[00:00:02]
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING, I WILL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER TODAY'S AUGUST 24TH, 2022.
THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES, WHICH HAS REQUEST THAT YOU LET CHLOE MAXWELL NOW AHEAD OF TIME.
AND HER CONTACT INFORMATION IS IN EACH AGENDA POSTING.
[1. Official Seating of New Board Member]
UM, TODAY WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL GUESTS AND NO LONGER A GUESS BECAUSE HE WILL NOW BE OFFICIALLY JOINING US.SO WELCOME, UH, COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN CHAIR, TREVELYAN FROM CAPITAL METRO.
YOU HAVE ALL THE TITLES THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT HOW WOULD YOU FIRST LIKE TO BE ADDRESSED? AND WE'RE SO DELIGHTED TO HAVE YOU HERE TODAY.
I AM HONORED THAT CATHETER HAS ELECTED YOU TO JOIN US IN THIS JOURNEY OF DELIVERING PROJECT CONNECT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
WE KNOW THAT YOU BRING DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, NOT JUST IN PUBLIC SERVICE, BUT IN HOW YOU SHEPARD PROJECT CONNECT TO A SUCCESSFUL REFERENDUM.
SO THAT HISTORY, THAT LEGACY, IT REALLY IS SOMETHING THAT THIS PROGRAM NEEDS AND YOUR LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE AND YOUR APPOINTMENT SHORTLY FOLLOWS DADDY'S APPOINTMENT.
WHEN THIS BOARD WAS INCREASED TO ADD ANOTHER EX-OFFICIO MEMBER.
SO WITH HAVING BOTH OF YOU HERE, JOINING US, I THINK THIS REALLY SHOWS A VERY STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO DELIVER THIS PROGRAM TOGETHER.
SO WITH THIS, I LIKE TO, UM, COMMEMORATE YOUR OFFICIAL SITTING.
AND IF YOU WILL INDULGE ME QUICKLY, WE'LL LIKE TO HAVE A REQUEST, TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE BOARD TO COMMEMORATE THIS UP.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SITTING HERE WITH US.
SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, IF I CAN TAKE EVERYBODY, OH YEAH, SHE'S A LITTLE LATE BECAUSE SHE SET A COMMITTEE MEETING AND, UM, YES, I WOULD LOVE FOR GINA TO BE IN.
SOMEWHERE IN HERE, WE'LL KIND OF BREAK AND TAKE THAT PHOTO, BUT I KNOW YOU HAVE AN, A COMMITMENT AT THE END OF THE MEETING, SO WE WILL TRY NOT TO KEEP YOU TOO LONG.
UM, I BELIEVE WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS TODAY.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE IN THE MEDIA, BUT IF ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE HERE WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD, UM, SPEAK, NOW, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.
UM, SO IF NOBODY WANTS TO SPEAK MAYOR OR NO, NO, I JUST, HADN'T BEEN IN A ROOM LIKE THIS FOR NO ONE WANTED TO SPEAK JUST A LITTLE STARTLED.
WELL, I, I TOOK THAT NOTE FROM WATCHING THE COUNCIL MEETINGS WHERE IT'S LIKE, ARE WE DONE WITH SPEAKERS? IS THERE ANYBODY HERE ALSO IN THE AUDIENCE WILL WANTS TO SPEAK? SO I TOOK A NOTE FROM YOUR LEADERSHIP THERE.
UM, SO TODAY WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, I'LL START WITH THE TECHNICAL
[3.a. Engineering, Architecture & Construction Committee]
ADVISORY REPORTS, UM, AND TO NOT BE REPETITIVE BECAUSE ONE THING, IF YOU ALL TUNED IN ON WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING, WHERE WE HAD THE WORKSHOP WITH THE EXPERTS, UM, THE SAME PRESENTATION HAPPENED AT ALL THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.SO WHAT I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU IS THE HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT HAPPENED.
THAT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION AFTER THE TECHNICAL TEAM, UM, PRESENTED THEIR, THEIR FINDINGS.
UM, AND THEN ME GET TO MY PART.
SO I CAN JUST GUIDE YOU ON WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE EAC MEETING, WHICH HAPPENED ON AUGUST 10TH.
UM, LET'S SEE IF GET THROUGH IT JUST A SECOND.
WE HAD 25 FOLKS IN ATTENDANCE.
THE TECHNICAL TEAM PRESENTED THE UPDATE ON THE LIGHT RAIL PLAN.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS WAS HOW ARE WE GOING TO BRING THE PROGRAM INTO BUDGET AND SELECT THAT INITIAL INVESTMENT? SO WHAT THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED AS WE WALK THROUGH, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ARE AT STAKE WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MAXIMIZE AT THIS POINT IN TIME,
[00:05:01]
THE FEDERAL GRANTS.AND SO WHAT WOULD MAKE US BE THE MOST INVESTIBLE PROJECT FOR THEM, FOR FPA? UM, ALL OF THIS WAS IN CONCURRENCE TO ENSURE, AND WE COMMUNICATED THIS TO THE TEAM THAT WE'RE NOT EXPECTING TO INCREASE THE CURRENT TAX RATE.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO WITH THE VALUE ENGINEERING, IT WOULD BE DONE INTO SCOPE AND DESIGN FACING AND SEQUENCE SERVICE PLAN AND TECHNOLOGY, REVENUE AND DELIVERY METHOD AND RISK, AND THE FACILITIES TO RECEIVE TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND MODIFICATION INCLUDE THE TUNNEL LENGTH WITH SCOPE AND ALIGNMENT CROSSING, SPECIALLY RELATIVE TO LADY BIRD, LAKE MAINTENANCE, HISTORYS SHARD AND FACILITY THAT DETERMINES THE STARTING OF THE PROJECT BASED ON THE MAINTENANCE FACILITIES, ANY CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS AND, AND WHAT WILL BE THE STRATEGY FOR REAL ESTATE AND RIGHT AWAY, THE EAC MEMBER SUGGESTED A SCALING MATRIX TO HELP RATE CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE ALIGNMENT, TO SHOW THE PROPERTIES AS A WAY TO HELP ENSURE THAT THE PROJECT REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY'S PRIORITIES.
AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ALSO RECOMMENDED CLEAR DOCUMENTATIONS OF DECISIONS AS THEY'RE MADE, SO THAT THE PROJECT ISN'T DELAYED BY RETURNING TO THE SAME ISSUES MULTIPLE TIMES.
SO WE WILL HAVE A FOLLOW-UP MEETING, UM, ABOUT THIS TOPIC AND TO GIVE AN EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRAM.
AND DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? NO, THANK YOU.
SO NOW MOVING ON, UM, WE WILL HAVE THE SUSTAINABILITY
[3.b. Planning, Sustainability, Equity & DBE Advisory Committee]
EQUITY AND DB ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT PRESENTED BY BOARD MEMBER FEE IN DACA.UH, THE P SEC MEETING, UH, COMMITTEE MET ON AUGUST 16TH.
WE HAD A RELATIVELY LIGHT AGENDA FOR THAT MEETING.
WE FOCUSED ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, AND WE WERE JOINED BY HGR VICE-PRESIDENT BRIAN BUCHANAN FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, WE DISCUSSED THE CHALLENGES AROUND IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN AND PHASING OF THE PROJECT AND THE DISCUSSION REALLY FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS AND MAINTAINING THE TRANSPARENCY DURING THE PROCESS AS THE TEAM EVALUATES THE DATA AND DECISIONS ARE MADE.
THE COMMITTEE ASKED HOW THE TEAM WILL WORK TO ENSURE THAT THIS IS A STRONG REPRESENTATION OF DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES, AND THERE WILL BE AN INTENTIONAL AND TARGETED OUTREACH.
AND THESE PLANS ARE ALREADY IN DEVELOPMENT.
UM, COURTNEY CHAVEZ OUR, UH, DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND, UH, DISCUSS PLANS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSIONS AS THE TOPIC, UH, PROGRESSES WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
THE PEACE SEC MEMBERS ALSO WALKED THROUGH VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE ATP WEBSITE AND FOCUSED ON IMPROVING ACCESS FOR USERS AND MAKING THAT A BETTER USER EXPERIENCE, UH, NEXT STEPS AND MORE INFORMATION THAT WAS REQUESTED THE PCIP MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO DIVE DEEPER INTO THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDING AND PLANNING THAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO INVITE IN A LAND BACK TO DISCUSS UPDATES ON THE ETO D PROGRAM.
UM, MEMBERS WERE INVOLVED IN REVIEW OF THE EQUITY GOALS AND THE OUTCOMES AND DEVELOPING MEASURES OVER THE NEXT FEW MEETINGS.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR BOARD MEMBER FEE ON DACA? UM, NEXT
[3.c. Finance & Risk Advisory Committee]
WE HAVE THE FINANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE REPORT, WHICH WILL BE SHARED BY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS.UM, THE FINANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE MET ON OUR AUGUST 9TH.
WE HAD NINE MEMBERS OF THE FIR IN ATTENDANCE.
IN ADDITION TO STAFF AND CONSULTANTS, WE STARTED OFF WITH A BRIEFING ON THE LIGHT RAIL DEVELOPMENT FROM, UM, HDR.
UH, GREG ALSO DID AN INTRODUCTION.
I THINK MOST OF THE QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED.
I THINK THERE WAS A CONSENSUS FROM THE COMMITTEE THAT, UM, REPOSITIONING THE PROGRAM AND KIND OF FIGURING OUT WHAT THE RIGHT FIRST PROJECT TO START WITH AND HOW WE MAKE OUR SOURCES EQUAL USES WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
AND, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE BRIEFING THE FAR AND FUTURE MEETINGS ON HOW WE'RE DOING ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
WE ALSO HAD A BRIEFING FROM DIANE SILLER AND JAMIE ATKINSON ON THE PROPOSED
UH, AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAD A BRIEFING FROM KATIE HOUSTON, OUR INTERNAL AUDITOR ON THE DRAFT, A LOT OF PLAN FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR.
SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE COMMITTEE WERE, UM, AND DISCUSSIONS WERE INFLATIONARY PRESSURES.
WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS AND THE SIGNIFICANT RISK ON CAPITAL PROJECTS.
ONCE ENGINEERING IS COMPLETE AND FEDERAL PARTNERS HAVE COMMITTED
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TO THE TOTAL COSTS.WE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT ANY FUTURE ESCALATION, UH, AFTER THE FTA HAS COMMITTED, UH, AND DONE A FULL FUNDING GRANT THAT, UM, THAT ESCALATION WOULD BE A RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LOCAL MATCH.
SO UNDERSTANDING THAT RISK AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE COMFORTABLE IN THAT, UH, WE LOCKED DOWN AS LATE AS POSSIBLE.
UH, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO DISCUSS HOW PROJECTS ARE COMBINED AND SEPARATED, HOW THAT COULD BE CRITICAL TO BALANCE OVER RUNS AGAINST SAVINGS.
AND THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT REAL ESTATE COSTS SEEM TO BE STABILIZING WITH RESPECT TO RIGHT AWAY ACQUISITIONS.
SO THAT'S KIND OF MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THERE WERE SOME DISCUSSIONS ON THE BUDGET PRESENTATION THAT I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT LATER, UH, ABOUT ADDITIONAL DETAIL, UH, ON F Y 23 BUDGET.
UM, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UH, PERSONNEL FOR FULL-TIME STAFF VERSUS CONSULTANTS AND HOW THAT BALANCE IS, UH, DETERMINED WHAT THE RIGHT BALANCE IS.
UM, THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UH, SEEING ADDITIONAL DETAIL ABOUT, UH, STAFF BY ACTIVITY, UH, SUCCONDED STAFF.
UM, THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FUTURE BUDGET QUESTIONS.
UM, THE FAR WOULD LIKE STAFF TO PRESENT, I BELIEVE IN OCTOBER THE F T A FUNDING PROCESS, HOW THAT'S GONNA WORK, WHAT RISKS THERE MIGHT BE, UM, HOW THAT WHOLE PROCESS LAYS OUT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'LL BE AN OCTOBER PRESENTATION FROM NOT MISTAKEN.
ANY QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, THANK YOU FOR THE DETAIL REPORT.
UM, SO MAYBE THIS IS A REALLY GOOD TIME.
WE WERE WANTING TO HAVE A PHOTO WITH JEFF PAVILION TO WHAT MEMBER JEFF, TO COMMEMORATE JOINING THE BOARD AND AS WELL OFFICIALLY WITH DOTTIE, I DON'T THINK WE EVER HAD AN OFFICIAL PHOTO WITH YOU, DADDY, SO LET'S DO THIS NOW.
I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE MEETING WELL, I WILL TELL YOU ONE THING THAT REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME WHEN YOU DID MY INTERVIEW, UH, COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN WAS YOU KNEW I WAS NERVOUS DURING THEIR INTERVIEW, AND YOU'RE LIKE, HOW ARE YOU FEELING? AND I SAID, I AM NERVOUS.
AND YOU LIKE TAKE A DEEP BREATH.
SO, AND NOW I WANT TO REPEAT THAT SAME MESSAGE TO YOU, YOU AMONG FRIENDS.
[4. Executive Director Report]
ITEM FOUR AND HEAR FROM ATP SIX SOCRATIVE DIRECTOR, GREG FINALE.UM, I ALSO JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN JOINING US AS WELL.
UM, I WAS SITTING HERE THINKING THE FIRST TIME WE PROBABLY EVER MEETING TOGETHER WAS I WOULD SAY AT LEAST 20 YEARS AGO, IF NOT MORE AT THE OLD CITY HALL, IN SOME CUBBY HOLE OF AN OFFICE OVER THERE.
AND SO TO GET TO SIT HERE WITH YOU ON THE DIOCESE, TRULY AN HONOR FROM ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE OVER THESE LAST 20 YEARS.
SO THANK YOU FOR WILLING TO JOIN US AND, AND, UH, JUST ECHO, UH, THE CHAIR'S COMMENTS, YOUR, UM, YOUR LEADERSHIP TO GET US TO THE, UH, ELECTION AND, AND WHERE WE ARE MOVING FORWARD IS, HAS BEEN VALUED AND WILL CONTINUE TO THANK YOU
[00:15:01]
AND THANK YOU FOR OUR LONGTERM, UM, FRIENDSHIP AS WELL.SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.
I DID WANT TO SPEND SOME TIME JUST QUICKLY UPDATING.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, AN AGENDA TODAY AND, UH, CHAIR, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED LAST WEEK, WE HAD LAST MONTH, WE HAD THE DEEP DIVE ON THE PROJECT.
AND IF YOU RECALL, UM, WHEN WE, WHEN I STARTED THE IDEA OF, OF ASSESSING WHERE WE ARE ON THE PROJECT, ON THE LIGHT RAIL SPECIFICALLY, AND, AND OVERALL PROJECT CONNECT, AND THEN ALSO ASSESSING ATP SO THAT WE CAN BE READY AND AGILE TO KEEP MOVING ON IMPLEMENTATION.
AND SO I THINK TODAY'S BOARD MEETING IS IN ESSENCE FOCUSED A LOT ON ATP ABOUT WHO WE ARE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE AUDIT PLAN.
SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AROUND ATP, UH, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF CREATING AN ORGANIZATION AND WHAT THAT MEANS.
UM, SO IF YOU ALLOW ME, I JUST HAVE A FEW THINGS TO UPDATE.
I WANT TO FIRST MENTION, UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE THAT WE HAVE HERE, UM, THE INITIAL, JUST INITIAL ASSESSMENTS OVER THESE FIRST THREE MONTHS, I'VE MADE SOME MINOR MODIFICATIONS TO THE DIRECT REPORTING STRUCTURE TO THE, TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
AND I THINK WHAT THESE REALLY DO IS REFLECT THE NEED FOR US AS AN AGILE CORPORATION COMMUNITY CORPORATION, TO BE FLAT, TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ALWAYS, UH, CROSSWALKING WITH EACH OTHER.
A FEW OF THOSE CHANGES, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, WERE GOING TO BE BRINGING ON A CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER.
WE'VE HEARD THAT FROM THE BOARD, WE'VE HEARD THAT FROM OUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, CLEARLY COMMUNICATING ALL THESE GREAT THINGS WE'RE DOING AND COLLABORATING WITH THE CITY AND CAP METRO IN THOSE EFFORTS.
UM, AS WE KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT, I BELIEVE AT OUR JUNE MEETING, UH, DAVE COUCH WILL BE, UH, MOVING ON AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
AND SO WE HAVE STARTED RECRUITING FOR THAT POSITION AS A CHIEF OF ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.
SO THOSE TWO GREEN BOXES ARE ACTIVELY OPEN, UH, RECRUITMENTS TO JOIN OUR TEAM.
WE'VE HAD AMAZING TALENT FROM ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY, JOIN US HERE, BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING THROUGH THOSE PROCESSES HERE OVER THE NEXT, OVER THE NEXT MONTH.
AND THEN FINALLY, I WANT TO, UM, UH, RECOGNIZE ANOTHER CHANGE THAT WE'VE MADE.
ONE OF THE KEY PROCESSES THAT WE DO IS REALLY OUR PLANNING FUNCTIONS AND OUR RISK FUNCTIONS.
UM, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE JEN PINE JOINING US FROM, I CAN'T SAY JOINING US ANYMORE.
SHE'S BEEN HERE, SHE'S AN OLD AUSTIN KNIGHT AT THIS POINT.
UM, IF YOU'VE BEEN HERE MORE THAN A MONTH, YOU'RE AN OLD AUSTIN.
AND, UM, WHAT SHE'S BROUGHT TO THE TEAM, HER CRITICAL THINKING, HER ABILITY TO WORK ACROSS ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN ATP WORK WITH CAPITAL METRO WORK WITH THE CITY.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, JEN HAS REALLY BEEN LEADING THE FTA LIAISON PROCESS FOR ALL THE PROJECT CONNECT, WORKING WITH CAPRA METRO ON, ON GETTING THEM CLOSER TO FINALIZING THE SMALL START GRANT AGREEMENTS WITH MOLLY AND THE TEAM.
UM, AND ALSO ON ALL OF OUR LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE KNOW WE HAVE MORE PLANNING WORK TO DO, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF RISKS AROUND OUR PROJECT CONTROL.
SO, UH, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT ROLE IN ELEVATE THAT ROLE, UH, AS A DIRECT REPORT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE DONE AS WELL.
SO I WANNA CONGRATULATE JEN ON THAT OPPORTUNITY.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANT TO MENTION ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS EARLY, THE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE'RE REPORTING ON PROJECT CONNECT, UM, WHAT WE'VE, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE FOR THIS MEETING.
AS WE, AS WE, AS WE SAID, WE WOULD GET TO MORE OF A UNIFIED STREAMLINED APPROACH TO REPORTING OUT ON THE OVERALL PROGRAM.
THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT.
THIS IS REALLY IT'S FOR BOTH THE BOARD, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY.
WE CAN PUT UP ON OUR WEBSITE FROM A HIGH LEVEL, WHERE ARE WE ON THE PROGRAM? WHAT IS THE PROGRAM? AND SO IN YOUR PACKET, YOU HAVE, IN ESSENCE, WHAT I WOULD USE THE TERM OF ONE PAGER, IT SLIPS OVER TO TWO PAGES ON JUST THE STATUS OF OUR MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR AS YOU LOOK AT THIS IS FEEDBACK ON THIS.
WE KNOW THAT THIS IS CURRENTLY THIS SIZE, AND I WOULD ARGUE A YEAR FROM NOW, THIS WILL BE A LOT THICKER, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD ON DEVELOPING THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM AND THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT AS WELL, INCLUDING STARTING TO EMBED METRICS INTO THAT PERFORMANCE FUNDING AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE FEDERAL PROCESSES.
SO THIS IS OUR, THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO TRANSITION FROM WHAT WAS REALLY MULTIPLE DELIVERIES OF INFORMATION AROUND THE PROGRAM TO TRYING TO STREAMLINE THAT.
SO THAT IT'S A, IT'S A USABLE, DIGESTIBLE EFFORT, UH, BUT WE KNOW IT HAS TO GROW AND IT WILL GROW.
AND WE'D LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UM, AS WE DO THAT OVER THE UPCOMING MONTHS FOR THE NEXT MONTH AND THE NEXT MONTH AS WE MOVE FORWARD, AGAIN, ANOTHER ATP FOCUSED EVENT, UM, MOVING FORWARD, CHLOE ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS KEY SOMETIMES TO CREATING ORGANIZATIONS, OUR POLICIES SO THAT WE'RE ROOTED IN FINANCIAL PRACTICES AND PROCUREMENT PRACTICES AND ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES.
UM, IT'S REALLY FOUNDATIONAL TO ANY ORGANIZATION, WHETHER YOU'RE A PRIVATE SECTOR OR PUBLIC SECTOR, HAVING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN PLACE REALLY HELPS SET PROCESSES AND EXPECTATION.
[00:20:02]
SO WE WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE WORK THE BOARD HAS ALREADY DONE ON THIS, THIS EFFORT.UM, SIX, A BOARD, A BOARD IT'S ADOPTED SIX POLICIES, UH, AROUND ETHICS PROCEDURES OR DEI OR PROCUREMENT POLICIES.
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE'VE DONE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO OUR RECORDS MANAGEMENT, AND MOST RECENTLY THE TITLE SIX, BUT INTERNALLY THERE'S ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES THAT HELP US CONDUCT OUR BUSINESS IN A WAY THAT IS TRANSPARENT INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY AND TRUSTFUL AS WELL.
SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE BEEN BUSILY WORKING, UM, OVER THESE LAST THREE MONTHS, WORKING ON 10 ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES THAT WE HAVE NOW PUT IN PLACE.
UM, AND YOU HEAR THEY ARE LISTED HERE, AND THIS IS RUNNING REALLY AGAIN, WHO WE ARE AS AN ORGANIZATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL ALIGNED INTERNALLY ABOUT OUR POLICIES FROM, TO FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE, OUR TRAVEL POLICY, OUR TECHNOLOGY POLICY, HOW WE SIGN DOCUMENTS.
THESE ARE REALLY THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
I DO WANT TO, UM, GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO BRANDON CARR FOR WORKING ON ALL OF THESE.
UM, AND ALSO KATIE EUSTON, OUR AUDITOR A WEEK, UH, ESPECIALLY ON THE FRAUD WASTE AND ABUSES CAME FROM HER.
AND THIS SHOWS THIS COLLABORATION THAT WE HAVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE WITH THE AUDITOR.
SO THIS WORK WILL CONTINUE, BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT INTERNAL FOCUS.
UM, BUT WE'VE BEEN BUSILY WORKING ON THAT OVER THESE THREE MONTHS, GETTING 10 OF THESE DONE.
AND SO I THINK FINALLY, WHAT I'LL LEAVE ON THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT IS THIS OPPORTUNITY AROUND THIS IDENTITY OF, OF, OF, OF WHO WE ARE AS A CORPORATION.
WE KNOW THIS COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY PASSED A VISION FOR PROJECT CONNECT, UM, FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, I THINK THE, UH, TOPIC FOR DIALOGUE TODAY OR ONGOING IS, UM, ATP, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING AND STRATEGIC VISION FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
AGAIN, NOT FOR THE PROJECT THAT EXISTS ALREADY.
IT'S REALLY, I BELIEVE THAT'S AS SOMETHING THAT NEW NEW ENTITIES DO.
UM, I KNOW THE COUNTY HAS DONE IT.
THE CITY HAS DONE A STRATEGIC PLAN AND CAP METRO GOES THROUGH THESE EFFORTS.
AND SO THIS ONE, I JUST WANT TO, WITHOUT FILLING IN TOO MUCH OF THIS, PUT THIS OUT THERE AS A, AS A TOPIC FOR DIALOGUE, I CAN GET YOUR FEEDBACK.
NOW WE CAN DO IT AFTER THE FACT.
AND THEN SEE IF WE WANT TO START BUILDING TO SOME, UH, SENSE OF A DISCUSSION AROUND THIS.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, ABOUT VISION AND GOALS AS AN ORGANIZATION AND ULTIMATELY KPIS AND METRICS FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
WELL, I THINK SOME OF THE DEEP STUFF IN THERE, UM, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS TALKED ABOUT IT COMING OUT OF THE FAR IS WHO WE ARE AS AN ORGANIZATION AND HOW WE'RE DELIVERING THIS PROJECT, HOW WE FIND THAT BALANCE STAFF AND CONSULTANTS.
WE THINK THAT'S A GREAT DIALOGUE THAT WE CAN, THAT WE SHOULD HAVE WITH YOU AND GET YOUR, UH, STRATEGY VISION ON THAT AS WE BUILD UP AND BECOME READY FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
THAT IS OUR GOAL IS AS WE DO THIS ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT AND WORK ON DEVELOPING THE DRAFT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IS TO THEN BE READY.
AND SO THIS WORK CAN ALL CONFLUENCE HERE IN THE SPRING.
SO JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE AS MY LAST PART OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE.
AND I ALSO LIKE TO, UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO OTHER QUESTIONS, JUST GIVE A QUICK UPDATE SINCE THIS IS PART OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL, UM, WORK THAT IS GOING ON THAT, UM, THE COMMITTEE, A BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, AND I HAVE MET ABOUT CREATING WITH STAFF, THE SCOPE OF WORK THAT GOES OUT TO THE RECRUITING FIRMS. SO THREE FIRMS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED TO START THE SEARCH FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT.
UM, AND CURRENTLY THEY'RE CHECKING ON, UH, CAPACITY TO CONDUCT THIS SEARCH.
SO WE'RE GETTING, UM, CONFIRMATION FROM THEM.
AND SO WE EXPECT TO SEND A SOLICITATION, UH, EARLY NEXT WEEK.
SO THAT'S JUST A QUICK UPDATE FOR THE BOARD, IF, UM, ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT OR WHAT I JUST SHARED, UM, MAYOR, I MAY, I JUST MISSED IT.
WHAT DID YOU, ARE? YOU SENT OUT A SCOPE FOR WHAT THE FIRM'S GOING TO DO OR SCOPE FOR WHERE WE WANT TO POSITION NO, THIS CUP OF WAR FOR WHAT THE FIRMS WILL BE DOING IN THE SEARCH.
AND THEN FROM THEN THE BOARD WILL THEN SELECT THE FIRM.
SO HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU POSTED OR OTHERWISE PUBLISH WHAT THAT SCOPE IS? NO, IT WILL BE POSTED NEXT WEEK.
UM, GREG, APPRECIATE THE REPORT.
I THINK THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL GETTING, YOU KNOW, THE STAFFING UPDATE, UM, THIS KIND OF ONE PAGER I THINK IS GREAT.
THIS IS CERTAINLY, UM, VERY INFORMATIVE.
UM, AND I LIKE THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF POLICIES.
I KNOW THEY MAY BE MUNDANE, BUT THEY'RE CRITICAL TO ANY ORGANIZATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RUNNING WELL.
UH, YOU DON'T NEED TO RESPOND NOW, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND COMPLIANCE AGAINST POLICY.
SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE POLICIES WHICH ARE GOOD, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE HOW WE'RE COMPLYING AGAINST THOSE.
[00:25:01]
TO THE BOARD WHEN NEEDED.SO FOR INSTANCE, DB REQUIREMENTS, RIGHT? I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MAJOR CONTRACTS.
WE HAVE TARGETS OF XYZ PERIODICALLY REPORT BACK TO THE BOARD ON HOW WE'RE DOING AGAINST THOSE TARGETS.
UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND, AND IN ANY OTHER MAJOR DEVIATIONS FROM POLICIES THAT YOU THINK SHOULD PERCOLATE UP TO THE BOARD, NOT, NOT MINOR STUFF, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE POLICIES ARE NOT ETCHED IN STONE.
THEY ARE DYNAMIC SO REGULARLY.
WE, I WOULD IMAGINE WE'D BE UPDATING THEM AND GETTING BEST PRACTICES.
AND THEN I BELIEVE, UH, KATIE HAS KIND OF A WHISTLEBLOWER HOTLINE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING TOO, SO THAT I THINK TIES WELL INTO THESE POLICIES.
SO IF SOMEBODY SEES A VIOLATION THAT THEY COULD REPORT IT ANONYMOUSLY TO THE HOTLINE.
I THINK LASTLY, WITH RESPECT TO THE KIND OF, UM, STRATEGY TYPE THING, I'M APPLAUD THAT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD DO WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE THE RIGHT TIME TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, I THINK I SEE US KIND OF AGREEING ON OUR MISSION, OUR VALUES, OUR VISION, I SEE US KIND OF GOING THROUGH STRENGTH, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITY, A THREAT ANALYSIS.
THAT'S A GOOD TYPE OF ANALYSIS THAT ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE DOING REGULARLY.
I SEE US AGREEING ON KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, RIGHT? THREE OR FOUR DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE LONG-TAIL OBJECTIVES.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD COME BACK TO THE BOARD REGULARLY AND SAY, HOW ARE WE DOING AGAINST THOSE OBJECTIVES? AND THEY ALSO SEE US AGREEING ON KIND OF OUR BOARD DASHBOARD, OUR BOARD AGENDA, BUT WHAT TYPES OF THINGS SHOULD WE HAVE ON IT? SO I THINK THAT'LL BE A GOOD EXERCISE AND I THINK WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WELL, I WAS GOING TO BE QUIET ON MEETING, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE INSPIRED ME, SO THANK YOU.
UM, LOVE THE IDEA OF OUR BOARD ADOPTED POLICIES.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME ELECTRONIC REPOSITORY FOR THOSE POSITIVES POLICIES.
SO IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE THEM, THEY CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM, UH, IF THEY ARE MODIFIED WHEN THEY'RE MODIFIED AND HOW THEY'RE MODIFIED, UM, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GOING THROUGH THE TRAINING? IS IT THE BOARD? IS IT THE STAFF? UH, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WHO NEEDS TO COMPLY DOES COMPLY OVER A PERIOD OF TIME? UM, IT'S, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF, IF WE HAD, UM, A PLACE FOR US TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE HAD ACCESS TO THEM AND COULD SEE THEM REGULARLY, THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
UM, ALSO, UM, I LIKED THE IDEA OF, OF, UM, BEING ABLE TO CROSS WALK OUR PROJECTS, MEANING, UM, PROJECT BY PROJECT, WHAT ARE OUR DELIVERABLES? AND, UH, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE, UH, THE PERCENTAGE OF COMPLETION? WHAT STAGE ARE WE IN? UH, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAY, UH, WHAT IS IN PLANNING? UH, WHAT IS, WHAT HAS, UH, WHAT IS BEING EXECUTED? UH, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE PROJECT IS COMPLETE? UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, SINCE, SINCE WE ARE, UH, MANAGING A PROGRAM, YEAH.
PROJECT CONNECT IS A PROGRAM OF PROJECTS.
WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY AND WHERE THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS.
AND IT JUST GIVES THE, THE PUBLIC AND OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO SEE WHERE WE ARE AND HOW WE ARE, ARE MAKING PROGRESS.
FOR EXAMPLE, UM, SINCE PROJECT, UH, SINCE CAP REMAP, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER 18 PROJECTS IN THE EASTERN CORRIDOR.
WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE.
WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WAS DONE THERE.
WHAT'S COMPLETE, WHAT'S UNDER, UH, WHAT'S CURRENTLY BEING WORKED ON.
THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT I THINK GIVE CONFIDENCE TO THE PUBLIC, THAT, YES, WE ARE, WE ARE WORKING, WE ARE PLANNING, WE ARE EXECUTING.
AND, AND, AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND I THINK, UH, WILL, WILL ALLOW US TO MAINTAIN, UH, THE CONFIDENCE THAT THE PUBLIC HAS SHOWN US.
AND IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, UM, BEFORE YOU ANSWERED THIS REPORT IS ALSO GOING TO LIVE ON THE WEBSITE, RIGHT.
UH, I THINK THE ECHO COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS, RIGHT, WHEN YOU DO THIS, W THIS IS THE OLD CIP REPORTING, RIGHT? YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FOR THE BOARDS, BUT IT'S FOR THE PUBLIC.
AND IT'S, SO THAT, THERE'S A, UM, UM, ON SOME OF THE CONSISTENCY TO INFORMATION, I'M STARTING AT THE ROOT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND PART OF JEN'S ROLE IN, IN, IN ALL OF OUR PROJECT CONTROLS WORK IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL USING THE SAME DATA AS WE REPORT OUT.
WE HAVE TO REPORT OUT TO FTA, WANT TO REPORT OUT TO THE BOARD WHEN TO REPORT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK THAT'S FANTASTIC EXACT INPUT THAT WE NEED, SO WE CAN STILL BUILD THIS OUT, UM, KNOWING THAT SOME PROJECTS ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY.
[00:30:01]
I THINK CAP METRO IS LEADING ON METRO RAPIDS AND GREAT SUCCESS THAT THE GROUNDBREAKING, UM, AND WE START WEAVING THOSE TRUE METRICS INTO THAT.AND I THINK THAT IS, UM, THAT IS WHERE WE WANT TO GET TO AND GET TO VERY SOON.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING ALSO IS THAT WE CURRENTLY, IN OUR WEBSITE, WE DO HAVE A LINK TO ALL OF THE POLICIES LIKE THE JPA AND ALL OF THE ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS ARE LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE, THESE POLICIES THAT WILL ALSO LIVE IN THAT SAME PLACE, OR WOULD THAT BE LOCATED SOMEWHERE ELSE? YEAH, I WOULD SAY THE EXTERNAL POLICIES AND THEN THE INTERNAL POLICIES WILL BE MORE ON AN INTERNAL SHARED DRIVE, BUT I DO WANT TO ECHO ALL THE COMMENTS ABOUT THAT COMPLIANCE.
AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
WE HAVE TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY AROUND TRAINING AND COMPLIANCE, UM, AS WE'RE DOING ALL THESE OTHER THINGS, BUT IT IS, IT IS, UM, WE KNOW THAT THAT'S ROOTED HAVING THE POLICY IS GREAT IF YOU'RE NOT COMPLYING WITH IT OR TRAINING ON IT, IT'S, IT'S SITTING THERE.
AND SO WE WANT TO DO THAT AS WELL.
AND WE'RE ALSO BE LOOKING AT, IN TERMS OF THE EXTERNAL FACING WEBSITE, UH, IS MAKING SURE THAT IS ADDRESSING, UM, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF OUT THERE.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO POINT WE'RE THROWING A LOT OF STUFF THAT, THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ADDRESSING WHAT THAT WEBSITE NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE.
SO FROM A USABILITY PERSPECTIVE FROM, UM, OUR, OUR CITIZENS CAN LOOK AT THAT.
SO WE'LL BE ADDRESSING THAT HERE IN THE UPCOMING MONTHS AS WELL.
DO WE HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION FROM THE BOARD? NO, THANK YOU.
[6.a. Status of Work on Updated Light Rail Implementation Plan]
SO WITHOUT OBJECTION, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT THIS BOARD PICK UP ACTION.I MEAN, ITEM NUMBER SIX, A IN OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS THE STATUS OF THE WORK ON THE UPDATE LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
AND IF YOU RECALL THIS ITEM BUILDS ON THE STAFF DIALOGUE THAT THIS BOARD LED ON JULY 20TH IN REPRESENTING THIS ITEM, WE HAVE BRIAN BUCHANAN, VICE-PRESIDENT WITH HDR, JENNIFER PINE ATP, LEAD OF PROJECT CONTROLS AND RISK MANAGEMENT AND PETER MULLEN ATP LEAD OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN.
MA'AM CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
UM, THREE OF US WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A QUICK LITTLE UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE, UM, AFTER OUR MEETING BACK ON JULY 20TH.
SO WHAT DID WE HEAR FROM THAT CONVERSATION? UM, I THINK WE HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DO THE WORK NOW TO DEVELOP IN OUR PROJECT AND GET IT DEFINED.
SO SPEND THE TIME NOW TO DO, TO DO THAT WORK, BUT BE RIGOROUS ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE PROCESS, UM, BE THOROUGH AND IT, BUT DON'T BE SLOW ABOUT IT AND MOVE FORWARD.
SO, UM, WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND THEN CONTINUE TO BE INCLUSIVE AND TRANSPARENT IN THE PROCESSING, CONTINUE TO DO THE OUTREACH.
SO I HOPE YOU'LL SEE THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE SINCE THEN, UM, ALL TRANSPIRE AROUND SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WE HEARD THERE ON THE 20TH.
SO, UM, I'LL JUST, UH, BRING EVERYBODY BACK TO THE GREAT CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BEEHIVE AND ALL THE BUSY BEES THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING AROUND HERE.
UM, SO ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF, OF THE, OF THE WORK IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND YOU, UH, BRIEFED OUT ON SEVERAL OF THE COMMITTEES THAT WE MET WITH, UM, OVER THE LAST, UM, 30 DAYS OR SO.
UM, BUT WE'VE ALSO BEEN TO SEVERAL OTHERS, UM, A JOINT OPERATIONS PLANNING MEETING AT CAPITAL METRO, THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL MORE THAT ARE SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, AS WE CONTINUE TO GO OUT AND BE TRANSPARENT AND TALK ABOUT OUR STORY ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THE PROGRAM FORWARD.
AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD, UM, ON TOP OF WHAT WAS BRIEFED OUT, UM, IS THAT THERE'S, THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHERE WE ARE THE RECOGNITION THAT THERE'S NEEDED WORK, THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND WE NEED TO TAKE THE TIME TO DO THAT.
UM, THERE'S A NEED TO BALANCE THE IMPROVEMENTS ON BOTH THE EXISTING WRITERS AND CUSTOMER BASE, BUT ALSO ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS, UM, TO THE, TO THE SYSTEM.
UM, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY OPTIONS THAT NEED TO BE LOOKED AT AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, BOTH HOW IT FITS IN THE STREET, HOW IT RUNS, UM, AS A SYSTEM, BUT, UH, LET'S LOOK AT THAT STUFF.
AND, UH, LET'S, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ONCE AGAIN, BEING THOROUGH IN OUR CONVERSATION, UM, ACCESS TO TRANSIT IS, IS IMPORTANT.
UM, SO DON'T JUST GO OUT AND BUILD A, A GREAT LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM DOWN THE MIDDLE OF STREET, AND DON'T COMPLETE SIDEWALKS AND SOME OF THAT TYPE OF ASPECT.
SO WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH THAT GET STARTED, LET'S GO, EVERYBODY'S READY.
UM, IT'S ABOUT TIME, YOU KNOW, THOSE TYPES OF CONVERSATIONS, UM, THAT, THAT WE HAD.
UM, AND I THINK THAT ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS THAT I HEARD, UM, JUST OUT THERE AND HAVING THIS CONVERSATION AND MY COLLEAGUES CAN CHIME IN HERE.
UM, BUT EVERYBODY IS READY TO ENGAGE IN, READY TO ASSIST.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT PLACE TO BE, UM, THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO HELP PROBLEM SOLVE AND, AND MOVE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
SO ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD, PETER? YEAH, I JUST HAD, I THINK THAT, UM,
[00:35:01]
WHAT'S, WHAT'S BEEN GREAT EVEN IN THIS SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WHERE WE'VE STARTED REACHING OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS AND OBVIOUSLY THIS IS THE WORK AND IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE CONTINUOUSLY FROM NOW UNTIL, YOU KNOW, WE GET THROUGH THIS PROCESS.IT'S NOT ONE AND DONE, UM, IS THAT THERE REALLY IS A DIVERSITY OF, OF OPINIONS, PERSPECTIVES, INTERESTS, AND ALL OF WHICH HAVE A LOT OF VALUE.
AND SO PART OF OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INTEGRATING ALL OF THAT INTO A KIND OF HOLISTIC APPROACH.
AND I THINK THAT'S BEEN THE WAY WE WANT IT TO WORK ALL ALONG.
AND THAT'S BEEN VALIDATED BY THIS INITIAL OUTREACH, AND I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO INFORM OUR WORK GOING FORWARD.
SO ON THE TECHNICAL REVIEW, UM, WE HAVE STARTED A SERIES OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS THIS WEEK.
UM, IF YOU COULD CLOSE YOUR EYES AND IMAGINE THIS ROOM FULL OF ATP STAFF, THAT IS WHAT HAS OCCURRED OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS.
WE'VE HAD THE WHOLE GROUP IN HERE, UM, TALKING ABOUT HOW WE, UM, MOVE, UH, THE PROGRAM FORWARD.
WHAT ARE SOME IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTATION? WE'RE GOING TO HOLD THOSE SAME SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH THE OTHER TWO PARTNERS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, AND THEN BRING EVERYBODY BACK TOGETHER FOR REPORT OUT.
LOGISTICS ON THE WAY WE NEEDED TO HANDLE THIS.
WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE A ROOM BIG ENOUGH TO BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER.
UM, BUT, UH, WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE WORK AND THE EFFORT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO THIS IS AN EFFORT TO, UH, COLLECT DATA.
WHAT DO WE HAVE, WHAT DO WE STUDIED BEFORE AND LOOK AT PAST WORK FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, WE ARE, UM, KIND OF HONING IN ON A, ON A WAY TO KIND OF START TO TALK ABOUT THIS AND MOVE THIS FORWARD.
UM, KIND OF AROUND SOME HIGH-LEVEL GROUPINGS OF LOOKING AT AN AT GRADE OPTION, LOOKING AT A SIMPLIFIED UNDERGROUND, UM, SCENARIO, AND THEN, UM, ELEVATED, UM, CONSIDERATIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO UNDERNEATH EACH ONE OF THOSE THEN IS OBVIOUSLY A WHOLE SET OF DIFFERENT, MORE COMPONENTS.
UM, THAT COULD BE IN EACH ONE AND ONLY ONE OF THEM.
UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN EACH ONE OF THOSE WILL BE STUDIED.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE COMBINED MAINTENANCE FACILITY, THE LOCATION, THE SIZE, AND ALL THAT.
WHAT ARE THE VEHICLES IN THE SYSTEMS LOOK LIKE? HOW DOES THE ONE CROSSING OF THE RIVER PLAY INTO ANY OF THOSE? SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY WE'RE GOING TO START THE CONVERSATION AND WORK OUR WAY THROUGH.
AND LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN WORKING REAL CLOSELY WITH STAFF OVER THE LAST WEEK.
I'M REALLY TRYING TO HONE IN ON, ON SOME OF THESE THINGS MOVING FORWARD.
ANYTHING YOU GUYS LOOKED AT ON THAT? NO, I MEAN, I THINK EVERYBODY'S EXCITED TO, TO DIG IN ON FINDING HOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT THOSE WERE, WHERE WE WANT TO GET TO, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZING THAT IT IS A PROCESS, RIGHT.
PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF ALL OF THE ELEMENTS.
ONCE YOU LOOK AT ONE ELEMENT, IT HAS EFFECT ON EVERY OTHER ELEMENT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE TO BOTH WORK EXPEDITIOUSLY, BUT I THINK, UM, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STUDYING THIS THOROUGHLY AND THAT WE UNDERSTAND ALL THE IMPACTS OF ANY POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM FROM WHERE WE ARE.
SO, UM, WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT METHODICALLY AND THOROUGHLY.
JEN, I KNOW IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO FOLLOW PETER, BUT DO YOU LIKE, I LOOK AT IT AGAIN.
I MEAN, I, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO NOTE PERHAPS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF TECHNICAL WORK, BUT YOU KNOW, OUR INTENTION IS THROUGHOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, SERIES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE DECISIONS WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LENSES, WHETHER IT'S EQUITY, SUSTAINABILITY, UH, AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR FTA TO BE OUR INVESTOR AND ANY PROJECT OR PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE DEFINE NEED TO BE COMPETITIVE FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.
SO WE HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS IN MIND AS WELL.
SO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, UM, THERE HAS BEEN COORDINATION MEETINGS WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION.
UM, WE MENTIONED, UH, THE GREAT PROJECTS ARE ALREADY STARTED UNDERNEATH THE PROGRAM, UM, PLEASANT VALLEY, UH, AND THE EXPO LINE FOR THE SMALL STARTS GRANT AGREEMENT.
SO WE'RE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT TRYING TO FINALIZE THAT, UM, WE MAY HAVE PROVIDED THEM UPDATES ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES GOING ON AND IN CONCERT WITH US ON THAT.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING OUR COORDINATION ON, ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT AS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, FOR THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS, UM, SOMEWHAT OF A, A MILESTONE IS A PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT CONSULTANT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED, UM, TO THIS, TO THE PROGRAM AND THEY WILL HAVE THEIR FIRST KICKOFF MEETING HERE ON SEPTEMBER 13TH AND 14TH.
AND THAT AGENDA INCLUDES EVERYBODY, UH, GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER, GETTING TO KNOW THE PROJECT AND GOING OUT FOR SOME PROJECT DOORS.
UM, ANY OTHER CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM? I WOULD SAY, I MEAN, WE ARE REGULARLY COORDINATING WITH MTA, BOTH HEADQUARTERS AND THE MORE LOCAL REGION SIX, AND YOU REALLY JUST WANT TO KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN.
SO THAT'S FTA AND ATP AND CAP METRO TOGETHER.
UM, WE WANT FDA TO BE AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHY WE'RE DOING IT.
UM, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IN A TIMELY MANNER AND, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET THROUGH PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND OUR PROJECTS ARE BETTER DEFINED, WE WANT TO BE IN A POSITION TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY TIMELY COORDINATE AND STRATEGIZE WITH FDA ABOUT THE BEST WAY TO CONCLUDE OUR
[00:40:01]
NEPA COMPLIANCE AND WORK THROUGH THE NEW STARTS PROCESS.AND SO WE THINK JUST THAT KIND OF REGULAR, UH, AN ONGOING COMMUNICATION IS THE WAY TO DO THAT.
THEIR FINAL SLIDE, JUST A REMINDER OF KIND OF THE SCHEDULE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT, UM, CONTINUE, UM, TELLING STORY GOING OUT AND MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY, GETTING FEEDBACK, UM, THROUGH JULY AND AUGUST AND CONTINUED INTO EARLY SEPTEMBER AS PART OF THAT, UH, WE'VE ALREADY KICKED OFF SOME OF THE WORK PLANNING AND THE TECHNICAL AND COMMUNITY CHECK-INS AND ADVANCING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UM, WITH SOME OF THE WORKSHOPS WE THAT HAVE OCCURRED THIS WEEK AND WILL OCCUR THIS WEEK AND THEN AIMING FOR THIS SPRING TO BRING IN UPDATED LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UM, TO THE POLICY MAKERS FOR CONSIDERATION.
SO WITH THAT, WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD MEMBER ELKINS? I'M SURE YOU COULD HAVE TAKEN A BET THAT I WOULD HAVE ASKED A QUESTION, BUT I HAD A COUPLE ACTUALLY.
UH, BRIAN, UH, PETER AND, UM, JEN, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, I, THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION ON COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR MUCH DISCUSSION ABOUT MARKET SOUNDING AND INPUT FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, WHICH I PERSONALLY, BEING A PRIVATE SECTOR GUY, I BELIEVE IS CRITICAL.
I'VE SEEN IN PERSONAL PROJECTS WHEN YOU HAVE A FUNDING GAP SOURCES EQUAL USES, AND WE HAVE ONE HERE REACHING OUT TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR THEIR INPUT IS VERY HELPFUL BECAUSE THE PRIVATE SECTOR WANTS A PROJECT TO BID ON, RIGHT? IT'S IN THEIR INTEREST TO HELP SOLVE IT SOURCES VERSUS USES GAP MACRO SPECTRUM.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK REALLY SHOULD BE IN THIS.
I DID SEE A MARKET SOUNDING BOX IN YOUR BEEHIVE HERE, BUT I JUST, HOW ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING THAT? AND IN TYING IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND, I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO ASK THAT QUESTION.
UM, WE ACTUALLY HAD A MEETING RIGHT BEFORE THIS BOARD MEETING, WHERE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE PLAN TO DEVELOP ON HOW WE DO MARKET SOUNDLY WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND ALL THAT.
SO WE ARE DEVELOPING A PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, I WOULD RECOMMEND IF I COULD NOT A RFI WRITTEN, I WOULD RECOMMEND ONE-ON-ONE FACE-TO-FACE CONFIDENTIAL MARKET SOUNDING.
SO I THINK THAT IS VERY WISE ADVICE TO UNDERSTAND.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS WHERE ARE YOU GETTING INPUT WHEN YOU'RE DOING VALUE ENGINEERING? IT'S A COMBINATION ITERATION OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION PRICING AND SCHEDULING.
HOW ARE YOU GETTING THE CONSTRUCTION PRICING AND THE SCHEDULING INTO YOUR ANALYSIS? SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A CONTRACTOR AND WE DON'T HAVE A PMC I'M ONBOARD, WHERE'S THAT DATA COMING IN? SO WE HAVE CON COST ESTIMATE IN OUR CONTRACT.
EOI IS ALSO PROVIDING SOME INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATING.
AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT MOST OF THE COST ESTIMATORS, WE EMPLOY ALONG WITH THE Y OR X CONTRACTORS.
SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY USING, YOU KNOW, MEANS AND HEAVY BID AND STUFF LIKE THAT TO ACTUAL DO, TAKE DOWN TYPE COMP, UM, ESTIMATING FOR THE PROGRAM CREW IN IT AND PUTTING MATERIALS AND PUTTING LABOR ASSOCIATED WITH IT, VERY DETAILED COST ESTIMATE KIND OF REAL TIME, REAL TIME BASED.
IT'S BASED ON TODAY'S ASK WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IN TODAY'S MARKETS USE A BID TABS THAT ARE CURRENT, WHETHER IT BE TEXT.CITY, AUSTIN, ANY GLOBAL FROM ANY OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES, BUT THEY CORRECTED FOR WHATEVER THE AUSTIN FACTOR IS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
UM, AND NEXT, THE LAST QUESTION, UM, DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODELS ARE COMING IN TO, SHALL WE SAY, FLAVORED DESSERT RIGHT NOW? SO THE CURRENT TREND IS TOWARDS PROGRESSIVE COLLABORATIVE, EARLY INVOLVEMENT OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AS OPPOSED TO TRADITIONAL 30% HARD BIDS.
HOW IS THE TREND OF DELIVERY MODELS SHAPING THIS ANALYSIS THAT YOU'RE DOING? SO THEY HAVE TO BE BUILT INTO IT.
AND WE ARE WORKING ONCE AGAIN THROUGH THAT PROCESS AT ANOTHER CONVERSATION ABOUT SETTING UP A CONTRACTING PLAN AND STARTING TO LOOK AT ALL THE PLUSES AND MINUSES AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODELS.
SO IT IS PART OF THE BEEHIVE PART OF THE WORK PLAN AND PART OF THE WORK YET TO COME IF YOU GO BACK TO THE PERSON.
SO I THINK THERE'S A, THERE IS A BI THERE'S SOME IN FINANCIAL ANALYSIS, PART OF THAT, THAT HONEYCOMB INCLUDES PROJECT.
UM, AND HONESTLY, THAT'S ONE OF THE INPUTS THAT IS GONNA HAVE AN IMPACT ON, ON HOW FOR SURE.
AND MY LAST QUESTION, MORE TOWARDS GEN GENESSEE, YOUR TITLE IS CHIEF OF PLANNING AND RISK MANAGEMENT.
SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE SECOND PART OF YOUR TITLE.
I WOULD LIKE PRETTY, IT'S A PRETTY FRESH TITLE, SO, BUT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE MEETINGS, A DISCUSSION OF RISK AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, UM, LIGHT RAIL UPDATE, WHAT ARE THE RISKS THAT THE TEAM AND THE CONSULTANTS ARE SEEING? I SEE US AS A BOARD, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FOCUSED ON A LOT OF THINGS, RIGHT.
[00:45:01]
I SEE, AND I'VE MENTIONED THIS TO GREG AND WE CHATTED WITH THE MAYOR ON OUR BOARD BRIEFING IS WE WANT TO BE A BOARD WHERE WE'RE BRIEFED ON EARLY RISKS SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE GUIDANCE AS OPPOSED TO WHEN WE HAVE A RISK AND IT'S ALL NAILED DOWN AND IT'S GOT A BOW ON IT, AND THAT IS PRESENTED RIGHT.THAT I SEE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THAT DIRECTION.
SO AS YOU'RE SEEING RISKS, AS YOU'VE SEEN CONCERNS, AS YOU DO THIS LIGHT WHEEL UPDATE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD WITH THEM ON A REGULAR BASIS, I THINK WOULD BE A HELPFUL PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, AND CERTAINLY WHY WE WANT TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE SEEING RISKS AND MANAGING THEM HONESTLY, TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY.
UM, AND WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF SETTING UP OUR CONTROLS AND HOW WE WILL BE MANAGING RISK, UM, THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THE CONTRACTS AND THE PROJECT, BUT MAJOR RISK, OBVIOUSLY BOARD, YOU KNOW, REGULAR DAY-TO-DAY, BUT CERTAIN THINGS THAT PERCOLATE UP THERE ARE VERY LARGE AND HEAVY RISKS.
I THINK THOSE ARE THE THINGS WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO WEIGH IN ON.
THANK YOU, MEMBER ELKINS, AND THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT FEEDBACK AND ANSWERS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ELSE? I DO HAVE ONE THING TO ASK ABOUT, UM, REGARDING THE, UH, THERE WAS A TASK ALSO THAT ENY IS GIVING US AN INDEPENDENT COST ANALYSIS.
AND WHERE ARE WE IN THAT PROCESS WITH IAN? WHY? UM, YES.
UM, THEY ARE PREPARING AN INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH OUR 30% PLANS THAT WERE IN DEVELOPMENT FOR SOME TIME.
UM, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT WE REALLY HAVE PIVOTED TO LOOK AT THE WORK PLAN, BUT I'LL SAY AS FAR AS THE STATUS OF THAT, UM, WE'RE STILL REVIEWING AND PROVIDING SOME COMMENTS AND INPUT, UH, ON THOSE MATERIALS.
SO, AND I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN REALLY IMPACTFUL BECAUSE OF WHAT THE WORLD HAS SEEN THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND THE EFFECTS OF IT, HOW MUCH OF THAT, AND IF I HEARD YOUR ANSWER CORRECTLY, MR. BUCHANAN IS THAT THE CURRENT COST ADDRESS, THE CURRENT MARKET, RIGHT? THE CURRENT CONDITIONS.
AND AS AN OPTIMIST, I BELIEVE THAT THINGS ARE GOING TO COME TO SETTLE DOWN AND WE'LL FIND A NEW, A NEW STABILITY.
SO I KNOW WITH THE COST, AS SOON AS I HAVE COME UP, THAT THERE ARE SOCIAL AND ESCALATION BUILT IN BASED ON THE YEARS THAT THIS WORK IS PLANNING ON BEING DELIVERED.
BUT I HOPE THAT NOT THE ENTIRETY OF THE INFLATION, LABOR, SHORTAGES CHAIN OF SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING ARE THERE FOR THE LIFE OF THIS PROGRAM.
SO CAN YOU SHARE SOME IDEA WITH US OF WHAT WERE THE, A GOOD BALANCE OF UNDERSTANDING WHERE WHAT WE CAN EXPECT WITH THE COST? I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO PROMISE IF WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH A VALUE ENGINEERING EFFORT.
I DON'T WANT TO TELL THE COMMUNITY SET.
I WANT TO SET US SAFE EXPECTATIONS.
AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD PUT IT THIS WAY.
UM, OUR CRYSTAL BALL IS AS GOOD AS YOUR CRYSTAL BALL.
UM, BUT THEY HAVE BUILT IN TO THE MODEL ESCALATION FACTORS, UM, SOMEWHAT BASED ON TODAY, BUT TEMPERED A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS THE END.
UM, HOPEFULLY WITH A LEVELING OFF OF SUPPLY CHAIN AND SOME OF THESE ISSUES WE HAVE BOARD.
UM, SO WE ARE NOT CARING, HONESTLY, WHAT THE, WHAT THE ESCALATION WE ARE SEEING THROUGH LIKE ENR AND MEAN SEVEN, EIGHT, 9%.
WE ARE NOT CARRYING THAT OUT TO THE MID POINT OF CONSTRUCTION.
WE HAVE TRIED TO TEMPER THAT BACK BASED ON A LOT OF CONVERSATION, A LOT OF STUFF JEN TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH WITH THE UI ON WHAT THOSE TYPES OF MODELS SHOULD LOOK LIKE, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, SO WE ARE NOT, WE ARE NOT PROJECTING THE, UH, WHAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE WHOLE ENTIRE PROGRAM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO YOU, YOU KNOW, MADE ME A LITTLE NERVOUS THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, MY THOUGHT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO HAVE A TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING.
THE TECHNICAL REVIEW IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.
I'M GOING TO WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY, UH, THE CRITICAL PATH, IF YOU WILL.
UH, MY EXPECTATION SINCE I'VE BEEN IN GOVERNMENT FOR 30 YEARS IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE VOTE ON A PROJECT THREE YEARS BEFORE THE SHOVEL HITS THE GROUND.
SO MY EXPECTATION WILL BE THAT THERE ARE SOME PRICE DIFFERENTIALS.
MY EXPECTATION IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE TECHNICALLY SOUND, UH, THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GRIP ON THAT WE WILL, THAT WE WILL PRODUCE THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE REQUESTED.
AND WE EXPLAIN HOW WE GET THERE.
UH, YEAH, I THINK ANYBODY WHO EXPECTS THAT WE'RE GOING
[00:50:01]
TO DO AN ESTIMATE TODAY AND WE'RE GOING TO HIT THAT NUMBER THREE YEARS FROM NOW.I'VE NEVER, EVER SEEN THAT HAPPEN IN 40 YEARS GOVERNMENT, BUT, BUT WE CAN HAVE A SOUND TECHNICAL PLAN AND WE CAN UNDERSTAND OUR PROCESSES AND INFORM OUR COMMUNITY OF WHAT WE SEE FROM DAY TO DAY.
BECAUSE JUST LIKE WE SAW PRICES ESCALATE WITH ESCALATE.
WE HAVE ALSO SEEN THEM COME DOWN TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, BUT WHAT HAS TO BE SOLID IS OUR TECHNICAL PLAN AND, AND, AND HOW WE, AND HOW WE GET TO ULTIMATELY WHERE THE PUBLIC EXPECTS US TO GO.
SO IT IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE TECHNICAL PLANNING IS AN ORDER AND THAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF ALL THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE EXPECTED.
AND THEN THAT WE ARE INFORMING THE COMMUNITY AS PRICES FLUCTUATE, OR AS THEY GO UP, OR THEY GO DOWN THAT THE TECHNICAL PATH, UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICAL PATH, MAKING THE DECISIONS ABOUT WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE ONE MILE OF FOUR MILES OF THE TUNNEL IS WHAT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME.
I WANT TO, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M BUYING AND I WANNA KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO EXECUTE THAT.
AND, AND WE WILL, AND WE WILL DEAL WITH CONSTANTLY OTHER ISSUES AS, AS WE GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE ARE CONSTRUCTING.
SO JUST BED AND 50 CENTS WILL GET YOU A TERRIBLE CUP OF COFFEE.
I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION JUST PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN SAID.
SO ON THE SCHEDULE ON PAGE 11, YOU KNOW, TH THIS ENDS AT A SPRING 23 UPDATED LIGHT RAIL INTO AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
WHAT I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IS WILL YOU BE COMING TO THE BOARD PERIODICALLY WITH PRESENTATIONS OF WHAT ANALYSES YOU'VE DONE? SO FOR INSTANCE, IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT, AT GRADE VERSUS TUNNEL, WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT NINE MONTHS TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
WILL WE BE GETTING PROGRESS REPORTS ON DIFFERENT TRADE-OFFS? YEAH, I THINK THE EXPECTATION IS THAT STAFF WILL BE IN FRONT OF YOU ALMOST EVERY MONTH WITH A CADENCE OF CONVERSATIONS BUILDING UP TO THAT, BUT YOU DO IT EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, WHAT HAVE WE DONE TODAY? SHOW IT, WHAT ARE WE DONE TODAY? TALK ABOUT IT IN THOSE THINGS.
NOT, NOT JUST WAIT UNTIL THE END.
CAUSE WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS IF WE'VE DONE AT GRAY VERSUS TUNNEL OF SAFE OR ELIMINATING UNDERGROUND STATIONS VERSUS WHATEVER THE ANALYSIS MIGHT BE, THAT WE WOULD HAVE A DISCUSSION OF TRADE OFF PROS AND CONS.
IF WE DO THIS, HERE'S THE COST ANALYSIS WAS A SCHEDULE IMPACT.
HERE ARE THE, UH, QUALITATIVE PROS AND CONS THOSE THAT TYPE OF EXACTLY.
W THE, WE WILL BE HERE EVERY MONTH.
WE ARE EVERY MONTH UPDATING AND ADDING, UH, WHAT WE WOULD WANT IT TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT.
LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT ON THE 20TH AND HERE TODAY IS DEVELOPING THE WORK PLAN NEEDS TO BE WELL THOUGHT OUT TILL WE CAN GO EXECUTE IT WELL AND KEEP THE TIME MOVING.
AND THAT REQUIRES US COMING BACK HERE AND HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS AND STARTING TO LAYER IN ALL OF THE RISK FACTORS THAT WE HAVE THE CHOICES AND DECISIONS, AND SO THAT WE CAN BRING EVERYONE BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY IS WATCHING THIS AS WELL.
AND THEN WE GO OUT AND HAVE THE SAME CONVERSATION.
SO WE'LL BE EVERY MONTH, UH, HAVING THIS.
AND I IMAGINE WE MIGHT HAVE TO ADD SOME TABLES AND BRING SOME PEOPLE AND HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, LIKE WE DID LAST MONTH FOR CERTAIN CERTAIN TOPICS, WHETHER IT'S DELIVERY OR SOME OF THE CHOICES AROUND TECHNICAL.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE DIALOGUE AND THAT'S WHY WE WANTED TO UPDATE YOU TODAY ON EVEN THIS THREE WEEKS WORTH OF WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, THE TEAM HAS REALLY PROGRESSED IT.
AND WE MADE SURE WE BROUGHT EVERYONE TOGETHER, INCLUDING THE CITY AND CAP METRO TO STEER THIS WORK PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S WELL THOUGHT OUT SO WE CAN GET MOVING AND GET IT DONE.
AND I THINK TO ADD CHAIR TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE DATA THAT WAS PRODUCED FROM, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT ALL THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE ON THE, ON THE VISION OF LIGHT RAIL, ALL THAT DATA IS GOING TO BE USED, WHETHER THAT'S COST ESTIMATE, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING TO HELP INFORM.
UM, THERE'S SOME NEW ENGINEERING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, BUT SOME OF THE ENGINEERING WORK, THE ASSESSMENT WORK CAN BE USED IN PIVOT IT TO SOME NEW THINGS THAT ARE BEING LOOKED AT.
SO WE WANT TO, UM, IT'S NOT A START OVER IT'S IT'S REPLICATING EFFORTS THAT WE'VE HAD AND USING THAT DATA THAT WE'VE, THAT HAS BEEN ALREADY GENERATED FROM OUR TEAMS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR TWO YEARS.
SO WE'RE, UH, WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION TO, TO USE THAT EFFORT.
AND I APPRECIATE THE CADENCE ALSO OF ALL OF YOU GOING TO THE MOBILITY COMMISSION AS WELL, TOO, AS YOU PRESENT TO THIS BOARD AND YOU'RE GOING ON, YOU'RE DOING YOUR ROUNDS AROUND THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE I THINK WHEN AN IMPORTANT DISCUSSION THAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING WITH OUR MOBILITY, UM, OFFICER WITH A NICO DAY, SHE WANTS TO ALSO HELP THE CD DEPARTMENTS BE PART OF THE SOLUTION AND THE
[00:55:01]
CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING.SO REALLY HOW YOU ENGAGE WITH ALL OF THE CITY.
IT'S REALLY REMARKABLE TO, TO HELP FIND SOLUTIONS THAT THEY HAVE IDEAS, RIGHT.
AND HOW CAN THEY BE PART OF THE, THE EQUATION AND, AND, UM, AND WITH OUR PARTNERS AT CAP METRO, YOU KNOW, MIDDLE EAST, WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO OPERATE IT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE IDEAS ON, ON BEST PRACTICES AS WELL.
SO ALL OF THIS ITERATION IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF TIME.
AND, UM, AND I THINK ONE THING I DID NOT SEE IN YOUR REPORT IS THAT I BELIEVE THERE WAS AN, A CELEBRATORY NOTE, UH, AN AWARD FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT I BELIEVE, UH, HAPPENED THIS WEEK WITH LONNIE IS LONNIE LONNIE.
WHY DON'T YOU TELL US ABOUT IT? OKAY.
THANK YOU NEXT ONE NEXT MONTH, BUT WE'RE EXCITED AS WELL.
REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE DACA? OH, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THIS.
UM, I JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP THAT DIALOGUE GOING WITH MOBILITY COMMITTEE, UM, AS OUR ASM P GOALS SORT OF CHANGE IN SHIFT IN RESPONSE TO MARKET CONDITIONS AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD TODAY, UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU APPROACH THIS WORK, EVERYTHING ELSE DOESN'T IS NOT HELD CONSTANT TO TODAY'S, UM, ACTIVITY AND LEVELS.
SO, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT MOBILITY COMMITTEE CAN, CAN BE OF SERVICE TO YOU AND, AND THE REST OF THE ATD TEAM AND THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT ALL OF THAT.
UM, SO NOW MOVING ON TO, UM, OUR FIRST ACTION ITEMS NOW, SO
[5.a. Approval of minutes from the July 20 Board Meeting]
I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MEETING MINUTES BECAUSE OUR FIRST SECTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JULY 20TH, 2022 AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING.IF I CAN REQUEST THE MOTION AND A SECOND ON THIS ACTION ITEM, MOTION BY MAYOR ADLER.
SECOND BY MEMBER ELKINS, EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY, AYE, AYE.
THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
[5.b. Approval of a resolution electing ATP Vice Chair]
ACTION ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION TO ELECT OUR ATP VICE CHAIR.AND I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS MOTION FOR THIS ITEM.
AND, UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE, UH, MAYOR ADLER TO BE OUR VICE CHAIR FOR THIS POSITION.
AND I LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS OF WHY I THINK YOU'RE THE PERFECT PERSON TO JOIN ME IN HOLDING HANDS, NOT ONLY TO FINISH YOUR MURAL SHIP, BUT TO ME, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT MAYOR THAT WE RECOGNIZE THE LEGACY AND TO HONOR THE LEGACY, BECAUSE I THINK IN ALL THE YEARS THAT I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN, YOU HAVE BEEN THE LEADER THAT HAS SET THE THINGS IN MOTION FOR EQUITY, FOR AFFORDABILITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHICH WE NEED FOR SURVIVAL MOBILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
AND FOR ME, ALL THESE THINGS, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THESE WORDS AND REALLY TO HONOR THE LEGACY THAT YOU HAVE PRESENTED US WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY OF WHAT THIS TRANSFORMATIVE PROGRAM CAN MEAN FOR OUR CITY.
AND I HOPE YOU AND MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS COULD UPSET THIS NOMINATION FOR YOU AS OUR VICE CHAIR.
UM, ANY DISCUSSION OR IF I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR SUPPORT OR ANYBODY THAT COULD SECOND THIS MOTION AND OUTSTANDING CHOICE, I WOULD SECOND THE MOTION.
HAVE THE GOOD FORTUNE TO, UH, TO WORK WITH THE MAYOR FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, UH, YOU KNOW, LONG DAYS GETTING UP VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING, UH, WILLINGNESS TO TALK TO EVERYBODY.
UH, NO MOMENT WAS TOO BIG FOR HIM AS WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS AND, UM, ALWAYS HAD A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE IN HIM.
UH, BUT TO, BUT TO SEE HIM WORK TO, TO, UH, BRING A PROJECT THAT WAS GOING TO TRANSFORM THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, UH, WAS, WAS I THINK A, UH, A LESSON IN GOOD GOVERNANCE.
SO, UM, SO I CERTAINLY, UM, SUPPORT, UH, THE NOMINATION OF HIM AND, AND, AND
[01:00:01]
THINK OF THIS FITTING AS WELL.I JUST WANT TO SAY, THANK YOU, OBVIOUSLY THIS PROJECT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART AND ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP IN THE TIME THAT I HAVE LEFT.
I KNOW THAT ONCE YOU'RE NO LONGER A MAYOR, YOU, I HOPE WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE YOU AS AMBASSADOR FOR THIS PROGRAM.
JUST LIKE WE SENT COLETTE TO INDIANAPOLIS.
SHE'S OUR AMBASSADOR FROM INDIANAPOLIS ON THIS PROGRAM AND SHE'S WATCHING FROM AFAR AND AS WE REALLY PLANT THE SEEDS OF, OF UNITY AROUND THIS PROGRAM, I REALLY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, INVITE YOU TO, TO HELP US HOLD OUR HAND THROUGH THIS ENTIRE JOURNEY.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, UM, IF I COULD PLEASE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE, I'LL MAKE A MOTION SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
UH, IF I'M MISSING A MEETING, I HOPE THAT YOU CAN COVER IT FOR ME.
YOU HAVE MORE PRACTICE THAN ME FOR SURE.
[5.c. Approval of a resolution appointing a Board Liaison to the Planning, Sustainability, Equity & DBE Advisory Committee]
OUR THIRD ACTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL FOR RESOLUTION APPOINTING, A BOARD LIAISON TO THE PLANNING, SUSTAINABILITY EQUITY AND DBE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.AND, UM, I WOULD, BEFORE I REQUEST A MOTION, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO OPEN THIS UP FOR THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION.
AND WHO'D, YOU WOULD THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, BOARD MEMBER FEE ON DACA HAS BEEN COVERING THE MEETINGS FOR DR.
BURNETT'S ABSENCE AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ALSO HAVE THIS VACANCY ON OUR BOARD FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UM, EXPERTISE THAT IT'S, WE'RE ABOUT TO FEEL.
UM, I'M THINKING THAT, AND PLEASE GUIDE ME, UH, CASEY, IF I'M DOING THIS CORRECTLY, BUT I HOPE THAT THIS, UH, APPROVAL WOULD BE JUST A TEMPORARY UNTIL WE HAVE THIS BOARD SEATED HERE, BECAUSE I WAS WONDERING YOU HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE TO DO ANOTHER COMMITTEE, BUT THAT'S RIGHT.
BURNETT'S REPLACEMENT THAT COMMUNITY DIRECTOR SEAT WILL KIND OF AUTOMATICALLY BE THE LIAISON TO TWO PEACE SEC, ONCE THEY'RE ON BOARD.
SO, SO IF WE GO THROUGH THE SCHEDULE OF, WHEN WE EXPECT TO SEE THIS BOARD MEMBER WOULD BE PERHAPS NOVEMBER, RIGHT? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER MEETING.
AND I WOULD LIKE, WHAT I WOULD EXPECT IS THAT THIS BOARD LIAISON COVERING THIS POSITION HELPS US SO TRANSITION OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER FOR SEVERAL MEETINGS.
AND WITH THAT, I LIKE TO OFFER IT TO WHO WOULD LIKE TO LEAD IF IT'S GINA CONTINUING IN THIS ROLE, IF IT'S MAYOR AS OUR VICE CHAIR, BECAUSE KHALED WAS OUR VICE CHAIR NUMBER ELK IS YOUR HANDLING THE FAR COMMITTEE.
I MEAN, WHO WOULD LIKE TO OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER OF MR. TREVELYAN? UM, SO WHO WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON THIS CAPACITY, UM, UH, CHAIR, THANK YOU FOR THAT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
UM, UH, I'M WILLING TO CONTINUE SERVING, SHOULD IT BE THE BOARD'S PLEASURE.
I WOULD LOVE FOR THAT TO BE THE CASE.
UM, YOU SECOND FOR MEMBER CANDOCO.
UM, WITH THAT, EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
CAN WE GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS VICE CHAIR MOTION? I JUST WANT TO, IT REMINDED ME THAT THE EFFECTIVE THAT THE MAYOR'S TERM WILL, WILL JUST BE THROUGH DECEMBER.
SO WE JUST KIND OF NEED TO MAKE THAT AMENDMENT AND VOTE ON THAT AMENDMENT AND TO FILL IN THE BLANK ON THE RESOLUTION.
SO MY APOLOGIES, I DIDN'T INTERVENE EARLIER, SO YEAH, IF YOU WANT TO, UM, CALL FOR JUST A MOTION TO AMEND THE, UM, PRIOR THE PRIOR MOTION TO ADD THE EFFECT THAT, THAT THE MAYOR'S TERM WILL BE EFFECTIVE THROUGH, UM, DECEMBER 31ST, 2022.
LET'S JUST MAKE THE MOMENT AMENDMENT JUST IN CASE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A GAP PROBABLY ALL RECENTLY.
SO IF I CAN PLEASE HAVE WE'RE GOING BACK TO ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO ON THE RESOLUTION TO APPOINT THE ATP VICE CHAIR EFFECTIVE DATE THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2022.
UM, CAN I PLEASE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THAT AMENDMENT MOTION
[01:05:01]
BY MEMBER ELKINS SECOND BY MEMBER TREVELYAN EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.AND THE AMENDMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED.
UM, DID WE FINISH ACTION ITEM THREE WITH YOUR APPOINTMENT UNANIMOUSLY? I FORGET.
UM, NOW MOVING ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UM, SO NOW WE WILL HEAR
[6.b. Proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Presentation]
THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 PROPOSED BUDGET.WELCOME MS. DIANE SEILER, OUR BUDGET DIRECTOR.
AND JAMIE, PLEASE REMIND ME YOUR LAST NAME.
I'M JUST GOING TO DO A FEW INTRODUCTORY REMARKS TO GET STARTED AND I DO WANT TO RECOGNIZE DIANE AND JAMIE'S AND THE WHOLE TEAMWORK, YOU KNOW, BUDGET.
ISN'T JUST A FINANCIAL DOCUMENT.
IT'S A PLANNING DOCUMENT AND WE HAVE EVERYONE INVOLVED IN, IN DOING THIS AND TRYING TO ITERATE WHAT WE'RE DOING AS A BUDGET, UM, UH, MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT AS A ROADMAP TO WHERE WE ARE AND WHO WE ARE.
UM, SO I WANT TO START WITH THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THIS IS ACTUALLY COMES FROM THE RESOLUTION AROUND THE BOARD'S RESOLUTION AROUND, UH, THE JPA, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A VISION.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON.
WE TALK A LOT, UH, EVEN TODAY, SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS WERE TALKING A LOT ABOUT OUTPUT, RIGHT, ABOUT WHERE OUR, UM, UH, THE, THE, THE VEHICLES THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE, THEY'RE REALLY IMPORTANT.
BUT I THINK WE ALSO, WHAT THIS VISION REMINDS US, AS WE'RE ALWAYS FOCUSED, WE HAVE TO BE FOCUSED ON OUTCOMES, OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CREATING COMMUNITY, WE'RE CREATING, WE'RE IMPROVING ENHANCING EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
AND FROM ALL THAT, IT'S GREAT TO JUST ALWAYS ROOT AS WE ROUTE OUR BUDGET IS IN YES, THERE'S NUMBERS IN OUR BUDGET.
UM, I'M A RECOVERING FINANCE PERSON.
SO EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, I, I LOOK AT NUMBERS STILL AND IT IS, BUT THIS, WHAT YOU SEE TODAY IS PART OF YOUR BUDGET, WHAT YOU SEE TODAY WHEN WE'RE BRINGING ACTION ITEMS FOR, IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT DRIVING TOWARDS OUTCOMES FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
SO TO THAT NOTE, I WANTED JUST TO HAVE A FEW, FEW THINGS TO MENTION BEFORE, UM, DIANE AND JAMIE WALK US THROUGH, UH, THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND THE SCHEDULE FOR APPROVING THAT HERE, UM, IN THE UPCOMING MONTHS.
UH, THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, CHLOE.
SO WE WANT TO START WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS WE ARE, WE MENTIONED IT THIS MORNING AT THE ULI CONFERENCE, HOW EVERYONE FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY IS JUST LOOKING AT WHAT, UM, OUR LEADERSHIP SITTING AROUND THE TABLE WAS ABLE TO PUT IN OUR VOTE FOR $300 MILLION FOR, UM, UH, PREVENTION AND DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION FOR THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDING.
UM, THIS, THIS BOARD WITH OUR PROPOSED BUDGET WILL APPROVE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS TOWARDS THAT EFFORT AND WITH THE PARTNER, WITH THE CITY OF THE CITY HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT DEPLOYING THOSE FUNDS, WE THINK THAT'S A GREAT, UM, JUST A GREAT EARLY INVESTMENT, I THINK SPEAKS VOLUMES TO WHO AUSTIN IS.
AND I THINK YOU NEED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO SOMEONE UP IN INDIANAPOLIS WHO, UM, WHO PRESSED US EARLY, UM, AT FIRST COUPLE OF MEETINGS TO JUST HELP US MOVE THAT FUNDING ALONG.
SO WE COULD DO A LITTLE MORE FUNDING EARLY.
CAUSE WE ALWAYS KNOW THAT THOSE INVESTMENTS EARLIER ARE BETTER THAN THOSE INVESTMENTS LATER.
SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF BEING ABLE TO ACCELERATE THAT FUNDING AND GET THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN PLACE.
WE'RE GOING TO VANCE PROJECT CONNECT.
I MEAN, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE LAST BOARD MEETING, WE'VE HAD SOME FANTASTIC PROGRESS ON THE METRO RAPIDS, THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDS, UM, OUR COMMITMENTS TO OUR PARTNERS WITH CAP METRO AND FUNDING, THE CITY TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN BE WITH US LOCK STEP.
UM, THEY ARE IN THERE AS WELL, AND THEN APPROPRIATELY RESOURCING THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM.
AS WE, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN JULY, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL WORK WE'RE GOING THROUGH ADDITIONAL WORK.
YOU JUST RECEIVED AN UPDATE ON EVEN THE WORK WE'VE MOVED FORWARD ON IN THREE WEEKS AND APPROPRIATE RESOURCING GOES INTERNAL AND EXTERNALLY.
SO WE CAN ADVANCE THIS TO A POINT OF, UM, DECISIONS AND DISCUSSIONS FOR THE BOARDS.
UM, TRANSPARENCY HAS BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT TO ALL OF YOU ON THIS BOARD, AND WE KNOW THAT FROM TRANSPARENCY YOU GET TRUST.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS EMBEDDED IN THIS BUDGET IS, IS ADDING SOME NEW LEVELS OF TRANSPARENCY AND OVERSIGHT AROUND APPROVAL OF AUTHORIZED STRENGTHS FOR FTE, ADDING AUDITORS TO HELP SHAPE THIS ORGANIZATION.
I HAVE BEEN IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR A LONG TIME, AND I RECOGNIZE THAT THAT IS IMPORTANT TO CREATING THE RIGHT CULTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION AND THAT YOU HAVE TO RESOURCE THAT PROPERLY.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
AND WE NEED OVERSIGHT ON THAT RESOURCING.
UM, WE WANT TO GET, WE WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE WITH THESE PUBLIC FUNDS.
AND PART OF THAT IS BEING PROACTIVE ABOUT HOW WE FUND OUR RESERVES.
WE ARE GOING TO BE DRIVING TOWARDS, UM,
[01:10:01]
WHAT IS OUR CORE FUNK? ONE OF OUR CORE FUNCTIONS AMONG OTHERS IMPLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION IS OF, OF THESE OF LIGHT RAIL IS THE CONSTRUCTION IS THE CONTRACTS IS THE OVERSIGHT, IS THE CONTROLS, THE FTA, BUT ALSO ULTIMATELY IT'S ABOUT ISSUING FUNDS AND DEBTS THAT WE CAN MOVE ALL OF THAT FORWARD.SO WE'RE THINKING AHEAD ALREADY ABOUT WHAT THAT NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE.
UM, OUR TREASURER, BRIAN, WORKING WITH OUR EXTERNAL PFM, THINKING ABOUT OUR RESERVE LEVELS.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RESERVE LEVEL SO WE CAN BE READY FOR THAT CREDIT AND START ISSUING BONDS TO MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD.
AND THEN LASTLY, AND I THINK MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OUR WORKFORCE, UH, OUR TEAM OF, OF COLLECTED TALENT FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY AROUND AUSTIN, UM, DOWN THE STREET IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THOSE, IN OUR WORKFORCE TO RETAIN THEM IN THIS TOUGH TIME, AS WELL AS RECRUIT SOME OF THE RECRUITMENTS THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE THEME OF OUR BUDGET.
SO WE'RE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO PROPOSE THIS TO YOU TODAY.
I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR DIALOGUE AROUND THIS PROPOSED BUDGET AS WELL IN THE UPCOMING MONTH TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND INPUT PRIOR TO YOUR ADOPTION OF THIS BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER.
SO THANKS FOR ALLOWING US THE TIME TO BE HERE TODAY AND I'LL LET DIANE TAKE IT FROM HERE.
OH, DO I HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE? I DO.
SO THIS IS JUST A REMINDER OF WHY WE'RE HERE AND THIS GOES BACK IN TIME TO THE VOTE ALL THE WAY TO THE CREATION OF THE BOARD.
IT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME AGO IN A SHORT TIME AGO WHEN WE DID OUR FIRST BUDGET.
UM, I DON'T THINK I WAS EVEN AN EMPLOYEE THEN IN JANUARY OF 21, BUT THIS IS TO REMIND EVERYONE IS HCP IS YOUR BOARD AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT THIS PROJECT IN THIS BUDGET REFLECTS, UM, YOUR ROLE IN BRINGING FORWARD PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON AGAIN, I'M DIANE SILER.
I'M INTERIM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND BUDGET DIRECTOR, AND I'M JOINED BY JAMIE ATKINSON, OUR BUDGET ANALYST.
THE WORK THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE TODAY IS A DIRECT RESULT OF JAMIE'S TIRELESS EFFORTS.
SO SHE'S UP HERE TO KEEP ME STRAIGHT AND HELP ME ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
BEFORE WE, UM, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE MEAT OF THE PRESENTATION, I LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST REMIND PEOPLE OF A FEW, UM, KIND OF PLACE SETTING, UM, ELEMENTS OF OUR BUDGET.
AND I FEEL IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, UM, SHARE THESE ONCE AGAIN TO, I'M SORRY, IF YOU GUYS TO SHARE THESE ONCE AGAIN WITH YOU GUYS.
SO, SO YOU ALL REALIZE WHY WE PRESENT THE INFORMATION WE PRESENT TO YOU.
UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE WITH US LAST YEAR, YOU CAN DO THE SLIDE.
SOME OF THIS INFORMATION WILL BE REPETITIVE, BUT PLEASE JUST BEAR WITH ME FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WON'T, IT SHOULD BE NEW TO YOU BECAUSE OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES START ON OCTOBER 1ST BECAUSE OUR FINANCIAL FISCAL YEAR STARTS ON OCTOBER 1ST.
OUR FI FINANCIAL POLICY STATES THAT THE BOARD SHALL ADOPT OUR OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET NO LATER THAN THE SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING IN ORDER TO GET READY FOR THE SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING, STAFF HAS TO START PREPARING THE BUDGET IN, IN MAY, AND THAT INVOLVES ANALYZING CURRENT TRENDS AND ASSESSING FUTURE NEEDS.
AND IT ALSO INVOLVES WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS IN AUGUST.
WE BRING A, UM, WE BRIEF THE FAR WITH A, UH, A DRAFT OF OUR PROPOSED BUDGET.
THE FINAL APPROVED BUDGET IS THEN PREVENT PRESENTED TO YOU IN AUGUST ONE MONTH PRIOR TO ADOPTION.
SO DURING THE MONTH LEADING UP TO ADOPTION STAFF IS AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THROUGH, UM, IN-PERSON MEETINGS AND VIA, UH, VIA WRITTEN RESPONSES THAT WILL BE SHARED WITH THE, WITH THE ENTIRE BOARD.
SO THE ROLES OR RESPONSIBILITIES OF ITP AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAP METRO, UM, AS DELINEATED THROUGH THE JPA, DO HAVE, UM, IMPACTS ON, UH, ON OUR BUDGET THAT YOU'LL SEE TODAY, FOR INSTANCE, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS TRANSFERRED TO US FOR PROPERTY TAX, UM, AND, UH, CAPITAL METRO'S CONTRIBUTION TO US SHOW UP ON OUR BOOKS AS, UM, AS REVENUE, THE, UM, TRANSFER TO THE, FOR THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUND AND ACTIVITIES, UM, WILL SHOW UP AS A, AS A TRANSFER OUT OF OUR OPERATING.
UM, WHILE ATP HAS BEEN IS THE PRIMARY, UM, ENTITY FOR, UM, FOR
[01:15:01]
DESIGNING FINANCING, BUILDING, UM, IMPLEMENTING PROJECT CONNECT.AND YOU WILL SEE THAT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BUDGET.
UM, WE'VE ALSO DELEGATED RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADMINISTERING SOME COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM TO OUR PARTNER AGENCIES.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, CAP METRO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, RED LINE METRO EXPRESS, UH, METRO RAPIDS, NEIGHBOR CIRCULATORS, AND SOME FACILITIES.
UM, AND WHILE THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING, UM, DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.
SO BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU'LL SEE TRANSFERS TO THESE TWO ENTITIES FOR THOSE SERVICES.
AND THEN FINALLY, YOU'LL SEE, UM, TRANSFERS OUT TO CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR THE SERVICES, UM, THE SUPPORT SERVICES AND SUPPORT OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROGRAM, UM, PROGRAM NEEDS.
THE SLIDES AND ONLY, BUT A GOODIE.
UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE, WE UNDERSTAND THE, UM, HOW PROPERTY TAX WORKS, UM, GIVEN THAT IT IS 80% OF OUR BUDGET.
SO YOU'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE RISING, UM, PROPERTY VALUES.
AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR US, THAT DOESN'T EQUATE TO ADDITIONAL REVENUE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE STATE HAS KEPT THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WE CAN COLLECT FROM PROPERTY TAX AT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, NO MORE THAN THREE AND A HALF PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S TAX COLLECTION.
UM, THE ONE EXCEPTION TO THIS IS FOR NEW PROPERTY WHEN NEW PROPERTY COMES ON THE TAX ROLL, THE REVENUE GENERATED BY THAT FOR THE FIRST YEAR IS ADDED TO THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT.
SO HOW THAT PLAYS OUT IS THAT EVEN THE POVERTY VALUES ARE RISING, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT OUR TAX RATE ALLS DECREASES TO MATHEMATICALLY RESULT IN A PREDETERMINED MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE REVENUE SOURCE.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE ALSO WANT TO REMIND YOU OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET.
I THINK THIS YEAR YOU WILL START TO REALLY SEE THE DIFFERENCES, UM, THROUGHOUT OUR BUDGET.
SO, UM, USUALLY THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE WHEN P UH, PEOPLE NOTICE IS THAT AS THE ANNUAL BUDGET IS GENERALLY ONE YEAR TWO, MAYBE TWO YEARS OF APPROPRIATION.
AND WHEN THAT TIME PERIOD HAS, HAS, IS GONE, THE BUDGETS ARE ZEROED OUT AND THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS THEN INCORPORATED INTO FUTURE BUDGETS.
SO FOR A CAPITAL BUDGET, THAT IS NOT THE CASE, CAPITAL BUDGETS ARE MULTI-YEAR APPROPRIATIONS, WHICH MEANS THAT ONCE THE APPROPRIATION IS PROVIDED, IT REMAINS IN EXISTENCE UNTIL THE PROJECT IS COMPLETED.
SO WHAT I'VE ADDED TO THE SLIDE NEW FOR THIS YEAR IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ANNUAL SPENDING PLAN, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.
IT IS THE AMOUNT THAT WE PLAN TO SPEND ON A PROJECT IN THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHETHER WE NEED TO, UM, APPROPRIATE ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
AND IN ORDER TO PLAN FOR CASHFLOW, ADDITIONAL CHANGES INCLUDE, UH, THE TYPES OF EXPENDITURES DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS VERSUS CAPITAL ASSETS AND THE FUNDING SOURCES THAT ARE USED FOR BOTH OF THESE ACTIVITIES.
AND THEN THE FINAL SLIDE I HAVE FOR YOU ON JUST THE, AS I SAID, THE KIND OF BUDGET FRAMEWORK IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUDGET AUTHORITY OF BUDGET AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY.
SO THE BUDGET PROVIDES A SPENDING FRAMEWORK UNDER WHICH THE STAFF OPERATE, UM, IT'S SIGNALS TO THE VENDORS AND TO OUR PARTNERS, THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES, SO THAT THEY CAN GET INTO CONTRACTS WITH US.
IT DOES NOT AUTHORIZE SPENDING ON THOSE CONTRACTS WITH VENDORS OR WITH OUR PARTNERS FOR THAT WE NEED CONTRACT AUTHORITY.
SO CONTRACT AUTHORITY SETS THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT THAT THE, THAT, UM, ATP STAFF MAY SPEND FOR SPECIFIC GOODS FOR SPECIFIC SERVICES WITH SPECIFIC VENDORS.
AND THIS IS ESTABLISHED WHEN THE, WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE BUDGET THAT IS, UM, ADOPTED.
SO WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT APPROVAL OF THIS BUDGET IS NOT APPROVAL TO SPEND THESE CONTRACTS, EVERY CONTRACT THAT IS OVER 250,000, AND, UM, ANY ILA WITH ANY PARTNER AGENCY MUST COME BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL PRIOR TO EXPENDING THESE, THESE FUNDS.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'M READY TO MOVE ON TO THE MEAT OF THE, THE, UM, BUDGET AND TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS.
ALRIGHT, THIS YEAR, NO NEW FUNDING, NO NEW APPROPRIATIONS ARE NEEDED FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.
WE HAVE SUFFICIENT APPROPRIATIONS FROM PRIOR YEARS TO ALLOW
[01:20:01]
US TO, UM, CONTINUE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.CURRENT APPROACH APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LIGHT RAIL ARE $205 MILLION.
AND THAT, AS I SAID, THAT IS SUFFICIENT TO FUND WITH THE $50 MILLION IN ANTICIPATED SPENDING FOR EXISTING, UM, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ENGINEERING CONTRACTS AND FOR NEW CONTRACTS, WITH ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES, UM, SYSTEMS AND ENGINEERING AND RIGHT AWAY SERVICES.
SO I WANTED TO LEAD OFF WITH THIS BULLET, JUST B, JUST TO REMIND YOU, IT, IT TIES BACK TO THE, THE SIDE.
WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT WHILE WE HAVE, UM, ANTICIPATED SPENDING HERE OF $50 MILLION, THESE CONTRACTS ARE COMING BACK TO YOU ALL FOR, FOR APPROVAL.
UM, AND EVEN THE, UM, OR EITHER THROUGH THE CONTRACTS THEMSELVES OR THROUGH THE, OVER THE GOVERNING ILA, WHAT WE WILL BE HAVING WITH CAP METRO, THE MOVING ON TO THE METRO RAPID PLEASANT VALLEY AND EXPO THOSE.
UM, AS YOU HEARD BEFORE, THOSE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION WITH THE LOCAL MATCH OF $36 MILLION, UH, COVERED BY ATP HAS BEEN FULLY APPROPRIATED WITH YOUR BUDGET AMENDMENT LAST YEAR, CAPITAL LAST MONTH, CAPITAL METRO EXPECTS TO SPEND JUST UNDER $25 MILLION ON THOSE PROJECTS.
NEXT YEAR, THE LAST BULLET IS NEW FOR THIS YEAR.
WE ARE CREATING A NEW OPERATING RESERVE AND SEEDING IT WITH $20 MILLION, BUT THIS REQUIRES A SLIDE ALL ON ITS OWN.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT THAT IN A FEW MORE, A FEW MINUTES.
AS GREG MENTIONED IN HIS OPENING REMARKS, THE TRANSFER OF $35 MILLION TO OUR ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUND, UH, MEANS THAT WE HAVE NOW SET ASIDE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS FOR, FOR DISPLACEMENT, UM, PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, IN ANTICIPATION OF APPROVAL OF THE SERVICE CONTRACTS WITH CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND, AND PROGRAM SUPPORT, WE HAVE INCLUDED THREE AND 3.8 MILLION AND $3.5 MILLION RESPECTIVELY TO BE, TO BE FOR YOU TO REIMBURSE OUR PARTNERS FOR EXPENDITURES, FOR CAP METRO, THE MONEY COVERS SALARIES FOR STAFF THAT SUPPORT ATPS BUSINESS NEEDS, INCLUDING THE SUCCONDED PEOPLE.
IT ALSO INCLUDES IT SERVICES AND HARDWARE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THE $3.5 MILLION COVERS PROJECTS, A PROJECT, THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE ACTIVITIES RELATING, UH, UH, MOVING ON TO STAFFING 2.5 ADDITIONAL STAFF HAVE BEEN ADDED, UM, TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE AND TRANSPARENCY.
THE, THE TWO SENIOR AUDITORS WILL BE, UM, WILL HELP ASSIST WITH THE AUDIT PLAN THAT KATIE WILL BE BRIEFING YOU ON NEXT.
AND THEN THE LAST HALF OF AN FTE IS TO MAKE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION GO FROM PART-TIME TO FULL-TIME AS, AS THE BOARD DIRECTED IN APRIL.
SO SOURCES AND USES OF FUNDS MOVING INTO THE NUMBERS.
WE PROJECT THAT WE'RE GOING TO BRING IN $193 MILLION IN FYI 23, WHICH IS YOU CAN LOOK AT THE TWO CHARTS IT'S MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND, A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS GREATER THAN WHAT WE ANTICIPATE.
OUR OBLIGATIONS WILL BE OF $91 MILLION.
THE EXCESS REVENUE COLLECTED OVER OUR OBLIGATIONS IS TRANSFERRED IN.
IT IS A RESERVE FOR FUTURE PROJECT COMMITMENTS.
I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT ON A SLIDE IN TWO SLIDES FROM NOW.
SO FOR THE REVENUE PROPERTY TAX, UM, PROPERTY TAX REVENUE IS EXPECTED TO COME IN AT $159 MILLION, WHICH IS MORE THAN 80% OF OUR BUDGET.
HENCE THE DISCUSSION ON, ON PROPERTY TAX REVENUE, UH, CAPITAL METRO IS CONTRIBUTING $30 MILLION.
THAT'S IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE FUNDING PLAN, THE LONG-TERM FUNDING PLAN.
AND IT'S ALSO BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE CAP METRO PROPOSED BUDGET.
SO THE OTHER REVENUE IS FOR INVESTMENT INTEREST INCOME OF A $3.9 MILLION IN FYI 23, WE BEGAN COLLECTING REVENUE INTEREST REVENUE THIS YEAR WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE INVESTMENT POLICIES.
AND ONCE OUR CASH BEGAN BEING ACTIVELY MANAGED, MOVING OVER TO EXPENDITURES, AS I MENTIONED, THERE ARE NO TRANSFERS OUT TO THE CAPITOL BECAUSE WE AREN'T REQUESTING ANY ADDITIONAL CAPITAL FOR OPERATIONS.
THE TWO TRANSFERS OUT ARE FOR THE OPERATING RESERVE, $20 MILLION AND THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT
[01:25:02]
FUND OF $35 MILLION.THE FINAL $36 MILLION IS FOR ATPS OPERATING EXPENSES.
AND I'M GOING TO GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THE VERY NEXT SLIDE ONE-THIRD OF ATPS OPERATING EXPENSES ARE FOR DIRECT STAFF COSTS.
THAT INCLUDES SALARIES, PAYROLL TAXES, BENEFITS.
THE NEXT LARGEST CATEGORY IS $8 MILLION FOR OUTSIDE CONTRACTS, UH, THAT INCLUDE, AND THIS ONE I HAVE TO READ LEGAL, FINANCIAL AUDIT TECHNOLOGY, RECRUITING, MARKETING, AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SUPPORT.
UM, THAT'S WHY IT'S A LARGE CATEGORY.
WE HAVE INCLUDED $6.4 MILLION FOR FACILITY COSTS THAT INCLUDES LEASES UTILITIES AND INTERNET SERVICE, UH, THE 3.8 AND THE $3.5 MILLION OF THE TRANSFERS TO OUR PARTNERS.
AND FINALLY, WE HAVE $2 MILLION FOR TECHNICAL RESOURCES WITH A HIGHLY EDUCATED STAFF AND IN MANY DIFFERENT TECHNICAL FIELDS.
UH, WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEIR CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL MEN MEMBERSHIPS INCLUDED IN THIS, UM, IN CATEGORY ARE, ARE ALSO THE, UM, SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS.
WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT PROJECT CONNECT.
SO MOVING ON TO STAFFING, AS GREG MENTIONED EARLIER, WE ARE, UM, IMPLEMENTING FOR
UM, THE BOARD FORMALLY APPROVING THE AUTHORIZED STAFFING LEVELS.
UH, THIS IS A BEST PRACTICE THAT IS RECOMMENDED BY THE WAY, GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION.
AND IT IS COMPARABLE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, PROCESS.
OUR TOTAL FTE COUNT IS 87 POSITIONS.
AND THAT'S UP FROM THE, UM, 84.5 THAT WERE FUNDED IN FY 22.
SO DUE TO STRATEGIC HIRING PRACTICES, WE HAVE 35 POSITIONS VACANT RIGHT NOW THAT WE'LL BE CARRYING OVER TO F Y 23.
A HANDFUL OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE GOING TO BE ESSENTIAL FOR CONTINUING THE, UM, ORGANIZATIONAL INDEPENDENCE.
AND GREG ALREADY MENTIONED ONE, THE CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR AN IT DIRECTOR AND THOSE POSITIONS ARE GOING TO HELP US MOVE ATP TOWARDS ASSUMING A LOT OF THE SERVICES THAT ARE STILL BEING PROVIDED TO US BY CAP METRO.
UM, ONE QUICK QUESTION, I NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE, UH, A DBE FUNCTION.
DO YOU GET THE AUTHORITY FROM YOU FOR YOUR DBE FUNCTION FROM WORKING THROUGH CAP METRO OR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH HAVE PERFORMED DISPARITY STUDIES, OR ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN THE DISPARITY STUDY OF THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
UM, AND I'LL HAVE TO ASK COURTNEY CHAVEZ, OUR EQUITY AND OUR EQUITY MANAGER.
I WILL SAY THAT WE DO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO HAVE OUR OWN DBE PROGRAM, BUT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A HISTORY OF THAT PROGRAM, WE DID WORK WITH CAPITAL METRO ON THEIR DISPARITY STUDY, AND WE'LL USE THAT INFORMATION TO CREATE THE PROGRAM.
UM, GIVEN YOUR BACKGROUND, YOU HAVE RIGHT THERE, WE'D USE THAT AS A BENCHMARK, RIGHT? AND THEN FROM THERE ON WE'LL HAVE OUR OWN HISTORY ESTABLISH OUR OWN PROGRAM.
WELL, MY PRIMARY INTEREST WAS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS NOW AND THE CITY IS DOING IT.
THE COUNTY IS DOING IT AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS DOING IT.
AND IF WE'RE DOING IT WITH THEM, THEN IT COSTS US SIGNIFICANTLY LESS TO DO SO THAT IF WE GO IN ON OWN.
SO WE WANT TO LEVERAGE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE OUT THERE COMMUNICATING.
SO PRIOR TO FILLING THE REMAINING VACANCIES, UH, LEADERSHIP IS GOING TO LOOK STRATEGICALLY AND THOUGHTFULLY AT THE, UM, THE NEEDS FOR THE PROJECT.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FORM RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT ON IF, WHEN AND HOW THESE POSITIONS ARE UTILIZED.
UM, BUT I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT HAVING A POOL OF UNFILLED VACANCIES DOES ALLOW STAFF TO BE RESPONSIVE TO STRATEGIC BOARD PLANNING, UM, OR BOARD STRATEGIC PLANNING ALLOWS US TO MOVE FORWARD OUT OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, NIMBLY, AND IT'S ALSO, UH, ALLOWS US TO ADAPT TO THE RECOMMENDED PROJECT DELIVERY METHODS,
[01:30:01]
CHLOE, NEXT SLIDE.SO AS PROMISED THE SLIDE ON RESERVES, UH, MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE THE NEW OPERATING RESERVE AT $20 MILLION AND THE AMOUNT RESERVED FOR FUTURE PROJECT COMMITMENTS IS $122 MILLION.
SO TOTAL RESERVED IS $142 MILLION REGARDING THE OPERATING RESERVE.
UM, IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES MAINTAIN SAVINGS TO MITIGATE REVENUE, SHORTFALLS AND UNPLANNED EXPENDITURES.
UH, THIS ALSO POSITIONS ATP FOR DEBT ISSUANCE BY REFLECTING THE STANDARDS TYPICALLY REQUIRED BY CREDIT AGENCIES.
UM, AND THE BETTER, OBVIOUSLY THE BETTER CREDIT RATING WE GET THE LOWER, THE COST OF DEBT, UM, THE, UM, RESERVE, THE AMOUNT RESERVED FOR FUTURE COMMITMENT.
LET ME TALK ABOUT WHY WE'RE DOING THE OPERATING RESERVE.
SO BASED ON, UM, BASED ON A RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR BOND COUNSEL, WE ARE SETTING THE RESERVE AT 180 DAYS OF OUR OPERATING EXPENSES.
AND SO WHEN WE SEED IT WITH $20 MILLION, THIS WILL COMPLY WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICY, BUT IT WILL ALSO GIVE US THE CAPACITY TO GROW OUR OPERATING SPEND EXPENSES SLIGHTLY UP TO $40 MILLION WITHOUT, WITHOUT HAVING TO, UM, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDS IN, INTO THE RESERVE FUND.
SO THE $122 MILLION IN RESERVE FOR FUTURE PROJECT COMMITMENTS, IT'S A TOOL THAT ALLOWS US TO RE UM, TO RESPOND TO ANTICIPATED, BUT AN UNBUDGETED EVENTS.
SO IN
SO WE'LL BRING TO GIRL BRING THE ILETS YOU IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BUDGET AMENDMENT.
HAPPINESS BALANCE ALLOWS US TO DO THAT.
NOT ONLY THAT HAVING THE BALANCE ALLOWS US IN 24 TO COVER OPERATING EXPENSES FROM A CASHFLOW PERSPECTIVE, UH, ATP IS A LITTLE LOPSIDED.
WE HAVE VERY S UH, S UH, EVEN MONTHLY CASHFLOW OUT, BUT WE DON'T RECEIVE 90% OF OUR REVENUE UNTIL SIX TO SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE YEAR.
SO WE DO NEED A NICE SOUL, UM, CASH BALANCE IN ORDER TO GET US TO THAT, UM, FIRST TRAUNCH OF PROPERTY TAX RECEIPTS.
AND FINALLY HAVING A ENDING BALANCE IS ALSO LOOKED UPON FAVORABLY BY THE, BY THE SAME RATING AGENCIES.
I THINK IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE ESSENTIAL TO PROPER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.
UM, THEY ALSO PLAY IN, UM, IN CREDIT RATING, UM, AGENCY'S ASSESSMENT OF US, UH, AS A REMINDER, THOUGH, THE FINANCIAL POLICIES THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT, THERE ARE 23 OF THEM.
THOSE ARE APPROVED ALONG WITH YOUR ADOPTION OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
SO THE ONLY CHANGE THAT YOU'LL SEE IS THE ADDITION OF THE OPERATING RESERVE.
THERE ARE A FEW MINOR WORDING CHANGES, BUT THAT'S JUST TO INCREASE INCREASED CLARITY ON THEM.
SOME, SOME, SOME ITEMS ARE OUR DOCUMENT.
OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE A LIVING DOCUMENT STAFF REVIEW THEM ANNUALLY AND MAKE UPDATES IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE POLICIES ARE STILL RELEVANT AND THEY MEET ATPS BUSINESS NEEDS.
FOR INSTANCE, WE MIGHT, WE WILL PROBABLY BE UPDATING THEM NEXT YEAR TO INCLUDE A CAPITAL RESERVE AND, UH, A DEBT SERVICE RESERVE SO THAT CONCLUDES THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A, A LITTLE INFORMATION ON ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.
NEXT SLIDE INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKET RIGHT AFTER, RIGHT AFTER THIS IS THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
IT IS ALSO ABOUT AVAILABLE ON, ON THE WEB AND OUR, IS IT SHORTLY? OKAY.
SHORTLY IT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, AND, UH, BOTH JAMIE AND I ARE AVAILABLE TO MEET WITH YOU IN PERSON, AND TO RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS VIA, UM, UH, WRITTEN QUESTIONS.
IF YOU HAVE BUDGET QUESTIONS, ASIDE, ASIDE FROM THE ONE THAT WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED, CAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE THAT IN OUR RECORDS, PLEASE SEND THEM TO JAMIE VIA EMAIL.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A MEETING TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
SO THE LAST THING I'D LIKE TO DO IS DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FINAL SLIDE.
THAT PICTURE ON THE LEFT IS OUR FIRST GROUP PICTURE IT'S OUT THERE IN THE LOBBY.
AND IT WAS TAKEN LAST MONDAY WHEN WE OPENED THE FACILITY.
[01:35:02]
IMPRESSIVE IS THE AWARD IS THE NOTIFICATION WE RECEIVED FROM THE GFR WAY THAT OUR VERY FIRST BUDGET RECEIVED THE DISTINGUISHED BUDGET PRESENTATION AWARD.AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE PLAN TO CONTINUE.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT WAS ALMOST LIKE A MIC DROP
WELL, DIANE, JAMIE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
IT WAS A LOT OF DETAIL AND I APPLY THAT.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO IT.
AND AS A FINANCE GUY, I LOVE TO SEE THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL, MAYBE THE REST OF THE ROOM DOESN'T BUT JUST, JUST SOME CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS.
SO WE HAVE 50 FTES THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON BOARD, ANY ATP, PLUS WE HAVE VACANT POSITIONS OF 8 35.
SO WE ARE PLANNING ON HAVING A HEAD COUNT SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, 87.5 FTES AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 23, RIGHT AT 8 87 87.
SO THAT'S A INCREASE OF 37 FTES OR 75% INCREASE IN HEAD COUNT ABOVE WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
IS THAT RIGHT? DID I DO MY MATH? RIGHT? ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT FILLING POSITIONS? I'M ASKING ABOUT PHILLIP IS OKAY, SO YOU'RE COMPARING THE HEAD COUNT.
I'M JUST, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE 50 PEOPLE THAT ARE RUNNING ATP RIGHT NOW, PLUS EMPLOYEES FROM CAP METRO PLUS EMPLOYEES FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO INCREASE STAFF BY 75% OR AN ADDITIONAL, UM, 37 FTES.
I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT AND HOW WE BELIEVE WE NEED 37 FTES GIVEN THE RESET THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE PROGRAM.
IF WE WEREN'T RESETTING THE PROGRAM, WOULD, WOULD THIS BED SHOULD BE DIFFERENT? WHAT WOULD IT LOOK DIFFERENT? I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT I MADE WAS ABOUT LEADERSHIP NEEDING TO LOOK THOUGHTFULLY AT THE NEEDS OF OUR PROJECT, RIGHT? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY NEED? AND SOME OF THAT WORK IS GOING TO HAPPEN CONCURRENT WITH WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE, UM, WITH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
AND SOME OF IT MAY HAPPEN SLIGHTLY AFTER THAT, BUT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE A VERY THOROUGH REVIEW AND HOW WE, IF, IF, AND WHEN AND HOW WE USE THOSE POSITIONS.
SO IT'S NOT A GUARANTEE BECAUSE WE'RE PUTTING THIS IN THE BUDGET.
IT'S NOT A GUARANTEE THAT WE NEED TO FILL ALL OF THESE POSITIONS.
HOWEVER, WE ARE SAYING THAT IT DOES PROVIDE US THE CAPACITY TO DO A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, RESPOND TO THE BOARD'S STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORTS AND TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO, UM, TO THE OUTCOME OF THE PLANNING.
THAT'S WHAT THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
REMEMBER, UNCLE DIDN'T APPRECIATE THE COMMENT.
UM, IT JUST, FOR SOME CLARIFICATION LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, ACTUALLY IT WAS BASED ON 84 AND A HALF POSITIONS THAT WAS APPROVED IN THE BUDGET.
ALTHOUGH YOU DID NOT APPROVE AN AUTHORIZED STRENGTH, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT YOU DO THAT NOW.
SO THE ONLY NEW POSITIONS THAT ARE BEING ADDED ARE TWO AND A HALF NEW POSITIONS.
WE ARE CARRYING VACANCIES FOR IT, AS DIANE MENTIONED, SO THAT WE CAN GO THROUGH THAT EVALUATION OF THE NEED, THE TIMING OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE BOARD AROUND STRATEGY AND AROUND DELIVERY.
BUT THE INCREASE IS ONLY TWO AND A HALF.
NO, I UNDERSTAND THAT CARING FOR VACANCIES.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT, BUT GIVEN THAT WE ARE IN THIS PROGRAM RESET, I'M KIND OF RESETTING THE VACANCIES MENTALLY.
SO I WANT TO UNDERSTAND, IN MY OPINION, DOING BUDGETS, USUALLY YOU SET A BUDGET AND THAT IS YOUR EXPECTED EXPENSE FOR THE YEAR WE EXPECT TO BE AT THAT.
A BUDGET IS A TOOL THAT HELPS CONTROL SPENDING.
SO I WOULD IMAGINE IF WE HAVE 87 FTES THAT WE EXPECT TO HAVE 87 FTES EMPLOYEE, UNLESS SOMEBODY TELLS ME FOR PERFECT.
I JUST, I LIKE, I LIKE THAT POINT THAT YOU JUST MADE.
UM, AND TO THAT END FOR THOSE POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT, WE'VE ONLY BUDGETED A HALF A YEAR, KNOWING THAT IT'S LIKELY THAT EVEN IF, EVEN IF WE CHOSE TO FAIL, EVEN IF WE NEEDED TO FILL ALL OF THEM, IT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T HAPPEN UNTIL AFTER THE, AFTER THE, UM, AFTER MARCH.
BUT THE BUDGET ONLY REFLECTS A PORTION OF THE SALARIES.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION OR DO WE NEED TO YEAH.
[01:40:01]
YOU.THAT'S WHY I SIT NEXT TO THE REALLY SENIOR PEOPLE, THE, UH, UH, THE ISSUE TONY'S RAISING, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SIGNAL TO THE, TO THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY, TO KNOW WE DON'T KNOW YET, UH, HOW QUICKLY WE'RE GOING TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE OR WHAT THAT'S GOING TO BE, UH, IN, UH, IN GETTING THERE.
UM, BUT I'M ALSO NOT SURE THE RIGHT WAY TO DEAL WITH IT IN THE BUDGET.
I KNOW THAT IN MY ONLY POINT OF REFERENCE IS THE CITY BUDGET THAT SOMETIMES WE KEEP, UM, UH, FUNDED, BUT NOT FILLED FTE POSITIONS, RECOGNIZING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE FUNDED AND NOT FILLED SO THAT WE'RE CARRYING FORWARD A BUDGET THAT MAINTAINS THE CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING.
LONG-TERM, UH, I KNOW YOU'RE JUST KIND OF LAYING THIS OUT RIGHT NOW FOR US AND WE REALLY HAVEN'T HAD CHANCE TO SEE IT.
AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN THIS BUDGET COMES BACK TO US.
BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW FROM A BUDGETING STANDPOINT, WHICH IS THE BETTER AND THE BEST PRACTICE FOR HOW WE TREAT THAT, BECAUSE CLEARLY WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE FILLING 35 POSITIONS BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF THE YEAR, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
SO DO WE TAKE THEM OFF AND HAVE A LOWER BUDGET THAN WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO EVENTUALLY NEED TO CARRY? DO WE CARRY THEM SO THAT WE DEMONSTRATE WHAT THE BUDGETS NEED TO BE, TO HAVE THE CAPACITY, TO DO THE PROJECT? RECOGNIZING THAT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY CAN'T BE FILLED WITHOUT COMING BACK TO THE BOARD TO SAY, OKAY, NOW WE WANT TO ACTUALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THESE BUDGETED POSITIONS.
UM, JUST THE QUESTION IS THAT TRUE? THOSE POSITIONS CAN'T BE IN FILLED UNTIL YOU COME BACK.
OR IF WE PROVE 87 POSITIONS, IF WE APPROVE THIS BUDGET, YOU HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD.
AND SO YOU'RE AUTHORIZING A STRENGTH OF 87 FOR AN INCREASE OF TWO AND A HALF.
WE'RE CARRYING VACANCIES FOR IT.
AGAIN, THESE ARE CARRIED FORWARD FROM LAST YEAR'S BUDGET PROCESS, UM, THAT GOOD WEREN'T AUTHORIZED.
THESE ARE, WE'RE ASKING FOR THIS, WE'RE ASKING FOR THIS NEW, UM, CONSTRAINT.
UM, WHAT WE'VE INDICATED IS TO DO AN ANALYSIS OF WHAT WE NEED OR DON'T NEED, WE NEED TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND RIGOROUS ABOUT THAT.
I DON'T THINK WE WANT TO BE IN A POSITION.
UH, WHAT CAN PROVIDE THIS IN AN ANSWER TO YOU ABOUT THE BEST PRACTICE? I THINK MEREDITH IS THE BEST WAY TO PUT IT.
MY QUESTION IS, IF, IF WE AUTHORIZE THIS BUDGET AND WE HAVE 35 VACANT POSITIONS AND YOU DECIDE TO FILL THEM IN YOUR DECISIONS, YOU KNOW, AS YOUR EXPERTISE AS THE D YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK OR DO YOU HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD, UNLESS, UNLESS WE DIRECT THAT, UNLESS YOU DO IT.
SO MY QUESTION WOULD BE THE NEXT QUESTION AFTER TONY'S, WHICH IS, CAN WE DIRECT THAT, THAT IF YOU'RE GOING TO FILL THESE 35 POSITIONS, YOU COME BACK TO THE BOARD TO SECOND, WE'VE NOW REACHED THE PLACE WHERE WE'RE READY TO DO THESE 30 PROPOSITIONS.
AND, AND, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAPPY TO HAVE A DIALOGUE ABOUT THAT.
CERTAINLY WE NEED TO BE POSITIONED TO DO SOME OF THESE POSITIONS.
AND THAT'S WHAT THIS, WHAT DIANE WALKED THROUGH WAS THE NEED TO HAVE A STRATEGIC PLANNING AROUND WHERE WE ARE ABOUT WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATION WE WANT TO BE.
UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY WE DO HAVE TO HAVE SOME POSITIONS THAT WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD ON, TO STAND UP OUR INDEPENDENCE AND CAPACITY.
AND YOU'VE COVERED THAT, BUT IN THE CITY BUDGET, WE ADOPT THE BUDGET.
SO WHEN WE CONSIDER THIS BUDGET, I WOULD LIKE THE BOARD TO ALSO BE ABLE TO CONSIDER THE APPROPRIATE DIRECTION ON HOW WE HANDLE THE UNFILLED ON FUNDED.
JUST LIKE YOU'RE COMING TO US NOW AND SAY, YOU NEED TWO AND A HALF POSITIONS FOR THESE REASONS, WHICH I APPRECIATE AND MAKES SENSE.
I THINK TO TONY'S POINT, WE WOULDN'T WANT TO COME IN ONE DAY AND FIND THAT YOU FILLED 35 POSITIONS.
SO, SO FINANCIALLY WE WEREN'T ABLE TO, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T IMAGINED IT FOR THAT.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS MERIT SUGGEST IS WE CAN LAY OUT A STRATEGY ABOUT ALL THE SOURCES.
THIS IS A GREAT FEEDBACK, AND WE CAN LAY OUT IN A BUDGET QUESTION, HOW THIS ALL WORKS, KIND OF THE PHILOSOPHY ABOUT HOW WE COULD MOVE FORWARD ON AN IDEAL, AND HOW IS A BOARD SHOULD GO FORWARD WHEN WE APPROVE THE BUDGET, CORRECT.
SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T ALWAYS RELY ON, ON STAFF TO GIVE US A PROFESSIONAL OPINION TO LAY OUT WHAT IT IS THEY NEED, UM, HOPEFULLY WHEN THEY NEED IT.
BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF, OF CASTING THE NET INTERVIEWING, DISCUSSING, UH, NOW.
SO MAYBE THERE'S A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THERE WILL BE SALARY SAVINGS THAT CAN BE USED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
UM, UM, CERTAINLY THAT THEY WOULD DISCUSS WITH US THE WAY THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO USE THOSE SALARY SAVINGS.
UH, BUT BY EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY LAY OUT EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THEY NEED EXACTLY WHY IT IS THEY NEEDED AND BEGIN THAT PROCESS.
AND FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE APPROVE THE BUDGET THAT IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS, THOSE GOALS SHOULD INCLUDE OUR PRIORITIES.
NOW, IF WE CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT PERSON, SOMETIMES WE'VE GONE THROUGH, THROUGH THREE POOLS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED.
I WOULD RATHER THEM DO IT RIGHT THEN QUICKLY.
[01:45:01]
AND IF THAT MEANS THERE WILL BE SALARY SAVING.BUT IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN GIVE ME A RATIONAL BASIS FOR WHAT YOU NEED FOR, FOR WHY YOU NEED IT, THEN I'M GOING TO TRUST THE TEAM TO BUILD A SELECTION PROCESS THAT GETS YOU THERE.
AND IN THE MEANTIME, UH, BECAUSE IT IS IN THE BUDGET, THEN, THEN WHETHER IT IS, UH, WHETHER IT IS PUT IT IN SOME TYPE OF RESERVE ON IT, WHETHER IT IS IS, UH, WHETHER THEY REQUEST TO USE THE CERTAIN WAY.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE INTERACT MORE THAN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TELL THEM OUR PRIORITIES.
THEY TELL US A STAFF, THEY NEED TO GET THAT DONE.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY, UH, WE, WE ALLOW THEM THE FLEXIBILITY THAT THEY NEED TO GET THERE.
UH, IF, IF, IF WE, IF WE HAVE SALARY SAVINGS AND THEN THEY PROBABLY COME BACK TO US TO SAY, WELL, WE'VE GOT SAVINGS.
THIS IS HOW WE WANT TO USE IT FOR TRAINING.
THIS IS HOW WE WANT TO USE IT FOR TRAVEL OR WHATEVER.
I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO GIVE STAFF THE FLEXIBILITY TO GIVE US THEIR PROFESSIONAL OPINION, AND THEN TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS SO THAT THEY SELECT THE PEOPLE THAT BEST ACHIEVE OUR GOAL.
BUT AGAIN, IT SHOULD BE TIGHT.
IT SHOULD NOT BE WILLY NILLY, BUT AT THE END, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, TO GET THE RIGHT TYPE OF PEOPLE, UH, TO GET THE FOLKS WITH THE SKILLSETS AND THE TEMPERAMENT THAT WE NEEDED, SOMETIMES IT IS NOT THE FIRST CAST.
AND REMEMBER, I DID HAVE A QUESTION IF I COULD ON THE CONSULTANTS.
SO IF I WERE RECALLING THE PRESENTATION, THAT WAS 50 MILLION THAT WE PLAN TO SPEND ON PMR ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE RIGHT AWAY, AND THEN ANOTHER 8 MILLION OF LEO FINANCIAL RECRUITING.
SO A TOTAL OF 58 MILLION, THAT'S CORRECT.
HOW DOES THAT COMPARE WITH WHAT WE PLANNING AND THE FORECAST SUSPEND FOR FYI 22, ROUGHLY, IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY COMPARABLE TO WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO SPEND AN FYI, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
'CAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT STAFFING, YOU CAN EITHER HAVE YOUR OWN FTS OR YOU CAN HIRE CONSULTANTS, RIGHT? SO WE'VE GOT 89 FTES IN THE BUDGET.
WE'VE GOT CITY OF AUSTIN PERSONNEL, WE'VE GOT CAP METRO, AND WE'VE GOT CONSULTANTS AND YOU CAN MIX AND MATCH.
UM, 58 MILLION SEEMS, SEEMS A LOT, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT THAT'S A COMPARABLE SPEND VERSUS WHERE WE ARE LAST YEAR.
WE'RE IN A PERIOD RIGHT NOW FOR THE NEXT SEVEN TO NINE MONTHS OF REEVALUATING, THE PROGRAM ENGINEERING ANALYSIS.
IN ADDITION, WE'VE ALSO GOT CONTRACTS WITH, UM, THE ENGINEERS THAT ARE DOING THE TWO DIFFERENT LINES.
SO THAT, THAT'S JUST A QUESTION ON THAT.
I WOULD IMAGINE OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE'LL BE GETTING MORE DETAIL HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE CONSULTING LIGHT ITEM AS WELL, AS LONG AS YOU SUBMIT A QUESTION.
AND TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THE QUESTIONS THAT WILL BE SUBMITTED, THE ANSWERS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE WHOLE BOARD.
SO FOR, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ALL BE INFORMED, BUT ONE THING THAT TO ME, AND THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THE 0.5 POSITION, BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN THIS BOARD VOTED FOR INDEPENDENCE, YOU KNOW, CAP METRO WAS COVERING HALF THE SALARY OF MR. CLARK WHEN WE WERE SHARING ONE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR BOTH.
SO NOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO COVER THE FULL AMOUNT.
SO THOSE NUANCES REALLY MATTER.
UM, I ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT AS WE GO THROUGH A STRATEGIC PLANNING THAT IS GOING TO INFORM THE PRIORITIES OF THIS BOARD AND EXECUTING THIS PROGRAM, WE WILL KNOW MORE, WHICH I DO APPRECIATE GIVING THE LEEWAY OF FLEXIBILITY AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT ALSO, AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR NEXT WITH OUR, UM, INTERNAL AUDITOR TO DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL AUDIT, THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO ALSO THROUGH, THROUGH SOME OF OUR FIRST AUDIT PROJECTS.
AND SO WHAT I DO SEE HERE WITH THOSE TWO EXTRA POSITIONS, TWO FTES THAT WERE ADDED, UM, WE HAD A VERY GOOD PRODUCTIVE Q AND A WITH, WITH KATIE, UM, ABOUT WHAT SHE NEEDED.
AND ONE THING I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND IS IF WE'RE GOING TO ACT AS A NIMBLE ORGANIZATION, DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO COME MIDWAY, TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD AND ASK FOR BUDGET AMENDMENTS? IS, DOES THAT CREATE MORE WORK, A MORE BUREAUCRATIC? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND SO WHAT I WANT TO STOP IS WE'RE, WE'RE S WE'RE SEEKING ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT.
WE'RE SEEKING MORE CONTROLS, WHICH COME,
[01:50:01]
WHAT I SEE REFLECTED HERE COMES IN THE, IN THE WAY OF TWO ADDITIONAL POSITIONS FOR OUR INTERNAL AUDITOR THAT REPORTS DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD.SO I THINK ONE OF THE KEY QUESTIONS THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE FROM BOARD MEMBER ELKINS WAS, AND I SEE IT HERE ON, ON THIS SLIDE THAT, UH, TALKS ABOUT WHICH DEPARTMENTS WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION, THE LITTLE BICYCLE CHART THAT THIS CIRCLES AND THIS BUBBLES TO ME STARTS TO TELL THE STORY OF WHERE WE'RE PUTTING IN THE STAFFING YES.
AT A GLANCE, THIS LOOKS BALANCED.
UM, AND I, I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND JUST ANOTHER LAYER DOWN AND WE'LL SEE THAT AS A QUESTION THAT ALSO MET, BUT WHAT, WHAT ALL THE REALLY, REALLY NOW THAT WE'VE BEEN IN OPERATION FOR A YEAR AND A HALF, HOW THIS HAS PROVEN TO BE A GOOD RESOURCE OR WHERE WE HAVE THE GAPS, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU CAN HAVE A PERFECT CRYSTAL BALL AND THINK THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED, BUT THINGS ARE SHIFTING AND THINGS ARE MOVING.
SO WHAT I LIKE TO SEE WITH THIS, UH, BACON SEAS IS BUILDING SOME FLEXIBILITY, AS WELL AS UNDERSTANDING THAT WHAT THIS BOARD IS SEEKING IS ADDITIONAL CONTROLS AND ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT.
SO BETWEEN OUR INDEPENDENCE AND OVERSIGHT, I KIND OF SEE THAT BUNDLED IN THESE JOINT POSITIONS.
THAT'S HOW I SEE IT RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT, UM, I HOPE THAT BETWEEN NOW AND OUR APPROVAL IN SEPTEMBER, THAT ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD HAS, YOU KNOW, PLEASE SUBMIT THEM AND WE'LL GET SOME CLARITY AND GUIDANCE.
SO I ALSO LIKE UNDERSTANDING, SETTING UP OUR CREDIT RATING TO GIVE US THAT, UM, CUSHION AND BUILD, START TO BUILD UP THAT CAPACITY.
SO THAT TO ME IS REALLY IMPORTANT TOO.
SO THANK YOU FOR, I KNOW YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS AND THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE WORK, BUT DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS? NO.
[7.a. Briefing on ATP’s Fiscal Year 2023 Audit Plan]
KATY HOUSTON, WHICH HAS HEARD HE'S DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL AUDIT WILL PRESENT ATPS FISCAL YEAR AUDIT PLAN.YES, I'M KATIE HOUSTON, INTERNAL AUDIT DIRECTOR.
I'M HERE TO BRIEF YOU ALL TODAY ON THE DRAFT OUGHTA PLAN THAT I PREPARED FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.
UH, SO THIS, THIS WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL DISCUSS IT TODAY.
UM, I'M HERE TO BRIEF, HOPEFULLY ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE, I CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS IN THE MEANTIME, AND THEN THIS WILL COME BACK TO Y'ALL, UH, WITH THE NEXT BOARD MEETING IN SEPTEMBER, UM, ASKING FOR APPROVAL.
SO AT A HIGH LEVEL, CHLOE, COULD YOU GO TO THE, THANK YOU, UH, AT A HIGH LEVEL I'M PROPOSING FOR AUDIT PROJECTS TO, TO BE DONE, UM, IN HOUSE LED BY ME AND THEN TO, TO BE DONE USING THE ASSISTANCE OF SOME EXTERNAL ASSURANCE PROVIDERS, UH, THEY'RE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY HERE, BUT IT'S THE FIRST AND THE THIRD THAT WOULD BE CO-SOURCE WITH EXTERNAL AUDITORS.
AND IT'S THE SECOND AND THE FOURTH THAT, UH, I WOULD DO IN-HOUSE, UH, AND, AND TALKING FIRST TO THE FIRST AND THE THIRD ONE IS A PROCUREMENT PROCESS AUDIT TO, TO ASSESS WHETHER WE'RE COMPLYING WITH OUR POLICIES AND IF OUR, UH, PRACTICES ARE FAIR AND EFFICIENT.
AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD CONTRACT COMPLIANCE AUDIT OF THE BIG THREE CONTRACTS WE HAVE WITH HDR, AECOM, AND H AND TB.
UM, AND THAT AUDIT WOULD REALLY LOOK AT THE, UH, CONTRACT MONITORING PRACTICES THAT WE HAVE AND THE TASK ORDERS.
UH, THERE'S A, UH, NUMBER ONE, THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE TINY AND HARD TO READ ON THE SLIDE HERE, BUT, BUT THAT NOTE JUST POINTS OUT THAT THOSE CONTRACTS WERE EXECUTED BY CAB METRO.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD TO BE EXECUTED BY CAP METRO BECAUSE THAT, THAT WAS PRIOR TO OUR EXISTENCE AS AN ENTITY.
UH, AND SO I'M HOPING THAT I CAN GET SOME SUPPORT WITH DOTTIE, MAYBE YOU AND YOUR TEAM TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THE RESOURCES I NEED TO, TO TURN OVER TO THE EXTERNAL AUDITORS SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GOOD OUTPUT THERE.
AND THEN THE TWO PROJECTS, UM, THAT ALL LEAD, UH, OUR, THE SECOND ONE, THEY'RE THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT.
UM, THAT'S A LITTLE MORE OF A PERFORMANCE STYLE AUDIT TO, UM, DETERMINE IF OUR PROCESSES ARE BEING DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN FULFILL THE PROVISIONS OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT.
UH, I THINK AS I GET INTO THE WEEDS OF THAT PROJECT, I'LL PROBABLY FURTHER SCOPE THAT, BUT I'VE LISTED A FEW AREAS THAT COULD BE A FOCUS IN THAT PROJECT.
AND THEN THE LAST ONE, THERE IS THE PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST AUDIT.
UH, WHEREAS THE OTHER PROJECTS HERE PRESENT, I THINK
[01:55:01]
MORE OF A FINANCIAL OR OPERATIONAL RISK.I SEE THIS AS MORE OF A REPUTATIONAL RISK FOR OUR ORGANIZATION.
AND ONE THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO EVALUATE NOW WHILE WE'RE GETTING STARTED AND THEN GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO THOSE FIRST FOUR, THOSE ARE AUDITS.
THESE ARE, UH, NON AUDITS, UH, BASICALLY EVERYTHING ELSE AND ALL THIS WORK I REALLY THINK IS BEST DONE IN HOUSE.
SO THE FIRST ONE, THERE IS ANNUAL AUDIT PLANNING, BASICALLY WHAT I'M DOING NOW, I'LL HAVE TO DO AGAIN NEXT YEAR.
UH, THE SECOND ONE IS ANY ETHICS INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO, UM, OUR NEW ETHICS WEBSITE AND HOTLINE, UH, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, BUT THAT'S UP AND RUNNING NOW, IT'S LIVE IT'S ADP DOT ETHICS, THREE SIXTY.COM, UH, AND REALLY ANY INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO, UM, SUSPECTED MISCONDUCT OR COMPLAINTS, WHICH HAS ETHICS RELATED CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS.
I THINK THAT WORK IS BEST DONE, UM, IN HOUSE.
AND THEN THE LAST ONE THERE, I'M JUST, THAT'S KIND OF THE CATCH-ALL BUCKET THAT LIKE OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED MAYBE IS WHAT WE WOULD SAY.
THEY'RE SORT OF OTHER RISK ADVISORY TYPE SERVICES, UM, YOU KNOW, WEIGHING IN ON POLICIES, PROCEDURES, WHERE CAN WE ADD EXTRA CONTROLS KIND OF SERVING AS A RISK ADVISOR.
UH, SO THAT'S, UM, AT A HIGH LEVEL, WHAT I'VE PROPOSED FOR THE WORKLOAD OF THIS FUNCTION, UM, IN THE UPCOMING YEAR, I'VE ALSO REQUESTED, YOU KNOW, KIND OF DOVETAILING ON THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATION.
THE ADDITION OF TWO INTERNAL AUDIT STAFF, MY INTENTION WAS TO HIRE ONE AT THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR, UM, TO, TO REALLY HELP GET THESE PROJECTS KICKED OFF.
AND THEN TO REVISIT THAT DISCUSSION ABOUT HIRING A SECOND ONE, UM, MAYBE MID-YEAR, OR LATER ONCE WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT ITSELF, AND ONCE I HAVE, UM, SOME AGREEMENTS IN PLACE WITH THOSE EXTERNAL AUDITORS AND THEN NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO LIKE I SAID, NEXT STEPS HERE.
THIS WE'LL COME BACK TO Y'ALL IN SEPTEMBER IN THE FORM OF A RESOLUTION TO ASK FOR APPROVAL.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE MEANTIME.
AND THEN BEYOND THAT, I'LL BE WORKING TO ADVERTISE THE ETHICS REPORTING HOTLINE AND WEBSITE.
REALLY THAT TOOL WAS NO GOOD IF NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT.
SO I'M, I'M WORKING WITH GREG AND HIS TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S APPROPRIATELY ADVERTISED AND THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE RESOURCES THERE FOR THEM, I'D REALLY ALSO LIKE TO ESTABLISH SOME KPIS, UH, FOR THE AUDIT FUNCTION.
I LOVE KPIS, NOT JUST BECAUSE I'M AN AUDIT NERD.
I REALLY JUST THINK THEY HELP, YOU KNOW, SET INTERIM TARGETS AND OVERALL HELP US MEET KIND OF OUR LARGER OBJECTIVES.
SO ONCE THE PLAN IS APPROVED, I THINK I COULD USE THAT TO ESTABLISH KPIS AND THEN DEPENDING ON THE DECISIONS OF THIS BODY, UM, AND, AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE'LL BE SOME AUDIT STAFF ADDED TO THIS FUNCTION, I WOULD NEED TO THEN HIRE THOSE FOLKS.
AND THEN THE LAST THING, ACTUALLY, NOT THE LAST THING, I HAVE MANY OTHER THINGS, BUT THE LAST THING I'LL MENTION TODAY IS I'LL BE DEVELOPING THE SCOPE OF WORK, UH, AND HOPEFULLY WORKING TO GET THOSE CONTRACTS DRAFTED SO I CAN HIRE THOSE EXTERNAL AUDITORS, UH, TO GET THEIR HELP.
SO I THINK THAT'S IT FOR ME, UH, RECORD TIMING, I THINK.
UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE.
THANK YOU, MS. HOUSTON QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD FROM
UM, THIS WAS, UH, A GREAT DRAFT AUDIT PLAN.
UM, JUST TO, UH, QUESTION ON, YOU KNOW, SOME OF YOUR, YOUR, YOUR PROJECTS AND NOT, NOT A QUESTION ON YOUR PROJECTS, I THINK THEY'RE TOTALLY APPROPRIATE, BUT, UM, JUST WHAT YOU WOULD SEE AS SORT OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND NOT NECESSARILY THE, YOU KNOW, PART, PART OF YOUR TASK HERE IS TO HELP US SORT OF REFINE PROCESSES.
UM, AND SO WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU SEE THAT SORT OF THE, THAT THE NEXT STEP, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY FACTOR INTO YOUR CONTINUING, YOU KNOW, DRAFT AUDIT PLAN FOR, FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR BEARING IN MIND THAT THERE'LL BE SOME SORT OF WORK, NOT NECESSARILY AUDIT RELATED, BUT IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO, TO THE BOARD.
UM, IN FACT, A FUTURE AUDIT PLAN DEFINITELY WOULD INCLUDE A PROJECT PROBABLY IN THAT NON-AUDIT BUCKET, UH, AROUND WHAT WE CALL A FOLLOW-UP PROJECT.
AND REALLY THAT IS JUST A PROJECT THAT GOES BACK AND REVIEWS KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
I'VE MADE MAYBE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE COME FROM OTHER AUDITORS, UM, FTA AUDITS, THOSE TYPES OF SOURCES.
UM, THEY'RE KIND OF LIKE BABY AUDITS AND REALLY, I WOULD ASSESS WHAT ACTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO ADDRESS THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN REPORT BACK TO Y'ALL PROBABLY IN A SUMMARY, UH, MANNER.
AND THEN MY HOPE IS TO EVENTUALLY CREATE A DASHBOARD WHERE THAT WOULD BE MADE
[02:00:01]
AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, AND REALLY ANYBODY COULD SEE WHAT THE PROGRESS IS THAT WE'RE MAKING IN IMPLEMENTING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.UM, BUT I THINK YOUR FIRST QUESTION WAS WHAT, WHAT ROLE WOULD I HAVE SPECIFIC TO THE IMPLEMENTATION? REALLY NONE I'D BE WORKING WITH GREG, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, HELP, UH, MAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT REALLY IT WOULD BE HIS DECISION, UH, HIS AND HIS TEAM REALLY, UM, AS TO WHETHER THEY AGREE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND WHAT ACTIONS THEY PLAN TO TAKE AND, AND SORT OF WHAT THEIR RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ARE.
I SAID, I'M THINKING MORE OF LIKE THE CAPACITY OF, OF YOUR DIVISION, I GUESS, TO SUPPORT THAT WORK CAPACITY IS A GOOD QUESTION.
UH, SO LIKE I MENTIONED, I HAD ASKED FOR TWO, UM, AUDITORS TO HELP, UH, SUPPORT ME WITH THIS FUNCTION ONE, UM, REALLY AT THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN ONE LATER, I THINK RIGHT NOW THERE MAY BE ISN'T MUCH WORK FOR US TO DO THERE BECAUSE WE'RE SO NEW BECAUSE THERE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS HANGING OUT THERE.
UM, BUT DEFINITELY THAT WILL BECOME A GROWING ISSUE, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE.
AND, AND YES, I THINK I WOULD NEED SOME, SOME HELP TO KIND OF BUILD THAT IN AS WELL.
REMEMBER ELKINS? YEAH, I KNOW.
I THINK, UH, THANK YOU, KATIE.
I THINK THESE ARE THE RIGHT PROJECTS.
I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THEM, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERNALLY, BUT, UH, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THESE PROJECTS BEING LOOKED AT FOR OUR FY 23.
I MEAN, I LOOK AT INTERNAL CONTROLS AND, AND, UH, INTERNAL AUDIT IS MAYBE NOT THE MOST EXCITING PART OF AN OPERATION OF BUSINESS, BUT I WASN'T TURNED LAUDED OR WHEN I, THAT HELPED ME UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD BE, UM, REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO TACKLE FIRST.
BUT ONE THING THAT IT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT.
AND I SEE THIS AS ONE OF YOUR HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS TOO, ARE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FULFILLING OUR CONTRACTUAL LEVEL OBLIGATIONS.
WELL WITHIN THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, I DON'T SEE IN ANY OF THESE, UM, AND THIS JUST CAME UP RECENTLY OR GUIDE ME WHERE IT IS, IF ANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, WE COMMISSIONED THAT REPORT.
THERE WERE SOME FOLLOW UP IDEAS THAT THEY HAD FOR US TO IMPLEMENT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS REALLY A QUESTION FOR YOU, A QUESTION FOR OUR AUDITOR TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THOSE ACTIONABLE ITEMS THAT THEY RECOMMENDED AND WHERE WOULD THAT FIT WITHIN THESE? UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT I DON'T WANT THAT STUDY TO JUST BE SHELVED.
I THINK IT IS IN A WAY A LIVING DOCUMENT OF SOME OF THE GUIDANCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY GAVE US.
I CAN RESPOND FIRST AND THEN, YEAH, SURE.
UM, SO YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT RESOURCE FOR US.
I COULD SEE A WORLD WHERE MAYBE THAT'S INTEGRATED SOMEWHAT TO THAT JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT PROJECT.
UM, IF IT TIES NICELY, IF NOT, UM, THEN, THEN I'M OPEN TO A SPECIAL REQUEST OR MAYBE A, A SHORTER TYPE ADVISORY PROJECT WHERE MAYBE WE COULD WORK TOGETHER, UM, KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT AND, AND DEVISE A PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACTING ON THOSE.
I THINK THE MODEL THAT KATIE HAS SET UP FOR HER AUDIT FUNCTION IS REALLY FITS US VERY WELL.
SO WE CAN HAVE THESE COLLABORATIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THESE EARLY DAYS, SO WE CAN QUICKLY GET TO SOME OPTIMIZATION AND EFFICIENCIES AROUND IT.
SO, AND IN TERMS OF THE ENO STUDY, YOU KNOW, I THINK, THINK ABOUT THAT AS, AS THE BEGINNING OF A CONTINUUM, RIGHT? IT WASN'T A STATIC DOCUMENT.
THERE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THERE.
I THINK THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE INFUSED THE ASSESSMENT OF THE LIGHT RAIL AND WILL CONTINUE TO INFUSE
[02:05:01]
THE ASSESSMENT THAT WE'RE DOING A STAFF.AND YOU SAW SOME OF THAT TODAY WITH SOME CHANGES TO THE ORG CHART, OUR WAY WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS HOW WE'RE STAFFING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UM, ABOUT OUR PROJECT DELIVERY.
AND I THINK THEN AS WE GET INTO CARRYING OUT SOME OF THOSE, I THINK THERE'S SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO CONTINUE THE COLLABORATION THAT YOU'VE SEEN, LIKE WHETHER IT WAS ON THE FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE POLICY, BUT ON SOME OF THESE, UM, UH, AUDIT SERVICES, UH, EFFORTS THAT ARE REALLY THE NIMBLE, QUICK THINGS WE NEED.
CAUSE IN SOME CASES WE CAN'T WAIT A YEAR TO FIND A DEFICIENCY.
WE NEED TO FIND THE DEFICIENCY IMMEDIATELY.
UM, THAT WAS MY COMMITMENT TO YOU TO HELP THE ORGANIZATION STAND UP, TO BE READY TO DELIVER.
SO I THINK, UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, CUSTODY CAN SERVE AS THAT FOUNDATIONAL, UM, ONGOING DOCUMENT, UM, FOR LOTS OF THINGS.
MADAM CHAIR, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THE INNER REPORT BECAUSE AS I RECALL, AND I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, THERE WAS AN IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION IN IT.
IN ADDITION TO THE INDEPENDENCE, THERE WAS, IT MENTIONED AT LEAST ONCE THAT THERE WAS A LACK OF CLARITY AROUND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WAS, AM I RIGHT ON THAT? I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US ADDRESS THAT POINT IN FUTURE MEETINGS BECAUSE I THINK IT WAS A GOOD POINT.
WE PAID A LOT OF MONEY AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US AT SOME POINT ADDRESS THE CLARITY OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND I THINK THAT YOU'RE RIGHT.
AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE ACTIONABLE ITEMS TO THAT.
WHAT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, WHAT I LIKE TO SEE US DO IN RELATION TO A STRATEGIC PLAN, SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL, WILL INFORM HOW WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, WITH THE NEXT STRATEGIES.
AND WHAT I LIKE TO ALSO UNDERSTAND IS SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED IMMEDIATE ANSWERS.
I MEAN, SOME OF THESE MAY TAKE THREE MONTHS.
SOME OF THEM MAY TAKE SIX MONTHS.
AND WHEN DO WE PLUG THOSE IN, IN RELATION TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN? BECAUSE I LIKE TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION, WHAT WE NEED TO DO, INFORM THE STRATEGIES THAT WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE.
UM, YES, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE GETTING OUT THERE, BUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IS KIND OF, WHAT'S THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THESE ARE GOING TO TAKE A COMMON CRITICISM OF AUDIT.
AND ONE THAT IS JUSTIFIED OFTENTIMES IS THAT THEY'RE NOT SUPER FAST, UM, TEND TO BE GOOD, RELIABLE WORK, BUT, BUT YEAH, IT OFTEN IS NOT DONE IMMEDIATELY.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S AN INDUSTRY BENCHMARK THAT AUDITS TAKE AROUND NINE MONTHS TO COMPLETE, I THINK GIVEN KIND OF HOW NIMBLE NEW OUR ORGANIZATION IS.
I THINK IT WILL BE SHORTER HERE, BUT I REALLY THINK THAT PROBABLY SIX MONTHS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR A TIMELINE FOR PROJECTS.
UM, I'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH GREG AROUND MAYBE WHAT COULD BE DONE EARLIER SORT OF, YOU KNOW, IN PREPARATION FOR THOSE AUDITS THAT WOULD STILL BE USEFUL IN THE PROJECTS THEMSELVES, BUT COULD ALSO BE OFFERED UP NOW TO MANAGEMENT TO HELP YOU ALL MAKE DECISIONS.
AND, AND I THINK THOSE DISCUSSIONS ARE ONGOING AND, AND WE'LL DEFINITELY KEEP YOU APPRISED OF THAT.
AND ANOTHER PIECE OF CURIOSITY BACK TO THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND THE CLARITY FOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IS THAT THE JPA DELINEATES A LOT OF THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBLE THE CLARITY'S THAT THE LANES ARE DEFINED, RIGHT.
AND SINCE THIS WAS A JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT THAT WAS SIGNED BY ALL THREE PARTIES.
AND I MEAN, WERE YOU EVEN QUOTED AT RECENTLY WITH YOUR LETTER ABOUT LET'S HAVE A JOINT MEETING, RIGHT? HOW OFTEN ARE WE GOING TO MEET THAT? WE MEETING THOSE EXPECTATIONS? I THINK ONE THING THAT I LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IS WHAT WE, WHAT COMES OUT OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO TACKLE.
OUR AUDIT REPORT INFORMS THE CITY OR INFORMS CAPITAL METRO, IS THAT CORRECT? WHAT THEY NEED TO DO? LIKE LET'S SAY ADP IS DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT.
AND WE'RE FOLLOWING OUR COMMITMENT THROUGH DO THE T AND THE TEAM IS REALLY DOING EVERYTHING AS INTENDED, BUT THE CITY OR COVENANT, OR NEED TO DO THEIR PART.
HOW DO, HOW DOES THE RESULT OF THAT AUDIT INFORM THEM? THEY CAN USE THAT SAME REPORT? SURE.
WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAD LISTED AS A POTENTIAL FOCUS AREA IS IDENTIFYING WHERE THERE'S MAYBE SOME REDUNDANCIES BETWEEN THE THREE PARTIES AND THEN ALSO WHERE THERE ARE GAPS OR WHERE THERE, UM, AREAS THAT ARE UNCLEAR ABOUT, ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE OR WHO NEEDS TO DO WHAT.
SO CERTAINLY I THINK THAT COULD BE ADDED INTO THIS AUDIT WORK HERE, AND THEN THAT OF COURSE WOULD COME BEFORE Y'ALL WE HAVE, UH, SOME REPRESENTATION FROM OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY AND, AND CAP METRO HERE ON THIS BODY.
SO I THINK, I THINK I WOULD BE RELIANT ON, ON Y'ALL TO TAKE THAT BACK TO YOUR ENTITIES THEN TO, TO SHARE AND TO BUILD OUT THOSE FUNCTIONS.
MY RECOMMENDATIONS IN MY AUDIT WORK WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, TO GREG AND HIS TEAM AND TO THE MANAGEMENT OF ATP, BUT CERTAINLY THAT WOULD BE INCLUDED
[02:10:01]
IN WHAT, WHAT I SHARE WITH YOU ALL.SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S WHERE CROSSWALK COMES INTO THE PLACE WHERE WE LAY OUT RULES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
WE LAY OUT DELIVERABLES OUT WHEREVER THEY COME FROM, IF THEY COME FROM INTERNAL PROCESSES OR IF THEY COME FROM RECOMMENDATIONS AND A REPORT FROM A, UH, FROM A CONSULTANT USUALLY PROVIDES RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE, NOT NECESSARILY OURS.
SO THE, THE IDEA IS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE LAY OUT? WHAT'S THERE WHAT'S RECOMMENDED WHETHER THAT FITS WITHIN, UH, THE PROCESSES THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, WHETHER WE ALL AGREE, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER READ A REPORT IN MY LIFE WHERE EVERYBODY AGREED WITH EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN IT.
AND SO HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE WORK TOGETHER? HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR STRENGTHS? HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR PROCESSES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE FULFILL WHAT THE PUBLIC EXPECTS OF US AS THERE'S PROBABLY NO ONE CONTROLLING DOCUMENT THAT'S GOING TO GET US THERE IN A NUMBER OF THINGS.
AND, AND I'M CERTAINLY, THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME PUSHBACK TO ONE, ONE RECOMMENDATION MIGHT SAY, WELL, YOU OUGHT TO DO ALL OF THIS.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO ALL OF THAT.
AND, AND, AND MAYBE WE FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD DO PART OF THAT.
UH, WHICH PART SHOULD I DO? SO, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT.
I THINK TO GET ALL OF OUR CONTROLLER DOCUMENTS TOGETHER, INCLUDING THE JPA AND, AND, UH, LAY OUT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY THAT WE GENERALLY DO BUSINESS, BECAUSE THE CITY HAS ITS WAY OF DOING THINGS.
AND METRO HAS ITS WAY OF DOING THINGS.
UM, WE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, WE ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF EVERYBODY, BUT, UM, YOU, IT, IT, IT, IT'S NEVER STRAIGHTFORWARD.
LIKE I SAY THAT JUST AFTER 40 YEARS IN THE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS SOME NEGOTIATION.
UH, THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS SOME, WOW, YOU'VE GOT A REALLY GREAT PERSON HERE WHO HAS A GREAT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE CAN POTENTIALLY WORK WITH US OR, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PLACES WE NEED TO SHORE UP.
HOW DO WE DO THAT? SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS.
AND I THINK THAT, FROM WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO THE CLARITY AND ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND WILL EXPEDITE AND WILL HELP EVERYONE MOVE FORWARD, UM, BETTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY.
SO RECOGNIZING THAT WE'VE HAD A GOOD DOCUMENT ALREADY TO START DELINEATING SOME OF THOSE.
IT WAS LAID OUT FOR YOU GUYS RIGHT.
IN THE SLIDE SEVEN, RIGHT? YEAH.
I THINK THAT'S A REMINDER THAT WE, THIS GREAT CONVERSATION, BUT WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF THE GOOD WORK COMMISSIONER THAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT.
AND IT'S ALSO REMINDING FOLKS WHERE WE ARE, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK GOING ON AND WE CAN BUILD UPON IT.
OH, IT WAS HOT AND I JUST TURNED IT OFF.
UM, SO I THINK THAT WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THERE ARE NO MORE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
I THINK THIS CONCLUDES THE ATP AND YOU WERE AN AGRO FOURTH MEETING, SO THANK YOU, EVERYONE WHO TUNED IN, WHO SHOWED UP IN PERSON, UM, AND FOR ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE AND THE HEAVY LIFT.
SO THE TIME IS 4 24, AND THIS MEETING STANDS ADJOURNED.