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GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
EVEN OF THE CAP METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS, I'LL CALL TO ORDER OUR MEETING TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY THE 12TH, AND THE TIME IS 1109.
UM, WE ARE DOING THIS IN A HYBRID FASHION, UM, AND, UH, WE'LL ASK EVERYBODY'S ACCOMMODATION AND PATIENTS AS WE WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THE ISSUES OF TRYING TO DO IT, UH, WITH SOME OF US ARE PARTICIPATING VIRTUALLY.
THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENT.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER WHO HAS SIGNED UP TO JOIN US REMOTELY, AND AS SHE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON TWO AGENDA ITEMS THOUGH, WE ONLY HAVE ONE, I THINK, UH, VERY WELL THEN, UH, UH, MS. JOSEPH YOU'LL HAVE A FIVE MINUTES.
MS. JOSEPH, CAN YOU HARRIS MS. JOSEPH, MS. JOSEPH, IF YOU CAN HEAR US, IT IS YOUR TIME TO SPEAK.
ERICA, COULD YOU JUST GIVE US A QUICK MIC CHECK? YOU CAN HEAR US, RIGHT? YES.
THANK YOU, BOARD MEMBER, MS. JOSEPH'S OR YOU'RE OUT THERE.
LET US KNOW IF YOU, UH, UH, AND THEN SHE CAN COME IN AFTER THE STAFF PRESENTATION.
[IV.1. Discussion and Possible Action on Leander Transit Options (Part 1 of 2)]
OF TODAY'S MEETING IS TO HAVE A DISCUSSION AND POTENTIALLY TAKE ACTION RELATED TO TRANSIT OPTIONS FOR THE CITY OF LEANDER.I UNDERSTAND WE'VE GOT A PRESENTATION FROM MR. SERGEANT AND, UH, UH, MS. BUTCHER.
AND WHAT I WOULD PROPOSE IS THAT WE HEAR THAT PRESENTATION, THAT PRESENTATION FIRST, AND THEN HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THE BOARD AS TO WHETHER WE WANT TO TAKE ANY ACTION TODAY.
UH, WE'RE ALSO POSTED FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, IF WE NEED TO RECEIVE LEGAL ADVICE RELATIVE TO THIS ACTION ITEM.
SO AFTER WE'VE HEARD THE PRESENTATION, I'LL CERTAINLY BE OPEN, UH, FOR A REQUEST THAT WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY OR MAY NOT BE NECESSARY.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT, UH, SAM, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
GOOD MORNING CHAIR, COOPER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, PRESIDENT AND CEO CLARK.
I SERVE AS DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FOR CAPITAL METRO, AND I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF CAPITOL METRO SERVICES IN LEANDER, A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON OUR LONGSTANDING PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF LEANDER, UM, AND A COUPLE OF, UH, OF ITEMS, UH, RELATED TO COST OF SERVICE AND SALES TAX CONTRIBUTIONS.
SO I ALWAYS LIKE TO START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY.
I THINK IT PUTS THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE, BUT CAPITAL METRO AND THE CITY OF LEANDER GO WAY BACK.
UH, JANUARY OF 1985, LIKE OUR OTHER MEMBER CITIES, THE CITY OF LEANDER RESIDENTS VOTED INTO THE SERVICE AREA.
AND IN JULY OF 1985, COMMUTER BUS SERVICE BEGAN AND WE'VE BEEN OPERATING COMMUTER BUS SERVICE BETWEEN AUSTIN AND THE CITY OF LEANDER SINCE THE SUMMER OF 1985, COMMUTER BUS SERVICE CONTINUED IN A MAY, 2000 LEANDER VOTE.
VOTERS DID GO TO THE BALLOT BOX TO REAFFIRM THEIR MEMBERSHIP IN CAPITAL METRO.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THE OUTCOME WAS SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF 65% IN FAVOR OF STAYING IN THE CAPITOL METRO SERVICE AREA.
AFTER THAT ELECTION, THERE WERE DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN THE CITY OF LEANDER AND CAPITOL METRO ABOUT HOW CAN WE BETTER PARTNER, BECAUSE IF YOU'LL RECALL AND YOU'LL SEE HERE, WE DIDN'T HAVE RAIL SERVICE JUST YET.
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR FOLKS IN LEANDER,
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LANDERS PARK AND RIDE OPENED IN MARCH OF 2007.AND THEN IN MARCH OF 2010 CAPITAL METRO RED LINE, METRO RAIL SERVICE BEGAN BETWEEN THE CITY OF LEANDER AND AUSTIN, DECEMBER, 2019.
WE BEGAN OUR PICKUP ZONE IN LEANDER, WHICH I WOULD SAY, UH, HAS BEEN A SUCCESS, CONTINUES TO BE A REALLY GREAT MODEL FOR SUBURBAN ON DEMAND TRANSIT SERVICES.
AND IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021, WE BROKE GROUND.
AND SOME OF YOU WERE IN ATTENDANCE, BROKE GROUND ON THE LEANDER LAKELINE, DOUBLE TRACKING PROJECT.
THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT CAPITAL PROJECT THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD ABOUT, BUT IT WILL ALLOW US TO INCREASE OUR FREQUENCY AND RELIABILITY ON THE LINE BETWEEN LEANDER AND POINTS SOUTH.
SO, AS I MENTIONED IN 2000 VOTERS AND LEANDER CONSIDERED WHETHER OR NOT TO STAY WITHIN THE CAPITAL METRO SERVICE AREA, AND WHEN THEY DID, THERE WAS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN CAPITAL METRO STAFF AND BOARD THAT TIME ABOUT WAYS THAT THE AGENCY COULD DO SOME KIND OF CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION, UH, TO COVER PART OF THE DELTA BETWEEN SALES TAX, UH, AND SERVICES RECEIVED.
AGAIN, THIS WAS BEFORE LEANDER OR AUSTIN HAD RAIL SERVICE.
SO CAPITAL METRO, JUST AS AN OVERVIEW PROVIDES FUNDING FOR TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE.
THAT'S VERY CRITICAL TRANSIT, SUPPORTIVE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND SUBURBAN MEMBER CITIES WHO CONTRIBUTE MORE IN SALES TAX AND THE TRANSIT SERVICES COST OF TRANSIT SERVICES THAT THEY RECEIVE.
THE IDEA BEHIND THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM GOES BACK QUITE A WAYS.
IN FACT, THERE'S BEEN SOME VERSION OF IT SINCE THE AGENCY BEGAN, BUT IN 1994, THE BOARD CREATED THE BUILD GREATER AUSTIN PROGRAM.
AND THAT WAS IN PLACE FOR 10 YEARS.
AND THAT ALLOWED FOR STREET AND SIDEWALK REPAIRS IN ALL CAPITAL METRO MEMBER CITIES, INCLUDING THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN 2005.
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST AFTER THE RED LINE REFERENDUM IN NOVEMBER, 2004.
SO WE, WE ALL KNEW THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE REAL SERVICE IN THE CITY OF LANDER AND AN AUSTIN.
UH, THE PROGRAM WAS UPDATED TO BE BUILT CALLED BUILD CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND SO THIS WAS AN ANGLE FUNDING PROGRAM, BUT STILL IN PLACE IN THIS PROVIDES CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CITIES OF MAYNOR LUCK OF VISTA JONESTOWN POINT VENTURE IN SAN LEANNA.
THESE ARE ALL OF OUR MEMBER CITIES WHO ARE NOT SERVED BY RAIL.
I'M GOING KIND OF JUMPING BACK A LITTLE BIT, UH, IN TIME FOLLOWING THE FAILED 2000 LIGHT RAIL PROPOSITION IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAPITAL METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN AGREED TO SHARE 25% OF SALES TAX REVENUES FOR CITY OF AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.
I BRING THIS UP BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF US HAVE PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT THE QUARTER CENT FUND.
SOME FOLKS HAVE BROUGHT IT UP AS A MODEL, OR THERE ALSO MAY BE SOME IDEA THAT IT'S STILL BEING FUNDED.
AND SO QUARTER CENT WAS A VERY SPECIFIC PROGRAM SET UP IN THE WAKE OF THAT ELECTION, UM, TO COVER THAT QUARTER CENT OF SALES TAX FOR CITY OF AUSTIN PROJECTS, IT WAS ADMINISTERED VIA AN INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT, UM, NEW SALES TAX FUNDING, HOWEVER, TO FEED THAT PROGRAM ENDED IN 2004 WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE REDLINE REFERENDUM.
SO THE MONEY WAS BANKED, SO TO SPEAK AND PROJECTS HAVE BEEN, UH, PAID FOR WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN DRAWN DOWN, UH, FROM, FROM THAT, UH, ACCOUNT.
UM, BUT IT IS NOT, THERE'S NOT NEW MONEY GOING INTO, UH, THE QUARTER CENT PROGRAM IN THE CITY OF BOSTON TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT LEANDER BETWEEN 2020 10.
SO AFTER VOTERS AND LEANDER OPTED TO STAY WITHIN THE CAPITAL METRO SERVICE AREA, LEANDER, UH, IN CAPITAL METRO ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT WHERE LEANDER RECEIVED FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION SUPPORTIVE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO THINK CURB SIDEWALKS, STREET REPAIRS, UH, BECAUSE SERVICE COSTS AT THAT TIME WERE LOWER THAN SALES TAX CONTRIBUTIONS.
WHEN METRO RAIL SERVICE STARTED BETWEEN LEANDER AND AUSTIN SERVICE COSTS ROSE ABOVE THE SALES TAX CONTRIBUTION AT THAT TIME.
AND, UH, AND FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION SUPPORTIVE CAPITAL PROJECTS WAS PAUSED.
UM, NOW THAT WE ARE ENTERING A POINT WHERE WITH LANDERS PHENOMENAL POPULATION IN SALES TAX, UH, GROWTH, UH, WE MAY RECONSIDER.
AND SO LEANDER MAY ENTER THE BUILD CENTRAL TEXAS TEXAS PROGRAM.
THE PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE TODAY OF WHICH LANDER IS NOT CURRENTLY A PARTICIPANT FOR TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE SALES INFRASTRUCTURE, BECAUSE THEIR SALES TAX, UH, IS NEARING, UM, IS ABOUT TO EXCEED, UH, THE CAPITAL METRO BOARD ESTABLISHED SERVICE LEVELS.
AND I, I MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE IT IS THE BOARD THAT ESTABLISHES THE LEVELS OF SERVICE ACROSS THE SERVICE AREA.
UH, AND AS THEY GO UP, COST OF SERVICE GOES UP SO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE BOARD'S ROLE THERE.
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WITH THE CITY OF LEANDER, I THINK IS, IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE, WE'RE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE A MAYOR PRO TEM ROSS ON OUR BOARD.WE BEING CAPITAL METRO STAFF, AS WELL AS SENIOR STAFF MEMBERS IN THE CITY OF LEANDER, UM, TO WALK THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS ENGAGEMENT, TRANSIT SERVICE, CAPITAL PROJECTS, HOW CAN WE IMPROVE OUR RELATIONSHIP? HOW CAN CAPITAL METRO PROVE ITSELF? HOW CAN WE SHOW OUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT TO NOT ONLY LEADERSHIP ELECTED AND STAFF AND LEANDER, BUT ALSO TO THE PEOPLE OF LEANDER WHO WE OWE THAT TO.
UM, WE HAVE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM AT CAPITAL METRO AND ADVANCING A COMMUNITY ART PROGRAM AND LEANDER DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL TRANSIT, SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY.
UH, THE CITY HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF REVITALIZING AND ADDING SOME GREAT NEW SIDEWALKS AND LIGHTING AND ACTIVATIONS IN THE OLD TOWN, UH, PORTION OF LEANDER, WHICH IS NOT TOO FAR FROM THE STATION.
SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP GET PEOPLE FROM THE STATION TO OLD TOWN, MUCH MORE EASILY, AND JUST ONGOING COMMUNICATION WITH CITY STAFF MEMBERS ON RAIL SERVICE DAY-TO-DAY AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ON THE RAIL LINE.
OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH THE GOODMAN CORPORATION WHO WAS HIRED BY THE CITY OF LEANDER, UH, TO CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS OF CAPITAL METRO SERVICES.
SO THE CITY OF LEANDER, UH, WANTED TO HAVE A THIRD PARTY LOOK AT OUR RELATIONSHIP AND GOODMAN COURT PROVIDED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE SERVICE TO CITY COUNCIL.
UH, LAST MONTH, UM, THE LEANDER TRANSIT ANALYSIS AS THEY CALLED IT, UH, INCLUDED, UH, ESSENTIALLY SOME HIGH LEVEL QUESTIONS.
WHAT SERVICES DOES LEANDRA RECEIVED FROM CAP METRO MEMBERSHIP? HOW MUCH DOES IT COST, HOW TO LEANDER PERFORMANCE METRICS ALIGN WITH NATIONAL STATE PEER CITY PERFORMANCE METRICS, AND THAT'S REALLY HOW MUCH MONEY IS BEING INVESTED IN TRANSIT SERVICE.
AND WHAT ARE THE LEANDER STATION AREA ECONOMIC IMPACTS? WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CAPITAL METRO SERVICE IN THE CITY OF LEANDER STAFF WORKED WITH GOODMAN CORP AND ALSO DID OUR OWN THOROUGH REVIEW OF THE TRANSIT ANALYSIS.
UM, AND SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE HAD BACK TO THE GOODMAN CORP REPORT, UH, WERE THAT PRE PANDEMIC RIDERSHIP SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE BASIS IN OUR OPINIONS, UH, FOR, UH, FUTURE TRANSIT DEMAND.
UH, THE REPORT WAS, WAS, UH, BASED IN, IN LARGE PART, AT LEAST THE RIDERSHIP COMPONENT OF IT.
IT WAS A VERY BROAD REPORT ON A ONE-MONTH USE ASSESSMENT DURING THE PANDEMIC, UH, AND A LICENSE PLATE SURVEY ON ONE DAY AT THE LEANDER PARK AND RIDE, WHICH IT'S NOT INDICATIVE OF, OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN IN TERMS OF RIDERSHIP.
AND I WOULD SAY AS THE PANDEMIC STARTS TO RETREAT WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE, ESPECIALLY WITH LEANDER GROWING AT THE CLIP THAT IT'S GROWING, UH, AND THAT FUTURE RIDERSHIP ANALYSIS SHOULD INCORPORATE THE PROJECT CONNECT INVESTMENTS BECAUSE SOON ENOUGH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A RED LINE THAT INTERSECTS WITH THE ORANGE AND THE BLUE LINE.
AND LANDERS IS GOING TO BE TIED INTO THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT CONNECT INVESTMENT COST ESTIMATES WERE BASED ON CURRENT PANDEMIC RIDERSHIP, UH, UH, SERVICE LEVELS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE.
UH, THERE HAS BEEN A REDUCED AMOUNT OF METRO EXPRESS BUS SERVICE TO LEANDER, UH, WHICH MADE UP A LARGE PART OF ITS COST OF SERVICE.
UH, WHILE RAIL SERVICES GENERALLY STAYED THE SAME PEER CITIES IN THE STUDY SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED COMMUNITIES WITH COMPARABLE TRANSIT SERVICE OR ACCESS TO LARGER TRANSIT SYSTEMS. SO THINKING OF SUBURBAN CITIES OUTSIDE OF DENVER WITH RTD OR DALLAS, WITH DART AND THE SERVICE PROPOSALS, UH, FOR ANY KIND OF CONTRACTED SERVICE MIGHT NOT BE VIABLE OPTIONS WERE THE CITY TO WITHDRAW.
IN A MOMENT, WE ALSO CONDUCTED CAPITOL METRO, UH, A SURVEY, AND THERE WERE TWO PARTS OF THAT SURVEY.
ONE WAS A SURVEY OF THE COMMUNITY, AND ONE WAS A SURVEY OF CUSTOMERS IN LEANDER.
SO THE METHODOLOGY WAS A 300 PERSON INTERCEPT SURVEY, UH, WITH RESIDENTS AND LANDER WHO DO NOT CURRENTLY USE CAPITAL METRO.
UH, THE DATA WAS COLLECTED, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF APPROXIMATELY A WEEK AT SHOPPING CENTERS AND OTHER HIGH TRAFFIC LOCATIONS, BIGGEST, MOST IMPORTANT TAKEAWAY HERE, TWO THIRDS OF FOLKS WHO WERE INTERVIEWED DURING THIS COMMUNITY SURVEY, NON-CUSTOMERS BELIEVED THAT CAPITAL METRO ADDED VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY ADDED VALUE TO LEANDER.
THE REASONS RESIDENTS CHOSE NOT TO USE CAPITAL METRO SERVICES WAS PRIMARILY BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION.
HALF OF THE FOLKS WHO WERE, UH, WERE SURVEYED, UH, NO PEOPLE WHO RIDE OR HAVE USED CAPITAL METRO SERVICES IN THE PAST AND LEANDER ABOUT ONE QUARTER, FOLKS WERE AWARE THAT CAPITAL METRO SERVICES AND LEANDER WERE FUNDED IN PART BY 1 CENT OF SALES TAX.
UM, AND FEW, UH, FOLKS WERE ABLE TO SUGGEST ANY CHANGES OR IMPROVEMENTS TO CAPITAL METRO AND LEANDER LOOKING AT THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY FOR CUSTOMERS ABOUT 150 ONBOARD INTERCEPT SURVEYS AT THE PARK AND RIDE, UH, AND ON VEHICLES COLLECTED AROUND THE SAME TIME,
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VIRTUALLY EVERYBODY SURVEYED THERE INDICATED THAT THEY ARE LIKELY TO RECOMMEND CAP METRO SERVICE TO OTHERS.I THINK THAT THAT, THAT IS GREAT TO HEAR THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY USING THE SERVICE IN LEANDER, UH, FEEL THAT IT'S A HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT, NO RESPONDENT DISAGREED WITH THE STATEMENT THAT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PROVIDES VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT 74, 70 4% OF FOLKS WHO USE CAPITAL METRO SERVICES DO SO THREE TO FOUR TIMES A WEEK, WHETHER THEY'RE ON AN EXPRESS BUS, METRO RAIL OR PICKUP, UH, AND SOME OF THE SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS WERE MORE SERVICE, MORE WEAKENED SERVICE, ADDITIONAL ROUTES AND STOPS.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS BETWEEN THE TWO PARTS OF THIS SURVEY IS THE NUMBER OF FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO FELT THAT CAPITAL METRO ADDS VALUE.
AND I, AND I WOULD SAY AS A TRANSIT PROFESSIONAL AND A MEMBER OF CAPITAL METRO STAFF, THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR IT.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS GREAT TO HEAR.
AND I THINK THAT IT MEANS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK THAT WE CAN DO TO CONTINUE TO BUILD TRUST, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT THAT'S A GOOD START.
SO AS WE WORK WITH, UH, LEANDER CITY COUNCIL AND STAFF HERE ARE A COUPLE OF, UH, OF, OF RECENT, UH, COUNCIL, UH, ACTIVITIES, UH, AND THEN, UH, UPCOMING ACTION.
SO ON JANUARY 6TH, LEANDER CITY COUNCIL MET, UH, AFTER RECEIVING THE GOODMAN REPORT IN A DECEMBER MEETING, COUNCIL MET, DISCUSSED PROPOSED SPECIAL ELECTION BALLOT LANGUAGE, WHICH IS LOCKED IN BY STATUTE, UH, CHAPTER 4 51 LOTS IN THE LANGUAGE.
UM, BUT THEN THERE ALSO WAS A DISCUSSION OF IF VOTERS IN LEANDER WERE TO OPT TO WITHDRAW FROM CAPITAL METRO SERVICE AREA, HOW WOULD THAT ONE SET OF SALES TAX BE REPURPOSE? SO THERE'S TWO PARTS TO ANY WITHDRAWAL ELECTION.
DO YOU WANT TO WITHDRAW? AND DO YOU APPROVE OF THE PROPOSED, UH, REUSE OF THAT SALES TAX MONEY? JANUARY 20TH WOULD BE, UH, LENDERS, CITY COUNCILS, UH, DEADLINE IN ORDER TO HIT A MAY 7TH GENERAL ELECTION, WHICH IS THE GENERAL ELECTION FOR COUNCIL IN LEANDER.
UM, THIS IS WHEN COUNCIL WOULD NEED TO PLACE A WITHDRAWAL ON THAT BALLOT AND PLACED THE PREFERRED SALES TAX REPURPOSING LANGUAGE ON THE BALLOT.
AND THE REPURPOSING, UH, ONLY GOES INTO EFFECT IF VOTERS OPT TO WITHDRAWAL.
SO, UM, AND JUST TO NOTE ON THESE ELECTIONS ARE RELATED TO WITHDRAWAL OR A CONTINUATION OF CAPITAL METRO SERVICES IS THAT A MEMBER CITY CAN CALL FOR AN ELECTION, UH, FOR VOTERS TO DECIDE IF THEY SHOULD CONTINUE.
UH, IF VOTERS ELECT TO STAY IN CAPITAL METRO, A WITHDRAWAL ELECTION CANNOT BE HELD AGAIN FOR FIVE YEARS.
AND IF VOTERS OPT INSTEAD TO FROM THE SERVICE AREA, TRANSIT SERVICES WOULD NEED TO STOP BY LAW WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE ELECTION BEING CANVASSED WITHDRAWN MEMBER CITIES, O NET FINANCIAL OBLIGATION, WHICH HAS A FORMULA THAT'S BASED ALSO ON STATUTE AND SALES TAX CONTINUES TO BE COLLECTED BY THE COMPTROLLER UNTIL THAT NET FINANCIAL OBLIGATION IS FULLY PAID DOWN ONLY THEN WOULD THAT MONEY BE ABLE TO BE USED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE, WHETHER THAT BE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, GENERAL FUND, YOU NAME IT.
AND BECAUSE THE QUESTION DOES COME UP WHEN WE MENTIONED NET FINANCIAL OBLIGATION, SO THAT FINANCIAL OBLIGATION IS BASED ON ASSETS AND LIABILITIES, CAPITAL METRO, AS OF THE DATE OF WITHDRAW.
AND THERE'S A FORMULA IN STATUTE FOR THAT.
AND FINANCE HAS RUN THE NUMBER AT THE END OF THE LAST FISCAL YEAR.
AND FOR THE CITY OF LEANDER, IT WAS APPROXIMATELY $33.7 MILLION.
NOW THAT NUMBER WOULD HAVE TO BE RERUN ON THE DATE OF THE ELECTION WERE VOTERS TO OPT TO EXIT.
AND AS I SAID, THE SAY THE COMPTROLLER WOULD CONTINUE TO COLLECT THAT MONEY UNTIL THE OBLIGATION WAS PAID DOWN AND ONLY THEN COULD IT BE REPURPOSED? AND SO IN FRONT OF YOU, I BELIEVE YOU ALL HAVE COPY.
UM, THAT IS MY UPDATE ON LEANDER.
AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON HOW WITHDRAWAL WOULD WORK A LITTLE BIT ON THE NET FINANCIAL OBLIGATION AND STAFF HAS PREPARED A RESOLUTION, UM, TITLED TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT FOR SMALL CITY MEMBERS, UH, OF THE CAPITAL METRO SERVICE AREA.
AND WHILE WE'RE SPECIFICALLY DISCUSSING LEANDER TODAY AS LANDER CONSIDERS MAKING A COMMUNITY DECISION, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT OUR SMALL CITIES BROADLY.
SO IN FRONT OF YOU, THERE'S A DRAFT RESOLUTION FROM STAFF.
UH, YOU CAN READ THE WHEREAS CLAUSES FOR YOURSELF, BUT I'D LIKE TO TOUCH ON A COUPLE OF THE BULLETS HERE.
SO THE RESOLUTION WOULD DIRECT CAPITAL METRICS, PRESIDENT AND CEO TO WORK WITH OUR, UH, SIX SMALL CITY MEMBERS, UH, TO PURSUE UTILIZING THE BUILD CENTRAL TEXAS OR BCT PROGRAM THAT I MENTIONED, UH, OR A SIMILAR PROGRAM
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TO ENTER INTO INNER LOCAL AGREEMENTS TO, UH, PROVIDING THE ANNUAL FISCAL YEAR SURPLUS SALES TAX REVENUE ABOVE ANNUAL FISCAL YEAR.TOTAL COSTS OF SERVICE FOR TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE REVENUE OR TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE BEGINNING IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO IN A NUTSHELL, THE DELTA BETWEEN THE SALES TAX CONTRIBUTION OF A SUBURBAN MEMBER CITY AND THEIR COST OF SERVICE WOULD BE BUILT INTO AN INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT, UH, FOR, TO, TO HELP PAY FOR TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE BEGINNING NEXT FISCAL NEXT BULLET, INCLUDING A $10 MILLION TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND IN AN FYI 22 BUDGET AMENDMENT TO FUND TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS PROPOSED BY SMALL CITY MEMBERS FORECAST AND ESTIMATE COST OF SERVICE AND SALES TAX PROJECTIONS, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE SUCH FUNDS AND TO BETTER BUDGET FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE PUT OUT FUNDS, JUST LIKE WE DO TODAY WITH THE BUILD CENTRAL TEXAS FUND CITY STAFF IN THESE SMALLER COMMUNITIES WILL THEN SEND US BACK PROJECTS.
WE WANT TO GIVE EVERYONE BOTH CAPITAL METRO AND THE SMALL COMMUNITIES, THE CHANCE TO REALLY THINK LONG-TERM, THERE MAY BE SOME IMMEDIATE NEEDS THAT YEAR MIGHT BE A SIDEWALK AND LOG TO VISTA MIGHT BE SOME NEW CURVES AND POINT VENTURE, BUT WE ALSO WANT PEOPLE TO THINK LONGER TERM WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE INVESTMENTS THAT WE CAN ALL PARTNER UP ON IDENTIFYING TRANSIT, SUPPORTIVE PROJECTS, TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT AND EXPLORE FINANCIAL AND PLANNING SUPPORT FOR OUR SUBURBAN MEMBER CITIES AND EXPLORING A DISPOSITION OF UNIMPROVED REAL PROPERTY THAT MAY SUPPORT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN CAPITAL METRO, UH, MEMBER CITIES AS WELL.
SO THAT'S THE RESOLUTION THAT YOU HAVE, UH, IN FRONT OF YOU.
UH, CARRIE BUTCHER, OUR CHIEF COUNSEL IS AVAILABLE FOR LEGAL QUESTIONS IN EXECUTIVE SESSION MORE TO THE RESOLUTION.
CAN WE DO THE LAST PART AND NOT, NOT IN BULLET FORM, CORRECT.
THE CAPITAL METRO PRESIDENT AND CEO SHOULD PRESENT FOR CONSIDERATION INITIAL OPTIONS TO THE BOARD FOR AN AGREEMENT WITH LEANDER BY JANUARY 24TH, 2022, WITH ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION FOR OTHER MEMBER CITIES BY THE AUGUST BOARD MEETING.
THANK YOU, BOARD MEMBER, KITCHEN, UH, PRESIDENT CLARK PAID, AND THEN AFTER WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMENT, PERFECT CHAIR, ONE A THING ON THE STAFF VERSION THAT I WANTED TO BRING FORTH, WHICH IS IN THE FIRST BULLET, IT SAYS INFRASTRUCTURE BEGINNING IN FISCAL YEAR 2023.
UM, I BELIEVE STAFF WOULD ALSO BE OKAY WITH THAT AS, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2022.
SO THE PURPOSE OF STAFF WAS JUST TO ACTUALLY PUT A MARKER DOWN SO WE COULD ACTUALLY BE ON ACCOUNT, YOU KNOW, SOME TYPE OF CALENDAR.
UM, IF IT'S 22, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE CALENDAR YEAR CLOSES VERSUS PROJECTION OF 23, BUT, YOU KNOW, TOTALLY UP TO THE BOARD, HOW YOU'D LIKE TO DECIDE THAT THIS WAS JUST A MARKER THAT THE STAFF PUT DOWN THERE.
CAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF BOOK END TO DO IT.
SO STAFF IS CERTAINLY OKAY WITH 2022, BUT JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE THAT CLARITY TO THE BOARD.
[II. Public Comment (see note on registration below)]
AND WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMENT, MS. JOSEPH, ARE YOU BACK ON THE LINE WITH US? CAN YOU HEAR ME? NO.THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK.
UM, I WAS ON MUTE TALKING TO MYSELF AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO HOLLY ANDER.
I JUST WANTED TO CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION.
A PRESENTATION WAS MENTIONED, UH, THE GOODMAN CORPORATIONS, DECEMBER 16TH, 2021 PRESENTATION IS ACTUALLY 74 PAGES LONG.
SO IF THE MEMBERS HAVEN'T REVIEWED THAT, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO SO, UM, BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISIONS AS IT RELATES TO ANDREW.
AND IT'S VERY COMPREHENSIVE, I WOULD JUST CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION.
AND I DIDN'T SEE IT IN THE BACK OF THE MATERIALS THAT THE CONSULTANT ESTIMATED THAT IT'S APPROXIMATELY $214 ONE WEEK, UH, $428 FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL TO LEAVE MEANDER AND GET TO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN NOW.
UM, AND THEN HE ALSO MENTIONED THAT, UH, THAT MEANDER CONTRIBUTED APPROXIMATELY $9.8 MILLION THIS YEAR.
AND I WOULD JUST CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT THE HISTORY IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN THE BACKUP MATERIALS.
UM, THE CONSULTANT'S SLIDE SAYS THAT THEY JOINED IN 1986 WITH 42 OF 70 TOTAL VOLTS IN FAVOR.
I'M NOT SURE THAT'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE, BUT TO YOUR BACKUP MATERIALS ACTUALLY HAS JANUARY, 1985.
THE ONLY OTHER THING I'LL CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION AS IT RELATES TO THE SLIDES THAT ARE VIEWED IS THAT THE LEANDER CONTRIBUTION ASHLEY APPEARS TO BE
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AN OUTLIER AND AN INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT APPEARS TO BE MORE COST-EFFECTIVE FOR THEM, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A $33 MILLION AMOUNT THEY CAN MENTIONED ON PAGE 2,974, IT ACTUALLY COMPARES THE LOCAL FUNDS EXPENDED ON TRANSIT BY PEER CITIES.AND LEANDRA IS WAY UP THE OTHER PEER CITIES.
UH, IT SHOWS THAT THEY'RE ABOUT $2 MILLION OR $3 MILLION, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE DEDICATED SALES TAX THAT GOES TO TRANSIT.
THEY'RE ABLE TO BASICALLY CONTROL THEIR EXPENDITURES A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WOULD ASK YOU TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT ABOUT IS THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU SPEND ON RAIL COMPARED TO THE BUS SERVICE, UM, REFERRING TO A JUNE, 2018 STORY THAT WAS WRITTEN BY KAYLA PRITCHARD, IT'S ON HOW TO FIX CAPITAL METRO.
IN, IN HIS STORY, HE ACTUALLY MENTIONED $180 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND THAT THAT WAS A FIVE FOLD INCREASE OVER THE AGENCY.
THE ORIGINAL REQUEST AND REPRESENTS ABOUT THREE FOURTHS OF ITS, UM, YOUR ENTIRE BUDGET IN 2018.
AND I JUST WOULD CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION AS IT RELATES TO TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, THAT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU SPEND ON RAIL FOR WHITE COMMUTERS IS A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN YOU SPEND ON FIXED ROUTES.
AND SO I'M GOING TO ASK ONCE AGAIN, THAT YOU RESTORE SERVICE ON 3 92 PER ACRE AND BURN IT TO THE TERMINUS, WHICH WAS AT GREAT HILLS TARGET.
UM, MY REFERENCE POINT TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE TRANSIT DESERT IS THAT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN RECENTLY RECEIVED A GRANT FOR A MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE TRANSIT DESERT IN GEORGIA, WHICH IS JUST NORTH OF US, 180 3 AND COUNCIL MEMBER CASAREZ DISTRICTS.
AND SO UNLESS THE RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ALONG, WHICH I DON'T THINK THEY WERE, UM, IT'S DISINGENUOUS FOR YOU TO KEEP ON TALKING ABOUT MORE FREQUENT, MORE RELIABLE, AND BETTER CONNECTED SERVICE AND CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN WE IN FACT REALIZE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN HAS REALIZED IT'S A TRANSIT DESERT NORTH OF US ON 83, IT'S 24 TO 30 YEARS FOR A RAIL, ACCORDING TO YOUR MARCH 9TH, 2020 SLIDES ON PAGE 29.
THE LAST THING I'LL CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION IS THAT ON JUNE 3RD, 2021, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN IS WHEN I ACTUALLY WATCHED A LANDERS BOARD MEETING WHERE THEY TALK TRANSPARENTLY ABOUT CAPITOL METRO.
AND THAT'S ALSO ANOTHER GOOD REFERENCE POINT, UM, WHERE MOST OF THE D THESE DISCUSSIONS WERE IN EXECUTIVE SESSIONS, AND THAT WAS ONE TIME WHERE THEY HAD DISCUSSED IT PUBLICLY.
I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S MY TIME OR NOT, BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU AS YOU, UM, DELIBERATE ABOUT, UM, MR. CLARK, TO RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, THE STANDARDS BY WHICH YOU ARE MEASURING HIS PERFORMANCE EXCLUDES AFRICAN-AMERICANS BECAUSE WE STILL WAIT 60 MINUTES FOR THE BUS IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN, AS YOU'RE AWARE ON 3, 3, 9 AND 2 37 TO COMMUNITY FOR VILLAGE FOR THE FORMERLY HOMELESS.
AND LASTLY, I'LL JUST CLOSE BY SAYING ANY SERVICE THAT YOU PROVIDE IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN IS REALLY JUST RESTORING SERVICE TO THE LEVEL IT WAS BEFORE CATEGORY MAP.
EVEN METRO RAPID EXPO IS JUST GOING TO BE A REPLACEMENT FOR 37.
THAT WAS A ONE-SEAT RIDE TO DOWNTOWN.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME AND APPRECIATE YOU ALLOWING ME TO MAKE MY COMMENTS.
[IV.1. Discussion and Possible Action on Leander Transit Options (Part 2 of 2)]
NOW WE HAVE THE STAFF REVOLUTION RESOLUTION, MAYBE A REVOLUTION, UH, IN FRONT OF US.UH, WE ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY IF, UH, YOU LIKE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS LEGAL ASPECTS RELATED TO THE RESOLUTION.
WHAT'S YOUR, UH, PLEASURE AT THIS TIME? REMEMBER OFF? YES, I'M GOOD HAVING A DISCUSSION IN EITHER PLACE.
I JUST WANTED TO, UM, TAKE A FEW MINUTES THOUGH, AND JUST, UM, GET A LITTLE MORE BACKGROUND, YOU KNOW, AS A SMALL CITIES REPRESENTATIVE AND SPECIFICALLY ON CITY COUNCIL WITH LAND, OR SORT OF WHY WE'RE WE'RE HERE RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND, AND, AND WHY IT'S I THINK IMPORTANT TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION? I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND WITH THE RESOLUTION, I THINK IT OBVIOUSLY IS SPECIFIC TO LEANDER AND THEN MAKING SOME LONGER TERM PLANS FOR OUR OTHER SMALL CITY MEMBER CITIES.
UM, BUT I THINK THE QUESTION IS, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST IS HOW DOES CUT METRO WANT TO MOVE FORWARD? UM, DO, DO WE WANT TO BE A TRUE REGIONAL CENTRAL TEXAS SYSTEM, OR DO WE WANT TO BE AN AUSTIN
[00:30:01]
CENTRIC SYSTEM? UM, I MEAN, MY OPINION IS THAT WE WANT TO BE REGIONAL AND WITH THAT, UM, IT'S BEING A GOOD STEWARD FROM THE CHEMISTRY STANDPOINT OF THE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR SMALL CITIES.UM, LANDER IS WHERE IT IS, UM, PARTLY BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE RAIL AND, UM, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, AND WE HAVE, I MEAN, THE PANDEMIC OF COURSE HAS CREATED PROBLEMS ACROSS THE BOARD.
BUT, UM, FOR THE RIDERSHIP, THE QUESTION COMES FROM A CITY SPECIFIC THING IS HOW MUCH BURDEN COST BURDEN DOES AN OUTLIER CITY TAKE ON FOR THAT NORTHERN REGION.
AND, AND HOW DOES THAT PLAY OUT AND WHERE DO YOU, UM, AND THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THAT, UM, OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, LEANDER HAS, UM, PAID APPROXIMATELY 60,000, OR I'M SORRY, $60 MILLION INTO CAP METRO, AND WE'RE PROJECTED OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS FOR THAT TO BE 160 MILLION.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE KIND OF AT A CRUX OF FIGURING OUT, UM, BECAUSE THAT PENNY ENDS UP COMING TO CA METRO, HOW DOES THAT PLAY? BECAUSE IT DOES, UM, FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE, IT HAMSTRINGS THE CITY OF BET ON THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SIDE.
SO HOW CAN WE, UM, AND I THINK THE END GOAL HERE ON BOTH SIDES FROM WHEN I PUT MY CAP, METRO HAT ON, AND WHEN I PUT MY SMALL CITIES HAT ON, AND WHEN I PUT MY LAND OR HAT ON, UM, THAT WE'RE ALL MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME GOOD, UM, TALKING POINTS HERE AND THINGS THAT WE CAN TIGHTEN UP OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, IF THAT IS THE BOARD'S, UM, DECISION TO MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
UM, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE MADE GOOD HEADWAY AND WE ARE SETTING A GOOD, UM, PRECEDENT AND ROADMAP FOR FUTURE MEMBER CITIES.
IN ADDITION TO TAKING CARE OF THE MEMBER CITIES THAT WE HAVE NOW, THANK YOU, A BOARD MEMBER, OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, REMEMBER KITCHEN, UH, JUST, I WANT TO RESPOND TO THE QUESTION THAT, UM, THAT BOARD MEMBER, UM, ROSS HAS ASKED US AND JUST BY SAYING FOR MYSELF SPEAKING, THE AFFIRMATIVE THAT I DO THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE AND NECESSARY FOR OUR ROLE TO BE, UM, SUPPORTING THE TRUE CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL SYSTEM.
AND I HEAR HER ASKING US WHERE WE'RE AT ON THAT.
AND I JUST WANT TO LET HER KNOW THAT, THAT, UM, I DO SUPPORT THAT.
REMEMBER, UM, IT HASN'T NECESSARILY BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD PUBLICLY HERE BEFORE NOW.
I'M VERY GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION NOW, BUT, UM, STAFF KNOWS PRETTY MUCH, UH, UM, UH, FOLKS KNOW, FROM THE MOMENT I CAME ON THE BOARD AS THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE, I MADE IT KIND OF MY MARK TO, TO, TO TRY TO BE A KIND OF BRIDGE AND THE REPRESENTATIVE TO TRY TO HELP OUT WITH, WITH LEANDER BECAUSE I KNEW, AND I I'D BEEN AS EVEN THOUGH I LIVE IN LAKELINE, WHICH IS IN AUSTIN, I I'D HEARD THE ISSUES.
I KNOW HIM BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF INTERACTIONS WITH FOLKS IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, AND ALSO WITHIN, UH, WITHIN LEANDER, SPECIFICALLY A LOT OF THE ISSUES AND A LOT OF THE CONCERNS.
UM, I AM NOT A STRANGER TO KNOWING THE PROMISES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE BY THIS ORGANIZATION OVER THE YEARS.
PROMISES MADE THAT, UM, I BELIEVE IN YEARS, PAST WERE NOT KEPT AT LEAST THE WAY THAT WE'RE POTENTIALLY IDENTIFIED OR AGREED TO, OR THAT, THAT, THAT PARTIES BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE AGREED TO.
I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THAT LEANDER, UM, I I'M JUST GOING TO FLAT OUT SAY IT.
I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE ENTER WAS GETTING THE SHORT END OF THE STICK AND PREVIOUS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, I'LL FLAT OUT GOING TO SAY IT, AND I WANTED TO MAKE IT MY MISSION TO TRY TO BRING LEANDER BACK TO THE TABLE, BRING CAP METRO BACK TO THE TABLE WITH LEANDER AND TRY TO BRING THESE ISSUES FORWARD BECAUSE YEAH, THERE HAD BEEN PROMISES MADE, UM, YOU KNOW, BACK WHEN THE RAIL WAS FIRST BEING DISCUSSED, THERE WERE PROMISES MADE ABOUT THE RAIL.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT MANY OF THOSE CAME TO FRUITION.
UM, AGAIN, I'M NOT A RESIDENT OF LEANDER, BUT I KIND OF HAVE SEEN IT.
AND I'VE SPOKEN WITH RESIDENTS OF LEANDER, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TOD AND THE RAIL WHEN IT FIRST CAME ABOUT NEVER OFFICIALLY, NEVER REALLY CAME TO FRUITION OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
LIKE, LIKE I THINK THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROMISED AND, AND WAS HOPED TO BE DELIVERED.
AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, YOU SAW ALMOST OVERNIGHT,
[00:35:01]
UH, KIND OF FLIP A SWITCH BECAUSE ALMOST OVERNIGHT LEANDER WENT FROM BEING A CITY THAT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE FUNDS AND BE A POSITIVE, UH, MEMBER OF THE PARTNERSHIP AND THAT THEY WERE GETTING NOT JUST SERVICE, BUT ALSO POSITIVE TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT FUNDS THAT COULD HELP OUT IN OTHER WAYS, BECAUSE AS WE KNOW, CAP METRO, WE TRY TO BE SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST A, MORE THAN JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, A SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES, YOU KNOW, TRANSIT SERVICE.WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO TRY TO HELP MOVE PEOPLE AND TO TRY TO HELP OUR COMMUNITIES BE GROWN CLOSER TOGETHER.
AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO THINK WE DO, BUT WE WEREN'T DOING THAT.
AND WHEN THE LANDER AND IN PARTICULAR, IT IT'S LIKE AS SOON AS WE CUT THE RIBBON ON THAT TRAIN, BOOM, OKAY, WELL GUESS WHAT, NOW, THEN YOUR COST OF SERVICE HAS GONE UP.
AND SO NOW THEN YOU LOSE THOSE THINGS THAT YOU HAD JUST FIVE MINUTES AGO.
BUT GUESS WHAT? THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISN'T COMING IN YET.
AND SO I SEE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF REASONS OVER THE YEARS FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO BE UPSET IN THE ANDREW.
AND, UM, I AM REALLY, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS ACKNOWLEDGED AND I'M, I RECOGNIZE WHY THAT, THAT THERE ARE SOME UPS THAT THERE'S SOME FEELINGS LIKE THAT I'VE, I'VE WANTED TO GET US TO A POINT.
AND I REALLY WANT TO THANK STAFF.
I REALLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE RANDY AND, AND SAM AND ERICA AND, AND OTHERS THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND THIS ISSUE THAT HAVE REALLY BEEN, BEEN WORKING HARD.
I THINK OVER THE PAST, ESPECIALLY THE PAST YEAR, UM, TRYING TO REACH OUT AND SIT DOWN AND START SITTING DOWN WITH, WITH THE CITY OF LANDER AND SAYING, OKAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE AND, AND HAVE REAL CONVERSATIONS AND REALLY TRY TO UNDO SOME THINGS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN DONE, BUT, BUT I RECOGNIZE IT'S HARD BECAUSE WHEN YOU'VE HAD 20 YEARS OF PROMISES MADE AND PROMISES NOT KEPT, IT'S REALLY HARD TO BE ON THE LEANDER SIDE OF THE EQUATION AND TRUST THAT SOMETHING'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT.
AND I WANTED TO SAY HERE PUBLICLY, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, FROM WHAT I'M SEEING HERE, AND I KNOW THE STAFF'S BEEN WORKING HARD BEHIND THE SCENES, AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, MY COLLEAGUE, UH, UH, COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AND MAYOR PRO TEM, BECKY ROSS, AND THE WORK THAT SHE HAS DONE, UM, WORKING ON THESE ISSUES AS WELL.
UM, WHAT I THINK HERE, THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY A, A REALLY GOOD START.
AND I THINK THIS IS A POSITIVE, A POSITIVE MOVE FOR RE PRO LEANDER.
CAUSE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, ISN'T JUST A WINK, WINK, NUDGE, NUDGE.
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS IF WE, AS A BOARD WERE TO, TO PASS THIS RESOLUTION, WE ARE NOW DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO AND STAFF TO PURSUE AN INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT THAT ACTUALLY PUTS ON PAPER IN CONTRACT FORM AND MAKE POSSIBLE MOVING FORWARD, LEANDER, GETTING THE RECAPTURE OF THAT SALES TAX MONEY.
AND THEN ALSO THAT ONCE THEY GO RIGHT SIDE UP AGAIN, WHICH THEY'RE ABOUT TO BASED ON FISCAL PROJECTIONS THAT WE EVEN SAW FROM GOODWIN'S REPORT.
BUT THEN ALSO WITH THAT, HAVING A 10 ACCESS TO A $10 MILLION TRANSIT SUPPORTED INF INFRASTRUCTURE FUND FOR WHATEVER PROJECTS THAT THEY WANT TO PUT FORWARD, I THINK THIS IS A HUGE, HUGE MOVEMENT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TO THAT, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACTUALLY PUBLICLY PUTTING A VOTE, PUTTING THIS TO A VOTE AND THEN COMMITTING TO SOMETHING IN CONTRACT.
AND I THINK THAT THOSE ARE PIECES THAT HAVE BEEN MISSED.
AND I, I HOPE THAT THIS BOARD AND STAFF UNDERSTAND THAT, AND I HOPE THAT ANYBODY IN THE CITY OF LEANDER WATCHING THIS UNDERSTANDS THE LEVEL OF COMMITMENT THAT, THAT I THINK THAT WE, WE RECOGNIZE WE SEE, AND THAT WE'RE WILLING NOW AS CAP METRO TO PUT FORTH INTO THAT.
VICE-CHAIR TREVELYAN UM, I THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT ALSO, UH, THAT, THAT WE DEVELOP A REGIONALLY RELEVANT TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND I THINK THAT IF YOU TALK TO ANY OF THESE SMALL CITIES, UM, YOU WILL FIND THAT EACH HAS A SET OF ITS OWN GRIEVANCES.
AND A LOT OF THAT HAS BEEN, UH, BASED ON THE FACT THAT I THINK PREVIOUSLY, UM, THE ORGANIZATION HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN AS COMMITTED TO A REGIONAL SYSTEM.
I THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE ALL DECIDED TOGETHER.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE VOTERS HAVE HAVE GUIDED US AND INSTRUCTED US THAT THEY WANT TO HAPPEN.
[00:40:01]
THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT ALL SMALL CITIES.I THINK LEANDRA IS THE IMPETUS FOR THAT.
I THINK THAT A LOT OF GOOD WORK HAS AS HAS HAPPENED AND CITIZENS HAVE STOOD UP TO SAY, IF I MAKE AN INVESTMENT, I WANT IT TO BE AN INVESTMENT.
I WANT IT TO PAY OFF FOR MY COMMUNITY.
THINK THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR ALL OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE INVOLVED AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN YOU LIVE ON THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN AND YOU TALK ABOUT PROMISES, UH, I MEAN, WE, WE CAN GO ANY SYSTEM YOU WANT TO LOOK INTO.
AND, AND WHAT WE WANT TO SEE IS PEOPLE THAT WANT TO REASON TOGETHER AND GOODWILL, PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SEE FOLKS HAVE ACCESS, HOW DO I GET TO WORK? HOW DO I GET TO THE DOCTOR? HOW DO I GET TO THE PLACES WHERE I CONDUCT COMMERCE? UM, I THINK THAT IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE CONVEYING THE INTERESTS AND CONCERNS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE MADE SURE THAT WE BRING EVERYBODY ALONG.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT THAT EVERYBODY FEELS THAT THEY ARE A PART THAT WHEN THEY HAVE ISSUES, THEY ARE LISTENED TO THAT.
WE CREATE A FORUM THAT REALLY MAKES PROGRESS.
AND, AND, AND I SEE THESE THINGS IN MY COLLEAGUES AS WE, AS WE TALK, WHETHER WE'RE TALKING PUBLICLY OR WHETHER WE'RE TALKING IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, I THINK THAT IS, IT IS IMPORTANT, UH, THAT, THAT WE, THAT WE LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW THAT WE REALLY ARE INTERESTED IN BUILDING A REGIONALLY RELEVANT SYSTEM THAT ADDRESSES THE NEEDS OF CITIZENS.
AND, UH, AND THAT IS WHAT I'M COMMITTED TO WORKING FOR.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL TO TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UH, I JUST WANT TO ADD A COUPLE OF COMMENTS, UH, SIMILAR TO WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID, WHICH IS FIRST, I AM A DOWNTOWN EMPLOYER AND WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING IN FROM THE BURBS.
AND AS THE COST OF BEING IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY CONTINUES TO ESCALATE, THAT'S GOING TO BE COME EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.
AND THE GROWTH THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IN OUR REGION WILL PROBABLY BE DISPROPORTIONATELY IN THE SUBURBS IN TERMS OF AT LEAST POPULATION GROWTH OVER THE ENSUING YEARS.
AND SO HAVING A ROBUST, THOUGHTFUL PLAN TO INCORPORATE TRANSIT INTO THE SUBURBS IN A WAY THAT IS SUSTAINABLE AND MAKE SENSE, I THINK IS ONE OF THE TOP TWO OR THREE OBJECTIVES OF CAP METRO OVER THE, OVER THE NEXT FIVE AND 10 YEARS.
AND I THINK THAT WE ARE AT AN INTERESTING INFLECTION POINT POLITICALLY HAVING HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, MAYORS FROM CITIES WHOSE HISTORICALLY MIGHT HAVE, UH, HAD A DIFFERENT VIEW OF TRANSIT AND A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND OF THE VALUE OF BEING ABLE TO GET PEOPLE IN AND OUT OF THEIR CITIES AND IN AND OUT OF THE CENTER CITY, AS WE THINK ABOUT THE COMPLEX PROBLEMS OF A REGIONAL DESIGNING A REGIONAL PLAN, I THINK WE'LL NEED HELP FROM THE LEGISLATURE TO GIVE US ADDITIONAL TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX.
AND I THINK THE ABILITY TO, UH, WORK TOGETHER, UH, WITH SUBURBS THAT IN THE PAST MIGHT'VE, UH, BEEN RELUCTANT TO DO SO IT GIVES US GREATER HEFT THAN OPPORTUNITY TO FASHION A REALLY ROBUST SYSTEM.
AND WE'VE GOT, UM, AS WE GO DOWN THIS ROAD, WHICH I THINK IT IS CRUCIAL THAT WE DO.
I THINK WE ALWAYS, AND STAFF IN PARTICULAR, AS THEY START TO PUT THE FRAMEWORK AROUND THIS HAVE TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE NEED TO APPROACH, UH, OUR DIFFERENT SUBURBS IN THE REGIONS.
SOME ARE IN THE PLAN AND ARE GENERATING REVENUE FOR US.
NOW, SOME ARE NOT IN THE PLAN, BUT, UH, CEDAR PARK, FOR EXAMPLE, MAKES ALL THE SENSE IN THE WORLD FOR US TO FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT CEDAR PARK CAN PARTICIPATE, BUT THEY'VE ALREADY COMMITTED THEIR PENNIES.
SO IT'S A DIFFERENT SET OF ISSUES.
THEY MAY COME IN AS SOMEBODY WHO IS JUST PAYING FOR SERVICES, THEY GO, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE SORT OF THE SAME SET OF STANDARDS FOR HOW WE CALCULATE.
AND, AND THE DEVIL, UH, IS FREQUENTLY IN THE DETAILS.
AND UNFORTUNATELY FREQUENTLY IN THE ACCOUNTING DETAILS THAT TOO MANY OF US HAVE OUR EYES GLAZE OVER, BUT HOW YOU FIGURE OUT COST, UH, FOR WHO'S PAYING FOR IT ON A PAY AS YOU GO BASIS, OR, UH, PAYING FOR IT AS A CALCULATION OF HOW YOU GET A, UH, UH, AN ESSENCE OF, UH, UH, CONTRIBUTION BACK FROM CAP.
METRO ALL REQUIRES OUR ATTENTION AS WE HAVE, UH, UH, SUBURBS IN EVERY DIFFERENT SITUATION.
AND IT WOULD BE HELPFUL LEGISLATIVELY TO HAVE MORE TOOLS TO PERMIT A CEDAR PARK OR OTHERS WHO HAVE COMMITTED TO FIND A WAY TO PARTICIPATE
[00:45:01]
IN.AND THIS, I THINK IS THE FIRST STEP, UM, OF BEGINNING THAT WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS THAT NEED TO GET DONE SO THAT WE'RE BUILDING A REGIONAL SYSTEM.
AND, AND I JUST, UH, HEY, I'M SUPPORTIVE AND B URGES TO KEEP SORT OF, UH, UH, WEATHER EYE ON THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW THIS FITS INTO THE BROADER PICTURE OF HOW DO WE OVER TIME GET A CEDAR PARK OR A ROUND ROCK OR PFLUGERVILLE FULLY INTO THE SYSTEM AND HAVE A VISION THAT IS A ROBUST, A ROBUST ONE FOR US.
SO I'M, I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE, UH, APPLAUD THE EFFORTS OF STAFF, UH, APPLAUD THE EFFORTS OF, UH, OUR COLLEAGUE, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM, AND A BOARD MEMBER ROSS TO, UH, GET US TO THIS POINT AND OTHERS, UH, FROM THE CITY, UH, WHO WHO'VE BEEN HELPFUL AND TAKEN A REGIONAL VIEW OF THINGS.
I THINK, UH, I THINK FOR OUR COLLEAGUES ON THIS STAFF WHO COME HERE BECAUSE THEIR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO BE OPEN TO THIS AND, AND, UH, HELPING MOVE THIS REGIONALISM FORWARD IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP, UH, FOR OUR BOARD, BUT ALSO FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR REGION, AS WE FIND WAYS TO COLLABORATE AND ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES TO THE CHALLENGING WORK OF COUNTING NICKELS AND DIMES AND DISTRIBUTING THOSE.
SO WITH THAT, I, UH, I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE.
UM, THERE MAY BE PARTICULAR WORK ON THE REMEMBER KITCHEN WHEN YOU FINISH.
WELL, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO, TO HEAR THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, UH, WITH WANTING TO, YOU KNOW, BE SURE WE HAVE A, UH, STRONG REGIONAL APPROACH.
AND I WANT TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, AND I WANT TO, UM, EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO A MAYOR PRO TEM ROSS AND BOARD MEMBER ROSS FOR HER WORK ON THIS IS, YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS BOARD MEMBERS STRATTON.
UM, AND I WANT TO JUST ADD A COUPLE OF QUICK THINGS.
I, AS IN, IN, UM, BOARD MEMBERS STRATTON, YOU SAID IT REALLY WELL AND DIRECT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS CONCRETE.
UM, THIS IS COMING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VOTING TO GIVE DIRECTION TODAY.
AND WE'RE ALSO ASKING FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION, YOU KNOW, IN TWO WEEKS ON JANUARY 24TH, WHEN THIS COMES BACK TO US.
SO THIS IS IMMEDIATE CONCRETE ACTION.
UM, THE, I AM READING THE INCLUSION OF THE 10 MILLION AS A FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET AMENDMENT AS IMMEDIATE.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING FOR PEOPLE TO, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE NOTE OF THAT.
UM, I ALSO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, I WANT, WANNA RECOGNIZE THE FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE THAT OUR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES HAVE.
THEY ARE GROWING AND THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH GROWTH.
TRANSPORTATION IS ONE PIECE OF GROWTH AND IMPORTANT PIECE, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL THEIR OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES.
AND SO THE WAY THAT THE ONE, THE ONE PENNY IS SET UP RIGHT NOW, THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY.
AND, AND SO IT'S A CHICKEN AND AN EGG THING FOR THEM IN A LOT OF WAYS, AND IT BECOMES REALLY UNDOABLE FOR THEM.
AND SO THE ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY THAT WE CAN BE A PARTNER AND HELP THEM WITH THEIR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE, THEIR TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE, AND MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO PARTICIPATE WHILE NOT HAVING TO SACRIFICE OR CHOOSE BETWEEN INFRASTRUCTURE, THAT IN SOME CASES IS STEERING THEM MORE IN A MORE EMERGENT WAY IN THE FACE AS THEY GROW.
WE DON'T WANT TO, THEY CAN'T BE IN THAT KIND OF POSITION.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ACTION, AS WELL AS FUTURE CONVERSATION AND THINKING ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT YOU SAID, CHAIR COOPER, YOU KNOW, ABOUT HOW WE CAN BE A PARTNER.
SECOND THING I WANT TO SAY IS THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND BETTER IN THE FUTURE.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHEN YOU BRING THIS BACK.
AND SOME OF THAT IS A LONGER TERM CONVERSATION IS HOW WE THINK ABOUT TOTAL COST OF SERVICE FOR THESE COMMUNITIES, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO RAIL, SINCE, SINCE RAIL BENEFITS EVERYBODY IN THE REGION.
UM, AND, UM, I'M SURE THAT'S ACCOUNTED FOR IN SOME WAY, BUT I'LL WANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT BETTER, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE, THE COST OF RAIL DON'T, DOESN'T DISPROPORTIONATELY FALL ON OUR SMALLER COMMUNITIES.
SO THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO REMEMBER THAT TOO.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF FLEXIBILITY TO DO WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE
[00:50:01]
THE SITUATION THAT FOLKS ARE IN RIGHT NOW IN THESE COMMUNITIES VERSUS WHAT THEY MAY BE GROWING TOWARDS AND WHAT KIND OF OPTIONS DO WE HAVE FOR UPFRONTING MONEY OR SPREADING COST OUT IN OTHER WORDS.UM, SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN EXPLORE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT W HOW EXACTLY DO YOU CALCULATE ANNUAL FISCAL YEAR, TOTAL COST OF SERVICE? YOU KNOW, SO THOSE ARE DETAILS THAT WE DON'T NEED TODAY.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT LATER, BUT I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT I'M JUST EXCITED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION, CHANGING THAT TO 2022, SO THAT WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO START IN THE BILL'S CENTRAL TEXAS PROGRAM THIS YEAR.
WE KNOW WE'VE GOT 10 MILLION, UH, RIGHT AWAY.
WE KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A, UM, UH, CONCRETE ACTION, WHICH IS A CONTRACT IMMEDIATELY.
SO, UM, I, AND I THINK THAT THIS IS A GOOD MODEL AS WE CONTINUE WITH OUR OTHER COMMUNITIES, UM, IN, UH, IN CENTRAL TEXAS, REMEMBER RENTER RE I, I DON'T WANT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT, UH, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'VE HAD YOUR HAND UP.
I WANTED IT TO SAY A FEW WORDS, SO, AND KIMBERLY, CAN WE GET BETTER? HOLD ON ONE SECOND.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN HEAR YOU BETTER.
AT LEAST SOME OF US OF A CERTAIN VINTAGE HEAR YOU FAINTLY, MAYBE YOU CAN'T ASK HIM TO TAKE HIS MASK OFF.
NOW, IF YOU SPEAK LOUDLY, WE CAN HEAR YOU, BUT THEY'RE TURNING THE VOLUME.
WE WANT TO HEAR EVERY WORD FULLY INFLECTED AT, ARE WE GOOD? THERE'S A GOOD AS WE'RE GOING TO GET THE SECURITY MEASURE.
WE PUT IT IN THE LOBBY AFTER THIS YPO.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED FOR THE FULL EXPERIENCE.
YOU'RE GOOD TO GO AS GOOD AS WE'RE.
UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME CLEARLY NOW WE HEAR YOU BETTER.
I WANT TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUE, UH, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN, UH, THE RED LINE THAT VOTED IN, UH, LEANDRA WAS A SMALL TOWN AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE AREAS THAT WERE STARTING TO GROW AND GROW QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, 81, 83 WITH A MESS.
UH, AND IF I STILL IS A MESS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK.
I MEAN, I DROVE UP DOWN 35 A COUPLE OF TIMES, AND I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH TRAFFIC IS THERE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS PANDEMIC DID PUT US BACK FOR A WHILE, YOU KNOW, A LONG WHILE.
AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS GROWTH HAS GONE ON IN HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, IT'S JUST GROWING LIKE CRAZY.
AND I MEAN, THAT'S, IT'S A NIGHTMARE JUST TRYING TO GET IN AND OUT OF THE CITY NOW.
AND IF IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RED LINE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FIRST, YOU KNOW, IT FAILED THE FIRST TIME, THE FIRST BOOK, THE SECOND TIME IT PASSED, YOU KNOW, REAL PASS.
AND, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SAYING, WHY DO WE WANT TO BUILD A ROUTE TO A PLACE THAT GOES NOWHERE? AND, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE SAYING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WEST, WEST AUSTIN AND LEANDER AREA, BUT AS WE STEAM, AND I'VE GONE TO OTHER AREAS WHERE I VISIT OTHER TRANSIT SYSTEMS AND OTHER CITIES AND STATE, AND, AND I SAW THE GROWTH THAT CAME ALONG WITH THAT.
AND IT'S, IT'S JUST AMAZING HOW THE RAIL CONTRIBUTES TO ALL THE GROWTH, BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN MAKE PLANS FOR THEIR FUTURE NEED.
YOU KNOW, I'M FORTUNATE HERE IN AUSTIN AND THE STATE OF TEXAS, WE DON'T HAVE THE SUPPORT THAT COMES ALONG AS OTHER STATE HAS WHERE THE STATE ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTES TO BE INFRASTRUCTURE AND, UH, AND, AND, AND, AND MAKE A COMMITMENT TO MAKING SURE THAT WE ALL GETS DONE.
BUT WE, I STILL BELIEVE THAT IN THE FUTURE, WE WILL HAVE THAT SUPPORT.
AND W WE ALL HAVE, UH, THE SUPPORT THAT'S NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE WHOLE LINE ALL THE WAY TO MAINER AND REGIONAL.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY ONE OF THESE DAYS, WE'LL GO DOWN SOUTH TO BUDA AND, AND, UH, KYLE AND, AND THAT AREA.
BUT I, I HOPE MY COLLEAGUES DON'T FEEL WELL, UH, BACK THERE IN THE END OR THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY IGNORING THEM.
IT'S JUST THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH SOME REALLY CHANGED
[00:55:01]
A LOT OF CHANGES, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE DID A PROJECT CONNECT.I MEAN, THIS IS A, IT WAS GOING, GONNA OPEN UP A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR A LOT OF THESE CITIES TO BE ABLE TO CAP INTO OUR SYSTEM THAT WE'RE PLANNING ON THE WAY FROM THE END OUT.
AND I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN WORK WITH LEAH.
AND I KNOW THAT AS, AS A TOWN GROWS AND, AND, AND THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, YOU GOT TO GROW YOUR TAX BASE IN ORDER TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THE GROWTH, BECAUSE, UH, WE'RE LOT HERE IN AUSTIN AND THERE NO OTHER PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO GROW, UH, MOVE TO, BUT OUTSIDE OUR DISTRICTS ARE OUR, OUR BOUNDARIES.
AND, AND, UH, THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING PEOPLE.
YOU'RE GETTING ALL THE PEOPLE THAT CAN'T LIVE HERE IN AUSTIN, AND WHICH IS A, IT'S A BAD THING FOR US, BUT IT'S A GOOD THING FOR THE CITIES.
BUT AS, AS GULF GOALS, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST AN ENORMOUS, AND YOU SEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, YOU KNOW, BUNNY OVER TO ANOTHER AREA, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT'S IT, IT'S, IT IS A HUGE CAUSE FOR THE CITIZENS, ESPECIALLY THERE IN LEANDER.
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER, UM, MAYBE ACTUALLY GOING DOWN AND LOOKING AT WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP THEM OUT AND HELP ALL OUR SMALL CITIES, BECAUSE GROWTH IS, IS REALLY JUST, UH, IT'S, IT'S REALLY HARD.
IT'S RAISING TAXES BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING NOW THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO BUILD YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND THAT MONEY IS UPFRONT IN THE LONG RUN, BUT I JUST HOPE THAT WE, UH, WORK THIS OUT.
UH, WE NEATLY, AND THERE, WE NEED ALL THIS LAWSUIT IN ORDER TO GET US OUT OF THIS TRANSIT NIGHTMARE THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW.
AND I HOPE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WILLING TO, UM, I'M WILLING TO COMMIT MYSELF TO WORK WITH ANY GROUP OUT THERE THAT WANTS TO, UH, ONCE, ONCE OUR HEALTH.
THANK YOU, BOARD MEMBER, UH, PRESIDENT CLARK.
YOU WANNA MAKE SOME COMMENTS? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
JUST ONE QUICK COMMENT, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.
SO, UM, FROM A STAFF POINT OF VIEW, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
A BOARD MEMBER YOU MENTIONED, DOES THE ORGANIZATION LOOK AT ITSELF REGIONALLY, AND I THINK IT'S OVERWHELMING THAT YOU'VE GOT THE SUPPORT OF YOUR FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS.
UH, I'LL ALSO WANT TO REASSURE YOU AND ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT THAT'S WHAT STAFF FEELS TOO.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF US HAVE LIVED IN OTHER REGIONS.
UH, TRANSIT INNATELY IS A REGIONAL TYPE OF SERVICE.
UM, LOTS OF MEMBERS ON THIS DIOCESE ARE REPRESENT POLITICAL JURISDICTIONS, BUT WHAT, WHAT IS HEALTHY, BUT TRANSIT IT'S A NETWORK, IT'S A SYSTEM.
IT USUALLY TRANSCENDS BOUNDARIES TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.
UM, AND SO OVERWHELMINGLY, UH, STAFF BELIEVES IN THAT MODEL BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO ACTUALLY CONNECT A REGION TOGETHER.
TRANSIT IS NOT ONLY JUST ABOUT MOBILITY TO IT IS THE ECONOMIC ENGINE THAT FEEDS MOST LARGE URBAN ENVIRONMENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD.
AND AREAS THAT HAVE A RAIL STATION TEND TO ACTUALLY BE A BIGGER DRAW FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
HENCE WHY PLACES LIKE SAM MENTIONED IN HIS PRESENTATION, GREATER DENVER, GREATER UTAH, GREATER DALLAS PLACES LIKE THAT SUBURBS ARE ACTUALLY GOING OVERWHELMINGLY TO TRY TO VOTE, TO GET INTO SYSTEMS, TO ACTUALLY HAVE THOSE ANCHORS.
AND SO A COUPLE OF THINGS I'D LIKE TO NOTE WOULD BE, I THINK ONE THING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, STAFF HAS BEEN KIND OF BUSY WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT STUFF, OBVIOUSLY FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT I THINK THE REAL GOOD THING ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT IS NOT JUST WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THAT IT SETS A NEW BASELINE FOR US TO HAVE THIS LARGER CONVERSATION THAT CHAIR YOU MENTIONED, AND, AND BOARD MEMBER KITCHEN MENTIONED, WHICH IS HOW DO WE NOW ENGAGE THE REGION IN DIFFERENT CONVERSATION BEFORE THAT CON, BEFORE PROJECT CONNECT, IT'S TALKING ABOUT HOW DO YOU DO AN UPSTAIRS BATHROOM IN YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT ACTUALLY AGREEING WITH THE FOUNDATION'S GOING TO BE NOW, WE'VE AGREED ON WHAT THE FOUNDATION IS GOING TO BE.
HOW DO WE GET MORE PEOPLE TO WANT TO LIVE IN THAT HOUSE? AND I, AND YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S A BAD ANALOGY.
UM, BUT THE IDEA IS, I THINK WE DO HAVE A GAME CHANGER AS A REGION, AND I THINK PEOPLE AROUND THE REGION SEE THAT TOO.
AND SO, UM, I THINK I JUST WANT TO EXPRESS FROM A STAFF POINT OF VIEW, APPRECIATION TO THIS BOARD FOR REALLY LOOKING AT THIS AS A REGIONAL OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND I THINK, UH, BOARD MEMBER, OR SORRY, CHAIR COOPER HIGHLIGHTED, ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN EXAMPLE TO SHOW THAT REGIONALISM, I THINK THAT IS INCREDIBLY HEALTHY.
IT ACTUALLY EXCITES ME AND OTHERS AS STAFF.
SO I THINK, UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS WE'D LIKE TO DO MAYBE THINKING THROUGH THIS IS REALLY STARTING TO ADVANCE OUR REGIONAL CONVERSATIONS TO THE, TO THE, TO THE REGION IN A DIFFERENT WAY COMING INTO THIS YEAR.
AND A FEW OF US HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR.
NOW THAT WE'VE GOT A PC BASE IN PLACE, WE HAVE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP SET UP TO BE A PARTNER TO HELP DELIVER PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, THERE'S OTHER COMMUNITIES, AND IT MIGHT BE A CRAWL WALK, ONE SITUATION, WHICH IS PICK, MIGHT BE THE RIGHT TOOL IN SOME COMMUNITIES FIXED COST MIGHT BE, OR AN EXPRESS BUS MIGHT BE AN EVENTUALLY LONG-TERM
[01:00:01]
AS BOARD MEMBERS.MARIA MENTIONED, WE SHOULD HAVE RAIL FROM BUDA TO ROUND ROCK AND TO ELGON.
AND I MEAN, AS THIS WE'RE GONNA HAVE A 4 MILLION PLUS REGION, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A REGION THAT'S BIGGER THAN THE CURRENT REGION OF PHILADELPHIA OR BOSTON OF TODAY.
AND THEY HAVE LINES EVERYWHERE.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHERE I LEFT AT BOSTON, THERE'S 13 COMMUTER RAIL LINES AND FOUR SOMEWAY LINES.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE GOT TO MOVE MILLION WHEN WE'RE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, WE GOT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE PEOPLE AND IT CAN'T BE JUST CARS, OBVIOUSLY.
UM, SO I THINK STAFF WILL REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH BOARD MEMBERS TO THINK THROUGH WHETHER IT'S LEGISLATIVE TOOLS OR OTHER TOOLS.
AND THEN IN THIS YEAR, AS WE STARTED THINKING THROUGH THAT STRATEGICALLY, AND I THINK IT MIGHT BE VALUABLE TO START PUTTING SOME TRIPS TOGETHER, UH, WITH SELECT BOARD MEMBERS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, SELECT COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN OTHER NON-MEMBER CITIES AND MAYBE SOME CHAMBERS AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT TO GO TO SOME OTHER AREAS TO START THINKING THROUGH REALLY GOOD, LONG RANGE, STRATEGIC PLANNING ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSIT TOGETHER.
AND MAYBE WE'LL WORK CLOSER WITH CAMPO ON THAT AS WELL TO TRY TO BRING SOME PEOPLE TOGETHER.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY CHAIR TO JUST MENTION THOSE, BUT, UM, STAFF AGAIN.
THANKS TO THE BOARD FOR ALL THEIR LEADERSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP ON THIS TOPIC.
MR. MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY ADD TO, IF I MAY ADD TO MR. PRESIDENT, NOT JUST, UH, THE, THE NON-MEMBER CITIES FOR SOME OF THOSE TRIPS, LET, LET'S BRING OUR PARTNER CITIES ALONG, LET LET THEM SEE WHAT, WHAT IT DOES AND WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE AS A, AS A TEAM.
CAUSE AS, AS WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED HERE, AS YOU SAID, WE'VE NOW LAID THE FOUNDATION WITH PROJECT CONNECT.
WE KNOW THE DIRECTION WE WANT TO GO TO IN THE FUTURE.
AND IF I MAY THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES THAT SERVE THE CITY ON THE CITY COUNCIL FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THAT, THAT THIS, THAT THIS NEEDS TO BE A REGIONAL APPROACH.
UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ENTRY AND COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN ON THIS.
CAUSE I THINK THIS IS HUGE, AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, BUT YES, I LET LET'S, LET'S GRAB, LET'S GRAB SOME, SOME STAFF MEMBERS AND OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM LEANDER, UH, AND, AND FROM MAINER AND BRING THEM ALONG ON ONE OF THESE TRIPS TO SEE, HEY, HERE'S WHAT OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES HAVE DONE THAT HAVE THESE PARTNERS, SMALL, YOU KNOW, SUBURBAN CITIES, YOU KNOW, DARK HOUSTON, BOSTON, WASHINGTON, WHATEVER IT IS TO LET THEM SEE WHAT THE VALUE IS AND THAT WE CAN START BRAINSTORMING.
AS LONG AS WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW, WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH THIS? AND THEN WE, THEN WE CAN LOOK AT IT BOTH INTERNALLY, WHAT SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A FIRST STEP, AS I SAID, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD FIRST STEP, BUT WE CAN ALSO START LOOKING AT LONG-TERM WHAT THE PLAY IS FOR ADDRESSING THE REGION, BOTH IN TURN, IN TERMS OF YES, EXTERNAL, BUT ALSO OUR OWN INTERNAL SYSTEM IN THE MEMBER CITIES WITHIN THE SYSTEM ITSELF.
AND THEN ALSO, YES, STARTING TO STUDY AND LOOK AT WHAT POSSIBLE WAYS THAT WE AS MEMBER CITIES WITH THE, WITH CAP METRO, UM, BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL, WE CAN START LOOKING AT AND STRATEGIZING THINGS TO TAKE TO THE LEGISLATURE POTENTIALLY BECAUSE THE ONE THING THAT HAS, THAT HAS, UH, COME TO INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATE ME IS WE'RE WORKING OFF A SYSTEM OF FINANCING THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS BUILT IN 1985.
FORGET WHAT FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS OLD.
NOW THAT THAT IS A ZERO SUM GAME WHERE IT SEEMS TO APPEAR THAT, THAT YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES, TRANSIT OR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WELL, AS WE'VE INCREASINGLY SEEN, AND AS, AS LITERATURE AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AND ECONOMIC LITERATURE HAS PROVEN, IT'S NOT A ZERO SUM GAME TRANSIT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GO HAND IN HAND.
SO WHY DON'T WE FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT WE CAN BRING THE TWO TOGETHER AND HAVE MORE OPTIONS OUT THERE.
AND SO IF WE CAN START LOOKING AT THIS AND STUDYING THIS AND LOOKING AT WAYS TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THESE THINGS AND BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND HAVE OUR MEMBER CITIES COME ALONG WITH US AND PARTNERS AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIZE SOME OF THESE INNOVATIVE THINGS, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE THAT THE ANSWER IS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS AND GO TO THE LEGISLATURE.
I'M SURE THERE ARE OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES THAT ARE LOOKING AT THIS GOING, YEAH, WE LIKE SOME MORE OPTIONS TOO.
LET'S DO THAT, BUT I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE OFF THE TABLE, THE OPTION OF, HEY, WE WANT TO GO LOOK AT SOME OTHER OPTIONS AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES AND LOOK AT WAYS TO TAKE THIS BASE, THIS BASE FOUNDATION AND TAKE THE NEXT STEP.
LET LET'S LET'S INVITE, YOU KNOW, WE UNDER CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF ALONG ON, ON A TRIP TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE BEING DONE OUT THERE AND, AND WHAT VALUE IT HAS AND HOW OTHERS ARE DOING IT, THEY CAN EVEN IMPROVE THIS PARTNERSHIP EVEN GREATER.
REMEMBER STRATTON, I THINK YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELL-MADE.
AND I THINK, UH, AS MAYBE THE SENIOR VINTAGE PERSON ON THE BOARD, REMEMBER AN ORGANIZATION CALLED ENVISION CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, UM, THAT, UH, BROUGHT TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE REGION TO TALK ABOUT TOOLS AND TOOLBOXES AND, AND TO THINK ABOUT HOW'S REGION.
WE THINK ABOUT THINGS AND CAMPO HAS THE OPPORTUNITY PERHAPS TO DO THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY'S REALLY, UH, CAMPO INCLUDED, SAT DOWN TO REALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO DO THE THINGS YOU DESCRIBED, MARY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSIT.
[01:05:01]
I LOVE THE AMBITION OF OUR GROUP HERE, WE HAVEN'T, UH, WE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE, UH, WELL, WE HAVE STARTED SHOVELING DIRT ON, UH, BRT LINES FOR PROJECT CONNECT, BUT, UH, UH, HERE WE ARE NOW TACKLING THE WHOLE REGION, BUT I, I DO THINK CRAWL, WALK, RUN.I KNOW, I DO THINK THAT, UH, IF ANY ORGANIZATION SHOULD, UH, GERMINATE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW TO TACKLE THESE REGIONAL ISSUES IN A COLLABORATIVE, INVENTIVE, THOUGHTFUL WAY, UH, IT MIGHT AS WELL BE US.
AND SO, AS STAFF IS THINKING ABOUT THIS THINKING, IT MAY NOT BE OUR ORGANIZATION TO HOST THESE THINGS.
AERO HAS DONE SOME WORK IN THIS AND THIS WRITTEN SOME GOOD HAS DONE SOME GOOD WORK, BUT I DO THINK FINDING A PLACE TO BRING TOGETHER NOT ONLY FOR TRIPS, BUT FOR JUST HONEST CONVERSATION OVER TIME ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THE LEANDER ISSUES, BUT ALSO THE BUDA ISSUES AND THE MAINER ISSUES AND THE PFLUGERVILLE ISSUES AND WHAT, WHAT ARE THE NEEDS AND HOW CAN WE KNIT TOGETHER A SOLUTION THAT WE COULD ALL TAKE TO THE LEGISLATURE I THINK WOULD BE USEFUL.
SO NOT ANOTHER DAYS PROJECT, BUT I THINK ONE RELATED TO THIS REMEMBER KITCHEN, JUST, JUST A QUICK ADD ON CAMPO CAMPO HAS IT HAS A, UH, UH, REGIONAL TRANSIT PLAN AS PART OF OUR 2045 PLAN.
AND WE'RE HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS NOW, WHICH, UM, WE'LL PROBABLY COME BACK TO THE CAMP OF BOARD IN FEBRUARY, UM, TO, UH, TO CREATE, UM, A COMMITTEE OR SOME OTHER STRUCTURE TO, TO REALLY DIG INTO WHAT'S WHAT'S PLANNED CURRENTLY, UM, AND TO CONSIDER HOW TO BRING THOSE THINGS FORWARD.
SO CAMPO CAN BE A PARTNER IN, IN HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S AN, THERE'S A INTEREST THERE AND, AND SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UH, HAVE BEEN HAPPENING WITH OUR, WITH OUR FRIENDS TO THE SOUTH.
SO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, SO I, I THINK THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT IN THE NUMBER OF GROUPS THAT CAN ALL SIT AT THE TABLE TOGETHER TO, TO MOVE THIS THING FORWARD.
SO NOW, OH, I'M SORRY, JUST ONE FINAL COMMENT.
I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE BOARD, UM, FOR THE DIRECTION OF THIS CONVERSATION.
IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER I'M WEARING MY CAP, METRO HAT, THE LAND, OR HOW TO THE SMALL CITIES HAT, UM, I THINK WE HAVE ALL AGREED TODAY AND SAID PUBLICLY THAT IT IS A REGIONAL SYSTEM.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY QUESTION ALONG THE WAY ABOUT THE VALUE THAT MASS TRANSIT CAN ADD TO A COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT THE QUESTION MORE HERE, AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND THIS WHAT'S THAT COST BENEFIT, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR SMALL MEMBER CITIES, UM, IT, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO EVEN THE SCALES A LITTLE BIT, AND I THINK WE'VE MADE GREAT PROGRESS HERE.
UM, AND I'M THRILLED TO SEE SOME OF THESE DETAILS, UM, FILL IN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
AND SO THAT I CAN, UM, BRING IT BACK TO THE LANDER CITY COUNCIL NEXT WEEK WITH THAT, UH, MEMBERS, I THINK IT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION RELATIVE TO REMEMBER KITCHEN.
UH, I MOVE PASSAGE OF THE RESOLUTION THAT'S IN FRONT OF US CHANGING IN THE FIRST BULLET 2023 TO 2022.
CAN I THIRD THAT I'LL, UH, NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT THERE WERE, UH, SIMULTANEOUS SECONDS FROM, UH, THOSE WHO, UH, ARE ON OUR BOARD FROM WILLIAMSON COUNTY, A MEMBER STRATTON AND MEMBER ROSS, AND HE A DISCUSSION MEMBERS OF THIS ITEM, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, I SHOULD SAY.
WE'VE HAD A LOT OF GOOD DISCUSSION HEARING, NO FURTHER DISCUSSION I'LL CALL FOR A VOTE.
AND SINCE WE'RE IN HYBRID MODE, I'LL CALL ROLL, UH, VICE CHAIR.
UH TREVELYAN UH, THANK YOU, MEMBER STRATTON.
I REMEMBER RENTERIA COOPERS AND I MOTION CARRIES A SIX TO ZERO.
UH, PARDON, UH, LIKEWISE, THE STAFF, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN SORT OF A, UH, SLOW BURN THAT GOT TO A CRITICAL MASS HERE, AND A LOT OF TIME SPENT, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS, UH, AND, UH, AN ACCELERATED, UH, EFFORT.
AND, UH, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
AND, UH, CERTAINLY APPROVES THAT YOU'RE CAPABLE OF MULTITASKING.
YOU CAN DO A, UH, MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT CONNECT AND THEN JUST DECIDE TO GO CLEAN UP THE REGION AS WELL.
SO, UH, NEXT WEEK, I'M NOT SURE WHAT CAN I ADD SOMETHING CHAIR? I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS
[01:10:02]
COUNCIL MEMBER POOL COULD A BOARD MEMBER POOL COULD NOT BE WITH US TODAY.SHE'S IN THE MIDST OF TRAVELING BACK.
AND, UM, SHE, UM, I HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH HER AND SHE WAS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS APPROACH THAT WE TOOK.
SO SHE WOULD WANT ME TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT, ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T SPOKEN DIRECTLY WITH MEMBER MITCHELL, HE AND I HAVE MADE A FEW TRIPS OUT TO LEANDER, UH, TO VISIT WITH FOLKS INTERESTED THERE.
AND, UH, I'M SURE, LIKEWISE, HE'S VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE IDEA.
SO, UH, WELL, THANKS ALL FOR THAT.
[III. Executive Session of Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code:]
UM, HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, ON THE AGENDA TO, UH, SPEAK ABOUT, UH, PRESIDENT CLARK'S ANNUAL PERFORMANCE GOALS.UM, AND SO, UH, THERE WILL BE NO ACTION TAKEN ON THIS ITEM TODAY.
UH, AND I EXPECT WHEN WE RETURN FROM THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE'LL SIMPLY ADJOURN.
SO NO NEED FOR STAFF OR OTHERS, UH, TO HANG AROUND, WAITING FOR SOMETHING EXCITING TO HAPPEN.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER SECTION 5 51 0.07, FOUR DISCUSSION OF PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO THE PRESIDENT AND CEO AND HIS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE GOALS.
IT IS A ONE 30, A ONE AND A, WE ARE NOW OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION UNLESS THERE'S ANY FURTHER ACTION THAT THE BOARD NEEDS TO TAKE.
UH, UH, AND I'M HEARING NO, WE WILL STAND ADJOURNED AT ONE 30.