* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. WE HAVE A PACKED HOUSE TODAY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING. I WILL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER TODAY'S WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, AND THE TIME IS 10:41 AM. AS A REMINDER, THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES BOTH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES. PLEASE GIVE US 24 HOUR NOTICE SO WE CAN MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS THROUGH OUR BOARD LIAISON, CHLOE MAXWELL AND HER INFORMATION IS IN EACH AGENDA POSTING. UM, WE'RE [1. Official Seating of New Board Member] GONNA START TODAY WITH A VERY DELIGHTFUL, UM, WELCOME OF OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER, MR. JUAN GARZA, AND ACKNOWLEDGING ALL OF THE WORK THAT OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAVE DONE, ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS AT CAPITAL METRO IN SELECTING OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER. SO, MR. JUAN GARZA, ON BEHALF OF THE ATP BOARD, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF THE TIME COMMITMENT FOR THIS APPOINTMENT PROCESS, FOR YOUR APPLICATION, FOR YOUR INTEREST, FOR WANTING TO JOIN US IN THIS EFFORT. AND I WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL THANKS TO MAYOR PROTE, ALLISON AL, COUNCIL MEMBER PAIGE ELLIS, CAPITAL METRO BOARD MEMBER WADE COOPER, AND BOARD MEMBER ERIC STRATTON. AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE STAFF FROM THE JOINT PARTNERSHIP WHO WORKED TOGETHER ON THE OVERALL APPLICATION AND APPOINTMENT PROCESS. I KNOW THIS WAS A LONG PROCESS, BUT, UM, WE'RE HONORED TO HAVE YOU JOIN. YOU'RE REPLACING DR. BARNETT'S POSITION, WHICH I'M SURE SHE'LL BE DELIGHTED TO MEET YOU IF YOU HAVE NOT MET HER BEFORE. BUT, UM, WE'RE DEEPLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. WE WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO THIS BOARD. AND ALSO, UM, ALL OF THE NUMERAL ROLES THAT YOU HAVE DONE OVER YOUR CAREER IS REALLY IMPRESSIVE. SO WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE YOUR WISDOM AND YOUR ENERGY WITH US TO DELIVER THIS IMPORTANT PROGRAM. UM, SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY WORDS, AND I DIDN'T PREPARE ANYTHING. IT'S OKAY, , BUT, BUT, UH, I'VE BEEN IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR A LONG TIME. AND IF YOU'RE NOT READY, . UM, SO ANYHOW, UH, I'M DELIGHTED TO BE HERE. THANK YOU. THIS IS AN HONOR, UH, TO BE, UH, NAMED TO THIS BOARD. I AM. ALL OF YOU ARE SO IMPRESSIVE. UH, IT'LL BE A WONDERFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE TO ME. AT MY AGE, I BE LEARNING NEW THINGS. UH, I, UH, LOOK, LOOK FORWARD TO IT. I, UM, UM, WANNA BE INVOLVED IN, IN CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE AT EXPRESSING THEIR OPINION. UM, AND SO I WANT TO TELL ALL THE STAFF, UM, DON'T SPARE MY FEELINGS. DEFEND YOUR POSITION STRONGLY. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR. UM, AND, UH, LET'S GET THEM GOOD WORK DONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND WELCOME TO THE BOARD BOARD. SO, SO, RIGHT WHEN WE RECESS FOR LUNCH, WE'RE GONNA TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A GROUP PHOTO WITH THE, WITH ALL OF THE BOARD TOGETHER. SO WE WILL BE DOING THAT THEN, UM, . SO, UM, PAGE TWO NOW. SO WITH THE, OUR FIRST ITEM TODAY IS [2.1. Briefing on Status of Updated Light Rail Implementation Plan] A BRIEF, UH, THE BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION OF THE UPDATED LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. MR. CANALI HAS INVITED US VARIOUS GUESTS TO JOIN, SO WE'LL LET HIM KICK OFF THE DISCUSSION AND INTRODUCE OUR PRESENTERS HERE TODAY. THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU, UH, BOARD CHAIR. UM, APPRECIATE EVERYONE FOR BEING US TODAY. WELCOME, UM, MR. GARZA TO OUR BOARD. WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH US, UH, ON OUR PATHWAY. UM, I JUST WANT TO KIND OF ROOT US WHERE WE ARE TODAY AND, AND GO, GO BACK A FEW MONTHS TO WHERE WE WERE IN JULY WHEN WE SAT HERE IN A SIMILAR SETTING, UM, TO HAVE A KIND OF A DEEP CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE THE STATUS OF PROJECT CONNECT WAS IN GENERAL, BUT SPECIFICALLY ON LIGHT RAIL. UM, AS YOU KNOW, UM, WE TRANSPARENTLY ADDRESSED THE ISSUE WHERE WE WERE ON THE COST OF LIGHT RAIL. AND WHAT WE DID IN JULY WAS LAY OUT A VERY PURPOSEFUL AND METHODICAL PROCESS TO, UM, DEVELOP A NEW IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND UPDATED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WILL BE BASED ON PHASING. UM, AND WE WERE VERY THOUGHTFUL, UH, AND INTENTFUL ABOUT BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE WORK WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE DOING IT. UM, AND ALSO THAT IT WAS MULTIDIMENSIONAL. UM, IT WASN'T JUST THE ENGINEERING WORK, NOT JUST THE FINANCE WORK, BUT A LOT OF PLANNING WORK. UM, AND WE WANT TO FOCUS THIS MORNING ON, ON SEVERAL OF THOSE EFFORTS AND KIND OF IN A DEEPER WAY AND DO WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, IS HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THE BOARD AND WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHERE WE STAND AS WE CONTINUE TO PROGRESS THIS WORK. UM, THIS IS PART OF A DAY WHERE WE HAVE A LOT GOING ON. WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE, SHOW YOU SOME [00:05:01] OF THE WORK. AND ALSO AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE ALSO HAVING SOME ACTION ITEMS IN FRONT OF YOU THAT ARE GONNA BE ADVANCING THE WORK AS WELL, SO THAT THIS IS NOT ONLY GETTING THROUGH THIS WORK, BUT ABOUT BEING READY, UM, TO CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT, UH, THE LIGHT RAIL AND OVERALL PROJECT CONNECT. SO THIS MORNING WE'RE GONNA START WITH CHLOE AND MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT ITEM UP. WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE MARKET SOUNDING UPDATE. UM, UH, TOM RUCKUS WITH EY INFRASTRUCTURE IS HERE TO TALK US THROUGH, UM, REALLY THIS, A REALLY IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF, OF OUR WORK PLAN. UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE WANT TO, WE THINK IT WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW TO GO A LITTLE DEEPER ON WHERE WE ARE. UM, JUST FOR THE BOARD, JUST AS A REMINDER, UM, EY WAS BROUGHT IN AS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISOR TO DO THIS EXACT THING. AND IN ADDITION TO HELP US KIND OF UNDERSTAND OUR FINANCING, UM, WITH, UH, WITH PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, BUT ALSO TO HELP US, UM, INTERSECT AND INTERACT WITH THE MARKET, CUZ WE KNOW IT'S SO IMPORTANT. IT WAS REALLY PART OF THEIR SCOPE. SO TOM'S JOINING US, BUT I WANNA RECOGNIZE HIS FULL TEAM, NICOLE AND TRISHA AND STEVE AND RICH AND, UH, AND EVERYONE THAT'S BEEN HELPING TO GET US TO THIS POINT. UM, AND WE'RE JUST HELP HELPFUL FOR A GOOD DIALOGUE THIS MORNING ON THIS, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF LEARNING, BUT A LITTLE BIT OF ADVANCING WHERE WE ARE AS WELL. SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO TOM. UM, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE, UH, TALKING ABOUT OUR PROGRAM THIS MORNING. SOUNDS GREAT. THE QUESTION IS, QUESTION IS, DOES, DOES THIS WORK THAT CAN ACTUALLY ADVANCE THIS MYSELF? IT SHOULD. IT SHOULD. OKAY. GREAT. , THANKS. UM, CHIEF ARCHITECTS SOLVE OUR CLICKER PROBLEM. I, THIS, IT'S GREAT. WELL DONE. DAVID . YEAH. UH, GOOD MORNING BOARD AND, UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TODAY. SO, UM, WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT, UM, MARKET SOUNDING AND WHY IS ATP PERFORMING MARKET SOUNDINGS? AND I THINK THERE ARE FOUR MAIN POINTS I THINK, THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO, UH, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT. ONE, ATP ULTIMATELY WANTS TO ATTRACT THE BEST CONTRACTORS TO THE PROJECT. SECONDLY, THROUGH ENGAGING IN MARKET SOUNDING PROCESS, YOU WANNA LEVERAGE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE OF, OF THESE VARIOUS CONTRACTORS, PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE MARKET AND THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY, AND THOSE THAT HAVE SEEN PROJECTS GO WELL OR NOT WELL, BOTH NATIONALLY AS WELL AS GLOBALLY. BECAUSE THOSE LESSONS LEARNED HOPEFULLY, WILL INFORM HOW ATP SHOULD ULTIMATELY PROCURE THAT PROJECT. AND NOT ONLY WHAT METHODS THEY SHOULD USE TO PROCURE THAT PROJECT, BUT WHAT ARE THE STEPS THAT ATP NEEDS TO DO TO PREPARE FOR THAT EVENTUAL PROCUREMENT AROUND THE PROJECT. SO THIS IS A, THIS IS A PROCESS THAT IS PART OF THE OVERALL EFFORTS GOING ON AND GOING ON IN, IN, UM, IN COORDINATION AND IN PARALLEL TRACKS WITH ALL THE OTHER EFFORTS AS WE LOOK TO REFINE THE OVERALL PROJECT AND PROJECT APPROACH HERE. AND THE MARKET SOUNDING IS A VERY IMPORTANT ONE. THERE WAS, AS YOU RECALL, EARLIER IN THIS YEAR, A INDUSTRY DAY, UM, THAT SORT OF KICKED OFF IN A LOT OF REGARDS, UH, MARKET MARKET ENGAGEMENT, UM, THE PAST MONTH OR SO, UM, ATP AND, AND WE'LL FOCUS ON THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR, UH, PRESENTATION AND RECENT APTA ANNUAL MEETING HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH, I WANT TO SAY GREG, WHAT MAYBE WE HAD 10, 10 PLUS CONTRACTORS OR, UH, PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY AND GET AN UNDERSTANDING FROM THEM AS TO WHAT THEY'RE SEEING. WE'LL GO THROUGH SOME OF THE RESULTS OF THAT TODAY. BUT THERE'S ALSO AN ONGOING DIALOGUE WITH CONTRACTORS, INFORMAL AND FORMAL THAT I THINK ATP HOPES IS NOT JUST HAPPENING NOW, BUT WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS IN ORDER, UH, FOR ATP TO HAVE ITS EAR TO THE GROUND AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MARKET AND ULTIMATELY SET ITSELF ITSELF UP FOR SUCCESS. AND TO HAVE A PROJECT THAT IS A, A SMOOTH PROCUREMENT THAT ATTRACTS THE BEST, UH, CONTRACTORS, BUT ONE THAT MINIMIZES THE RISK OF CLAIM DOWN THE LINE AND NOT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND ULTIMATELY GETS EXECUTED AS SMOOTHLY AS POSSIBLE. SO THIS WILL BE A CONTINUING DIALOGUE, BUT WE THOUGHT ATP FELT LIKE THIS WAS A GOOD TIME TO REPORT OUT AS TO SOME OF THE FINDINGS THAT WE, THAT, UH, THAT WE'VE LEARNED TO DATE. SO WHO ARE THE TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS? UM, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, WE LOOKED AT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING FIRMS, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS, AS WELL AS SYSTEMS AND VEHICLE PROVIDERS, ALL BEING THE VARIOUS TYPES OF FOLKS IN THE INDUSTRY, THE MARKET PARTICIPANTS IN THE INDUSTRY THAT ARE INVOLVED AROUND ALL THESE VARIOUS PROJECTS AND HAVE THEIR OWN UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES. THE TYPES OF DISCUSSIONS THAT WE HAD WITH, UM, THAT WE HAD WITH, UH, INDUSTRY WERE AROUND LESSONS LEARNED FROM OTHER TRANSIT PROJECTS, KEY RISKS THAT ARE ENCOUNTERED ON TRANSIT PROJECTS AND THEIR APPROACHES TO MITIGATE THOSE RISKS. UM, THEIR PERSPECTIVES AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR USE OF VARIOUS CONTRACTING STRATEGIES. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS, [00:10:01] UM, AND AS WELL AS SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS FOR COMPLEX PROJECT DELIVERIES. BUT NOT ONLY DOES IT WHAT WORKS FOR THEM, BUT WHAT DO THEY SEE THAT WORKS FOR AGENCIES THAT SUCCESSFULLY DELIVER PROJECTS. STOP RIGHT THERE. ANY QUESTIONS? GREAT. WELL, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TODAY TO ALSO JUST TALK THROUGH WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CONTRACTING STRATEGIES, WHAT WE MEAN, AND I'LL HAVE TO SAY THERE'S A COMPLETE ALPHABET SOUP OF VARIOUS CONTRACTING APPROACHES. UM, AND SO WE'RE NOT GONNA GO INTO DEPTH AROUND THAT TODAY, BUT WE, WHAT WE DO WANT TO DO IS JUST GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A PRIMER AROUND SOME OF THESE CONCEPTS. AND, AND AS ATP DEVELOPS ITS PROGRAM OR FINDS ITS PROGRAM OVER TIME, MORE OF THOSE CONCEPTS AND MAYBE MORE REFINED VERSIONS OF THESE CONCEPTS WILL, WILL BE PRESENTED OVER TIME. BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S A SPECTRUM OF CONTRACTING APPROACHES FOR THESE LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. EVERYTHING FROM THE FAR LEFT SIDE HERE, DESIGN, BID, BUILD, UM, TO, UM, TO AT LEAST ON THIS, UM, ON, ON THIS, UH, SPECTRUM DESIGN BUILD, UH, DESIGN, BID BUILD IS THE CONCEPT BEING THAT AN OWNER, WHEN WE SAY OWNER, WE MEAN REALLY THE AGENCY, UM, DESIGN'S A PROJECT TO A HUNDRED PERCENT. IT THEN ISSUES, CONTRACTS, UH, FOR CONTRACTORS DELIVER UNDER THOSE PARTICULAR DESIGNS. VERY TRADITIONAL METHODS BEEN USED, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON THE TYPES OF PROJECTS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. AND IT'S STILL ACTIVELY USED. THE TYPES OF ISSUES THAT DESIGN, BUILD, DESIGN BUILD BRINGS TO THE TABLE, HOWEVER, IS THAT BY OWNING THE DESIGN, THE AGENCY IS ALSO TAKING THE RISKS IF THAT DESIGN ISN'T ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTABLE, RIGHT? SO IT INTRODUCES, UM, IT INTRODUCES, UM, UH, UH, THE, THE, THE RISK OF CLAIMS DOWN THE ROAD. IF YOU LOOK AT DESIGN BUILD AS BEING ANOTHER, UH, PART OF THE SPECTRUM FOR, FOR, FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND THE UPFRONT DELIVERY OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, THAT'S A SITUATION WHERE THE CONTRACTOR, THE DESIGN BUILDER IN THIS CASE IS ACTUALLY FINISHING THE DESIGN OF THE PROJECT AND HENCE OWNS THE DESIGN OF THE PROJECT. UM, AND SO IT IS A, IT IS AN APPROACH THAT IS MEANT TO MITIGATE AGAINST SOME OF THAT, UM, RISK THAT THE DESIGN IS NOT IMPLEMENTABLE. UM, AS A RESULT, THAT'S A SITUATION WHERE THE OWNER, THE, THE AGENCY WILL NEED TO MAYBE BE A LITTLE MORE HANDS OFF ON THE FINAL DESIGN OF A PROJECT AND PROVIDE THE, THE, THE CONTRACTORS WITH THE ABILITY TO REFINE THAT DESIGN AND DESIGN SOMETHING THAT, THAT ULTIMATELY THEY CAN DELIVER, UM, AT A PRICE THAT THAT WORKS FROM A PROCUREMENT STANDPOINT. NOW, THERE'S A WHOLE SPECTRUM OF, WELL, I WOULD CALL EARLY CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT SITUATIONS, UM, UM, AND APPROACHES THAT'S ALSO USED IN THIS MARKET. AND WHAT WE HAVE IN THE MIDDLE HERE IS CONSTRUCTION MANAGER, GENERAL CONTRACTOR. AND THIS IS THE IDEA THAT INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, HANDING OFF AN AWARDING, UH, A DESIGN, UM, AWARDING A CONTRACTOR DESIGN BUILDER TO FINISH THAT DESIGN AND DELIVER THE PROJECT, CAN YOU BRING A, A CONTRACTOR ON BOARD EARLY OR IN ORDER TO INFORM THE DESIGN, MAKE SURE IT IS, UH, ENSURE THAT IS CONSTRUCTABLE AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, AND THEN BE ABLE TO PUT A PRICE ON THAT CONTRACT. AND SO, AND, AND WHAT THAT'S MEANT TO DO IS TO REDUCE THE RISK THEN TO THE CONTRACTOR THAT THERE'S NOT SOMETHING NOT UNFORESEEN THAT THEY COULDN'T HANDLE, UM, UNDER DESIGN, BUILD CONTRACT, UH, AND THEN, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, END UP IN A POTENTIAL CLAIM SITUATION OR A LOSS SITUATION. SO THESE ARE ALL WITHIN A SPECTRUM OF CONTRACTING APPROACHES. HOW MUCH RISK DOES THE AGENCY HOLD ONTO? HOW MUCH IS IT ABLE TO SHIFT OFF TO CONTRACTORS? AND ARE THERE WAYS FOR CONTRACTORS AND AGENCIES TO WORK TOGETHER, UM, IN ORDER TO, UM, IN ORDER TO ADDRESS RISK EARLY AND AVOID THE RISKS OF CLAIMS DOWN THE LINE. THE OTHER, YEAH, SLOW GO BACK. SO, SO I UNDERSTAND THE CONTINUUM THAT COMMUNICATE. GUESS I SHOULD TURN THAT ON. OKAY. SO I UNDERSTAND THE CONTINUUM AND, AND THAT COMMUNICATION IS NECESSARY AT EVERY LEVEL, WHETHER IT IS ORGANIC OR FORCED. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS ENOUGH OF AN ALIGNMENT SO THAT THOSE WHO ARE DES UH, DESIGNING UNDERSTAND, ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF THOSE WHO WILL BE OPERATING WHAT THEY DESIGN, RIGHT? AND WHAT GIVES YOU THE, WHAT, WHAT GIVES YOU THE GREATEST CAPACITY TO ACHIEVE THAT? I MEAN, BASED [00:15:01] ON, I MEAN, MAYBE ALL OF THEM WILL, BUT MAYBE ONE DOES BETTER CONSISTENTLY THAN THE OTHER. HOW DO WE KNOW THAT IN A TRANSIT CITY, THAT'S, THAT'S SPOT ON. NOTHING ELSE TO ADD THERE. , WELL SAID. AND YOU BRING IN THE OPERATOR, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, SO THE CONTRACTOR EXACTLY. WHATEVER'S BEING CONTRACTED, THE ONE, THE CONTRACTOR HAS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S BEING DESIGNED. THE DESIGNER HAS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S CONSTRUCTABLE, AND ULTIMATELY THE OPERATOR NEEDS TO, UH, BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THAT BECAUSE THE SYSTEM NEEDS TO COME TOGETHER, WHICH ACTUALLY IS A GOOD LEAD INTO THE NEXT SECTION, WHICH IS THE OTHER AREA OF CONVERSATIONS WITH INDUSTRIES AROUND BUNDLING. THERE ARE VARIOUS ELEMENTS TO A TRANSIT SYSTEM FROM YOUR CIVIL WORKS, TO THE RAIL, TO THE STATIONS, VEHICLES, SYSTEMS. THESE, YOU COULD THINK ABOUT THESE AS INDIVIDUAL, AND YOU COULD THINK ABOUT THEM AS AS, AS POTENTIALLY BUNDLING SOME OF THESE INTO SINGLE CONTRACTS WHERE CONTRACTORS HAVE THE ABILITY AND THE EXPERTISE TO BE ABLE TO PULL IT ALL TOGETHER AND TO BE ABLE TO GUARANTEE A PRICE AROUND ALL THESE VARIOUS ELEMENTS. AND IT, THE CONCEPT OF BUNDLING IS VERY IMPORTANT IN PARTICULAR AROUND, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OPERATIONS AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HAVING A SYSTEM THAT ACTUALLY COMES TOGETHER AND WORKS. AT THE END OF THE DAY, TRANSIT SYSTEMS ARE FAIRLY COMPLEX FROM AN INFRASTRUCTURE PERSPECTIVE, AND YOU COULD HAVE ALL THE RAIL IN THE GROUND AND POWER SYSTEMS THERE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF IT DOESN'T WORK, AT THE END OF THE DAY AND DOESN'T ALL COME TOGETHER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF AN OPERATOR, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT CAN BE COSTLY TO FIX. SO THAT'S ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'VE HAD SOUNDINGS WITH THE, WITH THE MARKET AROUND HOW MUCH ARE THEY WILLING TO BUNDLE THESE VARIOUS ELEMENTS. UM, AND, AND, AND, AND SOME OF THE PROS AND CONS AROUND DOING THAT. SO THERE WAS SOME FAIRLY, YOU KNOW, CONSISTENT THEMES. WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT AROUND WHAT SOME OF THE HIGH LEVEL LEARNINGS WERE FROM THIS EXERCISE. AND THERE WERE SOME FAIRLY CONSISTENT THEMES FROM INDUSTRY, THOUGH, OF COURSE, EVERY PART OF THE INDUSTRY HAS A SORT OF PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT? UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, AND WE LAY OUT ON TOP HERE SOME OF THE MAIN TOPICS THAT WERE DISCUSSED AND BROUGHT UP BY INDUSTRY. UM, FIRST BEING COST CERTAINTY. SO COST CERTAINTY, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS HERE, RIGHT? THERE'S COST CERTAINTY RELATED TO THE COMPLEXITY OF A PROJECT AND WHETHER OR NOT INDUSTRY IS WILLING TO, TO PUT A PRICE ON SOMETHING IN AN EARLY DESIGN PHASE WHEN THEY ARE FACED WITH ELEMENTS SUCH AS TIGHT LABOR MARKETS, INFLATION ON MATERIALS, BUT ALSO UNCERTAINTIES AROUND THE, THE ABILITY TO EXECUTE ON TIME AND ON BUDGET. AND THAT RELATES TO SOME OF THE OTHER ELEMENTS WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IN A SECOND. UM, SOME OF THOSE ELEMENTS BEING RIGHT AWAY, ACQUISITION, THIRD PARTY AGREEMENTS, PERMITTING AND UTILITY RELOCATION. THE, THESE ARE ALL AREAS WE'VE SEEN THIS PROF NOT IN, IN, IN, IN THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE SEEN AROUND THE COUNTRY AND GLOBALLY, UM, THAT PARTICULARLY PLAGUE TRANSIT PROJECTS. UM, IT IS, AND IT, AND IT'S REALLY AROUND, YOU KNOW, AND IT REALLY SPEAKS TO SOME OF THE WORK THAT ATP NEEDS TO DO AS A GOOD OWNER OF A PROJECT, WHICH IS, DO YOU HAVE ACTUALLY ACCESS TO THE LAND THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE USED TO BUILD THIS PROJECT IN TERMS OF RIGHT AWAY? OR DO YOU HAVE REASONABLE CERTAINTY THAT THAT LAND WILL BE AVAILABLE? WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE, WHAT'S THE STATUS OF YOUR AGREEMENTS WITH ALL THE THIRD PARTIES? IF YOU THINK ABOUT A TRANSIT PROJECT LIKE AUSTIN'S, IT'S NOT HAPPENING IN A BUBBLE. THERE'S GONNA BE INTERACTIONS WITH THE CITY, AND THIS IS WITH ANY URBAN TYPE OF PROJECT, WITH THE CITY, WITH WATER AGENCIES, WITH POWER UTILITIES, WITH TELECOMMUNICATION UTILITIES. SO, YOU KNOW, IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES CREATE RAILROADS. SO WHAT ARE THE, SO WHAT ARE THE, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF AGREEMENTS AND WHAT DO THEY SAY AND WHAT ARE THOSE, WHAT CERTAINTY DO THOSE AGREEMENTS HAVE THAT WITH THOSE DIFFERENT ENTITIES IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT A CONTRACTOR CAN DO THE WORK IT NEEDS TO DO IN ORDER TO DELIVER PROJECT BASED UPON THE, THEIR, THEIR, THE PRICE AND THE TIMING THAT, THAT THEY AGREED TO. UM, THAT'S RELATED NOTICE PERMITTING, RIGHT? WHAT IS GONNA BE THE PUBLIC PERMITTING PROCESS IN ORDER TO MOVE A PROJECT FORWARD ON TIME AND ON BUDGET? AND IS IT GONNA BE HAPPENING IN A TIMELY MANNER? UTILITY RELOCATIONS, WHAT ARE GONNA BE THE REQUIREMENTS? WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THE CURRENT UTILITIES? WHAT'S UNDER THE GROUNDS? WHERE DOES IT NEED TO GO IN ORDER FOR THE, FOR THE PROJECT TO OPERATE, UH, AND TO BE BUILT? AND LASTLY, AND THIS IS SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR AND WE TOUCHED ON UPON A SECOND AGO. IT'S THIS CONCEPT OF INTERFACE RISK, WHICH IS HOW DO ALL THESE ELEMENTS COME TOGETHER, [00:20:01] UM, AND FROM THE SYSTEMS TO THE CIVIL TO THE OPERATIONS, AND ARE THERE STRATEGIES AROUND BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THIS INTERFACE RISK, UH, SO THAT ULTIMATELY AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S COMMISSIONED AND SUCCESSFUL AND, AND ACTUALLY WORKS ACCORDING TO PLANS. THESE WERE VERY COMMON THEMES. AND WHAT THAT'S ALSO INTERESTING IS THESE WERE VERY COMMON THEMES REGARDLESS OF THE CONTRACTING APPROACH. WE, WE DISCUSSED TWO PAGES PRIOR TO THAT. THESE ARE THEMES THAT ATPS OWNERS, FROM WHAT WE'VE HEARD, NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND REALLY FOCUS ON IN ORDER TO TAKE, TO MAKE THE STEPS NECESSARY TO MITIGATE ALL THE RISKS THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED HERE. UM, AND, AND WITH EITHER DOING THAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONTRACTORS ALONG THE WAY IN SOME SORT OF EARLY CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT APPROACH OR ON THEIR OWN, OR SOME COMBINATION OF BOTH, UM, THESE ARE ELEMENTS THAT, UM, THAT, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT SPAN ANY TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT LIKE THIS. AND THEN WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT GOES TO WHAT WE HEAR FROM INDUSTRY AROUND WHAT THEY WANT FROM THEIR OWNERS. THEY WANT THEIR OWNERS TO BE ENGAGED. YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE SIGNING A CONTRACT AND GO AT IT. UM, ATP WILL NEED BE AN ORGANIZATION THAT CAN, THAT CAN WORK WITH THE CONTRACT TO ULTIMATELY THE WORK THROUGH PROBLEMS, WORK THROUGH ISSUES, AND ALL THE ISSUES, YOU KNOW, UP THERE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT ARE GOING TO BE RELEVANT HERE. UM, AND, AND, AND, AND AN AGENCY THAT ADDRESSES ISSUES EARLY, UM, AND, AND, AND DOESN'T PUSH ISSUES DOWN THE LINE. UM, AND THEN THE RIGHT SIZE ORGANIZATION. AND DO YOU HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVES IN, WITHIN ATP, UM, THAT ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE AND COULD MAKE DECISIONS AROUND ALL THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF A TRANSIT PROJECT FROM THE CIVIL TO THE SYSTEMS AND THE LIKE. UM, AND SO I'LL PAUSE THERE. I MEAN, I THINK IT'S A LOT TO TAKE ON. AND, AND IN SOME RESPECTS, A LOT OF IT'S OBVIOUS. AND IF YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE SORT OF THE COMPLEXITIES HERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE, THE, THE MESSAGE THAT WE GOT FROM INDUSTRY IS THAT NOT ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES WILL ULTIMATELY COST ATP DOLLARS AND TIME. YEAH. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES. OR MEMBER GARZA? JUST THAT COMMENT. UM, I, I UNDERSTAND THESE ARE ALL EMERGING THEME FROM THE INDUSTRY, AND, UH, IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. I MEAN, BUT I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO SET OUR OWN THEME AS WELL. UM, AND THAT IS A FOCUS ON SAFETY AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS. UH, AND I THINK YOU SHOULD PREFACE EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, BECAUSE TO ME, ESTABLISHING A SAFETY CULTURE STARTS FROM US THROUGH THE CEO AND ONTO THE, ONTO THE RANK. NO, ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE IN, IN, YOU DON'T WANT INSTANCES TO HAPPEN. YOU'RE GONNA BE DELIVERING A PROJECT IN A DENSE, URBAN ENVIRONMENT. UM, AND YOU KNOW, THIS DOESN'T HAPPENED IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, RIGHT? AND SO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S SO MANY IMPLICATIONS FOR NOT TAKING THAT APPROACH AND, AND, AND ENSURING THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T HOLD UP THE PROJECT AS WELL. SO, OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, THANKS, TOM. I'M, I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THAT, UH, WE'RE STARTING THIS MARKET SOUNDING PROCESS. AS I THINK I MENTIONED IN ONE OF THE PRIOR MEETINGS, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE THINK OF THE CONCEPT OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AS A BROAD UMBRELLA, WHICH ENCOMPASSES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, CONTRACTOR ENGAGEMENT, WHICH IS WHAT YOU'VE ADDRESSED, FEDERAL ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS, AND THEN BROADLY THE FINANCING COMMUNITY. AND THERE MAY BE OTHER, BUT, BUT WE JUST NEED TO THINK IN THAT KIND OF BROAD UMBRELLA. UM, I, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRATION RISK. CAUSE I THINK THAT'S A KEY RISK THAT, THAT WE AS ATP NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND MULTIPLE DIFFERENT PACKAGES. THE MORE PACKAGES WE DO, IT PROVIDES GREATER INTEGRATION RISK IN HOW THESE THINGS COME TOGETHER. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO KEEP FRONT AND CENTER. I'M, I'M CURIOUS, IN THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CONTRACTORS, THERE IS A MOVE TOWARDS, AS YOU KNOW, TOM, COLLABORATIVE MODELS, RIGHT? THAT WOULD BE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN, BUILD, PRE-DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, THAT TYPE, AND THAT'S MANY, MANY PROJECTS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, SEPULVEDA, UM, UH, HIGH FREQUENCY RAIL IN CANADA, 30 BILLION, UH, SANTA CLARA VTA, MOST MAJOR PROJECTS RIGHT NOW IN THE UNITED STATES THAT ARE OVER A BILLION ARE GOING COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY. NOW THAT MAY CHANGE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, RIGHT? DID THAT COME UP AND, AND WHAT WERE, WHAT WERE THE REACTIONS FROM THE CONTRACT? NO, UM, NO, ABSOLUTELY. AND I THOUGHT, I, I ALLUDED TO THAT TO A DEGREE, RIGHT? YEAH. YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS, THIS EARLY CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT OR COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING APPROACHES AND, AND, AND, AND AS, AS, [00:25:01] AS TONY ELKINS, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFIED SOME OF THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, APPROACHES THERE. UM, THERE, IT, THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS IN THIS CURRENT ENVIRONMENT WHERE THAT THOSE APPROACHES MAKE A LOT OF SENSE, RIGHT? THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN PROJECTS OUT THERE THAT END UP IN TOO MANY CLAIMS. THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT TO DELIVER, AND THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY AND, AND, AND SAY A LOT OF OUR, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SECTOR CLIENTS ARE MORE AND MORE OPEN TO THIS COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING APPROACH. UM, AND, AND HAVING CONTRACTORS COME IN EARLY, HAVING THEM WORK TOGETHER WITH THE AGENCY TO IDENTIFY RISKS, MITIGATE RISKS, AND, AND BE ABLE TO GET TO A POINT WHERE THEY ARE COMFORTABLE, UM, WHERE THEY'RE COMFORTABLE PUTTING A PRICE ON SOMETHING. AND SO, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT'S ALSO, IF YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BILLIONS TRILLIONS OF INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS GONNA BE FLOWING TO THE US AND FLOWING INTO THE ACTUAL PROJECTS OVER THE NEXT 5, 6, 10 YEARS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF COMPETITION FOR CONTRACTORS OUT THERE. UM, AND HAVING AN APPROACH THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A BUYER'S MARKET POTENTIALLY THAT WOULD BE FACING AND HAVING AN APPROACH THAT, UM, THAT, THAT, THAT IS ATTRACTIVE TO THE INDUSTRY, AND ONE THAT, UM, THAT HELPS MITIGATE THE RISKS, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY IT'S, IT'S A RISK OF THE AGENCY AS WELL, RIGHT? WHETHER IT SITS ON THE CONTRACT OR SIDE OF THE CONTRACT OR ON THE OWNER'S SIDE OF THE CONTRACT, YOU KNOW, SOME TYPE OF COLLABORATION COULD VERY WELL MAKE SENSE. MM-HMM. , ESPECIALLY IN THIS ENVIRONMENT. AS A FOLLOW UP TO THAT, TOM, UH, WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT COST ESCALATION RISK. THAT'S A CRITICAL RISK TO THIS PROGRAM. UM, WHEN YOU'VE GOT COSTS RUNNING AT A PROBABLY 12 TO 15% ESCALATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT, HIGHER FOR LIGHT RAIL, HIGHER FOR TEXAS, GIVEN ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GOING ON NOW, THAT MAY CHANGE, BUT THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE. WHAT WAS THE FEEDBACK FROM CONTRACTORS ON COSTCO ESCALATION FOR THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS? NO, I, I THINK IT, I THINK IT GOES TO YOUR EARLIER QUESTION AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE MORE THEY CAN IDENTIFY WHAT THE RISKS ARE EARLY ON AND BE COMFORTABLE THAT THE RISKS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED, THE MORE WILLING THEY ARE TO PUT A PRICE ON SOMETHING. BUT WE'RE ALSO FINDING IN OTHER PROJECTS, UM, THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND AND SOME APPROACHES AROUND BEING ABLE TO SHARE SOME OF THE COMMODITY TYPE OF RISKS. AND IF YOU HAVE A CONSTRUCTION PERIOD THAT'S, YOU'LL SAY FIVE, SIX YEARS LONG, YOU KNOW, IT COULD MAKE SENSE TO PROTECT THE CONTRACTOR OR WORK WITH THE CONTRACTOR AROUND SHARING AND SOME OF THE RISKS IN, IN MATERIAL PRICE COSTS, COST INCREASES, SO STEEL, CONCRETE, ASPHALT, THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES ARE, THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE DEFINITELY HAPPENING. AND ULTIMATELY, I THINK FOR ATP, IT'S GONNA BE THE APPROACH THAT WORKS FOR ATP AND ITS OWN RISK TOLERANCE AND ITS ABILITY TO ABSORB RISK. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AND HOW DOES THAT ME TO THE OVERALL, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WORK THAT POTENTIALLY GETS DONE TO ADDRESS AS MANY RISKS AS POSSIBLE, AND WHETHER, AND HOW FAR ARE YOU WILLING TO GO IN THAT REGARD? TOM, JUST A QUICK INTERRUPTION. CAN YOU ALMOST, YOUR MIC'S A LITTLE CLOSER. SORRY. PEOPLE ONLINE ARE HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING. SURE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, TOM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT WHERE YOU'D PLACE WORKFORCE ISSUES AND ARE YOU SEEING ANY REGIONAL THEMES EMERGE? I CAN'T SPEAK TO REGIONAL THEMES IN PARTICULAR, BUT MY ANSWER'S YES. I MEAN, WORKFORCE IS, IS AN ISSUE. IT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO BE AN ISSUE. AND SO WE TALKED JUST A SECOND ABOUT COMMODITY PRICES, BUT WORKFORCE IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, I THINK, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE SEEING, PEOPLE ARE, INDUSTRY IS SEEING A REAL, EXPECTING A REAL SPIKE AND A REAL GROWTH IN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AS A LOT OF THE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE BILL GETS DEPLOYED OVER THE NEXT 5, 6, 7 YEARS. UM, AND THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT, YOU KNOW, I THINK, AND YOU SPEAK PROBABLY ANY OF THE ENGINEERS, THEY'RE PROBABLY AT A, THEY'RE PROBABLY SHORT RIGHT NOW, UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, IN TERMS OF WORKFORCE AND THEN THE CONTRACTORS, AND THEN SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS AS WELL, UM, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD, I THINK THERE'S EXPECTED TO BE, UH, REAL TIGHTNESS IN THE LABOR MARKETS. UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AND THEN I THINK FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE, IN MY EXPERIENCE, WHAT THING TO KEEP AN EYE ON IS THE, IS IS WHAT'S ALSO GOING ON IN YOUR LOCAL MARK FROM A COMMERCIAL PERSPECTIVE AND COMMERCIAL CONTRACTING, AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND ARE YOU COMPETING AGAINST ALL THE BUILDING THAT'S GOING ON IN A PARTICULAR AREA? AND THEN HOW THAT IMPACTS YOU FROM AN INFRASTRUCTURE PERSPECTIVE AND A LABOR PERSPECTIVE. I THINK THAT'S ALL, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO, AND ATP'S GONNA NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON OVER TIME. [00:30:01] NO, NO. QUICK ANSWER, , IT'S INTERESTING. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO DEPLOY MONEY FOR WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS, IN PARTICULAR AROUND INFRASTRUCTURE. I THINK IDENTIFYING THIS AS A REAL NEED. ANY OTHER YOU WANNA CONTINUE? UH, YEAH, I GUESS I DO. SO THIS IS OUR, OUR LAST SLIDE HERE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS, AS YOU UNDERSTAND, AS, AS, AS GREG ARTICULATED, THIS IS A, THIS IS A, A CRITICAL ELEMENT IN THE OVERALL PLAN. UM, AND THE WORK THAT'S GOING ON AROUND WE'RE ATP'S GONNA CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH THE MARKET. UM, IT'S GONNA BE REFINING ITS CONTRACTING APPROACH BASED UPON ITS OWN NEEDS, BUT ALSO WHAT HEARS FROM THE MARKET. AND THEN ULTIMATELY THAT'S GOING TO INFORM A SOLICITATION PLAN AND A TIMELINE FOR HOW DO YOU BUILD OUT, HOW DO YOU, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF SKILLS ATP IS GONNA NEED DIRECTLY, WHAT ARE TYPES OF ARRANGEMENTS HE WANTS TO HAVE WITH CONTRACTING ENTITIES, AND WHAT'S HIS PLAN FOR DOING THAT AND UNDER WHAT TIMEFRAME? SO MORE TO COME ON THAT APPROACH. GREAT. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THANK YOU, TOM. THANKS TOM. UM, JUST A QUICK NOTE TOO. I KNOW WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT, I'M DOING THE SAME THING, YOU KNOW, THE NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT, BUT, UM, THIS THE LOCAL AS WELL, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE OUTREACH LOCALLY THAT WE'RE WORKING ON FROM A WORKFORCE PERSPECTIVE, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, YOU KNOW, CAT METRO HAS JUST SIGNED A, UM, INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS. THE CITY HAS ONE AS WE WORK ON LIGHT RAIL, ENGAGING WITH THEM FROM WORKFORCE, BUT ALSO FROM A LOCAL BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE, UM, ENGAGING WITH, UM, GENERAL CONTRACTORS, UM, THE CHAMBERS, THE MINORITY CHAMBERS AS WELL. MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING, THAT CONTINUUM THAT TOM TALKED ABOUT IS ALSO A LOCAL CONTINUUM AS WELL. WE KNOW OUR LABOR FORCE IS GONNA BE HERE, UM, AND WE WANT TO START THAT WORK AS WELL. SO YOU'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT. UM, COURTNEY'S WORKING ON THAT WITH, UH, A WIDE TEAM, UH, IN THIS UPCOMING MONTH AS OUR, OUR JOINT RESPONSIBILITIES ACROSS THE AGENCIES ON, ON WORKFORCE AND LOCAL, UH, WORKFORCE TRAINING, UH, WORKFORCE SAFETY BOARD MEMBER GUARDS, AS YOU SAID. UM, SO, UH, THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING CONVERSATION THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE HAVING WITH YOU AND THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. OKAY. IS THIS THE WHOLE UPDATE OR WHAT? NO, NOW WE GET TO THE NEXT ONE. WE HAVE MORE, MORE POWER POINTING SO THAT I THINK THE NEXT TEAM'S GONNA COME UP AND I CAN GET US STARTED. SO JUST TO CONTINUE OUR MORNING OF, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TAKE US AGAIN, TAKE US QUICKLY BACK ON JULY 20TH AND WHEN WE SAT TOM AND, AND SOME OF HIS COLLEAGUES, NATIONAL COLLEAGUES EXPERTISE, UM, REALLY LAID OUT OUR PLAN TO SAY, THIS WAS THE MOMENT TO DO THE WORK, TO GET THE WORK DONE, TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE WORK, TO NOT GET TOO FAR DONE, BUT CONTINUE TO PROGRESS THE WORK AS WELL AS YOU, AS WE'VE SAID, WE'RE ON A, A PATHWAY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATED, UH, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND A PHASE PLAN BY THE SPRING. AND ALL OF THAT WORK WAS ROOTED IN EXPERTISE. AND, BUT ALSO WE WANNA START TALKING ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING AND HOW WE'RE GONNA GET TO THAT ANSWER, UM, BEFORE WE JUST SHOW YOU THE ANSWER AND SAY, HERE'S WHAT IT IS. WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE A DIALOGUE, A STOPPING POINT HERE TODAY. UM, THE LAST, UH, SINCE JULY, EVERY BOARD MEETING, WE'VE BEEN BACK TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON HOW WE ARE PROGRESSING ON OUR, UH, UPDATING THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR LIGHT RAIL. WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD MOMENT TO SPEND A FEW MORE MINUTES ON THAT UPDATE VERSUS, UH, A QUICK 10 MINUTE, BUT HAVE A DIALOGUE. AND SO WE'VE PROVIDED SOME INFORMATION AND MATERIAL AROUND THAT. UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK THE IDEA IS TO SHOW YOU, TO DEMONSTRATE SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, SHOW YOU THE WORK NOW WHILE WE'RE WORKING ON IT, AND SHOW YOU HOW WE'RE GONNA COLLECT THIS WORK, UM, AND DO IT THROUGH SOME, UH, FILTERS ABOUT DECISION MAKING. CAUSE ULTIMATELY WE HAVE DECISION MAKING. SO, UM, BACK AGAIN, I'LL JUST, I'LL INTRODUCE THIS AS WE HAVE A SERIES OF, OF, OF, UM, WORK EFFORTS IN OUR WORK PLAN THAT ARE ALL INTEGRATED. UM, THEY'RE INTEGRATED NOT ONLY ACROSS FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING, BUT THEY'RE CROSS ORGANIZATIONAL AS WELL. CAPITAL METRO, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN, WE'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT THIS AFTERNOON, ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER ON THIS WORK PLAN. UM, AND IT ULTIMATELY IS ABOUT GETTING OUR TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS THAT ARE ALIGNED WITH OUR FUNDING CAPACITY. AGAIN, WE ARE WORKING IN A, IN A BUDGET. UH, WE HAVE A BUDGET, UH, THAT THE VOTERS APPROVED, AND WE ARE, BECAUSE OF THE COSTS THAT HAVE RISEN AROUND LIGHT RAIL, WE ARE IN A WORLD, WE ARE IN [00:35:01] A WORLD THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SINCE JULY, WHERE WE'LL BE DETERMINING A, A NEW SCOPING AND PHASING OF LIGHT RAIL. WE WILL BE BUILDING ALL OF THAT AS A COMMUNITY OVER THE YEARS, BUT, UH, WHAT ARE WE GONNA PHASE FIRST? SO WE HAVE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION ABOUT THAT, AND WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THAT DETERMINATION PROCESS, UM, UH, OPEN THAT UP, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT RIGHT. UH, SO WE WANNA SPEND SOME TIME TODAY WITH THE BOARD TALKING ABOUT THAT AND, AND GETTING YOUR FEEDBACK. ARE, ARE WE IN THE RIGHT SPOT? ARE WE MISSING SOME THINGS, UM, AS WE TAKE THIS OUT MORE WITH THE COMMUNITY? UM, SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION. SO, UH, COURTNEY AND PETER AND JEN AND AND BRIAN ARE GONNA WALK US THROUGH SOME, BOTH WHERE WE ARE TECHNICALLY, AND THEN A LITTLE HEAVIER CONVERSATION AROUND, UH, CRITERIA, HOW WE'RE GONNA WEAVE THIS THROUGH A CRITERIA DISCUSSION SO THAT WE CAN STAY ON SCHEDULE TO DELIVER A PLAN FOR NOT ONLY THIS BOARD, BUT THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CAP METRO BOARD IN THE SPRING TO GET A VOTE TO MOVE FORWARD. SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, TO OUR STEAM PANEL HERE. YEAH, THANKS GREG. UH, GOOD MORNING BOARD MEMBERS. WELCOME BOARD MEMBER GARZA. UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROGRAM, AS, AS GREG MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE WORKING REALLY HARD TO ALIGN OUR PROGRAM WITH THE BUDGET AND TO COME WITH TO THE DECISION MAKERS IN THE SPRINGTIME WITH A IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, THROUGH THAT PROCESS? YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT TODAY, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD. UM, BUT JUST A REMINDER, YOU KNOW, TOM, USE THE GRAPHIC UP ABOVE YOU SEE THERE, BUT BLOWING THAT UP A LITTLE BIT ON WHAT WE'RE, THE PROCESS WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW. UM, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT TECHNICAL DATA, LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE DONE TO DATE AND, AND ANALYZING IT, MAYBE PUTTING SOME DIFFERENT LENSES ON IT, UM, THAT WERE NOT PUT ON IT DURING, DURING THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROGRAM. AND WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH AND, AND HEADING TOWARDS OUR CRITERIA AND HOW WE ANALYZE THESE OPPORTUNITIES MOVING FORWARD TO COME OF THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WITH SOME SCENARIOS AND SOME CONCEPTS THAT WE CAN THEN TAKE OUT AND, AND HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT AND GET A, GET, UH, FEEDBACK WITH THE CONTINU CONTINUOUS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND THEN ULTIMATELY A RECOMMENDATION AND APPROVAL ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD, AND THEN COMPLETING A DEEPER PROCESS AFTER THAT. SO THAT'S KIND OF OUR ROADMAP FOR THE, FOR THE NEXT THREE TO FOUR MONTHS, IS TO GET TO THAT RECOMMENDATION AND APPROVAL, UM, HERE IN THE SPRING. AND, UH, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAVE, UH, PETER, TAKE YOU THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF THE TECHNICAL WORK WE'VE DONE TO DATE DOWNTOWN AND THE REST OF THE PANEL AS WE MOVE FORWARD. BUT WE'LL, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD. MAYBE DO YOU WANNA TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT JUST THE PROCESS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? IF AT ANY BOARD MEMBERS HAVE THEM? YEAH, IF THERE'S ANY WHILE WE HAVE THE SLIDE UP, THIS, WHAT MAKES SENSE? GREAT. OKAY, SO, UM, JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO BE SPENT ON, ON LOOKING AT DOWNTOWN. WE, WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING INTERNALLY A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT DOWNTOWN AND OPTIONS FOR THE ALIGNMENT, UH, THROUGH DOWNTOWN. SO WHY IS THAT? SO NUMBER ONE IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE CORE OF THE SYSTEM. UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S WHERE THERE'S A HUGE CONCENTRATION OF RIDERSHIP. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S WHERE THE TWO LINES COME TOGETHER, RIGHT? SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT MOMENT. WHERE DO THEY COME TOGETHER? UM, HOW THEY COME TOGETHER, CUZ THAT INTERLINING IS, IS REALLY, IS A, ONE OF THE, THE REALLY CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THE OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM. UM, IT'S ALSO WHERE WE HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY SPENDING, DEDICATING A LOT OF RESOURCES, RIGHT? THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE A GRADE PORTIONS OF THE SYSTEM. AND SO WE KNEW THAT IF WE WERE GONNA OPTIMIZE THE PROGRAM, WE HAD TO LOOK AT OPTIONS FOR THAT SECTION OF THE SYSTEM, RIGHT? UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, BOTH HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL ALIGNMENT OPTIONS OF A GRADE, UM, POTENTIALLY SOME, UH, ELEVATED PORTIONS OF THE, THIS SECTION. AGAIN, OPTIONS, NO DECISIONS. UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, A SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM, RIGHT? SO THAT WE COULD SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW DO WE ACTUALLY REDUCE COSTS IN THIS AREA. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, WE, WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM. WE KNOW LESS ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER ALTERNATIVES. SO WE'VE BEEN SPENDING DISPROPORTION, I THINK, A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT TRYING TO GATHER SOME NEW DATA ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO HAVE AN ACCURATE SYSTEM DOWNTOWN, OR WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO HAVE, UM, ELEVATED PORTIONS OF THE ALIGNMENT DOWNTOWN, BECAUSE FRANKLY, WE JUST KNOW LESS ABOUT THAT, RIGHT? SO IF YOU SEE ME TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE PROPORTIONALLY ABOUT THAT, IT'S JUST BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GATHER MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT. UM, AND THEN EVENTUALLY WHAT WE END UP DOING DOWN HERE, SORRY, AT DOWNTOWN, UM, WE'LL OBVIOUSLY IMPACT WHAT HAPPENS BEYOND IT. LIKE HOW WE, HOW MU FRANKLY HOW MANY WHAT ARE RESOURCES ARE LEFT TO BASICALLY IMPLEMENT THE LEGS NORTH, SOUTH, OR EAST. SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S [00:40:01] WHY WE REALLY NEED TO SOLVE THIS AND GET SORT OF CONSENSUS ABOUT HOW TO APPROACH THIS, UM, IN THE MOST SORT OF OPTIMAL WAY. UM, SO JUST WANNA TAKE YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE KIND OF CRITICAL INPUTS AROUND THE DOWNTOWN ALIGNMENT THAT WE'VE BEEN STUDYING. AND I THINK WHICH WILL WANT TO, AGAIN, ONCE WE'VE GOT IT SORT OF ORGANIZED AND SORT OF MORE INFORMATION WE'LL WANNA REVIEW WITH THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND YOU, UM, SO NUMBER ONE IS THE LAKE CROSSING. SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE IN THE, IN THE PREVIOUS ITERATION WE HAD TWO LAKE CROSSINGS, ONE AT TRINITY, ONE AT SOUTH. FIRST, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF A SINGLE LAKE CROSSING BECAUSE THOSE LAKE ARE EXPENSIVE, RIGHT? AND SO THIS IS ONE WAY IN WHICH WE COULD, YOU KNOW, REDUCE COSTS AND, AND WITH I THINK, UM, MINIMAL SERVICE CHANGE RIGHT? TO THE SYSTEM. SO WE ARE LOOKING AT BOTH OPTIONS, EITHER SOUTH FIRST OR TRINITY STREET. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK DEPENDING ON WHICH, AND THERE ARE LOTS OF FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE AN IMPACT ON WHERE STATIONS WILL BE LOCATED, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON WHERE WE CROSS THE RIVER. SO, UM, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER FACTORS IN TERMS OF TRAFFIC IMPACTS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. SO WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT THAT THOROUGHLY AND METHODICALLY SO THAT WE CAN PRESENT PROS AND CONS WITH BOTH, RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE DIFFERENT, I'LL BE HONEST. UM, THE SECOND ONE IS, IS, UH, PLATFORM AND BLOCK LENGTH. SO THIS REALLY APPLIES MOST SPECIFICALLY TO THE A GRADE OPTION. UM, AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY LOOKING AT, UM, UNDERGROUND OPTIONS THROUGH DOWNTOWN IS THAT, UM, WE WERE TRYING TO PREPARE FOR LONG TERM TO HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR 400 FOOT LONG PLATFORMS, RIGHT? OUR BLOCK LIGHTS DOWNTOWN ARE 2 76 BY 2 76, UM, WITH ONE EXCEPTION, ACTUALLY, I DIDN'T KNOW THIS, BUT THE BLOCKS EAST TO WEST OF COLORADO ARE ACTUALLY LONGER. SO DETAILS THAT WE NEVER FOCUSED ON, WHICH NOW WE DO NOW, NOW WE'RE, THEY'RE FRONT OF TOP OF MIND. BUT ANYWAY, SO THAT DIS THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BLOCK LENGTH AND WHAT OUR FUTURE GOAL FOR FUTURE CAPACITY FOR PLATFORM LENGTHS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MANAGE THAT. IT MEANS WE PROBABLY HAVE SHORTER PLATFORMS DOWNTOWN AND IT PROBABLY MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL, UM, PROCESSES AND SERVICE PLANS TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE FUTURE GROWTH IN RIDERSHIP OVER TIME. UM, AGAIN, THAT'S MORE OF LIKE A LONG TERM QUESTION THAN A SHORT TERM BONE, BUT ONE THAT WE HAVE TO, UH, PLAN FOR, UM, STATION LOCATION. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT BEFORE, BUT, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF UNDERGROUND ELEVATED, UH, SIMPLIFIED UNDERGROUND, ELEVATED ORAC GRADE, UM, THAT COULD AFFECT WHERE THE STATIONS ARE LOCATED IN THIS SECTION AND, YOU KNOW, HOW WE SERVE OUR USERS AND OUR RIDER GOING FORWARD. UM, SO DOWNTOWN TOPO TOPOGRAPHY, THIS IS REALLY SPECIFIC BUT NOT INCONSEQUENTIAL, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN FIFTH AND EIGHTH STREETS, UM, ON THE WEST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN WHERE THE ALIGNMENT IS LOCATED, THERE IS A REALLY STEEP HILL, OKAY? THAT THE SLOPE OF THAT HILL BETWEEN THOSE BLOCKS BETWEEN FIFTH AND EIGHTH EXCEEDS THE STANDARD CAPACITY OF A STANDARD LIGHT RAIL VEHICLE, WHICH IS TYPICALLY OUR DESIGN CRITERIA IS TO KEEP THAT TO 6% OR LOWER, RIGHT? AND THAT'S, THAT'S ACTUALLY THE STEEPER. SO IT JUST MEANS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO THE STREET SCAPE, RIGHT? AND POTENTIALLY CLOSING OFF SOME CROSS STREETS THROUGH THAT SECTION TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF EVEN OUT THE SLOPE FOR THE LIGHT RAIL GUIDEWAY, UM, AND MANAGE THAT IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE STREET GRADE. UM, UH, AND THEN THE LAST BIG ONE IS TRAFFIC AND ACCESS. OBVIOUSLY IF, AND THEN AGAIN, THIS LARGELY APPLIES TO ACT GRADE, BUT, UM, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE AT RAID, THEN IT, IT MEANS THAT WE'RE TAKING UP SPACE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, UH, WHICH IS GONNA REQUIRE THAT WE AMEND SOME OF THE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIES DOWNTOWN. UM, IT ALSO AFFECTS NOT JUST THE, THE STREETS THAT THE ALIGNMENT IS ON, BUT PROBABLY THE ADJACENT STREETS AS WELL, CUZ THEY WOULD HAVE TO PICK UP SOME OF THE, THE CAPACITY OF THE STREETS WHERE THE LIGHT RAIL IS RUNNING. UM, SO THIS IS AGAIN, PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE'RE LOOKING REALLY CLOSE, WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH ATV, UM, ABOUT HOW THAT, WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE, WHAT'S THE OPTIMAL WAY TO SOLVE FOR THAT. UM, AGAIN, JUST TO FIGURE OUT SO THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY MAKE THIS WORK AND THEN WE CAN MEASURE ALL OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES AND CHOICES. UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS IS THAT ATD IS CURRENTLY LOOKING AT ALL OF DOWNTOWN FROM A TRAFFIC STANDPOINT, PARTLY BECAUSE OF US, PARTLY BECAUSE OF I 35. UM, BECAUSE TO LOOK AT ARE WE, ARE THE, ARE THE STREETS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN THE RIGHT PLACES, AND HOW DOES THAT GET AMENDED OVER TIME? SO, UM, WE'RE KIND OF, ACTUALLY THE TIMING IS PERFECT CUZ THAT WORK IS ALL DOVETAILED TOGETHER SO WE COULD HAVE A REALLY COORDINATED SOLUTION. UM, THE OTHER OTHER POINT IS OBVIOUSLY, DEPENDING ON WHERE THE ALIGNMENT IS, IF WE'RE AT GRADE, IT DOES AFFECT, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE BUS ROUTES TRAVEL. AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH CATME TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE CONNECTIONS AND THAT INTERMOD MODALITY, CUZ AGAIN, DOWNTOWN IS WHERE IT'S PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT, UM, THAT WE HAVE SOLUTIONS FOR THAT, RIGHT? AND THAT ALL WORKS. SO, [00:45:01] UM, THAT'S JUST A KIND OF A REALLY, MAYBE NOT THAT BROAD, BUT SOME, AN IDEA ABOUT THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK WITH OPTIONS, RIGHT? NOT DECISIONS, BUT OPTIONS. LIKE, YOU COULD DO IT THIS WAY, YOU COULD DO IT THAT WAY. HERE ARE THE IMPACTS, HERE ARE THE BENEFITS, HERE ARE THE PROS AND CONS, UM, COSTS, TRAFFIC, SERVICE PLAN, MOBILITY, ET CETERA. OTHERWISE, AND THAT'S KIND OF A SEGUE TO CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT THAT WE CAN THEN USE TO MEASURE THOSE OPTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THIS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? I DO HAVE A QUICK QUESTION WITH THE TRAFFIC ANALYSIS. I KNOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS A DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN FOR STREET CONVERSIONS FROM ONE WAY TO TWO WAY, AND, AND SYSTEMATICALLY THEY'VE BEEN DOING THAT CONVERSION. SO IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, WHAT YOU SAID WITH THE TRAFFIC AND ACCESS, UM, IS THERE, ARE THEY RETHINKING THAT MASTER PLAN OF CONVERSION? YES. OKAY. SO, AND AGAIN, PART OF THIS IS REALLY INSPIRED BY CHANGES, UM, TO ACCESS FROM I 35 OKAY. BASED ON THE NEW PROPOSED PLAN, RIGHT? SO THERE'S CERTAIN STREETS WHERE YOU NEED, DID IT HAVE TO BE USED TO GET ON AND OFF 35, WHICH REALLY REQUIRES RETHINKING SOME OF THE DIRECTIONALITY OF THOSE EAST, WEST STREETS MM-HMM. , UM, AND ALSO CREATES OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? BECAUSE NOW WE DON'T HAVE A WALL RIGHT AT THE END OF SOME OF THOSE STREETS. SO THAT I THINK WAS THE IMPETUS. SO THE, THE SORT OF GOING THROUGH THAT REALLY SYSTEMATICALLY, THERE WAS A BIG COMMUNITY SURVEY EARLIER, UM, THIS FALL I GOTTA GET PRIORITIES. UM, I THINK THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE'RE ALL REALLY ALIGNED IN WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE, RIGHT? AND THAT THIS IS A HUMAN-CENTRIC, LIKE PEDESTRIAN FIRST, OBVIOUSLY TRAFFIC'S GONNA WORK, BUT IT'S GOTTA WORK FOR HUMANS. SO, UM, THAT'S UNDERWAY. GREAT. UM, MR. GARZA, IF, UH, YOU COULD JUST POINT ME TO SOMETHING I CAN READ, I CAN GET LIKE AN OVERALL PICTURE OF, UH, THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE OR THE DIFFERENT ISSUES WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE, IT'LL GIMME A, A EASIER WAY TO HANG STUFF ON. UM, SO DIRECT ME THERE AND I'LL, I'LL DO MY OWN READING AND I'LL TAKE UP YOUR TIME, BUT, UH, I'D APPRECIATE THAT OF COURSE. JUST REAL QUICK. YEAH, I THINK BOARD MEMBER WILL, AS, AS WE, UM, CONTINUE YOUR ONBOARDING, TAKE YOU BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IN JULY, WE'LL GIVE YOU THE, THE SPEED COURSE ON THAT. UM, BUT DEEP AS YOU NEED, THANK YOU, YOU, WELL, LOTS OF MATERIAL, BUT LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR STAFF AND ALL OF OUR STAFF TO WORK AND SHOW YOU SOME OF THE STRUGGLES AND CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE. BUT AGAIN, WE BELIEVE IT'S OPPORTUNITY TO EVENTS. DO WE HAVE, UM, A BOARD MEMBER ONBOARDING DOCUMENT, SOMETHING, UH, THAT KIND OF PUTS EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE SO THAT WE CAN WALK THROUGH? YOU KNOW, WHEN I JOINED CAP METRO, THEY HAD A, A, AN ONBOARDING PROCESS THAT GAVE ME A LOT OF THE DECISION POINTS OVER, OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS MM-HMM. , UH, TO MAKE ME FAMILIAR WITH. AND, AND I KNOW YOU WANT TO GO FROM, FROM THE BEGINNING AND, AND FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS AND ASK QUESTIONS AT THAT POINT, BUT THAT'S A REALLY A, A REALLY GOOD BRIEFING DOCUMENT FOR, FOR ANY ALL BOARD MEMBERS CERTAINLY. AND IT, IT'S A BIT OF AN OVERVIEW, SO, BUT YES, UM, WE PROVIDED HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY ON THE BOARD HAS A COPY OF THAT AND WE'VE UPDATED IT FOR BOARD MEMBER GARZA RECENTLY. UM, I WILL SAY THOUGH, I THINK A FOLLOW UP WHERE WE CAN DEEP DIVE WHAT THE TECHNICAL TEAM IS NOT A BAD IDEA, SO WE CAN SET THAT UP AND, AND IN FEEDBACK AS WE DO THAT ONBOARDING TO ADVANCE IT, YOU KNOW, HOW IT WENT FOR, UM, BOARD MEMBER, TRULY HOW IT WENT FOR YOU, WE CAN KEEP ITERATING IT TO, TO A GOOD STATE. THE STAFF HAS BEEN GREAT SO FAR. NO COMPLAINTS. I AM VERY, I'M DELIGHTED. AND SO A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS I ASK, THIS IS ONE OF MY MENTORS, SO BLAME IT ON HIM. , ONE OF THE QUICK DOCUMENTS THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND READING IS THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN CREATED WITH, UM, IT'S A MASTER PLAN OF, AND THEY INTEGRATED PROJECT CONNECT. SO THERE WAS A REVISION TO THAT PLAN WHERE THEY ARE LOOKING AT OUR HOME MOBILITY PIECE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD DOCUMENT AND WE CAN SEND YOU A LINK TO IT TOO. THANK YOU. I'LL MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE BOARD IS DISTRIBUTED AN UPDATED COPY OF THE ASM PAGE. WELL, I'M GOING TO, UH, MOVE ON TO THE NEXT BUT RELATED TOPIC AND START A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO APPROACH AN EVALUATION OF THESE OPTIONS THAT WILL BE BEFORE US, UH, FOR PHASING AND PROJECT DEFINITION NEXT YEAR. UH, SO MAYBE I'LL START BY SAYING THIS IS REALLY A CONTINUUM FOR US AND HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT IT. UH, WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THESE PROJECTS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, RIGHT? SO WE'VE BEEN REVISITING THAT COMMUNITY DIALOGUE AND OUR INTENTION IS NOT TO DEPART FROM IT, BUT RATHER TO [00:50:01] VALIDATE SOME ASPECTS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT'S NEEDED, UH, TO MAKE DECISIONS NEXT YEAR, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE BEST INFORMATION AND CURRENT CONDITIONS THAT WE HAVE. UM, SO OUR THINKING TO DATE, UM, IS WE ARE ARE GROUPING THE CRITERIA FOR DECISION MAKING INTO A COUPLE OF BUCKETS. ONE IS THE FTA PIECE. UM, WE'RE GONNA BE COMPETING FOR THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS, AND THAT'S A, A CERTAIN SET OF CRITERIA THAT'S ESTABLISHED, UM, BUT ALSO SETTING UP EVALUATION CRITERIA, UM, THAT WILL HELP US TO CONSIDER, UM, WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY VALUES AND PRIORITIES THAT SHOULD REALLY INFORM THE DECISIONS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE. SO I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT EACH OF THESE A LITTLE BIT MORE. UM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, CHIME IN WITH ANY QUESTIONS, UH, OR, OR COMMENTS AS I GO. UH, SO I'M GONNA START WITH THE FTA CRITERIA. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS FAIRLY PRESCRIBED. UM, WE WOULD BE COMPETING WITH PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR THESE FEDERAL DOLLARS. AND SO THERE'S A, A VERY ESTABLISHED WAY THAT THEY EVALUATE PROJECTS THAT WE'LL NEED TO, UH, RESPOND TO. SO CERTAINLY THIS IS PART OF OUR CONSIDERATION, AND I'LL JUST KIND OF BRIEFLY TOUCH ON WHAT THESE ARE, BUT REALLY ABOUT 50% OF THE FTAS EVALUATION IS THE FINANCIAL PLAN. UM, LOOKING AT WHAT THAT PLAN IS, ARE OUR LOCAL FUNDS COMMITTED? UM, AND WHAT ARE THE, WHAT'S THE FINANCIAL CONDITION IN THE ORGANIZATION? THE OTHER 50% ARE THESE OTHER SIX ITEMS THAT ARE LISTED UP HERE, UM, WHICH ARE ALL CALCULATED IN A PRESCRIBED MANNER. UH, BUT THE MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS, THAT'S REALLY LOOKING AT RIDERSHIP, UH, AND ESPECIALLY, UM, RIDERS WHO ARE TRANSIT DEPENDENT AND HOW THE SYSTEM THAT WE'RE PROPOSING WOULD SERVE THEM. UH, THE COST EFFECTIVENESS MEASURE IS REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, COST AND RIDERSHIP TOGETHER TO SEE WHAT THAT BALANCE IS. UH, HOW MUCH ARE YOU SPENDING FOR WHAT LEVEL OF BENEFIT, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS AND CONGESTION RELIEF I'LL KIND OF PUT TOGETHER BECAUSE, UM, THE WAY THOSE ARE CALCULATED REALLY FOCUSES ON NEW RIDERS AND MODE SHIFT, UM, AS A RESULT OF THE PROJECT. THE LAND USE COMPONENT IS A MORE QUALITATIVE CONSIDERATION OF WHAT, WHAT ARE THE EXISTING LAND USE CONDITIONS, UH, IN AUSTIN? UM, WHAT'S THE EXISTING DENSITY? UM, WHERE IS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ARE WE CONNECTING TO IT? UH, AND FINALLY THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PIECE IS MORE FUTURE ORIENTED AND LOOKING AT THE PLANS AND THE POLICIES THAT ARE IN PLACE, UM, TO BUILD THE DENSITIES AND TO BUILD THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE ALONG THE CORRIDORS. UM, SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UM, AND, AND THINKING ABOUT HOW WE WILL COMPETE FOR THE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR. SO KIND OF MOVING ON TO THE COMMUNITY VALUES CRITERIA. YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, UH, THE CRITERIA THAT WE AS A COMMUNITY, UH, WANT TO USE TO, TO MAKE THESE MAJOR INVESTMENT DECISIONS. SO IN OUR THINKING DEBATE, WHERE WE'VE REALLY STARTED IS WITH ALL OF THESE PLANS, UM, AND THE THINGS THAT HAVE COME BEFORE, UM, AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, HAS DONE ITS PLANNING. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT THINKING IN TERMS OF HOW DO WE MOVE IT FORWARD? HOW DO WE MAKE THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO REALIZE, YOU KNOW, THE VISIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN LAID OUT. UM, IN ADDITION TO, YOU KNOW, THESE PLANS, UH, WE HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT CERTAINLY THE JPA AND THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS AND HOW, UM, THE OBJECTIVES FOR PROJECT CONNECT HAVE BEEN LAID OUT. YOU KNOW, AND HOW CAN WE BEST ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS? UM, WE WANT OUR CRITERIA TO REALLY BE ROOTED IN, IN HOW DO WE KIND OF MAXIMIZE THAT KIND OF GOAL ACHIEVEMENT. UH, I WANTED TO NOTE THIS TOO. WE ARE IN THE NEPA PROCESS THAT'S CONTINUING, UH, IN THE VERY FIRST, UH, EARLY STAGES OF THE NEPA PROCESS ARE ALL ABOUT ESTABLISHING THE PROJECT'S PURPOSE AND NEED. UM, AND SO THAT WAS A, A COMMUNITY BASED PROCESS A COUPLE YEARS AGO. UM, AND SO WE STILL HAVE THIS IN MIND. UM, AND THESE STATEMENTS REALLY ARE CONSISTENT WITH A LOT OF THE PLANS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN PREPARED PREVIOUSLY, UM, WITH REALLY HIGHLIGHTING KIND OF A, UM, MEETING, UM, OUR CAP TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY NEEDS AS AUSTIN IS GROWING, UH, AND ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE LINKS BETWEEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND JOBS, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR TRANSIT INVESTMENTS. SO, WELL JUST ONE RECURRING THEME YOU'LL SEE IS THAT A LOT OF THESE GOALS THAT HAVE BEEN ARTICULATED IN DIFFERENT PLACES, THEY CROSS REFERENCE WITH EACH OTHER, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT THAT THE FTA COMPETITIVE GRANT COMPETITIVENESS CRITERIA AND THE COMMUNITY VALUES ARE SEPARATE OR DIFFERENT, IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE'S JUST DIFFERENT WAYS OF ARTICULATING, YOU KNOW, THE SAME THING. AND FRANKLY, WE WANT THEM TO BE SORT OF MUTUALLY SUPPORTIVE. AND I THINK THEY ARE. I THINK THAT THE, THE PART OF THE IDEA BEHIND THE COMMUNITY VALUES CRITERIA IS THAT IT, IT TAKES THE FTAS CRITERIA AND GIVES IT A LITTLE BIT MORE LOCAL SPECIFICITY, RIGHT? SO THAT WE ENSURE THAT WE'RE REFLECTING THE THINGS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN, RIGHT? THEY'RE NOT IN CONFLICT WITH THETA'S CRITERIA, THEY'RE JUST AN ELABORATION OF THEM, HOW THEY APPLY TO THE CONDITIONS IN AUSTIN. NO, ABSOLUTELY NO [00:55:01] CONFLICT, YOU KNOW, AMONG THESE ITEMS AT ALL. UM, SO OF CUNY VALUES CRITERIA, I'M GONNA STEP THROUGH AGAIN, KINDA OUR THINKING TO DATE. AND WE'VE GROUPED, UM, CRITERIA INTO FOUR BUCKETS. UM, AND REALLY, UM, WHAT WE WANNA ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS CONVERSATION AND SUBSEQUENTLY WITH CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY IS, IS TALKING ABOUT, UM, HOW WE'RE EVALUATING IT. AGAIN, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY BRINGING ALL THIS NEW, UH, NEW CONSIDERATIONS TO THE TABLE, UM, SO MUCH AS WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE PREPARED TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS PIECE OF THE WORK. UM, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE, UH, TOO WE HAVE A GOOD ASSESSMENT OF WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT AMONG ALL THESE FACTORS AND, YOU KNOW, ARE WE MISSING ANYTHING? AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT, THIS IS NOT ABOUT EVALUATING THE VALUE OF TRANSIT OR THE VALUE OF LIGHT RAIL GENERALLY. I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'VE CROSSED THAT BRIDGE. IT'S REALLY ABOUT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DIFFERENTIATE ONE OPTION FROM ANOTHER, RIGHT? SO THAT WE CAN MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT OPTION WE'RE GONNA PURSUE AND HOW WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM, THE LIGHT RAIL PORTION OF THE PROGRAM. YEAH. UM, I'LL JUST START WITH THE, THE FIRST BUCKET. TALK ABOUT THAT AND I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE TO PAUSE AND AGAIN, DON'T HESITATE TO, YOU KNOW, BREAK IN. UH, SO MOBILITY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, UM, WHAT WE MEAN BY THIS IS REALLY LOOKING AT THE OPTIONS AND IT IS A, A RELATIVE, YOU KNOW, COMPARISON REALLY ON, UM, TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THEY IMPROVING MOBILITY IN THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE? AND WE'RE REALLY THINKING IN TERMS OF THE, THE QUALITY OF THE TRANSIT PRODUCT THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT THERE. IS IT USEFUL? IS IT CONVENIENT? IS IT GETTING PEOPLE TO WHERE THEY WANT TO GO? SO AMONG THE DATA THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US TO LOOK AT HERE, OUR RIDERSHIP DATA, WE'RE DOING THE MODELING, UM, AND WE'LL HAVE INFORMATION ON TOTAL RIDERSHIP, UM, THE MODE OF ACCESS PEOPLE ARE USING TO GET TO THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM. UM, SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON TRANSIT DEPENDENT RIDER, UM, AND ALSO, UH, RIDERSHIP BY STATION AND HOW DIFFERENT STATIONS ARE PERFORMING. SO WE'LL HAVE THAT TO, TO BEAR. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE LOOKING AT MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY AND THAT'S THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER TO BUS AND COMMUTER RAIL, UM, BUT ALSO HOW UH, STATIONS INTERACT WITH THE BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN NETWORK, UH, BOTH CURRENT AND PLANNED. AND FINALLY ON TRAFFIC, UM, WE ARE DOING SOME ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC ANALYSIS. UM, CERTAINLY THERE'S BEEN QUITE A BIT ALREADY DONE. BUT, UM, REALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT AREAS WHERE WE'RE CONSIDERING AT GRADE, WHERE MAYBE WE WEREN'T BEFORE. GO. UM, THERE, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT, THAT I WANT TO SEE AS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD. UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WE HAVE A MAP OF ALL OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT HAS BEEN INVESTED IN BY THE COUNTY, UM, BY THE CITY. WHERE IS IT, WHERE DOES, YOU KNOW, UH, HOW, WHAT'S GONNA BE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOSE PLACES WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE HOUSING STOCK VERSUS WE, WE, WE SOMETIMES SAY AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND WE SAY DOWNTOWN. AND I SAY, WHERE IS THAT? UM, SO I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THERE ARE PROPERTIES WHERE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS. I THINK IT IS ALSO AS WE LOOK IN THE, IN INTO PROJECT CONNECT, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE'VE PUT 18 DIFFERENT PROJECTS IN, IN THE, UM, IN, IN, UH, WHAT WE, WHAT WE, UM, NORMALLY REFER TO AS THE EASTERN, EASTERN CRESCENT. HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, THAT HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT, UH, MORE THAN $25 MILLION SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS SOME, SOME OF OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. I WANNA MAKE SURE, UH, THAT AS WE LOOK AT INVESTMENT, WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT DOWNTOWN INVESTMENT. AND ON ONE HAND AND, UM, AND, AND OUR INVESTMENT IN THE OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY ON THE OTHER HAND, BECAUSE THERE SHOULD BE SOME ALIGNMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT DESSA NOW HAS A PICKUP, UH, HAS PICKUP PROCESS THAT THE EXPO CENTER IS GONNA HAVE A PARK AND RIDE, AND COLY PARK'S GONNA HAVE A PICKUP AREA, UH, THAT DOVE SPRINGS HAS A PICKUP AREA THAT PLEASANT, ALL THOSE THINGS ARE GONNA CONNECT US AT SOME POINT. AND IF I'M IN THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, I'M, I'M SAYING, OKAY, SO THIS IS DOWNTOWN ONLY. WHERE'S THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOWNTOWN? AND HAS ANY OTHER INVESTMENT BEEN MADE? WELL, YES, INVESTMENT HAS BEEN MADE, SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT HAS BEEN MADE, AND I WANT TO KNOW HOW WE'RE GONNA CONNECT TO THE INVESTMENT THAT HAS BEEN MADE TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR FOLKS WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE DOWNTOWN YET. AND MAYBE THERE ARE WAYS TO MAKE DOWNTOWN MORE AFFORDABLE, UH, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE SINGLE LARGEST OWNER OF LAND IS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING. OKAY? IS THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING GONNA BE AVAILABLE FOR TEACHERS AND AND MODERATE [01:00:01] INCOME FOLKS? ARE THEY GONNA HAVE ACCESS TO OUR, TO OUR PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM? SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT, SOMETIMES THE NEW URBANIST VISION DOES NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING OUTSIDE TOWN, AND THAT'S NOT OKAY. DO YOU WANNA TALK TO THAT? CAUSE I THINK, I THINK WE COMPLETELY AGREE THAT'S IT. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. AND, UH, RIGHT NOW, THE DATA POINTS THAT WE'RE COLLECTING FOR LAND USE AND HOUSING INCLUDE ALL OF THOSE MAPPING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. AND WHERE WE'RE SITTING WITH IT IS TO ENSURE THAT WE, WE MAINTAIN THAT GLOBAL VIEW OF THE PROJECT SO THAT WE DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF IT. WE STARTED IN DOWNTOWN FOR SPECIFIC REASONS ON COST, BUT WE WILL NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF THE BIG PICTURE. JUST ABSOLUTELY. I THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY A GOOD EXAMPLE WHERE THE COMMUNITY VALUES SORT OF ELABORATE ON THETA'S CRITERIA, RIGHT? SO THETA'S RIDERSHIP CRITERIA, LOOK AT NUMBERS, TOTAL NUMBER OF WRITERS. WE KNOW THAT ALL WRITERS ARE NOT THE SAME, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON HOW ARE WE, HOW ARE WE, HOW ARE WE SERVING OUR CORE RIDERS, RIGHT? NOT ONLY, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SERVING THOSE CORE RIDERS. SO THIS GIVES US THE ABILITY TO LOOK AT, AGAIN, MAPPING WHERE THE RIDERS ARE, UM, CURRENTLY USING THE SYSTEM, HOW WILL THEY BENEFIT FROM THESE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SYSTEM, ET CETERA. OKAY. UM, SO LET ME PICK UP, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DATA WE'RE COLLECTING, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT? UM, AND IN THE CASE OF THIS BUCKET, UM, WE'RE PROPOSING TO REALLY LOOK AT, UM, YES, WHAT ARE THE IMPROVEMENTS IN MOBILITY, BUT ALSO WHO IS BENEFITING FROM THEM, UM, OVERALL. UM, AND ALSO IN TERMS OF MAYBE DIFFERENT GROUPS OR PRIORITY POPULATIONS THAT WE WANT TO CONSIDER. I THINK WE ALREADY TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY, TRAFFIC IMPACTS, AND COLLECTING THAT INFORMATION. I, I WANNA MAKE SOME ADDITIONAL COMMENT ON THE UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY. UM, AGAIN, IN, IN THE SPIRIT OF WE NEED TO BE COLLECTING DATA AND THINKING ABOUT CRITERIA THAT RELATE TO THE DECISION THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE. YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY SOMETHING LIKE ADA COMPLIANCE OR, UH, UNIVERSAL, YOU KNOW, DESIGN PRINCIPLES WOULD BE APPLIED TO ANY OPTION. YOU KNOW, SO IN THE CASE OF THE DECISIONS LIKE WE'RE MAKING WITH REGARD TO PHASING OR THOSE TYPES OF SCENARIOS, UH, WE MIGHT BE THINKING ABOUT, UH, IN TERMS OF LIKE SPECIAL DESTINATIONS, UM, FOR CERTAIN POPULATIONS SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES WHO, YOU KNOW, FOR WHOM, YOU KNOW, TRANSIT IS A, A TOOL FOR, YOU KNOW, INDEPENDENT MOBILITY, AND WHERE ARE SOME OF THOSE KEY DESTINATIONS, UH, THAT THEY NEED TO GET TO. SO THAT WOULD BE THE KIND OF FACTOR WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THIS CONTEXT. AND IN ADDITION, JUST TO ADD TO UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY, IT'S ALSO HOW WE ARE GOING TO BUILD INTO THE DESIGN PROCESS ITSELF TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT OTHERING FOLKS WHO MAYBE NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM. AND SO IT'S TAKING THAT A STEP ABOVE AND BEING INCLUSIVE. SO OUR NEXT BUCKET, UM, WE'RE CALLING ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES AND IS, UH, REALLY ASKING THE QUESTION, UH, TO WHAT EXTENT, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE OPTIONS, ARE WE MAKING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS, UM, ACROSS THE CITY, AND ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE WHO, WHO NEED IT THE MOST? UM, SO WE ARE COLLECTING ALL THE DATA ON POPULATION DENSITY, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND SOME OF THE KEY DESTINATION POINTS. UM, AND OUR, OUR FRAMEWORK FOR REALLY THINKING ABOUT IT IS TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE DIFFERENT PHASING OPTIONS, SAY THERE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF STATIONS, YOU KNOW, AMONG THOSE OPTIONS. SO TO COMPARE THEM IN TERMS OF ACCESS, UM, WHO IS, WHO WOULD RECEIVE, UM, ACCESS OR IMPROVED ACCESS, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE VARIOUS SCENARIOS, UM, WE CAN CHARACTERIZE WHAT'S HAPPENING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT STATION AREAS, UM, WHETHER IT'S IN TERMS OF TRANSIT DEPENDENT POPULATIONS OR LOOKING AT CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, INCOME OR DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS, UM, OR LOOKING OVERALL, UM, TO ASSESS, UM, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS THE OPTIONS THAT WE'LL HAVE. I THINK ALSO HAVING A, UM, A REALLY ARTICULATE LIST OF, OF WHAT THOSE DESK PRIORITY DESTINATIONS ARE. I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY JOBS IS ONE, SO WHERE ARE THEIR JOB CENTERS, BUT ALSO SCHOOLS, UM, GROCERY STORES, HEALTHCARE, UM, AND THEN WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT LIST OF WHAT THE PRIORITY DESTINATIONS ARE FOR SERVICES FULLY AGREE. UM, THE WHERE IS IMPORTANT WITHIN THE, WHAT TIME IS IMPORTANT TOO. AS WE, AS WE BRING IN COMPANIES THAT HAVE SECOND SHIFTS AND THIRD SHIFTS, YOU KNOW, UH, SOMETIMES OUR, SOMETIMES A SEVEN TO SEVEN APPROACH WON'T WORK ANYMORE, UM, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GETTING THERE EARLIER AND [01:05:01] LEAVING MUCH LATER. SO HOW DO WE KNOW, UM, WHAT THE EMPLOYER'S NEEDS ARE, WHAT THE WORKER'S, EMPLOYEE'S NEEDS ARE IN TERMS OF GETTING, IN TERMS OF GETTING IN AND OUT, IF THE, THE BUS OR THE TRAIN TRULY IS YOUR CAR. SO HOW, HOW DO WE GET, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND AND THIRD SHIFT COVERED AS WELL? YEAH. THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT BOARD MEMBER PAVILION, BECAUSE ALSO ONE OF THE LARGEST PROBLEM CHALLENGES YOU ALL ARE GONNA FACE AND WE'RE ALL FACING IS THAT THE, THE MOBILITY PATTERNS HAVE CHANGED BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC. THAT TIMING THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO HAS REALLY EVOLVED. AND ALSO WITH THE RATE OF GROWTH IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ACCESS TO THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND DESTINATIONS, ONE THING THAT IT'S BECOMING MORE EVIDENT IS THAT THOSE CENTERS, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE DOMAIN FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WAY THAT GROWTH AND AMOUNT OF JOBS AVAILABLE IN THAT AREA HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY. SO WE HAVE THESE AREAS THAT KEEP EXPANDING. HOW DO WE CONTROL FOR, SO WE DON'T HAVE A MOVING TARGET ALL THE TIME, RIGHT? AND, AND AS WE HAVE, WE START TO NAIL DOWN MORE REFINED ALIGNMENTS. HOW DO WE CONTROL FOR LAND SPECULATION AND THE THINGS THAT BECOME THOSE TRIGGERS AND SEEDS THAT WE DON'T WANNA BE MOVING AROUND? ONE OF THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM DALLAS WITH THE D TWO SUBWAY IS THAT THAT ALIGNMENT JUST DOWNTOWN KEPT CHANGING BLOCKS DEPENDING ON WHICH DEVELOPER WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, OFFER MORE. AND THERE'S THIS OPPORTUNITY, THIS BUILDING IS GONNA BE BUILT. SO HOW DO WE CONTROL FOR THOSE THINGS? SO WE'RE NOT CHASING TARGETS THAT ARE ALWAYS MOVING. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AN ANSWER NOW, BUT I THINK IT'S A BIG CHALLENGE. I WANT TO ASSURE PEOPLE, RIGHT, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE ALIGNMENTS THAT WE HAVE. LIKE, WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, CHANGING RADICALLY CONCEPTS OF WHERE LIGHT RAIL'S GONNA GO, RIGHT? THIS IS REALLY ABOUT PHASING, RIGHT? SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE NOT RETHINKING WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S GONNA BE LIGHT RAIL ON GUADALUPE, RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT. SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, JUST, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THESE, THESE NEW DESTINATIONS AND CENTERS ARE EMERGING, RIGHT? AND PLANNED FOR THEM. IT'S BOTH CURRENT AND FUTURE, RIGHT? AND I THINK WE, WE HAVE SOME GOOD KNOWLEDGE AND DATA ABOUT THAT. SO OUR, OUR NEXT BUCKET OF CRITERIA IS THINKING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS. UM, AND WITH THIS AREA, WE'VE REALLY BEEN THINKING ABOUT, UH, KIND OF THE LEVEL THAT WE'RE AT WITH DESIGN AND, AND WHAT'S GONNA BE RELEVANT TO THE COMPARISON THAT WE'LL NEED TO MAKE. UH, SO WE, WE CAN CONSIDER, WE'LL HAVE SOME DATA TO CONSIDER THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS, UH, TO CLIMATE CHANGE GOALS, UH, AND ALSO TO CONSIDER WHETHER THERE ARE ANY DIFFERENTIAL IMPACTS AS FAR AS, UH, THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPACTS ON SENSITIVE RESOURCES. SO MORE SPECIFICALLY, UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKING AT THIS POINT, UM, WAYS WE CAN CONSIDER, UM, ANY DIFFERENTIAL WITH REGARD TO AFFECTING CLIMATE GOALS. UM, COULD BE LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT WE'RE FORECASTING FOR MODE SHIFT, MEANING MORE PEOPLE ON TRANSIT, FEWER IN CARS, UM, AND THEN, UH, PROJECTED CHANGES IN VEHICLES, VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED. UM, THAT, THAT'S DATA THAT WE'LL HAVE AVAILABLE, UH, TO THINK THIS THROUGH. UH, AND AS FAR AS SENSITIVE RESOURCES THAT COULD BE AFFECTED, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WORK THAT REALLY STARTED WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS THAT'S BEEN UNDERWAY, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT, UM, IF THERE ARE, UM, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE OPTIONS, UH, WITH REGARD TO WHAT ARE RESOURCES, PARKLAND, HERITAGE TREES, YOU KNOW, AND OTHER, OTHER SENSITIVE RESOURCES. SO LAND USE AND HOUSING, CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, FROM ALL THE INPUT WE'VE HEARD TO DATE, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT AFFORDABLE AND ATTAINABLE HOUSING IN AUSTIN IS A CRITICAL ISSUE IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND WHEN WE GO BACK AND LOOK AT IMAGINE AUSTIN AND OTHER PLANS THAT ARE INFORMING THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, THERE'S A CLEAR EMPHASIS ON THAT LINK BETWEEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND TRANSIT INVESTMENTS. UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WITH REGARDS TO THE CRITERIA IS HOW CAN WE LOOK AT HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION TOGETHER, UM, AND HOW ARE WE CONTRIBUTING TO OVERALL AFFORDABILITY BENEFITS FOR, FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE IN TOWN? UM, WE DO HAVE DATA AVAILABLE ON HOUSING INVENTORY, AND WE CAN ASSESS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE STOCK IS AT THE DIFFERENT STATIONS THAT ARE GONNA BE EVALUATED. UM, WE ARE ALSO COORDINATING WITH THE EQUITABLE TO O D PLANNING WORK THAT'S GOING ON THAT'S LED BY CAP METRO, AND THEY HAVE REALLY DONE SOME EXCELLENT WORK, UM, THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO [01:10:01] BRING TO THE THINKING HERE. SO, YOU KNOW, TRANSIT INVESTMENTS WILL NOT SOLVE AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING ISSUE, BUT HOW, WHAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR US TO THINK ABOUT, ABOUT HOW WE CAN CONTRIBUTE HERE? UH, AND ONE THING IS, UM, SERVING AFFORDABLE UNITS, KNOWING WHERE THEY ARE AND ASSESSING THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE WOULD BE IMPROVING OR PROVIDING TRANSIT SERVICE TO THOSE LOCATIONS. UM, WE CAN ALSO UNDERSTAND THERE'S GOOD DATA AVAILABLE ON AREAS THAT MAY BE VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT TYPE IMPACTS. WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY ARE, UH, RELATIVE TO OUR OPTIONS AND PERHAPS, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATE PLACES TO TARGET, UM, ANTIS DISPLACEMENT FUNDING INVESTMENTS. UM, WE CAN ALSO BE LOOKING AT LAND USE PLANS AND, UM, EMERGING, YOU KNOW, EQUITABLE TOD POLICIES TO SEE, UM, WHERE ACTIVITIES HAPPENING THAT'S GONNA SUPPORT THE DENSITIES THAT ARE IN TURN TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE THAT ARE GOING TO DRIVE THE RIDERSHIP ON THE SYSTEM THAT WE'RE BUILDING. SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE KIND OF AMONG SOME OF OUR KEY CONSIDERATIONS AT THIS POINT. UM, I'M GONNA PAUSE FOR A MINUTE BEFORE WE GO ON JUST TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS. GO BACK ONE, GO BACK. YEP. YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE, ONE COMMENT I JUST LEARNED RECENTLY WITH THE ETO OD AS WE WERE DOING A WORKSHOP FOR THE MILESTONE OF THE 10 YEARS OF THE BICYCLE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ONE NEW TERM, BECAUSE WE KEEP AT ADDING UNIQUE LETTERS TO TOD, YOU KNOW, WE HAD CAR TOD CTOD, RIGHT? BT OD FOR BIKE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. AND ONE THING THAT REALLY RESONATED WITH ME WAS HT OD AND THE H STOOD FOR HUMAN TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT? SO WE ALWAYS THINK OF WHICH I ADMIRE SO MUCH THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS NOW, YOU KNOW, REALLY EMBRACED THE ETOD FOR EQUITY. BUT I THINK WE, AS WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO DELIVER THIS FOR PEOPLE AND WHO OUR RIDER ARE, WHO ARE WE SERVING? THIS HUMAN CENTER TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, I THINK REALLY COVERS OUR BASIS IN SO MANY WAYS THAT, THAT REALLY RESONATED WITH ME IN THAT, IN THOSE WORKSHOPS WITH THE, WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND ANOTHER THING THAT REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME AS WELL, IS WE WERE GOING THROUGH ONE OF THE ANALYSIS OF OUR CURRENT ALIGNMENTS OF THE LIVE RAIL SYSTEM. IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT MULTIMODAL OVERLAPS THAT LOOKING AT ALL OUR TRAIL SYSTEMS AS A SYSTEM OF MOBILITY AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING THOSE NODES OF CONNECTIVITY, I'M GONNA ASK THE SAME REQUEST AS FOR MEMBER PAVILION, WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING THIS MAP OF HOUSING. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS MAP OF INTERCONNECTIVITY WITH THE TRAIL SYSTEM AND, AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING THOSE NODES AND HOW THIS, THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN HARVEST FOR MULTIMODAL TO BE EXCEPTIONAL AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. UM, AND I'M CURIOUS ON ONE PIECE ON THE HOUSING PIECE, AS WE WORK WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS WELL WITH, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE TO ENSURE THAT THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE ALLOCATING FOR THE ANTIS DISPLACEMENT FUNDS FOR HOUSING, MY CURIOSITY IS DO WE HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT'S NOT FOR PERPETUITY THAT WILL HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE? BECAUSE USUALLY IF THEY HAVE ACQUIRE, AND, AND I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON HOUSING, BUT I WANT TO UNDERSTAND IF THERE'S SOME OF THOSE HOUSING PROJECTS THAT WILL HAVE, WILL BECOME OFF MARKET AND BECOME MARKET RATE, AND ARE WE SOLVING TO SERVE THOSE AND THOSE ARE GONNA ADVANTAGE? AND WHAT ARE, WHAT CAN WE DO PROACTIVELY? BECAUSE I THINK, IS THAT AN OPPORTUNITY? I, I'M JUST CURIOUS AND I WILL, I WANT TO LEARN MORE AND UNDERSTAND THOSE. UM, I KNOW THAT IN MUELLER WHEN WE HAD SOME OF THE BEGINNINGS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, YOU KNOW, ONE OF EVERY FOUR HOUSES IN MUELLER IS AN AFFORDABLE, IN THE AFFORDABLE PROGRAM, THEY STARTED TO LOSE SOME TO THE MARKET RATE, AND THEN THEY HAD TO PIVOT AND REALIGN THAT PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE FOR PERPETUITY. SO HOW, HOW WE THINKING OF THAT ELEMENT NOW? AND I DON'T KNOW, I MEAN, I'M CURIOUS. I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION AND PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, THIS MAPPING EXERCISE THAT COMMISSIONER TRU, UH, BOARD MEMBER TRU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE DONE OVER TIME, RIGHT? HOW DOES THE MAP LOOK NOW? WHAT DOES THE MAP GONNA LOOK LIKE IN FIVE YEARS? WHAT IS IT GONNA LOOK LIKE IN 50 YEARS? I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF IT, IT MAY PROVIDE SOME MATERIAL IMPACT, DON'T KNOW, BUT IT'S WORTH LOOKING AT FOR SURE. SO, [01:15:01] UM, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT THE COUNTY IS INVESTED IN, UH, WE HAVE A MATRIX OF YES, I'LL PUT IT IN A LITTLE CLOSER. ALL RIGHT. , I, I NEVER GET ACCUSED OF TALKING TOO LOWLY . SO, BUT, UH, BUT, UM, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR WHAT THE COUNTY HAS INVESTED IN, WE ALREADY HAVE A MATRIX OF EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE INVESTED IN, WHERE IT IS, AND THE TERM WE HAVE BEEN PUSHING FOR, UH, LONGER TERMS, 99 YEAR TERMS IF WE CAN. THEY USUALLY FALL IN THE RANGE OF, UH, 20 TO 40 MM-HMM. . SO, UH, UH, SO IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE THROUGH OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICES AND OUR HOUSING CORPORATIONS, THE THINGS THAT WE, THE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE SPECIFICALLY IMPROVED AS, UH, APPROVED AS A COURT. AND I IMAGINE THE SAME THING IS TRUE AT THE CITY AS WELL. EVERYTHING WHERE THERE'S A CONTRACT AND THERE'S BEEN AN INVESTMENT, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PUT A MATRIX TO, UH, TOGETHER AND IDENTIFY THE LENGTH OF THE TERM. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT PROGRAMS, UH, WHEN, WHEN I WAS A CITY EMPLOYEE, LIKE SKIP ONE, SKIP TWO, SKIP THREE, THEY PROMISED AFFORDABILITY OVER TIME, BUT THEY WERE ONLY AFFORDABLE FOR THE FIRST BUYER BY THE, WHEN YOU GOT TO THE SECOND BUYER, YOU'RE AT MARKET RATE. THAT DOESN'T GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. UH, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE HAVE NOT FUNDED, UH, BECAUSE WE COULD NOT GET LONG ENOUGH A TERM. UM, YOU, I DON'T THINK YOU'LL SEE ANYTHING, UH, LOWER THAN 20 YEARS. OUR PREFERENCE IS 50 TO 99. UH, AND, AND SO THOSE LISTS EXIST AND, UH, AND CHRISTIE MOFFITT IS THE RIGHT PERSON IN OUR OFFICE TO GET THAT INFORMATION FROM. AND, UH, WHAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DOES NOT HAVE, THEY CAN GUIDE YOU TO IN OUR, UM, IN OUR HOUSING AUTHORITY. ALL RIGHT. WELL, ACTUALLY, UH, THAT CONVERSATION LEADS VERY NICELY INTO EQUITY, UH, BECAUSE LET'S SAY THE CHANGE IN LANGUAGE, I'VE WATCHED IT OVER TIME FROM CIVIL RIGHTS TO DIVERSITY, TO DIVERSITY, INCLUSION TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION, TO NOW JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. AND SO YOU SEE THE, THE TRANSITION OF HOW WE'RE USING WORDS IN TERMS TO TRY TO MATCH WHAT OUR INTENT AND IMPACT SHOULD BE. SO I'M A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR MAINTAINING THE EQUITY CONVERSATION BECAUSE I THINK IF WE DO A BETTER JOB OF EXPLAINING OUR INTENTIONAL ASPECTS OF HOW THAT MATCHES THE HUMAN CENTERED NATURE OF OUR INTENT AND SHOWING THE IMPACT OF THAT, THAT WILL ACTUALLY ENCOMPASS EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. UM, SO I'M GOING TO FIRST TAKE A STEP BACK AND REGROUND THIS BOARD IN THE ATP'S POLICY ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION. AND SO THIS WAS APPROVED IN, I BELIEVE, AUGUST OF 20 20, 20 21, A MONTH AFTER I STARTED HERE, WHICH CREATED THE DEFINITIONS FOR HOW WE INTEND TO BUILD EQUITY AND RACIAL EQUITY INTO OUR PROGRAM AS A WHOLE. SO THAT MEANS BOTH THE INTERNAL ASPECTS OF WHAT WE DO HERE FROM AN A CULTURE, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES, UH, PROCESS STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO WHAT WE NEED TO DO FROM AN EXTERNAL VIEWPOINT. WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES THAT ARE GONNA GUIDE OUR DECISIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD? WHAT DOES FAIRNESS AND PROCESS AND DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES REALLY LOOK LIKE IN THIS PROGRAM? AND SO LETTING US KNOW THAT WE HAVE THESE PRINCIPLES ALREADY SET FOR US TO BE GUIDING MARKERS. SO I'M LOOKING AT THIS AS SORT OF AN EQUITY 1 0 1, AN ENTRY INTO THIS CONVERSATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL ARE IN ALIGNMENT ABOUT WHAT WE MEAN USING THE BASEBALL, UH, IMAGE. EVERYONE'S, EVERYONE KNOWS THE BASEBALL IMAGE OF PEOPLE LOOKING OVER AND LOOKING AT, AT THE FIELD, AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HOW RESOURCES ARE DIVIDED. I'M TRYING TO LEAN INTO OUR MORE MOBILITY TRANSIT SPECIFIC WORLD. THAT'S HOW I, I, I ALWAYS REFER TO THEM AS MY ENGINEERS, MY DESIGNERS, TO BE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH THEM FOR THEIR ACTUAL WORK AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND DESIGNING FOR, TO SEE, TO SEE THAT IN ACTION. SO ON THE TOP GRAPHIC, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EQUALITY, THAT IS IT, IT'S VERY EASY FOR US TO MOVE INTO THAT SPACE OF HOW DO WE DISTRIBUTE RESOURCES ACROSS COMMUNITY EVENLY? WHAT CAN WE DO FOR EVERYONE ACROSS COMMUNITY? ENSURE THAT EVERYONE GETS, GETS SOME PIECE OF THIS PORTION, RIGHT? BUT REALLY, I'M LOOKING AT EQUITY OF HOW DO WE LOOK AT OUR COMMUNITIES FROM A POSITION OF, [01:20:01] UM, WHAT WERE THE HISTORICAL INEQUITIES THAT MEAN SOME GROUPS, SOME COMMUNITIES, SOME AREAS NEED TO, SOME AREAS NEED TO BE LOOKED AT MORE CLOSELY. WE NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL, MORE INTENTIONAL ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING TO BUILD INTO THE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CREATING ARE GONNA TRULY BENEFIT EVERYONE. THAT WE ARE TRULY GONNA BE DESIGNING FOR ALL PEOPLE ACROSS AUSTIN, THEY'RE ALL GOING TO THE YES THEY ARE. THEY GOT OFF TRANSIT AND NOW THEY'RE ON THEIR BIKES GOING TO THE BASEBALL GAME. I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO AN AUSTIN FC GAME, . SO THIS IS GOING TO BE THE START OF THIS DISCUSSION. WE HAVE A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS TO HAVE AROUND EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY, BUT YOU'VE HEARD IT BEFORE. YOU SAW THE SLIDE EARLIER. WE CALL IT A LENS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THIS IS A CONCEPT. IF YOU'RE NOT ATTACHING THE CONCEPT TO ACTUAL WORK AND WORK PRODUCT, IT'S HARD FOR PEOPLE TO SEE THE, THE, THE GOALS. WHAT WE'RE, WHAT ARE WE LEANING TOWARDS? WHAT DO WE REALLY WANNA DO HERE? AND SO AS WE BUILD OUT, AS WE BUILD OUT THIS EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY LENS, WE ARE ASKING VERY, VERY BASIC QUESTIONS. I WANNA UNDERSTAND, AND WE SHOULD ALL UNDERSTAND HOW IS THE PHASING PROCESS GOING TO IMPACT OUR CURRENT CORE WRITERS? HOW IS IT GOING TO IMPACT OUR TRANSIT DEPENDENT WRITERS? WHERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE RIDERSHIP WITHIN THOSE GROUPS AS A WHOLE? WHICH INCLUDES QUESTIONS AROUND ACCESS, IT INCLUDES QUESTIONS AROUND TRAVEL TIMES. IT INCLUDES QUESTIONS AROUND TRANSFER OPPORTUNITIES AND MAKING SURE THOSE TRANSFERS ARE SEAMLESS. IT GOES BEYOND THAT INTO AREAS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF ATP'S VIEWPOINT, BUT WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PARTNERS ARE CONNECTING TO. ALONG THE WAY. IT GOES INTO QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR CURRENT COMMUNITY VALUES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, OUR CURRENT COMMUNITY CHARACTERS AROUND THE CITY. WHAT IS OUR INTENT AND HOW CAN WE ENSURE OR BUILD INTO THIS PROCESS OPPORTUNITIES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE PRESERVING AND ENHANCING THOSE CHARACTERS? UM, WHAT CO-BENEFITS ARE COMING TO THIS PROJECT? SO AS WE'RE BUILDING OUT FROM THE SUSTAINABILITY VIEWPOINT TOO, HOW ARE WE ENSURING THAT, UM, SOCIAL HEALTH EQUITIES BUILT INTO THIS PROJECT AS ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS GET BUILT IN, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE OUR CORE WRITERS, AND THOSE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT WITHIN THE CITY? AND IF WE GROUND OUR WORK IN THOSE CONCEPTS, IT BECOMES A LITTLE BIT EASIER IN SOME OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESSES TO SEE WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE AS WE SEE THEM FOR PHASING WHAT THE TIMING LOOKS LIKE AND HOW THAT'S GONNA IMPACT OUR CITY AS A WHOLE, AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE LIVES OVERALL. SO JUST ONE THOUGHT AND, AND THAT IS, UH, WHEN WE ARE TALKING IN THE EQUITY SPACE MM-HMM. , I THINK WE, WE NEED TO LOOK AT IT FROM HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE, HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE. AND THAT'S WHY I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO, TO THINK OF IT IN TERMS OF STRUCTURAL CHANGE INSTEAD OF TRANSACTIONAL CHANGE. HOW IS WHAT WE ARE DOING SUSTAINABLE OVER TIME? WHAT CHANGE ARE WE MAKING THAT TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION THE PROBLEM THAT WAS CREATED BY A LACK OF ACCESS MM-HMM. , UH, TO DECISION MAKING? AND, AND HOW ARE WE FIXING IT? NOT FOR THE ONE, BUT HOW ARE WE FIXING THE SYSTEM SO THAT IT IS SUSTAINABLE? PEOPLE GET FRUSTRATED WITH, YOU GAVE ME A TRANSACTION AND THAT TRANSACTION MIGHT HAVE BEEN A REALLY GOOD TRANSACTION, BUT IT DOESN'T SPEAK TO THE PLETHORA OF PROBLEMS, AND IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE GOING FORWARD AND DOESN'T ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF OTHER SIMILARLY SITUATED PEOPLE. SO IF WE CAN THINK OF, THINK OF IT IN TERMS OF STRUCTURAL VERSUS TRANSACTIONAL, I THINK THAT WE NAIL WHAT, WHAT MY GOAL IN, IN ACHIEVING EQUITY IS, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE. AND IN FACT, THE WAY THAT I'M APPROACHING IT RIGHT NOW IS TO LOOK AT THE STRUCTURAL OF WHAT IS EVEN THE PROCESS FOR DECISION MAKING, AND HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THAT CONCEPT MAINTAINS, UH, AS A TOP INFLECTION POINT. SO THAT'S THE ONLY WAY FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE, RIGHT? YES. BOARD MEMBER, GAR, I'M GIVEN TO ANECDOTES. I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND . MANY YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS A CBA, UH, WHO DID NOT OWN A CAR IN CHICAGO. UM, AND HE SHOWED ME, HE HAD A, HE SHOWED ME WHY IT WAS FOOLISH TO OWN A CAR IN THE CITY. UM, AND HE DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR GETTING THE CAR, INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE, ALL THE STUFF. HE COULD ALWAYS HAVE A CAR, JUST RENT ONE ON THE WEEKEND IF YOU WANT ONE. UH, WHICH HE SELDOM DID. BUT, UM, NOW HE WAS FIGHTING AGAINST THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, WHICH WAS CONVINCING ALL OF US THAT IT'S COOL TO OWN A CAR. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US ARGUE THAT IT'S COOL TO [01:25:01] RIDE MASS TRANSIT AND BEGAN TO PUT, MAKE IT, MAKE IT, WHATEVER, ALL OF US. NOT JUST PEOPLE WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE A CAR, BUT ALL OF US THAT IT'S COOL TO RIDE. I LOVE THAT. I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY WITH OUR NEXT, UH, JOINT MEETING AT THE CITY. UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE ACTUALLY HEARD FROM THE CAC MEMBERS, THE COMMITTEE, ADVISORY COMMITTEE GROUP IS LIKE, THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS BOARD TAKE THE BUS, RIGHT? , IT'S LIKE, CAN WE START TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE? AND ALL OF YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL ARE DRIVING EVERYWHERE. CAN, CAN WE START BY SHOWING UP ON THE BUS? SO, YOU KNOW, PLANTING THE SEED THAT MAYBE ON THE 30TH, WE ALL SHOW UP TO THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BY HIGHLAND, BY TRAIN, BY BUS, YOU KNOW, BY BIKE WE WALK. HOW ABOUT THAT? BUT NO, YOU'RE RIGHT. I THINK THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE CONVERSATION AND, AND, AND I DO FEEL WE'RE REACHING THIS TIPPING POINT WHERE THE ASSOCIATION OF RIDING THE BUS WITH POVERTY NEEDS TO MOVE BEYOND THAT, A LACK OF MEANS, BUT AN AWARENESS OF COMMUNITY AND AWARENESS OF A CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND ONE ANOTHER. SO IT'S REALLY CHANGING THE DYNAMIC AND THE PERCEPTIONS, RIGHT? THAT WE AS, AS HUMANS, WE CAN COIN INHABIT WITH EACH OTHER IN A CITY IN A MORE SUSTAINABLE WAY. SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT BEAUTIFUL ANECDOTE. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. OH, IF I MAY, YES. UM, TWO THINGS, MAYBE THREE. UM, FIRST OF ALL, I'M HAPPY TO HELP WORK OUT AN INDIVIDUAL TRIP PLAN FOR ANY BOARD MEMBER THAT NEEDS HELP, FIGURING OUT THE BEST WAY TO TAKE TRANSIT TODAY TO, OR FROM ANY LOCATION. I OFFER THAT SERVICE TO ALL MY FAMILY MEMBERS AS WELL. SO HAPPY TO DO IT. UM, AS WE TALK ABOUT THE HOW WE CONNECT PEOPLE AND THE, THE EQUITY PIECE, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, AND Y'ALL HAVE MENTIONED IT, IT'S IN THE MOBILITY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE LENS TO LOOK AT HOW THE EXISTING TRANSIT NETWORK AND HOW THE BUS AND COMMUTER RAIL NETWORK WILL FEED THE LIGHT RAIL NETWORK, RIGHT? NONE, NO TRANSIT WORKS IF IT'S NOT A NETWORK. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DRAWN ON THE MAP TO PUT LIGHT RAIL ON ARE THOSE CORRIDORS WHERE YOU CAN GET THE MOST AMOUNT OF PEOPLE AND MOST JUSTIFY THE LIGHT RAIL. BUT OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT WHERE MOST OF US LIVE OR WORK. AND SO HOW DO WE DO, HOW DO WE LEVERAGE THIS INVESTMENT TO HELP MAKE THE REST OF THE SYSTEM BETTER? AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT. UM, I'M CURIOUS AS WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY. SO WE OUTLINED THE FOUR COMMUNITY VALUES CRITERIA. EQUITY WAS NOT ONE OF THEM. AND THEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT AN EQUITY LENS. SO IS THE THINKING THAT THE EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY LENS IS AN UMBRELLA THAT SITS OVER EVERY CRITERIA THAT EVERY SINGLE QUESTION WE ANSWER ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES THAT JEN WALKS US THROUGH, NEEDS TO GO THROUGH AN EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY CHECK IN BEFORE WE CONSIDER THE QUESTION ANSWERED? IS THAT A FAIR? YES. OKAY. THAT'S, I WAS JUST MAKING SURE THAT THAT WAS CLEAR FOR ME AND MAYBE NO, ABSOLUTELY. AND SO THE WAY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS AS THE DATA'S GETTING DEVELOPED, WE ARE EVEN GOING TO ANALYZE IT FROM THAT LENS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT DATA TO, TO EVEN ANSWER THE INEQUITY QUESTION THAT A BOARD MEMBER TRABIS ASKED EARLIER, ARE WE ENSURING THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT INFORMATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE QUESTIONS ARE GOING TO BE LOOKED AT FROM THAT ANGLE? UM, EVERY, EVERY STEP ALONG THE WAY FROM THE DATA DEVELOPMENT TO THE ANALYSIS TO THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS, EQUITY WILL MAIN EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY, I'M GETTING USED TO THE SUSTAINABILITY ADDITION, SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME, UM, MAINTAINS THAT UMBRELLA ASPECT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO. OTHER QUESTIONS? ONE LAST COMMENT. I DO LOVE THAT IMAGE OF THE, THE EQUITY IMAGE ON MOBILITY THAT, OH, IT'S BEAUTIFUL. THANK YOU. THAT'S, AND THE ONLY LAST COMMENT I WILL MAKE IS PART OF MAKING TRANSIT COOL. IS WORKING WITH PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND TRANSIT IS COOL. IT'S GREAT. IS IT IS A GREAT WAY TO GET AROUND THE CITY. AND ALSO AT THE SAME TIME, BUILDING IT TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE CAN GET ACCESS AND GET EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT ACCESS TO IT. WE CAN DO BOTH. I'M NOT SURE ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE . OKAY. SO, UM, JUST COMING BACK TO PROCESS AND YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THIS, THESE, THIS CRITERIA, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THIS WHOLE PROGRAM AND OUR DETERMINATION OF THE UPDATED LIGHT RAIL, UM, PROGRAM AND PHASING HAS TO BE ROOTED IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THE COMMUNITY HAS TO BE PART OF THAT DECISION MAKING. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA [01:30:01] IS THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE THESE CRITERIA AND THEN DO SOME ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT IT RIGHT. RIGHT? SO YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE STARTED THAT ALREADY, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT, WE'VE HAD SOME MEETINGS WITH OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES. UM, WE HAD MEETING WITH THE, THE PCAN, WHICH IS THE PROJECT CONNECT AMBASSADOR NETWORK, UM, TO START SORT OF, UH, BETA TESTING THESE CRITERIA AND GET FEEDBACK ON THEM SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY, WHEN WE HAVE SCENARIOS TO EVALUATE, WE'RE USING THE CRITERIA FROM THE COMMUNITY'S PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT? SO, UM, SO THAT'S REALLY THE GOAL, RIGHT? UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA BE GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND GETTING INPUT ON THE CRITERIA THEMSELVES FROM, UM, PARTICULARLY FROM, FROM A HOST OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS, BUT ALSO FROM, UH, PRIORITY COMMUNITIES, UM, AS DEFINED IN THE JPA. SO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY REACHING THE COMMUNITY BROADLY. UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE HAD, PARTICULARLY WITH ELECTRONIC ENGAGEMENT THAT WE GREW INTO DURING COVID, WAS THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN POPULATIONS THAT DON'T FIND THAT AS AN EASIER WAY TO ENGAGE AS OTHERS. THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THOSE PRIORITY COMMUNITIES. UM, WE WANT TO GET FEEDBACK ON THE CRITERIA. UM, WE ALSO WANT TO GET, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE COMMUNITY'S PRIORITIZATION OF THOSE CRITERIA, RIGHT? IT'S NOT JUST, UM, IT'S NOT JUST DO WE HAVE THE CRITERIA, RIGHT? BUT WHICH ONES ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO THEM, RIGHT? AND SO THAT'LL BE PART OF THIS PROCESS AS WELL. AND THEN THE BIGGEST, THE BIGGEST THING THAT INFUSES EVERYTHING IS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY FEELS THAT THEY CAN TRUST US AS AN ORGANIZATION AND THEY'RE GETTING ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEED, THAT THEY'RE PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS, SO THAT WHEN WE PRESENT OPTIONS, THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THOSE OPTIONS REPRESENT THEIR OPINIONS. SO WE, A LIST OF PEOPLE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ENGAGING WITH OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF MONTHS AS WE, YOU KNOW, GO THROUGH THIS WORK. THE ONLY THING I'LL ADD ON THIS PIECE IS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRIORITY COMMUNITIES, YOU RECALL, WELL, WHEN YOU WERE HERE, THE BOARD MEMBERS WERE HERE A FEW MONTHS AGO, THAT WE DID DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF OUR OUTREACH AND WE'RE ABLE TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES THAT WE WEREN'T DOING AS GOOD JOB OF REACHING. AND SO A LOT OF THIS WORK RIGHT NOW IS LEANING INTO THAT DATA TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT ONLY MEETING WITH THEM, BUT WE'RE RAISING THEIR VOICES INTO THE ROOM BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT NECESSARILY HEARD THEM YET. JUST ONE THOUGHT. UM, IT, I WOULD REACH OUT TO HECTOR NTO AND, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY PIO BECAUSE WE DEVELOPED A, UH, MECHANISM TO REACH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY DURING THE PANDEMIC TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GOING TO PLACES THAT WE DON'T, THAT DON'T NORMALLY INTERACT WITH US. CHURCHES, SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS, UH, PTAS, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, UH, SO, UH, AND, AND WE HAVE A BLUEPRINT FOR THAT. I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO TALK TO HECTOR. NO, I THINK, SORRY, WE WANT TO HEAR ANY FEEDBACK YOU HAVE ABOUT ANYTHING IN GENERAL. BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU ALREADY STARTED TO WEIGH IN SPECIFICALLY ABOUT HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY. SO, UM, BUT IF THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT, UH, THE BOARD MEMBERS WANNA TALK ABOUT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HEAR THAT. MM-HMM. , ANYBODY ELSE? THAT MEMBER ELKINS. THANK YOU. UM, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THE FEDERAL GRANT PROCESS SLIDE. I THINK NUMBER THREE, I THINK ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WITH RESPECT TO THE COMMUNITY IS MANAGING EXPECTATIONS. THE COMMUNITY. YEAH. SO THERE WE GO. NEXT ONE. THERE YOU GO. YEAH. UM, WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MANAGING EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE IN, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO BUILD EVERYTHING THAT WE THOUGHT WE COULD BUILD. THAT'S REALITY, RIGHT? SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO ASK IS, GOING INTO THIS SCENARIO IN FEBRUARY, JANUARY AND FEBRUARY SAYS, DEVELOPED SCENARIOS. I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND SPECIFICALLY WHAT THIS BOARD IS GOING TO BE SEEING. AND I'M ASKING THAT QUESTION BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE NOT LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS OR INDIVIDUAL DESIGN SOLUTIONS IN A VACUUM WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE PROGRAM'S FINANCIAL PICTURE. I THINK IT'S CRITICAL BECAUSE IF WE LOOK AT ONE DESIGN CHANGE AND WE SAY, WELL, THIS IS GONNA COST X MILLION MORE, BUT IT'S GONNA HAVE THESE BENEFITS, WE LOSE SIGHT OF THE WHOLE BIG PROGRAM. AND I GET BACK TO THE ENTIRE FINANCIAL MODEL FOR THIS PROGRAM HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS. WE HAD A CAPEX CHANGE WITH RESPECT TO THE LIGHT RAIL THAT WAS DONE SEVEN OR EIGHT MONTHS [01:35:01] AGO. BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IS WHEN WE'RE GOING TO SEE AN UPDATE TO THE ENTIRE FINANCIAL MODEL, WHICH INCORPORATES CAPEX CHANGES, OPERATING EXPENSE, CHANGES IN FINANCIAL UPDATES, SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE FULL PICTURE OF WHAT SOURCES AND USES ARE, SO THAT WHEN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY COMES, WE CAN START MAKING DECISIONS AS PART OF AN ENTIRE FINANCIAL PICTURE. SO I'LL START WITH THAT. SO WHEN WE BRING SCENARIOS, WE WILL BE BRINGING NOT ONLY CAPEX, BUT WE BRINGING O AND M CONSIDERATIONS, RIDERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS SO THAT THEY WILL BE BUILT INTO THE FINANCIAL MODEL AND WHAT THAT DOES WITH THE FINANCIAL MODEL. SO AS WE DEVELOP SCENARIOS BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT THE CAPITAL COST, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE O AND M. WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW THE PROJECT, UH, FITS INTO THE OVERALL PLAN, PLAN OF FINANCE AND ALL THAT. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SPRING 23, RECOMMEND AND APPROVE, COULD I HAVE A MONTH? I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A MONTH. SPRING IS A WIDE THING, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK MY OTHER COMMENT IS WE NEED, AND I'M SURE WE ARE OPERATING WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY, AND THE REASON I'M ASKING FOR A MONTH IS I WANNA MAKE SURE DATES ARE HIT. WE CAN'T AFFORD TO EXTEND THIS PROCESS ANY LONGER THAN WHAT WE'VE ALREADY AGREED TO BECAUSE DELAYING THE PROGRAM COMES AT A COST. UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ALL OF THESE DATES ABSOLUTELY HIT. AND I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHEN SPRING 23, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FORMAL PLAN THAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND AND ULTIMATELY WOULD GO TO COUNCIL AND CAP METRO APPROVAL. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBER HOKINSON. I DO, UM, I DO AGREE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE MORE SPECIFICITY, BUT I, ONE THING THAT I DO ALSO LIKE TO SUPPORT IN YOUR COMMENT IS THAT, UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS WINDOWS OF TIME AND MANAGING EXPECTATIONS, HAVE YOU GUYS PLUGGED IN THE FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND HOW THIS COULD ALTER ANY OF THESE TIMELINES? OR IS THAT WHAT'S KEEPING YOU FOR GIVING US AN EXACT MONTH? YEAH, SO THE, THE, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HAVE SCENARIOS, THERE'LL BE IDEAS, BUT THERE WILL BE OTHER IDEAS, RIGHT? HOW YOU WORK THROUGH THAT WHOLE ENTIRE PROCESS. WE HAVE SOME IDEAS ON HOW THAT MAY, MAY PLAY OUT, BUT WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY UNTIL WE DEVELOP THOSE. SO THE WORKING KNOWLEDGE RIGHT NOW IS SOMETIME IN THE MID JUNE TIMEFRAME, WE BRING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, APPROVALS, UM, TO THE, TO THE BOARD. BUT THAT DOES DEPEND ON HOW THAT ALL PLAYS OUT IN THE REST, REST OF THE PROCESS. SO THAT, THAT IS THE WORKING DATES, THE WORKING TIMEFRAME THAT WE'RE WORKING UNDER. I THINK IT WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL AT A, AT A NEXT BOARD MEETING TO SEE THIS CHART PUSHED OUT SO THAT WHEN WE CAN SEE OUR FIRST MAJOR PROCUREMENT, THE PLAN FOR THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THIS GOES THROUGH NEPA PROCESS, BUT I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL TO PUSH THE CHART OUT ANOTHER YEAR, PARTICULARLY FOR 23. IT'S HELPFUL FOR THIS BOARD TO SEE THE MAJOR MILESTONES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HOPING TO ACHIEVE IN 23 DATES ARE CRITICAL BECAUSE IT HOLDS PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE TO A CERTAIN DATE. AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE AND BOARD MEMBER ELKINS ON THAT. I THINK WE HEARD EARLIER FROM EY AND TOM ABOUT THAT. THAT IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE DELIVERABLES WE'RE WORKING ON. INSTEAD OF GOING STRAIGHT TO A SOLICITATION PACKAGE, WE WANNA FIRST HAVE A, UH, UNDERSTANDING OF OUR OVERALL DELIVERY METHOD. AND SO THAT WILL COME IN ULTIMATELY, AGAIN, THE, THE HONEYCOMB IS ALL GETTING WEAVED TOGETHER, UM, FROM SOLICITATION PACKAGE, A FINANCING PACKAGE, UM, OPTIONALITY AND SCENARIOS AROUND, UH, PHASING. UM, AND SO WE'RE ON TRACK FOR ALL OF THAT. UM, BUT WE NEED TO KEEP 'EM IN ORDER, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LANDING THEM. UM, SOLICITATION PACKAGES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT, BUT WE NEED TO KNOW DELIVERY. WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE OUR, WHAT TYPE OF PROJECT WE'RE DOING. UM, SO WE WANT TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS AND, AND CLEAR MINDED ABOUT OUR, OUR SCHEDULE. UM, AND WE FEEL WE'RE ON TRACK TO, TO STILL DELIVER, UH, BY THE SPRING. UM, THE ANSWERS TO ALL THESE QUESTIONS, I'D LIKE TO GO BACK TO JUST THE FINAL QUESTION FROM, WAS THERE ANY CRITERIA THAT THEY WERE MISSING THAT WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO PITCH IN AND COMMENT ON? ? MORE QUESTION. JUST, JUST ONE QUICK THING. UH, UHHUH AND, AND IT'S REALLY A PROCUREMENT ISSUE, UH, AS WE GO DOWN THE LINE, JUST MAKING SURE, UH, IT, YOU KNOW, UH, GIVEN THE, GIVEN THE, UM, THE AMOUNT, THE VOLUME OF, UH, CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE IN THE AREA, UH, IT'S GONNA BE INTERESTING TO SEE, UH, WHAT OUR DBE GOALS MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND, [01:40:01] AND, UH, WHAT WE CONSIDER OUR, UM, WHAT WE CONSIDER OUR WORKSPACE TO BE IS, IS IT OUR SMSA OR IS IT OUR ENTIRE STATE? I IMAGINE WITH UNDER A DBE ANALYSIS WILL PROBABLY BE THE ENTIRE STATE MORE THAN IT WOULD BE JUST LOCALLY. SO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR LISTS ARE, ARE, UM, ARE UPDATED? HOW DO WE, UH, APPROACH CURRENT MBS AND WBE THAT ARE LOCAL THAT PROBABLY HAVE A CAPACITY TO DO, UH, DBE, UH, LEVEL WORK? AND IS, IS THERE A SYSTEM THAT WE ARE BUILDING TO ADDRESS THAT COUNTY'S TRYING TO DO THAT THROUGH WORKING WITH, UH, WITH UT, UM, AND THROUGH, UH, WORKING WITH JOHN BUTLER AND, AND, AND THE TEAM OVER THERE. SO, SO ARE WE LOOKING AT WAYS, UH, TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE INCLUDE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AS WE GO FORWARD? AND MY ANSWER IS YES, AND WE'LL KEEP, WE'LL BRING THAT TO YOU WITH MORE DETAIL AS WE CONTINUE FORWARD. BUT VERY QUICKLY, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A TIMELINE OF A YEAR, TWO YEARS BEFORE, UM, WE HAVE FULL SCHEDULE, WHATEVER THE PLAN IS, WE NEED TO BE SETTING THAT UP NOW TO BUILD OUT THE AVAILABILITY. SO LOOKING AT EVEN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND LOOKING AT THEM TOGETHER, COORDINATED OF ENSURING THAT WE HAVE A CONSORTIUM OF FOLKS WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL SO THAT WE CAN COORDINATE AND LEVERAGE RESOURCES AND START TO BUILD OUT CAPACITY ON BOTH ENDS. AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT YOU ARE, UH, TIED WITH CAP METRO BECAUSE THEY, UH, ARE IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING THEIR DISPARITY STUDY. AND, AND YOU DON'T WANT A PROGRAM THAT'S GONNA BE CHALLENGED ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T DONE A DISPARITY STUDY. UH, WE'RE, UH, COMMISSIONER TRILLION, JUST TO ADD ONTO THAT, I MEAN, THAT'S A, FIRST OF ALL, I'D LOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORK THAT, UM, THE COUNTY'S DOING WITH DR. BUTLER, CUZ THAT'S, HE'S, SOME OF THE STUFF HE'S DONE HAS BEEN GREAT. SO, UM, BUT THIS IS EXACTLY WHY YOUR COMMENT ABOUT HOW WE CRAFT OUR, OUR PROGRAM AND OUR ENGAGEMENT WILL ACTUALLY HELP INFORM OUR SOLICITATION PLAN. WE WANT TO DO THAT, NOT JUST COME OUT WITH THAT PLAN. SO IT'S PART OF THAT BUILDING BLOCKS. TOM WAS TALKING ABOUT IT, AND SO IT'S GREAT COMMENT AND I WILL WE REACH OUT TO THE COUNTY? I WANNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT MEMBER GARZA. YES. AND IN RESPOND TO THE QUESTION, HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IN VALUE AND TRADE OFF CONVERSATIONS? UH, MY SENSE IS THAT, UM, WE NEED TO DO THINGS THAT, UM, UH, PRESERVES OUR BASE OF SUPPORT PEOPLE THAT ESSENTIALLY BORDER FOR THE THING. UM, AND, UH, ONE THINGS THAT I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THAT CONTRACT THAT YOU'RE BRINGING FORWARD LATER, IS THE AMOUNT OF LOCAL CONTRACTORS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE THING AND NEED TO BE MADE KNOWN THAT YOU ALL ARE, UH, PRIORITIZING THAT. UM, AND I THINK THE MORE WE DO THAT, THE MORE WE SIGNAL TO COMMUNITY, UM, NOT ONLY WILL THIS BRING VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY WHEN IT'S DONE, IT'LL BRING VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY WHILE WE'RE WORKING ON IT. THANK YOU. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? NO. UM, YEAH. SO WITH THAT, I LIKE TO THANK THE TEAM FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER AND FOR YOUR HARD WORK. AND, UH, WE'RE RIGHT ON SCHEDULE. SO WE'RE ENDING A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THAN 1230 AND OUR, UH, MEETING SCHEDULE TO RECONVENE AT TWO. BUT I THINK IF WE JUST TAKE AN HOUR BREAK, WE COULD RECONVENE AT ONE 30, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH EVERYONE. WOULD THAT BE OKAY? YES. GREAT. WITH THAT, UM, THIS MEETING, I NEED TO CALL THE FIRST AND THE SECOND TO CONCLUDE IT, RECESS. AND WE CAN MEET ONE. SO I'D LIKE TO REQUEST A MOTION AND A SECOND TO TAKE A RECESS AND RECONVENE AT ONE 30. DO I HAVE A, A MOTION? MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS? DO I HAVE A SECOND? THEY'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION. MOTION ? SURE. CAN I, YES, OF COURSE. YES, OF COURSE. RECESS. THANK YOU. YOU MEETING ADJOURN. THANK YOU. . I WAIT FOR THE GREEN LIGHT. CHLOE, ARE WE GOOD OR NO? OKAY. HANG ON. ONE, TWO. SO I WILL CALL THIS MEETING [3. Public Comment] TO ORDER. WE'RE BACK AGAIN FROM RECESS. UM, THE TIME IS 1:37 PM OKAY. AND, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANYONE THAT HAS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY, BUT IF ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WANTS [01:45:01] TO COME FORWARD AND ADDRESS THE BOARD, YOU'RE WELCOME TO DO SO. BUT WE HAVEN'T HAVE ANY, WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. SO OUR FIRST ITEM FOR TODAY [4.1. Engineering, Architecture & Construction Committee] IS THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATES. AND, UM, ON BEHALF OF THE ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE, I'D LIKE TO INVITE, UH, MR. PETER MULLEN TO COME TO THE, TO THE MIC AND GIVE US AN UPDATE OF THE WORKSHOP THAT HAPPENED IN LIEU OF ONE OF THOSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS. HE ACTUALLY CONVENED ALL OF THEM AT ONCE TO HAVE A WORKSHOP. SO, WITH THAT, MR. MULLEN, UM, THANK YOU FOR, UM, COMING IN, UM SURE. GIVING US THE UPDATE. YEAH. UM, SO ON OCTOBER 22ND, WHICH I GUESS WE HAVEN'T MET SINCE THEN, UM, WE HAD A, AN, IT WAS A WEEKEND, IT WAS SATURDAY MORNING, WE HAD A COMBINED MEETING OF THE EAC, THE P ZAC COMMITTEES, UM, AS WELL AS THE, I THINK, SO I JUST NEED TO, I NEED TO KISS THE MIC. UM, WE, UH, COMBINATION COMBINED MEETING OF THE EAC, THE PSAC, UM, THOSE ARE THE TWO, TWO OF OUR THREE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES, UM, AS WELL AS THE DESIGN SUBCOMMITTEE FOR THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE CAC. UM, AND ACTUALLY THE IDEA FOR THIS CAME OUT OF A DESIRE FROM THAT SUBCOMMITTEE TO GET A DEEPER DIVE INTO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH, RIGHT? SO, UM, AND THEY SAID, LET'S, LET'S BLOCK OUT A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME. LET'S GET IN PERSON. UM, AND THEN, SO WE THOUGHT THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES IN THE ROOM TOGETHER. UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE LEARNED IN THAT, THE BENEFIT OF THAT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, EACH OF THESE GROUPS COMES WITH A DIFFERENT LENS TOWARDS THIS PROGRAM AND TOWARDS THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH. AND WE, WE NEED TO HEAR ALL THOSE PERSPECTIVES AND, AND THEN FIGURE OUT WHERE THE COMMON GROUND IS. AND I THINK, SO IT WAS KIND OF A, IN SOME WAYS, LIKE A MICROCOSM OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO WITH THE COMMUNITY MORE BROADLY, WHICH IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT PURPOSE. SO, UM, SO ANYWAY, WE DID, WE WENT THROUGH, I THINK SOME OF, MUCH OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER THIS MORNING, RIGHT? WE TALKED ABOUT CRITERIA. UM, WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH DOWNTOWN, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE, OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO, TO GRAPPLE WITH WITH THE BROADER COMMUNITY. UM, AND SO ON THE ONE HAND IT WAS PROBABLY TO GET THEIR PERSPECTIVE, GET THEIR INPUT, BUT ALSO IT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A BETA TEST ON HOW WE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT THESE ISSUES. CAUSE IT'S COMPLEX, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FRAME THE CONVERSATION IN THE RIGHT WAY. UM, I THINK IF IT'S ANY MEASURE OF THE SUCCESS OF THE MEETING, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE NINE TO 12, I BELIEVE. UM, YOU KNOW, ONE O'CLOCK THERE WERE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND WITH MAPS STILL. LIKE, WHAT ABOUT THIS, WHAT ABOUT THIS? WHAT IF WE DID THIS? ET CETERA. SO I THINK, UM, A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM, UH, TO WORK TOGETHER ON THESE ISSUES. AND I THINK IT WAS REALLY POSITIVE AND WE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S MAKING SENSE, WHAT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT KNOWLEDGE DO WE NEED TO, TO SORT OF SHARE, TO BASICALLY FRAME UP THE QUESTIONS, ET CETERA. SO REALLY POSITIVE, UM, AND I THINK WILL HELP BE A MODEL FOR US WORKING FORWARD WITH OTHER GROUPS. UM, THANK YOU PETER. UM, I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ONBOARD, UH, BOARD MEMBER GARZA. SO THESE THREE SPECIFIC TECHNICAL COMMITTEES. DR. BURNETT HAD THE COMMUNITY AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE THAT, UH, GINA FI, DACA, OUR EX-OFFICIAL BOARD MEMBER, HAS BEEN COVERING DURING THIS GAP ON BEHALF OF DR. BURNETT WHILE WE HAD A NEW BOARD MEMBER. SO, MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL INTRODUCE YOU TO THAT COMMITTEE SINCE YOU'LL BE HEADING THAT COMMITTEE AND THAT THEY'LL GET TO KNOW YOU, YOU GET TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THEM, TIME FROM WORKING. YES. WE ARE ASSIGN SOMEWHERE TO YOU. SO WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR IN JUST THE LOGISTICS OF TODAY'S MEETING, I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU AN UPDATE THAT GINA'S GONNA GIVE THAT UPDATE. WHAT PETER JUST DID IS HE BROUGHT ALL THE COMMITTEES TOGETHER, AND I'LL GIVE THE ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE, CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE AND BOARD MEMBER ELKINS IS PART OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE FINANCE, UM, THE COMMITTEE OF FINANCE. SO EACH OF THE COMMUNITY EXPERTS THAT ARE SITTING ON THIS BOARD LEAD THOSE COMMITTEES. SO THIS IS JUST SOMETHING TO, TO LET YOU KNOW THAT OF HOW IT'S GOING ON. BUT DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR PETER? THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD ENERGY. THERE'S MORE ON IT IN YOUR BRIEFING PACKET AS WELL, SO THANK YOU. INCLUDING PHOTOS. YEAH, . THANK YOU. UM, I'LL MOVE FORWARD TO THE ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE. MET ON NOVEMBER 2ND, 2022. UH, THE COMMITTEE'S ATTENDANCE WERE EIGHT PEOPLE FROM THE COMMITTEE. AND OUR, OUR AGENDA ITEMS WERE THE PROJECT CONNECT ORDINANCE, WHO'S THAT'S SCHEDULED TO GO TO COUNCIL THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY AND REVIEW AN UPDATE OF WHAT PETER JUST MENTIONED OF WHAT WERE THE OUTCOMES OF THAT WORKSHOP. AND THE COMMITTEE'S [01:50:01] RECOMMENDATIONS WERE FOR DONNA GALATI WITH THE CITY'S PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE. AND SHE DISCUSSED A PROJECT CONNECT ORDINANCE THAT GOES THROUGH CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ASKED IF PERMITS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL STATION, OR WILL EACH ONE NEED A SEPARATE PERMIT. AND DON'T EXPLAIN THAT THE GOAL IS TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF SITE PLANS AND INCREASE THEIR LIFE CYCLE. FOR INSTANCE, CURRENTLY SITE PLANS HAVE A LIFE OF THREE YEARS, AND WE'RE EXPECTING TO INCREASE IT TO 10 YEARS. UM, MEMBERS ASKED ABOUT THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO AMEND THE ORDINANCE ONCE IT'S PASSED, AND DONNA EXPLAINED THAT THE MOST TIME EXTENSIVE ASPECT IS MOVING THROUGH THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND THE DEPARTMENTS BEFORE IT GOES TO COUNCIL. AND AS A FOLLOW UP, THE EAC MEMBERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS BEING BURIED IN THE CODE REVISIONS AND DON'T EXPLAIN THAT THIS IS NOT PART OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, WHICH WILL HELP HAVE THIS SEPARATE ORDINANCE EXPEDITE AS WE DELIVER PROJECT CONNECT. UM, I ALSO SHARE SOME OF MY LESSONS LEARNED IN A RECENT TRIP THAT I TOOK TO AUSTRALIA AND HAWAII IN TERMS OF TRANSIT. AND I COMMITTED TO PRESENT TO THE EAC AN UPDATE OF SOME OF THOSE LESSONS LEARNED BECAUSE IT IMPACTS SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF, OF THIS PROGRAM. AND WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT [4.2. Planning, Sustainability, Equity & DBE Advisory Committee] ON TO, UM, THE PLANNING, SUSTAINABILITY, EQUITY AND DB COMMITTEE WITH MEMBER FI, DACA. THANK YOU. UH, SO WE MET ON NOVEMBER 3RD, AND I WANTED THANKS STAFF FOR THIS SUPPORT FOR THAT MEETING. UM, AND YOU KNOW, THE BOARD MEMBER GAZA, THAT STAFF SUPPORT IS OUTSTANDING FOR THESE, THESE, UH, TECHNICAL COMMITTEES THAT WE HAVE. UM, SO WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROJECT CONNECT ORDINANCE AND, UM, WHEN WE MET, IT WAS STILL IN DRAFT FORM. IT WAS, UM, IT WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY COUNCIL YESTERDAY, AND WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT LATER IN THIS MEETING THIS AFTERNOON. UH, WE ALSO HAD A RECAP FROM, UH, PETER ON HIS WORKSHOP, THE LIGHT RAIL, UM, SYSTEM, UH, IMPLEMENTATION AND THE ATTRIBUTES. THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD CONVERSATION AROUND, YOU KNOW, ARE WE FOCUSING ON EXISTING RIDERS OR FOCUSING ON ATTRACTING NEW RIDERS? UM, AND WHAT OUR OUTREACH HAS BEEN IN THAT REGARD. WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE WANTING TO REDUCE COST BY AND, AND ALSO PRIORITIZING SORT OF LENGTH OF THE SYSTEM. UM, GREAT CONVERSATION AROUND THAT. AND THEN WE KIND OF PIVOTED TO THE NPA PROCESS AND THE, UM, SORT OF HOW WE ARE COORDINATING REGIONALLY WITH ALL OF OUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE, WILL BE CONVERGING AT THE SAME TIME, WHETHER IT'S I 35 OR, UM, OTHER ACTIVE MOBILITY INVESTMENTS IN, IN AUSTIN. UM, SO THAT MAY LEAD INTO ANOTHER AGENDA ITEM AT, AT A NEXT MEETING WHERE WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COORDINATION AMONG THE VARIOUS AGENCIES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN ALL OF THESE PROJECTS. UH, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT CAPITAL METRO'S, UM, ELECTRIFICATION OF THEIR FLEET, AND I THINK WE MAY TEE UP A DISCUSSION ON THAT AT A FUTURE MEETING AS WELL. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MEMBER FIDA? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, NEXT WE HAVE THE [4.3. Finance and Risk Advisory Committee] REPORT FROM FINANCE AND RISK ADVISOR COMMITTEE, AND I'LL RECOGNIZE BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. THANK YOU. UM, SO THE FINANCING RISK COMMITTEE MET ON OCTOBER 17TH. UH, A LOT OF FOLKS FROM STAFF AND THANKS FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK. WE ALSO HAD BRIAN BUCHANAN OF HDR AND, UH, RICH LOPEZ PAYTON FROM I Y. SO WE STARTED OFF TALKING ABOUT THE ATP CHANGE ORDER PROCESS. UH, JEN PLY GAVE A A BIT OF AN OVERVIEW THERE THAT IS A WORKING PROCESS. UH, SO WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING IN A, A CHANGE ORDER POLICY, UH, PRIOR TO LETTING OUT SOME OF OUR LARGER CONTRACTS THAT'LL BE COMING OUT IN THE FUTURE. UM, AND THERE WAS AN AGREEMENT THAT, UH, ONCE THAT IS READY, IT'LL BE PRESENTED TO THE A COMMITTEE, UH, AT SOME POINT NEXT YEAR, AND THEN ULTIMATELY TO THE FULL BOARD. UH, SO MORE TO COME ON THAT. UH, SECONDLY, WE HAD A PROJECT CONNECT STATUS UPDATE REPORT FROM, UH, BRIAN BUCHANAN, HDR TALKED ABOUT THE LIGHT RAIL STATUS, SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE. IT WAS A VERY SIMILAR, UH, PRESENTATION TO THE ONE THAT WAS PRESENTED AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING. I THINK THERE WAS SOME GOOD DISCUSSION POINTS ON, ON WHERE WE'RE GOING AND, AND THE MILESTONES THAT WE HAVE AHEAD OF US FOR, UM, THE, UH, LIGHT RAIL REDESIGN. AND THEN WE HAD A, UH, PROJECT, UH, PROGRAM FINANCE, UH, UPDATE LED BY, UH, ATP'S TREASURER BRIAN RIVERA, WHO TALKED ABOUT, UH, WHERE WE ARE IN THE FINANCING PROCESS, SOME OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, FINANCING TOOLS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UH, BONDS AND, AND, UH, AND OBVIOUSLY FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT. UH, AND THEN LASTLY, UM, I LED A BRIEF DISCUSSION ON, UM, PROJECT DELIVERY OPTIONS SIMILAR TO WHAT, UM, TOM HAD DISCUSSED IN OUR [01:55:01] PRESENTATION EARLIER THIS MORNING. AND, UH, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CONSTRUCTION ESCALATION RISK. UM, AND THEN SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF IT, UM, WAS THERE WAS, ON THE CHANGE ORDER, THERE WAS AN EMPHASIS THAT, UH, HAVING A ROBUST CHANGE ORDER POLICY, UH, IS IMPORTANT. UH, AS I SAID BEFORE, WE LET OUT LARGE CONTRACTS. THE, UM, COMMITTEE HEARD PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSS OPTIONS FOR PROJECT CONNECT PHASING AND FINANCING, SUGGESTING SUGGESTIONS INCLUDED A REVIEW OF THE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS, ESCALATION RATES, AND POTENTIAL NEW REVENUE SOURCES TO INCLUDE LOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS, ADVERTISING AND BRANDING OPPORTUNITIES. UH, ONE OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT STAFF MONITOR THE TIMING OF, UH, NEW POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION CHANGES THAT COULD BE HAPPENING IN DC IN THE FUTURE, AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON THE ABILITY FOR US TO BE DRAWING DOWN FEDERAL FUNDS IN THE FUTURE. AND THEN LASTLY, THE REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION, UM, A WOULD LIKE THE STAFF TO RETURN TO THE COMMITTEE ONCE A DRAFT CHANGE ORDER POLICY IS READY FOR REVIEW AND FURTHER DISCUSSION. AND WE'RE GONNA MEET NEXT ON DECEMBER 13TH. THANK YOU. THAT WAS A LOT OF WORK. THANK YOU. . ANY QUESTIONS FOR MEMBER ELKINS? ? JUST A THOUGHT AS WE, AS WE TALK ABOUT, UH, THE CHANGE ORDER PROCESS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WHAT THE INTERNAL PROCESSES ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE OR WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CHANGE COMMITTEE, UM, OR, AND, UH, AS WE GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS, UH, CAN WE WORK WITH, UH, COLETTE HOLT, WHO IS THE PERSON WHO MANAGES THE DISPARITY STUDY FOR THE CITY, THE COUNTY MM-HMM. AND CAP METRO, UH, JUST TO GET IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO EFFECTIVELY MAKE, EFFECTIVELY MAKE SURE THAT, UH, IF THERE ARE CHANGES WE HAVE LIKE KIND CHANGES MM-HMM. , UH, AND, AND THAT BECOME A PRIORITY. THAT'S A GOOD POINT. UH, AND I THINK AS, AS YOU MENTIONED, UH, BOARD MEMBER PAVILION DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY, WHICH IS, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS CRITICAL AND CHANGE ORDER POLICY. THERE NEEDS TO BE CERTAIN, UH, LEVELS IN THE, IN THE FOOD CHAIN THAT, THAT CHANGE ORDERS CAN BE APPROVED, ULTIMATELY HAS TO GO UP TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND THEN ULTIMATELY TO CERTAIN LEVEL IS TO GO TO THE BOARD. UH, SO, UM, THE KEY THING THAT I'VE SEEN IN CHANGE ORDERS, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE GREATEST RISKS IN ANY PROGRAM OR ANY PROJECT OF CHANGE ORDERS, RIGHT? HOW DO YOU MANAGE IT? AND THE ONLY WAY TO MANAGE THAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND EFFECTIVE DOCUMENTATION. NOBODY LIKES TO TALK ABOUT DOCUMENTATION AND CONTROL. IT'S BORING, BUT IT'S ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WITH RESPECT TO CHANGE ORDERS. EVERY CONVERSATION THAT AN ATP STAFF MEMBER HAS WITH A CONSULTANT HAS TO BE DOCUMENTED BECAUSE THEN YOU GET INTO, SHE SAID, HE SAID, OR WHATEVER, AND THEN THE WIDE UP CHALLENGES. BUT APPRECIATE THE RECOMMENDATION. WE, WE FULLY AGREE THERE. UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESSES PROTECT US. I MEAN, EVEN AS WE TALK ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN IS AWARE, USUALLY THE, THE, THE PROJECT SPONSOR OR THE PROJECT MANAGER IS THE PERSON TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE MAINTAINING AND, AND ADHERING TO, UH, THE PROCESSES THAT ARE IN PLACE SO THAT ULTIMATELY WHEN IT GETS TO YOUR CEO, IT IS, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS. YOU'VE CHECKED AND YOU'VE MADE SURE THAT YOU'VE VERIFIED IT IN THE APPROPRIATE WAY, AND THEY'RE SIGNING OFF ON THE VERIFICATION RATHER THAN HAVING TO DO THE INVESTIGATION AND THE LEGWORK THEMSELVES. YEAH, AGREED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. SO MOVING ON, WE'RE, UH, TO THE EXECUTIVE [5.1. Organizational Update] DIRECTOR REPORT. WE WILL NOW HEAR FROM ATP'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREG CANAL. THANK YOU, BOARD CHAIR. UM, WE JUST HAVE A FEW SLIDES TO HIGHLIGHT TODAY. OBVIOUSLY WE'VE HAD A, WE HAD A BUSY MORNING, UM, WANNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES WE'VE HAD GOING ON. UM, THE FIRST THING, UH, WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, SEVERAL OF US ATP AS WELL AS CAP METRO. UM, UH, JOINED A BIG NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR, UH, TRANSIT OUT IN SEATTLE, THE TRANSFORM CONFERENCE, UM, COMMISSIONER DRILL YOU HAD AT THE LAST BOARD YOU TALKED ABOUT, I THINK THE, THE VALUE IN DOWNLOADING WHY WE GO TO THOSE AND THE LESSONS LEARNED. AND, AND SO, UM, WE WANT TO BEGIN THAT PRACTICE, UM, HERE. SO IT WAS, WAS PRETTY GOOD THOUGHTS ON THAT. AND SO WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, DOTTY, I WANT TO CON AND, AND CAPITAL METRO ORGANIZED SERIES OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE FEDERAL TRANS ADMINISTRATION THAT WE WERE ABLE TO JOIN IN CI AS WELL. I THINK TO REALLY SHOW THE WORKING PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE VERY HELPFUL, VALUABLE CONVERSATIONS. I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT, UM, THEY, EVERYONE IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT ALL THE WORK WE HAVE GOING ON DOWN HERE IN AUSTIN, NOT ONLY IN TRANSIT, BUT THE OVERALL TRANSPORTATION, UM, EFFORTS GOING ON AROUND OUR COMMUNITY. UM, SO IT WAS A VERY VALUED CONVERSATION. WE HAD A CHANCE TO GO, UM, VISIT WITH SOUND TRANSIT. UH, THEY HAVE A BRAND NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. WE'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR ABOUT A MONTH, BUT JUST KIND OF LESSONS [02:00:01] LEARNED. I WOULD SAY THEY'RE ABOUT 15 YEARS AHEAD OF US IN TERMS OF THEY WERE CREATED TO BUILD AND, AND INVEST AND TURN IT OVER TO KING COUNTY. AND SO WE WENT THROUGH A, JUST A DIALOGUE, A GREAT LUNCH, INCREDIBLY, UM, THOUGHTFUL, UM, CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD WITH THEM. UM, GREAT, GREAT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THAT WE HAD. 40 TO 45 BILLION. YEAH, I MEAN, I'M, I, I COMMISSIONER. I'M WILLING TO TALK ABOUT THOSE MORE BILLIONS. YOU JUST LET ME KNOW WHEN THE RIGHT TIME IS. YEAH, EXACTLY. UM, AND THEN OUR STAFF OUT, UM, UH, IN, IN THE CONFERENCE, BRINGING PEOPLE AROUND THE COUNTRY. JUST A GREAT EXERCISE, UH, THAT WE HAD AND THE VIDEOS UP THERE FOR PEOPLE TO WATCH AROUND, UH, THE CONFERENCES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GO TO, BOTH NETWORKING AND LEARNING, UM, AND TALKING ABOUT OUR PROGRAM. I THINK IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE ALL ABLE TO DO. UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, REMEMBER WE HAVE CREATED A, UM, OUR, OUR BOARD BRIEF, OUR STATUS BRIEF, THAT AS WE SAID, IT STARTED OFF AS ONE PAGE AND IT'S GROWING. AND WE, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH AN OVER UNDER ON HOW BIG IT'S GONNA GET. IT'S GONNA GET BIG CUZ AS OUR PROGRAM GROWS AND WE START BUILDING AND WE WANNA PROVIDE THAT ONE STOP SHOP INFORMATION AND CONTINUE TO BUILD IN ELEMENTS THAT YOU NEED TO SEE, THAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO SEE. AND IT INCLUDES THE HIGHLIGHTS OF FROM OUT THE ENTIRE PROGRAM. REMEMBER, THIS PROGRAM IS A PROGRAM OF PARTNERSHIPS. YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT THAT HERE IN A MOMENT. UM, UH, EVERYONE PERFORMING THEIR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND, UH, SO LIGHT RAILED, METRO RAPID, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. UH, PETER MENTIONED WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IN SOME OF THAT EFFORT OVER THE LAST MONTH. UM, AND THEN OUR ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES. AND I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT ONE, UH, ITEM WE DID COMMIT, AND YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT IT HERE IN A MOMENT ON OUR STAFFING TO COME BACK AND TALK TO, TO YOU ABOUT OUR STAFFING AND WHERE WE ARE ON THAT EACH, EACH MONTH TO SHOW YOU OUR THREE MONTH LOOK AHEAD CASE. YOU'LL WALK THROUGH THAT. UM, AND THEN ALSO ON OUR CONTRACTS, UH, CONVERSATION DURING OUR BUDGET ABOUT HOW WE WERE WORKING THROUGH SOME OF OUR EXISTING CONTRACTS AND NEGOTIATING THAT, I'M, I'M PLEASED TO, TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO WORK VERY WELL WITH, UM, OUR PMO R CONTRACT AND MAKE TWO BIG CHANGES FROM OUR, FROM OUR WHAT WAS IN THE BUDGET. UM, INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT A YEAR TASK ORDER, WE BROKE IT INTO TWO SIX MONTH TASK ORDERS. AND THAT FIRST SIX MONTH TASK ORDER NOW REALLY MAPS TO OUR CURRENT PROCESS. SO BEFORE WE COMMIT TO WHAT'S HAPPENING NINE MONTHS FROM NOW, WE NEED TO GET THROUGH THE SIX MONTHS. AND THEN LOOKING AT THAT SIX MONTH ALLOTMENT, WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE COST BY ABOUT 25%, UM, FROM WHAT WE HAD IN THE BUDGET. SO REALLY GOOD KIND OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM AND OUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ALIGNING OUR TASKS OF THAT. AND I WANNA, AGAIN, THAT COMES FROM THE BOARD DISCUSSION THAT YOU HAD ABOUT THE BUDGET AND THE REQUEST THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT IN A DIFFERENT LENS AND WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT AS A FOLLOW ON. AND I, OUR COMMITMENT WAS TO REPORT BACK TO YOU ON THAT. UM, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT. WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT THIS BOARD BRIEF. UM, AND THE OTHER THING I WANNA ANNOUNCE, I THINK BEFORE WE GO TO CASEY, IS ON THE, THE HIRING. JUST I'LL, I'LL, I'LL JUMP THE GUN A LITTLE BIT ON THE NEXT, IS IT THE NEXT LINE YOU WANNA JUMP TO? I STOLE MY THUNDER. YEAH. , UH, WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE A HIRE ON OUR, UH, UH, CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS. UH, UH, JULIA CAMPBELL IS COMING IN AND SHE'LL START DECEMBER 1ST OF JUST A VAST EXPERIENCE HERE LOCALLY IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, COMES FROM A HOUSING BACKGROUND, A PLANNING BACKGROUND, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE HER ENERGY, UM, ON OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM. WITH THAT, I WILL NOW, I WON'T STEAL ANY MORE THUNDER, . NO, IT'S VERY EXCITING. WE'RE, WE'RE JUST SORELY IN NEED OF A CHIEF COMMS PERSON JUST TO HELP US WITH ALL OF THAT WORK, BUT ALSO, UM, INCREDIBLE HIRE. SO, UM, I'M EXCITED TO HAVE HER ON BOARD AS WELL. UM, SO, AND THEN SIMILARLY ON THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL, WE HAVE A CHIEF OF ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION, UM, TO KIND OF REPLACE OUR, OUR BELOVED DAVE COUCH WHO LEFT US. SO, UM, THAT WE'VE JUST COMPLETED INTERVIEWS, SO WE'RE PRETTY CLOSE, I THINK BY THE DECEMBER BOARD MEETING. WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT, WHICH IS EXCITING. UM, WAY TO FILL OUR, FILL OUT OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM. UM, AND THEN THESE ARE ALL POSITIONS THAT WERE KIND OF INCLUDED BACK IN SEPTEMBER. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE JUST, THERE'S NOTHING ADDITIONAL EXCEPT, UM, JUST THE UPDATE IS THAT WE'VE GOT THESE POSTED, UM, ON THE IT SERVICES. WE'VE, RATHER THAN POSTING, WE'VE DECIDED TO ENGAGE WITH A CONTRACTOR TO KIND OF GET THE LAY OF THE LAND BEFORE WE FULLY KNOW WHAT UM, LEVEL, POSITION WE NEED ON THE IT SIDE. SO THEY'RE DOING SOME HOMEWORK AND THEN JUST HELPING US WITH DAY-TO-DAY TECH ISSUES, WHICH ARE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, LIFE IN, UH, THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN. SO, AND THEN FINANCE, WE'VE GOT AN ACCOUNTING POSITION THAT'S POSTED AND WE'RE INTERVIEWING FOR, AND, UM, THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT'S GOT THEIR SENIOR AUDITOR POSTED THE NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN I, I BELIEVE YOU GUYS WILL ALL RECALL THAT BACK IN SEPTEMBER. WE TALKED ABOUT KIND OF IN PARALLEL WITH THIS PROGRAM WIDE EFFORT TO, TO FIND A, A WAY TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE BUILDING IN THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE. WE ALSO, UM, ARE IN TANDEM LOOKING AT THE ORGANIZATION AND MAKING SURE, YOU [02:05:01] KNOW, WE HEARD IT FROM TOM WITH EY, WE HEARD IT FROM INDUSTRY OVER AND OVER AGAIN, HOW CRITICAL IT IS TO HAVE THE RIGHT ORGANIZATION, THE RIGHT TEAM, THE RIGHT CULTURE WITHIN THAT TEAM TO BE ABLE TO DO, UM, CERTAIN TYPES OF PROCUREMENT IN PARTICULAR, UM, BORMAN ELKINS COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING. AND, AND SO TO READY US FOR THAT TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP AND TO BE ABLE TO BUILD WHAT WE DECIDE WE ARE, WHICH THE COMMUNITY DECIDES WE'RE GONNA BE BUILDING AS OF IN THE, AS OF THE SPRING, WE ARE GOING TO, BY THAT TIME UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE ORGANIZATIONALLY AND TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. UM, AND SO THIS IS THROUGH THE ERNSTON YOUNG CONTRACT. IT IS BEING SUPPLEMENTED BY SOME, UM, SOME SUBCONTRACTORS WHO ARE LOCAL AS WELL TO KIND OF HELP US WITH DAY TO DAY CHANGES. UM, AND THEIR DELIVERABLES ARE KIND OF A RECOMMENDATION FOR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE CHANGES OR OPTIONS THAT WE, THAT THEY MIGHT THINK WE NEED, UM, RESOURCING PLAN SO THAT WE HAVE KIND OF THE RIGHT RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THE CONTRACTING MECHANISM. THIS DOVETAILS WITH, OF COURSE, THE DELIVERY METHODOLOGY REVIEW THAT'S HAPPENING UNDER A SEPARATE TASK ORDER WITH EY, UM, BUT RELATED AND THEN KIND OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. UM, SO WE ARE VERY, IT'S A LOT TO TAKE UNDERTAKE AT THE SAME TIME AS ALL THE, UM, KIND OF DESIGN AND COMMUNITY WORK THAT'S TAKING PLACE, BUT I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE GET THE ORGANIZATION IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS WORK. SO QUESTION IF I MAY, SO ON THIS CHART HERE, WHEN WE LOOK AT ORGANIZATION AS ORGANIZATION, NOT JUST ATP STAFF, IS IT ALSO LOOKING AT THE BROADER, LIKE THE ROLE THAT WE HAVE WITH CONSULTANTS, THE BALANCE OF WHAT THE RIGHT, YEAH. AMOUNT OF STAFF TO CONSULTANTS IS. EXACTLY. UM, ALSO SECOND, WHAT SERVICES ARE SECONDED OUT TO OTHER AGENCIES AND THAT, SO IT'S HOLISTIC, RIGHT? EXACTLY RIGHT. GOTCHA. BECAUSE OF THAT LEVEL OF COLLABORATION THAT'S GONNA BE NECESSARY WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR. WHAT IS THE CORE TEAM? WHAT ARE THOSE ROLES THAT CAN BE FILLED, YOU KNOW, THROUGH A CONTRACTOR VERSUS NEED TO BE ON BOARD? UM, ULTIMATELY ATP WILL BE MAKING THE DECISIONS, SO WE GOTTA MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT FOLKS THAT MAKES, MAKE THOSE HARD DECISIONS. BUT, UM, AND REALLY KIND OF WHAT'S MOST COST EFFECTIVE, WHAT REPRE WHAT REFLECTS THE MARKET INDUSTRY, UM, AND WHICH IS ALWAYS EVOLVING. SO, YEAH, NO, I THINK THIS IS GREAT AND I THINK IT'S COST IS GREAT AND, YOU KNOW, I'M A FINANCE GUY, BUT IT'S ALSO EFFICIENCY, RIGHT? WE NEED TO BE FOCUSED. WHAT'S THE MOST EFFICIENT SOLUTION? WHAT'S THE MOST EFFICIENT ORGANIZATION TO BE ABLE TO REACT QUICKLY, TO BE NIMBLE? SO I THINK, I THINK THIS IS A POSITIVE THING. YEAH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT. UM, SO, SO JUST A QUESTION, UM, IS ANY, UH, AN INTERNAL TRAINING OR CAREER PROGRESSION PLAN? I MEAN, OFTENTIMES WE, WE BRING IN CONSULTANTS, UH, WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY YET. WE'RE NEW, WE'RE A STARTUP. SO IT, IT STANDS TO REASON THAT THERE'S SOME SPACES THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE CAPACITY. AND SO WE BRING THE CAPACITY IN THAT'S NECESSARY. BUT DO WE HAVE A TRAINING PLAN THAT ALLOWS US TO BUILD THAT INTERNAL CAPACITY AND RELY LESS AND LESS ON EXTERNAL CAPACITY? IF, IF, IF THAT IS OUR GOAL OR, UH, WHERE DO WE DETERMINE IN A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS, WHAT SHOULD BE INTERNAL COMPLIANCE ORIENTED? WHAT SHOULD BE EXTERNAL, MAYBE OPERATIONAL, UM, IN ITS NATURE? JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE COULD TRAIN SOMEBODY TO DO IT, BUT IT'S EASIER TO HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE DO IT THAT'S BUSY WORK OR WORK THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO DO. OR IT MIGHT COST US LESS TO, UH, CONTRACT THAN TO DO INTERNALLY. DO WE HAVE A PLAN WHERE WE MEASURE THOSE TYPES OF THINGS? YEAH, I BELIEVE THE, THE WORK THAT'LL COME OUT OF THIS EFFORT WILL KIND OF LOOK AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS, RIGHT? AND THEN OPTIONS OVER TIME. SO IT WON'T BE, THIS JUST ENDS, YOU KNOW, IN MARCH WHEN WE HAVE ENHANCER, IT'S REALLY KIND OF, OKAY, WE'RE IN THE DESIGN PHASE, WE'RE IN THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE. WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR OUR ORGANIZATION RIGHT NOW? HOW DOES THAT INFORM THE TYPE OF CONTRACTING PARTNER WE WANNA HAVE? AND THEN HOW DOES THAT EVOLVE? MAKING SURE WE HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THAT CONTRACT. BUT I, I AGREE, I THINK THERE'S SOME CRITICAL LESSONS LEARNED FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WHERE THEY MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE IP AND THE TRAINING AND ALL THE INFORMATION THAT COMES FROM THAT PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNER. AND THEN OVER TIME WE CAN MAKE THE DECISION. I KNOW A LOT OF SOUND TRANSIT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE. THEY KIND OF STARTED OFF THINKING THEY WOULD NEVER BE OVER A HUNDRED PEOPLE AND NOW THEY'RE UP TO A THOUSAND, I BELIEVE. SO, YOU KNOW, DECISIONS GET MADE OVER TIME. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S NECESSARILY WHERE WE'RE GOING, BUT I THINK BASED ON WHERE WE ARE TODAY, WHAT'S THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE, WHAT'S OUR, WHAT'S OUR PROJECT DELIVERY METHODOLOGY AND THAT CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITY THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR THIS PROJECT IN AUSTIN, THEN WE CAN HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY AND MAKE THE DECISION ABOUT HOW BIG WE GROW, HOW MUCH TALENT WE BRING IN HOUSE OR NOT, BECAUSE THE IDEA IS PROFICIENCY. AND THEN BEST PRACTICES, YOU KNOW, AS IF WE ARE, IF WE'RE GONNA CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT IS OUR SWEET SPOT? AND THEN WHAT [02:10:01] IS IT THAT IT MAKES SENSE? UH, IT WOULD TAKE SO MUCH EFFORT, SO MUCH TRAINING TO BRING A WORKFORCE UP TO THAT SPEED. IT'S EASIER TO CONTRACT IT OUT. AND THEN WE MANAGE THE COMPLIANCE FUNCTION, UH, NOT NO HARD AND FAST RULES JUST, AND AN IDEA OF WHAT WE WANT THE ORGANIZATION TO LOOK LIKE AND, AND PERFORM OVER TIME, RIGHT? YEAH. AND I THINK MAINTAINING THAT LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY AND UNDERSTANDING THE OPTIONS AND TRADE OFFS TO DIFFERENT MODELS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I DO HAVE A QUESTION, CASEY. SURE. FOR YOU MENTIONED THE DELIVERABLE DATE FOR THIS. WHAT IS THERE A SURE. SO, UM, OVERALL, WE'RE AIMING FOR MARCH TO KIND OF FINISH THIS, BUT I WILL SAY, UM, AS EARLY AS JANUARY, WE'LL COME BACK WITH SOME EARLY UNDERSTANDINGS OF, OF WHERE SOME OF THESE DELIVERABLES ARE, ARE FAST TRACKED OR MORE PRIORITIZED. SO, SO I'LL BE MAKING SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS IN PROBABLY BY JANUARY, UM, OF CHANGES TO THE ORGANIZATION. I KNOW WE HAD DISCUSSED AS A BOARD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF RETREAT TO UNDERSTAND ALSO THE ORGANIZATIONS, UH, GOALS AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED. AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD A COMPLETE BOARD TO SIT, UH, YOU KNOW, REPLACEMENT OF DR. BURNETT. AND I KNOW AS WE TRANSITION ALSO MAYOR ADLER WITH OUR NEW LEADERSHIP, I THINK IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO CONNECT TO THIS WORK THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, OVERALL BOARD'S VISION ON, ON THE ORGANIZATION AS WELL. I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD RE UH, REMINDER FOR ALL OF US THAT THERE IS A COMMITMENT TO BRING THE BOARD TOGETHER, UH, WITH OUR LEADERSHIP TO GO THROUGH THIS DISCUSSION. AND I THINK TAKING US BACK A LITTLE BIT BACK TO MAY AND JUNE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE JOURNEY THAT WE NEEDED TO GO ON HERE AS WE WERE ADDRESSING, UM, THE INDEPENDENCE OF ATP AND THESE TWO, THESE TWO EFFORTS AROUND THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT AND A GOOD WORK PLAN AROUND THAT, BUT ALSO THE ORGANIZATION ITSELF. AND IT'S, WE ARE A PROJECT AS WE, WE HAVE THE PROJECT OF BUILDING OUR IDENTITY. SO I WANT TO COMMEND AND REALLY THANK CASEY FOR HER LEADERSHIP ON BRINGING THIS TOGETHER. IT'S A LOT OF WORK, BUT WE RECOGNIZE IT CAN'T WAIT FOR, AFTER WE FIGURE OUT THE PROJECT SIDE, THEY GO HAND IN HAND COMMISSION YOUR SENSE OF THAT. WHO, WHO ARE WE, HOW ARE WE GONNA STAFF AS IT RELATES TO DELIVERY, AS IT RELATES TO, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NOW AND LATER. AND SO WE THOUGHT THESE ARE TWO MASSIVE EFFORTS, BUT THIS IS THE WORK, UM, BY DOING THIS WORK, IT'S CREATING OUR IDENTITY. AND THEN I THINK WE CAN COME TOGETHER IN A, IN A, IN AN EFFORT, UH, TOGETHER TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT WHO WE ARE AND, AND, AND, AND, AND HAVE A HAVE YOU GUYS GIVE US SOME KIND OF A ROBUST VIEW OF, OF THE IDENTITY OF THIS ORGANIZATION. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND I THINK WE WANNA BE READY FOR THE WORK, READY FOR THOSE, UM, CONTENT WISE. AND I THINK WE'RE IN A GOOD SPOT. GREAT. SO I MOVE ON TO MINE OR YOU STILL HAVE MORE? NO, I'M GOOD. UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS. NO MORE QUESTIONS FOR OUR LEGAL CASEY. THANK YOU MS. BURAK. SURE. OUR LEGAL CASEY NEVER TAKE, THAT SOUNDED KIND OF FUNNY. UM, SO I LIKE TO UPDATE THE BOARD ALSO ON THE SEARCH FOR OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UM, THAT WE SENT OUT A SOLICITATION THAT WAS SEPTEMBER, CORRECT. AND UNFORTUNATELY WE ONLY HAD ONE FIRM RESPONSE, SO WE HAD TO, WE WERE FORCED TO CANCEL THAT SOLICITATION. AND, UM, SO WE REVAMPED IT AND THERE WAS SOME BRIEFINGS, UM, DEBRIEFS WITH THE PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T ACTUALLY COMMIT TO, TO SUBMIT, UH, A RESPONSE TO A SOLICITATION. SO WITH THAT, THAT SOLICITATION IS GETTING REVAMPED AND IT WILL BE RELEASED IN EARLY DECEMBER FOR THE RECRUITMENT FIRM. THAT'S GONNA HELP US FIND OUR NEXT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THE BOARD UP TO SPEED AND, UM, SO DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES. MEMBER GARZA. YES. DO WE HAVE A, LIKE A JOB SPEC OR DESIRED QUALIFICATION, WHATEVER OF THE CANDIDATE WE'D LIKE TO SEARCH FOR? NOT YET. AND THE GOAL OF HAVING THIS RECRUITMENT FIRST, THAT THEY'RE GONNA HOLD OUR HAND FOR WHAT THIS LEADERSHIP PROFILE LOOKS LIKE. AND AGAIN, WE, THIS WAS ALSO IN A WAY INTENTIONAL TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A FULL BOARD SEATED. I'M VERY PLEASED, YES. MM-HMM. . SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT THE WHOLE BOARD IS IN, IS INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS. UM, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE FIRM THAT WE HIRE UNDERSTANDS ALSO THE COMMITMENTS. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT BECAME A VERY LARGE SOLICITATION AWAY BECAUSE WE INCLUDED THE JPA WITHIN IT AND THE JPA STIPULATES, WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS WHEN WE GO THROUGH THIS RECRUITMENT PROCESS [02:15:01] WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND WHAT DOES, WHAT DID THOSE LOOK LIKE? SO THAT WHATEVER PROPOSAL THEY GAVE US, THEY HAD A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE EXPECTATION WAS, UH, WHICH BECAME INTIMIDATING FOR SOME FIRMS, BUT WE HAVE TO FIND THE RIGHT MATCH AND THEY'RE GONNA HELP US DEVELOP THAT LEADERSHIP PROFILE. YES, SIR. I JUST HAVE ONE COMMENT. SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S A DISAPPOINTING THAT WE PUT OUT A, UM, SOLICITATION. WE ONLY GOT ONE FIRM RESPONDING. IT'S BEEN SEVEN MONTHS SINCE WE, WE, UM, ELECTED TO GO, UH, A DIFFERENT DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO LEADERSHIP. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE TAKE A LOOK AT LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS PROCUREMENT, WHAT WENT RIGHT, WHAT WENT WRONG, SO THAT WHEN WE DO NEW SOLICITATIONS, THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL. SO NO, EXACTLY. WE'RE TAKING THIS OPPORTUNITY EXACTLY FOR, FOR YOUR COMMENTS, EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BECAUSE IT, IT WAS, IT WAS ROBUST AND IT WAS A BIT TOO MUCH IN A WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE SIMPLIFY IT? AND, AND THE LESSONS LEARNED THAT IT, IT WOULD ENTAIL THE WHOLE BOARD TO GET FEEDBACK AS WELL AS WE WORK WITH THE, WITH PROCUREMENT AND, AND YOUR GUIDANCE AS WELL, IS THAT WHAT MAKES ATP NIMBLE, RIGHT? AS WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD, LET'S HAVE THAT IN MIND IN, IN MAKING US, UM, A PRODUCTIVE, NIMBLE BOARD, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATION. SO THANK YOU BOARD MEMBER ELKINS FOR, FOR THAT COMMENT. UM, SO MOVING ON, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, SO, [5.2. Project Connect Project Status Report / Board Brief] UM, WE HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING NEW THAT WE'RE TRYING TO INFORM THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF THE ORGANIZATION OF OUR AGENDA AND RECOGNIZING THAT WE HAVE THE GREAT EXPERTISE OF CAPITAL METRO CITY HERE ON THE TABLE WITH US AND OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN THROUGH THE REPRESENTATION OF GINA FI, DACA, THAT THE THREE ADMINISTRATORS FROM EACH ENTITY HAVE MET. THEY'RE ORGANIZING THEIR ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND HOW WE'RE GONNA PROGRESS IN THIS PROGRAM. AND ANYTHING THAT WE NEED TO, THAT HOW WE EACH ENTITY'S OVERSEEING THEIR, THEIR SCOPE OF WORK. I THINK IT'S REALLY A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR EACH OF THEM TO ALSO LET Y'ALL KNOW, RIGHT? WHAT, HOW THEY'RE DOING, HOW THEY'RE PROGRESSING. SO MOVING FORWARD, AT EVERY BOARD MEETING, WE'RE GONNA SHARE THEIR, THEIR EXPERTISE AND THEY'RE GONNA BRING IT TO THIS BOARD. SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO BRING IT OVER TO YOU, GREG, TO HELP US EXPLAIN IT MORE. THANK YOU. BOARD CHAIR. YEAH. AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. WE SAW THIS MORNING, WE HAD A CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT AS WE'RE PERFORMING OUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT LIGHT RAIL, BUT I'LL, I'LL NOTICE THAT EVEN IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, A LOT OF IT WAS ABOUT THE COLLABORATION GOING ON, RIGHT? THE OPERATIONAL, THE SYSTEM PLANNING, HOW WE'RE WORKING ON ORDINANCES AND, AND UTILITIES. UM, AND THEN THIS AFTERNOON, I THINK TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE LEAD, THE LEAD THAT OUR ENTITIES ARE, ARE TAKING AS PART OF THIS OVERALL PROGRAM. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE WE'RE ALL WORKING TOGETHER. THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS GOING ON, AND TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE STUFF THAT SOMETIMES, UM, UM, WE, WE WE'RE NOT HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE IT OFF THE, THE WORDS OFF THE PAPER AND TALK ABOUT IT. UM, GREAT, AMAZING PARTNERSHIPS AND I THINK YOU GET A CHANCE TO HEAR ABOUT THE STATUS OF SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE AND SOME GREAT NEWS THAT WE HAD THIS WEEK, UM, IN REGARD TO ONE OF THEM. SO I THINK [6.1. Update by CapMetro on MetroRapid and MetroRail Projects] WE'LL TURN IT OVER. DOTTIE, YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE UP FIRST ON, ON CAT METRO. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE GREAT WORK GOING ON AT CAT METRO AND I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PROJECT CONNECT INTEGRATION, MOLLY KING. UM, SHE DOES A REALLY GREAT JOB OF TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE ENTIRE CAT METRO EXECUTIVE TEAM UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S GOING ON HERE ON THE PROGRAM. SHE ACTUALLY CO-LOCATE IN THIS BUILDING, UM, WITH THE ATP STAFF AND WILL PROVIDE TODAY'S UPDATE. THANK YOU. UM, AGAIN, GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS, I THINK YOU MICROPHONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL. GOOD AFTERNOON AGAIN. MY NAME IS MOLLY KING AND I'M THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PROJECT CONNECT INTEGRATION AT CAP METRO. THANK YOU BOARD CHAIR CASTRO DERE, ATP BOARD MEMBERS, AND OUR TRI-PARTY LEADERSHIP FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE CAT METRO PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM UPDATE WITH YOU TODAY. AS YOU ALL ARE WELL AWARE, AND AS GREG MENTIONED EARLIER, PROJECT CONNECT IS MORE THAN JUST BRINGING LIGHT RAIL TO AUSTIN. THERE ARE MORE IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR EXISTING SERVICES THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO THE COMMUNITY AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT. SO I'LL KICK IT OFF WITH OUR RED LINE METRO RAIL UPDATES, BOTH OF WHICH ARE ON TIME AND ON BUDGET. AND I'M GRATEFUL TO OUR TEAM'S HARD WORK TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THIS GREAT NEWS WITH YOU. THE LAKE LINE LEANDER DOUBLE TRACKING PROJECT WAS THE FIRST PROJECT TO BREAK GROUND AS PART OF THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM BACK IN SEPTEMBER, 2021. THIS IS A CAP METRO FUNDED PROJECT THAT SUPPORTS THE INCREASED QUALITY OF SERVICE THAT THE TRI-PARTY COMMITTED TO BRINGING TO OUR COMMUNITY. WE'RE NEARING COMPLETION AND PLANNING A RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE END OF THE YEAR TO CELEBRATE THIS MILESTONE, AND YOU ALL WILL BE INVITED TO JOIN US. [02:20:01] SECONDLY, THE MCCOLL STATION PROJECT CONTINUES AFTER BREAKING GROUND IN JULY, 2022. THE STATION WILL SERVE NOT ONLY THE Q2 STADIUM, BUT ALSO THE SURROUNDING DEVELOPMENTS IN A GROWING COMMUNITY, CONNECTING THEM TO DOWNTOWN LEANDER AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN THE VIDEO PLAYING IS ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION TAKING PLACE ON SITE. OUR TEAM WILL BE WRAPPING UP THIS WORK FOR AN OPENING IN LATE 2023, AND YOU'LL SEE THE CAPITAL ILA FOR THIS PROJECT IS ON TODAY'S BOARD AGENDA TO SUPPORT THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOTH OF THESE PROJECTS. RAIL SERVICE WILL BE SUSPENDED OVER THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY FROM NOVEMBER 19TH THROUGH THE 27TH, BUT SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE WILL BE PROVIDED. SO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE. UM, WE'LL NOW TURN TO METRO RAPID, OUR VERSION OF BUS RAPID TRANSIT THAT OFFERS HIGH FREQUENCY SERVICE WITH LIMITED STOPS TRAVELING WITH SOME PRIORITY LANES AND TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY. SO WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF 2 0 4 NEW METRO RAPID LINES AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT, AND THOSE ARE PLEASANT VALLEY AND THE EXPO CENTER LINES. THESE LINES WILL HAVE AN ALL ELECTRIC FLEET, WHICH WE KNOW THE COMMUNITY IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT. THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES WILL BE SUPPORTED BY END OF LINE CHARGING AS WELL AS CHARGERS AT DEPOTS. AND SO YOU SEE HERE THAT WE'RE, UM, MAKING GREAT PROGRESS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE SHELTERS. WE'VE HIT A MILESTONE OF A HUNDRED PERCENT DESIGN ON OUR SHELTERS, AND WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT A PROTOTYPE HERE IN EARLY DECEMBER. UM, WE'RE ALSO VERY EXCITED BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR SMALL STARTS, GRANTS EXPECTED FROM THE FTA IN THE COMING WEEKS. SO MORE TO COME ON THAT FRONT. WE ARE ALSO OPENING PARK AND RIDES AS PART OF THESE LINES, PROVIDING CONVENIENT ACCESS FOR CUSTOMERS WHO AREN'T WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE. AS PER CITY OF AUSTIN REGULATIONS, WE ARE GOING THROUGH THE SITE, SITE AND LAND USE ZONING PROCESSES TO ENSURE THAT THE PARK AND RIDES ARE DESIGNATED ACCORDINGLY. WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR CITY PARTNERS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. WE'VE ALSO WORKED WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN ON A NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL ON THE EXPO CENTER LINE TO ENSURE SAFETY FOR ALL MODES, ESPECIALLY PEDESTRIANS AND BUSES. THIS IS JUST A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE, BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING TO ALL MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT THESE PROJECTS AND THE OTHER INITIATIVES THAT WE ARE WORKING ON TO SUPPORT PROJECT CONNECT AT OUR UPCOMING TRI-PARTY MEETING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, MEMBER ELKINS. THANK YOU, MOLLY. UH, THANK YOU, MOLLY. THIS IS GREAT TO SEE ALL THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE, UM, WE'RE DOING. AND ONE THING THAT CERTAINLY PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE, UH, ON TIME AND ON BUDGET. I'D LOVE TO HEAR THOSE TWO THINGS FOR ME. BUT, BUT THE OTHER THING I THINK WOULD BE IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD, EVERY TIME THAT WE HAVE A REPORT ON THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS OR OTHER PROJECTS, AND I'D LIKE TO SEE IF MY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS AGREE WITH ME, IS A REPORT ON WHERE WE ARE WITH DBE GOALS. SORRY, DBE GOALS. OH, EVERY PROJECT HAS A DBE GOAL. MM-HMM. , I'D LIKE TO SEE, ARE WE AHEAD? ARE WE BEHIND? IF WE'RE BEHIND, WHY ARE WE BEHIND? I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THIS BOARD SEE THAT FEEDBACK ON THESE PROJECTS, BUT ALSO OTHER PROJECTS GOING FORWARD AS JUST SOMETHING WE AUTOMATICALLY PUT IN THE SLIDE DECK AND THAT THROW IT OUT TO THE BOARD IF THERE'S AGREEMENT ON THAT. YEAH. JUST, JUST TO, UH, THOSE ARE REPORTED ON EACH AND EVERY PROJECT AND USUALLY PROJECTS, UH, SPECIFIC, UH, YOU KNOW, BUT OFTENTIMES, UH, STAFF WILL HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT IT'S GONNA PUT IN A SHORT PRESENTATION. MM-HMM. , THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SHARE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, UH, PURSUED AS A BOARD. UM, MAKING, MAKING SURE THAT WE INCLUDE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT THEY ARE NOT ONLY AWARE OF, THEY ARE, THEY'RE AWARE OF THE SCOPES, EVERY SCOPE OF WORK THAT'S AVAILABLE, AND EVERYBODY WHO IS CERTIFIED TO DO THAT TYPE OF WORK IS NOTIFIED AND OF THE OPPORTUNITY. SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN PULL TOGETHER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU THANK YOU. YOU, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MS. KING? NO. OH, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? NO. THANK YOU. I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS. EXCITING AND CONGRATULATIONS ON THE PROGRESS. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. SO NOW MOVING ON [6.2. Update by City of Austin on proposed Project Connect Ordinance] TO BOARD MEMBER FI DACA WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO SHARE HER UPDATES. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU CHAIR. SO WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE PROJECT CONNECT FOUNDATIONAL ORDINANCE AND REGULATIONS, AND I AM JOINED HERE BY AN BODAY, OUR PROJECTS CONNECT PROGRAM OFFICER AND DONNA GALLATE PROGRAM LEAD FOR THE CITY'S PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE. UM, JUST TO PREFACE THIS, THIS DISCUSSION THIS AFTERNOON, UM, YESTERDAY, COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED CHANGES TO OUR, UM, FOUNDATIONAL ORDINANCES AND REGULATIONS AS THEY RELATE TO IMPLEMENTATION OF LIGHT WELL IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, THIS WAS THE OUTCOME OF COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT WE RECEIVED IN OCTOBER OF 2021. SO AS A RESULT OF A YEAR LONG EFFORT BY THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, THAT LEADS US TO TODAY WHERE, UM, WE ARE REALLY EMBRACING OUR ROLE AS PARTNERS HERE, UM, KNOWING THAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LIGHT RAIL IN OUR DEVELOPMENT [02:25:01] PROCESS. UM, WE KNOW THAT, UH, DELAYS ARE COSTLY IN TERMS OF, OF TIME AND, AND SCOPE. AND SO WHAT THIS DOES IS THIS SORT OF CREATES A ONE STOP SHOP FOR A TRANSIT IN LIGHT RAIL, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO ANIQUE AND DONNA TO LEAD YOU THROUGH WHAT THIS ACTUALLY MEANS AND WHY THIS IS SO SIGNIFICANT AND WHY WE'RE CELEBRATING THIS. THANK YOU, UH, ACM P AND DACA AND A WARM WELCOME TO YOU, UH, BOARD MEMBER GARZA, AND, UM, THANK YOU CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBERS FOR HAVING US. UM, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT FIRST AND FOREMOST, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO, UM, IN THE LAST MONTH SINCE THESE WILL BE MONTHLY REPORTS IS NOT ONLY THE PROJECT CONNECT ORDINANCE, BUT COLLABORATION. SO ALL OF THE THINGS THAT MS. KING, UM, HIGHLIGHTED, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR GROUP IN THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, ALSO CO-LOCATED. WE ARE, YOU KNOW, ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES, OUR STAFF WORKING WITH CAP METRO HAND IN HAND EVERY DAY ON THE PERMITTING AND JUST REVIEW ASPECTS, UM, FOR, UH, THE RED LINE FOR, UM, PLEASANT VALLEY, FOR EXPO, FOR THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT. AND SO IT REALLY IS, THE PARTNERSHIP IS REALLY, UM, GETTING IT STRIDE AND ITS CADENCE. UM, AND SO I WANNA JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR THE COLLABORATION TO AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND CAP METRO. SO THE, THE REALLY BIG NEWS THIS WEEK AS ACM PCA POINTED OUT IS THAT COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION. IT WAS THE OUTCOME OF DIRECTION THEY GAVE TO THE CITY MANAGER BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2021. AND IT WAS BASED IN, UM, THE NEEDS OF THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, WHICH IS OUR OVERARCHING TRANSPORTATION POLICY. UM, AND ALSO, UH, VOTER APPROVAL OF PROJECT CONNECT. AND, UM, THE ENO REPORT, ENO IS A, UM, TRANSPORTATION THINK TANK THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR OVER A CENTURY, I BELIEVE. AND THEY RELEASED A VERY TIMELY REPORT FOR US AFTER OUR REFERENDUM THAT TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE MAIN RISKS TO NORTH AMERICAN, UM, RAIL PROJECTS. AND AS WE SAW EARLIER IN THE BOARD MEETING, PERMITTING MADE IT TO THE TOP OF ONE OF THE SLIDES, UM, THAT EY WAS, WAS GIVING YOU. AND SO COUNCIL SAID, YOU KNOW, CITY, LET'S LOOK AT OUR OWN RULES AND REGULATIONS AND MAKE SURE WE DON'T GET IN OUR OWN WAY. AND SO WHAT PASSED YESTERDAY, UM, I'M GONNA QUICKLY WALK YOU THROUGH, BUT IT'S IS A FOUNDATIONAL ORDINANCE THAT, UM, IS A ONE STOP SHOP FOR WHEN APPLICATIONS START COMING IN FOR THE LAYERED AND PHASING, UM, CONSTRUCTION THAT'S GOING TO BE, UH, INDICATIVE OF LIGHT RAIL, THAT WE ARE DOING IT IN THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO SAVE TAXPAYER MONEY AND ALSO GET THINGS DONE BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO RIDE THE LIGHT RAIL. WE, WE HAD A, YOU KNOW, ALMOST 60% VOTE BACK IN, UM, IN 2020. SO NEXT SLIDE. UM, WHOOPS. THE ORDINANCE, UM, IS MEANT TO BE, UM, FOUNDATION. IT'S MEANT TO BE A FOUNDATION AND IT WILL GROW INCREMENTALLY AS WE KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM. SO AS WE KNOW MORE ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS YOU HEARD ABOUT EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION, UM, ABOUT DELIVERY METHODS, UM, AND PHASING AND INITIAL INVESTMENT AND SCENARIOS, AS WE, AS THE, AS THE CITY PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE KNOW MORE, UM, WE WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS AND THE COMMUNITY TO ADD TO THIS ORDINANCE, UM, TO HELP THINGS MOVE ALONG. SO BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW TODAY, UH, WE IDENTIFIED SOME CHANGE, SOME CHANGES TO JUST, UM, STRUCTURE, WHICH IS CREATING A STANDALONE ORDINANCE RATHER THAN HAVING TO FLIP THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT CHAPTERS OF THE CODE DEFINED WHERE THE REGULATIONS ARE TO REVIEW A PLAN THAT COMES IN FOR LIGHT RAIL. UM, WE REALIZED WE NEEDED TO DO SOME WORK AROUND THE NOISE ORDINANCE AS WELL AS THE PERMITTING PROCESS ITSELF. UM, WE KNEW THAT WE NEEDED TO MODERNIZE SOME OF THE DEFINED USES IN THE CODE TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT LIGHT RAIL WAS INCLUDED IN THE DEFINITIONS OR, UM, SUBSTATIONS OF, OF THAT NATURE THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO LIGHT RAIL, BECAUSE AT THE TIME OF PERMITTING IS NOT THE TIME TO DO RESEARCH THAT SLOWS YOU DOWN. UM, SO, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, THERE WAS A FISCAL EXEMPTION, UM, THAT WAS PASSED IN MAY OF THIS YEAR FOR MOBILITY PROJECTS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. AND WE, UM, ARE APPLYING THAT TO PROJECT CONNECT, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY TO MO MOBILITY PROJECTS THAT MAY BE OUTSIDE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY LIKE PARK AND RIDE. SO IN THAT WAY, UM, THE ORDINANCE BENEFITS THE FULL PROGRAM NOW, BUT I'M GONNA HAND THE PRESENTATION OVER TO DONNA TO GO THROUGH A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON [02:30:01] THESE FIVE ITEMS FOR YOU, AND THEN WE'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE. WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS KIND OF, THIS KIND OF THING GETS A LITTLE WEEDY REALLY QUICKLY, SO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE STOP US AT ANY TIME. DONNA, GO LOTTI PERMANENTLY. OKAY. UM, YES, THIS IS, SO THE FIRST THING THAT THE ORDINANCE DOES IS CREATE A STANDALONE ORDINANCE THAT SITS OUTSIDE OF THE CODE ONE PLACE SO THAT AS DESIGN AND SCOPE PROGRESSES, IF A NEED ARISES FOR ANOTHER ORDINANCE, WE HAVE A PLACE TO PUT IT. UM, THE ORDINANCE CLARIFIES THAT THETA DETAILED NOISE AND MITIGATION PLANS CONTROL FOR CONSTRUCTION NOISE RATHER THAN CURRENT CODE, WHICH IS WRITTEN WITH THE CURRENT CODE IS WRITTEN WITH A PRIMARY FOCUS ON AMPLIFIED MUSIC EXTENDING THE, SO WE MADE A FEW ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS, SPECIFICALLY FAST TRACK AND PHASED ENGINEERING. UM, FAST TRACK FOR POINT OF REFERENCE DOESN'T REALLY MEAN FAST. IT MEANS A LAYERED REVIEW AND APPROVAL. AND THIS ORDINANCE EXTENDS THE LIFE OF THE SITE PLAN APPLICATION FROM THE REVIEW TIME FROM ONE YEAR POTENTIAL FROM ONE YEAR TO FIVE YEARS, AS WELL AS EXTENDING THE LIFE OF AN APPROVED OF AN APPROVED SITE PLAN FROM THREE YEARS TO 10 YEARS. BOTH OF THESE ENABLE EFFICIENCIES AND CONSTRUCTION BY NOT REQUIRING EXTENSIONS, UM, WHICH CAUSE ADDITIONAL APPLICATION COST AND TIME. UH, THE MINOR CHANGES TO THE EXISTING FAST TRACK AND FACE ENGINEERING REQUIREMENTS ENABLE OPTIONS FOR A VARIETY OF SITE PLAN AND CONSTRUCTION SUBMITTAL TYPES HAVE WE ADDED A DEFINITION OF CODE, UM, OR TWO CODE OF TRANSIT SYSTEM PROJECT AND CLARIFIED TWO LAND USE DEFINITIONS TO AVOID CONFUSION WHEN LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS COME IN FOR REVIEW AND CONSTRUCTION. UH, THE TWO USES CLARIFIED ARE MAINTENANCE FACILITY TO ENSURE THAT THAT INCLUDES RAIL MAINTENANCE AND LOCAL UTILITY SERVICES TO INCLUDE ATTRACTION POWERED SUBSTATION. AND UM, FINALLY AS, UM, ANIQUE MENTIONED, THE, THE FISCAL EXEMPTION IS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ANY PROJECT CONNECT, UH, SITE PLANS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY, LIKE MAYBE POTENTIALLY A TPSS OR A PARK AND RIDE. AND THAT CONCLUDES THE OVERVIEW OF THE ORDINANCE. AND LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, INCREMENTALLY WE'LL BE ADDING TO THIS ORDINANCE AND ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO KNOW HOW TO REVIEW, UH, FOR PROJECT CONNECT CAN GO TO, YOU KNOW, ONE ORDINANCE NUMBER AND EVERYTHING WILL BE THERE. BOARD, BOARD. WHAT DOES POST FISCAL SURELY MEAN? SURE. UM, FISCAL IS AN AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT, WHAT IS THE CONCEPT MEAN, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S MONEY THAT A DEVELOPER HAS TO PAY THE CITY TO HOLD AND THE PROJECT AND IF RIGHT UNTIL THE PROJECT IS DONE, AND IN CASE THEY NEED TO CLEAN UP ENVIRONMENTALLY. AND FOR A PUBLIC PROJECT THAT TYPICALLY MEANS MOVING MONEY FROM ONE POCKET TO ANOTHER AND BACK AGAIN, UH, WHICH ALONE, YOU KNOW, COSTS TIME AND MONEY. AND SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT PART. THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO ALMOST GIVE YOU ALL A REALLY A SOUND OV CAUSE THIS IS A REALLY GOOD DEAL. IS A BIG DEAL, AND I DO, I DID SHARE AT ONE POINT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COMMENT, AND I ALSO WANNA THANK COUNCIL BECAUSE I DID DO THINK THIS REALLY SHOWS HOW UNITED WE ARE TOWARDS THE VISION TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU MEMBER FIDA FOR LEADING THIS EFFORT AND MAKING SURE YOU KNOW THAT WHAT SOMETHING THAT WAS PLANTED FROM AN ORDINANCE IN 2021. NOW WE'RE SEEING THE FRUITS OF IT. SO THINGS THAT HAPPEN KIND OF QUIETLY IN THE BACKGROUND HERE WE ARE. SO REALLY THANK YOU FOR, FOR THESE EFFORTS. UM, I CAN'T UNDER, UM, AND ALSO I WANNA THANK, FOR EXAMPLE, TRANSIT FORWARD. THEY, THEY CREATED A COALITION OF 27 ORGANIZATIONS THAT SENT THE LETTER TO COUNCIL IN SUPPORT OF THIS ORDINANCE. SO I ALSO WANNA THANK THEM FOR THEIR WORK ALSO BEHIND THE SCENES TO BRING THE COALITION OF SUPPORTERS FOR CAPITAL FOR, FOR THIS INVESTMENT. AND THEY REALLY CREATED A COALITION OF, YOU KNOW, ALL THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, ASIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, ALL OF THESE ENTITIES THAT HAVE RALLIED AROUND SOME OF OUR PAINT SPOTS OF HOW DO WE GET OUT OF OUR OWN WAY TO GET BIG THINGS ACCOMPLISHED. SO I REALLY WANNA THANK THEM FOR ALSO LEADING THAT EFFORT TO GET THIS COALITION TOGETHER. UM, AND LASTLY, I LOVE SPECIFIC THAT YOU'VE DESIGNED THE FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THIS ORDINANCE. I LOVE THE WORD FOUNDATIONAL BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS GONNA GIVE US, WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS YET, AND AS WE DISCOVER MORE, HOW DO WE ADJUST? AND LASTLY, [02:35:01] I HAD, I HAD TO SHARE THIS ANECDOTE AND I LIKE THAT YOU LIKE TO SHARE ANECDOTES BECAUSE IT KIND OF OPENED ME, IT FREAKED ME UP TO SHARE ANECDOTES BACK IN THE DAY WHEN I DESIGN A TRANSIT STATION IN 2000, WE STARTED DESIGNING 2000 AND, UH, FOR THE LAKELINE STATION, AND I HAVE TO SHARE THIS STORY BECAUSE IT'S A SINGLE TRANSIT STATION NEAR NORTHWEST AUSTIN. IF ANYBODY'S BEEN TO THAT SIDE OF, UH, THE LAKELINE STATION BEFORE IT WAS COMMUTER RAIL, WE STARTED WITH A PARKING RIDE. THE SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT WAS INTENSE, BUT WHEN WE GOT TO THE BUILDING PERMIT SIDE, WE, WE PERMITTED THE BUILDING, WHICH WAS THE STATION WHERE THE OPERATORS WERE THE RESTROOMS, THE OFFICES, THE TICKET VENDING. BUT THEN WHEN IT CAME TO THE SHELTERS, WE HAD SIX SHELTERS AND THE CITY REQUIRED ME TO PULL A PERMIT PER EACH SHELTER. AND IT WAS LIKE THE ALL WITHIN THE SAME PARKING RIDE. WHY DO WE NEED SEPARATE PERMITS FOR EACH SHELTER? ? AND IT DROVE ME CRAZY BECAUSE THEY MADE US GO THROUGH SE SIX SEPARATE PERMITS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL SHELTER. LET'S NOT DO THAT. LET'S MAKE SURE WE DON'T DO THAT. SO CAN WE PLEASE? I MEAN, REALLY, I LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THOSE ARE REAL PAIN STORIES THAT IT TAKES TIME, IT TAKES MONEY, IT TAKES EFFORT AND FOR WHAT, RIGHT? I MEAN, THEY SEND ONE INSPECTOR AND THAT SAME INSPECTOR CHECKED ALL, SHES AT THE SAME TIME. IT'S LIKE, WHY DO WE NEED SIX PERMITS? BUT IT'S LIKE, PLEASE, THIS LEVEL OF BUREAUCRACY. SO I REALLY WANNA COMMEND YOU ALL FOR, FOR THIS, THIS AMOUNT OF RESEARCH BECAUSE I BELIEVE I DO WANNA JUST TO KIND OF, YOU MADE IT LOOK REALLY SIMPLE, BUT JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAD TO DO FOR THE RESEARCH LEVEL THAT WENT BEHIND, I LIKE YOU WANNA SHARE SOME OF THOSE STORIES OF WHAT IT TOOK . I RESEARCH ONE, SHE'S, SHE'S PROBABLY LIKE, I TRIED TO PUT IT ALL BEHIND ME. I DON'T REMEMBER. I WENT TO COUNSEL YESTERDAY AND IT WAS SO EXCITING. UM, BUT I KNOW THAT WE, UM, HER AND DONNA AND HER TEAM HAD MULTIPLE MEETINGS WITH ALL THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS WITHIN THE CITY IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ALSO AGREED THAT THIS WAS CUMBERSOME AND THAT IT COULD BE FIXED AND THERE WAS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. AND IN SOME CASES, MAYBE WE HAD AN IDEA ABOUT SOMETHING THAT NEEDED TO BE CHANGED. AND WE LEARNED THAT NO, THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE BAD AND THIS IS WHY. BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO UNDERSTAND THAT. AND SO MAYBE WE DIDN'T APPROACH THAT PROBLEM AND THOUGHT THAT WE JUST HAVE TO PLAN FOR THAT PROBLEM, BUT THESE ARE THE ONES THAT CAN BE FIXED. AND I THINK THAT I CAN SPEAK FOR DONNA TO SAY THAT MOST OF THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS WERE REALLY HAPPY TO CLEAN UP THE CODE FOR THE VOTER APPROVED LIGHT RAIL AND TO JUST KNOW THAT THINGS ARE GONNA BE EASIER BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO GONNA HAVE, ARE GONNA HAVE TO GO, IS TPSS SOMETHING THAT IS A UTILITY? IS IT NOT A UTILITY? WHAT IS IT? I DON'T KNOW. UM, AND SO THERE WAS, UH, MONTHS AND MONTHS OF DISCUSSIONS THAT WENT INTO, UH, THE RESEARCH AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE CITY WAS SPEAKING WITH ONE VOICE ON THE ORDINANCE. YEAH, I KNOW THAT I'M EXCITED TO, YOU KNOW, NOW TAKE THIS ORDINANCE AND I CAN WORK WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES STAFF ON, YOU KNOW, REALLY GETTING INTO THE WEEDS OF, YOU KNOW, APPLICATION CHECKLIST. WHAT DOES, YOU KNOW, IF THIS LAYERING IS, IF IF AN APPLICATION IS TO COME IN THIS WAY, WHAT IS NEEDED AT EACH STAGE? SO THOSE SORTS OF, UM, IT'S A MINOR CHANGE TO THE ORDINANCE OR TO THE CODE. UM, BUT IT REALLY OPENS THE DOOR TO BE ABLE TO GET INTO THAT WORK AND CHAIR. YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE ALSO DONE IS SORT OF PULL THE, THE CURRENT BACK ON THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AS IT RELATES TO, UM, TRANSIT SYSTEM PROJECTS BY CREATING THAT GLOSSARY, THAT DEFINITION OF TERMS, BUT ALSO BY EXTENDING THE, UM, THE, THE, THE LIFE OF THE SITE PLAN SO THAT WHEN THE PUBLIC WANTS INFORMATION ABOUT A SITE PLAN AND THERE HAVE BEEN LAYERS TO IT, WE DON'T EXPECT THEM TO BE EXPERTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS. THERE'S ONE, ONE NUMBER THAT THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THE SITE PLAN SO THEY CAN GET ALL OF THE INFORMATION. IT'S CLEAR AND IT'S EASILY ACCESSIBLE SO THAT, YOU KNOW, SO THERE'S A COMMUNITY BENEFITS TO THIS AS WELL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NO. WELL, I THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND HUGE GRATITUDE, REALLY. THANK YOU. UM, I THINK I LOST MY PLACE. SO NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO ACTION ITEMS. IS THAT IT? YEAH, WE ARE, WE'RE MOVING NOW ON TO OUR ACTION ITEMS. [7.1. Approval of minutes from the September 21 Board Meeting] SO OUR FIRST ACTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 21ST OF THE AUSTIN TRANSIT BOARD MEETING. [02:40:01] SO I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THIS ACTION ITEM APPROVAL. THANK YOU. MOVED BY MEMBER PAVILION. SECOND BY MEMBER ELKINS. THANKS EVERYONE. EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? OR ABSTAINING? I WASN'T HERE. YOU'RE ABSTAINING. YES. THANK YOU, SIR. SO IT PAST THE ADMIT MINUTES APPROVED WITH THREE VOTES IN FAVOR. AND, UH, MEMBER GARZA ABSTAINING. THANK. THANK YOU. AND ROBERT DREW THE ORDERS. I'M STILL, I'M STILL LISTED WITH THE PREVAILING SIDE. YES. THANK YOU. UM, [7.2. Approval of a resolution authorizing the negotiation and execution of a contract with HUG (HKS, UNStudio, Gehl) for Systemwide Architecture, Urban Design and Engineering Services for a three-year base term and three one-year options, in an amount not to$16,700,000 for Phase 1A of the Scope of Services] OUR SECOND ACTION ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION OF A CONTRACT WITH HUG, WHICH STANDS FOR HKS ON STUDIO AND GAL FOR SYSTEM-WIDE ARCHITECTURE, URBAN DESIGN AND ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR A THREE YEAR BASED TERM AND THREE ONE YEAR OPTIONS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 16 MILLION, $700,000 FOR PHASE ONE A OF THE SCOPE OF SERVICES. AND OUR DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT TODAY IS HERE, UM, AS WELL AS MR. MULLEN. SO WELCOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SO ARE YOU, I GONNA HAVE A PRESENTATION ABOUT IT OR YOU'RE HERE JUST FOR QUESTIONS? JUST FOR REALLY JUST FOR QUESTIONS. UNLESS YOU ALL WANT THE PRESENTATION. CAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN DOING THEM, UH, AT THIS POINT. SO IT'S UP TO YOU. DO YOU HAVE A PRESENTATION READY OR NO? THERE ARE A COUPLE SLIDES THAT WE, THE SAME ONES THAT WE USE FOR THE BRIEFING. UH, I LIKE TO, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY, I WOULD LIKE TO GO OVER THE, THE SLIDES PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. SO THANK YOU. UH, I'M, THERE YOU GO. , . SO THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CANAL AND OTHER BOARD MEMBERS. WE ARE HERE FOR THE SYSTEM WIDE ARCHITECTURAL URBAN DESIGN AND ENGINEERING SERVICES, UH, SOLICITATION. THE PURPOSE OF THE SOLICITATION, UH, WAS FOR AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP TO HAVE A FIRM, UH, TO DEVELOP OUR PROTOTYPICAL, UH, STATION DESIGN SYSTEM WIDE GUIDELINES AND PROTOTYPICAL DESIGN ELEMENTS, AS WELL AS SITE SPECIFIC DESIGN FOR IN INDIVIDUAL STATION ALIGNMENTS, UH, TO A ATP'S SYSTEM, GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS FROM AN ARCHITECTURAL PERSPECTIVE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WITH THIS SOLICITATION, WE ISSUED THE SOLICITATION, UH, MADE A FOURTH. WE HAD A VERY WELL ATTENDED PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE ON THE 18TH. UH, THOSE FIRMS SUBMITTED, UH, PROPOSALS TO US ON JUNE THE 28TH. WE HAD SOURCE EVALUATIONS, UH, FROM BEGINNING OF JUNE ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UH, AUGUST OF 31ST. THAT CONCLUDED WITH INTERVIEWS ON AUGUST OF 29TH THROUGH AUGUST, THE 31ST OF THOSE FIRMS MOVED FORWARD. WE HAD A CONSENSUS MEETING, UH, WITH OUR SOURCE EVALUATION COMMITTEE ON SEPTEMBER THE FIRST. AND SO TODAY WE'RE HOPING FOR BOARD APPROVAL TO CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS WITH HUG AND ULTIMATELY AWARD A CONTRACT. BASED ON WHERE WE ARE TODAY, WE ARE LOOKING AT AWARDING THAT CONTRACT, HOPEFULLY NO LATER THAN THE END OF NOVEMBER OF 2022. NEXT SLIDE. UH, WITH THAT, UH, THE SOLICITATION WAS SENT TO 70 REGISTERED VENDORS, WHICH IS A GOOD NEWS STORY FOR ATP. WE STARTED OUR, UH, SYSTEM WITH OUR VENDORS A COUP, UH, SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS AGO. WE CURRENTLY HAVE OVER 500 VENDORS WHO ARE REGISTERED. THIS PARTICULAR SOLICITATION, WE HAD 12 VENDORS RESPOND TO THE SOLICITATION, AND THAT GOES A LITTLE DEEPER THAN JUST 12 VENDORS BECAUSE OF THOSE 12 VENDORS. SOME OF THOSE WERE JOINT VENTURES WHERE WE HAD FIRMS TO JOIN TOGETHER AS IN THIS ONE WITH HUG, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN THREE VENDORS ALL BY THEMSELVES. BUT THAT COUNTED AS ONE RESPONSE. THIS TERM WILL BE A THREE YEAR CONTRACT WITH THREE ONE YEAR OPTIONS. IT IS A FIXED PRICE CONTRACT BASED ON THE SCOPE OF SERVICES, AND WE HAVE A DBE GOAL OF 16%, AND THAT IS AN OVERALL CONTRACT GOAL. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WITH THAT, UH, ALL OF THE STEPS THAT WENT WENT THROUGH HUG OR HKS N STUDIO IN GAL WAS OUR HIGHEST TECHNICALLY QUALIFIED. THEY HAD, UH, POTENTIAL FOR 130, UH, POINTS, AND THEY ENDED UP WITH 113.17. AND THE REASON WHY IT WAS SO CRITICAL THAT WE ADD DECIMAL POINTS IS BECAUSE WE HAD A LOT OF GOOD FIRMS AND THEY WERE ALL VERY WELL QUALIFIED AND THE SCORES WERE RELATIVELY CLOSE. BUT, UH, HUG THAT, UH, COME OUT IS OUR NUMBER ONE RANKED FIRM, AND THAT IS THE FIRM THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. [02:45:01] SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA LET PETER KIND OF GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HUG. GREAT. SO, UM, THANK YOU VICKI, YOU BOARD MEMBERS. UM, SO HUG IS AN ACRONYM THAT REPRESENTS THREE FIRMS THAT ARE LEADING THE DESIGN, UM, TEAM, UH, HKS, WHICH IS, UH, A, YOU KNOW, A BIG NATIONAL FIRM AND OF YOU MAY HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH, UM, LOTS OF EXPERIENCE DESIGNING LARGE PROJECTS. THIS IMAGE ON THE LEFT IS THE NEW, UH, SOFI STADIUM FOR THE LA RAMS IN LOS ANGELES. UM, BUT THEY ALSO, YOU MAY HAVE READ IN THE STATESMEN THIS WEEK, THEY'RE THE DESIGNERS OF THE NEW TALLEST TOWER IN TEXAS, WHICH IS PLANNED FOR FIFTH AND TRINITY. SO, UM, LOTS OF COWBOY STADIUM, ACTUALLY. THEY MAY HAVE, THEY MAY HAVE DONE THE COWBOY STADIUM, JUST CHECK. UM, SO I DON'T THINK, I DON'T THINK I KNEW THAT THERE AS AN EAGLES FAN. I DON'T KNOW IF I KNEW THEY DID. I DON'T WANT THROW A I DON'T WANNA THROW A WRENCH INTO THIS. OKAY, MOVING ON. OKAY. SO, UH, LOTS OF EXPERIENCE, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WILL BE THE, UH, LOCAL LEAD, SO PROVIDING LOTS OF LOCAL EXPERTISE AND ALSO MANAGEMENT LEAD, UM, ON THE PROJECT FOR THIS CONTRACT, UM, UN STUDIO IS A WORLD CLASS, UH, DESIGN ARCHITECTURE FIRM, UM, ORIGINALLY BASED IN AMSTERDAM. UM, NOW THEY HAVE OFFICES WORLDWIDE, UM, WHEN THEY HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF, OF DESIGNING, WHAT WAS THAT, WHAT I WOULD CALL HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS. THEY'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN HOW, HOW BUILDINGS WORK, NOT JUST WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE, UM, SO HIGH PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF PROGRAM, BUT ALSO, UH, CLIMATE PERFORMANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY. UM, THEY, THEY ALSO HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF WORKING ON SOME PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY TRANSIT PROJECTS. UH, THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM THE RM, UH, CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION IN THE NETHERLANDS. UM, THEY ALSO DID THE DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR THE BRAND NEW DOHA, UH, METRO AND QATAR, UM, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, INCREDIBLY COMPLEX, UM, AND QUICK PROCESS. BUT THEY HAD A DESIGN, BASICALLY SYSTEM FROM SCRATCH. UM, REALLY, REALLY EXCITING FIRM. AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, I HAVE THEIR BOOK WITH ME TOO. SO, UM, LOTS OF REALLY INTERESTING PROJECTS IN THEIR, IN THEIR, UH, PORTFOLIO. AND THEN GALE ARCHITECTS, UH, WHICH IS A URBAN DESIGN FIRM, UM, ORIGINALLY BASED IN COPENHAGEN, UM, FOUNDED BY JAN GAYLE. THEY NOW HAVE OFFICES IN SAN FRANCISCO AND, AND NEW YORK. UM, AND THEY'RE, I MEAN, REALLY FASCINATING FIRM. UM, JAN GAYLE IS THE AUTHOR OF ALSO NUMEROUS BOOKS, ONE OF WHICH IS DESIGNS FOR CITIES FOR PEOPLE. SO SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN. UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, HOW TO STUDY PUBLIC LIFE. SO THEY'RE REALLY INTERESTED, AND I THINK THIS IS TRUE ABOUT ALL THE FIRMS IN A RESEARCH BASED APPROACH. UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT THESE SYSTEMS WORK FOR PEOPLE BASED ON HOW PEOPLE BEHAVE, RIGHT? NOT HOW WE WANT THEM TO BEHAVE, BUT HOW THEY ACTUALLY BEHAVE, RIGHT? SO TAKING A KIND OF, UM, BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE APPROACH TOWARDS DESIGN, UM, SOMETHING THAT I THINK WILL REALLY, UH, INFORM OUR WORK IN A REALLY POSITIVE WAY AND, AND LEAD TO REALLY POSITIVE OUTCOMES. SO, UM, WE'VE GOT THREE GREAT FIRMS, COMPLIMENTARY SKILLS, UM, THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF GLOBAL EXPERTISE AND LOCAL EXPERTISE IN LOCAL TALENT. SO, UM, THERE'S SOME DETAIL ON THEM. I'VE SORT OF TALKED TO ALL THESE. WE'LL JUST KEEP MOVING. UM, THE OTHER THING IS, AND I'LL LET YOU TALK ABOUT THE DBE PORTION OF THIS, BUT THE TEAM IS, IT'S NOT JUST HUG, IT'S NOT JUST THE THREE PRINCIPLES. THERE TEAM IS COMPLIMENTED BY, UM, A LOT OF SPECIALISTS AND A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES. UM, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, SUSTAINABILITY, UM, COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT, STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING. UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME, SOME STRUCTURES THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO, TO ENGINEER. SO THAT'S PART OF THE SCOPE. UM, AT LEAST THE, THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING OF THOSE STRUCTURES. UM, COST ESTIMATING, LIGHTING, ET CETERA. SO, UM, I DUNNO IF YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE DBE ASPECT OF THE TEAM. YEAH, AND SO AS YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE HERE, THE DBES ARE IDENTIFIED AND WORKING CLOSELY WITH COURTNEY, WHEN WE DID THE SCOPE AND WE LOOKED AT THE ICE AND THE AVAILABILITY OF DBES WHEN SHE SET THE GOAL, WE DID A 16% CONTRACT GOAL AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO DBE IS 16% AND COURTNEY IS TRACKING THAT. AND WE DO GET VENDOR PAYMENT REPORTS EVERY MONTH WHERE WE'RE TRACKING THAT ALONG THE WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE TRACKING THEIR DBES. ANY CHANGES TO THAT. WE HAVE A WELL ESTABLISHED PROCESS WHERE COURTNEY AND I WORK TOGETHER WHERE THEY REACH DIRECTLY OUT TO COURTNEY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE STAYING ON TRACK WITH DBES. AND AGAIN, COURTNEY AND KEISHA ARE TRACKING THAT EVERY MONTH AS WE GET VENDOR PAYMENT REPORTS TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE AND TO IDENTIFY ANY DEFICIENCIES AND THEM MEETING THEIR DBE GOALS. SO RIGHT NOW THEIR COMMITMENT IS AT LEAST 16% TO THE PROJECT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. I THINK, I'M SORRY. OH, NO, THERE WE GO. OKAY. UM, SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE SCOPE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE SCOPE THAT WE ARE ASKING FOR [02:50:01] AUTHORIZATION OR THE INCLUDES, THE THREE PRIMARY TASKS LISTED UP AT TOP. UM, THE FIRST WOULD BE RESEARCH ENVISIONING. UM, AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS A TEAM THAT REALLY BELIEVES IN RESEARCH AND DESIGN AS BEING BASED ON RESEARCH. UM, AND THEY'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN HOW DO WE CREATE BOTH A HUMAN BASED APPROACH. UM, SO LOOKING, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE AND THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN, UM, A PLACE BASED APPROACH. SO UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICAL CONTEXT, RIGHT, BOTH IN TERMS OF ARCHITECTURE, BUT ALSO LANDSCAPE, UM, UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S COMMON AND CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, BUT ALSO WHERE THERE'S VARIABILITY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, AND THEN A CLIMATE BASED APPROACH, RIGHT? OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE SOME EXTREME CLIMATE CONDITIONS HERE THAT WE NEED TO DESIGN TO AND DESIGN AROUND. SO, UM, THE FIRST TASK IS REALLY ABOUT UNDERSTANDING AUSTIN, UM, UNDERSTANDING THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TO DATE AND BUILDING ON THAT WE DON'T WANT TO REINVENT THE WHEEL WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARY. UM, AND ALSO I THINK, UM, BENCHMARKING, RIGHT? SO UNDERSTANDING OTHER SYSTEMS AND WHAT'S BEEN DONE ELSEWHERE THAT WE, WHERE WE CAN LEARN LESSONS, UM, FROM OTHER SYSTEMS AROUND THE WORLD. UM, TASK TWO IS REALLY, IS THE, IS THE BOTH A AND B, IT'S THE DEVELOPMENT OF STATION DESIGNS, UM, AND THEN ALSO TYPICAL, UH, STATION GUIDELINES AND TYPICAL GUIDELINES FOR TYPICAL SYSTEM-WIDE ELEMENTS. UM, SO THIS IS PARTLY, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE, THIS GOES BACK TO ACTUALLY THE PROCUREMENT DISCUSSION WE HAD EARLIER, IS HOW DO WE CREATE A CONSISTENT SET OF DESIGN STANDARDS THAT PROVIDE SOME CERTAINTY FOR, UM, FUTURE PROCUREMENT. UM, IF WE GO TO A COLLABORATIVE, UH, MO COLLABORATIVE MODEL, PROCUREMENT MODEL, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, BUT ALSO HOPEFULLY WE CAN SAVE SOME MONEY BY CREATING A SYSTEM, RIGHT? WHERE IT'S MODULAR AND IT'S, THERE ARE CONSISTENT ELEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM IS ALSO WILL BE BENEFICIAL TOWARDS THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? SO THAT WE HAVE, IN TERMS OF WAY FINDING AND RECOGNITION AND LEARNING HOW TO USE THE SYSTEM, IF THERE ARE CONSISTENT ELEMENTS THROUGHOUT, THAT'S A POSITIVE THING FOR THE DESIGN. AT THE SAME TIME, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT JUST COOKIE CUTTER, RIGHT? THE SYSTEM HAS TO BE TO BE VARIABLE TO VARIOUS CONTEXTS THAT THE SYSTEM ENGAGES, RIGHT? SO THAT'S A REALLY FASCINATING, INTERESTING, MEATY DESIGN PROBLEM FOR THIS TEAM IS HOW DO YOU CREATE THAT CONSISTENCY AND THAT VARIABILITY. AND SO ALL OF THAT WILL BE, WILL ROLL UP INTO A, UH, BASICALLY A MANUAL, UM, FOR, UM, BOTH STATIONS AND ALSO SYSTEM-WIDE ELEMENTS LIKE CANARY POLES AND TPSS, ET CETERA. UM, IN ADDITION, THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL SCOPE THAT WE'RE, WE WOULD AUTHORIZE SUBSEQUENTLY, UM, WHICH IS TO FURTHER DEVELOP THE DESIGN OF STATIONS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY COMPLEX, UM, OR HAVE PARTICULAR NEEDS. AND WE'VE LISTED SOME OF THOSE BELOW. UM, THE LIST OF THOSE STATIONS THAT WOULD BE DEVELOPED WILL BE DETERMINED IN THIS, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS UPDATED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. UM, SO WHICH, SO THAT'S ONE REASON WHY WE'RE WAITING TO AUTHORIZE THAT SCOPE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT SURE EXACTLY WHICH STATIONS ARE GONNA COME FIRST. UM, SO I THINK, UH, WE'LL COME BACK TO THE BOARD TO GET AUTHORIZATION FOR THAT SCOPE, BUT IT IS, WAS PART OF THE SOLICITATION, SO I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT FOR THE GROUP. UM, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SCOPE? YES. WELL, TWO, PLEASE. MEMBER M FIRST THING IS I'M INTERESTED IN THAT THIRD BOOK, UH, CITIES FOR REPEAT. SO, UH, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT. OKAY. UM, SECONDARILY, I'M INTERESTED IN, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE TALK ABOUT, UM, SCOPES OF WORK THAT, UH, DBE FIRMS HAVE, UM, HAVE AGREED TO DO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO KNOW, UH, WHICH BITS OF WORK THEY HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO. SO, I MEAN, WE, WE HAVE THEIR TAKEOFF, WE SHOULD HAVE THE TAKEOFF. THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO, THIS IS HOW THEY'RE GOING TO DO IT. SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT IF WORK HAS BEEN ASSIGNED AND SOMEONE HAS BEEN SELECTED TO DO A PART OF WORK, NO MATTER WHAT ORDER THAT WORK HAPPENS IN PERSON THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED IS STILL GONNA GET ACCESS TO THAT WORK UNLESS THEY ARE UNAVAILABLE. SO A HUNDRED PERCENT THAT'S ARTICULATED IN THEIR, IN THEIR PROPOSAL. AND IT SEEMS THAT WE SHOULD, SHOULD HAVE ALMOST THAT WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE FOR EACH ITEM THAT IS COMING. WE MAYBE WE HAVE NOT DECIDED WHAT COMES FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD, BUT WHEN WE DECIDE WHAT THAT IS, WE HAVE ALREADY ASSIGNED WHO'S GONNA DO WHAT ON WHICHEVER PROJECT. AND, AND THAT IS CORRECT. SO THERE'S A BREAKDOWN THAT'S, FOR INSTANCE, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT GUARDS, THEY'RE DOING CIVIL ENGINEERING WHEN WE RECEIVE THEIR PROPOSAL, THERE'S ALSO A, UH, A, A SCHEDULE, A MANPOWER LOADING TABLE THAT TELLS BY FIRM, BY ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING FOR A PARTICULAR SECTION. SO IN THOSE MANPOWER LOADING TABLES, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE ALSO LOADED IN THOSE MANPOWER LOADING TABLES. SO WHEN IT COMES TO EACH OF THE MINORITY FIRMS, [02:55:01] WE KNOW EXACTLY THE WORK WORK THAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO. WE KNOW WHEN ON THE SCHEDULE BASED ON THAT MANPOWER LOADING TABLE, THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT PARTICULAR WORK WHEN WE CONFORM THE CONTRACT. ALL OF THESE THINGS, ALL OF THESE ITEMS AS WELL AS THAT MANPOWER LOADING TABLE IS CONFORMED IN THE CONTRACT. AND AGAIN, WE ARE RECEIVING THOSE PAYMENT REPORTS ON A MONTHLY BASIS WHERE, YOU KNOW, PROCUREMENT HAS THEM OR COURTNEY HAS THEM JOIN , WHERE, WHERE WE'RE ALL WORKING TOGETHER, BECAUSE THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THROUGHOUT. IF THEY'RE CHANGING THE DBE, IF THEY'RE DOING ANYTHING, WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE REPLACING WITH APP, WITH APPROPRIATE DBES WHO ARE DOING THE WORK. THEY'RE TELLING US ALL THOSE THINGS. THEY'RE TALKING TO COURTNEY, THEY'RE SUBMITTING DOCUMENTATION, AND THEY KNOW THAT IT IS NOT JUST ON PAPER THAT WE WANT THEM TO MEET THOSE GOALS. THEY KNOW THAT IT'S TRULY AT THE HEART OF THIS PROJECT AND WHAT ATP IS ALL ABOUT. AND IN ADDITION, ONCE, UM, ANY SUB, ANY DBE SUB STARTS ON THE CONTRACT, WE WILL DO CUFF REVIEWS, COMMERCIAL USEFUL FUNCTION REVIEWS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY PERFORMING THE WORK AND THERE'S NO ISSUES HAPPENING. WE MAINTAIN, UH, CONNECTION COORDINATION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS TO ENSURE THERE'S NO ISSUE ON THE DBE SIDE HAPPENING WITH THE PRIME, SO THAT WE MAIN, WE ENSURE THAT HAPPENS THROUGHOUT. YEP. SO I, I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE I MEAN, IF, IF WE, IF WE, UM, MAINTAIN THAT TYPE OF SYSTEM, DOESN'T MATTER THE SEQUENCE, WE, WE'VE IDENTIFIED WHAT'S GOING ON WITH EACH PROJECT THAT HAS HAPPENED, IT SEEMS TO ME, AND I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THERE'S A PROCESS INTERNALLY. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME, UM, SOFTWARE SYSTEMS AVAILABLE THAT WILL ALLOW YOU, UH, TO TRACK PAYMENTS SO THAT YOU PUT THE BURDEN ON THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR AND THE STAFF IS JUST VERIFYING. UH, I MEAN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU SHIFT THAT BURDEN. SO, SO I MIGHT NOT GET YOU THE FIRST TIME, BUT IF, IF I CAN'T VERIFY THAT YOU'VE PAID YOUR, YOUR, UH, SUBS DURING YOUR FIRST CHECK, THEN THAT GIVES ME THE AUTHORITY TO KEEP YOUR SECOND CHECK UNTIL YOU VERIFY THAT FOR ME, AB ABSOLUTELY. AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THAT DATABASE SET UP SO THAT WE CAN TRACK VERY EASILY, QUICKLY MAINTAIN THAT COMPLIANCE, UM, AND MOVE QUICKLY FOR ANY TYPE OF ACTION WHEN THAT HAPPENS. OKAY. AND GETS THE DIFFICULTY FOR A SMALL FIRM IS, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN FOLLOW EVERY RULE. YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING PERFECTLY AND STILL TAKE 90 DAYS TO PAY. SOMEBODY STILL TAKE 120 DAYS TO PAY SOMEBODY. AND, AND SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE DIFFICULTY, YOU KNOW, FLOATING FOUR MONTHS OF BUDGET. YEAH. AND, AND THE CONTRACTS IS THEY HAVE 10 DAYS TO PAY THEIR SUBS AFTER RECEIVING THEIR PAYMENTS FROM ATP. AND WITH US, WE ARE FILING THE PROMPT PAYMENTS. SO IF WE GET AN INVOICE AND IT'S JUST A CORRECT INVOICE, WE ARE PAYING WITHIN 30 DAYS. OUR FINANCE TEAM IS ALL ON BOARD FOR THAT. BRIAN'S BACK THERE, THEY'RE PAYING INVOICES TIMELY, WE'RE CHECKING ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND THEN THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THOSE SUBS WITHIN 10 DAYS AFTER RECEIVING A PAYMENT FROM ATP. AND LAST POINT, UM, THE, THE CERTIFIED, UH, PAYROLL IS IMPORTANT AS WE, AS WE GO BACK AND VERIFY, UH, THAT THE RIGHT SKILL SETS HAVE HAVE BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE ARE ASSIGNING THE RIGHT, UH, TITLE TO THE WORK AND THEN THE RIGHT PAY IS BEING ASSIGNED TO THAT WORK. SOMETIMES WE FIND PEOPLE ARE UNDER CLASSED AND THEREFORE UNDERPAID, AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T FIND THAT OUT UNTIL WAY ON INTO THE PROJECT. IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE, AND, AND, UH, ONE WAY TO VERIFY THAT IS THROUGH A CERTIFIED PAYROLL ALSO. YES. UH, I BELIEVE HE WAS SECOND. AND THEN YOUR THIRD YES. MEMBER GARA TWO QUESTIONS. UM, ONE, IT'S A FIRM PRICE CONTRACT, CORRECT. WAS THERE, UH, TWO, THREE YEAR TWO OR YEAR ONE YEAR OPTIONS? SO HOW DOES THAT WORK? YEAH, SO THE, SO THE WAY THE CONTRACT WORKS IS WE AWARD THE INITIAL THREE YEAR. THE OPTIONS HAVE TO BE EVALUATED BEFORE WE AWARD ANY OPTIONS. BUT WHAT THEY ARE REQUIRED TO DO IS TO PRICE THOSE OPTIONS OUT. IF THEY DON'T PRICE 'EM OUT, THEN WE CAN'T USE THE OPTIONS. RIGHT? AND BECAUSE THIS IS ALL ABOUT LABOR AND POSITIONS, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY HAVE CALL SCHEDULES AND THEY'LL HAVE OPTION YEAR ONE, OPTION YEAR TWO, AND OPTION YEAR THREE. AND WE KNOW WHAT THAT COST IS. WE MAY NOT KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH SCOPE IT IS, BUT WE KNOW WHAT THOSE LABOR RATES ARE GONNA BE AND WE KNOW THOSE POSITIONS THAT COULD POSSIBLY PERFORM THOSE THINGS. AND BEFORE WE EXERCISE AN OPTION, WE WOULD GO BACK AND NEGOTIATE THAT COST AND WE WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE ADDITIONAL COST TO THAT. I LIKE THAT. THEN THE OTHER ONE IS ROUGHLY WHAT PERCENT OF THE CONTRACT WOULD YOU SAY IS LOCAL? NOT NOT IN ME, BUT LOCAL? UM, [03:00:01] THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. JUST LOCAL. I DON'T KNOW. WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT, BUT YOU CAN SEE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF UN STUDIO AND GALE, THE REST OF THE FIRMS ARE LOCAL. RIGHT. UM, ON THE SCHEDULE SIDE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE, FOR THE FIRST PHASE ONE, A PORTION OF THIS, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT TO BE ACTUALLY RIGHT NOW A 16 MONTH SCHEDULE. SO THE THREE MONTH, THREE YEAR IS KIND OF THE OUTSIDE WINDOW THAT WE'RE WORKING WITHIN, BUT THE ACTUAL WORK WILL BE EXECUTED, UM, WITHIN THAT IN A SHORTER TIMEFRAME. THANK YOU. MEMBER. IS THAT ALL YOUR QUESTIONS? YES. THANK YOU. AND MEMBER ELKINS. UH, THANK YOU. THANKS, PETER. MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH PAGE 34, THE HUG TEAM. THERE'S 14 MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM. IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT, RIGHT? AM I READING THAT RIGHT? PAGE 34. YEAH, THE HUG TEAM. SO IT IS HKS UN STUDIO, AND GAIL, ALL THESE FOLKS, THESE ARE THE OTHER, SO THOSE ARE SUBS. OKAY. SORRY, THEY'RE SUBS, BUT, BUT THEY'RE ALL PART OF THE TEAM. THEY ARE 14 MEMBERS TO DO THIS SCOPE OF WORK SEEMS LIKE A LOT TO ME. AND I GUESS MY, SO THAT, THAT'S ONE POINT, RIGHT? SO WOULD IT BE MORE, WOULDN'T IT IT BE MORE EFFICIENT TO GO WITH A TEAM THAT WAS PERHAPS LEANER WHERE WE ONLY HAD ONE OR TWO DIFFERENT MEMBERS? SO MY QUESTION IS, HOW IS SCOPE GONNA BE DELINEATE DELINEATED BETWEEN ALL THESE PEOPLE? WE HAVE A PM FIRM THAT'S OVERSEEING THIS HKS, RIGHT? WE HAVE A PM THAT'S OVERSEEING THE ENTIRE PROGRAM, RIGHT? IT, IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF CONSULTANTS. MY QUESTION IS SHOULDN'T WE BE PMING OUR OWN ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES? UM, I DUNNO HOW YOU MANAGE 14 FIRMS. SO, SO THIS IS, UM, FIRST OF ALL, ALL THESE FIRMS ARE JUST FOR DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES, RIGHT? SO FOR ANY ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES CONTRACT, THIS IS A VERY TYPICAL CONDITION WHERE YOU'VE GOT MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES WITHIN THE FIRM AND THEY ALL SUB UP TO A LEAD ARCHITECT, RIGHT? MM-HMM. , IN OUR CASE, THE CONTRACTUAL LEAD IS THE JOINT VENTURE OF, OF, UM, OF THE HUG TEAM, RIGHT? SO THEY WE'RE IN CONTRACTS WITH THEM, THEY ARE HAVE TO MANAGE ALL THE SUBS UNDERNEATH THEM AND COORDINATE THOSE SUBS. AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS, DESIGN CONTRACTS FUNCTION GENERALLY THAT WAY. UM, AND ALL THESE, THESE DISCIPLINES ARE REALLY CRITICAL. I MEAN, THIS IS A COMPLEX PROJECT. ONE OF THE WAYS, AND I THINK IN WHICH WE'RE GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL ON THE DESIGN FRONT IS ENSURING THAT ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS ARE INTEGRATED, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE I MEAN, AND AGAIN, IT'S RELATED TO YOUR POINT EARLIER, RIGHT? IT'S ALL ABOUT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE SYSTEMS, UM, WHERE THINGS PROBLEMS HAPPEN. AND SO PART OF THE IDEA BEHIND THIS WHOLE CONTRACT IS TO HAVE AN INTEGRATED APPROACH, UM, SO THAT STRUCTURE, COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICITY, ARE ALL INTEGRATED INTO THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN. AND THAT CAN BE CODIFIED IN A SET OF GUIDELINES THAT PROVIDES THAT KIND OF LEVEL OF CERTAINTY, UM, TO FUTURE DESIGNERS. AND TONY, THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT OF ALL THE DIFFERENT SUBS AND ALL THE DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES, AND THIS IS LIKE PROBABLY OUR BEST FRIEND, THIS IS MANPOWER LOADING TABLE, RIGHT, PETER? BECAUSE WHAT THIS DOES IS IT SHOWS US BY DISCIPLINE WHAT EVERYBODY'S GONNA DO. IT SHOWS US ACROSS THE BOARD, LIKE AT THE TIMEFRAME BY SCHEDULE WHAT THOSE PARTICULAR DISCIPLINES ARE GOING TO BE DOING. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND WE KNOW WHAT PHASE OF THE PROJECT THAT EACH OF THOSE DISCIPLINES WILL BE WORKING AND WHAT THOSE DISCIPLINES WILL BE DOING, THEN IT HELPS US BETTER MANAGE THAT. AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS THAT REALLY HELP US MANAGE AND GET DOWN TO A MANAGEABLE LEVEL BASED ON WHAT WE THOUGHT WERE FTES FOR EACH SECTION OF THE PROJECT. BECAUSE, UH, WE NEGOTIATED THIS WAY DOWN WITH THEM, AND PETER AND PAULA WERE VERY INSTRUMENTAL DOING AND SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO THIS, WE DON'T NEED, YOU KNOW, SEVEN FTE'S, IT MAY BE ONLY FIVE, AND THIS IS OUR EXPERIENCE. AND SO THIS IS WHAT HELPED US, HELPED GUIDE US THROUGH THAT, AND HELPED US WORK THROUGH ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT SUBS AND ALL THE DIFFERENT TIMES THAT THEY WOULD ACTUALLY BE ON THE PROJECT. WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER 11 VENDORS, DID THEY HAVE SIMILAR TEAMS IN TERMS OF MISSING NUMBER? YEAH. SO EACH OF THE 12 VENDORS ON THAT SUBMITTED WAS EVEN BEYOND BEING A JOINT VENTURE. THEY ALL HAVE SUBS LIKE THIS TEAM DID, RIGHT? SOME OF THEM ARE, SOME OF THEM LESS. PETER B, JUST, JUST TO, TO GET BACK TO THE FIRST POINT, I, I THINK THAT THE EFFICIENCY IS, IS, IS GOOD AND EFFICIENCY IS IMPORTANT, BUT I ALSO THINK, UH, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING FROM A HISTORICAL CONTEXT, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF PUBLIC PROJECTS THAT HAVE IGNORED BUILDING LOCAL JOBS, INCLUDING LOCAL PEOPLE. AND SOME COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN LOCKED OUT ALL TOGETHER FOR GENERATIONS. AND I THINK IT IS [03:05:01] IMPORTANT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO CAL METRO, SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO TRAVIS COUNTY, SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO THE CITY WHEN I WORKED THERE, THAT LOCAL DOLLARS CREATE LOCAL JOBS AND CREATE LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES. AND EFFICIENCY IS GOOD. UH, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF FIRMS THAT CAN DO EVERY SINGLE THING. AND A LOT OF THOSE FIRMS ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO CAPITAL. THEY HAVE ACCESS TO RESOURCES THAT MINORITIES AND WOMEN HAVE NEVER HAD ACCESS TO, AND THE IDEA IS TO INCLUDE THEM TO NOW. AND, AND THAT IS INTENTIONAL, AS INTENTIONAL AS IT COULD POSSIBLY BE ON, ON MY PART. UM, I, I THINK THAT, UH, AND WHEN, WHEN, UH, WHEN JUAN TALKS ABOUT, UH, LOCAL ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST, I, I BELIEVE TO MY CORE THAT LOCAL DOLLARS SHOULD CREATE LOCAL JOBS AND MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE TO LIVE HERE AND BUY HOMES AND SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO COLLEGE AND ET CETERA. AND WE COULD PROBABLY DO IT CHEAPER, AND WE MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO DO IT MORE EFFICIENTLY, BUT IF WE CAN'T INCLUDE THE PEOPLE WHO'VE PAID THEIR TAXES TO BUILD THEIR ECONOMY, I THINK THAT WE'VE, WE HAVE WASTED A REAL OPPORTUNITY. AGREED. THANK YOU. MEMBER GARON. GOOD. UM, THE, MY SENSE IS THAT MOST, AND NOT ALL DISCIPLINES WOULD BE USED BY THAT ARCHITECT OR THE FIRM, UM, ONE FIRM. UH, THE PROBLEM WITH JUST GOING WITH, WITH ONE, WITH ONE OVERALL IS THEY DO THEIR OWN SUBCONTRACTING THEN, AND WE LOSE ALL CONTROL OVER WHERE THE MONEY IS SPENT AND WHO, WHO BENEFIT FROM IT. SO MY SENSE IS DOING IT THE WAY WE'RE DOING IT PLACES A LOT OF CONTROL IN OUR POWER IN OUR HAND TO DO EXACTLY WHAT, UH, PAVILION JUST SAID. SO I, I LIKE, I LIKE WHAT YOU DID. THANK YOU. I KNOW YOU HAVE A GOOD, AND JUST TO ECHO THOSE COMMENTS, COMMISSIONER PAVILION AND BOARD MEMBER GARZA, RIGHT? THAT IS, THAT IS OUR IDENTITY AS A COMMUNITY CORPORATION, RIGHT? WE ARE, WE'RE BUILDING IT. THESE, THESE FIRMS THAT WE HAVE ARE HERE, THEY KNOW US, AND WE CAN HELP ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND IT'S, IT'S PART OF, I THINK, THE CULTURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING, UH, TO, TO HIT THOSE EXACT POINTS. AND, UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE GONNA HELP US TOO, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT WE NEED. WE NEED HELP AND EXPERTISE LOCALLY, UM, TO HELP US ADVANCE THIS. AND, AND WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE THEM, UNFORTUNATELY, DOES NOT, IT IS RARELY HAPPENED ORGANICALLY. IF IT HAPPENED ORGANICALLY, WE WOULD, WE WOULD NOT NEED A DISPARITY STUDY. AND, AND WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE A DEEP SOUTHERN CAPITAL AND WE ARE THE REDDEST STATE IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THE ONLY WAY THAT THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN IS IF WE DESIGN IT INTO BEING, UM, THANK YOU. AND I, UM, I THINK THAT ONE THING THAT IS WORTH CLARIFYING, OR AT LEAST GOING INTO MORE DETAIL THAT YOU SO ELOQUENTLY PRESENTED MEMBER PAVILION, BUT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE SYSTEMS, AND BECAUSE WE'RE TOUCHING SO MANY PARTS OF OUR CITY IN SO MANY COMPLEX PORTIONS, IT DOES REQUIRE A LOT OF DISCIPLINES. UM, AND I THINK THAT WHEN I DO SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, TWO STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FIRMS, I THINK THE, THE QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU GUYS IS THAT SOME HAVE EXPERTISE IN TUNNELING AND BRIDGES VERSUS GROUNDWORK, LIKE AT, AT GRADE, RIGHT? SO THERE'S ALSO LAYERS OF DELINEATION BASED ON EXPERTISE. MM-HMM. . SO THAT'S WHY THERE, IT COULD LOOK LIKE SOME REDUNDANCIES, BUT WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO, TO TAP INTO THAT SPECIFIC EXPERTISE, THERE'S ACTUALLY BENEFITS, RIGHT? THERE'S COST SAVINGS. UM, I'M ENCOURAGED TO SEE, UH, THE LEVEL OF OVERSIGHT IN MAKING SURE THAT THE MINORITY OWNED FIRMS HAVE THE ABILITY TO GET SCOPE OF WORK GIVEN TO THEM. I'VE BEEN, AS A MINORITY OWNED FIRM FOR YEARS, AND SOMETIMES THAT WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR THAT SCOPE BECAUSE WE, THE, THE LARGER FIRMS ARE ABLE AND WILLING TO DO IT ALL, VERY HAPPILY ABLE TO DO IT ALL. AND IT'S, IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE A CHORE TO HAVE TO DELEGATE THAT WORK TO SMALLER FIRMS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO MANAGE THAT WORK, RIGHT? SO I'VE BEEN ON THAT SIDE WHERE I'VE HAD TO FIGHT FOR THAT SCOPE BECAUSE IT KEEPS THE TRANSPARENCY. SO MY, MY MESSAGE WOULD BE THE FIRMS THAT ARE IN THE MINORITY GROUP HERE THAT ARE GONNA BE OUR LOCAL SOURCE, OUR LOCAL EXPERTISE, OUR LOCAL WISDOM FOR THEM TO SPEAK UP AND COME TO THIS BOARD, IF THEY'RE NOT SEEN, THEY'RE NOT SEEING THE PIE BEING SPREAD AMONG THEM BECAUSE WE'RE HERE TO LISTEN AND HELP THEM BE A SUPPORT TO THEM. [03:10:01] UM, AND LASTLY, I CAN'T, MY CAR'S SKIPPING 10 BEATS BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS REALLY AN INCREDIBLE THEME THAT YOU GUYS PUT TOGETHER. AND I THINK, I JUST REALLY WANNA CRY BECAUSE THIS IS, I LOVE THE, THE H U G FIRST OF ALL, THE HUG. AND I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN ACCUSED OF BEING A HUG ORGANIZER IN THE PAST. SO I DO THINK THAT THIS IS REALLY AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY THAT Y'ALL HAVE EMBARKED ON BECAUSE IT SHOWS TRANSPARENCY, SHOWS FAIR, A FAIR COMPETITION OF A VERY UNIQUE SET OF SKILL SETS THAT I THINK WILL TELL THE STORY OF OUR COMMUNITY IN A REALLY UNIQUE WAY. SO I LIKE TO COMMEND YOU ALL FOR THIS WORK. SO, SO BEFORE WE ORGANIZE ANOTHER HUG, HUG, , MOVE APPROVAL OF, OF THIS ITEM, I THINK TINA HAS PETER, THANK YOU. FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, I'M IMPRESSED WITH ALL OF THE ENGINEERING FIRMS THAT ARE PART OF THIS PROPOSAL, BUT, UM, JUST IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS THAT YOU WENT THROUGH AND THE LEVEL AND THE CALIBER OF THE COMPETITION FOR THIS, UM, MAYBE JUST TO, YEAH, SEE WHERE YOU LANDED ON THAT. SO, UM, I WILL SAY THAT THE, WE, WE REALLY, WE TRIED, WE HOPED FOR A HIGH CALIBER OF PARTICIPATION. WE COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN BETTER THAN WHAT WE GOT. I MEAN, IT REALLY WAS EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS, UM, REALLY THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS, UM, WHICH WAS GREAT. IT MADE OUR JOB VERY HARD, I'LL BE HONEST, RIGHT? IT WAS, WE HAD SOME REALLY TOUGH CHOICES BECAUSE THE QUALITY OF THE SUBMISSIONS WERE SO GOOD. SO, UM, I THINK THAT SPEAKS WELL FOR THE PROGRAM. UM, A LOT OF INTEREST AND EXCITEMENT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE AND DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE AND, UH, IT ATTRACTED THE BEST IN THE WORLD. MEMBER GARON. WELL, THAT'S, WE'RE STILL INTERESTED IN WATCHING THE BUDGET. THIS IS, THIS IS ALL ABOUT, ABOUT CREATING A HIGH PERFORMANCE SYSTEM, RIGHT? WHICH MEETS OUR BUDGET. GREAT JOB. GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. SO MOVE APPROVAL AGAIN. THANK YOU. MOVE, BUT MORE MEMBER PAVILION. SECOND. BUT MEMBER GARZA. THANK YOU. EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. I, I, IT PASSES UNANIMOUS WITH MAYOR ADLER. ABSENT. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THANK YOU PETER, THANK YOU TO THE ENTIRE TEAM. THANK YOU. AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNING TEAM. LIKE I WANNA CLAP FOR THEM TOO. SO . SO WITH THAT, WE'RE MOVING ON TO OUR THIRD ACTION ITEM. SO NOW MOVING [7.3. Approval of a resolution authorizing the negotiation and execution of a second interlocal agreement with the City of Austin for Support Services through September 30, 2023, with a one-year extension option, in an amount not to exceed $9,000,000] ON TO OUR THIRD ACTION ITEM, THE APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION OF A SECOND INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR SUPPORT SERVICES THROUGH THE SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2023, WITH A ONE YEAR EXTENSION OPTION IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $9 MILLION. UM, AND WE HAVE, UH, OUR DEPUTY COUNCIL, BRANDON CARR, TO PRESENT TO THE BOARD WITH ANY QUESTIONS. YOU'LL BE BRIEF ON THIS ASPECT. SO I LIKE TO MAKE, UH, IF THERE'S NO QUESTION FOR MR. CARR, I, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MAKE A MOTION IN A SECOND TO APPROVE THE 9 MILLION IS WITHIN THE CONFINE OF THE BUDGET. WE APPROVE LAST MEETING, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. SO I WILL SAY BOARD MEMBERS THAT BRANDON CARR, DEPUTY COUNSEL, I WILL SAY THAT WHEN WE DID THE BRIEFINGS, THERE WASN'T THE EXTENSION OPTION. UM, BUT UM, AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITY, THEY DID ASK FOR AN EXTENSION OPTION, UM, A ONE YEAR EXTENSION OPTION. UM, FOR THAT EXTENSION IT WOULD BE FY 24. AND SO THAT WOULD BE A PART OF YOUR NEXT BUDGET, UM, APPROVAL WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT PARTICULAR OPTION. THANK YOU. AND MEMBER GARZA, BUT I, I CAN'T HELP MYSELF. SORRY GREG. AFTER FIGHTING WITH CITY HALL FOR HOW MUCH IT CHARGES FOR SERVICES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, I CAN BELIEVE I'M DEALING WITH ON MY FIRST MEETING. VERY COOL. WELL, I'LL JUST, I JUST WANT TO ADD REAL QUICK. I THINK YOU SEE, UM, THE WORK THAT, UH, GINA LED WITH, WITH, UH, ANIQUE AND DONNA TO GET THROUGH THAT EFFORT. UM, JUST, JUST THE TIP OF THE BERG OF ALL THE WORK THAT GOES ON, YOU MOVE TO APPROVE. SECOND. SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER PAVILION. EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. I [03:15:01] THE, UH, RESOLUTION PASSES. THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS, GINA ON EXTENSION AND, AND ANIQUE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, AND THEN I'D LIKE TO MAKE, JUST FOR THE RECORD THAT WE HAVE THE MEMBER, UM, THE MAYOR, OUR VICE CHAIR IS ABSENT FOR THAT VOTE. OUR FOURTH AND [Items 7.4 & 7.5] FIFTH ACTION ITEMS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR ACTION TOGETHER. NUMBER FOUR WILL BE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION OF AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH CAPITAL METRO FOR CAPITAL REIMBURSEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MACALA STATION THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2023, WITH A ONE YEAR EXTENSION OPTION AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 25 MILLION. AND NUMBER FIVE IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE ATP FISCAL YEAR 2023 BUDGET TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR THE FUNDING FOR THE MCAL STATION PROJECT IN AN AMOUNT OF $10,703,871 FOR A TOTAL TOTAL APPROPRIATION THAT WILL COMPLETE THAT 25 MILLION. AND MR. CARS AVAILABLE HERE FOR THE BOARD IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES, UHHUH MEMBER, UH, YES, MR. CANAL. I THINK IT'S WORTH TO HIGHLIGHT THIS, UM, THIS AGENDA ITEM. UH, OBVIOUSLY THE TEAM'S WORKING HARD, BUT AGAIN, JUST A CONTINUATION OF PROGRESSING PROJECT CONNECT AND HATS OFF TO DOTTIE AND HER TEAM AT CAP METRO FOR, WE SAW THE UPDATE THAT MOLLY WAS ABLE TO PRESENT THE, THE WORK THAT'S ADVANCING ON THAT CRITICAL PIECE OF THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM AND, AND US TOGETHER CARRYING THROUGH ON THE COMMITMENT TO THE VOTERS TO DO THIS INVESTMENT. SO THIS FOLLOWS ON THE INVESTMENT IN THE METRO RAPIDS THAT WE DID EARLIER IN THE SUMMER IS CONSISTENT WITH OUR BUDGET APPROACH. UM, SO AGAIN, I THINK SHOWING THAT AS CAT METRO IS LEADING THIS EFFORT, UM, WE'RE REAL HAPPY THAT WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND GET THIS, GET THIS ANOTHER EFFORT MOVING FORWARD FOR OUR COMMUNITY. SO, BIG, BIG CONGRATS TO TO CAT METRO MEMBER ELKINS. YEAH, JUST ONE QUESTION. MY, MY UNDERSTANDING, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, THIS IS A FIXED PRICE CONTRACT FOR ATP, SO ANY COST OVERRUNS TO THE EXTENT THERE MIGHT BE WOULD BE ON CAT METRO'S BOOKS. RIGHT? THANK YOU. YEAH, THAT IS GOOD THAT I HAD THE SIMILAR QUESTION DURING THE BRIEFINGS AND THAT WAS THE ANSWER I RECEIVED. UM, ARE THERE ANY FURTHER ? SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO CALL FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND PLEASE TO APPROVE. MOTION TO APPROVE BY BOARD MEMBER ELKIN. SECOND BY MEMBER GARZA. THANK YOU EVERYONE. AND THAT'S ON, THAT'S ON BOTH ITEMS, CORRECT? YES. ON BOTH ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE. THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU. PROCESS THAT I'M SAY THAT IS A, IT'S A, ARE, UH, EXTENSIONS. SO IF I DID IT, I SHOULD, YOU DID IT MUSICAL. SO NO PRESSURE. DOTTY , NO PRESSURE. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION OF THIS ITEM, I'D LIKE TO CALL FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE IN A SECOND. SO WE HAD ALREADY MOTION IN A SECOND. EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. I, THE MEASURE PASSES UNANIMOUSLY WITH MAYOR ADLER ABSENT, AND UH, SO THIS CONCLUDES THE NOVEMBER ATP BOARD MEETING, SO THANK YOU EVERYONE. OH NO, WE STILL HAVE YOU SIX ONE AS YOU'RE COMING FORWARD. SEE IN, RIGHT? SEE LATER. DON'T, I DIDN'T MEAN TO FORGET YOU MR. VEDA. DON'T FORGET THE TREASURE. THAT'S ALL I CAN. IT'S A GOOD WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE. NEVER FORGET YOUR TREASURE. . YOU ALMOST STOPPED LIKE A BREAK. LIKE, WAIT, CAME . DO YOU ALL SEE HOW WONDERFUL IT'S TO LAUGH? LIKE IT'S, IT'S SLIGHT WEIGHT, RIGHT? IT RELEASES THE TENSION. SO WELCOME MR. ROBERTO. SO THANK [7.6. Adoption of changes to the ATP Investment Policy] YOU. OUR FINAL ACTION ITEM WILL BE THE ADOPTION OF CHANGES TO THE ATP INVESTMENT POLICY. BRIAN RIVERA ATP TREASURER WITH ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, PLEASE ADDRESS 'EM TO HIM. AND HE PROVIDED THE RED LINE DOCUMENT WITH THE CHANGES THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE BACKUP MATERIALS. SO DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT HE ALSO COVERED IN OUR BRIEFINGS FOR THE INVESTMENT POLICY? WOULD YOU GO AHEAD AND GO AHEAD AND DO THE PRESENTATION? JUST, I KNOW THE NEW BOARD MEMBER, UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO BRIEF HIM ON THIS TOPIC, BUT THERE WERE, THERE WEREN'T MANY, UM, MATERIAL CHANGES TO THE INVESTMENT [03:20:01] POLICY. THIS IS REALLY JUST, UH, AN ANNUAL ITEM THAT HAS TO BE APPROVED PER STATE STATUTE, UM, UNDER THE PUBLIC FUNDS INVESTMENT ACT. UM, SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT, THAT DID CHANGE WITHIN THE POLICY THAT WAS APPROVED LAST YEAR AND THE POLICY THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD THIS YEAR WAS THE INCLUSION OF OUR ACCOUNTING DIRECTOR ON THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE. UM, AGAIN, TO JUST PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT TO THE INVESTMENT OF FUNDS FOR ATP. UM, THERE WAS ALSO THE INCLUSION OF AN ADDITIONAL ELIGIBLE INVESTMENT CALLED THE REPURCHASE AGREEMENT. UM, THAT WAS ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF OUR, UM, INVESTMENT ADVISOR WHO WE JUST RECENTLY ONBOARDED. UM, AND THEN ALSO JUST THE OTHER ONE MATERIAL CHANGE WAS THE INCLUSION OF A OPERATING RESERVE FUND STRATEGY. SO IT'S PART OF THE LAST BUDGET THAT WAS JUST RECENTLY APPROVED BY THE BOARD. THERE WAS A CREATION OF A OPERATING RESERVE FUND AND THE AMOUNT OF 20 MILLION, I BELIEVE. UM, SO JUST NOTATING THAT THE INVESTMENT OF THOSE FUNDS ARE GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE OPERATING FUNDS THAT WE HAVE SET ASIDE IN OUR PORTFOLIO. SO JUST WANTED TO GIVE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW. UM, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE. MEMBER GARZA GIVE ME A ATTEMPT TO DO SOME BRAGGING WITH THAT POLICY. MY STAFF IN CORPUS CHRISTI INITIATED THAT. OH WOW. SO, UM, ON REPORTS AGREEMENT. SO YOU BACK THOSE UP? YES. THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE COLLATERALIZED PURCHASE AGREEMENTS THAT, UM, ARE ENTERED INTO IF WE DO DECIDE TO TAKE PART OF THOSE, UM, SECURITIES. DID YOU EVER HEAR OF ESM SECURITIES? MM-HMM. READ UP ON 'EM. PERFECT. ARE THERE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE BOARD WITH THAT? I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO MOVE, UH, WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION IN A SECOND MOVE BY MEMBER GARZA? I'LL SECOND, SECOND BY OR YOU WANNA ? IT'S ALRIGHT. SECOND BY MEMBER PAVILION. EVERYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. IT PASSES UNANIMOUS WITH MEMBER, UM, VICE CHAIR ADLER, ABSENT, AND, UH, THIS TIME IT DOES CONCLUDE THE BOARD MEETING OF THE, OF THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND I WANNA THANK ALL OF THE COMMUNITY THAT TUNED IN AND ALL OF THE STAFF THAT PUT THOUSANDS OF HOURS IN GETTING THIS MEETING TOGETHER. SO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND I'LL SEE YOU ALL ON NOVEMBER 30TH WITH OUR JOINT MEETING AT, UH, THE OFFICES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICES BY HIGHLAND. OKAY. WITH THAT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYONE FOR THE HARD WORK. NEED TO STATE THE TIME, THE TIME IS 3:15 PM THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.