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IT.[Council to vote on transformative investment in East Austin]
GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.I'M NATASHA HARPER MADISON, THE PROUD CITY COUNCIL MEMBER.
REPRESENTING DISTRICT ONE THAT'S EAST AND NORTHEAST AUSTIN, RIGHT HERE IN BEAUTIFUL AUSTIN, TEXAS.
MY DISTRICT, IT IS WONDERFUL AND IT'S AWESOME.
UM, BUT IT'S ALSO THE PART OF TOWN THAT WAS ANNEXED BACK IN THE SEVENTIES.
UM, IT'S THE PART OF TOWN THAT WAS TREATED WITH A POLICY, FRANKLY, OF BENIGN NEGLECT.
WE COLLECTED THEIR PROPERTY TAXES, BUT ONLY PROVIDED THE BARE MINIMUM OF RESOURCES TO THE RESIDENTS.
IT'S A TRANSIT DESERT, AND FRANKLY, IT'S A JOBS DESERT.
THE CITY HAS VERY LONG BEEN PROMISING THESE THINGS PROMISING CHANGE, BUT THE PLANS HAVE BEEN STUCK.
AND WHAT CAME OUT TO TO BE A 20 YEAR OLD HOLDING PATTERN 10 YEARS AGO, THE CITY OF AUSTIN STARTED A THREE YEAR LONG PLANNING PROCESS THAT CREATED THE COLONY PARK SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PLAN PLAN, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY VISION.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE, BY THE WAY, 250 MILLION WOULD GO TO CREATE NEW HOUSING, NEW JOBS, NEW SERVICES, AND NEW AMENITIES ACROSS MORE THAN 200 ACRES OF CITY OWNED LAND.
BUT AS MANY OTHER PROJECTS MOVED FORWARD, COLONY PARK, UNFORTUNATELY IN MANY WAYS, STALLED OUT.
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT THE RESIDENTS OF COLONY PARK WAITED PATIENTLY.
INSTEAD, THEY ADVOCATED FOR THEMSELVES PERSISTENTLY TODAY.
THAT PERSISTENCE AND THAT POISE PAYS OFF AFTER WE PASSED A RESOLUTION IN MARCH, DECLARING COLONY PARK, A TOP PRIORITY OF THE CITY.
OUR CITY STAFF HAS COME BACK WITH AN INNOVATIVE PLAN TO CLOSE THE 80 MILLION FUNDING GAP THAT WAS HOLDING THINGS UP.
THE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE WE ARE ABOUT TO APPROVE TODAY REPRESENTS A GIANT LEAP FORWARD FOR COLONY PARK.
AND THE LONG DELAYED PUBLIC INVESTMENTS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN PROMISING FOR DECADES.
I CAN'T WAIT TO GO INTO THOSE CHAMBERS AND MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD ON BEHALF OF THE COLONY PARK RESIDENCE, THE LARGER EAST AUSTIN AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS A WHOLE, AND NOW IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BRING UP, UM, OUR, OUR AUSTIN, CITY OF AUSTIN MAYOR, MAYOR ADLER.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I THINK THAT, UH, MY, MY ROLE IS TO IS JUST TO SPEAK BRIEFLY AND SIT BACK AND APPLAUD.
UH, BUT I WILL SAY THAT, THAT, THAT FINALLY, UH, WE APPROVED THE, THE LONG SOUGHT, UH, COLONY PARK MATCHED A PLAN, UH, THIS STEP ALONG AWAIT IT IS GOING TO, UH, TRANSFORM AND HISTORICALLY UNDERINVESTED PART OF AUSTIN INTO ONE THAT HAS ACCESS TO MUCH NEEDED RESOURCES AND SERVICES AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ALL OF THE OTHER PROMISES THAT ARE AUSTIN.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MS. SCOTT AND, AND TO THE OTHER ADVOCATES WHO HAVE TIRELESSLY KEPT THIS, UH, ON THE, ON THE, ON THE FRONT BURNER.
AND LET ME JUST SAY THAT, THAT TODAY WE'RE GONNA MAKE AUSTIN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE FAIR AND JUST, AND I'M JUST REALLY PROUD TO BE PART OF THAT.
AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WE'LL BRING UP MS. BARBARA SCOTT.
UM, IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY.
UM, WE AS A COMMUNITY HAVE FOUGHT TIRELESSLY FOR THIS DAY.
UH, WHEN THIS PROJECT STARTED, WE DECIDED TO MAKE THIS A PROJECT DONE DIFFERENTLY THAN ANY PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN DONE IN AUSTIN.
AND THAT WAS TO BE COMMUNITY LED AND TO BRING TO OUR COMMUNITY THE AMENITIES THAT WE NEEDED, NOT WHAT WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WE NEEDED.
AND SO HOPEFULLY AND PRAYERFULLY, WE HAVE CHANGED HOW AUSTIN DOES BUSINESS ON A REGULAR BASIS WHEN IT COMES TO COMMUNITIES, ESPECIALLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED THAT IT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THIS LONG TO GET FUNDING FOR A PROJECT THAT'S GONNA ONLY MAKE OUR COMMUNITY BETTER AND MAKE AUSTIN A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.
UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S, THERE'S,
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UM, THERE'S JOY AND HOPE IN DOING TIMES OF AFFLICTION.WE HAVE TO PRAY AND THEN WE HAVE TO PRAY PATIENTLY.
AND THAT'S WHAT OUR COMMUNITY DID.
IT IS OUR HOPE THAT IT SHOULD NOT TAKE 12 YEARS TO IMPLEMENT THIS PLAN AND TO HAVE DIRT TURNED IN THIS AREA OF EAST AUSTIN.
THIS CAN ONLY IMPROVE OTHER COMMUNITIES EAST OF 180 3.
SO WE THANK THE COUNCIL, WE THANK OUR COUNCILPERSON, OUR MAYOR, AND THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND WE HOPE THAT THIS WILL BE A NEW DAY IN AUSTIN WHERE WE CAN LOOK BEYOND THE 1928 PLAN AND THE 1929 PLAN AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR ALL OF AUSTIN.
AND LASTLY, WE'LL BRING UP SERGIO FROM ELLAS.
I'LL MAKE, UH, I'LL KEEP MY REMARKS BRIEF.
UH, TODAY'S NOT ABOUT US, TODAY'S ABOUT THE COMMUNITY HERE.
UM, AND THIS IS A MAJOR MILESTONE HERE FOR THE COMMUNITY TODAY, UH, AND FOR THE COLONY PARK PROJECT.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY LEADERS LIKE MS. SCOTT, MISS HELEN, MS. WRIGHT, MR. TOLLIVER, ALL THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS HERE IN THE ROOM TODAY, UM, HAVE WORKED LONG AND HARD, UH, OVER THE YEARS, UH, TO BRING THIS PROJECT INTO REALITY.
THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, WITHOUT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS SUPPORT HERE, ONE OF THE FIRST CALLS WE GOT WHEN WE WERE SELECTED WAS FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBER'S OFFICE.
AND IT WAS, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP? AND SHE'S BEEN OUR CHAMPION ON THIS PROJECT WITH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THROUGH THE YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN A PART OF IT, WHICH IS REALLY THE PAST FOUR YEARS.
TODAY'S FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND TODAY WE'RE CELEBRATING THE COLONY PARK PROJECT.
WE'RE SUPER EXCITED, SUPER PUMPED TO MOVE THIS THING FORWARD.
AND, UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO BRING THIS VISION TO REALITY.
NOT SURE HOW YOU WANTED TO CLOSE THIS OUT.
QUESTIONS ALL SET? THANK YOU EVERYBODY.
YOU'VE GOT ONE AND IT'S ALL RIGHT TO LIVE ONE.
LOVE WHAT? YOU GOT TO GIVE ALL TO KEEP EVERYTH ALL ON DOESN'T HAVE TO.