[I. Call to Order]
[00:00:05]
I THINK WE'LL PULL IT TOGETHER.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING, JOINING US FOR THE FEBRUARY MEETING OF THE CAP METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
TODAY IS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH, AND THE TIME IS 1212.
[II. Oath of Office for New Board Members]
OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS TODAY WILL BE TO FORMALLY, UH, CONFIRM OUR THREE NEWEST BOARD MEMBERS BY ASKING THEM TO TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE.IF I COULD ASK OUR NEW THREE BOARD MEMBERS TO STEP AROUND THE DIAS AND JOIN ME AT THE PODIUM, UH, WE HAVE A FEW WORDS THAT YOU NEED TO REPEAT AFTER ME AND, AND, UH, AND THEN WE'LL GET THIS PARTY STARTED.
EVERYTHING WILL BE OFFICIAL, RIGHT? HEY, JEFF.
UM, MR. CHAIR? YES, MR. CHAIR.
I JUST WANTED, I JUST WANTED TO NOTE, I'M, I'M HERE.
I, I AM REALLY EXCITED TO SEE OUR THREE NEW MEMBERS AND, UM, UH, WISH I COULD BE SITTING THERE ON THE DIOCESE WITH YOU ALL TODAY, BUT I'M GONNA WATCH HERE FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY.
WELL, WE WILL CALL A MEETING IMMEDIATELY TO GET YOU DOWN HERE,
SO WE'LL HAVE IT, WE'LL HAVE IT GOING PRETTY SOON.
UM, I CAN BE HERE ONLY BRIEFLY.
I'M HERE TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEW MEMBERS AND ALSO IF THERE'S TIME BEFORE I HAVE TO LEAVE TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO THANK WADE, UH, FOR HIS WORK.
WE'VE GOTTEN EVERYBODY THAT WANTS TO SAY ANYTHING AT THIS POINT.
LET'S, UH, LET'S SEE IF I CAN JUST GET YOU GUYS WHERE I CAN SEE YOU.
IF YOU'LL RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND.
DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY, THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE DUTIES, EXECUTE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF, OF THE OFFICE OF BOARD MEMBER FOUR, BOARD MEMBER FOUR, CAPITAL METRO TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, CAPITAL, METRO TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS.
OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND WILL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY AND WILL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, PRESERVE, PROTECT, AND DEFEND, PRESERVE, PROTECT, AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION, CONSTITUTION, AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.
SO HELP ME, GOD, LET'S WELCOME OUR NEWEST MEMBERS.
AND YOUR FIRST HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT IS
WELL, I I JUST WANT TO WELCOME ALL OF OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS, AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE SACRIFICE AND THE COMMITMENT, UH, FOR WORKING ON PUBLIC TRANSIT.
THERE CERTAINLY ARE A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE, THE ENTIRE CITY AND REGION.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO PROBLEM SOLVING AND WORKING WITH YOU AND, AND, UM, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT.
[III. Public Comment (please see instructions at the bottom to participate)]
WE ARE, LET'S SEE.WE ARE NOW MOVING INTO OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
UM, THE FIRST WOULD BE MAYOR CHRISTINE, UH, DELICI DEL DELAL.
I, I WAS GIVING YOU, UH, TRILLIAN.
I GIVE FOLKS THEIR NAMES ALL THE TIME.
THE, THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND TO MS. WATKINS ON BEING OFFICIAL.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO COME IN TODAY AND PUT A FACE TO LEANDER BESIDES OUR FABULOUS BECKY ROSS.
I KNOW BECKY, ADVOCATES FOR ALL SMALL CITIES, AND TODAY I'M GONNA BE SELFISH AND I'M JUST GOING TO ADVOCATE FOR LEANDER.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE JOB THAT YOU DO, FOR ALL THE EFFORT YOU PUT IN.
AND WE ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE SERVICE WE GET IN LEANDER.
WE HAVE THE TRAIN, OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE COMMUTER ROUTES ON THE BUS.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE THE PICKUP SERVICE, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.
BUT PICKUP WAS STARTED IN 2019, AND IT SERVES ABOUT A QUARTER OF OUR POPULATION.
IT DOES NOT SERVE THE ENTIRE CITY.
AND, UH, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO THAT ZONE SINCE THE SERVICE BEGAN.
[00:05:01]
YOUR STANDARDS FOR HOW THOSE, THOSE SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS HAPPEN.UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO COME HERE AND ASK THAT YOU KEEP LEAN UNDER TOP OF MIND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT EXPANDING SERVICES.
I KNOW WE'RE ALL COMPETING FOR RESOURCES, AND THERE'S SHORTAGES AND ALL THE THINGS, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT BECAUSE THERE IS NO FIXED WRAP SERVICE IN LEANDER, THERE IS NO FEDERAL MANDATE FOR ANY SORT OF DISABILITY, UM, HELP FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
SO HAVING THAT SMALL DEFINED ZONE REALLY KEEPS A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM ACCESSING ANY SORT OF SERVICES THAT CAN GET THEM TO THINGS.
SO WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT SERVICE, PLEASE THINK OF LEANDER.
OKAY, MAYOR DELAU, UH, THANK, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT AND, AND ADDRESSING US TODAY.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND, AND, UH, BUILDING SOLUTIONS FOR, UH, FOR ALL SMALL CITIES INCLUDING YOURS.
UH, ROBERT ALLEN, BEFORE I START, I WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT TO, UH, BOARD MEMBER KITCHENS.
I'VE KNOWN YOU AND FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS, AND I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE SERVICE YOU DID ON THE COUNCIL IN HERE.
I KNOW YOU'LL BE LEAVING THE BOARD SOON, BUT I REALLY LIKE THE, UH, WORK THAT YOU DID.
UM, I'VE ALREADY HANDLED SOME OF MY COMPLAINTS WITH THE STAFF TODAY, BUT I HAVE A POSITIVE COMMENT I WANTED TO MAKE.
THE STAFF HERE KNOWS, BUT I DON'T THINK ANYBODY ON THE BOARD KNOWS.
ON DECEMBER 7TH, WHEN I WAS BEING PICKED UP AT THE LITTLE WALNUT STREET LIBRARY, THE DRIVER OF THE VAN DID NOT CHECK HIS FIRE EXTINGUISHER TO MAKE SURE THE PEN WAS IN THAT MORNING LIKE HE'S SUPPOSED TO.
AND WHEN HE PUT MY WALKER IN THE BACK OF THE VAN, IT HIT THE HANDLE AND IT SHOT OFF FIRE EXTINGUISHER, WHICH I SWALLOWED, AND IT CAUSED ME TO HAVE HORRIBLE BRONCHITIS AND OTHER PROBLEMS FROM THAT.
I'VE SETTLED WITH INSURANCE PLANES FOR MY FATHER OR GRANDMOTHER MYSELF OVER THE YEARS, MANY TIMES.
MH UH, IS IT MH TRANSPORT? UH, THE PARENT COMPANY, MTM.
UM, THEIR CLAIMS ADJUSTER WAS THE EASIEST AND MOST, UH, WONDERFUL PERSON TO DEAL WITH.
I SETTLED THE CLAIM, MEDICARE'S TAKEN PART OF IT, BUT I'M ACTUALLY NOT GONNA BE, UH, ON, UM, ACCESS ANYMORE BECAUSE FROM WHAT I SAVED UP PLUS THAT SETTLEMENT, I'M BUYING A CAR THIS WEEK.
SO I'VE ENJOYED THE, UH, YEARS THAT IT'S BEEN OUT THERE.
AND I KNOW YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T HEAR POSITIVE STUFF SOMETIMES, BUT YOU'VE GOT SOME GOOD PEOPLE WITH YOUR PARENT COMPANY THAT DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE THAT.
THE ONLY THING THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I'VE NEVER GOT, I ASKED FOR THE INGREDIENTS OF THAT FIRE EXTINGUISHER BECAUSE THERE MAY BE SOME ONGOING THINGS THAT HAPPENED, AND I NEVER GOT THAT.
SO IF YOU WOULD, WOULD TRY TO GET THAT TO ME, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
UH, THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO COME AND ADDRESS THE BOARD.
UH, THE NEXT, UH, CITIZEN IS SHERRY TAYLOR.
AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY.
I GO BY SOPHIE, WHICH STANDS FOR SURPASSING OBSTACLE TO PROPOSE HOPES INTO ENDORPHINS AND A RIGHT FOR A NEWSPAPER CALLED THE CHALLENGER.
AND I USE THAT TO RAISE MONEY TO BRING AWARENESS OF, UH, THE LIFESTYLES THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE WITHOUT HOUSING, UH, SURPASS.
BECAUSE THEY DON'T JUST ENDURE IT.
SO, UH, I JUST WANT TO BE AMONGST THOSE WHO HELPS TO GET THE TERM HOMELESS, TAKEN OFF THE BOOK AS A REFERRAL IS A NEGATIVE, AND CHANGE THAT TO UNSHELTERED.
UM, THIS IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH DESIGNATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND I JUST WANTED TO READ A LITTLE THING ABOUT THAT.
AND, UH, I LIVE IN WILDFLOWER TERRACE, SO I BROUGHT MY WILDFLOWERS TO REPRESENT
CARTER G WOODSON IS MOST FAMOUSLY KNOWN AS STARTING BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
HE ENTERED HIGH SCHOOL WHERE HE EXCELLED IN HIS STUDIES.
HE FINISHED IN FOUR YEARS, SCHOOLING AN AMAZINGLY SHORT TIME OF FOUR YEARS.
HE OBTAINED A MASTER'S DEGREE IN HISTORY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, BUT HE WASN'T DONE YET.
HE WENT ON TO GET HIS DOCTORATE IN HARVARD, DISAPPOINTED BY THE WAY THAT BLACKS WERE NOT REPRESENTED IN SCHOOL BOOKS.
HE TOOK ON THE CHALLENGE OF MAKING SURE THAT THERE WOULD BE SOMEWHERE FOR THEM TO BELONG IN AMERICA'S HISTORY.
HE HELPED CREATE THE ASSOCIATION OF THE STUDY OF NEGRO LIFE AND HISTORY.
AND IN THE LATE 1920S, NEGRO HISTORY WEEK WAS SET UP BY HIM.
HE STATED THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NEGRO PROPERLY SET FORTH WILL CROWN HIM AS THEM.
[00:10:01]
I'M NOT A HYMN WILL CROWN THEM AS A FACTOR IN EARLY HUMAN PROGRESS AND A MAKER OF MODERN CIVILIZATION.BLACK HISTORY MONTH WAS STARTED IN 1976 FOR NEGRO HISTORY WEEK, AND HE KNEW THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN TO BE HE DEDICATED THE SECOND WEEK OF FEBRUARY AS NEGRO HISTORY WEEK, BECAUSE THE 16TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, WAS BORN ON THE 12TH OF THE MONTH, AND PRESIDENT LINCOLN SIGNED THE EMANCIPATION ACT, ALSO CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND FORMER SLAVE FREDERICK DOUGLASS CELEBRATED HIS BIRTHDAY ON THE 14TH OF THE MONTH.
SO BECAUSE OF WHAT THESE HAVE, THEY HAVE DONE, CARTER G WOODSON WAS GIVEN THE NAME OF FATHER OF BLACK HISTORY.
UH, JUST WANTED TO READ THAT BECAUSE I, AS SOPHIE, I HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED SOPHIE SINGALONG, AND WE GET TOGETHER AT WILDFLOWER TERRACE.
THEY'RE MY WILDFLOWER TERRACE 38 0 1 BERKMAN DRIVE.
ON THE SECOND AND FOURTH THURSDAY AND SUNDAYS OF THE MONTH, WE TRY TO PROMOTE, UM, ELIMINATING ISOLATION TO ENHANCE INDIVIDUALIZED OPPORTUNITIES.
SO I DID MAKE COPIES FOR YOU, AND MR. EASTON HAS THEM, AND I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY THE SEEK AND FIND FOR NEXT MONTH, WHICH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY.
THANK YOU FOR COMING AND PRESENTING TO THE BOARD, AND, AND, UH, AND WE'LL BE READY NEXT MONTH AS WELL.
UH, THE NEXT, I GOT ONE MORE THING.
I BROUGHT THESE SHIRTS CUZ I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO CAP METRO.
UH, AND, AND BEING SO, SO PLEASANT AND PATIENT WITH THOSE WHO ARE UNSHELTERED TO GET THE, EVERYBODY TO THEIR DESIGNATED, UM, WARMING CENTERS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN FOR COMING TO, UH, SPEAK TO THE BOARD.
THE NEXT PERSON, UH, ED, I THINK IS REMOTE.
AND IS SHE HERE WITH US? SHE IS.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY.
MY NAME IS DEBORAH HARMON MILLER.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH CAPITAL METRO BOARD FOR THE LAST EIGHT MONTHS NOW TO STUDY, UM, THE TRANSIT SYSTEM HERE IN AUSTIN AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY AND SAFELY TRANSITION RIDERS FROM THAT ARE PROVISIONAL LIKE MYSELF OVER TO, UM, OTHER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS THAT ARE LESS EXPENSIVE.
UM, WE HAVE COME UP WITH AN ISSUE THAT, UM, WHICH IS THAT THERE IS NO WHEELCHAIR RECORD SERVICE IN THIS, UH, CITY.
AND I HAVE A SOLUTION FOR THAT.
I SPOKE WITH BEFORE THE BOARD MEETING LAST MONTH.
I MET WITH MR. SKALSKI, I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S IN THE ROOM TODAY.
AND WE WENT OVER, UH, THE LIST OF FINDINGS THAT I HAD PRESENTED TO MS. OLIVIA JONES.
UM, PRIOR TO THAT, UM, DURING MY RESEARCH, I HAVE HAD TO SPEND THE NIGHT AT CROSSROADS STATION WHEN THERE WAS NO RIDE HOME FOR ME AVAILABLE WHEN THE BUS SERVICE ENDED, UM, UH, AGAINST THE REGULAR SCHEDULE, WHICH IS COMMON UP, UP IN THE LOCAL ROUTES BECAUSE WHEN THE ADA AREA IS FULL, THE BUS DOES NOT EVEN HAVE TO STOP AND SEE IF I NEED A RIDE.
SO WHEN EVERYONE WENT TO THE WARMING CENTER, I WAS SLEEPING AT THE BUS STOP.
UM, MY SOLUTION IS THAT WE HAVE AN ADA RECORD SERVICE THAT IS, UH, FUNDED THROUGH THIS CAPITAL METRO PROGRAM WHERE WE WOULD, UH, HAVE ADA RIDERS GO MEET WITH WHEELCHAIRS WHEN THEY BREAK DOWN BECAUSE WE WANT TO SUPPORT PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO RIDE THE BUS AND TO DO IT COST EFFECTIVELY.
IF A WHEELCHAIR CAN GET THERE AND BREAK DOWN, I CAN GET THERE IN MAR WILSHIRE TO HELP THEM.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, LAUNCH OUR PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM IN THIS WAY.
UM, PART OF THE, UH, PROGRAM WILL BE AVAILABLE TO DISABLED RETIRED METRO ACCESS DRIVERS, THAT THEY ALSO COULD PARTICIPATE IN SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO HELP TRAIN OUR PEOPLE.
I HAVE, UH, OVER 30 P TENS FOR DRIVERS FOR METRO ACCESS FOR THIS, FOR THE, UM, FOR BASICALLY AN, UH, UBER SERVICE, THE ONES THAT OUR VETERANS WOULD HAVE USE THEIR VETERANS BENEFITS TO GET THEIR OWN VEHICLES THAT THEY WOULD USE AND KEEP IN THIS PROGRAM.
I WAS UNABLE TO LOAD THIS THROUGH YOUR WET THROUGH YOUR PORTAL BECAUSE I AM IN THE HOSPITAL, BUT I HAVE MORE DETAILS LATER.
I WAS HOPING YOU COULD SEND THIS TO COMMITTEE TO HELP ME, UM, FUND THE TWO OF OFFICE WHEELCHAIR PROGRAM.
THEY'RE SCHEDULED FOR THE, UH, FIRST WEEK OR SECOND WEEK OF MARCH, MARCH 8TH AND MARCH 11TH FOR LESLIE DAY.
UM, LESLIE, THE QUEEN OF AUSTIN IN HIS CAMPAIGN AGAINST, UH, MAYOR KIRK WATSON IN THE NINETIES HAD ONE OF HIS POINTS WAS THAT WE NEEDED A TRAIN.
[00:15:01]
CREATED A PULL A TRAIN FOR LESLIE DAY THAT WILL BE MARCH 8TH, WHICH HAPPENED TO COINCIDE WITH THE TRANS ADVOCACY, UH, AGAINST AT THE CITY CAPITAL THAT DAY.AND THEN ALSO ON MARCH 11TH, I HAVE VANS THAT HAVE SCHEDULED A PLAY IN A SOBER ENVIRONMENT THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO PASS OUT RESOURCE GUIDES TO THE, TO ANYONE WHO COMES TO HELP THEM FIND WAYS TO, UM, GET TREATMENT AND WHATEVER SINGING WITH SOPHIE, UH, MS. SHERRY TAYLOR HAS AGREED THAT HER GROUP WILL ALSO HELP PERFORM AND TO DO A, A THEME SONG AND PRESENTATION FOR THIS THAT DAY.
AND I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO APPROVE, TO SEND US TO COMMITTEE TO FUND THIS FOR US.
I KNOW IT'S VERY QUICK, BUT I HAVE CHALLENGED PERK WATSON TO RIDE THE DAY ON MARCH 8TH IN A WHEELCHAIR WITH ME.
AND HE HAS TENTATIVELY ACCEPTED AND I WOULD PREFER THAT I NOT TAKE HIM TO THE TRANSIT CENTER WHERE I CAN'T REACH THE SCHEDULES ON THE WALL FROM MY WHEELCHAIR AND SHOW HIM THE PROBLEMS. I'D RATHER SHOW HIM HOW YOU HAVE MET THE PROBLEMS WHILE WE HAVE WORKED TOGETHER THE LAST SIX MONTHS.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO HELP ME SEND THIS TO COMMITTEE THAT WOULD FUND THIS FOR ME AND APPROVE IT IN, UH, EARLIER WHEN I CAME TO YOU, YOU TOTALLY APPROVED THE, THE IDEA THAT I WOULD TRAIN PEOPLE AND BRING THEM OVER.
NOW I'M ASKING FOR SOME FUNDING TO SUPPORT THAT.
ALRIGHT, SO THERE'S A LOT TO UNPACK THERE AND, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE FULL BREATH OF THE REQUESTS AND, UH, REACH OUT TO YOU AND, AND, UH, DISCUSS HOW WE GET TO WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GO.
UH, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ADDRESS US AND WE HOPE THAT YOU'RE FEELING BETTER SOON.
UM, WHEN I WAS ON THE BUS LAST WEEK, THERE WAS A ROBBERY AND THE, THE ROBBERY WAS APPREHENDED ON THE BUS.
UH, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL, UM, UH, ORCHESTRATED BETWEEN THE BUS DRIVER AND THE POLICE SO THAT EVERYONE ON THE BUS WAS NOT THREATENED BY THIS PERSON WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE WALKED OUT OF THE BANK WITH A GUN AT NOON AND GOT ON THE BUS AS HIS GETAWAY.
UM, I RECORDED THE WHOLE THING, BUT I DID NOT RELEASE IT TO THE PRESS BECAUSE IT NEEDED TO BE TALKED WITH, WITH YOUR MEDIA PEOPLE BEFORE IT WAS DISPERSED.
I SENT MR. SKALSKI A COPY OF THE VIDEO, AND I WOULD LIKE TO HELP SUPPORT YOU TO PRESENT THIS TO THE PUBLIC BECAUSE IT WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW CAPITOL METRO AND THE BUS DRIVER HIMSELF WAS FABULOUS IN THAT THE PEOPLE WERE CALM, THE PERSON WAS TAKEN OFF THE BUS, THERE WAS THE POLICE SHIELDED THE, THE RIDERS ON THE BUS FROM ANY POSSIBLE PROBLEM THAT, AND IT WAS JUST A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF HOW THE CAPITOL METRO HELPS KEEP OUR CITY SECURE.
WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE REVIEW IT AND, AND EVALUATE IT AS WELL.
UH, SPENCER SCHUMACHER IS ALSO REMOTE, I THINK.
WELL, UH, THANKS FOR LETTING ME SPEAKING.
UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS.
SO, UH, MY NAME IS SPENCER SCHUMACHER.
I'VE LIVED CAR-FREE HERE IN AUSTIN MY ENTIRE ADULT LIFE, SO OBVIOUSLY I LOVE CAT METRO.
UM, THE REASON WHY I'M TALKING TO YOU GUYS TODAY IS TO TALK ABOUT THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE EXPO LINE IN PLEASANT VALLEY LINE AND SEE IF, UH, I CAN ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO WORK IN KIND OF A, A, A DUAL PATH HERE.
UM, SO I ACTUALLY MOVED TO THE MUELLER AREA ABOUT A YEAR AGO, UH, SPECIFICALLY SO I COULD BE CLOSER TO THE EXPO LINE, UH, PLEASANT VALLEY LAND AS WELL.
BUT RIGHT NOW, USING THE NUMBER 10 BUS, IT TAKES ME ABOUT 45 MINUTES ON A GOOD DAY, SOMETIMES A LOT LONGER TO GET TO WORK.
UM, SO USUALLY I END UP JUST OPTING TO BIKE.
UH, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED CUZ THE EXPO LINE THEORETICALLY WAS GONNA TRIM THAT DOWN TO ABOUT 25 MINUTES.
UM, SO WHAT I WAS THINKING IF I COULD ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO DO IS TO RUN A NON-METRO RAPID ROUTE UNTIL THE EXPO LINE IN PLEASANT VALLEY LINE ARE READY.
UM, BECAUSE I, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE DELAYS, RIGHT? TAKES TIME TO GET THAT ELECTRIC BUS INFRASTRUCTURE READY.
I'M ALSO ON THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL, SO I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS WORKING TO CREATE THE BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE AHEAD OF TIME.
UH, BUT THE REASON I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE EXPO LINE WASN'T REALLY BECAUSE OF EITHER OF THOSE THINGS.
IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE MORE DIRECT ROUTE, THE FEWER STOPS IN THE INCREASED FREQUENCY, UM, ALL THINGS THAT COULD BE DONE NOW, UM, I WENT AHEAD AND LOOKED AND EVERY SINGLE PLACE THE, UH, EXPO LINE IS SUPPOSED TO GO, EXCEPT FOR THE TRAVIS COUNTY EXPO CENTER ALREADY HAS A BUS STATION IN PLACE, UM, ON THE PLEASANT VALLEY LINE.
THERE'S ALREADY BUS STATIONS IN PLACE ON EVERYWHERE EXCEPT FOR, UH, MCKINLEY FALLS PARKWAY.
UM, SO PRETTY MUCH THE SERVICE COULD BE IN OPERATION PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, AND I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF BENEFITS TO DOING IT THIS WAY.
FIRST IS I'M SURE WE'RE ALL AWARE, RIGHT? IF WE LOOK AT THE NEWS ON PROJECT CONNECT RIGHT NOW, IT'S NOT GREAT.
UH, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF NEGATIVE PRESS GOING ON.
AND WHEN WE CAN POINT TO THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING LIFE BETTER FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE IN AUSTIN, THAT'S JUST GOING TO ENCOURAGE MORE PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED WITH PROJECT CONNECT.
[00:20:01]
I THINK THIS COULD BE A REALLY GREAT WAY FOR CAP METRO TO WORK ON, UH, THE EXPO LINE AND THE PLEASANT VALLEY LINE, RIGHT? IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT WITH THE 8 0 1 AND 8 0 3 CAP METRO ALREADY HAD A COUPLE YEARS EXPERIENCE RUNNING, UH, BUSES ON WHAT IS BASICALLY THAT ROUTE.UH, THESE ARE GONNA BE NEW ROUTES.
SO THIS WOULD GIVE CATME THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT FREQUENCIES ARE RIGHT, WHERE IS MORE TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED, UM, WHERE MAYBE OUR BUS LANES NEEDED AND GET THE TO THE POINT WHERE WHEN THE EXPO LINE IN PLEASANT VALLEY LINE CAN COME ONLINE WITH ELECTRIC BUSES, UH, THERE ARE NO PICKUPS.
AND THEN THE FINAL THING IS, UH, THERE'S A BIG EQUITY POINT TO BE MADE HERE, RIGHT? THE WHOLE IDEA BEHIND THE EXPO LINE IN THE PLEASANT VALLEY LINE WAS THAT THESE ARE AREAS THAT HAVE LOTS OF TRANSIT DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS AND NOT GREAT CONNECTIONS TO THE REST OF THE CITY.
I'M SURE, UH, COMMISSIONER TRAIAN AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELA COULD SPEAK GREATLY TO THAT.
I MEAN, THIS GOES RIGHT THROUGH THEIR DISTRICT.
UH, SO THIS PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO GET THE TRENDS THAT THEY NEED AND AT THE SAME TIME MAKE SURE WE'RE PREPARING OURSELVES FOR WHEN THESE COME ONLINE.
SO I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU GUYS TO CONSIDER THAT, MAYBE HAVE SOME PUBLIC HEARINGS AND AT LEAST WORK THROUGH THE FEASIBILITY OF WHETHER THAT COULD WORK AND WE COULD GET SOMETHING UP AND RUNNING, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY THIS SUMMER WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO START.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ADDRESS THE BOARD.
NOW, UH, I HAVE THREE SIGN-IN SHEETS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND IF THERE'S ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, IF WE COULD FILL OUT SIGN-IN SHEETS, THEN WE CAN INCLUDE YOU AS WELL.
UH, THE FIRST PERSON IS STEVEN KNAPP, I THINK.
I JUST WANNA COME TODAY TO SPEAK ABOUT OPERATIONAL ISSUES THAT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY NIGHT.
AND I FEEL LIKE THIS IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO COME BARELY 48 HOURS.
SO MAYBE THE BOARD CAN TAKE ACTION ON THIS.
UM, SAYS YOU GUYS KNOW Q2 STADIUMS ARE BRAND NEW SOCCER STADIUM HERE IN THE CITY.
UM, CAP METRO AND TRANSIT CONNECTIONS STADIUM WERE INTEGRAL TO THE SITE PLANNING.
NO ONE KNOWS THAT MORE DEARLY THAN BOARD MEMBER POOL.
I MEAN, JUST THE WAY THAT THAT SITE WAS DEVELOPED WERE TRANSIT AND MINE.
SO THE PAST TWO SEASONS, UM, CAP METRO STAFF, YOUR OPERATION STAFF HAS BEEN KICKING BUTT, IF I CAN SAY THAT IN CLOSE CAPTIONING.
AND CREATING AN OPERATIONAL PLANET SERVES AT STADIUM.
SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY TO THE METRO RAIL SERVICE ON SPECIAL GAME DAY OPERATIONS OR EVENT DAY OPERATIONS, WE'RE TALKING, YOU KNOW, NORTHBOUND AND SOUTHBOUND TO THE STADIUM.
YOU'RE RUNNING THE METRO RAIL AT 19 MINUTE FREQUENCIES FOR HOURS BEFORE THE GAME.
YOU SELL FAMILIES, MULTI-GENERATIONAL FAMILIES USE THAT BECOMES THE NORM.
POSTMA OR POST EVENT I SHOULD SAY, WHEN YOU HAVE THOUSANDS APPROACHING THE STADIUM IN THE METRO RAPID LINES, YOU GUYS WERE QUEUED UP AND SPECIFICALLY ON METRO RAIL POST EVENT, THEY WOULD HAVE TRANS QUEUED UP READY TO LOAD UP.
AND THEY'RE RUNNING THOSE THINGS AT SEVEN TO NINE MINUTE FREQUENCIES.
THAT'S WORLD CLASS TRANSIT SYSTEM IN THIS CITY.
SO FOR WHATEVER REASON, ON SATURDAY EVENING, OUR FIRST HOME MATCH.
SO THIS NEW SEASON COMMUNITY COMES OUT TO SUPPORT.
WE WERE NOT RUNNING GAME DAY OR SPECIAL DAY OPERATIONS AND SAID THEY WERE RUNNING NORMAL OPERATIONS, WHICH IS 37 MINUTE FREQUENCIES.
SO TWO HOURS BEFORE THE MATCH, I SAW IT ON MY OWN TRAIN PLATFORM.
YOU SAW NOT JUST CROWDING CUZ THAT'S EXCITING.
YOU SAW OVERCROWDING WHERE PEOPLE WERE NOT HAVING ACCESS.
THIS IS TWO HOURS BEFORE MATCH TO GET TO THE STADIUM.
I SAW A FAMILY, THEIR FRIENDS, FRIENDS OF MINE, MAYBE THEY DON'T NEED TO BE FRIENDS ANYMORE, BUT THEY IMMEDIATELY SWITCHED TO UBER INSTEAD OF WAITING ON THE NEXT TRAIN JUST BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM POST-MATCH THE MOB MENTALITY AGAINST THE AGENCY.
UM, THE CLOSE CAPTIONING DOES NOT NEED TO HEAR THE WORDS THAT WERE SPOKEN ABOUT CAT METRO BECAUSE THE TRAINS WERE NOT THERE.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE THIS, IT WAS SO NORMAL AS PART OF OUR COMMUNITY EMBRACING THAT WE HAVE A MAJOR SPORTS TEAM.
WE HAVE A LARGE COMMUNITY EVENT THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING BEHIND FOR WITH THEIR ENTIRE FAMILIES.
THEY'RE SHOWING UP TO THIS VENUE AND CAP METRO IS A CORE OF THAT, AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PART OF THAT EXPERIENCE.
AND Y'ALL WE'RE NOT THERE ON SATURDAY EVENING.
THE TRAINS WERE RUNNING 37 MINUTE FREQUENCIES TAKING PEOPLE BACK HOME AFTER THE GAME.
AND IT WAS UGLY TO SAY THE LEAST.
SO I JUST ASK THAT, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THE NEXT MAJOR EVENT AT THAT VENUE THIS SATURDAY, YOU'LL SPEND SOME TIME, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A FUNDING ISSUE, IF IT'S AN OPERATIONAL ISSUE, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, TAKE ACTION.
BECAUSE OUR COMMUNITY, WE NEED THE COMMUNITY TO LOVE CAP METRO, WHICH THEY DO.
BUT YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW WHERE THE ISSUES OF PROJECT CONNECT AND THINGS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
WE NEED THE COMMUNITY TO STAY BEHIND YOU GUYS AND LOVE YOU GUYS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE FORWARD WITH MORE TRANSIT FOR THE CITY.
UH, WE'VE GOT A BOARD MEMBER THAT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS YOU, UH, BOARD MEMBER POOL.
I, I WANTED TO TOSS THE MIC OVER TO OUR, UM, CEO TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE TRAIN SATURDAY NIGHT.
IT WAS IT, THERE, THERE WERE SOME ISSUES.
SO THANK YOU FOR COMING DOWN TO TALK TO US TODAY.
YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT THE FIRST CUSTOMER WE'VE HEARD FROM.
UM, WE KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO SERVE, UH, THE Q2 STADIUM AND WE HAD SOME OPERATIONAL ERRORS, UM, ON SATURDAY NIGHT THAT I CAN ASSURE YOU ARE BEING ADDRESSED.
I JUST WANTED TO ASK, UH, UH, PRESENT WATKINS, DID THIS IN
[00:25:01]
ANY WAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE, UH, ACCIDENT THAT HAD OCCURRED ON FRIDAY NIGHT THAT, UH, OUT IN THE LAKELINE AREA THAT HAD, UH, TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN SERVICES? YEAH, SO WHILE THERE WAS NOT A DIRECT CORRELATION, I CAN GUARANTEE YOU OUR RAIL TEAMS WERE EXHAUSTED BY SATURDAY NIGHT CUZ WE HAD BEEN UP ALL NIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT GETTING THE RAIL SPACE JUST TO MAKE SURE WE COULD GET IT BACK UP AND ON.YEAH, BECAUSE, AND THAT WAS IF FOR, FOR THOSE WHO WERE WATCHING THIS AND, AND, AND, AND WERE WONDERING, CAN YOU MAYBE ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER ON WHAT THE SITUATION WAS THAT KIND OF CAUSED THAT BACKLOG AND GOT IT TO THIS POINT? YEAH, I'LL LET, UM, ANDY SCHABOWSKI, OUR COO, WALK US THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED FRIDAY NIGHT.
ON FRIDAY NIGHT, A UM, A DUMP TRUCK ACTUALLY PULLING INTO A PRIVATE DRIVEWAY, MADE TO TURN A LITTLE TOO LATE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ONE OF OUR TRAINS.
IT WAS CAT MESH WAS FIRST AND ONLY DERAILMENT.
WE ACTUALLY TRAIN CAME O OFF THE TRACKS.
UM, BETWEEN FRIDAY NIGHT AND THROUGH SATURDAY, WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE TRAIN UP AND OVER AND MAKE THE REPAIRS TO THE TRACK WHAT WE WENT INTO SATURDAY NIGHT WITH ONE SWITCH OUT OF SERVICE, THAT CAUSED US TO DO A LOT MORE JUGGLING AS FAR AS ON THE, ON THE NORTH END OF, OF THE SYSTEM, WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICE, BUT OBVIOUSLY PROBABLY NOT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL THAT WE NORMALLY HAVE BEEN PROVIDING.
SO, UM, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE WE GO BACK AND LEARN FROM ANYTHING THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT, BUT IT WAS, UM, IT WAS A LONG NIGHT TO SAY THE LEAST.
I, I JUST WANNA PERSONALLY THANK ANDY, YOU AND THE STAFF.
I KNOW IT, IT, IT, FROM, FROM WHAT WE'VE HEARD IT, IT WAS NOT, IT WAS NOT EASY.
I, I DON'T THINK THE, THE, THE WORD GOT BACK OUT.
WE ARE TRYING OUR BEST AS, AS AN AGENCY TO, TO, TO PICK UP THE SLACK AND GET EVERYTHING DONE SO THAT THERE WOULD BE MINIMAL, UH, IMPACT TO OUR, UH, FANS OVER AT, UH, Q2 STADIUM, UH, SHOWING UP FOR THE TEAM.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET THERE TO A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT GOSH, MAN, I, I SAW THE EMAIL TRAFFIC, SAW WHAT Y'ALL WERE DOING, MAN.
Y'ALL WERE DOING YEOMAN'S WORK.
YOU WERE, YOU WERE PULLING AN ALL-NIGHTER WITH YOUR STAFF YEP.
BETWEEN YOU AND HERZOG, TRYING TO GET THAT THING TAKEN CARE OF AND, AND GET US BACK ON TRACK.
SO I JUST WANNA PERSONALLY THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU ALL PUT IN AND THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO BE AS RESPONSIVE AS POSSIBLE, KNOWING ESPECIALLY WHAT WAS COMING UP AND THE, THE, THE SPECIAL NEEDS OF A, OF A SPECIFIC SPECIAL EVENT LIKE, UH, THE SOCCER GAME THAT WAS COMING UP JUST LE LESS THAN 24 HOURS LATER.
AND WE, AS WITH ANYTHING, HIS LESSONS LEARNED, WE'LL TAKE PHOTOS, THOSE LESSONS AND DO A BETTER JOB NEXT TIME.
OUR NEXT PUBLIC COMMENTER WILL BE BRENT PAYNE.
UH, GOOD MORNING, GOOD EVENING CHAIRMAN.
UH, AND THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT I SEEM LIKE I ONLY RECOGNIZE ONLY THREE OF Y'ALL NOW.
I'M THE PRESIDENT AND BUSINESS AGENT FOR LOCAL 10 91, WHICH I HANDLED PROBABLY 97% OF, OR 95% OF EVERYBODY THAT WORKS UNDER CAPITOL METRO, UH, FOR THE PRIVATE CONTRACTORS.
AND I WAS OUT SICK LAST MONTH WITH COVID, UNFORTUNATELY, AND I COULDN'T FORMALLY CONGRATULATE MS. WATKINS.
I'VE BEEN KNOWING DOTTY 30 PLUS YEARS ALMOST.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO US WORKING WITH CHAIRMAN TRUVIO AND DOTTY ON FUTURE THINGS.
I KNOW WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH MV.
WE JUST COMPLETED NEGOTIATIONS WITH MTM.
THAT CONTRACT HAS BEEN RATIFIED AND, UH, I DON'T FORESEE ANY ISSUES WITH MV.
UH, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY, LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE CAPITAL METRO BOARD.
I KNOW AS WE LOOK AT EXPANDING AND INCREASING SERVICE AND THE PEOPLE THAT WE WANT TO HELP, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN IT TOGETHER.
UH, MY GOAL IS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT MY PEOPLE ARE TREATED FAIRLY.
BENEFITS ARE FAIRLY SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE SAFE WORK PRODUCT FOR ALL THE MEMBERS OF AUSTIN AND SURROUNDING CITIES.
I THINK Y'ALL MADE A GREAT DECISION.
I KNOW SHE KNOWS TRANSIT, SO HEY, LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THANK YOU, BUT I CAN'T, I I'M EVIDENTLY LOSING MY VOICE.
OUR NEXT PERSON SIGNED UP IS JP CON.
HI BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR, UM, MAKING TIME TO LISTEN TO ME AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.
WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND ALSO NOTE THAT I STILL LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN WE CAN SEE, UM, A SINGLE CORE TRANSIT WRITER REPRESENTED ON THIS BOARD.
UM, I'M GONNA ATTEMPT IN THE TIME THAT I HAVE TO, TO READ A LETTER THAT WILL ALSO BE SENT TO THE BOARD OF AUSTIN.
DRIVES A PARTNERSHIP, AND IT'S FROM THE ATX MOBILITY COALITION.
AND IT'S ABOUT OUR CONCERNS WITH REALLY, UM, PROCESS, COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY AND TRANSPARENCY AS THIS PROJECT MOVES FORWARD.
NOW, MORE THAN EVER, UM, WITH SOME OF THE NEWS STORIES THAT HAVE COME OUT TO THE
[00:30:01]
COMMUNITY, THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT THINGS, THE WAY WE DO THINGS, AND THE WAY WE BUILD TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY WILL MATTER.SO THE LETTER SAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.
THE ATX MOBILITY COALITION WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED BY THE COMMUNITY WITH REGARDS TO TRANSPARENCY AND PROCESS SURROUNDING THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CAT METRO CEO AND OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
ON JANUARY 30TH, KAT METRO BOARD CHAIR ANNOUNCED AFTER A CLOSED DOOR SESSION THAT THE DECISION WAS MADE TO MOVE, UM, FORWARD WITH HIM AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ON QUOTE, IN REFERENCE TO THE APPOINTMENT OF GREG CANALI.
IF SUCH WERE INDEED THE CASE, THIS WOULD ENTAIL A VIOLATION OR A BAD FAITH INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 4.22 OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAP METRO ATP IN THE FALL OF 2021.
UM, THAT WOULD BE THE, THE JPA, NOT THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
THE ATTP BOARD, UM, SHALL ESTABLISH THIS IS, UH, QUOTATION A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS FOR SUCH APPOINTMENTS, WHICH IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF SENIOR LEADERSHIP.
AND SIMILAR PROCESS DESCRIBED ABOVE THAT WAS REFERRING TO THE PROCESS FOR THE INDEPENDENT MODEL BETWEEN ATP AND CAT METRO.
FURTHERMORE, UM, ARTICLE 3.2 0.3 OF THE JPA ESTABLISHED THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR PROJECT CONNECT.
AND I WON'T LE READ THROUGH ALL OF THEM HERE.
YOU HAVE THEM PRINTED OUT IN FRONT OF YOU, AND WE WILL EMAIL YOU THIS, UM, THIS AFTERNOON AS WELL.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THEM.
AND ONE IS, OPPORTUNITIES SHALL ALLOW TIME FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO REVIEW MATERIALS, PROVIDE INFORMED AND MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK, AND UNDERSTAND HOW FEEDBACK IS INCORPORATED BEFORE A DECISION IS MADE.
UM, AND THE PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL BE COMPREHENSIVELY CONSULTED AND INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS, INCLUDING BEING REGULARLY INFORMED IN THE ADVANCE OF PROJECT CONNECT RELATED EQUITY AND ANTI DISPLACEMENT ACTIONS BEING BROUGHT BY THE PARTIES, UM, IN A CONSISTENT MANNER SO THEY CAN EFFECTIVELY ASSIST STAFF WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES AND A SPACE FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE PROGRAM.
ALL ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES SHALL BE HIGHLIGHTED ON A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE CALENDAR.
SO I WASN'T ABLE TO READ, UM, THE WHOLE THING, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNICATION, THE WAY IT HAPPENED, UM, UH, WAS UNFORTUNATE.
FURTHERMORE, WE'D LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT ALTHOUGH THE CEO OF CAPITAL METROPOLITAN AUTHORITY IS NOT GOVERNED BY THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, THE CEO APPOINTMENT, IT IS THE BELIEF OF THE ATX MOBILITY COALITION THAT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE APPLIED THROUGHOUT PROJECT CONNECT, INCLUDING ON MAJOR DECISIONS ABOUT GOVERNANCE AND CHANGES IN EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP OF THE AGENCIES DEVELOPING THE PROGRAM.
WE WOULD LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT NEITHER THE ATX MOBILITY COALITION, NOR THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT CONNECT, NOR THE LARGER COMMUNITY OF TRANSIT USERS WAS NOTIFIED OR ENGAGED IN THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT CEO OF CAP METRO.
UM, UH, SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH DODY WATKINS.
WE APPRECIATE THE EXPERIENCE SHE BRINGS TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS VITAL PROJECT, BUT THE PROCESS FOR THE SELECTION DID NOT LIVE UP TO THE PUBLIC COMMITMENTS MADE BY THE DIRECTORS, NOR DID IT LIVE UP TO OUR COMMUNITY STANDARDS FOR FUTURE AND SUCCESS.
FOR THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT, WE MUST DO BETTER.
IT IS CRUCIAL THAT BOTH CAT, METRO AND ATP MAINTAIN A CLEAR COMMITMENT AND WORK TO UPHOLD AND BUILD COMMUNITY TRUST.
THIS CAN ONLY BE ACCOMPLISHED BY COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENT PUBLIC PROCESS, MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND PERSISTENT OVERSIGHT.
WE URGE THE BOARD TO TAKE SERIOUS STOCK OF THE DAMAGE TO COMMUNITY TRUST THAT SUCH COMMUNICATION HAS CAUSED AND TO TAKE MEANINGFUL STEPS TO REPAIR THAT DAMAGE.
AND WE HAVE A SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH I'M NOT SURE IF I'LL BE ABLE TO READ, UM, BUT I'LL TRY VERY QUICKLY HERE.
ALL BOARD MEMBERS MUST BE INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THE COMMITMENTS OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND PUBLICLY DEMONSTRATE A COMMITMENT TO UPHOLDING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN THE JPA.
NEW BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD BE ASKED TO READ AND REVIEW THE ENO CENTER ANALYSIS AND BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE LANGUAGE OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH ARE KEY TO DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A HEALTHY PROGRAM.
THE BOARD MUST WORK TO IMPROVE ITS COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AND MUST IMPROVE ITS COMMUNICATION WITH THE CAC AND WITH OTHER ADVISORY BODIES OF THE PROJECT.
AND THE BOARD MUST STRIVE TO REPAIR TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY, INCLU, INCLUDING PUBLIC, LEGAL, KNOW, AND THE HARM CAUSE BY THIS APPARENT VIOLATION OF THE JPA.
NOW, I WANNA ALSO, I I SKIPPED OVER THIS PART, BUT, UH, BOARD CHAIR CASTRO DE HAS SINCE CLARIFIED THE POSITION MAKING A PUBLIC STATEMENT AND HAS ASSURED THE COMMUNITY THAT THAT WAS NOT HOW THINGS WENT OUT AND HOW THINGS ROLLED OUT.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY WITH NEW MEMBERS ON THE BOARD AND WITH EVERYBODY, THAT WE WORK REALLY HARD TO DO BETTER ON THIS AND TO GET THIS STUFF RIGHT, BECAUSE THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE CAN'T.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME, UH, TO, UH, PRESENT THE ISSUES.
WE KNOW THAT YOU WORK FOR A COMMUNITY AND, AND THAT, UH, WE CAN, UH, WE CAN HEAL AND BUILD THINGS TOGETHER.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD IN A WAY THAT, UH, THAT WE ARE ALL COMFORTABLE WITH.
[IV. Recognition]
ALL RIGHT.SO WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT AND RECOGNIZE, UH, A PERSON WHO HAS, UM, PROVIDED INVALUABLE LEADERSHIP TO THIS BOARD FOR MANY YEARS.
UM, MANY OF US CALL HIM, CALL HIM A FRIEND.
SOME OF US CALL HIM MENTOR, UH, BUT
[00:35:01]
WADE COOPER HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF THIS BODY AND HAS SERVED THIS COMMUNITY SINCE 2014.UH, AND HE WAS A CHAIR, UH, HERE AT CAP METRO FROM 2015 TO 2022.
ALTHOUGH WHEN HE STOPPED BEING CHAIR, HE HAD THIS BIG SMILE.
WE HAD NEVER SEEN
UH, BUT, BUT HE IS, UH, LED LED OUR, UH, OUR TEAM THROUGH MAJOR INITIATIVES LIKE, UH, CAPARI MAP, UH, THE LAUNCH OF OUR PICKUP SERVICE, UH, THE PROP, A PRO, UH, PROCESS, STANDING UP, UH, ATP, A NUMBER OF THINGS, UH, INCLUDING THE HIRING OF BOTH, UH, RANDY CLARK AND NOW, UH, DOTTY WATKINS.
AND, UH, AND HE HAS BEEN A, A, A CONSTANT VOICE OF REASON, A CONSTANT VOICE, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ALL PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND US AND HOW WE, UH, HOW WE MUST WORK TOGETHER AS TEAMMATES AND HOW WE, AND HOW WE MUST ALIGN OURSELVES WITH, UH, WITH ENTITIES LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE REALLY BUILD TR BUILD PUBLIC TRANSIT, NOT ONLY FOR THE CITY, BUT HOW DO WE ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE REGION? UH, HE'S, HE'S BEEN A VOICE OF, OF OUR REASON.
AND, UH, AND, UH, SOMEONE WHO CLEARLY CARES DEEPLY ABOUT PUBLIC TRANSIT.
SO I COULD, I COULD TALK ABOUT HIM FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I'M BAPTIST, SO I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL.
UH, BUT, BUT I HAVE COLLEAGUES THAT WOULD LIKE TO, UH, THAT CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, TO SPEAK OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM AS WELL.
UM, I, I WILL RECOGNIZE, UH, FIRSTHAND I SAW WAS BOARD MEMBER POOL.
UM, I CAN'T TELL IF, IF WADE IS IN THE ROOM.
WELL, UM, CONGRATULATIONS, WADE ON YOUR RETIREMENT, UM, UH, FROM THE KEN METRO BOARD AND, AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR MANY YEARS OF REALLY, UH, EXCELLENT SERVICE.
UM, MY FRIEND AND, AND OUR FORMER, UH, BOARD COLLEAGUE ANN KITCHEN WASN'T ABLE TO STAY.
UH, BUT SHE ASKED ME TO READ A COUPLE OF COMMENTS FROM HER INTO THE RECORD ON, UH, AND HER THANK YOUS TO WADE.
SHE SAYS, UM, THAT SHE WANTS TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, WADE IN GETTING PROJECT CONNECT PASSED AND LAUNCHED.
YOU'VE BEEN A LONG TIME ADVOCATE FOR TRANSIT HERE IN AUSTIN, AND ALSO FOR THE ADEPT WAY.
YOU LED OUR MEETINGS ON CAT METRO FOR MANY YEARS WITH MUCH GRACE AND HUMOR.
AND, AND I, I, UH, I, UH, UH, ECHO, UH, ANN'S COMMENTS AS WELL.
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS, UH, BOARD MEMBER STRATTON, I JUST WANT TO SAY, UH, WADE, UM, CONGRATULATIONS AND, UM, THANK YOU.
I, UH, APPRECIATE IT WHEN I, I CAME IN AS A, UH, UH, WIDE-EYED BRAND NEW, NEWLY MINTED BOARD MEMBER IN DECEMBER OF 2018.
AND I, I JUST APPRECIATED THE WAY THAT YOU, UM, THAT, THAT YOU WELCOMED ME AND IN MANY WAYS TOOK ME UNDER YOUR WING.
AND I, I JUST, IN SO MANY WAYS, THE CHAIR CAN SET THE TONE FOR HOW THE ENTIRE BOARD WILL INTERACT AND, AND THE, THE ORGANIZATION ITSELF, UH, WORKS TOGETHER.
AND I REALLY JUST APPRECIATED THE TONE THAT YOU SET, THE COLLEGIALITY THAT YOU ENCOURAGED AMONG US ALL, HOW YOU, YOU ALWAYS HAD TIME FOR EVERY ONE OF US.
YOU'D ALWAYS TAKE MY CALLS NO MATTER WHAT TIME, CRAZY TIME OF THE EVENING, IT WAS BASED ON THE, THE, THE HOURS THAT I WAS WORKING.
AND YOU, YOU WERE NEVER, YOU WERE NEVER A AFRAID TO, YOU NEVER THOUGHT ANY OF MY QUESTIONS WERE TOO DUMB.
AS I WAS COMING IN NEW AND TRANSIT AFTER ALL YOUR YEARS WORKING ON THIS.
AND YOU, YOU ALWAYS, I ALWAYS KNEW YOU HAD THE RIGHT IDEAS IN MIND, AND YOU HAD THE RIGHT HEART.
YOUR HEART WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE FOR THIS, FOR, FOR CAP METRO, FOR ITS FOR ITS OPERATORS, FOR THE STAFF, AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE THAT WE SERVE.
AND I, I ONLY HOPE THAT I CAN CONTINUE TO MODEL THAT AS I CONTINUE TO SERVE ON THIS BOARD.
AND I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR, FOR, FOR MODELING THAT FOR ME AND, AND BEING A MENTOR FOR ME AS I, AS I GOT STARTED HERE WITH THIS.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR SERVICE.
ARE THE BOARD MEMBERS, BOARD MEMBER HARRIS? UH, JUST TO ECHO BOARD MEMBER STRATTON'S COMMENTS, UM, I'VE ONLY BEEN ON THE BOARD NOW, WE'RE HAVING IT BEEN A YEAR.
UM, BUT PROBABLY THE FIRST CALL I MADE AFTER I GOT ON THERE WAS TO TALK TO WADE AND IN A SENSE OF TRY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE
[00:40:01]
TO, TO ABSORB, UM, HIS VAST EXPERIENCE, BOTH SERVING AS THE CHAIR AND THEN ALSO SERVING AS THE HEAD OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, UH, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON.UH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, JUST TO GAUGE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO TRY AND FOR THE LACK OF A BETTER TERM, I REALLY WANTED TO DO A VULCAN MIND MILL JUST TO BE ABLE TO, TO ABSORB ALL HIS, ALL HIS EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF BOTH THE REMAP AND HOW HE GOT TO PROJECT CONNECT AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
UH, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S THAT HOW WE GOT HERE AND WHERE WE'RE AT NOW, I THINK WILL HELP, WOULD HELP GUIDE ME IN TERMS OF MAKING FUTURE DECISIONS ABOUT TRANSIT IN THE REGION.
SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO EDUCATE SOMEBODY WHO, WHILE I KNOW TRANSIT A LITTLE BIT, IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE GOT HERE.
I THINK YOU'VE TRAINED US ALL UP.
AND, UM, IN MY COUPLE OF YEARS HERE, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR, UM, ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS BECAUSE YOU DO, AND I THINK THAT WE'VE ALL SAID THE SAME THING HERE, BUT YOU'VE, YOU'VE DEFINITELY LEFT YOUR PRESENCE HERE.
AND, UM, WE WISH YOU, WELL SEE IF I CAN SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ALL THIS STAFF.
I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS OF SUPPORT.
UM, YOU ALWAYS HAD OUR BACK AND ALWAYS HELPED US GUIDE US GENTLY WHEN WE MAYBE NEEDED A LITTLE MORE GUIDANCE THAN THAN OTHERS.
AND, UM, IT'S JUST BEEN A PLEASURE TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND TO WORK WITH YOU, AND WE WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST.
SO I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT ALL NEW BOARD MEMBERS GET HIS CELL NUMBER BEFORE HE LEAVES
UH, HE, HE CAN, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT ONLY IS HE A A VERY VALUABLE ADVISOR, HE USUALLY PICKS UP LUNCH TOO,
UM, WADE, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, SAY ANYTHING, UH, THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A LITTLE PRESENT THAT WE WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU, AND WE EXPECT TO COME AROUND AND TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU AS WELL.
SO, UH, IF YOU, YOU GET A REBUTTAL? YES,
UH, WELL, I APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND, UH, I KNOW IN THE FUTURE I'LL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES, SO I WILL, UH, ASK FOR A WAIVER OF THAT, UH, UH, TODAY.
BUT THIS IS A, UH, BITTERSWEET, UH, OCCASION, UH, FOR ME TO MY COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD, UH, CURRENT AND, UH, PAST.
THERE ARE VERY FEW THINGS IN LIFE THAT MEET THE STANDARD OF WORKING TOGETHER IN COMMON CAUSE TO DO GOOD.
AND, UH, THAT'S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO WRESTLE WITH HARD ISSUES, BUT KNOWING AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHILE WE MIGHT NOT ALL HAVE THE SAME VISION OF WHAT THE COMMON GOOD IS, OR THE PATHWAY TO THE COMMON GOOD THAT WE WERE STRUGGLING WITH THE ISSUES TO DO GOOD.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COLLEGIAL NATURE IN WHICH WE HAVE DONE THAT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
I THINK, UH, WE'VE DONE SOME GOOD THINGS AND WE LEFT A LOT OF GOOD WORK UNDONE FOR THIS BOARD.
AND, UH, TO MY NEW COLLEAGUES OR OR TO THE NEW, YOUR NEW COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD, I SAY WELCOME.
UM, THIS IS A GREAT EXPERIENCE.
YOU HAVE THIS MORNING, UH, SCENE, THE WHOLE PANOPLY OF THINGS THAT HAPPENS HERE AT CAT METRO FROM DERAILMENTS TO UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO DO NOT GET A LOT OF FANFARE, BUT ARE QUIETLY DOING REALLY COOL THINGS IN, UH, DARK CORNERS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND YOU WILL GET TO SEE ALL THAT AS WELL.
UH, UH, SO THANK YOU TO MY FORMER COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD AND CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU TO THE NEW COLLEAGUES FOR STEPPING INTO THE BREACH, UH, ESPECIALLY, UH, DIANE, FOR TAKING THAT CHAIR.
AND I WILL JUST SAY THAT YOU'RE THE THIRD PERSON TO SIT IN THAT CHAIR SINCE THIS BOARD WAS REORGANIZED BY CINDER WATSON BACK WHEN WE CAME CLOSE TO BANKRUPTCY.
SO WE'RE, UH, IN HIGH COTTON THESE DAYS, BUT IT WASN'T ALWAYS SO, AND IT MAY NOT BE.
SO IF YOU DON'T DO YOUR JOBS WELL,
AND I WAS SHOCKED, FRANKLY, AT THE QUALITY, UH, OF THE FOLKS THAT WERE HERE.
AND IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO SLOWLY APPRECIATE THAT.
BUT, UH, THE ENSUING EIGHT PLUS YEARS HAS GIVEN ME, UH, GREAT APPRECIATION, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PEOPLE,
[00:45:01]
UH, THAT I GOT TO KNOW, UH, STARTING, UH, WITH, UH, THE PRESIDENTS, UH, THAT WE'VE HAD.AND I'VE, UH, BEEN PRIVILEGED TO WORK WITH THREE GREAT ONES WHO EACH HAD THEIR ROLE IN TRANSITIONING DOTS IS, UH, UNDEFINED AS YET, BUT EACH ONE MOVED THE AGENCY ALONG TO ALL THE STAFF PEOPLE WHO'VE MADE, UH, PRESENTATIONS AND TOOK PRIDE IN THEIR JOBS.
UM, AND, UH, PRE COVID, I WAS IN THE HABIT OF TRYING TO TAKE THE NUMBER SEVEN OVER HERE FROM MY OFFICE DOWNTOWN, AND THAT IS AN INTERESTING ROUTE.
YOU SEE A LOT OF AMERICA, A LOT OF AUSTIN ON THE, ON THE NUMBER SEVEN.
AND I ENCOURAGE OUR NEW COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD TO SPEND TIME RIDING THE BUS.
UH, BUT THE PROFICIENCY AND THE CARE OF THE HUMBLE BUS DRIVER, UH, ALWAYS REMINDED ME OF WHAT IT WAS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE.
AND, UH, MY ONE REGRET IS I DIDN'T GET TO KNOW MORE OF OUR BUS DRIVERS AND FRONTLINE PEOPLE BECAUSE THE THING I'M PROUDEST OF IS WE HAD BIG POLICY AMBITIONS WITH CAP REMAP AND PROJECT CONNECT, AND YOU HAVE A LOT OF REALLY IMPORTANT WORK LEFT TO DO ON THE BOARD, BUT EVERY DAY THERE'S SOMEBODY THAT NEEDS A RIDE, UH, OR NEEDS A LITTLE HELP.
AND I WAS ALWAYS IMPRESSED WITH THE CARE OF OUR STAFF ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, TAKING CARE OF THE UNHOUSED, UH, THOSE WHO NEED A MEAL, GETTING THEM FROM POINT A TO A LUNCH COUNTER SOMEWHERE, UH, DURING THE WINTER STORM WHEN STRUCK.
UH, YOU, UH, WILL GET A VISION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT YOU DO AND WHAT THEY DO.
AND IT'S EASY TO HAVE THE BACK OF THE STAFF WHEN YOU COMPREHEND THE IMPORTANCE THAT THEY HAVE AND THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS.
AND SO HOPE YOU'LL CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU CAN TO KEEP THEM ON THE STREETS, TO KEEP THEM PROUD OF THEIR JOB, TO GIVE THEM AMBITION AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.
HOPE THAT YOU WILL TACKLE THE BIG, UH, QUESTIONS THAT YOU'LL HAVE IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.
THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NEW TO THE BOARD ARE GONNA HAVE TO COME UP TO SPEED VERY QUICKLY.
AND REMEMBER, PRE COVID, UH, I TRAVELED TO NEW YORK AND SPECIFICALLY BROOKLYN, UH, FOR THE BIRTH OF OUR GRANDDAUGHTER.
IT WAS JUST A MONTH BEFORE COVID HIT, BUT I GOT TO RIDE A HUNDRED YEAR OLD SUBWAY TRAIN, A HUNDRED YEAR OLD SUBWAY TRAIN.
THE DECISIONS YOU ALL WILL MAKE IN THE THE NEXT SIX MONTHS WILL IMPACT THIS COMMUNITY FOR MULTIPLE GENERATIONS.
UH, I THINK THAT THIS BOARD IS AS CAPABLE AND MORE ENERGETIC AND SMARTER THAN ANY BOARD THAT HAS COME BEFORE.
SO I HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN YOU, BUT, UH, I WISH YOU WELL IN THAT JOURNEY.
STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT IN THIS.
THERE WILL BE HARD QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED AND HARD DECISIONS TO BE MADE AND COMPROMISES, UH, THAT NEED TO BE PUT TOGETHER.
UH, BUT, UH, YOU ALL ARE UP TO IT.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, I WISH YOU THE BEST SAY THANK YOU.
AND, UH, I'LL, UH, UH, FADE GRADUALLY INTO THE NIGHT HERE.
BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR THE COMMENTS.
WELL, LET'S STAY RIGHT THERE BECAUSE WE WANT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE TOKEN OF OUR APPRECIATION AND TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU AND STAFF.
THIS IS THE SALARY I'VE BEEN PROMISED FOR SO LONG,
[00:50:07]
ALL RIGHT, TEAM.LET'S SEE IF WE CAN PULL IT BACK TOGETHER.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN PULL IT TOGETHER.
ERIC STRATTON IS TOOTH IN THE
DO WE STILL HAVE OUR QUORUM? GOT COUPLE THAT ARE, OH, THERE WE GO.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE COOKIE MAKER.
LET'S SAY, LET'S START THAT FIRST.
[V. Advisory Committee Updates]
UH, I THINK NEXT UP ON OUR AGENDA WILL BE OUR BOARD, UH, BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATES.MS. POWER IS HERE TO PRESENT, UH, THOSE FOR US.
HELLO, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR TRILLIAN, UM, PRESIDENT, CEO WATKINS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER AND ALSO THE STAFF LIAISON FOR THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES HERE AT, UH, CAB METRO.
UM, I AM GOING TO PROVIDE THIS MONTH'S COMMITTEE UPDATES ALSO WITH ME.
UM, THERE IS ADAM POWELL, CHAIR POWELL FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, AND ALSO CHAIR HUNT FROM THE ACCESS COMMITTEE.
AND I'LL DO MY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW AND I'LL PASS IT ON TO THEM WHEN I'M DONE.
SO ACCESS AND CSAC COMMITTEES MET ON FEBRUARY 1ST AND THE EIGHTH.
UH, THEY RECEIVED AN UPDATE ON THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDS BY NEFERTITI JACKMAN FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, SERVICE, UH, STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FROM ROSE LISKA AND EMMA MARTINEZ.
UM, ACCESS COMMITTEE SPECIFIC ITEMS WERE METRO ACCESS OPERATIONS TECHNOLOGY BY JULIE LAMPKIN AND THE METRO ACCESS ELIGIBILITY, UH, APPEALS CALENDAR BY MARTIN CARTI, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MET ON FEBRUARY 24TH.
UM, THEY RECEIVED A GENERAL UPDATE AND A THANK YOU FROM PRESIDENT AND CEO DOTTY WATKINS.
UM, THEY ALSO RECEIVED A COMMITTEE, NORMS AND REMINDERS UPDATE FROM CHAIR POWELL AND VICE CHAIR STEVEN FOSTER.
UM, ERIC ROBBINS, CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR GAVE HIM AN UPDATE ON THE HIRING FOR THE CO FOR THE DEPARTMENT, AND ALSO AN INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SAFETY CAPTAIN, UM, JEREMY BENO.
UH, WE ALSO RECEIVED A REPORT FROM HOLLY WINGE FROM THE COMMUNITY INTERVENTION PROGRAM REPORT, AND THEY SPOKE ABOUT, UH, POTENTIAL MEETINGS IN MARCH ABOUT THE POLICY ADVISORY PROCESS.
I WILL GO AHEAD AND PASS IT ON TO FIRST CHAIR HUNT, AND THEN CHAIR POWELL.
UM, AND I'M HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
CHAIR HUNT, ARE YOU, UH, AVAILABLE? YES.
UM, ACTUALLY THE, IN FEBRUARY, UH, THE, THE ACCESS COMMITTEE AND, UM, THE, UH, CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MET TOGETHER.
UM, I SURE YOU'LL REMEMBER THE, UH, MAJOR EVENT IN FEBRUARY.
UM, VERY, WE WERE POWERLESS TO CONDUCT A
SO THEY MET, THEY MET, UM, UH, TOGETHER, AND I DID NOT MAKE THAT MEETING.
SO, UM, BUT I DO APPRECIATE THE UPDATES THAT WERE GIVEN.
I ESPECIALLY APPRECIATE, UM, UH, JULIE LAMPKIN ALWAYS KEEPING US UP TO DATE ON THE TECHNOLOGY.
AND BOY, WE'VE GOT A LOT TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS TIME GOES ON.
UM, AND I KNOW I, I DIDN'T SEE, I DIDN'T HEAR MUCH, MANY OF IT, MUCH OF IT YET, BUT I KNOW AS METRO ALWAYS DOES, WHEN THERE'S A DISASTER IN THIS CITY OR SOMETHING LIKE AN ICE STORM OR, OR, UM, POWER FAILURES AND LIKE THE 2021 STORM, THAT KIND OF THING, THEY ALWAYS STEP UP AND DO HUMANS' WORK.
THE ONLY OTHER THING I'M INTERESTED IN THE COMMITTEE'S GONNA BE VERY INTERESTED IN IS HEARING ABOUT THE WHEELCHAIR RECORD THING.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THIS COMMITTEE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT.
UH, WE HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT IT YET, UH, BUT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IT AND SHOULD BE INVOLVED AS THIS PROJECT GOES FORWARD.
AND I THINK I UNDERSTAND THAT BASICALLY THE PERSON WITH A WHEELCHAIR GETS STRANDED.
IT'S GOTTA BE A WAY TO GET THEM HOME.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN BUSES DON'T, WHEN, UH, THEY GET STRANDED AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, METRO, UM, SOMETIMES THEY, THEY ALWAYS DO A GOOD JOB, BUT BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THINGS DO HAPPEN AND, UH, TO GET SOMEBODY HOME QUICKLY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO ACCESS COMMITTEE IS MOST DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN, IN THAT PROJECT.
UH, CHAIRMAN HUNT, UH, I GUESS IS, UH, MIS, IS CHAIRMAN POWELL GONNA, UH, YES.
FOR PUBLIC SAFETY? EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT.
CHAIRMAN POWELL, CHAIRMAN, PLEASE, PLEASE PROCEED.
I'M THE CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, EDNA COVERED REALLY WHAT WE DUG INTO
[00:55:01]
IN THE MEETING, AND I'D SAY, UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS.THERE ARE JUST HELPFUL CONTEXT FOR THE BOARD, ONE OF WHICH IS AS WE'VE BEEN GETTING FURTHER INTO THE CONTEXT OF THE THREE-PRONGED APPROACH TO PUBLIC SAFETY, KNOWING THAT THERE'S THE TRANSIT POLICE, BUT ALSO THE PUBLIC SAFETY AMBASSADORS, THE COMMUNITY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS, I'D SAY THERE WAS A LOT OF CURIOSITY AND JUST REALLY, I, I HOPE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THE STAFFING SHAKES OUT ACROSS THOSE THREE SPECIALISTS.
WE'RE LEARNING MORE FROM COMMUNITY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS ABOUT THEIR WORK, PUBLIC SAFETY AMBASSADORS, AND THEY HAVE, OF COURSE, A TIMELINE TO SCALE THE TRANSIT POLICE ITSELF.
UM, SO SOMETHING WE'RE, WE DEFINITELY ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE ABOUT, AND, UH, HAD SOME GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT IN THAT LAST MEETING DURING FEBRUARY.
ANOTHER PIECE IS THAT WE'RE REALLY IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, DEVELOPING A STRONG WORK PLAN FOR THIS YEAR IN COLLABORATION WITH ERIC AND GERMANY, OR GERMANY WHO ARE HELPING OUT A LOT ON THE STAFF SIDE.
UM, AND THAT'S BEEN A PROCESS OF SOLICITING BASICALLY TOPICS THAT WE WANT FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS, PASSING THAT ALONG AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE OUR, TO THE GROUND WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, WHO WE'RE APPOINTED TO LIAISON WITH REPRESENT IN SOME WAYS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE COVERING THE RIGHT TOPICS IN THIS PROCESS.
SO, EXCITED TO, UH, HAVE JEREMY ON BOARD SPECIFICALLY.
I'LL ALSO GIVE, UH, ANOTHER CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW BOARD, ME NEW BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE JOINING, UM, AND DOTTY FOR GETTING THE INTERIM TAG TAKEN AWAY AND BEING PERMANENT.
AND, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO CONTINUE THIS COLLABORATION, AS ALWAYS.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO ADD MS. POWER? UM, NO, NOT NOTHING FOR ME.
IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS, BOARD MEMBERS? OKAY.
IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYBODY WAS CLEAR AND CONCISE.
[VI. Board Committee Updates]
WILL BE OUR REGULAR BOARD COMMITTEE UPDATES.UH, THERE WAS NO OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, BOARD MEMBER POOL WAS SERVING AS THE, THE, UH, THE ACTING FINANCE, UH, COMMITTEE, UH, CHAIR LAST MONTH.
UH, CAN YOU KICK US OFF WITH THAT REPORT BOARD MEMBER POOL? I SURE CAN.
UM, SO WE HAD OUR MEETING ON, UH, THE 13TH AND PRESENT WERE, UH, WADE COOPER, BECKY ROSS, AND ME.
WE APPROVED THE MINUTES FROM OUR JANUARY 20 F FAA MEETING.
UM, AND I THINK YOU HAVE THE, THE, THESE NOTES IN YOUR PACKET.
WE APPROVED, UM, A RESOLUTION FOR, UH, PRESIDENT AND C E, ISN'T IT IN CEO WATKINS TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH ANYPLACE MD.
UM, OR WE DISCUSSED THIS RATHER, AND THIS WAS ABOUT AN EMPLOYEE WELLBEING CENTERS OPERATIONS FOR A TWO YEAR BASE PERIOD AND THREE ONE YEAR OPTION PERIODS, UM, FOR TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED ABOUT 8.5 MILLION.
THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS AND, UM, UH, MS. WATKINS SAID THAT SHE WOULD WORK WITH HER STAFF AND THEN INCOMING BOARD MEMBERS TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ITEM AND BRING IT BACK AT A FUTURE BOARD MEETING.
UM, I, I, I SPOKE IN SUPPORT OF THIS ITEM FOR EMPLOYEE WELLNESS, THINKING IT WAS A, A GOOD ONE TO MOVE FORWARD.
UH, BUT WE DEFINITELY NEEDED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT WERE LINGERING FROM OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.
WE APPROVED A RESOLUTION, UM, FOR OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO TO FINALIZE AN EXECUTIVE CONTRACT WITH INTERCON SECURITIES SERVICES.
THIS IS FOR UNARMED SECURITY OFFICER SERVICES FOR CAT METRO PROPERTIES, THREE YEAR TERM, TWO ONE YEAR OPTION PERIODS, AMOUNT, UM, JUST SHY OF 18 MILLION.
AND THAT MOTION WAS MADE BY BOARD MEMBER ROSS, SECONDED BY COOPER, AND THE RESOLUTION WAS RECOMMENDED AS AN ACTION ITEM FOR THE BOARD.
WE HAD TWO PRESENTATIONS, ONE ON EAD AND ONE ON THE INTERNAL AUDIT FISCAL YEAR 23 PLAN STATUS.
AND THAT IS A REPORT THAT WE HAVE REGULARLY.
SO IT WAS SORT OF A, A FORM OF A STATUS, PROGRESS AND UPDATE.
AND, UM, AT 1128, WE ADJOURNED OUR MEETING.
THERE IS ALSO A CAMPO UPDATE BOARD MEMBER HARRIS THANK YOU CHAIR.
UH, CAMPO MET, UH, ON FEBRUARY 13TH.
UM, SPECIFICALLY WITH RESPECT TO ITEMS THAT AFFECT CAP METRO, THERE WERE TWO.
UH, FIRST WAS, IS THAT, UH, CAMPO APPROVED APPROVED AMENDMENTS TO THE UNIFIED PLANNING AND WORK PROGRAM, UH, AT THE REQUEST OF THE CAP METRO STAFF FOR, UH, TWO ADDITIONAL STUDIES, UH, TO BE DONE.
ONE, CAPTURING TRANSIT VALUE FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, PILOT SITES FOR T O D IMPLEMENTATION WITH AN EQUITY LENS, UH, WHICH INCLUDED A $900,000 GRANT FROM THE FTA AND THEN $500,000 IN LOCAL FUNDS.
AND THE SECOND WAS, UH, FUNDING FOR A CAPITAL METRO TRAINING ACADEMY, UH, WHICH INCLUDED STAFF RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PLAN FOR SERVICE AND RESTORATION, UH, WHICH WAS INCLUDE THE $780,100 AND FTA FUNDS.
[01:00:01]
UH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, UH, CAP.UH, AT THIS LAST MEETING ALSO, WE, UH, APPOINTED TWO, THE TWO MEMBERS TO THE CAP METRO BOARD.
THE, UH, CAMPO INCLUDES DIANE BENGAL, WHO'S TAKING WADE COOPER'S PLACE, AND MAYOR PROTE ELLIS, WHO IS TAKING, UH, THE ELECTED OFFICIALS PLACE ON THE BOARD.
AND YOU SEE WE'VE ISOLATED THEM ON THE END.
SO ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ADD TO THE CAMPO REPORT? NOPE.
UH, WE WANT TO CERTAINLY WELCOME OUR NEW COLLEAGUES.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, AND IF THERE'S ANY INFORMATION THAT WE CAN PROVIDE OR, OR ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR TRANSITION MORE EASY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DO THAT AND MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE.
[VII.1. Approval of minutes from the January 30th, 2023 board meeting.]
ON INTO OUR, UH, OUR ACTION AGENDA.AND WE'RE POSTED FOR SEVEN ACTION ITEMS TODAY.
SO THE FIRST WILL BE, UH, THE APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY BOARD MINUTES.
UM, CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES.
I'LL MAKE THE, AND I'LL SECOND IT.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND, AND PROPERLY SECONDED, UH, THAT WE APPROVE THE, UH, MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 30TH, 2023, UH, BOARD MEETING.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? ANY DISCUSSION? ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE ALL LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING, AYE AYE.
AND, AND DISAPPROVAL BY SAYING AYE.
HERE, HEARING NONE, THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
SO WE HAVE APPROVED THE MINUTES FROM ITEM ONE.
[VII.2. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to finalize and execute a contract for the Printing of Pocket Schedules with AC Printing in the aggregate amount not to exceed $817,124 for one (1) base year and two (2) option years.]
ACTION.ITEM NUMBER TWO IS APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO.
I, I'M VERY HAPPY TO SAY PRESIDENT AND CEO, NOT INTERIM PRESIDENT AND CEO, UH, OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT FOR THE PRINTING OF POCKET SCHEDULES WITH, UH, WITH AC PRINTING IN THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $817,124 FOR A BASE YEAR AND TWO OPTION YEARS.
UH, CYNTHIA LUCAS WILL, UM, WILL PRESENT HERE.
THANK YOU, CHAIR TRILLIAN, PRESIDENT WATKINS AND, UH, BOARD MEMBERS.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING HERE AT CAPITAL METRO.
AND, UM, WE ARE HERE TO SEEK APPROVAL ON THIS CONTRACT.
NOW, WHAT IS A POCKET SCHEDULE? A POCKET SCHEDULE IS A NAME THAT WE USE, UH, TO DESCRIBE THE BROCHURES THAT WE PRINT, UH, TO LET FOLKS KNOW ABOUT THEIR TRIPS.
AND THESE ARE DOWN AT THE ROUTE LEVEL, BASICALLY, SOMETIMES WE DOUBLE UP WHEN THE ROUTES HAVE CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE SIMILAR.
UH, THESE ARE USED PRIMARILY DURING THE THREE MAJOR SERVICE CHANGES THAT WE HAVE DURING A YEAR.
AND WE PRINT THESE, WE PLACE THEM ON VEHICLES, BOTH RAIL AND BUSES.
AND, UH, THEY SERVE AS A, A GOOD TOUCHPOINT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, THERE ARE ALSO OTHER THINGS THAT WE PRINT WITH THIS SAME CONTRACT.
FOR INSTANCE, I THINK I MAY HAVE LEFT A PICKUP BROCHURE FOR YOU.
UH, WHEN WE NEED TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO CUSTOMERS, UH, THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT WAY FOR US TO DO IT AND TO HAVE A CONTRACT HANDY SO WE CAN MAKE THESE HAPPEN PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, THIS REALLY DOES ALIGN VERY WELL WITH OUR CUSTOMER GOAL, UH, IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN BECAUSE ALTHOUGH YOU MAY SAY, WELL, DO WE REALLY NEED THINGS IN PRINT? THE ANSWER TO THAT IS YES.
BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE GONE OUT TO TALK TO OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, THEY SAY, WELL, YEAH, WE MAY MAKE THIS PLAN, BUT, OH, I REALLY DO LIKE HAVING THIS WHERE I CAN CHECK VERY QUICKLY TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS MY CONNECTION, ET CETERA.
PLUS THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS OUT THERE WHO MAY NOT HAVE A DATA PLAN OR WANNA USE THEIR DATA PLAN, UH, OR EVEN HAVE A SMARTPHONE.
SO IT REALLY ALSO ADDRESSES, UH, MAKING US ACCESSIBLE TO ALL TO CONTINUE TO DO PRINT.
UM, SO THIS WAS AN OPENLY COMPETED CONTRACT, AND THIS IS THE LOWEST RESPONSIBLE AND RESPONSIVE BID.
UM, THERE WAS NO SBE GOAL SET FOR THIS, BUT I DID WANT TO JUST LET YOU KNOW THAT IN FACT, THAT, UH, AC PRINTING IS A 100% S B VENDOR.
SO, UM, WE REALLY THINK THIS IS A VITAL RESOURCE IN OUR TRIP PLANNING TOOLKIT, AND WE WANNA BRING IT TO YOU TODAY TO SEEK YOUR APPROVAL.
SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF ME, BOARD MEMBERS? ANY QUESTIONS? LET'S SEE IT.
I, I DON'T SEE ANY, SO, UH, THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A, UH, MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM TWO.
[01:05:01]
UP AT THE SCREEN.IS THERE A OKAY, A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? ANY FIR UH, DID I SEE A RED LIGHT DOWN THERE? UH, BOARD MEMBER? OKAY.
UM, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
ALL IN FAVOR? LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.3. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to finalize and execute a contract with Columbia Equipment Co., Inc. for the fabrication and delivery of MetroRapid Shelters for a Base Period of two (2) years and three (3) option periods of one year each in an amount not to exceed $295,088.]
WE MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH COLUMBIA EQUIPMENT, UH, COMPANY INC.FOR THE FABRICATION AND DELIVERY OF METRO RAPID SHELTERS FOR A BASE PERIOD OF TWO YEARS AND, AND THREE OPTION PERIODS OF ONE YEAR EACH IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $295,088.
THEN KEN CARTWRIGHT WILL MAKE THE PRESENTATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR TRAIAN, BOARD MEMBERS PRESIDENT CEO WATKINS.
I'M KEN CARTWRIGHT, VICE PRESIDENT OF CONSTRUCTION FACILITIES, AND AS YOU MENTIONED, THIS IS RELATED TO SHELTERS FOR OUR EXISTING METRO RAPID SERVICE.
THAT'S ROUTE ROUTES 8 0 1 AND 8 0 3.
UH, WE, THIS IS FOR SPARE SHELTERS TO REPLACE, UH, EXISTING SHELTERS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED, AND IT IS FOR A TOTAL OF SIX, UH, SHELTERS OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
AND, UH, I WOULD, I WOULD, UH, MENTION THAT OCCASIONALLY THE SHELTERS DO GET DAMAGED AND WE, UH, HAVE EXHAUSTED OUR SPARE INVENTORY.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE LOOKING TO REPLENISH THAT INVENTORY.
SO WE ALWAYS HAVE THEM ON HAND TO REINSTALL IF THEY BECOME DAMAGED.
UH, I WILL MENTION THAT THERE WAS, UH, ALSO NO, UH, SBE GOAL ESTABLISHED FOR THIS, BUT, UH, COLUMBIA, UM, EQUIPMENT COMPANY IS, UH, LISTED AS A, UH, WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD WAS AWARE OF THAT, BUT I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING THIS PARTICULAR ITEM.
IT SEEMS LIKE WITH THIS BEING A TWO YEAR WITH, UH, THREE OPTION PERIODS OF ONE YEAR IN EXCESS, IS THERE AN AWARENESS OF JUST NOT OVERLAPPING WHERE THE METRO RAPID ATP PROJECT CONNECT SHELTERS WOULD GO? UH, YOU SAID THAT THESE WOULD BE ON THE CURRENTLY EXISTING ROUTES, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'RE CONSIDERING? SURE.
UH, JUST TO, UH, BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON THAT, WE HAD A SEPARATE PROCUREMENT SEVERAL MONTHS AGO FOR THE SHELTERS, FOR THE NEW METRO RAPID LINES, AND SO THEY WILL HAVE A DISTINCT LOOK, BUT THERE ARE EXISTING METRO RAPID SHELTERS WILL BE RETROFITTED TO HAVE THE SAME BRANDING AS THE NEW SHELTERS ONCE THE NEW SHELTERS GO INTO SERVICE, SO, OKAY.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS? OKAY.
UH, HEARING NONE, CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT ITEM.
UH, BOARD MEMBER ALICE AND THE SECOND FROM BOARD MEMBER THERE.
UH, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED, UH, THAT WE APPROVE ITEM, UH, ACTION ITEM NUMBER THREE.
UH, ALL IN, UNLESS IS ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, THIRD TIME.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, UH, ALL LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING, UH, LET THE SUPPORT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
HEARING NONE, THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.4. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to finalize and execute a contract with CDW Government, LLC. to acquire workstation technology in an amount not to exceed $602,480.]
ITEM NUMBER FOUR, APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH C D W GOVERNMENT, LLL C TO ACQUIRE WORKSTATION TECHNOLOGY IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $602,480.AND, UH, JOHN, UH, JONATHAN TANZA WILL BE, UH, MAKING THE PRESENTATION.
UH, GOOD MORNING, CHAIRMAN TRAIAN.
THIS IS, UH, UH, DISTINGUISHED BOARD MEMBERS AND PRESIDENT AND CEO E WATKINS.
I'M THE IT, UH, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND SERVICE DELIVERY, AND I'M HERE IN PLACE OF JONATHAN.
UM, SO THIS, UH, WE'RE SEEKING, SO WE'LL BE WATCHING YOU CLOSELY NOW.
UM, SO, WE'LL, UM, WE'RE SEEKING APPROVAL FOR, UH, THE FUNDING OF OUR STATE OF GOOD REPAIR AND, UH, NEW HIRE PROGRAMS REGARDING WORKSTATION TECHNOLOGY AND PROCUREMENT.
DID AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB OF, UH, COMPETITIVE COMPETITIVELY BIDDING THIS FOR AN EXCELLENT VALUE, UH, LOWEST PRICE, HIGH ASPECT, UH, WORKSTATION TECHNOLOGY POSSIBLE.
UH, BOARD MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS, UH, BOARD MEMBERS? ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
UH, WELL LET, WELL, LET'S FIRST, UH, IF, IF WE CAN, UH, GET A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, ITEM, UH,
[01:10:01]
MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER FOUR.UH, OKAY, SO IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE ITEM NUMBER FOUR.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, UH, LET IT BE KNOWN BY, UH, SAYING AYE.
IF YOU APPROVE OF ITEM NUMBER FOUR.
UH, HEARING NONE, THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
UH, ARE YOU OKAY? ALL RIGHT, JEREMY, SO WE, WE HAVE ANOTHER, SO IT'S A UNANIMOUS VOTE.
WE MIGHT ASK YOU UP NEXT MEETING.
[VII.5. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to finalize and execute a contract with Inter-Con Security Services to provide Unarmed Security Officer Services for Capital Metro properties for a three (3) year term with two (2) one-year option periods in an amount not to exceed $17,908,647.]
UH, ACTION ITEM NUMBER FIVE, APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH INTERCON SECURITIES, UH, SERVICES TO PROVIDE UNARMED SECURITY OFFICER SERVICES FOR CAP METRO PROPERTIES FOR A THREE YEAR TERM WITH TWO ONE YEAR OPTION PERIODS IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $17,908,647.AND DARRELL JAMAL WILL MAKE THE PRESENTATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIRMAN TRAIAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT AND CEO WATKINS.
I'M DARYL JAMEL, AND I SERVE AS SENIOR DIRECTOR OF REPUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
TODAY, I'M REQUESTING APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH INTERCON SECURITY SERVICES TO PROVIDE UNARMED OFFICER SERVICES FOR CAPITAL METRO PROPERTIES FOR A THREE YEAR TERM WITH TWO ONE YEAR EXTENSION PERIODS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $17,908,647.
FUNDING FOR THIS ACTION IS AVAILABLE IN THE FY 23 OPERATING BUDGET, ENSURING A SAFE AND SECURE ENVIRONMENT AT CAPITAL METRO FACILITIES FOR BOTH CUSTOMERS AND STAFF, OR CORE OBJECTIVES OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND UNARMED SECURITY GUARDS AT OUR FACILITIES ARE KEY TO MEETING THESE OBJECTIVES.
THE SECURITY GUARDS PERFORM A WIDE VARIETY OF DUTIES ACROSS MANY OF OUR FACILITIES THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.
THE GUARDS SUPPORT THE OPERATIONAL NEEDS OF THE FACILITIES WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED.
SOME OF OUR FACILITIES ARE STAFFED 24 7 AND REQUIRE AROUND THE CLOCK SECURITY PRESENCE.
THESE DUTIES INCLUDE CONTROLLING ACCESS TO OUR FACILITIES, ENSURING THAT ONLY AUTHORIZED PEOPLE AND VEHICLES ENTER CAPITAL METRO FACILITIES, REGISTERING VISITORS, ANSWERING QUESTIONS, MONITORING OUR ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND MONITORING OUR CAMERA SYSTEMS. ALSO, THEY PATROL OUR FACILITIES AND BUS YARDS AND RESPOND TO SECURITY INCIDENTS, AND THEN DOCUMENT ALL ACTIVITIES AND INCIDENTS ON OUR PROPERTIES.
A GOOD WAY TO ILLUSTRATE THESE DUTIES IS TO CONSIDER THIS FACILITY WHERE WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE AND VEHICLES EVERY DAY IN AND OUT OF OUR FACILITIES.
AND JUST TO SUPPORT THOSE OPERATIONS REQUIRES THREE GUARD POSTS AT THIS ONE LOCATION, SOME OF WHICH ARE 24 7 POSTS, AND NORTH OPERATIONS HAS SIMILAR REQUIREMENTS FOR SECURITY.
THE D B E SBE GOAL FOR THIS CONTRACT IS 4%, AND THE CONTRACTOR WILL MEET THIS GOAL AT THIS TIME.
ANY QUESTIONS BOARD MEMBERS? ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS STRATTON.
UM, I SEE THE NOT TO EXCEED IS PRETTY CLOSE.
LET'S, LET'S CALL IT A 18 MILLION OVER FIVE YEARS, CORRECT? YES.
SO THAT, THAT AVERAGES OUT TO BE ROUGHLY 3.6 MILLION PER YEAR.
AGAIN, I'M, I'M ROUNDING UP TO MAKE THAT A LITTLE BIT EASIER.
UM, HAVE WE EVER DONE A, A FEASIBILITY STUDY AND LOOKED AT WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO BRING THAT IN-HOUSE, IF THERE WOULD BE A SET, A NET SAVINGS IF WE BROUGHT THAT FEATURE, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DEVELOPING OUR OWN, UH, OUR OWN PUBLIC SECURITY FORCE AND, AND, AND IN-HOUSE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY TEAM, THE POSSIBILITY OF BRINGING THIS FEATURE AND THIS FUNCTION IN-HOUSE AS WELL.
HAVE WE LOOKED AT THAT BEFORE? TO MY KNOWLEDGE, WE'VE NOT DONE A FEASIBILITY STUDY TO SEE WHAT THAT COST WOULD BE.
IS IT SOMETHING THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER? THE THE REASON I'M ASKING IS THAT 3.6 MILLION PER YEAR SEEMS LIKE A REALLY HEFTY LIFT FOR THE AGENCY.
YOU KNOW, I, I, AGAIN, VERY NECESSARY.
BUT I'M JUST, I GUESS I'M JUST KIND OF THINKING ABOUT THIS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF, YOU KNOW, IT AT SOME POINT KIND OF WEIGHING IT OUT, YOU KNOW, I'D HAVE TO THINK OF IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF BRINGING SOMEBODY IN-HOUSE VERSUS CONTRACTING IT OUT.
YOU KNOW, IS IT SOMETHING THAT WE MIGHT BE SEEING A NET SAVINGS WITH THE ECONOMIES, A SCALE OF WHAT OUR AGENCY CAN PROVIDE VERSUS CONTINUING TO CONTRACT IT OUT? JUST CURIOUS IF WE'VE SOMETHING WE WANT TO LOOK AT OR CONSIDER IN THE FUTURE, OR HAS IT BEEN DONE IN THE PAST? HAS IT BEEN, YOU'VE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME.
[01:15:01]
CEO WATKINS, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN DONE IN HOUSE BEFORE? WE HAVE NOT, UM, STUDIED THAT THIS HAS BEEN A FUNCTION THAT SINCE WE MOVED FROM HAVING RECEPTIONIST AT THE FRONT DOOR TO HAVING UNARMED SECURITY GUARDS AT THE FRONT DOOR HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONTRACTED OUT SERVICE.UM, WE CAN DEFINITELY BUILD THAT INTO OUR BUDGETING PROCESS AND SEE IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, IN THE FUTURE TO, TO BRING THIS IN HOUSE.
SO IF, IF THAT WERE THE CASE, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO THEN, THEN, IS THE CONTRACT CONSTRUCTED IN SUCH A WAY THAT, THAT IF, YOU KNOW, ONE YEAR OR TWO YEARS DOWN, WHAT, WHAT DOES IT SAY? IT'S, UH, TWO YEARS GUARANTEED, AND THEN THE, THE NEXT THREE YEAR, THREE YEARS WITH TWO ONE YEAR OPTIONS, THREE YEARS WITH TWO ONE YEAR OPTIONS.
UM, SO WE WOULD, WE HAVE FLEXIBILITY TO, TO, YOU KNOW, BREAK THAT EARLIER.
DO WE KNOW WHAT THE BUYOUT PROVISIONS WOULD BE IF IT TURNED OUT WE DID A STUDY IN TWO YEARS IN DETERMINE, HEY, LET IT, IT ACTUALLY WOULD BE CHEAPER FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, BRING THIS IN-HOUSE.
SO ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS INCLUDE TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE LANGUAGE, AND TYPICALLY WE'RE, UM, WE OWE THE CONTRACTOR WHAT THEY'VE EXPENDED IN ORDER TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT SERVICE.
SO THAT WOULD DEFINITELY BE PART OF THE ANALYSIS.
YEAH, I, I THINK I'D, I'D LIKE FOR US TO AT LEAST LOOK AT OR CONSIDER STUDYING THAT.
MAINLY, I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION SINCE WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OUR OWN INTERNAL PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAM, THAT IT WOULD SEEM LIKE IF WE'RE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY ALSO, YOU KNOW, TAKING CARE OF OUR, OF OUR BUSES AND, AND, UM, AND TRAINS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FACILITIES WOULD BE RIGHT THERE IN CONSIDERATION WITH IT.
JUST LOOK AT IT AND STUDY IT THAT DOES IT COME OUT TO BE A SAVINGS OF MORE THAN, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, A MILLION DOLLARS.
IF IT COMES OUT LESS THAN THREE POINT SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE 3.6 MILLION, IT MIGHT BE WORTH LOOKING INTO IT.
BUT OTHERWISE, IF THIS IS WHERE WE ARE AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I, I, I GUESS WE, WE, WE NEED THIS.
SO, SO TO SUPPORT IT, SO THIS WOULD TAKE A FAIRLY EXPANSIVE PROCESS, PROBABLY WOULD BE ASSIGNED TO THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, UH, SO THAT WE COULD SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
SERVICES THAT WERE BEING USED, THE IMPLICATIONS AS THEY, AS THEY RELATE ALSO TO AGREED TO, UH, RETIREMENT ISSUES THAT AGREED.
SO WE'D HAVE, WE'D HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, AS WE PUT IT TOGETHER, WE'RE DOING A TOTAL SIDE BY SIDE AND A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE OF IT.
SO, UM, SO YOU COULD PROBABLY LOOK AT IT AS A PILOT THAT YOU WANT TO TRACK YEAH, EXACTLY.
AND, AND THEN DETERMINE AT THAT POINT WHAT WOULD BE ADVISABLE GOING FORWARD.
BUT WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT AN EXTENSIVE STUDY PROCESS THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE OVER, OVER A YEAR.
I, I FIGURED THE TIMEFRAME WOULD BE SUCH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO, TO ASK THAT QUESTION, SEE IF IT HAD BEEN DONE BEFORE, NOW THAT IT HASN'T, AT LEAST GET IT ON OUR RADAR SCREEN TO BE CONSIDERING THAT BECAUSE 3.6 MILLION PER YEAR IS QUITE A HEFTY CHUNK.
AND IF AT A TIME THAT WE ARE ROLLING OUT OUR OWN PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAM, NOW MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME FOR THE OPS COMMITTEE WITH STAFF TO KIND OF STUDY THAT AND LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF, IF PERHAPS MR. JAMEL, WE COULD GIVE LOOK IN CONSIDERING THAT THAT RESOURCES BRINGING IN INTERNALLY VERSUS HAVING TO CONTRACT OUT EVERY FEW YEARS.
SO THANK, THANK YOU FOR THE, THE TIME AND THE CONSIDERATION ON THAT.
HONOR ALL, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? HEARING, HEARING NONE? UM, LET'S SEE.
UH, CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER FIVE.
BOARD MEMBER STRATTON, FIND MS. MILLER THAT WE DON'T TAKE COMMENTS FROM, FROM THE, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE WATCHING.
IM PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, UH, ALL IN FAVOR, LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
HEARING NONE, THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.6. Approval of a resolution electing officers of the Capital Metro Board of Directors for 2023.]
TO ACTION ITEM NUMBER SIX, AND, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION ELECTING OFFICERS OF THE CAP METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 2023.IS THERE A MOTION TO, UH, UH, ELECT OFFICERS FOR THE BOARD? UH, BOARD MEMBER STRAT? YES, MR. CHAIR? UH, I WOULD MOVE THAT THE BOARD ELECT JEFF TRAIAN AS CHAIR.
LESLIE POOLE IS VICE CHAIR, AND BECKY ROSS IS SECRETARY TO SERVE AS OFFICERS OF THE CAT BOTTLE METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE 23 CALENDAR YEAR.
UM, LET'S, IT'S BEEN MOVED BY BOARD MEMBER STRATTON.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND, UH, BY BOARD MEMBER HARRIS.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION?
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ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING ACTION ITEM SIX, WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE, IN THE MOTION, PLEASE LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.7. Approval of a resolution confirming the appointments to the Finance, Audit and Administration Committee and Operations, Planning and Safety Committee for 2023.]
APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE APPOINTMENTS TO THE FINANCE, AUDIT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE, AND THE OPERATIONS PLANNING AND SAFETY COMMITTEE FOR 2023.AND CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, UH, GO AHEAD.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO CONTINUE ERIC STRATTON AS CHAIR OF OPERATIONS AND MATT HARRIS AS CHAIR OF FINANCE, AUDIT, AND ADMINISTRATION.
WOULD WE, WOULD WE LIKE TO MAKE THE APPOINTMENTS OF NEW MEMBERS TO COMMITTEES? DO WE, DO WE WANT TO? LET'S SEE.
OPERATIONS COMMITTEES, LET'S SEE.
OKAY, SO, UH, WE WOULD ASK, WE, WE WOULD ASK BOARD MEMBER BENGAL TO BE ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT SHE WAS APPOINTED BY CAMP OH FOUR
AND THEN, UM, UH, BOARD MEMBER OF ELLA AND, AND BOARD MEMBER, UM, ELLIS TO THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
UH, WOULD, WOULD THE MAKER OF THE MOTION CONSIDER THAT FRIENDLY? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
AND, AND, UM, I APOLOGIZE IF THAT WAS ACTUALLY YOUR INITIAL INTENT.
UH, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, UH, PLEASE, UH, LET IT BE KNOWN, UH, BY, BY APPROVING, UH, TO APPROVE ITEM SEVEN BY SAYING AYE.
THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
UH, SO WE HAVE GONE THROUGH THE ACTION ITEMS, AND WE HAVE THREE DISCUSSION ITEMS, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, SOME BOARD MEMBERS MIGHT HAVE TO LEAVE A LITTLE EARLY.
[VIII.3. Briefing on Project Connect and best practices for transit system expansion design]
UH, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE ACTION ITEM THREE UP TO BE HEARD.FIRST, THE BRIEFING ON BEST PRACTICES FOR TRANSIT, UH, SYSTEM EXPANSION AND DESIGN FOR UPCOMING PROJECT CONNECT, UH, DECISIONS.
UH, CAN WE ASK, UM, MOLLY KING TO INTRODUCE OUR CONSULTANT? I'M ACTUALLY GONNA TAKE THAT ONE FOR ZOOMING.
UM, I'M VERY EXCITED TODAY TO WELCOME PETER ROGOFF TO PRESENT OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, UM, A BRIEFING ON THE BEST PRACTICES ABOUT TRANSIT SYSTEM EXPANSION AND DESIGN.
UM, PETER HAS BEEN ENGAGED AS OUR FEDERAL STRATEGY ADVISOR SUPPORTING A FULL RANGE OF FEDERAL, UM, ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE HAVE, OBVIOUSLY, INCLUDING PROJECT CONNECT THROUGH THE FTA, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
THERE'S A LOT GOING ON WITH THIS PROGRAM.
AS I, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE AWARE, AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, IN TIME TO WORK THROUGH SOME OF THE AFFORDABILITY AND CONSTRUCTABILITY ISSUES, UM, WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO RECENTER THIS BOARD ON THE UNIQUE RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THE TRANSIT NEEDS OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE MET.
UM, SO IN PREPARATION FOR THE DECISIONS AHEAD, IN WELCOMING OUR NEWEST BOARD MEMBERS, WE THOUGHT NOW WAS A GOOD TIME TO GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE.
UM, PETER HAS AN IMPRESSIVE BACKGROUND IN OUR, IN INDUSTRY SPANNING BOTH FEDERAL AND AGENCY LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE.
UM, HE BRINGS EXPERTISE ON FEDERAL FUNDING WITH HIS EXPERIENCE STAFFING THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS SERVING AS FDA ADMINISTRATOR AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION UNDER SECRETARY.
MOST RECENTLY, PETER ALSO SERVED AS THE, UM, CEO OF SOUND TRANSIT IN SEATTLE, LEADING, UM, THE NATION'S LARGEST TRANSIT EXPANSION PROGRAM, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PHASE PROGRAM DUE TO COST GROWTH, UM, WHICH MIGHT SOUND FAMILIAR TO SOME FOLKS HERE IN THE ROOM.
SO WE ARE VERY HONORED TO HAVE PETER HERE TO GUIDE US THROUGH THIS.
CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? AND THANK YOU, ED, FOR ADVANCING THE SLIDES.
I'M, I'M OF AN AGE WHERE I CAN'T SPEAK IN ADVANCED SLIDES AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THE CURRENT STATUS OF PROJECT CONNECT AND THE CHALLENGES THAT THE BOARD WILL FACE IN THE MONTHS AHEAD.
UH, MY PRESENTATION THIS AFTERNOON WILL CENTER AROUND THREE OVERARCHING IMPERATIVES THAT THE BOARD, I BELIEVE SHOULD FOCUS ON.
FIRST IS THE NEED TO BUILD HIGH QUALITY PROJECTS THAT WILL PROVIDE NEW RAIL SERVICE THAT IS RELIABLE, DESIRABLE, AND SAFE.
THESE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT GENERATE HIGH RIDERSHIP BECAUSE THEY DELIVER THE BENEFITS THAT MOST EXCITED THE VOTERS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
STRONG RAIL RIDERSHIP IN THE EARLIEST PHASES
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OF THE PROGRAM WILL INEVITABLY BUILD ENTHUSIASM THROUGHOUT AUSTIN FOR THE NEXT PHASE AND THE PHASE AFTER THAT.CONVERSELY, WEAK RAIL RIDERSHIP FROM POORLY DESIGNED PROJECTS THAT FAIL TO GET RARE R R EXCUSE ME, FAIL TO GET RIDERS WHERE THEY WANT TO GO QUICKLY, WILL UNDERMINE THE PROGRAM'S ENTIRE FUTURE.
SECOND IS THE NEED TO BUILD THOSE PROJECTS IN A MANNER THAT EMPLOYS BEST INDUSTRY PRACTICE SIZES, UTILIZING ALL THE EXPERTISE THIS REGION HAS TO OFFER, CAT METRO IS THE ONLY AGENCY WITH EXPERIENCE CONSTRUCTING AND DELIVERING TRANSIT FOR THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN AS THE EVENTUAL OPERATOR OF THE EXPANDED SYSTEM.
IT WILL BE ESSENTIAL THAT THE AGENCY'S EXPERTISE BE EMPLOYED TO ENSURE THAT THE CONNECTIONS FOR THE PROJECT CONNECT EXPANSIONS ARE SEAMLESS FOR TRANSIT USERS IN OUR EFFICIENT, AFFORDABLE, AND SAFE TO OPERATE INDUSTRY.
BEST PRACTICES, INCLUDING INTEGRATED PROJECT TEAMS AND HONEST, TRANSPARENT BUDGETING MUST BE EMPLOYED SO THAT THE VOTERS ARE NOT SURPRISED AND DISAPPOINTED A SECOND TIME.
THIRD IS THE NEED TO ADVANCE PROJECT CONNECT AND ITS DELIVERY STRUCTURE IN A MANNER THAT MAXIMIZES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDING.
ABSENT THE STRONG PARTICIPATION OF FEDERAL FUNDS IN PROVIDING ROBUST MATCHING MONIES, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DELIVER THESE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR RAIL PROJECTS IN ANY REASONABLE TIME.
OBVIOUSLY, EVERY DOLLAR THAT COMES TO THE PROGRAM FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS ONE LESS DOLLAR AUSTIN TAXPAYERS WILL NEED TO PAY OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS TO DELIVER IT.
FORTUNATELY, AS I'LL EXPLAIN THESE THREE IMPERATIVES, ALL COMPLEMENT ONE ANOTHER, BUILDING THE BEST PROJECTS USING THE BEST INDUSTRY DELIVERY PRACTICES IS THE PATH TO STRONG FEDERAL FUNDING.
BUT WHILE THE LOGIC UNDERLYING THAT PATH MAY BE EASY TO FOLLOW, THE STEPS THIS BOARD WILL NEED TO TAKE TO FOLLOW THAT PATH COULD PROVE TO BE DIFFICULT.
SO MANY OF MY OBSERVATIONS THAT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR IN THIS PRESENTATION MAY APPEAR TO BE INTUITIVE, IF NOT OBVIOUS, AND I CERTAINLY DON'T MEAN TO INSULT ANYONE BY SHARING THEM TODAY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, OUR INDUSTRY OFTEN STRUGGLES TO FOLLOW THESE CLEAR PATHS, SO THEY ARE WORTH REPEATING.
I OBSERVED, I OBSERVED TRANSIT BOARDS WRESTLING WITH THESE CHALLENGES WHEN I SERVED AS FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATOR AND THEN AS UNDER SECRETARY OF D O T.
BUT I WAS MOST ACUTELY AWARE OF THESE CHALLENGES WHEN I DID SERVE AS CEO OF SOUND TRANSIT IN SEATTLE, WHERE WE WERE BUILDING THE LARGEST VOTER APPROVED TRANSIT EXPANSION PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY.
AS DOTTY POINTED OUT, WE IN SEATTLE, LIKE YOU HERE IN OR IN AUSTIN, FACED STEADILY RISING COST ESTIMATES FOR OUR PROJECTS EVEN BEFORE THEY WERE FULLY DESIGNED.
THE SOUND TRANSIT BOARD OF DIRECTORS, LIKE THIS BOARD HAD TO WRESTLE WITH AND EVENTUALLY APPROVE A RECONFIGURED BUT AFFORDABLE CAPITAL PLAN THAT DELIVERED MANY PROJECTS FAR LATER THAN WAS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS.
THE PROCESS WAS PAINFUL BUT NECESSARY.
THAT IS PRECISELY THE SAME CHALLENGE AND SAME RESPONSIBILITY THIS BOARD IS GOING TO TAKE ON IN THE COMING MONTHS.
IN ORDER TO FIT PROJECT CONNECT INTO AN AFFORDABLE ENVELOPE, YOU WILL BE PRESENTED WITH ALTERNATIVES THAT WILL DELIVER, DELIVER RAIL TRANSIT TO FEWER COMMITTEES IN A SLOWER TIMEFRAME, AND WAS APPROVED BY YOUR VOTERS IN 2020.
IMPORTANTLY, ABSENT THE APPROVAL OF AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN BY THIS BOARD AND THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, THE RAIL ELEMENTS OF PROJECT CONNECT CANNOT MOVE FORWARD.
THESE UPCOMING VOTES BY THIS BOARD REPRESENT YOUR BEST OPPORTUNITY TO GET IT RIGHT FOR THE TAXPAYERS AND TRANSIT USERS OF AUSTIN.
THESE VOTES ARE YOUR BEST OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP PROJECT CONNECT MOVING FORWARD ON A POSITIVE PATH, EVEN UNDER DIFFI DIFFICULT ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES.
SO I APPRECIATE THIS TIMELY INVITATION AND, AND WHEN I'M DONE WITH MY PRESENTATION, I HOPE THE THREE NEW BOARD MEMBERS ARE STILL PLEASED TO BE NEW BOARD MEMBERS
UM, THERE ARE BETTER AND WORSE WAYS TO GO ABOUT THIS.
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO ENSURING THAT FED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL BE A MAJOR FUNDING PARTNER.
AND AS I'VE ALREADY SHARED, THE KEYS REALLY ARE HIGH RIDERSHIP, SHORT TRAVEL TIMES, AND A STRONG PROFESSIONAL TEAM THAT'S ALL PADDLING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
AUSTIN IS CERTAINLY NOT ALONE IN FACING THE ACUTELY DIFFICULT COST ENVIRONMENT WHEN TRYING TO DELIVER A PROGRAM LIKE THIS.
UM, THE SAME IS BEING FACED BY AIRPORT AUTHORITIES, HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UTILITIES, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS.
THIS SLIDE HERE COMES FROM THE ASSOCIATED ASSOCIATION OF GENERAL CONTRACTORS.
THIS IS JUST, AS YOU CAN SEE, JUST IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME HOW PRICES HAVE SPIKED IN THE INDUSTRY FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION.
IN A FEW WEEKS, THIS BOARD WILL BE PRESENTED WITH MULTIPLE OPTIONS TO CONSIDER FOR THE PURPOSE OF PHASING THE PROGRAM APPROVED BY VOTERS IN 2020 TO ONE THAT IS AFFORDABLE BASED ON NEW PROJECT COST ESTIMATES.
AS YOU APPROACH THAT CHALLENGE, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING, EVEN BEFORE THE BOARD IS BRIEFED ON THE ALTERNATIVES.
YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR OWN BOARD DISCUSSIONS AND SEEK TO REACH AGREEMENT ON WHAT ATTRIBUTES ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR THE EARLIEST RAIL EXPANSIONS.
UNDER PROJECT CONNECT AS THE GOVERNING BOARD OVER THE ONLY TRANSIT PROVIDER IN THE CITY AND THE EVENTUAL OPERATOR OF
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THE EXPANDED SYSTEM, YOU HAVE IMPERATIVES THAT OTHER PARTNERS IN THIS PROGRAM DO NOT.YOU SHOULD IDENTIFY THOSE IMPERATIVES AND VIEW THE ALTERNATIVES THROUGH THAT LENS.
THOSE BOARD CONVERSATIONS WILL NOT ONLY HELP YOU ORGANIZE YOUR OWN THINKING, BUT ALSO HELP YOU EXPLAIN YOUR DIFFICULT DECISIONS TO A CONCERNED PUBLIC.
AS YOU COMPARE THE MERITS OF THE ALTERNATIVES, PLEASE KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE A GREAT MANY TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN THEM.
SOME ALTERNATIVES WILL HAVE ATTRIBUTES THAT OTHERS DO NOT.
WHEN IT COMES TO RIDERSHIP, TRAVEL TIME EQUITY, PASSENGER CONVENIENCE INTEGRATION WITH THE CURRENT TRANSIT NETWORK, JUST TO NAME A FEW, I REALLY IMPLORE YOU TO DIG INTO THE DETAILS, UNDERSTAND THE TRADE-OFFS, ASK QUESTIONS, INSIST ON ANSWERS THAT YOU AND THE PUBLIC FULLY UNDERSTAND.
THE CAP METRO STAFF ARE OBVIOUSLY HERE TO HELP YOU THROUGH THIS PROCESS, AND YOU SHOULDN'T HESITATE TO SEND FOLKS BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD IF YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE BETTER SOLUTIONS THAT WARREN IN CONSIDERED.
THESE ARE, AS BOARD MEMBER COOPER TOLD YOU EARLIER, THESE ARE GEN GENERATIONAL DECISIONS THAT YOU'LL BE MAKING FOR THE CITY.
FOR AS MUCH AS A CENTURY FOR PROJECT CONNECT TO CON SUCCEED, EVEN WITH THE CONSTRAINED RESOURCES, THE PROGRAM MUST CONTINUE TO CARRY THE THREE PILLARS OF HIGH QUALITY PROJECTS.
RELIABILITY, DESIRABILITY, AND SAFETY, AGAIN, SOUNDS INTUITIVE.
THE PROJECTS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS COULD BOAST HIGH RIDERSHIP BY DELIVERING PASSENGERS OFTEN IN DESIGNATED TRANSIT WAYS TO KEY DESTINATIONS CONSIDERABLY FASTER THAN THEY COULD ARRIVE BY CAR OR BUS.
THE VIRTUES OF THAT VOTER APPROVED VISION REMAIN UNCHANGED EVEN IF THEY CAN'T BE DELIVERED AS QUICKLY AS ORIGINALLY HOPED.
I WOULD CAUTION YOU AGAINST SELECTING ALTERNATIVES THAT THROW THOSE CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES OVERBOARD.
RELIABILITY IS ABSOLUTELY KEY.
PASSENGERS WILL NOT USE A NEW SERVICE IF IT DOESN'T RELIABLY DELIVER THEM TO THEIR DESTINATION ON TIME.
MEANINGFUL MODE SHIFT WON'T OCCUR IF THE CAR IS PERCEIVED TO BE FASTER AND MORE DEPENDABLE THAN THE TRAIN AND THE KEYWORD THERE IS PERCEIVED.
SOMETIMES THERE'S A PERCEPTION THAT ISN'T EVEN BORNE OUT IN REALITY.
MOREOVER, OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY DEMANDS THAT WE PROVIDE RELIABLE SERVICE, NOT JUST FOR CAR OWNERS WITH A CHOICE, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR TRANSIT DEPENDENT PASSENGERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THE KEY TO RELIABILITY IS DESIGNATED TRANS TRANSIT WAYS AND REDUNDANCY.
DESIGNATED TRANSIT WAYS DO NOT REQUIRE TUNNELING, BUT THEY DO REQUIRE SEPARATION AND TREATMENTS THAT GUARANTEE RAPID TRAVEL SPEEDS THROUGH A QUARTER CORRIDOR NO MATTER WHAT THE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS.
REDUNDANCY IN INFRASTRUCTURE IS ESSENTIAL TO AVOID SINGLE POINTS OF FAILURE THAT TAKE DOWN MOBILITY ACROSS THE ENTIRE NETWORK.
REDUNDANCY IS NECESSARY TO GUARANTEE REASONABLE TRIP TIMES IN THE FACE OF ACCIDENTS AND BREAKDOWNS THAT OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY THAN ANY OF US WOULD LIKE.
WE JUST HEARD ABOUT SOME THIS PAST WEEKEND AT SOUND TRANSIT.
WE DIDN'T ALWAYS GET THIS RIGHT.
I REMEMBER A NUMBER OF HARROWING DAYS WHEN A SINGLE AUTOMOBILE TURNING INTO AN ONCOMING TRAIN LEFT THOUSANDS OF PASSENGERS ON THE SYSTEM FROM REACHING A SEAHAWKS, HUSKIES OR MARINER'S GAME FOR AN HOUR OR LONGER WHILE A SINGLE POLICE OFFICER CONDUCTED THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION.
YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES AND INSIST THAT RELIABILITY AND REDUNDANCY ARE PRESERVED EVEN AS DIFFICULT DECISIONS ARE MADE TO LOWER PROGRAM COSTS.
WHEN IT COMES TO DESIRABILITY, THE FIRST RAIL PHASES OF PROJECT CONNECT, AS I SAID EARLIER, SHOULD TAKE CARE TO CAPTURE POPULA POPULAR DESTINATION POINTS AND ROBUST RIDERSHIP.
AS PART OF THEIR PROCESS FOR DETERMINING PROJECT CONNECT'S ELIGIBILITY ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL MATCHING FUNDS, THE FTA IS GOING TO INSIST ON REALISTIC RIDERSHIP PROJECTIONS.
THEY'RE NOT GONNA LET US ASSUME THAT THE SAME NUMBER OF RIDER FOR A DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT SYSTEM MAP ARE APPLICABLE TO SOME NEW SYSTEM MAP.
THE NEW ALIGNMENT MAP SHOULD SERVE LOGICAL TERMINI DRIVEN BY RIDERSHIP PRODUCTION PROJECTIONS.
SO EACH SUBSEQUENT SEGMENT WILL BY ITSELF RATE FAVORABLY IN TERMS OF RIDERSHIP AND ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MISTAKE THAT NOT EVERY TRANSIT AGENCY MAKES, RIGHT? THE FIRST MAJOR PROJECT THEY BUILD DOES SO WELL THAT THE SUBSEQUENT EXTENSIONS DON'T HAVE AS MUCH RIDERSHIP AND DON'T NECESSARILY QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL DOLLARS.
YOU ALL ARE ASSUMING 50% FEDERAL FUNDING ACROSS YOUR ENTIRE PROGRAM.
THAT MAY NOT BE DOABLE GIVEN THE NEW COST ESTIMATES, BUT HAVING NO FEDERAL FUNDING AND SUBSEQUENT EXTENSIONS COULD TRULY PROVE TO BE PROBLEMATIC.
IF YOU DON'T FACE IT CORRECTLY, SAFETY MUST BE A NON-NEGOTIABLE ASPECT OF PROJECT PLANNING.
PASSENGERS WILL NOT RIDE THE SYSTEM IF THEY DON'T BELIEVE IT IS SAFE.
WHETHER THE SAFETY RISK PERTAINS TO OPERATIONS OR CRIME, THE PROJECT SAFETY FOCUS MUST EXTEND BEYOND THE PASSENGERS TO INCLUDE THE CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE, WORKFORCE AND ANY AUTOMOTIVE TRAFFIC, PEDESTRIANS OR TRESPASSERS WHO COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE SYSTEM.
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I DID SERVE AS FTA ADMINISTRATOR WHEN IN THE WAKE OF NUMEROUS FATAL RAIL TRANSIT ACCIDENTS, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SOUGHT AND RECEIVED FROM CONGRESS EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO REGULATE AND ENFORCE RAIL TRANSIT SAFETY.THOSE REGULATIONS ARE LARGELY NOW IN PLACE INVEST CRITICALLY IMPORTANT AUTHORITIES IN THE ACCOUNTABLE EXECUTIVE, IN THIS CASE, THE C E O OF CAP METRO, AND THE CAP METRO CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER.
THEY ARE REQUIRED TO GUARANTEE THE SAFETY OF THE SYSTEM THEY OPERATE.
THE SMARTEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE AND MOST AFFORDABLE WAY TO GUARANTEE SAFETY IS TO DESIGN IT INTO THE SYSTEM FROM THE VERY BEGINNING IN ORDER TO KEEP THE SYSTEM BOTH SAFE AND DESIRABLE CAT METRO OFFICIALS, AS THE OPERATOR OF THE SYSTEM MUST BE IN A POSITION TO APPROVE OR REJECT PROJECT PLANS THAT FAIL TO SUPPORT THEIR COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT'S REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, NECESSARY SAFETY INVESTMENTS MUST NEVER BE VIEWED AS A DISCRETIONARY COST SAVINGS OPPORTUNITY.
AS PART OF THE BOARD'S UPCOMING REVIEW, I WOULD ALSO STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DIG INTO THE MEANS AND METHODS BY WHICH THE PROGRAM WILL BE DELIVERED.
AND I'VE GOT A WRITTEN STATEMENT THAT PROVIDES MORE BACKGROUND ON THIS, BUT AT A HIGH LEVEL, CAT METRO RIDERS WILL NOT BE WELL SERVED IF THE DELIVERY OF EXPANSIONS DO NOT LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS AND EMPLOY BEST INDUSTRY PRACTICE AT SOUND TRANSIT IN SEATTLE.
WE ARE PROUD OF WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT WE CERTAINLY DIDN'T GET IT ALL RIGHT.
AND YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM OUR, OUR MISTAKES AND THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS.
AUSTIN HAS ESTABLISHED A UNIQUE MULTI-AGENCY STRUCTURE FOR DELIVERING PROJECT CONNECT BETWEEN TWO PARTNER AGENCIES AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
A TRUE AND EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY PARTNERSHIP IS ONE WHERE EACH PARTNER IS GENUINELY AND CONTINUALLY INVESTED IN THE SUCCESS OF THE OTHER.
IT'S NOT ABOUT WHICH PARTNER GETS THE CREDIT, IT'S ABOUT TAPPING EVERY PARTICIPANT'S EXPERTISE.
SO THE BEST CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE REGION CAN RISE TO THE TOP.
THAT SPIRIT SHOULD GIVE, GIVE RISE TO A DELIVERY STRUCTURE WHERE PROJECT CONNECT IS DELIVERED THROUGH CO-LOCATED MULTI-AGENCY PROJECT TEAMS BUILT ON COLLABORATION, TRUST, AND UNANIMITY OF PURPOSE.
IF ALL THREE AGENCY PARTNERS ARE NOT ROWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION, THE BOAT IS JUST GONNA GO ROUND AND ROUND IN CIRCLES, THE PROGRAM MUST ENGAGE IN REALISTIC AND TRANSPARENT COST ESTIMATING DECLARED COST MUST INCLUDE ALL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DELIVERY OF THE PROJECT AND ASSOCIATED OPERATING COSTS.
DESIGN DECISIONS MUST BE MADE ON A TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP BASIS.
SO THE CONSTRUCTION SAVINGS NOW ARE NOT MORE THAN OFFSET BY HIGHER OPERATING COSTS TO THE TAXPAYERS DOWNSTREAM.
SUCH COST ESTIMATES SHOULD BE SUBJECTED ROUTINELY AND TRANSPARENTLY TO INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY VALIDATION.
SIMILARLY, THERE MUST BE FULL TRANSPARENCY SURROUNDING THE LONG-TERM STATE OF GOOD REPAIR COSTS FOR THE CAP METRO NETWORK.
AS EXPANDED UNDER PROJECT CONNECT, UNDER THE INITIAL ENVISION APPROVED BY THE VOTERS IN 2020 RIDERSHIP AND IN THE EXISTING RED LINE, WHICH WILL BE 13 YEARS OLD, NEXT MONTH IS EXPECTED TO GROW DRAMATICALLY ONCE IT PROVIDES CONNECTIONS TO OTHER LIGHT RAIL LINES.
AS WE'VE ALL SEEN WHEN LOOKING AT OLDER SYSTEMS AROUND THE NATION, MANY TRANSIT AGENCIES HAVE DONE A VERY POOR JOB OF BUDGETING ADEQUATELY FOR THE RECAPITALIZATION AND MAJOR MAINTENANCE OF THE ASSETS BUILT BY THE TAXPAYER.
JUST THIS PAST WEEK, THE M B T A IN BOSTON, A SYSTEM THAT MY, UH, YOUNGER SON WROTE ALL THE TIME, PUBLISHED AN EYE-POPPING MAP OF THE NUMBER OF TRAINED SLOW ORDERS THAT THEY ARE ENDURING ACROSS THEIR ENTIRE NETWORK.
THE M BTA A'S EXAMPLE AND THE EXAMPLE OF OTHER SYSTEMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS NOT A RECORD TO REPLICATE BUDGETING DOCUMENTS GOVERNING THE FUTURE OF PROJECT CONNECT SHOULD IDENTIFY CLEARLY WHEN AND HOW THESE COSTS WILL BE COVERED TO ENSURE THAT WE ADEQUATELY MAINTAIN BOTH THE RED LINE AND THE FUTURE LINES THAT WE'LL CONNECT WITH.
PROJECT METHODS MUST BE SELECTED THAT MATCH THE CAPABILITIES AND FLEXIBILITY OF THE PROJECT TEAM IN MUNICIPALITY.
AND I'M, I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THIS.
I'VE TAKEN OVER A GOOD BIT OF TIME AND I JUST WANNA GO THROUGH TWO PIECES.
IMPORTANTLY, THE BIGGEST ENEMY OF PROJECTS LIKE THIS IS SCOPE CREEP.
IT'S, WE HAVE A UNDERSTOOD SCOPE FOR THE PROJECT.
IT'S EMBEDDED IN CONTRACT DOCUMENTS SHARED WITH THE CONTRACTOR.
THE CONTRACTOR SUBMITS A BID, WE ACCEPT THE BID AND WE EXPECT THEM TO GO ABOUT AND BUILD JUST WHAT WE, UH, JUST WHAT WE ASKED FOR.
AND THEN BECAUSE OF EITHER A LACK OF ADEQUATE COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY OR OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, OR OFTEN THE MUNICIPALITY FOLKS ARE SURPRISED, ASK FOR CHANGES.
IN SOME CASES, DEMAND CHANGES, AND THAT GETS THE METER RUNNING ON THE COST OF THE PROJECT UP AND UP AND UP.
THIS NEEDS TO BE FRUSTRATED AT EVERY TURN.
EVERYONE, THE COMMUNITY, THE MUNICIPALITIES, EVERYONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN THE CONTRACT IS LET, THE MUSIC HAS TO STOP.
UH, ABSENT THAT, YOU'RE NOT THO THOSE SECOND AND THIRD AND FOURTH PHASES MAY NEVER GET THERE, CUZ YOU'LL BE SPENDING WAY TOO MUCH TIME JUST BUILDING THE FIRST.
UM, ALSO IMPORTANTLY, UH, I PARTICIPATED IN AN, UH, EVENT
[01:40:01]
HOSTED BY THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL AT THE WHITE HOUSE ABOUT PROJECT COSTS BECAUSE YOU SAW FROM THAT, THAT CHART HOW EXPENSIVE THINGS ARE GETTING NATIONALLY, AND THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL CAN DO, IT CAN DO ABOUT IT.THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT FEDERAL PERMITTING, BUT THE THREE OF US THAT HAD EXPERIENCE BUILDING PROJECTS LOCALLY TALKED ABOUT THE CRITICALITY OF LOCAL PERMITTING AND HOW NOT GETTING THOSE PERMITS IN TIME MEANS YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO HAND THE PROPERTY OVER TO YOUR CONTRACTOR IN TIME.
AND EVERY TIME THE CONTRACTOR CANNOT ACC GET ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY, THEY START BILLING YOU FOR THEIR WHOLE TEAM FOR THE WHOLE DAY.
WHETHER THEY WERE ABLE TO DO ANY WORK OR NOT, THAT HAS TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS.
SIMILARLY, YOU NEED TO START EARLY.
FOR ANY PROPERTY THAT YOU NEED TO ACQUIRE, YOU NEED TO INITIATE THE CONDEMNATION PROCESS EARLY ENOUGH THAT IF IT RUNS ITS ENTIRE COURSE AND EVERYONE EXHAUSTS ALL OF THEIR APPEALS, YOU STILL GET RECEIPT OF THE PROPERTY IN TIME TO HAND IT OVER TO THE CONTRACTOR.
WE DID THAT AT SOUND TRANSIT AND IMPORTANTLY, WE ONLY ACTUALLY ACQUIRED PROPERTY THROUGH CONDEMNATION TWO TO 3% OF THE TIME, WHICH IS TO SAY 97% OF THE TIME WE, UH, WERE ABLE TO REACH A FAIR AND EQUITABLE AGREED UPON PRICE WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER.
BUT HAVING STARTED THE PROCESS, MOVED THINGS ALONG AND WE THUS MINIMIZED, UM, MINIMIZED, UH, PENALTIES, UH, TO THE TAXPAYER WHEN WE DID THAT, UM, ON FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.
I JUST WANNA SAY THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PROJECT CONNECTS RAIL EXPANSIONS.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE, YOU'RE A VERY LONG WAY AWAY FROM GETTING FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THESE PROJECTS.
UH, THE BLUE AND ORANGE LINES AS ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED, HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE BY THE FTA.
THAT STATUS COMES WITH NO MONEY AND NO PROMISES OTHER THAN THE POSSIBILITY THAT SOMEDAY SOME OF THE INITIAL DEVELOPMENT COSTS MIGHT BE REIMBURSABLE.
ALL YOU NEED TO DO TO GET ADMITTED, ADMITTED TO THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT STATUS IS SUBMIT A REASONABLE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT AND A MAP, THE REAL SCRUTINY AS TO WHETHER THIS PROGRAM IS DESERVING OF FEDERAL FUNDS AND THE AMOUNT OF THOSE FUNDS WILL COME AFTER THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT IS COMPLETE.
AT THAT POINT, CAT METRO AS PROJECT SPONSOR SUBMITS REAMS OF REQUIRED DATA ON RIDERSHIP COSTS, MOBILITY BENEFITS, CONGESTION RELIEF, AND MODE SHIFT ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL FOR THE ALIGNMENT, AS WELL AS ZONING REQUIREMENTS, THE RELIABILITY OF FUNDING SOURCES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AND THE CURRENT CONDITION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, JUST TO NAME A FEW.
UH, THERE WILL ALSO BE PILES OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED ON THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND TECHNICAL CAPACITY OF THOSE WHO WILL BE BUILDING THE PROGRAM.
THERE WILL ALSO BE EVALUATIONS OF WHETHER THE PROGRAM'S FUNDING PLAN WILL BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND RECESSIONS INTEREST RATE HIKES AND MARKET SPIKES.
IT IS A MULTI-YEAR PROCESS BEFORE THE FTA MAKES A FIRM WRITTEN COMMITMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS TOWARD A PROJECT.
AS SUCH, IT'LL BE ESSENTIAL FOR CAPITAL METRO AND THIS BOARD TO MAKE SURE THROUGHOUT THIS LENGTHY PROCESS THAT THE PROGRAM AND PROJECTS ARE STRUCTURED IN A WAY TO MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL FOR FEDERAL PARTICIPATION.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS, AS THIS TORTUROUS FEDERAL PROCESS HAS EVOLVED OVER DECADES, THE PROJECT A ATTRIBUTES THAT WILL HOLD FAVOR WITH THE FTA ARE THE SAME ATTRIBUTES THAT GIVE RISE TO HIGH QUALITY PROJECTS THAT SERVE A GREAT MANY RIDERS AND SERVE THEM WELL.
THE PROJECTS THAT WILL GET THE HIGHEST RATINGS FROM THE FTA IN THE COMPETITION FOR FEDERAL FUNDS ARE INDEED THE PROJECTS THAT ARE RELIABLE, DESIRABLE, SAFE, AND WELL MANAGED.
PROJECT CONNECT ALREADY HAS AN AMBITIOUS GOAL OF SECURING HALF OF THE PROJECT FUNDS, AS I SAID, BUT THE PATH TO MAXIMIZING THE FEDERAL SHARE OF THIS PROGRAM AND MINIMIZING THE BURDEN TO LOCAL TAXPAYERS IS TO FOCUS ON HIGH RIDERSHIP, HIGH MOBILITY BENEFITS, HIGH END VALUE AND RENTAL BENEFITS.
UH, WE WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL AT SOUND TRANSIT IN GETTING TWO FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENTS TOTALING A LITTLE LESS THAN 2 BILLION DURING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
AND, AND NOT TO BE PARTISAN ABOUT IT, IT WAS A DIFFICULT ADMINISTRATION FROM WHICH TO, UH, OBTAIN STRONG, UH, FEDERAL FUNDING COMMITMENTS FOR TRANSIT.
BUT ONE OF THE WAYS WE DID THAT, UM, IN ADDITION TO WORKING WITH OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, OBVIOUSLY, WAS TO STRUCTURE OUR PROJECTS THAT THEY RATED WHAT'S CALLED MEDIUM HIGH.
UH, YOU NEED TO AT LEAST ACHIEVE A MEDIUM RATING, UH, TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL FUNDS BEING MEDIUM HIGH ENABLED US TO REALLY PUSH AND SAY WE ARE, WE ARE EXCEEDING THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS WITH THESE PROJECTS IN TERMS OF RIDERSHIP AND COST EFFECTIVENESS.
IN SUMMARY, THE CAP METRO BOARD WILL BE FACED WITH SOME VERY DIFFICULT CHOICES IN THE MONTHS AHEAD WHEN YOU ARE PRESENTED WITH ALTERNATIVE PLANS FOR PROJECT CONNECT ALTERNATIVES
[01:45:01]
THAT ARE CERTAIN TO DELIVER RAIL TRANSIT TO FEWER COMMUNITIES IN A SLOWER TIMEFRAME THAN WAS PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS.THIS BOARD HAS A VERY UNIQUE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SCALED BACK PROJECTS TO BE BUILT THE SOONEST ACTUALLY DELIVER THE BENEFITS THAT EXCITED THE VOTERS IN THE FIRST PLACE, EVEN IF IT TAKES LONGER TO REACH ALL THE COMMUNITIES PROMISE THOSE BENEFITS.
TOWARD THAT END, I WOULD STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE CAP METRO BOARD TO CONDUCT YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE AND BEGIN DISCUSSING YOUR OWN AGENCY CONTACT FOR DIFFICULT CHOICES AHEAD.
THAT CONTACT SHOULD RECOGNIZE YOUR ROLE AS THE GOVERNING BOARD OF THE CURRENT TRANSIT PROVIDER IN AUSTIN AND THE EVENTUAL OPERATOR OF AN EXPANDED SYSTEM.
IT SHOULD ALSO FOCUS OBVIOUSLY ON NEW SERVICES THAT IS RELIABLE, DESIRABLE, AND SAFE.
THAT IS THE PATH TO ROBUST RIDERSHIP.
IT'S ALSO THE PATH TO ROBUST FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO DELIVER PROJECTS SOONER.
BUT THIS, THIS IS ONE VERY IMPORTANT POINT.
I CAN TELL YOU FROM EXPERIENCE THAT WHEN FOLKS TRY TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO SATISFY TOO MANY CONSTITUENCIES WITHOUT ENOUGH BUDGET, IT'S EASY TO LOSE SIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL MISSION AND PURPOSE.
IT BECOMES EASY TO DEVELOP SOLUTIONS THAT DON'T DO WELL BY ANY COMMUNITY YIELDING UNDERPERFORMING SERVICE THAT WILL DAMPEN RATHER THAN BUILD PUBLIC SUPPORT.
ONE THING THAT IS CERTAIN IS THAT THE TRAINS SERVING THESE COMMUNITIES WILL HAVE CAT METRO PAINTED ON THEIR SIDE AS THE CAT METRO BOARD.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE TO MAKE SURE THAT CAT METRO'S FUTURE SERVICERS ARE ONES THAT WE CAN ALL BE PROUD OF.
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR TAKING UP SO MUCH OF YOUR TIME, BUT THESE ARE COMPLICATED ISSUES AND I APPRECIATE YOU.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR A VERY SOBERING REPORT,
UM, BUT, BUT I THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LAY OUT THE CHALLENGES CLEARLY.
THE COMPLEXITIES CLEARLY, AND, AND THAT WE WORK TOGETHER AS A, A TEAM TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE ARE MAINTAINING THE APPROPRIATE PRIORITIES AND THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH OUR PEERS, UH, WHETHER AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR OR WHETHER AT ATP, UH, TO HAVE SOMEONE AROUND WITH A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE, UH, NOT ONLY WORKING, UH, WITHIN A, A TRANSIT AUTHORITY, BUT ALSO WORKING WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, FROM WHICH WE ARE SEEKING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDS.
UM, I, I AM WILLING TO TAKE A SOBERING MESSAGE FROM SOMEONE WITH THAT EXPERIENCE.
UH, SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PRESENT TO US, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE BASED ON THAT REPORT BOARD MEMBER STRAT.
UM, YEAH, THAT, UH, PETER, THANK YOU.
THAT'S A LOT TO DIGEST, BUT, UH, IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
BUT, BUT CLEARLY VERY IMPORTANT AND, AND JUST REALLY EMPHASIZES WHAT WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD AND WHAT'S IN FRONT OF US.
UM, FROM YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES, UH, IN PARTICULAR, SPECIFICALLY WHEN YOU WERE THE CEO AT, UH, SOUND TRANSIT AND YOU ALL FACED THESE DIFFICULTIES, UM, SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE ABLE TO, TO WEATHER THE STORM AND TO YOUR POINT, YOU WERE ABLE TO SECURE 2 BILLION OF, OF, UH, UM, MATCH FUNDS FROM, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AT A TIME WHEN, AS YOU, AS YOU PUT IT, THE ADMINISTRATION WAS NOT AS FAVORABLE TOWARDS, UH, TRANSIT, UH, FOCUS PROJECTS.
CAN YOU MAYBE EXPOUND A LITTLE BIT ON WALKING THROUGH, THROUGH WITH US HOW YOU ALL AT SOUND TRANSIT, HOW, AND SPECIFICALLY HOW YOU AS THE CEO AND STAFF REACTED TO THE CHANGING DYNAMICS ECONOMICALLY, LOOKING AT THE PROJECT THAT, THAT YOU HAD ORIGINALLY BROUGHT FORTH, AND THEN THE ECONOMIC REALITY THAT TRANSPIRED RECOGNIZING GOING, OH MY GOSH, WE, WE CAN'T DELIVER WHAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA DELIVER.
HOW THEN YOU WENT BACK TO BOTH THE BOARD AND THEN HOW THE BOARD IN TURN REACTED, AND THEN YOUR CONSTITUENCIES JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE B I MEAN, WE'RE SITTING UP HERE AS THE BOARD.
WHAT WAS YOUR BOARD'S ROLE AND YOU AS THE, THE STAFF INTERACTIONS WITH THAT AND HOW YOU ALL GOT TO THAT POINT TO, TO KIND OF SCALE IT BACK AND HOW LONG DID THAT ULTIMATELY TAKE, IF YOU DON'T MIND SHARING A LITTLE BIT OF THAT, THAT EXPERIENCE? SURE.
I MEAN, THE FACT IS, UH, THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TOOK WAS 17 MONTHS.
UM, IN TERMS OF WHEN WE FIRST SIGNALED TO THE BOARD THAT WE HAD A PROBLEM TO, WHEN THE BOARD ADOPTED A, UH, NEW RESOLUTION THAT RECONFIGURED, UH, THE CAPITAL PROGRAM, UH, THERE WAS, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, QUITE A LOT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN BETWEEN.
UM, BUT, BUT I, I, YOU KNOW, I POINTED OUT THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE SOUND TRANSIT EXPERIENCE AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN AUSTIN.
I, I DO NEED TO POINT OUT SOME DISCI SIMILARITIES AND BOARD MEMBER BENGAL BEING FROM THE REGION WILL KNOW THIS.
WE WERE ALREADY IN CONSTRUCTION ON FIVE MAJOR CAPITAL PRO PROJECTS.
[01:50:01]
WERE BUILDING IN, IN THREE DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND MAJOR MAINTENANCE FACILITY.AND THE BOARD, RIGHTLY FROM A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE, TOOK THE PERSPECTIVE THAT WE'RE NOT GOING BACKWARDS.
UM, IT WOULD BE FINANCIALLY FOOLISH TO RECONSIDER ANYTHING WHERE SHOVELS ARE ALREADY IN THE GROUND THAT MATTERS BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO SHOW THE PROJECT THAT THE, THE PUBLIC THAT WE ARE MAKING PROJ PROGRESS EVEN AS WE, WE, UM, WE WEIGH THIS, UH, THESE OTHER DIFFICULT THINGS.
THERE ARE SOME, THERE ARE SOME PARALLELS HERE BECAUSE THE, THE METRO RAPID PROJECTS HERE ARE MOVING FORWARD.
EVEN AS WE, WE GO THROUGH, UH, THE CHALLENGE OF REALIGNING THE, THE AUSTIN PROGRAM.
WE ALSO BENEFITED FROM THE FACT THAT THE BOARD HAD ALREADY DONE THIS ONCE IN 2010 FOLLOWING THE, UM, FOLLOWING THE GREAT RECESSION.
SO, UH, IT WAS REALLY A 20 10, 20 11 PROCESS LONG BEFORE I GOT THERE.
BUT THERE WERE SOME MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WHO HAD BEEN THROUGH THAT ONCE BEFORE, AND, UM, AND FOLKS KIND OF UNDERSTOOD WE WERE GONNA CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD, BUT WE WEREN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AS QUICKLY.
UH, WE WENT THROUGH A VERY VOLUMINOUS PROCESS, UM, THAT INVOLVED THE BOARD ADOPTING CRITERIA, THE STAFF RATING, RACKING AND STACKING EACH OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS ACCORDING TO THAT CRITERIA.
WE AVOIDED THE TRAP OF GIVING ANYONE LIKE NUMERICAL SCORES AND ALL OF THAT, BECAUSE SOME OF THESE THINGS, ESPECIALLY WHEN EVALUATING THE EQUITY IMPACTS OF A PROJECT CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO DO, BUT NOT ONE THAT FOR WHICH THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT DATA FROM WHICH TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS.
THOSE, THOSE CONCLUSIONS REALLY HAD TO COME FROM COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS.
UH, BUT, UH, WE THEN PRESENTED THOSE OPTIONS TO THE BOARD AND ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, BOARD MEMBERS ENGAGED THEMSELVES AND, AND TOOK THE REINS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ENGAGED IN SOME OF THE RAW DATA AND ALSO ENGAGED SOME OF THEIR, NOT ONLY, SO I WAS BLESSED WITH A BOARD OF 18 BOARD MEMBERS, UM, AND, UM, ALL OF WHOM, BUT ONE WAS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
UM, AND THEN THEY ALSO HAD OTHER ELECTEDS THAT THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE TO.
UM, SO, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT IN TERMS OF WHAT OTHER REGIONS COULD EXPECT IN WHAT TIMEFRAMES, UM, WHICH IS WHY IT TOOK 17 MONTHS.
BUT I'M ALSO PROUD TO SAY THAT AFTER THOSE 17 MONTHS, THE RESULT WAS A UNANIMOUS VOTE BY THE 18 BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, I I, IF YOU'RE, THERE ARE WHOLE BINDERS THAT IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING TO SLEEP, MR. STRATTON, I'LL HAPPILY SHARE WITH YOU
ARE THERE MEMBERS OF BOARD MEMBER ROSS? YEAH.
AND I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO ASK THIS QUESTION ELOQUENTLY AND SO, AND I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT.
SO HERE'S JUST SORT OF SOME OF THE THOUGHTS THAT ARE ROLLING INTO MY HEAD RIGHT NOW.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR POWERPOINT, AND I'LL JUST READ IT HERE CUZ IT REALLY STRUCK A CHORD WITH ME, BUT A TRUE AND EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY PARTNERSHIP IS ONE WHERE EACH PARTNER IS GENUINELY AND CONTINUALLY INVESTED IN THE SUCCESS OF THE OTHER.
AND, UM, I I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE THREE ENTITIES OR RIGHT NOW ARE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP AND LOOKING OUT FOR THE BEST INTEREST OF THE OTHER.
AND MY CONCERN IS PROJECT CONNECTS MOVE FORWARD IS, UM, BECAUSE AS THIS WORD, UM, AND CAP METRO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE, AND TO YOUR POINT, WHICH I DIDN'T, NOT SURE I'D FULLY REALIZE THAT AS FUTURE PHASES GOING OUT AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE BOXES ARE CHECKED SO THAT THAT FEDERAL FUNDING CAN BE ACCESSED.
AND I FEEL LIKE CAP METRO IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE, BECAUSE WE ARE A TRANSIT AGENCY, THIS IS WHAT OUR TEAM DOES FOR A LIVING.
AND SO WHAT IS YOUR BEST ADVICE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD? BECAUSE AS A CAP METRO BOARD MEMBER, I'M NOT SURE, MY JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE NEW PHASING THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO COME ONLINE, THAT IS, DOES CHECK ALL THOSE BOXES.
AND, AND AS, UM, A RESIDENT OF SOMEONE THAT LIVES NORTH OF AUSTIN AND UM, WASN'T INVOLVED IN THIS SIDE, BUT WHEN THE RED LINE WAS PROMISED, IT FAR MISSED THE MARK OF WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN WAY BACK WHEN, WAY MISSED THE MARK.
AND WE'RE SEEING THOSE EFFECTS EVEN TODAY.
AND, UM, AND SO IT'S IMPERATIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE DO, GOING BACK TO THE DESIRABILITY, UM, AND I FORGET THAT WAS ANOTHER, THE WORD YOU USED, RELIABILITY, YOU KNOW, TO GET PEOPLE WHERE THEY WANNA GO.
AND SO WHAT, I GUESS SUPER BROAD QUESTION, BUT HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU MAKE THESE GOVERNMENT, THESE AGENCIES COME TOGETHER? UM, SO THAT ATP CAN BUILD THE SYSTEM THAT CAPITAL METRO HAS TO OPERATE FOR YEARS TO COME? SO
[01:55:01]
I, UM, I WANNA BE CAREFUL IN MY REMARKS, BUT I'D, I'D, I'D, UM, AGREE WITH YOU THAT THERE'S GREAT ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN THE TRI-PARTY RELATIONSHIP IN TERMS OF GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE, WE WE WANT TO BE WHERE WE REALLY HAVE THAT MULTI-AGENCY TEAM THAT EVERYONE'S PULLING FOR EACH OTHER AND THE BEST BRAINS FROM EVERY CORNER IS RISING TO THE TOP TO GIVE RISE TO THE BEST PROJECT.YOU ASKED FOR, UH, MY BEST ADVICE, YOU MAY HAVE NOTED THAT IN MY REMARKS, I SPOKE BROADLY ABOUT WHAT THE PROGRAM NEEDS.
I FOCUSED A LOT ON WHAT CAT METRO'S RESPONSIBILITIES ARE.
I THINK SOME PEOPLE WILL SAY THAT I ALSO SPOKE, AND THIS, IT'S MORE BUILT OUT IN TERMS OF PROJECT DELIVERY AND SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT ATP WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
BUT THE REALITY IS THAT THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES CONTINUE TO NOT BE WELL DEFINED.
I HAPPEN TO BE READING THE ENO REPORT ON MY, UM, ON MY FLIGHT DOWN HERE, UH, AND I READ THE EMAIL REPORT, YOU TROUBLE SLEEPING,
SO THE, UM, UH, AND WAS REALLY STRUCK BY THE PARALLELS.
UM, THEY SAID PRETTY MUCH THE ATP, NO MATTER WHAT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE YOU'RE GOING TO PICK, YOU'VE GOTTA DEFINE THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND IF YOU GO THIS WAY, IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT.
AND IF YOU GO THAT WAY, IT'S GONNA BE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
THAT WORK STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE.
TO MY MIND, UH, IN WITH GREATER, MUCH GREATER SPECIFICITY, THERE IS A PROCESS THAT WILL AWAIT YOU IN THE FEDERAL FUNDING PROCESS WHERE YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT A PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PLAN AND SUB-PLANS TO THE FTA.
I DON'T WANNA GET TOO DEEP IN THE WEEDS, BUT THAT DOCUMENT, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IS SUPPOSED TO CLEARLY DEFINE WHAT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF, OF EACH PLAYER IS.
YOU ALSO HEARD ME SAY THAT THIS PROGRAM CAN'T MOVE FORWARD UNTIL THIS BOARD APPROVES AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN.
I WOULD FOCUS ON EVERYTHING THAT HASN'T GOTTEN DONE AND MAKE SURE IT ALL HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE YOU APPROVE THAT PLAN.
BECAUSE ONCE YOU APPROVE THAT PLAN, THEY'RE OFF TO THE RACES.
ABSENT THAT APPROVAL, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE RICH DOT CONVERSATIONS AND I, THAT WOULD BE MY BEST ADVICE ON HOW TO APPROACH IT.
BOARD MEMBERS, BOARD MEMBER HARRIS, JUST, UH, REALLY MORE, UH, LIKE YOUR COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS JUST TO FURTHER YOUR DEAL IN TERMS OF, AS YOU POINT OUT OF THE PRESENTATION, WE'RE RELYING ON AT MINIMUM OF 50% FTA FUNDING, UM, IN ORDER TO, WELL, THAT, THAT'S WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY, I THINK PRESUMED IN THE BALLOT MEASURE.
LIKE I SAID, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S STILL ATTAINABLE, BUT HEAR YOU.
AND I GUESS THE QUESTION I WOULD SAY, GIVEN THE STRUCTURE THAT YOU JUST ELABORATED ON THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DEALING WITH, DOES THAT STRUCTURE, WOULD, WOULD YOU THINK THAT THAT STRUCTURE WOULD IMPACT OUR ABILITY TO GET THAT FUNDING OR AT THAT LEVEL OR, YOU KNOW, SOME OTHER LEVEL? I MEAN, I, I, I, I GUESS I WRESTLE WITH, AND THE COMMENT THAT, THAT I SAW IN HERE WAS EFFECTIVELY YOU SAID THAT MS. WATKINS AND HER STAFF ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA BE TASKED WITH OPERATING THIS SYSTEM DOWN THE ROAD.
AND IT'S SORT OF, BUT WE'RE IN THIS ODD SITUATION WHERE WE'VE GOT ONE AGENCY BUILDING IT AND ANOTHER AGENCY TASKED TO RUN IT.
AND I GUESS I'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THE FTAS GONNA LOOK AT THAT FROM A, FROM A FUNDING STANDPOINT.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT MODELS OUT THERE.
CLEARLY THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF, OF, OF PROJECT SPONSORS ARE THE OPERATOR WHO ARE ALSO DOING THE BUILDING OF THE PROJECT.
BUT THERE ARE OTHER MODELS OUT THERE.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATIONS SET UP IN LA, UH, TO BUILD TWO OF THE LA METRO EXTENSIONS THAT'S DISCUSSED IN, IN, IN THE ENO REPORT.
UH, THERE'S, UM, THE SAN FRANCISCO, UH, UH, TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY SELLS BONDS OFF SALES TAXES AND THEN GIVES THEM TO OTHER PROJECTS, INCLUDING CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROJECTS, UM, THAT, UH, CAN BE MADE TO WORK.
AND THE FTA WILL RECOGNIZE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES AND DEAL WITH, UH, THE PROJECT SPONSOR THAT COMES FORWARD WITH A BIG IF.
AND THAT IS IF THEY HAVE THEIR ACT TOGETHER, THAT'S WHY THEY INSIST ON PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PLANS TO SEE IF THE LOCAL ACT IS REALLY TOGETHER WHERE THERE IS PROFESSIONAL STAFF, WHERE PEOPLE ARE WORKING HAND IN GLOVE, WHERE THERE'S A WAY OF DELIVERING IT THROUGH AN ALTERNATIVE MEANS THAT IS NOT GOING TO AUTOMATICALLY STUMBLE INTO COST OVERRUNS, UH, THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN PLACE TO KEEP COSTS UNDER CONTROL OR TO SAY NO.
WHEN PEOPLE WANNA ENGAGE IN SCOPE CREEP, THEY'RE GONNA LOOK AT ALL OF THAT.
THEY HIRE WHAT'S CALLED PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT CONTRACTORS, WHO ARE OTHER
[02:00:01]
ENGINEERING FIRMS THAT ARE PAID BY THE FTA JUST TO CRITIQUE THE PROJECT SPONSOR.SO IF WE HAVE OUR ACT TOGETHER, NO MATTER WHAT STRUCTURE COMES FORWARD, THE PROGRAM WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL MONEY.
BUT IT'S SO DEPENDENT ON HAVING OUR ACT TOGETHER, UH, THAT, THAT'S WHY I THINK WE WOULD DO WELL TO FOCUS ON THAT BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT ENTITIES.
UH, THEY KIND OF THROW UP THEIR HANDS AND DEAL WITH OTHER PROJECT SPONSORS SENDING MONEY ELSEWHERE WHILE THE, THESE LOCALS FIGURE IT OUT.
UM, BOARD MEMBER ALICE, THANK YOU CHAIR.
I COULDN'T HELP BUT NOTICE ON SLIDE 27, IT TALKS ABOUT ZONING REQUIREMENTS AND FEDERAL SCRUTINY.
COULD YOU JUST GIVE US A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THAT RELATIONSHIP? SURE.
THAT, THAT WAS A CRITERION THAT WAS ADDED TO, UH, THE RATING AND EVALUATION SYSTEM AND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, AND UNDERSTAND THAT EACH ONE OF THOSE ITEMS ON THEIR CARRY A DIFFERENT, UM, UH, A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF WEIGHT, WHICH IS TO SAY YOU DON'T HAVE TO HIT EVERY ONE OF THOSE OUT OF THE PARK, UH, TO, TO WIN.
BUT THERE WAS A RECOGNITION THAT WHEN YOU BUILD HIGH CAPACITY TRANSIT AND DON'T HAVE THE ZONING TO FACILITATE DENSITY, YOU'RE UNDERMINING YOURSELF AND YOU'RE UNDERMINING RIDERSHIP POTENTIALLY.
SO THEY WANT TO SEE CERTAIN, IF YOU WILL, SOME, SOME FORWARD MOMENTUM, UM, ON ZONING FOR TRANSIT IN ORDER TO GET THE HIGHEST SCORES UNDER THAT CRITERION.
AND I'LL JUST FLAG THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF OUR CITY MOBILITY AND HOUSING AND PLANNING MEETING TO TALK ABOUT THE ETO O D GRANTS ON THURSDAY.
UM, SO IF ANYONE'S CURIOUS TO WATCH THAT CONVERSATION, WE'RE TRYING TO DO OUR BEST AT THE LOCAL LEVEL TO NOT HAVE THE CITY'S ZONING INTERFERING WITH THE, THE WORKS OF THE OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF PROJECT CONNECT.
AND, AND I CAN'T COMMEND YOU ENOUGH FOR HAVING THE VISION TO EMBED T O D AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ESPECIALLY INTO THE BALLOT MEASURE.
WE DID THE SAME, UM, OUR, OUR IN SEATTLE, OUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF, OF, OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING GENERALLY TOOK THE FORM OF, UH, BASICALLY GIVING AWAY, UH, SURPLUS LAND FOR FREE FOR THE, FOR THE EXPRESS CONSTRUCTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
BUT WHILE I WAS THERE, I WAS ALSO ABLE TO EXTRACT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS FROM AMAZON TO HELP MOVE SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS ALONG
UM, THEY, THEY WERE, UM, AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY ADDED MORE MONEY SINCE I LEFT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S EXCITEMENT ABOUT THAT.
WELL, COLLEAGUES, UH, I, I CAN SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS IS GONNA BE A CHALLENGING PROCESS.
UH, AND, AND WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE, UH, FOLKS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY, BUILDING CONSENSUS IN THE COMMUNITY TO GET THIS DONE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TRY TO, TO DO A FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE HAVE A VERTICALLY INTEGRATED SYSTEM THAT WE KNOW WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT, BECAUSE SOME CONVERSATIONS YOU HEAR THAT EVERYBODY IS SUPPOSED TO BE RUNNING SOMETHING OTHER THAN, UH, WHAT HAS BEEN A BEST PRACTICE IN A PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN BUILT.
SO IT'LL BE IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY THOSE PLACES THAT HAVE SIMILAR FACT PATTERNS AND HAVE IDENTIFIED BEST PRACTICES, AND TO KNOW ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING AND HOW THEY RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER.
UH, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT THAT, THAT WE DO A, THAT WE DO A SOUND JOB IN THE PLANNING AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION IN THIS PROCESS.
THERE ARE GONNA BE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ASKING FOR A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE A PRICE TAG ON THEM THAT HASN'T BEEN CONSIDERED.
THE QUESTION'S GOING TO BE, WHAT IS OUR CRITICAL PATH AND, AND HOW DO WE NEGOTIATE WITH THE OTHER TEAMS TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR ME, BUT WE'RE DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR US.
AND, AND, UH, SO THAT IS, THAT IS GONNA BE A CHALLENGE.
IT IS, IT IS HEARTENING THAT WE HAVE, UH, SOMEONE ENGAGED WHO HAS BUILT SOMETHING BIG AND HAS WORKED AT A NUMBER OF LEVELS, UH, IN GOVERNMENT WHERE THEY'RE LOCAL OR FEDERAL.
UH, BUT, UH, THIS IS, THIS IS, UH, YOU, UH, THOSE, THOSE DOCUMENTS AREN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO PUT US TO SLEEP CUZ WE'VE GOT A
SO APPRECIATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, TO DISCUSS AND BEGIN THE, UH, BEGIN THE PROCESS FOR, UH, FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN THE WAY THAT IT SHOULD.
AND THEN IF I COULD JUST ADD ONE THING, MR. CHAIR, ONE OF THE THINGS I APPRECIATE, EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED IS THAT YOU, IN ORDER TO GET THOSE FIRST PROJECTS TO BE REALLY UP PROJECTS THAT MOVE PEOPLE THROUGH A CORRIDOR RAPIDLY, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SPEND SOME MONEY.
[02:05:01]
YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A DEATH OF A THOUSAND CUTS WHEN YOU KEEP TAKING FUNCTIONALITY AND, AND, AND, AND HENCE MOBILITY OUT OF A PROJECT.THAT'S WHY I WAS FOCUSING ON THOSE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY INVESTMENTS.
I MEAN, THE REASON WHY WE HAD SO MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE STACKED UP WAITING TO GET TO SEAHAWKS GAME BECAUSE OF ONE ACCIDENT WAS NOT HAVING MADE THE ADEQUATE INVESTMENTS IN, IN, IN, IN REDUNDANCY.
UM, AND, UH, AND, AND AS A RESULT, THROUGHPUT THROUGH THE QUARTER DIDN'T WORK.
SO, UM, TO THAT END, WOULD YOU SAY, I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN SAYING, EVEN FROM MY TIME SERVING ON THE ATP BOARD WAS, LOOK, WE, THE, THE FUNDING IS THERE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE, WE'VE SECURED THE FUNDING IN PERPETUITY BECAUSE THE TAXPAYERS AND THE VOTERS WITH PROP A SAID, YES, WE WANT TO DEDICATE A PORTION OF OUR PROPERTY TAXES TO SUPPORT NOT JUST CONSTRUCTION, BUT OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR NEW TRANSITS, THESE ADDITIONS TO CAPITAL, METRO'S TRANSIT INVESTMENT FOR IN PERPETUITY.
AND THAT IS, FIRST OF ALL, I'LL JUST SAY IT, LET ME JUST ASK YOU THIS, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THAT IN AND OF ITSELF IS RATHER UNHEARD OF IN THE INDUSTRY, RIGHT? TO HAVE THIS, THIS KIND OF, THIS, THIS PROPERTY TAX FUNDING MECHANISM SINCE MY, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS MOST OF IT IS USUALLY FUNDED THROUGH SALES TAX AND, AND, AND, UM, TRANSIT USER, UH, LIKE TICKET REVENUE MOSTLY.
AND NEEDLESS TO SAY, YOU KNOW, AS, AS COMMUTING PATTERNS, UH, CHANGE SOME OF THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE DEPENDENT ON TICKET REVENUE OR, OR, OR HAVING TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD, UM, IT'S A MIX.
WE, OUR PARTICULAR SYSTEM WAS VERY HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON SALES TAX, BUT WE ALSO ADDED A PROPERTY TAX.
UM, IN PART, UH, VERY, NOT, NOT A LARGE ONE, NOTHING ON THE SCALE OF YEARS, BUT RECOGNIZING THAT, THAT AT LEAST EQUITY DICTATED THAT, THAT ARE AGGRESSIVE TAX, LIKE SALES TAX SHOULD NOT FUND THE WHOLE PROGRAM.
UM, WE, UM, I I I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO FOCUS AS YOU GO THROUGH THESE ALTERNATIVES THAT ARE PRESENTED, UM, ON YES, YOU DID, YOU DID ESTABLISH A PROCESS BY WHICH OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AND RECAPITALIZATION, UM, IS SAID TO BE FULLY FUNDED THROUGH THE PROCESS.
BUT THE QUESTION THEN HAPPENS, ALL RIGHT, SO WE HAVE, UH, ECONOMIC, UH, UPS AND DOWNS, UM, WHO'S GOT FIRST CALL ON THE MONEY WHEN, WHEN TIMES ARE SHORT.
THESE ARE THE KIND OF QUESTIONS I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO DIG INTO, UH, TO ENSURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I HAD THIS EXPERIENCE WHEN I WAS FTA ADMINISTRATOR AND IN FLORIDA, UM, THEN, UH, GOVERNOR SCOTT, NOW SENATOR SCOTT, UH, WANTED TO CUT BACK FUNDING FOR A PROJECT FOR, WE, WE HAD ALREADY PAID THEM AND THEY HAD ALREADY DONE AN EXPANSION OF THEIR PROGRAM.
AND WITH THAT COMES IN FEDERAL EXPECTATION THAT YOU WILL ALSO RUN THE SERVICE COMMENSURATE WITH THAT PROGRAM, SENATOR, EXCUSE ME, THEN GOVERNOR SCOTT, LOOKING FOR COST SAVINGS SOUGHT TO SCALE IT BACK, WE HAD TO GO BACK AND SAY, IF YOU'RE GONNA DO THAT, YOU HAVE TO GIVE US THE FEDERAL MONEY BACK.
SO MAKING SURE THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO OPERATE IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD AND MAINTAIN IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD, UM, IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE FEDERAL ANALYSIS.
NOW, JUST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S GONNA HELP YOU WITH THAT BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT THAT TOO.
UH, BECAUSE PART OF THAT, THAT, THAT FINANCIAL TEST, UM, IS THAT NOT JUST THAT YOU CAN BUILD THE PROJECT IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD, BUT THAT YOU CAN BUILD THE PROJECT AND OPERATE NOT JUST THE NEW SERVICE, BUT THE CURRENT SERVICE AND MAINTAIN IT ADEQUATELY AND GOOD TIMES AND BAD.
AND AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, AS PRICES HAVE GONE UP, THERE ARE PROJECT SPONSORS THAT ARE SITTING THERE SAYING, WELL, WELL, WE CAN BUILD IT.
AND, AND THE FTA MIGHT BE SAYING, I'M NOT SEEING ANY OTHER PENNIES ON THE TABLE TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO THAT, THAT, THAT IS AN AREA OF ANALYSIS THAT I THINK THE BOARD SHOULD BE FULLY BRIEFED ON TOO.
AND THAT BRINGS ME TO, I GUESS MY FOLLOW UP QUESTION THAT I'VE BEEN KIND OF STRUGGLING WITH TOO HERE IS, YOU KNOW, I, I FEEL LIKE NOW THAT WE LOOK AT THIS, THE INITIAL PLAN THAT, THAT WE ALL HAD PUT ALL OF OUR TIME, ENERGY, AND EFFORT IN DEVELOPING THAT WE'RE NOW REALIZING IS, IS, YOU KNOW, LAR LARGELY, UH, UNWORKABLE IS, IS THE EQUIVALENT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, A A FULLY LOADED 2023 CADILLAC ESCALADE, UH, YOU KNOW, XLT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO NOW IS FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT KIND OF, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF VEHICLE CAN WE GIVE SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, CAN WE GIVE THE, TO, TO USE THIS ANALOGY, CAN WE STILL GIVE THE, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE, THE VOTERS AND THE PEOPLE OF THE REGION THAT WE HAD PROMISED THEM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT IS, THAT IS STILL FUNCTIONAL, BUT IS GOING TO, TO MEET THE NEEDS.
AND, AND, AND I GUESS WHAT I, MY MY, MY FINAL QUESTION TO YOU IS IN REGARDS TO THAT, FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE,
[02:10:01]
IF YOU HAD THIS TO ALL DO OVER AGAIN, LOOKING BACK, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE IN SEATTLE, IS IT BETTER, I KNOW WE'VE GOT THE ORANGE LINE, WE'VE GOT THE BLUE LINE, AND WE'VE GOT THE, THE, THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT LINES.YOU KNOW, IS IT BETTER TO TRY TO, TO, I GUESS, BUILD OUT, BUILD SOMETHING THAT IS, I GUESS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, WOULD IT BE BETTER TO SAY, OKAY, WE NEED TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, A A TUNNEL SPEND THAT EXTRA MONEY TO REALLY BUILD A TUNNEL AND GET THIS CORE PART RIDE, YOU KNOW, GOING A TUNNEL UNDER THE, THE, THE, THE RIVER, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, PUTTING A BRIDGE OVER THERE ON THE BLUE LINE IS, OR, OR WHATEVER IT IS, IS IT BETTER TO REALLY GET THE CORE DONE FIRST AND THEN KIND OF BUILD OUT? OR IS IT BETTER TO SAY, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST DO THE ORANGE LINE AND THEN COME BACK AND DO THE, THE BLUE LINE LATER.
WHAT, WHAT REALLY SHOULD BE THE, THE BEST, I GUESS, STRATEGIC APPROACH THAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT AS WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE TRADE OFFS FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? WELL, I, I HAVE TWO ANSWERS, AND I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO ORANGE VERSUS BLUE VERSUS DOWNTOWN CORE, BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE FORGOTTEN MORE ABOUT THE LOCAL POLITICS THAN I EVER KNOW
UM, BUT, BUT THAT'S SAID, I COME BACK TO WHAT I SAID IN MY STATEMENT.
YOU WANT TO HAVE INITIAL PROJECTS THAT BUILD ENTHUSIASM AND EXCITEMENT AND POLITICAL MOMENTUM BEHIND THAT SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH PHASE.
WE, WE, UH, OUR THREE MAJOR BALLOT MEASURES WAS WHAT'S CALLED SOUND MOVE, AND THEN S ST TWO, WHICH PASSED IN, IN 2000, I THINK 2009.
UM, AND THEN S ST THREE, WHICH WAS OUR BIG BEAST, 54 BILLION BALLOT MEASURED THAT PASSED IN 2016.
UM, WE WERE NOT EVEN HALFWAY DONE WITH ST TWO PROJECTS WHEN THE VOTERS CAME BACK AND SAID WE WANTED, WE WANT TO TAX OURSELVES MORE TO BUILD OUT EVEN MORE PROJECTS TO OTHER DISTANT REGIONS.
IT WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT THAT RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTION IN S ST THREE, WE OPENED UP WHAT WAS CALLED OUR UNIVERSITY LINK PROJECT, WHICH WHILE ONLY OPENING DIANE KNOWS ABOUT IT, WHILE ONLY OPENING TWO PROJECT, TWO ADDITIONAL STATIONS RAN ALL THE WAY UP UNDER THE WATER TO CAPITOL HILL AND TO THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, TWO OF THE DENSEST AREAS IN THE WHOLE STATE OF WASHINGTON, OUR LIGHT RAIL RIDERSHIP SPIKED UP BETWEEN 16 70%.
WE DID THAT IN MARCH, AND THEN WE WERE BEFORE THE VOTERS IN NOVEMBER, RIGHT? WE, WE WERE BUILDING ENTHUSIASM AND A LOT OF EXCITEMENT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT SHOULD BE THE MEASURE.
NOW, THAT WAS COMPLETELY DEDICATED RIGHT OF WAY SOUND TRANSIT.
WE ARE NO LONGER BUILDING ANYTHING AT GRADE BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE IN THE RENIER VALLEY, UM, BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF THOSE OF THOSE, UH, CARS PULLING IN FRONT OF TRAINS WITH THOUSANDS OF SEAHAWKS FANS BEHIND THEM.
NOW, THAT'S PROBABLY NOT A REALITY, UM, IN, IN, IN OTHER PLACES.
BUT THE POINT IS SHOWING PEOPLE THE THROUGHPUT.
I WOULD'VE PEOPLE AT THOSE, UH, THOSE FOOTBALL GAMES COME OUT AND JUST, THEY, THEY, THEY WERE, THEY COULD BARELY SPEAK BECAUSE THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO GOING TO A, AN AFTERNOON FOOTBALL GAME AT HUSKY STADIUM WHERE OUR STATION WAS LOCATED, REALLY RIGHT AT THE ENTRANCE.
AND THEY'D POINT OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, I USED TO SPEND THE, LIKE A FULL DAY COMING OUT HERE, FIGURING OUT A PLACE TO PARK, WALKING A DISTANCE TO GET TO, TO THIS STADIUM, AND THEN HAVING TO WAIT FOR TRAFFIC TO CLEAR TO GET OUTTA HERE.
AND NOW I CAN GET HOME AT EIGHT MINUTES ON LIGHT RAIL.
BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THAT LIGHT RAIL WAS NOT IN MIXED USE TRAFFIC.
THAT'S BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, MY GUIDANCE WOULD BE BUILD SOME ROCK STARS, BUILD ROCK STARS THAT MOVE PEOPLE AND EXCITE PEOPLE.
DEFINE WHAT ATTRIBUTES THAT PROJECT MUST HAVE FIRST, AND THEN FIGURE OUT HOW FAR YOU CAN GO RATHER THAN SAY, WELL, WE HAVE TO GET OUT HERE, AND WHAT FUNCTIONALITY CAN WE CUT IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN? BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU END UP MAKING PENNY WISE POUND FOOLISH DECISIONS AND RUN THE RISK OF A SECOND RED LINE.
SO I'M GO, I'M GONNA SLOW MY BAPTIST FRIEND DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE.
AND I'M JEWISH, SO WE CAN GO ON AND ON AND
WELL, I, I THINK YOU'VE TALKED YOURSELF INTO A FEW MORE PRESENTATIONS AND, AND I'M ALL KIDDING ASIDE, I'M HAPPY TO MEET WITH ANY AND ALL BOARD MEMBERS AT THEIR CONVENIENCE IF THEY'RE, IF I COULD PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
SO, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE WILL, UH, SIT DOWN PRETTY SOON AND TALK ABOUT, UH, UH, HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.
I'VE GOT A COUPLE MORE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE, AND I KNOW THAT, UM, I KNOW THAT THE CONVERSATION HAS BROUGHT ON MANY APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO INTERACTING WITH YOU OVER TIME AND, AND TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF YOUR EXPERIENCE.
[VIII.1. FY2022 Year End Financials]
LET'S GO BACK TO DISCUSSION ITEM NUMBER ONE.UH, THE FY 2022 YEAR END FINANCIALS FROM
[02:15:01]
KATHERINE WALKER.AND MR. CHAIR, WHILE SHE'S WALKING UP HERE, I AM GOING TO HAVE TO RETURN TO MY, UH, FINANCIAL CONFERENCE HERE IN DC SO I'LL SAY GOODBYE TO YOU ALL.
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING AND, AND, UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD MEMBERS, CHAIRMAN TRAVI, PRESIDENT AND CEO WATKINS.
I SERVE AS CAP METRO'S EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF FINANCIAL AND RISK OFFICER.
I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT OUR YEAR-END FINANCIALS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF 2022.
OUR FISCAL YEAR STARTS ON OCTOBER 1ST, SO IN THIS YEAR, IT STARTED ON OCTOBER 1ST, 2021, AND ENDED ON SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2022.
UM, MAYBE I'M HITTING, OH, THERE WE GO.
SO SOME HIGHLIGHTS FOR YOU, UM, FROM OUR FISCAL YEAR.
THE FIRST IS AT OUR SALES TAX REMITTANCE, WHICH IS THE MAJORITY OF OUR REVENUE CAME IN AT 367 MILLION.
THAT WAS 21.7% HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AND 23.4% HIGHER THAN OUR BUDGET.
OUR OPERATING CONTRIBUTIONS AND GRANTS CAME IN AT 128.2 MILLION.
THAT WAS PREDOMINANTLY FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, I'M SORRY, 120 100 AND 128.2 MILLION FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, AND 66.2 MILLION FROM THE KRISA STIMULUS FUNDS.
OUR TOTAL REVENUE FOR THE YEAR WAS 617.5 MILLION ON OPERATING EXPENSES, WE EXPENDED 86.1% OF OUR BUDGET, WHICH TOTALED 287.2 MILLION.
OUR PURCHASE TRANSPORTATION CAME IN BELOW BUDGET WITH LOWER HOURS, SO THAT INCLUDES BOTH BUS AND RAIL.
AND THEN WE SAW 7.4 MILLION IN COST AVOIDANCE FROM OUR FUEL HEDGING PROGRAM FROM THE FISCAL YEAR REGARDING CAPITAL PROJECTS, WE SPENT 114.3 MILLION, WHICH WAS 30%, 36.4% OF OUR BUDGET.
UH, PROJECTS THAT WERE COMPLETED, I'M SORRY, STARTED AND WE SPENT MONEY ON IN THE YEAR INCLUDED DEMAND RESPONSE, UM, AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY REPLACEMENT, THE LAKE LINE LEANDER SIDING, THE MACCALL RED LINE STATION, I THINK MANY OF YOU WERE OUT THERE EARLIER LAST WEEK.
THE METRO RAPID LINES, ORANGE AND BLUE LINE, AND P O CONTRACTS AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT.
UH, WE DID, UH, COURSE HAVE A DELAY IN 22 SPENDING.
UM, AND THAT ACCOUNTED FOR $200 MILLION OR ABOUT 63% OF OUR CAPITAL BUDGET.
AND THAT WAS FROM METRO RAPID LINES, THE ELECTRIC BUS REPLACEMENT, UM, COMPLETION OF MCCULLOUGH AND BUS ELECTRIFICATION.
DO I NEED TO POINT IT THIS WAY? NOT AT THE SCREEN.
YOU POINT AT, I'LL POINT IT AT YOU AND LOOK THIS WAY.
I THINK I'M POINTING AT THE SCREEN AND IT DOESN'T GET THE ELECTRIC SIGNAL.
SO WE'LL TAKE A BRIEF LOOK AT OUR REVENUE, AND ACTUALLY, I'LL TRY TO MAKE THIS QUICK.
UM, OUR SALES TAX FOR THE YEAR CAME IN AT 123.4% OF OUR BUDGET.
THAT WAS 366.9 MILLION, AND IT WAS 21.7% HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR.
OUR PASSENGER FEARS CAME IN AT 15.2 MILLION, FREIGHT RAILROAD REVENUE AT 6.8 MILLION, AND THEN OTHER OPERATING GRANTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF 202 MILLION ALL IN IT WAS SLIGHTLY UNDER BUDGET.
MOST OF THAT CAME FROM THE, THE, THE VARIANCE AND GAP CAME FROM THE OPERATING CONTRIBUTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, NEXT WE'LL LOOK BRIEFLY AT OUR SALES TAX RECEIPTS OVER THE YEAR.
UM, THESE BARS ARE COLOR CODED, SO RED WILL BE FISCAL YEAR 2020.
GREEN IS FISCAL YEAR 2021, AND THE BLUE BARS MARK FISCAL YEAR 2022.
YOU'LL SEE THE YEAR OVER YEAR DOWN IN THE BOTTOM IN THE FINE PRINT.
UM, YEAR OVER YEAR FROM 2020 WAS 0.3%, SO WE DIDN'T GET A LOT OF GROWTH.
UM, YEAR OVER YEAR GROWTH FR TO 2021 WAS 14.8, AND THEN AGAIN FROM 22 WAS 21.7.
THIS IS A GRAPHICAL DEPICTION OF OUR SALES TAX ROLLING AVERAGE TREND.
UM, I'LL POINT YOUR EYES TO THE LEFT WITH A BIG DIP WHERE OUR SALES TAX DIPPED BELOW 10%.
THAT WAS THE GREAT RECESSION OF 2009, 2010.
UH, WHEN YOU THINK OF THE BANKING CRISIS THAT OCCURRED BACK THEN.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAD A SLIGHTLY LOWER DIP, UM, NEGATIVE 5% YEAR OVER YEAR SALES TAX THAT WAS FROM COVID IMPACT IN 2020.
[02:20:01]
A BRIEF LOOK AT OUR OPERATING EXPENSES.SO YOU'LL SEE SALARIES AND BENEFITS AT THE TOP WAS EVEN TO BUDGET.
OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CAME IN UNDER BUDGET.
THERE WERE SOME SAVINGS IN CO IN CONSULTING FEES AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
UM, A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN.
I CALLED OUT THE 7.1, 7.4 MILLION, UM, SAVINGS IN COST AVOIDANCE UNDER DIESEL HEDGING PROGRAM.
UH, WE HAD SOME COST, LET'S SEE, WE HAD SOME PURCHASE TRANSPORTATION.
OUR OPERATING BUDGET WAS LOWER THERE DUE TO LOWER HOURS FOR BOTH BUS AND RAIL, AND THEN A FEW OTHER COST SAVINGS AT THE BOTTOM.
AT THE TOTAL, YOU'LL SEE OUR YEAR-TO-DATE ACTUALS OPERATING EXPENSES WERE 287.2 MILLION.
ALL RIGHT, UM, BUDGET TRANSFERS, UM, FOR NEW BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, JUST A QUICK FYI THAT EVERY QUARTER I WILL COME TO OUR FAA COMMITTEE AND I WILL PRESENT OUR QUARTERLY FINANCIALS.
UM, AND PART OF THOSE QUARTERLY FINANCIALS.
I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT OUR BUDGET TRANSFERS BETWEEN CONTINGENCY FUNDS OR BETWEEN PROJECTS.
UM, SO THIS IS FOR THE END OF THE YEAR.
FOR Q4 22, WE HAD THREE BUDGET TRANSFERS.
THE FIRST ONE WAS FROM OUR OPERATING CONTINGENCY TO PEOPLE AND CULTURE TO COVER OPERATING EXPENSES FOR RELOCATION AND TEMPORARY STAFFING FOR OUR FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES.
WE DID ANOTHER BUDGET TRANSFER OF $250,000 FOR OPERATING CONTINGENCY FOR OUR PENSION AND BARGAINING PLANS, AND THEN A THIRD ONE IN PEOPLE AND CULTURE TO COVER SOME RECRUITING COSTS.
WHAT'S THE DATE ON THAT? UM, SEPTEMBER.
MOVING ON, WE'LL TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT OUR RESERVES ALLOCATED AND RESTRICTED FUNDS.
UM, UH, SO BRIEFLY, UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OPERATING RESERVES THAT WE MAINTAINED.
MOST OF THESE ARE STATUTE, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM.
SOME ARE THEM ARE BY THE MANAGEMENT'S CHOICE, AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH ONE OF THOSE.
OUR STATUTORY OPERATING RESERVE IS 42.4, 42.2 MILLION, THAT EQUIVALENT, THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO TWO MONTHS OF OPERATING EXPENSE.
WE ALSO HAVE A PAID BUDGET STABILIZATION RESERVE, WHICH IS ONE MONTH OF OUR OPERATING EXPENSE.
OUR OTHER OPERATING RESERVES, WE ARE SELF-INSURED, AND SO WE, UM, PULL BACK 25% OF OUR ANNUAL SPEND AND WE PUT IT IN RESERVE FOR OUR INSURANCE.
WE HAVE A MASTER'S FACILITY FUND RESERVE IN 22.
UM, YOU MAY RECALL THAT IN 23 FOR OUR BUDGET, THAT NUMBER WILL GROW TO 60 MILLION.
FOR OUR MASTER FACILITY PLAN, WE HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY CAPITAL FUND OF 10 MILLION, AND THEN WE HAVE A SMALL CITY'S TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND, CURRENTLY SITTING AT 6.3 MILLION.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU'LL SEE THIS DONUT CHART REPRESENTS OUR ALLOCATED RESTRICTED FUNDS.
UM, THIS IS FUTURE CAPITAL BUDGET.
THIS IS MONEY SET ASIDE TO COVER FUTURE CAP, FUTURE CAPITAL BUDGETS.
THAT INCLUDES COVERING CONTRACTS HELD FOR PROJECT CONNECT FOR THE PMO, C ORANGE, AND BLUE ENGINEERING WORK.
OKAY, UM, WE'LL REVIEW QUICKLY OUR STATEMENT OF REVENUE.
UM, SO STARTING AT THE TOP, YOU'LL SEE WE START WITH OUR OPERATING REVENUE.
SO YOU THINK OF THAT AS REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS, HOW WE MANAGE OUR BUSINESS.
WE HAVE OUR PASSENGER FAIRS, OUR FREIGHT RAILROAD, AND OTHER REVENUE.
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHART, YOU'LL SEE WE ALSO ACCOUNT FOR NON-OP OPERATING REVENUE.
SO THAT'S OUR SALES TAX INCOME FROM INVESTMENTS.
UM, WHAT WE DO WITH OUR EXCESS CASH, WE INVEST IT, UM, OPERATING CONTRIBUTIONS AND GRANTS, OUR, UM, CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE DEDUCT, UM, IN OUR LOCAL AGREEMENTS.
IN THE MIDDLE, YOU'LL SEE OUR OPERATING EXPENSES.
SO THAT'S WHAT I COVERED BEFORE WAS SALARY AND BENEFITS, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, FUEL UTILITIES, AND OTHER COST TO RUN OUR BUSINESS.
AT THE TOTAL, YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE A NET CHANGE IN POSITION OF 248 MILLION.
I WON'T READ THIS WHOLE SLIDE TO YOU.
JUST NOTE AT THE BOTTOM IN DEPARTMENTS FIVE FORTY FOUR, SIX HUNDRED AND SIX TWENTY, WE DID HAVE CONSIDERABLE SAVINGS THERE DUE TO, UM, FEWER HOURS IN OUR FRONTLINE STAFF.
ALL RIGHT, ON THE CAPITAL SIDE, UM, YOU'LL SEE AGAIN, WE SPENT 36% OF OUR FULL YEAR BUDGET.
THE PROJECTS THAT WE DID SPEND MONEY ON IN THE FISCAL YEAR, OF COURSE INCLUDED LAKE LINE UNDER SIDING AND STATE OF GOOD REPAIR FOR BRIDGES IN THE TRACK, OUR PARATRANSIT FLEET, UM, OUR E R P SYSTEM.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
BUT WE ARE MOVING ALONG AND, UH, CLOSING IN ON FINISHING THAT PROJECT.
UH, WE HAVE OFFICE SPACE RECONFIGURATION, AND THEN SOME DEMAND
[02:25:01]
RESPONSE AND OPERATIONS FACILITY REPLACEMENT WORK.ALL RIGHT, THAT CONCLUDES OUR FISCAL YEAR PRESENTATION BOARD MEMBERS.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE.
ARE YOU, ARE YOU UP? I HAVE ANOTHER, ARE YOU UP FOR THE NEXT SET OF BEST HITS? YES.
SO I PRESENTED A BUNCH OF NUMBERS AND I HAVE A BUNCH MORE
SO THE FIRST PRESENTATION WAS A LOOK BACK AT HOW WE, HOW WE PERFORMED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 22.
THIS PRESENTATION, OUR LONG RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN TAKES OUR PERFORMANCE IN 22, INCLUDES THE BUDGET FOR 23, AND THEN WE DO A 10 YEAR LOOK FORWARD ON HOW, HOW WE LOOK, UM, OUR FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY.
UM, I'LL INTRODUCE MYSELF AGAIN.
AGAIN, MY NAME'S KATHERINE WALKER.
I'M AN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF FINANCIAL AND RISK OFFICER AT CAPITAL METRO.
UM, I GET TO DO THIS PRESENTATION ONCE A YEAR.
THIS IS MY SECOND TIME, AND THERE'S A LOADS OF INFORMATION HERE, BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S, WE HAVE A GOOD PICTURE AT CAP METRO AS LONG AS WE SUSTAIN OUR CONSERVATIVE APPROACH ON THE THINGS THAT WE DO.
SO BACK IN 2013, OUR BOARD ADOPTED A FINANCIAL PLAN, AND THEN IT WAS RECENTLY REVISED IN 2022.
WE ALIGN OUR FINANCIAL CAPACITY WITH LONG-TERM SERVICE OBJECTIVES, AND I THINK CHARMILLA WILL BE, WHOOPS, PRESENTING TO OUR BOARD SHORTLY.
MORE INFORMATION ON, I'M TRYING TO MOVE BACKWARDS.
I SKIPPED AHEAD ON OUR, UM, LONG-RANGE SERVICE PLAN.
UH, WE IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES TO FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY.
SOME OF THOSE ARE AT THE MICRO LEVEL, SOME OF THEM ARE OF COURSE, MACROECONOMIC.
WITH THINGS GOING ON IN OUR ECONOMY, WE DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE LONG-RANGE FORECAST.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE EV EVALUATE OUR ABILITY TO FUND ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT WE WANNA GET DONE AS AN AGENCY.
THERE ARE, OF COURSE, SOME BENEFITS TO LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLANNING.
UH, WE BUILD AND MAINTAIN FISCALLY SOUND AGENCY.
WE ARE AWARE OF OPTIONS AND BARRIERS.
WE IMPROVE OUR FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY.
AND I'LL JUST ADD THAT THESE EXERCISES THAT WE TALK ABOUT, IT'S NOT JUST THE FINANCE FOLKS STUCK IN BEHIND AN OFFICE WITH A GREEN VISOR AND POCKET PROTECTOR CRUNCHING OUT EXCEL SHEETS.
IT'S A REALLY VERY INTERACTIVE PROCESS WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ACROSS CAP METRO, WHETHER IT'S IN OUR PLANNING OR OUR OPERATIONS GROUP OR OUR MARKETING GROUP ON HOW WE CAN SELL THE BENEFITS OF CAP METRO.
WE HAVE A VERY INTEGRATED AND, UM, UH, PROCESS.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOW WE BUILD THE LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN, IT IS A GROUND UP, A GROUNDS UP, BOTTOMS UP PROCESS.
AGAIN, I MENTIONED THE RESERVES, OUR STATUTORY OPERATING RESERVE, WHICH IS TWO MONTHS OF CAPITAL EXPENSES THAT WE SET ASIDE.
OUR, UH, BUDGET STABILIZATION RESERVE, WHICH IS ONE MONTH OF OPERATIONS MONEY SET ASIDE OUR FACILITY RESERVE.
AND THE OTHER ONES I MENTIONED ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, YOU'LL SEE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ASSUMPTIONS.
SO WE CALL THESE FINANCIAL LEVERS WHEN YOU'RE CREATING A PLAN.
SO WE LOOK AT OUR SALES TAX GROWTH HISTORICALLY AND AS WELL AS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN THE FUTURE.
WE LOOK AT OUR SERVICE LEVELS, WE LOOK AT INFLATION, OTHERWISE CALLED THE PRODUCER.
PRICE INDEX IS THE, IS THE METRIC WE USE.
WE LOOK AT AND UNDERSTAND SALARY, UM, BENEFITS AND WHAT IT'S FLASHING.
UM, WE LOOK AT DEBT AGENCY DOES NOT HAVE DEBT CURRENTLY, BUT THAT MIGHT BE AN OPTION FOR US IN THE FUTURE AS WE LOOK AT, UH, FUNDING, UM, DIFFERENT INITIATIVES.
AND THEN OF COURSE, ALL OF THESE THINGS ROLL UP INTO AN OPERATING CAPITAL BUDGET.
AND THEN WE LASTLY LOOK AT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERS AND THE MONEY THAT TRANSFERS AND FLOWS BETWEEN THE TWO AGENCIES TO PAY FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.
SO WE'LL LOOK AT OUR 23 BUDGETED OPERATING REVENUE.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS A REVIEW OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET THAT WAS SHARED WITH YOU IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
UM, AS A REMINDER, OUR SALES TAX IS BUDGETED TO BE, UH, 300 AND 371 MILLION.
THAT IS 69% OF OUR TOTAL REVENUE PLANNED AND IS ANTICIPATED IN THE MODEL TO GROW 3.5% YEAR OVER YEAR.
THE REMAINING, UM, REVENUE SOURCES DO NOT GROW THAT FAST.
SO ALL IN, IF YOU THINK ABOUT HOW BIG THIS PIE GROWS, THE ENTIRE PIE IS EXPECTED TO GROW ABOUT 3.1% YEAR OVER YEAR.
WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT OUR SALES TAX HISTORY.
AGAIN, THIS WAS JUST IN MY PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, BUT IN 2009, YOU SEE THE GREAT RECESSION HIT OUR AGENCY.
AND THEN IN COVID YEARS IN 2019 AND 2020, WE WERE FLAT.
SO YOU SEE A DIP IN SALES, UM, IN SALES TAX
[02:30:01]
RESULTED IN FLAT HISTORICAL, UM, REVENUE GROWTH.A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THE PRESENTATION AS WE TALK ABOUT THE 10 YEAR FINANCIALS BECAUSE OF CO CORSETS, A PROFORMA, THAT'S WHERE YOU MAKE SOME ESTIMATES AND YOU WATCHED YOUR REVENUES AND YOUR EXPENSES GROW OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
THIS YEAR, WE DID SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
WE USED OUR TRADITIONAL APPROACH, AND THEN WE ALSO TOOK A VERY CONSERVATIVE MACROECONOMIC APPROACH WHERE HE SAID, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE AGENCY IF WE WEREN'T GROWING? NOW, I WOULD SAY, UM, THE MODEL WASN'T TO SCARE ANYBODY, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO SHOW WHAT IT MEANS WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE INCREMENTAL YEAR OVER YEAR IMPACT OF THE GROWTH THAT WE, WE TRADITIONALLY SEE.
AND SO IN THE MODEL THAT I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH IN A FEW MINUTES, WE'LL LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS IF WE HAD ANOTHER IMPACT WHERE WE HAD YEAR OVER YEAR FLAT GROWTH IN SALES TAX REVENUE.
ALL RIGHT, JUST TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR FAIR REVENUE.
IT IS PART OF OUR, UM, INTEGRATED FINANCIAL MODEL.
IT'S A SMALLER PIECE OF OUR REVENUE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT IMPORTANT.
UM, WE HISTORICALLY HAVE VERY LOW FARES AT CAP METRO METRO.
UM, WE ARE A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN BENCH BUS BENCHMARK BENCHMARKING GROUP, THE A B B G.
THEY'RE ALL, UM, UH, ANONYMIZED.
SO YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE AGENCIES ARE, BUT WE ARE AGENCY U OVER IN THE FAR RIGHTHAND SIDE.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT WE HAVE THE LOWEST FARES OF MOST OF OUR PEER AGENCIES.
UM, I'LL ALSO REMIND THE BOARD THAT EARLIER THIS SUMMER, WE DID APPROVE OUR FAIR CAPPING, UM, PROCESS.
ONCE THE AMP PROJECT IS ROLLED OUT FORMALLY THIS SUMMER, UM, OUR REDUCED FARES ARE 50% OF OUR FULL FARE, AND THAT EFA WILL BE AN ADDITIONAL 20% OFF OF A FULL FAR.
SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS WOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT IF COLUMN U LOOKS SLOW NOW, IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE EVEN LOWER WITH THESE OTHER CHANGES.
UM, AGAIN, IN OUR LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN, WE DO ESTIMATE THAT AT SOME POINT WE WILL HAVE TO INCREASE FARES.
IT'S ALSO PART OF THE INTEGRATED FINANCIAL MODEL WITH PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE WILL NEED TO TALK WITH OUR BOARDING COMMUNITY ABOUT IN THE FUTURE.
ALL RIGHT, BUDGET OPERATING EXPENSES, AGAIN, THIS IS FROM OUR 23 BUDGET.
YOU'LL SEE PURCHASE TRANSPORTATION MAKES UP ALMOST HALF OF OUR COSTS PURCHASE TRANSPORTATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
THAT INCLUDES OUR COMMUNITY RAIL SERVICE, OUR DEMAND RESPONSE IN OUR OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR BUS, OUR COMMUTER RAIL, UH, PICKUP SERVICE, AND METRO ACCESS.
ALL RIGHT, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SERVICE LEVELS AND HOW THEY WERE OUR BAKED INTO LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN AND INTO THE 23 BUDGET.
UM, OVER ON THE RIGHT YOU'LL SEE 2019, THIS IS THE YEAR PRIOR TO COVID.
UP TO THAT POINT, WE HAD SEEN, I THINK, DOUBLE DIGIT MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS GROWTH IN OUR SERVICE LEVELS IN RIDERSHIP.
COVID HIT US IN EARLY 2020, AND OUR SERVICE LEVELS ALSO TOOK A HIT.
UH, WE SPENT 2021, UM, BUILDING AND MAINTAINING ON THAT.
AND IN FINALLY CONTINUING TO GROW OUR SERVICE BACK TO WHERE IT WAS PRE PANDEMIC IN 2022, WE HIT 2.32 MILLION HOURS OF SERVICE PROVIDED TO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AND PLAN THAT SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE, 2.32 MILLION HOURS IN 23.
[VIII.2. FY2023 Long Range Financial Plan Update]
WE GET TO THE LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN.AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, WE CREATED OUR LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN AND WE CREATED A, A SECOND SCENARIO THAT SHOWS WHAT IT MEANS.
IF WE HAD ZERO SALES TAX GROWTH FOR, UM, ONE YEAR, UM, HERE ARE THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE BUILT INTO THE MODEL.
SO FOR FAIR INCREASES, WE ESTIMATED A 3.5% INCREASE IN FISCAL YEAR 25, A 5% IN FISCAL YEAR 27, AND THEN 5%, UM, TWO YEARS AFTER THAT.
SO EVERY TWO YEARS WITH A 5% INCREASE.
SALES TAX GROWTH, AGAIN, ESTIMATED AT 3.5% OPERATING GRANTS GROWTH FOR THE FIRST FIVE YEARS OF 2.8, AND THEN NO INCREASES AFTER THAT.
FOR OUR, ON THE EXPENSE SIDE, WE ESTIMATED, UM, INCREASES YEAR OVER YEAR OF HALF A PERCENT IN HOURS.
UM, CONTRACTOR RATES GROWING AT 3%.
OUR METRO ACCESS GROWTH AT HALF A HALF A PERCENT IN HOURS THROUGH CONTRACTED RATES.
OUR FUEL RATES, YOU'LL JUST NOTICE, UM, IN 24, WE'LL CONTINUE TO GROW TO 20% AND THEN TAKE A DECLINE OF 15% AS WE CONTINUE TO ELECTRIFY OUR FLEET.
AND THEN JUST A 2% GROWTH, UM, AFTER THAT.
AND SO THAT'S A PERPETUATION OF OUR ELECTRIC FLEET AND OUR, UM, OUR ZERO EMISSION GOAL.
ALL RIGHT, OTHER GROWTH LEVERS, FTE GROWTH OF 75 BASIS POINTS, WAGE GROWTH AT 3%, AND OTHER EXPENSES AT TWO.
HERE'S WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE GRAPHICALLY REPRESENTED.
SO YOU'LL SEE HERE IN 2023, THAT'S OUR HIGHEST BAR IN THE CHART.
[02:35:01]
ARE REPRESENTED IN THE BLUE LINE.THE ORANGE LINE, UM, IDENTIFIES OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS NET OF ANY GRANT REVENUE WE RECEIVED FOR THOSE.
THE, THE ORANGE, I'M SORRY, IT'S NOT ORANGES, ACTUALLY YELLOW ON THE TOP REPRESENTS OUR CONTRIBUTION TO PROJECT CONNECT.
AND THEN LASTLY, YOU'LL SEE OUR REVENUE MODELED OUT WITH THE GREEN LINE.
SO HERE'S WHAT THAT MEANS, UM, IN NUMBERS.
AND HERE'S WHERE WE GET TO OUR TWO SCENARIO MODELS.
AT THE TOP OF THIS TABLE, YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE OUR CASH IN OUR INVESTMENTS.
SO SITTING IN 2020 THREES, WE BEGAN OUR FISCAL YEAR.
WE HAD $497 MILLION IN OUR BANK.
AND I'LL JUST ADD THAT CH UM, FORMER CHAIRMAN COOPER SAID THAT WE ARE HIGH IN COTTON
LET'S NOT, LET'S NOT GET OVER OUR SKIS HERE THOUGH.
UM,
WE NET OUT OPERATING EXPENSES AND INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THAT GIVES US CASH AVAILABLE FOR C I P C I P AS OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
THEN WE REMOVE EXPENSES FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS, ADD BACK IN GRANT REVENUE THAT MIGHT BE ANTICIPATED FOR THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, WE GET TO AN ANNUAL CASH FLOW, AS YOU'LL SEE NUMBERS REPRESENTED RED, THAT'S, THOSE ARE NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
UM, SO WHAT WE GET IS A CASH AND INVESTMENT ENDING BALANCE OF 384 MILLION.
AND THOSE SIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESERVES THAT I MENTIONED UP UPFRONT, THOSE EQUIVALENT, THOSE EQUAL TO $179 MILLION.
3 84 AND 1 79 GIVES YOU THREE 80, I'M SORRY, UM, LET ME, LEMME START AGAIN.
WE HAVE 1 79 PLUS 2 0 5 GIVES YOU 3 84.
YOUR ENDING BALANCE IN ONE YEAR BECOMES YOUR BEGINNING CASH BALANCE IN THE NEXT YEAR.
AND SO THIS MODEL ROLLS FORWARD IN ENDING BALANCE IN ONE YEAR, BECOMES YOUR BEGINNING CASH BALANCE IN THE NEXT.
SO LOOKING AT THE TOP LINE RIGHT NOW, WHILE WE START THE FISCAL YEAR WITH ALMOST A HALF A BILLION DOLLARS ROLLING FORWARD CUZ WE HAVE AGGRESSIVE GROWTH PLANS, WE COME TO 18 MILLION.
SO YOU'LL SEE WE REALLY EAT UP THOSE EXPENSES WITH ALL THE AGGRESSIVE THINGS AND IMPORTANT THINGS WE HAVE PLANNED FOR THE AGENCY OVER THE NEXT DECADE.
AT THE BOTTOM, WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR CASH BALANCES.
SO RIGHT NOW AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE EXPECTING TO HAVE 205 BILLION AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR ROLLING FORWARD FOR THE EFFECTS.
NEXT FIVE YEARS, WE ARE IN THE BLACK.
WE HAVE PLENTY OF CASH, ALTHOUGH GOING FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WE START TO TURN RED.
REALLY NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO HOW WE'RE SPENDING MONEY NOW.
UM, THE SECOND BLUE LINE AT THE BOTTOM, JUST AGAIN, THIS IS OUR MODEL WHERE WE DON'T HAVE THE NET BENEFIT OF GROWTH YEAR OVER YEAR WHERE WE TAKE ONE YEAR AND WE DON'T GET THAT GREAT INCREMENTAL GROWTH AS EXPECTED.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS HITTING US IN 2027, WE ACTUALLY GO RED.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT VERY CAREFULLY.
WE MONITOR OUR SALES GROWTH VERY CAREFULLY.
SO NOT TO PAINT A DOWER PICTURE, BUT I JUST WANNA KEEP THINGS REALISTIC AND CONSERVATIVE.
IN SUMMARY, HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT CHANGE OUR LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE SIGN SIGNIFICANT, THE MOVE THE BAR.
SO OF COURSE SIX SALES TAX RECOVERY IS MODELED AT 3.5%.
LAST YEAR WE WERE AT 21.7% GROWTH.
SO, UH, LET'S KEEP IN MIND THAT WE HAVE HAD AGGRESSIVE SALES TAX GROWTH.
UH, WE CONTINUE OUR FLEET ELECTRIFICATION AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE.
THOSE ARE BIG, EXPENSIVE, IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE MONITOR AND MON THAT WE MANAGE AND MONITOR, BUT IT ALSO HELPS US IMPROVE OUR COST OF FUEL.
OH, WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT FUTURE FACILITY NEEDS, INCLUDING OUR THIRD BUS GARAGE, THE SOUTH PARA TRANSIT FACILITY AT AND OUR ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT AND WORK WITH THE CITY ON THE METRO BIKE STATION AND FLEET EXPANSION UPGRADES.
AND THEN THE PROJECT CONNECTS SEQUENCE PLAN.
HERE ARE SOME RISKS TO THE LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN.
AGAIN, INFLATION AND I'LL REMIND EVERYONE THAT JANUARY UNEMPLOYMENT WAS AT 3.4%.
UM, HOURLY WAGES RANGES, I'M SORRY, HOURLY WAGES WERE UP 4.6% YEAR OVER YEAR AT A MACROECONOMIC LEVEL.
THERE STILL REMAINED 10.5 MILLION UNFULFILLED JOBS AS OF DECEMBER.
UM, AND SO THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, UM, ALSO GREW FOR THE 20TH STRAIGHT MONTH IN JANUARY AND IS CURRENTLY AT 6.4%.
SO, UM, SLOWER SEX SALES TAX GROWTH.
UH, AGAIN, THAT'S WHY WE MODELED IT CAUSE WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MACRO ECONOMY.
UM, CHANGES TO THE FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING PROGRAMS, ANY UNFORESEEN REGULATORY OR CAPITAL NEEDS THAT WE DON'T KNOW TODAY, ANY SLOWER RIDERSHIP IF IT RETURNS SLOWER THAN EXPECTED.
AND THEN OF COURSE ANY COMP AND BENEFITS INCREASES THAT WE DON'T HAVE PLANNED.
LASTLY, IN CONCLUSION, WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND QUICKLY RESPOND TO ECO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS AS THEY OCCUR.
[02:40:01]
UM, WE HAVE POTENTIAL, SOME POTENTIAL REVENUE UNCERTAINTY.UM, WE DO NEED TO ENSURE THAT OUR COSTS ALIGN WITH OUR REVENUE GROWTH.
UH, WE DO HAVE SOME ONE-TIME ACCUMULATED FUNDING, UM, FOR EXAMPLE WITH THAT MASTER FACILITY PLAN THAT WE MENTIONED BEFORE THAT WE ARE WATCHING CAREFULLY.
AND THEN LASTLY, BUT ACTUALLY MOST IMPORTANTLY IS THAT WE MUST MAINTAIN STATE OF GOOD REPAIR.
THAT'S APPROXIMATELY 70 MILLION IN ANNUAL CASH FLOW FOR THE AGENCY.
ALL RIGHT, AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION ON OUR LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN.
I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION OF THE NUMBERS AND, BUT I, I'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE COLLOQUIALISM OF IN HIGH COTTON
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, FROM, UH, FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS? ANY QUESTIONS? EXCELLENT PRESENTATION, THOROUGH AND DIRECT OBJECT.
ALRIGHT, UH, YES, MEMBER EIGHT, THOSE, UH, RED NUMBERS DOWN THE ROAD, UH, YES OF CATCH MY ATTENTION.
HOW DO WE AVOID THAT OR WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM? MM-HMM.
UH, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHY DO WE HAVE A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT, A SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURAL DEFICIT KIND OF 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.
MOST OF THOSE ARE LARGE CAPITAL PURCHASES AND INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE.
UNDERSTANDING, UNDERSTANDING WHEN AND WHERE TO MAKE THE, TO SPEND THE MONEY ON THOSE THINGS.
SO A LOT OF THEM ARE, UM, THE DECISIONS THAT THE MANAGEMENT TEAM MUST MAKE ABOUT THE TIMING, THE FUNDING FOR THOSE.
UM, THERE ARE OPTIONS FOR US TO TAKE ON DEBT, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH ROLLING STOCK.
THAT MIGHT BE AN OPTION TO HELP US COVER SOME OF THOSE RED YEARS.
UM, NOTHING TO BE DONE RIGHT NOW, BUT SOMETHING WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR AS WE FLUSH OUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH PROJECT CONNECT IN OUR OWN INVESTMENTS.
SO THOSE ARE CAPITAL, THOSE ARE KIND OF ANTICIPATING MM-HMM.
OUTSIDE OF PROJECT CONNECT OR WITHIN PROJECT CONNECT AS WELL? THERE'S BOTH.
ALL, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
IF, IF, UH, THERE, UH, THANK YOU.
IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE WILL MOVE
[IX.1. President & CEO Monthly Update]
ON, UH, TO OUR FINAL AGENDA ITEM OF THE DAY.AND, AND THAT IS GONNA BE THE, UH, PRESIDENT AND CEO'S MONTHLY, UH, UPDATE.
UM, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET TO THIS IN JANUARY, SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
AND I'LL TRY AND KEEP IT BRIEF CUZ I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER MY VOICE IS GONNA LAST.
UM, IN JANUARY WE HAD A LOT OF GREAT STUFF THAT HAPPENED.
OUR PUBLIC SAFETY TEAM, ALONG WITH OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEES, ATTENDED A BUS TOUR, UM, OF OUR SOUTH CONGRESS TRANSIT CENTER AND REPUBLIC SQUARE TO LEARN JUST ABOUT HOW THAT PROGRAM IS GOING.
UM, OR HEARD A LOT OF SUCCESS STORIES AND LEARNED ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF OUR THREE-LEGGED APPROACH TO PUBLIC SAFETY, INCLUDING THE COMMUNITY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS AND THE AMBASSADORS.
UM, ON THE TOP RIGHT THERE, UM, YOU SEE SOME OF OUR PARTNERS FROM, UH, REGION SIX OF THE FTA.
UM, THEY WERE HERE IN JANUARY TO AND RECEIVED A FULL REVIEW OF PROJECT CONNECT, UM, FROM CATME AND ATP STAFF, AND THEN WE TOOK THEM ON A TOUR OF SOME OF THE METRO RAPID LINE CONSTRUCTION THAT WAS UNDERWAY.
I JOKE WITH THEM THAT THEY'RE THE ONLY CREW OF PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY EXCITED TO GO LOOK AT A BUS STOP BEING CONSTRUCTED WITH US.
KING'S LEGACY ALONG WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATING IN THE MLK DAY MARCH EVENT HELD HERE IN AUSTIN, AS WELL AS THE EVENT THAT WAS HELD IN LEANDER.
WE HAD, SPEAKING OF LEANDER, A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE THE FIRST PROJECT IN THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM BEING COMPLETED ON TIME AND ON BUDGET, WHICH WAS THE, UM, DOUBLE TRACKING BETWEEN THE LAND AND LAKELINE STATIONS.
UM, WE CELEBRATED THIS WITH A RIBBON CUTTING, UM, WITH OUR FRIENDS IN LANDOR AND WE'RE VERY THANKFUL, UM, FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN.
UM, DOUBLE TRACKED DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A VERY SEXY INVESTMENT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT IT PROVIDES SOME OF THAT RESILIENCY AND REDUNDANCY THAT PETER WAS TALKING ABOUT ON THE NORTH END OF OUR LINE THAT WE'VE NEVER HAD BEFORE.
UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN DESIGN ON SOME ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE RED LINE THAT OVER TIME WILL HELP US GET IT BETTER, BUT THIS WAS A GREAT, UM, OPPORTUNITY AND A GREAT, UM, DAY IN LEANDER TO CELEBRATE.
WE HAD A LITTLE WINTER WEATHER, UM, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY QUITE BEAUTIFUL, BUT FOR THE FACT THAT IT MADE AN ENORMOUS MESS, UM, WE DID HAVE TO CANCEL SERVICE ON FEBRUARY THE FIRST DUE TO THE ICE STORM.
UM, AS YOU ALL WELL KNOW, I'M DRIVING ON SNOW IS ONE THING, BUT DRIVING ON ICE IS SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
AND TRUST ME, YOU DON'T WANNA DRIVE A BUS ON ICE.
UM, OUR DEMAND RESPONSE TEAMS DID THEIR BEST IN PRIORITIZE LIFESAVING TRIPS SUCH AS, UM, DIALYSIS TREATMENTS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO OUR OPERATIONS TEAMS FOCUSED ON OUR SUPPORT OF THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, WHICH LARGELY INCLUDED,
[02:45:01]
UM, MOVING SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE EACH EVENING, UM, TO PLACES WHERE THEY COULD SHELTER IN PLACE OVERNIGHT, UM, THAT MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE HAVE HAD AN INDOOR PLACE TO SLEEP.UM, OUR FRONTLINE STAFF WORKED TIRELESSLY THROUGH THE ENTIRE WINTER WEATHER STORM, INCLUDING FIXING, UM, RAILS WHICH FROZEN BROKE, UM, CLEANING, CLEARING TREES FROM BUS STOPS, UM, AND REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR OPERATIONS COULD SAFELY CONTINUE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
CAPITOL METRO WAS ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF MOVEABILITY THAT WAS RECOGNIZED AT THEIR ANNUAL MOBILITY BREAKFAST AS ONE OF THE BEST WORKPLACES FOR COMMUTERS.
UM, WE CONNECTED WITH LOCAL LEADERS, UH, WHO ARE ALSO WORKING TO MAKE THEIR REGION SUSTAINABLE AND HEARD SOME GREAT WORDS FROM, UH, NEW MAYOR WATSON, UM, ABOUT WHAT WE AS A COMMUNITY CAN BE DOING.
SO WE'RE, UM, QUITE THRILLED TO HAVE, UM, TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN MOVEABILITY, UM, AND OUR OWN SAMANTHA AL ALEXANDER SERVES ON THEIR BOARD.
UM, SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, EACH MONTH WE DO, UM, CELEBRATIONS OF VARIOUS, UM, MONTHS THAT ARE, UM, CULTURAL HERITAGE MONTHS AND OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM THIS YEAR, UM, CELEBRATED BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH TWO DIFFERENT BUS RAP UNVEILINGS.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS FROM ARTIST RICHARD SAMUEL.
HE CREATED ARTWORK THAT CELEBRATES THE HISTORY OF BLACK COMIC ARTISTS AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL RAP.
THE SECOND WAS DESIGNED BY OUR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST, MEGAN SEXTON, FEATURING A QUOTE FROM JOHN LEWIS IN A PHOTO OF THE 1965 MARCH ACROSS THE EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE IN SELMA, ALABAMA.
UM, AND, AND REALLY AS YOU LOOK AT ON, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUS, THERE'S A PICTURE OF MANY OF THE, THE LEADERS OF THAT EFFORT.
AND ON THE STREET SIDE OF THE, THE, THE SIDEWALK SIDE OF THE BUS, WE CALL IT THE CURBSIDE OF THE BUS, YOU SEE PEOPLE, PICTURES OF THE ORDINARY FOLKS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THAT EFFORT.
AND THAT WAS A CONSCIOUS DECISION BY, UM, OUR, THE ARTISTS WHO CREATE OUR GRAPHIC DESIGNER THAT CREATED THIS WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REALLY HIGHLIGHT THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, BLACK RESISTANCE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BLACK HISTORY MONTH, WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT THOSE VERY IMPORTANT NAMES LIKE MARTIN LUTHER KING AND JOHN LEWIS, BUT ALSO THE REGULAR FOLKS JUST LIKE US WHO STOOD UP AND TOOK A STAND.
UH, WE ALSO CELEBRATED, UH, ROSA PARKS BIRTHDAY WITH A BLACK AUSTIN TOURS, UM, TRIP AROUND TOWN.
UM, THEY'RE A FANTASTIC ORGANIZATION.
IF YOU EVER GET A CHANCE TO ATTEND ONE OF THEIR TOURS, WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
UM, WE DID A SIMILAR TOUR, UM, ON ROSA PARKS SCENE IN DECEMBER, COMMEMORATING, UM, HER ACTION, UM, IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.
BUT, UM, WE'RE PLEASED TO REPEAT THIS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH LAST WEEK, OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS TEAM, UM, UPDATED LOCAL PARTNERS.
WE WERE ABLE TO TO HOST BOARD MEMBERS POOL AND NEW BOARD MEMBER VELA, UM, UP AT THE MACAU STATION CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AND, AND BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE PROGRESS.
THIS CONSTRUCTION IS ACTUALLY, UM, MULTIPLE PROJECTS BROKEN INTO, UM, VARIOUS PIECES.
UM, WE ACTUALLY CURRENTLY THIS WEEK HAVE OUR METRO RAIL RED LINE SERVICE SHUT DOWN TO ALLOW FOR, UM, THE IN SERVICING OF THAT TRACK THAT YOU SEE US WALKING DOWN.
UM, THAT TRACK IS WHAT'S GOING TO BE WHAT WE CALL MAIN TWO, WHICH WILL BE THE SECOND TRACK AT THE STATION AND WE'RE WORKING THIS WEEK TO GET THAT TRACK IN SERVICE SO THAT WE CAN MOVE ALL THE SERVICE OVER TO THAT TRACK AND START CONSTRUCTING ON THE OTHER SIDE.
SO THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT PROJECT.
IT REMAINS, UM, ON TIME AND ON BUDGET.
WE WILL, WE EXPECT TO HAVE SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION OF THE CONSTRUCTION AROUND THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
UM, AND WE'LL BE SERVING THE STADIUM IN TIME FOR THE 2024, UM, O AUSTIN FFC SEASON.
AND THEN CERTAINLY, UM, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UM, WHEN THE BOARD HIRED ME, UM, THEY COMMITTED TO, UM, HAVING ME SPEND THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF MY LEADERSHIP ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY AND HEARING PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVES.
AND I CAN SAY WITH CERTAINTY THAT MY CALENDAR HAS NEVER BEEN MORE FULL, UM, THAN IT IS THESE DAYS.
IT'S BEEN A LOT OF FUN THOUGH, TO GET OUT AND TALK TO VARIOUS COMMUNITY GROUPS AND I'D LIKE TO INVITE CHEYENNE UP TO PROVIDE A BRIEF RECAP OF THE LOOK AHEAD, UM, WITH UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS.
I'M THE CHIEF OF STAFF FOR CAT METRO AND I'M HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF SAMANTHA ALEXANDER, WHO'S IN AN ALL DAY INTERVIEW PANEL FOR A POSITION IN SUPPORT OF PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, SAMANTHA ASKED ME TO PROVIDE THIS BRIEF UPDATE TO THE BOARD TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, UM, WORK THAT DOTTIE WILL BE DOING WITH THE COMMUNITY JUST OVER THE NEXT MONTH.
THIS IS OF COURSE, IN PART OF OUR ONGOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH EFFORTS TO ENSURE COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT FACE-TO-FACE WITH CEO WATKINS AS WE COMMITTED TO DOING SO WITH THE BOARD EARLIER THIS YEAR.
UM, IN ADDITION TO MEETING WITH INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, WHICH AREN'T LISTED HERE, BUT,
[02:50:01]
UH, WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THESE UPCOMING THINGS.SO FIRST MARCH 2ND, DOTTY IS PARTICIPATING, UM, ON A PANEL AS PART OF INFRA DAY.
THIS IS A STATEWIDE EVENT WITH DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT DEAL WITH INFRASTRUCTURE GENERALLY, UM, INCLUDING TRANSIT AGENCIES, TECH DOT DISTRICT OFFICES, A VARIETY OF THEM ARE ALL PARTICIPATING.
UH, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD IS PARTICIPATING, SO ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, NOT ON THIS LIST, BUT ALSO SOMETHING HAPPENING THIS WEEK THAT WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, IS WE HAVE INVITED MEMBERS OF OUR STATE DELEGATION AND THEIR STAFFS TO A ROUND TABLE, UH, WITH DOTTY.
THIS IS BOTH AN INTRO, UH, FOR THE PRESIDENT AND CEO AS WELL AS JUST INTRODUCING THEM TO CAP METROS FOR MEMBERS WHO MAY NOT INTERACT WITH US REGULARLY.
UM, AND I THINK THIS WILL BE THE FIRST OF MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH OUR STATE DELEGATION, UM, ON TRANSIT ISSUES.
UH, THEN ON MARCH 8TH, WE HAVE OUR FEATURE ENGAGEMENT FROM, UM, THE MONTH OF MARCH.
WE'RE EXCITED TO PARTNER WITH AUSTIN PBS AND LEADERSHIP AUSTIN, UH, FOR A MULTI-PART EVENT.
UH, FIRST DOTTY WILL PARTICIPATE AS A PANELIST FOR THE MARCH ENGAGE SERIES, FOCUSING ON MOBILITY IN CENTRAL TEXAS AND DISCUSSING REGIONAL MOBILITY.
UM, THIS EVENT, I BELIEVE IS STREAMED LIVE ON YOUTUBE, SO PEOPLE WHO AREN'T ABLE, UH, TO SECURE A TICKET TO THE LIMITED EVENT, UH, WILL BE ABLE TO WATCH IT ON LIVE AND OR ONLINE.
SECOND, THEN IN THE EVENING, THERE WILL BE AN IN-PERSON COMMUNITY MEET AND GREET WITH PRESIDENT WATKINS AT THE PBS STUDIO.
UM, BOARD MEMBERS YOU ALL RECEIVED AN INVITE FROM TO THIS EVENT FROM ED EASTON AND OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM HAS WORKED TO INVITE THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO THIS EVENT AS WELL AS OUR SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM TO ENSURE THAT, UM, OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO, UM, IS WELL REPRESENTED.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO BE SURE TO EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION TO LEADERSHIP AUSTIN AND PBS FOR THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US AND THIS GIVES US A BROADER PLATFORM.
AND FINALLY, ON THIS LIST, UM, PRESIDENT WATKINS WILL CONTINUE REINTRODUCING HERSELF TO THE CAP METRO ADVISORY COMMITTEES.
SHE MET WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON FRIDAY AND HAS THREE MORE ON OUR CALENDAR AND WE'LL KEEP MAKING THE ROUNDS THERE.
UM, SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A BRIEF LIST OF SOME OF THE THINGS GOING ON THIS MONTH WITH MORE ONE-ON-ONE AND GROUP MEETINGS, UM, ON THE RADAR AS WELL.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THIS MONTH'S PRESIDENT'S REPORT.
I GUESS IT WOULD HELP IF I TURNED IT ON ACTUALLY.
UM, THIS CONCLUDES THE OPEN PORTION OF OUR MEETING.
[X. Executive Session of Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code]
WE'RE GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER SECTION 5 51 0.076, THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CO CODE FOR ANNUAL PH, PHYSICAL AND CYBER CYBERSECURITY BRIEFING.UH, WE ARE GONNA RETURN FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION ONLY TO ADJOURN.
NO FURTHER ACTION WILL BE TAKEN.
ALL RIGHT, SO, UH, WE'LL BREAK UP AND GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THE TIME IS THREE 10.