[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
IF I CAN ASK COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE IN THE ROOM TO COME ON SCREEN THE VIRTUAL ROOM.WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING OF THE ARTS COMMISSION TO ORDER.
UM, WE HAVE NO CITIZENS COMMUNICATION TODAY, SO WE'LL BE GOING RIGHT INTO THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES, WHICH WE WILL NEED TO MOVE TO NEXT MONTH.
UH, JUST NEEDING SOME CLERICAL WORK THERE.
UM, WE'LL GET THAT OUT TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION FOR APPROVAL AND GET THAT APPROVED NEXT MONTH.
[2.a. Updates]
REPORT, AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M NOT COMMISSIONER POLL GUARD.I'M THE VICE-CHAIR OF THE ARTS COMMISSION.
UM, THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR BEING IN ATTENDANCE TODAY, COMMISSIONER, POLGAR HAD A, UM, CHAIR'S REPORT UPDATE, UH, CHAIR'S REPORT PREPARED, BUT UNFORTUNATELY COULDN'T JOIN US TODAY.
SO I'M GOING TO GO OFF THE CUFF HERE AND USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLICITLY SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY THAT HAS JOINED US, UH, IN OUR MULTIPLE AVENUES OF COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, UM, COMING FORWARD AND PROVIDING THEIR INSIGHT AND WISDOM AND LIVED EXPERIENCE, UM, IN THIS COMMUNITY AND, UM, SHARING IT WITH US.
UH, I WANT TO THANK EXPLICITLY STAFF AS WELL AND THEIR DECADES OF WISDOM IN THIS SPACE.
AND, UM, WE ARE JUST VERY GRATEFUL TO BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AND TO KEEP THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING GOING.
UM, WITH THAT, I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND LOOK TO COMMISSIONER BARNES, WHO UNFORTUNATELY IS NOT HERE.
SO HOPEFULLY WHEN HE ARRIVES, WE CAN GET OUR, UM, AIPP LIAISON REPORT.
[2.c. Austin Economic Development Corporation/Cultural Trust Advisory Committee Report – Carl Settles]
SAID, LET'S GO TO ITEM TWO C AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, CULTURAL TRUST ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT FROM MR. CARL SETTLES.AND, UM, THERE'S A, NOT A WHOLE LOT, WAS A LOT GOING ON, BUT NOT A WHOLE BUNCH.
I CAN REALLY TALK ABOUT AT THIS POINT.
UM, WE DO HAVE A NEW CEO, UM, THERESA ALVAREZ THAT WAS ANNOUNCED A FEW WEEKS AGO.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HER ON, UH, WE DID NOT DO A BOARD MEETING THIS MONTH BECAUSE WE'RE DOING ONE-ON-ONE, UM, MEETINGS WITH THERESA AND MAKING SURE SHE'S, UH, UP TO SPEED ON EVERYTHING AND REALLY LEADING US.
UH, SO WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE ALSO, UM, A PART OF THE C TECH, UH, EVALUATION COMMITTEE.
WE'VE BEEN EVALUATING THOSE, UH, UH, INITIAL, UH, SLATE OF PROPOSALS.
UM, AND WE SHOULD, UH, BE ABLE TO START TO, UH, SHARE THOSE SCORES AND THOSE THINGS THAT LATER, LATER THIS MONTH, UM, CAN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT IT BEYOND THAT BECAUSE WE SENT SIGN NDAS REGARDING THAT PROCESS.
AND I'M ALSO, UH, WORKING WITH THIS MUSIC AND ARTS, UH, WORK GROUP ABOUT BUILDING A CASE STATEMENT FOR THE MUSIC AND HEARTS THAT THEY CAN, WE CAN TAKE TO DIRECTLY TO CORPORATE, UH, PARTNERS TO GET THEM TO, UH, HOPEFULLY START TO GENERATE OTHER WAYS OF GENERATING REVENUE, TO SUPPORT THE ARTS AND MUSIC IN THE CITY.
AND SO THAT'S A PROCESS THAT'S ONGOING AS WELL, AND I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING, UH, IN THE NEXT WEEK, UH, TO TRY AND MAKE SOME MORE PROGRESS ON THAT.
UM, ANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS FOR MR. SETTLES SEEING NONE? I WANT TO THANK YOU CARL FOR BEING PRESENT AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER UPDATE NEXT MONTH.
AND PLEASE FORGIVE ME EVERYONE.
UM, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME LEADING A MEETING HERE.
SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND GO BACK AND DO THAT.
UM, COMMISSIONER MOCK COMMISSIONER GARZA, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER SMALL BLOCK PRESENT COMMISSIONER VANDYKE AND HERE IN THE ROOM, COMMISSIONER GRAY HERE.
[2.d. Downtown Commission Report – Commissioner Mok]
NEXT IS ITEM TWO D THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION REPORT.WERE YOU ABLE TO ATTEND THE FEBRUARY MEETING? I
[00:05:01]
HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY NOTICE ABOUT A MEETING NOR ALL THE AGENDA.SO I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHEN IS THE MEETING, BUT I DID RECEIVE AN EMAIL, UM, FROM MEGAN.
SHE MADE AN INTRODUCTION YESTERDAY BETWEEN ME AND THE STAFF WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UM, MS. MONA AND I GOT AN EMAIL FROM HER, SO I AM PRETTY SURE I WILL GET THE, UH, NOTIFICATION NEXT MONTH.
SO TO ANSWER YOU, I DID NOT GET A CHANCE TO ATTEND THE FEBRUARY MEETING.
I THINK THAT IS INTO ONE SESSION.
WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH STAFF AND MAKE SURE THINGS ARE MOVING ALONG.
SO YOU'LL BE READY FOR THE MARCH MEETING.
WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE WE CAN GET INTO
[3.a. Airbnb – Luis Briones, Texas Public Policy and Government Affairs Director]
OUR SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, UM, CITY STAFF.CAN YOU PLEASE MOVE OVER HAYDEN? UM, MR. LET'S SEE.
MR. BAGUETTE, THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
OUR FIRST PRESENTATION THREE A IS FROM AIRBNB, LUIS.
BRIANNA'S THE TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DIRECTOR ALONG WITH HAYDEN BRACKET OF, UH, I BELIEVE IT'S.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET KICKED OFF INTO THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I BELIEVE HAYDEN'S GONNA, UH, JUST SET UP THE PRESENTATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO RUN THROUGH YOU, UH, RUN REAL QUICKLY THROUGH YOU.
UM, BUT YEAH, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE TIME.
HOT IS AN ITEM OF CONCERN, NOT JUST FOR YOUR ARTS COMMISSION, UH, BUT SEVERAL OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONS AND FOR THE CITY WRIT LARGE.
UM, SO, UM, ONCE WE GET THE PRESENTATION UP, UM, GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UNFORTUNATELY, LOUIS, IT'S TELLING ME I NEED TO GRANT MY COMPUTER ACCESS TO WEBEX, WHICH I'VE ALREADY DONE.
UH, I'M NOT SURE I CAN SHARE MY SCREEN.
I BELIEVE WE SHARED THIS WITH YOU AS WELL.
UM, IS THERE ANY CHANCE FOR THE FOLKS IN THE ROOM TO PUT THIS UP ON, ON THE, UH, ON THE AAV? YES.
THE CITY STAFF IS WORKING ON IT GUYS.
BECAUSE I ACTUALLY JUST NOTICED THAT I HAVE THE SAME LIMITATION ON THE WEBEX, THE, THE, THE BEAUTIES OF, OF, OF THIS VIRTUAL WORLD WE LIVE IN.
I ASSUME THE REST OF YOU CAN SEE IT.
UM, SO YEAH, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT HOT, UM, AND SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
SO WE COULD JUST MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO SOME, SOME BIT OF BACKGROUND, WHICH I THINK MOST OF YOU ARE PRETTY AWARE OF.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, SHORT TERM RENTALS IN THE CITY OF BOSTON HAD BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME, EVEN PRIOR TO THE EXISTENCE OF AIRBNB.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, THE COUNCIL FIRST TOOK MEASURES TO REGULATE STRS IN THE CITY IN 2012, SUBSEQUENTLY MADE SOME AMENDMENTS TO THAT ORDINANCE IN 2013.
AND THEN THE LAST SORT OF SET OF AMENDMENTS, UH, VIA 2016 ORDINANCE, UM, WAS PASSED FEBRUARY ACTUALLY.
SO SIX YEARS AGO NOW, UH, FEBRUARY OF 2016, IN FACT, I BELIEVE IT WAS FEBRUARY 23RD, 2016.
UM, PART OF THAT, UH, ORDINANCE INCLUDED A PHASE OUT OF TYPE TWO IN 2022.
UM, AS, AS I'M SURE ALL OF YOU ARE PRETTY AWARE.
THIS WAS SUBSEQUENTLY RUN THROUGH THE TEXAS COURT SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY IN THE THIRD COURT OF APPEALS.
ELEMENTS OF THE ORDINANCE WERE DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL, NOT JUST BY THE THIRD COURT OF APPEALS, BUT SUBSEQUENTLY BY THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS.
UM, IN THAT TIME, UNFORTUNATELY, FEW TYPE TWO FOLKS WERE ABLE TO CON TO OBTAIN LICENSES.
SO WHY THAT BRINGS US HERE? UM, THE LICENSE IS THE METHOD
[00:10:01]
BY WHICH PEOPLE PAY HOT TAX, UM, SORRY, HOT, IT'S ALMOST REDUNDANT TO SAY HOT TAX.UM, AND SO WE'RE HERE TO PRESENT.
WHAT WE BELIEVE IS A WAY TO BE ABLE TO GET AROUND THAT, WHICH IS BASICALLY PLATFORMS AND AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, TO BE ABLE TO COLLECT AND REMIT ON BEHALF OF THE HOSTS.
NOW WE'VE HEARD THIS FROM A BUNCH OF HOSTS AND A BUNCH OF FOLKS IN THE, UH, IN THE SECTOR THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS, LIKE THIS MAKES SENSE.
UM, SO WE COULD JUST, UH, MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE AUSTIN AS A POPULAR CITY.
UM, SHORT-TERM RENTALS HAVE REALLY TAKEN OFF IN THE CITY.
UM, AGAIN, EVEN PRIOR TO PLATFORMS LIKE AIRBNB COMING UP, UM, AND IN THAT TIME, THE INDUSTRY HAS REALLY MATURED.
SO, YOU KNOW, AT THE HEART OF A LOT OF THE ISSUES BACK IN 2016 WERE CONCERNS AROUND, UH, PARTY, PARTY HOMES, NOISE, AND NUISANCE.
UH, WE'VE REALLY DEVELOPED AND REFINED OR PLAYBOOKS, NOT JUST AIRBNB, BUT EVEN THE HOMETOWN BOYS EXPEDIA VRVO, UM, TO, TO REALLY TACKLE THE ISSUES.
YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT LOTS OF FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY HAD WITH PARTY HOMES.
UH, WE SUSPENDED DOZENS OF LISTINGS THROUGHOUT THIS TIME.
WE REALLY TAKE A PROACTIVE MEASURE AT THIS.
WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, EACH ONE OF US ARE OUR RESPECTIVE PORTALS, NOT JUST FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, BUT FOR NEIGHBORS AS WELL, TO BE ABLE TO TRACK SOME OF THESE ISSUES AS THEY COME UP.
UM, AND DO WE DO PREEMPTIVE, UH, SORT OF LIKE HIGH RISK PRESERVATION REVIEWS, ESPECIALLY AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, BIG EVENTS AND HOLIDAYS, WHICH WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, ATTRACT A LOT OF VISITORS TO THE CITY.
UM, IN THE MEANTIME, WE'VE ALSO, YOU KNOW, MADE SOME PROGRESS ON THE HOT FRONT.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, YOU KNOW, PLATFORMS LIKE, AND VRVO AS WELL HAVE ENTERED INTO THESE AGREEMENTS WITH JURISDICTIONS.
THESE ARE THE ONES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO COMAP COUNTY CITY OF HOUSTON, CORPUS CHRISTI, GALVESTON, GLEN ROSE, PLANO, THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WE COLLECT THAT AND REMIT THAT 6% HOT.
LUCKILY HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MOMENTUM WITH SOME FOLKS ON COUNCIL TO PASS A SIMILAR AGREEMENT IN THE CITY.
AND THAT SUPPORT IS NOT JUST ON COUNCIL.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE FOLKS IN THE ARTS, UM, ALSO RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR THIS FUNDING.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE TO SAY THIS TO EVERYONE HERE, BUT AUSTIN IS A POPULAR CITY AND CULTURAL ARTS IS AT THE HEART OF THAT.
UM, AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE, THERE'S A LETTER CIRCULATING WHERE WE HAVE QUITE A FEW FOLKS.
UM, SOME OF THE NAMES THAT YOU'LL KNOW, UM, ACROSS THE CITY WHO ARE IN SUPPORT OF THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING AN AGREEMENT SO THAT, UH, THE PLATFORMS CAN COLLECT AND REMIT THE HOT ON BEHALF OF THE HOSTS.
IT'S A SAMPLE OF A LETTER WE'RE HAPPY TO CIRCULATE IT.
I BELIEVE WE'VE ALREADY SHARED IT AROUND.
UM, BUT THEN THE NEXT SLIDE, IF YOU CAN MOVE OVER TO THAT ONE, PLEASE YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT HAVE SIGNED ON SO FAR, UH, IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPROACH.
UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE OBVIOUSLY ALSO WANT IT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A PULSE CHECK ON HOW, YOU KNOW, BEYOND, YOU KNOW, THIS WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE IN, HOW AUSTINITES, UH, AT LARGE SEE THE ISSUE.
SO WE ACTUALLY PUT OUT A POLL, UH, LATE 20, 21.
UM, WE HAD 400 FOLKS IN THE SAMPLE ACROSS THE CITY, UM, IN, IN, ACROSS THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY.
SOME OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS, BUT REALLY THE MEAT AND POTATOES OF THIS IS, IS THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, AFTER THIS ONE, THANK YOU.
THE, THE RESULTS WERE OUTSTANDING.
UM, I THINK SOME OF THE BEST I'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, SO, UH, FOLKS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN ARE REALLY, UH, ACROSS THE CITY SUPPORTIVE OF, UM, THIS INITIATIVE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN WE POSE THE QUESTION IN THE FIRST PART, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS, AS IT'S WRITTEN UP THERE, WOULD YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE AN ORDINANCE THAT WOULD REQUIRE STR PLATFORMS TO COLLECT AND REMIT HOT 63% OF RESPONDENTS SUPPORT? IT WOULD SUPPORT THAT NOW WHEN WE GAVE SOME FURTHER CONTEXT ON WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT THIS WOULD HAVE ON THE CITY.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF 15 TO 20 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL HOT REVENUE, OBVIOUSLY THAT FAVORITE REALTY, UH, WAS HIGHER, RIGHT.
UM, WHEN WE SORT OF DEFINED A BIT FURTHER, WHAT, YOU KNOW, THIS GOES TO, CAUSE I THINK A LOT OF, A LOT OF FOLKS ARE PRETTY, NOT OUTSIDE OF THIS
[00:15:01]
WORD ARE NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE OF WHAT THEY'RE, WHERE THIS MONEY GOES.UM, BUT THAT FAVORIBILITY INCREASED EVEN FURTHER.
UM, AND, AND, AND, AND IMPORTANTLY AS WELL, THE OPPOSITION TO THIS, UH, ALSO DECREASED.
SO I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS, WHEN YOU UNCOVER MORE OF WHAT THIS, WHERE THIS MONEY GOES, WHAT IT'S USED FOR, WE ALL ARE STANDING, YOU KNOW, WHOLEHEARTED AGREEMENT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL GET BEHIND BECAUSE IT SUPPORTS THE THINGS AND THE REASONS FOR WHY A LOT OF US VISIT THE CITY LIVE IN THE CITY, ET CETERA.
AND THIS, JUST TO SUMMARIZE, YEAH, I THINK I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR LARGELY HERE, BUT YOU KNOW, CULTURAL ARTS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF AUSTIN.
UM, AND A THRIVING AND CULTURAL ARTS SCENE IS CRUCIAL TO ATTRACTING NEW BUSINESS AND VISITORS TO THE CITY AND TO KEEP FOLKS IN THE CITY AT THE SAME TIME, WE KNOW THAT AN INDEPENDENT EMIC, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M FROM TEXAS AND CAN PROBABLY HEAR IT IN THE WAY I SPEAK.
UH, I'VE BEEN COMING TO, I'VE BEEN GOING TO AUSTIN FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, I FINALLY SETTLED THERE FOR SOME TIME BEFORE MAKING A SEPARATE MOVE ELSEWHERE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MANY REASONS WHY PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO COME TO THE CITY AND, UH, LOTS OF THOSE ARE THE CULTURAL ARTS, UH, ELEMENTS OF THE CITY.
AND THE REASON WHY IT'S SO ATTRACTIVE, THE PANDEMIC SHOWED US THAT THOSE ARE SORT OF ELEMENTS OF SOCIETY THAT WE SHOULD NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED.
AND THERE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, CAN BE HEAVILY IMPACTED BY SOMETHING LIKE A PANDEMIC.
UM, AND SO FOR THAT REASON, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MET WITH LIKE, AGAIN, WE MET WITH FOLKS AT CITY COUNCIL, BUT WE ALSO MET WITH THE CONTROLLER AND WE ASKED THE QUESTION LIKE, HEY, WHAT DOES COLLECTION LOOK LIKE? UH, AND THE LAST NUMBERS THEY HAD, WHICH WERE, I THINK FROM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHERE THEY WERE ESTIMATING STR COLLECTIONS AT FOUR OR $5 MILLION, RIGHT.
WHEN WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, UM, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC, I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU.
I THINK MORE PEOPLE NOW FEEL COMFORTABLE STAYING AT SHORT TERM RENTALS BECAUSE THEY CAN SORT OF COVER THE SURROUNDINGS SPACE THEY HAVE, THEY DON'T HAVE TO SHARE, YOU KNOW, A COMMON SPACE.
UM, WE BELIEVE THAT NUMBER TO BE, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, VISIT AUSTIN AS WELL.
UH, AND THAT NUMBER IS STANDS SOMEWHERE 15 TO 20 MILLION ON A YEARLY RATE.
UH, SO I, YOU KNOW, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THIS WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT AND TREMENDOUS BOOST TO AUSTIN'S CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION, UM, AND MANY OF THE CULTURAL ARTS INSTITUTIONS THAT YOU SAW IN THAT LETTER THAT HAVE SIGNED ONTO THAT LETTER.
UM, AND WE BELIEVE THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY FORWARD WITH THAT.
UM, THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST A PLACE HOLDER.
I HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. , UH, COMMISSIONERS.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT BECAUSE OF THIS EPIDEMIC, WE DON'T TRAVEL OUT OF THE COUNTRY AS STOCKTON.
AND SO, UM, SO I THINK IN CENTRAL TEXAS, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS REALLY THE OASIS OF CULTURAL PERFORMING ARTS.
SO I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR ARTISTS, UH, SO THAT WE CAN, UH, WE CAN MAINTAIN THE CHARACTER OF OUR CITY.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GARCIA.
UH, SO THESE SHORT-TERM RENTALS, DO WE KNOW WHAT PARTS OF THE STATE PEOPLE ARE MOVING INTO, UM, MOVING INTO OR STAYING IN SHORT TERM RENTALS YOU YEAH.
OR, OR THERE'S HOUSES THAT ARE SHORT-TERM RENTALS, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A CONCENTRATION IN, THROUGHOUT THE CITY? IS IT ABOUT THE SAME? IS IT MORE IN LIKE TARRYTOWN OR MORE IN THE EAST AUSTIN? UM, SO YOU'D BE SURPRISED TO HEAR, UH, OR MAYBE NOT AT THAT, THEY'RE PRETTY MUCH ALL OVER THE CITY.
UM, AND WE BELIEVE THIS IS ONE OF THE SORT OF LIKE KEY VALUE ADDS, RIGHT? SO THIS BRINGS TOURISM DOLLARS TO PARTS OF THE CITY THAT MAY NOT BENEFIT BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE EXISTING HOTEL INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, SO I I'D SAY OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN'S OBVIOUSLY A HUB FOR STRS, UM, THE VERY POPULAR NEIGHBORHOODS TO THE SOUTH AND TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF THAT, SAME AS, UH, BUT REALLY THERE'S A REPRESENTATION THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND ABOUT HOW MANY, WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF, LET'S SAY HOW SALES FROM LAST YEAR THAT WENT TO SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MIGHT BE? I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S ANY, UH, DATA OUT THERE TO, TO INDICATE THAT.
BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS THERE'S NOT REALLY LIKE ABSOLUTE WAY TO DEFINE THAT, BECAUSE IT MAY BE THE CASE THAT SOMEONE WILL HOST ANY GIVEN WEEKEND, OR FOR EXAMPLE, AS WE KNOW, IN TWO WEEKS, DURING THE FIRST SOUTH, BY
[00:20:01]
IN PERSON AND TWO IN TWO YEARS.UM, SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S AN ABSOLUTE WAY TO LIKE, OH, THIS IS A SHORT TERM RENTAL, AND THIS IS WHERE SOMEONE LIVES.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE REASON WHY, UM, STRS HAVE BECOME SO POPULAR IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISPLACEMENT OF COMMUNITIES BECAUSE OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS COMING UP? UM, NO, NOTHING IN THE AVAILABLE DATA TO SUGGEST THAT IN.
AND THAT'S JUST ME SPEAKING, I BELIEVE, UH, AN ECONOMIST RECENTLY TOOK THIS ON JOHN HAWKIN KNOWS, UH, I BELIEVE THERE WAS A CONVERSATION AT THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER OR LATE NOVEMBER.
I CAN'T REMEMBER AT THIS POINT, UM, A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE COUNCIL TO TALK ABOUT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AND THE STATS ARE NOT REALLY THERE TO SHOW SCRS OR, YOU KNOW, THAT A CATALYST FOR DISPLACEMENT.
UM, WHAT I WILL SAY IS, I THINK IN MANY CASES, YOU'LL FIND, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO THE SURVEY OF HOSTS IN THE CITY AND IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO AUSTIN, IT'S, IT'S TRUE ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, BUT FOLKS USE IT AS A WAY TO MAYBE, UH, COME UP WITH THE, THE SHORTFALL AS THEIR PROPERTY TAX PRICES INCREASES.
YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATS ON HOW MUCH HOMES HAVE APPRECIATED AND AUSTIN, SOMETHING BANANAS LIKE 35, 40% IN THE LAST YEAR, AND WITH THAT COMES HIGHER SORT OF TAX BURDENS.
AND SO I'D SAY THAT A LOT OF FOLKS USE THIS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE UP FOR SOME OF THAT, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE ON A FIXED INCOME OR AS IN THE CASE OF THE PANDEMIC THEY'VE BEEN LAID OFF.
THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD DATA TO SHOW THAT FOLKS HAVE IN TIMES OF A DOWNTURN ACTUALLY TURNED TO MODALITIES LIKE SHORT-TERM RENTALS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE UP FOR SOME OF THE LOST INCOME THEY HAVE IN THEIR REGULAR JOB.
YOU, THE BALLOONS I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP.
UM, SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ONLY THOSE PROPERTY THAT THE HOME OWNERS DO NOT LIVE IN THE PROPERTY, THAT WE WILL BE TAXED.
WE, WE, WE CHARGE HOT TECHS ACROSS THE BOARD.
W WE, THE CITY COLLECTS HOT TAX ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, SO THAT'S FOR ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS, WHETHER IT'S LIKE AN ADDITIONAL BEDROOM, UH, IN A HOUSE, A BACK ROOM, UM, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO THE HOT APPLIES TO ALL THOSE FOLKS.
AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT COLLECT AND REMIT IS TO DO IT THROUGH THE PLATFORM IN SUCH A WAY THAT EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR THAT COMES INTO THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN A SHORT-TERM RENTAL CAN MAKE ITS WAY TO THE ARTS AND TO ALL THE OTHER SORT OF THINGS THAT HOT IS USED FOR IN THE CITY.
WELL, THE REASON I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE I KNOW MY NEIGHBOR DURING THE SOUTH, BY SOUTHWEST, UH, THEY MOVE OUT OF TOWN SO THAT THEY CAN RENT THAT HOUSE, UH, OUT.
SO I PRESUME THEY NEED TO HAVE A LICENSE, A PERMIT TO DO IT RIGHT.
SO FOR THIS WEEK, UH, THAT WHATEVER RENT, UH, THE, THE HEARTS WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE RENTAL FEE.
AND SO, LIKE, IT PRESENTS IT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU, I, I HOPE SO AT LEAST HAVE USED AIRBNB TO TRAVEL.
AND MAYBE IN, IN, IN MOST CASES YOU'VE NOT HAD THE HOSTS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SHOW UP SAY, HEY, UM, I NEED YOU TO LIKE, SEND ME AN EXTRA $20, RIGHT.
OR PAY ME, UM, SOME HOSTS DO THAT.
AND IT'S NOT A GREAT EXPERIENCE PER SE.
YOU'RE LIKE, THIS SOUNDS SHADY.
LIKE, IS THIS REAL? UM, BUT IT IS REAL.
AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS ONE ACCOUNT FOR EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR THAT COMES IN AND SURE.
IT GOES TO THE PAT FROM STRAIGHT TO THE CITY AND TO CREATE A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR POTENTIAL GUESTS SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO CARRY ANOTHER 20 IN THEIR POCKET AND THEY GIVE THAT TO THEIR HUGS.
UH, CAUSE I, I I'VE, I'VE, I'VE PERSONALLY HAD THAT HAPPEN TO ME.
AND THE FIRST TIME, UM, YEAH, I WAS LIKE, AH, THIS SOUNDS WEIRD.
THIS WAS BEFORE I WORKED HERE AT BUB.
UM, SO WE WOULD DO THAT DIRECTLY.
THEY WOULD COME THROUGH US AND IT WAS STRAIGHT, YOU KNOW, WE COLLECTED AND REMIT IT TO THE CITY.
UM, AND IT'S WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER CASTILLO? YEAH.
I WANTED TO REVISIT THAT LETTER.
UM, UM, MY, MY MEMORY MAY BE SPOTTY, BUT I, WHEN WAS THAT LETTER SIGNED OR SENT BY THE ARTS SUPPORTED BY THE ARTS COMMISSION? SORRY.
I, I, I DON'T THINK I SAID IT WAS THROUGH THE ARTS COMMISSION, BUT WE SENT IT OUT TO, UM, AND IT'S BEEN SENT OUT TO DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE CULTURAL ARTS, UH, IN THE CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE COULD PULL IT BACK UP IF YOU WANT, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL, UH, SORT OF GROUPS IN THE CITY THAT HAVE SIGNED ONTO THIS LETTER, BUT NOT HAVE NOT HAD IT COME THROUGH YOU GUYS YET.
I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING.
[00:25:01]
I THINK MAYBE WE SHOULD SUPPORT IT, BUT I, I JUST DIDN'T REMEMBER US AS A BODY SUPPORTING THE LETTER.AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IF WE DID FIND, BUT IF NOT, MAYBE WE NEED TO DISCUSS THAT COMMISSIONER SMALL BOP.
I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT WHAT WE WOULD BE HYPOTHETICALLY SUPPORTING IS THE ABILITY, THE AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR THE PLATFORM TO COLLECT HOT TAX ON BEHALF OF THE CITY AND REMIT IT, THAT'S IT RIGHT? LIKE THIS IS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TRY TO SEPARATE OUR SUPPORT FOR STRS GENERALLY FROM THE TAX ISSUE, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COLLECTING TAX THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY BEING COLLECTED, THAT SHOULD BE BEING COLLECTED.
AND THAT, THAT TO ME IS WHAT WE WOULD BE SUPPORTING IF WE WROTE SOMETHING IN SUPPORT.
AND I WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT.
WE BELIEVE THAT THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS A, AS A BODY THAT IS HERE TO, YOU KNOW, BE THE STEWARD OF CULTURAL ARTS, UM, AND HAVING THIS ABILITY THROUGH HOT, TO BE ABLE TO SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, FUND AND SORT OF HELP, LIKE I SAID, ALL THE THINGS AND ALL THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE COME TO THE CITY, WHETHER IT'S TO LIVE OR TO STAY OR TO JUST COME FOR THE WEEKEND, UM, WE BELIEVE IT MAKES TOTAL SENSE.
I THINK WE ALL AGREE ON THAT, WHICH IS A GREAT PLACE TO START.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH AS ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR LUIS COMMISSIONER BARNS.
SO HAVE OTHER COMMISSIONS SIGNED OFF ON THIS LETTER? NO, WE HAVEN'T RUN IT THROUGH COMMISSIONS.
UM, AND, AND I BELIEVE WITH Y'ALL'S HELP, WE COULD PROBABLY GET IT IN FRONT OF SOME OF THE OTHER RELEVANT COMMISSIONS ON THIS ISSUE.
UM, I KNOW LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS, HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN ATTRACTING MANY VISITORS TO THE CITY FOR THE PAST YEARS.
SO POTENTIALLY THE MUSIC COMMISSION, UM, AND OTHERS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THAT ARE IN, IN, IN SORT OF THIS NEXUS OF, OF POTENTIAL BENEFACTORS.
GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN, UH, THIS TRACE SALINAS.
UH, SO IN TERMS OF THE LETTER, NO OTHER COMMISSIONS HAVE NOT SIGNED, VOTED TO SUPPORT THE LARGEST.
WE'VE NOT ASKED THEM TO, BUT THE TOURISM COMMISSION DID PASS A RESOLUTION ASKING FOR ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING, WHICH WAS FOR COUNCIL TO DIRECT STAFF TO START TO DEVELOP A PATH FORWARD, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH AN ORDINANCE OR IT'S A VOLUNTARY COLLECTION AGREEMENT WHERE THEY WOULD WORK WITH THE PLATFORMS TO DO EXACTLY THIS SO THAT EVERY DOLLAR GETS COLLECTED.
THAT'S WHAT THE TOURISM COMMISSION DID.
THANKS FOR THAT REMINDER, UH, TRAY.
I MEAN, LOOK, UH, THAT WAS, I BELIEVE 2019.
I THINK, LIKE I SAID, THE, THE PANDEMIC KIND OF SHOWN A BRIGHT LIGHT AS TO WHY THIS IS, UH, LOUIS.
WE'VE LOST SOUND FOR YOU CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME NOW.
I WAS JUST SAYING, I BELIEVE LIKE NOW NOW'S THE TIME, YOU KNOW, I HAVE OTHER OTHER COMMISSIONS HAVE SORT OF, UH, ISSUED OPINIONS ON THIS AND HAVE, UH, LUIS, YOUR SOUND KEEPS CUTTING OUT COMMISSIONER GARSA WELL, I'M GLAD MOST OF YOU CAN HEAR ME.
I WAS THINKING WAS MY WIFI HERE.
UM, BUT NO, I BELIEVE THERE'S.
I SAW ANOTHER HAND BEING RAISED RIGHT NOW.
UH, COMMISSIONER BARNES YOU'RE MUTED.
WE'RE HAVING SOME TROUBLE GETTING SOUND HERE IN THE ROOM.
CAN YOU DO A SOUND CHECK? IT'S LIKE VIRTUALLY THEY HAVE SOUND, BUT WE STILL DO NOT HAVE SOUND HERE IN THE ROOM.
[00:30:01]
OKAY.LET'S MAKE SURE WE'RE UM, LOUIS, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
UM, CAN I JUST, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, AND AGAIN, I HADN'T HAVE NOT SEEN THE LETTER, UM, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE LANGUAGE IS ABOUT THE WHOLE, UM, CULTURAL ARTS ECOSYSTEM AND NOT ANY SPECIFIC AREA THAT IT IT'S NOT SINGLING OUT ONE TYPE OF INDUSTRY OR ANYTHING, SO THAT IT'S KEPT AS BROAD AS POSSIBLE.
AND THAT TO ME WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT, UNDERSTOOD A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE'LL SEND A LETTER YOUR WAY AS WELL FOR THE COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY OPEN TO HOW, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, SPREADING IT ACROSS TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
I THINK AT THE, AT THE SORT OF HEART OF IT IS JUST UNDERLYING AND ARE JUST UNDERSCORING.
THAT HOT REALLY GOES TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS WE SAW IN SOME OF THE POLLING RESULTS, ONCE YOU LET PEOPLE KNOW WHERE THAT GOES, ALL OF A SUDDEN THEIR EARS PERK UP, THEY'RE LIKE, OH, THIS IS ACTUALLY GOES TO THE THINGS I REALLY CARE ABOUT.
UM, AND MAYBE PRIOR TO THAT, THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE AN EXPOSURE OR AN AWARENESS OF WHERE THIS MONEY GOES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER GARCIA.
EARLIER YOU SAID THAT, UH, AIRBNBS ARE SORT OF PRE BASICALLY AND EVERY ZIP CODE OR AUSTIN, RIGHT.
AND WHAT I JUST DID, I JUST WENT TO THE AIR B AND B WEBPAGE.
AND I NOTICED THAT THERE'S POCKETS, ESPECIALLY LIKE IN TARRYTOWN, IN WEST AUSTIN AND NORTHWEST AUSTIN, WHERE THERE'S A LOT, THERE APPEARS TO BE A LOT LESS AIRBNB'S THAN MY OLD NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE HOLLY NEIGHBORHOOD AREA.
I CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE THERE ANYMORE BECAUSE THE RENTS ARE SO HIGH AND MANY OF MY OLD NEIGHBORS THAT HAD TO SELL OUT, BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE A DISPLACEMENT SOMETIMES WHERE AIRBNB IS GO AND WHERE AIRBNB DON'T, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, UH, NOT IN MY OWN BACKYARD KIND OF THING THAT WE'VE GOT HERE IN THE CITY AS WELL.
BUT, UH, WHAT PROTECTIONS ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO BE PROVIDING TO NOT DISPLACE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY OR TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NEW AIR AIRBNBS, THAT THERE'S MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, NOT JUST BY WHAT KNIGHT DEFINED BY THE, BY REALTORS, BUT THROUGH, YOU KNOW, SECTION EIGHT AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
I'M REALLY CONCERNED AND WORRIED ABOUT DISPLACEMENT OF COMMUNITY MORE THAN IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING.
UNDERSTOOD COMMISSIONER GARSA LOOK, I THINK TO YOUR POINT, LIKE WHEN YOU SCORE ON THE WEBSITE AND YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, UM, IT'S, IT'S A PRODUCT FEATURE, NOT A BUG THAT WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO TELL YOU WHERE SOME OF THESE LISTINGS ARE FOR PRIVACY AND SECURITY REASONS.
BUT I THINK TO YOUR BROADER POINT THERE ON, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE MAY BE A CONCENTRATION IN SOME PLACES OVER OTHERS, REALLY LIKE WHAT WE LOOK AT OR WHAT WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA, IT'S LARGELY RESPONSIVE TO SOME OF THE EFFECTS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, NOT NECESSARILY A REASON FOR THOSE EFFECTS.
SO YOU'LL FIND THAT PEOPLE ARE FURTHER INCENTIVIZED TO MAYBE OFFER UP A BACK HOUSE OR A BEDROOM OR THINGS, OR SOME FORM OF ACCOMMODATION TO TRAVELERS BECAUSE THEY FEEL LIKE, WOW, THE CITY IS GETTING REALLY EXPENSIVE.
UM, AND, AND, AND TO GO A LITTLE FURTHER, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PHENOMENA THAT WE'VE FACED LIKE, AND WHAT I SAY, WE, AS A SOCIETY OF INCREASING HOUSING COSTS IS, IS, IS SOMETHING NOT JUST IN THE U S BUT ACROSS THE WORLD, AUSTIN IS PARTICULARLY SORT OF AT THE, AT THE, AT THE RAZOR TIP OF THAT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS OF DECADES OF POTENTIALLY SORT OF LIKE SHORT, UH, SHORT SHORTFALLS IN ZONING AND OTHER SORT OF, UH, POLICY DISCUSSIONS THAT CREATE THE ISSUES THAT WE KIND OF ALL LIVE WITH NOWADAYS.
UM, AGAIN LIKE OUR FOUNDERS, WHEN THEY BEGAN THE COMPANY, DID IT BECAUSE THEIR LANDLORD ACTUALLY RAISED THE PRICE OF RENT ON THEM, UH, BY ABOUT LIKE 30 OR 40%.
UM, THEY PULLED OUT SOME AIR MATTRESSES AND AT 12 YEARS LATER, 13 YEARS LATER AT THIS POINT, AIRBNB IS WHERE IT'S AT RIGHT NOW.
IT'S NOT LIKE THAT IMP YOU KNOW, THAT A CATALYST FOR INCENTIVIZING PEOPLE TO COME ON THE PLATFORM HAS CHANGED.
IT'S LARGELY RESPONSIVE TO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE POINTING OUT.
UM, I'D BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS IT FURTHER WITH YOU ONE-ON-ONE BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE TO ME, LIKE WE HAVE A REALLY, UH, SORT OF LIKE
[00:35:02]
SPECIFIC APPROACH TO THE HOLLY AREA, WHICH I KNOW VERY WELL.UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF FOLKS FIND THIS AS A WAY TO BE ABLE TO MAKE UP FOR SOME OF THE LOST INCOME OR SOME OF THE HIGHER COSTS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GARZA, UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD, BUT BEFORE I DO, SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, UM, THAT THE LETTER CAN BE SENT TO US AND THAT, UM, THAT ULTIMATELY THIS LETTER IS GOING TO COUNCIL, IS THAT CORRECT? WHAT'S, IT'S GARNERED THE SUPPORT FROM VARIOUS COMMISSIONS AND THAT'S THE IDEA.
AND WE'LL MAKE SURE TO GET THAT TO YOU.
UM, HAYDEN, UH, TREY, IF WE CAN SEND THAT OVER ASAP, WE WILL.
AND WE WILL, UH, MATT, I'M SURE WE'LL ALSO SEND YOU THE TOURISM COMMISSION RESOLUTION THAT WAS VERY SIMILAR IN THE ASH THAT THEY BACK.
I SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE WORKING GROUP ON COMMISSIONER, SMALL BLOCK, WE'RE SO APPRECIATIVE OF THIS WORK AND TO COMMISSIONER SMALL BUCK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE TO, TO THE RESEARCH, TO BRING THESE PEOPLE FORWARD AND TO DEFINE THIS AMAZING WORK THAT'S BEING DONE.
THIS IS REALLY EXCITING, UM, REALLY EXCITING NUMBERS, UH, TO BE FRANK AND A TIME WHERE WE'RE REALLY HURTING AS A CREATIVE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, YEAH, THIS IS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PROGRESS THAT'S GOING TO BE MADE ON THIS FRONT.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU GUYS BACK AT ANY TIME YOU FEEL LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING TO REPORT AND, UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME CONNECT YOU WITH OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET IN FRONT OF.
I THINK THIS COULD BE, WE COULD GET SOME HELP.
YOU GUYS GET SOME MOMENTUM BEHIND THIS, THIS WORK ABSOLUTELY COUNT ON US.
WE'RE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU ALL ON THIS.
UM, AND AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THE TIME THIS EVENING, UH, TO PUT US ON YOUR OWN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
[3.b. Austin Community College Nonprofit Center CommunitySpace launch – Barry Silverberg, Executive Director, Center for Nonprofit Studies and Nonprofit Austin at ACC and Chris Servini, Associate Vice Chancellor for Community and Public Affairs]
PRESENTATIONS, WE HAVE VERY SILVERBERG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CENTER FOR NONPROFIT STUDIES AND NONPROFIT AUSTIN AT ACC AND CHRIS SERINE ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR THE COMMUNITY AT PUBLIC AFFAIRS FROM AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, NONPROFIT SYMMETRIC CENTER, COMMUNITY SPACE LAUNCH.IF THAT'S NOT A MOUTHFUL, GOOD EVENING, I, THAT IS ENOUGH FOR US.
CAN YOU HEAR ME LATIN CLAIRE? RIGHT.
SO, UH, MY NAME IS CHRIS ROMANIA AND THE ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR OF COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT.
AND BARRY, SILVERBERGS GOING TO CARRY THE WEIGHT OF THE, OF THE CONVERSATION THIS EVENING, BUT I JUST WANT IT TO SAY THAT THIS IS AN INITIATIVE THAT THE COLLEGE AND CHANCELLOR ROADS AND OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES, UH, FULLY BELIEVES IN IT'S AN IMPORTANT INITIATIVE TO SERVE, UH, THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY IN, UH, IN OUR SERVICE AREA AND OUR TAXING DISTRICT, WHICH LARGELY INCLUDES THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO WITH THAT, UM, I'M GOING TO LET BARRY TAKE IT AWAY AND WE WILL, UH, STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS ONCE HE'S DONE.
DOES ANYBODY HERE, MATE? WE HEAR YOU SAY STAFF.
CAN WE UNMUTE? VERY, THANK YOU ALL.
I THINK SOMEBODY THERE HAS IT TO RUN IT.
UM, DID YOU WANT TO MAKE THE PRESENTATION OR DID YOU PREFER WE DID IT HERE? YEAH, LET ME, UH, PUT ON MY SLIDE.
UH, SO FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
MICHELLE POKER, UH, SERVES ON OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL AND SHE'S REALLY BEEN A GREAT HELP AND REPRESENTING THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
UH, SO BASICALLY NONPROFIT AUSTIN JUST FOR A SECOND IS IN OREGON IS PART OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
AND WE PROVIDE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR NONPROFIT PRACTITIONERS.
WE DO SOME WORK WITH, UH, ARTS GROUPS.
WE PROVIDE A LOT OF INFORMATION AND REFERRAL, BUT MY PURPOSE IN BEING HERE TODAY IS PRIMARILY TO TALK ABOUT OUR NEW INITIATIVE CALLED COMMUNITY SPACE.
AND THAT INITIATIVE, UH, LEVERAGES ACC ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
IT PROVIDES WHAT NONPROFITS NEED DESPERATELY, WHICH IS SPACE, UH,
[00:40:01]
AND ALONG WITH THE UNIQUE PROPOSITION THAT ACC BRINGS BOTH PREMIER CENTER AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE COLLEGE.UM, AND, UH, BASICALLY WHAT THIS COMMUNITY SPACE IS, IS WE'RE GONNA REHAB ABOUT 7,200 SQUARE FEET.
THAT'S BEING MADE AVAILABLE FOR COWORKING SPACE FOR NONPROFITS.
UH, WE HAVE ANOTHER 5,500 SQUARE FEET OF MEETING SPACE THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO.
UH, WE'RE CREATING A GRANT RESEARCH CENTER, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC TO USE AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY SPACE.
THERE'LL BE A NONPROFIT LIBRARY.
AND, UH, OUR PLANS ARE TO CREATE A KNOW-HOW MENTOR NETWORK IN WHICH WE UTILIZE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, IN THE NONPROFIT PROFESSIONALS AND VOLUNTEERS WHO UNDERSTAND AND KNOW THE SECTOR TO MENTOR, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE NEW TO THE SECTOR.
UH, ALL OF THIS IS GOING TO BE DONE IN A CONTEXT OF, UH, TRYING TO CREATE A GREATER SENSE OF COMMUNITY IN COLLABORATION, AMONG NONPROFITS.
AND, UH, THIS WILL ALL BE HOUSED AT HIGHLAND BUSINESS CENTER, UH, AT, UH, WHICH IS AT 59, 30 MIDDLE PISKEL ROAD.
AS MANY OF YOU MAY ALREADY BE WELL AWARE.
THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAS TAKEN OVER THE MALL, BUT MUCH OF THE MALL AND IS MOVING MUCH OF ITS OPERATIONS THERE.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN GIVEN THIS OPPORTUNITY TO UTILIZE, UH, THE SPACE THAT EXISTS IN, UH, THIS BUILDING.
SO IN TERMS OF THE SPACE, UM, BASICALLY JUST REALLY QUICKLY, AND I WANT TO LEAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
SO I WANT TO JUST GIVE YOU THE FACTS, IF YOU WILL, YOU ENTER THE BUILDING OVER HERE AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN HERE, UH, THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'LL SEE WHEN IT'S UP AND RUNNING IS A GRANT RESEARCH CENTER ALONG WITH, UH, UH, A LOUNGE AREA, UH, AND DESKS FOR PEOPLE TO USE, UH, AS YOU MOVE IN, UH, YOU GET TO THE BACK AREA OVER HERE THAT IS GOING TO BE, UH, TWO KINDS OF SPACES.
ONE ARE GONNA BE DEDICATED DESK AREAS, UM, OR CUBICLES WHERE PEOPLE, THEIR MEMBERSHIP WILL ALLOW THEM TO USE THAT SPACE OR THEIR MATERIALS, UH, AND OPERATE AS IF IT'S THEIR OFFICE.
THERE WILL ALSO BE SPACE FOR PEOPLE FLEX SPACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO DROP IN, UH, IN, UH, JUST TO HAVE A DESK, UH, BUT THEY WILL NOT HAVE STORAGE, UH, IN THAT AREA.
UH, THE GATE, UH, WE HAVE TWO GROUPS THAT ARE ADVISORY COUNCIL AS APPROVED AS, UH, THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF MEMBERSHIP, WHICH IS JUST, WHICH PROVIDES MICRO LOANS TO, UH, LOW INCOME, UH, INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES, AND ALSO, UM, HEALTHY FUTURES OF TEXAS, UH, WHICH DEALS WITH SEX EDUCATION, UH, AND, UH, IN A NONPARTISAN, UH, PASSION.
UM, WE ALSO ON THE SECOND FLOOR, AS, AS YOU SEE HERE, THIS IS THE MEETING ROOMS, WHICH ARE PRIMARILY THE, UH, UH, THE CLASSROOMS, UH, ALL OF WHICH ARE EQUIPPED WITH ALL THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S NECESSARY FOR MEETINGS AND SO FORTH.
WE ARE VERY COMMITTED TO SOCIAL EQUITY, UH, AND, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO CREATE A TEXAS NONPROFIT CORPORATION.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE, UH, FOLKS OUT THERE WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE WAYS NONPROFITS OPERATE.
UH, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE FREE ASSISTANCE TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS AS PART OF THIS COMMUNITY SPACE.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL HELP THOSE WHO ARE TEXAS NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS TO, UH, MOVE ON TO GET THEIR 5 0 1 C3.
WE DO SOME WORK WITH ARTS GROUP.
SO I KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING, UH, THAT WILL BE VERY VALUABLE TO A LOT OF SMALL AND MAYBE EVEN MID-SIZE ARTS GROUPS.
UH, THE CENTER IS GOING TO WORK ON A MEMBERSHIP BASE.
THERE'S ACTUALLY THREE KINDS OF MEMBERSHIP.
THE THIRD, WHICH I'M NOT SHOWING YOU RIGHT NOW IS BASICALLY FILLED UP AT THIS POINT.
UH, THE FIRST KIND IS THE CONNECTOR FOLKS.
THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT ARE, AS I SAID, ARE GOING TO HAVE PHYSICAL SPACE, BUT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A PERMANENT SPACE TO CHANGE.
UH, AND THEN THE COLLABORATORS, THE BEST PART IS BECAUSE OF, UH, ACC DESIRE TO HELP THE COMMUNITY AND, AND DO USE IT TO ASSET, IS THAT THE CONNECTORS CHIPPY, WE $75 A MONTH AND THE COLLABORATORS WILL BE $250 A MONTH.
[00:45:02]
THOSE WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH ANY KIND OF COWORKING SPACE OUT THERE, UM, THESE ARE VERY, VERY PUTTING ENOUGH ELLIPSES, VERY REASONABLE COSTS, UH, ALL REVENUE THAT WE GENERATE THAT EXCEEDS, UH, OUR NEEDS TO OPERATE WILL BE USED FOR SCHOLARSHIPS FOR ACC STUDENTS IN A VARIETY OF, OF AREAS.SO WE HAVE A NICE PACKAGE WHICH SERVES THE COMMUNITY, SERVES ACC, UH, AND WE'RE VERY HOPEFUL THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, ART OF OUR CLIENTELE, UH, MEMBERS WILL BE FOLKS COMING FROM THE ARTS AND CULTURAL COMMUNITIES.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SHARING THIS INFORMATION WITH YOU TODAY.
I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO READ THEM ALL TO YOU.
UH, BUT IF YOU GO UP TO OUR WEBSITE, NON-PROFIT AUSTIN.ORG/COMMUNITY SPACE, YOU'LL SEE ALL THIS INFORMATION UP THERE.
SO, UH, THAT IS, UH, A VERY, VERY QUICK OVERVIEW BECAUSE I KNOW YOU GUYS PROBABLY HAVE A LONG EVENING AHEAD OF YOU.
UM, AND, UH, I'LL ASK RECIPE ONCE, ADD ANYTHING, AND IF NOT, WE'RE OPEN TO QUESTIONS.
BARRY, WHY DON'T YOU POP OUT OF PRESENTER MODE SO WE CAN SEE YOUR WONDERFUL FACE? OH, EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
CHRIS, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD BEFORE WE JUMP IN? NO, NOTHING JUST THAT, UH, WE ARE, UM, LOOKING, UH, YOU KNOW, TO WORK WITH NON-PROFITS THE ROUTE, OUR SERVICE AREA.
IT IS A LARGE AND GROWING WORKFORCE AND, UH, BERRIES, UH, NON-PROFIT UH, CENTER FOR NON-PROFIT STUDIES HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS AND HAS, HAS SERVED, UH, THE, THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY.
AND THIS IS, UH, OUR OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF USE THE EMPTYING OUT OF HIGHLAND BUSINESS CENTER AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO GROW THAT PROGRAM.
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, UM, SPACE AND OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU GUYS HAVE CURATED.
AND IT SURPRISES ME NOT ONE BIT THAT COMMISSIONER PAUL GAR, UH, CHAIR PARKER WOULD BE A PART OF THIS.
UM, I CAN THINK OF OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE THAT COULD HAVE BENEFITED FROM THIS SERVICE, UM, HAD IT BEEN AVAILABLE YEARS AGO AND MAKING THOSE DECISIONS AND TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE WORLD OF NONPROFIT, CAUSE IT IS NOT EASY.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK COMMISSIONERS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, COMMISSIONER BARNS, COMMISSIONER MA BE SURE TO RAISE YOUR HAND.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BARNS.
UM, I, I JUST WANT TO SAY I HAVE THE HUGE HONOR OF WORKING WITH BARRY IN PRESENTING, UM, IN TWO OF THE CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS THAT HIS CENTER, UM, ADMINISTERS ONE FOR NON, UM, FOR LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT, NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT, AND ONE FOR FUNDRAISING.
AND I THINK THOSE ARE EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO STEER CREATIVES.
THEY'RE EXTREMELY COMPREHENSIVE.
AND I, I SAY THAT NOT AS JUST A FACULTY PERSON OR AS A PRESENTER IN THE, BUT JUST KNOWING WHAT IS PRESENTED AND THE LEVEL OF INSTRUCTORS THAT THEY HAVE PRESENTING THEM, IT IS OUTSTANDING.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US FIGURE OUT, IS THERE A WAY, UM, TO HELP STEER MORE PARTICIPANTS TO THOSE PROGRAMS, UM, THAT, THAT BARRY, UH, ADMINISTERS THROUGH THE, UM, THROUGH THE NONPROFIT CENTER? ABSOLUTELY.
AND I'LL SAY TO YOU GUYS, UM, WE ARE UTILIZING OTHER MODES OF COMMUNICATION AND I WOULD BE, THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE LINKED IN OUR NEWSLETTER THAT GOES OUT IN THE NEXT WEEK, BUT ANY, AND ALL UPDATES TO THIS, PLEASE KEEP US IN THE LOOP.
UM, I THINK THE SUPPLIES TO OUR CREATIVE SECTOR ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, AND THAT THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE IN ALL INDUSTRIES THAT COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM THIS INFORMATION.
SO LET ME JUST ADD ONE LAST THING IS THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THE INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS AND OTHERS WHO MAY BE LISTENING OR HEAR ABOUT THIS.
UM, LET OTHERS KNOW ABOUT, UM, THE AVAILABILITY OF THE SPACE.
UM, WE'RE PROJECTING RIGHT NOW THAT THE GRANT RESEARCH CENTER WILL OPEN IN MID OR LATE APRIL, UH, AND THAT THE ACTUAL COMMUNITY SPACE WILL OPEN SOMETIME OVER THE SUMMER THROUGH SEPTEMBER.
SO, UM, JUST AS HOPEFULLY PEOPLE ARE, ARE GETTING BACK OR AT LEAST HOPEFULLY COVID WILL BE A LITTLE MORE ALLEVIATED BY THAT POINT, BUT ANYTHING YOU ALL CAN DO TO SPREAD THE WORD WOULD BE,
[00:50:01]
UH, VERY, VERY HELPFUL.DID YOU WANT TO JUMP IN? YES, YES.
UM, MR. SILVER, BUT NICE SEEING YOU AGAIN.
UM, UM, I'M WONDERING, UM, I KNOW MANY NON-PROFITS, THEY ARE JUST A PO BOX.
A LOT OF THEM ARE JUST A PO BOX ORGANIZATION AND, UH, I THINK IT'S INVALUABLE SPACE IS, IS, IS VERY MUCH NEEDED.
SO I'M WONDERING IN OUR FUNDING, UM, IS THE MEMBERSHIP, CAN THE MEMBERSHIP BE, UH, BE CONSIDER AS PART OF THE OPERATION EXPENSE? I'M JUST THINKING IT OUT LOUD.
UH, I THINK THAT WILL HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, IT WILL HELP WITH THE NONPROFIT AND IT WILL HELP, UM, WELL THIS PROGRAM TO GROW JUST A THOUGHT, WELL, THEY, THE MEMBERSHIP IS BASICALLY WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE WANTS SOMEBODY TO BE PAYING FOR OCCUPANTS.
I, SO IT IT'S, IT'S, WE'RE JUST USING THE WORD MEMBER.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMED TO ME THAT IT'S A VERY LEGITIMATE EXPENSE.
AND I WOULD SAY THERE'S PROBABLY A LOT OF EDUCATION THAT GOES INTO UNDERSTANDING HOW TO EXPENSE THINGS LIKE OVERHEAD THAT YOU'LL LEARN AND IN WORKING WITH THIS TEAM.
UM, BUT I HEAR YOU COMMISSIONER MACH $250 IS NOMINAL WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT COWORKING SPACES LIKE WE WORK AND SOME OF THE MORE ESTABLISHED ONES, BUT FOR A SMALL INDIVIDUAL THAT'S BEGINNING OF NONPROFIT, $250 A MONTH, THAT'S RENT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT CAN BE A LOT, BUT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING, UM, AT ACC ARE AT NONPROFIT CENTER IS INCREDIBLE.
AND I, FOR ONE WOULD LOVE A TOUR WHEN YOU GUYS ARE OPEN AND I'M SURE WE'VE GOT OTHERS THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED.
SO WHEN DOORS ARE OPEN, PLEASE LET US KNOW, KEEP US ABREAST OF ALL UPDATES.
UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT AND HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY.
THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH WITH THAT.
[4.a. Intergovernmental Relations update – Brie Franco]
TO ITEM FOUR, STAFF BRIEFINGS, UH, INFOR INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS, BRIEF FRANCO.UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, UH, THANKS TO IT.
I CAN SEE MY PRESENTATION UP IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, AND THERE WE GO.
I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU A POST-OP OF THE 87TH, UH, LEGISLATIVE SESSION AT THE STATE AND SOME OF THE SPECIAL SESSIONS WE HAD FOLLOWING THAT.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS DURING THE PRESENTATION OR AT THE END.
I WILL LEAVE THAT TO THE PREFERENCE OF YOUR CHAIR, UM, FOR HOW YOU WANT TO DO THAT.
AGAIN, MY NAME IS BRIEF BRONCO AND THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, MEANING I MANAGE THE CITY'S STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AGENDAS.
UM, THIS GIVES US AN OPPOSITES.
WE HAD ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER OF BILLS THAT WERE FILED AS WE DO EVERY SESSION.
WHAT WAS OF NOTE IS THAT THE, NORMALLY WE SAY OF ALL THE BILLS FILED ONLY 20% PASS EACH SESSION.
WELL, THAT NUMBER, THAT PASSAGE RATE DROPS RATE DROPPED TO 15% THIS PAST SESSION.
UM, AND THAT WAS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.
I DON'T EXACTLY, CAN'T SAY EXACTLY WHAT THE REASON WAS.
WE DID HAVE THE WINTER STORM THAT CAUSED US, YOU KNOW, UH, A STOPPAGE AND THEN THEY HAD TO GET BACK INTO THEIR RHYTHM.
AND SO THAT COULD HAVE BEEN IT.
UM, BUT WE ENDED UP TRACKING AT THE CITY ABOUT 2200 OF THOSE BILLS THAT IMPACT AND AFFECT THE CITY IN A VARIETY OF MANNERS.
WELL, IN THE REGULAR SESSION, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, WE HAD THREE SPECIAL SESSIONS LARGELY TO DO REDISTRICTING.
HENCE WHY WE HAVE ON OUR INNER PRIMARIES POINT ON RIGHT NOW, YOU'LL SEE A NUMBER OF SEATS UP AFTER REDISTRICTING.
EVERYBODY HAS TO RUN FOR THEIR SEATS AGAIN, AT EVERY LEVEL THAT'S BEEN REDISTRICTED, WHICH IS BASICALLY EVERYWHERE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE THERE WAS THE VOTING, WHAT THEY CALLED THEIR VOTING RIGHTS BILL.
UM, WE'RE ALSO SEEING THE IMPACT OF THAT HAPPENED ACROSS THE STATE AND DISCUSSIONS ABOUT MAIL-IN BALLOTS.
SO THERE ARE THREE SPECIAL SESSIONS, UM, WHICH WE ALSO TRACKED AND MONITORED AND HAD TO, UM, PARTICIPATE IN AT VARIOUS TIMES.
UM, YOU GUYS, AREN'T GOING TO BE SURPRISED BY SEEING SOME OF THE TOPICS ON THIS SLIDE, WHICH SHOWS THE BILLS THAT PASSED THAT WERE NEGATIVE FOR THE CITY.
UH, THE POLICE DEFUNDING SAYING THAT THE CITIES THAT CITIES ACROSS THE STATE NO LONGER CAN, UM, DECREASE POLICE FUNDING, THEY HAVE TO ALWAYS FUND IT AT THE SAME LEVEL AS THE PRIOR
[00:55:01]
YEAR BUDGET.IT CAN NEVER GO DOWN THE CAMPING BAN THAT PASSED STATEWIDE, NOT ALLOWING, UM, THOSE THAT ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS TO CAMP IN PUBLIC SPACES.
UM, AND THEN PERMITLESS CARRY PASS.
SO YOU NO LONGER NEED A PERMIT TO CARRY A WEAPON IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND THEN TO TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER, THEY PASSED A BILL THAT YOU PROBABLY GET DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT AS MUCH CALLED, UM, NO STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS WITH ENTITIES THAT HAVE A FIREARM BOYCOTT.
DOESN'T DO BUSINESS, UM, WITH FIREARM COMPANIES AND THEY DO PROVIDE SERVICES TO, TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, INCLUDING THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND OTHER PLACES ACROSS THE STATE.
AND WE'RE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO DO BUSINESS WITH THEM FOR THAT.
SO YOU'RE JUST SEEING THIS, I HIGHLIGHT THIS AS THIS NEW TREND OF HOW WE'RE SEEING THESE ISSUES SHOW UP.
IN OTHER WAYS, THERE WAS A SIMILAR, UM, BILL THAT PASSED THAT LITERALLY JUST APPLIED TO THE STATE RELATED TO ENERGY BOYCOTTS.
UM, SO I THINK WE'LL SEE MORE AND MORE OF, OF THIS HAPPEN IN THE COMING SESSIONS.
WE DID GET SOME BILLS PASSED BY THE CITY ITSELF AND THAT INCLUDED REFORMING OUR AUSTIN POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
WE CAME TOGETHER WORKING WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF REPRESENTATIVE RODRIGUEZ.
WE ALSO SEND OUR ZEPHYR RINI, WHO IS OUR OTHER SENATE STATE SENATOR, AND OUR DELEGATION WORKED WITH REPRESENTATIVE ISRAEL ON A BILL THAT ALLOWS US TO ISSUE DEBT FOR CLOUD COMPUTING.
UH, PUBLIC ENTITIES CAN ISSUE DEBT FOR CLOUD HARDWARE COMPONENTS.
SO THINK OF SERVERS, BUT WE COULDN'T ISSUE DEBT FOR CLOUD PLATFORMS, WHICH FOR ENTITIES LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAN BE VERY EXPENSIVE TO FUND ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
AND ALSO WE WORKED IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON ON GETTING SB 73 PASS THAT WILL ASSIST OUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT WITH MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT ON IMPORTANT PROGRAMS RELATED TO VACCINATIONS AND DIABETES AND MATERNAL HEALTH.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF BILLS THAT DIDN'T PASS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NEGATIVE FOR THE CITY.
SO THE RESULT WAS POSITIVE FOR THE CITY.
UM, COMMUNITY ADVOCACY IS A, UH, ISSUE PUT FORWARD BY THE TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION THAT SAYS THEY DON'T BELIEVE THAT LOCAL ENTITIES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO LOBBY AT THE CAPITOL.
UM, THAT MEANS THAT WE COULDN'T HIRE LOBBYISTS.
I DO RETAIN A TEAM OF LOBBYISTS TO ASSIST WITH COMMUNICATING WITH THE 180 MEMBERS OF THE, UH, CAPITOL AND THAT THEY EVEN SAY THAT CITY SHOULDN'T HAVE PEOPLE LIKE ME PROVIDING THIS KIND OF INFORMATION ONLY IF REQUESTED IS WHAT THEY HAD IN A PRIOR BILL THAT ONLY IF WE WERE REQUESTED, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION? UM, SO THAT'S WHAT THAT BILL IS ABOUT.
THERE'S ALWAYS ATTEMPTS TO GO AFTER AUSTIN ENERGY AND DEREGULATED AS A PUBLIC ASSET FOR THE CITY.
UM, SUPER PREEMPTION IS WE SEE A LOT OF BILLS SEEKING TO PREEMPT THE CITY AND WHAT IT DOES.
UM, THE SUPER PREEMPTION WOULD SAY THAT UNLESS WE'RE ALREADY AUTHORIZED IN STATE LAW, WE COULDN'T DO A NUMBER OF THE THINGS WE DO.
I THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING TO SEE AIRBNB UP HERE BECAUSE I'VE USUALLY HAD THEM ON THIS LIST.
THE LAST TWO SESSIONS THEY HAD BEEN TRYING TO PREEMPT OUR STR ORDINANCE.
UM, SO THOSE KINDS OF PREEMPTIVE EFFORTS IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THEN YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THE ANNEXATION BILLS THAT, UM, WE ALSO HAD TO FIGHT IN THAT OUR DELEGATION ASSISTED WITH THE MOST POPULAR ONE WAS LIKE AUSTIN, FOR THOSE HOMEOWNERS THAT WERE UNDER AN ORDINANCE, UM, THAT FOR SOME REASON, ALLOWED THEM NOT TO PAY TAXES YET RECEIVE FULL CITY SERVICES.
WHILE IN THE CITY JURISDICTION, THEY SOUGHT TO DISANNUL THEMSELVES FROM THE CITY, ALONG WITH WEST RAM AND THE LOST CREEK AREA, THEY, THERE IS A MANNER TO THROUGH THE COURTS.
THE LAW PROVIDES FOR THEM TO FILE A SUIT TO THIS ANNEX.
THEY ARE INSTEAD TRYING TO JUST GO TO THE LEGISLATURE BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE TO LAY OUT THEIR CASE IN COURT TO THE SANDBOX.
UM, THERE WAS ALSO BILL ABOUT NOISE WHERE NANCY PREEMPTION THAT WAS, UM, BROUGHT FORWARD BY BAR OWNERS IN AUSTIN WHO WANTED TO APPLY THE STATE STANDARD FOR THE NOISE ORDINANCE, JUST TO AUSTIN.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT MEANT THAT THE, UH, FOR INSTANCE, ON SIXTH STREET, THEY GET TO PLAY THE HIGHEST DECIBEL ALLOWED UNDER STATE LAW OF MUSIC TILL TWO IN THE MORNING FROM SUNDAY, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
AND THEY WANTED THAT CITY-WIDE IS WHAT THE BILL WOULD HAVE DONE FOR ANY BAR AND ULTIMATELY EVEN SOME RESTAURANTS.
SO IF IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE BARS NEARBY, THAT DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM,
[01:00:01]
BUT, UM, REPRESENTING OUR HOST HELPED LEAD THE EFFORT TO KILL THAT BILL ON THE HOUSE FLOOR.BUT THAT BILL, UM, DID MOVE A LITTLE QUICKER THROUGH THE HOUSE THAN I WOULD'VE LIKED IT TO HAVE DONE.
UM, AND THEN EMPLOYMENT, PREEMPTION, YOU KNOW, TWO THAT DEALS WITH THE ISSUES OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCE REGARDING THE CITY'S NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE, BEING ABLE TO PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN THE ABILITY TO HAVE THAT AND ADD NEW, UH, AND NEW PROTECTED CLASSES AND GROUPS TO IT.
IF WE SO CHOOSE ALSO IT'S ABOUT, UM, PROTECTING OUR BAN THE BOX OR FAIR CHANCE HIRING ORDINANCE AND SO FORTH.
SO THAT BILL ACTUALLY CAME UP NUMEROUS TIMES DURING THE SPECIAL SESSIONS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO DEFEAT, UM, THOSE BEING PREEMPTED BY FOR THE CITY.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, UM, RELATED TO ISSUES RELATED TO THE ARTS, UNFORTUNATELY, AND YOU GUYS KNOW THIS, THERE ISN'T A LOT OF, UM, EFFORT IN LEGISLATION RELATED TO THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
THERE WAS A BILL PASSED, IT HELPS THE MUSIC COMMUNITY, AND IT ALLOWS FOR A BEVERAGE TAX TO BE COLLECTED FOR MUSIC VENUES.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING, OF COURSE WE SUPPORTED IN ORDER TO HELP OUR HURTING MUSIC VENUES.
UM, THERE WERE ATTEMPTS TO, UH, PROMOTE, UH, ART STUDY BY REPRESENT MESA.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT BILL NEVER GOT A HEARING AS IT RELATES TO COVID AND HOW IT HAS BEEN, HOW THE ARTS COMMUNITY HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO LUCKILY THOUGH, WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO STOP EFFORTS TO PREEMPT OUR ABILITY RELATED TO HISTORIC MONUMENTS AND CHANGING THE NAMES OF STREETS AND STATUES AND CITY OWNED PROPERTIES THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS DECIDED DON'T PROPERLY REFLECT THE COMMUNITY MORE AND HAVING THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.
UM, HOPEFULLY I'LL COME BACK TO YOU.
WE'RE ALREADY COUNTING DOWN FOR THE NEXT SESSION, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE IT AND KNOW IT'S ONLY FEBRUARY, BUT MY TEAM IS ALREADY GETTING TO WORK.
UM, USUALLY I COME BACK TO GIVE YOU A PREVIEW OF THE NEXT SESSION.
WE HAVE A LOT OF CHANGES IN BOTH THE SENATE MEMBERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP HAPPENING, POTENTIALLY 40 NEW MEMBERS IN THE HOUSE THAT'S EVEN BEFORE THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS.
UM, EVEN OUR OWN DAWSON DELEGATION IS GOING TO CHANGE.
WE HAVE TWO MEMBERS IN THE HOUSE THAT ARE, WILL NO LONGER BE WITH US.
AND SO WE'LL LOSE THEIR EXPERTISE AND LEADERSHIP, BUT WE'LL HAVE NEW MEMBERS THAT WE'RE EXCITED TO.
WE'LL BE EXCITED TO WORK WITH.
UM, AND OUR IN CHARGES HAVEN'T BEEN RELEASED YET.
WE ANTICIPATE THEY WILL COME OUT AFTER THE MARCH PRIMARIES AND WE WILL BE FOLLOWING THEM.
I BELIEVE YOU ALL GET THE EMAILS THAT WE PUT TOGETHER WEEKLY, AND IF NOT, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO UPDATES OUR LISTS.
AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. FRANCO, SEEING NONE, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT THOROUGH PRESENTATION.
I'M NOT THE BEST NEWS ALL AROUND, BUT WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING TO US AND SHARING.
UM, WE WILL KEEP TRACK OF THE THINGS HAPPENING AND JUST NEVER HAD TO TAKE YOUR, LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO EVERYONE HERE TONIGHT.
[4.b. Capital Improvements Projects updates – Laura Esparza, Museums and Cultural Programs Division Manager]
OKAY.NEXT IS DEF BRICKY BRIEFINGS FOR B CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, UPDATE WITH LAURA SPARS OF MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS, DIVISION MANAGER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO, UM, START MY VIDEO AND CHEAPER FOR, TO ME THE PRESENTER, OR WOULD YOU LIKE CITY HALL TO MOVE THE SLIDES FOR YOU? IF HE COULD MOVE THE SLIDES FOR ME, I WOULD PREFER IT THAT WAY.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING ME HERE TONIGHT.
I AM THE DIVISION MANAGER OF MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS FOR THE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AND I'M GOING TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A BRIEFING ON, UH, THE, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE ONGOING, UH, FUNDED BY VARIOUS MEANS.
MOST OF THEM WERE FUNDED BY THE RECENT 2018 BOND.
UM, THE OMB MUSEUM REHABILITATION WILL BE, UH, COMPLETED THIS SPRING.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO OPENING IT WITH SOME NEW COLLECTION ITEMS THAT WERE RECENTLY ACQUIRED.
THE BUILDING NOW HAS A SEAL BUILDING ON ENVELOPE, A NEW HVAC AND BY OUR SUPPRESSION SYSTEM, A NEW SECURITY SYSTEM AND NEW SITE LIGHTING THAT YOU SEE THERE.
[01:05:01]
YET ON A IT'S BEING RESTORED AND IT WILL OPEN A LATER THE SPRING.THE ELIZABETH MAY OR WILL COMMENCE WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN, UH, JANUARY OF THE COMING NEAR.
BUT BEFORE THAT HAPPENS, WE'LL BE, BE DEBILITATING.
THE BALCONY, UH, WHEN WE ACTUALLY DO THE RESTORATION WILL BE SEALING THE BUILDING ON ENVELOPE AS WELL, RESTORING THE 19TH CENTURY, HISTORIC WINDOWS AND DOORS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
UM, AND THEN ENHANCING ITS LIGHTING HUMIDITY CONTROL EACH BACK SYSTEM AND FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER ITEMS, UM, MOST NOTABLY NOTICEABLY, A NEW BRIDGE THAT GOES OVER WALNUT CREEK.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH OUR FRIENDS OF THE NAVY ON RAISING MONEY FOR A NEW PROPOSED INTERPRETED PLAN, SO THAT WHEN WE OPEN, UM, IN, UH, IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO OPEN WITH NEW EXHIBITS.
YOU KNOW, WE GOT, UH, THE CARVER JUST COMPLETED ITS FACILITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN IN, UM, THE PREVIOUS YEAR IN 2021.
UM, THE BOND WAS PASSED IN ORDER TO HELP US RENOVATE THE CARVER.
THERE WERE SOME NEEDED REPAIRS THERE FOR THE ROOF, UH, REPLACING THE HVAC SECURITY SYSTEMS, FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS AND IMPROVING THE SECURITY OVERALL AROUND THE FACILITY.
UM, THE BIGGEST PIECE OF THIS WILL BE THE RENOVATION OF A THEATER, UH, WITH, UH, A NEW LIGHTING SYSTEM REPAIR OF APPLY SYSTEM, ADDITIONAL SAFETY LIGHTING AND MULTIMEDIA CAPABILITIES.
AND SO THIS WILL BE HAPPENING OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
MOST EXCITING IS A FIDELITY ART CENTER, WHICH WILL BE A NEW FACILITY LOCATED, UH, BEHIND THE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION MAIN BUILDING AT 200 SOUTH LAMAR.
UH, IT WILL BE IN THE BALL FIELD JUST BEHIND, UM, THE MAIN OFFICE THERE.
UH, THE PROJECT IS IN DESIGN DEVELOPMENT.
WE PLAN TO MOVE THE OLD, UM, THE DESIGNS, UH, AT THE DESIGN COMMISSION MEETING ON MARCH THE 28TH AND IN AN ONLINE PUBLIC MEETING ON APRIL THE FIFTH AT 6:00 PM.
UM, OUR ARCHITECT STUDIO EIGHT AND OVERLAND PARTNERS, UH, DID A WONDERFUL JOB IN INCORPORATING TWO THEATERS, TWO GALLERIES TO CERAMIC STUDIOS, SEPARATE SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS, FREE EVENTS, SPACES, OUTDOOR SEATING, AND NATURE PLAY AS WELL AS RESIDENCY SPACE FOR ARTISTS.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT DOUBLING THE SIZE OF THE DIVERSITY AND REALLY BEING ABLE TO EXPAND ITS PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
MIGHT'VE SEEN THIS PICTURE AND I'VE BEEN SENT A NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER.
WE'RE DOUBLING THE SIZE OF IT WITH THREE ADDITIONAL BUILDINGS.
WE ARE JUST ENTERING DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FOR ENHANCED FACILITIES, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE A NEW BLACK BOX THEATER, TWO GALLERIES, ARTISTS, RESIDENCY SPACES, SEPARATE SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS, A TEACHING KITCHEN SPACE AND SPACE FOR A RECORDING STUDIO OR A MUSIC UP.
UH, THE FACILITY WILL POSE FOR TWO YEARS, UH, BEGINNING IN, UM, EARLY 20, 23.
WE'RE ANTICIPATING IT WILL CLOSE IN JANUARY AND BE CLOSED UNTIL IT OPENS, UH, WITH THE NEW FACILITY, UH, ARCHITECTS.
THERE ARE AND THAT DEANNA BETA NOW OF MEXICO, SEMI AND NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND WE'RE JUST BEGINNING WORK ON THE ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER.
UH, PHASE TWO ON WAS TO ENCOMPASS A, UH, A SPACE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS WITH A GALLERY AND MULTIPURPOSE ROOM.
SO WE'RE EARLY IN THE PROCESS WITH, UH, TALKING WITH OUR COMMUNITIES, UM, ABOUT THE BUILDING PROGRAM AND HOW THEY WISH TO USE THE SPACE.
UM, THIS BUILDING WILL BE, UM, ADJACENT TO THE EXISTING BUILDING JUST ACROSS THE DRIVEWAY TO THE NORTH.
UM, AND SO IT WILL BE, UM, THE FIRST OF WHAT WE HOPE WILL BE SEVERAL PHASES, UM, TO COMPLETELY MANIFEST THE, UH, MASTER PLAN THAT WE HAVE THERE.
SO THAT'S, UM, ALL THAT I HAVE TO PRESENT.
I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE INFORMATION BECAUSE WE ARE
[01:10:01]
WORKING HARD AT, UH, MAKING ALL OF THESE SPACES HAPPEN WITH MULTIPLE THEATERS, MULTIPLE GALLERIES, MULTIPLE RESIDENCY SPACES FOR ARTISTS ALL OPENING AROUND, UH, 2025.THANK YOU, LORD, GIVE US ONE SECOND.
UM, THERE WAS AN AUDIBLE GASP FROM COMMISSIONER GRAY AND I AT SOME OF THESE INCREDIBLE PHOTOS THAT WE'RE SEEING AND WE ARE JUST SO EXCITED AND I'M SURE THE REST OF THE COMMISSION IS, IS AS WELL A COMMISSIONERS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. GARZA COMMISSIONER MOCK? UH, NOT A QUESTION, BUT BUDDY, REALLY A COMMENT.
I MEAN, I'M JUST SO LOOKING FORWARD TO 2025, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THIS NEW PEOPLE COMING INTO TOWN, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY EVEN KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY HAS CONTRIBUTED TO SO MUCH THAT FOR THEM TO COME IN AND ENJOY.
SO I'M, I'M WONDERING HOW CAN WE, UM, GET THAT SUPPORT ALL THIS NEWCOMERS COMING INTO TOWN AND ENJOYING WHAT WE HAVE PUT DOWN FOR THEM.
UM, IS THERE A PLAN TO REALLY INTRODUCE, YOU KNOW, UH, CREATIVE COMMUNITY, UH, WONDERFUL RESOURCES WITH THE MUSEUM, THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER? HOW CAN WE GET THE NEW COMMERCE INVOLVED, UH, TO SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, OUR GROWING CREATIVE COMMUNITY? I'M JUST WONDERING, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS THE CITY'S THING, BUT I THINK, UM, THAT SHOULD BE SOME THINKING ABOUT REACHING OUT TO THE NEWCOMERS.
UH, ONE OF THE SLIDES I DIDN'T GET TO, WHICH WAS THE LAST ONE, WAS THAT, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, ALL OF THE CULTURAL CENTERS AND THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ARE ON THE MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS, WEB PAGE.
AND SO IT IS A PORTAL, UH, TO THE WEBSITES FOR ALL OF THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ONE-STOP SHOPPING.
YOU JUST HAVE TO GO TO ONE WEBPAGE TO FIND THEM ALL THERE.
AND IT WAS SOMEONE AFTER THIS ONE.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CULTURAL CENTERS, AS WELL AS THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, UM, AT THIS SITE.
THAT PRESENTATION WILL BE IN OUR BACKUP TOMORROW.
SO FEEL FREE TO CHECK BACK COMMISSIONER BARNS.
UM, SO I KNOW WITH SOME OF THE EXISTING THEATER SPACES THAT ARE LOCATED IN CULTURAL ARTS CENTERS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PRIORITY GIVEN TO MAYBE THE, UM, GROUPS THAT IDENTIFY WITH THOSE CENTERS, IS THAT HOW THESE NEW ONES WILL BE RUN AS WELL.
AND WHEN DO YOU ANTICIPATE, START STARTING TO WANT TO BOOK RESERVATIONS IN THESE? I MEAN, I KNOW AGAIN, SOME OF THEM ARE COMING ON FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS, BUT, UM, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WILL THE PROCESS BE? WELL, YOU KNOW, BY LAW, WE CAN'T REALLY PRIORITIZE, UM, SECTORS OF THE PUBLIC WHEN IT COMES TO RENTALS OF SPACES.
THOSE ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVED IN ORDER TO REALLY BE PROACTIVE IN ASSISTING, UM, COMPANIES THAT, UH, PERHAPS ARE, UM, NOT WELL, UH, ENDOWED FINANCIALLY, UM, IN NEED OF SPACE, IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE AND REHEARSAL.
WE OF COURSE HAVE THE ARTIST ACCESS PROGRAM WHERE, UM, ARTISTS AND ARTISTS COMPANIES CAN APPLY FOR A RESIDENCY AT ONE OF THESE SITES.
UH, AND THAT'S HOW THEY MIGHT RECEIVE SOME SORT OF A PREFERENCE IN TERMS OF THEIR DATES, BUT THAT'S A COMPETITIVE, UH, PROGRAM.
THEY HAVE TO APPLY FOR IT AND BE ADJUDICATED INTO IT.
UM, AND SO, UM, THE, AT THE POINT THAT WE HAVE REAL DATES, UH, FOR OPENINGS, UH, OF THE SITES, WE WILL OPEN RENTALS.
UH, SO I IMAGINE THAT MAY BE, UH, MID TO LATE 20, 24 COMMISSIONER.
UH, THANK YOU LORD FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, MY QUESTION IS GOING TO BE, I GUESS, THREE PARTER,
[01:15:01]
UM, THE PRESENT, THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PROVIDED REGARDING THE CARVER, THAT WAS JUST LIKE THE, THE, UM, THE UPGRADES THAT WERE, UH, FOR THE FACILITY.UM, IS THERE ANY INFORMATION LIKE I W I THOUGHT IT WASN'T, IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WAS SOME WORK BEING DONE ON THE NEXT PHASE OF, OF THAT.
AND I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S ANY INFORMATION WE'RE WAITING TO SEE HOW MUCH ALL OF THE RENOVATIONS COST, UM, THE, AS YOU WELL KNOW, THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION, UM, IS SKYROCKETING IN AUSTIN.
AND SO IT REALLY IS HARD FOR US TO PINPOINT, UH, HOW MUCH THE FINAL COSTS FOR THE RENOVATIONS MIGHT BE.
AND SO WHEN WE ARE CLOSE TO FINISHED WITH THOSE RENOVATIONS, THEN WE CAN CONTEMPLATE TAKING ON THE FIRST PHASE OF THE, UH, THE CARVERS IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH WOULD, UH, BE ANOTHER THEATER.
IT'S GOING TO BE AN OUTDOOR THEATER, UM, BEHIND THE CARVER ON THE SCALE OF SILKA HILLSIDE THEATER.
UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
WE THINK THIS WOULD BE A FINE ADDITION, UH, TO EAST SIDE VENUES, AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DEMAND FOR, UH, OUTDOOR SPACES DURING COVID.
UM, WE THINK WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T, WE'RE NOT FORMALLY, UM, PLANNING IT UNTIL WE GET A FIRMER HANDLE ON HOW MUCH THE RENOVATIONS WILL BE.
UM, THE SECOND PART IS REGARDING THE DECK, THE DOOR, THE ART CENTER, UH, I DON'T THINK YOU PUT A DATE ON IT ON WHEN THAT'S GOING TO OCCUR.
AND MY QUESTION ABOUT THAT IS THE, IS THE EXISTING SITE GOING TO BE OPEN WHILE THAT'S BEING BUILT OR YES, THE EXISTING SITE WILL BE OPEN, SO, UH, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO, UM, PROVIDE SERVICES PRETTY FROM THE OLD BUILDING TO THE NEW BUILDING.
UM, ANYWAY, WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT WE'LL BE OPENING THAT IN EARLY 20, 25.
AND THEN I GUESS MY THIRD QUESTION JUST BECOMES A COMMON THING.
CAUSE I, I WAS CONCERNED THAT WE WOULD HAVE MULTIPLE CULTURAL SITES DOWN WHILE, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY'RE GETTING REBUILT AND, AND BUILD AND NOT JUST, I DIDN'T WANT, YEAH, I DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE THESE, UH, VENUES AT THE SAME TIME.
THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS TO CLOSE, UM, BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROJECT IS THE MATH.
UM, THEY AARC WILL BE ABLE TO STAY OPEN BECAUSE THE BUILDING WAS ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE CURRENT BUILDING, UH, THE CARVER, IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO OUR FIRST PHASE, THAT WILL BE AGAIN, A FACILITY BEHIND THE CURRENT BUILDING AND WON'T BE AFFECTED BY, UM, UH, BY CONSTRUCTION, JUST THE MAC.
BUT THESE ARE VERY COMPLEX PROJECTS.
IT'S HARD TO SYNOPSIZE THEM AND, UH, EIGHT SLIDES.
UM, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO VISIT THE PROJECT WEBSITES, UH, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THESE ARE GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
UM, WE'RE SO EXCITED THAT WE GET TO, UM, MAKE THIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE CENTER, TO ITS ARTISTIC LANDSCAPE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS SEEING NONE.
THIS IS REALLY, REALLY EXCITING STUFF.
AND I'LL SAY THAT WE WILL DEFINITELY BE CHECKING IN WITH THE WEBSITE, BUT ANY UPDATES THAT YOU HAVE PLEASE COME TO US.
UM, ANY PUBLIC INFORMATION AREA, UM, UH, MEETINGS, THE APRIL 5TH MEETING, I'VE MADE A NOTE OF.
I WOULD LOVE TO INCLUDE THAT IN OUR DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION.
SO ANY, ANY WAY THAT WE CAN SUPPORT AND HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT GETTING THAT ENGAGEMENT, JUST LET US KNOW.
[4.c. Legal Consideration Related to Equity in Economic Development Department Hotel Occupancy Tax Funded Programs – Neal Falgoust, City of Austin Law Department Attorney]
TO FORESEE LEGAL CONSIDERATION RELATED TO EQUITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUNDED PROGRAMS, NEIL FALL, GHOST CITY OF AUSTIN LAW DEPARTMENT ATTORNEY.[01:20:17]
SALINA, HEARING ANYTHING.WELL, WE'RE WORKING ON IT GUYS.
CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? CAN I GET A, HEY YO? YES.
GOOD, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
ARE HE HIM? I'M AN ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY IN THE LAW DEPARTMENT HERE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
MY CLIENTS ARE, UH, THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, THE EQUITY OFFICE AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE.
AND TONIGHT I'M TALKING TO YOU AS THE ATTORNEY FOR, UH, FOR THE EQUITY OFFICE BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN ADVISING THE EQUITY OFFICE AND SOME OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ON EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS AND CONTRACTING AND PROGRAM FUNDING THAT'S RELEVANT FOR THIS COMMISSION.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU TONIGHT.
UM, WE WERE ASKED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A BRIEFING OF SOME OF THE LEGAL RISKS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH USING, UH, RACE, GENDER, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION AS SCORING CRITERIA.
WHEN WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT GRANT FUNDING, UH, FOR A CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM, OUR GOAL TONIGHT IS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A FRAMEWORK AS YOU MAKE THESE FUNDING DECISIONS.
DO I HAVE CONTROL HERE OR, OKAY, PERFECT.
I'LL JUST LET YOU KNOW WHEN TO ADVANCE.
SO, UM, MY PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BEGIN WITH A BRIEF CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW OF THE LAW.
I'LL TRY NOT TO GET TOO MUCH INTO A LAW SCHOOL, UH, LECTURE MODE HERE, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE FUNDAMENTALS.
THEN I'LL DISCUSS THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK THAT WE IN THE LAW DEPARTMENT HAVE USED TO ANALYZE THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE COME UP IN RECENT MONTHS.
AND THEN I'LL ALSO DISCUSS SOME CASES THAT HAVE AFFECTED OUR ANALYSIS.
AND AT THE END, WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME QUESTIONS SO I KNOW MANY OF YOU PROBABLY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY WE ARE HERE AT THIS TIME.
UM, AND THERE ARE SOME CONCERNS THAT OUR PRESENTATION IS COMING AT THE END OF A PROCESS, UH, IN WHICH YOU'VE BEEN ADVISING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE EQUITY OFFICE ON HOW TO DO A BETTER JOB ON, UH, EQUITABLY AWARDING GRANTS IN THE CULTURAL ARTS ARENA.
AND WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THOSE CONCERNS.
THERE'VE BEEN A NUMBER OF CASES DURING THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS THAT HAVE CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION IN THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
AND, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE IN A MINUTE, BUT FIRST, UH, I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THOSE CASES HAVE LED US IN THE LAW DEPARTMENT, UNDERTAKE A MONTH'S LONG DELIBERATIVE PROCESS TO UNDERSTAND THE LAWS SURROUNDING THESE CASES AND ANALYZE ANY IMPACT THAT THEY WOULD HAVE ON THE CITY'S GRANT PROGRAMS. SEVERAL OF THESE CASES HAVE UPENDED YEARS OF BEDROCK LEGAL PRINCIPLES.
UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THESE CASES BEFORE WE CAME TO BRIEF YOU, WE HAVE ADVISED THE STAFF IN THE EQUITY OFFICE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, A PURCHASING DEPARTMENT, AND THE SMALL AND MINORITY BUSINESS RESOURCE OR SMB OUR DEPARTMENT, UH, FROM THERE, WE ALSO BRIEF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE EXECUTIVE TEAM.
AND THEN AT THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY PRESENTED THIS ANALYSIS TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND EXECUTIVE SESSION TO NOT GET FEEDBACK, UM, TO ACKNOWLEDGE, LET ME, CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME OKAY.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PAST AND, UH, ACKNOWLEDGE HOW WE ENDED UP IN THE POSITION THAT WE ARE IN TODAY.
THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT, UH, AUSTIN HAS A HISTORY OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, THE 1928 MASTER PLAN, UH, THAT CREATED A NIGO NEGRO DISTRICT ON THE EAST SIDE, REDLINING, URBAN RENEWAL POLICIES AND THE SEASONING OF BLACK OWNED LAND THROUGH EMINENT DOMAIN TO CLEAR NEIGHBORHOODS.
ALL OF THESE POLICIES HAVE OPPRESSED BLACK INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF COLOR FOR GENERATIONS.
AND LAST YEAR, THE CITY COUNCIL APOLOGIZED FOR THAT INTENTIONAL RACIAL, RACIST DISCRIMINATION AND HAS COMMITTED TO CORRECTING THESE PRACTICES.
[01:25:01]
THAT WAS APPROVED IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR.THE CITY'S EQUITY OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS AND CITY DEPARTMENTS TO CREATE NEW WAYS OF EVALUATING PROPOSALS AND PURCHASING AS A PART OF THE PROJECT CONNECT AND THE CITY'S EFFORT TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT.
UH, AS PART OF THAT, AS PART OF THAT PROCESS, A GROUP OF COMMUNITY CATALYSTS PUBLISHED THEIR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN A REPORT CALLED NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US.
IT WAS A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY'S RACIST PAST THAT INCLUDED PROPOSALS TO CENTER RACE EQUITY AND THE EVALUATION OF GRANT FUNDING AND EDD.
THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT WANTED TO USE THIS REPORT AS A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING.
WHILE THE TOOL CORRECTLY FOCUSES ON REMEDYING, PAST DISCRIMINATION, THE IMPACT OF INEQUITABLE AID AND THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF DISPLACEMENT.
WE HAVE DETERMINED THAT THE USE OF RACE OR RACIAL CLASSIFICATIONS IN THE TOOL PRESENTS SIGNIFICANT LEGAL RISK, ESPECIALLY WHEN TAKING THESE RECENT LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS INTO ACCOUNT.
SO OUR ANALYSIS BEGINS WITH THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE OF 14TH AMENDMENT.
THIS CLAUSE ENSURES THAT EACH INDIVIDUAL RECEIVES EQUAL EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW.
THIS IS A SIMPLE CONCEPT IT'S MADE EXTREMELY COMPLICATED BY RECENT COURT INTERPRETATIONS, WELL COURT INTERPRETATIONS OVER THE DECADES, BUT ESPECIALLY IN THE RECENT INTERPRETATIONS THAT WE'LL DISCUSS IN A MINUTE.
SO THE COURTS HAVE CREATED A TIERED FRAMEWORK FOR NOW ANALYZING QUESTIONS THAT ARISE UNDER THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE.
THERE ARE THREE LEVELS OF SCRUTINY OR ANALYSIS THAT COURTS WILL USE WHEN THE GOVERNMENT MAKES DISTINCTIONS ON AN INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUAL'S CHARACTERISTICS.
SO I'LL GO THROUGH THESE REAL QUICKLY.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO A REALLY DETAILED, UH, LEGAL DISCUSSION, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE TOOLS AND UNDERSTANDING, UH, SO THAT YOU CAN APPLY THESE AND BE FAMILIAR WITH THEM WHEN MOVING FORWARD.
SO THE FIRST LEVEL OF SCRUTINY IS CALLED STRICT SCRUTINY, AND THIS LEVEL OF ANALYSIS IS APPLIED WHEN A DISTINCTION IS MADE, UH, BASED UPON A PERSON'S RACE, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, OR ALIEN EDGE, OR, UM, IMMIGRATION STATUS.
SO UNDER STRICT SCRUTINY, THE GOVERNMENT MUST DEMONSTRATE THAT THE POLICY THAT MAKES THE DISTINCTION IS NARROWLY TAILORED TO MEET A COMPELLING GOVERNMENTAL PURPOSE.
THE NEXT LEVEL OF SCRUTINY IS CALLED INTERMEDIATE SCRUTINY.
UH, THAT IS APPLIED IN CASES WHERE DISTINCTION IS MADE ON GENDER SEX MAY BE SEXUAL ORIENTATION.
UH, THE CASES AREN'T EXACTLY CLEAR ON WHETHER SEXUAL ORIENTATION ALONE IS A PROTECTED CLASS, OR WHETHER THAT FALLS UNDER GENDER AND SEX, BUT I I'VE PUT IT HERE JUST TO SORT OF HOLD THAT PLACE.
SO UNDER INTERMEDIATE SCRUTINY, A GOVERNMENT MUST DEMONSTRATE THAT THE POLICY THAT MAKES THE DISTINCTION IS SUBSTANTIALLY RELATED TO AN IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT PURPOSE.
AND THEN THE FINAL, UH, THE FINAL LEVEL OF SCRUTINY IS CALLED RATIONAL BASIS.
THIS IS WHEN A DISTINCTION IS MADE ON AGE DISABILITY, WHILE FELONY STATUS OR SOME OTHER UNPROTECTED.
AND UNDER THIS LEVEL OF ANALYSIS, THE GOVERNMENT POLICY MUST HAVE SOME RATIONAL CONNECTION TO SIMPLY A LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT INTEREST.
AND SO IF WE LOOK AT EACH OF THESE LEVELS OF SCRUTINY, UM, UNDER STRICT SCRUTINY, UH, THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM THAT MAKES A DISTINCTION BASED ON RACE WILL ALMOST ALWAYS FAIL.
AND THEN UNDER RATIONAL BASIS, A GOVERNMENTAL POLICY WILL ALMOST ALWAYS PASS.
SO WE REALLY WANT TO AVOID STRICT SCRUTINY AND FALL SOMEWHERE IN THE RATIONAL BASIS.
UM, SO THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON A STRICT SCRUTINY.
AND AGAIN, ANY GOVERNMENT PROGRAM THAT TAKES RACE INTO CONSIDERATION WILL FACE STRICT SCRUTINY.
IT'S THE MOST RIGOROUS LEVEL OF REVIEW AND COURTS WILL START WITH, WITH THE PRESUMPTION THAT THE POLICY IS
[01:30:01]
INVALID, AND THEN THE GOVERNMENT MUST OVERCOME, UH, THAT BURDEN TO PROVE ITS INTERESTS.SO THE BURDEN SHIFTS FROM, UH, THE INDIVIDUAL WHO BRINGS THE SUIT TO PROVE THEIR CASE.
IT MOVES OVER TO THE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE THE CASE BECAUSE THE PRESUMPTION IS THAT, UH, ANY OF THOSE DISTINCTIONS BASED ON RACE OR, UM, THOSE OTHER SUSPECTED CLASSES WILL, UH, WILL BE INVALID.
SO TO DEMONSTRATE, SO TO DEMONSTRATE A COMPELLING, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE ON THE SLIDE THAT SAYS COMPELLING GOVERNMENT INTEREST.
UH, SO TO DEMONSTRATE A COMPELLING GOVERNMENT INTEREST, THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO SHOW THAT SOME KIND OF ACTUAL DISCRIMINATION HAS OCCURRED AND THAT THE GOVERNMENT EITHER ACTIVELY OR PASSIVELY, UH, PERPETUATED THAT DISCRIMINATION.
UH, NEXT SLIDE TO SHOW THAT THE POLICY IS NARROWLY TAILORED.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT IT CONSIDERED OTHER RACE NEUTRAL POLICIES, UH, BEFORE PUTTING A RACE CONSCIOUS POLICY INTO EFFECT, AND THAT THOSE RACE NEUTRAL POLICIES FAILED TO ACHIEVE THE GOVERNMENT'S COMPELLING INTEREST.
SO THIS CASE, THE CITY OF RICHMOND VERSUS J A CROSSING COMPANY, UH, IS THE LEADING CASE FOR CONSIDERING WHEN RACE, UH, CAN BE CONSIDERED IN THE AWARDING OF MUNICIPAL CONTRACTS.
IT'S BEEN SETTLED LAW FOR THE PAST THREE DECADES, AND IT'S THE FOUNDATIONAL CASE FOR OUR SMB, OUR PROGRAMS, WHICH ALLOW US TO SET GOALS AND A CITY CONTRACTING FOR PARTICIPATION BY MINORITY INDIVIDUALS.
SO IN THIS CASE, A PRIVATE COMPANY THAT HAD BID FOR A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF RICHMOND, THE CITY'S PLAN TO REQUIRE PRIME CONTRACTORS TO SUBCONTRACT AT LEAST 30% OF EACH CONTRACT TO MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
AND THE ISSUE ISSUE THAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE COURT IS WHETHER THIS RACIAL QUOTA VIOLATED THE 14TH AMENDMENT EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE.
UH, THE MAJORITY WHICH WAS, UH, LED BY JUSTICE, O'CONNOR CONCLUDED THAT THE CITY'S PROGRAM FAILED TO PASS THE STRICT SCRUTINY TEST BECAUSE A GENERALIZED ASSERTIONS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION DID NOT JUSTIFY THE RIGID 30% QUOTA THAT THE CITY HAD PUT IN PLACE FOR ITS PROGRAM.
THE COURT CONCLUDED THAT THAT QUOTA COULD NOT BE CONNECTED TO ANY SPECIFIC INJURY THAT HAD BEEN SUFFERED AND THAT A RACE NEUTRAL POLICIES HAD NOT BEEN CONSIDERED BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THE QUOTA.
SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS BECAUSE OF THE COURT STRUCK DOWN WHAT THE CITY OF RICHMOND WAS ATTEMPTING TO DO IN THIS CASE? UH, SO IN ORDER TO MEET THE STANDARD, WE NOW HAVE TO UNDERTAKE THE GOVERNMENT OR THE CITY HAS TO UNDERTAKE COMPREHENSIVE DISPARITY STUDIES THAT EXAMINE WHETHER CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES ARE UNFAIRLY DENIED TO MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES.
AND THIS IS WHILE YOU'LL OFTEN HEAR THE SMB, OUR DEPARTMENT TALK ABOUT DISPARITY STUDIES.
WE HAVE ONE THAT I THINK IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL IN THE COMING MONTHS.
UH, THIS IS A STUDY THAT'S BEEN UNDER UNDERWAY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
UM, AND, UH, IF DISPARITIES ARE FOUND IN THESE STUDIES, THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIRED TO FORMULATE SPECIFIC PLANS THAT WOULD REMEDY THOSE DISPARITIES.
UM, NOW THIS SOUNDS A LOT SIMPLER THAN IT ACTUALLY IS.
LIKE I SAID, THESE STUDIES TAKE YEARS TO COMPLETE.
THEY INVOLVE HIRING OUTSIDE COUNSEL AND CONSULTANTS WITH EXPERTISE AND DOING THESE STUDIES AND THEY CAN COST MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
UM, IF THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN COLLECTING, UH, USABLE DATA OVER THE YEARS, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
NOW THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THE COVID PANDEMIC HAS HAD A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT, A DISPROPORTIONATE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND OTHER MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
WE'VE SEEN THAT WITH OUR OWN EYES, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THESE DISPARITIES AND THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS IMPLEMENTED SEVERAL RELIEF PROGRAMS AIMED AT ADDRESSING THOSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THESE PROGRAMS HAVE DRAWN LAWSUITS FROM, UH, CONSERVATIVE, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS GROUPS AND HAVE RESULTED IN GRANT FUNDING, BEING FROZEN FOR THESE PROGRAMS. ONE OF THE PROGRAMS WE'LL LOOK AT IN A LITTLE BIT IS A SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION GRANT FOR RESTAURANT OWNERS.
AND THE SECOND IS A DEBT RELIEF PROGRAM THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE FOR BLACK
[01:35:01]
FARMERS.SO THIS GREER'S RANCH CAFE VERSUS A GUZMAN.
THIS IS A CASE FROM THE DDA DFW AREA, UH, IN THE US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS.
UM, IN THIS PROGRAM, THE SBA HAD SET UP A GRANT RELIEF PROGRAM FOR RESTAURANTS.
THAT WAS IT PRIORITIZED DURING THE FIRST 21 DAYS OF DISBURSEMENTS INDIVIDUALS BASED ON THEIR RACE, GENDER, AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STATUS.
SO PEOPLE OF COLOR AND WOMEN WERE GIVEN PRIORITY IN LINE, UM, OVER OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE THE GRANT FUNDING, UH, GREER IN THE GREER'S RANCH CAFE, UH, WAS WHITE AND OWNS A RESTAURANT IN STEVENVILLE SUED TO PREVENT ALL OF THE GRANT MONEY FROM BEING AWARDED BEFORE THE PROGRAM WAS OPEN TO WHITE MALE OWNERS AND THE SIXTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HELD THAT THE USE OF RACE TO PRIORITIZE THE GRANT APPLICATIONS WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL BECAUSE THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT MET ANY OF THE CRITERIA CRITERIA FOR A SHOWING OF A COMPELLING INTEREST UNDER THE STRICT SCRUTINY STANDARD.
SO THEY INVALIDATED PRIORITIZATION OF GRANTS TO PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND THEY ALSO INVALIDATED THE PRIORITIZATION OF WOMEN OWNED RESTAURANTS UNDER THE INTERMEDIATE SCRUTINY STANDARD.
UH, HOWEVER, THEY DID PERMIT THE SBA TO CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE GRANTS FOR, UH, VETERAN OWNED RESTAURANTS, BECAUSE THAT WAS UNDER THE RATIONAL BASIS STANDARD.
SO THE SECOND CASE INVOLVES BLACK FARMERS AND, UH, THIS WAS A $4 BILLION AID PACKAGE THAT THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OFFERED TO A BLACK FARMERS FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS.
I'LL NOTE THAT THERE'S A LONG AND WELL-DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLACK FARMERS BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
UM, IN 2010, THE USDA SETTLED THE LARGEST CIVIL RIGHTS CASE IN HISTORY TO RESOLVE DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS BROUGHT BY BLACK FARMERS AGAINST THE USDA.
THE SETTLEMENT HAS REACHED ALMOST $1.2 BILLION.
UH, THE USDA ASSERTED THAT THE RELIEF PROGRAM THAT, UH, THE LOAN RELIEF PROGRAM THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WAS NECESSARY TO REMEDY ITS OWN PAST DISCRIMINATION.
UH, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER, SID MILLER FILED SUIT WITH FINANCIAL BACKING FROM A GROUP LED BY CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS, STEPHEN MILLER, AND THE COURT STRUCK DOWN THE PROGRAM BECAUSE THE USDA FAILED TO SHOW THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS PAST DISCRIMINATION, THE COURT BELIEVED THAT THERE WAS NO CURRENT DISCRIMINATION.
AND, UM, THE COURT DETERMINED THAT THE USDA DID NOT MEET THE STRICT SCRUTINY STANDARD.
NOW, THE COURT'S FINDING IN THIS CASE SORT OF REMINDS ME OF THE CHIEF JUDGES, CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS OPINION, AND THE, UM, THE VOTING RIGHTS CASE, UH, WHERE HE SAID THAT RACISM NO LONGER EXISTS.
I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT THAT IS NOT TRUE.
UM, WHAT WAS ESPECIALLY DISTURBING IN THIS CASE IS THAT A GROUP OF WHITE FARMERS, UM, ATTEMPTED TO BRING THIS CASE SOUGHT CERTIFICATION TO BRING THIS CASE AS A CLASS.
SO A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, UM, IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CERTIFY A CLASS ACTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS, BUT, UH, THE COURT IN THIS CASE DID CERTIFY WHITE FARMERS AS A CLASS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, UH, CHALLENGE THE PROGRAM.
UM, SO SINCE WE'VE PRESENTED THIS TO CITY COUNCIL AND EXECUTIVE SESSION, UM, I'VE ACTUALLY HAD HAD A CHALLENGE IN KEEPING UP WITH THE CHANGING CASE LAW OF WE'VE ADDED A FEW S UH, THIS SLIDE IN PARTICULAR, BUT EVEN EARLIER THIS WEEK, THERE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT.
SO, UH, EARLIER THIS MONTH, THE US SUPREME COURT ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL HEAR A CHALLENGE TO A LEGAL PRECEDENT THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR TWO DECADES THAT ALLOWS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO CONSIDER RACE AS PART OF A HOLISTIC ADMISSIONS PROCESS.
THIS AREA HAS BEEN SETTLED LAW FOR PROBABLY TWO DECADES, AND THERE'S REALLY NO REASON FOR THE COURT TO TAKE THIS CASE EXCEPT TO OVERTURN THAT PRECEDENT.
UH, WE'VE SEEN THAT THE COURT'S NEW CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY HAS NO PROBLEM OVERTURNING,
[01:40:01]
SETTLED PRECEDENT, UH, THIS, UM, GRANTING OF A SANCTUARY OR GRANTING OF REVIEW IN THIS CASE, WE THINK DOESN'T BODE WELL FOR CASES LIKE CROSON, WHICH ALLOWS THE CITY TO, UM, UNDERTAKE ITS SMB, OUR PROGRAMS. UM, IF THE COURT IS, WE THINK IF THE COURT IS PRESENTED WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO OVERTURN CROSON, UH, THAT THEY WOULD TAKE THAT CASE.AND THAT WOULD PUT ALL OF OUR SMB, OUR PROGRAMS AT RISK EARLIER THIS WEEK, THE COURT ALSO GRANTED SEARCH HARARI IN A CASE CALLED 3 0 3 CREATIVE VERSUS LNS.
UM, THE QUESTION THAT WAS CERTIFIED BY THE COURT IS WHETHER APPLYING QUOTE, WHETHER APPLYING A PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION LAW TO AN ARTIST TO SPEAK OR STAY SILENT, VIOLATES FREE THE FREE SPEECH CLAUSE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT.
UM, THIS IS SORT OF LEGAL SPEAK FOR WHETHER THE FIRST AMENDMENT TRUMPS ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS.
UM, THE ISSUE THAT'S AT STAKE IN THIS CASE IS A, UM, WEB DEVELOPER WHO IDENTIFIES AS A RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVE PERSON WHO DOES NOT WANT TO CREATE WEBSITES FOR, UH, SAME-SEX WEDDINGS.
AND SHE IS CHALLENGING A COLORADO ANTI-DISCRIMINATION STATUTE THAT WOULD REQUIRE HER TO PROVIDE A PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION TO SAME SEX COUPLES, UM, ON THE SAME LEVEL AS A HETEROSEXUAL COUPLES.
UM, SO BOTH OF THESE CASES WILL BE ARGUED AND THE COURTS OCTOBER, 2022 TERM, WHICH BEGINS IN OCTOBER, AND WE EXPECT DECISIONS TO BE HANDED DOWN BEFORE, UH, SUMMER OF 2023.
UM, SO 2023 IS LOOKING LIKE A YEAR THAT WILL BE CHALLENGING IN THE AREA OF CIVIL RIGHTS.
UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THESE CASES AND, AND, UH, BRIEF YOU AS NECESSARY.
SO, UH, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK WE PROBABLY ALL JUST NEED A MINUTE TO DIGEST WHAT WE JUST HEARD.
UM, BUT I SEE COMMISSIONER MARK HAS HER HAND UP PLEASE FEEL FREE.
UM, THIS IS JUST VERY DISTURBING.
I THINK THE ENVIRONMENT HAS, UM, SWINGING SO MUCH TO THE WRONG SIDE THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THE LETTER OF THE LAW INSTEAD OF IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW.
SO I'M WONDERING, UM, I MEAN, PROTECTED, GIVE ME DON'T USE DISCRIMINATION, BUT JUST USE EQUITY.
UM, I, I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE CAN SPEND IT, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT SO THAT, UH, SO THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN STILL DO THE RIGHT THING WITHOUT, UM, WITHOUT HAVING THIS CONFLICT WITH, WITH THIS ENVIRONMENT.
I'M JUST WONDERING, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION COMMISSIONER, YOU KNOW, UH, WE'VE ADVISED, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SMB ARE ON SOME STRATEGIES THAT THEY COULD TAKE TO LOWER THE LEVEL OF RISK.
UM, I'LL LEAVE IT TO, UH, STILL NOVIA DISCUSS HOW EDD IS IMPLEMENTING OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY I THINK FROM THE CITY'S PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE PROTECTED.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS HAPPENED WITH THESE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED IN COURT IS THAT THE FUNDING FOR THESE PROGRAMS HAS BEEN FROZEN AND WITH, UH, CARES ACT AND ARPA FUNDING THERE'S DEADLINES FOR THOSE FUNDS TO BE SPENT.
AND WITH THOSE FUNDS FROZEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WILL, UM, NOT BE PUT TO USE, UM, WITH THE BLACK FARMERS CASE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SOME FARMERS, THERE WAS A STORY IN THE NEW YORK TIMES EARLIER THIS WEEK ABOUT SOME FARMERS WHO RELIED ON THAT LOAN ASSISTANCE, WHO WENT OUT AND BOUGHT NEW FARM EQUIPMENT AND TOOK ON NEW DEBT.
AND THEN AFTER THE COURT STRUCK DOWN, UH, THE PROGRAM, UM, THEY'RE NOW BEING, THEY'RE NOW FURTHER INTO DEBT WITH NO RELIEF AND THEY RISK BEING FORECLOSED UPON.
UM, SO I THINK FROM THE CITY'S LEGAL PERSPECTIVE,
[01:45:01]
OUR GOAL IS TO, UH, LOWER THE LEVEL OF RISK FOR OUR PROGRAMS AND, AND I'LL HAND OVER TO SILL NOVIA, 18 NAIL.SO THERE'LL BE A WHOLE RAB DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, IN OUR MOST RECENT, UM, BELIEF PROGRAM, WE DID ADJUST THE WAY WE ASK QUESTIONS.
IT'S NOT A DIRECT VERY, IN OTHER WORDS, I CAN'T SCORE BY IMMUNABLE CHARACTERISTICS, BUT WE DID ASK QUESTIONS BASED ON GEOGRAPHY AND INCOME.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO, UM, GET A BRIEFING ON THAT DATA IN THE MORNING, SEE HOW WELL WE REACHED THE, THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE WANTED TO.
SO AGAIN, ARE WE HAPPY WITH IT? NO, BECAUSE WE WANTED A DIRECT SCORING, BUT WE BELIEVE THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED IN OUR LAST PROGRAM, UM, ACHIEVE, LIKE I SAID, NOT 100% OF WHAT WE WANTED, BUT DIDN'T MAKE A DEBT.
AND SO WE WILL KEEP LOOKING, KEEP BEING CREATIVE, KEEP PUSHING THAT ENVELOPE, WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE.
UH, WE HAVE TWO UPCOMING MEETINGS TO STRATEGIZE BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST US, IT'S THE EQUITY OFFICE AROUND ANTI-DISPLACEMENT AND THE THINGS THEY WANT IT.
BUT AS NEIL MENTIONED, PUTTING OTHER MAJOR PROGRAMS AT RISK IS A POSSIBILITY.
AND AS OUR OUTSIDE CONSULT TO AN ATTORNEY, TOLD US, AUSTIN IS A JUICY TARGET.
AND SO WE JUST HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE NOT GIVING UP, NOT GIVING UP.
WE'RE JUST GOING TO BE MORE CREATIVE AND BEFORE, AND I WOULD ALSO REFER YOU BACK TO A BRIEF FRANCO'S PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T A FIGHT THAT WE'RE FIGHTING ONLY IN THE COURTS, IT'S ALSO IN THE LEGISLATURE.
UM, AND SO 20, 23 WILL ALSO BE A LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, SO WE WILL BE GETTING IT FROM THE LEGISLATURE AND FROM THE COURT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS BARNS.
SO, UM, OUR, OUR, OUR, UM, I'M THINKING OF AIPP.
UM, SO ARE ALL OF THOSE, I MEAN, NOT ALL OF THOSE, BUT SORT OF THE GENERAL LANGUAGE THAT WAS FORMULATED.
I THINK IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO WITH REGARDS TO EQUITY, HAVE THOSE BEEN VETTED THROUGH, THROUGH LAW, IN COMPLIANCE WITH THIS SO THAT WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT AS WE DO THOSE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE NOT IN, IN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN FRACTION OF, OF WHAT IS, UM, THE LAW, AND THEN ALSO, IS IT THE BEST PRACTICE TO USE? I'M NOT THE WORD THAT'S COMING TO MIND IS GENERALITIES, BUT THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT WORD.
BUT INSTEAD OF LIKE DEFINITIVES SAYING, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT BLAH BLAH, YOU KNOW, SO THAT IT'S NOT A DEFINITE, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A DESIRED OUTCOME.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY.
UM, I BELIEVE I'M FOLLOWING YOU, MEGAN, AND YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THAT.
UM, WE, I WOULDN'T SAY WE'RE ASKING GENERALITY TYPE QUESTIONS, BUT WE ARE ASKING TARGETED QUESTIONS, INCOME QUESTIONS.
WHAT WERE YOU SERVING AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE? UH, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE ZIP CODES THAT WE KNOW, UH, MAY NOT HAVE ALWAYS HAD THOSE TYPES OF SERVICES OR ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THOSE AREAS.
I W AS A MATTER OF FACT, I'LL HAVE, UM, NEXT MONTH TO BRING BACK THE PRESENTATION ON THIS MOST RECENT PROGRAM.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASK AND THE OUTCOMES THAT WE ACHIEVED, I GUESS, LIKE, I'M LOOKING AT SORT OF THE EQUITY STATEMENT THAT WAS CRAFTED IN, YOU KNOW, IN SUPPORT OF OUR COMMITMENT.
UM, THE PROGRAM WILL MAKE EVERY EFFORT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S STATEMENTS LIKE THAT, THAT PASSED MUSTER, AS OPPOSED TO SAYING WE WILL, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, YOU KNOW, HIRE ONLY BLACK ARTISTS LIVING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT EVERY EFFORT WILL BE MADE TO DIVERSIFY THE POOL OF APPLICANTS.
I MEAN, THOSE STATEMENTS PASS OR THOSE, UM, AND I'M ASSUMING SOMEBODY FROM STAFF IS LOOKING AT THAT.
SO I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO WHATEVER THE, THE,
[01:50:01]
UM, OUTCOME IS.YEAH, WE ARE HAVING ALL ABOUT PROGRAMS ANALYZE, AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH OF THE STATEMENT IT'S AROUND.
YOU'RE SCORING, ARE YOU SCORING? AND SO THE CITY'S STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS CLEARLY ARTICULATE.
THEY WANT TO LEAVE RACIAL EQUITY, BUT HOW DO YOU THEN OPERATIONALIZE THAT AND SCORE IT? AND SO WE'RE WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH OUR SISTER DEPARTMENTS, UM, ALONG THIS JOURNEY, MEGAN, YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT? YEAH.
MEGAN WELLS, CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER, UM, BRETT, YOU RAISE A GOOD POINT.
AND I THINK, LIKE SYLVIA SAID, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS NOW OF REVISITING ALL OF OUR PROGRAM ELEMENTS AND INCLUDING AIPP CULTURAL FUNDING AND THE OTHER DIVISIONS THAT, THAT UTILIZE HOT FUNDS, ALL THE OTHER PROGRAMS WITHIN EDB, AS WELL AS THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY WHO ALL STARTED TRYING TO OPERATIONALIZE THIS EQUITY, YOU KNOW, APPROACH IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T RUN US A FOUL OF SOME OF THE RECENT CASE LAW THAT NEIL MENTIONED, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT HAVE COME UP RECENTLY HAVE MORE CLOSELY, YOU KNOW, SORT OF HONED THAT, THAT AREA OF LEGAL RISK, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE RELIEF FUNDING AND GOVERNMENT GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMMING.
SO THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE ALONG THIS JOURNEY, AS WE'VE MOVED ALONG THIS JOURNEY IN OUR, IN OUR, UH, CULTURAL FUNDING REVIEW AND IN THE, AND THE WAYS THAT WE LOOKED AT AIPP, WE'VE, WE'VE LEARNED MORE ABOUT KIND OF THE, THE COURTS, YOU KNOW, STANDS ON THINGS AS, YOU KNOW, AS THESE CASES HAVE COME TO LIGHT.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE QUESTION NOW FOR US AS A CITY IS HOW CAN WE LOOK AT OUR, HOW CAN WE MARRY OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AS A CITY, AS AN ENTITY THAT WANTS TO BE TRANSFORMATIONAL TO CORRECT PAST WRONGS AND ALL THE SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES THAT WE'VE PERPETUATED, BUT STILL DO IT IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, PUT A TARGET ON OUR BACK AND PUT OUR FUNDS AT RISK.
SO I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE THAT, BUT WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE A, AN ANSWER JUST YET, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT.
AND I THINK IT'S ALSO INTERESTING.
AND AGAIN, I'M SURE YOU'LL DO THIS IS TO FIGURE OUT THE, THE WORK THAT MJR PARTNERS HAS DONE FOR US AND DOES ALL OF THAT ALIGN.
AND THEN MY LAST COMMENT WOULD BE, I WOULD LOVE, UM, FOR IF IT'S, YOU ARE STILL NOVI OR WHOMEVER IT IS TO DO THIS FOR AIPP, UM, THIS PRESENTATION, BECAUSE I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THEY HEAR, UM, HEAR THIS AS WELL.
SO AGAIN, THEY CAN CERTAINLY WATCH THE RECORDING OF THIS MEETING AND GET IT, UH, BUT YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO, TO TALK WITH NEIL AND SEE IF HE'S OPEN TO THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THAT THE INFORMATION CAN BE SHARED IN SOME FORM OR FASHION, BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
IT'S DEEPLY EMBEDDED INTO THE WORK THAT WE DO WITH THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.
I WOULD AGREE THERE, I THINK HAVING A RECOMMENDING AIPP PANELISTS REVIEW THIS MEETING, UM, AND THE COMMENTS OF THE ARTS COMMISSION AND AS WELL AS THE MUSIC COMMISSIONS PRESENTATION, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE MUSIC COMMISSION HAD SOME REALLY, UM, INSIGHTFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THAT CONVERSATION.
SO JUST TO GIVE THEM AS MUCH OF A BACKGROUND AS POSSIBLE, AND THEN PERHAPS BRINGING UNTIL NOVIA AND, AND MEGAN, TO FURTHER CLARIFY, BRETT, IF YOU WANT TO CHEW ON THAT, I JUST, I THINK YES, VIEWING A PRESENTATION IS ALWAYS GOOD, BUT THAT TYPICALLY LENDS ITSELF TO QUESTIONS BEING FORMULATED AND NOT HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK THOSE IN REAL TIME.
SO THAT'S WHY JUST MAKE THE SUGGESTION THAT IF WE COULD HAVE SOMEBODY THERE TO DO THAT, MEGAN, YOUR COWORKER IS, UM, AND COMMISSIONER, I'M NOT SURE WHO AIPP IS.
UH, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE PRESENTING THIS TO ANY COMMISSION WHO WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE IT.
WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED IT WITH THE MUSIC COMMISSION, UH, YOU ALL TONIGHT, UH, NEXT WEEK, UH, HISTORICAL LANDMARK COMMISSIONS.
UM, SO, UH, IF YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER COMMISSIONS, UH, THAT ARE INTERESTED IN RECEIVING THIS PRESENTATION WHERE WE WOULD WELCOME THEIR INVITATION TO PRESENT TO THEM AND ANSWER QUESTIONS, I WAS GOING TO CLARIFY AIPP IS ART IN PUBLIC PLACES.
SO IT'S PUBLIC ART, UM, DIVISION, BUT I THINK IF YOU'RE GOING ON TOUR WITH THIS PRESENTATION, UM, AND COMMISSIONER BARNES IS EXPRESSING INTEREST, I THINK THEY'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU, YEAH.
SOMEBODY CAN JUST PROVIDE A CONTACT OR HAVE THEM REACH OUT TO US.
WE'LL BE SURE TO DO THAT COMMISSIONER MONK, NOT SO FAR.
I WANT TO CONGRATULATE SLOVENIA IS A NEW DIRECTOR.
NOW YOU BEAT ME YOU COULD NOT HAVE BECOME THE DIRECTOR AT THE MOST APPROPRIATE MOMENT.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ARE CHALLENGING, YOU KNOW, AND WE ARE FACING ALL THESE CHALLENGES, I WAS THINKING ABOUT EVEN FOR OUR COMMISSION'S GOAL FOR NEXT YEAR,
[01:55:01]
UM, DO WE NEED TO REWRITE IT SO THAT WE ARE NOT IN TROUBLE? I MEAN, IT IS JUST VERY DISTURBING.I MEAN, I HAVE TO, I HAVE SO MUCH TO DIGEST, BUT YOU KNOW, JUST FIRST THING FIRST, I MEAN, DO WE NEED TO EVEN REVISE OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THIS COMING YEAR SO THAT, UM, SO THAT WE WON'T BE CHALLENGED? I DON'T, I THINK OUR GOALS ARE SOLID.
WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE THE NEEDLE IN VARIOUS AREAS, WHETHER IT'S ART AND MUSIC, SMALL BUSINESS, UH, EVEN AROUND SOME OF OUR REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ARE NOW, YOU KNOW, UM, WE'RE INVESTMENT HAS GONE.
WE'RE HAVING TO ANSWER THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS OF WHY INVESTMENT IN CERTAIN AREAS AND NOT.
SO I THINK THE GOAL FOR THE CITY IS SOLID.
IT'S JUST, HOW DO WE GET THERE? UM, AND HOW DO WE MARRY THAT GOAL WITH ACTUALIZING THE PROCESS OF HOW WE PROCEED? UM, BUT WE, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO REVISIT GOALS.
UH, WE JUST DID THAT IN HOUSE.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD DO AT YOUR RETREAT, BUT AGAIN, WE ARE GOING TO MOVE THAT NEEDLE.
WE JUST HAVE TO BE MORE CREATIVE ON HOW WE DO IT.
THANK YOU, MS. MADAM DIRECTOR.
SO, UH, PRESENTATION WAS, WAS DISHEARTENING.
UM, BUT GLAD TO HEAR THAT, THAT, THAT STAFF IS COMMITTED TO FINDING CREATIVE WAYS OF MOVING THE NEEDLE.
UM, I GUESS REALLY, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THE COMMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR ELECTIONS ARE THAT THAT'S WHY THEY'RE IMPORTANT, RIGHT? WE'VE WE NEED BETTER REPRESENTATION AT THE STATE LEVEL.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I'LL GO AS FAR AS SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE, THAT NATIONAL NATIONAL LEVEL IS FAILING US RIGHT NOW, RIGHT.
WITH, WITH, WITH THE COURTS AND THE ABILITIES THAT, THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO SOME TOOLS THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, SO YEAH, JUST VOTING IS ESSENTIAL.
WE HAVE AN ELECTION GOING ON RIGHT NOW, SO VOTE EARLY.
I LIKE BUILDING ON VOTING DAY, SO, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
UM, BUT YEAH, I, I, THE OTHER POINT THAT I WANTED TO MAKE WAS THAT, LIKE, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS DEALT WITH, THAT, THAT SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IS THAT IF WE PUSH SOMETHING TOO FAR, THAT THE STATE IS QUICK TO JUMP ON AUSTIN'S BACK BECAUSE AUSTIN IS, I FORGOT WHO SAID IT IS, IS A JUICY TARGET.
AND, UM, I HOPE THIS, THIS HELPS SOME OF THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY REALIZE THAT LIKE, YEAH, WE WANT TO DO RIGHT.
AND WE WANT TO MOVE THE NEEDLE.
AND, AND, BUT SOMETIMES WE, WE HAVE TO WEIGH THE RISK BECAUSE THE RISK IS REAL.
SO THANK YOU STAFFER FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND NEIL, I THOUGHT YOUR PRESENTATION AT THE MUSIC COMMISSION WAS, WAS SUPER AWESOME, BUT LIKE, I APPRECIATED YOU BEING THERE AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AS WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A DISHEARTENING PRESENTATION FOR ME TO GIVE YOU FEEL THAT ABSOLUTELY COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FOR NEIL WHILE WE HAVE HIM, OKAY.
THIS IS DEFINITELY ITERATIVE WORK AND WE'RE ALL HERE FOR IT.
AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY IS WAVERING THEIR COMMITMENT TO WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND WE'RE GOING TO GET CREATIVE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
YEAH, LET'S PICK OUR HEARTS UP OFF THE FLOOR AND KEEP MOVING GUYS.
[4.d. Fiscal Sponsorship Update – Jesús Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor]
UH, NEXT IS ON STAFF BREAK FEELINGS, UM, ITEM FOUR, D I WANT TO PREFACE THIS PRESENTATION.WE'VE ASKED HIM TO SHARE SOME OF THE FOUNDATIONAL INFO ON THE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP MODEL AND HOW IT CAN BE USED SO THAT IT CONTINUED TO BE DISCUSSED AS A PART OF OUR CULTURAL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS.
COMMISSIONERS HAS USED PENTEL CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.
UM, AS CO-CHAIRS THIS WOMAN SAID, UH, Y'ALL HAD ASKED ABOUT THIS AT THE LAST MEETING.
SO I PREPARED SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ON OUR FISCAL SPONSORSHIP, UH, PROGRAM.
UH, SO, UM, FIRST THE HISTORIC USE, UM, UM, SO OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS AS THEY HAVE EXISTED, YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO THE CULTURAL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDERTAKING, UH, FISCAL SPONSORSHIP WAS MANDATORY IN THE CORE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FESTIVALS PROGRAMS. SO ANYBODY WHO WAS NOT A 5 0 1 C ORGANIZATION, UM, HAD TO APPLY THROUGH A FISCAL SPONSOR IN CORE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FESTIVALS.
UH, WE MADE THAT OPTIONAL IN COMMUNITY INITIATIVES.
SO SOMEONE THAT DID NOT HAVE THEIR OWN 5 0 1
[02:00:01]
C STATUS COULD EITHER APPLY ON THEIR OWN, UH, WITHOUT A FISCAL SPONSOR, OR THEY COULD CHOOSE TO UTILIZE A FISCAL SPONSOR.AND THE CO-CHAIR HAS ONE SECOND CITY STAFF ARE VIRTUAL PARTICIPANTS CAN NOT SEE THE PRESENTATION.
APOLOGIES HAS WHO'S JUST ONE MINUTE.
AND I'M ON THE FIRST SLIDE WAS A TITLE SLIDE.
SO YOU DIDN'T MISS MUCH AND WE'RE STILL ON THE SECOND SLIDE LOOKS LIKE WE'RE UP.
AND HOPEFULLY YOU CAN SEE THAT.
SO AGAIN, UM, HISTORICALLY, UM, MANDATORY AND CORE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FESTIVALS, OPTIONAL IN COMMUNITY INITIATIVES.
SO THE, UH, WE DID HAVE REQUIREMENTS, UH, FOR SERVING AS A FISCAL SPONSOR AND WE ACTUALLY INITIATED THESE REQUIREMENTS PROBABLY BACK IN 2006, 2007.
WE HAD A, UH, NEW NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT, UM, WAS SERVING AS A FISCAL SPONSOR.
UH, SO WE'VE HAD FISCAL SPONSORSHIP.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 2004 AND WE'VE HAD FISCAL SPONSORSHIP THE WHOLE TIME THAT I HAVE BEEN HERE AS, AS AN OPTION.
AND WE, WE INSTITUTED THESE RULES BACK AROUND 2006, 2007, SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE.
WE HAD A NEW NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WHO WAS SERVING AS A FISCAL SPONSOR AND THE APPLICATIONS THAT THEY SUBMITTED.
UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE AS MANY BACK THEN AS WE DO NOW.
SO IT WAS OKAY TAKING MY TIME TO LOOK AT THOSE AND GET UPDATES AS NEEDED, BUT IT WAS TAKING A LOT OF TIME.
SO WE, UM, INSTITUTED THESE RULES THAT THEY HAD TO BE A 5 0 1 C LOCATED IN AUSTIN OR THE EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.
THEY HAD TO HAVE A SALARIED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
WE DIDN'T SAY HOW MUCH THE SALARY HAD TO BE, JUST THAT THEY HAD TO HAVE SOMEONE IN THAT POSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE LONGEST TIME WE HAD A, THAT THEY HAD TO HAVE A $50,000 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET.
WE DID CHANGE THAT PROBABLY AROUND 20 15, 20 16, SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE, UM, UH, TO WHERE, UH, THEY COULD HAVE THAT $50,000 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET IF THEY HAD BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR, OR IF THEY'D BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR THREE YEARS OR MORE, UM, WE LOWERED THAT TO A $35,000 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET.
SO THOSE ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO SERVE AS A FISCAL SPONSOR IN OUR CURRENT, UM, IN OUR HISTORIC FUNDING PROGRAMS. UM, SO THE FISCAL SPONSORS, UM, CAN CHARGE A FEE, UH, FOR THE CITY AWARD AMOUNT.
IT'S UP TO 10% OF THE CITY AWARD AMOUNT.
UH, THERE IS NO DOLLAR LIMIT ON THE MAXIMUM FEE.
SO, UM, IF IT WAS A A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AWARD, WHICH HISTORICALLY SPONSORED PROJECTS DID NOT RECEIVE THAT MUCH, BUT IF IT WAS A A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AWARD, THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, 10% OF THAT WOULD BE $10,000.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP FEE.
UH, MOST OF OUR FISCAL SPONSORS DO CHARGE THE FULL 10% FEE, UH, BUT SOME CHARGE 5% OR 8% AND SOME CHARGE EVEN LESS, IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH SERVICES THEY PROVIDE, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT ON ANOTHER SLIDE.
UM, IN ADDITION, SOME, BUT NOT ALL FISCAL SPONSORS HAVE A MEMBERSHIP FEE, SO YOU NEED TO BE A MEMBER OF THAT ORGANIZATION IN ORDER TO UTILIZE THEIR FISCAL SPONSORSHIP SERVICES.
SO THIS IS ON TOP OF THE, UM, UP TO 10% FEE.
UM, AND THEN SOME, UM, HAVE YOU, UH, PAY FOR INSURANCE, OTHERS, UH, PROVIDE INSURANCE FOR YOU AND FOR ALL CITY CONTRACTS, A REMINDER, THESE ARE CONTRACTS AND NOT GRANTS.
ALL CITY CONTRACTS REQUIRE INSURANCE.
WE HAVE WAIVED THOSE FOR VIRTUAL AND VIRTUAL ONLY ACTIVITIES.
UM, BUT IF IT IS AN IN-PERSON ACTIVITY, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE INSURANCE AND I WILL START OFF WITH INSURANCE ON MY NEXT SLIDE IS WELL TALKING ABOUT THE SERVICES PROVIDED.
IT WILL ADVANCE AND THE TICK HAS LEFT THE ROOM, BUT I WAS ADVANCING THIS BEFORE.
MAYBE, HOPEFULLY IT WON'T GO TO THE END.
AND, UH, SO, UM, SO SOME OF THE FISCAL SPONSOR SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED, UM, ALMOST ALL, BUT NOT ALL, UM, OF THE FISCAL SPONSORS DO PROVIDE INSURANCE.
SO SOME OF THOSE INCLUDE THOSE IN THE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP FEE.
SO UP TO THE 10% OF CITY AWARD AMOUNT, UH, THEY WILL BASICALLY ADD THE SPONSORED PROJECTS ONTO THEIR OWN INSURANCE, UM, AS AN ADDITIONAL INSURED.
SO NO ADDITIONAL COSTS IT'S COVERED THROUGH THE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP FEE.
UH, SOME OFFER IT AT A REDUCED COST.
UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE AROUND A HUNDRED, $150 SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE WHEN A INSURANCE POLICY NORMALLY COSTS ANYWHERE FROM 500 TO $1,000.
[02:05:01]
SO IT'S A REDUCED COST IT'S ON TOP OF THE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP FEE, BUT IT IS LESS THAN, UH, WHAT THE SPONSORED PROJECT WOULD HAVE TO BE PAY TO BUY INSURANCE ON THEIR OWN.AND THEN A VERY FEW EITHER DO NOT PROVIDE INSURANCE OR MAYBE THE SPONSORED PROJECT ALREADY HAS INSURANCE FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES.
AND SO THE SPONSORED PROJECT BUYS THEIR OWN INSURANCE POLICY.
IN ADDITION TO PAYING UP TO THE 10% FISCAL SPONSORSHIP FEE.
UM, THE OTHER SERVICE PROVIDED BY THE FISCAL SPONSOR IS A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY.
AND I USE THAT TERM KIND OF BROADLY.
UM, SO THEY'LL REVIEW AND SUBMIT THE APPLICATION, UH, FOR THE SPONSORED PROJECT.
UH, SOME FISCAL SPONSORS DO PROVIDE MORE OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW AND, YOU KNOW, HANDHOLDING FOR THEIR SPONSORED PROJECTS, UH, THAN SOME OF THE OTHER FISCAL SPONSORS DO.
SO IT JUST KIND OF DEPENDS ON USUALLY, BUT NOT ALWAYS, THAT'LL BE REFLECTED IN A LOWER FEE.
SO IF THE FISCAL SPONSOR IS NOT PROVIDING AS MUCH OVERSIGHT OR REVIEW, UH, THEY TEND TO CHARGE A SMALLER, A FISCAL SPONSORSHIP FEE.
UM, THEY WILL ALSO REVIEW AND SUBMIT THE FINAL REPORT ON BEHALF OF THE SPONSORED PROJECT.
THE SPONSORED PROJECT STILL NEEDS TO SIGN OFF ON ALL OF THIS STUFF, BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE WORKING IN CONSULTATION WITH THE FISCAL SPONSOR AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN, BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING HAPPENS AND THE CITY AWARD AMOUNT NEEDS TO BE REIMBURSED.
SO, UM, WE GO TO THE FISCAL SPONSOR IF THAT HAPPENS.
AND THE FISCAL SPONSOR HAS TO PAY THE CITY BACK.
IT'S UP TO THE FISCAL SPONSOR, UM, TO GET THE MONEY FROM THE SPONSORED PROJECT.
BUT, UM, THE FISCAL SPONSOR HAS TO PAY THAT BACK IF NEEDED.
WE'VE NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THAT WE'VE RECEIVED, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, REIMBURSEMENTS BACK IF NEEDED.
AND PART OF WHAT WE DO IS THE FISCAL SPONSOR CANNOT THEY CAN SERVE AS A FISCAL SPONSOR.
SO BASICALLY AFTER I CLOSE OUT THE CURRENT YEAR'S CONTRACT, BEFORE THEY CAN MOVE ON TO THEIR NEXT YEAR'S CONTRACT, THEY NEED TO BE IN GOOD STANDING.
AND SO THAT IS WHY THEY, THEY PAY THE MONEY BACK.
OTHERWISE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO ENTER INTO THE NEXT YEAR'S CONTRACT.
THEY CAN SERVE AS A FISCAL SPONSOR FOR THEIR OTHER SPONSORED PROJECTS, BUT NOT FOR THEIR OWN CULTURAL CONTRACT, IF THEY HAPPEN TO HAVE ONE.
AND THAT PARTICULAR SPONSORED PROJECT, UM, CANNOT EITHER, UM, UNTIL THAT IS RESOLVED.
UM, AND THEN I HAVE SOME STATISTICS ON, UM, WHAT OUR FISCAL SPONSORSHIP, THIS IS FROM FY 21, UH, CONTRACTS AND MOST, UH, CURRENT YEAR THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTS FOR, WE HAD 426 TOTAL CULTURAL CONTRACTS OVER HALF, UH, WERE SPONSORED PROJECTS 228 OF THOSE 426.
UM, AND OF THOSE 228 SPONSORED PROJECTS, THEY WERE REPRESENTED BY 35 DIFFERENT FISCAL SPONSORS.
AND YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF OUR FISCAL SPONSORS ONLY HAD ONE SPONSORED PROJECT, 13 OF THOSE 35 OR 37%, UM, ONLY HAD ONE.
AND THEN, UH, ON OUR SECOND, MOST WAS, UH, THEY HAD TO, UH, UM, TWO TO FIVE SPONSORED PROJECTS AND IT'S ACTUALLY TWO TO FOUR.
UM, SO THE TWO COMBINED LESS THAN FIVE IS ABOUT TWO THIRDS, 65.71%.
SO JUST AT 66% OF OUR SPAWN FISCAL SPONSORS HAVE LESS THAN FIVE SPONSORED PROJECTS.
UM, FOR FISCAL SPONSORS HAVE SIX TO 10 OR ABOUT 11.
WE LOST HER SUSAN'S AUDIO ONE SECOND GUYS, AND YOU HEAR ME? AM I THERE? CAN YOU HEAR ME YOU'RE SOMEWHERE, BUT I DON'T THINK YOU'RE COMING THROUGH KENYA.
SO, UM, I'LL TRY NOT TO READ ALL OF THIS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, FIVE HAVE 11 TO 20, UH, SPONSORED PROJECTS AND ONLY THREE HAVE MORE THAN 20 SPONSORED PROJECTS.
AND I HAVE THIS ON MY LAPTOP HERE, I THINK, BUT I THINK IT WAS LIKE 21, 25 AND THEN 42 OR SOME, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IF I REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT SO, UM, THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR FISCAL SPONSORS, YOU KNOW, HAVE A SMALL AMOUNT OF PROJECTS, UH, THAT THEY, THAT THEY MANAGE, BUT THERE ARE A HANDFUL THAT DO HAVE OVER 20.
UM, AND SO THAT IS MY PRESENTATION ON, UH, FISCAL SPONSORSHIPS STATUS.
AS SOON AS I JUST HAD A COUPLE POINTS OF CLARIFICATION, UH, QUESTIONS AND POINTS OF CLARIFICATION, THE UPDATES THAT WERE RECENTLY MADE THAT WAS DONE STAFF AND A WORKING GROUP, CORRECT.
THAT WASN'T EXECUTIVE DECISIONS MADE BY STAFF ALONE ON THE OPTIONAL FISCAL SPONSOR, RECENT THE RECENT UPDATES.
UM, I, I WAS, I KNOW, UM, CHAIR, POLE GAR HAD ASKED ABOUT THAT AND WE WERE TRYING TO REMEMBER IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS, BUT A LOT OF THE IN SHORT YES, BECAUSE THE ARTS COMMISSION, UH, HAS TRADITIONALLY LOOKED AT OUR GUIDELINES.
AND SO IT WOULD BE IN CONSULTATION
[02:10:01]
WITH STAFF AND THE ARTS COMMISSION AND THEN THE ARTS COMMISSION AS A WHOLE WOULD APPROVE ANY CHANGES LIKE THAT.AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS IT SEEMS LIKE WE'VE GOT A PRETTY ROBUST, UM, ECOSYSTEM OF FISCAL SPONSORS AND CURIOUS, IS THERE A DIRECTORY THAT WE HAVE, AND WE'RE NOT JUST A LIST OF FISCAL SPONSORS, BUT WITH THE BENEFITS ALMOST LIKE WHEN YOU'RE GOING FROM A FREEMIUM PLAN TO THE PLATINUM PLAN THAT CHECKING OFF, YOU KNOW, YES, THIS, NO, THIS, THIS IS THE RATE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE SHEET? I JUST THINK IN THE SPACE THAT WE'RE IN BEING ABLE TO SEE THAT READILY AS THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE ENTITIES THAT ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY, THAT THAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE TRANSPARENT.
AND, AND BECAUSE IT'S COMING FROM, THROUGH THIS PREP, THIS FUNDING PROCESS, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD BE A REALLY RESOURCEFUL PIECE OF DATA TO HAVE AND HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, PUBLICIZED SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T LOSE TIME.
WE KNOW THAT THE RESOURCES ARE LIMITED AS THEY ARE, TIME IS MONEY.
SO TO TAKE A WEEK, EVEN A STAFF MEMBER TO DEDICATED, TO FINDING THE MOST APPROPRIATE FISCAL SPONSOR, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING ALMOST A GRAPH OR A FLOW CHART WHERE WE COULD SEE LIKE, OH, I FIT IN HERE.
THIS FISCAL SPONSOR WORKS WITH PERFORMANCE ART.
THIS FISCAL SPONSOR WORKS WITH VISUAL ARTISTS, LIKE HAVING TOOLS TO HELP OUR CULTURE CONTRACTS NAVIGATE THAT, THAT TERRAIN AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PAIRING THEM.
AND I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY THAT THE FISCAL SPONSORS WITH ONE OR TWO PROJECTS WOULDN'T NEED TO BE ON THAT, BUT ABSOLUTELY THE ONE WITH, I WOULD SAY FIVE OR MORE, THREE OR MORE THAT ARE WILLING TO POTENTIALLY GROW AS A FISCAL SPONSOR AS WELL.
WE HAVE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE THAT ALL IN THE CENTRAL, UH, THE, SO WE DO HAVE THE LIST OBVIOUSLY OF, YOU KNOW, WHO THE DIFFERENT FISCAL SPONSORS ARE, UM, WITH THE INFORMATION ABOUT FEES AND ALL OF THAT.
SOME OF IT IS, IT, IT DEPENDS, YOU KNOW, UM, SOME OF THEM MAY BE ROLLING AND SOME OF THEM WILL PROVIDE LOWER FEES FOR SOME AND HIGHER FEES FOR, FOR OTHERS, I BELIEVE.
UM, I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE ON THAT.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THAT COLLECTED.
AND SO WHAT WE'LL DO AS A CITY, WE CAN'T ENDORSE ONE CONTRACTOR OR ONE BUSINESS OVER THE OTHER.
SO IF SOMEONE IS LOOKING FOR A FISCAL SPONSOR, WE'LL EITHER SEND THEM A LIST OF KIND OF, TO YOUR POINT OF, YOU KNOW, THE ONES THAT ARE, BECAUSE WE KNOW SOME FISCAL SPONSORS THAT HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH US AND THEY'RE NOT ACCEPTING SPONSORED PROJECTS, SO WE DON'T SEND THEIR NAMES OUT.
UM, BUT IF THEY ARE ACCEPTING, SPONSORED PROJECTS, WE'LL ALL LET THAT, AND USUALLY IT'S ALL OF THEM, UNLESS IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UM, DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC.
WE KNOW THIS FISCAL SPONSOR ONLY WORKS WITH, YOU KNOW, THESE PARTICULAR, THIS ONE DISCIPLINE OR THESE PARTICULAR DISCIPLINES.
SO WE'LL CURATE THE LIST THAT WAY TO SEND OUT.
BUT GENERALLY WE SEND OUT ALL OF THE INFORMATION SO THAT THE CITY IS NOT, YOU KNOW, SHOWING FAVORITISM TO ONE FISCAL SPONSOR OPEN.
WE TOTALLY, TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I WOULD THINK ANYBODY THAT'S IN AN ACTIVE CONTRACT WITH THE CITY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO BE ON THAT LIST IN TERMS OF THIS DIRECTORY OF WHO WORKS, UM, WHO'S AVAILABLE.
UM, AND TO THAT POINT, HAVING SOMETHING THAT ISN'T NECESSARILY PRINTED OR A PDF, BUT THAT IT'S ACTUALLY A SORT OF LIVING, BREATHING DOCUMENT ON THE SITE SOMEWHERE.
UM, AND TO THAT POINT, I'M ASKING OUR FISCAL SPONSORS TO SUBMIT THAT, CAN WE CREATE A FORM THAT ASKS THESE QUESTIONS, THAT THESE DATA POINTS THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT SO THAT YOU GUYS AREN'T RUNNING AROUND COLLECTING THAT AND MAKING ASSUMPTIONS OR TRYING TO SCOUR EVERY WEBSITE, YOU KNOW, UM, 35 WEBSITES.
I THINK THAT THAT COULD BE A REALLY POWERFUL TOOL FOR THOSE THAT ARE ENTERING THIS WORLD POTENTIALLY FOR THE TIME.
IT CAN BE A VERY DAUNTING TASK, UM, AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS, UH, WHAT THAT COMMISSION IS GOING TO.
I THINK PEOPLE JUST NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT FIVE TO 10% IS REALLY COMING BACK TO YOU IN THE SERVICES YOU'RE RECEIVING, BUT KNOWING WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN A REALLY CONCRETE WAY, APOLOGIES COMMISSIONERS, I'VE MANIPULATED THE SPACE, ANY QUESTIONS FOR ? WELL, I FOUND THAT PRESENTATION RIVETING, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRESENTING.
[4.e. Hotel Occupancy Tax Update – Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, Acting Economic Development Department Director]
HAVE ITEM FOUR E HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX WITH DIRECTOR.SO DIRECTOR OF EDD, SYNOVIA HOLT, ROB, I WILL HAVE THIS AGENDA UPDATED IMMEDIATELY, IMMEDIATELY.
SO DO YOU PREFER CITY TO DO NAVIGATION OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO IT? UH, IF YOU COULD NAVIGATE THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SEE IF I CAN LIFT OUR SPIRITS WITH THIS PRESENTATION.
AT LEAST IT LIFTED MY SPIRIT WHEN I SAW THE NUMBER AND IF YOU COULD JUST GO DIRECTLY TO SLIDE TWO GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS AGAIN.
SO THERE'LL BE A HAUTE RAB DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
[02:15:01]
DEPARTMENT HERE TO BRING YOU GREAT NEWS.UM, FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY WE CODE AND REMEMBER, UH, IT TAKES ABOUT A MONTH LAG FROM THE PREVIOUS MONTH FOR COLLECTIONS TO ROLL IN.
SO PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE, UM, COLLECTED TWO POINT ALMOST $2.2 MILLION IN JANUARY, UM, WHICH IS AWESOME HOT COLLECTIONS OVERALL IS ABOUT $48 MILLION, WHICH IS 69% OF THE BUDGET.
AND REMEMBER, WE'RE NOT EVEN HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR AND IT'S 306% OVER LAST YEAR.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING.
PEOPLE ARE COMING HERE, SPENDING MONEY, AND WE ARE ACTUALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO A SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON.
I CAN TELL YOU INTEREST IN TRAVEL IS UP.
I WANT TO GIVE A BIG THANKS TO NOT ONLY CAT STAFF, BUT OUR INTERNATIONAL STAFF WHO HAVE FILLED THIS SO MANY INTERNATIONAL CALLS WANTING TO HAVE MEETINGS DURING SOUTH BY THAT.
WE'RE JUST EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY AND TEND TO CODE TO OCCUPANCY TAX.
AND I NOT DID TOO MUCH AD LIBBING, BUT I'M JUST EXCITED ABOUT THE NUMBER, ANY QUESTION.
CAN WE GET THE COMMISSIONERS BACK ON THE ROOM SCREEN? AND ALSO THE SOUND SEEMS TO BE IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM.
IT'S QUITE HARD TO HEAR FROM THE DIOCESE.
WE CAN GET THAT COMING BACK UP HERE.
UH, IN THE MEANTIME, COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR DIRECTOR.
STILL NOVI, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING AND BEING THE BEARER OF AMAZING NEWS.
[4.f. Cultural Funding Review Process Update – Meghan Wells, Cultural Arts Division Manager]
WE HAVE ITEM FOUR F CULTURAL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS UPDATE WITH MEGAN WELLS, CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER.AND IF WE COULD BRING UP MY SLIDE.
UM, I JUST WANT TO RETURN US, UH, FOR MY UPDATE TO THIS VISUAL OF THE PROCESS ANTICIPATED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE COLD FUNDING REVIEW.
AS I MENTIONED LAST MONTH, THIS IS GOING TO HELP US TO MAP OUT THE TIMELINE AND THE PLAN FOR NEXT STEPS AS OUR PROCESS UNFOLDS IN REAL TIME AND ASSIST ME IN PROVIDING VALUABLE AND ACCURATE UPDATES TO YOU IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE STILL IN THE ARTS COMMISSION WORKING GROUP PHASE, WHICH WE STARTED LAST MONTH WITH TWO MEETINGS.
HAVEN'T TAKEN PLACE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND AS I UNDERSTAND ANOTHER MEETING TO COME IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, WE'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT.
UH, AS THE WORKING GROUP REPORTS OUT LATER THIS EVENING, THE NEXT STEP AFTER THAT WILL BE FOR STAFF TO PREPARE, PREPARE THE DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR ALL THREE PROGRAMS, NEXUS ELEVATE, AND THRIVE FOR COMMUNITY REVIEW AND ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK.
WE WILL LIKELY HAVE THESE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE TO VIEW ON OUR WEBSITE WITH A FEEDBACK COMMENT BOX.
AS WE HAVE USED IN THE PAST, WE ARE PLANNING FOR THAT TO HAPPEN IN THE LATE MARCH, EARLY APRIL TIMEFRAME, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AND WE'LL USE OUR NEWSLETTER AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS TO NOTIFY THE COMMUNITY WHEN THEY'RE UP, HOW FEEDBACK CAN BE PROVIDED TO US.
THERE MAY ALSO BE ANOTHER WORKING GROUP ASSEMBLED DURING THE PHASE TO ENSURE THAT OUR EQUITY FOCUS IS FULLY INFORMED BY THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF SYSTEM SYSTEMICALLY, MARGINALIZED AND CULTURAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WHILE THIS WORK IS HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY, STAFF WILL BE CONTINUING TO DISCUSS ALL ASPECTS OF THE PANEL PROCESS SCORING, PROGRAM, EVALUATION, METHODOLOGIES, STAFF ROLES, AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.
THESE COMPONENTS OF PROGRAM OPERATION ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE GUIDELINES.
AND WE WANT TO BE COGNIZANT OF SEEING ALL FACETS OF OUR PROGRAM, WORK THROUGH THE LENS OF EQUITY, EFFICIENCY, AND EFFECTIVENESS.
[02:20:01]
CONCLUDES STAFF WILL ANALYZE AND PROCESS IT ONCE MORE AND MAKE ANY CHANGES NECESSARY TO THE REF PROGRAM GUIDELINES BEFORE THEY GO BACK TO THE FULL ARTS COMMISSION FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION COUNSEL MAY ALSO REQUEST A BRIEFING AND WE WILL COORDINATE WITH THE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT AND HERITAGE TOURISM DIVISIONS TO TAKE A TAKE UP ANY PRESENTATIONS OR SEND A MEMO TO COUNCIL.YOU CAN SEE THE NEXT STEPS OUTLINED HERE TO TAKE US UP THROUGH THE TIME WHERE WE WILL LAUNCH PROGRAMS. I WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS VISUAL UPDATED AND WE WILL KNOW MORE SPECIFIC TIMEFRAMES ONCE WE GET A LITTLE FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD, BUT I AM OPEN FOR QUESTIONS AT ANY TIME OR, UH, AT THIS MOMENT FROM THE COMMISSIONERS.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR MEGAN, MR. CASTILLO? UH, I GUESS I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE, UH, HOW YOU'RE COLLECTING FEEDBACK, IF IT WOULD BE SIMILAR TO THE WAY YOU COLLECTED FEEDBACK ON THE PILOT PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS.
YEAH, WE'RE STILL KIND OF WORKING OUT WHAT THOSE METHODS WOULD BE.
WE WANT IT TO BE A PROCESS WHERE WE CAN BE AS INCLUSIVE OF ANY COMMENTS THAT COME TO US.
HOWEVER, WE DON'T WANT TO START BACK AT THE BEGINNING WITH REWORKING, ANYTHING FROM SCRATCH.
SO WE'RE THINKING MAYBE WE'LL PUT SOME TARGETED QUESTIONS OR PROMPTS TO HELP PEOPLE KIND OF FOCUS THEIR FEEDBACK ON SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE GUIDELINES OR TOPICS SO THAT WE CAN TRACK WHAT'S COMING IN TO US AND HOW WE'RE ADDRESSING IT.
MAYBE NOT QUESTION BY QUESTION, BUT SO THAT WE CAN LUMP THEM INTO SORT OF, YOU KNOW, RATIONAL WAYS TO LOOK AT THE GUIDELINES FROM A HOLISTIC VIEW, BUT THEN IF THERE'S ANY SPECIFIC FEEDBACK, WE'RE ALSO OPEN TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, SO AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE LAUNCH OF WHAT THAT FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, SORT OF INSTRUCTION MIGHT BE, UM, I'LL KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW IT'S GOING TO BE PRESENTED ON THE WEBSITE AND IF THERE'S OTHER CHANNELS SUCH AS LIKE A SURVEY OR ANY OTHER TOOLS THAT MIGHT GO ALONG WITH IT, I'LL KNOW MORE ABOUT KIND OF HOW WE MIGHT, YOU KNOW, LAY THOSE OUT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO USE.
WE'RE STILL KIND OF IN THE MIDST OF FIGURING OUT WHAT'S GOING TO WORK WITH.
IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD STRATEGY.
UM, I THINK THAT GRAPHIC IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL AND I WILL CONTINUE TO CIRCULATE IT WIDELY.
I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE STEPS THAT GO IN TO ACTUALLY GETTING A PROGRAM LIVE AND, AND JUST GETTING THE APPLICATION OUT.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE STAFF HAVING PUT THAT TOGETHER.
YOU HAVING PUT THAT TOGETHER, UM, AND WE'LL JUST TRY AND CONTINUE THAT TRANSPARENCY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
[5.a. Discussion and Possible Action on Cultural Funding Review Process]
MOVING ONTO OLD BUSINESS FIVE, EIGHT DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE CULTURAL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS.UH, WE'VE JUST HEARD FROM MEGAN WELLS, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S PROGRESS HAPPENING AND THE WORKING GROUP, UH, MOVING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE RELEASE, THE NEXT RELEASE OF GUIDELINES THAT THE REVISIONS OF THE GUIDELINES, UM, LET'S, I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM COMMISSIONERS.
HOW ARE WE FEELING? DO WE WANT TO WAIT UNTIL WE HEAR FROM THE UPDATE FROM THE WORKING GROUP, THE EQUITY WORKING GROUP BEFORE STARTING A CONVERSATION? YES.
I'M GETTING A RESOUNDING YES FROM COMMISSIONER GREY.
OKAY, WELL LET'S GO AHEAD AND KEEP GOING WHERE WE ARE EIGHT 30.
[5.b. Discussion and Possible Action on Working Groups and Working Group Updates]
HERE IF I BEAT, BUT DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ACTION ON WORKING GROUPS AND WORKING GROUP UPDATES, FIVE ONE, THE EQUITY WORKING GROUP WITH COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS OF THE BIPAP, LGBTQ DISABILITIES COMMUNITIES, WOMEN AND WOMEN WITH COMMISSIONERS KEATON IS THE CHAIR COMMISSIONERS CASTILLO, GREY POLGAR AND MYSELF, ALONG WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.UM, COMMISSIONER CASTILLO HAS AGREED TO GIVE THE UPDATE AS COMMISSIONER KEATON WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO BE PRESENT TODAY.
UH, SO WE, THE COMMISSION MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP HAVE BEEN MEETING SINCE, UH, I GUESS LATE NOVEMBER IN PLANNING AND IDENTIFYING COMMUNITY LEADERS TO, TO INVITE, UH, TO THE WORKING GROUP.
UH, WE HAD OUR FIRST MEETING WITH COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS, UH, FEBRUARY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH, WHERE, UH, WE WERE, WE WERE, WE RECEIVED A PRESENTATION, A SUMMARY PRESENTATION BY, UH, BY MARGIE REESE OF MJR PARTNERS, UM, GIVING US AN OVERVIEW OF, OF THE PROCESS.
AND, UH, AND THEN WE OPENED IT UP TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY ARTISTS, ARTS LEADERS, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE A LEVEL SETTING, JUST MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WAS, WAS CAUGHT UP INTO IT IN TERMS OF WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE CULTURAL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS.
UH, WE GOT SOME, SOME GREAT QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THEN WE SCHEDULED OUR SECOND MEETING, WHICH WAS, UH, LAST WEEK, THIS WEEK, THE 21ST
[02:25:02]
I THINK THAT WAS THIS WEEK.UM, AND AGAIN, WE CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION WE STARTED.
UH, WE STARTED ASKING, UH, KIND OF LIKE THE BIGGER PICTURE OF LIKE, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU NEED, UH, AS FAR AS, AS A COMMUNITY, WHAT DO WE NEED, UH, AND STARTING TO PREPARE TO ASK ABOUT, UM, WHAT THEY WOULD NEED FOR, TO BE PREPARED TO REVIEW THE GUIDELINES AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
UM, THE ATTENDANCE WAS DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE TWO MEETINGS.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT EVERYBODY, UH, IS ABLE TO PROVIDE, PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO US IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK FOR THE GUIDELINES.
SO WE DO, WE ARE PLANNING A THIRD MEETING, UM, AND WE'RE ALSO PLANNING A THIRD MEETING BECAUSE WE ARE AT THE MEETING THIS WEEK.
WE ASKED THE GROUP FOR, FOR THEIR CONSENT OF RELEASING, UH, THEIR, THEIR PR OR INFORMATION REGARDING THEIR PARTICIPATION ON THIS WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND YOU MIGHT WONDER WHY WE'RE ASKING FOR CONSENT IN THIS, UH, PUBLIC WHERE WE'RE A PUBLIC BODY AND WE HAVE OUR MEETINGS RECORDED.
UM, WORKING GROUPS GENERALLY DON'T HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF, UH, GUIDANCE IN TERMS OF RECORDING CONVERSATIONS.
AND SO, UH, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY, THEY WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY OF GIVING US CONSENT TO RELEASE INFORMATION, AND IF THEY FELT MORE COMFORTABLE BEING ANONYMOUS TO, TO ALLOW THEM TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT ARTS COMMISSIONERS, I MEAN, I WANT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY TO KNOW THIS, BUT REALLY ARTS COMMISSIONERS TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE STARTED THIS WORKING GROUP, IDENTIFYING THAT IT IS A COMMUNICATIONS PIPELINE, UM, AND IDENTIFYING THE COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS THAT WE WERE, UH, FOCUSING ON, WHICH WERE, UH, OUR, OUR, OUR BLACK AND BROWN, UH, LGBTQ AND WOMEN AND, UH, ACCESSIBILITY OR DISABILITY LEADERS.
UM, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT THAT'S OUR SEPTEMBER ARTS COMMISSION MEETING WAS THE FLASH POINT FOR CREATING THIS WORKING GROUP.
UH, WE, WE, WE ALREADY KNEW THAT WE WANTED BETTER COMMUNICATION.
SO WE ALREADY HAD AN IDEA OF HAVING A WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, BUT REALLY IT WAS THE CITIZENS COMMUNICATION AT THE SEPTEMBER MEETING, WHERE WE HAD A COHORT OF VOICES WHO WANTED TO PAUSE THE REVIEW PROCESS.
AND WE HAD ANOTHER COHORT OF VOICES THAT HAD FEEDBACK TO PROVIDE, AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE HEARD, BUT THEY WERE OKAY WITH THE REVIEW PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT, THAT IT WAS THE LAST SPEAKER THAT REVEALED THAT, UH, THAT DAWSON CREATIVE ALLIANCE LED BY JOHN REEDY.
AND DO WE BROOKS, UH, WE'RE HOSTING CONVERSATIONS AND INVITED BLACK VOICES TO THE TABLE.
BUT AS SOON AS THOSE BLACK VOICES STARTED TO DEVIATE, DISSENT AND DISAGREE WITH THE TALKING POINTS OF ACA, THEY WERE IGNORED AND EXCLUDED.
UM, AND SO THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED AT THE SEPTEMBER ARTS COMMISSION MEETING.
AS WE HEARD FROM THOSE BLACK VOICES SAYING, WE'VE BEEN EXCLUDED, WE WANT A SEAT AT THE TABLE.
UM, OUR MEETINGS ARE RECORDED.
YOU CAN GO BACK AND WATCH IT AND LISTEN TO THAT, TO THOSE COMMENTS.
UM, SO WE USE THIS WORKING GROUP AS FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS PIPELINE.
WE IDENTIFY THESE LEADERS AND, UH, IN THE WORKING GROUP, AS WE WERE PLANNING THESE MEETINGS, WE DECIDED THAT WE DID NOT WANT TO SUBJECT THESE COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS TO THE SAME HARASSING MESSAGES THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING FROM JOHN READING.
SO WE KNOW SO THAT THE REST OF THE ARTS COMMISSION KNOWS THAT, THAT THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO, UH, MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS FROM JOHN AUSTIN, CREATIVE ALLIANCES, LEADERSHIP, JOHN REEDY, UM, JUST CON CONSISTENT HARASSING MESSAGES.
AND WE DID NOT WANT TO SUBJECT THESE COMMUNITY ART THEATERS TO THAT SAME TYPE OF, UM, TARGETING.
AND SO THAT IS WHY WE DECIDED TO IDENTIFY THESE LEADERS, INVITE THEM TO OUR WORKING GROUP MEETINGS AND ALLOW THEM TO PROVIDE THE CONSENT TO RELEASE THEIR NAMES AND THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THESE WORKING GROUPS.
UM, WHEN WE ASKED THE QUESTION THIS WEEK, THE ONES THAT WERE IN ATTENDANCE WERE OKAY WITH RELEASING THEIR NAMES.
AND SO WHEN WE PROVIDE OUR FINAL REPORT, UM, CAUSE THAT WAS THE, THAT WAS THE PLAN FROM THE BEGINNING.
WE WANTED TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS.
WE WANTED TO GENERATE A REPORT AND PROVIDE THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED TO CITY STAFF.
UM, SO WHEN WE DO THAT REPORT, IT WILL INCLUDE THE LIST OF PARTICIPANTS, UM, AS THEY'VE AGREED TO,
[02:30:02]
TO BE IDENTIFIED.UM, AND SO THAT'S MY UPDATE FROM THE WORKING GROUP.
I THINK THAT ACCURATELY PORTRAYS THE REASONING, THE EXPERIENCE AND THE WAY WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
AND, UM, WE ARE ALL ABOUT TRANSPARENCY, BUT WE'RE ABOUT SAFETY FIRST LIVING ON FIVE B ITEM, TWO JOINT MUSIC AND ARTS WORKING GROUP, UH, COMMISSION WORKING GROUP TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL FUNDING, RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES BEYOND HOT WITH COMMISSIONER, SMALL DOC CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS CUSTODY OF PHOTOS, THIS MEN AND MEMBERS OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION COMMISSIONER, SMALL BLOCK.
WE HAVE NOT MET SINCE OUR LAST MEETINGS SINCE OUR LAST COMMISSION MEETING.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE A, AN UPCOMING MEETING NEXT WEEK.
AND THE PRESENTATION THAT Y'ALL SAW EARLIER FROM LUIS WAS, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR IN, IN SORT OF IDENTIFYING LOWISH, HANGING FRUIT, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, HOT, THAT'S NOT BEING COLLECTED FROM EXISTING STRS AS A POSSIBLE, UM, SOMETHING TO GO AFTER SO THAT WE CAN, UM, INCREASE THE FUNDING AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT, UM, ARTS, MUSIC AND CULTURE.
AND WE'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED WE'RE MEETING NEXT WEEK.
UM, THE MISSION OF SMALL BALL I HEARD IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THAT WORK IN GROUP NEEDS MORE MEMBERS.
IS THAT TRUE? IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE MORE MEMBERS.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT, ESPECIALLY AS WE START MOVING, YOU KNOW, EVEN FURTHER INTO PURSUING SPECIFIC STRATEGIES, UM, WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE, MORE FOLKS.
AND I THINK THAT INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO REGROUP OUR, OUR, OUR COMMISSIONER TEAM TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE AGREED.
UM, BUT I DO THINK WE WILL GET TO THE POINT VERY SOON, PROBABLY AFTER FRIDAY, WHERE WE COULD ALSO OPEN THAT UP, YOU KNOW, BEYOND, BEYOND COMMISSIONERS.
AND, AND IF THERE ARE FOLKS IN THE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY, UM, WHO WANT TO HELP WITH US, THAT WOULD BE WELCOME.
IF THERE'S STILL ROOM FOR A COMMISSIONER.
IF I GET EMOTION, I WOULD LOVE TO BE A CHILD EMOTION BY THE MOTION IS TO ADD COMMISSIONER GRAY TO THE JOINT WORKING GROUP, THE MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MOCK.
DO I HAVE A SECOND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SMALL BLOCK.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CASTILLO.
I DON'T THINK WE REALLY NEEDED AN EMOTION, BUT GETTING TO GO THROUGH THE, WE HAVE MY MOMENT, MY MOMENT, JUST TRYING TO SING.
I'M ERRING ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.
THAT'S ALL WE CAN VOTE FOR FUN, BUT EVIDENTLY IT'S NOT NECESSARY.
CONTINUE TO COMMISSIONER CASTILLO.
IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS COMMISSIONER SMALL BACK FOR HER LEADERSHIP ON THIS.
I THOUGHT THE PRESENTATION TODAY WAS GREAT INDICATION AS TO WHERE THIS WORKING GROUP IS GOING.
SO JUST WANT TO SAY THAT AGREED, AGREED.
WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND THE EXPERIENCE YOU BRING AND EXCITED FOR SO MUCH THE YEARS AHEAD OF THIS WORK.
I'M SO EXCITED TO DO IT WITH YOU.
UM, UH, UH, THREE JOINT WORKING GROUP FOR JOINT CULTURAL COMMITTEE WITH COMMISSIONER CASTILLO, COMMISSIONER POOLE, GAR, AND THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS FROM THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
UH, I TRIED TO HAVE A MEETING.
IT WAS A, IT WAS A SHORT MEETING.
UM, I FOOLISHLY SCHEDULED IT WHEN THERE WAS A JOINT INCLUSION COMMISSION AND QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSION MEETING.
UM, SO WE'RE JUST CARRYING OVER, UH, JUST TRYING TO REGROUP AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.
UM, SAME UPDATE AS I, AS PREVIOUSLY, WE, WE HAVE A DOC, WE HAVE COUPLE OF DOCUMENTS AND WE WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS COMFORTABLE WITH THE LANGUAGE INCLUDED, UM, AND GET THAT, UM, SUPPORT WITHIN THE WORKING GROUP BEFORE WE BRING IT TO ALL OF OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE WE'RE MEETING AND WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH NEXT ON THE LIST.
PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, T3 WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS BARNS CHAIRS, SMALL BLACK FLOORS AND MOCK, UNFORTUNATELY BARNES HAD TO LEAVE WITH, FOR A WORK COMMITMENT.
IS THERE ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THAT
[02:35:01]
WORKING GROUP THAT WOULD LIKE TO GIVE US A BRIEF UPDATE IF THERE'S ONE TO BE HAD? I DON'T THINK WE HAVE MET AT LEAST.SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING TO REPORT.
WELL, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU GUYS COMMISSIONER SMALL, BAD, PERHAPS I'M THINKING OF A MEETING THAT HAPPENED BEFORE OUR LAST MEETING OR LAST COMMISSION MEETING WHERE I WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEND.
WAS THERE AN UPDATE LAST MONTH? BECAUSE I THINK WE DID.
I MEAN, WE DID, WE HAVE MET AND, UM, W W I'M TRYING TO SEE IF I CAN GIVE A SUMMARY OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, ESSENTIALLY WE WERE LOOKING AT RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE AND, AND I DON'T KNOW, MEGAN, CAN YOU HELP OUT HERE? YOU WERE THERE.
I THOUGHT SOMEWHERE IN A MILLION YEARS SINCE THAT MEETING, BUT, UH, WE, WE, WE DID TALK ABOUT, I THINK MOSTLY IT WAS, UH, STAFF PROVIDING SORT OF THE LANDSCAPE OF WHAT, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH HERE IN TERMS OF LIKE HOW THE, HOW THE PROCUREMENT WORKS FOR THESE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE CITY PURCHASES A BUILDING VERSUS, UH, CONSTRUCTING IT FROM AN IN-HOUSE AND A TRADITIONAL WAY OF, YOU KNOW, COMPETITIVELY SELECTING A CONTRACTOR WHO THEN PROVIDES, YOU KNOW, THE CAPITAL PROJECT, THIS IS A, IS MORE LIKE A, UH, A PURCHASE LIKE AN OUTRIGHT, YOU KNOW, A DEVELOPER PROVIDES IT AND WE BUY IT IF IT, IF IT MEETS OUR STANDARDS.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANIMAL, BUT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW AIPP AS AN ORDINANCE, UH, DOESN'T REALLY FIT THIS MODEL BECAUSE BACK IN 1985, AND EVEN WHEN IT WAS REVISED IN 2004, IT DIDN'T REALLY ANTICIPATE HOW OUR PROCESSES WOULD EVOLVE LIKE THIS.
AND SO WE WERE THINKING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF HOW, HOW WE MIGHT JUST FIND A WAY TO, TO REVISE THE ORDINANCE, ULTIMATELY TO ALLOW FOR AIP SPIRIT AND SORT OF THE, THE, THE SPIRIT OF THE ORDINANCE TO BE APPLIED TO THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS SO THAT WE DON'T MISS OUT ON OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE AN ARTIST INVOLVED, YOU KNOW, PREFERABLY EARLY, BUT THE TIMING IS SORT OF, UM, TRICKY AND, AND THE FACT THAT THE CITY, UH, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T HAVE CONTROL OVER THE PROJECT WHEN IT'S HAPPENING, UH, LIKE WE DO FOR OTHER IN-HOUSE PROJECTS.
IT WAS MOSTLY, I THINK, A DISCUSSION ABOUT KIND OF LAYING OUT THE FRAMEWORK OF WHAT, WHAT THE CONTEXT IS.
AND THEN I THINK THE NEXT PAINTING, I THINK WILL BE MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DON IT, MAYBE, MAYBE WE'LL COME UP WITH SOME BRAINSTORMED, YOU KNOW, IDEAS TO PURSUE FURTHER.
THAT'S REFLECTIVE OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
I THOUGHT IT WAS ANOTHER MEETING.
YEAH, I WAS THERE AT THAT MEETING.
I THOUGHT HE WAS ANOTHER MEETING.
WE TALK A LOT ABOUT, UH, HOW WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR, UH, AUTISTS ARE NOT BEING SHORT CHANGED BECAUSE OF THIS, THIS CHANGE.
AND ALSO WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, NOT SETTING US UP AS A TARGET, BUT WORK WITH OTHER COMMISSION, UM, THAT ALSO HAVE THE SAME CONCERN ABOUT HOW, HOW GETS, UH, PPP, YOU KNOW, UH, BEING DONE.
SO HE GOT, YEAH, WE, I WAS THERE, I WAS THERE, THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION AND WE, WE, WE NEED TO REALLY, UH, BE WELL COALITION, YOU KNOW, TO ADDRESS DIFFERENT ISSUES.
UH, UM, AND WE GOT TO THIS NEW ARRANGEMENT, YOU KNOW, WITH THIS CITY PROJECTS.
UH, NEXT IS QUARTERLY ARTS COMMUNITY COMMISSION MEETUPS WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS BARNES CASTILLO, CHAIR, GOD AND GRAY, YOUR BACKUP COMMISSIONER CASTILLO.
WE MET, WE TALKED, UH, WE FELT PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHAT WE HAD PRESENTED A FEW MONTHS AGO.
UH, REALLY WE JUST DECIDED BECAUSE OF THE EQUITY WORKING GROUP AND THE, THE EFFORTS OF THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR WITH THE COMMUNITY CHATS THAT, UH, UH, WE HAD IN, IN, WHEN WE PRESENTED LAST TIME, WE HAD TWO OPTIONS, RIGHT? SHOULD IT BE ADJACENT DISTRICT AT ADJACENT DISTRICTS, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THE, IN THE MEETINGS OR SHOULD IT BE JUST DIVERSE REPRESENTATION, RIGHT.
LIKE NORTHEAST, SOUTHWEST, YOU KNOW, JUST THREE RANDOM COMMISSIONERS.
AND SO WE DECIDED BECAUSE OF THE EQUITY WORKING GROUP AND COMMUNITY CHATS THAT THE DIVERSE, UM, ATTENDANCE WOULD BE THE, THE, THE WAY TO MODEL THE QUARTERLY MEETUPS.
[02:40:01]
ARE IN FEBRUARY, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, UH, I'M FORGETTING THE DATES, BUT, UH, I THINK IT'S EIGHT, EIGHT BEGINNING OF APRIL AS THE FIRST TIME THAT, THAT THE QUARTERLY WILL, WILL BE HELD.SO IT GIVES US A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO ACTUALLY SET THAT UP AND SEE IF WE CONTINUE TO, TO MOVE DOWN IN TERMS OF STAGE COVID STAGE SO THAT WE CAN, UH, CONSIDER A HYBRID MODEL, UM, PERMISSION TO GREY DID VOLUNTEER TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, COMMISSIONERS TO PRESENT.
I'M WILLING TO VOLUNTEER SINCE, UH, RIGHT NOW WE DO STILL HAVE THE AGREEMENT WITH THE BIG MEDIUM TO USE THE ZOOM CALL.
AND I HAVE THAT LOG IN INFORMATION.
I WANT YOU TO BE ONE OF THE, AMONG THE FIRST AS WELL, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA.
WASN'T SURE IF YOU WANTED TO VOLUNTEER TO BE IN THAT FIRST QUARTERLY MEETUP.
UH, AND IF NOT, I OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT.
IS THERE A GOAL? I KNOW WE, WE CAN'T HIT QUORUM, BUT ARE YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE A NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS IN MIND THAT YOU WOULD LIKE AS, I MEAN, I THINK WE'D ALL, IT'D BE GREAT IF WE WERE ALL ATTENDED, AS MANY OF US COULD ATTEND AS POSSIBLE, IF WE COULD HIT A QUORUM IN TERMS OF ATTENDEES, BUT DO YOU WANT TWO OR THREE PEOPLE AT A TIME? DO YOU, DO YOU WANT ONE PERSON PRIMARILY PRESENTING? YEAH, WE, WE WANT THREE ARTS COMMISSIONERS PRESENT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF, PART OF THE PREPARATION TO THE QUARTER MEETUP IS, IS HOW WELL WE HAVE THE TEMPLATE, ACTUALLY THE TEMPLATE, A TEMPLATE TO THE AGENDA.
AND IT ALLOWS FOR JUST QUICK INTRODUCTIONS OF EVERYBODY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, RECAPPING ARTS COMMISSION MEETINGS, AND THEN OPENING IT UP FOR, FOR LIGHTNING PRESENTATIONS, FROM THE COMMUNITY TO SHARE RESOURCES AND THEN OPENING IT UP TO DISCUSSION.
UM, SO THERE'S REALLY NOT A NEED FOR A LEAD PRESENTER.
THAT'S SUPER HELPFUL JUST TO UNDERSTAND THAT STRUCTURE AND, AND I'M SURE THINGS WILL SHIFT AS, AS IT'S NEEDED, RIGHT.
THE GETTING IN THERE AND GETTING THE ROOM WITH, OR NOT IN THE ROOM, HOPEFULLY SOMEWHERE OUTDOOR AND WE'LL CIRCULATE WITH PEOPLE AND EXPERIENCING THAT.
I KNOW WE'VE LEARNED A LOT FROM THE COMMUNITY CHATS THAT WE'VE HOSTED.
SO, UM, I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO PASSING THAT FOOTBALL ONTO Y'ALL.
UM, THE COMMUNITY CHATS HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE.
UM, AND I'LL SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER, BUT, UH, I'M GLAD THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING CONSISTENT, SLATED, UM, AND GETTING THAT FACE TIME WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO LIKE, IF, IF I'M HOPING SOMEONE ON THE CALL WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO BE THAT, THAT THIRD ARTS COMMISSIONER, UM, CAUSE WITH THAT THIRD ARTS COMMISSION, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS MY FINAL REPORT AND WE CAN JUST MOVE INTO ORGANIZING THE QUARTERLY MEETUP.
WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER FOR A THIRD MIGHT MAKE SENSE IF ONE MEMBER FROM THE WORKING GROUP COULD DO THAT SINCE YOU'VE BEEN A PART OF THE PLANNING PROCESS, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE TIMING DOESN'T ALLOW THAT WE HAVE TO IT'S MYSELF AND COMMISSIONER GRAY, BUT YOU'RE ASKING FOR A THIRD, RIGHT? ANYBODY BUELLER, WE CAN ALSO CIRCULATE AN EMAIL.
I DON'T WANT TO PUT ANYBODY ON THE SPOT.
I, AND I, I WANTED TO RESEARCH LATE THAT, THAT TEMPLATE AGENDA.
AND UM, IF ALL ELSE FAILS, I AM THERE IN A HEARTBEAT AND I SH I'M, I'M CONFIDENT IN SPEAKING FOR COMMISSIONER POLE GUARD THAT SHE WOULD LOVE TO BE IN ATTENDANCE AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT WORK, EMERGENCY FUNDING AND PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR FUTURE FUNDING, WORKING GROUP COMMISSIONERS FLORES, PULL GRUSH MOBA, SMALL BLACK VAN DYKE, AND ZISMAN CHAIR.
UM, WE HAVE NOT MET, WE'VE HAD MANY THINGS, UH, THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SIMULTANEOUSLY.
WE KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT, UM, ACTION COMING DOWN FROM ON HIGH THAT WE WANT TO INCORPORATE INTO THAT MEETING.
IT'S COMING UP, BUT WE HAVE NOT MET.
THIS MAY BE, UH, SOMETHING I JUST MISSED, BUT WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT, UM, THE WORKING GROUP TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL FUNDING RESOURCES AND THE EMERGENCY FUNDING AT THIS TIME? I WOULD SAY THERE'S A LOT OF OVERLAP.
I THINK THE JOINT WORKING GROUP WITH MUSIC IS AN EFFORT TO UNIFY THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD SAY THAT THE, OUR CON, OUR ARTS COMMISSION WORKING GROUP IS GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON PROGRAMMING SO THAT WE GET LIKE THE ACC, THE CONSERVATION CORPS THAT'LL BE SORT OF SILOED OUT FOR ARTS.
AND SO WE WANT TO HAVE OUR OWN SUB WORKING GROUP.
OBVIOUSLY, I THINK THAT WORKS COLLABORATIVE AND IT'S GONNA BLEED OVER.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST DISTINCT DIFFERENCE IS PERHAPS THE FOUNDERS, BUT THE MONEY POTS TOGETHER WHEN THE MONEY THOUGHTS ARE SEPARATE, BASICALLY ARTS NEIGHBORHOOD WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS, GREAT MOCKS.
THIS HAS BEEN IN VAN DYKE CHAIR.
UM, LAST MONTH I SAID, WE WERE REALLY, REALLY CLOSE AND THIS MONTH I WILL SAY, I THINK WE'RE EVEN REALLY, REALLY CLOSER.
[02:45:01]
IT, UH, I THINK FOR ALL OF US LIFE SEEMS TO BE RETURNING AND WE'RE TRYING TO ADJUST TO THAT.UH, WE'VE HAD DIFFICULTY MEETING.
UM, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY THAT I FEEL LIKE THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S A DUAL IDEA.
UM, THERE'S NOT REALLY ANY PRECEDENTS, UM, NOTHING JUST LIKE IT ANYWAY.
UM, AND I THINK THE FACT THAT IT STARTED OUT IN MY HEAD AND, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET OTHER PEOPLE TO SEE WHAT'S IN MY HEAD AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OTHER PEOPLE BRING IN THEIR THING TO IT AND COMBINING IT ALL TOGETHER.
UM, BUT I THINK THE MAIN THING IS I FEEL LIKE GESTATION IS THE WORD THAT CAME TO ME, UH, THIS, THIS LAST WEEK OR TWO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT TIME OF PREGNANCY OR, YOU KNOW, JUST, IT JUST TAKES TIME.
UH, YOU KNOW, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT AT THE END OF A PREGNANCY, IT REALLY WANT THAT BABY OUT.
AND I CAN IMAGINE THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING.
UM, SO I, I, I W I WISH IT WAS DONE, BUT IT JUST SEEMS TO BE TAKEN SOME TIME.
SO THANK YOU AS ALL GOOD THINGS DO, AND I'M SURE THIS IS EXACTLY COMPARABLE TO THAT PREGNANCY, THAT ALL US MOMS EXPERIENCE, RICK.
[6.a. Misc. Discussion and Possible Action Items]
OKAY WITH THAT.WE'RE MOVING ON TO NEW BUSINESS ITEM SIX, A MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS, SIX, A ONE LEGAL CONSIDERATION RE RELATED TO THE EQUITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUNDED PROGRAMS. UM, WE WERE ABLE TO ASK SOME, SOME GOOD QUESTIONS OF NEIL.
AND AS I SAID, I THINK IT WOULD BE WISE FOR US AS COMMISSIONERS TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE MUSIC COMMISSIONS PRESENTATION AND HEARING THE DISCUSSION, I THINK, IN THE SPIRIT OF UNIFICATION AND MOVING TOGETHER INTO THIS NEW TIME, BEING, HAVING A CONSENSUS BETWEEN THE COMMISSIONS IS A SMART MOVE AND, AND WORKING TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY.
UM, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN SAID TIME AND TIME AGAIN, WE'RE A COMMUNITY OF SILOS.
WE NEED TO BE WORKING TOGETHER.
WE ARE THE CULTURE AND LIFEBLOOD OF THE CITY, AND I THINK ANY STRATEGY THAT CAN BE APPLIED, THAT'S WORKING AT IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, I'D LIKE TO OPEN THE FLOOR TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
WE'RE, WE'RE CRESTING NINE, O'CLOCK HERE, AND I WANT TO RESPECT EVERYBODY'S TIME, BUT, AND SAVING THIS TOWARD THE END IS A BIT HEAVY.
BUT, UM, IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO COMMUNICATE ANYTHING TO THIS POINT, UM, THIS WOULD BE THE TIME COMMISSIONER YOU, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO, TO HAVE A CONVERSATION.
UM, CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE, I MEAN, I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE, UM, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE STAFF'S ALREADY KIND OF WORKING ON IT.
UM, AND I I'M, YEAH, I'M JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO.
AND, AND I THINK WE PROBABLY ALL NEED A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO DIGEST AND PROCESS, BUT INCLUDING THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA, I WANT, YOU KNOW, THE THOUGHT WAS TO GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION.
UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO CARRY THIS OVER TO NEXT MONTH.
AND I THINK IT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REGARDLESS.
CAUSE I, IF POSSIBLE I WOULD LIKE COMMISSIONER FLORES AND COMMISSIONER BARNES.
I FEEL LIKE THEY'RE ESPECIALLY GOOD IN THESE TYPES OF CONVERSATIONS.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I'M ENCOURAGED BY THAT I'M HEARING, UM, IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT PLACES THAT THE CULTURE COMMUNITY IS THE, I HEAR THE WORD LIFEBLOOD, I HEAR THE WORD, UH, I HEARD THE WORD HOT SAUCE THE OTHER DAY.
I LOVE THAT LOOKING FOR WAYS TO DESCRIBE IT.
UM, BUT JUST THAT IT'S NECESSARY.
AND IT SEEMS TO, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IN THE FOREFRONT, BUT IT'S REALLY, I'M HEARING IT ALL OVER THE PLACE AND, AND I AM INCLUDING NON ART PLACES.
SO THAT'S REALLY ENCOURAGING TO ME.
I THINK THERE'S A CONSENSUS IN THE COMMUNITY, AT LEAST IN OUR COMMUNITY OF OUR VALUE.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY WORK HARD TO COMMUNICATE THAT ON A, ON A MUCH WIDER SCALE.
UM, NEXT, UH, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF WE'RE QUITE PREPARED FOR THIS AS A, TO FEEDBACK ON CITY BUDGET PRIORITIES.
I SEE HIS SEUSS MAKING MOVES, HANG ON A SECOND GUYS.
SO I KNOW, UH, CHAIR POLE GUARD IS NOT HERE.
THIS IS AN AGENDA ITEM THAT WE'LL COME BACK NEXT MONTH AS WELL.
BUT, UM, THIS WAS, UM, OH, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT IT IS NOW AND IT IS LATE, BUT, UM, THE BUDGET OFFICE IS TAKING FEEDBACK ON, ON THE ANNUAL CITY BUDGET.
AND SO THIS IS FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION TO GIVE A CHANCE TO GIVE ANY
[02:50:01]
FEEDBACK ON THAT.THERE'S NO BACKUP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND SINCE TRIPLE GARS HERE, I DON'T KNOW IF SHE HAD ANYTHING TO SAY, BUT THAT IT WILL BE ON NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA AS WELL.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHAT THIS PARTICULAR AGENDA ITEM IS ABOUT.
PERFECT COMMISSIONER, IF I SEE, DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? OH, AND I, LOTS OF HANDS.
I JUST WANTED TO REPEAT MY ADVOCACY FOR, UH, STAFFING SUPPORT FOR, FOR, FOR CAT AND FOR EDD.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE, WHAT WE SUBMITTED LAST YEAR SUPPORT FOR COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS, UM, YOU KNOW, PREFERABLY ONE, YOU KNOW, FOR CAD AND FOR AIPP, BUT IF IT HAS TO BE BUBBLED UP TO THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL, YOU KNOW, LIKE LET'S GET THOSE COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STAFF, UH, FTES IN THERE.
UM, AND, AND I I'LL GO AS FAR AS MAKING A MOTION TO REDRAFT THAT, THAT REQUEST.
UM, BUT IF WE'RE GOING TO GET A PRESENTATION NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH, LIKE, I I'M WORRIED ABOUT TIMING, BUT I DON'T KNOW, NEVER GETTING EMOTIONS TONIGHT.
I KNOW THAT WE'RE GETTING A PRESENTATION, BUT I THINK THAT IF WE CAN TAKE ACTION TONIGHT, WE SHOULD KNOW, UM, COMMISSIONERS ARE ACTUALLY HANG ON, COMMISSIONER, SMALL BLOCK, UH, UM, DIRECTORS ON LOVE.
WE HAVE A WHOLE ROB, PLEASE AT THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS MARCH 30TH.
THAT PROVIDES US A PRETTY NARROW WINDOW COMMISSIONER, SMALL BOOK.
THE DIRECTOR JUST ANSWERED MY QUESTION.
UM, HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT HIGH, MY SUGGESTION TO REDRAFT LAST YEAR SUGGESTIONS? OR DO WE WANT A SIMMER? BECAUSE WE CAN CIRCULATE THAT, UH, THAT DRAFT FROM LAST YEAR AND, AND GET PEOPLE'S FEEDBACK, WHICH WE CIRCULATE, CIRCULATE.
WELL, WE'LL GET SOME MOVEMENT ON THAT SO THAT WE'RE READY TO TAKE ACTION BY OUR MARCH MEETING, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO BE JUST IN TIME FOR THAT DEADLINE.
THE CHAIR, WOULD YOU LIKE STAFF TO SEND AS A FOLLOWUP TO THIS MEETING? WHAT WAS SUBMITTED LAST YEAR? JUST AS A REMINDER, SO THAT IF YOU WANT TO, TO ADD IN YOUR THOUGHTS BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING YES.
[7. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION]
WE ARE AT ITEM SEVEN ITEMS FOR INFORMATION.UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND JUST KICK US OFF HERE.
WE HOSTED TWO COMMUNITY CHATS, UH, VIA OUR WONDERFUL, AMAZING EVER GENEROUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS FUTURE FRONT.
UM, THEY BOTH WERE VERY WELL ATTENDED.
UM, WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR EVERYBODY THAT SHOWED UP.
WE HAD FELLOW COMMISSIONERS IN THE ROOM AND, UM, THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED, UM, IN THOSE SPACES WAS VERY DIVERSE.
SORRY, I'M HEARING A LITTLE BIT OF SOUND, UM, UM, AND VERY INFORMATIVE AND GETTING FRESH VOICES AND FACES IN THE ROOM WHO HAVEN'T ARE NOT CURRENT CULTURE.
CONTRACTORS HAVE NEVER HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE CITY.
SOME ARE STARTING UP A BRAND NEW NONPROFITS, WHICH MAKES ME EXCITED TO CONNECT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES WITH SOME OF THE PRECINCT, YOU KNOW, THE ACC NONPROFIT CENTER.
SO I'M VERY, VERY GRATEFUL FOR EVERYBODY THAT CAME IN AND CONTRIBUTED TO THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
WE WOULD LIKE TO GET ANOTHER ROUND OF THOSE UP, UM, INEVITABLY COINCIDING WITH THE RERELEASE OF THE GUIDELINES, THE DRAFT GUIDELINES.
UM, SO PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR THAT.
UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY ITEMS INFORMATION? CAUSE I HAVE A COUPLE OTHERS, BUT I DON'T WANT TO GIVE PEOPLE THE FLOOR GUSTY.
I MEAN, I DIDN'T WANT TO STEAL STAFF THUNDER HERE, BUT, UH, THE AIPP MANAGER POSITION JOB POSTING HAS, OR JOB LISTING HAS POSTED TO CHECK OUT THE CITY SITE, SHARE IT WITH SOME, SOME, SOME GREAT PEOPLE BECAUSE YEAH, IT'S TRUE.
I'M STILL RECOVERING FROM SUE'S DEPARTURE.
UM, TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY OF EARLY VOTING.
WE JUST HAD, WE HAD A VERY IMPACTFUL PRESENTATION.
I HOPE THAT THAT STAYS WITH YOU.
AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEING HEARD IS FELT, UM, COMMISSIONER'S AIPP MEETINGS ARE STILL GOING ON.
I, I WISH COMMISSIONER BARNES WAS HERE TO SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU GUYS IN THAT SPACE, IF YOU WANT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT SCHEDULE IS, MAYBE WE CAN RE STAFF IF WE CAN RE CIRCULATE THAT MEETING SCHEDULE AND GET FOLKS SIGNING UP.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, FOR US TO BE BOOTS ON THE GROUND WITH THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING THERE AND ALSO HAVING A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THOSE, UM, PANEL MEMBERS, BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING REALLY IMPORTANT WORK AND CONTRIBUTING THEIR TIME.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, UH, TO THOSE AT HOME, UH, WE HAVE A, A FACEBOOK PAGE THAT WE'RE USING TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION.
WE HAVE A NEWSLETTER THAT WE'RE USING TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION AND RECAPS FROM THESE MEETINGS.
[02:55:01]
UM, WE'RE DOING OUR BEST, DOING OUR BEST TO, TO GET INFORMATION OUT THERE.IF YOU HAVE A NETWORK UNDER YOU THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO CIRCULATE THAT TO, WE WOULD BE EVER SO GRATEFUL.
UM, THE, OH, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION ABOUT THE COMMUNITY CHAT IS WE ARE CONSTANTLY OPEN TO HEARING FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE WANTING TO GET ENGAGED THAT ARE CURIOUS AND WANTING TO GET HANDS-ON WITH THIS WORK.
SO IF YOU, IF OUT THERE IN TV LAND, IF YOU'RE MOTIVATED, IF YOU CARE, IF YOU HAVE THE ENERGY FOR THIS WORK, WE WANT YOU HERE IN ANY CAPACITY AND YOU CAN LOOK AT OUR AGENDAS AND LOOK AT OUR WORKING GROUPS.
MANY OF THESE ARE BUILDING AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WHAT ARE THE AREAS OF THIS WORK THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, THAT YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT AND THAT YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO? SO DON'T BE A STRANGER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. OH, I'M SORRY.
I JUST HAD A TINY PLUG TOMORROW.
THE MFA STUDENTS AT UT HAVE AN OPEN STUDIO AND THEY ALSO HAVE A, UM, AN AUCTION OF SMALL WORKS.
SO IT'S A REALLY NICE TIME TO GET OUT AND SEE SOME ART AND SUPPORT YOUNG PEOPLE, STUDENTS.
WILL YOU SEND ME A FLYER OR A LINK? AND I WOULD LOVE TO GET THAT UP.
I DON'T, THE NEWSLETTER TAKES A BIT MORE TIME, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO DISTRIBUTE THAT ON OUR SOCIAL.
ANYONE ELSE? ITEMS FROM INFORMATION.
UM, AND I'M IN, IF THERE'S A LITTLE, I WANTED TO JUST TAKE A POINT OF PRIVILEGE AND BUILD ON COMMISSIONER CASTILLO'S PLA UPS.
UH, THAT WEBSITE FOR THOSE WATCHING@HOMEISAUSTINCITYJOBS.ORG.
AND RIGHT NOW THERE ARE 251 VACANCIES AND HOW WE WOULD LOVE TO GET QUALITY FOLKS APPLYING TO BE PUBLIC SERVANTS AND DO THE PEOPLE'S WORK, UM, INCLUDING THE AIP PROGRAM MANAGER.
SO PLEASE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO THROW THEIR HAT IN THE RING.
WE'LL BE SURE TO INCLUDE THAT ON OUR NEWSLETTER AND IN OUR, UH, OUR GROUP POSTS, COMMISSIONERS, SMELL THAT JUST LIKE TO ADD THAT CITY SERVICE COUNTS TOWARDS PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS.
HEY, I THINK THAT ALONE MAY BE ENOUGH OF A DRAW KNOWING WHAT KIND OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT PEOPLE ARE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW.
[8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
OKAY.FOR REAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I KNOW THAT WE WANT TO GET THE BUDGET CONVERSATION BACK ON.
WE WANT TO GET LEGAL CONSIDERATION RELATED TO EQUITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT BACK ON THE DOCKET FOR FURTHER COMMUNICATION.
SO THAT WE, WITH OUR FULL DAYAS, IDEALLY WITH COMMISSIONER CHAIR, PAUL GAR COMMISSIONER BARNS AND COMMISSIONER FLORES, UM, WHO HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS SPACE.
AND I KNOW THEIR WISDOM WOULD BE, UH, WARRANTED COMMISSIONER CASTILLO.
WE, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE RETREAT, THE RETREAT.
I HAVE THAT IN OTHER PAGES OF NOTES HERE.
UM, LAST MONTH WE TALKED ABOUT MARCH.
I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER FLORES, UH, AS OF MARCH ONE WAS GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF OPEN, UH, TA OR MORE OPEN TIME.
LET'S NOT GET CARRIED AWAY A LOT OF TIME.
UM, STAFF, HOW DO DO WE CIRCULATE A DOODLE POLL THROUGH YOUR WHOLE, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO MOVE FORWARD HERE WE CAN.
WE COULD SEND OUT A DOODLE POLL.
CAUSE THAT WOULD BE BREACHING.
SO WE CAN SEND OUT, WE WERE LOOKING AFTER MARCH 1ST, MARCH 1ST, BUT IDEALLY I THINK IT WAS, YEAH, I THINK IT WAS A MONTH OF MARCH BECAUSE SOMEONE WAS BUSY STAR.
I THINK IT WAS COMMISSIONER GRAY, UM, AFTER APRIL.
SO, UM, I THINK WE HIT, WANTED TO BREAK IT DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, LIKE EVENINGS OR WEEKENDS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT MAYBE I CAN TALK WITH YOU AND UH, CHIRP HOLGER OFF THE DICE AND SEE WHAT SOME, UH, GOOD POTENTIAL DATES WOULD BE.
AND WE CAN SEND OUT A DOODLE PARK.
IT'S JUST GOING TO SUGGEST THAT LET'S MAYBE START NARROWING IT DOWN, YOU KNOW, WEEKENDS, WEEKDAYS EVENINGS DURING THE DAY ON THE WEEKEND OR SOMETHING.
WE'LL, WE'LL START GETTING THAT THERE.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD, WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT REGARDING THE RETREAT IN THAT SPACE? UM, OH, I JUST HAD A FLASHBACK TO AIPP.
I WOULD ALWAYS CALL FOR A RETREAT.
YOU JUST GO TO RETREATS ALL DAY.
UM, NO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT REMINDER IS IMPORTANT.
WE, I, WE NEED THAT OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT AS THE COMMISSIONER, PARTICULARLY AS WE'RE DOING IT THROUGH SCREENS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE? CAN I GET, UM, OH, COMMISSIONER VANDYKE.
[03:00:01]
JUST WANT TO THANK, UH, COMMISSIONER ZISMAN.UH, I THINK I WOULD NOT ONLY VOTE FOR YOU FOR, UH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, BUT UH, CLEAN UP THE UNIVERSE, SOMETHING YOU KEPT THE FLOW GOING AND YOU WERE ORGANIZED AND THANK YOU FOR JUMPING IN, UH, THANK YOU.
YOU GUYS CAN'T SEE ME SWEAT UNDER MY MASK.
KEEPING IT REALLY COOL UP HERE.
MAKE IT, UM, REAL QUICK, JUST TO CLARIFY, ARE YOU, ARE YOU ALL PLANNING TO DO THE RETREAT VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON? THAT'S A GOOD LOOK.
CAN WE GET A SHOW OF HANDS WHO WOULD BE COMFORTABLE GIVEN THAT WE JUST MOVED INTO STAGE FOUR? IDEALLY THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO RAPIDLY GO DOWN THROUGH THE STAGES.
HOW ARE WE FEELING ABOUT MEETING IN PERSON AND I GUESS WHAT ARE THE CONSTRAINTS ON WHERE WE CAN MEET AND HOW IT'S TO BE DOCUMENTED THAT BEING THE DOODLE POOL OR NO WAS ONLY BRINGING IT UP BECAUSE IF IT'S VIRTUAL, WE WOULD HAVE TO KIND OF COORDINATE THE TIMING WITH THE, WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE BECAUSE THEY, THEY RUN THIS PLATFORM AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BUSY FOLKS AS WELL.
UM, BUT IF WE DO IT IN PERSON, WE'VE GOT A FEW MORE OPTIONS IN TERMS OF SCHEDULING AND LOCATION.
I GUESS MY QUESTION TO, TO IN PERSON IS, ARE WE LIMITED TO BEING INSIDE? CAUSE I THINK THAT THAT'S PROBABLY FOR SOME COMMISSIONERS THAT MAY BE A BREAKING POINT.
I KNOW WITH TECH AND THE REQUIREMENTS TO RECORD, LIKE, THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING IT BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A PERTINENT DETAIL IF, IF THAT'S THE REQUIREMENT FOR MEETING IN PERSON.
AND THE CLERK'S OFFICE, UH, DID NOT AGREE, UH, FOR ANOTHER COMMISSION, WE, UH, LIAISON SPORT TO MEET OUTSIDE DUE TO ADA IN TERMS OF HEARING AND ALL OF THAT.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE THE LAST RETREAT AND I THINK THAT WAS VIRTUAL IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.
SO, UM, YEAH, LET'S INCLUDE THAT AS AN OPTION WHEN WE'RE COMMUNICATING TO ALL THE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, IF WE WANT TO MEET IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL AND YEAH, I THINK THAT THERE IS A LARGE SPACE OPEN AT BEN WHITE JUST FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.
AND IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND NEW AND HARDLY ANYBODY'S BEEN THERE.
I THINK WE COULD DO IT REALLY SAFELY AT, AT THE CAD SPACE.
I, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE EVERYBODY'S FACE EVEN IF IT WAS JUST THE TOP THIRD.
SO WE'LL CIRCULATE INFORMATION AND A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE RETREAT AND ANYTHING ELSE? DO I HAVE A MOTION PERHAPS MOTION TO ADJOURN FROM COMMISSIONER GRAY A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MOCK THIRD FROM COMMISSIONER SMALL-BATCH.
FOR BEARING WITH ME THROUGH THIS MEETING, WE COVERED A LOT AND I'M JUST GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOUR TIME.
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND AND THE REST OF YOUR EVENING.