Jul 13, 2022 Community Technology &amp; Telecommunications Commission

A BIT OF TIME TOGETHER TONIGHT, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, YOUR FOCUS AND ATTENTION AND HOPEFULLY SOME GOOD DISCUSSION AS WELL.

FANTASTIC.

UH, AGAIN, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT.

UM, I HAVE CLEARED WITH THE CHAIR.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE QUITE

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AT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION, MY NAME IS SAM TEDFORD.

MY PRONOUNS ARE, SHE HURT AND THEY, THEM AND I WORK AS A PRINCIPAL PLANNER IN THE INCLUSIVE PLANNING GROUP AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

AND TONIGHT I'M HERE TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT SOME OF AUSTIN'S HISTORY, FOCUSING ON RACISM AND URBAN PLANNING.

AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY FOR ABOUT SIX YEARS AND I'VE SLOWLY BUILT UP THIS PRESENTATION.

UM, I'VE WORKED IN PLANNING, UM, FOR MOST OF THE TIME THERE BECAUSE I FEEL IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS WE ENDEAVOR TO CREATE NEW PLANS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THAT WE KEEP A FIRM GROUNDING IN WHERE WE'VE BEEN AS A CITY AND KEEP A REALLY CLEAR FOCUS ON, UM, ON, ON HOW WE'VE SHAPED THE CITY, UM, THROUGH OUR URBAN PLANNING, UH, TOOLS AND PLANS AND POLICIES OVER TIME AND BE REALLY CLEAR AND, UM, COURAGEOUS ABOUT TALKING ABOUT THE ROLE OF RACISM IN OUR HISTORY IN THE CITY.

AND SO, UM, MY OUTLINE TODAY, I HOPE TO GIVE A BIT OF A PRESENTATION ABOUT MOMENTS THAT I BELIEVE HAVE SHAPED AUSTIN'S HISTORY AGAIN, WITH THAT LENS FOR URBAN PLANNING.

UM, AND THEN I'LL SPEAK AND HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO HEAR A BIT MORE FROM Y'ALL AS WELL ABOUT THIS CONCEPT OF INHERITING INEQUALITY AND THEN MOVE FORWARD AND HOPEFULLY LEAVE YOU ALL WITH SOME HELPFUL INFORMATION AND TOOLS AND DISCUSSION ITEMS TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS HISTORY TO BUILD A MORE EQUITABLE FUTURE FOR AUSTIN.

I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO START BY ISSUING A CONTENT WARNING AND LET FOLKS KNOW THAT THIS IS, THIS IS SOME HEAVY STUFF.

UM, THIS CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT TO TALK ABOUT AND ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO HEAR.

UM, IT DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ACTIVATE TRAUMA, ESPECIALLY IN FOLKS WITH LIVED EXPERIENCES THAT DIRECTLY RELATE TO THIS HISTORY.

SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW, UM, THAT YOU SHOULD AND, AND CAN TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF DURING AND AFTER TODAY'S WORKSHOP.

UM, SO IF YOU NEED TO STEP AWAY FOR A MOMENT, I, I HOPE, UH, QUORUM WILL PERMIT IT.

AND, UM, I ALSO WANT FOLKS TO KNOW THAT THIS CAN AND PROBABLY WILL BE AN UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATION, BUT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KIND OF ACTIVATING TRAUMA AND FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE.

SO FOR A LOT OF US, THIS IS GOING TO BE A PLACE WHERE WE'RE IN LIKE OUR GROWING EDGE, WHERE WE CAN HAVE A LOT THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM AND REFLECT ON FEELINGS THAT CAN BE PRETTY UNCOMFORTABLE AND DIFFICULT TO MOVE THROUGH LIKE GUILT AND DEFENSIVENESS AND DENIAL.

AND SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU'RE NOT ALONE IF YOU FEEL THESE, UM, COMING UP.

AND SO I WILL ASK YOU THOUGH TO TAKE A MOMENT TO PAUSE WITH YOURSELF AND REFLECT ON THOSE FEELINGS BEFORE YOU RESPOND, BECAUSE THEY CAN OFTEN BE THINGS THAT THE RAIL REALLY MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE IN OUR HISTORY.

UM, AND SO WITH THAT, I'M, I'LL ALSO OFFER UP A TOOL THAT I HAVE FOUND CAN BE HELPFUL IN HELPING FOLKS MOVE THROUGH SOME DIFFICULT, UM, EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS THAT CAN COME UP.

AND SO I'LL SHARE THAT HERE IN A MOMENT.

UM, BUT BEFORE I GET TOO FAR ALONG, I ALSO WANT TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN PUT TOGETHER WITH THE HELP AND THE RESEARCH AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF MANY, MANY OTHER FOLKS BEYOND MYSELF.

UM, I HAVE TAKEN TO, UM, COMBINING A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT I'VE HEARD AND RECEIVED FROM OTHER RESOURCES, LIKE FROM OUR AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER, FROM THE EAST AUSTIN HISTORIC SURVEY FOLKS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S EQUITY OFFICE PROFESSORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LOCAL MEDIA SOURCES AND, AND MANY, MANY INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE ALSO SHARED THEIR STORIES.

AND SO THIS, UM, THIS IS NOT JUST MY INFORMATION ALONE TO SHARE WITH YOU, BUT I HOPE THAT YOU CAN SEE THE VOICES OF MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS REFLECTED IN THIS HISTORY AS WELL.

SO THOSE TOOLS THAT I FOUND CAN BE HELPFUL AS JUST A WAY OF TAKING NOTES.

UM, IF YOU LIKE TO TAKE NOTES ON PAPER, UH, I LIKE TO ASK YOU TO DRAW FOUR QUADRANTS.

SO YOU HAVE YOUR PIECES OF PAPER DIVIDED INTO FOUR SECTIONS, OR IF YOU'RE TAKING NOTES VIRTUALLY YOU CAN ALWAYS JUST HAVE FOUR SEPARATE CATEGORIES.

UM, AND THIS WOULD BE WHERE I WOULD ASK YOU TO KEEP TRACK OF ANY, UH, THINGS THAT YOU'RE EXPERIENCING AS YOU LISTEN.

AND AS WE DISCUSSED TODAY.

SO THAT'S ANYTHING THAT YOU'RE FEELING PHYSICALLY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE GETTING REALLY HUNGRY FOR DINNER AND THAT'S COMING UP, THAT'S OKAY IF YOUR STOMACH DROPS OR IF YOU START, UM, GETTING REALLY HOT IN THE FACE, THAT KIND OF THING MIGHT ALSO COME UP THAT YOU CAN, UM, MAKE A NOTE OF THAT THERE, IF YOU'RE EMOTIONALLY GETTING REALLY DRAINED, YOU'RE GETTING ANGRY, ANYTHING LIKE THAT, YOU CAN ALSO KIND OF HELP, UM, KEEP TRACK OF HERE.

AND THEN MENTALLY, IF YOU'RE JUST GETTING REALLY BORED OF OUR CONVERSATION A DAY, THAT'S OKAY.

JUST, UM, JUST KEEP NOTE OF WHAT YOU'RE EXPERIENCING AS WE GO THROUGH THIS CONVERSATION.

UM, I MEANT

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TO UPDATE THIS SLIDE AND I DIDN'T, SOMETIMES I SHOW THEM MAP HERE AT THE BEGINNING.

WE'RE GOING TO SKIP THAT, UH, PIECE TODAY.

UM, BUT I WILL ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOUR PERSONAL OR YOUR OWN ANCESTRAL HISTORIES CAN INTERSECT WITH THIS HISTORY IN ANOTHER PART, UM, UH, KIND OF THINKING ABOUT HOW THIS RELATES BACK TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR COMMUNITY.

AND THEN ALSO IN ANOTHER AREA, YOU CAN THINK ABOUT ACTIONS THAT INVOLVE THE CITY GOVERNMENT SPECIFICALLY, AND THEN MAYBE KEEP A LIST OF, OF OTHER KEY PLAYERS KIND OF POWER PLAYERS THROUGHOUT THIS HISTORY PRESENTATION.

SO I FOUND THAT IT CAN BE HELPFUL TO, TO FUEL SOME DISCUSSION TOWARDS THE END.

UM, IF WE KEEP SOME NOTES ALONG THESE LINES, BUT I WILL START HERE, UM, WITH A QUOTE THAT I REALLY, UM, VALUE FROM A LOCAL AUSTIN KNIGHT NAMED TAWNY WARD, DR.

TANYA WARD IS, UM, THAT WAS WRITTEN FOR A BLOG CALLED THE END OF AUSTIN.

AND, UM, I LIKE WHAT HE'S WRITTEN HERE BECAUSE I THINK MANY OF US, AND THIS IS AN ASSUMPTION HERE.

WE CAN HEAR FOLKS CHIME IN IF YOU, IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THIS, BUT YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF LIKE AUSTIN IS, IS OVER THE REAL AUSTIN IS DEAD OR THE SOUL OF AUSTIN IS GONE OR WEIRD.

AUSTIN IS OVER ANY, ANY NUMBER OF THINGS WHERE A LOT OF FOLKS FEEL LIKE AUSTIN HAS LOST SOMETHING OF VALUE OVER TIME.

UM, AND THE AUSTIN WE KNOW IN LIVE IN TODAY IS MAYBE, UM, FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY FROM THE AUSTIN THAT WE LOVED.

AND SO DR.

TONY WARD ADDRESSES THIS SENTIMENT IN A PIECE THAT HAS ALSO BEEN TURNED INTO A ZEEN CALLED FINDING LOST IN, AND I FEEL ALOUD.

I'M JUST GOING TO READ THIS QUOTE HERE TO KIND OF SET THE STAGE FOR OUR CONVERSATION ABOUT HISTORY IN AUSTIN, UM, TODAY.

SO THE QUESTION IS, IS THIS THE END OF AUSTIN? HOW PRESENTS EWIS ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS ARE ALWAYS THE SAME PROCESS.

AUSTIN HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME.

ONLY.

IT WASN'T ALWAYS CALLED AUSTIN.

THIS CULTURAL TERRITORY IS OLD.

IN FACT, IT IS THE OLDEST CONTINUALLY INHABITED PLACE IN THE AMERICAS.

THE OLDEST ARROW POINT EVER FOUND IN NORTH FOR SOUTH AMERICA WAS FOUND AT THE GULF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE NEAR ROUND ROCK AT OVER 14,000 YEARS OLD, THE OLDEST CONTINUALLY INHABITED SACRED SITE IN THE AMERICAS IS THE QUILT TO COTTON PRESENCE AT SPRING LAKE IN SAN MARCOS AT 12,000 YEARS OLD, AUSTIN SITS IN THE MIDDLE INSTEAD OF THINKING ABOUT AUSTIN ENDING, PERHAPS WE SHOULD THINK OF SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN LOST, SOMETHING WE ARE SEARCHING FOR INSTEAD OF AUSTIN, WHY DON'T WE CALL IT? LOSTON LOSTON HAS BEEN HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, AND I THINK IT WILL BE FOR THOUSANDS MORE, BUT ONLY WHEN PEOPLE CAN FIND THEMSELVES HISTORICALLY, POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY AS CONNECTED WITH A LARGER WORLD.

HOW CAN WE CONNECT LOSTON WITH THE END OF INEQUALITY AND WHAT WILL THIS BE? THE BEGINNING OF IT MAY TAKE A HUNDRED YEARS TO FIND OURSELVES.

WE MAY NOT SEE THE GREATER CHANGE IN OUR LIFETIME, BUT THIS PLACE WILL BE HERE LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE.

SO ON THAT NOTE, I WILL ALSO, UM, PROVIDE, UH, A LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, UM, BECAUSE BEFORE IT WAS AUSTIN, THIS, UH, THE FUTURE CAPITAL OF THE STATE OF TEXAS WAS A SMALL SETTLEMENT NAMED WATERLOO LOCATED ON A BLUFF OVERLOOKING THE COLORADO RIVER, BUT PEOPLE HAVE LIVED ON THESE LANDS WELL BEFORE, EVEN THEN.

AND SO WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE WITH RESPECT THAT THE LAND WE ARE ON IS THEIR TRADITIONAL AND ANCESTRAL HOMELANDS OF THE TONKAWA, THE LAPAN APACHE, THE SLED THAT THE PUEBLO, THE TEXAS BAND OF YAKI INDIANS, THE QUILT TACAN AND OTHER INDIGENOUS PEOPLES NOT EXPLICITLY STATED.

AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE LONG HISTORY THAT HAS BROUGHT US TO RESIDE ON THIS LAND AND TO SEEK, TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR PLACE WITHIN THAT HISTORY.

SO LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR TO DO AND HAVE HISTORIES IN CELEBRATION AND TRADITION FOR MANY PEOPLE.

BUT I WANT TO ADDRESS MY INTENTION FOR DOING ONE TODAY, WHICH IS TO GROUND THIS SPACE IN THE FACT THAT THE STATE OF TEXAS AND AUSTIN IS A PRODUCT OF VIOLENCE AND DISPLACEMENT, DISPLACEMENT OF NATIVE PEOPLES, AS WELL AS DISPLACEMENT OF AFRICANS WHO BUILT THIS COUNTRY, STATE, AND CITY ALL ENSLAVED AND OTHERWISE EXPLOITED.

AND WHILE THERE ARE MANY OTHER LAYERS TO THIS HISTORY THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE COVERING, THIS IS ONE, OUR CITY IS BUILT ON THE DISPLACEMENT GENOCIDE AND EXPLOITED LABOR OF BLACK AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

AND SO WE'LL SEE THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION AS WELL, BUT DISPLACEMENT IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVELY MODERN PHENOMENON.

AND WHILE IT'S DEFINITELY GAINED SOME POPULARITY IN OUR DISCUSSIONS IN THE PAST DECADE, MAYBE FORCED DISPLACEMENT ALONG RACIAL LINES HAS HAPPENED IN WAVES, THROUGH DIFFERENT PERIODS OF OUR HISTORY SINCE THE BEGINNING OF WHAT WE CONSIDER AUSTIN TODAY.

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AND BEYOND THAT, UM, THERE'S A LONG PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY THAT OFTEN GETS LUMPED TOGETHER.

UM, AND THAT, UH, IS NOT ALWAYS GIVEN VERY MUCH ATTENTION.

UM, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE ROLE OF ENSLAVEMENT AND COLONIZATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE CREATION OF THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN SPECIFICALLY, UM, WE KNOW THAT EXPLOITATION OF THE LABOR OF ENSLAVED AFRICAN PEOPLE WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL COLONIZATION OF TEXAS UNDER SPANISH RULE.

AND THEN DESPITE BEING OUTLIED OUTLAWED UNDER MEXICAN RULE FOR A TIME FOLLOWING THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN, WHO IS OUR NAMESAKE, UH, GAINED AN EXCEPTION TO THE LAW FROM THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT.

SO AS TO ENTICE WHITE SETTLERS TO MOVE TO TEXAS WITH THEIR SLAVES, SLAVERY WAS ALSO LEGAL IN THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS AND FREE BLACK PEOPLE WERE BANISHED FROM TEXAS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.

THE ENSLAVEMENT OF BLACK PEOPLE CONTINUED WHEN TEXAS JOINED THE UNITED STATES AND LATER THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.

AND FINALLY, EVEN AFTER THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, LEGALLY ENDED SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES.

WHITE PLANTATION OWNERS REFUSED TO RELEASE THEIR SLAVE WORKERS UNTIL FEDERAL TROOPS WERE SENT TO TEXAS TO ENFORCE THE PROCLAMATION TWO YEARS LATER.

AND THIS IS EVENT.

WE NOW CELEBRATE AS JUNETEENTH.

UM, BUT THERE'S A VERY LONG HISTORY OF THE WAYS THAT ENSLAVED PEOPLE AND SLAVE AFRICANS, UH, WERE USED TO BUILD THE CITY THAT WE LIVE IN TODAY.

I'M GOING TO ZOOM FORWARD OR TO A DIFFERENT ANGLE, TO THINK ABOUT PLANNING IN A WAY THAT WE MORE OFTEN THINK ABOUT TODAY.

SO THE OFFICIAL PLANNING HISTORY OF BOSTON REALLY BEGAN IN 1839 WITH THIS PLAN OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

IT WAS CREATED BY JUDGE EDWARD AND WALLER, WHO WAS THE FIRST MAYOR OF AUSTIN.

AND THIS WAS CREATED THE YEAR THAT AUSTIN BECAME THE CAPITAL OF TEXAS.

UM, THIS PLAN DESIGNATED A GRID THAT REMAINS MOSTLY INTACT DOWNTOWN TODAY AND DESIGNATED LAND FOR THE FUTURE CAPITOL BUILDING FOR FOUR PUBLIC SQUARES, A PENITENTIARY, A COURT HOUSE, A JAIL, AN ARMORY, AND A HOSPITAL, AND A CREATED BLACK PEOPLE WERE LEGALLY CONSIDERED PROPERTY IN TEXAS STILL.

AND ABOUT 47% OF AUSTIN'S FAMILY HEADS OWNED SLAVES.

HOWEVER, 26% OF AUSTIN'S TOTAL POPULATION WERE ENSLAVED.

SO I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO JUMP AROUND.

I'M NOT GOING TO SPEND A WHOLE LOT OF TIME IN THE CIVIL WAR AREA ERA, BUT MOVING TO POST, UM, EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, POST CIVIL WAR, WE ACTUALLY SEE THE EMERGENCE OF FREED PERSONS OR FREEDMAN'S COMMUNITIES, UM, THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT ARE FORMING.

UM, THESE ARE, I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON THE ONES THAT WERE FORMED IN AUSTIN.

SO, SO THESE WERE COMMUNITIES, UM, WITH NAMESAKES THAT YOU MIGHT STILL RECOGNIZE OR HEAR AROUND AUSTIN, UM, SUCH AS CLARKSVILLE, MAYBE WEEKSVILLE, WEAVERVILLE, UH, PENTONVILLE NAMED AFTER THOMAS KITCHEN, MASON TOWN, GREGORY STOUT, GREGORY TOWN, AND MANY OTHERS HERE THAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE LIST.

AND THESE WERE SETTLEMENTS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED BY FORMER SLAVES AFTER THIS LITTLE CIVIL WAR AND INTERSPERSE THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF BOSTON.

SO IF YOU CAN SEE ON THIS MAP HERE, UM, LET'S SEE IF THE LASER POINTER IS GOING, GONNA WORK.

UM, THIS HERE IS THE LAKE LADY BIRD LAKE, COLORADO RIVER HERE, AND YOU'LL SEE SETTLEMENTS, UM, FAR IN SOUTH AUSTIN AND LARGE AREAS.

THIS SETTLEMENT HERE IS ACTUALLY JUST AROUND, UM, WHERE BARTON SPRINGS IS TODAY.

THE ZILKER NEIGHBORHOOD TODAY IS HERE AS CLARKSVILLE.

THIS IS WEEKSVILLE.

AND THEN THERE'S A CLUSTER OF, UM, SOME THAT ARE KIND OF IN CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN AND SOME JUST EAST OF WHAT IS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TODAY.

UM, SO THESE SETTLEMENTS WERE AGAIN FORMED BY FORMER SLAVES.

THEY'RE OFTEN MADE UP OF FAMILIAL UNITS AND KIND OF RELATED FAMILY MEMBERS.

UM, BUT THESE WERE COMMUNITIES, UM, MOSTLY MADE UP OF, OF BLACK FOLKS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN TODAY.

AND THEY WERE INTERSPERSED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UM, AND THIS IS JUST ABOUT AS INTEGRATED AS AUSTIN HAS EVER BEEN.

I'LL TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT DOING TEEN OR THE CELEBRATION OF JUNETEENTH AND THE EMANCIPATION ASSOCIATION BECAUSE, UH, SOME OF THESE IMAGES ARE JUST REALLY FANTASTIC TO BE ABLE TO SHOW OFF.

UM, BUT THIS ALSO WILL COME UP LATER AGAIN, AS WE TALK ABOUT HOUSING IN AUSTIN, BUT, UH, THE AUSTIN EMANCIPATION ASSOCIATION HERE IN THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT, UM, ACTUALLY PURCHASED LAND, UH, THAT THEY DUBBED EMANCIPATION PARK IN 1907, WITH THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF CREATING A PLACE FOR BLACK AUSTINITES TO CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH AND TO GATHER IN COMMUNITY ON BLACK OWNED LAND.

THIS LAND WAS LATER SEIZED THROUGH IMMINENT DOMAIN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SEGREGATED PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT KNOWN AS ROSEWOOD COURTS.

UM, SO THIS WAS AN EFFORT OF COURSE, BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY TO, UM, TO CELEBRATE A

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CELEBRATION OF THEIR LIBERATION ON LAND THAT WAS OWNED BY THEM.

AND IT WAS LATER SEIZED BY, UH, THE, THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HERE TO BUILD A SEGREGATED PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT.

UM, I'M GOING TO TALK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT AUSTIN CHANGES IN AUSTIN CITY GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE, UM, BECAUSE IT WAS NEWS TO ME, AT LEAST FOR A TIME THAT IN THE AUSTIN'S FIRST BLACK REPRESENTATIVE WAS ACTUALLY, UM, ESTABLISHED IN 1871.

I HAD SORT OF BEEN UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT BURL HANCOCKS WHO WAS, UM, AUSTIN'S FIRST ELECTED BLACK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, WAS, UH, UH, FIRST WAS THE FIRST BLACK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, LIKE A CITY REPRESENTATIVE AT THE AUSTIN LOCAL PEPPERMINT LEVEL, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY A FULL CENTURY BEFORE THEN WE HAD HENRY GREEN MADISON WHO WAS APPOINTED BY RECONSTRUCTIONIST GOVERNOR ED DAVIS IN 1871.

UM, BUT THIS WAS WHEN AUSTIN WAS UNDER A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

SO IT WAS CALLED OUR MAYOR ALDERMANIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

AND, UM, IT ACTUALLY IS PRETTY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE KNOW TODAY AS OUR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT BASED LIKE THE 10, ONE BASED SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE, BECAUSE THERE WERE A SERIES OF AREAS OF THE CITY CONSIDERED WARDS, AND THOSE WARDS VOTED FOR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES, UM, KIND OF IN THAT DISTRICT BASED APPROACH.

AND SO UNDER THIS FORM OF GOVERNMENT, WE ACTUALLY HAD TWO AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO HELD SEATS UNDER, UM, HENRY GREEN, MADISON I MENTIONED, WAS APPOINTED.

AND THEN WE HAD ONE ELECTED BLACK OFFICIAL WILLIAM D. WILSON IN 1883, HOWEVER, AND JUST AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY IN 1908, UH, AND THEN FOR MANY, MANY DECADES AFTER WE ADOPTED A COMMISSIONER FORM OF GOVERNMENT, UM, AND THEN MAYOR AND FOUR COMMISSIONERS, UH, ELECTED AT LARGE.

UM, AND WHILE THERE WERE SOME CHANGES TO THIS PARTY, TO THE PARTICULARS OF THIS FORM OF GOVERNMENT OVER TIME, IT WAS REALLY GENERALLY THIS AT-LARGE ELECTION FOR ALL OF OUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

AND SO THIS WAS ADVOCATED FOR NAMELY BY ANGLE AUSTINITES WHITE AUSTINITES, UM, AND, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY BUSINESSMEN, UM, LIKE AP WOOLDRIDGE AND COLONEL , WHO FOUND THAT THEY WEREN'T GETTING, UM, THE, UH, ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY THOUGHT WAS SUPPORTIVE BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT IN REAL ESTATE, UM, UNDER THE DISTRICT-BASED, UM, APPROACH.

AND SO THEY ADVOCATED FOR THIS CHANGE TO AN AT-LARGE ELECTION AND IT WAS SO, UM, IS ANYONE ON THE CALL? AND I HOPE WE CAN DO THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE INTERACTIVE.

I'M USED TO HAVING THIS MORE DISCUSSION-BASED UM, DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW WHAT THE GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT WAS, OR HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS TERM? I HAVE, BUT I'M CHEATING BECAUSE I SAW YOUR PRESENTATION FOR LEADERSHIP AUSTIN EARLIER THIS YEAR.

LIKEWISE, I COULDN'T HEAR WHO WAS TALKING.

UH, THIS IS COMMISSIONER GARCIA AT DISTRICT FOUR.

OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WELL, WOULD YOU, WOULD YOU, UM, GO AHEAD AND TELL US WHAT, UH, THE GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT WAS, OR IF YOU, WHAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF IT WAS, UM, THE, UH, GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT OF HAVING, UM, A PERSON, TWO PEOPLE, A BLACK PERSON, AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW PERSON ON CITY COUNCIL, BUT WITHOUT ANY, UM, WITHOUT HOLDING IT TO ANY LOSS.

OF COLOR ON THE COUNCIL AT ANY GIVEN TIME UNTIL, UH, WE SAW ANOTHER CHANGE IN OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN 2012, UM, WHICH IS STILL IN PLACE TODAY WHERE WE NOW HAVE THE TEN ONE ELECTIONS, UM, WHERE WE HAVE DISTRICT BASED REPRESENTATION AGAIN.

SO THANK YOU FOR IT, FOR FOLKS WHO HAVEN'T HEARD OF IT, THERE WAS JUST THIS IT'S KIND OF HARD TO PIN DOWN EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS, AND NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW TO EXPLAIN IT, BUT THERE WAS THIS AN INFORMAL GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT AND AUSTIN CITY POLITICS FOR A TIME, UM, MOSTLY AFTER THE 1960S.

UM, BUT THEN INTO THE NINETIES AND EARLY TWO THOUSANDS, FOR SURE, WHERE THERE WAS THIS INFORMAL AGREEMENT THAT WE WOULD HAVE ONE BLACK REPRESENTATIVE ON AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND ONE LATINO, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER.

AND IT'S KINDA HARD TO TRACE EXACTLY HOW THIS WAS DECIDED AND WHO DECIDED THIS, BUT MANY FOLKS WILL POINT TO THE WAYS THAT OUR, UM, OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY, SPECIFICALLY OUR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE REALLY PLAYED A ROLE IN, IN DECIDING WHO THEY WERE GOING TO FUND, UM, FOR THEIR CAMPAIGNS.

AND SO THEY MADE SURE THAT THERE WOULD BE ONE, UM, PERSON OF COLOR OR ONE BLACK REPRESENTATIVE, ONE LATINO REPRESENTATIVE THAT THEY WERE GOING TO SUPPORT THEIR CAMPAIGNS.

AND THEN THEY WOULD MAKE SURE THAT THEY WEED OUT ANY OTHER COMPETITION IN THOSE RACES.

UM, AND THAT WAS KIND OF THEIR WAY OF ENSURING THAT THERE WASN'T ADDITIONAL COMPETITION FOR OTHER SEATS THAT WERE MORE GUARANTEED TO BE WHITE, UH, REPRESENTATIVES IN THE CITY.

AND SO THIS WAS VERY INFORMAL, UM, BUT WAS KIND OF THE UNDER UNSPOKEN RULE IN AUSTIN FOR MANY YEARS.

AND YOU'LL SEE THAT REFLECTED IN WHO WAS REPRESENTED ON OUR CITY COUNCIL FOR A LONG TIME, DESPITE AUSTIN'S CHANGING, UM, DEMOGRAPHICS.

WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE MORE THAN ONE OR TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WERE PEOPLE

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AND, UM, AND JUST BY DEMOGRAPHICS ALONE, WE KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD A MUCH MORE REPRESENTATIVE CITY COUNCIL EVER SINCE THIS CHANGE IN CITY GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE, UM, HAS TAKEN PLACE.

AND SO THERE'S ONE WAY THAT WE CAN THINK ABOUT JUST, JUST REPRESENTATION ALONE AND POWER DYNAMICS AND HOW THAT HAS CHANGED BY THE WAYS THAT WE'VE CHANGED, HOW WE'RE GOVERNED AS A CITY.

UM, WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT SOME EARLY MEXICAN AND LATINO AUSTINITES, UM, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERE IN A MOMENT HOW BORDERS HAVE REALLY CROSSED OVER THIS COMMUNITY MORE THAN WHERE, UM, OFTEN THINKING OF MIGRATION AS A PIECE OF, YOU KNOW, AMERICAN HISTORY, UM, MANY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER MEXICAN OR LATINO AUSTIN.

I HAVE HAD GEOPOLITICAL BORDERS CROSS OVER THEM MANY TIMES OVER, UM, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH TEXAS' HISTORY AS WELL, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT PARTS OF AUSTIN'S OLD FIRST WARD AND SETTLEMENTS ALONG SHOAL CREEK WERE PREDOMINANTLY MEXICAN AND MEXICAN AMERICAN.

UM, BUT WITH THE STABILIZATION OF THE COLORADO RIVER, DUE TO THE DAMS AND THE RISE OF OUR DOWNTOWN AS A CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, UM, THE VALUE OF LANDS ROSE AND MEXICAN AMERICANS WHO LIVED THERE WERE DISPLACED IN WAVES, UM, OVER SEVERAL DECADES.

WE ALSO KNOW THOUGH THAT, UM, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO TRACK, UM, THIS PARTICULAR DEMOGRAPHIC AND, AND THIS POPULATION MANY TIMES, UM, CAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN RACIALIZED LIKE OTHER GROUPS AND HAVE BEEN DEFINED DIFFERENTLY AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN TIME AND AT DIFFERENT PLACES.

UM, SO THE DEFINITION OF RACIST, WELL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE IS OFTEN DEPENDENT ON POLITICAL CLIMATE.

SO IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THEY WERE CLASSIFIED AS WHITES AND ALLOWED TO NATURALIZE BASED UPON THE 1848 TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO.

AND THEN IN 1930, WE HAD FOLKS LOBBYING FOR THEM TO BE CLASSIFIED SEPARATELY ON THE CENSUS SO THAT WE COULD THEN LIMIT THEIR IMMIGRATION AND REINFORCE THE DISTINCTNESS FROM WHITENESS.

HOWEVER, DURING WORLD WAR TWO, AS DEMAND FOR LABOR GREW, MEXICANS WERE AGAIN CLASSIFIED AS WHITE.

UM, AND THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON IMMIGRATION AS WELL.

AND THEN WE HAD SEVERAL PRECEDENT SET IN COURT CASES IN THE FIFTIES AND THE SEVENTIES THAT FOUGHT TO RECOGNIZE HISPANICS AS AN IDENTIFIABLE GROUP.

AND THEREFORE THEY COULD BETTER GUARANTEE, UH, EQUAL PROTECTIONS UNDER THE LAW.

AND SO THEN IN THE 1970S WITH THE US CENSUS, AGAIN, RECLASSIFIES THEM, HIS HISPANICS.

SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT CENSUS DATA, WHICH IS A PRETTY COMMON, UM, SORTS OF DATA, RIGHT, FOR US TO TRACK OUR POPULATION OVER TIME, YOU'LL SEE WHAT LOOKS LIKE THIS INFLUX OF MEXICAN AMERICANS OR HISPANIC FOLKS OR LATIN X FOLKS, UM, IN THE 1970 CENSUS.

AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THIS HISTORY, YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S REALLY JUST HOW WE'VE CHANGED CLASSIFICATIONS OF THESE FOLKS OVER TIME.

THAT MAKES IT REALLY DIFFICULT SOMETIMES TO TELL THEIR STORY WITH DATA ALONE, UM, TO GIVE SOME INSIGHT INTO AUSTIN'S EARLY ASIAN AUSTINITES.

UM, I LIKE TO GIVE THIS STORY, THIS VIGNETTE ON AN INDIVIDUAL NAMED JOE SINGH, WHO WAS BORN IN CHINA IN 1860.

AND HE CAME TO THE U S AROUND 1890.

HE EVENTUALLY SETTLED IN AUSTIN AND HE OPENED A LAUNDRY MAT ON WEST FIFTH STREET AND PROVIDED LAUNDRY SERVICE TO MANY STATE LEGISLATORS.

AND AUSTINITES ALL HIS LIFE.

MR. SINGH WAS PROHIBITED FROM AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP, AS WELL AS BUYING PROPERTY UNDER THE FEDERAL LAW.

THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT IN 1882 WASN'T REPEALED UNTIL 1943.

UM, HOWEVER, JOE DIED IN 1912 AFTER BEING HIT BY HIS CAR, BUT HE WAS HIT BY A CAR WHILE HE WAS RIDING A BIKE AT THE LIFE OF DOSING, ALSO EXTENDS INTO THE LIFE OF FRANCIS MORANO WHO HAD FOUR CHILDREN WITH HIM AND UNBEKNOWNST TO HER FRANCIS LOST HER AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP WHEN SHE MARRIED JOE SINGH AS A RESULT OF THE EXPATRIATION ACT OF 1907, THAT MANDATED THAT ANY AMERICAN WOMAN WHO MARRIES A FOREIGNER SHALL TAKE THE NATIONALITY OF HER HUSBAND.

AND SO, UM, I SHARE THIS STORY BECAUSE AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE, UH, OR DID NOT HAVE A ROBUST ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION FOR MANY, MANY YEARS IN ITS HISTORY.

AND A WHOLE LOT OF THAT IS DUE TO THE WAYS THAT WE WERE, UM, LIMITING AND RESTRICTING THE, UM, THE MIGRATION OF ASIAN, OF ASIANS INTO THIS COUNTRY AND, AND TEXAS AND AUSTIN, UM, THROUGH THESE VERY RACIALIZED LAWS THAT HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME THAT ALSO CREATED DISINCENTIVE FOR INTEGRATION WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

SO EVEN THOUGH FRANCIS MARINO WAS BORN IN AMERICAN CITIZEN, SHE LOST HER CITIZENSHIP WHEN SHE MARRIED JOE SANE.

AND SO THAT KIND

[00:30:01]

OF THING MAKES IT REALLY DIFFICULT, UM, TO BUILD COMMUNITY, TO BE IN COMMUNITY, UM, WITH ASIAN AMERICANS ALSO FOR MANY YEARS IN AUSTIN.

AND I RECENTLY, UM, STUMBLED UPON THESE, UM, ARTICLES ACTUALLY IN THE AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN THROUGH A COLLEAGUE OF MINE AT THE CITY'S PARKS DEPARTMENT.

UM, BUT THERE WERE ALSO TALKS IN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN WORLD WAR TWO ABOUT USING CITY OWNED LAND, USING PARKLAND, UM, FOR INTERNMENT CAMPS, FOR ASIAN-AMERICANS FOR JAPANESE AMERICAN, SPECIFICALLY FOR A TIME.

AND SO, UM, THIS, WHILE IT NEVER CAME TO FRUITION IN AUSTIN, AUSTIN DID NOT HAVE INTERNMENT CAMPS OF OUR OWN.

UM, IT'S DEFINITELY GIVES SOME INSIGHT INTO THE KIND OF ENVIRONMENT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WAS, UH, THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT OR THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT, UM, FOR ASIAN AMERICANS IN AUSTIN AND IN TEXAS FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

AND THAT GIVES SOME INSIGHT INTO WHY WE DID NOT HAVE A ROBUST ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION IN AUSTIN UNTIL AT LEAST THE NINETIES.

UM, SO I'VE GIVEN A COUPLE OF STORIES OR A COUPLE OF VIGNETTES AND, UM, SOME INFORMATION, BUT I HOPE TO ALSO BE ABLE TO BRING HOME THIS POINT THAT, UM, DEFINITIONS OF WHO IS CONSIDERED TO BE WHITE HAS ALSO CHANGED OVER TIME.

WHITE AS A RACE DID NOT EXIST BEFORE COLONIAL AMERICA.

UM, AND THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF HISTORY HERE THAT I'M NOT GOING TO DIVE INTO VERY DEEPLY, BUT I WILL SHARE THIS STORY FROM, UM, OR THIS QUOTE, BUT JUST KIND OF BLOWS MY MIND EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT IT.

UM, THAT WAS GIVEN FROM A US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE IN 1922.

SO YOU CAN SEE AN IMAGE ON THE RIGHT OF WHO WAS ON OUR SUPREME COURT IN 19 20 20 IN 1922.

UM, AND SO THE COURTS, UH, V VARIOUS LEVELS OF COURTS WERE GIVING KIND OF, UM, DIFFERENT RULINGS ON WHO WOULD BE CONSIDERED WHITE IN THE EYES OF THE LAW, AND THEREFORE BE ABLE TO CALL APPLY FOR THINGS LIKE NATURALIZED CITIZENSHIP, UM, IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY AND AFTER A FEW KIND OF CONTRADICTING CASES AND OUT OF FRUSTRATION, ONE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE KIND OF DECLARED OFFICIALLY THAT WHITENESS SHOULD BE BASED ON QUOTE UNQUOTE, THE COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THE WHITE MAN.

AND SO IN THIS WAY, WE SEE THAT THERE'S, UM, A LOT OF, UM, OPAQUENESS TO OUR DEFINITION OF WHAT IS WHITE.

AND THAT IS WHY I EMPHASIZE IT HAS BEEN POLITICIZED OVER TIME.

AND IT HAS CHANGED A LOT OVER TIME AS WELL.

UM, I'M GOING TO JUMP BACK AND FORTH A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO JUMP BACK INTO STUFF THAT LOOKS A BIT MORE LIKE AUSTIN'S PLANNING HISTORY.

AND SO, UM, I LIKE TO TALK THE AUSTIN STREET CAR SYSTEM BECAUSE I'M A REALLY BIG PUBLIC TRANSIT FAN.

UM, BUT ALSO, CAUSE THERE'S SOME INTERESTING NUGGETS HERE AS WELL THAT I'D LIKE TO SHARE.

SO IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, AUSTIN HAD A POPULAR STREET CAR SYSTEM THAT RAN FROM ABOUT 1875 UNTIL THE EARLY 1940S INVESTORS IN THE STREET CAR WERE OFTEN REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS, SUCH AS COLONEL MONROE, SHIPE WHO FOUNDED AND PROMOTED AUSTIN'S FIRST STREET CAR SUBURB, WHICH WAS HYDE PARK, WHICH IS THIS KIND OF LOLLIPOP LOOP HERE AT THE TOP OF THE MAP UNTIL 1906, THOUGH, THE AUSTIN STREET CAR WAS NOT FORMALLY SEGREGATED WHEN THE AUSTIN STREET CAR ANNOUNCED ITS INTENTIONS TO SEGREGATE THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN LED A BOYCOTT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.

HOWEVER, THE STATE OF TEXAS THEN RESPONDED SOON THEREAFTER AND MANDATED SEGREGATION ON ALL PUBLIC TRANSIT STATEWIDE, INCLUDING BUSES.

THIS WASN'T REVERSED UNTIL MANY DECADES LATER WHEN IT WAS OVERTURNED AFTER THE ACTIVISM OF ROSA PARKS AND THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT IN THE 1950S AND CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION IN THE SIXTIES.

AND SO I FOUND THIS FASCINATING THAT IN MANY WAYS, AUSTIN, AUSTIN SET A PRECEDENT FOR SEGREGATING OUR PUBLIC TRANSIT, UM, WAY BACK IN THE DAY WHEN IT HAD NOT ACTUALLY BEEN, UM, UH, A LAW BEFORE, BEFORE THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UM, MOVED TO, TO SEGREGATE THE STREET CAR.

AND YOU CAN SEE AN IMAGE HERE FOR 1913, WE'RE LOOKING NORTH ON CONGRESS AVENUE AND YOU CAN SEE THE STREET CAR THERE AND YOU'LL SEE MANY, UM, THINGS FEEL A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

UM, BUT MANY OF THE SAME SHAPES THAT EXIST ON THE STREETS STILL EXIST TODAY.

HOWEVER THINGS REALLY START TO CHANGE IN TERMS OF OUR CITIES, UM, BETWEEN THE EARLY 19 HUNDREDS IN THE MID 19 HUNDREDS.

SO I'M REALLY GOING TO CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION, THE RISE OF THE PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE AND HOW IT BEGAN TO SHAPE CITIES BY THE 1940S.

UM, WE STARTED PRIORITIZING THE PAVING OF STREETS OVER MAINTAINING RAILS FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT.

AND THIS STARTS TO ENABLE SOME FOLKS, UH, TO LIVE FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY FROM THE CITY CENTER WHERE THEY WERE WORKING OR SHOPPING OR CONGREGATING, UM, AND STARTS TO ASSIST IN THE SEPARATION OF PLACES WITH DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS ACROSS THE CITY.

SO IT WAS TRUE THEN FOR SURE, BUT IT'S EVEN TRUE NOW THAT NOT EVERYONE HAD ACCESS TO A PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE.

AND SO IN MANY WAYS, THIS STARTS TO SEE THE SEPARATION OF

[00:35:01]

PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY, UM, IN A WAY THAT WAS VERY MUCH DRIVEN BY WHO HAD ACCESS TO CARS AND WHO, UM, WAS ABLE TO GET AROUND THAT WAY.

SO OUR OLD STREETCAR SYSTEM, UM, KIND OF ENSURED THAT FOLKS HAD TO LIVE WHERE THEY, UM, LIVE CLOSE TO THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED IN THEIR DAILY LIFE, WHETHER IT'S THEIR JOBS OR THEIR CHURCH OR THEIR SCHOOLS, OR THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT THEY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS.

AND SO THEY WERE CLOSE EITHER BY THE STREETCAR SYSTEM AND MUCH OF BOSTON'S, UM, COMMUNITY AND THEIR BUSINESSES WERE LOCATED NEAR THE STREETCAR STOPS, UM, OR WHERE SOMEONE COULD TO WHAT THEY NEEDED OR TAKE A HORSE AND BUGGY.

SO THAT KEEPS OUR CITIES A LOT MORE COMPACT.

UM, BUT AS WE START TO SEE AUTOMOBILES, UM, RISING AND MORE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE GOING TO SUPPORT PRIVATE AUTOMOBILES, UM, WE SEE THAT THE CITIES, UH, GET BIGGER AND BIGGER AND MORE SEPARATED.

AND SO I MENTIONED HERE THE SEPARATION OF, UH, PLACES WITH DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS ACROSS THE CITY.

SO, UM, WE'RE STARTING TO REALIZE THAT THERE'S SOME PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS WITH PLACING WITH LIVING INTO CLOSE PROXIMITY, TO SOME OF OUR INDUSTRIAL USES LIVING NEAR FACTORIES, UM, WITH THE POLLUTION AND THE NOISE.

AND SO WE START TO SEE SOME SEPARATION OF RESIDENTIAL AREAS FROM BUSINESS AREAS, FROM FACTORIES AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS.

UM, AND, UH, WE ALSO START TO SEE, I MEAN, THROUGH REALLY SPECIFIC PUBLIC POLICIES AND INCREASE IN THE SEPARATION OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE SPACE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS WELL.

AND SO, UM, IF YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT AUSTIN SISTER, YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF THIS PLAN.

UM, IT'S THE 1928 PLAN FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, IT WAS CREATED BY, UM, CONSULTANTS, KOCH AND FOWLER WHO I BELIEVE CAME OUT OF, UM, CHICAGO, AND IT DID MANY OTHER THINGS, BUT WHAT I'M GOING TO HIGHLIGHT AS SOME OF THE MOST INFAMOUS AND LASTING CHANGES THAT IT HAD ON OUR CITY, WHICH WAS TO CREATE THE QUOTE UNQUOTE NEGRO DISTRICT IN EAST AUSTIN, AND ALSO ENSURED MOST INDUSTRY WOULD BE PLACED IN EAST AUSTIN.

AND IT LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR REDLINING, DISPLACEMENT AND LONG LASTING RACIAL DIVIDES.

SO I HAVE HERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN AT A DIRECT QUOTE PULLED FROM THIS PLAN.

UM, AND SO THEY, THEY SAID THAT THERE'S BEEN CONSIDERABLE TALK IN AUSTIN, AS WELL AS OTHER CITIES IN REGARD TO THE RACE SEGREGATION PROBLEM.

THIS PROBLEM CAN NOT BE SOLVED LEGALLY UNDER ZONING LAWS KNOWN TO US AT PRESENT, PRACTICALLY ALL ATTEMPTS AT SUCH HAPPENED PROVEN UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

AND SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY REFERENCING A COURT CASE, A SUPREME COURT CASE THAT OVERTURNED RACIAL ZONING IN KENTUCKY IN THIS COURT CASE CALLED BUCHANAN VERSUS WARLEY.

SO THIS WAS SHORTLY AFTER CITIES ARE GIVEN THE ZONING POWERS.

THE ABILITY TO SEPARATE USES LAND USES ACROSS DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC AREAS AND MANY CITIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTH WHO WERE TRYING TO USE ZONING TO SEGREGATE PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITIES AS WELL.

AND SO THIS WAS OVERTURNED BY THE SUPREME COURT.

UM, AND SO AUSTIN IS SAYING HERE THAT WE HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND WE CAN'T SOLVE IT BY ANY ZONING LAWS, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

AND SO WHAT THEY DECIDED TO DO WAS TO CREATE THE NEGRO DISTRICT IN EAST AUSTIN.

AND THEY SAY, THIS IS ANOTHER DIRECT QUOTE.

THE SOLUTION OF THE RACE SEGREGATION PROBLEM WILL BE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THIS DISTRICT OF A NEGRO DISTRICT.

AND THEN ALL THE FACILITIES AND CONVENIENCES BE PROVIDED TO THE NEGROES IN THIS DISTRICT AS AN INCENTIVE TO DRAW THE POPULATION TO THIS AREA, THIS WILL ELIMINATE THE NECESSITY OF DUPLICATION OF WHITE AND BLACK SCHOOLS, WHITE AND BLACK PARKS AND OTHER DUPLICATE FACILITIES FOR THIS AREA.

SO THIS IS DURING A TIME WHEN THE LAW OF THE LAND IN AUSTIN WAS SEPARATE BUT EQUAL FACILITIES.

SO WE KNOW THAT THEY WERE BY NO MEANS ACTUALLY PROVIDED EQUAL FACILITIES, UM, BY DIFFERENT RACES IN THE CITY.

BUT THIS WAS THE JUSTIFICATION.

IT WAS PERFECTLY LEGAL TO HAVE SEGREGATED FACILITIES AND SERVICES, UH, FOR WHITE FOLKS AND FOR BLACK FOLKS IN OUR TOWN.

AND SO THIS ALSO WAS PRESENTED AS A KIND OF EFFICIENCY MEASURE THAT, UM, THIS WOULD BE A BEST USE OF CITY FUNDS IF WE JUST HAD TO PROVIDE ONE BLACK SCHOOL, ONE BLACK PARK, UM, AND NOT HAVE TO PROVIDE THEM ALL OVER TOWN WHERE OUR BLACK COMMUNITY IS KIND OF INTERSPERSED THROUGHOUT THE CITY AT THIS TIME.

AND SO, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KIND OF KEEP IN MIND THAT THEY REALLY TRIED TO TAKE THIS.

THIS IS THE ONLY LOGICAL AND EFFICIENT WAY TO PROVIDE CITY SERVICES APPROACH.

UM, BUT THEY ALSO MAKE IT SOUND HERE.

LIKE THIS IS AN INCENTIVE BASED APPROACH.

THEY SAY THAT WE WANT TO PROVIDE AN INCENTIVE TO DRAW BLACK FOLKS TO THIS AREA.

UM, BUT THIS WAS BY NO MEANS JUST AN INCENTIVE-BASED APPROACH.

WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DID WAS REFUSE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, UM, OR FACILITIES TO PEOPLE OF COLOR TO BLACK FOLKS SPECIFICALLY IN OUR CITY DID NOT MOVE OR LIVE IN THIS NEGRO DISTRICT.

AND SO FOLKS LIKE IN THE CLARKSVILLE

[00:40:01]

NEIGHBORHOOD, IF YOU CAN RECALL BACK TO THAT MAP WHERE I SHOWED AT THE BEGINNING WHERE FRIEDMAN'S COMMUNITIES WERE INTERSPERSED THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, ALL OF THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WERE NOT IN CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN, WE'RE NOW NO LONGER ABLE TO GET CITY, UH, SERVICES TO GET THEIR TRASH PICKED UP THEIR WATER OR ELECTRICITY WOULDN'T BE CONNECTED OR WOULD HAVE BEEN SHUT OFF.

UM, THERE WERE NO BLACK SCHOOLS ON THAT SIDE OF TOWN AND BLACK FOLKS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO BE IN THE PARKS ON THAT SIDE OF TOWN.

AND SO IN THAT WAY, IT WAS REALLY NOT JUST AN INCENTIVE.

IT WAS A, THERE WAS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF PUNISHMENT FOR FOLKS, UM, WHO WERE, WHO WERE BLACK, WHO DID NOT MOVE ON, WHO WERE NOT DISPLACED AND MOVED INTO THE, UM, THE NEGRO DISTRICT ON THE EAST OF AUSTIN THROUGH THIS PLAN, THIS PLAN, HOWEVER REALLY STARTS TO, UH, GAIN MORE AND MORE MOMENTUM AND FURTHER, UM, UH, SOLIDIFY THE SEGREGATION OF OUR CITY WITH OTHER POLICIES THAT THEN LAYERED ON TOP OF IT.

SO THE 1928 PLAN, UM, CREATED THE NEGRO DISTRICT AND STARTS TO MOVE PEOPLE OF COLOR, MOVE BLACK COMMUNITIES INTO CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN.

UM, BUT THEN THESE ARE FOLLOWED UP BY OTHER POLICIES.

SO WE'RE LOOKING HERE AT A COUPLE OF MAPS MADE BY THE HOMEOWNERS LOAN CORPORATION IN 1934.

SO I'LL ACTUALLY DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE RIGHT HERE, UM, WHICH IS A RACIAL CONCENTRATION MAP.

AND SO THE LEGEND HERE SAYS THAT THE DARKER BROWN AREAS ARE NEGRO POPULATION.

THE RED AREAS ARE MEXICAN AND NEGRO POPULATIONS, AND THEN THIS NOT SHADED, THE INVISIBLE AREAS, OUR REMAINDER WHITE POPULATION IS LIVING HERE.

SO THESE MAPS WERE CREATED AT THE SAME TIME BY THIS QUASI GOVERNMENTAL, UM, GROUP CALLED THE HOMEOWNERS LOAN CORPORATION.

AND THEY STARTED BY IDENTIFYING WHERE IN THESE CITIES THERE'S MAPS LIKE THIS FOR MANY CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE OUR POPULATIONS OF COLOR LIVE AND IDENTIFYING THEM.

AND THEN THEY WERE FOLLOWED UP WITH THESE MAPS, UM, LIKE ON THE LEFT HERE.

AND LET ME NOW CONSIDER REDLINING MAPS WHERE THEY WERE TRYING TO DECIDE AND GIVE INFORMATION TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ABOUT WHERE IT WOULD BE SAFE TO MAKE INVESTMENTS INTO HOME LOANS.

AND SO THE U S AT THIS TIME IS, UM, REALLY TRYING TO MAKE INVESTMENTS IN IMPROVING HOME OWNERSHIP AS FOLKS ARE COMING BACK FROM THE WAR.

AND SO THERE DECIDED TO GUARANTEE HOME LOANS FOR MANY, MANY AMERICANS.

UM, AND SO, YEAH, THEY'RE PROVIDING PROTECTIONS ON THESE HOME LOANS FOR, UM, FOR MANY AMERICANS, BUT THEY RELIED ON THIS HOMEOWNERS LOAN CORPORATION TO TELL THEM WHERE IT WOULD BE SAFE TO MAKE THAT KIND OF INVESTMENT SO THAT WE DON'T DEFAULT OR THAT WE DON'T.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE FALL THROUGH ON A BUNCH OF HOME LOANS ALL AT THE SAME TIME, AND THAT COULD CAUSE A REAL ECONOMIC CRISIS.

AND SO THIS ORGANIZATION CREATED MAPS THAT DECIDED WHERE IT WOULD BE BEST AND DESIRABLE TO MAKE THOSE KINDS OF INVESTMENTS IN HOME OWNERSHIP AND WHERE IT WOULD BE AS A DISK FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO INVEST.

AND SO THIS AREA HERE IN CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN WAS DECIDED TO BE HAZARDOUS FOR INVESTMENT.

AND IT EXACTLY CORRESPONDS WITH THE AREA WHERE WE HAD CONCENTRATED OUR BLACK POPULATION IN AUSTIN.

YOU'LL SEE A FEW CUTOUTS OVER HERE FOR WHERE OUR CLARKSVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS.

THAT WAS AN AREA WHERE WE STILL HAD MANY BLACK COMMUNITY MEMBERS HOLDING OUT AND LIVING IN THAT COMMUNITY, DESPITE, UM, THE KIND OF CHALLENGES THAT WERE FACED BY OUR, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UM, BY THEM NOT MOVING TO THE NEGRO DISTRICT.

THERE WERE A COUPLE OF OTHER AREAS LIKE WE'D SPILL AS WELL, WHERE WE HAD, UM, BLACK COMMUNITIES REMAINING.

UM, BUT THESE AREAS WERE CARVED OUT THEN AND DECLARED TO BE HAZARDOUS SPRING INVESTMENT.

SO THESE MAPS STARTED TO BLEED INTO MORE THAN JUST HOMEOWNERSHIP, BUT REALLY IT BECAME CHALLENGING, UM, FOR, UH, PEOPLE IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS ANY KIND OF INVESTMENT FOR SMALL BUSINESS LOANS OR HOME REPAIR LOANS OR ANY NUMBER OF THINGS, BECAUSE BANKS WOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THIS MAP AND SAY, OH, THAT WAS DECLARED TO BE HAZARDOUS FOR INVESTMENT, BUT BEYOND THAT.

SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF PUBLIC POLICIES THAT VERY CLEARLY, UM, STARTED TO SEGREGATE AND, UM, AND HAVE ISSUES FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR IN OUR CITY.

UM, BUT THESE WERE DEFINITELY FOLLOWED UP ON AND LAYERED WITH ADDITIONAL REALLY RACIST REAL ESTATE PRACTICES ON THE PRIVATE MARKET SIDE.

SO WE MENTIONED, UM, COLONEL MIN ROCHE IPE.

SO HE'S THE FOUNDER OF, OF HYDE PARK APPEAR NORTH AUSTIN.

UM, AND AT THE TIME HE'S PROMOTING THIS, UM, THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THIS DEVELOPMENT IS MAKING SURE TO ANNOUNCE THAT IT IS EXCLUSIVELY FOR WHITE PEOPLE.

AND SO THERE'S, HE SAYS EXTRAORDINARY INDUCEMENTS ARE OFFERED.

SO THERE'S A, THERE'S REALLY LUCRATIVE DEALS FOR REAL ESTATE IN THIS TIME IN THIS PART OF TOWN.

IF YOU BUY ONE LOT, YOU GET ONE LOCK FREE, THAT KIND OF THING.

UM, BUT THAT WAS EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE FOR WHITE PEOPLE AND THEY ACTUALLY ADDED IT AS, THIS IS POSITIVE THING THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO LIVE WITH, JUST ANYBODY IN THE CITY.

IT WAS JUST FOR WHITE PEOPLE.

UM, BEYOND THAT,

[00:45:01]

THERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE HERE.

I'VE PULLED FROM THE TRAVIS HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS IN CENTRAL SOUTH AUSTIN THAT SAID HERE THAT WE SELL ONLY TO WHITE PEOPLE.

UM, SO THEY'RE SAYING THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS RESTRICTED AND VERY HIGH CLASS.

THEY'RE ALSO OFFERING AGAIN, REALLY GENEROUS DEALS ON, UM, INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE AND IN HOME OWNERSHIP IN THIS PART OF TOWN, THEY'RE SAYING YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO MAKE A PAYMENT IF YOU'RE OUT OF WORK OR IF YOU'RE SICK.

UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS WAS ONLY AVAILABLE TO SOME FOLKS.

AND SO THERE'S THIS LITERAL HAND UP THAT, UM, THESE, THESE FAMILIES ARE GETTING TO MOVE INTO HOME OWNERSHIP, BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT AVAILABLE TO COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN OUR CITY.

AT THAT TIME, UH, LAYERING ON THIS, WE FOUND THEM ANOTHER WAY THAT THIS KIND OF SEGREGATION AND EXCLUSION WAS, UH, WAS LEGALIZED OR WAS IMPLEMENTED THROUGH OUR LEGAL, UM, KIND OF REALM THROUGH RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS OR DEED RESTRICTIONS THAT, UM, DEFINITELY INCLUDED RACIAL, UM, RESTRICTIONS.

AND SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FROM OUR ROSEDALE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT SAID, NO PERSON OF AFRICAN DESCENT SHALL EVER BE ALLOWED TO BUY OR HOLD IN ANY WAY, TITLE OR CONTROL OF ANY LOT OR BLOCK, BUT THIS SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED TO PREVENT SERVANTS FROM RESIDING.

THERE INS ALONG AS SUCH SERVANT QUARTERS ARE MAINTAINED UPON THE REAR OF THE PROPERTY.

SO THERE WERE ALSO MANY RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS THAT INCLUDED EXCLUSIONS FOR MEXICAN PEOPLE, FOR MEXICAN AMERICANS.

UM, THIS MAP ON THE RIGHT IS A REALLY GOOD EFFORT AT TRYING TO FIND WHERE THESE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS ARE, BUT IT CAN BE REALLY DIFFICULT TO TRACK THEM DOWN TO FIND THEM.

SO, UM, UH, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GO, YOU KNOW, PAGE BY PAGE LOOKING AT, UM, EACH LOT'S KIND OF DEED RESTRICTION AT TIME TO SEE WHAT GOT BAKED INTO THERE.

UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT MUCH OF CENTRAL AND NORTH AND WEST AUSTIN, UM, WAS INCLUDING THESE KINDS OF RACIAL RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS THAT MADE SURE THAT NO PEOPLE OF COLOR WOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS OR OWN PROPERTY.

UM, AND THOSE WERE RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL OR UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN 1948, UM, BUT ALSO HAVE PRETTY CHILLING EFFECTS BECAUSE THEY CAN STILL EXIST IN THE DEED, EVEN IF THEY'RE UNENFORCEABLE.

UM, AND SO MANY PROPERTY OWNERS, ESPECIALLY PROPERTY OWNERS OF COLOR IN THESE TOWNS CAN BE, UM, PRETTY HORRIFIED TO LOOK AT THEIR DEED AND FIND THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE IN THERE.

OH, ADDITIONALLY, I SAY THAT WE KNOW THAT THE FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION, THE FAA F H A AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES OFTEN REQUIRED RESTRICTIVE RACIALLY RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GET FHA BACKING OR LOANS FOR DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.

SO IT WAS NOT JUST OUT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, AN INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPER HOMEOWNER DECIDING TO PUT THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE IN THEIR DEED.

IT WAS ACTUALLY ENCOURAGED OR SOMETIMES REQUIRED IN ORDER TO GET THE LOANS TO DEVELOP THESE TYPES OF SUBDIVISIONS.

UM, BEYOND THAT, WE KNOW THAT, UM, AUSTIN ACTUALLY HAD THE FIRST PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT IN THE COUNTRY UNDER THE FEDERAL HOUSING, UH, THE FEDERAL PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION.

AND SO THIS IS AD ADVOCATED FOR BY, UM, LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON, UM, AND SANTA RITA COURTS IN EAST AUSTIN WAS THE FIRST PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT IN THE COUNTRY.

UM, EVEN AT THE ONSET THOUGH, THESE PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS WERE RACIALLY SEGREGATED.

SO SANTA RITA COURTS WAS DESIGNED TO BE FOR RESIDENTS OF MEXICAN ROSA COURTS WAS DESIGNED TO BE FOR RESIDENTS OF AFRICAN DESCENT.

AND JOHN MORRIS COURT WAS GOING TO BE FOR WHITE RESIDENTS.

UM, WE ALREADY MENTIONED EARLIER ON IN THIS PRESENTATION, THAT ROSEWOOD COURTS WAS ACTUALLY BUILT AFTER THE CITY USE EMINENT DOMAIN TO CLAIM THE EMANCIPATION PARK.

UM, AND THAT WAS LAND THAT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY BLACK AUSTINITES AND USED AS A PUBLIC PARK TO CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH AND OTHER COMMUNITY GATHERINGS.

UM, AND SO THAT LAND WAS SEIZED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROSE WOOD FLOORS.

AND IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT CONTEXT TO KNOW THAT PUBLIC HOUSING DIDN'T ALWAYS NECESSARILY HAVE THE CONNOTATIONS THAT WE HAVE OF IT TODAY, UM, AFTER WORLD WAR ONE.

AND THEN AFTER WORLD WAR TWO, THIS, UM, MANY AMERICAN CITIES WERE FACING A REAL HOUSING CRISIS THERE WHERE THE SUPPLY OF HOUSING WAS REALLY LOW.

UM, AND IF WE THINK ABOUT SPECIFICALLY FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR, FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, ACCESS TO HOUSING WAS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE WAYS THAT WE'VE RESTRICTED, WHERE THESE PEOPLE COULD LIVE.

AND SO PUBLIC HOUSING WAS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT TRYING TO FILL THIS GAP IN WHAT THE PRIVATE MARKET WAS PROVIDING BY CREATING MORE HOUSING.

AND SO MUCH OF OUR PUBLIC HOUSING WAS ORIGINALLY KIND OF MORE MIDDLE-CLASS HOUSING.

UM, AND IT WAS JUST A WAY OF GETTING MORE HOUSING ON THE GROUND IN MOST OF OUR, UM, US CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

BUT EVEN THEN, UM, THERE WAS AN INTENTIONAL EFFORT TO SEGREGATE COMMUNITIES IN

[00:50:01]

PUBLIC HOUSING AS WELL.

UM, WE HAVE FOLLOW UP ON OUR PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS, AND EVEN AS PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS ARE COMING UP ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, HOUSING POLICIES, LIKE THE HOUSING ACT OF 1949, THAT HAD GOALS LIKE REBUILDING OUR NATION'S CITIES, ELIMINATING SLUMS AND BLIGHT AND PROVIDING DECENT HOUSING FOR ALL WHICH, YOU KNOW, AT FACE VALUE MAY SOUND LIKE PRETTY GOOD GOALS.

UM, BUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE WAYS THAT WE DREW LINES AROUND CERTAIN COMMUNITIES AND ACTIVELY DISINVESTED AND PREVENTED THEM FROM ACCESSING OPPORTUNITY AND RESOURCES, UM, THROUGH MORE FORMAL INSTITUTIONS THROUGH OUR GOVERNMENT, UM, WE KNOW THAT IT'S REALLY SPECIFIC AND RACIALIZED, UM, PART OF TOWN THAT IS NOW GOING TO BE CONSIDERED A SLUM OR A BLIGHTED AREA AS WELL.

WE ALSO KNOW THAT, UM, WE DIDN'T REALLY EVEN LIVE UP TO THIS, UH, STATED GOAL BECAUSE WHILE A LOT OF FEDERAL FUNDING WENT INTO SUBSIDIZING ACQUISITION AND CLEARING OF SITES FOR REDEVELOPMENT, UM, BY TEARING DOWN SLUMS AND BLIGHTED AREAS, LESS THAN 1% OF THE FUNDING WENT TO ASSISTING RELOCATION FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN LIVING IN THOSE AREAS OR IN THOSE HOMES.

UM, AND THE IDEA HAD BEEN TO BE CREATING AS MUCH PUBLIC HOUSING AS WE WERE DEMOLISHING SLUM HOUSING.

HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, FAR MORE HOUSING UNITS WERE DEMOLISHED THAN THEY WERE THEN WERE CREATED AS A RESULT OF THIS ACT.

AND SO THIS IS WHY URBAN RENEWAL BECAME KNOWN BY MANY COMMUNITIES OF COLORS, URBAN REMOVAL AND SLUM CLEARANCE REALLY BECAME THIS MEANS OF MOVING BLACK FOLKS FROM POTENTIALLY VALUABLE REAL ESTATE IN OUR TOWN.

UM, I THINK IT CAN BE REALLY INTERESTING TO LOOK AT, UM, THE CREATION OF OUR INTERSTATE HIGHWAY OR, YOU KNOW, OUR, UM, BELOVED AGE 35 HERE IN AUSTIN, UM, WAS A RESULT OF THIS FEDERAL AID HIGHWAY ACT OF 1956.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT AS A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF INTERSTATE AND DEFENSE HIGHWAYS.

SO THAT WAS KIND OF, UM, POSED AS THIS WAY THAT WE COULD QUICKLY EVACUATE URBAN AREAS IN THE EVENT THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE, UM, NUCLEAR WAR.

SO THAT HAD BEEN THE WAY THAT IT WAS, THESE WERE DEFENSE HIGHWAYS.

AND SO THEY WERE, UM, GIVEN A LOT OF FUNDING, MORE FUNDING THAN WE HAD EVER PUT INTO ANY KIND OF TRANSPORTATION ENDEAVOR AS A COUNTRY.

UM, BUT THESE FEDERAL FUNDS THEN DEFINITELY STARTED OR CONTINUED TO FAVOR PRIVATELY OWNED VEHICLES OVER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

AND THEY REALLY STARTED TO ALSO SUBSIDIZE THE SUBURBANIZATION OF OUR URBAN AREAS.

SO WE'RE MAKING INVESTMENTS IN HOMEOWNERSHIP IN THESE SEGREGATED AND SEPARATED SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES, UM, AROUND THE RING OF KIND OF OUR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS IN AUSTIN.

UM, AND THEN WE'RE CREATING, UM, INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO CHANNEL LARGE AMOUNTS OF COMMUTERS OUT FROM THE SUBURBS INTO, UM, INNER CITIES.

THESE, UM, PROJECTS ALSO WENT INCREDIBLY OVER BUDGET.

UM, THEY WERE ESTIMATED TO COST 27 BILLION, WHICH WAS AGAIN, THE LARGEST INVESTMENT WE'D EVER, UM, AIM TO MAKE INNER TO OUR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AS A COUNTRY.

UM, BUT THEY ALSO WENT WAY, WAY OVER BUDGET.

UM, AND THEY'RE STILL AROUND TODAY, STILL REQUIRING A LOT OF MAINTENANCE AND INVESTMENT TO KEEP THEM RUNNING.

UM, THIS IS AN IMAGE, THIS IS AN AERIAL IMAGE OF WHAT USED TO BE WHERE I, 35 IS TODAY WAS CALLED EAST AVENUE.

AND YOU CAN SEE IT WAS KIND OF THIS LARGE BOULEVARD.

IT WAS STILL A VERY POPULAR THOROUGHFARE IN AUSTIN, BUT IT HAD THESE LIKE TREE-LINED STREETS AND PARKS SPACES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE, UM, AVENUE HERE.

AND THE RED LINE SHOWS WHAT WOULD BECOME WHEN IT WAS BUILT AND EXPANDED OVER TIME.

SO I'M GOING TO GO BACK AND FORTH A COUPLE OF TIMES.

SO YOU CAN REALLY TAKE THIS IN WHAT USED TO BE, UM, EAST AVENUE AND THE COMMUNITY IS TO, UH, IMMEDIATELY TO THE EAST OF EAST AVENUE, SPECIFICALLY, THESE WERE IN AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN CALLED, UM, PART OF THE NEGRO DISTRICT.

THESE WERE PREDOMINANTLY PEOPLE OF COLOR.

UM, THESE WERE BUSINESSES THAT WERE OWNED BY BLACK AND LATINO FOLKS.

AND, UM, AGAIN, THE, THE GOVERNMENT USE EMINENT DOMAIN TO CLAIM A LOT ABOUT LAND SO THAT WE COULD EXPAND I 35 HERE.

UM, AND IF YOU'RE KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES, YOU'LL KNOW THAT WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT A NEW EXPANSION OF .

UM, EVEN TODAY, UM, I MENTIONED THAT, UH, THE 1928 PLAN LED SOME GROUNDWORK FOR PLACING INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EAST AUSTIN, BUT IT WAS THEN FOLLOWED UP WITH ADDITIONAL PLANS.

AND LATER IN THE FIFTIES THAT DESIGNATED LARGE SWATHS.

SO EAST AUSTIN FOR INDUSTRIAL ZONING, UM, AND THIS REALLY HAD THE EFFECT OF GUARANTEEING THAT OUR MOST POLLUTING INDUSTRIES WERE LOCATED IN PRIMARILY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UM, AS RESULTED IN HAZARDOUS LIVING CONDITIONS FOR FOLKS.

UM, THIS IMAGE ON THE LEFT HERE IS FROM SOMEBODY WHO LIVED NEAR THE TANK FARMS IN AUSTIN, WHICH, UM,

[00:55:01]

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ABOUT, OR REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK UP SOME OF THAT HISTORY, UM, BUT IT WAS LOCATED DIRECTLY BEHIND THIS PERSON'S HOUSE.

THEN THEY'RE SMALL CHILDREN AND THIS TANKS WERE ACTUALLY LEAKING TOXIC CHEMICALS INTO THE GROUND AND INTO THE WATER INTO THAT, UH, COMMUNITY.

UM, BUT THESE, THIS WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE KIND OF INDUSTRIAL ZONING THAT WE HAD PLACED IN EAST AUSTIN.

UM, SO BEYOND JUST THE ACTUAL HEALTH IMPACTS, THERE WAS ALSO THE EFFECT THAT IT LOWERED PROPERTY VALUES IN MUCH OF EAST AUSTIN AND ESPECIALLY IN THE HOMES ADJACENT TO INDUSTRIAL USES.

UM, AND THEN WE SAW MANY OTHER INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS SHOW UP IN EAST AUSTIN, SUCH AS THE TANK FARM, THE HOLLY STREET, POWER PLANTS, UM, LARGE RECYCLING FACILITIES, LANDFILLS.

THE AIRPORT USED TO BE IN EAST AUSTIN WHERE MUELLER IS TODAY.

AND SO MANY OF THESE HEAVY INDUSTRIAL USES WERE IN PLACE IN EAST AUSTIN BECAUSE OF POLICIES THAT WERE ADOPTED BY OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT THAT ALLOWED THEM TO DO THIS.

UM, I THINK I'LL SPEND A WHOLE LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT, UM, EDUCATION, UH, HERE, BUT I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK UP SOME OF THE HISTORY OF AUSTIN'S OLD ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL, UM, WHICH WAS CLOSED IN 1967, UM, BECAUSE IT WAS DEEMED IMPOSSIBLE TO DESEGREGATE.

AND SO OLDER THAN HIGH SCHOOL HAD BEEN A PRIMARILY BLACK SCHOOL IN EAST AUSTIN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MANY FOLKS REFERRED TO AS JUST THE PRIDE AND JOY OF EAST AUSTIN, IT WAS A REAL, UM, GYM AND A REAL HEART OF THE COMMUNITY.

UM, YOU KNOW, SCHOOLS CAN STILL TODAY PROVIDE A LOT OF A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND BELONGING AND BE KIND OF THE CENTER OF THE TOWN.

UM, AND SO THAT WAS DEFINITELY THE CASE OF OLD ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL.

UM, AND WHEN THIS SCHOOL WAS UNABLE TO DE-SEGREGATE, AS IN, THEY COULD NOT ENTICE, UM, WHITE STUDENTS WHO WERE ZONED TO GO TO THIS SCHOOL TO ACTUALLY SHOW UP AND GO TO SCHOOL THERE.

UH, THE SCHOOL WAS CLOSED AND FORMER OF STUDENTS WERE THEN BUSED TO DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS IN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN.

UM, I ALSO AM GOING TO JUST SHARE THAT.

I HOPE THAT YOU CAN LOOK INTO SOME OF THE HISTORY HERE, UM, THAT IS PRESENTED IN THIS AUSTIN PBS SERIES CALLED AUSTIN REVEALED.

THEY'VE DONE A SERIES WHERE THEY DO SOME DEEP DIVES INTO DESEGREGATION AND EDUCATION, NOT JUST OF AUSTIN'S BLACK SCHOOLS, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE HISTORY OF OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN AND THE CHICANO CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE AND TRYING TO ADVOCATE FOR MORE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE EDUCATION, UM, FOR OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY.

UM, AND SO I'LL ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO FOLLOW SOME OF THESE LINKS.

UM, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ON THAT SUBJECT, UM, THERE'S ALSO CLEARLY A CONNECTION THEN FROM SOME OF OUR EDUCATIONAL HISTORY AND SOME OF OUR OTHER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES HERE AND TO LEADING TO THE TECH CENTER THAT WE HAVE BECOME IN MANY WAYS ARE INTO BUILDING THE TECH INDUSTRY IN AUSTIN THAT WE HAVE, AS WE KNOW THAT MANY PUBLIC INVESTMENTS WENT INTO EFFORTS TO EXPAND AUSTIN'S TECH ECONOMIES, AND YET THOSE PUBLIC BENEFITS WERE NOT EQUITABLY RECEIVED BY ALL AUSTINITES.

AND WE KNOW THAT AUSTIN'S TECH INDUSTRY IS A PRIMARILY WHITE WORKFORCE EVEN TODAY, DUE TO BARRIERS AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND OTHER FACETS OF SYSTEMIC RACISM.

UM, FINALLY, I'M, I'M TRYING TO SPEED THIS UP SO WE CAN GET TO THE VERY END OF MY SLIDE DECK, UM, WITH SOME TIME FOR YOU ALL TO ALSO HAVE SOME DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS IF WE WANT.

UM, THERE WERE ALSO CLEARLY ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK TOOK A VERY RACE, NEUTRAL APPROACH.

AND SO EVEN INTO THE LATE EIGHTIES AND THE EARLY NINETIES, UM, WE TOOK THE SMART GROWTH APPROACH TO URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND CREATED THESE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONES, WHICH ARE HERE SHOWN, UM, IN WEST AUSTIN.

SO THIS IS THE BIG SHAPE OF AUSTIN'S EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.

UM, AND SO WE DECIDE, DECIDED THAT MUCH OF CENTRAL AND EAST AUSTIN WOULD BE OUR DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE AND THAT THESE AREAS IN BLUE WOULD BE OUR DRINK AND WATER PROTECTION ZONE.

SO AS TO PRESERVE SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE RESOURCES THAT ARE LOCATED IN THAT PART OF TOWN, UM, HOWEVER, WHEN WE TOOK THIS REALLY RACE NEUTRAL APPROACH, OR WE DIDN'T LOOK AT ANY OF THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT THAT SORT OF WAS UNDERPINNING A LOT OF THOSE AREAS TO BE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONES.

UM, WE OVERLOOK THINGS THAT NOW I THINK WE HAVE A LOT MORE CLARITY ABOUT SUCH AS LIKE OUR SOCIAL VULNERABILITIES, UM, THAT HERE IS SHOWN ON THE RIGHT, THAT SHOWS OUR RESILIENCE AS COMMUNITIES WHEN CONFRONTED BY EXTERNAL STRESSES ON HUMAN HEALTH, SUCH AS NATURAL OR HUMAN CAUSED DISASTERS AND DISEASE OUTBREAKS.

AND SO WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME TENSION HERE WHEN WE DON'T ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF OUR HISTORY AND THE WAY THAT WE'VE SEGREGATED OUR COMMUNITIES AND THE OTHER ASPECTS OF SYSTEMIC RACISM AND HOW THAT HAS PLAYED OUT TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES SET UP TO DEAL WITH EXTERNAL STRESSES, UM, SUCH AS HUMAN DISASTERS, UM, UM,

[01:00:01]

ACROSS GEOGRAPHY IN OUR CITY.

SO TO, TO PULL US ON HOME, THE POINT THAT I HOPE TO MAKE THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION AND WHAT I'VE COMPILED HERE IS TO DEVELOP THIS UNDERSTANDING THAT PLANNING AND POWER HAVE BEEN RACIALIZED PLANNING IS INEXPLICABLY TIED BACK TO RACE HISTORICALLY.

AND SINCE WE HAVE RACIALIZED THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE THROUGH MIGRATION, IMMIGRATION, DISPLACEMENT, AND WHO HAS POWER, THAT IS THE ABILITY TO CONTROL SOMEONE'S REALITY AND ACCESS TO PLACES, SERVICES AND RESOURCES, THEN PLANNING HAS BEEN RACIALIZED.

I'M ALSO GOING TO BREEZE THROUGH SOME OF THESE, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THERE IS STILL A RICH HISTORY OF RESISTANCE TO THIS KIND OF OPPRESSION IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, COMMUNITY OF RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE.

UM, THERE ARE EXAMPLES FROM THE BLACK AUSTIN BOYCOTT OF SEGREGATED STREETCARS IN 1906, UM, TWO, UM, MEMBERS OF THE NAACP DEMANDING FULL RIGHTS FOR HOUSING IN SCHOOLS AND VOTING THROUGHOUT THE SIXTIES IN AUSTIN.

UM, THERE WAS A BRINGING TOGETHER OF OUR AUSTIN, LATIN X COMMUNITY, AND MANY COMMUNITIES.

UM, THE DAY THAT THE KU KLUX KLAN MARCHED IN AUSTIN IN 1983, UM, MEMBERS OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED OR PEOPLE ORGANIZED IN DEFENSE OF EARTH AND HER RESOURCES, UM, HAVE DEMANDED, UH, SOLUTIONS FOR HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM IN EAST AUSTIN, ALL THROUGH THE NINETIES AND INTO TODAY INTO THE PRESENT.

THIS ORGANIZATION STILL EXISTS TODAY.

SO I DON'T WANT TO PAINT A PICTURE THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVE RESISTANCE TO THESE KINDS OF EQUAL TREATMENTS IN OUR CITY.

UM, BUT I'M GOING TO TRY AND BRING US HOME SO THAT I CAN FINISH IN TIME FOR YOU ALL TO CARRY ON THE REST OF YOUR MEETING, UM, BY JUST THINKING ABOUT THE WAYS THAT WE'VE INHERITED INEQUALITY AND HOW WE CARRY THIS RACIALIZED HISTORY WITH US TODAY.

UM, SO I THINK ABOUT THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT HERE.

UM, IF THESE HAD BEEN ONE OFF MOMENTS IN OUR HISTORY, WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GROW AND MOVE PAST THEM AND NOT REALLY SEE THE KIND OF LASTING IMPACT THAT WE DO, BUT IT'S REALLY THIS CUMULATIVE IMPACT IN SO MANY FACETS OF PLANNING IN OUR CITY, UM, WHETHER IT WAS ENVIRONMENTAL OR TRANSPORTATION OR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR, UM, OR HOUSING AND HOW THEY HAVE COME TOGETHER TO SHAPE THE CITY THAT WE LIVE IN, AND THAT WE SERVE TODAY TO BE A VERY RACIALIZED ENVIRONMENT.

UM, I HAVE A FEW EXAMPLES HERE THAT I CAN SHOW, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ALL FROM YOU AS WELL AS THE WAYS THAT WE CARRY THIS HISTORY WITH US.

SO WE ARE STILL TODAY, A VERY SEGREGATED CITY.

WE HAVE SUBSTANTIAL GAPS IN WEALTH AND INCOME BY RACE.

WE HAVE HUGE HEALTH DISPARITIES BY RACE IN THIS CITY DIFFERENCES IN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, DISPARATE IMPACTS IN HOUSING, GENTRIFICATION, AND DISPLACEMENT, CLIMATE RESILIENCE, PUBLIC SAFETY ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY.

ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE RACIAL DISPARITIES, STILL EMBEDDED IN IT.

AND MANY OF THESE MOMENTS CAN BE TIED BACK TO OUR HISTORY THAT WE'VE LAID IN THIS CITY TODAY.

SO IF YOU CARE TO LOOK AT SOME MAPS, UM, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK THROUGH THAT.

IF YOU WANT SOME DATA TO SHOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, OUR GROWING RACIAL WEALTH AND INCOME GAPS, YOU CAN LOOK THROUGH THE SLIDE DECK, UM, FOR HEALTH OUTCOMES.

I WILL HIGHLIGHT HERE THAT THIS IS A MAP FROM 2015.

SO THE DATA IS A BIT OLD, BUT I HAVE YET TO GET THE UPDATED MAP FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

UM, BUT I HAVE CHATTED WITH THEM RECENTLY AND CAN CONFIRM THAT THEY'RE STILL VERY SIGNIFICANT VARIANTS FROM THE ZIP CODE, WITH THE LOWEST AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH IN AUSTIN, UM, WHICH AT THE TIME OF THIS MAP WAS 7 8, 7 4 1.

AND THAT OF THE HIGHEST, WHICH IS IN 7 8, 7 3 1.

SO YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, THIS REALLY RINGS HOME.

SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW TO BE TRUE WHEN WE STUDY PUBLIC HEALTH, IS THAT OUR HEALTH AND ABILITY TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES IS DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY WHERE WE LIVE, WORK, LEARN, AND PLAY.

AND YOU SEE THE WAY THAT GEOGRAPHY STILL DICTATES HEALTH OUTCOMES AND GEOGRAPHY IS STILL IN AUSTIN, A PROXY FOR RACE AND FOR ECONOMIC OUTCOMES IN MANY WAYS AS WELL IN OUR CITY.

UM, AND DISPLACEMENT RISK.

WE ALSO NOW HAVE DATA AND MORE LANGUAGE TO TALK ABOUT DISPLACEMENT IN OUR CITY THAN WE HAVE BEFORE.

UM, BUT THIS STILL FOLLOWS MANY TRENDS THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER TIMES WHERE DISPLACEMENT RISK IS, IS VERY MUCH RACIALIZED AND IMPACTS DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR CITY, UM, TO DIFFERENT DEGREES.

AND SO WE SEE, UM, ARE, ARE HISTORICALLY PEOPLE OF COLOR, UM, PREDOMINANTLY BIPAP COMMUNITIES BEING, UM, MOST VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT OR EXPERIENCING THE MOST ACTIVE OR CHRONIC DISPLACEMENT IN OUR CITY EVEN TODAY.

AND SO, UM, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU ALL.

I THINK I'M GOING TO COME BACK TO THIS ONE, SIZING, THE A COUPLE OTHER SLIDES.

UM, BUT I KNOW YOU'RE ALL ENTERING

[01:05:01]

INTO SOME PERIOD OF TIME WHERE WE'RE THINKING ABOUT PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE.

AND SO I THINK IT'S WORTH TAKING A MOMENT TO THINK HOW THIS HISTORY SHOWS UP IN TERMS OF DIGITAL INCLUSION, IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGIES OR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ALONE, THINKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN TRACE THE LINE OF THIS HISTORY ALL THE WAY FORWARD TO OUR PRESENT.

BUT I DO WANT TO END ON A HOPEFULLY HELPFUL NOTE WHERE WE CAN THINK ABOUT WHERE WE GO FROM HERE AND HOW WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS HISTORY TO BUILD A MORE EQUITABLE FUTURE.

SO I GIVE THIS PRESENTATION ON MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF GROUPS.

SOME OF THEM ARE OFTEN, UM, OR SOME OF THEM ARE EVEN LIKE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS AND I'VE GIVEN THIS TO HIGH SCHOOL AND GRADUATE SCHOOL CLASSES TO SIXTH GRADE CLASSES.

AND THIS QUESTION MIGHT SOUND LIKE IT'S KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, SIXTH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES QUESTION, BUT IT IS REALLY WORTH THINKING ABOUT SOMETIMES WHY IS THIS HISTORY IMPORTANT? WHY DO I GET ASKED TO DO THIS PRESENTATION A LOT? UM, AND I'LL OFFER A FEW ANSWERS HERE.

UM, BUT I KNOW THAT WE FILL THESE GAPS IN OUR HISTORY WITH OUR OWN ASSUMPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES AND BIASES.

UM, SO WE MAY THINK WE KNOW WHY OUR COMMUNITY LOOKS THE WAY IT DOES, BUT IF WE DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY, A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE FILLING IN THAT, THAT GAP, UM, WITH KIND OF STEREOTYPES OR BIAS THAT WE HAVE ABOUT THE CITY OR THE, OR DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.

UM, ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO REPEAT WHAT WE DON'T REPAIR, UM, BUT TO QUOTE THE GREAT JAMES BALDWIN HERE, WHO SAID NOT EVERYTHING THAT WE FACED CAN BE CHANGED, BUT NOTHING CAN BE CHANGED UNTIL IT'S FACED.

SO THAT'S WHY I TRIED TO TAKE A REALLY HONEST APPROACH TO LOOKING AT OUR HISTORY SO THAT WE CAN CONFRONT IT MORE HEAD ON AND BE, UM, CLEAR ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHO IS IMPACTED.

UM, AND THIS CAN ALSO HOPEFULLY HELP US TO GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR EQUITY VERSUS EQUALITY.

SO I'M GOING TO SHARE SOMETHING THAT OUR EQUITY OFFICER, BRIAN OAKS HAS SAID BEFORE.

UM, AND HE SAYS THAT THE HISTORY OF AMERICA AS MUCH LIKE LETTING ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE PLAY ON A MONOPOLY BOARD FOR 300 YEARS.

AND THEN FOR LIKE THE PAST 57, 60 YEARS, WE LET EVERYONE ELSE START PLAYING.

BUT THE NARRATIVE WE HEAR IS THAT WE'RE ALL EQUAL.

NOW WE'RE ALL PLAYERS IN THE GAME, RIGHT? AND YET ALL THE PROPERTIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN BOUGHT UP.

AND EVERY TIME A PERSON OF COLOR LANDS ON A SPACE, THEY GOT TO PAY SOMEONE, PROBABLY A WHITE PERSON MONEY, AND THE ONLY PLACE LEFT FOR THEM, THAT'S SAFE AT SOME POINT IS THE JAIL.

AND I THINK THIS IS JUST TRYING TO COME ACROSS THE IDEA THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT ALL ON EQUAL FOOTING.

EQUITY IS REALLY ABOUT GETTING US TO EQUAL OUTCOMES AS A COMMUNITY.

AND, OH, I'M GOING TO SLOP JUMPED THROUGH SOME OF THESE SO THAT I CAN GIVE THE CITY OF BOSTON'S DEFINITION OF EQUITY, WHICH WAS PRESENTED IN OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTION IN 2023, UM, WHERE EQUITY IS THE CONDITION.

WHEN EVERY MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY HAS A FAIR OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE A LONG, HEALTHY, AND MEANINGFUL LIFE.

RACIAL EQUITY BEYOND THAT IS THE CONDITION WHEN RACE IS NO LONGER A PREDICTOR OF QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UM, SO WE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN RECOGNIZE THAT RACE IS THE PRIMARY DETERMINANT OF SOCIAL EQUITY.

AND THEREFORE WE BEGIN OUR JOURNEY TOWARDS SOCIAL EQUITY WITH THIS DEFINITION, AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT HISTORICAL AND STRUCTURAL DISPARITIES AND A NEED FOR ALLEVIATION OF THESE WRONGS BY CRITICALLY TRANSFORMING OUR INSTITUTIONS TO CREATE A CULTURAL EQUITY IS PARAMOUNT.

AND SO I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT THERE.

IF YOU WANT TO BROWSE THE REST OF MY SLIDE DECK, I BELIEVE JESSE WAS GOING TO HELP ME PROVIDE THAT AS LATE BACK UP SO THAT YOU ALL CAN ACCESS THIS SLIDE DECK, UM, WHICH ALSO HAS A FEW ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE AND CHECK THIS OUT.

UM, BUT FOR NOW, I'M GOING TO TRY TO STOP SHARING AND, UM, HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE A BIT OF DISCUSSION.

I WILL STICK AROUND TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT COMMISSIONERS MIGHT HAVE AS WELL, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH, SAM, FOR THE PRESENTATION WE ARE PRESSED FOR TIME.

I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN, I GUESS, BY, UH, IF I CAN EARMARKING SOME OF YOUR TIME TO JOIN US IN THE FUTURE IN LIGHT OF OUR RESTRICTIONS TODAY, UM, AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL, I THINK YOU'D BE GREAT FOR US TO DIVE IN AND TO START, UH, THE PROCESS OF APPLYING THESE LESSONS SPECIFICALLY WITH OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN IN MIND.

AND, UH, THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE INTENT REALLY WITH THE LEARNINGS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN FROM 1924, AS A FRAMEWORK FOR THE CREATION OF OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION, STRATEGIC PLAN HERE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

SO I WANT TO SAY THAT AND, AND, AND FOR DOING A GREAT JOB OF TRYING TO GET SO MUCH CONTENT AND INTO A SHORT PRESENTATION, UH, SLOUGHED YOU HAD TODAY, UH, REALLY CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THAT.

UM,

[01:10:02]

YOU KNOW, IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT I CAN IMAGINE WE ALL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, IF I CAN GIVE A ASSAULT JUST FOR THE RECORD HERE, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO WRAP UP QUESTIONS IN ABOUT FIVE OR 10 MINUTES HERE.

WE ONLY ALLOCATED AN HOUR, INCLUDING THE 45 MINUTE PRESENTATION THAT WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED AND, AND GONE OVER.

UH, SO, UH, WITH THAT, I'LL WITHHOLD, UH, IN ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS THAT I HAVE HAVING THIS, HAVING BEEN MY SECOND TIME, ABSORB THIS CONTENT, I THINK SOME OTHERS AS WELL.

UH, SO I GUESS FOR THE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE WHO HAVE CONSUMED THAT CONTENT LIKE MYSELF, IF WE COULD BEGIN, I GUESS, UH, CLOSE COMMISSIONER GARZA HERE IN THE ROOM, UH, IF WE COULD BEGIN WITH, UH, FIRST COMMISSIONER GAZA, AND THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND SEND IT TO ONLINE WITH QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, SAM, VERY QUICKLY.

THIS IS AS, UM, TIRPITZ MENTIONED MY SECOND TIME LISTENING TO THIS PRESENTATION.

AND THE FIRST TIME THAT I LISTENED TO IT WAS THE REASON THAT I WANTED TO BECOME MORE ENGAGED WITH, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

AND WOULDN'T BE PART OF THE CHANGE.

IT WAS VERY TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR ME AND MADE ME FEEL INVESTED IN AUSTIN IN A WAY THAT I'VE NEVER FELT BEFORE.

SO I HOPE THAT THIS IS SEEING IT A SECOND, A LOT WITH ME TO PICK UP THINGS THAT I DIDN'T GET THE FIRST TIME, BUT THE FIRST IMPACT WAS TO ONE TO CHANGE THE CITY AND TO BE PART OF THAT.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.

UM, AND I'M JUST, COULDN'T BE MORE EXCITED NOW REALLY TO GET STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS GOING IN TERMS OF, UH, THINKING ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANNING, NOT JUST AS A WAY OF THINKING FIVE YEARS AHEAD OF TIME OR 10 YEARS AHEAD, OR HOW TO MAKE THE CURRENT YEAR, A LITTLE BIT BETTER, HOW TO IMPROVE IN OUR PROCESS.

BUT, UM, IF 1928 HAD SUCH A IMPACT AND RIPPLE EFFECT IN THE WAY THAT WE FUNCTION TODAY AS A COMMUNITY, THEN I AM VERY EXCITED TO GO WITH INTENTION INTO THIS PROCESS ABOUT COURSE CORRECTING, UH, BECAUSE WE DO SEE THAT SMART INFRASTRUCTURE OR DATA DIGITAL INCLUSION DOES IMPACT THE WAY THAT PEOPLE LIVE AND INTERACT AND FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THE CITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE LIVE IN.

SO, UM, JUST THANK YOU FOR, FOR PUTTING THIS AT THE FOREFRONT AND THANK YOU TIRPITZ FOR MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THIS INFORMATION BEFORE WE EVEN BEGIN THAT PROCESS.

MY PLEASURE, MY PLEASURE, UH, COMMISSIONERS ALIGNMENT, AND THAT, THAT WAS REALLY LAUDING FOR YOU, SAM, AND FOR THE EFFORTS THERE.

SO I WANNA, UH, THANK YOU FOR IMPRESSING UPON ME AND OTHERS IN THAT EARLIER SESSION EARLIER THIS YEAR, HOW VALUABLE THIS CONTENT WOULD BE FOR THIS AUDIENCE AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY, UH, WITH THE, WITH THE TIME THAT WE HAVE LEFT.

ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE STATEMENTS OR COMMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE HERE? WE'VE GOT ABOUT FIVE MORE MINUTES.

IF YOU COULD JUST RAISE YOUR HAND AND I'LL, UH, CASSIE VICE-CHAIR APODACA HAS RAISED HIS HAND.

YEAH, NOT TOO MUCH TO ADD.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION SAM.

IT WAS MY FIRST TIME HEARING IT.

I FEEL LIKE I, I SO MUCH CONTENT.

I FEEL LIKE I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT AGAIN.

I MAY GO BACK AND WATCH THE RECORDING ONCE, ONCE THIS IS ALL OVER WITH, JUST TO MAKE SURE I'VE ABSORBED AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE.

UM, BUT YOU'VE GIVEN SOME, SOME VALUABLE INSIGHTS.

SO THANK YOU AGAIN, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

THANKS FOR THAT.

I'M JUST LISTENING IN BY USING MY CELL PHONE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I APPRECIATE YOU LISTENING IN.

COMMISSIONER DOES SCOOPED.

I SAW COMMISSIONER ISLAND RAISED HER HAND.

YEAH, I, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC QUESTION, SAM.

I JUST, UM, I REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

IT WAS VERY IMPACTFUL.

UM, AND REALLY TO ME BROUGHT EVERYTHING TOGETHER.

UM, AS FAR AS WHERE WE ARE TODAY, IT IT'S ALWAYS VERY, I THINK, SURPRISING, RIGHT? THAT IT HASN'T BEEN THAT LONG SINCE CHANGE HAS EVEN KIND OF STARTED TO MAKE PROCESS.

AND THEN WE HAVE THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT HAPPENED THAT KEEP MAKING US FALL BACKWARDS.

SO, UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE YOU COME IN HERE AND WORK WITH US ON HOW CAN WE ACTUALLY INVOKE CHANGE AND CHANGE THAT WE CAN KEEP TO CONTINUE TO PROGRESS THE CITY, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T SLIP BACKWARDS.

SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER ISLAND.

UH, YES.

I THINK YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT AND THEN I CAN ASK YOU TO GO ON MUTE AFTER THAT.

UM, SURE.

UM, AT MY PLACE IN THE SAME SIDE, YOU COULD ONLY HEAR THE WORDS TOWARD THE TAIL END.

THAT'S HOW LONG IT TOOK, YOU KNOW, THANKS TO COMMISSIONER GATES.

I MANAGED TO GET THE PHONE NUMBER, ET CETERA, TO GET ON.

SO I MISSED MOST OF THE PRESENTATION.

SO I'M GOING TO LOOK AT THE SLIDES ONCE I GET BACK ONLINE.

AND, UH, I WILL HOPE THAT I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH SOME QUESTIONS WITH THE PRESENTER, UH, AT A LATER TIME.

YES.

UH, SAM, I'LL LET YOU TAKE THAT.

YES, YOU, YOU CERTAINLY CAN.

I BELIEVE JESSE HAS MY EMAIL, IF YOU WEREN'T COPIED OR ANY, CAN'T FIND IT.

MY EMAIL IS SAM DOT TEDFORD AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.

AND SO FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME AFTER THIS PRESENTATION

[01:15:01]

AS WELL WITH YOUR QUESTIONS COMMISSIONER.

AND JUST TO ADD FOR, FOR EVERYONE'S POINT OF REFERENCE, SAM HAS AGREED TO JOIN US IN A WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS GOING FORWARD.

UH, WE'LL SCHEDULE THAT TIME, CERTAINLY.

AND AS PART OF THE AGENDA, UH, TO SPECIFICALLY DIVE INTO WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THESE LESSONS AND INSIGHTS INTO OUR FUTURE PLANNING.

UH, SO REST ASSURED COMMISSIONER SCOOP THAT THAT SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO, UH, PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND TO ASK QUESTIONS.

SO WITH THAT, WE MOVED TO IT, AN ITEM, NUMBER TWO, BE T-MOBILE FOR GOVERNMENT.

SO WITH THAT, WE JUST HAVE A COUPLE MORE MINUTES.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE AT THIS TIME? OKAY, WELL, GREAT.

WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH, SAM, FOR YOUR TIME AND HARD WORK ON THIS.

UH, WE'RE DELIGHTED TO BE WORKING WITH YOU AND TO HAVE YOU JOIN US IN THE FUTURE.

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TODAY.

SURE THING, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UM, CHEER PITS AND ESPECIALLY ALL THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS AND, UM, I'M EQUALLY, UH, HUMBLED TO BE IN THE ROOM WITH FOLKS WHO ARE VOLUNTEERING THEIR TIME TO MAKE THIS CITY BETTER.

AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TODAY, UM, FOR THIS PRESENTATION.

AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND THANK YOU.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, WITH THAT, THEN LET'S GO AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA AND WANT TO THANK THE PATIENTS OF OUR AND PRESENT IN PERSON PRESENTERS.

AND I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED THAT CONTENT AS WELL.

UH, THERE WAS SOME INTENTIONALITY IN TERMS OF THE TIMING OF THE SCHEDULE, UH, AS WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT, UH, EVERY PROVIDER, UH, HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS THE SAME CHALLENGE TO DEAL WITH OUR HISTORY AND TO EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT IT PRESENTS FOR THE COMMUNITY.

[2b. T-Mobile For Government (John Bratcher, Nancy Anderson, and Heath Cox, TMobile) ]

AND WE'RE JOINED TODAY BY JOHN BRETSCHER, UH, AND NANCY ANDERSON AND ONLINE.

UH, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHO'S JOINING US ONLINE.

UM, BUT ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL FROM T-MOBILE, I DON'T BELIEVE HEATHER COX WILL BE JOINING US TODAY.

IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY.

APARTMENT IT WAS HEATH GOT SOME LINE.

PARDON ME? OKAY.

PARDON THAT MIS MISSPEAK THERE.

HEATH.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND DO WE JUST PUSH TO TALK? SORRY.

I GET SOME GOOD, JUST GO AHEAD AND PRESS TALK AND LET US KNOW, BY THE WAY, IF YOU'D LIKE US TO HOLD OUR QUESTIONS, UH, THE SLIDES WERE PRESENTED SHARED WITH THE COMMISSION AHEAD OF TIME.

UH, ONE THING I WANT TO MENTION FOR EVERYONE ONLINE, UH, AND HERE IN THE ROOM, THERE WERE SLIDES REMOVED BASED UPON, UH, THE CONTENT.

AND SO THOSE SLIDES WILL NOT BE PRESENTED TODAY.

SO IF YOU COULD REFRAME FROM RAISING QUESTIONS TO THE SLIDES, YOU DON'T SEE THAT TODAY AND THEN WE'LL RESERVE THOSE OTHER QUESTIONS FOR WARD GROUP DISCUSSION, PERHAPS.

SO WITH THAT THEN WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.

UM, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO BE HERE AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING FROM A COMMUNITY ASPECT.

SO A LOT'S BEEN GOING ON AND SO WE WOULD LOVE TO JUMP INTO IT AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO MOVE QUICKLY THROUGH THE CONTENT.

UM, THROUGH OUR PRESENTATION IS INTERACTIVE, FEEL FREE TO THERE'LL BE TIME AND PAUSES WHERE YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS.

AND AT THE END WE WILL ALSO ALLOCATE TIME FOR QUESTIONS AS WELL.

SO AGAIN, I'M JOHN BRATCHER, I'VE BEEN WITH T-MOBILE FOR FIVE YEARS AS A GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AND, UM, UH, SERVING, UH, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, STATE AND LOCAL AND NON-PROFIT, AND ME AND NANCY ARE KIND OF LIKE BATMAN AND ROBIN HERE IS HOW I, I LIKE TO LABEL US, BUT SHE HAS, I'M MUCH MORE OF THE ROBIN IN THE, IN THE CONVERSATION.

SO, BUT I'LL GIVE THE FLOOR TO NANCY.

SO SHE GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE HERSELF.

HI, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.

MY NAME IS NANCY ANDERSON WITH T MOBILE.

I'VE BEEN WITH T-MOBILE ABOUT 20 YEARS, AND I HAVE A PASSION FOR WORKING WITH, UH, GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION.

UH, WE HAVE, UH, A BIG PARTNERSHIP WITH SORRY ABOUT THAT.

UH, WHERE WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THEM OVER THE LAST, UH, TWO YEARS DURING COVID AND PROVIDED OVER 25, OR EXCUSE ME.

YES, 25,000 HOTSPOTS, UH, FOR ALL THE STUDENTS, UH, TO PROVIDE ACCESS AND EQUITY.

SO, UH, GLAD TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND THEN WE'LL PASS THE FLOOR TO ART SOLUTION ENGINEER.

SO NOW, OH, OKAY, GREAT.

SO THEN WE'LL PASS THE FLOOR FOR, UH, OUR SOLUTION ENGINEER, HEATH COX.

WHO'S ALSO ONLINE TO INTRODUCE HERSELF AS WELL.

YES.

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

UM, MY NAME IS KEITH COX.

I'M HERE WITH T-MOBILE FOR BUSINESS.

UH, I'VE BEEN IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY FOR ABOUT 23 YEARS.

SO IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET EVERYONE AND I'M CERTAINLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSION.

UM, BUT, UH, T-MOBILE AND SPRINT CAME TOGETHER IN APRIL, APRIL OF 20, 20, 20 20.

AND AS I MENTIONED, IT'S BEEN VERY BUSY.

UM, AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY KNOWS.

[01:20:01]

UM, AND WITH THAT, WE HAVE SOME REALLY KEY INITIATIVES, ONE BEING AROUND EQUITY AND ACCESS.

UH, ONE OF OUR, PROBABLY OUR FOCAL POINTS OF THIS CONVERSATION WAS ABOUT PROVIDING ACCESS TO RURAL COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, URBAN AND SUBURBAN AREAS.

AND SO, UH, AFTER WE MERGED AS A COMPANY, UM, WE, UH, UH, THAT WAS OUR KIND OF OUR FOCAL POINT.

AND SO WE BUILD OUR NETWORK A LITTLE DIFFERENT, UH, THAN SOME OF OUR COMPETITION.

AND SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS KIND OF REALLY A LAYER CAKE APPROACH.

AND THAT'S HOW WE BUILT OUR NETWORK.

UH, THIS BUILT OFF WITH THREE DIFFERENT TIER SPECTRUMS. IT'S BUILT OFF OF MILLIMETER WAVE, MID BAND AND LOW BAND SPECTRUM.

AND SO, UH, JUST TO ELABORATE FROM A SPECTRUM STANDPOINT, MILLIMETER WAVE IS AS IS WHAT'S TOTED AS KIND OF INDUSTRY STANDARD.

WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 5G CONNECTIVITY, TALKING ABOUT THOUSAND, YOU KNOW, THROUGHPUT WITH, YOU KNOW, HIGH UPLOADS FROM 500 TO A THOUSAND, UM, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF MILLIMETER WAVE IS THAT IT DOESN'T PROPAGATE VERY FAR.

UM, AND IT IT'S GREAT FOR VERY DENSE AREAS, BUT THE FARTHER YOU GET OUT, IT BECOMES CHALLENGING AND ALSO PROPAGATING THROUGH BUILDINGS.

SO OUR MID BAND SPECTRUM, UH, WHICH WE USE AS WELL AND HAVE BEEN USING FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, PROPAGATES VERY WELL IN KIND OF URBAN AND SUBURBAN AREAS.

SO IT GIVES A REALLY EXTENDED REACH.

UM, SO IT ALLOWS FOR YOU TO CONNECT, YOU KNOW, LARGE POPULATIONS AND EXTEND YOUR NETWORK.

AND OUR LOW BAND SPECTRUM IS REALLY, UH, GEARED TOWARDS PROPAGATING OUT FURTHER INTO RURAL COMMUNITIES.

AND SO OUR LOW BAND SPECTRUM, UH, HAS, UH, DEEPER PENETRATION CAN GO THROUGH WALLS AND BUILDINGS AND PROPAGATE FARTHER INTO MORE RURAL COMMUNITIES.

UM, AND WE'D LIKE TO REALLY COMPARE IT TO AM AND FM RADIO FROM A COMPARISON STANDPOINT.

SO I'LL PAUSE THERE TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.

WE'VE COME A LONG WAY FOR ME.

ALRIGHT, WE'LL KEEP GOING.

SO THIS RIGHT HERE IS JUST REALLY AN ILLUSTRATION OF THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LOW BAND, HIGH BAND AND MID BAND FREQUENCIES.

SO I THINK THE POINTER, ALRIGHT, THERE WE GO.

SO WE WE'VE HAD SOME, UH, SOME OUR GOALS AND TARGETS FOR, YOU KNOW, 20 AND 21, UM, AND WE'VE EXCEEDED ALL OF THEM.

UM, AND SO I'LL KIND OF ELABORATE ON, ON WHAT'S LISTED HERE.

SO FROM A 5G CONNECTIVITY STANDPOINT, THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY KIND OF TWO TIERS THAT WE USE.

ONE IS ULTRA CAPACITY, UH, WHICH WHEN I TALKED ABOUT MILLIMETER WAVE AND MID BAND SPECTRUM, THAT'S WHAT I WAS REALLY ADDRESSING FROM OFFICER CAPACITY IS GOING TO GIVE YOU KIND OF THE HIGHEST THROUGHPUT OF CONNECTIVITY, THE FASTEST SPEEDS.

AND THEN THERE'S AN EXTENDED RANGE 5G, WHICH IS REALLY, UH, IT IS GONNA GIVE YOU SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED SPEEDS FROM 4G LTE, BUT IT PROBABLY GIVE YOU SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF 200 TO 300 MED CONNECTIONS.

AND IT'S NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU, YOU KNOW, A THOUSAND MEG KIND OF END TO END UPLOAD DOWNLOAD SPEEDS.

SO ARE OUR TARGETS FOR 2021 WAS 300 MILLION FOR EXTENDED RANGE.

WE DID 310 MILLION.

AND OUR TARGET, UH, FOR EXTEND, UH, FOR ALTRA CAPACITY WAS TO 200 MILLION AND WE DID 210 MILLION.

AND WE HAD, UH, OVER 85,000 SITES THAT WE ALSO SET UP FOR THAT TIMEFRAME.

UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL IS REALLY TO BRING ACCESS TO ALL COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, UH, FROM THE MOST URBAN PART OF THE POPULATION TO THE MOST RURAL PART, AS WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT CONNECTIVITY IS TO EVERYBODY.

AND SO I'LL PASS IT OVER TO HEATH, UH, IN, IN CASE WE WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT.

YEAH, THEY, SEAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES TO A, UH, NETWORK BUILD-OUT PERSPECTIVE, UM, FEMALE TOOK THE APPROACH OF BEING VERY STRATEGIC, RIGHT? WE DIDN'T WANT TO PURCHASE A NUMBER OF ASSETS THAT WOULD SIT AROUND IN A WAREHOUSE COLLECTING DUTCH.

WE WANTED TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF OUR NETWORK ASSETS.

AND SO THEREBY WE, WE TOOK THE APPROACH OF, OF PURCHASING ASSETS WHEN, AND WHEREVER NEEDED AND PUTTING THOSE ASSETS INTO PLAY TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF OUR 5G DEPLOYMENT.

RIGHT.

AND, AND DOING THAT IN A VERY STRATEGIC WAY.

AND SO, UM, AS YOU CAN TELL FROM THE STATISTICS THAT JOAN JUST PRESENTED, WE EXCEEDED THOSE TARGETS THAT WE SET FOR OURSELVES.

AND WE DID THAT THROUGH A COMBINATION OF BOTH OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH AND THEN OUR FANTASTIC NETWORK TEAM.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THE FANTASTIC SHELLS TEAM THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY.

[01:25:01]

UH, T-MOBILE OF OLD, AND WE'VE MADE THE MOST OUT OF THE ACQUISITION WITH SPRINT, UM, AND, AND MAKING THE MOST OUT OF THOSE ATTACKS, UH, THOSE MACRO SITES AND ACTUALLY AUGMENTING THOSE SITES TO BE THE MOST IMPACTFUL POSSIBLE.

SO, JOHN, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU.

AND THEN I'LL PAUSE HERE AS WELL.

IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS IN REGARDING TO NETWORK OR SOME OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS THAT I KIND OF WENT THROUGH THERE, I HAVE A QUESTION.

UM, CAN YOU ELABORATE ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY EACH OF THE STRATEGIC APPROACH? YEAH.

SO, UM, WHEN WE COMBINE FORCES, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE COMBINATION OF TWO VERY LARGE WIRELESS COMPETITORS, IN FACT, TWO OUT OF THE FOUR AT THAT TERM, WE BOTH HAD VERY DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO OUR NETWORK APPROACH.

WHEN WE TALK TO A STRATEGY OR STRATEGIC APPROACHES, UM, WE ADOPTED A COMBINATION OF BOTH THE PURCHASE, RIGHT, AND AN AMALGAMATION OF CODES APPROACHES IF YOU WILL.

AND SO, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO MY STATEMENT REGARDING REPORTS ASSETS, WE HAD TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE PREEXISTING SPRINTS ASSETS THAT WERE, UM, TAKEN IN A, YOU KNOW, A HOLD OF POST-MERGER AND, AND ADOPTING THOSE AND BRINGING THEM INTO OUR ROOM.

SO WHEN I TALKED STRATEGIC APPROACH AND MIND YOU, THERE'S A CERTAIN LEVEL OF PROPRIETARY INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO ABIDE BY.

UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE, THOSE APPROACHES, WE, WE PLACED MACRO SITES, NEW MACRO SITES WHERE NECESSARY TO, TO KIND OF BRIDGE THE GAP TO FILL THOSE, THOSE NETWORK COVERAGE GAPS, BUT THEN TAKING THE APPROACH OF ALSO, UM, INCREASING THE, UM, THE EFFECTIVE MINISTER OPERATIONAL PRUDENCE, IF YOU WILL, OF THE, UM, THE EXISTING T-MOBILE ASSETS AS WELL.

SO WE HAD TO ADOPT A COMBINATION OF APPROACHES FROM TWO CARRIERS INTO ONE AND MAKE IT, UH, KIND OF A ONE SOURCE TYPE APPROACH IF YOU WILL, FROM, FROM A NETWORK PERSPECTIVE.

AND I HOPE THAT MAKES SENSE.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT, I GUESS, GOING TO THE EX UH, YEAH, I WANTED TO KNOW, UM, WHAT IS THE RANGE, THE EFFECTIVE DISTANCE OF THE ULTRA CAPACITY? FIVE G CAN YOU TELL US THAT? YEAH.

AND I CAN TAKE THAT ONE, JOHN.

UM, IT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S A VARIABLE QUESTION, RIGHT? THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, VARIABLES CONTAINED THERE IN, SO IT'S, IT'S HARD TO DETERMINE THE EXACT DEFINITIVE ANSWER OF RANGE WHEN YOU TALK OBSTRUCTIONS.

UM, MILLIMETER WAVE IS ONE THAT IS ACHIEVED FOR SATURATION OF SMALL CELLS.

SO AS JOHN MENTIONED, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT POPULATION, ARE, ARE THOSE DENTS, UH, DENSELY POPULATED AREAS? UM, IT DEPENDS ON THE NUMBER OF SMALL CELLS THAT WILL BE PLACED AGAIN, STRATEGICALLY THROUGHOUT A DETERMINED FOOTPRINT WHERE IT PROVIDES COVERAGE IN ALL FACETS.

SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE, FROM THE LAST SLIDE THAT, UM, WHEN TALKING ABOUT DISTANCE, THEY CAN BE IMPACTED BY A HIGH RISE, RIGHT.

RA COULD BE, UM, IMPACTED BY FOLIAGE.

SO, UM, GOING BACK TO THE STRATEGIC APPROACH, IT'S ALL DEPENDENT UPON LICENSING, PERMITTING, UM, EXISTING SITES, UM, EXISTING, SMALL CELLS.

UM, SO, AND THAT, THAT IS INCLUDED WITHIN A 5G, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY ULTRA CAPACITY, BUT 5G EXTENDED RANGE, IT COULD BE THE LOGAN FREQUENCIES.

SO, UM, WE HAVE TO BE KIND OF MINDFUL OF THE FACT OF WHERE WE'RE PLACING THESE SITES AND HOW MANY WILL PAY TO SATURATE ANY GIVEN AREA.

SO THAT'S KIND OF ON THE MILLIMETER WAVE SONG WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE RURAL SIDE, UM, THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF MACRO SITES PRETTY EASILY, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF GOING EASTWARD.

THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF OBSTRUCTIONS, BUT WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT WESTWARD, THEN YOU GET INTO THE HILL COUNTRY, YOU COULD TALK ABOUT HILLS VALLEYS, UM, OTHER TYPOGRAPHY RELATED, UM, OBSTRUCTIONS.

UM, SO IT JUST IT'S REALLY RELATIVE.

SO WHEN OUR NETWORK TEAM TAKES THE APPROACH OF SEEING WHERE DO WE NEED A SITE, UM, AND, AND, AND HOW SOON CAN WE BRING IT TO FRUITION? A LOT OF VARIABLES COME INTO THOSE, THOSE CALCULATIONS, THOSE ALGORITHMS, SO THAT WE MAXIMIZE OUR FOOTPRINT.

BUT I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT OUR RF TEAM HAS DONE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT JOB WHEN IT COMES TO NEW SITES AND, AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EXISTING SITES.

[01:30:01]

AND TO, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE TO PUSH AGAIN OKAY.

TO ADD TO WHAT HE SAID THERE IS THAT WE, WE ARE THE NETWORK LEADER AS FAR AS DEPLOYMENT AND 5G.

AND SO FROM A STRATEGIC APPROACH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, UH, APPROACH HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN, HAS REALLY, UM, CATAPULTED OUR LEAD, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS FROM OUR COMPETITORS, AS FAR AS WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE SPECTRUM ASSETS THAT WE HAVE ON HAND.

OH, I'D LIKE TO PIGGY BACK ON COMMISSIONER GATES, THIS QUESTION, JUST TO SPEAK TO ONE OF THE SLIDES.

AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT, UH, YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE RELATIVE DATA ON 5G RIGHT NOW THIS TIME.

UH, HOWEVER, UM, LOOKING AT THE SCHEMATIC ON WHY 5G SPECTRUM MATTERS AND THE DEPICTION OF MID BAND, AT LEAST IN THE DEPICTION HERE, UH, YOU KNOW, W WE'RE LOOKING AT THE WAVES GO THROUGH BUILDINGS, BUT I GATHER THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE.

UH, IT DEPENDS ON DENSITY AND OTHER FACTORS.

SO, UH, MID BAND, UM, IS, UH, IT HAS, IT HAS, I GUESS, MORE, MORE, UH, PUSH POWER IS WHAT I WOULD CALL IT TO GO THROUGH BUILDING.

UM, A MILLIMETER WAVE IS GOING TO BE ANYTHING CAN REALLY AFFECT YOUR CONNECTION.

AND SO IN LOW BAND REALLY HAS THE FARTHEST PUSH POWER OR PRO CAN PROPAGATE THE FARTHEST SIGNAL OUT.

SO, AND THAT'S ON OUR, OUR 600 SPECTRUM UP.

SO I REVIEWED, LUCKILY I REVIEWED THE SLIDES BEFORE MY NETWORK WENT DOWN.

SO I'M JUST CALLING IN SO SPECIFIC TO, UH, RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS AND LOOKING AT HOW DO WE SERVE THE CITIZENS OF THIS RESIDENTS OF THE CITY.

SO I WOULD ASSUME THAT FOR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS, IT'S YOUR MID VAN, THAT WOULD BE THE RIGHT SOLUTION.

WHEREAS MILLIMETER WAVE WOULD BE MORE FOR DOWNTOWN, BUT YOU SMELL SO DOLLARS THAT PROPAGATED THROUGHOUT THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

I'M RIGHT.

AM I GETTING A DRIVE OR AM I NOT BY, YEAH, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, UH, OUR ULTRA CAPACITY PROBABLY IN THE URBAN AND SUBURBAN AREAS OF AUSTIN.

SO IF YOU GO OUT TO, YOU KNOW, SERVE IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY ROUND ROCK, YOU KNOW, UH, SAN MARCO.

SO YOU'RE GOING TO BEGIN AN OFFICER CAPACITY, UH, IN THOSE AREAS, WHICH WOULD BE LIKE A BLEND OF, UH, MILLIMETER AND MID BAND WORKING TOGETHER TO GET.

SO YOU'RE, WE'RE UTILIZING KIND OF THE PUSH POWER OF MID BAND TO GET MORE PROPAGATION TO GET THROUGH IN BUILDING.

UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO USING, YOU KNOW, THE CAPACITY OF MILLIMETER WAVE TO TRANSMIT THAT DATA AS WELL AND GIVE YOU, YOU KNOW, FASTER CONNECTIONS.

SO THEY WORK, YOU KNOW, TOGETHER , IF I MIGHT ADD, UM, THE MAJORITY OF TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, UM, CERTAIN, UH, ECOLOGICAL, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, SITES, UM, THAT IT'S GOING TO BE PREDOMINANTLY 5G.

YOU SEEN, SO YOU'RE TALKING, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT SEE 5G, UH, EXTENDED RANGE OVER SOME OF THE LAKES, UM, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, UM, EXTENDING OUT TO THE HILL COUNTRY, BUT PREDOMINANTLY FOR THE MAJORITY OF TRAVIS COUNTY, YOU WILL SEE 5G ULTRA CAPACITY MILLIMETER WAVE.

THANKS.

I THINK I GOT, YEAH, THIS IS COMMISSIONER YANGTZE HEAD.

UM, DOES T MOBILE ANTICIPATE NEEDING TO DEPLOY ANY MORE FIBER IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THESE NEW SERVICES? SO I'LL PASS THAT.

YEAH, SURE.

NO PROBLEM.

UM, SO WE DO NOT IN FACT DEPLOY OUR OWN FIBER.

UM, WE PARTNER WITH FIBER COMPANIES, PREEXISTING FIBER COMPANIES, UM, WHEN AND WHEREVER POSSIBLE.

UM, SO IT REDUCES THE TOTAL COST OVERHEAD COSTS THAT WE WOULD RECEIVE IF WE BRAND OUR OWN FIBER, AS WE ALL KNOW FIBER'S QUITE EXPENSIVE.

UM, AND, AND FROM A TECHNOLOGY STANDPOINT, IT MAKES MORE FISCAL SENSE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE PREEXISTING FIBER LINES, UM, TO POWER OUR SITES.

UM, SO WE DON'T, WE DON'T FORESEE RUNNING ANY OF OUR OWN FIBER, BUT MAKING THE USE OF WHAT'S ALREADY THERE IN CERTAIN TERMS. OKAY.

UH, OUR, UH, SIGNIFICANT NETWORK ENHANCEMENTS FROM OUR PARTNERSHIP, UH, FROM OUR MERGER WITH RANT, WHICH, UH, HAVE ALLOWED US TO REALLY BRING SOME NEW SOLUTIONS, UM, TO THE FOREFRONT.

SO TO CONTINUE, WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN,

[01:35:01]

YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE BEING, YOU KNOW, FIXED WIRELESS SERVICES THROUGH OUR BUSINESS INTERNET.

UM, AND THEN, SO I'LL LET, I'LL PASS THE FLOOR OVER TO NANCY TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT THAT SOLUTION.

SO THIS IS KIND OF LIKE, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU, OR WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOUR COMMUNITY TO DEPLOY QUICKLY? I, THIS IS A NEWER SOLUTION, UH, THAT WE CAN BE USED IN GOVERNMENT BUSINESS, UH, HOME INTERNET EDUCATION, UH, BUT IT, IT CAN BE A REPLACEMENT OR A FAIL OVER FOR YOUR TYPICAL TRADITIONAL ISP THAT MIGHT HAVE MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE MORE TIME OR EXPENSE TO DEPLOY.

I, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY SIMPLE AND AVAILABLE RIGHT AWAY.

UM, SO BASICALLY YOU CAN GET INTO A ROUTER.

I'M GOING TO GO INTO THE NEXT SLIDE.

ALRIGHTY.

UH, IN FACT, I'M GOING TO SKIP THAT.

I'M GOING TO GO STRAIGHT INTO WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU.

UH, IF YOU NEEDED TO DEPLOY QUICKLY, WE'RE WORKING WITH BELL COUNTY RIGHT NOW, A LITTLE BIT ON LOOKING AT OPTIONS FOR AREAS THAT THERE'S NO INTERNET IN THE COUNTY AND THEY ARE UNDERSERVED OR NOT SERVED, UH, AND WITH THEIR CONSULTANT IS TO DEPLOY SOMETHING LIKE THIS, THAT IT'S AS SIMPLE A ROUTER, AND IT'S NOT LIKE A HOTSPOT.

IT CAN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A MORE ROBUST SOLUTION THAT CAN SUPPORT 5G TO THE, TO THE HOME WHERE IT CAN GET BETTER SPEEDS AND IT CAN SUPPORT UP TO 30 USERS.

SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A VERY AFFORDABLE, EASY TO DEPLOY SOLUTION TO FOLKS WHO DO NOT HAVE INTERNET AT HOME OR IN THEIR BUSINESS.

UH, RIGHT NOW THE VA IS WORKING ON DEPLOYING, UH, THE, SO IS THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE FOR SOME SUN FAIL OVER.

UH, WE'VE GOT SOME GOOD DEPLOYMENTS GOING WITH, UH, CVS PHARMACY AFTER SOME GREAT TESTING AND TRACTOR SUPPLY BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SUCH GOOD RURAL COVERAGE.

SO WE'VE ALREADY GOT SOME GOOD DEPLOYMENTS HERE AND GOOD REFERENCES FOR YOU TO JUST SEE THE SIMPLE, UM, SOLUTION THAT'S AVAILABLE RIGHT AWAY.

AND SO, AND SO I'LL, I'LL JUMP IN THERE AS WELL, TOO.

UM, I LIKE TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN CARRIERS STARTED TALKING ABOUT 5G, UM, I THINK IT WAS MORE SO OF A TEASE, RIGHT? THE IDEA, MOST PEOPLE DIDN'T REALLY SEE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE FROM A CONNECTIVITY.

AND SO THIS IS 5G VOLUME TWO, OR, UH, WHERE YOU'RE SEEING STANDALONE FIXED ASSET CONNECTIVITY, WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE CUTTING A SLIVER SLIVER OF OUR NETWORK, UM, AND DISPLACING IT IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND, AND, AND LOCKING UP THOSE SPEEDS, UH, FOR THOSE END USERS AS A FIXED INTERNET SOLUTION TO REPLACE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR TRADITIONAL ISP OR TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO UNDERSERVED OR NO, UH, AREAS THAT DON'T HAVE SERVICE CURRENTLY.

SO, UH, AND I'LL, I'LL SHOW THE NEXT SLIDE.

MY, THIS, THIS JUST TALKS ABOUT COSTS SO WE CAN GET, YOU KNOW, REAL TRANSPARENCY ON, ON HOW AFFORDABLE IT IS TO DEPLOY THIS VERSUS A TRADITIONAL, UM, FIVERR ISP.

UM, THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE IS THE ONE I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO.

I THINK IT'S, IT'S GONNA GET THE MOST TRACTION BECAUSE WITH GOVERNMENT DISCOUNTS, IT'S AROUND $38 A MONTH FOR AN UNLIMITED 5G EXPERIENCE, AND THAT WILL HAVE THE ROUTER INCLUDED.

SO THIS IS AN NC GO ROUTER.

LIKE WE SAID, IT'S, IT'S BEEFIER THAN A HOTSPOT.

SO IT, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN BE USING IT AND, OR THE, THE COMPANY, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT ENOUGH USERS, UH, BUT THERE'S, THEN THERE'S NO UPFRONT COSTS TO THE ROUTER.

UH, WE DO HAVE OTHER PLANS THAT YOU CAN BRING YOUR OWN.

LET'S SAY, YOU'VE GOT YOUR OWN CRADLE POINTS.

YOU'VE GOT YOUR OWN SIERRA'S, YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE INVESTED IN.

WE CAN PUT A SIM IN THERE AND DEPLOY IT FOR A LOWER, LOWER COST.

AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE MORE, WE HAVE A VARIETY OF PLANS, BUT WHAT I'VE FOUND ALREADY TALKING WITH CITIES, COUNTIES, UM, THEY WANTED SOMETHING WHERE THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO COME UP WITH A LOT OF, UM, DOLLARS UPFRONT TO INVEST IN A ROUTER.

SO THAT THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION.

THIS WILL COMPLETELY DISPLACE.

AND, AND TO ALSO ADD TO THAT, IS THAT, UH, WHEN, WHEN DEPLOYING A NEW SOLUTION TIME IS ESSENTIAL, RIGHT? AS FAR AS HOW FAST CAN YOU GET YOUR UPTIME OR HAVE A CONNECTION.

AND SO THESE ARE STANDALONE, UM, CAN BE SET UP BY END USER, BY A KID PROBABLY 10 YEARS OLD CAN SET UP A ROUTER AS HE WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR WIFI ROUTER AT HOME.

SO, UM, THIS YOU'RE ABLE TO SCALE IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES THAT NEED ACCESS

[01:40:01]

QUICKLY.

SO THAT'S ONE OF, THAT'S SOME OF THE BENEFITS FROM THIS SOLUTION.

SO, YEAH, AND IF I, IF I MAY JUST CLARIFY JUST A BIT HARDER, ALL YOU NEED WITH THESE DEVICES IS POWER.

THERE'S NO COLLAPSE CONNECTION, THERE'S NO PRESET, UH, PRETTY EXISTING CONNECTION THAT YOU REQUIRED TO SET THESE UP.

WHEN YOU RECEIVE THESE DEVICES, THEY CAN PLUG IN AND PLAY READY.

UM, TO JOHN'S POINT, YOU SIMPLY NEED JUST THE BASIC LEVEL OF CONFIGURATION ON THESE DEVICES AND THEY'RE OFF AND RUNNING.

AND JUST TO CLARIFY, EVEN FURTHER THAN THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL COME TO A POINT IN TIME WHERE WE WILL DISPLACE YOUR TRADITIONAL SERVICES THAT MOST ARE FAMILIAR WITH MEANING LANDLINE SERVICES.

THERE WILL NOT BE A NEED FOR FIBER TO YOUR HOME ANY LONGER.

THERE WILL NOW NOT BE ANY FIBER TRUNKS OR CO-AX TRUMPS ANY LONGER.

AS SOON AS WE START INCHING CLOSER TO SIX G, WHICH, UM, I ATTENDED A CONVENTION AT THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER LAST MONTH, UM, WHERE THEY PRESENTED, UH, THE MOST VIABLE STATISTICS AS FAR AS SIX G GOES.

AND THIS IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO THAT.

SO JUST THINK ABOUT TAKING A ROUTER HOME, PULLING OUT THE PLUG AND PLUGGING IT IN AND YOUR ROUTERS FIT TO GO.

AND YOU JUST CONNECT LIKE YOU WOULD YOUR TRADITIONAL WIFI ROUTER AT HOME.

THERE MIGHT BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO JUMP IN WITH A QUESTION.

UM, I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE SHARING, UH, THIS, THE BUSINESS INTERNET PLANS.

AND I CAN ENVISION, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH, UH, OUR COLLABORATION THROUGH, UH, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DIVISION AND AISD DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS THAT T-MOBILE HAS HELPED THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UH, WITH OUR FOCUS BEING ON THE COMMUNITY AND WHOLE A MAJOR FOCUS OF COURSE, IS THE INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER.

AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN SHEPHERDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, UH, AS PROVIDERS OFFER THAT TO US.

AND SO I WOULD CERTAINLY BE A MISSED SPOT AND GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THAT NOW, UH, AND WAYS THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE AFFORDABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER.

YEAH, NO PROBLEM.

SO, UH, THE, THE PLANS THAT WE LISTED THERE ARE KIND OF GOVERNMENT SPECIFIC PLANS, BUT WE DO, WE DO PARTAKE IN, UH, UH, ACP PROGRAM, UH, UH, PROVIDING INDIVIDUAL, UH, CONSUMERS WITH, UH, DISCOUNTS.

UM, AND SO WE HAVE, AND I CAN SEND OVER SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THAT, UH, CAUSE WE HAVE THAT THAT'S REALLY HANDLED BY A DIFFERENT TEAM, UH, TO HAVE, UH, KIND OF FURTHER CONVERSATIONS FROM A CONSUMER STANDPOINT, WHAT WE DO, BUT TO, TO ADD SOME INSIGHT TO WHAT WE HAVE UP HERE IS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH A STATE OF GEORGIA WHO IS ALSO LOOKING AT THEIR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND PROVIDING EQUITY AND ACCESS, AND WE'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED 30, 35,000 ADDRESSES THAT THIS SOLUTION WOULD WORK FOR.

AND SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH THE RF ENGINEERING TEAM THAT HAS BACK OFFICE CAPABILITIES TO LET US KNOW, YOU KNOW, UH, AND WE'RE VERY TRANSPARENT IF WE CAN PROVIDE ADEQUATE HIGH SPEED INTERNET TO THE HOME OR NOT.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT? CAN YOU GIVE US ANY IDEA OF THE GEOGRAPHICS SPREAD FOR THESE DIFFERENT SERVICES IN AUSTIN? UH, IS THERE A MAP OF THAT? SO THIS SOLUTION IS LOCATION SPECIFIC TO ADDRESS LEVEL.

SO WE WOULD NEED, LIKE IF YOU HAD A NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, WE COULD, AND I CAN, UM, I DON'T WANT TO STEAL HIS THUNDER, BUT IT MIGHT BE AT ZIP CODE LEVEL WHERE HE COULD OF START GIVING SOME INSIGHTS IF WE COULD PROVIDE SERVICES OR NOT.

SO, BUT HE, IF I LET YOU JUMP IN.

YOU KNOW, THAT GOOD MAJORITY OF THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED AROUND THE CITY OF AUSTIN PROPER.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT LOCATION, SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY AND IN GOOD QUESTION, MISSIONARY AGE, I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S DEPENDENT ON NETWORK AVAILABILITY IS THE SIMPLEST WAY I CAN EXPRESS THAT, UM, WITHOUT GETTING INTO ALPHABET SOUP, WHICH WE, WE TEND TO DO IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.

UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT CAN FLUCTUATE AT ANY GIVEN TIME, DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF USERS AT ANY GIVEN POINT.

AND SO IT'S HARD TO GET GIVEN CONCRETE ANSWER WHEN IT COMES TO ELIGIBILITY, UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH LOCATION, UM, BASED ON, YOU KNOW, NETWORK AVAILABILITY, UM, AT, EVEN THIS CURRENT TIME, UM, I WILL SAY THAT THAT THERE'S MORE CAPACITY LENT TO THE MORE, UM, DENSELY POPULATED AREAS.

AND SO, UM, BASED ON THE NUMBER THAT JOHN GAVE, I WOULD SAY THAT,

[01:45:01]

UM, ONCE YOU GET MORE INTO THE OUTLINE AREAS, THAT'S WHERE THE FREQUENCIES CHANGE.

SO NOW WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT MILLIMETER WAVE ANY LONGER.

NOW WE'RE GETTING MORE INTO THE MID DAN AND THE LOW BAND FREQUENCIES, WHICH ARE EVEN MORE NETWORK DEPENDENT FROM AN ELIGIBILITY PERSPECTIVE.

AND I KNOW THAT'S A, UH, A VARIABLE ANSWER, BUT IT'S KIND OF HARD TO DEFINE HOLISTICALLY.

FOLLOWING UP ON THAT ONE SECOND, WE HAVE A QUESTION IN THE ROOM FOR COMMISSIONER REGARDLESS.

UM, FOLLOWING UP ON YOUR, UM, ANSWER AROUND THE ACP BEING LOCATION SPECIFIC, IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO UNDERSTAND OR HAVE A LIST OF WHERE THOSE SIT GOATS ARE? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THAT? THAT'S LIKE, IF YOU SAY LIKE THIS IS AT THE CISCO LEVEL, IT DEPENDS ON THAT WORK OVER THE ABILITY.

DO WE KNOW WHAT SICK GOATS ARE AVAILABLE? SO WE, WE WOULD NEED THE ZIP CODES, LIKE, LET'S JUST SAY 7, 8, 7, 5 1.

YOU GAVE US A ZIP CODE THAT WE COULD PUNCH IT IN AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE SEE WHAT THE NETWORK LOOKS LIKE IN THAT AREA.

AND THEN WE CAN KIND OF ELABORATE AND WORK WITH OUR RF ENGINEERING TEAM TO GET, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LOCATION, SPECIFIC DETAILS, BUT NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND WHERE WE WOULDN'T.

SO, SO YOU'RE SAYING IF WE WENT PROACTIVE AND STUCK ALL THE ZIP CODES IN AUSTIN AND JUST SAID, HEY, THIS IS WHAT THE NETWORK LOOKS LIKE.

THAT IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO.

AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN WORK WITH TO KIND OF SEE WHAT OUR NETWORK LOOKS LIKE, JUST TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE NETWORK IS THROUGHOUT, YOU KNOW, EVERY ZIP CODE WITHIN KIND OF AUSTIN AND SURROUNDING AREA.

SO I W I WILL SAY THAT WHEN WE, UH, ARE DEPLOYING THE 5G ROUTER IS WE REALLY DO LOOK AT EACH ADDRESS SO THAT WE'RE NOT GUESSTIMATING, YOU KNOW, OH, HERE'S THE WHOLE ZIP CODE, BUT WE DO THAT ON YOUR BEHALF.

SO IF YOU GIVE US ADDRESSES LIKE GEORGIA, LITERALLY GIVING US THOUSANDS OF ADDRESSES, WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT WORK.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO EXPECT YOU TO DO THAT.

SO WE WILL VERIFY EVERY ADDRESS INSTEAD OF JUST AS ZIP CODE, BUT WE CAN GET MAPS AND WE CAN GET ZIP CODES TO START THE PROCESS.

YEAH, NO, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

I UNDERSTAND WHY, OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE THINKING OF INDIVIDUAL USERS AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THEIR SPECIFICS SITUATION, WHERE THINKING CITYWIDE AND LIKE, THINKING ABOUT AREAS.

SO ARE THOSE, THOSE, LIKE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN SOMEONE'S WHERE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE QUALIFY FOR AFFORDABLE, UH, CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM ALSO HAPPENED TO BE IN THE AREAS WHERE THERE IS NO INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THAT PROGRAM TO BE AVAILABLE.

AND SO FOR US, IT'S MORE, OR AT LEAST FOR ME, INDIVIDUALLY AS A COMMISSIONER, UH, LIKE THINKING ABOUT IT HOLISTICALLY.

EVEN IF IT'S NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURATE TO EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON WHO LIVES IN THAT DISTRICT.

GOT TO START SOMEWHERE.

AND I'D LIKE TO, TO ADD TO THAT, UH, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A GREAT INSIGHTS ABOUT CERTAIN ZIP CODES THAT ARE CHALLENGED HISTORICALLY.

AND SO EVEN IF WE WERE TO PRIORITIZE THOSE ZIP CODES AS AN EVALUATION POINT, RATHER THAN THE WHOLE CITY, THAT WOULD ALSO BE ONE FOCUSED ON EQUITY.

THAT, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT BELL COUNTY DID.

THEY KNEW THAT THE EASTERN HALF OF THEIR DISTRICT HAS SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WITH ACCESS.

AND SO THOSE WERE THE AREAS THAT THEY PRIORITIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, WEREN'T GOING TO PRIORITIZE LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, A WACO OR, UH, COLLEEN, UH, AREA WHERE IT'S, YOU KNOW, A MORE DENSE POPULATED AREA.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UH, YES, PLEASE ALREADY HAD A VICE CHAIR.

I'M DACA.

UH, YEAH.

AND GOING OFF THAT SORT OF SAME LINE OF QUESTIONING THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER REGARDS AS, UH, STARTED, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I'M JUST CURIOUS, IS THERE ANY SORT OF PROACTIVE APPROACH OR, OR SORT OF STRATEGIC PLAN THAT, UH, YOU ALL COULD, COULD SPEAK ABOUT OR SPEAK TO AROUND, UM, PERHAPS FOCUSING ON CERTAIN POCKETS OF TRAVIS COUNTY AND JUST GIVE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE WE'VE BEEN, UM, WE'RE SORT OF STARTING TO DO LISTENING SESSIONS AROUND THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, UM, UH, WITH, WITH, UH, CERTAIN FOLKS THAT ARE, THAT HAVE CHALLENGES WITH CLINT CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET AND CELL TOWERS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND, UM, AS YOU MAY HAVE GUESSED, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF VARIABILITY THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UH, DEPENDENT ON ZIP CODE AND PLACES WHERE, WHERE PEOPLE LIVE.

SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, IS THERE ANY SORE OF AN EFFORT BEING MADE TO CLOSE THAT GAP? HEY, ARE YOU WITH A SAFE? OKAY.

MADE TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS OF THOSE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES SPECIFICALLY, THEY SURROUND CERTAIN INEQUITIES BY ZIP CODE? YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT.

AND I THINK IF, IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR, UH, YOUR QUESTION CORRECTLY, I THINK YOU'RE TALKING, ARE, ARE ANY ADDITIONAL EFFORTS BEING

[01:50:01]

W WE'RE ALWAYS MINDFUL, UM, UH, OF, OF COVERING THOSE AND WE'VE MADE AN EFFORT IN THAT APPROACH, UM, THROUGH BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND PROBING IN HELPING THOSE, UM, REMOTE LEARNING, UM, STRATEGIES THAT WERE SET FOR, UM, WE, WE PARTNER WITH A NUMBER OF, UM, HOUSING AUTHORITIES AND NON-PROFITS, UM, THAT SERVED THOSE, UM, UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AS WELL.

SO WE'RE ALWAYS MINDFUL OF THAT.

UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE THE APPROACH OF THE, THE POINTS OF PRESENCE, RIGHT.

AND, AND SPEAKING TO, UM, INEQUITY, UM, FROM A DIGITAL PERSPECTIVE, I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, OUR NETWORK TEAMS ARE ALWAYS ANALYZING AND ASSESSING THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT NEED CONNECTIVITY THE MOST.

UM, AND THIS IS ONE STEP THAT WE'VE TAKEN.

UM, IF, IF, UM, YOU KNOW, I MIGHT ADD FROM A BUSINESS INTERNET PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE TRADITIONALLY SPEAKING, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, INTERNET PROVIDERS DON'T NECESSARILY BASE THEIR, UM, THEIR FIBER RUNS ARE THEIR CO-AX RUNS BASED ON, UM, AND FINANCIALLY VIABLE COMMUNITIES, RIGHT.

UM, THEY ARE, UM, LOOKING TO SERVE THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO PAY THE RATES THAT THEY CHARGE.

T-MOBILE.

ON THE OTHER HAND, WE TAKE THE APPROACH TO SERVING THOSE, UM, SERVING THE LARGEST POINTS OF PRESENCE POSSIBLE, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE FROM A CONNECTIVITY PERSPECTIVE, NOT A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE.

SO I HOPE THAT KIND OF CLARIFIES THAT.

CAN I JUST FOLLOW UP, BECAUSE THE QUESTION WAS, IS THERE A STRATEGIC PLAN TO FOCUS ON POCKETS OF TRAVIS COUNTY AROUND DIGITAL EQUITY? SO THERE IS NO STRATEGIC PLAN IT'S JUST, UH, ENVIRONMENT AND MINDFULNESS.

SO, NO.

SO IF I, IF I CAN JUST EXTEND THAT A LITTLE BIT, NO, WE DO NOT TAKE THE APPROACH OF, WE ARE, UM, SERVING THE UNDERSERVED FIRST, AS OPPOSED TO THE ADEQUATELY SERVED.

WE LOOK AT IT AND WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT FROM A TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE AND, AND YES, THOSE THINGS DO FACTOR IN, BUT FROM A NETWORK BUILD-OUT PERSPECTIVE, WE DON'T LOOK AT FINANCIAL VARIATIONS.

WE LOOK AT HOW CAN WE EXPAND OUR FOOTPRINT TO SERVE THE MOST AMOUNT OF POINTS OF PRESENCE POSSIBLE, MEANING PEOPLE WHERE THERE ARE PEOPLE, IF IT'S, UH, WHETHER IT'S A TOPOGRAPHY PERSPECTIVE OR A ROLE PERSPECTIVE, UM, WE HAVE TO EXPAND OUR FOOTPRINT IN THE MOST STRATEGIC WAY POSSIBLE.

AND, AND WHILE I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT, YES, WE LIKE TO SERVE THOSE THAT ARE, UM, UNDERSERVED FIRST.

UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT RADIO FREQUENCIES AND TECHNOLOGIES, THAT IS NOT ONE OF THE FACTORS THAT COMES INTO PLAY.

WE LOOK AT HOW CAN WE INCREASE OUR FOOTPRINT TO SERVE THE MOST AMOUNT OF PEOPLE POSSIBLE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CLARIFYING THEM.

AND TH THERE ARE SOME KIND OF OUT OF THE BOX SOLUTIONS, UM, THAT ARE NOT TRADITIONAL.

AND SO, UH, FOR SOME AREAS, AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DON'T CLAIM TO HAVE UBIQUITOUS SERVICE COVERING EVERY, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S POCKETS, YOU KNOW, EVERY CARRIER KNOWS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT CONNECTIVITY THROUGHOUT THE CITY OR THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.

AND SO THERE ARE SOME OUT OF THE BOX SOLUTIONS WHERE YOU CAN, UH, EXTEND THE, THE, UM, ACCESS POINT OR THE CONNECTIVITY AND BROADEN THE SCOPE TO SERVE ANOTHER COMMUNITY.

AND I KNOW ONE OF THE AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, ON THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION WAS ROSEWOOD HOUSING BECAUSE WE WORK WITH HAKA AND WE IDENTIFIED THAT ON THAT PROPERTY BECAUSE IT'S ON THE SLOPING LAND, OUR CONNECTION SHOOTS, OVERSHOOTS THE PROPERTY.

AND SO THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN KIND OF AGGREGATE SOLUTIONS AND THINK OUT OF THE BOX AND WORK SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE COUNTY ABOUT HOW CAN WE SOLVE SOME OF THESE ISSUES HERE.

SO THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND THANK YOU FOR THAT RESPONSE.

IS THERE ANOTHER QUESTION ONLINE BEFORE THEY WRAP UP THEIR PRESENTATION? I HAVE ONE QUESTION THAT I JUST, UM, WANTED TO ASK, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME CITIZENS CONCERNED BEFORE ABOUT THE EFFECTS ON 5G TO HEALTH.

UM, AND AS YOU'VE MENTIONED, YOU'RE LOOKING AT SIX G ALREADY AND TESTING THAT OUT.

ARE THERE ANY REPORTS OR ANY TYPE OF RESEARCH THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE ON HOW 5G AND POTENTIALLY 6G, COULD IT BE AFFECTING, UM, HEALTH, HEALTH OF PEOPLE, ANIMALS, PLANTS, ET CETERA.

GREAT QUESTION.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

IT WAS A GREAT QUESTION.

I'M GOING TO PIVOT THAT TO HEATH AS WELL.

UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THERE ARE STUDIES, UM, THAT ARE REGULARLY CONDUCTED BOTH BY THE SEC, AS WELL AS THREE GPP.

[01:55:01]

AND IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH 3G PP, IT IS A CONSORTIUM OF WIRELESS INDUSTRY EXPERTS THAT ANALYZE WIRELESS FREQUENCIES AND THE TOLL THAT IT TAKES, UM, YOU KNOW, ON, UM, THE HEALTH OR OUR WELL-BEING OF CERTAIN USERS.

AND THIS HAS BEEN STUDIED GOING BACK TO ONE XR, TT, OR AS YOU MAY FORMERLY KNOW IT, TWO G UM, AND THEN PRIOR TO THAT ANALOG, UM, SO, UM, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN THE STUDIES CONDUCTED.

UM, AND, AND MIGHT I ADD WHEN I BROUGHT UP SIX G THIS IS ALL VERY HIGHLY THEORETICAL.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A STANDARD THAT HAS NOT BEEN DEFINED AND IS CURRENTLY IN A FOCUSED TESTING PHASE THAT WILL NOT PRESENT ITSELF FORMERLY UNTIL PROBABLY A DECADE FROM NOW.

AND IF YOU, IF YOU AREN'T AWARE OF THE STANDARDS AND THE FREQUENCIES AND TECHNOLOGIES HG, SO TO SPEAK RUNS ABOUT A DECADE IN TERMS OF ITS LIFE SPAN BEFORE THE NEXT TECHNOLOGY PRESENTS ITSELF CURRENTLY WITH 5G, UM, WE ARE NOT SEEING ANY RELATABLE HEALTH CONCERNS AS, UM, AS WE, YOU KNOW, IN THE SAME FASHION THAT WE DIDN'T SEE ANY IN THE FORTUNE PERSPECTIVE.

AND SO WE, WE ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF OUR USERS IS, UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, BUT WE RELY ON THOSE CONSORTIUMS TO PROVIDE DIRECTION, AS WELL AS THE FCC.

AND AGAIN, THAT FUNNELS RIGHT BACK INTO MY NETWORK.

UM, MESSAGE.

RIGHT.

AND SO, UM, THROUGH THE USE OF THE DIFFERENT NEWER TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS MILLIMETER WAVE, UM, THEY'VE ANALYZED AND ET CETERA, AND REASSESS THOSE TECHNOLOGIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE THE SAFEST POSSIBLE.

UM, SO, UM, I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION MAXI.

I WOULD LIKE TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT QUESTION, UH, COMMISSIONER ISLAND, UH, WITH SPECIFIC, UH, QUANDARY ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE AND IN LIGHT OF THE EFFORTS THEY'VE UNDERTAKEN, WHICH WAS PRESENTED TO US ACTUALLY PERTAINING SOME OF THE CONCERNS AROUND 5G, UH, HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN ABLE TO, UH, PROVIDE, UH, ANY FRANKLY, ANY INROADS INTO THIS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, SCIENCE AND TO IMPACT, UH, THE, UH, THE DECISION MAKING FOR THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PERTAINING TO 5G AND THEIR CONCERNS THAT'S GERMAN.

I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHAT'S TAKING PLACE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

UM, CERTAINLY IT'S, IT'S REGULATED STATE BY STATE.

UM, I'M SURE THAT WE WOULD, UH, BE ABLE TO FULFILL MORE INFORMATION, UM, IN REGARDS TO THAT, BUT AS IT STANDS, EACH STATE IS, IS RELEGATED TO WHAT THE, UM, STATE, UH, DETERMINATIONS ARE.

AND, UM, BEYOND THAT, YOU KNOW, THE SEC.

SO, UM, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.

UM, IF THERE IS SOME, UM, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH TAKING PLACE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, UM, I'M SURE THAT, UM, WE COULD, UM, MORE THAN LIKELY, UM, LOCATE THAT.

SO, UH, THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD THING THAT WE QUESTION THAT WE TAKE OFFLINE SURE.

RF TEAM.

AND SO IF YOU WANT TO SEND US THAT SOME OF THAT INFORMATION WILL READ UP ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND WE CAN, UH, DEFINITELY, UM, TABLE THAT QUESTION WITH OUR TEAM, OUR INTERNAL TEAM, AND SAY, HEY, THIS CAME UP IN A CONVERSATION.

WE'D LOVE TO GET SOME INSIGHTS THAT WE CAN SHARE, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WORKING GROUP.

THANKS.

THAT WAS GONNA BE MY SUGGESTION, ESPECIALLY SINCE, UH, THE, THE INFORMATION ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE WAS PRESENTED TO US IN A CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, AND WE WERE OBLIGED TO TAKE IT ON.

AND SO WE'D APPRECIATE YOUR INSIGHTS AND THOUGHTS ON THAT.

ABSOLUTELY.

WELL, GREAT.

UH, WELL, UH, BEFORE WE WRAP UP ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, I'D LIKE TO GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO, TO CLOSE OUT AND, UH, ADDRESS ANY PHONE QUESTIONS.

PLEASE GO RIGHT AHEAD.

I DO WHAT WAS JUST ASKED, UH, YES.

I'M SORRY.

GOING ALREADY HAVE GET COMMISSIONED.

I'LL SCOOPED UP.

GOT A COUPLE OF MINUTES HERE.

OH, I WANT TO, I WANT TO REEMPHASIZE THE POINT THAT WAS JUST MADE ABOUT WHEN YOU HAVE TO STUDY, UH, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE GENERALIZING THE STUDY, SO THAT APPLIES TO EVERYBODY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF 5G THE ON, UH, FROM A HEALTH POINT OF VIEW.

SO I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU, UH, LOOK THEM UP AND, UH, AND THEN SEE HOW THAT IMPACTS YOUR BUSINESS.

ABSOLUTELY.

LAST PIECE OF PRESENTS THAT PRESENTATION ABOUT OUR 5G ADVANCED NETWORK SERVICES, AS I TALKED ABOUT, SOME SOLUTIONS ARE OUT OF THE BOX AND CUSTOM BUILT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER NOW, SCOOPED, I TAKE THEM AT THEIR WORD AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THEIR FOLLOW UP HERE ON THIS.

UH, BUT LET'S GO INTO THEM A CHANCE TO HAVE TO CLOSE OUT THE PRESENTATION SO WE CAN PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA.

YEAH, NO PROBLEM.

AND A LOT OF, UH, THE

[02:00:01]

AND SO, UM, OUTSIDE OF BUSINESS INTERNET, WE ALSO PROVIDE ADVANCED NETWORK SERVICE WHERE WE CAN CREATE A NETWORK WHERE THERE WAS NOT ONE.

AND SO THIS LAST SLIDE HERE IS JUST KIND OF ILLUSTRATION, UH, A PUBLIC NETWORK HYBRID NETWORK OR A PRIVATE 5G NETWORK THAT WE CAN CREATE CUSTOM, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, UH, AGENCY.

UM, AND, AND WE HAVE PARAMETERS AROUND THAT.

UH, IT TAKES ANYWHERE FROM SIX TO 12 MONTHS TO CONFIGURE THROUGH OUR RF TEAM AND DESIGN TEAM AND IMPLEMENTATION TEAM TO BRING SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO LIFE.

SO I HAVE A QUESTION NOW WE HAVE BEEN GETTING SOME PRESENTATIONS FROM, UM, A GROUP THAT WANTS TO CREATE A STANDARD FOR, UH, TOWERS THAT WOULD, UM, UH, COVER, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CARRIERS.

THEY WOULD, NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CARERS WOULD HAVE THEIR INTENT IS IN THE SAME INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, ARE YOU DOING THAT IN ANY CITY? OUR COMMISSIONER, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT LIKE CBRS OR KINDA LIKE A, UH, PRIVATE BUILT-OUT NETWORK.

OH, THESE THINGS ARE, UH, P I N N PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK NODES.

LET ME, UH, PASS THAT OVER TO HEATH.

I'M NOT AWARE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THE ACRONYM YEAH.

NOT THE WAGE, UM, WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, UM, COMMISSIONERS, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS A DADS ARE A DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM.

UM, AND SO YES, UM, THOSE ARE MULTI CARRIER.

UM, THEY SUPPORT A NUMBER OF TECHNOLOGIES, UM, AS WELL AS INCLUDING, UM, STANDALONE RS, OUR CDRS, UM, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS CITIZENS BAN, UM, RADIO SERVICE.

UM, THESE ARE, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS WHEN IT COMES TO SYSTEMS LIKE THAT.

UM, THOSE WILL TYPICALLY BE SEEN IN INSIDE OF STRUCTURES OR FACILITIES.

UM, YOU'LL RARELY SEE THOSE OUT IN THE WILD, SO TO SPEAK, UM, WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD BE SOMEWHERE TO A MACRO SITE OR A SMALL CELL, UM, THAT SOLE SOLE PURPOSE OF THOSE SYSTEMS IS TO INCREASE, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SLIDE, UM, AT HAND, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT BOTH THE MIDDLE AND RIGHT SIDE OF THE SLIDE AND THOSE IMAGES, THAT WOULD BE SIMILAR TO WHAT IS KNOWN AS A DAZ.

UM, MY PI AND N UM, THOSE ARE INDIVIDUAL NODES THAT ESSENTIALLY ACT AS REPEATERS, UM, TO AGGREGATE THE SIGNAL VALUES FROM OUTSIDE OF THE FACILITY, UM, TO INSIDE THE FACILITY DOES INCREASING THE BROADCAST IN A STRUCTURE, UM, THAT MAY BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO, UM, VARIOUS CHALLENGES, UM, IN INTERFERENCE, UM, SUCH AS, UM, METAL ROOFS, BRICK, VENEER, UH, CINDER BLOCK WALLS, YOU NAME IT.

UM, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF, UM, EXPERIENCE WHEN IT COMES TO THIS, UM, MORE NOTABLY IN THE FIRST RESPONDERS SPACE WHERE, UM, YOU HAVE THOSE REINFORCED STRUCTURE, SEARCHES, FIRE STATIONS AND POLICE STATIONS THAT ARE MEANT TO WITHSTAND IN NATURAL DISASTERS.

AND SO IT'S, UH, IN LAYMAN'S TERMS, BRINGING THE SIGNAL FROM OUTSIDE INSIDE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION, COMMISSIONER YATES.

UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE FOLLOW UP ON THAT AS WELL TO, TO GET SOME, UH, DISTILLATION ON THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THAT.

AND IN RELATION TO THE CONCEPT, UH, WHICH WE'RE EVALUATING, UH, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION NETWORK NODE, UH, CERTAINLY IS A FACET OF WHAT'S CALLED REFERRED TO AS INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ADVANCED SERVICES.

SO IF WE CAN TABLE THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AS WELL.

OKAY, ABSOLUTELY GREAT.

THANK YOU FOR AGAIN FOR THAT QUESTION, COMMISSIONER GATES.

WHERE WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING THE NEW EQUITY DIRECTOR FOR THE NTIA, UH, AT A HAKA PROPERTY.

AND, AND, AND TO RAP, I MEAN, WE, WE KNOW THAT IT'S NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL FOR, FROM A NETWORK OR, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF EVEN SERVING FROM YOUR RESIDENTS.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO WRAP IT UP, WE'RE HERE TO HELP AND PARTNER AND COME ALONG AND COLLABORATE AND WORK SIDE BY SIDE, UH, IN DEVELOPING A SOLUTION THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, SOLVE PROBLEMS. SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AT T-MOBILE, THAT'S, AGAIN, AS, AS I OPENED IT, YOU KNOW, OUR MISSION WAS PROVIDING EQUITY AND ACCESS FOR ALL.

AND SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY, UH, OR ANY SOLUTION THAT THE COUNTY'S LOOKING AT, WE'D LOVE TO COME IN AND, AND HAVE FURTHER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SUPPORTING.

SO, OKAY, WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I MEAN, AS YOU KNOW, UH, WE MET AT AN EVENT

[02:05:01]

SO THAT CERTAINLY SPEAKS TO THAT.

AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT, UH, TYPE OF, UH, DYNAMIC CONTINUING.

AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY.

WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA, UH, TO AGENDA ITEM THREE NEW BUSINESS, UH, JUST FOR EVERYONE HERE FOR THE RECORD.

UM, MY OBJECTIVE IS TO GET US OUT OF HERE AT A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME THIS EVENING.

UM, YOU'RE CERTAINLY WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS, UH, OR RATHER TO, UH, REMAIN IN THE AUDIENCE TO BE LIKE, AND ENJOY, UH, JUST GETTING THAT OUT THERE FOR THE RECORD.

SO IF WE COULD KEEP IN MIND NINE 30 REALLY SHOULD BE A HARD STOP FOR US IF WE CAN, WE CAN SWING IT.

UH, SO THAT GIVES US 45 MINUTES TO WORK THROUGH THIS, AND I THINK WE CAN HOPEFULLY PULL IT OFF QUICKER THAN THAT IN LIGHT OF, UH, SOME DEVELOPMENTS.

[3a. Commission Discussion on FCC Broadband Standards (Discussion and Action) ]

SO BEGINNING WITH AGENDA ITEM THREE, A COMMISSION DISCUSSION ON FCC BROADBAND STANDARDS.

UH, I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY OPENING UP THE DISCUSSION AND, AND STATING PLAINLY, UH, THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE AGREED TO IN OUR LAST DISCUSSION WAS TO TAKE THIS ON IN THE WORKING GROUP, UH, TO BEGIN, UH, IDEATING FOUR STANDARDS, AND THEN TO TAKE THAT TO THE COMMISSION, UH, THE THOUGHT PROCESS WAS FOR US TO FRANKLY, COME UP WITH A LIST OF QUESTIONS, UH, TO HELP TO FRAME CARRIERS AROUND OUR EFFORT TO CREATE A BROADBAND STANDARD FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

WELL, UH, WE WERE DELIGHTED TO HAVE, UH, OUR INTERIM CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER JOIN OUR WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, UH, AND IT WAS A ROBUST DISCUSSION THAT WENT IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS.

AND UNFORTUNATELY WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET TO THAT IN OUR WORKING GROUP AGENDA.

SO IT PUTS US BACK TO US AS A GROUP.

AND FRANKLY, I JUST WANT TO SEE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, TO CHALLENGE EVERY, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, TO, UH, START TO IDEATE ON THESE QUESTIONS, BECAUSE NOW THEN WITH THE ABILITY TO DISCUSS THIS IN THE COMMISSION MEETING, WE CAN THEN CREATE THAT SHARED DOCUMENT, UH, WHICH WITH JESSE'S HELP, WE CAN GET THEM DISTRIBUTED TO ALL THE CARRIERS CONSISTENTLY, UH, AND TO PROVIDE A, YOU KNOW, A VERY MEASURED APPROACH TO HOW WE GO ABOUT THE EFFORT OF CONSIDERING CAPABILITIES AND THEN WHAT WILL BE REASONABLE FOR US AS A COMMISSION TO PUT FORWARD AS A STANDARD FOR UP AND DOWN SPEEDS FOR BROADBAND.

UH, I'D LIKE TO OPEN THAT UP TO DISCUSSION FOR FEEDBACK AND THOUGHTS, BUT I THINK OUR NEXT BEST, UH, EFFORT THERE AGAIN IS TO INDIVIDUALLY START TO CREATE THOSE QUESTIONS AND TO DO THAT IN A SHARED DOCUMENT.

SO WE CAN START TO SEE THOSE QUESTIONS POPULATED.

UH, AND THEN ONCE WE'VE GOTTEN TO A POINT, UH, WHERE WE FEEL SATISFIED, UH, AND WITH, UH, CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT WE WON'T HAVE A COMMISSION MEETING NEXT A MONTH, UH, THAT SATISFACTION, WE KIND OF VALIDATED, UH, ON A WORKING GROUP LEVEL.

UH, BUT THEN WE HAVE SOMETHING BEFORE THE MONTH OF AUGUST IS OVER TO THEN SUBMIT TO CARRIERS.

UH, SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR FEEDBACK AND THOUGHTS ON THAT APPROACH.

I HAVE JUST ONE GENERAL COMMENT, AND THAT IS THAT PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMISSION AS A WHOLE, TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE MINUTES OF THE INDIVIDUAL WORK GROUP MEETINGS THAT MIGHT HELP US TO KEEP UP TO DATE.

WELL, I CAN ADDRESS THAT ONE.

WE HAVE A WALKING QUORUM CHALLENGE WAS SHARING MINUTES FROM INDIVIDUAL WORK GROUPS IN THAT WAY.

UH, SO, UH, I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE ADVISABLE APPROACH.

HOWEVER, UH, IF WE HAVE A SINGLE SHARED DOCUMENT, UM, THAT WE ALL CONTRIBUTE TO, AND THEN JESSE THEN, UH, OPERATING IN A COORDINATING ROLE BASICALLY RECEIVES OUR INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS AND THE COMBINES THEM.

UH, I STILL THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE OKAY.

AND BEING ABLE TO THEN SHOW THOSE QUESTIONS OUT TO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION AS WHAT EACH INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONER CONTRIBUTED TO, BUT I'D LIKE FOR JESSE TO CONFIRM THAT

[02:10:01]

YEAH, IT GETS REALLY TRICKY WHEN WE, UH, TRY AND HAVE, UH, UH, CROSS COMMISSION CONVERSATIONS DONE, UH, ANYTIME OUTSIDE OF THE PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE, UH, LIKE THE ONES TODAY.

BUT WHAT I'LL SAY IS IF THE COMMISSION WERE TO SET A PATH OR, UM, TO MAKE T TO BASICALLY GIVE EACH COMMISSIONER A HOMEWORK HERE IN THIS SESSION TO THEN GENERATE QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK, UH, AND SEND THAT, THOSE QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK BACK TO ME, UH, IT WOULD BE TOTALLY FINE FOR ME TO COLLECT THAT INFORMATION INTO A SINGLE DOCUMENT AND THEN SHARE IT BACK OUT TO THE COMMISSION AS A STATIC DOCUMENT.

UM, ONCE WE GET INTO EVERYBODY OPERATING IN A SHARED DOCUMENT, UH, THAT'S WHEN WE MIGHT RUN INTO SOME, UH, SOME HAIRY AREAS, JESSE, THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

UH, AND I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THEN THAT THE SHARE WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN FROM, FROM JESSE, ALTHOUGH WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS HAVING A STATIC DOCUMENT THAT WE'VE ALL CONTRIBUTED TO HER, UH, TOWARDS, UH, DOES THAT ADDRESS YOUR CONCERN AS WELL? COMMISSIONER GATES.

THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.

SO WE DO HAVE SOME LEGAL HURDLES, UM, IN ORDER TO HAVE, UM, ALL THE SEPARATE WORK GROUPS COMMUNICATE WHAT THEY'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.

UH, YES, THAT'S CORRECT.

THAT'S CORRECT.

BUT I THINK THIS IS A FAIR WAY TO NAVIGATE IT AT LEAST FOUR AND REALLY THE WAY THAT WE SHOULD ALWAYS NAVIGATE THIS CHALLENGE.

UH, AND THERE'S A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT WE'LL NEED TO DO THIS FOR.

SO IF THIS APPROACH SOUNDS, SOUND, UH, SAME SOUND, UH, THEN I WOULD LIKE TO ADVOCATE, WE, WE, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE, UH, PERSONALLY, UH, THAT WE TAKE THIS APPROACH AND LOOK FOR A SECOND, SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THAT AND THEN MOVE FORWARD IN OUR AGENDA.

PITS.

WE CAN MOVE ON TO AGENDA TWO B UH, THE COMMISSION DISCUSSION ON THE DIGITAL INCLUSION, STRATEGIC PLAN.

WELL, THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR, APODACA.

UH, WITH THAT, WE HAVE A MOTION, UH, TO, AS WE JUST DISCUSSED TO ALL TAKE ON, UH, AS, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT TO SEND JESSE OUR FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS ON THE CREATION QUESTIONS FOR PROVIDERS ON CREATION OF A BROADBAND STANDARD PURSUANT TO THE CREATION OF A BROADBAND STANDARD FOR AUSTIN, UH, JUAN AGAIN, ROOTED IN THEIR POTENTIAL CAPABILITIES, BUT WITH OUR VISION FOR, WE KNOW WE NEED AS A CITY.

UH, SO ALL IN FAVOR OF THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A ROLL CALL, A VERBAL VOTE WITH SHOW OF HANDS AND VERBAL.

UH, PLEASE SAY, AYE AND SHOOK YOUR HAND.

IS THERE ANYONE POST? OKAY, SO WITH THAT, UH, AND I DO WANT TO MAKE ONE CLARIFICATION.

I BELIEVE WE HAVE OFFICIALLY SEVEN VOTES IN THE AFFIRMATIVE AND REGRETTABLY COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA BECAUSE YOU'RE NOW ONLY ABLE TO, TO COMMUNICATE VERBALLY.

WE WON'T BE ABLE TO CONSIDER YOUR VOTE, I THINK, AS PART OF THIS OFFICIAL ACTION.

UH, SO WE'LL HAVE TO LIST YOU AS ABSTAINING, UH, I THINK, OR JUST BASICALLY TO SHOW IT AS A SIX O VOTE.

UH, THAT MIGHT BE MORE SIMPLY SINCE YOU'RE NOT ABSTAINING.

UH, YOU'RE JUST TECHNICALLY NOT PART OF THE QUORUM.

SO, UH, WITH THAT, UH, THAT ACTION HAS PASSED SIX OH IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, AND

[3b. Commission Discussion on the Digital Inclusion Strategic Plan (Discussion and Action) ]

NOW ON THIS ONE, UH, THERE'S A NEED FOR A LITTLE BIT OF DISCUSSION.

UM, AND THIS IS ROOTED IN THE EFFORTS TO, UH, THE DRAFT THAT I HAVE ALREADY HAVE, UH, A POTENTIAL RESOLUTION SHOWING SUPPORT FOR TAKING A FORMAL STEP TO CREATE THE STEERING COMMITTEE.

UH, BUT IT WAS ONE BORN OUT OF, UM, UH, FRANKLY READING THE UPDATE FROM THE BUSINESS, THE, UH, BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, UH, THAT CAME OUT EARLIER THIS WEEK.

UH, SO I WANT TO SPEAK TO A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT, UH, BASED UPON THE DRAFT, JUST TO KEEP IN MIND AS FACTUAL STATEMENTS, UM, BECAUSE THIS DRAFT IS NOT ACTUALLY ENTERED INTO THE RECORD YET.

UH, HOWEVER, IT DOES REFLECT OUR FACTUAL CONSIDERATIONS AS A COMMISSION.

THE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT JOBS ACT A 1.2 TRILLION INVESTMENT IN US INFRASTRUCTURE WAS

[02:15:01]

PASSING THE LAW ON NOVEMBER IN NOVEMBER OF 2021 AND THE NATIONAL TELEVISION CATIONS AND INFORMATION, UH, ADMINISTRATION OF THE NTIA ISSUED NOTICES OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY REQUIRING THAT, UH, STATES RESPOND WITH APPLICATIONS OR LETTERS OF INTENT, UH, BY THOSE DEADLINES.

THE COMMUNICATION RECEIVED FROM THE BDO OFFICE CONFIRMED THAT THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS SUBMITTED THEIR LETTER OF INTENT FOR IN TIME, UH, UH, PURSUANT TO PURSUE THOSE, UH, BROADBAND EQUITY AND ACCESS DEPLOYMENT PROGRAM FUNDS OR BEAD FUNDS, AS WELL AS THE APPLICATION FOR THE DIGITAL, THE STATE DIGITAL EQUITY PLANNING GRANT PROGRAM, OR DEEP NOW WANT TO REFERENCE A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE COMMUNICATION FROM, UH, THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, COMPTROLLER HAGAR SENT A LETTER, UH, TO THE TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION EXPRESSING HIS CONCERNS ABOUT THE NTIS NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE B PROGRAM, WHICH APPEARS TO INDICATES THAT NEED TO PRIORITIZE AND TO END FIBER CONNECTIVITY.

COMPTROLLER HAGAR'S MAIN CONCERN WITH THIS STIPULATION IS THAT MANY RURAL AREAS OF TEXAS AND MANY RURAL AREAS OF TEXAS FIBER TECHNOLOGY MAY NOT BE FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE FURTHER.

THE NTI HAS NEW RULES RUN COUNTER TO TEXAS, AND THE LEGISLATIVE INTENT OF BEING TECHNOLOGY NEUTRAL WITH RESPECT TO BROADBAND PROGRAMS. THE NTIA HAS SINCE MET WITH COMPTROLLER HAGAR AND ASSURED HIM IT WILL PROVIDE FURTHER GUIDANCE TO ENSURE ALL TEXANS ARE CONNECTED.

I WANT IT TO READ THAT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WITH ALL CONSIDERATIONS OF A STRATEGIC PLANNING, THIS DYNAMIC IN MIND, UH, AS WE HAD PRESENTED TO US EARLIER, UM, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS, UH, SUCH AS FIXED WIRELESS AND OTHERS THAT DON'T REQUIRE, UH, THAT THERE'D BE FIBER, UH, IN EVERY END OF EVERY COMMUNITY NECESSARILY.

AND, YOU KNOW, AT THE SAME TIME, WE STILL HAVE AN EFFORT TEND TO TAKE AS A COMMISSION AS A CITY WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE PERFECT GOLDILOCKS, IF YOU WILL, SOLUTION IS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A MIXTURE OF UNSERVED UNSERVED, EXCUSE ME, UNDERSERVED UNSERVED, AND SERVED, UH, PORTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY.

I THINK THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO GAIN INSIGHTS FROM OUR TARA LEADERSHIP, AS THEY HAVE OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH THE STATE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, UH, AND, UH, TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT THE GUIDANCE IS, UH, THAT NTIA HAS PROVIDED THE COMPTROLLER TO ASSURE THAT ALL TEXANS ARE CONNECTED, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO ALL AUSTIN AREA TEXANS AT THIS POINT, ALTHOUGH I'VE GOT, UH, IN MIND, BASICALLY A SIMILAR EFFORT WHEREIN WE ADDRESS COLLECTIVELY A STATIC DOCUMENT OF FACTS THAT WILL IMPACT OUR THINKING AND OUR STRATEGY FOR THIS RESOLUTION TO THEN INFORM A DRAFT, UH, FOR A RESOLUTION THAT WOULD BE THAT WE COULD CONSIDER TO SIGN IN SEPTEMBER.

SO THIS WOULD, AGAIN, ALLOW US TO USE THE MONTH OF AUGUST TO REFLECT ON THESE FACTS, FACTUAL STATEMENTS, AND GAIN MORE CLARITY FROM OUR TEAR LEADERSHIP ABOUT HOW THE STATE CONTROL THE PLANS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE OF THIS, THIS, THIS DYNAMIC, UH, AND HOW WE SHOULD, UH, AS A COMMUNITY ADDRESS THIS DYNAMIC, AND THEN THEREFORE PUT OUR BEST FOOT

[02:20:01]

FORWARD AND NOT NECESSARILY JUST, UH, FOLLOW BEHIND OTHER COMMUNITIES AND REALLY DO WHAT'S BEST FOR US HERE IN AUSTIN.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR FEEDBACK ON THIS NOW AT THIS TIME, BEFORE ANY ACTIONS PROPOSED? UH, I HAVE A QUESTION AND THAT WAS, UH, HAVE WE EVER CLARIFIED THE PRIORITIZATION OF RURAL OVER URBAN AREAS OR HAS THAT BEEN A CLARIFIED? UH, I'D LIKE TO GIVE JESSIE A CHANCE TO ANSWER THAT ONE.

I KNOW THAT, THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

FAVOR OF TAKING THAT APPROACH.

SO LOW COMMISSIONERS, THANKS FOR THE QUESTION COMMISSIONER UNITS.

UM, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THAT IS IN, UH, IN OPEN, UH, ITEM OF DISCUSSION.

SO I DON'T BELIEVE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S A FINAL DECISION.

UH, I KNOW THAT THE, UH, PLAN THAT WAS PASSED DOES PRIORITIZE UNSERVED AREAS OVER, UM, UH, UNDERSERVED AREAS.

UH, SO THAT I BELIEVE THAT THAT REMAINS IN THE PLAN.

UM, WHAT I WOULD, I GUESS, I DON'T KNOW YET IS THE EXTENT OF THAT PRIORITIZATION.

WELL, I CAN SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.

THANK YOU FOR THE ANSWER, JESSE.

UM, I WANT TO ADD TO THAT, UH, HAVING READ OVER THE, UH, THE PLAN SHARED BY THE BDO AND HOW THEY CHARACTERIZE THE CAPITAL REGION, UH, THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER OTHER REGIONS AND HOW THEY'RE, UH, CHARACTERIZED, THERE ARE CERTAINLY MORE RURAL AREAS THAT ARE CONSIDERED UNSERVED, THEN THERE ARE SUBURBAN OR URBAN AREAS.

I CAN, I CAN, I CAN SAY THAT WITH CERTAINTY.

UM, SO IT DOES THEN PRESENT A CHALLENGE, I THINK, OR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GET SOME CLARIFICATION ON HOW THAT'S GONNA IMPACT US AGAIN, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT THAT UNIQUE MIX.

AND THEN ALSO CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT WE'VE HAD THE CAPITOL AREA DESIGNATED AS OUR AREA, EVEN THOUGH, AS WE ALL KNOW, WE HAVE COMMUTERS AND WORKERS FROM THE CENTRAL AREA THAT, THAT COME IN AND OUT OF THE CAPITAL AREA.

SO THERE'S THAT DYNAMIC TOO, BUT THESE ARE THINGS THAT I THINK WE CAN HOPEFULLY GET CLARIFICATION FROM, UH, IF NOT DIRECT, UH, DIRECTLY, UH, ASK, UH, THE BDO OFFICE, I GUESS, COMMISSION , YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS DEBATE OVER UNDERSERVED AND UNSERVED, IT'S MAKING IT LOOK LIKE IT'S LIKE A ZERO SUM GAME, BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE TO BE BECAUSE IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE RURAL AREAS, THERE NEEDS MAYBE GREATER PERSON TO PERSON, FAMILY, TO FAMILY, HOUSE, TO HOUSE, BUT THEY'RE SO DISPERSED, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO WEST TEXAS WHERE THEY'RE THESE GIGANTIC FARMS, THEIR BANDWIDTH, THEY MAY, THEY MAY NEED MORE SERVICES NOW BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO LITTLE.

BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL BANDWIDTH OF SERVICE, IT'S UNLIKELY TO BE, YOU KNOW, EVEN, EVEN A DROP IN THE BUCKET COMPARED TO THE NEEDS OF A DENSE CITY, LIKE AUSTIN ARE USED TO OUR DOWNS.

SO I THINK WE CAN HAVE OUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO.

AND I THINK THE POWERS THAT BE AT THE STATE LEVEL NEED TO UNDERSTAND, WE NEED A FEW TECHNOLOGISTS AT THE STATE LEVEL TO BE TALKING TO US AND NOT THE PUBLICATION.

AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? OKAY.

WELL WITH THAT, THEN I WOULD PROPOSE, IN FACT, I WOULD MOVE, UH, THAT WE, UH, ADVANCED OF THE PLAN, UH, TO ANALYZE THESE FACTUAL STATEMENTS ON A STATIC DOCUMENT AND THEN CONTRIBUTE OUR FEEDBACK INDIVIDUALLY.

UH, SO WE CAN LET THAT, UH, BE AGGREGATED, UH, AND THEN FORM THE BASIS FOR OUR WORKING DRAFT, UH, BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF THESE RESOLUTIONS WE'LL WANT TO, AS WE BASICALLY FORM AN ARGUMENT AND COMPEL A CITY COUNCIL TO ACTION, WE WANT TO LEAD THEM WITH FACTS AND INSIGHTS BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW AND BASED ON THE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE DONE.

UH, SO WITH THAT, UM, I MOVE THAT, WE TAKE THAT APPROACH AND THAT WAS GOING TO SECOND AND I'LL LOOK FOR A SECOND, BUT SHE BEAT ME TO IT AND WE HAVE A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER GARZA.

SO WITH THAT, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND DO A VOTE ALL IN

[02:25:01]

UH, PLEASE SAY, AYE, AND SHOW YOUR HAND.

HI.

HI, IS THERE ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY.

IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE UNANIMOUS, UH, IN OUR APPROVAL OF THAT ACTION.

AND, UH, AND THAT'S WHAT THE VOTE OF SIX TO ZERO IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, SO WE CAN PROVE I MOVE FORWARD IN OUR AGENDA, UH,

[3c. Commission Discussion on an Intelligent Infrastructure Resolution (Discussion and Action)]

TO DID AN ITEM THREE C COMMISSION DISCUSSION ON INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE RESOLUTION.

UH, THIS IS AS WE HAVE DISCUSSED, UH, IN FAR MEETINGS PERTAINING TO AN EVALUATION OF THE PUBLIC INFORMATION NETWORK NODE THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER, UH, THAT WE'RE GOING TO DEVALIDATE, UH, COULD VERY WELL BE INDEED, UH, THE DAB, UH, OF THE DABS, A SOLUTION THAT IS PICTURED IN SOME OF THE SLIDE CONTENT THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED TO US EARLIER.

UH, THE, THE KEY THING THAT WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL IS ADDRESSING CONCERNS ABOUT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IN THE SPACE, UM, AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR US TO, TO SURFACE THAT UP FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, PARTICULARLY AROUND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN JOBS ACT AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN, UH, CONVEYED AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FIBER.

AND AT LEAST HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND TO BE BROUGHT INTO OUR COMMUNITIES AND TO UPLIFT ACCESSIBILITY, UH, THROUGHOUT OUR CITY.

WE HAVE BEEN IN DISCUSSION, UH, WITH, UH, THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, UH, AS WELL AS WITH THE INNOVATION OFFICE, UH, ABOUT THIS.

AND NOW, UH, AND OUR LAST MEETING THAT WE HOSTED, UH, JEFF , THE CHAIRMAN OF THE AUTONOMY INSTITUTE, UH, WHO, UH, IT WAS WORKING TO PROVIDE A LEADERSHIP ROLE, A COORDINATING LEADERSHIP ROLE WITH THE CITY AND WANTING OUR SUPPORT VIA RESOLUTION.

WE'RE STILL AT THE POINT NOW WHERE, UH, WE NEED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO MOVE FORWARD IN THAT PROCESS.

AND I THINK WE ALSO NEED TO HAVE BETTER CLARITY ABOUT THE ROLE THAT WE SEE EITHER BLENDED SOLUTIONS AND, OR, UH, FRANKLY, UH, OTHER DEPARTMENTS ANALYZING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ADVANCED SERVICES, UH, TO WEIGH IN, UH, AS, UH, I, I COMMITTED TO, I REACHED OUT TO OUR AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING BACK PERTAINING TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, OUR WORK PLAN, BUT THEN ALSO, UH, AND THAT AS IT RELATES TO OPEN DATA, AS IT RELATES TO SMART CITIES, AS IT RELATES TO, UH, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE OPERATION HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, BECAUSE THAT IS, HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE ADVANCED SERVICES GROUP, WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS, UH, WANTING TO AVOID SCENARIOS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST, UH, WHERE, UH, BY THE EXAMPLE OF MICRO MOBILITY, UH, WHERE THERE WAS A BOON AND TECHNOLOGIES AND, UH, AND, UH, MICRO MOBILITY PROVIDERS, UM, THAT DEFINITELY CREATED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, AND FRANKLY A NEED TO ADDRESS SAFETY CHALLENGES AND, AND ANOTHER, UH, THINGS THAT JUST SURFACE STUFF BECAUSE OF, OF THE WAY THINGS TOOK PLACE WE'VE BEEN CANDID ABOUT, UH, AND, UH, AND WANTING TO INVOLVE, UH, THE INNOVATION OFFICE AND THE, UH, THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, UH, IN THAT EFFORT.

AND, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY WE'RE AWAITING ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK AT THIS POINT.

NOW WE HAD GOTTEN TO THE POINT OF BASICALLY DECIDING THAT, UH, WE WANTED TO POTENTIALLY PROMOTE THE EVALUATION OF PINS OR PUBLIC INFORMATION NETWORK NODES, INDEPENDENT OF ANY ENTITY ORGANIZATION THAT WAS PLAYING A COORDINATING ROLE, OR AT LEAST AGNOSTIC TO THAT.

I FEEL AS THOUGH IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO INVOLVE CTM, UH, THE INNOVATION

[02:30:01]

OFFICE IN A GREAT UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT DABS ARE ABOUT WHAT OTHER TECHNOLOGIES ARE, UH, THAT ARE SIMILAR, UH, TO THE PEN, UH, BEFORE MOVING FORWARD WITH A RESOLUTION.

UH, BUT WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR FEEDBACK AND FOR DISCUSSION AMONGST THE GROUP.

AND IF THERE'S NO NEED FOR DISCUSSION OR FEEDBACK AT THIS TIME, I CAN APPRECIATE THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER YANKS.

DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING NOW? WELL, OKAY.

WE'VE STILL GOT THE QUESTION OF, WE WERE TRYING TO FORM THE BASIS FOR A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE BASIC IDEA OF, UM, OF THESE PINS AND POSSIBLY USING THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS, AS A TEST BED, UM, WITHOUT NAMING ANY SPECIFIC ENTITY.

UM, SO I THINK THAT WE'VE STILL GOT TO, UH, PURSUE THAT GOAL.

I AGREE.

UM, I AGREE.

AND IN FACT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD AGREE ON PLAIN LANGUAGE, UH, YOU KNOW, AROUND A RESOLUTION AND, AND BOAT ON THAT.

UH, THE THING THAT I FEEL AS THOUGH WE MIGHT NEED TO DO IS SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH, UH, BEHIND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES BEFORE WE NAME EVEN, UH, THE, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION NETWORK NODE NECESSARILY D IF THAT TRACKS, AND THAT FRANKLY IS PARTIALLY INFORMED BY, UM, THE CONVERSATION WE HAD TODAY AND AN APPRECIATION FOR A NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DEBTS, THE WAY THAT DADS WERE DESCRIBED EARLIER.

UM, I ENVISIONED AN OUT OF THE CITY TYPE OF SOLUTION, UH, THAT WAS OPERATING WITH SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE AMONGST PROVIDERS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME TYPE OF, UH, SOLUTION THAT WE'VE SEEN PRESENTED.

UH, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WITH, UH, WITH COLORADO IN MIND, OR WITH PHILADELPHIA IN MIND, WHERE THEY WERE LEVERAGING MORE, YOU KNOW, UH, STREETLIGHT STREET POLE SCENARIOS, WHERE YOU'RE CLEARLY DEALING WITH WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS AND WITHIN MORE DENSELY POPULATED AREAS.

SO I'M ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT DOING A RESOLUTION NOW IS, IS IF WE, UH, DON'T HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A GENERAL ENOUGH STATEMENT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY WE'RE LOOKING TO EVALUATE IF WE PIGEONHOLE OURSELVES, BUT, UH, I'M OPEN TO FEEDBACK ON THAT.

AND, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE THE CASE THAT MAYBE WE JUST NEED FOR WHATEVER, UH, PARTICULAR TYPE OF A SOLUTION, UH, AN INDIVIDUAL, UH, RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT WE EVALUATE THAT AND THAT WE, YOU KNOW, ARE, UH, WILLING TO JUST THE SOONER WE FIND OUT ABOUT A TECHNOLOGY THAT NEEDS EVALUATION, THE SOONER WE ADVANCED THE RESOLUTION FOR THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTS ANALYZE IT.

I DON'T KNOW ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, COMMISSIONER DUSKY.

DOES HE HAVE YOUR HAND RAISED? YOU'RE MUTE A COMMISSION NOW, DOES I AM FINALLY CONNECTED? CAN YOU SEE MY FACE? WE CAN'T.

WE CAN SEE YOU AND WE CAN HEAR YOU THEREFORE GET BACK UP.

SO CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.

CAN YOU HEAR US? YES, I CAN SEE YOU AND HEAR YOU.

SO, UM, HE, I THINK WE SHOULD, ANY PROPOSAL WE MAKE SHOULD BE GENERALIZED TO A COMPANY UP TO ENCOMPASS ALL THE RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES, BECAUSE I HEARD THIS DADS THINK THAT I'D NEVER HEARD OF BEFORE, AND I'M NOT SURE THAT THE GENTLEMEN WHO WAS FIGHT RELATING TO BINS.

SO RATHER THAN GETTING, UH, FOCUSED ON DABS AND BEANS AND ALL THE OTHER DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATIONS, I THINK WE SHOULD TALK PRINCIPLES HERE.

MEANING ULTIMATELY IT'S ABOUT WHAT THE END USER SEES AT HIS OR HER FINGERTIPS FINGERTIPS.

WHAT KIND OF VALUE ARE THEY SEEING? SO THEREFORE WE SHOULD MAKE A GENERAL STATEMENT SAYING WE SHOULD, THE CITY SHOULD EVALUATE ALL RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES THAT

[02:35:01]

WOULD BRING US THE BEST VALUE FOR THE BEST VALUE FOR MONEY.

AND IN, IN SPECIFIC TO THAT, UH, JAY, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMISSIONER GATES AND I HAVE, UH, LOOKED AT THIS PARTICULAR PRESENTATION WHERE THE EVALUATION THAT IS ON THE SHOULDERS OF JASON, JOHN MICHAEL FOCUSES ON EXPERIMENTS TO EVALUATE TECHNOLOGIES BASED ON TRANSPORTATION NEEDS.

I THINK WE NEED TO GENERALIZE THAT ALSO SAYING THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT WHAT DOES BROAD BRAND, UH, FACILITATE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF END USER REQUIREMENTS, TRANSPORTATION BEING ONE OF THEM, ULTIMATELY IT'S ABOUT CONNECTIVITY ACCESS TO THE TECHNOLOGIES.

SO I NEED YOU TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER FLOYD.

I'D LIKE TO FOLLOW THAT.

I THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD IDEA TO KEEP IT GENERAL AND THINK ABOUT THE END USER.

I GOT THE IDEA THAT THE DAD'S SYSTEM WAS NOT IN COMPETITION WITH THE PIN NECESSARILY, BUT IT WAS HORRIBLE WAY TO GET 5G SIGNALS, WHICH CAN BE VERY WEAK.

UM, THEY'RE RICH WITH DATA THAT THEY, THEY HAVE TROUBLE PENETRATING THICK WALLS SOMETIMES, AND THIS WAS A WAY TO GET THEM FROM INSIDE OF BUILDINGS TO OUTSIDE OF BUILDINGS, UM, TO THEN, UH, MEET UP WITH THE, GO TO THE CELL TOWER.

UH, BUT THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S COULD BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE MIX OF THE GETTING THE SERVICES TO CONNECTIVITY.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE END USERS TO, YEAH, I, I W I WOULD SAY I AGREE THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF FOCUS ON THE GENERALIZED, UM, APPROACH ALSO KEEPING IN MIND THAT AT LEAST WHAT WE'VE HEARD IN THE WORKING GROUP IS THAT, UH, THE COUNTY AND UT ARE ALSO WORKING ON THIS INSTEAD OF FIGURE OUT, I THINK WE SHOULD STAY IN COMMUNICATION WITH THEM AS WELL.

NO, THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSION FULL THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT.

UH, COMMISSIONER GATES.

I THINK YOU WERE ABOUT TO JUMP IN THERE TOO, BEFORE COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA STARTED.

NO, THE ONLY COMMENT I HAD WAS TO ADD TO WHAT MR. FLOYD SAID, MAYBE WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS TO GET, UH, THE, UH, THE COUNTY, UH, TO TALK TO THE, UH, UH, WORKING GROUP YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION.

WELL, WITH THAT THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN INTEREST OF OUR TIMETABLE HERE, UH, IF WE'RE ALL COMFORTABLE WITH IT, PERHAPS THAT COULD BE OUR NEXT ACTION, UH, THAT WE REACH OUT TO THE COUNTY TO HOST THEM AT A WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, AND THAT WE AGREE TO, UH, LEAD THAT DISCUSSION WITH SOME DRAFT LANGUAGE.

SO THAT WAY, BY THE TIME WE HAVE OUR NEXT MEETING, UH, WE CAN OFFICIALLY VOTE ON THAT.

DOES THAT SOUND AMENABLE TO EVERYONE? OKAY.

UH, JESSE, WOULD YOU MIND HELPING OUT WITH THAT? I'M NOT SURE IF, IF, UH, IF WE SHOULD BE REACHING OUT TO PAUL HOPPIN GARTER, OR IF WE SHOULD BE ENGAGING WITH, UH, IF RADAR WOULD BE THE RATE OF TAYLOR BOTH ON THIS ONE.

I CAN, UH, HELP FACILITATE THAT.

IT WOULD LIKELY BE CHLOE WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.

FOR COUNTY, FOR A CONTACT.

WE CAN ADVANCE IN OUR AGENDA HERE TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR COMMISSION UPDATES, UH, FOR A SPECIFICALLY THE DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOM POLICY WORKING GROUP, UH, AS CHAIR, THAT WORK GROUP, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE ON THAT UPDATE.

UH, WITH THAT, THEN I THINK WE'RE GOOD ON THIS AGENDA ITEM.

AND

[4a. Digital Inclusion, Civic Engagement, and Strategic Technology and Telecom Policy Working Group ]

UH, AS I MENTIONED, UH, A BIG FOCUS OF OUR MEETING, UH, WAS FACILITATING, HOSTING OUR CHIEF, OUR INTERIM CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER.

AND, UH, IT WAS A GREAT DISCUSSION, UM, FOLLOWING UP ON A ONE-ON-ONE THAT WE HAD, UH, UH, DANIEL COLADA CAME AND VISITED WITH US AND, AND SHARED A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS THAT I REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, AS, UH, POINTS OF EXCITEMENT FOR WAYS WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE INNOVATION OFFICE TO ADVANCE THE WORKING GROUP OBJECTIVES, UH, TWO OR THREE THINGS IN PARTICULAR, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROSPERITY INDEX THAT, UH, SOUNDED VERY INTERESTING, PARTICULARLY AS IT PRESENTED AN OPPORTUNITY TO SURFACE UP INSIGHTS FROM A ZIP CODE AND ACTUALLY CENSUS TRACK LEVEL.

AND IN LIGHT OF WHAT WE SAW IN EARLIER PRESENTATION ON, UH, PLANNING AND RACISM, I COULD SEE HOW THE CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX, UH, COULD PROVIDE SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE FOR, UH, INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS FOR US TO USE IN OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING.

UH, THERE WAS ALSO REFERENCE TO

[02:40:01]

THE COMMUNITY CIVIC RESEARCH AGENDA AND OUTREACH SPECIFICALLY, UH, FOR FOCUS AREAS THAT THEY COULD THEN PRIORITIZE.

AND THAT THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PROVIDE INPUT, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH OUTREACH FROM THE COMMUNITY AND, OR TO ENGAGE IN OUTREACH FROM THE COMMUNITY ON THAT EFFORT.

SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE CONVERSATIONS EVOLVING, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, UH, OUR PROGRAM MANAGER, JESSE RODRIGUEZ, AND HIS ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, ABOUT THE RESONANCE OF TECHNOLOGY STUDY, UH, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY BE LIMITED RIGHT NOW ARE RESTRICTED BECAUSE OF, UH, UH, OF HEAT AND OUR ABILITY TO ENGAGE DOOR TO DOOR.

UH, WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT PLANS.

I KNOW, UH, THAT WOULD MAKE FOR GREAT SYNERGY THERE AROUND FOCUS AREAS AND LIVED EXPERIENCE SHARING.

UH, BUT THAT WAS THE MAIN FOCUS OF OUR MEETING THAT AND CONFIRMING, UH, FROM, UH, DANIEL THAT, UH, THEY'RE A WILLING PARTNER, UH, IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF, UH, OF STRATEGIES AND PROTOTYPING.

AND, UH, AND, AND SO IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT TO HAVE THEIR DIRECT ENGAGEMENT IN OUR DIGITAL INCLUDE STRATEGIC PLAN, REFRESH AND ONGOING EFFORTS HERE AS A WORKING GROUP.

UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE EVERYONE ELSE A CHANCE, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER VICE CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER ISLAND, THE PARTICIPATED AND, UM, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, BEAVERS TO ADD YOUR INSIGHTS FROM THAT WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION.

YOU DID A GREAT JOB OF COVERING IT.

I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD.

WE ARE THE COMMISSIONER AMIGA, UM, KIDS IT'S EITHER.

OKAY, WELL, GRAB WAS TRYING TO BE EFFICIENT HERE.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT THEN WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD.

WELL, THERE'S IMPORTANT, UH, ADDITIONAL UPDATES, WHICH I'D LIKE TO GIVE ACTUALLY, UM, IMPORTANT ONES.

SO AS IT PERTAINS, CERTAINLY TO, UM, THIS WORKING GROUP, WE'RE DELIGHTED, UH, TO HAVE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF OUR NEW PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER.

UM, THEY WERE ON OUR CALL EARLIER, AND WE MIGHT'VE, UH, I CAN UNDERSTAND IT'S A TOUGH GAUNTLET FOR, FOR A FIRST MEETING TO STICK AROUND FOR THREE HOURS TO THEN JUST GET A CHANCE TO SAY HI, PERHAPS, BUT I WILL LOOK FORWARD, UH, AND THEIR NAME, UH, BRIANNA BRIANNA APOLOGIES, OR, UH, OUR NEW PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER IS BRIANNA GOING.

UH, SHE JUST JOINED US LAST WEEK.

UM, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO STACK HER PLATE OVER FULL WITH THINGS TO DO SO I THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND, AND I, I LOOK, I CAN'T, YOU KNOW, I DID HAVE A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH MANDELA AND LOOK AND WAS LOOKING TO A, UH, AN INTRODUCTION.

I KNOW WE'RE ALSO BUSY, SO I JUST I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE AS WE VISITED ABOUT AS A COMMISSION, UH, G TOPS, UH, DECA THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMITTEE OF AUSTIN, UM, SO MANY THINGS ARE DEPENDENT UPON HAVING A ACTIVE MARKETING PLAN AND SOMEONE AT THE HELM TO REALLY TAKE THAT ON.

AND SO, UH, I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THIS IS GOING TO MEAN FOR UPLIFTING ALL OF THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING, UH, WITH TARA AND AS A COMMISSION, UM, AND THE IMPACT OF THAT WORK.

UH, SO I THINK THAT ADEQUATELY CONCLUDES THE UPDATE FOR THIS WORKING GROUP.

AND WITH

[4b. Knowledge, Information, and Data Stewardship Working Group]

THAT, THEN WE MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR B THE KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION DID A STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP, AND I'LL PASS IT TO THE CHAIR OF THE WORKING GROUP, VICE CHAIR, STEPHEN UP AT DOC, THANKS TO OUR PETS.

UM, WE MET EARLIER THIS WEEK, UH, SEVERAL ACTION ITEMS THAT WE, AS A WORKING GROUP, WE SORT OF SPLIT UP, UM, I'LL TOUCH ON, ON THE BIGGER ONES.

UM, THE FIRST WAS, UH, OUR PLAN TO INVITE CHRIS STEWART IN TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.

UH, AS FOLKS MAY HAVE HAVE NOTICED OVER THE PAST YEAR, THERE'VE BEEN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE WEBSITE.

SO CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO DISCOUNT THE GUIDANCE.

UH, HOWEVER, THERE HAS BEEN SOME, SOME FEEDBACK FROM, FROM THE PUBLIC THAT THERE IS STILL A NUMBER OF OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY.

UM, SO THOSE ARE THINGS WE JUST WANT TO RAISE WITH, WITH CHRIS, AS WELL AS GIVE HIM AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, JUMP UPDATE US GENERALLY.

UM, NEXT ITEM WAS THE, UH, VOTING TABLATURE, UM, UH, PIECE THAT HAS BEEN IN OUR AGENDA ITEM FOR, FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

UM,

[02:45:02]

WE MADE A DECISION THAT, UH, EACH OF US, WE MADE A DECISION DURING THE PREVIOUS, UH, COMMISSION MEETING THAT EACH OF US WITH CITY COUNCIL WOULD REACH OUT TO OUR RESPECTIVE RESPECTIVE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

UM, SINCE I, SINCE COUNCILWOMAN HAS ACTUALLY SITS ON THAT, UH, COMMITTEE, UH, I'M GOING TO REACH OUT TO HER OFFICE AND SEE WHAT THE UPDATE IS ON, UH, GETTING THAT ON THE COMMITTEE'S AGENDA.

UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF OTHER ITEMS FOR FOLLOW UP.

UH, I KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S ONCE TO, ONCE TO TAKE THESE ITEMS AS WELL, BUT, UH, CONNECTING WITH, UH, ALIBABA, UH, DANIEL ALBA, SHE PROVIDED AN UPDATE, UM, ON, I BELIEVE IT WAS LICENSING SOFTWARE AND, UM, COMMISSIONER FLOYD HAD AN ACTION, UM, AN INVITATION AS WELL.

I'LL GO AHEAD AND FLIP IT OVER TO THE CHAIR KITS TO COVER ANYTHING.

I MEAN, IT SHOULD THANK YOU FOR THAT VICE CHAIR.

UH, YES, IT WAS, UH, DANIEL COLADA WHO, UM, WE AGREED THAT IT MADE SENSE TO ENGAGE PERTAINING TO, UH, THE FOLLOW-UP THERE AND IT ACTUALLY ALL THE SORENTO, UH, JUST TO CLARIFY THAT, I THINK IT WAS A WHO'S WHO, WHO'S OUR CHIEF STRATEGIC RESEARCH OFFICE INFORMATION OFFICER.

AND THEN, UH, THERE WAS A PIECE BY COMMISSIONER FLOYD PERTAINING TO, UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS 3D PRINTING.

YES, THAT'S A CONTACT I'M GOING TO FOLLOW UP WITH.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, SOLICITING A FUTURE PRESENTATION FROM OUR, UH, OFFICER, UH, WHO'S FOCUSED ON, ON HOMELESSNESS SOLUTIONS, UH, PERTAIN TO THAT.

AND SO, UH, THAT, THAT'S SOME THAT WILL HOPEFULLY BE PART OF OUR SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, UH, CONTENT TIMEFRAME.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR C AND WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF FEW MINUTES HERE LEFT TO STAY ON TARGET HERE.

WELL, GREAT.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UH, THAT CONCLUDES, UH, THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION, DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP UPDATE WITH THAT WE'LL PROCEED

[4c. Technology, Infrastructure, and Innovation Working Group ]

UH, BUT THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION WORKING GROUP, AND WITH THAT, I'LL PASS TO THE WORKING GROUP CHAIR, UH, COMMISSIONER FLOYD, WELL IN THE INTEREST OF TIME AND EXPEDIENCY, UH, WE PRETTY MUCH TALKED ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM OUR WORKING GROUP MEETING IN UNDER AGENDA ITEM THREE C WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE RESOLUTION.

UM, I DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH TO ADD ON TOP OF THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER GATES.

RIGHT.

I CONCUR, I THINK THAT, UH, THE RESOLUTION IS THE THING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE CONCENTRATING ON.

SO THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO ADD.

THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER.

LET'S GO TO, YEAH.

ALSO YOUR LAST MONDAY WAS JULY FOUR, SO WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A MUCH IMMEDIATELY, BUT, UH, WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT, THOSE RESOLUTIONS LINES OF JUST EXACTLY WHAT, YOU KNOW, OUR WORKING GROUP IS.

INTERESTING.

GREAT.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO FORTH THAT, UH, EMOTION AND CONCUR, UH, WHICH DOES MAKE FOR A QUICK UPDATE.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER FLOYD AND COMMISSIONER GATES AND COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA, UH, WITH THAT, THEN WE CAN PROCEED,

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]

UH, TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, AS WE HAVE BEEN IN DISCUSSION, UH, THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A CONFIRMATION FROM, UH, DANIEL COLADA THAT HE WILL PRESENT AT OUR AUGUST MEETING.

SO WE HAVE THAT SET FOR FUTURE, DID AN ITEM.

UM, WE ALREADY HAVE AN ACTION ITEM TAKEN ON BY VICE-CHAIR APODACA TO OUTREACH TO OUR CIO, CHRIS STEWART, PERTAINING TO THE WEBSITE AND OTHER GENERAL UPDATES.

I THINK, UH, THOSE TWO, UH, PROVIDE, UH, THOSE VERY IMPORTANT UPDATES AS FAR AS FEATURED IN THE ITEMS ARE CONCERNED.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.

LEVEL-SET ALSO WITH ANYTHING WE MIGHT HAVE THAT WAS ROLLING OVER, UH, UH, I, I'M NOT QUITE SURE ABOUT, UH, ITEMS THAT ARE ROLLING OVER.

I DO KNOW THAT THERE HAS BEEN A COMMUNITY, A REQUEST FROM A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, MOTION MEDIA ARTS CENTER TO PRESENT AS WELL.

AND IN THAT TIMEFRAME, UM, ANOTHER ITEM IN THAT TIMEFRAME, WE'LL LIKELY HAVE SOME UPDATES FOR G TUFTS CONNECT, UH, OUR, OUR GRANT OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE SOLICITING FOR RIGHT NOW.

UM, SO WE'LL LIKELY BE ABLE TO, UH, SHARE WITH THE COMMISSION, THE, UH, RESULTS OF THAT PROCESS AS WELL.

UM, I THINK THOSE ARE ALL OF THE THINGS ON MY RADAR.

[02:50:01]

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND THEN THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT, UH, UPDATE TO, UH, THIS IS THE NEW PROGRAM THAT IS FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON ENABLING A NONPROFIT ENTITY TO HELP PEOPLE SIGN UP FOR THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM IT'S DEDICATED FOR THAT.

SO I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT UPDATE AND, YOU KNOW, BASED UPON THAT AND, AND, AND, AND THE TIMING, UH, WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE THAT UPDATE.

UM, BUT I THINK WE'VE GOT PLENTY TO WORK WITHIN FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THERE.

DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY FEEDBACK THERE OR ANYTHING THAT'S PRESSING? THEY THINK THEY WANT TO HAVE ADDRESS IN A FUTURE MEETING BEFORE WE MOVE ON.

WELL WITH THAT, THEN, UH, WE COME TO OUR FINAL AGENDA.

I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT AND I'LL LOOK FOR A SECOND AND THEN WE CAN VOTE TO ADJOURN.

THAT HAS BEEN SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER.

ALL IN FAVOR OF ADJOURNMENT, PLEASE SAY, AYE, AND SHOW YOUR HAND.

AYE.

ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY.

WE ARE ADJOURN AND THIS TIME WITH THE OFFICIAL VOTE OF SEVEN.

OH.

AND NOW THAT WE SEE COMMISSIONER SCOOP A SMILEY FACE, I'M FINE.