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BY THE RULES, BUT DIDN'T WIN.MAYOR PROTE, CAN YOU TURN ON YOUR CAMERA, CAMERA FOR JUST A FEW SECONDS, PLEASE, AS I CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
I WILL CALL THIS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO ORDER AT 1:32 PM
[CALL TO ORDER]
AS A QUORUM IS PRESENT.WE HAVE OUR MAYOR PROTEM ALTER ON ONLINE WITH US, AND NEXT TO ME IS COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
AND, UH, COUNCIL VICE CHAIR KITCHEN SHOULD BE JOINING US HERE SHORTLY.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AT THIS TIME.
[1. Approve the minutes of the August 24,2022 regular meeting of the Austin Water Oversight Committee]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM AUGUST 24TH, 2022.IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
ALL IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[2. Approve the 2023 Austin Water Oversight Committee meeting schedule.]
ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS THE 2023 AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE.YOU SHOULD HAVE THAT IN YOUR BACKUP.
THE COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UM, WILL CONTINUE TO BE, UH, QUARTERLY AND THEY'LL FOLLOW.
WE'LL HAVE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING IN THE MORNING, FOLLOWED BY AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT, UH, IN THE AFTERNOON WITH THE START TIME OF 1:30 PM UH, I NOW SEE VICE SHARE KITCHEN HAS JOINED US VICE SHARE KITCHEN.
WE'RE DISCUSSING ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS OUR PROPOSED MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 2023.
ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED SCHEDULE? COUNCIL REPU, THE MAYOR PROTE HAD HER HAND UP.
I WAS GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
I JUST WANNA FLAG THAT, UM, FOR THE AUGUST MEETING, WE MAY NEED TO BE, UM, MOVING THE AUDIT AND FINANCE MEETING, CUZ WE MAY END UP MOVING THE COUNCIL MEETING, WHICH IS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED RIGHT IMMEDIATELY AFTER BUDGET.
UM, BUT WE CAN PASS THIS FOR NOW.
I JUST WANTED TO FLAG FOR FOLKS, UM, I DON'T THINK WE WANNA HAVE AN AUDIT AND FINANCE AND A AWESOME WATER ON A WEEK OF COUNCIL IF WE DO CHANGE THE SCHEDULE.
BUT WE WON'T DO THAT UNTIL JANUARY.
WE'LL PUT AN ASTERISK BY THE AUGUST 30TH MEETING.
AND, UH, SO TENTATIVE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DEPENDING ON COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE.
ALL RIGHT, COUNCIL MOVES TO APPROVE THE SCHEDULE.
IS THERE A SECOND? MAYOR PROTE.
ALL IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[3. Update on Rain to River: A Strategic Plan to Protect Austin's Creeks and Communities]
ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING FROM AUSTIN WATERSHED ON THE UPDATE TO THE RAIN TO RIVER, A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PROTECT AUSTIN'S CREEKS AND COMMUNITIES.WE'LL BE JOINED BY DIRECTOR MORALES.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT THE UPDATE ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THIS IS A MAJOR UNDERTAKING FOR OUR DEPARTMENT TO REEVALUATE HOW WE PRIORITIZE OUR DEPARTMENT, UH, BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO, I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE OUR TEAM AND WE'RE GONNA TURN IT OVER TO KATIE COIN, WHO'S OUR ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER, AND THEN AARON WOOD WHO WILL DO THE PRESENTATION.
BUT WE'LL BE HERE FOR QUESTIONS AS WELL.
I'M THE CITY OF AUSTIN ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED PROTECTION OVER PLANNING, MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE.
UH, SO COULDN'T BE MORE EXCITED ABOUT RANGE RIVER.
UM, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS WE'VE DONE A MAJOR OVERHAUL TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AS A DEPARTMENT.
IT'S ALSO TIMELY, UH, IT'S PAST TIME TO INCLUDE ITEMS SUCH AS CLIMATE JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, UH, AND MORE HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENTAL THINKING INTO THE WAY WE DRIVE THE WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I'LL KEEP IT SHORT AND I WILL HAND IT OFF TO AARON WOOD.
I'M THE ACTING WATERSHED PLANNING MANAGER IN OUR PLANNING DIVISION.
UM, AND I'M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY TO TALK TO YOU MORE ABOUT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING ON, UH, RAINED RIVER, A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PROTECT AUSTIN'S CREEKS AND COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO JUST A BRIEF REMINDER, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR FOLKS WATCHING AT HOME, UM, THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, OUR MISSION IS TO PROTECT THE LIVES OF PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY BY REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF FLOODING, EROSION, AND WATER POLLUTION.
UM, AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DEFINITELY BEEN TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY WHEN WE'VE
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BEEN OUT, IS, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCES.YOU KNOW, BEING HERE AT THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TODAY, THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN, UM, WATERSHED PROTECTION AND THE WORK OF AUSTIN WATER, THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RAIN TO RIVER AND WATER FORWARD.
UM, SO WE ACTUALLY PICKED THE NAME RAIN TO RIVER, UH, ONE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANNA INTRODUCE WATER INTO THE NAME AND KIND OF CAUSE CONFUSION BETWEEN THE WATER FORWARD INITIATIVE.
UH, BUT ALSO IT WAS CHALLENGING TO FIND A NAME FOR THE PLAN THAT REALLY ENCOMPASSED THE BROAD SCOPE OF WORK THAT OUR DEPARTMENT DOES.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST THE MORE NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR CREEKS AND LAKES AND RIVER, BUT ALSO OUR, UM, VAST, UH, BUILT INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK OF, UH, STORM DRAINS AND, UH, ENGINEERED CHANNELS AND TUNNELS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, AND SO WE FOUND RAIN RIVER REALLY WAS A WAY TO ENCOMPASS ALL OF THAT FROM WHERE THE RAIN FALLS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO WHERE IT'S LEAVING, UM, OUR CITY.
AND SO, UM, OUR WATER FORWARD IS FOCUSED MORE ON WATER SUPPLY AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
UH, RAIN RIVERS FOCUS MORE ON THE HEALTH OF WATERWAYS AND THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, FROM THE IMPACTS OF FLOODING EROSION.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE, WE'VE BEEN OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, WE'VE BEEN TALKING, UM, CUZ WE HEAR A LOT OF, LIKE, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT MY WATER UTILITY BILL.
AND, UH, SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HOW OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE DIFFERENT, BUT ALSO HOW WE WORK AND COLLABORATE TOGETHER.
UH, SO WHAT IS OUR STRATEGIC PLAN? UH, WE TALK ABOUT IT BEING THE BLUEPRINT FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.
IT GUIDES THE WORK AND PRIORITIES OF WATERSHED PROTECTION, UM, FOR YEARS TO COME.
IT TALKS ABOUT HOW WE PRIORITIZE, UM, OUR PROBLEMS AND HOW WE EVALUATE OUR SOLUTIONS.
UM, IT HELPS US FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA MEASURE OUR SUCCESS OVER TIME.
YOU KNOW, HOW ARE THE VARIOUS SOLUTIONS IN OUR PORTFOLIO WORKING AND PERFORMING, AND HOW ARE WE MAKING THINGS BETTER FOR THE COMMUNITY? UM, AND IT'S A COMMUNICATION TOOL.
IT HELPS EXPLAIN OUR WORK AND PRIORITIES, UM, BOTH TO OUR OWN STAFF, TO CITY EXECUTIVES AND POLICY MAKERS AND INTO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S, UM, KATIE MENTIONED THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS ADOPTED, UH, BACK IN 2001.
SO OVER 20 YEARS AGO AT THE TIME, IT WAS, UH, CALLED THE WATERSHED PROTECTION MASTER PLAN.
UH, WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM THAT TERMINOLOGY BECAUSE OF THE, UH, NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS, UM, WITH THE RACIST AND HARMFUL 1928 MASTER PLAN.
UM, AND SO WE'VE SHIFTED TO STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, AND THEN RAIN TO RIVER AND OUR BRANDING.
UM, SO BACK IN 2001, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LOOKED, UM, PRETTY STANDARD FOR THE TIME.
THERE WAS A TELEPHONE SURVEY IN A CITIZEN ADVISORY GROUP AND SOME PUBLIC MEETINGS.
UM, BUT WE KNOW ANECDOTALLY TALKING WITH THE STAFF THAT WERE INVOLVED, UM, THAT THAT EFFORT REALLY DIDN'T PRIORITIZE, UH, GATHERING INPUT FROM THE FULL DIVERSITY OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTS.
UM, AND SO SINCE THAT TIME, THERE HAVE BEEN REVISIONS TO THE PLAN.
UH, YOU SEE THE ONE UP HERE FROM, UH, 2015, UH, BUT THEY'VE BEEN MORE TECHNICAL, UM, AND AD HOC AS WE'VE HAD SOME CHANGES TO THE WAY THAT WE, UH, PRIORITIZE DATA OVER TIME.
AND THERE HASN'T BEEN A PUBLIC INPUT ASSOCIATED WITH THAT OTHER THAN PRESENTING AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN 20 YEARS AND A LOT HAS CHANGED IN 20 YEARS.
UM, AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, THAT WE ARE LONG PASS OVERDUE FOR AN UPDATE THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS MAJOR CHALLENGES LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE, POPULATION GROWTH, UM, RACIAL INEQUITIES IN, UM, ALSO OVER 20 YEARS.
YOU KNOW, OUR DEPARTMENT AND, UH, HAS GAINED A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IN WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T.
UM, WE JUST HAD THE TRASH AND CREEK STUDY THAT CAME OUT, YOU KNOW, WITH A CUTTING EDGE DATA ANALYSIS AND NEW SOLUTIONS TO EXPLORE.
UM, ALSO BEING 20 YEARS OLD, THE PLAN DOESN'T REFLECT THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF OTHER CITY PLANS, UM, LIKE WATER FORWARD, UM, SD 23, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, GREAT OVERLAP WITH THOSE OTHER PLANS THAT WE CAN PULL IN TO THIS NEW INITIATIVE.
UM, AND THEN ONE OF OUR CHALLENGES WITH THE CURRENT PLAN AS WELL IS THAT IT DOESN'T SET TIME SPECIFIC TARGETS OR OBJECTIVES.
AND SO IT, IT'S, IT'S MORE CHALLENGING FOR US TO DEMONSTRATE AND SHOW THE COMMUNITY HOW WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS OVER TIME, UM, WHEN THE GOAL OR OBJECTIVE IS JUST GET EVERYONE OUT OF THE FLOOD PLAIN.
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, UM, SHOW DEMONSTRABLE PROGRESS FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
SO OUR GOALS FOR THIS UPDATE, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE COMMUNITY IS AT THE HEART, UM, OF THIS COMPREHENSIVE OVERHAUL.
AND SO WE WANNA REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REFLECTING, UM, THE VALUES AND KNOWLEDGE OF EXPERIENCE OF, UH, THE COMMUNITY AS WE'RE EMBARKING ON THIS PLAN.
UM, WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GROUNDING THIS PLAN AND EQUITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE, UM, AND THAT WE'RE REALLY CENTERING THE NEEDS OF THOSE MOST VULNERABLE TO WATERSHED IMPACTS, UM, BOTH IN
[00:10:01]
TERMS OF EXPOSURE AND ABILITY TO RECOVER.AND THEN I MENTIONED THIS BEING A COMMUNICATION TOOL.
AND SO ONE OF OUR GOALS IS REALLY FOR THIS PLAN TO BE, UH, ACCESSIBLE AND INFORMATIVE.
IF YOU GO AND CHECK OUT OUR CURRENT PLAN, IT'S ABOUT 400 PAGES LONG.
UM, IT'S GOT A LOT OF TECHNICAL JARGON, A LOT OF LIKE MATHEMATICAL FORMULAS.
AND SO WE REALLY WANT THIS TO BE, UM, SOMETHING MORE, YOU KNOW, VISUALLY COMPELLING, UH, THAT FOLKS CAN INTERACT WITH AND REALLY, UM, HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORK OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LOOKED LIKE IN 2001.
UM, AND SO ROLLING INTO, UH, RAIN TO RIVER, WE REALLY WANTED TO TAKE A DEEP LOOK AT HOW WE WERE DOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UH, WE DID SOME BENCHMARKING, UM, WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT HAD DONE RESEND ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, UH, WATER FORWARD BEING ONE OF THEM.
UM, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, THE A S AND P, UM, AND REALLY LEARNING, YOU KNOW, WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T WORK IN THEIR EFFORTS AND TRYING TO DRAW FROM THEIR, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIES THAT WERE MOST SUCCESSFUL.
WE ALSO DID BENCHMARKING AROUND THE COUNTRY, UH, WITH SEATTLE AND PORTLAND AND PHILADELPHIA AND SOME OTHER CITIES TO SEE HOW THEY WERE APPROACHING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND THEN PULLED THAT INTO, UM, A REALLY ROBUST AND INCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
UM, AND SO THESE ARE OUR MAIN GOALS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UH, WE WANNA MAKE IT EASY AND ENJOYABLE FOR PEOPLE TO CONTRIBUTE.
WE WANNA BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT WE'RE ASKING, TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ALWAYS A DIRECT CONNECTION, UH, TO THE DECISIONS BEING MADE.
WE WANNA TAILOR OUR APPROACH AND OUR STRATEGIES, UM, FOR THE DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT WE'RE INTERACTING WITH, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY KIND OF ADAPTING OUR STRATEGIES OVER TIME.
SEEING WHAT'S WORKING AND BEING ITERATIVE AND CHECKING BACK IN WITH THE COMMUNITY AS WE GO FORWARD, UH, COLLABORATING WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND DEPARTMENTS.
UM, AND THEN THIS LAST ONE IS REALLY KEY AND CAME OUT OF, UM, THE EQUITY ACTION PLANNING THAT OUR DEPARTMENT HAS DONE IS THAT REALLY, THIS ISN'T JUST KIND OF A THREE YEAR LIKE TRANSACTIONAL.
LET'S DO SOME ENGAGEMENT AND CHECK THE BOX AND GO BACK TO OUR WORK.
WE WANT THIS TO BE FO FOCUSED ON LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS AND BUILDING TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY, UM, SO THAT AS WE START IMPLEMENTING RANGE RIVER, WE STILL HAVE THOSE CONNECTIONS GOING FORWARD.
UH, SO SETTING UP THOSE SYSTEMS, UH, TO SUCCEED, UM, IN THE YEARS TO COME.
SO ONE THING WE DID AS PART OF THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN, UH, WAS GO THROUGH, UM, SOME MAPPING OF OUR DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS.
UH, WE ORGANIZED THOSE INTO THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS.
AND SO KNOWING, YOU KNOW, WE WANTED, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE WANTED TO CENTER NEEDS OF FOLKS WHO WERE VULNERABLE AND FOLKS WHO HAD BEEN HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED FROM PAST PLANNING PROCESSES.
UM, SO THOSE THREE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS ARE UNDERSERVED GROUPS.
UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES.
UH, SO COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, UM, SENIORS, YOUTH, L G B T.
UM, AND SO WE WENT THROUGH AND MAPPED OUT THOSE AND NETWORKS AND WHERE WE HAD RELATIONSHIPS AND WHERE WE DIDN'T.
UM, WE ALSO WANNA FOLK ON FOCUS ON IMPACTED GROUPS, SO PEOPLE WHO'VE EXPERIENCED OR AT RISK OF EXPERIENCING NEGATIVE WATERSHED OUTCOMES AND THEN ORGANIZATIONS WITH RELEVANT EXPERIENCE.
UM, AND THIS IS ANOTHER ONE WE, WE REALLY TRIED TO PUSH OUT OF OUR, UM, KIND OF COMFORT ZONE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO OUR MORE TRADITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS, REALLY START ENGAGING WITH FOLKS WHO WORK ON COMMUNITY HEALTH OR LANGUAGE ACCESS OR SAFETY, OR KIND OF A BROADER REALM OF COMMUNITY EXPERTISE.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT THE INTERSECTION OF THESE THREE GROUPS AND ARE THERE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE WORKING WITH UNDERSERVED AND IMPACTED GROUPS ACROSS THE CITY? AND THAT REALLY HELPS US FIGURE OUT, UM, KNOWING WE HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES IN OUR DEPARTMENT AS FAR AS STAFFING AND FUNDING, WHERE WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING OUR TIME AND OUR ENERGY AND OUR RESOURCES AS WE'RE GOING OUT AND DOING ENGAGEMENT.
UM, BUT THAT LAST POINT AT THE BOTTOM, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE STILL HAVE A BROAD RANGE OF STRATEGIES, UH, SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO REACH EVERYONE, UM, AND A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF THE ENTIRE AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN FULL LISTENING MODE.
UM, SO WE'RE IN PHASE ONE, WE'RE GATHERING COMMUNITY INPUT.
UM, AND I'LL WALK THROUGH OUR PROGRESS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, A LITTLE MORE HERE IN A SECOND.
UM, SO WE'RE GOING OUT AND LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY GATHERING INPUT.
UM, NEXT YEAR, 2023 IS, UH, STARTING TO TRANSLATE THAT INTO CONTENT, UM, AND CONTINUING TO GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AS WE DEVELOP CONTENT TO ASK, DID WE GET IT RIGHT? DID WE HEAR YOU CORRECTLY? DID WE MISS SOMETHING? UM, AND STARTING AS WE ARE IDENTIFYING STRATEGIES TO, YOU KNOW, MEET COMMUNITY NEEDS AND GOALS, UM, WHAT, UH, THE PRIORITIES ARE, UM, AMONG THOSE
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IDENTIFIED ISSUES AND STRATEGIES.AND THEN 2024 IS WHEN WE WOULD ANTICIPATE, UM, BRINGING FORWARD THE DRAFT PLAN AGAIN TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND GATHERING MORE INPUT AND THEN BRINGING THAT FORWARD FOR A DO, UH, FOR A VIEW AND ADOPTION ULTIMATELY, UH, BY CITY COUNCIL.
I WILL MENTION ON THAT, THAT TIMELINE.
UM, WE KNOW THAT THREE YEARS IS A LONG TIME.
UM, AND WE DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT OUR WORK, OUR, OUR DEPARTMENT WILL CONTINUE TO DO, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT WE DO AND EXPLORE NEW STRATEGIES AND DO, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF OUR, OUR BREAD AND BUTTER WORK OUT IN THE COMMUNITY OF OUR PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS, UM, OVER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT HITTING PAUSE FOR THREE YEARS WHILE WE'RE DOING OUR WORK.
UM, AND CONTINUING TO FIND WAYS, UM, TO PULL WHAT WE'RE LEARNING FROM THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THIS PROCESS INTO OUR CURRENT, UM, OPERATIONS.
SO REAL QUICK, WHEN DID Y'ALL LAUNCH RANGE RIVER THIS YEAR? UM, WE DID WHAT WE CALLED A SOFT LAUNCH IN JANUARY, UM, OF THE MORE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND MEETING WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THEN THE, UH, OFFICIAL LAUNCH WAS IN APRIL OF WHEN WE PUT THE WEBSITE UP AND RELEASED THE SURVEY AND HAD OUR KICKOFF MEETING.
UM, AND YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD, THAT'S A GREAT TRANSITION INTO, UH, OUR, OUR PROGRESS ON PHASE ONE.
UM, AND SO WE HAD THAT SOFT LAUNCH OF STARTING TO BUILD CONNECTIONS AND MEET WITH ORGANIZATIONS, UM, FROM JANUARY THROUGH MARCH.
THEN WE LAUNCHED OUR WEBSITE, UM, IN APRIL RANGE RIVER ATX.COM.
UM, WE'VE HAD OVER 26,000 VIEWS TO DATE.
UM, AND SO WE'VE BEEN SINCE THEN PROMOTING RANGE RIVER ACROSS, UH, TRADITIONAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. UM, AS PART OF THAT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO OVER 120 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AROUND TOWN, UM, TO MAKE NEW CONNECTIONS AND WORK ON BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
AND THEN WE LAUNCHED OUR COMMUNITY VISION SURVEY IN MAP, UH, FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES.
UM, YOU CAN GO THERE AND FOLKS CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT RAIN RIVER.
UM, WHAT OUR DEPARTMENT DOES, UH, AND WHY WE'RE UPDATING THE PLAN.
UM, WE SHARE SOME INPUT THAT WE'VE HEARD IN THE PAST, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T DONE COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AROUND OUR PLANNING PROCESS SINCE 2001, BUT WE'VE DONE A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT AND SO TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE INCLUDING THERE WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE FLOOD MITIGATION TASK FORCE AND THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP, UM, AND THE PEOPLE'S PLAN AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND INTEGRATING THAT INTO THAT, WHAT WE'VE HEARD SECTIONED, UM, FOR COMMUNITY INPUT.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE SOME INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS ON THE WEBSITE AND A DASHBOARD WHERE FOLKS CAN LOOK AT, UH, WATERSHED SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED OR PLANNED.
UM, WE USE SOCIAL PINPOINT, WHICH IS THE SAME THING THAT, UH, ATX WALK BIKE ROLL HAS BEEN USING.
UM, AND WE FOUND IT A REALLY KIND OF COOL WAY FOR THE PUBLIC TO INTERACT, UM, WITH THE SURVEY, CUZ WE HAVE ON THE LEFT THERE THE MORE TRADITIONAL, UM, TECH-BASED SURVEY THAT'S A LITTLE MORE ABSTRACT, ABSTRACT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE'S VISION AND THEIR VALUES AROUND, UM, NATURAL SPACES AND WATERWAYS.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE MAP WHERE FOLKS CAN GO IN AND TALK ABOUT THE PLACES THEY LOVE AND WHY THEY LOVE THEM, UM, PROBLEMS THEY'RE HAVING AROUND TOWN, AND, UH, SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING THINGS BETTER.
AND SO IT KIND OF BRINGS THINGS DOWN AND MAKES IT A LITTLE MORE TANGIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE, UM, HOW THEY INTERACT WITH OUR WATERWAYS.
WE HAVE, UH, ALMOST 1500 SURVEY RESPONSES TO DATE AND ABOUT 800 MAP POINTS.
UM, AND ACTUALLY ONE MORE CLICK ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, SO A RANGE OF, YOU KNOW, PROBLEM POINTS AND FAVORITE PLACES AND IDEAS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A SPANISH VERSION AVAILABLE ONLINE OF THE SURVEY.
UH, WE HAVE PAPER COPIES TRANSLATED, UM, INTO SIX ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES.
THERE'S ALSO, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT BUTTON WAY UP IN THE TOP RIGHT, UM, YOU'RE ABLE TO AUTO TRANSLATE THE SURVEY INTO ABOUT A HUNDRED DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, UH, USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE.
UM, SO THIS SURVEY IS STILL LIVE, WE ANTICIPATE, UM, BEING UP THROUGH THE REST OF THE YEAR.
UH, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO WORKING, UM, THROUGH A CITYWIDE CONTRACT ON A, CONDUCTING A STATISTICALLY VALID VERSION OF THE SURVEY FOR A RANDOM, UH, DEMOGRAPHICALLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF AUSTIN SO THAT WE CAN VALIDATE THOSE RESULTS AND, UH, COMPARE WHAT WE'RE SEEING ON THE ONLINE SURVEY TO THE STATISTICALLY VALID NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS IS A REALLY BUSY SLIDE, UM, BUT BASICALLY I JUST WANTED TO SHARE KIND OF, WHEN I TALK ABOUT DOING A LOT OF, UH, TRADITIONAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION OF RAIN RIVER, WE'VE BEEN OUT THERE IN A, A
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NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.UM, WE'VE HAD OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE AS WELL AS, UH, DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
UM, ACTUALLY ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS THAT ALL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT LATER TOLD US THEY HEARD ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, FROM, UH, YOUR TWITTER FEED COUNCIL MEMBER PENEZ.
UM, WE'VE HAD SOME, YOU KNOW, INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL MEDIA.
UM, WE'VE HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, NEXT DOOR AND AUSTIN COMMON AND SOME OTHER WAYS, A DIFFERENT NEWSLETTERS TO PUSH OUT AND GET THE WORD OUT.
UM, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO HAD, IN THE TOP RIGHT THERE IS OUR POSTCARD THAT WENT OUT TO, UM, OVER A HUNDRED OR ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UM, ADDRESSES AROUND TOWN FOR FOLKS THAT WERE EITHER IN THE FLOOD PLAIN OR, UM, NEAR LOCAL FLOOD, UH, REPORT AREAS SO THAT WE WERE ABLE, ABLE TO REACH MORE FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN, UH, DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY WATERSHED OUTCOMES.
SO WE HAD THAT VIRTUAL KICKOFF EVENT IN APRIL, UM, FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RAINED RIVER AND HOW TO SHARE THEIR INPUT.
UH, SINCE THEN, WE'VE REALLY BEEN TAKING WHAT WE CALL A MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE APPROACH.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE HEARD A LOT IN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BENCHMARKING.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, OUR ESAU AND ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE, UM, AND WATERSHED PROTECTION HAS BEEN DOING FOR YEARS.
UM, AND SO RATHER THAN HOSTING PUBLIC MEETINGS AND ASKING PEOPLE TO COME JOIN US, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, TO EXISTING EVENTS, UM, AND SET UP TABLES OR DO CANVASSING AND, UH, CONNECT WITH FOLKS.
SO WE'VE BEEN AT, UM, THESE ARE SOME OF THE BIG ONES.
WE'VE BEEN AT, UH, EARTH DAY, RAINBOW ON THE CREEK, JUNETEENTH, UH, SEVERAL BACK TO SCHOOL, BASHES AROUND TOWN.
AND THEN, UH, RECENTLY VIVA MEXICO AT THE MAC.
UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO LEVERAGE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN SOME EVENTS WITH LIKE AUSTIN YOUTH RIVERWATCH OR PODER, UM, TO GET OUT IN THE COMMUNITY WHEN THEY'RE ALREADY HOSTING EVENTS.
UM, AND THEN SO WE ANTICIPATE CONTINUING TO ATTEND COMMUNITY EVENTS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.
UM, WE'VE GOT A DASHBOARD THAT ARE, UM, UM, GIS STAFF HAVE BUILT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, WHERE WE'RE SEEING GAPS IN REPRESENTATION, UM, FROM A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE IN OUR SURVEY, UM, AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, FOCUSING OUR STAFF TIME AT, ON ATTENDING EVENTS, UM, IN AREAS OF TOWN THAT ARE STILL UNDERREPRESENTED.
UM, SO THESE ARE JUST A FEW PICTURES OF OUR, OUR STAFF OUT, UM, ATTENDING EVENTS.
UM, AND SO I MENTIONED WE STILL GOT SOME GO COMING UP.
WE'RE GOING TO HOPE FEST, UM, UP IN THE ST.
UM, WE'LL BE AT THE, UM, SEVERAL, UH, A HALLOWEEN EVENT, UH, DOWN IN DOVE SPRINGS.
WE'RE GOING TO A TRICK OR TREAT, UM, AT SEVERAL REC CENTERS COMING UP, ROOTS AND WINGS FESTIVAL.
UM, SO WE STILL GOT SOME, SOME GREAT THINGS COMING UP, UH, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT IT'S COOLING OFF A LITTLE AND FOLKS ARE, UM, WANTING TO BE OUTDOORS MORE.
AND THEN, YEAH, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF UNIQUE OP OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE AND OUR PARTNERS.
UM, UP TOP THERE'S LIKE THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY MOSAIC PROJECT, UM, THAT PODER AND RAISIN AND THE SUN PUT ON, UM, TO FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ISSUES FOR THREE DAYS AND BUILD THIS, UH, VERY COOL TILE MOSAIC PROJECT.
UM, AT THE SAME TIME, UH, WE'VE BEEN OUT AT AUSTIN NATURE DAY, WE'VE ALSO BEEN FOCUSING ON CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, EMPLOYEE NETWORK EVENTS THAT WE CAN GO TO TO TRY AND CONNECT WITH, UM, FOLKS FROM ALL ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THEN WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO INTERACT WITH YOUTH.
UM, AND SO OUR STAFF, UH, WORKED WITH A COUPLE DEPARTMENTS TO PUT ON SOME FIELD TRIPS AT BLASIER ELEMENTARY.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE WENT TO THE AUSTIN NATURE AND SCIENCE CENTER, UH, SPRING BREAK CAMPS.
UM, WE'VE DONE SOME ONLINE WORK SESSIONS, UH, WITH AUSTIN YOUTH CLIMATE EQUITY COUNCIL AND ECO RISE, AUSTIN YOUTH RIVER WATCH, THE YOUTH FORESTRY COUNCIL.
UM, AND THEN WE'VE BEEN OUT AT SOME MORE KIND OF YOUTH FOCUSED EVENTS LIKE THE BACK TO SCHOOL BASH AND THE EAST SIDE STEAM FEST.
SO, ONE TAKEAWAY AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH AND DOING THE BENCHMARKING ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WAS THAT IF WE REALLY, UH, WANNA ASK PEOPLE'S TIME IN A MORE SIGNIFICANT WAY THAN TAKING A FIVE MINUTE SURVEY, WE NEEDED TO FIND WAYS TO COMPENSATE THEM.
UM, AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN NAVIGATING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, UM, TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
BUT WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE FOUND WAYS TO, UM, REALLY BRING IN THE COMMUNITY AND COMPENSATE THEM FOR WORK THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO OVER SEVERAL MONTHS.
UM, AND SO WE'VE HIRED, KIND OF MODELED OFF THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, UH, CLIMATE EQUITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
UH, WE'VE HIRED 10 COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS FOR REINDEER RIVER WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING OVER THE SUMMER IN FALL, UM, OUT GATHERING STORIES AND PERSPECTIVES FROM THEIR COMMUNITIES.
[00:25:01]
UM, WE'VE WORKED WITH MEASURE, UH, A LOCAL BLACK OWN NONPROFIT TO CONDUCT, UH, FIVE COMPENSATED FOCUS GROUPS, UM, THAT ARE BOTH DESIGNED BY AND CENTERED ON HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES.AND THEN, UM, VERY LATE BREAKING.
WE JUST RECENTLY, UM, WITHIN THE LAST WEEK OR TWO, AWARDED, UH, $5,000 MINI GRANTS TO SIX DIFFERENT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT CAN HELP US FURTHER OUR GOALS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND REPRESENTATION AND REALLY GET OUT, UM, AND USE OUR NETWORKS TO GET A DEEPER LEVEL OF, UM, ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND SO WE'LL BE DOING A PRESS RELEASE ON THOSE SOON.
BUT, UH, WE JUST GOT THE WORD, UH, FROM ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS YESTERDAY THAT THEY WERE GOOD WITH, UM, US PUBLICLY ANNOUNCING THEIR PARTICIPATION.
UH, SO WE'VE GOT, GOT THEM WRITTEN DOWN HERE, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH HARVEST FOUNDATION, UH, DEL VALLEY COMMUNITY COALITION, DOVE SPRINGS PROUD, THE INDIGENOUS CULTURES INSTITUTE, UH, QUEER TOPIA WHO FOCUSES ON, UM, BIPO UNHOUSED COMMUNITIES, AND THEN, UH, RED SALMON ARTS.
AND SO WE'RE SUPER EXCITED TO HAVE ALL THOSE ORGANIZATIONS ON BOARD, AND THEY'LL BE DOING WORK OVER THE NEXT, UH, COUPLE MONTHS TO, UH, FURTHER OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVEN MORE.
AND SO THIS IS A PHOTO FROM ONE OF OUR RECENT, UH, COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR GATHERINGS WHERE FOLKS GET TOGETHER AND SHARE, UM, KIND OF WHAT'S BEEN WORKING AND, UM, HOW THEY'VE BEEN GETTING OUT AND DOING, UH, ENGAGEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THAT IS A, UH, COMING SOON, UH, SCREENSHOT FROM THE, UH, REPORT FROM MEASURE THAT, UH, GOES THROUGH WHAT THEY LEARNED FROM THE FIVE, UH, FOCUS GROUPS THEY CONDUCTED.
UM, THEY'RE FINALIZING THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT WHEN THAT'S RELEASED, THAT'LL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
AND SO NEXT STEPS, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE'RE STILL IN LISTENING MODE, SO WE'RE WRAPPING UP THAT PHASE ONE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF WORKING ON AN RFP TO BRING A CONSULTANT ON BOARD, UM, TO HELP WITH THE SYNTHESIS OF INPUT AND, UH, DEVELOPING CONTENT.
UM, ONE THING THAT, UH, THE CITY OF SEATTLE AND THEIR SHAPE, OUR WATER PLAN THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON, THEY'RE ABOUT A YEAR AHEAD OF US.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO LEARN FROM THEM AS THEY GO A LITTLE BIT.
UM, IS THAT ONE WAY THEY'VE GRAPPLED WITH THIS ISSUE OF, YOU KNOW, A PLAN TAKING THREE YEARS TO DEVELOP AND ADOPT, IS THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY, UH, SCOPED AND ISSUED A COMMUNITY VISION AND GOALS STATEMENT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
AND SO THEY'RE ABLE TO PUT THAT OUT, UM, AND USE THAT, YOU KNOW, TO, TO INFORM THEIR WORK AND DECISIONS AND THEN MOVE INTO MORE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE IN LOOKING AT STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES AND METRICS, BUT HAVE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY A LITTLE SOONER ON.
AND THAT COULD INFORM, UM, PLANNING INITIATIVES THAT COME UP IN THE INTERIM, LIKE, UM, SD 28, UM, OR, UH, POTENTIALLY BOND DEVELOPMENT.
UH, SO WE'VE GOT THAT WORKING.
UH, WE HAVE CONTRACTED WITH, UH, DRT WARD WHO WORKED WITH THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, THROUGH THEIR PLANNING PROCESSES, UH, TO CONDUCT AN EQUITY GROUNDING TRAINING, UM, FOR WATERSHED STAFF THAT ARE WORKING ON RAIN RIVER AS THEY BEGAN DIVING INTO CONTENT AND HELPING US DEVELOP, UM, AN ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE FINDING WAYS TO EMBED EQUITY, UM, INTO THE PLAN.
UM, AND SPEAKING OF THAT, WE'LL BE, UH, VERY SOON PROVIDING A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UH, RESOLUTION THAT PASSED BACK IN JUNE, UM, ON HOW EQUITY IS BEING INCORPORATED INTO RANGE RIVER.
UM, AND WITH THAT, THAT WAS ALL I HAVE, SO I'M HAPPY TO OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
I WANTED TO, TO ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT FLOODING.
UM, I THINK, UH, I THINK I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS ALREADY THAT, YOU KNOW, FLOODING WILL BE ONE ASPECT OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, AND I'M THINKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT FLOOD SAFETY FOR NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE IN, IN, IN PUTTING TOGETHER YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, IF YOU ARE, UM, INTENTIONALLY REACHING OUT TO THOSE PARTS OF OUR CITY THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, HORRIFIC SITUATIONS WITH FLOODING IN THE PAST.
UH, THE UN UN CREEK NEIGHBORHOOD IN DISTRICT FIVE IS ONE I'M THINKING OF AS WELL AS THE WILLIAMSON CREEK AREA.
AND I KNOW THERE ARE OTHER AREAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AREAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO, UM, I WOULD, I'M THINKING THAT INTENTIONALLY REACHING OUT TO TO THOSE AREAS WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL AS YOU GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOING? WE HAVE, UM, BUT I AGREE WE COULD, WE COULD CONTINUE TO DO MORE.
[00:30:01]
MAILING, UH, THAT WENT OUT SPECIFICALLY, UH, TO PEOPLE WITHIN THE FLOOD PLAIN.UM, FOR THE FOCUS GROUPS THAT MEASURE CONDUCTED, THEY, THEY TRIED TO RECRUIT, UM, AT LEAST FOR, UH, TWO OR THREE OF THE FOCUS GROUPS TO FOCUS ON, ON PEOPLE WHO WOULD EXPERIENCE FLOODING.
UM, AND SO THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO, UM, YOU KNOW, WENT THROUGH ONE OR BOTH HALLOWEEN EVENTS.
I THINK THEY EVEN HAD SOMEBODY FROM THE MEMORIAL DAY FLOOD BACK IN 1981.
AND SO THEY'VE DONE SOME OF THAT FOCUS.
AND THEN OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS HAVE ALSO BEEN COLLECTING A LOT OF STORIES, UM, FROM COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY FLOODING.
UM, I WOULD, I WOULD RE THAT, THAT, THAT'S REALLY GOOD.
I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU ALSO REACH OUT TO, UM, TO NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS OR HOAS IN SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITIES.
I'LL JUST GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE AND THEN, THEN YOU CAN MEET WITH THEM AS A COMMUNITY.
SO I'LL JUST GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE, AND OTHERS MAY HAVE EXAMPLES FROM THEIR PARTS OF TOWN, BUT, UM, THE ONION CREEK HOA HAS BEEN VERY INVOLVED OVER THE YEARS SINCE THE FLOODING THAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED.
AND ON AN ONGOING BASIS, THEY CONTINUE TO TALK AS A COMMUNITY ABOUT BEING PREPARED, UH, FOR FLOODING.
AND I THINK THAT THEY WOULD APPRECIATE AT LEAST THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO HAVE A MEETING THAT THEY CAN HOST IN THEIR COMMUNITY, UM, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
SO, UM, I WOULD RECOMMEND SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I DON'T KNOW OTHER, OTHER PARTS OF THE, IF OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY WOULD LIKE TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR, BUT THAT WAY YOU'RE ACTUALLY HAVING A FOCUS CONVERSATION WITH, UH, A COMMUNITY ABOUT THE SPECIFIC FLOODING IN THERE, IN THAT AREA.
NOT INSTEAD OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING, BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS, IS VERY IMPORTANT, I THINK.
BUT I THINK THIS WOULD GIVE YOU ANOTHER DIMENSION IF YOU DID IT LIKE THIS.
AND I, IF, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL CAN DO, I'LL BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE SOME CONTACT INFORMATION, AT LEAST FOR THE DISTRICT FIVE AREAS.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO SAY? UH, WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
I'M ACTUALLY A MEMBER AT ONION CREEK, SO I'M HAPPY TO COORDINATE.
THAT'S A FANTASTIC SUGGESTION.
WE'VE BEEN A LITTLE UNDERSTAFFED, UH, IN RECENT MONTHS, UM, WITH SOME FOLKS GOING TO NEW POSITIONS.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, GOING MORE ACTIVELY TO NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE CITY HAS BEEN ON OUR LIST, UM, AND SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN LOOKING TO DO IN THE FALL.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION OF PRIORITIZING FOLKS THAT WE KNOW ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVE EXPERIENCED NEGATIVE WATERSHED OUTCOMES TO START THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, MEETINGS.
AND YOU CAN ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL'S TIME AND EVERYTHING, WHICH OF COURSE, I, I, I GET THAT YOU CAN PUT IT ON THEM TO ORGANIZE, AND IT'S ALSO ON THEM, IT'S AN OFFER.
UH, THEY MAY OR MAY NOT WANT TO TAKE YOU UP ON IT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, BUT IF THEY DO, THEN THEY CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ORGANIZING THEIR COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF, YOU KNOW, THAT AT TIME THAT Y'ALL HAVE TO PUT INTO ORGANIZING.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THINKING ABOUT THAT.
THIS IS A, A REALLY GREAT OVERVIEW AND I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE, UM, YOU PUTTING TOGETHER A STRATEGIC PLAN AND, AND SOME OF THE GUIDING VISION FOR IT.
UM, I WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW YOU WERE WORKING WITH SOME OF THE CONSERVANCIES, LIKE THE SHO CREEK CONSERVANCY OR BO CREEK, OR WHAT ARE THE GREENWAY THAT ARE OPERATING, UM, YOU KNOW, IN OUR WATERSHEDS OR IN OUR WATERWAYS? GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO WE'VE DONE SOME PRESENTATIONS.
I KNOW WE'VE MET WITH SHO CREEK CONSERVANCY A COUPLE TIMES.
UM, WE'VE PARTNERED, LIKE WITH THE TRAIL FOUNDATION ON ONE OF THEIR EVENTS.
SO I, I DIDN'T ACTUALLY MENTION THIS IN THE PRESENTATION, UH, BUT WE HAVE A SEPARATE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION SURVEY THAT WE SENT OUT TO A LOT OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, THAT'S A LITTLE MORE OPEN-ENDED AND FREE FORM, UM, FOR THEM TO GO THROUGH AND GIVE MORE CONTENT.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE A STAFF MEMBER FOLLOWING UP ON THOSE, UM, THE COMPLETED SURVEYS, BUT ALSO, UM, FROM THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UH, WE SENT THE SURVEY THAT WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM TO DO, UH, KIND OF A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS, UM, OVER THE FALL.
AND SO MEETING WITH, YOU KNOW, AN ORGANIZATION LIKE WATERLOO GREENWAY, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WORK WITH PRETTY EXTENSIVELY IN ASKING, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY THINK IS WORKING WELL, WHAT'S NOT, WHAT THEIR VISION IS, UM, FOR OUR WATERWAYS GOING FORWARD, AND REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE CAPTURE THAT.
UM, I THINK WE HAD ENVISIONED EVEN HAVING A STANDALONE REPORT OF, UH, WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, AS PART OF OUR SUMMARIZING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
[00:35:01]
PROCESS.I THINK IT, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE TO, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT RESOURCE, BOTH IN TERMS OF THEIR FEEDBACK, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, SHO CREEK OR UM, CONSERVANCY OR PEACE PARK, THEY HAVE A LOT OF EVENTS MM-HMM.
UM, AND I KNOW THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY IN YOUR TARGET AREAS FOR EXTRA ENGAGEMENT, BUT, UM, I THINK THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE CITY ENJOY THOSE SPACES AND, AND YOU, YOU WOULD CAPTURE, I THINK, UM, A VARIETY OF OPINIONS, UM, IN THOSE SITUATIONS.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO ASK IS, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE 2001 PLAN, UM, BUT I'M WONDERING IF AT THIS STAGE YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF LIKE, THE THINGS YOU WOULD NOT BE DOING, CUZ YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE ADDED A LOT OF BIG GOALS THAT, THAT I APPRECIATE AND THAT DO FOLLOW WITH OTHER PLANS.
UM, BUT ARE THERE ANY, ARE THERE ANY THINGS THAT AT THIS POINT YOU WOULD STOP DOING? I MEAN, CUZ PART OF BEING STRATEGIC IS DECIDING WHAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA DO AS THE WATERSHED DEPARTMENT.
UM, I THINK IT'S A, I MEAN, IT'S PROBABLY A LITTLE EARLY IN OUR, IN OUR PROCESS TO THINK ABOUT, UM, WHAT WE WOULDN'T BE DOING.
BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF PROGRAMS AND, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE PRETTY FAR REACHING AND SO SHIFTING THE WAY THAT WE PRIORITIZE, UM, WOULD PROBABLY BE, SO IT, DIFFERENT THINGS MIGHT COME TO THE TOP, UM, BASED ON CLIMATE RESILIENCE OR EQUITY.
UM, WE'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, IN THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN SO FAR, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON, UM, ACCESSIBILITY TO NATURAL SPACES, UM, IMPACTS OF TRASH, WHICH I'LL HAVE HEARD ABOUT RECENTLY WITH THE TRASH AND CREEK STUDY.
UM, AND SO I THINK JUST TAKING A FRESH LOOK AT, UH, THE NEEDS AND VALUES OF THE COMMUNITY AND HOW THAT ALIGNS WITH, UH, THE WAY THAT WE'RE ALLOCATING OUR RESOURCES.
UM, AGAIN, I JUST WANNA SAY HOW IMPRESSED I AM WITH THE LEVEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT Y'ALL HAVE UNDERTAKEN.
I MEAN, IT TRULY IS A STANDARD THAT WE SHOULD SEE IN ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS.
UM, THE WAY THAT Y'ALL HAVE GONE OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, BEEN PART OF COMMUNITY EVENTS, THE POSTCARDS, THE SOCIAL MEDIA, THE AMBASSADORS AND PROVIDING STIPENDS FOR THE AMBASSADORS ARE, ARE REALLY JUST NEXT LEVEL.
AND SO I JUST WANNA SHARE MY GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION, AND I'M EXCITED FOR THE GRANTS THAT ARE GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITIES.
UM, I THINK THAT'LL REALLY HELP, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR SOUTHEAST AREA, UH, TO GET MORE PARTICIPATION.
I DID PULL UP THE SURVEY AND I SAW THAT THERE IS STILL A LOT OF, UH, WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR OUR EAST SIDE COMMUNITIES TO GET THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY.
UM, AND SO I GUESS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD IS BASED ON THE RESPONDENTS THAT WE'VE HAD THUS FAR, UM, WHERE HAVE Y'ALL IDENTIFIED THE GAPS OR, CAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE BRINGING ON A CONSULTANT TO KIND OF LOOK AT THE DATA, UM, AT SOME POINT, BUT AT THIS, LIKE, I WANNA KNOW WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW FOR THOSE WHO'VE ALREADY PARTICIPATED SO THAT, UM, WE CAN BEST ENGAGE? AND SO MY SECOND QUESTION WOULD BE HOW CAN US, AS IN OUR COUNCIL OFFICES, IN OUR DISTRICTS, UH, HELP SUPPORT, UH, THIS EFFORT? UM, GREAT QUESTIONS.
UH, SO YEAH, LIKE WE, WE DEFINITELY, UM, ARE NOT AT A DEMOGRAPHICALLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE, UM, FOR OUR SURVEY.
UH, AND, AND SO PART OF THAT IS CONTINUING, UH, TO TRY AND FOCUS OUR ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH, UM, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS THAT THE SURVEY STILL OPEN ON CLOSING SOME OF THOSE GAPS.
UM, WE KNOW WE STILL HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LARGE GAP WITH THE LATINX AND SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT, UM, BUT ALSO FINDING WAYS, YOU KNOW, AND SOMETHING WE WANNA WORK WITH THE CONSULTANT ON IS, UM, AS WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE REPORTS COMING FROM THE AMBASSADORS AND THE MINI-GRANT ORGANIZATIONS AND THE FOCUS GROUPS OF FINDING WAYS TO AMPLIFY, UM, THOSE VOICES AND COM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF KNIT THAT TOGETHER WITH WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE SURVEY.
WELL, THE, THE MINI-GRANT ORGANIZATIONS, WILL THEY ALSO, AS PART OF THAT FUNDING, WILL THEY BE PROVIDING STIPENDS FOR THOSE WHO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR SESSIONS? SO THAT WAS, UH, A BIG COMPONENT OF OUR EVALUATION CRITERIA, UM, WAS HOW MUCH OF THAT $5,000 THE ORGANIZATIONS WERE, UM, PROPOSING TO TURN AROUND AND PUT BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO THEY'LL BE PROVIDING, UM, INCENTIVES OR STIPENDS FOR FOLKS THAT PARTICIPATE.
UH, WE ALSO, OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, IN ADDITION TO PAYING THEM FOR THEIR TIME, WE GAVE THEM A RESOURCE BUDGET, UM, TO HELP THEM PROVIDE GIFT CARDS OR FOOD OR THINGS LIKE THAT FOR PEOPLE THAT THEY WERE INTERVIEWING, UM, SO THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO PASS ALONG THAT COMPENSATION AS WELL.
WELL, I, I HOPE THEY, THEY ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TO EVERY PERSON WHO PARTICIPATES.
[00:40:01]
AND THAT IT'S NOT JUST LIKE A RAFFLE FOR EVERY 10 PEOPLE THAT PARTICIPATE.UM, JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE
UM, AT THE, AND ALONG THOSE LINES, ONE THING THAT YOU MENTIONED WAS THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
SO AT THIS POINT, ARE THING, HAVE THINGS, UM, ARE THEY UNDERWAY OR, OR ARE YOU, ARE WE WAITING FOR ANYTHING ON PROCUREMENT? UH, WE ARE JUST STARTING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR THE MINI-GRANT ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, IT'S DEFINITELY, AS WE'VE BEEN EXPLORING SOME OF THESE MORE INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES, WE'VE ACTUALLY MET A LOT WITH, UM, THE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE DONE IT ALREADY, UM, WITH THE, UH, OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND ATX WALK BIKE ROLE AND SORT OF COMPARING NOTES AND LESSONS LEARNED ON DOING SOMETHING LIKE THE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM OR THE MINI GRANTS.
UM, AND SO I FEEL LIKE EVERY TIME WE DO IT, WE, UM, MAKE A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS, UM, AND MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE STREAMLINED AND EFFICIENT FOR THE NEXT DEPARTMENT TO TAKE IT ON.
UM, BUT IT, IT'S DEFINITELY BEEN A BIT OF A CHALLENGE FROM LIKE A CITY PROCUREMENT PERSPECTIVE TO FIGURE OUT, UM, HOW TO FUND SOME OF THESE MORE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS IN A WAY THAT'S THAT'S QUICK AND EFFICIENT AND LIKE, DOESN'T BURN TRUST WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS OR ORGANIZATIONS BY LIKE, WHERE'S MY CHECK? IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, A MONTH AND A HALF.
YEAH, NO, THANK YOU FOR COMMENTING THAT THAT IS SOME, A THEME THAT'S BEEN BUBBLING UP FROM THE COMMUNITY IS JUST THE PROCESS THAT THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT OFFICE HAS AND HOW LONG IT TAKES.
AND, UM, I'LL BE MEETING WITH THEM I BELIEVE, LATER THIS WEEK OR EARLY NEXT WEEK.
SO THIS IS REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK TO HAVE FOR THAT MEETING.
YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
UM, I'D LIKE TO JUST GIVE A SHOUTOUT TO ALL OF OUR, UM, STAFF AND WATERSHED PROTECTION WHO'VE BEEN DOING YES.
INCREDIBLE WORK ON THIS PROJECT.
[4. State and Regional Flood Planning Update]
ITEM NUMBER FOUR.THIS IS A JOINT BRIEFING FROM AUSTIN WATER AND WATERSHED STAFF ON THE STATE AND REGIONAL FLOOD PLANNING EFFORTS.
UH, BUT I'M GONNA BE KIND OF REPRESENTING THE CITY AS THE NEXT PRESENTATION, TALKING ABOUT, UM, UH, A LOT OF GOOD WORK BY BOTH, UH, UH, WATERSHED PROTECTION AND AUSTIN WATER ON THE REGIONAL FLOOD PLAN.
ALRIGHT, UH, THERE IS A LINK IN THIS.
IF YOU GO UP KIND OF THE BACKUP, THE VERY BOTTOM, THERE'S THIS NERDY LINK, CLICK ON IT, IT'LL TAKE YOU TO THIS MUSCULAR 27 SLIDE SHOW.
IF YOU WANNA WATCH THE WHOLE LOOK AT THE WHOLE PANOPLY OF SLIDES THAT WERE PRESENTED TO.
THE FULL GROUP GOES INTO A LOT MORE DETAIL, BUT I'M GONNA SPARE YOU THAT AND JUST SHOW YOU THE REALLY FOCUSED IN PART THAT, UM, IS MOST RELEVANT TO AUSTIN.
SO I'M, I'M REALLY GONNA TALK ABOUT TWO DIFFERENT, UM, UH, TWO DIFFERENT THINGS CUZ THERE'S KIND OF A, KINDA THE BIG PICTURE THING AND THEN THE SMALLER MORE FOCUSED DEAL.
AND THAT'S THE, UH, THE TEXAS STATE FLOOD PLAN.
SO A FEW YEARS AGO, UH, THESE TEXAS STATE LEGISLATURE VOTED IN, IN 2019, THEY VOTED IN, UM, A, UH, SAID WE NEED A PROCESS TO CREATE A STATE FLOOD PLAN.
NO, NO SUCH PLAN WAS IN PLACE AT THE TIME.
AND AS YOU COULD, AS YOU RECALL, THAT WAS NOT VERY LONG AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY, WHICH WAS NOT THE FIRST GIANT FLOOD IN TEXAS.
AND SO THERE WERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE, ALL KINDS OF, UM, UH, LOSSES AND, UM, AND, AND FATALITIES.
AND SO TEXAS REALIZED THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING, UH, A LOT MORE, UM, A LOT MORE PROACTIVE.
SO THE STATE LEGISLATURE KICKED OFF A FLOOD PLANNING PROCESS.
IT'S REALLY, REALLY SIMILAR TO A 20 SOMETHING YEAR AGO PROCESS THEY DID FOR WATER PLANNING.
UH, AND WE'RE A PART OF REGION K WATER PLANNING.
UM, THIS IS THE, UH, THIS IS THE FLOOD, THE FLOOD EQUIVALENT OF BOOKEND TO THAT, THAT WORK.
AND SO THEY'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON, UM, UH, UH, PROTECTING AGAINST LI UH, UH, UH, LOSSES OF LIFE AND PROPERTY, UM, AND ALSO PLANNING A AHEAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THE TIMELINE ON THIS SLIDE.
WE STARTED IN 2020, UM, UH, THE FALL OF THAT YEAR.
UM, SO ABOUT ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO.
UM, WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, HELD MANY, MANY MEETINGS, 30 SOMETHING MEETINGS, UM, AS A REGIONAL PLAN.
AND SO IN A SECOND I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT, UM, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THAT THERE ARE 15 REGIONAL FLOOD PLANS IN THE STATE.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND PROCEED.
YOU, YOU CAN SEE WE'RE ACTUALLY, UH, WE'RE RIGHT THERE.
THAT'S WHEN THE, UH, TECHNICAL, UH, UH, CONSULTANT PUT TOGETHER OUR, THE, THE DRAFT PLAN THAT'S KIND OF ON THE BOOKS NOW THAT FOLKS CAN SEE ON THE WEB.
UM, AND THEN BY THIS, THIS COMING JANUARY 10TH, WE'RE GONNA BE COMING INTO, UH, TO THE FINISH LINE ON THE REGIONAL PLANNING PROCESS AND THEN HANDING THAT OFF TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD STAFF.
THEY WILL THEN TAKE ALL 15 REGIONAL
[00:45:01]
PLANS AND MASH THEM TOGETHER INTO ONE GIANT STATEWIDE PLAN, UH, WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE ABOUT TWO YEARS FROM NOW.LET'S, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
ALL RIGHT, SO THIS IS A COOL SLIDE CUZ IT SHOWS ALL 15 REGIONAL PLANS.
TEXAS IS OBVIOUSLY A GIGANTIC STATE, IT'S GOT MANY DIFFERENT RIVER BASINS.
UM, SOME OF 'EM ARE SPLIT UP LIKE OURS INTO UPPER COLORADO AND LOWER COLORADO RIVER, UH, AND SO FORTH.
UM, UPPER BROWSERS, LOWER BROWSERS, ET CETERA.
BUT THERE ARE THESE 15 DIFFERENT REGIONAL PLANS.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE IN WEST TEXAS, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF RAIN, THE, THE PRETTY DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS THAN SAY, HOUSTON OR, OR IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND SO WE ARE IN REGION 10.
IT'S ACTUALLY THREE ON THE SECOND, I'LL SHOW YOU, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY THREE.
THERE ARE THREE RIVERS INVOLVED IN OURS.
THE, THE COLORADO RIVERS, THE MAIN ONE, BUT ALSO, UH, THE LAVACA RIVER AND SAN SAN BERNARD RIVERS ARE IN THERE AS WELL.
UM, I, I, MYSELF AM THE AM A REPRESENTATIVE IN THIS GROUP.
UM, WE HAVE 12 MEMBERS, UH, REPRESENTING 11 INTERESTS, AND I REPRESENT MUNICIPALITIES.
SO I DON'T JUST REPRESENT AUSTIN, I REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS THIS, UM, THIS REGION.
UM, ACTUALLY A LOT OF YOU, UH, KNOW FRANCIS A KUYA.
SHE'S ACTUALLY ON THIS GROUP AS WELL, AND SHE'S THE, SHE IS THE PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT BY BELOW THE, ON THE, IN THE BULLETS THERE.
SO SHE'S BEEN A BIG CONTRIBUTOR AS WELL.
LET'S GO TO THE NEXT, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND SO THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY, UM, UH, IT'S BEEN REALLY AN HONOR TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND WE'VE HAD, UM, ALL KINDS OF, UH, GOOD DISCUSSIONS.
IN A SECOND I'LL SHOW YOU KIND OF THE, THE CONTENT THAT WE'VE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH, BUT I'VE HAD A LOT OF HELP.
AND SO AS, AS A MUNICIPAL REP, I'VE CALLED, I'VE GOT, UM, KEVIN SHK, YOU WANNA RAISE YOUR HAND.
HE'S OUR FLOOD PLAIN, PLAIN ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN FROM WATERSHED PROTECTION, JOR MORALES WITH, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF COURSE OF WATERSHED.
AND SO THEY'VE BEEN, UH, BEHIND ME THE WHOLE TIME.
UH, I WAS CONFERRING WITH KEVIN QUITE FREQUENTLY, PRETTY MUCH EVERY MEETING AND GOING OVER SOME, UH, UH, THINGS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE, THEY WERE MAKING SURE THAT, UM, WE WERE, UH, I WAS ABLE TO ACCURATELY, UM, CONTRIBUTE THE, THE CONTENT THAT WE NEEDED, UH, FROM, FROM AN AUSTIN PERSPECTIVE.
AND THEN ACTUALLY CHARLES SOLO IS ALSO HERE FROM AUSTIN WATER, AND HE WAS A KEY CONTRIBUTOR.
AND YOU'LL SEE IN A SECOND THERE ARE SOME, SOME VERY IMPORTANT AUSTIN WATER PROJECTS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN OUR, IN OUR PLANNING RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, SO HERE WE ARE, WE'VE GOT THESE THREE RIVER BASINS, COLORADO RIVER, UM, MALACCA AND SAN BERNARD LOCA AND SAN BERNARD ARE RELATIVELY SMALLER AND THEY'RE MORE TOWARD THE COAST.
THEY GET HAMMERED BY HURRICANES AND SO FORTH.
UH, BUT AUSTIN'S RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT QUITE A LARGE WATERSHED ABOVE US, UM, AND CONTRIBUTING.
UM, AND SO AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN FLASH FLOOD ALLEY AND HAVE A LOT OF FLOOD ISSUES THAT WE'RE, THEY'VE BELONG, UM, CONCERNED WITH AND PLANNED FOR.
UH, THE BASIN HAS ABOUT 1.9 MILLION PEOPLE AT PRESENT.
UM, AND AUSTIN ACTUALLY HAS ALMOST EXACTLY HALF OF THAT POPULATION ALREADY IN OUR ONE AREA.
SO, SO DISPROPORTIONATELY THERE ARE DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF ISSUES AND CONCERNS IN AUSTIN JUST BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE DEVELOPMENT HAS GONE IN OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED PLUS YEARS.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I HAVE COMBINED A WHOLE LOT INTO THIS ONE SLIDE.
UM, AND BASICALLY IT JUST, IT, IT, IT GIVES THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PLAN THAT, UM, MOST OF THE EFFECT OF, UH, AUSTIN.
SO THE PLAN REALLY WANTED TO LOOK AT HAZARD MAPPING.
SO BASICALLY FLOOD PLAIN MAPPING.
BY THE WAY, WE ARE LOOKING AT VERY LARGE SCALE FLOODING HERE.
WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT THE SMALL, ALL, ALL LEVELS OF FLOODING ARE REALLY IMPORTANT, AND I KNOW YOUR CONSTITUENTS ARE GONNA BE SAYING, HEY, LOOK, I DON'T CARE IF I'M FLOODED IN A LITTLE STREET FLOODING OR HOUSE FLOODING FROM MY STORM DRAIN VERSUS MY, UH, CREEK FLOODING.
UM, AND SO OUR DEPARTMENT, THE, THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT LOOKS AT THAT REALLY CLOSELY.
AND SO THERE'S THIS WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS.
THIS PLAN DOESN'T GET DOWN TO THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL.
IT'S LOOKING AT ONE SQUARE MILE AND GREATER WATER, UH, SYSTEMS. SO IT'S REALLY MORE WHAT WATERSHED PROTECTION WOULD CALL CREEK FLOODING, UM, UH, IN THAT.
BUT THEY'RE LOOKING AT HAZARD MAPPING AND MOST, MOST, UM, MOST FLOOD PLAIN MAPS ARE STATEWIDE LOOKING AT THAT LEVEL.
UM, AUSTIN GETS INTO MORE DETAIL, WHICH IS REALLY HELPFUL.
UH, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT HAZARD MAPPING.
WE'RE LOOKING AT LIKE, WELL, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE THINGS? WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE, UM, ASSETS AT RISK? THE PEOPLE AND PEOPLE AND, AND BUILDINGS AND SO FORTH AT RISK IN THOSE AREAS? SO WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE NEEDS? UM, AND THEN WE LOOKED AT, UM, AND THEN THE PLAN LOOKED AT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ALL AROUND THE WHOLE BASIN.
UM, AND ACTUALLY I WAS PRETTY INSPIRED TO SEE THAT MOST OF THE BASIN IS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.
PEOPLE ARE APPLYING WITH THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM IN A I P STANDARDS AND SO FORTH ACROSS, UH, VIRTUALLY THE ENTIRE, ALMOST ALL OF THE POPULATION OF THIS BASIN AND MOST OF THE LAND AREA IS USING THE STANDARDS, WHICH IS GOOD.
IT'S A GOOD BASELINE, BUT WE WANT TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT.
AND ACTUALLY, I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT AUSTIN DOES GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT, UM, IN A, IN A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND ACTUALLY A NUMBER OF YOU ON THAT
[00:50:01]
ARE LISTENING HERE, UH, CONSIDERED AND VOTED ON THE ATLAS 14 FLOOD PLAIN ORDINANCE BACK IN, UH, 2019.AND THAT WAS A BIG DEAL, CHANGING OUR FLOOD REGULATIONS AND MAKING SURE WE'RE UP WITH THE, UP WITH THE TIMES AS IT WERE, WITH, UH, RAINFALL INTENSITIES AND SO FORTH.
UM, SO WE, AND, AND, AND THIS PLAN LOOKS AT THAT, AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES THAT ARE NOT QUITE YET GETTING UP TO THE UP TO SPEED WITH ATLAS 14.
AND THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION.
BUT HAPPILY, UH, AUSTIN IS IN, UH, GOOD SHAPE ON THAT ONE AS WE'RE ACTIVELY, UM, WE'VE ALREADY TAKEN PREVENTATIVE STEPS THERE AND WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING ON THE, THE NEW MAPS, THE NEW FLOODPLAINS.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT, UM, SLIDE.
ALL RIGHT, TONS OF INFORMATION JAMMED INTO THIS ONE SLIDE.
AGAIN, UH, IT JUST SHOWS BASE AND WIDE, UH, ALL THESE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES CAME, UH, WERE ASKED ABOUT THIS.
SO IT'S REALLY MOSTLY CITIES AND COUNTIES WERE ASKED, DO YOU HAVE ISSUES? DO YOU HAVE PROBLEMS? DO YOU HAVE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO STUDY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SOLVE? OR DO YOU ALREADY HAVE PROJECTS READY TO GO THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA FUND? AND SO THIS SLIDE SUMMARIZES THAT.
AND SO THEY ENDED UP WITH, YOU KNOW, 151 FLOOD STUDIES ARE, UM, WERE PROPOSED.
THERE WERE ACTUALLY MORE, BUT WE HAD TO, WE WENT UP DOWN A FEW THAT DIDN'T REALLY MEET THE STANDARD THAT WAS, UH, NEEDED.
UM, AND THEN 54, UH, UH, PROJECTS WERE INCLUDED.
AND SO DOWN THERE AT THE VERY BOTTOM, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE SUBMITTED, AND SECOND, I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THEY ARE.
ONE YOU CALL IT, THEY CALL 'EM FLOOD MITIGATION EVALUATIONS, WHICH IS WONKY.
UM, AND THEN FLOOD MITIGATION PRO PROJECTS OR FMP.
SO THAT WAS JUST TERMINOLOGY WE WERE GIVEN BY TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD.
UM, AND SO WE DID, UH, ADD IN OUR, UH, SHARE.
ALL RIGHT, SO THIS SHOWS, UM, THIS SHOWS THE ONE STUDY AND THE FIVE PROJECTS THAT WE ASKED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN.
AND SO THIS WAS A LOT OF, UM, HARD WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THE RIGHT INFORMATION, AND THEY WANTED QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION ON EACH ONE OF THESE, UH, TO INCLUDE.
AND SO IF YOU ACTUALLY GO INTO THE DRAFT PLAN, ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING ANY OF THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, YOU CAN SEE THAT IT SHOWS A SUMMARY OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT IS, HOW BIG THE DRAINAGE AREA IS, AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS, WHAT, WHAT'S AT RISK AND SO FORTH.
UM, AND SO THAT, THAT FIRST STUDY IS, IS REALLY A KEY THING.
IT'S, UM, YOU HEAR ALL, I MENTIONED THAT THE LOCAL DRAINAGE WASN'T THE FOCUS OF THE STUDY, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO PUT IN THIS AS A, A KEY, UM, UH, ASK AS, AS THIS IS A, YOU KNOW, OVER $10 MILLION, UH, MODELING STUDY, WHICH WOULD BASICALLY EVENTUALLY MODEL EVERY SINGLE STORM DRAIN SYSTEM IN TOWN.
RIGHT NOW WE JUST DO THEM KIND OF ON AN AD HOC BASIS BASED ON, UM, WHAT'S, WHAT'S BEEN REPORTED BY, UH, THREE 11 CALLS AND SO FORTH.
AND SO THAT'S PRETTY GOOD SYSTEM, BUT IT'S NOT NEARLY AS GOOD AS IT WOULD BE AS IF WE ACTUALLY HAD, UH, OBJECTIVE ENGINEERING MODELS FOR EVERY SINGLE SYSTEM.
AND SO WE WOULD LOVE TO GET, UM, FUNDING HELP FOR THAT.
SECOND, I'LL TALK IN MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THE FUNDING'S ALL ABOUT.
UM, AND THEN THE, ON THE PROJECT SIDE, UM, WE HAVE THESE FIVE MAJOR PROJECTS, UM, SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT SLASH SANDHILL ELECTRIC CENTER.
SO IT'S AN ELECTRIC POWER STATION RIGHT NEXT TO ONE OF OUR VERY MAJOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS DOWN IN, THAT'S NORTH OF, THAT'S JUST NORTH OF THE RIVER, UM, DOWN NEAR S H ONE 30.
UM, AND SO THAT'S ACTUALLY WHERE ONION CREEK AND COLORADO RIVER KIND OF COME TOGETHER.
THAT'S WHERE THIS, UM, YOU CAN SEE THE, THERE'S A PHOTO OF THE, OF THE PLANT RIGHT THERE AND THAT SHOT.
UM, AND SO THAT IS, UH, AND ACTUALLY, UH, CHARLES SOLA IS, IS DOING A, A FOLLOW UP PRESENTATION ON SAR ITSELF.
WE CALL IT SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONALS OR SAR, SO HE CAN ANSWER SOME MORE DETAILED QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM.
BUT THAT'S REALLY, REALLY A CRUCIAL PROJECT.
AND SO WE HAVE THAT IN THE, IN THE PLAN.
WE ALSO PUT IN A, UH, TWO MAJOR, UH, STORM DRAIN IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, TWO OF THE BIGGEST ONES IN, IN ON OUR, UM, FIVE YEAR PLAN FOR, UM, ON THE, ON THE WATERSHED PROTECTION SIDE.
SO THOSE ARE, UM, MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EACH.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT THOSE IN THE PLAN.
AND WE ALSO HAVE THE OTHER, THE MAJOR WATER WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLAN.
WALNUT CREEK ALSO, UM, IS, IS, IS, IS DOING A STUDY, UH, AND HAS DONE, CONDUCTED A STUDY OF WHAT WOULD IT WOULD NEED TO BUILD IN ORDER TO PROTECT ITSELF FROM, UM, FLOODING.
AND, UM, AND SO THAT'S ON THE LIST, AND THAT'S JUST, THAT'S, I'M SORRY, I SAID THAT IT'S, UH, SARS SOUTH OF THE RIVER NORTH.
UM, WALNUT IS NORTH OF THE RIVER.
UM, AND THEN DALTON LANE IS A, A KEY LOW WATER CROSSING.
UM, ALSO, I THINK THAT'S IN DISTRICT TWO, UM, MAYBE THREE.
I SHOULD HAVE CHECKED THAT BEFORE THE MEETING.
UM, BUT THAT'S A, THAT'S ANOTHER MAJOR PROJECT THAT'S, THAT'S RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE.
SO THE COMMON DENOMINATOR OF THESE IS NOT, THIS IS EVERYTHING IN TOWN THAT NEEDS TO GET FIXED.
WE COULD HAVE HAD A WAY LONGER LIST IF WE WANNA JUST PUT IN EVERYTHING.
WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS FOCUS ON THESE REALLY HUGE PROJECTS THAT IF WE CAN GET FUNDING HELP FROM THE STATE OR MAYBE EVEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO HELP US OUT WITH THESE PROJECTS, THAT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF, LOT OF, A LOT, UM, A LOT OF PRESSURE OFF OUR, UH, UH, COLLECTIVE MULTI-DEPARTMENT
[00:55:01]
C I P BUDGETS TO TRY TO GET THIS KIND OF WORK DONE.SO THERE'S, UM, PROJECTS ALL OVER TOWN, THE NEED FLOOD, FLOOD ASSISTANCE, THIS, THESE, IF WE CAN GET THESE, UM, UH, SOME FUNDING HELP FOR THESE, THAT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, UM, FROM A FUNDING STANDPOINT.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, YOU KNOW, BASIN WIDE, WE HAD A 400, OVER $400 MILLION WORTH OF, OF, OF PROPOSED, UM, UM, FUNDING NEEDED.
UM, HONESTLY, OF OF, YOU KNOW, A GOODLY CHUNK OF THAT IS SIMPLY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH AGAIN, HAS HALF OF THE POPULATION.
SO WE'RE, THIS IS A BIG BUDGET, UM, AND WE'RE JUST ONE OF 15 REGIONS.
SOME OF THE OTHER ONES PROBABLY IN WEST TEXAS AND SO FORTH THAT DON'T ANTICIPATE THEY'LL HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF NEEDS.
BUT YOU CAN IMAGINE HOUSTON, UH, SAN ANTONIO, UH, DALLAS, FORT WORTH, ET CETERA, METRO AREAS ARE GONNA COME IN WITH BIG, BIG LINE ITEMS TOO.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF MONEY ASKED OF THE STATE IN THESE PLANS WHEN IT COMES TOGETHER.
UM, AND, AND THIS JUST KIND OF GIVES YOU A, A SLICE OF WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
LET'S GO THE NEXT, AND I THINK LAST SLIDE, CAN YOU REMIND US HOW MUCH THE STATE HAS IN FUNDING? I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
AND ACTUALLY, I'M NOT SURE ANYBODY KNOWS THE ANSWER.
ONCE THE, THE, CUZ THE PLAN HAS SUCH A LONG TIMELINE THAT, THAT IT, IT'LL BE 2024 BY THE TIME, UM, THEY ACTUALLY, UH, FINISH UP THE PLAN AT THAT POINT.
I'M HOPING THAT THE STATE LEGISLATURE'S WEIGHING IN ON THIS AND REALIZING, WOW, WE'VE GOT A, WE'VE GOT A, YOU KNOW, A BIG, A BIG DEAL HERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, LET'S, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE NEW REALITY CHECK THAT, THAT EVERYBODY'S SUBMITTED.
UH, AND THEN THEY'LL LOOK AT THAT AND, AND, AND, AND CONSIDER THAT WHEN THEY DO THEIR STATE BUDGETING.
UM, THERE'S ALSO, I THINK THE T W DB IS A CONDUIT OF SOME OF THE FEDERAL MONEY TOO.
SO THAT'S AN INTERESTING THING.
AND I'M NOT AS, I'M NOT AS UP ON THOSE NUMBERS.
THERE ARE SOME FLOOD FUNDS NOW THROUGH SOME PREVIOUS KINDS OF SYSTEMS THAT ARE GRANT FOLKS ARE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW.
BUT, BUT THIS, THIS, WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS THIS FLOOD PLAN, WHICH I THINK IT'S GONNA, UM, I'M SPECULATING.
I THINK IT'S GONNA SHOW THAT THE STATE, UH, IT'S GONNA SHOW THE STATE LEADERS AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR.
HERE'S THE, HERE'S THE LEVEL OF, UM, OF, OF, OF, UM, NEED THAT WE HAVE FOR THE, FOR FOR FLOODING.
UM, ALRIGHT, THIS IS THE LAST SLIDE.
UH, IT'S A BIG DEAL THAT WE JUST HAVE A STATE FOOT PLANE AT ALL.
UM, AND SO I'M, I'M THAT WE'VE REALLY, THE GROUP HAS TAKEN IT SERIOUSLY.
THE GROUP OF US, THE TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS HAVE DONE A TERRIFIC JOB GETTING INFORMATION TOGETHER, AND WE'RE HEARING THAT ALL THE DIFFERENT REGIONS AROUND THE CITY, THE STATE ARE DOING THE SAME.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE EXCITING TO SEE THIS COME TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT THE, THE BIG PICTURE LOOKS LIKE.
UM, AGAIN, JUST TO, JUST TO REMIND EVERYBODY THE, UM, WE'LL BE HANDING IN OUR REGIONAL PLAN INFORMATION HERE SHORTLY IN JANUARY.
THERE'S ONLY ABOUT THREE MORE MEETINGS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE ALMOST TO THE FINISH LINE.
AND THEN THE STATE PLAN WILL BE FI FINALIZED ABOUT, UM, A LITTLE UNDER TWO YEARS AFTER THAT.
UM, ALL IN ALL AUSTIN'S PREPAREDNESS AND PREVENTION AS SHOWN IN THE PLAN AND DISCUSSED AND COMPARED WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES AS OUTSTANDING, WE'RE DOING REALLY WELL.
UM, WE'RE PREVENTING NEW PROBLEMS. WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE PREPARING FOR FLOODS.
UM, WHAT WE STILL DO HAVE, OF COURSE, AS YOU ALREADY KNOW, IS WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF LEGACY NEEDS FROM THESE OLDER DEVELOPMENTS THAT, THAT WERE PUT INTO PLACE WELL BEFORE OUR MODERN FLOODING REGULATIONS AND SO FORTH AND PROTECTIONS.
AND SO WE, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE ASKING FOR HELP THROUGH THE PLAN.
UH, WE HAVE FIVE MAJOR AUSTIN PROJECTS AND ONE MAJOR STUDY.
AGAIN, THIS IS NOT NEARLY ATTEMPTING TO CATALOG EVERYTHING WE NEED ALL ACROSS THE CITY.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO PUT IN SOME OF THE MOST, THE BIGGEST, UM, PROJECTS.
AND THEN, UM, WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT THE STATE IS NOT GONNA SAY, OH, YOU NEED $400 MILLION, HERE YOU GO.
UH, BUT WE WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN, UM, THAT WE WILL, WE WILL BE PREPARED TO, TO MAKE A SEMIAL AND MAYBE WE COULD PAY FOR A PORTION OF SOME OF THESE PROJECTS WITH THAT MONEY.
UM, SO WE WANNA BE IN, IN POSITION TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE WHEN THAT PLAN DOES COME OUT.
BY THE WAY, SINCE IT IS A LONG TIME FROM NOW, UM, WE DON'T WANNA NECESSARILY THE, THE, THE, THESE, THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE FLOODING ISSUES ARE GOING AHEAD WITH PROJECTS.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT WAITING FOR THE PLAN TO FINISH, BUT, BUT WE WANNA BE READY IN CASE WE HAVE MONEY.
UM, THEN FINALLY, UM, JUST TO TIE INTO THE PREVIOUS, PREVIOUS, UM, PRESENTATION, UH, AUSTIN'S REIGN TO RIVER STRATEGIC PLAN IS A GREAT WAY FOR IF FOLKS ARE, ARE THINKING, WOW, YOU KNOW, HERE'S A STATE FLOOD PRINT PLAN, HERE'S OUR PLAN.
HOW DO THESE, HOW DO THESE OVERLAP? WELL, THE, UM, WE THINK THAT THE RE RIVER, UH, PROJECT IS A TERRIFIC WAY FOR, FOR, UH, THE COMMUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON THIS, TELL, TELL US WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE, UM, USE THAT MAPPING, UH, EXERCISE AND SO FORTH.
UM, WHEREAS THE STATE PLUG PLAN IS MUCH HIGHER LEVEL, UM, NOT AS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UM, JUST NOT AS EFFECTIVE A WAY OF, OF OFFERING THAT, UM, KIND OF MORE, MORE TARGETED INPUT.
AND THEN I, I JUST WENT AHEAD AND PUT IN THE, THE, UM, WEBSITE FOR
[01:00:01]
THE, UM, FOR THE REGIONAL PLAN IN THERE TOO.SO THAT'S IT FOR MY PRESENTATION, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS, THUMBS UP FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POOL
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING, UM, AND IMPORTANT WORK.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE THE REGIONAL PLAN WILL BE FINALIZED IN TIME FOR A SESSION AT THE LEGISLATURE, BUT THE, UM, STATE PLAN WILL BE, UM, AFTER THAT OR, OR FOR THE NEXT SESSION, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF URGENCY AT THE STATE LEVEL WHERE THEY MAY PUT SOME FUNDING IN THIS SESSION? THEY DO HAVE A, I THINK IT'S A 25 BILLION SURPLUS AT THIS POINT.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A FANTASTIC QUESTION.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE OUR, UM, OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL OFFICE GUESSING WOULD BE PROBABLY THE RIGHT IS THAT, UH, BUT THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S FANTASTIC QUESTION.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THE STATE'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE LOOKING AT THIS, BUT I THINK IT, THIS INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE AND PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT AND TALK TO THE LEGISLATURE.
I SUPPOSE IT'S NOT OUR JOB, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S, UM, THAT, THAT'S, SO I WOULD, I CAN'T SEE IF, IF THE LEG, THE INTERGOVERNMENT RELATIONS OFFICE IS THERE, BUT I KNOW THAT AS A LEGISLATOR, AND WE JUST HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT THIS MORNING, IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING WHEN SOMETHING COMES TO US, LIKE JUST AFTER WE'VE DONE BUDGET OR IT COMES OFF CYCLE IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE CAN'T MAKE THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE SPEND ALL THIS TIME IDENTIFYING.
UM, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL, YOU KNOW, TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION.
SO IT CAN BE ON THEIR RADARS BECAUSE IT MAY BE THAT WE NEED TO PLANT SEEDS FOR IT THIS SESSION FOR NEXT SESSION IN SOME WAYS.
UM, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT AWARE OF THE NEEDS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED, THAT MAY BE CHALLENGING.
UM, OR THERE MAY BE SOME, THERE MIGHT BE SOME, UM, PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT SOMETHING COULD BE ADDED TO, OR, OR I JUST THINK THAT THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING, UM, TO KEEP FRONT AND CENTER, UM, AS PART OF THE, THAT LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS INTENTIONAL, BUT THE, THE END GAME, THE END POINT OF SEPTEMBER OF 2024 WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, SOME THREE OR FOUR MONTHS BEFORE THE, UM, THE LEG LEG WOULD, YOU KNOW, THE ODD YEAR LEG LEGISLATION WOULD, WOULD, WOULD OPEN UP IN 2025.
SO THAT WOULD BE KIND OF THE LOGICAL PLACE TO, UM, TALK ABOUT IT AT THIS POINT.
BUT, UM, THAT'S MY, THAT'S, YEAH, I, I, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE STARTING THOSE CONVERSATIONS SOMEHOW EARLIER SO THAT FOLKS ARE SOCIALIZED TO THE MAGNITUDE OF THE NEED.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY DO HAPPEN TO HAVE A SURPLUS THIS SESSION, DON'T KNOW WHETHER THEY'LL HAVE ONE IN TWO YEARS.
UM, AND THE LONGER THAT WE WAIT TO DO THIS WORK, UM, THE MORE, THE MORE CONSEQUENCES THERE ARE OF NOT DOING IT.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS REALLY GOOD INFORMATION.
AND SIMILAR TO WHAT THE MAYOR PER ATTEMPT SHARED, I DID GET A NOTE, UM, FROM MY STAFF THAT SAID THAT THE LEGISLATURE ESTABLISHED THE FLOOD INFRASTRUCTURE FUND IN 2019 MM-HMM.
THE FIFTH, DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S HOW YOU CALL IT.
YEAH, THE, YEAH, THAT IS THE HOW YOU, UM, BUT THAT, UH, THERE IS AN APPROPRIATION OF NEARLY 800 MILLION IN THAT FUND.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR US, UH, TO ADVOCATE.
SO IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR US TO HAVE A STRONG, UM, LEGISLATIVE PUSH ON THIS EFFORT.
AND MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY HAVE ALLOCATED A FAIR AMOUNT OF THAT MONEY ALREADY, YOU KNOW, WAS BACK IN 2019, SO MM-HMM.
UM, BUT WE CAN, WE'RE, WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD STAFF TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S REMAINING HERE.
JUST, I'M KEVIN SH FLOOD PLAIN ADMINISTRATOR.
JUST A QUICK THING ON THE FIFTH FUND, UM, WE DID GET A FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR GRANT TO DO FLOOD PLAIN STUDIES CITYWIDE.
SO WE DID TO GET SOME OF THAT FUNDING.
CAUSE THE QUESTION I HAD WAS AROUND THE STORM DRAIN MODELING.
I'VE HAD, UM, SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH DIRECTOR MORALES ABOUT A STORM DRAIN IN LIT IN, UM, IN MY DISTRICT.
UH, AND I SAW THAT IN THE RAINED RIVER MAP, IT ALSO SHOWED UP THERE AS AN ISSUE THAT A CONSTITUENT FLAGGED, UM, FOR WATERSHED.
UM, SO I'M REALLY PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE STORM DRAIN MODELING PROJECT.
UM, HOW MUCH WOULD THAT COST AND IS, ARE Y'ALL PRIORITIZING THAT MAPPING, UM, AT, FOR LOCAL FUNDING AND FOR LOCAL EFFORTS AS WELL? YEAH, SO, SO MATT COMMENTED ON THE FACT THAT THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY THE PROJECTS YOU SAW ON THIS LIST AS WELL AS OTHERS IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND WE'RE NOT WAITING AROUND TO
[01:05:01]
SEE IF THERE WILL BE FUNDING BEFORE WE, BEFORE WE START.SO WE'VE STARTED THAT PROCESS OF SOME MODELING PROGRAM, WHETHER THAT BE GETTING A CONSULTANT TO HELP US GETTING INTERNAL STAFF TO JUST MODELING.
SO THAT PROCESS IS ONGOING, IT'S GOING RIGHT NOW.
AND, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE END OF THAT EFFORT WILL BE IDENTIFYING FLOOD RISK CITYWIDE THROUGH STORM DRAIN MODELING, NOT JUST CREEK FLOOD MODELING.
SO ANY TIMELINE ON WHEN WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE A WAYS OUT AT LEAST A COUPLE YEARS PROBABLY.
I WOULD BE CURIOUS IN UNDERSTANDING HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO, TO HAVE THAT, THE FULLY FUNDED MODEL.
UM, BUT OF COURSE, ANY INTERIM LIKE LOCALIZED SOLUTION, UM, FOR CONSIDERATION OF OUR BOND EFFORTS, YOU KNOW, UPCOMING, UM, BOND PACKAGES, THAT WOULD BE A PROJECT THAT I WOULD BE, UH, SUPER IN SUPPORT OF.
UM, JUST KNOWING THE IMPORTANCE OF IT, YES, THE, THE PRICE TAG PRESENT, UH, THAT WE PUT INTO THE PLANT IS 12.6 MILLION.
IS, IS HOW MUCH THAT FULL LOCAL FLOOD CITYWIDE MODELING PROJECT WOULD COST.
AND THEN ANYTIME WE HAVE A LOCAL FLOOD PRO PROJECT THAT GETS A MODEL AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST EACH ONE, ONE BY ONE, THAT THIS WOULD BE THE, THIS WOULD BE THE LARGER SCALE.
SO IF THERE'S SOMETHING IN ANY OF THE DISTRICTS NOW THAT ARE GOING ON THAT ARE STORM DRAIN IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, THEY HAVE A MODEL, THEY HAVE A, THEY HAVE ALL THE DATA THAT'S NEEDED, BUT THIS IS GONNA TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL SO WE CAN DO MORE PLANNING.
AND I APPRECIATE YOU MENTIONING, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST RELYING ON THE THREE 11 CALLS THAT COME IN THE COMPLAINTS, BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT THREE 11, AND WE'RE TRYING REALLY HARD TO PUSH IT OUT THERE, THE IMPORTANCE OF FILING THOSE COMPLAINTS.
BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN GET SOME CITYWIDE MODELING, THAT'D BE HELPFUL.
GREAT QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, AND YES, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE.
SO JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE OVERALL SINCE IT, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO, LIKE KEVIN SAID, WE'VE BEEN MODELING, UH, STORM PIPE FOR MANY YEARS.
MATTER OF FACT, BEFORE I BECAME DIRECTOR, MY PREVIOUS TENT AT WATERSHED, I WAS THE SUPERVISOR THAT MANAGED THAT PROGRAM.
SO WE'VE BEEN DOING IT SINCE 20 10, 20 12.
AND OUT OF THE 1200 MILES OF STORM PIPES THAT WE HAVE, WE'VE CREATED MODELS FOR ABOUT SIX, 700 MILES OF IT ALREADY.
SO WE HAVE EXISTING MODELS, BUT AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, SOFTWARE CHANGES, UPDATES ARE NEEDED, AND SOME OF THE OLDER MODELS ARE OUTDATED.
SO IT'S AN ONGOING PROGRAM AND WE EVEN HAVE DONE ONE DIMENSIONAL, TWO, TWO DIMENSIONAL MODELS TO EVALUATE AREAS THAT DON'T MAYBE HAVE THE COMPLAINTS, BUT WE ACTUALLY CAN MODEL AND DETERMINE WHERE THE RISK IS BASED ON.
SO WE CREATED FLOOD RISK MAPS MANY YEARS AGO, SO WE'RE REEVALUATING THAT, AND I THINK THIS PROGRAM THAT IS BEING PROPOSED FOR THE STATE WOULD HELP AUGMENT WHAT WE'RE DOING ALREADY.
WE'RE STILL MOVING FORWARD, BUT AS YOU ALL KNOW, WATERSHED WENT THROUGH A MAJOR REORGANIZATION LAST YEAR, AND WE'RE TRYING TO REEMPHASIZE, UH, ON OUR PRIORIT DECISION STRATEGIC, UH, PLAN UPDATES GONNA HELP US WITH THAT.
BUT WE ARE CONTINUING TO DO THAT.
SO, UH, WE RECEIVE MODELS FROM THE CONSULTANTS WHEN THEY RE REDEVELOP, WE EVALUATE THAT WE INCORPORATE INTO OUR SYSTEM.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WE'RE DOING.
WE HAVE TV INSPECTION PROGRAM THAT WE ACTUALLY GO IN AND LOOK AT CONDITIONS.
SO OUR ASSET MANAGEMENT PROGRAM'S DONE A LOT OF GREAT WORK IN THE LAST FOUR TO FIVE YEARS, SO WE'RE BRINGING ALL THAT TOGETHER, BUT SOMETHING CITYWIDE SIMILAR TO THE CREEK FLOOD, WE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT YET, BUT WE ARE PROACTIVELY WORKING ON THAT, THAT, AND WE'LL GET THERE SOONER THAN LATER, BUT ANY POTENTIAL FUNDS FROM THE STATE OR FEDERAL, THAT'S WHY IT WAS PUT IN THERE.
SO WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT AS WELL.
BUT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO WORK ON THAT.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UPDATES AS NEEDED.
WE'RE GONNA, UM, WITH I SEE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, WE
[5. South Austin Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant - Capital Improvement Project.]
WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE.UM, NEXT UP IS A BRIEFING FROM AUSTIN WATER STAFF ON THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PLANT.
THIS IS A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
I AM SHAY ROLSON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT AUSTIN WATER FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES.
AND I HAVE WITH ME HERE TODAY CHARLES SORO, WHO'S OUR MANAGING ENGINEER OVER OUR FACILITY ENGINEERING DIVISION.
AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR C I P PLANS OUT AT SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL.
AGAIN, SHAY HAD MENTIONED OUR GROUP HANDLES THEN SPONSOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
I THINK WE NEED TO GET YOUR, IS YOUR MIC ON
IS THAT BETTER? ALMOST? IS THAT BETTER? PERFECT.
UH, CHARLES SORO IS MENTIONED, UH, UH, DIVISION MANAGER OVER FACILITY ENGINEERING AND WE, WE, UH, DO THE, UH, PROJECT SPONSOR OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER PROJECTS.
AS MATT JUST GOT DONE WITH HIS PRESENTATION, THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL, WE LIKE TO CALL IT SAR, UM, WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
UH, FLOOD PLAIN ISSUES ARE INCLUDED IN THE STATE FLOOD PLAN.
UM, WHAT I'M SHOWING HERE IS WHAT
[01:10:01]
OCCURRED, UH, WAS ALSO MENTIONED IN A 2013 AND 2015 FLOOD, IS THAT THE ONION CREEK RIVER, WHICH IS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, OVERFLOWED TOP THAT BANKS AND FLOWED INTO THE COLORADO RIVER.AND THAT'S KIND OF DEPICTED BY THE RED ARROWS.
AND BETWEEN THIS FLOOD AND THE NEW ATLAS 14 RAINFALL, THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL PLANT NOTED, THERE'S SAR SANDHILL POWER PLANT IN THE IN CREEK SUBSTATION AND ALL ARE IN THE HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLANE NOW.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING NOW.
UH, OUR OPTIONS TO, TO REMMY THE SITUATION HAS BEEN, UH, ALREADY STARTED UNDERNEATH THE FALWELL LANE CAPITAL, UH, RENEWAL PROJECT.
UM, THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT PROJECT IS, UM, IS THE REALIGNMENT OF FALWELL LANE.
IT'S UP, UP THERE IN UPPER LEFT IN ORANGE, AND THAT RELOCATES THE FALWELL LANE FROM ABOUT STATE HIGHWAY ONE 30, WHICH YOU CAN BARELY SEE ON THAT MAP UP TO ABOUT ONION CREEK SUBSTATION, AND THEN FOLLOWS THE EXISTING ALIGNMENT.
UM, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN ACCESS TO THE SUBSTATION AS WELL AS THE POWER PLANT, THE WISH WORK TREAT PLANT, AS WELL AS, UH, THERE'S A PRIVATE PROPERTY AS WELL.
UM, THE SECOND PHASE IS THE FLOOD WALL, WHICH IS, UH, IN THE, WHAT MATT INDICATED WAS IN THE STATE FLOOD PLAN.
IT'S NOTED THERE AS A LEVY ANIMAL.
THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE THE SAME THING OF PROTECTING THE FLOOD.
ONE'S MORE, UH, JUST STRAIGHT WALL.
IT'S KIND A BUILT UP, UH, EARTH AND BERM.
UM, IT WOULD PROTECT, UH, BOTH ALL THE FACILITIES, UM, AND FROM THE HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLAIN, NOT ALLOWING ONION CREEK, UH, RIVER TO HAVE OVERFLOW INTO THE COLORADO CURVE.
SO THIS PROJECT IS IN PRELIMINARY PHASE.
WE'RE STILL SEEKING SOME FUNDING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, UM, IN ADDITION TO STATE FLOOD PLAN, WE HAVE SUBMITTED THIS TO VARIOUS FEDERAL, UH, PROGRAMS AND MOST RECENTLY, UH, HESSON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSETS TO GO AFTER SOME, UH, COVID FUNDING AS WELL.
I'VE GOT TWO, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, WHICH IS GONNA, UH, UH, GO OVER TODAY.
THE VER UH, AT SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL, I DID WANT TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A PLANT LAYOUT OVERVIEW.
UH, WE HAVE THREE TRAINS, WHICH WE CALL TRAIN A, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 86 TRAIN B IN 88, SO ESSENTIALLY ABOUT THE SAME TIME.
AND THEN TRAIN C WAS BUILT IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.
EACH TRAIN, UH, HAS A CAPACITY OF 25 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY, AND A WHOLE OVERALL PLANT HAS A 75 MILLION GALLON PER DAY CAPACITY.
THESE ARE JUST A LITTLE, COUPLE OF FACT SHEETS FOR US FOR TRAIN A B IMPROVEMENTS.
IT'S ABOUT 116 MILLION PROJECT.
IT JUST RECENTLY WAS BID, WE HOPE FOR STAR CONSTRUCTION EARLY TO 2023 COMPLETE IN FOUR YEARS.
UH, REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION WILL BE COMING IN NOVEMBER FOR THAT.
UH, THIS PROJECT IS, IS, IS TO REPLACE THE AGING AND, UH, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THE TWO TRAINS.
UH, BOTH MECHANICAL AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL.
ELECTRICAL IS, UM, ALSO HAVING, UH, SERVICE SERVICEABILITY ISSUES BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S SO OLD THEY DON'T MAKE THE PARTS FOR IT ANYMORE.
SO WE'RE HAVING FI HARD TIME FINDING PARTS.
UM, THE NEXT ONE IS THE ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION NUMBER ONE REPLACEMENT.
AND THIS IS A, WE PUT THIS IN HERE AS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF OUR, OUR ELECTRICAL RESILIENCY PROJECTS.
UM, ON THIS, I, I HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN KIND OF WHAT THE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING.
AND, AND YELLOW IS JUST TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT OF THE SPECIFIC SLIDE THAT I WAS GONNA TALK ABOUT HERE.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS THE PRELIMINARY BUILDING.
THIS IS THE HEADWORKS OF THE PLANT.
UH, THIS IS WHERE, WHEN WASTEWATER IS PUMPED TO THIS FACILITY, WE HAVE SCREENING TO, UH, REMOVE THE LARGE DEBRIS, FLOATING SOLIDS IN THE WASTEWATER STREAM, AS WELL AS REMOVE GRIT, WHICH IS SAND AND GRAVEL, EGG SHELLS, THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
AND THE IMPROVEMENTS WE'RE DOING THERE IS WE'RE, WE'RE IMPROVING THE BAR SCREENS, WHICH CAPTURES THAT, THAT LARGE DEBRIS, THE GRIT, CLASSIFIERS, PUMPS AND BLOWERS, REMOVE THE SAND AND GRAVEL MATERIAL.
MONORAIL IS A TYPE OF A CRANE TO HELP US MAINTAIN THE EQUIPMENT.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA REMOVE THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT WITHIN THAT BUILDING.
THE NEXT, UH, STEP IS THE PRIMARY CLARIFIERS.
THIS IS THE FIRST SETTLING BASIN WITHIN THE TREATMENT PROCESS.
AND A LARGE, UH, SUSPENDED SOLIDS ARE, UH, BY GRAVITY.
AT THE BOTTOM, THEY'RE COLLECTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLARIFIER.
AND, UH, THAT PARTICULAR SOLIDS IS THEN ACTUALLY PUMPED OVER TO HORNS, NEW BIN, BIO MANAGE
[01:15:01]
PLANT FOR FURTHER TREATMENT.UH, IN THIS, UH, AREA, THESE FOUR PRIMARY CLARIFIERS, WE'RE GOING TO REMOVE THE WHOLE MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT IN THERE, WHICH INCLUDES THE DRIVE, WHICH TURNS THE EQUIPMENT, THE RAKE, WHICH SCRAPES THE SOLIDS OFF THE BOTTOM.
UH, THE TROUGHS ARE THE, THE WAY THE WATER FLOWS OUTTA THE CLARIFIERS, ALONG THE PERIMETER, ALONG THE CIRCLE.
AND THERE IT GOES INTO A TROUGH.
IT'S ABOVE GRADE, BUT THE, IT HAS STRUCTURALLY HAS COME COMPROMISE AND LEAKS OF OCCURRING.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA REMOVE THOSE TROUGHS AND REPLACE THE TROUGHS.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, GO AHEAD AND REPLACE THE WEIRS, WHICH COULD CONTROL THE FLOW FROM THE PRIMARY CLARIFIERS.
UH, ANOTHER PROCESS EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT WE'RE DOING IS REMOVING THE SCUM COLLECTION FROM THE PRELIMINARY BUILDING TO THE, TO THE ACTUAL CLOSER TO THE CLARIFIERS TO PROVIDE A, A BETTER EFFICIENCY OF REMOVING THE GUM.
UH, THE AERATION BASIN IS A, IS A, AN AREA WHERE WE GO AHEAD AND ADD, UH, WASTEWATER INTO THE, TO THE WASTEWATER STREAM, AND PROVIDE AEROBIC DIGESTION FOR THE NUTRIENTS.
IN THIS ONE IS THE, UH, BASINS.
WE'RE DOING SOME CRACK REPAIR AS WELL AS THE, UH, SLIDE GATES, WHICH ALLOW WATER TO FLOW IN AND OUT OF THE BASINS NEED TO BE REAR REPLACED.
THEY'VE, UH, EXCEEDED THEIR LIGHT USEFUL LIFE.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE SECONDARY TREATMENT BUILDING.
THIS ONE HOUSES THE PUMPS AND, UH, MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT TO, UH, MOVE THE SOLIDS FROM THE BOTTOM OF CLARIFIERS, AS WELL AS THE ELECTRICAL IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, THE ELECTRICAL IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE REMOVED FROM THIS BUILDING AND WILL WILL PROVIDE SOME, UM, REPLACEMENT OF PUMPS AS WELL AS THE METERS FOR THE FLOW.
THE FINAL CLARIFIERS IS THE NEXT ONE, THE LIST, AND IT'S THE FINAL SAILING BASIN.
IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE PRIMARY.
THIS IS ACTUALLY THE SUSPENDED SOLIDS ARE MUCH SMALLER THERE.
AND AGAIN, THEY DO THE SAME THING.
THE CLARIFIERS WILL, THE, THE SETTLE, THE SOLIDS WILL BY GRAVITY WILL SETTLE.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE DOING THE SAME THING HERE WITH THE EXCEPTION.
WE'RE NOT REMOVING THE TROUGH, BUT WE'RE DOING THE EXACT SAME, SAME THING AS THE PRIMARY, THE CLARIFIER DRIVES AND, UH, NEW WEARS.
UM, PART OF THE PROCESS TREATMENT IS THE DISINFECTION OF THE FLUID, AND WE PROVIDE THAT BY INJECTING CHLORINE FOR 20 MINUTES.
UH, HERE WE'RE GONNA DO A PROCESS IMPROVEMENT BY REMOVING THE CLARIFIER MECHANISM AND INSTALLING BAFFLES TO CREATE A SERPENTINE FLOW TO INCREASE THE PRO, UH, TREATMENT PRO, UH, THE DISINFECTION PROCESS IN THAT, IN THAT BASIN.
AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS ONE IS THE NEW ELECTRICAL I'D MENTIONED THAT WE WERE REPLACING THE ELECTRICAL FROM THE BUILDINGS.
IT'S WHERE THE AREAS WHERE THERE'S POTENTIAL OF A CORROSIVE GAS.
WE'RE GOING TO REMOVE THE ELECTRICAL, THE SWITCH GEAR, WHICH WAS ON AND OFF THE CONTROLS AND THE SCADA NETWORK ALL INTO NEW ELEVATED, UH, ELECTRICAL BUILDINGS.
SO THE TRAIN A AND B WILL HAVE NEW ELECTRICAL, UH, GEAR ONCE WE COMPLETE THIS PROJECT.
LOOKS LIKE THE, THE LAST ONE, UH, OR WANNA MENTION WAS THE, UH, THE REPLACEMENT OF ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION NUMBER ONE.
UH, THE, THE EXISTINGS OVER HERE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, IT'S AN OUTDOOR FACILITY.
I, I PUT THE DIMENSIONS THERE JUST TO, TO NOTE HOW, WHAT'S DIFFERENCE.
NOW YOU CAN SEE THE BOTTOM, THE OUTDOORS ARE KIND OF RUSTED.
THE SLIDE TO THE LEFT IS THE CURRENT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
IT'S IN, STILL IN CONS, AS YOU CAN SEE DURING, ACTIVELY IN CONSTRUCTION.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING THE EQUIPMENT INSIDE A BUILDING TO HAVE A CONDITION SPACE.
SO HOPEFUL TO ADD TO THE LONGEVITY OF THE, UH, OF THE EQUIPMENT.
UM, IT'S ABOUT TWICE THE SIZE AND ABOUT THREE TIMES THE SQUARE FOOTAGE.
AND AS WE BRING IN, UH, WE USE PRIMARY VOLTAGE, WHICH IS 12,500.
THE SPACE REQUIREMENTS, UH, FOR CODE REQUIREMENTS FROM SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT NOW.
AND SO THIS IS JUST A GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF REPLACEMENT IN THE SPACE, REQUIREMENT OF THE NEW ELECTRICAL, UH, CODES THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH TODAY.
WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THAT'S EXCITING TO SEE ALL THE UPDATES THAT ARE GONNA TAKE PLACE.
COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, THAT WAS A VERY THOROUGH PRESENTATION.
[6. Identify items to discuss at future meetings.]
IS ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS A DISCUSSION ON ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, COLLEAGUES, EARLIER THIS MEETING, WE VOTED ON THE SCHEDULE FOR 2023.UM, SO OUR NEXT MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE IN, WILL BE FEBRUARY 15TH, 2023.
UM, THIS IS OUR LAST SCHEDULED MEETING FOR THIS YEAR.
[01:20:01]
I DO WANNA, UH, POINT OUT THAT THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WILL BE MEETING TO DISCUSS THE AUSTIN WATER AUDIT.THAT'LL BE COMING BACK TO, UM, TO OUR COMMITTEE AND THEN TO COUNCIL LATER THIS YEAR.
UM, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MAYOR PROTE.
UM, BUT ANY, UM, BARRING ANY SPECIAL COG MEETINGS, UM, OUR NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING AS THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WILL BE IN FEBRUARY OF NEXT YEAR.
ANY DISCUSSION ON POTENTIAL TOPICS FOR THAT MEETING? OKAY.
WELL, IF NO FURTHER BUSINESS, UM, BEFORE I ADJOURN, JUST WANNA THANK OUR, OUR STAFF WATERSHED, AUSTIN WATER, FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK.
IT, IT'S BEEN INCREDIBLE, UH, FOR ME PERSONALLY AS A FIRST YEAR MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE, OR SECOND YEAR MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE, FIRST TIME CHAIR, UM, TO LEARN ALL ABOUT OUR UTILITY AND THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING, AND, UM, THE WAYS THAT Y'ALL ARE INNOVATING AND PROVIDING, UM, REALLY GREAT COMMUNICATION TO THE PUBLIC.
SO APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR WORK.
IT IS NOW 2:52 PM AND WE WILL ADJOURN THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.