[CALL TO ORDER]
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I SERVED AS MAYOR PRO TEM AND CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
IT IS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24TH, AND I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE TO ORDER AT 9:33 AM.
I'M JOINED ON THE DIOCESE BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, FRONT DESK, VICE-CHAIR POOL AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO IS NOT HERE YET, UM, AFTER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, UM, AND ADOPTING THE MINUTES, WE ARE GOING TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THEN WHEN WE RETURN, WE'LL TAKE THE ITEMS. UM, IN ORDER WE VERY LIKELY WON'T NEED TO TAKE UP ITEM THREE, WHICH WOULD BE THE PUBLIC SESSION FOUR, UM, THE EXECUTIVE SESSION RELATED TO THE SECURITY AUDITS.
GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO HAS NOW JOINED US.
UM, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION THIS MORNING.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting of June 15, 2022.]
ENTERTAIN A MINUTE MOTION FOR ADOPTING THE MINUTES.COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MAKES THAT MOTION SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER.
TOBO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS ON THE DIOCESE.
[Executive Session]
THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP ONE ITEM PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 5 5 1 0 7 6 AND FIVE FIVE ONE.ZERO EIGHT NINE OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE.THE COMMITTEE WILL DISCUSS SECURITY AUDIT MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM FIVE, DISCUSS STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SECURITY AUDITS RELATED TO INFORMATION SECURITY MANAGEMENT IN THE CITY AND MICROSOFT 365 SECURITY AUDIT.
UM, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION ON ITEM ANNOUNCED HEARING ON THE COMMITTEE, WE'LL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WE ARE GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION IN PERSON.
UM, IN CLOSED SESSION, WE TOOK UP TO DISCUSS SECURITY AUDIT MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM FIVE.
[2. Discussion and possible action regarding the Animal Services Audit Follow-up Project.]
TWO, WHICH IS A REVISITING OF TWO PRIOR AUDITS OF ANIMAL SERVICES, UM, AND WHETHER THEY HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED, WHICH IS SEPARATE, UM, FROM THE ANIMAL SERVICES AUDIT THAT WAS INITIATED AT ONE OF OUR RECENT MEETINGS, UM, THAT AUDIT, UM, AND HOW THAT'S GOING TO BE SHAPED IS GOING TO BE ON OUR AGENDA IN SEPTEMBER.AND IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE, UH, JUST AS WE'VE DONE WITH THE AUSTIN WATER AUDIT THAT COUNCIL INITIATED THAT THE AUDITOR IS OVERSEEING.
UM, WE'LL HAVE THEM COME AND TALK TO US ABOUT STATUS OF WHERE THAT AUDIT PROCESS IS FOR THE BROADER ANIMAL SERVICES AUDIT.
AND THAT WILL, THAT BUILDS OUT OF, UM, THE PRIOR AUDITOR AUDITS THAT WE'RE REVISITING TODAY.
UM, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN BE BRIEF ON THIS PRE AND THAT WAS WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY AS PART OF MY INTEREST.
SO I'LL SKIP THAT, UM, TODAY, UH, THIS IS A FOLLOWUP AUDIT.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE GO BACK AND LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE PREVIOUSLY ISSUED HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED BY DEPARTMENTS.
UM, TODAY, UH, HENRY KATOOMBA LED THIS WORK AND PATRICK JOHNSON IS GOING TO DO A QUICK PRESENTATION.
GOOD MORNING, MAYOR PRO TEM, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, I'M PATRICK JOHNSON FROM THE AUDIT OFFICE.
AND AS CORY SAID, I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND START.
UM, WE, WE DID CONDUCT AN, UH, AN AUDIT OF THE ANIMAL SERVICES PROGRAM IN 2015.
WE ISSUED THREE RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UH, THIS PROJECT, UH, FOLLOWED UP ON THOSE, UM, KIND OF TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD HERE.
UM, SO HERE YOU SEE A SUMMARY OF THE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS IN 2017.
OUR OFFICE FOLLOWED UP ON OUR 2015 WORK AND DETERMINED THAT TWO OF THE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE IMPLEMENTED.
UH, ONE WAS STILL UNDER WAY, UM, THAT ONE DEALT WITH, UH, KENNEL OPERATIONS AND, UM, KIND OF COMPLIANCE WITH STATE REC, UH, REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS BEST PRACTICES FOR ANIMAL CARE.
UH, AND THAT WAS THE FOCUS OF OUR WORK.
UM, AND THAT RECOMMENDATION HAD THREE PARTS, ALL KIND OF STEP THROUGH THOSE VERY QUICKLY.
I JUST DID WANT TO NOTE, UH, WE ADDED ANIMALS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION ON OUR SLIDES.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE HERE.
UH, THE FIRST PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION REALLY DEALT WITH, UH, DETERMINING THE OPTIMUM LEVEL OF STAFF NEEDED FOR KENNEL OPERATIONS SPECIFICALLY, UM, THAT WAS TO ADDRESS BEST PRACTICE METRICS FOR ANIMAL CARE.
WE DIDN'T SEE EVIDENCE THAT ANIMAL SERVICES HAD DONE SUCH A HOLISTIC, UH, ANALYSIS.
AND SO THERE'S STILL ACTION NEEDED ON THAT RECOMMENDATION OR THAT PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
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UH, THE SECOND PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION INVOLVED ADDRESSING CAPACITY ISSUES AND STATE REQUIREMENTS.UH, THIS IS WHERE WE SAW THE MOST EFFORTS BY ANIMAL SERVICES, UH, SINCE 2015, UH, FIRST THE CITY ADDRESS THE STATE ISSUES BY MOVING OUT OF THE TOWN TOWN LAKE CENTER IN 2017.
UH, WE ALSO SAW EFFORTS, UH, DESIGNED TO KEEP ANIMALS OUT OF THE SHELTER, HOWEVER, UH, THE POPULATION OF MEDIUM TO LARGE DOGS, ESPECIALLY AS CONSISTENTLY EXCEEDED SHELTER CAPACITY.
UH, SO AGAIN, THERE'S MORE WORK TO DO HERE, UH, NEXT LIGHT AND THE LAST PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, DEALT WITH, UH, RESPONSE TIMES TO EMERGENCY SERVICE CALLS.
UH, WE DID SEE ANIMAL SERVICES, UH, ALLOCATED MORE STAFF IN THIS AREA, BUT THEY REPORTED CHALLENGES RESPONDING IN A TIMELY MANNER.
UH, WE ALSO SAW NOTED A SERVICE CALL.
INFORMATION IS NOT ALWAYS COMPLETE, UH, BUT IT HAD IMPROVED SINCE 2015.
UM, WE ALSO SAW THE INFORMATION WAS DIFFICULT TO GET OUT OF THE SYSTEM AND IT WAS MAINTAINED DIFFERENTLY THAN IN 2015.
SO WE WERE UNABLE TO DO A ONE-TO-ONE COMPARISON ON THE RESPONSE TIMES THEMSELVES.
UM, SO AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NOTED ACTION NEEDED AS, UH, ANIMAL SERVICES CONTINUES TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES.
SO OVERALL, UH, WE ASSESS THE RECOMMENDATION IS STILL UNDERWAY.
UH, AS COREY MENTIONED, WE ANTICIPATE SEVERAL OF THESE ISSUES WILL BE INCLUDED IN OUR LARGER AUDITS, UH, THAT WE'LL BE CONDUCTING OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
AND IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS AND I BELIEVE, UH, THE DIRECTOR IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON NEEDED A LINK TO GET IN TO THE VIRTUAL AS WELL, IF SOMEONE CAN HELP HER WITH THAT.
UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE AUDITOR? WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO HEAR FROM MR. BOND? THAT'S MY BOOK.
AND YES, I JUST LIKE TO HEAR FROM DIRECTOR BLAND ON, UM, THE PROGRESS, UH, THE LITTLE OR NO PROGRESS ON THAT FIRST RECOMMENDATION THAT THAT RECOMMENDATION WOULD HAVE BEEN IN PLACE WHEN HE FIRST JOINED CITY STAFF.
SO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN, I WOULD ASSUME THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING, UM, THAT WAS A DISCUSSION DURING THE HIRING PROCESS.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OR SEE ME? WE SURE CAN.
UH, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, EACH, WHEN I, WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, WE HAD JUST, UH, HIRED OUR FIRST HR COORDINATOR.
SO, UH, WE HAVE STILL HAVE THE ONE COORDINATOR THAT DEALS WITH ALL OF OUR HR ISSUES.
EACH YEAR WE HAVE ASKED OR ADDITIONAL STAFF KNOWING THAT WE HAVE SHORTCOMINGS BASED ON THIS AUDIT TO OUR RESPONSE TIME AND TO OUR KENNEL CARE.
AND, UH, WE, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE ASKED FOR 49 ADDITIONAL STAFF, UH, THROUGH THE THREE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE.
AND, UH, WE GOT, UH, ONE AND A HALF PRIOR TO THIS YEAR AND THIS YEAR WE'RE GETTING SIX.
SO WE DO KNOW THAT WE NEED SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF STAFF.
I WILL POINT OUT THAT, UH, EACH YEAR THE STATE COMES IN AND DOES A, AN EVALUATION OF OUR SHELTER.
AND THEN WE ALSO HIRE A PRIVATE THAT TO COME IN AND DO A MID-YEAR EVALUATION AND EACH YEAR, UH, OUR CAPACITY FOR OUR CARE FOR THE ANIMALS HAS PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS.
AND, UH, THEY'VE ANNOTATED THAT IT IS OUR STAFFING THAT IS HERE DOING THE WORK THAT HAS MADE US SUCCESSFUL, THAT, UH, WE DO NOT HAVE, UH, EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED, AND THEY HAVE WRITTEN US UP ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS PRIOR, UH, TO ME BEING HERE AS WITH ANIMALS IN CRATES, THEY BROWN ON THAT, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE GET DINGED ON.
UM, SO WE DO NEED ADDITIONAL STAFF.
UH, WE WERE LOOKING AT IT, UH, INTERNALLY AND NOT, WE HAVEN'T DONE AN OFFICIAL HR STUDY YET, BUT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW JUST TO GIVE YOU LOOK AT THE STANDARDS OF CARE IN THE INDUSTRY, UH, WE NEED 32 ANIMAL CARE STAFF WITH THE VOLUME THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
AND, UH, WE HAVE 21 OR 22, BUT TO HANDLE THE RESPONSE TIMES, WHICH WE HANDLE OUR PRIORITY ONES AND TWOS, UH, WITHIN OUR METRICS FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION, BUT THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE THE CAPACITY
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TO DO MUCH, UH, WORK, TO KEEP ANIMALS OUT, UH, AND ADVOCACY BECAUSE THEY ARE SO BUSY.AND OUR THREE-DAY RESPONSE TIME FOR ASTRAY IS, IS NOT MET A LOT OF TIMES.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE SET.
UM, AND IF YOU LOOK AT OUR ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS, WE GOT, WE'RE GETTING TWO ADDITIONAL, BUT HANDLED BASED ON THE NUMBERS IN THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS, WE WOULD NEED 40 INSTEAD OF OUR 21 THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY.
SO WE, WE DO, UH, SEE THAT WE DO NEED ADDITIONAL STAFF, AND WE HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR STAFF AND WE WERE PLEASED THAT WE'RE GETTING SIX OUT OF THIS BUDGET CYCLE.
AND WHAT IS THE VACANCY RATE THAT YOU HAVE CURRENTLY? UH, AS I HAVEN'T LOOKED THIS WEEK AS OF LAST WEEK, WE HAD, UH, 12 OPEN POSITIONS.
SO I THINK PART OF MY CONCERN IS RELATED TO THE FACT THAT WHILE YOU HAVE AN OTHERS, I SUPPOSE, HAVE BEEN LOOKING TO GROW THE NUMBER OF STAFFERS ON BOARD, THE, THE STRUCTURE FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO IN ANIMAL SERVICES RELIES SIGNIFICANTLY ON VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
WHAT I DON'T SEE, AND YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU NEED MORE HANDS AND MORE SUPPORT.
YOU PREFER TO HAVE IT AS MORE HIRED STAFF, BUT IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE THAT HAS BEEN YOUR FOCUS DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU HAVEN'T OVER THE YEARS, GOTTEN THE ADDITIONAL STAFF THAT YOU SAY YOU NEED.
BUT I WOULD THINK THAT AS THE, IS THE CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER, YOU WOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THAT SITUATION AND SAID, WELL, IF I'M NOT ABLE TO SWING THE ADDITIONAL INCREASES IN MY STAFF, THEN I DEFINITELY NEED TO GO BACK AND RELY MORE COMPLETELY, UM, ON THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS IN FACT, IT HAS HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN MANAGED.
AND WHAT I SEE IS, IS A LOSS OF THAT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING IN THE COMMUNITY, WHICH HAS LED TO, UM, SOME PRETTY STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES, UM, AT THE SHELTER FOR TOO MANY DOGS IN TOO MANY CRATES, TOO MANY DOGS NOT BEING WALKED BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WE HAD RELIED UPON TO HELP WITH THAT HAVE NOT, UM, HAVE, HAVE LEFT.
UM, THE RELATIONSHIPS HAVE FRAYED, AND I AM HOPING, UH, THAT THE INDEPENDENT AUDIT THAT'S COMING FORWARD WILL HELP US IDENTIFY WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN RE KNIT TOGETHER, THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE RELY UPON.
AND THAT BRINGS US, UM, A REAL BOUNTY OF HELP AND CONCERN AND INVOLVEMENT AT THE VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY LEVEL.
WE CANNOT DO OUR ANIMAL SERVICES WORK WITHOUT THE FULL SUPPORT OF, UM, AUSTINITES.
AND I WOULD URGE THAT AT KIND OF A, A READJUSTMENT OF THE THINKING ON STAFF IS NOT SO MUCH TO BUILD THE NUMBERS.
I MEAN, YOU SHOULD FEEL YOUR VACANCIES CERTAINLY.
AND THEN IF YOU'RE FALLING SHORT, THERE IS, UM, A LOT OF AVAILABLE COMMUNITY INTEREST, BUT YOU HAVE TO WORK AT IT.
YOU HAVE TO BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
YOU HAVE TO MAKE THOSE GROUPS FEEL WELCOME.
UM, AND, AND I WOULD CHALLENGE YOU AND YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM TO LOOK IN THAT DIRECTION.
UM, AND THEN AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE MONTHS OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDIT, I'M VERY HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES AND HAVE OUR ANIMALS WALKED AND THE BEHAVIOR MODIFICATIONS UNDERTAKEN, AND, UH, THAT WE HAVE A REALLY ROBUST SHARING AMONG THE ANIMAL ADVOCATES COMMUNITIES TO HELP US IN, IN EVERY WAY TO BE THE SUCCESSFUL NO-KILL CITY THAT AUSTIN, TEXAS, UH, DESIRES TO BE AND, AND SUPPORTS.
I WOULD LIKE TO STAY THAT BIT, GIVE YOU A REPORT THAT, UH, THAT IF YOU LOOK AT OUR COMMISSION REPORT FROM LAST MONTH, UH, WE HAVE, UH, REALLY RAMPED UP OUR VOLUNTEERS TO THE POINT THAT, UH, LAST MONTH WE WERE JUST A LITTLE UNDER 200 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES, UH, PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC IN 2019 FOR THE SAME MONTH.
UH, SO OUR VOLUNTEER HOURS ARE, YOU KNOW, BACK UP WHERE THEY USED TO BE, UH, EVERY WEEK OUR VOLUNTEER ORIENTATIONS, UM, UH, WE'RE LIMITED ON HOW MANY WE CAN DO A MONTH AND EVERY ONE IS COMPLETELY FILLED UP AND WE'RE GETTING THE VOLUNTEERS, UH, BACK AND THEY'RE DOING GREAT
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WORK, AND THAT'S TRULY WHAT WE DO RELY ON TO, TO GET US TO THAT POINT.SO WE'RE MAKING GREAT, GREAT STRIDES.
AND, UH, W YOU KNOW, WE, A LOT OF OUR NEW VOLUNTEERS, UH, DISSIPATED, AND, UH, WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED THE CHRONICLES VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION BEST VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR LAST YEAR, THIS YEAR.
SO WE'RE REALLY PLEASED ABOUT WHAT THE STEPS WERE MAKING, AND THE VOLUNTEERS ARE FILLING UP OUR ORIENTATIONS TO CAPACITY EACH MONTH.
THAT IS REALLY GREAT TO HEAR THAT, AND THAT IS INDEED THE DIRECTION THAT I BELIEVE WE NEED TO MOVE IN.
AND I'M JUST GOING TO ASK MY COLLEAGUES IF YOU CAN TRY AND MAKE THE SHORTS WEEKEND, UNLESS YOU CAN STAY AFTER 1130.
AND, UM, I WAS LISTENING TO YOU ALL WHILE I WAS NOT ON THE DIOCESE.
UM, I JUST HAD TO STEP AWAY FOR A FEW MINUTES.
I JUST WANTED TO ASK A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.
UM, ALSO I WANTED TO CALL MY COLLEAGUES ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT I DID PUT SOME QUESTIONS INTO THE BUDGET Q AND A THAT RELATE TO SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE COMING UP AS A RESULT OF THIS AUDIT, LIKE VACANCY RATES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THOSE BUDGET QUESTIONS.
UM, I KNOW HAVEN'T APPEARED YET ONLINE.
YOU SAID YOU HAD SUBMITTED THE ANSWERS.
I THINK THERE JUST IS A LAG IN GETTING THEM POSTED, BUT I'M TOLD THAT THERE'LL BE POSTED HERE SOON IN THE BUDGET Q AND A PORTAL, UM, IN THE AUDIT ON PAGE FIVE, THERE'S A DISCUSSION ABOUT REQUIRED INFORMATION BEING, BEING MISSING ON SOME OF THE OUT-OF-STATE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND I WANTED TO ASK DIRECTOR BLAND IF, IF THERE'S A PROCESS IN PLACE, I'M SORRY IF I'M MISSING THE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE, BUT I WANTED TO JUST OFFER YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN HOW YOU'RE GOING TO PROGRESS FORWARD AND MAKE IN MEETING SOME OF THE GAPS THAT THE AUDIT IDENTIFIED IN, IN THAT FIRST SECTION OF REQUIRED INFORMATION BEING MISSING ON AT LEAST 10 OF THE APPLICATIONS FOR OUT-OF-STATE ORGANIZATIONS, NO APPLICATION FORMS FOR SIX OF THE PARTNERS AND NEEDING A FORMAL AGREEMENT WITH ABOUT HALF 17 TO THE PARTNERS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE EXPLAINED TO THE AUDITORS IS THERE'S A TWO-STEP PROCESS.
UH, IF SOMEONE, THEY APPLY AN APPLE, THEY SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO BE A PARTNER.
AND, UH, THEN THEY ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, ANOTHER STEP WHERE THE AGREEMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO SIGN.
AND SO A LOT OF FOLKS, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT DO THAT FIRST STEP, AND THEN THEY STOP.
THEY, THEY, THEY WERE DOING AN APPLICATION BECAUSE THEY WERE INTERESTED IN ONE DOG THAT DOG GETS PULLED OR RECLAIMED OR ADOPTED, AND THEY JUST STOPPED THE PROCESS.
AND THEY'RE NOT MOVING FORWARD WITH THE NEXT ONE.
AND THEN SOME OF THOSE, UH, WHERE WE, IT, IT WAS A FAILURE ON OUR END BECAUSE WE WILL GO AND DO THE APPLICATION PROCESS WHEN THERE'S SOME MISSING INFORMATION IS WE, WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, OUR FOSTER RESCUE PARTNER AGREEMENTS, THEY REACH OUT, THEY GO OVER SOME, EVERYTHING VERBALLY WITH THEM.
IF THEY'VE LEFT IT OFF, OUR FOLKS ARE GETTING IT IN THE VERBAL AND PUTTING IN OUR SOFTWARE, BUT THEY'RE NOT GOING BACK TO THEIR FORM AND AMENDING THEIR FORM BAR THEM.
SO IF THEY'VE LEFT SOMETHING OFF, WE'VE CONFIRMED IT, WE'VE GOT THE INFORMATION, BUT WE'VE JUST NOT GONE BACK TO COMPLETE IT ON THEIR FORM.
SO WHAT'S THE PRO WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH YOUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPLETING THOSE FORMS? WELL, WE, WE HAVE ADVISED THEM THAT THEY WILL NEED TO GO BACK AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE AN ANNOTATION IN OUR SYSTEM THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE COVERED THIS, THAT WAS MISSING ON THE FORUM AND HERE'S THEIR ANSWER SO THAT WE DO CAPTURE THAT, THAT INFORMATION, UH, SO FEATURES IN THE BEACH OR SOMEONE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT IN OUR SOFTWARE THAT, YOU KNOW, YES, THEY LEFT THAT OFF THEIR APPLICATION, BUT WE CONFIRMED IT AND HERE'S THE RESPONSE.
SO WE ARE GOING TO BE CAPTURING THAT INFORMATION TO MAKE SURE IT GETS ANNOTATED BACK FROM, I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
I KNOW THAT ON COUNCIL, WE GET QUESTIONS OFTEN ABOUT SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE PARTNERING WITH YOU.
AND SO I THINK GETTING, GETTING THAT, MAKING SURE THAT THAT INFORMATION IS ALWAYS COMPLETED IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT PART OF MAINTAINING THE COMMUNITY'S TRUST.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR PROVIDING, UM, A FOCUS ON THAT ONE LAST ONE LAST, UM, COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL TALKED ABOUT THE, ABOUT STAFFING, AND I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT BASED ON THE VACANCIES.
AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE FOCUSED ON GETTING THOSE HIRED.
AS I UNDERSTAND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU AND I HAD.
AND SOME OF THIS CAME THROUGH IN THE COUNCIL SESSION, THOSE ADDITIONAL FTES ARE GOING TO HELP REOPEN THIS, THE ANIMAL CENTER ON SUNDAYS, WHICH I THINK WILL HELP WITH VOLUNTEERISM BECAUSE WHILE SOME OF OUR GREAT VOLUNTEERS ARE ABLE TO HELP DURING THE WEEK, PROBABLY THEY HAVE MORE TIME.
THERE ARE CERTAINLY VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE ONLY AVAILABLE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
AND SO GETTING THE NOT, WE'VE NOT
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SAT SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE CLOSED ON SUNDAY, VOLUNTEERS ARE STILL HERE AND CAN BE PRESENT ON SUNDAYS.WE'VE NEVER ELIMINATED THEM SINCE OPENING BACK UP FROM THE PANDEMIC THOSE FEW WEEKS.
UM, AND THEN WITH REGARD TO ONE OF THE AUDITS FINDINGS ABOUT, ABOUT THE CHALLENGES THAT OUR CENTER HAS, I MEAN, THAT WAS NOT THE WORD THAT THEY USED, BUT THEY DID NOTE, THE AUDIT, TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE ONLY HAVE ONE LOCATION FOR OUR ANIMAL CENTER RIGHT NOW.
I WANTED TO ASK YOU WHAT THE PLANS ARE FOR REALLY UTILIZING THAT MOBILE FACILITY.
UM, THE VAN THAT WE HAVE THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE UPON A TIME WAS, WAS MORE ACTIVE.
THAT SEEMS TO ME ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH THAT WE CAN GET THAT GET ANIMALS PRESENT THROUGHOUT OUR, OUR CITY, INCLUDING IN SPOTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, REALLY A FAR DISTANCE FROM TANNAHILL.
WE HAVE USED THAT, UH, QUITE OFTEN, UH, THIS YEAR, UH, WE, WE FOUND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT STAFFING.
WE'VE HAD ACTUALLY SET UP, UH, APPOINTMENTS WHERE WE GOING TO A LOCATION AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE STABBING.
SO SOME OF THE LEADERSHIP, UH, MYSELF, JASON MARK SLOPE, WE'VE ACTUALLY MANAGED THAT TRUCK BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE THAT WE COULD PULL FROM CARING FOR THE ANIMALS THAT WE HAD.
UH, WE FIND THAT, UM, WHILE IT DOES CREATE A REALLY GOOD PR, WE DON'T GET A LOT OF ADOPTIONS FROM IT.
UH, SOMETIMES WE, WE GET SEVERAL AND THEN OTHER TIMES WE HAVE ZERO FROM THE SAME LOCATION.
SO IT'S, IT'S HIT AND MISS, BUT WE HAVE BEEN REALLY WORKING TO TRY TO HAVE MORE OFFSITE EVENTS WHEN AND WHERE WE CAN.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A COUPLE HERE AS COUNCIL MEMBER, PAUL HAS MENTIONED BEFORE, AND, AND ONE OF THEM, THEY WERE ABLE TO ADOPT ALL OF THE ANIMALS AND ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, JUST SEVERAL, SO MAYBE SOME OF IT IS ABOUT PUBLICITY AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT COUNCIL AND OTHERS CAN HELP YOU AMPLIFY THOSE EFFORTS, PLEASE, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
AND I KNOW I, FOR ONE, AND I'M SURE MY COLLEAGUES WOULD BE, WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP AMPLIFY THOSE AND ADD THOSE IN ADVANCE SO THAT YOU CAN GET PEOPLE THERE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR ANIMALS.
I KNOW, UM, THE, THE STAFF VACANCIES ARE CREATING A CHALLENGE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE STAFF AND THE VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE WORKING THERE.
I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO SEE THEM UP CLOSE OVER THE LAST MONTH AND, AND THEY'RE ALL WORKING REALLY HARD.
AND MY NEW LITTLE GUY FROM THE CENTER WHO CAME HOME LAST WEEK IS DOING GREAT.
SO THANKS, THANKS FOR YOUR WORK AND CONTINUE TO, TO LOOK, TO SEE SOME OF THESE, SOME OF THESE GAPS, UM, IN BETTER SHAPE AS, AS YOU CONTINUE TO HIRE STAFF.
AND I THINK WE'RE HAVING FIRST-DAY, UM, SEPTEMBER ONE.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER COSMOS KELLY, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ON THIS? I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED ABOUT FIRST DAY.
UM, SO I THINK AUDITOR, WE DO NOT NEED TO DO ANYTHING SINCE THIS IS A REPORT BACK.
SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM.
I JUST WANT TO DO A TIME CHECK OF FOLKS ABLE TO STAY ANOTHER 15, 20 MINUTES SO THAT WE CAN THOROUGHLY COVER NO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL WHEN I CAN STAY ONE MORE OF YOU STAY.
UM, SO WE'RE GOING TO NOW MOVE TO, YES.
UM, I THINK SHE WAS HERE FOR THE NEXT ITEM, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
I DIDN'T HAVE THE MEMBER HYPER MADISON.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE ANIMALS? I DO NOT.
I THINK THE NEXT ITEM ITEMS, BUT I DIDN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, THE NEXT ITEM I THINK, HAS A FACILITY IN HER DISTRICT, SO I KNOW THAT IS IMPORTANT TO HER.
[4. Strategic Facilities Governance Team presentation.]
TO ITEM FOUR, UM, WHICH IS OUR STRATEGIC FACILITIES, GOVERNANCE TEAM PRESENTATION.UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE IN THE WORKS.
UM, ONE PIECE THAT WE'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT IS WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TELEWORKING AND HOW IT'S IMPACTING OUR FACILITIES.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HEAR ABOUT, UM, SEVERAL OTHER PROJECTS THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MADE A COMMITMENT TO MOVE FROM LEASE TO OWN SPACE, AND WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES, UM, FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, PERSONNEL THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS WITH SOME LOCATIONS AND SOME WAREHOUSE STUFF.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE THAT OUR COMMITTEE OVER THE YEARS HAS BEEN, UM, FOCUSED ON AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, I HAD A RESOLUTION IN 2020 THAT ASKED ABOUT THE TELEWORK AND COUNCIL MEMBER RENTERIA HAD A RESOLUTION RECENTLY THAT I CO-SPONSORED REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT WAS POTENTIALLY IMPACTING THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE WITH RESPECT TO, TO OUR FACILITIES.
UM, SILL LAVARUS GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.
I'M KIMBEL, LAVARUS DEPUTY CFO.
UM, I ALSO HAVE HERE WITH ME TODAY, UM,
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IN THE ROOM.I HAVE DARRYL ALEXANDER, OUR BUILDING SERVICES OFFICER AND ONLINE, WE HAVE MICHAEL GATES, UM, ALSO FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES, OUR REAL ESTATE OFFICER, UM, AND THREE OF US TOGETHER, UM, CREATE THIS AND ALSO ACM FOR SAYING KNOW, UM, WE ARE THE STRATEGIC FACILITIES, GOVERNANCE TEAMS. SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE YOU THIS UPDATE ON OUR ACTIVITIES.
UM, THERE'S, UH, WE HAVE FOUR ITEMS TO COVER TODAY, UH, NEXT WEEK.
UM, SO FIRST WE'RE GOING TO SPEAK TO THE IMPACTS OF TELEWORKING RELATIVE TO OFFICE SPACE PLANNING.
THEN, UM, LIKE THE CHAIR NOTED, WE'LL BE TOUCHING ON PLANS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY CAMPUS, UM, JOHNNY MORRIS SERVICE CENTER, AND THEN ULTIMATELY A SOLUTION FOR BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DELIVER THESE FACILITIES IN THE MOST EFFICIENT, UH, EFFICIENT WAY, BOTH FROM A TIME AND A COST PERSPECTIVE.
SO NEXT TIME AND MS BOULEVARD, IF YOU CAN DO YOUR FULL PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'LL TAKE QUESTIONS OF THAT.
SO IN JUNE OF 2022, COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF OFFICE SPACE OCCUPANCY RATES AT CITY FACILITIES AS A RESULT OF REMOTE WORK SCHEDULES AND HOW THAT MIGHT IMPACT CHANGES FOR OFFICE SPACE NEEDS.
UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY COME BACK TO COUNCIL.
SO I WOULD JUST A PROGRESS REPORT ON THAT WE HAD, WHEN THAT RESOLUTION CAME FORWARD, WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING VARIOUS SURVEYS TO DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE IN LEASE SPACE THAT IS UP FOR EXPLORATION HERE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
UM, BUT WE HAVE EXPANDED THAT TO COVER ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS, TO HAVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF WHAT KIND OF TELEWORKING AND OFFICE SPACE NEEDS THEY MIGHT HAVE.
UM, SO UTILIZING THOSE SURVEYS AS WELL AS DATA FROM OUR TIMEKEEPING SYSTEMS TO SEE SPECIFICALLY, WHAT ARE FOLKS ENTERING IN TERMS OF REGULAR IN-OFFICE HOURS VERSUS TELEWORKING HOURS.
UM, WE HAVE FROM THAT BEEN ABLE TO GLEAN FROM THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN LEASED SPACE.
THEY ACTUALLY WE'RE ESTIMATING WE'LL NEED AROUND 173,000 SQUARE FEET, WHICH WE CAN, WE CAN ADDRESS THROUGH, UM, CURRENTLY OWNED FACILITIES, INCLUDING THE PERMANENT DEVELOPMENT CENTER TOWN LAKE CENTER IN ONE TEXAS CENTER.
UM, SO THIS IS INCREDIBLY POSITIVE NEWS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THAT, BUT THERE'S ALSO, WE ALSO NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE OFFICE SPACE NEEDS THAT WE'LL NEED ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION, NOT ONLY NOW, BUT IN THE YEARS TO COME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE APPROPRIATELY PLANNING FOR THOSE NEEDS.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, WE ALSO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON, UM, WHAT OUR OPTIONS MIGHT BE FOR A PUBLIC SAFETY CAMPUS.
UM, CURRENTLY WE HAVE, UH, AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, EMS FIRE, AND THE OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR THAT ARE IN A VARIETY OF FACILITIES.
SO THAT INCLUDES THE POLICES IN THEIR HEADQUARTERS DOWNTOWN, WHICH THAT BUILDING IS, UM, PRIOR TO THERE'S BEEN PRIOR COUNSEL AND DIRECTION TO RECLOSE LOCATE OUT OF THAT FACILITY.
PLUS THAT BUILDING IS IN, UM, NOT THE GREATEST CONDITION.
UM, THEY ARE ALSO HOUSED AT, AT RUTHERFORD LANE AND TECHNO CENTER.
FIRE IS HOUSED DETECTIVE CENTER, WHICH ALSO HAS ITS CHALLENGES.
UM, EMS IS AT BOTH, UH, RBJ AND TECHNO CENTER.
AND THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER IS AT TECHNA CENTER.
SO IN THE VEIN OF CREATING A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND CONNECTED PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, GROUP, WE'RE LOOKING AT CREATING A PUBLIC SAFETY CAMPUS ON THE RUTHERFORD LANE CAMPUS.
SO RATHER FOR LANE IS A LARGE, VERY LARGE SITE OVER 32 ACRES.
SO IT COULD WITH ITS CURRENT BUILDINGS AND WHAT THE POTENTIAL FOR EXPANSION, IT COULD MEET THE NEEDS FOR ALL OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, AND IN ADDITION, BECAUSE IT IS PUBLIC SAFETY ORIENTED, IT QUALIFIES FOR UTILIZATION OF CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.
IF, UM, THAT IS THE DECISION ULTIMATELY, UM, FOR FUNDING IT, THE DELIVERY METHOD IS, WOULD BE INTENDED WITH A PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION, WHICH I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IN A MOMENT.
UM, WE'VE COMPLETED SPACE PROGRAMMING.
THOSE REPORTS ARE STILL IN DRAFT FORM AS WE WORK THROUGH THOSE, UM, AND WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE RFP, BUT WE'RE, AND WE'RE HOPING TO PUT THAT RFP OUT AT THE BEGINNING OF 2023, BUT BEFORE WE EVEN DO THAT THIS FALL, WE WANT TO DO EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, WITH THE AREA ABOUT THIS, THIS POTENTIAL CAMPUS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ADDRESSING COMMUNITY, UM, IDEAS, CONCERNS, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT WHERE THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO PARTNER WITH THE SURROUNDING AREA.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER IS JUST IN THE, UH, THE DOORSTEPS.
SO WHERE CAN WE PARTNER THERE? SO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST DOING A FACILITY THAT MEETS THE PUBLIC SAFETY CAMPUS NEEDS, BUT IS ALSO A GOOD IN THE COMMUNITY.
JUST A QUICK UPDATE ON THAT JOHNNY MORRIS SERVICE CENTER, SO THAT, UM, THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY WILL BE UTILIZED TO HOW'S A JOINT SERVICE CENTER FOR BOTH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND FLEET SERVICES.
[00:30:01]
AUSTIN SITE, WHICH WILL DEFINITELY RELIEVE OVERCROWDING AT HAROLD COURT, WHICH IS CURRENTLY OCCUPIED BY A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND ALSO ADDRESS, UH, UH, SERVICES FOR FLEET, THE FLEET SERVICES THAT ARE CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE AT THE HARGRAVE.UM, SO PART OF THE SERVICE CENTER WILL INCLUDE NOT ONLY JUST THE FACILITIES FOR THE SERVICE, THE, THOSE NEEDS, BUT ALSO OFFICE AND WAREHOUSING, WHICH WAREHOUSING IS, UH, UM, A NEED THAT COMES TO US REGULARLY, UH, FROM ALL ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.
SO ANYTIME WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS WAREHOUSING NEEDS, WE'RE LOOKING TO ACHIEVE THAT, UM, COMMUNITY OUTREACH WAS CONDUCTED AS PART OF THE DESIGN CRITERIA MANUAL.
UM, BUT SO THERE'S TWO OPTIONS FOR US TO BE DELIVERING THIS.
UM, IT COULD BE THROUGH A TYPICAL PUBLIC WORKS, MANAGED, UM, PROJECT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE AN OPTION TO DO THIS AS, UH, THROUGH A PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION.
SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR PROJECT DELIVERY, UM, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS AND THE PLANNING DEVELOPMENT CENTER, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT THROUGH A PRIVATE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP OR DEVELOPER ASSISTED TYPE OF APPROACH.
THAT APPROACH ALLOWED US TO DELIVER THOSE, THOSE PROJECTS, UM, IN LESS THAN FOUR YEARS FROM START TO FINISH AND, UM, AT A VERY COST-EFFECTIVE WAY, UH, WAYS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS RELATIVE TO OTHER METHODS.
UM, SO THE CHALLENGE WITH THAT METHOD VERSUS DOING THAT ON LAND, WE DON'T ALREADY OWN VERSUS LAND.
WE DO OWN IS STATE PROCUREMENT LAW.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO USE THAT METHOD IN, IN THOSE TWO EXAMPLES BECAUSE IT INCLUDED IT WAS A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION.
THE DEVELOPER BROUGHT THE PROPERTY TO THE TABLE, UM, IN SITUATIONS WHERE WE OWN THE LAND, WE CAN NOT DO THAT SAME APPROACH, BUT THROUGH A PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION, WE CAN DO AN APPROACH LIKE THAT.
SO WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT EFFECTIVENESS, ACHIEVE THOSE EFFICIENCIES, UM, AND, AND STILL ACHIEVE ALL THE VALUES THAT WE WANT IN TERMS OF, OF A PROJECT AND FACILITY DELIVERY.
SO, UM, IT, IN THIS CASE, THE PFC, WHICH WOULD BE, UH, A COUNCIL CREATED, OR, UM, CORPORATION WOULD HOLD THE GROUND LEASE.
THEY, IT WOULD RUN THE RFP FOR THE DEVELOPER TEAM WHO WOULD THEN FINANCE THE CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AND THEN WE, WE PFC WOULD ISSUE THE DEBT, LEASE THAT PROPERTY BACK TO THE CITY, AND THEN ESSENTIALLY THOSE LEASE PAYMENTS WOULD BE THE SAME AS OUR DEBT SERVICE.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO REACH THE SAME, UM, END GOAL, BUT WITH JUST A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT APPROACH.
UM, THEN, UH, SO WE'RE PLANNING ON COMING TO COUNCIL IN MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER FOR APPROVAL TO CREATE THAT PFC.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS POSSIBILITY, UM, BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED, LIKE I MENTIONED ON THE OTHER FOR LYNN CAMPUS, AS WELL AS JOHNNY MORRIS AND THEN OTHER FACILITY PROJECTS WE HAVE IN THE FUTURE.
SO THAT'S ALL WE HAD HER UPDATE YOU ON TODAY AND OPEN FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
AND AGAIN, MY COLLEAGUES, DARRYL AND MIKE AND, AND, UH, I SAN BERCENIO ARE HERE AS WELL.
UM, I WANTED TO JUST RAISE TWO ISSUES AND THEY'LL PASS IT ON.
UM, THE AUSTIN ENERGY SITE IS NOT LISTED FOR THE TELEWORKING OPTION OR FOR THE, YOU KNOW, MOVING FOLKS INTO THAT.
I THINK SEVERAL OF US ON THE DIOCESE AND COUNCIL MEMBER RAN TO RHEA, WENT TO VISIT AUSTIN ENERGY'S NEW, BEAUTIFUL FACILITY, WHICH WAS FAIRLY EMPTY.
UM, AND WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT BEST UTILIZING THAT SPACE.
UM, SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY SITE AND PLANS TO WHERE THAT'S AT THEIR TELEWORKERS AND, AND HOW WE MIGHT PIVOT THERE? SO AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS IS DEFINITELY AN OPTION, BUT BECAUSE IT IS PAID FOR THROUGH RATE PAYER DOLLARS, THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE A LEASE PAYMENT OF SORT.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON RELOCATING THE, UM, DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN LEASE SPACE INTO CITY OWNED SPACE THAT WOULDN'T REQUIRE AN ADDITIONAL LEASE PAYMENT VERSUS AUSTIN ENERGY.
IT'S ABSOLUTELY ON THE TABLE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO BE AS SMART AS WE CAN WITH THOSE DOLLARS, UM, AS WE MAKE THOSE MOVES.
SO WHAT ARE THE OCCUPANCY LEVELS FOR THE OCCUPANCY LEVELS? FOR THOSE? I, I DON'T HAVE THOSE RIGHT ON HAND.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PULL TOGETHER AND PROVIDE LATER.
I THINK IT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE RESOLUTION UNDERSTANDING THAT.
SO I THINK WE NEED SOME FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION ON THAT.
AND THEN ANOTHER PROJECT THAT YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON, WHICH YOU'RE NOT PRESENT VENTING ON RIGHT NOW, ARE THE WAREHOUSES.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT PROCESS? SO THEY'RE LIKE I NOTED WITH THE, UH, JOHNNY MORRIS SPACE THERE'S, THERE WOULD BE A WAREHOUSING COMPONENT, AND I NOTED THAT WE HAVE EXTENDED SIGNIFICANT WAREHOUSE NEEDS ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.
UM, WE ARE, WE'VE BEEN TAKING A LOOK AT COLLECTIVELY, WHAT ARE ALL THE WAREHOUSE NEEDS, UM, AMONGST THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, UH, AND SEEKING OUT A CITY OWNED PROPERTY WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CREATE A WAREHOUSING FACILITY BECAUSE WE HAVE CONTINUALLY LEASED WAREHOUSING SPACE OVER THE YEARS, BUT IT'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE CHALLENGING IN TERMS OF FINDING SPACE AND THEN ALSO THE COST OF IT.
SO SIMILAR TO WHERE THERE'S BEEN PRIOR COUNCIL DIRECTION FOR US TO SHIFT OUR APPROACH IN TERMS OF GETTING OUT OF LEASE SPACE FOR OFFICE, WE'RE TRYING
[00:35:01]
TO DO THE SAME IN WAREHOUSE.UM, SO WE DO PLAN TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL IN THE, IN THE COMING MONTHS AND THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, HONESTLY, UM, TO PRESENT, UH, AN IDEA, A CONCEPT FOR HOW WE CAN XIV THAT WAREHOUSING TRANSITION AND PUT A SIGNIFICANT DENT IN THE WAREHOUSING NEEDS FOR QUITE A FEW DEPARTMENTS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, UM, DARRYL CAN SPEAK TO IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AS WELL.
WELL, I GUESS I'M CONCERNED ALSO ABOUT THE HAYSOM DISTRIBUTION FACILITY, UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHETHER THAT'S GOING TO BE LEASED OR OWNED SPACE, WE PUT QUITE A FEW POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET, UM, TO, TO INTERFACE WITH THAT, ALTHOUGH THAT'S NOT THEIR ONLY ROLE, WHICH IS WHY I DIDN'T RAISE IT DURING THE BUDGET.
UM, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THAT SPACE QUICKLY, BUT WE'RE ALSO TAKING CARE OF MOVING THAT TO OWN SPACE.
UM, AND THEN RELATED TO THAT, WE HAVE NONPROFITS WHO WORK WITH US ON OUR DISASTER RELIEF, LIKE THE AUSTIN DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK THAT NEED WAREHOUSE SPACE.
THAT'S NOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF SPACE, BUT THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL, UM, FOR THEIR ABILITY TO BRING OTHER RESOURCES INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCORPORATING SOME OF THOSE NEEDS INTO OUR PLANNING OR CONSIDERING HOW WE MIGHT, HOW WE MIGHT DO THAT.
HE ASSUME IS DEFINITELY A COMPONENT OF THAT LARGER WAREHOUSING PROJECT OR PROPOSAL THAT WE'D BE BRINGING FORWARD.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THEM ACTIVELY RIGHT NOW TO ADDRESS THEIR INTERIM NEEDS ON RELOCATING SOME OF THEIR, UH, THAT THE CONTAINERS.
THAT WAS THE WORD I CAN THINK OF.
THEY HAVE LARGE CONTAINERS THAT THEY'VE BEEN USING.
SO, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ACTIVELY TO ADDRESS IMMEDIATE NEEDS, BUT ALSO LONG-TERM NEEDS, UM, TO, SO THAT THEY'RE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT THEY, THEY ARE DEFINITELY ON THE FOREFRONT OF OUR, OUR, OUR PRIORITY LIST.
UH, COLLEAGUES CONCEPT MEMBER FRONT DESK.
I KNOW WE MET EARLIER THIS MONTH AND WE WERE ABLE TO GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION AND WE HAD A VERY THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION.
ONE THINGS I WANTED TO FLAG FLAG FOR MY COLLEAGUES HERE IS THAT I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO CONSIDER, UH, RENOVATING OR EXPANDING THE PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING FACILITY, WHICH IS LOCATED IN MY DISTRICT.
IT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN EMS FIRE AND POLICE Y'ALL HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TOUR THAT THE TRAINING ACADEMY FACILITY, IT IS, YOU KNOW, BURSTING AT THE SEAMS AND CERTAINLY NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED TO MEET THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO, UM, WOULD THE PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION HAVE A PART IN THAT IF WE WERE WANTING TO RENOVATE THAT TRAINING CENTER WOULD BE, BE ABLE TO USE IT'S A THERE'S POTENTIAL THERE, BUT IT'S NOT A, A MUST HAVE, UM, PER SE WE'RE, UM, WE'RE VERY EARLY CONVERSATIONS WITH ACM, MARIANO, UM, AND ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS TO DETERMINE THEIR EXACT NEEDS FOR EXPANSION.
UM, AND, UH, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, THERE ARE FUNDS THAT ARE, HAVE BEEN SET ASIDE IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET TO ADDRESS SOME, JUST SOME GENERAL RENOVATION NEEDS THAT ARE MORE IMMEDIATE, BUT THEN WE ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE D UH, ACM MARIANO IN THE DEPARTMENTS FOR EXPANSION.
UM, AND THEN THERE WOULD BE DOWN THE ROAD IF WE, UM, GO DOWN THE TYPICAL SCHEDULE FOR OUR, UM, OUR BOND DEVELOPMENT, UH, BOND PROGRAMS, UM, THERE IT'S IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, THERE WOULD ALSO BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UM, TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THAT NOT ONLY THAT FACILITY AND, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER FACILITIES SINCE THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY COMPONENT, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO USE CERTIFICATE OF OBLIGATION? YES.
SO CERTIFICATES OBLIGATION HOUSE BILL 1869, UM, PUT SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT, UM, WE CAN ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION FOR AS NON-VOTER PROVED DEBT AND PUBLIC SAFETY IS, IS AN ALLOWABLE USE.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE THOSE OPTIONS.
SO WE HAVE OPTIONS IN TERMS OF DELIVERY.
WE HAVE OPTIONS IN TERMS OF FUNDING MECHANISMS. SO, UM, IT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO HANDLE THAN SOME OF OUR OTHER PROJECTS.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, AND WE, THIS IS DEFINITELY A LONG-TERM PROJECT.
UM, CERTAINLY AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW AS A CITY, WE'LL NEED TO INVEST IN THE RENOVATION OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ACADEMY.
AND SO, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS ON THAT FRONT.
UM, BEFORE WE MOVED TO COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON, IS THERE ANYONE ON THE COMMITTEE HAS FURTHER QUESTIONS? THAT'S NUMBER TWO THOUGH.
UM, FIRST I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME PROJECTS THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT EARLY ON IN THE SLIDES, AND THAT IS ONE TEXAS CENTER.
SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FACILITIES UNDER CONSIDERATION TO RELOCATE DEPARTMENTS UNTIL FROM LEASE SPACE AND TO OWN SPACE, DOES THAT INCLUDE, UH, THE PLANNED REDEVELOPMENT OF ONE TEXAS CENTER FOR USE INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING? SO RIGHT NOW THAT WOULD BE UTILIZING ONE TEXAS CENTER AND ITS CURRENT STATE, THE ULTIMATE LONG-TERM PLAN FOR ONE TEXAS CENTER RELATIVE TO REDEVELOPMENT AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THAT IS ALL STILL IN THE, IN, IN DEVELOPMENT.
[00:40:01]
UM, NOTHING HAS BEEN FINALIZED THERE.SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS TO BE TO OCCUR.
WHAT WHAT'S THE CURRENT STATUS OF, OF THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN IS, IS WORK UNDERWAY FOR DESIGN.
WE WELL, BASED ON BECAUSE OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GLEANING FROM THE SURVEYS AROUND TELEWORKING AND OFFICE SPACE NEEDS FROM THAT RESOLUTION, UM, IT'S CO IT'S CAUSING US TO KIND OF REALLY TAKE A ORGANIZATION-WIDE LOOK AT WHAT OUR OFFICE SPACE NEEDS AND MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER DECISION HAPPENS ON ONE TEXAS CENTER, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING IT IN CONCERT WITH THAT, THAT DATA.
UM, SO WE'RE HAVING TO WAIT UNTIL WE GET, WE FINISHED COMPLETION OF THAT OR FINISHED COLLECTING THAT DATA FROM THOSE SURVEYS AND THE, UM, TIMEKEEPING SYSTEMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INFORMING THAT DECISION POINT.
I FEEL THAT YOU HAVE CLEAR DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON ONE TEXAS CENTER.
AND THEN, UM, SINCE ONE TEXAS CENTER OBVIOUSLY INVOLVES RIGHT NOW, THE TEMPORARY USE OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT, IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING, AND THIS IS REALLY A QUESTION I WANTED TO ENTERTAIN DURING THE BUDGET, BUT I'LL JUST RAISE IT HERE AND, AND ASK OUR CITY MANAGER TO PLEASE FOLLOW UP.
WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT CONVERSATION WAS COMING BACK TO US PRETTY SOON.
UM, AND HERE WE ARE, MONTHS AND MONTHS LATER WITH NO FOLLOWUP ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT CONVERSATION.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF, OF WHEN THAT'S COMING BACK TO COUNCIL? I DO NOT.
I KNOW THAT THERE WERE CONSIDERABLE CONVERSATIONS GOING ON AMONGST THEIR ADVISORY BOARD AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS ON THEIR GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES AND THEIR SERVICE APPROACH, BUT I DON'T, AND THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD COME BACK TO COUNCIL, BUT, UM, I'M NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN THOSE DIRECTLY.
SO I'M JUST, I'M NOT ABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
THAT'S SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT I'D REALLY HOPED IT WAS COMING BACK TO US SAY IN JULY.
UM, AND THEN SHIFTING GEARS TO THE PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION, AND I APPRECIATE, I THINK YOUR OFFICE REACHED OUT FOR A MEETING.
WE HAVEN'T YET HAD THAT MEETING.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T, I HAVE MANY, MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION.
I'LL KEEP IT TO JUST ONE AT THE MOMENT.
CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW THE WORK, SO THE WORK THAT I THINK YOU'RE DESCRIBING IS THE WORK THAT WAS REALLY CONTEMPLATED FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
AND SO CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW, WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING, WHY THERE IS A NEED FOR THE PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION NOW THAT WE HAVE A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION WHOSE TASK IT IS TO DEVELOP PROJECTS ON CITY OWNED LAND? UH, BECAUSE IN THIS CASE WE'RE LOOKING AT IS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE SPACE AND WAREHOUSING.
IT'S NOT REALLY AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, IT'S JUST PURELY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE SPACE.
UM, SO WE ARE, WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING SFPT IS ACTIVELY WORKING WITH AEDC, PARTICULARLY ON IDENTIFYING CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES RELATIVE TO THE CREATIVE SPACES AND AT OTHER PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
SO, UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY WORKING WITH THEM, BUT IN THIS CASE, IT DOESN'T REALLY FALL INTO AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, KIND OF AREA IT'S JUST IT'S OFFICE SPACE.
SO I THINK IN THE, IN, IN MIDST THE, IN, AMONG THE OTHER QUESTIONS THAT I'LL HAVE FOR YOU AND FOR OTHER STAFF, AS WE MOVE TOWARD POTENTIALLY TAKING THIS UP IN SEPTEMBER IS REALLY FUNDAMENTALLY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HAD A MISSION BROADER THAN JUST TO DEVELOP CREATIVE SPACES.
AND ONE OF THEM WAS TO MAXIMIZE TO MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL AND THE FINANCIAL POTENTIAL OF OUR SITES, INCLUDING, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WOULD ENCOMPASS THIS AS WELL BECAUSE WHEN WE, WHEN WE'RE USING OUR SITES EFFICIENTLY, FINANCIALLY, EFFICIENTLY, AS WELL AS EFFICIENTLY AND OTHER, OTHER WAYS, I THINK THAT IS, UM, GOOD FOR THE CITY.
SO I, UM, I'M NOT, I'M REALLY LOOKING TO SEE WHETHER THIS, THE WAYS IN WHICH IT MAY NOT FIT INTO THEIR SCOPE AND SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS LIKELY WILL HAVE OTHER PARTNERS WITHIN THEM AS WELL.
AND SO THAT, THAT IS, THAT DOES PUT IT INTO AN AREA WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE LEASES WITH, WITH OTHER ENTITIES AS PART OF OUR OWN FACILITY.
SO ANYWAY, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL HAVE, AND WE'LL JUST CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER PEPPER, MADISON.
I APPRECIATE YOU ALLOWING ME TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS.
SO I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO, UM, S A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE ASKED, INCLUDING THE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THIS NEW PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION.
UM, I WILL PROBABLY HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS INCLUDING, UM, IT'D BE NICE TO SEE KIND OF A CHART MAYBE ABOUT WHAT THE, THE TWO ENTITIES CAN AND CAN'T DO THAT ARE EITHER SIMILAR OR DISSIMILAR.
CAUSE I, UH, UH, MUCH TO HER POINT, I DON'T SEE THE NEED FOR THE ADDITIONAL FACILITIES CORPORATION.
IF THE FIRST CAN COMPLETE THE, UM, THE MISSION, UH, AT, UH, I GUESS ALONG THOSE SAME LINES I WOULD ASK, UM,
[00:45:01]
WHAT IS IT ABOUT WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SET UP THE, THE PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION, UM, AND THEN THE WAREHOUSING COMPONENT.SO I HAVE, UM, ANECDOTALLY I HAVE, UH, WATERSHED HAS A FACILITY IN A DISTRICT ONE IT'S SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD IT'S EQUAL PARTS FLEET AND WAREHOUSING.
AND SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET SOME, SOME GUIDANCE ON HOW BEST TO MOST EFFICIENTLY GET TO THE ROOT OF HOW TO REPURPOSE OUR FLEET AND WAREHOUSE FACILITIES THAT ARE LOCATED WITHIN NEIGHBORHOODS AND POTENTIALLY TAKING UP SPACES THAT COULD BE USED FOR HOUSING.
I KNOW WE HAVE SEVERAL SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES, UM, THAT WE USE TO STORE THINGS, WHICH IS ODD TO ME.
UM, SO I HAVE, I DO HAVE QUESTIONS AROUND, UH, OUR WAREHOUSE FACILITIES NEEDS.
WHAT KIND OF SQUARE FOOTAGE ARE WE LOOKING FOR? WHAT SORT OF FOOTPRINT ARE WE LOOKING FORWARD TO? WE WANT ONE SOUTH, ONE CENTRAL ONE NORTH, JUST ONE.
UH, AND SO I HAVE A LOT OF SIMILAR QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, JUST GENERALLY MOVING FLEET OUT OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO I GUESS ULTIMATELY MY QUESTION IS, IS THIS, IS THIS A COUNCIL ITEM THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD ON ITS FACE CURRENTLY? OR IS THIS SOMETHING WE NEED TO PROCESS THROUGH THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, UM, AND GET A FULL REPORT WITH THE NECESSARY DATA TO DETERMINE WHAT POTENTIAL HOUSING SQUARE FOOTAGE, UM, UH, UH, FOOTPRINT DO WE HAVE THAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO USE BECAUSE WE'RE USING IT FOR FLEET SERVICES.
AND THEN LASTLY, MY, MY FINAL QUESTION WOULD BE, UM, DURING THE CONVERSATIONS OVER THIS LAST THREE YEARS, YOU KNOW, IT'S CRAZY TO THINK THAT, UH, WE'VE BEEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION SINCE THEN, BUT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT PASSING BY THE FLEET SERVICES SITE THERE AT HARGRAVE AND REALIZING, I MEAN, I LITERALLY CAN SEE ALL OF THE DOWNTOWN SKYLINE FROM THE FLEET SERVICES SIDE, REALIZING WE HAVE THAT, YOU KNOW, ALMOST EIGHT ACRES AND THE CENTER OF CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN, RIGHT? SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF D ONE, WHERE WE NEED HOUSING.
UM, AND FRANKLY WE NEED, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMUNITY AMENITIES, BUT REALIZING WE HAVE A LOT OF THOSE.
AND SO I KNOW THAT THIS SPACE THAT ARR AND, UM, FLEET WERE TALKING ABOUT SHARING, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY FLEET SERVICES SITES WE CAN RELOCATE TO A COMPREHENSIVE LOCATION FOR FLEET AND, AND NOT TAKE UP VALUABLE SPACE IN, UM, IN CITY CENTER AND COMMUNITIES FOR FLEET.
THAT WAS A WHOLE LOT OF QUESTIONS I'M AWARE.
UH, SO COUNCIL MEMBER THAT TO CAN START FROM THE BEGINNING, THE WATERSHED ONE, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHICH PROPERTY YOU'RE, YOU'RE REFERENCING, SO WE CAN WORK WITH YOUR OFFICE AFTERWARDS TO GET SOME MORE INFORMATION, UM, TO, TO RESEARCH THAT SITUATION IN TERMS OF THE FLEET HARGRAVE SITE, UM, THE JOHNNY MORRIS SITE WOULD ABSOLUTELY SERVE AS THE NEW HOME OF THAT.
THE, THE SITE THAT'S, THE SERVICE CENTER IS CURRENTLY ON AT HARGRAVE.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF ALL THE FLEET SERVICES SITES, UM, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY TAKE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT ALL OF THEIRS.
I KNOW, UM, JENNIFER WALLACE IS, UM, DEFINITELY TAKING A GOOD LOOK AT ALL OF THEIR FACILITY NEEDS SO WE CAN PARTNER WITH THEM ABSOLUTELY.
TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING NOT ONLY THEIR SERVICE NEEDS, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT, IN TERMS OF, UM, JUST BEST AND BEST USE OF, OF CITY PROPERTIES.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT IT COMPREHENSIVELY, I THINK THE ADDITIONAL QUESTION I WOULD ASK WOULD BE AROUND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS.
IT'S CERTAINLY NOT LOST ON ME THAT WE HAVE TO DO A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF REMEDIATION TO REPURPOSE THESE FACILITIES FOR HOUSING PURPOSES.
SO IF WE ARE GOING TO COMPILE DATA AND CONDUCT A PRETTY THOROUGH ANALYSIS, I'D SAY THAT SHOULD DEFINITELY BE A POINT OF CONSIDERATION, HOW LONG, HOW MUCH ALL THAT.
UH, AND I WONDER IF, BECAUSE IT IS A REAL ESTATE ITEM, IF IT WOULD REQUIRE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO REALLY SORT OF TALK THROUGH WHAT ARE OUR WAREHOUSE NEEDS, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING, UM, OF OVERALL WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER MEDICINE.
I THINK YOU'VE RAISED SOME REALLY IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS.
AND I GUESS THAT PROMPTED ANOTHER QUESTION FOR ME ON, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEVERAL COUNCIL DIRECTIVES ABOUT WORKING WITH OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CITY WHO MAY ALSO HAVE SIMILAR NEEDS LIKE FLEET AND OTHERS.
HAVE YOU IN, IN IDENTIFYING THE NEED FOR THESE KINDS OF SPACES, WAREHOUSING FLEET, HAVE YOU BEEN ACTIVELY WORKING
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WITH SAY AUSTIN, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO SEE WHETHER THERE ARE ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO JOINTLY LOCATE SOME OF THOSE SERVICES ON LAND OR FACILITIES THEY MAY OWN.WE'VE HAD SOME PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS PORTIER WITH TRAVIS COUNTY ON, ON WAREHOUSING NEEDS.
UM, AISD, LIKE ONCE UPON A TIME WE HAD, UH, AS A RESULT OF SOME COUNCIL DIRECTION TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO PARTNER, WE HAD SOME PARTNERING AROUND WAREHOUSE SPACE.
WELL, WE CAN, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY TOUCH BASE WITH THE FACILITIES FOLKS AT AISD, AND THEN ALSO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATIONS WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, TO, TO COVER, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING COOPERATIVE PARTNERS, UM, ACROSS THE CITY IN MEETING THOSE NEEDS, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY DO THAT.
FLEET WOULD BE ANOTHER AREA I WOULD, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I'M, UH, I'M, UH, ENOUGH OUT OF THE AISD FACILITY LOOP AT THIS POINT THAT I'M NOT SURE, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER THEY HAVE CAPACITY AT SOME OF THEIR FLEET AREAS.
I KNOW THEY SOLD ONE OF THE TRACKS THAT I THINK HAD BEEN PROVIDING A FLEET, BUT JUST TO COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MEDICINE'S POINT ABOUT REALLY LOOKING CAREFULLY AT HOW WE'RE UTILIZING THOSE SPACES BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH, UM, A FLEET, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT KIND OF FLEET CAMPUS.
I WOULD LIKE US TO SEE WHETHER THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO PARTNER ON THOSE KINDS OF LOCATIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, GERALD ALEXANDER, BUILDING SURFACE OFFICER.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE, WE ARE LOOKING AT, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE STEPPING BACK TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE ACTUAL NEED FOR EVERYBODY, FOR THE WAREHOUSING SPACE WITHIN THE CITY.
BUT WE HAVE TALKED TO, OR HE'S HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.
I KNOW FOR SURE ON USING SOME SHARED SPACE OF POSSIBLE.
I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING ABOUT ASI D YET, BUT I THINK WE CAN LOOK AT THAT.
AND WE, SO WE CAN ALSO KIND OF LOOK AT THE STATE, UH, AND NECESSARILY SEE IF WE CAN DO SOME JOINT WORK WITH, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WITH THEM WHEN IT COMES TO WAREHOUSING.
AND IF, AND IF IT'S HELPFUL, SOMEWHERE IN THE MILLIONS OF FILES THAT I HAVE UP IN MY OFFICE, I HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT JOINT PARTNERSHIP AROUND WAREHOUSE SPACE.
I'D PROBABLY BE POLITIFACTED THE MANY FILES.
YEAH, IT SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE, UM, I'M NOT SURE THAT FOR OUR WAREHOUSING NEEDS, WE NEED AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, BUT, UM, CERTAINLY MAYBE WE CAN CONSIDER HAVING A PRESENTATION THAT IF YOU DRAW IT IN FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE WAREHOUSING, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MASS, AND I THINK THIS WILL BE OUR LAST QUESTION AND THEY GET IT.
AND IT'S A STATEMENT, NOT SO MUCH A QUESTION.
SO I'M LOOKING AT A LIST THAT WAS PRODUCED FOR ME BY FLEET SERVICES, DIRECTOR, JENNIFER WALLS.
AND I HAVE SIX SITES, ONE IN DISTRICT SEVEN ON KRAMER, ONE IN DISTRICT THREE ON BAUM TWO AND DISTRICT TWO, ONE ON TODD LANE.
ONE ON MAY NOTICE, UM, ONE IN DISTRICT NINE IT'S SERVICE CENTER, NUMBER 5, 7, 14 EAST EIGHTH, AND THEN THREE, FOUR, AND DISTRICT ONE.
AND THEY'RE CALLED SPECIFICALLY SERVICE CENTERS.
I GUESS THE ONE THING I WOULD ASK IT, MAYBE AS A QUESTION LIKE THIS ONE IN DISTRICT SEVEN, IT'S CALLED SERVICE CENTER 13, BUT I ONLY HAVE A LIST OF SIX.
IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW HOW MANY SERVICE CENTERS WE HAVE AND MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE ARE COMPILING ALL THAT INFORMATION ABOUT, ABOUT FLEET SERVICES, SITES AND WAREHOUSES, THAT WE'RE NOT MISSING THINGS LIKE WHAT'S CALLED A SERVICE CENTER.
I'VE JUST HOPED THAT THE, THE, UM, THE WORDING DOESN'T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO INCLUDE IT IN THE DATA COLLECTION THAT WE DON'T LOSE ANYTHING ON SEMANTICS.
WE BASICALLY, I THINK ARE ALL ASKING THE SAME THING ABOUT CITY HELD ASSETS AND SPACES THAT WE'RE USING FOR, UM, FOR FLEET AND SERVICE ADJACENT PURPOSES.
UM, COLLEAGUES, OUR LAST ITEM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT'S IMPORTANT WORK LOOK FORWARD TO FURTHER CONVERSATIONS.
[6. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings.]
AGENDA ITEM SIX, WHICH IS IDENTIFYING ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED AT FUTURE MEETINGS.UM, MS. STOKES, I AT, AT THIS POINT, I DON'T HAVE A FULL LIST OF THE ITEMS THAT WILL COME IN SEPTEMBER, BUT FOR SURE, THE ITEM THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER RELATED TO ANIMAL SERVICES, MY OFFICE WILL BE COMING BACK TO TALK ABOUT THAT, UM, OUR WORK TO DATE RELATED TO THAT RESOLUTION, OUR TIMELINE AND OUR APPROACH FOR THAT AUDIT.
UM, IT IS ONE OF THE ITEMS ON SEPTEMBER.
I'M NOT AWARE OF OTHERS AT THIS POINT, WHEN WILL WE SEE THE DRAFT AUDIT PLAN, WHICH ONE, THE DRAFT AUDIT PLAN, THE DRAFT AUDIT PLAN WILL COME TO THE OCTOBER MEETING, TREVOR MEETING.
AND THEN IN OCTOBER, WE ARE GOING TO BE, UM, HEARING FROM PROJECT CONNECT, LOOKING AT THE FINANCE SIDE OF THINGS, UM, IN SOME OF OUR WRITERS FROM THE BUDGET, UM, WE HAVE SOME REPORTS THAT NEED TO COME BACK FROM RELATED TO EMS AND THE
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THAT'LL BE ON OUR AGENDA.UM, LET ME KNOW IF THERE ARE OTHER TOPICS, UM, THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN, UM, HEARING NO OTHER COMMENTS.
IT IS 1143, AND I ADJOURNED THIS MEETING OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US COUNCIL MEMBER MADISON.