Dec 21, 2022 Austin Transit Partnership Board Meeting

IN THE LATTER PART OF THE SPRING IN TERMS OF, UH, ALTERNATIVES AND, AND, UM, UH, DECISIONS THAT THIS BOARD WILL HAVE TO MAKE.

[2.1 Engineering, Architecture & Construction Committee ]

UM, WE'RE GONNA START.

OUR FIRST ITEM TODAY IS THE ATP TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND I WILL START OFF BY SHARING THE REPORT ON BEHALF OF THE ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE.

UH, WE MET ON DECEMBER 7TH, UH, AND THE PRIMARY AGENDA ITEMS WERE THE REVIEW OF THE ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES CONTRACT AWARD OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSION OF TRANSIT SYSTEM IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, AND THE LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING UPDATE.

ATP, CHIEF OF ARCHITECTURE URBAN DESIGN.

PETER MULLAN SHARED INFORMATION WITH THE EAC COMMITTEE ON THE RECENTLY AWARDED CONTRACT FOR ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AWARDED TO HUG, WHICH IS THE ACRONYM FOR HKS ON STUDIO AND GALE ARCHITECTS.

THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED THE GOALS FOR THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS FOR THE PROGRAM, SPECIFICALLY THAT MOBILITY IS A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCE AND THAT IT WORKS BEST WHEN IT WORKS FOR PEOPLE.

UM, I PRESENTED REFLECTIONS FROM AT RECENT, UH, TRIP THAT I TOOK TO MARVIN AUSTRALIA, AND I FOCUSED ON THE ASPECTS OF WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN THE URBAN DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSIT IN THAT CITY.

AND WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE, THE WIDTH OF THE SIDEWALKS, THE PROPORTION DEDICATED TO THE PEDESTRIANS VERSUS THE, THE VEHICLES AND THE CARS, AND ALSO HOW THEY SHARE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S ALREADY IN THE CITY WITH LIGHT POLES TO COMMUNICATE THE SYSTEMS FOR TRANSIT, LIKE REALTIME ARRIVAL INFORMATION USING THE FACADES OF THE BUILDINGS TO ATTACH THE CATENARY CABLES.

AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF EFFICIENCIES OF HOW OVER 140 YEARS PLUS OF HAVING THE LARGEST LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IN THE WORLD IS PERFORMING.

SO I'VE PUT TOGETHER SOME SLIDES FOR THE TEAM, AND WE HAD A, A VERY ROBUST DISCUSSION FROM THOSE SLIDES.

UH, PETER MULLEN, UH, PROVIDED AN UPDATE ON THE LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING WORK UNDERWAY, AND THE UPDATE INCLUDED A SCHEDULE UPDATE, THE CRITICAL INPUTS FROM THE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS REVIEW OF FTA AND COMMITTEE VALUES CRITERIA TO BE USED TO EVALUATE THE F THE FUTURE FACING OPTIONS, AND A PREVIEW OF THE MAPPING WORK AROUND THE COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS AND TRANSIT DESTINATIONS CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT.

THAT'S MY REPORT FOR THIS MONTH.

IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS.

THANK

[2.2 Finance & Risk Advisory Committee ]

YOU.

SO, MOVING FORWARD WITH, UM, THE REPORT FROM FINANCE AND RISK ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND I'LL RECOGNIZE BOARD MEMBER ELKINS.

I UNDERSTAND THE COMMITTEE HAS AN ADVISORY RECOMMENDATION AS PART OF THE REPORT, AND THIS WILL BE A TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION ON ITEM FIVE.

OKAY, GREAT.

THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.

UM, THE FINANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE MET ON DECEMBER 13TH.

UH, WE HAD A VERY GOOD TURNOUT.

SO, UH, WE WENT THROUGH THE FOLLOWING AGENDA ITEMS. WE HAD, UM, ATP'S TREASURER BRIAN RIVERA, UM, PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON INVESTMENT ADVISOR SERVICES.

WE HAD GREG WARNER FROM HILLTOP SECURITIES, WHO IS, UM, ATP'S, UM, ADVISOR FOR FINANCIAL, UM, MATTERS, UH, AND INVESTING OUR CASH DISCUSS, UM, THE, THE INVESTMENT POLICY.

AND THERE WAS A GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, VARIOUS INVESTMENTS, DURATION OF INVESTMENTS, TYPES OF SECURITIES.

THE SAFETY WAS THE PRIMARY, UM, OBJECTIVE OF, OF INVESTING THE CASH.

SO THAT WAS A GOOD DISCUSSION.

NEXT, WE HAD A, UH, PROJECT CONNECT STATUS REPORT BY HDR'S, UH, VP BRIAN BUCHANAN.

SO WE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE LIGHT RAIL UPDATES, SIMILAR TOPICS THAT WERE DISCUSSED IN THE LAST BOARD OF MEETINGS.

SO WE HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION ON THAT.

AND THEN THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT'LL BE COMING TO THE BOARD

[00:05:01]

AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAD A PRESENTATION FROM ATP'S, DIRECTIVE INTERNAL AUDIT, KATIE HOUSTON, ABOUT, UM, SOME AUDIT, UM, REPORTS THAT SHE'S DONE, SOME, UH, KPIS AND THEN UPDATE ON JUST GENERAL INTERNAL AUDIT ACTIVITIES.

UM, AND AS THE CHAIR MENTIONED, WE DO HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR INTERNAL AUDITOR, WHICH, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UH, LATER IN THE MEETING.

SO THAT'S THE F A R REPORT.

THANKS.

ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MEMBER ELKINS? THANK YOU, SIR.

NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT.

[3. Executive Director Report ]

I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT GREGORY CANALI FOR A BRIEF REPORT.

UH, THANK YOU CHAIR.

UM, I ALSO WANNA WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR LAST MEETING, UH, OF THE YEAR, AND CERTAINLY RECOGNIZE, UH, ALL OF THE WORK, UM, AND TRANSITION THAT WE'VE BEEN IN AS A, AS A NEW ORGANIZATION, UM, ADVANCING, UH, ALL THE PROJECT CONNECT, ADVANCING LIGHT RAIL, AND CONTINUING OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAP METRO AS WE MOVE FORWARD ON AUSTIN'S VISION.

SO, IT'S BEEN A GREAT YEAR, BUT I THINK WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO A FANTASTIC YEAR, UH, UPCOMING AS WELL.

AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

UM, WE HAVE JUST A FEW THINGS TO WALK THROUGH.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE'RE CONTINUING OUR UPDATE, UH, OF OUR, OF OUR, UH, PRO PROJECT CONNECT, UH, PROGRAM UPDATE.

AND THE UPDATE THAT YOU'VE SEEN INCLUDES UPDATES ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM, OUR METRO RAPIDS, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL, WHICH I'M GONNA BRIEFLY TOUCH ON AS WELL AS ADMIN.

AND I THINK IT'D BE, UM, I THINK IT'D BE ALSO GREAT TO JUST RECOGNIZE, UM, UH, THE JOINT MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CAP METRO BOARD AND AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IN, UH, IN THE, IN JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO.

UM, UH, JUST A SUCCESSFUL MEETING.

AND, UM, SO HAPPY THAT WE COULD COME TOGETHER AND GATHER AND ALSO LAY OUT SOME OF THE TOPICS AND ISSUES THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US AS WE ADVANCED LIGHT RAIL TO BRING EVERYONE TOGETHER WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.

AND THEN ALSO, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO THANK, UH, ALL OF THE TEAMWORK AND STAFF THAT WENT INTO PULLING THAT OFF TOGETHER.

UH, REBECCA GLO, UH, HER PARTNERS, UH, CHEYENNE AT CAP METRO, AND LEANNE REALLY PULLING THAT ALL TOGETHER.

I THINK IT SHOWED HOW WE'RE ALL WORKING TOGETHER TO GET STUFF DONE.

SO IT WAS A GREAT EVENT, AND WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S TIME FOR THAT.

UM, JUST ON THE NEXT, UH, SLIDE, UH, JUST WANT TO SAY, AS WE REMEMBER, WE ARE COMING BACK TO YOU EACH, JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHERE WE ARE IN OUR RECRUITMENT.

UM, WE'RE CONTINUING TO BUILD OUR ORGANIZATION, UH, UNDERWAY, UH, LOOKING AT AUDIT AND HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTION.

OBVIOUSLY, AS WE HIRE PEOPLE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT, UH, TALENT IN OUR, UM, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES AREA.

AND AS WE NOW GROW OUR AREAS IN PLANNING AND PROJECT CONTROLS, TRAINING AND EQUITY, AND SOME BUSINESS SUPPORT, UM, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE HIRING THAT.

AND A BIG AREA I WANNA FOCUS ON IS IN OUR IT.

UM, WE HAVE, UM, WE WE'RE WRAPPING UP AN ASSESSMENT OF WHERE WE ARE ON OUR IT FUNCTIONALITY AND HOW WE, UH, MOVE TOWARDS SOME NEW SYSTEMS THAT WE NEED.

UH, WE HAVE AN EMERGING ROADMAP FOR THAT AND SOME, UH, RESOURCE NEEDS, UH, TO DO THAT AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.

SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING MORE INFORMATION ON THAT IN JANUARY.

UM, SO AS YOU SAID, WE'RE HIRING.

WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AND BRING IN ON GREAT TALENT TO THIS ORGANIZATION AS WE, UH, MOVE FORWARD IN ALL THE WORK WE HAVE HERE FOR AUSTIN.

AND ON THAT NOTE, UM, I THINK YOU HAVE BOTH ALL THIS BOARD HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ON TWO KEY, UH, EXECUTIVE, UH, LEADERSHIP, UM, HIRES THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE.

THESE ARE EFFORTS THAT WE BEGAN IN THE, IN THE FALL.

WE'VE BEEN KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF THIS, AND SO PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT.

UM, JULIA CAMPBELL HAS JOINED US AS OUR CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, ATP'S FIRST COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, UM, A LARGE EFFORT WORKING, UM, INTEGRATED WITH OUR STAFF, UM, FROM A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT, UM, OUR MEDIA RELATIONS, AND REALLY LOOKING, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL OF OUR OUTREACH WELL THOUGHT OUT.

SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE JULIA JOINING US A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE WORKING HERE IN AUSTIN, UM, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANNING, UH, AND HOUSING, WHICH WE KNOW IS SO IMPORTANT TO WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE AS WE BUILD COMMUNITY AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT.

UM, AND THEN, UH, OUR OTHER KEY HIRE THIS, UH, THIS, THIS, UH, QUARTER.

AND THESE WERE TARGETED HIRES THAT WE WANTED TO COMPLETE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.

AND I'M, AND, UH, I FEEL WE FEEL VERY SUCCESSFUL WE'LL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THESE, UM, KEY HIRES.

UH, AND THAT'S LINDSAY WOOD.

UH, LINDSAY IS FAMILIAR TO ALL OF US HAVING HELPED, UM, ADVANCED, UM, LIGHT RAIL, AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL OVER THESE LAST COUPLE YEARS, UH, JOINING US AT ATP AS THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION.

UM, WHAT'S SO FANTASTIC ABOUT LINDSAY, I THINK I JUST HEARD HER SAY SHE'S A FOURTH GENERATION AUSTINITE.

SO THAT IN ITSELF DESERVES A, AN AMAZING ASTERISK, UM, UH, IN A TOWN THAT IS DOUBLING IN SIZE EVERY, UH, 20 YEARS TO HAVE A, A PURE, UH, NATIVE AUSTINITE HERE TO HELP BILL AUSTIN, I THINK IS

[00:10:01]

FANTASTIC.

AND, UH, WE'RE REAL EXCITED FOR LINDSAY TO, TO JOIN US AS WELL.

AND THEN LASTLY, UM, JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON, UH, KIND OF GIVE YOU A LOOK AHEAD.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, AS WE FRAME INTO VIEW THE UPCOMING MONTHS.

UH, WE BACK IN NOVEMBER, IF YOU RECALL, UH, ERNST AND YOUNG, OUR ADVISOR, OUR, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISOR THAT'S HELPING US ON DELIVERY STRATEGY AND FINANCIAL STRATEGY, TEED UP THE DISCUSSION ON OUR HONEYCOMB AROUND INDUSTRY, UH, AND OUTREACH AND OUR DELIVERY STRATEGY, AND LAID OUT THE KIND OF THE 1 0 1 ON WHERE WE ARE ON THAT, AND THE WORK THAT WE HAD, UH, DOING WITH INDUSTRY OUTREACH.

UM, WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIPS IN DELIVERING, UM, PROJECT CONNECT FOR THIS COMMUNITY, THEY'RE VARIED.

UM, OBVIOUSLY THEY WERE SITTING AROUND THE TABLE WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAPITAL METRO, OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.

UM, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS A VERY KEY INVESTOR AND PARTNER, BUT ALSO INDUSTRY.

AND SO WE HAVE BEEN CONTINUING TO, UM, BUILD OUT OUR READINESS AROUND DELIVERY OF THIS MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM THAT TAKES WORK AND THOUGHT AND RIGOR TO DO THAT.

UH, WE HAD, WE WERE FORTUNATE TO BE INVITED UP TO TORONTO, UM, TO VISIT WITH INFRASTRUCTURE ONTARIO AND METRO LINKS THAT ARE IN THE, UH, THROES OF BUILDING A LOT OF TRANSIT.

UM, EVERYWHERE YOU GO, IT SEEMED LIKE, UH, THEY WERE DIGGING UP AND GETTING NEW TRANSIT PUT IN PLACE.

SO WE HAD A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH THEM ON LESSON LEARNS, ON THE BEST WAY TO DELIVER THE CONTRACTS AROUND THIS, THE TYPE OF CONTRACTING METHODOLOGY WAS INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL.

UM, DOWNLOADING, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THEM GIVING US HOURS TO, TO LEARN FROM THAT, UH, FROM WHAT THEY'RE GOING ON UP THERE IN REALLY A MASSIVE PROGRAM.

WE'RE GONNA BE CONTINUING OUR INDUSTRY OUTREACH AND REALLY ASSESSING RISK PROFILE, OUR RISKS, OUR FINANCIAL RISKS, AND WHERE INDUSTRY IS SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LAYING OUT AN APPROACH.

AND SO WHAT WE WANNA PROPOSE, UM, IS COMING BACK ON OUR STRATEGY, ON OUR DELIVERY METHODOLOGY AND OUR CONTRACT BUNDLING, WHICH IS REALLY AS UNDER THE GUISE OF READINESS WHILE WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THE, UM, LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE THAT WILL BE COMING LATER THIS SPRING.

THAT IS A, A VERY, UM, UH, OBVIOUSLY A VERY IMPORTANT EFFORT, AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ON THAT.

UM, BUT WE ARE WORKING AT ATP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALSO READY WHEN THAT WORK IS COMPLETE.

UM, WE ARE READY TO ADVANCE THE EFFORT.

UM, AND THAT'S MULTIFACETED.

UM, MR. SAY, WE'RE KIND OF WALKING AND CHEWING GUM EVERY DAY ON MULTIPLE TOPICS.

AND THIS IS A KEY ISSUE ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA CONTRACT AND OUR DELIVERY METHODOLOGY.

SO WE PROPOSE COMING TARGETING A FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING WITH A, PROBABLY A LONGER WORK SESSION TO TALK ABOUT THIS DELIVERY METHOD, THE RISKS AND ALL THINGS ABOUT CONTRACTING, UM, HERE COMING FORWARD.

SO BUILDING ON ALL THE WORK WE'VE DONE AND TALK ABOUT, UM, OUR ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY OUTREACH.

SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT, UM, AND LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING MORE WITH YOU ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED.

AND THEN LASTLY, I THINK MOST IMPORTANTLY, I THINK WE WANT TO EVERYONE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE TRAINS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED.

UM, WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR CAT METRO TO SIGN OFF ON THE DESIGN TO SEE IF THAT CAN WORK.

, UM, WE'RE CLOSE.

I THINK GOTTI, RIGHT? MAYBE, MAYBE .

UM, WE'RE GETTING THERE.

UM, SO WE ARE REALLY HAPPY EVERYONE CAN JOIN US TODAY AND EXCITED FOR, UM, SOME OF THE UPDATES WE HAVE.

IT'S, IT'S CUTE, BUT CAN I RIDE IN IT ? IT'S MISSING, IT'S MISSING THAT FOR NOW.

YOU CAN HANG IT ON YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE.

ME BECAME VERY IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE IS THAT YOU LED WITH HUMOR.

ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR? NO QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU FOR THIS UPDATE, GREG.

WE'RE MOVING RIGHT ALONG.

SO, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE MOVE TO OUR NEXT ACTION ITEMS, I WANT TO TURN OUR ATTENTION TO AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF TODAY'S BOARD MEETING.

AND IT IS REALLY ONE THAT IS REALLY BITTERSWEET FOR ME TO ACKNOWLEDGE AS THIS REPRESENTS THE LAST BOARD MEETING OF MAYOR RADLER.

AND FOR ME, HAS REALLY BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO WORK ALONGSIDE YOU FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.

YOU DID NOT KNOW ME AT ALL, BUT YOU BELIEVED IN ME, AND YOU'VE ASKED ME TO SERVE IN A WAY THAT HAS NOT ONLY MADE ME GROW AS A PERSON, BUT HAS REVEALED MY DEVOTION FOR THIS COMMUNITY.

MAYOR, I REALLY WANT TO RECOGNIZE YOUR, UM, JUST THE, THE WARMTH OF ENVISIONARY LEADERSHIP THAT YOU HAVE PRESENTED TO ALL OF US.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE ALL MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO HAVE A FEW WORDS OF DEPARTURE FOR YOU.

I KNOW THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF OUR MEETING, BUT I'D LIKE TO INVITE EVERYONE TO JOIN US AT THE END OF THIS MEETING FOR A CELEBRATION TO HONOR YOUR LEGACY.

BECAUSE ONE THING THAT TO

[00:15:01]

I REMEMBER THE DAY WHEN , YOU WROTE A RESPONSE TO AN EMAIL ABOUT WONDER WOMAN, , I MEAN, A SPECIAL SCREENING AT A MOVIE THEATER DEDICATED TO WOMEN.

AND YOU HAD THE MOST FANTASTIC RESPONSE BECAUSE IT WAS HUMOROUS, AND IT WAS ELOQUENT TO TELL THE STORY THAT THIS IS A CITY WHERE EVERYONE BELONGS AND EVERYONE IS WELCOME.

AND THEN YOU LED US THROUGH A VERY IMPORTANT JOURNEY OF SURVIVAL THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.

AND IT, IT W THERE WERE YEARS, I MEAN, DIFFICULT YEARS THAT YOU SHOWED COMPASSION AND YOU SHOWED AN INCREDIBLE LEADERSHIP.

AND IN YOUR TENURE, THE LAST 10 YEARS, YOU, YOU SERVED FOR EIGHT.

BUT THE LAST 10 YEARS OF GROWTH FOR OUR METRO BIKE SYSTEM AND ACTIVE MOBILITY WERE THE MOST REMARKABLE IN OUR CITY THAT LED US THEN TO PROJECT CONNECT.

SO I KNOW YOU RECENTLY HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A HEALTH, UH, PUBLIC SERVANT FOR HEALTH BECAUSE YOU, THIS COMMUNITY HAD THE LOWEST RATE OF MORTALITY IN OUR, IN OUR MIDST.

AND I WOULD WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE INVESTMENTS THAT YOU LED THAT LED US TO PROJECT CONNECT ARE ALSO WORKING TOWARDS REMOVING MORTALITY OR LESSENING THE MORTALITY OF OUR COMMUNITY.

SO IT IS REALLY WITH DEEP GRATITUDE THAT I AM HERE TO TELL YOU MY GRATITUDE PERSONALLY, AND LEADING THIS COMMUNITY AND THIS BOARD TO DELIVER PROJECT CONNECT FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY HEART.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.

AND YOU HAVE PUT US ON A PATH TOWARDS INCLUSIVE AND MORE INCLUSIVE CITY.

YOU, YOU HAVE EARNED, UH, YOU HAVE EARNED A PLACE IN, IN THE AUSTIN LEXICON AS A BUILDER, A HEALER, AND A BUILDER.

AND ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE TO, I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT TO ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBER BOARD, YES.

BOARD MEMBER GAR GARCIA.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

AND I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT ANYTIME YOU CALL, I WILL LISTEN TO WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

UM, WHAT YOU STARTED HERE IS A HUGE, HUGE ENDEAVOR, WHICH CONSERVE THE COMMUNITY FOR, UH, FOR YOUR OWN OUT.

AND, UH, IT TOOK A LOT OF COURAGE TO DO THAT BECAUSE THERE WAS A, A LOT OF OPPOSITION TO IT.

BUT, UH, YOU STUCK TO YOUR GUNS.

I'LL START THIS OFF BY SAYING HE LISTENS TO EVERYBODY.

, .

THERE YOU GO, .

UM, BUT, BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT, UM, WE'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER, UM, ALL EIGHT OF YOUR YEARS.

UH, WE USED TO GO TO CHURCH TOGETHER.

I, WE ACTUALLY, HE DEVELOPED A BAPTIST ROCK.

I'LL HAVE HIM SHOW YOU EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.

YEAH, HE DIDN'T HAVE THAT BEFORE HE GOT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL.

UH, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS INTERESTING TO WATCH THE HARD WORK THAT WENT INTO, UH, BUILDING A FUNDING SYSTEM THAT WOULD MAKE THIS A REALITY.

UH, BUILDING A SYSTEM THAT WOULD ALLOW, UH, THE CITY TO TRANSFORM IN THE WAY THAT, THAT, UH, THAT IS BEING PLANNED.

UH, THAT WAS DIFFICULT WORK GOING INTO DIFFICULT SPACES, UH, WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT COULD NOT SEE THE VISION AT THE TIME.

BUT THAT EVENTUALLY BECAME A MAJORITY.

SEEING THE VISION AND WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD ACCESS TO THE TRANSFORMATION, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, YOU POINTED TOWARDS, UH, WE, WE LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES.

UH, THIS IS ONE OF, UH, THE MOST DIFFICULT POLITICAL PERIODS THAT WE'VE PROBABLY LIVED THROUGH SINCE VIETNAM.

UH, YOU KNOW, SO MANY PEOPLE AIMING AT EACH OTHER, FUSSING AT EACH OTHER, NOT TRYING TO WORK TOGETHER.

UH, YOU WERE A VOICE THAT ENCOURAGED PEOPLE TO WORK TOGETHER AND, AND THAT UNDERSTOOD THAT WHEN THE ADULTS ARGUE, OUR CHILDREN SUFFER, AND WE HAVE TO COME TOGETHER AND WORK TOGETHER AND BUILD THE COMMUNITY THAT WE WANT.

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY IT HAPPENS.

AND I, AND I THINK THAT WAS A HUGE PART OF WHAT YOUR LEGACY WILL BE.

AND I'M VERY PROUD AND HONORED TO, UH, HAVE WORKED WITH YOU.

LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH YOU.

I WILL NOT ERASE YOUR PHONE NUMBER IN MY PHONE, UH, BUT ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE SO HAPPY THAT YOU'LL GET A CHANCE TO ENJOY THOSE GRANDBABIES AND SPOIL 'EM AND SPEND TIME WITH THEM.

UH,

[00:20:01]

AND YOU'VE, AND YOU'VE WORKED HARD TOWARDS THAT END, AND, UH, PROUD TO HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED.

UM, SO, UH, JUST TO BEGIN, I, I SALUTE THE MAYOR FOR HIS STEADFAST LEADERSHIP.

UM, FOR, WITHOUT MAYOR ADLER PROJECT CONNECT WOULD'VE NEVER HAPPENED.

UH, HIS TOUCH IS ALL OVER THIS PROGRAM.

AND HAVING BEEN AN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPER FOR MANY YEARS, IF THERE'S ONE THING I KNOW THAT YOU NEED FOR ANY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT IS YOU NEED A POLITICAL CHAMPION.

AND THAT WAS MAYOR ADLER.

UM, BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THE MAYOR GETTING THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND ALL THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS WE HAVE IN THIS COMMUNITY TO AGREE ON.

ONE THING IS NO EASY TASK.

AND IT REQUIRES A VERY STEADY HAND TO BE ABLE TO GET ALL THOSE STAKEHOLDERS TO AGREE.

AND, AND WE WERE FORTUNATE TO HAVE MAYOR ADLER, UH, GETTING ALL THOSE STAKEHOLDERS, VERY FEW PEOPLE COULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SUCH A DIFFICULT TASK.

UM, SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY AND TO THIS, UH, PROGRAM.

AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING YOU RIDE THE RAILS, , HOPEFULLY BEFORE TO NOT TOO LONG.

AND I KNOW WE ALSO THANK YOU FOR MEMBER ELKINS, AND WE HAVE GINA FI DACA VIRTUALLY WITH US, WHO WILL ALSO LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS FOR MEMBER.

THANK YOU, VERONICA.

AND, UH, MAYOR, WHAT CAN I SAY? WHEN I ARRIVED IN AUSTIN AND I WALKED INTO YOUR OFFICE, UM, YOU SAID WE WERE GOING TO DO BIG THINGS AROUND MOBILITY.

UH, BUT I JUST HAD NO IDEA HOW BIG, UM, YOU HAVE SET US ON A TRAJECTORY TO TRANSFORM MOBILITY IN AUSTIN.

UM, AND I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR BEING PART OF THE TEAM THAT, THAT YOU LED.

UM, YOU NEVER LET US FORGET WHO WE WERE SERVING AND WHO WE WERE HELPING.

UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LEADING WITH COMPASSION AND GENEROSITY AND BEING GENEROUS WITH YOUR TIME, WITH YOUR WISDOM, WITH YOUR GUIDANCE, UH, AND YOU HAVE MADE US A BETTER TEAM, AND YOU HAVE MADE US A BETTER CITY.

INTO IT, MOSTLY ABOUT 23 HOURS A DAY.

THANK YOU, MS. PCA DOTY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY A I SURE WOULD.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MAYOR.

IT HAS BEEN SUCH A PRIVILEGE AND AN HONOR TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND TO WORK WITH YOU ON THIS.

I, UM, STILL REMEMBER THE FIRST, UM, EVENT WHEN WE WERE JUST REALLY KIND OF TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT TRANSIT IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

I THINK IT WAS ACTUALLY AN OPENING OF A BUS LANE SOMEWHERE.

UM, AND YOU CAME OUT AND I WAS LIKE, OH, WOW.

WE GOT THE MAYOR TO COME OUT TO OPEN A BUS LANE.

BUT IT WAS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF WHAT IS CLEARLY A PASSION FOR TRANSFORMATION IN THIS COMMUNITY.

UM, YOUR SUPPORT OF TRANSIT AND REALLY HELPING US FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY FOR A CITY OUR SIZE HAS JUST BEEN PHENOMENAL.

AND IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH YOU.

UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON OUR SERVICES FOR MANY, MANY YEARS TO COME.

THANK YOU, GREG.

UH, WELL, MAYOR, THIS IS, UH, WE'VE HAD, UH, SAT AT A LOT OF TABLES OVER, OVER THE YEARS.

UM, THE FIRST TABLE WE SAT OUT WAS, I THINK IN THE, IN THE, IN SOMETIME IN 20, UH, 2014, OUR FRIEND TOM GOT US TOGETHER, UM, TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT THE, WHAT THE CITY WAS AND HOW THE CITY, UH, FROM AN ADMINISTRATION PERSPECTIVE.

AND WHAT I THINK, UH, I LEARNED FROM THAT VISIT, AND ALL OF OURS, IS AS YOU WERE LEADING THIS COMMUNITY, UH, AND CHALLENGING US ALL TO GO BIG AND THINK BIG AS A BIG CITY, AS A BIG INTERNATIONAL CITY, UM, YOU ALSO BROUGHT TO THAT THIS IDEA OF CONSTANT LEARNING, UM, ABOUT HOW WE, HOW IT TAKES VARIOUS ASPECTS OF, OF THIS IDEA OF MOVING CITIES FORWARD, UM, TO LEARN ABOUT THAT, UM, AND UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES, BUT ALSO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DIDN'T NEED TO BE COMPLEX ABOUT THINGS.

AND FROM THAT, I THINK WE HAVE THIS EMERGING VISION.

WE'RE SITTING IN THIS ROOM, UM, IN A, IN A, IN A NEWLY CREATED ENTITY, UH, BECAUSE OF YOUR PASSION AND ENERGY AROUND THAT CONSTANT LEARNING AND YOUR CONSTANT SERVICE TO THIS COMMUNITY.

AND, UM, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE YOU TO THANK FOR ALL OF THAT ENERGY THAT YOU PUT INTO LEAVING THIS COMMUNITY.

I CAN TELL PEOPLE, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE MAYOR, BUT I'VE OBSERVED WHAT YOU'VE DONE AS BEING MAYOR, AND IT IS SO MULTIFACETED.

THE AVAILABILITY AND THE ENERGY THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT

[00:25:01]

AND, UM, THAT HARD WORK HAS PAID OFF.

WE'RE SEEING THAT HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY.

UM, AND SO ON BEHALF OF ALL ATP, UH, WE'RE NOT ONLY THANKFUL FOR YOU, BUT WE'RE JUST VERY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR ALL OF US, UH, AS A TEAM, AS A COMMUNITY, AND INDIVIDUALLY.

UH, UP ONE SIDE AND DOWN THE OTHER.

I KNOW YOU DON'T WANNA SAY GOODBYE TO YOU, , .

I HOPE YOU DON'T, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU.

AND, AND THANK YOU ALL.

I HAVE BEEN SO LUCKY, UH, ON THIS DAY AS AND ON THE CITY COUNCIL DAY AS TO BE SURROUNDED WITH, UH, COLLEAGUES THAT HAVE JUST BEEN SO SELFLESS, UH, AND, AND, AND, AND DEDICATED.

UM, I APPRECIATE THE KIND WORDS, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF BITTERSWEET TO, TO, TO GET TO THE END OF A TERM, UH, IN PART BECAUSE THERE, THIS IS SUCH A FANTASTIC JOB BEING, BEING MAYOR, TO, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AN IMPACT AT SCALE.

THE PEOPLE YOU GET A CHANCE TO MEET, UH, THE PLACES YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO BE ABLE TO GO.

BUT IT IS VERY DEFINITELY SOMEBODY ELSE'S TURN TO, TO, TO, TO TAKE IT NOW.

AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE, TO THE NEXT, UM, UH, ADMINISTRATION WITH, UH, UH, MERRILL WATSON.

I'M PROUD OF WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO, TO GET DONE.

UH, I'M PROUD OF COVID AND, AND THE MORTALITY RATE, WHICH WAS HALF OF THE STATE.

I'M PROUD THAT, UH, OURS WAS A CITY THAT NOT ONLY TALKED ABOUT EQUITY OR TALKED ABOUT MAKING EQUITY MORE THAN JUST SOMETHING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.

WE ACTUALLY DID IT.

UH, AND THERE'S NOTHING THAT HAPPENS RIGHT NOW, UH, IN ANY PUBLIC AGENCY IN THIS CITY, UH, WITHOUT A REALLY DEEP DIVE IN INVESTIGATION AND FOCUS ON, ON EQUITY.

THAT GOES BEYOND, I THINK, NOT OUR HOPES, BUT, BUT OUR, BUT OUR EXPECTATIONS, UM, I'M REALLY PROUD OF, OF WHAT WE DID IN, IN MOBILITY.

YOU KNOW, WE, WHEN I, WHEN I RAN FOR OFFICE IN 2014, WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RAIL ELECTION.

UH, AND, AND I WAS AWARE OF THE FACT THAT WHILE THERE WERE LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, 80 PEOPLE RUNNING IN THAT ELECTION, THERE WERE ONLY TWO OF US THAT WERE SUPPORTIVE OF THE RAIL, UH, PROPOSITION.

UH, AND, AND RAN THAT CAMPAIGN PROMISING THAT, THAT WE WOULD BRING IT BACK AS QUICKLY AS WE, AS WE AS WE COULD.

CUZ IT WAS APPARENT, UH, IT WAS GOING TO LOSE AND LOSE BIG.

AND PEOPLE WANTED THAT.

UM, IN 20 14, 15, AS WE WERE WORKING AND THEN POSITIONING TO BE ABLE TO BRING IT BACK AS, UH, AND WE WERE, UH, HAVING THE DEBATE OVER WHAT THE SIZE OF THE MOBILITY BOND SHOULD BE IN 2016, THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T WANT TO DO A BOND, CUZ WE HAD JUST DONE ONE.

AND THE CONSENSUS OPINION WAS THAT WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING THAT WAS IN THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR RANGE WHEN WE STARTED OFF.

AND WE ENDED UP DOING A $720 MILLION MOBILITY BOND THAT PASSED WITH THE, WITH A REALLY STRONG MAJORITY.

AND THE LESSON FROM THAT WAS IF THIS COMMUNITY WAS REALLY READY TO DO BIG THINGS, IF THEY THOUGHT THAT IT COULD TRANSFORM LIFE IN THIS CITY, AND IN FACT MAKE US BETTER PREPARED TO DEAL WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING WHEN YOU GO FROM A, FROM A SMALLER TOWN TO, TO, TO A REALLY BIG CITY.

AND, AND I'VE JUST BEEN REAL LUCKY TO HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED AND PART OF TEAMS THAT WERE WILLING TO DO THAT, TO, TO PICK EVERY CHALLENGE, NO MATTER HOW HARD IT WAS, AND CONFRONT IT TO DO THE THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE, WHETHER THEY WERE DISRUPTIVE OR NOT.

UH, AND TO GO BIG, UM, I JUST WANT TO MENTION THE, THE STAFFS, CUZ NOW THAT I'M, I'M ROTATING OUT, IT BECOMES EVEN MORE CLEAR TO ME THAT WE HAVE STAFF MEMBERS HERE THAT HAVE WATCHED, I DON'T KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE MAYORS DO THIS, UH, OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.

AND, AND WHO KNOWS NOW, 20, 30 COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, UH, STAFF IS INCREDIBLE.

UH, THE, THE STAFF NEWLY CREATED FOR ATP, THE CITY STAFF, UH, THE CAP METRO STAFF, UH, THESE ARE THE FOLKS THAT, UH, WHILE THEY MIGHT NOT BE OUT IN FRONT AS MUCH AS SOMEONE WHO IS ELECTED, ARE REALLY THE PEOPLE THAT DELIVER PROJECTS, ALL OF THESE PROJECTS, ALL OF THESE BONDS, ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS, UH, FOR THIS COMMUNITY.

AND AS I TALK TO COLLEAGUES AROUND THE COUNTRY AND HAVE HAD THE CHANCE TO BE IN CITIES AND MEET STAFFS, UH, ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, OURS IS JUST STELLAR,

[00:30:01]

AND IT IS, UM, UM, WONDERFUL TO HAVE STAFFS THAT, THAT MAKE US EMINENT DOMAIN LAWYERS LOOK GOOD.

UM, WHEN IT COMES TO, WHEN IT COMES TO WORKING ON, ON PUBLIC POLICY, UH, ISSUES, UH, I, I WILL NEVER BE TOO FAR AWAY IF I CAN HELP, UH, THIS YEAR, THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR, CUZ IT'S GONNA BE A HARD HALF YEAR HERE WITH, UH, ATP, CUZ UH, THIS BOARD AND THIS COMMUNITY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, UH, DECISIONS, UH, IN ORDER FOR US TO, TO REALIZE, MOVE FORWARD AND REALIZE WHAT THE VOTERS, UH, UH, CHARGED US WITH DOING.

UH, I WON'T EVER BE REALLY FAR AWAY.

SO LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP.

AND PLEASE KNOW HOW MUCH OF AN HONOR, UH, IT HAS BEEN TO, TO SERVE WITH YOU GUYS.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

SO, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO PRESENT YOU A, A SMALL TOKEN OF RECOGNITION AS A DEPARTING BOARD MEMBER.

SO IF YOU COULD PLEASE JOIN ME HERE AND ALL MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS JOIN ME PRESENTING.

UM, I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO OPEN IT , IT'S BEFORE CHRISTMAS, BUT I HOPE THAT, UM, THERE'S A NEAT STORY WITH THIS PARTICULAR, UH, AWARD, UM, THAT IT'S DONE BY A WOMAN OWNED BUSINESS HERE IN AUSTIN.

YOU, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET SOME PRACTICE WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS ON OPENING PRESENTS I KNOW WITH LOCAL ARTISANS AND LOCAL MATERIALS.

SO WE WANTED TO REPRESENT WHAT AUSTIN MEANS WITH A BIG LETTER A FOR ADLER, FOR AUSTIN, FOR YOUR LEGACY, FOR ALL THE THINGS YOU'VE DONE FOR US.

IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

YOU WANNA GET TOGETHER? EXCELLENT.

THANK YOU MAYOR.

AND YET YOU GET TO RECYCLE THIS BOY.

USE IT ON ANOTHER.

ALRIGHT.

LOOKS LIKE HAVING THE GRANDCHILDREN WOULD LIKE.

SO NOW WE'D LIKE TO MOVE US THROUGH OUR ACTION ITEMS FAIRLY QUICKLY TODAY.

[4.1 Approval of minutes from the November 16 Board Meeting ]

I UNDERSTAND THE STAFF PROVIDED THE EXTENSIVE INFORMATION RELATED TO OUR ACTION ITEMS IN THE POSTED MATERIALS.

SO I PROPOSE THAT WE TAKE THIS ACTION ITEMS WITHOUT ANY PRESENTATIONS AND STAFF IS AVAILABLE TO COME TO THE DI IF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. OUR FIRST ACTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 16 AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING.

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MINUTES AND I WILL REQUEST A MOTION AND A SECOND MOVE APPROVAL.

MOVE BY BY THE MINUTES.

MEMBER TRILLIAN.

SECOND BY MEMBER GARZA.

EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

OUR SECOND ACTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION OF A CONTRACT WITH STATESIDE RIGHT OF WAY, L L C AND L J A ENGINEERING INCORPORATED FOR REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION FOR RELOCATION SERVICES FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $6,100,000 FOR THE INITIAL 24 MONTHS.

THE MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.

UM,

[4.2 Approval of a resolution authorizing the negotiation and execution of a contract with Stateside Right of Way, LLC and LJA Engineering Inc. for Real Estate Acquisition and Relocation Services for a term of five years in an amount not to exceed $6,100,000 for the initial 24 months ]

DO I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE? SECOND.

MOVED BY MEMBER GARZA.

SECOND BY MEMBER TRILLIAN.

ANY DISCUSSION? JUST WANT TO CLARIFY ONE THING.

THE FIFTH 0.1 IS THE THUMB TOTAL OF THE TWO.

YES, I BELIEVE SO.

AND CAN STAFF PLEASE CLARIFY THAT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.

UM, AND MY UNDERSTANDING AND THE QUESTION IS THAT THIS IS FOR 24 MONTHS, THAT, THAT AMOUNT, BUT THE CONTRACT IS FOR FIVE YEARS.

SO THE, THE ORGANIZATION WILL COME BACK LATER WITH A DIFFERENT AMOUNT FOR ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.

UHHUH, , MEMBER ELKINS.

YEAH, JUST, UH, AND I THINK, UM, THIS, THERE VERY WELL BE MAY CHANGES TO THIS.

IF, FOR INSTANCE, THERE IS A CHANGE IN THE RAIL WHERE WE MOVE IT BELOW GRADE TO ABOVE GRADE, WHICH MIGHT REQUIRE MORE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION, THEN THERE WOULD POTENTIALLY BE CHANGES TO THIS CONTRACT IN LATER DATE, RIGHT?

[00:35:02]

THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT.

I, I THINK WE WOULD, AGAIN, THIS IS TO GET US MOVING ON OUR MM-HMM.

AS WE MULTITASK THIS EFFORT FROM A READINESS PERSPECTIVE.

WE KNOW OUR RIGHT OF WAY, UH, NEEDS BOTH THE, AND, AND REALLY THE PLANNING FOR THAT, UH, THOSE THAT WORK, UH, THIS IS IGNITING THAT EFFORT AND WE'LL BE BACK AS NEEDED TO AMEND THE CONTRACT TO MOVE FORWARD.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS? UH, IF EVERYONE IS IN APPROVAL, PLEASE SAY, AYE.

ANYONE? UH, NOT IN FAVOR.

NO, IT'S UNANIMOUS.

OUR THIRD ACTION ITEM.

IF I COULD JUST ADD, I'M GONNA ALMOST, I'M ALWAYS GONNA WANT TO KNOW WHAT PERCENT OF THE CONTRACT IS STAYING LOCAL.

THE, OUR THIRD ACTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR DESIGNEE TO ENTER INTO A COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AGREEMENTS WITH SOURCE WELL BY BOARD OMNIA PARTNERS AND TEXAS SMART BUY TO ALLOW ATP TO JOIN AND PARTICIPATE IN A COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM OF EACH ORGANIZATION.

AND, UM, I DO BELIEVE YOU WANNA, I, THIS WILL BE A GOOD TIME FOR US TO HAVE FOR THE PERCENTAGE OF OUR CONTRACT IS STAYING LOCAL.

DO YOU WANT THAT ANSWER NOW OR DO YOU WANT STAFF TO COME BACK LATER? GREAT.

[4.3 Approval of a resolution authorizing the Austin Transit Partnership Executive Director, or designee, to enter into Cooperative Purchasing Agreements with Sourcewell, Buyboard, OMNIA Partners, and Texas SmartBuy to allow ATP to join and participate in the Cooperative Purchasing Programs of each organization ]

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE, MOVE APPROVAL TO MOVE, MOVE BY MEMBER GARZA.

SECOND BY MEMBER ELKINS.

UH, ANY DISCUSSION? SORRY.

NO, IT'S OKAY.

MEMBER GARZA, I LOVE THIS CONTRACT BECAUSE IT, IT SHOULD MAKE IT A LOT MORE EFFICIENT FOR THE STAFF TO DO THEIR WORK.

AND, UH, AND THEN I APPLAUD FOR THAT.

I WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE DON'T FORGET THAT OUR MINORITY, UH, UH, UH, REQUIREMENTS, OUR LOCAL REQUIREMENTS, THAT KIND OF THING.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I COMMEND YOU FOR, FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.

WOULD THAT, I'D LIKE TO ASK FOR A VOTE.

EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

OUR FOURTH ACTION ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION DETERMINING THE CAPITAL.

UM, ACTION NUMBER THREE HAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

[4.4 Approval of a resolution determining that Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s hiring of Certification Associates as an independent on-site monitor complies with Section 4.3 of the Joint Powers Agreement ]

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITIES HIRING OF CERTIFICATION ASSOCIATES AS AN INDEPENDENT ON-SITE MONITOR COMPLIES WITH SECTION 4.3 OF THE JOINT POWER AGREEMENT.

UM, IF Y'ALL RECALL, THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT THIS COMMUNITY HAS ASKED THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT CONNECT TO BE.

AND WE WANNA ENSURE THAT THERE IS NO, UH, THAT THE WORKERS ARE KEPT SAFE, TRAINED AND, UM, WAGE STAFF IS MONITORED TO PREVENTED.

SO WITH THIS, I REALLY LIKE TO COMMAND THE EFFORTS FROM CAP METRO TO ADVANCE THIS, UH, THIS WORK IN THE EVOLUTION AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE METRO RAPID AND THE METRO RAIL PROJECTS.

SO IF I HAVE, UM, A MOTION TO APPROVE, SO MOVED, MOVED BY MEMBER TRILLIAN.

I I JUST HAD A, A QUESTION IF I COULD, RIGHT? SO COULD, COULD WE JUST, WHAT, WHAT IS THE COMPENSATION THAT WE'RE PAYING TO THIS ORGANIZATION? YEAH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO A SECOND FIRST AND THEN WE'LL DO THE DISCUSSION.

DO I HAVE THE SECOND, SECOND BY MEMBER VA, THEN YOUR QUESTION MEMBER ELKIN SAYS, YEAH, I, AND I'M, I'M FINE WITH HAVING THIS, THIS IS WHAT WAS SAID IN THE JPA AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

I JUST, YOU KNOW, WANNA UNDERSTAND THE COMPENSATION.

AND DID WE PUT THIS OUT TO BID OR IS IT THIS IS A SOLE SOURCE OR HOW THAT KIND OF CAME ABOUT? YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE THIS WAS IN THE BACKUP MATERIAL AS A SOLE SOURCE.

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS ARE COMPLYING WITH THE, UM, WAGE REQUIREMENTS AND THE, UM, KIND OF, UH, WORKER PROTECTIONS THAT ARE IN THE CONTRACTS WITH THE, THE CAP METRO HOLDS WITH THE CONSTRUCTION FIRMS. UM, AND IF WE FIND ANY ISSUES, WE WILL USE OUR CONTRACTUAL REP RE REMEDIES UNDER THOSE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS, UM, TO GET THEM, UH, RESOLVED BECAUSE IT IS A REQUIREMENT OF THE CONTRACT.

UM, AND THEY ALSO HAVE, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I ALSO HAD IS WHAT ARE THE REMEDIES THAT THEY'RE DOING MM-HMM.

TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH ANY OF THE VIOLATIONS THAT ARE PRESENTED.

SO THERE, THERE ARE REMEDIES ALREADY BROUGHT TO BOARD.

SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY PROVIDE A REPORT TO CAPITAL METRO AND THEY WOULD ALSO REPORT BACK TO US WITH ANY DEFICIENCIES THAT ARE HAPPENING.

CORRECT.

SO, UM, CERTIFICATION ASSOCIATES, DID I GET THAT RIGHT? YES.

UM, IS THE FIRM THAT CAP METRO HAS HIRED TO HELP SUPPORT THE ONSITE MONITORING? UM, THIS ALLOWS US TO ENSURE THAT THE, UM, ONSITE MONITORING THAT IS REQUIRED AND THE JPA IS CONDUCTED.

WE ALSO DO ADDITIONAL ONSITE MONITORING AS, AS A REQUIREMENT OF THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION'S PROGRAM.

UM, THIS CONTRACT IS $180,000 FOR 18 MONTHS, UM, AND IS CONSIDERED A PART OF A COST OF THE PROJECTS THAT IT IS SUPPORTING.

AND IN TERMS OF REMEDIES, THESE, UM, THIS CONTRACT IS HELPING US ENSURE THAT OUR

[00:40:01]

UM, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD BE HELD IN BREACH OF CONTRACT IF THEY WEREN'T FULFILLING THE, THIS, THESE RESPONSIBILITIES.

SO THIS IS FOR THE 18 MONTH PERIOD FOR JUST THE METRO RAPID PROJECTS, RIGHT? NOT FOR IT'S METRO RAPID AND METRO METRO RAIL, THE MEDICAL STATION.

SO WERE WE TO DO OUR OWN PROJECTS FOUR OR FIVE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, WE WOULD HAVE OUR OWN CONTRACT WITH AN ORGANIZATION SUCH AS THIS, RIGHT.

GOTCHA.

AND, AND ACCORDING IF I DON'T GET THIS CORRECT, THAT'S AS REMEMBER WE HAVE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ATP AND CAP METRO FOR CAP METRO TO DELIVER THOSE COMPONENTS OF PROJECT CONNECT, METRO RAIL AND METRO RAPID.

WE, UM, BOTH OF THOSE HAVE BEEN APPROVED, AND THIS IS UNDER THOSE EFFORTS AS WE ADVANCE LIGHT RAIL.

UM, COURTNEY AND HER TEAM WILL BE ADVANCING THAT FOR, UH, THE LIGHT RAIL CONSTRUCTION.

ARE THERE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD WITHOUT FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR A VOTE.

EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

ACTION ITEM FOUR HAS BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.

SO NOW WE'RE MOVING TO OUR ITEM FROM INTERNAL AUDIT.

SO NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO, THAT CONCLUDES OUR ACTION ITEMS.

[5.1 Briefing on Internal Audit Informal Review Project: ATP task order process for certain CapMetro contracts ]

UM, MS. KATIE HOUSTON IS ATP DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL AUDIT, AND SHE WILL DISCUSS THE FINDINGS FROM A RECENT AND INFORMAL REVIEW PROJECT ON THE ATP TASK ORDER PROCESS FOR CERTAIN CAP METRO PROJECT CONTRACTS.

AND, UM, FIRST, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU MISS KATIE.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM AND THANK YOU.

SO, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, THANK ATP'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ALSO HELPING US STAND UP THIS ORGANIZATION'S, UM, INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION.

I THINK THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ONE, AND I'M REALLY PROUD OF THIS BOARD THAT HAS MADE THE, THE DECISION TO LAUNCH AND ESTABLISH AUDIT AS A, YOU KNOW, AS A VERY IMPORTANT FUNCTION OF THIS DELIVERY OF THIS PROGRAM.

THIS REALLY WILL PROVIDE US THE ACCOUNTABILITY THAT WE NEED.

SO I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU, KATIE, FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU'VE DONE TO GET US STARTED IN TOWARDS THIS ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNEY.

SO WITH THAT, WELCOME.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

UM, COURTNEY, OR, UH, CHLOE, COULD YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? UM, SO, UH, I THINK I HAD A SLIDE BEFORE THIS, BUT THAT'S OKAY.

I'LL DIVE RIGHT IN.

UM, SO I'M HERE TODAY TO BRIEF Y'ALL ON THE, UM, INFORMAL REVIEW PROJECT THAT I DID A COUPLE MONTHS BACK RELATING TO THE ATP TASK ORDER PROCESS.

THE FIRST THING I'LL SAY IS THIS IS NOT AN AUDIT.

I DID NOT ISSUE ANY FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS WORK.

THIS IS AN INFORMAL REVIEW PROJECT.

IT'S REALLY SORT OF A SHORT AND SWEET, UH, KIND OF SIX WEEK REVIEW, UM, OF KIND OF THE BACKGROUND OF HOW THESE TASK ORDERS, UM, WORK.

AND I'VE, I'VE GONE TO THE EFFORT OF ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE RAISED.

THOSE QUESTIONS CAME ABOUT, UM, FROM BOARD MEMBER ELKINS AND WITH A SECOND FROM THE CHAIR.

AND THEN THERE WERE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS RAISED BY, UH, GREG.

SO, UM, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT GOT ME STARTED HERE AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT BRINGS ME TO Y'ALL TODAY HERE ON THE SLIDE.

BEFORE I DIVE INTO ANSWERING THOSE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, IT'S PROBABLY GOOD TO GO OVER A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION FIRST.

UH, HERE THERE ARE THREE MAJOR DESIGN AND ENGINEERING CONTRACTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY TO ADVANCE THE PROJECT.

THEY'RE LISTED HERE ON THE SLIDE ONE'S TO DESIGN THE ORANGE LINE ONE'S TO DESIGN THE BLUE LINE.

AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS, UH, FOR THE PROGRAM MANAGER, OWNER REPRESENTATIVE, THAT'S THE P M O R.

UM, AS YOU'LL NOTE HERE, THE, THE CONTRACTS WERE EXECUTED REALLY, UH, A FEW YEARS AGO, UM, STARTING IN DECEMBER, 2018.

AND, UH, IT WAS CAP METRO THAT GOT THOSE CONTRACTS STARTED, UH, IN THE LEAD UP TO, TO THE PROPOSITION.

UM, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, IT'S CAP METRO THAT HAS THE LEGAL CONTRACTING AUTHORITY AND, AND THE ABILITY TO ENFORCE THE CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND HERE, HERE BEFORE I START ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.

CHLOE, CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? SO THE FIRST QUESTION THAT CAME ABOUT WAS, UH, WHERE DID THE TASK ORDERS COME FROM? I'D SAY THAT'S A VERY GOOD PLACE TO START.

UH, THERE'S A LOT OF DETAIL HERE ON THIS SLIDE, BUT AT A HIGH LEVEL, IT STARTS WITH THE CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER.

YOU'LL NOTE THAT THAT WAS, UH, A POSITION WAS RETITLED TO CHIEF OF ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.

THAT'S LINDSAY THAT WE MET EARLIER TODAY.

UM, BUT AT THE TIME THAT I WAS DOING MY WORK, UM, THAT WAS THE CHIEF PROGRAM

[00:45:01]

OFFICER.

AND IT, THE, THE TASK ORDERS REALLY START WHEN THE PROGRAM OFFICER'S TEAM DETERMINES THAT THERE IS A NEED TO DO SOME WORK TO ADVANCE THE PROJECT.

THEY PREPARE A SCOPE OF WORK AND AN INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE.

THEY SEND THAT INFORMATION OVER TO CAP METRO STAFF, CAP METRO STAFF, THEN LEAD A SORT OF A, A PROCUREMENT FOR THOSE SERVICES.

THEY SEND THAT INFORMATION TO THE CONTRACTORS, UH, WHO THEN SUBMIT A PROPOSAL ON HOW THEY'LL GO ABOUT CARRYING OUT THAT WORK.

AND THEN ALSO WHAT THEY'RE CHARGED FOR THAT WORK WOULD BE THE CAP METRO PROCUREMENT STAFF OF COURSE, REVIEW THAT FOR KIND OF CONTRACTING PURPOSES, AND THEN THE CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER TEAM EVALUATES THAT, MAKE SURE IT'S GONNA MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PROJECT.

UM, AND THEN ONCE ALL THE PARTIES AGREE THE TASK ORDER IS PREPARED AND EXECUTED.

UH, CHLOE, NEXT SLIDE.

THE SECOND QUESTION WAS, UH, HOW DOES THE APPROVAL PROCESS WORK FOR TASK ORDERS? UH, AND I'LL SAY GENERALLY SPEAKING, UP TO THREE PEOPLE CAN APPROVE A TASK ORDER.

UH, FOR THE MOST PART, THE FIRST LEVEL REVIEW HAPPENS, UM, WITH ATP STAFF FOR THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINES, OR THE CONTRACT COORDINATOR FOR THE PM O R CONTRACT.

THE SECOND LEVEL REVIEW, UH, AGAIN, THE TASK ORDERS I REVIEWED, UM, UP TO THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

GENERALLY THAT WAS DONE BY THE CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER.

AND THEN THE THIRD LEVEL REVIEW THAT WAS GENERALLY DONE BY CAB METRO PROCUREMENT STAFF NEXT LINE.

AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION WAS, HOW MANY TASK ORDERS HAVE THERE BEEN? UH, THAT INFORMATION IS LISTED HERE FOR THE PMR. THERE'VE BEEN 30, THE ORANGE LINE HAVE HAD NINE, AND THE BLUE LINE HAS HAD SEVEN.

ONE THING I'LL NOTE ON THIS SLIDE IS SEPARATE FROM THE TASK ORDERS, WHICH ARE, ARE KIND OF THE, THE ROUTINE DIRECTIVES THAT THAT, UM, BOTH CAP METRO AND ATP STAFF, UM, CREATE TO KIND OF, UH, DIRECT THE CONTRACTORS TO DO SOME WORK.

THERE'S ALSO CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS AND THEN BOARD RESOLUTIONS THAT WOULD GO BEFORE THE CABINET METRO BOARD.

UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO BE CAREFUL WITH TERMINOLOGY HERE.

I WILL, UH, FULLY ADMIT HERE, UH, IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE TERMS. UM, BUT THEY REALLY ARE DISTINCT.

SO, UH, THE CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS, UM, TEND TO BE THINGS LIKE ADDING A, A SUBCONTRACTOR OR MAYBE EXTENDING THE TIMELINE FOR THAT CONTRACT.

AND THEN THE BOARD RESOLUTIONS TEND TO BE, UM, BASICALLY AWARDING ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO THE CONTRACTORS BEYOND WHAT THE BOARD INITIALLY AUTHORIZED WITH THEIR, THEIR NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT.

SO THAT'S SORT OF THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE THREES, UH, THE THREE, UM, AND THEY'RE ALL LISTED HERE FOR YOU.

AND THEN NEXT SLIDE.

SO THAT CONCLUDES MY, UH, KIND OF ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE RAISED.

THIS, UH, LAST SLIDE HERE RELATES TO SOME ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS THAT I NOTED AS I DID MY WORK.

UM, I SHARE THIS TODAY, NOT JUST BECAUSE, UH, MY PROFESSIONAL AUDITING STANDARDS REQUIRE ME TO DO THAT, BUT BECAUSE I WANT TO BE PROACTIVE IN KIND OF FLAGGING ISSUES AS I SEE THEM, UM, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY WORK QUICKLY TO REMEDY, UM, SOME OF THE RISKS I'M NOTING.

SO I'VE DIVIDED THIS INTO THREE BUCKETS.

UM, AGAIN, THESE ARE NOT FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT OBSERVATIONS I NOTED AS I DID MY WORK.

THE FIRST BUCKET IS OPERATING RISKS.

AND THESE ARE, UH, CHALLENGES OR STRUGGLES THAT TEND TO PLAY OUT AT THE STAFF LEVEL.

UH, SO A COUPLE THINGS I NOTED THERE IS JUST BROADLY RECORDS MANAGEMENT.

THERE IS OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DECIDE WHO WILL BE THE FORMAL ARCHIVIST, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE CONSISTENT NAMING OF OUR TASK ORDERS SO THAT WE KNOW THE ONES THAT ARE FINAL VERSUS DRAFT FORM MAKING USE OF E BILDER.

THAT'S THE SYSTEM THAT WE PROCURED TO, TO KIND OF STORE THESE DOCUMENTS.

UM, SO, SO STORING EVERYTHING THERE WOULD BE GREAT.

UM, I ALSO NOTED, UM, REGARDING THE PROCEDURES TO GUIDE TASK ORDERS.

AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THESE CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN UNDERWAY FOR YEARS.

UM, BUT, BUT A LOT OF THOSE PROCEDURES, UM, MIRROR, UH, SORT OF THE TASK ORDER MONITORING PROCESS AT CAB METRO.

AND I THINK GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD'S DECISION TO SEPARATE LEADERSHIP AND, UM, REALLY JUST AS WE TRANSITION AS AN ENTITY, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH SOME OF THAT PROCEDURAL GUIDANCE IN-HOUSE.

UH, HERE AT ATP.

THOSE EFFORTS ARE VERY MUCH UNDERWAY.

SOME OF THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE, UH, SO FAR, BUT THERE THERE'S MORE WORK TO COME ON THAT.

SO, QUICK QUESTION.

GUIDANCE AT THAT LEVEL WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.

UM, GIVEN THE FACT THAT THERE HAS BEEN, UH, SOME SEPARATION AND THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT HOW DOCUMENTS WILL BE CAPTURED AND MAINTAINED, UM, SHOULD WE EXPECT STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR ALL OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN SEPARATED AND EXACTLY WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING IN THE PROCESS, SO THAT I HAVE A 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, WHENEVER I'M LOOKING FOR THIS, IT USED TO BE HANDLED HERE, BUT NOW IT'S HANDLED HERE AND THIS IS THE PERSON THAT'S RESPONSIBLE AND YOU CAN CALL THEM AND GET THAT INFORMATION.

YES, EXACTLY.

UH, UH, I THINK THAT PROCEDURAL

[00:50:01]

ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS, UH, CERTAINLY AS ATP CONTINUES, WE'LL HAVE TO DRAFT PROCEDURES THAT APPLY TO THE CONTRACTS THAT, THAT ARE EXECUTED FROM ATP.

AND THEN ALSO WE'LL STILL WANT TO HAVE PROCEDURES RELATING TO HOW WE, UH, MONITOR THESE TASK ORDERS, UM, FOR THESE CONTRACTS THAT WERE EXECUTED BY CAB METRO TOO.

BUT, BUT YES, UM, THE SHORT ANSWER IS, THE SHORT ANSWER IS IT SHOULD BE EXACTLY AS YOU DESCRIBED IT.

IT'S JUST BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT WRITTEN PROCEDURES, UH, FOR THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN, UM, MAKE LIFE A LOT EASIER AS WE GO THROUGH THE AUDIT PROCESS AND AS WE HAVE TWO ORGANIZATIONS THAT NEED TO AGREE, YES, YOU WOULD MAKE A GREAT AUDITOR.

THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT DESCRIPTION THERE.

FOR THIS BOARD THAT YOU'RE HERE IN, IN REALLY LESS THAN SIX MONTHS HAVING, UM, UH, A FIRST OF WHAT WILL BE OTHER, UH, EFFORTS.

AND THEN THE, THE LAST BULLET HERE UNDER OPERATING RISKS, UH, RELATES TO EMPLOYEE RETENTION.

UM, I WILL SAY I NOTED THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF TURNOVER, UM, RELATING TO THE CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER POSITION AS I DID THIS WORK.

UH, AND WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A BIG STAFF HERE.

WE WE'RE STILL, YOU KNOW, 40 SOMETHING EMPLOYEES.

UM, SO I'M CONCERNED THAT WE DON'T HAVE ADEQUATE REDUNDANCY IN OUR STRATEGICALLY KEY POSITIONS.

THAT'S A VERY AUDITOR E AUDITORY WAY OF SAYING, WE JUST DON'T HAVE A BIG BENCH.

AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE A CONSIDERATION AS WE ADVANCE AS WELL.

UH, GOING ON TO THE SECOND BUCKET HERE, THESE ARE MONITORING RISKS.

UM, THESE ARE CHALLENGES THAT, UH, TEND TO PLAY OUT MORE, UH, AT THE MANAGER OR THE SUPERVISOR LEVEL.

AND I'D SAY THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE TASK ORDER APPROVAL PROCESS FIRST BY ENSURING MULTIPLE REVIEWERS.

THERE WERE A COUPLE, ONE OR TWO, UH, TASK ORDERS MAY BE A HANDFUL THAT DIDN'T HAVE, UM, MULTIPLE REVIEWERS.

THEY ONLY HAD MAYBE ONE REVIEWER OR MAYBE TWO.

I THINK IT'S PRUDENT TO HAVE KIND OF MULTIPLE SETS OF EYES ON THOSE.

AND THEN ALSO, I LIKE THE IDEA OF ESTABLISHING AN ESCALATING APPROVAL PROCESS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SUPER CRITICAL TASK ORDERS OR HIGH DOLLAR TASK ORDERS.

I THINK THAT COULD BE A REALLY GOOD CONTROL.

AND THEN THE LAST BUCKET HERE, THESE ARE OVERSIGHT RISKS.

THESE ARE CHALLENGES THAT PLAY OUT MAYBE MORE AT THE EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT LEVEL OR AT THE BOARD LEVEL.

UM, AND, AND REALLY IT RELATES TO THE FACT THAT, UH, KIND OF WHAT WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT, THE CONTRACTS THEMSELVES WERE EXECUTED YEARS AGO, UM, BEFORE ATP EVEN EXISTED.

BUT THAT ATP STAFF HAVE A CRITICAL ROLE IN MONITORING.

SO I THINK IT'S REALLY ESSENTIAL THAT WE KIND OF DEFINE, UH, WHAT WE EXPECT, UM, FROM BOTH ENTITIES AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL HAVE, UM, OUR DUCKS IN A ROW AS WE ADVANCE.

AND THEN THE LAST THING HERE, UH, I, I KNOW I'M KIND OF PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE AND I'VE HEARD A LOT OF GOOD REMARKS ALREADY AROUND ENHANCING, UH, THE TRANSPARENCY.

BUT AS WE GET TO THIS BIG DECISION IN THE SPRING, I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF ENHANCE OUR TRANSPARENCY AROUND OUR PROJECT EXPENDITURES, UM, AND JUST PROVIDE MORE OF THAT INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC.

UM, SO I THINK THAT CONCLUDES, OOH, I, I WILL NOTE ONE THING, UH, UH, ONE REALLY COOL THING THAT'S HAPPENED, UH, SINCE I DID THIS WORK, UH, BACK IN OCTOBER, IS, UM, WE'RE NOW SPLITTING THE TASK ORDER TASK ORDERS.

PREVIOUSLY THERE WOULD BE WORK FOR BOTH CAB METRO AND ATP ON THE SAME TASK.

ORDER MADE IT A LITTLE BIT HARD TO SEE WHICH WORK WAS DONE FOR WHICH ENTITY, AND A LITTLE HARD TO SEE THAT PATH.

UM, BUT, UH, SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE DIVIDED THEM SO THAT, UH, THERE'S TASK ORDERS SPECIFIC TO ATP AND THEN TASK ORDERS SPECIFIC TO CAB METRO.

AND I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.

SO, SO PROPS, UH, PROPS THERE ON MAKING THAT CHANGE.

AND THEN FINALLY, I KNOW WE SAID FINALLY ALREADY, UM, BUT UH, THIS WAS AN INFORMAL REVIEW.

THERE IS AN AUDIT ON THE APPROVED AUDIT PLAN TO UNPACK THIS, UH, FURTHER.

I LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THAT WORK, UM, REALLY AS SOON AS I CAN.

AND SO THIS IS KIND OF A BRIDGE TO THAT LATER WORK.

UM, AND THAT CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS FOR Y'ALL TODAY, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.

THANK YOU, MS. HOUSTON.

UM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESPOND? YEAH.

UM, I THINK IT'S, I JUST WANT TO, IF ECHO COMMENTS YOU MADE, UH, WE SHOULDN'T OVERLOOK THIS MOMENT.

I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST ATP BOARD MEETING WHERE WE HAD YOUR AUDITOR UP HERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, OUR MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS.

AND I THINK THAT'S FANTASTIC FOR A NEW ORGANIZATION TO DEMONSTRATE, UM, REALLY THE NEED FOR THIS AS WE GROW.

UM, THIS VIEW AND THE TRANSPARENCY THAT KATIE AND HER, HER HOPEFULLY GROWING TEAM, UH, WILL, WILL PROVIDE TO THIS.

AND THAT'S WHY WE PUT RESOURCES IN, IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET THAT YOU APPROVED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

UM, THIS IS REALLY CRITICAL.

UM, AS WE WORK THROUGH, UH, OUR, OUR FINANCIAL PROCESSES, OUR FEDERAL PROCESSES, UM, THIS IS A REALLY KEY FUNCTION AND IT'S, I THINK IT'S A PROUD MOMENT

[00:55:01]

AND SO WE APPRECIATE, UM, KATIE AND, AND WORKING WITH HER.

I THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT.

SO, REAL QUICKLY, I THINK JUST TO RE YOU KNOW, A RESPONSE I THINK TO, TO, TO SAY IT'S NOT A, UH, A CLASSIC MANAGEMENT RESPONSE CUZ IT WASN'T A CLASSIC AUDIT.

SO JUST IN THAT VEIN.

DEFINITELY COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

UH, TO USE THE SAME LANGUAGE, UM, CERTAINLY, UH, AS KATIE MENTIONED, THESE WERE CAP METRO CONTRACTS THAT ACP HAS BEEN UTILIZING, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE UTILIZING THOSE.

I THINK THERE WAS, UM, A NEED TO ADVANCE THE PROGRAM, UM, THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT.

UM, AND WE APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT THAT, UM, DOTTIE AND HER TEAM DO ON THAT BECAUSE THESE CONTRACTS ARE IN PLACE THAT TAKES HER RESOURCES.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME AS WE STAND UP OUR, OUR OWN CONTRACTS AND RESOURCES, UM, WE NEED TO PIVOT TOWARDS THAT.

AND YOU ARE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT OUR CONTRACTING NOT ONLY OUR DELIVERY METHODOLOGY, BUT OUR CONTRACTING PLAN HERE IN FEBRUARY AS WE ADDRESS MOVING FORWARD WITH THESE.

AND SO, UM, AGAIN, THIS IS A GREAT REVIEW.

WE APPRECIATE IT WORKING WITH KATIE.

AND, AND AS SHE MENTIONED, I DID SUPPORT THIS AS WELL.

CAUSE I RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAD SOME RISKS THAT WE WERE SEEING FROM AN INTERNAL MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE.

AND I APPRECIATE GETTING THAT INDEPENDENT LENS ON THAT EFFORT.

IT'S VERY VALUABLE FOR US TO HAVE.

UM, UH, AS KATIE MENTIONED, I THINK THE THING THAT CHANGED FROM PREVIOUS YEARS WAS ONE, UH, ATP STAFF GOT TO DIRECTLY NEGOTIATE THESE, UM, UH, THE, THE TASK ORDERS AND WE DID SPLIT THEM INTO TWO.

I THINK THAT BENEFITS CAT METRO AND I FROM JUST THE, THE BACK OF HOUSE ACCOUNTING SOMETIMES, UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, WE KNOW RISK RESIDES IN THAT IF YOU DON'T SET UP THOSE STRUCTURES WELL, SO THAT ONE CHANGE, UH, I THINK IT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO BOTH ORGANIZATIONS.

SO WE'RE ABLE TO SEPARATE THE TASK ORDERS AND WE, AS WE NEGOTIATED THAT, AS WE MENTIONED, I THINK, UM, BACK, UH, AT THE, UM, I THINK WHEN WE APPROVED THE BUDGET, WE WERE ABLE TO SPLIT IT INTO, INSTEAD OF THE ANNUAL ONE OVERALL TASK ORDER FOR THE YEAR, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD, UM, BEHOOVE THE, THE, THE, THE PROJECT TO SPLIT IT INTO THE TWO, SIX MONTHS.

ONCE TO MORE GENERALLY RE REFLECT WHERE WE WERE IN THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT.

SO WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT AS WELL.

AND THEN UNDERNEATH IT HAVE SOME SUB-TASK ORDERS INSTEAD OF ONE BIG LUMP SUM.

AND BY DOING THAT, WE'RE ABLE TO GET OUR COST DOWN OVER OUR ALLOCATION, UM, WHICH WE'RE PROUD OF AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN SET UP THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.

SO ADDRESSING THESE SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE ABLE TO, WE ARE ABLE TO ADVANCE THE P O R CONTRACT IN A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT VIEW.

WE THINK ONE THAT SEPARATES RISK OUT, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDS THOSE ON A BROADER PERSPECTIVE.

UM, I THINK, UM, KATIE'S POINT ABOUT, UM, OUR, OUR, OUR BENCH STRENGTH AS WE'RE BUILDING OUR CAPACITY, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS, UH, CASEY IS, IS HELPING LEAD THE ORGANIZATION ON OUR ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS ASSESSMENT.

CUZ THIS, YOU'LL HEAR THIS WORD A LOT AS WE MOVE FORWARD OF THESE COMMENTS ABOUT BEING READY, READY FROM A FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE, FED READY FROM A, A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE AND READY FROM OUR ORGANIZATION.

AND SO THIS INPUT IS REALLY VALUABLE TO US AS WE THINK ABOUT READINESS IN THE VERY BROAD TERMS. AND, UH, WE WANNA BE VERY THOUGHTFUL AND INTENTFUL ABOUT AS WE BUILD THE RESOURCES AND TALENT IN THIS ORGANIZATION, IT IS REFLECTING THE NEEDS, NOT THE NEEDS.

NOT ONLY THE NEEDS WE SEE AND WE REFLECT IN AN AUDIT REVIEW, BUT ALSO WHAT WE'RE GONNA SEE FROM OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.

SO THIS IS A GREAT INPUT AND WE APPRECIATE IT.

SO, UH, JUST TO, JUST TO BUILD A LITTLE BIT ON, ON WHERE IT WAS GOING, I THINK THAT IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THE OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR, FOR EACH SYSTEM.

I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT THERE WILL BE SOME PLACES WHERE WE SHARE RESPONSIBILITIES.

UH, AND I THINK IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, UH, TO CLEARLY LAY OUT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EACH ORGANIZATION IN, IN ANY SHARED PROCESS.

AND THEN TO CREATE, UH, SOME CRITICAL PATH CHART THAT, THAT TAKES US ALL THE WAY THROUGH TECHNICAL ACCEPTANCE ON THE OPERATOR'S SIDE.

SO, UM, AND, AND ALSO I THINK IT WOULD PROBABLY BE GOOD TO, AS WE LAY OUT THESE OPERATING PROCEDURES, THAT WE IDENTIFY THE PLACES WHERE THESE RESPONSIBILITIES CAME FROM, WHETHER THAT WAS A JOINT POWERS PROJECT PROCESS OR WHATEVER IT CAME FROM.

SO, SO WE KNOW THE POINT OF ORIGIN, UH, WE UNDERSTAND THE, THE RESPONSIBILITIES, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, AND THEN WHERE THERE ARE, UM, UH, REQUIREMENTS THAT WE WORK TOGETHER, THAT WE DEFINE CLEARLY WHAT THEY ARE, WHERE THEY ARE AND HOW WE GET TO TECHNICAL AS ASSESS, UH, ACCEPTANCE.

UM, ON THAT POINT.

AND I'LL ALSO ADD THAT, UM, AS I DID THIS WORK, I, I HAD TO ASK A WHOLE LOT OF QUESTIONS, UM, FROM, FROM STAFF AT ATP AND CAB METRO.

LOTS OF FOLKS HAD TO, HAD TO HELP BRING ME UP TO SPEED ON THIS.

AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, MY SENSE IS THAT EVERYONE I TALK TO, ALL STAFF WANT THAT DIRECTION AND THAT

[01:00:01]

DEFINITION IN TERMS OF THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES AND ARE VERY MUCH ENGAGED AND, AND WANT TO WORK AS THIS SHARED PARTNERSHIP TO, TO MAKE SURE WE CAN MAKE THIS A SUCCESS.

SO I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE SHARE THAT VIEW AND, AND SUPPORT, SUPPORT THAT.

WERE AWARE OF THOSE CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS AND CONSULTED BY CAP METRO, WHICH WAS GREAT, THAT'S WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN.

I, I JUST, THE, THE CLARITY OF IT, CLARITY MAKES IT EASIER WHEN I, WHEN I, WHEN THERE'S A QUESTION AND I'VE GOT A PLACE I CAN GO TO THE MANUAL, UH, THAT, THAT GIVES ME A CERTAIN CONFIDENCE.

AND IF I HAVE A QUESTION, THEN I KNOW TO CALL YOU.

THANK YOU, MEMBER TRILLIAN.

AND THANK YOU, UM, MR. CANALI FOR GIVING US AN UPDATE ON HOW THIS INFORMAL REVIEW HAS ALREADY, YOU KNOW, BEGIN THE ROLLING SOME IMPROVEMENTS.

SO THAT, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT, UM, AND I COMMEND, YOU KNOW, MEMBER ELKINS BECAUSE HE BROUGHT UP A LOT OF THESE QUESTIONS AND I, I WAS CO-SPONSORED OF GETTING ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS BECAUSE I THINK THE CONFUSION WE, WE WANT TO GET TO CLARITY AND DELINEATION THAT HELPS US ALL ADVANCE TOGETHER.

AND I THINK THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY WANT TO, TO MAKE SURE WE DO THIS WELL.

ALSO, ONE THING THAT TO ME IS REALLY RELEVANT, BECAUSE AS YOU WERE DOING THIS WORK, UH, MS. HOUSTON, THIS INFORM YOUR AUDIT PLAN.

AND SO YOU ARE GONNA COME BACK WITH ACTUAL FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH I BELIEVE AUGMENT THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM MEMBER TRIVI TO, ONCE YOU GIVE US THE FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE GOTTA MAKE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE DO THIS WELL.

SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN SUPPORT YOU IN SETTING UP YOUR FUNCTION FOR SUCCESS.

THAT TRANSLATES INTO THE SUCCESS OF, OF THE ENTIRE OPERATION AND DELIVERY.

UM, SO THANK YOU AND MEMBER LPS, I BELIEVE BELIEVE YOU HAD ALSO SOME QUESTIONS.

OH, THANK YOU.

I, I JUST HAVE TWO COMMENTS AND THEN I HAVE AN OBSERVATION FROM THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE F A R COMMITTEE.

SO THE FIRST COMMENT I, I'D LIKE TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT VICE CHAIR CIVILIAN SAID ABOUT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, CUZ I REALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.

IN THE ENO REPORT THERE WERE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS.

ONE IS WE NEEDED TO BIFURCATE LEADERSHIP.

WE DID THAT.

THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED.

IT'S ALL OVER THE ENO REPORT.

IT SAYS THERE IS UNCLEAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN THE THREE ORGANIZATIONS OF PROJECT CONNECT.

AND THAT REPRESENTS A MAJOR RISK.

IT'S CLEAR.

SO I THINK THIS BOARD NEEDS TO WORK WITH OUR OTHER SPONSORS TO PROVIDE CLARITY AS VICE CHAIR TRA SAID ON ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

THE CLEARER THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE BETWEEN THE THREE ENTITIES, THE LOWER THE RISK FOR THE PROGRAM.

SO I WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE THREE ENTITIES WORK TOGETHER TO PROVIDE MORE CLARITY ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT'S IN THE G A P A SO THAT WE HAVE A, A STRONG ROADMAP ON HOW TO OPERATE.

THE SECOND COMMENT HAS TO, UH, IT RELATES TO THE THREE MAJOR CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE.

THESE ARE THE THREE LARGEST CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE OUTSTANDING FOR PROJECT CONNECT.

THOSE THREE CONTRACTS ARE DONE THROUGH CAP METRO.

THEY'RE DONE BECAUSE OF PROJECT ATP WASN'T AN ENTITY.

SO THERE WAS A REASON WHY THERE, AND THAT REASON MADE TOTAL SENSE.

UM, BUT HAVING THOSE CONTRACTS NOT IN ATP'S CONTROL REPRESENTS, IN MY OPINION, A RISK TO THE PROJECT.

SO I WILL GO ON RECORD IN SAYING THAT'S A RISK TO THE PROJECT IN TERMS OF INDEPENDENCE, IN TERMS OF CONTROL.

SO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ATP AND CAP METRO STAFF WORK TOGETHER TO ADDRESS THIS RISK AND COME BACK TO THIS BOARD WITH A RECOMMENDATION ON HOW TO LOWER THAT RISK.

I'M NOT SAYING WHAT THE SOLUTION SHOULD BE CUZ I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SOLUTION IS.

ALL I KNOW IS THAT THERE IS A RISK HERE AND IT RELATES TO UNCLEAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT I THINK CLARITY WOULD BE HELPFUL.

UM, THE THIRD THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS THE F A R COMMITTEE.

SO WE HAD KATIE HOUSTON ADDRESS THE F A R COMMITTEE WITH THIS, UM, PRESENTATION, WHICH WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED.

AND WE WENT THROUGH SOME OF THE CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS THAT WERE DONE TO SOME OF THESE ENGINEERING CONTRACTS HERE THAT WERE DONE BACK IN MAY.

UH, SO THERE WAS 13 MILLION OF CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS THAT WERE DONE TO THE H AND TB AND THE ACOM CONTRACTS.

UM, NOBODY'S SAYING THAT THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DONE.

THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMITTEE WAS THAT THOSE CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS, CHANGE ORDERS, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL 'EM, SHOULD HAVE COME TO THIS BOARD FOR APPROVAL IN ADDITION TO HAVING KERO CAP METRO APPROVE IT.

WHY? WHILE THEY'RE NOT OUR CONTRACTS, WE'RE PAYING FOR THEM.

RIGHT.

SO WHILE ATP STAFF MEMBERS

[01:05:01]

CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF SIX AND 7 MILLION REPRESENT A, UM, DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY THAT SHOULD GO TO THIS BOARD.

SO THE AAR COMMITTEE HAS COME TO A RECOMMENDATION THAT I'LL READ.

UM, ONE, THE AAR COMMITTEE SUPPORTS CREATION OF AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT TO GUARANTEE THAT AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS AUTHORIZED TO REVIEW CHANGE ORDERS, CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS WITH DOLLAR AMOUNTS OF A MILLION DOLLARS OR GREATER ON CONTRACTS HELD BY CAT METRO, BUT ARE RELATED TO PROJECT CONNECT.

SECONDLY, UH, SUGGESTIONS FOR RECORD KEEPING, PROJECT TRACKING, PROJECT TRANSPARENCY, OVERSIGHT RESPONSIBILITY, AND OTHERS MADE BY KATIE HOUSTON AT THE KATIE HOUSTON AT THE F A R MEETING ON DECEMBER 13TH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY AGP STAFF MANAGEMENT AND THE BOARD.

SO I DON'T KNOW CASEY, HOW THAT GETS MEMORIALIZED OR WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO TURN A RIGHT RECOMMENDATION INTO A MOTION OR WHAT.

YEAH, RIGHT.

SO THE, THE F A R IS AN ADVISORY BODY.

CORRECT.

SO THEY CAN'T ACTUALLY ACT, UM, LEGALLY SPEAKING, HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, IF THERE WERE A MOTION AND A SECOND OF THIS BOARD TO CREATE A RESOLUTION AROUND THIS, I THINK MAYBE SOME DIRECTION WAS PROBABLY THE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S UM, IF THERE'S ANY OTHER COMMENT, UM, BY THE BOARD OR, UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CANE MAYBE BY OUR STAFF.

BECAUSE I, MY UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, LEGALLY SPEAKING, JUST SPEAKING IN THAT FRAMEWORK, UM, WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH CAT METRO, UM, TO, WITH REGARDS TO MULTIPLE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS AND THIS ARRANGEMENT.

AND I THINK IT, SORRY, THIS IS RELATED IN LARGE PART TO WHAT, UM, MR. CANELLI SAID ABOUT OUR CONTRACTING, UM, OVERALL STRATEGY MM-HMM.

AND SO TO, SO, UM, SO IT JUST, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I, I THINK THE HOLISTIC APPROACH MAKES SENSE, BUT YEAH, LEGALLY SPEAKING, JUST FROM A PROCEDURAL PERSPECTIVE, IT WOULD BE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO ADD THAT TO A FUTURE AGENDA.

SORRY, AND BRANDON'S GONNA CORRECT ME, ? CORRECT.

THAT WOULD JUST BE ADDING IT TO A FUTURE AGENDA THAT WOULD NOT BE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT POSTED FOR ACTION MM-HMM.

SO WE, WE COULD HAVE THAT AT THE END OF THE MEETING, HAVE THAT POSTED AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, MORE DISCUSSION, AND THEN A POTENTIAL ACTION FOR DIRECTION.

AND, AND MAY BE IN JANUARY.

CUZ OKAY.

DO YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND MR. ? OH YEAH, YOU DID HAVE A COMMENT TOO.

I'M SORRY, MR. GARZA.

UM, SO I JUST, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT CONVERSATION.

UM, THIS THING IS KIND OF MESSY.

I THINK I, I ACCEPT THAT THE CONTRACT HAD TO BE ENTERED INTO TO DO THE NECESSARY WORK, THE LETTER SUCCESS OF THE REFERENDUM.

THAT THAT'S COOL.

THIS CONTRACT IS WITH KEPT METRO.

IT'S NOT WITH US.

AND I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE APPROVING ACTIONS ON A CONTRACT THAT THEY HAVE AUTHORITY OVER.

UM, UM, IT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CLEAN THIS UP.

WE EITHER ASSUME THE CONTRACT OR WE END THE CONTRACT AND ENTER THE NEW ONES.

BUT SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE.

AND I THINK WE NEED PROBABLY, IT'S PROBABLY HELPFUL TO LOOK BACK TO WHAT THE VOTERS MIGHT HAVE INTENDED WHEN THEY CREATED ATP.

I THINK THEY INTENDED FOR US TO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF INDEPENDENCE FROM THE CITY AND FROM ATP.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I KNOW WHEN I CONSIDERED, WHEN I PULLED THAT LEVER, UH, I WAS, WAS COMPLETELY CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT WE HAD TO CREATE SOMETHING FOR CAB METRO.

SO THEY WOULD'VE TO HAVE A LOT OF SAY ON WHAT'S BEING BUILT BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA RUN IT AND THEY HAVE TO BE HAPPY WITH WHAT WHATEVER WE, WE CREATE.

SO THE, THE PROCESS THAT'S CREATED HAS TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.

UM, I DON'T THINK WE CAN SOLVE IT HERE AT THE BOARD LEVEL.

I THINK THAT STAFF HAD TO GET TOGETHER AND SOLVE IT.

BUT IT, THE, MY SENSE IS JUST IN GENERAL, FUZZY LINES OF, UH, AUTHORITY LEAD TO FUZZY LINES OF ACCOUNTABILITY.

AND WE DON'T WANT THAT.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM WE'RE HAVING HERE.

SO THERE NEEDS TO BE CLEARED UP.

UM, AND I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE CLEARED UP IN A SENSE THAT EMPHASIZES THE INDEPENDENCE THAT ATP HAS WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE COLLABORATION THAT HAD TO OCCUR WITH CAB METRO TO GET IT DONE.

THE, THEY'RE GONNA BE RUNNING IT.

WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE ACTUALLY FOR THAT.

AND THAT'S THE AIRPORT.

WHEN THE AIRPORT WAS BUILT FOR THE CITY AT, UH, AT OUR CURRENT AIRPORT, UH, THE, THE AIRPORT STEP WAS NOT ASKED TO DO IT.

A SPECIAL TASK FORCE WAS CREATED TO BUILD THAT AIRPORT.

AND THE, THE AIRPORT THAT WAS, WAS TASKED WITH RUNNING A REALLY GOOD AIRPORT.

AND THEY DID.

AND THEN WHEN, AND THEY, WHEN IT WAS BUILT, THEY TOOK OVER, UM, THE TASK FORCE WAS RESOLVED.

UH, SOME OF THOSE MEMBERS WERE POWERED ACTUALLY IN OTHER POSITIONS WITH THE CITY, BUT IT REALLY, REALLY WORKED.

THAT TASK FORCE DID NOT ACT INDEPENDENTLY OF THE AIRPORT STAFF.

THEY WORKED COLLABORATIVE WITH THEM.

WE SHOULD DO IT IN THIS CASE.

WELL, THANK YOU.

MY GARZA.

[01:10:02]

IT COMES BACK TO THE, THE ROOT OF, UH, HAVING KATIE LOOK AT THIS, THIS IS WHAT WE DO AND HAVING A PROCESS TO THIS OCCURS.

I THINK I I WE WANT TO OVER DEMONSTRATE THAT THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT AND I KNOW BOARD, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS TOPIC AND, UM, BOARD MEMBER TRILLIAN AND, AND GARZA AS WELL.

UH, WE TAKE THAT DIRECTION, RIGHT? I THINK AS WE COME BACK, AS I MENTIONED, OUR PLAN IS TO COME BACK IN FEBRUARY IN OUR WORK SESSION TO TALK VERY BROADLY ABOUT OUR, ABOUT OUR OVERALL DELIVERY METHOD AND WHAT OUR UPCOMING CONTRACT.

AND I THINK THIS FITS VERY, UM, SQUARELY INTO THAT.

UM, AND UNDERNEATH THAT, WHAT ARE OUR NEAR, WHAT ARE OUR NEAR TERM NEEDS, UM, AS WE ADVANCE THIS PROGRAM, BUT ALSO BEING READY FOR THE FUTURE AS WELL.

HOW WE HANDLE CHANGE ORDERS, HOW WE HANDLE, UM, THE WORK THAT, UM, LINDSAY AND HER TEAM WILL BE BUILDING AROUND THAT AS WE BUILD UP THE CAPACITY.

UM, SO WE ARE TAKING THIS ALL IN AND WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED FORMAL REVIEW, I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE ARE LISTENING TO THIS AND WE WILL INCORPORATE IT INTO OUR DIALOGUE THAT WE BRING BACK TO YOU IN FEBRUARY.

AND THEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE DIRECTION THAT AND, AND MYSELF AND DOTY AND THE CITY OBVIOUSLY INVOLVED TOO, AND A LOT OF THE WORK THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING THAT, THAT COOPERATION ABOUT HOW WE ADVANCE THIS.

UM, I THINK EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE PUBLICLY THAT WE ARE, THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE FROM JANUARY OF, UH, OF 21 AND REALLY OVER THESE LAST SIX MONTHS AS WE'VE HAD TO, UM, READDRESS SOME ISSUES THAT HAS BEEN DONE COLLABORATIVELY, LEVERAGING, UM, RESOURCES WHERE WE HAVE IN CAP METRO AT THE CITY AND HERE AT AT T P TO BOTH ADVANCE THE WORK, BUT AT THE SAME TIME FULFILL THE BOARD'S RESOLUTION OF SETTING UP ATTP INDEPENDENTLY.

WE CAN DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.

WE NEED TO DO BOTH.

THIS FEEDBACK IS FANTASTIC, UM, AND WE UNDERSTAND IT AND WE WANT TO, UH, INCORPORATE THAT INTO OUR BROADER DIALOGUE ABOUT, UM, OUR OVERALL ATP RESOURCE NEED, ATP CONTRACTING NEED AND OUR OVERALL PHILOSOPHY ABOUT THIS.

UM, SO I THINK IT'S A GREAT, THEY'RE GREAT COMMENTS AND WE RECEIVE THEM ALL AND, AND WE'LL, UH, INCORPORATE THEM.

YES, FINE.

I'M SORRY.

SO THEN I'LL GO TO YOU.

I CAN'T HELP MYSELF.

I, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT I JUST HAVE TO SAY.

I, I THINK WE NEED TO WATCH OURSELVES AND, AND STAY AT THE POLICY LEVEL AND REFRAME FROM GIVING THE STAFF OPERATIONAL DIRECTION.

UM, AND WE JUST HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT.

UM, UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO STAFFING, WE, THE BOARD SHOULD, UH, REQUIRE THE STAFF TO COME TO US TO JUSTIFY THEIR STAFFING LEVELS, NUMBER OF POSITIONS THEY WANT TO DELIVER THE PRODUCT THAT, THAT, UH, WE, WE ASKED THEM TO DELIVER, BUT WE SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN WHO THEY SELECT OR ANY, ANY OF THAT.

ONCE WE HAVE APPROVED THE BUDGET AND THEY'VE DEFENDED IT AND WE'VE DECIDED, OKAY, THEY'VE MADE A GOOD DEFENSE, WE APPROVE IT, IT'S THEIR JOB THEN TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES.

AND WE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.

I DON'T WANT IN ANY WAY TO GIVE THE IMPRESSION TO THE PUBLIC THAT I AM STEERING THOSE APPOINTMENTS IN ANY WAY OTHER THAN APPROVING THE POSITIONS AND THEN THEY TAKE OVER AND GET IT DONE.

SO, UM, I JUST, I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR ON THAT.

I NEVER WANT TO BE ACCUSED BY THE PUBLIC OF HAVING SOMEHOW INFLUENCED WHO THE STAFF POINTS.

UM, THAT'S THEIR JOB.

THAT WILL BE ARE FOR THANK YOU.

I WOULD, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE AT AN INTERESTING MOMENT IN THE PROGRAM BECAUSE WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.

JUST A, A FEW COMMENTS TO ADD.

I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH BOARD MEMBERS, ELKIN AND TRIVIUM, THAT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IS, IS OBVIOUSLY WHERE THAT'S WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.

UM, AND IS SOMETHING THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH AND, AND ON A DAILY BASIS ALMOST AS WE, ON THE MICRO LEVEL AND THE MACRO LEVEL, WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING THROUGH FIGURING OUT EXACTLY HOW THAT BALANCES AS THE PROGRAM EVOLVES.

UM, I WILL RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH THE COUPLE OF POINTS BOARD MEMBER ELKINS MADE.

I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S ANY RISK TO THE PROGRAM THAT THESE CONTRACTS ARE HELD BY CAP METRO AS ONE OF THE PROGRAMS SPONSORS.

CAP METRO IS OBVIOUSLY INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN THIS.

AND I THINK THE FACT THAT WE HOLD THE CONTRACT DOES NOT INCREASE THE RISK AT ALL WHATSOEVER.

UM, I, UH, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO OFFER AND I WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER IF THERE ARE PROCEDURAL MATTERS THAT WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR ATP STAFF TO PERFORM THEIR WORK.

EVEN THOUGH THOUGH IT'S A CAP METRO CONTRACT, WE REMAIN EXTREMELY OPEN TO WORKING THOSE OUT AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE FEELS LIKE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT, UM, CONTROLS AND REMEDIES.

I WOULD ALSO, UM, POINT OUT, AND THIS IS I THINK COMES FROM AS A LIFELONG PUBLIC SERVANT, UM, YOU MADE THE COMMENT THAT YOU FELT LIKE THIS WAS A BREACH OF THE DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.

AND I WHOLEHEARTEDLY DISAGREE WITH THAT.

THIS BOARD AUTHORIZES A BUDGET AND EMPOWERS ITS STAFF TO SPEND THAT BUDGET.

AND THE SPENDING ON THESE CONTRACTS WAS WELL WITHIN THAT BUDGET.

UM, THE TASK ORDERS APPROVED BY THE ATP STAFF UNDER THESE CONTRACTS WAS WITHIN THE BUDGET THAT THIS BOARD AUTHORIZED.

SO TO SAY THAT IT'S A DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY ISSUE THAT THIS BOARD DIDN'T APPROVE THOSE CONTRACTS, I BELIEVE IS FAULTY AND SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE CAREFUL ABOUT.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE CLEAR ON THAT.

AND THEN LASTLY,

[01:15:01]

AND UNDER THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING THROUGH THE NEPA PROCESS AND RECORD OF DECISION IS A CAT METRO RESPONSIBILITY.

AND LARGELY AT LEAST THE H AND TB AND AECOM CONTRACTS, THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE DESIGNED TO BE, WAS TO GET US THROUGH RECORD OF DECISION, WHICH IS SORT OF THE END OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS.

AND SO AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, I THINK IS VERY APPROPRIATE FOR CAP METRO TO HOLD THOSE CONTRACTS, GIVEN THAT IT'S OUR JPA RESPONSIBILITY.

BUT AGAIN, THAT'S PART OF THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES PIECE THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK OUT ON A STAFF LEVEL.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RE YEAH.

BOARD MEMBER PLEASE.

UM, I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH BOARD MEMBER WATKINS WITH RESPECT TO THE P O R P O R CONTRACT.

PROJECT MANAGER, OWNERS REP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTRACT FOR THIS PROGRAM.

IT DIRECTS PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING WE DO.

AND HAVING THAT CONTRACT IN ANOTHER ENTITY'S RESPONSIBILITY WHERE THEY REPORT TO THAT ENTITY, THEY GET TO DECIDE CHANGE ORDERS, UM, I THINK IS A, IS A RISK TO THIS PROGRAM.

AND IT GETS BACK TO THE INNER REPORT OF UNCLEAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSULTANT WE HAVE IS REPORTING TO ANOTHER ENTITY.

AND WE DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER THAT.

I THINK IT'S A RISK.

ONE THING THAT STOOD OUT TO ME WITH THE HDR IN SLIDE 34 AND I THINK MAY ADDRESS YOUR CONCERN FOR MEMBER ELKINS AND, AND YOUR CONCERN DOTIE ABOUT THE LONGEVITY, THE TERM LIMITS OF THESE CONTRACTS.

SOME, A COUPLE OF THOSE ARE COMING TO AN END, RIGHT? THE, THE SMALLER ONES, THE ACOMS AND HTVS, HOWEVER, THE HDR CONTRACT AS A P R HAS A LONGER DURATION.

THAT'S A 10 YEAR THAT GOES WAY BEYOND THE NPO PROCESS GOES WELL BEYOND THE 30%, RIGHT? AND THIS IS A CONTRACT THAT THIS BOARD WAS NOT PERMIT ME TO PROCEED WITH.

LIKE, WE DIDN'T AWARD IT, IT DOESN'T LIVE WITH US.

AND I, I WAS WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT.

BUT WHAT YOU'RE STATING, JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE LOGISTICS OF THE TIMELINES OF WHERE THESE CONTRACTS ARE, WHERE THEY LIVE, I BELIEVE THIS BOARD WAS SET UP.

I MEAN, WE'RE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THESE EXPENDS EXPENSES AND THEREFORE WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY BECAUSE WE ARE RESPONSIBLE ULTIMATELY FOR THIS WORK AND THE EXPENDITURE.

SO IT, IT IS VERY FUZZY AND, AND NOT SO MUCH THAT THIS IS AT RISK FOR THE PROGRAM BECAUSE WE CAN ALL TRUST EACH OTHER REALLY WELL AND LOVE EACH OTHER AND HOLD HANDS TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS TOGETHER.

BUT THE REALITY IS THAT I, THIS BOARD DOESN'T HAVE A WAY TO INFLUENCE THE CABINET CONTRACT LIST WITHIN YOUR PURVIEW, RIGHT? WE DON'T, THAT'S WHY THERE'S CONTRACTS DELINEATED WITH EACH ENTITY.

SO I THINK THERE IS NOT RIGHT OR WRONG WAY RIGHT HERE, BUT IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN A, IN A VERY HOLISTIC WAY.

AND, AND WHAT I HEARD FROM YOU, UH, GREG, IS THAT IF THE FAAR IS COMING BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS OF LET'S SAY A MILLION DOLLAR THRESHOLD, THEREFORE THAT IS A RECOMMENDATION, THEN YOU GUYS ARE GONNA LOOK AT IT HOLISTICALLY.

SO I STAFF, YOU'RE GONNA COME BACK IN FEBRUARY AND GIVE US A MORE, A BROADER STRATEGY OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

IS, IS THAT WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU? UH, I WOULD SAY THIS AGAIN.

THIS IS A GREAT DIALOGUE.

UM, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IN FEBRUARY IS KICK OFF A DISCUSSION, UM, FOR OUR LONG TERM.

THE LONG TERM, UM, IT WON'T BE THE ONLY CONVERSATION WE'LL HAVE ABOUT PROJECT DELIVERY AND CONTRACT, BUT IT'S GONNA LAY OUT OUR TOPICS AND OUR ISSUES AND A PLAN TO WORK THROUGH ALL OF THOSE, BOTH WHERE WE ARE NOW IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PART AND THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS WE LOOK FORWARD INTO, UM, CONSTRUCTION.

I WANNA REMIND EVERYONE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, RIGHT? WE ARE SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR CONSTRUCTING LIGHT RAIL FOR AUSTIN.

THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.

UH, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO STAY FOCUSED ON THAT, BOTH ON THE UPDATE OF THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

SO WHEN WE COME BACK IN FEBRUARY, IT'S GONNA BE A HOLISTIC, UH, HOLISTIC LOOK ADDRESSING ALL THE ISSUES.

MAYBE NOT SOLVING ALL OF THEM, BUT SHOWING YOU LIKE WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL, ALL SUMMER LONG.

UM, HOW WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS, IS FED TOGETHER, NOT ONE-OFFS, BUT A COLLECTIVE SYSTEM.

UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, UH, AS WE SET UP, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION WORLD AS WE SET UP GETTING READY FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.

THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU DO IN ONE MEETING.

IT HAPPENS OVER MULTIPLE MONTHS.

WE'RE GONNA LAY OUT A TRAJECTORY FOR THAT.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, REMARKS? NO, JUST THE, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE SOPS IN PLACE THAT WE DEFINE WHAT IT, THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND WHAT IT IS, UH, THAT'S BEING DONE AND WHERE IT IS WE CHECK

[01:20:01]

IT.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT AS, AS THE, UH, THE, THE PROJECT ITSELF EVOLVES, UH, THAT WE HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE, NOT A COUPLE TRANSACTIONS HERE AND THERE AND PUT IT IN THE BOTTOM DRAWER, BUT A SYSTEM OF PROCEDURES THAT WE OPERATE BY THAT EVERYBODY SEES THOSES UNDERSTANDS, IS TRAINED TO.

SO FULLY CONCUR.

THANK YOU, SIR.

UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I THINK I SAW YOU RAISE YOUR PEN.

OH, NO, I WAS JUST MOTIONING TO BRANDON TO STAY, STAY IN CASE THERE'S A, A MOTION.

SO HE CAN HELP ME.

BRANDON WAS NOT TRYING TO GET AWAY.

, I, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BE, WELL, I WOULDN'T, I WOULD RESPECT, I WOULD BE LOST.

NOT BRANDON.

SO HE'S LEADING.

SO I MEAN, WOULD, WHAT I HEARD FROM MEMBER IS THAT HE WANTS TO MEMORIALIZE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, RIGHT? THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE PART OF THE MEETING MINUTES.

BUT IS THERE A MOTION AND A AND A SECOND TO THEN INCLUDE THIS ON THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEM OR? WELL, IT WOULDN'T BE NECESSARILY A MOTION AND A SECOND.

MM-HMM.

, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A SP TWO SPONSORS.

SO IF YOU CAN FIND A SECOND SPONSOR, THIS ITEM CAN COME BACK, UM, AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, OR WE CAN WAIT TILL AFTER FEBRUARY WHEN WE LOOK AT THE WHOLE PROGRAM.

SO IT, IT DEPENDS ON IF THE BOARD MEMBER'S ASKING FOR A SECOND SPONSOR AND WHEN WE'D LIKE TO BRING THIS BACK.

I'M ASKING FOR A SECOND SPONSOR.

YES, THAT THE RECOMMENDATION WILL BE FBI, I'D LIKE TO SECOND THAT, UH, IN SUPPORT.

AND SO WHEN WOULD THIS LIKELY BE ON OUR AGENDA IN MY, IN MY RECOMMENDATIONS TO GIVE YOU GUYS A CHANCE IN FEBRUARY, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, TO BRING IT BACK AND, AND LISTEN TO WHAT THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING.

BUT I'D LIKE TO CO-SPONSOR YOUR, YOUR, UM, REVIEW AND, AND HELP US MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CLARITY THAT THIS PROGRAM DESERVES.

SO.

UM, SO I THINK WE'RE COMING TO THE END OF OUR MEETING AND THANK YOU AGAIN, MS. HOUSTON, FOR YOUR HARD WORK.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE'RE CONCLUDING OUR, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, I'D LIKE TO, UH, BRING THIS MEETING TO A CLOSURE.

AND THIS CONCLUDES THE DECEMBER ATP BOARD MEETING.

I'D LIKE TO THANK THE BOARD AND STAFF AS WELL AS THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO A SUCCESSFUL YEAR.

WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THE IMPORTANT WORK AHEAD.

AND I WANNA SAY GOODBYE TO YOU, GINA.

YOU'RE GONNA MISS OUT ON THE CELEBRATION FOR MAYOR ADLER, BUT WE'RE GLAD YOU JOINED US VIRTUALLY.

SO , THANK YOU.

AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK MEETING YOUR TEAM FOR MOBILITY.