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MY NAME IS NEHEMIAH PIT THE THIRD, UH, AND I'M THE CHAIR OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[CALL TO ORDER]
CALLING TO ORDER OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING TODAY, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH, 2022, DOWNTOWN AT CITY HALL IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.ROOM NUMBER 11 0 1 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET.
SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ARE PARTICIPATING ONLINE, AND THEY CAN BE VIEWED ONLINE AT HTTP SLASH SLASH WWW.AUSTINTEXAS.GOV/PAGE/WATCH-AXN.
WE'LL BEGIN WITH THE ROLL CALL.
AS I MENTIONED, I'M THE CHAIR AND I ARE LEFT AROUND, AND THEN I'LL CALL FOR PEOPLE ONLINE.
THIS IS COMMISSIONER GARZA WITH DISTRICT FOUR VICE CHAIR APP DACA.
REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO IS PRESENT.
NICOLE THOMPSON, DISTRICT NINE.
COMMISSIONER MALCOLM YATES, DISTRICT THREE AND COMMISSIONER ISLAND.
WE ARE CALLED TO ORDER AND OUR QUORUM IS FULLY PRESENT.
CHAIRMANS, YOU MISSED MISLEAD.
THIS IS COMMISSIONER SUMIT, DISTRICT 10 PRESENT.
WE ARE FULLY REPRESENTED HERE.
WITH THAT THEN WE'LL PROCEED ON OUR AGENDA TWO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
AND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, NO ONE IS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, SO WE'LL
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
PROCEED TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM HERE, THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES.Y'ALL HAVE IN YOUR PACKETS IN FRONT OF YOU OR ONLINE IN THE MEETING INVITATION.
HOLD THE ADMITTANCE, UH, THAT FROM OUR JANUARY 11TH MEETING.
SO AFTER A BRIEF REVIEW, I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO A MOTION TO APPROVE AND A SECOND I MOTION TO APPROVE.
WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER GARZA, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SUPTA.
WITH THAT, WE CAN HOLD THE VOTE.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES THAT'S PRESENTED.
ANYONE OPPOSED? AND ANYONE UPSTANDING? GREAT.
WE'RE UNANIMOUS IN OUR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
UH, THAT WITH A VOTE OF FOUR, NO, FOUR LINE AND FOUR IN PERSON, MAKING IT FOR EIGHT IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
ZERO OPPOSED AND ZERO ABSTAINING.
AND WE CAN PROCEED THEN IN OUR AGENDA NOW TO STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS.
[2. Presentation on internet access research being done by Travis County and Austin (Chloe Mun, Reyda Taylor, Jesse Rodriguez)]
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, WE'RE DELIGHTED TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ON INTERNET ACCESS RESEARCH DONE BY TRAVIS COUNTY AND AUSTIN, PRESENTED BY CHLOE MOON AND DR.AND JESSE ROGER GUEST, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I CAN'T SEE JESSE, SO I DON'T KNOW, JESSE, IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO SAY TO BEFORE WE START.
I'M ON THE SIDE, UH, CAREFULLY LOCATED
I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY OTHER THAN, UH, WE WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP WITH TRAVIS COUNTY ON THIS RESEARCH EFFORT.
AND, UM, AND I, I THINK RITA HAS A LOT OF, UH, SLIDES THAT KIND OF PLAY OUT WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.
UM, AND I'LL BE HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS, UH, AND ANY SUPPORT THAT YOU MIGHT NEED.
RITA, AND AM I ABLE TO TRANSITION THESE SLIDES OR ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT? UH, WE'LL, WE'LL TRANSITION ON OUR END.
IS THERE ANY WAY YOU COULD PULL UP THE, UM, DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX SO WE COULD SHOW THAT AS WELL, OR I COULD SCREEN SHARE IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ENABLE A SCREEN SHARE ON YOUR END AS WELL.
AND BRAD UP, UH, WE CAN SHOW THE SLIDES.
AND, HI RAY, WOULD YOU PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO, IT'S TO HOLD QUESTIONS OR TO INTERACT DURING THE, THE PRESENTATION? OH, I, UH, WHAT WOULD Y'ALL PREFER? UM, I'M TOTALLY GAME EITHER WAY.
WELL, WE DO HAVE A PRETTY TIGHT AGENDA.
AND SO COMBINED WITH PRESENTATION
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AND QUESTION ANSWER, WE WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU ABOUT 25, 20 MINUTES, UH, EXCUSE ME, 15 FOR THE PRESENTATION.SO WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY JUST TO PRESENT OR YOU, I'LL ASK QUESTIONS.
IT'S EITHER, IT'S WHATEVER'S THE NORMAN PREFERENCE FOR THE GROUP.
UH, WELL AGAIN, IF YOU CAN MAINTAIN YOUR FLOW, THEN UH, IF WE CAN INTERACT DURING, UH, THAT'LL BE FINE.
I'LL JUST ASK ALL COMMISSIONERS TO PLEASE LET ME KNOW, UH, IF YOU'VE GOT A QUESTION AND ALLOW ME TO IDENTIFY YOU.
OTHERWISE, THANK YOU SO MUCH, RICK.
I'M GONNA START, SORRY, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND START SCREEN SHARING.
UM, WELL, IT'S TAKING A MINUTE TO, TO GET TO THE RIGHT WINDOW.
ALL RIGHT, I'M GONNA EXPAND A WINDOW SO IT'S A LITTLE EASIER.
HOPEFULLY Y'ALL CAN SEE THAT I SEE ON YOUR SCREEN IN THE DISTANCE THAT YOU CAN SEE.
UM, WELL IT'S NOT QUITE GONNA BE AS EASY TO TRANSITION BETWEEN SLIDES AND THE INDEX, BUT I'M JUST GONNA GO AHEAD AND START.
SO AGAIN, UM, RITA TAYLOR, KOY MOON, MY COLLEAGUE IS, UH, NOT ABLE TO JOIN ME TODAY, UM, FOR, FOR THIS CONVERSATION.
BUT, UM, I'M THE FUSE CORE EXECUTIVE FELLOW SUPPORTING THE TRAVIS COUNTY OFFICE OF BROADBAND AND DIGITAL EQUITY.
AND WE REALLY JUST WANNA KIND OF SHARE WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO.
I KNOW MANY OF YOU HEARD, UM, A, UH, A FEW TIMES ABOUT THE PROJECT.
WE'RE WORKING ON THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, AND, UH, WE'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
WE WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHAT WE'RE UP TO.
SO, UH, JUST SCROLLING DOWN, I JUST HAVE A FEW SLIDES AND THEN I'M GONNA ACTUALLY SCREEN SHARE A TOOL WE'VE BEEN USING A LOT.
SO THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS A YEAR LONG PLUS PROJECT.
ESSENTIALLY IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, WE'VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME ANALYZING PUBLIC DATA, UM, REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UH, DIGITAL INEQUITIES IN OUR COUNTY AND 10 COUNTY REGION BASED ON PUBLIC ACCESSIBLE DATA.
SO THAT MEANS A LOT OF DATA FROM THE, UM, CENSUS FROM THE, THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY SPECIFICALLY.
UM, A LOT OF DATA FROM, UM, I'LL SHOW YOU IN A MINUTE, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX FROM, UM, MICROSOFT AIR BANDS DATA, UM, AND A FEW OTHER SOURCES.
JUST REALLY TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT INFORMATION IS OUT THERE TO HELP US UNDERSTAND, UM, DIGITAL ACCESS CHALLENGES AND DIGITAL EQUITY IN OUR REGION.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT DIFFERENT ZIP CODES AND CENSUS TRACKS AND LOOKING AT LOTS OF DIFFERENT FACTORS IN THE 2020 DATA AND 2021 DATA.
CAUSE THAT'S NEWLY RELEASED TRYING TO, UM, JUST SEE HOW THINGS MIGHT BE CHANGING, UM, SEE BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT PART OF OUR COUNTIES OR, UM, HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF INEQUITIES WHEN IT COMES TO DIGITAL ACCESS.
AND THEN ALSO, OF COURSE, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE PUBLIC, UM, MAPS THAT HAVE COME OUT FROM THE FCC AND THE TEXAS BDO, THE BROADBAND DIGITAL, DIGITAL, UM, ACCESS OFFICE.
SO WE'RE REALLY JUST TRYING TO GET A BETTER SENSE FROM THOSE SOURCES.
AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO, WE ARE MOVING INTO US COLLECTING DATA AND IN THE, AT THIS MOMENT, WE'RE WORKING ON A SURVEY.
SO WE ARE, UM, COLLABORATING WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, CONSTABLE MORALES'S OUTREACH TEAM.
AND THAT'S, UH, DISTRICT FOUR OR PRECINCT FOUR.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, GO DOOR TO DOOR AND TO COMMUNITY EVENTS AND COMMUNITY LOCATIONS LIKE GROCERY STORES OR RESOURCE FAIRS AND, UM, IN PERSON DO INTERVIEWS.
NOW, OUR OUTREACH TEAM, THERE'S ABOUT SIX FOLKS.
THEY'RE USING TABLETS, SO IT'S A DIGITAL SURVEY THAT THEY'RE VERBALLY DELIVERING.
IN ADDITION TO THE SURVEY, THEN WE'RE PROVIDING RESOURCES, WHICH WE'LL SHARE A BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, A RESOURCE GUIDE THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED.
SO WE'RE IN THE SURVEY PROCESS NOW, AND THAT TEAM STARTED AT THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY AND WE'VE BEEN PILOTING A SURVEY FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE MOVING INTO ANOTHER PHASE WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE DOING MORE QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS AND THEN COMMUNITY CONVENINGS.
SO LEMME JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THE, THE TIME PERIOD WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW.
SO WE'RE IN PHASE TWO THREE AND MOVING INTO FOUR SOON.
SO PHASE TWO IS REALLY IDENTIFYING THE KEY ZIP CODES IN GEOGRAPHIC AREAS WE WANNA FOCUS ON, BECAUSE OUR PRIORITY IN THIS SURVEY IS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON IN, IN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY, BUT ALSO TO, UM, REALLY FOCUS ON AREAS WHERE WE KNOW THERE ARE, UM, MORE LIKELY TO BE FOLKS WHO HAVE DIGITAL ACCESS NEEDS, UM, AND CHALLENGES.
[00:10:01]
KEY FOCUS IS IN ZIP CODES AND CENSUS TRACKS THAT HAVE HIGHER, UM, RATES OF DIGITAL INEQUITIES.SO WE'VE BEEN USING A TOOL CALLED THE DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX, PRODUCED BY ROBERTO GALLARDO AT, UM, PURDUE UNIVERSITY AND AN EXTENSION THERE.
AND HE'S BEEN BUILDING THIS INDEX FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW.
WE USE THE 2020 DATA TO IDENTIFY WHERE WE'RE GOING, BUT JUST RECENTLY, LAST FEW WEEKS, HE'S PRODUCED THE 2021 DATA.
UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE USING THAT TO EXPAND OUR FOCUS A BIT BECAUSE IN THE 2021 DATA, WHICH I WILL SHOW HERE, UM, AND WE CAN DROP THE LINK FOR Y'ALL OR SEND AN EMAIL WITH THAT AS WELL.
UM, BUT THE DARK BLUE ARE CENSUS TRACKS WITH HIGH SCORING DIGITAL PROVIDES INDEX SCORES.
AND SO OUR PRIORITY IS TO DO, UM, SURVEY WORK IN THOSE AREAS AND NOT ONLY DOOR-TO-DOOR WHERE WE CAN, BUT ALSO DOING THEM AT EVENTS WHERE WE KNOW FOLKS, UM, LIKE EVENTS IN THOSE AREAS.
SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE EAST I 35 CRESCENT, UM, AS WELL AS THE FAR, UM, WEST IN LIKE MARBLE FALLS, LAGO VISTA AREA IS HAVING HIGH, UM, HIGH DIGITAL DIVIDE CENSUS TRACKS.
SO, AND THEN DOWN INTO THE, UH, SOUTHEAST WITH CREEDMORE MUSTANG RIDGE AREA.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING OUR WORK IN THESE AREAS ACROSS THE COUNTY.
UM, AND AGAIN, THE TEAM IS WORKING ON THAT EVERY DAY.
AND WE'VE BEEN PILOTING A SURVEY FOR THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, AND WE'RE IN KIND OF ITERATION 4.1.
WE'RE HOPING TO FINALIZE, UM, TODAY OR TOMORROW SO THAT WE CAN START A BROADER DATA COLLECTION, SCALING THAT OUT.
SO WHAT DOES THAT KIND OF LOOK LIKE? WELL, WE HAVE A RESOURCE GUIDE THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT.
SO THIS SURVEY IS OF COURSE, DIGITAL.
UM, AND THEY'RE READING THE SURVEY.
WE'RE GONNA TRANSLATE IT INTO SPANISH AS WELL.
AND, UM, IT'S, IT GOES DOWN TWO DIFFERENT PATHS.
ONE PATH FOR FOLKS WHO IDENTIFY AS HAVING INTERNET AT HOME AND ANOTHER FOR FOLKS WHO DO NOT HAVE INTERNET AT HOME, TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE BARRIERS TO THAT.
AND SO THE THREAD FOR EACH SURVEY IS REALLY TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, HOW, AND NOT HAVING INTERNET OR HAVING, UM, DISRUPTION INTERNET HAS AFFECTED THEM.
AND SO WE JUST HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT QUESTIONS.
AND THEN, UM, AS FOLKS TAKE THAT SURVEY, THEY MAY INDICATE THAT, UM, THEY'LL BE INTERESTED IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, LIKE DIGITAL SKILLS SUPPORT OR, UM, THEY MIGHT BE INTERESTED OR HAVING ISSUES AROUND AFFORDABILITY.
SO THE OUTREACH TEAM ALSO HAS A RESOURCE GUIDE THAT THEY CAN SHARE WITH FOLKS THAT, UM, HIGHLIGHTS, THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET A FREE DEVICE.
THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING.
UM, HERE'S HOW WE CAN HELP YOU GET SET UP WITH ACP.
AND SO THAT'S THE, THE OUTREACH TEAM HAS BEEN TRAINED ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
TODAY THEY TOOK A TRAINING, UM, WITH THE F ECC ON, UM, A C P SIGNUP PROCESS.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE LEARNING ALL OF THAT TO ALSO BE ABLE TO SHARE RESOURCES.
WE DON'T WANT THIS SURVEY TO JUST BE AN EXTRACTIVE PROCESS.
WE WANT IT TO BE, UM, ONE WHERE WE'RE WORKING WITH FOLKS AND HELPING FOLKS AND BY PROVIDING RESOURCES AS WELL.
SO WE'VE GOT THE SURVEY THAT'S OUT RIGHT NOW AND WE'RE WRAPPING UP THE FINAL ITERATION OF IT.
AND THEN, AND THE OUTREACH TEAM HAS A STRATEGY FOR HOW TO REACH THESE DIFFERENT CENSUS TRACKS AND AREAS.
AND THEN, UM, THE NEXT STEP IS IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE WHAT WE'RE CALLING ADVISORY WORKSHOPS WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A VIRTUAL WORKSHOP AND AN IN-PERSON WORKSHOP.
AND WE'RE HOPING THAT FOLKS WHO HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE WITH DIGITAL, UM, AND EQUITIES WILL PARTICIPATE IN THOSE WORKSHOPS AND BE ABLE TO, UM, PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE REST OF OUR PROJECT, WHICH WILL INCLUDE FOCUS GROUPS AND, UM, CO INTERPRETATION CONVENINGS, WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE BACK THE DATA FROM THE SURVEY TO THE COMMUNITY AND FOLKS WILL HELP INTERPRET THAT DATA AND THEN ALSO HELP CREATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO ALL OF THESE PIECES KIND OF FLOW TOGETHER AND WE'LL HAVE IT MORE ADVISORY WORKSHOPS AS WELL, UM, ONCE WE GET TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE SHORT SUMMARY OF THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE IN.
UM, AND THE TIMELINE, AND I'LL GO BACK TO THAT TIMELINE REALLY QUICK.
UM, WE'RE HOP HOPING TO HAVE IT ALL COMPLETED BY.
DID YOU SAY FOLLOW? YOU COULD ASK QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU SAID ABOUT THIS, UH, SURVEY, IT'S EITHER SOFT COPY OR HARD COPY.
HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT FINDING OUT WHO THEY ARE? BECAUSE IF THEY DO NOT HAVE ELECTRONIC MEANS, YOU NEED TO GO AND GIVE THEM THE HARD COPY.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE TO GIVE WHAT? WE AREN'T GIVING ANYONE A HARD COPY.
NO ONE'S TAKING IT DIRT DIGITALLY EITHER.
THE OUTREACH TEAM IS VERBALLY TALKING TO SOMEONE IN PERSON AND ASKING THEM THE QUESTIONS AND THE, THE, THE OUTREACH TEAM MEMBER IS PUTTING THE ANSWERS INTO A DIGITAL VERSION OF THE SURVEY, BUT THE PARTICIPANT DOESN'T SEE THAT.
IT'S FOR THE OUTREACH TEAM MEMBER ONLY WHO'S USING IT TO HELP GUIDE THEM THROUGH THE QUESTIONS AND THEN SUBMIT IT.
AND WE'RE NOT COLLECTING IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION, SO WE'RE NOT COLLECTING
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ADDRESS OR NAME OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.IT'S ANONYMOUS AND IT'S VOLUNTARY.
NOW I WILL SAY THE ADVISORY WORKSHOPS AND THE FOCUS GROUPS WILL BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE THEY'RE GROUP ACTIVITIES, BUT THOSE WILL BE PAID.
SO WE ANTICIPATE THERE'LL BE ABOUT TWO HOURS EACH.
AND FOR THOSE WHO, UM, UH, CAN OPT IN TO PAYMENT, IT'LL BE $50 FOR THE FULL TWO HOURS.
YOU HAVE TO PARTICIPATE FOR THE FULL TWO HOURS.
BUT, AND THE ONE IS GONNA BE VIRTUAL AND THE OTHER ONE WILL MOST LIKELY BE AT TERRAS.
AND, AND AS YOU GO ABOUT THIS, UH, SURVEY, ARE YOU COVERING ALL OF TRAVIS COUNTY, INCLUDING AUSTIN OR EXCLUDING AUSTIN? NO, WE'RE INCLUDING, UM, THE KEY ZIP CODES AND CENSUS TRACKS WHERE WE KNOW THERE'S HIGH DIGITAL DIVIDE.
UM, SO THESE DARK BLUE AREAS, UM, SO THIS IS TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE 2020 DATA IDENTIFIED 10 CENSUS TRACKS THAT WERE HOT QUOTE UNQUOTE HIGH DIGITAL DIVIDE, WHICH, UM, THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT CAN GO INTO THAT.
UM, BUT UM, WE WERE FOCUSING ON THOSE.
BUT THE 2021 DATA IS MUCH, UM, PROBABLY A LITTLE MORE, UH, ROBUST BECAUSE IT'S MOSTLY FROM THE CENSUS.
AND SO WE KNOW THE DATA FROM 2021 WAS A LITTLE BETTER, MOST LIKELY.
SO THAT IS ACTUALLY EXPANDED THE NUMBER OF CENSUS TRACKS THAT ARE, UM, RATED AS HIGH, HAVING HIGH DIGITAL DIVIDE.
AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA BE EXPANDING, UM, INTO THOSE ZIP CODES AND CENSUS TRACKS FOR THAT.
AND THE GOAL IS TO BE IN PERSON IN ALL OF THOSE AREAS.
SO WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT CUZ WE HAVE THE OUTREACH TEAM ABLE TO WORK ON THE SURVEY, ACTUALLY DELIVERING THE SURVEY UNTIL THE END OF APRIL.
BUT A LOT OF THIS TAKES RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND TRUST BUILDING TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT THE SURVEY TOO.
SO, UM, WE AREN'T SURE YET WHAT THE, UM, ACTUAL SAMPLE SIZE WILL BE AT THE END.
AND THIS IS A VERY DEEP PROCESS.
SO WE'RE FOCUSING A LOT, UM, ON RELIABILITY BY, UH, KEEPING UP WITH, UH, THE DEMOGRAPHICS FOR FOLKS WHO ARE RESPONDING TO THE QUESTIONS, UM, WITH THE GOAL OF TRYING TO REACH FOLKS WHO ARE OFTEN EXCLUDED IN THIS TYPE OF OF CONVERSATION.
THOSE QUESTIONS AND, AND THAT, THOSE THAT ANSWER.
RITA, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, I HAVE A QUESTION AND I DON'T KNOW WHEN WE COULD, UH, DO THIS.
SO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM IN THAT YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO DOESN'T HAVE INTERNET, BUT YOU CAN'T USE THE INTERNET TO DO THE SURVEY.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA THAT YOU COULD USE TO ESTIMATE, UM, THE, UH, THE DISTRIBUTION OF INTERNET IN A COMMUNITY SUCH AS, UH, POLE ATTACHMENTS.
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT IS, UH, PUBLICLY A DA AVAILABLE DATA FROM LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY OR BLUE BONNET OR UM, UH, WHATEVER PROVIDER IS OUT THERE THAT'S GOT TELEPHONE POLE? YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF DATA, UM, ACCESSIBLE AT LEAST.
SO REALLY THE BEST ESTIMATES WE HAVE ACCESS TO THAT'S PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IS FROM THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY.
UM, AND ACTUALLY I THINK GERARDO'S, UM, DATA TRIES TO PULL UP THIS AS WELL.
SO I'M ACTUALLY PULLING UP 2021 AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, UH, DATA THAT'S LOOKING AT IT BY CENSUS TRACT FOR THOSE WHO, UM, IN THE, IN THE CENSUS RESPONSE IN THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY SAY THEY DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.
SO, UM, THIS DOESN'T SO MEAN THEY, UM, THIS JUST MEANS THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS SOMEWHERE.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION AT HOME, THEY JUST SAY THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS.
RIGHT? I THINK WE HAD A PRESENTATION FROM THE AMERICAN, UH, COMMUNITY SURVEY, AND GENERALLY YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE SOME KIND OF INTERNET IN ORDER TO DO THAT SURVEY.
SO, UM, UH, A LITTLE BIT, UH, MISLEADING THERE.
SO I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW WE COULD COME UP WITH OTHER PUBLIC INFORMATION THAT, UH, THAT COULD GIVE US THE, UH, THE EXTENT OF THE, UH, INTERNET IN A COMMUNITY.
YEAH, AND IN OUR SURVEY WE'RE ASKING, UM, FOLKS IF THEY HAVE IT AT HOME, BUT THEN WE'RE ALSO ASKING WHERE ELSE THEY GET ACCESS TO IT.
SO IS IT A LIBRARY, IS IT WORK? UM, AND SOMETIMES FOLKS INDICATE MOBILE EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY NOT SAY THEY HAVE, SOME HAVE INTERNET AT HOME, UM, BUT THERE WILL BE A FEW P FOLKS IN THIS SAMPLE WHO SAY THEY DON'T ACCESS IT AT ALL.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL GET A LARGE ENOUGH SAMPLE TO, UH, BE ABLE TO MAKE MANY GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT THAT, BUT, UM, HOPEFULLY THAT WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND.
AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A SURVEY ACROSS THE ENTIRETY OF TRAVIS COUNTY.
WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS IN ON CENSUS TRACKS WHERE WE KNOW THERE ARE, UM, UH, LONG RECORDS
[00:20:01]
OF INEQUITY IN THOSE AREAS AND DIGITAL ACCESS AND EQUITY IN THOSE AREAS.UH, IT RELATES TO BOTH EARLIER QUESTIONS, BUT IT SENDS AROUND THE, UH, THE DATA COLLECTION PROCESS AND, UH, THE, THE GOAL OF COURSE AND HOW IMPORTANT IT'S TO, YOU KNOW, REMAIN MAINTAIN ANONYMITY FOR THE PARTICIPANTS.
UH, WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR, UH, FOR DETERMINING WHEN AND HOW MANY TO SURVEY ON A PARTICULAR DAY? UM, I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS WHAT THE, WHAT THE CANVAS AND PROCESS WILL BE IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA ACTUALLY GO BY ADDRESS AND, AND, AND KIND OF CHECK OFF NAMES.
YEAH, SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ON THAT ONE.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES TO THAT, UH, FOR LOTS OF DIFFERENT REASONS.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS MADE ESTIMATES FOR, UM, SAMPLE SIZE BASED ON CENSUS TRACT HOUSEHOLD POPULATION, AND IN THE POPULATION IN GENERAL AND HOW MANY WE WOULD WANT TO REACH IN THAT CENSUS TRACK.
AS WE'VE GOTTEN OUT AND STARTED DOING THIS DATA COLLECTION AND AS NEW 2021 DATA HAS COME OUT, WE'RE RETHINKING OUR SAMPLING STRATEGY ON THE GEOGRAPHIC FRONT.
SO, UM, WHAT WE MAY END UP DOING IS SHIFTING OUR SAMPLING STRATEGY TO BE, UM, BOTH GEOGRAPHICALLY FOCUSED, BUT ALSO OUR PRIORITY IS TO, UM, MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING INCLUSIVE OF FOLKS WHO ARE HISTORICALLY AND SYSTEMICALLY MARGINALIZED, UM, UH, FROM A LOT OF RESOURCES.
AND, UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING OVERREPRESENTED OF SOME GROUPS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, FOCUSING ON THAT IN OUR SAMPLE STRATEGY, WHICH WE'RE STILL BUILDING OUT.
BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING IN MOST OF THE CENSUS TRACKS, UM, THE SAMPLE SIZE IS GONNA VARY QUITE A BIT BECAUSE OF THE POPULATION DIFFERENCES IN THOSE CENSUS TRACKS.
THE OTHER THING WE'RE HAVING TO THINK ABOUT IS SAMPLE, UM, BASED ON THE TYPE OF HOME SOMEONE MIGHT LIVE IN.
UM, SO WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT ARE KIND OF INFLUENCING OUR OVERALL SAMPLE STRATEGY.
AND PART OF THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE ITERATIVELY CHANGE BASED ON THE NUMBERS WE RECEIVE EVERY WEEK, UM, INDICATING WHO HAS TAKEN THE SURVEY BASED ON THE DEMOGRAPHIC RESPONSES AND THE ZIP CODE COVERAGE.
I KNOW THAT, UH, THERE'S CERTAINLY INTENTIONALITY BEHIND THE ANONYMITY AGAIN, I GET THAT.
UH, AND CONVERSELY, WHAT IF PEOPLE WANT THEIR SE SURVEY RESULTS OR WANT TO BE ABLE TO VALIDATE WHAT'S BEEN ENTERED? THAT'S A HARD THAT WE DON'T HAVE, SINCE WE ARE NOT COLLECTING ANYTHING IDENTIFIABLE, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO A SURVEY AND, UM, SAY THIS PERSON SAID THIS, NOR WILL WE BE ABLE TO THEN REMOVE THEM FROM THE SAMPLE OR CHANGE ANYTHING IF THEY WANT TO CHANGE THEIR ENTRIES.
WE'RE AIRING VERY MUCH ON THE SIDE OF AN ANONYMITY FOR THIS, UM, FOR A LOT OF REASONS.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, JUST BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR FOLKS WHO'VE DONE SURVEYS, UH, THEY'RE COLLECTING ADDRESSES, UM, AND ANYTHING IDENTIFIABLE CAN BE VERY CONCERNING FOR SOME FOLKS TO INCLUDE IN DATA.
UM, AND SO WE'RE TRYING VERY HARD TO MAKE THIS MORE VERY ACCESSIBLE, UM, BUT ALSO VERY FOCUSED IN THAT, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE IN WHO GETS TO, TO, OR WHO PARTICIPATES.
WE'RE NOT EXCLUDING ANYONE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, FOCUS OUR RESOURCES ON MAKING SURE IT'S INCLUSIVE GROUPS THAT ARE OFTEN NOT INCLUDED.
SO, A FEW THOUGHTS, I'LL PASS IT TO OTHERS ON THAT.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, THAT RESPONSE BECAUSE YOU, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH, UH, WITH TRAVIS COUNTY ON THE 2020 CENSUS AND WITH THE, THE FOCUS ON CENSUS TRACKS AND, UH, UNDERSTANDING HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR DATA COLLECTIONS TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, KNOW YOUR MOVING SYSTEMATICALLY THROUGHOUT A, AN AFFECTED AREA, ONE THAT YOU WANNA TARGET ON, IT DOES CREATE A UNIQUE CHALLENGE WHEN YOU ALSO THEN HAVE TO, UH, RELY UPON SOME METHOD WITHOUT HAVING THAT TO, TO KNOW WHO YOU'RE ACTUALLY CONFIRMING, UH, CAN SHARE YOUR OPINION.
SO, UH, I, I APPLAUD THE EFFORT AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING HOW THAT STRATEGY UNFOLDS AND DEVELOPS FURTHER.
UH, QUESTION, UH, JUST ONE MOMENT, PLEASE.
UH, PLEASE LET ME IDENTIFY ANYONE BEFORE THEY ASK A QUESTION.
UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA HAS A QUESTION IN THE ROOM.
I THINK IT'S MORE OF A COMMENT JUST THINKING, SORRY, UH, THANKING THIS TEAM, DR.
TAYLOR AND YOUR TEAMMATES AND THE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BEHIND, UH, THIS PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, YOU DID COME TO PRESENT TO US AND YOU DID GET TO SPEAK TO ME, UM, UPSIDE LIKE PRIVATELY BECAUSE OF MY WORK.
AND SO I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMITMENT TO DO TRUST BASED
[00:25:01]
DATA COLLECTING THAT IS ANONYMIZED AND THAT IS VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW CERTAIN COMMUNITIES WHO ALREADY DON'T HAVE INTERNET FOR MAYBE FOR A REASON ARE ALSO VERY HESITANT TO GIVE THAT INFORMATION.AND I ALSO APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHT BEHIND MAKING SURE THAT THEN YOU GO BACK TO THOSE FOLKS AND REPORT BACK THEIR RESULTS.
UH, AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU IS MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THE WORK THAT THEY DO ACTUALLY CREATED RESULTS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ON THE RECORD.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR LISTENING TO COMMUNITY LEADERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHEN YOU'RE, AS YOU WERE THINKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSION, GARZA.
UH, COULDN'T AGREE WITH ALL OF THAT MORE.
UH, AND WE'LL GO TO VICE CHAIR ABBA DACA IN THE ROOM FIRST, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER NACU.
I KNOW WE'VE, UM, WE, WE'VE SPOKEN OFFLINE, UH, SEVERAL OF US HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE INPUT TO THE SURVEY.
UH, I DID HAVE A FEW OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS.
HOW, WHAT'S THE SIZE OF THE OUTREACH TEAM THAT'S GONNA BE ON STAFF? ABOUT SIX FOLKS? UM, SO ANY GIVEN DATA, NOT EVERYONE'S OUT, UM, ACTUALLY COLLECTING DATA IN THE WEATHER, OF COURSE HAS, HAS AFFECTED THINGS PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, FOR THIS WEEK, BUT, AND LAST WEEK.
UM, BUT IT'S ABOUT SIX INDIVIDUALS, UM, PROBABLY MORE LIKE FIVE EACH DAY THAT ARE ABLE TO COLLECT, UM, DATA.
UH, MY NEXT QUESTION, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAD SPOKEN ABOUT SOME OF THESE TOPICS SEPARATELY, I MAY HAVE FAILED TO MENTION, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERHAPS ENGAGE WITH NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COMMITTEES.
I KNOW COMMISSIONER YATES IS PRETTY ACTIVE ON ONE OF THEM, SO HE MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME INPUT ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERHAPS, PERHAPS ENGAGE WITH, UH, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE TARGET AREAS.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS ADDED FOR CONSIDERATION.
UM, ALSO WAS, UH, I THINK FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMISSION, IT MIGHT BE GREAT IF YOU COULD TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THE SURVEY.
WHAT PARTICULARLY WAS INTERESTING TO ME WAS HOW THE SURVEY BRANCHES OUT AND IS, UH, REALLY GIVES, GIVES A CUSTOMIZED FEEL TO, UM, PARTICIPANTS BEING, BEING ASKED THESE QUESTIONS.
YEAH, AND I CAN PULL UP THE DRAFT THAT WE HAVE NOW AND, AND, UM, I KNOW THAT THIS CALL MAY NOT BE THE APPROPRIATE TIME, BUT I WANNA, UM, MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW THAT WE ARE CLOSE TO THE FINAL VERSION, BUT WE ARE STILL SEEKING FEEDBACK.
SO IF OTHER FOLKS UM, WANT TO GET THAT KIND OF FEEDBACK, UM, I'LL DROP MY, OR IF SOMEONE CAN SHARE MY EMAIL ADDRESS, UM, WE'LL HAP HAPPILY TAKE THAT OR EVEN HAVE A CONVERSATION IF WE CAN.
SO LET ME SHOW YOU THE SURVEY AND JUST TO WHICH PREPARE YOU, UH, RAY, UH, WE, WE DO, UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, WE'LL PRESS FOR TIME.
UH, SO WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE TIME FOR THIS, BUT JUST WE COULD TRY TO BE SUCCINCT, UH, AND THEN WE'LL ASK ONE MORE QUESTION AND THEN WE'LL PROBABLY END UP TRANSITIONING.
UM, LET ME GET TO THE BEGINNING OF THE SURVEY SO I CAN SHOW YOU THE PATHWAY.
SO WE HAVE JUST KIND OF, UM, SURVEY, I WAS GONNA ASK A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UH, HELLO, COMMISSIONER SUPTA, UH, I WAS GONNA ASK A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? COMMISSIONER SUPTA? OKAY, SO COMMISSIONER SUPTA, CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? UM, YES, I CAN HEAR YOU.
UH, SO JUST TO CLARIFY, WE'RE WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF GETTING A RESPONSE TO COMMISSIONER A DACA'S A REQUEST HERE.
I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, BUT WE'LL CLOSE OUT, WE'LL CLOSE OUT WITH YOUR LAST QUESTION, UH, AFTER THIS, THIS PROCESS.
UM, OH, SO WE JUST HAVE KIND OF A, UM, OPENING QUESTIONS FOR THE OUTREACH TEAM ON, UM, WHEN THEY'RE TALKING IN PERSON OR, UM, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO PHONE, BUT PROBABLY NOT.
WE'RE MOSTLY TRYING TO FOCUS ON IN-PERSON INTERVIEW STYLE, UM, SURVEYS, WHICH MEANS WE GET A LOT OF STORIES TOO.
AND UH, SO WE ASK LIKE, HOW WAS THE SURVEY CONDUCTED? WHICH, IS IT AT HOME OR WAS IT AN EVENT? UM, WHERE, WHAT ZIP CODE DOES A PERSON LIVE IN? UM, AND WHAT TYPE OF HOME? SO LIKE A MOBILE HOME APARTMENT, UM, UH, HOUSE, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN WE MOVE INTO A QUESTION THAT ACTUALLY SPLITS THE SURVEY.
SO YOU CAN GO DOWN ONE OF TWO PATHS.
THE FIRST ONE IS, DO YOU HAVE INTERNET HOME? YES, I DO.
SO THEN WE GO, DOES THE INTERNET HOME MEET YOUR NEEDS? YES OR NO? HOW DO YOU GET YOUR INTERNET WIRED, MOBILE DATA PLAN, MOBILE DATA PLAN HOTSPOT, OR IT'S OPPOSED TO A SMARTPHONE SATELLITE, I DON'T KNOW OR OTHER.
UM, AND THEN QUESTIONS ABOUT IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, HAVE YOU HAD LOSS OR DISRUPTION OF INTERNET AT HOME? AND IF SOMEONE SAYS YES, THEN THEY GET A, ANOTHER SET OF QUESTIONS AND SOME OF THESE ANSWERS MAY COME IN STORY FORMAT, SO THEN THE OUTREACH TEAM CAN KIND OF CONFIRM WHAT THEY'RE HEARING WITH THE PERSON THEY'RE TALKING TO, UM, ABOUT WHY DID YOU EXPERIENCE LOSS OR DISRUPTION OF INTERNET AT HOME, IF IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE AND THAT IT WAS UNRELIABLE SERVICE, IT JUST WASN'T WORTH IT KIND OF THING.
THEN UM, THEY MOVE INTO A QUESTION ABOUT HOW DO YOU GET INTERNET OUTSIDE THE
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HOME? UH, SO COMMUNITY CENTER, SENIOR CENTER, FAITH-BASED OR RELIGIOUS CENTER, UM, PUBLIC HOTSPOT RELATIVE OR FRIENDS HOME INTERNET, DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT.OR I JUST DON'T HAVE INTERNET AT ALL.
AND THEN, UM, IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, HAVE YOU DISRUPTION OF MOBILE INTERNET, SAME PROCESS, A FEW DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT THE, UM, OUTREACH TEAM CAN CODE.
AND THEN, UM, WHAT DEVICES DO YOU REGULARLY USE, UM, TO ACCESS THE INTERNET? AND THEN WE MOVE INTO THESE SERIES OF QUESTIONS, HAS YOUR ABILITY TO WORK BEEN IMPACTED BY LOSS OF INTERNET CONNECTIVITY OR DEVICES? AND YOU CAN SAY YES MANY TIMES, SOME, SOMETIMES NEVER, OR I DON'T USE THE INTERNET FOR THIS.
AND WE ASK THE SAME QUESTION FOR WORK FOR EDUCATION AND PEOPLE CAN IDENTIFY IF THEY HAVE STUDENTS IN THE HOME AND THEY GET AN EXTRA QUESTION, UM, ABOUT, UH, THE EFFECT ON THEIR EDUCATION, THEN HAS YOUR ABILITY TO USE TELEHEALTH BEEN IMPACTED? HAS YOUR ABILITY TO DO HOUSEHOLD TASKS BEEN IMPACTED SOCIAL MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT? AND WE ALSO ASK, UM, HAS YOUR ABILITY TO ENGAGE IN CIVIC ACTIVITIES BEEN IMPACTED AND GOVERNMENT RESOURCES AND SERVICES? AND THEN, UM, WE ASK FOLKS TO RATE THEIR TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SKILLS.
WE ASK, UM, IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN TECHNOLOGY SKILLS TRAINING AND IF THEY, UM, NEED ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TO USE THE INTERNET ON THEIR OWN.
AND THEN WE GO INTO A SERIES OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.
UM, ONE JUST KIND OF GENERALLY ABOUT IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE TRAVIS COUNTY OR CITY OF BOSTON CAN DO TO IMPROVE INTERNET? AND THEN AN OPEN QUESTION.
ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE SHOULD INCLUDE IN THIS SURVEY BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE FOLKS CAN INFLUENCE THE SURVEY ITSELF.
LIKE WE MAY ADD A QUESTION OVER TIME OR WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE SOME OF THIS AND TURN 'EM INTO FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS LATER, UM, IN THE PROCESS.
SO, UM, AND THEN I'M GONNA GO BACK TO THE, THE PREVIOUS PATH OF NOT HAVING INTERNET VERY QUICKLY.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS WHAT THE OUTREACH TEAM IS SEEING AND USING TO ASK THE QUESTIONS TAKES A LITTLE BIT TO GET BACK.
ALRIGHT, SO DO YOU GET INTERNET AT HOME? NO.
THEN THE PATH TAKES YOU TO WHAT IS A BARRIER FOR YOU TO GET INTERNET CHECK ALL THAT APPLY.
SO PRICE NOT AVAILABLE, POOR QUALITY OR SERVICE, A CREDIT CHECK OR DEPOSIT, LONG-TERM CONTRACTOR.
OTHER, WE KNOW A LOT OF STORIES ARE COMMITTED TO THIS.
SO WE HAVE ALWAYS HAVE NOTES SECTIONS THAT THE OUTREACH TEAM CAN, CAN DOCUMENT THINGS THEN OUTSIDE THE HOME, WHERE DO YOU ACC UM, REGULARLY ACCESS THE INTERNET? UM, AND THEN, BECAUSE A LOT OF FOLKS ARE SAYING MOBILE, WE DO GO AHEAD AND ASK A MOBILE QUESTION, UM, EVEN IF THEY SAY THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS AT HOME.
AND THEN INSTEAD OF THE QUESTIONS WE HAD IN THE, FOR, FOR FOLKS WHO DO HAVE INTERNET, IT'S, HAVE YOU BEEN TO COMPLETE WORK DUE TO LACK OF INTERNET ACCESS, UNABLE TO COMPLETE SCHOOLWORK DUE TO LACK OF INTERNET ACCESS AND UNABLE, UM, COMPLETE OR UNABLE TO ACCESS HEALTH SUPPORT OR SOCIAL SERVICES DUE TO LACK OF INTERNET ACCESS AND THEN ACCESS GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
UM, AND THEN ONTO THE SAME QUESTIONS WE SHOWED EARLIER.
NOW, UM, THE, AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA BE TRANSLATING THIS INTO SPANISH, SO THE OUTREACH TEAM HAS THE SAME, UM, KIND OF SCRIPT TO RUN FROM ALL OF THE OUTREACH TEAM MEMBERS ARE, UM, BILINGUAL IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH AND UM, ARE ALREADY OUT ABLE TO DO THIS.
BUT, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD FORMALLY TRANSLATED AS WELL.
EXCUSE ME, RITA, UH, JUST WANT TO CONFIRM HERE, UM, CUZ WE ARE PUSHING HERE FOR TIME.
UH, YOU, YOU MAY MENTION A PLANS FOR THE FINAL SURVEY, UH, WHICH WOULD BE ULTIMATELY WHAT OF COURSE THEY'LL BE USING.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE TO REVIEW WHAT THAT IS.
UH, WHEN WOULD THAT BE? UM, I WOULD, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THAT COMPLETED BY THE END OF THIS WEEK.
UM, SO THAT IT'S, IT'S READY TO GO NEXT WEEK.
UM, WE NEED TO, WE'VE BEEN OUT SAMPLING WITH 4.1 TO KIND OF PILOT THAT AS WELL AND WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE DATA TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS.
WE'VE ALSO GOTTEN SOME GREAT FEEDBACK ABOUT, UM, 4.1 AND WE'VE GOTTEN SOME, UM, REQUESTS FOR SOME CHANGES.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SEE HOW THE DATA'S WORKING OUT.
WE NEED TO STILL MEET WITH THE OUTREACH TEAM TO HEAR WHAT THEY'RE HEARING, UM, WHEN THEY'RE DELIVERING THIS SURVEY.
LIKE WHERE ARE WE HAVING ISSUES, UM, WHAT'S CONFUSING? UM, AND WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA NEED TO CUT BACK ON SOME QUESTIONS.
SO HOPEFULLY THE FINAL VERSION WILL BE READY FOR, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I WOULD HOPE FRIDAY, UM, POTENTIALLY MONDAY.
I'M GONNA ASK ONE LAST QUESTION HERE.
UH, YOU, WILL YOU COME BACK AND SHARE WITH US THAT FINAL SURVEY AT A FUTURE CONVENING AND OR, UH, WORKING GROUP? ABSOLUTELY.
AND WE CAN ALSO SHARE, UM, I MEAN WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THE ADVISORY WORKSHOPS IN THE NEXT, UH, SEVERAL WEEKS AS WELL.
AND THOSE WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON THE REST OF THE PROJECT, UM, IN ADDITION TO LIKE SURVEY OR FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS.
UM, ALSO TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON THE, UM, GEOGRAPHIC OUTREACH STRATEGY AND UM, TO HELP US THINK THROUGH THE, UH, CO INTERPRETATION CONVENINGS, WHAT THOSE COULD BE LIKE AND HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS TO DO THOSE.
[00:35:01]
CUZ I KNOW THERE'S MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GONNA HAVE TO CUT IT SHORT.UH, COMMISSIONER DOCU, I'M ALLOW YOU TO ASK ONE QUESTION, PLEASE.
UH, UH, YOU COULD JUST BE BRIEF IF YOU CAN HEAR ME.
UM, UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, YOU'RE WORKING WITH, UH, UH, UH, WITH UH, UM, YOU KNOW, FORGET THE NAME NOW WITH THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY, UM, UH, AND, UH, THERE ARE OTHER GROUPS OUT THERE TOO IN THAT AREA.
ARE YOU ALSO COVERING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW THOSE ETHNIC GROUPS AS WELL? YES, IN FACT THAT'S A KEY PART OF OUR, UM, OUR STRATEGY ON KEEPING UP WITH THE DEMOGRAPHICS AS WE GO, UM, AND TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, UM, REACHING OUT TO ORGANIZATIONS WHO SERVE DIFFERENT POPULATIONS AND, UM, WORKING WITH THEM.
AND OUR GOAL, WHILE WE ARE NOT PAYING PEOPLE FOR THE SURVEY, OUR GOAL IS TO PAY PEOPLE FOR THE WORKSHOPS.
UM, AND, UM, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, UM, BRING VALUE TO ORGANIZATIONS WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO COLLABORATE WITH.
SO WE ACTUALLY WILL BE, WE'RE BUILDING OUT, UM, SOME IDEAS RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE GONNA HOPEFULLY GET FEEDBACK ON, UM, SO THAT WE'RE NOT JUST BEING EXTRACTIVE, BUT ALSO, UM, COLLABORATING.
AND YES, UM, THAT IS, OTHER GROUPS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
WE HAVE, UM, A, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL BE TRANSLATING THE SURVEY, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER GROUPS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND, UH, ONE LAST FOLLOW UP FROM MY PART, UH, AS IT WAS UNDERLINED MY EARLIER QUESTIONS, UH, AND WAS ECHOED BY ONE OF MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, UH, IS THERE, YEAH, WILL THE SURVEY PARTICIPANTS BE ABLE TO VALIDATE THEIR RESPONSES BEFORE THE SURVEYOR SUBMITS THE INTERVIEW? UH, AS SHE POINTS OUT, THE VOICES OF THE MARGINALIZED, UH, ARE FREQUENTLY COMPROMISED BECAUSE OF THE INTERPRETATION OF DATA COLLECTION, UH, WHICH I TAKE HER POINT.
UH, THOUGHTS ON THAT, RITA? YES.
WELL, WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE'RE, UM, WE CAN WORK WITH THE OUTREACH TEAM TO CONFIRM THAT DURING THE PROCESS THE, UM, QUESTIONS CAN BE REPEATED BACK.
UM, IF SOMEONE PREFERS TO BE ABLE TO CONFIRM THE ANSWERS THAT, UM, THE OUTREACH TEAM IS INTERPRETING AS THEY ENTER THEM, IS THAT, UM, I I WANNA CONFIRM THAT I'M HEARING, UH, THE QUESTION CORRECTLY, IS THAT ANSWERING THE QUESTION? I I THINK YOU'RE HEARING THE QUESTION CORRECTLY.
UH, MY FOLLOW UP WOULD BE, IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH THEM LITERALLY ENTERING AND SAVING THE RESULTS IN FRONT OF THE, THE PARTICIPANT? OH NO, THEY'RE WITH THE PARTICIPANT WHEN THEY, THEY SIT WHEN THEY ARE DELIVERING IT PERFECT VERBALLY.
UM, YES, THEY'RE WITH THEIR, WITH THEM NOW.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ALWAYS A SCENARIO WHERE, UM, UH, LIKE I'VE, I'VE, I'VE BEEN ABLE TO OBSERVE SOME OF THE SESSIONS AND, AND THEY'RE DEFINITELY WITH THE PERSON ACTUALLY LIKE REVIEWING IT AND READING IT ALOUD.
UM, AND I WILL DOUBLE CHECK ON PROCESS ABOUT, UM, HOW WE CAN WORK, UH, A DEEPER CONFIRMATION WITH A PARTICIPANT, UM, TO MAKE SURE THEY FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THE WHAT'S ENTERED INTO THE SURVEY IS WHAT THEY WANT ENTERED IN THE SURVEY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, CUZ AGAIN, YOU KNOW, ANONYMITY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR SOME, AND OF COURSE, UH, RECOGNIZING HOW IMPORTANT THE INSIGHTS ARE FOR MANY OTHERS AS WELL.
I'M SURE IT'S IMPORTANT JUST TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE, THEY'VE GOTTEN DOWN RIGHT, WHATEVER IT'S, THEY HAVE TO SAY AND THINK, RIGHT? SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL COORDINATION WITH THE CITY STUDY AND, AND, UH, WE'RE JUST REALLY EXCITED TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU AND YOUR ROLE WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO, UH, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I'M SORRY, UH, APPARENTLY WE'VE GOT ONE MORE QUESTION.
UH, I CUT IT OFF, BUT I'M GONNA LET YOU ASK MORE QUESTION.
THIS IS NOT A QUESTION, THIS IS MORE A COMMENT.
UM, I SUGGEST THAT WE BRING THIS UP DURING THE, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS DISCUSSION BECAUSE THERE MAY BE A WAY FOR THIS COMMISSION TO HELP WITH DATA COLLECTION.
UM, SO, UH, WE'LL BRING THIS UP AT, UH, THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, PART OF THE MEETING, HOPEFULLY
ALL RIGHT, WITH THAT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA NOW.
[3. Regulatory update from Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs (Khotan Harmon, Senior Program Manager)]
AGENDA ITEM THREE, REGULATORY UPDATE FROM THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AFFAIRS OFFICE.BYE CO KOAN HARMON, SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER.
UH, AGAIN, I THINK SOME OF US ARE IN PERSON, SOME ARE IN LINE.
I HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR YOU ALL.
UM, THIS IS PART OF THE MONTHLY, UM, LEGISLATIVE POLICY AND FUNDING UPDATE THAT YOU HAD REQUESTED.
AND THIS IS OUR FIRST ONE, SO REALLY
[00:40:01]
LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR FEEDBACK AND EDITS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE OR IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE DIFFERENTLY.SO I'M GONNA ASK, UH, THE TECHNICAL TEAM TO PLEASE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, TONIGHT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT BROADBAND MAPPING, THE TEXAS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT MAP, THE FCC FABRIC MAP, THE ADA TEXAS LEGISLATURE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS, HB FIVE FUNDING SOURCES FOR IN PARTICULAR THE BEAD FUNDING, AND THEN THE DIGITAL EQUITY PLAN THAT'S COMING UP.
THERE ARE A LOT, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION AND I KNOW THAT WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THAT JESSE HAS SHARED THIS DOCUMENT WITH YOU ALL.
THERE'S GONNA BE A SLIGHT UPDATE.
WE'LL SEND AN A REVISED ONE, HOPEFULLY TO YOU ALL TOMORROW, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION.
YOU SAID I HAVE ABOUT 15 MINUTES, UH, TO GO THROUGH THIS, IS THAT CORRECT? UH, THAT'S CORRECT.
AND UH, YEAH, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU THINK THAT MAYBE ANOTHER FIVE WOULD HELP YOU, BUT, UH, WE'D LIKE TO TRY TO THANK YOU.
I HAVE 16 SLIDES, LET'S SEE IF I CAN GET THROUGH IT.
SO HERE, THE TEXAS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT MAP IS A COMPREHENSIVE ADDRESS LEVEL MAP THAT SHOWS BROADBAND AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR TEXAS.
IT'S CREATED BY LIGHT BOX FOR THE TEXAS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.
IT WAS PUBLISHED ON IN DECEMBER, AND IT WILL BE UPDATED NEXT MARCH IN 2023.
THE INTERESTING THING NOTE IS THAT THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS AND IT SHOWS THE MAJORITY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS AS HAVING BROADBAND ACCESS.
THE PURPOSE OF THE MAP IS THE ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO ELIGIBLE AREAS.
SO BDO O THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE IS REALLY FUNCTIONING AS A PASS THROUGH FOR FUNDING AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A SEPARATE APPLICANT MAP THAT WILL ALLOW APPLICANTS TO SELECT THEIR PROJECT AREAS.
THE, UH, CHALLENGE OF THE MAPS IS THAT ONLY ISPS OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNTIES, SCHOOL DISTRICT HOUSING AUTHORITIES CAN CHALLENGE THE MAP.
INDIVIDUALS CANNOT, CONSUMERS CANNOT.
THE PURPOSE OF THE CHALLENGE IS TO RECLASSIFY OR DESIGNATE AN AREA ON THE MAP AS ELIGIBLE OR INELIGIBLE.
AND HERE'S SOME INFORMATION ON HOW TO DO THAT.
AND SO IN AN UPDATE THAT, UH, THE BDO OFFICE GAVE US A COUPLE DAYS AGO, THEY SAID EXACTLY THE SAME THING I SHARED WITH YOU.
THEY'RE DESIGNATED AREA IS CENSUS BLOCKS AND THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR ELIGIBLE AREAS, CENSUS BLOCKS, UH, WITH LESS THAN 80% OF ADDRESSES THAT CURRENTLY HAVE ACCESS TO BROADBAND SERVICES.
AND WHAT THEY'RE, UH, CALLING BROADBAND SERVICES IS ACTUALLY 25 3.
SO 80% AT, UH, LESS THAN 25 3.
AND APPLICANTS WILL SELECT THEIR PROJECT AREA ON THE MAP.
SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO NOW THE FCC NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP, IT IS INFORMATION ABOUT INTERNET SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUAL LOCATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ALONG WITH NEW MAPS OF MOBILE COVERAGE.
AND THE VENDOR FOR THAT IS COST QUEST, UM, LOCATION SEARCH FOR INTERNET SERVICE AVAILABILITY BY INDIVIDUAL LOCATIONS.
THERE'S A FIXED BROADBAND MAP THAT SHOWS FIBER CABLE, DSL, SATELLITE OR FIXED WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICES AVAILABLE AT EACH HOME OR SMALL BUSINESS.
AND THEY IDENTIFY WHICH PROVIDERS REPORT OFFERING BROADBAND SERVICES AT THE LOCATION ALONG WITH THE TYPES OF SERVICES.
SO THIS IS ADVERTISED SERVICE NOT OFFERED OR WHAT PEOPLE ARE SIGNING UP FOR, IT'S JUST WHAT'S ADVERTISED FOR DOWNLOAD, UPLOAD SPEEDS THEY OFFER.
AND THERE'S ALSO A MOBILE BROADBAND MAP THAT SHOWS THE 3G, 4G AND 5G COVERAGE FOR EACH MOBILE PROVIDER.
UM, AND SO THIS MOBILE USERS CAN GET CONNECTION WHEN OUTDOORS OR A MOVING VEHICLE.
THIS IS NOT FOR INDOORS, SO THEY'RE TRYING TO MAP THAT THE INFORMATION OF WHERE INTERNET SERVICE IS AND IS NOT IS ALSO PROVIDED BY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS AS WELL.
AND SO THIS IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS DATA COLLECTION.
IT WILL BE UPDATED EVERY SIX MONTHS AND THE MAP WILL IDENTIFY UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES MOST IN NEED OF FUNDING FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.
SO THE FOCUS IS HIGH-SPEED INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, THE CHALLENGE PROCESS FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS IS, UH, FOR YOUR COMMISSION IN PARTICULAR IS AT HOME, SMALL BUSINESSES AND OTHER LOCATIONS CAN CHALLENGE THE MAP.
UH, PROVIDER DIDN'T, SO THE REASONS MIGHT BE PROVIDER HAS DENIED A REQUEST FOR SERVICE, DEMANDED EXCESSIVE CONNECTION FEES, FAILED TO SCHEDULE AN INSTALLATION WITHIN 10 BUSINESS DAYS.
[00:45:01]
WILL REVIEW THE CHALLENGE FROM FCC AND EITHER CONCEDED, DISPUTED AND WILL COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH INDIVIDUALS.SO ISPS THE RESPONSIBILITIES ON THEM.
AND IF THEY FAIL TO DO THAT, THE CHALLENGE SERVICE WILL NO LONGER SHOW AS AVAILABLE FOR THAT LOCATION.
ON THE FCC MAP, THE LOCATION CHALLENGE IS ABOUT MISSING LOCATION, CORRECT THE ADDRESS AND OTHER DETAILS OF LOCATION AND GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMENT.
AND THE MOBILE BROADBAND COVERAGE CHALLENGE IS A SPEED TEST THAT CAN BE PERFORMED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CHALLENGES OF MOBILE PROVIDERS OF 3G, 4G AND 5G COVERAGE ON THE FCC MAP, THESE SPEED TESTS CANNOT BE CONDUCTED INDOORS.
THEY HAVE TO BE WHILE YOU'RE WALKING OR IN YOUR CAR LOCATION OR SERVICE AVAILABILITY.
CHALLENGES BROUGHT BY ORGANIZATIONS OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS MUST INCLUDE A TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT STUDY.
SO WE CANNOT AS GOVERNMENT USE SPEED TESTS TO CHALLENGE THE MAPS.
SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE COME UP AND THAT LAST BULLET IS ACTUALLY INCORRECT AND I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THE CORRECT SPEEDS ARE.
UM, BUT STATE BROADBAND MAPS WERE DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE A CREDIBLE CHALLENGE TO FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FABRIC MAP WITH LOCAL LEVEL LOCATION AND SERVICE AVAILABILITY DATA.
THERE ARE ABOUT 30 STATES THAT HAVE, ARE DEVELOPING THEIR OWN MAPS.
SOME ARE WORKING WITH LIGHT BOX LIGHT, TEXAS, OTHERS ARE COLLECTING DATABASE AVAILABILITY THROUGH SPEED TESTS AND SURVEYS.
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS AN, IT'S AN APPROXIMATION OF THE SERVICE THAT'S AVAILABLE.
ISPS DO NOT ALWAYS PROVIDE COMPLETE DATA SETS FOR THEIR SERVICE AREA.
NO ENFORCEMENT TRULY AT THE STATE LEVEL.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN TEXAS, OUT OF 211, ISPS 141 SUBMITTED DATA, UH, DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS AND METHODOLOGIES IN THE STATE VERSUS FCC BROADBAND MAPS LOCATION DETERMINATION DOES NOT MATCH.
FCC USES U S PS DELIVERABLE HOUSEHOLD SMALL BUSINESS AND TEXAS MAP.
AS YOU HEARD RITA SAY, THEY'RE USING CENSUS BLOCK.
NOW THAT LAST QUOTE, UH, I'M SORRY, THE BULLET AND WE'LL SEND YOU THE CORRECTED ONE.
THE FCC NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION, N T I A, HAS DESIGNATED UNSERVED AS LACKING 25 3, UNDERSERVED AS LACKING 120 AND THEN SERVED AS A HUNDRED OVER 20.
AND COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS IS LACKING ONE OVER ONE SYMMETRICAL GIGABYTES.
AND THE TEXAS BD MAP SAYS THAT THE ELIGIBLE INELIGIBLE TO BE ELIGIBLE HAS TO BE LESS THAN 80% OF ADDRESSES WITH ACCESS TO 25 OVER THREE IN THE CENSUS AREA.
LET'S GO TO THE NEXT MA UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SORRY, I'M DASHING THROUGH THIS, BUT HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AT THE END.
UM, SO THE TEXAS LEGISLATOR SENATE BUSINESS AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE HAS BEEN SELECTED.
THE TWO FOLKS THAT ARE OF IMPORTANCE TO US, OF COURSE, FROM THIS COMMITTEE ARE DONNA HA CAMPBELL, AS WELL AS ROBERT NICHOLS, ONE OF THE CO-SPONSORS OF HB FIVE WITH REPRESENTATIVE TRENT ASHBY.
HB FIVE, AS YOU KNOW, IS A BIPARTISAN BILL THAT WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IN 2021 AND SIGNED INTO LAW BY GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT.
HB FIVE ESTABLISHED THE STATE OF TEXAS BROADBAND OFFICE, A STATE OF TEXAS BROADBAND PLAN, AND REQUIRED THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING PROGRAM.
AND HERE'S SOME, UH, LINKS IF YOU'RE INTERESTED THAT CURRENTLY THERE IS A VERSION 2.0 THAT IS BEING DEVELOPED AND WILL BE FILED BEFORE THE DEADLINE ON MARCH 15TH.
BDO HAS REACHED OUT TO CITIES, COUNTIES, ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TOWARDS THIS REFRESHED, UH, HB FIVE.
THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST BREWING AROUND THAT.
NOW MOVING OVER TO FUNDING THEY HAVE, BDO HAS RECEIVED CAPITAL.
CAPITAL PROJECTS, FUND AWARDS.
US TREASURY HAS ALREADY AWARDED THE STATE 363.8 MILLION AND ONE OF THE FIVE PROGRAM PLANS THAT THIS IS ALLOCATED FOR THE, IT STILL REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED.
THE AWARDS WILL FUND VIDEO'S LAST MILE GRANT PROGRAM FOR PROJECTS IN ELIGIBLE AREAS.
SO SOMETHING TO NOTE HERE IS THAT THE TEXAS STATE LIBRARY, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ARE THE THREE THAT HAVE CURRENTLY BEEN IDENTIFIED WITH A COUPLE OTHER AGENCIES TO BE IDENTIFIED SOON.
THERE IS A BRINGING ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES TO TEXAS THE BOOT PROGRAM, TEXAS' FIRST LAST MILE COMPETITIVE BROADBAND GRANT PROGRAM.
THE PROGRAM WILL FOLLOW STATE AND FEDERAL US TREASURY GUIDELINES.
IT'S EXPECTED TO LAUNCH IN MARCH IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR.
THE APPLICANTS WILL BE EXPECTED TO, UM, DEMONSTRATE EXPANSION
[00:50:01]
OF BROADBAND SERVICE PROJECT, BROADBAND FEASIBILITY, APPLICANT QUALIFICATIONS, COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND INVOLVEMENT, COMMUNITY NEED AND SOCIAL IMPACT.SO WHAT IS HAPPENING IS THAT THEY ARE TYING DIGITAL EQUITY AND COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL IMPACT WITH, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, INVESTMENT.
I THINK THAT'S A, MAYBE A DUPLICATE.
SO THE RULES FOR ADOPTION ARE GOING TO, UM, THEY WERE SENT TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
THIS IS JUST ALL THE TECHNICAL THINGS.
I DON'T NEED TO GO THROUGH THAT.
AND THEN THE UPDATE ON THE B D O.
SO THE BROADBAND EQUITY ACCESS AND DEPLOYMENT ACT, THE APPLICATION FOR BEADS, INITIAL PLANNING FUNDS WAS SENT TO N T I A ON AUGUST 15TH.
TEXAS RECEIVED AN INITIAL ALLOCATION OF 5 MILLION IN INITIAL FUNDING PLANNING FUNDS IN NOVEMBER.
A FIVE YEAR ACTION PLAN IS DUE TO N T I A WITHIN 270 DAYS.
AND THERE'S ALSO A DIGITAL EQUITY ACT THAT HAS THE PURPOSE OF SUPPORT OVERLOOKED AND UNDERSERVED AREAS.
THE BDO RECEIVED 3.1 MILLION IN INITIAL FUNDING AND HAS A ONE YEAR TO SUBMIT A DIGITAL, UM, EQUITY PLAN.
SO ONE THING TO NOTE HERE IS THAT THEIR VENDOR HAS BEEN, UH, SELECTED.
IT IS CONNECTED NATION THAT WILL SUPPORT, UH, THE BROADBAND EQUITY ACCESS AND DEPLOYMENT ACT COORDINATION IN TERMS OF ANY OF THE REPORTS THAT ARE DUE AS WELL AS THE DIGITAL EQUITY PLAN.
SO NEXT SLIDE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO THE STATE DID RECEIVE 8.5 MILLION.
THEY HAVE SELECTED A THIRD PARTY VENDOR IN CREATING THE INITIAL DELIVERABLES.
AND HERE'S SOME KEY DATES THEY WANTED US TO KNOW.
JUNE 30TH BEAD ALLOCATION IS EXPECTED, SO WE WILL KNOW, THEY THINK IT'S ANYWHERE FROM TWO TO 4 BILLION FOR TEXAS.
THEY'RE TRYING TO STILL FIGURE OUT IT'S A BIG, UH, SPREAD, BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'RE GONNA FALL WITHIN THAT.
AND THEN THE AUGUST 28TH B FIVE YEAR ACTION PLAN IS DUE IN DECEMBER 1ST, UH, STATE DIGITAL EQUITY PLAN IS DUE, WHICH, UH, CONNECTED NATIONS IS WORKING ON, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM FUNDS IS NOT EXPECTED UNTIL 2024.
HERE ARE SOME UPDATES FOR SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM B D O.
I WILL LET YOU READ THAT LATER.
BUT HERE'S WHAT THEY'VE BEEN UP TO.
AND I REACHED OUT TO GREG CONTI YESTERDAY AS WE WERE PREPARING FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE, AND I SAID, UM, AND HE HAD THESE SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR COMMISSION.
THIS, THESE ARE SPECIFICALLY TO YOU ALL AND HE'S RECOMMENDING AREAS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WILL REALLY DEEPLY SUPPORT THE BDO OFFICE FROM YOUR COMMISSION IS TO HELP WITH COMMUNITY CHALLENGES FOR THE FCC NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP.
THE MAP IS UPDATED EVERY SIX MONTHS, HOUSEHOLD AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND SO THE INFORMATION IS THERE.
HE ALSO IS SAYING, UH, PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK AND INPUT FOR HB FIVE.
IT WILL BE FILED ON MARCH 15TH.
ALL COMMENTS ARE BEING SENT TO HIM DIRECTLY.
IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT HB FIVE, HE ALSO, UH, THE DIGITAL EQUITY STATE PLAN INPUT.
HE IS, UM, THE REPORT DEADLINE IS DUE TO N T I A IN DECEMBER AND HE'S ASKING IF YOU COULD KINDLY IDENTIFY AND COMMUNICATE THE DIGITAL EQUITY RESOURCES IN VARIOUS COUNCIL MEMBER DISTRICTS AND IN AUSTIN, AND PLEASE COORDINATE WITH OUR OFFICE.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE LEAD ON THAT SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK WITH CONNECTED NATIONS AND V D O ON THAT.
WE ARE ALSO COMPILING A LIST AND HE SAID THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT FUNDING, THE DATES ARE TO BE DETERMINED, BUT PLEASE BE READY AS A COMMISSION AND INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE B D O CONNECTED NATIONS COMMUNICATION PIPELINE ON HOW I I J A SHOULD BE USED IN AUSTIN AND YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
HE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET THAT FEEDBACK.
AND THEN PLEASE, UH, THIS IS ALSO FROM OUR, UH, FROM TARA TO SUPPORT THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTION CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, ACP, WHICH IS ONGOING AND AS COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND SUPPORT TO IDENTIFY QUALIFIED AUSTINITES AND HELP THEM CONNECT WITH RESOURCES.
AND MY COLLEAGUE BRIANNA GOWING, AS YOU KNOW, IS LEAD ON THAT.
I RAN AS FAST AS I COULD,
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
WE APPRECIATE THAT AND I'LL LET YOU DO, UH, WE ARE OVER TIME.
HOWEVER, UH, I'LL GIVE A BRIEF OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, THE COLLEAGUES THAT, UH, UNLIKE MYSELF AND VICE HAVE NOT ALREADY SEEN ITERATION OF THIS PRESENTATION, UH, TO ASK.
AND I SAW VI I SAW, EXCUSE ME, UH, COMMISSIONER YS RAISE HIS HAND.
[00:55:01]
SO I'M GONNA ACKNOWLEDGE YOU FIRST RIGHT AHEAD, YATES.SO FIRST IT SEEMS THAT THIS, UH, BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT MAP HAS INFORMATION THAT COULD BE USED BY OUR PREVIOUS GROUP, THE, THE TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND, AND SO TO WHAT LEVEL OF DETAIL IS THAT BROADBAND MAP? DOES IT GO DOWN TO A CENSUS TRACT, A STREET LEVEL? UM, VERY GOOD QUESTION.
SO I CAN ADDRESS THAT VERY QUICKLY FOR YOU.
COMMISSIONER YE, SO THE CHALLENGE IS THAT THE FCC MAP IS U S P S DELIVERABLE ADDRESSES.
THAT MEANS TO THE HOME, TO THE SMALL BUSINESS.
AND THEY SAID OTHER SITES WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE WHAT OTHER SITES MEAN.
THE CHALLENGE WITH THE B D O MAP IS THAT IT IS CENSUS BLOCK, CENSUS TRACK.
AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT RITA, CHLOE AND JESSE ARE LOOKING AT BOTH MAPS.
THAT'S ONE OF THE SOURCES OF DATA.
SO, UH, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE, UH, SPEED TEST COULD NOT BE USED IN A CHALLENGE.
IS THAT CORRECT? IT CANNOT BE USED IN A CHALLENGE BY A GOVERNMENT OR A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION, BUT IT CAN BY THE COMMUNITY.
AND WHAT IS CONSIDERED A LEGITIMATE SPEED TEST? IS THERE SOME THAT ARE LEGITIMATE? YES, UH, THERE ARE, THERE'S A LIST ON THE WEBSITE THAT I HAVE INCLUDED FOR YOU IN THE PRESENTATION.
AND THE OTHER, UH, QUESTION WAS, UH, HOW DO WE PUBLICIZE TO THE COMMUNITY THAT THIS BBO MAP CAN BE CHALLENGED? I SUSPECT THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE, ARE NOT GOING TO KNOW AND ARE GOING TO WANT TO GIVE INPUT.
SO IS THERE ANY PLAN FOR, UH, GETTING OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY AND, AND TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT THIS? YES, I THINK IT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, I THINK BECAUSE ALL THE RULES ARE DEVELOPING THERE IN DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW, IT, UM, THINGS ARE BECOMING MORE CLEAR.
SO THERE IS NO PLAN EXACTLY, BUT WE'RE ALL BEGINNING TO FOCUS ON IT AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, AT THE STATE LEVEL.
UM, AND ALSO WITH COMMISSIONS LIKE YOURS, WE'RE HOPING WITH YOURS, MAYBE THE LIBRARY ASSO, UH, COMMISSION AND OTHERS THAT WE CAN START TO COLLABORATE ON OUTREACH INTO THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY INTO ALL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS THAT YOU REPRESENT, TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THOSE OFFICES AND DO A VERY BIG PUSH.
RIGHT NOW OUR FOCUS IS ON ACP OUTREACH, BUT WE ARE GOING TO ALSO BRING UP TO PART THE WHOLE, UM, COMMUNITY CHALLENGE FOR THE
SO AGAIN, UM, WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR CHALLENGES? IT IS ONGOING.
WE, SO THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION FOR THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDING HAS PASSED.
UM, AND THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS WILL COME IN JUNE.
SO WE KNOW THAT BY MARCH THE NEW ITERATION OF THE MAP WILL BE OUT AND THEN WE'LL KNOW HOW MUCH TEXAS WILL GET SOON.
SO, BUT RIGHT NOW, UH, IT IS AN ONGOING PROCESS WITH THE COMMUNITY FOR THE CHALLENGE PROCESS.
SO THEY KNOW THAT WHAT THEIR SPEEDS ARE, WHAT'S AVAILABLE.
SO IT'S A CONTINUOUS EDUCATION PROCESS.
UH, NOW TO START WITH THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMISSION PLEASE.
COMMISSIONER THOMPSON ALREADY I HAVE A REAL QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU.
I, I J A FUNDS YOUR PASS THROUGH COMING FROM THE FEDS.
DO YOU KNOW IF THE JUSTICE 40 STIPULATIONS ARE STILL COMING WITH THAT MEANING THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE 40% OF THOSE FUNDS SHOULD BE USED IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES? OH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
YES, TEXAS HAS A WONKY DEFINITION OF DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, BUT I KNOW A LOT OF THAT IS DEPENDENT ON THE AGENCY THAT IT COMES THROUGH.
UH, I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT THAT.
IF THANK YOU, YES, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, BUT I WILL FIND OUT FOR YOU.
UH, COMMISSIONER SUPTA, UM, KOAN, THAT WAS A GOOD PRESENTATION.
UNFORTUNATELY YOU HAD TO RUSH.
I'M SORRY,
UM, I, I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO SAY IN ONE OF YOUR SLIDES.
WILL THE DATA THAT YOU COLLECT BE DISAGGREGATED SO THAT YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF COVERAGE AND THE 5G, 4G AND 3G? BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THE QUALITY OF COVERAGE AND THE, AND THEN THE, AND THE BANDWIDTH, THAT 5G IS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN A 3G.
SO THE IMPORTANT THING IS NOT TO AGGREGATE ALL THE DATA.
AND SO WHERE THEY'RE ALL COVERED, NO, THEY'RE NOT ALL COVERED UNLESS THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE IN 3G, YOU WANT, WE WANT TO BE MOVING TOWARDS 5G.
[01:00:01]
SO THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.SO, UH, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT YET, EXCEPT TO SAY THAT THEY ARE UTILIZING SPEED TESTS OUTDOORS AND IN MOVING VEHICLES TO DETERMINE THAT THE SPEED OF 3G, 4G AND 5G IT WILL BE REFLECTED ON THE MAPS EVERY SIX MONTHS.
UM, SO IT, THE RESPONSIBILITY, THE WAY WE UNDERSTAND IT, IS WITH THE ISPS.
SO THEY ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE TO CONFIRM OR DENY IT.
SO THAT'S WHY THE MORE DATA POINTS THE FCC CAN RECEIVE FROM THE COMMUNITY, THE MORE THEY'RE ABLE TO TRIANGULATE WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THE GROUND.
UH, ANY OTHER BURNING QUESTIONS? OVERTON, UH, VICE CHAIR.
AND THANKS KOAN FOR, FOR THE FIRST OF WHAT WILL BE MANY UPDATES ON THIS TOPIC.
I HAD A SPECIFIC QUESTION ON, UM, GREG'S RECOMMENDATION TO US ON PROVIDING FEEDBACK AND INPUT FOR H HP FIVE.
SO THIS IS HB FIVE PASSED IN 20 20, 21, LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
SO THE ASK IS, IS TO PROVIDE INPUT TO THE PREVIOUSLY PASSED BILL? CORRECT.
BECAUSE NO ONE IS, HAS SEEN THE DRAFT OF THE NEW BILL.
NO ONE WILL SEE IT UNTIL IT IS FILED.
AND THEN THERE'LL BE OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE FEEDBACK, AND WE WILL SHARE THAT WITH YOU IN FUTURE PRESENTATIONS.
BUT HE WANTED YOU ALL TO PLEASE BE READY ON THESE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
AND I CAN ALSO, UM, FIGURE OUT FROM HIM EXACTLY WHAT HE'S ASKING FROM LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON IF THAT WOULD BE, UH, IF THAT WOULD SUPPORT YOUR WORK.
YEAH, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND WH WHEN IS THE, UH, THE, THE DATE THAT THE NEW BILL IS LIKELY GOING TO BE FILED? DO WE HAVE EVEN LIKE AN APPROXIMATE? WE DO.
SO MARCH 14TH IS OUR DEADLINE.
AND, UH, LOOKING AROUND THE ROOM HERE, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING? UH, OKAY.
I KNOW THAT'S, UH, THIS TRADITION.
IT USED TO BE CALLED SOMETHING ELSE.
IT WAS, UH, IT WAS PUBLIC EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, IT WAS A PEG UPDATE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND WE'D HAVE THEM, YOU KNOW, EVERY OTHER MONTH OR SO.
AND SO, UH, EVEN THOUGH YOU'VE, YOU'VE, YOU'VE BEEN WONDERFUL ABOUT PRESENTING TO US ON REQUEST, UH, KOAN, AND YOU'VE GIVEN, UH, GREAT PRESENTATIONS IN THE PAST.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THIS ON A, UH, FREQUENT BASIS GOING FORWARD.
HAPPY TO SERVE YOU HOWEVER YOU NEED.
AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW, THAT WAS VERY QUICK.
PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU WANT IT DIFFERENTLY.
UM, WHAT IS USEFUL TO YOU, AND IT MIGHT EMERGE THAT YOU WANT THIS PRESENTATION A DIFFERENT WAY.
HAPPY TO DO WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU.
BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR OPENNESS TO CHANGE ON THIS.
WHAT WE MIGHT NEED IS MAYBE SOME, UH, MORE DETAIL THAT WOULD BE IN, IN SOME KIND OF A PDF FORM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT YOU COULD DISTRIBUTE OUT, AND THEN WE COULD LOOK AT AT, AT THAT, AT OUR LEISURE AND ASK QUESTIONS AND, UH, THAT MIGHT HELP.
I GUESS JUST TO ADD TO THAT BRIEFLY, AS WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, UH, FROM A CADENCE STANDPOINT, ESPECIALLY FOR LENGTHY PRESENTATIONS LIKE THIS, IF WE CAN REVIEW THEM AHEAD AND THAT, THAT WAY WE CAN COME WITH QUESTIONS THAT ARE, UH, MORE FOCUSED AT THE EVENT OR ACTUALLY THE COMMISSION MEETING, AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME READING THE CONTENT IN THE ACTUAL MEETING.
UH, THAT, THAT'S JUST ONE THING THAT MIGHT HELP IN THE FUTURE.
I'LL WORK WITH YOU CHAIR PITTS ON THE NEXT PRESENTATION.
IT'LL BE NEXT MONTH IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE AND HOW THAT MIGHT LOOK.
AND THEN MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL OF THE DOCUMENTATION AHEAD OF TIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COTAN, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, FEEDBACK.
SO WITH THAT THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA NOW TO AGENDA THE
[4. Grant for Technology Opportunities Program 2023 Panel Selection (Commission Discussion and Action (1 of 2)]
DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR, THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM 2023 PANEL SELECTION.AS UH, EVERYONE KNOWS, I'M GONNA PASS JESSE MOMENTARILY, AS EVERYONE KNOWS HERE IN THE ROOM, UH, FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYONE ONLINE, UH, THIS COMMISSION PLAYS AN INTEGRAL PART IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE KEY DAYS WE GET TO DO WHAT WE DO TO HELP TO PROVE A PANEL TO VOTE, UH, ON THE ACTUAL AWARDEES.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT OFF TO THE PROGRAM MANAGER, JESSE RODRIGUEZ.
UM, AS I THINK THAT CHAIR PITS, UH, ENCAPSULATED IT IN A NUTSHELL QUITE NICELY, UM, TODAY WE'RE ASKING THE COMMISSION TO APPOINT A, UH, REVIEW PANEL FOR THE 2023 GTOP S CORE PROCESS.
UM, THIS PANEL WHEN, UH, APPOINTED WILL
[01:05:01]
BE THE, UH, GROUP OF FOLKS THAT DETERMINES WHO RECEIVES FUNDING IN THE CYCLE OF G O'S CORE.UM, SO, UH, I HOPE THAT Y'ALL HAVE HAD TIME TO REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS, UH, THAT WERE SENT OUT LAST WEEK.
WE HAVE, UH, I BELIEVE 15 APPLICANTS, UH, THAT HAVE CONFIRMED INTEREST IN, UH, THIS, UH, TO SERVE AS PANELISTS FOR THIS CYCLE.
UM, THE FIRST TWO ARE PAST, UH, VOLUNTEERS, UH, THAT HAVE SERVED ON, ON PANELISTS AND, AND PAST YEARS.
UH, JUST SO THAT YOU KNOW, UM, AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION FROM ONE OF OUR PAST EFFORTS AT APPOINTING A PANEL, UH, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST AT A, UM, UH, SORT OF A PROPORTIONAL VOTE.
SO, UM, IF EVERYBODY, UH, CAN, UH, LET US KNOW HOW YOU RANK THE CANDIDATES FROM ONE THROUGH 15, UM, THAT WILL BE, UH, DAN AND AND MYSELF WILL BE COLLECTING THAT AS Y'ALL ARE, UH, READY TO SHARE.
AND, UH, FROM THAT WE'RE GOING SELECT THE, UH, WE'RE GONNA SOME, SOME, UH, THE, THE SCORES ESSENTIALLY AND SCORES ARE THE, THAT ONES THAT HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ARE SELECTED TO SERVE ON THE PANEL.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AS TO, UH, I DO.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE YOU EXPECTING TO HAVE ON THIS PANEL? GOOD QUESTION,
UH, SO THE TOP SEVEN, UH, UH, APPLICANTS WILL BE SELECTED TO SERVE ON THE PANEL.
WE DO HAVE A FOLLOW UP PROCESS, SO ONCE WE HAVE THOSE TOP SEVEN, WE NEED TO CONFIRM, UH, THAT THOSE FOLKS ARE READY TO GO.
THAT, THAT NOW THAT THEY HAVE BEEN SELECTED OFF THE PANEL AND THAT THEY'RE WILLING, IF ANYBODY DOES DROP OUT, WE GO DOWN THE LIST.
THE NEXT HIGHEST, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT HIGHEST SCORING APPLICANTS, UM, UNTIL WE, UH, ACHIEVE A FULL PANEL.
BUT I, I GONNA FOCUS ON THE TOP SEVEN.
UH, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MEETING TODAY, ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS, DISQUALIFIERS, FOR APPLICANTS, AND SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT NOT BEING RESIDENT OF AUSTIN? UH, IF THE APPLICANTS DON'T RESIDE IN THE OFFICE, THEN UH, THAT WOULD BE DISQUALIFYING.
SO, UM, WE, WE DO HAVE APPLICANTS THAT DON'T LIVE IN AUSTIN PROPER, BUT, UH, UH, FROM OUR ANALYSIS, THEY'RE ALL IN THE GENERAL, UH, AUSTIN AREA, AND THAT'S FINE FOR OUR PURPOSES.
UM, NOW IF YOU, ANY OF YOU, SO, UH, UH, IF THAT IMPACTS ANY OF YOUR RANKING OR SCORING, THAT'S TOTALLY FINE, UH, FOR YOU, BUT IT WOULDN'T BE DISQUALIFYING FROM OUR, OUR VIEW.
JESSE, I NOTICED THAT A COUPLE OF THE, OF THE, UM, APPLICANTS ARE, UM, AFFILIATED WITH THE SAME ORGANIZATION.
UM, IS THAT A DISQUALIFIER, LIKE IF BOTH OF THEM BY CHANCE, HAPPEN TO MAKE IT TO THE PANEL? NO, THAT, UH, UH, THANKS FOR THE QUESTION, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, THAT'S NOT DISQUALIFYING BY ANY MEANS.
UH, I THINK, AGAIN, THAT MIGHT PLAY INTO HOW Y'ALL DECIDE TO, UH, TO RANK THE, THE CANDIDATES.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS ON A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL DIVERSITY, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WOULD BE ENCOURAGED.
JESS, WOULD YOU CLARIFY THE DATE, UH, THAT THIS, UH, THE PANEL CANDIDATES WERE SENT OUT OF YOUR EMAIL? UM, I BELIEVE THAT IT WAS LAST THURSDAY, BUT I CAN CHECK REAL QUICK IN THE MEANTIME.
COMMISSIONER, AKA, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? UM, YES, I HAVE A QUESTION.
SO I'D ASKED JESSE THIS QUESTION OVER EMAIL, UM, BUT THERE WERE APPLICANTS WHO PREVIOUSLY SERVED, UM, CERTAINLY DON'T WANNA INFLUENCE ANYONE'S VOTES, BUT THAT MIGHT BE A DATA POINT FOR FOLKS TO CONSIDER.
AND, AND, UH, OH, UH, THANKS FOR THE REMINDER COMMISSIONER.
I DID MENTION THE FIRST TWO CANDIDATES ARE PAST APP, PAST TOPS PANELS.
UM, THERE IS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION IN THE, UH, IN THE PACKETS THAT I SENT AROUND.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT POSTING THOSE OR SHARING THOSE, UH, OTHERWISE.
UH, AND WE, FOR THE PURPOSES OF VOTING, I REQUEST THAT EVERYBODY USE THE IDENTIFIERS THAT WE HAVE IN THE PACKET.
UH, AND IT'S SIMPLY, UH, APPLICANT ONE THROUGH 15.
UM, SO, AND, AND CHAIR PITTS TO YOUR, TO RESPOND TO YOUR QUESTION.
UM, I SENT OUT THIS MATERIAL ON FRI FRIDAY, LAST FRIDAY.
AND, UH, YEAH, THANKS FOR THE, THE FEEDBACK.
[01:10:01]
VICE CHAIR, UH, JUST TO, TO BE CLEAR, IT, IT'S NOT PROHIBITING AND THEREFORE EVERYONE SHOULD VOTE BASED UPON WHAT THEY FEEL THE OVERALL QUALIFICATIONS ARE OF EACH CANDIDATE, UH, NOTWITHSTANDING THE CALL OUT.UH, IN FACT, UH, PEOPLE THAT HAVE SERVED MULTIPLE TIMES I KNOW HAVE SERVED, UH, ADMIRABLY, UH, FOR MY PART.
BUT AGAIN, I DON'T WANNA INFLUENCE ANYONE'S OPINION EITHER.
WELL, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, DAN AND I HAVE, UH, OUR TAB, UH, OUR TABS OPEN AND READY FOR ANYBODY WHO HAS THEIR SCORING DONE.
AND, UH, SO THROW 'EM OUT THERE WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
AND I
IT, IT WOULD BE THE EASIEST IF YOU TOLD US THE RANKS, UH, FROM IN ORDER.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, APPLICANT ONE, WHAT, WHAT IS THEIR RANK? APPLICANT TWO, WHAT IS THEIR RANK? YEAH.
SO IT'LL BE THE EASIEST FOR US, BUT WE'LL WORK WHATEVER WITH WHATEVER IS EASIEST FOR Y'ALL AS WELL.
SO, HOW MUCH TIME HAS BEEN ALLOCATED FOR PROCESS? UH, THAT DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL.
COMMISSIONER YATES, IS THERE A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION? UH, NO.
UM, YEAH, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THEM YET, SO I'M DOING THAT NOW.
THE QUESTION WAS, DO WE HAVE A POLL THAT WE'RE GONNA ANSWER? WE DON'T HAVE ANY ELECTRONIC POLL, SO I WAS JUST GONNA HAVE Y'ALL CALL OUT YOUR, YOUR SCORES, UH, FOR THE RECORD, IF, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT WITH EVERYBODY.
I DID CONSIDER VERY ANALOG OF YOU, JESSE
WE, WE DID THINK ABOUT HAVING, UH, AN ONLINE FORM.
UH, WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING EVERYBODY HAVE ACCESS TO IT AND THEN TRYING TO FIND THE LINK AT THE LAST MINUTE.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE DOING IT THE OLD SCHOOL WAY THIS TIME, BUT I'M OPEN TO FEEDBACK IF THAT WOULD BE MORE CONVENIENT FOR, FOR FUTURE HOST.
YOU KNOW, WITH HISTORICAL REFERENCE, I BELIEVE WE'VE DONE IT EVEN, UH, BY HAND, HISTORICALLY.
SO, UH, BUT THAT AVOIDS, YOU KNOW, CONCERNS ABOUT PEOPLE HAVING TO CALL IT OUT.
SO IT, IT, ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, SPEAKING TO THE CANDIDATES ON THE RECORD? OKAY.
NO, I THINK JUST TRYING TO, NOT, JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE PROCESS WAS GONNA WORK.
I WILL GO AHEAD, SET TIME, UH, JUST SO EVERYONE HAS IN MIND.
UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND SAY, LET'S CLOSE THIS OUT WITHIN THE NEXT, UH, ABOUT THE TOP OF THE HOUR.
I MADE A SPREADSHEET,
LIKE, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE PILES.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT MYSELF.
[01:15:01]
JUST TO CLARIFY FOR EVERYONE ONLINE, UH, WE ARE GONNA SUBMIT THESE ENTRIES, AT LEAST FOR THOSE IN THE ROOM, WE'RE GONNA SUBMIT THESE ENTRIES BY HAND.UH, FOR ANYONE THAT'S ONLINE, UH, I'LL ASK YOU JUST TO EMAIL YOUR SCORE TO JESSE THAT WE'VE GOT HISTORICAL RECORD.
UH, THE KEY IS, AGAIN, THAT EVERYONE IS VOTING, UH, WITHOUT INFLUENCE OF VOTES.
IS THIS MY, UH, NO, IT'S JUST COPY THAT
YOU JUST HAVE TO RANK THEM, YOU KNOW, THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ONLY CHOOSE ONE WHO WILL BE THE FIRST, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF GO IN THAT ORDER.
UH, AND THEN THAT WAY, AT LEAST, UH, BASED ON THE LAW OF AVERAGES, CHAIR PITS, UH, YES, MR. ACTUALLY, YOU WANT US TO RANK ORDER ALL OF THEM, RIGHT? YES.
HEY, JESSE, I HAVE A QUESTION.
COMMISSIONER DESCRIPT, DID YOU SAY THERE WERE 17 APPLICANTS? I'M SEEING 15 THERE, THERE ARE 15.
I THOUGHT, WHAT AM I MISSING HERE? THANK YOU.
[01:20:01]
SURE.OKAY, EVERYBODY, WE'VE GOT ABOUT THREE OR FOUR MINUTES LEFT HERE.
UH, BUT LET, LET ME KNOW A FEW MORE TIMES.
WE'RE GONNA NEED LIKE FIVE MORE MINUTES, PROBABLY
UH, I JUST RECEIVED YOUR SCORES.
I SEE THAT THERE'S TWO WITH, UH, RANKING 10, AND I THINK WE'RE MISSING A RANKING TWO.
OKAY, JESSE, LET ME GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT AGAIN.
[01:25:01]
DESCRIPT.DO YOU WANT ME TO SEND YOU AN EMAIL, UH, ON THIS MY RANKING? YES, PLEASE.
I'M ON, IT'S ON ITS WAY, JESSE, I'M SORRY.
I'M GONNA RESEND IT TO YOU BEFORE YOU EVEN ASK FOR IT.
I'M SORRY I'M NOT FEELING WELL TODAY.
THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THE RIGHT, THE, OKAY, JESSE, I JUST SEND IT TO YOU.
JESSE, DID YOU GET MINE VIA EMAIL? YES, I DO HAVE YOURS, COMMISSIONER.
[01:31:04]
OKAY.SO HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING? WELL, JESSE STOKING RIGHT NOW, SO I'LL WAIT TILL HE'S CAUGHT UP AND THEN WE'LL CHECK IN.
COMMISSIONER DESTA, ONE CLARIFYING QUESTION.
THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SENT ARE THE IDENTIFIERS OR THE RANKS.
OH, THOSE ARE THE IDENTIFIERS IN RANK ORDER.
ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? YES, THANK YOU.
SO THERE SHOULD BE 15 NUMBERS, RIGHT? YOU SEE 15? YEAH.
SO THOSE ARE THE CANDIDATES IN ORDER BY THEIR IDENTIFIERS IN, IN MY OPINION, THE FIRST EIGHT THAT I LISTED ARE QUITE A BIT BETTER THAN THE LAST SEVEN.
[01:36:20]
HEY, JESSE, HAVE A QUESTION? YES, SIR.SO ARE YOU GOING TO SORT OF SHOW THE RESULTS SOON WHEN WE SUBMITTED EVERYTHING? WRITE THIS PARTICIPANT.
SO YEAH, APPLICATION, I GUESS, REALLY, RIGHT? APPLICANT? YEAH.
DID I MISS A QUESTION? SORRY, MY QUESTION WAS, YOU'RE ACCUMULATED ON ALL THESE INPUTS FROM US.
UH, WHEN WILL WE SEE THE END RESULT OF YOUR, UH, COALITION? WE, ONCE WE'RE DONE TABULATING, WE'LL, UH, REPORT BACK TO THE COMMISSION WHAT THE ARE.
YEAH, IT'LL BE ON THE RECORD TODAY.
AND SINCE WE'RE STILL ON THE RECORD, BUT WE'RE KIND OF KILLING TIME NOW, I THINK IT'S, IT'S HELPFUL TO MENTION, UH, WE HAVE COMMISSIONERS WHO BEGAN AS PANELISTS ON THIS REVIEW PANEL FOR GTOP S UH, SO VERY THANKFUL WHEN THAT VOLUNTEERISM TURNS INTO ACTUAL PUBLIC SERVICE, UH, BEYOND JUST HELPING OUT.
ONCE YOU GET A TASTE, YOU JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH
UH, THAT WAS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY BOTH TIMES.
I SERVED TWICE, SO THAT WAS GREAT.
[01:44:46]
CHAIR PITS, WE HAVE A DATA DISCREPANCY THAT WE'LL HAVE TO WORK THROUGH, SO I WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM AND WE'LL CIRCLE BACK ON, UH, REPORTING.NOW, WOULD YOU LIKE ANY FEEDBACK ON THE DATA
[01:45:01]
ITEM ITSELF? WE THINK, YOU GUESS WORK IT OUT AND BE BEST TO PROCEED.I, I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT IT'S, BUT OUR TOTALS AREN'T MATCHING, SO I'LL HAVE TO DO SOME DIAGNOSTICS.
SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PRESS PAUSE ON THIS AGENDA ITEM FOR NOW AND, UH, MOVE ON OUR AGENDA TWO.
[5. FY 24 Commission Budget Priorities (Commission Discussion and Action)]
THE FY 2024 COMMISSION BUDGET PRIORITIES, COMMISSION, DISCUSSION, AND ACTION.UH, NOW IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, NO ONE SUBMITTED ANYTHING FOR PRE-WORK, UH, TO JESSE TO INCLUDE IN THE DOCUMENTS TODAY.
AND SO THIS WILL JUST BE A DISCUSSION.
AND THEN IF WE AGREE ABOUT HAVING A BUDGET REQUEST, IT'LL THEN HAVE TO BE WORKED UP BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT MEETING TO ACTUALLY BE APPROVED.
UH, HAVING SAID THAT, I'VE GOT SEVERAL THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT, UM, AND I'D LIKE TO JUST PUT OUT THERE AND, UH, GAUGE EVERYONE HERE FOR FEEDBACK AND, AND ONLINE AS WELL.
AND THEN TO PULL YOU GUYS FOR YOUR IDEAS.
UH, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT, UH, WOULD HOPEFULLY MAKE PERFECT SENSE BASED ON OUR FOCUS AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE DISCUSSED TODAY.
UH, TO BEGIN WITH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DEDICATED TO, UH, HOSTING TOWN HALL LISTENING SESSIONS AS A COMMISSION IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OR DECA PARTNERS.
AND, UH, AS YOU ALSO KNOW, WE'VE DONE THAT TODAY WITH ZERO BUDGET.
UH, SOME MIGHT SAY IF THEY BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.
UH, BUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'VE PERSONALLY COME OUT OF POCKET FOR SOME THINGS, UH, I KNOW OTHERS HAVE AS WELL THAT THEY WEREN'T REIMBURSED FOR, AND WE'RE NOT PAID APPOINTEES.
UM, SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US USING BUDGET TO THEN AT LEAST GET SOME APPROVAL FOR SOME BASIC THINGS SO WE DON'T HAVE TO COME OUT OF POCKET OR TO CONSIDER ADDITIONAL THINGS.
UH, ONE OF THEM, UH, REALLY IS TIED TO THE MODEL THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, WHERE WE, WE SHOW VALUE FOR THE FEEDBACK FROM OUR CITIZENS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
ANYONE THAT PARTICIPATES, FRANKLY, THAT CAN SHARE THEIR INSIGHTS, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE'VE PROVIDED HONORARIUMS, UH, THROUGH NON-PROFIT PARTNERS WE PROVIDED, AND INDEED THROUGH, UH, NON-PROFIT, UH, SPONSORS, EXCUSE ME, FOR-PROFIT SPONSORS LIKE INDEED, UH, WE PROVIDED LIFT COATS VALUE TO $30.
UH, THAT'S BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION THESE MEMBERS HAVE GOTTEN THAT PLUS, UH, A GOOD LUNCH, FRANKLY.
UH, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE AND TO ESTABLISH SOME CONSISTENCY BASED ON BUDGET FOR THOSE EVENTS FOR THE WHOLE YEAR.
YOU KNOW, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, OPERATING, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET, IT'S ONE THING.
THINK AGAIN, IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.
YOU'RE GETTING IT WITHOUT BUDGET, JUST KEEP AT IT.
I JUST DON'T FEEL NECESSARILY GREAT ABOUT THAT, UH, BECAUSE IT'S VALUABLE TIME FROM OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT THEY'RE SPENDING.
UH, AND THOSE INSIGHTS ARE VALUABLE.
I, I FEEL AS THOUGH, UH, THEY DESERVE MORE, UM, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
UM, SO I'VE GOT OTHERS AS WELL.
UM, THE TRAVIS COUNTY SURVEY COMES TO MIND AS I, I PROMISED I WOULD MENTION THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BUDGETING.
UH, IN ADDITION, TWO THINGS THAT ARE, ARE REALLY BIG THAT COME TO MIND ARE FUNDING A COMMUNITY CHALLENGE PROCESS FOR THE SPEEDS AND FEEDS, MAPS, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED THAT WE KNOW ARE OFTEN INACCURATE.
UH, AS COTAN ARTICULATED, WE'VE GOT AN OPPORTUNITY AS A COMMISSION TO DO SOMETHING BEYOND OUR TOWN HALLS TO ENGAGE AND TO HELP WITH THIS TYPE OF, UH, PROCESS.
SO THAT'S, YOU HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, I'D BEMIS IF I DIDN'T MENTION, UH, PERMITTING, UH, AS AN OPPORTUNITY POTENTIALLY.
UH, AND THAT'S SPECIFICALLY IN RELATION TO COMPLAINTS WE'VE GOTTEN ABOUT PERMITTING TIMES AND AN OPPORTUNITY POTENTIALLY TO HELP, UH, ADD STAFFING TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS HERE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, OR, AND, OR RESOURCES OR, UH, WHAT HAVE YOU.
UM, THAT'S YET ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY NOW, I THINK THAT REQUIRES THAT WE ENGAGE WITH THE PERMITTING OFFICE AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO CURRENTLY TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MIGHT NEED.
UM, I, I THINK THAT, UH, CHALLENGE
[01:50:01]
PROCESS INVOLVES IDEATION ON OUR PART AND OUR PARTNERS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD WORK WELL.UM, TOWN HALLS SIMPLER, UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW WE'VE BEEN DOING IT LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT WE NEED.
UH, WE JUST HAVE TO BASICALLY DECIDE IF WE'RE GONNA PUT FUNDING TOWARDS, UH, THE INSIGHTS, RIGHT? TO INCENTIVIZE PEOPLE AND OR, UH, THE PRODUCTION TO, TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT OURSELVES.
UH, AND WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, I THINK, UH, WE'VE GOT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL THERE TO JUST GAIN MORE INSIGHTS FROM, UH, THEIR TEAM, UH, ABOUT HOW WE CAN, UH, SPECIFICALLY CONTRIBUTE IN LOT OF WHAT THEY'VE ALREADY GOT.
WELL, IT WORKS AND DEEPLY PILOTED.
AND, AND THERE'S ACTUALLY ONE MORE THING.
UH, AND THAT'S, AND IT CAME UP IN OUR CONVERSATIONS THIS WEEK AS WELL, IN RELATION TO THE WEATHER.
UH, YOU KNOW, THIS ICE STORM HAS CREATED A VERY UNIQUE SITUATION, UH, AND, UH, AND YET IT'S ONE THAT WE EXPERIENCED LAST YEAR.
UM, AND, AND SO UNFORTUNATELY IT'S BECOMING A PATTERN, UH, THAT SUGGESTS THAT AS A COMMISSION, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO HELP WITH THE RECOMMENDATION ON BUDGET, FOCUSED ON RELATED MATTERS.
UH, NOW, RESILIENCY CENTERS CAME TO MIND IN OUR CONVERSATIONS BEFORE, WHICH WERE DESIGNED TO HELP WITH, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE WARMING STATIONS PROVIDE ACCESS TO CHARGING, TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, ACCESS, UH, IF NECESSARY TO EVEN OVERNIGHT SHELTER OR, OR, OR HOUSING IN, IN SOME CAPACITIES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, BIG CAVEAT FOR THAT FOR US IS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, ACCESS TO DEVICES ACCESS, UH, YOU KNOW, TO THE THINGS THAT, UH, MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN STILL GET ONLINE.
UH, AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF MY THOUGHTS.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH ANYONE THAT HAS, UH, ANY IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK OR THOUGHTS ON THOSE IDEAS AND IDEAS, WHAT THEY'RE WRONG.
WELL, THE FIRST IS TO QUESTION AROUND YOUR LAST COMMENT.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROPOSAL THEN? WELL, MY LAST COMMENT, I IS, UH, FRANKLY, IT, IT'S LESS OF A PROPOSAL, UH, SHORT OF, WELL, THE PROPOSAL IS THAT WE CONSIDER HOW BUDGET COULD HELP, UH, AVOID SITUATIONS IN THE FUTURE WHERE PEOPLE CAN'T GET ONLINE, CAN'T CHARGE THEIR DEVICES, BASICALLY, WHERE, UH, PEOPLE COULD GUARANTEE THEY'LL HAVE ACCESS TO POWER.
AND, AND I MENTIONED THE, THE RESILIENCY CENTERS, BECAUSE THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING OF OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AS A CITY TO OFFER THAT TYPE OF, OF SETUP WHERE THEY'LL BE POSITIONED IN THE CITY, IN LOCATIONS WHERE, UH, THE, THE RISK OF HAVING POWER OUTAGES AND OR THE BACKUP, UH, POWER CAPABILITIES ARE SO THAT THEY WILL, THEY WILL NOT HAVE OUTAGES.
UH, SO LESS OF A DIRECT PROPOSAL AND MORE OF JUST A, YOU KNOW, A THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WE COULD DO IT, UH, YOU KNOW, A A QUANDARY RATHER, UH, YOU KNOW, AND WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE WITH OUR GROUP.
SO WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING IS, DO YOU WANT US AS A COMMISSION TO PUT PRESSURE ON COUNCIL TO INVEST IN THIS RESILIENCY HUBS? AND IF THAT'S WHAT WE CAN DO, THEN THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD DO.
WELL, I, I APPRECIATE THAT INTERPRETATION.
UH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD DEFINITELY SAY, UH, THAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE DESIGNED TO OFFER ADVISEMENT.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE CLEARLY HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO DIRECTLY CONVEY OUR UNDERSTANDINGS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND HOW, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT IDEAS CAN HELP.
UH, SO IF WE AGREED UPON IT, IT WOULD BE THAT WE DO WHAT IT TAKES PERHAPS TO, UH, FAST TRACK AND, OR AT THE VERY LEAST, UH, MAYBE PAUSE AND GET A PRESENTATION FROM THOSE GROUPS, UH, TO UNDERSTAND HERE AT THE COMMISSION LEVEL WHERE WE ARE WITH THE RESILIENCY CENTERS, UH, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE GOTTEN THAT UPDATE.
WE ACTUALLY DID GET AN UPDATE ON THAT.
UH, THOSE ARE SOME INITIAL THOUGHTS.
UM, I WOULD SAY THAT I, TO SUPPORT YOUR IDEA OF ASKING FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO, UM, HONOR THE EXPERTISE OF PEOPLE WHO COME TO THE TOWN HALLS AND PAY FOR THEIR TIME AND THEIR WISDOM.
I THINK IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE CREATE, UH, A PLAN AROUND DIGITAL EQUITY AND DIGITAL INCLUSION, IT HAS TO COME.
I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE THAT INTO A PRACTICE.
AND I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SET AN EXAMPLE OF HOW OTHER ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD ALSO BE DOING IT, WHICH IS THAT YOU PAY FOR THE EXPERTISE OF THOSE WHOSE WISDOM YOU'RE ASKING FOR.
AND I THINK, UM, IT SEEMS VERY
[01:55:01]
REASONABLE TO ALSO ASK FOR A BUDGET TO HAVE TOWN HALL.THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO, AND YOU ALREADY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE EXPENSES.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS IN THE ROOM? UH, MY ONLY THOUGHT ON THE LAST POINT THERE, WITH BUDGETING FOR, FOR TOWN HALLS, UM, I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO NOT NECESSARILY BE RELIANT ON OUR PARTNERS, WHICH HAVE ALL BEEN AMAZING.
UM, BUT IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SHOW LEADERSHIP, NOT ONLY WITH COORDINATING THE TOWN HALLS, BUT, UM, UH, BEING ABLE TO, TO INVEST IN THE COMMUNITY AS COMMISSIONER GARZA ALLUDED TO AS WELL.
UM, SO I GUE I GUESS, FOR THAT SPECIFIC ITEM, UM, UNDERSTANDING PERHAPS WHAT THE BUDGETS WERE IN THE PAST, UH, EITHER THAT WE'VE INDIVIDUALS IN THE COMMISSION MAY HAVE COME OUT OF POCKET FOR, AS WELL AS, UM, OUR PARTNERS, UH, WHO PROVIDED FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND OTHERWISE.
AND THAT WOULD SORT OF HELP US GAUGE, UM, HOW MUCH TO REQUEST.
UM, CUZ I, I THINK WE HAD COMMITTED TO DOING FOUR TOWN, AT LEAST FOUR TOWN HALLS FOR THE YEAR.
UM, SO HOW MUCH TO REQUEST, UH, TO GET US THROUGH.
UH, COMMISSIONER FOR, I JUST WANNA, I, I LIKE THE AS WELL.
I, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR HOW MUCH TO REQUEST, BUT I DO LIKE THE PRINCIPLE, THE IDEA OF MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THE COSTS ARE PR WOULDN'T PROHIBIT ANYONE FROM PARTICIPATING.
UH, ANY REACTION ONLINE TO THIS TOPIC OR TO, UH, THIS ITEM? COMMISSIONER ACUTA? YEAH, I THINK, UH, THE IDEA OF ASKING FOR A SMALL BUDGET FOR DIFFERENT, UH, ITEMS OF BUSINESS THAT WE CONDUCT, UH, I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A VERY GOOD IDEA.
I THINK THERE ARE OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT HAVE SMALL BUDGETS.
WE MAY WANT TO CHECK WHO DOES IT, WHO DOES, AND HOW DO THEY GO ABOUT, UH, GETTING IT.
MAYBE WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM SO THAT WE CAN SORT OF FOLLOW, FOLLOW THEIR LEAD AND ASK FOR IT.
BUT YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING THAT, UH, TRIGGERED A THOUGHT.
YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, PERMITTING.
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UH, FAIR LENGTH AT OUR WORKING GROUP MEETING, YOU KNOW, EARLY IN THE WEEK.
AND, UM, AND I THINK WE SHOULD RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY IN THEIR BUDGETING PROCESS, PUT ASIDE SOME MONEY TO DO A STUDY.
REMEMBER, WE TALKED ABOUT DOING A BEST IN CLASS, UH, UH, STUDIES WHO ARE THE BEST IN CLASS, UH, CITIES THAT HAVE VERY EFFICIENT PERMITTING PROCESSES SO THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM AND MAYBE ADOPT SOME OF THEIR PROCESSES, BECAUSE THAT'S IT.
THIS TOPIC HAS COME UP FOR EVERY YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMISSION, PERMITTING, PERMITTING, PERMITTING, AND I'M IN ANOTHER COMMISSION, PERMITTING, PERMITTING, PERMITTING, NO MATTER WHICH COMMISSION THAT TOPIC COMES UP.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG? SO MAYBE WE SHOULD DO A STUDY, WHETHER IT BE WE COULD POSSIBLY BE A SPONSOR OF THE STUDY, CO-SPONSOR, OR WHATEVER IT IS, THE CITY NEEDS TO DO IT.
I, I DEFINITELY TAKE YOUR POINTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, TO AVOID CONFIRMATION BIAS, UH, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO BEGIN, UH, ENGAGING THE PERMITTING OFFICE, UH, ABOUT THEIR CURRENT PROCESS.
UH, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS A UNIQUE CITY, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE DEALING WITH HISTORICAL DYNAMICS THAT ARE, UH, COMMONPLACE IN LOTS OF COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY BECAUSE OF OUR LOCATION WITH GEOGRAPHY, WE DO HAVE SOME UNIQUE CHALLENGES THAT OTHER CITIES IN THIS STATE DO NOT HAVE.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST THE BOTTOM LINE.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST AN OUTRIGHT TRUTH.
UH, SO, UH, AGAIN, GIVEN THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, UH, I, I TAKE YOUR POINTS ABOUT THE RESEARCH, UH, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF IT STARTED, UH, WITH OUR APARTMENT AND THEN, AND THEN WENT FROM THERE.
BUT, BUT, UH, I'M GLAD YOU SUPPORT THAT.
UH, YOU KNOW, KIND WORKING BACK TO THE ROOM, UM, AND, AND THE COMMENTS THAT WERE SHARED, UH, UH, VICE CHAIR AB THANK YOU FOR, UH, CONFIRMING YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS.
WE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE TIME BETWEEN THIS MEETING AND OUR NEXT, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION WORKING GROUP MEETING TO PULL TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, RECEIPTS AND, YOU KNOW, BUDGET, UH, RELATED TO OUR OWN PERSONAL EXPENSES.
UM, WE ALREADY HAVE THE DATA RELATED TO HONORARIUMS, UH, AND GIFTS, BUT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER, BASED UPON HOW WE DO THESE EVENTS, WE SET UP TARGET, AND THEN WE EXECUTE, AND THEN WE END UP GETTING, YOU KNOW, A TARGET RATHER FOR PARTICIPATION.
UH, AND THEN DEPENDING UPON HOW EFFECTIVE WE ARE, INDOOR SUCCESSFUL, THE ENGAGEMENT IS FROM OUR COMMUNITY
[02:00:01]
LEADERS, UH, THE BRANCH LIBRARIAN, UH, MANAGER, AND, AND US.UH, WE THEN WE HAVE, UH, X NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS.
SO EITHER WAY, IT'S GONNA BE A TARGET, RIGHT? UM, AND SO, UH, BUT YET WE, WE'LL STILL BE ABLE TO TARGET, YOU KNOW, TO, TO ITEMIZE OR ESTIMATE RATHER, WHAT THAT TARGET BUDGET COULD BE BASED UPON OUR GOALS FOR PARTICIPATION AND THEN AN AGREEMENT ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT WANNA PAY.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE MIGHT WANNA TALK ABOUT.
NOW AS A GROUP, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE ALL AGREE THAT WE SHOULD DEFINITELY INCENTIVIZE, YOU KNOW, AND DIRECTLY COMPENSATE THIS LIVED EXPERIENCE SHARING, UH, THEN WE SHOULD AGREE ON A NUMBER.
UM, WE, I BELIEVE, UH, WE USED NUMBERS BOTH FOR, UH, THERE WAS A QUANTIFIABLE NUMBER FOR, UH, VOLUNTEER HOURS THAT WENT INTO PART OF THE CALCULATION, I BELIEVE, BY THE PLANNING TEAM, UH, IN ADDITION TO SOME, UH, SPECIFIC ANECDOTES BASED ON HONORARIUMS THAT PEOPLE HAD HEARD BEEN GIVEN BEFORE AND, AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WAS BEING USED.
SO ULTIMATELY, FOR THE THREE TO FOUR HOUR ENGAGEMENT, WE AGREED UPON $120, RIGHT? UH, AND WE WERE ABLE TO, THROUGH THE GIFTS OF ONE OF OUR SPONSORING PARTNERS TO INCENTIVIZE, UH, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE FIRST TWO LISTENING SESSIONS AT THAT AMOUNT.
UH, SO THAT'S A POTENTIAL TARGET.
UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THREE TO FOUR HOURS, IT ESTABLISHES A NUMBER.
UH, IT'S BASICALLY 30 BUCKS AN HOUR, YOU KNOW, SO I'D LIKE TO GET FEEDBACK FROM ANYBODY IN THE BEST PRACTICES THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF IN THIS SPACE NOW.
OR JUST, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, YS, RIGHT? I'M THINKING OF, UH, THE, THE PROCESS FOR, UH, THE MECHANISM FOR FUNDING, AND ALSO THE, THE PROCESS OF ADMINISTRATING THE FUNDS.
IT GETS PRETTY COMPLEX WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CITY FUNDS, AND I'M WONDERING IF A WAY AROUND THAT WOULD BE TO ASK FOR FUNDING FOR A, UH, A CONSULTANT WHO THEN IS, IS GIVEN MONEY TO, UH, DISPERSE IN SOME MANNER.
UM, THERE, THERE ARE GOING TO BE A, A LOT OF HURDLES TO GET AROUND HERE.
UM, SO THAT, THAT MIGHT JUST BE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
UM, NOW THE, UH, THE OTHER, UH, YS, COMMISS YATES, JESSE HAS A, I THINK SOME INPUT ON THIS TOPIC.
DID YOU WANT HIM TO, UH, YEAH, JUST IN REGARDS TO THE, UH, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD DISCUSSION.
UH, WE DO HAVE CURRENT CONTRACTS THAT, UH, OFFER STIPENDS TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, AND, AND IT IS A SITUATION LIKE YOU JUST MENTIONED, COMMISSIONER YATES, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PAYING THE CONTRACTOR TO DO THIS.
UM, I WILL SAY, UH, THE ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD RATES FOR THESE CONTRACTS, OR FOR THIS CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE IS VERY HIGH.
IT'S 40% OVERHEAD AND 60%, UH, THAT WOULD BE PASSED ON.
SO THESE ARE VERY EXPENSIVE CONTRACTS.
UM, IF WE WERE TO, UH, THINK ABOUT DOING THIS, UH, ON AN ONGOING OR PERMANENT BASIS, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER IF WE TRIED TO BUILD STAFF CAPACITY TO DO THAT.
UM, OR, UH, TRYING TO FIND, UH, AN IDENTIFIED COMMUNITY PARTNER WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THE SERVICE, UH, AT, YOU KNOW, A LOWER UH, RATE THAN WHAT WE HAVE, UH, SEEN IN, IN THE, THE FORMAL BID PROCESS.
UH, THIS, DOES THAT HELP YOU AS WELL, COMMISSION YS BEFORE YOU CONTINUE WITH YOUR, YOUR QUESTIONS, RIGHT? YEAH.
THAT GIVES, UH, THIS COMMISSION A GOOD IDEA OF THE OVERHEAD ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE AND, UH, THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO, UH, THINK A LITTLE ABOUT, ABOUT HOW WE OVERCOME THOSE MECHANISMS. UM, NOW THE OTHER COMMENT I HAD WAS ON THE, UH, PERMITTING PROCESS.
NOW THAT IS A REAL POLITICAL LANDMINE.
UM, AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THIS COMMISSION, UH, LIMIT ITS FOCUS TO TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN HELP THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE INTERPRET, UH, AND ADMINISTER ALL THE BYZANTINE PROCESSES AND RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT HAVE TO BE CHECKED OFF EVERY TIME THERE IS A, UH, ANY KIND
[02:05:01]
OF A PERMIT.SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE COULD HELP, IS JUST IN TECHNOLOGY AND STAY FOCUSED ON TECHNOLOGY AND DON'T GET INTO THE POLITICAL MINEFIELD OF WHICH REGULATIONS, UH, UH, OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE ARE VALID AND WHICH AREN'T, BECAUSE THAT IS AN ONGOING CONFLICT.
I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA WANTS TO CHIME IN BACK ON THE EARLIER TOPIC.
UM, JESSE, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ALREADY HAVING DELIVERED THESE TYPES OF STIPENDS, YOU MEAN LIKE WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT OR JUST ACROSS THE CITY? UH, YES.
BECAUSE I KNOW LIKE A P H OBVIOUSLY DID THAT IN MASSIVE NUMBERS DURING VACCINATIONS.
SO OBVIOUSLY IT'S DOABLE AS PART OF THE CITY PROCESS.
MY ORGANIZATION STARTED DOING IT, AND NOW WE DO IT ALL THE TIME IN TERMS OF PROVIDING GIFT CARDS AND STIPEND.
SO IF YOU WANNA DO IT INTERNALLY, I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT WE LEARNED, UH, AND HOW WE HAD TO LEARN TO PROTECT OURSELF AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT LIABILITY AND HOW TO TRACK, YOU KNOW, HOW TO DISPERSE THOSE FUNDS.
SO I'M HAPPY TO OFFER MY, UM, WHAT WE LEARNED SO FAR.
YEAH, HAPPY TO LEARN FROM, UH, THE OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY'S EXPERIENCE.
UM, WE, WE HAVE HEARD FROM FOLKS IN THE A P H, UH, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT THAT, UM, WERE DOING COVID, UH, GIFT CARDS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DID HAVE WAS STAFF DEDICATED TO HANDLING THE GIFT CARDS, UH, AND, AND HANDLING THAT PROCESS.
SO, UM, I, I, I TOTALLY AGREE.
AND IF, IF WE WANTED TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT WE PROBABLY NEED TO BUILD STAFF CAPACITY TO DO, TO DO THAT.
WELL, WE COULD DEFINITELY TAKE THIS, UH, END DISCUSSION AT, AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL, UH, CUZ YOUR INSIGHTS COMMISSIONER WILL BE CRUCIAL THERE TOO.
UH, SO LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE ABOUT HOW Y'ALL GOT IT DONE.
UM, DID YOU ADD ANYTHING TO ADD THERE, COMMISSIONER Y UH, BEYOND THAT LAST COMMENT? UM, NO, I THINK THAT WAS ABOUT IT.
UH, JUST TO REACT TO YOUR COMMENTS, UM, I, I AGREE WITH YOU, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, FOCUSING ON TECHNOLOGY, UH, WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR US.
UH, I, I GUESS THE, THE CHALLENGE, OF COURSE IS, UH, WE ALSO ARE, YOU KNOW, UH, DIRECTLY, UH, RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, SOME CARRY INTERACTIONS, UH, IN PARTICULAR TO PROVIDE THEM, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO, YOU KNOW, UPDATE US ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, AND WE HAVE PLANS TO DO THAT MORE COMPREHENSIVELY THIS YEAR.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, THEY'VE, THEY'VE BEEN, THEY'VE TRIED TO PULL US INTO THAT, UH, POLITICAL, UH, DYNAMIC.
UH, I, I GUESS SINCE TELECOMMUNICATIONS, IT'S THE OTHER PART OF OUR COMMISSION.
UH, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PERMITTING, TELECOMMUNICATIONS.
UH, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE AVOID A, AT LEAST FINDING A WAY TO SURFACE THIS UP, UH, AS ADVISORS A POLITICALLY, UH, RIGHT.
I MEAN, EVEN IF WE DON'T GET INVOLVED IN, UH, THE POLITICS OF IT, UH, OUR DESIRE TO WANT TO HELP THE PERMITTING OFFICE DO BETTER WITH BUDGET ONLY SEEMS NOBLE TO ME.
UH, AND SO I GUESS WE JUST HAVE TO BE CAREFUL AND, AND STRATEGIZE ABOUT HOW WE DO THAT, HOW WE APPROACH THEM.
UH, AND AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TAKE UP IN THE WORKING GROUP AND, AND, AND PUT TOGETHER WITH OUR PLAN FOR, FOR, UH, NEXT MONTH.
I THINK THAT'S A WISE IDEA TO BRING THIS UP IN THE WORKING GROUP.
UH, WELL, ANY OTHER QUESTION, UH, FEEDBACK OFFICER JESSE, GO RIGHT AHEAD.
I'M PROBABLY SAYING THAT ALL OF THIS AT THE WRONG SIDE OF THIS CONVERSATION, BUT I WANTED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND, AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY ON THE COMMISSION IS AWARE OF THE OVERARCHING PROCESS FOR THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, IN CASE THAT, YOU KNOW, HELPS WITH YOUR DELIBERATIONS, UM, WE WILL BE HAVING THIS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING AS WELL.
UM, SO USUALLY WE HAVE TWO MONTHS OF DISCUSSIONS ON THIS.
THE FIRST MONTH IS HELPFUL FOR US TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE, THE OVERARCHING FOCUSES, FOCUS AREAS ARE, UM, AND THEN THAT CAN INFORM SOME RESEARCH ACTIVITY IN THE INTERIM BETWEEN, UH, THE FIRST MEETING AND THE SECOND MEETING.
WITH THE SECOND MEETING, HOPEFULLY, UH, RESULTING IN, UH, FORMAL VOTES ON EACH RECOMMENDATION AND THOSE FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, DID THE FORMAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WOULD GO TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THEN,
[02:10:01]
UH, FROM THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, TO CONS TO ACTUALLY INCORPORATE INTO THE, UH, THE BUDGET GENERATION PROCESS.AND THERE'S, THERE'S A PROCESS WHERE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS GO TO THE DEPARTMENTS.
THE DEPARTMENTS CAN RESPOND TO EACH OF THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO IT, UH, JUST, UH, TO HELP Y'ALL UNDERSTAND LIKE THE OVERARCHING PROCESS AND HOW THIS, THE PIECE IS FIT TOGETHER.
UM, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, UH, FOR US, FOR DAN AND I, UH, IF, UH, IF Y'ALL DO HAVE SPECIFIC RESEARCH ITEMS, LIKE IF Y'ALL WANNA REACH OUT TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UH, OR OTHER PARTS THAT RELATE TO, UM, UH, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU HAVE, JUST MAKE THAT CLEAR IN THIS MEETING AND, AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP AND, AND TRY AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS, UM, IN THE INTERIM.
UH, THAT'S A GOOD SEGUE, UH, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE, UH, THOSE FOLLOW UP ITEMS. UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU MAY MENTION OF ONE, THAT BEING THE PERMITTING OFFICE, UH, DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE A FOLLOW UP WITH THEM.
AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO EDUCATE OURSELVES ON, UH, THEIR CURRENT PROCESSES AND, AND WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP ADVISE THEM.
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE OTHER ITEMS, I THINK WE'VE GOT CLEAR DIRECTION ON ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THE WORKING GROUPS.
UH, BUT I FEEL LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S ALSO A NEED FOR, UH, RESEARCH ON THE CHALLENGE PROCESS AND HOW WE CAN REALLY HELP THAT RESEARCH OR INNOVATION, UH, THE IDEATION, YOU KNOW, ON HOW WE CAN HELP WITH THAT.
UM, AND WE WOULD LOVE, CERTAINLY LOVE TO INCLUDE YOUR OFFICE IN ON THAT PROCESS, UH, THAT BRAINSTORM OR AT LEAST, UH, THAT KNOWLEDGE SHARE.
AND WE MAY MENTION, OF COURSE, OF CORROBORATING DATA, UH, RELATED TO THE TOWN HALLS AND, AND WHAT WE NEED TO, TO DO THAT THERE WITHIN THE WORK GROUP.
SO, UH, LESTER, IS THERE ANY OTHER FEEDBACK ON THIS ONE OR NEED FOR DELIBERATION? I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME PRETTY CLEAR NEXT STEPS.
UM, I'D LIKE TO ADD, UH, AN ITEM TO THE, UH, BUDGET DISCUSSION PROCESS.
AND THAT IS FUNDING FOR THE VOTE TRACKER RESOLUTION THAT HAS BEEN, UH, KIND OF IN PROCESS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW.
AND SO ONE QUESTION WHERE POSSIBLY, UH, JESSE COULD RESEARCH THIS, IS THAT THE LAST TIME WE GOT A STATUS UPDATE, THE VOTE TRACKER PROJECT HAD BEEN FOLDED INTO ANOTHER PROJECT.
AND WHERE IS THE STATUS OF THAT PROJECT? DOES IT HAVE FUNDING AND, UH, DOES IT NEED MORE FUNDING? SO FOR US TO MAKE A, A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION FOR FUNDING FOR, FOR THAT PARTICULAR ITEM.
AND, UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER YS.
UH, I HAVE REQUESTED A PRESENTATION OR A MEETING RATHER WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE, UM, AND, AND BETWEEN THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THE COMMISSION.
UM, AND THEY HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED, UH, THE DESIRE OF THE COMMISSION TO MEET, UM, AND, AND WOULD LIKE TO, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF, UH, WORKING TO, UH, A CURRENT, UH, WORK ITEM, UH, THAT'S TAKING UP A LOT OF THEIR BANDWIDTH AT THE MOMENT.
UM, AND, AND THEY'LL GET BACK TO US WHEN THEY'RE ABLE TO MEET, OKAY, WELL, IS THAT, UM, ARE THEY GOING TO BE ABLE TO MEET BEFORE WE NEED TO MAKE OUR BUDGET REG RECOMMENDATIONS? AND REALLY, I, I THINK ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS ANSWER A QUESTION, AND THAT IS, IS THIS VOTE TRACKER RESOLUTION PROJECT FUNDED? I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR TIMEFRAME IS, BUT I, I'M HAPPY TO BUMP THAT UP WITH, UH, WITH THE ADDITIONAL NOTES THAT THE COMMISSION IS LOOKING TO, UH, FIGURE OUT IF, IF, IF BUDGET SUPPORT IS REQUIRED AND, AND THAT THAT MIGHT CHANGE THEIR TIMELINE.
THAT, I THINK THAT WOULD HELP WITH OUR, UH, DELIBERATIONS.
UH, EXCUSE ME, COMMISSIONER, WAS THAT YOUR ONLY, UH, OTHER RECOMMENDATION? UM, WELL, WE'VE, UH, WE'VE GOT SEVERAL OTHER RESOLUTIONS.
UH, NO, I'M ASKING NOW BECAUSE YOU, YOU MENTIONED ONE, UH, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WHAT YOU JUST MENTIONED IS BASICALLY THE COMMUNITY CITY COUNCIL ACTION DATABASE.
SO IF, IF THAT, THERE'S TWO OF THEM.
SO THE, THE VOTE TRACKER RESOLUTION HAS BEEN,
[02:15:01]
UH, THAT WAS PASSED A LONG TIME AGO AND HAS ALREADY GONE TO COUNSEL AND, UM, HOPEFULLY, AND, AND TO THE, UH, CLERK'S OFFICE, AND THEY SAID THEY WERE GONNA DEAL WITH IT, BUT THEY HAVEN'T.AND SO THAT, THAT'S ONE ROAD SOLUTION.
AND THEN THIS OTHER ONE IS THE COUNCIL ACTION DATABASE, AND THAT WAS WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DISCUSS TONIGHT, AND THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER BU BUDGET ITEM REQUEST.
UH, I GUESS JUST TO BE CLEAR, UH, THOSE COUNCIL ACTIONS ARE GONNA INCLUDE VOTES, RIGHT? SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REDUNDANT ITEMS SOMEWHAT, OR JUST A, IT'S, IT'S A SEMANTICS THING.
NO, THEY ARE TWO SEPARATE, UM, DATABASES, REALLY.
ONE OF THEM IS JUST HOW DOES, HOW, HOW DID COUNCIL VOTE ON THE, THE VARIOUS IT AGENDA ITEMS? UH, AND THAT'S KIND OF A HISTORICAL DATABASE.
AND THE OTHER ONE IS ONCE THERE ARE COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS, UM, HOW IS THIS TRACKED IN THE CITY? AND I HAVE AN EXAMPLE NOW OF HOW IT'S TRACKED CURRENTLY, AND THEY USE ESSENTIALLY A SPREADSHEET AND, AND THAT SEEMS RATHER PRIMITIVE TO ME WHEN THEY NEED SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UH, SO THAT'S WHAT TONIGHT'S WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT, WAS A DATABASE RATHER THAN A SPREADSHEET.
SO, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER SKUP, YEAH, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND CHIME IN.
MAYBE WE CAN USE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSITION.
I'M NOT SURE, ACTUALLY A QUESTION FOR JESSE.
RELATING TO WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER ITS IS SAYING ABOUT TRACKING IT THROUGH A DATABASE, ET CETERA, UH, THE ORIGINAL REQUEST WAS FOR THE ABILITY TO TRACK THE BY RESOLUTION, HOW THE VOTES OF EACH OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WENT, AND WHAT WAS ULTIMATE DECISION THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL REQUEST.
SO, UH, QUESTION FOR JESSE IS, DOES THE CITY IN ANY FORM OR SHAPE IN ANY DEPARTMENT USE ANY KIND OF A DATABASE LIKE ORACLE? BECAUSE IF THE CITY HAS A LICENSE FOR ORACLE, THIS SHOULD BE A TRIVIAL THING TO IMPLEMENT.
I AM SORRY, BUT THIS SHOULD NOT BE THAT DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT IF YOU'VE GOT ALREADY GOT ACCESS TO A PROFESSIONAL DATABASE.
UH, I THINK THE ANSWER TO THAT IS YES.
AND, AND, UH, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, UH, CITYWIDE, SO LICENSE, UH, WHICH IS THE OPEN DATA PORTAL THAT IS, UH, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
UH, AND ALSO, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THE COMMISSIONERS RECALL WHEN THE ITEM ORIGINALLY CAME OUT.
WE LOOKED AT THE DALLAS, UH, VOTE PUBLICATION, UH, AS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WAS BEING PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION, AND THAT'S ALSO A ACCRA PLATFORM.
SO WE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A WAY TO IMPLEMENT THIS FOR SURE.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT WHAT THE, THE CURRENT DISCUSSION IS WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE IS THAT THEY'RE WRAPPING IT INTO, UM, OTHER, UH, VOTE TRACKING TECHNOLOGY THAT'S ABOVE AND BEYOND THE, WHAT THE SIMPLE REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION IS IN, IN THAT CASE, MY FOLLOW-UP QUESTION IS RELATING TO, AGAIN, THE QUESTION THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER EATS ASKED, IS IT FUNDED? AND IF IT IS FUNDED, IS IT ADEQUATELY FUNDED TO ACHIEVE THIS IN A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME? AND I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD QUESTION FOR THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
I DON'T, I'M NOT QUITE SURE, UM, IF IT'S FUNDED OR NOT.
THE ORIGINAL INTENTION OF THE CLERK'S OFFICE WAS TO DO THIS IN-HOUSE WITH CTM, BUT THERE ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE OTHER PRIORITIES.
AND SO THE, THE REASONABLE THING TO DO WOULD BE TO FUND IT AND JUST BUY OFF THE SHELF SOFTWARE OR GET SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO THE DATABASE.
SO OUR DISCUSSION HAS REALLY KIND OF TAKEN A TURN HERE WITH THE FOCUS ON THE DATABASE.
UH, IT SEEMS APPROPRIATE TO TRANSITION OUR AGENDA UNLESS OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ITEMS. UH, THEY'RE UNRELATED TO THIS ONGOING DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DATABASE OR, UH, SOME OTHER, UH, BUDGETARY PRIORITY.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON, JUST ONE QUICK CLOSING NOTE.
UH, WE MAY AT THE NEXT COMMISSION, TARA MAY COME TO THE COMMISSION WITH, UH, SOME, UH, BUDGET REQUESTS.
UH, WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE THOSE INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS THOUGH, BUT, UH, WE'RE DISCUSSING THINGS, UH, AROUND, UH, SPACE FOR THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM AND
[02:20:01]
INTERNS TO SUPPORT IT.UM, THOSE ARE STILL IN DISCUSSION THOUGH, GREG.
I GUESS SINCE YOU'RE ALREADY HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS, YOU MIGHT AS WELL BRING BACK, UH, POTENTIAL STAFFING AROUND, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT FROM THE TOM HALLS AND OTHER THINGS AS WELL.
UH, NOT TO MENTION, YOU KNOW, UH, OUR GENERAL SUPPORT FOR INCREASING EVEN GTOP PS FUNDING.
UH, SO YOU, I, WE HAVEN'T HAD A SPECIFIC CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT IN A WHILE, BUT BASED ON LAST CONVERSATIONS, WE'RE ALL PRETTY SUPPORTIVE OF GROWING THAT FUND TOO.
OUR AGENDA HERE, UH, WE'RE GETTING PRESSED FOR TIME, BUT WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT OUTTA HERE BY NINE 30, I PROMISE YOU.
[6. Community City Council Action Database (Discussion and Possible Action)]
ITEM SIX, COMMUNITY CITY COUNCIL ACTION DATABASE.UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE COMMISSIONER YATES A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM, UH, AS, UH, HE HAS BEEN INVOLVED AND, AND DIRECTLY HELPING TO MANAGE THIS, UH, THIS, UH, EFFORT.
GOING BACK TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL, UH, MEETING THAT IT WAS BORN OUT OF.
UH, SO WITH THAT, SHE, ANYTHING TO ADD HERE NOW? ALRIGHT THEN.
SO, UM, WE INITIALLY DISCUSSED THIS, UH, DATABASE, UH, IN THE LAST MEETING, AND I WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT THIS DATABASE IS DIFFERENT THAN THE COUNCIL VOTE TRACKING DATABASE, UM, WHICH HAS BEEN ON OUR AGENDA FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
WHAT THIS ONE DOES WOULD DO WOULD BE TO TRACK, UH, UH, ITEMS THAT HAVE ACTUALLY, UM, GOTTEN ONTO THE AGENDA ALREADY AND HAVE EITHER PASSED OR HAVE AND ARE IN SOME PROCESS.
SO, IN OTHER WORDS, UM, LIKE OUR LAST, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF THIS WOULD BE OUR LAST RESOLUTION FOR THE COUNCIL VOTE TRACKING DATABASE THAT SEEMINGLY GOT LOST SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE, UH, CLERK'S OFFICE AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND THE COUNCIL WORKING COMMITTEE.
AND THERE SHOULD BE A DATABASE THAT WOULD SHOW CITIZENS WHERE THESE ITEMS ARE IN THE PROCESS, AND THEN AFTER A RESOLUTION MAKES IT ONTO THE COUNCIL AGENDA AND IS APPROVED, UH, WHAT IS, WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH IT AFTER THAT.
SO THERE ARE, UM, THERE ARE SOME, UH, DATABASES THAT ARE USED BY CITY DEPARTMENTS, SUCH AS THE PUBLIC WORKS TO TRACK AND, AND ALLOW CITIZENS TO SEE WHERE, WHERE IN THE PROCESS THEY ARE.
BUT I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE TRANSPARENCY.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
AND I HAD SENT OUT A DRAFT RESOLUTION WITH THE SUGGESTIONS OF, UH, COMMISSIONER APAKA ADDED THAT WE, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF JESSE COULD PUT THAT UP ON THE SCREEN NOW, TO HAVE PEOPLE TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
AND ALSO, WHAT I JUST SENT TO JESSE WAS THE CURRENT DATABASE, WHICH IS REALLY NOTHING MORE THAN A SPREADSHEET, AND THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED UPON.
AND JESSE, I HAVE JUST SENT THAT TO YOU.
AND, UH, THIS GIVES A, A AN IDEA OF THE KIND OF INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE IN THE DATABASE, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE IN SOMETHING THAT IS SEARCHABLE RATHER THAN JUST IN A SPREADSHEET.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, UM, YOU COULD, JESSE, YOU COULD POSSIBLY JUST BRING THAT UP FOR A SECOND ALSO SO PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT, UH, WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO HERE.
IT'LL TAKE ME A MINUTE TO, TO GET THIS, UH, FILE OVER TO THE IT FOLKS, BUT I CAN MAKE AN ATTEMPT.
SO MAINLY WE, UH, UH, WHILE THAT'S HAPPENING, PEOPLE COULD JUST READ WHAT'S BEEN, UH, PROPOSED SO FAR IN TERMS OF THE ITEMS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE, UH, IN THE DATABASE.
HOW DO YOU GET BACK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN SO PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY SEE
[02:25:02]
WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING HERE? BECAUSE I CAN ONLY SEE THE, THE TOP PART OF THE, UH, YEAH, MAYBE IF WE COULD REDUCE THE SIZE OF ZOOM WELL, IF, OR FIT IT ALL IN THE SCREEN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.AS LONG AS, UH, YEAH, WE CAN SEE IT ALL.
IN THE MEANTIME, UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION, UM, FOR COMMISSIONER EATS.
UH, YOU REFERENCED A SPREADSHEET, UH, THAT CURRENTLY TRACKS THE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, DOES THE PUBLIC HAVE ACCESS TO THAT SPREADSHEET OR IS THAT AN, AN INTERNAL TRACKER? NO, THE PUBLIC HAS ACCESS BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I FOUND IT.
JUST RE AROUND AND I CAN SEND YOU THE LINK.
I CAN SEND EVERYONE THE LINK AS TO WHERE I FOUND THIS SPREADSHEET.
ASSUME IT'S BURIED IN THE INTERNET SOMEWHERE.
SO I WILL, UH, I'LL TAKE THAT ON AS AN ACTION ITEM TO SEND OUT THE ACTUAL LINK OF WHERE I FOUND THIS SPREADSHEET.
UH, UH, YES, COMMISS SHOULD, I MEAN COMMISSION.
UH, NO, I, I MEANT THE QUESTION IS, UH, FOR COMMISSIONER REEDS, GO RIGHT AHEAD.
UM, IN THIS, UH, TEXT, I THOUGHT THAT WE ALSO WANTED TO KNOW HOW EACH COUNCIL MEMBER VOTED.
THAT IS THE, UM, THAT'S WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT IS THAT WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HERE ARE TWO SEPARATE, UM, DATABASE PROPOSALS.
AND WE HAD ALREADY PASSED IN THIS COUNCIL, IN THIS COMMISSION THE REQUEST FOR A COUNCIL TRACKING BOTH DATABASE.
AND SO THAT SHOULD BE IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
AND WE WERE, WE'VE ASKED JESSE TO FIND OUT WHERE IT IS IN, IN THE PROCESS.
THIS IS AFTER THE COUNCIL HAS APPROVED AN ITEM, IT KIND OF DISAPPEARS INTO THE, UH, INTO THE BUDGET INTO THE CITY.
AND CITIZENS DON'T HAVE A REAL GOOD HANDLE ON WHERE, WHERE SOME OF THESE ARE.
SO, UH, AND, AND THIS IS THE, THAT SPREADSHEET HERE, THIS, THAT'S THE EXAMPLE OF, OF WHAT CITIZENS CAN SEE RIGHT NOW.
SO FROM A CONSUMER'S POINT OF VIEW, A CITIZEN'S POINT OF VIEW, HAVING TWO DATABASES, WOULD THAT BE MORE CONFUSING? YEAH, POSSIBLY.
I MEAN, WHAT WE COULD DO IS, YEAH, WE COULD, UH, COMBINE THE, THE PRE PREVIOUS RES RESOLUTION WITH THIS ONE AND TELL, UM, THE CITY CLERK TO IMPLEMENT THIS.
ALSO, MY FEAR IS THAT MAKING IT MORE COMPLEX MEANS THAT WE WILL NOT GET OUR FIRST REQUEST DONE, BUT AT LEAST SHOULD WE SAY IN THIS PROPOSAL THAT THIS SHOULD LINK TO THAT TRACKER DATABASE? THAT'D BE A GOOD IDEA, YES.
YEAH, WE COULD ADD THAT THE TWO SEPARATE, BUT AT LEAST THEY'RE LINKED IN REALITY FROM A CITIZEN'S POINT OF VIEW.
BUT, UM, ACTUALLY, YEAH, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO REFERENCE THE, UH, UH, RESOLUTION WHERE WE MADE THAT VOTE SINCE WE KNOW IT WAS FROM A COUPLE YEARS AGO, JUST TO ADD SOME CONTEXT AND HEFT.
SO, UM, YEAH, SO I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO THEN IS WE CAN DISCUSS THIS AND MAKE SOME, UH, FURTHER, UH, EDITS AND MODIFICATIONS TO THIS RESOLUTION.
AND THEN BRING IT UP AGAIN NEXT TIME.
AND SO WHAT WE WANNA DO IS WE WANT TO
[02:30:01]
HAVE THIS DATABASE, UM, SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO THE, UH, THE TRACKING DATABASE YEAH.TO THE TRACKER DATABASE, RIGHT? RIGHT.
BASICALLY SOMETHING LIKE, UH, IN THE REQUEST SECTION, LAST SENTENCE, UH, THIS DATABASE WILL CONNECT TO THE VOTING TRACKING DATABASE RECOMMENDED BY THE CTC AND RESOLUTION X, Y, Z.
UM, I'M, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC TO, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOW DO WE SAY CONNECTED? UM, INTEGRATES IT, IT WILL INTEGRATE, IT WILL, YEAH.
SO THAT ONE OF THE PIECES OF INFORMATION IN THIS DATABASE WOULD BE A LINK TO THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION THAT IS IN THE VOTE TRACKER DATABASE THAT WOULD SHOW WHICH, UM, YEP.
WHICH COUNCIL MEMBERS VOTED FOR IT.
UH, LET ME ASK A CLARIFYING QUESTION BEFORE WE PROCEED, JESSE.
WHEN WE MAKE THESE RESOLUTIONS LIKE THIS AND THEY'RE PASSED ON TO CITY COUNCIL, DO THEY GET SOFT COPIES OR HARD COPIES? WHAT DO THEY GET? AS FAR AS I'M AWARE, THEY, UH, THEY GET SOFT COPIES.
SO, UH, WHEN THE, WHEN THE COMMISSION, UH, PASSES A, UH, COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA REQUEST, UH, I UPLOAD, UH, AN ELECTRONIC FILE, IT SENDS AN AUTOMATIC PING TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
THE CLERK'S OFFICE THEN SENDS IT TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
THE MAYOR'S OFFICE THEN ASSIGNS IT TO A COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA, UM, AT SOME POINT.
AND I, I THINK PART OF WHAT COMMISSIONER YATES IS, UH, SAYING IS LIKE TRACKING THAT PROCESS AND, AND, AND PART OF, UH, WHERE THAT DOCUMENT IS IN THAT PROCESS, AS WELL AS ITEMS THAT DON'T GO THROUGH COMMISSIONS, LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ARE DISCUSSED AT THE CITY COUNCIL LEVEL, UH, FROM START TO FINISH, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE CAN BE AMENDMENTS AND POSTPONES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I ASKED BECAUSE I'M WONDERING IF WE SHOULD INCLUDE LIVE LINKS IN OUR PDF OF, UH, THE FINAL APPROVED RESOLUTION, RIGHT? SO SHOULD WE INCLUDE THE ATTACHMENT OF THE RESOLUTION? SHOULD WE INCLUDE THE RE RESOLUTION NUMBER OR A LIVE LINK? YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE BEST APPROACH TO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT, UH, THIS IS ALL SOURCED OUT AND THEY CAN REFERENCE IT? UH, I, I DUNNO WHAT THE, THE BEST ANSWER IS THERE.
I GUESS MY COMMENT WOULD BE, UM, I WOULD ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO, TO, TO THINK ABOUT THE LIST OF REQUIREMENTS THAT Y'ALL ARE REQUESTING.
UM, IT MAY BECOME VERY COMPLEX IF WE'RE TRYING TO, TO ATTACH THIS RECOMMENDATION TO PAST RECOMMENDATION THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE APPROVED BY THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
WELL, WELL, IT, IT DOES, BUT I, I GUESS I'M, I'M CONFUSED.
CAUSE MAYBE WE JUST HAVEN'T THAT BREACHED A CONSENSUS.
UH, YOU KNOW, I'M HEARING ON, I'M HEARING FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER YATES AND, UH, SCTA THAT THEY WANNA REFERENCE AND TIE IT TO THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION.
UH, BUT NOW I'M HEARING THAT THAT COULD ADD SOME COMPLICATION AS OPPOSED TO SIMPLICITY, UNDERSTANDING THE SUPPORT BEHIND FOUR CITY COUNCIL BEHIND A PRIOR RESOLUTION.
YEAH, I KIND OF, UM, SAID THE SAME THING IS THAT I WAS AFRAID THAT WE WERE GOING TO GET TOO COMPLEX AND, AND THIS WOULD NEVER GET DONE AT ALL, EVEN THE PREVIOUS ONE OR THIS ONE.
SO THAT, THAT IS A VALID POINT.
BUT, BUT I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ADVISING CITY COUNCIL, UH, ALTHOUGH IF WE'RE MAKING A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION, WE'RE THEN RELYING UPON THAT DEPARTMENT TO AGREE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION, RIGHT? SO IT'S TWO SEPARATE THINGS, BUT ONE CLEARLY DEPENDS ON THE CLERK'S OFFICE IN THIS CASE.
ANOTHER, JUST CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR JESSE.
SO WHEN WE PASS, WHEN OUR COMMISSION PASSES A RESOLUTION, IS IT AN INTERNAL SYSTEM THAT YOU, UM, UM, ADD THE, THE CONTENT OF OUR RESOLUTION? OR IS IT VIA EMAIL? I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND LIKE YEAH.
WHETHER IT HAS, THAT EVEN HAS THAT CAPABILITY OR NOT.
YEAH, HE EXPLAINED EARLIER THERE IS NO LIKE AUTOMATIC CONNECTION BETWEEN THINGS, UH, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN IF Y'ALL WANT TO REFERENCE IT IN THE TEXT.
UM, BUT I MEAN, SO A COUPLE OF THINGS.
A RECOMMENDATION DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE.
A RECOMMENDATION IS JUST A STATEMENT OF THIS BODY'S, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, OPINION ESSENTIALLY, AND, AND
[02:35:01]
THERE'S NO, UH, AUTOMATIC ACTION THAT HAPPENS AFTER IT.UM, A COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA REQUEST DOES SPAWN A WORKFLOW THAT, UH, PUSHES THINGS TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THEN, THEN TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE TO, TO SPARE ACTION.
IN THE CASE OF THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS SPECIFICALLY, THOSE ARE ATTACHED TO A SEPARATE EXISTING PROCESS.
AND SO BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS GO INTO THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THEN TO THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT FOR, FOR THEM TO BAKE IT INTO THE BUDGET PROPOSAL.
SO BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER RECOMMENDATION.
UM, BUT, BUT I THINK TO YOUR QUESTION, THERE ISN'T ANY LIKE AUTOMATIC CONNECTION OF, YOU KNOW, UH, POINTING TO, TO DIFFERENT ACTIONS THAT THE, THE COMMISSION HAS TAKEN OR TO, UH, RELATED ACTIONS THAT THE, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS TAKEN.
SO FOR AN AGENDA REQUEST, IS IT AN INTERNAL SYSTEM THAT YOU UPLOAD THE CONTENT OR IS IT VIA EMAIL OR SOMETHING ELSE.
IT, THERE, THERE'S A SYSTEM CALLED, UH, AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ACRONYM STANDS FOR, BUT IT'S CALLED BCI C.
IT'S THE, SO ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT, UH, Y'ALL SEE ON AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV/CTC, UH, WHICH IS Y'ALL'S PORTION OF THE WEBSITE, UH, AND WHERE I POST ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS TOO, THEY'RE POSTED THERE FROM THE BCI C TOOL.
UM, AND IT'S THE SAME FOR RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, RESOLUTIONS AND, UH, COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA REQUESTS AND, AND SO FOR, FOR ME TO PROCESS THIS THING, JUST UPLOADING INTO THAT TOOL, AND THEN IT SPONSORS THE WORKFLOW WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
SO THAT HELPS TO ANSWER A QUESTION I HAD EARLIER, BOB, WHAT WOULD BE A BEST PRACTICE OR RECOMMENDATION? RIGHT? DOESN'T DO ANY GOOD FOR A LINK TO SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN'T ACTUALLY LINK TO.
SO THAT ANSWERS THAT QUESTION, UH, THAT WE WOULDN'T WANNA PUT LINKS IN THERE.
UH, BUT JUST THEN REFERENCING THE RESOLUTION, THEN WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO IF THEY CAN'T SEE THE RESOLUTION? UH, SO, UH, ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UH, AND COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA REQUEST THAT THE COMMISSION HAS PASSED IN THE PAST IS ON AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV CTC.
SO, I MEAN, WE COULD HAVE A HYPERLINK, FOR INSTANCE, IN THE DOCUMENT THAT IS ATTACHED TO THE, THE DOCUMENT THAT Y'ALL PASSED WAY BACK WHEN.
UM, MY, MY CONCERN WAS ONLY HOW, HOW COMPLEX DOES IT MAKE IT POINTING BACK TO OTHER THINGS, UH, THAT ARE AT SOME VARIOUS PROCESS GOING THROUGH THE CITY'S, UH, UH, APPROVAL.
AND I AGREE, MY, MY THOUGHT WAS MAKE IT EASIER FOR CITY COUNCIL TO SEE HOW WE, IF THEY WANT, THAT WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS STUFF AND WE'VE WORKED IT OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, BUT, UH, IF IT'S TYING TO AN EXISTING A T X N RECORD OR, YOU KNOW, SOME LINK ON THE WEBSITE, UH, THEY CAN OBVIOUSLY DO THAT, OR, UH, THEY DON'T HAVE TO.
UH, YOU KNOW, BUT, UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE COULD SPEND SOME TIME DELIBERATING ON THIS.
UM, BUT DO WE HAVE ENOUGH, AT LEAST FOR THIS COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEM REQUEST? UH, OR DO WE AGREE THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT SOME MORE WORK INTO THIS, UH, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, LANGUAGE AROUND, UH, WHAT TO INCLUDE OR NOT? UH, COMMISSIONER GAR, I'M OKAY WITH BOARDING ON IT NOW.
I THINK I, I FEAR GETTING TOO COMPLICATED OF GETTING INTO THE DETAILS OF HOW IT WOULD WORK, WHICH IS NOT OUR DUTY, RIGHT? OUR DUTY IS, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT AS TO LIKE HOW REALISTIC OF A RESOLUTION THIS IS, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT FOR US TO BUILD THIS TOOL.
SO WHAT WE WANT IS TO HAVE A SOLUTION TO MAKE THAT REQUEST FOR THAT DISCUSSION TO HAPPEN.
SO THE WAY THAT IT IS WRITTEN NOW, IT ACHIEVES THAT GOAL.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO GO DEEPER INTO THE WORKINGS OF HOW THINGS ACTUALLY WORK RIGHT NOW, AND HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY WORK AND WHAT WE WOULD NEED TO, WHAT SOFTWARE WE NEED TO ACQUIRE.
SO I AM PERSONALLY OKAY WITH VOTING ON IT NOW, BUT, UM, ALSO HAPPY TO HEAR OTHER THOUGHTS.
NO, THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK.
UM, YEAH, CERTAINLY TAKE THE SPIRIT OF, UM, OF YOUR, UH, OF YOUR THOUGHTS HERE.
I MEAN, I, I THINK WE'RE, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK WE'RE CLOSE, BUT IF WE WERE TO VOTE ON IT, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF AMENDMENTS I WOULD SUGGEST, RIGHT.
UH, AS I SUGGESTED AS WELL, UM, RELATED TO THAT LAST RECOMMENDATION REQUEST, UH, SO WE HAVE, UH, SOME MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THE CURRENT ITERATION ONLINE, UH, OR, OR COMMISSIONER FLOYD, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR YOU TO ADD YOUR AMENDMENTS TO IT? MAKE YOU DO IT NOW, OR DO YOU NEED TO? WELL, IT'S NINE 15 AND WE STILL HAVE TO ACTUALLY, UH, GO OVER THE, THE, THE GTOP ITEM AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND WORK IN
[02:40:01]
GROUP UPDATES.YEAH, IT'S PROBABLY, THEN I WOULD SAY LIKE, IF YOU IN DOUBT, PROBABLY ADD THOSE AND PUSH IT OFF TO THE NEXT MEETING IF YOU THINK THOSE ARE CRITICAL.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE, UH, BECAUSE WE'VE GONE DEEP, UH, ON G OS, UH, ON, UH, VISUAL INCLUSION, UH, DATA, I MEAN, WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD SOME PRETTY, UH, WORK GROUPS CENTERED DISCUSSIONS ALREADY, SO WE COULD POTENTIALLY PUNT THAT PART OF THE AGENDA.
UM, SO YEAH, I MEAN, DO YOU FEEL LIKE, UH, VICE CHAIR, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR AMENDMENTS MY SHOULD BE BRIEF? OKAY.
YEAH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND DIVE INTO 'EM THEN.
I WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE DO LIVE EDITING.
I MEAN, I WANNA, I MEAN, PERSONALLY, THIS IS NOT HIS LAST MEETING.
I WOULD BE OKAY WITH PEOPLE, UM, SUBMITTING MORE SUGGESTIONS AND WE BRING IT UP NEXT TIME, IF INDEED, WE ARE IN A TIME CRUNCH RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO HAVE A GOOD FINISHED PRODUCT HERE WITH SPECIFICATIONS FOR, UH, WHAT ITEMS NEED TO BE IN THE DATABASE WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY.
UM, SO IF, IF WE NEED TO, WE CAN HAVE, UH, AN ACTION ITEM FOR EVERYONE TO, TO JUST, UM, ADD, UH, SUGGESTIONS AS TO WHICH ITEMS SHOULD BE IN THIS DATABASE.
AND, UH, AND THEY'D BRING IT UP AGAIN NEXT TIME.
WELLES, I'D ALREADY DECIDED TO GO HANDLE IT NOW.
UH, CHRIS YATES, I'D ALREADY DECIDED TO HANDLE IT NOW.
UH, BUT IF YOU'RE OKAY WITH THAT, THEN WE CAN PUMP THE BRAKES AT THIS VERY SECOND, THEN MOVE ON.
WELL, I, I DON'T WANNA RUSH THIS ITEM.
I'D LIKE IT TO BE A GOOD FINISHED PRODUCT.
SO THAT'S FINE WITH ME IF, UH, IF WE JUST HAVE MORE TIME NEXT TIME AROUND TO ACTUALLY DISCUSS THIS ITEM, THEM UNDERSTOOD.
SO WITH THAT, THEN, UH, I'M GONNA RECOMMEND THAT WE MOVE ON.
UH, SO UNLESS THERE'S ANY BIG OBJECTIONS, UH, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TABLE THIS ITEM FOR NOW, UH, AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA.
UH, PLEASE, EVERYONE, UM, SEND COMMISSIONER, UH, COMMISSIONER, YES.
UH, PLEASE LET ME CONVENE THIS MEETING, UH, AND WE'LL HOLD THAT THOUGHT.
[7. Discussion of the Good Governance Resolution (Discussion and Possible Action)]
ON NOW TO AGENDA ITEM SEVEN, DISCUSSION OF GOOD GOVERNANCE RESOLUTION.SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE A DRAFT, I BELIEVE, OF THIS ONE.
UH, WELL THIS IS AN ITEM WHICH, UH, WAS PUT IN AGREEMENT, UH, WITH COMMISSIONER GATES'S SUGGESTION, UH, ON OUR AGENDA.
WE HAD A PRESENTATION PREVIOUSLY ON GOOD GOVERNANCE, UH, GATES, DO YOU WANNA SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS ONE? AND THEN WE CAN, THEN WE CAN CIRCLE BACK ON OTHER THINGS LATER? ALRIGHT.
UH, THIS WAS INITIATED BY THE AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOODS COUNCIL WHEN THEY MADE A PRESENTATION BEFORE THIS COMMISSION.
AND THEY HAD A RESOLUTION, FORGI, GOOD GOVERNANCE.
AND A LOT OF THE ITEMS IN THEIR RESOLUTION REALLY DIDN'T DEAL WITH TECHNOLOGY.
THEY DEALT WITH THE, UH, PARLIAMENTARY PROCESS.
BUT THE WAY THAT OUR COUNCIL COULD HELP WITH GOOD GOVERNMENTS IS JUST THROUGH, UH, ADVOCATING FOR TECHNOLOGY THAT WOULD HELP WITH BOTH, UH, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, CITIZEN PARTICIPATION, AND TRANSPARENCY.
AND SO WE HAVE DONE THAT ALREADY WITH SEVERAL RESOLUTIONS.
UM, UH, FOR INSTANCE, THE, UM, MO PARTICIPATION RESOLUTION THAT WE STARTED AND THE, UH, RESOLUTION WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE COUNCIL VOTE DATABASE, THAT'S TRANSPARENCY.
AND THE PREVIOUS ONE WAS CITIZEN PARTICIPATION.
AND THE OTHER PART OF THIS GOOD GOVERNANCE WAS TRANSPARENCY.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE, UH, RESOLUTION
[02:45:01]
THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT JUST NOW WOULD COME INTO PLAY, IS THAT, THAT IS THE TECHNICAL, UH, SOLUTION TO TRANSPARENCY.SO THAT'S WHAT THE GOOD GOVERNANCE RESOLUTION WAS ABOUT.
WHAT THAT WAS OUR, OUR, UH, CONTRIBUTION TO THE AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON GOOD GOVERNANCE.
AND THAT WAS TO HAVE A DATABASE WHERE CITIZENS CAN TRACK THE ACTIONS OF COUNCIL ONCE THEY ARE APPROVED.
SO REALLY THAT'S WHAT WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING, IS, UM, THAT WAS THE GOOD GOVERNANCE RESOLUTION.
SO WE, WE'VE ACTUALLY, UH, COVERED THIS TERRITORY QUITE WELL THEN.
SO, UH, OH, WE GOT SOME DUPLICITY HERE.
UH, WE'VE ALREADY AGREED, UH, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, AND JUST TO, TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, I WAS LISTENING, UH, WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD DO IS TO EMAIL, UH, COMMISSION GATES.
GO AHEAD AND COPY ME, UH, WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ON CHANGES.
THANK YOU VICE CHAIR FOR GOING AHEAD AND DOING THAT, UH, TO THIS RESOLUTION.
UH, WE ALL HAVE THAT IN OUR EMAIL, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THAT BACK QUICKLY.
AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE A WORKING DRAFT, PHYSICAL DRAFT THAT WE WON'T HAVE TO EDIT, UH, TO VOTE ON NEXT TIME.
DOES THAT SOUND GOOD, EVERYBODY? MM-HMM.
[4. Grant for Technology Opportunities Program 2023 Panel Selection (Commission Discussion and Action (2 of 2)]
GO AHEAD AND CIRCLE BACK TO A VERY IMPORTANT ITEM HERE.UH, THE GS GRANT, THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM 2023 PANEL SELECTION.
UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE ALL RANK VOTED THE, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, PANELISTS, AND WE'RE NOW GONNA SEE THE RESULTS.
AND THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE COMMISSIONERS.
UH, WHILE WE FIGURED OUT, UH, THAT THE DATA ON OUR SIDE, UM, I'M GONNA READ OUT THE, UH, APPLICANTS THAT, UH, UH, ARE THE HIGHEST SCORING TO THE LOWEST SCORING.
UH, JUST SO ALL HAVE A PICTURE OF, UH, HOW, HOW THE WHOLE DISTRIBUTION GOES.
AND THEN I'LL REQUEST A, UH, A VOTE FROM THE COMMISSION FOR THE TOP SEVEN.
UM, SO FROM THE HIGHEST SCORING TO THE LOWEST SCORING, UM, APPLICANT 11 IS THE FIRST APPLICANT.
SEVEN IS THE SECOND, AND THEN APPLICANT 10, APPLICANT 12, APPLICANT NINE, APPLICANT 14, APPLICANT EIGHT, APPLICANT 15, APPLICANT FIVE, APPLICANT.
THREE, APPLICANT ONE, APPLICANT TWO, APPLICANT 13, APPLICANT FOUR, AND APPLICANT SIX.
SO WITH THAT DISTRIBUTION IN MIND, I'M REQUESTING THAT THE COMMISSION APPROVED THE PANEL TO INCLUDE APPLICANTS 11, 7, 10, 12, 9, 14 18, SORRY, 18, 18
SO WE WE'RE NOT HAVING TO APPROVE A BACKUP THIS TIME.
IS THAT, OR WE, UH, I'M, NO, WE DON'T HAVE TO.
UH, UH, I'M JUST LETTING WE ALL KNOW THE PROCESS CAUSE WE WON'T HAVE THE TIME TO COME BACK FOR A VOTE IF CHANGES TO THE PANEL ARE NEEDED.
SO THIS VOTE IS WITHIN MIND THAT THE, UH, UH, DROPOUTS WILL CAUSE US TO GO DOWN THE LIST IN THIS ORDER.
SO THEN BY VIRTUE OF THAT, NUMBER 15 WOULD BE THE FIRST BACKUP? CORRECT.
CAN YOU REPEAT THE PANELISTS, THE ONES THAT WERE SELECTED OR SHOW THEM SO SURE, SURE.
THE APPLICANTS THAT, UH, I'M REQUESTING TO BE ARE APPLICANTS 11, 7, 10, 12, 14, AND EIGHT.
I WILL MOVE TO APPROVE, UH, THIS LIST OF PANELISTS AS PRESENTED.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE BY MYSELF AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GARZA.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THIS LIST AS PRESENTED FOR OUR PANELS FOR GTOP S 2023.
PLEASE SAY AYE AND SHOW YOUR HAND.
IS THERE ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY, THEN IT IS APPROVED.
UH, AND THIS VOTE IS SEVEN AFFIRMATIVE, ZERO OPPOSED, ZERO ABSTAINING.
SO WITH THAT, THEN WE HAVE APPROVED THE 2023 PANEL FOR GTOP S.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT, AND WE CAN PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA, UH, VERY QUICKLY
[02:50:01]
AND BRIEFLY, UH, BEGINNING WITH WORKING GROUP UPDATES HERE, UH, FOR MY PART, UH, YOU'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT GTOP S THAT'S A BIG SUBSTANTIVE PART OF THE UPDATE THE TOWN HALLS AS WELL.UH, WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THE, THE, THE CHALLENGE PROCESS, UH, AND OTHER THINGS.
SO WE'RE GONNA GET INTO ALL THOSE THINGS IN THE WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, COMING UP IN MORE SUBSTANTIVE DETAIL.
UH, IMPORTANT THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK AGAIN, UH, COTON PROVIDED A WHOLE SUBSTANTIVE UPDATE, UH, RELATED TO MANY OF THE THINGS THAT THIS WORKING GROUP MIGHT COVER.
UH, SO I FEEL VERY FORTUNATE FOR THAT
UM, AND WE CAN KEEP MOVING CUZ WE DO HAVE OTHER THINGS TO, TO COVER.
UH, SO I'LL, I'LL BRIEFLY GO TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE.
SO WAIT, SORRY, ANY QUESTIONS FOR THAT WORK GROUP?
LET'S GO TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE.
[9. Update from Knowledge, Information, and Data Stewardship Working Group]
UH, UPDATE FROM THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION DATA STEWARDSHIP WORK GROUP.UM, BIGGEST ITEMS WERE WHEN WE MET LAST TIME, WE WERE WORKING ON OUR REPORT OUT FOR, UH, THE COMMISSION AS SORT OF LIKE A FINAL, LIKE CLOSE OUT.
WE DID A REALLY GREAT JOB AS A WORKING GROUP WITH OUTLINING, UM, THE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED.
UM, SO LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, TO REPORTING OUT TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION ON THAT AND EVENTUALLY CLOSING OUT THAT WORKING GROUP SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO, UM, UH, SORT OF THE NEXT ITERATION OF WHAT WE'LL BE, UM, UH, WHAT THE WORKING GROUPS ARE INVOLVED INTO.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR VICE DOCKER? OKAY.
[10. Update from Technology, Infrastructure, and Innovation Working Group]
TO OUR GLASSWORK GROUP UPDATE FROM THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION WORK GROUP.UH, AND I'VE GOT CO-CHAIR IN THE ROOM.
POINTS THE REPORT OUT AND HOW WE NEED TO SORT FINAL REPORT WHAT WE'VE DONE AND HOW TO FALL, GUYS WITH THE NEXT TERM FOR THE COMMISSION.
UH, TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE TABLETURE STUFF WE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT SO THAT A LOT OF IT KINDA LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR THAT DISCUSSION.
THEN THE BUDGET REPORT AND THEN, UH, KATAN GAVE US SOME GOOD REPORTS ON, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE HAD TO DISCUSS DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, BROADBAND BUILD OUT AND KIND OF HOW THAT'S PROGRESSING AND, UH, THE GOALS THAT, UH, THE CITY HAS FOR MAKING SURE THAT, UM, THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS UP IN THE NORTHEAST ON THE EAST SIDE GET, GET PROPER COVERAGE.
UH, ANY QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER? OKAY.
THANK YOU ALL, UH, WORKING YOUR CHAIRS FOR YOUR UPDATES.
UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I'D LIKE TO BEGIN, UH, JESSE, I KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT, UH, FY 24 COMMISSION BUDGET PRIORITIES, OF COURSE WE'LL BE DISCUSSING AGAIN.UH, I WOULD LIKE TO, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S, UH, THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS TOP OF MIND RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THERE WERE APRIL OR MARCH.
SO HELP ME OUT WITH, UH, SOME THINGS WE, WE'VE DISCUSSED OVER EMAIL THAT WERE MIGHT BE POTENTIAL ITEMS FOR MARCH.
UH, THERE, THERE'S A, UH, UH, I, I'M FORGETTING THE PLAN.
WAS IT FROM THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT? UH, YES.
THAT THEY DID REQUEST FOR APRIL THOUGH.
SO THE DEPARTMENT HAS AN ACTION PLAN, UH, THAT THEY'LL, THEY HAVE REQUESTED TO PRESENT AND THAT WOULD BE IN APRIL.
AS YOU GUYS KNOW, THEY PRESENTED FOR US, UH, AND ON THE, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT HISTORICALLY OF, UH, OUR CITY AND, AND WHAT THAT MEANT.
AND SO HAVING AN ACTION PLAN TO ADDRESS THOSE HISTORICAL, UH, INEQUITIES IS AWESOME.
SO I'M GLAD THEY WANNA PRESENT THAT TO US, CUZ THAT'S WHAT THAT'S ABOUT.
UM, WELL, WE DO HAVE SEVERAL THINGS AND AS WE KNOW, UH, THESE RESOLUTION DISCUSSIONS, UH, CAN BE ROBUST AND LENGTHY.
UH, SO WE'LL ALL SAY TO EVERYONE AS IF, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT'S PRESSING OR TOP OF MIND, UH, THAT YOU'D LIKE TO BE EVALUATED AS THE POTENTIAL ITEM, JUST GO AHEAD AND EMAIL ME OR BRING IT UP IN THE WORKING GROUPS AND WE'LL, WE'LL EITHER HASH IT OUT DIRECTLY OR, UH, UH, WITH OUR COMMISSIONERS IN THE WORK GROUP.
UH, YES, JESSE, AND JUST AS A REMINDER, OUR NORMAL WORK PLAN RETREAT IS THE MARCH MEETING.
WELL, THAT'S THE REMINDER I WAS LOOKING FOR.
SO, UH, YEAH, VERY IMPORTANTLY, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING TOGETHER AND I'M GONNA GOT A FEW SECONDS TO SAY THIS.
UH, IT WOULD REALLY BE GREAT IF WE COULD ALL MEET IN PERSON FOR THIS WORK PLAN RETREAT.
UH, I'M GONNA BUY SOME PIZZA, UH, OR SOMETHING ELSE,
SO I, I'LL REACH OUT TO Y'ALL FOR SOME FEEDBACK, MAYBE A SMALL POLL ON WHAT, UH, YOU GUYS MIGHT WANT.
UH, SO I'M GONNA FEED YOU ALL AND WE'RE GONNA CHOP IT UP, UH, AND REALLY GET INTO THE PLANNING EFFORT HERE.
UH, I WOULD TO FOLLOW UP TO SEE IF WE CAN GET ANY SUPPORT
[02:55:01]
FROM INNOVATION OFFICE OR AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE FOR THAT MEETING.SO IF YOU COULD PLEASE FOLLOW UP ON THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SO OTHERWISE, UH, ITEMS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WORKING GROUPS OR, UH, EMAIL, UH, JESSE OR MYSELF AND MYSELF.
UH, AND WE'LL, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT FROM THERE.
UH, WITH THAT THEN THAT CLOSES THAT AGENDA ITEM.
UNLESS PEOPLE HAVE ANYTHING THEY WANT TO JUMP IN, THROW INTO THE HAT RIGHT NOW.
UH, THEN THAT BRINGS US TO THE LAST ITEM, OUR AGENDA.
UH, I MOVED TO ADJOURN AND I LOOK FOR A SECOND.
WELL, UH, ONE SECOND EVERYONE, UH, MOVE.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF ADJOURNMENT, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY WITH THAT THEN WE ARE UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR OF ADJOURNMENT AND WE ARE ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
DAN, UH, EIGHT X XM, UH, ANDREW.
MY HEART TO BREAK IT ALL, ALL AGAIN.
WAITING TO BREAK MY HONDA AGAIN.