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

UM, I, UH, WAS INVITED BY, UH, YOUR CHAIR TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF A UPDATE, NOT ONLY ON THE NEW ROLE THAT I'LL BE PLAYING IN THE OFFICE, BUT THERE ARE ALSO

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SOME CHANGES IN THE OFFICE THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE GOOD FOR Y'ALL TO BE A BRIEF DONE.

UM, AND, AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME, UM, RECENT PROJECTS THAT, UH, CROSS PATHS WITH DIGITAL EQUITY OR COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY RELATED, UM, PROJECT SET THAT WE WANT TO BRING TO YOUR AWARENESS AS WELL.

UM, SO PLEASE THANK YOU.

SO, UH, WHO WE ARE, UM, AS, AS MANY OF YOU MAY KNOW, WE ARE AN OFFICE WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, ENTERPRISE THAT WORKS WITH CITY TEAMS TO IDENTIFY AND TEST SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX CHALLENGES, UH, THAT FACE AUSTIN.

UM, WE REALLY TRY TO LOOK, UM, WITH PEOPLE RIGHT AT, UM, THESE EMERGENT IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS.

UM, YOU MAY FIND US FACILITATING TEAMS, RESEARCHING PROBLEMS, UH, DESIGNING SERVICES, UM, AND ALL OF THIS IS AN EFFORT TO ADVANCE THE CITY'S STRATEGIC GOALS.

UM, A LOT OF TIMES WE GET ASKED, HOW DO WE DEFINE INNOVATION? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT'S THE WORD THAT CAN BE USED IN A LOT OF WAYS.

SO WE DEFINE INNOVATION AT THE OFFICES, ANY PROJECT THAT IS NEW TO YOU, UH, TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE WORK WITH WITHIN THE CITY.

UM, AND THAT HAS AN UNCERTAIN OUTCOME.

WE TRIED TO TAKE A HUMAN CENTERED APPROACH IN OUR WORK AND ALSO TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS THAT WE WORK WITH TO TAKE A HUMAN CENTERED APPROACH, REALLY THINKING ABOUT THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF THOSE WHO, UM, WHO REALLY ARE FACED WITH THOSE CHALLENGES, UM, AND HAVE THAT LIVED EXPERIENCE DIRECTLY, UH, AS WE DO OUR WORK AND AS WE WORK TOWARD, UH, TOWARD SOLUTIONS, UM, I HAVE HERE FOR YOU, OUR ALIGNMENT WITH SD 23, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, WHICH REALLY TALKS ABOUT SOME OF THESE SAME, SAME THINGS WE ARE IN THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL GROUP, WHICH IS ONE OF THE LARGE KIND OF BUCKETS, IF YOU WILL, UM, UH, IN THE WAY THAT OUR CITY IS DIVIDED BY SUBJECT MATTERS.

UM, AND SLIDE, PLEASE YOU'LL SEE US REFLECTED HERE, UM, IN THE MIDDLE COLUMN COLUMN WITH OUR OTHER, UM, FOLKS UNDER GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS.

AND SO HERE COMES SOME OF THE UPDATES IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE, UH, STRUCTURE AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE NEW THAT ARE GOING ON IN TERMS OF THE, OF THE CITY ORG CHART THAT WE WANT TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF.

UM, SO THERE IS A NEW CHIEF OF STAFF POSITION COMING THAT WILL BE, UM, LOOKING OVER OUR, UH, OURSELVES AT INNOVATION OFFICE EQUITY, UM, SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, AND WHAT IS TO BE A NEW RESILIENCE OFFICER.

UM, RIGHT NOW WE CURRENTLY REPORT TO THE, UH, OF COURSE EVERYBODY REPORTS TO THE CITY MANAGER AND ULTIMATELY TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, BUT, UH, ON THE DAY TO DAY, UH, WE REPORT TO THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, WHICH IS, UM, AN ACTING PERSON RIGHT NOW, UM, AS THAT POSITION WAS VACATED.

SO THAT IS, UM, AND MORGAN WHO TYPICALLY SERVES AS OUR CITY'S, UH, ATTORNEY, UM, UH, BUT THERE WILL BE A CHIEF OF STAFF TO COME AND THOSE OFFICES THAT I MENTIONED, UM, WE'LL BE MIGRATING UNDER THAT.

UM, THAT'S ABOUT AS MUCH INFORMATION I HAVE ABOUT THIS, ABOUT THIS CHANGE.

UM, BUT I THINK WE DO THINK THAT IT IS, UM, SIGNIFICANT AND MEANINGFUL, UH, SITE PLEASE, AND THAT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF IT, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE IT IS AN EFFORT, UM, FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO REALLY BRING SOME OF THE ANCHORS, UM, THAT ARE IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND WE CALL THEM STRATEGIC ANCHORS CLOSER TOGETHER.

UM, AND SO HERE YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE, UM, EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY, INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND RESILIENCY, PROACTIVE PREVENTION, COMMUNITY TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS.

THESE ARE THE ANCHORS ARE SUPPOSED TO REALLY OPERATE ACROSS THE ENTIRE ENTERPRISE, UM, BOTH IN THE WAY THAT WE SORT OF SERVE THE ENTERPRISE, BUT THEN ALSO THAT PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO OPERATE WITH RIGHT IN TERMS OF, UM, CITY EMPLOYEES AND THE WAY THAT WE DO OUR WORK.

AND SO IT IS VERY MEANINGFUL TO BE GROUPING AND THE, UH, OFFICES THAT EXIST SPECIFICALLY THAT TIE BACK TO THESE ANCHORS, UM, AND TO GIVE THEM THAT, THAT FOCUS AND THEN THAT DIRECT SORT OF COMMUNICATION BACK UP TO THE CITY MANAGER TO INFORM, UM, UH, DECISION MAKING TOWARD, TOWARD THOSE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE TOGETHER AS A CITY, UH, SIDE, PLEASE.

SO HERE, I WANTED TO JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE TRAJECTORY OF OUR WORK.

UM, WE HAVE, UM, IN THE PAST, YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN US REALLY LEAN INTO THE COLUMN HERE THAT STARTS WITH SYSTEMS DESIGN AND DOING A LOT OF THESE, UM, SORTA SORTS OF WORK AND, UM, EXPRESSING THESE CAPABILITIES

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WITHIN OUR CITY SYSTEM.

SO A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS AND ONGOING PROGRAMS, UM, REALLY, UH, BEGAN WITH LOOKING AT THE, THIS, UM, THESE CAPABILITIES.

UM, AND THEN, UM, AS THE YEARS WENT BY, UH, WE CONTINUED WITH GROWTH TOWARD, UM, THE MIDDLE COLUMN WITH THE COMMUNITY BASED ACCELERATORS, CO-CREATION FACILITATION ORGANIZING, UM, AND BUILDING THOSE NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS, AND REALLY WE'RE NOW HITTING, UH, THINGS WHERE THE OFFICE HAS REALLY ALWAYS DONE SOME LEVEL OF, UM, OF RESEARCH.

UM, BUT WE ARE WALKING INTO A NEXT PHASE OF FORMALIZING THAT AND REALLY GROWING THAT.

AND THAT'S WHERE I COME INTO THE MIX AND I FEEL VERY LUCKY TO, UM, BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO, UM, HELP GROW THE OFFICE AND ITS CAPACITIES OF QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH, UH, FORTIFYING OUR CAPACITIES AND, UM, DATA SCIENCE, UH, DESIGNING AND PROTOTYPING, UM, EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES, GRANT APPLICATIONS, AND IMPACT EVALUATIONS.

UM, AND THESE ARE REALLY SORT OF THE, THE FRONTIER OF PRACTICE, UM, AND WHAT WE WANT TO BUILD OUT, UM, IN, UH, IN OUR, UH, IN OUR OFFICE, UM, FOR THE CITY.

SO AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE SERVE, UH, CITY TEAMS. SO WE'RE AN INTERNAL FACING, UM, WHAT USED TO BE CALLED MANAGEMENT SERVICES, RIGHT.

SERVICES THAT ARE IN SERVICE OF OTHER PEOPLE, UM, AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, OTHER PRACTITIONERS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, TO HELP THEM MEET THOSE MUNICIPAL, UM, EMISSIONS, UM, THAT W THAT WORK AROUND THOSE COMPLEX CHALLENGES AND A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD OVER TIME ABOUT SORT OF, UM, WHAT IS IT A GAP IN TERMS OF ASSISTANCE THAT PEOPLE NEED FALL IN THIS, UM, IN THIS NEW SORT OF, UM, COLUMN OF THINGS THAT WE ARE WALKING INTO, UM, SLIDE PLEASE.

RESEARCH, UM, WITH THIS ONE VERY SIGNIFICANT ENTITY.

SO I WANTED TO SHOW JUST A LITTLE BIT OF, OF OUR STRUCTURE.

WE DO HAVE, UM, OUR CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICERS STILL IN PLACE RIGHT NOW, THAT IS AN ACTING ROLE AS OUR, UM, AS OUR CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER WHO YOU MAY HAVE MET IN THE PAST OR FEARLESSLY HERE, CARIO CONNOR, UM, IS ON SABBATICAL RIGHT NOW.

UM, AND SO DANIEL COOLATTA IS OUR ACTING CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER.

HE TYPICALLY SERVES OVER IN OUR DESIGN PROTOTYPING, AND DE-RISKING OUR PORTFOLIO AS A PORTFOLIO MANAGER.

UM, AND THEN I AM NEW IN THIS NEW POSITION CREATED AND TITLE OF CHIEF RESEARCH AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, UM, OFFICER, UH, WHICH IS OUR NEW FOCUS AREA THAT WE ARE ENDEAVORING TO GROW OUT.

UM, UNDER THIS FOCUS AREA, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, SOME SORT OF NEW AND NEW, OLD THINGS COMING TO THE OFFICE, IF YOU WILL.

SO FOR INSTANCE, UM, THERE'S A LONG STANDING OFFERING OF THE OPEN DATA PORTAL, UM, WHICH IS COMING TO THE OFFICE IN TERMS OF, OF ITS SUBSTANCE AND CONTENT.

UM, THE TECHNOLOGY HOSTING OF IT WILL STILL LIVE OF COURSE, WITH OUR TECHNOLOGY GROUP CTM WITHIN THE CITY.

UM, BUT SUBSTANCE, UH, WHY IS WE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW THAT WITHIN, UH, WITHIN THE OFFICE AND THAT FALLS UNDER MY NEW FOCUS AREA.

UH, WE ALSO HAVE, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF THE NEW, UM, I GUESS CONTRACTUAL AND PURCHASING TOOL CALLED THE UTI, UM, ILA THAT ENTERED LOCAL IMPLEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.

THIS IS MEANT TO BE A WAY TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS AND REALLY UNIFYING GIVE CLARITY AND TRANSPARENCY TO THE WORK THAT IS BEING DONE IN THE RESEARCH REALM, UM, ACROSS THE ENTIRE ENTERPRISE, AND TO GIVE AN AVENUE, UH, FOR, FOR SORT OF A FASTER WAY TO GET TO THE POINT OF BEING ABLE TO DO THAT WORK, UH, FOR THE OFFICES THAT WE SERVE ACROSS THE CITY.

SO THE UTI LA REALLY GREW OUT OF WORK THAT WAS HAPPENING AT OUR TECHNOLOGY TEAM AND OUR TECHNOLOGY TEAM AT CTM.

UM, BUT BECAUSE IT IS MEANT TO SERVE MORE THAN JUST SORT OF THE SCOPE OF, OF THE ONE DEPARTMENT AND REALLY SERVE CITYWIDE, IT'S BEING MIGRATED TO OUR OFFICE, UM, SO THAT WE CAN, UM, WE CAN BEGIN TO, UM, THAT EXPANSION, UH, AND, UM, AND TO HAVE IT, UM, BENEFIT A WIDER ARRAY OF SORT OF, UM, SCOPE AND TOPIC.

UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE SORT OF NEW AND EXISTING IN, UM, THINGS THAT, UM, THAT ARE NEW TO THE OFFICE, BUT PERHAPS, UM, I GUESS THE ILA IS PRETTY NEW TO THE CITY.

IT'S AN IT'S ONE YEAR, UM, SORT OF ANNIVERSARY COMING SOON.

UM, BUT, UM, BUT STILL KIND OF NEW, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, EXISTING IN THE ENTERPRISE.

UM, WE DO PLAN TO SOME RECORDING, UH, AROUND THE FIRST YEAR OF ACTIVITIES OF THE UTI ILA, WHICH WILL BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT OUR DEPARTMENT'S DOING IN TERMS OF, UH,

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UM, AND, AND WHAT IS A FUTURE, UH, OF, OF, UH, THE NEEDS OF RESEARCH ON IN THE ORGANIZATION.

UM, AND WE'LL ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT SORT OF THE DOLLARS EXPENDED AROUND THAT, AND, UM, YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO THAT IN THE NEXT QUARTER.

UM, UH, AFTER THE, UH, ANNIVERSARY OF THE ONE YEAR, WE'LL BE TYING UP SOME, SOME OF THAT REPORTING AND HOPEFULLY PUBLISHING, UM, A DASHBOARD THAT WILL FIRST COME TO THE, UM, COUNCIL'S AUDIT AND FINANCE, UM, MEMBERS.

UM, AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE'LL, WE'LL LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE IT COULD BE ACCESS A LITTLE BIT MORE, MORE WIDELY.

SO I WANT YOU TO MAKE, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT YOU HAVE THAT, UM, ON THE WRITER.

UM, SO WE WILL BE ENDEAVORING TO, UM, AS I SAID, FOUR TO FIVE, UM, OTHER RELATIONSHIPS THAT CAN BENEFIT RESEARCH, NOT ONLY WITH UNIVERSITIES, BUT WE HOPE TO, UM, REALLY, UH, HELP PEOPLE ACROSS OUR ORGANIZATION, UM, COME INTO TIGHTER PARTNERSHIP WITH ENTITIES THAT MAY BE COMMUNITY BASED AND COMMUNITY DRIVEN, UM, THAT DO, UH, RESEARCH.

UM, AND WE REALLY DEEPLY AND STRONGLY HOLD THE VALUE THAT, UM, THAT THE DATA THAT IS PRODUCED ABOUT PEOPLE IS OWNED BY THE PEOPLE THAT IT IS ABOUT.

UM, SO WE INTEND TO, TO OPERATE, UH, WITH THAT AND TO REALLY, UM, THINK ABOUT PEOPLE'S RIGHTS TO DATA AND THEIR DIGITAL RIGHTS AS WE SORT OF DO THIS WORK, UM, TO, TO INFUSE, UM, A PRACTICE OF RESEARCH, A PRACTICE OF BEING DATA DRIVEN ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION TO BUILD BETTER, UM, SERVICES AND OFFERINGS, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, SIDE PLATES.

AND, SORRY, I'LL SAY ONE MORE THING ABOUT THAT LAST SLIDE.

UM, IT'S JUST THAT THERE IS A SPECTRUM, RIGHT, REALLY, UM, OF THESE CAPACITIES.

A LOT OF TIMES PROJECTS TAKE MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF CAPABILITY, UH, TO REALLY GET, UH, ACROSS THE FINISH LINE.

AND SO, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE THESE FOCUS AREAS, UH, WITHIN THE OFFICE, UM, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BY HR STANDARDS AND, UM, AND HAVE USED DIFFERENT GROUPS OF CHAINS, OF SUPERVISION, ET CETERA, REALLY, WE WORK, UM, UH, AS A TEAM ACROSS, UH, THE OFFICE, UM, AND STAFF, UH, PROJECTS, PROGRAMS, AND CONSULTATIONS IN A WAY THAT REALLY MEETS A NEED OF WHATEVER IS AT THE CHALLENGE IS AT HAND, UM, PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND CONSULTATIONS ARE HOW WE THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF INTERACTIONS THAT WE HAVE, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE TAKE ON AND WHAT PEOPLE BRING TO US.

AND SO THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KNOW TOO, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT OR CROSSING PATHS WITH, UM, IN THE ENTERPRISE.

UM, AND WE'RE, WE'RE PREPARING A, UH, A SORT OF REBOUND, UM, INTAKE PROCESS AND THE NEXT, UM, UH, COUPLE OF MONTHS AS WELL, THAT CAN HELP PEOPLE BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW TO, UM, HOW TO BRING, UH, BRING THEIR NEEDS TO US SO THAT WE CAN, UM, SHAKE THEM INTO, UM, INTO PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, OR CONSULTATIONS THAT WE CAN THEN HELP PEOPLE WITH, UM, PROGRAMS FOR US REALLY ARE THOSE ONGOING OFFERINGS, UM, SUCH AS THE DATA PORTAL, SUCH AS THE ILA, THOSE ARE STANDING PROGRAMS WITHIN THE OFFICE.

UM, PROJECTS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE MAY, UM, UH, WRITE A PROPOSAL AGAINST, UM, THAT, THAT ALL PARTIES AGREE TO, UM, HA THAT WOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE INTERACTION TO CONSULT WITH, UM, WITH ENTITIES, UH, WITHIN THE CITY FOR A MORE EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.

WE'VE DONE CONSULTATIONS BEFORE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH OUR, UH, WHAT IS SOUND, THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT AROUND ISSUES OF DISPLACEMENT AND ANTI-DISPLACEMENT THAT HAVE SPANNED A YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF, AND THE OFFICE HAS DONE WORK ON HOMELESSNESS THAT HAS BEEN MULTI-YEAR ET CETERA.

SO THESE ARE MORE ONGOING PROJECTS.

UM, BUT THEN A LOT OF OUR WORK IS SOMETIMES JUST ONGOING CONSULTATIONS.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD A CONSULTATION JUST, JUST YESTERDAY, THAT WAS, UM, PROBABLY, UM, A ONE-TIME SORT OF THING REGARDING, UM, FACILITATION FOR A PLANNING PROCESS AND IDEAS OF HOW TO, UM, HELP PEOPLE, UM, SHAPE, UH, FACILITATION FOR, UH, FOR BEING MORE COMMUNITY CENTERED, UM, AND, UM, BEING TOWARD CO-CREATION RIGHT AND GROWING THOSE CAPACITIES WITHIN THE STAFF, UM, LEADING THAT PLANNING PROCESS.

SO JUST SOME GENERAL EXAMPLES.

NOW WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO WHILE THE OP THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION, UM, ISN'T SHAPED TO ONLY LOOK AT CHALLENGES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH TECHNOLOGY.

AND SO I DID WANT TO MAKE SURE TO BRING, UH, FOR, FOR YOU, UM, SOMETHING MORE SPECIFIC THAT IS IN, IN YOUR ROLE IN TERMS OF AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THAT, THAT YOU CROSS PATHS WITH ALL THE TIME IN YOUR THINKING, UM, IN THIS COMMISSION.

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A LOT OF TIMES WE DO, UM, WORK ON PROJECTS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH TECHNOLOGY THAT DEAL WITH DI DIGITAL EQUITY AND COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY.

UM, SO FUNDED, SECRET MY COLLEAGUES, UM, JUST A SAMPLING OF WHAT SOME OF THOSE MOST RECENT PROJECTS MIGHT BE.

UH, SO I WILL SAY THAT THESE ARE, THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT, UM, AS I'M NEW IN MY POSITION, UM, I HAVE NOT BEEN, UM, NECESSARILY, UM, DEEPLY INVOLVED IN LEADING.

SO THERE MAY BE A LIMIT TO, UH, QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER ABOUT THESE, BUT I HAVE INCLUDED FOR YOU, UM, SOME OF THE CONTEXT HERE OF, OF WHERE YOU CAN READ IT, WHO YOU CAN REACH OUT TO, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THESE PROJECTS.

SO YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE LIFESTYLES PROJECT.

THIS WAS A GRANT FUNDED PROJECT, UH, UH, WITH THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION, UH, THAT THE SYDNEY, UH, UH, INNOVATION OFFICE HELD, UM, IT IS NOW COMPLETED WITH THE, UH, THE CONCEPT WAS TO, UH, CREATE A DIGITALLY CERTIFIED AND ENCRYPTED, UM, UM, MECHANISM THAT DECENTRALIZES, UM, THE, THE DISTRIBUTION OF CERTIFIED, UM, DOCUMENTS, UM, AND REALLY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO HAVE, UM, CONTROL AND ACCESS, UM, TO THEIR PERSONAL, UM, DOCUMENTS THAT THEY MAY NEED FOR ALL SORTS OF, UM, MUNICIPAL SERVICES.

RIGHT? SO, UM, THIS WAS A SOLUTION THAT REALLY CAME OUT OF THE WORK AROUND HOMELESSNESS AT THE OFFICE WAS DOING, UM, IN HEARING FROM THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, THEIR DIFFICULTY IN ACCESSING IN, UM, MAINTAINING CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN PERSONAL, UM, INFORMATION, UM, AND, UH, RECORDS, UM, IN ORDER TO RECEIVE, UH, SERVICES.

AND SO IT BECAME A TECHNOLOGY PROJECT, RIGHT, WITH A TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION THAT THE, THAT THE OFFICE WAS, UM, DEVELOPING THE CODE FOR WHAT WAS DEVELOPED IS OPEN SOURCE AND IS AVAILABLE FOR, UH, FOR YOU OR ANYBODY ELSE WHO WANTS TO IMPLEMENT WITH IT, IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS WITH IT.

UM, AND OUR CONTACT FOR THAT IS OUR, UM, CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER.

UH, DANIEL COOLATTA DID INCLUDE A LINK THERE FOR YOU.

UH, HOPEFULLY IT'S NOT TOO LONG.

UM, UM, BUT, UM, BUT THAT IS WHERE THERE IS MUCH MORE INFORMATION STORED ONLINE ABOUT THIS PROJECT.

I ALREADY MENTIONED THE OPEN DATA PORTAL, UM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS MIGRATING INTO OUR OFFICE.

AS, AS WE MENTIONED, WE ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO PREPARING AND SCOPING WHAT WILL BE THIS NEXT PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT FOR BOTH THE PORTAL ITSELF, AND THEN INTERNAL INSIDE THE CITY.

THERE'S AN OPEN DATA GROUP.

UM, SO A GROUP OF PRACTITIONERS THAT WE UP TO TALK ABOUT, UM, PRACTICES AROUND DATA AND OPEN DATA, AND THESE ISSUES AROUND OPEN GOVERNMENT THAT'S AROUND DATA.

UM, AND WE ARE REALLY VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO BUILDING UP THAT MUSCLE AND BUILDING UP THAT PORTAL IN A WAY THAT HOPEFULLY, UM, WALKS TOWARDS BEING A TOOL THAT IS ABOUT, UM, UH, DECISION SUPPORT, RATHER THAN JUST SORT OF, UM, A TOOL THAT, UH, HAS STATIC DATA SETS.

SO HOW CAN WE PUBLISH AND CREATE VISUALIZATIONS AROUND PERHAPS AN ONGOING AGENDA OF, UM, RESEARCH THAT HELPS PEOPLE, UM, HAVE STRONGER TOOLS, DECISION, SUPPORT TOOLS THAT ARE PUBLIC AND AVAILABLE, UM, AROUND THESE DATA SETS THAT THE CITY HAS, UH, FOR USE, UM, TOWARD, UH, SOLUTIONS OF THESE COMPLEX CHALLENGES.

SO REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO GROW THE PRACTICE THERE, UM, AND KEEP PUSHING TOWARD, UH, YOU KNOW, BETTER AND BETTER OFFERINGS FROM THE URBAN AIR MOBILITY, UM, WORKING GROUP, UM, IS A GROUP THAT WAS, UH, FACILITATED, UM, BY, BY THE OFFICE, UM, REALLY TO, UM, TO BEGIN TO HAVE A CONVERSATION AROUND, UM, THE USE OF DRONES.

SO WHAT, WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT MANY, NOT, NOT MANY, BUT THERE WERE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY THAT WERE USING DRONES WITHIN THEIR OWN, UH, FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSE AND, UM, MUNICIPAL MISSION, UH, WITHIN THE CITY, BUT THEY WEREN'T NECESSARILY COMMUNICATING ACROSS EACH OTHER.

THE CITY, UM, UH, AGAINST THESE TECHNOLOGIES DID NOT HAVE A UNIFIED SET OF POLICIES OR GUIDELINES, UM, OR EVEN MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES THAT WERE RECOMMENDED, UM, OR, OR FORMAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE.

AND SO THE CONVERSATION REALLY WAS TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO BEGIN TO CALL LESSER ON THESE THINGS.

UM, THE, THE STAGE THEY ARE IN A VERY EMERGENT STAGE, UM, BUT THEY DO HAVE A NEW PROJECT, UM, SPONSOR EXECUTIVE

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SPONSOR, WHICH IS, UM, THE CIO AT CTM, CHRIS STEWART, WHO MANY OF YOU MAY KNOW, UM, AND THEY ARE DEVELOPING THEIR, UH, PROJECT CHARTER AT THIS TIME.

IF YOU WISH TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT, THE CONTACT IS, UM, UH, KIRK SCANLON, OF COURSE, THIS IS TECHNOLOGY THAT WOULD CROSS PATHS, UM, UH, POTENTIALLY WITH, WITH RESIDENTS.

AND SO WE THOUGHT THAT THIS MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU TO, UM, TO KNOW ABOUT, UM, THE LAST ONE I'LL TALK ABOUT IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ADVANCED SERVICES.

UM, AND THIS IS A PROJECT THAT REALLY THINKS ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT LEVERAGE INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE TO IMPROVE OUR CITY OPERATIONS AND SERVICES.

UM, THERE WAS, UH, THERE WAS A WORKING GROUP THAT BEGAN TO COALESCE AROUND HAVING THIS PARTICULAR CONVERSATION, UM, AND REALLY TO THINK ABOUT, UM, USE CASES THAT MIGHT APPLY WHAT CAME OUT ON THE OTHER END OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS IS, UM, AIDS, THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TAKING THE LEAD, UM, TO LOOK, UH, AT THE SPACE OF, UM, PILOTS IN THEIR SMART MOBILITY PROGRAM.

UM, AND SO THEY'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN THINKING ABOUT HOW THESE INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE CAN, UM, CAN HELP THEM.

UM, I BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE IN THE STAGE OF JUST BARELY THINKING THROUGH SORT OF WHAT MIGHT BE SOME OF THESE PILOTS AGAINST ALL OF THE POTENTIAL USE CASE APPLICATIONS THAT MAY BE KIND OF IN THEIR REALM.

UM, SO FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS EMERGENT, UM, UH, PROJECT, YOU CAN CONTACT JASON, JOHN MICHAEL, FROM THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.

THESE ARE ALL PROJECTS THAT HAVE, UM, ORIGINATED AND CROSS PATHS WITH OUR OFFICE OF INNOVATION, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ABOUT, UH, SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION TODAY.

I REALLY HOPE TO, UM, TO CONTINUE TO GROW OUR, UH, WORKING RELATIONSHIP AND COLLABORATION TOGETHER.

AND SHOULD YOU WISH TO CONTACT ME? THIS IS MY, UM, EMAIL, UM, AND, AND, UM, IT'S AN, IT'S AN OPEN DOOR FOR CONVERSATION ABOUT THE THINGS THAT YOU ALL ARE CHANGED ON HEARING FROM THE COMMISSION, AS I MENTIONED, UM, I HAD ALSO SERVED AS A COMMISSIONER SOME YEARS BACK, UH, ACTUALLY ON THE IMMIGRATION, UH, FIRST COMMISSION.

AND SO I AM VERY, I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE EFFORTS OF, OF COMMISSIONERS AND PEOPLE WHO STEP UP TO THE PLATE IN THAT, IN THAT WAY AND IN THAT CAPACITY.

SO I'M SO HAPPY TO BE IN CONTACT AND RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU ALL.

UM, AND, AND THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALTHOUGH THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION, LOTS OF GREAT INFORMATION, AND I DEFINITELY HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.

UH, I KNOW THAT WE ONLY HAVE SO MUCH TIME FOR QUESTIONS, BUT I APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK A FEW IF YOU'VE GOT SOME TIME FOR US.

ABSOLUTELY.

CONVERSATIONS, TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THESE SYSTEMS, UH, DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT BEING SPECIFIC TO WHAT THEY ARE RIGHT NOW, BUT TO GET THEM INFORMED, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY, THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THESE THINGS CAN DO, THE TECHNOLOGIES CAN IMPACT HOW THEY CAN IMPACT THEIR LIVES AND WHAT CONCERNS THEY MIGHT HAVE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AND BARRIERS TO TRUST.

UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO REALLY ASK AS I THINK ABOUT HOW YOU DESCRIBED YOURSELF AS BEING, UH, YOUR ORGANIZATION AS BEING A INWARD SERVING ORGANIZATION, UH, AND THE VARIETY OF WAYS YOU CAN BRING RESOURCES TO BEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMISSION, AS YOU ASTUTELY OBSERVED IS VERY FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY NEEDS AND HAVING AN AUDIENCE WITH THE COMMUNITY, UH, AND GIVING THE COMMUNITY A VOICE, UM, WITH OUR FOCUS ON EQUITY, WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON DIGITAL EQUITY AND DIGITAL INCLUSION, UH, THROUGH THE ADMINISTRATION OF OUR GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.

BUT WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW, IN ADDITION TO OTHER THINGS FOCUSED ON THE DIGITAL INCLUSION ECOSYSTEM IS REALLY WORKING TO SURFACE UP THOSE NEEDS, RIGHT.

AND TO BE ABLE TO GIVE DIRECT ACCESS TO POLICY MAKERS WITH THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THEY NEED, UH, PARTICULARLY AS IT AFFECTS, RELATES TO DIGITAL INCLUSION, INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY, AND THE LIKE.

SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT EXAMPLES THAT YOU'VE LISTED HERE ON THE BACK, UH, PARTICULARLY, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ADVANCED SERVICES, AS AN EXAMPLE, OR OF OPEN DATA PORTAL, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK ABOUT GOING IN REVERSE ORDER, I THINK ABOUT THE, UH, RESIDENTIAL TECHNOLOGY STUDY WE HAVE UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW AND THE WAY THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND, UH, OUR INFORMATION, UH, ACCESS AND THE INSIGHTS WE HAVE AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO THEN SURFACE THAT UP TO YOU TO LEVERAGE FURTHER, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK ABOUT, UH, CERTAINLY OUR ONGOING CONVERSATIONS AROUND INTELLIGENT ARCHITECTURE AND, AND WE'LL, WE'LL CERTAINLY FOLLOW UP WITH JASON, JOHN MICHAEL, AS THAT'S VERY SPECIFIC, BUT WITH THE COMMUNITY ASPECT, I THINK ABOUT HOW WE COULD LEVERAGE YOUR DEPARTMENT TO THEN HAVE THOSE

[00:30:01]

FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WITH SOME OF THESE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, IT'S REALLY KIND OF CURIOUS TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS, UH, WITH, WITH THAT TO KIND OF CONSIDER, UH, REALLY AS A FIRST QUESTION.

YEAH, DEFINITELY.

I THINK THAT Y'ALL ARE AT THE, AT THE FOREFRONT AND CLOSEST TO COMMUNITY, UM, IN THE WAYS THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU ARE EXECUTING YOUR, YOUR WORK.

SO I'D BE REALLY INTERESTED TO, TO CONNECT WITH Y'ALL, TO LEARN MORE IN DETAIL ABOUT, UM, ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY AT HAND, UM, AND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT WE MIGHT OFFER.

UM, WE MAY, A LOT OF TIMES WE MAY NOT BE THE SORT OF ULTIMATE HOME FOR, FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT COME TO US, BUT WE ARE A VERY GOOD PLACE TO START IN ORDER TO CHANNEL AND FIND, UM, THE PLACES WITHIN THE CITY THAT MAY BE THE BEST PLACE, UM, TO CARRY SOMETHING LONGTERM.

UM, AND THAT'S PART OF THE INNOVATION OFFICE, UM, SORT OF, WE, WE MAY START THINGS, BUT AS WE SAW ON OUR PROJECTS, THOSE ARE HANDED OFF FOR THE LONGTERM, UM, IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS.

BUT CERTAINLY, UM, THE CHALLENGE OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES RIGHT, IS, UH, IS A, UM, IS A TYPE OF COMPLEX CHALLENGE THAT IS WORTH THE INNOVATION OFFICE, UM, CERTAINLY LOOKING AT AND THINKING ABOUT, UM, AND WE'D LOVE TO UNDERSTAND, UM, BETTER KIND OF WHAT ARE, UM, WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF, OF YOUR CURRENT WORK, UM, AND HOW, HOW WE MIGHT BE HELPFUL, UM, IN THAT, UM, THAT MAY, MAY RESULT IN ALL, UH, ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT AVENUES.

UM, WHETHER THAT IS, AGAIN, I WANT TO FIND, UM, UH, STAFF ACROSS THE CITY OR, UM, UM, UNDERSTANDING, UH, A CONVERSATION THAT NEEDS TO BE HAPPENING, THAT ISN'T HAPPENING, PUTTING ENERGY, UM, AROUND THAT, UM, OR, UM, CONNECTING, UH, INFORMATION, UH, WE HAVE DEFINITE OPPORTUNITY WITH THE OPEN DATA PORTAL TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS PUBLISHED ABOUT THESE THINGS, UM, AND, AND HOW WE MAKE THAT, UM, ACCESSIBLE, UM, TO FOLKS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CITY TO DRIVE THE CONVERSATION.

SO I THINK THERE'S JUST KIND OF A WEALTH OF WAYS AND VARIETY OF THAT THAT COULD COME OF, UM, A CONVERSATION AROUND, UM, AROUND YOUR CURRENT WORK, IN THIS REALM.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I CAN REALLY APPRECIATE THAT RESPONSE AND WE'LL CERTAINLY BE FOLLOWING UP, UH, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES BEFORE PASSING ON TO MY OTHER PEERS, FOR QUESTIONS THEY MAY HAVE.

I DID WANT TO ASK OF ONE OF THE THING AS IT RELATES TO THE CURRENT INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT AND OTHER PROJECTS AROUND INTELLIGENT ARC, EXCUSE ME, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT MIGHT INVOLVE OR REQUIRE, UH, ACTUALLY, UH, A PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP.

UH, CAN YOU MAYBE SPEAK TO HOW YOUR DEPARTMENT WILL BE INVOLVED IN CREATING AND HELPING TO REALLY MAP OUT THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE WHEN IT COMES TO SOME OF THESE PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS, IF YOU WILL, AT ALL? YEAH, SO THE UTI LA IS VERY SPECIFICALLY FOR, UM, UH, FOR, UH, UH, SECURING, UM, RESEARCH CAPACITY.

UM, AND SO IT IS A VERY SPECIFIC TOOL, UM, AND AGREEMENT THAT UT AND THE CITY CAME AROUND TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE COULD LEVERAGE RESEARCH CAPACITIES.

UH, THE FUNDING, UM, MOST TIMES REALLY COMES FROM THE CITY'S END, RIGHT, PAYING FOR A SERVICE.

UM, BUT IT IS A CONTRACTUAL TOOL, UM, TO HELP US EXPEDITE THAT AND DRAW THAT DOWN.

UM, RIGHT NOW THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE A SPECIFIC OFFICE THAT LOOKS AT PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.

UM, ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY THAT THERE, THERE IS SOME CAPACITY I THINK, WITH, WITHIN OUR CAPITAL CONTRACTING OFFICE AROUND THIS.

UM, AND I DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT INCORRECTLY SO I CAN, I CAN CHECK BACK AND MAKE SURE ABOUT THAT.

UM, AND, AND I KNOW THAT THERE MAY BE SOME STAFF THAT HAS, UM, SOME OF THIS WORK IN, UH, IN VERY SPECIFIC ROOMS IN OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES, UH, UNIT.

UM, BUT THAT DOESN'T SPECIFICALLY LIVE WITHIN THE INNOVATION OFFICE.

WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO, UM, IN THIS KIND OF NEW PHASE THAT WE ARE WALKING INTO, UM, TO GROW, UM, UH, CAPACITY AND TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS SORT OF NECESSARY AND

[00:35:01]

WHAT MAY BE USEFUL TO FOLKS IN THE ENTERPRISE IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT, UM, AT GRANTS.

AND SO A LOT OF TIMES, UM, THE NUMBER ONE BARRIER OF TRYING SOMETHING NEW IN TERMS OF INNOVATION IS FUNDING, RIGHT? UM, AND SO WE ARE VERY AWARE OF THAT, AND WE ARE ALSO VERY WORRIED THAT THERE IS VERY LIMITED CAPACITY, UM, AND SOMETIMES NO, NO CAPACITY, THERE'S NO SORT OF EXISTENCE, UM, STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS THAT, UM, THAT IS SOLELY DEDICATED TO LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES OF FUNDING THAT COME FROM OUTSIDE OF THE CITY BUDGET.

SO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS TO EXPLORE WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE TO BRING SOME CAPACITY WITHIN THE INNOVATION OFFICE THAT HELPS US LOOK AT, UM, LOOK AT HELPING OTHERS, UH, SECURE FUNDING OUTSIDE OF THE CITY'S COFFERS.

AND THAT INDEED MAY INVOLVE SOME PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WOULD BE REMISS TO NOT MENTION ALSO THE NEW ECONOMIC, UM, UH, DEVELOPMENT, UM, CORPORATION THAT IS CREATED AGAIN FOR, FOR A VERY SPECIFIC, UM, SORT OF TOPICAL.

UM, BUT I DO, I DO BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD ALSO BE SORT OF WORKING IN THE REALM OF PRIVATE PARTNER, UH, PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS, UM, IN REGARD TO, UM, THINGS THAT SORT OF TOUCH, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

SO THOSE ARE SOME SPACES THAT I'M AWARE OF WHERE THERE IS SOME CAPACITY AND KIND OF WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPE, UM, AROUND THAT THERE WAS, UM, I THINK AN EMERGENT EFFORT AROUND, UM, STRATEGIC, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AT CTM FOR SOME TIME, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THAT EXISTS IN THE WAY IT WAS EXISTING, UM, ANYMORE.

UM, AND SOME OF THAT STUFF HAS ACTUALLY MIGRATED, UM, TO OUR OFFICE.

SO WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE THEIR EXPERTISE AS WE EXPLORE THIS IN REALM OF THINKING ABOUT THAT CRIME, UH, THAT GRANT CAPACITY, UM, UH, THAT WE ARE WANTING TO EXPLORE.

UM, AND WE WILL HAVE TO WALK THROUGH ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO WALK THROUGH TO, UH, WITH OUR LEADERSHIP TO, UM, GET APPROVAL, TO DO THAT, ET CETERA, BUT IT IS A DIRECTION THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, TO GO INTO AN OFFERING THAT WE WANT TO HAVE, UH, FOR FOLKS, UH, WITHIN THE ENTERPRISE.

THE LAST THING ALL, UM, PUT ON THE RADAR ABOUT THIS IS, UH, THERE IS A PROJECT, UM, UH, WITHIN OUR OFFICE OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT, UM, TO LOOK AT GRANTS THAT IS ALSO EDITS BEGINNING PHASES AND TO KIND OF HELP UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT IS CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE CITY IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE, UM, DECIDE TO TAKE ON GRANTS AND, UH, APPROACH GRANTS THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY JUST ABOUT THE INNOVATION SPACE, BUT ACROSS THE BOARD.

UM, AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER PLACE THAT MAY YIELD SOME, SOME INSIGHTS, AND WE'RE LOOKING OF COURSE, TO BE COLLABORATIVE AND CONNECT WITH THAT GROUP, TO UNDERSTAND THE INSIGHTS THAT THEY'RE YIELDING SO THAT WE CAN BRING THOSE RELEVANT INSIGHTS BACK TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD AT OUR SHOP.

I HOPE THAT'S HELPFUL.

IT WAS, IT WAS HELPFUL.

AND WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS I DO WANT TO JUST PROVIDE ONE BIT OF ONE CAVEAT HERE TO MY PEERS.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR PROVIDING THE FOLLOW-UP CONTACTS FOR EACH PROJECT, BECAUSE WE WILL NEED TO FOLLOW UP WITH THESE CONTACTS IN THE WORKING GROUP SETTING.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

UH, SO IF ANY QUESTIONS ARE RELATED TO THAT, IF YOU COULD JUST REFRAIN FROM THOSE AND WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE THOSE OFFLINE TO THESE INDIVIDUALS.

UM, BUT I I'M SEEING, UH, COMMISSIONER YATES WHO HAS A QUESTION AND ON A SEEK MR. DASGUPTA OR ANYONE ELSE BEFORE I LET SOMEONE ASK ANYONE ELSE HAVE A QUESTION THAT THEY KNOW OF COMMISSIONER GARA AS WELL.

SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH COMMISSIONER YATES.

THEN WE'LL GO TO THE COMMISSIONER, GOT SCOOTER, AND THEN COMMISSIONER GORROW.

THIS COMMISSION HAS BEEN GETTING PRESENTATIONS FROM THE AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTE ON SHARED NETWORK NODES.

HAS THE AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTE CONTACTED YOUR OFFICE? I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED CONTACT, UM, IN OUR OFFICE SPECIFICALLY, BUT I IMAGINE THAT, UM, SOME OF THE, UH, MEMBERS OF THE IAS PROJECT MAY, MAY HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT, UM, WITH THAT, UM, WITH THAT ENTITY.

SO THAT MAY BE A GOOD, UM, QUESTION FOR, UM, JASON, JOHN, MICHAEL, AND OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE IAS PROJECT AT THIS POINT.

UM, IT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, AS A, AS A PERSON IN THE UNITED POSITION, UH, MAYBE THERE IS, THERE'S JUST, JUST NOT IN MY AWARENESS.

SO WHAT I WILL DO ALSO IS FOLLOW UP WITH MY COLLEAGUES, UM, TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT AND COMMUNICATE BACK IF, IF WE'VE HAD CONTACT.

OKAY, GOOD.

YOUR ORGANIZATION WOULD BE THE PERFECT ORGANIZATION TO, UH, TO REALLY SPEARHEAD THIS.

WE'D LIKE SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR THE CITY.

AND SO I THINK THAT, UH,

[00:40:01]

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND BEFORE I'D STILL BE TRANSITIONED TO COMMISSIONER DUSK ONLINE, HIS QUESTION, I DO WANT TO MAKE MENTION THAT WE HAVE SOME INSIGHTS THAT WE'LL BE DISCUSSING FURTHER IN OUR WORKING GROUP SESSIONS ABOUT THIS TOPIC.

SO AGAIN, IF IT'S NOT AT LEAST PERTINENT TO THE SPECIFIC INNOVATION OFFICE, JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND WITH YOUR QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONER SCOOPED UP, PLEASE GO RIGHT AHEAD.

SO ACTUALLY MY QUESTION IS VERY MUCH RELATED.

ACTUALLY I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.

THE FIRST ONE IS VERY MUCH RELATED TO THE LAST TWO QUESTIONS.

THE QUESTION THAT, UH, GRP TEST AND FOLLOWED BY THE DEPRESSION, THAT COMMISSIONER GATES, IT'S ALL ABOUT THIS AUTONOMY INSTITUTE AND THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING ON INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIFIC TO COMMUNICATION AND READ IT TIES IN WITH WHAT YOU HAD SAID EARLIER IS ABOUT PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT AS A POTENTIAL MODEL BY WHICH THEY COULD POSSIBLY ACCELERATE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO I SEE YOUR ORGANIZATION PLAYING IN TWO WAYS.

ONE IS COMING UP WITH INNOVATIVE PBB MODELS BY WHICH WE COULD MOVE THIS FORWARD, AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL NUTS AND BOLTS OF WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO IMPLEMENT THIS INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO I WOULD WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION IN BOTH WORKED FROM THE PVP POINT OF VIEW, AS WELL AS THE TECHNOLOGY BUCKETS.

SO IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE COMMENTS TO ADD, FEEL FREE TO DO THAT.

AND MY SECOND QUESTION IS ABOUT AI.

AI IS A DOMINANT STORE.

IS THERE ANY EFFORT TO SEE HOW WE CAN BEST USE AI WITHOUT THESE NEGATIVE THINGS? I THINK IT BECOMES A, YOU KNOW, A DANGEROUS THING THAT WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA.

I, I'M NOT AWARE OF, BUT THIS, THESE ACTUALLY MAY BE, UM, MORE IN THE REALM OF OUR TECHNOLOGY GROUP WITH CTM.

UM, SO I AM NOT AWARE OF, UM, UH, PARTICULAR PROJECTS OR, UM, GROUP CONVENINGS AROUND, UM, AI, BUT THAT JUST MAYBE BECAUSE THAT'S NOT TYPICALLY WHERE, UM, WHERE THAT LIVES WITH US.

UM, SO, UM, I CAN SPEAK WITH, UM, OUR, UM, CIO, CHRIS STUART, UM, TO SEE IF HE HAS MORE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT MAY BE GOING ON IN THAT SPACE.

UM, AND, AND TRY TO TURN BACK ON, UH, MORE INFORMATION.

UM, AND I APPRECIATE THE, UM, SORT OF VOTE A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE FOR, UM, FOR YOUR SENSIBILITY, FOR THE INNOVATION OFFICE TO BE INVOLVED IN THE, IN THE OTHER PARTS OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.

UM, WE'LL CERTAINLY TAKE THAT INTO OUR THINKING.

I'LL TAKE THAT BACK TO HER, UM, INNOVATION OFFICER.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RECENT ROLE.

UM, IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY INSIGHTFUL TO SEE THE, I GUESS, THE THREE DIFFERENT PHASES THAT YOUR, UM, OFFICE, YOU KNOW, THE THREE DIFFERENT PHASES PHASES OF YOUR INNOVATION CAPABILITIES IN YOUR OFFICE.

UM, BUT I'M CURIOUS IS THE, IS THAT, THAT CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF YOUR OFFICES FOCUSED ON INNOVATION CAPABILITIES, REFLECTIVE OF THE EVOLVING NEEDS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN OFFICES AND TEAMS THAT YOU ALL SUPPORT OR MORE REFLECTIVE OF THE MATURITY OF YOUR OWN OFFICE AND THE GROWTH IN YOUR OFFICE? THAT'S A REALLY GREAT QUESTION.

I THINK IT'S BOTH.

UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY, UM, I DON'T WANT TO PUT WORDS IN OUR INNOVATION OFFICER'S MOUTH, BUT I DO THINK THAT ACROSS TIMES WHERE THERE WAS, UH, AN EYE, UH, AND BEGINNING IDEA OF ALL OF THE THINGS THAT COULD BE EXPLORED AND MIGHT BE NEEDS IN THE ORGANIZATION.

UM, AND THEN THERE WAS A, ACROSS THE YEARS, A LOT OF LEARNING ABOUT THOSE THINGS AND, BUT WHAT MIGHT NEED TO BE SORT OF ADDED AND EXPANDED.

UM, AND SO IT'S BOTH A REFLECTION OF, UM, OF SORT OF GROWTH, UM, AND NEED, UM, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THAT WITHIN THE ENTERPRISE AND THEN WITHIN, UH, WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION.

I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF, UM, THAT ALSO SORT OF, UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, UM, BEGINNING A NEW OFFICE, UM, FROM SCRATCH, UM, IT DIDN'T COME IN IN THE IMMEDIATE, UM, WITH ALL OF THE, UH, RESOURCES RIGHT UPFRONT.

AND SO THERE WAS ALSO SORT OF, I THINK, UM, A REFLECTION HERE OF BEING ABLE TO, UM, TACKLE A CERTAIN SUBSET OF THINGS AND THEN GROW AND GROW TOWARD, UM, TOWARD EXPANSION AND BY NO MEANS, IS IT A REPLACEMENT AND, AND SAYING THAT THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE, UM, EXPLORED AS AN OFFICE IN THE PAST WON'T BE OFFER, BUT RATHER TRYING TO BRING MORE THINGS TO THE TABLE.

[00:45:01]

I HOPE THAT'S HELPFUL.

GREAT.

IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, UH, REALLY, UH, EXCITING TO SEE AN INNOVATION OFFICE BE BOTH ADAPTIVE AND EXPANDING, SO GREAT QUESTIONS AND I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

IT IS VERY EXCITING.

UH, THAT'S ONE OF, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS IN THE ROOM OR ONLINE.

OKAY, WELL, UH I'LL BUT THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.

UH, I DID HAVE, UM, A QUESTION ABOUT THE CHIEF OF STAFF, UH, DYNAMIC, BUT I RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, THAT MIGHT BE, UH, BETTER SERVED IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT, UH, IN LIGHT OF THE DYNAMICS, PARTICULARLY AS WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THE ROLE OF THE CIO AND TECHNOLOGY PLAYS AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER AND OR STRATEGIC DELIVERY SERVICE DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, WITHIN OUR GOVERNMENT.

BUT IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THAT QUESTION.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND TIME WITH Y'ALL TODAY.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

THANKS AGAIN FOR JOINING US TODAY.

UM, AGENDA ITEM, TO BE AN UPDATE ON THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES, PROGRAM LETTER OF INTEREST PROCESS BY JESSE RODRIGUEZ, THE INTERIM PROGRAM MANAGER.

LET'S MOVE ON WITH OUR AGENDA HERE NOW TO,

[2.b. Update on the Grant for Technology Opportunity Program Letter of Interest Process ( Jesse Rodriguez, Interim Program Manager, Financial Services Department)]

HEY JESSICA, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

UH, GOOD EVENING.

I HAVE A VERY QUICK UPDATE ON THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.

UH, I PROMISED AN UPDATE ON OUR LETTER OF INTEREST PROCESS, UH, AT OUR LAST MEETING.

AND, UH, SO JUST QUICK BACKGROUND FOR THE, FOR THE PUBLIC WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE GRANT.

DETOX IS A GRANT THAT IS DIRECTED AT SUPPORTING NONPROFITS THAT ARE DOING DIGITAL INCLUSION WORK IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND WE HAVE $400,000 IN FUNDING AVAILABLE EACH YEAR THROUGH A FEW DIFFERENT PATHWAYS.

UM, WHAT BRINGS US HERE TODAY IS ONE OF THOSE PATHWAYS G TOPS CORPS HAS THE LETTER OF INTEREST, UH, DUE DATE WAS THIS PAST SUNDAY.

UH, SO, UH, WE HAVE ALL OF OUR APPLICATIONS IN, I MENTIONED AT THE LAST MEETING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, DUE TO, UH, LOW STAFFING, WE WERE CONCERNED THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A SMALL NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THIS YEAR DUE TO LIMITED MARKETING.

UM, IT DIDN'T REALLY TURN OUT THAT WAY.

WE HAVE A SLIGHT DIP IN APPLICATIONS FROM LAST YEAR, UH, BUT IN GENERAL, WE ARE IN A VERY HEALTHY SPOT.

UH, WE HAVE 28 LETTERS OF INTEREST THAT WERE SUBMITTED AND JUST SO, UH, FOR COMPARISON LAST YEAR, UH, WE HAD 35, UH, AND THE YEAR BEFORE THAT WE HAD 21 AND IN 2019 WE HAD 31.

UH, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS STILL A GOOD YEAR FOR G TOPS LETTERS OF INTEREST, UH, NOT, UH, AS HIGH AS LAST YEAR, BUT IN THE LARGER CONTEXT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE LAST FEW YEARS WHERE, RIGHT WHERE WE NEED TO BE.

UM, AND, UH, ONE LAST NOTE ON THIS ITEM, UH, I, UH, SINCE I PROMISED THIS WOULD BE A VERY QUICK ONE, UH, JANUARY 14TH IS THE, UH, NEXT THAT THE OPENING DATE OF THE APPLICATIONS.

SO THE ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THAT SUBMITTED THEIR LOI I'LL REVIEW THEM TOMORROW.

UM, IF I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK, I I'LL, I'LL SEND THAT OUT PROMPTLY TOMORROW AND FRIDAY WILL BE THE OPENING UP OF THE, UH, APPLICATION PHASE.

SO I ESSENTIALLY MOVED THE ORGANIZATIONS AHEAD IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

UH, THE DEADLINE FOR THE COMPLETION OF THOSE APPLICATIONS IS GOING TO BE FEBRUARY 13TH.

SO THAT, THAT'S MY UPDATE ON THE LETTER OF INTEREST PROCESS.

UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANY, UH, YOU COMMISSIONERS MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU, JESSE.

UH, THAT'S A GREAT UPDATE AND, UH, GREAT NEWS.

UH, I WAS KIND OF CURIOUS TO SEE WHERE THINGS ARE GOING TO LIE ON LAND THERE.

UH, SO, UH, THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, AS A GOOD OUTCOME, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR AND THE PREVIOUS YEAR WITH THE PANDEMIC.

UH, SO, UH, ANY QUESTIONS, UH, FOR JESSE AT THIS PHASE? OKAY, GREAT.

WE CAN MOVE ON.

THANK YOU AGAIN, JESSE.

ALL

[3.a. Selection of the 2022 GTOPs Core Review Panel (Commission Discussion and Action)]

MOVING ALONG IN OUR AGENDA TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE, THE SELECTION OF THE 2022 G TOPS CORE VIEW PANEL.

AND, UH, I THINK JESSE WILL LEAD US INTO THIS DISCUSSION AS WELL.

BE EVALUATING THE, UH, APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SUBMITTED.

AND HAVING TO LEAD OFF THIS ITEM AS WELL, UM, RELATED TO THE PREVIOUS ITEM, UH, WE, UH, I'LL BE LOOKING FOR A VOTE FROM THE COMMISSION TO APPOINT THE REVIEW PANEL.

UM, FOR THAT WE'LL

[00:50:01]

UH, I'M GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR A TOTAL OF SEVEN, UH, MEMBERS ON THE PANEL.

I CAN GO, YOU KNOW, LOWER, I CAN GO AS LOW AS I THINK MAYBE SIX, UH, YOU KNOW, SIX OR SEVEN WOULD BE FINE, BUT, UH, IF WE HAVE SEVEN GOOD APPLICANTS, APPLICANTS, THEN I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND APPOINT SEVEN.

UM, THERE ARE EIGHT APPLICANTS.

I DID WANT TO MENTION SOME BACKGROUND, UH, UH, ON THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED.

WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED A GOOD NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS TOTAL.

UH, WE RECEIVED 14 TOTAL APPLICATIONS TO BE REVIEWERS.

HOWEVER, HOWEVER, ONE OF THOSE WAS INELIGIBLE DUE TO JUST ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, THEY, WEREN'T AN AUSTIN RESIDENT, UH, ONE WITH WITHDREW, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT IT WAS A PROFESSOR THAT HAS BEEN WORKING WITH US.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SHE, UH, SHE OBVIOUSLY HAS A LOT ON HER PLATE.

UM, WE ALSO HAD FOUR OTHER APPLICANTS WHO VOLUNTEERED FOR, TO BG TOPS, REVIEWERS, BUT DIDN'T WANT TO REVIEW ON THIS OPPORTUNITY, UH, OR ON THIS PATHWAY.

UH, THIS IS THE, THE HEAVIEST LIFT FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS.

SO SOME FOLKS JUST SHIED AWAY FROM THE ADDITIONAL, UH, COMMITMENT, UH, THAT LEFT US WITH THE EIGHT APPLICANTS THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU ALL TODAY.

UM, SO WHAT I'LL BE DOING IS ASKING FOR YOU ALL TO, UH, LET ME KNOW THE, THE, THE LOWEST SCORING, UH, APPLICANT FOR, FROM, FROM EACH OF YOU.

AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL HELP US TO NARROW IN ON THE SEVEN THAT WE DO WANT TO KEEP.

UH, ONE NOTE BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE REVIEW OF THE APPLICATIONS IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, I'M NOT GOING TO BE POSTING THIS, UH, PIECE OF BACKUP DOCUMENTATION BECAUSE IT HAS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION ON IT.

UH, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE VOTES HERE, I WOULD ASK THAT, UH, AND, AND FOR THE CONVERSATION I WOULD ASK THAT WE ALL USE THE, UH, IDENTIFIERS, SO APPLICANTS ONE THROUGH EIGHT, RATHER THAN FOCUSES NAMES.

SEE, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.

DO YOU, UM, I KNOW THIS IS FOR DETOX CORE REVIEW PANEL.

UM, DO YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT, UH, APPLICATIONS FOR YOUR OTHER REVIEW PANELS? SO I'LL BE DOING INDIVIDUAL RECRUITMENT PUSHES FOR EACH OF THOSE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES.

UH, I DO HAVE A SUFFICIENT NUMBER ON HAND ALREADY ASSUMING THAT NOBODY BACKS OUT OR DROPS OUT OF THE PROCESS.

I WAS ONLY CURIOUS JUST BECAUSE I NOTICED SOME APPLICANTS HAD MULTIPLE PATHWAYS LISTED AND I DIDN'T KNOW THAT SHOULD BE FACTORED.

NO, THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT BECAUSE THAT COULD VERY WELL AFFECT WHETHER WE WANT SIX OR SEVEN, RIGHT.

BASED ON HOW MANY PATHWAYS OR HAVE YOU THOUGHT THAT THROUGH JESSIE AS WELL? UM, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT IT'LL IMPACT, UH, OUR DECISION TODAY.

UM, YEAH, SO I KEEP ANYBODY THAT APPLIES TO BE A REVIEWER.

I KEEP ON OUR, UH, RECRUITMENT DISTRIBUTION LIST FOR FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES.

UH, SO REGARDLESS OF IF THEY'VE SERVED ALREADY OR NOT, THEY'LL, THEY'LL STILL BE RECRUITED IF, IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO SERVE AGAIN.

UM, JESSE, I HAVE A QUESTION.

UM, APPLICANT NUMBER SIX DOES NOT LIST AUSTIN AS THE CITY OF RESIDENCE.

IS THAT, UH, OUR REQUIREMENT? YES.

COMMISSIONER, UH, IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY THAT, UH, THAT IS AN ENTITY THAT IS STILL WITHIN THE, UH, THE BOUNDARIES OF AUSTIN, IT'S JUST, UH, I, I'M NOT QUITE SURE THE, UH, THE LEGAL DISPOSITION, IT IT'S A SEPARATELY INCORPORATED, I WOULD THINK.

UH, BUT WITHIN THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF AUSTIN, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.

YES, JESSE.

SO JUST TO CONFIRM, THEY'D LIVE WITHIN CITY OF AUSTIN JURISDICTION, BUT IT MAY JUST BE ANNEXED OR IS THAT WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY INSTEAD OF IT BEING COUNTY IT'S THEY ARE WITHIN CITY OF AUSTIN.

THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.

DOES THAT ADDRESS YOUR CONCERN COMMISSIONER? YIKES.

AND COMMISSIONERS, AS YOU MAKE YOUR DECISIONS, FEEL FREE TO, UH, LET ME KNOW.

[00:55:10]

I HAVE A TRACKER TRACKING SPREADSHEET IN FRONT OF ME, SO I'LL I'LL LOG BOATS AS THEY COME IN.

UH, JESSE FOR ME, MY, MY LOWEST SCORE WOULD BE APPLICANT NUMBER SEVEN, JESSIE.

UH, MY VOTE IS A LOW SCORES.

THAT'S GOOD.

NUMBER SEVEN.

IT'S A COMMISSIONER OF THE DACA.

UH, APPLICANT SAID IT'S ALSO MY LOWEST SCORE.

SO HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE IN RIGHT NOW, JESSE? YOU HAVE THREE, FOUR VOTES ON FILE SO FAR FOR WATERBURY

[01:00:10]

JESSIE.

MY LITTLE SCORE IS NUMBER ONE, JESSE BY LOW SCORE IS NUMBER FOUR IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THIS COMMISSION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE MERITS OF THESE APPLICANTS? I'VE ACTUALLY NEVER HAD A COMMISSION GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE, SO I'M NOT, I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN, UM, DOES A V HAVE ANY REASON WHY WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION? UH, MY KNOWLEDGE I BOUGHT, OH, OKAY.

THIS IS AN AGENDA ITEM.

THAT INCLUDES DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.

SO THAT INCLUDES EXECUTIVE SESSION.

UM, WE ARE NOT SET UP, WE'RE NOT SET UP FOR DISCUSSION.

WE'RE NOT SET UP FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION.

WHAT, LET ME, LET ME REPHRASE, UH, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE WHAT EXECUTIVE SESSION EVEN IS, BUT I, THAT WE CONDUCT DISCUSSIONS AND ACTIONS ALL THE TIME.

UH, SO AS A REQUIREMENT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND JUST PUBLIC MEETINGS AND THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT, WE HAVE A NORMAL SESSION GO ON PUBLIC EXECUTIVE SESSION IS THE ACT OF THIS BODY MEETING AND NOT PUBLICIZING.

BASICALLY IT'S A PRIVATE DISCUSSION.

WELL, THIS BODY HAS WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE PRIVATE.

SO IN THE SETTING HERE, WHEN OUR AGENDA SAYS DISCUSSION, WE CAN DISCUSS, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING TO MY KNOWLEDGE THAT PREVENTS THAT.

SO COMMISSIONER, UH, W OR CHAIR PITS, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS THE, UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION IS, IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOVERNED BY, UH, I BELIEVE IS GOVERNED BY, UH, UH, THE, UM, OPEN MEETINGS ACT.

IT'S A SPECIFIC, UH, PROVISION FOR, FOR MEETINGS, UH, IN WHICH THE, UH, THE MEETING A PUBLIC MEETING WOULD THEN BECOME PRIVATE AND NON NON BROADCAST.

I NEED TO BE PRINTING THE REVIEW BINDERS, UM, FOR THOSE APPLICATIONS TO BE PROVIDED TO THE PANEL FOR REVIEW, I THINK BEFORE THAT WE ARE OKAY.

UM, WHAT, UH, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE IT HA WE NEED, IF WE ANTICIPATED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, IT WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE BEEN ON THE AGENDA POSTED AS AN EXECUTIVE OR AS A EXACTLY.

FAIR ENOUGH.

AND I RECOGNIZE THAT AND APPRECIATE THAT, UH, I GUESS THEN TO CUT TO THE CHASE, THE MAIN THING THAT WE NEED TO AVOID DOING IS DISCUSSING IDENTIFYING QUALITIES OF THE PERSON.

UH, IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THESE INDIVIDUALS, UM, AND IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO ACTUALLY DO THAT EFFECTIVELY WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THEIR BACKGROUNDS.

SO THINKING THAT THROUGH, I DON'T SEE HOW WE COULD ACTUALLY EVEN ENGAGE IN A SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION ABOUT THESE APPLICANTS.

UH, SO THE QUESTION THEN IS IF WE DON'T HAVE SIX PEOPLE IN AGREEMENT ABOUT THE SCORES, UH, WHICH WOULD BE REQUIRED FOR THIS TO BE AN OFFICIAL ACTION TIRPITZ YES.

IF I MAY MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE THIS AGENDA ITEM FOR THE NEXT REGULARLY CALLED MEETING WITH THE STIPULATION THAT WE ADD AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE AGENDA, I APPRECIATE THAT MOTION.

I'M TRYING TO GET CONFIRMATION ON THE IMPACT TO OUR TIMETABLE OKAY.

FROM OUR STAFF LIAISON FIRST.

SURE.

SO THE, UH, IMPORTANT DATE FOR US IS FEBRUARY 14TH TO 24TH IS WHEN

[01:05:01]

SO IF WE WERE TO DELAY UNTIL OUR FEBRUARY MEETING, UH, THAT WOULD BE OKAY.

UH, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD, IT WOULD CAUSE A DELAY IF WE WERE UNABLE TO MEET QUORUM AT THAT MEETING.

COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, BEAVERS, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR STATEMENT? YES.

I WAS WONDERING IF, IF THAT WERE INDEED THE CASE, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO GET MORE APPLICATIONS? AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE AS I REVIEW THESE APPLICATIONS, UM, TO ME, THE, THEY DON'T REPRESENT TO ME A BREADTH OF A SCOPE THAT I THINK THAT IS NEEDED FOR A G TOPS REVIEW.

THAT WOULD BE DIVERSE ENOUGH.

I MEAN, A LOT OF THESE SOUND THE SAME, THEY READ THE SAME.

UM, AND, UM, AND THERE WERE SOME, JUST SOME THINGS AS I REVIEWED THEM THAT WERE JUST MISSING THAT I WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE SALIENT TO BEING ABLE TO REVIEW, UM, THESE APPLICATIONS, THESE APPLICATIONS.

AND SO I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, IN, IN LISTENING TO YOU TALK ABOUT THE QUANTITY OF APPLICANTS THAT WERE RECEIVED TO DATE AND, UM, THAT WERE, UM, AVAILABLE FOR THIS PARTICULAR GRANT PROJECTS.

I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE DID DO THAT TABLE THIS UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING, IF WE COULD TRY TO GET MORE APPLICATIONS, UH, WELL, FIRST OFF I WANT JESSIE TO ANSWER THE APPLICATION PIECE OF THE KEYS NODDING YES.

THAT WE COULD.

UH, BUT AS I JUST WANT TO STATE THAT AS THE ONE PERSON HERE THAT SERVED ON THE REVIEW PANEL, UM, UH, YOUR FEEDBACK IS TAKEN TO HEART.

UH, AND SO, YEAH, MY THOUGHTS ARE, EVEN THOUGH THERE MIGHT BE SOME JEOPARDY, UH, IN LIGHT OF THE, THE, UH, THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE TO MAKE QUORUM TO PULL THIS OFF.

UM, I THINK IF WE COULD BOLSTER THE AMOUNT OF APPLICANTS AND, OR AT LEAST ARRIVE AT A BETTER CONSENSUS ABOUT, UH, WHO'S TO BE INCLUDED, UM, THAT WE WOULD SERVE OUR PURPOSES QUITE A BIT.

UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO SECOND YOUR MOTION TO TABLE THIS AND A LOT OF THAT.

UM, SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND CAST A VOTE BASED UPON THAT.

I'M SORRY.

QUESTION.

WELL, I APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO DO THAT, BUT IN THE SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY, I DON'T KNOW THAT I WANT THAT OUTCOME.

BEFORE WE, UH, I DIDN'T WANT TO THROW A MONKEY WRENCH INTO THE PROCEEDINGS, BUT BEFORE WE PROCEED ON THAT VOTE, I THINK WE NEED CONFIRMATION FROM THE TECHNICAL STAFF THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY DO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR US.

IS THAT BECAUSE I'D HEARD THAT, UH, WE'RE NOT SET UP FOR THAT TECHNICALLY, IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY, THEN, UM, AND WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE NOT SET UP, IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE HARVARD MEETING? SO THEN THE ONLY EXECUTIVE SESSIONS WE CAN HAVE ON THIS WOULD BE IN THE WORKING GROUPS.

UM, AND WE HAVE A QUORUM CHALLENGE THERE.

WE CAN'T ALL BE PRESENT IN THE SAME WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION.

ALSO, HAS EVERYONE VOTED? DO WE KNOW WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM ON THE VOTE HERE? UH, EVERYONE HASN'T VOTED YET, UM, INCLUDING MYSELF.

UH, BUT I KNOW THAT, UH, I WAS LEANING AT TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT CANDIDATES AND Y'ALL CHOSE, SO I KNEW I WASN'T GONNA HELP.

UH, I WAS LOOKING TO SEE IF WE WERE GOING TO SHAPE A CONSENSUS AND WITH COMMISSIONER THOMPSON'S SUGGESTION, THAT MEANT THAT WE WEREN'T, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE MOTION TO TABLE COMING FROM COMMISSIONER RAMOS.

SO WE HAVE, YEAH, WE HAVE, UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE, UH, HOW DOES IT TELL A STAND? WE HAVE THREE FOREIGN SUPPORTIVE, ONE CANDIDATE BEING, UH, REMOVED.

WE HAVE TWO OTHER CANDIDATES AND I HAVE THREE PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, I WAS CONSIDERING YOUR CANDIDATE, BUT, UH, TWO OTHERS, THERE WERE STRONG LEAP THAT RISING TO THE TOP.

SO I'M AFRAID NOW WE'RE NOT NEAR CONSISTENT.

WE NEED FOR ACTION.

UH, SO WHAT WILL IT TAKE, UH, FOR US TO COME TO CONSENSUS TONIGHT? HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO SIX, SIX HAVE TO AGREE ON WHAT? AND WE HAVE FOUR CURRENTLY THAT, UM, THE LOW SCORE IS APPLICANT SEVEN.

CORRECT.

SO, UM, JUST TO SPEED THE PROCESS A LOT, I AM WILLING TO CHANGE MY MIND.

[01:10:04]

UM, AND I, I FRANKLY, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT BE EXPEDIENT, UM, IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S THE BEST THING TO DO.

UM, I KNOW THAT WE, WE HAVE A RISK OF NOT MAKING CORN EVERY WEEK, YOU KNOW, UH, BUT WE'RE HERE AND I APPRECIATE EVERYONE THAT'S SHOWING UP TODAY AND THAT CAN BE HERE ONLINE.

UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE HOPING THINGS ARE BETTER NEXT MONTH, BUT I GUESS, UH, THE ONLY OTHER QUESTION I HAVE, IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO BEFORE NEXT MONTH TO GET READY? UH, I HAVE A THOUGHT CHAIR PITS.

I, I JUST WANT TO ADDRESS THE CONCERN OF EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WHAT WE CAN, AND CAN'T TALK ABOUT, UM, WE CAN DISCUSS THE CANDIDATES.

WHAT I WOULD WANT TO REFRAIN FROM IS MENTIONS OF SPECIFIC PEOPLE OR SPECIFIC NAMES AND SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS.

SO IT'S ALL RIGHT.

IF WE WANT TO SPEAK TO, UH, YOU KNOW, GENERAL EXPERIENCE OR, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SECTORS OR LOOK, YOU KNOW, UH, AREAS OF TOWN, UH, YOU KNOW, OF THAT NATURE, DEPENDING ON, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IT IS THAT YOU ALL WANT TO SPEAK TO, BUT, YOU KNOW, JUST SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS IN TERMS OF WORK HISTORY AND, AND, AND THE INDIVIDUALS NAMES THEMSELVES IS WHAT I WOULD WANT TO STAY AWAY FROM.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, ALTHOUGH I CAN STILL IMAGINE A SLIPPERY SLOPE, UH, I'M REALLY CURIOUS.

DO WE HAVE ANY CAPABILITY TO GET READY BY NEXT MONTH FOR A EXECUTIVE SESSION WITH HYBRID AVI? UH, I'M SORRY.

HELLO.

ATX N I APPRECIATE YOU.

WELL, UM, THEN THE ONLY OTHER THING WE COULD DO, UH, WHICH IS STILL PLAUSIBLE IS TO BASICALLY BREAK UP, UH, AND HAVE OUR DISCUSSIONS, UH, AND GROUPS OF FIVE OR LESS, YOU KNOW? AND SO WITH THAT IN MIND, UH, I'D LIKE TO GO AND PROCEED WITH THE VOTE, UH, THAT WE TABLE, AND WE DECIDE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE THE PROPOSALS.

WE MAKE THE USE OF OUR WORKING GROUPS.

WE KNOW WE'VE GOT AN OUTCOME NOW WE'VE GOT, UH, DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE ARE USING ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER.

UH, I WILL NEED TO WITHDRAW MY MOTION JUST TO THAT WAY.

IT DOESN'T STAY PENDING ON THE TABLE.

FAIR ENOUGH.

THANKS FOR CLARIFICATION.

SURE.

BEDSIDE ALSO HAVE A QUESTION BEFORE WE PROCEED, UH, FOR JESSE SPECIFICALLY, EXCUSE ME.

UH, JESSE, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT IF, UH, THERE WAS SIX CANDIDATES OR ONE LESS WOULD STILL BE OKAY, COULD WE POTENTIALLY PROVIDE TO INDIVIDUALS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DROP? YEAH, THAT, THAT IS A POSSIBILITY, UM, UH, CHAIR PITTS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT WE, WE DO THAT, UH, ANYWAY, JUST TO KIND OF HELP TO FORM CONSENSUS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AROUND WHICH, WHO, WHO THE LOWEST SCORING CANDIDATES MIGHT BE.

UM, BUT I WOULD DEFER TO THE DIRECTION THAT THE COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO GO IN TERMS OF WEEKEND, UH, COMPLETE THE VOTING THAT'S ON THE TABLE.

WE COULD REORIENT AROUND TWO VOTES, UH, PER COMMISSIONER, OR WE, WE COULD WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.

UM, IT WOULD JUST, I WOULD, UH, IT WOULD BE IMPERATIVE THAT WE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, MAKE, MAKE QUORUM ON THAT MEETING.

UM, YEAH, IF YOU WANT TO CARRY ON WITH THE DISCUSSION.

I, FRANKLY, I LOOKED AT, UH, ALL EIGHT CANDIDATES AND I'LL ONLY REFER TO THEM BY NUMBER.

UM, THE ONLY ONES THAT REALLY LIKED HER SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT, UH, 203 ARE REALLY LOW ON MY LIST AND THE REST ARE, I PUT QUESTION MARKS NEXT TO THEM.

SO IF YOU HAVE TO PICK TWO THAT ARE THE LOWEST RANK IN MY BOOK, IT'S TWO AND THREE, BUT I WONDER WHAT STANDARDS ARE USED TO SELECT THESE, OR, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ADVERTISE FOR THESE PEOPLE, UM, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT DOING IT? BECAUSE SOME OF THESE, I DON'T KNOW HOW GOOD THEY WILL BE, BUT IN MY LIST, TWO OR THREE SCORE THE LOWEST MOST, THIS IS THE QUESTION FOR JESSE.

IF WE DO END UP DECIDING TO TABLE THIS DISCUSSION, IS THERE A WAY TO REFORMULATE TO ALLOW FOR RANK CHOICE VOTING? I SUGGEST I'D LIKE TO SECOND THAT YES, THAT THAT WOULD MAKE THINGS, UH, MOVE ALONG.

[01:15:02]

IF WE DID THAT, IF WE ALL ARE RANKED THEM ONE TO EIGHT AND TOTAL DID UP, AND THEN THE LOWEST SCORE IS OUT.

AND BEFORE YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION, JESSE, UH, LET ME ASK YOU THIS, UH, HOW MANY MORE APPLICANTS CAN WE GET BEFORE, UH, OUR, OUR NEXT MEETING, POTENTIALLY, IT'S HARD TO SAY.

UM, LAST YEAR, UH, THE, WE DID EXTEND BY A MONTH.

UH, WE DID THE SAME THING LAST YEAR.

UM, AND I THINK WE NETTED ANOTHER FOUR OR SO APPLICANT APPLICANTS.

SO, UH, AND YOU KNOW, I'M, I COULDN'T SAY IF WE'LL LAND THERE THIS YEAR OR NOT, BUT THAT WOULD BE, UH, PROBABLY IN THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY, I WOULD SAY GOOD ANECDOTAL INFORMATION, RIGHT.

BASED ON OUR HISTORICAL INSIGHT.

WELL, I KNOW THAT WE CAN DO RANKED VOTING.

UH, I KNOW THAT IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO.

UH, THAT'S EQUITABLE.

AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE TABLE THIS UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING, UH, SO THAT WE CAN ALLOW FOR RANKED VOTING, ALLOW FOR ADDITIONAL APPLICANTS AND, UM, W I'M WILLING TO COMMIT TO BEING HERE.

AND I CAN JUST HOPE THAT WE CAN HAVE A QUORUM IF THERE'S A SECOND FOR THAT, THEN, UH, WE CAN PROCEED.

I'LL SECOND, THE MOTION.

WITH OUR AGENDA TO AGENDA ITEM THREE B UH, THE DIGITAL EQUITY INCLUSION TOWN HALL, UH, DISCUSSION PART TWO.

WE HAVE A MOTION TO TABLE, UH, THIS REVIEW PANEL, UH, SELECTION, UH, TO ALLOW FOR MORE APPLICANTS TO COME IN AND TO COMPLETE THAT ONCE WE GET THOSE APPLICANTS IN THE NEXT MEETING WITH RANKED VOTING ALL IN FAVOR OF THAT MOTION, PLEASE SAY, AYE.

AYE.

IS THERE ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY.

THEN WHERE ARE UNANIMOUS IN FAVOR TO TABLE THE MOTION AS STATED, UH, EIGHT TO ZERO NOW, BEFORE

[3.b. Digital Equity and Inclusion Town Hall Discussion 2- Chair Nehemiah Pitts III (Commission discussion and possible action)]

SO, UH, THIS I'M EXCITED TO SAY IS, UH, BASICALLY DISCONTINUATION TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE THINGS STAND WITH, UH, THE FOLLOWUP FROM A DIGITAL EQUITY INCLUSION AND INCLUSION TOWN HALL, UH, DELIGHTED THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING ADVANCED CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, THE AD HOC COMMITTEE THAT WE FORMED, UH, THAT INCLUDED, UH, UNITED WAY AUSTIN FREENET HAKA, UH, AS WELL AS OF COURSE, UM, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT WITH JESSE AND, AND MYSELF, AND WHAT WE DID THEN WAS KIND OF DIVIDED AND CONQUERED, UM, AND MEETING INTO SUBGROUPS.

I THEN FOLLOWED UP WITH, UH, EMMY JOHNSON, THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR, AND A ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION WHERE SHE CONFIRMED, UH, THE SUPPORT OF THE LIBRARY TO HOST FUTURE TOWN HALL EVENTS.

UH, IN FACT, UH, SHE MADE MENTION OF PLANNING RIGHT NOW FOR EVENTS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AT DIFFERENT HAKA PROPERTIES THAT ARE GOING TO LEVERAGE DIGITAL AMBASSADORS AND NAVIGATORS TO HELP CITIZENS AND THE LIBRARY HELPING TO PLAY A ROLE WITH PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY.

AND THEN OUR COMMISSION COULD PLAY A ROLE IN HELPING TO GATHER THEIR EXPERIENCES.

UH, WE'RE WORKING RIGHT NOW, UH, TO ACTUALLY PLAN OUT, UH, THE COMMITTEE THAT'S GOING TO STRUCTURE THAT, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY PERFORMED SOME OUTREACH TO THE LIBRARY COMMISSION AS WELL, AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE DIRECTLY INVOLVED, UH, IN THESE EFFORTS, UH, AS THE LIBRARY WILL BE AND CONTINUE TO BE, UH, JUST AN AMAZING RESOURCE AND UTILIZE FOR THESE, UH, EVENTS.

UM, YOU KNOW, AS JESSE MENTIONED TO ME, UM, THE LIBRARY, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, POINTED OUT, UH, THE LIBRARY REALLY IS THE PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY, UH, BECAUSE EVERYONE CAN GO THERE AND THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO, TO REALLY IMPROVE THEMSELVES AND, OR, UH, THEIR STATION IN LIFE AND OR TO, TO, TO DO ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO DO TO PERFORM IN SOCIETY.

WELL, ONLINE ACCESS TO RESOURCES IS ALSO IMPORTANT.

AND SO WE BASICALLY AGREED THAT THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO USE A HARBORED APPROACH, TO FACILITATING LIVED EXPERIENCE, SHARING BOTH AT THE LIBRARY PROPERTIES, UH, AND, UH, ONLINE, BUT ONE THAT CENTERS AROUND THE CO-LOCATION OF SERVICES.

AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LEARNINGS FROM THE TOWN HALL, UH, THAT FAMILIES, SENIORS, UH, WORKING ADULTS, PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.

THEY

[01:20:01]

HAVE A NEED FOR CO-LOCATION BECAUSE THEY'RE MANAGING MULTIPLE CHALLENGES WHILE THEY ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH, HAVE TO DEAL WITH ACCESS ISSUES OR TRAINING ISSUES OR, OR DEVICE ISSUES.

AND SO I'M REALLY EXCITED, FRANKLY, ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE AUSTIN FREENET, UM, IDEATION PHASE, UH, ALONG WITH, UH, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT AND OUR COMMISSION, AS HE WORKED BASICALLY TO HELP, TO SURFACE UP THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND THEN MAP OUR EXISTING CONTRACT TO THOSE NEEDS.

RIGHT? SO RIGHT NOW, AUSTIN FREENET IS IN A SECOND OR THIRD YEAR, I BELIEVE, UH, ENTERING THE SECOND AND THIRD YEAR OF THEIR CONTRACT.

AND THE BEAUTY OF THAT IS WE GET TO HELP TO REDEFINE WHAT WE NEED AS A COMMUNITY OF THAT CONTRACT.

WELL, THIS WILL HELP TO INFORM WHAT WE GET FROM OUR DECA PARTNERS AS COORDINATED SERVICE OFFERINGS, THROUGH OUR CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENT WITH AUSTIN FREENET AND DIFFERENT NONPROFIT PARTNERS HELP TO THEN EXTEND SERVICES OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN LISTENING AND WORKING WITHIN DECA TO BRING THESE SERVICES TO BEAR.

SO I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR SUPPORTING THIS, AND, AND I SAY THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE VERY PROUD OF THIS WORK.

I DO WANT TO OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS WE MIGHT HAVE AT THIS PHASE.

WE ARE OF COURSE, STILL EARLY STAGE, BUT I'LL BE WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE MIGHT HAVE ABOUT WHAT WE'RE PLANNING OR LOOKING TO DO.

SO IS AUSTIN FREE THAT PLANNING TO PARTNER WITH THE AUSTIN LIBRARIES TO OFFER SERVICES OR OUTREACH? AUSTIN FREENET IS A CONTRACTED PARTNER OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN NOW.

AND THAT CONTRACT ALLOWS US TO, UH, TO IDEATE ON DEVELOPMENT OF DIFFERENT POLICIES AND RATHER DIFFERENT, UH, PROGRAMS. AND SO, BECAUSE WE HAVE NEEDS THAT WE KNOW RELATED TO DIGITAL INCLUSION, OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON FROM A MISSION STANDPOINT, JESSE'S ABLE TO WORK THROUGH OUR, OUR OLYMPIC SPIRIT SHARING AND TO THEN PROVIDE DIRECT FEEDBACK TO AUSTIN, FREEDOM OF HOW TO ALTER THE PROGRAM.

SO JESSE, YOU WANNA SPEAK TO, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW WE'RE WORKING RIGHT NOW TO GET, UH, BILINGUAL SUPPORT AS ONE EXAMPLE AND OTHERS, PLEASE.

SURE.

SO THE, UH, THE COMMISSION'S LAST, UH, TOWN HALL MEETING RESULTED IN A FOLLOWUP SESSION WITH A CHAIR PITS MYSELF, AUSTIN FREE NET UNITED WAY, AND THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, UH, WHERE ARE OUR WE'VE IDENTIFIED THREE PHASES OF ACTIVITY TO DIRECTLY RESPOND TO, UH, THE NEEDS THAT WERE MENTIONED IN THAT SESSION.

UM, AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF MEANS FOR US TO DO THAT, BUT ONE OF THE PRIMARY ONES IS THE CITY'S CONTRACT WITH AUSTIN FREENET.

UH, SO WE CAN DIRECTLY RESPOND TO THE ITEMS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP IN TERMS OF, UH, DEVICES, UH, BEING NEEDED, WHICH WE CAN SATISFY THOSE NEEDS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM TO, UH, GET REFURBISHED COMPUTERS, TO, TO FOLKS THAT NEED THEM.

UM, OTHER ITEMS THAT WERE MENTIONED ARE, UH, DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING THAT IS LOCATION SPECIFIC, AND WE CAN WORK TOWARDS, UH, HAVING AUSTIN FREENET MOVE OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, INTO THOSE, UH, IDENTIFIED AREAS AND DEPLOYING WORKSHOPS THAT ARE, UH, TRAINING ON, UH, CYBERSECURITY, SAFETY, UH, BASIC DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS, UH, ET CETERA, UM, AND WORKING WITH OTHER PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES IN A BILINGUAL FASHION AND A, UM, IN, IN A FASHION IN WHICH CHILDCARE CAN BE PROVIDED SIMULTANEOUSLY, WHICH WAS ANOTHER ITEM THAT WAS, UH, MENTIONED THERE.

SO, SO, SO YES, UH, WE ARE LOOKING TO HAVE ONGOING CONNECTIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY LIKE THIS.

UH, UH, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT AS A NEED, THE COMMISSION'S IDENTIFIED THAT AS NEED AND AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY, UH, IN OUR CONVERSATIONS HAS ALSO IDENTIFIED THAT AS A NEED.

SO, UM, HAVING, HAVING THIS PARTNERSHIP GOING FORWARD, WHERE WE'RE HAVING, NOT JUST ONE OF THESE PER YEAR, BUT MULTIPLE, UM, I THINK IS A GOOD DIRECTION.

AND, AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE VERY MUCH IN THE EARLY STAGES OF BUILDING OUT WHAT THAT STRATEGY MIGHT BE.

UM, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF POSSIBILITY ON, ON WAYS WE CAN DO THAT.

AND, UM, UH, I WAS ALSO ON A COMMUNITY COMMUNITY CALL A DECKER CALL EARLIER TODAY IN WHICH, UM, THERE, THERE MAY BE EVEN FURTHER ALIGNMENT WITH SOME RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, INTERESTED IN HELPING, UH, SET ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING A

[01:25:01]

STRUCTURE FOR OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTION, UM, CONVERSATIONS OVER THE NEXT YEAR.

UM, SO HAPPY TO, UH, WORK THROUGH THOSE IN DETAIL AND WORKING GROUP SESSIONS, OR IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ALSO ADD, ADD TO, UH, OR RESPOND TO IT IN THE SESSION AS WELL.

I WAS JUST, RIGHT.

SO WOULD THE AUSTIN LIBRARIES BE CONSIDERED AS FACILITIES THAT WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS FOR DIGITAL LITERACY OR MAYBE, UM, RECREATION CENTERS OR COMMUNITY CENTERS MIGHT BE BETTER IF THEY NEEDED SOME KIND OF CHILDCARE AT THE SAME TIME? YES, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.

AND, AND I THINK THE ANSWER IS YES TO ALL OF THAT.

IT'S REALLY PUTTING THE SERVICES WHERE THEIR IDENTITY, WHERE THE NEED IS IDENTIFIED.

UM, SOME OF THOSE LOCATIONS ARE, YOU KNOW, LOCATIONS OF OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE OUR LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY.

UM, BUT WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT LIMITED TO THAT.

WE'RE ALSO IN TALKS WITH, YOU KNOW, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO HAS SPACE THAT WE CAN UTILIZE TO GET SERVICES INTO THE HOUSING AUTHORITIES THEMSELVES, UH, THE REC CENTERS, UH, OF COURSE ARE A WONDERFUL ASSET THAT WE CAN TAP INTO.

UH, WE'RE ALSO WONDERING, OR WE'RE ALSO IN, BECAUSE THIS IS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF EXPLORATION.

WE'RE TRYING TO LOCATE NON-PROFIT SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE ALSO DOING PROGRAMMING FOR CHILDREN.

AND SO CO-LOCATING, UH, DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING WITH, UH, INSIDE OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE PROVIDING, UH, YOU KNOW, AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITIES FOR, FOR KIDS IS, IS ANOTHER IDEA.

UH, SO, SO THERE'S SERVICE DELIVERY THAT'S DESIGNED FOR KIDS AND WE CAN CO-LOCATE SERVICE DELIVERY THAT IS, UH, DESIGNED FOR, UH, THEIR PARENTS AS WELL.

OH, GOING THROUGH THAT SCOOPED UP, PLEASE.

I WANT TO HELP EXPAND THEM THIS LAST QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER UTES, UH, IN THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OTHER FACILITIES ALSO LIKE THE RESOURCE CENTERS, LIKE THE ASIAN RESOURCE CENTER, THE CARVER CENTER, UM, BECAUSE THEY DO OFFER ALL KINDS OF TRAINING MODULES AND WE MAY WANT TO PARTNER WITH THEM TO EXPAND THEIR HORIZON.

UH, ALSO THE SCHOOLS, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO THE ISD TO REVIEW SOME OF THEIR FACILITIES.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, THE CITY SHOULD EXPLORE, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THIS WOULD HELP WITH, UH, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION AND PARTICIPATION.

UH, AUSTIN FREENET HAS PROVIDED, UH, WORKSHOPS AT THE AUSTIN ASIAN-AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER IN THE PAST, AND, UH, THE MAIN LIMITING FACTOR RIGHT NOW.

UH, SO THIS, THIS HAS BEEN A PRIORITY FOR THIS CONTRACT, UH, FOR A WHILE NOW, BUT THE MAIN GATING FACTOR IN GETTING SERVICES AND TRAINING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY IS, UH, UH, THE COVID PANDEMIC.

EVERY TIME WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO RAMP UP A SERVICE, UH, WE WERE HITTING, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, A SURGE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THINGS ARE CLOSING DOWN AND, AND FOLKS ARE, YOU KNOW, OPTING OUT OF IN-PERSON SERVICE DELIVERY.

UM, BUT THAT BEING SAID, UH, IT, THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE THERE FOREVER.

WE ARE, UH, WAITING FOR THE APPROPRIATE MOMENT TO EXPAND SERVICE DELIVERY.

UM, AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE BUILDING OUT THE PLANS NOW, SO THAT ONCE WE DO START TO SEE THE APP, THAT WE WERE READY TO, UH, DEPLOY THOSE SERVICES.

THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DO APPRECIATE THE QUESTIONS THOUGH.

IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE, UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHERE THINGS ARE MOVING AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND TO HAVE A WONDERFUL PARTNER, OBVIOUSLY IN THE LIBRARY.

I THINK THE MAIN THING THAT REALLY EXCITES ME IS, WHEREAS WE, AS A BODY, OF COURSE, WE CAN AGREE AND WE CAN FORM A CONSENSUS.

AND THEN WE CAN APPROACH CITY COUNCIL ABOUT APPROVING BUDGET.

THE LIBRARY HAS BUDGET, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE A WONDERFUL PARTNER.

SO, UH, I WANT TO COULDN'T THANK THEM ENOUGH FOR BEING SO WILLING TO HELP, UH, AS AN ADDENDUM TO THAT, UH, THIS COMMISSION HAD AT ONE POINT DISCUSSED, ASKING THE LIBRARIES TO EXPAND THEIR ABILITY TO ALLOW CITIZENS, TO HAVE REMOTE MEETINGS.

IN OTHER WORDS, RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE A SERVICE WHERE THEY PROVIDE ROOMS AND THESE ROOMS HAVE, UH, THE FACILITY FOR ADDING IN PEOPLE.

BUT, UH, IN THESE COVID TIMES, WHAT WAS REALLY NEEDED WAS TOTAL REMOTE, UH, MEETINGS THAT LIKE ZOOM LICENSES OR SOMETHING THAT, UM, THE CITIZENS COULD USE AS A PUBLIC SERVICE.

[01:30:01]

UH, TO DINNER ITEM THREE C ELECTION OF OFFICERS, THE VICE CHAIR.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I'VE GOT AN UPDATE ON THAT, UH, WHICH IS A FOLLOW-UP FROM MY MEETING WITH, UH, AMY JOHNSON.

UH, BUT LET'S GO AHEAD AND DISCUSS THAT IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSION, IF WE COULD.

UH, SO UNLESS THERE'S ANY MORE QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE, UH, TOWN HALL DISCUSSION, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED IN THE AGENDA.

[3.c. Election of Officers - Vice Chair (Commission discussion and action)]

SO AS, UH, WE ALL, UH, I BELIEVE, NO, I THINK THAT WE'RE ALL ON OUR LAST MEETING.

MOST OF US HERE, IF WE HAVEN'T DISCUSSED IT ARE ALREADY, WE NEED TO ELECT A VICE CHAIR.

AND, UH, AS WE DISCOVERED, UM, AND WAS CONFIRMED, WE HAVE TO HAVE SIX VOTES FOR ANY CANDIDATE IN ORDER FOR THAT PERSON TO BE ELECTED.

UH, SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO, UH, OPEN IT UP FOR NOMINATIONS.

UM, FEEL FREE TO NOMINATE YOURSELF AND OR TO NOMINATE SOMEONE ELSE I'M GOING TO WAIT, UH, UNTIL OTHERS HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO, TO DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO IN THAT REGARD.

AND THEN I'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE MY STATEMENTS, BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO ANY NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR.

LET COMMISSIONER GATES.

SO, UH, LAST TIME, UH, COMMISSIONER APADACA WAS NOMINATED.

AND SO I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE HIM AGAIN.

COMMISSIONER NACA HAS BEEN NOMINATED AND COMMISSIONER DACA.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCEPT THIS NOMINATION AGAIN? I ACCEPT THE NOMINATION.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

YEAH, IT'S SAN COMMISSIONER FOR DACA.

ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? OKAY.

THEN I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE, UH, COMMISSIONER FLOYD, UH, DAVID FLOYD, AGAIN, IF HE'S WILLING, I THINK THAT I I'M GOING TO, UH, I APPRECIATE YOU'RE NOMINATING ME.

I THINK I'M GOING TO DECLINE WITH, UH, WORKING ON THE KID GROUP AND SOME OTHER THINGS I THINK I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON THAT.

THAT PROBABLY MAKES MORE SENSE.

UM, YEAH, THAT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

BECAUSE AS, AS YOU KNOW, UH, THAT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO, TO FIND A CHAIR FOR THAT WORKING GROUP.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT.

WELL WITH THAT, THEN WE HAVE, UH, ONLY ONE CANDIDATE, UH, FOR OUR VICE CHAIR, UH, ELECTION.

WAS THAT A HAND WAVE COMMISSIONER? DASGUPTA.

WITH THAT, THEN CONGRATULATIONS, COMMISSIONER APODACA.

SO WITH THAT THEN, UH, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A SECOND.

I'LL GO AHEAD AND SECOND, THE NOMINATION FOR COMMISSIONER APODACA, AND THEN WE CAN GO AHEAD AND HOLD THE VOTE.

SO ALL IN FAVOR OF THE ELECTION OF COMMISSIONER, STEVEN APODACA, AS THE VICE CHAIR, PLEASE SAY, AYE.

AYE, AYE.

ANYONE OPPOSED? AND ANYONE ABSTAINING? ALL RIGHT.

YOU'RE THE VICE CHAIR NOW HAVE BEEN DULY ELECTED EIGHT TO ZERO.

AND AS WE DISCUSSED, THANK YOU ALL, UH, IN APOLOGIES.

I COULDN'T BE THERE TODAY.

I'M FEELING ILL, SO I'M ISOLATING, BUT I APPRECIATE IT.

NO, NO, THANK YOU.

I THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY A SIGN OF THE TIMES AND ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, UH, BE EXCITED ABOUT THAT WE'RE CONDUCTING NOW, UH, OFFICER ELECTIONS VIA HYBRID MEETING, UH, RIGHT.

THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WHICH WE PUSHED FOR AS A COMMISSION AND IT'S, IT'S IT'S HAPPENING.

SO WITH THAT, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE YOU AS THE VICE CHAIR.

AND, AND CERTAINLY, UH, ALTHOUGH I KNOW YOU WEREN'T FEELING WELL TODAY, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO YOU BEING HERE IN PERSON, UH, MAYBE EVEN TO BEING HERE IN PERSON, SO I DON'T HAVE TO BE, UM, UH, BUT YOU KNOW, TIME WILL TELL.

WITH THAT, THEN MOVING RIGHT ALONG TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR, A OUR COMMISSION UPDATES BEGINNING WITH THE DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY UNTIL CALM POLICY WORKING GROUP, UH, WHICH I CHAIR.

[4.a. Digital Inclusion, Civic Engagement, and Strategic Technology and Telecom Policy Working Group]

SO, UH, WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND JUMP RIGHT BACK INTO, UH, WHERE WE WERE IN TERMS OF COMMISSIONER GATES, HIS QUESTION EARLIER, UM, IT WAS PERTAINING TO UTILIZING SOME TYPE OF REMOTE, UH, VIDEO CONFERENCING SOLUTION, UH, WITH, UH, LIBRARY ASSISTANCE, I BELIEVE.

AND IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE THAT SPECIFIC TOPIC CAME UP UNSOLICITED AND MY CONVERSATION WITH AMY JOHNSON, UH, YESTERDAY.

AND UNFORTUNATELY, UH, WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT PEOPLE WEREN'T DIDN'T USE THE, UH, NOW

[01:35:01]

WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO GET INTO GREAT DETAIL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT TYPE OF OUTREACH THEY WERE ABLE TO DO, WHAT TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, UM, KNOWLEDGE SHARE ABOUT THE RESOURCE THEY WERE ABLE TO DO, UH, WHICH CERTAINLY COULD BE A FACTOR.

UH, BUT THE FEEDBACK WAS THAT, UH, WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO, UH, TO GET THEM TO USE IT.

SO I FIND THAT STRANGE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS THAT WOULD HAVE USED THOSE LICENSES IF THEY HAD KNOWN ABOUT THEM.

AND SO THE QUESTION TO THE LIBRARY IS WHAT KIND OF OUTREACH WAS DONE TO ADVERTISE? I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THAT.

AND I HAD ACTUALLY HAD CHOIRED WITH THE LIBRARY AND WHAT I WAS TOLD BY THE LIBRARY WAS, YES, WE HAVE ZOOM LICENSES THAT CAN BE USED, BUT ONLY IF YOU RESERVE THE ROOM.

SO IS, IS THAT A CONDITION OR WAS THE USE OF THE ZOOM LICENSE INDEPENDENT OF USE OF THE ROOM? WELL, THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT WHEN WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION, SHE DISCUSSED THE, UH, THE ADJUSTMENTS WITH STAGES AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE ACCESSIBILITY OF LIBRARY, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A CHALLENGE.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN I SAY? YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY I COULDN'T AGREE WITH HER MORE ABOUT THAT BEING A CHALLENGE.

I THINK THAT THE GREAT THING IS THAT WE'RE IN A PARTNERSHIP PHASE NOW TO TALK ABOUT WAYS TO IMPROVE ON THESE THINGS.

YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UM, INFORMATION OUTREACH IS A CHALLENGE CLEARLY FOR A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING OURS, WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO MAKE THE MOST OF MARKETING FOR G TOPS AND WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

SO, UH, WHAT I WOULD PROPOSE IS THAT, UH, WE JUST BE PATIENT AND FIND OUT MORE.

CAUSE AT THIS POINT I REALLY HAVE, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS.

WE NEED TO REALLY KNOW ABOUT WHAT WAS DONE WITH THE OUTREACH, BUT THAT'S JUST ONE PIECE OF IT, OBVIOUSLY, UH, YOU KNOW, AND JUST A SMALL ONE.

AND I THINK THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LIBRARY, UH, IS REALLY JUST A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY, UH, FOR, FOR US TO IMPACT DIGITAL INCLUSION AND TO CREATE A SPACE, TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT INNOVATION.

BRINGS US TO THE NEXT WORKING GROUP, THE KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION, AND DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP.

I THINK THAT AS WE'VE BEEN IN DISCUSSION ABOUT INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S CLEAR THAT A LOT HAS TO BE DONE, UH, FROM AN INFORMATION STANDPOINT, FROM A TRUST STANDPOINT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BASICALLY ENGAGE IN, UH, CREATING A REQUIREMENTS GATHERING.

I THINK, AS I SEE IT, THAT'S A SIZE FOR, FOR THE COMMUNITY AROUND BOTH THE CONCEPTS AND THE TECHNOLOGY.

UH, BUT I THINK THIS POINT, WE BASICALLY NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS.

SO, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE ISSUE OF INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE, IT DEFINITELY AFFECTS MULTIPLE WORKING GROUPS.

UM, SO I FEEL OBLIGED TO ADDRESS IT NOW BECAUSE I WANT TO HEAD OFF SOME CONFUSION THAT MIGHT UNFOLD LATER.

SO AS, UH, ALMOST RONALD DESCRIBED INTELLIGENT ARCHITECTURE, EXCUSE ME, INFRASTRUCTURE IS A FOCUS RIGHT NOW OF THE INNOVATION OFFICE, BUT NEWLY ASSIGNED FOCUS OF THE INNOVATION OFFICE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ADVANCED SERVICES AND, UH, THE SMART MOBILITY PROGRAM AS AN EXAMPLE.

WELL, I HAD A ONE-ON-ONE WITH CHRIS STEWART EARLIER THIS WEEK AND HE CONFIRMED, UH, AS WELL THAT JASON, JOHN MICHAEL IS GOING TO BE PLAYING A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN TERMS OF COORDINATING, UH, RESOURCES, UH, CITYWIDE, UH, FOR THE INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

NOW, AGNOSTICISM WAS SOMETHING WHICH WAS ENCOURAGED IN TERMS OF OUR WORK AS A COMMISSION.

UM, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN EVALUATING THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE FOR THE PAST YEAR, AND WE HAVE WORKED IN MULTIPLE WORKING GROUPS AND AGREED THAT, UH, THE PROJECT EVALUATION OF, OF THEIR WORK SHOULD CONTINUE, UH, WITH PENS SPECIFICALLY IN MIND AND THE UPLIFT TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND BROADBAND THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS A GOAL.

RIGHT? WELL, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, WE STILL NEED TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE ARE DOING OUR PROPER, UH, DUE DILIGENCE, UM, AND COORDINATION WITH

[01:40:01]

OTHERS.

NOT THAT THERE'S ANY, UH, UH, CAUSE FOR A CONCERN NECESSARILY, BUT TRANSPARENCY IS IMPORTANT AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHERE EVERY OTHER ENTITY IS IN THEIR EVALUATION.

RIGHT? SO AS A NEXT STEP, UH, RELATED TO DIGITAL INCLUSION RELATED TO INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED TO, TO KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION, DATA STEWARDSHIP, WHICH INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE AFFECTS ALL THREE, UH, I'M PROPOSING THAT WE INVITE JEFF TO CUE, TO COME BACK IN, IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSIONS AND TO VISIT, UH, WITH IMITATION FROM, UH, JASON, JOHN, MICHAEL AS WELL.

UH, AND BASICALLY FOR US JUST TO HAVE SOME OF THESE, UH, DISCUSSIONS IN THE OPEN, BUT IN A PRIVATE SETTING TO ALLOW US TO ASK THEM THE QUESTIONS WE NEED TO SEE WHERE WE ARE.

UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT PENN'S CAN DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND, UH, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, THIS CONVERSATION MOVING FORWARD.

SO IT, FOR ME, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF, OF LINING THEM UP AND, AND, AND DOING WHAT NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE AS A BODY.

AND THEN TO SEEING THAT, UH, IF WE'RE SERVING THE COMMUNITY, AS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO THAT, WE'RE REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE WORK HARD TO DEVELOP THEIR TRUST IN THE TECHNOLOGY, UH, THAT WE WORK WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THE REQUIREMENTS ARE BEING MET, UH, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY AS A COMMUNITY.

SO OF COURSE WE TALKED ABOUT G TOPS AS WELL, AND WE KNOW WHAT WE STAND ON THAT, UH, WITH THE REVIEW PANEL.

UH, SO HOPEFULLY BY OUR NEXT MEETING, WE'LL HAVE AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, FIVE, SIX, YOU KNOW, SO MORE APPLICANTS TO CONSIDER, AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO ADDRESS COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, BEAVERS CONCERNED ABOUT THE DIVERSITY OF THE BODY.

UH, AND I FOUND MYSELF LOOKING THROUGH, UH, THE, THE, THE APPLICANTS AND, AND, AND WANTING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, CONSIDERING THAT WE ONLY HAD SO MUCH TIME.

SO NOW WE'VE GIVEN OURSELVES MORE TIME.

UH, THAT'S G TOPS.

OF COURSE, WE HAD ENDED UP DISCUSSIONS ABOUT BROADBAND, UH, WITH OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION FELLOW.

AND SHE'S NOW RETAINING, UH, A CONTRACTED ROLE WITH, UH, TARA.

SO SHE'S GOING TO BE A CONTINUED RESOURCE FOR US, UH, AND WE'VE ALREADY BEEN INVOLVED IN DISCUSSIONS IN THE WORKING GROUP.

SO I BELIEVE SHE'LL BE JOINING OUR WORK DISCUSSION TOMORROW.

SO ANYONE THAT IS NOT ALREADY IN THE KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION AND KIDS WORKING GROUP, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN THAT, THAT DISCUSSION AS WELL.

ANY QUESTIONS FOR THIS WORKING GROUP? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

UH, WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD, PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA.

AND THAT

[4.b. Knowledge, Information, and Data Stewardship Working Group]

UH, AND SO JUST TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT, UH, COMMISSIONER DAVID FLOYD HAS AGREED TO BE THE CHAIR OF THIS WORKING GROUP.

UH, SO HE'LL BE TAKING OVER THESE UPDATES GOING FORWARD.

I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

CONGRATULATIONS, AND TO CONNECT THE DOTS TO, UH, THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DATA, OBVIOUSLY, RIGHT? AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR DATA SHARING AND DATA MANAGEMENT ARE TREMENDOUS.

UH, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, JEFF, UH, THE COO FROM THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE, HELPING TO SHARE HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW THOSE CONCERNS COULD BE ADDRESSED TO HELP TO ADVANCE, UH, OUR OBJECTIVES, BUT YET STILL ADDRESS THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY.

AND, UH, FIRST I'LL GET A CHANCE IN THAT WORKING GROUP SESSION TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE, UH, PERTINENT TO THAT SUBJECT MATTER.

UH, WE STILL MAY NEED TO AWAIT UPDATES PERTAINING THINGS FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, LIKE PERHAPS, UH, TABLATURE, OR I DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES ON, UH, ON OTHER ITEMS RELATING TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE.

I, I HAVE SENT OUT A COMMUNICATION TO, UM, UH, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, TO SEE WHERE SOME OF THE ITEMS HAVE LANDED, UH, IN TERMS OF ITEMS THAT THE COMMISSION PASSED AND ARE AWAITING ASSIGNMENT TO A, UH, A COUNCIL COMMITTEE.

UM, I

[01:45:01]

RECEIVED A RESPONSE SAYING THAT THEY WERE WORKING ON THE REQUEST, BUT HAVEN'T HEARD BACK ON A FINAL RESPONSE YET.

TO AGENDA ITEM FORESEE, UH, WITH THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION WORKING GROUP, AND THEN WE'VE GOT OUR CO-CHAIRS COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA AND FLOYD COMMISSIONER FLOYD.

UH, WELL, THANK YOU.

UM, WE'LL KEEP PUSHING FOR THAT AND THEN TAKE IT FROM THERE.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION, UH, RELATED TO THIS WORKING GROUP? OKAY.

WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TRANSITION

[4.c. Technology, Infrastructure, and Innovation Working Group]

SO YOU BETTER GO AHEAD COMMISSION, OR DO YOU WANT ME TO START OUT AND START? OKAY.

SO, UM, CHAIR PIP'S, UH, SORT OF, UH, UH, PROVIDED THE LEAD IN, WE HAVE BEEN, UH, SPENDING A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND ABOUT BEANS THAT'S SEEMS TO ME AS WE ARE OBSESSING OVER IT, BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME POTENTIAL THAT THE FUTURE POTENTIAL IS IMMENSE.

UH, IT OPENS UP SO MANY VISTAS, SO WE SPEND A GOOD BIT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT IT.

AND THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION IS THAT, UH, WE NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THIS, UH, THE GASOLINE NETWORK THAT THE CITY HAS AND WHAT THE CONTRACT, WHO THE AGREEMENTS ARE WITH, UH, THE MEMBERS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT, UH, UH, H AND D FOR INSTANCE, WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT IT.

UH, SO WE NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT IS IT ABOUT GATTON THAT WE CAN OR CANNOT DO? UH, WHAT IS IT THAT THE FUTURE HOLDS THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE AND TAKE IT FORWARD? UH, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS AND HOW WE CAN, UH, USE, UH, PPP AS A STRUCTURE BY WHICH WE CAN, UH, HAVE THE CITY AND A PRIVATE ENTERPRISE WORK TOGETHER TO PUSH THIS TECHNOLOGY FORWARD BECAUSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE IMMENSE.

WE ALSO DISCUSSED BRIEFLY ABOUT, UH, ONCE WE REACHED A CERTAIN MATURITY OR IN THIS DISCUSSION, BOTH AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL, AS WELL AS AT THE COMMISSION LEVEL TO, UH, TO, TO PASS A RESOLUTION, TO HAVE, UH, THE CITY OF SMARTER TOOL HEARTEDLY.

AND AS PART OF THAT, WE ALSO SAID THAT EACH OF US WOULD CONTACT OUR, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS SO THAT THEY WOULD IN TURN SUPPORT THIS WHEN IT COMES UP FOR A CITY COUNCIL VOTE.

SO THAT'S BASICALLY IN A NUTSHELL, UH, WHAT WE DISCUSSED, UH, COMMISSIONER FLIGHT.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD SOME MORE? I THINK THAT REALLY ENCAPSULATES IT IT'S YEAH.

I MEAN, IT'S A CONVERSATION WE'VE BEEN HAVING FOR A LONG TIME ABOUT LOOPING IN THE SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE WITH GATTON.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE JUST ADDED THE PENS ON TOP OF IT DOES THAT'S BECOME A THING WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, BUT IT FITS IN WITH THE THEME WE'VE HAD FOR AWHILE, WHICH IS EFFICIENT, UH, SHARED USE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND HOW WE CAN, UH, ACCOMPLISH THAT.

SO WE'RE NOT WASTING RESOURCES.

AND SO WE CAN GET THESE ADVANCED SERVICES DEPLOYED.

YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGES ARE EVENTS.

IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THESE THINGS, UH, JEFF, TO, FROM THE, FROM THE, FROM THE ECONOMY AND SUE DRUCKER NUMBER THAT WE'VE GOT SO FAR, 15,000 TOWERS TO SUPPORT 5G, UH, CHINA IN COMPARISON HAS 1.5 BILLION.

SO WE HAVE A HUGE CHALLENGE, AND I DON'T THINK WE CAN CONQUER THIS ALL BY OURSELVES.

UH, IT'S ALSO TRUE THAT, UH, UH, THESE, UH, 5G TOWERS CAN TRANSMIT.

H IS GENERALLY THE SWEET SPOT IS UP ABOUT THREE MONTHS.

AND I WAS GIVING THE ANECDOTAL DATA THAT, UH, MY WIFE AND I WENT TO SEE OUR MIDDLE DAUGHTER IN DENVER.

AND AS WE WERE DRIVING BACK IN DECEMBER, WE SAW A PILE OF 5G TOWERS COMING UP ALL ALONG THESE TWO LANE ROADS.

WE TOOK A DIVE ON THE PATH ACROSS, WE DIDN'T TAKE TOO MANY XPRESS.

WE JUST TOOK A DIVE ROAD BACK TO CAR PACKAGE ON TIME AND ALL ALONG THESE RURAL ROADS, THERE ARE HOURS COMING UP.

WHEN HAVE YOU BEEN IN MAY THEN WHEN NONE, WE WERE DRIVING FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES WITH NO CAR, NOT EVEN 4G CONNECTION, BUT THIS TIME WE HAD BETTER CONNECTIVITY, BUT STILL THERE WERE THESE A HUNDRED MILE STRETCHES WHERE WE HAVE NO CONNECTION.

AND HOWEVER, THESE TOWERS THAT ARE COMING UP, THEY'RE NOT CONNECTED HERE, BUT THERE ARE, THEY ARE COMING UP.

AND I DID A QUICK MATH HERE THAT IN ORDER FOR US TO HAVE 5G RELIABLE 5G, WE NEED A MINIMUM OF 350,000 PINS MINIMUM BECAUSE THEY WON'T GO AWAY FOR THREE MILES.

SO IF YOU DIVIDE UP AN AREA 2,500 MILES BY 1500 MILES, WHICH IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR COUNTRY, WE NEED TO WORK 250,000 BEDS AND MANY GOING THROUGH THESE CITIES.

YOU NEED A WHOLE LOT MORE BECAUSE OF THE DENSITY OF THE BUILDINGS.

[01:50:01]

SO WE NEED A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO GET THIS DONE.

WE ALL HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN OUR REACH.

SO NO UPSET.

I'D LIKE TO ADD TO THAT.

UH, BASED ON, UH, OUR MEETING, I KNOW THAT WE DID ACTUALLY FORM A CONSENSUS AS WELL, TO DRAFT A RESOLUTION, UH, OR AT LEAST DISCUSS THE DRAFT OF A RESOLUTION IN THIS SESSION.

HOWEVER, THAT WAS PRIOR, UM, TO, UH, LEARNING THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN SOME ASSIGNMENT OF RESOURCES THROUGH TRANSPORTATION AND JASON, JOHN MICHAEL.

AND SO AT THIS POINT, IT'S JUST PRUDENT FOR US TO INTERACT WITH JASON, JOHN MICHAEL, BEFORE WE DRAFT THAT RESOLUTION, WE HA WE HAVE BEEN, UH, AS OF THE BELIEVE JESSE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COMMISSION.

WE'VE ALSO BEEN GIVEN A LETTER SHOWING SUPPORT FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, FOR THIS PROJECT, UM, WHICH WILL HELP US, UH, ONCE WE DO, IF WE DO INDEED CREATE A DRAFT RESOLUTION AS WE PLANNED, AND WE'VE BEEN GIVEN SOME DRAFT LANGUAGE AS WELL, UH, FROM THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE TO CONSIDER AND TO UTILIZE AS WELL.

BUT AGAIN, AS IT'S PRUDENT, WE'VE AGREED THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO TO, UH, JASON, JOHN, MICHAEL, AND HAVE AN INTERNAL DISCUSSION BEFORE WE, WE TAKE THAT NEXT STEP.

UH, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS, THAT WAS CLEAR AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE AGREE WITH THAT, BECAUSE HONESTLY I'M SEEING PEOPLE NOD.

IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT ABOUT THAT.

UH, J BATES, UH, MAY I ADD A COMMENT IN THAT? OKAY.

UH, I RECOMMEND THAT IN THE NEXT WORKING GROUP MEETING, THAT'D BE INVITE JASON, JOHN MICHAEL, TO HAVE A FOLLOWUP DISCUSSION ON THIS EXACT TOPIC BEFORE WE THEN INVITE JERICHO TO COME BACK AND TALK TO US ABOUT, WELL, THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, I THINK IT IS PRUDENT FOR US TO HAVE AN INTERNAL DISCUSSION FIRST.

UM, SO WHETHER WE SCHEDULE A MEETING AND THEN HAVE A DISCUSSION BRIEFLY, OR HAVE A DISCUSSION IN THE WORKING GROUP THAT PRIORITIZES THE COMMISSIONERS AND AN INTERNAL DISCUSSION FIRST, I, I, I AGREE.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK FOR, UH, FOR THE CO-CHAIRS OR ON THIS TOPIC? I LOOKED OVER THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS SET TO US BY THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE THAT LOOKS LIKE, UH, EVERY ORGANIZATION AT THE UNITED STATES HAS GOT TO SIGN THIS.

SO THIS IS THE DOOR BUS UNDERTAKING.

THAT'S A, THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT.

IN FACT, UH, IN MY LAST CONVERSATION WITH, UH, JEFF TO CU, UH, HE MADE MENTION OF, OF WANTING TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, TADADA TYPE MOMENT AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF PETE BLUE TO JUDGE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME LOGIC TO THAT, RIGHT.

UM, WITH THAT KIND OF NATIONAL ATTENTION, UH, IT COULD CERTAINLY SERVE US IF WE'RE LOOKING TO SPIN UP RIGHT.

PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OF THAT PUBLICITY MOMENT.

UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE STILL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING, UH, YOU KNOW, FAIR AND, UH, AND PERFORMING OUR DUE DILIGENCE TO ANALYZE THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE AND TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS UNDERSTAND WHAT W WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, AND THAT WE'RE ALIGNED, UH, THAT WE'RE NOT, UH, BY ANY MEANS A ROGUE ENTITY, BUT ONE THAT'S OPERATING WITH THE COMMUNITY IN MIND AND ALL THE CITY IN MIND COMPREHENSIVELY.

AND WE'RE JUST LOOKING TO TRY TO GET THIS DONE WITH THE CITY TO MINE, IF IT MAKES SENSE.

THAT, THEN LET'S GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, HOWEVER BRIEFLY I MADE MENTION OF MY CONVERSATION WITH, UH, CHRIS STEWART, UH, HE SUGGESTED THAT HE WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO COME IN FOR A PRESENTATION, ALTHOUGH, UH, HE'S THINKING IT MIGHT NEED TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH.

WELL, UH, THE ONLY OTHER THING, UH, I WAS GOING TO MENTION IN RELATION TO THAT, UH, IT MIGHT COME BACK TO ME, BUT ANY OF THE QUESTIONS FOR THIS WORKING GROUP OR, OKAY.

WELL WITH

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

UH, SO I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THAT ON THE RADAR FOR MARCH, UH, JESSE, UH, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, HE IS GOING TO BE SENDING US A REPORT, UH, FROM THE SALES OFFICE THAT HE'S SENDING TO CITY COUNCIL.

[01:55:01]

SO THAT SHOULD HELP TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON EVOLVING STRATEGY AND PLANS, UH, SINCE IT HAS BEEN A YEAR SINCE THAT TYPE OF REPORT HAS COME OUT AND, AND THERE'S BEEN SOME CHANGES, UH, RIGHT.

THE CTO, UH, THAT WAS HIRED, UH, LAST YEAR, UH, IS IT'S NO LONGER THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, BASED ON DIRECT FEEDBACK FROM CHRIS STEWART, THEY'RE LOOKING TO BE MORE OF A STRATEGIC PARTNER, UH, AND IN LIGHT OF WHAT WAS SHARED BY OUR CHIEF RESEARCH, UH, STRATEGIC, UH, STRATEGY AND RESEARCH, RATHER CHIEF RESEARCH AND STRATEGY, STRATEGIC INITIATIVES OFFICER, UM, IT'S CLEAR THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE ALIGNMENT TO CHIEF OF STAFF FOR INNOVATION, FOR EQUITY.

AND THERE WAS WHAT WAS THE THIRD GROUP? UH, THERE WAS THREE DIFFERENT CHEAP, THEY WERE CIRCLED ON THE PRESENTATION HERE STRUCTURE, RIGHT? SUSTAINABILITY WAS THE ONE I HAD FORGOTTEN.

AND SO NATURALLY, UH, WHEN I THINK ABOUT CTM OR RATHER, YEAH, CTM BEING A STRATEGIC PARTNER, I THINK, OKAY, WELL, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH CTM, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY GETTING UP IN THIS ALIGNMENT AS WELL? UH, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT DIDN'T COME UP IN MY DISCUSSION WITH CHRIS STEWART, BUT THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN FIND OUT IN THE REPORT.

SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS THAT WE'LL HAVE THAT FORTHCOMING.

UH, WE WILL CERTAINLY ALSO BE LOOKING TO INVITE OUR LIBRARY PARTNERS IN, I THINK IT WOULD MAKE SENSE REALLY FOR THEM TO COME IN AND TO PRESENT ON ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY WITH THE LIBRARY, AND TO GIVE US A CHANCE TO REALLY BOLSTER THAT PARTNERSHIP IN THIS SETTING.

SO I I'M PROPOSING THAT.

UH, BUT ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS OR THOUGHTS ON HOW WE MIGHT ADDRESS IT? OUR NEXT AGENDA IN FEBRUARY, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR JESSE POSSIBLY, UM, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.

DOES THAT HAVE TO BE DONE IN-PERSON FOR A COMMISSION, OR CAN IT BE DONE REMOTELY AT THIS TIME? ALL CITIZEN COMMUNICATION IS, UH, IT NEEDS TO BE IN PERSON.

I THINK THAT IS A REAL IMPEDIMENT FOR CITIZENS, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON.

THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER GATES.

UH, I'M CHUCKLING BECAUSE JESSE SAW ME SMILING AT HIM A MASK, UH, BECAUSE I, I BASICALLY HAD BEEN PUSHING FOR THAT, UH, BEHIND THE SCENES, UH, IN RELATION TO OUR TOWN HALL.

WE WERE LOOKING TO TRY TO ENABLE CITIZENS TO BE ABLE TO DIAL IN, UH, AND IT'S STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, RIGHT.

I MEAN, AS IT STANDS, THE CITY, UH, ALLOWED CITIZENS TO, UH, RIGHTLY THEY, THEY FIRST WITH THE CHANGE OF THE GOVERNOR'S DECLARATION, UH, REQUIRED IN PERSON, THEN I THINK LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY AND, UH, OUR PEER CITIES THEN ALLOWED DIAL-INS FOR CITY COUNCIL.

UH, FRANKLY, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHERE IT STANDS RIGHT NOW.

UH, DOES ANYONE KNOW, WE BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE SUB COMMISSIONS THAT DUE TO PUBLIC PRESSURE HAVE ALLOWED, UM, CITIZENS TO DIAL IN, OR, UH, UM, I, I BELIEVE THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE, UH, UH, THEY ALLOW, UH, MAYBE WE NEED TO CONFIRM THIS, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION OFFLINE ABOUT THAT, AND I'M SURPRISED THAT ALL COMMISSIONS DON'T ALLOW THAT WELL, THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD THING AT LEAST TO, TO, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE, JESSIE, TO SEE IF, IF ANY COMMISSIONS ARE ALLOWED NOW AND YOU KNOW, WHERE WE STAND.

SO, UH, THE, THE ONLY INFORMATION THAT I HAVE IS THAT THE CLARK'S OFFICE, AS RECENTLY AS JANUARY 6TH, HAS NOTED THAT, UM, AS OF NOW, UH, THE CITIZENS MUST, WELL, LET ME REPHRASE THAT.

UH, THE, THE REQUIREMENT FOR CITIZENS TO COME IN PERSON IS NOT GOING TO BE CHANGED OR IS NOT ON THE, UH, IS NOT IN THE PLANS FOR THAT TO CHANGE EVEN BEYOND THE END OF FEBRUARY DATE, WHICH IS WHEN, UH, UH, ONLY THE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION AND THE LIAISON WILL NEED TO BE IN PERSON.

UH, SO EVEN BEYOND THAT CHANGE IN PERSON, UH, REQUIREMENTS ARE GONNA STAY IN PLACE FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATORS IS THE MOST RECENT GUIDANCE THAT THE CLERK'S OFFICE HAS SENT OUT.

AS FAR AS I KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ALL CITIZEN COMMUNICATORS ARE ALL SPEAKERS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA.

NOW, IS THAT FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION ONLY, OR IS THAT ALSO FOR CITIZENS SPEAKING ON AN AGENDA ITEM? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

[02:00:01]

IF, IF, IF THEY'RE ON THE AGENDA, THEN THEY, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY.

ALL RIGHT, THEN, UM, GET ON THE AGENDA IF YOU CAN.

OH, I DON'T SEE WHY WE WOULD NEED TO ADD THAT OBSTACLES FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION THAT, UH, IS THIS PART OF THE STATE, UH, OPEN RECORDS, OPEN MEETING ACT? OR IS THIS JUST SOMETHING THAT IS A CITY ORDINANCE? I, I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.

I'M HAPPY TO ASK THE CLERK'S OFFICE FOR CLARIFICATION.

UM, I KNOW OUR, I DON'T SUSPECT THAT IT'S A TECHNOLOGY BARRIER SINCE, UH, EARLIER IN THE PANDEMIC, WE DID HAVE CITIZEN COMMUNICATORS ONLINE OR ABLE TO REMOTE IN.

UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S A TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIER.

UM, I SUSPECT THAT IT IS A PART OF THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, UH, OR RELATED CITY ORDINANCE.

AND I, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TRUE, BUT I'M HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE.

I JUST WANTED SOME CLARIFICATION, ALSO ODD THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CORE, FOR LIKE OUR COMMISSION.

IS IT, OH, DO WE STILL NEED TO HAVE A PHYSICAL PRESENT? IS THAT CORRECT? WE STILL NEED TO HAVE SIX PEOPLE PRESENT IN PERSON PHYSICALLY FOR QUORUM.

AND IS THAT A STATE REQUIREMENT OR A CITY REQUIREMENT? SO THAT, THAT REQUIREMENT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH OUR FEBRUARY MEETING.

HOWEVER, THE CITY HAS, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS CHANGED THE CITY ORDINANCE TO ALLOW FOR ONLY THE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION AND THE STAFF WEIGHS ON TO BE PRESENT WITH ALL OTHER MEMBERS BEING ABLE TO, UH, COME BE REMOTED IN THAT CHANGE.

WON'T, WON'T TAKE EFFECT UNTIL THE END OF FEBRUARY.

SO IT WILL BE EFFECTIVE FOR OUR MARCH MEETING.

SO WE HAVE ONE MORE MEETING WHAT WE NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST SIX PEOPLE HERE IN PERSON AND IT'S, AND AS WE DISCUSSED EARLIER, UH, IT'S AN, A VERY IMPORTANT ONE BECAUSE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE CAN VOTE FOR OUR PANEL.

SO WE'RE ALMOST THERE.

UH, YOU GUYS HANG, HANG WITH US AND WE'LL, WE'LL GET THERE AND THEN WE'LL BE LIKE THE JETSONS EVENTUALLY.

SORRY.

SO GOING FORWARD, YOU WILL HAVE TO BE HERE JESSIE AND HAVE TO DO HERE, AND THE COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE TO BE HERE, BUT WE WON'T HAVE, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, RIGHT.

BOTTOM LINE.

AS CITIZENS SPEAKERS WHO HAVE TO BE HERE, UH, JESSE AND MYSELF, UH, WE CAN STAY AT HOME AND WATCH YOU GUYS BY THE TRAFFIC.

ALTHOUGH, UH, AS I EXPLAINED EARLIER, IF, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ARRANGED AHEAD OF TIME, I BELIEVE I COULD PARTICIPATE REMOTELY.

UH, I WOULD JUST HAVE TO NOT BE THE CHAIR OF THAT MEETING.

AND THEN A VICE-CHAIR APODACA COULD CHAIR THE MEETING HERE IN PERSON.

UH, RIGHT.

SO, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO US GETTING THAT SET UP WHENEVER WE CAN.

QUESTIONS ABOUT, OR DISCUSSION ABOUT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS OR TOPIC TWO SMALL ONES.

SO MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BEGIN WORKING ON IS SEEING IF WE COULD GET CITIZEN COMMUNICATION ALSO, UM, TO BE ABLE TO BE REMOTE ED, BECAUSE THIS IS, UH, OBSTACLES FOR A LOT OF CITIZENS.

AND I KNOW THAT, UH, ONLINE NOW, LIKE WITH THE AUSTIN NEIGHBORS CONSOLE AND A NUMBER OF OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS MOVING A LOT OF THE COMMISSIONS OUT TO HIGHLAND MALL.

AND NO, ONE'S HAPPY ABOUT THAT.

AND SO IF THERE WAS MORE ABILITY TO, UH, TO, UH, PARTICIPATE REMOTELY, THAT WOULD BE A REAL HELP.

WELL, WELL, UH, JUST TO REITERATE, UM, THANKFULLY WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN WORKING ON THIS, UM, AND IT IS DEFINITELY A DELIBERATIVE PROCESS, BUT I THINK IT'S JUST A MATTER REALLY WORKING THROUGH, UH, THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO SEE WHERE WE ARE WITH THE LAW AND, AND, AND, AND WHAT'S REALLY POSSIBLE.

UH, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, UH, WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE, OBVIOUSLY, AND TO LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY OR TELECOMMUNICATIONS TO DO IT.

SO A PHONE OR A COMPUTER.

SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ANY OTHER

[02:05:01]

ONE MIGHT NOT EVEN NEED TO BE AN AGENDA ITEM.

I JUST NEED HELP IF WE COULD GET LIKE A ROSTER OF THE WORKING GROUPS AND THE TIMES THAT THEY MEET IN SOME WRITTEN FORM ON THIS, SOMETHING I COULD LOOK AT IT, THAT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR ME.

UM, AND THEN, UH, ALSO, SHOULD WE MAYBE IN WORKING GROUP, UH, OR PERHAPS TAKING FROM A WORKING GROUP TO A LARGER AGENDA ITEM, UM, DISCUSS ANY KIND OF POTENTIAL TOWN HALL OPPORTUNITIES OR, UM, UH, PPP OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, UH, SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST FOR, AS A COMMISSION.

SO, UH, GREAT.

THAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU SAID WAS RELATING TO, UH, THE ROSTER.

WE HAVE THE WORK PLAN THAT BEGINS WITH THE SNAPSHOT OF THE LAST WORKING GROUP, BUT THAT'S ALL, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT NEEDS AN UPDATE.

UH, SO IF THAT'S NOT A LIVING DOCUMENT, UNFORTUNATELY, UH, SO WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF GIVING YOU A SNAPSHOT OF THAT, UH, AND IN RELATION TO SOUTH BY, UH, ABSOLUTELY.

I THINK THE IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP IS LOOKING AT THE CALENDAR, UH, WITH AMY JOHNSON, UH, LIBRARY COMMISSION, AND, OR, AND, UH, I BELIEVE, UH, CATHERINE CRAIGO FROM HACA, UM, AND POTENTIALLY, UM, PAULA SYLVESTER'S REPLACEMENT AS IF AT UNITED WAY, UM, AND OTHER NONPROFITS, BUT RIGHT AWAY, LIKE, AS IN, YOU KNOW, THIS WEEK, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK TO HOPEFULLY PINPOINT THE DATE FOR THE COMMITTEE TO MEET, AND THEN WE'LL LOOK AT DATES.

UH, BUT YEAH, UH, WE'VE ALL AGREED.

AND WE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY AT LEAST THE EIGHT THAT WERE HERE, UH, TO DO MORE TOWN HALLS AGAIN, UH, WITH THE SPIRIT OF, YOU KNOW, MAKING THE MOST OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ATTENTION AROUND SOUTH BY, I THINK WE SHOULD ABSOLUTELY TRY TO FIND A WAY TO DO THAT.

SO YEAH, MY MEETING, NEXT QUESTION, CONVERSATION WITH, WITH THE COMMITTEE AND, OR AT LEAST EMMY IS, UH, CAN WE DO SOMETHING DURING SOUTH BY AND TIMING WISE, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT THEY MAY ALREADY HAVE EVENTS PLAN AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST WE KNOW THAT WE'RE A FAVORITE PARTNER, SO THEY'LL TRY TO WORK SOMETHING OUT AGAIN.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS SPACE TO, YOU KNOW, TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, UH, IDEALLY WITH, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC CONVENING AND LIKE STAGE ONE, YOU KNOW, A GREAT, GREAT QUESTION.

THAT'S TRUE.

I DO THINK OUR MARCH MEETING FALLS DURING SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.

SO THAT'S CONVENIENT.

WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DOING A SPECIAL MEETING, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IT, THE DATE IT'S ALREADY SET, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY WE'RE TRYING TO AVOID CERTAIN PARTS OF TOWN.

UH, SO WE MAY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT, BUT IF WE'RE GOING TO DO A TOWN, ALRIGHT, IF WE'RE GONNA DO A TOWN HALL, WE'RE GOING TO BE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

BUT YEAH, I THINK IT'D BE INTERESTING TO DO SO.