Jun 22, 2022 Joint Sustainability Committee

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ON OUR AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM OUR MAY 25TH MEETING.

UH, NEXT

[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

IS EVERYBODY TAKING A LOOK AT THOSE? THANK YOU FOR THOSE PHOEBE MOVE FOR APPROVAL APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

SECOND.

ALRIGHT, GOOD EMOTION.

GOT A SECOND.

DOES ANYBODY SEE ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADJUSTED? NO.

UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, UM, FOR, FOR VOTING, UH, YOU DO NEED TO HAVE YOUR CAMERA ON, SO, UH, EVERYBODY IN FAVOR, IF YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND.

AND I, I'M NOT SURE IF, IF IS THERE ANYBODY WHO IS OPPOSED OR ABSTAINING.

OKAY, GREAT MINUTES ARE APPROVED.

THANK YOU ALL.

NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, NICK

[00:05:01]

[2. a) Rain to River Presentation – Nick Kincaid, Watershed Protection Department (Discussion and/or possible action)]

KINCADE WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, UH, PRESENTING ON THE RANGE OF RIVER PLAN.

ALL RIGHT, ANDREW.

GOOD EVENING.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.

MY NAME IS ANDREA BATES AND I'M THE ACTING PLANNING DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.

I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE A BRIEFING ON WHAT WE'RE CALLING RAIN TO RIVER, A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PROTECT AUSTIN'S CREEKS AND COMMUNITIES.

FIRST, I WANT TO GIVE YOU A BIT MORE BACKGROUND ABOUT WHAT THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT DOES.

OUR DEPARTMENT'S MISSION IS TO PROTECT LIVES, PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY BY REDUCING THE IMPACT OF FLOODING EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION.

SO OUR WORK HELPS KEEP AUSTIN CREEKS AND LAKES HEALTHY AND CLEAN PREVENTS CREEK BANKS FROM ERODING AND STRIVES TO KEEP PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES, SAFE FROM FLOODING.

WE ACHIEVED THIS WORK THROUGH A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE PERFORM MODELING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT BUILDINGS AND ROADS ARE AT RISK OF FLOODING.

WE CONDUCT ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND RESTORATION TESTING, WATER QUALITY, PLANTING TREES, ALONG CREEKS.

WE OFFER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS.

WE INSPECT AND MAINTAIN THE CITY'S DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE AND DO THINGS LIKE CLEANING INLETS AND STORM DRAINS.

WE BUILD CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, THINGS LIKE SHORING UP ERODING CREEK BANKS OR INSTALLING RAIN GARDENS OR NEWER UPSIZE STORM DRAIN SYSTEMS. WE CARRY OUT FLOODPLAIN BUYOUTS TO HELP PEOPLE MOVE AWAY FROM FLOOD PRONE AREAS.

AND WE WRITE REGULATIONS THAT HELP PREVENT POLLUTION, EXCESSIVE STORMWATER, RUNOFF, AND DEVELOPMENT FROM OCCURRING IN UNSAFE AREAS.

SO OUR DEPARTMENT'S STRATEGIC PLAN IS WHAT GUIDES ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE DO.

SO A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE NAME OF THE PLAN WE USED TO CALL THIS PLAN, THE WATERSHED PROTECTION MASTER PLAN, BUT LIKE MANY OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM USING THE TERM MASTER PLAN BECAUSE OF THE NEGATIVE ASSOCIATIONS OUR COMMUNITY HAS WITH THE CITY'S RACIST AND HARMFUL 1928 MASTER PLAN.

SO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN DOES SEVERAL THINGS.

FIRST.

IT ACTS AS THE GUIDING BLUEPRINT FOR OUR DEPARTMENT, IT SETS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR OUR WORK.

IT ESTABLISHES HOW WE PRIORITIZE PROBLEMS AND IT HELPS US EVALUATE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS.

SECOND, IT PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING FUTURE PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND REGULATIONS, AS WELL AS MEASURING OUR SUCCESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

AND THIRD, IT STARTS AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL TO HELP EXPLAIN OUR WORK AND PRIORITIES TO WATERSHED STAFF, ALL THEIR DEPARTMENTS, BOARDS, AND COMMISSIONS CITY COUNCIL, AND THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY.

DOESN'T SUFFICIENTLY CAPTURE THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE THAT OUR STAFF HAVE GAINED OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES.

SO WHY ARE WE UPDATING THE PLAN? THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE WAS ORIGINALLY ADOPTED IN 2001 AT THE TIME THE PLAN WAS TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

IT SET GOALS AND OBJECTIVES GENERATED A HUGE AMOUNT OF NEW DATA DEVELOPED METHODOLOGIES TO IDENTIFY AND PRIORITIZE PROBLEMS CREATED A VERY EXTENSIVE INVENTORY OF POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO THOSE PROBLEMS, AND THEN MADE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW WATERSHED COULD BETTER DO OUR WORK.

HOWEVER, THAT ORIGINAL PLAN IS NOW MORE THAN 20 YEARS OLD.

AND WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE ALSO A LOT OF SHORTCOMINGS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED FOR STARTERS, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

THE PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS BACK IN 2001 WAS PRETTY STANDARD FOR THE TIME.

THERE WAS A CITIZENS ADVISORY GROUP, A PHONE SURVEY, SOME PUBLIC MEETINGS OVER DATA WASN'T TRACKED.

SO WE CAN'T SAY FOR SURE, WHO IS REPRESENTED, BUT ANECDOTALLY WE KNOW THAT IT WAS NOT A GROUP THAT REFLECTED THE DIVERSITY OF OUR CITY.

SO FOR THIS UPDATE, WE WILL DEDICATE EXTRA TIME AND RESOURCES TOWARDS ENGAGING GROUPS WHOSE VOICES WERE EXCLUDED FROM PAST PLANNING PROCESSES.

SO IN DOING SO, WE HOPE TO GATHER INPUT FROM THE FULL DIVERSITY OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTS, WHICH WILL HELP US ARRIVE AT A STRONGER PLAN THAT REFLECTS THE VALUES AND PRIORITIES OF ALL AUSTINITES.

OVER THE YEARS, WE'VE MADE RELATIVELY MINOR REVISIONS TO OUR CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS.

THESE UPDATES HAVE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON INCORPORATING REVISED TECHNICAL DATA AND UPDATING THE PRIORITIZATION METHODOLOGIES, BUT THERE WAS NEVER A COMPREHENSIVE NEW PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS OR ANY UPDATES TO THE FUNDAMENTAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN.

AND THAT IS PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE AUSTIN HAS CHANGED A LOT IN 20 YEARS.

THE CURRENT PLAN DOESN'T CONFRONT MAJOR CHALLENGES, THINGS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE, RACIAL INEQUITY, AND RAPID POPULATION GROWTH.

AND IT ALSO

[00:10:01]

AND IT DOESN'T REFLECT THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF C PLANS THAT HAVE BEEN ADOPTED SINCE LIKE IMAGINE AUSTIN WATER FORWARD AND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

SO GOING FORWARD, WE KNOW WE CAN'T WAIT ANOTHER 20 YEARS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.

SO THIS NEW PLAN WILL ESTABLISH A 10 YEAR CYCLE TO SHOW HOW WE ARE MAKING STEADY PROGRESS ON OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

AND THEN WE'LL ALSO DEFINE AN APPROACH FOR ONGOING UPDATES AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE THREE PRIMARY GOALS FOR THIS UPDATE.

FIRST THAT THE NEW PLAN WILL REFLECT COMMUNITY VALUES, BUT GOALS, PRIORITIES, KNOWLEDGE, AND EXPERIENCE OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE SECOND, THAT THE PLAN WILL INCORPORATE EQUITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE.

AND THIRD, WE WANT THE RESULTING PLAN TO BE ACCESSIBLE AND INFORMATIVE TO A BROAD AUDIENCE.

THE CURRENT PLAN IS 400 PAGES LONG AND VERY TECHNICAL.

AND WE HOPE TO CREATE A DOCUMENT THAT CAN BOTH SERVE AS A BLUEPRINT FOR DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS AND BE UNDERSTANDABLE AND INFORMATIVE FOR THE BROADER COMMUNITY BECAUSE THE STRATEGIC PLAN DRIVES OUR DECISION-MAKING AS A DEPARTMENT.

OUR GOAL FOR THE PLANNING PROCESS IS TO CREATE DEPARTMENT WIDE AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT OR THE NEW PLAN'S CONTENTS TO DO THAT.

WE WANT ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO BE COMPETENT IN THE PROCESS AND THE OUTCOMES, EVEN IF ALL OF THEIR IDEAS CAN'T BE INCORPORATED.

SO WE AS A DEPARTMENT, WANT TO APPROACH THIS PROCESS WITH A LEARNING MINDSET, MEANING THAT WE WANT TO BE OPEN TO CHANGING OUR PRIORITIES AND OPERATIONS BASED ON THE VALUES AND PRIORITIES OF THE COMMUNITY, EVEN IF THAT RESULTS IN CHANGES TO VERY LONG-STANDING PRACTICE.

BUT THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT ALL COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE PLAN.

WE EXPECT SOME DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT TRADE-OFFS AND CONSTRAINTS.

SO WE'RE HOPING TO STRIVE FOR CONSENSUS, BUT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE DECISIONS AND RESOLVE CONFLICTS WHEN THAT CONSENSUS CAN'T BE ACHIEVED.

SO IF THERE ARE CONFLICTS THAT CAN'T BE RESOLVED OR QUESTIONS THAT CAN'T BE ANSWERED WITHIN THE PROCESS, TIMELINE, THE PLAN SHOULD IDENTIFY AND COMMIT TO NEXT STEPS FOR THEIR RESOLUTION.

AND THEN FINALLY, WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE AS WE MAKE DECISIONS.

IF WE UNDERTAKE EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH IS OUR INTENT, WE NEED TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THAT FEEDBACK IS BEING USED.

THIS MEANS CREATING A CLEAR CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ENGAGEMENT AND THE PLAN CONTENT TO SHOW HOW THE INPUT WE'RE ASKING FOR WILL INFORM OUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESS IN THE FUTURE.

SO HERE'S A QUICK RUNDOWN OF WHAT WILL BE IN THE NEW REIGN TO RIVER PLAN AND ABOUT A PREVIEW OF A POTENTIAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.

SO WE'LL START WITH THE VISION AND VALUES OF THE COMMUNITY.

THIS WILL INFORM AND DRIVE THE REST OF THE PLAN WILL AFFIRM OUR DEPARTMENT'S MISSION STATEMENT AND ESTABLISH GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE PLAN AND FOR ALL OF OUR WORK PRINCIPLES LIKE EQUITY AND RESILIENCE, WE'LL SET ASPIRATIONAL GOALS TO HELP IMPLEMENT THE VISION OF THE COMMUNITY.

WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT'S PREVENTING US FROM ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS AND WHAT STRATEGIES WE CAN USE TO OVERCOME THE ISSUES AND CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE FACING WHILE ALSO GOING TO REEVALUATE HOW WE DEFINE RISKS AND HOW WE PRIORITIZE WATERSHED PROBLEMS, WE'LL SET OBJECTIVES AND METRICS.

SO WE CAN SHOW WE'RE MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARDS THE GOALS.

AND THE OBJECTIVES WILL BE SMART, MEANING SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT, AND TIME-BOUND, WE'LL DEVELOP A DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK TO DESCRIBE HOW OUR DEPARTMENT WILL ALLOCATE OUR RESOURCES, MEANING OUR FUNDING AND OUR STAFF TIME TO BEST MEET THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

THE PLAN WILL ALSO DESCRIBE OUR APPROACH TO FUTURE UPDATES, INCLUDING HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE REPORTING OUT ON PROGRESS.

HOW OFTEN WE'LL UPDATE THE PLAN WHEN WE'LL GO BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND HOW WE'LL IDENTIFY STRATEGIES THAT AREN'T WORKING.

AND FINALLY, WE WILL THEN WORK TO ALIGN OUR OBJECTIVES AND OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES AT ALL LEVELS OF OUR DEPARTMENT WITH THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN TO ENSURE THAT WE EMBED THE VALUES AND PRIORITIES OF THE COMMUNITY AS REFLECTED IN THIS PLAN INTO OUR DAILY OPERATIONS.

SO NOW THAT WE'VE COVERED WHAT RAIN TO RIVER IS, LET'S SHIFT GEARS AND GO BACK TO TALK ABOUT OUR APPROACH TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

SO WE'RE GOING TO DIVIDE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS INTO THREE PHASES.

THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE ONE IS TO GATHER BROAD COMMUNITY INPUT AND TO DO THAT, WE'LL A RANGE OF STRATEGIES I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE IN PHASE TWO, OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO EVALUATE HOW WELL WE TRANSLATED THE INPUT WE HEARD IN PHASE ONE

[00:15:01]

INTO PLAN CONTENT.

SO IN ADDITION, WE WILL GATHER INPUT ON COMMUNITY PRIORITIES FOR THE ISSUES AND STRATEGIES IDENTIFIED DURING PHASE ONE.

SO PHASE ONE STARTS WITH VERY BROAD INPUT PHASE TWO STARTS TO LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH THAT INFORMATION AND GETS INTO MORE DETAILED INPUT ON PRIORITIES, OFFER ISSUES AND STRATEGIES.

AND THEN FINALLY IN PHASE THREE, THE OBJECTIVE WILL BE TO PRESENT A DRAFT PLAN TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, REVISE IT AND FINALIZE IT FOR ADOPTION.

HERE'S A HIGH LEVEL TIMELINE FOR THE PROJECT, WHICH WE ESTIMATE WILL TAKE ABOUT THREE YEARS TO COMPLETE WITH FINAL ADOPTION BY CITY COUNCIL ANTICIPATED AT THE END OF 2024.

SO THE CLOCK HAS ALREADY STARTED RUNNING PHASE ONE OF ENGAGEMENT, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE NOW WILL LAST FOR NINE MONTHS.

TOTAL WE'LL THEN TAKE A FEW MONTHS TO EVALUATE THE INPUT WE RECEIVED AND TO START TO DEVELOP PLAN CONTENT.

THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO THE COMMUNITY NEXT SPRING, AROUND MAY, 2023 TO BEGIN PHASE TWO, WHICH WE ARE ANTICIPATING WILL TAKE ABOUT FOUR MONTHS.

SO THOSE SHORTER, OUR ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT FOR PHASE TWO, AFTER THAT PHASE TWO, THERE'LL BE A BEHIND THE SCENES PERIOD WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY WRITING THE PLAN BASED ON EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR AND ALL THE INTERNAL WORK THAT WE'VE DONE.

AND THEN WE'LL LAUNCH PHASE THREE IN MAY, 2024 TO PRESENT THE DRAFT PLAN TO THE COMMUNITY, FINALIZE IT FOR ADOPTION, PRESENTED TO BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND ULTIMATELY COUNCIL.

SO I'D LIKE TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE BACKGROUND ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT APPROACH.

WE HAVE A FEW PRIMARY GOALS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

WE WANT TO BE RESPECTFUL TO THE PARTICIPANTS.

WE WANT TO MAKE IT EASY AND IDEALLY EVEN ENJOYABLE TO PARTICIPATE.

WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO USE PEOPLE'S FEEDBACK AND USE STRATEGIES TAILORED FOR SPECIFIC GROUPS OR TOPICS.

WE ALSO WANT TO BE ADAPTIVE IN OUR PROCESS.

WE'VE DEFINED METRICS FOR SUCCESS, AND WE'RE GOING TO USE THEM AS WE GO TO TRACK HOW WE'RE DOING SO WE CAN ADJUST OUR APPROACH AS NEEDED ALONG THE WAY.

WE ALSO WANT TO ADAPT TO THE CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS CAUSED BY THE COVID PANDEMIC AND ANY OTHER EMERGENT EVENTS OR CONDITIONS THAT MAY PRESENT THEMSELVES AND THINKING ABOUT THOSE LONG-TERM IMPACTS TO THE COMMUNITY.

SO WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE A BUNCH OF STRATEGIES AND HAVE A SET IN STONE PLAN THAT IS NOT RESPONSIVE TO WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS BASED ON OTHER FACTORS.

AND THEN WE ALSO WANT TO COORDINATE AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ON ENGAGEMENT, WHERE WE CAN.

AND FINALLY, WE WANT THIS ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO FOCUS ON BUILDING LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST, ESPECIALLY WITH HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED GROUPS IN GROUPS WHO ARE IMPACTED BY NEGATIVE WATERSHED OUTCOMES.

SO WE'RE DOING SIGNIFICANT OUTREACH NOW AS PART OF THIS PLANNING PROCESS, BUT WE WANT IT TO BE THE BEGINNING OF LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE WILL MAINTAIN INTO THE FUTURE.

WHAT ASPECT OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN THAT WE HAVE INCLUDED TO MAKE OUR PROCESS MORE EQUITABLE IS THE FACT THAT WE ARE PRIORITIZING SEEKING INPUT FROM CERTAIN GROUPS PAST WATERSHED PLANNING EFFORTS HAVE NOT EXPLICITLY PRIORITIZED ENGAGING PEOPLE OF COLOR LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES AND OTHER GROUPS WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES IN AUSTIN.

SO OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WE'LL PRIORITIZE THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS.

FIRST RESIDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY MARGINALIZED FROM OR DENIED A FULL OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PAST PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES OR WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES.

GENERALLY SECOND ARE RESIDENTS WHO EITHER HAVE EXPERIENCED OR WHO ARE AT INCREASED RISK OF EXPERIENCING IMPACTS FROM NEGATIVE WATERSHED OUTCOMES, THINGS LIKE FLOODING EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION.

AND THEN FINALLY, OUR THIRD PRIORITY GROUP, IT'S CLOSEST TO WATERSHEDS TRADITIONAL STAKEHOLDERS, UH, ORGANIZATIONS WHO WORK ON ISSUES RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY.

THIS GROUP ALSO INCLUDES GOVERNMENTAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS.

SO THESE THREE GROUPS WILL BE OUR PRIORITY AND WE'LL RECEIVE EXTRA TIME AND RESOURCES DURING THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

BUT OUR FUNDAMENTAL GOAL IS THAT BY PRIORITIZING THESE GROUPS, WE WILL IN FACT REACH A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY.

SO WE WILL ALSO HAVE BROAD ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES LIKE SURVEYS AND MEETINGS THAT ARE OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL BECAUSE THAT IS A FUNDAMENTAL GOAL OF THE PLAN IS TO HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE.

TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES.

SO AGAIN, OUR FIRST PRIORITY GROUP, FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED OR DENIED A FULL OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PAST PLANNING PROCESSES AND WHO ARE MORE LIKELY

[00:20:01]

SO THIS GROUP INCLUDES PEOPLE OF COLOR, LOW INCOME FOLKS, NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS, IMMIGRANTS, AND REFUGEES FOLKS WITH PHYSICAL OR TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION LIKE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, PEOPLE LACKING DIGITAL LITERACY OR INTERNET ACCESS, AND PEOPLE LACKING ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION.

PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLE, AND USE THEM SENIORS DEFINED AS UNDER 18 AND OVER 65 OR 65 AND UP PERSPECTIVELY.

THE SECOND GROUP, I MENTIONED OUR RESIDENTS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED OR WHO ARE AT AN INCREASED RISK OF EXPERIENCING NEGATIVE WATER SET OUTCOMES.

SO FLOODING EROSION AND THE IMPACTS OF WATER POLLUTION.

SO THIS INCLUDES PEOPLE WHO ARE AT RISK, BUT WHO HAVEN'T NECESSARILY YET HAVE HAD A NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE.

FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEBODY WHO LIVES IN THE 100 YEAR FLOOD PLAIN, BUT WHO HAS NOT EXPERIENCED A FLOOD, PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THOSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS.

SO SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCED A FLOOD EVENT, SOMEONE WHO IS EXPERIENCING SEVERE EROSION ON THEIR PROPERTY, OR PEOPLE WHO SWIM PADDLE OR FISH IN WATER BODIES THAT ARE IMPACTED BY SIGNIFICANT POLLUTION OR HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS. AND THEN FINALLY PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH WHAT WE CALL A WATERSHED SOLUTION.

SO SOMETHING LIKE BUYOUTS OR AN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT WHO MAY HAVE REALLY HELPFUL INPUT ABOUT THE IMPACTS POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OF THAT SOLUTION ON THEIR LIVES.

AND FINALLY, OUR THIRD PRIORITY GROUP IS ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK ON ISSUES RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY.

SO WE'RE INTERESTED IN TALKING WITH THESE GROUPS BECAUSE OF THE RELEVANT EXPERTISE THEY BRING AND BECAUSE OF THEIR NETWORK OF FOLKS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN IMPACTED BY OUR DEPARTMENT'S WORK.

SO WE'VE LISTED ONLY SOME EXAMPLES HERE.

IT'S NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BUILD THIS LIST OUT THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

AND WE ARE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN GROUPS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ALSO FALL IN EITHER THE PRIORITY ONE OR PRIORITY TWO GROUPS.

SO GROUPS ON THIS LIST INCLUDE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY GROUPS, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITY HEALTH, AND PUBLIC SAFETY, ADVOCACY GROUPS, OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, AND FACULTY WITH RELEVANT EXPERTISE AT LOCAL UNIVERSITIES.

SO, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN INCLUDES A VERY WIDE VARIETY OF STRATEGIES.

SOME ARE FOCUSED ON COLLECTING QUALITATIVE INFORMATION.

SOME ARE ABOUT GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR UPDATE PROCESS THROUGH MARKETING OUTREACH, AND SOME HAVE TO DO WITH SEEKING GUIDANCE THROUGH A, YOU KNOW, A COMMUNITY ADVISORY BODY.

SO FOR THE PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, I JUST MENTIONED, WE'RE PLANNING TO USE TAILORED STRATEGIES THAT REQUIRE MORE TIME AND RESOURCES TO CARRY OUT.

SO THIS INCLUDES THINGS LIKE A COMPENSATED COHORT OF COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, COMPENSATED FOCUS GROUPS, MINI GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS AND EVENTS OF COMMUNITIES WHERE A PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS ARE REPRESENTED.

BUT WE ALSO HAVE MANY BROADER STRATEGIES THAT WILL BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS LIKE SURVEYS, VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE EVENTS, LIKE OUR KICKOFF EVENT THAT WE HAD IN APRIL ONLINE EDUCATIONAL EVENTS, PARTNERSHIPS WITH COUNCIL OFFICES, PAID ADVERTISEMENTS, A WEBSITE, WEB BASED COMMUNICATIONS.

AND THEN OF COURSE EVENTUALLY THE COMMISSIONING COUNCIL REVIEW PROCESS.

SO NOW SURE.

THE PART OF THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, HOW DO YOU GET MORE INVOLVED? SO RIGHT NOW FOLKS CAN EXPLORE OUR WEBSITE, WHICH IS RAINED TO RIVER ATX.COM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RAIN TO RIVER PLAN AND PROCESS THE WORK OF OUR DEPARTMENT AND WHY WE'RE UPDATING THE PLAN.

YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP FOR OUR CONTACT LIST TO STAY IN THE LOOP ABOUT PROJECT UPDATES, UPCOMING EVENTS, AND ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE.

LOVE, HELP SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE RIGHT NOW BY TAKING THE SURVEY AND IN THE FUTURE, UH, WITH ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.

THIS IS THE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE MOST FOCUSED ON AT THIS MOMENT, AND IT IS OUR COMMUNITY VISION SURVEY.

SO WE ARE TRYING TO HAVE AS MANY FOLKS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, TAKE OUR COMMUNITY VISION SURVEY AS POSSIBLE.

AND THEN IN ADDITION TO DOING A MORE TRADITIONAL SURVEY WITH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, YOU CAN USE A MAPPING COMPONENT TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH AUSTIN'S NATURAL SPACES, WATERWAYS AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE, AND A LINK TO THIS SURVEY IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, RAIN TO RIVER ATX.COM NEXT SLIDE.

AND THEN FINALLY WE WOULD

[00:25:01]

UH, SO ENCOURAGING THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NETWORK TO PARTICIPATE AS WELL.

THE WEBSITE IS THE EASIEST RESOURCE TO SHARE, AND IT CONTAINS LINKS TO THE SURVEY AND THE CONTACT LIST, AS I MENTIONED ON THE NEXT SLIDE.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TONIGHT.

WE ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE CONVERSATION AND COLLABORATION OVER THE NEXT TWO AND A HALF YEARS.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS TO SHARE, DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO ME OR TO OUR TEAM.

AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.

THANK YOU, ANDREA.

I, UH, I'LL JUST SAY, I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.

THIS LOOKS LIKE IT HAS SO MANY CONNECTIONS TO THE CLIMATE PLAN AND JUST EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE HERE IN AUSTIN.

SO I'M PRETTY EXCITED FOR THIS PROCESS.

I HAVE TO SAY IT W WHEN I, WHEN I SAW THAT TIMELINE, I WAS LIKE, OH, THAT'S A LONG TIME, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE ACTUALLY PLANNING TO USE THAT TIME IN A REALLY MEANINGFUL WAYS.

SO, UM, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO BE JUMPING ON THAT MAP.

UM, SO WHO, WHO HAS QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS HERE? I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GO FIRST BECAUSE YOU SPOKE UP FIRST.

THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE CITY.

I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO BOGART THE MIC, BUT APPRECIATE THE, UM, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION, EXCITED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

I AM CURIOUS, GOING TO THE LENGTH OF TIME FOR THE PLAN, UM, WHEN THE COMMUNITY, ONE OF THE THINGS I HEAR ON THE PARKS BOARD IS, YOU KNOW, WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO DO SOMETHING? AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, OF COURSE, YOU'RE ALWAYS HEARING, YOU KNOW, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

SO, I MEAN, COULD YOU JUST DISCUSS BRIEFLY WHY THE PLAN DOES TAKE SO LONG? THANK YOU.

WE DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND AND FEEL THAT TENSION AS WELL.

AND WHEN WE PUT THE TIMELINE TOGETHER, IT WAS DRIVEN BY OUR DESIRED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

AND THEN THE, BASICALLY THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE TO ASK ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE HOPING TO ASK OF THE COMMUNITY AND THEN FORMULATE THEM MEANINGFULLY INTO THE DOCUMENT AND HAVE THAT SECOND PHASE OF REVIEW.

AND SO I THINK THE TOTAL LENGTH WAS DRIVEN BY THAT VISION FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT IT'S ALSO A PLAN THAT IS BEING DEVELOPED, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH INTERNAL TEAMS. AND SO PART OF IT IS ALSO JUST THE EXTENT OF THE, WHAT WE WANT TO BE IN THE PLAN.

YOU KNOW, THAT TABLE OF CONTENTS, HOW MUCH WE WANT IT TO COVER HOW, UH, DIRECTLY WE WANT IT TO BE GUIDING OUR DEPARTMENT'S WORK.

SO IT'S ALSO THE, YOU KNOW, THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE TIMELINE.

BUT WHEN WE ORIGINALLY SCOPED IT OUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A VERY SIMILAR REACTION AND HAVE DEFINITELY HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE ISSUES NOW, UH, THERE'VE BEEN THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN IN PROCESS FOR A LONG TIME, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL THREE YEARS TO WAIT? AND I THINK THE WAY THAT WE'RE BALANCING THAT IS RECOGNIZING THAT OUR DEPARTMENT IS NOT STOPPING OUR WORK.

AS WE DO THIS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN EXISTING STRATEGIC PLAN.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT IT.

WE HAVE HAD, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD A LOT FROM THE COMMUNITY, AN INDIVIDUAL, UM, INITIATIVES OVER THE YEARS, THOSE THINGS, YOU KNOW, WORK IS BEING DONE.

WE CAN RUN PILOT PROJECTS THAT HELP INFORM THE ULTIMATE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PLAN.

YOU KNOW, SOMETHING, WE KNOWS SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'LL BE GRAPPLING WITH ARE THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP FROM THE COMMUNITY OVER THE YEARS.

AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET A HEADSTART ON, YOU KNOW, ANALYZING OR TESTING OR DOING SOME OF THE BACKGROUND WORK SO THAT WE'LL BE READY TO, YOU KNOW, INCORPORATE IT AND MAKE DECISIONS AS WE GO.

AND SO I THINK IT WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH BALANCED BY OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS UNDER OUR CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN.

AND THEN, SO WE'RE EXCITED, YOU KNOW, ONE OF OUR OWN, UM, KATIE COYNE, WHO IS NOW Y'ALL'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AND WE NOTICE TO THAT POINT TODAY IN THE AUSTIN MONITOR THE, THE INFORMATION COMING FOR LIKE INCOMING CODE AMENDMENTS THAT WILL SET THE BAR FOR WATERSHED SEAT.

THAT'S REAL EVIDENCE OF THAT.

A LOT OF THAT WORK BEING DONE.

NOW, THE OTHER THING I FACE ON PARKS BOARD IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE DOING THAT ENGAGEMENT, WE OFTEN, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU ALL ARE ADDRESSING IN THIS.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE IT ON THE EQUITY SIDE, IN THE VOICES.

UM, WE HEAR S YOU KNOW, VERY STRONG VOICES FROM CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CITY.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, AND THERE'S A, THERE'S THIS OVER REPRESENTATION, THAT'S OFTEN BECAUSE SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS WILL PUSH THIS OUT, THAT DON'T REFLECT

[00:30:01]

AND, AND SO YOU, WITH THAT INTENTIONALITY GOING TO THESE OTHER GROUPS, WHICH I REALLY APPRECIATE, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT ON THE OTHER SIDE, WHO YOU'RE TALKING WITH AND WHO, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO THEY'RE INTERACTING WITH.

SO HOW HAS YOUR ENGAGEMENT TEAM LIKE MIRRORING THAT DIVERSITY? IS IT ALL LIKE INTERNAL DIVERSITY THAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT TEAM? ARE YOU HIRING CONSULTANTS OR YOU JUST HAVEN'T HEARD OR HAVE NOT GONE THROUGH THAT YET? UM, SO THE ENGAGEMENT EFFORT IS LED BY OUR, OUR WATERSHED PLANNING DIVISION STAFF, AND OUR DEMOGRAPHICS DO NOT MIRROR THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF AUSTIN AS A WHOLE.

AND SO WE ARE TRYING TO, I GUESS, NOT MAKE UP FOR IT, BUT OVERCOMING THAT FACT WITH CERTAINLY INTENTIONALITY ABOUT WHAT OUR METRICS ARE AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, BUT ALSO LOOKING TO, UH, TO THINGS LIKE OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, UH, AND TO CONSULTANTS LIKE MEASURE, WHICH IS A BLACK LED ORGANIZATION WORKING IN AUSTIN, OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS WERE SELECTED, UH, LOOKING FOR A VERY DIVERSE, VERY DIVERSE POOL, OR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE OVERLY REPRESENTATIVE OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN ORDER TO REACH OUR PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS, WHERE WE, AS A PLANNING TEAM ARE NOT REFLECTING THE DIVERSITY THAT WE'RE SEEKING THROUGH THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR PROCESS.

AND SO I THINK IT'S, OH, GO AHEAD.

NO, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I THINK THAT'S THE, THE, ULTIMATELY THE GOAL WE WANT OUR, OUR PLANNING TEAMS AND THE FOLKS WHO ARE DOING THE WORK ALSO REPRESENT THAT DIVERSITY, BUT I CAN APPRECIATE TRYING TO AUGMENT IT UNTIL WE GET THERE ON THE STAFF SIDE.

AND THEN, UM, JUST REALLY ALSO ON THAT, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE SAMPLE DATA, WHEN THAT COMES IN, ARE YOU GOING TO WEIGHT THE DATA WHEN YOU'RE, I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO GET THAT OVER SAMPLING, BUT IS THERE GOING TO BE A WEIGHT TO THAT DATA ONCE IT ALL COMES IN PARTICULARLY TO DIVERSITY, OR IS IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, WELL, WE TRIED AND I'VE BEEN FACING THIS ON PARKS RIGHT NOW WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN EFFORT, BUT BECAUSE THERE'S THIS HUGE OVERSAMPLING FROM TWO NEIGHBORHOODS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE NORMAL AMOUNT OF ENGAGEMENT WE GET THAT LOOKS GREAT, NORMALLY IS GETTING WASHED OUT.

AND SO HERE, WHAT I'M ASKING FOR THEM IS CAN WE WAIT IT, AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT THAT, BUT I MEAN, IS THAT, THAT YOU ALL HAVE TALKED ABOUT? I DON'T THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WAITING THE DATA THAT COMES IN, BECAUSE WE YET, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN SO FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLING, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF WE FIND, IF WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE POSITION WHERE WE NEED TO DO THAT, LIKE THAT WOULD CERTAINLY BE PART OF OUR ADAPTIVE STRATEGY, BUT EVEN IF WE WERE TO GET JUST THINKING OUT LOUD HERE, IF WE WERE TO GET PERFECTLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLING, THERE'S STILL THE PROCESS OF DECIDING WHAT TO DO WITH THE INFORMATION AND IF IT'S VERY DIFFERENT COMING FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES.

AND SO I THINK THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT OUR TEAM GRAPPLES WITH AS WE ARE STRIVING TO COME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, AN EQUITABLE REFLECTION OF THE COMMUNITY INPUT AND THE TRANSLATION INTO OUR DEPARTMENT'S WORK.

YOU KNOW, IF THEIR REPRESENTATION, A REPRESENTATIVE COLLECTION IS NOT ENOUGH, IF THEN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS NEEDS TO EMPOWER PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO PARTICIPATE PREVIOUSLY TO GET TO THE MOST EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.

SO WE HAVEN'T TALKED IN DETAIL ABOUT THAT PART YET, BUT WE COULD DEFINITELY SEE THAT, UM, IT WILL, IT WILL BE PART OF OUR UPCOMING WORK.

PERFECT.

AND THEN JUST THE, THIS, ISN'T A QUESTION IT'S JUST THE LAST STATEMENT THAT I'LL MOVE ON BECAUSE I KNOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE COMMENTS.

UM, BUT ON WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT OTHER GROUPS, I GUESS JUST SOME THINGS TO MAKE NOTE Y'ALL PROBABLY WE'LL CAPTURE DOVE SPRINGS PROUD IS ONE THAT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ENGAGING THE EAST RIVERSIDE WHOLE TURF COMBINED CONTACT TEAM IS ONE THAT I REALLY RECOMMEND BECAUSE OF THE POPULATION THAT THEY SERVE.

OTHER IS PARTNERING WITH AISD BACK TO SCHOOL.

BASH IS ONE WOULD, THAT WOULD FIT WITHIN YOUR TIMELINE, BUT SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THERE.

AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE HOW IT'S ALL GOES BACK IN, AND IT IMPACTS, UM, OUR OPEN SPACE AND PARTICULARLY HOW CAN WE REALLY LEVERAGE AS WE'VE HAD THESE LONG DISCUSSIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY REGARDING, UM, YOU KNOW, GREEN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND HAVING MULTIPURPOSE FACILITIES, PARTICULARLY WITHIN PARKS AND OUR PUBLIC SPACES AND OUR GREENWAYS AND WATERSHED AREAS.

AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF SMART FOLKS THAT YOU ALL HAVE THERE.

AND I KNOW THEY'VE JUST BEEN CHOMPING AT THE BIT TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THESE.

SO I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT DATA COME FORWARD.

AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE, UM,

[00:35:01]

EITHER THROUGH THESE CODE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE, I SEE ON HASA MONITOR, OR THEY DO THIS WORK, THEY ABLE TO DO THINGS TO ADDRESS, ADDRESS ISSUES LIKE WHERE WE HAVE IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN, ALONG TWO 90 AND 71, WHERE THERE ARE SOME POCKETS OF POVERTY AND POCKETS OF DIVERSITY AND ENTERED CONVENTIONAL PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS, WHERE YOU GO, AND YOU'RE AT AN 89 TO 98% IMPERVIOUS COVER.

AND BECAUSE THE RESTRICTION IN HOW DIFFICULT HE IS TO DO THE SOS AMENDMENT FOR REDEVELOPMENT, UM, IT'S, IT MAKES IT NOT FEASIBLE.

AND SO PEOPLE JUST DECIDE TO KEEP THE CONCRETE VERSUS BEING ABLE TO DO SOME OF IT.

AND YOU'RE PENALIZED.

IF YOU MAKE ANY IMPROVEMENT TO ANY OF THE BUILDINGS YOU'RE PENALIZED, IF YOU TRY TO PUT ANY GREEN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO I'M HOPING, AND THAT'S A REAL, THAT'S A REAL CLIMATE THAT'S REAL EQUITY COMPONENT AND, UH, JUST QUALITY OF LIFE.

SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE FUTURE.

APPRECIATE THE TIME.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

RICH.

OTHER QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, ANYBODY ATTENDING REMOTELY HAVE ANY WELL, I HAD ANOTHER ONE, ANDREA, I APPRECIATED WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, DOING PILOT PROJECTS ALONG THE WAY.

ARE, ARE YOU THINKING THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN THIS KIND OF INITIAL, UM, I FORGET WHAT YOU, THE, WHAT THE TERM WAS THIS KIND OF INITIAL, UH, SURVEY AND SCOPING AND LIKE MAPPING PROCESS THAT LIKE, EVEN THAT MIGHT START TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC PROJECTS.

OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WE START TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK LIKE THAT.

AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT, ESPECIALLY THE MAPPING, BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT EXISTING WATERSHED PROBLEMS. AND WE COLLECT THAT INFORMATION FROM MANY FOLKS THROUGH ESTABLISHED CHANNELS.

YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CAN CALL 3, 1, 1, OR WE'LL HAVE HAD SOME OTHER SORT OF INTERACTION WITH WATERSHED STAFF REPORTING A PROBLEM, BUT NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THAT IS AN OPTION OR HOW TO DO THAT.

AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ALL THE EXISTING PROBLEMS THAT OUR, YOU KNOW, FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY ARE EXPERIENCING.

AND SO, AS WE ARE COLLECTING THE MAP INFORMATION, WE ARE EVALUATING THEM FOR, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THE ABILITY TO DO A SITE INVESTIGATION AND PUT THESE PROBLEMS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PLAN PROCESS INTO OUR EXISTING EVALUATION PROCESSES.

SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO, THEY DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO GET A SOLUTION IF THERE, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE A WAY TO ANALYZE THEM AND POTENTIALLY DO A, YOU KNOW, AN IN-HOUSE PROJECT OR, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE A, BASICALLY A FAST TRACK SORT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, SMALL CIP FIX OR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FIX, WE ARE DEFINITELY LOOKING AT THE SURVEY RESULTS AND TRYING TO ADDRESS THINGS, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN GET TO THROUGH EXISTING PROCESSES.

THAT'S GREAT.

AND YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT, UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE SCHEDULED TONIGHT WITH, WITH SOME FOLKS FROM, FROM ARR.

AND I KNOW THAT THAT Y'ALL HAVE SOME, SOME PARTNERSHIPS GOING THERE.

I'M WONDERING, I THINK MAYBE THEY'RE GOING TO TOUCH ON SOME OF THAT WORK, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT HOW THAT, UM, KNOW KIND OF, UH, PLASTICS IN, IN, IN OUR RIVERS OR IN OUR WATER STREAMS AND HAVE THAT MIGHT FIT INTO THIS PLAN AND, AND ANY OF THOSE PROJECTS, THAT'S SOMETHING I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN BECAUSE IT, I SEE THAT CLOSE TO MY HOME BEING AN ISSUE.

AND SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THINGS WE'VE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY IN THE PAST, AND WE WOULD EXPECT TO HEAR THROUGH THIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, TRASHING CREEKS IS ONE THAT COMES RIGHT TO TOP OF MIND.

AND SO WE ARE DEFINITELY LOOKING FOR THAT SORT OF INPUT AND THEN LOOKING TOWARD, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY WHAT WE WATERSHED CAN DO WITHIN OUR PURVIEW, IN OUR PLANNING PROCESSES, BUT WE ALSO HAVE AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION TEAM TO START IDENTIFYING THESE AREAS WHERE WE CAN BETTER ADDRESS AN ISSUE THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP, OR EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, WATERSHED IS COLLECTING INFORMATION ABOUT SOMETHING THAT JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE CITY IS STRUCTURED IS NOT, YOU KNOW, OUR DEPARTMENTS, UM, AREA.

WE DON'T WANT THAT INFORMATION TO GO INTO A VOID.

AND SO WE'LL BE COLLABORATING WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ON, YOU KNOW, WHO NEEDS TO BE HEARING YOU, WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT IT COULD BE ADDRESSED IF IT'S NOT OUR, YOU KNOW, CAN IT BE OUR PLAN? AND IF IT'S NOT OUR PLAN WHO NEEDS TO HEAR ABOUT IT AND WHERE CAN IT GO? AND SO I THINK WE'LL HAVE A LOT

[00:40:01]

AND WE CAN SEE, ALL RIGHT, WELL, THIS, WE NEED TO WORK WITH ARR AND MAYBE PART OR WHOEVER IT IS ON THE SPECIFIC TOPICS, NOT ONLY FOR THE KIND OF INTERDEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION THAT WE TYPICALLY HAVE, BUT TO SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THINGS THAT ARE COMING UP THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT GO BEYOND A WATERSHED'S ABILITY TO SOLVE INDEPENDENTLY.

I LOVE IT.

LAST CALL FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM ANYBODY.

AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

I WILL JUST SAY, I THINK WE SHOULD ALL TAKE IT ON OURSELVES AS COMMISSIONERS HERE TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS PLAN AND REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO USE THESE INPUT OPPORTUNITIES.

I THINK THIS IS A REALLY BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR US, AND, UH, I KNOW WE ARE ALL CONNECTED TO A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND SEGMENTS OF THE COMMUNITIES.

SO, UM, LET'S, LET'S DO OUR PART TO, TO HELP WITH THAT BROAD OUTREACH.

AND THANK YOU, ANDRE.

I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT.

ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP, WE HAVE KEN SNIPES WITH

[2. b) Zero Waste and Circular Economy Presentation – Ken Snipes, Austin Resource Recovery (Discussion and/or possible action)]

CAN THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

ARE YOU DOING THE PRESENTATION OR IS SOMEBODY ELSE GOING TO BE PRESENTING? I AM, YES.

WELL, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

WE READY? ALL RIGHT.

MY NAME IS KEN SNIPES AND, UH, I AM THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UM, THIS EVENING, I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU A FEW OF THE ACTIONS, ACTIVITIES, UH, EFFORTS AND PROGRAMS THAT AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS CONDUCTING IN SUPPORTIVE ZERO WASTE, THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

NEXT SLIDE SPECIFICALLY, UH, THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT ARE LISTED HERE.

A GOAL, ONE STRATEGY FOR CONDUCT A FOOD WASTE ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS GO TO AND STRATEGY FOUR IS TO EXPAND THE CITY'S CIRCULAR ECONOMY PROGRAM GOAL THREE STRATEGY, ONE PROMOTE WASTE REDUCTION, AND REUSE GO THREE STRATEGY TO CREATE ECO HUBS AND GO THREE STRATEGY, FIVE RETOOL, THE BULK PICKUP COLLECTION PROGRAM.

UM, I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT OFF THE BAT, I'M NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT, UH, GOAL THREE STRATEGY TO THE ECO HUBS ON THAT IS STILL A PRIORITY ITEM FOR US, BUT NOT ONE THAT WE HAVE STARTED JUST YET.

SO WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON THE OTHERS AS WE MOVE THROUGH OUR PRESENTATION HERE.

SO, UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION.

UH, SO, UM, AS PART OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE ALREADY STARTED AND, AND HAVE BEEN DOING FOR SOME TIME, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO AGGRESSIVELY PURSUE OUR WASTE REDUCTION EFFORTS THAT INCLUDE ORGANICS, COMPOSTING, AND RECYCLING.

AND WE WANT TO WORK ON A NEW ZERO WASTE GOAL.

THAT IS PART OF WHAT WE WILL BE DOING GOING FORWARD.

UH, WE WILL BE MOVING TO ADOPT A PER CAPITA WASTE DIVERSION RATE, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT, BUT MORE ACCURATE WAY OF, UM, DETERMINING HOW WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF WASTE GENERATION.

UH, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GOING TO CREATE OUR DRAFT PLAN UPDATE, WHICH WILL BE REDUCED.

AND THIS IS OUR, UM, OUR, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN OR OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH IS GOING TO BE, UH, DO THE FIRST DRAFT, UH, LATER THIS SUMMER, NEXT SLIDE.

CIRCLE ECONOMY EXPANSION.

SO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CIRCLE ECONOMY IS, THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO HAVE A DESK DEFINITION HANDY.

UH, IT IS A MODEL OF PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION, WHICH INVOLVES SHARING.

WE'RE USING REPAIRING REFURBISHING AND RECYCLING, EXISTING MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.

IT REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF RAW MATERIALS THAT ARE NEEDED TO MAKE NEW PRODUCTS.

UH, IT RE IT REDESIGNS MATERIALS TO BE LESS RESOURCE INTENSIVE, AND IT RECAPTURES SOME OF WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALL WASTE, BUT OF COURSE WE ALL CALL RESOURCES AND IN THE CIRCLE ECONOMY, THOSE ITEMS ARE USED TO MANUFACTURE NEW ITEMS AND NEW PRODUCTS.

UM, AND THEN CONTINUING WITH OUR OVERARCHING EDUCATION EFFORTS, WE WANT TO BRING EVERYONE UP TO SPEED.

UM, WE WANT TO BRING EVERYONE UP TO SPEED REGARDING WHAT THE CIRCLE ECONOMY EFFORT IS AND WHAT THE PROGRAM IS ALL ABOUT.

SO SPECIFICALLY WE WILL BE WORKING WITH ALL OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO PROVIDE EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE TO HELP THEM DEVELOP THEIR OWN CIRCULAR ECONOMY EFFORTS WITHIN THEIR, THEIR, UM, THEIR

[00:45:01]

DEPARTMENTS, ULTIMATELY WITH THEIR BUY-IN.

AND TO BE CLEAR, WHEN I SAY BUY-IN, UH, I DON'T WANT TO SUGGEST THAT WE'RE STRUGGLING TO GET THEIR SUPPORT.

AND IN FACT, JUST THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE.

UM, THE IS ALL EAGER TO PARTICIPATE, BUT WHAT I MEAN IS THAT, UH, AOR IS GOING TO HAVE TO SUFFICIENTLY EDUCATE THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND MEMBERS OF THEIR TEAMS TO THE POINT THAT THEY NOT ONLY MOVE FORWARD AS PARTICIPANTS, BUT ALSO AS AMBASSADORS AND CHAMPIONS FOR THE WORK.

SO, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THEM BECOME FORCE MULTIPLIERS IF YOU WILL, NEXT SLIDE, WASTE REDUCTION AND REUSE.

SO OF COURSE WE WANT TO WORK TO DEVELOP NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND PROGRAMS. THAT'S GOING TO BE A BIG, UM, UM, IMPORTANT EFFORT FOR US GOING FORWARD.

WE ALSO WANT TO PROMOTE OUR EXISTING PROGRAMS. SO, UH, THESE ARE SOME OF OUR MORE POPULAR PROGRAMS OR THE FIX IT CLINICS, WHICH CONNECT PEOPLE WITH NON-OPERATING ARE MALFUNCTIONING OR DAMAGED ITEMS WITH REPAIR EXPERTISE.

IT IS A VERY POPULAR PROGRAM.

WE ALSO HAVE OUR REUSE DIRECTORY, WHICH IS A ONLINE PLATFORM THAT HELPS PEOPLE LEARN WHERE THEY CAN DONATE RESALE OR RESPONSIBLY RENT OR REPAIR ITEMS THAT THEY MAY HAVE OR OWN.

UM, AND IT OF COURSE SUPPORTS OUR REUSE ECONOMY.

WE ALSO HAVE THE MOVE-OUT ATX PROGRAM.

THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT, UM, ESTABLISHES DROP-OFF POINTS PRIMARILY THROUGH THE WEST CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.

UH, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE EXPANDING THAT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT, UH, BOTH, UH, HOUSTON TILLOTSON AND ST.

EDWARDS AS WELL.

UM, BUT AS A PROGRAM THAT BASICALLY CAPTURES OR, UH, CONNECTS, UH, ALLOWS US TO CAPTURE JIMMY USED FURNITURE ITEMS, UM, AND, UH, TO SUPPORT THE EFFORT BY GETTING THOSE PRODUCTS TO REUSE ORGANIZATION, THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM IS ALSO GOING TO ADD A FREE FURNITURE MARKET THAT WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

UM, ANOTHER ONE THAT REALLY POPPED INTO PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS SPACE IS THE REVERSE PITCH PROGRAM, WHICH IS A COMPETITION WHERE ENTREPRENEURS DEVELOP BUSINESS IDEAS FOR MATERIAL BYPRODUCTS.

SO I THINK OF A, A COMPANY THAT MAY HAVE A MANUAL MANUFACTURING PROCESS, AND AS PART OF THEIR MANUFACTURING PROCESS, THEY HAVE SOME LEFTOVER BY-PRODUCT, UM, COMPANIES COME IN, THEY LOOK AT THAT BY-PRODUCT AND THEY DECIDE THAT THEY CAN USE THAT AS PART OF EITHER THEIR MANUFACTURING PROCESS OR AS PART OF A PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING SOMETHING.

AND THEN THE LAST ITEM ON THIS SLIDE IS THE CIRCUIT SHOWCASE A PROGRAM OR PROJECT, UH, WHICH BRINGS TOGETHER INVESTORS AND ENTREPRENEURS FOR A PITCH EVENT, SUPPORTING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY, THE WINNER OF LAST YEAR'S COMPETITION WITH A COMPANY, A LOCAL COMPANY CALLED LOW COAL.

AND WHAT THEY DO IS THEY REPURPOSE SPENT GRAIN, UH, TO CREATE WADDLE SOCKS, WHICH HELP PREVENT SOIL EROSION.

SO YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THOSE ON SOME OF THE CONSTRUCTION SITES THAT HELP, UH, PREVENT EROSION WHEN IT RAINS OR THERE'S WATER ON THE SITE, MOVING THROUGH THE SITE.

SO, UH, IT IS A, UH, A PROGRAM THAT I REALLY LIKE IN, UH, PROBABLY BE A PART OF NEXT SLIDE.

SO WE HAVE OUR BOAT COLLECTION PROGRAM.

AND SO, UM, PART OF THE EFFORT HERE WAS TO REVIEW AND MODIFY THE APPLICABLE POLICIES AND PRACTICES, UH, IN DOING THAT, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE DID WAS WE CREATED AN ON-CALL PILOT, UH, AND THAT HAS NOW BEEN COMPLETED.

UM, THE PILOT WE LEARNED HAS FACILITATED BETTER PLANNING FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND IT HAS INCREASED OUR EFFICIENCY.

SO WE VIEW THE PILOT AS A, AS A SUCCESS.

UM, WE, AGAIN, LEARNED THAT WE COULD BE MORE EFFICIENT IN, IN USING THE SCHEDULING PROCESS.

UM, AND SO WHAT WE PLAN TO DO FORWARD IS START TO PUT TOGETHER THE STEPS THAT WE WILL NEED TO, TO GET READY, UM, TO, UH, TURN THE PILOT OWNER OR TO GO TO A FULL ON PROGRAM.

SO, UH, OF COURSE, RIGHT NOW, LIKE ALL OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY, WE'RE A BIT SHORT ON STAFF.

SO THE TIMING IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK OUT AS WE LOOK TO IMPLEMENT NEW PROGRAMS. ALL RIGHT.

SO THE NEXT ONE IS SOMETHING THAT'S NEAR AND DEAR TO ME, AND THAT IS TRANSPORTATION.

AND NO, THE TWO PICTURES HERE ARE NOT NEW FLEET ADS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, BUT AS WE LOOK AT, UH, THE FUTURE, WE SOMETIMES FORGET HOW MUCH PROGRESS WE'VE MADE.

AND SO ONE OF THE AREAS IN WHICH THIS INDUSTRY HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IS WITH ITS FLEET.

SO GONE ARE THE DAYS OF COLLECTION TRUCKS, SPEWING ALL OVER NEIGHBORHOODS AS THEY DID IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES, AND MAYBE EVEN THE FIFTIES, FOR SURE.

UM, AND THAT IS A DIRECT RESULT OF WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE BY APARTMENTS AND BODIES, LIKE THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.

NOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, FROM THIS SLIDE, I HAVE TO SAY, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THE 1920S ERA TRUCK THAT YOU SEE IN THE SLIDE HERE, UH, THAT PROBABLY MADE ABOUT 40 HORSEPOWER OR BY COMPARISON TO TWO HORSEPOWER VEHICLE ON THE LEFT.

BUT, UH, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO DO

[00:50:01]

WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MORE EFFICIENT GOING FORWARD.

SO NEXT LINE, AND THIS IS WHERE WE REALLY WANT TO BE.

SO ELECTRIFICATION IS A SPACE THAT WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD TO AND ALL SERIOUSNESS, THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN'S COLLECTION FLEET WILL BE CENTERED AROUND ELECTRIFICATION.

THE TWO VEHICLES SHOWN HERE ARE FOR MANUFACTURERS THAT, THAT WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, ABOUT THEIR PRODUCTS, UM, THE EFFICACY OF WHETHER THEY WOULD WORK IN OUR SYSTEM OR NOT, OR WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE MOVING FORWARD, WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN THEIR RANGE, THESE, ALL THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY HAVING, UM, THE TECHNOLOGY HAS IMPROVED MARKEDLY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, SEEMINGLY EVERY YEAR, THE RANGE OF THESE TYPES OF VEHICLES IS EXPANDING.

HOWEVER, HERE IN AUSTIN, THERE'S ONE MAJOR LEMONADE FACTOR THAT PREVENTS THE PROGRAM, OUR PROGRAM FROM ELECTRIFYING OUR FLEET IN MASS.

NOW I WILL SAY THAT WE HAVE STARTED ELECTRIFYING OUR LIGHT FLEET, UH, ITEMS, BUT WHERE I REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON IS OUR HEAVY FLEET NEXT SLIDE.

SO THE REASON THAT WE HAVE DIFFICULTY ELECTRIFYING OUR FLEET HERE IS BECAUSE THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE A WASTE TRANSFER STATION.

AND, UM, THAT IS A, UH, A MAJOR ISSUE.

SO A WASTE TRANSFER STATION IS A FACILITY THAT CONSOLIDATES MULTIPLE LOADS, UM, FROM SMALLER TRUCKS.

SO THINK THE COLLECTION TRUCKS THAT YOU SEE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, OUT IN THE COMMUNITY COLLECTING, UH, INTO ONE LARGE TRUCK.

SO THINK OF TRACTOR TRAILER, UM, THIS OF COURSE INCREASES OUR EFFICIENCY.

IT ALLOWS US TO KEEP OUR COLLECTION TRUCKS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS COLLECTING VERSUS SPENDING HOURS IN TRAFFIC, DRIVING TO THE LANDFILL.

UH, IT ALSO REDUCES WEAR AND TEAR ON THE, ON THE FLEET, UM, THAT IS DESIGNED TO BE PRIMARILY AGAIN, DRIVEN IN NEIGHBORHOODS AT RELATIVELY LOW SPEEDS.

UM, CURRENTLY OUR FLEET DRIVES TO THE, UH, CONTRACTOR LANDFILL, WHICH IS IN CREEDMORE, UH, AND FROM OUR FURTHEST COLLECTION DISTANCE THAT'S, UH, THAT TOTAL IS ABOUT 30 MILES ONE WAY.

AND SO, UM, AS YOU COULD IMAGINE, ONE OF THE ISSUES WITH THE ELECTRIFIED FLEET IS THAT THE, IT DOESN'T HAVE THE RANGE TO DRIVE THAT FAR MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY.

WE WOULD EXPECT THAT, UH, WE'RE PROBABLY RIGHT NOW WITH OUR COLLECTION FLEET, WE DROPPED THE LANDFILL TWO TO THREE TIMES A DAY, UH, AS WE COME OFF OF THE ROUTES AND GET BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY SOMETIMES, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT.

UM, BUT THIS IS A MAJOR LIMITING FACTOR BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ONE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, CITIES LIKE, UH, HOUSTON WOULD HAVE SIX.

I THINK THEY HAVE SEVEN TRANSFER STATIONS.

DALLAS HAS FOUR, AND THEN THEY HAVE TWO LANDFILLS IN THE CITY AS WELL.

UM, PRIOR TO COMING HERE, I CAME FROM THE CITY OF SEATTLE AND WE HAD TO THERE, AND IT'S A MUCH SMALLER CITY THAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

SO AGAIN, A MAJOR LIMITING FACTOR IN OUR ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ELECTRIFICATION IS THE FACT THAT WE DO NOT HAVE A WASTE TRANSFER FACILITY INSIDE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, SO AGAIN, UM, THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT THAT WE WANT TO RESOLVE AND SOLVE, UH, IS THE FACT THAT, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ONE OF THESE FACILITIES.

UM, AND UNTIL WE DO, UM, THE EFFICACY OF MOVING FORWARD, UM, WITH ELECTRIFYING THE FLEET WOULD BE, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY HAVE WRESTLE WITH.

SO, ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE.

SO NEXT, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE AR AR EQUITY TOOL, NEXT SLIDE.

SO, UM, THEY ARE EQUITY TOOL, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE BEGIN DEVELOPMENT ON AN EARLY, UH, 2021.

IT IS MODELED AFTER THE CITY OF SEATTLE'S RACIAL EQUITY TO, AND, UH, IT IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT THE TEAM STARTED PUTTING TOGETHER INTERDEPARTMENTALLY, UM, BASED STRATEGIC DIRECTION TEAMS STARTED PUTTING TOGETHER INSIDE OF OUR OWN DEPARTMENT.

SO, UM, THERE ARE SOME USEFUL DEFINITIONS THAT WOULD HELP, UM, PEOPLE UNDERSTAND.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE SOMETIMES GET CONFUSED ABOUT IS WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EQUITY AND EQUALITY, RIGHT? AND SO EQUITY AND RACIAL EQUITY IS A CONDITION THAT EXISTS WHEN RACE NO LONGER PREDICTS THE PERSON'S QUALITY OF LIFE OR OUTCOMES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UH, IMPLICIT BIAS IS A NEGATIVE ASSOCIATION THAT PEOPLE UNKNOWINGLY HOLD OR EXPRESS, UH, WITHOUT CONSCIOUSNESS OR AWARENESS ABOUT SOMEONE OR, UM, IN THIS CASE OR SOMETHING.

NEXT, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

GOALS, TIME NEEDED TO COMPLETE.

SO AS WE DEVELOP THE PRODUCT OR THE TEMPLATE, THE TOOL, THE FEEDBACK WAS PROVIDED BY STRATEGIC INITIATIVE, DIRECTION STAFF, ALSO RESOURCE RECOVERY, UH, DIVISION MANAGERS, UH, NON AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, CITY PEERS, AND EXTERNAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.

WE HAD POSITIVE FEEDBACK OVER ALL COMMENTS FOCUSED ON, UH, AR OUR EQUITY

[00:55:01]

THE TOOL WAS A BIG CONCERN FOR FOLKS AS THEY MOVE FORWARD, TO ROLL OUT A NEW PROGRAM ON SOME, A NEW ENGAGEMENT EFFORT.

UH, WE USE IT TO EVEN, UM, TO DO SURVEYS OR TO DO PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING.

THIS WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE USE GOING FORWARD, AND EVENTUALLY WE'LL START TO USE IT MORE, UH, ON AN INWARD FOCUSED BASIS AS WELL.

UH, WE PROVIDE A MECHANISM FOR ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE PUBLIC, AND THAT'S A BIG DEAL WITH THIS TOOL.

UM, LANGUAGE CLARIFICATION'S ONE OF THE BIG AREAS OF CONCERN IS THAT ARE WE SPEAKING TO PEOPLE IN A WAY THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE MEAN, UH, VERSUS US SPEAKING AMONGST OURSELVES AND LANGUAGE THAT WE UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A LANGUAGE THAT MAY BE GERMANE TO US, BUT NOT NECESSARILY TO ANYONE ELSE.

UM, AND THEN WE ALSO TOOK EDITORIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND MADE MODIFICATIONS AS NEEDED TO THE TOOL.

SO THE PURPOSE OF THE EQUITY TOOL, UH, THEY ARE OUR EQUITY RACIAL TWO PROVIDES A PROCESS AND QUESTIONS TO GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION OF OUR EXTERNAL INITIATIVES AND HELP US TO HELPS US IDENTIFY WHERE ADDRESS IMPACTS A RACIAL EQUITY.

SO BASICALLY WHAT IT IS, IT'S A SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT HELPS TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU'RE ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN THIS CASE, UM, UH, IN A WAY THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT FORGETTING TO, UM, TO, TO ASK CERTAIN QUESTIONS.

I HEARD A QUESTION EARLIER FROM ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS REGARDING, UM, BASICALLY, UH, OVER-SERVICING A CERTAIN AREA MAYBE BECAUSE THEY COMPLAIN A LOT MORE.

ONE OF THE FEATURES OF THIS TOOL IS IT ASKS A QUESTION ALSO ABOUT WHO WE NOT HEARING FROM.

AND THEN WHAT DID WE PUT IN PLACE TO ENGAGE THE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE NOT HEARING FROM SO THAT WE GET THEIR VOICE ON THE TABLE AND THAT WE'RE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH THEM AND MEET THEIR EXPECTATIONS.

AND THEN SOMETIMES IT'LL, IT'LL PROMPT US TO ASK THE QUESTIONS AS WELL, WHY AREN'T WE HEARING FROM THEM? AND THEN WE DEVELOP ACTION PLANS TO CLOSE THOSE GINS, NEXT SLIDE.

SO WHAT IF SOME OF THE EQUITY TEAM GOALS OR OUR EQUITY GOALS FOR THE DEPARTMENT? SO WE WANT TO DEVELOP AND INVEST IN ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND PROJECTS THAT PRIORITIZE THE NEED OF AUSTIN'S COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.

THAT IS ONE ANOTHER NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, TO STRENGTHEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF, AND RESPONSE TO COMMUNITY NEEDS BY REGULARLY ASSESSING AND ENHANCING ESTABLISHED PROCESSES, SYSTEMS, AND STRUCTURES TO BETTER SERVE UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES AND THOSE MOST EFFECTIVE NEXT LINE.

IT ALSO HELPS US TO COMMUNICATE IN A MANNER THAT IS CULTURALLY RELEVANT, THAT IS STUPID, RELEVANT, AND ACCESSIBLE TO DIVERSE COMMUNITIES, FOCUSING ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITIES AND INDIVIDUALS WITH VISIBLE OR VISUAL OR HEARING IMPAIRMENT, NEXT SLIDE.

AND LASTLY, IT HELPS US TO CULTIVATE A WORKFORCE THAT UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF RACIAL EQUITY AND HOW THEIR WORK CAN ADVANCE RACIAL JUSTICE IN AUSTIN.

AND THIS IS A GREAT WAY, AGAIN, FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR PROGRAMMING, THAT WE UNDERSTAND HOW TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE THAT WE'RE SERVING.

IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, THAT IS MY LAST SLIDE, AND I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO COMMISSIONER WHITE.

THANK YOU, MR. SNIPES.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING.

WHO HAS QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? GO AHEAD.

I'M SORRY.

I, I CAN'T, I, I'M NOT SURE THAT I, THAT I CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHO YOU, WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHOEVER YOU ARE WITH YOUR HAND RAISED, I'M SORRY, CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF? HEY, Y'ALL, UH, HARRIS CRUSHY FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.

UM, YEAH, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, MR. SNIPES OR KEN, HOWEVER YOU PREFER TO BE ADDRESSED, YOU KNOW, UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

DEFINITELY.

UH, VERY INFORMATIVE.

UM, YEAH, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION WAS ON LIKE THE WASTE TRANSFER STATION, UH, THE WAY THAT YOU DESCRIBE IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AUSTIN HAS HONESTLY PROBABLY NEEDED FOR A LITTLE BIT.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE SUDDEN GROWTH THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IS CERTAINLY GOING TO EXACERBATE THIS ISSUE.

UH, YOU I'M A JADED EAST CIDER.

SO I FEEL LIKE THERE WERE DEFINITELY NEVER BE A WASTE TRANSFER STATION ON THE WEST SIDE WOULD PROBABLY BE ON THE EAST SIDE.

AND I, YOU KNOW, WITH THE RECENT AFFORDABILITY ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD IN DAWSON AREA, LET ALONE CENTRAL AUSTIN, DO, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO IMAGINE IT BEING IN LIKE A CENTRAL LOCATION, WHICH I WOULD IMAGINE THAT WE WOULD WANT IT TO BE GIVEN THAT WE WERE PROBABLY ONLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO BUILD ONE AND NOT TWO A WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS, RIGHT.

WOULD IT BE FEASIBLE TO HAVE IT LIKE OUTSIDE OF CENTRAL AUSTIN? OBVIOUSLY, I GUESS THE LANDFILL IS IN CREEDMORE.

AND SO YOU WOULD NEED TRUCKS GOING FROM THIS TRANSFER STATION TO THE LANDFILL AND CREED MORE,

[01:00:01]

UM, I GUESS THOUGHTS.

GREAT QUESTIONS.

SO FOR SURE, WE KNOW WE WANT, OR WE NEED ONE TRANSFER STATION PREFERABLY ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY, BECAUSE THE LANDFILL IS SO FAR SOUTH, SO IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO HAVE SOMETHING LOCATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY.

AGAIN, THE FURTHEST DISTANCE FROM THAT, THAT OUR TRUCKS TRAVEL IS FROM THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE CITY.

UH, AND SO IDEALLY WE WOULD WANT SOMETHING POSITIONED IN THAT AREA.

UM, BUT FOR SURE, SOMETHING ON THE NORTH SIDE, UH, IS, IS IDEALLY WHERE WE WOULD WANT THAT TYPE OF FACILITY, THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD GAIN THE MOST BENEFIT FROM IT.

UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD HOPE TO DO IS POSITION IT SOMEWHERE THERE FOR SURE.

I APPRECIATE IT.

YOU'RE WELCOME, KEN, ON THAT TOPIC OF THE TRANSFER STATION, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN A LITTLE MORE LIKE HOW IT, HOW IT ENABLES THE ELECTRIFICATION, LIKE ARE THE TRUCKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY MAKING THEIR WAY TO THE LANDFILLS OR THE, YOU KNOW, OTHER FACILITIES? ARE THEY NOT FULL OR ARE THEY ABLE TO COMPACT THINGS MORE AT THE TRANSFER STATION? CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT? SURE.

SO IF YOU COULD IMAGINE, IF YOU HAD A WA PER STATION ON THE NORTH SIDE OF TOWN, THEN TRUCKS WHO ARE SERVICING THAT AREA WOULD JUST DRIVE FROM THEIR ROUTE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE COLLECTION FACILITY, TO THE TRANSFER STATION, AND THEN RIGHT BACK OUT TO THE ROUTE.

SO YOU'RE TALKING IN SOME CASES, PROBABLY 10 MINUTES, 12 MINUTES, 15 MINUTES TO GET BACK OUT ONTO THE ROUTE.

CURRENTLY THE TRUCKS ARE DRIVING ALL THE WAY ACROSS AUSTIN, DILLON WITH ALL OF THE TRAFFIC SITTING IN TRAFFIC, THEY DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO CREATE MORE, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO REVERSE THAT PROCESS DRIVE BACK THROUGH TRAFFIC IN AUSTIN TO GET BACK OUT TO THE ROUTE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY.

AND SO WHAT A TRANSFER STATION DOES IS IT PREVENTS THAT TRIP.

SO YOU'RE TALKING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A TWO HOUR ROUND TRIP.

AND SO YOU'RE TALKING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE 20 MINUTES TO GET BACK OUT ONTO THE ROUTE VERSUS TWO HOURS.

THE OTHER THING THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING IS, UM, AS YOU KNOW, INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES, UM, DO BETTER WHEN THEY DRIVE OVER LONG DISTANCES, RIGHT? THEY'RE MORE EFFICIENT OVER LONG DISTANCES AND MUCH LESS EFFICIENT STOP AND GO ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

HOWEVER, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT HAVE REGION TECHNOLOGY, REGENERATION, UH, TECHNOLOGY, THEY ACTUALLY DO BETTER STOP AND GO DROP IT.

SO AS WE SEE MORE AND MORE OF THE NEWER ELECTRIFIED TRUCKS COME OUT, THE RANGE IS INCREASING AND THEY ACTUALLY WORK PARTICULARLY WELL FOR THE TYPE OF WORK THAT WE DO.

SO, UM, YOU COULD HAVE ONE OF THOSE TRUCKS IN THE COMMUNITY, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

UM, HE DOESN'T HAVE TO DRIVE HE OR SHE OR THE TRUCK DOESN'T HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO THE LANDFILL AND USES UP THE MAJORITY OF HIS BATTERY POWER DRIVING ON 35 OR, YOU KNOW, UH, TOLL ROAD, ONE 30, ET CETERA.

THEY ONLY DRIVE HIM BACK AND FORTH FROM THE COMMUNITY TO THE TRANSFER STATION.

AND SO YOU COULD ACTUALLY USE THAT TRUCK FOR A FULL DAY, UH, IN THOSE TYPES OF CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU WOULDN'T GET CLOSE TO THAT IF YOU'RE DRIVING TO THE LANDFILL.

AND SO, I MEAN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THOUGH, THAT WASTE DOES NEED TO GET TO THE LANDFILL.

WOULD THAT HAPPEN STILL WITH A INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLE? IS THAT KIND OF YOUR, YOUR VISION THAT YOU'D HAVE TWO DIFFERENT FLEETS PER UPS WORKING? YES.

SO, SO TYPICALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS THE LARGER VEHICLE IS GOING TO BE A TRACTOR TRAILER.

SO YOU MIGHT HAVE SIX OR EIGHT OF THE SMALLER COLLECTION TRUCKS.

UH, THEIR MATERIALS WOULD FIT INTO ONE TRACTOR TRAILER.

AND SO INSTEAD OF SENDING SIX OR EIGHT VEHICLES TO THE LANDFILL, YOU DRASTICALLY REDUCED THE CARBON FOOTPRINT.

UM, EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE, UM, ELECTRIFIED VEHICLES, YOU DRASTICALLY REDUCE THE CARBON FOOTPRINT NOW BECAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE ONE VEHICLE DRIVING ALL THE WAY TO THE LANDFILL AND BACK VERSUS SIX OR SEVEN OR EIGHT TRUCKS DRIVING THERE MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY OUT OF TRACTOR TRAILER MIGHT MAKE THAT TRIP, YOU KNOW, THREE TIMES A DAY, UM, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT WOULD, COULD BE UP TO 24 TRIPS, RIGHT? SO YOU COULD REDUCE THOSE TRIP, UH, HOURS DRASTICALLY AND TRIP MILES DRASTICALLY.

ABOUT WHAT THAT WOULD REALLY KIND OF LOOK LIKE.

I THINK THIS IS REALLY RELEVANT TO, UM, TO THE CLIMATE PLAN AND OUR MISSION HERE.

AND I HOPE WE CAN HAVE SOME CONTINUED CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS.

UM, I, I KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE SOME CONCERNS, WHICH I THINK HARRIS JUST, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MAYBE WAS STARTING TO ALLUDE TO THE, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE IT MIGHT BE CITED AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, WHEREVER A FACILITY LIKE THAT MIGHT BE CITED.

SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, STARTING, STARTING NOW WITH KIND OF THAT, THAT COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND, UM, SHARING AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE

[01:05:01]

CAUSE IT DOES SEEM IMPORTANT TO ME.

GO AHEAD.

RICH.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR SNIPES.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

AND I GUESS JUST FOR THOSE WHO ARE TUNING IN ARE NOT REALLY FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THE STATION LOOKS LIKE.

I THINK IT MAY PUT IN YOUR MIND, UM, LIKE A MINI DUMP OR SOMETHING VERY, YOU KNOW, LIKE, YOU KNOW, RUSTED METAL AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

AND THAT'S NOT THE FACILITIES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PARTICULAR FACILITY THAT WOULD SIT, YOU KNOW, SIT ON 10 TO 15 ACRES IN A LITTLE BIT IN AN INDUSTRIAL AREA, MODERNIZED LOOKING FACILITY ON THE OUTSIDE, BLENDING REAL WELL WITH EXISTING WAREHOUSES IN A SURROUNDING AREA.

SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS AND, YOU KNOW, VERY MODERN LOOKING ON THAT DESIGN AND THE IMPACT.

SO AS THESE CONVERSATIONS, I THINK THAT VISIBILITY OR THAT VISUAL, LIKE THIS IS HOW THEY'RE BEING BUILT.

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT HOW THEY WERE 20 YEARS AGO.

UM, BUT WITHIN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS, HOW THEY'RE BEING CONSTRUCTED AND DESIGNED, AND, AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO GO A LONG WAY AND BE ABLE TO RELIEVE SOME OF THE FEARS AND REALLY BE ABLE TO THEN FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, BUT APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

AND THIS WAS A FANTASTIC PRESENTATION.

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE SUCCESS PARTICULARLY ON, UM, ON THE EQUITY TOOL, ON WHERE YOU ALL WERE AT AND THEN TO THE SUCCESS, UM, THE SUCCESSES THAT WERE RESULTING IN FOR IMPLEMENTING THE EQUITY TOOL.

OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? GO AHEAD, DIANA.

SO THIS IS ABOUT BULK COLLECTION AND THE ON-CALL PILOT.

UM, WHAT I NOTICED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD IS THAT WHEN THERE WAS BULK COLLECTION, A LOT OF WHAT WAS GOING TO GO IN THE WASTE STREAM GOT PICKED UP AND RECYCLED.

IT KIND OF BECAME A BIG BUY, NOTHING SELL NOTHING BECAUSE PEOPLE KNEW WHEN OTHER PEOPLE WERE GOING TO LEAVE STUFF OUT.

AND WITH THE ON-CALL PILOT, I'M JUST CURIOUS, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THE NUMBERS AND THE SCIENCE AND THE DATA LOOK LIKE.

SO DOES IT ACTUALLY SHOW MORE WASTE INSTEAD OF LESS WASTE BECAUSE PEOPLE IN THEIR BIG TRUCKS CAN'T CIRCLE AROUND IN THE ONE OR TWO DAYS OR AN ON CALL PILOT, OR WILL THERE BE A COMBINATION? I THINK WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT IS WHEN, WHEN WE SCHEDULE, UM, BULK COLLECTION IN A GIVEN NEIGHBORHOOD, OTHER PEOPLE COME THROUGH AND PICK UP A LOT OF THE THINGS BEFORE OUR CREWS GET THERE.

SO THAT HAPPENS.

KIND OF A COMBINATION OF ONCE A YEAR, EVERYBODY PUT THEIR STUFF OUT BY THE ROAD, BUT IF YOU HAVE A GROSS OVER SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO GO GET RID OF IMMEDIATELY, YOU CAN ALSO DO THAT.

AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT AND WHETHER THAT'S A GOOD THING OR NOT, UM, I THINK IDEALLY IT'S A GOOD THING.

IF WE DON'T HAVE TO HANDLE THE MATERIAL AND IT FINDS A GOOD HOME AND SOMEONE'S ACTUALLY REUSING THOSE MATERIALS, UM, THAT, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT IS REUSE, RIGHT? THAT IS REPURPOSING AND IT'S FINDING A NEW HOME FOR RESOURCE.

SO, UM, I THINK WHAT WE'LL, WHAT WE'LL DO GOING FORWARD IS KIND OF MONITORED HOW THAT INTERACTS, WHAT WE INTEND TO DO GOING FORWARD.

UM, OTHER OTHER FOLKS HAVE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EXACT SAME THING.

WE DON'T HAVE A DEFINED ANSWER JUST YET WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT.

BUT I THINK, UM, FOR SURE, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LEARNING? IS THAT WHAT THE OUTCOME ON A CALL PILOT, WHAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS IS WE, WE TALK TO THE PERSON WHO'S CALLING, SO WE KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE, RIGHT? AND SO THAT LETS US PLAN BETTER FOR, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT TYPE OF TRUCK WE NEED TO SEND TO A GIVEN COMMUNITY.

UM, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY, OR HOW MANY ARE HAPPENING IN A GIVEN COMMUNITY SO THAT WE CAN SCHEDULE THE PICKUP.

SO HOW MANY PICKUPS THERE ARE, ET CETERA.

UM, BUT AS FAR AS, UM, IF THOSE PEOPLE CONTINUE TO GET AHEAD OF US AND TAKE THOSE ITEMS, DOES THAT CHANGE OUR ABILITY TO SCHEDULE AND PLAN? I THINK IT DOES, BUT WE DON'T YET KNOW THE IMPACTS OF THAT.

WELL, I GUESS I'M JUST THINKING, I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE THROW AWAY STUFF THAT IS PERFECTLY GOOD AND NICE TABLES, CHAIRS, BEDS.

AND IF THERE'S A KNOWN BULK COLLECTION DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND EVERYBODY PUTS HER STUFF'S OUT A WEEK IN ADVANCE, THE REALLY GOOD STUFF THAT SHOULDN'T BE GOING INTO THE TRASH DOESN'T.

BUT IF SOMEBODY JUST CALLS AND SAYS, I'M SICK OF THIS BED, TAKE IT AWAY.

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR IT TO BE SCAVENGED BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO KNOW AND COULD PICK IT UP, DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A ONE-OFF PICKUP, I GUESS, IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.

SO, SO IS THE FUTURE CLAN THAT 100% OF PEOPLE'S BULK PICKUP WOULD BE CALL IN UP A DATE, PUT MY STUFF OUT THE NIGHT BEFORE, AND THEN IT ALL GETS THROWN AWAY OR WOULD IT BE SOMEWHAT

[01:10:01]

I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A COMBO.

IT'S GOING TO BE A HYBRID MODEL.

UM, AND AGAIN, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, IF SOMEONE COMES AND TAKES THAT MATERIAL AWAY, THAT'S THE EPITOME OF WHAT WE WOULD SUGGEST, RIGHT? IF THERE'S A REPURPOSE OR REUSE FOR THAT MATERIAL.

SO WE DON'T WANT TO GET IT IN A WAY OF THAT.

AND THEN IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ARBITRARILY PICKING UP THINGS AND THROWING THEM AWAY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GIVE PEOPLE TIME TO KIND OF PERUSE THROUGH TO SEE WHAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THERE OR NOT.

SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WEIGHING AS WE STARTED A PILOT TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT, COULD WE DO OUR WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY.

UM, BUT I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WANT TO KIND OF LOOK AT WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR OUR OVERARCHING GOALS, UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, KEEPING WASTE OUT OF THE LANDFILL.

SO I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW WOULD BE A HYBRID, UM, BASED ON THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEONE CALLS AND THEY DESCRIBED WHAT THEY HAVE, AND IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING THERE THAT WOULD BE USABLE OR SOME MATERIAL, BECAUSE WE WOULD TYPICALLY ASK THEM, DO YOU HAVE, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT KIND OF CONDITION THAT'S, HOW YOU STOP IT.

SO IF SOMEBODY SAYS I HAVE A REALLY NICE TABLE AND CHAIR, I'M JUST SICK OF IT, YOU DON'T KIND OF PICK IT UP AND THROW IT IN THE LANDFILL.

YOU TRY TO DIVERT IT SOMEHOW THAT THAT WOULD BE THE GOAL.

UM, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF HEARING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT ON-CALL AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO ENCOURAGE REUSE OF MATERIAL THAT MIGHT, UH, NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE THROWN IN THE TRASH, UH, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO HAVE, LIKE, I'M THINKING LIKE MAYBE SOME KIND OF DATABASE WHERE LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, MARKING THEIR STUFF AS POSSIBLY BEING ON CALL FOR A BULK PICKUP, RIGHT.

IT COULD BE SEEN AS SOME KIND OF PUBLIC DATABASE WHERE IT'S LIKE, OH, OKAY, WELL, HEY, SOMEONE'S THROWING OUT A TABLE.

MAYBE I CAN DRIVE BY THERE AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

IF IT'S NEARBY, YOU KNOW, JUST BRAINSTORMING SPITBALLING.

THEY COULD PROBABLY USE OUR REUSE DIRECTORY, UH, TO, TO HELP WITH THAT.

AND THEN I KNOW THERE ARE NOW A NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE A FACEBOOK REUSE, UH, PLATFORM THAT THEY USE TO KIND OF SHARE THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION AS WELL.

AND WE HAVE MEMBERS OF OUR STAFF WHO ARE CONSTANTLY HELPING COMMUNITIES SET UP THOSE TYPES OF, YOU KNOW, UH, PLATFORMS FOR THEMSELVES TO, TO HELP THEM, YOU KNOW, USE THOSE ON THEIR OWN.

SO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE, UM, THAT TYPE OF NEED, JUST PLEASE REACH OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT AND WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP.

I KNOW IN MY OWN NEIGHBORHOOD, WE'VE GOT A WINDSOR PARK, WE'VE GOT THE AUSTIN CREATIVE REUSE, A BUILDING, WHICH IS PRETTY POPULAR FOR STUFF LIKE THAT.

I'M GLAD Y'ALL ARE ASKING A QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.

IT'S, IT'S BEEN A TOPIC THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED AT THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION ON, AND I SEE YOU POPPING ON THIS SCREEN.

MELISSA, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD TO THIS? GO AHEAD.

I WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION, UM, FROM JEN'S PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE WASTE TRANSFER STATION DILEMMA IS NOT HA IT HAS NOT BEEN POPULAR WITH SLACK IN THE PAST, BUT YOU DEFINITELY PITCHED A VERY GOOD ARGUMENT FOR WHY WE NEED ONE IN AUSTIN.

AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, DO YOU THINK WE NEED ONE FOR ONLY LANDFILL HICCUP? OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED FOR RECYCLING PICKUP COMPOST PICKUP? BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO RECYCLING SITES, BELL COUNTIES, AND A TDS TO SERVE THE NORTH END THE SOUTH, BUT FOR COMPOST, IT'S ONLY IN THE DOOR.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? YEAH, SO A WASTE TRANSFER STATION WOULD BE USED TO CONSOLIDATE RECYCLING AS WELL.

SO IT WOULD RESOLVE THE ISSUE OF ALL TRUCK TRIPS, RIGHT? SO REGARDLESS IF IT'S, IF IT'S, UM, COMPOST, HAULING TRUCKS OR RECYCLING OR, UM, WASTE.

SO ALL TRUCKS WOULD RESIZE WOULD CYCLE THEMSELVES THROUGH THAT FACILITY, DEPOSIT THEIR MATERIALS, GET BACK OUT ON THE ROUTES COLLECTING.

AND THOSE MATERIALS WILL BE CONSOLIDATED INTO LARGER VEHICLES THAT CAN MOVE THOSE MATERIALS MORE EFFICIENTLY.

UM, AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE TWO FACILITIES THAT YOU MENTIONED, BALCONIES AND TDS, THOSE ARE PROCESSING FACILITIES.

SO WE WOULD STILL HAVE TO TAKE THE MATERIALS THAT WE RAN THROUGH THE TRANSFER STATION TO THOSE FACILITIES FOR PROCESSING, BUT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY BECAUSE WE'RE DOING IT WITH LARGER TRUCKS AS OPPOSED TO THE SMALLER COLLECTION MEANS.

[01:15:03]

I THINK YOUR ARGUMENT FOR PITCHING A NEED FOR THE TRANSFER STATIONS IN ORDER TO HAVE LIKE VACATION IS A PRETTY, PRETTY SOLID ARGUMENT.

SO YEAH, I'M, I'LL BE INTERESTED TO BE OUR NEXT WAC MEETING NEXT TIME.

THIS COMES UP ON WHAT PEOPLE SAY IN REGARDS TO THAT ARGUMENT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT, KEN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AND YOU'RE TAKING TIME TO COME AND TALK TO US TONIGHT.

[2. c) Austin Regional Food Plan – Edwin Marty, Office of Sustainability (Discussion and/or possible action)]

READY? OKAY.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UH, AMANDA AND I DON'T WANT US ROLLING.

YOU GOT IT.

ROLL LIKE, UH, WITH PRESENTING ON THE AUSTIN REGIONAL FOOD PLAN.

THANKS SO MUCH.

UM, GOOD EVENING.

COMMISSIONERS ARE REALLY THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN YOU THIS EVENING.

MY NAME IS AMANDA ROELLICH AND I'M A FOOD POLICY ADVISOR WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.

I'M HERE JOINED WITH MY COLLEAGUES AT HILO TORRES PERALTA TO PROVIDE A PREVIEW OF BOTH THE DISASTER AND COMPREHENSIVE FOOD PLANNING PROCESSES THAT ARE UNDERWAY.

SO, UH, WE'VE GOT SOME SLIDES TO SHARE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION AND WE REALLY HOPE TO GET YOUR INPUT AND FEEDBACK ON ANYTHING THAT WE SHOULD KEEP IN MIND AS WE INITIATE THIS PROCESS.

AS WE SET OUT TO DEVELOP A FOOD PLAN, WE AIM TO LOOK ACROSS ALL SECTORS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM TO DETERMINE HOW WE CAN MAKE STRIDES TOWARDS A MORE LOCAL SUSTAINABLE AND JUST FOOD SYSTEM THAT SERVES EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY.

SO WHAT IS A FOOD SYSTEM? A FOOD SYSTEM IS A COMPLEX WEB OF POLICIES, ACTIVITIES, ENTITIES, AND PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE GETTING FOOD FROM FIELD TO FORK.

WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT THESE CHAINS OF ACTIVITIES IN SECTORS THAT INCLUDE PRODUCTION PROCESSING, RETAIL CONSUMPTION, AND FOOD ACCESS AND WASTE DIVERSION.

WE HAVE FOOD JUSTICE AT THE CENTER THERE TO REMIND US THAT THERE ARE STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES THAT LEAD TO UNEQUAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES ALONG ALL SECTORS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM.

AND THESE MUST BE ADDRESSED IF WE EXPECT BETTER OUTCOMES.

SO SOME IMPORTANT FACTS THAT ARE DRIVING THIS WORK, UM, WHILE AUSTIN BOASTS OVER 6,000 RESTAURANTS, WORLD-CLASS GROCERY STORES AND FOOD RETAIL, SOME RECENT JAMES BEARD AWARDED CHEFS.

WE ALSO HAVE SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS THAT ARE STRUGGLING TO MEET BASIC FOOD NEEDS.

ALMOST 15% OF TRAVIS COUNTY IS SUFFERING FROM FOOD INSECURITY, ESSENTIALLY NOT KNOWING WHEN OR HOW THEY'LL GET THEIR NEXT MEAL, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.

AND ALMOST 40% OF OUR ZIP CODES DON'T HAVE A FULL SERVICE GROCERY STORE.

THE IMPACTS OF FOOD INSECURITY ARE FELT DISPROPORTIONATELY BY LATIN X, BLACK AND INDIGENOUS FOLKS.

SO THAT, UM, INFOGRAPHIC YOU SEE AT THE SIDE IS REFLECTING NATIONAL, UH, DISPARITIES NATIONAL DATA.

UM, BUT WE, THE DATA SUGGESTS THAT WE CAN SEE THE SAME TRENDS LOCALLY.

ANOTHER DEEP AREA OF CONCERN IS OUR LOCAL RESILIENCE AND ABILITY TO GROW OUR OWN FOOD.

THE RECENT ACCENTS, THIS DATA SHOWS THAT WE ARE LOSING FARMLAND AT AN UNPRECEDENTED RATE AT 16.8 ACRES OF FARMLAND EACH DAY.

UM, LOSING THIS FARMLAND TO THE PRESSURES OF DEVELOPMENT, LESS THAN 1% OF THE FOOD CONSUMED LOCALLY IS PRODUCED LOCALLY.

SO ACTIVITIES IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM ALSO EXACERBATE THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS, THE PRODUCTION TRANSPORTATION AND HANDLING OF FOOD GENERATE SIGNIFICANT CARPET DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.

WHEN THE FOOD ENDS UP IN THE LANDFILL, IT GENERATES METHANE, WHICH IS AN EVEN MORE POTENT GREENHOUSE GAS AND AUSTIN.

WE LOSE ABOUT A MILLION POUNDS OF FOOD TO OUR LANDFILL DAILY.

AND OF COURSE WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE FOOD SYSTEM WITHOUT MENTIONING SOME OF THE HUGE DISRUPTIONS WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS FROM COVID TO WINTER STORM URI, TO THE FORMULA, RECALL AND SHORTAGES AND JUST GENERAL INFLATION AND INCREASED FOOD PRICES.

WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN IS HIGHLY VULNERABLE AND WE NEED TO POSITION OURSELVES.

SO WE'RE BETTER PREPARED FOR EXTREME EVENTS.

SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH, AUSTIN WATER, THE EQUITY OFFICE, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO ADDRESS THESE ACUTE CHALLENGES.

SO OUR OFFICE IS CURRENTLY WORKING WITH HOMELAND

[01:20:01]

WE'RE CREATING A PLAN TO SUPPLEMENT THE CITY'S EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN SO THAT WHEN NOT IF, BUT WHEN FUTURE DISASTERS ARISE, WE HAVE A COORDINATED APPROACH THAT ENSURES ACCESS TO THE FOOD THAT EVERYONE NEEDS.

THIS IS A SEPARATE DOCUMENT, BUT IT'S CLOSELY RELATED TO THE AUSTIN FOOD PLAN.

AND WE WILL BE LEVERAGING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WE DO DURING OUR COMPREHENSIVE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS TO GET INPUT AND FEEDBACK ON THIS DISASTER, FOOD AND WATER APPENDIX, TO MAKE SURE WE GOT IT RIGHT.

THE RESILIENCE HUBS THAT THE CITY IS WORKING ON, THE PILOT THAT IS CURRENTLY GOING ON WILL ALSO BE INTEGRATED INTO THIS APPENDIX NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

YOU CAN JUST SKIP ON THROUGH TO THE FOLLOWING SLIDE.

WHY DO WE NEED A FOOD PLAN? SO I'M PROBABLY NOT THE FIRST YOU'VE HEARD SAY THIS, AND I WON'T BE THE LAST, BUT COVID AND WINTER STORM YURI REALLY EXPOSED SOME OF THE FISHERS IN MANY OF OUR SYSTEMS FROM FOOD SYSTEMS, EDUCATION SYSTEMS, HEALTHCARE, BUT EVEN BEFORE COVID WE WERE SEEING A GROWING AWARENESS THAT, YOU KNOW, FOOD SYSTEM ACTIVITIES TAKE UP A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL LAND THAT THE ENVIRONMENTS AND LAND USE IN OUR CITIES IMPACT HUNGER AND DIET RELATED DISEASES, AND CERTAINLY GREATER AWARENESS OF THE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY TO PRODUCE TRANSPORT AND DISPOSE OF THE FOOD WE EAT.

A FOOD PLAN WILL HELP US TRANSLATE COMMUNITY INPUT INTO GOALS AND STRATEGIES, AND HOPEFULLY MITIGATE SOME OF THESE CHALLENGES THAT ARE PRESENT NOT ONLY IN TIMES OF DISASTER, BUT ALSO DURING BLUE SKIES AS WELL.

SO THIS PLANNING PROCESS REALLY GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.

WE'D LIKE TO SEE INSTEAD OF JUST REACTING TO PROBLEMS AND ISSUES AS THEY ARRIVE AS PART OF PREPARING FOR THIS, THE KICKING OFF OF THIS PROCESS, WE'RE DOING AN AUDIT OF EXISTING CITY OF AUSTIN DEPARTMENTAL AND COMPREHENSIVE PLANS TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE ALREADY INTERSECTIONS WITH THE FOOD SYSTEM AND MAKE SURE THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THOSE PLANS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN, UM, DEVELOPED ARE REFLECTED IN THIS PROCESS.

SO, UH, BOTH THE TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD AND STAFF HAVE LONG RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR A FOOD PLAN, BUT IT WAS ONLY RECENTLY THAT WE RECEIVED NOT ONLY THE MANDATE FROM COUNCIL, BUT THE FUNDING TO PROCEED.

SO IN JUNE OF 2021 AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED THE CITY MANAGER TO INITIATE A MULTI-LINGUAL FOOD PLANNING PROCESS AND DIRECTED AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

OUR OFFICE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS LEADING THIS PROCESS.

NEXT SLIDE AS A FIRST STEP TO GETTING THE PLANNING PROCESS UNDER WAY, WE ARE, UM, REALLY SAYING AN UPDATED STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT.

SO TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE, WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PAST AND THE PRESENT, UM, AND TO HELP COMMUNITY GET A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHAT WE KNOW NOW, WE DEVELOP THIS BASELINE ASSESSMENT CALLED THE FOOD SYSTEM, A STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT BUILDING OFF PREVIOUS REPORTS RELEASED BY OUR OFFICE IN 2015 AND 2018.

SO THIS DOCUMENT IS REIN ARRANGED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY, UM, BUT IT WILL HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANT TERMS AND DEFINITIONS TRENDS AND CHALLENGES, KEY QUESTIONS AND RELEVANT DATA.

AND WE HOPE THAT IT WILL HELP PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS, HAVE A SHARED FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE THEY CAN WORK FROM, AND THIS WILL, UM, IS SLATED TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE NEXT MONTH.

SO WE HAVE A PRETTY SMALL TEAM AT THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.

THAT'S DEDICATED TO, UM, THIS FOOD SYSTEM, THESE FOOD SYSTEM ISSUES.

WE HAVE TWO FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AND TWO TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.

SO WE'RE REALLY RELYING ON THE HELP OF, UM, A BROADER PROJECT TEAM TO BRING THIS PLANNING PROCESS TO LIFE.

UM, I'VE KIND OF BROKEN OUT SOME OF THE KEY PLAYERS HERE AND THEIR FUNCTIONS.

SO WE HAVE THE STEWARDS AND ADVISORS OF THE PROCESS PART, WHICH IS CITY AND COUNTY STAFF, THE CONSULTANT TEAM THAT WE'LL BE BRINGING ON THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH I'LL SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, AND SOME UPCOMING SLIDES AND THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD, AND THEN THERE'S THE ADVISORS ON THE CONTENT OF THE PLAN.

UM, AND THAT COMES IN AND THE ISSUE AREA GROUPS, GENERAL PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE COMMUNITY FOOD AMBASSADORS.

AND COUNTY STAFF KIND OF, UH, LEADING THIS WITH THE HELP OF A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

THIS SLIDE JUST SHOWS YOU SOME OF THOSE PLAYERS AND REALLY HOW THEY FIT INTO HOW THE PLANNING PROCESS WILL BE ORGANIZED.

SO YOU'LL SEE AT THE TOP KIND OF THE OUTCOMES OF THIS PROCESS WILL BE AUSTIN'S FIRST FOOD PLAN AND AN EMERGENCY FOOD AND WATER APPENDIX.

YOU'VE GOT CITY

[01:25:01]

UM, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE CONSULTANT TEAM OVER HERE HELPING LEAD THE PROCESS ALONG WITH, UM, ADVICE FROM AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD, AND THEN WE'VE GOT COMMUNITY FOOD AMBASSADORS, ISSUE, AREA GROUPS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC FEEDING INTO THAT PROCESS WITH CONTENT.

WE'VE GOT THESE POTENTIAL GROUPS ON THIS SIDE HERE.

UM, WE ARE REALLY GONNA LOOK TO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO DEFINE WHAT THOSE GROUPS SHOULD BE.

UM, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, THEY COULD BE ORIENTED AROUND SOME OF THE MAJOR SECTORS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM.

AND AT THE BOTTOM HERE, WE'VE GOT THE FOOD EQUITY TOOLKIT, WHICH, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO, UH, PROCESSES THAT, UH, DIRECTOR SNIPS WAS TALKING ABOUT.

SO A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PROJECT TEAM IS THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

SO THIS COMMITTEE IS GOING TO BE MADE UP OF AROUND 20 TO 30 PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM AND REFLECT THOSE WHO ARE MOST NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY THE FOOD SYSTEM.

WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OUR FOOD POLICY BOARD ON DEVELOPING THE CRITERIA FOR THIS COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, THE OUTREACH AND SELECTION PROCESS.

AND, UM, WE DO WANT TO NOTE HERE THAT THERE WILL BE PAID STIPENDS FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO EXPRESS THE EXPRESS NEED AND WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

THIS WILL BE, UM, OF ALL THE WAYS THAT COMMUNITY CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.

THIS WILL BE THE MOST TIME-INTENSIVE, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS.

SO WE KNOW THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SERVE ON THIS COMMITTEE DON'T HAVE A JOB THAT CAN ALLOW THEM TO SIT ON THE COMMITTEE DURING THEIR REGULAR WORK HOURS.

SO THAT IS, UM, WHO WE WILL DEFINITELY, UM, OFFER STIPENDS TO.

UH, WE THINK WE HAVE SOME GOOD IDEAS FOR HOW TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT, UH, RECRUITING FOR THIS COMMITTEE, BUT WE'RE CERTAINLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU ALL ON ADDITIONAL IDEAS.

AND I WAS TAKING NOTE IN SOME OF THE PREVIOUS, UH, PRESENTATIONS ON SOME GROUPS THAT WERE ALREADY MENTIONED.

SO ANOTHER CRITICAL, UM, ANOTHER CRITICAL PART OF THE PROJECT TEAM ARE THE ISSUE AREA GROUPS.

UH, THESE GROUPS WILL BE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH THE LIVED EXPERIENCE, UM, TO REALLY HELP INFORM THE CONTENT OF THE PLAN AND KIND OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PLAN.

RECRUITMENT WILL GET UNDERWAY IN THE FALL.

THIS IS A GENERAL TIMELINE FOR THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS.

WE ESTIMATE IT TO TAKE ROUGHLY 18 TO 24 MONTHS WITH FINAL PLAN ADOPTIONS LATED FOR EARLY 20, 24.

SO WE ARE CURRENTLY GETTING READY TO PUBLISH THE BASELINE ASSESSMENT AND WE'RE DEVELOPING THE PROJECT TEAM.

UM, THE, WE HAVE GONE THROUGH AN EVALUATION PROCESS TO SELECT A CONSULTANT THAT WILL BE GOING TO A COUNCIL AT THE END OF JULY.

UM, ONCE THE PROJECT CONSULTANT IS APPROVED BY COUNCIL, WE'LL START OUR BROADER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ENVISIONING KICKING OFF SOME EQUITY WORKSHOPS WITH THE PROJECT TEAM AND DRAFTING, UM, THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PLAN IN SPRING OF 2023, WE'LL START DRAFTING SOME OF THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES BASED ON INPUT FROM COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS.

WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO LOOK FOR CREATIVE WAYS TO GET FOLKS INVOLVED, DEFINITELY MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY'RE AT AND GOING TO EXISTING COMMUNITY.

UM, MAYBE HOLDING SOME MOVIE SCREENINGS.

WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO FIND WAYS, UM, THAT, UH, AREN'T YOUR, YOU KNOW, JUST COMMON LIKE CHARRETTES.

UH, SO BY SUMMER OF 2023, WE PLANNED TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY REVIEW OF OUR DRAFTED WORK AND EXPLORE SOME STRATEGIES TO MEET THE COMMUNITY GOALS AND REALLY DRAFT A PATH FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION IN EARLY 20, 24, AS MENTIONED BEFORE.

WE'LL, UM, HOPE TO GET THE PLAN ADOPTED AFTER FINAL COMMUNITY REVIEW AND PRESENTATION TO SOME STAKEHOLDERS.

AND NEXT SLIDE ON THROUGH TO THE NEXT STEPS AND THIS FINAL, UM, COUPLE OF SLIDES JUST TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING UP IMMEDIATELY.

SO WHILE WE WAIT FOR COUNCIL TO APPROVE OUR CONTRACT WITH THE PROJECT CONSULTANT, WE'RE TAKING THIS PRESENTATION ON THE ROAD, UH, TO SOME OF THE OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.

UM, WE, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

[01:30:01]

WE REALLY WANTED TO HAVE THE CONSULTANT ON BOARD SO THAT THEY COULD MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE COMFORTABLE WITH, UM, HOW THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS, UM, IS COMING, UH, IS GETTING COMPOSED AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'VE GIVEN US ALL OF THEIR INPUT AND EXPERTISE ON HOW TO RECRUIT FOR THIS COMMITTEE BECAUSE THIS COMMITTEE, UH, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL HAVE SUCH A LARGE ROLE IN THE PLANNING PROCESS.

SO WE HOPE TO HAVE YOUR IDEAS AND CONTRIBUTIONS ON WHO SHOULD BE A PART OF THAT VERY IMPORTANT ADVISING BODY, NEXT SLIDE, UH, WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED.

UM, YOU CAN, WE'LL SEND YOU THIS PRESENTATION, WHICH INCLUDES A COUPLE OF LINKS.

WE'VE GOT A REALLY SIMPLE FOOD INTEREST FORM.

IT'S A QUICK FOUR QUESTION KIND OF FORM SURVEY THAT JUST GETS YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND, UM, GIVES US SOME, SOME GENERAL INPUT ON WHERE YOU THINK YOU'D BE OF MOST SERVICE AND THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS.

YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP FOR OUR AUSTIN FOOD NOTES TO STAY IN THE LOOP.

THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO JUST LEARN ABOUT GENERAL, UM, UH, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND PLANNING PROCESSES THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH FOOD AND AUSTIN SPECIFICALLY, AS IT RELATES TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE'LL BE RELEASING THAT STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT, UH, IN JULY.

SO DEFINITELY KEEP YOUR EYES OUT FOR THAT.

YOU'LL, UM, BE ABLE TO KIND OF DIVE INTO SOME MORE OF THE DATA AROUND WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SPREAD THE WORD.

WE ARE HA WE ARE BRINGING ON THE CONSULTANT IN LATE JULY, AS I MENTIONED, AND THEY WILL REALLY HELP US DEVELOP A BROADER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN AND STRATEGY, BUT WE ARE STILL WORKING TO KIND OF PRIME THE PUMP AND GET THE WORD OUT.

SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED ANY MATERIALS, PLEASE EMAIL MY COLLEAGUES AT HEAL AND HE CAN HELP DIRECT SOME OF THOSE.

UM, HE WILL BE HELPING KIND OF MANAGE SOME OF THE STAKEHOLDER, UM, WITH, SO AS WE GO, SO A GREAT PERSON TO REACH OUT TO IF YOU'VE GOT SPECIFIC IDEAS ABOUT WHO WE NEED TO TALK TO.

UM, OKAY.

AND, UH, NEXT SLIDE IS JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT THE ASK OF YOU ALL, UM, IN YOUR COMMUNITY, IN, IN THE, IN YOUR VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT YOU'RE COMING TO, UM, REPRESENTING FROM WHAT COMES UP FOR YOU, WHO NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS FOOD PLANNING PROCESS, WHAT THINGS SHOULD WE KEEP IN MIND AS WE START OUT ON THIS ROAD AND JUST GENERALLY INTERESTED TO HEAR ANY FEEDBACK Y'ALL HAVE AS WE KIND OF START TO GET THE WHEELS IN MOTION ON THIS PROCESS.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UM, THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE AND HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

AND THIS LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PROCESS.

HE HAVE LAWN CHIN WHO HAS QUESTIONS, COMMENTS HARRIS.

I SEE.

YOU'RE ON SCREEN.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT? YEAH, I DIDN'T EVEN PUT MY HAND UP THIS TIME.

THAT'S A, YES.

Y'ALL HAVE TO TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT.

NO, I'M JUST KIDDING.

UH, YEAH.

SO MY QUESTION WAS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I'M GOING TO USE THIS PHRASE AGAIN, BUT, UH, AS A JADED EAST SIDER, RIGHT? UH, I THINK IT'S NOT EXACTLY A BIG SECRET THAT ALLOW THE FOOD DESERTS TEND TO BE ON THE FARTHER EAST SIDES OF THE TOWN.

I THINK A GOOD EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT DEL VALLEY, RIGHT? UH, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HEB OWNING LAND THERE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY HAVING TO BUILD ANYTHING YET.

YOU KNOW, THE ZIP CODE OF, YOU KNOW, THE 2, 4, 7, 8, 7 2, 4 IS SO BIG THAT IT COULD BASICALLY BE ITS OWN CITY.

BUT THERE'S, AS FAR AS I KNOW, NOT LIKE A SINGLE GROCERY STORE WITHIN THE WHOLE ZIP CODE.

UM, WHEN, AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THIS WHOLE THING IS A PROCESS THAT'S JUST NOW BEING STARTED.

SO IT'S GOING TO BE HARD TO ENACT ANYTHING RIGHT AWAY.

BUT WHAT WOULD Y'ALL THINK ABOUT POSSIBLY HAVING LIKE SOME KIND OF INCENTIVE FOR, YOU KNOW, GROCERY STORES BEING BUILT OR SOMETHING TO, UH, TRY TO LOWER THE AMOUNT OF FOOD DESERTS THAT ARE HAPPENING.

UM, I MEAN, YOU SEE LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE CHAPTER 3, 1, 3, OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED, RIGHT.

WHERE WE'RE HANDING HUGE INCENTIVES TO THESE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES.

UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WHERE A LOT OF THESE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES ARE SAYING, OH, THERE'S LIKE NO GROCERY STORE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY LIVED THERE RIGHT NOW.

THAT REALLY ARE FOOD INSECURE AND HAVE NO REAL WAY TO, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT THE USE OF A CAR AND TRAVELING A WHILE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO GET FOOD AT LIKE AN AFFORDABLE RATE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN ALL THE INFLATION AND STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING NOWADAYS.

SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS WE'RE DOING A SENTENCE FOR STUFF LIKE THAT.

WHY COULDN'T WE GIVE INCENTIVES TO LIKE A HEB OR WHY? I MEAN, HEB PROBABLY DOESN'T NEED ANY INCENTIVES.

LET'S BE HONEST, BUT YOU KNOW, LIKE A, A WHOLE FOODS OR A TRADER JOE'S OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

FIRST SETTING UP IN THESE PARTS OF TOWN

[01:35:01]

IT'S JUST GOING BECOME MORE DIFFICULT, FANTASTIC QUESTION AND SOMETHING WE HAVE HEARD TIME AND TIME AGAIN, ESPECIALLY FROM THE FOLKS IN DEL VALLEY AREA, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS LACK OF ACCESS TO A FULL SERVICE GROCERY STORE IS, IS REALLY PAINFUL.

AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO NAVIGATE, YOU KNOW, TAKING CARE OF ALL YOUR, UM, NEEDS, ESPECIALLY WITH GAS PRICES, AS HIGH AS THEY ARE.

SO MANY PEOPLE WILL TRAVEL MANY MILES TO GO TO THE GROCERY STORE OF THEIR CHOICE.

BUT, UH, OFTENTIMES THAT CAN BE A REALLY DIFFICULT ROAD IF YOU HAVE LACK OF TRANSPORTATION OR RELY ON PUBLIC TRANSIT OR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO TAKE YOU.

SO WE KNOW THAT THAT IS A HUGE ISSUE.

UM, THERE'S CURRENTLY SOME EFFORTS OUT OF, UM, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IN COORDINATION WITH OUR OFFICE AND OTHERS, UH, TO LOOK AT COMMUNITY OWNED FOOD RETAIL.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LOOKED TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT CITIES AND INVESTIGATED THAT IDEA OF PUTTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON THE TABLE TO SEE WHAT SORT OF, UM, WHAT SORT OF, UH, FOOD RETAIL CAN COME IN AND, AND UTILIZE THAT TO MAKE, UH, A LASTING COMMUNITY IMPACT.

AND, UM, THE TRUTH IS THERE AREN'T A LOT, MANY CITIES HAVE TRIED THOSE LARGE DOLLAR INCENTIVES, UM, BUT TO LITTLE EFFECT.

SO WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR SOMETHING THAT'S OWNED BY THE COMMUNITY A LITTLE BIT MORE BUY-IN FROM THE COMMUNITY LED BY THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, THE, THE ARPA, THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDING ACT OR ACT FUNDING THAT WE GOT FOR DOING THIS PLANNING PROCESS ALSO FUNDED THIS INITIATIVE TO EXPLORE COMMUNITY OWNED FOOD RETAIL.

SO THERE WILL BE, UM, AN EFFORT UNDERWAY OVER THE NEXT YEAR TO DO A BUNCH OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, TO SEE WHERE THERE IS INTEREST IN KIND OF PICKING THAT UP AND CREATING, UH, RETAIL OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE, UM, DEVELOPED BY THE COMMUNITY THAT SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AS THEY STATE THEM, AND AS REALLY SERVING THE COMMUNITY WITH A FOCUS ON SERVING THE EASTERN CRESCENT.

SO MORE TO COME ON THAT WE'LL DEFINITELY KEEP YOU POSTED ON ANY OUTCOMES OF, OF THAT.

BUT YEAH, WE ARE INTERESTED THROUGH THIS FOOD PLANNING PROCESS OF HEARING ALL OF THESE IDEAS AND REALLY DIGGING IN AND EXPLORING WHAT THE COST BENEFITS ARE OF EACH OF THOSE IDEAS, AND THEN SEEING RISES TO THE TOP AND THEN CREATING A PATH TO GET THERE.

YEAH, FOR SURE.

SOUNDS GOOD.

CAUSE, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER READING WHENEVER, UH, PROJECT CONNECT WAS BEING PASSED THAT, YOU KNOW, COLONY PARK, WHICH THEY'RE GOING TO PUT SORT OF LIKE AT THE END OF THE GREEN LINE RIGHT THERE, WE'RE JUST LIKE, OH YEAH, WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER DID THE MUELLER DEVELOPMENT, I FORGET WHO DID RIGHT.

THEY WERE LIKE, OH, WE'RE GONNA PUT A TRAIN STATION AND A GROCERY STORE HERE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, OKAY, THEY HAVE TO WAIT LIKE 10, A DECADE FOR A GROCERY STORE TO COME THERE.

YOU KNOW, LIKE PROBABLY NEED TO MOVE A LITTLE BIT FASTER THAN THAT, YOU KNOW? SO I'M DEFINITELY CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT SORT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, BOTH SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS THAT WE CAN, UH, DEVELOP FOR THIS REALLY PRESSING ISSUE.

APPRECIATE.

AND NOT ONLY IS IT THE TIME THAT IS OF THE ESSENCE, BUT IT'S ALSO THIS CONVERSATION AROUND HOW THIS AFFECTS, YOU KNOW, DISPLACEMENT ESSENTIALLY.

SO, UM, WHAT ARE THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS GOING TO LOOK LIKE WHEN THERE IS A GREEN LINE ON A GROCERY STORE AND, UM, WHERE HAVE THE FOLKS GONE THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, ARE THEY STILL IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD? WE HOPE SO.

AND YOU KNOW, I THINK PROJECT CONNECT IS REALLY WORKING TO, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF FUNDING WAS PUT TOWARDS LIKE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS EARLY BEFORE, UM, PEOPLE ARE ALREADY LIKE DRIVEN OUT AND, AND WE REALLY HOPE TO TAKE A SIMILAR THOUGHTFUL APPROACH, UM, WITH THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESSES, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO SERVE, UM, WE WANT TO SERVE FOLKS AND LET THEM STAY IN PLACE.

WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE, UM, A CITY THAT MAY HAVE A LOVELY, MAY HAVE GROCERY STORES IN EVERY COMMUNITY, BUT THE COMMUNITY THAT NEEDED THEM NOW NO LONGER LIVES IN AUSTIN, THEY ARE OUT IN SURROUNDING AREAS.

DIANA.

SO I JUST WANT TO BE SURE I GOT THIS, UM, FACTOID.

DID YOU SAY THAT 40% OF AUSTIN ZIP CODES DON'T HAVE A FULL GROCERY STORE?

[01:40:04]

LET ME GET YOU THE SPECIFIC NUMBERS.

SO YEAH, IT'S 18 OUT OF, UH, 47.

SO IT, IT'S NOT IT'S HIGH THIRTIES, BUT YES, ALMOST 40%.

AND THAT MEANS LIKE, THEY MIGHT HAVE LIKE A QUICKIE MART, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE AN HEB OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS WHAT YOU MEAN.

THEY MIGHT HAVE A DOLLAR STORE OR SOMETHING.

DOLLAR STORE OR A BODEGA OR SOME OTHER STORE THAT MAY CARRY SOME ITEMS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE AN HEB.

AND ARLEN'S A, RANDALL'S ANYTHING WHERE YOU COULD PURCHASE KIND OF ALL OF THOSE GROCERY STORE ITEMS THAT YOU MAY NEED.

THANK YOU, KAREN.

UM, I'M CURIOUS, UM, TO ABOUT THE EXTENT OF CONVERSATION YOU'VE HAD ALREADY WITH SOME OF THE GROCERY STORES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'D, CEVILLE AS WELL AS HEB, WHOLE FOODS, FIESTA, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, RANDALL'S SPROUTS, HAVE THEY BEEN ALREADY PART OF THIS DISCUSSION? UM, AND I THINK EVEN IF, UM, EVEN, EVEN IF IT'S NOT A HUGE STORE, YOU COULD STILL HAVE LOTS OF PRODUCTS AVAILABLE IN A SMALLER STORE IF, IF NEED BE, BUT, AND ESPECIALLY PRODUCE FRESH PRODUCE.

MAKE OUR EVENTS THAT WE'VE RECENTLY HAD.

GREAT QUESTION.

SO THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, AS THE OTHER COMMISSIONER SAID, LIKE LOOKING AT SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM KIND OF SOLUTIONS TO THIS, SO WE DEFINITELY AT THE CITY HAVE ALREADY BEEN, UM, WORKING TOWARDS SMALLER SCALE SOLUTIONS WHERE THERE IS NO FULL SERVICE GROCERY STORES.

SO WE HAVE A FRESH FOR LESS, UM, PROGRAM THAT HAS MOBILE MOBILE MARKETS THAT POP OUT, POP UP AT LIKE SOUTHEAST HEALTH AND WELLNESS CLINIC OR AT ST JOHN'S METHODIST CHURCH OR SOME OF THE SCHOOLS.

AND SO WE HAVE THOSE TYPE OF LIKE QUICK FIX OR NOT QUICK FIXES, BUT SMALLER OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO ACCESS THAT FOR THOSE FRESH PRODUCE ITEMS. AND LUCKILY ALL OF THOSE MARKETS DO ACCEPT, UM, SNAP AND DOUBLE UP FOOD BOX.

SO PEOPLE CAN USE THEIR, UH, THEIR SNAP CARD, THEIR FOOD STAMPS, UM, TO PURCHASE THOSE ITEMS AND, UM, AND KIND OF DOUBLE, DOUBLE THE IMPACT.

AND THOSE MOBILE MARKETS ARE PRICING THEIR ITEMS, UM, AT A SIMILAR PRICE AS A HEB, THEY USE LIKE HEB CONVENTIONAL PRODUCE AS THEIR KIND OF BASELINE FOR SETTING PRICES.

SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GETTING, UH, PRODUCTS TO PEOPLE KIND OF IN THE INTERIM UNTIL WE HAVE A MORE STRUCTURAL LIKE SOLUTION.

UM, SO, AND, UH, ALSO TO NOTE, THERE'S A ECUADOR AT ATX WHO WAS, UM, WHO HAS, UH, UH, PROGRAM LOU LIVWELL VIVA BN, AND THEY ARE DOING SMALL POP-UPS IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT THAT FOCUS ON A RANGE OF SOCIAL SERVICES, INCLUDING FREE ACT FREE FOOD AND SLIDING SCALE FOOD SERVICES.

AND, UM, IN ADDITION TO HEALTH SERVICES, LIBRARY, SERVICES, SCREENINGS, UH, VACCINES COVID TESTING.

UM, AND SO THEY'RE DOING SOME OF THOSE POP-UP SERVICES TOO, WHILE WE WAIT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE BRIDGE UNTIL WE CAN HAVE MORE SUSTAINABLE LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS.

I FEEL LIKE THERE WAS A FIRST PART TO YOUR QUESTION THAT I HAVE NOT ADDRESSED OR FORGOTTEN, BUT OH, HAVE WE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF THE LARGER GROCERY RETAIL? YES, WE'VE HAD, UM, WE'VE GOT RELATIONSHIPS WITH MANY, I WOULDN'T SAY ALL, BUT MANY OF THE LARGE, UH, GROCERY STORE RETAILERS, UM, AND YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES THEY'RE REALLY DOING THE BEST THEY CAN TO, UM, MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEIR MARGINS ARE RAZOR THEN IT'S, IT'S NOT A HUGELY PROFITABLE, UM, INDUSTRIES.

SO THEY'RE WORKING ON REALLY TIGHT, TIGHT MARGINS.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY WILL OFTEN RESPOND THAT THEY'RE WAITING FOR THE ROOFTOPS BEFORE THEY CAN BUILD A, UM, A FOOD RETAIL LOCATION.

SO THEY'RE THERE, THEY'VE GOT A NUMBERS GAME, THEY'VE GOT A FORMULA THAT TELLS THEM WHEN, UH, THEY CAN, THEY CAN, UH, BUILD WHEN IT MAKES SENSE FOR THEM TO FINANCIALLY BUILD A STORE IN A LOCATION.

SO, UM, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, BUT THERE THEY ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO BE A PART OF THIS PLANNING PROCESS.

WE HOPE TO HAVE, UM, SPECIFICALLY KIND OF A SUPPLY CHAIN FOCUS GROUP THAT WILL REALLY FOCUS ON THOSE RETAILERS BECAUSE WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND, UM, I MEAN THE FOOD RETAIL, LARGE FOOD RETAILERS, WHERE OUR LIFELINE DURING SOME OF THESE, UM,

[01:45:01]

SO THEY ARE CERTAINLY PART OF THE SOLUTION NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE CONVERSATION.

AND, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING TO KIND OF STRENGTHEN OUR CONTACTS AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE RETAILERS.

AND ANOTHER QUESTION THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR.

UM, AND YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT TOO.

THANK GOODNESS FOR SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITY EFFORTS.

UH, WHAT, UM, IS THERE A REASON THAT WE DON'T HAVE MORE FAMILY GROCERY STORES IS ZONING AN ISSUE? IS, IS IT JUST THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS THAT WE DON'T HAVE MORE SMALL FAMILY FOOD STORES THROUGHOUT TOWN? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION THAT I DON'T THINK I KNOW THE ANSWER TO HONESTLY.

UM, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IF YOU HAVE ID.

I MEAN, I KNOW IN SMALLER TOWNS I'VE SEEN LIKE SMALLER FAMILY RUN GROCERY STORES, BUT I'M NOT SUPER FAMILIAR WITH A LOT OF LIKE, UH, LARGE URBAN EXAMPLES OF THIS, BUT DEFINITELY WOULD LOVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU IF YOU HAVE LIKE IDEAS OF, UM, THAT MODELS.

I WOULD LOVE TO, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT AND TO DIG INTO THAT.

I'M NOT SURE IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC, UH, I DON'T THINK THERE WOULD BE ANYTHING AND KIND OF ZONING OR LAND USE THAT WOULD PREVENT THAT, BUT, UM, MAYBE MORE LIKE A FINANCIAL OR ECONOMIC, UM, REASONING FOR THAT.

I KNOW THE, UH, THERE WAS THAT AVENUE F GROCERY STORE FOR YEARS.

THAT WAS RIGHT IN A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WAS REALLY, OH YEAH, I'M GOING TO BE, THEY'RE STILL AROUND.

THEY JUST READ.

I MEAN, AND CERTAINLY A LOT OF PLACES IN THE WORLD, YOU SEE SMALL GROCERY STORES ALL OVER THE PLACE, AND I JUST DON'T KNOW WHY WE DON'T HAVE THAT HAPPENING.

I MEAN, I, I KNOW THAT ONE CHALLENGE, UM, IN GENERAL, I THINK FOR BOTH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND RETAILERS IS, UM, OUR, OUR REAL ESTATE AND LAND PRICES HAVE BECOME REALLY EXPENSIVE.

AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, GROCERIES HAVE PRETTY, YOU, YOU NEED A LOT OF SPACE TO DO GROCERY, UM, EVEN A SMALL GROCERY.

YOU NEED SOME, YOU, YOU MAY NEED SIZEABLE KIND OF SQUARE FOOTAGE AND, UM, SQUARE FOOTAGE IS JUST SO EXPENSIVE IN AUSTIN.

THAT'S TRUE.

THANK YOU, MELISSA.

WITH OUR SWEAT COMMISSION, IT'S BEEN FREQUENTLY DISCUSSED ABOUT REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF FOOD WASTE THAT WE HAVE IN AUSTIN.

AND IT, IT SEEMS LIKE A GROWING TREND IS TO HAVE PRE PREPPED MILLS, UM, SINGLE SERVINGS, A LOT OF, A LOT OF PACKAGING WITH INDIVIDUAL MEALS AND A QUICK GRAB AND GO TYPE SITUATION AT GROCERY STORES AT QUICKIE, PICKIES AT GAS STATIONS AT THESE, UM, SMALL GROCERIES THAT WE HAVE, AND THESE TYPES OF PREPACKAGED FOOD ITEMS ARE REALLY CONVENIENT AND GREAT FOR PEOPLE ON THE GO AND HAVE REALLY BUSY LIFESTYLES.

BUT THEY'RE AWFUL FOR TRYING TO MEET OUR ZERO WASTE SCHOOLS AND FOR REDUCING FOOD WASTE, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE IF IT'S IN THOSE PACKAGING, IT GOES TO THE LANDFILL.

IF IT IS ABLE TO BE OUT OF THAT PACKAGING OR IN A COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING, IT CAN GO INTO OUR COMPOST, BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THERE WAS HOW KEN WAS MENTIONING EARLIER ABOUT LIKE A TRANSFER STATION FOR LANDFILLS.

WHAT IF THERE WAS LIKE A TRANSFER FOR FOOD, UM, AND AREAS IN AUSTIN THAT DIDN'T HAVE EASY ACCESSIBLE SITES FOR GETTING THEIR GROCERIES.

WE HAVE SO MANY GROCERY STORES IN AUSTIN THAT HAVE THESE QUICK GRAB AND GO MILLS THAT HAVE A VERY LIMITED TIME ON THE SHELF LIFE.

AND THEN THEY GET THROWN IN THE DUMPSTER, WHICH HAS BEEN LOCKED.

AND THEN SINCE THE LANDFILL, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE SUCH A WASTE OF RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITY OR FOR FEEDING AUSTIN NIGHTS.

AND I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING IN YOUR PLAN.

UM, SO I KNOW THE CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK DOES A LOT OF GOOD WORK FOR, FOR FEEDING, UM, CERTAIN COMMUNITIES AND AUSTIN, BUT THE FOOD THAT THEY ACCEPT IS NON-PERISHABLE ONLY FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.

NO.

BEING WASTED IN AUSTIN AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY MAIN COMMENT AND CONCERN.

WELL, WE JUST HAVE A LOT OF PERISHABLE FOOD THAT IS

[01:50:01]

SO JUST YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT.

THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.

THIS HAS BEEN A, AN ONGOING FOCUS OF OUR AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD, AS WELL AS, UM, STAFF AT AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, UM, WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO SEE HOW WE CAN REDUCE ORGANICS WASTE, UM, AND CAPTURE MORE OF THAT SURPLUS FOOD.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY LOOKING TO THE EPA HIERARCHY OF BENEFICIAL USE TO REALLY PRIORITIZE, FEEDING, HUNGRY PEOPLE AS THE FIRST THING YOU WANT TO DO WITH ANY SURPLUS FOOD, UM, THEN MOVING TO FEEDING ANIMALS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF AS A LAST RESORT COMPOSTING.

UM, I KNOW THAT AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, I THINK THEY FELL OFF THE LINE, BUT THEY'VE DONE A LOT THROUGH THERE, A UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE.

ISN'T SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF, UM, TO ADDRESS AND CAPTURE SOME OF THIS FOOD WASTE, BUT IT'S A FAR FROM A PERFECT IMPLEMENTATION.

WE KNOW A LOT OF FOOD WASTE.

I MEAN, AS I SAID IN THE PRESENTATION, 1.2, 4 MILLION POUNDS STALEY, UM, IS STILL GOING TO LANDFILL.

UM, DESPITE BEST EFFORTS OF, UM, ORGANIZATIONS LIKE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK, OR KEEP AUSTIN FED OR SAVE THE FOOD AUSTIN WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, UH, RESCUING SOME OF THAT FOOD AND REDISTRIBUTING IT.

UM, SO WE DEFINITELY WANT TO USE THIS PLANNING PROCESS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK THOSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY DOING SOME OF THIS FOOD RESCUE AND REDISTRIBUTION, WHAT THEY NEED AND HOW THEY COULD DO IT BETTER.

WE WANT TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ASK RETAILERS WHAT, UH, WHAT WE COULD DO AS A CITY TO HELP THEM MOVE MORE TOWARDS COMPOSTABLE, UH, SERVICE, WHERE, SO THAT IF THEY DO HAVE TO TOSS SOMETHING, UH, THEY CAN TRUST THE, INTO THE, UM, INTO THE COMPOST AND NOT WORRY ABOUT SEPARATING OUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UH, LANDFILL COMPONENTS AND THE RECYCLABLE COMPONENTS, BUT JUST HOW CAN YOU GET TO A FULLY COMPOSTABLE, UM, MEAL IF IT NEEDS TO BE TOSSED? UM, SO YEAH, THESE ARE DEFINITELY ITEMS AND ISSUES THAT WE REALLY WANT TO DIG INTO.

AND WE KNOW THAT EVERYONE IS COMING TO THIS PLANNING PROCESS WITH THIS, LIKE WITH, UM, SOMETIMES SLIVERS OF REALLY DEEP INSIGHTS AND EXPERTISE ON SPECIFIC ITEMS, SOME WITH MORE BROAD INTEREST IN, IN MORE KIND OF 60,000 FOOT VIEW.

AND WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SPACE FOR EVERYONE, UM, WHO EVERYONE IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS AND BRING WITH IT WHAT THEY CAN, WHETHER IT'S JUST LIKE, HEY, I EAT.

AND SO I KNOW THE FOOD SYSTEM THROUGH MY PERSPECTIVE OF BEING A CONSUMER OF EATING AND SHOPPING AND, YOU KNOW, GOING, GOING OUT TO EAT AND STRUGGLING TO GET MY GROCERIES.

UM, WE WANT TO BRING THAT EXPERTISE INTO THE PLAN, AS WELL AS THIS MORE NUANCED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, PIECE ABOUT, UM, UH, THE, THE FOOD RECOVERY OR FOOD WASTE OR, OR, UM, KIND OF THE, THE DETAILED ISSUES THAT YOU'RE BRINGING UP.

WE REALLY HOPE TO HAVE SPACE TO EXPLORE ALL OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND COME UP WITH SOME REALLY HOPEFULLY, UM, FEASIBLE AND, UM, AND, UH, EFFECTIVE WAYS TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.

SO THANKS SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THAT UP.

AND WE REALLY DO.

WE KNOW THAT IT WILL BE A LARGE PART AND CONVERSATION OF THE PLAN BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE, UM, RECOGNIZE FOOD WASTE IS SUCH A HUMONGOUS PROBLEM IN OUR COMMUNITY.

WELL, THAT WAS GREAT TO HEAR.

UM, EVEN IF WE CAN'T GET A GROCERY STORE IN THERE MAYBE A COMMUNITY FRIDGE OR SOMETHING THAT COULD COULD HELP FOLKS IS, UH, IS AN OPTION.

DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? IT WAS REALLY MORE OF A COMMENT, YOU KNOW, THINKING OF POSSIBILITIES AND TALKING ABOUT GROCERY STORES, THERE'S ALSO RESTAURANTS, RIGHT? SO THERE'S A RESTAURANT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD THAT ACTUALLY HAS A COMMUNITY FRIDGE, AND I GO BY IT EVERY DAY AND ALMOST EVERY TIME I GO BY IT, THERE'S SOMEONE THERE USING IT.

IT'S A VERY HEAVILY USED.

AND I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES AROUND AUSTIN TO IMPLEMENT SIMILAR PROGRAMS. UM, I'M NOT AWARE IF THERE'S ANY TYPE OF DATABASE THAT ACTUALLY TRACKS ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY HAPPENING, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE EVEN TALKED TO FOLKS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY FRIDGE, AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT EXISTED IN THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS.

SO THERE'S OBVIOUSLY AN ISSUE KIND OF GETTING THE WORD OUT, BUT, BUT IT IS BEING USED.

UM, LIKE I SAID, I SEE IT USED ALL THE TIME, BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THINKING OF THESE AREAS OF FOOD DESERTS,

[01:55:02]

SO JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE.

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I WORK IN FOOD SYSTEMS AT THE CITY, AND I WASN'T EVEN AWARE THAT THERE WERE LIKE 194 ACTIVITIES THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED BY COMMUNITY.

THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP.

WE LOVE THIS IDEA OF FIGURING OUT A FULL SPECTRUM OF, UM, OPPORTUNITIES.

SO THINGS LIKE THE ATX FREE FRIDGE, UM, IS AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO DROP OFF ANY SURPLUS FOOD.

IT'S, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE RESTAURANT, I THINK, ARE YOU NEXT TO NEXT TO, I KNOW THEY KEEP AN EYE ON THE FRIDGE AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT PART OF THEIR, THEIR COMMUNITY AND HELP, UM, BRING THAT TO LIFE.

WE HAVE A, UM, A FOOD JUSTICE MINI GRANT THAT WE ACTUALLY, UH, ARE IN THE THIRD YEAR OF FUNDING.

AND ATX REFRIDGE WAS ONE OF OUR, UH, 2021, UH, RECIPIENTS OF THE FOOD JUSTICE MINI GRANT.

WE JUST LAUNCHED, UH, THE THIRD ROUND ON, UM, LAST THURSDAY, ACTUALLY KIND OF IN A CELEBRATION IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE JUNETEENTH EVENTS AND CELEBRATIONS AND, UM, THAT, UH, THAT MINI GRANT PROGRAM W UH, MINI GRANTS OF $3,000, UH, WILL BE OPEN.

THE APPLICATION WILL BE OPEN UNTIL JULY 22ND.

SO FOR ANOTHER MONTH.

AND, UH, THESE ARE EXACTLY THE KINDS OF, UH, PROJECTS AND, UH, GROUPS THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO PITCH IN AND SUPPORT.

WE KNOW THAT $3,000 ISN'T GOING TO, YOU KNOW, BRING A GROCERY STORE, YOU KNOW, AND IT MAY NOT EVEN BE ABLE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO START AND MAINTAIN A FRIDGE FOR A YEAR, BUT IT CERTAINLY HELPS SOME OF THESE IDEAS GET OFF THE GROUND, OR, UM, ADD TO THE PATCHWORK OF FUNDING THAT THEY'RE USING TO SUPPORT SOME OF THIS, THIS GREAT WORK THAT WE SEE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY LED SOLUTIONS, UM, THAT, THAT ARE REALLY GROUNDED IN THE COMMUNITIES THEY'RE SERVING.

UM, SO THANKS FOR BRINGING UP THAT SPECIFIC, UH, THAT SPECIFIC WAY THAT WE ARE CHIPPING AWAY AT THIS LARGER ISSUE, BECAUSE I THINK IT IS SUCH A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE KINDS OF SOLUTIONS THAT WE CAN COME UP WITH, UM, AS WE START TO BRAINSTORM AND CO-CREATE AS A COMMUNITY.

THANKS, AMANDA.

I HAD A QUESTION JUST KIND OF MORE AROUND, UM, I GUESS, HOW, HOW THIS PLAN, UH, FITS IN WITH THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AND THE, UM, THE SECTION IN THERE ON, UH, FOOD, UH, WITHIN THE, WITH THE CONSUMPTION CHAPTER SPECIFICALLY, WONDERING IF, IF ANY OF THIS WORK IS, UM, DIRECTED AT TRYING SPECIFICALLY TO EXPAND, UH, ACCESS AND I GUESS, UM, IT'S, I'LL JUST SAY ACCESS TO, BUT IT ALSO, I GUESS, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO, UM, CHOOSE CLIMATE FRIENDLY AND HEALTHY FOODS, UH, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT THAT OFTENTIMES, UM, ESPECIALLY, I GUESS WHEN THERE IS A FOOD DESERT THAT THE FOODS THAT PEOPLE ARE, UM, THAT HAVE HAVE ACCESS TO, OR, AND, OR ARE CHOOSING ARE PERHAPS, UH, NOT THE MOST HEALTHY AND OFTENTIMES HAVE A HIGHER, UH, IMPACT ON THE CLIMATE, PARTICULARLY IF THEY ARE NOT PLANT-BASED FOODS.

SO JUST WONDERING HOW THAT THOSE GOALS IN THE CLIMATE PLAN ARE KIND OF, UH, INFORMING THIS NEW WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.

YEAH, THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION.

I THINK, UM, AS I MENTIONED IN THE, IN THE PRESENTATION AS PART OF KIND OF OUR, UH, SCOPING OF THIS PROJECT AND REALLY STARTING TO KIND OF GIVE IT EVERYTHING IN LINE, SO WE CAN JUMP INTO IT FULL FORCE WHEN THE CONSULTANT COMES ON, WE ARE DOING THAT AUDIT OF ALL THE EXISTING CITY OF AUSTIN PLANS, UM, THAT, THAT INTERSECT WITH THE FOOD SYSTEM IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY.

SO, UM, W SAT HERE ON OUR TEAM, WHO'S JOINING US IN A, UM, ALONG WITH, UH, ANOTHER COLLEAGUE THEY'VE TAKEN ALL THOSE PLANS, PUT THEM ON AN AIR TABLE.

UM, AND THEY IDENTIFIED 13 PLANS THAT HAVE FOOD RELATED GOALS OR STRATEGIES.

SO THERE'S 37 GOALS, UM, THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN BUILT INTO PLANS THAT ADDRESS, UM, FOOD IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, 194 ACTIVITIES.

SO THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE TO PULL OUT SOME OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET THERE.

WE REALLY LOOK AT THIS, UM, COMPREHENSIVE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS TO PULL ALL THOSE TOGETHER, TO, TO HIGHLIGHT THEM, TO SHOWCASE THEM, TO SEE WHAT ELSE THERE MAY BE, AND TO KIND OF FIND THE COORDINATED WAY TO GET THERE.

UM,

[02:00:01]

SO WE REALLY NEED TO JUST PULL THAT TOGETHER.

CERTAINLY THE ACTIVITIES LAID OUT IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AND THE NATURAL SYSTEMS AND CONSUMPTION SECTION WILL BE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO WORK ON THOSE AND, AND, UM, WORK WITH THE CLIMATE TEAM TO BUILD OUT THAT IMPLEMENTATION.

SO THAT WORK IS ALREADY UNDERWAY, BUT WE DO LOOK AT THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD ON THAT, TO REPORT OUT ON THAT, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF SEE HOW IT FITS INTO THE BIGGER PUZZLE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE ADDRESS THE FULL FOOD SYSTEM FOR ALL OF ITS VARIOUS OUTCOMES.

SO NOT JUST, UM, THE HEALTH OF, YOU KNOW, OUR, I MEAN, NOT JUST THE CLIMATE EQUITY GOALS, BUT FOR ALL OF THE GOALS AND THE PLANS THAT WE'RE SEEING FROM TRANSPORTATION TO LAND USE TO PUBLIC HEALTH, TO PARKS, UM, THERE'S MANY, MANY INTERSECTIONS ACROSS THE CITY.

SO WE WANT TO JUST KIND OF BE ABLE TO USE THIS TIME TO SKETCH OUT KIND OF A FULL VISION.

UH, YEAH, I APPRECIATE THAT.

I GUESS I'M, UH, YEAH, I'LL, I'LL, I GUESS I'LL JUST SAY THAT I, YOU KNOW, I, I HOPE THAT THERE IS, UM, SOME EFFORT TO TRY TO, UM, EXPAND ACCESS, UH, AND AVAILABILITY OF, UM, YOU KNOW, VEGAN, UH, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, NON-TRUST FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, BUT VEGAN PROTEIN OPTIONS.

UM, CAUSE I'VE NOTICED THERE IS OFTEN WIDE VARIABILITY IN TERMS OF WHAT DIFFERENT GROCERY STORES OFFER AND, AND, AND SO IT DOES MAKE IT KIND OF PUSHES PEOPLE IN A DIRECTION OF EATING A HIGHER UP THE FOOD CHAIN, IF YOU'RE A GROCERY STORE, UH, IF THAT'S MOSTLY WHAT THEY'RE STOCKING AND, AND KIND OF PROMOTING.

AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW, UH, I, I FIND THAT PEOPLE ARE INCREASINGLY WILLING TO, TO TRY OTHER OPTIONS.

UM, BUT THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IF THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE.

UH, I'M GOING TO BE, HAVE TO GET GOING.

AND I'M CURIOUS IF I'M GOING TO BREAK QUORUM.

WELL, I THINK THAT WE'RE, UH, AT ABOUT THE END OF OUR AGENDA ACTUALLY, IS DID ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING FINAL TO, TO ASK OF AMANDA BEFORE WE, WE WRAP UP HERE? ALL RIGHT, AMANDA, THANK YOU.

APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND JOIN YOU ALL.

WE'LL BE IN TOUCH ABOUT NEXT STEPS.

THANKS SO MUCH.

I THINK TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YOU WOULD, BUT SO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, UH, IS BEING POSTPONED BECAUSE, UH, THE PERSON WHO ASKED FOR IT IS NOT IN ATTENDANCE AND WE DON'T HAVE A DRAFT.

UM, SO THAT IS REALLY JUST LEAVES US WITH REPORTS BACK.

AND I THINK, UNLESS DOES ANYBODY HAVE LIKE A REPORT THAT IS ESSENTIAL FROM YOUR HOME BOARD OR COMMISSION? I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THIS, BUT WE'RE ALSO ABOUT TO LEAVE QUORUM.

HER JOB NOT HAVE QUORUM.

I AM DEFINITELY WILLING TO STAY TO, TO HEAR ANY IMPORTANT REPORTS.

I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR PARKS BOARD.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING? ALL RIGHT, THEN IT IS EIGHT 14.

ALL.

UH, OUR MEETING IS ADJOURNED.