[00:00:02]
ALL RIGHT, YOU NEED TO SIT DOWN AND
[CALL TO ORDER]
CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER IN YOUR MIND.HI, THIS IS A CABLE EIGHT CER, SORRY TO FORGET THAT I NEEDED TO BE HERE IN PERSON.
IT IS, I DUNNO, SIX SOMETHING 28, 6 26.
I'M CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER AND THANK YOU ALL FOR STICKING AROUND.
UM, I ASSUME, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AND CITIZEN COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION? ZACK.
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
GOT OUR MINUTES.SORRY, I DON'T HAVE IT PULLED UP, BUT I KNOW THAT'S ALWAYS OUR FIRST ITEM.
YEAH, I PULLED THEM UP RIGHT HERE.
HEY, FOLKS HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THEM.
CHAIR ALL FOR A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE, WHAT DATE WAS THAT? CAN YOU SCREW UP REAL QUICK? IT'S GOING TO BE DECEMBER OR SOMETHING.
YEAH, THE DECEMBER 6TH, 2021 JOINED SUSTAINING SAYING THE ABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES.
DOES ANYBODY, UH, NEED ANY CORRECTIONS EDITS ADDITIONS TO THESE MINUTES? SOUNDS LIKE NOT.
UM, SO ANYBODY WHO CAN TURN ON THEIR CAMERA, UM, IF YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND FOR I, IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY, UH, SAY YOUR NAME, THANK YOU FOR CYA.
IT, I'M NOT SURE IF I'M SEEING EVERYBODY ON THE ONE SCREEN, IS THAT JUST HAVE KAREN, UH, DIANA VISIO, AUDREY, UH, CHRISTIE.
AND REBA AND PHOEBE, EVERYBODY ON THE SCREEN HERE IS WHO'S IN THE MEETING.
MARCUS IS THE HOST, BUT HE HSA, I THINK THAT'S HOW YOU SAY HER NAME.
AND I BUNGIE WAS SHE IS WITH ATMOS ENERGY AND SHE WANTED TO JUST LISTEN IN ON THE MEETING TONIGHT, TODAY.
AND BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT FIGURED OUT 80 XN OR ANY OF THAT, SHE'S NOT SOME SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, BUT SHE HAS THE WEB, LIKE INTRODUCING THE EXCELLENT THANKS FOR JOINING US.
WELL, UM, I HAD TWO COMPUTERS AT HOME SET UP AND I GRABBED THE ONE THAT DIDN'T HAVE MY EVERYTHING OPEN ON IT, UH, IN MY HASTE.
SO SORRY TO BE SO NOT ORGANIZED HERE.
[2a. Vice Chair Election – (Discussion and/or possible action)]
CHAIR.WE HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A VICE CHAIR SINCE, UH, KATIE LEFT LEFT US.
SO EVEN THOUGH WE WOULD NORMALLY JUST DO OUR ELECTIONS IN, I THINK IT'S, UH, APRIL OR MAY WE, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE A VICE CHAIR.
SO I'M HOPING THAT, UH, SOMEBODY IS, UH, INTERESTED IN TAKING THAT POSITION.
ANYBODY WANTS TO NOMINATE THEMSELVES OR I SUPPOSE SOMEBODY ELSE I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE ALBERTA IF SHE'S WILLING TO DO IT.
CAUSE I DON'T SEE HER JUST THAT SHE WAS HERE.
I THINK SHE LOCKED OFF AND MIGHT BE BACK.
WELL, IF YOU'RE GONE, THEN IT COULD GIVE AWAY.
UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? OH, HERE
[00:05:01]
SHE IS.UM, KAREN JUST NOMINATED YOU TO BE VICE CHAIR.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THAT? CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? YES.
UH, ALBERTA, UM, KAREN HADN'T NOMINATED YOU TO BE VICE CHAIR.
THE ROOM HAS GONE STRANGELY SILENT.
I THINK YOU GUYS MAY BE MUTED.
CAUSE LIKE WE'RE STILL AMPLIFIED HERE, BUT, UM, ALBERTA, UH, WELL, WHILE YOU WERE GONE FOR A MINUTE, UH, KAREN HAD, UH, NOMINATED YOU TO BE VICE CHAIR OR DO YOU HAVE, ARE YOU WILLING TO DO THAT? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THAT? OH, OKAY.
I ACTUALLY AM CHAIR OF THE, UM, TCE BOARD AT THIS POINT.
SO I WONDER IF I WOULD REALLY BE ABLE TO DO THE POSITION JUSTICE, ALTHOUGH I'M REALLY, UH, FLATTER THAN HONOR, UM, TO, TO BE CONSIDERED.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE THAT WOULD WANT TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET FOLKS KNOW WHAT, WHAT THE, UH, MY SITUATION IS.
DIANA KNOWING, UM, OH, DIANA YOU'RE MUTED.
WE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A NOMINEE WHO HAS ACCEPTED, UM, DOES ANY, ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? ALL RIGHT.
UH, IF, IF THERE WERE NO OTHER NOMINATIONS, UH, THEN WE WILL, UH, WE'LL BE VOTING ON DIANA.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR BEING WILLING TO STEP UP.
UH, ALBERT, I CAN DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND, UH, NOT WANTING TO TAKE ON TOO MANY POSITIONS.
SO AGAIN, IF, IF YOU CAN TURN ON YOUR CAMERA AND RAISE YOUR HAND, IF, UH, IT'S, I'M SORRY, COULD I GET A CLARIFICATION? WHAT WASN'T SURE.
UM, ABOUT ALBERTA, WHETHER SHE DID OR DID NOT ACCEPT THE NOMINATION.
ALBERTA, CAN YOU CLARIFY? IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE KIND OF DECLINING, BUT, UM, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE DOING? YEAH.
I WAS SEEING, I WAS HOLDING THE BACK CAUSE I WAS TALKING BACK MYSELF AS A NOMINEE BECAUSE I BEARING THE TEXAS COULD PAY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT FORWARD AND SEEING IF SOMEBODY ELSE WOULD STEP INTO THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND THEREFORE SEEKING PEOPLE MORE TIME TO THAT AND ATTEND TO THAT.
SO, SO YEAH, IT'D BE ONE TO SAY THAT I DECLINED.
YOU CAN SAY THAT I REALLY WAS TRYING TO ALLOW SOMEONE ELSE.
WHO'S BETTER SUITED FOR A TOUGH TIME.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR NOMINATION.
AND, UM, WOULD SUPPORT DIANA IN THAT CASE.
I WOULD'VE BEEN HAPPY IF YOU'D ACCEPTED.
I WOULD'VE BEEN SUPER HAPPY TO BE ACCEPTED, BUT YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY, BUT YOU HAVE A FULL PLATE, SO I'M SORRY.
I CAN'T, I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY IF ALBERTA HAD ACCEPTED, BUT I UNDERSTAND SHE HAS A FULL PLATE, SO.
UM, THANKS FOR CLARIFYING ALBERTA.
I'M SORRY IF I MISCHARACTERIZE TURNED MY VIDEO OFF MY BACK, I GUESS MY INTERNET IS COMING IN AND OUT.
AND I THINK THAT I COULD HEAR ABOUT, YEAH, THANK YOU, ALBERTA.
I THINK THAT, UH, YOU WERE LAGGING A LITTLE AND THAT'S WHY DIANA WAS INADVERTENTLY TALKING OVER YOU.
UH, WE, WE HAVE A NOMINATION, UH, AND I GUESS TO SERVE AS EMOTION, THE CIO, UH, YOU, ARE YOU MAKING A MOTION TO, UH, MAKING A MOTION?
[00:10:01]
WONDERFUL.SO UNLESS THERE ARE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UH, VOTE.
ANY ANYBODY WHO CAN TURN ON YOUR CAMERA IF YOU'RE VOTING? AYE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT, UH, YOU CAN SAY YOUR NAME AND HOW YOU'RE VOTING.
CAN YOU TELL ME HOW YOU'RE VOTING? THANK YOU, ALBERTA.
IF YOU'RE SPEAKING, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU.
I THINK WAS THAT AN I, I THINK THAT WAS AN EYE.
UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO LOOPING YOU IN, UM, THE, UM, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE, UH, HAVE MONTHLY ABOUT SETTING OUR AGENDAS.
UM, WE HAVE GENERALLY, UH, HAD THE VICE CHAIR TOTALLY INCLUDED IN THOSE.
SO, UM, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO GET YOU IN THE, IN THE LOOP THERE.
UM, AND I STILL HAVE NOT BROUGHT MY DOCUMENT UP.
I'M LEANING ON YOU HEAVY TONIGHT.
YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO BE WITH,
[2b. Austin Climate Equity Plan implementation update – Zach Baumer, Office of Sustainability – (Discussion and/or possible action)]
SO THE NEXT ITEM IS, IS, UH, THE CLIMATE EQUITY IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE FROM ZACH AND ZACH.YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SHARE YOUR SCREEN, BUT I CAN ALSO PULL IT UP HERE.
AND WHAT'S THE CRASH? MY COMPUTER.
CAN YOU ALL SEE THAT? YES, I CAN SEE THAT WRITTEN.
I'M GOING TO TURN OFF MY VIDEO.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY? YES.
I DID NOT SHARE THIS UPDATE BEFORE THE MEETING.
I WAS JUST WORKING ON IT TO THE VERY LAST MINUTE, BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN, UH, OVERWHELMING WITH, UH, THING DUE DATES RECENTLY.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS AND HIT ON A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT TOPICS ABOUT WHERE WE ARE WITH IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, SO I'M GONNA HIT ON THE MEMO THAT WE JUST, UM, SENT TO COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 9TH.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE STORY MAP, I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH IT, BUT YOU'LL HAVE THE LINK, UM, WHERE YOU FEEL UPDATED ON CLIMATE AMBASSADORS, IMPLEMENTATION, TRACKING WEBSITE.
UM, THE STRATEGY STATUS CATEGORIZATION THAT WE WENT THROUGH IN, UH, DECEMBER, JANUARY BRIEFLY ABOUT, UH, 22, 23 BUDGET COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH IS UPCOMING.
AND THEN, UM, I PUT TOGETHER SOME QUESTIONS LINES AND SOME SORT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION, AND THEN ABOUT A LOT OF THE WORKING GROUP, THE WORKING GROUP SLIDE DISCUSSION, AND THAT MAY ACTUALLY BLEED INTO THE NEXT ACTION ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS ABOUT, UH, DISCUSSING THE WORKING GROUP.
SO HOPEFULLY, UM, I SAID, I SENT THIS MEMO AROUND TO ALL THE JSC MEMBERS.
UM, THE LINK IS AT THE BOTTOM HERE.
AFTER I EVEN SHARE THE SLIDES AFTER THE MEETING, YOU DON'T HAVE ALL OF THIS, BUT ON FEBRUARY 9TH, WE PUT TOGETHER OUR FIRST MEMO UPDATE TO COUNCIL ON SOME RECOMMENDATION TO THE PLAN.
UM, WE COVERED ALL THE TOPICS ON THE SCREEN HERE IN DETAIL.
UM, THERE WERE A GOOD AMOUNT OF VERY DETAILED UPDATES ON SORT OF KEY ITEMS AND ACTIONS THAT ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED ACROSS THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, SO THERE'S A TON OF INFORMATION IN THIS MEMO.
UM, SO YEAH, MAKE SURE YOU TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND YEAH, THE NEXT THING THAT WE JUST COMPLETED, UM, AND AS PART OF OUR KIND OF ONGOING COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS PLAN AROUND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS THE STORY MAP.
SO FILLED RON ON YOUR TEAM, ON OUR TEAM WHO WORKS WITH PHOEBE.
AND I HEAR SO YOU MADE THAT, UM, HE KIND OF, UH, LED THE CHARGE TO WORK WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM AND CREATIVE STORY MAP.
UM, THE, THE AUDIENCE OF THE STORY MAP IS REALLY LIKE THE AVERAGE
[00:15:01]
AUSTINITE, SOMEONE WHO JUST IS INTERESTED IN CLIMATE CHANGE OR WANTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE PLAN.UM, SO THERE ARE, UM, LOTS OF GREAT VISUALS AND PICTURES AND QUOTES AND, UH, LIKE EMBEDDED VIDEOS.
THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF FANTASTIC INFORMATION, UM, IN THE STORY MAP AND IN THE, AND AGAIN, THE TARGET REALLY IS LIKE THE UNKNOWING PERSON WHO JUST WANTS TO LEARN ABOUT CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS IS AND WHAT'S IN IT.
UM, SO THIS IS OUT THERE IN THE WORLD.
UH, WE'VE GOTTEN A TON OF GREAT COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK ON IT.
UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY GREAT WAY TO JUST TO COMMUNICATE LIKE THE PROCESS OF CREATING THE PLAN AND REALLY WHAT'S IN IT.
NEXT, UM, A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE CLIMATE AMBASSADORS PROGRAM, UM, AND, UH, RESOLUTION ONE 10, UH, WHICH CAME FROM COUNCIL TO, UH, WHEN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN WAS ADOPTED.
UH, WE GOT THE GUIDANCE OR GOT THE DIRECTION THAT, UH, WE SHOULD CREATE ANOTHER, UM, VERSION OF THE CLIMATE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, UH, FOCUSED ON THE IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, UM, IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HIRED A TEMPORARY STAFF MEMBER.
UM, WHO'S, UH, HER TITLE IS CLIMATE EQUITY ENGAGEMENT, ASSOCIATE ASSOCIATE.
SHE'S BEEN WITH US FOR, I THINK, FOUR OR FIVE WEEKS NOW.
UM, HER NAME'S CINDY LANDRY MOM, SHE'S FROM HOUSTON.
SHE'S A FANTASTIC, UM, ENERGETIC, NO NEW PERSON, UH, ON THE TEAM AND IS GOING TO BE HELPING US FRAPPE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT IS A NEW VERSION OF THE CLIMATE INVESTORS PROGRAM LOOK LIKE.
UM, SO SHE HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS ALONG WITH PHOEBE, UM, OF HAVING INNER DEPARTMENTAL COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS WITH CLIMATE PLAN PARTICIPANTS, FORMER AMBASSADORS, ALL SORTS OF FOLKS WHO SAW AND PARTICIPATED IN, UM, ENGAGED IN THE FIRST CLIMATE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, WHICH WE HAD DURING THE PLAN CREATION, UM, TO GARNER LESSONS LEARNED FROM THAT PROGRAM.
WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND LIKE WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T WORK, UM, IN THAT FIRST EFFORT.
UM, SHE'S ALSO REVIEWING OPPORTUNITY AREAS WITH, UH, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND LIKE WHERE AMBASSADORS FITS IN WITH THE DIFFERENT AUDIENCES WE'RE TRYING TO REACH WITH THE PLAN.
UM, AND THE THING THAT'S USED TO WORKING ON DEVELOPING RIGHT NOW IS A FRAMEWORK FOR HOW THE MODEL CAN BE ADAPTED FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, BECAUSE THE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST TIME AROUND, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY DESIGN THE PROGRAM AROUND GETTING INPUT AND IDEAS ON WHAT THE PLAN BUT ADDRESS.
UM, BUT WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED NEW IDEAS ON WHAT, YOU KNOW, FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
WE NEED TO SORT OF HAVE THIS TURNED AROUND A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF FEEDBACK OR INPUT OR GUIDANCE ON, UM, ON SPECIFIC PROJECTS IN IMPLEMENTATION OR ON KIND OF BROADER THEMES AND IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WE ARE WORKING ON FIGURING THIS ALL OUT RIGHT NOW.
SO AS WE, UM, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT A FRAMEWORK AND FIGURE OUT, UH, NEXT STEPS AND A POTENTIAL DESIGN FOR WHAT THIS COULD LOOK LIKE, WE WILL BE BRINGING THAT BACK TO YOU, JESSE, YOU GUYS CAN REVIEW THAT, PROVIDE INPUT ON IT.
UM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT WE ARE OFF THE GROUND NOW AND, UM, AND WORKING TOWARDS CREATING THIS NEW, UH, NEW AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
ANOTHER THING THAT I HIGHLIGHTED VERY BRIEFLY, UH, LAST TIME I TALKED TO YOU ALL WAS, UM, WE'RE CREATING THIS IMPLEMENTATION TRACKING WEBSITE FOR THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, LAST TIME AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE USE A SPREADSHEET, A GIANT SPREADSHEET THAT WAS UPDATED BY ALL OUR DEPARTMENTS, LIKE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
AND IT WAS LIKE THIS STATIC DOCUMENT, UM, AND SAY THE LEAST IT WAS NOT IDEAL.
UM, IT WAS NOT IDEAL FOR REAL-TIME TRACKING.
IT WAS NOT IDEAL FOR LOTS OF EMPLOYEES OR FOR COLLECTING LOTS OF INFORMATION.
SO WE'RE AGAIN TRYING TO LEARN FROM THAT PROCESS OF WHAT WE DID BEFORE, UM, AND COME UP WITH A BETTER SOLUTION.
SO WE ARE NOW BUILDING OUT THIS, UM, THIS NEW SITE IN THE SOCRATA, UM, OPEN GOVERNMENT PLATFORM DASHBOARD THAT THE CITY USES FOR TRACKING OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTION, 2023.
SO WE HAVE THIS CREDIT PLATFORM IT'S ACCESSIBLE, IT'S EASY TO USE.
AND OF, SO WE'RE USING THAT PLATFORM.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE FOCUSED ON BUILDING IT OUT AND DESIGNING IT, AND THEN WE'LL BE POPULATING WITH ALL THE INFO FROM, YOU KNOW, ALL THE DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, UM, IT'S GOING TO HAVE QUANTITATIVE DATA ON THE 2030 GOALS, BUT THEN THE PRIMARY THING IS REALLY, IT'S GOING TO HAVE REPORTING ON ALL OF THE 74 STRATEGIES IN THE PLAN.
SO THE STATUS WHERE THE PROJECTS ARE WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY
[00:20:01]
IT IS, TASK, BUDGET, THE IMPACT OF THOSE.UM, SO WE'RE BUILDING OUT NOW THE FIELDS AND KIND OF DESIGNING THE LOOK AND FEEL AND EVERYTHING.
UM, SO IT CAN THEN BE REPLICATED ACROSS, UM, THE WHOLE PLAN.
WE CAN POPULATE IT WITH INFORMATION AND THEN IT WILL BE MADE PUBLIC.
UM, SO WE ARE LEANING ON THE WORKING GROUP OF THE JASON FOCUS ON IMPLEMENTATION IS SCHEDULED THEM A MEETING TOMORROW.
UH, PHIL HAS CREATED, UH, LIKE A DESIGN PRESENTATION ON THE AUDIENCE PURPOSE AND SOME OF THE DETAILS.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT GROUP MEETS TOMORROW AND PHIL CAN SHOW THE OREGON GROUP THIS MUCH MORE DETAILED BUILD OUT OF THIS, GET YOUR FEEDBACK, GET YOUR INPUT.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GETTING SOME INPUT FROM COUNCIL EIGHTS.
UM, HOPEFULLY ONCE WE GET ALL THAT INPUT, THEN WE WILL FINALIZE THE DESIGN AND THEN MOVE FORWARD AND FINISHING IT INTO THIS AND GETTING IT OUT TO THE PUBLIC AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND, AND THE KEY THING I THINK TO REMEMBER HERE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO THINK, UH, STRATEGICALLY ABOUT WHO WE COMMUNICATE, WHAT ABOUT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN? SO, AS WE TALKED ABOUT THE STORY MAP, THE AUDIENCE IS REALLY THE KIND OF UNKNOWING NON-EXPERT, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROACHABLE SORT OF, UH, TOOL FOR ANY AUSTINITE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION DRAGON WEBSITE IS GOING TO BE AT A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL.
IT'S GOING TO BE FOR THE INTEREST IN CITIZENS, THE BOARDS AND COMMISSION MEMBERS, COUNCIL AIDS.
THE IDEA HERE IS YOU HAVE LOTS OF DETAIL AND LOTS OF SPECIFICS TO HOPEFULLY MAKE IT MORE USEFUL FOR, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE ACTIVE IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION AND, UM, AND YOU KNOW, HELP WITH IMPLEMENTATION.
SO I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS LAST TIME, UM, AND OVER THE COURSE OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, UM, PHOEBE, ME AND THE WHOLE TEAM, WE BASICALLY WENT BACK TO ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTAL PARTNERS AND TRIED TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHERE EVERYBODY WAS IN TERMS OF ALL 74 STRATEGIES IN THE PLAN.
SO WE BASICALLY HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AND TRIED TO CLASSIFY ALL 74 OF THE STRATEGIES INTO THESE FOUR BUCKETS.
SO THINGS THAT ARE UNDERWAY ALREADY HAPPENING, THINGS THAT MAY BE READY, THINGS ARE KIND OF LIKE READY TO HAPPEN, BUT DON'T HAVE FUNDING OR LIKE ARE, UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A GAP THERE'S A NEED.
UM, THEN THE THIRD WAS THINGS THAT THE DEPARTMENT WANTS TO DO AND THEY'RE PLANNING ON DOING, BUT THEY'RE LIKELY GOING TO JUST BE ASKING FOR THE FUNDING IN, IN THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET CYCLE, SORT OF THE CYCLE THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THEN THE FOURTH CATEGORY WAS LONG-TERM INITIATIVES.
THINGS THAT ARE FURTHER OUT, MORE COMPLICATED MIGHT TAKE CAPITAL ARE GOING TO TAKE A LONGER TIME TO GET THOSE THINGS FIGURED OUT.
SO WE TOOK ALL 74 STRATEGIES AND DIVIDED THEM INTO THESE CATEGORIES.
UM, THE LINK THAT I SENT SENT, UH, JSC MEMBERS EARLIER IS KIND OF LIKE A BLANK COPY OF THAT SPREADSHEET.
SO THAT SPREADSHEET THAT I LINKED HER TO THE EURO, IT'S A GOOGLE DOC, UM, HAS ALL 74 STRATEGIES.
AND IF YOU SCROLL OVER TO THE RIGHT, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE, UM, THEIR PRELIMINARY CATEGORIZATION OF ALL THE, ALL THE STRATEGIES IN THE PLAN.
SO JUST A VERY QUICK SORT OF SUMMARY OF WHAT WE LEARNED OVER THE COURSE OF THAT KIND OF INITIAL CONVERSATION WITH ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS.
UM, THIS IS THE BREAKDOWN OF WHERE EVERYTHING, UM, SORTED OUT INTO THOSE FOUR CATEGORIES.
SO ABOUT A THIRD OF THE BOUND STRATEGIES IN THE PLAN ARE UNDERWAY IN SOME FORM OR FASHION.
UM, THERE WAS ABOUT 10% OF THEM, A SMALL LIST THAT, UH, OF THINGS THAT IF THEY JUST HAD FUNDING, THEY COULD GET STARTED AND GET OFF THE GROUND.
SO ALMOST ANOTHER THIRD THAT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE PLANNING FOR, INCLUDING IN THEIR FYI 22, 23 BUDGET PROPOSALS.
AND THEN THERE WAS ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE ACTIONS THAT WERE DEEMED AS LONGER TERM, MORE COMPLICATED, FURTHER OUT INTO THE FUTURE.
UM, SO THIS IS THE INITIAL TAKE, UM, FROM DEPARTMENTS.
SO KIND OF WHERE EVERYTHING IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN STANDS AT A SUPER HIGH LEVEL.
THIS IS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A BREAKDOWN, UM, WHEN YOU DIVIDE THOSE, UM, THOSE CATEGORIES, I THINK IN THIS ONE AND THIS VERSION, WE STILL HAD THE, I THINK THE ORANGE IS UNKNOWN.
UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF THE BREAKDOWN ACROSS THE FIVE CATEGORIES IN THE PLAN.
SO YOU CAN SEE IT'S, IT'S KIND OF AN EVEN SPREAD ACROSS, UM, ACROSS MOST OF THESE CATEGORIES, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ELECTRIFICATION, TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRIFICATION, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, THERE'S MORE THINGS THAT ARE KIND OF IMMEDIATELY UNDERWAY.
[00:25:01]
IT'S LIKE, THERE'S NOT REALLY ANY ONE SECTION OF THE PLAN WHERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE NOTHING'S HAPPENING OR NOTHING IS OFF THE GROUND NOW.SO JUST SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THESE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS.
UM, SO AS I SAID, YOU KNOW, ABOUT A THIRD OF THE STRATEGIES ARE ALREADY BEING IMPLEMENTED IN SOME FORM OR FASHION.
UM, AND IN, WITHIN THE YEAR, YOU KNOW, IF ALL OF THESE THINGS DO GET INCLUDED IN DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET ASKS AND GET FUNDED OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR, YOU KNOW, UP TO 75% OF WHAT'S IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN WOULD BE UNDERWAY IN SOME FORM OR FASHION.
THAT'S NOT SAYING THAT IT'S LIKE PERFECT OR IT'S EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, AS BEEN AS, AS IT'S WRITTEN OR AS LIKE ACHIEVING RESULTS, BUT IT'S SHOWING THAT THERE IS A LOT OF ACTIVITY AND THE DEPARTMENTS ARE, UH, MOTIVATED AND, AND ARE TRYING TO TAKE ACTION.
SO TO THE QUESTION OF THE MID-YEAR BUDGET ASKS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT 10%, THAT SMALL LIST OF PROJECTS THAT SORT OF CAME UP AS THINGS THAT ARE READY TO GO, BUT JUST NEED FUNDING, UM, KIND OF FELL INTO THESE THREE SORT OF SUB BULLETS HERE.
SO, UH, THERE WERE A FEW THINGS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AN INITIAL ASSESSMENT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, UH, ASSESSMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OR A STUDY ON SOMETHING OR MORE RESEARCH NEEDS TO BE DONE KIND OF BEFORE A PROJECT GETS STARTED.
SO THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT IDENTIFY FOR CONSULTANTS THAT WE NEED FUNDING FOR REALLY GETS GOING.
THOSE WERE, UH, AND THOSE WERE LIKE CASH ASKS.
UM, THE SECOND CATEGORY WAS FULL-TIME STAFF.
SO THERE ARE NUMEROUS SORT OF DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE REQUESTING FULL-TIME STAFF TO MANAGE NEW INITIATIVES, BASICALLY SAYING IT WOULD BE GLAD TO JUMP IN AND START WORKING ON A BRAND NEW THING IN THE PLAN, BUT THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE PEOPLE OR THE DEDICATED RESOURCES TO ACTUALLY DO THAT.
SO THERE WERE FULL-TIME STAFF REQUESTS, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS, UM, NEW FOCUS ON EQUITY FOR EXISTING PROGRAMS OR INITIATIVES.
SO THERE ARE MANY THINGS IN THE PLAN THAT LIKE ARE UNDERWAY TO SOME EXTENT, BUT BECAUSE OF THE FOCUS IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN ON EQUITY, UM, THERE IS MORE, MORE, MORE RESEARCH OR MORE ENERGY YOU'RE MORE FOCUSED THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ON EQUITY IN ORDER TO FULFILL SORT OF WHAT THE PLANS ASKING FOR.
SO WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES WITH, UH, DEPARTMENTAL STAFF WITH DIRECTORS AND HOPEFULLY, UM, IN FRONT OF A CITY MANAGERS, EXECUTIVE TEAM IN THE NEXT WEEK TO FINALIZE IF, AND WHAT'S GOING TO END UP IN THIS, UH, THIS ASK.
SO WHEREVER YOU ARE RIGHT NOW IS, AND I WILL HAVE TO SAY THAT, UH, THERE'S NOT REALLY A ROADMAP FOR THIS, RIGHT? LIKE THE, THE CITY BUDGET PROCESS IS VERY WELL MAPPED OUT, BUT THERE IS NOT LIKE A VERY CLEARLY DEFINED PROCESS FOR A MID-YEAR BUDGET AMENDMENT.
SO, AND HAS TAKEN AN EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF WORK ON OUR END TO JUST FIGURE OUT WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE, HOW DO WE DO THIS? HOW DOES THIS PROCESS GO? LIKE THERE AREN'T CLEARLY DEFINED PROCESSES.
WE'RE SORT OF HAVING TO MAKE THIS UP AS WE GO.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, FILTERED THIS LIST FROM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS TO LESS THINGS.
UM, NOW WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH DIRECTORS AND HCMS ON, UM, WHAT IS THE REALLY THAT SHORTLIST OF NEEDS.
AND THEN HAVING THE CONVERSATION WITH DEPARTMENTS ON, UM, DOES FUNDING EXIST WITHIN DEPARTMENTS THAT COULD JUST BE SHIFTED? SO A BUDGET AMENDMENT IS NOT ACTUALLY NEEDED, UM, BECAUSE SORT OF WHAT WE FOUND IN THIS PROCESS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE APPROVED CITY BUDGET, NOT ALL OF THE MONEY IN ALL THE DEPARTMENTS IS FULLY BEING SPENT AT ALL TIMES.
AND WHEN YOU ASK FOR A BUDGET AMENDMENT AND FOR COUNCIL TO ACTUALLY AMEND THE BUDGET, NEW FUNDING HAS TO BE FOUND.
AND THEN COUNCIL IS ACTUALLY LIKE AMENDING THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE BUDGET TO BE INCREASED, TO FUND NEW THINGS.
SO THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING NOW IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF A DEPARTMENT COULD JUST MODIFY THEIR EXISTING PLANS OR USE VACANT, UM, STAFF WHO USE VACANT FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF TO FILL IN SPOTS AND FILLING THESE NEEDS.
SO THAT'S THE CONVERSATION THAT'S HAVING HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF THE, THE FUNDING CAN'T BE FOUND LIKE A DEPARTMENT, LITERALLY NO SAVINGS, NO FUNDING CAN BE FOUND WITHIN THE BUDGET.
THEN THE PROCESS THAT WILL BE UNDERTAKEN VERY, VERY SOON WILL BE, UH, THE BUDGET OFFICE WILL FIND FUNDING SOURCES, UM, TO FUND THOSE THINGS.
IT WILL BE, AND IT'S DEEMED BY THE CITY MANAGER THAT THOSE THINGS NEED TO BE FUNDED.
THEN THAT WILL BE PACKAGED INTO A REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION WITH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE NEED
[00:30:01]
IS, WHERE THE FUNDING IS COMING FROM.AND THEN THAT WOULD END UP ON A COUNCIL AGENDA IN THE COMING MONTH, UM, FOR REQUESTING COUNCIL TO ESSENTIALLY APPROVED, TO AMEND THE BUDGET AND FUND THOSE THINGS.
WE'RE WORKING VERY DILIGENTLY, VERY DILIGENT ON IT AS WE GO.
UM, VERY QUICKLY, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS IN COUNCIL RESOLUTION ONE 10, UM, THAT, OR THE FYI 23 BUDGET PROCESS.
AND FOR FUTURE BUDGET PROCESS SAYS THAT INVESTMENTS SUPPORTING GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION EFFORTS, SHOULDN'T BE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE BUDGET.
SO WE ARE NOW WORKING WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND WITH DEPARTMENTS AND WITH DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET STAFF ON TRYING TO MEET SURE THAT AS THE BUDGET PROPOSALS COME FORWARD AND AS THE BUDGET ACTUALLY COMES TOGETHER THIS SPRING, BUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ARE TIED TO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AND THINGS THAT ARE TIED TO ALL OF THESE OTHER MAJOR PLANS THAT REDUCE EMISSIONS ARE PULLED OUT AND HIGHLIGHTED IN TERMS OF WHAT THE PROJECT IS AND WHAT THE FUNDING AMOUNT IS.
SO, UM, THE ROUTE THAT THEY'VE GONE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IS TO HAVE THE SUMMARIES.
SO WE'RE WORKING NOW ON WHAT WE'RE AIMING FOR IS THIS TWO PAGER SORT OF SUMMARIZING EVERYTHING THAT'S FUNDED.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE'LL BE WORKING ON THIS BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND THEN HOPEFULLY HAVE THIS COMPLETED.
UM, AND PART OF THE, PART OF THE FULL SORT OF BUDGET COMMUNICATION WHEN THAT COMES OUT, UM, IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, THE LAST THING, YOU KNOW, TO NOTE ON HERE THAT I PUT IN HERE, WHICH IS, UH, I THINK YOU ALL HAVE SEEN THIS PROBABLY THROUGH, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COMMUNICATION.
UM, BUT THERE IS A FORMAL BOARD OF THE COMMISSIONS PROCESS FOR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEY'RE DUE ON MARCH 31ST.
UM, AND THIS YEAR, THE BUDGET OFFICE WANTS THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ALSO BE UPLOADED ON, SPEAK UP.
UM, SO SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE ASSIGNED TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT AND GET THOSE THINGS UPLOADED.
SO THAT'S JUST SORT OF A NOTE ON, UM, BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE JSC AND THE COMING MONTHS.
SO THESE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES ARE, UM, MAYBE I SHOULD JUST STOP AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GET INTO THESE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES, BECAUSE THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES ARE MORE JUST, UM, THOUGHTS ON WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH IMPLEMENTATION AND HOW THE JSC PARTICIPATES AND IN HOW IS IT SUPPORTED AND ASSIST IN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE OTHER PARTS OF THIS, I KNOW RICH HAD A QUESTION, SO LET'S START WITH THAT.
GOING BACK TO THE 74 STRATEGY SLIDE.
AND SO RIGHT THERE, IS THERE ANY LIKE KPI OR METRICS THAT WE ANTICIPATE LIKE THIS IS IMPLEMENTING THE 77%? LIKE ONCE WE HAVE UNDERWAY MID-YEAR BUDGET 10% IN THE FYI, 20 22, 23 BUDGET, 30%, THAT IS ALL IMPLEMENTED.
THIS IS WHAT THE IMPACT IS GOING TO BE IN A MEASURABLE RESULTS, OR IS IT JUST, THESE ARE THE ACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THE STRATEGIES? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? UM, THAT, SO THIS WOULD JUST BE THE QUALITATIVE OUTCOME OUTPUT, UH, OF, OR THE THINGS BEING IMPLEMENTED.
UM, ALL OF THOSE STRATEGIES ARE THEN, YOU KNOW, INTENDED TO HAVE IMPACT THAT ROLL UP TO THE 17 QUANTITATIVE TARGETS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED.
UM, SO WE'RE IMAGINING THAT WE'RE ONLY GOING TO REPORT ON THE 17 QUANTITATIVE STRATEGIES, LIKE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, BECAUSE THEY'RE AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL.
UM, SO THERE IS SOME CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO THINGS, BUT THAT IS PART OF THIS ONGOING CONVERSATION ABOUT, OKAY.
SO YEAH, I MEAN, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING AND I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT'S BEING DONE AND ON THE REPORTING TOOLS THAT YOU'RE USING, BUT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT CROSSWALK GOING FROM STRATEGIES TO THE 17, WE'LL SAY PILLARS OR WHATEVER THE LANGUAGE YOU JUST USED WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, JUST SO WE CAN SEE WHERE INVESTMENT IS.
SO YOU CAN HAVE THE, WE AS THE COMMUNITY CAN HAVE A HIGHER MAY CHOOSE OPTIONS THAT HAVE A HIGHER ROI ON IMPACT OF THE CLIMATE, UH, WITH LIMITED FUNDING.
SO THAT SHOULD ABSOLUTELY, UH, LET'S HAVE THAT CONVERSATION TOMORROW IN T-CELL WITH PHILADELPHIA.
[00:35:01]
THEN JUST ONE OF THE, I GUESS, ADDITIONAL QUESTION, THIS IS JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION RELATING TO, UH, SPEAK UP.AND WHEN YOU'RE GOING BACK TO THAT SLIDE, THANK YOU RIGHT THERE.
AND IT SAYS IT NEEDING SOME WAY, ONE PERSON NEEDS TO BE ASSIGNED TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT.
I'M ASSUMING THAT'S ONE PERSON WITHIN THIS COMMITTEE, A MEMBER THAT NEEDS TO BE ASSIGNED TO CREATE THAT ACCOUNT AND THAT FLOW OF THE INFORMATION.
IS THAT CORRECT? OR AM I MISINTERPRETING THAT THAT'S THE LAST SENTENCE, THE SLIDES, I JUST GIVE THEM THAT TODAY, OR ANYONE ELSE ASSOCIATED ANY WORK COMMISSION BY NO MORE, UM, BASED ON THE TRAINING THAT I ATTENDED, UH, YEAH, YOU WOULD PICK ONE REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE JSC THAT WOULD CREATE AN ACCOUNT ON SPEAK-UP AND UPLOAD THE RECOMMENDATION THROUGH THEIR PROCESS.
AND W WE STILL WOULD, YOU KNOW, UPLOAD IT ON THE JSE WEBSITE IN THE TYPICAL WAY, BUT THEY'RE JUST WANTING TO TRACK IT SEPARATELY THROUGH THE SPEAK-UP WEBSITE.
THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS CHAIR.
AND YEAH, THANKS FOR BRINGING OUR ATTENTION BACK TO THAT.
THIS WILL OBVIOUSLY BE ON OUR, OUR AGENDA FOR NEXT MONTH TO MAKE THOSE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY BECAUSE OF THE, UH, SCREEN SHARING.
SO IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, FEEL FREE TO JUST COME OFF MUTE AND ASK IT.
ZACH, DO YOU WANNA, DO YOU WANT TO KEEP GOING? YES, SIR.
SO THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES ARE KIND OF ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP AND ABOUT HOW, HOW THE JSE IS MOST EFFECTIVE AND IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE CREATED THE PLAN, WE HAD A STEERING COMMITTEE THAT WAS VERY INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN EVERY DETAIL OF CREATING THE PLAN.
UM, BUT NOW AS WE'RE SWITCHING TO GET IMPLEMENTATION, LIKE, YOU KNOW, I TH I'M CERTAINLY REALIZING THAT THE PROCESSES IN THE TOOLS THAT WE USED IN CREATING THE PLAN AREN'T AS APPLICABLE IN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO I THINK WE ALL JUST NEED TO BE SORT OF CHALLENGED A LITTLE BIT HERE IN THIS NEXT, UM, TO THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW WE BECOME HOW THIS GROUP CAN BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE AT SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, SO THE FIRST THING IS THAT, UH, THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND PHOEBE AND I, WE DO NOT CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION.
WE CONTROL THE PLAN, WE CONTROL THE BOUNDARIES, WE CONTROL, YOU KNOW, THAT WHOLE PROCESS, BUT WHEN YOU GET INTO IMPLEMENTATION, LIKE WE BRING DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER, WE CAN SORT OF LEAD IN A DIRECTION AND SORT OF STEER THEM TOWARDS THINGS WE AGGREGATE AND COORDINATE ALL THE REPORTING THAT GOES ON WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOUR REPORT ON THE DASHBOARD OR REPORT IN A MEMO.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR A VERY SHORT LIST OF PROJECTS, RIGHT? THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS IN THE PLAN THAT WE WERE ABSOLUTELY LIKE THE LEAD ON.
UM, BUT IT'S A VERY SMALL LIST OUT OF 74 STRATEGIES.
UM, SO THE CHALLENGE I THINK IS, IS THAT DEPARTMENTS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.
10 PLUS DEPARTMENTS ARE REALLY WHERE THE ACTION IS ON IMPLEMENTATION.
MOST OF THE STRATEGIES, STRATEGIES ARE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY THEIR STAFF, BY THEIR BUDGET, UNDER THEIR MANAGEMENT DIRECTION.
UM, AND THEY REALLY HAVE THE BEST INFORMATION ON THE STATUS, THE FUNDING, ALL THE DETAILS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MORE THAT THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS LIKE THE INTERMEDIARY, I THINK SOME OF THE IMPACT OR SOME OF THE, UM, SORT OF LIKE REAL COMMUNICATION AND LIKE, UH, PUSH THAT CAN COME FROM THE DREADS.
SUSTAINABILITY KIND OF GETS LOST BECAUSE WHEN THEY'RE KIND OF NOT IMMEDIATELY IN THE CONVERSATION AND LIKE WE'RE SPEAKING FOR THEM, UM, AND ACTUALLY BE DOING WHATEVER THEY WANT AND NOT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT REALLY UNDER MY CONTROL.
I CAN'T GO BACK AND TELL THEM LIKE THEY HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
SO, UM, I THINK THEN THE LAST THING HERE IS THAT THEY NEED A LONGER LEAD TIME FOR DETAILED CONVERSATIONS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS NUMEROUS TIMES, BUT THINKING STRATEGICALLY ABOUT IN THE COMING MONTHS WITH THE JSC, WHICH DEPARTMENTS DO WE HAVE, DO YOU ASK, COME TO THESE MEETINGS, GIVE PRESENTATIONS, UM, HAVE DETAILED QUESTIONS THAT YOU ASK OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO ANSWER BEFORE THEY COME.
UM, THE MORE THAT, THAT IS SORT OF SET UP AHEAD OF TIME AND THAT WE CAN SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS, UH, ON SORT OF LIKE A, A TIMELINE,
[00:40:01]
I THINK THE BETTER IT'S GOING TO GO.UM, JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, CAUSE EVEN I HAD THE EXPERIENCE JUST THIS LAST MONTH OF, UM, WE MET TWO WEEKS AGO TO PLAY IN THE MEETING.
WE HAD THE IDEA TO TALK TO THE PURCHASING OFFICE.
WE REACHED OUT TO THE PURCHASING OFFICE AND THEY SORT OF SAID, UH, WE'RE NOT READY TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
WE DON'T HAVE FLIGHT, WE DON'T HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY RIGHT NOW.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT WAS GOOD IN TERMS OF LIKE DRIVING ACTION THAT THEY, THEY NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT THIS, BUT IT ALSO LIKE THEY, THEY'RE NOT HERE TONIGHT AND THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO LIKE, UH, SORT OF PIVOT QUICK ENOUGH.
SO LET'S GET A WHOLE, I KNOW THIS IS A BIRD THAT I CAME ABOUT.
ALBERTA, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION IF YOU DO, GO AHEAD.
SO ARE, ARE YOU ANTICIPATING THAT EACH DEPARTMENT WILL CUSTOMIZE A, A, AN APPROACH, UM, THAT FITS WITHIN THEIR SITUATION AND THAT'S WHAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S BIG.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE JSC CAN PLAY A ROLE BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY ARE CRAFTING THEIR OWN, THEIR OWN PLANS, THEIR OWN DIRECTIVES, AND THE, AS MUCH AS THE JSC CAN BE INTERFACING WITH THEM AND ASKING THEM QUESTIONS OR GUIDING THEM IN A DIRECTION.
UM, I THINK THE, THE, THE BETTER IT'S GOING TO BE, THIS IS CHRISTIE.
I WAS JUST GONNA, AND I'M NEW TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO THIS MAY BE SOMETHING YOU GUYS HAVE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST.
UM, BUT ARE THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS, THE 10 DEPARTMENTS YOU TALKED ABOUT ZACK, ARE THEY, UM, ON THE HOOK TO DO ANY SORT OF INDIVIDUAL REPORTING TO CITY COUNCIL? OR WILL YOU BE SORT OF ROLLING UP ACTIVITIES? YOU MEANING ALL THE SUSTAINABILITY ROLLING UP PROGRESS AND DOING THAT REPORTING ON THEIR BEHALF? YEAH, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BUSINESS IS USUAL.
I MEAN, WHAT WE'VE DONE FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS IS THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AGGREGATES.
IT PULLS IT TOGETHER AND REPORTS KIND OF ON THEIR BEHALF, BUT WE'RE EVEN NOW HAVING THE INTERNAL CONVERSATION OF IS THAT THE BEST WAY TO DO IT.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE EVEN THINKING THAT SUMMIT, WE NEED TO ALMOST PUT SOME OF THE REPORTING DIRECTLY IN THEIR HANDS.
SO THEY'RE MORE RESPONSIBLE FOR EXACTLY WHAT IS SAID.
AND MORE ACCOUNTABLE, NOT MEETING INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTAL BENCHMARKS OR, AND, AND TO KIND OF, UM, PIGGYBACK ON WHAT RICH ASKED BEFORE THEY HAVE LEVEL, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE LEVELS OF SERVICE GOALS.
THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF BENCHMARK KPI GOALS WITHIN EACH OF THEIR OWN DEPARTMENTS.
AND IT WOULD SEEM LIKE, LIKE IT'S KIND OF UP TO THEM TO FIGURE OUT HOW THESE STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES FIT INTO WHAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO TRACK WITHIN THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR WORLD AND TRANSLATING THAT, UM, WOULD BE A TOUGH, YOU KNOW, FOR YOU GUYS TO DO SO ACCOUNTABILITY AND ALSO, UM, ENSURING THAT THEY FIT IT INTO THEIR, INTO THEIR, INTO THEIR PROCESSES IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE FOR THEIR STAFF.
AND THEN THEY TURN AROUND AND TRANSLATE IT APPROPRIATELY BACK TO COUNCIL, I THINK IS AN IMPORTANT THING TO TRY TO PROMOTE.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT, WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE THINKING AS WELL.
SO ZACH, UM, AT IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S, UM, STILL GOOD SUPPORT HERE FOR HAVING A SCHEDULE OF DEPARTMENTS, UH, COMING TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TALK WITH US AT THESE MEETINGS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, REPORT ON THEIR ACTIVITIES AND, AND HOPEFULLY GET SUGGESTIONS FROM THIS COMMITTEE.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP HELP MYSELF AND DIANA AS WE'RE SETTING THE SCHEDULE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, INDICATE WHICH DEPARTMENTS WILL BE READY IN THE N YOU KNOW, FOR NEXT MONTH AND THE FOLLOWING MONTH AFTER THAT, THERE WILL BE MORE LEAD TIME, BUT IS, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ALREADY
[00:45:01]
HAVE A HANDLE ON, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE VARIOUS COMMISSIONERS HERE PERHAPS NEED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, GO TO THE DEPARTMENTS THAT THEY INTERACT WITH ON THEIR RESPECT OF COMMISSIONS AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST? YEAH.UM, I MEAN, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I MEAN, I TH I THINK PHOEBE AND I CAN, WE CAN START, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT THE LIST AND LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT IS UNDERWAY, WHERE, AND COME UP WITH THE NEAR TERM LIST.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S KIND OF THIS FEE.
THE QUESTION YOU JUST ASKED ABOUT THE SORT OF HOME COMMISSIONS, I THINK IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ONE.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T LEVERAGED A LOT OF THIS.
UM, I MEAN, IT'S BEEN LEVERAGED TO SOME EXTENT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE IF, UH, ON SOME WATER WAS REPORTING ON, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL, THE S THE STRATEGIES AND THE GOAL THAT THEY HAVE, AND THEY WERE ASKED, BEING ASKED ABOUT IT AT THE WATER WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
AND IF THEY WERE BEING ASKED ABOUT IT HERE, THEN THERE COULD BE MORE, UM, I JUST THINK THAT THE MORE IT'S BROUGHT UP AND THE MORE THAT MANAGEMENTS HE'S, THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ARE REFERENCING THIS, ASKING ABOUT IT IN ALL OF THESE HOME COMMISSIONS, THE MORE MOMENTUM IT'S GOING TO BUILD.
SO ACROSS ALL OF THE COMMISSIONS, AND, AND WE CAN HIGHLIGHT THIS WHOLE VIEW, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE PARKS, THERE ARE THINGS IN THE PLAN THAT PARKS DEPARTMENT IS CONNECTED AND TIED TO, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE PARKS DEPARTMENT OR PARKS OR REPRESENTATIVE WOULD SORT OF ARM WITH THOSE THINGS ON, THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO BE ASKING ABOUT.
THAT MIGHT HELP FRAME MORE SORT OF QUESTIONS FROM WHAT ANGLES THE CHAIR.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKE HAVING ALSO PRESET NUMBER OF QUESTIONS, JUST FOR THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE COMING INTO THE MEETING, LIKE PRE PREPARED TO, TO AT LEAST ANSWER, WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES THAT YOU'RE FACING, OR WHAT ARE THE POLICY CHALLENGES THAT YOU'RE FACING IN IMPLEMENTING, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL X, Y, AND Z.
AND THAT WAY IT GIVES US SOMETHING MORE TO REACT TO, PARTICULARLY WITH YOUR EXAMPLE OF PARKS WHERE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW OUR BIG CHALLENGE OF COURSE, IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE FUNDING WHERE WE'RE PUTTING THE, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY INTO MAINTENANCE, OPERATIONS, PROGRAMMING, AND SOME TIME ASSET DEVELOPMENT.
AND IT'S TOUGH TO FIND THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THERE, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN ONCE WE'VE IDENTIFIED IT HERE AS A COMMITTEE, THAT WE CAN GO AHEAD AND ADVOCATE FOR THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND PARKS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE.
SO HAVING THAT INFORMATION I THINK WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, WHAT I REALLY LOVE ABOUT THIS AS FAR AS BRINGING THE DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER AND HAVING A SCHEDULE THAT'S REALLY HAS AN INTENTIONALITY AND BASED, YOU KNOW, BASED UPON WHERE THEIR FLOW IS THAT BASED UPON THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, UM, IT GIVES US THE ABILITY TO REALLY ADVERTISE THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THEY CAN'T MAKE THE MEETING BECAUSE THEY MAY HAVE RECEIVED BETWEEN ONE TO FIVE MONTHS OR, OR MORE WORTH OF NOTICE.
AND THEN THE OTHER COMPONENT IS IT STARTS TO ALLOW US ALLOWING US TO IDENTIFY OTHER POTENTIAL SOLUTION PROVIDERS OR YOUR SOLUTIONS ALTOGETHER, IF WE'RE ADVERTISING THAT AHEAD OF TIME, THESE ARE WHEN WE ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES.
AND, AND WE'RE COLLECTING INFORMATION THROUGH PUBLIC COMMENT THAT CAN HELP NOT ONLY JUST INFORM THIS PARTICULAR COMMITTEE, BUT ALSO THE, UH, DEPARTMENTS WHO WERE ATTENDING THAT MEETING.
I, I REALLY LIKED THE IDEA OF THE JSC COMING UP WITH SOME SET QUESTIONS OR SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS THAT THE COMMISSION WANTS TO KNOW OR HEAR ABOUT IT.
SO WE CAN GET THAT IN FRONT OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS, BECAUSE AS WE'VE EXPERIENCED BEFORE, IF YOU JUST SAY, HEY, COME TALK TO US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND PLEAD YOUR WE'RE JUST GOING TO HEAR WHATEVER THEY WANT TO TELL US, UH, OR THEY'RE GOING TO COMMUNICATE JUST WHATEVER THEY WANT TO SHARE.
AND IF IT'S CLEAR THAT THEY NEED TO ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, THEY WILL THEN BE FORCED TO THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS BEFOREHAND.
I LOVE TO GET AWAY FROM THE ROAD SHOW.
YEAH, I THINK THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
UM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WE'RE NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, HOPEFULLY NEXT MONTH WE CAN, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN GET THIS UNDERWAY WITH, WITH THE, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER DEPARTMENT IS READY TO GO FIRST.
UM, SO I GUESS MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE THAT PERHAPS THIS CAN BE THE FIRST, UM, KIND OF SUBSTANTIVE THING THAT THE WORKING GROUP TAKES ON IS
[00:50:01]
TO COME UP WITH THIS LIST OF QUESTIONS.UM, DOES, DO FOLKS FEEL COMFORTABLE, UH, WITH THAT, OR IS THERE SOME OTHER WAY THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, APPROACH MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS UH, THIS IS ALBERTA.
I WOULD SAY THAT THAT'S A GOOD APPROACH, BUT I WOULD LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INPUT TO COME BEYOND THE WORKING GROUP AS WELL.
SO MAYBE PERHAPS ONCE THE WORKING GROUP HAS ITS SET OF QUESTIONS, MS STABLISH, THEN THOSE COULD BE SENT OUT AND THEN WE COULD HAVE INPUT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE WHAT I WOULD ASK ALBERTA.
I THINK YOU MAY HAVE HAD TO, UM, DROP OFF BEFORE WE, UH, GOT WORKING MEMBERS, UH, ASSIGNED AT THAT, THAT MEETING.
UM, SO THERE, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THERE ARE DEFINITELY STILL, UH, SPACES AVAILABLE ON THE WORKING GROUP AND YOU WOULD BE WELCOME EVEN ENCOURAGED IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO, UH, JOIN THE WORKING GROUP YOURSELF.
AND, AND, AND, AND THAT GOES FOR, FOR REALLY, FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T TAKE EVERYBODY CAUSE THE QUORUM ISSUES, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, W WE DEFINITELY CAN ACCOMMODATE AND COULD USE, I THINK, MORE CAPACITY ON THAT WORKING GROUP.
I WAS IN MY HEAD, UH, NOT RECONNECTED AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
UM, COULD YOU QUICKLY SAY WHO'S ON THAT COMMITTEE AND DOES IT REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF THE CITY AT THIS POINT? IT IS, UH, MYSELF RICH SOUL AND AUDREY AT MENACING.
SOMEBODY, I THINK THAT'S SORRY IF I JUST, UH, LEFT SOMEBODY OUT, BUT I THINK IT'S THE FOUR OF US.
KAREN, JUST, UM, I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT THAT IT SEEMS LIKE SOME QUESTIONS COULD BE BASIC QUESTIONS THAT WOULD BE ASKED OF EACH BOARD OR, UM, THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR COMMISSION.
AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A SET OF QUESTIONS THAT WILL BE KIND OF ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ARE INTERNAL THAT JUST ARE, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR ANY DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU RUNNING YOUR DEPARTMENT IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY? THAT'S, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE FRIENDLY AND THEN THERE'S, UH, YOU KNOW, QUESTIONS THAT ARE LINKED TO SPECIFIC ACTIONS IN THE PLAN.
AND, UH, IT, AND SO THERE, THERE IS A BIT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
I THINK, UH, JUST TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT IT, LOOK AT THE STRATEGIES AND THE SUB STRATEGIES AND, AND COME UP WITH THAT LIST OF QUESTIONS.
SOME OF WHICH WILL BE THE SAME IN SOME UNIQUE, WE GOING TO COVER, UM, RECRUITING MEMBERS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND, AND JUST BRINGING IN MORE FOLKS ONTO THE WORKING GROUP, UM, AT A, AT A LATER TIME TONIGHT, OR BECAUSE THAT, TO ME FEELS LIKE AN IMPORTANT QUESTION OR IMPORTANT THING TO ADDRESS BEFORE WE BEAT A FLUSH OUT A WHOLE LIST OF QUESTIONS.
SO IF WE'RE, IF WE DON'T HAVE MORE QUESTIONS KIND OF ON WHAT, UH, ZACH HAS PRESENTED HERE, THEN WE CAN KIND OF MOVE INTO THAT CONVERSATION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO JOIN THE WORKING GROUP THAT WILL BE AN OPEN, OPEN INVITATION ON THE LAST PART? WE'LL JOIN IT.
UH, THEN THANK YOU, ZACH, FOR THIS, A GOOD UPDATE.
UM, I THINK WE'LL, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'LL BE GETTING MORE INFORMATION FROM YOU ON THE, ON THE KIND OF DETAILS.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT THE TIMELINE IS ON THAT? UM, IN TERMS OF, IN TERMS OF THE MID-YEAR KIND OF BUDGET ITEMS AND, UH, AND, AND THE ADAM'S I GUESS, FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR, BUT YEAH.
THE DETAILS OF WHAT THOSE ARE ON THE MID-YEAR.
I MEAN, MY HOPE IS THAT WE GET, YOU KNOW, APPROVAL ON, ON WHAT IF
[00:55:01]
THERE'S GOING TO BE, IF THERE'S GOING TO BE AN AMENDMENT, IF THERE'S NOT WHAT IS GOING TO BE FUNDED FROM EXISTING FUNDING SOURCES.BUT MY HOPE IS WE GET THIS ALL SORTED OUT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND, UM, IF THERE'S SOMETHING ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA, YOU WILL, I WILL ABSOLUTELY SHARE THAT WITH ALL OF YOU.
SO YOU, YOU ALL CAN SUPPORT IT.
UM, AND THEN AT THAT POINT, I'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO SHARE THE FULL SORT OF LIST OF THIS IS WHERE, WHAT FUNDING WAS FOUND FOR THIS IS WHAT FUNDING WAS NOT FOUND FOR.
SO MY HOPE IS BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING, I MEAN, COUNCIL ASKED FOR IT BY MARCH 1ST, WHICH IS NEXT TUESDAY.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF I WISH IT WOULD BE DONE BY NEXT TUESDAY, BUT I'M NOT SURE.
WELL, UM, SO HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
SO YOU'RE NOT PLANNING TO BRING THAT TO THIS COMMISSION FOR A RECOMMENDATION.
THEN CAN I ASK, IS THERE ANYTHING INCLUDED FOR THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN THIS, I GUESS KIND OF GOES TO THE QUESTION THAT I KNOW IS PROBABLY ON SOUL'S MIND, UH, AROUND FUNDING FOR, FOR PAIN, UH, FOR PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION WORKING GROUP AND OTHER, YOU KNOW, ASSOCIATED ACTIVITIES LIKE THE CLIMATE AMBASSADORS IS, IS THERE, IS THERE GOING TO BE AN ITEM FOR THAT? YES, THERE ABSOLUTELY IS AN ASK FOR OUR OFFICE.
I DO THINK THAT THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THIS COMMISSION TO WEIGH IN ON NOT JUST AS INDIVIDUALS AT COUNCIL MEETING, BUT EARLIER IN THE PROCESS.
SO I'M JUST FLAGGING UP THAT I THINK THAT'S KIND OF OUR PURPOSE HERE.
SO HOPEFULLY IN THE FUTURE WE CAN BE INVOLVED EARLIER IN THE PROCESS.
[2c. Austin Climate Equity Plan Implementation working group update – (Discussion and/or possible action)]
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO C, WHICH IS, UH, THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION WORKING GROUP UPDATE.WE HAVE HAD ONE MEETING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, A BIT OF UPDATE FROM, FROM, FROM PHOEBE THAT WAS, UH, KIND OF CLIFF NOTES VERSION OF, OF WHAT WE GOT FROM ZACH HERE.
UM, AND, UH, DID DISCUSS KIND OF, UM, RECRUITING COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE ALONG WITH COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON THAT WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND CAME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF A, A BIT OF WHAT WE WANTED ON THE KIND OF PUBLIC APPLICATION FORM AND A SIMILAR WAY IS, WAS USED FOR THE, UH, STEERING COMMITTEE.
SO, UM, THAT'S SORT OF WHERE THINGS STAND.
AND I KNOW THAT, UH, ZACH, YOU HAD SOME KIND OF THOUGHTS OR CONCERNS THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE AROUND, UH, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND ALL OF THAT.
SO I CAN TURN IT OVER TO YOU IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO ANY OF THE YEAH.
UM, I MEAN, I GUESS, NO, MY, MY SORT OF MY QUESTIONS WERE AROUND KIND OF LIKE, WHAT ARE I DON'T, I DON'T GET THE FEELING THAT THE, THE WORKING GROUP HAS, UH, UH, A VERY CLEAR, LIKE PURPOSE SCOPE AND LIKE FOCUS OF WHAT IT'S GOING TO DO.
UM, AND, AND I, AND I GUESS MY IN FRONT OF MY QUESTION TOO, IS HOW IS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE WORKING GROUP, DIFFERENT FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, UM, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE GOING TO ADD, YOU KNOW, MORE MEMBERS THAT TRUST STABILITY COMMITTEE, UM, AND IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ALL, I MEAN, I THINK MY CONCERN IS THAT BEING A WORKING GROUP, PHOEBE AND I, AS STAFF ARE NOT SORT OF, SORT OF SUPPOSED TO LIKE RUN THE WORKING GROUP, RIGHT? LIKE WE RAN THE STEERING COMMITTEE AND WE INVITED, YOU KNOW, OVER A HUNDRED COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROCESS.
AND WE BUILT RELATIONSHIPS AND CONNECTION AND COMMUNICATION WITH THEM AND LIKE OWNED ALL OF THOSE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE WE WERE DOING THAT PROCESS.
AND I JUST, I SORT OF HAVE LIKE, CONCERNS, QUESTIONS ABOUT, LIKE, IF WE'RE GONNA INVOLVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE WORKING GROUP, WHO'S GOING TO OWN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.
WHO'S GOING TO OWN ALL OF THE CONNECTION AND BACK AND FORTH WITH
[01:00:01]
THEM, THE SUPPORT, LIKE ALL OF THE WORK THAT GOES INTO LIKE, CULTIVATING, LIKE, LIKE PARTICIPATION LIKE THAT.IF PHOEBE AND I ARE IN CHARGE OF RUNNING THIS WORKING GROUP THAT I THINK IS MY MAIN SORT OF LIKE CONCERN AND QUESTION ABOUT IT.
SO I REALIZED THAT WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS WANT TO TALK ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS RIGHT NOW, OR TALK ABOUT THEM IN THE WORKING GROUP MEETING.
UM, I MEAN, I, AND I, AND I THINK I JUST WANT WHATEVER IS GOING TO HELP US GET THE PLAN IMPLEMENTED AND HAVE IT BE FOCUSED ON EQUITY AND WHATEVER'S GOING TO WORK AND BE MOST EFFECTIVE.
AND I ASKED YOU A QUESTION FOLLOWING UP ON THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST THAT WAS HIRED.
CAN THEY NOT HAVE A ROLE SUPPORTING THE WORKING GROUP? I MEAN, THEY, THEY CAN, UM, YEAH, I, I THINK WHEN I SAY, WHEN I SAY LIKE, WE'RE, IT, IT'S JUST IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS SORT OF LIKE THE CITY OFFICIAL BOARDS OF COMMISSIONS PROCESSES, I DON'T KNOW.
AND THIS MAY HELP IF OTHER FOLKS IN OTHER WE'RE ON THE GROUP HERE HAVE EXPERIENCED WITH WORKING GROUPS AND THEIR COMMISSIONS AND HOW THEY WORKED, BECAUSE SORT OF WHAT THE GUIDANCE AND WHEN, AND WHAT I'VE SORT OF HEARD FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS LEADERSHIP IS THAT WORKING GROUPS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MEMBERS WORKING ON SOMETHING, TALKING TO EACH OTHER, AND THEN KIND OF COMING BACK AND REPORTING TO THE GROUP, NOT REALLY LIKE A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STAFF FACILITATED KIND OF VENUE.
AND IF WE WANT MORE COMMUNITY INPUT, MAYBE THERE'S JUST A DIFFERENT VENUE.
THAT'S, THAT'S KINDA WHERE I GO.
UM, MY THOUGHT ON THAT IS THE, UM, I DON'T SEE WHY WE SHOULDN'T SHIFT AND DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY, UM, THAN OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, WHAT THEIR WORKING GROUPS AND MAYBE THIS HYBRID MODEL OF HAVING FOLKS WHO ARE MORE INTIMATELY INVOLVED ALREADY, AND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE CITY AND HAVING COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE NOT AS INTIMATELY INVOLVED, BUT ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THESE ISSUES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND PROBABLY WILL HAVE QUESTIONS AND INSIGHTS THAT MANY OF US DON'T DON'T HAVE, OR DON'T COME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT HYBRID MODEL COULD BE REALLY GOOD.
UM, AND I MEAN, ASIDE FROM JUST, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE MERITS THAT WE MIGHT DISCUSS RIGHT NOW IN THIS CONVERSATION FOR FUTURE CONVERSATIONS, IT DOES SOUND LIKE THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, DETERMINED THAT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD MODEL TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S IMPLEMENTED AND THERE IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT.
SO I, I DO FEEL IT'S SOMETHING WORTH INVESTING IN STILL.
SO OPRAH, I SAW YOU AT RAISE YOUR HAND.
UM, I TELL ME FOR WHAT WAS JUST SAID, BUT I DO HAVING GONE THROUGH THE STEERING COMMITTEE PROCESS, THERE IS THE, UH, JUST TO LOGISTICS.
I THINK GETTING BACK TO WHATSAPP WAS SAYING, WHO'S GOING TO OWN THAT AND HOW WILL THOSE ENGAGEMENTS SPEAK DOWN? AND THEY DON'T GET DONE ON THEIR OWN AND EVEN HAPPENING IN THE WE, UH, SPECIALISTS THAT WAS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SEEN IN EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, OR EXACT THE PERSON THAT'S GOING TO DO THE OWNERSHIP, THAT THAT'S A REAL ISSUE, AND IT'S NOT ONE THAT WE CAN STEP OVER VERY LIGHTLY.
UM, THOSE CONNECTIONS IT'S LIKE THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE.
AND I JUST THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IF YOU'RE GOING TO GO, IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A WORKING GROUP, THEN ALL OF THE LOGISTICS AROUND THAT HAVE TO HAVE TO BE UPFRONT CANDID AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF HONEST ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS.
UM, AND THINK ABOUT THAT AND RECOGNIZE THAT THEN PROVIDE A APPROACH FOR THE APP, OR MAYBE LOOK AT A DIFFERENT KIND OF ENGAGEMENT WITH UNITY TO GET ENGAGEMENT.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT, JUST TO SAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A WORKING GROUP BECAUSE WHAT THE STEERING COMMITTEE REALLY WANTED.
AND I WAS PART OF THAT AS WELL.
I SAW WHAT IT TOOK TO, TO HOLD THAT TOGETHER.
SO I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT LOGISTICS.
[01:05:01]
HOW, HOW DO YOU DO THAT IN A PRODUCTIVE WAY THAT GETS TO GROUP? YES.YOU HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, RICH, DO YOU HAVE SOME INPUT HERE? I DO IN BOY, YOU KNOW, THE LOGISTICS AND THE ORGANIZATION, THE COMMUNICATION, IT REALLY DOES SHOW THE IMPORTANCE THAT STAFF DOES IN GETTING THINGS DONE.
AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT.
AND I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT THE WORK TO WORK THROUGH WITHIN THE WORKING GROUP.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I CANNOT HELP THINK ABOUT IS THE, YOU KNOW, THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND THE IMPLEMENTATION AND THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE BYLAWS FOR THIS PARTICULAR COMMITTEE, WHICH INVOLVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THERE'S NO WAY BETTER WAY FOR THEM TO IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAN ACTUALLY CREATING THIS GROUP OF THE COMMUNITY TO HELP DO THE OTHER THINGS THAT OUR CHARGE IS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, RE REVIEWING, LET'S SAY, ADVISING THE COUNCIL ON MATTERS RELATED TO CONSERVATION SUSTAINABILITY REVIEW, CITY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES RELEVANT TO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN, INCLUDING PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION, THEN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GOAL SETTING, PROGRESS MANAGEMENT.
YOU PROMOTE CLOSE COOPERATION BETWEEN COUNCILS, CITY MANAGEMENT, CITY BOARDS, COMMISSIONS COMMITTEES, AND TASK FORCE, AND INDIVIDUALS, INSTITUTIONS, AGENCIES CONCERNING WITH THE POLITICS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN AND ALL WITH THAT GOAL, RIGHT? OR THE GREATEST COMMUNITY BENEFIT IS, IS WHAT IT CONTINUES ON WITH.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS CHARGE, WHAT'S IN OUR PURPOSE AND THE DUTIES WITHIN THE BYLAWS, THIS COMMITTEE RIGHT NOW IS GREAT, AS YOU ALL ARE.
AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW A LOT OF YOU BY YOUR NAME AND REPUTATION, WE CAN NOT DO THIS ALONE.
THIS IS REALLY SOMETHING GREATER AND, AND, AND REALLY IT'S THE CHALLENGE ON THE LOGISTICS.
IT DEFINITELY TO WORK THROUGH.
I LIKE THE IDEA ON THE SPECIALIST, BUT IF WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS CHARGE, THEN WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO BRING AS MANY BODIES AS POSSIBLE.
AND IN ORDER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, TO BE ABLE TO DO THE WORK THAT IT, AGAIN, IT'S IN THE BYLAWS, BUT THAT, THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS.
UM, ZACH, YOU HAD ASKED ABOUT, UH, EXAMPLES FROM OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
SO I DO AGREE, UM, WITH, WITH WHAT RICH SAID AND WHAT SOL SAID, AND, AND ALSO WITH WHAT ALBERTA SAID ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T JUST IGNORE THE LOGISTICS AT WHICH, UH, HERE IS YOUR CONCERN.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU, UH, FROM MY EXPERIENCE ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UH, THERE, WE DO HAVE, UH, A PRETTY EXTENSIVE HISTORY OF WORKING GROUPS, UH, INVOLVING COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, UH, BEING SOMETIMES EXTREMELY HEAVILY SUPPORTED BY STAFF.
UH, PROBABLY MANY OF YOU ARE, WE HAVE AT LEAST HEARD OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE OR THE RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS THAT IS TECHNICALLY A WORKING GROUP.
IT'S ACTUALLY A WORKING GROUP OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COMBINED.
AND IT IS FULLY SUPPORTED BY STAFF, YOU KNOW, IN, IN EACH ITERATION.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS SOMEWHAT UNIQUE.
UM, BUT I THINK THIS MAYBE IS NOT THAT DIFFERENT FROM IT, UM, IN THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO TAKE ON SOME SIGNIFICANT BODY OF WORK, BUT THAT HAS ALSO BEEN TRUE WITH, WITH SOME OTHER WORKING GROUPS.
THERE'S TWO THAT I'M ON THAT ONE, THAT'S FOCUSED ON SOLAR STUFF, UH, YOU KNOW, HAS BEEN ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THAT GROUP.
IT IS NOT UP TO STUFF, UH, FOR MOST OF THEM TO COORDINATE THE MEETINGS.
SO SCHEDULING THE TIMES AND IN INVITING OTHER MEMBERS TO THE MEETING, THAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I DO THINK MAYBE THERE'S A BIT OF SHARED RESPONSIBILITY THAT, UM, THAT MAYBE COULD, COULD PAVE THE WAY TOWARDS THIS WORKING, NAMELY THE, YOU KNOW, WE AS WORKING GROUP MEMBERS OWN THE LOGISTICS OF, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE TIME SET AND A PLATFORM AND THE LINKS SEND UP SENT OUT AND THE, EVERYBODY IS NOTIFIED AND THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, BUILDING AND MAINTAINING THE RELATIONSHIPS TO KEEP PEOPLE ENGAGED IN THE WORK.
AND, UH, AND, AND THAT WOULD PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, JUST LEAVE STUFF.
[01:10:01]
THE WORD JUST, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAKE MORE S MORE TIME, UH, FOR STAFF TO FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT THEY ONLY Y'ALL CAN DO, WHICH IS HELP US WITH THE INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.SO I JUST OFFER THAT AS, YOU KNOW, A STRUCTURE THAT I, I HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE CAN WORK.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU OR YOUR STUFF SHOULD OR SHOULDN'T DO THAT.
UM, I DO THINK THOUGH THAT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE A BROAD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN THIS PLAN, BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THERE IS A LOT THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT THE DEPARTMENTS.
AND I DO THINK THAT THIS COMMISSION NEEDS TO BE MORE ROBUSTLY ENGAGED IN THAT THERE'S ALSO SO MUCH IN THIS PLAN THAT DEPENDS UPON EVERYDAY PEOPLE AND BUSINESS OWNERS AND OPERATORS TAKING ACTION, DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHY IT IS SO NECESSARY THAT WE ENGAGE MORE PEOPLE BECAUSE THERE'S JUST ONLY SO MANY CONVERSATIONS ANY ONE OF US CAN HAVE.
SO IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF START PERCOLATING OUT, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ON THE WORKING GROUP TO HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP, BECAUSE THIS IS A BODY THAT WAS FORMED BY THIS COMMISSION.
ALBERTA'S HAND IS RAISED, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WAS JUST FROM BEFORE ALBERTA, IF THAT'S A NEW HAND RAISE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO SAY SOMETHING.
THAT'S AN OLD HAND RAISED HOME, PUT IT DOWN.
CAUSE I DIDN'T SEE IT POP UP AGAIN.
I WANTED TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT YOU SAID, KYLA.
UM, I THINK, YEAH, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THIS PLAN IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S JUST DONE WITHIN THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, BUT THAT'S LIKE TAKEN ON BY ALL THE EVERYDAY PEOPLE IN OUR CITY.
UM, AND SO HOPEFULLY THE WORKING GROUP CAN HELP US GET, UM, GETTING THAT DIRECTION.
AND AS WE'RE RECRUITING, FOLKS ARE REACHING OUT, HOPEFULLY WE CAN RECRUIT PEOPLE WHO HAVE THOSE KINDS OF RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND FOLLOW UP AND FACILITATION SKILLS, UM, AND JUST LOOK FOR, FOR PEOPLE THAT CAN HELP US WITH THAT.
SO, UM, I, I DID BRING UP THAT THOUGHT OF HAVING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST, HAVING A SUPPORT ROLE.
SO IS THAT SOMETHING, UM, ZACH, THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW UP ON IN ANY WAY OR TALK ABOUT IT, THE NEXT WORKING GROUP MEETING, OR WHAT'S A GOOD WAY TO INVESTIGATE THAT? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WE SHOULD JUST CONTINUE TALKING ABOUT IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY HAS A SPECIALIST SHE HAS, AND THIS IS KIND OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGE OF THIS IS THAT FIVE WAS AUSTIN ENERGY AND HAD 2000 EMPLOYEES.
THIS ISN'T BEING ONE CONVERSATION, BUT THIS IS LIKE SIX OF US THAT ARE TRYING TO DO ALL OF THESE THINGS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY SPECIALIST HAS A GIGANTIC JOB TO DO, TO CREATE AND CRAFT AND SCOPE AND LAUNCH AND DELIVER A CLIMATE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
AND SO ANY AMOUNT OF ANYTHING THAT WE'RE PULLED TO DO, OTHER THINGS WE'RE DOING LESS OF THESE THINGS.
SO THAT'S JUST THE, AND THAT'S WHY THAT'S THE ONLY REASON WHY I AM VERY, TRYING TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT RESOURCES.
WE'RE ASKING FOR MORE RESOURCES FROM LEADERSHIP TO GET US MORE HELP.
UM, BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MANY OF US IN THE OFF STANDARD BUILDING CHRISTIE IS SEE YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S AN, A MODEL IN THE PAST USED IN THESE TYPES OF SITUATIONS WHERE PERHAPS A STAFF PERSON COULD, UH, BE FUNDED BY MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS TO DO, YOU KNOW, A TEMPORARY STAFF PERSON SIMILAR TO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PERSON THAT YOU MENTIONED ONLY THEY WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE, I GUESS THEY POTENTIALLY COULD BE AN OFFICE SUSTAINABILITY STAFF MEMBER AND REPORT THERE, BUT HAVE, HAVE ALL THE DEPARTMENTS HAVE A LITTLE SKIN IN THE GAME THERE WITH SORT OF FUNDING THAT I KNOW THAT MIGHT BE A LONG
[01:15:01]
A LONG-TERM ASK.I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT IS THAT, THAT MODEL OR ANYTHING LIKE IT BEEN USED BEFORE? UH, DURBIN THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA.
WELL, INSTEAD OF THAT, IT DOESN'T PRECLUDE THIS BODY TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL AS PART OF THE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS THAT WOULD GO INTO MARCH.
AND WE CAN DETAIL THAT OUT SPECIFICALLY.
I LIKED THE IDEA AND WE HAVE SEEN OTHER POSITIONS THAT YOU TEND TO HAVE TO TEND TO BE LIAISON RELATED, WHERE THEY'RE WORKING WITH SIX DIFFERENT COMMITTEES AND SUCH.
AND SO IT'S ALL COMING OUT OF DIFFERENT BUDGETS.
I MEAN, TECHNICALLY WE'RE POSTED FOR ACTION ON THIS LATER ON TODAY.
SO IF WE WANTED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION RIGHT NOW, I THINK THAT THAT'S POSSIBLE.
DOES IT NEED TO BE AN OFFICIAL MOTION OR HOW WOULD THE MOTION BE TO EXPLORE THAT OPTION AS A, A VIABLE WAY TO STAFF THE WORKING GROUP INTO AND TO MOVE IMPLEMENTATION FORWARD? OR HOW WOULD, WHAT WOULD THE NEXT STEP, UH, CHRISTIE, UH, SORRY, CHAIR, CAN I WONDER IT, CHRISSY LET'S WORK TOGETHER ON A, ON A RESOLUTION, A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE NEXT MEETING THAT WE CAN REALLY MAKE THE ARGUMENT FOR IT, AS WELL AS IDENTIFY WHAT THAT POTENTIAL FISCAL BURDEN WOULD BE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THE FISCAL BURDEN HAS TO BE ASSOCIATED OR INPUT IT, PUT IT IN THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
AND, AND I, BUT I THINK WE COULD MAKE A REALLY STRONG ARGUMENT.
AND THEN ALSO ONCE WE GET IT APPROVED BY THIS, THIS BODY, UM, SHOP IT AROUND TO INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL OFFICES, AS WELL AS THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU.
I JUST, I WASN'T SURE WHAT KIND OF DIRECTION WE NEEDED.
DO WE NEED TO GET SOME TREASURE FROM, FROM, FROM THIS COMMISSION TO, TO DO THAT? NO.
SO I DID JUST, UM, I THINK IT'S RELEVANT, UM, TO SHARE, BECAUSE ZACH DID MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, COMMISSION IS, IS HOPEFULLY GOING TO GET FIVE NEW MEMBERS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HE WAS MENTIONING THAT AS, AS PERHAPS A REASON WHY SOME OF THIS DIDN'T NEED TO HAPPEN THROUGH THE WORKING GROUP.
SO I JUST DID WANT TO SHARE WITH FOLKS THAT THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE DID MEET TODAY, DID DISCUSS OUR, UH, REQUESTED BYLAWS, UH, CHANGES, UH, STAFF HAS RECOMMENDED AGAINST A FEW OF THE CHANGES.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF WHAT IT TAKES TO PASS AN ITEM THAT WAS ONE, UH, TOPIC THAT THEY WANTED TO LOOK AT MORE, BUT, UH, THEY ALSO WANTED TO HAVE MORE DISCUSSION AMONGST THEMSELVES ABOUT HOW THE APPOINTMENTS SHOULD BE MADE.
WE HAD JUST LEFT THAT TO THE MAYOR BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE WERE TOLD WAS, UH, KIND OF STANDARD.
UM, BUT, BUT I THINK SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WANTED TO HAVE, UH, MORE OF A HAND IN THAT, WHICH IS JUST FINE, BUT ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY THAT IT WAS NOT PASSED THROUGH THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE TODAY.
SO I THINK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SOME MONTHS LIKELY DOWN THE ROAD UNTIL THERE ARE ACTUALLY NEW MEMBERS JOINING THIS COMMITTEE.
SO, UM, I JUST WANTED THERE TO BE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ABOUT, UM, YEAH, JUST W W WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH HERE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT MIGHT INFLUENCE HOW WE, HOW WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT BRINGING OTHER FOLKS IN THROUGH ANOTHER VENUE, NAMELY THE WORKING GROUP, UM, ON THAT NOTE OF NEW MEMBERS AND THE CONVERSATION ABOUT BUDGETING AND GETTING BUDGET POSSIBLY FOR STAFF SUPPORT.
UM, AM I UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY THAT RIGHT NOW THERE'S NOT A BUDGET TO COMPENSATE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, WHO MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN THE WORKING GROUP? YEAH, I MEAN, THAT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE AS PART OF OUR BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR THIS YEAR.
SO ZACH DOES THAT MEAN THAT THERE ARE $0 THAT COULD BE USED TOWARDS THE,
[01:20:01]
OR THAT WE JUST NEED TO BE JUDICIOUS WITH, YOU KNOW, HOW THOSE, HOW SOME LIMITED DOLLARS COULD PERHAPS BE SHIFTED AROUND AND USED TOWARDS THAT END? UM, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE GET OUR BUDGET ALLOCATION THAT STARTS ON OCTOBER 1ST, AND WE HAVE A PLAN FOR HOW WE'RE GOING TO SPEND THAT MONEY AND SPENDING MONEY ON THIS WAS NOT PART OF THAT ALLOCATION.SO LIKE WE HAVE PLANS TO SPEND ALL OF OUR MONEY AND LIKE, INCLUDING SPENDING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY ON STANDING UP FIVE MINUTE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM AND PAYING THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
SO I GUESS I WOULD JUST SAY THAT LIKE, YEAH, WE, WE DID NOT PLAN FOR THIS AT ALL.
SO EITHER NEW MONEY WOULD HAVE TO BE FOUND OR SAVINGS WOULD HAVE TO BE FOUND IF WE'RE GOING TO PAY THESE INDIVIDUALS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER 30TH.
AGAIN, PARTLY BECAUSE WE'RE THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
WE DON'T HAVE APPRECIATE IT AS ZACH.
WHAT WAS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WAS SPENT IN THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM THAT WE HAD? WHAT WAS THE TOTAL BUDGET ALLOCATION, NOT FOR THE AMBASSADORS, BUT FOR THE OTHER, UH, THE EFFORT ON THE COMMUNITY GROUPS FOR, FOR THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN TO CREATE THE PLAN.
ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE DID WAS, AND THIS IS NOT FOR THE, THE AMBASSADORS WERE PAID FOR A DISTINCT, LIKE SCOPE OF WORK.
SO WE'VE BUDGETED SIMILAR, WE'VE DONE.
WE BUDGETED EVEN A LARGER AMOUNT FOR THE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, THIS TIME TO PAY THOSE INDIVIDUALS FOR A SET AMOUNT OF TASKS, UM, IN TERMS OF PAYING PARTICIPANTS TO, TO BE A PART OF CREATING THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
WHAT WE OFFERED WAS A, I THINK IT WAS A $500 STIPEND, WHICH WE ESTIMATED AT BEING 25 HOURS OF WORK FOR 20, AT $20 AN HOUR, SO $500.
AND WE ESSENTIALLY OFFERED IT TO ANY OF THE PLAN PARTICIPANTS THAT NEEDED THAT NEEDED IT.
AND WE ONLY HAD, I THINK I'M REMEMBERING, RIGHT.
WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 10 PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY NEEDED IT.
AND SO THERE WAS A NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
THEY JUST HAD TO SIGN UP AND WE GOT IT DONE TO GET THEM PAID.
SO IT WAS LIKE $5,000 OR SOMETHING.
AND SO IF WE HAD MONEY, THAT'S ANOTHER THING I COULD SAY.
IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PAYING, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NEEDING TO FIND $5,000, WE CAN FIND $5,000, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS THE NUMBER GETS LARGER AND LARGER AND LARGER, THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN'T FIND IT.
I MEAN, W WE'LL WE'LL WE'LL STAY OUT OF THE BUDGET.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE THE APPROPRIATE WAY THAT WE WILL.
WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE DISCUSSIONS IN THE PAST, AND WE CAN GO AHEAD AND SEE IF WE CAN FIND THE ADDITIONAL MONEY IS ELSEWHERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ROUTINELY TOWARDS THE END OF EVERY BUDGET YEAR, I AM FORTUNATELY CALLED BY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER BY COUNCIL MEMBERS ASKING WHERE THEY SHOULD SPEND MONIES AND IT'S USUALLY RELATING TO PARKS.
BUT, UM, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE OVERALL IMPACT, IT COULD BE A SUGGESTION THAT I HAVE WITH A FEW OF THE OFFICES.
AND THEN THERE'S STILL MAYBE ANOTHER WAY TO OFFSET IT WITH MAYBE HAAS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AND FUNDING GOING INTO THERE OR SOMETHING.
I THINK WE COULD, I DON'T WANT TO DISMISS IT.
UM, AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING FOR THE WORKING GROUP TO GO AHEAD AND, AND TO ADDRESS NOW THAT WE KNOW WHAT ARE, ARE OUR ZERO BUDGETARY DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY ALLOCATED TOWARDS THAT.
ARE THERE OTHER THOUGHTS ANYBODY WANTS TO SHARE ON THIS? THE WORKING GROUP IS SCHEDULED TO MEET TOMORROW, SO WE'LL CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION THERE, BUT IF YOU WON'T BE THERE, I'D LOVE TO HEAR ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY.
UM, IS THERE ANY REASON WHY THE AMBASSADORS COULD NOT HAVE ALSO THE RESPONSIBILITY OR THE OPTION TO SERVE ON THE WORKING GROUP AND JUST GET PAID TO BE AN AMBASSADOR AND HAVE THAT BE ONE OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES OR DUTIES? I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CONSIDER.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OR IDEAS ON THAT.
SO, UM, SYDNEY WILL BE THERE TOMORROW, UM, IN THE WORKING GROUP MEETING AND TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, GIVE SOME IDEAS OF, OF LIKE WHAT SHE'S BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE AMBASSADORS PROGRAM.
[01:25:01]
QUESTION I HAD WITH THIS IS LIKE, WE ALREADY KIND OF HAVE THIS ESTABLISHED MODEL THAT WE'VE DONE, UM, YOU KNOW, RECRUITMENT THROUGH.AND, UM, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WITHIN, UM, AND PART OF THAT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY SO THAT NOT, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WOULD HAVE TO SHOW UP TO THESE VERY, YOU KNOW, PRESCHEDULED MEETINGS.
THERE WAS MORE FLEXIBILITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UM, YOU COULD HAVE A SET OF AMBASSADORS THAT HAVE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, AREAS THAT THEY FOCUS ON.
SO JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT, BECAUSE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, A PROGRAM THAT WE'RE WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT TURNS OUT THAT WE HAVE FOLKS BEATEN DOWN THE DOOR TO BE ON THE WORKING GROUP AND AMBASSADORS, THEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IF THERE'S NOT ENOUGH SLOTS, THERE'S MORE INTEREST THAN THERE ARE SLOTS THEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE COULD POTENTIALLY TRY, YOU KNOW, TRY TO ENSURE INVOLVEMENT IN WHATEVER WE CAN, BUT IF THERE'S A POOL OF PEOPLE THAT'S INTERESTED AND THEY CAN ALL BE AMBASSADORS UNDER THE PROGRAM THAT'S BEING DEVELOPED IN THE BUDGET THAT YOU HAVE.
AND THEY'RE THE FOLKS THAT ARE INTERESTED ENOUGH TO WANT TO STEP UP AND BE A PART OF IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY MIGHT BE A GOOD, OBVIOUS FIT.
PHOEBE, CAN YOU, UH, SHARE ANYTHING ABOUT THE TIMELINE FOR GETTING AMBASSADORS HIRED? YEAH, SO RIGHT NOW I THINK SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD, UH, OUR CLIMATE ENGAGEMENT ASSOCIATE FOR FIVE WEEKS.
AND SO I THINK SHE'S GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE SHE'S TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE STRUCTURE AND THEN WE'RE WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO, UM, WE'VE PULLED OUT ALL THE CLIMATE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT ARE IN THE PLAN AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE, OKAY, WHAT ARE THE FOCUS AREAS? UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING THEIR OWN AMBASSADOR PROGRAMS. NOW THIS KIND OF MODEL HAS TAKEN OFF.
AND SO TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, COMPLEMENTING EFFORTS NOT DUPLICATING, SO IT COULD TAKE, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD FORESEE PROBABLY AT LEAST ANOTHER MONTH TO REALLY DEVELOP A FULL SCOPE OF IT.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GIVE SOME, SOME WIGGLE ROOM BECAUSE SHE'S STILL, YOU KNOW, SETTING UP PHONE CALLS NEEDS TO TALK TO ALL OF THE AMBASSADORS NEEDS TO KIND OF SET UP THESE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, SO BALLPARK, OKAY, THANKS.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, IT WOULD BE A MONTH UNTIL THE FRAMEWORK IS SET UP AND THEN THERE'D PROBABLY BE SOME ADDITIONAL TIME TO ACTUALLY HIRE PEOPLE AND GET THEM GOING.
I'M ASSUMING IS THAT, YEAH, I THINK THE LAST TIME, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE RELEASED THE APPLICATION, IT WAS A COUPLE OF WEEKS OPEN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, AND THEN THERE'S LIKE A REVIEW PERIOD AFTERWARDS AND TRYING TO, OKAY, WELL, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S A COUPLE IDEAS HERE AND PERHAPS WE CAN PURSUE THEM, BOTH, NAMELY TRYING TO GET PERHAPS SOME MONEY FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS TO BRING SOME FOLKS ON, UH, ON A QUICKER TIMELINE.
UM, AND, AND MAYBE ALSO INVOLVING AMBASSADORS, UH, IN THE WORKING GROUP, ALBERTA, I SAW YOU CAME OFF MUTE FOR A SECOND.
DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? YEAH.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW HOW MANY AMBASSADORS ARE WE'VE FUNDING IN THIS GRANT.
AND I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA TO HAVE SOME OF THEM, A PART OF THE WORKING GROUP AS PART OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES, BUT DO WE KNOW HOW MANY, YOU'RE NOT DETERMINED THAT YET? LAST TIME WE HAD 12? I THINK SO.
WELL, WE HAVE AT LEAST THAT MANY SEC, AT LEAST 12, I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE ANY PROMISES.
WE'RE, WE'RE FIGURING IT OUT RIGHT DOWN.
AND PART OF, PART OF IT IS ALSO THAT THE LAST TIME, UM, SOME OF THE AMBASSADORS KIND OF LINKED TO AN ORGANIZATION AND SOME OF THEM WEREN'T, AND THERE'S SOME LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY MORE, UH, UH, LINKED TO AN ORGANIZATION AND, AND KIND OF TRYING TO SEE WHAT WORKED BEST FROM BOTH OF THOSE MODELS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE CAN'T QUITE GIVE A NUMBER JUST YET.
CAUSE THERE'S, YEAH, THERE WERE LIKE TWO DIFFERENT MODELS WITHIN THE MODEL.
UH, DOES, DOES EVERYBODY FEEL GOOD WITH, UH, MOVING ON? I REALIZED THAT PERHAPS WE'RE NOT TOTALLY SATISFIED, BUT SOUL, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO ADD? UM, YEAH, JUST VERY BRIEFLY AT OUR LAST WORKING GROUP MEETING, I HAVE LEFT WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO START RECRUITING, WORKING GROUP MEMBERS, UM, AND SEND OUT A FORM, UM, TO FOLKS THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN JOINING.
UM, AND THEN I KNOW THERE WERE A LOT OF OTHER CONVERSATIONS THAT HAPPENED REGARDING THE WORKING GROUP THAT
[01:30:01]
MAY BE SET THAT BACK.UM, ARE WE, ARE WE GOING TO TRY TO START RECRUITING PEOPLE SO THAT THE WORKING GROUP IS NOT JUST KEPT WITHIN, WITHIN OUR FEW FOLKS IN THE JSC DB THOUGH? WAS THERE WAS YOUR ACTION ITEMS, I'LL LET YOU SPEAK TO THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL LET SEC CHIME IN ON THIS.
I DID PUT THAT TOGETHER WITH QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, BASED OFF OF EVERYTHING WE DISCUSSED.
UM, WE DO HAVE A LIST OF, YOU KNOW, UH, CLIMATE PLAN PARTICIPANTS THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, UH, MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THIS OR, YOU KNOW, MIGHT FIT THAT ROLE.
AND I ADDED THE NAMES THAT, UM, YOU HAD SOUL, I THINK WE HELD OFF ON THAT BASED OFF OF SOME OF ZACH'S QUESTIONS AND, AND BECAUSE THE FORM ITSELF, LIKE WE'LL NEED TO SAY, LIKE, WHAT IS THE TIME COMMITMENT? YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE COMPENSATION AVAILABLE? LIKE WHAT IS THE SCOPE? AND SO I THINK WE HELD OFF ON, ON SHARING THAT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE SCOPE AND ALL THE DETAILS QUITE SET UP TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, SAY IT'S ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BUT WE DO HAVE THAT READY TO GO WHENEVER WE KIND OF COME TO THAT CONCLUSION, I DID CREATE THAT.
THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR CONTRIBUTING TO, TO THAT CONVERSATION.
I DO THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT ONE, UM, AS, AS WE REALLY GET IMPLEMENTATION UNDERWAY.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY WE CAN, WE CAN GET THIS WORKING GROUP, UH, REALLY FUNCTIONING FOR US.
[2d. Fayette coal power plant retirement update – (Discussion and/or possible action)]
LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO D UM, THIS'LL BE A SHORT ITEM, BUT IT IS A PRETTY CRITICAL ONE.UM, SO, AND PROBABLY YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SOMETHING ABOUT THE FAYETTE, UH, POWER PLANT PERIODICALLY UNTIL THIS ISSUE IS RESOLVED.
I'M NOT GOING TO PUT IT ON HERE EVERY MONTH, BUT I, I, I DID PUT IT ON THIS MONTH JUST BECAUSE I WANTED, UH, FIRST TO REMIND FOLKS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT COMMITMENT TO, UH, RETIRE THE COAL FIRED POWER PLANT THAT IS CO OWNED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND LCRA IS VERY MUCH, UH, IN JEOPARDY, UH, AT THE MOMENT.
AND, AND JUST AS A REMINDER, THAT'S ABOUT A THIRD OF OUR CARBON EMISSIONS, UH, CITY COMMUNITY WIDE.
UM, SO WE, YOU KNOW, JUST THE SHORT AND LONG OF IT IS THAT WE CAN'T MEET OUR CLIMATE GOALS WITHOUT SHUTTING IT DOWN.
SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY CRITICAL TO OUR WORK.
UM, THE, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AND THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION HAVE BOTH, UH, FORMED WORKING GROUPS THAT ARE MEETING TOGETHER, UM, UH, SOMETIMES, UH, ON THEIR OWN AND SOMETIMES WITH AUSTIN ENERGY STUFF, UH, TO LOOK AT THE OPTIONS AND, UM, AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, HOPEFULLY IN THEIR MARCH MEETING MARCH MEETINGS.
UH, AND W W WE HAVE SCHEDULED, UH, A PUBLIC MEETING WHERE ANYONE CAN COME AND SPEAK ON THE ISSUE THAT WILL BE, UH, THE EVENING OF, UH, THURSDAY, MARCH 3RD, THAT'LL BE AT 7:00 PM.
I WILL SHARE THE INFORMATION OUT.
UM, BUT I JUST, I WANTED IT AS AN AGENDA ITEM JUST TO KIND OF, UH, ELEVATE A LITTLE BIT HERE, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH THAT'S IMPORTANT IN THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, BUT IT IS THE, THAT PLAN DOES, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SIT ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS DECARBONIZING.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN SOME VERY SERIOUS BUMPS IN THE ROAD THAT, UH, THAT WE HAVE THAT WE HAVE TO NAVIGATE AS A, AS A COMMUNITY.
SO IF ANYBODY HAS ANYTHING THEY WANT TO SAY ON THAT OR QUESTIONS, OPEN IT UP, BUT THAT'S WHAT I HAD TO SHARE.
I WILL, UH, LIKE I SAID, I'LL, I'LL SEND AN EMAIL, I'LL HAVE A ZACKER PHOEBE, SEND IT OUT, SO WE DON'T RUN INTO ANY, UM, ANY ISSUES.
BUT, UH, SO IF, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SHARE THAT, UH, INVITATION, UH, FOR MARCH 3RD, UH, WITH ANYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY, PLEASE FEEL ENCOURAGED TO DO THAT.
[2e. Electric Readiness and EV-Ready code amendments – (Discussion and/or possible action)]
UH, ITEM, UH, TWO E UH, COMES, UH, ALSO FROM THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UM, JUST PASSED A, UH, RECOMMENDATION REGARDING CODE UPDATES FOR ELECTRIC READINESS AND, UH, EVIE READY.[01:35:01]
UH, THESE ARE BOTH THINGS THAT ARE, UM, INCLUDED IN STRATEGIES IN THE CLIMATE PLANS.SO I THOUGHT IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO BRING THEM BACK HERE.
UM, AND I DID SHARE A DRAFT, OR ARE YOU ABLE TO PUT THAT UP PHOEBE I CAN SEE IT, OR OTHERS ABLE TO SEE THIS OKAY.
ON THE SCREEN, ANYBODY WHO'S WHO'S, UH, VIEWING REMOTELY, LET US KNOW IF, IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE, HOPEFULLY YOU CAN ALL SEE IT SO THAT ALL THE WAREHOUSES ARE VISIBLE.
THANK YOU, PHOEBE, FOR GETTING US ORIENTED HERE.
UM, I CAN READ THESE IF FOLKS WANT, BUT, UM, ESSENTIALLY THERE'S, THIS IS AN ISSUE OF, OF MAKING IT EASIER TO ELECTRIFY BOTH OUR BUILDINGS AND OUR TRANSPORTATION.
UM, I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL AWARE THAT THE CITY IS TRYING TO MOVE TOWARDS ELECTRIC VEHICLES WITHIN THEIR FLEET.
ALSO TRYING TO, UH, ENCOURAGE THE USE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES MORE BROADLY.
AND THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN ALSO SPEAKS TO THE NEED TO ELECTRIFY BUILDINGS, BECAUSE ASSUMING WE CAN ACTUALLY DECARBONIZE, THEN THAT IS A CARBON, UH, FREEWAY TO HEAT AND COOL AND COOK AND HEAT OUR WATER.
AND EVEN BEFORE WE GET TO FULL DVR URBANIZATION, IT EVEN TODAY IS STILL LOWER EMISSIONS TO USE THOSE EFFICIENT, UH, ELECTRIC APPLIANCES TO D TO DO ALL THOSE THINGS THAT I JUST DESCRIBED.
UM, AND THE CHALLENGE IS, IS THAT IF YOU HAVE AN EXISTING HOME THAT HAS NOT BEEN, UH, WIRED TO ACCOMMODATE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, INCLUDING YOUR ITCH FAQ AND YOUR HOT WATER OR AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGER, THEN YOU ENDED UP PAYING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ADDITIONAL JUST TO HAVE THE WIRING INSTALLED.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S, UH, JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, A WHOLE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE OR MORE, MORE EXPENSIVE TO DO THESE THINGS AFTER THE FACT.
AND WE ALREADY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THAT WITH OUR EXISTING HOUSING STOCK.
UM, BUT WE CAN AVOID THAT ADDITIONAL EXPENSE BY AT LEAST BUILDING OUR NEW BUILDINGS WITH THOSE, WITH THAT WIRING AND, UH, PROPER ELECTRIC PANELS AND SPACING TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE, UM, ELECTRIC APPLIANCES.
SO THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, AND IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S ABOUT, UM, INCLUDING THOSE AS, UH, REQUIREMENTS IN THE, UH, CONSERVATION CODE, IF HE WANT TO SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE, JUST SO FOLKS CAN SEE THE ACTUAL RESOLVED.
UM, SO THIS RESOLUTION, LIKE I SAID, JUST MIRRORS WHAT THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UM, JUST ADOPTED, RECOMMENDING THESE CODE, UM, THESE CODE AMENDMENTS, AND, UH, ALSO SUPPORTING THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS AND, AND SETTING, UH, YOU KNOW, A TIMELINE ON GETTING THAT WORK DONE.
SO I WILL STOP TALKING, SEE IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS, SUPPORT.
UM, I SHOULD PROBABLY LOOK AT THIS MORE CLOSELY, UM, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTRIC WIRING AND INSTALL AND, UM, LOOKING AT CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSING, UM, IS THERE ANY LANGUAGE THAT ADDRESSES, UM, AFFORDABLE, LIKE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, UM, MORE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE THAT MIGHT RUN INTO NEEDING TO DECREASE AFFORDABILITY IN ORDER TO INVEST THAT MONEY UP FRONT IN, UM, DOING THE ELECTRIC WIRING AND INSTALLATION, UM, TO MEET THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS? UH, LET ME JUST, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION.
ARE YOU ASKING IF THIS WOULD, UH, POSE A CHALLENGE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING? YEAH.
IF IT WOULD POSE A CHALLENGE AND IF SO, WOULD THERE BE A WAY TO, UM, LIKE MINIMIZE THAT CHALLENGE AND HAVE SOME
[01:40:01]
INVESTMENTS AVAILABLE TO, TO COVER THOSE COSTS IF THE, IF THE BUILDING IS MEANT TO BE AFFORDABLE TO THE COMMUNITY? YEAH.I THINK THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT I THINK USUALLY, UM, CHEAPER HOUSING, UH, STOCK, UH, IS, IS USUALLY ALL ELECTRIC ANYWAY, BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY CHEAPER TO JUST BUILD ALL ELECTRIC THAN TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE EVERY HOME HAS ELECT ELECTRIC WIRING IN IT AND ALL OF THAT.
AND SO IF YOU, IF YOU CHOOSE NATURAL GAS APPLIANCES, YOU, YOU ALSO HAVE TO PLUMB FOR NATURAL GAS APPLIANCES.
SO IN TERMS OF, UM, THE COST OF BUILDING, IT'S ACTUALLY CHEAPER TO JUST FOREGO THE NATURAL GAS PLUMBING ENTIRELY.
AND SO THAT IS WHAT YOU GENERALLY SEE IN A AS WAY IF YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, UH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE A RENTER AND YOU, YOU KNOW, ARE, UH, RENTING A MORE AFFORDABLE APARTMENT, YOU'RE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A GAS STOVE TO START WITH.
UM, AND, AND PROBABLY ALL OF YOUR APPLIANCES ARE GENERALLY ELECTRIC IN THAT, UH, SITUATION.
SO I DON'T THINK THAT IT, UM, YEAH.
DOES THAT HELP? IT'S A GOOD QUESTION NOW.
UM, AND ACTUALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, TH I THINK THAT THE, THE PERSON WHO, UH, KEVIN, WHO, WHO DID THE ANALYSIS FOR THIS, UM, BUT WAS ON ZACH'S TEAM, UM, DID SUPPORT, UH, THIS COMMISSION PREVIOUSLY AND THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AND DOING SOME ANALYSIS ON, UH, OVERALL AFFORDABILITY OF ELECTRIC VERSUS A COMBINATION OF ELECTRIC AND GAS, UH, USE IN HOMES.
AND WHAT IT DID SHOW IS THAT IT'S ACTUALLY, IT'S MORE AFFORDABLE TO JUST HAVE AN ALL ELECTRIC HOME.
YOU, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE USING EFFICIENT EQUIPMENT, YOU ACTUALLY, YOU SAVE NOT JUST ON THE, THE FRONT END.
I DON'T THINK THAT WAS EVEN PART OF THE ANALYSIS.
YOU, UH, YOU WILL, YOU WILL SAVE OVER TIME, OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AND HAPPY TO PROVIDE, UH, A MOTION.
WE ARE, WE ARE POSTED FOR ACTION ON THIS OR POSSIBLE ACTION.
YOU'RE MOVING APPROVAL, CORRECT? YEAH, I WAS LOOKING FOR THE, SO THERE ARE THE, UH, YEAH, THE MOTION IS JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION SUPPORTS THE ADOPTION OF ELECTRIC READINESS AND E READY AMENDMENTS TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE AND RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THAT THE CITY MANAGER INITIATED FORMAL PROCESS TO MAKE THESE CODES, THESE CODE UPDATES IMMEDIATELY, AND COMMISSION ALSO SUPPORT STAFF PLANS TO CONDUCT STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS ON ELECTRIFICATION AND RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL REQUESTS REGULAR UPDATES ON THIS WORK TO ENSURE THAT IS COMPLETED ON A TIMELINE THAT WILL ALLOW FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ELECTRIC READINESS AND A UV READY CODE AMENDMENTS BY SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2022.
IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION THEN, UH, AGAIN, IF THE ALBERTA ICU AND MIRRORING, UH, IS THAT IN PREPARATION FOR VOTING, OR DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I WAS JUST GOING TO A SECOND, THE MOTION AND THE THANK YOU ALBERTA.
IF YOU, IF, UH, FOLKS ARE ABLE TO TURN ON THEIR, UM, TURN ON THEIR, THEIR CAMERAS, UH, AND RAISE YOUR HAND AND, AND PHOEBE, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO TAKE THAT OFF AT ALL, THIS IS THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND I THINK ALBERTA, YOU SAID YOU WERE VOTING IRATE.
I THOUGHT I RAISED MY HAND, BUT MAYBE I, UM, YEAH.
YEAH, WE COULDN'T, I COULDN'T SEE YOU ANYWAY, BUT, UM, THANK YOU.
UH, THAT, UH, WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
[2f. Commission members report back on any relevant discussions from their respective boards and commissions – (Discussion and/or possible action)]
[01:45:01]
MOVING ON TO ITEM TWO F UH, THIS IS COMMISSION MEMBERS REPORT BACK ON RELEVANT DISCUSSIONS FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.OBVIOUSLY I JUST KIND OF DID THAT IN THE FORM OF THESE LAST TWO ITEMS. I DO JUST WANT TO REALLY ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO BRING ITEMS FROM YOUR COMMISSION, TAKE ITEMS FROM HERE TO YOUR COMMISSION.
I THINK WE CAN HAVE, UH, MORE VALUE IF WE GET MORE, TWO WAY KIND OF FLOW OF, OF ACTION ITEMS AND, UM, YEAH, JUST DIALOGUE.
SO ANY UPDATES AUDREY? I, UM, YEAH, SO I, YEAH, AUDREY BARRETT, I'M A ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER, AND I HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE VIOLET CROWN DEVELOPMENT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH IT, BUT IT IS A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
UM, I NON-BLACK, IT'S LIKE IT'S WEST, I THINK IT'S WEST ON, ON 71 WHERE THEY ARE WANTING TO BUILD AN AMPHITHEATER, I THINK A 20,000 PERSON FUN.
AND, UM, THE REQUEST TO THE CITY WAS FOR A SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER.
AND, UM, THEY PRESENTED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION THIS PAST WEEK.
AND THE, IT WAS A UNANIMOUS VOTE TO RECOMMEND NOT TO, UM, NOT TO PROVIDE THE EXTENSION REQUEST FOR THAT PROJECT.
AND THAT WAS ALSO THE COMMISSIONERS VOTED IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT CITY STAFF RECOMMENDED AS WELL.
UM, BUT IT IS, DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HEARD, I'M SURE IT'S A, UM, A PROJECT THAT WILL NOT GO AWAY ANYTIME SOON.
SO, UM, LET ME KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY MORE, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, ANDRE, THIS IS CHRISTIE WILLIAMS. I SIT ON THE WATER WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE? IS IT GOING TO COME TO THE WATER WASTEWATER COMMISSION OR WHAT, BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD OF THE PROJECT AND I KNEW IT WOULD BECOME TO TEST FOR, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE COMING TO US EVENTUALLY.
BUT DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SCHEDULE FROM THE PRESENTATION THEY DID FOR YOU? I, I WOULD ASSUME IT'S GOING TO YOU GUYS.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE DEVELOPERS KEPT SAYING THAT THEY, THEY BASICALLY KEPT SAYING THIS IS THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WAY FOR US TO GET WATER, WHICH IS WHY YOU ALL SHOULD APPROVE IT.
AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WOULD BE OTHER OPTIONS THAT THEY WOULD PURSUE.
UM, IF THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS WERE NOT, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T GRANTED AND THAT THEY ALREADY KNOW THAT THEY CAN GET ANOTHER WAYS.
SO, UM, THAT WAS THERE TO FITNESS.
UM, BUT I DON'T I'M, I APOLOGIZE.
I DON'T HAVE THAT SCHEDULED WHO IS GOING TO NEXT.
AND WHEN, IF I, IF I'M, AND I ALSO SIT ON THE BARTON SPRINGS, EDWARDS AQUIFER CONSERVATION DISTRICT, AND IF, AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THERE ACTUALLY ISN'T A CONSERVATION AGROUND OR DISTRICT WHERE THAT DEVELOPMENT IS SUPPOSED TO GO.
SO THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH OUR GROUNDWATER DISTRICT.
I DON'T THINK TO GET APPROVAL TO PULL FROM THE AQUIFER, BUT I WILL NEED TO, I CAN LOOK INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE TOO.
CAUSE IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S THE APPROACH THEY WERE TAKING WITH YOU GUYS, IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THEY CONTINUE TO TAKE THAT APPROACH WHEN THEY COME TO US.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE HEADS UP.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE MORE OF A THREAT THAN A, UH, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THAN, AND THERE'S MORE TO THE DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.
THERE'S LIKE A, YOU KNOW, OFFICE SPACE AND, UM, TOP GOLF AND OTHER, OTHER THINGS AS WELL, BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO SELL IT.
THEY WERE TRYING TO SELL IT AS AUSTIN'S LIKE VERY OWN RED ROCK, RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATER.
SO THAT WAS AN EXAMPLE IN CAPITAL OF TEXAS HIGHWAY.
IS THAT RIGHT? IS THAT LIKE, IS THAT WHERE IT IS? UM, I THOUGHT I WAS EITHER EVEN FURTHER, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY I SAW IT ON THE, ON THE PRESENTATION, BUT, UM, I FELT LIKE IT WAS EVEN FURTHER WEST THAN WHERE THE, UM, FOR THE BACKYARD WAS, BUT OH, OKAY.
UM, I CAN LOOK INTO IT FOR C YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S SO MANY, RIGHT.
IT WAS, UM, THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER WAS, IT WAS ANOTHER REALLY IMPORTANT
[01:50:01]
PART ABOUT THAT AS WELL.UM, AND YOU KNOW, CLEARLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, BUT THERE WERE, THERE WERE SO MANY REASONS, I GUESS THE AREA AROUND IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S ALL THE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, CRITICAL ZONES, YOU KNOW, EVERY SOCCER FOR REACHER ZONE, ALL THESE, ALL THESE OTHER, UM, AREAS, BUT THEN THEY IDENTIFIED THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, PLOT OF LAND THAT I GUESS WASN'T PROTECTED THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO, TO PURCHASE AND GET THEIR HANDS ON.
AND SO THEY'RE TRYING TO BUILD IT KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS, WHERE THIS AREA THAT, THAT I GUESS YOU COULD DEVELOP ON, BUT ALL THE SURROUNDING AREA WAS, UM, ARE NUMEROUS REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD NOT BE DEVELOPING AROUND IT.
SO, UH, I CAN ALSO TRY TO SHARE THAT I CAN ALSO SHARE THE PRESENTATION AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WEBSITE AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU, AUDREY OTHER UPDATES? NO.
I KNOW YOU'RE ALL WORKING ON GOOD THINGS.
UM, BUT WE DON'T NEED TO HANG AROUND JUST TO HANG AROUND.
UM, THAT IS OUR LAST, UH, LAST, UH, ITEM OTHER THAN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY WANT TO SUGGEST FOR, FOR OUR NEXT MEETING? OF COURSE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO EMAIL AS WELL.
ALL RIGHT, THEN I'M GOING TO MOVE ADJOURNMENT.
AND I REALLY APOLOGIZE AGAIN FOR FORGETTING THAT I NEEDED TO BE HERE IN PERSON AND MAKING YOU WAIT FOR ME.
SO I'M REALLY SORRY ABOUT THAT.