[00:00:06]
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THIS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
I WILL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER TODAY'S WEDNESDAY, MAY 18TH, AND THE TIME IS 2:18 PM.
AS A REMINDER, THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES BOTH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES.
WE JUST REQUEST 24 HOURS NOTICE.
AND IF YOU NEED ANY OF THOSE SERVICES IN THE FUTURE, PLEASE CONTACT OUR BOARD LIAISON, CHLOE MAXWELL AND HER CONTACT INFORMATION IS ALWAYS IN THE EACH AGENDA POSTING.
I BELIEVE THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TODAY TO SPEAK, SO WE WILL MOVE RIGHT INTO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UM, AND BEFORE WE ACTUALLY DO THAT, I WANTED TO WELCOME AS A GUEST THAT DOTTY JOINING US TODAY AS A GUEST FROM CAPITOL METRO, I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FORMALITIES OF THE BOAT, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO WELCOME YOU AND INVITE YOU TO JOIN US FOR THIS MEETING.
[2. Technical Advisory Committee Reports]
ITEM TODAY IS THE ATP TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS.WE HAVE THOSE PRINTED COPIES AVAILABLE FOR EACH OF YOU.
SO I HOPE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO READ THEM.
AND THEY'RE ALSO POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE AND WE ALSO BROUGHT SOME PRINTED COPIES AND THEY'RE AVAILABLE HERE AT THE ENTRANCE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO GRAB A COPY OF THOSE.
SO I'M DELIGHTED TO SHARE JUST THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EAC REPORT.
UM, AND I FORGOT ACTUALLY, WHICH WE MET.
SO LET ME LOOK BACK AT THE DATE, BUT WE WERE REALLY EXCITED TO MEET OUR NEW HIRE.
SO WE MET ON MAY 4TH AND WE HAD 25 PEOPLE ATTENDING THE MEETING AND THE AGENDA ITEMS WERE THREE, BUT WE ONLY COVERED TWO OF THE THREE, WHICH WERE THE CAPITOL VIEW CORRIDOR ANALYSIS, AS WELL AS THE PLEASANT VALLEY AND EAST RIVERSIDE DESIGN OPTIONS REVIEW, MR. MULLEN INTRODUCED US TO OUR NEW STAFF MEMBER, PAOLO FARIA WHO JOINED US NOW AND IS GOING TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN.
SO THANK YOU, PETER, FOR, FOR A GREAT HIRE.
AND WE'RE EXCITED TO WORK WITH, WITH PAOLO IN REGARDS TO THE CAPITOL VIEW CORRIDOR CONFLICTS, THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY TEAM WAS ABLE TO PRESENT ANOTHER ANALYSIS THAT THEY DID ON THEIR OWN.
AND SO WE ASKED A COMPARISON BETWEEN WHAT THE LEGAL TEAM, WHAT THE DESIGN TEAM HAD DONE AND WHAT OUR TECHNICAL TEAM HAD DONE TO FIND ANY DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THOSE, THOSE NUMBERS AND THE C-LEVEL ELEVATIONS OF WHAT THIS CAPITA OF YOUR CORRIDOR REPRESENTS.
THE COMMITTEE WAS ABLE TO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS FOR THE NEPA PROCESS.
SO WE HAD A REALLY GOOD DISCUSSION IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS CERTAINLY NOT A SURPRISE THAT WE WERE, THE ALIGNMENT OF THE ORANGE LINE WAS WITHIN THE COUPLE OF YOUR CORRIDOR, BUT WHAT WAS INDEED MORE SPECIFIC AS WE GO INTO ENGINEERING IS THE, BASICALLY THE MATH AND THE FORMULA OR HOW DEEP WE CAN GO.
AND ALL OF THE OTHER INTRICACIES CONNECTED WITH THAT ALIGNMENT THAT THE TEAM WAS ABLE TO RESOLVE.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO ASK GOOD QUESTIONS FROM THE TECHNICAL TEAM.
A COM DID A GREAT JOB IN EXPLAINING THE COMPARISON BETWEEN MEMOS.
AND SO I THINK THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD PRODUCTIVE MEETING.
AND REGARDING THE, THE EAST PLEASANT, THE PLEASANT VALLEY AND EAST RIVERSIDE STATION, I WOULD START OFF BY SAYING THAT I'M EXTREMELY EXCITED TO SEE HOW THE TEAM HAS COME UP WITH A THIRD OPTION THAT THEY'RE GOING TO PRESENT TO THE COMMUNITY AND YOU KNOW, THAT THEY, JACKIE, SO THEY'LL TELL US WHEN THAT MEETING IS COMING UP, BUT ONE THING THAT'S REALLY EXCITING ABOUT IT IT'S IT'S TODAY AS TONIGHT.
SO PLEASE TUNE INTO THAT BECAUSE IT'S A REALLY GREAT COMBINATION OF THE TWO FIRST IDEAS WITH PLEASANT VALLEY HAVE NOW COME UP WITH A THIRD OPTION, WHICH I THINK ADDRESSES THE CONCERNS FROM THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
IT ADDRESSES THE CONCERNS FROM THE DESIGN TEAM OF WHAT WE HAVE BROUGHT FORWARD.
SO PLEASE TUNE IN AND GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK ON THOSE AND, AND FOR NEXT ITEMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE DISCUSSION AT THE MAY 31ST MEETING.
AND ANY OTHER FURTHER COMMUNITY FEEDBACK IS WELCOME ON THOSE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE, ACROSS LADY, BIRD LAKE, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? NO, THANK YOU.
SO I'LL PASS IT ON OVER TO YOU BOARD MEMBER ELKINS FOR THE FINANCE AND RISK.
UM, WE MET, UH, THE FINANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE ON MAY 10TH.
I WAS A KIND OF PACKED AGENDA, WHICH WAS GOOD.
WE HAD ABOUT TWO HOURS WORTH OF, UH, AGENDA ITEMS.
[00:05:01]
WE STARTED OFF WITH RSM, OUR AUDITORS, WHO WENT THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR 21 AUDIT FINANCIAL STATEMENT, WHICH WAS A CLEAN OPINION, NO DEFICIENCIES, UH, ONE AREA OF ATTENTION THAT WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON, NOT, NOT A NEGATIVE, BUT GRANT ACCOUNTING.SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE PROGRAM AND THERE'S GRANTS COMING FROM, FROM THE FEDS, WE NEED TO BE FOCUSED ON THAT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF RULES AROUND GRANTS ACCOUNTING.
SO WE, WE, WE NEED TO KIND OF PUT THAT ON OUR RADAR, BUT, UH, OTHER THAN THAT, A VERY CLEAN AUDIT, UM, NO, NO MAJOR INTERNAL CONTROL PROBLEMS. UM, WE HAD DIANE SILLER REVIEW OUR FISCAL YEAR 22 FIRST QUARTER PERFORMANCE REPORT, UH, WALKED THROUGH ALL THE BUDGET LINE ITEMS. UM, NO MAJOR ISSUES HAD A COUPLE OF DISCUSSIONS ON SOME OF THE, THE, UH, THE ITEMS AND VARIANCES, BUT, UH, GENERALLY THE FAR COMMITTEE WAS FINE WITH THE FIRST QUARTER BUDGET, UH, NO MAJOR ISSUES.
UH, WE HAD, UM, OUR NEW INTERNAL AUDITOR, UH, KATIE HOUSTON, WHO I THINK WILL BE SPEAKING LATER ON TODAY IN THE MEETING, UM, KIND OF DO A PRESENTATION ON OUR DRAFT AUDIT, CHARTER CHARTER.
UH, SO IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THE FDR COMMITTEE REVIEW THAT FIRST, BEFORE IT COMES HERE TO THE FULL BOARD.
SO IT WAS GOOD TO KIND OF CHAT WITH KATIE ABOUT HER, UM, VISION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR, THE TYPES OF PROJECTS SHE'LL BE WORKING ON, HELPING US WITH THEM INTERNAL WITH INTERNAL CONTROLS.
WE HAD DAVE COUCH, UM, REVIEW COST ESTIMATES, THE COST ESTIMATE MEMO THAT WAS PROVIDED, I THINK ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE WEEKS AGO TO THE COMMUNITY AT 15%, UH, JUST CHATTING WITH THE FAR COMMITTEE ABOUT, UM, COSTS AND WHY THEY WENT UP AND, AND THE REASONS FOR CAPITOL VIEW CORRIDOR, UM, TUNNELING AND, AND YOU KNOW, ESCALATION.
AND SO THAT WAS A GOOD, HEALTHY DISCUSSION.
I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE COMMITTEE WAS VERY COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PERHAPS PROVIDING MORE TRANSPARENCY AND MORE INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COSTS.
SO, UM, WE'LL WORK WITH STAFF ON THAT.
UH, THEN WE HAD CASEY, HOW GENERAL COUNSEL PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE FDR COMMITTEE ON THE LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS UPDATE AND ALL THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE LAST MEETING, UH, OUR, OUR VISION FOR INDEPENDENCE AND CHOOSING A NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAD BRIAN, OUR TREASURER PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE WORK THAT ERNST AND YOUNG IS DOING WITH RESPECT TO PROCUREMENT ANALYSIS AND RISK THE SCOPE OF WORK, THE TWO TASK ORDERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY OUTSTANDING AND THEY'RE WORKING UNDER.
AND THEN I THINK LATER ON, MAYBE IN THE SUMMER EARLY FALL, WE'LL HAVE ERNST AND YOUNG DO A PRESENTATION TO THE FAR COMMITTEE.
AS WE DIVE MORE INTO PROCUREMENT AND RISKS.
A COUPLE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE ATP SHOULD BEGIN PLANNING FOR GRANT OVERSIGHT.
AS I MENTIONED, UH, HEAD OF FEDERAL FUNDING AWARD SO THAT THE ORGANIZATION IS PREPARED FOR, UH, EXPANDED AUDIT AND COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.
INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION SHOULD REVIEW FUTURE INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY, RISKS, AND OPPORTUNITIES.
CURRENTLY IT SERVICES ARE BEING PERFORMED BY ANGEL LOCAL AGREEMENTS WITH CAP METRO.
SO WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND, UH, SHOULD THAT CONTINUE, OR SHOULD WE BE DOING THAT ON OUR OWN ATP NEEDS TO EXPAND COMMUNITY MESSAGING ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT, TUNNEL COSTS AND OTHER COSTS, ESCALATIONS AND COMPLICATIONS.
SO MORE TRANSPARENCY ON THAT, AND WE'LL BE WORKING AS I SAID WITH STAFF ON THAT.
UM, AND THEN, UM, LASTLY, THE REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM RSM TO PROVIDE CAPITAL METRO SINGLE AUDIT REPORT DELIVERABLES FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
AND I THINK GOING FORWARD, WE'RE GOING TO BE CHANGING THE CADENCE OF THE FDR MEETING FROM QUARTERLY TO EVERY TWO MONTHS RIGHT NOW, GIVEN THAT WE'RE GOING MORE INTO THE PROGRAM THAT IS MORE FOR US TO BE TALKING ABOUT.
AND I THINK WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE THE INDIVIDUALS WE HAVE ON THE FAR COMMITTEE WITH THE EXPERTISE THAT THEY HAVE.
AND I THINK THEY CAN SOME GOOD GUIDANCE FOR STAFF AND THE BOARD.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR MEMBER ELKINS QUESTIONS? THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE AND, UM, ALLOWING ME TO BE PART OF YOUR MEETING.
WE HAD A DISTINGUISHED GUESTS AND OUR CHAIR.
NO, NO, IT WAS FUN BECAUSE I WANTED TO, JUST IN CASE THERE WERE QUESTIONS WITH A COUPLE OF YOUR CORRIDORS SINCE THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN DRIVERS OF COST AT THIS POINT.
AND SINCE OUR TEAM HAD ALREADY HAD AN IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION, I OFFERED IF I COULD ATTEND HIS MEETING JUST IN CASE THERE WERE OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU.
AND I APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK.
[3. Executive Director Report]
TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT.SO MR. ALLIE, FIRST OFF, WELCOME TO BE JOINING US.
I'M PROUD TO BE SHARING THIS TABLE AND THIS NICE WITH YOU.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND GUIDING US THROUGH THIS PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
AND, UM, SO I ALSO WANT TO, BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO YOU, I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW,
[00:10:01]
BRING, UH, JUST FORWARD THE IDEA THAT WE WANTED TO CREATE MORE OF A DIALOGUE IN THIS MEETINGS TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GO AWAY FROM A PODIUM PERCENTER, BUT JUST ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE YOU GUYS ARE PUBLIC.WE WANTED IT TO BE ABLE TO, UH, JUST BE ABLE TO CONVERSE MORE ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE FACING FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, WE WELCOME ANY OTHER IDEAS FROM THE BOARD ALSO ON HOW WE CAN DO THINGS BETTER AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO I THINK GREAT, WELL BOARD CHAIR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT INTRODUCTION.
AND IT'S A PERFECT SEGUE INTO SOME OF THE TOPICS I WANT TO JUST BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT, UM, UH, AND REALLY TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THE TRANSITION, UM, THAT IS UNDERWAY AND REALLY USE IT AS THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR DIALOGUE, NOT JUST TODAY, BUT ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
AND, AND I REALLY DO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THIS THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WE COULD JUST CONVENE TOGETHER.
CAUSE I THINK THAT'S REALLY AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHO WE ARE, IS THE IDEA OF CONVENING WITH, UH, EVERYONE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE TRANSITION WORK THAT WE HAVE UNDERWAY AND IT STARTS WITH, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, THE OVERALL KIND OF PROGRAM AND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT AS WE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, WE STARTED FIRST AND FOREMOST WITH OUR JUST FANTASTIC TEAM THAT WE HAVE AT ATP, UM, THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD OVER THIS LAST YEAR AND REALLY GOING THROUGH AN ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WITH THEM, KIND OF A PULSE CHECK, HOW THINGS ARE, HOW THINGS ARE GOING, BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM IS ROOTED IN THE SUCCESS OF OUR TEAM AND OUR STAFFS AND REALLY WHAT THAT ASSESSMENT IS BASED IN ISRAELI, THE VALUES OF WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM YOU AS A BOARD OVER THESE, OVER THESE NOW 14, 15 MONTHS, WHICH IS THAT IDEA OF TRANSPARENCY AND COLLABORATION.
THEY REALLY ARE ROOTED IN WHO WE ARE, WHO WE ARE.
UM, AND THAT COLLABORATION, I THINK WE SEE IT SITTING HERE ON THE DIAS.
WE HAVE THE CITY HERE, WE HAVE CAP METRO HERE, AND IT REALLY IS PART OF OUR EMERGING DNA OF WHO WE ARE.
UM, SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE WORKING ON THAT.
UM, AS A COMMUNITY CORPORATION, WE KNOW THAT IDEA OF TRANSPARENCY AND COLLABORATION IS REALLY IMPORTANT AS WE TALK TO OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM THEM ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
WE ALSO JUST HAD SOME TASKS TO DO IN THE HERE AND NOW THE THIRD WEEK AS I HAVE STEPPED IN TO THIS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ROLE ON THE INTERIM FOR THIS INTERIM TERM, UM, I'VE ASKED DIANE SEILER, OUR BUDGET DIRECTOR TO STEP UP INTO THE INTERIM CFO ROLE.
WE AS A REALLY CRITICAL FUNCTION, SHE HAS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE AND ALL THINGS, FINANCE AND ETHIC, HER CALMNESS AND ABILITY TO WORK WITH MANY, MANY PEOPLE WILL BE VERY ADVANTAGEOUS FOR US AS AN ORGANIZATION ON THE OTHER THING, AS WE LOOKED AT THE PROGRAM WORK, UM, WE HAVE LAUNCHED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, AS YOU KNOW, AS TONY MENTIONED, UH, SORRY, AS BOARD MEMBER ELKINS MENTIONED, WE'VE HAD A, THE COST ESTIMATES ARE GOING ON TO 15%, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS 30%.
YOU'LL HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, AS A BEST PRACTICE ENTER REQUIREMENT, ATP HAS ALSO LAUNCHED AN INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE PROCESS THAT JEN PINE WILL BE LEADING FOR US.
AND THAT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT'LL BE CURRENT GOING CONCURRENTLY THROUGH THE 30% DESIGN PROCESS.
WE THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT EFFORT AND AGAIN, A REQUIREMENT AND A BEST PRACTICE AS WELL.
UM, ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'VE BEGUN FOCUSING ON IS THE NEED COMMUNICATIONS BOARD MEMBER ELKINS.
WE'VE STARTED BRINGING ON SOME COMMUNICATION RESOURCES.
UM, SO WE CAN BEGIN THE DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT ATP, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE ULTIMATELY, UM, LOOKING AT OUR WEBSITE AMONG OTHER WAYS OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC HERE, UM, OVER THE, OVER THE UPCOMING MONTHS.
BUT CERTAINLY IT'S AN AREA OF FOCUS FOR US.
AND WE KNOW WE'VE HEARD THAT FROM THE BOARD, UM, NOT ONLY OVER THE LAST, UM, BOARD MEETINGS AS WELL.
UH, AND THEN WHAT'S BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ME, UM, TO DO IN THESE KIND OF EARLY DAYS IS FOR ME TO BE OUT LISTENING AS WELL.
UM, LISTENING TO NOT ONLY THE BOARD MEMBERS, BUT OUR STAKEHOLDERS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY TO GET THEIR PULSE CHECK ON THIS AS WELL ON WHO WE ARE AS AN ORGANIZATION, WHERE WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, JUST AGAIN, MORE COLLABORATION AND CONVENING.
IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE ONGOING WORK THAT I DO.
I VIEW THAT AS PART OF MY RESPONSIBILITY ON YOUR BEHALF, UM, IT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL AND VALUABLE TO DO THAT, UM, WITH THE COMMUNITY SO FAR.
UM, I THINK IN A LOOK AHEAD, WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS I THINK WE CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD ON THESE IN THE UPCOMING AGENDAS.
I THINK YOU COULD EXPECT IN JUNE TO HAVE MAYBE A DEEPER DIVE ABOUT SOME OF OUR PROCESS AND PROCEDURES WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, THINGS WE NEED TO DO AS A, AS A CORPORATION.
UM, AND THEN I THINK TALKING ABOUT THE IDEA, UM, CLEARLY WE HAVE A MISSION.
WE KNOW WHAT OUR MISSION IS, IS TO DELIVER FOR THE VOTERS.
UM, BUT WE WANT TO BEGIN THAT WORK ON A STRATEGIC PLAN, OUR KPIS, UM, AND ALSO UNDERSTANDING UNDERNEATH ALL OF THAT, OUR VALUES.
I MENTIONED OUR VALUES OF, OF COLLABORATION AND TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY, BUT WE KNOW THERE'S OTHERS THAT WE WANT TO WORK ON.
UM, THERE'S ACCOUNTABILITY REPRESENTING, UM, BEING OUT THERE, FULFILLING THE OBLIGATION TO THE VOTERS,
[00:15:01]
UM, WITH TRUSTED EXPERTISE.SO IT'S KIND OF A LIVING LIST OF VALUES THAT WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AS WE DEVELOP THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ATP AND THESE UPCOMING MONTHS.
AND I THINK WE'LL HAVE MORE ABOUT THAT COMING FORWARD.
SO, UH, JUST SKIPPING IT, HEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, BOARD CHAIRS, YOU MENTIONED THIS IDEA OF HOW WE MEET AND HOW YOU MEET AS A BOARD IS, IS REALLY CRITICAL.
AND AGAIN, I THINK WE SHOULD STOP AND EVEN HOW WE SET UP TODAY, SO WE CAN FOSTER DIALOGUE AMONGST YOURSELVES, OUR STAFFS FROM ALL THE AGENCIES, UM, AND OUR PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO WE'RE REALLY WHAT TODAY REALLY JUST KICKING OFF A CONVERSATION.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO FINISH IT, BUT START IT IS THAT IDEA OF THE INSIGHTS AROUND THAT FOR YOU.
UM, SO WE'VE JUST LAUNCHED SOME, JUST SOME KIND OF QUESTIONS OR THOUGHT BUBBLES AROUND THE IDEA OF STRUCTURE OF THE BOARD MEETINGS, UM, YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND YOUR PRIORITIES, UM, THE CADENCE AND FORMAT OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN STAFF AND THE COMMUNITY AND STAFF AND THE BOARD, UM, AND JUST OTHER FEEDBACKS AND SUGGESTIONS.
SO REALLY JUST DIDN'T WANT TO OVER COOK THIS CONVERSATION, BUT LET IT, UM, SEE IF THERE'S ANY THOUGHTS AND INITIAL THOUGHTS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ON, UH, AROUND THIS TOPIC.
SO YES, ANYONE WANTS TO JUMP IN AND I KNOW WE'RE ALSO WAITING FOR BOARD MEMBER STRATTON, WHO'S RUNNING A LITTLE LATE AND, UM, AND DR.
BURNETT, I WANTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO JOIN US TODAY BECAUSE SHE SUCKS ACCEPTING HER POSITION IN INDIANAPOLIS.
SO SHE ASKED TO SEND HER REGRETS FOR NOT BEING HERE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO OPEN IT UP.
YOU GUYS HAVE A ON BEGINNING START OF HOW I WANT TO SEE THIS MEETING SET UP TO BE MORE OF A CONVERSATION.
AND, UM, SO PLEASE SEND ME ANY OTHER IDEAS OF HOW YOU GUYS ENVISION OUR MEETINGS, OUR CADENCE, OR YOU SEND ME SOME GREAT IDEAS BOARD MEMBER ELKINS THAT I WANT TO, UM, I'VE GOT A FEW THOUGHTS AND I THINK I'M FAMILIAR WITH PRIVATE BOARDS, RIGHT? THE ENTITY THAT I WORKED FOR, WE HAVE A HUNDRED PRIVATE BOARDS, RIGHT? SO I'M NOT SAYING WE SHOULD TAKE EVERYTHING WE DO IN A PRIVATE BOARD AND PUT IT IN A KIND OF QUASI PUBLIC, PRIVATE BOARD, BUT I THINK THERE'S BEST PRACTICES THAT COULD CARRY OVER.
SO I THINK THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS WE HAVE A LOT OF REPORTS AND IT MIGHT BE A GOOD THING TO GO THROUGH ALL THE VARIOUS REPORTS.
I GUESS WHAT I DO IS LET'S START OFF WITH A CLEAN PIECE OF PAPER.
WHAT'S THE INFORMATION THAT WE AS A BOARD AND THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE GETTING AND HOW FREQUENTLY SHOULD BE PROVIDING THAT.
AND THAT MIGHT DRIVE THE TYPES OF REPORTS THAT ARE BEING GENERATED, BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A LOT OF REDUNDANCY.
THERE'S MAYBE INFORMATION IN SOME OF THEIR REPORTS THAT SHOULD BE THERE, BUT ISN'T THERE.
UM, AND MAYBE THERE'S STUFF THAT'S DUPLICATED, THERE'S CERTAIN REPORTS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARY.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A WORLD, A WELL-WORTH EXERCISE.
AND I THINK THE OTHER THING WITH RESPECT TO THE MEETINGS IS WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD WE BE GETTING EVERY MONTH? WHAT SHOULD WE BE GETTING EVERY QUARTER? SO I, I KNOW THAT YOU'VE ALL HEARD ME SAY THIS A LOT, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK A RISK REGISTER AS ELKINS, AGAIN, TALK ABOUT RISK REGISTER, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE FOCUS ON THE BOARD AT KEY, MAJOR RISKS, NOT EVERY RISK, RIGHT.
STAFF, STAFF SHOULD BE DOING THAT.
SO STAFF SHOULD BE LOOKING AT 50 RISKS, RIGHT.
BUT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THE TOP EIGHT OR NINE OR 10 RISKS, RIGHT? HOW ARE WE DOING AGAINST THOSE? WHAT ARE THE MITIGANTS, THOSE THINGS, UM, AND, AND OTHER THINGS AS WE GET FURTHER IN THE PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, HEALTH AND SAFETY, SUSTAINABILITY, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO BE SEEING ON A REGULAR BASIS REPORTS ON, AND AS WE HOPEFULLY MOVE TO MORE OF A DIALOGUE WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ISSUES, CAUSE I SEE BOARDS AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BOARD TO WEIGH IN AND HELP STAFF NAVIGATE AND PROVIDE DIRECTION.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE, AND I MADE A COMMENT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO IS THAT WE DON'T NEED TO BE PRESENTED SOMETHING THAT'S FULLY BAKED WITH A RIBBON ON IT.
WE SHOULD BE PRESENTED WITH SOMETHING WHERE WE HAVE SOME BOOKENDS OF THE SUBSTANCE AND IT MAY BE 50% BAKED.
AND WE GO TO THE BOARD AND SAY, HEY, WE HAVE AN ISSUE HERE.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A RISK HERE.
LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE NAVIGATE THAT VERSUS IT'S ALL BUTTONED UP.
AND THERE'S REALLY NO DECISION FOR THE BOARD TO TAKE BECAUSE EVERYTHING'S BEEN DECIDED.
SO AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THAT, I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL.
SO JUST THOUGHTS THAT COME TO MY MIND,
[00:20:01]
I THINK YOU AND I, EVERYTHING RESONATES REALLY WELL WITH ME WITH WHAT YOU'VE MENTIONED, BECAUSE I I'VE MENTIONED ALSO IN THE PAST THAT AS WE LOOK AT RISKS, IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE A LIVING DOCUMENT.AND NOT JUST ON A FINANCE LEVEL, WE HAVE YOU HERE.
UM, SO JUST TO CATCH YOU UP BOARD MEMBER STRATTON, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WE'RE ON SLIDE SEVEN, TALKING ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF OUR BOARD MEETINGS OR ANY ORGANIZATIONAL PRIORITIES, UH, IDEAS.
THIS IS A DIALOGUE OF HOW WE WANT TO SEE THIS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, BUT REALLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF RISK IS SO THINKING ABOUT IT AS A LIVING DOCUMENT, THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE RISKS THAT ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE BOBBING.
AND WHAT WE WANT TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY IS THAT WE DON'T WANT SURPRISES.
WE WANT EVERYONE TO BE ALONG TO COME WITH US ON THIS JOURNEY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING INFORMED AND KEPT UP TO DATE.
AND THAT WE HAVE THOSE MITIGANTS IN A WAY THAT REALLY RESONATE WITH OUR FINANCES, WITH OUR DELIVERY OF OUR VALUES, DELIVER OF THIS SYSTEM.
AND I ALSO REALLY LIKE THE, THE IDEA TO MAKE SURE THAT THE REPORTS HAVE A DEPOSITORY, LIKE WHERE DID THESE DOCUMENTS ALWAYS LIVE AND ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYONE? SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DIG THROUGH LONG AGENDAS WHAT WAS DISCUSSED IN THE PAST.
SO WE HAVE THEM EASILY AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT OUR PARTNERS WITH THE CAC HAVE MENTIONED IN THE PAST THAT THEY LIKED VERY MUCH HOW THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT ARE RECORDED.
THERE'S A LIBRARY OF ALL THOSE COMMUNITY MEETINGS ARE LIVE AT THE PROJECT CONNECT WEBSITE, BUT HOW DO WE KEEP PERHAPS ALL THOSE REPORTS WITHIN THAT SAME DEPOSITORY SO THEY CAN EASILY ACCESS THAT DATA QUICKLY.
SO WITH THIS PROJECT CONNECT WEBSITE CAN BE REALLY ROBUST, VERY PRACTICAL, VERY USEFUL, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE.
AND DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER IDEAS FROM STAFF AS STUFF COMES FORWARD, FEEL FREE TO JOIN AND SAY, HEY, WE HAVE IDEAS TOO.
SO DOTTIE COMMENTS, QUESTIONS.
I'M SORRY, JUST TO ADD IN A LITTLE BIT, UM, I LIKE THE SEATING ARRANGEMENT THAT WE HAVE WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE ONE ANOTHER.
I, UM, I APPRECIATE DOTTIE IS THE DEPUTY'S SITTING IN, SO WE HAVE ALL THREE STAFFS, YOU KNOW, HERE AT THE TABLE.
UH, I THINK THAT'S, UH, THE, THE DISCUSSIONS I THINK ARE IMPORTANT, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME MEASURE OF REPORTING THAT HAPPENS AT THESE MEETINGS BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE A PUBLIC RECORD FOR THINGS.
AND SOME PEOPLE COME TO THESE MEETINGS IN ORDER TO BE INFORMED OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
UH, BUT I KNOW A LOT OF THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE WRITTEN DOCUMENTS THAT ARE PART OF THE AGENDA AND, UH, THE PUBLIC, IF THEY KNOW THAT IT'S THERE CAN, CAN REFER TO THEM.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO, WE DON'T HAVE TO MAKE PRESENTATIONS JUST TO BRING INFORMATION BEFORE THE PUBLIC SO LONG AS WE'RE IDENTIFYING IT AND SHOWING WHERE IT CAN BE REAL READILY ACCESSIBLE.
UH, I LIKE, UH, UH, ASKING OTHER BOARD MEMBERS TO TAKE A PEEK AT IT BEFORE THEY COME SO THAT THEY'RE NOT HAVING TO BE NECESSARILY BRIEFED HERE, BUT THEY CAN COME WITH QUESTIONS.
UH, CAUSE I THINK THAT'S THE MOST EFFICIENT AND BEST USE OF EVERYONE'S TIME.
I DO LIKE THE IDEA OF, OF, OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE TOUGH QUESTIONS OR CHALLENGES AND ELEVATING THEM TO, TO THE BOARD, IF WE CAN HELP THINK THROUGH THEM OR TO KNOW WHAT ARE THE TOUGH QUESTIONS, BUT DOING IT IN AN HONEST WAY WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT SET UP WORK ASSIGNMENTS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY LEGITIMATE CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH, WITH A LOT OF THOSE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE TOOK A REAL GOOD STEP TOWARD THAT.
AND THE LAST TRI-PARTY MEETING WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT LET'S ELEVATE THE THINGS THAT MAYBE WE'RE NOT HEARING THE, THE, THE COST INCREASES, UH, WHICH BEST AS I CAN TELL FROM, FROM TALKING TO PEOPLE I KNOW IN THE DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY HAVE NOT ABATED SINCE THE LAST TIME WE GAVE COSTS NUMBERS.
SO I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CONTINUES TO, UH, CONTINUES TO INCREASE.
UH, BUT ALSO HAVING THOSE, YOU KNOW, 12 OR 14 TOUGH DESIGN ISSUES AS THOSE ARE GETTING ELEVATED.
WE HAVEN'T HEARD YET, UH, YOU KNOW, I HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF, UH, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'M MOST PROUD OF IN THIS COMMUNITY IS THE LONG CENTER, WHICH I THINK IS A GREAT FACILITY AND IT SERVED THE COMMUNITY REALLY, REALLY WELL.
[00:25:02]
UM, I WAS, UH, PUT ON THE BOARD BY JOE LONG, UM, WHEN THAT WAS A $135 MILLION PROJECT, UH, AT A TIME WHEN THEY WERE JUST COMING TO GRIPS WITH THE FACT THAT THERE WASN'T A $135 MILLION TO SPEND ON THE LUNG CENTER.SO, UH, I THINK I WAS BROUGHT ON THE BOARD TO HELP IT BE PART OF A BOARD THAT WAS GOING THROUGH A VALUE ENGINEERING PROJECT.
HOW DO YOU STILL DELIVER THIS? BUT DO IT IN A WAY THAT WE WERE TOLD, HAD NEEDED TO BE $65 MILLION, WHICH IS A HUGE CHANGE TO MAKE.
WE DIDN'T QUITE HIT 65, BUT I THINK HE CAME IN AT 75 AND IT'S A GREAT THING.
AND IT'S MET ALL OF THE PROGRAMMING CHOICES.
I HAVEN'T HEARD YET IN OUR DISCUSSIONS, IF THERE ARE PARALLEL, UH, VALUE ENGINEERING THINGS THAT, THAT WE SHOULD OR MIGHT BE CONSIDERING.
BUT I WOULD IMAGINING ON OUR TIMEFRAME THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO CONSIDER THOSE SIGNS, THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONSIDERED BEFORE WE DO 30% DRAWINGS.
SINCE 30% DRAWINGS ARE ANTICIPATED TO COME BACK IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER.
I WOULD IMAGINE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING HONEST CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE TRI-PARTY LEVEL ABOUT DESIGN CHOICES, COST APPLICATIONS, AND VALUE ENGINEERING ELEMENTS LIKE IN AUGUST, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THREE MONTHS.
SO THE SOONER I'M SURE SOMEBODY IS THINKING ABOUT THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, THE SOONER WE START ELEVATING THOSE KINDS OF CONCEPTS AND SOCIALIZING THEM SO THAT PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY CAN BE THINKING ABOUT THEM.
SO THEY'RE JUST NOT PRESENTED IN NEW, UH, IN AUGUST WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UH, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT AS, AS, UH, UH, TONY, I THINK WAS SAYING, IF THEY'RE NOT ALL HAMMERED OUT AT THAT POINT, JUST TO START INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT OF, OF VALUE ENGINEERING, I THINK WOULD BE A GOOD THING, BUT ON THE DESIGN SOLUTION TO THE COSTS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO MEET, UH, A PRETTY QUICK TIME SCHEDULE.
WE HAVE A PHENOMENAL STAFF THAT I THINK IS UP TO, WE HAVE A COMMUNITY THAT'S REALLY ENGAGED IN THIS, YOU KNOW, TO SET THIS UP SO THAT WE'RE JUST TRYING TO TAKE BEST ADVANTAGE OF ALL OF THE COLLECTIVE BINDS.
UH, SO ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT, LIKE MAKE PERFECT SENSE TO ME.
[4.1. Community Engagement and Involvement Update]
SO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE WITH, YEAH, I THINK THE NEXT, UM, BEFORE YOU INTRODUCED THE NEXT SECTION, WHICH IS GOING INTO, I THINK THAT WAS THE LAST SLIDE WE HAD ONE JUST AS A BACKUP, BUT I THINK WE CAN GET NOW INTO THE NEXT SECTION, WHICH IS THE PROGRAM UPDATES.UM, AND I KNOW YOU HAD AN INTRODUCTION, BUT I THINK THIS WAS EVEN A WAY ON THE PROGRAM UPDATES.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
I THINK MAYOR THAT PROBABLY HOPEFULLY RESONATES WITH WHAT YOU JUST SAID, WHICH IS WE HAVE A, THERE'S A BUNCH OF INFORMATION, SOME SLIDES IN HERE, BUT LET'S JUST BRING STAFF UP AND HAVE A CHAT ABOUT IT VERSUS GOING OVER THE SLIDES.
ME, I THINK THERE'S ONE OR TWO HIGHLIGHTS THAT JACKIE NUREMBERG WANTS TO MAKE THAT I THINK ARE IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS.
AND THEN AGAIN, OPENED UP FOR CONVERSATION.
AND I'LL JUST SAY TO THE EXTENT YOU GUYS WANT CHLOE TO ADVANCE THE SLIDES TO SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THEN JUST SAY SO, AND WE'LL, WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
WE MIGHT AS WELL PUT THE, UH, EVENTS THAT WE'VE HAD THE LAST MONTH ON THE SCREEN.
UH, SO GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY.
NICE TO SIT AT THE TABLE WITH YOU, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CONVERSATION.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY WONDERFUL AND WE HAVE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND I ALWAYS APPRECIATE HOW MUCH INVOLVEMENT THERE IS ON OUR, ON BEHALF OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND INTEREST IN MAKING SURE WE'RE DOING RIGHT BY THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WE, UH, HAVE A FEW HIGHLIGHTS TO SHARE BASED ON SOME OF THE, UM, OUTREACH WE'VE DONE OVER THE PAST MONTH, UM, REGARDING OUR BLUE LINE BRIDGE WORKING GROUP MEETING, WHICH TOOK PLACE ON APRIL 26, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF, UH, OF THE RESPONSES WE HEARD, WE LOOKED AT TWO OPTIONS, UM, TWO DESIGN OPTIONS AND PETER JUMP IN.
IF I MISSPEAK ON ANY OF THIS, UM, OPTION A WAS, UH, WITHOUT BUSES ON THE BRIDGE AND OPTION B WAS WITH BUSES ON THE BRIDGE.
AND SO IN TERMS OF WHAT WAS POSITIVE THAT PEOPLE WERE GIVING US ON OPTION A, UM, THE USING LESS SPACE, UH, BIKE AND PAD FACILITIES THAT WERE SHOWN IN THAT OPTION, UM, LOWER COST, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING AND BRINGING UP TO THE PUBLIC THAT EACH OF THESE OPTIONS DO HAVE COST DIFFERENTIAL.
SO THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, CONNECTIONS TO THE TRAIL, UH, INCENTIVIZING THE USE OF THE LIGHT RAIL WAS ANOTHER THING THAT CAME UP AS A POSITIVE FOR, FOR OPTION A FOR CONCERNS.
WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT, UH, THE LACK OF BUS ACCESS AND MEETING THAT PARALLEL, THAT EQUITABLE ACCESS, UH, USING THE SAME INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, THAT THE MAC STATION WAS TOO FAR FROM, UH, ACCESS TO THE FIRST POINT OF ACCESS
[00:30:01]
TO, TO THE BLUE LINE FROM THE BRIDGE.UM, THE POSSIBLE IMPACT ON, UH, TRAVEL TIMES FOR THE BUSES WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME UP AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN CONFLICTS WITHIN THE SAME, USING THE SAME FACILITY, SOMETHING THAT CAME UP AND THAT COMES UP A LOT, UH, THIS, THIS IDEA OF CONFLICT BETWEEN BIKE AND PAD, AS MUCH AS IT COMES UP BETWEEN VEHICULAR TRAFFIC OR BUS TRAFFIC AND TRAIN TRAFFIC AND BIKING PAD, UM, FOR OPTION B, WHAT WE HEARD ON THE POSITIVE SIDE WAS THAT IT WAS MORE EQUITABLE, UM, MORE ACCESSIBLE, PROVIDED MORE CAPACITY FOR MOVING PEOPLE.
UM, AND IT WAS A MULTIMODAL OPTION.
SO A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY LIKED THAT.
UM, IN TERMS OF CONCERNS OR DOWNSIDES MORE EXPENSIVE, UH, THERE WERE SAFETY CONCERNS ADDING THE BUSES ADDS MORE CONFLICT, UH, POSSIBLE CONGESTION CAUSED BY THE ADDITION OF ANOTHER MODE ON THE BUS AND DUPLICATIVE SERVICE.
SO THOSE WERE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM THAT MEETING.
AND THEN THE OTHER MEETING WE HAD, UM, ON MAY THE THIRD WAS FOR THE NORTH LINE.
THIS IS THE NORTHERN SECTION, UH, OF THE ORANGE LINE THAT IS, UH, NORTH OF THE INITIAL INVESTMENT.
UM, THAT IS THE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM MAP, THAT IS THE DOTTED LINE FROM THE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER TO THE TECH BRIDGE, UH, TERMINUS.
UM, THIS IS A, THIS IS KIND OF A DIFFICULT MEETING TO PROMOTE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WAY IN THE FUTURE.
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE'RE CLEARING THIS SECTION ENVIRONMENTALLY SO THAT IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN DEVELOP IT AS A LIGHT RAIL SERVICE.
UM, AND SO WE DID THE BEST WE COULD TO TRY TO DRUM UP PARTICIPATION BECAUSE WE NEED COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN ORDER TO PUT THIS THROUGH THE NEPA PROCESS.
UH, SO WE DID A LOT OF BLOCK WALKING.
WE DID A MAILER OF POSTCARDS EVERY DOOR IN THE AREA.
UM, AND IN THE END WE ACTUALLY GOT A PRETTY DECENT ATTENDANCE AT THAT 1 38.
IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A LOT, BUT WHEN WE DID THE SOUTH LINE, I THINK WE HAD 14 AND IT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE IT'S JUST NOT TANGIBLE YET FOR THEM.
HOWEVER, WE DID GET A LOT OF REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK THAT THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT WE HEARD WAS WE WANT RAIL FASTER.
SO THEY, THEY WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS COME TO THEIR AREA NATURALLY.
UM, AND SO THERE WAS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY FOR THE FUTURE RAIL SERVICE THERE.
UM, WE DID GET SOME CONCERNS ABOUT BIKE AND SAFE, UH, BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AGAIN, AND CONFLICTS WITH VEHICULAR TRAFFIC.
UM, SOME CONCERN THAT THE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER MIGHT NOT BE AS, AS CONVENIENT AS A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO CONNECT INTO THE ORANGE LINE AS SOME OTHER PLACES FURTHER NORTH.
AND AGAIN, I THINK THIS ALSO TIED IN WITH THEIR DESIRE TO HAVE THAT ACCESS TO THE SERVICE.
UM, THERE WAS SOME CON CONCERNS ABOUT REDUCING BUS SERVICE, IF WE DO DEVELOP THE RAIL SERVICE THERE.
UM, AND WE ACTUALLY HAD ROBERTO GONZALEZ FROM, UH, CAPITAL METRO THERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT BUS SERVICES AND REASSURED THEM THAT, UM, THE 8 0 1 AND THE ONE IN PARTICULAR FOR NOW ARE GOING TO REMAIN THE SAME.
AND ONCE THE RAIL LINE GETS GOING, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT SECTION OF THE ORANGE LINE THAT'S GOING TO BE DEVELOPED LATER WOULD GET ACTUALLY MORE FREQUENT SERVICE ON THE 8 0 1.
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF, UM, POSITIVE FEELINGS ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE GOT CRUSHED QUESTIONS ABOUT RIGHT OF WAY IMPACTS, IMPACTS ON SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO THEY'RE ALREADY THINKING ABOUT THOSE THINGS WAY INTO THE FUTURE, WHICH WAS REALLY GOOD TO HEAR.
UM, AND THEN PEDESTRIAN ACCESS TO THE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER WAS A BIG CONCERN, AGAIN, A SAFETY CONCERN.
SO, YOU KNOW, HOPING TO GET A, SOME KIND OF PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALK WITH A BEACON THAT WOULD GIVE THEM ACCESS TO THE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER BY FOOT.
AND SO THOSE WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NORTH LINE.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAD A MEETING ON THE 10TH OF MAY, UM, FOR THE COMBINED MAINTENANCE FACILITY.
AGAIN, IT KIND OF A DIFFICULT MEETING TO PROMOTE BECAUSE WHAT IS A COMBINED MAINTENANCE FACILITY, YOU KNOW, AND SO WE AGAIN DID A LOT OF BLOCK WALKING, DID A LOT OF OUTREACH TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, UM, SENT OUT A POSTCARD AND WE HAD A WONDERFUL ATTENDANCE AT THAT MEETING.
UM, A LOT OF GREAT ENGAGEMENT, UH, MARKETO PRESENTED, UM, THE, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FACILITY AND SOME OF THE CRITERIA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR LOCATING THIS FACILITY.
WE WERE COMING OFF OF THE HEELS OF A, UH, KIND OF A CONTENTIOUS MEETING THAT THE AIRPORT HAD HAD ABOUT A FACILITY THEY WANT TO DEVELOP.
SO WE WERE VERY CONSCIOUS ABOUT COMMUNITY CONCERNS ABOUT PLACING A FACILITY IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, AND WE'RE REALLY ANXIOUS TO HEAR WHAT THOSE CONCERNS WERE.
UM, MAJOR CONCERNS WERE NOISE LEVEL, AIR POLLUTION, POSSIBLE, LIGHT POLLUTION AT NIGHT.
UM, BUT THEN WE STARTED TO HEAR ABOUT ASPIRATIONS FOR WHAT THIS FACILITY COULD MEAN TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH WAS SUPER EXCITING.
SO WE WERE HEARING, UM, COULD WE DO EDUCATIONAL
[00:35:01]
TOURS FOR OUR STUDENTS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES ONSITE? UM, WE TALKED ABOUT OFFERING COMMUNITY SPACE FOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS, AND YOU COULD JUST SEE THAT THE CONVERSATION WAS BECOMING MORE AND MORE, UH, POSITIVE AND ASPIRATIONAL.SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS REALLY COOL TO SEE.
THIS WAS THE FIRST OF TWO MEETINGS ON THE COMBINED MAINTENANCE FACILITY, UH, LOCATION SELECTION.
AND SO THE NEXT ONE MEETING TWO WILL BE ON JUNE 8TH.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAD OUR ADVISORY GROUPS.
I KNOW LET'S, LET'S STOP RIGHT THERE.
AND LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS EACH ONE OF THESE OTHER ONES FIRST, IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL JUMP BACK TO THE ADVISORY GROUPS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS FOR, UM, JACKIE COMMENTS DIALOGUE? SO I WOULD JUST ADD ON THE, ON THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE MEETING, OBVIOUSLY REALLY STRONG ATTENDANCE, AS YOU CAN SEE.
AND I THINK, UM, ONE OF THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF IT AS A WEEK, WE WENT INTO A MEETING WITH TWO OPTIONS, TWO LEGITIMATE OPTIONS, NO RECOMMENDATION SAY WE HAVE TWO LEGITIMATE OPTIONS.
I HAVE REALLY ROBUST DIALOGUE ABOUT THOSE OPTIONS.
AND WE GOT RIGHT THERE WERE, THERE WERE, THERE WAS FEEDBACK ON BOTH SIDES FOR BOTH.
AND SO I THINK IT WAS IN SOME WAYS IT WAS, IT WAS KIND OF A MODEL FOR HOW TO DO THIS.
AND THAT MEETING WAS REALLY IN RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK THAT WE HAD GOTTEN IN THE FALL, RIGHT? SO PEOPLE COULD START TO BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE CADENCE AND THE TRAJECTORY OF THIS DESIGN PROCESS.
LIKE YOU COME IN, YOU MAKE A PROPOSAL, YOU GET FEEDBACK, YOU COME BACK, YOU HAVE MORE DISCUSSION AND THAT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS GOING TO CONTINUE ON INTO THE FUTURE.
SO I THINK, UM, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE CONTENT, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS AND HAVING THAT DIALOGUE, I THINK WAS, IT WAS A VERY POSITIVE ASPECT OF THAT MEETING.
I'M GLAD YOU JUMPED BACK TO THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE MEETING.
CAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE I WANTED TO MENTION ABOUT THAT.
SO WE'VE BEEN TRACKING OUR DEMOGRAPHIC PARTICIPATION, DATING BACK TO MARCH THE TRI-PARTY MEETING WHEN WE ESTABLISHED THE, THE SCHEDULE OF THESE 12 MEETINGS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AS ALWAYS, WE WISH WE COULD CONNECT MORE TO OUR PRIORITY COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES, ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO CONNECT BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE BUSY AND WE NEED TO GO TO THEM AND WE'RE STARTING TO DO MORE OF THAT, BUT THERE WAS A REALLY EXCITING THING THAT HAPPENED DURING THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE MEETING WITH THIS, YOU KNOW, THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE IS A DOWNTOWN FEATURE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT JUST DIDN'T SEEM LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE THE CANDIDATE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN, BUT WE WERE DOING, WE DO THESE MENTIMETER POLLS DURING THE MEETING TO KIND OF BREAK UP THE MONOTONY OF PEOPLE TALKING AT YOU, BUT ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO GET PEOPLE'S FEEDBACK ON IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.
WE'VE ALSO CHANGED THE WAY WE ARE ASKING QUESTIONS, WHICH I THINK HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE, UM, KIND OF MORE HIGH LEVELS SO THAT YOU CAN THEN JUST DISTILL FROM WHAT YOU HEAR IN TERMS OF PEOPLE'S VALUES, CONCERNS, ASPIRATIONS, AND APPLY THEM TO MORE SPECIFIC TECHNICAL, UM, DESIGN PROBLEMS. RIGHT.
UM, SO WE ALSO HAVE, WHEN WE'RE DOING THESE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, WE HAVE A FACEBOOK LIVE OPTION AND WE ADDED THAT FACEBOOK LIVE OPTION TO CAPTURE MORE PEOPLE WHO WOULDN'T NECESSARILY CONNECT WITH US ON ZOOM.
UM, AND FACEBOOK LIVE IS VERY POPULAR WITH THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY.
AS PART OF THAT, YOU ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MENTIMETER POLLING DURING THE MEETING LIVE.
AND WE DID ONE QUESTION THAT WAS OPEN-ENDED.
SO PEOPLE WERE TYPING IN ANSWERS IN THESE WORD, CLOUDS WERE POPPING UP WITH THEIR ANSWERS AND HERE COME THE SPANISH LANGUAGE ANSWERS.
AND MY COLLEAGUE JOCELYN VOLKS, AND I WERE JUST LIKE DOING A HAPPY DANCE.
IT SEEMS LIKE A SMALL THING, BUT IT WAS A TURNING POINT.
IT REALLY WAS A TURNING POINT AND I GET GOOSEBUMPS JUST TALKING ABOUT IT.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, UH, REACHING THE FOLKS WHO REALLY WE NEED TO HEAR FROM THE MOST.
BUT I THINK WE'RE MAKING SOME PROGRESS.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TRACK THOSE DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, DATA POINTS FOR YOU.
AND WHEN WE'RE FINISHED WITH THIS ENTIRE, UH, SERIES OF MEETINGS, WE'LL, WE'LL REPORT BACK ON WHAT WE'VE LEARNED.
AND, UM, WE'RE ALSO TAKING SOME STEPS TO ADDRESS HOW WE CAN BETTER CONNECT WITH COMMUNITIES.
UM, FACEBOOK LIVE IS ONE WHERE DISCUSSING A PARTNERSHIP WITH WINNIE VCR.
THAT'S ANOTHER ONE WORKING MORE WITH COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE MORE TRUSTED WITH COMMUNITIES, SO THAT WE HAVE SOME CREDIBILITY WHEN WE GO TALK TO FOLKS AND THEY CAN ACTUALLY TRUST US, UM, WHICH IS A BIG BARRIER.
UM, AND WE'VE ALSO BROUGHT ON A NEW, UH, PART OF OUR TEAM, LAURA CORTEZ CONSULTING, DARK, DR.
CORTEZ IS RENOWNED FOR THE WORK SHE'S DONE IN COLONY PARK.
AND, UM, SOME OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES FROM WHICH WE DON'T HEAR AS OFTEN AS WE'D LIKE, AND SHE'S GONNA HELP US WORK ON A STRATEGY.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE ETO D TEAM WHO ARE PILOTING A PROGRAM OF PAID COMMUNITY CONNECTORS FROM THE COMMUNITY TO
[00:40:02]
HELP US PASS ON THE MESSAGE, GET FEEDBACK FROM THEIR, FROM THEIR PEERS AND REALLY CREATE A FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK.SO JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT IT WAS A WONDERFUL THING.
I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT MEETING BACK UP.
PETER GAVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY.
UH, I D I WASN'T TURNING THIS WAY, SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS FIRST, SECOND OR THIRD BOARD WAS STRAPPED IN, PLEASE.
UH, JACKIE, I WAS JUST CURIOUS AS YOU'RE, WHEN Y'ALL WERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE, DID YOU ALL ALSO, AS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION, UH, LET FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY KNOW ABOUT WHAT THE OPTIONS WERE THAT CAP METRO WAS OFFERING IN TERMS OF, WITH THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY RELATED TO THE CHANGES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE COMING, AS IT RELATES TO THE, UH, BUS SERVICE ALONG THE, UM, RIGHT OUT HERE ALONG THE STROKE, THAT OUR STREET, THE FIRST STREET BRIDGE, WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK DID Y'ALL RECEIVE AS IT RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO THAT? CAUSE I KNOW THAT, THAT, FROM WHAT I REMEMBER, THAT WAS ONE OF THE POINTS IS THAT WE, IS IT MOST FOLKS WEREN'T AWARE THAT THOSE CHANGES WERE COMING BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, THEY AREN'T ON THE MAPS SINCE THE MAP REALLY FOCUSES MORE ON THE REALLY BIG TICKET ITEMS LIKE THE BLUE LINE.
I WOULD SAY THAT, I THINK THAT THE, UM, AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT BUS SERVICE PLANNING, GOING INTO THE FUTURE WHEN THE BLUE ENBRIDGE HAS AN OPERATION, RIGHT, IS WE'RE NOT THERE YET IN TERMS OF SPECIFIC ROUTES, ET CETERA.
I THINK THIS IS A CASE WHERE THE PUBLIC REALLY RECOGNIZES THERE'S THERE'S VALUE TO BOTH AND RIGHT.
THEY RECOGNIZE THEY ARE SUPPORTING, YOU KNOW, INCREASING OUR TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE IN ANY WAY THAT WE CAN.
SO HAVING THIS CROSSING ON THE BLUE LINE BRIDGE IS A POSITIVE BECAUSE OF ROUTES THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO GO UP THE EAST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN, IT OPENS UP A CORRIDOR, CONNECTING THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE RIVER TO THE EAST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN AND THOSE, THOSE, UH, CORRIDORS, UM, BUT ALSO SAY HAVING BETTER FLOW AND BETTER CAPACITY ON THE WEST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN, WHERE WE CURRENTLY HAVE THAT VERY STRONG NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR ON LAVACA AND GUADALUPE IS ALSO POSITIVE.
IT'S NOT AN EITHER OR TO BOTH.
AND SO I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S OBVIOUSLY LOTS OF SUPPORT FOR JUST ENHANCING OUR CAPACITY OVERALL.
HAVE WE, UM, HAVE Y'ALL GOTTEN TO THE POINT YET OF, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT KIND OF TEASING OUT AND OFFERING PEOPLE, UM, WHAT THE COST ALTERNATIVES WOULD BE FROM ONE, ONE EXAMPLE TO ANOTHER, BECAUSE I KNOW WHEN, WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE COSTS THERE, IT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE LIKE, OH YEAH, GREAT, SURE.
LET'S LET, LET'S, LET'S PUT A BUS ON THERE AND WHY NOT A GONDOLA, AS LONG AS WE'RE AT IT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY HAVE REAL LIFE CHOICES TO MAKE ABOUT WHAT COSTS ARE GOING TO BE, THEN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.
HOW ARE YOU ALL APPROACHING THAT NOW THAT WE'VE KIND OF STARTED STEERING IT SORT OF IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO, SO IN EVERY TIME WHEN WE GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY WITH THESE UPDATES AND YOU'LL SEE IN YOUR PACKET, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH THEM ALL, BUT WE BASICALLY HAVE THEM WEEKLY ON SPECIFIC SORT OF JUICY TOPICS.
SOME OF THEM COST IS A MATERIAL ISSUE.
SOME OF THEM IT'S NOT, BUT WITH THE BRIDGE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHENEVER IT IS A MATERIAL ISSUE, WE ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE REALLY CLEAR THAT THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.
AND WE NEED TO BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THAT IS.
SO FOR THE BRIDGE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, AGAIN, ROUGH ORDER OF MAGNITUDE, BECAUSE THERE'S LOTS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BRIDGE IN PARTICULAR, BUT WE THINK THAT THERE'S PROBABLY A $60 MILLION, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL COST IN 20, $22, UM, FOR, TO ADD THAT ADDITIONAL CAPACITY FOR BUSES ON THE BRIDGE.
AND THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
AND WE GOT FEEDBACK ON THAT AND SOME FEEL LIKE, WOW, THAT'S, THAT'S A LOT.
AND SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD INVESTMENT AND THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE WHOLE LOOK AT THOSE, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT INDIVIDUAL ITEM IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WHOLE, UM, BUT COMING UPCOMING MEETINGS, THAT'S, THAT'S CERTAINLY GOING TO BE AN ISSUE.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING IN LATE JUNE.
UM, AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT RESPONSE TO WHAT THE MAYOR WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER IN LATE JUNE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING ABOUT THE SUBWAY, RIGHT.
AND UNDERSTAND A PART OF THAT IS LOOKING AT OPTIONS WHERE WE CAN TIGHTEN THAT UP UP AND POTENTIALLY MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE COST EFFICIENT.
AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR LEVEL OF SERVICE TO OUR USERS AND OUR CUSTOMERS? RIGHT? SO THAT'S THAT IN A LOT OF THESE CONVERSATIONS IS THAT IS A MATERIAL PART OF THE DECISION-MAKING.
WE NEED TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE AND WE ARE, AND THEN ULTIMATELY YOU'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THESE KIND OF MICRO, UH, COMMUNITY FEEDBACK MEETINGS AND KIND OF EXTRAPOLATE IT TO THE MACRO WHERE YOU'RE SAYING, OKAY, WITH THE BRIDGE FEEDBACK YOU LOOK AT, MAYBE,
[00:45:01]
YOU KNOW, THAT YOU SAID $60 MILLION MIGHT BE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, ADDING THE COSTS THERE.BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TUNNEL, IT COULD BE A MAGNITUDE OF, YOU KNOW, 10 FOLD THE, OF THAT MUCH TO MAKE THE CHANGE, ANY KIND OF CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT BECAUSE OF THE TUNNEL YOU Y'ALL, AS STAFF ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THESE OPTIONS ARE.
AND THEN I'M ASSUMING THEN THAT, THAT, UH, AND, AND CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH THEN, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THESE PIECES, PUT IT TOGETHER, AND THEN BRING BACK THE OPTIONS TO US AT THE NEXT TRI-PARTY MEETINGS, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND KIND OF, SORT OF FIGURING OUT NEXT STEPS TOWARDS THAT 30% DESIGN AND PUTTING A BOW ON THIS AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
I THINK YOU, YOU HIGHLIGHTED EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
I DON'T THINK WE KNOW YET HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO IT.
CAUSE WE HAVE TO DO IT IN A, I MEAN, WE HAVE TO DO IT, MAKE IT REALLY, IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION.
WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT CLEAR AND CONCISE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A REALLY ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT IT AND TALK ABOUT PRIORITIES AND THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THOSE PRIORITIES.
SO, UM, AGAIN, YES, BUT WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW THAT'S GOING TO, HOW THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
I THINK WHAT WE HAVE THE INFORMATION WE'LL BE ABLE TO DISTILL IT DOWN.
UM, WE HAD TO MAKE SOME REALLY TOUGH CALLS, CAP METRO AND THE CITY TOGETHER, EVEN BEFORE THIS ORGANIZATION EXISTED TO DECIDE WHAT PROJECT CONNECT WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND MAKING DECISIONS LIKE, DID WE WANT TO ADVANCE WITH BUS RAPID TRANSIT OR LIGHT RAIL IN THE FIRST PLACE? AND WE HAD SOME REALLY GOOD DIALOGUE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS ALL ACROSS THE, UH, THE CITY THAT GOT US TO THAT POINT OF DECIDING, YES, WE'RE MOVING THIS FORWARD.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO THE PROPOSITION AND YES, WE WANT IT TO BE LIGHT RAIL.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT THAT TOGETHER.
AND WE HAD TO MAKE SOME TOUGH CALLS.
UH, IT, IT, THAT IT, THOSE, YOU KNOW, BY PART, BY, BY PARTY MEETINGS BETWEEN CAP METRO AND THE CITY.
SO, UM, PERSONALLY I HAVE FAITH THAT Y'ALL TOGETHER WORKING WITH THAT ATP STAFF, WORKING WITH CAP, METRO AND CITY STAFF, WE'LL WORK THROUGH THESE THINGS THROUGH THAT INNOVATIVE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE TO BRING FORTH SOME REALLY GOOD PROPOSALS FOR ALL THREE OF US TO SIT DOWN TOGETHER AT A PUBLIC MEETING AND REALLY WORK THROUGH AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING TO BE THE BEST DIRECTION FORWARD AFTER BRINGING TOGETHER ALL OF THAT PUBLIC FEEDBACK AND WEIGHING AGAINST WHAT THE COSTS ARE TO BRING FORWARD FOR US TO MAKE THOSE FINAL DECISIONS AS A TEAM.
I KNOW
UM, AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT REACHING AN AUDIENCE, THAT WAS NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING, THAT WAS JUST ONE PART OF IT.
BUT YOU REACHED AN AUDIENCE OF PEOPLE THAT, UM, WHEN YOU THINK YOU, YOU SURVEYED THEM AND SAY, WELL, HOW, HOW, UH, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE ACTUALLY ON THE TRAIL OR, OR USE THE TRAIL? UM, SOME OF THEM IT'S IT'S ONCE A YEAR OR TWICE A YEAR, BUT THEY WERE SO KEENLY INTERESTED IN THIS COMPONENT OF PROJECT CONNECT.
SO IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR THEIR FEEDBACK BECAUSE IT TELLS ME THAT THEY ARE SO INTERESTED IN WHAT PROJECT CONNECT MEANS TO THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT IT MEANS TO, TO THE CITY.
AND THIS, THIS PARTICULAR CONNECTION IS SO CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT'S SYMBOLIC, I THINK, OF THE COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER.
SO WHATEVER YOU DID TO REACH THE COMMUNITY FOR THIS MEETING, UH, KEEP IT UP BECAUSE IT'S WORKING.
UM, AND FOR THE OTHER MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU DID REACH A LOT OF PEOPLE EVEN WITH THE COMBINED MAINTENANCE FACILITY.
AND IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT THEY ARE LISTENING.
AND, YOU KNOW, AS GREG TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FORMAT OF THESE MEETINGS, IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS USEFUL TO THE PUBLIC, THAT WE'RE NOT JUST PROVIDING THEM WITH INFORMATION, THAT IT'S ACTUALLY AN ENGAGEMENT, IT'S A DIALOGUE.
AND WE'RE HEARING BACK FROM THEM, WE'RE TAKING THAT INFORMATION.
AND WHEN WE GO BACK OUT FOR THE NEXT RULON BRIDGE MEETING IN JUNE, THEY'LL HEAR WHAT WE DID WITH THAT INFORMATION AND HOW WE PROCESSED IT AND HOW WE'RE REFLECTING IT BACK.
I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK SOMETHING, PORT MEMBERS TRYING TO IT'S LIKE THE PERFECT COMMENT OF CONNECTING THESE KIND OF, WE WOULDN'T CALL THEM MICRO ISSUES.
RIGHT? CAUSE $60 MILLION IS NOT A MICRO ISSUE, BUT, UM, BUT, UH, BUT THESE, UH, AS AN ECONOMIST WOULD SAY MICRO VERSUS MACRO, BUT THIS, THESE PETER'S THESE JUICY TOPICS.
ONE OF THE, JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS TO ADD THE STAFFS ARE PROVIDING CONTEXT IN THE FRONT OF THIS TO SAY, WE ARE WORKING, THE OVERALL COSTS ARE CONSIDERED THE MEMOS OUT.
YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT NOW.
SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT'S HAPPENING.
AND THEN COMING AWAY ON WHAT GINA JUST MENTIONED AS WE GO THROUGH THAT IN ESSENCE PRIORITY SETTING CONVERSATION, WHAT'S ALSO GOING TO BE REALLY MATTER IS
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NOT ONLY THE PROCESS, BUT WHAT THE PROCESS IS, HOW DO WE GET TO THAT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE OUT THERE LISTENING TO EVERYBODY, ADDING ON TO THE WORK THAT JACKIE AND HER TEAM ARE DOING.SO WE WANT TO BE VERY DELIBERATIVE AND FORMATIVE ABOUT THE PROCESS SO THAT WE'RE NOT ONLY WITH OUR BOARDS, BUT ALSO WITH THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT'S THE WORK THAT PETER'S TALKING ABOUT.
WE'RE STILL, WE'RE STILL WORKING TO GET, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS, UM, THE RIGHT FEEL FOR, FOR AUSTIN.
SO IT'S THE, BUT I THINK IT WAS REALLY NECESSARY FOR YOU TO CONNECT THOSE TWO BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE WANTING TO DO THAT AS WELL.
AND WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KEEP REMINDING PEOPLE THAT, SO MAYOR, I'VE HEARD REAL GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE MEETINGS THAT YOU'VE DONE, JACKIE AS WELL.
UH, PETER, UM, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR US IF AT THE END OF THOSE MEETINGS, IT WAS JUST A ONE PAGE MEMO THAT CAME TO US THAT LET US KNOW WHAT THE MAIN ISSUES RAISED WERE OR WHAT THE SUMMARY WAS.
UM, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN 20 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE COMBINED MAINTENANCE FACILITY COMMUNITY, CAUSE THE ISSUE IS ELEVATED BY THE MEETING, BUT, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT TO RAISE THE CONCEPT OF ACTUALLY TEAMING WITH DEL VALLEY OR ACC TO HAVE A TRAINING PROGRAM THAT OPERATES, UH, IN THAT SITE, UH, WHICH I THINK IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA AND WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO INTERJECT THAT INTO THE CONVERSATIONS.
SO AT THE CONCLUSIONS OF THOSE MEANS IF WE JUST SEND SOMETHING OUT REALLY SHORT, REALLY QUICK, BUT KIND OF FOR BOARD MEMBERS, HEY, IF SOMEONE APPROACHES YOU ABOUT THIS MEETING, THIS IS THE HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT HAPPENED AND THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DO THAT.
GRAY DNS, OR NO, I REMEMBER US MAKING A COMMITMENT TO BOARD.
WELL IT'S BOARD MEMBER, KITCHEN AND COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
SHE SITS ON THE CAP METRO BOARD AS WELL, BUT THAT AT THE END OF THESE MEETINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE SALIENT POINT? WHAT WAS THE BOAT, THE EXCITEMENT FROM THE COMMUNITY OVER THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, SHE WANTED TO SEE THE PROS AND CONS OF EACH, RIGHT? SO THAT GOES TO YOUR MEMO.
THAT GOES TO WHAT SHE WAS ASKING FOR TO WRITE, TO DISCERN THAT INFORMATION.
SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE CLOSE THOSE LOOPS.
WHAT DID YOU HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY? BECAUSE I THINK FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, MY HEART SKIPPED 10 BEATS WHEN I DID START SEEING THOSE WORDS IN SPANISH POP UP, THAT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL.
AND I NOTICED THAT BECAUSE ANOTHER THING THAT I NOTICED THAT WHAT YOU GUYS DID WAS THAT THE SPANISH TRANSLATION WAS NOT IN ANOTHER BACK ROOM, IN A WORK SESSION BEHIND THE SCENES, RIGHT? LIKE IN THE SPANISH CHANNEL, IT WAS HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, WHICH I THINK IT WAS A REALLY, ALSO REALLY NICE WAY TO SHOW THE SIMULTANEOUS CONVERSATION THAT COULD HAPPEN IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
SO I THINK THAT, THAT WAS ALSO VERY, I WANTED TO MENTION THAT THAT STOOD OUT TO ME.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHEN I STARTED SEEING, POPPING UP IN THE MENTIMETER THE WORDS COME UP IN SPANISH.
SO, AND I EVEN TEXTED PETER I'M LIKE, I SEE, I SEE THE SPANISH, I SEE IT'S COMING UP.
WONDERFUL TO SEE, BUT ULTIMATELY WHAT I, WHAT IT REALLY RESONATED TO ME IN THE FIRST, HOW QUICKLY YOU GUYS CAME WITH THAT STUDY THE FORMAT OF IT, YOU KNOW, YOU DO, THEY JUST DID IT IN A WAY THAT'S VERY TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND ALL THE LAYERS OF CONFLICT WITH THE TRAIL, THE BUSES, THE TRAIN, THE PORTAL COMING IN UNDERGROUND.
BUT WHAT REALLY RESONATED TO ME THAT WAS DONE REALLY WELL WAS THAT YOU PRESENTED IT IN THE HUMAN ASPECT THAT PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO, RIGHT.
EVEN TO THE LEVEL OF THE LANDSCAPE, THAT IT COULD HAVE A GREEN ROOF.
THAT IS NOT ONE OF THOSE VERY EXPENSIVE ITEMS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT IN THE CONTEXT OF A TRAIL, IN THE CONTEXT OF SOMETHING THAT THIS COMMUNITY APPRECIATES AND LOVES, WE HAD THIS GREEN ROOF AS PART OF THIS PORTAL, RIGHT.
AND ALL THOSE ELEMENTS TO ME REALLY RESONATE REALLY WELL, HOW YOU EVEN PRESENTING THIS INFORMATION TO THE VALUES OF AUSTIN AND THE OTHER PART THAT IT WAS A BIT CONFUSING, HOW I SAW THE, THE, IN ONE OF THE RENDERINGS, IT LOOKED LIKE THE MORE LIKE A BOARDWALK FOR THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESS LOOK, IT GIVES RIGHT LEVEL WITH THE WATER AND PEOPLE WERE CONCERNED THAT YOU CAN CROSS UNDERNEATH IT, BUT IT WAS A RENDERING AGAIN, RIGHT.
PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO CROSS UNDERNEATH IT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT PUBLICLY THAT, BECAUSE IT'S A RENDERING DOESN'T MEAN IT'S A FINAL DESIGN PRODUCT.
AND BECAUSE IT'S A RENDERING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ROOM FOR ELEVATION INTERPRETATION, BUT HAVING THAT FLOW TO CONNECT ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND UNDERNEATH IT IT'S <