[00:00:01]
UH, COMMISSIONER IS IT LOOKS, UH, JUST
[Call to Order]
ON THE SCREEN HERE THAT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT AND I'M GOING TO TAKE ROAD JUST FOR, FOR THE RECORD HERE.UH, GUYS READY? UH, LET'S SEE, KATHY, GET TO SUE.
BARONA ETHAN MYERS, KAI, BUT WHITES.
AND INGRID PAL OR YAR, INGRID.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE DO HAVE A QUORUM AND WE CAN BEGIN THIS MEETING AND IF ANYONE ELSE LOGS IN AND THEY CAN, UH, CERTAINLY JOIN US.
YOU KNOW, JU UH, COMMISSIONERS, THE AGENDA TONIGHT WAS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
I THINK WE'RE MAINLY GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON THE ACTUAL UPDATE TO THE COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN.
HAVING SAID THAT I WOULD LOVE TO GET STARTED BY JUST
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: May 11th, 2022, Regular Meeting Minutes]
GOING THROUGH THE FIRST ITEM HERE.THE FIRST ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE MAY 11TH MEETING AND COMMISSIONERS.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE OR WOULD LIKE TO, UH, MAKE A MOTION, I WILL ACCEPT THAT YOU CAN'T HEAR GAIA.
HOW YOU BEEN WHITE MOVES, APPROVAL APPROVAL.
HEARING NO DISCUSSION ON THIS.
COMMISSIONERS PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[2. Discussion and Action: Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) Vehicle Wraps RCA]
AND THAT'S LITERALLY JUST ARR IS RCA ON THE VEHICLE WRAP, UH, OF THE TRUCKS.AND THAT ITEM ITSELF IS, UM, THERE WAS AN RCA INCLUDED IN THE ACTUAL, UH, PACKAGE FOR US TO LOOK OVER.
AND I THINK KEN OR WHO WAS GOING TO SPEAK TO THAT ITEM? CHAD.
CHAD, ARE YOU THERE? YES, I AM.
I'M THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
AND I'M HERE TONIGHT BEFORE YOU TO REQUEST A RECOMMENDATION FOR ITEM NUMBER TWO, TWO DASH 2 0 6 0, WHICH HAS AN AUTHORIZATION TO A WAR, A CONTRACT TO EAGLE EYE PARTNERS, INC.
TO PROVIDE WRAPS AND INSTALLATION SERVICES FOR OUR VEHICLES.
THIS CONTRACT WOULD HAVE A TERM OF FIVE YEARS AND WOULD NOT, IS NOT TO EXCEED $3,085,430.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU, CHAD COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER WHITE.
YEAH, I'M SAYING WHAT IS DONE WITH THE RAPS WHEN THEY ARE REMOVED? UH, THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
I'M I'M ASSUMING THAT WE WOULD RECYCLE THEM IN ANY WAY WE COULD.
THESE ARE VINYL WRAPS, SO WE WOULD BE ABLE TO RECYCLE THEM THE SAME WAY WE WOULD.
ANY OTHER TYPES OF VINYL? WAS THAT A TRICK QUESTION? COMMISSIONER WHITE, TAMMY WILLIAMS, TAMMY WILLIAMS AND AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
UM, I, IT, IT WAS IN A WAY THE RIGHT ANSWER, BUT THE ADDED INFORMATION THAT IT'S VINYL CONCERNS ME.
THAT'S LIKE A PARTICULARLY TOXIC MATERIAL TO PERFECT.
UM, IS THERE, IS THERE ANY OTHER OPTION FOR WRAPPING VEHICLES THAT IS NOT VINYL? WE CAN RESEARCH THAT WE HAVEN'T MADE UP THE ACTUAL WRAPS ITSELF SO WE CAN READ CERTAINLY RESEARCH THAT COMMISSIONER WHITE.
IT'S NOT A PROBLEM FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT TO SEE.
SO THIS CONTRACT WOULD NOT, UM, LOCK YOU INTO A CERTAIN TYPE OF NO, THE, THE ACTUAL ARTWORK FOR THIS CONTRACT HAS NOT BEEN DESIGNED YET.
SO IT'S BEEN DESIGNED, BUT WE HAVEN'T ACTUALLY MADE UP THAT MATERIAL YET.
SO WE COULD, WE COULD RESEARCH THAT TO SEE WHAT OTHER MATERIALS ARE OUT THERE.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A PROBLEM FOR US AT ALL.
SO ASSUMING THE RISK OF, SORRY, GO AHEAD.
ASSUMING THERE IS ASSUMING THERE IS SOMETHING OUT THERE, AN ALTERNATIVE
[00:05:01]
TO THE VINYL, OBVIOUSLY, OR I'M ASSUMING THAT THAT WOULD AFFECT THE COST ON THIS.SO IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN WE'D HAVE TO BRING IT BACK.
THERE WAS ONE SOUL, UH, BITTER ON THIS.
AND WHAT WE COULD DO IS WE COULD GO BACK TO SEE IF THAT HAS AN EFFECT.
WHAT WE DID WAS WE, THEY ASKED FOR A MOCK-UP OF ONE OF OUR DESIGNS.
SO WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND CHECK TO SEE HOW, HOW THAT COULD AFFECT THE, THE ACTUAL, UH, CONTRACT AND VICTORIA RIGOR MIGHT BE ON.
SHE MAY BE ABLE TO GIVE ME SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, BUT SINCE WE ACTUALLY DIDN'T, WE JUST PROVIDED A UP AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ACTUAL ARTWORK FOR THEM TO ATTACH TO THE THING, WHICH IS NORMALLY WITH A MAGNET.
WE'D HAVE TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE CONTRACT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? I GUESS I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.
SO ARE YOU SAYING THAT THIS, YOU DON'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THIS, UH, COMPANY CAN DO OTHER TYPES OF ROPS OR NOT? SO THIS COMPANY, WHAT WE ALL, ALL WE DID FOR THIS, FOR THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT IS WE PROVIDED A MOCK-UP OF WHAT WE WANTED TO SEE ON THE ACTUAL VEHICLE ITSELF.
SO OUR GRAPHIC DESIGNER DESIGNED WHAT, UM, WHAT AR WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS GIVES, LIKE, MOCK-UPS, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT'S THE FINAL PRODUCT IN TERMS OF WHAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE ON THE VEHICLE ITSELF.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT THE ARTWORK IS THE FINAL THING THAT, THAT YOU SEE, OR THE FINAL, UM, ATTACHMENT THAT YOU'LL SEE.
SO THERE IS SOME ROOM FOR US TO NEGOTIATE HOW THAT LOOKS AND B VICTORIA MAY BE ABLE TO ADD SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
SO THERE'S THAT STILL UP IN THE AIR? CAUSE THE ARTWORK WASN'T ACTUALLY IT'S, THE WRAP IS PART OF THE, THE ACTUAL, UH, PRICE OF THE CONTRACT, BUT THE ACTUAL, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW IT'S ATTACHED AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PART OF THE CONTRACT ITSELF.
SO WE MAY HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE THINGS IN AND FINALIZE THAT PIECE OF IT.
I MEAN, I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND NOW, BUT THAT DOESN'T REALLY ADDRESS MY CONCERN BECAUSE MY CONCERN IS NOT ABOUT THE WORK ABOUT, IT SEEMS LIKE THIS CONTRACT, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE OFFERING CERTAIN PHYSICAL PRODUCTS.
CAN I, EVA, YOU'RE BREAKING IN AND OUT.
KEN IS DIRECT TO AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
I THINK I CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
SO THE QUOTE FOR THIS PARTICULAR ITEM WAS, UH, PROVIDED TO US AS A VINYL MATERIAL.
I THINK WHAT, UM, WHAT, UM, DIRECTOR, UM, UM, WILLIAMS IS, IS, UH, SAYING IS THAT WE COULD ASK THEM IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO DO THIS IN A DIFFERENT MATERIAL.
SO, BUT I WILL SAY THAT, THAT THE TYPICAL STANDARD MATERIAL FOR THIS TYPE, JUST BECAUSE OF THE DURABILITY, UH, FADING FACTORS AND THAT SORT OF THING, VINYL IS KIND OF ONE OF THE HALLMARKS, THE STANDARDS OF THAT INDUSTRY, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY ASK IF THERE ARE OTHER MATERIALS THAT WE COULD USE IN PLACE THE VINYL, UH, SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE RECYCLABLE, UH, ONCE THESE, UH, THE WRAPS ARE REMOVED, IF WE DECIDE TO, YOU KNOW, PUT A NEW WRAP ON TO ADVERTISE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING OR SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PROMOTING, UH, THAT TYPE OF THING.
SO WE CAN CERTAINLY ASK THAT IF THEY HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER DIRECTOR, UH, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OF THE QUESTIONS IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH WE DO HAVE A QUESTION HERE AND AGAIN, AGAIN, I, THE FACT IS THE TRUCKS ARE WAITING TO BE DECAL.
IS THAT CORRECT? I MEAN, THEY ARE, THE FLEET IS IN NEED OF, WE HAVE SOME THAT ARE, AND THIS ALSO COVERS NEW TRUCKS AS WELL.
SO THROUGH THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THIS WAS COVER, UH, THE INVENTORY THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE THAT ALREADY, AND THEN ALSO, UH, ANY, UH, NEW PURCHASES AS WELL.
SO HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING, HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO GET SOMETHING BACK OR AN ANSWER BACK FROM, UH, THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR? I WOULD SAY WE COULD HAVE SOMETHING BACK BY THE NEXT, UH, THE NEXT MEETING FOR SURE.
AND THAT WOULDN'T WOULDN'T CAUSE A PROBLEM TO DEFER SOMETHING LIKE THIS OR NOT AT THIS POINT, I THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME, RIGHT? SO, BECAUSE WE MADE A, WE MADE ALLOWANCES FOR BOTH, UH, NEW TRUCKS AND EXISTING TRUCKS.
SO, I MEAN, WE HAVE TIME, THIS IS A BRAND NEW, UH, ENDEAVOR, SO WE'RE STILL BUILDING THIS THING.
SO WE HAVE SOME TIME TO, TO STILL WORK WITH THE, UH, WITH THE, UH, CONTRACTOR THAT BID ON THE, ON THE JOB.
WOULD THAT BE COMFORTABLE FOR THIS COMMISSION TO PERHAPS REVIEW OTHER OPTIONS COMMISSIONERS? YEAH, IT'D BE GREAT TO HEAR WHAT OTHER MATERIALS WOULD, UH, WOULD COST IF THERE, IF THERE ARE A SUITABLE MATERIALS AND WHAT THEIR PROS AND CONS MIGHT BE OBESE.
SO I'LL I'LL UH, I'LL UH, I'M SORRY.
SO QUEBEC SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE KATHY YOU'RE IN SPEAK UP OR, SORRY.
HEY LOOK, CAN YOU HEAR ME A LITTLE BIT? YES.
[00:10:01]
UH, MAYBE THE CHEMICALS IN THE BOND.WELL, AS WELL AS IT BEING RECYCLED.
VINYL IS JUST A PARTICULAR PARTICULARLY TOXIC MATERIAL.
UH, SO EVEN IF IT'S A CYCLE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT LIKE, I THINK UNLESS THERE'S A REAL STRONG NEED, THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN DO A TASK THAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE DONE THOUGH.
IT'S NOT AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MATERIAL.
AND MR. SNIPES, WHEN YOU CHECK ON THIS, UM, MR. SNIPES, CAN YOU FIND OUT POSITIVE? THESE ARE RAPS OR THEY ARE, HOPEFULLY THERE'S POSSIBILITIES OF OTHER MATERIALS THAT CAN BE USED COMMISSIONER GOOD TO, SO ABSOLUTELY I'LL CHECK TO SEE WHAT OTHER MATERIALS, UH, THAT THEY HAVE OR WHAT THEY MIGHT RECOMMEND, UH, AND TRY TO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT, UH, THE PROS AND CONS IF THEY DO HAVE ANOTHER MATERIAL OF BOTH.
AND THEN, UH, MR. CUNY WILL, UH, PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT MONTH.
JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, I MEAN, KEN OR TAMMY OR SOMEONE, CHAD, WHAT ARE THE TRUCKS CURRENTLY LABELED? WHAT TYPE OF DECAL MATERIAL IS ON THERE NOW? ALL THEY HAVE ON THEM NOW IS JUST A CITY OF AUSTIN SEAL.
SO NOTHING OF THIS TO THIS EXTENT, CORRECT.
SO WE ARE, I GUESS WE, UH, ARE GOING TO BE A DEFERRING THIS ITEM AND I DON'T BELIEVE WE NEED A MOTION TO DO THAT OR TO VOTE ON THAT JUST REALLY QUICK THEN.
UM, UNLESS I'VE, UNLESS I'M MISTAKEN, I HAVE, WE SEEN IT MAY BE WORTHWHILE FOR US TO, UH, SINCE WE'RE GOING TO REVIEW THIS ANYWAY, TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF AN IDEA OF MAYBE SOME WHAT THE MOCK-UP LOOKED LIKE AND KIND OF AN, AN IDEA OF WHAT THE INTENT IS HERE, UM, OF WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE TODAY VERSUS WHAT THEY WILL LOOK LIKE WITH THE NEW DECAL OR NEW, UM, RAMPS.
WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION EARLIER AND I THINK IT WOULD BE A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THE DECAL ON THE NEXT, UH, AS, UH, AS THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
WE COULD ADD THAT ON THERE TOO, BUT SURE.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU AGAIN.
WE'RE GOING TO DEFER THIS ITEM UNTIL OUR, UH, HOPEFULLY NEXT MEETING.
[3. Zero Waste Comprehensive Plan Update]
THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE ACTUAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE.AND I THINK THE PRESENT, THE PRESENTERS ON THAT ARE, UH, JASON, MCCOMBS, SELENA CASTILLO, GINA MCKINLEY, AND, UH, GOD, WHO ELSE? TAMMY EVIL AGAIN, TAMMY WILLIAMSON ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
SO TONIGHT WE'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE ON THE ZERO WASTE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO FOR THOSE THAT ARE NEWER ON THE COMMISSION, THIS IS AN UPDATE TO OUR EXISTING WASTE WASTE ZERO WASTE MASTER PLAN THAT COUNCIL ADOPTED IN 2011.
SO THE ZERO WASTE MASTER PLAN ESTABLISHED OUR GOAL, OUR GOAL TO ZERO WASTE BY THE YEAR 2040 IN AN OUTLAND OUR PATH TO ACHIEVE, TO ACHIEVE IT.
SO FOR THE PAST DECADE, WE'RE PROUD THAT ALL THAT OUR DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMUNITY HAVE MADE, UH, PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS SO FAR.
SO LIKE THE ROLLOUT OF, UH, WE'VE DONE A FEW THINGS LIKE THE ROLLOUT OF THE COMPOST COP, I'M SORRY, THE CURBSIDE COMPOSTING, UH, PLAN THAT WE'VE GOT AND THE POLICIES THAT HAVE OTHER POLICIES THAT WE'VE MANAGED TO GET, UH, WE'VE ROLLED OUT TO THE COMMUNITY TO HELP US GET CLOSER TO THIS ZERO WASTE GOAL.
SO WE KNOW THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS GROWING AND CHANGING AND WE'RE FACING REAL CHALLENGES LIKE MOBILITY AFFORDABILITY AND MORE SO IN ORDER TO CONTINUE OUR MISSION TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE IN THE PLANET, THE PLAN UPDATES TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THAT GROWTH AND INCREASED POPULATION DENSITY, AS WELL AS THE BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
SO DURING TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION, YOU'LL HEAR AN OVERVIEW ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS EFFORTS AND WHAT WE'VE HEARD AS WELL AS SOME OF THE FOCUS GROUPS ON THE UPDATED PLAN.
SO TONIGHT WE'D LIKE TO GIVE US, WE'D LIKE FOR YOU TO, WE'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK AND LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE IN MEETING THE ZERO WASTE GOAL.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SELENICK, UH, CASTILLO WHO WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
SO I KNOW YOU'LL BE RIVETED TO HEAR WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, HELLO, EVERYONE.
I'M
[00:15:01]
SOME CONSULTANTS TO HELP COMPLETE THIS UPDATE AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO ATTEND TODAY, BUT OBVIOUSLY THEY'VE PAID, PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THIS PROJECT.AND THE LAST TIME THAT YOU ALL RECEIVED AN UPDATE FROM THIS PROJECT WAS ACTUALLY DELIVERED BY THEM.
SO SINCE IT'S BEEN A MINUTE, SINCE THAT PRESENTATION HAPPENED, I'M GOING TO START WITH A VERY HIGH LEVEL RECAP OF THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING UP TO THIS POINT.
AND THEN I'LL DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER INTO ONE AREA OF THIS PROJECT, WHICH IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT AIR OURS, NEWLY DEVELOPED RACIAL EQUITY TOOL AND HOW WE INTEND TO USE THIS TOOL FOR OUR PLANT INITIATIVES.
THEN WE'LL GET INTO THOSE INITIATIVES AND THOSE GOALS, WE WON'T BE COVERING EVERY SINGLE IDEA, GOAL RATIONALE AROUND THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TONIGHT, BECAUSE WE'LL BE HERE FOR HOURS, BUT INSTEAD, WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON THOSE GOALS THAT ARE MOST RELEVANT TO THIS GROUP.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IN A LITTLE BIT, THEN WE'LL DISCUSS THE CONNECTIONS THAT THIS PLAN HAS WITH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AND THE PROJECTS NEXT STEPS.
AND WE WILL CLOSE WITH QUESTIONS SINCE THERE IS A GOOD BIT OF GROUND TO COVER.
I'M GOING TO PUT A LITTLE BIT OF EMPHASIS ON WAITING TO THE END FOR ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE.
SO OUR RECAP, THE CONSULTANT STARTED BY DOING RESEARCH BOTH ON OUR CITY AND OTHER CITIES AND ANALYSIS TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW AUSTIN CAN ACHIEVE ZERO WASTE.
SO THE CONSULTANTS AND THE DEPARTMENT'S LEADERSHIP TEAM DISCUSSED THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGH A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS, AND THAT INFORMED THE PLANS TO DRAFTING WHILE THE RESEARCH AND THE DISCUSSIONS WERE HAPPENING WITH THE CONSULTANTS AND OUR, OUR STAFF, ANOTHER, A SUBSET, IF YOU WILL, OF CONSULTANTS AND OUR, OUR TEAM WERE LEADING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS, AND THOSE EFFORTS ALSO INFORMED THE DRAFTING OF THE PLAN.
SO WE'VE GONE THROUGH SEVERAL DRAFTING ROUNDS NOW WITH THE CONSULTANTS AND WITH STAFF, AND WE ARE NOW NEARING THE END OF THAT DRAFTING PROCESS.
SO THAT WAS BIRD'S EYE VIEW WHERE WE ARE.
SO NOW LET'S ZOOM INTO THE SPECIFIC TOPIC OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO THE FIRST POINT I WANTED TO IS THAT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS CHANGED FROM WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED BACK IN 2019, SINCE OBVIOUSLY 2020 BROUGHT A PANDEMIC THAT WE'RE STILL GRAPPLING WITH.
SO WE SHIFTED TO USING TWO TOOLS THAT COULD LEND THEMSELVES WELL TO BOTH A VIRTUAL FORMAT AND AN IN-PERSON FORMAT, IF AND WHEN PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDELINES ALLOWED THAT TO HAPPEN.
SO ONE OF THOSE TOOLS WAS A SURVEY, WHICH YOU'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW.
SO WE DID TWO ROUNDS OF SURVEYS WHEN A 2020 AND THE OTHER ONE IN 2021.
SO FOR THE FIRST ROUND, WE DISTRIBUTED SURVEYS ONLINE THROUGH SPEAK-UP AUSTIN AND AUSTIN ENERGY.
SINCE IN-PERSON ENGAGEMENT, ACTIVITIES WERE NOT BE BEING ENCOURAGED AT THE TIME OF THE PANDEMIC IN THE FALL OF 2020.
UH, EVEN THOUGH WE COULDN'T GET OUT ON THE STREETS TO COLLECT SURVEY RESPONSES, WE STILL RECEIVED ALMOST 3000 RESPONSES FROM THE COMMUNITY, WHICH WE VERY MUCH WELCOMED AND APPRECIATED GIVEN THE OTHER PRIORITIES THAT THE WORLD WAS DEALING WITH AT THAT TIME.
SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT, WHO WAS RESPONDING TO THE SURVEY, WE NOTICED THAT PARTICIPATION VARIED ACROSS DISTRICTS AND BY AND LARGE THAT'S NORMAL, BUT SOME DISTRICTS HAD ALMOST DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF RESPONSES THAN OTHERS.
SO THE AIR, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM STAFF DEVELOPED A PLAN TO RELAUNCH THE SURVEY AND TARGET SPECIFICALLY THOSE DISTRICTS WHERE RESPONSES WERE LOWER DURING THE FIRST SURVEY ROUND AND THE DISTRICTS THAT THEY TARGETED ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DISTRICTS 2, 3, 4, AND SIX.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE STAFF LAUNCHED A SERIES OF MARKETING CAMPAIGNS USING DIGITAL RADIO PRINT AND TELEVISION ADS.
AND THESE ADS WERE STRATEGICALLY USED ON PLATFORMS THAT THE TEAM
[00:20:01]
UNDERSTOOD TO BE FREQUENTED BY MEMBERS OF THE FOUR TARGET DISTRICTS.ADDITIONALLY, STAFF REACHED OUT TO SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE EITHER IN THESE DISTRICTS OR THEY SERVED THE COMMUNITIES IN THESE DISTRICTS.
SO THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE THE ONES LISTED ON THE SLIDE AND INCLUDE PLACES OF WORSHIP, GROCERY STORES, YMCAS, AND FARMER'S MARKETS NEXT LIGHT.
SO THIS IS A TIMELINE OF THE OUTREACH DONE BY THE
AND WHAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT HERE MORE THAN ANYTHING IS THAT AS SOON AS STAFF COULD SAFELY ATTEND IN PERSON ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, WE DID THE BLUE SQUARES AND THE BLUE CIRCLES BOTH SYMBOLIZE AN IN-PERSON ACTIVITY LIKE TABLING AT A COMMUNITY EVENT.
AND BOTH OF THOSE ACTIVITIES WERE TRIGGERED BY THE YELLOW SUN.
WE'LL CALL IT, UM, WHICH WAS APH, UH, CALLING A STAGE TWO NEXT SLIDE.
SO THESE GRAPHS REPRESENT THE RESULTS OF SURVEY PARTICIPATION AFTER OUR SECOND ROUND OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE GRAPH ON THE LEFT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PARTICIPATION BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
SO THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS THAT HAD THE LOWER PARTICIPATION IN THE FIRST ROUND, IF YOU RECALL, WERE DISTRICTS 2, 3, 4, AND SIX, AND TWO OF THOSE DISTRICTS NOW BECAME OUR HIGHEST PARTICIPATION DISTRICTS IN THIS SECOND ROUND, NAMELY DISTRICTS SIX AND FOUR, AND THEN THE GRAPH ON THE RIGHT REPRESENTS PARTICIPATION BASED ON SELF-REPORTED RACE AND ETHNICITY.
WE DID NOT TRACK THIS PARAMETER IN THE FIRST ROUND, BUT WE INCLUDED IT HERE BECAUSE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THIS DISTRICTS OF THE DISTRICTS WITH THE ORIGINALLY LOW PARTICIPATION SHOW, A HIGH HISPANIC, LATINO, OR SPANISH POPULATION, AND THIS GRAPH SHOWS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH THAT COMMUNITY, EXPLAIN, OKAY, THIS IS MY LAST CHART SLIDE.
SO ON THE LEFT SIDE, WE CAN SEE THAT OVERALL, WE HAD A MOSTLY ONLINE SUBMISSION FOR SURVEYS, BUT THE SPLIT WAS FAIRLY CLOSE.
AND CONSIDERING THAT WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE PAPER SURVEYS FOR LESS THAN A MONTH, THIS BREAKDOWN SHOWS THAT THERE IS STILL A USE AND SUCCESS IN DOING ON THE GROUND ENGAGEMENT.
THERE'S STILL A POPULATION TO BE SERVED THAT DOES NOT LIVE ONLINE.
THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, WE HAVE THE LANGUAGE IN WHICH THE SURVEY WAS FILLED OUT.
THE RELATED STATS TO THIS GRAPH IS THAT ACCORDING TO THE US CENSUS, ABOUT 30% OF AUSTINITES SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE BESIDES ENGLISH AT HOME.
AND AUSTINITES WHO SPEAK ENGLISH LESS THAN VERY WELL IS ABOUT 11%.
SO WE TRY TO ACCOMMODATE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO DO NOT CONSIDER ENGLISH THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE, AND PEOPLE DID TAKE THOSE SURVEYS AND WE WERE ABLE TO CONSIDER THEIR INPUT NEXT SLIDE.
AND THAT LEADS US TO OVERALL INPUT FROM EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED WITH THE SURVEY.
SO WE ASKED THEM ABOUT THEIR DIVERSION HABITS, WHAT THEY KNEW ABOUT OUR SERVICES, WHAT THEY USED FROM RR SERVICES, AND ALSO WHAT THEY WANTED, IF WE MADE MORE DROP-OFF FACILITIES.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE HEARD BACK.
SO THE MAJORITY OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS REPORTED ALWAYS OR FREQUENTLY PRACTICING AT LEAST FOUR OF THE FIVE DIVERSION ACTIVITIES THAT WE LISTED FOR THEM.
SO THESE ARE RECYCLING REUSING, REPAIRING, AND DONATING ITEMS. THE MAJORITY OF THE RESPONDENTS DIDN'T HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ZERO WASTE BLOCK LEADER PROGRAM AND THE CLOTHING AND HOUSEWARES CURBSIDE COLLECTION PROGRAM ABOUT HALF OF RESPONDENTS HAVE USED THE RR DOC OR ARE USING IT.
AND THEN THE MOST DESIRED ADDITIONAL DROP-OFF OPTION WAS HAVING SEVERAL SMALLER DROP OFF CENTERS AT PLACES LIKE LIBRARIES AND CITY FACILITIES.
SO THE SECOND TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT TOOL THAT WE USE WERE FOCUS GROUPS AND LIKE THE SURVEYS, WE DID TWO ROUNDS, ONE IN 2020, AND THE OTHER IN 2021, THE FIRST ROUND WAS FOCUSED ON STAKEHOLDERS LIKE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, AND PROPERTY MANAGERS.
AND WE SPOKE WITH 38 PARTICIPANTS
[00:25:01]
DURING THAT ROUND.THE SECOND ROUND WAS FOCUSED ON OUR RESIDENTS AND WE SPOKE WITH 50 PARTICIPANTS THERE FOR ALL OF THE SESSIONS.
WE HAD A TRAINED FACILITATOR THAT WAS NOT CITY STAFF LEADING THESE DISCUSSIONS.
WELL, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST TELL YOU WHAT WAS ON THAT SLIDE.
UM, SO THE, SO THAT SLIDE WAS THE MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM THE FOCUS GROUP, UH, DISCUSSIONS.
AND, UM, IT BASICALLY SAID THE MAJORITY OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED DURING THOSE FOCUS GROUPS CENTERED AROUND EDUCATION.
UM, SO OUR PARTICIPANTS WERE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT AIR RS MAIN SERVICES, BUT THEY MENTIONED THE NEED FOR CLEAR, REPETITIVE, UH, AND CONSISTENT EDUCATION AND MESSAGING, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALSO HEARD FROM A FEW COMMISSIONERS HERE.
SO THAT LINES UP, THEY ALSO SUGGESTED BUILDING AWARENESS ABOUT OUR CLASSES REBATES AND ANY PROGRAMMING TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION.
IN ADDITION TO THE EDUCATION FOCUS, UH, THE STAKEHOLDER SPECIFIC FOCUS GROUPS HEAVILY MENTIONED AN INTEREST IN COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES WITH AIR ART, WHETHER THAT LOOKS LIKE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, OR PERHAPS A MORE COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP ON A PROJECT OR A PROGRAM FOCUSED ON ZERO WASTE.
AND AS WE WORK TOWARDS THE END OF THIS PROJECT, AIR OUR STAFF, AND ALSO OUR CONSULTANTS WILL BE WORKING TO UPDATE THE PUBLIC ON PROGRESS AND RESULTS.
AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO NOW WE'RE ON THE NOW WE'RE ON THE SLIDE THAT I CAN TALK ABOUT.
UM, NOW WE'RE SHIFTING TO TALKING ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THE PLAN.
SO THESE ARE THE CHAPTERS THAT WE INTEND TO INCLUDE IN THE PLAN.
WE ARE, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE NOT GOING TO MENTION AND GO OVER EVERY SINGLE ONE TODAY.
INSTEAD, WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON THE GOALS WHERE YOUR PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT WOULD MAKE THE MOST IMPACT.
AND IF YOU'RE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN A TOPIC THAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE AND WE DON'T COVER TODAY, I'M HAPPY TO GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION ON IT AFTER THIS MEETING.
SO TO MEET THE GOALS SET IN THIS PLAN, WE'LL BE USING OUR DEVELOPED RACIAL EQUITY TOOL TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE DELIVERING EQUITABLE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS TO OUR COMMUNITY.
WE BEGAN DEVELOPING THIS TOOL IN EARLY FYI 21.
SO AROUND OCTOBER OF 2020, AND WE MODELED IT AFTER OTHER RACIAL EQUITY TOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN USED BY OTHER CITIES, TEAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE ONES THAT ARE LISTED HERE.
WE ALSO ASKED FOR AND RECEIVED FEEDBACK FROM SEVERAL SOURCES, INCLUDING INTERNAL AIR, OUR STAFF AIR, OUR LEADERSHIP, OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO CRAFT OUR TOOL.
SHOULD I JUST KEEP GOING? SURE.
I'LL, I'LL BE LOUDER WHEN I SAY NEXT SLIDE SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN MOVE.
UH, COMMISSIONER IS JUST FOR THE RECORD.
I THINK WE ALL SHOULD HAVE A COPY OF THE ACTUAL PRESENTATION, HUH? OKAY.
[00:30:01]
THERE IT IS.I THINK WE'RE ONE MORE PLEASE.
SO, UM, SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS TOOL IS TO PROVIDE A PROCESS AND QUESTIONS TO GUIDE STAFF IN THE DEVELOPMENT, THE IMPLEMENTATION, AND ALSO THE EVALUATION OF OUR EXTERNAL AIR, OUR INITIATIVES, OUR PUBLIC FACING INITIATIVES TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS IMPACTS ON RACIAL EQUITY.
UM, AND I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS TOOL IS ONLY INTENDED TO BE USED FOR NEW PUBLIC FACING INITIATIVES.
SO IT'S VERY MUCH ONE TOOL IN A TOOLBOX THAT WE INTENDED TO GROW.
THIS ONE IS THE ONE THAT'S MORE RELEVANT TO THE CONVERSATION TODAY WITH OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, INCLUDING PUBLIC FACING INITIATIVES.
SO THE FIRST GOAL WE WANT TO SHARE IS REGARDING OUR CURBSIDE SERVICES, AND THAT IS EXPLORING THE OPTION OF ASSESSING ADDITIONAL FEES FOR AIR, OUR CUSTOMERS WHO REPEATEDLY PLACE TRASH IN THEIR RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING CARDS.
SO THIS IS A LONG-TERM GOAL, MEANING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A FIVE TO 10 YEAR PERIOD TO ACHIEVE AND DEVELOP, AND WE'VE STARTED BY, WE'D BE STARTING BY DOING PERIODIC WASTE AUDITS OF RECYCLING COLLECTION ROUTES.
UM, IN THE EVENT THAT A FEAT IS DEEMED THE BEST ROUTE TO ADDRESS CONTAMINATION AND RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING CARDS THAT FEE WOULD COME TO
UH, THE NEXT GOAL IS RELATED TO OUR COMMUNITY SERVICES OR OUR LITTER ABATEMENT DIVISION.
SO THIS GOAL IS AIMING TO, UM, ADDRESS CHALLENGES THAT ARE ON THE GROUND LITTER ABATEMENT TEAM EXPERIENCES.
WHEN THEY'RE DOING THEIR WORK AROUND OUR CITY, THIS GO IN PARTICULAR WOULD REQUIRE PARTNERING WITH INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS LIKE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION, AND OF COURSE, ENGAGING WITH EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS.
THIS IS ALSO A FIVE TO 10 YEAR GOAL.
AND AGAIN, ANY PROPOSED ORDINANCE LANGUAGE WOULD COME TO WHACK FOR SUPPORT ON ITS WAY TO COUNCIL.
SO THE BIGGER PICTURE GOAL HERE WOULD BE TO DEVELOP A TRANSFER STATION CLEARLY MORE IS NEEDED TO DEVELOP A TRANSFER STATION THAN GETTING A PERMIT APPROVAL, BUT WE WANTED TO FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON THE PART OF THAT EXTENSIVE PROCESS THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM YOUR SUPPORT, WHICH IS THE GOAL LISTED HERE.
SO THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF DEVELOPING A TRANSFER STATION IS A NEAR-TERM GOAL.
MEANING AIR ARE, WOULD AIM TO BEGIN WORK IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND I WANTED TO GIVE A BRIEF REMINDER OR PERHAPS NEW PIECE OF INFORMATION FOR NEW COMMISSIONERS THAT A TRANSFER STATION IS A FACILITY WHERE TRASH RECYCLING OR COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL IS TEMPORARILY HELD.
AND IT'S CONSOLIDATED THERE TO HAUL TO A LANDFILL OR A PROCESSING FACILITY.
IT'S A TOOL USED BY OTHER LARGE CITIES IN TEXAS, LIKE SAN ANTONIO, SHE STENT AND DALLAS DUE TO THE EFFICIENCY.
IT CAN BRING TO THE COLLECTION AND HAULING PROCESS.
AUSTIN DOES NOT USE A TRANSFER STATION CURRENTLY, AND THAT HAS BEEN PLACING A STRAIN ON COLLECTION VEHICLE FUEL IT MAINTENANCE, AND ALSO NEGATIVELY, NEGATIVELY AFFECTING ROAD AWARE.
UM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSFER STATION IS ALSO LINKED TO THE USE OF ELECTRIC COLLECTION VEHICLES.
SO IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS FROM OUR DIRECTOR AND STAFF, UM, TO IMPLEMENT ELECTRIC COLLECTION VEHICLES, A TRANSFER STATION OR STATIONS WOULD BE NECESSARY TO REDUCE THAT TRAVEL TIME OF THOSE VEHICLES.
UM, THERE WILL BE MANY MOVING PARTS TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL.
THE WAY THAT YOU CAN HELP AND BE INVOLVED IS AGAIN THROUGH YOUR SUPPORT OF AN EVENTUAL PERMIT FOR THIS, FOR A TRANSFER STATION.
SO THE NEXT GOAL HAS ALSO BEEN MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY TO THIS GROUP, AND THAT IS TO STUDY A COMMERCIAL COLLECTION SYSTEM APPROACH WITH THE GOAL OF MINIMIZING NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, ENHANCING DATA COLLECTION AND PROMOTING CONSISTENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STUDYING DIFFERENT
[00:35:01]
COLLECTION SYSTEMS FOR THE COMMERCIAL WASTE STREAM.ONE OF WHICH IS A FRANCHISE SYSTEM.
THE TOPIC WAS DISCUSSED AT LENGTH IN THE LAST PROJECT UPDATE.
AND WE HEARD YOUR FEEDBACK ON WANTING MORE INFORMATION.
WE ALSO WANT MORE INFORMATION, AND THAT IS WHAT THIS STUDY AIMS TO PROVIDE.
ARR WOULD HAVE PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS FOCUSED ON THE REPORT FINDINGS.
AND DURING THAT PART OF THIS TIMELINE IS WHERE WE'D REQUEST YOUR HELP IN GETTING PARTICIPATION FOR THESE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
I BELIEVE ALSO AT THE LAST MEETING, THERE WAS A REQUEST FOR MEETINGS TO BE NOT ONLY GEARED FOR STAKEHOLDERS WITH A BUSINESS INTEREST, BUT ALSO FOR THE PUBLIC AT LARGE.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN COLLABORATIVELY MAKE HAPPEN.
ONCE WE REACHED THAT POINT IN TERMS OF TIMING, AIR ARE, WOULD APPLY FOR THE STUDY COMPONENT TO BE STARTED IN THE COMING FIVE YEARS.
SO THE DEPARTMENT HAS A NUMBER OF GOALS RELATED TO THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE THAT YOU'D BE ABLE TO SUPPORT AND BE PART OF, SINCE WE'RE DEALING WITH AN ORDINANCE IN ANY POLICY CHANGE, AGAIN, WOULD COME TO AS WACK.
AND FOR THIS ORDINANCE IN PARTICULAR, WE'D ALSO BE DISCUSSING IT IN THE EURO COMMITTEE.
SO THE FIRST TWO GOALS LISTED HERE ARE NEAR TERM GOALS.
MEANING THAT DEPARTMENT, WHEN IT TEND TO START WORK ON THEM IN THE COMING FIVE YEARS.
AND THE LAST TWO GOALS LISTED ARE LONG-TERM GOALS, MEANING THEY HAVE AN EXTENDED START DATE BEYOND THOSE FIVE YEARS.
SO THE FIRST GOAL IS TO ADDRESS VALET COLLECTION SERVICES AND DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS.
RIGHT NOW, THE URL DOES NOT INCLUDE INFORMATION SPECIFICALLY ON VALET COLLECTION SERVICES.
AND WITH THAT STYLE OF COLLECTION PRESENT IN THE COMMUNITY, AAR'S INTENT HERE IS REALLY TO PREVENT OR TO REDUCE CONFUSION REGARDING A PROPERTIES REQUIREMENTS FOR DIVERSION AND HOW TO BE IN COMPLIANCE.
THE NEXT GOAL IS TO EXPLORE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIFAMILY COMPOSTING POLICY.
SO AIR ARE, WOULD INTEND TO USE THE RESULTS OF THE MULTIFAMILY, COMPOSTING, PILOT AND RESEARCH ON PEER CITY POLICIES TO DETERMINE HOW BEST TO INCREASE ACCESS TO COMPOSTING FOR MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTS.
AND THIS WOULD, OF COURSE ALSO BE PASSED THROUGH A PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, TO RECEIVE VALUABLE COMMUNITY INPUT.
THEN MOVING INTO OUR LONGER TERM GOALS FOR THE U R O L R R WOULD ESTABLISH OR EVALUATE TIERED URL, DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS, INVITE TIERED REQUIREMENTS.
WE MEAN ESTABLISHING BASELINE SERVICE AND DIVERSION ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL BUSINESSES ACROSS THE BOARD, AND THEN ESTABLISHING SUPPLEMENTAL DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS BASED ON INFORMATION LIKE THE TYPE OF BUSINESS, THE SIZE OF THE BUSINESS, UM, OR PERHAPS THE RATE AT WHICH IT GENERATES WASTE.
WE'D ALSO LOOK AT HAVING ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR SOME BUSINESS TYPES THAT ARE MORE ON THE UNCONVENTIONAL SIDE, LIKE MOBILE FOOD VENDORS.
AND THEN THE LAST GOAL ON THIS SLIDE IS TO EXPAND ORGANICS REQUIREMENTS BEYOND FOOD PERMITTED BUSINESSES.
SO CURRENTLY ONLY BUSINESSES HOLDING A FOOD PERMIT FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH ARE EFFECTED BY THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCES ORGANICS DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS.
HOWEVER, THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR US TO DIVERT ADDITIONAL ORGANIC MATERIAL FROM THE WASTE STREAM BY INCLUDING NON-PERMITTED BUSINESSES WITH A STEADY FLOW OF ORGANIC MATERIAL.
AND THIS AGAIN WOULD BE A LONGER TERM GOAL LOOKING AT FIVE TO 10 YEARS FOR DEVELOPMENT WITH AN EXTENSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
SO ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION ORDINANCE, WE HAVE TWO NEAR TERM GOALS.
THE FIRST IS TO EXPLORE CHANGES TO THE QUALIFIED PROCESSOR RULES.
SO CURRENTLY EFFECTIVE PROJECTS HAVE THE OPTION TO USE A QUALIFIED A PROCESSOR, WHICH HAS ITS DIVERSION RATES VERIFIED BY A THIRD PARTY AIR.
OUR WOULD EXPLORE THE OPTION OF REQUIRING ALL PROJECTS TO USE A QUALIFIED PROCESSOR IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF INFORMATION REPORTED TO THE CITY AND ALSO TO INCENTIVIZE OTHER PROCESSORS TO INCREASE
[00:40:01]
DIVERSION RATES.THE SECOND GOAL IS TO CONSIDER DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS FOR KEY MATERIALS.
AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, MRR WOULD CONDUCT RESEARCH AND WORK WITH STAKEHOLDERS CLOSELY TO IDENTIFY WHICH MATERIALS HAVE A STRONG LOCAL AND MARKET.
AND THOSE WOULD BE OUR IDENTIFIED KEY MATERIALS.
AND FOR BOTH OF THESE GOALS, ONCE AGAIN, IF THE OUTCOME WAS AN ACTUAL ORDINANCE CHANGE, WE WOULD LIKE WITH THE EURO COME TO ZAC SEEKING YOUR SUPPORT.
UM, AND IN PARTICULAR FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION CHANGES, WE WOULD ALSO BE DISCUSSING THIS IN THE C AND D COMMITTEE.
SO THAT WRAPPED UP THE ARR SPECIFIC GOALS THAT WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.
NOW, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT HOW THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ALIGNS WITH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
SO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN HAS A SERIES OF GOALS OF ITS OWN.
UH, THE ONES THAT YOU SEE LISTED HERE ARE THE ONES THAT AIR ARE, IS SUPPORTING THROUGH CURRENT OR FUTURE WORK.
SO THESE SPAN A COMMUNITY-WIDE PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE, UM, ENSURING ALL AUSTINITES CAN ACCESS A FOOD SYSTEM THAT MINIMIZES FOOD WASTE, REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM GOVERNMENT PURCHASING AND ALSO THE ELECTRIFICATION OF VEHICLES.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE SPECIFIC ACTIONS THAT AIR R IS TAKING OR PLANS TO TAKE, TO WORK TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE GOALS SET IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, AND I'LL GO THROUGH THEM QUICKLY.
UM, SO WE'RE EXPANDING BULK PICKUP OR THE UNCLE PROGRAM CITYWIDE DEVELOPING A FURNITURE REUSE BANK ADVISING THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS FOOD WASTE ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS, CREATING SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING GUIDELINES THROUGH THE CIRCULAR CITIES PROGRAM, EXPANDING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY PROGRAM INITIATIVES, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR FLEET VEHICLES.
SO THE NEXT STEPS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE THAT AIR AND CONSULTANTS WILL FINALIZE THE DRAFT PLAN THIS SUMMER, AND THEN RETURN TOS WHACK AND OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FOR REVIEW THIS FALL IN PARALLEL, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM WILL BE SHARING A DRAFT PLAN WITH THE PUBLIC AT LARGE, AND ALSO WITH RESIDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN OUR ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES THROUGH SEVERAL OUTLETS, INCLUDING SPEAK UP AUSTIN, SOCIAL MEDIA, OUR ZERO WASTE BLOCK LEADERS AND INDIVIDUAL EMAILS.
WE INTEND TO JUST TO KIND OF WRAP THIS UP.
WE INTEND TO HAVE AN APPROVED, AN UPDATED, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
SO YOU WILL BE SEEING AND HEARING MORE FROM THIS PROJECT IN THE COMING MONTHS AS WE WORK OUR WAY TOWARDS COUNCIL APPROVAL.
UH, STAFF, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION COMMISSIONERS ALL OPEN THIS UP FOR QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME, I PERSONALLY HAVE QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, BUT NONETHELESS, I'LL LET DEFER MIND ANY QUESTIONS HEARING NONE, THEN I CAN HOPEFULLY CHIME IN HERE, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, GREAT PLAN.
GREAT, UH, GREAT OPPORTUNITIES HERE TO SAY THE LEAST I'M, UH, I, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS HERE.
UH, THE CURBSIDE SERVICES, YES.
CONTAMINATION IS A MAJOR ISSUE WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, TO RECYCLING COLLECTION.
IN FACT, WITH THE PANDEMIC, WE PROBABLY FOUND A GREATER AMOUNT OF CONTAMINANTS IN THE RECYCLING CONTAINERS.
HAVING SAID THAT I KNOW THAT, UH, OTHER CITIES, AS YOU STATED, HAVE GONE TO A, I GUESS, A FINE SYSTEM, AND I'M CURIOUS HOW THAT'S WORKING.
I KNOW CORPUS CHRISTI, WHAT IT USED TO AND, UH, I THINK EVEN SAN ANTONIO HAVE GONE TO THAT, UH, FINE, UH, MECHANISM.
AND, UM, AGAIN, I WOULD LOVE AN UPDATE ON THE CHALLENGES THEY HAVE FACED AND HOW THAT'S PROGRESSED AND HAS IT ACTUALLY CLEANED UP THE CONTAINERS THEMSELVES? SURE.
KEN SNIPES, I'M ALSO OFFICER SOCIAL RECOVERY DIRECTOR.
I CAN'T SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO,
[00:45:01]
UM, THOSE, UH, PARTICULAR CITIES, HOUSTON, CORPUS CHRISTI, ET CETERA.UM, BUT I DO HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE WITH FEES, UH, FOR CONTAMINATION, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, TO HELP RESOLVE, YOU KNOW, OR, OR I SHOULD SAY TO HELP MODIFY BEHAVIOR RIGHT FROM, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING.
UM, WE HAVE SEEN IT BE, I HAVE SEEN IT BE SUCCESSFUL.
WE TALKED A BIT ABOUT A BIT ABOUT IT HERE, BUT WE JUST, HAVEN'T MADE A DECISION ON WHETHER WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT, WITH THAT OR NOT.
UH, WE'RE CERTAINLY OPEN TO IT AND CAN CERTAINLY EXPLORE IT.
UM, AND, UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK INTO.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS WHAT THE OTHER CITIES HAVE SEEN IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT.
NO, BUT I'D LOVE IT IN THE FUTURE.
PERHAPS MAYBE IN A FEW MONTHS WE CAN GET A, KIND OF GET AN UPDATE ON, ON HOW THAT HAS PROGRESSED AND HAS IT BEEN RECEIVED BY THE PUBLIC IF POSSIBLE, AND, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR THAT FOR ANSWERING THAT.
MY OTHER COMMENT TOO, IS, UH, THE ACTUAL FACILITIES THAT ARE NEEDED HERE.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A TRANSFER STATION, OBVIOUSLY THAT IS A NEEDED ITEM.
IF WE'RE GOING TO REACH OUR POTENTIAL.
AND WHEN I SAY POTENTIAL, THAT INCLUDES A LOT OF DIFFERENT ITEMS. I, UH, THE, UH, ELECTRIC ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET, BEFORE YOU CAN BEGIN THAT YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE A PLACE TO CHARGE THESE GUYS, AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE A COLLECTION ROUTE ON ONE CHARGE WITH THE LOADS THAT THEY'RE CARRYING.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US PROGRESS FASTER THAN FIVE YEARS ON AT LEAST IDENTIFYING A SITE AND LITERALLY PERHAPS BEGIN AND BEGIN THIS PROCESS.
BECAUSE AS SOON AS SOONER WE DO THAT, I THINK THE GREATER THE OPPORTUNITY IS FOR US TO, TO LOWER COSTS AND TO ACHIEVE MORE, LITERALLY A BETTER, A MORE EFFICIENT A COLLECTION PROGRAM.
AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO, TO COMMENT ON THAT.
SHARE WE SHARED THE SAME, UH, POINT THERE.
UM, WHAT I THINK WE'D BE LOOKING AT IS HOPEFULLY THAT THAT WOULD BE ON THE HIGH END OF THE MAX OF WHAT WE'D BE LOOKING AT.
WE'RE ALREADY, UM, KEVIN'S IN THE CITY LOOKING FOR PROPERTIES THAT MIGHT BE SUITABLE.
UM, SO THAT PROCESS, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU START THE PROCESS OF SIGNING A TRANSFER STATION, THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THAT, RIGHT.
FEASIBILITY STUDIES, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSISTENT USE, UH, ET CETERA.
SO WE'RE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF TRYING TO FIND A PROPERTY AND HAVE LOOKED AT A COUPLE, UH, NOTHING SOLID YET.
UH, BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY, UM, TRYING TO DO WHAT WE CAN IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PROPERTIES WHERE EARLY IN THAT, IN THAT PROCESS THOUGH.
AND, AND, UH, I COULDN'T SAY TODAY THAT A WE'LL HAVE A PROPERTY BY A GIVEN DATE, UH, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THE PRICE OF PROPERTY IN AUSTIN IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH.
SO WE'RE WRESTLING WITH THAT AS WELL.
WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PROPERTIES THAT WE'VE HAD OUR EYES ON AND BEFORE WE COULD EVEN GET, YOU KNOW, A REVIEW OR ANYTHING STARTED THE PROPERTIES SOLD ALREADY.
SO WE'RE WRESTLING WITH THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO INFORM THE COMMISSION, UM, AS TO WHERE WE ARE ON THAT PROCESS.
AND I KNOW I ECHO, I ECHO THE CHALLENGES OF FINDING PROPERTY HERE.
SO THAT LEADS ME TO MY NEXT COMMENT AGAIN, WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
AND AGAIN, I SAY OUR GOAL IS IN THE NORTHEAST QUARTER.
NO, NO, I JUST GOING TO SAY, WE CAN AT LEAST BEGIN THAT CONVERSATION.
I MEAN, WHY NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE AND LOOK AT EVERY POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY THAT'S THAT IS OUT THERE.
AND AGAIN, DO WE HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL OR IS IT ALREADY WITH THE SPOKES AND PERHAPS WE JUST NEED TO AIR UP THE TIRE? WELL, AS WE SAID, WE, WE DEFINITELY NEED A TRANSFER STATION IN THE SYSTEM HERE.
IT HAS MAJOR NOT HAVING ONE HAS MAJOR, UM, RAMIFICATIONS ON WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW.
UM, AS WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE THE WEAR AND TEAR ON OUR FLEET IS PRETTY HIGH BECAUSE WE'RE DRIVING SO MANY MILES, UH, TO, UH, TIP OUR LOADS.
UH, WE TALKED ABOUT THE INABILITY TO, TO MAXIMIZE OUR GREEN FLEET, UH, INITIATIVES IN TERMS OF, UH, ELECTRIFYING THEIR FLEET.
UH, AND JUST IN GENERAL, EVEN WITH, UH, INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES, REDUCING THE OVERALL CARBON FOOTPRINT, UH, IT WOULD BE ANOTHER BENEFIT OF A TRANSFER STATIONS AS WELL.
SO, UH, ROUTING EFFICIENCY AS WE START TO GET MORE AND MORE DENSIFICATION IN THE CITY ARE PEOPLE ARE SPENDING MORE AND MORE TIME DRIVING AS OPPOSED TO COLLECTING, RIGHT.
THEY DRIVE, UH, TO THE LANDFILL AND BACK TO THE ROUTE, UH, TO CONTINUE THEIR WORK.
SO THEY'RE SPENDING TREMENDOUS, UH, TREMENDOUS, UH, I GUESS, UM, PERSONNEL HOURS IN TRAFFIC AND A LOT OF CASES.
SO WE CERTAINLY NEEDED IN OUR SYSTEM.
UM, A CITY OF THIS SIZE SHOULD DEFINITELY HAVE ONE, IF NOT MORE.
UH, AND SO IT'S DEFINITELY A TOP PRIORITY FOR
[00:50:01]
THE PROGRAM AND THAT EQUATES OBVIOUSLY TO NEEDLESS DOLLARS AND CENTS BEING SPENT IN TRAFFIC AND DIRECTOR.I MEAN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE PERHAPS BEEN DONE A FEW YEARS AGO, AND I KNOW WE'VE DONE, WE'VE HAD THESE TOPICS BEFORE THESE DISCUSSIONS.
IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH WE'RE MOVING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THAT FINISH LINE.
YOU KNOW, HAVING SAID THAT, I, I GUESS MY NEXT QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, JUST THE COLLECTION SYSTEM, THE, THE INFORMATION THAT WE ACQUIRE, I MEAN, AS WE'VE STATED MANY, MANY TIMES WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR A VERY SMALL PORTION OF THE, UH, DIVERSION EQUATION HERE.
I THINK WHAT IS IT? 50% IS ACTUALLY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT WE COLLECT THE VAST MAJORITY BELONGS FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
HAVING SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE, WE STARTED THE CONVERSATION OF FRANCHISE FRANCHISING.
NOW IT'S AN UGLY, UGLY WORDS IN MANY PEOPLE, BUT IF IT, IF DONE AND CONTINUING THIS CONVERSATION, CAN WE FIND SOMETHING THAT PROVIDES THE HAULERS WHO CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF AUSTIN, THE OPPORTUNITY TO, OR ACTUALLY ASK THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION? AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR DIVERSION NUMBERS ARE ACCURATELY.
WE DON'T, HOW DO WE GET THOSE NUMBERS? AND AGAIN, IT'S GOING TO BE NOT THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOING THIS.
IT'S GOING TO BE THE PRIVATE, UH, HAULERS PROVIDING THAT INFORMATION AND VALET SERVICES.
THEY'RE, UH, THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE NOW.
AND THEY ARE TRULY IN NEED OF PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION.
AND I, MAYBE I'M SPEAKING OUT OF LINE FOR THIS COMMISSION, BUT I THINK THAT, UH, YOU WOULD HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE COMMISSION AND DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES TO EXPEDITE EFFICIENCIES AND A GREATER SERVICE TO THE RATE PAYER, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S GOING TO LEAD TO, YOU KNOW, REDUCE COSTS IN THE FUTURE AND MORE EFFICIENT PAY SCALES FOR THE EMPLOYEES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MY 2 CENTS GUYS.
ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? CAN WE SHOOT YOU A TWO-STEP CAT YOU'RE ON MUTE.
UH, MS. GARCIA, I WANT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, I FELT LIKE, UH, YOU WILL REALLY INCLUDING THE COMMISSION ON THAT.
AND, UH, I REALLY, I APPRECIATE THAT A LOT.
I ALSO THINK THAT, UM, I LOVE THE RACIAL EQUIP EQUITY TOOL THAT YOU ALL USE.
SHE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE YOU MADE EXTRA EFFORT WHEN YOU DIDN'T GET MUCH RESPONSE FROM SEVERAL OF THE AREAS AND YOU WENT BACK OUT THERE AND, AND TRIED TO, UH, HAVE, UH, TO GET MORE, UM, FEEDBACK FROM THEM.
AND IT REALLY SHOWS THE DIFFERENCE.
UM, I JUST, I SAW A LOT OF REALLY INTERESTING ANGER, IMPORTANT THINGS.
I THINK THE SAD PART WAS THAT IT'S PROBABLY, THESE THINGS MIGHT TAKE FIVE TO 10 YEARS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH TIME WE HAD ON ALL THIS.
UM, IF, UM, IN PRIORITIZING, ARE THERE WAYS THAT THE COMMISSION CAN BE INCLUDED ON THAT TO AT LEAST GET OUR FEEDBACK ON, UH, MAYBE A MAJORITY OF THE COMMISSION FEELS THAT ONE THING IS MORE PRIORITY THAN ANOTHER.
SHE HAD JERRY SPOKE TO A LOT OF THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WERE VERY IMPORTANT.
THE OTHER THING IS TALKING ABOUT ADDITIONAL FEES FOR PEOPLE THAT MAKE PARTS.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET ANYWHERE WITHOUT DOING THAT.
UH, SO I HOPE THAT WON'T TAKE FIVE OR 10 YEARS TO, TO ACCOMPLISH.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER FOR THE FEEDBACK.
AND YES, DEFINITELY TO, TO CLARIFY ON THE TIMING, THE, ON THE TIMEFRAMES THAT I WAS SHARING, UH, WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO, TO FIND, UH, TO START TO STRUCTURE OUR PRIORITIZATION.
SO DEFINITELY, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A NEAR TERM GOAL, YOU KNOW, BEING AROUND THE FIVE-YEAR MARK, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT TIMEFRAME TO, TO START.
SO IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY NEED TO LIKE START AT THE FIVE-YEAR MARK.
IT COULD START BETWEEN NOW AND THE FIVE-YEAR MARK.
UM, SO JUST TO KIND OF CLARIFY AND GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A CONTEXT FOR THAT, UM, FOR THAT FRAMING FOR THAT, UM, CONVERSATION, UH, IN TERMS
[00:55:01]
OF INCLUDING THE COMMISSIONERS ON PRIORITIZATION MOVING FORWARD, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, THAT CAN, THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED AND CAN BE MOVED FORWARD, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP, AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE PLAN AND ACTUALLY GET INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION PIECE, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE, OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.UM, SO WE'RE NOT, UM, TALKING ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION YET.
AND SO ONCE WE GET TO THAT POINT OF AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UM, I THINK THAT IS REALLY WHEN WE START LOOKING MORE CLOSELY AND AT WHAT TIMELINES MAKE SENSE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THE WORD REPETITIVE WHEN TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO BE REPETITIVE.
THE STAFF COULD BE REPETITIVE WITH US ON THE COMMISSION WHEN THERE'S CERTAIN ISSUES THAT WE'D PROBABLY NEED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT, LIKE, HOW'S IT GOING? OR ARE YOU ALL AT STEP ONE, TWO OR THREE? UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WORK AT THIS ALL THE TIME.
AND SO, UH, I WOULD WELCOME, UH, MORE FEEDBACK ON THE PROCESS THAT'S GOING ON AND, AND THESE DIFFERENT, IMPORTANT AREAS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, AMANDA, AND THEN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, AND FOR THE DETAIL THAT YOU PROVIDED, I HAD A FEW QUESTIONS, UM, IN RELATION TO THE RACIAL EQUITY TOOL.
FIRST, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE DESCRIPTION ON THE PURPOSE OF THE TOOL IT'S SPECIFIC TO EXTERNAL ARR INITIATIVES.
IS THAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT TOOL FOR INTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF RACIAL EQUITY? YES.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE WANTING TO MAKE DIFFERENT TOOLS FOR DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.
AND ONE OF THOSE VERY CLEAR DISTINCTIONS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IS EXTERNAL PUBLIC FACING, WHICH WOULD BE THIS ONE AND THEN INTERNAL, UH, WOULD BE IN THE FUTURE.
SO WE HAVEN'T DEVELOPED IT YET, BUT THAT IS THE INTENT.
AND THEN, SO WHEN YOU MET WITH THE FOCUS GROUPS AND YOU HAD A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A WIDER RANGING DISCUSSION, WERE YOU ABLE TO PRESENT SPECIFICS ABOUT THIS? I GUESS NOT SPECIFICS ABOUT THE TOOL ONLY WITH THE SECOND GROUP BASED ON THE TIMING, BUT WERE YOU ABLE TO TALK WITH THEM OR GET THEIR PERCEPTIONS ON RACIAL EQUITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN RELATION TO ARR AND THE ZERO WASTE PLAN? THAT CONVERSATION DID NOT HAPPEN WITH THAT, WITH THAT FOCUS GROUP? NO, WE FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON MORE ALONG THE LINES OF, UH, OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN IN THE PLAN AND JUST OVERALL GAGING, UM, WHERE DOES ZERO WASTE STAND IN TERMS OF PRIORITIZATION WITH THE COMMUNITY? SO, NO, UNFORTUNATELY WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T GET TO TOUCH ON THAT TOPIC WITH THEM.
PARTLY OUT OF CURIOSITY, I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER ABOUT THE RESEARCH QUESTION, BUT ALSO WHEN IT COMES TO IMPLEMENTATION BY, IN, UM, GETTING GOOD PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAMS, I AM VERY GLAD TO SEE THE RACIAL EQUITY TOOL AND THE FACT THAT AR IS GOING TO BE USING THAT LENS AS IT EVALUATES EXTERNAL PROGRAMS THAT IS LIKE CRITICAL AND IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK IT'S A CREDIT TO ALL OF YOU THAT YOU ARE DOING THAT AND IMPLEMENTING IT.
I DON'T KNOW THAT ALL STAKEHOLDERS ARE GOING TO SEE THAT SYNERGY AND CONNECTION AND UNDERSTAND WHY RACIAL EQUITY IS SORT OF AN INTEGRAL PART OF HOW WE HANDLE WASTE AND RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING AND EVERYTHING.
UM, SO I'D BE CURIOUS GOING FORWARD, IF THERE WOULD BE OPPORTUNITIES TO TEST OUT THAT MESSAGE, UNDERSTAND, UM, IF THAT COULD BE A WAY TO ENGAGE PEOPLE WHO NORMALLY AREN'T IN THE CONVERSATION AND ALSO MAYBE CONNECT, CONNECT ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE SUSTAINABILITY CONVERSATION, BUT THINK OF THE RACIAL EQUITY COMPONENT AS BEING SECONDARY OR TERTIARY OR WORSE.
SO JUST WANTED TO RAISE THAT AND, UM, BE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE GOING FORWARD.
I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THAT REC RACIAL EQUITY TOOL WILL BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF WHAT WE DO GOING FORWARD.
I THINK THE THING TO REMEMBER HERE IS THAT, UM, THE, UM, DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN HAD BEEN MOVING FORWARD.
THE TEAM ADOPTED THE TOOL REALLY QUICKLY ACTUALLY, AND INSTEAD OF
[01:00:01]
WAITING, WE DECIDED TO START USING IT IMMEDIATELY.AND SO IT'S BEEN A DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS, UH, TO PULL TOGETHER ALL OF THE DETAILS ASSOCIATED WITH IT, UM, AND ALSO TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT AND THEN TO KIND OF REVIEW WHAT WE'VE PUT INTO IT, TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ACTUALLY DOING WHAT WE WANT.
AND SO IT'S BEEN AN ITERATIVE PROCESS, BUT I THINK GOING FORWARD, UM, NOW THAT WE HAVE IT AND WE'RE USING IT, UM, YOU WILL SEE THE EXPANDED USE OF IT.
AND WE'LL START TO BE ABLE TO COLLECT DATA FROM THE PEOPLE THAT WE ENGAGE WITH TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOUR PERSPECTIVES ON THIS? ARE WE MEETING, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR EXPECTATIONS, ET CETERA, THERE'LL BE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PULL FROM THE DATA.
UH, ONCE WE, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE ABLE TO, I GUESS, HAVE TIME TO ACTUALLY REVIEW SOME OF THE PROGRESS AS WE GET FURTHER ALONG.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR AMANDA? I'M SORRY.
CAN I HAVE A YOU'RE ON MUTE? UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT A BUNCH OF, WE'RE HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME UNDERSTANDING YOU, GABE.
I AM HOPING THAT YOU COULD MAYBE PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON WHAT, UM, THE, THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING UNDER TIERED YOUR OWN DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS.
IF YOU COULD JUST SHARE A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING THERE.
SO WHAT WE STARTED SEEING, ONCE WE LOOK AT THE INFORMATION THAT WE RECEIVE FROM BUSINESSES IS THAT THERE'S DEFINITELY A WIDE VARIETY OF, UM, WASTE STREAMS AND OF WASTE GENERATION.
AND SO, UH, RIGHT NOW WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TYPE OF CRITERIA, THE PIECES THAT I'VE MENTIONED IN TERMS OF LIKE THE TYPE OF BUSINESS IN TERMS OF THE SIZE OF THE BUSINESS.
UM, THOSE ARE JUST POTENTIAL EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE MIGHT USE TO SET THESE DIFFERENT TIERS.
UH, BUT WHAT WE KNOW UP TO THIS IT'S JUST THAT THERE AREN'T THAT THERE IS A POTENTIAL BENEFIT TO HAVING DIFFERENT DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS DEPENDING ON THE, THE BUSINESSES THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH.
BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DIG FULLY INTO ALL OF THE DATA TO DO A FULL DATA ANALYSIS IN ORDER TO GET EXACTLY INTO A, THIS IS GOING TO BE A TIER ONE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A TIER TWO.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A TIER THREE.
WE'RE JUST NOTICING SOME OVERARCHING TRENDS IN THE DATA THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REVIEW.
AND THOSE TRENDS ARE BASED ON TYPE OF BUSINESS OR SIZE OR THE, THE TYPES OF BUSINESSES IN PARTICULAR.
SO ENVISIONING THAT PERHAPS THERE WOULD BE SOME MORE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC TECHS OF BUSINESSES.
UM, AND I MEAN, I SEE A FEW OF THESE ITEMS ON HERE, UM, UH, MAKE MOST OF THESE PROBABLY SOME WAY CONNECTS TO ONE OF THE SUBCOMMITTEES, BUT SOME OF THEM VERY CLEARLY DO.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE OUR SUBCOMMITTEES HAVE NOT BEEN SUPER ACTIVE.
AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING, UM, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN BASICALLY THE STRATEGY THAT'S BEING WORKED OUT, UM, ARE THERE, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY THAT MAYBE WE COULD START HAVING SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS TO, TO KIND OF DIG IN TO MORE OF THE, THE DETAILS, SOME OF THE DATA AND, AND, YOU KNOW, START LOOKING AT WHAT THE OPTIONS COULD BE AND SOME OF THESE ITEMS OKAY, ABSOLUTELY.
WE'RE AVAILABLE TO MEET, UM, THE EURO COMMITTEE AND THE C AND D COMMITTEE.
I THINK THERE IS PLENTY OF MATERIAL MATERIAL THERE TO, TO DISCUSS.
AND THAT WAS ANOTHER COMMENT I WAS GOING TO MAKE LATER ON CONCERNING THE SUBCOMMITTEES AND HOW WE PROBABLY NEED TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE ACTIVE IN REVIEWING SOME OF THE, UH, OPTIONS, OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY EXISTING OUT THERE AND THE CHALLENGES, BECAUSE THERE WAS NUMEROUS CHALLENGES THAT HAVE COME TO LIGHT OVER THE LAST, UH, SIX MONTHS.
BUT, UH, NONETHELESS YES, AS FAR AS THE, UH, SUB COMMITTEES, ABSOLUTELY.
IT'S VITAL TO GET TOGETHER AND, AND START TALKING AND PLANNING, BUT, UH, I'M SORRY.
UM, AND I GUESS I JUST DON'T WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR CONNECTING BACK TO THE CLIMATE.
UM, I THINK THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS,
[01:05:01]
UM, OBVIOUSLY, UH, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULDN'T BE WORKING IN SYNERGY WITH THIS AND IT LOOKS LIKE Y'ALL ARE DOING SOME THAT'S GREAT.UM, I'M SPECIFICALLY WONDERING IN TERMS OF THAT, UM, PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE, WHAT THE DATA, I THINK GOING WHAT WHAT'S UNDER CONSIDERATION IN TERMS OF A NUMERICAL GOLD, WELL COMMISSIONER, THE PER CAPITA GENERATION RATE IS TYPICALLY YOUR TOTAL GENERATION DIVIDED BY THE POPULATION.
WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THAT DATA, THAT DATA YET.
UM, WE'RE IN A PROCESS OF STILL WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THAT BECAUSE, UH, WE'VE BEEN, UH, UNTIL NOW, OR AS OF THIS PLAN USING THE MORE TRADITIONAL METHOD, WHICH IS JUST A BASIC SUBTRACTION METHOD OF YOUR TOTAL VERSUS YOUR MINUS YOUR RECYCLING, ET CETERA.
SO WE'RE IN A PROCESS OF STARTING TO EVALUATE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PER CAPITA GENERATION MODEL, THAT'S PART OF THIS PLAN.
AND AS SOON AS WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION OR TIGHTER INFORMATION AROUND WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE, WE WILL DEFINITELY SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMISSION.
THANK YOU, KEN, ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS FOR THE FIRST SALINA OR THE DIRECTOR? SELENA, I'M JUST GOING TO ADD A LITTLE BIT TO, TO COMMISSIONER WHITE'S QUESTION.
UM, SO ACTUALLY WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH A THIRD PARTY FOR IT, WASTE CHARACTERIZATION STUDY, AND AS PART OF THAT WASTE CHARACTERIZATION STUDY, UH, THERE IS INFORMATION IN ORDER TO CREATE A PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE.
UM, AND SO THAT INFORMATION SHOULD ACTUALLY BE COMING TO US IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
I HEAR THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SHARE.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS GUYS? GO FOR IT.
HELLO, MELISSA, CAN YOU, YEAH, THERE YOU GO.
AND WELCOME BY THE WAY AND THE SAME TOPICS.
SO, UH, REGARDING THE FEES TO BE ASSESSED POTENTIALLY IN THE FUTURE FOR CONTAMINATION, UM, MY QUESTION IS HOW WOULD THAT BE DOCUMENTED? UM, IS THAT A PROGRAM THAT THE CITY ALREADY HAS THAT THEY LOG THAT INFORMATION AND THEN THEY WOULD ASSESS THAT TO THE CUSTOMER? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO BE PURCHASED IN ORDER TO PUT THAT INTO PRACTICE? HOW WOULD THAT WORK? LOGISTICALLY COMMISSIONER? WE'RE NOT SURE YET.
I MEAN, THIS WOULD BE A BRAND NEW ITEM FOR US TO IMPLEMENT, UM, THE PRO THE PROGRAM THAT I'M FAMILIAR WITH.
WE HAD A, A $1 FEE AND, UH, YOU MIGHT THINK, WELL, $1 WAS WHAT'S THAT REALLY GOING TO DO WELL, THE POINT OF THE $1 FEE WAS JUST TO GET PEOPLE'S ATTENTION, RIGHT? SO IT WASN'T A PENALIZE OR HURT PEOPLE.
UM, AS FAR AS HOW IT WOULD BE ASSESSED HERE AND MANAGED HERE, WE DON'T KNOW THAT YET.
WE'D HAVE TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED AS AN IDEA, OR CONSIDERATION IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO.
UM, BUT TO BE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT, WE HAVEN'T TAKEN A DEEP DIVE INTO THAT SPACE YET TO REALLY FIGURE OUT ANY, ANY REAL DETAILS, WHAT THE F WHAT THE ACTUAL NUMBER MIGHT BE.
UM, AND, AND TO YOUR POINT, THE QUESTION IS ABOUT HOW IT WOULD BE TRACKED OR IMPLEMENTED AND WHAT THE VEHICLE WOULD BE FOR, FOR ACTUALLY MAKING IT HAPPEN.
AND THEN ANOTHER FOLLOWUP QUESTION I HAVE IS ABOUT THE TRANSFER STATION.
UH, WHAT SORT OF PROPERTIES ARE YOU LOOKING AT? ARE YOU TRYING TO BE, UH, JUST LAND? ARE YOU HOPING TO BUY A LAND THAT ALREADY HAS STRUCTURES ON IT? ARE YOU PLANNING ON BUILDING THOSE STRUCTURES COMMISSIONER? TYPICALLY WE WOULD, AT THIS POINT TAKE ANY PROPERTY THAT WE COULD GET.
UH, IT'S BEEN SO DIFFICULT TO FIND A PROPERTY.
IDEALLY IT WOULD BE A VACANT PROPERTY THAT WE COULD JUST BUILD ON AND BUILD WHAT WE NEED WITHOUT HAVING TO INCUR A DEMOLITION COSTS AS PART OF THE PROJECT AS WELL.
UM, BUT IDEALLY, UH, WE, WE WOULD TAKE ANY PROPERTY THAT WE COULD GET AT THIS POINT THAT WOULD BE SUITABLE.
UH, WE JUST, UH, WE, WE REALLY NEED A TRANSFER STATION IN OUR SYSTEM AND, UH, AND WE ARE DEFINITELY, UH, DEALING WITH A LOT OF ISSUES AND, UH, RESTRICTIONS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ONE IN OUR SYSTEM RIGHT NOW.
WHAT SIZE PROPERTY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN TERMS OF ANCHORAGE OR, UM, MINIMALLY? I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I MEAN, THAT WOULD DEFINITELY DETERMINE THE SIZE OF THE FACILITY AND THE TYPES OF FUNCTIONS THAT MIGHT TAKE PLACE.
UH, I WOULD SAY I'M THINKING IN TERMS OF TEXAS SIZE HERE, UH, UH, PROBABLY MINIMALLY, YOU KNOW, 20 ACRES, UH, UP, SOMEWHERE IN THAT SPACE BECAUSE WE HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE FOR THE SIZE OF THE FACILITY, PARKING OF CONTAINERS,
[01:10:01]
UH, QUEUING FOR TRAFFIC ON AND OFF OF THE FACILITY, UH, ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, UM, SLOW DOWN LANES, UM, UM, RAMP LANES FOR VEHICLES TO SPEED UP AND MERGE SAFELY.UH, SO THERE'S QUITE A FEW CONSIDERATIONS THAT HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO, UM, UH, I GUESS, UH, CONSIDERATIONS THAT HAVE TO BE THOUGHT ABOUT AS WE LOOK FOR A PROPERTY THAT WOULD BE IDEAL FOR TRANSFER STATION.
WELL, LET'S, DO YOU HAVE A REAL ESTATE LICENSE THERE YOU GOT NOW? UM, AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION WOULD BE ABOUT THE RACIAL EQUITY TOOL AS SOMEBODY COULD GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THAT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE PUT INTO PRACTICE.
SO THE RACIAL EQUITY TOOL, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE IT AS WITH, UM, WITHOUT IT ACTUALLY PRESENT, BUT BASICALLY IT STARTS YOU OFF WITH, UH, WITH QUESTIONS THAT DEAL WITH, UH, PREVIOUS HISTORY BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMUNITY, PERHAPS WHERE THE, UH, PROJECT OR THE EFFORT IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE.
UM, AND THEN IT WALKS YOU THROUGH STEPS FOR HOW TO BE COMMUNICATING WITH THE, UM, WITH THE COMMUNITY, WITH THAT AREA, WHAT CONSIDERATIONS TO MAKE.
UM, AND THEN TOWARDS THE END, WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, EVEN AFTER LAUNCHING THE PROJECT, WE'RE ALSO, WE'RE CIRCLING BACK.
WE'RE KIND OF CLOSING THAT FEEDBACK LOOP WITH STAKEHOLDERS.
SO IT'S VERY COMMUNITY ORIENTED, OBVIOUSLY.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY LIKE A, A GUIDING TOOL IF YOU WILL, FOR STAFF IN ORDER TO BE DEVELOPING PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT ACTUALLY SERVE THE COMMUNITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? IT REALLY JUST A QUICK COMMENT.
I JUST WANT IT, UH, UM, SECOND, THE, HE HAD MENTIONED ABOUT THE TIMELINE AND, AND I HEARD THE RESPONSE, BUT I JUST, UM, YEAH, I ALSO THINK ANYTHING THAT'S LIKE PAST FIVE YEARS ALMOST DOESN'T FEEL REAL.
SO I HOPE THAT THAT NEAR TERM COULD BECOME MORE LIKE ONE TO THREE YEARS AND LIKE LONG-TERM IS YEARS.
SO THAT'S JUST, THAT'S HOW I'M THINKING ABOUT THINGS.
YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONERS, I, AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO REITERATE, REITERATE EVERY GOOD IDEA THAT WE HAVE EVERY FANTASTIC IDEA THAT WE ENVISION WITHOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE.
IT'S JUST AN IDEA AND A DREAM UNTIL YOU GET THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE.
CAN WE ACTUALLY MAKE THAT DREAM COME TRUE? AND AGAIN, I'M REFERRING TO A TRANSFER STATION AS A POSSIBILITY THAT A LOW OPEN UP MANY, MANY OTHER OPTIONS FOR US.
AND, UH, LOOKING AT THE ASSETS THAT WE DO CURRENTLY HAVE.
I MEAN, WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FACILITY OVER ON FM EIGHT, 12, I SAY, BEAUTIFUL.
IT'S SITTING THERE AND YOU GO OVER THERE AND IT LOOKS LIKE A FARMLAND.
DID A GREAT JOB ON THE CLEANUP THERE.
ONE OF THE ITEMS IN YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION WAS THE C AND D UH, CHALLENGES.
I MEAN THAT RIGHT THERE, I CAN TELL YOU, THERE ARE NO PROCESSORS CERTIFIED PROCESSORS LEFT IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
HAVING SAID THAT IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY, WITH ITS FACILITY ON F FMA 12, TO GET INVOLVED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY WHO ACTUALLY OVERSEES GREEN BUILDING IN AUSTIN TO WORK TOGETHER IN A PARTNERSHIP IN DEVELOPING A FACILITY THAT WOULD PROVIDE THAT C AND D UH, RECYCLING OPPORTUNITY OR OPTION FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST A, A THOUGHT, I MEAN, HAVE WE ENVISIONED THAT? AND WE STARTED THE, A CONVERSATION WHERE WE CAN UTILIZE TOOLS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AND FMA 12 IS ONE OF THEM TO, TO ACHIEVE OUR GOAL CHAIRMAN.
SO, UM, RECENTLY STAFF STARTED A PROCESS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERING HOW WE MIGHT REUSE THE, UM, LANDFILL THERE.
AND ONE OF THE, UM, IDEAS DID INCLUDE SOME SORT OF PROCESS AND FACILITY.
UM, SO WE COULD CERTAINLY TAKE A LOOK AND STUDY TO SEE, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT A VIABLE OPTION OR A VIABLE MODEL MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
UM, THOSE FACILITIES, AS YOU KNOW, ARE REALLY TOUGH THEY'RE THERE THEY'RE DEFINITELY NEEDED.
AND THEY'RE DEFINITELY BENEFICIAL.
UM, BUT I WOULDN'T WANT TO PROMISE TO COMMISSION THAT WE CAN PULL IT OFF, UM, BECAUSE, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY TOUGH.
UH, AND SO WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT IT TO SEE WHAT WE CAN COME UP WITH OR, UH, FIGURE OUT WHAT A, WHAT A SERVICEABLE MODEL
[01:15:02]
MIGHT LOOK LIKE.IT MIGHT NOT LOOK LIKE WHAT WE WOULD THINK OF AS A TRADITIONAL, THE PROCESSING FACILITY.
UM, IT MIGHT LOOK SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT.
MAYBE WE'D HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT WE TAKE, UH, OR IT COULD PROCESS, UM, THAT WAY.
UM, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY BEEN SOMETHING THAT, UH, HAS BEEN PROPOSED AND THAT WE'VE HEARD, UH, MENTIONED MULTIPLE TIMES IN TERMS OF A NEED FOR THE COMMUNITY AND FOR THE SYSTEM, UH, HERE.
UM, BUT, UM, THEY'RE JUST TRICKY FACILITIES TO, TO RUN AND MAINTAIN.
UM, SO, UM, WE'LL CERTAINLY TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
AGAIN, THEY ARE VERY, VERY TRICKY, VERY EXPENSIVE.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, AS YOU MADE, IS IT POSSIBLE TO START SOMETHING WITH LIMITED, UH, OPPORTUNITIES? WOULD, I MEAN THE METALS, I MEAN, THE SIMPLE THINGS TO DO, THERE'S OTHER MORE CHALLENGING BUILDING MATERIALS THAT THERE ARE NO ANSWERS FOR TODAY.
DRYWALL IS ONE OF GYPSUM HAVING SAID THAT IT SAID THAT AGAIN, WE ARE REQUIRING C AND D RECYCLING ADD MOST OF OUR BUILDINGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY GOING UP ALL AROUND US WITHOUT THAT, UH, WITHOUT THAT SUPPORT MECHANISM CALLED A BIBLE RECYCLING FACILITY TO TAKE THIS MATERIAL TO, WE REALLY DO DOING WHAT WE WANT TO BE DOING HERE, BUT ANYWAY, JUST MY 2 CENTS GUYS, UH, KEN AGAIN, SELENA, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.
THAT WAS A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO ROUND TWO AND, AND SOME HOPEFULLY, UH, UPDATES ON THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FOR SELENA? THANK YOU GUYS.
[4. DIRECTOR’S REPORT]
ALL RIGHT.THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS LITERALLY THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WAS IN THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT? I KNOW WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS FROM OUR LAST MEETING AND I THINK WE REACHED OUT TO ANSWER THOSE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AT A COMMENT ON THAT.
AND I'M REALLY, I'M, I'M, I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT A ON-CALL BULK COLLECTION.
I MEAN, THAT COULD, UH, I MEAN, LITERALLY IT COULD BE A GAME CHANGER.
I MEAN, INSTEAD OF PEOPLE HAVING TO PUT OUT THERE, THEIR ITEMS ON A CERTAIN GIVEN DAY AND EVERYBODY COMES BY AND THEY ENDED UP, YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH RUMMAGING THROUGH AND MAKING AN ACTUAL, A MESS OUT OF A NEAT PILE AT ONE TIME AND THEY GO CALL IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE WELL-RECEIVED AND, AND SHARE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ACTUALLY INTERESTING.
UM, ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT COME OUT OF THE PANDEMIC FOR AIR HAS BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO JUST LOOK AT HOW WE DO BUSINESS DIFFERENTLY, UH, TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES IN LIGHT OF THE RESTRICTIONS THAT WERE IN PLACE FOR ROUGHLY TWO YEARS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO ON-CALL BULK, WE WE'VE ALSO STARTED TO SCHEDULE THAT THE, OUR DOC, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM THAT PROCESS IS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET MORE CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE FACILITY THAN WE COULD BEFORE WE STARTED SCHEDULES BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC, ET CETERA.
UH, HAVING PEOPLE SHOW UP AT THE SAME TIME AND YOU HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAN GET IN INTO THE FACILITY, YOU HAVE PEOPLE TURN IT AROUND.
THERE WERE SOME SAFETY CONCERNS, UM, UH, WITH, UM, PEOPLE QUEUE AND OUT ONTO THE MAIN ROADWAY.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS JUST ONE ITERATION OF ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, OR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AND, UH, AND LOOKING INTO, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE ON SOME OF THESE THINGS.
THANK YOU, KEN KIBO, AND THEN CATHY.
UM, YEAH, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS ON THAT SAME TOPIC OF THE BULK COLLECTION.
UM, SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE EXPANDING IT BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, MORE GREAT.
I KNOW I'VE BEEN PUSHING ON THAT.
UM, I SEE THAT CURRENTLY IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S THREE PA TILE METAL AND TIRES, OR THERE MIGHT BE THAT ARE SEPARATED, WHICH I THINK IS THE SAME.
YEAH, THAT'S THE SAME AS THE REGULAR COLLECTION.
SO I'M WONDERING IF WHEN YOU ROLL THAT ON-CALL PROFILE AND THE ENTER 2043, ARE YOU ENVISIONING MORE CATEGORY, THESE SEPARATED, I'M THINKING LIKE, YOU KNOW, LAST PICKS FURNITURE AND I SAW THAT YOU WERE CONSIDERING SOME SORT OF FURNITURE WHERE USED YEAH.
ANYTHING YOU CAN SAY ABOUT THAT.
UM, NOT, I DON'T THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT ANY NEW CATEGORIES.
I THINK WHAT WE HOPE TO SEE IS THAT THERE WILL BE MORE MATERIALS AVAILABLE.
TYPICALLY WHAT HAPPENS NOW, UH, AS, BY THE TIME OUR TRUCKS COME THROUGH, MOST OF THE THINGS THAT WERE SET OUT ARE EITHER GONE OR, UH, THERE'S JUST TRASH LEFT BEHIND.
[01:20:01]
LOOKING AT ANY NEW CATEGORIES.UM, I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN BY PLASTIC, IF YOU MEAN LIKE LARGER, UH, FURNITURE ITEMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, YEAH, I THINK WE, WE WOULD JUST COLLECT THOSE THINGS IS WHAT WE WOULD DO AS PART OF THE COLLECTION PROCESS.
OH, I GUESS I'M WONDERING WHAT, WHY WOULD YOU NOT CONSIDER DIVERTING IN THOSE INTERESTS CYCLING THE PLASTIC ITEMS, THE PLASTIC FURNITURE? I DON'T KNOW.
HAVE WE TALKED ABOUT PLASTIC FURNITURE AT ALL? I MEAN, Y'ALL HAVE, I'M JUST THINKING, LIKE, WHEN YOU GO TO THE DROP OFF CENTER, THERE'S A PLACE FOR BULKY BLACK, HARD PLASTIC AND PLASTICS.
WE HAVEN'T, BUT WE CAN CONSIDER THAT WE'LL TAKE, WE'LL MAKE A NOTE OF IT AND ADD IT TO THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT AS PART OF THIS NEW PROCESS.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? AND THEN, I MEAN, UH, YES, UH, MR. SIPES, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE ON CALL SERVICE, UH, IS THERE, UM, QUANTITY, OBVIOUSLY IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE GONNA HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT THEY HAVE AND ARE YOU GOING TO JUST GO PICK UP TWO OR THREE ITEMS OR, UM, WHAT W WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT WHEN YOU DO ON-CALL? WELL, IT CERTAINLY HELPS TO KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE.
UM, WE KIND OF TAKE THE CALLS AND THEN DECIDE HOW TO, HOW TO CREATE A ROUTE, UH, SO THAT WE'RE NOT CRISSCROSSING THE CITY.
UM, AND SO WE'RE STILL KIND OF WORKING OUT SOME OF THE DETAILS ON THAT, BUT, UM, AS FAR AS, UM, HOW WE DETERMINE, UH, WHAT THEY HAVE, THAT'S PART OF THE PROCESS, BUT WE WOULDN'T WANT TO STOP SOMEONE FROM SITTING OUT SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT THEY MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT, RIGHT.
OR WOULD SAY, WELL, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT.
WE WOULD PROBABLY JUST COLLECT ANYTHING THAT THEY SET OUT AT THAT POINT, IF THEY SCHEDULE THEMSELVES FOR COLLECTION.
GATHA IS IT, WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF WASTED FUEL.
IF THEY'RE JUST GOING TO PUT OUT A FEW THINGS, ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE QUANTITY OF THINGS THAT THEY SET OUT? OKAY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE WOULD BUILD A ROUTE.
UM, SO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, IF, UM, UH, FOUR OR FIVE PEOPLE CALL FROM THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, WE WOULD, WHEN WE BUILD THE ROUTE, WE WOULD FOCUS ON THAT GIVEN AREA, AS OPPOSED TO, IF WE HAVE FOUR OR FIVE CALLS FROM, YOU KNOW, FOUR CORNERS OF THE CITY, UH, WE WOULDN'T CHASE THOSE AROUND.
WE'D WAIT UNTIL WE COULD BUILD A APPROPRIATE ROUTE TO BE ABLE TO SERVICE THOSE AREAS.
SO YOU MIGHT TELL THE CUSTOMER THAT, UH, YOU WOULD GET BACK WITH THEM AS SOON AS YOU BUILD A ROUTE WRAPPING THEM.
UH, YEAH, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE SOLICITATIONS, LIKE THE UPCOMING SOLICITATIONS, UM, THE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE AND RECYCLING COLLECTION SERVICES AND THE MATTRESS RECYCLING PROGRAM THEY'VE BEEN SORT OF IN THIS UNDER DEVELOPMENT PHASE FOR QUITE A WHILE.
AND SO I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THOSE, UM, THE MATTRESSES I CAN SPEAK TO PRETTY QUICKLY.
WE'VE BEEN LOOKING TO SEE, WE HAVE DONALD, UH, ON BOARD HERE.
HE COULD SPEAK TO IT PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT MORE ELOQUENTLY THAN I CAN, BUT I CAN TELL YOU, I HAVE QUITE A BIT OF EXPERIENCE WITH, UM, UH, TRYING TO ESTABLISH AND STAND UP MATTRESS COLLECTION, UH, OR MATTRESS PROCESSING FACILITY.
AND, UH, IT'S ONE OF THE AREAS THAT MOST, UM, ENTITIES STRUGGLE WITH.
UH, AND EVEN PRIOR TO ME ARRIVING HERE IN AUSTIN, THEY'VE TRIED IT SEVERAL TIMES AND IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT.
UH, PRIOR TO COMING HERE, I WAS PART OF A PROGRAM THAT TRIED IT FIVE TIMES AND ENTITY STAND UP, THEY TRY IT.
AND, UH, WHAT WOULD TYPICALLY HAPPEN IS THEY WOULD GIVE IT A SHOT AND THEN, UH, THEY COULDN'T MAKE IT WORK.
AND SO, UH, MATTRESSES ARE A REALLY TOUGH ITEM, UH, TO, TO MAKE, UM, TO MAKE WORK.
SO, UM, THE REASON THAT ONE IS DRAGGING ON IS CAUSE WE'RE STILL TRYING AND CONSTANTLY WORKING TO TRY TO GET A COMPANY TO AGREE, TO, TO TRY A PILOT OR TO TRY TO PROCESS THE MATTRESSES.
SO DONALD, DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THOSE TWO ITEMS? I'M NOT SURE.
UM, DONALD HARDY ALSO RESOURCE RECOVERY, UM, AS FAR AS THE MATTRESSES GO, IT, THERE IS A SCOPE OF WORK THAT'S BEING WORKED ON, AND WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THAT OUT FOR A PILOT IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.
IT'S ACTUALLY, UH, MOST OF THE SCOPE IS COMPLETE ACTUALLY, AS WE SPEAK.
THANK YOU, DOM, THE OTHER ITEM, UH, WITH, UH, UH, ILA WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S BEING WORKED ON, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DELAY.
UM, I THINK TRAVIS COUNTY MAY HAVE HAD SOME TURNOVER AS WELL WITH THE FOLKS WE WERE WORKING WITH OVER THERE.
SO, UH, ONCE AGAIN, UH, WORKING ON THOSE THINGS HOPE TO HAVE SOME ANSWERS ASAP.
[01:25:01]
THESE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS? PROBABLY WE'RE GOING TO SEE.ESPECIALLY THE MATTRESSES THAT, UH, THAT SEEMS LIKE IT'S BEEN A VERY LONG TIME COMING.
AND YES, WE HAVE TRIED THIS HERE BEFORE, AND IT IS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING ON THE RECYCLING OF MATTRESSES FOR SOME STRANGE REASON.
NOBODY WANTS TO SLEEP ON YOUR OWN MATTRESS.
GOSH, BUT ANYWAY, GUYS, ANY OF THE COMMENTS, UH, KAI, GO AHEAD.
I'M JUST, I'M NOT HAZARDOUS WASTE.
IS THAT JUST FOR OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE ALREADY DOING IT FOR INSIDE CITY LIMITS OR WHAT'S THE REASONING? YEAH.
THAT'S GOING TO BE FOR THE TRAVIS COUNTY CUSTOMERS THAT ARE USING THE FACILITY SO THAT TRAVIS COUNTY WILL BE, UH, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MATERIAL THAT'S BROUGHT IN.
EVERYONE WILL STILL, EVERYONE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE THESE TERMS OF PICKUP THOUGH.
OUR FACILITIES STILL BE FOR EVERYONE.
SO IT'S NOT ABOUT PICKING UP FROM HOUSEHOLDS.
NO, IT'S FOR IT'S FOR TRAVIS COUNTY FOLKS USING DRR DOC DROP OFF.
AND THEN MY LAST COMMENT ON THAT PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SERVICE PROVIDER ON THE, UH, ON-CALL BULK, IS THAT US, OR IS THAT GOING TO BE PRIVATE HAULER CONTRACTED HOLLER RIGHT NOW SCHEDULED TO BE US? UH, WE'VE BEEN USING THE, UH, THE PRIVATE HAULER DURING THE GAP IN THE INTERIM, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN OUR LAST SESSION.
UH, BUT THE PLAN IS THAT, UM, THE CITY WOULD TAKE ON THAT BODY OF WORK.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, GUYS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ALL RIGHT.I THINK WE ACTUALLY HAVE GOTTEN A THING CALLED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF SILLY, I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ON, UH, UH, I GUESS THE, UH, GOT A STAFF HELPED ME HERE.
UH, PROBABLY A VICTORIA QUESTION.
WHAT WOULD A $22 AN HOUR MINIMUM WAGE DUE TO ARR IS BUDGET, FUTURE BUDGET.
AND, UH, ARE WE PREPPED FOR THAT? I MEAN, CAN WE LOOK AT THAT IN THE FUTURE? TALK ABOUT, UH, TALK ABOUT THAT AS A, AS AN ITEM ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR A $22 WAGE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
CHAIRMAN I'M HAPPY YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION.
WE'VE ALREADY LOOKED INTO IT, UH, AND WE'RE READY FOR IT.
YEAH, I THINK, UM, IT'S A, IT'S DEFINITELY WARRANTED.
IT WOULD HELP US BE MORE COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET, UM, AS WE COMPETE FOR, UH, CDL HOLDERS, UM, AND, AND COMPETE TO KEEP OUR OWN.
SO WE DEFINITELY NEED TO BE THERE, UH, SOMEWHERE IN THAT SPACE AROUND THAT $22 AN HOUR MARK, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THE HOMEWORK AND WE'RE READY.
THANK YOU, KEN COMMISSIONERS, ANY FUTURE ITEMS YOU WANT TO SEE? I WOULD LOVE FOR, I WOULD, AGAIN, I'D LOVE TO ADD THE, UH, GOSH, CONTINUED PUBLIC PRIVATE HOLLER FRANCHISE DISCUSSION, AND WE CAN START THAT CONVERSATION CAUSE THAT KIND OF LEADS INTO A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING TO DO IN THE FUTURE.
AND THE SOONER THAT WE BEGIN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, HOPEFULLY THE QUICKER WE CAN COME UP WITH SOME SOLUTIONS.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I'M LOOKING AT HERE IS THAT TRANSFER STATION AGAIN, THAT BABY'S NOT GOING TO GO AWAY.
IN FACT, IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE, YOU KNOW, NEEDED TO SAY THE LEAST.
SO WE CAN LOOK AT, LOOK AT THAT, UH, AT LEAST COME UP WITH SOME IDEAS AND THOUGHTS ON, ON WHERE WE ARE TODAY AND HOW WE GET TO THE NEXT STEP.
AND, AND AGAIN, THE BACK TO THAT FRANCHISE THING, I THINK ONCE WE GET EVERYBODY ON BOARD, ALL THE HAULERS ON BOARD DOING THE SAME THING, I THINK IT'S GOING TO MAKE LIFE A HECK OF A LOT EASIER FOR, FOR ARR AND, UH, THE, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN WORKING TOGETHER.
BUT ANYWAY, THOSE ARE MY, MY THOUGHTS, MY ITEMS, FUTURE ITEMS, ANY KATHY? UH, YES, WE'RE HAVING A URL COMMITTEE MEETING ON JUNE 30TH.
SO I'D LIKE TO SPEAK, UH, AT THE NEXT, UH, MEETING ABOUT WHAT WE COVERED.
ANY OTHER ITEMS GUYS? ALL RIGHT HERE IN NO OTHER ITEMS, COMMISSIONERS, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.
[01:30:01]
KATUSA ARIE, NO DISCUSSION.CAUSE I TURNED OFF MY MIC, BUT UH, ANYWAY, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
BY THE WAY, IT GETS LONELY UP HERE GUYS.
RIGHT? SO I WELCOME YOU TO COME BACK AND JOIN US NOW.
ANYWAY, COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR EVERYTHING.
HAVE A GREAT, UH, REST OF THE MONTH.