* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] LET'S GO AHEAD AND CONVENE THIS SPECIAL CALLED UH, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEETING. UH, TODAY IS, UH, THURSDAY, JULY 21ST, 2022, OR IN CITY COUNCIL, UH, UH, CHAMBERS. UM, WE HAVE A QUORUM THAT ARE PRESENT. UM, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD. WE HAVE, UH, FIVE ITEMS TODAY ON OUR AGENDA. FOUR OF THEM, UH, DEAL WITH, UM, UH, REPRODUCTIVE, UH, UH, RIGHTS AND, UH, UH, ACCESS. ONE OF THEM IS A BRIEFING DEALING WITH, UM, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONSES TO EXTREME, EXTREME HEAT AND COLD, UH, AS WAS POSTED ON THE MESSAGE BOARD YESTERDAY. IT'S MY INTENT TO, UH, UH, HAVE US INTRODUCE THE FOUR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND ACCESS ISSUES, ALL OF THEM, UH, TOGETHER. UH, I'M GONNA TO GIVE ANYBODY WHO WANTS IT, THE OPPORTUNITY REALLY QUICKLY JUST TO, TO LAY OUT THOSE FOUR, UH, ITEMS. UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO SPEAKERS AS REQUESTED BY THE CLERK BEFORE WE TOOK THE BREAK. WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH REMOTE SPEAKERS FIRST, UH, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE EASIER THING TO DO, AND WE'LL DO THAT, UH, UP UNTIL, UH, AND THEN LAST WE GET TO A HIGH LEVEL, UH, WITH RESPECT TO COVID AT OUR HEALTH AUTHORITY, ASKS US TO, UH, GO BACK TO DEALING WITH, UH, IN-PERSON SPEAKERS FIRST. UM, AND THEN, UH, SO REAL QUICK BRIEF LAYOUT OF, UH, ITEMS. UM, THEN WE'LL GET TO THE SPEAKERS. SPEAKERS ARE GOING TO SPEAK FOR TWO MINUTES EACH, UH, THAT WILL HAVE US PROBABLY ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF. UH, AND THEN, UH, WE'LL COME BACK UP TO THE DAY S ALL FOUR ITEMS WILL BE ON THE FLOOR TOGETHER. YOU CAN SPEAK TO ANY, OR ALL OF THE FLOOR. THE HOPE IS, IS THAT WE HAVE A CHANCE MAYBE TO ACTUALLY TAKE THE VOTE ON ALL FOUR ITEMS BEFORE NOON. LET'S SEE IF WE COULD GET THAT DONE. UH, WE'LL THEN TAKE A RECESS. UH, AS A COUNCIL MEMBER OF ELLA POINTED OUT, THERE'S A PRESS CONFERENCE AT NOON. IT'S ALSO BEEN NOTICED AS A CONTINUATION OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS, SO EVERYONE CAN ATTEND THAT IF THEY WANT TO, UH, WE'LL HAVE LUNCH, UH, THE CONCLUSION OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE, WE WILL RECONVENE THE MEETING, HOPEFULLY JUST FOR THE, UH, BRIEFING, UH, AND AT THE END OF THE BRIEFING, THAT WILL BE OUR, OUR, OUR DAY. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO PROCEED THAT'S MEMBER KITCHEN, UM, AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO BE LISTED AS A CO-SPONSOR ON, UH, ITEMS THREE AND FOUR. I'M ALREADY A CO-SPONSOR ON ITEM TWO. OKAY. WHERE THE RECORD CLERK, PLEASE REFLECT THAT. YES, ALICE, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR ON ITEM THREE. I AM ALREADY CO-SPONSORING THE OTHER ITEMS AND APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT FORWARD. OKAY. THE RECORD WILL REFLECT THAT AS WELL. AND AT ANY POINT IN THE DAY, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND, AND ANYBODY CAN DO THAT COUNCIL MEMBER COBO, AND DO IT NOW TO JUST, UM, THE CLERKS SAKE. UM, IF I COULD ALSO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR ON THREE AND FOUR. OKAY. SO NOTED. UH, ALL RIGHT. UH, YES, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM. THANK YOU. I'D LIKE TO BE OUT IT. I THINK I'M NOT ON ITEM THREE, BUT I'M ON TWO AND FOUR ALREADY. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. CLERK, PLEASE NOTE THAT AS WELL. UH I'D ALSO LIKE TO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR ON ITEM THREE. OKAY. SO NOTED AS WELL. ALL RIGHT. BEFORE [Consent Agenda] WE GET TO THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS, DOES ANYBODY WANT TO SPEAK TO, UM, UH, ANY OF THE FOUR, UH, UH, ITEMS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VALLA, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THIS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR. UM, I'M I NEVER THOUGHT THAT WHEN I WAS RUNNING SIX MONTHS AGO FOR A CITY COUNCIL, THAT, UH, I WOULD BE HERE OFFERING A RESOLUTION TO TRY AND DECRIMINALIZE ABORTION IN AUSTIN. UH, IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE SERIES OF EVENTS THAT HAS BROUGHT US HERE, BUT WE KNOW WHAT THE CRIMINALIZATION OF ABORTION WILL DO. UH, IT WILL DRIVE IT UNDERGROUND. IT WILL NOT REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS. IT WILL JUST ENDANGER, UH, WOMEN, THEIR HEALTH. AND I DO NOT WANT SOMEONE WHO TRIES TO PERFORM THEIR OWN ABORTION OR, OR GOES TO AN AND, AND [00:05:01] AMATEUR PROVIDER FOR AN ABORTION TO FEAR SEEKING HEALTH TREATMENT AFTER SOMETHING GOES WRONG. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT MORE, UH, PEOPLE DON'T GET HURT, DON'T GET INJURED AND THAT THEY DO NOT DELAY FINDING HEALTHCARE AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF THEM CO-SPONSORS AND TO THE DIOCESE. UH, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, TO A DEBATING IN THE REVOLUTION AND, AND LISTENING TO ALL THE, UH, THE TESTIMONY BECAUSE BEFORE THIS, YES. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU COLLEAGUES FOR, UH, FOR THIS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, AS YOU'LL KNOW, I JOINED COUNCIL MARBELLA AND ASKING FOR THIS MEETING SO THAT WE CAN DISCUSS ABORTION ACCESS IN RESPONSE TO THE RECENT SCOTUS RULING, UM, LIKE MANY INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT OUR STATE, OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE HEARTBROKEN, WE ARE ANGRY, FRUSTRATED, AND ALSO CONFUSED. AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL STEP UP AND TAKE ACTION TO PROVIDE PROTECTIONS. WE KNOW THAT CRIMINALIZING ABORTION DOES NOT MEAN THAT ABORTION WILL NOT HAPPEN, THAT'LL GO AWAY. UH, SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE OFFER THESE ORDINANCE, THESE ORDINANCE CHANGES AND POLICIES, SO THAT WE DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO FIGHT BACK FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOMS AND FOR ABORTION ACCESS HERE IN AUSTIN. ITEM, NUMBER ONE IS AN ORDINANCE CHANGE TO OUR NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY. THIS IS BASED ON A PREVIOUS RESOLUTION THAT COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY OR THE COUNCIL ADOPTED BACK IN MAY. UH, SO THIS INITIATES AN ORDINANCE CHANGE THAT IS SPECIFIC TO NON-DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT, AND IT INCLUDES THE TERM REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACTION, UH, WHICH I WANT TO POINT OUT INCLUDES FAMILY PLANNING, SERVICES, ABORTION, BIRTH CONTROL, EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION, STERILIZATION. WE KNOW MANY PEOPLE ARE RIGHT NOW CHOOSING STERILIZATION, GIVEN THE DARK TIMES THAT WE'RE IN PREGNANCY TESTING, FERTILITY RELATED MEDICAL PROCEDURES, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE PREVENTION, TESTING, OR TREATMENT. SO THIS IS AN ORDINANCE CHANGE THAT WILL UPDATE OUR NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY TO INCLUDE AN EXPLICIT PROTECTION AGAINST EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH DECISIONS. UH, I APPRECIATE, UM, UH, AS I'M SURE THE DAS DOES, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, UH, VELA AND FOR ANTHIS, UH, INITIATING THIS MEETING, BRINGING THE, UH, GRACE ACT, OBVIOUSLY TIMING. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, UH, BE OF RECORD, UH, IN SUPPORT OF, UH, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND ACCESS, UM, UH, IN, UH, DISCUSSION WITH, UM, UH, COLLEAGUES WE'VE ADDED ITEMS THREE AND FOUR TO THE, UH, UH, AGENDA, UH, ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, SPEAKS TO, UM, UH, GENDER EQUITY, UH, IN THIS ISSUE, UH, REPRODUCTIVE RESPONSIBILITY, UH, ALL TOO OFTEN, UNFORTUNATELY FALLS TO, UM, UH, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF WOMEN, UH, WHICH MEANS NOT ONLY THE, THE, THE PHYSICAL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT, UH, THE, THE MENTAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL, UH, BURDENS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS NOT JUST, UH, OR, OR FAIR. UH, SO, UH, THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT SPEAKS TO MAKING SURE THAT THE WIDE RANGE OF, UH, REPRODUCTIVE, UH, RESPONSIBILITY AND OPTIONS, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT IS DISCUSSED AND MADE AVAILABLE. THE STUDIES INDICATE THAT WHEN THE RIGHT WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES AVAILABLE, A MORE EQUITABLE AND JUST, UH, UM, UH, AWARENESS, UH, AND, UH, ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REAL SPECIFICALLY IS GREATER KNOWLEDGE OF A SECTOR. EMMY'S, UH, IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS 95% REVERSIBLE BY THE WAY. UH, BUT, UM, UH, UH, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHERE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT, THAT WORKS, UH, IT, UH, CREATES A GREATER, UH, UH, AND, AND FAIRER SHARING OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY. UM, AND, UM, UH, SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE HAVE, UH, UH, ADDED IN ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, UH, ALL FOUR OF THE, UH, UM, MEN ON THE, UH, UH, DAYA STEP FORWARD TO SPONSOR, WHOOPS, THERE AREN'T FORMAT ON THE DAYAS. SO WE APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, UH, BEING ONE OF THE, UH, INITIAL SPONSORS, UH, OF THIS AND APPRECIATE, UH, OTHER COLLEAGUES, UH, ALSO, UH, UH, JOINING, JOINING IN, AND THEN ITEM NUMBER A FOUR, UM, UH, THIS DEALS WITH, UH, THE LOGISTICAL SUPPORT, UH, FOR, [00:10:01] UH, WOMEN, UH, THAT ARE SEEKING, UH, ABORTIONS. AS WE KNOW, THIS IS A CITY COUNCIL, UH, HAS, UM, UH, TAKEN ACTION TO TRY TO ENSURE THAT OUR RESIDENTS, UH, HAVE, UH, EQUAL ACCESS TO THAT, UH, UM, UH, UH, HEALTH CARE, UH, IN, IN, IN EQUAL MEASURE, UH, REGARDLESS OF, UH, FINANCIAL POSITION, UH, WHEN OUR STATE PASSED A LAW THAT PROHIBITED CITIES FROM PROVIDING DIRECT SUPPORT FOR, UH, ABORTION, WE THEN MOVED TO A PLACE WHERE WE OFFERED LOGISTICAL SUPPORT, UH, FOR, UH, WOMEN IN OUR COMMUNITY. UH, THE STATE THEN PASSED A LAW THAT, UH, UH, AT LEAST PUT INTO QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT CITIES COULD PROVIDE LOGISTICAL SUPPORT FOR WOMEN THAT WERE SEEKING, UH, THAT A MEASURE OF CARE IN CITIES WHERE THAT CARE WAS IN FACT, A LEGAL, UM, UM, UM, MS. MORGAN, THERE WAS A LEGAL QUESTION SUBMITTED TO THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT ASKING IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS LEGAL FOR US TO DO. UH, THE RESPONSE CAME BACK FROM LEGAL DEPARTMENTS SAYING THAT NONE OF THE SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT WE WERE, UH, OFFERING THAT SERVICE THROUGH, WE'RE CONTINUING TO OFFER THAT SUPPORT. DIDN'T QUITE ADDRESS THE LEGAL QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT IF THERE WAS ONE, WHETHER WE COULD IN FACT CONTINUE TO, TO, TO FUND THAT. UM, UH, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, UH, UH, OFFERING SUPPORT FOR OUR RESIDENTS TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE, UH, HEALTHCARE TREATMENT IN STATES WHERE THAT HEALTHCARE TREATMENT IS IN FACT LEGAL, UH, AND IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR AS PART OF OUR HEALTH PLAN, UM, WHERE THAT TREATMENT IS LEGAL IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, CONSTITUTIONALLY IS, SHOULD BE PROTECTED UNDER THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE CLAUSE AMONG OTHER AREAS. UH, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT'S GOING TO BE A DEBATED, UH, ISSUE. AND THIS LAST ITEM ASKS YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND COME BACK TO US DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS, AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE INSURANCE, UM, UH, COVERAGE, UH, THAT WE HAVE AS EMPLOYEES. SO I THINK THAT THOSE ARE THE, UH, ITEMS THAT ARE IN FRONT OF US. ANYBODY ELSE WANTED TO SAY ANYTHING BEFORE WE GET TO, UH, UM, THE PUBLIC DISCUSSION COUNCIL MEMBER IN 30 YEARS? UH, YES, MAYOR AND, UH, PERTAINING TO ITEM THREE. I JUST WANTED TO LET MY MALE COLLEAGUES AND MY MALE FRIENDS, I WANT TO LET THEM KNOW THAT 49 YEARS AGO, I GOT A BIG SEC BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT MY WIFE TO BE ON BIRTH CONTROL PILLS. AND I, BACK THEN, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SIDE EFFECTS THOSE PILLS WOULD HAVE ON A, ON A FEMALE. AND THERE WAS A LOT OF REPORT ABOUT CANCER AND, UH, WITH BIRTH CONTROL AT THAT TIME. SO I DIDN'T HESITATE A MINUTE. I WENT AHEAD AND GOT MY BACK'S HAS TO BE, I RECOMMEND EVERYBODY TO THAT, UH, THAT DON'T WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN MALE, THAT DON'T WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN TO GO AHEAD AND TAKE ONE, CAUSE YOU COULD REVERSE IT. OKAY. COUNSELOR POOL MAYOR. I HAD TO STEP OFF THE DICE BRIEFLY. AND SO YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY ADDRESSED THIS, BUT IF NOT, COULD YOU LET EVERYBODY KNOW ABOUT THE PRESS CONFERENCE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ON THESE PARTICULAR RESOLUTIONS LATER ON THIS MORNING? AND, AND, AND WE DID ADDRESS THAT, UH, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO, TO, TO GET, SEE IF WE CAN GET THE VOTE ON ALL FOUR ITEMS. WE'RE GONNA CALL THEM UP TO THE FLOOR ALL AT THE SAME TIME. SEE IF WE CAN TAKE THAT BREAK AT NOON FOR THE PRESS CONFERENCE. UH, IT'S NOTICED AS A COUNCIL MEETING. SO ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WISH TO, UH, CAN, CAN ATTEND, UH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE LUNCH AND THEN COME BACK. AND AFTER THAT FOR THE BRIEFING, UH, SHOULD BE NOTED THAT COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UH, IS NOT WITH US TODAY. UH, SHE'S HAVING, UM, UH, SOME PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED SURGERY, UH, AT THE TIME OF THIS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING. UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS SCHEDULED, UH, MONTHS AGO. AND WE'RE CERTAINLY ALL WISHING HER THE BEST, UH, TODAY AS SHE, UH, GOES THROUGH THAT CLERK. IF YOU GO AHEAD AND CALL THE SPEAKERS, UH, BEGINNING WITH, UH, THE REMOTE SPEAKERS, EVERYONE HAS TWO MINUTES. MY HAND IS RAISED ACTUALLY, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON. OH, SORRY. COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, PLEASE GO AHEAD. NO WORRIES. UM, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY. I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BRIEFING ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER LATER ON TODAY, BUT FOR FOLKS WHO DON'T GET [00:15:01] THE OPPORTUNITY TO STICK AROUND THE, ALL THAT TIME, UM, I THINK IT MIGHT BE PRUDENT FOR US TO START MEETINGS LIKE THIS ON DAYS LIKE THIS. UM, WE'RE TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND PEOPLE ABOUT HEAT ADVISORY WARNINGS SCHEDULED UNTIL 7:00 PM. UM, AND JUST SOME GENERAL BEST PRACTICES. TOP THREE, STAY HYDRATED, UM, STAY INSIDE WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO AND FIND SHELTER. SHOULD YOU START TO FEEL SICK? I HEARD AN EMS PROFESSIONAL SAY SOMETHING EARLIER. IT WAS AN EASY, QUICK, EASY, UM, UH, SEE SOMETHING CALL SOMEBODY COOL OFF SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO I'LL, I'LL, I'LL FIND OUT EXACTLY HOW THEY SAID THAT, BUT I JUST WANT TO REMIND FOLKS TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES TODAY THAT THE HEAT IS REALLY, REALLY NO JOKE. GREAT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE REMOTE SPEAKERS. THE FIRST SPEAKERS SPEAKING ON ITEMS, 1, 2, 3, AND FOUR IS JORDAN MIDDLEBROOKS. I COUNSEL? UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE TO SPEAK WITH YOU ALL VIRTUALLY, UM, AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO HAVE THIS SPECIAL SESSION. UM, I VERY STRONGLY SUPPORT THE GRACE ACT AND ALSO THE ACCESSIBILITY OF CONTRACEPTION FOR BOTH, UM, WOMEN IDENTIFYING FAULTS AND THEN IDENTIFYING ONE OTHER CISGENDER GENDER TRANS, UM, OR HOWEVER THEY IDENTIFY. UM, AND SO I'M VERY GLAD TO SEE THAT OUR CITY IS TAKING ACTION ON THAT. AND I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN INCREASE THE LEVEL OF ACCESSIBILITY OF CONTRACEPTION SO THAT ABORTION DOESN'T HAVE TO BECOME AN OPTION. AND ALSO THAT WE CAN DECRIMINALIZE ABORTION AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. UM, I THINK THE GRACE ACT AS THE FIRST IS A GREAT FIRST STEP, AND I'M ALSO CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT ELSE MIGHT BE IN THE CITY'S CONTROL OR IN OUR CONTROL OF THE MUNICIPALITY. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING THE TIME. UM, AND I WILL GO AHEAD AND WASTE MY TIME FOR ITEM NUMBER TWO, SARAH BARBER I CANCELED, THANK YOU FOR HAVING THIS SPECIAL SESSION. I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FOUR AND I SUPPORT THE GRAY FAIR. I COULD GO OVER MANY TOPICS ABOUT HOW THIS RECENT TRANSFORMATION OF LAWS, UH, CHANGE OF EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE KNOWN SUCH AS HOW THE, THE HUMANIZES PEOPLE'S BODIES TO THEIR FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS ONLY I WOULD HAVE THIS RATES, THE IDEA OF BODILY AUTONOMY AND FAMILY PLANNING VIOLATION OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S PRIVACY, HOW THIS IMMEDIATELY DEMOS PEOPLE WITH A UTERUS TO AN INFERIOR GROUP OF THIS INFRINGES ON OTHER MEDICAL ISSUES, LIKE THE ABILITY TO TAKE PRESCRIBED MEDICATIONS FOR UNRELATED ILLNESSES, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE PERSON HAS A UTERUS, HOW THIS DECISION IS NOT BASED ON SCIENTIFIC OR MEDICAL STANDARDS, HOW THIS INFRINGES UPON OTHER PEOPLE'S RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, BUT INSTEAD OF FOCUS ON THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS AND REPERCUSSIONS PER CITY AND STATE, WHAT KIND OF A FINANCIAL STRAIN IS THE CITY AND STATE WILLING TO EXPERIENCE? WHAT KIND OF FINANCIAL STRAIN IS THE STATE LAW GOING TO PUT ON AN ALREADY EXASPERATED MEDICAL CARE SYSTEM AND ON THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM, WHAT DOCTOR IS GOING TO PRACTICE IN THE STATE OR CITY WHEN THEY MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN PATIENTS' HEALTH AND GOING TO PRISON? I WORK AT UT HOW MANY STUDENTS WILL UT AND OTHER HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE STATE AND CITY LOSE BECAUSE THEY FEAR ABOUT THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT MEDICAL CARE OR CRIMINAL REPERCUSSIONS, ANTI-CHOICE LEGISLATORS ARE ALREADY PUTTING FORTH A SLATE OF PROPOSALS FOR NEXT SESSION, INCLUDING ALLOWING DAS FROM ANYWHERE IN THE STATE TO PROSECUTE VIOLATIONS OF THE LOCAL DA REFUSES TO ENFORCE ABORTION LAWS. WHERE DOES THE CITY COUNCIL STAND ON THIS MATTER AND HOW WILL THESE RADICAL PROPOSALS CHANGE THE NATURE THAT GRACE WILL OPERATE IN THE CITY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THE GRACE APP ITEM TO CONNOR BROPHY. HELLO, THANK YOU, COUNSEL. UM, I APPRECIATE THE TIME, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A QUICK COMMENT. UM, I AM STRONGLY FOR PRISON ACCIDENT AS WELL AS THE OTHER ITEMS SUPPORTING THE LOGISTICS. UM, ONE OF MY OUTSIDES CONCERNS THAT, UM, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'LL BE RAISED TODAY THAT, UH, WITH AUSTIN ISD, UH, LOOKING TO VOTE ON AN UPDATED SEXUAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM, I'M HOPING IN THE RELATIVELY NEAR FUTURE. UM, I'M WORRIED NOT ONLY ABOUT AUSTIN, BUT AREAS OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, NOT HAVING PROPER SEXUAL EDUCATION FOR KIDS THROUGH TO K THROUGH 12, WHICH MAY IN FACT INCREASE THE RIBS FOR UNWANTED PREGNANCIES. SO I'M HOPING THAT THIS WOULD KIND OF AFFORD [00:20:01] REDUNDANT PROTECTION, UH, BARRING ANY INSUFFICIENT SEXUAL EDUCATION DECISIONS MADE FOR THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS. SO, UH, JUST NOTED THAT. THANK YOU ITEM TO ELENA SELDON GLADDEN SPOUSE. THANK YOU. I SIGNED GRANT. I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS. UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THIS ISSUE. I'M SIMILARLY VERY MUCH IN SUPPORT OF THE GRAY SOCKS. UM, I WAS, I GREW UP IN PLANNED PARENTHOOD BASICALLY BECAUSE MY MOM WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED AND I HAD BEEN VOLUNTEERING FOR A LONG TIME. UM, AND IT'S BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE AS WELL AS THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSE TO ME, WHO WITHOUT THE ACCESS TO FAIR AND AFFORDABLE, UM, REPRODUCTIVE CARE, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT TO THE POINT THAT THEY ARE TODAY. UH, INCLUDING FRIENDS WHO, YOU KNOW, ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN LEAVING, BUT IN FACT, HAVE ISSUES THAT PREVENT THEM FROM BEING ABLE TO CARRY TO TERM WHO DISCOVERED THAT DURING THE EXPERIENCE OF GOING THROUGH PREGNANCY, UM, WITHOUT THE OPPORTUNITY OF BEING ABLE TO ACCEPT THESE FORMS OF HEALTHCARE, WOULDN'T BE HERE TODAY WITH ME. UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT WE ARE TAKING THIS FIRST STEP FORWARD AWAY FROM THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OUR, UH, SUPREME COURT. AND I HOPE THAT CAN KEEP MOVING FORWARD. THANK YOU. UH, I WAIVED THE REST OF MY TIME ITEM TO SAMANTHA DOUGLAS. UM, HI, MY NAME IS SAMANTHA DEBRA. THANK YOU FOR HAVING THIS MEETING. I DO SUPPORT THE GRAY BACKS AS WELL. I JUST HAVE THREE QUICK POINTS AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER AND ONE PROFESSIONALLY, UM, AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY, UH, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHAT'S BEST FOR THEIR HEALTH ALONG WITH THEIR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER, WHICH INCLUDES MEDICALLY SAFE ABORTION. SECOND, AND ME AND MY HUSBAND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ONE MORE CHILD THERE, TO BE HONEST, WE'RE SCARED KNOWING HOW COMMON MISCARRIAGES ARE, AND THEY DON'T ALWAYS COME TO COMPLETION. NATURALLY. I CERTAINLY DO NOT WANT TO DIE IN ORDER TO HAVE A THIRD CHILD. AND I KNOW THAT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ARE SCARED TO OFFER, UM, MEDICAL, MEDICAL CARE OR FEAR OF BEING PROSECUTED. MY OB GYN PROVIDER PRACTICES IN TRAVIS COUNTY. SO THIS AFFECTS MY CARE, EVEN THOUGH I LIVE IN ROUND ROCK AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY. THIRD, I THINK THAT IF AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL APPROVES THE GRAVE SITE, THAT WILL SET A REALLY IMPORTANT EXAMPLE FOR ROUND ROCK AND OTHER LOCAL CITY COUNCILS THAT WE CAN CONTACT, UM, TO ASK THEM TO FOLLOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS. AND THEN PROFESSIONALLY, I AM A CERTIFIED GENETIC COUNSELOR. I PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL HEALTH CARE TO PATIENTS THAT WANT TO KNOW THE RISK OF INHERITED TO BE. I SPEAK TO PATIENTS WHO LIVE IN AUSTIN. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY VAUNTED PREGNANCIES, BUT ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE LIFE OF THE BABY ONCE IT'S BORN. AND AS I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW, PREGNANCY IS NOT A HEALTH NEUTRAL EVENT. IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS FOR THE MOTHER. AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT MY PATIENT'S ABILITY TO ACCESS MEDICALLY SAFE ABORTIONS THAT ARE IN LINE WITH THEIR FAMILY PLANNING. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING AND AGAIN, THANKS FOR CALLING THE SPECIAL SESSION MAYOR THAT ACTUALLY CONCLUDES THE REMOTE SPEAKERS. SO I'LL MOVE OVER TO IN-PERSON. THE FIRST SPEAKER IN PERSON IS ITEM ONE, CECILIA WOOD. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS CELIA WOOD. I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FIVE, AND I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN NONSTOP SINCE 92 AND A GREAT DEAL OF THE TIME BETWEEN 1976 AND 1992. UM, I'M OPPOSED TO ALL OF THIS, THESE ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS, BUT I WANTED TO RAISE AN ISSUE THAT I THINK MAY HAVE A CONSEQUENCES THAT MAYBE HAVEN'T BEEN CONSIDERED AND THAT'S ON THE EMPLOYMENT. AND MOSTLY ON THE EMPLOYMENT. IF A PERSON IS FACED OR PRACTICE OR A HOSPITAL THAT'S GIVING, [00:25:01] UH, RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES TO DIFFERENT PROVIDERS, IF THEY ARE FORCED BY THIS COUNCIL TO EMPLOY SOMEONE WHO THEN WHO IS GOING TO PERFORM ABORTIONS, OR THEY DISCOVER AND CANNOT HIRE OR FIRE THAT PERSON, THEN THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN CONFLICT BETWEEN THIS PIECE OF LEGISLATION. THIS ORDINANCE AND SENATE BILL EIGHT, BECAUSE DOBBS DID NOT AFFECT SENATE BILL EIGHT. AND IN FACT, THE, THE, UH, NEW HOUSE BILL 2080, UM, ACTUALLY RAISES THE LIABILITY FOR SOMEONE WHO AIDS IN THE BETS. SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE, I THINK IS NOT JUST ABORTION PROVIDERS LEAVING THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT ALSO ALL WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE. UM, OBSTETRICIANS, GYNECOLOGISTS, ALL OF THEM LEAVING THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME, WHO HAS A CAR WHO CAN STILL GET AROUND, THAT'S NOT A BIG PROBLEM. I CAN DRIVE TO HAYES COUNTY. I CAN DRIVE, UM, INTO, YOU KNOW, PARTS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY THAT AREN'T IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT FOR MANY, MANY PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE THAT YOU OFTEN OR MOST OF THE TIME ARE WORKING TO MAKE SURE GET INCLUDED THAT THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO TAKE A BUS TO THEIR DOCTOR IF THERE'S NO ONE TO TREAT THEM IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. SO I WOULD ASK THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER THAT YOU ARE PUTTING PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT EVEN BE INVOLVED DIRECTLY IN THE POLITICS OF THIS INTO A VERY PRECARIOUS POSITION. THANK YOU. SPEAKING ON ITEMS ONE THROUGH FOUR, MARY CASTILE, AND THEN UP NEXT IS JERRY SHARP. GOOD MORNING MEMBERS. MY NAME IS MARY ELIZABETH CASTLE. I LIVE IN DISTRICT ONE, BUT I'M ALSO THE SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR FOR TEXAS VALUES. I'M TESTIFYING AGAINST ALL FOUR AGENDA ITEMS THAT ARE BEING USED AS POLITICAL POSTURING TO SUPPORT ABORTION AFTER THE OVERTURN ROE VS. WADE, WHICH MAKES CLEAR THAT THERE'S NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO ABORTION, WHICH ALSO MAKES CLEAR THAT THE STATE LAWS, UH, OUTLAWING ABORTION, UH, ARE IN PLACE ASK YOU TO VOTE NO, ON THE ORDINANCE. UH, YOU KNOW, THIS CITY COUNCIL HAS A BOLD HISTORY OF PUSHING PRO ABORTION ACTIVISM. EVERY TIME. THERE'S A LEGAL QUESTION ON THAT, RIGHT, HAS BEEN COMMONPLACE, YOU KNOW, SINCE THE PASSAGE OF SB 22, UM, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WILL MAKE CERTAIN MEASURES THAT AREN'T IN COMPLIANCE WITH CURRENT LAW OR CURRENT OPINION OF CITY RESIDENTS. UM, NOW THAT CITY COUNCIL WANTS TO IGNORE THE ROPE OVERTURNING ROE VERSUS WADE AND ADVANCE ABORTION IN OUR CITY. UM, IN PARTICULAR, THIS ORDINANCE WOULD BASICALLY MAKE WOMEN WHO SEEK AN ABORTION, A PROTECTED CLASS, AND THAT COULD DEFINITELY CREATE PROBLEMS. AND I KNOW THAT THE END GOAL IS TO PROTECT THEM FROM CRIMINALIZATION UNDER ANY TYPE OF LAWS WILL TO PROTECT DOCTORS FROM CRIMINALIZATION, UH, FOR PERFORMING AN ABORTION NEXT ON AGENDA, ITEM TWO, THIS AGENDA ITEM HAS SEVERAL FLAWS. UH, IT FALSELY STATES THAT MISCARRIAGE IS CRIMINALIZED, WHICH IT IS NOT. UM, OUR CURRENT STATE LAWS ONLY CRIMINALIZES DOCTORS FOR PERFORMING AN ABORTION AND MISCARRIAGE IS NOT AN ABORTION. UM, ALSO THERE ARE NO STATISTICS PROVIDED IN THIS ORDINANCE THAT SAYS, UM, DENYING, YOU KNOW, AN ABORTION WOULD DRAMATICALLY INCREASED RISK OF DEATH OR BODILY INJURY. WE KNOW THAT ABORTION ITSELF INCREASES DEATH AND CAUSES BODILY INDUSTRY. SO ASK YOU TO VOTE NO ON ITEM NUMBER TWO AS WELL. AND ON ITEM NUMBER THREE, I THINK MONEY COULD BETTER BE SPENT ON GIVING TO PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTERS THAT COULD ACTUALLY HELP WOMEN WHO ARE IN NEED. UH, IF THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR JOB, UH, THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT TAKING CARE OF THEIR CHILD. ALL OF THIS MONEY COULD GO TO THE PLENTY OF RESOURCE CENTERS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO HELP THESE WOMEN. UM, BUT INSTEAD WE'RE DOING THIS FOR MEDICAL PROCEDURES, SO I SHOULD VOTE NO ON ALL FOUR. AND I WOULD JUST LIKE YOU TO QUESTION THE LEGALITY OF NUMBER FOUR SINCE YOU'RE CURRENTLY IN LITIGATION FOR FUNDING ABORTION AT THE MOMENT. THANK YOU. ITEMS ONE, TWO AND FOUR, JERRY SHARP, FOLLOWED BY AMY PEREZ. OKAY. YES. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS JERRY. I'M A, UH, RESIDENT OF DISTRICT ONE. UM, I'M ADDRESSING COUNCIL TODAY, AGAIN, AGENDA ITEMS ONE, TWO AND FOUR, UH, IN OPPOSITION OF Y'ALL TAKING ANY FURTHER ACTION, UH, AS WRITTEN ON THIS CONSENT AGENDA. UM, I SPECIFICALLY WANT TO ADDRESS THE CONCERN, UM, THAT THIS LANGUAGE, UH, IS UNCLEAR, UM, GIVEN, UH, COMMENTS FROM, UH, CERTAIN COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, REGARDING WHAT IS IN THE ACTUAL [00:30:01] BILL VERSUS WHAT THE INTENT OF THE LANGUAGE IS SUPPOSED TO, UH, DIRECT, UM, STAFFERS, UH, ESPECIALLY THE CITY MANAGER TO WHAT YOU'RE ASKING THEM TO DO, UM, SPECIFICALLY, UH, WHETHER THAT'S DEPRIORITIZING OR DECRIMINALIZING. UM, I WANT TO REITERATE, UH, THAT, UH, THAT RESOURCES CAN BE UTILIZED TO ACTUALLY HELP WOMEN AND, UH, UH, PARENTS, UH, IN THIS CITY, IN THIS COUNTY AS WELL. UM, BECAUSE WE DO, UH, ADDRESS A LOT OF THOSE, UM, THROUGH A LOT OF, UH, CONTRACTED AND, UM, UH, EXCUSE ME, CON CONTRACTED, UH, PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTERS, UH, AS WELL AS ADOPTION AGENCIES AND, UM, MATERNITY HOMES. SO I, I JUST, UH, ASKED COUNCIL, UH, ESPECIALLY THE, UH, THE MAYOR TO RECONSIDER THIS, TO WORK AT THE, UH, WORK SESSION, UH, TUESDAY, UM, AS WELL AS WHEN YOU ALSO CONSIDER THIS, UH, NEXT, UM, NEXT MEETING. SO I, I ENCOURAGE THE COUNCIL, UH, TO PUSH THIS, TO WAIT FOR FURTHER, UM, FURTHER ADVISEMENT FROM YOUR, UH, LEGAL OFFICES, AS WELL AS YOUR STAFF, UH, WHICH YOU ARE TASKING THEM TO, UH, ALMOST CREATE THIS IMPOSSIBLE ASK OF THEM. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. AMY PEREZ ON ITEM TWO, FOLLOWED BY OUR LIEN, LAZANO, ARLENE LOZANO. NEXT WE HAVE ASHLEY LEONARD'S MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. MY NAME IS ASHLEY LEONARDS. I'M A LEGISLATIVE ASSOCIATE FOR TEXAS, RIGHT TO LIFE. I LIVE IN DISTRICT 10 AND I'M HERE TO TESTIFY AGAINST ITEM NUMBER TWO AND FOUR ITEM. NUMBER TWO REFERS TO MAKING, TO INDIVIDUALS MAKING THEIR OWN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS. THERE ARE FEW PEOPLE OPPOSED TO PEOPLE MAKING THEIR OWN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE DECISIONS BEFORE REPRODUCTION OCCURS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THESE AGENDA ITEMS DON'T CONCERN REPRODUCTION BEFORE IT TAKES PLACE, BUT AFTER, AFTER ANOTHER PERSON HAS ALREADY BEEN CONCEIVED, THEIR DNA HAS BEEN FORMED. ANY UNIQUE LITTLE PERSON HAS ENTERED THE EQUATION. ONCE REPRODUCTION HAS HAPPENED, THIS IS NO LONGER A REPRODUCTION REPRODUCTIVE DECISION. IT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE WHERE A LARGER AND STRONGER PEOPLE DECIDE THAT A SMALLER AND WEAKER PERSON IS DISPENSABLE AND NOT DESERVING OF LIFE. OUR STATE LEGISLATURE HAS PROPERLY PASSED OUR ABORTION LAWS WITH THE INTENT OF PROTECTING INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE FROM THE VIOLENCE AND UNJUSTICE INJUSTICE OF ABORTION. AND THESE LAWS MUST BE FULLY ENFORCED. WE ALSO NEED TO STAND WITH FAMILIES WITH MOTHERS AND FATHERS. WE NEED TO EXPAND ACCESS TO ADOPTION. WE NEED TO HAVE MORE RESOURCES FOR MOTHERS. WE NEED MORE PREGNANT AND PARENT FRIENDLY WORKPLACES IN SCHOOLS. WE ALSO NEED TO WORK TO IMPROVE THESE, BUT AS WE DO, WE DO NOT NEED TO END PREBORN CHILDREN'S LIVES. THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE CHILD. THE PROBLEM IS A SOCIETY THAT DOES NOT VALUE THE CHILD. PLEASE FUND AND SUPPORT OUR ADOPTION AGENCIES, OUR MATERNITY HOMES, AND OUR PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTERS. PLEASE PROMOTE ADOPTION AND HEALTHY PARENTING PROGRAMS. PLEASE INCENTIVIZE BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS, AND UNIVERSITIES TO ADOPT MORE PREGNANT AND PARENT FRIENDLY POLICIES. PLEASE DON'T CONTINUE TO PROMOTE THE FALSE NARRATIVE THAT WOMEN CAN NOT SUCCEED WITHOUT THE OPTION OF ABORTION. EMPOWERING WOMEN INVOLVES HELPING THEM ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS WHILE THEY ARE PREGNANT. AND AS MOTHERS, PLEASE VOTE AGAINST ITEM NUMBER TWO AND FOUR, AND INSTEAD FOCUS ON MAKING AUSTIN A LIFE AFFIRMING CITY WHERE EVERY MEMBER OF OUR HUMAN FAMILY IS VALUED. THANK YOU. DR. JOE, FOLLOWED BY EMILY WITT. MR. MAYOR MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. MY NAME IS DR. JOE AND I'M EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEXAS ALLIANCE FOR LIFE. AND I'M HERE TO TESTIFY AGAINST AGENDA ITEM. NUMBER TWO, WE ASKED YOU TO NOT DO NOT ADOPT THAT RESOLUTION AS THE RESOLUTION DESCRIBES THE HUMAN LIFE PROTECTION ACT HOUSE BILL 1280 COMPLETELY PROTECTS UNBORN CHILDREN FROM THE TRAGEDY OF ABORTION. BEGINNING OF CONCEPTION, WHEN THE CHILD COMES INTO BEING HOUSE BILL 1280, WHICH HAD LEGISLATURE PASSED IN 2021 MAKES PERFORMING AN ILLEGAL ABORTION, A FIRST DEGREE FELONY OFFENSE UNDER THE DEFINITION OF ABORTION IN TEXAS LAW. AND THAT'S SECTION 2 45, 0 0 2 HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE TREATMENT FOR MISCARRIAGE AND ECTOPIC PREGNANCY ARE NOT ABORTIONS AND CANNOT BE PROSECUTED THAT APPLIES TO HEALTH BUILT HOUSE TO 1280 AND TO EVERY OTHER ABORTION LAW IN TEXAS UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, CAN A WOMAN ON WHOM AN ABORTION IS PERFORMED, BE HELD CRIMINALLY OR CIVILLY [00:35:01] LIABLE UNDER 1280 OR ANY OTHER LAW IN TEXAS, ALSO IN 1280, THE LEGISLATURE APPROPRIATED ALSO IN 12 20, 20 21, THE LEGISLATURE APPROPRIATE VAST FUNDS TO ASSIST WOMEN, ESPECIALLY LOW INCOME WOMEN WITH UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES. THE LEGISLATURE APPROPRIATED $100 MILLION FOR THE CURRENT TWO YEAR BUDGET TOWARDS THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION PROGRAM. THAT PROGRAM PROVIDES SERVICES FOR WOMEN FACING UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES TO ASSIST THEM IN CARRYING THE BABY TO TERM GIVING BIRTH, KEEPING THE BABY OR PLACING THE BABY FOR ADOPTION SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS AFTER THE BIRTH OF THE CHILD FROM NEARLY 200 PREGNANCY CENTERS, MATERNITY HOMES, AND ADOPTED AGENCIES ACROSS THE STATE, INCLUDING MANY HERE IN AUSTIN. IT IS OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT ALL THREE ABORTION PROVIDERS IN AUSTIN HAVE CEASED PERFORMING ABORTIONS INDEFINITELY. WE THINK THAT THE PRIORITY SHOULD BE TO PROMOTE ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION, NOT TO DE PRIORITIZE PROTECTING WOMEN FROM ILLEGAL ABORTION PROVIDERS. THANK YOU, EMILY WITT FOLLOWED BY ISABELLE HERRERA. GOOD MORNING. UM, MY NAME IS EMILY WITT AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT FOUR. I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF TEXAS FREEDOM NETWORK AND SUPPORT OF ITEM TWO AND THE GRACE ACT OVERALL TODAY. I'D LIKE TO SHARE MY PERSONAL STORY ILLUSTRATING WHY THE CITY'S CHOICE TO APPROVE MEASURES LIKE THESE IS SO VITAL, ESPECIALLY AFTER SCOTUS DECISION TO OVERTURN ROE AND CRIMINALIZE NECESSARY HEALTH CARE. WHEN I WAS 18, I BECAME PREGNANT AFTER MY BIRTH CONTROL FAILED. I HAD JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. I WAS OFF TO COLLEGE IN TWO MONTHS AND I KNEW I WAS NOT IN THE BEST RELATIONSHIP FOR ME. I ALSO KNEW THAT A CHILD COULD NOT FIT INTO MY LIFE. I KNEW I WANTED AN ABORTION, BUT BEFORE I COULD MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR ONE, I HAD A MISCARRIAGE. I WAS RELIEVED, BUT STILL FELT SHAME AND TELLING PEOPLE I GREW UP IN OKLAHOMA, WHERE THE LAWS ARE LACK OF SEX, EDUCATION AND STIGMATIZED VIEWS ON ALL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE ARE NOT DISSIMILAR TO TEXAS. NO ONE HAD EVER TOLD ME I NEEDED TO GO TO THE DOCTOR AFTER A MISCARRIAGE. SO I DIDN'T, I WAS LUCKY THAT I WAS OKAY. THIS WAS 11 YEARS AGO, AND I CANNOT IMAGINE HOW SCARED I WOULD BE. IF I FOUND MYSELF IN THIS SITUATION NOW BLEEDING UNCONTROLLABLY IN MY BATHROOM, UNSURE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY BODY AND FEARFUL TO GO TO THE DOCTOR BECAUSE I MIGHT BE ACCUSED OF A CRIME. THAT FEAR WOULD BE MULTIPLIED IF I WERE 18 AGAIN, OR IF I WERE NOT WHITE AND A GREATER RISK OF BEING CRIMINALIZED FOR SEEKING THE HEALTHCARE I NEED FOR MY BODY AND MY FUTURE. WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE IN TEXAS HAVE ALREADY BEEN CRIMINALIZED FOR THEIR PREGNANCY OUTCOMES SINCE THE PASSAGE OF SB EIGHT. AND THAT FOR DECADES, PEOPLE OF COLOR BEEN CRIMINALIZED FOR PREGNANCY OUTCOMES ACROSS THIS COUNTRY, OUR CITY'S RESOURCES SHOULD NOT BE USED TO TERRORIZE AND HARASS ABORTION SEEKERS WHO ARE CHOOSING TO BUILD THEIR FUTURES AND THEIR FAMILIES AT THE TIME THAT IS BEST FOR THEM OR TO ATTACK AND SCRUTINIZE PEOPLE. WHO'VE EXPERIENCED MISCARRIAGES. WE ARE NOT CRIMINALS FOR BECOMING PREGNANT OR NEEDING HEALTHCARE. PREGNANT. PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT THEY CAN SAFELY SEEK MEDICAL CARE NO MATTER WHAT, AND THEIR PROVIDERS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO GIVE THAT CARE WITHOUT FEAR OF PROSECUTION OR BEING FORCED TO SHARE THEIR PATIENTS. PATIENT'S PERSONAL INFORMATION, THE BARRIERS TO ABORTION AND THE FULL SPECTRUM OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE ALREADY FEEL INSURMOUNTABLE IN TEXAS. I HOPE THE COUNCIL WILL USE THE POWER. THEY HAVE TO ENSURE THAT WE DO NOT FURTHER CRIMINALIZE PEOPLE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OR OUR STATE BY VOTING ON AGENDA ITEM TWO AND THE GRACE ACT. THANK YOU. ISABELLE HERRERA FOLLOWED BY JANINE FLORES. HEIDI MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS ISABELLA LORETTA, AND I AM A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT SEVEN. UM, AND I STAND HERE BEFORE YOU, IN MY CAPACITY AS A FELLOW WITH THE NATIONAL LATINA INSTITUTE FOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE, I STAND IN STRONG FAVOR OF THE GRAY SOCK AS IT IS THE BEST WAY FOR OUR CITY TO STAND AGAINST THE RADICAL AND DEHUMANIZING POLICY WE ARE SEEING AT THE STATE LEVEL. IT IS VERY EASY TO COME UP HERE AND SAY, AWFUL RIDICULOUS THINGS ABOUT WOMEN WHO NEED ABORTIONS WITHOUT BEING IN THE SITUATION YOURSELVES. I'M NOT GOING TO STAND HERE AND TELL YOU ALL THE DETAILS ABOUT MY ABORTION STORY, BUT I NEEDED TO GO TO TWO DIFFERENT STATES AND IT COSTS SO MUCH MONEY. AND I HAD TOGETHER FROM LIKE BRIDGET ALLIANCE AND JUST FUNDS AND ORGS DOING THE GROUNDWORK THAT IS NECESSARY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. UM, MY ABORTION SAVED MY LIFE AND I DO NOT REGRET GETTING IT IN ANY CAPACITY. SO DEPRIORITIZING THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE STATE'S ABORT, IF THE STATE'S ABORTION LAWS IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS THAT WE CAN PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO NEED ABORTIONS IN THE CITY. UM, WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN PEOPLE IN TEXAS BEING CRIMINALIZED FOR SEEKING THE CARE THEY ABSOLUTELY NEED. UM, FOR ANY REASON THAT MAY BE, THEY DON'T NEED TO HAVE A MEDICAL REASON OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. UM, AND WE SHOULD [00:40:01] DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER FROM PREVENTING THAT FROM OCCURRING WITHIN OUR CITY LIMITS, IT IS A HA NEEDING TO HAVE AN ABORTION IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IS ALREADY SUCH A DEHUMANIZING EXPERIENCE. AND WE DESERVE TO TREAT ALL THESE, ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO CAN POSSIBLY GET PREGNANT AS WHAT THEY ARE. PEOPLE, UM, PROVIDING A CHECK AND ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE TO OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT WOULD BE CRUCIAL IF WE WANT TO PROTECT THE RIGHT TO GET AN ABORTION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. JANINE FLORES FOLLOWED BY JULIANNE GOOD MORNING. I AM JANINE FLOORS, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER OF BREADTH OF LIFE, MATERNITY MINISTRIES. I'VE LIVED HERE 26 YEARS, AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DISTRICT I LIVE IN AND I'VE NEVER SPOKEN TO THE COUNCIL, BUT THIS WAS TOO IMPORTANT TO PASS UP. WHAT I NEED TO ASK IS, AS YOU'RE VOTED IN AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU'RE IGNORING A HUGE PORTION, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CONSTITUENTS THAT BELIEVES STRONGLY THAT THOSE PEOPLE THAT NEED HELP SOMETIMES ARE WITHIN THE WIM ACROSS THE STATE. THERE ARE 34 MATERNITY HOMES, SEVEN OF WHICH ARE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, WHICH GIVES US ACCESS. BUT I NEVER SEE THOSE ITEMS ON THIS AGENDA. I NEVER SEE THIS COUNCIL GOING, HEY, THERE ARE SOME ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTIONS WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT AND SUPPORTING ALL I SEE IS EVERYTHING, YOUR IDEOLOGY AND NOT SUPPORTING THE CONSTITUENTS ACROSS YOUR BOARD. THAT'S DISAPPOINTING TO ME. AND YOU CAN IGNORE WHAT I'M SAYING RIGHT NOW AND STARE AT YOUR NOTES. BUT YOU GUYS ARE BEING VOTED IN TO PROTECT ALL OF US BORN OR UNBORN IN THE 22 YEARS THAT THIS MATERNITY HOME SARAH'S HOUSE HAS BEEN IN AUSTIN. I RECENTLY HAD, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME A REPORTER FROM A LARGE NETWORK. COME TO ME AND SAY, JANINE, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? NOW THAT ROE V WADE HAS BEEN OVERTURNED. AND I JUST STARED AT HIM. I SAID, DUDE, I'M GOING TO DO THE SAME THING I'VE BEEN DOING FOR 20 YEARS HERE IN AUSTIN. THE WOMEN WHO NEED THE HELP, THE WOMEN WHO WANT A TRUE CHOICE, WHICH INCLUDES A PLACE TO LIVE. WHEN DAD SAYS ABORT OR DON'T COME HOME. WHEN THE BOYFRIEND SAYS, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO BEAT THE CRUD OUT OF YOU AGAIN, THEN GO GET AN ABORTION. THOSE ARE THE WOMEN THAT FIND THEMSELVES IN OUR HOME, AND WE NEED TO BE PROVIDING CARE PROTECTION AND LAWS AND THINGS, AS SERIOUSLY AS YOU DO THIS MORNING WITH A SPECIAL MEETING TO PROMOTE ABORTION, I'D REALLY LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO LOOK AT THEIR CONSTITUENTS, ASK THEM PERSONALLY WHERE THEY STAND ON THIS BECAUSE AT OUR HOME, BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUES ARE REPRESENTED. BOTH SIDES VOLUNTEER BECAUSE IT BELIEVED THAT A CHOICE INCLUDES A CHANCE TO CARRY THAT TINY CHILD TO TERM JULIANE. FOLLOWED BY KATHLEEN BRAIN, KATHLEEN BRAIN, NATALIE WEB, ROCKY GONZALEZ. GOOD MORNING, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL. I'M HERE LARGELY THIS MORNING TO THANK YOU. MY NAME IS ROCKY GONZALES. I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR AT AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION. MOST OF THE FOUNDER OF FRONTERA FUND, WHICH IS AN ABORTION FUND THAT SERVES MY HOMELAND, THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY. UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR PUTTING FORWARD THIS WORK AND FOR CONTINUING TO LEAD THE STATE, UM, WITH THESE PROGRESSIVE POLICIES, I AM HERE TODAY TO SPEAK OBVIOUSLY IN SUPPORT OF THIS IMPORTANT RESOLUTION AND TO THANK YOU IN PARTICULAR COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, UM, FOR YOUR WORK AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FONTUS AND MAYOR ADLER AND ALL THE REST OF YOU WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THIS WORK, UM, ABORTION IS A MORAL AND SOCIAL GOOD. IT IS A MEASURE ACCESS TO ABORTION AS A MEASURE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND A PUBLIC SAFETY ABORTION SAVES LIVES. AND ABORTION PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR PEOPLE TO THRIVE. FORCING BIRTH IS IMMORAL AND WRONG. ACCESS TO ABORTION IS A HUMAN RIGHT ISSUE WITH THE ONGOING HOUSING CRISIS, ENERGY CRISIS AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES. OUR CITY HAS NO BUSINESS BUSINESS WASTING VALUABLE RESOURCES ON ENFORCING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AT THIS POINT IN TIME OR EVER. AUSTIN HAS THE RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERNANCE HAS A CITY IN TEXAS AND COUNCIL MEMBER VALDEZ. GRACE ACT DEMONSTRATES THE COMMITMENT THAT THIS COUNCIL HAS TO STAND UP TO TEXAS ARCHAIC LAWS, BOTH THE SB EIGHT LAWS, THE, UH, TRIGGER BANDS, AS WELL AS THE PRE-ROE STATUTES THAT ARE NOW BEING ENFORCED IN MY 15 [00:45:01] YEARS IN AS AN ABORTION RIGHTS ADVOCATE AND REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE MOVEMENT LEADER. I HAVE PERSONALLY ESCORTED PEOPLE WHO NEEDED AN ABORTION TO THEIR ABORTION. I HAVE SAT INSIDE A ROOM AND HELD FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS HANDS AS THEY RECEIVED AN ABORTION. I HAVE TALKED TO LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF CALLERS WHO HAVE CALLED OUR HELPLINES TO SAY, I NEED AN ABORTION. WILL YOU PLEASE HELP ME THE GENUINE AMOUNT OF GRATITUDE FOR THE IMPACT? THE POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR LIVES IS SOMETHING THAT HAS STRENGTHENED AND ENFORCED MY COMMITMENT TO THIS WORK OVER THE MANY YEARS. UM, I JUST WILL END BY SAYING AGAIN, THAT ABORTION IS SACRED. ABORTION IS GOOD. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS WORK. NO WAY ELIAS FOLLOWED BY LIBBY HARLOW'S GOOD MORNING, COUNSEL. UH, I'M JOSE. I KNOW ALIAS. I AM FROM MONTOPOLIS AND DISTRICT THREE. I'M HERE TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF ITEM TWO AND THE GRACE ACT OVERALL IN MY COMMUNITY. WE HAVE ALWAYS STRUGGLED WITH HEALTH CARE ACCESS AND HEALTHCARE EDUCATION. UH, THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WITH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE EDUCATION. NOW WITH THE SUPREME COURT DECISION AND THESE TEXAS LAWS, WE ARE DEALING WITH THE CRIMINALIZATION OF HEALTHCARE DECISIONS. WHEN WE SPEAK ABOUT CRIMINALIZATION, WE KNOW THAT THOSE OFTEN TARGETED OR THE MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES, BLACK, BROWN, AND LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THIS STEP TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CITY FUNDS ARE NOT USED TO PROSECUTE PEOPLE FOR MAKING A HEALTHCARE DECISION. I HOPE THAT WE CAN ALSO FIND OTHER WAYS THAT THE CITY CAN SUPPORT AUSTIN NIGHTS WHEN THEY MAKE THESE HEALTHCARE DECISIONS. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. LIBBY. HARLOW'S FOLLOWED BY ASHLEY SOSA. GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MR. MAYOR. MY NAME IS LIBBY CARLOS AND I CURRENTLY WORK IN AUSTIN AT TEXAS ALLIANCE FOR LIFE AS A PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST AND LEGAL INTERN. I'M HERE TO TESTIFY AGAINST ITEM NUMBER TWO AND ASK THAT YOU DO NOT ADOPT ANY OF THESE RESOLUTIONS ONLINE FOUR AND FIVE IN ITEM. NUMBER TWO, YOU CLAIM THAT ACCESS TO ABORTION IS A DECIDING FACTOR IN LONG-TERM QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS CANNOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. WOMEN DON'T NEED ABORTION. IN FACT, ABORTION ACTUALLY LEAVES DEEP WOUNDS OF HURT AND REGRET, AND A LOT OF WOMEN I'M SURE ON THIS COUNCIL AND IN THIS ROOM TODAY, IT'S DISCOURAGING THAT THIS CITY THAT I WORK IN AND I'VE GROWN TO LOVE BELIEVES THAT IN ORDER FOR US WOMEN, THE MAJORITY OF THIS COUNCIL IS WOMEN. YOU BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER FOR US WOMEN TO SUCCEED AND THRIVE, THAT WE HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN OUR CAREERS AND OUR FAMILIES. WE HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SAVING OUR CHILDREN'S LIVES OR PURSUING A CAREER AS A YOUNG FEMALE PROFESSIONAL, WORKING IN AUSTIN AND PURSUING A CAREER IN LAW. I WANT TO LIVE AND WORK AND THRIVE IN A CITY THAT ENCOURAGES ME THAT AS A MOTHER AND AS A YOUNG PROFESSIONAL, I CAN DO BOTH. I WANT TO LIVE IN A CITY WHERE I DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MY FAMILY AND MY CAREER. I WENT TO LIVE IN A CITY THAT ENCOURAGES ME AND REMINDS ME THAT DESPITE MY CIRCUMSTANCES, I CAN STILL RISE ALONGSIDE MY FELLOW SISTERS AND FIGHT FOR A FUTURE AND FIGHT FOR A FUTURE. THAT VALUES TRUE WOMEN'S EQUALITY. THIS IS WHY I ASK THAT YOU DO NOT ADOPT ANY OF THESE RESOLUTIONS, INCLUDING RESOLUTION TO THANK YOU. COUNCIL WOMEN AND MR. MAYOR AND COUNCILMEN ASHLEY'S SOSA FOLLOWING HER WHEN [00:50:01] OCS. MY NAME IS ASHLEY SOSA. I'M SPEAKING AGAINST ITEM TWO. I AM A FIRST GENERATION MEXICAN AMERICAN AND A PROUD RESIDENT BORN AND RAISED IN THE NORTH EAST SIDE OF AUSTIN DISTRICT ONE WE'RE DESPITE THE POVERTY LEVEL BEING ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN THE CITY, WE DON'T LET THAT DEFINE US OR KEEP US FROM ACHIEVING SUCCESS. BEING THE YOUNGEST OF FOUR SIBLINGS, I SAW MY PARENTS STRUGGLING TO GIVE UP, TO GIVE US THE LIFE THEY NEVER HAD IN MEXICO, BUT THEY CAME TO THIS COUNTRY, SEARCHING FOR A CITY. THEY COULD CALL HOME. AND AUSTIN WAS THAT CITY. ABORTION HAS NEVER BEEN A PART OF MY STORY, BUT MY MOTHER HAD THE CHOICE TO ABORT ME OR GIVE BIRTH TO ME AT 26 WEEKS. MY MOTHER CHOSE LIFE. I STAND HERE TODAY AS THE FIRST IN MY FAMILY TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE AND HOLD A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN COMMUNICATIONS. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT I WOULD HAVE TO USE MY DEGREE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE DEFENSELESS AND FOR OUR WOMEN THAT ARE THE MOST THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE. THIS IS WHY I BELIEVE WOMEN DO NOT NEED ABORTIONS TO SUCCEED. WOMEN DESERVE BETTER THAN ABORTION. INSTEAD WHEN HE, WE NEED COMPASSION AND WE NEED TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION, PLEASE DO NOT PASS RESOLUTION TWO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALEXANDER'S STRINGER. AND THEN JOCELYN SANCHEZ. GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL. MY NAME IS ALEXIS STRINGER, AND I JUST WANT TO EXPRESS MY OUTRAGE AT GOVERNOR ABBOTT AND THOSE RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS ON THE SUPREME COURT FOR TELLING ME WHAT I CANNOT DO WITH MY BODY. UM, SORRY GUYS. I'M A LITTLE EMOTIONAL IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH. I'M ON MY PERIOD. LISTEN, GUYS. WE GOT TO MAKE THESE ABORTIONS MANDATORY. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE IN A CLIMATE EMERGENCY. WE GOTTA REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT AND YOU KNOW, WE ARE THE CARBON THAT NEEDS TO BE REDUCED FROM THIS EARTH. UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SHOWTIME, ALEX STRINGER ON INSTAGRAM. THANK YOU. AND, UH, PRAISE MOLEC. THANK YOU. JOCELYN SANCHEZ. AND THEN AMY O'DONNELL MR. STRINGER. YOU FORGOT YOUR PHONE UP HERE. I THINK, GO AHEAD AND CALL THE SPEAKER AGAIN. JOCELYN SANCHEZ. AMY O'DONNELL HELLO, COUNCIL MEMBERS, MAYOR ADLER. MY NAME IS AMY O'DONNELL. I'M THE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AT TEXAS ALLIANCE FOR LIFE. AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK AGAINST ITEM NUMBER TWO. I'M ALSO HERE TODAY AS A WOMAN WHO KNOWS WHAT IT IS TO BE 22 YEARS OLD, THREE MONTHS INTO MARRIAGE AND FIVE PREGNANCY TESTS LATER TO FIND OUT MY CONTRACEPTIVES FAILED. AND I WAS PREGNANT FINISHING MY LAST YEAR OF COLLEGE AT TEXAS A AND M COMMUTING FROM AUSTIN TO THERE WITH A BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE AFTER CRYING FOR THREE DAYS, I GOT MY MIND WRAPPED AROUND THE FACT THAT I WAS IN FACT GOING TO BE A MOM FACING THAT UNPLANNED PREGNANCY WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS THAT I HAVE EVER DONE. BUT AT THE TIME THEN, AND AT THE TIME NOW I HAVE NOT BELIEVED THE LIE [00:55:01] THAT WOMEN HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEIR BABIES AND A COLLEGE DEGREE BETWEEN THEIR BABIES AND BEING SUCCESSFUL. THAT LIE HAS BEEN PERPETUATED FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS. AND IT HAS BEEN STATED THROUGH THAT LIE THAT WOMEN NEED ABORTION TO COMPETE ACADEMICALLY VOCATIONALLY OR IN ANY WAY. AND THAT IS SUCH AN UNFORTUNATE MISTRUTH. ABORTION HAS BEEN HELD UP AS THE ANSWER TO WOMEN'S INEQUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION ATHLETICS AND THE WORKPLACE IN KC, THREE CONSERVATIVE JUSTICES ERRONEOUSLY SAID ABORTION WAS NECESSARY TO ENSURE WOMEN'S CAPACITY TO PARTICIPATE EQUALLY IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE NATION. THIS POSITION IGNORES TWO FACTS. FIRST, A GLANCE AT HISTORY SHOWS US THAT WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION INCREASED IN POLITICAL SOCIAL, ATHLETIC, AND ECONOMIC SPHERES OF AMERICAN LIFE BEFORE ROWE. THERE'S MUCH DATA TO BACK THAT UP TOO MUCH TO GO INTO HERE, BUT I'M HAPPY TO SEND THAT SECOND. THERE IS NO CONSISTENT CORRELATION BETWEEN ABORTION AND WOMEN'S PROGRESS. WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN ALL ASPECTS OF SOCIETY CONTINUED ADVANCING IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES AFTER ROSE DECISION CAME DOWN. HOWEVER, AS MENTIONED, WOMEN WERE ALREADY ON THIS TRAJECTORY BEFORE ROW IN THE LAST 30 YEARS WHEN ABORTION RATES HAVE FALLEN DRAMATICALLY, WOMEN'S PROGRESS HAS ACCELERATED FROM 1990 TO 2016. ABORTION RATES FELL BY 46% DURING THAT SAME PERIOD, THE PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE WITH A COLLEGE DEGREE INCREASED BY 70%. BUT THE REALITY IS, EXCUSE ME, THAT WOMEN DON'T NEED ABORTION TO ADVANCE IN THIS COUNTRY TODAY ON A SPEAKING AGAINST ITEM NUMBER TWO AND EVERY ITEM ON THIS AGENDA. AND I ASK THAT YOU STOP PERPETUATING THE LIE AND INSULTING WOMEN BY STATING THAT WE HAVE TO KILL OUR BABIES TO ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS IN LIFE. THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT'S PENYA FOLLOWED BY TWO RISA MASKA UH, GOOD MORNING, MAYOR GUSTAVO PENA FROM, UH, 2327 EAST FIFTH STREET. I JUST CAME OVER HERE TO SUPPORT WHATEVER DECISIONS THAT WOMEN MAKE. IT'S HARD TO KILL A BABY, BUT I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT UP TO THE LADIES AND I WILL SUPPORT YOU WHETHER YOU DO THIS WAY OR THAT WAY US MEN SHOULD SUPPORT OUR WOMEN. I'VE BEEN MARRIED FOR 35 YEARS. UH, WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY THAT MAY GOD BLESS Y'ALL AND HELP YOU AND YOUR DECISIONS BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE. YOUNG LADIES ARE LOOKING AT YOU, RIGHT? NOT THROUGH THE TELEVISION. I JUST PRAY. I'M A CATHOLIC. I PRAY FOR ALL OF Y'ALL. I PRAY FOR AUSTIN. I PRAY FOR EVERYBODY, WHATEVER DECISION YOU MAKE, IT IS YOUR DECISION. I WAS, I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHAT CAN I SAY TO MAKE IT BETTER? ALL I CAN DO IS PRAY FOR THE YOUNG LADIES. AND I WILL SAY THIS MUCH, THE WOMEN ARE THE BETTER SEX THAN THE MEN Y'ALL ARE BETTER THAN US MEN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, THERESA MASKA AND THEN ANNIE BROWN HELLO, MY NAME IS TERESA MASKA. I'M A TEXAS STATE CAPTAIN WITH STUDENTS FOR LIFE ACTION. I AM AGAINST NUMBER TWO AND I HAVE LIVED IN DISTRICT SEVEN FOR ALL 17 YEARS OF MY LIFE. TODAY. I'D LIKE TO NOT JUST SPEAK ON MY BEHALF, BUT ALSO ON BEHALF OF THE WOMEN WHO WILL BE ABUSED. IF YOU VOTE FOR THIS RESOLUTION. WHEN A WOMAN IS FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION, BY SEX TRAFFICKERS AND BECOMES PREGNANT, THE ABUSE CAN CONTINUE BY FORCING THE WOMAN TO HAVE AN ABORTION. THIS ALLOWS SEX TRAFFICKERS TO FORCE WOMEN RIGHT BACK INTO PROSTITUTION AND MAKE MORE MONEY. SO WHILE WAS LEGAL AND TEXAS LAWS AND REGULATIONS WERE SET HOUSE BELL, 2, 5, 5, 2, A BIPARTISAN BILL AUTHORED BY SEN FARINA THOMPSON, WHO IS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN DEMOCRAT WOMAN REQUIRED HUMAN TRAFFICKING SIGNS TO BE POSTED AT ABORTION FACILITIES. THE WOMEN'S RIGHT TO KNOW, ACT ESTABLISH REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REPORTING OF PATIENTS INFORMED CONSENT TO AN ABORTION AND HOUSE BILL 4, 1 6 REQUIRED. ABORTION IS STILL THE EMPLOYEES TO UNDERGO HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRAINING, TO LEARN HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND REPORT HUMAN TRAFFICKING AS LEGALLY REQUIRED TEXTS AND SAID THE ABORTION FACILITIES WERE UNSAFE FOR SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. SO THEY MADE LAWS. IF ABORTIONISTS ARE NOT PROSECUTED, ILLEGAL ABORTION PROCEDURES CAN HAPPEN. [01:00:01] THAT WILL NOT FOLLOW THESE REGULATIONS. AND THE ABUSE THAT TEXANS WORKED SO HARD TO STOP WILL CONTINUE PASSING A RESOLUTION THAT WILL HELP SEX TRAFFICKERS, ABUSER VICTIMS, AND TURN A BLIND EYE TO HELPING THEM ESCAPE IS WRONG. WE KNOW IT IS WRONG AND TEXANS HAVE ALREADY VOTED AND SAID IT IS WRONG. I KNOW THE RESOLUTION HAS AN EXCEPTION FOR WORD COERCION OR FORCE IS USED AGAINST THE PREGNANT PERSON, BUT WE CAN NOT WAIT TO INVESTIGATE UNTIL WE ARE TOLD SOMEONE IS BEING ABUSED BECAUSE CHANCES ARE NO ONE WILL EVER SAY ANYTHING. IF ABORTIONS ARE NOT STOPPED, BUT CONTINUE WITHOUT REPORTED CONSENT. CETERA, TRACK THING PREVENTION. WE WILL NOT EVEN KNOW IF FORCE OR COERCION ARE PRESENT, NOT ENDING ILLEGAL ABORTION PROCEDURES IS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS FOR A SEX TRAFFICKING ABUSE. THE BILL MIGHT SAY, THERE'S AN EXCEPTION, BUT IT HAS NO INTENTION OF FINDING THOSE EXCEPTIONS. THE SOLUTION TO THE NEEDS OF PREGNANT WOMEN CANNOT BE THE SAME SOLUTION THAT ALLOWS SEX TRAFFICKERS TO CONTROL THEIR VICTIMS. THANK YOU, ANNIE BROWN. UH, GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS ANNIE BROWN. I AM A POLICY ANALYST WITH HUMAN COALITION ACTION. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE TIME TO SPEAK TODAY. I'M TESTIFYING AGAINST THE PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS SPECIFICALLY NUMBER FOUR, BECAUSE THEY WOULD UNDERMINE THE STATE'S AUTHORITY TO PROTECT PRE-BORN CHILDREN. AND THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD SUPPORT FORCING TEXANS TO FUND ABORTIONS WITH PUBLIC DOLLARS AT THIS CRITICAL MOMENT. IN OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY, WE ARE HOPEFUL FOR PRE-BORN CHILDREN AND THEIR MOTHERS TO LIVE IN A SOCIETY WHERE BOTH CAN THRIVE. WE HAVE LONG RECOGNIZED THE VALUE OF THE CHILD IN THE WOMB, AND NOW A SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL ADVANCES HAVE MADE THE HUMANITY OF THE CHILD. UNDENIABLE. THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS A COMPELLING INTEREST IN PROTECTING THESE PRE-BORN CHILDREN FROM ABORTION AND THE ABORTION INDUSTRY ARE BEING THE VIGILANTES HERE IN SEEKING TO SELECTIVELY, ENFORCE THE LAW AND UNDERMINE THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE. SOME OF THOSE SUPPORTING THESE AGENDA ITEMS WILL ARGUE THAT THESE LAWS ON THE BOOKS THREATEN WOMEN WITH EVENTUAL PROSECUTION. AND LET'S BE CLEAR. THE LAWS ON THE BOOKS FOCUS ON THE ABORTION PROVIDERS WHILE PROTECTING WOMEN FROM PROSECUTION UNDER PRE-ROE STATUTES. WOMEN ARE CONSIDERED THE VICTIMS OF ABORTION AND NOT THE ACCOMPLICES. THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS DON'T SUPPORT TAX PAYER DOLLARS, SUBSIDIZING ABORTION, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THE CITY WOULD BE DOING HERE BY SUPPORTING BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES TO TRAVEL FOR. OUT-OF-STATE NOT ONLY WOULD TEXANS BE SUBSIDIZING ABORTION IF THIS WENT INTO EFFECT, BUT THEIR DOLLARS WOULD BE GOING TO OUT-OF-STATE FOR ABORTION PROVIDERS WHO PROFIT OFF OF THE SCHEME, SUBSIDIZING ABORTIONS DOESN'T COME ANYWHERE CLOSE TO SOLVING THE ISSUES THAT DRIVE WOMEN TO ABORT. THERE ARE UNDERLYING SOCIOECONOMIC PROBLEMS THAT WILL NOT VANTAGE AFTER A WOMAN HAS AN ABORTION THREE AND FOUR OF OUR CLIENTS SEEKING AN ABORTION WOULD PREFER TO PARENT IF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES WERE DIFFERENT, BUT THEY DO ACTUALLY STATE THAT THEY WANT AND NEED IS ASSISTANCE, SUPPORT, EMPLOYMENT, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THANKFULLY DEDICATED PRO-LIFERS SPENT DECADES BUILDING A ROBUST AND PRIVATE INFRASTRUCTURE OF PUBLIC, PUBLIC, AND PRIVATE INFRASTRUCTURE OF RESOURCES TO SUPPORT PREGNANT WOMEN. THIS DATA HAS SHOWN THEIR SUPPORT BY FUNDING, THE ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION PROGRAM AND EXPANDING MEDICAID TO COVER WOMEN SIX MONTHS AFTER THE BIRTH OF THEIR CHILD IN SHORT PUBLIC DOLLARS SHOULD BE UPHOLDING THE DIGNITY OF LIFE, NOT TO PUT TOWARDS DESTROYING IT. AND IN CONCLUSION, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, LIKE THE STATE LEGISLATURE NEEDS TO BE IN THE BUSINESS OF PROMOTING LIFE IN THE RULE OF LAW, NOT LOOKING THE OTHER WAY AS WOMEN AND CHILDREN CONTINUE TO SUFFER AT THE HANDS OF THE ABORTION INDUSTRY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME MAYOR. THAT ACTUALLY CONCLUDES OUR LIST OF SPEAKERS. ANYBODY HERE THINK THEY SIGNED UP, UH, AND DIDN'T GET CALLED. I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S PARTICIPATION HERE TODAY. UH, THAT GETS US BACK UP TO THE, TO THE DAS, UH, JUST TO GET, UH, THE ITEMS IN FRONT OF US. UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, ITEM NUMBER ONE, TO REMEMBER WHAT THIS MAKES THAT MOTION? IS THERE A SECOND TO THAT MOTION COUNCIL MEMBER? ELLA MAKES THAT A SECOND. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER TWO, UH, IN FRONT OF US, COUNCILMEMBER MEMBER MAKES THAT MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND TO THAT? CAUSE THE NUMBER OF 22ND SET, A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MAKES THAT MOTION. COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, SECOND STAFF. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER FOUR? UH, COUNCIL MARVELLA MAKES THAT MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND ITEM, NUMBER FOUR COUNTS NUMBER ELVIS SECONDS THAT, UH, ALL OF THESE ITEMS ARE IN FRONT OF US NOW, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THESE, UH, ITEMS? UH, IT IS 1114. I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY A WITHIN OUR POWER TO VOTE ON THESE ITEMS BY NOON. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN, UH, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET THAT DONE AS MARBELLA. UH, I'LL KEEP MY COMMENTS VERY BRIEF. I JUST WANTED TO, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES IN SUPPORTING PARENTS AND CHILDREN IN, UH, SUPPORTING PEOPLE SO THEY CAN [01:05:01] RAISE CHILDREN SO THEY CAN GET PREGNANT SO THEY CAN HAVE BABIES SO THEY CAN SPEND TIME. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I THINK IN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, SIX MONTHS OF TIME THAT I'VE BEEN ON THIS, UH, UH, DIES, THE COUNCIL HAS DONE THAT. AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY, I KNOW LOOKING AT OTHER POLICIES, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN WITHIN OUR POWER TO SUPPORT FAMILIES, TO SUPPORT PARENTS. I COMPLETELY APPRECIATE AND AGREE WITH THE SENTIMENT AND THE CONTEXT. UH, I THINK THAT THE ORDINANCES THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US WILL DO THAT AS WELL, BUT I JUST GOTTA GIVE CREDIT TO THE COUNCIL FOR EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE DONE IN TERMS OF PARENTAL LEAVE OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS. I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENT COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN. THANKS FOR THAT COMMENT. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER OF ELA. I, I WANT TO AMPLIFY THAT BY SAYING THERE'S NOTHING STANDING IN THE WAY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. UM, THE PROBLEM IS THAT WOMEN WHO ARE NOT ABLE FOR MANY DIFFERENT REASONS TO CARRY A CHILD TO TERM, THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE HAVING OBSTACLES IN FACT THAT THEY ARE BEING CRIMINALIZED FOR THEIR STATUS. SO THEY'RE THE ONES WHO HAVE THE OBSTACLES IN THEIR WAY. AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT REALLY, REALLY CRYSTAL CLEAR HERE TODAY. THANK YOU, HEATHER KITCHEN. UM, YES. I WANTED TO MAKE A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT THAT REALLY RELATE TO ALL THESE ITEMS. UM, AS, AND TO SAY, I APPRECIATE THE TESTIMONY FROM EVERYONE WHO SPOKE TODAY. I KNOW THAT THIS IS A, UM, SUBJECT THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. AND I WANTED TO EXPLAIN, UM, MY SUPPORT, UH, FOR ALL OF THESE ITEMS FOR ME, IT'S THIS FOR ME, THE ISSUE OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND ABORTION IS A MATTER OF HEALTHCARE AND IT'S A MATTER OF EQUITY. UH, AND IT'S A MATTER OF TRUSTING WOMEN. I HAVE WORKED ON HEALTHCARE ACCESS FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND THAT INCLUDES WOMEN'S RIGHT TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS AND THE RIGHT TO ACCESS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE EQUITABLY. THAT MEANS FOR EVERYONE. UM, I, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DECISION ABOUT WHETHER TO HAVE A CHILD OR TO ACCESS AN ABORTION IS A DIFFICULT, COMPLEX, VERY PERSONAL DECISION. IT IS NOT THE ROLE OF THE STATE TO DICTATE TO WOMEN, TO THEIR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, TO THEIR FAMILIES, UH, TO MAKE THESE DIFFICULT AND COMPLEX DECISIONS THAT ARE REALLY SPECIFIC TO CIRCUMSTANCES. IT IS NOT THE STATE'S ROLE TO DICTATE THOSE DECISIONS. AND THAT'S WHAT I BELIEVE IN MY HEART OF HEARTS. UM, AND THAT'S WHY I HAVE FOUGHT OVER THE YEARS FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE. I WANT TO THANK THE MAYOR AND THE MEN ON THIS COUNCIL WHO HAVE RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF, UM, CONTRIBUTING AS THEY HAVE. AND THEY'VE, UH, INCLUDED IN THIS RESOLUTION. SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE WORKED IN THE PAST, I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PAST TO WORK WITH THE CITY ON ACCESS, TO LARC FOR WOMEN. AND I'M VERY PLEASED TO SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION THAT RECOGNIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF BEST ECTOMIES. YOU KNOW, WHEN I WORKED WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD AT THE CAPITOL OVER THE YEARS, I NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD NEED THE GRACE ACT EVEN AS BAD. UM, AS IT HAS GOTTEN OVER THE YEARS IN, IN, IN TRAMPLING ON THE RIGHT TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS BY INDIVIDUALS, UM, I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD GET THIS BAD. SO I AM, UM, PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE GRACE ACT. I AM. UM, I HAVE A LOT OF ANGST ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO BE DOING THIS NOW, UH, BECAUSE I NEVER THOUGHT WE'D BE IN THIS PLACE, BUT I WANT TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER VAILA AND MY COLLEAGUES, UH, FOR SUPPORTING THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO DO AS A CITY. AND I THANK YOU, UM, FOR BRINGING THIS SO QUICKLY FOR BRINGING THE GRACE ACT FORWARD. THANK YOU. AND I'M PROUD TO BE A CO-SPONSOR OF ALL THESE ITEMS BECAUSE I'VE WENT THIS COUNCIL AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS AND THE COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER BAPTIST. THANK YOU. I WANT TO FIRST THANK EVERYONE WHO TESTIFIED TODAY AND THINKS AND SEND MY GRATITUDE TO THE AUSTINITES WHO ALSO SENT EMAILS TO OUR OFFICES. I KNOW WE'VE RECEIVED HUNDREDS OF EMAILS SHOWING SUPPORT FOR THE GRACE ACT. UM, WE ARE LIVING IN, UM, SOME REALLY DARK TIMES RIGHT NOW. AND IN FACT, THE NEW YORK TIMES POSTED AN ARTICLE THIS MORNING ABOUT AN 11 YEAR OLD TEXAN WHO HAD TO TRAVEL OUT OF STATE TO SEEK CARE. [01:10:02] AND SO THAT IS THE REALITY THAT TEXANS ARE FACING TODAY. AND SO BY AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TAKING ACTION TO ADD PROTECTIONS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, WE ARE SENDING A MESSAGE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT BACK REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM, AND WE'RE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT. THERE ARE OTHER CITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY THAT PASSED SIMILAR LEGISLATION, UH, NASHVILLE, NEW ORLEANS DENTON. I KNOW SAN ANTONIO IS CONSIDERING IT. UM, JUST YESTERDAY, A COUNCILMAN FROM WACO ALSO TALKED ABOUT BRINGING IT FORWARD. SO THIS IS ABOUT CREATING A MOVEMENT ON BEHALF OF REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOMS. AND I WANT TO EXTEND MY GRATITUDE TO CONCERT REVELLA AND HIS TEAM. I KNOW JENNA WITH HIS OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD, UH, ALONG WITH THE, THAT AT MY OFFICE. AND SO, UH, JUST ALSO WANTED IT TO SHARE MY GRATITUDE FOR EVERYONE. THAT'S BEEN, UM, WORKING REALLY HARD ON THESE POLICIES. OKAY. MEMBER ELLIS AND COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON. WE'VE HAD MANY BRAVE FOLKS COME AND TESTIFY TO US TODAY. IT'S NOT EASY TO SHARE YOUR ABORTION STORY, BUT THESE STORIES NEED TO BE TOLD. THIS COUNCIL IS COMMITTED TO AND WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR CONSTITUENTS WHO OVERWHELMINGLY THAT PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO ABORTION. THESE ITEMS ON TODAY'S AGENDA ARE IN LINE WITH RESOLUTIONS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL. UM, I HAVE LED ON SOME OF THESE RESOLUTIONS, A NUMBER OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALSO LED ON THESE RESOLUTIONS OVER THE YEARS AND WE WILL CONTINUE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY OF FIGHTING FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS WHO EXPECT LEADERS TO TAKE ACTION. AND WE ARE SEEING THE OPPOSITE OF THAT FROM THE STATE. WE ARE SEEING RIGHTS BEING TAKEN AWAY FROM THE CITIZENS THAT LIVE IN TEXAS TO THE FOLKS WHO DON'T LIKE ABORTION. DON'T GET ONE THAT'S WHAT CHOICE IS FOR, BUT WITHOUT ACCESS TO FREE BIRTH CONTROL, SEX EDUCATION, EXPANSION OF MEDICAID, CLOSING THE WAGE GAP AND PAID FAMILY LEAVE. WE ARE MAKING IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO PLAN THEIR FAMILIES IN THE WAY THAT FITS THEM BEST. I PROUDLY SUPPORT ALL OF THESE ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY BECAUSE REMEMBER HARPER MADISON, THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, I, UH, I ECHO, UH, MY COLLEAGUES APPRECIATION FOR, UH, BEING ABLE TO BE IN THE PLACE WE'RE IN TODAY, UH, AND RECOGNIZING, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WE'RE UP AGAINST CHALLENGES PRETTY CONSISTENTLY, BUT SOME OF THEM, EVERYBODY REALLY JUST HAS TO STEP UP, YOU KNOW, THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION TO OVERTURN ROE V. WADE, UM, WAS AN OUTRAGE. I MEAN, MY, MY SMALL CHILDREN HAVE QUESTIONS. I APPRECIATE THAT THEY HAVE QUESTIONS. THAT MEANS THAT THEY'RE THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO GROW UP IN A CITY LIKE OURS, WHERE WE'RE NOT AFRAID TO TAKE BOLD MOVES, UM, TO SPEAK TO INJUSTICE, YOU KNOW, GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS OR THAT'S HAPPENED RATHER, UM, IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, UH, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO CALL TEXAS A PRO-LIFE STATE, UH, WITH ANY DEGREE OF SERIES THIS, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE FACE OF INCREASINGLY COMMON MASS SHOOTINGS, OUR STATE LEADERS HAVE ONLY MADE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE AS YOUNG AS 18 TO STOCKPILE WEAPONS OF WAR. UM, THEY'VE REFUSED TO FIX OUR ELECTRICAL GRID. UM, YOU KNOW, WE START COUNCIL MEETINGS IN MY MIND'S EYE WITH A, A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE HOW MUCH HOPE, UH, WE SHOULD ALL HAVE. AND TODAY THE ONLY THING I COULD THINK TO START WITH WAS WARNING PEOPLE ABOUT NOT OVEREXTENDING THEMSELVES SO THAT THEY DON'T GET SICK, UM, BECAUSE OF THE HEAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING WE REALLY CAN'T DO A WHOLE LOT ABOUT, BUT OUR STATE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIX ANY, YOU KNOW, INSTABILITY WITHIN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, FIX THE GRID, YOU KNOW, EVEN AS WE'RE STARING DOWN CATASTROPHIC WEATHER EVENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE FREEZE US OUT OF OUR HOMES AND, AND COMFORT AND ACCESS TO CRITICAL, UH, AMENITIES, UH, THEY FORCE US TO RATION OUR AIR CONDITIONING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER. OUR FOSTER CARE SYSTEM IS SO BROKEN THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE DYING IN STATE CUSTODY OR BEING TURNED OUT INTO THE STREETS WITH NO RECOURSE WHEN THEY AGE OUT OUR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OUR RESIDENTS THAT LIVE UNSHELTERED ON THE STREETS OF AUSTIN, LITERALLY ALWAYS INCLUDE A CATEGORY OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN TURNED AWAY FROM THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THEY AGED OUT OF FOSTER CARE. TEXAS IS HOME TO THE HIGHEST RATE OF UNINSURED PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY. WE HAVE ONE OF THE NATION'S HIGHEST MATERNAL MORTALITY RATES, SOMETHING THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS BLACK AND BROWN WOMEN, LOWER INCOME TEXANS. ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, THE [01:15:01] NEW STATEWIDE ABORTION BAN ADDS MORE CRUELTY AND MORE HARM TO TEXANS AND COUNTLESS WAYS. IT'S AN ABSOLUTE, ABSOLUTE KICK IN THE TEETH. I HOPE THAT A HOPE THIS SUMMER WILL ACT IN THE WAY OF A WAKE-UP CALL OF SORTS FOR EVERYONE WHO REALLY CARES ABOUT A FREE SOCIETY. UM, A WAKE UP CALL TO, TO OFFER PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO GET MAD AND STAY MAD TO GET INVOLVED AND TO, TO GET US BACK ON TRACK BECAUSE THE CURRENT COURSE IS, UH, IS UNTENABLE TO SAY THE LEAST. UM, I APPRECIATE BEING A PART OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO STEP UP AND BE BOLD AND BE COURAGEOUS AND MAKE HARD DECISIONS. AND, UH, I'M, I'M REALLY, I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF MY FELLOW TEXANS AND PROUD TO BE A PART OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING TO, TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS TO OFFER PEOPLE A BETTER LIFE MAYOR PRO TEM. THANK YOU. UM, I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE COMMENTS THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE OFFERED AND WANT TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER VILA AND COUNCIL MEMBER FONTUS AND MAYOR ADLER FOR PUTTING FORWARD. THESE VARIOUS ITEMS, UH, WAS PROUD TO CO-SPONSOR THE ORIGINAL ITEM ONE WORK, I BELIEVE, UM, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ONE DOES WHICH WE WORKED ON BEFORE, UM, THE JOBS DECISION, UM, WE AS A CITY AS HAS BEEN SAID, HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO CARE FOR OUR CITIZENS. AND I BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE WHO'S ON THE DAYAS TODAY, UM, BELIEVES THAT THESE ARE STEPS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE. ARE THERE STEPS THAT WE WANT TO TAKE? NO, WE WISH WE DIDN'T WEREN'T IN THIS SITUATION WHERE THE RIGHTS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES OF OUR RESIDENTS WERE CONSTRAINED, UM, FOR THOSE WHO CAME TODAY AND SPOKE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE FOR THOSE WHO, UH, POINTED OUT THE NEED FOR US TO CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN IN OUR COMMUNITY, INVITE YOU TO HELP US IN PUSHING THE STATE TO INVEST IN SCHOOL, UH, IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, IN CHILDCARE, IN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN DO THAT. AND PERHAPS WE CAN AGREE ON THAT. UM, BUT IT WILL, WE'LL TAKE ALL SIDES PUSHING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STATE GOVERNMENT ACTUALLY HEEDS THE NEED, UM, TO TAKE CARE OF OUR CHILDREN. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. AND THEN BY THAT TYPE OF COLLABORATION, BECAUSE I WOULD REALLY LOVE FOR A CHANGE TO SEE WHAT AUSTIN CAN DO WHEN WE ARE, HAVE THE SUPPORT OF OUR STATE. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER RAN 30. YEAH. YES. MARY AND I, I ALSO WANT TO THANK A CONCERT, EVERY BELLA COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THIS, FOR THESE REVOLUTIONS. AND I WANT TO BE ALSO SHOWN AS CO-SPONSOR ON TWO AND FOUR. NOW, I I'VE LIVED HERE ALL MY LIFE, AN IRON, TEXAS, AND SHE ALSO AM A NATIVE AUSTINITE. I'M 72 YEARS OLD. AND I SEEN THE INJUSTICE THAT STATE HAS DONE TO MY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE OF COLOR. THEY PROMISED A LOT AND THEY NEVER DELIVER A LOOK, WHAT THEY DID WITH OUR MENTAL ILLNESS PEOPLE. THEY, THEY TOOK THEM ALL OUT OF THE INSTITUTION THAT THEY WERE USING TO FOR SERVICE. THEY WERE JUST PROMISED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO COME AND HELP THE CITIES TAKE CARE OF THESE PEOPLE AND THEY NEVER DID. AND WE GOT ALL THESE PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS OUT ON THE STREET UP THERE RIGHT NOW. AND THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT ARE REALLY, YOU KNOW, PROTESTING AND CALLING AND SAYING, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE PEOPLE. AND, AND, AND, AND NOW THEY PROMISE HIM THAT THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THE CHILDREN THAT ARE, THAT ARE, UH, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY THREE YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO JUST, WE GOT, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THEM FOR THREE YEARS. RIGHT NOW, THEY ONLY GIVE YOU THREE MONTHS FOR LOW-INCOME PEOPLE FOR MEDICAL SERVICE THREE MONTHS. I MEAN, WHAT IS THAT? AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO FORCE PEOPLE TO HAVE BABIES WHEN THEY CAN'T EVEN TAKE CARE OF THEM. AND THEN THE STATE SAYS THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THEM, BS. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT. SO THAT'S WHY I'M SUPPORTING THIS. THESE ARE TOUGH ISSUES, UH, AS, AS WE SEE WATCHING THE DEBATE AT THE STATE AND WATCHING THE DEBATE NATIONALLY, AND, UH, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE DEBATE AND DISCUSSION WE HAD HERE TODAY. I APPRECIATE THE DECORUM WITH WHICH WE HAD THE DEBATE AND DISCUSSION HERE TODAY WITH PEOPLE SPEAKING ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS DISCUSSION, I BELIEVE THERE IS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT, UH, FOR, [01:20:01] UH, WOMEN TO HAVE A CHOICE WITH RESPECT TO THIS, UM, UH, REPRODUCTIVE, UH, HEALTHCARE ISSUE, BOTTOM LINE. UM, I'M CONCERNED WITH THE COURT FINDING THAT, UH, THAT RIGHT, UH, DOES NOT EXIST. I'M REAL CONCERNED WITH THE, UM, WHAT, WHAT COULD CONCEIVABLY FOLLOW FROM THAT DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO, UH, GAY MARRIAGE, UH, AND, AND OTHER ISSUES I FUNDAMENTALLY BELIEVE THERE IS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT THERE, UH, AS WELL, UH, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT. UH, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE SEEKING TO, UM, UH, PROTECT ITEM. NUMBER ONE, UH, SAYS THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST PEOPLE THAT EXERCISE THAT, UH, WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE A RIGHT, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO SAYS THAT, UH, WE'LL BE EXERCISING OUR DISCRETION, UH, IN A WAY CONSISTENT WITH THE VALUES, UH, THAT, UH, ARE HELD BY A MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THIS COMMUNITY. UH, ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, RECOGNIZES THAT A MUCH BETTER CHOICE THAN, THAN AN ABORTION, UH, IS A PROPHYLACTIC MEGA MEASURE TO PREVENT AN UNWANTED PREGNANCY. UH, AND WE SHOULD TRY TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT, UH, PROMOTES, UH, GENDER, UH, EQUITY AND ITEM NUMBER FOUR. UH, I BELIEVE ALSO SEEKS TO, UH, PROTECT A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT, UH, THAT'S EMBODIED IN THE, IN THE COMMERCE CLAUSE AND OTHER CLAUSES, UH, THAT SAYS THAT, UH, ONE STATE CAN CANNOT STOP, UH, ITS CITIZENS FROM EXERCISING, UH, ILLEGAL ACT, UH, IN, UH, IN ANOTHER, IN ANOTHER STATE. UM, ALSO I'M GOING TO BE VOTING FOR ALL FOUR OF THESE ITEMS, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION CUSTOMER VELA, JUST WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING BRIEF. UH, THANK YOU. UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, HONESTLY, TO MY, MY STAFF, UM, UH, JENNA HANES, RAIMI CO UH, MY CHIEF OF STAFF, UH, SO BETA GOMEZ CHOW, WHO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALL SO SHOCKED WHEN THE, UH, LEAKED, UH, DECISION CAME OUT. WE SAT DOWN BRAINSTORMED AND, UH, HERE WE ARE LIKE, SADLY, A FEW MONTHS LATER, UH, PASSING, UH, THAT DECRIM MEASURE, THANKS TO MY COLLEAGUES AND TO THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, UH, FOR HELPING US VET AND IMPROVE THE, THE INITIAL DRAFT. THANKS SO MUCH TO THE ABORTION RIGHTS ADVOCATES, UH, PLANNED PARENTHOOD, LILITH FUND ABOUT AUSTIN JUSTICE, COALITION, TEXAS FREEDOM NETWORK, UH, AND OTHERS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WORKED WITH TO DEFEND ABORTION RIGHTS AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LEADER IN THIS AREA IN, UH, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS. THERE WAS A GREAT ARTICLE IN THE TEXAS OBSERVER TALKING ABOUT THE STUDENT ACTIVISM, UH, WHICH ULTIMATELY PRODUCED THE ROE V WADE DECISION. UH, SARAH WEDDINGTON, HIS ROLE IN THE UT LAW SCHOOLS, UH, ROLE, UH, A FASCINATING HISTORY. SO THIS IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS. THIS IS THE, WHAT WE CAN DO TODAY, UH, TO, UH, FIGHT FOR, UH, ABORTION RIGHTS AND, UM, AND THANKS TO SO MANY OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE TAKEN THE, THE TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS DRAFTED HERE IN THE AUSTIN CITY HALL AND RUNNING WITH IT IN, IN SO MANY CITIES, NOT JUST THROUGHOUT THE STATE, BUT, YOU KNOW, NASHVILLE, ATLANTA, UH, AND AGAIN, I'M JUST HUMBLED AND GRATEFUL AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO PASSING THE MEASURE. OKAY. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE, LET'S TAKE A VOTE ON THESE ITEMS. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A VOTE ON EACH OF THEM INDIVIDUALLY, AND IN ORDER, UH, IT'S BEEN MOVED IN SECOND AT ITEM NUMBER ONE, LET'S TAKE A VOTE THOSE IN FAVOR OF ITEM. NUMBER ONE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND UNANIMOUS ON THE DIETS WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY OFF ITEM NUMBER TWO, THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND THOSE OPPOSED. IT IS AGAIN, UNANIMOUS ON THE DYES WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY OFF ITEM NUMBER THREE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. IF YOU SUPPORT THOSE OPPOSED GENETICISTS WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY OFF THE DYES ITEM, NUMBER FOUR, THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND ANONYMOUS ON THE DIOCESE AGAIN WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UH, OFF THE, UH, THIS, UH, IT IS, UM, UH, 1135. UH, [01:25:01] DO WE WANT TO BEGIN THE, UH, BRIEFING AND USE THESE 25 MINUTES TILL NOON? OR DO WE WANT TO TAKE A BREAK? LET EVERYBODY GRABBED THEIR LUNCH NOW, UH, UH, GOING INTO THE PRESS CONFERENCE AT, UH, NOON AND THEN RECONVENE FOR THE BRIEFING. SINCE WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO GRAB LUNCH HERE AT, UH, 1135, IT SEEMS AS IF WE COULD RECONVENE THEN SAY AT, UH, 1245, UM, FOR THE, UH, BRIEFING, DOES THAT WORK? DOES THAT WORK FOR STAFF? OKAY, SO LET'S DO THAT THEN. UH, THIS, UM, SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AT 1135 IS IN A RECESS. I WILL RECONVENE AT 1245. THERE'S GOING TO BE AN INTERVENING, UH, PRESS CONFERENCE AT NOON, WHICH IS ALSO A NOTICED CITY COUNCIL MEETING, UH, THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN ATTEND. I WILL SEE THAT TECH FOLKS READY WE'RE BROADCASTING. SO WE'RE GONNA RECONVENE THIS MEETING HERE ON JULY 21ST, 2022 IS THE CONTINUATION OF THIS SPECIAL CALL MEETING. IT IS A ONE OH TWO ONE OH THREE, ACTUALLY. UM, IN THE AFTERNOON WE HAVE ONE ITEM [5. Staff briefing on the City’s current capacity and future plans for emergency responses to extreme heat and cold, including those instances that are concurrent with State or local grid power outages. ] LEFT ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS THE BRIEFING, UH, AS I THINK ORIGINALLY REQUESTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, UH, DEALING WITH, UH, THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE, UH, WITH THE, UH, HEAT. WE'VE ALL BEEN DEALING WITH COUNCILMEMBER HARPER, MADISON. DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING REAL BRIEFLY BEFORE WE START, OR DO YOU WANT US TO GO STRAIGHT INTO THE BRIEFING? YEAH, I'D LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING BRIEFLY. I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE, UH, TO THE BRIEFING AS WELL. YOU KNOW, ON OUR MESSAGE BOARD. I LAID OUT MY, MY REASONING FOR ONE IN THIS BRIEFING. I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR, BUT, UM, JUST TO QUICKLY SUMMARIZE MY THOUGHTS, UH, WE'VE BEEN WARNING FOR YEARS THAT, UH, CLIMATE CHANGE WAS HAPPENING. I JUST DON'T THINK ENOUGH OF US TOOK OR ARE TAKING IT SERIOUSLY. I THINK IT FEELS LIKE IT'S ALL CATCHING UP TO US. AND THE PAST FEW YEARS WE'VE HAD FLOODS, WE'VE HAD FREEZES FIRES AND, AND NOW WE'RE, UH, WE'RE ON A PACE TO LIVE THROUGH THE HOTTEST SUMMER IN AUSTIN'S HISTORY. UM, JUST A DECADE AFTER WE SET THAT RECORD. UM, THAT'S, THAT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, TO SORT OF THINK ABOUT THAT TIMELINE THERE, THE CHRONOLOGY OF IT, UM, YOU CAN CALL THIS EXTRAORDINARY WEATHER, BUT WE NEED TO COME TO TERMS ALL OF US NEED TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE FACT THAT PRETTY SOON, IT'S JUST GOING TO BE ORDINARY. THIS JUST IS THE WEATHER. UM, SO AS A MUNICIPALITY, I THINK THAT WE REALLY NEED TO WRAP OUR HEADS AROUND THE KINDS OF REAL ROBUST, RESILIENT STRATEGIES THAT WE NEED FOR THOSE WORST CASE SCENARIOS ARE, ARE GRIDS NOT RELIABLE. UM, AND EVEN IF IT WERE OUR OWN LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS VULNERABLE TO EXTREME TEMPERATURES, UH, WHEN PEOPLE LOSE POWER THEY'RE IN DANGER PERIOD, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOSING AIR CONDITIONING OR LOSING ELECTRICITY FOR THEIR CRITICAL MEDICAL DEVICES, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS HAVE DISPROPORTIONATE NEGATIVE OUTCOMES IN BLACK COMMUNITIES AND IN BROWN COMMUNITIES WITH OUR SENIORS, WITH OUR ELDERS, UM, AND OUR LOWER INCOME RESIDENTS ARE UNHOUSED. AUSTINITES, ALL OF US HAVE HEARD CONCERNS ABOUT OUR COOLING CENTERS THIS SUMMER, THEIR LOCATIONS, THEIR HOURS, HOW TO ACCESS, UH, ACCESS INFORMATION ABOUT THEM. UM, AND I PERSONALLY HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW WE STAFF AND OPERATE THEM AMONG OTHER THINGS. UM, SO I'M INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE FROM OUR STAFF ABOUT WHAT STRATEGIES ARE IN PLACE, WHAT STRATEGIES COULD BE IN PLACE, UH, WHAT COUNCIL MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO TO BETTER BE ABLE TO CONSIDER ADDITIONAL MEASURES AND BETTER COORDINATION BETWEEN CITY, DEPARTMENT, CITY, AND COUNTY, UM, AND OUR PRIVATE PARTNERS, FRANKLY, I THINK IT'S, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY CREATE A MODEL, UM, FOR OTHER CITIES EXPERIENCING SIMILAR CHALLENGES. I REALLY DO LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION. I ALSO JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE TO RECOGNIZE THAT IN THIS CONVERSATION, I KNOW THAT SOME FOLKS MAY EVEN FEEL SOME SENSE OF REDUNDANCY, YOU KNOW, RIGHT IN THIS, IN THIS, UM, INFORMATION BEING REQUESTED. AND I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR TO INDICATE A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR STAFF AND, AND THE WORK THAT, UM, THAT THEY'RE DOING TO, TO BRING US THE INFORMATION. SO ANY DEGREE OF CRITICISM IS NOT AT ALL PERSONAL IT'S ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOMES. UM, I ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO JUST MAKE SURE TO POINT OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY STUFF THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH HERE. NONE OF US, UM, ARE ACCUSTOMED TO OPERATING UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. AND SO IN A LOT OF WAYS, WE'RE ALL JUST REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW BEST TO TAKE CARE OF ONE ANOTHER. I REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING HAD THE OPPORTUNITY RECENTLY TO BE IN ON A CONVERSATION AROUND WHAT THE CITY'S EFFORTS ARE LOOKING LIKE, UM, FOR BUILDING A MORE [01:30:01] RESILIENT AUSTIN, UM, AND HAD THE OPPORTUNITY DURING THE COURSE OF THAT CONVERSATION TO TALK ABOUT SOME LOCAL ED EFFORTS AROUND, UM, ANTI-FRAGILITY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE REALLY JUST BEING ABLE TO, TO BEAR THE, UM, THE BRUNT OF, OF SOME OF THESE UNEXPECTED OCCURRENCES, REALLY JUST BEING BEYOND RESILIENT, FRANKLY. UM, AND ALSO THE LAST THING I WANT TO MAKE SURE TO RECOGNIZE IS, YOU KNOW, WHILE I CAN APPRECIATE THAT THE CITY HAS A LOT OF OBLIGATIONS TO ITS RESIDENTS. WE ALSO, AND A LOT OF WAYS WE'RE LIMITED, UM, BY ACCESS TO, TO RESOURCES THAT ARE REALLY LIMITED TO ACCESS TO RESOURCES. SO, UM, EVEN IF AT OUR VERY BEST, WHAT WE'RE PROVIDING IS INFORMATION, UM, TO PROVIDE THE SOLUTIONS WILL NOT BE A CITY EXCLUSIVE EXECUTED EFFORT. THAT'S KIND OF TAKE US ALL COMING TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE HAVE WHAT THEY NEED AND ARE, ARE ABLE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES. SO AGAIN, JUST REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS INFORMATION AND, AND RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG IN TERMS OF CONVERSATIONS, WE'RE ALL GOING TO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE AROUND OUR EVER EVOLVING, UM, WEATHER RELATED CIRCUMSTANCES. THANK YOU, MAYOR ACTING CITY MANAGER. YOU WANT TO START US OFF. THANK YOU, MAYOR. SO RAY ARIANO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER IS GOING TO LEAD THE PRESENTATION WITH SEVERAL GROUPS INVOLVED AND, UH, WE HOPE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU AGAIN, RAY ARIANO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER OVER THE SAFETY OUTCOME, UH, DEPARTMENTS. IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE. AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON, FOR THOSE, UH, FRAMING COMMENTS, UH, TODAY, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPACITY AND LOOKING TO SEE IF I CAN ADVANCE THE SLIDES HERE. OH, HERE WE GO. AND SO THE HOT SUMMER WE'RE EXPERIENCING HAS BROUGHT ON A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ABOUT KEY PREPAREDNESS AND OVERALL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS. TODAY, WE WILL COVER OUR CURRENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPACITY AS WELL AS FUTURE PLANS TO EXPAND THAT CAPACITY. AS COUNCIL MAY RECALL, THE GENERAL APPROACH TO EMERGENCIES IS AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH THAT IS MUCH OF OUR PROCEDURES ARE RESOURCES SUCH AS FACILITIES AND STAFF ARE CAPABLE OF BEING DEPLOYED IN A CONSISTENT WAY, REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF EMERGENCY AS WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A HOT SUMMER SESSION SEASON, WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON HEAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN PARTICULAR, WE WILL COVER HOW WE ARE COMMUNICATING INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL GRID CONSIDERATIONS WITH ME TODAY ARE, UM, LAURA PITINO, CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICE, SYDNEY JACKSON, AUSTIN ENERGY, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, JERRY GALVAN, AUSTIN ENERGY, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER CARE AND SERVICES, BOTH SIDNEY AND JERRY ARE, UH, JOINING US VIRTUALLY SARAH HENLEY, HOMELAND, OR HENRY HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OR HAYSOM, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION MANAGER AND EVA, LONGMORE HE SOME DEPUTY OFFICER WHO WILL BE PRESENTING THE FIRST SECTION, EVA. UM, IF I MAY, THIS IS COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON. I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER FOLKS ARE EXPERIENCING, BUT ON MY END FOR VISUALS, ALL I SEE IS, UM, A SCREEN THAT'S THAT'S LIKE THE BEGINNING OF BEING ABLE TO OPEN UP THE PRESENTATION. IT SAYS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, PRESENTATION PPTX BUT I DON'T, I DON'T SEE A PRESENTATION IF I'M SUPPOSED TO BE SEEING ONE. THERE YOU GO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SAM. ARIANO UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. UH, SO HE'S, UH, MANAGES THE HEAT EMERGENCY PLAN AND THANK YOU. UH, HE'S UH, MANAGES THE HEAT EMERGENCY PLAN. UH, WE REVIEW THIS PLAN ANNUALLY WITH OUR PARTNERS AND WE MAKE UPDATES AS NEEDED. NOW WHILE, UH, HIGHER TEMPERATURES DO NOT EQUAL AN EMERGENCY, WE CERTAINLY MONITOR CONDITIONS AND THE IMPACTS ON THE COMMUNITY AND WE PROVIDE COORDINATION AND SUPPORT AS NEEDED. UH, SO WHEN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES, THAT HEAT ADVISORY, THAT TRIGGERS PHASE ONE OF OUR PLAN. SO THAT'S WHERE WE, UH, WHERE WE HAVE REGULAR COORDINATION CALLS. WE MONITOR THOSE IMPACTS AND WE PROVIDE OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WHEN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES, AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THAT TRIGGERS PHASE TWO. UH, SO THAT'S WHERE WE PROVIDE, UH, NOTIFICATIONS TO THE PUBLIC, UM, OUTREACH TO, UH, POPULATIONS AND ACTIONABLE MESSAGING. WE ALSO ASSESS OUR COOLING CENTERS [01:35:01] AND EXTEND HOURS AND LOCATIONS AS NEEDED. UH, THIS IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS HAVE DONE THROUGHOUT TEXAS AS WELL. IT'S LIKE THESE, UH, SO HERE'S A LIST OF OUR PARTNERS THAT WE WORK WITH ON AT LEAST A WEEKLY BASIS, UH, FOR THOSE HEAT CALLS. UM, AS COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON SAID, THOUGH, THIS IS A COMMUNITY EFFORT, AND WE ALL HAVE A ROLE CHECKING ON OUR NEIGHBORS AND HAVING SOME LEVEL OF PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS. UH, HE'S SOME DOES HAVE PLANS FOR EMERGENCY MASS SHELTERING COOLING CENTERS ARE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF RESOURCE. SO THEY ARE DESIGNED, UH, FOR TEMPORARY REPRIEVE DURING THE HOTTEST HOURS OF THE DAY. UH, WE DO USE EXISTING PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES AND LIBRARY FACILITIES DURING THEIR NORMAL, REGULAR, UH, REGULAR OPERATING HOURS. UH, DURING EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNINGS, WE DO EXTEND HOURS AND ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS. UH, THESE LOCATIONS PROVIDE AIR CONDITIONING, WATER, RESTROOMS, AND SEATING. UH, THEY ARE OPEN TO SERVICE ANIMALS, AND THEY ARE ACCESSIBLE BY BUS. UH, THEY ARE NOT EMERGENCY OR OVERNIGHT SHELTERS. THEY DO NOT PROVIDE COTS MEALS OR MEDICAL SUPPORT. UH, SO WE HAVE, UH, 48 FACILITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE AS A COOLING CENTER AND RESOURCE TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, MOST LIBRARIES ARE OPEN UNTIL 8:00 PM ON WEEKDAYS AND, UH, SEVERAL REC CENTERS ARE OPEN UNTIL NINE. UM, MANY FACILITIES ARE OPEN FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY UNTIL 5:00 PM. UH, WE HAVE, UH, EIGHT FACILITIES THAT ARE OPEN ON SUNDAYS AND WE DO OPEN, UH, ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS AS NEEDED UH, SO HERE IS A SUMMARY OF OUR ACTIONS SO FAR THIS SUMMER, WE HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND WITH OUR PARTNERS, UH, SINCE MAY. UM, SO WHEN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING, JUNE 12, UH, WE WORKED TO OPEN TWO ADDITIONAL COOLING CENTERS AT OUR LIBRARIES. UM, ONE AT RELEASE AND ONE AT CARVER. UH, ONE SAW SIX INDIVIDUALS UTILIZE THAT SERVICE AND THE OTHER ONE, UH, HAD, UH, NOBODY TURNED UP AT THAT LOCATION ON JULY 10, WHICH WAS THE NEXT DATE FOR OUR EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING. WE OPENED, UH, ANOTHER TWO LOCATIONS, RUIZ AND LITTLE WALNUT CREEK LIBRARY. WE HAD FOUR GUESTS THAT ONE AND 17 AT THE OTHER, UH, SOME OF OUR PARTNERS ALSO HAVE OPENED COOLING CENTERS. THEY HAVE NOT SEEN MUCH DEMAND. UH, SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE NOT SEEN DEMONSTRATED A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES. WILL WE MOST CERTAINLY CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE HEAT-RELATED MEDICAL CALLS, HOSPITAL VISITS AND, UM, COOLING CENTER USE IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE NEED FOR THOSE SERVICES AND ADJUST AS NEEDED. UH, AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE, SARAH HENRY COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER FOR HOUSTON. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, WE CONTINUOUSLY ADJUST OUR COMMUNICATIONS APPROACH BASED ON FEEDBACK AND FOR HEAT RELATED INCIDENTS, WE'VE BOLSTERED OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH PROCESS TO REACH MORE PEOPLE MORE QUICKLY. NEXT SLIDE. SO FOR MASS COMMUNICATION AND IN SPECIFICALLY RESPONSE TO HEAT OVER THE SUMMER, WE'VE KEPT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV/ALERTS, UM, AND 3, 1, 1 UPDATED IN REAL TIME AND TRANSLATED IN 10 LANGUAGES, INCLUDING ASL. UM, WE PROVIDED OVER A DOZEN ON CAMERA AND PRINT RADIO AND, UH, INTERVIEWS, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS AND PUBLIC HEALTH TO TRADITIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS. WE'VE PUSHED SOCIAL MEDIA AND OF COURSE PROVIDED UPDATES TO COUNCIL, UH, WITH THE HOPE THAT COUNCIL CAN QUICKLY TRANSLATE THAT NEWSFLASH INFORMATION INTO, UM, YOUR OWN SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. I'VE SEEN SEVERAL WEEKS RETWEETS. SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THAT. UM, NEXT SLIDE, WE ARE ALSO MAKING SURE TO DO OUTREACH FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. SO WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE REACHING OUT TO, FOR EXAMPLE, FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, THE ELDERLY, MEDICALLY VULNERABLE PEOPLE, WORKING OUT DOORS, INCLUDING FOLKS WHO ARE IN CONSTRUCTION AS WELL AS MANY OF OUR OWN CITY CREWS. UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO SEND TEXTS ALERTS VIA THE WARN CENTRAL TEXAS APP AND THE READY CENTRAL TEXAS APP. UM, NEXT SLIDE. A LOT OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT [01:40:01] WE'RE MAKING DATA INFORMED DECISIONS. UM, SO WE'RE COLLECTING DATA FROM HEAT RELATED ILLNESS, UH, INCIDENTS FROM BOTH PUBLIC HEALTH AND EMS. UM, WE'VE SET UP A SERVICE AND A REQUEST WITH AUSTIN 3, 1, 1, SO WE CAN MONITOR WHAT'S COMING THROUGH FOR HEAT RELATED CALLS. UM, AND I WOULD SAY ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THE COOLING CENTERS IS THAT MANY OF THOSE PARKS AND LIBRARY FACILITIES ARE PULLING DOUBLE DUTY. UM, THEY'RE SERVING WHERE PEOPLE MIGHT BE CHECKING OUT A BOOK AND, UH, COOLING DOWN IN THE AC. SOMEONE MIGHT BE GOING TO A REC CENTER, UH, FOR SUMMER CAMP AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND USING THE FACILITY TO COOL DOWN, RIGHT? SO TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UH, WHO IS USING THE COOLING CENTERS DURING THESE NORMAL OPERATING HOURS, WE'RE SETTING UP AN OPT-IN SURVEY THAT WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO ALL THE LOCATIONS, AND THEN WE'LL USE THAT DATA TO BE ABLE TO HELP US TARGET OUTREACH EFFORTS WHERE POSSIBLE AND BETTER UNDERSTAND THE HEAT RESOURCE NEEDS. NEXT SLIDE, IN ADDITION TO RESPONDING TO EMERGENCIES, UH, WE'RE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE PUBLIC AND THE COMMUNITY, UM, ARE ABLE TO BE PREPARED OUTSIDE OF AN EMERGENCY. SO, UM, AS YOU KNOW, COUNCIL APPROVED $250,000 TO HELP SUPPORT A PREPAREDNESS CAMPAIGN, AND WE'VE USED THESE FUNDS TO DEVELOP, UH, MAKE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS YOUR SUPERPOWER. SO WE HAVE BEEN ADVERTISING IN THIS ACROSS THE VARIOUS CHANNELS THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN. UM, IT REALLY HIGHLIGHTING THE FOUR PILLARS OF PREPAREDNESS AND WITH THE HELP OF CPIO, WE'VE MANAGED AGAIN TO DO TRADITIONAL PAID MEDIA OUTREACH, SORRY, SORRY. UH, TRADITIONAL OUTREACH PAID, UH, ADS ON STREAMING DEVICES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ALL RUNNING IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. AND LAST SLIDE FOR ME, PLEASE. SO, UM, IN, IN SHORT TO DATE WITH THIS, WITH THESE FUNDS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REACH OVER 300,000 PEOPLE, UM, IN 12 LANGUAGES. AND OUR NEXT STEPS WITH THIS CAMPAIGN ARE TO CONTINUE DELVING PARTNERSHIPS WITH MAJOR RETAILERS, UM, AND TO CONTINUE OUR MARKETING AND OUTREACH EFFORTS. AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, SYDNEY JACKSON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SARAH. AND GOOD AFTERNOON. AND I AM SIDNEY JACKSON, AUSTIN ENERGY, DEPUTY CHIEF OPERATIONS OFF NEXT, CAN YOU SPEAK UP OR CAN WE INCREASE THAT VOLUME? I WILL TRY TO SPEAK UP, IS THAT BETTER? PERFECT. DURING GRID EMERGENCIES AND HIGH ELECTRICAL LOAD PERIODS, AUSTIN ENERGY THAT'S COORDINATION RESPONSIBILITIES WITH A VARIETY OF ENTITIES, SOME OF WHICH ARE ERCOT, WHICH HAS OVERALL ELECTRIC RATE OF 44 MUCH OR MOST OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AS WELL AS OTHER PARTNERS, SUCH AS HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. AND I'LL EXPAND ON THAT LATER. THE EXCESSIVE SPEED OF THE PRECEDING WEEKS HAS RESULTED IN ALL TIME PEAK LOADS ACROSS OUR REGION. FOR INSTANCE, LAST WEEK, ERCOT SET, NEW SYSTEM PEAK LOADS MULTIPLE TIMES, AND WE HAVE SET INCREMENTAL PEAK LOAD SINCE THEN, EVEN WITHIN TO THIS WEEK. THE GRAPHIC ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS ESSENTIALLY A SNAPSHOT OF TWO PARTICULAR ERCOT OPERATING DAYS. LAST WEEK OF THE TOP ONE IS MONDAY, JULY 11TH, AND THE BOTTOM. ONE'S A SNAPSHOT OF MONDAY, JULY, EXCUSE ME, WEDNESDAY, JULY FOR THE TEAM. THESE SNAPSHOTS WERE TAKEN NOMINALLY AT 5:00 AM OF EACH OF THESE DAYS, AND THEY GRAPHICALLY REPRESENT PROJECTIONS OF THE ERCOT GRID, STABILITY OR LOADING CONDITIONS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO BE, UH, OVER THE PEAK HOURS. AND IN THIS TIME OF YEAR, THAT WAS PEAK HOURS ARE NORMALLY 6:00 PM OR SO, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THESE SPECIFIC DAYS, THE FORECAST ACROSS 6:00 PM, IT SHOWS THE POTENTIAL FOR ELECTRIC DEMAND TO POTENTIALLY EXCEED ELECTRIC SUPPLY. OBVIOUSLY THAT DID NOT MATERIALIZE LAST WEEK. DEMAND DID NOT EXCEED SUPPLY, BUT THE PRIMARY AND TAKEAWAY OF THE SNAPSHOTS IS TO AFFIRM THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, AS WELL AS ALL ELECTRIC PROVIDERS ACROSS THE STATE ARE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION IN COORDINATION WITH OUR COTS THROUGHOUT THIS OPERATING DAY. THIS COORDINATION HEALTH PROVIDE HEIGHTENED AWARENESS, WHICH AIDS AUSTIN ENERGY AND OUR PLANNING EFFORTS. AS WE HAVE A VARIETY OF INPUTS AND CONSIDERATION AND PLANNING PARAMETERS ON THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO EXECUTE IN THE DELIVERY OF ELECTRICITY ACROSS A COMPLEX SYSTEM. THE RIGHT GRAPHIC I'VE LAID OUT IS ERCOT EMERGENCY PROGRESSION. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE THAT THIS PROGRESSION ALSO FRAMES AUSTIN ENERGY'S, UH, INTERNAL, UH, INCIDENT RESPONSE PLANS STARTING AT THE TOP OF THIS PROGRESSION. AND, UH, YOU CAN SEE NORMAL OPERATIONS IN GREEN AND NORMAL OPERATIONS FROM AN ARCHIVE PERSPECTIVE ARE ESSENTIALLY DEFINED AS, UH, OPERATING RESERVES BEING GREATER THAN 3000 MEGAWATTS WITH A STABLE OUTLOOK OPERATING RESERVES HERE BEING GENERALLY DEFINED AS THE MARGIN WHERE GENERATION SUPPLY EXCEEDS GENERATION DEMAND AND FORWARD LOOKING A FORECAST, AFFIRMS STABILITY, LOOKING FURTHER DOWN THE PROGRESSION TO POTENTIALLY WORSENING CONDITIONS. YOU SEE EDA ONE HIGHLIGHTED [01:45:01] EEA STANDS FOR ENERGY EMERGENCY ALERT, AND THAT'S WHERE RESERVES OPERATING RESERVES THAT WE JUST DISCUSSED FALL BELOW A CERTAIN THRESHOLD IN THIS PARTICULAR THRESHOLD FOR EEA WANT IS 2300 MEGAWATTS. AND AGAIN, THAT IS WITH AN UNSTABLE FORECAST OR WORSENING OUTLOOK. IT'S EQUALLY IMPORTANT IN THAT THIS IS THE THRESHOLD WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY INITIATES OUR EMERGENCY INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE TO INCLUDE SPECIFIC NOTIFICATION OF APIECE OR HOMELAND SECURITY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROGRESSING FURTHER DOWN THE TABLE TO THE HIGHEST STATE OF EMERGENCY WHERE COP WOULD POTENTIALLY GIVE THE DIRECTOR FOR CONTROLLED OUTAGES, UH, THAT OCCURS AT EEA THREE LEVEL. AND THAT'S LISTED IN BLACK AT THE BOTTOM, BUT AGAIN, FOR EMPHASIS OR GOD HAS NOT CALLED ANY EEA THREE IN 2022 OR ANY CONTROLLED OUTAGES THIS YEAR AS WELL. I'D LIKE TO EMPHASIZE A PROGRESSIVE STEP AND THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW CALLED ENERGY CONSERVATION OR CONSERVATION ALERTS SPECIFICALLY. UH, THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLY STEPS IN THE PROGRESSION, UM, AND IT IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN THE PROGRESSION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. HERE, WE'RE EMPHASIZING THE ACTUAL AUSTIN ENERGY CONSERVATION AROUND CONSERVATION OF FIELDS OR CONSERVATION ALERTS, AND THEN FIRMS ARE, UH, JOINT OBLIGATION TO WORK AND WORK JOINTLY WITH ERCOT AND INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF ENERGY CONSERVATION NEEDS. THESE CONSERVATION COMMUNICATIONS ARE EXECUTED VIA AUSTIN ENERGY, SOCIAL MEDIA, PUSH NOTIFICATIONS, UH, THOSE REGISTERED BY OUR CUSTOMER PORTAL, AS WELL AS THE WEBSITE. AND AGAIN, FOR EMPHASIS, THE PUBLIC APPEAL FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION IS A VITAL INSTRUMENT. IT HELPS TO INCREASE ELECTRIC DEMAND, UH, WHEN IT IS NEEDED, IT HELPS IN SECURING ELECTRIC GRID STABILITY AND ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL AT LEAST TO POTENTIAL AVOIDANCE OF MORE SEVERE ERCOT EMERGENCY ACTIONS, SUCH AS PERHAPS CONTROL OUTAGES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. I WILL CONCLUDE WITH WORKING TO CLARIFY ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICAL OUTAGES THAT MIGHT NORMALLY OCCUR DURING WHAT WE CALL TYPICAL DAILY OPERATIONS. THESE OUTAGES MAY BE GENERALLY ARE UNRELATED TO ANY ERCOT ACTION AS AN EXAMPLE, DURING HOT WEATHER OR DURING HEAT EMERGENCIES, OR WHEN RED CONDITIONS ARE PERHAPS TIGHT, OR EVEN WHEN THERE ARE PUBLIC APPEALS IN PLACE TO REDUCE ELECTRIC DEMAND, ELECTRICAL OUTAGES DO AND CAN OCCUR. WE OBVIOUSLY MOBILIZE HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY, THE RESTORE SERVICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE IN THESE INSTANCES. BUT AGAIN, THESE OUTAGES CAN HER AND CURRENTLY, OR IN PARALLEL WITH HER COT ACTIONS, SOME OF THE NORMAL OUTAGE OF CODES I HAVE LISTED HERE, SOME ARE WEATHER AND BRING DOWN TREES DUE TO POP-UP THUNDERSTORMS OR VEGETATION IMPACT INFRASTRUCTURE. UH, IN ADDITION, I'VE, WE'VE LISTED HERE, UM, ANIMAL INTERFERENCE, EQUIPMENT, VEHICLE, CRASH KITS, AND EVEN CONSTRUCTION IS GENERALLY ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, DIGGING OR EXCAVATION. AGAIN, ALL OF THESE OUTAGES CAN OCCUR DURING HOT WEATHER, WHETHER THEY'RE RELATED OR EVEN UNRELATED OR SIMULTANEOUS TO ERCOT ACTIONS. AND LASTLY, UH, PRIOR TO TRANSITION TO AUSTIN, ENERGY'S JERRY GALVON. I WAS ASKED TO JUST TALK REAL BRIEFLY ABOUT WINTER EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND HOW THAT MIGHT DIFFER FROM SUMMER EMERGENCY ACTIONS, THE AIRCRAFT EMERGENCY PROGRESSION LEVELS THAT WE DISCUSSED REMAINED THE SAME. THEY ARE APPLICABLE FOR BOTH WINTER AND BOTH SUMMER, AND AS WE DISCUSSED, THEY TALK AND THEN THEY SENT HER UP ON OPERATING RESERVES AND THE STABILITY OF OPERATING RESERVES BEYOND CERTAIN THRESHOLDS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SEASONAL DIFFERENCES LOOK ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUMMER OF PERHAPS THE WINTER AND MOST OF THOSE DIFFERENCES DEAL WITH THE UNIQUE IMPACTS THAT WEATHER HAS ON SOME GENERATION TYPES, AS WELL AS SEASONAL LOAD SHAPES AS WELL. AND LASTLY, REGULATORS SUCH AS THE PUC AND THEIR POT REQUIRE WINTER WEATHER SEASON PREPARATION, SUCH AS PLANT POWER PLANT ONE ROTATION. BUT AGAIN, THESE ARE JUST A FEW HIGH-LEVEL SEASONAL DIFFERENCES. THANK YOU, MARIN COUNCIL, JERRY, THANK YOU, SYDNEY. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. MY NAME IS OR JERRY LN AND VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER CARE SERVICES AT AUSTIN ENERGY. UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL PROGRAMS, UH, TO HELP SUPPORT OUR MOST VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS TODAY. I'LL BRIEFLY SPEAK ABOUT OUR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY, UM, PROGRAM OR MDR. THANK YOU. ELIGIBILITY IS BASED ON LIFE SUPPORT EQUIPMENT OR THE MEDICAL CONDITION OF A MEMBER OF THE HOUSEHOLD. NOT AN INCOME SOON AFTER A CUSTOMER IS REGISTERED ON OUR MDR PROGRAM. OUR STAFF REACHES [01:50:01] OUT AND HELPS THEM CREATE AN EMERGENCY PLAN IN CASE OF AN OUTAGE WHEN AN OUTAGE HAPPENS AND WHEN POSSIBLE IN ADVANCE OF AN IMMINENT EMERGENCY CUSTOMERS RECEIVE COURTESY CALLS TO VALIDATE THEY'RE READY AND ABLE TO EXECUTE ON THEIR EMERGENCY PLAN. AND IF THEY NEED HELP, UH, WE'RE HERE TO HELP. WE CAN CONNECT THEM WITH COMMUNITY RESOURCES. THAT'S ALSO TRUE OR NOT IN VR CUSTOMERS, BOTH OUR CONTEXT CENTERS, AUSTIN 3, 1, 1 AS WELL AS A UTILITY CONTEXT CENTER AND PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION. AND THEN LAST, I WOULD JUST WANT TO REMIND US ALL THAT AUSTIN ENERGY DURING EXTREME WEATHER PASO, A MORATORIUM ON DISCONNECTIONS OR NON-PAID. THANK YOU. I BELIEVE NOW I PASS IT BACK TO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AT AGAIN. THANK YOU, JERRY. SO HAVING COVERED OUR, UH, CURRENT RESPONSE CAPACITY, I'D LIKE TO TURN NOW TO WHAT STAFF IS DOING TO EXPAND OUR CAPACITY AND TO START THAT CONVERSATION, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE LAURA , WHO WILL DESCRIBE OUR EFFORTS IN ESTABLISHING RESILIENCE HUBS, OR THANK YOU, ACM ARIANO MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH CLIMATE CHANGE. WE'RE EXPECTED TO SEE AN INCREASE IN HEAT AND HE CHALKS AND HEAT STRESSES BY 2100. WE ARE ESTIMATING TO HAVE MORE THAN 90 DAYS OF TRIPLE DIGIT TEMPERATURES. THAT IS GOING TO BE OUR NEW NORM EVERY YEAR. WHAT'S MORE CONCERNING. IS THAT BASED ON A REPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA AND THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION, UM, IS THAT FORMERLY RED LINE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE AN AVERAGE OF FIVE DEGREES HOTTER AND AS MUCH AS 12 DEGREES HOTTER IN SOME CITIES. SO WE NEED TO FIND WAYS TO INTEGRATE HEAT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, WHICH INCLUDE PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE AND HEAT MITIGATION, AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES THAT INCLUDE REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRIBUTION TO HEAT. THIS WILL CREATE HEAT, RESILIENT COMMUNITIES. THE CITY IS WORKING ON IMPROVING HEAT MAPPING, ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND THE LIVED EXPERIENCES AND ESTABLISHING NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO DEVELOP PROJECTS. AND THESE INCLUDE PROJECTS THAT ARE CENTERED AND AN EQUITY TO HELP ALL AUSTINITES. UM, AND THE MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. EXAMPLES ARE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS FOR HOMES, INVESTMENTS, AND COOL PAVEMENTS AND MORE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, AND A FOCUS ON URBAN FORESTRY AND TREES. BUT SPECIFICALLY TODAY, ONE INTERVENTION THAT IS SUPPORTED BY COUNCIL IS A RESILIENCE HUB NETWORK. RESILIENCE HUBS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TOOL FOR THEIR RESPONSE, PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY. DURING CLIMATE EVENTS, THE RESILIENCE HUBS PROGRAM IS IN ITS EARLY STAGES OF A PILOT, WHICH IS THE FIRST PHASE OR PHASE ONE. AND PHASE ONE IS AIMING TO KICK OFF THE SIX PILOT LOCATIONS IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT. BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, THE ULTIMATE GOAL AT THE END OF PHASE THREE IS A FULL-SCALE NETWORK OF FACILITIES THAT PROVIDE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS TO ALL AUSTINITES DURING EMERGENCIES AND ALSO DURING BLUE SKY DAYS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO A FEW OF THE SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED DURING THE PILOT PHASE INCLUDE THAT SIX FOCUS AREAS IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT HAVE ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED. AND THE TYPES OF HUBS FOR EMERGENCY ACTIVATION HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED. THIS INCLUDE WEATHER SITES, CONSERVES INFORMATION, HUBS, COOLING, AND WARMING CENTERS, FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION CENTERS, OR FOR SHELTER OPERATIONS. UM, AS WELL AS AN INITIAL CONCEPT OF THE OPERATING MODELS FOR THESE, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESILIENCE HUBS. THIS MEANS ARE THEIR AGENCY OWNED AN AGENCY OPERATED AGENCY AND COMMUNITY OWNED AND OPERATED AS A PARTNERSHIP. AND THE THIRD COMMUNITY OWNED AND COMMUNITY OPERATED A BROCHURE, UH, TO SHARE AND EXPAND THE EFFORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS OF, UH, THE NET RATE RESILIENCE HUB HAS BEEN CREATED AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT HAS BEEN PROCURED IN A COMMUNITY TASK FORCE HAS ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED TO SELECT OUR SIX PILOT SITES. ADDITIONAL STAFF CAPACITY HAS ALSO BEEN BROUGHT IN THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND SO TO CONCLUDE WHAT THE NEXT STEPS, UM, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF FINALIZING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO SELECT THE SIX SPECIFIC PILOTS [01:55:01] CONTINUE FORMULATING THE NEXT PHASES, UH, PHASE TWO AND PHASE THREE OF THE PROGRAM TO EXPAND THE RESILIENCE HUB NETWORK TO OTHER CITIES BASED ON WHAT WE LEARNED FROM OUR PILOT PROGRAM, AND FINALLY LAUNCHING A COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN THAT INCLUDES EXISTING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION AND OTHER SERVICES. I WANT TO END WITH THE STATING THAT RESILIENCE, SUSTAINABILITY, THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, HE SIM AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS WILL CONTINUE AND HAVE CONTINUED TO ALIGN, TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE STRATEGY. AND THIS WORK IS NOT ACCOMPANIED IN SILOS. AND SO AS WE WORK WITH AISD AND TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, FOR THE PILOT PROGRAM FOR NEIGHBORHOOD RESILIENCE HUBS, WE ALSO ARE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION THAT OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO BRING RESILIENCE TO ALL AUSTINITES. THANK YOU. AND I'LL PASS IT BACK TO ACMR ANOS. THANK YOU, LAURA. SO CONTINUING ON AS A RESULT OF A AFTER ACTION REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE CITY AUDITOR'S REPORT LAST YEAR ON OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPABILITY, IT WAS CLEAR THAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WERE NEEDED IN ORDER TO BETTER RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES THAT ARE BECOMING MORE FREQUENT AND LARGER IN SCALE IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR 2022, OUR APPROACH WAS TO REALLOCATE FOR VACANT POSITIONS TO HAYSOM. AS YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE, STAFF IS ACTIVELY WORKING WITH HUMAN RESOURCES TO RECLASSIFY THE POSITIONS THAT WILL FOCUS ON SUPPORTING THE RESILIENCE HUB PROGRAM AND BOLSTER HAYSOM'S CAPABILITY FOR MASCARA RESPONSE. AS IN, AS IS THE EXPERIENCE WITH MANY OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, FISA IS PRIORITIZING FILLING THE VACANCIES THAT DOES HAVE, UH, IT TOOK IT TEMPORARILY HAS FOUR VACANCIES, WHICH MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A BIG NUMBER, BUT OF HAVING FOUR 15, A TOTAL COMPLIMENT IS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT TO ITS CAPABILITIES. IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THAT IN THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 23 BUDGET, WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING INVESTMENTS THAT CAN HELP, UH, BOLSTER THAT CAPABILITY. THE FIRST, SECOND AND FOURTH ITEMS, TOTAL 3.4 MILLION AND 19 POSITIONS THAT ARE PRO PROPOSED THAT WE'LL ADD THE HAYSOM'S ABILITY TO MANAGE AND DISTRIBUTE EMERGENCY SUPPLIES, SUPPORT RESILIENCE, HUB DEVELOPMENT, AND COORDINATE MASS CARE ACTIVITIES IN AN EMERGENCY AND IMPROVE COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO ASSISTANCE. THE THIRD BULLET IS AN INVESTMENT FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH TO OPERATE TWO ADDITIONAL SHELTERS DURING COLD WEATHER, UH, ACTIVATIONS BEYOND THESE HIGHLIGHTED INVESTMENTS. THE AFTER ACTION REPORTS FROM PRIOR EMERGENCIES ALSO CONTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAN INCREASE THE CITY'S CAPABILITIES TO RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES. AGAIN, LAST YEAR'S AUDITORS AS A REPORT ON OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE IDENTIFIED, WE WORKED TRACKING THE RECOMMENDATIONS VERY EFFICIENTLY, ACCORDINGLY THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICES, BOTH WITH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY JOINTLY DEVELOPED THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE, RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENT STATUS PORTAL, OR CRISP BECAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE AN ACRONYM FOR SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE THE CRISP INCLUDES THE AFTER ACTION REPORTS DATING BACK TO 2013 AND TRACKS PROGRESS TOWARD ADDRESSING RECOMMENDATIONS. AND IT WILL LAUNCH LATER THIS SUMMER. THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE FRONT PAGE OF THE PORTAL IN THE PIE CHART ON THE LEFT. UH, WE SEE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, ACCORDING TO FEMA'S MISSION AREAS OF RESPONSE, MITIGATION, RECOVERY PROTECTION AND PREVENTION, AND THE PIE CHART ON THE RIGHT PORTRAYS THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY STATUS OF CLOSED, COMPLETED IN PROGRESS AND ON HOLDER PENDING. SO WHEN DO WE GET, WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO ACCESS THE PORTAL? WHAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO IS TO DIVE INTO WHETHER IT'S BY THE ACTUAL AFTER ACTION REPORT FOR A SPECIFIC EMERGENCY OR BY THESE DIFFERENT MISSION AREAS, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE STATUS OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE. AND IN ADDITION, YOU MIGHT BE AWARE THAT SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, IN SUBSEQUENT, UH, AFTER ACTION REPORTS HAVE BEEN VERY SIMILAR, UM, RECOMMENDATION OR TOPIC. AND SO IN THIS PORTAL, WE TRY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DUPLICATING IF YOU WILL, OR MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S A CONSISTENT RESPONSE ACROSS ALL OF THE EPHEMERAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT MIGHT BE SIMILAR. THIS CONCLUDES OUR BRIEFING. I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY AGAIN, TO ACKNOWLEDGE COUNCIL MEMBER HOPPER MADISON'S INTEREST ALONG WITH THOSE OF HER ACCOUNT CO-SPONSORS AND PROVIDING THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR AN UPDATE. I ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE MAY NOT COVER ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT THE COMP COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON POSTED ON THE COUNCIL MESSAGE BOARD. MY APPROACH IS TO IDENTIFY WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS COUNCIL MAY HAVE, UH, THAT REQUIRE FOLLOW-UP AND PROVIDE US A RESPONSE SO THAT ALL ANSWERS GET ON THIS TOPIC CAN BE IN ONE PLACE. AND SO IN ADDITION TO TODAY'S PRESENTERS, UH, REPRESENTED THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM, UH, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH ARE [02:00:01] AVAILABLE TO RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION, UH, ON LIKE THE SECOND OR THIRD SLIDE, UH, THERE WAS A MENTIONED THAT, UH, COME THE DATA POINTS THAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT WHERE HOSPITAL IS HOSPITAL, UH, INTAKE OR NUMBERS OR REPORTS. UM, DO WE, HE, IN, IN THE LAST MONTH, DO YOU HAVE THOSE NUMBERS OR A FEEL FOR WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT? UH, I DO NOT HAVE THEM OFFHAND EMS GATHERS THAT DATA. UM, AND THEN THEY LET US KNOW IF THEY SEE AN INCREASE OR A DECREASE, UM, IN THOSE, IN THOSE CASES. UM, ADDITIONALLY, UH, BAKER, BRIGHTON, SORRY, EMS GATHERS THAT HE CALLS AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH LOOKS AT THE LEVELS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS AND IT TENDS TO HAVE LIKE A ONE OR TWO A DAY DELAY. UM, AND SINCE, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS ON THE CALL, I THINK THEY MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION. UH, WE HAVE CASSIE DELEON, THAT'D BE HELPFUL. AND IF YOU HAVE IT NOW, THAT'D BE GREAT. IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL AND GIVING US A DATA, THAT'D BE FINE TOO. THE ONLY DATA THAT WE GOT WERE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WERE SHOWING UP AT THE, AT THE COOLING STATIONS, THE, UH, SIX PEOPLE AND ZERO PEOPLE, AND THEN SEVEN PEOPLE IN 14 PEOPLE. SO GETTING A FEEL FOR THE, THE OTHER DATA POINTS, WITH RESPECT TO THE, THAT WERE CLINICALLY, UH, IMPACTED BY THE HEAT, UH, OVER TIME, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SEE IF WE COULD PULL TOGETHER THAT DATA. I CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT. CASSIE, DID YOU HAVE SOME INFORMATION YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE? YES. THANK YOU. ACM ARIANO. UH, YES. UH, WE DO HAVE INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT ON HEAT RELATED ILLNESS, UM, UM, AND THE IMPACT THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE EMERGENCY ROOMS AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR. UM, THIS, UH, SPECIFIC YEAR FROM MAY 1ST, 2022 TO JULY 11TH, 2022, UM, WE'VE HAD 642. HE RELATED HE RELATED ILLNESS, ED VISITS, AND 412 EMS CALLS. UM, AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KIND OF LOOK AT THAT IN CONTEXT AS WELL. WE'RE ONLY HALFWAY REALLY THROUGH THE, UM, EXTREME SUMMER MONTHS. AND, UH, WE ARE TRACKING, UM, UH, RAPIDLY AHEAD OF, UH, THE PREVIOUS YEARS WE LOOK AT FROM A 2018 TO A FIVE-YEAR TIME SPAN. IS THAT POSTED ON THE, ON A WEBSITE SOMEWHERE FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK AT, OR IS THAT SOMETHING YOU NEED TO PROVIDE US SO THAT WE COULD LOOK AT THE YEAR TO YEAR COMPARISONS THERE? WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE, UH, THE GRAPHS, UH, WITH THE CHARTS THAT INCLUDE THOSE, UM, THOSE COMPARISONS AND THOSE FIGURES. THAT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL. THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES, COUNCIL MEMBER, ABRA, MADISON, AND COUNCIL MEMBER POOL. THANK YOU, MARIANNE. AND THANK YOU EVERYBODY WHO'S OFFERED, DUG UP INFORMATION, UM, UH, BY WAY THE PRESENTATION I'VE OBVIOUSLY STILL HAVE TONS OF QUESTIONS. SOME WERE ANSWERED PARTIALLY. AND SO I'M GONNA, I JOTTED DOWN JUST THREE WHERE WE'VE GOT KIND OF A PARTIAL ANSWER. SO ONE OF THOSE PARTIALLY ANSWERS WAS AROUND, UM, WHAT IS NOT PERMITTED, UM, NO ANIMALS, NO OVERNIGHTS AND NO MEDICAL SUPPORTS. I WOULD JUST REALLY LIKE TO EXPAND ON, UM, MAYBE RATIONALE FOR THOSE LIMITATIONS AND, UM, REALLY DIG AROUND IN EXPLORING WHAT VIABILITY IS FOR SOME POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS FOR WHAT SEEMS TO ME EXTREME LIMITATIONS THERE. UM, AND THEN, UM, THE, THERE WAS A SLIDE CAUSES OF OUTAGES SLIDE. UM, THERE WAS A IMPACT IF Y'ALL COULD PULL THAT SLIDE UP REAL QUICK. HOPEFULLY THAT'S EASY ACCESS OKAY. THIS ONE HERE. SO WHAT CAUSES OUTAGES ON SUNNY DAYS DOWN TREES, ANIMAL INTERFERENCE, UM, WORN EQUIPMENT, CAR CRASHES, CONSTRUCTION INCIDENTS. AND SO EVERYTHING HERE SEEMS, UM, LIKE, YEAH, THE KIND OF INCIDENT THAT CAN'T BE CONTROLLED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WORN EQUIPMENT, UM, [02:05:01] IN WHICH CASE, UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT ITS INCLUSION IN THIS SCALE HERE AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS AROUND WORN EQUIPMENT? I MEAN, I GUESS THAT, THAT SEEMS TO ME LIKE A STANDALONE CONVERSATION, UM, ABOUT STABILITY EXPECTATIONS AROUND, UM, THE PROVISION OF ELECTRICITY, UM, AND AT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUTAGES ARE CAUSED BY WORN EQUIPMENT. AND, YOU KNOW, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO MITIGATE MOVING FORWARD AND IS THERE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE OR, UM, IS THERE ANY SORT OF, UH, UH, SCARCITY, UM, THERE, I, I JUST GENERALLY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT ICON AND THEN LASTLY, UH, THE MORATORIUM FOR, UM, DISCONNECTION FOR AUSTIN ENERGY FOR, UH, I JUST HAVE SOME GENERAL QUESTIONS. HOW LONG IS THAT MORE STORIUM UNDER EFFECT? UM, IS THERE ANY LIMITATION BY WAY OF WHAT, UH, AMOUNT OF PERSON HAS OUTSTANDING, JUST IF YOU COULD ELABORATE ON, UM, QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE, FOR THE MORATORIUM ON PEOPLE BEING DISCONNECTED. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER MADISON, WHILE WE HAVE THE SLIDE UP, IF I COULD ASK, UH, SIDNEY JACKSON TO, UH, ADDRESS THOSE LAST TWO TOPICS. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU. SO LET ME JUST SPEAK TO THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR OUTAGES. YOU MENTIONED WARM MORE THAN EQUIPMENT. THE MAJORITY OF OUTAGES ARE ESSENTIALLY ANIMALS AND VEGETATION BY FAR OVERWHELMINGLY. SO WHEN YOU SPEAK OF WARN, UH, MORE EQUIPMENT, UM, WE DO HAVE POLES THAT ARE OUT IN THE FIELD FOR DECADES, IF YOU WILL. UM, THOSE POLES AGE, AND WE DO INSPECT THOSE POLES, WE DO REPLACE THOSE POLES. UH, WE DO HAVE EQUIPMENT THAT'S PERPETUALLY, UM, UH, IMPACTED BY LIGHTNING. UH, WE HAVE CABLES THAT ARE UNDERGROUND, THAT ARE IMPACTED BY LIGHTNING. SO WHEN WE SPEAK OF WORN EQUIPMENT, I WOULDN'T NECESSARILY CALL IT A IN TERMS OF AGING AND SOCCER. THINK OF IT MORE AS EQUIPMENT THAT IS IMPACTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IMPACTED BY, UH, LIGHTNING STRIKES AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS. SO THAT'S TYPICALLY WHERE WE SEE THAT. UH, I WILL SAY THAT WE DO HAVE AN EXTENSIVE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM WHERE WE ROUTINELY WORK TO REPLACE UNDERGROUND CABLE THAT IS AGED AND AGGRESSIVELY GO THROUGH THROUGH THOSE ACTIONS. BUT AGAIN, PERCENT OF OUTAGES IS CLEARLY ANIMAL VEGETATION AND WEATHER INDUCED. I DON'T THINK I SEE YOUR MARIANO WANTING TO HAVE YOU SPEAK TO THE LAST TWO THINGS. AND THAT WAS THIS PARTICULAR SIDE. AND THEN IT WAS ALSO TO ADD, WAS ASKING FOR YOU TO ELABORATE OR SOMEBODY TO ELABORATE ON THE DISCONNECT MORATORIUM. AND THAT WOULD BE GALVAN. YES. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. GOOD. UM, THE WEATHER MORATORIUM FOR THE SUMMER, FOR EXAMPLE, IS BASED ON A HEAT INDEX OF 102 DEGREES OR HIGHER. AND JUST A QUICK REMINDER THERE, UH, THAT DOES NOT MEAN A TEMPERATURE, 102, UH, IS BASED ON THE HEAT INDEX. UM, AND TO PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE. I DO NOT BELIEVE, UM, I CANNOT RECALL WHAT DAYS WE HAVE BEEN OUTSIDE OF MORATORIUM, BUT FOR THE MOST, OR THE LARGEST PART OF THIS, SINCE MAY WE, WE HAVE BEEN IN MORATORIUM, MOST THINGS, UM, ON A NORMAL WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE MORATORIUM IS USUALLY THE SUMMER, UH, AND IT USUALLY ENDS IN LATE SEPTEMBER, EARLY OCTOBER. YEAH, I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS, I THOUGHT THAT THE COUNCIL, UH, RESOLUTION THAT BEGAN THIS MORATORIUM SPECIFIED A TEMPERATURE. I THOUGHT IT WAS MAYBE OVER 90 DEGREES DURING, DURING, UM, A PERIOD OF HEAT THAT'S OVER A CERTAIN AMOUNT. UM, THERE WAS A MORATORIUM. CAN YOU REMIND US OF WHAT THOSE SPECIFIC, THE SPECIFIC CRITERIA PLEASE? I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFICS IN FRONT OF ME. I CAN CERTAINLY GET THEM, I'LL MAKE THEM AVAILABLE AND EMAIL THEM BACK TO COUNCIL. UM, I BELIEVE 90 SOUNDS RIGHT, BUT IT IS BASED ON THE HEAT INDEX, EVEN WHEN WE'RE ABOVE 90 CAN QUICKLY GET BEYOND THE 102. ABSOLUTELY. I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THE POINT THAT I THINK THERE ARE REALLY SPECIFIC CRITERIA YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT IT TENDS TO FALL DURING THE SUMMER, BUT IT IS, THERE ARE REALLY SPECIFIC CRITERIA THAT TRIGGER IT AND, AND I THINK WE'VE BEEN IN IT PROBABLY FOR QUITE A WHILE. THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S RIGHT. I'LL MAKE SURE THAT I GET THAT SPECIFIC LANGUAGE EMAIL TO THAT'S. THAT'S HELPFUL. AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING FOR THAT CLARIFICATION COUNCIL MEMBER TOPO. [02:10:01] UM, BUT MR. GALVAN, IF I CAN EXTEND ON, ON THE RESPONSE THAT YOU WERE OFFERING, UM, WHEN YOU SAID SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, UM, I THINK TO COUNCIL MEMBER TABLEAU'S POINT ABOUT REAL SPECIFIC PARAMETERS THAT DOESN'T TELL ME THAT WE HAVE A SPECIFIC, LIKE ON OCTOBER 13TH UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER, DO WE EXTEND BEYOND, I JUST WANT TO KNOW, DO WE HAVE SORT OF HARD AND FAST RULES? ARE WE GOING BASED ON, IS IT CIRCUMSTANTIAL? ARE WE JUST MAKING OUR ASSESSMENTS AS WE GO? IS IT FLUID? WE DO HAVE FAST AND HARD RULES ON THAT, AND I'M NOT IN THE DISCONNECTION PROCESS AS THE REASON WHY I CANNOT RECALL THE DATA POINT, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE, UH, BACK TO COUNCIL, BUT IT IS, IT IS BASED ON THAT TEMPERATURE AS WELL AS HEATING THIS. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE RESPONSE, BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY IMAGINE THAT THAT'S A PART OF WHAT IT IS THAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR WHAT IN THE MEETING, RIGHT. YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO SAY SPECIFICALLY TO OUR CONSTITUENTS ON THIS DAY, AT THIS TIME, IF YOU STILL HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THEN YOU'RE FOLLOWING COURT RECOURSE IS, YOU KNOW, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT WE HAVE SOME SYSTEMS IN PLACE THAT WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE'RE OFFERING OUR CONSTITUENTS THE BEST PATH TO SUCCESS POSSIBLE. AND SO IF I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT DAY, I'M NOT BEING CRITICAL, I'M JUST MAKING SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE RATIONALE WAS FOR REALLY WANTING TO DIG INTO THIS INFORMATION. CAUSE I DON'T THINK OUR CURRENT SYSTEMS, REGARDLESS OF HOW ROBUST THEY ARE, ARE GOING TO BE SUFFICIENT. SO WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPLEMENTARY SOLUTIONS WE NEED TO BE COOKING UP AND IMPLEMENTING. ABSOLUTELY. AND BY THE WAY, MY APOLOGIES, JUST TO ADD CLARITY TO THIS, WE LOOK AT THE HIDDEN DECKS OR THE FOLLOWING DAY. UM, AND, AND I'LL STILL COME BACK WITH THE, UH, WRITTEN LANGUAGE RESPONSE, UM, MAYOR, IF I MAY. YEAH, I JUST, I JUST WENT THROUGH SOME INFORMATION AND FOUND IT IT'S 15 9 1 0 9. UM, AND IT'S THE CITY SHALL PLACE AN EXTREME WEATHER MORATORIUM ON DISCONNECTING RESIDENTIAL UTILITY SERVICE FOR NONPAYMENT DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS IF THE HEAT INDEX. BUT AGAIN, IT'S NOT TRIGGERED TO THE TIME OF YEAR. IT'S TRIGGERED TO THE TEMPERATURE. IF THE HEAT INDEX FOR THE CURRENT DAY IS 1 0 2 OR OVER AND IS FORECASTED TO BE THE SAME FOR THE FOLLOWING DAY, THEN A MORATORIUM WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE FOLLOWING DAY. I REALLY THOUGHT IT WAS CLOSER TO 90, BUT IT, IT LOOKS IF THIS POWERPOINT IS CORRECTED, IT'S HIGHER THAN THAT. AND THEN DURING WINTER MONTHS, IF THE FORECAST HAD LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE FOLLOWING DAY IS, OR WILL BE BELOW 32 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, OR IF THE FORECAST HAD LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE FOLLOWING DAY IS, OR WILL BE 35 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR LOWER WITH A 50% OR MORE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION THAN A MORATORIUM WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE FOLLOWING DAY. AGAIN, THAT'S, UM, 15, 9 1 0 9. AND IT SAYS INFORMATION IS TRACKED BY THE COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, ACTUAL AND FORECAST, UM, EACH DAY USING THE CA CAMP MAYBERRY LOCATION. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, I'M ALL, BUT CERTAIN THERE'S SOMEBODY ELSE WHO WOULD NEED TO SPEAK TO THE ANIMAL ISSUE AND THEN THE SHELTER ACCOMMODATIONS ISSUES IN GENERAL. UH UH, I BELIEVE I CAN ADDRESS AT LEAST PART OF THAT. UM, IN TERMS OF THE ANIMALS, THE COOLING CENTERS DO ACCEPT, UH, SERVICE ANIMALS. ADDITIONALLY, ANIMAL SERVICES, UM, HAS LED ALL OF US KNOW THAT AS NEEDED. UM, THEY CAN PROVIDE COOLING TRUCKS FOR PETS, UM, OUTSIDE OF THOSE OUTSIDE OF COOLING CENTERS UPON REQUEST, UH, AT THIS POINT THAT DEMAND HAS NOT BEEN THERE AND IT HAS NOT BEEN REQUESTED. UH, BUT, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, IS THAT IS, UH, AVAILABLE AS AN OPTION, UM, IN TERMS OF THE, UH, THE SHELTERING, THE COOLING STATIONS ARE THERE, UH, TO SUPPLEMENT WHAT IS ALREADY AVAILABLE, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY. SO, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO, UM, PROVIDE SOMETHING THAT IS ALREADY BIG BEING PROVIDED SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, THE STEADY STATE, UH, SHELTERING THAT IS PROVIDED BY ARCH AND, AND OTHER PARTNERS. BUT WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS DURING THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURES AND ACCORDING TO, UM, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OUTLOOK. UM, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHERE TO START. I [02:15:01] DON'T, UM, YEAH, I'LL JUST I'LL LEAVE IT. I THINK LASTLY, THE FINAL QUESTION WAS AROUND MEDICAL SUPPORT BEING AVAILABLE AT, UM, COOLING SHELTERS, BUT IT SOUNDS TO ME AS THOUGH THE POSITION THAT HE'S IN MISTAKEN IS THAT THESE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE, UM, IN, UH, OR WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, BUT WITH THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE IN A DIFFERENT CAPACITY. AND SO THAT'S PROBABLY NOT A CONSIDERATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT MOVING FORWARD IS MEDICAL PERSONNEL MEDICAL SUPPORT AT COOLING CENTERS, IS THAT SAFE TO ASSUME THE OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS AND, AND ACCOMMODATIONS FOR ANIMALS THAT AREN'T CONSIDERED SERVICING COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER MEDICINE, RAY ARIANO HERE AGAIN. I THINK WE DIDN'T QUITE CATCH THAT, THAT PARTICULAR ASPECT OF THE QUESTIONS YOU WERE ASKING. AND SO CURRENTLY WE DON'T PROVIDE A MEDICAL SERVICE OR SUPPORT IN THAT WAY, UH, AT COOLING CENTERS. AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S REALLY MEANT TO BE A COOLING CENTER. UH, IF SOMEBODY IS IN MEDICAL NEED, UH, OF SERVICES AND CERTAINLY CALLING 9 1, 1, UH, IS AN OPTION. AND THAT CAN BE THE WAY WE SUPPORT THOSE THAT HAVE MEDICAL NEEDS LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE. UH, I THINK AS PERHAPS, UM, LAURA PETUNIA WAS MENTIONING, YOU KNOW, IN THE RESILIENCE HUB, UH, CONCEPT, THERE MAY BE THE ABILITY TO, UH, BAKE THAT INTO WHAT WE DO IN THE FUTURE, OR EVEN IN, IN THE UH, COOLING CENTERS OR MORE SPECIFICALLY, IF THERE'S A WIDESPREAD OUTAGE, THEN AGAIN, THERE WOULD BE CONSIDERATION FOR PERHAPS STANDING UP ACTUAL SHELTERS, UH, THAT ARE MORE LONG TERM. AND SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION MOVING INTO THE FUTURE. YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE? I KNOW NOTHING MORE. HOW'S OUR POOL. THANKS MAYOR. AND THANKS TO OUR STAFF FOR COMING AND GIVING US THIS REALLY IMPORTANT BRIEFING. I HAD TWO QUICK QUESTIONS. UM, ONE IS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE OTHER ONE MAY BE, UH, FOR OUR, UH, RESILIENCE OFFICER MS. PITINO. UM, SO FOR US TO ENERGY, HOW DO I BELIEVE OUR COOLING CENTERS ARE ON CRITICAL CIRCUITS? UM, THIS IS THE ITEM FOR US AND ENERGY SPECIFICALLY. SO I WANT TO JUST TO CONFIRM THAT OUR COOLING CENTERS ARE ON CRITICAL CIRCUITS AND WHAT THAT MEANS. WOULD THAT BE MR. JACKSON OR MR. GALVAN? ACTUALLY, PROBABLY COULD ADDRESS THAT. VERY GOOD. MR. ORTIZ, CAN YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CRITICAL CIRCUITS, UM, ACCESS FOR OUR COOLING CENTERS? THE POINT I WANNA MAKE HERE IS, UH, THE RELIABILITY, UH, THAT OUR COOLING CENTERS WILL BE ABLE TO REMAIN COOL, UH, DURING OUTAGES. UM, YES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME ANSWER THIS QUESTIONNAIRE. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE MONITORING AND WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE AUSTIN ENERGY TO LOOK AT THE LOCATIONS OF THE COLEEN CENTERS. NOW, A LOT OF THE GLEAN CENTERS THAT WE ARE USING ON A DAY TO DAY ARE FACILITIES THAT ARE OPEN, UH, FOR SERVICES AND NOT ALL OF THOSE FACILITIES ARE GOING TO BE, UH, UH, CLOSED OR POLITICAL VOTE, UH, CIRCUIT. SO THEY GUESS THAT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE VULNERABLE IN THE EVENT OF A, OF AN OUTAGE, UH, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY. SO THEN WE CAN EVALUATE THAT AND IF NECESSARY, MAKE, UH, MAKE CHANGES AND MOVE, UH, BUT ONE POLICE CENTER THROUGH A DIFFERENT FACILITY THAT WILL, THAT WILL BE A REMAINING OPEN. SO THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, CITY STAFF, BOTH WITH, UH, HE, SIMON AUSTIN ENERGY ARE WORKING TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF THE COOLING CENTERS, UH, WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE UNINTERRUPTED COOLING. SHOULD THEY BE CALLED INTO SERVICE AS COOLING CENTERS? IS THAT A YES, THAT IS CORRECT. BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CLEAR THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE FACILITIES THAT WE WILL BE UTILIZING INITIALLY AS A COOLING CENTER THAT MAY NOT BE, UM, IN, IN MAYBE MOST BOOKS HAVE BEEN SO QUICK LOAD. SO YES, THERE IS A POTENTIAL THAT IN THE EVENT THAT THERE WAS A POWER OUTAGE, THOSE FACILITIES COULD GO DOWN, BUT WE WOULD THEN MOVE THOSE COOLING CENTER ACTIVITIES TO THOSE FACILITIES THAT ARE STILL HAVE POWER AND REMAIN OPEN. SO STAFF, SO STAFF IS AWARE AND PREPARED TO DEAL WITH, UM, SITUATION SHOULD, AUSTINITES BE AT A COOLING CENTER THAT ALSO EXPERIENCES A COOLING OUTAGE. THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY, GOOD. AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION, [02:20:01] UH, GOES AGAIN TO RESILIENCE HUBS, AND I JUST WANTED TO HAVE, UM, MS. PITINO TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT WE, THAT THE CITY IS WORKING WITH. UM, I THINK LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, AISD AND MAYBE TESLA, WHAT OTHER, UM, UH, ENTITIES IS THE CITY WORKING WITH, UM, ON OUR RESILIENCE HUBS AND HOW IS THAT GOING? SURE. UM, SO THE PROGRAM COUNCIL MEMBER HAS BEEN GOING, UH, THEN HAS BEEN INITIATED SINCE, BEFORE I ARRIVED TO AUSTIN. SO THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE HAS BEEN LEADING CONVERSATION IN THE DIFFERENT, IN A TEAM STRUCTURE THAT INCLUDES A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE CAC, IT INCLUDES A LEADERSHIP, UH, COMMITTEE, WHICH INCLUDES MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN. IT INCLUDES, UH, MEMBERS OF AISD AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF TRAVIS COUNTY AND CENTRAL HEALTH AND THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UM, WE HAVE FOLKS FROM DIFFERENT, UH, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED. UM, THEY HAVE HELPED GUIDE THE PROJECT FROM, UH, THE RESILIENCE HUB FOCUS AREA LOCATIONS, ALL THE WAY TO LOOKING AT SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS WITHIN THE RESILIENCE HUBS. SO, UM, HOW HUBS GET ACTIVATED, UM, WHAT STRUCTURAL, UH, NEEDS ARE FOR THE FACILITIES THEMSELVES. SO TO YOUR POINT ON, UH, REDUNDANT POWER SYSTEMS AND HOW CAN WE LOOK AND EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL OF HAVING THESE HUBS BE, UM, THEIR OWN, HAVE THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE THEIR OWN POWER, TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE, SHOULD THE GRID FAIL. UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY REALLY THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE AND THROUGH THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, GROUP, UM, THERE IS A SUBSEQUENT COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROCESS, UM, THAT HAS LED TO, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TASK FORCE THAT LOOKS AT AN INDIVIDUAL WITHIN EACH FOCUS AREA THAT WAS IDENTIFIED TO REALLY HELP HONE DOWN ON THE DIFFERENT FACILITIES, UM, TO SELECT THE FINAL PILOT LOCATION. DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE AS WE CRAFT THIS STRUCTURE IN THIS PROCESS AND MAKE IT REALLY ROBUST AND RESPONSIVE THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIKE A SECOND CATEGORY OF LOCATIONS, UH, LIKE CHURCHES, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ARE OFFERING THEIR FACILITIES TO BE COOLING CENTERS LIKE THEY DO IN THE COLD MONTHS AS WARMING CENTERS, BUT THAT THEY CAN OPERATE UNDER THEIR OWN, UM, PROCESSES AND, AND, AND STANDARDS AND RULES, AND THEY COULD, WE WOULD HAVE A LIST AND THERE WOULD BE THE ADDRESSES FOR PEOPLE TO GO TO SHOULD THE HUBS THAT THE CITY IS PUTTING TOGETHER B UM, OVERSUBSCRIBED. YES. UM, AND THE ANSWER TO THAT IS ABSOLUTELY. WE ARE WORKING ON THAT, UH, WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD RESILIENCE HUBS TEAM. UM, IF YOU'RE CALLING THE SLIDE. GREAT, THANK YOU. UH, YOU KNOW, I SEE AROUND THE COMMUNITY, LOTS OF BUSINESSES ACCOMMODATING. I MEAN, I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING MY PET INTO A COUPLE OF PLACES RECENTLY BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS, NOBODY WANTS YOUR PET TO STAY IN THE CAR IN THIS KIND OF HEAT. SO IF PRIVATE BUSINESSES CAN ALLOW PETS IN UNDER THESE REALLY EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES, I THINK OUR CITY FACILITIES CAN TOO, AGAIN, ASSUMING THEY'RE ON LEECHES AND WELL BEHAVED AND WHATNOT. UM, OKAY. AND THEN THE, MY OTHER QUESTIONS HAVE TO DO WITH RESILIENCE, HUBS, AND STAFFING. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO OUR RESILIENCE OFFICER. I THINK A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS ARE GOING TO BE DIRECTED TO YOU, BUT A COUPLE MIGHT BE FOR OUR, OUR, UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER BECAUSE THEY RELATE TO BUDGET. SO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL REALLY TEED THIS UP WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN ONE THING THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE, NUMBER ONE, LET ME START BY SAYING, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT HAS GONE ON WITH REGARD TO THE RESILIENCE HUB. I THINK IT'S A GREAT, I'M SO PLEASED BY THE KIND OF COLLABORATION THAT'S BEING DONE WITH, WITH AISD IN PARTICULAR, SOME WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, THE OTHER PARTNERS, I'M INTERESTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE UT PIECE. AND SO LET ME START THERE. WHAT, UM, WHAT IS THE PROGRAM AT UT THAT IS COLLABORATING WITH, WITH US ON THIS RESILIENCE HUB? I'M SORRY, CAN YOU REPEAT, WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE UT DEPARTMENT OR PROGRAM THAT'S COLLABORATING WITH US ON THE RESILIENCE HUB WORK? SURE. UM, AND I WILL ACTUALLY SAY THAT THAT SPECIFIC PROGRAM DEPARTMENT IS SKIPPING MY MIND RIGHT NOW. UM, BUT IT HAS BEEN A PARTNER OF THAT HAS BEEN WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, UM, THE WELL ASSIST ASSISTANT PROFESSOR PATRICK BIXLER, AS WELL AS, UH, DEV UNI WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING, UM, WITH THE CITY, UH, FOR SOME TIME, UM, THE PROGRAM ITSELF, UH, WE JUST EXECUTED, UH, AN, A GROUP EXECUTED AN AGREEMENT THAT WAS ALREADY IN PLACE [02:25:01] TO BRING ON ONE OF THEIR STUDENTS TO OFFICIALLY SIT WITH, UH, THE RESILIENCE OFFICE AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICES FOR TWO YEARS, UH, TO DEVELOP SPECIFICALLY, UH, AND ENHANCE CAPACITY AND DEVELOP THE PHASE TWO AND PHASE THREE OF THE RESILIENCE HUBS PROGRAM. SO IS IT, ARE THEY, UM, COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS OR ARE WE, WE PAYING UT UM, PART OF IT'S COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS WITH A PORTION COMING FROM THE CITY TO SUPPORT THE, THE, THE EMPLOYEE THAT HAS COME FROM UT TO WORK WITH THE CITY. ARE WE GETTING OTHER RESOURCES FROM UT THAT ARE NOT PAID? I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP IF THEY ARE, IF THEY'RE PARTICIPATING AS AISD IS, AND TRAVIS COUNTY IS AS KIND OF A COLLABORATIVE PARTNER, OR IF THIS IS PART OF OUR, OUR INTER LOCAL, UM, KIND OF OUR UMBRELLA INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT THAT ALLOWS THAT ALLOWS THE CITY TO GO FORWARD AND KIND OF PAY UT FOR THEIR INVOLVED THAT'S RIGHT. SO THEY ARE BOTH A PARTICIPANT OF OUR COMMUNITY ACTION COMMITTEE, UM, AS WELL AS NOW WITH THE FORMAL PARTNERSHIP, UM, THAT HAS EXPANDED THE TEAM'S CAPACITY FOR NEIGHBORHOOD RESILIENCE. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, AND I'M VERY EXCITED IN PARTICULAR, I'M EXCITED ABOUT ALL THE WORK, BUT I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE NEED FOR PHASE TWO TO BEGIN IMMEDIATELY, YOU KNOW, WHAT, AND COUNCIL MEMBER WHO ASKED ABOUT THIS AS WELL. BUT, YOU KNOW, I LOOK BACK ON, ON AN EXAMPLE THAT I CITED IN THE RESILIENCE TOOLKIT, AND THAT WAS BARCELONA. AND IN ONE YEAR THEY WERE ABLE TO, THEY CALL THEIR RESILIENCE HUBS, WHAT WE'RE CALLING RESILIENCE HUBS. THEY CALL THEIR CLIMATE SHELTERS IN ONE YEAR, THEY WERE ABLE TO INCREASE THEM FROM 70 TO 163 BY UTILIZING EXISTING BUILDINGS. AND, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST MUNICIPALLY-OWNED BUILDINGS, BUT ALSO THESE KINDS OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS. AND, YOU KNOW, IF THEY CAN DO IT, I THINK WE CAN TOO. AND I THINK IT'S JUST CRITICALLY NECESSARY THOSE SHELTERS NOW, BECAUSE THEY WERE ABLE TO INCREASE IT SO DRAMATICALLY. AND IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, THOSE, UM, CLIMATE SHELTERS ARE NOW WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE WITHIN A FIVE MINUTE WALK SHED FROM RESIDENTS ANYWHERE IN THE CITY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I, I, I, I'M SORRY, THIS IS SORT OF WELCOME TO AUSTIN. THIS IS KIND OF THE WAY THAT WE ALWAYS WORK. LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DELIGHTED, YOU'RE HERE. WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT YOUR WORK AND WE WANT YOU TO DO ALL OF IT RIGHT AWAY, UM, WHICH I KNOW IS NOT FEASIBLE, BUT I DO SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME LINE ITEMS FOR BUDGET FOR, IN THE BUDGET FOR STAFF. AND I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THE SOONER WE CAN GET SOME OF THAT TOOLKIT OUT, EVEN IF IT'S NOT THE FINAL ITERATION AND THERE'S LOTS OF WORK TO BE DONE, IF WE COULD GIVE SOME COMMUNITIES SOME DIRECTION IMMEDIATELY, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL RIGHT AFTER THE STORM, I WENT TO A COUPLE OF NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS, AND THEY'RE ALREADY THINKING IN THIS WAY, YOU KNOW, THEY KNOW A LOT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. MOST OF THEM REALLY HAD GREAT LEARNINGS AFTER THE WINTER STORM. I MEAN, THEY, THEY DID THIS INFORMALLY, RIGHT. THEY TALKED TO ONE ANOTHER, THEY TALKED TO THEIR NEIGHBORS. THEY TALKED ABOUT WHO WAS MEDICALLY VULNERABLE, WHO HAD A WHEEL DRIVE, WHO HAD WATER, WHO HAD, YOU KNOW, SO THEIR PEOPLE ARE IN THE MINDSET RIGHT NOW ABOUT HOW TO, HOW TO MAKE THIS WORK. UM, I KNOW AS SOON AS WE PASSED THE FIRST RESILIENCE HUB RESOLUTION, I WAS CONTACTED BY DIFFERENT CONGREGATIONS AND OTHERS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS WORK, MY OWN CHURCH, OR ONE OF MINISTERS WENT TO A UT PROGRAM AND IS INTERESTED IN THIS. SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THIS AND I THINK PEOPLE ARE READY FOR ACTION AND THEY WILL, THEY WILL HELP US EXPAND THAT NETWORK VERY QUICKLY. IF THEY HAVE SOME BASIC GUIDELINES ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF FACILITIES ARE APPROPRIATE, WHAT SORTS OF RESOURCES YOU CAN LINE UP, HOW YOU CAN USE THAT PLACE AS A HUB IN, IN BLUE SKY DAYS, AS WELL AS, UM, TIMES OF DISASTER. IF WE WAIT FOR ALL OF THE SIX PILOTS TO GET ON THE GROUND, UM, WE'LL BE A LONG TIME DOWN THE ROAD. AND FRANKLY, WE WON'T HAVE THEM ACROSS THE CITY. WE WON'T HAVE THEM IN AREAS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY MOST, UM, PRONE TO SAY WILDFIRE RISK AND SOME OTHER SITUATIONS. SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, I JUST NEVER WANT TO SEE A CITY. UM, IN THE SITUATION WE WERE LAST TIME WHERE WE HAD PEOPLE CALLING OUR INDIVIDUAL OFFICES, TEXTING OUR PERSONAL PHONE, SAYING THEY WERE FREEZING IN THEIR HOUSES AND HAD NOWHERE TO GO. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD JUST, UM, KIND OF INFORMAL FLY BY THE, YOU KNOW, FLYING BY THE SEAT OF OUR PANTS, UM, EFFORTS TO TRY TO GET SCHOOLS OPEN AND THIS OTHER, YOU KNOW, JUST, WE, WE CAN'T EVER HAVE THAT HAPPEN AGAIN. SO THAT'S JUST A, AN URGENT PLEA THAT IF WE COULD SAY BORROW, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, USE AND COMPENSATE A GROUP LIKE GABA WHO ALREADY HAS DONE KIND OF A TOOLKIT IS DOING COMMUNITY TRAININGS. IF WE COULD DO, IF WE COULD USE THEIR WORK, AT LEAST INITIALLY IF THEY'RE WILLING FOR US TO DO SO, UM, TO KIND OF GET SOME OF THESE COMMUNITY GROUPS ACROSS THE CITY WORKING, I THINK WE WOULD REALLY BE ABLE TO DRAMATICALLY EXPAND SOME OF THOSE, UM, PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO GO ON DAYS LIKE TODAY, [02:30:01] WHERE IT'S HOT. UM, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, IN TIMES OF REAL DISASTER, I KNOW WHAT DIRECTOR ORTIZ WAS SAYING THAT WE HAVE THE RED CROSS AND WE HAVE THE DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK AND OTHERS WHO CAN, YOU KNOW, FLY INTO ACTION AT TIMES OF REAL CRISIS. BUT, UM, FRANKLY THAT DIDN'T SERVE OUR ENTIRE CITY LAST TIME. WE WERE NOT WHERE WE HAD AREAS THAT WERE NOT, UM, DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO WARM PLACES TO GO. AND, AND WE ALSO NEED THEM IN, IN TIMES THAT ARE NOT HUGELY, YOU KNOW, ARE NOT HUGE NATURAL DISASTERS, BUT ARE WHERE PEOPLE NEED PLACES TO GO TO GET IN AND OUT OF THE, OUT OF THE HEAT. SO THAT WAS, UM, KIND OF ALONG EDITORIALIZING, MAY I, MAY I PROVIDE HER? OF COURSE, UH, NO, I'LL SAY I WHOLEHEARTEDLY A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE WITH YOU. MAYBE WE MUST ACT WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY IN THESE MATTERS. WE CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT STORM TO BE ABLE TO START, UM, MOVING FORWARD, UH, MITIGATION, ADAPTATION ITEMS AND BUILDING RESILIENCE. UM, I WILL SAY THAT SINCE THE RESOLUTION THAT PASSED IN JUNE, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN EFFORTS THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD TO START CREATING THE WEBSITE. UM, AND SO THAT, THAT IS MOVING FORWARD, UM, AS WELL AS INTEGRATING GUAVA GALVEZ WORK. UM, AND SO SHERRI THE, WE HA WE ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS INTERNALLY, UM, AND WITH OUR PARTNERS. AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO, TO REMIND US THAT AS WE GO, UM, THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE ARE BRINGING ADDITIONAL STAFF CAPACITY INTO HAYSOM WITH THE RESILIENCE HUBS POSITIONS FOR RESILIENCE HUB, PROGRAM MANAGER, AND A COORDINATORS AS AN OUTREACH SPECIALIST. AND THESE POSITIONS ARE GOING TO BE INSTRUMENTAL IN BEING, AND ALLOWING US TO FURTHER EXPAND THE CAPACITY OF THE TEAM TO BE ABLE TO, UM, NOT ONLY JUST BUILD THE TOOLS AND PLATFORMS, BUT ALSO START CREATING, UM, THE DATABASES AND CREATING THE INFORMATION THAT NEEDED TO BRING EVERYONE INTO THE TABLE FOR THIS RESPONSE. THAT'S WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. AND I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THE UT POSITION IS ALSO FOCUSED ON YOU FOCUSED ON PHASE TWO. SO IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT PHASE TWO IS, AND MAYBE I'M JUST HEARING WHAT I WANT TO HEAR, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE PHASE TWO, WHICH IS THAT, UM, EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY TO KIND OF ORGANIZE THEIR OWN RESILIENCE HUB IS PHASE TWO HAPPENING TO SOME EXTENT CONCURRENTLY WITH THE PILOT. IN SOME WAYS I THINK WE ARE, WE ARE DOING THEM IN PARALLEL AND UTILIZING THE LEARNINGS FROM THE PILOT PROGRAM TO INCORPORATE AND KICK OFF THE PHASE TWO, UM, AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. UM, AND BEING ABLE TO START SHARING INFORMATION, UH, TO GET, TO GET THOSE RESOURCES OUT THERE ON THE THINGS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE CREATED ON THE MATERIALS THAT ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED BY THE CITY AND BY OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO BE ABLE TO SHARE. GREAT. YEAH. THAT'S UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND YOU'LL HAVE A LOT OF LEARNINGS FROM THE PILOT THAT WOULD INFORM PERHAPS AN EVEN STRONGER NETWORK ACROSS THE CITY, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAVE TO BALANCE THAT AGAINST, YOU KNOW, JUST GETTING, GETTING SOME OF THOSE GROUPS ACTIVATED NOW. SO I GUESS I WOULD ALWAYS LEAN ON THE CONCURRENT TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN KIND OF CONCURRENT AND THEN ITERATE AS, AS THERE ARE, AS THERE IS A NEED TO, UM, THE BUDGET. SO I WANT TO BE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING ON PAGE 26, IT TALKS ABOUT TWO POSITIONS BEING RECLASSIFIED TO PROVIDE ONGOING DIRECT SUPPORT OF THE RESILIENCE PROGRAM. AND THEN ON PAGE 27, IT TALKS ABOUT NINE NEW POSITIONS TO SUPPORT RESILIENCE HUBS, AND THEN TWO POSITIONS FOR COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO ASSISTANCE. SO I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S MORE DETAIL IN THE BUDGET ITSELF. I HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T REALLY GONE THROUGH THAT SECTION, BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW GENERALLY, AND MAYBE NOT IN TODAY'S SESSION, IF IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE, IT'S NOT AT ALL CLEAR TO ME, BY THE WAY, UM, WHAT OUR WORK SESSION, WHAT OUR BUDGET WORK SESSIONS IS GOING TO BE. AND WE SEEM TO CHANGE IT EVERY YEAR. SOMETIMES WE HAVE EACH DEPARTMENT PRESENT, THEN WE WERE DOING VIDEOS AND HAVING DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE DAY FOR QUESTION AND ANSWER. NOW, I THINK WE ONLY HAVE ONE BUDGET WORK SESSION DAY, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE GOING TO USE THAT TIME, BUT SO I'LL JUST ASK MY QUESTIONS NOW, THE, I THINK WE NEED MORE CLARITY AROUND WHAT, WHAT EACH OF THESE POSITIONS IS DOING AND HOW THEY'RE, HOW THEY'RE DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER. UM, AS I SEE, AS I SEE THIS, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE ADDING A TOTAL OF 11 POSITIONS WITH REGARD TO RESILIENCE. I DON'T SEE FUNDING INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET FOR THE WORK THAT WE JUST DISCUSSED, THE TOOLKIT THAT'S LISTED ON THE UNFUNDED ITEM AS IN PROGRESS. AND I WOULD SAY, [02:35:01] YOU KNOW, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT, ABOUT WHY THAT WOULD BE THE CHOICE GIVEN WHAT I WOULD REGARD AS KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE. AND I'M NOT SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND HOW NINE, HOW NINE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WOULD BE UTILIZING THEIR TIME IN TIMES OF NON-EMERGENCY OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A, A GREAT DEAL OF PLANNING THAT HAS TO HAPPEN TO BE READY FOR THOSE TIMES WHERE IT'S NECESSARY TO COORDINATE MASS CARE AND EMERGENCY SHELTERING. BUT IN THE, IN THE TIMES OF NON-EMERGENCY, ARE THEY ALSO GOING TO BE, WHAT ARE THEY, WHAT ARE THEY DOING AND HOW ARE THEY HELPING US KIND OF BECOME A MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITY. UH, AND SO I CAN START, BUT AT A HIGH LEVEL ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH, AND IT MIGHT BE BEST IF WE COULD RESPOND IN A MORE DETAILED WAY TO THOSE QUESTIONS. AND, AND AS I UNDERSTAND IT, NOW THAT THE BUDGET PROPOSED BUDGET IS AVAILABLE, THEN THE, UH, COUNCIL BUDGET QUESTIONS MIGHT BE THE WAY TO GET SOME OF THE DETAIL THAT YOU MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY HAVE NOW. AND FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GIVE A, UM, AN ADEQUATE RESPONSE IN TERMS OF THE CURRENT YEAR, UM, ALLOCATIONS, REALLOCATIONS. AND AGAIN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TRY TO DO RECOGNIZING, AND CERTAINLY GIVING KUDOS TO THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE REALLY TOOK THE LEAD ON RESILIENCE HUB ACTIVITY WAS TO REALLOCATE AT LEAST TWO POSITIONS, UH, TO START TO RELIEVE THEM OF THAT APP, THAT EFFORT, SO THAT SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE COULD REALLY CONCENTRATE ON THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN. AND SO WE START WITH A COLONEL OF TWO PEOPLE, UH, TO FOCUS ON RESILIENCE HUB IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, AND THEN AUGMENT IT WITH THE INVESTMENTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 23, BEYOND THAT, I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL IF WE TAKE, UM, AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER, BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S A FEW ASPECTS OF WHAT YOU ASKED THEM IN THAT BRIEF MOMENT THAT WE SHOULD SPEND SOME TIME ON. I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT AND I COULD SUBMIT A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK THERE JUST AS A GENERAL, MY GUESS IS THAT THIS IS AN AREA THAT A LOT OF THE COUNCIL IS INTERESTED IN. A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY IS INTERESTED IN, AND IT MIGHT, I COULD ASK SOME QUESTIONS TO TRY TO GET AT WHAT, HOW THESE POSITIONS ARE USED, BUT CLEARLY THERE WAS A RATIONALE THAT WENT INTO HOW THEY WERE REQUESTED AND WHERE, AND WHAT THE KIND OF WORKLOAD IS. AND MAYBE WE COULD JUST START BY ASKING IF THERE IS ANY OF THAT, IF YOU COULD KIND OF FORWARD IT TO US, TO THE EXTENT THAT IT'S NOT ALREADY IN THE BUDGET, AND THAT WILL LIKELY PROMPT SOME OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT RATHER THAN JUST MY SUBMITTING, YOU KNOW, 20 OR SO QUESTIONS, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. UM, AND THEN, AND IF YOU WOULD INCLUDE THAT LAST ONE, THE OTHER TWO POSITIONS, IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE WE MIGHT HAVE 13 POSITIONS, UM, THAT FALL INTO THE CATEGORY OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND SHELTERING. AND I, I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON IN TIMES OF NON-EMERGENCY. AND, AND AGAIN, WHY THERE'S NOT FUNDING INCLUDED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET AS IT ROSE DIRECTED BY COUNCIL FOR THAT TOOLKIT AND WHAT, WHAT, UH, LAURA HAS, WHAT OUR RESILIENCE OFFICE DIRECTOR HAS DESCRIBED US. UM, BASICALLY HAPPY TO DO THAT. THANK YOU. ALL, THIS IS A REALLY USEFUL PRESENTATION TODAY. SO INTER SPARSED WITH, UH, THE QUESTIONS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE RAISED AND TOUCHING ON SOME OF THE STUFF THAT COUNCIL COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO RAISED IN RESPONSE TO THE WINTER STORM EFFORT THAT WE HAD, WE RECOGNIZED THAT, UH, ONE OF THE GREATEST FORCE MULTIPLIERS WE HAD WAS THE GENERAL PUBLIC RESPONSE. UH, AND WE TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO INSTITUTIONALIZE THAT RESPONSE THAT THE AUSTIN, UH, DISASTER RESPONSE NETWORK WAS INSUFFICIENT TO DO. THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT, UM, THAT WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE TRADITIONAL CITY RESPONSE OF BEING KIND OF AT THE CENTER OF THE RESPONSE, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZING THAT WHEN WE HAD A, UH, HUGE, UH, UH, RESPONSE THAT, THAT AGAIN WAS, WAS, WAS INSUFFICIENT. UM, WE WERE, UH, CRITICIZED AT THE TIME FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE HELPING IN THE COMMUNITY AND SAYING THAT THEIR NEED TO HELP WAS A SHORT FALL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, BECAUSE AFTER ALL THEY HAD TO BE THERE BECAUSE THE CITY WASN'T ABLE TO HANDLE IT, AS OPPOSED TO RECOGNIZING THAT IN THOSE KINDS OF INSTANCES, THE CITY CAN'T HANDLE IT. AND THEN WE SHOULD LOOK AT THAT AS, AS, AS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE RECOGNIZE UPFRONT, UH, IT'S A KIND OF A PARADIGM SHIFT AND THEN THINKING, SO THEN HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS GREAT FORCE MULTIPLIER, EVEN TO THE TUNE OF RECOGNIZING THAT WE HAVE HOT ANIMALS AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THAT. SO, SO HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COMMUNITY HELPING TO DEAL WITH HOT ANIMALS AND HOW DO WE EMPOWER THAT? BECAUSE WE CAN'T DO THAT, BUT SO LONG AS OUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE IS HOW DO WE DO THAT? AND HOW DO WE DO THAT AT OUR SHELTERS, WE'RE SETTING OURSELVES UP TO FAIL AND WE'RE NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FOREST, MULTIPLE FIRES THAT EXIST EVERY TIME WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT RESPONSE. [02:40:01] WE'VE ALWAYS RAISED THIS ISSUE. AND WE'VE ASKED THE QUESTION OF HOW DO WE INSTITUTIONALIZE THAT ASPECT OF OUR RESPONSE. IT'S MAYBE NOT THE THING THAT WE HAVE TO INSTITUTIONALIZE WHEN WE HAVE A SERIES OF HOT DAYS, BECAUSE MAYBE IT DOESN'T RISE TO THAT LEVEL, BUT I JUST, AGAIN, SUGGEST THAT, UM, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY TO INSTITUTIONALIZE THAT. AND THEN MAYBE THERE'S A CORE GROUP OF A HUNDRED PEOPLE THAT GETS IDENTIFIED AND YOU'RE MEETING WITH THEM ONCE A YEAR, SO THAT THEY MEET EACH OTHER TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE WHEN AN EVENT HAPPENS. AND, AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE, UH, UH, TAKING SIX FACILITIES AND MOVING THEM FORWARD WITH THE CORRESPONDING PILOT, UH, THAT TIES INTO THAT FORCE MULTIPLIER OR EVENT THAT THAT WOULD THEN GET EXPANDED. AND THEN ANOTHER THING I JUST SAID, I'VE NEVER HEARD HOW THAT GETS INSTITUTIONALIZED, BUT WE WE'VE TOUCHED ALL AROUND THAT. AND I WOULD SUGGEST AGAIN, THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO INCORPORATE THAT IN INSTITUTIONALIZED, THAT ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE CITY AT THE CENTER, BUT PURELY IN A SUPPORT ROLE. THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS MAYOR. AND I THINK PART OF WHAT WE'LL SEE, AND PERHAPS A FINE ART, T'S GET, JUMP IN A LITTLE BIT WITH SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, TO ADD, UH, TO HE, SOME IS A, AN EFFORT OR A CORE OF FOLKS THAT CAN IN FACT, DO THE RE UH, OUTREACH CAN DO THE COORDINATION FOR THE, OUR PARTNERS SO THAT THEY HAVE A MORE MEANINGFUL ROLE. OKAY, THAT'D BE GOOD TO SEE. AND MAYBE THAT BECOMES PART OF THE RESPONSE TO OH, ACCOUNTS. REMEMBER ROTO WAS ASKING FOR, AS WE BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT ADDITIONAL CAPACITY WOULD BE DOING. REMEMBER ELLIS, THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE LIST FOR THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE. UM, THERE ARE SOME AUSTIN RESIDENTS THAT ARE NOT ON AUSTIN ENERGY. IS THERE COLLABORATION WITH MAYBE PINELLAS COLLECTOR ELECTRIC OR POTENTIALLY BLUE ON IT TO HELP PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS KNOW IF SOMETHING'S HAPPENING TO THEM AND THEY'RE NOT IN OUR SERVICE AREA. SO I'D ASK JARED GALVON IF HE WOULD RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION. UM, IT IS TRUE. THIS PROGRAM IS VERY UNIQUE. I DON'T THINK THERE'S MANY UTILITIES AROUND THE NATION THAT HAVE A PROGRAM LIKE AUSTIN ENERGIES. UH, WE CAN CERTAINLY SHARE OUR INFORMATION AND BEST PRACTICES. UM, RECENTLY, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, OUR, OUR, OUR, UM, PROGRAM WAS RECOGNIZED BY A NATIONAL, UH, UTILITY, UH, INDUSTRY, UH, CONFERENCE FOR HAVING THE, ONE OF THE MOST ROBUST PROGRAMS. SO WE DO SHARE WITH OUR PARTNERS THROUGH THOSE, UM, CONFERENCES IN OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY WITH THEM IN TERMS OF THIS WORK. OKAY. I MIGHT JUST WANT TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU OFFLINE ABOUT HOW WE COULD TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE UTILITIES ALSO KNOW HOW, HOW TO BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I THINK IT'S CREATIVE. UM, I THINK IT WILL END UP BEING QUITE ROBUST AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ITS EXPANSION. UM, BUT I THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF MY DISTRICT WHO ARE NOT ON AUSTIN ENERGY, YOU KNOW, AND WE HAVE EMS AND FIRE STATIONS CLOSE BY. SO THERE COULD BE SOME ASSISTANCE PROVIDED. THEY JUST MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT THERE'S A POTENTIAL SITUATION. UM, MY OTHER TWO COMMENTS ARE, ARE THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN GOOD SUCCESSES WITH. UM, YOU KNOW, WE, DURING THE WINTER STORM HAD A GREAT COLLABORATION BETWEEN ONE OF OUR LOCAL CHURCHES THAT STEPS UP AND IS A POLLING LOCATION WHEN IT'S TIME TO VOTE. UM, THE AUSTIN DISASTER RESOURCE NETWORK WAS WORKING WITH THEM AND THE CITY STEPPED UP AND WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, PORTABLE SHOWERS AND IN TIMES OF NEED. AND SO I'VE, I'VE SEEN THIS DEPLOYED WELL IN DISTRICT DATE. AND SO I WOULD, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE GEARED TOWARD TRYING TO CREATE THIS, UM, QUICK, QUICKLY DEPLOYED TYPE OF COLLABORATION IN THESE AREAS. AND THEN I WOULD JUST SAY, I'VE SEEN THE CAPITOL METRO BUSES WITH THEIR SIGNAGE AT THE TOP SAYING, YOU CAN COME IN HERE IF YOU NEED TO COOL OFF. AND SO I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD VISUAL REMINDER. IF SOMEONE KNOWS IT'S A VERY SHORT-TERM SITUATION WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO POWER, YOU KNOW, MAYBE AN HOUR OR TWO, THERE, THERE ARE WAYS TO GET ON A BUS COOL OFF, UM, GO TO THE POOL, CONVINCE SOMEONE TO BE A LIFEGUARD. YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE LOCALLY. UM, BUT I HAVE SEEN SOME OF THOSE SUCCESSES AND, AND I'M GLAD THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY WORKING HARD TO TRY TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. I UNDERSTAND AND SYMPATHIZE WITH MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE, THE MOST VULNERABLE AND EFFECTED BY THIS SITUATION ARE ATTENDED TO AS WELL. SO I HOPE THAT, UM, SOME OF THESE, THESE NEWEST IDEAS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED PRETTY QUICKLY MAYER YES, GUYS, BEFORE THIS. THANK YOU. UM, JUST ALSO WANT TO ECHO THE COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR AND CUSTOMER [02:45:01] TOBO AND REALLY WANTING TO SEE A SYSTEM THAT IS COORDINATED HAND-IN-HAND WITH THE MUTUAL AID GROUPS AND WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND NONPROFITS. THAT WAS SOME OF THE FEEDBACK I'VE BEEN GETTING FROM, FROM FOLKS WHO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR IN-HOUSE COMMUNITY IS THE FACT THAT OUR COOLING CENTERS, THEY CLOSED AT 8:00 PM. AND SO THEY, THERE'S NO ALTERNATIVES FOR FOLKS TO GO OVERNIGHT. AND EVEN DURING COLD WEATHER, UM, THEY'RE OFTEN IN OUR COLD, UH, DURING COLD WEATHER, OUR WARMING CENTERS ARE SET UP AT OUR RECREATION CENTERS, UM, OR LIBRARIES. AND USUALLY THEY ARE ASKED TO LEAVE BY 6, 5, 7 IN THE MORNING, UH, BEFORE YOUTH PROGRAMS BEGIN. AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE AND ONE WAY, SO THAT I SAY THAT TO, TO SHARE AND TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, USING CITY FACILITIES IS NOT OUR ONLY OPTION AND THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES TO HAVE AN IDENTIFIED LOCATION THAT CAN BE AVAILABLE OVERNIGHT IS, UH, ONE OF THE AVENUES THAT I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE FURTHER. UM, AND SO I WANTED TO SHARE THOSE COMMENTS. THE QUESTION I HAD WAS AROUND HYDRATION, WE KNOW WITH THESE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND ADVISORIES THAT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO STAY HYDRATED. SO I'M WONDERING AS PART OF THE RESPONSE STRATEGY RIGHT NOW, WHAT DO WE DO ON THE HYDRATION EFFORTS? AND I'M NOT JUST ASKING ABOUT, UM, WATER AVAILABILITY AT THE COOLING CENTERS, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A STRATEGY WHERE WE'RE ACTIVELY PROVIDING WATER TO FOLKS WHO ARE DECIDING, UH, OR WHO DON'T HAVE A CHOICE TO STAY OUTSIDE? UH, WE CERTAINLY HAVE PROVIDED ASSISTANCE WITH BOTTLED WATER AND PROVIDING THOSE TO VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THROUGH OUR PARTNERS, UM, UH, THAT WE, UM, CAN ACCESS THROUGH, UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE HOMELESSNESS SERVICES DIVISION. THEY HAVE AGENCIES THAT THEY CAN REACH OUT TO AN INDIVIDUALS AND WATER HAS BEEN PROVIDED, UH, TO THEM AND DISTRIBUTED, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE TO ASK FOR IT FIRST. SO, UH, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE HOW THEY ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED OUT. I'D HAVE TO, I'D HAVE TO ASK, UH, SOME OF OUR PARTNERS FOR THAT, BUT THE, THE REQUESTS, UH, FROM, UM, HOMELESSNESS, UH, DIVISION THAT'S CERTAINLY BEEN MADE AND WE HAVE RESPONDED WITH AVAILABLE WATER AND THOSE WILL BE PROVIDED. OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S ONE I DEFINITELY WANT TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, AND THEN ALSO, LASTLY, THE QUESTION I HAD WAS AROUND ENHANCED COMMUNICATIONS, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY LIKE MANY AUSTINITES RECEIVING THE TEXT MESSAGE THAT SAID WE ARE NOW AN EXTREME WEATHER ADVISORY. UM, AND I THINK EVEN LINKED TO THE COOLING CENTERS WE HAD SET UP, I THINK THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HADN'T SEEN BEFORE WHEN IT COMES TO EXTREME HEAT. AND SO IT REALLY, UM, WAS IMPACTFUL AND SHARING WITH OUR COMMUNITY, THE STATE THAT WE'RE IN, WHEN IT COMES TO CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT ALSO IT WAS AN IMPROVEMENT WITH CITY COMMUNICATIONS, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND HOW WE, UH, COORDINATE WITH, WITH THE PUBLIC. WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO TO DEEPEN THAT ENGAGEMENT? I MEAN, AND I LOVE THE WORKING WITH THE RADIO SHOWS AND THE ONLINE, THE DIGITAL COMMUNICATION, BUT WE KNOW OFTEN THAT THOSE WHO NEED THIS TYPE OF SHELTER OR COOLING CENTER, OR THOSE WHO ARE NOT ONLINE ARE PLUGGED IN. WHAT OTHER EFFORTS CAN WE TAKE A LOOK AT? SURE. SO WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OUR HOMELESS SERVICES DIVISION, UM, FOR HAVE A DISTRIBUTION LIST. UM, SO A LOT OF THE HOMELESS SERVICES PROVIDERS HAVE WORKED WITH THIS GROUP TO PROVIDE CELL PHONES. UM, AND WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION PLUGGED INTO THE WARRANT CENTRAL TEXAS SYSTEM. SO ANYTIME THERE'S A HEAT WARNING OR AN EXCESSIVE HEAT, UM, SITUATION, WE ARE DIRECTLY MESSAGING THIS INFORMATION TO THAT GROUP. SO I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S ALWAYS OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT GROUP TO EXPAND FOR MORE CELL PHONES, TO BE PROVIDED FOR MORE PEOPLE TO BE ON THAT LIST. AND SO THE SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE WORKING WITH OUR CITY FOLKS TO MAKE SURE THAT AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE HAVE THAT ACCESS TO THAT RESOURCE. AND THEN AS THAT RESOURCE IS PROVIDED PUBLICLY, WE'RE PLUGGING THOSE NUMBERS INTO OUR SYSTEM TO TRY TO REACH PEOPLE THAT WAY. UM, REALLY WE HEAVILY RELY WITH OUR APH PARTNERS AND THE SERVICE PROVIDERS. IT'S A TWO WAY STREET, TWO WAY COMMUNICATION. SO AS, AS NEEDS ARISE, WE CAN BE FLEXIBLE IN OUR RESPONSE. SO AS PEOPLE TELL US, HEY, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU PUT THIS INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE DIFFERENTLY? THIS ISN'T CLEAR, OR CAN YOU PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION TO THIS PARTICULAR POPULATION IN THIS PARTICULAR WAY? WE CAN BE RESPONSIVE AND FLEXIBLE. THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHERE THAT'S BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL. UM, AND JUST THAT TWO WAY COMMUNICATION IS IN WORKING WITH THE ARCH IN FRONT STEPS. TRADITIONALLY THEY HAVE NOT BEEN OPEN TO, UM, TO THEIR, TO THEIR PEOPLE THAT THEY SERVE DURING THE DAYTIME, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN IN REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH THEM. THEY'RE NOW OPEN TO SERVE FOLKS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESS MONDAY [02:50:01] THROUGH SUNDAY FROM 8:00 AM TO 6:00 PM. NORMALLY THEY JUST HAVE OVERNIGHT FACILITIES. SO BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION AND LOOKING FOR OUT OF THE BOX SOLUTIONS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME ON THE GROUND IMPROVEMENTS TO HOW WE'RE SERVING THAT POPULATION. THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT. SO WITH THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARCH WILL THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE THEM BEING OPEN DURING THE DAY DURING WEEKDAYS IS THAT, WELL, THAT CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER. SO IF WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL EXTREME WEATHER ADVISORIES, THAT IS AN OPTION FOR SURE. RIGHT? SO MY UNDERSTANDING AS OF RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE NOT RESTRICTING THAT TO JUST WHEN WE'RE IN A HEAT ADVISORY. CAUSE EVEN IF IT'S NOT 1 0 8, IT'S STILL 1 0 2, IT'S STILL PRETTY WARM. SO THEY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY HAVE NOW CHANGED THEIR OPERATIONS TO MAKE THAT AVAILABLE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER MONTHS. OKAY. THAT'S GREAT. OKAY. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. I SEE THAT DIANA GRAY IS, UH, UPON THE SCREEN. DIANA, DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOME CONTEXT? NO, SIR. I DON'T BELIEVE I HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENT AT THIS TIME, BUT JUST AVAILABLE FOR ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES. DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS BEFORE WE DO TAKE A BREAK? YES, KIM'S OUR TOBO COUNCIL MEMBER. BELLA, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK THINGS. SO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, FUNTASY RAISED A REALLY GOOD QUESTION ABOUT THE ACCESS TO WATER AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST A FEW YEARS AGO REALLY THAT, THAT I BROUGHT THE RESOLUTION IN AUSTIN, WATER UTILITY WORKED FASTER THAN REALLY ANY DEPARTMENT I'VE EVER SEEN, UM, TO GET THOSE WATER FOUNTAINS DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT OUR DOWNTOWN. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF THEM, BUT WE DO HAVE RIGHT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, THOSE WERE ESTABLISHED, UM, DOWNTOWN. AND THEY ALSO INCLUDE, THEY'RE A REALLY GREAT MODEL THAT ALSO INCLUDES, UM, PET LIKE A PET AREA ON THE BOTTOM. BUT I THINK IT'S A REALLY, YOU KNOW, IN THIS, AS WE'RE SEEING THIS SUMMER, WE REALLY NEED THOSE KINDS OF WATER FOUNTAINS IN OTHER AREAS OF OUR CITY AS WELL. AND SO I WOULD, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE PLACES, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT THAT MAY NOT HAVE PUBLIC. UM, I ALMOST SAID PUBLIC RESTAURANTS BECAUSE WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION FOR SO MANY YEARS, UM, THAT MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC WATER FOUNTAINS AND, AND THEN ASK US TO MOTOR UTILITY TO HELP US LOOK AT THAT SOLUTION. AND MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR RAISING THE POINT THAT YOU DID AND, AND THANK YOU FOR EMBEDDING THAT WITHIN IT. I THINK WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS KIND OF A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ALL 13 OF THOSE POSITIONS WILL BE USED IN WHAT KINDS OF, WHAT KINDS OF RESPONSIBILITIES THEY'LL, THERE'LL BE FULFILLING, UM, WITHIN THAT. BUT, UM, I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UTILIZE THE STRENGTH OF THE COMMUNITY AND, AND JUST IN FOLLOW-UP IN TERMS OF THE WATER FOUNTAINS AND SO FORTH. WE CAN CERTAINLY, I CAN CERTAINLY BRING THAT INFORMATION BACK TO AUSTIN WATER IN AS IN AND AS WELL, MAKE SURE THAT THE FOUNDERS THAT WE DO HAVE ARE OPERATING PROPERLY. THAT'D BE GREAT TO SEE. I MEAN, I SEE FOLKS USING THEM, BUT IT WOULD BE GOOD. IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO KNOW HOW THEY'VE, HOW THEY FARED, HOW THEY'VE HELD UP OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. AND, UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR CITY FACILITIES HAVE WATER FOUNTAINS, BUT THEY'RE INSIDE AND NOT OUTSIDE. AND SO, I MEAN, ALL OF OUR CITY FACILITIES, I BELIEVE HAVE INSIDE WATER FOUNTAINS, BUT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE SOME SENSE OF WHAT, WHAT LIBRARIES AND OTHERS MIGHT HAVE HAVE WATER FOUNTAINS OUTSIDE AND WHERE THE GAPS MIGHT BE. UH, MY QUESTIONS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY. UH, I WAS WONDERING HOW WAS IN I'M THINKING SPECIFICALLY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH THE CONSERVATION NOTICES AND THE, AND THE STRESS ON THE GRID, HOW WAS USAGE IN THE AUSTIN, UH, ENERGY AREA? UH, AND AGAIN, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE CONTEXT, MY SENSE IS THAT PEOPLE ARE VERY, UH, AWARE AND CONSCIOUS OF WAS, YOU KNOW, USAGE AND CONSERVATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS IN PARTICULAR. UH, DID WE SEE A STRONG REACTION FROM FOLKS? AND AGAIN, I KNOW ALSO ALSO AN NG HAS THOSE, UH, UH, THE, UH, THERMOMETERS, NOT THERMOMETERS, BUT, UH, THE, UH, LORD HAVE MERCY, THE, UH, THERMOSTATS, THAT'S THE WORD I WAS LOOKING FOR, WHERE THEY CAN AUTOMATICALLY KIND OF, YOU KNOW, SHUT THAT OFF, UH, TO AGAIN, UH, PRESERVE WHAT DID THAT, THE PERFORMANCE AND THE USAGE LOOK LIKE LOCALLY. UH, EXCELLENT QUESTION OF COUNSELING, SIDNEY. YOU WORK, YOUR CAMERA IS BLOCKED FOR SOME, WITH SOMETHING. I APOLOGIZE. THANK YOU. EXCELLENT QUESTION. YOU ARE CORRECT. AS ODD AS THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE ERCOT REGION, YOU SETTING PEOPLE, AUSTIN ENERGY, OUR SERVICE TERRITORY, OR DEFINED SERVICE TERRITORY. WE ALSO SAID PEAK DEMAND LOADS, UH, LAST WEEK, ACTUALLY IT WOULD BE THIS WEEK, UH, AS WELL. UM, WE APPROACH THOSE PEAK LOADS LAST WEEK AND WE SET A NEW PEAK LOAD WITH WEEK. OUR PREVIOUS PEAK LOAD WAS, UH, SLIGHTLY NORTH OF, UM, AROUND 2,800, 2,800 MARK. I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER IN FRONT OF ME. AND OUR NEW PEOPLE LOAD IS NORMALLY [02:55:01] JUST NORTH OF 2,900, MAYBE 29 AND 20. WE ARE STILL WORKING ON SOME OF THE METERING, THE FINAL RECONCILIATION OF THOSE NUMBERS, BUT IT DOES APPEAR TO BE A NEW PEAK LOAD SET THIS WEEK, UH, TO YOUR POINT AROUND CONSERVATION DEMAND RESPONSE. WE DO HAVE THE THERMOSTAT CONTROL, AND WE DID EXERCISE THAT, UM, AS WE HAVE THE EXERCISE THAT WE HAVE SEEN GOOD PERFORMANCE, NO PERFORMANCE IN THE NUMBER OF, UM, AS WELL AS THE DEMAND RESPONSE THAT WE HAD CONTRACTED WITH A NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS. UH, AND WE HAVE SEEN GOOD PERFORMANCE IN THAT AS WELL. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UH, THAT, THAT DOES, THAT DOES, AND I KNOW THE DEMAND RESPONSE HAS BEEN, PEOPLE HAVE PUSHED FORWARD ON THE STATEWIDE LEVEL. UH, TO ME IT JUST MAKES A WORLD OF SENSE. UH, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, UH, I THINK ACTUALLY, UH, I REMEMBER SEEING A CHART WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE USED TO BE DECENT AT DEMAND RESPONSE, AND NOW I THINK TEXAS HAS FALLEN TO LIKE ONE OF THE WORST STATES IN TERMS OF A DEMAND RESPONSE. SO THAT'S JUST A, A MAJOR, UH, PROBLEM. HOW ABOUT LOCALLY IN TERMS OF LIKE A CHOKE POINTS OR, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING MORE KIND OF LIKE THE SYSTEM, THE GRID, UH, THAT AGAIN, AUSTIN ENERGY CONTROLS, DESPITE, YOU KNOW, A RECORD SETTING USAGE, HOW DID IT PERFORM WELL AGAIN, EXCELLENT QUESTION. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT GOES INTO PEAK PREPARATION FOR US TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN TERMS OF MEETING PEAK DEMAND, AGAIN, INSIDE THE SERVICE TERRITORY OF AUSTIN ENERGY, OUR PREPARATION STARTS YEARS OF ADVANCED, AND A LOT OF THAT IS DRIVEN BY FORECAST BOTTOM. IT'S DRIVEN BY EXPECTATIONS, OR WE EXPECT LOADS OF THE, UH, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE HAVE PUT IN, UH, ONE SUBSTATION AND WE HAVE MORE NEW SUBSTATIONS BEING PLANNED. AS YOU CAN SEE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN WHERE THAT LOAD IS GROWING. UM, WE HAVE A NEW SUBSTATION GOING IN THERE, UM, TOWARDS THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE SERVICE TERRITORY WE ENGAGED, UH, AND PUT IN A NEW SUBSTATION SUPPORTING, GROWING LOADING FROM THE SOUTHERN PART. AND THAT WAS, UH, ENERGIZED JUST A NUMBER OF MONTHS AGO. UH, SO TO ANSWER YOUR POINT, YES, THERE WERE CHOKE POINTS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO ON A DAILY BASIS IS LOOK AT THE LOADING IN OUR SYSTEM. UH, NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO LOAD CONSISTENTLY ACROSS THREE PHASES, A B AND C PHASE, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO LOAD ACROSS ALL THE SUBSTATIONS SO THAT WE DO NOT HAVE OVERLOADS. UH, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR CONTROL CENTER, WE DO HAVE, UH, A SYSTEM, OR WE HAVE A CONTROL CENTER WHERE ALMOST LIKE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ARE LOOKING OVER THE ELECTRIC GRID IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT. AND YOU'RE ANALYZING THESE THINGS, UM, LOOKING FOR NEEDS TO REBALANCE THE SYSTEM, UH, WHERE, UH, LOAD MAY BE POCKETED OR INCREASINGLY LOCALIZED AREA. UH, AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES. AND IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE SUCCESSFULLY BEEN ABLE TO EXECUTE, UH, OVER THIS PARTICULAR SUMMER AND TO YOUR POINT, YES, THAT HAS BEEN CHALLENGING. AND DID THE CHOKE POINTS, OR DID THE, THE STRESS ON THE LOCAL GRID, DID THAT PRODUCE ANY, UH, LOCALIZED BLACKOUTS? UH, WE'VE HAD SOME LOCALIZED CHALLENGES AND WE'VE WORKED WITH ERCOT AND MOST OF THOSE, UH, TO DEAL WITH SOME OF THOSE LOCALIZED CHALLENGES. UM, I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT. UH, AND IN TERMS OF, UH, AND I KNOW THERE WAS, UH, THE SLIDE EARLIER TALKING ABOUT IDENTIFYING A COUPLE OF, OF LIKE LOCAL OF CUSTOMERS AFFECTED. I MEAN, ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE AFFECTED BY ANY KIND OF LOCALIZED PROBLEMS, UH, IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA. OKAY. LET ME GO BACK TO LAST WEEK, WE HAD A, UH, LOAD LIMITING COMPONENT. UH, RECLOSER IT'S OFTEN REFERRED TO, UH, THAT LOAD LIMITING COMPONENT WAS SYNCING OVERLOAD AND ZED TRIP, AS IT WAS DESIGNED TO TRIP AS IT PROJECTED LOAD, AS IT PROTECTED CRITICAL LOAD THAT WAS ON THAT CIRCUIT TO INCLUDE MEDICAL FACILITIES. IT WORKED AS DESIGNED, UH, UNFORTUNATELY THE PEOPLE THAT WERE ON THAT SEXUALIZED CIRCUIT, AGAIN, WORKED AS DESIGNED WERE WITHOUT POWER FOR NORMALLY 30 MINUTES, WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO RESTORE THAT ENERGY AS WE SWITCHED LOAD TO A DIFFERENT CIRCUIT. THAT'S A, THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED LAST WEEK. OKAY. UM, SWITCHING GEARS RIGHT QUICK, THE, UM, FADE POWER PLANT. I KNOW THAT, UH, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE FAYETTE POWER PLANT, UM, WAS THE FAYETTE POWER PLANT IN FULL USAGE OVER, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THIS KIND OF VERY TIGHT, UH, GREAT CONDITIONS OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS. UH, OUR PARTICULAR UNITS HAVE BEEN IN OPERATION OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. AND, UM, RELATED TO THAT QUESTION, HOW WAS THE, AND AGAIN, I KNOW Y'ALL STILL MAY BE KIND OF SETTLING ACCOUNTS AND NUMBERS, BUT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW ON THE ONE HAND AUSTIN ENERGY IS A, A GENERATOR [03:00:01] AND A SELLER OF ELECTRICITY. AND ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A PURCHASER OF ELECTRICITY. UH, HOW WAS THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY OVER THE, OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WE HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED AS MOST IN THE INDUSTRY HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED. THESE LOADS HAVE NOT BEEN NECESSARILY FORECAST. IF YOU GO BACK TWO MONTHS PRIOR FORECAST, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT OUR PORTFOLIO AND LOOKING AT WHAT OUR ANTICIPATED LOADS HAVE BEEN, IF YOU GO BACK TO THE LONG-TERM FORECAST NUMBER OF MONTHS, THIS SUMMER WAS NOT ANTICIPATED TO BE AS INTENSE AS IT IS IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE. WE'VE GOTTEN HIT BY SOME WOULD CALL A RELATIVE PERFECT STORM. AND WHAT I MEAN BY PERFECT STORM IS INTENSE WEATHER, UH, ACCOMPANYING ATTENDS LOADS, UM, RECORDS, SETTING, NATURAL GAS PRICES, HIGH PRICES IN THE ENERGY MARKET AS RESULTS OF THOSE NATURAL GAS PRICES, UH, NOT NECESSARILY SUSTAINED, BUT DEFINITELY IN HIGH POCKETS IS THAT THE, WHEN, WHEN, UH, ON THE TEMPERATURES WERE HIGH. AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THIS, INTO THAT, UH, THE ONE COMPONENT THAT HAS BEEN CHALLENGING HAS TO DO WITH, UH, CONSTRAINTS ON THE TRANSMISSION GRID TO YOUR POINT. UH, SO TO THE EXTENT YOU HAVE RESOURCES, GENERATION RESOURCES THAT ARE DISTANT FROM OUR LOAD CENTER, AND YET THOSE RESOURCES ARE, UM, NEEDING TO SUPPORT LOAD IN THE AUSTIN AREA OR OTHER VOTES IN OUR AREAS. IT CAN BE A CHALLENGE FOR, UH, OPERATING OR TRANSMISSION CAPACITY TO BE AVAILABLE, UH, TO, TO TRANSPORT THAT ENERGY AS SUCH, YOU CAN GET CONGESTION PRICING, UH, AND THAT HAS BEEN A FINANCIAL CHALLENGE AND AN OPERATIONAL CHALLENGE FOR NOT ONLY AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT FOR THE REST OF THE ENTITIES IN RICHMOND. AND, AND AGAIN, I'M JUST TRYING, I'M NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH THE ELECTRICAL MARKET, UH, BUT I'M TRYING TO LEARN, UH, AS QUICKLY AS I CAN. IN OTHER WORDS, I MEAN, SINCE NO ONE WAS EXPECTING THIS, WE DID NOT HAVE KIND OF LIKE LONG-TERM POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS IN PLACE THAT WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, UH, CUSHIONED THE BLOW, UH, OF THE SHORT-TERM POWER PRICES. SO WE HAD TO GO INTO THE SHORT TERM, UH, OR THE SPOT MARKET TO PURCHASE, TO MAKE UP. I MEAN, WOULD THAT BE AN ACCURATE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, DESCRIPTION OF, OF THE, THE KIND OF MARKET POSITION THAT, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY WITHIN, UH, THIS IS JACKIE SERGEANT GENERAL MANAGER AT AUSTIN ENERGY. WE HAVE A TEAM OF FOLKS THAT OPERATE WHAT WE CALL ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS, AND THEY LOOK AT OUR POSITIONS AND THEY HAVE VERY ROBUST PRACTICES WITH REGARD TO HEDGING AND USING FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS. SO THERE IS NOT CURRENTLY IN MARKET, A CAPACITY MARKET. AND WHAT WE DO TO MANAGE OUR EXPOSURE IS TO USE A VARIETY OF TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US AND DO THAT ON A YEARLY BASIS. WE LOOK AT, UH, ON A MONTHLY BASIS, WE LOOK OUT ON A WEEKLY BASIS AND WE IMPLEMENT THOSE THINGS, UH, ON A DAILY BASIS AND PUT POSITIONS ON AND OFF THAT KIND OF ACT LIKE INSURANCE, IF YOU WILL. UM, SO THAT WE CAN PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, FROM THE VOLATILITY THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE MARKETPLACE. NOW, ERCOT HAS CHANGED HOW THEY ARE DISPATCHING THE SYSTEM, AND THAT HAS CREATED SOME NUANCES AS THEY, UH, RAISE THE LEVEL OF RESERVES THAT THEY HAVE AVAILABLE, UH, TO ENSURE THAT THE LOAD IS COVERED WITH THESE HIGHER DEMANDS. AND AS THAT LOADING, UH, OF RESOURCES ON THE SYSTEM AND THE PATTERNS HAVE CHANGED, THAT CREATES CONGESTION IN SOME AREAS. AND SO THERE'S OTHER TOOLS THAT WE USE TO MANAGE THAT RISK, BUT I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY MONITORING THAT AND THAT WE HAVE VERY ROBUST, UH, PROGRAMS AND A TEAM OF PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY SKILLED, UH, TO MANAGE OUR EXPOSURE. YEAH, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT. AND, UH, I THINK AUSTIN ENERGY, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, SOLID THROUGH, YOU KNOW, UH, A NUMBER OF, UH, OF YEARS. BUT MY SENSE WAS THAT AS, AS, UH, MR. JACKSON WAS SAYING, THIS WAS UNEXPECTED, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WAS THINKING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE 111 DEGREES AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, JUST RECORD USAGE. I KNOW THAT THE USAGE WAS WAY OUT OF LINE WITH WHAT ARCOT WAS PREDICTING. I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL'S, UH, EXPECTATIONS WERE THAT MUCH DIFFERENT. UH, BUT I'LL JUST, AGAIN, TRYING TO GET A SENSE OF, OF, YOU KNOW, BEING ON BOTH SIDES AS A PURCHASER AND A GENERATOR OF POWER, YOU KNOW, HOW DID IT AUSTIN ENERGY MAKE OUT OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS? SO WE CONTINUOUSLY LOOK [03:05:01] AT THAT AND THERE ARE SETTLEMENT THINGS IN METER READS THAT HAVE TO BE, UM, FINALIZED. AND THERE'S THE TOOLS THAT WE USE IN THE MARKETPLACE THAT, UH, WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL WE GET SETTLEMENT AND THINGS FROM . I WILL TELL YOU THAT PRICES HAVE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. UM, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, DOES CAUSE US TO HAVE CONCERNS WITH REGARD TO OUR POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT, WHICH IS WHERE THESE COSTS ARE CAPTURED. AND WHEN WE SET THE POWER SUPPLY LAST YEAR, YOU'LL RECALL, I GUESS, COUNCIL MEMBER BAILEY YOU WEREN'T HERE, BUT WE PUT IT BELOW MARKET BECAUSE WE HAD AN OVERCOLLECTION THAT WE WERE REFUNDING. AND SO AS WE LOOK INTO THE NEXT YEAR, WHEN WE HAVE TO RESET THAT, UM, WE'LL HAVE TO COMPENSATE FOR, YOU KNOW, IT'S NO LONGER UNDER, UH, COLLECTED AND POTENTIALLY COULD HAVE AN OVERCOLLECTION AND WHERE WE WILL HAVE TO MODERATE THAT AND ADJUST THAT RATE, UH, TO BE, SO I CAN'T TELL YOU SPECIFICALLY, UM, WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW WITH THEY'RE MONITORING IT VERY CAREFULLY AND THAT THE TEAM IS TAKING THE NECESSARY STEPS TO PROVIDE THAT STABILITY FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. OKAY. WELL, I KNOW, UH, THESE ARE, UH, THE TRYING TIMES FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES, UM, PRIVATE OR PUBLIC, REALLY, UH, AND, UH, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S, UH, HARD WORK AND I LOOK FORWARD TO JUST, AGAIN, LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE OPERATIONS AND THEN THE STRUGGLES THAT Y'ALL, UH, FACE. AND AGAIN, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE ANSWERS OKAY. GUYS, WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE. ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE, UM, HAVE ANSWERED ALL THE QUESTIONS, RAY, THANK YOU. THANKS STAFF FOR, UM, UH, SPENDING SO MUCH TIME ON THIS ISSUE, OBVIOUSLY, UH, REAL TRYING, UM, UH, TIMES WITH WHAT 41 DAYS OVER OVER A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED DEGREES. UM, AND THEN UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE SEEING EXTREME WEATHER SITUATIONS THAT SEEM TO BE HITTING US MORE AND MORE FREQUENTLY COLLEAGUES, IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, UH, THEN I'M GOING TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING AT 3 0 1, UH, AND, UH, WE'LL RECONVENE AS A CITY COUNCIL NEXT WEEK. UH, WE HAVE A WORK SESSION REGULARLY SCHEDULED WITH THAT. THIS MEETING IS CANCELED OUR KITCHEN. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S OUT OF ORDER. I CAN ASK IT OFFLINE FOR NEXT WEEK. UM, ON THE WORK SESSION, I WAS THINKING THAT WE WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT OUR PROCESS FOR A BUDGET. YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS BROUGHT BUDGET WRITERS IN THE PAST, AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A SUGGESTION. THAT'S A BIT DIFFERENT THAN THAT FROM OUR STAFF. SO WANTING TO MAKE SURE WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY AT THE WORK SESSION TO CLARIFY AND BE REALLY CLEAR ON WHAT THE PROCESS WAS GOING TO BE. SO IS THAT ON THE AGENDA FOR TODAY'S DISCUSSION WILL BE ON THERE. THANK YOU. OKAY. WITH THAT, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.