[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:03]
I'M GOING TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
I KNOW WE'RE EXPECTING A COUPLE OF BOARD MEMBERS STILL TO TUNE IN IN A LITTLE WHILE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO GET STARTED THOUGH.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
WE'LL START WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.SO, UH, BOARD MEMBER DECARLO AGREED TO HELP US OUT WITH A PROCEEDING? YES.
UM, LET'S WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CALLING IN.
I BELIEVE WE ALREADY HAD THEM ON THAT.
WHEN DID YOU WILL CALL? UM, I DON'T HAVE ROLL CALL IN FRONT OF ME HERE.
UM, BOARD MEMBER TO PALMA ROSA BOARD MEMBER RINALDI.
SHE SAID SHE WAS GOING TO BE A FEW MINUTES LIKE A BOARD MEMBER TO CARLO PRESENT BOARD MEMBER, MORE PRESENT BOARD MEMBER FAUST ALSO IS GOING TO BE A FEW MINUTES LATE BOARD MEMBER HUFFMAN, A BOARD MEMBER BERNARD PRESENT.
UM, BOARD MEMBER TAYLOR IS NOT GOING TO BE HERE THIS EVENING.
HAS EVERYBODY SIGNED THIS? EVERYONE THAT'S HERE.
BACK TO CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
SO WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND START WITH LAURA.
SPRAGENS YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, LAURA.
I'M A GARDENER AT THE FESTIVAL BEACH COMMUNITY GARDEN, AND I'M HERE TODAY TO ASK TO SUPPORT, PROTECTING HABITAT FOR FOXES THAT LIVE NEAR THE GARDEN.
UM, THERE'S ONE FEMALE GRAY BOX AND SHE HAS SEVERAL KIDS.
I'M ASKING HER CARD AND THE CITY TO PROTECT THIS HABITAT BY AUDITING THE PLAN TO CLEAR THE BOXES DEN DURING BREEDING SEASON, WHICH GOES INTO THE BALL AND SURVEY AND TAKE THE PROPERTY LINE BETWEEN THE GARDEN AND HATCHERY PARK.
THIS WOULD GIVE US ENOUGH TIME.
UM, I'M SPEAKING OF THE GARDENER TO BUILD A SUBSTITUTE HABITAT ON OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE.
UM, AND IT WOULD ALSO GIVE YOU ALL TIME TO CONSIDER PRESERVING HER SMALL THIN ON HATCHERY PARK AS A WILDLIFE URBAN EDUCATIONAL SPACE AND SANCTUARY.
UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE LIKE THE BEST OPTION.
UH, GREAT BOXES POSE, NO DANGER TO COME AND TEXTS LIKE CATS AND DOGS, BUT ARE WELL KNOWN TO KEEP URBAN MICE AND ROSE POPULATIONS THAT DAY WITHOUT THE NEED FOR COSTLY AND DANGEROUS, YOU KNOW, ARTIFICIAL BOYFRIENDS AND TRAP.
UM, THE GREAT BOX HAS LIVED AT, YOU KNOW, IN THIS AREA FOR PROBABLY SEVERAL YEARS AND WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF CONTROLLING THE PESTS IN OUR GARDEN AND THE TRACK THAT HER IN HER LEAVE AROUND.
AND THE COUPLE OF TIMES I'VE GOTTEN TO SEE HER AND HER PUPS IT'S REALLY, IT'S REALLY QUITE SPECIAL.
UM, SHE HAS LIKE A SMALL DEN IN A THICKET FORMED BY A DOWNTOWN CITY IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF HATCHERY PARK.
AND THAT TREE IS CURRENTLY BEHIND SOME TEMPORARY FIT, SAME THING WITH PR PART OF WHAT MAKES THIS BOX FEEL SAFE.
UM, AND OFTEN TALK THIS TYPICALLY BREED DURING THE SPRAIN AND POP DURING APRIL AND MAY AND THE FAMILY STAYS TOGETHER UNTIL THE FALL OR EARLY WINTER.
ONCE THE KIDS CAN SURVIVE ON THEIR OWN.
OUR FOX HAS BEEN SEEN RAISING KIDS AS LATE AS OCTOBER.
AND IF SOMETHING THREATENED TO DESTROY THE DEN OF THE MAMA FOX, WHEN SHE HAS YOUNG KIDS, IT CAN BE REALLY DIFFICULT FOR HER TO RELOCATE THEM IN TIME TO SAVE THEM ALL.
SO NOW'S THE TIME FOR OUR FOX.
IT'S THE MOST VULNERABLE AND ALSO THE MOST THREATENED WITH MORE AND MORE DEVELOPMENT HAPPENING ACROSS THE CITY.
IT'S IMPORTANT NOW MORE THAN EVER FOR US TO PRESERVE THE WILDLIFE AND OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY TO PROTECT THE BIODIVERSITY AND CONTINUE TO MAKE OUR PARTS AND OUR WILDLIFE, UM, AS WONDERFUL AS THEY HAVE BEEN.
SO WE'VE, UM, WE'VE ALSO LEARNED THAT FOR DEN COULD BE CLEARED AT ANY TIME.
AND I ASKED YOU TO HELP STOP THAT.
PLEASE WORK WITH US TO PAUSE THE PLAN CLEARING OF HER THICKET AND CONDUCT A PROPERTY LINE SURVEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND HELP BUILD THAT HABITAT IN THE GARDEN.
AND CAN I CONFIRM DOWN THERE, YOU'LL HAVE THE TIMER GOING FOR THE THREE MINUTES.
SO NEXT UP WE HAVE CLAIRE KREBS.
I ALSO GARDEN ON CITY LAND AT THE FESTIVAL BEACH COMMUNITY GARDEN IN EAST AUSTIN.
IT'S JUST EAST OF 35 AND IT'S CATTY-CORNER TO HATCHERY PARK.
UM, AND I'M CALLING TODAY TO TALK TO ABOUT THE HATCHERY PARK AND THE GARDEN LIKE LAURA, AND JUST SPECIFICALLY ASKS YOU TO ENGAGE WITH CITIZENS LIKE MYSELF AND LAURA AND OTHERS TO PROTECT THE BOXES THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA.
UM, THESE BOXES HAVE BROUGHT US GREAT JOY AND RODENT PAYROLLS TO
[00:05:01]
OUR GARDEN AND OUR NEIGHBORS, BUT THEIR LAST REMAINING HABITAT, WHICH IS A SMALL TICKET ON HATCHERY PARK MIGHT BE DESTROYED ANY DAY NOW.AND ALTHOUGH GARDENER'S LIKE MYSELF WANTS TO BUILD NEW FLUX HABITAT ON THE GARDEN PROPERTY, WE NEED PART IN THE CITY'S HELP TO ONE CAUSE PLANS TO DESTROY THAT THEY GET DURING BREEDING SEASON TWO, TO CLARIFY THE GARDEN'S PROPERTY LINE BOUNDARIES.
SO WE CAN BUILD MORE THICKET HABITAT AND THREE TO RECONSIDER THE PLANS FOR THE CURRENT TICKET.
I'M JUST GIVING YOU SOME BACKGROUND, THE CURRENT AND LAST REMAINING TICKET IN THE AREA THAT'S SUITABLE FOR FOXES IS ON A SLIVER OF HATCHERY PARK, WHICH IS CLOSEST TO THE GARDEN.
IT IS APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET IN DIAMETER.
IT'S CENTERED ON A LARGE TREE AND ENCLOSED AND THAT TEMPORARY FENCING, UM, AND MISS THAT'S THE DENSE BRUSH.
AND, UM, AND THIS FENCING PROTECTS THE FOX FROM, UM, HUMAN ENTRY AND MAKING IT A REALLY UNIQUE HABITAT UNLIKE OTHERS.
AND, UM, WHILE THE SURROUNDING AREA HAS GENTRIFIED AND BUILT UP HALF-WAY PARK ITSELF HAS BEEN PROMISED BY EASEMENT TO THE CITY FOR USE AS A PARK.
BUT INSTEAD OF INCORPORATING THIS LAST TINY WILDLIFE HABITAT INTO PLOW PARK PLANS LIKE HAS BEEN DONE IN OTHER PARKS AROUND THE CITY, THE PLAN CURRENTLY IS TO REMOVE THE VALUABLE ECOSYSTEM AND REPLACE IT WITH THE EQUIVALENT OF AN ECOLOGICAL DESERT, LIKE BEAR GRASS AND A FEW SAPLING, UM, PRESERVING THAT THEY GET AS A WILD SPACE WOULD BE A HUNDRED PERCENT COMPATIBLE WITH THE FUNCTION OF THE PARK, THIS PARK SPECIFICALLY, AND LIKE PARKS ACROSS THE CITY.
THERE'S A BEEN A VOLUNTEER DESIGN TEAM THAT HAS ALREADY PROPOSED HOW THE TICKET COULD BE FENCED AS A SIMPLE EDUCATIONAL AREA THAT WOULD BENEFIT BOTH PARTS, VISITORS, AND WILDLIFE.
AND IT'S A VERY USED TO THINK IT SHOULDN'T BE DESTROYED DURING BREEDING SEASON, WHICH IS NOW, UH, WHEN THE FOSTERS WOULD HAVE THE MOST DIFFICULTY ESCAPING AND NOWHERE ELSE TO GO.
UM, SO AGAIN, I'M ASKING THE BOARD AND PART IN THE CITY TO ACT ONE, TO SUPPORT A PAUSE IN THE PLAN TO CLEAR THE FOX WAS DONE DURING THIS FALL AND SUMMER BREEDING SEASON NUMBER TWO, TO SURVEY AND STAKE THE PROPERTY LINE BETWEEN THE GARDEN HATCHERY PARK, WHICH IS CURRENTLY NOT CLEAR AND THREE TO SUPPORT INCREASING THE SPICKET HABITAT.
THESE ACTIONS WOULD ALLOW US GARDENERS TO WORK ON BUILDING SUBSTITUTE HABITAT NEXT TO THE CURRENT DEN ON GARDEN LAND.
IT WOULD GIVE THE COMMUNITY AND PARTS AND THE BOARDS AND THE CITY TIME TO CONSIDER PRESERVING THE SMALL DEN ON HATCHERY PARK AS A WILDLIFE AND AN URBAN EDUCATIONAL SPACE.
AND WHAT WE'RE ASKING ISN'T ABOUT STOPPING ANY NEARBY DEVELOPMENT OR PAUSING ANY PLANS FOR COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL SPACES.
UM, THIS ASK ACTUALLY ENHANCES ALL OF THAT.
SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, UM, AND LISTENING TO US, AND I HOPE THAT YOU AGREE THAT WE SHOULDN'T SQUANDER THIS HARD TO REPLACE RESOURCE.
UH, NEXT WE HAVE LAUREN LONEY GOOD EVENING WHERE THEY EMERGE AND YOU'LL HEAR ME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TONIGHT.
I AM A RESIDENT IN AUSTIN, BUT I ALSO SERVE, AND I'M HERE TONIGHT AS THE TEXAS STATE DIRECTOR FOR THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES.
UM, I'M SPEAKING THAT EVENING IN SUPPORT OF THE FOLKS THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY HEARD.
AND THE OTHER OFTEN RESIDENTS AND COMMUNITY GARDENERS, WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE PLAN REDEVELOPMENT OF HATCHERY PARK AND THE IMPACT THAT THIS WOULD HAVE ON NOT ONLY THE GRAY BOXES LIVING IN THE TICKET, BUT ON THE ENTIRE WILDLIFE COMMUNITY.
UM, YOU'VE HEARD MORE DETAILS OF THIS FROM THE OTHER SPEAKERS, BUT MY HOPE TONIGHT IS TO, UM, NOT ONLY, UH, BRING AWARENESS ISSUE, BUT ALSO TO OFFER PARDON ME, RESOURCES FOR HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE.
THEY JUST US WORK WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO CREATE WILD NEIGHBORS, COMMUNITIES WHERE HUMANE SOLUTIONS ARE GIVEN PRIORITY WHEN ADDRESSING CONFLICT BETWEEN PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE.
IN THIS CASE FOR DESERVING THAT THEY GET WITHIN HATCHERY PARK, WHICH WE KNOW IS POSSIBLE FROM DETAILED PLANS RENDERED AND SHARED BY VOLUNTEERS IS BOTH A VIABLE SOLUTION AND THE MOST HUMANE SOLUTION LEAVING TAX WILD HABITAT LIKE THIS TICKET WILL ONLY BENEFIT THE LARGER COMMUNITY OF HUMANS AND NON-HUMANS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THERE CANNOT BE ANY DOUBT THAT THE FOXES, BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS LIKELY CALLING THIS TICKET HOME, PROVIDE MYRIAD ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO THIS CITY.
HOWEVER, IF WE CAN'T SUCCEED IN PRESERVING THAT THEY GET, WE REQUEST, UH, LIKE I REQUEST LIKE THE OTHER TWO SPEAKERS.
THAT PART TAKES THAT TO DEAL WITH THIS SITUATION HUMANELY, UM, GIVING THE FOXES THE GREATEST CHANCE OF SURVIVAL.
THESE INCLUDE PAUSING ANY EFFORT TO DESTROY THE THICKET UNTIL THE END OF BREEDING AND KIT RAISING SEASON.
AND UNTIL THE FESTIVAL BEACH COMMUNITY GARDENERS THAT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THAT THEY COULD HABITAT ON THEIR SIDE OF THE FENCE.
AND SECOND, WHEN THE TIME COMES OR IF THE TIME COMES TO ENCOURAGE THESE BOXES TO RELOCATE THAT HUMANE METHODS ARE EMPLOYED FOR THAT, AND THAT CAN INCLUDE LOOSELY PACKING LEAVES OR MULCH IN THE DEN OPENING OR PLACING SHINY PARTY BALLOONS.
[00:10:01]
IF YOU FEED OFF THE GROUND, SHUTS OUTSIDE THE DEN ENTRANCE TO ENCOURAGE THE BOXES TO MOVE THE HSUS HAS EXPERTS WITH DECADES OF EXPERIENCE ASSISTING IN SITUATIONS JUST LIKE THIS.AND WE WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND EVEN HELP DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR HOW TO ENSURE THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF THIS FAMILY OF BOXES.
AND I'M ALSO WORKING WITH THE GARDENERS NOW TO SECURE THE FUNDING NEEDED TO PURCHASE THE PLANTS THAT WILL EXPAND THAT THEY GET ON THEIR SIDE OF THE FENCE.
SO PLEASE KNOW THAT THE GARDENERS AND THOSE OF US INVOLVED IN THIS SITUATION ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS THAT WE ARE COMING TO Y'ALL WITH ACTION TAKEN AND WITH RESOURCES IN MIND OF THIS IS REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT OUR COMMUNITY VALUES OF WILDLIFE AND PROTECTING WILD SPACES INTO PRACTICE.
AND WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THIS BOARD ENGAGE WITH US MOVING FORWARD TO ENSURE THAT THE BEST OUTCOME FOR BOTH THE FESTIVAL BEACH COMMUNITY GARDENERS AND THEIR WILD NEIGHBORS, UM, RESULTS FROM THIS REDEVELOPMENT EFFORTS.
NEXT WE'LL START WITH THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HERE IN PERSON TO GIVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
UM, FIRST WE'RE GOING TO START WITH BRIAN CASSIDY EVENING, MADAM CHAIR, BOARD MEMBERS.
I'M THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE BRIDGES ON THE PARK CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, HOPPY GOD.
AND THE PRESIDENT OF OUR ASSOCIATION IS ALSO HERE WITH ME TONIGHT.
WE'RE HERE TO REQUEST THAT YOU PLACE AN ITEM ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION OF ISSUES RELATED TO THE BUTLER PIGEON PARK GOLF COURSE, BRIDGES ON THE PARK IS LOCATED DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE BUTLER PITCH AND PITCH AND PUTT FACILITY.
AND WHEN I SAY ACROSS THE STREET, I MEAN, IT IT'S A NARROW STREET.
IT'S PROBABLY LESS THAN A HUNDRED FEET BETWEEN THE PROPERTY LINES BETWEEN THE TWO FACILITIES.
AND THAT MEANS THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS THERE AND THAT CLOSE THE PROXIMITY IN THE BUTLER SIDE HAS, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REALLY IMPACT THINGS ON, ON THE BRIDGES ON THE PARKSIDE.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE BUTTON, THE OPERATIONS OF THE BUTLER FACILITY WERE TRANSITIONED TO A NEW OPERATOR, UH, BACK IN 2019.
UH, THEY'VE KIND OF REINVESTED IN THE FACILITY, OPENED IT, UH, FOR BUSINESS IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR, OR EXCUSE ME, APRIL, 2021.
AND SINCE WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE HAD A SERIES OF INCREASING ISSUES KIND OF RELATED TO THE SCOPE OF OPERATIONS AT THE FACILITY.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES IS AMPLIFIED SOUND IN LIVE MUSIC.
UH, BUTLER HAS BEEN HOSTING LIVE BANDS FOR A VARIETY OF EVENTS, AND RECENTLY BEGAN ADVERTISING FOR AND HOSTING LIVE MUSIC EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT, JUST LIKE IT WERE A BAR ON SIXTH STREET.
UM, WE'RE RELATED TO THAT AS THE HOLDING OF NON GOLF EVENTS AT THE FACILITY, WE'VE HAD AT LEAST TWO OCCASIONS AND PERHAPS MORE TO COME WHERE THE GOLF COURSE HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN ENTIRELY TO THE PUBLIC FOR FESTIVALS, UM, THAT WERE VENDORS COME AND SET UP BOOSTS AROUND THE COURSE AND PEOPLE CAN GO AND DRINK AND THERE'S LIVE MUSIC, OF COURSE, AND, AND, AND, UH, CIRCULATE AMONG THE COURSE, BUT IT'S CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC PEOPLE HAVE TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO GET THERE.
AND IT'S VERY DISRUPTIVE WHEN YOU HAVE THAT MANY VENDORS COMING IN AND DELIVERING THEIR EQUIPMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY, LOADING IT OUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE PATRONS THAT COME AND GO DURING THE PROCESS.
AGAIN, LEE, BARTON'S A VERY, A VERY NARROW STREET.
IT'S NOT BUILT FOR THE CAPACITY FOR THAT KIND OF, UH, INFLOW AND, AND, AND FLUX OF ACTIVITY.
AND IT SHOULDN'T BE, YOU'VE GOT AUDITORIUM SHORES, NOT FAR AWAY.
YOU'VE GOT THE, THE LONG CENTER AND THE LAWN THERE, UH, WHICH WOULD BE PERFECT FOR EVENTS LIKE THAT.
ZILKER PARK IS, IS NOT VERY FAR AWAY.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S INESCAPABLE TO US WHY WE'RE HAVING THOSE TYPE OF EVENTS AT A GOLF COURSE FACILITY.
WE'RE NOT, IT'S NOT AS THRILLED WITH IT WITH THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING THERE.
UH, IN ADDITION OF A FOOD TRUCK WAS RECENTLY PLACED THERE.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN WITHIN THE STRUCTURE OF THE CLUBHOUSE THAT WAS THERE.
YOU REALLY DON'T NEED A FOOD TRUCK UNLESS YOU'RE SUPPORTING OTHER OPERATIONS BESIDES THE GOLF CARS.
UM, THERE'S OTHER STRUCTURAL ADDITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE SOME VERY UNSIGHTLY, UH, LIGHTING THAT THAT'S HAVING.
SOME NEGATIVE IMPACTS, REALLY A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE JUST HAVING, UM, THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO THE GOLF PURPOSE OF THAT FACILITY THAT ARE HAVING SOME REAL IMPACTS ON OUR COMMUNITY.
WE'VE NOT HAD ANY SUCCESS IN REALLY GETTING ANY RELIEF FROM THOSE.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT BY COMING TO YOU, WE CAN GET AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA IN THE FUTURE SO THAT WE CAN AT LEAST HAVE THAT DISCUSSION, PRESENT MORE INFORMATION, UM, AND LET YOU ALL MAKE A DECISION, OR AT LEAST MAYBE PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE AS TO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH RESPECT TO OPERATING THAT FACILITY FOR GOLF PURPOSES.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, WE HOPE WE CAN DO THAT.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE.
Y'ALL ARE VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME TO DO THIS STUFF AND TAKING CARE OF SOME OF OUR MOST TREASURED ASSETS.
SO THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME.
OKAY, NEXT, WE HAVE SCOTT COP.
I'M GOING TO PUT A ORDER LEFT GUARD AT BARTON SPRINGS POOL.
AND I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE A LIVABLE WAGE AND FAIR BENEFITS OR OUR WORK THAT IS VALUABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN.
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TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, THURSDAY, AND THEY WERE CONSIDERING WAVING IN A $20 FEE OR A COURSE FEE, WHICH THEY DID.HOWEVER, WHEN YOU TAKE SIGN UP FOR A BA LIFEGUARD, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH 40 HOURS OF PAID TRAINING, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO $600 THAT YOU WOULD GET PAID.
IF YOU WENT TO ANOTHER JOB THAT HAS A SERIOUS DETRIMENT TO PEOPLE WANTING TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON AS LIFE LIFEGUARDS, WHEN THEY CAN GO WORK AT JACK IN THE BOX AND GET TRAINED ON THE FRENCH FRY MACHINE AND GET PAID WHILE THEY DO THAT, YOU WANT TO GIVE A $600 COME WORK FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT WILL COST YOU $600 OF TRAINING.
WHEN I WAS THERE AT CITY HALL, IT WAS A LIFEGUARD WHO WORKED 10 YEARS AGO.
HE WAS HOLDING HIS BABY ABOUT TWO OR THREE MONTHS WHEN HE WAS TESTIFYING ABOUT, HE APPLIED THIS YEAR TO BE A LIFEGUARD AND HE STARTED TRAINING.
THEN HE GOT A CALL FROM AQUATIC SAYING, YOU WILL NOT CONTINUE YOUR TRAINING.
NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT PERSON DID 10 YEARS AGO TO BE PUT ON A, DO NOT HIRED LIST, COMPLETELY UNETHICAL BY THE HRD, BY OUR AQUATICS.
AND IF HE APPEALS, HE WILL GET THAT OVERTURNED.
BUT WHATEVER HE DID IS NOT AS PROFESSIONALLY INEPT, AS HARMFUL TO THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN, AS NOT SEEING A LIFEGUARD SHORTAGE COMING A YEAR AGO, HAVING AN ENTIRE YEAR TO PLAN, COME UP WITH A SOLUTION AND IMPLEMENT THAT SOLUTION.
THIS IS PROFESSIONAL AND APTITUDE, NOT SOMEBODY WHO WAS A LIFEGUARD 10, 10 YEARS AGO, AND NOW CAN'T GET HIRED BACK.
YOU WANT TO HOLD SOMEBODY RESPONSIBLE.
IT'S UPPER MANAGEMENT WHO HAD A YEAR AND FAILED.
HALF THE POOLS ARE NOT GOING TO OPEN ON JUNE ON JUNE 6TH, AS THEY SHOULD.
THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN ARE UPSET MORE THAN 600 HAVE SIGNED OPERATIVE MOTION TO OPEN THE POLLS TO PAY US $22 AN HOUR, BUT IT IS NOT HAPPENING.
AND SOMEBODY'S NOT LIFEGUARDS NEED TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE.
NOW I HAVE FAITH IN THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN.
I HAVE FAITH IN THE CITY COUNCIL.
I BELIEVE THEY WILL DO THE RIGHT THING IN THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET AND GIVE US $22 AN HOUR.
BUT THIS SUMMER, THIS SUMMER PEOPLE WILL SUFFER.
I TRIED TO GET A MEETING WITH DIRECTOR MCNEELY ON APRIL 4TH, WE EMAILED HER AND SHE SAID SHE WAS TOO BUSY TO MEET WITH US AND WOULD REMAIN TOO BUSY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
WE WERE TOLD BY A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, WE WERE THE BEST PREPARED NONPROFESSIONAL LOBBYISTS.
THEY HAVE SEEN IF THEY TOOK OUR IDEAS, THE LIFEGUARD SHORTAGE WOULD BE OVER.
THE POOLS WOULD BE FULLY OPEN.
IT WOULDN'T BE A GREAT SUMMER FOR THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN.
I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THAT LAST COMMENT.
I NEED YOU TO KNOW THAT MR. CAVA AND SOME OTHER LIFEGUARDS DID ASK FOR A MEETING.
AND WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULING THAT WHEN MY GRANDMOTHER, WHO IS 98 YEARS OLD LIVES IN FLORIDA OF WHOM I AM, HER MEDICAL SURROGATE FELL AND BROKE HER HIP.
AND I HAVE BEEN ON FMLA AND OUT OF TOWN IN FLORIDA, CARING FOR HER.
SO IT WAS NOT AN INTENTIONAL REASON FOR ME NOT BEING ABLE TO MEET WITH THEM.
IT WAS A VALID MEDICAL REASON FOR ME TO BE OUT OF TOWN OF WHICH SO, YOU KNOW, I WORKED PART OF THAT TIME REMOTELY AS I COULD.
SO I JUST NEED YOU TO KNOW THIS WAS NOT A REFUSAL TO MEET WITH THE LIFEGUARDS.
NEXT UP WE HAVE MALCOLM YATES.
I'M THE CHAIR OF THE EAST RIVERSIDE OLTORF COMBINED NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AREA CONTACT TEAM.
I WOULD LIKE TO UPDATE THE PARKS BOARD ON SEVERAL PROJECTS IN THE IRAQ AREA THAT WE WOULD LIKE THE PARKS BOARD TO SUPPORT.
THIS FIRST PROJECT IS A GREEN BELT IN THE BURLESON HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD.
THIS SLIDE IS A DETAIL OF THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP FROM 2006, SHOWING THE FUTURE GREEN BELT.
THIS SLIDE IS PAGE 44 FROM THE IRAQ PLAN FROM 2006, SHOWING THAT THE IRAQ COMMUNITY SUPPORTS THE GOAL OF A GREEN BELT FOR THESE PROPERTIES.
THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THAT THE PROPOSED GREEN BELT IS IN AN AREA DESIGNATED BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AS A PARKLAND DEFICIENT AREA.
THIS IS A MAP OF THE ATLAS 14 FLOOD PLAIN FOR THE VACANT PROPERTIES ALONG PRINCETON AND DOUGLAS STREETS.
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TO TURN INTO A GREEN BELT.THERE ARE 17 PROPERTIES THAT HAVE AT LEAST 75% OF THEIR AREA IN THE FLOODPLAIN.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT MARKET VALUE FOR ONE OF THESE PROPERTIES.
EACH PROPERTY IS APPROXIMATELY 0.2595 ACRE.
THE TOTAL AREA OF THESE PROPERTIES IS ABOUT 4.4 ACRES.
THE TK 2022 APPRAISAL FOR THESE FLOODPLAIN PROPERTIES IS $17,500 EACH LAST YEAR.
THE APPRAISAL FOR THESE PROPERTIES WAS ONLY $6,000.
EACH THE TOTAL MARKET VALUE OF THE 17 PROPERTIES NOW IS $297,500.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE AVAILABLE PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES FOR FOUR DEVELOPMENTS IN PARKLAND PLANNING AREA 12, THE FIRST PROPERTY ON THE LIST, MARIPOSA FLATS PAID OVER $89,000 IN OCTOBER OF 2017.
THE PARKLAND DEDICATION FEE ORDINANCE STATES THAT IF THE PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS ARE NOT SPENT WITHIN FIVE YEARS, THEY WILL BE RETURNED TO THE DEVELOPER.
THE TOTAL FEES FOR THESE POOR DEVELOPMENTS IS $404,000.
THIS AMOUNT SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO PURCHASE THESE PROPERTIES FOR A GREENBELT.
THIS PRESENTATION HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT THERE IS THE NEED, THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND THE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO CREATE THIS GREENBELT.
THE ROCK CONTACT TEAM IS REQUESTING THAT THE PARKS BOARD APPROVE A COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEM REQUEST.
THAT IS THE FIRST STEP TO DIRECT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO PURCHASE THESE PROPERTIES WITH AVAILABLE PARKLAND, DEDICATION FEES, AND WATERSHED PROTECTION FUNDS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ON THE PARKS BOARD.
I WILL RETURN NEXT MONTH TO TELL YOU ABOUT OUR NEXT PROJECT.
OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE SHARON BLIGHTS EATING THE PARKS BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, I LIVE, UH, IN NORTHWEST AUSTIN, UH, IN THE MOUNTAIN NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE HAVE A LITTLE PARK THERE CALLED MOUNTAIN VIEW PARK.
THEN IT'S LACKING ANY MAINTENANCE RIGHT NOW.
THEY'VE KIND OF FORGOTTEN THE MAUI.
I KNOW THEY GO OUT THERE, UH, AND SAY, OH, WE CLEANED THEM.
BUT ALL THEY DO IS SHOW SOME, SOME SOAP AND THE TOILET AND, AND THIS LEAVE.
IT'S JUST GETTING NASTY IN THOSE RESTROOMS. AND, UM, THEY NEED TO MOW IT.
THEY NEED TO REPLACE, UH, UH, WINDSCREENS ON THE TENNIS COURT.
THEY NEED TO RESURFACE A TENNIS COURT OUT THERE AT OUR PARK.
IT WAS RUN BY THE MUD PERFECTLY BEAUTIFULLY FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS, THE CITY TOOK IT OVER AND IT'S JUST GONE DOWNHILL.
SINCE THE OTHER THING IS I FOUND OUT THAT, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WITH THEIR FORESTRY HAS, HAVE, HAVE OBLIGATED THEMSELVES TO PLANT.
I BELIEVE IT WAS 29 OR 39 TREES IN NORTHWEST BALCONIES PARK, WHICH IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR PARK AND, AND HAVE FORESTRY PART FORESTRY, WATER THEM FOR THREE YEARS, A GROUP OF CITIZENS AND I WITH THE PARKS APPROVAL PLANTED 15 TREES OVER AT OUR MOUNTAIN PARK WATERED.
AND WE WERE SUPPOSED TO WATER HIM FOR THREE YEARS, WHICH WE DID WHEN WE, UH, FINISHED OUR OBLIGATION FOR THREE YEARS, WATERING, UM, PAR JUST QUIT WATERING THE PARK.
SO WE'VE LOST STRAY OF THOSE 15 TREES WE PLANTED.
UM, SO I'M ASKING IF WE COULD HAVE MAYBE THREE MORE TREES DONATED TO US TO PLANT AND OUR PARK TO REPLACE THE THREE THAT HAVE DIED FOR LACK OF WATER.
AND THAT LITTLE PARK JUST NEEDS A LOT MORE ATTENTION THAN WHAT IT'S BEEN GETTING BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IN I'D APPRECIATE ANY HELP OUT THERE TO RESTORE OUR BEAUTIFUL LITTLE PARK THAT IS USED EXTENSIVELY BY OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, FOR ALL KINDS OF ACTIVITIES.
UM, SO PLEASE PARKS DEPARTMENT, LET'S GET ON IT AND GET OUR LITTLE PART STRAIGHTENED UP.
SORRY, SAY THAT AGAIN, JURASSIC.
[00:25:01]
HI GUYS.UM, I AM OWNER OF A COMPANY CALLED GLOW ROW.
WE ARE THE ONLY NIGHTTIME ONLY GLASS BOTTOM KAYAK AGENCY THAT IS COASTGUARD AND TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE ENDORSED AND COMPLIANT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WE HAVE CURRENTLY SEVEN LOCATIONS ALONG THE TEXAS COAST, AND THERE ARE PAMPHLETS IN FRONT OF YOU GUYS THAT SHOW A LITTLE SHOWCASE OF WHAT WE ACTUALLY ARE FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, CURRENTLY HAS NO CONCESSIONS FOR LADY BIRD LAKE OR ANYONE UNDER OPERATION AT NIGHTTIME FOR, UH, NIGHTTIME USAGE ON THE WATER.
AND WHAT I'M PROPOSING AND REQUESTING IS USAGE OF THE PARK FACILITY AFTER HOURS.
UH, WE DO CURRENTLY WORK WITH THE CORPUS CHRISTI PARKS BOARD, AND WE HAVE SPECIAL PROVISIONING.
YOU CAN SEE INSIDE OF THE PAMPHLET THAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU IS A COPY OF OUR PARKING PERMIT FOR THE PARKS BOARD OVER THERE.
THAT WAS ONE OF THEIR SPECIAL REQUESTS.
SO THE, THE MAIN REASON WHY IS, UH, WE'RE HERE IS, UH, TO HOPEFULLY BRING THIS THING TO AUSTIN.
IT IS, UH, THE NEW UP-AND-COMING NIGHTTIME ACTIVITY.
UM, THE REASON WHY WE DID SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS IT'S A WELLNESS ACTIVITY THAT CAN GET PEOPLE ACTIVE AT NIGHT, INSTEAD OF GOING OUT TO A BAR I'M SITTING THERE AND JUST DRINKING.
UM, IT'S A, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE HEALTHY, SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG ASPECTS OF IT.
THE OTHER THING IS WE ARE A COMPLETELY ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, WE DO A HISTORY ON THE WHOLE AREA, AS WELL AS THE AQUATIC NIGHTLIFE.
SO I'M HOPING TO, UH, GET SOME CONSIDERATION FOR NIGHTTIME USAGE IN THE FUTURE.
I'M KEVIN ARRHENIUS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AUSTIN ROWING CLUB.
WANTED TO GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF UPDATES FIRST THOUGH, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE PARKS BOARD AND PARKS LEADERSHIP FOR THEIR SUPPORT IN OUR RELOCATION TO THE YOUTH HOSTEL.
UH, YOU MAY KNOW WE HAD A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING.
THANK YOU, RICARDO, FOR HOSTING THAT YOU SEE HERE, I THINK YEP.
UH, WITH, UH, PART ATP AND WE HAD 154 ATTENDEES.
PEOPLE ARE VERY ENGAGED AND EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE WILL BE FOR THE BOATHOUSE AND FOR THE AUSTIN ROWING CLUBS.
SO I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET A WEALTH OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INPUT AS WE START THE PROCESS AND PARTNERSHIP WITH PARTS.
UH, SPEAKING OF PARK, WHICH IS WHY I'M HERE PART, SUMMER CAMPS.
SO WE JUST, UH, BOOKED 26 OUT OF THE 32 AVAILABLE DATES WITH PARK REC CENTERS.
AND THAT'S OVER 500 CAMPERS THAT EARNING INCOME TO THE BOATHOUSE HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME ON THE LAKE, ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF LADY BIRD LAKE, GET OUTDOORS, HAVE SOME EXERCISE.
AND THAT, OF COURSE, IT'S ALL AT NO COST TO THE KIDS OR TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
WELL, PRE COVID NOW WE'RE POST COVID, HOPEFULLY.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO RESTART THAT PROGRAM.
AND SO WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT HAVING THAT BACK IN PLACE THIS YEAR FOR THE PARK KIDS.
UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO RESTART PROJECT ENGAGE, WHICH IS A PROGRAM KIND OF A WORK PROGRAM, OUTDOOR PROGRAM FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS AS PART OF THEIR REHABILITATION PROGRAMMING.
AND AGAIN, WE WORKED WITH THEM FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS WITH, TO PUT IT ON PAUSE BECAUSE OF COVID.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RESTART THAT ACTIVITY.
AND THEN I MENTIONED LAST TIME WE HAD OUR FITNESS FESTIVAL, APRIL 16TH, WHICH WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'M EXCITED ABOUT IS THAT OUTDOOR AFRO AND THEN PHOENIX OR THE PHOENIX, WHICH IS A SOBRIETY REHAB GROUP, AS A RESULT OF THAT FESTIVAL ARE LIKE, HEY, WE WANT TO COME TO THE BOATHOUSE.
SO WE'RE SAYING, GREAT, WE'LL GET YOU ON THE WATER.
AND, UH, SO THAT WAS NICE TO SEE AS PART OF THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE FROM BRINGING THE BOATHOUSE, IF YOU WILL, TO EAST AUSTIN IN APRIL, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THOSE.
NEXT, WE HAVE MICHAEL CANADY GREETINGS.
Y'ALL MIKE CANADIAN WITH THE BARTON SPRINGS CONSERVANCY.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND DETAILS ON THE ZILKER PARK,
[00:30:01]
UM, NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY AND MED MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.I HAD HOPED TO BRING A COPY AND SHOW IT TO YOU.
IT'S ACTUALLY ABOUT THIS SIZE.
UNFORTUNATELY, I GRABBED THE WRONG BINDER ON THE WAY OUT, SO I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DELIVER A COPY TO LATER, BUT I DID HAVE SOME SLIDES TO SHARE WITH YOU.
UH, JUST TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE REPORT.
UM, THIS WAS COMMISSIONED, UH, BY BARTON SPRINGS CONSERVANCY WITH SUPPORT FROM THE STILLWATER FOUNDATION.
UM, AND THE REPORT WAS CREATED BY THE SIGLO GROUP OF YOU MAY RECOGNIZE THEM AS THEIR EXPERTISE IN LAND USE PLANNING, DESIGN, AND CONSERVATION ARE WELL KNOWN IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, THEY WORKED IN COOPERATION WITH A NUMBER OF CITY STAFF MEMBERS.
YOU'VE SEEN THE LIST HERE FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TO COME UP WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I'M JUST GOING TO QUICKLY, IF YOU WANT TO CLICK THROUGH THESE, I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU A SENSE THAT THE, THE NRI INCLUDES AN EXTENSIVE SURVEY OF THE BOTANICAL FEATURES, THE PLANTS, THE TREES, THE CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES AND THE WILDLIFE THAT'S IN THE PARK.
IT REALLY MAKES FOR INTERESTING READING.
YOU FIND ALL KINDS OF PICTURES OF CRITTERS AND BIRDS AND FISH AND OH YEAH, THERE'S A SALAMANDER THERE TOO.
UM, THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE JUST SOME TABLE OF CONTENTS TO SHOW YOU THAT IN THIS REPORT, THERE ARE NATURAL GUIDELINES SET FORTH MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE PARK GOING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.
ACTUALLY THERE'S 85 PAGES OF SLIDES, WHICH KIND OF BREAK DOWN THE PARK IN A DIFFERENT REGIONS AND TELL, UH, GIVE GUIDANCE ON HOW TO RESTORE AND REPAIR AND ENHANCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES AND THE WILDLIFE THERE.
IF YOU GO TO SLIDE 13, PLEASE SEE IF WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE.
UM, THE SIGLER REPORT THAT I WAS JUST DESCRIBING, IT PROVIDES A FOUNDATIONAL BASIS FOR THE VISION PLAN DESIGN.
TEAM'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AT ZILKER PARK.
AND IT ALSO INFORMS THE PROPOSALS THAT THEY PUT FORTH RECENTLY.
AND THAT YOU HEARD SOME TESTIMONY ON THE DESIGN CONCEPTS THAT HAVE BEEN FLOATED FOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK.
UM, THESE DESIGN PROPOSALS INCLUDED, UM, UH, JUST GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, UH, ECOLOGICAL UPLIFT AND SOME DETAILS ON NEXT SLIDE, CLIMATE CHANGE, ADAPTATION, MITIGATION, AND RESILIENCY, AND ALSO ON SLIDE 16, THERE'S A CANOPY ENHANCEMENT DISCUSSION AND REALLY MUCH, MUCH MORE.
AND I HOPE TO BRING YOU THE REPORT TO LET YOU PERUSE IT.
SO YOU HEARD FROM JONATHAN SIGLO AT THE LAST MEETING THAT THE DESIGN SCENARIOS THAT WERE PRESENTED BY THE, UH, EXCUSE ME, BY DESIGN WORKSHOP PROVIDE AT LEAST 81 ACRES OF ECOLOGICAL UPLIFT.
THAT'S ACTUALLY MORE THAN THE ACREAGE THAT WAS BEING PROPOSED BY THE ZILKER REWILDING PROPOSAL THAT YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT.
THERE'S A STITCH EXAMPLE, WHICH YOU'VE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS IS THE EDGE IS EXAMPLE AGAIN, SHOWING THE ECOLOGICAL UPLIFT IN A VERY SIMPLIFIED GRAPHIC AND THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS IS THE REGENERATE, UH, ECOLOGICAL UPLIFT SCENARIO.
IT DIDN'T TIMELESS VERY WELL, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION.
UH, NEXT STEP WE HAVE HOPPY GODIN OR GOTTEN THANK YOU.
AND THANKS FOR GIVING ME THE TIME TO TALK TO YOU.
I ALSO LIVE ACROSS THE STREET FROM, UH, BUTLER PITCH AND PUTT WITH MY NEIGHBOR, BRIAN AND I SECOND ALL OF HIS CONCERNS.
UM, BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I'M A GOLFER AND I ENJOY ALL OF THE AUSTIN PUBLIC PARKS, ALL OF THE GOLF COURSES.
AND I THINK, UH, BUTLER IS THE CROWN JEWEL AND THEY'VE GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT RUN DOWN A FEW YEARS AGO.
I DON'T BELIEVE IT HAS EVER LOOKED BETTER.
UH, IT IS JUST MAGNIFICENT AND I THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU ALL DID TO DO THAT.
UM, AND I LIKE A LOT OF THE PROGRAMMING THAT THEY'RE DOING OVER THERE.
THEY'RE TEACHING CHILDREN HOW TO PLAY GOLF.
I'M GOING TO TAKE MY GRANDDAUGHTERS OVER THERE AND TEACH THEM HOW TO PLAY GOLF ONE OF THESE DAYS WHEN THEY GET A LITTLE BIT OLDER.
SO IT'S JUST A PRIVILEGE TO LIVE ACROSS THE STREET FROM IT.
AND THAT, I JUST WANT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.
AND I JUST FEEL LIKE WE OUGHT TO SIT DOWN AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL IN ALIGNMENT ABOUT HOW THAT MAGNIFICENT SPACE SHOULD BE USED AND THAT WE ALL GET THE MOST THAT WE CAN GET OUT OF IT.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING.
OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE AUBREY RUDDER.
I AM ONE OF THE GENERAL MANAGERS OVER AT THE AUSTIN ROWING CLUB.
I KIND OF, I RUN THE KAYAK AND RENTAL OPERATIONS OVER THERE.
I KNOW KEVIN COMES UP HERE AND GIVES A REALLY NICE DETAILED REPORT.
I WANTED TO DO THE SAME KIND OF FOCUSED
[00:35:01]
ON KAYAK AND PADDLEBOARD OPERATIONS OVER THERE.AND YEAH, SO I WANTED TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THAT Y'ALL DO FOR OUR PARKS.
UM, WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO AUSTIN, I WAS SO PLEASED AT HOW WELL-MAINTAINED THEY WERE AND HOW ACCESSIBLE THEY WERE.
SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR THAT AS WELL AS HELPING US RELOCATE ON THAT'S SUPER AWESOME.
AND YEAH, SO I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING OUTREACH WISE.
SO IN APRIL WE PARTNERED UP WITH TWO LOCAL NONPROFITS, KEEP AUSTIN BEAUTIFUL AND PEACE, LOVE AND RIVERS, WHERE WE DID A TRASH CLEANUP.
WE HAD ABOUT 45 VOLUNTEERS COME OUT AND PICKED UP 67 BAGS OF GARBAGE.
WE ALSO HOSTED ANOTHER CLEANUP THIS PAST MONTH, MAY 14TH WITH PEACE, LOVE AND RIVERS, WHERE WE HAD 32 VOLUNTEERS COME OUT AND 40 BAGS OF GARBAGE WERE PICKED UP.
UM, I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT THAT WE HELP DO THESE TRASH CLEANUPS AND MAINTAIN OUR LAKE THAT WE ALL UTILIZE.
SO WE ALSO, UM, HAVE BEEN DOING SOME THINGS WITH THE LAMAR SENIOR CENTER.
UM, WE HAVE THE RESIDENTS COME OUT AND PADDLE.
WE TRY TO DO THAT BY EVERY OTHER MONTH.
SO BACK IN APRIL, WE HAD 15 OF THE RESIDENTS COME OUT AND JUST KIND OF KAYAK FOR A COUPLE HOURS.
AND ANOTHER COMMUNITY THAT WE LIKE TO ENGAGE WITH.
AND YEAH, SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MEMORIAL WEEKEND WHERE WE WILL BE DOING A TON OF FUNDRAISING FOR SOME OTHER LOCAL NONPROFITS, UM, VETERAN ORGANIZATIONS, OF COURSE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO DO A FUNDRAISER FOR COMFORT CREW FOR MILITARY KIDS, AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, VIETNAM MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYBODY FOR YOUR TIME FOR COMING TO TALK TO US ABOUT THESE ISSUES.
UM, I THINK THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE MINUTES AND BY THE WAY, SINCE IT'S MY FIRST NIGHT, PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME.
AND YOU PRONOUNCED MY NAME, LAURA
IT'S LIKE FERDINAND, THE SHY BULL STANDING OUT IN THE FIELD.
SO I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT.
[A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (Part 1 of 2)]
OKAY.UM, DO I HAVE ANY APPROVAL? I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ANYBODY YOU GUYS HAD A CHANCE TO APPROVE MINUTES.
I LOVE MOVING RIGHT ALONG LIKE THAT.
[B.1. Presentation, discussion and possible action regarding the City of Austin’s food plan development process. (Part 1 of 2)]
SO OUR FIRST ITEM OF NEW BUSINESS AND POSSIBLE ACTION IS A BRIEFING FROM, I BELIEVE THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS SOMETHING CITY COUNCIL REQUESTED AS THEIR
[A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (Part 2 of 2)]
TALK AS, OR I'LL TALK AS THEY'RE COMING UP.I NOTICED THAT YOU RECEIVED A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES, BUT THERE WAS NO VOTE HELD.
VOTE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES I'M LEARNING.
[B.1. Presentation, discussion and possible action regarding the City of Austin’s food plan development process. (Part 2 of 2)]
THANK YOU.SO THIS IS AN ITEM THAT CITY COUNCIL REQUESTED THAT THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS SEE.
SO IT'S A NEW PROGRAM THEY'RE BEGINNING, I BELIEVE.
SO WE HAVE EDWIN, UH, MARTY AND SERGIO TORRES PERALTA Y CORRECT.
I'M EDWIN MARTY, SERGIO, I THINK FOR ROOM, IS THIS GOING TO STAY IN THE BACK AND HELP US TAKE NOTES, BUT THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME GIVE YOU A QUICK PREVIEW OF OUR FOOD PLANNING WORK.
I'LL TRY TO BE BRIEF AND WALK YOU THROUGH A COUPLE OF SLIDES.
THAT'LL GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT FOR WHY WE'RE CREATING THE CITY'S FIRST COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN AND, UH, HOW HOPEFULLY THE PARKS BOARD CAN BE INVOLVED AND HELP US CREATE A REALLY, UH, IMPACTFUL AND, AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO, UM, I USE THE TERM FOOD SYSTEM A LOT AS THE FOOD POLICY MANAGER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, IT'S ESSENTIALLY MY JOB TO HELP PROVIDE STRATEGIC DIRECTION TO THE CITY IN TERMS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MORE LOCAL, SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE FOOD SYSTEM AND BY FOOD SYSTEM.
I MEAN, WHERE DOES YOUR FOOD COME FROM? PRODUCTION PROCESSING, DISTRIBUTION CONSUMPTION AND WASTE REDUCTION.
SO ALL OF THAT FITS INTO OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
UH, OUR GOAL WITH A COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN IS TO HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY, WHAT DO THEY WANT TO SEE HAPPEN IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM? WHAT CAN WE DO TO STRENGTHEN OUR FOOD SYSTEM? WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE AS A CITY ORGANIZATION COULD DO AND HOW CAN WE SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY? EXCELLENT.
UM, SO A COUPLE OF STATS, UM, WE HAVE AN AMAZING FOOD SYSTEM HERE IN AUSTIN, AS YOU GUYS ALL KNOW INCREDIBLE RESTAURANTS, INCREDIBLE GROCERY STORES.
UM, MOST OF US EAT SOME OF THE BEST FOOD EVERY DAY ON THE PLANET, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS THE CITY OF BIFURCATED, UH, BY RACE, BY POVERTY.
UM, AND THESE STATISTICS POINT TO SOME REALLY CHALLENGING, UM, ISSUES IN OUR CITY, UM, SUBSTANTIAL FOOD INSECURITY EXACERBATED BY COVID.
NOW, AS WE'RE MOVING OUT OF COVID HOPEFULLY, UNFORTUNATELY WE STILL SEE THOSE, UH, EXACERBATED FOOD INSECURITY
[00:40:01]
RATES.WE'RE LOSING FARMLAND AT AN UNPRECEDENTED RATE, NOT SURPRISING IF YOU DRIVEN THROUGH RURAL TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, HARDLY ANY FARMLAND LEFT, WHERE WILL OUR FOOD COME FROM? GOOD QUESTION.
UNFORTUNATELY, CURRENTLY WE'RE ONLY PRODUCING LESS THAN 1% OF OUR FOOD, UM, AND WITHOUT LAOS LOSS OF FARMLAND, LIKELY TO SEE THAT NUMBER DECREASE.
AND THEN LASTLY, UM, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THE FOOD THAT WE DO PRODUCE THAT GETS TO OUR TABLE ENDS UP BEING LANDFILLED, MANY CHALLENGES.
UM, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, UH, AS ALL OF, YOU KNOW, UH, WE EXPERIENCED GLOBAL PANDEMIC EXACERBATED BY A WINTER STORM LAST YEAR.
UH, WE EXPERIENCED UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR OUR FOOD, UH, NUMEROUS GROCERY STORES CLOSE FOR MULTIPLE DAYS.
UM, SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, UNABLE TO GET THE FOOD THAT THEY NEEDED.
UM, THESE TWO, UH, COMBINATION DISASTERS SHOWED US THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF PLANNING TO DO, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM.
UM, SO AS FAR AS THE DISASTER PIECE, UM, IN ADDITION TO A COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, WE'RE ALSO DEVELOPING A DISASTER FOOD AND WATER ACCESS APPENDIX TO THE EMERGENCY OPERATION PLAN.
AND THIS IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN HOMELAND SECURITY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICES, SUSTAINABILITY, AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, AUSTIN WATER, AND MANY OTHER DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE GREAT WORK THAT WAS DONE BY PARKS AND REC DURING COVID AND DURING WINTER STORM YURI AND OTHER DISASTERS TO REALLY STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND PROVIDE INCREDIBLE RESOURCES TO THE COMMUNITY AND USE ALL OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THESE CHALLENGES THAT SAID, WE NEED A BETTER PLAN.
WE NEED A REALLY PLAN, UH, TO ENSURE THAT WHEN WE HAVE FUTURE DISASTERS, NOT IF, BUT WHEN WE HAVE FUTURE DISASTERS THAT WE HAVE A GOOD THOUGHTFUL, WELL LAID OUT PLAN, UH, TO ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY IN OUR COMMUNITY HAS ACCESS TO THE KIND OF FOODS THAT THEY NEED.
SO WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON DEVELOPING A TEMPLATE FOR THIS PLAN AND HOPEFULLY, UH, VERY SOON WE'LL HAVE A DRAFT OF THAT PLAN, WHICH WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO SPEAKING OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, NEXT ONE.
UM, SO WHY DO WE NEED A FOOD PLAN? UM, THE CITY, UH, HAS BEEN WORKING ON FOOD SYSTEM RELATED ISSUES FOR ITS ENTIRE HISTORY.
UH, BUT GENERALLY MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS WORK IN A REGULATORY OR REACTIONARY ROLE IN THE FOOD SYSTEM.
BASICALLY WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG, THE CITY GETS INVOLVED.
IT WAS RECOGNIZED A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO THAT, UH, PERHAPS A MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT CAN DO MORE THAN JUST REGULATE A REACT TO A FOOD SYSTEM PROBLEM.
AND IT COULD ACTUALLY BE PART OF A STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF A BETTER FOOD SYSTEM.
IT WAS IN PART, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT MY POSITION IN THE FOOD POLICY MANAGER WAS CREATED EIGHT YEARS AGO IS TO HELP PROVIDE THAT STRATEGIC DIRECTION TO THE CITY, BUT LACKING A COMPREHENSIVE FOOD PLAN.
IT'S SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO DO THAT.
SO, UH, FORTUNATELY WE NOW HAVE DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL TO CREATE A FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, TO CHANNEL THE VOICES OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UH, TO HELP US ARTICULATE CLEAR GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR WHAT WE WANT OUR FOOD SYSTEM TO LOOK LIKE.
AND THEN TO DEFINE CLEAR LINES OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT COUNTY, GOVERNMENT, OTHER STATE, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, WHEN APPLICABLE, UH, AND THEN, UH, HELP UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE CLEARLY DEVELOPED GOALS AND STRATEGIES.
SO, AS I SAID LAST JUNE, IN PART, AS A RESULT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC IN PART, AS A RESULT OF THE WINTER STORM YURI CITY COUNCIL RECOGNIZED THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT, UH, COULD HELP ENSURE EVERYBODY HAD ACCESS TO SUFFICIENT FOOD DURING DISASTERS AND DURING WHAT WE CALL BLUE SKY PERIODS OR NON-DISASTER PERIODS.
AND THEY PASSED A RESOLUTION IN JUNE DIRECTING, UH, THE CITY MANAGER TO CREATE A FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT I'M HERE TODAY IS TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON THIS AND TO GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF NEXT STEPS, NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE FIRST STEP OF ANY PLANNING PROCESS IS TO DEVELOP WHAT WE CALL A BASELINE ASSESSMENT.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT OUR CURRENT FOOD SYSTEM? SO WE'RE ABOUT TO PUBLISH THE STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM IN 2022.
IT'LL INCLUDE LOTS OF GREAT DATA ABOUT OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
IT'LL INCLUDE LOTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT PAST POLICY ACTIONS IN THE FOOD SYSTEM.
IT'LL INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT TRENDS AND CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE HAPPENING IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
SO THAT WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO IN LINE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE FOODS PLAN.
WE'LL CERTAINLY MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL AT THE PARKS BOARD GET ACCESS TO THIS REPORT, UH, WELL IN FRONT OF OUR FORMAL PLANNING PROCESS TO BEGINNING.
SO THE NEXT STEP IN A FOOD PLANNING PROCESS OR ANY PLANNING PROCESS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TEAM IN PLACE.
UM, SO WE ARE HIRING A CONSULTING TEAM TO HELP LEAD THIS PROCESS.
OUR FOOD TEAM WITHIN THAT OFFICE IS EVEN SMALLER.
UH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO RECRUIT A CONSULTING TEAM TO HELP LEAD THAT PROCESS.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO BRING THAT CONSULTANT CONTRACT IN FRONT OF CITY COUNCIL IN JULY FOR HOPEFULLY, AND THEN ONCE THAT'S BEEN APPROVED, WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING THE CONSULTING TEAM ON AND FORMALLY START THE PLANNING PROCESS.
SO HERE'S A HYPOTHETICAL DRAFT OF WHAT OUR PROJECT ORGANIZATION CHART WILL LOOK LIKE.
UM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTIN FOOD PLAN IS GOING TO BE A COMPLEX PROCESS LIKE MANY CITY PLANNING PROCESSES ARE.
UM, BUT AT THE CORE OF IT WILL BE, UH, CHANNELING COMMUNITY VOICES.
SO CITY AND COUNTY STAFF WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR FOOD POLICY BOARD, OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, THE CONSULTING TEAM, UH, TO DEVELOP, UH, WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND THIS WILL BE ESSENTIALLY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
[00:45:01]
THAT DRIVES THE PLANNING PROCESS THAT TELLS US, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE AND HELPS US COURSE CORRECT.AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS, THEY'LL ALSO HELP US SELECT WHAT WE CALL COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUPS TO DETERMINE SPECIFIC ISSUES WITHIN THE FOOD SYSTEM THAT WE'LL LIKELY WANT TO WORK ON NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS KIND OF THE GIST OF WHAT I WANTED TO COME AND TELL YOU ABOUT TODAY.
UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING OUTREACH STRATEGY AND CRITERIA FOR SELECTION FOR OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO NEED HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, QUALIFIEDS COMMUNITY MEMBERS, STAKEHOLDERS FROM ACROSS, UH, OUR WONDERFUL, DIVERSE, UH, COMMUNITY TO HELP A SEAT, UH, TO BE SEATED ON THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO HELP US PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR THE PLANNING PROCESS.
UH, ONCE OUR CONSULTANT TEAM COMES ON BOARD THIS SUMMER, WE'LL BE DOING FORMAL OUTREACH, TRYING TO RECRUIT MEMBERS, UH, TO JOIN OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR PROBABLY 20, 25 PEOPLE FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY REPRESENTING VARIOUS PARTS OF OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
UH, WE'RE PLANNING ON OFFERING COMPENSATION FOR THESE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, BUT WE'RE GONNA NEED YOUR HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT, ESSENTIALLY LET YOUR CONSTITUENTS KNOW ANYBODY THAT, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, THAT THIS WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY WE'LL BE FOLLOWING BACK UP AFTER THIS MEETING WITH SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO HELP US WITH OUTREACH.
IN ADDITION TO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WE'LL ALSO HAVE COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUPS.
THESE WILL BE TARGETED ISSUE AREAS.
YOU CAN IMAGINE, UH, COMMUNITY GARDENS OR SCHOOL GARDENS OR URBAN FOREST, OR, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT WILL BE SPECIFIC ISSUE, UH, COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP AREAS.
SO WE'LL ALSO BE LOOKING TO RECRUIT YOU PERHAPS, OR YOUR CONSTITUENTS OR FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS, UH, TO JOIN OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUPS.
THIS WILL REALLY MAKE UP THE BULK OF WHAT DOES THE PLANNING PROCESS.
UH, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE OFFERING COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THESE COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUPS.
AS WE RECOGNIZE THAT THAT'S A CRUCIAL PART OF ENSURING THAT WE HAVE EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION OF OUR COMMUNITY.
NEXT SLIDE, UH, VERY QUICKLY OUR PROJECT TIMELINE, WE'RE GOING TO, UM, GET STARTED HERE FORMALLY THE SUMMER, THIS SPRING, WE LAUNCHED OUR PROCESS BY DEVELOPING STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT.
WE'LL FORMALLY START THE PLANNING PROCESS THIS SUMMER NEXT FALL, WE'LL BE STARTING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
UH, WE'LL BE CIRCLING BACK WITH YOU AGAIN, ONCE WE DO THAT, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PARKS BOARD KNOWS ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO BE INVOLVED IN THE FORMAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, WE'LL BE DOING MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS.
UH, AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THAT INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY, SUMMARIZE IT, SYNTHESIZE IT, TAKE IT BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, GROUND TRUTH IT, AND THEN SYNTHESIZE THAT INTO A FINALIZED PLAN, WHICH WE'LL HOPEFULLY HAVE SOME TIME, UH, COMPLETED IN 2023.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, WE'RE DOING OUTREACH, UH, WE'RE DOING, UH, VERY RIGHTY OF, UH, PRESENTATIONS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MUCH LIKE THIS.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE HAVING THE CONSULTANTS START THE SUMMER, AND THEN WE'LL BE RECRUITING OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UM, IN THE FALL.
SO, UH, WE'LL BE PROVIDING REGULAR UPDATES, A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN STAY INVOLVED.
UM, THIS SLIDE PRESENTATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE, UH, BOARDS OF COMMISSION WEBSITE.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, UH, THESE LINKS ARE LIVE, UH, YOU CAN FILL OUT A FOOD PLAN INTEREST FORM SO THAT WE CAN KEEP YOU IN THE LOOP ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
ALSO, WE'LL BE PUBLISHING THE STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND, UH, WE WOULD ASK THAT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, UH, YOU CAN CONTEST DIRECTLY, UH, OUR STAFF, SERGIO TORRES
UM, BUT MAIN THING THAT WE WANT YOU TO KNOW NEXT SLIDE IS WE ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR FEEDBACK ON WHO NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING PROCESS.
WE CAN'T DEVELOP A GOOD FOOD SYSTEM PLAN UNLESS WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE INVOLVED.
SO THIS IS MY CALL TO ACTION FOR YOU.
UM, LET'S CIRCLE BACK SOON AND LET US KNOW WHO YOU THINK NEED TO BE INVOLVED WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEES, UH, THEY ADVISORY FOCUS GROUP AREAS, UM, AND WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE IN THE LOOP ON WHAT WE'RE DOING AND TO HEAR, TAKE YOUR INPUT AND, UH, CREATE THE BEST POSSIBLE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE HOPING TO CIRCLE BACK AT THE END OF THE SUMMER WITH YOU, AND THEN HOPE TO HAVE THE PLAN WRAPPED UP IN A YEAR AND WE'LL COME BACK AND PRESENT THE PLAN TO YOU.
AND HOPEFULLY IT WILL REFLECT THE THINGS THAT YOU FIND VALUABLE IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
SO, UH, HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THIS IS POSTED AS DISCUSSION AND, UM, PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION POSSIBLE ACTION, BUT I THINK IT'S PRIMARILY JUST AN INTRODUCTION, BUT I WANT TO OPEN THE FLOOR IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS OR, OR THOUGHTS RIGHT AWAY.
ANYBODY ONLINE? I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION MYSELF AND THAT IS, HAVE YOU ALREADY PARTNERED WITH THE CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK? YES, MA'AM.
WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE FOOD BANK, UM, MULTIPLE LEVELS, UH, ACTUALLY, UH, REPRESENTATION OF THE FOOD BANK IS ON THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD.
SO WE MEET WITH HER AS PART OF THE FOOD POLICY BOARD REGULARLY, AND, UM, CERTAINLY HAVE INTERACTIONS WITH THE REST OF THEIR STAFF ON A ALMOST DAILY BASIS.
SO THEY'RE VERY MUCH, UH, LOOPED IN AND WE DEEPLY APPRECIATE THEIR GREAT WORK AND WE COULDN'T DO THE WORK THAT WE DO IF WE DIDN'T HAVE SUCH GREAT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE FOOD BANK.
[00:50:01]
THOUGHTS? OKAY.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
[B.2. Briefing on the terms of the Park Operations and Maintenance Agreement with The Trail Foundation for portions of the Town Lake Metropolitan Park. ]
SO ITEM TWO IS A BRIEFING ON THE PARKS, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT WITH THE TRAIL FOUNDATION FOR PORTIONS OF THE TOWN LAKE METROPOLITAN PARK.AND WE HAVE HERE TO PRESENT CHRISTINE CHUTE CANOE AND, UM, HEIDI ANDERSON OF THE TRAIL FOUNDATION.
CHRISTINE IS PART OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT PROGRAM MANAGER.
UM, AND I'LL JUST REMIND EVERYBODY THE BRIEFINGS WE'VE ALREADY GOT.
WE'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THIS BEFORE, AND THIS IS JUST A CYCLING BACK WITH AN UPDATE AND A BRIEFING.
SO QUESTIONS WILL JUST BE CLARIFYING QUESTIONS TODAY.
UM, A CHAIR JUST TO EXPAND ON THAT, UH, TO COMPLETE THE CLARIFICATION, UH, ANY, UH, QUESTIONS ASKED OF THE BOARD HAVE TO BE CLARIFYING IN NATURE AND THERE CANNOT BE ANY DISCUSSION AMONG BOARD MEMBERS ABOUT THIS TOPIC.
ADDITIONALLY, THE BOARD MAY NOT TAKE ANY ACTION ON THIS ITEM.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING, CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? IT'S GREAT.
THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING US TODAY.
MY NAME IS CHRISTINE
UH, JOINING ME IS HEIDI ANDERSON WITH THE CEO OF THE TRIAL FOUNDATION.
AND TODAY WE WILL BE PROVIDING A BRIEFING ON THE FINAL TERMS OF THE PARK OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE POMA, UH, BETWEEN PART AND TTF.
AS MANY OF YOU MEMBERS MAY RECALL ON JULY 24TH, 2021, TTFM PARD PRESENTED TO PARP A PRESENTATION ON THE AGREEMENT AFTER THE PRESENTATION PART TOOK ACTION AND PROVIDED UNANIMOUS SUPPORT VOTING EIGHT TO ZERO RECOMMENDING TO CITY COUNCIL TO NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION OF A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH TTF TONIGHT, WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE A BRIEFING ON THE FINAL TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT, NEXT TYPE.
UM, SO ON MARCH, 2020 COUNCIL DIRECTED CITY STAFF TO WORK WITH NONPROFIT PARTNERS AND CREATE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS THAT BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY AND OUTLINE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN PARTNERS AND PART AND ENSURE A HIGH LEVEL OF PUBLIC BENEFIT FOLLOWING THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL PART, DEVELOP THE PARTNERSHIP CONFIGURATIONS AND THE SUBSEQUENT CRITERIA AND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EACH OF THE PARTNERSHIP CONFIGURATIONS, THE CREATION OF THE CONFIGURATION CRITERIA IN TERMS ENSURES CONSISTENCY, EXCLUSIVE INCLUSIVITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND ALLOWS FOR VARIOUS LEVELS OF COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARD, THE PARTNERSHIP CONTINUUM GRANTS, ALL TYPES OF PARTNERING WITH THE DEPARTMENT FROM STEWARDSHIP TO ADOPTING YOUR PARK TO COMMUNITY GARDENS, TO FUNDING IMPROVEMENTS ON NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, PARD PARTNERSHIP CONFIGURATION, A THE LEVEL OF PARTNERSHIP TTF IN PART IS SEEKING TO FORMALIZE INCLUDES A CRITERIA FOR PARTNERSHIPS AND TERMS FOR PROGRAMMING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE PART PARTNERSHIP, CONFIGURATION, A SERVES AS AN EXHIBIT TO THE AGREEMENT AND AS THE GUIDING TERM DOCUMENT FOR ALL PARK OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS WITH THE DEPARTMENT.
SO I THINK THIS WAS MAY SO, UM, THANK YOU.
I WANT TO THANK CHAIR COTTAM SCHEIBEL I'VE BEEN SAYING IT WRONG ALL THIS TIME.
UH, IN BOARD MEMBERS, I ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR PARTNERS AT PART, BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN, AS YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR A LONG CONVERSATION ALONG A PLANNING PROCESS, AND THEY REALLY STUCK WITH US AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP.
SO WE'RE EXCITED SINCERELY TO BE HERE WITH YOU TONIGHT.
TTF AS A REMINDER IS 19 YEARS OLD NOW, AND OUR MISSION IS TO PROTECT, ENHANCE, AND CONNECT THE BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL.
UH, WE STARTED BACK IN 2003 WITH A MISSION TO REALLY BRIDGE THE GAP OF WHAT THIS PARKLAND AND THIS TRAIL NEEDED AND WHAT THE CITY COULD FUND.
BUT OUR MODEL AT THE TIME, AND REALLY UNTIL HOPEFULLY VERY SOON HAS BEEN ONE WHERE WE IDENTIFIED A NEED IN THE SPACE.
WE DID ALL THE PERMITTING FOR IT.
WE WENT OUT AND BUILT IT, AND THEN WE HAD THIS REALLY FUN RIBBON CUTTING, AND WE HANDED IT OVER TO PARK TO MAINTAIN.
AND AS USAGE OF THE TRAIL HAS INCREASED THE NEED FOR MORE HELP OUT ON THIS PARKLAND IS ALSO INCREASING.
AND YET THE PROJECTS THAT WE CONTINUE TO PRODUCE AND, AND PROVIDE TO THIS SPACE HAVE BECOME UNFORTUNATELY, A BURDEN TO OUR PARKS BUDGET.
AND SO OVER TIME WE HAVE REALIZED THAT, AND IT'S LANDED US IN THIS PLACE WHERE WE ARE FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS NOW HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATING THE TERMS OF A FORMAL PARTNERSHIP, WHERE WE WILL STEP UP AND START MANAGING THE MAINTENANCE OF NOT ONLY THE PROJECTS WE'VE ACTUALLY, UH, ADDED TO THIS SPACE, BUT THE LAND MANAGEMENT AS WELL, AND START TO TRANSITION THIS OVER TO US.
SO WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT HOW THAT WILL WORK, BUT THERE'S BEEN YEARS OF RESEARCH THAT HAVE BEEN PUT BEHIND THIS NEXT SLIDE.
SO I LIKE TO SAY THAT TTS WORK FALLS INTO TWO BUCKETS.
[00:55:01]
UH, IT'S NOT QUITE THAT SIMPLE, BUT THAT'S THE EASY WAY TO EXPLAIN IT.ONE IS OUR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION WORK, AND YOU CAN SEE SOME SAMPLES OF THAT HERE.
ONE THING THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND AS TTF IS VERY WELL AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THIS IS A BELOVED NATURAL SANCTUARY SPACE FOR PEOPLE.
YOU SEE THAT VALUE SYSTEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN OUR DOCUMENTS AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND OUR VISION STATEMENT, EVEN IN THE O AND M PLAN THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR BACKUP NOW.
SO KEEPING IT NATURAL AND KEEPING THAT SANCTUARY IS IMPORTANT TO US.
IN 2015, WE ACTUALLY ESTABLISHED OUR URBAN FORESTRY AND ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION GUIDELINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND WATERSHED PROTECTION, WHICH PUTS CREATES 16 DIFFERENT UNITS AROUND THE TRAIL AND OUTLINES LAND MANAGEMENT TASKS FOR THOSE.
SO WE FOLLOW THOSE KIND OF LIKE OUR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION BIBLE.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW.
AND YOU'LL HEAR ME SAY THIS A FEW TIMES, ALL CITY CODES AND PROCESSES WHEN WE DO THIS WORK, AND THAT INCLUDES FLOOD PLAIN ISSUES, WATER QUALITY STANDARDS, ALL OF ANYTHING THAT IS CODIFIED HERE IN THE CITY, WE FOLLOW.
AND WE PARTNER WITH PART AND WATERSHED ON A REGULAR BASIS ON THOSE.
OUR ECO WORK IS FOCUSED ON SHORELINE STEWARDSHIP, WOODLAND, AND EXPECT EXPANSION, EXCUSE ME, INVASIVE REMOVALS, AND RESTORATION.
UH, AND WE ARE CURRENTLY BUILDING OUR RESOURCES AND OUR OWN TEAM CAPACITY SO THAT WE CAN BETTER MEET THE NEEDS OF USHER THAT IS INCREASING ON IT.
THE OTHER BUCKET OF OUR WORK IS OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OR OUR PLACEMAKING PROJECTS.
AGAIN, WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD TO FOLLOW ALL CITY CODES WHEN IT COMES TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
SO IN THE ACTUAL POMA, YOU DON'T SEE A LOT OF LANGUAGE ABOUT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DO ALL THE THINGS WE'VE ALWAYS HAD TO DO.
AND WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THEM TO SAY, IT'S SIMPLY A, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PERMIT PROCESSES, AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE, UH, FLOOD PLAINS THAT WE HAVE TO ADHERE TO.
AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THOSE SAME HIGH LEVEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON EVERY PROJECT AND, UH, AND ANY CODES AND PERMITTING THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW WITH ANYBODY ELSE AS WELL.
UM, THOSE CODES BY THE WAY, ARE NOT JUST REGARDING OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, WE WILL BE FOLLOWING CITY CODES AS YOU'LL SEE OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE POMA FOR ANYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE, SIGNAGE CONCESSIONS, UM, YOU NAME IT REALLY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
THERE'S WE ARE STILL, WE HAVE NO CARTE BLANCHE OR NO WAY TO BYPASS ANY OF THOSE STANDARDS.
SO THIS GIVES YOU A BIT OF A SNAPSHOT OF, UM, OF THE PUBLIC BENEFIT THAT WE'VE SO FAR IN OUR 19 YEARS, BEEN ABLE TO, UH, INVEST INTO THIS BELOVED SPACE, UH, FOR US TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
WE ARE ABLE TO LEVERAGE PRIVATE DONATIONS THAT INCREASE OUR BANDWIDTH FOR IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE AND ENHANCEMENT OF THE TRAIL.
UH, WE DO THIS NOT JUST THROUGH THE, THE GENEROSITY OF DONORS, MOSTLY WHOM ARE INDIVIDUALS AND FOUNDATIONS, BUT ALSO THROUGH OUR EXTENSIVE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM, WHICH HAS JUST ABSOLUTELY EXPONENTIALLY GROWN IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
I'VE BEEN IN THIS ROLE NOW FOR ALMOST EXACTLY FIVE YEARS.
AND WHEN I STARTED, WE WERE HAVING FOUR VOLUNTEER EVENTS ON THE TRAIL A YEAR.
NOW WE HAVE UP TO THREE A WEEK.
SO WE'RE REALLY ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY TO HELP US MAINTAIN AND SAVE THIS, THIS SPACE.
UH, ONE PIECE I WANT TO MENTION, UH, FROM THAT LAST SLIDE, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK IS THAT, UH, WE ARE PRIVATELY FUNDED THROUGH DONATIONS.
POMA A MANAGEMENT FEE FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT FOR US TO TRANSITION AND TAKE ON THIS RESPONSIBILITY.
SO ON THIS SLIDE, WE REALLY START TO GET INTO THE NITTY GRITTY.
MAYBE IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MUCH, BUT THERE'S A LOT HERE.
SO, UM, THE, THE TRANSITION TO START, UH, MOVING THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OVER TO US FROM PARD, WE'LL START IMMEDIATELY IN YEAR ONE, UH, AT A CERTAIN LEVEL SYSTEM-WIDE, BUT OVER TIME, OVER EACH YEAR, WE WILL PHASE UP INTO ADDITIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND WE CREATED THIS SO THAT WE HAVE A VERY CONSERVATIVE AND METHODICAL TRANSITION.
WE CAN MOVE FASTER IF ALL PARTIES AGREE TO IT, BUT WE WANT TO SET EACH PARTY UP FOR SUCCESS.
SO WE WANT PARD TO FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE CAN MANAGE, CAN MANAGE WHAT WE'RE TAKING ON, WHICH WE'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING, UH, BUILDING OUR CAPACITY TO BE READY FOR PHASE ONE.
UH, THE TRAIL HERE YOU, YOU MIGHT NOTICE IN THAT TOP MAP IS SECTIONED INTO FOUR DIFFERENT ZONES.
AND THAT ALLOWS US TO REALLY UNDERSTAND FULLY ALL THE ASSETS AND LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT ARE BEST FOR EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS AND HOW TO INTEGRATE THEM INTO THIS TRANSITION.
PARDON TTF BEGAN REVIEWING THE VARIOUS TASKS AND SUBSEQUENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN 2018.
UM, THE ONM PLAN SERVING AS AN EXHIBIT TO THE POMA
[01:00:01]
UNDERWENT SIGNIFICANT REVIEW AND INPUT FROM VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND CITY STAFF, FIVE VERSIONS TO BE AT EXACT WITH 39 DIFFERENT STAFF MEMBERS FROM VARIOUS DIVISIONS AND DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING WATERSHED PROTECTION, UH, ART AND PUBLIC PLACES, PUBLIC WORK DEPARTMENT, RICK'S MANAGEMENT, AND THE PART NATURAL RESOURCES, FORESTRY OPERATIONS, AND MAINTENANCE AND PLANNING DIVISIONS, UM, ALL PROVIDED EXTENSIVE FEEDBACK AND OVERSIGHT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ONM PLAN.THE PHASING OF THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOUND IN DETAILS STARTING ON PAGE 20.
ONE OF THE ONM PLAN ENSURES THAT THE CITY WILL ALWAYS HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT, COLLABORATION, AND OVERSIGHT, AND THE OVERALL MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS OF THE SITE, ANNUAL REPORTING ANNUAL AGREEMENT DESK REVIEW POMA REQUIREMENTS, AND THE POMA MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE PROVIDE THE MECHANISMS FOR NECESSARY CHECKS AND BALANCES.
NEXT YOU'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THE BREAKDOWN BREAKDOWN.
SO AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT TO UNPACK HERE.
THIS IS ACTUALLY JUST A SNAPSHOT OF FIVE PAGES OF THE ONM REPORT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO REALLY REVIEW IT AND TOO MUCH DETAIL, BUT THE BEGINNING OF THE O AND M PLAN ITSELF STARTS WITH ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
SO IN SECTION TWO, IT OUTLINES OUR STANDARDS OF OPERATIONS AND BREAKS THOSE STANDARDS INTO THREE DIFFERENT SECTIONS, BUILT ASSETS, THINGS LIKE TRAIL, SURFACE, GATHERING AREAS, LIGHTING, FENCING, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, NATURAL AREAS LIKE TURF CARE AND TRAIL, EDGE VEGETATION, URBAN FORESTRY, THAT THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, AND THEN SPECIAL ASSETS, PRIMARILY PROGRAMMING.
THERE'S THE SOP THAT WE'VE CREATED APPLIED TO.
TTF NOT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, AND THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS THEIR OWN STANDARDS OF CARE.
AND IT'S OUR HOPE THAT THROUGH OUR ABILITY TO BE MORE EFFICIENT, WE CAN HOPEFULLY RAISE THOSE STANDARDS OF IT.
UM, THIS CHART HAS SO MUCH TO UNPACK.
IT SHOWS YOU HOW WE'RE GOING TO PHASE DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE TRAIL AND THE PARK TOWN LIKE METROPOLITAN PARK, THE PLAYERS AND PARTNERS ALL INVOLVED, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT, AND WHEN PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT.
SO YOU'VE GOT PARD REFLECTED HERE.
TTF PUBLIC WORKS THIRD-PARTY WHICH PRIMARILY IS JUST WATERLOO, GREENWAY AND THEIR SPACE AND PRIVATELY OWNED AREAS.
AS WELL AS WATERSHED PROTECTION.
THERE ARE FOUR AREAS ALONG THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL THAT ARE PRIVATELY OWNED.
THERE'S EASEMENTS FOR THOSE, FOR THE TRAIL, BUT THOSE THEY DO EXIST.
SO WE'VE HAD TO COME UP WITH A VERY, UH, KIND OF THOUGHTFUL AND INTRICATE WAY OF DEALING WITH EVERYONE'S DIFFERENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND HOW THOSE WILL START TO TRANSITION.
SO YOU'LL SEE DIFFERENT UNITS OF THE TRAIL BEING AFFECTED DIFFERENTLY IN PHASE ONE, THEN PHASE TWO AND PHASE THREE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE GATHERING AREAS THAT YOU SEE HERE, UH, WE WILL IMMEDIATELY TAKE OVER THE MAINTENANCE OF THE GATHERING AREAS THAT WE HAVE INSTALLED AND FUNDED AND BUILT, BUT IT WILL TAKE US UNTIL PHASE THREE TO TAKE OVER THOSE GATHERING AREAS THAT PARD, UH, UH, BUILT AND THAT ARE OFTEN, SOME OF THOSE ARE QUITE OLD NOW GAZEBOS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT THERE IS, THIS IS AGAIN A FIVE PAGE PIECE PORTION OF THAT O AND M PLAN THAT DETAILS ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT ASSETS AND HOW THAT TRANSITION WILL TAKE PLACE.
UM, ONE OTHER IMPORTANT POINT BEFORE WE MOVE FROM THIS SLIDE IS, UH, TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THAT ALL OF THE RESPONSIBILITY WILL NOT FULLY TRANSITIONED TO THE TRAIL FOUNDATION.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO THAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS WATERSHED PROTECTION ALWAYS REMAINS ACTIVE IN THIS SPACE.
SO IT'S A TRUE PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION.
SO THERE ARE ELEMENTS OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT THE CITY DEPARTMENTS WILL ALWAYS MAINTAIN.
AND THAT KEEPS US VERY CONNECTED AND INTEGRATED.
THIS ONE'S JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF ALL OF THE PUBLIC PROCESS WE'VE GONE THROUGH ON THIS PARTNERSHIP IN PARTICULAR, IT DOES NOT REFLECT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR TTF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS, BUT IT DOES SHOW YOU THAT THIS CONVERSATION STARTED BACK IN 2018, UH, WITH A VERY DETAILED ULI PANEL, UH, WHERE 10 EXPERTS CAME IN FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND WE'VE TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST, DID OVER A HUNDRED INTERVIEWS.
UH, AND THEY, THEY PRODUCED A REPORT THAT REALLY ENCOURAGED OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT TO ALSO ESTABLISH THESE PARTNERSHIPS GREATER THAN JUST TTF.
UM, BUT FOR OUR PARK SYSTEM AS A WHOLE, AND THEN WE HELD FOCUS GROUPS, STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, ENGAGEMENT, AND THEN WE'VE BEEN THROUGH BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS LAST YEAR AND ARE BACK DOING THE BRIEFINGS HERE TODAY.
UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE AT THE MEETING IN JULY, WHERE WE PRESENTED THIS WILL BE, UM, FAMILIAR, THIS SERVES AN OVERVIEW OF THE VARIOUS EXHIBITS, ANNUAL DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS ENROLLED THE POMA MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THE PARK OPERATIONS, A MAIN MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT, THE PULLMAN IS THE AGREEMENT WITH TTF THE O AND M PLAN, AN EXHIBIT TO THE POMA AND AS DISCUSSED THE LONG-TERM PHASING AND OPERATIONAL
[01:05:01]
PLAN FOR THE PARK PER THE POMA TTF MUST OPERATE AND MAINTAIN THE PARK IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PLAN.THE ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION DOCUMENT IS, UH, DUE NO LATER THAN 90 DAYS PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF EACH CALENDAR YEAR TTF, WE'LL SUBMIT A PLAN TO IMPLEMENT PARTNER ACTIVITIES.
THIS INCLUDES THE O AND M ACTIVITIES FOR THE ANNUAL FOR THE YEAR AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING FOR THE COMING YEAR.
THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE PROVIDES A FORMAL MECHANISM FOR ONGOING COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION.
UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, A COMMITTEE SHALL BE FORMED AND CONSISTS OF PART PARTNERSHIP MANAGER, PART OPERATIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS STAFF TTF EXECUTIVE STAFF, AND A DESIGNEE FROM THE WATER SHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PARTNERSHIP A REQUIREMENTS, UM, IS TTF GOVERNANCE AND OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS WILL BE REVIEWED ANNUALLY PER THE AGREEMENT.
TTF MUST CONTINUE TO MEET THE PARTNERSHIP A CRITERIA, UM, AS THEY ARE A PARTNER WITH PART NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS IS AN OUTLINE OF THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT TERMS THAT WAS, UH, DRAFTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR LAW DEPARTMENT, A ONE MEET PARD PARTNERSHIP, A CRITERIA DELINEATE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES CITY OF BOSTON AND TTF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, WHICH I SPOKE ABOUT PART DIRECTOR ANNUALLY APPROVES THE TTF PROGRAMMING PLAN, BUT PER COUNCIL, THE FIRST, THE INITIAL TWO YEARS OF PROGRAMMING PLAN DOES GO TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEW AND SUPPORT.
UM, THE ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION DOCUMENT, WHICH I SPOKE ABOUT WILL BE REQUIRED ANNUALLY AND OR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS EVERY YEAR PER THE, UH, REQUIREMENTS OF THE POMA AN ANNUAL AGREEMENT COMPLIANCE REVIEW ANNUALLY.
AND THIS IS A 25 YEAR INITIAL TERM WITH UP TO FIVE FIVE-YEAR EXTENSIONS.
SO HERE'S A FEW OF THE KEY TERMS IN THE POMA THAT WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU OVER THESE NEXT FEW SLIDES.
ALL OF THESE TERMS, UM, ARE BASED ON LOTS OF RESEARCH LESSONS LEARNED FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER HERE IN TEXAS AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY, REALLY.
AND THE THERE'S A BALANCE OF TERMS HERE THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED TO SET UP BOTH PARTNERS, ALL PARTNERS FOR SUCCESS.
SO, UM, IT, IT IS AS WELL, IT'S TRANSFERRING RESPONSIBILITY TO THE TRAIL FOUNDATION AND GIVING US THE ABILITY TO PROGRAM AND OPERATE THE SPACE.
IT'S ALSO, AS YOU'VE HEARD FROM CHRISTINE CREATING A LOT OF OVERSIGHT AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN ALL THE PARTNERS, SO THAT WE STAY CONNECTED IN COMMUNICATION.
SO A FEW THINGS HERE TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, CONCESSIONS ALWAYS, UH, WE'LL ADHERE TO, UH, CITY CODE IT'S TITLE EIGHT CHAPTER EIGHT, ONE ARTICLE FIVE, DIVISION TWO, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, SOME EXCITING READING THERE FOR YOU.
UM, SO WE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW ALL THE CITY CODE FOR THAT SONAR SIGNAGE AND DONOR RECOGNITION.
WE'LL ALSO CONTINUE TO FALL CITY FOLLOW CITY CODE AND PARD POLICIES FOR HOW WE CAN RECOGNIZE DONORS IN A PUBLIC SPACE.
UM, THE COMMUNICATION IS, IS REALLY VERY, UM, ONGOING.
SO WE HAVE MONTHLY MEETINGS BETWEEN THE DIRECTOR AND THE CEO.
WE HAVE WEEKLY MEETINGS WITH PARD PARTNERSHIP MANAGER BI-WEEKLY MEETINGS BETWEEN CITY, UM, UH, AND, AND TTF OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FIELD STAFF.
WE HAVE QUARTERLY LARGE GROUP MEETINGS WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIVES FROM PARD PUBLIC WORKS, WATERSHED PROTECTION, AND TTF THE QUARTERLY OVERSIGHT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS AS WELL, AS WELL AS THE REPORTING AND, AND THE OTHER, UH, ELEMENTS THAT CHRISTINE SPOKE ABOUT PUBLIC COMMUNICATION WILL REMAIN THREE THROUGH 3, 1, 1, AND THOSE WILL BE FUNNELED TO US WHEN APPROPRIATE THROUGH PART, UM, THE O AND M PLAN AND ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION DOCUMENT IS THE TOOL WE'VE SET UP TO ANNUALLY WORK, UH, IN DETAIL WITH THE CITY STAFF TO PULL OUT THE ELEMENTS FOR EACH NEXT YEAR'S PHASE OF THE ONM PLAN AND PUT IT INTO AN IMPLEMENTATION DOCUMENT.
SO EVERYONE KNOWS WHO'S DOING WHAT THE NEXT YEAR, UH, FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ALL WILL FOLLOW CITY CODE, AND THEN FINANCIALS IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT PIECE.
SO THERE ARE BENCHMARKS WE HAVE TO MEET IN THE POMA TO MAKE SURE WE CAN ACT APPROPRIATELY FUND AND HAVE RESERVES FOR, UH, EMERGENCY NEEDS AND SUCH.
SO THAT'S ALL OUTLINED IN THERE NEXT SLIDE AND THEN PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS.
SO THERE ARE SOME REALLY KEY COMPONENTS HERE TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT TTF WILL ALWAYS ADHERE TO THE PARKLAND EVENTS, TASK FORCE REPORT, WHICH, WHICH REALLY KIND OF LINES OUT ALL THE THINGS THAT WE CAN AND CANNOT DO.
BUT SOME REALLY KEY ELEMENTS HERE IS THAT TTF WILL NEVER CLOSE THE BUTLER TRAIL.
WE WILL NEVER BE CLOSING TOWN LAKE METROPOLITAN PARK.
THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THERE ARE PRE IDENTIFIED PROGRAMMING SITES THAT ARE SET OUT IN THAT TASK FORCE REPORT, HAVING SPECIFIC CAPACITIES.
[01:10:01]
THOSE ARE WHAT'S CONSIDERED LOCATIONS WITHIN TOWN LAKE METROPOLITAN PARK.SO A FESTIVAL BEACH, A LAMAR BEACH, AN AUDITORIUM SHORES, A LONGHORN SHORES.
THOSE ARE LOCATIONS WITHIN THE PARK.
SO THOSE ARE THE AREAS THAT THE CAPACITY, UH, IS, IS REFERRING TO IN THAT, IN THAT DOCUMENT, IN OUR POMA, WE ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE NO MORE THAN FOUR EVENTS ANNUALLY OF 1000 PERSON, UH, ATTENDANCE IN A DAY, AND A MAXIMUM OF 10 MINIMALLY OPENED EVENTS IN A YEAR EVERY YEAR.
SO THAT IS, THAT IS THAT'S CODIFIED IN THE POMA THOSE NUMBERS.
WE ONLY HAVE ONE ACTUALLY PLANNED, UH, FOR THIS YEAR AND WHAT VERY LIKELY THE NEXT FEW YEARS, BECAUSE, UM, IT'S REALLY ALL, WE HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR THE ONLY OTHER, THE ONLY LOCATIONS THAT REALLY CAN HOLD A CAPACITY OF THAT SIZE OF AN EVENT.
ANYWAY, OUR FESTIVAL BEACH, SAND BEACH AND AUDITORIUM SHORES, AND PER THE SPECIAL EVENTS TASK FORCE REPORT.
AGAIN, FESTIVAL BEACH AND AUDITORIUM SHORES ARE ALREADY MAXED OUT.
AND THOSE EVENTS THAT HAVE MAXED THOSE AREAS OUT ARE GRANDFATHERED IN AND KIND OF HAVE THAT SPOT.
SO SAND BEACHES, WHERE WE HOLD OUR ANNUAL MOONLIGHT MARGARITA RUN, WHICH IS COMING UP ON JUNE 2ND, AND YOU SHOULD ALL REGISTER AND JOIN US.
UM, ANYWAY, THE REST OF OUR EVENTS ARE REALLY WHAT WE CALL PROGRAMMING BECAUSE THEY'RE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND I'M OPEN TO ALL.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE PUBLIC BENEFIT REALLY COMES INTO PLAY OUR MUSIC ON THE TRAIL SERIES, OUR FLOW AND THRIVE SERIES, OUR FAMILY NATURE PROGRAM, OUR ARTS AND CULTURE PROGRAM.
ALL OF THESE ARE OUTLINED IN THE PROGRAMMING PLAN IN A CHART THAT SHOWS WHERE WE WILL HOST THESE, THESE DIFFERENT SERIES OF PROGRAMS FOR, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE AND DISTRIBUTING THESE PROGRAMS TRAIL WIDE.
SO THAT'S WHAT THE CHART IS ON PAGE SEVEN OF THE PROGRAMMING PLAN ITSELF.
OTHER THAN THAT I'VE MENTIONED AND SHOWED YOU SOME STATS EARLIER ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP WITH OVER A HUNDRED TO 150 VOLUNTEER EVENTS, ANNUALLY 1500 VOLUNTEERS, ANNUALLY PLANTING 5,000 TREES AND PLANTS AND PICKING UP 13,000 POUNDS OF TRASH IN A YEAR.
SO WE REALLY ARE OUT THERE ON, ON A VERY REGULAR BASIS WITH CITIZENS AND VOLUNTEERS HELPING US ACHIEVE OUR GOALS.
UM, AND I THINK YOU'VE HEARD THE REST OF THAT.
SO THE FINAL SLIDE IS REALLY KIND OF MOSTLY A CELEBRATION AND A LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE.
SO IT'S A REALLY EXCITING TIME FOR US TO BE ENTERING INTO THIS PARTNERSHIP, UH, WITH THE CITY, BECAUSE IT'S THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR OF THE BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
AND, UM, AND WE'RE JUST VERY HONORED AND EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO GET TO DO THIS WORK.
THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A FORMALIZED PARTNERSHIP LIKE THIS IS THAT IT REALLY ALLOWS TTF TO STEP UP AND DO MORE.
WE CAN BUILD OUR, OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
WE CAN INVEST MORE IN OUR VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS AND REALLY BE ABLE TO INVEST MORE IN WHAT THIS SPACE NEEDS, KNOWING THAT WE ARE, WE HAVE A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP AND WE CAN BE THERE TO MAINTAIN IT.
SO, UM, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR INTEREST IN THIS.
UM, THERE'S 4.9 MILLION TRAIL USERS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WE REALLY TRULY ARE JUST HONORED TO BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF, OF PRESERVING IT AND MAINTAINING IT TO MAKE SURE IT STAYS INTACT.
AND I APPRECIATE, I NOTICED THAT YOU ANSWERED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE FLYING AROUND BEFORE THE MEETING, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DO ALL OF THAT.
SO BOARD MEMBERS, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT ARE CLARIFYING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK? WE'RE ALL GOOD.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
[B.3. Briefing on the progress of the draft Commercial Parkland Dedication Ordinance and associated community feedback and resources.]
THREE.THIS ONE IS ON THE PROGRESS OF THE DRAFT COMMERCIAL PARKLAND DEDICATION ORDINANCE AND ASSOCIATED COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND RESOURCES, UM, WITH PAUL BROOKS AND, UH, HE'S A PLANNER FROM THE, AND ROBIN HAYMAN'S, UH, TOM AND RAWLINSON, RANDY SCOTT.
AND MY NAME IS ROBIN HAYMAN'S.
I'LL BE REPRESENTING THE GROUP HERE TONIGHT, UM, AND JUST GIVING A BRIEFING ON THE PARKLAND DEDICATION, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, PRIMARILY ON OUR PUBLIC OUTREACH THAT WE'VE DONE TODAY.
SO, UM, WE WERE HERE BEFORE YOU LAST MONTH TO, UH, BRIEF YOU ON THE DRAFT COMMERCIAL PARKLAND DEDICATION STUDY THAT STAFF PUT TOGETHER.
UM, THE VERY NEXT DAY, APRIL 26, UM, WE STARTED DRAFTING THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE LANGUAGE, AND THEN WE ALSO, UM, STARTED IN INFORMATIONAL CAMPAIGN.
UM, IT LAUNCHED AND IT INCLUDED SOCIAL MEDIA
[01:15:01]
POSTS, JUST INFORMING THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT, UH, WHAT, UH, COMMERCIAL PARKLAND DEDICATION ORDINANCE WOULD LOOK LIKE.UM, UH, CITY BLOG POST THAT KIND OF STARTED TO DETAIL IT.
UM, AND THEN ON MAY 9TH, UH, WE LAUNCHED OF, UH, KIND OF WIDER SUITE OF INFORMATIONAL AND COMMUNITY INPUT, UM, RESOURCES.
SO WE PUT TOGETHER A PROJECT WEBPAGE AS BEACOPP BOSTON, COMMUNITY SURVEY AND FORUM OPEN-ENDED FORUM, UM, A STORY MAP AND A PRESS RELEASE ALL MADE ITS WAY OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THE PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR THE SURVEY AND FORUM ARE OPEN THROUGH JUNE 12TH.
SO YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE PUT TOGETHER SO FAR, THE BLOG POST, UM, THE FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM POSTS ARE ALL GOING OUT THE PROJECT WEB PAGE, THE STORY MAP, AND WE'VE ALSO KIND OF PARTNERED WITH, UM, AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT ALL OF THESE RESOURCES.
AND THEN FOR OUR COMMUNITY INPUT, THIS BEACOPP BOSTON PAGE IS UP AND THAT LINK IS LIVE THAT PRESENTATIONS IN THE BACKUP, BUT WE, UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF OUT ON ALL OF OUR WEBSITES, EVERYTHING THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE, ALL THE PLACES PEOPLE GO TO LEARN ABOUT PARKLAND, DEDICATION, THERE'S LINK IS ON THERE.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A DEDICATED CONTACT FOR FEEDBACK INTO REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION IN THAT THE PLD DOT COMMERCIAL AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.COM.
SO NOW I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT OUR FUTURE ENGAGEMENT.
SO MAY THROUGH JUNE, WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING MEETINGS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN SMALL GROUPS TO RECEIVE, RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON THE ORDINANCE LANGUAGE.
SO THAT'S, UM, MAJOR LEADERS IN THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, AND THAT LIST WAS SORT OF PROVIDED TO US THROUGH DSD AND THEN ALSO THROUGH, UM, PARK STAKEHOLDERS, PARK ADVOCATES, STAKEHOLDERS, AND WE'VE PARTNERED WITH AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION ON THAT, UM, JUNE 15TH, WE'RE GOING TO DO A PRESENTATION OF THE DRAFT COMMERCIAL PARKLAND DEDICATION ORDINANCE LANGUAGE TO THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE.
AND THEY WILL TAKE IT, UM, WE'LL PRESENT IT AND THEY MAY TAKE AN ACTION ON IT.
AND THEN JUNE 28TH, WE'LL DO A PRESENTATION OF THE DRAFT ORDINANCE LANGUAGE TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THEN TENTATIVELY JULY 28TH, WE'LL DO THEIR PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, SO THAT'S SORT OF WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE'RE GOING ON THE DRAFT ORDINANCE AND THE LANGUAGE IS JUST BEING DRAFTED NOW AND WE'RE TAKING AN INPUT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
DO WE HAVE ANY CLARIFYING QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? I HAVE A QUESTION.
YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THE DRAFT ORDINANCE AT A TWEET ORDINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE AND AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE AT THE PARKS BOARD.
UM, I BELIEVE WE ARE PLANNING TO COME BACK TO PARKS BOARD NEXT MONTH.
UM, IT, BUT IT WILL JUST BECAUSE OF THE TIMING, YOU KNOW, OCCUR AFTER THE, THE ORDINANCE, THE JOINT ORDINANCE COMMITTEE CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE.
SO IT WILL BE LIKE A FEW LIKE A WEEK AFTER.
COULD WE PERHAPS, SO THAT WASN'T ON THE LAST SLIDE THAT, YEAH.
THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED.
AND THEN I ALSO JUST WANTED TO ASK, HOW IS THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK GOING? HAVE YOU RECEIVED VERY MUCH OR, WELL, YEAH, WE'RE CURRENTLY TAKING IT IN, WE HAVEN'T STARTED SORT OF SYNTHESIZING OR GOING THROUGH IT JUST YET JUST CAUSE THE IT OPENED LAST WEEK AND WE WANT TO GIVE PEOPLE TIME TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, GIVE THE INPUT.
UM, I KNOW A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS, LIKE KIND OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS ARE REALLY INVESTED IN LOOKING FORWARD TO SORT OF THE THREE MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE SET UP FOR THEM.
WOULD WE, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR US SINCE IT GOES TO JOINT COMMITTEE BEFORE? COULD WE GET A COPY SENT MAYBE BY EMAIL OF THE LANGUAGE SO WE COULD LOOK AT IT? YEAH.
I BELIEVE THAT AS SOON AS IT'S, UM, SORT OF REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY OUR LAW DEPARTMENT, IT'LL BE AVAILABLE.
ANYBODY ELSE? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE MOVING ON TO ITEM FOUR.
[B.4. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding the recommendation to approve the conditional use permit (CUP) at Republic Square for the sale of alcohol.]
UM, WE HAVE A PRESENTATION DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AT REPUBLIC SQUARE FOR THE SALE OF ALCOHOL.AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UM, MOLLY ANDERSON, ARE YOU PRESENTING OR IS IT JUST THAT WE'VE GOT, UM, RINALDO HERNANDEZ.
MY NAME IS REYNALDO HERNANDEZ.
I'M A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND PROJECT MANAGER
[01:20:01]
WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.AND I AM HERE TO REQUEST SUPPORT THE REPUBLIC SPARK CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT.
IN ADDITION TO MYSELF, I, UM, ALSO WANT TO INTRODUCE FROM THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, MOLLY ALEXANDER, WHO IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ANGELA NAVARRO WITH THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR.
SO, UM, THE, UH, SUBMITTAL OF THE CUP IS A JOINT PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS RECREATION DEPARTMENT AND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION.
AND THE PURPOSE OF, UH, PURSUING FOR THE CUP IS TO ALLOW FOR THE SALE OF ALCOHOL IN A DESIGNATED AREA IN REPUBLIC SQUARE AND THE PURPOSE, OR THE REASON WHY WE'RE DOING THIS IS BECAUSE, UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
SO ACP IS REQUIRED TO SELL ALCOHOL ON PUBLIC PROPERTY.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, TO GIVE YOU A BIT OF AN OVERVIEW AND A BACKGROUND OF REPUBLIC SQUARE BACK IN 2012, THE DEPARTMENT INITIATED A MASTER VISION PLAN FOR REPUBLIC SQUARE AND THAT, UH, THE RECENT IMPROVEMENTS TO THE LANDSCAPE, UH, THAT YOU SEE THERE NOW ARE A RESULT OF THAT EFFORT.
AND IN NINTH AND 20,018, THE CAFE, THE KIOSK WAS COMPLETED AND WITH THE, UM, ASSISTANCE AND THE DEDICATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE US AND DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE, A VENDOR WAS PROCARD FOR THAT CAFE.
IT WAS SALT AND TIME, AND THEY BEGAN THE SALE OF, UH, FOOD AND ALCOHOL IN 2020.
AT ABOUT THAT TIME, UH, WE WERE, WE, THE DEPARTMENT WAS NOTIFIED THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SELL ALCOHOL ON PARK PROPERTY BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE A CUP CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR THE SALE OF ALCOHOL.
SO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT WILL ALLOW FOR THE SALE OF ALCOHOL ON PUBLIC PROPERTY.
AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT DOES IS THAT THE CUP CHANGES THE ZONING OF THE PROPERTY FROM PUBLIC TO PARK AND RECREATION SERVICES SPECIAL.
AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE SALE OF ALCOHOL DURING AN EVENT HAS NO ASSOCIATION WITH THE CDP, THAT IS A SEPARATE PROCESS.
THE CDP PROCESS HAS A NUMBER OF STEPS.
UH, WE STARTED OUR PROCESS BACK IN JANUARY OF 2022 WITH THE SUBMITTAL OF THE APPLICATION AND THE DRAWINGS FOR THE CUP TO THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
WE HAD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND TWO FORUMS. WE HAD AN OPEN HOUSE ON APRIL 13TH AND 2022.
AND THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT WILL BE ISSUING A NOTIFICATION OF A ZONING CHANGE TO BUSINESSES AND RESIDENCES WITHIN 500 FEET.
WE'RE HERE TODAY, UH, MAY, UH, FOR PARKS BOARD TO GAIN SUPPORT OF THE CUP.
AND IF WE GAIN SUPPORT, THEN WE WILL MOVE FORWARD TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND, UH, THEY WILL APPROVE THE CUP, JUST A QUICK UPDATE ONTO THE STATUS OF THE APPLICATION AND THE DRAWINGS WE HAVE COMPLETED COMPLETENESS CHECK AND THE DRAWINGS AND THE APPLICATION ARE NOW INFORMAL REVIEW.
AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT TO BE COMPLETED SOMETIME IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH REPUBLIC SQUARE, THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT, MY RIGHT, UH, SHOWS IT AN ARIEL TO THE EAST IS GUADALUPE STREET ON NORTH IS WEST FIFTH STREET ON THE WEST IS THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE PLAZA.
AND ON THE SOUTH IS WEST FOURTH STREET.
THE AREA IN QUESTION WHERE THE S THE, UH, APPLICATION THE CUP IS BEING REQUESTED FOR HIS IMAGE ON THE LEFT WITH THE NUMBER ONE THAT IS AN IMAGE TAKEN FROM THE ACTUAL DRAWINGS THAT WERE SUBMITTED FOR THE CUP.
IT ESSENTIALLY ILLUSTRATES THE AREA NEAR AND ADJACENT TO THE EXISTING CAFE.
IT IS APPROXIMATELY 5,000 SQUARE FEET OF SURFACE AREA.
THAT SPACE CAN BE ACCESSED FROM FIFTH STREET, UH, BY THREE, UH, THREE AREAS, UH, FROM THE SIDEWALK AND THEN TWO AREAS FROM THE PARK ITSELF.
WE, UH, HAVE, UH, THERE IS, UH, INVOLVEMENT WITH THE TEXAS ALCOHOL AND BEVERAGE COMMISSION, AND I'M GOING TO PASS THIS ON THE MOLLY SO SHE CAN GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
[01:25:01]
GREAT.SO THE APPLICANT APPLIED THE TENANT APPLIED FOR A TBC PERMIT PRIOR TO OPENING IN 2020, AND THEY DO HAVE A BG LICENSE, WHICH IS THE SALE OF BEER AND WINE FOR THE PREMISE.
YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE OPERATOR.
SO, UM, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION HAS A STAFFING AT THE PARK, UM, FROM ITS OPENING AT 6:00 AM TO IT'S CLOSING AT 10:00 PM.
UM, WE STAFF THE PARK WITH TWO AMBASSADORS, UM, AND A TEAM LEAD.
AND SO THE AMBASSADORS WELCOME PEOPLE, HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF THE PARK AND HELP MANAGE ANYTHING IN TERMS OF COMPLIANCE, UH, WITH THIS OR OTHER ORDINANCES.
UM, AND SO THEY ARE, THEY ARE THERE PRIOR TO, AND AFTER THE KIOSK ACTUALLY OPENS AND CLOSES, AND THEN WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT.
WE HAVE A LEASE AGREEMENT, A 10 YEAR LEASE AGREEMENT WITH THE VENDOR, UM, THAT ALLOWS FOR OPERATIONAL TENANT LEASE, YOU KNOW, RENTAL AGREEMENT.
AND THEN, UM, THE AGREEMENT IN TERMS OF HOW THEY MANAGE THE CAFE, MANAGE THE SPACE AND MANAGE THE ALCOHOL TO ADHERE TO THE GUIDELINES, BOTH OF THE CITY AND OF THE TBC.
UH, ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL ALSO SEE THE SIGN THAT IS BEING PROPOSED TO BE USED TO DESIGNATE THE CUP AREA.
WE WILL NOT BE CONSTRUCTING OR INSTALLING FENCING OR ANY OTHER IMPROVEMENT.
THE AREA WE REMAIN AS IS NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS SLIDE DEMONSTRATES, UM, A COUPLE OF, UH, MAJOR CITIES IN TEXAS THAT HAVE, AND ALLOW THE SALE OF ALCOHOL.
HOUSTON HAS TWO, INCLUDING DISCOVERY GREEN SAN ANTONIO HAS A TOTAL OF FIVE AND AUSTIN, UH, HAS WATERLOO GREENWAY THAT WITH THE SALE OF ALCOHOL.
SO WE'RE HERE TODAY AND ACT ASKING, REQUESTING AN ACTION FROM PARKS BOARD TO SUPPORT THE CIP PROCESS AND APPLICATION FOR REPUBLIC SQUARE.
AND THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO CONTINUE THIS PROCESS THROUGH PLANNING COMMISSION AND GET AN APPROVAL OF THE CUP.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND I JUST HAVE TO SAY, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE TODAY BECAUSE WE, I KNOW THAT THE VENDOR HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS THIS MORNING, BUT I FEEL VERY HESITANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS TODAY BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED AT REPUBLIC PARK THIS MORNING.
UM, AND I AM, UM, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT THIS AND WE CAN CERTAINLY HAVE DISCUSSION IT'S POSTED FOR DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS.
MY CONCERN IS THAT, UM, ALTHOUGH THE SHOOTING WAS UNRELATED TO THE VENDOR SELLING ANY ALCOHOL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, UM, I FEEL IT'S A LITTLE DISRESPECTFUL TO BE VOTING ON THIS ISSUE TODAY IN LIGHT OF THE SHOOTINGS.
AND, UM, I'VE, I HAVE QUESTIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME OTHER VENDORS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE COMING UP.
HOW MANY QUESTIONS? I MEAN, HOW MANY OTHER VENDORS ARE GOING TO BE REQUESTING A CUP AND HOW MANY OTHER ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS ARE GOING TO BE REQUESTING THIS PERMISSION? OKAY.
BOARD MEMBERS, KIMBERLY MCNEALY FROM SERVING AS THE DIRECTOR FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, UH, THERE IS THE, UH, BOAT HOUSE.
SO THE AUSTIN ROWING CLUB CURRENTLY WILL BECOME IS NEXT ON THE, UM, ON THE DOCKET TO COME FORWARD.
AND THEN YOU HAVE FIVE GOLF COURSES THAT HAVE BEEN IN OPERATION FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS THAT WILL ALSO BE COMING FORWARD INDIVIDUALLY FOR CONSIDERATION AS PART OF, UM, THE CUP PROCESS.
I CERTAINLY RESPECT THE OPINION THAT, UM, THE CHAIR HAS ABSOLUTELY EXPRESSED TO YOU ABOUT THE SENSITIVITY OF WHAT HAPPENED, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE FOR CONSIDERATION, OF COURSE.
UM, AS YOU THINK THROUGH WHETHER YOU'D LIKE TO CONTINUE FORWARD WITH THIS ONE, UM, PLEASE KNOW, THIS IS BY CODE.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE PARKS BOARD IS ASKED TO BRING FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION FOR.
SO WE ARE FOLLOWING CODE, UH, AT THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME, NONE OF OUR PARKS AT THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME, UNLESS THEY HAVE A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT ARE PERMITTED TO HAVE ALCOHOL SOLD OR A VENDOR THAT'S SELLING ALCOHOL, UNLESS THEY EITHER A GET A SPECIAL EVENTS PERMIT TO DO SO, WHICH IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS, BUT IT IS WRITTEN OUT THAT PROCESS IS EXPLAINED IN THE ACE PROCESS AND THE ACE PACKET.
AND THE DIRECTOR ONLY HAS THE AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE THAT, UM, THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW.
AND SECONDLY, UM, THAT THE, UM, NONE OF THE OTHER PARKS ARE PERMITTED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ALCOHOL.
SO THIS IS THE ONLY MECHANISM BY WHICH, UM, THAT, THAT THIS COULD OCCUR FOR, UH, FOR THE VENDOR AT REPUBLIC SQUARE.
SO ANOTHER THING TO CONSIDER IS THAT, UM, WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE CONFLATING THE ISSUES IN THAT.
UM, THIS WAS NOT THE INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED, ALTHOUGH
[01:30:01]
IT WAS REPORTED AS OCCURRING AT REPUBLIC SQUARE, IT WAS ACTUALLY OCCURRING AT THE BUS STOP THAT IS ON THE CORNER OR ALONG THE RIGHT OF WAY.AND THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REPUBLIC SQUARE OPERATIONS.
IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PARK SYSTEM.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT PUTTING OURSELVES IN A POSITION.
UM, IT'S FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, THAT YOU'RE NOT PUTTING YOURSELVES IN A POSITION WHERE THIS IS VIEWED AS A WAY TO CIRCUMVENT CODE.
IF YOU DON'T VOTE ON IT, THEN, THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT IS YOUR INTENTION AT ALL.
I'M JUST OFFERING A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE FOR YOU TO CONSIDER AS YOU DISCUSS, WHETHER YOU'D LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH VOTING ON THIS TODAY OR HOW YOU'D LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH VOTING ON THIS.
I WOULD JUST, AND PLEASE KNOW THAT I'M THE CHAIR AND I HAD THIS CONVERSATION.
SO THIS WAS WHAT SHE SAID TO NOT A SURPRISE TO ME.
AND WHAT I SAID, I DON'T BELIEVE AS A SURPRISE TO HER.
I JUST, UM, MY THINKING IS THAT IT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE INSTEAD OF REHASHING.
WE HAD THIS BIG DISCUSSION REGARDING ZILKER CAFE LAST SUMMER.
IT'S GOING TO BE COMING UP AGAIN.
UH, IT'S OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE COMING UP AGAIN QUITE A FEW TIMES, AND I'M THINKING THAT MAYBE, UM, WHAT WE OUGHT TO CONSIDER IS TO TAKE A BEAT AND ADDRESS THE CITY'S RISK FACTOR WITH THIS AND CONSIDER MAYBE THE ISSUE MORE THOUGHTFULLY AND DELIBERATELY AND HOLISTICALLY AND IN SOME OTHER WAY.
SO IF I'M OPEN TO COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD, DO I HAVE I'LL START? IS THERE ANYBODY ONLINE, UH, UH, BOARD MEMBER BERNARD HAS HER HAND UP? UM, YEAH, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, UM, I AGREE WITH CHAIR CONDOM.
SCHEIBEL ABOUT VOTING ON THIS TODAY.
UM, IT JUST SEEMS, UH, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE NOT GREAT TIMING.
UM, BUT I ALSO THINK BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A NUMBER OF, UH, DIFFERENT ENTITIES COMING FORTH, UM, DO, UH, TO APPLY FOR A CUP, UM, THAT WE DO NEED A LITTLE, SOME MORE GUIDELINES.
UM, AND I WAS THINKING MAYBE LIKE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CONTRACTS, UH, AND COMMIT CONCESSIONS COMMITTEE COULD POSSIBLY RESEARCH AND IN CREATE.
UM, SO I ACTUALLY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, UM, ALONG THOSE LINES.
AND I MOVED THAT THE CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS COMMITTEE RESEARCH GUIDELINES AND CREATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL SALES, IN CITY PARKS AND OTHER PARKLAND FACILITIES.
UM, SHALL WE TAKE A VOTE? DO YOU WANT IT? SO I THINK WHAT SHE'S ASKING US TO DO IS TO PUT THIS OFF TO CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS, AND I KNOW THAT IN THE NAME OF NEEDING TO PROCEED WITH THIS, UM, I WOULD ADD TO THAT THAT MAYBE, UH, CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS COULD DEAL WITH IT AND BRING IT BACK TO OUR JUNE MEETING POSSIBLY.
UM, SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE SOMETHING CRAFTED TO ACTUALLY PUT ON THE AGENDA AND VOTE ON THAT NIGHT.
SO IT WOULD JUST, IT WOULDN'T BE MUCH OF A DELAY.
DOES THAT SOUND I, CAN I GO BACK TO, I JUST HAVE A GENERAL QUESTION ABOUT THIS, UM, UH, THIS ITEM, UH, WHAT ARE WE DOING? UH, SORRY, VERY MUCH BOARD MEMBER TO INTERRUPT.
UM, BUT, UH, GIVEN THAT THERE WAS A MOTION AND A SECOND, IT'S NOT AN ORDER TO HAVE DISCUSSION THE NEXT, UH, ITEM.
WON'T HAVE TO BE THE VOTE ON THE ISSUE.
SO SHALL WE VOTE ON THE ISSUE DISCUSSION? I THOUGHT WE COULD DISCUSS IT AFTER WE HAD THAT.
UM, WHAT ARE WE I'M REFERRING TO AS THE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED AT REPUBLIC SQUARE? THERE WAS A SHOOTING, TWO PEOPLE WERE SHOT AT THE CORNER AT THE S MY, ACCORDING TO THE PICTURES THAT I SAW, IT'S AT THE BOARD BEST CORNER AT THE SOUTH EAST CORNER OF THE PARKING LOT.
SO THIS MORNING AT 7 25 AT THE BUS STOP, THERE IS A GENTLEMAN TRYING TO SELL BUS TICKETS, AND NOBODY WOULD TAKE THEM UP ON THIS OFFER.
AND SO HE SHOT A COUPLE OF PEOPLE AT THE BUS STOP.
HE WAS NOT IN THE PARK, IT IT'S ON THE SIDEWALK AND NOT PART OF OUR AREA.
AND TWO PEOPLE WERE SHOT, UH, BOTH TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND WAS SPEAKING WITH CORPORAL WHIZ, MAR WHO WAS AT, UM, THAT AREA.
IT WAS, HE FELT IT WAS ALL TRANSIT RELATED.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? UM, SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, UM, Y'ALL ARE PROPOSING THAT THE CONTRACTS AND SESSIONS AND CONCESSIONS COMMITTEE KIND OF EVALUATE, UM, THE OVERALL SALE OF ALCOHOL IN OUR PARK SYSTEM BEFORE APPROVING ANY OTHER CPS.
SO WITH THAT, IF THEY CAME BACK WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO GO AHEAD AND DO AN APPROVAL OF CUP IS GET THEM ALL OUT OF THE WAY.
SO WE DON'T TAKE IT INTO RESEARCH ITEMS. THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WAS A POSSIBILITY.
[01:35:01]
YEAH.SO I, UM, MY QUESTION IS, SO WITH CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS, WHAT THEY WOULD DO IS KIND OF FIND SOME CONSISTENCY ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO WE CAN SAY, IF WE HAVE THESE CUBS, WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW THESE SPECIFIC GUIDELINES, OR WE'RE GOING TO CREATE GUIDELINES TO PASS ON TO COUNCIL THAT THEY SHOULD REVIEW.
I'M JUST, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY EXACTLY THE BOARD MEMBER BERNARD, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT ON THAT? YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S SORT OF WHAT I WAS THINKING.
JUST, YOU KNOW, GUIDELINES AND THAT WE COULD PASS ON TO COUNCIL, BUT ALSO SAID THAT IT DOESN'T KEEP COMING BEFORE US, OR PERHAPS COMING UP WITH SOMETHING IN MY I'M THINKING OF IT, IN TERMS OF MAYBE COMING UP WITH SOMETHING, A CLEARER GUIDELINES, PERHAPS WE COULD ASK COUNCIL FOR CLEARER GUIDELINES OF WHO CAN, YOU KNOW, WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE TO HAVE ALCOHOL IN A PARK AND WHEN DOES IT NOT, FOR EXAMPLE, WE DECIDED LAST YEAR, IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE AT A COLD, DEEP STARE STEEP POOL NEXT TO THE GATE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO EVERYBODY? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY.
SO SHALL WE CALL THE VOTE? ANOTHER QUESTION? YES.
I REMEMBER, UM, I THINK BOARD MEMBER FAST, OR I'M SORRY, VICE CHAIR BOB'S WAS, HAD HER HAND UP.
I DON'T WANT TO SAY I DIDN'T SEE IT.
UM, JUST AS A SORT OF QUESTION AND COMMENT ON THE MOTION, UM, I'M NOT TRYING TO ADD TO YOUR MOTION, BUT JUST, I WOULD SUGGEST ALSO THAT IF THE CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS COMMITTEE CAN LOOK AT OR, UM, ASK COUNCIL TO LOOK AT OR STUFF, BUT I WOULD LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THIS ONE, I WOULD LIKE SOME, UM, MORE ADVICE FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE IS NO PUBLIC CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL ALLOWED DOWNTOWN THAT THERE'S DIFFERENT, THAT THIS WORKS DIFFERENTLY IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF TOWN.
AND SO IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WOULD AFFECT THE CITY ORDINANCES REGARDING CONSUMING ALCOHOL OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN, LIKE FROM THE PRESENTATION, IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME IF YOU'RE WITHIN A SPECIFIC AREA OF THE PARK THAT MAKES THE CONSUMPTION OKAY.
AND THAT SEE WHERE THIS, UM, PREEMPTS A CITY ORDINANCE, THIS ZONING CHANGE.
UH, SO SOME WHATEVER GUIDANCE WE END UP WITH, I WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO INCLUDE LIKE SOME PUBLIC SAFETY COMPONENTS IN TERMS OF, IF THERE'S A, A REALLY VALID REASON THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS IN PLACE, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE OVERRIDING IT UNLESS I HAVE A OPINION FROM SOME PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT.
AND I DIDN'T, I, THAT WASN'T CLEAR TO ME FROM THE PRESENTATION WE WERE GIVEN HOW THE, UM, DOWNTOWN ORDINANCES WORK.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S OTHER PLACES WHERE I DON'T KNOW WHERE ALL THE CPS WOULD BE REQUESTED ARE, BUT THERE ARE OTHER PARTS OF TOWN THAT HAVE, UM, NO CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL ALLOWED IN PUBLIC AND ON THE STREETS.
UM, SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IF WE APPROVE THIS MOTION AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR REPUBLIC SQUARE PARK? ARE THE OTHER ENTITIES REQUESTING THE CUP? I THINK THAT MAYBE WE CAN ANSWER THEM IF WE COME BACK WITH, THERE WE GO.
UM, I THINK THAT IF WE CAN CRAFT SOMETHING TO DISCUSS, AT LEAST IN HERE ON THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, WE'LL HAVE AN ITEM WHERE WE CAN LOOK AT THE DRAFT AND MAKE COMMENTS MAYBE EVEN AHEAD OF THE MEETING.
AND THEN, UM, HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE SOON ENOUGH, IT'S ONLY A MONTH OUT.
SO I'M HOPING THAT MAYBE WE CAN BRING THAT BACK AND DISCUSS IT AGAIN ON A MONTH AND MAKE, YOU KNOW, MAKE AN APPROPRIATE RECOMMENDATION.
AND THAT WOULD MAYBE ADDRESS ALL THE CUPS AND THAT SORT OF THING, INSTEAD OF JUST PIECEMEAL DOING THIS WILLY NILLY LEGISLATING KIND OF A, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH.
AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, LIKE THE, THE, UM, ENTITIES ARE SELLING ALCOHOL CURRENTLY, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND SO THEY WILL CONTINUE TO SELL ALCOHOL UNTIL WE HAVE THIS, UH, RESOLVED.
UH, CAN I CLARIFY SOMETHING IN RELATION TO THE MOTION? UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO SAY THAT, UH, Y'ALL WERE RIGHT EARLIER THAT AT ONCE THE SECOND EMOTION, THAT DISCUSSION IS LIMITED.
SO I'LL JUST CALL IT A SENIOR MOMENT ON MY PART, BUT Y'ALL WERE RIGHT.
UM, UH, IN REGARDS TO, UM, NOT THE MOTION CURRENTLY BEING DISCUSSED, BUT, UH, THE, UH, POTENTIAL TO APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE CUP ITSELF, UM, CITY CODE DOES DIRECT THE PARKS AND RECREATION
[01:40:01]
BOARD TO, UH, BRING A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE CUP.HOWEVER, IT IS THE, UM, PLANNING COMMISSION, WHICH IS THE SOVEREIGN BOARD THAT WILL ULTIMATELY ACT ON THE CUP.
SO A, UH, VOTE TO APPROVE OR REJECT THE CUP WILL STILL RESULT IN IT BEING BROUGHT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION.
LET ME GO INTO PLANNING COMMISSION.
I DO NOT HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
SO IF WE GOT IT BACK IN JUNE, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME SORT OF A RECOMMENDATION, CORRECT? YES, YES.
SO MY QUESTION IS ALONG THOSE LINES, CAN YOU CLARIFY EXACTLY WHAT OUR OBLIGATION IS IN TERMS OF, UM, WE'RE WHAT, WHAT'S THE PARKS BOARD'S ROLE IN APPROVING THESE CUPS RELATIVE TO PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL? YES.
UH, SO, UH, UH, CITY CODE DOES DIRECT THAT, UH, THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD WILL OFFER A RECOMMENDATION, UH, IN CASES LIKE THIS, THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD ALSO, UM, HAS THE ABILITY TO MOTION AND VOTE TO POSTPONE THE APPROVAL OF THE CUP.
AND, UM, THE OTHER OPTION, WHICH IS, WHICH IS SORT OF PSEUDO BEING DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW IS WHAT WE CALL THE NON VOTE OR THE, THE BOARD DOES NOT TAKE ANY ACTION ON THE ISSUE OF THE, UH, CUP APPROVAL.
YOU NEVER GONNA HEAR ME, UH, USE THE PHRASE THAT, YOU KNOW, LEGALLY SPEAKING, UH, BUT IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, COULD VIEW A NON-ACTION ON THE PART OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD AS A NON VOTE, AND THAT THE CUP WOULD THEN GO TO, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION AS A NON VOTE TO BE ACTED ON.
SO IN THE EVENT THAT THE BOARD DOES NOT WANT TO ACT ON THE CUP TODAY, MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE THAT, THAT THE BOARD MOTION AND VOTE TO POSTPONE THIS APPROVAL.
I CAN'T SAY WITH 100% CONFIDENCE THAT THAT WOULD NOT RESULT IN THE CUP BEING BROUGHT FORWARD TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
BUT IF THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD DOES NOT WANT TO VOTE TO APPROVE OR REJECT THE CUP TODAY, I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD VOTE TO POSTPONE.
IF WE ARE SENDING IT TO COMMITTEE, ISN'T THAT ALREADY A POSTPONEMENT, WE THINK IT'S BEST FOR YOU TO, YES, IT IS.
BUT WE THINK IT'S BEST FOR YOU TOO.
RIGHT? WE WANT TO AVOID ANY KIND OF, UM, UM, MISINTERPRETATION OF WHAT YOUR INTENTION IS AS A BOARD.
SO PRIOR TO THIS, WE TRIED TO RESEARCH ALL EVERY WHICH WAY.
AND SO YOU CAN CERTAINLY RECOMMEND A NOT TELLING YOU WHAT YOUR MOTION IS.
I'M SUGGESTING JUST AS TIM, THAT YOU COULD CERTAINLY MAKE A MOTION TO SEND THIS TO COMMITTEE AND POSTPONE THE ITEM UNTIL JUNE WOULD.
I REMEMBER THE MEETING DATE IN JUNE, THAT WOULD ALLOW YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEND IT TO THE CONTRACTS AND COULD MESH CONCESSIONS COMMITTEE AND BRING IT BACK THAT IN IT VERY CLEARLY OUTLINES OR DEFINES WHAT IT IS THAT YOUR INTENTION IS, YOUR INTENTION IS, IS TO DISCUSS IT IN COMMITTEE AND THEN COME BACK AND HAVE A RECOMMENDATION.
IT DOESN'T LEAVE IT UP FOR INTERPRETATION THAT YOU WERE NOT INTENDING TO VOTE ON IT.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO TRY TO GIVE YOU OPTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ABSOLUTELY CLEAR WHAT YOUR INTENTION IS.
I HOPE WE'RE NOT CONFUSING YOU MORE, WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PROVIDE CLARITY.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE BOARD MEMBER, BERNARD AND BOARD MEMBER HUFFMAN, WHERE YOU SECONDING, UH, IF WE ADDED AN AMENDMENT THERE THAT SAID FOR NOW WE'RE POSTPONING THIS DECISION ON THE CUP, WOULD THAT BE A MINIMAL? YES.
OH, I COULD SAY I MOVED TO POSTPONE A VOTE ON THE REPUBLIC SQUARE CUP UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING IN JUNE, IN THE MEANTIME, HOW CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS COMMITTEE RESEARCH GUIDELINES AND CREATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COUNSEL ON ALCOHOL SALES IN CITY PARKS AND OTHER PARKLAND FACILITIES.
LET'S TAKE A VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION ON THE TABLE.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE UNANIMOUS ANYBODY OPPOSED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I THINK I CALLED YOU MOLLY ANDERSON BECAUSE WE JUST HAD HEIDI ANDERSON.
[B.5. Discussion and possible action on Parks and Recreation Board near and long-term goal setting.]
WE HAVE ON THE ITEM, UH, IS ITEM FIVE.AND THIS IS, THIS IS ADMINISTRATIVE FOR THE BOARD.
SINCE WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE A, UM, SECRET PRIVATE MEETING AND DO ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS TOGETHER, I WANTED TO SORT OF BRING TO THE ATTENTION JUST TO SORT OF PUBLICLY TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO CONSIDER AS A BOARD IS OUR, UM, OUR GOALS FOR THE YEAR, SO THAT WE CAN BE A LITTLE BIT MORE STRATEGIC IN WHAT WE BRING BEFORE THE AGENDA AND HOW WE ADDRESS THINGS AND HOW WE PUT THINGS TOGETHER.
[01:45:01]
UM, THERE'S THE FIRST PART I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IS THE IDEAS, UM, YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY ALL BEEN VERY HELPFUL THIS WEEK.I NOTED THAT EVERYBODY WROTE IN QUESTIONS AND HAVE BEEN READING AHEAD OF TIME AND ASKING QUESTIONS.
AND I THINK THAT MADE THINGS GO A LOT MORE SMOOTHLY TODAY FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, THERE'S ONE THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS ABOUT DOING THOSE QUESTIONS BEHIND THE SCENE, AND THAT IS, I KNOW THAT SOMETIMES WE COME WITH PARTICULAR EYES ON US FROM OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR CONSTITUENTS WHERE THEY WANT US TO ADDRESS AN ISSUE.
AND SO WE FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO SAY IT IN THE MEETING.
AND SO, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS ON HOW MAYBE WE LIST SOMEWHERE IN THE BACKUP, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE GONE AROUND ON EMAIL BEFOREHAND, IF PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE SENDING IN THEIR QUESTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, ATTACHING THEIR NAMES, MAYBE WE COULD HAVE, UM, A LIST THAT THE PUBLIC HAD ACCESS OF THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.
DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE? UH, YES.
BOARD STAFF COULD, UH, PREPARE SIMILAR TO A CITY COUNCIL MEETING, UH, UH, QUESTION AND ANSWER DOCUMENT.
I THINK THAT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT I COULD ADJUST TO.
I THINK THE, THE REASON I MIGHT NOT HAVE DONE THAT UP TO THIS POINT IS A FEELING THAT I SEND THE BOARD TOO MANY EMAILS AS ALREADY AND NOT WANTING TO INUNDATE THEM, BUT, UH, IF THE WAS DESIRED BY THE BOARD THAT, UH, QUESTIONS REGARDING UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS BE CONSOLIDATED INTO A SINGLE EMAIL OR DOCUMENT, I COULD PROVIDE THAT GOING FORWARD.
MAYBE INSTEAD OF SENDING IT AS AN EMAIL, WE COULD POST IT BECAUSE THEN IF ANY CONSTITUENTS WANTED TO LOOK AT THE BACKUP, THEY COULD SEE WHAT QUESTIONS HAD ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED.
IF THAT MAKES SENSE, THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE.
YOU GUYS THINK THAT'S A GOOD PLAN.
DOES THAT HELP THE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO HAVE THEIR EYES, THEIR QUESTIONS OUT THERE? OKAY, GOOD.
SO THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, WHICH I ALREADY BORED YOU WITH, I WON'T MAKE MY WHOLE LETTER PART OF THE THING, BUT ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS THINKING ABOUT AS WE STARTED IN A NEW TERM WAS THAT, UM, SORT OF PUTTING OUT THERE THAT THE THINGS THAT ARE PRIORITIES FOR ME ARE BEST, UH, HOW WE CAN BEST PROVIDE PARKS RELATED SERVICES TO RESIDENTS, HOW WE CAN RECTIFY ISSUES THAT PREVENT SOME UNDERSERVED RESIDENTS FROM ACCESSING PARKS TO PRESERVE THE NATURAL PARKLANDS AND ECOLOGY THAT MAKE AUSTIN LIVABLE AND TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO RECOGNIZE CITIZENS OF ALL ECONOMIC LEVELS AND ETHNICITIES WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR COMMUNITIES HISTORICALLY.
SO I WANTED TO ALSO JUST SORT OF THROW THIS OPEN INFORMALLY, IF ANYBODY ELSE HAD THINGS THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD.
AND IF YOU THINK OF THEM LATER, I THINK IT WOULD BE PERFECTLY FINE TO JUST EMAIL ALL, YOU KNOW, WE CAN EMAIL THEM AND SORRY, TIM, BUT EMAILED HIM.
AND THEN WE CAN ALL SEE WHAT SORT OF THOSE THINGS ARE JUST TO SORT OF GET US SOME, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH THINGS ON OUR AGENDA, W WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS AND HOW CAN WE MAKE A MARK ON THE CITY OR HELP THE CITY IN THE WAYS THAT WE WANT TO, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS? UM, I'M GOING TO GO AROUND LIKE, LIKE CHAIR AMERITAS HAD A REALLY GOOD PLAN.
SO, UM, CAN I START, MAYBE WITH THE PEOPLE ONLINE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FIRST BOARD MEMBER PAST VICE-PRESIDENT FILES? SORRY.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? NOT AT THIS TIME.
UM, I AM REALLY ON BOARD WITH THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU ALREADY LISTED AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY COME UP FOR ME.
UM, TIME AND TIME AGAIN ON THE BOARD IS, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY MORE FRONTLINE STAFF WE REALLY NEED IN OUR PARKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S LIFEGUARDS, UM, MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN, SUMMER CAMP STAFF, PARK RANGERS.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S, UH, THAT SEEMS TO BE A HUGE PIECE IN THE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN, UH, PROVIDE MORE ACCESS AND BETTER PROVIDE SERVICES.
SO I'M, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN FOCUSING ON THAT AS A PRIORITY.
SO THANK YOU FOR COMING UP WITH THIS IDEA.
I THINK IT'S A WONDERFUL IDEA.
AND I THINK, UM, WE IT'LL, IT'LL GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY, UM, PUT SOME DEEPER THOUGHT INTO WHAT OUR GOALS ARE, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
REMEMBER, RINALDI DID WITH ALL THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU ALREADY MENTIONED, AND I COULD PROBABLY COME UP WITH SOME MORE, BUT I'D LIKE TO THINK ABOUT IT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE AND THEN SEND AN EMAIL.
I AGREE WITH YOUR PRIORITIES ALSO, UM, I HAD ONE CLARIFYING QUESTION ABOUT, UH, SPONSORING ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN? AND THE SPONSORSHIP ALSO MEAN ENDORSEMENT, AND YOU WILL HOLD THAT THOUGHT.
I AM GOING, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION RIGHT AFTER THIS GOALS.
I GUESS THE ONLY OTHER THING I WANTED TO ADD WAS JUST TRYING TO THINK OF WAYS TO IMPROVE CITIZEN.
YOU KNOW, THE AGENDA IS STILL GET POSTED JUST LIKE A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE WE HAVE THE MEETING.
UM, I NEED TO LOOK INTO THIS MORE, BUT I KNOW, LIKE WE HAVE A COMMUNITY REGISTRY LISTS AND OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
THEY HAVE REALLY COMPREHENSIVE LISTS
[01:50:01]
OF NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND WHERE THEY ARE IN TOWN.AND WE HAVE GIS MAPS THAT SHOW WHERE ALL THE DIFFERENT PARKS ARE.
IF WE COULD JUST LINE THINGS UP TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION THAT'S OVER THAT AREA AND JUST AUTOMATICALLY SEND THEM AN EMAIL, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATED YOUR MESSAGE AND AGREE WITH ALL THE PRIORITIES AS WELL AS THE OTHER THINGS THAT THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE MENTIONED.
UM, I THINK WE'LL ALSO BE DOING SOME MORE THINKING ON IT AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY GET BACK WITH YOU.
THANK YOU, BOARD MEMBER DIPLOMA.
I LOVE YOUR PRIORITIES AND YOUR DESIRE FOR EFFICIENCY AND CLARITY AND ALL THIS PROCESS.
SO I'M SURE I'LL COME UP WITH SOME QUESTIONS.
SO NOW BACK TO WHAT BOARD MEMBER MOORE BROUGHT UP, UM, WE HAVE, I'M GOING TO ASK, UM, TIM TO EXPLAIN FOR EVERYBODY WHAT THIS IS, BECAUSE THIS CAME OUT OF A TRAINING THAT, UM, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE I BELIEVE GAVE RIGHT IN APRIL.
SO IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE SPONSORING ABSOLUTELY.
AND JUST TO TOUCH ON THE PREVIOUS POINT ONLY BRIEFLY, UM, FROM A STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, ONE OF THE GREAT BENEFITS OF HAVING A BOARD SET OUT LONGER TERM PRIORITIES FOR ITSELF SIX OR 12 MONTHS, IS THAT THE WORK THAT STAFF DOES TO PREPARE AND RESEARCH AND PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE BOARD THAT HARD WORK CAN THEN CARRY FORWARD ACROSS MULTIPLE MEETINGS.
AND WE KNOW THAT WE'LL BE ADDRESSING THE ISSUES THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO THE BOARD MEMBERS AND, AND WORKING TOWARDS A RESOLUTION THAT REALLY FEELS MEANINGFUL FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL.
SO THERE IS A SORT OF A LOGISTICAL AND A WORKLOAD IMPACT TO THIS GOAL SETTING AS WELL.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE CHAIR FOR CONSIDERING IT, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UM, THE ISSUE OF SPONSORSHIP FOR AGENDA ITEMS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A REQUIREMENT OR AT LEAST WAS A REQUIREMENT BEFORE, UH, I BEGAN SERVING AS THE BOARD LIAISON.
THE REASON FOR IT IS THAT, UH, ITEMS THAT, UM, WOULD NOT KIND OF RECEIVE A MAJORITY OF SPONSORSHIP FROM BOARD MEMBERS INSTILL BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA THAT IT STILL PROVIDES THAT AVENUE OR THAT MECHANISM, THAT ISSUES CAN BE HEARD BY THE BOARD, EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE BOARD MEMBERS DON'T HAVE A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN IT.
THE SPONSORSHIP REQUIREMENT IS THAT, UM, TWO BOARD MEMBERS SPONSOR AN ITEM IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA.
I THINK UP TO THIS POINT, THE WORKFLOW FOR SETTING AGENDA ITEMS HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT FROM THAT.
BUT, UH, IT IS A GOOD MARKER THAT THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE TAKING UP, UM, DO YOU HAVE THE SUPPORTIVE BOARD MEMBERS, UH, A NATURAL QUESTION FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO THAT REQUIREMENT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ABOUT ITEMS THAT, UM, THE STAFF BRING FORWARD THAT THEY'D LIKE TO PRESENT ON OR, OR SPECIFICALLY THOSE ITEMS THAT, UH, CITY COUNCIL OR A CITY CODE REQUIRE BOARD MEMBERS TO ACT ON IN THE CASE OF COUNSELOR CODE? UM, THOSE ITEMS DO NOT NEED SPONSORSHIP IN ORDER TO BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA.
UH, HOWEVER, UH, THE CITY CLERK REMINDS US THAT THAT IT'S PERFECTLY OKAY FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO SPONSOR THOSE ITEMS JUST AS A MATTER OF DECORUM, AS A MATTER OF KIND OF SUPPORT THAT, THAT THEY THINK THAT THEY'RE DESERVING OF BEING PUBLIC OR PUBLICLY HEARD.
I'D ALSO SAY THAT THAT KIND OF SENSE OF DECORUM WOULD EXTEND TO ITEMS THAT ARE BEING BROUGHT FORWARD BY, UM, THE DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT HAS ITEMS THAT THEY PREPARED INFORMATION ON THAT THEY WANT THE BOARD TO HEAR.
UM, AND SO THEY'D LOOK TO BOARD MEMBERS TO, TO SEE THAT WORK AND, AND RECOGNIZE THAT IT SHOULD BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA.
UH, YOU KNOW, NOTING HOW VALUABLE THE BOARD'S TIME IS, UH, THE LAST, UH, UH, ASPECT OF IT THAT I'LL, I'LL MENTION.
AND I DEFER ENTIRELY TO THE CHAIR AND TO THE REST OF THE BOARD ON THIS MATTER, BUT I KNOW THAT IT'S, IT'S SORT OF, UH, IN THE LARGER OR BROADER INTEREST OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD THAT OUR MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS, UH, UH, DON'T EXTEND, UH, FULLY TO 10:00 PM OR EVEN BEYOND WHICH I KNOW HAS BEEN KIND OF A RECURRING THEME IN OUR MEETINGS.
SO, UH, IN THE EVENT THAT, UH, THE BOARD CHOSE TO, YOU KNOW, LIMIT THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS ON ANY GIVEN AGENDA ITEM, UH, IT'S CONSIDERED, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD CONSIDER THE FACT THAT THOSE BOARD MEMBERS THAT WANTED TO SPONSOR A GIVEN AGENDA ITEM WOULD BE GIVEN THE FIRST RIGHT OF PREFERENCE TO SPEAK ON, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THE, THE BOARD MEETING KIND OF WOULDN'T EXTEND PAST THE SCHEDULED END TIME.
SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER.
SO AM I, MY REQUEST VITTA STAFF, IF YOU GUYS, UH, HAVE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON AND YOU WOULD LIKE SPONSORS INSTEAD OF US FRANTICALLY SCRAMBLING THE WEEK BEFORE TO FIND THE SPONSORS, MAYBE THOSE NEED TO BE BROUGHT UP AT THE PREVIOUS MEETING AND NEW BUSINESS.
WOULD THAT, WOULD THAT MAKE ANY SENSE? YES, I THINK THAT COULD, UH, ABSOLUTELY MAKE SENSE AS TO, TO BRING IT UP, UH, IN THE PRIOR MEETING, UH, OR IF WE COULD FIND SOME, UH, ADDITIONAL WAY
[01:55:01]
TO UTILIZE, UH, AN EMAILED WORKFLOW SO THAT BOARD MEMBERS ARE AWARE OF COMING AGENDA ITEMS, AND THEN THEY'D BE RECEIVED THAT SPONSORSHIP.SO EVERYBODY'S ON BOARD WITH THAT.
LET ME SEE IF I'VE GOT EVERYTHING COVERED HERE.
I'M JUST MAKING SURE I DIDN'T SKIP ANYTHING.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT? NOPE, WE'RE GOOD.
[B.6. Discussion and possible action on appointment to the Parks and Recreation Board Contracts and Concessions Committe]
TO ITEM SIX, WHICH IS, UM, NOW THAT I AM AN EX-OFFICIO, I NEED TO REAPPOINT US A BOARD MEMBER TO SIT ON CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS.AND, UM, IF I COULD GET A SECOND, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, NOMINATE BOARD MEMBER LOUIS TO BE THAT PERSON ON CONTRACTS AND CONCESSIONS.
WOULD YOU, WOULD YOU ACCEPT? YES.
WE HAVE ONE, ONE, UH, ALL OPPOSED.
ARE YOU ABSTAINING? AND ONE ABSTENTION.
CONGRATULATIONS, BOARD MEMBER.
[C.1. Update from South Central Waterfront Advisory Board. (Cottam Sajbel)]
ARE DOWN TO THE ITEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS.UM, I AM FIRST UP ON THE UPDATE FROM SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.
SO ALL I NEED TO TELL YOU GUYS IS THE LATEST THING THAT WE HAVE HEARD IS THE CITY IS WORKING VERY HARD TO PUT TOGETHER LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE LANGUAGE, SO THAT IF THE PET DOES NOT GO THROUGH, UM, THERE ARE REGULATIONS ALREADY IN PLACE FOR THAT PIECE OF LAND.
SO THAT I THINK THAT THE, THE, THE BUILDINGS WOULD OPT AND PEOPLE WOULD HAVE THE CHANCE TO OPT IN FOR MORE DENSITY.
YOU KNOW, IF THEY, IF THEY FULFILLED SOME OF THE THINGS IN THE ASK COLUMN, THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD GET MORE FLOOR SPACE AND MORE DENSITY AND SOME OTHER PLUSES.
SO THAT IS UNDER, UM, UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW.
AND I DON'T REALLY KNOW MUCH MORE THAN TO TELL YOU.
YOU CAN GO LOOK AT THE SCHWAB BACK-UP ON THAT.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT'S GOING ON THAT'S OF INTEREST TO SCHWAB, I MEAN, TO PARP IN PARTICULAR IS, UM, THAT COUNCIL MEMBER POOL HAD REQUESTED THAT THE SCHWAB START TO GET SOME PUBLIC INPUT ABOUT THE PARKLAND, WHAT PEOPLE ARE EXPECTING.
AND SO WE'VE REACHED OUT TO HER OFFICE.
I HAVE NOT YET HEARD BACK, I THINK THAT SHE WAS OUT, BUT, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO GET THAT UNDERWAY SO WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO SORT OF ENGAGE THE PUBLIC IN REGARD TO HOW THE PARKLAND, WHAT THEY'RE EXPECTING FOR THE PARKLAND IN THAT AREA.
[C.2. Update from Joint Working Group with the Animal Advisory Commission. (Lewis, Barnard)]
HAVE AN UPDATE FROM THE JOINT WORKING GROUP WITH THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION WITH, UM, BOARD MEMBER LEWIS AND BOARD MEMBER BERNARD.SO IF YOU COULD, UM, PULL UP THE POWERPOINT, OUR, UH, COMMISSION ACTUALLY COMPLETED ITS WORK AND WE WANTED TO JUST KIND OF LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE DID AND WHAT OUR CONCLUSIONS.
AND SO I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND, UM, BOARD MEMBER BERNARD IS GOING TO DO THE SECOND HALF OF THIS PRESENTATION.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND JUST START US OUT.
SO, AND I DO WANT TO ALSO ASK, UM, DIRECTOR MCNEELY, IF SHE HAS ANYTHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS, TO JUST, YOU KNOW, INTERJECT BECAUSE SHE WAS, UM, ALSO, UH, A MAJOR PART OF THIS GROUP.
SO, UM, ANYWAYS, WE HAD OUR AWFULLY STALKS WORKING GROUP AND IF WE COULD GO AHEAD AND GET THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO THIS GROUP WAS COMPRISED OF COMPRISED OF MYSELF, KIND OF, IT WAS A JOINT COMMISSION BETWEEN THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION AND, UM, PARKS BOARD.
SO IT WAS BOARD MEMBER BERNARD AND MYSELF WERE REPRESENTATIVES FROM PARKS BOARD.
AND THEN WE HAD CRAIG NASER AND JOANNE NORTON FROM THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND THEN WE HAD STAFF MEMBERS FROM BOTH, UM, PART FOUR, UH, DIRECTOR MCNEELY AND SOME PEOPLE AT THE ANIMAL CENTER.
SO, UM, SO WITH THIS, BUT WE DID, THIS WAS KIND OF INITIATED FROM CONCERNS THAT BOTH SOMEWHAT AT PARKS, BUT I GUESS QUITE A BIT WITH THE, THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION THAT THERE WAS IN OUR COMMUNITY, THERE WAS GROWING CONCERN ABOUT AWFULLY STOCKS AND A LOT OF COMPLAINTS.
AND IF YOU GOT ON NEXT DOOR OR ANY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD FORUMS, TALK TO PEOPLE, PEOPLE WOULD COME IN AND TALK TO THE COMMISSIONS ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT AWFULLY STALKS.
AND IT'S KIND OF LIKE, THERE'S THIS, UM, DYNAMIC BETWEEN THOSE WITH DOGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE MY DOG, I CAN TAKE IT TO A PARK.
I DON'T WANT TO CARRY IT ON A LEASED BECAUSE THIS IS A PARK
[02:00:01]
AND I WANT MY DOG TO RUN.AND EVEN IF THE DOG CAN'T, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, I WANNA MAKE MY DOG HAPPY AND MY DOGS PERFECT AND IT'S GOING TO BEHAVE WELL.
AND THEN YOU HAVE THE PEOPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, WERE HAD ENCOUNTERS WITH DOGS THAT KIND OF ENDED UP IN PRECARIOUS OR NOT SO GREAT SITUATIONS.
SO THEY, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP OR THE, YOU KNOW, THE CONCERN WITH DOGS RUNNING UP TO SMALL CHILDREN OR SENIORS, THERE WAS ALWAYS THE POOP ISSUE.
THERE WAS, THERE WAS NO ENFORCEMENT FOR THIS.
THERE WAS, UM, A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT DOGS GETTING INTO FIGHTS THAT WERE ACTUALLY, I THINK, DOGS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN KILLED.
AND SO THERE WAS JUST A LOT GOING ON.
AND SO WE, UM, WE KIND OF TOOK ALL THOSE CONCERNS AND NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND WE LOOKED AT THE DIFFERENT ISSUES.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WAS THAT NOT THAT PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T REALLY EITHER THEY CHOSE NOT TO, OR THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT THE AWFULLY STOCK POLICY WAS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND THEY WOULD JUST, UM, AND THEY MAY BE NEW TO AUSTIN OR THAT IT DIDN'T GET ENOUGH PUBLICITY, BUT THEY, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS DEFINITELY SOME MISAM FORMATION THAT WAS OUT THERE.
UM, AND THAT THE AWFULLY STRIKES THAT WERE ON PARKLAND THAT WERE EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE SIGNS THAT SAY, KEEP YOUR DOG ON.
AT LEAST PEOPLE WERE STILL TAKING THEIR DOGS OFF WITH THE LEACH.
AND AGAIN, THERE WAS THIS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, UM, POLARIZATION WITH THE PEOPLE WHO WERE REALLY FEELING THE STRESS OF ASLEEP DOGS AND THEN THE PEOPLE WHO FELT THEIR DOGS COULD BEHAVE WELL.
SO, UM, AND THEN AS FAR AS TRYING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT, TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE COMPLIED WITH THE LAW, THERE JUST DIDN'T SEEM TO BE MUCH ACTION HAPPENING WITH THAT.
AND PEOPLE WEREN'T SURE WHAT TO DO.
SO WE'D LOOKED AT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I MEAN, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS ALL A LOT AND THIS JUST KIND OF SHOWS YOU WHAT THE, THERE ARE SOME, OBVIOUSLY SOME LAWS ON THE BOOK IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN RELATING TO DOGS AND, UM, WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO AS A DOG OWNER.
AND OF COURSE THE ONE THAT WE FOCUSED ON WAS THE, THERE IS A LAW THAT SAYS, OR UNDER THE, UM, THE CODE THAT SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR DOGS ON A LEASE AND UNDER CONTROL ALL AREAS THAT ARE NOT DESIGNATED AS OFF-LEASH.
AND THAT SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T REALLY, UM, UNDERSTAND THAT PARTICULAR LAW OR CODE.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLAINTS WE GET WAS THAT THERE WAS NO ENFORCEMENT THAT YOU HAVE THIS CODE, THERE'S NO ENFORCEMENT.
AND SO PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT TO DO.
AND I THINK THAT'S FRUSTRATING FOR SOME PEOPLE.
I MEAN, IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOMETHING OUT THERE, YOU PROBABLY DO NEED TO BE FIGURING OUT SOME WAY TO ENFORCE IT.
AND IF YOU LOOKED AT THOSE TWO PARTICULAR AGENCIES, BUT WITH ANIMAL, UM, THE ANIMAL CONTROL CENTER AND THE PARTS DEPARTMENT, THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO IT.
THE ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS, THERE'S 21.
AND THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF, YOU KNOW, ANIMAL RELATED ISSUES TO DEAL WITH.
AND SO GETTING THEM OUT THERE WAS CHALLENGING.
AND AS WE ALL KNOW, PARK RANGERS HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO DO SO THAT WAS ALSO, UM, UNLIKELY THAT WE WERE GOING TO GET ALL OF THEM OUT THERE TOO.
SO WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING THAT THE ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITIES WERE LIMITED, WE TALKED ABOUT OTHER SOLUTIONS.
AND ONE THING WE SPENT A GOOD BIT TALKING ABOUT WAS AN EDUCATION CAMPAIGN TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD ABOUT DOGS AND TRY TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO KEEP THEIR DOGS ON A LEASH.
AND WE, UM, THERE WAS SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS.
ONE WAS A FOCUS GROUP, WHICH ACTUALLY DID HAPPEN AND WHICH NANCY WILL, UM, TOUCH ON AND THEN CREATING A SPEAKERS BUREAU SO THAT PEOPLE, IF THEY WANT THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP, OR THEY WANT OTHERS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT POLICIES ABOUT AWFULLY STALKS, THAT THEY HAVE SOMEBODY WHO CAN COME OUT AND SPEAK TO THEM.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE SPENT A GOOD BIT ABOUT TALKING ABOUT WAS A MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND TRYING TO, UM, JUST GET OUT THERE IN PUBLIC AND EDUCATE PEOPLE THROUGH FLYERS, THROUGH, UM, PUBLIC PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENTS.
WE TALKED ABOUT FLYERS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY BILLS, BUT THOSE ARE KIND OF PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE FUNDING, OF COURSE, WAS AN ISSUE.
AND DIRECTOR MCNEILLY MCNEILLY DID GET SOME FUNDING FOR ONE OF THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE, WHICH IS TO GET A, UM, A JINGLE, WELL, WE CALL IT A JINGLE OR A SONG THAT PEOPLE COULD KIND OF LISTEN TO AND KIND OF GO, OH,
[02:05:01]
THAT'S KIND OF CATCHY.AND I'M GOING TO LISTEN TO THIS BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF CATCHY AND IT KIND OF EDUCATES YOU ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO KEEP YOUR DOG ON A LEASH.
AND AGAIN, A BOARD MEMBER BERNARD, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THAT WE THERE'S A NEED TO EXPAND AWFULLY STORE AREAS.
THERE'S SOME PARKS THAT HAVE THEM IN SOME DON'T PEOPLE TEND TO KIND OF CREATE THEIR OWN IF THEY DON'T HAVE THEM.
AND THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LOOK INTO, UM, WITH PARKS IS TRYING TO FIND MORE AREAS THAT WE COULD, UM, EXPAND AND CREATE THOSE.
SO PEOPLE WOULD HAVE MORE PLACES TO TAKE THEIR, THEIR DOGS SO THEY COULD BE OFF LEASH, UM, BARK RANGERS, WHICH WERE ANOTHER ONE OF THE PARKS, UM, DEPARTMENTS KIND OF COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT THEY, UM, HAVE USED IN THE PAST THAT ARE PEOPLE THAT REALLY CAN GO OUT AND EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR DOGS, NOT JUST ABOUT THIS ISSUE, BUT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY NEED TO CLEAN UP AFTER THEM AND, UM, KEEP THEM SAFE AND MAKE SURE THEY HAVE WATER AND ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS TO EXPANDING THEIR, UM, THEIR ROLE.
AND THEN JUST CREATING KIND OF, UM, LITTLE GIVEAWAYS THAT COULD ATTRACT PEOPLE TO COME TO, UM, TABLES.
I MEAN, WE, WE ACTUALLY HAD AN EVENT AT THE KITE FESTIVAL, WHICH TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE, TO KEEP THEIR DOGS OFF LEASH AND COMBINED WITH, UM, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT THE ANIMAL, UM, CENTER WAS DOING.
THERE WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS A REALLY, WE REALIZED AS WE TALKED ABOUT IT AND TALKED ABOUT IT AND TALKED ABOUT IT, IT'S A, IT'S A CHALLENGING PROBLEM, BUT WE DID, UM, FOLLOW UP WITH SOME OF THESE THINGS AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO, TO BOARD MEMBER BENARD SO SHE CAN LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE, UM, WHAT WE DID.
UM, SO AS A BOARD MEMBER, LOUIS IS ALREADY MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT WAS DOING FLYERS.
WE HAD CONSIDERED PUTTING IT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY BILL, UM, BUT DECIDED THAT THAT WAS TOO COSTLY.
UM, AND SO WE CAME UP WITH SOME, UH, PRINT FLYERS, UM, THAT JUST KIND OF LAY OUT THE RULES, UM, THAT ADDRESSED A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, BUT ALSO THAT LIST, UM, WHERE THERE ARE OFF-LEASH AREAS FOR PEOPLE TO GO AND, UH, TAKE THEIR DOGS AND ALSO JUST SORT OF DOG PARK ETIQUETTE AND IN GENERAL, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WORK ON, WHICH I THINK WE'RE ALL REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WAS, UH, COMING UP WITH, UH, SOME JINGLES.
UM, AND THE IDEA WITH THAT IS WE ENGAGE TWO LOCAL MUSICIANS, UM, AND THEY WORKED WITH PARD AND THEN, UH, WROTE ORIGINAL SONGS, UM, TO TRY AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO KEEP THEIR DOGS ON A LEASH.
UM, AND THESE MUSICIANS WERE KEVIN RUSSELL AND ANDREA MUGGY.
AND, UM, WE'D LIKE TO PLAY A, ABOUT A MINUTE OF EACH SONG FOR, FOR THE BOARD AND A HUG THAT'S FILLED WITH YOU GOT TO TEACH.
[02:10:01]
SO I GOT TO TREAT THEMUH, AND SO IT HASN'T BEEN, UM, THE FINAL CUT HASN'T BEEN COMPLETED, BUT IT WILL ALSO HAVE AN ACCOMPANYING VIDEO AND OUR PARKS AND RECREATION TEAM, SOME OF OUR INDIVIDUALS THAT WORK WITH CAMACHO AND DO A LOT OF THAT FILMING WORK.
UM, THEY WORKED WITH KEVIN RUSSELL AND SOME OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO BE ABLE TO CREATE THAT.
SO WHEN THAT'S DONE, WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY SHARE IT WITH YOU, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT BOTH OF THEM HAVE, HAVE A VIDEO.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I GOT EMOTIONAL, BUT THANK YOU GUYS.
THANK YOU BOARD FOR, FOR SHARING THOSE.
UM, AND I THINK THE IDEA IS THAT, UH, WE WILL PROMOTE THE VIDEOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE MUSICIANS WILL ALSO BE, UM, PROMOTING THE VIDEOS ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AS WELL, TOO.
UM, IF I COULD GET THE NEXT SLIDE OKAY.
UM, SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID TO ALSO HELP RAISE AWARENESS WAS WE HAD THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, UM, KIND OF, WE VISIT THEIR WEBSITE TO MAKE THIS INFORMATION A LOT EASIER TO FIND.
WE HAD, UM, COMPLAINTS THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHERE TO FIND THIS INFORMATION.
IT WASN'T SUPER USER INTUITIVE.
AND SO THEY HAD BEEN WORKING ON THAT, UM, AND ALSO ADDING, UH, OFF-LEASH ISSUES TO THEIR CHAT BOX SO THAT THEY CAN INTERACT WITH THE PUBLIC A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, AS A BOARD MEMBER, LOUIS ALSO MEANT, ALREADY MENTIONED, WE HAD A BOOTH AT THE ZILKER KITE FESTIVAL TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, ALSO A NEW, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATOR WAS HIRED.
UM, AND THAT PERSON WILL BE CREATING A VIDEO SPECIFICALLY ABOUT LEASH LAWS IN OTHER ANIMAL ISSUES.
UM, AND THE PARK RANGERS ARE GOING TO OFFER, UH, CITIZEN EDUCATION AT LOCATIONS SPECIFICALLY AT LOCATIONS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED A HIGH CALL VOLUME TWO, THREE, ONE, ONE ABOUT OFF-LEASH DOG ISSUES.
SO, UM, ARD UNDER THEIR GUIDANCE PUT TOGETHER A FOCUS GROUP, UM, CONSISTING OF LOCAL CITIZENS.
AND WHAT WE DID WAS WE HAD THIS GROUP REVIEW, UM, THE GUIDELINES AND POLICIES FOR REQUESTING A NEW OFF-LEASH AREA AND ALSO SOME OF THE FIRES AND DOCUMENTS THAT WERE CREATED, UH, THAT SPELL OUT EXACTLY WHAT THE LAWS ARE, UM, AND ETIQUETTE AND ALL OF THAT.
AND OVERALL, THE PARTICIPANTS FELT THAT THE DOCUMENT WAS, WAS SOLID AND THEY LIKE WHAT THEY SAW.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE FOCUS GROUP TALKED ABOUT, UH, WAS FIRST OF ALL, JUST ALL THE OFF-LEASH, ALL THE AREAS THAT ARE SORT OF INFORMALLY BEING USED AS OFF-LEASH AREAS.
THESE ARE THE SAME AREAS, UM, FROM WHICH WE GET A LOT OF 3, 1, 1 CALLS AND COMPLAINTS, UH, AND THAT INCLUDES LIKE LITTLE ZILKER MABEL DAVIS BRENTWOOD, GRACIE WAS LONG VIEW IN STACEY.
UM, AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ON THESE CALLS ARE THAT THE, THEY FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE BRINGING THEIR FAMILIES TO THE PARKLAND BECAUSE OF THE OFF-LEASH DOGS.
UM, IN FACT, IN ONE INCIDENT, UH, AT LITTLE'S OCHRE, UM, THERE WAS A DOG ATTACKED, ANOTHER DOG, AND ONE OF THE DOGS LOST AN EYE IN FRONT OF THE FAMILY AND THE CHILDREN WHO WERE, WERE PRETTY TRAUMATIZED FROM THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, IN FACT, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THE GROUP HAD TALKED ABOUT HOW PEOPLE WERE USING PEPPER SPRAY, UM, TO, UH, TO DEAL WITH DOGS THAT WERE BEING AGGRESSIVE IN APPROACHING THEM.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF AN ONGOING ISSUE, I GUESS.
UM, ALSO JUST TALKING ABOUT LIKE, WELL, WHAT ARE SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS? HOW, HOW CAN WE PROVIDE SPACE FOR PEOPLE, UM, TO TAKE THEIR DOGS? UH, THEY TALKED ABOUT POSSIBLY DOING A HYBRID SOLUTION IN
[02:15:01]
PARKLAND.SO SOME DAYS WOULD BE, UH, YOU KNOW, DOGS ON LEASH AND THEN OTHER DAYS WOULD BE DOGS OFF LEASH.
THEY TALKED ABOUT MAYBE PARTNERING WITH SOME PRIVATE, UH, ENTITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE A CHURCH AND USING THAT LAND AS AN AWFULLY STOCK SPACE.
UM, THEY ALSO TALKED ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE SIGNAGE WAS REALLY VISIBLE AND ADEQUATE.
UM, AND AGAIN, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THAT INFORMATION IS EASY TO FIND ON THE WEBSITE.
NEXT SLIDE POLICE, UM, AND PARK PLANNING TEAM WILL TAKE THE LEAD ON FUTURE OFF-LEASH DOG AREAS.
UM, THE FOCUS GROUP WILL, UH, CONTINUE TO MEET AND PARTICIPATE AND, UM, I GUESS A PRESENTATION WILL BE MADE TO THIS BOARD SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
UM, SOME THINGS THAT PEOPLE CAN DO, UM, AND TO TAKE ACTION, UM, INCLUDES CALLING 3, 1, 1 TO REPORT INCIDENTS, UH, LIKE OFF-LEASH DOGS IN PUBLIC SPACES THAT ARE NOT DESIGNATED AS AN OFF-LEASH AREA.
UH, THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE IT.
A DETAILED LOCATION IN THE CITY IS CURRENTLY COLLECTING THAT DATA TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP SUPPORT FUTURE DECISIONS AND ENHANCEMENTS.
UH, PEOPLE CAN CALL 3, 1, 1 FOR HABITUAL STRAYS.
UH, THIS TYPICALLY ARE, UH, REFERS TO NEIGHBORS WHO LET THEIR DOGS OUT FRONT TO ROME.
WE'VE HAD QUITE A FEW INCIDENTS OF DOGS ATTACKING PEOPLE RIDING BY ON BIKES OR WALKING.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IN THAT CASE, THERE'S A VERY SPECIFIC PROCESS, UM, INVOLVING, UH, AN ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER, UM, THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH THE NEIGHBORS NEXT SLIDE.
UM, ANY DOGS THAT ARE HARASSING WILDLIFE, UM, DOGS THAT DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A HOME, MAYBE THEY'RE LIKE SKINNY, UM, DOGS THAT SCARE OR INJURE HUMANS, UH, IN THAT CASE, IF SOMEONE IS SEVERELY INJURED, YOU KNOW, WE DO RECOMMEND THAT THEY CALL 9 1, 1, UM, DOGS, INJURING, ANY OTHER ANIMALS, THAT SLIDE, UM, AND ANY, YOU KNOW, DOGS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, UM, THAT ARE MISBEHAVING, YOU KNOW, CONTACT THE OWNER OF THE LAND.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, ASKING FOR SPEAKER AT NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS JUST TO PROVIDE, UH, EDUCATION.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT LIKE, UH, BOARD MEMBER LOUIS AND I WERE THINKING ABOUT, UM, IS JUST AS THE CITY GROWS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MORE PEOPLE MOVE HERE.
WE ARE GOING TO NEED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUES ON TIME IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO KIND OF DO WHAT THEY WANT.
I MEAN, WE COULD PROVIDE SIGNAGE, WE CAN TRY TO EDUCATE AS MUCH AS WE CAN, BUT THERE ARE, THERE IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO LET THEIR DOGS GO OFF LEASH.
UM, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT MAYBE WORKING ON A RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO INCLUDE SOME AMOUNT OF LAND AS AN OFF-LEASH DOG PARK AREA IN ALL FUTURE PARKLAND DEVELOPMENTS.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE MORE THING, UM, THAT THOSE MUSICAL MESSAGES, LIKE, LIKE A BOARD MEMBER LEWIS AND BERNARD BERNARD SAID THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FIND FUNDING.
THEY WERE ACTUALLY FUNDED BY OUR PARTNERS AND AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION AND OUR PARTNERS IN THE TRAIL FOUNDATION.
SO I DIDN'T REALLY FIND MONEY.
I JUST ASKED OUR PARTNERS IF THEY WOULD HELP US AND THEY WERE WILLING TO DO THAT.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WITH, UM, WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION, WITH THIS, UM, PRESENTATION COMING FORWARD TO UPDATE YOU, UH, I WILL BE WORKING WITH, UM, SOME OF OUR STAFF TO SEE WHAT OUR CAPACITY IS TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THOSE GUIDELINES.
AND THEN COME BACK TO THIS BOARD WITH SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE'LL TRY TO DO THAT IMPLEMENTATION AND THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE PART OF THIS.
I JUST NEED YOU TO KNOW IT WON'T BE IN JUNE, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY WORK ON IT.
AND I WILL KEEP, UM, CHAIR COTTON.
CYBIL AWARE OF WHEN WE THINK WE'LL HAVE THE CAPACITY TO, UM, FULLY PLAN FOR IT AND THEN BEGIN IMPLEMENTATION.
ALL OF YOU FOR THAT GOOD PRESENTATION.
UM, DOWNTOWN COMMISSION BOARD MEMBER, TAYLOR'S ABSENT.
SO I'M ASSUMING WE DON'T HAVE A UPDATE FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY
[C.4. Update from Joint Sustainability Committee. (DePalma, Rinaldi)]
COMMITTEE.WE'VE GOT BOARD MEMBER, DEPALMA AND BOARD MEMBER RENALDI, ANYTHING TO SAY A BOARD MEMBER AND ALL THESE, THE ALTERNATIVE.
UH, I'M GOING TO SEE IF SHE'LL ATTEND THIS WEEK'S MEETING.
SO THE ALTERNATIVE ALTERNATIVE, AND, UH, BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S PRETTY GOOD AGENDA FOR THIS COMING WEEK.
[02:20:01]
AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, THE LAST MEETING WAS DISCUSSION REGARDING THE FUEL TANKS.WE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY, UH, AGAINST THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH THE FUEL TANKS AND FOR THEM TO DO FOR THEIR STUDY.
UNFORTUNATELY, COUNCIL DID NOT TAKE THAT ACTION, UM, BUT BY FAYETTE COAL PLANT WALL, SO BE ON THE AGENDA.
SO IS IT OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, UPDATE FROM THE ZILKER PARK VISION PLAN, WORKING GROUP, UM, BOARDS, MEMBERS, LEWIS, DEPALMA, FOSTER TAYLOR.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE A COMMENT ON THAT ONE? NO UPDATES.
SO WE ARE NOW AT THE DIRECTOR'S
[D. DIRECTOR’S REPORT ON PROGRAM AND PROJECT UPDATES AND EVENTS]
REPORT.I'LL JUST VERY QUICKLY HIGHLIGHT A FEW THINGS ON THE VERY FIRST PAGE.
YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S TWO DEDICATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
THAT OF COURSE, ALL PARKS BOARD MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.
ONE IS FOR THE, UH, DOWNFIELD GRAND STANDS DEDICATION, AND IT'S TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 10TH, BUT WE'RE WAITING ON, UM, SOME OF OUR PARTNERS TO BE ABLE TO TELL US THAT THAT'S THE DATE THAT WILL WORK FOR THEM.
AND THEN THE SECOND ONE IS THE BOMA OVERTON SENIOR BEACH DEDICATION CEREMONY, WHICH IS THE VERY NEXT DAY ON JUNE 11TH.
AND THAT WAS A ITEM BROUGHT FORWARD TO RENAME WHAT WE USUALLY CALL OR WHAT WE USED TO CALL A MAR BEACH TO RENAME IT FOR MR. OVERTON, UH, ON PAGE THREE, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, THERE IS AN UPDATE REGARDING THE HIRING OF LIFEGUARDS.
UH, WE'VE HAD 632 LIFEGUARD APPLICATIONS, 207 GUARDS.
WE'RE READY TO WORK AS, UH, THIS PRINTING.
BUT TODAY I BELIEVE THAT THAT NUMBER IS NOW UP TO 234.
AND I DO WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT, UM, WE HAVE SEEN A LARGE INCREASE.
I'M GOING TO SAY A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOW SIGNING UP FOR LIFEGUARD CLASSES.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS IS THAT IN MINIMUM QUALIFICATION TO BE A LIFEGUARD, IS THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LIFEGUARD CERTIFICATION.
AND SO WE PROVIDE LIFEGUARDS THAT ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BEING A LIFEGUARD.
WE PROVIDE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME FOR TRAINING.
WE USED TO CHARGE THEM $20 FOR THAT TRAINING, AND YES, THEY HAVE TO INVEST IN AMOUNT OF TIME AND GETTING TRAINED TO BE A LIFEGUARD, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PASS THE TEST BEFORE WE CAN HIRE YOU AS A LIFEGUARD.
SO NOW WE PROVIDE YOU THAT TRAINING AT NO COST.
THEN THANK YOU, THANKS TO THE DECISION THAT THE CITY COUNCIL MADE TO WAIVE TRAINING FEE.
AND THAT JUST MEANS THAT INDIVIDUALS DO HAVE TO DEDICATE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME TO BE ABLE TO BECOME A LIFEGUARD, BUT IT'S A MINIMUM QUALIFICATION.
AND IT ABSOLUTELY IS AN ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATION BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE CERTIFICATION, THEN YOU CAN'T BE A LIFEGUARD.
AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE A MECHANISM TO PAY INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT ALREADY ON THE PAYROLL, RIGHT? WHO ARE NOT EMPLOYEES.
AND SO A SUGGESTION THAT WE NEED TO PAY PEOPLE FOR THEIR TRAINING.
THAT'S A, IT'S A DIFFICULT THING FOR US TO WORK THROUGH BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE CONSIDERED A LIFEGUARD UNLESS YOU HAVE THE CERTIFICATION.
BUT GOOD NEWS IS, IS THAT WE HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR LIFEGUARDING CLASSES AND WE'RE STARTING TO GET BACK TO PRE COVID NUMBERS.
SO BY WAY OF EXAMPLE, WE USED TO HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD SIGN UP FOR LIFEGUARDING CLASSES THAT WOULD BE WITHIN A CERTAIN GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME, A CERTAIN WEEK IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
AND INSTEAD OF THAT HAPPENING PREVIOUSLY, WE'RE GETTING MAYBE 15 OR MAYBE 20, WELL, NOW WE'RE UP TO ABOUT 80 FOR THIS NEXT CLASS.
THAT'S COMING UP WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEXT WEEK.
SO IT'S LOOKING, UM, IT'S NOT PERFECT.
WE'RE NOT EXACTLY WHERE WE NEED TO BE, BUT THINGS ARE LOOKING A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT BRIGHTER THAN THEY WERE EARLIER.
PAGE FOUR TALKS ABOUT, UM, MAINTENANCE COMPLETED AT DICK NICHOLS PARK.
AND I REASON WHY I'M HIGHLIGHTING THIS IS THAT IT HAS SOMETHING, IT HAS SOME SPECIFIC ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS.
AND I KNOW THAT WE, AS A BOARD HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, ADA ACCESSIBILITY.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT ONE TO YOUR ATTENTION.
UM, THERE'S MULTIPLE, THERE'S MULTIPLE PAGES WITH INFORMATION ABOUT BART CASE ERA GOSA AND THEIR 90TH ANNIVERSARY, AND ALSO A DOCUMENTARY THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED, UH, THAT TALKS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF PARQUETS ERA GOSA.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IF YOU JUST GO TO THE LAST PAGES OF, UM, PAGE 19, IT TALKS ABOUT THE PAN-AM MURRAY NAMING.
AND SO YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT RENAMING, A BALL FIELD AT PAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, AND AFTER THAT WAS COMPLETED.
AND WE MADE A DECISION TO, TO NAME THAT AFTER MR. ROBERT DURAN, UM, THERE'S NOW AN APPLICATION TO COMPLETELY RENAME THE PARK, THE PAN-AM, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD PARK.
AND IT'S GOING THROUGH THE CODE PROCESS THAT SAYS THAT THERE HAS TO BE, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND, AND RIGHT HERE, LISTEN ON PAGE 19 IS THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT HAD ALREADY HAPPENED AND THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT'S TO HAPPEN.
AND SO WE WOULD BE BRINGING FORWARD TO THIS BOARD IN JUNE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE, UH, WITH THE CODE, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT CAME
[02:25:01]
FROM THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SO THAT THE BOARD COULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ABOUT THE RENAMING OF THE PAN-AM AMERICAN, THE PAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, AND THEN CITY COUNCIL WILL TAKE THAT ITEM UP AND MAKE A FINAL REC, MAKE A FINAL DECISION AS TO WHETHER IT WOULD REMAIN THE NAME THAT IT IS OR WHETHER IT WOULD BE A NEW NAME.SO JUST BE ON YOUR, ON YOUR RADAR, THERE'S WHERE THE, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT'S HAPPENING.
AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THIS ITEM IN JUNE, AND THAT'S ALL YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THE THINGS, EXCEPT FOR, THAT'S NOT ALL EXCEPT FOR ON PAGE 20.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT TIM HAS ADDED IS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE ALL OF THE ITEMS THAT YOU HAVE ASKED FOR AND GIVE YOU AN UPDATE AS TO WHERE WE ARE IN ANSWERING THOSE, THOSE REQUESTS.
SO IS IT A MEMO, IS IT A PRESENTATION AND SORT OF KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THAT YOU MADE A REQUEST AND THAT IT'S HERE IN, IN THE, AND WE'RE, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THOSE PARTICULAR THINGS THAT WERE ASKED OF US, UM, WITH THE CAPACITY THAT WE HAVE AND THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.
UM, YOU CAN READ AT YOUR LEISURE.
[E. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ITEMS, AND I GUESS I'LL JUST GO AROUND, UM, MAYBE I'LL START WITH BOARD MEMBER HUDMAN TONIGHT.WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING TO THE FUTURE AGENDA? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AT THIS TIME.
AND I SHOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, SINCE WE NEED TO DO THE SPONSOR AND THE, AND THE SECOND WE SHOULD JUST DO THAT AS WE GO, IF, IF WE'RE, AS WE'RE GOING ALONG TONIGHT, I GUESS, RIGHT.
AND THEN WE'LL JUST HAVE IT IN.
THEN IF THERE'S ANYTHING COMING FROM YOU GUYS, LET US KNOW IF, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO COME UP.
A BOARD MEMBER DIPLOMA, YOU'RE JUST WAITING FOR THE INFORMATION ON THE EQUITY OFFICER THAT WE HAVE AND OUR EQUITY PLAN AND HOW WE ENSURE EQUITABLE DECISIONS.
WE'D LIKE TO, UH, IF YOU HAVE LIKE TWO MINUTES AFTER THIS BOARD MEETING, UM, WE, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, WE MAY HAVE ACCIDENTALLY HAD THE WRONG EMAIL ADDRESS, BUT OUR EQUITY, OUR PROGRAM AND INCLUSION, EQUITY, EQUITY, AND PROGRAM INCLUSION, OUR STAFF MEMBER REACHED OUT TO GET SOME CLARIFICATION, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS AND IS ALSO COORDINATING WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE.
BUT I JUST HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE GET IT RIGHT.
A BOARD MEMBER TO CARLOS, UM, REGARDING A COUPLE OF THE CITIZENS THAT CAME FOR THE COMMUNICATION, UH, ONE BEING THE FOX HABITAT PROTECTION AT FIESTA GARDENS.
I WAS JUST WONDERING, YOU KNOW, WHAT PART'S RESPONSE TO THAT IS I'M NOT REALLY FAMILIAR WITH THE REDEVELOPMENT THAT THEY MENTIONED, UM, IS HAPPENING THERE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WAS ALSO WANTING TO ADDRESS THE COMMENT FROM MALCOLM GATES ABOUT THE BURLESON GREENBELT PROPERTIES WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, HE MOVED TO GET A, UM, JUST PARTS RESPONSE ON THAT.
IT DOES SEEM LIKE A GOOD, UM, OPTION, BUT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT DETAILS THAN HE DID, UM, BOARD MEMBERS WITH REGARDS TO THE FOX.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT LEANNA AND I HAD HEARD ABOUT THAT.
AND WE WE'VE COME TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE, THIS, THE FACTS SITUATION HAS TO DO WITH A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT IS PART OF THE RBJ REDEVELOPMENT.
AND THAT THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME PARKLAND.
BUT RIGHT NOW IT IS NOT PARKLAND.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE DON'T, WE CAN'T HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS AND WORK THROUGH IT, BUT IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAD HEARD ABOUT IT TONIGHT.
ANYWAY, BOTTOM LINE IS, IS WE'LL GET YOU SOME INFORMATION.
OKAY, SO I'LL SECOND, THOSE SECOND, SECOND ONE THAT IS, UM, BOARD MEMBER FOR, UM, THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE ON THE AGENDA.
I'M HAPPY TO GET A MEMO INSTEAD, BUT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THE DEPARTMENT HANDLES THE CONCEPT OF REC REC CENTERS SPECIFICALLY WHEN TO OPEN A NEW REC CENTER WHEN, OR IF WE'VE EVER CLOSED ANY REC CENTERS.
UM, AND THEN THE GENERAL PROCESS FOR IDENTIFYING WHICH GET PRIORITY FOR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE PROJECTS OR ANY KIND OF ENHANCEMENT OR REVITALIZATION.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND ON THAT? OKAY.
UM, I GUESS I'M STILL WAITING FOR THE CRIME REPORT THAT I'VE ASKED FOR.
AND I KNOW I SAW ON YOUR DIRECTOR SUPPORT THAT THAT'S STILL BEING WORKED ON THAT, IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY.
AND THEN THE OTHER ITEM AGAIN, WAS THE CITIZEN COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE BUTLER PITCH AND PUTT TO SEE IF WE COULD GET SOME, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT THAT AND THAT PARTICULAR SITUATION, AND, UM, TO SEE IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE, THE PARTS DEPARTMENT AND THE BOARD COULD DO TO ADDRESS THAT.
[02:30:01]
UM, AT A FUTURE MEETING I'D LIKE TO, UM, TAKE ACTION AND DISCUSS, UM, SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT FOR THE OFF-LEASH DOGS.I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S NEXT MEETING OR THE ONE AFTER, BUT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
I JUST WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE FOXES TOO.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT THE FOXES.
UM, DO WE HAVE, IS, IS VICE-PRESIDENT, VALSE STILL THERE.
UM, AND I HAD, I HAVE TOO MANY PIECES OF PAPER.
OH, I WANTED TO BRING BACK, UM, WE DIDN'T REALLY FINISH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT I HAVE A DIFFERENT SPIN ON IT.
AND I WANT TO POINT OUT, LIKE, AFTER WE HAD THIS PRESENTATION FROM THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD THINGS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF PARKS THAT I DON'T THINK THE PUBLIC KNOWS ABOUT.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO AT SOME POINT, HAVE A COMMUNITY, UM, PUBLIC RELATIONS DISCUSSION FOR, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, UM, TO TALK ABOUT WAYS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BRING, YOU KNOW, TO HIGHLIGHT PROGRAMS OR THAT SORT OF THING, JUST BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT'S, WE DON'T HAVE ONE SINGLE NEWSPAPER IN ONE SINGLE NEWS STATION ANYMORE.
SO I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THAT AND TALK ABOUT ACCESS TO HOW THE PUBLIC CAN GET INFORMATION LIKE A TWO WAY STREET.
SO AT SOME POINT I WOULD LIKE THAT TO COME UP.
UM, ALL RIGHT, CHAIR, IF I COULD JUST MENTION THAT BOARD MEMBER MOORE HAD SENT A COMMUNICATION, ASKING SOMETHING VERY, VERY SIMILAR.
SO IT'S IT'S YOU GUYS ARE OKAY.
ESP, I GUESS IT MUST BE GREAT MINDS AND ALL THAT.
I THINK WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF OUR AGENDA.
I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY THIS, YOU WERE SO COOPERATIVE AND I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP AND, AND GETTING THAT EARLY QUESTIONS OUT.
AND IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL TO, TO GET TOGETHER WITH, UM, THE DIRECTOR MCNEELY AND TIM, OR A LITTLE BIT EARLIER AND GET THAT POSTED EARLIER.
SO I'M, I'LL ASK SPECIAL REQUESTS THAT WE MIGHT KEEP DOING THAT SO THAT WE HAVE THOSE ITEMS A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THAN THE WEEKEND, AND WE CAN START QUESTIONING AND KEEPING A LIST OF QUESTIONS SO THAT IF THE PUBLIC HAS INTEREST WITH WHAT WE'VE ALREADY ADDRESSED.
AND, UM, WE ARE WRAPPING UP AT 8 34 BY MY WATCH.
CAN I DO A DANCE UNPRECEDENTED.
AND THE NOVEMBER