[00:00:01]
OH, 6 0 5, I GUESS WE CAN START THE CLOCK TICKING ON THE QUORUM, PRESENTATION OR REPRESENTATION.
I THINK THERE'S ACTUALLY FIVE OF US PRESENT RIGHT NOW.
THREE ON THE DIASEND TO ONLINE.
DO YOU SEE MELISSA? MELISSA? AM I MISSING SOMEBODY AND MELISSA? OH YES.
OKAY GUYS, SEEING AMANDA, WE NOW HAVE A QUORUM FOLKS.
CAN YOU COME AND CHECK IS, I THINK WE'RE HAVING AN ISSUE WITH MAY HAVE TO MOVE
[CALL TO ORDER]
ALL RIGHT.COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF, SEEING THAT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM NOW I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
IT IS APPROXIMATELY 6 0 7 ON A WEDNESDAY, AUGUST THE 10TH COMMISSIONERS.
UH, YAWN, KATHY FOR MAKING IT DOWN HERE AND MELISSA AND MELISSA AND AMANDA FOR BEING ONLINE.
HOPEFULLY WE HAD A CHANCE TO GO OVER THE AGENDA HERE.
I'D LIKE TO READ THAT WAS ALBERT ON ALBERT.
OKAY, SO WE DO HAVE, UH, ALBERTA IN ADDITION TO THIS, ALL RIGHT, GUYS, LOOKING OVER THE AGENDA HERE.
I WAS WANTING TO, IF IT'D BE THE WILL OF THIS COMMISSION TO REARRANGE THE AGENDA IN SUCH A WAY AS WE, UH, WE S KEEP ITEM ONE, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANYONE HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, UH, APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
NUMBER ONE, THEN ON STAFF BRIEFINGS, WHICH SHOULD BE A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEMS. I, AGAIN, URGE IN NOT INCLUDING THESE ITEMS IN THE DISCUSSION ACTION CATEGORY.
I'LL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT.
AS A RESULT, I WILL YOU MAKE IT UP TO YOU ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
AND HAVING SAID THAT I'D LIKE TO TAKE THESE STAFF BRIEFINGS AND REARRANGE THESE IN SUCH A MANNER AS WE MOVE UP, ITEM FIVE TO, UH, THE NUMBER TWO SPOT.
AND, UH, FROM THERE, UH, MOVE ITEM, NUMBER FOUR TO THE NUMBER THREE SPOT IN ITEM THREE TO THREE.
AND THEN, UH, THE LAST ITEM WOULD BE THE SMB, OUR PRESENTATION, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON FROM THERE TO THE DIRECTOR'S REPORTS AND ALL COMMISSIONERS ONLINE.
I GUESS JUST SOME OF THE RULES AND REGS NOW ONLINE, ANY VOTING HAS TO BE DONE VISUALLY AS WE VOTE, YOU HAVE TO BE PRESENT, BE SEEN IN THE VOTING PROCESS.
THE FIRST ITEM IS, UH, SEEING THAT WE DO HAVE NO SPEAKERS WHO SIGNED UP
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THE NEXT ITEM WAS GOING TO BE THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.IT'S THE JUNE 8TH MEETING MINUTES.
ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS? THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS ON THAT.
UH, I'LL ENTERTAIN A ENTERTAIN, A MOTION HERE.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE MINUTES.
UM, PREVIOUSLY I THINK OVER THE LAST YEAR WE WERE RECEIVING MORE OF A TRANSCRIPT AND I THINK WE REALIZED THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF OVERKILL.
[00:05:01]
IT WAS THE TRANSCRIPT OF EVERYTHING SAID IT COULD BE THEN HARDER TO FIND THE RELEVANT INFORMATION FROM THE TRANSCRIPT IN TERMS OF MINUTES.SO I APPRECIATE, UM, THIS MORE ABBREVIATED FORM.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE CAPTURING EVERYTHING NECESSARY THOUGH.
UM, JUST FROM MY OWN NOTES, IT SEEMS LIKE A, A SHORT SUMMARY OF WHAT WAS A VERY BACK AND FORTH DISCUSSION OF, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE AREA OF THE ZERO WASTE PLAN.
UM, WE HAD SOME DISCUSSION THAT'S NOT EXACTLY CAPTURED HERE, SO I'M CURIOUS, NUMBER ONE, DO WE STILL HAVE THAT RECORDING? AND IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF USING THAT AND THEN PART TWO, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF USING THAT TO ENHANCE, UM, SOME MORE SPECIFICS ON, UM, UM, SPECIFICALLY THAT ITEM? I THINK THE ZERO WASTE PLAN.
IT JUST, WE, WE DEVOTED A LOT OF TIME TO IT AND, UM, THE, THE COMMISSIONER FEEDBACK IS NOT IN THE MINUTES.
JUST WHAT THE, UM, WHAT THE TEAM PRESENTED TO US.
UM, AND IN FACT, A VERY GOOD POINT.
KEN, DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THAT REAL QUICK? THANK YOU YES.
UH, WE DO HAVE THE TRANSCRIPT AND WE CAN, UH, UPDATE THE, UH, MINUTES COMMISSIONER WHITE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR POINTING OUT THIS ISSUE, AMANDA.
UM, I ALSO NOTICED A, UM, AN ITEM A, YOU KNOW, JUST SAYS THAT WE DEFERRED, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT SOME REASONS WHY TO DIFFER.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE THAT.
AND I THINK STAFF HAD AGREED TO COME BACK TO US WITH SOME INFORMATION.
SO I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO GO INTO LIKE ALL OF THE DETAILS, BUT I THINK LIKE WHY WE WERE DEFERRING AND THAT STUFF.
SO THEY COULD COME BACK TO US WITH INFORMATION I THINK WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO HAVE THERE.
WELL, THE MOVING FORWARD, WE CAN CERTAINLY GET BACK THE, UH, THE ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT THAT WAS SUBMITTED PREVIOUSLY.
THAT SHOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE DOING THAT.
SO I, IT, IT, IT SOUNDS TO ME IS THAT IS PROBABLY THE MORE APPROPRIATE WAY OF, OF, UH, PRESENTING THE MINUTES TO US AND WE CAN PICK AND CHOOSE AND LOOK AND, AND, AND THEN DECIDE AND MORE ACCURATE VISION OF WHAT WE ACTUALLY DID.
SO HAVING SAID THAT I'LL MOVE FOR ANY, ANY MOTION, EITHER DEFERRAL APPROVAL OR NO, AMANDA.
I'M WAITING ON THOSE EDITS TO THE MINUTES.
I GUESS I WASN'T TOTALLY SURE AT THEIR HEART.
ARE YOU SAYING THE, EITHER WE GO WITH WHAT'S HERE OR WE KNOW TRANSCRIPTS, ARE WE GOING TO GET SOME THINGS ADDED TO THESE? CAUSE I AM IN, YEAH, YOU'RE BREAKING UP.
SO YOU ADD, YOU'RE ASKING IF, IF WE DEFER THIS, CAN WE GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT IN ITS COMPLETE AND TOTAL LENGTH? NO, I WAS JUST ASKING, LIKE, I THINK IT'S BETTER TO STICK WITH THIS FORMAT AND JUST ADD A FEW MORE DETAILS.
IS THAT WHAT'S HAPPENING? WELL, YEAH, STAFF, WE HAVE THE TRANSCRIPT AND WE CAN GO BACK AND UPDATE AND ADD A FEW MORE BULLET POINTS OR ANYTHING THAT WAS PARTICULAR THAT WAS MISSING.
SO WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE.
IS THAT OKAY, MAN? I MEAN, OKAY.
SO YOU WANT TO THIS ITEM, LOOK AT THE, UH, THE REVISION IN SEPTEMBER AND, UM, TAKE ACTION AT THAT POINT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS, HEARING A DEFERRAL, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR DEFERRAL, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND THERE.
WE HAVE SOMEWHERE IN HERE ANYWAY.
THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE, UH, STAFF BRIEFINGS, WHICH, UH, WE ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO BE A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM.
[5. URO Multifamily Composting Pilot Study Timeline Update- Gena McKinley ]
TO START OFF WITH THE, AGAIN THAT YOU ARE.OH, MULTIFAMILY, COMPOSTING, PILOT STUDY UPDATE.
GINA, ARE YOU PRESENT OR WHO'S, WHO'S GOING TO BE HIGHCHAIR.
SO GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS, GINA MCKINLEY, STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, DIVISION MANAGER, A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER, APOLOGIZE FOR THE RASPY VOICE.
UM, BUT I WANTED TO MEET WITH YOU GUYS
[00:10:01]
AND UPDATE YOU ON THE COMPOST MULTIFAMILY PILOT.UM, THERE WAS A EURO COMMITTEE MEETING JUST LAST MONTH AT THE END OF JUNE, OR I'M SORRY, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, END OF JUNE.
UM, WHERE STAFF DID PROVIDE, UH, AN UPDATE KNOWING THAT THE, THE REPORT AND ANALYSIS WASN'T COMPLETELY FINALIZED AND WE ARE WORKING TO FINALIZE THAT.
I ACTUALLY JUST PRIOR TO THIS MEETING, HAD THE TEAM SHARE WITH THE EURO COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THE DRAFT REPORT WITH THE FINDINGS FROM THAT PILOT PROJECT.
UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU.
AND, UH, IT WAS A, A TOUGH PROJECT TO GET DONE GIVEN ALL THE TRIALS THAT WE HAD WITH THE PANDEMIC AND HAVING TO START AND STOP AND GET MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES ON BOARD.
UM, BUT WE'RE REALLY FORTUNATE THAT WE DID FIND PROPERTIES THAT WANTED TO PARTICIPATE AND HAVE THOSE FINDINGS, UM, COMPILED INTO A REPORT THAT NOW HAS BEEN SHARED WITH THE COMMITTEE.
I HAVE TALKED TO A COUPLE OF THE COMMISSIONERS ON THAT COMMITTEE.
I WAS NOT ABLE TO REACH EVERYONE PRIOR TO THIS MEETING, UM, ON NEXT STEPS, BUT WHAT WE INTEND FOR NEXT STEPS RELATED TO THAT PROJECT IS TO SCHEDULE A, AN ADDITIONAL URL COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, THERE WILL BE A DOODLE GOING OUT TO THOSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, THE EARLIEST WE'RE LOOKING AT IS THE LAST WEEK OF AUGUST.
SO COMING UP AT THE END OF THIS MONTH, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'LL THROW OUT SOME OTHER DATES TOO, SO WE CAN TRY AND NAIL DOWN SCHEDULES.
WE HAVE A FULL PRESENTATION THAT WE INTEND TO BRING TO THE COMMISSION NEXT MONTH SO THAT EVERYONE CAN HEAR THE FINDINGS FROM THAT REPORT.
AND THEN WE'LL TAKE ANY FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMISSION, FROM THE COMMITTEE AND THE SUBSEQUENT STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE HOPE YOU WILL ASSIST US IN HELPING BRING TO THOSE EURO COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN TO THE ULTIMATE RECOMMENDATION TO GO UP TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, SO THAT IS THE UPDATE I HAVE FOR YOU GUYS.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY CONCERNS AT THIS POINT? THANK YOU, GINA COMMISSIONER.
SO, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONFUSION OVER THIS, THIS LAST MONTH.
UH, WE WERE PROMISED THE THREE OF US ON THE EURO COMMITTEE THAT THERE WOULD BE THE MEETING THIS MONTH, WHAT THE DATA, UH, THAT WAS PROMISED.
UH, WE WERE PROMISED THAT, UH, AND I FELT LIKE WE GAVE THEM SOME LEEWAY ON BEING VERY PATIENT AND I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS TAKEN FOR GRANTED.
UH, AND SO MY TRUST IS PRETTY FAR DOWN, SO I'M HOPING THAT WE WILL GET THIS MEETING AND THE END OF AUGUST WITHOUT FAIL.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, THIS PROJECT AS YOU WELL KNOW, WAS DELAYED DURING COVID.
UH, AND WE'VE GOT SO MANY MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES HERE IN THE CITY, AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
I THINK SO, UM, SO NOT ONLY, HOPEFULLY YOU WILL, AND YOU CAN TALK TO THIS AGAIN, IF YOU REPEAT IT, EVEN AS WE WILL HAVE THE DATA FROM THE PILOT AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE NEXT STEPS AND THE TIMETABLE FOR THAT.
SO LET ME GO BACK TO THE CONFUSION IF YOU DON'T MIND.
SO I WAS CALLED BY ONE OF THE OTHER PEOPLE THEN THAT WORKS WITH THIS PROJECT, AND I WAS TOLD THAT YOU ALL COULD NOT GO FORWARD WITH THE MEETING, BUT KEN WAS OUT OF THE COUNTRY.
WELL, KEN GOT BACK FROM OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND IT WAS PLENTY OF TIME FOR HIM TO REVIEW IT.
AND THEN I WAS TOLD FROM ANOTHER SOURCE THAT YOU ALL WERE NOT READY NOW, I WAS NEVER CALLED BY YOUR STAFF.
I WAS CALLED ONCE, BUT THAT'S THE MESSAGE WAS THAT KEN WAS NOT AVAILABLE AND THAT CHANGED, BUT THEN I WASN'T CALLED AGAIN.
AND SO I HAVE VERY LITTLE FAITH RIGHT NOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
SO I THINK, I THINK I MIGHT SPEAK FOR THE URL COMMITTEE THAT WE'RE GOING TO REALLY SEE IF THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN THIS TIME.
UM, SO I DON'T FEEL LIKE THERE WAS ANY TRANSPARENCY ON THIS AND I FELT LIKE THERE, I CALLED ON THE FRIDAY AND THEN I GOT YOUR CALL ON TUESDAY EVENING.
SO THERE WAS A BIG GAP IN THERE ON WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
THAT THAT'S NOT, I DON'T, I'M NOT OKAY WITH BEING TREATED LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, I, I TAKE THIS AS A VERY SERIOUS, UM, ISSUE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON.
THANK YOU, KEN, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? YES.
COMMISSIONER KEN SNIPES DIRECTOR.
UH, I'M NOT PRIVY TO THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THIS ISSUE AND THE URL IN GENERAL CONTINUES TO BE A TOP PRIORITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
SO, UM, AS YOU NOTED, THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF ISSUES WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT WITH STAFFING COVID IN GENERAL, UH, THAT HAVE IMPACTED OUR ABILITY TO MOVE THE PROJECT FORWARD.
UM, BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE PRESENTATION WILL OCCUR IN SEPTEMBER AS,
[00:15:01]
UH, AS WAS STATED.UH, AND THE, UH, THE LATEST, UH, MEETING THAT GINA JUST MENTIONED, UM, UH, WILL HAPPEN SOMETIME AROUND THE END OF AUGUST, AS SOON AS WE CAN LINE UP THE SCHEDULES WITH ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
SO, UH, APOLOGIES FOR ANY CONFUSION THAT MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED.
UH, WE WANT TO BE TRUE TO OUR COMMITMENTS AND TO YOUR COMMITMENTS TO WORK TOGETHER IN THIS SPACE AND, UH, AND GET THE WORK DONE.
SO, UM, A GOOD THING OUT OF ALL, THIS IS WE'RE STARTING NOW TO BE ABLE TO HIT OUR STRIDE AND GET THINGS GOING NOW.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, UH, DURING THE, UH, THE PANDEMIC, WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO MEET WITH MANY OF THE APARTMENT, UH, UH, FOLKS AND THE TEAMS AND, AND THEY, UM, THE MEMBERS OF THOSE COMMUNITIES.
AND SO WE'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO BE ABLE TO DO A LOT OF, WELL, WE HAD SOME, SOME TROUBLE GETTING READY TO DO THAT, AND NOW WE'RE READY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, WITH THE RESULTS AND THE FINDINGS.
MR. SNIPES, WOULD YOU, CAN YOU BE AT THE MEETING, THE URL MEETING PLEASE? OKAY.
DEREK, WILL YOU PLEASE BE THERE? I WILL.
YOU KNOW, AT THAT MEETING, I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE IS, I THINK WE WERE VERY, UM, ACCOMMODATING ABOUT THE SCHEDULE.
AND WE TALKED TO THE THREE PEOPLE THAT WORK UNDER YOU IN THIS DEPARTMENT.
AND WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT KIND OF THINGS THEY WORK ON, WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS, BECAUSE, AND I'VE ACTUALLY, FOR ONE SAID, THERE WERE SOME OTHER PEOPLE THAT WANTED THEM TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
AND I KEPT SAYING, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE STAY ON THE PILOT.
THAT'S SO IMPORTANT AND THE COMMUNITY NEEDS IT AND THEY WANT IT.
UH, AND SO WE WERE ASSURED THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE TOP PRIORITY.
SO, AND YOU'RE GOING TO ASSURE ME THAT WE'RE GOING TO MEET IN THE END OF AUGUST, NO MATTER WHERE WE MEET, I DON'T CARE IF WE MEET IN THE PARK, JUST WE NEED TO MEET.
AND THIS REMAINS A TOP PRIORITY THAT, THAT HASN'T CHANGED.
I THINK THE CONFLICT THAT YOU MAY BE REFERRING TO HAS TO DO WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UH, AND SO OF COURSE THAT IS A PRIORITY AS WELL.
SO, UH, IT'S ACTUALLY THE OVERARCHING PRIORITY IN THE URL ROLLS UP UNDER THAT.
UH, AND SO THE, UM, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WE'RE NEARING THE DUE DATE FOR HAVING THAT COMPLETED, BUT THESE, UH, THESE TWO PROJECTS ARE WORKING SOMEWHAT IN PARALLEL RIGHT NOW.
AND AGAIN, THE URL PRESENTATION WILL OCCUR NEXT MONTH.
UH, YOU KNOW, JUST TO CHIME IN, I JUST, THERE ARE SOME REAL SIMPLE FIXES TO ALL OF THIS AND IT'S COMMUNICATION AND YOUR RIDE CAN, THINGS, THINGS COME UP, PEOPLE GET SICK CHALLENGES OCCUR, BUT COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER AND UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS HAS, THIS IS NOW STILL A PRIORITY, BUT HERE'S WHAT THE ISSUES ARE TODAY.
I MEAN, I'M SURE IF KATHY AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE HAD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE WE WERE AND WHAT SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE ISSUES WERE THAT WE COULD HAVE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO, TO GET THIS COMPLETED, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, FOR ADDRESSING THAT.
YOU'RE BREAKING UP THERE A LITTLE BIT, BUT GO AHEAD.
UM, WELL I GUESS I JUST, FOR ALL, YOU KNOW, WANT TO KIND OF PLUS ONE TO THE THINGS THAT KATHY SAID, UM, OBVIOUSLY FROM A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE I'M NOT THE CHAIR, BUT, UM, I APPRECIATE CATHY THAT YOU'VE BEEN TRYING TO, UM, GET THESE MEETINGS THAT CAN GET THIS ON THE AGENDA.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I SHARE THE FRUSTRATIONS HE EXPRESSED.
SO FOLKS KNOW THAT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, KATHY, I, I ALSO FELT VERY FRUSTRATED.
UM, I DO WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO, TO CANNON AND GINA FOR BOTH REACHING OUT DIRECTLY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WORKING THIS THROUGH, UM, AND, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN JUST AVOID SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, MORE FRUSTRATED ASPECTS.
CAUSE I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME GENE HERE.
AND I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT THAT WE, THAT WE UTILIZE EACH OTHER AND THAT DOES INCLUDE OUR COMMITTEES.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE CAN REALLY DO THE POLICY WORK THAT IS NEEDED TO ACTUALLY MEET OUR ZERO WASTE GOAL, WHICH WE HAVEN'T BEEN IN OR NOT HAVING TRACK TO DO AS A CITY.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE ON THE SAME TEAM AND WE CAN HOPEFULLY BE PRODUCTIVE, BUT GOING FORWARD, I JUST DID WANT TO GET A CLARIFICATION.
WE ARE GOING TO, I MEAN, WE HAVE THE DRAFT REPORT TO, ARE WE GOING TO AT THE EURO COMMITTEE MEETING AT THE END OF THIS MONTH, TALK ABOUT THE ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, REGATTA IN THE REPORT.
UH, COMMISSIONER WHITE AND COMMISSIONER GATTUSO WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR ANY MISCOMMUNICATION.
UM, I NEVER LIKED TO HEAR THAT TRUST IS BROKEN AND I REALLY HOPE THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER, UM, TO REGAIN TRUST AND, AND TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY.
THIS IS A PROJECT THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE DEPARTMENT, LIKE YOU SAID TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK WE ALL WANT TO SEE IT BE SUCCESSFUL.
COMMISSIONER WHITE, THE REPORT DOES INCLUDE THE DATA
[00:20:01]
AND ALSO TO COMMISSIONER GET TO, SO IT IS IN YOUR EMAIL.SO YOU WILL HAVE THE DATA YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS THAT REPORT WITH THE FINDINGS WHO PARTICIPATED THE RESULTS.
SO YOU SHOULD HAVE ALL OF THAT IN YOUR INBOX RIGHT NOW.
SO YOU CAN SEE IT AS SOON AS YOU'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT.
UM, AND YES, THE INTENT IS FOR THE URL COMMITTEE MEETING TO THEIR URL COMMITTEE TO MEET AND WHAT WE NEED, UM, IN ORDER TO MEET QUICKLY AND HAVE GOOD PARTICIPATION IN THIS, IN THIS KIND OF A MEETING, WE WILL NEED HELP WITH YOU GUYS, UH, REACHING OUT TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS, REACHING OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS WHO ARE IMPACTED BY THIS, UM, PARTICULAR INITIATIVE SO THAT WE CAN GET THEIR FEEDBACK TO THE APARTMENT ASSOCIATION.
UM, AND OTHERS, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM TENANTS, FROM PEOPLE THIS IMPACTS THEIR DAILY LIVES.
AND SO THE GOAL WOULD BE TO GO OVER THE FINDINGS OF THE REPORT, UM, GO THROUGH THAT KIND OF IN A POWERPOINT KIND OF STYLE STEP-BY-STEP AND THEN ALSO SOLICIT SOME FEEDBACK.
UM, UH, WE'D IDEALLY ALSO LIKE TO HAVE SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE PILOT PROPERTY MANAGERS, AS WELL AS, UM, PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING MY STAFF HAD OFFERED UP TO BRING THEM IN AND HAVE ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WITH YOU GUYS OR COME INTO MEETINGS SO THAT YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE.
UM, BUT TO HAVE ALL THAT AS PART OF THE MEETINGS, I THINK I WILL NEED TO BE, IT WILL NEED TO BE MORE THAN ONE MEETING.
THERE WILL LIKELY NEED TO BE SEVERAL MEETINGS.
UM, AND NOW WE'LL, WE'LL NEED TO LOOK AT SCHEDULES AND ROOMS. WE NEED TO EAT TO GET ALL THESE PEOPLE TOGETHER.
UM, THERE ARE LOGISTICS IN PLACE AND WE WILL DO OUR VERY BEST TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN AT THE END OF AUGUST.
UM, FULLY WE WILL PROVIDE A VIRTUAL OPTION FOR FOLKS TO ATTEND.
UM, I CAN BE THERE IN PERSON, BUT, UM, I DO WANT THAT, I THINK IT IS A REQUIREMENT TO HAVE HYBRID MEETINGS ACTUALLY NOW, SO THAT WOULD BE, UM, I JUST WANT TO, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO READ THE WHOLE REPORT CAUSE I JUST GOT IT LIKE FIVE 30 OR SOMETHING.
UM, BUT I DID NOTICE SOMETHING IN THERE THAT I'M JUST GOING TO SHARE WITH FOLKS RIGHT NOW.
I SEE THAT, UH, 73% OF THE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS, THE PEOPLE AT THE APARTMENTS THAT RESPONDENTS SAID THAT THEY WERE USING THE SERVICE ALWAYS OR, OR I THINK IT WAS MOST OF THE TIME.
UM, UH, VERY OFTEN THAT WAS THE TERM ALWAYS OR VERY OFTEN.
THAT MEANS THAT PEOPLE DO WANT TO COMPOST AND OBVIOUSLY WE GOT TO DISCUSS IT, BUT, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY HELPFUL.
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN FIND A WAY TO GET THOSE FOLKS INVOLVED IN THE CONVERSATION AT OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS, NOT JUST THE APARTMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, MANAGERS, BUT THE SOME PEOPLE IF THERE ABSOLUTELY.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU.
UM, WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE GATHERING ALL THE DATA, DOING A THOROUGH ANALYSIS, SO WE COULD GIVE YOU THE ENTIRE PICTURE WHILE ALSO JUGGLING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND, AND BUDGET AND ALL THE OTHER PRIORITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT, BUT THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A PRIORITY.
AND WE HAVE, UM, WE ARE COMMITTING TO CONTINUE TO SEE IT FORWARD AND WORK WITH YOU GUYS IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, TO MOVE THE NEEDLE ON ZERO WASTE IN AUSTIN.
THANK YOU, GINA QUICK QUESTION AND OR CAT ACTUALLY IN THE INFORMATION THAT YOU SHARED WITH A URL COMMITTEE, IS THERE AN OUTLINE IN THERE WHERE WE ARE TODAY AND WHERE WE HOPE TO BE AT FULL IMPLEMENTATION? IS THERE A TIMELINE IN THAT, THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AND INTER I GUESS CLARIFICATION ON YOUR QUESTION, JARED, IN OTHER WORDS, IMPLEMENTATION CITYWIDE OF THE PROGRAM, NOT JUST THE PILOT ITSELF, BUT THE ACTUAL COMPLETE, FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF MULTIFAMILY COMPOSTING.
AND THAT WILL BE PART OF WHAT WE COMPLY THAT IS KIND OF THE NEXT STEPS, GETTING THE INPUT FROM THE URL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMUNITY TO, TO FINALIZE THAT RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL.
WE WENT, WE NEED INPUT, NOT JUST STAFF'S ANALYSIS, BUT ALSO INPUT FROM THE COMMISSION AND FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO CHAIRMAN WHAT'S BEEN SHARED SO FAR IS JUST THE RESULTS AS THIS IS A LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED.
THAT PIECE THAT YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT COMES A LITTLE LATER.
IS THERE A TIMELINE ON THAT IS RESERVE? NOT YET, NOT YET.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT WILL BE SORTED OUT IN THE UPCOMING MEETINGS, THE END OF AUGUST MEETING.
AND AS GINA SAID, THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE SEVERAL SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS THAT HAVE TO BE ADDED AS WELL.
SO, UM, RIGHT NOW WHAT'S BEEN PRESENTED, IT JUST, IT CAPTURES WHAT WE LEARN, WHAT THE, UH, WHAT THE PILOT ENTAILED, UH, ALL THE DETAILS AND THE NUMBERS AND THE DATA, UH, AS, AS, UH, AS WE'VE COLLECTED AND COMPILED IT, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I'M SPEAKING OUT OF, UH, JUST, UH, EXCITEMENT, FRUSTRATION, I MEAN, 70 PLUS PERCENT PARTICIPATION AND PEOPLE USING THIS VERY, VERY PROMISING.
HOW DO WE GET THAT A, THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY? HOW DO WE GET THIS PROGRAM ROLLED OUT SOONER THAN LATER?
[00:25:01]
WELL, I THINK THAT THE POINT WAS 70, SOME ODD PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED WERE STATED THAT THEY ALWAYS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS USED IT.SO IT WASN'T 70% PARTICIPATION OVERALL.
I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT IS A PHENOMENAL NUMBER.
SO WE WILL SHARE THOSE NUMBERS LATER ON THAT.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, THERE'S A FULL BRIEFING SCHEDULED FOR THE COMMISSION, THE ENTIRE COMMISSION AND NOT JUST THE URL COMMITTEE FOR NEXT MONTH.
I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO QUIT KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD AND GET, UH, GET TO WHERE IT'S OFFERED AT A, THE MULTIFAMILY COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO IT'S KINDA MY, MY GOAL HERE, BUT WELL, OF COURSE THE COMMISSIONER, THE, UH, THE RISK THEIR CHAIRMAN, UH, WAS WE DIDN'T WANT TO MOVE THAT FAR FORWARD WITH ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WITHOUT HAVING A CHANCE FOR THE COMMITTEE.
UH, THE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, THE COMMUNITY TO, UH, HAVE A BIT OF INPUT THERE.
SO, UH, WE COULD HAVE DONE THAT, BUT WE ERRED ON THE SIDE OF NOT MOVING THAT FAR, THAT FAST AND PRESENTING YOU WITH A DOCUMENT THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO WEIGH IN ON.
I ACTUALLY, I'M MORE FRUSTRATED WITH THE FACT THAT WE LOST ALMOST TWO YEARS.
COVID TRYING TO GET TO THIS POINT, HAVING SAID THAT, I GUESS THAT, UH, THAT IS HOPEFULLY NOT A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR US.
SORRY, GINA AND MELISSA, BUT, UH, NONETHELESS, IF WE, IF WE CAN BASICALLY GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE LITERALLY WORKING TOWARDS THIS IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH GINA, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE ON TOP OF THIS.
I THINK THE COMMUNICATION LEVEL, I THINK HOPEFULLY IS GOING TO OPEN UP AND WE'RE GOING TO BE COMMUNICATING TOGETHER AS A STAFF SLASH COMMISSIONED HERE TO GET THIS THING DONE.
UH, COULD I ASK, I'M NOT SURE.
AM I ALLOWED TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THIS BEEN HERE SO FAR? UM, ONE QUICK DETAIL QUESTION IS SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST, THE COLLEGE COURT PROPERTY.
IS THAT THE SAME PROPERTY? UM, I WILL HAVE, IF WE'RE DIGGING INTO DETAILS OF THEIR REPORT, I APOLOGIZE.
I'M GOING TO NEED TO PING STAFF THAT OKAY.
SPECIFICALLY WORKING WITH THE PROPERTIES THAT WE COULD FOLLOW UP WITH YOU COMMISSIONER MESINO TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
IT'S PROBABLY JUST A DIFFERENT NAME IN TWO DIFFERENT SECTIONS.
I HAD, I DID HAVE A QUESTION THAT MIGHT NEED A LITTLE MORE TIME TO LOOK INTO.
I'M VERY CURIOUS ABOUT THE PERCENT OF RESIDENTS PER PO FOR HER PROPERTY PARTICIPATING AND THAT THIS INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED FROM MANAGEMENT.
SO I'M VERY CURIOUS ABOUT HOW MANAGEMENT ASCERTAINED THAT, AND I KNOW IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT ACROSS THE PROPERTY.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT I THINK IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR CONTEXTUALIZING THOSE REPORTS OF WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEIR PARTICIPATION RATES WERE.
UM, AND, AND JUST EVEN LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENCES IN THE ESTIMATES ACROSS THE PROPERTIES, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT HOW THEY, HOW EACH PROPERTY DETERMINED THAT, UM, AND REPORTED IT TO Y'ALL.
I WILL MAKE NOTE OF THAT SO THAT WHEN WE COME BACK AND PRESENT TO YOU, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS IN THE INTERIM, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEND THEM TO US THAT WAY WE CAN MAKE SURE WE ADDRESS THEM WHEN WE PRESENT TO THE FULL COMMISSION, UM, IT'LL JOKES, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED.
I APOLOGIZE THAT I DON'T HAVE ALL THOSE CLARIFYING ANSWERS RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT.
YEAH, I CAN, I CAN SEND IT OUT AHEAD OF TIME.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YOU ARE KNOW THE QUESTIONS, GINA.
[4. Office of Sustainability Comprehensive Food Plan Presentation- Edwin Marty]
ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS THE NEXT ITEM THAT WE'LL BE ADDRESSING.IT'S THE, UH, OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY COMPREHENSIVE FOOD PLAN PRESENTATION WITH EDWIN MARTY.
EVERY MARTA HERE OFF THE POLICY MANAGER FOR CITY OF AUSTIN'S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
UM, SO DELIGHTED TO GET TO SHARE WITH A ZERO WASTE COMMISSION, UH, OUR WORK ON DEVELOPING THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN FOR THE CITY.
UM, IF WE GET THAT PRESENTATION, HOLD UP, I'LL BE ABLE TO ROLL THROUGH A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO GIVE YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT DOING AND FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON HOW THIS WORK WILL FIT INTO YOUR WORK.
[00:30:01]
UM, SO, UM, I PRESENTED AND HAVE TALKED TO, UH, THE SUSPICION OVER THE YEARS, BUT IT'S BEEN, UM, PROBABLY, UH COVID SINCE I GOT TO TALK WITH YOU ALL LAST.SO, UM, AGAIN, JUST THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING SOME TIME OUT AND LETTING US SHARE I'M JOINED WITH MY FELLOW STAFFER FROM THE OFFICE, SUSTAINABILITY, SERGIO TORTOISE, BUT ALTA WHO WILL BE HELPING TAKE NOTES, UM, AND CAPTURING ANY INPUT THAT YOU ALL HAVE, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOU AND, UM, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL ARE LOOPED IN TO THE FUTURE OF OUR FOOD SYSTEM PLANNING PROCESS.
SO I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF SLIDES HERE, I'LL WALK THROUGH THEM AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES AT THE END TO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, DISCUSSION.
SO, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FOOD, WE ACTUALLY PUT FOOD INTO THE CONTEXT OF THE FOOD SYSTEM.
UM, SOME OF YOU MIGHT BE VERY FAMILIAR WITH FOOD SYSTEMS, BUT, UH, I'D LIKE TO START OUT OUR PRESENTATIONS WITH JUST A QUICK, SIMPLE DIAGRAM OF WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FOOD SYSTEMS? SO ESSENTIALLY A FOOD SYSTEM IS WHERE OUR FOOD COMES FROM, UM, EITHER HARVESTED OR, UM, UH, PROCESSED OR, UH, ASCERTAINED IN MANY WAYS.
UH, WE THINK ABOUT IT FROM THE OPPOSITE INABILITIES PERSPECTIVE, ANY CYCLICAL PROCESS.
SO FOOD PRODUCTION, PROCESSING, DISTRIBUTION CONSUMPTION, AND POST CONSUMPTION OR FOOD WASTE.
UM, WE ALSO CENTER THIS FOOD SYSTEM DIAGRAM IN FOOD JUSTICE AND MY FOOD JUSTICE.
WE MEAN, UM, THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES WITHIN OUR SOCIETY THAT CREATE UNEQUAL ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD AND UNEQUAL OUTCOMES IN TERMS OF, UM, HEALTH OR HEALTH.
UH, WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN ADDRESSING THESE INEQUITIES, UH, THROUGH OUR WORK.
AND WE'LL BE FOCUSING ON THIS AS WE DIVE INTO OUR FOOD PLANNING WORK THAT SAID AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, WHO ARE EXPERTS IN, UM, ZERO WASTE, UH, WE HAVE A SPECIFIC CIRCLE HERE THAT SAYS POST CONSUMPTION AND FOOD WASTE, BUT YOU PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED THAT, UM, THIS IS SOMEWHAT OF AN INACCURATE DIAGRAM IN TERMS OF A TRUE REFLECTION OF WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
UH, FOR ONE, OUR FOOD SYSTEM IS INCREDIBLY COMPLEX.
FOOD COMES FROM IN AMERICA, 150 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, UM, THAT ARE TRUE DIAGRAM OF OUR FOOD SYSTEM WOULD LOOK MORE LIKE A BOWL OF SPAGHETTI THROWN AT A WALL.
UM, BUT THE PURPOSE FOR THIS DIAGRAM IS TO HELP, UH, SORT OF LAY OUT THE BASIC COMPONENTS AND THEN HELP STRUCTURE OUR WORK AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND FOOD PLANNING THAT SAID FOOD WASTE OCCURS AT EVERY LEVEL OF THIS DIAGRAM.
UH, WE'RE PAINFULLY AWARE THAT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FOOD THAT'S, UM, IN THE FIELDS NEVER MAKES IT OUT OF FIELDS.
IN AGRICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FOOD IS WASTED AT THE PROCESSING AND DISTRIBUTION LEVEL.
TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FOOD IS WASTED AT THE MARKETING AND RETAIL LEVEL.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FOOD IS WASTED ON OUR PLATES.
SO, UM, WE ARE CONSIDERING HOW TO RETHINK THIS DIAGRAM TO RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, PART OF OUR GOAL ON THE FOOD SYSTEM TEAM AND THE OFFICE SUSTAINABILITY IS TO THINK ABOUT WHERE ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE CHAIN THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE SYSTEM TO INTERVENE, TO REDUCE, UH, FOOD WASTE SO THAT WE CAN TRULY GET TO ZERO FOOD WASTE, WHICH I THINK WE COULD ALL AGREE IS OUR GOAL AND OUR ASPIRATIONAL GOAL, BUT ALSO A GOAL THAT WE NEED TO PUT HEAVY, UM, EFFORT INTO TO ACHIEVE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS WHICH WE'LL GET INTO.
SO A COUPLE OF QUICK THOUGHTS, UM, JUST TO TRY TO FRAME THE CONVERSATION ON WHAT FOOD SYSTEMS ARE ALL ABOUT.
UM, SO THESE STATISTICS ARE PULLED FROM OUR STUDENT FOOD SYSTEM REPORT THAT I'LL CIRCLE BACK TO IN JUST A MINUTE.
UM, SOME OF THESE ARE A BIT BLEAK, BUT, UM, WE HAVE LOTS OF REASON TO, UH, WANT TO FOCUS ON OUR FOOD SYSTEM, INCREDIBLE RATES OF FOOD INSECURITY, DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.
UH, CERTAINLY DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE LEVEL OF WEALTH IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, 14.7% OF THE COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, OFTEN DOESN'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT ITS MEALS GONNA COME FROM REALLY SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGED.
ON TOP OF THAT, WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF ZIP CODES THROUGHOUT OUR COUNTY THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A FULL SERVICE GROCERY STORE AND MAKING IT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ACCESS HEALTHY AND AFFORDABLE FOOD.
AND, UM, WHERE DOES OUR FOOD COME FROM? SO WE PRODUCE LESS THAN 1% OF OUR OWN FOOD IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND OUT OF THAT, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THE FARMLAND WHERE THAT FOOD IS BEING CURRENTLY PRODUCED AS BEING CONVERTED INTO OTHER USES.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO DEVELOP FOR A LOT OF REASONS, BUT WE ARE CURRENTLY USING ABOUT 16.8 ACRES PER DAY, UH, CONVERTING, I SHOULD SAY, UH, FARMLAND INTO EITHER RESIDENTIAL OR DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SO A BIG QUESTION, WHERE WILL OUR FOOD COME FROM IN THE FUTURE? UM, RELEVANCE QUESTION AND ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, AND AS YOU ALL PROBABLY WELL KNOW, UH, WE THROW AWAY A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FOODS.
THIS IS AN AGGREGATE NUMBER, UM, I'VE EXTRAPOLATED NUMBER, BUT A 1.2, 4 MILLION POUNDS OF FOOD WASTED PER DAY IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, SUBSTANTIAL.
UM, BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT AND WE ALL KNOW
[00:35:01]
WE NEED TO WORK ON THAT.SO ON TOP OF ALL THAT, UM, IF THESE THINGS WEREN'T CHALLENGING ENOUGH OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'VE STRUGGLED WITH COVID.
UH, THE COVID PANDEMIC HAD A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN, UH, MAKING IT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR A COMMUNITY TO GET ACCESS TO GOOD HEALTHY FOOD.
UM, AND ON TOP OF THAT, MAKING A STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY, UH, DIFFICULT FOR THOSE THAT HAVE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES IN, UM, GETTING THEIR BASIC NEEDS MET AND THEN WINTER STORM YURI HAPPENED LAST YEAR THAT REALLY BROUGHT TO LIGHT, UH, SOME VERY SPECIFIC AND CRITICAL ISSUES IN OUR FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN AND THE WAY THAT WE WERE PREPARED TO ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY, OUR COMMUNITY HAS ACCESS TO ADEQUATE FOOD, REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF DISASTER THAT OCCURS.
SO THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE MANY CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S IT, UH, HOPEFULLY THIS SLIDE COMES AS NO SURPRISE.
WE THINK OF THE OFF STANDABILITY, UH, THAT WE COULD DO, UH, A COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES AND COME UP WITH SOME REALLY GOOD STRATEGIES THAT ARE COMMUNITY-BASED, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD ON SOLUTIONS.
UH, CITY COUNCIL AGREES, THEY PASSED A RESOLUTION LAST SUMMER, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO CREATE THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, WE AT THE OFFICE, SUSTAINABILITY ARE LEADING THAT CHARGE AND ARE DELIGHTED, UH, TO BE BRINGING ON A GROUP OF FOLKS FROM CONSULTANTS AND INTERDEPARTMENTAL STAFF AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, FROM ACROSS AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE REGION OF CENTRAL TEXAS TO HELP US DO THIS.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, WE'RE ALSO VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, THE LINGERING IMPACTS OF DISASTERS AND OUR PREPAREDNESS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE INCORPORATING DISASTER PREPAREDNESS INTO OUR COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN.
UH, WE'RE ALREADY WORKING ON THIS SIDE EXCITED TO SAY WE'VE MADE SOME REALLY GOOD PROGRESS WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH THE HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS SOME CONSULTANTS, UM, AND A WHOLE HOST OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UH, TO DEVELOP WHAT WE CALL AN EMERGENCY FOOD AND WATER ACCESS APPENDIX TO THE EMERGENCY OPERATION PLAN.
SO THIS WILL BE THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, BUT A VERY SPECIFIC PART OF IT IN THAT IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE GAME PLAN FOR WHAT HAPPENS, NOT IF, BUT WHEN WE HAVE A NEXT DISASTER, UH, WHEN WILL WE NEED TO DISTRIBUTE MASS FOOD AND WATER TO THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT KIND OF FOOD WOULD THAT NEED TO BE, AND HOW SHOULD WE DO THAT? UH, THERE WERE ALREADY A NUMBER OF REFERENCES TO THIS AND VARIOUS PLANS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND WHAT THIS APPENDIX WILL DO IS BRING ALL THOSE PLANS TOGETHER UNDER ONE UMBRELLA, AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO REFINE THAT PLAN TO ENSURE THAT IT'S THE BEST POSSIBLE STRATEGY FOR ENSURING WE HAVE, UM, THE CORRECT STRATEGY TO ENSURE FOOD FOR EVERYBODY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO ON TOP OF THE DISASTER, APPENDIX, WE'RE GOING TO BE DEVELOPING THE COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN.
THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES WE'LL LAY OUT OUR APPROACH TO THAT PLAN.
UH, SO THE FIRST STEP IN THE PLANNING PROCESS IS TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
IT'S HARD TO GET SOMEWHERE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE STARTING.
SO WE CALL THIS A BASELINE ASSESSMENT.
UH, WE HAVE NOW COMPLETED A BASELINE ASSESSMENT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, FOOD SYSTEM.
UH, WE'RE PLAYING OFF OF PREVIOUS REPORTS THAT WE HAVE PUBLISHED.
WE PUBLISHED THE FIRST STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM IMPORTANT 2015 OUT OF THE OFFICE, SUSTAINABILITY AND UPDATED THAT IN 2018.
UH, WE ARE CONTINUING THIS TREND OF PUBLISHING STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORTS.
SO WE WILL BE PUBLISHING THE UPDATED 20, 22 STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UH, THIS WILL, IN ADDITION TO SERVING AS A STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM WILL ALSO SERVE AS A BASELINE ASSESSMENT OR FOOD PLANNING PROCESS.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST STEP IN THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS, WHERE ARE WE? WE'VE COMPILED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DATA FROM BOTH THE CITY, THE COUNTY AND THE REGION.
UH, AND WE'LL BE PUBLISHING THAT ALONG WITH, UH, SOME RELEVANT POLICY ACTIONS THAT HAVE OCCURRED OVER THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS RELATED TO EACH SECTION OF THE FOOD SYSTEM THAT WE'LL BE EXPLORING.
AND WE'LL BE PUBLISHING A SERIES OF TRENDS AND CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE ESSENTIALLY TEEING UP THE ISSUES THAT WE THINK ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO CHECK TO, UH, ADDRESS DURING OUR FOOD PLANNING PROCESS.
SO I'M DELIGHTED THAT THIS PLAN IS, OR I'M SORRY, THE REPORT IS A PENDING RELEASE, HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO, WE'LL BE CIRCLING BACK WITH THIS COMMISSION SPECIFICALLY AND SHARING A PDF VERSION OF THAT REPORT AS SOON AS IT'S DONE, BUT LOOK FOR THAT IN YOUR INBOX SOMETIME IN AUGUST.
SO THIS IS A PROPOSED ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR HOW WE'RE GOING TO DEVELOP THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AS YOU SEE UP TOP, THAT'S THE FOOD PLAN.
AND AS YOU SEE OVER ON THE RIGHT, HOW IT WILL RELATE TO THE EMERGENCY FOOD AND WATER ACCESS APPENDIX AS WELL AS A FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS.
SO WHILE THESE ARE THREE SEPARATE ITEMS, THEY'RE ALL GOING TO BE ROLLED TOGETHER.
UH, THE FOOD PLAN WILL PROVIDE THE VISION FOR WHERE WE WANT TO GO AS A COMMUNITY, A FIVE-YEAR VISION, UH, THE EMERGENCY FOOD AND WATER ACCESS APPENDIX AGAIN, IS A ROADMAP OR RESPONDING TO DISASTERS AND THAT OUR FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS IS GOING TO REALLY LOOK AT THE PRIVATE SECTOR, ESSENTIALLY.
[00:40:01]
WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES DURING WINTER STORM FURY IN TERMS OF OUR FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN, WHERE ARE SOME WEAKNESSES WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT A WHOLE RANGE OF DIFFERENT DISASTERS THAT WE EXPECT TO HAPPEN, UM, IN THE FUTURE AND EXPLORING HOW EACH ONE OF THOSE POTENTIAL DISASTERS WOULD IMPACT OUR SUPPLY CHAIN.AND THEN COMING UP WITH A SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW WE THINK THE CITY, THE COUNTY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, ET CETERA, COULD BE BETTER PREPARED FOR FUTURE DISASTERS TO ENSURE THAT OUR SUPPLY CHAIN IS AS RESILIENT AS POSSIBLE.
SO AGAIN, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, THAT INCLUDES, UH, BOTH A BIG VISION FOR WHERE WE WANT TO PUT SYSTEM TO GO ON, UH, EMERGENCY ACCESS APPENDIX AND THIS VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS, SO LOTS TO DO THERE.
SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT? WE'RE GOING TO BRING ON A WHOLE BUNCH OF GREAT FOLKS.
SO WE'VE ALREADY HIRED A CONSULTING TEAM TO HELP US LEAD THIS PROCESS.
SO THEY'VE JUST COME ON BOARD IN THE LAST WEEK.
UH, THEY'LL BE WORKING WITH US AT THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UH, TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC CONTENT, UM, UH, UH, SPECIFIC MATERIAL.
AND WE'LL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR FRIENDS AT THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD, WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH US OVER THE LAST YEAR TO DEVELOP SOME OF THESE, UH, THOUGHTS AND STRATEGIES FOR HOW THIS PLAN COULD WORK.
UM, SO THE COMBINATION OF THOSE GROUPS, UH, WILL BE HELPING TO GET THE PLAN IMPLEMENTED, BUT, UH, THE PRIMARY DRIVER OF THIS PLAN WILL BE FROM OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
SO THE COMMITTEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL ESSENTIALLY BE THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE PLANNING PROCESS IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO, WE'LL BE RECRUITING, UH, PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COMMUNITY TO HELP US POPULATE OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY SPECIFICALLY IN JUST A MINUTE.
UH, ONCE WE HAVE THE COMMITTEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE SEATED, WE'LL SELECT ISSUE AREAS, THE FOOD SYSTEM, AS I'VE ALREADY DESCRIBED AS A PRETTY BIG COMPLEX BEAST, UH, WE'D LIKE TO NARROW THAT DOWN.
WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC THINGS WITHIN THE FOOD SYSTEM THAT WE HERE IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY IN CENTRAL TEXAS NEED TO FOCUS ON FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? SO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL HELP US REFINE THAT WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF POTENTIAL IDEAS OVER HERE ON THE RIGHT THINGS LIKE PRODUCTION OF FOOD, ACCESS TO FOOD MARKETING FOR FOOD LABOR, FOR FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN AND FOOD RECOVERY.
UM, THAT SAID THE COMMITTEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANT TEAM WILL MAKE THE FINAL DECISION ON WHICH SPECIFIC ISSUE AREAS WE FOCUS ON.
ONCE WE HAVE THOSE ISSUE AREAS, WE'LL, UH, FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, EXPERTS, AND JUST GENERAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO HELP US POPULATE THOSE ISSUE AREA GROUPS, TO DEVELOP WHAT'S THE VISION FOR EACH GROUP? WHAT ARE WE GOING FOR? WHAT'S OUR GOAL, WHAT ARE SOME METRICS FOR SUCCESS AND WHAT ARE SOME ACTIONS TO GET US THERE? SO ESSENTIALLY THE COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN WILL BE A ROLL-UP OF THESE ISSUE, AREA GOALS AND STRATEGIES, AND, UH, WE'LL HOPEFULLY GET THAT OUT THE DOOR SOON.
SO A COUPLE OF SPECIFICS ON HOW WE ARE ENVISIONING THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDERS LIKE YOU ALL BEING, UH, INVOLVED SPECIFICALLY IN OUR PLANNING PROCESS.
SO I'VE ALREADY TOUCHED ON HOW CITY AND COUNTY STAFF WILL BE INVOLVED OUR CONSULTANT TEAM AND THE FOOD POLICY BOARD, UH, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AGAIN, WE'LL BE SEATED IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO THIS WILL PROVIDE, UH, THE DIRECTION FOR THE PLANNING PROCESS.
WE ARE GOING TO BE RECRUITING, UH, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UH, ABROAD RANGE OF PARTICIPANTS, UH, TO HELP US BE, UH, TO S TO BE SEATED ON THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, WE THINK THAT IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE ZERO WASTE, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON OUR COMMITTEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UH, WE'LL BE SHARING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, WAYS THAT YOU CAN, UH, PUT IN AN APPLICATION TO JOIN THAT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND IN ADDITION TO POTENTIAL HUGE WINNING.
NOW, WE ALSO ARE VERY INTERESTED IN YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND THIS, UH, COMMITTEES, UH, HELP IN GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A BROAD GROUP OF PEOPLE TO POPULATE OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, VERY SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR A, UH, INTERESTING MIX OF, UH, BOTH STAKEHOLDERS EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, BUT ALSO PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST GENERALLY, UM, IMPACTED BY OUR, OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
UM, SO WE WANT TO HAVE A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF BOTH EXPERTS AND GENERAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO HELP US DRIVE WHERE THE PLANNING PROCESS SHOULD GO.
SO WE'LL LOOK FOR YOUR HELP TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THAT.
IN ADDITION TO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WE'RE ALSO GONNA NEED YOUR HELP, UH, POPULATE AN ISSUE AREA GROUPS.
ONCE THE COMMITTEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS DETERMINED WHAT GROUPS WILL WANT TO FOCUS ON, UH, WE'LL NEED SOME HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WE'RE GONNA, UH, PULL A PAGE FROM THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UH, AND CREATE A COMMUNITY, UH, FOOD AMBASSADOR GROUP.
WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES ACROSS AUSTIN, BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY, UH, THAT OFTEN DON'T PARTICIPATE OR ARE NOT INVOLVED IN A TYPICAL MUNICIPAL FOOD PLANNING PROCESS.
WE'RE GOING TO LOOK TO THE CREATION OF A COMMUNITY FOOD AMBASSADOR PROGRAM TO HELP PROVIDE A BRIDGE TO THOSE COMMUNITIES, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VOICES IN THOSE COMMUNITIES OFTEN UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES ARE INCLUDED IN A VERY SPECIFIC WAY IN OUR FOOD PLANNING PROCESS.
SO LAST THING I'LL SAY ABOUT THIS IS WE ARE PLANNING TO PROVIDE COMPENSATION FOR THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THE ISSUE AREA, GROUP PARTICIPANTS, AND THE COMMUNITY FOOD AMBASSADORS.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT A WHOLE RANGE OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TYPICAL BARRIERS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THOSE KINDS OF GROUPS, UH,
[00:45:01]
ARE ABLE TO BE ADDRESSED.SO BOTH THROUGH, UM, UH, UH, COMPENSATION, MONETARY COMPENSATION, BUT ALSO OTHER WAYS LIKE TRANSPORTATION, STIPENDS, UH, TRANS, UH, TRANSLATION SERVICES, CHILDCARE, ET CETERA.
SO TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO BE INVOLVED WITH THIS IS CAPABLE OF BEING INVOLVED.
SO SPEAKING OF THAT, UM, WE ARE GOING TO CENTER THIS ENTIRE PLANNING PROCESS ON EQUITY.
UH, WE RECOGNIZE THAT OUR EXISTING FOOD SYSTEM, UH, IS INCREDIBLE IN SO MANY WAYS, AND THEY'VE PROBABLY BEEN OVERTLY NEGATIVE DURING THIS PRESENTATION IN TERMS OF POINTING OUT THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT WORKING IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT HERE IN AMERICA, HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, AND HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE FOOD SYSTEM.
WE HAVE A WONDERFUL, UH, UH, GROCERY STORES.
WE HAVE INCREDIBLE RESTAURANTS.
UM, UH, MANY OF US GET TO EAT SOME OF THE BEST FOOD IN THE WORLD.
UH, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THAT'S NOT SHARED EQUALLY ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE WANT TO VERY MUCH CENTER THE, UH, WELL, THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE THAT ARE CHALLENGED EVERY DAY TO JUST SIMPLY GET THE RIGHT KIND OF FOOD ONTO THE TABLE FOR THEIR FAMILIES, BRING THOSE VOICES INTO THE PLANNING PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE END RESULT OF THE PLANNING PROCESS, WHICH WILL BE A SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT WE CAN DO, UH, IS CHANNELED THROUGH THOSE VOICES.
SO WE'LL BE DOING THAT IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT ARE TOUCHED ON, WILL YOU FIND COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE ISSUE AREA GROUPS IN OUR COMMUNITY FOOD AMBASSADORS, BUT WE'LL ALSO BE VERY INTENTIONALLY STRUCTURING THOSE GROUPS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE BROAD REPRESENTATION THAT WE DON'T HAVE OVERPOPULATION OR OVER-REPRESENTATION OF THE KIND OF TYPICAL VOICES THAT YOU MIGHT HEAR IN FLOODING PROCESS.
SO WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD ON THAT APPROACH.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOUR HELP, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT GROUP OF PEOPLE IN THOSE, UH, COMMITTEES.
SO A COUPLE MORE QUICK SLIDES, I'LL BE WRAPPING UP IN A MINUTES, BUT, UH, JUST WANTED TO SHARE A QUICK TIMELINE.
UH, HERE WE ARE IN THE SUMMER OF 2022, WE'RE ABOUT TO PUBLISH OUR STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT.
AGAIN, WE'LL BE SHARING THAT WITH YOU SHORTLY.
UH, WE'RE, UH, ONBOARDING OUR CONSULTING TEAM AS WE SPEAK.
UH, WE'LL BE SHORTLY RECRUITING MEMBERS FOR OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND DEVELOPING OUR ISSUE AREA GROUPS.
AND THEN WE'LL BE LAUNCHING INTO MULTIPLE PHASES OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
WE LOOK TO SPEND MOST OF 20, 23, UH, THROUGH VARIOUS PHASES OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, LISTENING TO GROUPS FROM ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY, DOCUMENTING THEIR VOICES, ANALYZING WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, TRANSLATING WHAT THEY'RE SAYING LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY.
AND THEN, UH, TAKING THAT BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HEARING THOSE VOICES CORRECTLY AND THEN SYNTHESIZING THAT INTO WHAT WE WILL THEN CALL OUR COMPREHENSIVE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY GET WRAPPED UP AND HOPEFULLY ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL, UH, LATER IN, UH, 2023 OR EARLY 2024.
SO A COUPLE OF QUICK WAYS TO SUMMARIZE HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED.
UH, WE'VE GOT A UV TO CLICK ON WHO WOULD PLAY AN INTEREST FORM ON OUR WEBSITE.
CURRENTLY, IF YOU HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY CLICK ON THAT AND ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, AND WE'LL BE SENDING OUT REGULAR UPDATES ABOUT HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED UPDATES ABOUT THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS, ET CETERA.
UH, WE'LL ALSO BE SENDING OUT OUR STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT TO THIS COMMISSION, AS WELL AS POSTING THAT ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, SHOULD BE FILLED WITH USEFUL INFORMATION, UH, RELEVANT TO THIS COMMISSION.
AND THEN LASTLY, IF YOU ARE ALREADY SURE THAT YOU WANT TO BE, UH, INVOLVED AT A DEEPER LEVEL, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND EMAIL OUR STAFFER, SERGIO AND HIS EMAIL ADDRESS HERE AND LET HIM KNOW THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN.
WE'LL MAKE SURE TO LOOP YOU IN.
AS SOON AS WE HAVE MORE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT THAT PROCESS WILL LOOK LIKE.
SO TO WRAP IT UP, UM, WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW FROM YOU IS WHO DO WE NEED TO TALK TO, UH, TO GET INVOLVED WITH THE PLANNING PROCESS? SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THIS PLAN REPRESENTS OUR COMMUNITY AND ADDRESSES THE PRIMARY ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON.
SO WE NEED YOUR HELP DOING THAT.
UM, HOPEFULLY YOU'LL BE INVOLVED PERSONALLY, HOPEFULLY, UM, YOU'LL KNOW OTHER FOLKS THAT MIGHT WANT TO BE INVOLVED.
SO, UH, WE CANNOT DO THIS PLAN WITHOUT GROUPS LIKE THIS, HELPING US GET THE WORD OUT, UM, AND LEANING INTO A PLANNING PROCESS.
WE KNOW THAT A PLAN IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PROCESS THAT'S CREATED TO, UH, GET THAT PLAN ACROSS THE FINISH LINE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO CREATE A REALLY THOUGHTFUL AND WELL EXECUTED PLAN THAT REFLECTS OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE KNOW WE'VE GOT A LOT OF CHALLENGES ACROSS THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW, SPECIFICALLY IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
UM, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO YOU FOR HELP.
SO THAT'S EVERYTHING I'VE GOT TODAY, AND I'M NOT SURE IF I'VE GOT TIME FOR, UH, QUESTIONS, BUT HAPPY TO FIELD ANYTHING.
AND IF I DON'T HAVE TIME TO GET TO YOUR QUESTION, I'M HAPPY TO CIRCLE BACK AT ANY TIME.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ED, WHEN THERE WAS A VERY THOROUGH, CONCISE, AND LITERALLY INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS, MELISSA, MELISSA, THANK YOU.
I APPRECIATE THAT PRESENTATION AND IT REALLY STRUCK ME ON THAT ONE SLIDE WHERE IT SAID 30% OF THE ZIP CODES IN AUSTIN DON'T HAVE A LARGE GROCERY STORE.
[00:50:01]
HEARD OF BEFORE.AND I'M CURIOUS, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS ALL PROBABLY REALLY NEW PLANNING PHASE, BUT IS, IS IT AN IDEA FOR THE FOOD PLAN TO BE PROJECTING IN 20 YEARS, 30 YEARS, 50 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE? UM, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A CITY WATER PLAN, A STATE WATER PLAN, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE TYPICALLY LIKE 50 YEARS.
YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, AND JUST TO CIRCLE BACK TO THAT FIRST POINT, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
UM, THE, THE, THE PATTERN THAT AUSTIN HAS MOVED THROUGH IN DEVELOPMENT OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS IS PRETTY COMPLICATED AND SOMEWHAT UNIQUE.
UM, WE HAVE REALLY, UH, EXPLODED AS A COMMUNITY AND OFTENTIMES, UM, THE SERVICES NEEDED TO SUPPORT THAT EXPLOSION OF POPULATION.
DON'T KEEP UP WITH THE ACTUAL POPULATION THAT MOVES HERE.
SO UNFORTUNATELY IT'S NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE, UM, SIGNIFICANT GAPS IN THINGS LIKE FOOD RETAIL FOR FULL SERVICE GROCERY STORES, BUT IT'S A DEEPER QUESTION THAN THAT.
THERE'S UNFORTUNATELY A PRETTY DARK HISTORY OF, UM, RED LENDING COMMUNITIES, UH, D INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES.
AND WE'VE SEEN THAT, AND WE SEE CURRENTLY OUR REFLECTION OF THAT IN, UH, VARIOUS COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT AUSTIN.
SO THERE'S BOTH AN UNINTENTIONAL SORT OF LIKE, YEAH, WE'RE GROWING PRETTY FAST AND THAT SOMETIMES JUST HAPPENS, BUT THERE WAS ALSO SOME STRUCTURAL THINGS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN LOOK BACK TO THE 1928 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND GET SOME PRETTY SPECIFIC THINGS, UM, THAT HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS AGO THAT WE'RE STILL SEEING THE REPERCUSSIONS FOR.
UM, SO THE GOOD NEWS IS, UM, AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, MY TEAM'S INCREDIBLY COGNIZANT OF ALL OF THAT.
AND, UH, WE ARE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY TO PUSH THE NEEDLE ON THAT.
AND WE'RE DELIGHTED TO SAY THAT OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS WORKING RIGHT NOW, AS WE SPEAK, UH, TO LAUNCH, UH, A PLANNING PROCESS SPECIFICALLY TO LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF FOOD RETAIL OPTIONS MIGHT BE BEST SUITED IN PLACES LIKE SOUTHEAST AUSTIN AND EAST AUSTIN.
SO, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS, BUT, UM, IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION FROM LAST JUNE, SPECIFICALLY, UH, CALLED OUT A FIVE-YEAR, UM, UH, PLANNING PROCESS, WHICH WE THINK IS PROBABLY REALISTIC.
UM, GIVEN THE RATE OF CHANGE FOR AUSTIN, PROBABLY DIFFICULT TO PROJECT OUT IN TERMS OF SPECIFIC PROGRAMS, UM, THAT WOULD BE EFFECTIVE PAST FIVE YEARS.
UM, GIVEN WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA BE ON THE HORIZON.
THE CRITICAL PART THOUGH, IS WE ARE VERY COMMITTED TO WORKING ON, UH, SYSTEMS THAT WILL OUTLIVE OUR PLANNING PROCESS.
UM, THE LAST THING THAT WE WANT IS A AS, UH, AN EFFORT TO CREATE A PLAN THAT SITS ON A SHELF OR AFTER FIVE YEARS IS NO LONGER RELEVANT.
WE'RE VERY COMMITTED, UH, TO LOOKING AT THE STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS THAT WE CAN CREATE, LITERALLY CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP COMMUNITY MEMBERS UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN BE INVOLVED IN CREATING A BETTER FOOD SYSTEM OVER TIME.
WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT THEY CAN BE INVOLVED IN THEIR GOVERNMENT, UM, IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO WE'LL BE FOCUSING SPECIFICALLY ON THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE LONGEVITY IN THEIR PLAN WHILE MOST OF THE PROGRAMS WILL BE CENTERED ON THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN CREATING THE LONGER, UH, ROAD.
I'VE GOT A REALLY SILLY QUESTION HERE, AND PLEASE BEAR WITH ME, BUT IS GENTRIFICATION FILLING SOME OF THE GAPS IN PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES, OR I SHOULD SAY OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR THE COMMUNITY TO PURCHASE SUSTAINABLE GROCERIES, OR AS FIVE YEARS AGO, 10 YEARS AGO, YOU HAD VERY FEW CHOICES EAST OF
UH, THAT WOULD BE THE LEAST SILLY QUESTION THAT I'VE EVER HEARD.
PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST COMPLICATED QUESTIONS.
UM, I AM LOOKING FOR A PHD STUDENT TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR ME.
UM, QUITE LITERALLY, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT BOTH GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE KNOW IS WE HAVE THIS SORT OF, UM, KIND OF EASY FOOD INSECURITY RATE THAT WE QUOTE OFTEN, UM, THAT'S PULLED FROM NATIONAL DATA.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY PRE COVID AS OUR ECONOMY WAS BOOMING, WE SAW UNFORTUNATELY, BUT, UM, PRE COVID WE SAW BECAUSE OF OUR BOOMING ECONOMY, A DECREASE OF FOOD INSECURITY IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS A GREAT THING.
WE HAVE FEWER HUNGRY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT STATISTIC DOESN'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY.
WE'RE PAINFULLY AWARE THAT AS OUR COMMUNITY BECOMES MORE EXPENSIVE, UH, LOW-INCOME FAMILIES HAVE TO MOVE OUT.
AND SO OUR FOOD INSECURITY RATE GOES DOWN BECAUSE LOW-INCOME FAMILIES CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE IN AUSTIN.
SO WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL AND LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE, UM, DATA WITHOUT, WITHOUT PUTTING THAT DATA
[00:55:01]
INTO CONTEXT AND WITHOUT HAVING STORIES THAT, THAT, THAT CONTEXTUALIZE OUR DATA.UH, THE LAST THING THAT WE WANT TO DO IS CELEBRATE SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS BASED ON DATA THAT'S DECREASING FOOD INSECURITY, BUT THOSE COULD ACTUALLY BE PERPETUATING GENTRIFICATION, EXPEDITING DISPLACEMENT, AND THAT'S, WHAT'S CAUSING A DECREASE IN FOOD INSECURITY.
SO NOT TO TAKE A TOO DEEP DIVE INTO THE SWIMMING POOL OF THAT, BUT, UM, YOUR QUESTION IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
UM, WE HOPE TO FOCUS ON PROGRAMS AND POLICIES AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES THAT STABILIZE COMMUNITIES, UH, THAT CREATE IMPROVEMENTS IN QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE THAT LEAVE HERE TODAY.
AND SO THAT THOSE PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE HERE TOMORROW.
WE ARE TAKING A PAGE OUT OF THE PLAYBOOK FROM, UM, PROJECT CONNECT.
UH, WE THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS DONE REALLY SUCCESSFULLY IN THAT BOND INITIATIVE WAS THE CREATION OF A FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL, UH, COMMUNITY STABILIZATION FUND, SO THAT THE IMPROVEMENTS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, UH, PORTALS WOULD BE IN CONCERT WITH EFFORTS TO STABILIZE NEIGHBORHOODS, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WHEN A NEW LIGHT RAIL STATION COMES INTO YOUR COMMUNITY, UH, YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO INCREASE THE COST OF LIVING.
YOU'RE GOING TO INCREASE THE PROPERTY VALUE, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY INCREASES THE RENT.
AND SO IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL THOSE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE COMMUNITY, DON'T BENEFIT, DON'T BENEFIT THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE TODAY, THEY WOULD BENEFIT THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE MOVING HERE TOMORROW.
SO WE WANT TO BE REALLY CAREFUL WITH THE WORK THAT WE DO THINKING THROUGH HOW DO WE BOTH IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS TODAY AND STABILIZE COMMUNITIES TOMORROW? UM, CHALLENGING, VERY, VERY CHALLENGING, BUT, UM, WE'VE GOT SOME REALLY GOOD EXAMPLES TO POINT TO.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT STARTS TO ANSWER YOUR, UM, YOUR QUESTION, BUT WE'D LOVE TO CIRCLE BACK AND TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, DEFINITELY YOU BROUGHT UP SOME VERY INTERESTING POINTS AND THANK YOU, EDWIN.
ANY OF THE QUESTIONS COMMISSIONERS, AMANDA? YEAH.
I THINK THIS IS A BIT OF A FOLLOW-UP ON JERRY'S.
UM, SO YOU ASKED TOWARDS THE END ABOUT WHO YOU SHOULD BE REACHING OUT TO, OR WHO SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THESE VARIOUS GROUPS THAT ARE GOING TO BE FEEDING INTO THE REPORT AND, UH, KEEPING IN MIND WHAT JERRY JUST OBSERVED AND YOU DISCUSSED.
WE, WE KNOW THAT MANY PEOPLE, MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE FACING THAT ECONOMIC INSECURITY AND PRESUMABLY FOOD INSECURITY GET PRICED OUT AND THEY MOVE OUT OF AUSTIN, BUT THEY MAY MOVE OUT FURTHER THAN THAT, RIGHT? THEY MAY NOT, NOT BE IN TRAVIS COUNTY ANY LONGER EITHER.
AND SO, EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THIS IS SORT OF THE STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM FOR AUSTIN, TRAVIS, IT MAY BE INTERESTING, IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ECONOMICALLY DISPLACED.
IF THEY'RE WILLING TO PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK.
I THINK ABOUT ERIC TANG'S WORK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AUSTIN, AND HE WAS LOOKING AT, UM, DISPLACEMENT OF BLACK AND HISPANIC, BUT MOSTLY BLACK FROM EAST AUSTIN FAMILIES.
HE LOOKED AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS, LOOKED AT THE BIG CIF PICTURE OF WHERE PEOPLE WERE SHIFTING.
BUT THE SECOND REPORT WAS ACTUALLY TRACKING DOWN PEOPLE WHO HAD MOVED OUT TO BASS, DROP OUT TO LIKE MAINER AND PFLUGERVILLE AND INTERVIEWING THEM ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON AND WHAT, WHAT REALLY DID FORCE THEM TO LEAVE.
SO IT, IT, I KNOW IT WILL BE CHALLENGING TO REACH THOSE PEOPLE, BUT IF THERE ARE AVENUES, MAYBE THROUGH ORGANIZATIONS THAT STILL HAVE CONTACT WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL CONTACT, SERVICE, CONTACT WITH THEM, THAT MIGHT BE VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THOSE VOICES IN SOME OF THOSE GROUPS, BECAUSE THEY CAN SPEAK TO THAT PART OF, OF WHAT YOU AND JERRY WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT IN, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LIVED EXPERIENCE.
YEAH, THAT'S A PHENOMENAL POINT.
AND, UM, I ACTUALLY, UM, WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET, TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH, UM, DR.
UM, HE, WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO AUSTIN, PROVIDED ME WITH A PRETTY GRIM PICTURE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE WERE FACING.
UH, WE BOTH SHARED OFFICES ON EAST 11TH AND, UM, INCREDIBLE, UM, PERSPECTIVE.
YOU BRING UP A WONDERFUL POINT THOUGH, THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE ACTUALLY CONSIDERED, WE ARE THINKING VERY HARD ABOUT HOW DO WE GET OUTSIDE OF THE CITY BOUNDARIES? HOW DO WE MAKE THIS A REGIONAL PLAN? UM, WE WILL CERTAINLY BE WORKING AS COLLABORATIVELY AS POSSIBLE WITH OUR PEERS IN THE WE'RE HOPING, HONESTLY, THIS IS A CITY COUNTY PLAN.
WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET QUITE ACROSS THE FINISH LINE ON GETTING APPROVAL FOR IT TO BE A, UH, COMPREHENSIVE, COMBINED PLAN.
BUT, UH, WE'RE CERTAINLY GOING TO BE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT TRAVIS COUNTY TO LOOK SPECIFICALLY IN PLACES LIKE MAINE OR, UM, AND PFLUGERVILLE AND EVEN IN ELGON AND THEN FURTHER DOWN SOUTH AND NORTH.
UM, BUT WHAT I THINK YOU'RE MENTIONING IS JUST WONDERFUL.
LIKE WE ALREADY HAVE GOOD DOCUMENTATION OF THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT DID MOVE OUT AND IT WOULD BE A, NOT A HEAVY LIFT TO BRING THOSE VOICES BACK IN AND EITHER, YOU KNOW, FOCUS GROUPS OR EVEN, UM, TO INVITE THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE OR ISSUE AREA, FOCUS GROUPS.
[01:00:01]
LOVE THAT.I KNOW HOW TO GET AHOLD OF ERIC, UM, SUDDENLY KNOW WHERE HIS RESEARCH IS.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT PERSPECTIVE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, EDWIN? THANK YOU.
AND WE WILL, UH, WE'VE GOT SOME HOMEWORK TO FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOU.
WE'LL HOPE WE'LL BE SENDING YOU THE STATE OF THE FOOD SYSTEM REPORT SHORTLY.
WE'LL BE SENDING YOU ALL OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOW YOU CAN HELP US GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THESE, UM, ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
AND WE'LL BE CIRCLING BACK WITH THIS COMMISSION SPECIFICALLY, UH, AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PLANNING PROCESS SOMETIME NEXT YEAR, TO GIVE YOU UPDATES AND WHERE OF US, WHERE WE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS, UM, THAT AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS PUTTING FORWARD.
WE KNOW IT'S AN INCREDIBLY COMPLEX PICTURE TO TRY TO REALLY TACKLE FOOD WASTE, UM, AND GET TO OUR GOALS OF ZERO WASTE.
BUT, UH, WE THINK THAT THIS PLANNING PROCESS, THE FOOD PLANNING PROCESS CAN BE A CRITICAL PART OF THE SUCCESS FOR THAT.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS MOVING
[3. Keep Austin Beautiful Update- Rodney Ahart]
ALONG HERE, ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS THE KEEP AUSTIN BEAUTIFUL UPDATE.RODNEY EARHART WAS GOING TO PRESENT THE ELEVATOR.
WELL, HOW COME I CHAIRMAN OF AKUNA AND AS MEMBERS? UM, IT'S SO GREAT TO BE HERE.
I JUST REALIZED THAT IT WAS PROBABLY PRE COVID THE LAST TIME THAT I WAS HERE.
AND SO IT WAS JUST GREAT TO BE HERE IN PERSON, UH, WITH YOU ALL HERE TONIGHT.
UM, MY NAME IS RODNEY IHEART AND I'M THE CEO OF KEEP AUSTIN BEAUTIFUL.
UM, TONIGHT I REALLY JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PROGRAMMING, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMING, AND I HAVE DIVIDED THIS PRESENTATION BASICALLY IN THREE PARTS, ONE TELLING WHO WE ARE, SECONDLY TELLING, UM, WHO WE, UH, WHY WE DO IT.
UM, AND SO, UM, WITH THAT, I WILL START OFF NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, OUR MISSION, UH, IS THAT WE INSPIRE AND EDUCATE ALL AUSTINITES TO VOLUNTEER TOGETHER, BEAUTIFIED GREEN SPACES, CLEAN WATERWAYS, AND REDUCE WASTE EVERY DAY.
WE ARE A 5 0 1 C3 ORGANIZATION, UH, AND WE WERE FOUNDED IN 1985.
UM, BEFORE I GET INTO WHAT WE DO, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO JUST GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHY WE DO IT.
AND OUR ORGANIZATION IS BUILT ON SOME CORE BELIEFS.
AND OF COURSE WE BELIEVE CHILDREN AND TEENS WHO EXPERIENCE THE OUTDOORS AND LEARN ABOUT REDUCING WASTE, UH, WILL BECOME STEWARDS OF AUSTIN'S GREEN SPACES AND WATERWAYS NEXT, PLEASE.
WE BELIEVE PEOPLE WHO VOLUNTEER TOGETHER OUTDOORS ARE MORE CONNECTED TO NATURE, AND EACH OTHER, WE BELIEVE THAT ALL AUSTINITES HAVE A RIGHT TO CLEAN, SAFE, AND BEAUTIFUL GREEN SPACES.
AND WE ALSO BELIEVE THAT WHEN PEOPLE LEARN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THEIR ACTIONS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, THEY WILL REDUCE THEIR WASTE.
SO AT BEING, BEING AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BEAUTIFUL IN THE NAME, WE OFTENTIMES GET THE QUESTION, HOW DO YOU DEFINE BEAUTIFUL? AND FOR THE MOST PART, BECAUSE I THINK WE ALL KNOW WHEN YOU LOOK AT THINGS LIKE LANDSCAPING AND SOME PEOPLE LIKE MANICURED, SOME PEOPLE LIKE NATURAL, IT'S ALL ACROSS THE BOARD, WHOEVER, WHOEVER COINED THAT PHRASE, BEAUTY AS AN AUDIBLE HOLDER WAS A VERY, VERY WISE PERSON.
UM, BUT THERE IS A FOUNDATION, UH, TO HAVING A BEAUTIFUL CITY AND THAT IS CLEAN AND WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THAT IS THE UNIFIER.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE CAN AGREE UPON.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT NO ONE GETS CONFUSED ABOUT.
AND WHAT THIS SLIDE HERE SHOWS IS BASICALLY A PUBLIC SPACE PROBABLY AFTER A WEEKEND.
AND, UM, THE STATISTIC THAT I HAVE HERE, WHICH IS BASED ON A STUDY THAT KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL PERFORMED IS THAT 15% OF, OF LITTER IS CAUSED BY EXISTING LITTER.
AND SO THIS REALLY MAKES THE POINT AS TO WHY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO ENSURE CONSISTENT, UM, REGULAR VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES.
UM, IN, IN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY THIS YEAR, WE ACTUALLY JUST HELD OUR FIRST, UH, LITTER SURVEY.
IT'S AN APPEARANCE LITTER SURVEY BASED ON KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFULS PLATFORM.
UM, WE WERE REAL HAPPY TO, TO FIND, AND I KNOW AMY WAS REALLY HAPPY TO FIND TOO.
UM, WE, WE ACTUALLY OUT OF A SCORE BETWEEN ONE AND FOUR.
ONE IS OF COURSE, VERY LITTLE LITTER TO FOUR OF BEING HEAVY LITTER.
UM, WE ACTUALLY DID AN ANALYSIS OF FIVE SITES IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT.
[01:05:01]
WITH AN AVERAGE SCORE OF 1.7, WHICH IS GREAT, UH, CONSIDERING, UH, ALL OF THE INCREASE AMOUNT OF WASTE THAT WE'VE HAD AS A RESULT OF COVID.AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WITH US PARTNERING WITH AR WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND THE COMMUNITY, WE WANT TO SEE THAT, UH, CONTINUE TO DROP DOWN.
SO NOW JUST TO GET INTO OUR PROGRAMMING.
SO OUR PROGRAMMING IS BASICALLY DIVIDED INTO TWO PLATFORMS. WE HAVE A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM AND WE ALSO HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PLATFORM.
AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE REALLY, UH, PICTURES OF SOME OF OUR MOST TRADEMARK, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO KEEP AUSTIN BEAUTIFUL DAY IS OUR LARGEST VOLUNTEER CLEANUP IN THE YEAR.
IT ALWAYS HAPPENS IN APRIL AND IN CELEBRATION OF EARTH MONTH.
UH, WE TYPICALLY HAVE ANYWHERE FROM A HUNDRED TO 125 SITES.
UM, AND WE HAVE, UM, PEOPLE VOLUNTEER FOR TWO HOURS, AT LEAST ON THAT DAY.
AND IT'S ONE OF OUR LARGEST VOLUNTEER DAYS OF THE YEAR, UM, TO THE RIGHT OF COURSE IS OUR ADOPTIVE STREET PROGRAM.
SO THIS IS THE ONE PROGRAM THAT EVERYONE RECOGNIZES, KEEP AWESOME.
CAUSE IF YOU'RE SITTING AT THE TRAFFIC, YOU PROBABLY HAVE SEEN SOME OF THESE SIGNS, RIGHT.
UM, BUT, BUT GROUPS WHO PARTICIPATE IN ADOPTIVE STREET, THEY MAKE A TWO YEAR COMMITMENT AND THEY DO FOUR CLEANUPS A YEAR.
AT LEAST WE HAVE GROUPS THAT DO MORE, UM, AND THEY COMMIT TO CLEANING A ONE HALF MILE SECTION OF STREET, UM, UNDERNEATH THE KEEP AUSTIN, BEAUTIFUL SLIDE IS JUST A PICTURE OF ONE OF OUR STANDARD COMMUNITY CLEANUPS.
SO WE PROVIDE SUPPORT THROUGH, UH, OUR ASSISTANCE WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY FOR ANY GROUP THAT WANTS TO TACKLE AN EYESORE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE'RE THERE TO PROVIDE THEM THE SUPPLIES THAT THEY NEED AND CAN ALSO PROVIDE THEM SUPPORT WITH TRASH PICKUP LITTER PICKUP, UH, BECAUSE OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH LOTS OF RESOURCE RECOVERY AND OUR COMMUNITY CLEANUP PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY TWO PART IN ITSELF AS WELL.
WE DO HAVE A COMMUNITY CLEANUP COORDINATOR WHO ORGANIZES CLEANUPS, UM, ON A, ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UH, ACTUALLY WE HAVE CLEANUPS, UH, EVERY DAY THAT ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY CAN SIGN UP AND PARTICIPATE.
SO WE HAVE FAMILIES, WE HAVE BUSINESSES, UH, UM, WE HAVE ORGANIZATIONS THAT COME OUT AND PARTICIPATE AND THOSE ACTIVITIES ARE ACTUALLY LED BY OUR COMMUNITY CLEANUP COORDINATOR.
THE SECOND PART OF THIS PROGRAM IS THAT, LIKE I WAS SAYING EARLIER, ANYONE WHO HAS A, UH, A PART OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, THAT THEY WANT TO DO A CLEANUP, THEY CAN REACH OUT TO US.
WE CAN HELP THEM WITH THE SUPPLIES THAT THEY NEED.
AND WE ALSO CAN HELP WITH A LITTER PICKUP IF THEY HAVE MORE LITTER THAN, THAN THEY CAN DISPOSE OF ON THEIR OWN.
NOW, THE LAST PIECE HERE IS ONE THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, AND THAT IS OUR LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE DAY.
UM, EVERYONE HERE HAS ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE CHALLENGES THAT OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF COVID.
THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO US.
YOU CAN IMAGINE LIKE 30 GROUPS, I MEAN, 30 PEOPLE IN A GROUP FOR A CLEANUP FOR US IS, IS A SMALL, IS A SMALL EVENT FOR US.
WE HAVE GROUPS SOMETIMES WHERE PEOPLE ARE VOLUNTEERING IN THE HUNDREDS.
SO WHEN, OF COURSE COVID HIT AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH, CDC GUIDELINES CAME OUT.
WE WERE UNABLE TO ORGANIZE LARGE GROUPS.
SO WE HAD TO GET INNOVATIVE AND FIGURE OUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR RESIDENTS IN AUSTIN.
SO THIS PROGRAM IS HAPPENS THE SECOND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH.
UM, WE ACTUALLY, UH, STARTED THIS PROGRAM OUT AS ONE THAT WOULD BE JUST FOR MEMBERS OF THE SAME HOUSEHOLD, SO FAMILIES OR ROOMMATES.
AND AS A PART OF THIS PROGRAM, WE ALSO CREATED A CLEANUP KIT.
UM, AND THAT CLEANUP KIT PROVIDED EVERYTHING THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO DO A CLEANUP TO LITTER, GRABBERS, TRASH BAGS, RECYCLING BAGS.
UM, AT THE TIME A MASK, A HAND SANITIZER, YOU NAME IT, EVERYTHING THAT YOU WOULD NEED, UH, TO DO A CLEANUP.
AND WE ACTUALLY PUT THOSE KIDS TOGETHER.
WE HAD TWO DISTRIBUTION, UH, TIMES THAT WE, THAT WE HANDED OUT THOSE KIDS AND ALL OF THEM, UH, WERE TAKEN.
AND THE GREAT THING IS THAT WE HAVE SEEN THAT THIS REALLY DOES TIE INTO THAT EVERY DAY OF OUR MISSION BECAUSE PEOPLE TELL US, WELL, WHEN I'M WALKING MY KID, I JUST PULL OUT MY TRASH GARBAGE AND I'M PICKING UP TRASH ALONG THE WAY, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M WALKING MY DOG.
SO IT REALLY HAS BEEN A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE, UM, TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITY, PROVIDE THEM WITH THE SUPPLIES AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO KEEP THEIR COMMUNITY CLEAN.
UH, SO, SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE IMPACT.
UM, SO LAST YEAR WE ENGAGED, UH, 1870 VOLUNTEERS.
THEY CONTRIBUTED 3,825 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER TIME.
[01:10:01]
POUNDS OF LITTER AND RECYCLING, AND WE CLEANED 68 MILES OF ROADWAY.AND THE NUMBER THAT YOU SEE IN THE MIDDLE IS TRULY BASED ON THE VOLUNTEER TIME.
SO WE OFTEN, AS WELL AS, UH, CITIES THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL PLATFORM.
UM, THE NONPROFIT INDEPENDENT SECTOR HAS A, UM, A NUMBER ON VOLUNTEER VAL, UH, VALUE.
AND SO FOR THOSE AMOUNT OF HOURS THAT WE HAD, WE ACTUALLY HAD A COST SAVINGS OF OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UM, BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I CAN SAY, UH, LOOKING BACK OVER THE YEARS AND THE NUMBERS THAT WE TYPICALLY HAVE FOR VOLUNTEERS AND VOLUNTEER NUMBERS, THESE ARE LOWER THAN, THAN WHAT WE'VE HAD.
AND, UH, A BIG PART OF THAT I ALLUDED TO EARLIER JUST ABOUT THE FACT OF, OF OUR INABILITY TO, TO ORGANIZE LARGE GROUPS, BUT WE ARE BACK, UH, AS I STATED, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE HAVE VOLUNTEER PROJECTS, UH, SLATED, UM, JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY.
AND WE REALLY ARE STARTING TO SEE COMMUNITY GROUPS COMING BACK OUT.
WE'RE STARTING TO SEE BUSINESSES COME BACK OUT.
UM, SO IT'S JUST BEEN GREAT TO BE A PART OF THAT KIND OF CHANGE AND KIND OF THAT RESURGENCE AGAIN.
SO NOW FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PIECE.
SO I KNOW THAT THAT, UM, MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION IS FAMILIAR, UH, WITH GENERATIONS ZERO.
UM, IT IS A K THROUGH 12 PROGRAM WITH THE GOALS OF TEACHING KIDS, HOW TO COMPOST, RECYCLE AND REDUCE THEIR WASTE.
UM, JUST LAST YEAR, UM, WE HELD 696 EVENTS.
UM, WE WERE AT 88 SCHOOLS, WE EDUCATED 5,522 STUDENTS.
AND THESE, THESE OTHER TWO, UH, STATISTICS, WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF, UM, THIS HOW GENERATION ZERO IS SET UP.
IT IS A THREE-PART, UH, CURRICULUM.
SO OUR EDUCATORS GO INTO THE CLASSROOM, THEY ADMINISTERED THREE, UM, LESSONS FOR OUR STUDENTS PRIOR TO THEM STARTING THE LESSONS.
WE ADMINISTER A PRE-TEST, WHICH ACTUALLY HAS THE KIDS KIND OF TAKE SOME ITEMS AND THEY MAP THEM OR DO THEY GO IN LITTER? DO THEY GO AND COMPOST, OR DO THEY GO IN RECYCLING? UM, AT THE END OF THAT THIRD LESSON, WE ADMINISTER THAT SAME TEST.
AND SO WE HAD THEM DO THE SAME THING, AND THAT'S A WAY THAT WE CAN GAUGE THE STUDENTS, WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED AND WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GAIN FROM THOSE THREE COURSES.
SO, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, IN ORDER FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PROGRAMMING IS INNOVATIVE, WE ALWAYS HAVE OUR TEACHERS BECAUSE OUR STUDENTS ARE OUR EDUCATORS GO INTO THE CLASSROOM.
THEY'RE TYPICALLY AS A TEACHER THERE, WE ALWAYS SEND THEM AFTER THOSE THREE COURSES ARE COMPLETED AND EVALUATION.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM LAST YEAR, UH, WE RECEIVED A 3.89 ON A FOUR POINT SCALE FROM THOSE TEACHERS IN THEIR EVALUATIONS OF THE PROGRAM.
I CAN TELL YOU NOW THE TEAM IS LIKE WE'RE SHOOTING FOR A FORD NEXT YEAR, BUT THE 3 8, 9 IS, IS REALLY GREAT.
ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT WHEN COVID HIT GENERATION ZERO IS COMPLETELY HANDS-ON.
UM, IT IS LIKE IN-PERSON, WE HAD TO COMPLETELY PIVOT AND THE WHOLE ENTIRE CURRICULUM HAD TO BE TURNED INTO ELECTRONIC AND ONLINE.
AND SO THE FACT THAT THE TEAM WAS ABLE TO GET A 3.89, UM, IN, IN THAT, UH, UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, I THINK SPEAKS, SPEAKS REALLY STRONGLY TO THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE LAST, UM, WE RECEIVED A 28%, UH, KIND OF INCREASE IN STUDENT FROM PRE TO POST-TEST.
UM, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T SAY TO EVERYBODY WHO'S LISTENING, WHO'S WATCHING AND EVERYBODY HERE, UH, WE NEED YOU TO JOIN US.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS WHOLE PIECE OF KEEPING OUR CITY CLEAN, IT REQUIRES ALL OF US TO DO OUR PART.
UH, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE IT'S LIKE, WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOUR CHILDHOOD HAVE BEEN LIKE IF YOU ONLY HAD TO CLEAN UP THE HOUSE ONCE, RIGHT.
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOUR CHORES WOULD HAVE BEEN.
I WOULD HAVE LOVED THAT MYSELF, BUT OF COURSE WE ALL HAVE TO CLEAN OUR HOUSES EVERY DAY AND OUR CITY IS THE SAME.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THOSE, UH, CONSISTENT CLEANUPS HERE.
THE FIRST ONE REALLY IS ABOUT OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY, HELPING, UM, YOU KNOW, GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENTS.
WE DO A MONTHLY EMUS THAT GOES OUT TO ABOUT 15,000 PEOPLE.
WE ALSO DO A BIWEEKLY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY, EMUS, WHICH OUTLINES ALL THE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE IN THE MIDDLE HERE IS ANOTHER, UH, KIND OF PLATFORM THAT WE HAVE IN AN ENHANCEMENT TO GENERATIONS.
[01:15:01]
WITH, UH, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY EDUCATION TEAM AND DEVELOP THIS TAKE-HOME KIT FOR ALL THE KIDS WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN GENERATION ZERO.SO THEY GET THIS REALLY COOL BLUE BACKPACK.
IT'S BRANDED WITH GENERATION ZERO, AND OF COURSE WITH, UH, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND, AND KEEP AWESOME.
IT ALSO HAS AN ACTIVITY BOOK WHERE KIDS CAN CONTINUE DOING THE SAME THINGS THAT THEY HAD IN THEIR PRE AND POST-TEST, UH, STICKERS.
THERE ALSO IS A, UM, A STAINLESS STEEL STRAW JUST TO TEACH KIDS ABOUT, UM, THE POWER OF REUSE.
AND THEN THE LAST PHOTO HERE IS THAT CLEANUP KIT THAT I WAS JUST RANTING AND RAVING ABOUT FOR A LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE DAY.
THAT IS, UM, THE CLEANUP KITS THAT WE HAVE.
WE STARTED THOSE OUT AS A RESULT OF LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE DAY, BUT BECAUSE OF THE POPULARITY OF THOSE, AND OF COURSE, BECAUSE OF OUR, UM, ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, WE PLAN IN THE FALL AND THE SPRING, UH, TO HAVE ANOTHER, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE KIDS.
AND WITH THAT, UH, I WANT TO THANK YOU, UH, NUMBER ONE, JUST FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, AND, UH, OF COURSE I'M OPEN FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, RODNEY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I THINK PREVIOUS YEARS PRE COVID AND A FEW YEARS BEFORE THAT, I THINK YOU GUYS WERE HERE.
AND, UH, I THINK WE WORKED TOGETHER ON TRYING TO SET UP THE, UH, PARK SYSTEM WITH, WITH THE NEEDED, UH, RECEPTACLES, BE IT, UH, FOR RECYCLING, FOR GARBAGE AND COMPOSTING AND HOPEFULLY THE WELL I'VE SEEN THEM OUT THERE.
AND THANK YOU AR ARR FOR BEING A, BEING A PARTNER.
AND THIS IS SO, SO DARN VITAL TO THE COMMUNITY.
I MEAN, ANYONE VISITING HERE OR JUST LIVING HERE, ANYBODY USES OUR PARKS OR WALKS THE STREETS.
AND THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
WELL, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.
ANY QUESTIONS OR MELISSA? I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT THAT I WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT GOT THAT CLEANUP KIT AND MY FAMILY LOVES IT, AND IT WAS GREAT BECAUSE IT'S, UM, LIKE THERE'S AN INITIATIVE WHERE IT'S EVERY SECOND SATURDAY YOU CLEANED SOMETHING IN, OUT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU CAN DO A HASHTAG AND POST A PICTURE OF WHAT YOU PICKED UP.
SO I THINK IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM, A GREAT INITIATIVE, A GREAT WAY FOR PEOPLE TO GET ACTIVE AND CLEAN UP THE CITY, ESPECIALLY DURING COVID.
I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS DOING THAT INITIATIVE.
UM, I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU ENJOY YOUR KIT.
I WANT THAT BLUE BAG ACTUALLY, AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT, BUT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, AMANDA? THANK YOU VERY MUCH AT WEB RODNEY, RODNEY.
I THINK THERE WAS ONE QUESTION, AMANDA, GO AHEAD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING, I GUESS IT WAS A YEAR AGO, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING THESE SERVICES WITH KEY BOSTON.
WE TALKED SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT OF THESE PROGRAMS AND HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO ENSURE DIVERSE PARTICIPATION.
I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE SCHOOL DATA THAT YOU HAVE.
DO YOU HAVE DEMOGRAPHICS ON THOSE STUDENT PARTICIPANTS OR PERHAPS ON THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS TO TRY TO GET AT THAT QUESTION OF WHICH STUDENTS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE EDUCATION COMPONENT OF THE, OF THE PROGRAM? YES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT QUESTION.
WE DO COLLECT, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, UH, ON OUR, ON THE CLASS CLASSES THAT OUR EDUCATORS ARE DELIVERING THE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, WE ALSO COLLECT DATA ON LIKE WHICH SCHOOLS ARE TITLE ONE.
SO I DEFINITELY COULD PREPARE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION AND SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMISSION, IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND THAT WOULD BE, YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY LOVELY, ESPECIALLY, UM, BECAUSE WE DID, AND I REMEMBER SOME DISCUSSION, I THINK OVER TWO OR THREE OF THESE SESSIONS, EVEN AT THE RFP STAGE, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT ENSURING THAT THAT LANGUAGE WAS IN THE SOLICITATION AND, UM, STAFF WAS REALLY SUPPORTIVE AND MADE SURE THAT IT WAS IN THERE.
AND SO I KNOW IT'S A PRIORITY FOR ALL OF US AND SEEING THE IMPACT OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THE DIFFERENT SECTORS IS IMPORTANT FOR THAT REASON.
BUT I THINK ALSO IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY IF YOU'RE NOT HITTING A PARTICULAR DEMOGRAPHIC, IF THERE'S A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE SUPPORT, IS THERE A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL MODALITIES, RIGHT.
UM, THAT WOULD BE VERY, VERY INFORMATIVE TO THANK YOU, AMANDA.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, RODNEY? THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
[01:20:01]
AND ARR, THANKS FOR, THANK YOU.I MEAN, CARRYING A BIG, BIG LOAD.
[2. Small Minority Business Resources (SMBR) Future Opportunities and Involvement Presentation- Victoria Rieger and Felecia Shaw]
ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER IS MOVING ON.THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE, UH, SMB OUR PRESENTATION.
I THINK THAT IS VICTORIA AND I'M FELICIA.
SO THAT PRESENTATION COMES UP.
I AM THE ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH THE SMALL AND MINORITY BUSINESS RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.
AND THIS EVENING I'M HERE TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE CITIES, MBE WBE PROCUREMENT PROGRAM.
SO I'LL JUST SPEND A LITTLE TIME THIS EVENING, LIKE I SAY, GO AT GIVING YOU ALL AN OVERVIEW.
UM, TALKING TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE GOAL SETTING PROCESS AND HOW A SMER PLAYS A ROLE IN THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING PROCESSES.
UM, SOME OF THOSE ACTIVITIES THAT WE DO ONCE A, UH, SOLICITATION HAS GONE THROUGH THE AWARD AND EXECUTION PHASE AND WHERE WE PLAY A ROLE.
UM, SOME AREAS THAT WE SEE, UH, OUR PROGRAM, UH, VIOLATIONS BECAUSE THOSE THINGS OFTEN HAPPEN AND THEN GIVING THE, THE, UH, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE THOSE FOLLOWING A PRESENTATION, NEXT SLIDE.
SO FIRST I JUST WANTED TO, UM, PROVIDE HIM AN OPPORTUNITY TO S TO SEE HOW SMB ARE STRUCTURALLY ALIGNED.
UH, WE HAVE A CERTIFIED CERTIFICATION DIVISION AND THE STAFF IN THAT DEPARTMENT ARE PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR CERTIFYING OUR MINORITY OWNED WOMEN OWNED, DISADVANTAGED OWNED BUSINESSES.
WE ALSO HAVE COMPLIANCE STAFF WHO ARE INVOLVED IN, UH, PRE AWARD SOLICITATION ALL THE WAY THROUGH POST AWARD CONTRACT, CLOSE OUT, UH, RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR RESOURCES DIVISION WHO ARE, UH, PLAY AN INTEGRAL ROLE IN, IN ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS, BUT ALSO IN OUTREACH, UM, GETTING OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE TO OUR MBE WBE, DBE FIRMS ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, PROCUREMENTS AND, UH, THAT THAT ARE BETTER AVAILABLE X SLIDE.
SO S AND BEYOND, WE DO A LOT OF THINGS, BUT PRIMARILY OUR ROLE IS TO ADMINISTER THE CITY'S MINORITY OWNED WOMEN DON'T DISADVANTAGED OWN AND AIRPORT CONCESSION DISADVANTAGED PROGRAMS. WE ALL OF THOSE FALL UNDER OUR UMBRELLA.
AND SO WE DO PLAY A LOT OF ROLES.
SO, FIRST OF ALL, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE STAFF WHO ARE DEDICATED TO, UH, CERTIFYING FIRMS. UM, OUR SORT OF OUR COMPLIANCE STAFF ALSO PLAY A ROLE IN MONITORING, UH, SUB UTILIZATION ON OUR CITY CONTRACTS.
WE DO A LOT OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.
UM, SO WE PROVIDE WORKSHOPS WEBINARS.
WE SPEND TIME WITH OUR LOCAL MINORITY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, MINORITY CHAMBERS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR MISSION.
UH, WHAT WE DO, UM, ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW OUR, HOW THE CITY'S, UH, PROCUREMENT FUNCTIONS, UH, UM, HAPPEN AND ALSO EDUCATING OUR INTERNAL, UH, CUSTOMERS.
SO WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR CITY PROJECT MANAGERS.
WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR CITY'S PROCUREMENT STAFF.
AND SO IT'S, WE PRETTY MUCH WALK HAND IN HAND, UM, AND THROUGH THESE, THROUGH THESE PROCESSES.
SO WE, WE, WE TAKE THE TIME TO, TO INFORM EVERYONE ABOUT WHAT OUR ROLE IS, WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE, WE ARE, UM, EMBEDDED INTO THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING PROCESS.
SO BY CITY ORDINANCE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT S AND BR DOES IS WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ESTABLISH GOALS ON CITY SOLICITATIONS.
UM, EVERY SOLICITATION THAT IS COMPETITIVELY BID, THAT IS $50,000 OR ABOVE, AND SOME BR LOOKS AT THE FEASIBILITY OF SETTING GOALS.
UM, SO THERE ARE SOME PROCUREMENTS THAT ARE EXEMPT AND I'LL DRILL DOWN ON THOSE A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT WE DO THAT FOR EVERY SOLICITATION.
SO WHETHER IT'S SOLICITATIONS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF THE CITY'S PURCHASING DEPARTMENT THAT ARE GOODS AND SERVICES AND NON-PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, OR WHETHER THOSE ARE ON THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT SIDE.
SO WHEN YOU THINK CONSTRUCTION OR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, WHEN WE ARE PROCURING THE SERVICES OF AN ARCHITECT OR ENGINEER WE'RE INVOLVED IN THAT NEXT SLOT.
[01:25:01]
IS IT'S A PROCESS.IT REALLY STARTS WITH THE CITIES FOR PROJECT MANAGERS OR, OR, EH, THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT STAFF.
SO THOSE INDIVIDUALS WORK WITH THE SPONSORING DEPARTMENT.
SO THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THE PROJECTS, RIGHT, TO DEFINE A SCOPE OF WORK, AND THEY DEVELOP WHAT WE CALL A TRADE SUMMARY.
THE TRADE SUMMARY IS REALLY JUST AN IDENTIFICATION OF THE SCOPES OF WORK THAT ARE CONTAINED IN A PROJECT, RIGHT.
THEY ALSO TAKE THE TIME TO ALLOCATE A PERCENTAGE OF THOSE OF WORK THAT'S, UM, FOR THOSE SCOPES OF WORK.
UM, ONCE THAT HAPPENS, SNB YAR PLAYS A ROLE IN REVIEWING THAT INFORMATION.
WE LOOK AT THE COST OF THE PROJECT.
WE LOOK AT THAT TRADE SUMMARY WHERE THE SCOPES OF WORK AND THE PERCENTAGES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.
AND THE OTHER PART THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS THAT WE LOOK AT OUR CERTIFIED MBE WB AVAILABILITY TO LOOK AT THE FEASIBILITY OF, OF SETTING THOSE GOALS.
AGAIN, WE DO THIS FOR EVERY SOLICITATION THAT THE CITY IS GOING TO COMPETITIVELY PROCURE.
UM, A PART OF THAT PROCESS, UM, IS ALSO DEVELOPING WHAT WE CALL A COMPLIANCE PLAN, A PACKET THAT GOES OUT WITH THE SOLICITATION AND PROVIDES NOT ONLY THAT PLAN, BUT A LIST OF AVAILABLE CERTIFIED FIRMS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE SCOPES OF WORK CONTAINED WITHIN THAT SOLICITATION.
NEXT SLIDE, SORT OF DRILL DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ON, ON WHAT WE DO.
AND SOME OF THE PARAMETERS OF THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE STEP ESTABLISHING GOALS.
SO WE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT LOOKING AT AVAILABILITY.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, HAS TO BE PRESENT FOR US TO THINK ABOUT SETTING A GOAL, WE HAVE TO HAVE AT LEAST THREE CERTIFIED MINORITY BUSINESSES OR WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES TO EVEN SET A GOAL.
WE ALSO LOOK AT THAT TRADE SUMMARY AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SCOPES OF WORK.
SO WE HAVE TO HAVE AT LEAST TWO SCOPES OF WORK TO SET A GOAL.
IF THERE IS A PROCUREMENT THAT IS A SINGLE SCOPE OF WORK SUCH AS BUYING ARTS OR AUTOMOTIVE PARTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE DON'T SET GOALS ON SINGLE SCOPE, UH, SCOPES OF WORK.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ALSO DO IS LOOK AT HISTORICAL UTILIZATION, UH, OF, UH, OF, UH, OF OUR SUBS AND ALSO THE HISTORICAL, TH THE GOALS THAT WE SAID ON PREVIOUS, UM, PREVIOUS SOLICITATIONS, ONE AREA THAT WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME DOING THAT ON IS OUR CITY'S ROTATION LISTS.
UH, WE HAVE DIFFERENT ITERATIONS OF ROTATION LISTS.
SO WE DO A LOT OF ANALYSIS TO SEE WHAT THE PREVIOUS SCOPES OF WORK FOR SOLICITATION WERE, WHAT GOALS WERE SET ON THAT, AND REALLY WHAT THE UTILIZATION WAS, UH, FOR THOSE ROTATE FOR, FOR INSTANCE, THOSE ROTATION LISTS, NEXT SLIDE.
SO ONCE WE S AND BR DETERMINES, UH, THAT WE CAN SET A GOAL, WE CAN DO THAT IN SEVERAL WAYS.
WE CAN SET WHAT WE CALL ETHICS SPECIFIC GOALS, WHICH REALLY ARE GOALS FOR EACH OF THOSE ETHNIC GROUPS THAT YOU SEE IDENTIFIED AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISPANIC AND NATIVE ASIAN GOAL.
AND, UH, W B E R GOAL FOR WOMEN.
WE CAN ALSO SET AN AGGREGATE GOAL, SO WE CAN HAVE AN MBE GOAL, WHICH MEANS WE BASICALLY ROLL UP ALL OF THOSE ETHNIC GOALS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR WOMEN.
AND THEN WE HAVE THAT WBE GOAL, OR SOMETIMES WE HAVE THE, UH, OPPOR OPTION OF SETTING ONE GOAL, WHICH MEANS EVERYTHING IS ROLLED UP TOGETHER.
AND WE JUST HAVE ONE GOAL ON THE, UH, SOLICITATION NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO AFTER AGAIN, AFTER A SOLICITATION HAS BEEN ISSUED AND A POTENTIAL PROPOSER OR BADER SUBMITS, THAT, THAT, THAT RESPONSE, UH, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY SUBMIT IS A COMPLIANCE PLAN.
SO S AND BR STAFF IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING THOSE COMPLIANCE PLANS WITH BASICALLY OUTLINES, UM, THE TEAM WHO'S GONNA, UH, ASSIST THE PRIME IN, IN PERFORMING THE WORK ON IT, ON THEIR PROJECT.
AND IN OUR DETERMINATION, WE CAN DO ONE OF TWO THINGS.
I, I, A BITTER PROPOSER CAN BE COMPLIANT IN TWO WAYS.
THEY CAN EITHER MEET THE GOALS OF THE SOLICITATION, OR THEY CAN BE COMPLIANT THROUGH DEMONSTRATING GOOD FAITH EFFORT.
UM, GOOD FAITH EFFORT, AGAIN, IS A PROCESS.
THERE ARE SOME MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT, AND I'LL SPEND A LITTLE TIME WALKING THROUGH THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD FAITH EFFORT,
[01:30:01]
UH, OUR, UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, UM, CONTACTING, UH, SUBS, UH, CERTIFIED FIRMS THROUGH TO VERIFIABLE METHODS, UM, ARE, UH, BITTERS AND PROPOSERS SELECT THOSE METHODS.THEY CAN CONTACT THEM THROUGH EMAIL MAIL FAX, UH, SOME FOLKS DO SNAIL MAIL.
UM, ANY OF THOSE, UH, METHODS, UM, ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IS TO, UM, PUBLISH PUBLICLY ADVERTISED, AND I CAN COMPETE THROUGH A LOCAL PUBLICATION THAT CAN ALSO BE THROUGH OFFICIAL COMPANY, SOCIAL MEDIA, SUCH AS COMPANY, FACEBOOK COMPANY WEBSITE, JUST, THEY INTEND TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT THERE AND, AND, UM, MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO, TO, TO THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY.
UM, WE ASK THAT THESE, THE BITTERS AND, UH, PROPOSERS WORK WITH OUR, UM, MINORITY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS AND CHAMBERS, AGAIN, TO GET THE WORD OUT, UM, THEY CAN CONTACT S AND BR FOR ASSISTANCE.
IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT A CERTIFIED FIRMS CERTIFICATION, THE SCOPES OF WORK THAT THEY MAY BE, UM, CERTIFIED IN ANY OF THAT INFORMATION, IF THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED ADDITIONAL SCOPES AND NEED AVAILABILITY LISTS, WE HELP THEM THROUGH THAT ENTIRE PROCESS.
WE ALSO ASK THAT IF SUBS SUBMIT, UH, INTEREST TO THOSE PRIMES, TO THOSE POTENTIAL PRIMES, THAT THEY RESPOND RIGHT, THAT THEY FOLLOW UP IN GOOD FAITH, THAT THEY LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES BASICALLY JUST TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION, NEXT SLIDE.
SO IN SOME INSTANCES, UH, GOALS DON'T LEND THEMSELVES TO, FOR, TO US SETTING THOSE ON SOLICITATIONS.
SO THERE ARE TWO REASONS, LIKE I SAID BEFORE THAT WE DEFINITELY DON'T SET GOALS.
IF THERE IS NO CERTIFIED AVAILABILITY, WE DON'T SEND A COLD.
UM, AGAIN, IF THERE'S NO SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES, SINGLE SCOPES OF WORK, WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO SET GOALS.
IN ADDITION TO, TO THOSE AREAS.
I EARLIER I TALKED ABOUT SOME PROCUREMENTS THAT ARE EXEMPT FROM OUR, OUR PROCESS, SO WHERE WE HAVE SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS, RIGHT, WHERE WE ONLY HAVE ONE, UM, ONE PROVIDER OF, OF SOMETHING, RIGHT, BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, PATENTS OR PROPRIETARY INFORMATION, IF THEIR HEALTH AND SAFETY PROJECT PROJECTS, IF THEY ARE EMERGENCY PROCUREMENTS, UM, COOPERATIVE PURCHASES, MEANING, UM, SAY ANOTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY HAS A CONTRACT AND THE CITY IS GOING TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT CONTRACT, A COOPERATIVE PURCHASE.
WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO SET GOALS ON, ON, ON THOSE TYPES OF PROCUREMENTS.
AND SO THOSE ARE EXEMPT FROM OUR PROGRAM.
SO SMB ARE ALSO PLAYS OF, LIKE I SAID, PLAYS A ROLE FROM SOLICITATION ISSUANCE ALL THE WAY TO CONTRACT CLOSE OUT.
AND IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS, I JUST WANTED TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO, WE ARE INVOLVED IN OUR PRE-CONSTRUCTION AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE KICKOFF MEETINGS, WHERE WE WORK WITH THE PROJECT TEAM, THE CITY'S PROJECT MANAGER, THE PRIME AND SUB CONTRACTORS AND SUB CONSULTANTS TO, TO INFORM THEM ABOUT OUR POST AWARD REQUIREMENTS, TO BASICALLY INTRODUCE THEM TO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO'S GOING TO BE WORKING BESIDE THEM, TO LET THEM KNOW WHERE THEY ARE.
WE ARE A PART OF THE PROJECT TEAM.
WE SERVE AS A RESOURCE TO THEM.
UH, WE ALSO REVIEW SUBCONTRACTOR EXPENDITURE REPORTS.
SO AS PROMS INVOICE, THE CITY, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALSO SUBMITTING THIS REPORT AS PART OF THE PAY APPLICATION PROCESS.
THAT REPORT ALLOWS S AND BR TO REVIEW SUBCONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTOR PAYMENTS.
WE ALSO LOOK FOR SUBCONTRACTORS WHO MAY NOT HAVE, UH, INITIALLY BEEN IDENTIFIED, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE THAT DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW UP AND SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL'S NOT, HAS NOT, WAS NOT IDENTIFIED TO JUST HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
UM, THE REQUEST FOR CHANGE PROCESS IS A CRITICAL AREA FOR US.
UM, INITIALLY, LIKE I SAID, INITIALLY, WHEN A SOLICITATION COMES IN THAT COMPLIANCE PLAN BASICALLY OUTLINES THE TEAM THAT OUR PRIME WILL UTILIZE AND THAT COMPLIANCE PLAN BECOMES PART OF CONTRACT.
AND SO WHEN THERE ARE CHANGES TO, TO THAT COMPLIANCE PLAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SMB OUR REVIEWS AND BEFORE ANY CHANGES OCCURRED TO THAT.
SO WHETHER A PROM CONTRACTOR OR A PRIME CONSULTANT WANTS TO SUBSTITUTE ADD, DELETE, UM, IF THERE ARE CONTRACT CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING, THAT IMPACTS OF CONTRACTORS S AND BR IS INVOLVED IN THAT DISCUSSION.
AND WE ACTUALLY REVIEW AND HAVE TO APPROVE THAT BEFORE
[01:35:01]
SUBCONTRACTORS NEW SUBCONTRACTORS ARE UTILIZED.AND THEN FINALLY IN THE CLOSE OUT A PORTION, THAT'S WHERE REALLY WHERE WE ARE ALIGNING THINGS.
WE ARE LOOKING AT THE, A NICHE, INITIAL COMMITMENT OF THE COMPLIANCE PLAN.
WE'RE LOOKING AT ANY CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE DURING THE COURSE OF A PROJECT.
WE'RE LOOKING AT PAYMENTS VERIFYING THAT WITH SUBS, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE, UM, INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN PAID, INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN UTILIZED AS, AS PREVIOUSLY COMMITTED TO, AND THAT'S PART OF, LIKE I SAID, THAT'S PART OF THE OVERALL PROJECT CLOSEOUT PROCESS X SLIDE.
I JUST WANT TO JUST BRIEFLY TOUCH ON THIS.
UM, THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE, UM, S AND BR SEEDS, SOME OF THE VIOLATIONS OCCURRING.
UM, ONE OF THOSE AREAS IS WHEN SUBCONTRACTORS ARE USED ON PROJECTS WITHOUT SMB RS REVIEW AND APPROVAL.
UM, THERE ARE ALSO TIMES WHEN WE SEE NON-CERTIFIED, UM, SUBCONTRACTORS BEING UTILIZED ON PROJECTS, SPECIFICALLY, NO GOALS, PROJECTS, UH, WITHOUT PERFORMING GOOD FAITH EFFORT, UM, IN OUR CONTRACTS, IN OUR SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS, IT TALKS ABOUT THE REQUIREMENT OF, OF, UH, PRIMES, PERFORMING GOOD FAITH EFFORT.
AGAIN, WITH THE INTENT OF PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY TO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, UH, FOR WORK AND THEN FAILING TO MEET THOSE, THOSE GOALS FROM THE COMPLIANCE PLAN AT THE CLOSE OUT PROCESS, WITHOUT ANY JUSTIFICATION.
AGAIN, THE REQUEST FOR CHANGE PROCESS IS REALLY THAT VEHICLE FOR US TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING ON A, ON A CONTRACT, WHETHER THEIR CONTRACT CHANGES, SUBSTITUTIONS, ADDITIONS, ALL OF THAT.
SO WITHOUT NOTIFICATION OF, OF THAT, THAT CAN CONSTITUTE A PROGRAM VIOLATION NEXT SLIDE AND, AND VIOLATIONS REALLY HAVE AN IMPACT RIGHT ON, UM, SEVERAL, SEVERAL OF THE PARTIES THAT PLAY A ROLE IN THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING PROCESS.
SO PERMANENTLY TO THE CON CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS FOR CONTRACTORS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE CONSTRUCTION SIDE THAT CAN PLAY A ROLE IN THE AWARD OF A FUTURE PROJECT.
UM, THE CITY DOES LOOK AT THAT, UM, FOR CONSULTANTS, IT'S, IT'S REALLY CRITICAL.
THE CITY HAS A REQUIREMENT, UH, WHERE THEY LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE, UM, AND HAVE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS ON THE CAPITAL CONTRACTING SIDE, UM, FOR, UH, CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS, AND SPECIFICALLY FOR CONSULTANTS, WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT EVALUATED PROCUREMENTS.
SO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR REQUESTS FOR QUALIFICATIONS, THERE'S A SCORE THAT THE, UH, CAPITAL CONTRACTING, UH, FINANCIAL SERVICES, INDIVIDUALS TRACK, AND THAT SCORE IS DIRECTLY ATTACK IS DIRECTLY, UM, INPUT INTO AN EVALUATION MATRIX OF EVALUATED PROCUREMENTS.
SO THE PERFORMANCE, THE PERFORMANCE ASPECT IS, IS, IS REALLY CRITICAL.
AND WHEN THOSE VIOLATIONS OCCUR, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT MAY IMPACT THOUGH, THAT, THAT SCORE, UH, FOR OUR CITIES PROJECT MANAGERS, WHEN WE SEE THAT VIOLATIONS ARE OCCURRING, UM, WE, WE, FIRST OF ALL, HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITY'S PROJECT MANAGERS.
WE TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT TO THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND HAVE TRAININGS.
UM, BUT WE ALSO LET THEM KNOW, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS DISCUSSION THAT WE HAVE ALSO AT THE, AT THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL ABOUT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, HOW WE CAN HELP TO EDUCATE AND TRAIN STAFF SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS.
AND THEN, UH, AS FAR AS THE CITY STAFF PERFORMANCE MANAGERS, UM, S AND BR HAS A, WELL, THERE IS A, MY, A MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED ADVISORY COMMITTEE ALSO.
AND SO THESE VIOLATIONS ARE SOMETHING THAT WE REPORT OUT MONTHLY TO THE COMMITTEE, UM, TO PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON ON PROJECTS.
UM, AND THAT THAT'S INFORMATION THAT, THAT WE TRACK CAPTURE AND REPORT OUT ON NEXT SLIDE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE MY CONTACT INFORMATION TO THE COMMISSION MEMBERS.
UM, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO ALL, TO ALWAYS CONTACT ME.
MY EMAIL IS PROVIDED AS WELL AS MY PHONE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A, A COMPLIANCE DOCUMENT MAILBOX AT S AND BR.
SO IF YOU HAVE GENERAL PROGRAM QUESTIONS OR ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL,
[01:40:01]
THAT IS OUR WAYS, TELL PEOPLE THAT IS A GREAT EMAIL, UH, AGILE DRESS TO BECOME, UH, ACQUAINTED WITH IT IS MONITORED BY TWO EMPLOYEES ALL THE TIME.IT IS, IT IS WHERE, UH, WE DIRECT INDIVIDUALS SO THAT WE MAKE SURE, UH, WE CAN ADDRESS, UM, UH, QUESTIONS AND NOTHING SLIPS THROUGH THE CRACKS THERE.
THAT'S ALL THAT I HAVE FOR MY PRESENTATION THIS EVENING, UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSION MEMBERS, FELICIA, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR THE GREAT INFORMATION HERE.
I'VE JUST A COUPLE OF SILLY THOUGHTS HERE.
AND CAN I, I GUESS FROM THE DEPARTMENT'S PERSPECTIVE, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT A ARR IS NOW GOING TO BE UTILIZING MORE OF THE, UH, S M B R OPPORTUNITIES COMMISSIONER, UH, AGAIN, KEN SNIPES, DIRECT OFFS AND RESTORE RESOURCE RECOVERY.
THE, UM, PRIMARY OPPORTUNITY FOR ARR TO USE THIS CONTRACT IS TYPICALLY THROUGH PURCHASING ARE, YOU MAY REMEMBER, I BELIEVE IT WAS LAST YEAR SOMETIME WHEN THIS ISSUE CAME UP, IT WAS REGARDING A CONTRACT FOR A TRUCK RENTAL.
UH, AND SO THAT'S, THIS IS THE FOLLOW-UP TO THAT.
I, I DON'T REMEMBER, UH, WHO ASKED THE QUESTION, BUT IT WAS, UH, RELATED TO, UH, WHERE WE USE AN SMB, OUR PROCESS, UH, AS WE SOURCED, UH, THE, UH, THE VARIOUS COMPANIES, UH, FOR, FOR TRUCKS.
UM, SO, AND, UM, YEAH, APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION AND YES, IT, I'VE DEFINITELY REMEMBER AS WE LOOK AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS THAT ARE, THAT WE'VE REVIEWED, UH, SEEING WHETHER OR NOT IT'S BEEN GONE THROUGH THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS.
UH, EACH OF THE VENDORS, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, AND I DID LOOK AT THE WEBSITE AS WELL.
IT'S NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR HOW EFFECTIVE THIS HAS BEEN YET.
IN OTHER WORDS, HOW, WHAT NUMBER OF WOMEN AND MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES, UM, UM, MAKE IT THROUGH THE, THE, THE PROCESS OF BEING SELECTED FOR THE VARIOUS AGENCIES THAT YOU OVERSEE OR THAT YOU MONITOR.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS, A FOLLOW-UP WOULD BE RELATED TO THAT DATA.
THEN CAN WE USE THAT OR WHAT, WHAT EFFORT IS BEING USED TO USE THAT INFORMATION TO HELP ENCOURAGE POTENTIALLY, UM, BUSINESSES, UH, FOLKS TO START BUSINESSES OR TO GET INVOLVED IN BUSINESSES IN, AND, UH, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE THERE FOR, UM, FOR THE, UH, PARTY ELIGIBLE PARTIES TO GET THEM HOME.
I THINK THAT FIRST QUESTION ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM, UM, OUR PROGRAM HAS BEEN AROUND, UH, WITH THE CITY SINCE 1987.
UM, IT IS A PROGRAM WHERE I SAY, YOU KNOW, IF WE LOOK AT THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS WE'VE SEEN, AND I CAN'T TELL YOU AT THIS MOMENT, UM, UH, SOME OF THE SPECIFIC, UH, NUMBERS, BUT WE'VE SEEN, UM, INDIVIDUALS HAVE COME IN AS SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, PRIMARILY FUNCTIONING AS SUBCONTRACTORS AND SUB CONSULTANTS WHO HAVE GROWN THEIR BUSINESS OUT OF THE PROGRAM, BECAUSE THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT TO BE CERTIFIED, RIGHT? YOU HAVE TO, UM, DEMONSTRATE NOT ONLY SOCIAL DISADVANTAGE, BUT ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE, MEANING THERE IS A LIMIT ON INDIVIDUALS, PERSONAL NETWORKS, AND WE UTILIZE THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SIZE STANDARDS.
SO THAT KIND OF GIVES YOU THE PARAMETERS FOR CERTIFICATION.
UM, A LOT OF TIMES, LIKE WE'RE WHERE WE SEE INDIVIDUALS FIRST GET THEIR FOOT IN THE DOOR IS PERFORMING AS SUBCONTRACTORS.
IT ALLOWS THEM TO BASICALLY GROW CAPACITY, GROW THEIR BUSINESS CAPACITY TO NETWORK AND BE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH PALM, PALM CONTRACTORS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE, UM, IN OUR PRE BEADS AND PRE RESPONSE MEETINGS, AS FAR AS SUBCONTRACTORS TO ATTEND THOSE, BECAUSE REALISTICALLY THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WILL PERFORM AS A PRIME CONTRACTOR MORE THAN LIKELY IS IN THE ROOM.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE CITY IS, UM, IN A, UNDER THE, THE S AND BR, UH, PROGRAM IS GOING THROUGH A DISPARITY STUDY.
THERE'S INFORMATION ABOUT THAT ON OUR WEBSITE, AND I'LL PROVIDE THAT TO OUR, TO TV LIAISON, UM, OR OF THE COMMISSION, SO THAT YOU ALL CAN LOOK INTO THAT.
UM, THERE IS A CONSULTANT WHO'S HANDLING THAT STUDY, AND THERE'S ALSO AN AREA THERE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN READ THROUGH, LOOK AT THE REPORTS,
[01:45:01]
BUT ALSO WE HAVE A DESIGNATED, UM, EMAIL FOR INDIVIDUALS TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS.SO I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO, TO LOOK AT THAT.
UH, WE HAVE A PROJECT MANAGER ON STAFF WHO'S SPEARHEADING THAT STUDY.
UM, SO WE DO, THAT'S WHY I SAY WE DO LOTS OF THINGS TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION.
UH, WE'VE BEEN, UH, A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM, UM, AS FAR AS THE BUSINESS KIND OF STARTUP, I THINK WE, WE WORK SORT OF IN TANDEM WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, BECAUSE WHILE THEY DO MORE OF THE, UM, BUSINESS STARTUP, YOU KNOW, HOW TO DO A BUSINESS PLAN LOANS AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF, WE ARE ALSO FOCUSED ON DOING SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.
UM, SO WE CAN, UM, PROVIDE INDIVIDUALS WITH INFORMATION LIKE BONDING ONCE I'M CERTIFIED.
WHAT DO I EXPECT? HOW DO I DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY? WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THAT.
WE'VE DONE AGAIN, WEBINARS AND DONE THAT EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT, PERFORMANCE, EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR COMPONENT.
WE WORK REALLY LIKE AGAIN, REALLY CLOSELY IN FORUMS WITH OUR CITY'S PURCHASING OFFICE, WITH CAPITAL CONTRACTING.
WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH PUBLIC WORKS.
SO WE ARE INVOLVED, LIKE I SAID, WE ARE INVOLVED INTIMATELY IN THE, IN THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING PROCESS.
THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS I MELISSA.
I WAS CURIOUS IF THERE IS A BUSINESS THAT IS WOMAN OR MINORITY OWNED CURRENTLY AN OPERATION RIGHT NOW THAT IS STRUGGLING AND AT RISK OF CLOSING, ARE THERE RESOURCES WITH AN S M B R THAT COULD HELP THEIR BUSINESSES STATE OPERATIONAL THAT'S.
THAT IS MORE, UM, IN THE WHEELHOUSE, I WOULD THINK OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WHO WOULD PROBABLY HAVE MORE OF THOSE RESOURCES AND PROBABLY COULD POINT YOU IN THAT DIRECTION.
BUT WE, IF, IF YOU WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION, YOU CAN BOTH DEFINITELY CONTACT ME.
UM, AND I CAN, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH WITHIN THE CITY TO SEE IF WE CAN PROVIDE PERFOR PROVIDE ANY OF THOSE RESOURCES.
YOU KNOW, FOOLISH FELICIA, YOU MEANT YOU MADE A GOOD COMMENT HERE A MINUTE AGO ABOUT, UH, TO BE A MEMBER.
YOU HAVE TO SHOW ECONOMIC, UH, CHALLENGES.
YOU REACH A THRESHOLD, AND YOU'RE NO LONGER ELIGIBLE FOR THE SMB OUR PROGRAM.
I'VE SPOKEN WITH A FEW OF THE CONTRACTORS OUT THERE, AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE LITERALLY JUST, UH, THE INCREDIBLE CREDIBLE VALUATIONS OF JUST HOMES.
NOWADAYS, IF, UH, A CONTRACTOR'S HOME IS NOW WORTH TWO, $3 MILLION, I THINK YOUR THRESHOLD IS WHAT, 1.5 OR 1.6 IT'S 1.6, 9 MILLION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, OF THEIR, THEIR PRIMARY RESIDENCE.
SO I GUESS IT'S THE RENTAL PROPERTIES THAT ACTUALLY GO INTO PLAY IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
I MEAN, WITH THE VALUATIONS ESCALATING HERE IN AUSTIN, SOME OF THEM WERE BECOMING LITERALLY BORDERLINE INELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM.
I JUST WONDERING IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION OR FUTURE CONSIDERATION OF THAT PERHAPS RAISING THAT, UH, MINIMUM THRESHOLD OR THAT THRESHOLD, I SHOULD SAY, TH THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, THERE'S BEEN INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY TO, TO, TO HAVE US TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE MOST DEFINITELY ARE LINKING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OH, WE FELICIA, GUS, WE NO LONGER HAVE A QUORUM.
IT LOOKS LIKE, BUT, BUT YOU ARE WONDERFUL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BUT FELICIA WONDERFUL.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE, UH, WITH ARR ON, ON DEVELOPING THE SMB, OUR PROGRAM, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I THINK WE'VE COVERED MOST OF THE, UH, STAFF BRIEFINGS THAT THANK YOU, KATHY, FOR THE UPDATE.
[DIRECTORS REPORT]
UH, THE NEXT ITEM IS THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT WAS A FEW[01:50:13]
COMMISSIONERS.I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT OR ANYTHING THERE.
UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE, UM, THE AIR CONDITIONING UNITS HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, FIRST I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHY IT'S, WHY THERE ARE SO MANY NON-AIR CONDITIONED VEHICLES.
I SAW THE NOTE THAT, UM, IT'S 28, BUT THIS IS A FLUID NUMBER.
SO, UM, IS THAT DUE TO BREAK DOWNS OR THESE VEHICLES JUST ONES THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO HAVE AC INSTALLED? SO THAT'S THE FIRST QUESTION.
THE SECOND QUESTION, IS THERE A PLAN TO SHIFT IN SOME WAY, SO THAT ALL VEHICLES WOULD BE AIR CONDITIONED AND YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO BRING IN THESE TEMPORARY UNITS BECAUSE I'M IMAGINING THAT THIS SUMMER IS NOT GOING TO BE AN ANOMALY.
THIS IS GOING TO BE SUMMER, YOU KNOW, WHAT SUBWAY SUMMER IN AUSTIN IS NOW LIKE, UM, AND THEN THE THIRD QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE EMPLOYEES.
AND IF YOU'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN THESE TWO, THAT, THAT HAD THE VERY SEVERE EMERGENCIES THAT NEEDED EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT, UM, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING AROUND EMPLOYEES AROUND THE HEAT? AND IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY TO GET STARTED EARLIER? I KNOW YOU'VE SHIFTED EARLIER ALREADY, BUT IS THERE A LIMITATION EITHER FROM THE CITY OR ON THE DESIRE OF THE WORKERS TO GET STARTED EVEN BEFORE YOU ARE NOW? I MEAN, I KNOW SOME CITIES AND COLLECTION CAN BE IT OR AM 5:00 AM, YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE VERY, VERY EARLY.
SO SEVERAL QUESTIONS THERE ABOUT THAT, THAT INCIDENT WITH THE HEATING AND THE AIR CONDITIONING UNITS, COMMISSIONER MS. SIEGEL, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE NUMBER OF ACS, UH, WHAT WE DID WAS WE DECIDED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY PURCHASE OF A SMALL NUMBER OF THOSE ACS, UH, AND THEN, UH, MAKE THE REST OF THE PURCHASE OR THE PURCHASE OF THE REMAINING, UH, UNITS, UM, THROUGH THE NORMAL PROCESS.
UH, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT, UH, TO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT, UM, UH, WHETHER ALL THE VEHICLES HAVE ACS OR NOT, THEY DO ALL OF THE VEHICLES HAVE ACS.
UH, AGAIN, THESE ARE, THESE ARE HARD USE VEHICLES, UH, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, UH, THEY HAVE VERY HEAVY DUTY CYCLES, AND SO SOMETIMES THE ACS FAIL.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THE OTHER, UH, PIECE OF THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT AC OPERATION IN GENERAL.
UM, THE AC CONVINCER, UH, IS LOCATED ON THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE RIGHT NEXT TO THE RADIATOR.
WHEN VEHICLES ARE COLLECTING, YOU DON'T HAVE VERY GOOD AIR FLOW, UH, BECAUSE THEY'RE DRIVING MAYBE THREE TO FIVE MILES PER HOUR.
UH, AND SO THE VEHICLE SYSTEMS REALLY DEPEND ON AIR FLOW.
SO ONE OF THE COMMON COMPLAINTS WE'LL HEAR FROM, UH, THE, UH, OPERATORS ARE WHILE WHAT I'M COLLECTING IS NOT WORKING, BUT WHEN I DROPPED IT A LANDFILL, THAT WORKS FINE.
UH, SO WHAT THESE UNITS DO, THEIR SECONDARY UNITS THAT DON'T REQUIRE, UH, THE VEHICLE TO BE MOVING OR CONSTANT AIR FLOW FOR THEM TO OPERATE FULLY.
UH, AND SO WHAT WE HOPE TO DO IS HAVE BOTH THE VEHICLES AC UNIT, AND THEN THE SECONDARY UNIT, UH, THAT WOULD GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO HAVE, UH, AN AIR, A FUNCTIONING AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM WHILE THEY'RE OPERATING AT SLOW SPEEDS.
AND THEN ALSO HAVE THE, THE, UH, THE REGULAR VEHICLE UNIT AS WELL.
UM, AS FAR AS THE EMPLOYEES AND STARTING EARLIER, WE'VE CONSIDERED STARTING EARLIER.
UM, IT'S HARD TO DO THAT ON SHORT NOTICE BECAUSE MANY OF THE WORKERS HAVE CHILDCARE NEEDS OR OTHER THINGS THAT THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
UH, AND SO WE CAN'T SHIFT TOO EARLY, TOO FAST BECAUSE IT DOESN'T GIVE PEOPLE TIME TO MAKE THOSE ARRANGEMENTS.
UH, YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE WEATHER.
WE ANTICIPATING THAT, UH, THESE TRENDS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE MADE THE DECISION TO GO AHEAD AND PURCHASE THESE UNITS.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING INTO WHETHER IT'S POSSIBLE OR FEASIBLE TO, UH, START TO SPEC OUT, UH, SOME OF THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE COMING ON OUR NEW VEHICLES, UH, WITH EVEN, UH, UM, BETTER AND BETTER PERFORMING SYSTEMS THAT MIGHT PREVENT US FROM HAVING TO ADD THE SECONDARY UNITS.
DO YOU GET INTO ANY LIMITATIONS, UH, WITH THE NOISE ORDINANCES ABOUT HOW EARLY YOU CAN OPERATE, OR ARE YOU SORT OF, UH, INDEPENDENT OF THAT FOR THE CITY? NO, W WE'RE NOT BOUND BY, UH, SOME OF THOSE GUIDELINES WE COULD OPERATE EARLIER, AND AGAIN, WE'VE REVIEWED THAT OR, OR IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEW IN THAT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPACTS.
WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT OFF SHIFT SERVICES FOR CERTAIN AREAS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE.
[01:55:01]
MINDFUL OF BEING GOOD NEIGHBORS AS WE OPERATE IN, IN THE COMMUNITIES.UH, SOME OF THE, UH, OPERATIONS ARE QUITE NOISY.
UH, THEY DO GENERATE, UH, COMPLAINTS, UH, NOT NECESSARILY FROM, UH, FROM OUR STAFF, BUT WE DO HEAR ABOUT SOME OF THE NOISE COMPLAINTS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? THOSE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS DO WORK.
I HAVE EXPERIENCED A COUPLE OF THOSE IN A COUPLE OF THE MACK TRUCKS AND THEY DO FUNCTION.
YOU KNOW, I, UH, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UH, MAYBE A FORMAL PRESENTATION FUTURE PRESENTATION ON THE TRANSFER STATION TRANSFER STATION VISITS.
I MEAN, THOSE TO ME ARE THE FUTURE.
I MEAN, THAT'S LITERALLY WHAT WE, WHAT WE NEED AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND, AND TRANSPORTATION TRANSFER STATION VISIT.
SOUNDS LIKE A FUN ONE WAS A FUN ONE, BUT, UH, YEAH.
LOOKING AT THE, UM, DIVERSION RATES, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT LAST YEAR, WE HAD THE NUMBER AND I REALIZED THESE ARE ESTIMATED NUMBERS, BUT DROPPED FROM, YOU KNOW, 46 TO 40% BETWEEN APRIL AND MAY.
AND THEN THIS YEAR, HOWEVER, IT WENT FROM 47 TO 38.
IS THERE ANY, ANY INDICATION OF WHAT THAT, UH, WHERE THAT DROP MAY HAVE COME FROM? I'M BEING TOLD THAT THE MAIN DRIVER FOR THAT IS THE WEATHER AND THE VEGETATION? HMM.
SO, BECAUSE THIS PARTICULAR YEAR JUST HIGHER TEMPERATURES OR GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS TO BE, UH, DIRECTOR RICHARD MCKELL.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, WE'VE HAD OBVIOUSLY WHAT THE WEATHER AND THE LACK OF RUINED SHEEP, A STEEP DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF, UH, YARD TRIMMINGS THAT WE'VE GOT AT VEGETATION BRUSH.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, YOU'LL SEE SOME, UM, MUCH LOWER NUMBERS.
PLUS LAST YEAR, WE ALSO, WE HAD OTHER ISSUES GOING ON WITH WINTER STORMS AND THAT AMOUNT OF BRUSH.
SO THAT REALLY PLAYED INTO OUR NUMBERS.
THAT'S A LOT OF WEIGHT GOING IN THERE.
SO, UH, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WHAT KIND OF A PACE WE'LL START PICKING UP AND WE'LL START, HOPEFULLY GETTING SOME RAIN AND PEOPLE START DOING SOME YARD WORK AND GET THAT MATERIAL DIVERTED, BUT THAT'S PRIMARILY THE REASON RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE LOOKED AT SOME OTHER NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE TALKED TO OUR, UH, MURPH PROCESSORS.
THEY HAVE SEEN LESS TONAGE COMING THROUGH THE FACILITIES.
SO, UM, THERE MAY BE SOME FOLKS THAT ARE NOW SHIFTING FROM, YOU KNOW, HAVING AT HOME AND NOW SHIFTING BACK TO WORK.
SO WE MAY BE SEEING SOME OF THAT MATERIAL ALSO SHIFTING FROM THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE TO THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, MELISSA, GO AHEAD.
I WANTED TO COMMENT ABOUT THE AC UNITS.
I DID A TOUR OF THE BALCONIES RECYCLING FACILITY AND THEIR HUMAN SORTER EMPLOYEES THERE.
THEY WORK IN WITHOUT AC AND THAT BUILDING, BUT IT'S ALL OPEN.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF THERE WERE AC UNITS ADMITTED IN THERE BE, WOULD BE RUNNING REALLY EFFICIENTLY, UM, UNLESS YOU CAN ENCLOSE THAT, THAT MERV SOMEHOW.
UM, JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON THAT.
UH, BUT I DID HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UM, FOR THAT TRANSFER STATION.
IT SAYS THAT IT'S, THAT YOU GUYS ARE CONSIDERING DIFFERENT LOCATIONS FOR A POTENTIAL TRANSFER STATION.
IS IT GOING TO BE A PROPERTY THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING LEASING, OR IS IT GOING TO BE A PROPERTY THAT YOU WANT TO PURCHASE AND DEVELOP IT FOR? UM, LIKE A PERMIT TRANSFER STATION SITE, COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, A TRANSFER STATION PROPERTY WOULD, WOULD, UM, REPRESENT A HUGE CAPITAL OUTLAY.
THAT WOULD BE A PROPERTY THAT WE PURCHASED.
I DON'T SEE A SCENARIO WHERE WE LEASE A PROPERTY OF THAT NATURE, UH, AFTER BUILDING A REALLY EXPENSIVE FACILITY ON IT.
SO, UH, I COULDN'T IMAGINE A SCENARIO WHERE WE WOULD LEASE.
I HAD ONE LAST QUESTION, UM, REGARDING THE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE, PILOT B UM, THE PILOT'S GOING TO BE IN, IN NORTH AUSTIN.
AND SO I'M WONDERING IF WHEN THE, WHEN THIS PILOT IS GOING, ARE THEY DELIVERING THE PRODUCTS TO THE RECYCLE, REUSE DROP-OFF CENTER DOWN SOUTH AND WILL THE PILOT INCLUDES STYROFOAM? UH, YES.
TO QUESTION ONE, NO, TWO QUESTION TWO.
UH, WE, WE WILL BE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING NORTH WE'RE SOUTH.
WE HEAR ALL THE TIME, DONALD HARDY, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR ALL THE TIME, WE'RE NOT CONVENIENT, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING INTO THE NORTH SITES
[02:00:01]
FIRST AND YES, WE'LL BE BRINGING IT BACK TO OUR FACILITY AND SEGREGATING IT JUST LIKE WE DO NOW FOR REUSE, RECYCLE AND THE DISPOSAL.UM, AS FAR AS STAR FOAM, THAT'S BEEN MENTIONED, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, UH, NO, UM, ONE OF THE CONCERNS AND WE KNOW STYROFOAM IS AN ISSUE.
UM, BUT, UH, ONE OF THE CONCERNS IS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO SOMEWHERE AND THEY HAVE 20 POUNDS OF STYROFOAM, YOU'RE DRIVING ALL THE WAY BACK DOWN TO THE FACILITY TO DROP IT OFF, BECAUSE THAT FILLS UP YOUR TRUCK VERY QUICKLY.
SO, UM, WE WERE TRYING TO DO THE EFFICIENT THING, UM, AT FIRST AND TAKE CARE OF THE HW THAT BY NO MEANS MEANS THAT WE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERING STAR FROM DOWN THE ROAD THEN.
AND THAT'S STILL AN ACCEPTABLE DROP-OFF ITEM, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OH MY GOD.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ITEM OF BUSINESS HERE IS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, AND I THINK THERE'S QUITE A FEW OF WHICH WE'D LOVE TO START WITH THAT YOU ARE O PRESENTATION, RIGHT? AND THEN I THINK WE WOULD DEFINITELY WANT TO LOOK AT THE A C AND D DIVERSION CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FACING HERE.THE OTHER THING TOO IS, UH, AGAIN, A FORMAL PRESENTATION, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR SOMETHING ON THE TRANSFER STATION, SOME OF THE IDEAS, I MEAN, WHAT WE SAW, WHAT WE THINK MIGHT, IT MIGHT NOT WORK HERE VERSUS THERE.
AND THEN, UH, ALSO, I MEAN, JUST A TOPIC NEEDING INFORMATION.
I MEAN, THE WAY WE PROGRESS AND THE WAY WE DETERMINED OUR METRICS IN THE FUTURE IS IF WE HAVE ACCURATE INFORMATION AND I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO CONTINUE AND MORE AGGRESSIVELY THAT DISCUSSION ON HOW DO WE BRING THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS TOGETHER.
I E CALL IT A FRANCHISE OR, OR NON-EXCLUSIVE, OR NON ORDINANCE, WHATEVER, WHATEVER ADJECTIVE YOU WANT TO USE, HOW DO WE GET ON THE, UH, ON THE ROAD TO, UH, TO BRINGING THE INFORMATION THAT IS NEEDED TO, TO MORE ACCURATELY ASSESS OUR CURRENT SITUATION AND HOW DO WE MAKE EVERYBODY PLAY BY THE SAME RULES? SO I THINK THAT'S EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AND IT'S GOING TO GO A LONG WAY IN DETERMINING THE TRUE NUMBERS OF THIS
SO, ANYWAY, CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU.
WE'VE NOTED THOSE TOPICS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
ANY OTHER ITEMS, COMMISSIONERS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF? YES.
I WAS WONDERING, UM, WHEN NEW RESIDENTS COME TO AUSTIN AND MAYBE WE COULD GET AN, UM, JUST AN OVERVIEW, UH, WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION THEY GET AS FAR AS COMPOSTING AND RECYCLING LOOSE AND THE HAZARDOUS WASTE, CORRECT.
MELISSA, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW WE COULD REACH OUT AND ENTICE A POTENTIAL, UM, NATURAL HIS COLLECTION RECYCLING OUR RECYCLING, UM, CONTRACTOR.
I WAS SEEING ON THE REPORT THAT NO OF EXISTING CONTRACT EXISTS AND THAT'S A MISSING PIECE IN OUR, IN OUR ZERO WASTE.
UM, ALMOST THAT WE NEED TO HAVE SOME WAY OF RECYCLING MATTRESSES.
UH, YES, COMMISSIONER, WE, UH, THERE IS A MATTRESS PILOT AS WELL ON THE WAY THERE HAVE BEEN A, THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF INTERNAL BACK AND FORTH REGARDING THE SCOPE OF WORK ON THAT.
BUT, UH, WE DO HOPE TO HAVE SOMETHING OUT IN THE NEAR FUTURE REGARDING A MATTRESS PILOT.
WELL, WE CAN NIX IT THEN AND THEN JUST WAIT UNTIL WE HEAR MORE ABOUT IT THEN.
ANY OTHER ITEMS, COMMISSIONERS, AMANDA? I REALLY APOLOGIZE IF I MISSED THIS, BUT DID WE CREATE A WHACK 20, 21 REPORT? YES, WE DID.
AND DO I, DO WE ACTUALLY SUBMIT THAT THEN YOU AND I WENT, WENT OVER THAT IT WASN'T FUN, BUT, UH, IT, IT WAS DONE.
THE HOMEWORK I THINK WAS DONE.
IT WAS TARDY, BUT NONETHELESS,
[02:05:01]
IT WAS DONE SO WELL.IT'S MY ACADEMIC CAREER TARDY.
SO ALL RIGHT GUYS HEARING, UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS.
I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT COMMISSIONER.
KATUSA RECOMMENDS ADJOURNMENT.
AND THEN THERE'S ALL THREE OF US UP HERE GOING.
YES, LET'S GET OUT OF HERE, BUT ANYWAY, COMMISSIONER IS THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH STAFF.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE PATIENCE AND SUPPORT.