Feb 08, 2023 Zero Waste Advisory Commission [OLD]

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS.

UH, THANK YOU.

MOVING ON.

THE NEXT ITEM

[2. Fleet System Enhancement Presentation and Solicitation - Marcus Gonzalez]

OF BUSINESS IS, UH, DISCUSSION ACTION ITEMS. AND IT'S THE FLEET SYSTEM ENHANCEMENT PRESENTATION AND SOLICITATION, I THINK.

MARCUS, THIS IS YOUR WHO, UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS MARCUS GONZALEZ, DIVISION MANAGER WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UH, WE'RE SEEKING A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION TO, TO AUTHORIZE NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION OF A COOPERATIVE CONTRACT, UH, FOR A FLEET DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITH RUBICON GLOBAL, UH, FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS, NOT TO EXCEED 3.7 MILLION.

UM, WE DO HAVE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION TO GO OVER, UH, MAYBE TO ANSWER SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS, AND AT THE END, WE'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR QUESTIONS.

THAT'S OKAY.

THANK YOU, MARCUS? YES, YES.

FLEET, UH, SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENT PROJECT TRANSITIONING TO RUBICON.

BACKGROUND.

UH, IN 2017, THE PROCESS BEGAN TO UPDATE THE 17 YEAR OLD FLEET SOFTWARE SYSTEM.

UH, AFTER THE INTEGRATION TESTING CONTINUED TO ADVANCE THE SOFTWARE.

DURING THIS PROCESS, STAFF IDENTIFIED SOFTWARE GAPS COULD NOT BE RESOLVED, AND STAFF CREATED MANUAL PROCESS TO CLOSE THOSE GAPS.

SOFTWARE GAPS, UH, STAFF IDENTIFIED SEVERAL GAPS IN PERFORMANCE, UH, IMPACTING OPERATIONS.

THESE INCLUDE CONNECTIVITY PROBLEMS, UH, WHICH CAUSE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ISSUES, INABILITY TO INSTALL SOFTWARE UPDATES TO ALL COMPUTERS AT ONCE.

INABILITY TO RECORD COLLECTION ACTIVITIES ON BOTH SIDES OF A STREET AND LIMITED, UH, VIDEO STORAGE AND RECORDING CAPABILITIES.

SO THE NEW SOFTWARE SOLUTION, THE CONTRACT WITH A R R CURRENT VENDOR ENDS IN 2023.

UH, STAFF HAS IDENTIFIED RUBICON AS A SOFTWARE SOLUTION THAT WILL PROVIDE OPTIMIZED ROUTING SOLUTIONS, UNIFIED SOFTWARE UPDATES BASED ON DEPARTMENTAL REQUESTS, CUSTOMIZED REPORTING, UH, USING, USING TELEMATICS, LARGE CAPACITY STORAGE, RECORDING ON ALL RECORDING OF ALL COLLECTIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET, ASSET MANAGEMENT AND COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING SOFTWARE AND EQUIPMENT.

AND WE'RE READY FOR ANY QUESTIONS.

OH, THANK YOU, MARCUS.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

ANY QUESTIONS? I'VE GOT A COUPLE.

UH, SURE.

AGAIN, THIS ALLOWS US, THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO CONTINUE AND, AND TO ENHANCE THE SUBSCRIPTION BASED SERVICES THAT WE'RE STARTING TO OFFER.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES.

AND, AND AGAIN, THE ACTUAL TRACKING, THE, UH, THE, UH, WHAT IS IT, THE IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES AND ALL THAT STUFF IS PART ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION? YEAH.

THE SERVICES PROVIDED.

ALL OF THAT? YES.

OH, WONDERFUL.

YEAH, RUBICON IS A GREAT BIG, GREAT BIG COMPANY, AND THEY'RE AROUND AND HAVE BEEN AROUND, AND YES, I'VE DONE A HECK OF A JOB.

BUT, UH, ANY QUESTIONS, GUYS? AND AGAIN, THIS IS A, WHAT'S THE LENGTH OF THIS? SEVEN? IT'S FIVE YEAR.

FIVE YEARS? YES.

IS THERE AN AUTOMATIC RENEWAL ON THIS? I MEAN, AFTER WE'VE INVESTED THE, AFTER WE'VE INVESTED THE, THERE IS, YES.

AND AFTER INVESTING 3.7 MILLION, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE ABLE TO YES.

UPDATE AND CONTINUE WITH, UH, WITH THIS COMMISSIONERS.

I, I'LL ASK FEW QUESTIONS.

OH, AMANDA, GO AHEAD, AMANDA.

YEAH, SO WE'LL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO UTILIZE, UH, VIDEO CAPABILITIES, UH, FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.

YEAH, UH, NO WORRIES.

UM, I SAW THAT YOU NOTED THE LACK OF VIDEO CAPABILITY AS A SHORTCOMING OF THE, THE CURRENT SYSTEM.

IS THAT SOMETHING YOU ANTICIPATE USING WITH THE NEW SYSTEM? AND IF SO, HOW WOULD YOU BE USING VIDEO?

[00:05:01]

UH, YOU KNOW, EXTRA GARBAGE SET OUT AT A, AT A RESIDENCE, SHOULD THEY HAVE 'EM, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, APPROPRIATELY CHARGING THE RIGHT AMOUNT.

UM, ANYTIME THERE'S PROPERTY DAMAGE, UH, TO A RESIDENT, UH, HOUSEHOLD, YOU KNOW, WE CAN VERIFY THAT AS WELL.

UH, YOU KNOW, AND OTHER, OTHER SAFETY FEATURES.

SO WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE VIDEO? LIKE INDIVIDUAL, UM, INDIVIDUAL OPERATORS HAVE COLLECTING ON DEVICES OR, OR HOW EXACTLY DOES THAT WORK? I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T HEAR THE QUESTION.

HOW EXACTLY DOES THE VIDEO COLLECTION WORK? DO, DO INDIVIDUAL LIKE OPERATORS HAVE CAMERA DEVICES WITH THEM, OR DO THEY RECORD ON PHONES AND UPLOAD IT? LIKE HOW, HOW DOES THAT SYSTEM YEAH, THERE'LL BE A VIDEO CAMERA ON THE, ON THE TRUCK ITSELF.

UH, IT, IT'S, UH, IT'D BE ON THE, ON THE VEHICLE ON THE UNIT.

I THINK SHE'S ASKING WHO YOU'RE, WHAT IS GOING TO BE VIDEOED? EVERY, LET'S GO AHEAD.

HELLO.

UM, MY NAME IS CARLA JOYCE.

CISCO AND I, UM, WORK WITH, UM, MARCUS ON THIS PROJECT.

SO THE, THE, THE WAY IT'S GONNA WORK IS THAT OUR TRUCKS ALREADY HAVE LIKE 360 CAMERAS ON THEM ALREADY.

AND SO WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IS THAT THE, THERE IS GOING TO BE AN ADDITIONAL FORD FACING CAMERA THAT'S GONNA CONNECT ALL OF THOSE CAMERAS INTO ONE, UM, SYSTEM.

AND WHAT THAT SYSTEM IS GONNA DO IS TO SEND IT TO THE SOFTWARE.

SO WHAT THE, THE DRIVERS WILL HAVE IS A TABLET.

IT'S SORT OF LIKE THE TABLETS THAT WE ARE KIND OF USED TO USING.

AND THE DATA IS GOING TO GO FROM, THE CONNECTIVITY IS GONNA GO FROM THE, UH, FORWARD FACING CAMERA TO THE TABLET, THEN FROM THE TABLET INTO THE, UH, RUBICON SOFTWARE TO STORED ON THEIR CLOUD SYSTEM.

SO WHEN YOU SAY YOU'RE USING THIS, SAY LIKE AT A PICKUP, YOU MIGHT RECORD, IF SOMEONE HAS PUT SOMETHING AT THE CURB THAT IS NOT APPROPRIATE, AND YOU'RE GONNA CHARGE THEM, YOU CAN DOCUMENT IT BY FACING THE TRUCK AND TAKING AN IMAGE OF LIKE, THE DEBRIS THAT THEY'VE SET OUT BY THEIR CART, OR SOME, FOR EXAMPLE, YES.

OR EXTRA GARBAGE.

UM, NO SET OUTS, NO SET OUT OVERFILL, THINGS LIKE THAT.

, IS, IS THIS USEFUL AT ALL IN A, IN A WASTE AUDIT CAPACITY? OR IS IT JUST, LIKE, IS THAT CAMERA JUST GONNA BE SORT OF A DISTANT THING? SO IS THERE ANY WAY TO LOOK AT THE TRASH WITHIN, ONCE THE BIN IS OPEN, IS THERE A RECORDING CAPABILITY FOR THAT? UH, IN THE, ONCE THE, THE, UM, THE LIFT IS COMPLETED AND IT GOES INTO THE BACK OF THE TRUCK, THERE IS A CAMERA IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCKS THAT CAN TAKE PICTURES OF WHAT THE CONTENTS OF THE PARTICULAR, UH, CART WAS, WHETHER IT'S THE RECYCLING OR IF IT'S THE TRASH OR COMPOSTING, WE WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THAT AND RECORD THAT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

SO WHEN I CALL AND SAY, YOU MISSED MY PICKUP, AND I JUST LITERALLY FORGOT TO PUT IT OUT THERE, YOU GOT ME? YES.

NOW, ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? YEAH, I THINK I'M ON HERE.

UM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.

SO IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S SOME ROOM FOR THE FEES, THE ANNUAL FEE TO GROW, UH, DUE TO THE, JUST AS I DO SOME DIVISION OF FIVE YEARS, 3.7 MILLION, UM, WHAT, WHAT IS THAT CONTINGENT ON? IN OTHER WORDS, IS THERE AN EXPECTED INCREASE IN PRICE, OR IS IT MORE OF THE MORE TRUCKS WE HAVE, THE MORE IT COSTS? HOW, HOW IS THE LICENSE FEE HANDLED AND HOW WOULD IT CHANGE? YEAH, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE THE PER, UH, PER DRIVER.

IT, IT'S PER VEHICLE.

SO, SO THE FEES ARE PER VEHICLE.

SO IF WE INCREASE OUR VEHICLE NUMBERS, THEN THAT'S WHEN THE LICENSE INCREASES, THE NUMBER OF LICENSE WILL INCREASE.

AND IS THAT WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING OF A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN VEHICLES OVER THE FIVE YEARS, OR? CURRENTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING IS JUST, UH, AN EXCHANGE OF THE OLD VEHICLES, UM, UH, AS THE FISCAL YEAR GOES BY.

SO WE WILL SWITCH OUT VEHICLES.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE BASICALLY ARE PLANNING FOR RIGHT NOW.

BUT WE DO HAVE A, UH, BUDGET THAT WILL, UM, ALLOW US SOME FLEXIBILITY WITH THAT.

, THANKS MELISSA.

I HAVE A QUESTION RELATED TO THE VIDEOS.

HOW LONG ARE THE VIDEOS STORED FOR? IT WAS A YEAR.

WE, WE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE RE RECORD RETENTION POLICY, SO THE VIDEOS CAN STORE FOR A YEAR.

WE CAN KEEP THEM AS LONG AS WE WANT TO.

BUT WE ARE BASICALLY USING THE CITY'S RECORD RETENTION POLICY YEAH.

FOR ALL THE REPORTING AND THE VIDEOS.

OH.

WHICH IS A YEAR.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DO HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, MELISSA.

SO I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE PROBLEMS YOU STATED WITH THE PREVIOUS

[00:10:01]

SOFTWARE WAS THAT YOU HAD TO DO A LOT OF MANUAL WORKAROUNDS.

IS IS THIS GOING TO ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR ALL OF THOSE? THAT'S OUR WISH, YES.

IT, IT, IT SHOWS THAT IT COULD COMPLETELY DIGITIZE US AND, AND REMOVE US FROM THOSE MANUAL PROCESS THAT WE CREATED.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HEARING NO OTHER QUESTIONS? I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.

I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE JAN MOVES APPROVAL.

DO I HEAR A SECOND? ALL SECOND, AMANDA SECOND HEARING? NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND, SCREAM, HOLLER, ALL THAT GOOD STUFF.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER AS MARCUS.

JUST HISTORICAL QUESTION.

THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT, GUYS.

MOVING ALONG

[3. Lead Remediation Services Solicitation - Christine Whitney]

HERE.

THE, UH, NEXT ITEM IS THE, UH, LEAD REMEDIATION SERVICES SOLICITATION.

CHRISTINE, I THINK WE'RE GONNA BEAT YOU UP NOW.

SO, HELLO, I'M CHRISTINE WHITNEY, THE BROWNFIELD'S PROGRAM MANAGER WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

BROWNFIELD IS PLANNING TO USE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANT FUNDS TO ASSIST WITH REMEDIATION OF LAND, UM, LEAD CONTAINING PAINT AT THE MILLER ARMORY HANGAR, WHICH IS OWNED BY THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

WE HAD A SOLICITATION FOR LEAD REMEDIATION SERVICES OPEN FOR NINE WEEKS, AND RECEIVED ONE BID OF $187,563 FROM ONE PRIORITY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, LLC, FOR THE SCOPE OF SERVICES.

AT THIS TIME, WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A SELECTION OF ONE PRIORITY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES TO COMPLETE THE LEAD ABATEMENT AT THE FACILITY, AND WE SEEK YOUR FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION TO TAKE THIS RCA TO COUNCIL ON MARCH 23RD.

ALL QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? I HAVE A QUESTION.

MUELLER, WE TOOK OVER BACK IN, UH, WHAT WAS THAT, 2000 OR 99? WE GAINED CONTROL OF THAT.

WHEN DID, UH, ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE, UH, I GUESS BUILDINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE THERE WHEN, WHEN YOU TAKE CONTROL OF THE PROPERTY, YOU TAKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY WITH IT, CORRECT? CORRECT.

ABSOLUTELY.

I UNDERSTAND THAT.

BUT I THOUGHT THAT WAS ALL AIRPORT, UH, AVIATION DEPARTMENT.

THIS PART IS NOT, THERE WAS ASBESTOS THERE, WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN REMEDIATED IN THE LEAD BASED PAINT, WHICH IS NOT.

SO WE'RE EXACTLY, IS THIS BUILDING LOCATED? IS IT ON ONE OF THE IT'S ON 51ST.

OH, OKAY.

I THOUGHT IT WAS FURTHER DOWN AT THE OLD MUELLER SITE.

THAT WAS STILL PART OF MY, MY MISTAKE.

NO PROBLEM, CHRISTINE.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? AMANDA? NO.

I, I THINK, UM, MIGHT NOT BE UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE PROPERLY.

UM, IN THIS DOCUMENT WE HAVE THAT SUMMARIZES THE RESPONSE TO THE SOLICITATION.

SO COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THESE ALTERNATIVE, ALTERNATE BID ITEMS ARE AND, AND HOW THAT WORKS? OH, THE ALTERNATE BID IS BECAUSE THERE WERE THREE ITEMS THAT WE HAD REQUESTED TO KNOW HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO STABILIZE THE LEAD.

AND THEN WE HAD THE OPTION OF ACTUALLY REMOVING THE LEAD.

SO INSTEAD, YOU CAN EITHER LEAVE IT THERE AND COVER IT BACK UP AND MONITOR IT, AND YOU HAVE TO DO THAT PERIODICALLY, OR THE ALTERNATE WAS TO REMOVE ON LIKE THE STAIR RISERS AND THE RAILINGS AND THE DOOR FRAMES.

SO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND WE DECIDED THAT IT WOULD BE BETTER JUST TO REMOVE THE PAINT ENTIRELY SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT MOVING FORWARD.

AND THE PRICE WASN'T THAT MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE.

SO THIS CAME FROM THE SAME, THE SAME FIRM, THE SAME RESPONDENT? YES.

SORT OF PRICED OUT? YES.

WHAT IT WOULD BE TO REMOVE AND WHAT IT WOULD BE TO JUST SEAL EVERYTHING UP? YES.

GOT YOU.

AND DO YOU HAVE A SENSE FOR WHY THERE WAS ONLY ONE RESPONDENT? IS THIS THAT MUCH OF A SPECIALIZED SERVICE THAT, UH, THERE AREN'T THAT MANY, UH, VENDORS WHO CAN PROVIDE IT? ACTUALLY, THE, UM, CCO HAD INQUIRED AS TO WHY PEOPLE HAD SHOWED UP, AND THEN THEY DIDN'T RESPOND.

AND PART OF IT WAS THAT IT CAME OUT RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND CLOSED.

I MEAN, IT WAS OPEN FOR NINE WEEKS, BUT, AND THEN THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION ABOUT THE SCOPE, AND THEN A COUPLE OF THE FIRMS DIDN'T LIKE THE FACT THAT WE WANTED TO PRIME THE PRIME AFTER WE REMOVE THE PAINT.

BUT RUST HAPPENS REALLY QUICKLY ONCE YOU REMOVE THE PAINT.

SO, UM, YOU PRETTY MUCH NEED TO PAINT OVER IT THE SURFACE IMMEDIATELY.

SO, UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE FIRMS THAT WEREN'T ABLE TO DO THAT, OR INTERESTED, I GUESS.

THANK YOU, CHRISTINE.

ONE OTHER

[00:15:01]

SILLY QUESTION.

SO THIS WOULD FALL UNDER OUR PURVIEW AND NOT UNDER BUILDING SERVICES OR THEIR BUDGET? WELL, WE'RE USING OUR GRANT FUNDS FOR IT, BUT, UM, BUILDING SERVICES WILL HELP US WITH REVIEWING DOCUMENTS AND THEY KNOW OKAY.

SO THEY KNOW THIS IS HAPPENING.

SO IT IS UNDER THEIR, UM, OVERSIGHT, IF YOU WILL.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? I'M SORRY, I, I HAVE ONE MORE.

I, I APOLOGIZE.

NO, NO, PLEASE.

UM, I AM, THIS IS NOT AS MUCH ABOUT THE, THE SPECIFIC BID.

I THINK IT'S MORE ABOUT THE WORK PLAN.

UM, SO THIS IS, WORK'S GONNA TAKE PLACE OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME, LIKE, UH, UH, IN LITTLE BURSTS WHEN THERE ARE BREAKS IN THE COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING.

IS THAT CORRECT? YES.

THEY ARE FILMING WALKER, THE TV SHOW.

AND SO THERE ARE ONLY TWO BREAKS A YEAR CURRENTLY.

ONE IS IN MAY, JUNE, AND THE OTHER IS AT CHRISTMAS TIME.

SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE TO BREAK THE REMEDIATION UP UNTIL LITTLE CHUNKS.

UM, WOW.

WELL, SO IS ANYTHING BEING DONE TO MITIGATE RISK FOR FOLKS WHO ARE IN THERE NOW? UM, NOT THAT I KNOW OF.

I MEAN, IT, THERE'S, THAT'S WHY WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF IT SO THAT THERE AREN'T ANY RISKS, BUT NO, UM, OTHER THAN REMOVING DUST OFF THE GROUND, THERE'S NOT REALLY MUCH THAT CAN BE DONE WITHOUT THE REMOVAL ENTIRELY.

UM, HOW ABOUT NOTIFICATION? DO PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY'RE WORKING IN A BUILDING THAT HAS LEAD PAINT? YES, THEY DO.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS, HEARING, AND CHRISTINA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH OKAY.

FOR THE PRESENTATION.

I WILL ENTERTAIN A, UH, MOTION IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, MS. APPROVAL, OOS APPROVAL? DO I HEAR A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.

I'LL SECOND THE SECONDS.

AMANDA? AMANDA.

THIRDS.

SO .

HERE WE, NO OTHER QUESTIONS.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND PLEASE.

THANK YOU, CHRISTINE.

OH GOD.

ITEM IS ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS, WHICH IS THE FORMING OF A NEW U R O WORKING GROUP.

THE NEXT

[4. Forming of New URO Working Group - Cathy Gattuso]

AND I THINK, KATHY, YOU WANTED TO TAKE THE LEAD ON THIS? YES.

UM, WELL, THE, UM, U R O, UM, COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE, LIKE TO BEGIN A, A WORKING GROUP SO WE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A, THE WORKINGS, UH, NEW THINGS THAT ARE COMING UP CONSTANTLY CHALLENGES.

UM, SO, UH, WE'RE COMING IN FRONT OF THE COMMISSION SO THAT WE CAN GET APPROVAL TO SET UP THE WORKING GROUP.

AND, UM, I'M WONDERING IF ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE TO BE IN THE WORKING GROUP OF US AS LONG AS WE DON'T HAVE A, UH, A QUORUM.

I'M NOT SURE HOW OFTEN WE'LL MEET, BUT I'D LIKE TO MEET FAIRLY OFTEN.

RIGHT.

AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, IF NOT MORE.

NO.

SO THE CURRENT MEMBERS, ARE YOU TWO AND KAPA, CORRECT? YES.

THE TWO OF US.

AND KAVA.

KAE, YEAH.

AND I'LL, I'LL JUST PLUG THE, I, I THINK THAT I'M GOING TO BE ROLLING OFF OF W SO, UM, I DO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO STEP IN AND I THINK, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL NEED A NEW MEMBER OR MEMBERS FOR THE U R O COMMITTEE AS WELL.

UM, SO I DO PLAN TO STAY INVOLVED.

I'D LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, BE IN THE WORKING GROUP REGARDLESS OF, UH, MAW MEMBERSHIP, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET LET FOLKS KNOW THAT, SO THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE THE COMMISSIONERS ON THE WORKING GROUP.

AND WE ARE CURRENTLY MISSING, I GUESS, WITH FOUR COMMISSIONERS, IS THAT RIGHT? WHO ARE ABSENT TODAY? IS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN ESTABLISH THE WORKING GROUP AND THEN ADD SOMEONE, OR WE'LL HAVE TO, UH, STAIRSTEP IT THAT WAY? YOU KNOW, I THINK, YEAH.

WORK WORKING GROUPS ARE PRETTY FLEXIBLE.

WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE CORRECT WHY YEAH.

WE'VE BEEN DOWN THIS ROAD BEFORE.

WILL YOU FORM IT AND THEN YOU SELECT THE FINAL OKAY.

FINAL GROUP.

BUT, UH, OKAY.

AND THEN WE WOULD LOVE A, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM A R TO BE THERE.

COMMISSIONERS, IS THAT, UH, SO THE MOTION IS TO FORM THE, UH, THAT'S RIGHT.

U RRO WORKING GROUP, YES.

OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU'LL DO IS KIND OF COME UP WITH A MISSION STATEMENT, WHATEVER I REMEMBER WE HAD TO DO MM-HMM.

SO I HAVE, WE HAVE A MOTION, AND THEN, THEN I ASSUME KIND OF ONE

[00:20:01]

THAT, IS THAT RIGHT? OR DO YOU HAVE ONE WRITTEN ALREADY? JUST KIND OF TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO.

I'M SORRY, WHAT'S, WHAT IS THE GROUP CHARTER, I GUESS GONNA BE? UH, IT'S GONNA BE FAIRLY BROAD.

IT'S GONNA BE THE, EVERYTHING THAT COMES UNDER THE U O.

UH, WE JUST WANNA LEARN MORE THE MECHANICS, THE WORKING PARTS, THE PARTS THAT, UH, WE DON'T HAVE TIME ON, ON THE COMMISSION TO LEARN ABOUT.

SO WE'LL HAVE MORE TIME TO ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS JUST ABOUT THE U R O.

UH, AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING, UH, GOING ON NOW MM-HMM.

, BUT THERE'S MANY OTHER THINGS THAT WE WANT TO LOOK AT.

YEAH, IF I, I COULD MAYBE JUST LIKE LIST A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE, HAVE KIND OF COME UP, UM, IN PAST DISCUSSIONS OVER THE PAST YEAR OR FEW MONTHS AT LEAST.

UM, THAT INCLUDES, UH, THE EFFECTIVENESS OR LACK OF EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CURRENT, UM, ORGANIC DIVERSION ORDINANCE THAT IS APPLICABLE TO, UM, FOOD SERVING ENTITIES.

UM, THERE'S JUST BEEN SOME QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT, UM, HOW MUCH IS ACTUALLY BEING DIVERTED FROM THE LANDFILL, UM, EVEN FROM THOSE WHO ARE TECHNICALLY IN COMPLIANT.

UM, SO LOOKING AT THAT ISSUE, UM, ALSO THE ISSUE OF, UM, I GUESS EXPANDING, UM, REQUIREMENTS POTENTIALLY FOR, UM, ORGANICS DIVE DIVERS TO INCLUDE, UM, I GUESS CUSTOMER FACING DIVERSION OPPORTUNITIES.

AND PROBABLY IN THE FORM OF COMPOSTING CURRENTLY THAT IS NOT REQUIRED.

SO, YOU KNOW, RESTAURANTS DO NOT HAVE TO OFFER CUSTOMERS THE OP OPPORTUNITY TO, TO COMPOST.

UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE, THERE HAVE BEEN VARIOUS, UH, KIND OF SIMILAR ISSUES, UH, RAISED AROUND RECYCLING, UM, IN, IN THE COMMERCIAL KIND OF SETTINGS THAT THERE'S, UM, THERE'S A REQUIREMENT TO HAVE COLLECTION AVAILABLE FOR STAFF, BUT, BUT NOTHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PUBLIC PLACING.

SO JUST TO NAME A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP AND I THINK, UM, COULD BENEFIT FROM MORE CONVERSATION AND MORE, UH, CONVERSATIONS, ESPECIALLY WITH, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE KIND OF ON THE FRONT LINES OF DOING THAT WORK AND SEE WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT.

SOUNDS GOOD.

THANKS.

SO WE DO HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE.

COMMISSIONER TUO A SECOND.

I'LL SECOND FOR SURE.

YON SECOND THAT.

SO HEARING, UH, HEARING A MOTION AND A SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS.

AND, UH, I GUESS THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE, WELL, THE BUDGET I COMMISSIONERS.

CAN WE SKIP QUICKLY TO THE, UH, ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS THE MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING RESOLUTION, UPDATED, THAT SHOULD BE A QUICK ONE, AND THEN WE CAN JUMP INTO THE BUDGET, WHICH MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE EXTENSIVE.

THAT'D BE THE WILL OF THIS COMMISSION.

SURE.

THE, THE NEXT ITEM THEN WOULD BE THE MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING RESOLUTION UPDATING.

[6. Multi-Family Composting Resolution Update - Kaiba White]

I THINK, UH, IT WAS KIND OF JUST A, A QUESTION TO, TO STAFF AND AS TO WHERE IT IS TODAY.

WAS IT SUBMITTED TO THE, TO COUNCIL AND OR TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE FOR REVIEW, FOR REVIEW AND COMMENT? GOOD EVENING COMMISSION DIRECTOR KEN SNIPES.

IT WAS, UH, SUBMITTED TO, UH, TO COUNCIL, AND SO IT'S IN COUNCIL HANDS RIGHT NOW.

UH, AND SO, UH, THE NEXT PHASE OF THAT WOULD BE FOR THE RESPECTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, TO REACH OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT, BUT THEY, THEY DO HAVE IT IN THEIR HANDS.

THANK YOU, KEN.

ANY QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS, COMMENTS? THAT WAS QUICK.

WE HAVE ON HERE IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS THE, UH, 2324 A R R BUDGET.

AND THE LAST ITEM

[5. 2023-2024 ARR Budget - Gerry Acuna *A portion of this item is unavailable*]

AND AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, TO ME IS EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT, UH, WE REACH FOR THE STARS ON THIS, TRY TO TRY TO COVER EVERY POSSIBLE CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE FACING OVER THE NEXT, UH, NOT JUST NEXT YEAR, BUT THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.

I MEAN, NOBODY CAN PREDICT A STORM.

NOBODY CAN PREDICT, UH, A CHALLENGE, A PANDEMIC OR ANYTHING THAT WE'VE, WE'VE ENCOUNTERED OVER THE LAST FOUR TO FIVE YEARS, JUST UN UNPRECEDENTED EVENTS.

AND, AND AS A DEPARTMENT, AND AS A COMMISSION AND AS STAFF, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER TO, TO MEET WHATEVER

[00:25:01]

COMES DOWN THE ROAD HERE.

AND WHEN I SAY REACH FOR THE STARS, WITHIN REASON, I MEAN, I, ONE OF MY PET PEEVES, AND IT, IT'S JUST ONE OF MY GOALS IS TO DEVELOP A TRANSFER STATION TO HAVE AN OPTION IN THE NORTH, NORTHERN TERRITORY OF TRAVIS COUNTY WHERE WE CAN MEET THE, THE NEEDS WITHOUT EXPENDING THE ENERGY AND THE, UH, AND THE, UH, CHALLENGES OF SHIPPING A TRUCK CROSS TOWN AND THEN BACK IN AUSTIN.

TRAFFIC.

YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT.

I THINK THE EFFICIENCIES WILL MORE THAN OFFSET THE, THE EXPENSE EVENTUALLY OFFSET THE EXPENSE, BUT IT IS A COST AND ADDITIONAL COST.

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT INCLUDED IN, UH, IN THE 2324 BUDGET, UH, PROCESS.

THAT'S ONE, ONE ITEM I'D, I'D LIKE, LIKE TO SEE.

AND THEN I THINK KEN, RICHARD HAD GIVEN US A PRESENTATION AT THE LAST MEETING ON THE, UH, ON THE OTHER, UH, WHAT IS IT? UH, I, I DON'T WANT TO USE THE WORD, WORD.

TRANSFER STATION.

SERVICE CENTER.

SERVICE CENTER, THANK YOU.

THE OTHER SERVICE CENTER THAT WOULD HELP IN THE MORE IMMEDIATE FUTURE WITH, UH, OUR EV GOALS AND, UH, BEING ABLE TO START TO START THAT.

NOW, IS IT POSSIBLE TO, TO UTILIZE BOTH OF THOSE OPTIONS IN ADDITION TO OUR CURRENT OPERATION? AND IF SO, HOW DID WE DO THAT? WELL, OF COURSE, UH, KEN SNIPES AGAIN, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER, THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMISSION TO MAKE THE DEPARTMENT AWARE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE, UM, IMPORTANT TO THE CONSTITUENTS AND TO MAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS SO THAT WE CAN START TO CREATE THE CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE BUDGET, UH, WHETHER THOSE BE IN TERMS OF AND, UH, STUDIES OR, OR OTHERWISE.

BUT THIS IS THAT OPPORTUNITY.

UM, YOU MAY REMEMBER, UH, IN THE, UH, PAST BUDGET CYCLES, THE, UH, COMMISSION'S OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN OCCURRED REALLY CLOSE TO THE DEADLINE.

AND SO WE BROUGHT THAT TO, IN FACT, I REMEMBER COMMISSIONER, UH, JAN, IT WAS YOU WHO BROUGHT THAT FORWARD, RIGHT? UH, COMMISSIONER STARK.

UM, AND SO WE KIND OF BACKED THAT UP A BIT TO GIVE THE COMMISSION A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT OR TO MEET WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS, TO, TO GAIN AN INSIGHT INTO WHAT THEY WANNA SEE COME FORWARD.

AND SO THIS IS THAT TIME, UH, TO, TO MAKE US AWARE THOSE IDEAS.

TRANSFER STATIONS ARE CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DISCUSSED BEFORE THAT ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT TO US.

UM, IT'S CRITICAL TO OUR SYSTEM, UH, AND A GROWING CITY, UH, LIKE AUSTIN.

UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE, UH, INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR ABILITY TO MAINTAIN COST OVERALL IN THE, IN THE CITY AS WE CONTINUE TO DELIVER SERVICES.

UM, AND SO, UM, THAT'S CERTAINLY A VALUABLE RECOMMENDATION TO THE DEPARTMENT.

THANK YOU, KEN.

AND, UH, COMMISSIONER WHITE, I THINK YOU ACTUALLY WERE LOOKING AT THE CLEAN COMMUNITY FEES AND HOW WE CAN THEN, YEAH.

I JUST ALSO THE WANNA SAY THAT I, I SHARE THE, THE THOUGHTS THAT YOU JUST EXPRESSED ABOUT THE, THE NEED FOR THE TRANSFER STATION, UM, FOR COST REASONS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, ENABLING THE, THE CONVERSION TO, UM, FOR THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC, UH, COLLECTION VEHICLES WILL, WHICH WILL REALLY HAVE, I THINK, A MEASURABLE IMPACT ON, UM, YOU KNOW, EFFICIENCY AND, AND QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, AND ALL STUFF.

SO I THINK, UM, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA, AND I, I DO, UH, ENCOURAGE THAT TO BE INCLUDED.

UM, I DID SEND AROUND, UM, A RESOLUTION THAT I THINK I MAY HAVE SENT AROUND AT SOME POINT PREVIOUSLY, SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO THIS.

I WAS LOOKING, AND I HAD A DRAFT FROM 2020, LIKE RIGHT BEFORE, UM, THE PANDEMIC HIT.

AND JUST KIND OF THROUGHOUT OUR, OUR LAND AND, AND AIR NOW.

SO I THINK, UM, MAYBE IT JUST NEVER, IT NEVER, ACTUALLY, I THINK WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ACTUALLY VOTED ON IT.

I'M NOT SURE, UM, AHEAD IN MY HEAD THAT WE DID.

BUT IN ANY CASE, UM, I, I KEPT IT PRETTY SIMILAR EXCEPT FOR AT THE TIME WE HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF A TRASH WHEEL, AND I THINK WE'VE HEARD THAT THAT'S NOT A GOOD APPLICATION FOR, UM, FOR LADYBIRD LAKE.

UM, AND, AND I REALIZED THAT IN THE DRAFT THAT I SENT AROUND, UM, I HAD FORGOTTEN TO, TO MENTION THE, THE TRASH AND CREEK STUDY.

BUT, UM, I THINK THAT THAT WORK REALLY, UM, I THINK JUST RE-EMPHASIZED FOR ME THAT WE HAVE A REAL PROBLEM HERE IN AUSTIN WITH OUR LITTER ABATEMENT AND THAT WE'RE NOT DOING IT.

UM, AND ON THE ONE HAND, UM, CERTAINLY THE IDEAL SOLUTION IS FOR US TO, UM, PHASE OUT OUR USE OF A LOT OF THESE, UM, SINGLE USE PLASTICS THAT ARE ENDING UP IN OUR WATERWAYS, UM, AND,

[00:30:01]

UM, BUT I, YOU KNOW, WE CANNOT WAIT FOR, FOR THAT TRANSITION TO HAPPEN BEFORE WE DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE.

THE, THE PLASTIC POLLUTION ISSUE IS, IS REALLY REACHING A PRETTY CRITICAL LEVEL, JUST, UM, KIND OF ON A GLOBAL BASIS.

I MEAN, WE ARE LITERALLY EATING PLASTIC, WE ARE BREATHING PLASTIC, WE ARE DRINKING PLASTIC.

AND, UM, WHILE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF STUDY YET ON THE IMPACT, IMPACT ON HUMAN HEALTH, THERE'S JUST NO WAY THAT IT'S NOT NEGATIVE GIVEN WHAT PLASTIC IS MADE OF , NAMELY PETROCHEMICALS AND ALL KINDS OF, UM, OTHER TOXIC SUBSTANCES.

SO, YEAH.

AND, AND I REALIZE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK ARR HAS BEEN DOING WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY CAN WITH THEIR STAFF AND I, YOU KNOW, APPLAUD THEM FOR, FOR DOING WHAT THEY HAVE.

BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS I'VE, AS I'VE BROUGHT UP A BUNCH OF TIMES ON THIS COMMISSION, LIKE, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF AREAS IN AUSTIN, AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S EQUAL, UH, ACROSS THE CITY OF BOSTON, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF AREAS IN AUSTIN WHERE THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF TRASH.

UM, AND IT'S, IT'S ENDING UP IN OUR WATERWAYS.

YOU KNOW, MY CONCERN IS IT'S NOT THE AESTHETIC, UM, ALTHOUGH IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD, BUT THAT'S NOT MY CONCERN.

MY CONCERN IS THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, LITERALLY TRASHING THE ENVIRONMENT.

UM, SO YEAH, I'M RECOMMENDING THAT WE FIGURE OUT WHAT IT TAKES TO, UM, BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THOSE SITUATIONS.

UM, YOU KNOW, AS THERE IS, YOU KNOW, HOTSPOTS AND, AND ESPECIALLY, BUT SOME OF THEM ARE JUST GONNA BE RECURRING IN HOTSPOTS, I THINK, UM, UNTIL SOMETHING MORE IS A SYSTEMATIC CAN CHANGE.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL SAW WHAT I SENT AROUND, IF YOU'D LIKE ME TO SHARE IT OR IF SOMEBODY CAN SHARE IT THERE.

UM, BUT IT'S A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD RECOMMENDATION, BASICALLY TO INCREASE THE COM CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE, UM, OR TAKE IT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT I THINK THAT'S THE MOST OBVIOUS FUNDING SOURCE.

UM, SO THE STAFF CAN BE EXPANDED FOR THAT LETTER ABATEMENT CREW, BUT I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT FOLKS THINK ABOUT THAT.

KABA, ANY THOUGHTS? JAN, YOU'VE HAD A QUESTION ALSO.

UH, WELL, WE CAN FINISH DISCUSSION ON THIS, AND THEN I'VE GOT A LITTLE MINI LIST.

NO, I AGREE.

I'D LOVE TO SEE THE, UH, THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS SUBMITTED.

AGAIN, JUST A, A REFRESHER OF THAT, AND PERHAPS THAT CAN BE SENT OVER TO STAFF FOR, I DID SEND IT IT AROUND, SO I THINK THEY HAVE IT TO MAYBE, OH, DID YOU? OKAY.

I, I'VE NOT SEEN IT, SO I HAVEN'T, YES, I THINK WE RECEIVED IT TODAY.

OH, DID YOU? OH, THANK YOU.

YES, IT WAS RECEIVED.

SO LET ME, UH, LOOK AT THAT, COMMISSIONERS, I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE IT, BUT I DON'T HAVE SHARING PRIVILEGES RIGHT NOW.

I, AND YEAH, AND YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU MENTIONED THE, THE DOWNTOWN, UM, CREW, WHICH I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT THAT THAT CREW, YOU KNOW, BE STAFFED AT, AT AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL.

I, I GUESS THE ONLY COMMENT I HAVE LOOKING AT IT IS IT THE RESOLUTION, I GUESS WHAT I'M READING HERE IS TO, UM, THE BUDGET SHOULD INC BE INCREASED, EXPAND STAFFING TO A R R LITTER ABATEMENT PROGRAM, TO A LEVEL THAT IT ENSURES ALL PARTS OF THE COMMITTEE ARE ROUTINELY CHECKED FOR LITTER AND CLEANED UP AS NEEDED, WHERE RESIDENT REPORTS OF LITTER ARE ADDRESSED WITHIN A WEEK, ET CETERA.

UH, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT, IF I CAN PUT IT IN A NUTSHELL FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.

SO I DON'T, THE, THE CHALLENGE HERE IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SCOPE OF THAT IS.

IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE ROUTINELY CHECKED, UM, AND WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF STAFFING REQUIRED, AND THEREFORE, WHAT IS THE BUDGET REQUIRED IN ORDER TO DO THAT? AND UNTIL IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE COST AND BENEFITS IN GENERAL.

SO COMMISSIONER AT THIS TIME, UM, I THINK THE RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE FOR US TO FIND THAT INFORMATION, THE COST, UH, THE NUMBER OF STAFF, RIGHT? ON THAT SORT OF THING, RIGHT? SO, UM, THIS IS THAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION TO US TO GO FORTH AND DO THAT WORK, TO LOOK AT THAT AS PART OF THE BUDGET.

AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY, UH, PREPARED TO DO THAT AND TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.

UM, I THINK, UH, TO COMMISSIONER WHITE, YOU'RE CERTAINLY SPEAKING IN OUR LANGUAGE.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN LOOKING AT.

UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN HAS GROWN TREMENDOUSLY, UM, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.

AND, UH, WE DO PROVIDE LITTER ABATEMENT SERVICES PRETTY MUCH EVERY DAY.

UH, WE HAVE SWEEPER, UH, SWEEPER OPERATIONS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.

WE HAVE OUR DOWNTOWN LITTER CREWS THAT OPERATE, UH, EVERY NIGHT.

UM, BUT THE ONE THING WE NOTICED IS THAT DOWNTOWN, FOR EXAMPLE, IS MUCH BUSIER NOW THAN IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO, RIGHT? THEY'RE, THE ALLEYS, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE MUCH MORE ACTIVE THAN THEY EVER WERE BEFORE.

SO, UM, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO START TO, UH, EVALUATE OUR WORK, UH, IN TERMS OF MEETING THE, UH, THE CHANGING CITY, RIGHT? SO THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION, SIR.

[00:35:02]

BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS, UM, THE POINT THE, THAT, A PART OF THE POINT THAT I WAS MAKING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, IF WE'RE ONLY ADDRESSING LITTER IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT'S LEAVING MOST OF THE CITY, UM, TO JUST HAVE IT, YOU KNOW, BLOW OVER OR GET WASHED WHEREVER, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF POPULATION MOVING AROUND IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY, AND, UM, YEAH.

AND JUST A LOT OF, A LOT OF LIT LITTER ACCUMULATING AS A RESULT.

SO, UM, I THINK JUST LIKE THAT REALLY VALUABLE SERVICE IS BEING PROVIDED DOWNTOWN.

IT NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED IT IT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

, RIGHT POINT TAKING COMMISSIONER, AND I DIDN'T WANNA SUGGEST THAT THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE WE'RE DOING, UH, LITTER, UH, LITTER ABATEMENT.

UH, THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE WHERE IT IS EASY TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE ACTIVITY, UH, LEVELS THAT HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS.

AND, UH, SO CERTAINLY DIDN'T WANNA SUGGEST THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING LITTER ABATEMENT, UH, IN LOTS OF PLACES ALL OVER THE CITY.

UM, AND, AND WE'RE CERTAINLY MINDFUL OF EVALUATING, UH, THE SERVICE LEVELS AND THE SERVICE NEEDS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY ALIGN.

UM, WELL ALONG THE LINES OF SOME OTHER TOPICS, UH, JUST KIND OF OFF THE DOME HERE, THAT, UH, IS THAT ALL RIGHT? CAN I JUST SAY SOMETHING ON THIS TOPIC? UH, IS THIS, ON THIS TOPIC? SOMEWHAT, BUT GO, YOU GO AHEAD.

YOU GO AHEAD.

LET'S, OKAY, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THIS.

OKAY, KATHY, THEN YELLING.

KAY.

EVA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WRITING THIS.

IT, IT LOOKS SO THOROUGH AND IT, UH, I THINK IT'S REALLY WORTH LOOKING OUT FOR SURE.

KEN, I WAS WONDERING ON THE THREE 11 APPLICATION TO ABOUT HOTSPOTS IS, WOULD WE HAVE TO PAY MORE? WOULD ARR HAVE TO PAY MORE FOR THE THREE 11 TO, TO HAVE THAT APPLICATION? WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING THAT TODAY AND TRYING TO GET THE DETAIL ON THAT.

AND YEAH, SO WE ACTUALLY WE'RE JUST LOOKING INTO THAT.

GOOD.

UM, AND, AND WHAT TYPES OF, UH, IMPACTS AND INCREASE, UH, IN, UH, ACTIVITY THROUGH THREE 11, UM, WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

SO WE, WE, WE'LL BRING THAT BACK.

DO DO MANY PEOPLE CALL 3 1 11 FOR LETTER ABATEMENT AT THIS POINT IN TIME? ALL, ALL TYPES OF ISSUES COME THROUGH THREE 11.

AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE THE HOMELESS POPULATION KEEPS MOVING AROUND AND THERE, I KNOW YOU ALL CLEANED UP A LOT, BUT THEN ON BEN WHITE, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE THAT'S GOING ON THERE NOW.

I THINK PEOPLE ARE KIND OF COMING BACK.

YOU HAVE A FULL OF, YEAH, MY, MY THOUGHT WAS JUST, UM, HELPING PROVIDE YOU A, A LIST AND KIND OF OFF THE DOME.

I HAD A FEW ITEMS HERE THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED OVER THE YEARS, PROBABLY MM-HMM.

THAT HAVE EITHER MADE IT INTO BUDGET DISCUSSIONS OR NOT MADE, IT MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN ASSESSED, MAY HAVE NOT BEEN ASSESSED.

SO I'LL JUST LIST A FEW OF THESE AND HOPEFULLY THEY'LL RESONATE A LITTLE BIT.

BUT, UM, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF NEW VEHICLES MOVING TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES, TRANSFER STATIONS AND SERVICE STATIONS? A DISASTER, KIND OF RAINY DAY FUND OF A VARIETY OF BOTH, UH, WET AND, UH, FROZEN WATER, UM, HOMELESS CAMPS AND ABATEMENT, UH, WAGE RATE PRESSURE THAT MIGHT COME INTO PLAY AS, AND THEN, UH, ENFORCEMENT POLICIES.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE EACH ONE OF THOSE WILL HAVE BOTH BENEFITS, POTENTIALLY MONETARY, AS WELL AS JUST COMMUNITY BENEFITS AS WELL AS COSTS AND UNDERSTANDING THAT.

SO HOW I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO PROVIDE, MAYBE YOU SAY, YOU KNOW, FIVE OUT OF THE SIX OF THOSE WE ALREADY HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF, AND THEREFORE CAN PROVIDE A RECOMMENDED BUDGET AS WELL AS AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE BENEFIT WOULD BE TO THE COMMUNITY, AND, AND THEN WE COULD HELP PRIORITIZE THAT SORT OF THING.

AND IF THERE ARE OTHERS THAT YOU NEED TO DO SOME FURTHER INVESTIGATION ON BEFORE YOU CAN PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION, MAYBE WE CAN HELP PRIORITIZE WHICH ITEMS WE'D LIKE TO SEE.

YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOUR TEAM, THE OVERALL TEAM, UH, LOOK AT ACTUALLY, I THINK HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT.

THE SERVICE STATIONS MM-HMM.

UH, COMMISSIONER, I THINK I ACTUALLY, ALL OF THOSE ITEMS ARE ON OUR LIST, RIGHT? YEAH.

UM, AND SO THOSE ARE CERTAINLY THINGS THAT YOU'LL SEE TEED UP, UH, A COUPLE OF THOSE.

UH, ACTUALLY WE COULD PROBABLY GIVE AN UPDATE ON, UH, THE PROGRESS SO FAR IN THE FUTURE MEETING, BUT THOSE ARE CERTAINLY ALL ITEMS THAT ARE ALREADY ON OUR LIST.

AND, AND, UH, WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, MAKE THE COMMISSION AWARE OF WHERE WE ARE AND THOSE THINGS.

YEAH, IT, IT'D BE GREAT TO GET A GOOD UNDERSTANDING.

AND I THINK COMING TO COUNCIL, HAVING THE, UH, I DON'T KNOW, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE UNDERSTAND FULLY WHAT WE'RE PRO PROPOSING, WHAT IT'S GONNA COST BOTH TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE, AND LIKE THESE TRANSFER STATION IDEAS IN

[00:40:01]

, THEY SEEM TO KEEP GETTING PUSHED OUT INTO THE FUTURE.

AND UNLESS WE CAN START TO SHOW THAT WE'RE THINKING LONG TERM, UM, THAT WE'RE BEGINNING TO BUILD THESE RAINY DAY FUNDS AND BE ABLE TO ABSORB WHAT MAY VERY WELL BE A REGULAR OCCURRENCE, AND THAT THEREFORE THE COUNCIL NEEDS TO HELP SUPPORT, UM, ALL OF US IN THAT, UH, YEAH.

ANYWAY, THE MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN PROVIDE, I THINK THE BETTER WE CAN PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO YOU.

YOU KNOW, I THINK WE, IN THE, IN THE PAST WE HAVE DISCUSSED, UH, BUILDING UP THAT RESERVE FUND TO AT LEAST A THREE MONTH, THREE MONTHS WORTH OF OPERATIONAL COST.

UH, PRIOR WE HAD, UH, I, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, STAFF, I MEAN, BEFORE PROBABLY, UH, WHAT WAS IT, THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, WE HAD WELL, IN EXCESS OF WHAT, SIX MONTHS RESERVES IN THE ACCOUNT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.

YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

AND FOR IT, IT WAS A CONSIDERABLE, I MAY HAVE VICTORIA, IS THAT A, IT WAS A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT.

IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SIX MONTHS, BUT IT WAS A VERY SUBSTANTIAL, UH, AMOUNT.

I THINK WE HAD LIKE A, WE DID HAVE A, UH, ALMOST 30 MILLION.

YEAH, WE HAD A FLOAT OF SOME SORT, I REMEMBER.

AND IT TOOK A, WE ACTUALLY SAID WE WOULD NOT REDUCE CORRECT THESE FEES, UH, OVER A TIME PERIOD.

SO WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THAT VERY NUMBER, AND WE'VE HAD, UH, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT AS WELL, UM, LOOKING AT WHAT THE CITY'S POLICY IS AND, UM, EXPLORING THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, EITHER GET, GET AN EXCEPTION TO THAT, JUST BE BECAUSE OF THE SPECIFICS THAT WE THINK WE NEED FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.

UH, AND I BELIEVE THAT CONVERSATION, WE STARTED THAT THREE MONTHS AGO, ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO.

UH, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING IN THAT, INTO THAT WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE, UH, AND GOING THROUGH THAT, THAT, THAT PROCESS.

COMMISSIONER, ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS? WELL, I HAVE JUST WANTED, GO AHEAD.

, MELISSA, AND THEN, OKAY.

I JUST WANTED TO, UM, TIE INTO WHAT KIVU WAS SAYING ABOUT THE LITTER, AND WE, WE'VE ALREADY SPOKEN ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH BUDGET AND RESOURCES AND PEOPLE TO ADDRESS THE ILLEGAL DUMPING THAT HAPPENS AROUND TOWN IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES.

THANK YOU, AMANDA.

JIM? YEAH, A A FEW THINGS COME TO MIND, AND SOME OF THESE MIGHT BE MORE META CONCERNS BECAUSE I THINK THEY DO FEED ON SOME OF THE AREAS THAT, UM, WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THAT ARE REALLY CRITICAL, LIKE THINKING ABOUT A TRANSFER STATION PLAN AND ELECTRIFICATION.

UM, I THINK STAFFING FOR ME, YOU KNOW, YOUR CAPACITY AND WHERE YOU NEED PERSONNEL IS ONE BIG CONCERN.

AND THEN ALSO COMPENSATION, YOU KNOW, SALARY LEVELS FOR THE FOLKS YOU DO HAVE.

UM, WE TALKED, WE, WE PASSED A RESOLUTION EARLIER THIS, OR EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE END OF 22, ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFICULTIES WITH FILLING POSITIONS AND PART OF THAT BEING TIED TO THE LEVEL OF COMPENSATION AND WAYS THAT YOU COULD TRY TO INCENTIVIZE HIRING.

SO I THINK ADDRESSING THAT IN SOME SORT OF ONGOING FASHION, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THAT SITUATION'S GONNA CHANGE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN A YEAR.

I THINK THAT THAT'S GONNA BE LAYERED ON EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT 3, 5, 10 YEARS IS GONNA BE THIS CONCERN FOR, UM, ADEQUATE CAPACITY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT TO DO THE WORK THAT YOU WANT TO DO.

UM, SO THAT FOR ME, JUST IS REALLY WRI LARGE OVER ALL OF THIS.

UM, THE OTHER AREAS THAT I THINK OF THAT I, I, I KNOW THEY'RE EMBEDDED, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S SPECIFIC ATTENTION TO, IS HAZARDOUS WASTE SERVICE.

I THINK OF THAT AS BEING SO CRITICAL.

UM, AND IT, IT IS PART OF, I KNOW, PLANNING FOR A TRANSFER STATION, BUT THAT SERVICE, I THINK AS WE GET INTO MORE UNPREDICTABLE SCENARIOS IN OUR CITY, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE CHANGE AND WEATHER AND THE RESPONSES THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, THERE ARE GOING TO BE THINGS THAT WE CAN'T EVEN PREDICT NOW THAT ARE GONNA HAPPEN.

AND I THINK THE MORE THAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT AS MUCH HAZARDOUS WASTE AS POSSIBLE IS OUT OF THE HANDS OF RESIDENCES AND, YOU KNOW, SAFELY DISPOSED OF SOMEWHERE THE BETTER.

SO I THINK THAT IS A REAL, UM, DISASTER MITIGATION SERVICE THAT THE CITY PROVIDES, AND HANDLING HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE AND EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THAT AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT SERVICE IS REALLY ROBUST.

AND ALONG THOSE LINES, I ALSO THINK ABOUT THE DISASTER PLANNING THAT YOU ALL HAVE UNDERTAKEN, THAT YOU'VE EXECUTED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL STORM EVENTS AND HOW THAT MIGHT LOOK IN THE FUTURE.

AND IS THERE, IS THERE ENOUGH CAPACITY, ENOUGH BUDGET BEHIND WHATEVER PROACTIVE EFFORTS YOU NEED IN

[00:45:01]

TERMS OF THAT AREA OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND CLIMATE PREPAREDNESS? BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT'S GONNA SLOW DOWN.

I THINK WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THINGS HAPPEN IN AUSTIN THAT ARE GONNA REQUIRE A PRETTY ROBUST AND SOMETIMES CREATIVE MUNICIPAL RESPONSE.

SO WHATEVER YOU NEED IN THAT REGARD, I THINK THAT THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING WE'RE PLANNING AND ASKING COUNSEL FOR IN, IN THE BUDGET.

UM, THOSE, THOSE WERE THE MAIN AREAS THAT CAME TO MIND.

THE LAST ONE, IT FEEL, I FEEL LIKE THIS WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A PERSONAL BIAS.

ALSO, DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH DATA? DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH CAPACITY TO ANALYZE THE DATA THAT YOU ARE COLLECTING? PART OF THE REASON THAT I ASKED ABOUT THE VIDEO CAMERAS ON THE TRUCKS AND THE OPEN CONTAINERS IS BECAUSE THAT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE A WEALTH OF DATA FOR, UH, SUPPLEMENTING THE WASTE AUDITS THAT YOU ALREADY CONDUCT.

AND I KNOW HOW IT IS SOMETIMES YOU COLLECT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, BUT YOU JUST DON'T HAVE THE PERSONNEL OR THE TIME TO GO THROUGH AND, YOU KNOW, EXTRACT INSIGHTS FROM IT.

SO MAYBE THINKING ABOUT WHAT THAT, WHAT COULD BE LEARNED, WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES? AND THEN MAYBE THAT, AGAIN, IS STAFFING, MAYBE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFYING WHAT THOSE DATA PRIORITIES ARE THAT WOULD INFORM HOW YOU'RE GOING TO APPROACH WASTE REDUCTION IN THE COMMUNITY.

SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT COME TO MIND FOR ME WHEN THINKING ABOUT THE BUDGET.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

THANK YOU, AMANDA.

SORRY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THOUGHTS? , YOU KNOW, HERE, I, I'VE GOT JUST A SILLY HYPOTHETICAL HERE.

IF FEMA WASN'T INVOLVED IN THIS, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLEANUP WITH THE BRUSH, THE HEAVY BRUSH COLLECTION THAT'S GOING TO BE UNDERTAKEN IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE OVERALL CITY BUDGET, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

IT WOULD NOT FALL UNDER A R R SPECIFICALLY? WELL, THE FEMA REIMBURSEMENT POLICY, UH, USUALLY, UH, IF WE QUALIFY FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE SUBMIT MM-HMM.

, WE'D GET 75% REIMBURSEMENT.

SO THE DEPARTMENT WOULD STILL, UH, BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A PORTION OF THAT.

UM, BUT IN, UH, MANY CASES WE DON'T GET, UH, APPROVAL FOR EVERYTHING WE SUBMIT.

CORRECT.

AND AGAIN, THIS IS ALL PART OF THIS, THE UNCERTAINTY OF TOMORROW.

I MEAN, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU PLAN FOR THIS? AND YOU'VE DONE A REMARKABLE JOB.

THANK YOU STAFF, ALL OF YOU.

I MEAN, AFTER THE ISSUE WE HAD TWO YEARS AGO TO, TO GO OUT AND, AND LITERALLY EXECUTE SOME OF THE AGREEMENTS, THE, THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS THAT, UH, YOU WERE ABLE TO DO CERTAINLY CAME INTO PLAY HERE.

CONGRATULATIONS.

AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT.

THAT DID, THAT DID HELP.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

AND YEAH, THE DEPARTMENT HAS DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.

UM, THEY HAD A VERY STRONG FOUNDATION TO BEGIN WITH, UH, AND HAS USED OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN HOW TO GET BETTER AT THIS.

UH, THEY TALK ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES THEY GAINED FROM SUPPORTING, UM, HURRICANE HARVEY.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE PROVIDED HELP AND ASSISTANCE TO THEM, BUT WE BROUGHT KNOWLEDGE BACK HERE TO, TO OUR FOLKS HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND SO, UH, THE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, A LEADER IN THIS SPACE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

AND WITH EACH ITERATION, WE'RE JUST GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.

AND HAVING SAID THAT, WITH THAT AND WITH PLANNING AND WITH THE, YOU KNOW, PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE, LIKE ANYBODY WHO IS, WHO WANTS TO RUN A MARATHON, YOU GOTTA GO OUT THERE AND, AND TRAIN.

YOU GOTTA GO OUT THERE AND WORK, AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY.

HAVING SAID THAT, I MEAN, BUILDING UP THE, THE RESERVE CAPACITY TO BUILD ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE IS A, IS A DEPARTMENT TO ME ARE EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

AND I THINK WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

IF WE CAN, AGAIN, JUST COME, COME BACK WITH, UH, JUST SOME PROJECTED NUMBERS.

I MEAN, SOME OF THESE NUMBERS MAY BE SHOCKING.

OTHERS, WE, WE MAY BE SURPRISED AT HOW DOABLE THIS REALLY IS.

AND I, I, AGAIN, UH, VICTORIA, IF I CAN ASK YOU A QUICK QUESTION.

THE, THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION LAST MONTH, WHAT WAS OUR INCREASE? IT WAS A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE OVERALL BUDGET.

CORRECT.

WE HAD A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, THE, IN YOUR PRESENTATION LAST MONTH.

SO, UH, SO WE HAVEN'T PUT FORWARD, I'M SORRY, VICTORIA RIGGER, UH, FINANCIAL MANAGER, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

IT WILL INCREASE FOR SURE.

WE'VE NOT PUT FORWARD OUR FISCAL YEAR 24 BUDGET YET.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING ON OUR FORECAST, SUBMITTING THOSE NUMBERS, AND THAT'S DUE NEXT MONTH IN MARCH.

AND THEN WHEN WE GET TO THE ACTUAL PROPOSED BUDGET THAT'S IN, IN MAY, UM, I DON'T RECALL A PRESENTATION.

THE FORECASTED AMOUNT WAS, IF I RECALL, IT WAS A SLIGHT INCREASE.

[00:50:01]

THERE'S, THERE'S DEFINITELY NOT, NOT A WAY IT'S GONNA DECREASE, BUT I DIDN'T PRESENT ANY NUMBERS LAST MONTH THAT I CAN RECALL.

I, I CAME LAST MONTH AND JUST REMINDED YOU ALL ABOUT THE PROCESS FOR BUDGET, BUDGET ENGAGEMENT, AND FOR THE RESOL TYPES OF RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING FORWARD.

YEAH, I MEAN, I MAY BE MISREMEMBERING, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE I MADE A PRESENTATION LAST MONTH ON, ON AMOUNTS, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY BE BACK IN MARCH, UH, WITH THOSE AMOUNTS AND THEY WILL INCREASE.

YEAH, I GUESS COMMISSIONER YOUNG, AND I APOLOGIZE.

I, I KNOW THIS ISN'T MY FIRST TIME THROUGH THIS, BUT I'M NOT SURE I FEEL LIKE I'VE NAILED IT YET.

, LIKE TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD HOW TO DO THIS CORRECTLY AND, AND PROVIDE THE TYPE OF INPUT THAT YOU NEED TO REALLY, I DON'T TO FEEL LIKE I'M PROVIDING BENEFIT .

UM, AND MAYBE I CAN'T, BUT IT SEEMS SO IN MARCH, THE BOARD AND COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ARE DUE TO THE BUDGET OFFICE, WHICH IS INTERESTING.

UM, AND THEN DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS, YOU ANGEL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO, TO, TO DO, JUST AS YOU SAID, JAN, JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, HERE'S WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE AND JUST GO, COME OUT, WANDER IN THE GARDEN, YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

YOU WILL HAVE SO PROPOSED TO COUNCIL AT THAT POINT.

YOU, YOU DO ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT THAT PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, BY VIRTUE OF A RESOLUTION, A VOTE, UH, SOMETHING.

AND THAT WOULD GO TO COUNCIL, UM, TO, TO SHARE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

BUT AGAIN, THE FORECAST THAT WE BRING FORWARD, UH, NEXT MONTH, UM, YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY VOTE, UH, VOTING TO, TO APPROVE OR RECOMMEND OUR FORECAST.

UM, BUT YOU HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY, UH, IN, IN THE MAY, JUNE TIMEFRAME.

DOES THAT HELP CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT? IT, IN, IN FACT, THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD PERHAPS GET TOGETHER AND DISCUSS, LIKE RESOLUTION, CORRECT.

I MEAN, JUST THE GOALS AND AND DESIRES OF THE COMMISSION TO, SO CHAIRMAN CHAIRMAN, YEAH.

I'M SORRY, KUYA, IF I COULD.

SO, SO, UM, UM, COMMISSIONER STEINER, THAT PART IS COMING.

SO RIGHT NOW, UH, BASED ON THE HIGH LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE JUST HEARD, NOW WE GO START TO HAVE AN IDEA OF SOME ROUGH ORDER MAGNITUDE, NUMBERS AND START TO WORK ON THAT PIECE.

AND THEN IN THE NEXT, UH, UH, PORTION, UH, YOU'LL GET TO SEE KIND OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, RIGHT? IN THE PAST, WHAT WAS HAPPENING IS, UM, THE, UH, COMMISSION WOULD MEET IN FEBRUARY AND WE DIDN'T MEET IN MARCH, RIGHT? AND SO IF YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT MAYBE IN DECEMBER WHAT YOU WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SEE IN THE BUDGET OR WANTED THE DEPARTMENT OR RECOMMEND TO THE DEPARTMENT, YOU REALLY DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO DO THAT.

AND SO, UH, FOR, UH, UH, BASED ON THE COMMENTS THAT WE HEARD BEFORE, WE KIND OF MOVED THE PROCESS FOR A LITTLE BIT.

UH, WE HAD A TICKLER IN, UH, JANUARY TO SAY, HEY, START THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO BRING FORWARD OR WHAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO RECOMMEND TO THE DEPARTMENT.

AND NOW IN FEBRUARY, THIS IS THAT DISCUSSION OF WE ARE HEARING, HEY, HERE'S SOME GENERALIZED THINGS THAT WE WANT YOU GUYS TO THINK ABOUT.

AS YOU BUILD THE BUDGET, WE'LL START TO PUT THOSE NUMBERS TOGETHER.

UH, YOU'LL GET A CHANCE TO SEE THOSE.

AND THEN I'LL TAKE THAT AND KIND OF RACK AND STACK BASED ON WHAT THE DEPARTMENT PRIORITIES ARE, WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN, AND START TO PUT ALL THOSE THINGS TOGETHER.

AND THEN WE'LL HAVE OUR, OUR FINAL BUDGET OR, OR, UM, IN, IN MAY, AS WE SAID, IF, IF I MAY, UH, I REALIZE TIMING IS ALWAYS TIGHT ON THIS STUFF.

IF WE GET JUST A COUPLE EXTRA DAYS TO REVIEW THE PRESENTATIONS MM-HMM.

AND THESE NUMBERS WILL BE FAIRLY CRUCIAL, THAT WOULD HELP A LOT.

CUZ OFTENTIMES WE'D GET IT THE DAY BEFORE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING SOME OTHER BALLS IN THE AIR, SOMETIMES IT'S JUST HARD TO BE ABLE TO DIG IN ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO ASK REASONABLE QUESTIONS.

SO IN FACT, I WAS GONNA REQUEST AT LEAST PERHAPS A WEEK TO 10 DAY LEAD TIMES TO, TO REVIEW THIS IF POSSIBLE.

SO 10 DAYS MAY BE A LITTLE TOUGH, BUT OF COURSE.

ANY OTHER, DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS? THAT'S GREAT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I FEEL, UH, MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE IDEAS.

DO WE NEED TO ADJUST THE CALENDAR SO WE CAN MEET IN MARCH? YEAH.

HAD MARCH AS A NU NONE MEETING DATE.

YEAH, SPEAKING OF WHICH, I THINK THE CALENDAR, OUR MARCH OR OUR MEETING SCHEDULE, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I THINK WE INITIALLY

[00:55:01]

AND, UH, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT PERHAPS WE RESCHEDULE THAT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, GUYS, CANCEL YOUR VACATIONS AND LET'S, YOU KNOW, WELL, I THINK THE BYLAWS REQUIRE MEETING EVERY MONTH, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE EXACTLY.

TO, BASED ON THE, UH, THE MEETING PARAMETERS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE.

SO WE CAN SCHEDULE A MEETING FOR THE SECOND WEEK OR SECOND WEDNESDAY OF, OF MARCH.

COUPLE BLESS AND START TIME.

NOT THAT I'M GOING ANYMORE, BUT NONETHELESS, , BUT IF YOU HAD CONCERNS.

NO.

AGAIN, KEN, I GUESS THE REST OF THE SHOW IS YOURS, YOU AND STAFF.

ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU.

ANY OF THE QUESTIONS FOR KEN OR STAFF ON THE BUDGET IN OUR WISHLIST? COMMISSIONERS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND, AND

[DIRECTOR’S REPORT]

I MEAN, THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.

AND I, I JUST, AGAIN, I JUST WANNA REITERATE HOW GRATEFUL WE ARE.

I MEAN, ME AS A GUY WHO I SEE ALL THE DARN BRUSH THAT'S ACCUMULATING OUT THERE, I, I DON'T ENVY YOU GUYS, BUT, UH, I, I KNOW THAT IT'S GONNA GET DONE.

IT'S GONNA GET DONE WONDERFULLY WELL, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.

VERY WELCOME.

UH, AGAIN, KEN SNIPES, UH, DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UH, I THINK EVERYONE HAS HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, UH, AND JUST, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE LET US KNOW.

Y YOU DID A PRETTY GOOD UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF WHERE WE SIT TODAY WITH, WITH THE, UH, FREEZE.

BUT, UH, ANYWAY, ANY THE COMMENTS ON THE, UH, DIRECTOR'S REPORT? I HAD A A QUESTION ABOUT THE WINTER STORM, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL OF THE DETAIL IN THE REPORT.

UH, WHAT YOU, YOU OUTLINED IN TERMS OF YOUR RESPONSE WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE, UM, AND SEEMED TO SPAN A LOT OF AREAS.

I'M WONDERING, IN YOUR SORT OF, YOU KNOW, AFTER ACTION ACCOUNTING, WHAT, IF ANYTHING, WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY? UM, WHAT, IF ANYTHING, WOULD THE, WOULD THE DEPARTMENT NEED IN TERMS OF RESOURCES TO BE BETTER SITUATED TO RESPOND NEXT TIME? COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

UM, RIGHT NOW, WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EVENT.

UH, IT'S ACTUALLY JUST NOW REALLY RAMPING UP FOR A R AS EVERYONE ELSE KIND OF STARTS TO CALM DOWN A BIT.

UM, THE, UH, THE HEAVY WORK IS TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW.

UM, BY AND LARGE, THE DEPARTMENT DID A, A REALLY GOOD JOB OF BEING ABLE TO TURN AND GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, UH, PRETTY QUICKLY, UM, SHORTLY AFTER, UH, OR JUST DURING, DURING THE STORM.

UH, WE WORKED, UH, UNTIL, UM, UH, AS LATE AS WE COULD ON, UH, TUESDAY.

UM, AND, UH, RESUMED SERVICES ON THURSDAY.

SO WE WERE OUT, YOU KNOW, PRETTY QUICKLY, AGAIN, COLLECTING AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE, THE TIME THAT WE HAD.

UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS.

I THINK WE'VE DONE A, A PRETTY SOLID JOB.

UM, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT WE DID, UH, BASED ON, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LAST STORM WAS KIND OF LOOK AT OUR CONTRACTS AND, UH, JUST MADE A FEW, UH, UPDATES ON CONTRACTS THAT WERE ALREADY IN EXISTENCE.

UH, WE ADDED, UH, TO THE NUMBER OF, UH, DEBRIS, UM, HAULING COMPANIES AND DEBRIS SUPPORT COMPANIES.

UM, AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO TURN THOSE ON, UH, PRETTY QUICKLY.

THE MODIFICATION THAT WE MADE WAS, IN THE PAST WE HAD ONE CONTRACTOR, AND IN THIS TIME WE WENT TO THREE.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, NOT TO TOOT OUR OWN HORN, BUT WE DID PRETTY WELL.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE BIG THING FOR US RIGHT NOW IS JUST KEEPING THE CREWS MOVING, UM, AND KEEPING EVERYBODY, UH, SAFE OUT THERE AS THEY'RE WORKING.

IS THERE HAZARD PAY, BONUS PAY, ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, THIS WORK? NO.

COMMISSIONER WHITE.

THANKS.

UM, MA'AM, I GUESS FIRST CAN I, I WANNA COMPLIMENT YOU AND, AND YOUR DEPARTMENT ON NOT ONLY DOING THE WORK IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY, BUT COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY.

I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT LACK OF COMMUNICATION AND POOR COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, AND I, I THINK THEY SHOULD, UH, MAYBE, MAYBE LOOK TO Y'ALL FOR AN EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE TEXT MESSAGES AND THE EMAIL UPDATES MM-HMM.

ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT IN TERMS OF COLLECTION.

AND, UM, YEAH, IT SEEMS, SEEMS LIKE THE SERVICES MATCHED THOSE COMMUNICATIONS, SO, UM, YEAH, I, I THINK THAT'S REALLY POSITIVE, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, AND I ALSO JUST NOTICED ON THE DIRECTOR'S SUPPORT, AND MAYBE IT WAS ON HERE PREVIOUSLY, BUT I NOTICED AT THIS TIME THE SUSTAINABLE VEHICLE, UH, WRAPPED, UH, SOLICITATION.

UM, SO THANK

[01:00:01]

YOU ALSO FOR PURSUING, UM, YEAH.

MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY OPTIONS.

UM, I AM CURIOUS IF THAT IS ONE THAT HAS ALREADY HAD RESPONDENTS, IF IT'S STILL OUT.

WOW.

I DON'T THINK WE HAVE RESPONDENTS FOR THAT ONE YET.

NOT, NOT COMMISSIONER, NOT YET.

WE DON'T HAVE RESPONDENTS TO THAT ONE FOR THAT ONE YET.

IT'S STILL IN PROCESS, BUT IT'S MOVING FORWARD.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WHITE.

UM, WELL, I'M, I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE IT.

I HOPE YOU DO GET RESPONSES.

UM, AND IF YOU DO, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THE ARR IS NOT THE ONLY DEPARTMENT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, EITHER USES OR WANTS TO USE THESE KIND OF WRAPS ON VEHICLES.

I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHERS DO AS WELL OCCASIONALLY, AT LEAST.

SO, UM, I HOPE IT CAN, IF YOU FIND A GOOD SOLUTION THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE, UH, SHARED WITH OTHERS TO, YOU KNOW, UM, GET AWAY FROM THE, THE VINYL.

AND THEN I HAD, I HAD ONE QUESTION OF SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ON THE REPORT, UM, BUT THAT I, UM, JUST KIND OF CAME ACROSS, UH, MY RADAR FROM CONVERSATIONS, UH, THAT I'VE HAD OVER THE PAST, UH, I GUESS FEW MONTHS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.

UM, AND, AND THE MOST RECENT ONE WAS, I THINK JUST LAST WEEK, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH DEVELOPING, UM, A COMMUNITY SOLAR INSTALLATION AT THE OLD AUSTIN, UH, LANDFILL SITE.

AND I WAS HOPING THAT YOU, IF YOU COULD SHARE, UM, IF THAT IS THE SAME AREA THAT HAD AT ONCE, BEEN AT ONE POINT, BEEN, UM, IDENTIFIED FOR THE REMANUFACTURING HUB, OR IF IT'S A DIFFERENT AREA AT THAT LANDFILL, OR, YEAH.

I'M JUST CURIOUS TO GET MORE DETAIL ON THAT IN TERMS OF WHERE YEAH.

UH, COMMISSIONERS RICHARD MIHAIL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY CONVERSATIONS RECENTLY.

WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS IN THE PAST WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT, UM, NOT AS, NOT OF, UH, LATELY.

SO I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT, UH, WHAT THEY'RE REFERRING TO.

SO I'D HAVE TO, TO GIVE IT AUSTIN ENERGY OR, UH, TO FIND A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON THAT.

DID THAT, DO Y'ALL HAVE CONTROL OVER THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY? OH, WE, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FM A 12 LANDFILL YES.

THAT IS AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY PROPERTY.

AND THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, THE AREAS THAT WE HAD LOOKED AT IN THE PAST WAS AROUND THAT, UH, THE FRONT AREAS, UH, WHERE THE, UH, ECO INDUSTRIAL PARK WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED.

UM, SO WE HAVE LOOKED AT THAT IN THE PAST.

WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT SOLAR ON THE, UH, CLOSED CELLS.

UM, SOME OTHER, SOME LANDFILLS AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE DONE THAT AS WELL.

SO WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT SOLAR, BUT I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY ACTIVE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH AUSTIN ENERGY RECENTLY.

THAT'S INTERESTING.

INTERESTING.

THEY MADE IT, IT SOUND MUCH MORE, UH, CERTAIN.

I JUST HAVE A COUPLE COMMENTS.

UM, ONE, I LOVED THAT WHEN YOU WERE IN THE PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY, YOU'RE REMINDED PEOPLE TO COMPOST THEIR SPOILED FOOD.

THAT WAS GREAT TO HEAR BECAUSE I'M SURE THERE IS A TON OF SPOILED FOOD.

UM, THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO INTO THE TRASH.

UM, ANOTHER COMMENT IS ABOUT THE COMMUNICATIONS.

SO I KNOW I WAS GETTING A TON OF EMAILS FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT NOWHERE IN THEIR EMAILS DID THEY HAVE A PARAGRAPH THAT SAID WHAT TO DO WITH THE, THE LIMBS THAT CAME DOWN.

AND I THINK IT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S LIKE A COORDINATION THING ON Y'ALL'S PART WITH 'EM, UM, BUT IT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL IF THE MANY EMAILS THAT I GOT FROM THEM HAD GIVEN ME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.

CAUSE I SAW A LOT OF PEOPLE SAYING, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH OUR LIMBS? DO WE SET THEM OUT? DO WE ALL HAVE TO REPORT INDIVIDUALLY? IF ONE PERSON DOES AND THEN THEY COME ONTO OUR STREET, ARE THEY GONNA PICK THEM UP OR NOT? THAT, THAT ALL GOT SORTED.

UM, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL TOO.

UM, MY OTHER QUESTION IS ABOUT THE TEXT MESSAGING.

I DIDN'T GET ANY TEXT MESSAGES.

SO WHAT WERE THE TEXT MESSAGES LIKE? I DID RECEIVE THE AUSTIN ENERGY TEXT MESSAGES, WHICH WERE CONFUSING.

COMMISSIONER, YOU HAVE TO OPT INTO IT.

, UM, TO, TO GET THOSE, UH, TEXT MESSAGES.

CAUSE I DO GET SOME TEXT MESSAGES FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.

CAUSE I, I DID FIND THEM VERY USEFUL.

, BUT I DIDN'T GET ANYTHING RELATED TO THE LIMB PICKUPS.

WE, WE CAN GET THE OPT-IN PROCESS TO YOU SO THAT YOU CAN DO THAT AND, AND SHARE THAT WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS AS WELL.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OH, I TOTALLY FORGOT THAT THOSE WERE OPT IN.

I MEAN, THEY'RE SO VALUABLE.

UM, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY TO LIKE, PERIODICALLY LIKE ASK PEOPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE A SINGLE MESSAGE.

LIKE, HEY, IF YOU WANNA KEEP GETTING NOTICES.

[01:05:01]

YEAH, I THINK THEY'RE REALLY USEFUL TOO, TO GET THE TEXT MESSAGES.

AND I WAS WONDERING IF THEY'RE LIKE, WHAT THE LIMITATIONS ARE, BECAUSE I, I GET THE EMERGENCY ONES FROM AUSTIN, AND TO ME IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF, SINCE THOSE ARE GOING OUT TO PROBABLY A TON OF PEOPLE THAT HAD THAT INFORMATION AS WELL, BUT I WASN'T SURE WHAT THE LIMITATIONS ARE FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT AND INCLUDING INFORMATION ON THAT.

WE, WE CAN CERTAINLY ADD THE OPT-IN, UM, MESSAGING TO THOSE BRIEFINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AND THE MESSAGING THAT WE'RE GETTING OUT ALREADY, WE CAN CERTAINLY UPDATE.

THAT SOUNDS SO SHORT OF AN AMBER ALERT.

, WE WANT, WE WANNA KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, I GUESS, SO THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS IS THE NEXT, UH, ITEM, I'M SORRY.

OH, I'M MELISSA.

GOSH.

YEAH, I WAS LOOKING AT THIS, BUT SOLICITATIONS LIST, AND I DON'T SEE ANY SOLICITATION FOR MATTRESS RECYCLING.

AND I KNOW AT ONE TIME THAT WAS UNDER DEVELOPMENT OR NEGOTIATIONS FOR A WHILE, BUT IT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT POTENTIAL CONTRACTOR HAS CEASED NEGOTIATIONS OR WHAT THE STATUS IS.

WE HAD JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT, RICHARD.

UM, YEAH, ON THE MATTRESS CONTRACT, LITERALLY THE DAY BEFORE THE STORM HIT, WE HAD A MEETING SCHEDULED TO DISCUSS THE SCOPE OF WORK.

SO WE HAVE THE SCOPE OF WORK WRITTEN AND WE WERE ABOUT TO GO OVER IT, AND THEN THE STORM HIT.

SO ALL OF OUR ATTENTION HAS BEEN DRAWN TO THAT.

SO, UM, I THINK WE HAD THE MEETING, I THINK WE RESCHEDULED FOR EARLY MARCH.

UM, SO WE WILL HAVE THAT GOING HERE SHORTLY.

UM, BUT WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THE, THAT, THE SCOPE OF WORK AND, UM, WE DID HEAR THAT THERE ARE, UH, AS A PROGRAM, UM, I BELIEVE IN SAM MARCUS MM-HMM.

, UH, WHERE THEY ARE DOING SOME MATTRESS REC, UH, RECYCLING.

SO WE WERE GONNA ALSO GET SOME INFORMATION ON THAT PROGRAM TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.

BUT IT IS COMING AND WE, UH, WE DO WANT TO GET IT OUT THE, OUT THE DOOR.

THANK YOU, MELISSA, FOR THE REMINDER.

THANK YOU, RICHARD.

AGENDA ITEMS. I, AGAIN, THE, AGAIN, THIS BE THE WILL OF THE COMMISSION.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS ON THIS MEETING'S? UH, AGENDA.

ALL RIGHT, GUYS.

UH, FUTURE

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

I WOULD LOVE TO FOCUS ON THE AGENDA AT OUR MARCH.

I MEAN, I'M SORRY, ON THE BUDGET AT OUR MARCH MEETING IF, IF POSSIBLE, I'M SURE THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF ITEMS, CONCERNS, DISCUSSIONS THAT, THAT POP UP WITH THIS BUDGET.

AND, UH, IF THAT'D BE THE WILL, WE CAN FOCUS ON THAT, ON THAT ITEM SOLELY.

SO IF THERE'S TIME, I KNOW IT, IT WOULD BE VERY BOTTOM.

UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, UM, ABOUT VIOLET BAG AND VIOLET CART.

COMMISSIONER, YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTS.

, IF WE COULD EVEN IF IT'S A BRIEF UPDATE, IF WE HAVE TIME AT THE END OF THE AGENDA, IF NOT, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTOOD IF THAT GETS PUSHED BACK TO APRIL.

THANK YOU, AMANDA.

AND THAT CAN BE, UH, .

UM, I'VE JUST BEEN WONDERING ABOUT THE MASTER PLAN UPDATE.

IT FEELS LIKE IT'S BEEN IN PROGRESS FOR A LONG TIME.

UH, YEAH.

SO I, I WAS KIND OF HOPING WE MIGHT GET AN UPDATE ON THAT OR, AND I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE.

YEAH, I DON'T KNOW.

NO, IN FACT, THAT IS SOMETHING WE DID DISCUSS THE MASTER PLAN UPDATE.

AND, UH, IN LIGHT OF, THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE A, A NICE LENGTHY PRESENTATION.

AND WE HAD TALKED ORIGINALLY ABOUT PUTTING THAT ON THE MARCH AGENDA, BUT AFTER DISCUSSING THE BUDGET, PERHAPS THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, SHOULD, SHOULD BE PRESENTED IN APRIL, WHERE WE CAN THOROUGHLY REVIEW IT AND, AND LOOK AT, UH, LOOK AT THE PRESENTATION AND PERHAPS HAVE, UH, ANY CONTRACTORS COME AND PRESENT THEIR THEIR FINDINGS TO US.

AND THAT, THAT'S MY 2 CENTS.

I KNOW YOU WANT TO GET THIS PROCESS BETTER ENOUGH.

I'LL BE HERE IN APRIL.

I THINK I'LL PROBABLY BE HERE IN REFERENCE.

YOU WILL BE HERE, BUT THAT'S JUST MY BIAS.

YOU WILL BE, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE CAN PUT THAT ON THERE.

SO ADD THAT ON THERE.

EVERYBODY MOVES ADJOURNMENT.

COMMISSIONERS.

HEARING NO OTHER ITEMS ON, UH, THE MARCH AGENDA, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.

MOTION AJOUR.

ADJOURNMENT.

SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS PLEASE.

COMMISSIONERS, STAFF.