[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.THE TIME IS 5:40 PM AND I'M GOING TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
UM, FIRST THING, UH, THAT I NEED TO DO IS TO CALL ROLL.
UH, AND SO IF YOU ARE ON, UH, OUR VIRTUAL SCREEN, IF YOU WOULD UNMUTE YOURSELF.
UH, UH, VICE CHAIR LEHMAN PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY PRESENT.
UH, AND WE ARE, UH, COMMISSIONER.
HIS REPLACEMENT HAS BEEN NAMED AND THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER SHE HAD HAD TRAINING OR NOT.
SO YEAH, SHE, SO SHE STILL HAS TO GO THROUGH TRAINING.
ONCE SHE GETS SOME TRAINING OFFICIALLY, UH, PARTICIPATING BOTH.
UH, I THINK THERE WAS SOME, SOME CONFUSION THERE.
COMMISSIONER GOMEZ SHOULD BE HERE, BUT NOT HERE YET.
COMMISSIONER, UH, HAS COMMISSIONER TAYLOR OFFICIALLY RESIGNED, ISN'T SHE NOW ON ANOTHER BOARD? WE STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED THAT RESIGNATION IN WRITING.
SO STILL A QUESTION MARK THERE.
AND I NOTED ON, UH, THE AGENDA VACANT, WHICH VACANCY? DISTRICT SIX.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
MUCH.UM, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? YES, PLEASE.
YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME UP TO THE PODIUM.
CHAIR HARRIS AND DOWNTOWN COMMISSIONERS.
MY NAME IS NINA RANALDI, AND I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF S SHUL CREEK CONSERVANCY.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF MOVING FORWARD ON THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR DUNCAN PARK.
UM, SHUL CREEK CONSERVANCY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN, UM, HELPING PART PROMOTE THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS ABOUT THE, THE PARK IMPROVEMENT PROCESS SINCE 20 16, 20 17.
UM, IT'S BEEN A REALLY LONG TIME COMING AND, UM, OVER THE PAST YEAR IN 2022, WE'VE HAD, UM, WE'VE EXPERIENCED VARIOUS DELAYS TO GETTING THE CONSTRUCTION STARTED, AND WE'VE FIELDED A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE REALLY EXCITED FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS TO START, WHEN IS THE CONSTRUCTION GONNA START? AND SO, UM, WE WERE SUPER GLAD TO, YOU KNOW, FINALLY GET AN APRIL, 2023 START DATE FOR THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, AND SO WE ARE HERE TONIGHT, UM, TO RESPECTFULLY URGE Y'ALL TO SUPPORT, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT, UM, CONSTRUCTION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HELPING, HELPING THAT MOVE FORWARD.
AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MAYBE OTHER AMENITIES THAT WE WANNA ADD AND, UM, JUST WE'RE, WE'RE SUPPORTIVE OF CONTINUALLY EXPLORING, UM, THOSE THROUGH FUTURE PUBLIC PROCESSES.
UM, BUT FOR NOW WE ARE, UM, WE'RE SUPPORTIVE OF THE CONSTRUCTION MOVING FORWARD AS PLANNED IN APRIL.
IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.UM, I, I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY'S HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW OUR FEBRUARY MINUTES.
UM, ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS,
[00:05:01]
CHANGES? ALRIGHT.UM, I WILL, UH, MAKE A MOTION THEN TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
I HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER LEVINE.
THE MOTION? THE MOTION CARRIES.
UM, ADMINISTRATIVELY, DO YOU WANT US TO GO BACK, EVEN THOUGH, DO YOU WANT US TO GO BACK AND DO FEBRUARY OR JANUARY MINUTES? WE WOULD APPRECIATE THAT JUST FOR THE, JUST FOR THE RECORD.
AND WE'LL CLEAR UP WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE ABOUT RECORD VOTES FOR, FOR ADMINISTRATIVE THINGS, AND UNDERSTAND THAT ROBERT'S RULES MIGHT NOT REQUIRE IT, BUT WE NEED TO CLEAR THAT WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
SO IT WOULD BE GOOD JUST TO CLEAR IT UP FOR TONIGHT.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE THAT ARE ONLINE, UM, UH, ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER, LET US, UM, UH, LET US MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT A RECORD VOTE ON MINUTES.
UH, AND THE CLERK IS ASKING THAT WE DO HAVE A RECORD VOTE ON MINUTES, EVEN THOUGH WE, AS, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ARE TO FOLLOW ROBERT'S RULE'S ORDER.
SO, UM, TO MAKE THEM HAPPY, UM, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND, UH, TAKE A VOTE ON JANUARY'S MINUTES.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE JANUARY'S MINUTES.
WE'RE LEARNING, WE'RE LEARNING NAMES AS WE'RE GOING.
I BELIEVE IT WAS COMMISSIONER MEISENBACH EISENACH.
THE MINUTES FROM JANUARY ARE APPROVED AS PRESENTED.
[2. Homeless Strategy Update to be given by Dianna Grey of the City of Austin Public Health Department.]
NOW WE MOVE TO DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. UH, THE FIRST ITEM NUMBER TWO, UH, HOMELESS STRATEGY UPDATE TO BE GIVEN BY DIANA GRAY, UM, CITY OF BOSTON PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.UM, YES, HELLO, DIANA GRAY, UH, HOMELESS STRATEGY DIVISION, UH, WITH, UH, WI WITHIN AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND WHAT I'LL DO THIS EVENING, UM, WITH YOUR PERMISSION IS I'LL RUN THROUGH SOME SLIDES QUITE QUICKLY.
I DO WANT US TO HAVE TIME FOR YOUR QUESTIONS, UM, WHICH I'M SURE, UH, YOU, YOU HAVE SOME OF, BEFORE I GET STARTED, UM, I DO WANNA GIVE A QUICK UPDATE ON, UM, THE SALVATION ARMY DOWNTOWN.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN EVOLVING, UH, REALLY YOU JUST, UH, AS, AS LATE AS TODAY.
SO, ON THE 15TH OF, OR EXCUSE ME, 17TH OF FEBRUARY, SALVATION ARMY ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WOULD BE CLOSING THE DOORS OF THE DOWNTOWN SHELTER AT THAT TIME, THEY PROJECTED A CLOSURE DATE OF TODAY, MARCH 15TH.
UM, BUT, UH, COMMITTED TO GETTING ALL OF THE REMAINING CLIENTS THERE PLACED, UH, INTO ANOTHER LOCATION BEFORE THEY DID.
SO, UH, THERE WERE, AT THAT TIME SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF A HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS.
THEY HAVE NOT EVER RETURNED TO THEIR PRE COVID CAPACITY.
UM, BUT THERE WAS CERTAINLY CONCERN AT THE LEVEL OF COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY THAT IT WAS GONNA BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO FIND PLACEMENTS FOR THAT MANY PEOPLE.
WE HAVE A, A FRANK, UH, SHORTAGE OF, OF SHELTER BEDS IN THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL.
AND SO LAST WEEK AT PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE, UH, THE, THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE AND SUBSEQUENTLY THE INTERIM, UH, CITY MANAGER, ASKED US TO STEP IN AND HELP FIND PLACEMENTS, UH, FOR THE REMAINING INDIVIDUALS AT SHELTER.
AT THAT TIME, UH, UH, HAD BEEN REPORTED, THERE WERE ABOUT 59 INDIVIDUALS REMAINING.
WE CALCULATED BASED ON WHAT WE UNDERSTOOD THAT WE NEEDED, UM, ABOUT ALMOST 50, UM, SLOTS FOR FOLKS, UH, BECAUSE THERE WAS, UH, UH, ONE OF THE DYNAMICS WAS THAT THE SALVATION ARMY HAD OFFERED INDIVIDUALS TRANSFERRED TO A SHELTER IN DALLAS.
AND OUR LEADERSHIP WANTED TO BE VERY CLEAR THAT THESE ARE AUSTINITES AND THAT WE WOULDN'T, UM, BE SIMPLY, UH, OFFERING THEM, UH, A BUS PASS TO ANOTHER COMMUNITY, EVEN IF THERE WAS A SHELTER BED AT THE OTHER END.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WERE, UM, LOCAL OPTIONS.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS.
WE BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH, UM, UH, PLACEMENT SPOTS TO ACCOMMODATE EVERYONE THAT WAS IN SHELTER AT THAT TIME.
UH, BUT, UH, ARE IN THE PROCESS WITH THE CASE MANAGERS THERE AT THE SALVATION OF OFFERING PEOPLE ALTERNATE ACCOMMODATIONS.
UM, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF SITES.
NOT EVERY ONE OF THEM IS A SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE WHO IS AT THE SHELTER.
SO, UH, IT REALLY IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS AS OF TODAY.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WERE ABOUT 26 INDIVIDUALS REMAINING
[00:10:01]
IN THE SHELTER.UH, THE OTHER PIECE THAT SURFACED LAST WEEK WAS THAT, UM, COUNCIL ASKED FOR, AND THE CITY MANAGER AGREED TO, UM, REQUEST THAT THE SALVATION ARMY REMAIN OPEN UNTIL WE COULD ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAD IT BEEN AT LEAST OFFERED ANOTHER PLACEMENT.
UM, THEY AGREED TO DO SO WITH THE CITY COVERING SOME OF THAT COST FOR UP TO 30 DAYS.
WE ARE HOPING IT IS NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT LONG BECAUSE WE THINK WE'VE GOT THE SPOTS AVAILABLE.
UM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT THAT IS AN ONGOING PROCESS.
UH, YOU MAY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LONG-TERM UTILIZATION OF THAT BUILDING, AS DO WE, UH, THE, THE PROPERTY IS OWNED BY THE SALVATION ARMY, SO IT IS THERE, UH, PROPERTY TO DE TO USE, UM, AS THEY CHOOSE.
THEY HAVE SIGNALED THAT THE GENERAL INTENT IS TO SELL THE PROPERTY, WHICH IS, UM, THE BUILDING IS NOW OVER 40 YEARS OLD.
UM, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE REINVESTING THOSE RESOURCES IN THEIR OTHER LOCAL SHELTER OPERATIONS.
THEY HAVE BOTH THE AUSTIN, UM, SHELTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN, UH, WHICH IS, UH, CITY OWNED AND FUNDED, AND THE WRATH GA BIRTH CENTER, WHICH IS ALSO FOR FAMILIES, UM, UH, IN ADDITION TO SOME OF THEIR OTHER, UM, ONGOING HOUSING PROGRAMMING.
AND SO THAT'S ROUGHLY WHERE THAT STANDS.
WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND SHARE MY SCREEN.
UM, AND AGAIN, I'M GONNA MOVE THROUGH THESE, UH, I THINK PRETTY, UM, QUICKLY IN MOMENT.
JUST A MOMENT AND I'LL GET IT IN SLIDESHOW VIEW.
SO, J JUST VERY QUICKLY, I HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH THE COMMISSION PREVIOUSLY, BUT I, I THINK AS A BIT OF BACKGROUND, THE HOMELESS STRATEGY DIVISION, UM, IS A FAIRLY NEW, UH, BODY WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THE POSITION OF HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER, WHICH IS THE POSITION THAT I HOLD, WAS CREATED, UH, REALLY IN THE FALL OF 2018 WHEN THE COUNCIL APPROVED THE FUNDING OF THE POSITION IN THE SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEAR BUDGET.
AND SO IN 2019 AND 2020, WE HAD, UM, A SERIES OF, OF INTERIM OFFICERS, AND I JOINED IN, UH, JANUARY OF 2021.
UH, ALSO IN 2020, THE POSITION WAS MOVED IN, UH, INTO A NEWLY CREATED DIVISION WITHIN AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO WE ARE A DIVISION OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT ARE A LITTLE BIT IDIOSYNCRATIC INSOFAR AS I DO REPORT TO THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UM, FOR, UM, HEALTH CULTURE, LIFELONG LEARNING.
UH, AND, AND WE, UH, REALLY HAD ONLY A COUPLE OF PERMANENT STAFF AT THE TIME OF THE CREATION.
WE NOW ARE AT ABOUT A DOZEN REGULAR STAFF MEMBERS, UM, WHO DO A WIDE VARIETY OF THINGS FROM PLANNING TO RUNNING SHELTER, TO WORKING, UM, WITH OUR EN ENCAMPMENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
AND, UM, ALSO COUNT WITH A, A FAIR NUMBER OF TEMPORARY GRANT FUNDED POSITIONS, UM, BOTH, UH, TO, TO OPERATE THE SHELTER THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, AND TO, UH, MANAGE THE CO SIGNIFICANT CONTRACTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS THAT HAVE COME TO THE CITY AND ARE BEING UTILIZED, UH, FOR HOMELESSNESS.
AND SO, REALLY, OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR PRIMARY ROLE IN MANY WAYS IS AROUND STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANNING.
UH, BUT WE HAVE OTHER IMPORTANT ROLES COORDINATING ACROSS THE CITY.
THERE ARE EASILY 15 DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE, UM, SIGNIFICANTLY INVOLVED IN THIS ISSUE.
UH, AND SO IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK, UM, TO COORDINATE, UH, THOSE EFFORTS ACROSS, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS INFORMED AND THAT, UM, AND THAT WE'RE SHARING RESOURCES AND CREATING PROCESSES THAT ALLOW THOSE DEPARTMENTS TO WORK TOGETHER.
UH, WE ARE SORT OF THE PRIMARY EXTERNAL FACING, UM, UH, UNIT FOR OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, PROBABLY OUR PRIMARY PARTNER, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE CITY IS THE ENDING COMMUNITY HOMELESSNESS COALITION, OR ECHO, WHICH IS A LOCAL HOMELESS COALITION AND IS, HAS SOME STATUTORY ROLES AS THE HUD LEAD LEAD AGENCY FOR THE CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, IN ADDITION TO OUR, OUR, UH, INSTITUTIONAL STAKEHOLDERS, WE HAVE A VERY SIGNIFICANT ROLE INTERACTING WITH THE PUBLIC, UH, INDIVIDUAL CONSTITUENTS, ET CETERA, AROUND, UH, UM, CERTAINLY AROUND KEEPING FOLKS UPDATED ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
BUT LOTS OF CONCERNS, LOTS OF PROBLEM SOLVING THAT HAPPENS AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL AND SOMETIMES INDIVIDUAL CONSTITUENT LEVEL.
UM, I THINK IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE ARE, UH, AS A COMMUNITY AROUND HOMELESSNESS, OBVIOUSLY, I'LL ACTUALLY START WITH THE, THE BOTTOM SECTION HERE.
[00:15:01]
UH, AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN NUMBERS IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AFTER MANY YEARS OF, UH, MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.THIS IS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN NATIONALLY, UH, OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
AND IT IS PARTICULARLY CONSISTENT WITH HIGH COST COMMUNITIES.
SO WHERE AFFORDABILITY, UM, IS STRAINED.
UM, UNSURPRISINGLY, WE, WE DO SEE, UH, A GREATER ISSUE AROUND HOMELESSNESS AND PARTICULARLY, UM, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS.
SO THE HISTORIC, THE, THE, UM, HISTORICALLY THE TYPICAL WAY OF COUNTING HOMELESSNESS HAS BEEN GUIDED BY HUD.
UH, WE DO A, A HUD POINT IN TIME COUNT, UH, WHICH IS, UH, ESSENTIALLY A ONE NIGHT CENSUS DRIVEN BY VOLUNTEERS AND ORGANIZED BY ECHO.
AND THE LAST TIME THAT WAS DONE, AND WE HAVE, THAT WE HAVE RESULTS FOR, WAS IN JANUARY, 2020.
SO RIGHT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, WHEN THAT COUNT CAME UP, 2,500 PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS ON THAT.
UM, ONE NIGHT IN JANUARY ABOUT, UM, LITTLE UNDER A THOUSAND OF WHOM WERE SH WERE, WERE SHELTERED.
AND, UH, OVER 1500 OF WHOM ALMOST 1600 WERE UNSHELTERED.
SO WE'VE JUST DONE ANOTHER IN-PERSON POINT IN TIME COUNT THE FIRST ONE SINCE 2020.
BUT THOSE RESULTS ARE NOT, UM, YET OUT FROM ECHO.
SO IT WAS DONE LATE IN JANUARY, AND WE EXPECT THE, THE RESULTS SOMETIME SOON.
UM, HAVING SAID THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ECHO RECOGNIZES, AND I THINK THAT'S RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY IS THAT WHILE THE HUD POINT IN TIME COUNT IS A USEFUL TOOL FOR LOOKING AT TRENDS, WE KNEW IT WAS IMPERFECT TOOL FOR ESTIMATING POPULATION.
UM, IT'S AN EXTREMELY TRANSIENT POPULATION, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
UM, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY IN THE, A SCENARIO IN WHICH PUBLIC CAMPING IS NOT LEGAL, UM, THERE IS AN ATTEMPT TO BE HIDDEN.
SO IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO, TO COUNT FOLKS, PARTICULARLY IN ONE NIGHT, ECHO HAS BEGUN DOING SOME STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF PEOPLE TOUCHING THE SYSTEM AND SERVICE PROVIDERS OVER A GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME.
AND THAT NUMBER, ALONG WITH SOME VERY AGGRESSIVE, UM, STREET OUTREACH WE'VE BEEN DOING TO GET PEOPLE INTO THE SYSTEM, WE'RE DOING THE ASSESSMENT, MAKING SURE THEY'RE IN, UH, IN A QUEUE FOR HOUSING.
WE, AS OF DECEMBER OF 2022, HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF ALMOST 4,600 PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
UM, UH, AT THAT TIME, JUST ABOUT 800 OF WHOM WERE SHELTERED, AND, UM, OVER 3,800 OF WHOM WERE UNSHELTERED.
SO I'LL SAY, I DO WANNA SAY THAT, UH, MECHANISM AND THAT METHODOLOGY IS BEING REFINED.
IT WAS JUST ROLLED OUT IN 2021.
UM, BUT WE ARE REALLY WORKING TO TRIANGULATE OUR VARIOUS DATA SOURCES, UH, TO GET, UH, A BETTER NUMBER.
UH, WE, WE DON'T THINK THAT THIS CORRESPONDS TO A FRANK INCREASE OF 2000 PEOPLE OVER THOSE TWO YEARS, BUT RATHER THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A WAY TO, UH, TO COUNT PEOPLE, UM, IT WHO MAY HAVE BEEN MISSED PREVIOUSLY.
UH, WHICH IS NOT TO SAY WE HAVEN'T HAD SOME INCREASE, BUT IT'S NOT THAT ENTIRE NUMBER.
THE OTHER PIECE I WANTED TO MENTION IS THAT YOU CERTAINLY HAD REPORTS, I THINK PROBABLY FROM THE DOWNTOWN, UH, AUSTIN ALLIANCE BEFORE WHO'VE BEEN, HAD THEIR OWN METHODOLOGY FOR COUNTING INDIVIDUALS DOWNTOWN.
AND IN BETWEEN, I HAVE NOT SEEN THEIR MOST RECENT NUMBERS, BUT IN BETWEEN MAY AND OCTOBER OF 2021, THERE WAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE OF PEOPLE, UH, DOWNTOWN, UM, UH, BY THEIR ACCOUNT ABOUT 55%, UH, DECREASE.
AND I THINK THAT WAS LARGELY, UM, UH, RELATED TO A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE WAS SIMPLE ENFORCEMENT OF THE CAMPING BAN, UM, UH, IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, BUT WE ALSO COMPLETED THE HEAL INITIATIVE, MOVING PEOPLE INTO SHELTER, UM, AND CONNECTING 'EM TO HOUSING OF, UM, SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE DURING, UM, DURING THAT PEOPLE, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE, UM, IN, IN THE, AT THE CSOR CHAVEZ AND, UH, AND CONGRESS AVENUE, UH, LADYBIRD LAKE AREA.
SO WE HISTORICALLY HAVE HOUSED IN OUR SYSTEM, ALL OF OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO COUNT BETWEEN 1700 AND 1900 HOUSEHOLDS PER YEAR.
UM, AND SO PEOPLE ARE BEING REHOUSED FROM HOMELESSNESS, AND ONCE THEY ARE REHOUSED THROUGH A PERMANENT HOUSING PROGRAM, THEY'RE TYPICALLY QUITE STABLE.
SO FEWER THAN 10%, UM, GENERALLY RETURNED TO HOMELESSNESS WITHIN, WITHIN TWO YEARS.
UM, HAVING SAID THAT, UM, THE SYSTEM CAPACITY HAS NEVER BEEN ADEQUATE TO MEET THE NEED.
SO WHILE WE ARE REHOUSING PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ARE, ARE BEING REHOUSED, ARE BY AND LARGE STAYING REHOUSED, TONS OF FOLKS, UM, WAITING FOR SERVICES AND NOT REALLY BEING ABLE TO ADD, UH, ADEQUATELY ACCESS SERVICES, UH, DUE TO, UH, SIMPLE SCARCITY.
IN 2020, WE HAD A CONSULTANT, UM, DO SOME DATA ANALYSIS, UH, HERE IN AUSTIN AND LOOKED AT THEIR ESTIMATE AT THE TIME WAS THAT WE NEEDED, UM, UH, OVER 3000 ADDITIONAL PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
[00:20:01]
BEDS, UM, 1700 PLUS RAPID REHOUSING SLOTS, THAT'S TIME LIMITED CASE MANAGEMENT AND, AND RENTAL SUPPORTS, AND OVER 900 ADDITIONAL SHELTER BEDS.WE DO WANNA ASTERISK THAT LAST NUMBER BECAUSE AT THE TIME, BECAUSE OF COVID CAPACITY REDUCTIONS, WE WERE, UM, AT ABOUT 450 SHELTER BEDS VERSUS OUR MORE TYPICAL 900.
SO WE STILL HAVE A VERY SUBSTANTIAL GAP OF SHELTER BEDS.
BUT THE TIMING OF THIS ANALYSIS DID IMPACT THE GAP THAT WE SHOWED IN SHELTER BEDS AT THE TIME.
SO IN TERMS OF ADDRESSING THIS SIGNIFICANT GAP IN SCALE, UH, OF ADDRESSING, UH, THE PROBLEM IN SPRING OF 2021, UH, GROUP OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE, UM, ENTITIES LED, UH, IN PART BY THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND ECHO, UH, INVITED THE CITY AND MANY OTHER STAKEHOLDERS ALONG TO TALK ABOUT, UH, SETTING SOME HIGH LEVEL GOALS WE COULD AGREE ON, UM, TO MOVE THE COMMUNITY FORWARD AND REALLY MOVE THE NEEDLE ON THIS ISSUE.
THE, UH, PRIMARY GOALS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT SUMMIT IN AN INITIATIVE THAT'S NOW KNOWN AS FINDING HOME ATX, WHERE TO REHOUSE AN ADDITIONAL 3000 PEOPLE BY THE END OF 2024.
AND TO DO THAT, UM, IN PART BY, UM, BY BUILDING, UM, 1300 NEW DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS WITH SERVICES ATTACHED.
UM, AND FINDING THE OTHER UNITS IN, UM, THE OPEN RENTAL MARKET, UH, AS WELL AS DOING A LOT OF WORK AROUND IMPROVING THE SYSTEM, ADDING SERVICES AROUND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, EMPLOYMENT, ET CETERA.
SOME OF THE ANCILLARY SERVICES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO HELP PEOPLE, UH, GET AND STAY STABLE, UH, AND, UH, REALLY, UH, STRENGTHENING OUR DATA SYSTEMS AND THE FUNCTIONING OF OUR SYSTEM OVERALL.
TO DO THAT, UM, AN INVESTMENT PLAN WAS DEVELOPED OF 515 MILLION.
OVER HALF OF THAT IS THE CAPITAL THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE 1300 HOUSING UNITS.
UM, AND THE REST IS IN, IN SERVICES AND INVESTMENTS IN THE SYSTEM.
AND SO THAT GOAL OF 515 MILLION WAS SET.
SO THAT'S OVER AND ABOVE THE TYPO, THE HISTORICAL INVESTMENT, UH, IN OUR SERVICE, UH, DELIVERY SYSTEM.
UH, AND THE QUESTION THEN WAS, UM, WHERE WILL THOSE FUNDS COME FROM? INITIALLY WE IDENTIFIED, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 230 MILLION THAT WE THOUGHT WE COULD, UH, CAPTURE FROM ONGOING REVENUE STREAMS. BUT, UM, THE OTHER PIECES OF THIS, UH, PUZZLE HAVE COME LARGELY FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, BOTH THROUGH FUNDS DEDICATED FROM, UH, THE CITY, UH, AND FROM THE COUNTY, AS WELL AS SIGNIFICANT PRIVATE FUNDRAISING.
SO, UH, AS OF LATE LAST YEAR, WE WERE 89%, UM, PROGRESS TO THE GOAL OF SECURING THESE FUNDS.
UH, AND THAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN PART BY ALMOST 50 MILLION OF PRIVATE FUNDING, MUCH OF WHICH HAS GONE TO HELP CO, UM, IN, IN CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD THE NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL BE SET ASIDE FOR THE POPULATION.
UH, THE, THE, UH, PIE CHART AT THE BOTTOM I THINK IS IMPORTANT JUST TO SHOW THE NUMBER OF ENTITIES THAT ARE PART OF THIS EFFORT.
UM, AND, UH, WHERE WE ARE LEVERAGING FUNDING, THE CITY IS ALMOST HALF OF THE FUNDING, BUT WE HAVE VERY SIGNIFICANT LEVERAGE, UM, FUNDS FLOWING THROUGH THE STATE, THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, AND OUR HOUSING AUTHORITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE VERY IMPORTANT, UM, PARTNER HERE IN TERMS OF PROVIDING THE RENTAL SUBSIDIES THAT ARE NEEDED TO HELP PEOPLE STABILIZE.
WE DO STILL HAVE A GAP OF, UH, RIGHT AROUND 60 MILLION THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON, UH, OVER THE, THE REMAINDER OF THE INITIATIVE.
SO, UH, I MENTIONED THAT THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION WAS LARGELY IN AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS.
THIS JUST GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN OF HOW THE CITY IS ALLOCATING THOSE DOLLARS.
UM, MOST OF IT IS IN CORE HOUSING PROGRAMS, RAPID REHOUSING, WHICH IS TIME LIMITED CASE MANAGEMENT AND, AND RENTAL SUPPORTS.
UH, BUT SOME DOLLARS TOWARD, UH, CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT, SOME, UM, RESOURCES TOWARD CRISIS SERVICES, WHICH INCLUDES SHELTER AND STREET OUTREACH, UH, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE OTHER SUPPORTING SERVICES I MENTIONED, LIKE EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, ENROLLMENT AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.
SO OF THE 107 ISH MILLION, WE HAVE COMMITTED IN CONTRACTS, UM, ABOUT 74 MILLION THROUGH A SERIES OF COMPETITIVE RFPS LAST YEAR, UM, AND ARE CONTINUING TO PROGRAM THE REST OF THE FUNDS.
SOME OF IT WE HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED FROM THE FEDS, AND SO ARE NOT ABLE TO COMMIT JUST YET.
UM, THE SPENDING IS REALLY JUST NOW RAMPING UP AS THOSE CONTRACTS WERE EXECUTED FOR THE MOST PART LATE LAST YEAR.
AND PROGRAMS BEGIN TO HIRE UP, UM, AND, AND, UH, AND TAKE OFF IN THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF WHAT WE EXPECT TO GET OUT OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE
[00:25:01]
PLAN ACT DOLLARS.THESE ARE THE ANNUAL, UH, THE, THE YEAR ONE DELIVERABLES FOR THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE FUNDED.
UH, SO WE HAVE, UH, ESSENTIALLY, UH, FUNDED CAPACITY TO REHOUSE OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE IN RAPID REHOUSING, UH, 320 SHELTER BEDS, UM, STREET OUTREACH, UH, TOUCHING 2,600 PEOPLE AND SO ON.
SO, VERY SIGNIFICANT, UM, INCREASE IN OUR SERVICE CAPACITY IN THIS COMMUNITY.
UH, REMEMBER THAT THIS IS NOT ALL THE CITY IS DOING, BUT WITH THE NEW, THESE ARE THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF NEW DOLLARS IN THE COMMUNITY.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT WE'RE EXPANDING ALONGSIDE SOME OF THE OTHER INVESTMENTS THE CITY HAS BEEN MAKING OVER TIME.
UM, ALSO NOTE THAT THESE ARE INTENDED TO BE TWO YEAR CONTRACTS.
SO WHILE THE, UM, THE DELIVERABLES OR THE NU OF PEOPLE SERVE MIGHT NOT DOUBLE, WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE ADDITIONAL PEOPLE SERVED IN THAT SECOND YEAR.
UM, THE PIECE AROUND THE CREATION OF 1300 BRICK AND MORTAR UNITS, I THINK IS REALLY, UM, CAN'T BE OVERSTRESSED.
WE AS A COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN, UH, INVESTING IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR SOME TIME.
WE HAD BEGUN INVESTING IN UNITS THAT WERE EXPLICITLY SET ASIDE FOR PEOPLE EXITING HOMELESSNESS.
BUT IN OUR CURRENT RENTAL MARKET, IT'S EVER MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE UNITS SET ASIDE FOR THIS PURPOSE, CUZ OTHERWISE IT'S JUST ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE, UH, TO GET ACCESS TO U UNITS IN THE, IN THE MARKET, UH, AT OUR SORT OF RENTAL RATES AND VACANCY RATES IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW.
SO WHAT THIS SHOWS YOU IS A PROJECTION OF THE CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT WE WILL HAVE DEDICATED THROUGH TO, UM, PEOPLE EXITING HOMELESSNESS AND REFERRED THROUGH OUR COORDINATED ENTRY PROCESS, WHICH IS, UH, ESSENTIALLY ALMOST A COMMUNITY WAITING LIST, IF YOU WILL, UH, ADMINISTERED BY ECHO.
SO, I MEAN, I THINK THE SHORT VERSION HERE IS THAT BETWEEN 2021, WHEN THIS PLAN WAS ROLLED OUT, UH, AND, UM, THE UNITS THAT ARE IN THE PIPELINE RIGHT NOW, WE ARE ESSENTIALLY GOING TO TRIPLE THE NUMBER OF UNITS AVAILABLE FOR THIS PURPOSE.
UH, I ALSO WANNA SAY CLEARLY THIS IS NOT ONLY CITY FUNDING.
THIS IS IN LARGE PART DUE TO SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS MADE BY TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, AND LEVERAGING, UM, UH, FEDERAL AND, AND STATE AS WELL AS PRIVATE DOLLARS IN THE COMMUNITY TO GET THESE UNITS COMPLETED.
BUT VERY EXCITING, UM, INCREASE IN THE PORTFOLIO.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO THESE CAUSE I KNOW WE'RE PROBABLY RUNNING SHORT ON TIME, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SORT OF, UH, UH, GET A CONCRETE SENSE OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 1300 UNITS.
WE PROBABLY HAVE 20 OR MORE PROJECTS, UM, THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE THESE UNITS IN THEM.
SOME OF THEM ARE SOLELY DEDICATED TO PEOPLE WHO ARE EXITING HOMELESSNESS AND OTHERS ARE GENERAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS THAT MAY SET ASIDE A FEW UNITS FOR THIS POPULATION.
UM, THESE INCLUDE DO INCLUDE, UM, SOME OF THE HOTEL CONVERSION, UM, PROJECTS THAT NOT ONLY THE CITY, BUT WE HAVE FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES HAS ITS OWN HOTEL CONVERSION, UH, UNDERWAY, BUT THOSE ARE PROBABLY ONLY A QUARTER OF THE UNITS.
MOST OF THEM ARE NEW CONSTRUCTION, OR IN SOME CASES ACQUISITION, REHAB OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS.
SO WE REALLY, THIS YEAR IS WHEN, UH, PROBABLY JUNE, WE'RE GONNA START REALLY SEEING UNITS COME ONLINE.
THE FIRST OF THOSE WILL BE BALCON TERRACE, WHICH IS THE HOTEL CONVERSION BEING CARRIED OUT BY FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES.
AND THEN ES UH, UH, ASPER AT RUTLAND IS A PROJECT THAT CARITAS HAS SPONSORED, UH, IN NORTH AUSTIN THAT WE ALSO EXPECT TO HIT THE GROUND IN JUNE.
WE CONTINUE TO ADDRESS HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS THROUGH THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT ASSISTANCE LINK OR HEAL INITIATIVE.
UM, WHILE ENFORCEMENT OF THE CAMPING VAN DOES HAPPEN REGULARLY, UH, WE KNOW THAT WE ARE MOST EFFECTIVE AT RES RESOLVING, UH, ENCAMPMENTS WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO OFFER FOLKS, UM, UH, SOMEWHERE TO GO, UH, WHEN THEY LEAVE AN ENCAMPMENT AND HEAL IS THE WAY THAT WE DO THAT.
UM, IT'S A LIMITED RESOURCE, BUT WE TARGET OUR MOST CONCERNING ENCAMPMENTS.
WE'VE DONE 12 SO FAR, UM, HAVE MOVED 474 PEOPLE INTO BRIDGE SHELTER, UH, WHERE THEY ARE CONNECTED WITH RESOURCES FOR LONGER TERM HOUSING.
ABOUT 171 OF THOSE FOLKS HAVE MOVED INTO PERMANENT HOUSING THUS FAR.
I'M SURE THERE ARE, UH, LOTS OF QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA, UH, UH, STOP SHARING THE SCREEN, UH, BUT I'M HAPPY TO, TO GO BACK TO THE PRESENTATION IF THERE ARE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
UM, COMMISSIONER GOMEZ GOT HERE A LITTLE BIT LATE.
WE DID DISCUSS THE, OR SHE DID PRESENT ON THE SALVATION ARMY AND GAVE US A STATUS UPDATE.
I DO HAVE A, A QUESTION IN THAT REGARD THOUGH.
UM, WITH, AND I UNDERSTAND WHY THE SALVATION ARMY WANTS TO CONVERT THAT
[00:30:01]
PROPERTY BECAUSE IT'S WORTH TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, WHICH CAN BE USED TO FURTHER ITS MISSION.UM, DO THEY ANTICIPATE USING THAT TO BUILD ANOTHER SHELTER SOMEWHERE ELSE? I HAVE NOT HEARD THEM EXPRESS THAT INTENT, BUT WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THEIR, THEIR LONGER TERM PLANS FOR THE, THE PROCEEDS.
WELL, THE, I GUESS THE, THE REASON THAT THAT BECOMES IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE THAT'S A HUNDRED SHELTER SPACES THAT WON'T BE AVAILABLE.
AND SO IT WOULD BE, IT'S CERTAINLY GOOD TO KNOW THAT, THAT THEY'RE, EVEN IF IT'S SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT THEY ARE REPLICATING THOSE SHELTER BEDS SOMEWHERE.
HEY, DIANA, THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
I DIDN'T CATCH ALL OF IT, BUT, UH, AS USUAL, YOU DID A, A WONDERFUL JOB.
UH, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS WITH REGARDS TO THE, THE A HUNDRED BEDS OF SALVATION ARMY.
UM, IT, IT WAS A LOT MORE THAN A HUNDRED BEFORE COVID, AND THEN IT WENT TO 50% CAPACITY BECAUSE OF COVID, AND THEN IT NEVER REALLY GOT UP TO WHAT IT USED TO BE.
SO WE LOST HOW MANY BEDS TOTAL, IF WE GO BACK.
THERE WERE A TOTAL OF, YEAH, THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 242 BEDS PRE COVID AT, AT THE SALLY THAT JUST CLOSED? YES, SIR.
AND SO IN ESSENCE, WE'VE LOST 2 42 FROM BEFORE COVID.
AND SO THEN, UH, I, I WAS JUST WONDERING, IN STREET OUTREACH, IT, IT SAYS THAT 2,600 PEOPLE WERE, WERE FOUND BY, BY STREET OUTREACH OR, OR ENGAGED BY STREET OUTREACH BASED ON, ON, ON THE DOLLARS THAT WERE SET OUT AND THE CONTRACTS THAT WERE SET OUT.
UM, AND I'M JUST WONDERING, UH, WE JUST DID THE POINT IN TIME COUNT, SO WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE.
AND THIS IS ASSUMING THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE FINDING THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOMELESS NOT IN SHELTERS.
AND SO THEY ONLY FOUND 26 OF THE 4,600.
THAT, THAT'S ACTUALLY NOT, UM, A REPORT THAT IS A PROJECTION OF THE NUMBER OF, UH, UNDUPLICATED INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD BE SERVED BY THESE CONTRACTS HAVE JUST STARTED.
UM, IN, YEAH, IN OCTOBER, UH, ASOC OF OCTOBER ONE IN MOST CASES.
SO THOSE ARE THE DELIVERABLES THAT THOSE, UM, CONTRACTORS, WHICH INCLUDE, AND I'M SURE I WILL MISS SOMEONE, URBAN ALCHEMY, SUNRISE NAVIGATION CENTER, URBAN LEAGUE, AND I THINK LIFEWORKS, UH, ALL, UM, WILL EITHER, UM, CONTINUE IN THE CASE OF LIFEWORKS, BUT THE OTHER THREE ARE NEWLY FUNDED CITY, UM, STREET OUTREACH.
SO THOSE ARE THEIR, SORT OF, THEIR COMMITMENTS OF, OF WHAT THEY, HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY EXPECT TO ENGAGE.
UM, AND IF YOU, IF YOU'LL HUMOR ME, I DID THINK OF PART TO YOUR QUESTION OF HOW MANY SHELTER BEDS WE LOST.
I DO WANNA MENTION THAT PART OF WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY OF 2020, THE SALVATION ARMY OPENED THE WRATH GATOR CENTER, WHICH IS, UM, A FAMILY SHELTER OF, WITH A CAPACITY FOR, I BELIEVE, UM, OVER 200 PEOPLE.
AND AT THAT TIME, THEY MOVED THE, THE LIGHTS, IT'S TIME FOR ME TO GO HOME.
UM, THEY MOVED THE FAMILIES FROM THE DOWNTOWN SHELTER WHERE THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY TO THE RATH CABER CENTER.
AND SO AT THAT TIME, THAT'S WHEN THEY RE YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE ADULT CAPACITY ALSO TO A HUNDRED.
AND THEY DID NOT EVER RETURN, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, TO FILL OUT WHETHER YOU WERE GONNA FILL THOSE, THE REST OF THE BEDS WITH TWO AND 42 BEDS WITH ADULTS.
SO, WHILE THERE'S ABSOLUTELY A LOSS OF BEDS, UM, FROM THE DOWNTOWN SHELTER, THERE WAS ALSO AN ADDITION OF SHELTER BEDS WITH THE SALVATION ARMY INFECTED IN EARLY 2020 THROUGH THE WRATH G CENTER.
YEAH, I, I, I REMEMBER THAT THE PLAN WAS THAT THEY WOULD MOVE THE FAM, THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FAMILIES OVER TO THE RATH G CENTER AND BE ABLE TO TRANSITION SOME OF THE SPACE THAT WAS BEING USED BY WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND FAMILIES INTO MORE, UM, SINGLE ADULT UNITS AT THE DOWNTOWN.
SO I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THEY WOULD BE INCREASING THEIR CAPACITY AS OPPOSED TO DECREASING IT.
BUT ANYWAY, COVID HIT AND WE HAVE WHAT WE HAVE.
MY LAST QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE NUMBER OF, OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS THAT ARE COMING ONLINE.
UH, I THINK IT WAS THE 2025, IT WAS 1538, WHICH WOULD TRIPLE WHAT WE HAVE.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO I, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, HAVING BEEN INVOLVED IN HOMELESS SERVICES FOR A WHILE HERE, IS THAT WE, I, I DON'T WANT TO NOT CELEBRATE THE 1538, BUT IF
[00:35:01]
WE LOOK AT THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOMELESS PER YEAR, THAT STILL PUTS US AT A TREMENDOUS DEFICIT.AND WITH A CONTINUED ENFORCEMENT OF THE NO CAMPING ORDINANCE AND NOT HAVING A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO CAMP OR TO BE, OR TO EXIST CUZ THERE'S NO SHELTER BEDS AND THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ENOUGH.
WHAT, WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR OUR CITY? BECAUSE SADLY, A LOT OF THE TIMES THESE INDIVIDUALS END UP DOWNTOWN BECAUSE THEY FEEL LIKE THIS IS WHERE STUFF IS AND, AND IT BECOMES AN ISSUE NOT JUST DOWNTOWN, BUT EVERYWHERE ELSE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOWHERE FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO BE.
IS THERE A PLAN FOR THE UNSHELTERED INDIVIDUALS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A SAFE PLACE TO EXIST WITHOUT GETTING ARRESTED OR, UH, TICKETED? SURE.
THE, THAT IS, IT'S A TREMENDOUS, UH, INCREASE IN OUR PORTFOLIO.
IT DOESN'T SIMPLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM, RIGHT? SO I I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE GAPS THAT WERE ASSESSED IN, UM, IN 2020 AND AROUND PERMANENT HOUSING, AROUND RAPID REHOUSING AND AROUND, UH, SHELTER, WE STILL HAD GAPS IN ALL OF THEM.
AND EVEN AFTER WE LOOK AT THE AGGRESSIVE GOALS OF THE NEXT THREE YEARS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD ABOUT 1500 UNITS OF PS H AND REMEMBER, UM, WE TALK ABOUT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BRICK AND MORTAR HOUSING UNITS, UM, THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT OUR PROGRAM CAPACITY MAY BE LARGER THAN THAT BECAUSE WE DO PLACE PEOPLE INTO PREEXISTING UNITS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IT'S JUST A REAL IMPORTANT PART OF THE PORTFOLIO BECAUSE IT'S SO HARD TO FIND UNITS TO PLACE PEOPLE INTO, RIGHT.
LANDLORDS THAT WILL ACCEPT FOLKS.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO, WE HAVE ADDED SHELTER CAPACITY DURING THIS PERIOD SINCE 2020.
UM, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, UH, WE OPENED UP A COUPLE OF NEW SHELTERS AND NOW THE SH THE DOWNTOWN, UM, SALVATION ARMY SHELTER HAS CLOSED.
SO I THINK THE, YOU KNOW, IT IS A POLICY QUESTION CERTAINLY FOR, UM, OUR LEADERS AT THE CITY AND IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS ABOUT WHETHER, UM, WE, NOT WHETHER WE NEED MORE SHELTER BEDS, BUT WHETHER THAT IS AN AREA THAT WE WANNA INVEST IN SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, WE REALLY HAVE TO DO BOTH SIMULTANEOUSLY INCREASE THE PLACES THAT PEOPLE CAN GO SO THEY ARE NO LONGER HOMELESS, THEY'RE BACK INTO HOUSING, AND, UM, REALLY IMPROVE OUR SYSTEM, WHICH RIGHT NOW IS WOEFULLY INADEQUATE FOR PROVIDING FOLKS A SAFE PLACE TO BE, UM, WHEN THEY ARE, WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY'RE STILL IN, UM, THE SITUATION OF, OF EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
SO WE ARE NOT THERE, BUT I THINK IT IS, UM, A SALIENT POLICY AND BUDGET, UH, ISSUE FOR DISCUSSION.
I HAVE ONE MORE, IS ONE MORE THING.
THAT BOARDING CARE, BOARDING CARE BOARD, BOARDING CARE OPERATORS AND BOARDING CARES IN OUR CITY, UH, IS, IS AN ISSUE THAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY IT'S NOT MORE PART OF OUR RESPONSE TO HOMELESSNESS THAN, THAN IT HAS BEEN BECAUSE IT CAN BE, UM, AND SADLY THAT IS WHERE PEOPLE GO THAT HAVE, UM, UH, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT, FIXED INCOME.
LIKE THEY GET SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AND IT TAKES UP ALMOST ALL OF THEIR, THEIR, BUT AT LEAST THEY HAVE A PLACE TO BE WHERE THEY GET FED AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS.
AND, AND I'M JUST WONDERING WHY IT HASN'T BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE, BECAUSE I THINK IT HAS BEEN THERE FOR, FOR THAT, BUT A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE FALL OUT OF THAT BACK INTO HOMELESSNESS, AND IF THERE WERE, THERE WAS MORE SUPPORT, MORE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ROLE THEY COULD PLAY, THAT, THAT MAYBE WE'D HAVE AN ALLY IN THAT SITUATION.
UM, I THINK IT'S A GOOD POINT.
I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS THAT HAVE PLAYED INTO THAT HISTORICALLY BOARD AND CARE HOMES ARE UNREGULATED.
UM, BECAUSE OF THAT, THE QUALITY HAS BEEN, I THINK, UM, VERY UNEVEN, UM, IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THE RESULTS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND THEIR SUCCESS IN THOSE ENVIRONMENTS HAS BEEN QUITE VARIED.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT ONE OF THE, UM, I, I BELIEVE ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF THE RECENT, UH, STEERING COMMITTEE AROUND FORENSICS MENTAL HEALTH SERVES, LOOKING AT POPULATION OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DISORDERS, WHO MAY BE, UM, UH, CYCLING THROUGH THE COUNTY JAIL REGULARLY, WHICH IS NOT, UM, DEFINITIONALLY FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, BUT THE VENN DIAGRAM IS TREMENDOUS, IS LOOKING AT, COULD WE LOOK AT, UM, SOME SORT OF CERTIFICATION PROCESS, ET CETERA, WHERE WE LOOKED AT BOARDING CARE HOME MODELS, BUT REALLY ASKED FOR SOME, UM, BASELINE QUALITY, UM, AND, AND HEALTH AND SAFETY, UH, REQUIREMENTS THAT ALLOWED US THEN
[00:40:01]
TO FUND IT WITH GREATER CERTAINTY OF THE LIVING CONDITIONS.AND SO I'M CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WILLING TO, TO HAVE THAT, THAT CONVERSATION.
WELL, I THINK THAT IF WE ARE LOOKING FOR PLACES THAT WILL ACCEPT, UM, PLACES THAT ARE DEDICATED TO PROVIDE A PLACE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOMELESS TO BE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR CITY, THAT IN THE BOARDING CARE FACILITIES THAT ALREADY EXISTS.
AND IF WE COULD SHORE 'EM UP, THEN IT WOULD MAYBE REDUCE SOME OF THE NEGATIVE, UM, IDEAS THAT PEOPLE HAVE AROUND THOSE PEOPLE.
AND I, I, I JUST FEEL LIKE WE'RE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY BY, BY NOT, UH, STRENGTHENING THEM WITH WHATEVER MONIES WE, WE CAN, UM, BECAUSE IN, IN A, IN THEY ARE PART OF IT AND THEY COULD BE A MUCH BETTER PART IF, IF, IF WE HELPED OUT A LITTLE BIT AS OPPOSED TO JUST KEEPING OUR HANDS OFF BECAUSE WE'LL, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT CERTIFIED.
BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT I'VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR, FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS AND NOT GETTING ANY TRACTION.
SO I I THOUGHT I'D MENTIONED IT ONE MORE TIME.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER EISENACH.
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND DAVID, FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.
I WONDER, DIANA, IF YOU COULD SHOW BACK A COUPLE SLIDES TO THE 2023 PROJECTION THAT STARTED WITH FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES AND IT HAD ABOUT SIX THINGS.
COULD YOU JUST SHOW THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO TALK ABOUT? I JUST WANTED TO TAKE NOTES.
CAN WE GET THE, THE SLIDESHOW DISTRIBUTED? OH, THAT'S FINE.
UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT JUST, UM, AFFORDABLE UNITS DOWNTOWN AND HOW MANY OF THIS PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS ARE GOING TO BE AVAILABLE DOWNTOWN.
SO JUST, YOU KNOW, SO THAT EVERY PART OF THE CITY IS DOING THEIR PART.
LIKE, SO HOW MANY PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE UNITS ARE BEING BUILT DOWNTOWN OR WITHIN SPITTING DISTANCE OF DOWNTOWN, TWO OF THE AFFORDABLE UNITS THAT ARE BEING BUILT DOWNTOWN.
HOW MANY OF THOSE PLACES ARE ACCEPTING HOUSING VOUCHERS, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN BE USED TO PERMANENTLY HOUSE PEOPLE? SO I JUST, I WANNA SEE, LIKE, I I WANNA HEAR ABOUT WHAT DOWNTOWN IS DOING WITH REGARDS TO HOUSING UNITS, SO, SO THAT THEY CAN HELP, RIGHT? SO FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY THAT ANYTHING THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, INVESTS FUNDS IN FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING MUST ACCEPT HOUSING VOUCHERS.
UM, IT'S A REQUIREMENT OF THE CONTRACT.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS YOU CLEARLY KNOW, UM, IT'S ONE THING TO GET A HOUSING VOUCHER, IT'S WHOLLY ANOTHER THING TO FIND A LANDLORD WHO WILL ACCEPT IT.
UM, NOW IN TERMS OF THE, I I, YOU KNOW, I
UM, AND I'M NOT IMMEDIATELY, UM, UH, THINKING OF ANY, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, A PRETTY, PRETTY GOOD PROXIMITY TO DOWNTOWN.
UM, A AND, AND I WILL SAY WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME HOUSING IN PLACES WE HAVEN'T HAD IT BEFORE.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, DISTRICT SIX AND DISTRICT SEVEN HAVE NOT TRADITIONALLY BEEN A, A PLACE WHERE WE HAD A TON OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT ALL, AND CERTAINLY NOT HOUSING FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, THE WAY THAT WE DO OUR DEVELOPMENT AS A CITY IS MOSTLY DRIVEN BY, UH, OUR SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS, BRINGING PROJECTS TO THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, MY SENSE IS THAT, UM, AS WE LOOK ACROSS THESE, THESE PROJECTS, WE HAVE PRETTY GOOD, UM, GEOGRAPHIC DISPERSION.
UM, SOME OF THEM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THE, THE TWO THAT I JUST SORT OF MENTIONED, ONE IS IN DISTRICT SIX, UM, UH, 180 3, YOU KNOW, NEAR, UH, PECAN PARK.
UM, THAT'S A PLACE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, AND WE WILL HAVE A SHUTTLE ON SITE THAT TAKES PEOPLE TO SORT OF THAT LAST MILE TO THE NE TO THE, THE LIGHT RAIL STATION OR, OR OTHER BUS STATIONS BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S NOT AS RICH IN TERMS OF TRANSIT THERE.
UM, AND THAT'S, UH, TRUE IN SOME WAYS OF ONE THAT WE HAVE ALSO IN DISTRICT, UM, SEVEN.
BUT THE IDEA HERE IS THAT WE, WE DO WANT TO, UM, ALLOW PEOPLE TO HAVE SOME CHOICE THAT HAS NOT BEEN AVAILABLE HISTORICALLY.
UM, IT'S BEEN SO HARD TO GET THAT PEOPLE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE, UM, MUCH CHOICE ABOUT WHERE THEY FOUND A UNIT, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT WE'LL AT LEAST HAVE SOME MODEST CHOICE GOING FORWARD TO FOLLOW UP ON COMMISSIONER.
AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP TRANSPORTATION, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S PART OF ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I ASKED ABOUT WHAT UNITS ARE AVAILABLE DOWNTOWN, IF ANY.
IT'S BECAUSE ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION FOR THIS SEGMENT OF THE COMMUNITY SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE CRITICAL.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS I SEE UNITS GOING UP DOWNTOWN, UM, IT, IDEALLY I WOULD LOVE TO SEE UNITS GOING UP DOWNTOWN THAT ARE ALSO AVAILABLE,
[00:45:01]
UM, AND THAT ARE WILL BE ACCEPTING HOUSING VOUCHERS.HEY, DIANE, IF I MAY HOLD ON REAL QUICKLY.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OF THOSE THAT ARE TO BE SET ASIDE WITH THE NEW STATESMAN, BUT I THINK WE'D NEED TO LOOK BACK AND SEE.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE WE LANDED IN TERMS OF, UM, THE UNITS ON SITE VERSUS, UM, FUNDING OF UNITS OFFSITE.
AND SO I'M HAPPY TO CHECK IN WITH H HP D AND MAKE SURE, I'M SURE YOU GUYS HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT PROJECT QUITE A BIT OVER TIME.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE IT LANDED.
AND NONE OF THE ONES THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR PEOPLE EXITING HOMELESSNESS RIGHT NOW ARE EARMARKED FOR THE STATEMENT STATESMAN POD SITE.
UM, COMMISSIONER MARK, I BELIEVE YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP.
UH, MS. MS. DIANA, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE INFORMATION.
I'M VERY NEW, YOU KNOW, IN ADDRESSING THIS, THIS CRISIS, BUT I HAVE SOME VERY SIMPLE, I HOPE IT'S VERY SIMPLE QUESTION.
I DID EXPERIENCE SOMEONE REALLY, UM, SLEPT RIGHT OUTSIDE OF OUR CENTER AND, UH, AND, AND A MOMENT LIKE THAT, UM, IS THERE A HOTLINE THAT I CAN GIVE HIM THAT HE CAN ACCESS TO SHELTER RIGHT AWAY, UH, SO THAT HE CAN BE IN THE SYSTEM SO THAT, SO THAT THEY, SO THAT HE CAN BENEFIT FROM ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE MENTIONED, LIKE JOB TRAINING AND, YOU KNOW, FINDING A PERMANENT SHELTER AND ALL OF THAT.
SO, SO SHOULD THEY CALL, WHAT, WHAT HOTLINE SHOULD THEY CALL THAT REALLY ADDRESS, UM, HOMELESSNESS, RIGHT? A A WARM MEAL, HAVE A MEAL? I THINK THAT, UM, SO IN TERMS OF, SO FIRST OF ALL, I THINK THAT THE DIFFICULT QUE ANSWER HERE IS CAN WE GIVE PEOPLE EVERYONE IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO SHELTER? THE ANSWER IS NO.
UM, AND, AND THAT IS, THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO BE, BUT WE ARE NOT THERE RIGHT NOW.
AND SO, HOWEVER, IN TERMS OF OUTREACH, UM, THE, THE HOST TEAM, UM, IS DOES SERVE THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, AND I KNOW, UM, AND, AND SO THEY ARE AVAILABLE TO OUTREACH TO PEOPLE AND INTEGRAL CARE IS PART OF THAT TEAM AS ARE THE COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS, A P D IN THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT SOCIAL WORKERS.
THE OTHER NUMBER, AND I DON'T HAVE THIS IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW, BUT SUNRISE, UH, NAVIGATION CENTER HAS RECENTLY STARTED A 24 HOUR HOTLINE.
UH, AND IT'S MUCH MORE GENERAL.
SO I THINK, UM, AS YOU SAY, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S NOT SHELTER, IF IT'S A MEAL, IF IT'S MORE SORT OF DIRECTION TO SPECIFIC TYPES OF RESOURCES, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'VE EXPANDED REALLY RAPIDLY AND ARE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB.
SO WE'RE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS IN TERMS OF SOMETHING THAT'S AVAILABLE, UH, UH, A PHONE CALL THAT WILL BE ANSWERED, UM, ALL, YOU KNOW, UH, AT ALL HOURS.
UM, BUT ALSO IF WE NEED TO GET AN OUTREACH TEAM OUT TO SOMEONE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO CONTACT OUR OFFICE AND WE'LL WORK WITH BOTH THE HOST TEAM OR OUR OTHER FUNDED OUTREACH TEAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, HE'S CONTACTED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIANA, APPRECIATE YOUR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IF, IF, I MAY JUST WANTED TO SAY, UH, DAN, I DIDN'T WANNA MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY CAPITAL STUDIOS IS DOWNTOWN, AND I THINK IT HAS BEEN SUC SUCCESSFUL, AND I THINK WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT AS A, AS A DOWNTOWN LOCATION WHERE VOUCHERS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE COMING OUTTA HOMELESS HAVE BEEN GOING AND IT HASN'T CAUSED ANY PROBLEMS. SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY OF SHAKING UP MORE, MORE PROPERTY DOWNTOWN, THAT'S AN EXAMPLE.
AND YES, MY, WHEN I WAS ANSWERING, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE UNITS TO COME, BUT WE DO, WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE SUCCESSFUL HOUSING DOWNTOWN, UH, FOR THIS POPULATION.
SO THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
AND WHERE IS THAT LOCATED? UM, IT'S AT THE OLD, UH, ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE LAQUINTA ON 11TH, 10TH STREET, OR 11, NO, 11TH.
AND IF WE COULD GET THE, YOUR POWERPOINT CIRCULATED TO, UH, THE COMMISSION, THAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
[3. Discussion and possible action on a recommendation for the Duncan Neighborhood Park Concept Plan and Phase II Implementation. Presentation given by Reynaldo Hernandez of the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. ]
ITEM IS A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.IT'S ITEM THREE, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RECOMMENDATION FOR THE DUNCAN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK.
UH, AND WE HAVE PARKS AND RECREATION, UH, RONALDO HERNANDEZ.
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I AM A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU THE CONCEPT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION FOR DUNCAN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK.
THIS IS THE, UH, PROJECT CONTEXT SLIDE.
AND BRIEFLY, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE LOCATION OF THE PARK, UH, DUNCAN PARK IS LOCATED, UH, JUST TO THE EAST OF LAMAR BOULEVARD.
UH, IT IS BOUNDED BY NINTH ON THE SOUTH AND 10TH STREET ON THE NORTH AND WEST AVENUE LIES ON THE FAR EAST.
THE PROJECT THAT WE ARE WORKING ON IS OUTLINED IN RED.
THE BMX PARK, UH, WHICH IS JUST TO THE SOUTH OF NINTH STREET, IS ALSO PART OF DUNCAN PARK, BUT WE'RE FOCUSING ONLY ON THAT AREA IN THE RED.
THE, UH, BMX PARK SITE IS 1.9 ACRES, JUST, IT'S JUST UNDER TWO ACRES.
AND, UM, WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS IMPLEMENTATION IS TO BRING THE PARK SITE INTO COMPLIANCE WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENTS, UM, GUIDELINES IN TERMS OF FLOOD HAZARDS THAT EXIST.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE THERE WAS 420 CUBIC YARDS OF FILL THAT WAS ADDED TO THE BMX PARK SITE.
UH, I BELIEVE THAT WAS BACK IN THE EIGHTIES.
WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF PROJECT PARTNERS, UH, FOR THE PROJECT.
UH, THE DESIGN OF THE PARK SITE ITSELF WAS DONE INTERNALLY BY STAFF AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN PARK DIRECT DEPARTMENT.
WE WORKED WITH THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE THE RIPARIAN ZONE MITIGATION, AND THAT WAS AS A RESULT OF THE 420 CUBIC YARDS OF FILM.
OUR CIVIL ENGINEER IS DONE AWAY IN ASSOCIATES, AND OUR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, UM, FIRM IS ENCO TECH ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS.
WE'D LOOKED AT THE, UH, DOWNTOWN PARKS AND OPEN SPACE PLAN AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF OUR EFFORT TO MAKE THE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PARK SITE.
I'M AWARE THAT THE PLAN WAS DEVELOPED IN 2010 AND THERE WERE SOME KEY GOALS SPECIFICALLY, UH, OUTLINED FOR DUNCAN PARK.
AND THOSE WERE TO IMPROVE THE TREE HEALTH AND VEGETATION THROUGHOUT THE PARK AND TO REINFORCE THE NATURAL CREEK SIDE ENVIRONMENT.
AND THE PLAN ALSO CALLED TO CREATE NEW ATTRACTIONS TO THE PARK TO HELP INTENSIFY ITS DAILY USE BY NEARBY RESIDENTS.
IN ADDITION TO THOSE KEY GOALS, THERE WERE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE, UH, PARK AND OPEN SPACE PLAN.
AND THOSE ARE BRIEFLY PRESERVE THE OPEN LAWN AND INTRODUCE AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM, WHICH WE ARE GOING TO BE INTRODUCING, UH, INTRODUCED CROSSWALK AT NINTH STREET, WHICH WE ARE GOING TO INTRODUCE AS WELL, UH, IN ADDITION TO ON 10TH STREET.
AND THEN WE ALSO WANTED TO CREATE AND, UH, IMPROVE ON THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE PARK, WHICH WE ARE, UH, GOING TO BE DOING.
AND WE WILL BE MAINTAINING THE RIPARIAN VEGETATION AND IMPLEMENTING STABILIZATION TO SOME OF THE SLOPES.
AND WE WILL ALSO BE PROVIDING BENCHES AND PICNIC TABLES ALONG THE ARIAN EDGE.
SO THOSE ARE THE PRIMARY, UM, ASPECTS OF THE DOWNTOWN PARKS THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING.
NEXT SLIDE, TO ASSIST US WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION, WE DID HAVE A VERY ROBUST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
WE BEGAN THAT IN BACK IN MARCH OF 2016 WITH IT'S MY PART DAY.
THAT WAS THE INITIAL ENGAGEMENT, AND IT INCLUDED A SURVEY.
WE FOLLOWED THAT WITH A VISIONING WORKSHOP IN NOVEMBER OF 2016.
AND THEN IN 2017, IN APRIL, WE CONDUCTED A WORKSHOP PLAN FOR THE CONCEPT PLAN.
AND THEN FINALLY IN AUGUST OF 2020, WE ALSO CONDUCTED AN ADDITIONAL CONCEPT SURVEY.
THE MOST FREQUENT REQUEST FOR DUNCAN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK INCLUDED TO PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE NATIVE VEGETATION, UH, CREATED MORE SHADE AT A RESTROOM, IMPROVED PATHS, CREATE GREATER ACCESS TO THE CREEK, MAINTAIN THE LAWN AREA, IMPROVED DRAINAGE, AND AT A PLACE FOR ORGANIZED PLAY AND MORE PICNIC TABLES.
THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE, UH, DEMONSTRATES SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED AT THE ENGAGEMENT THAT WAS HELD IN 2016.
UH, ON THE LEFT IS QUESTION NUMBER TWO, WHICH, UH, STATES WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SITE FEATURES ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU? THE FOUR THAT ARE OUTSTANDING ARE LAWN NATURAL AREAS, TREE CANOPY AND PATHS.
THE, UH, ITEMS SECOND FROM THE TOP DENOTES THE CHILDREN'S PLAY AREA.
ON THE RIGHT IS QUESTION NUMBER THREE, WHICH ASKS, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES OR IMPROVEMENTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ACCOMMODATED AT DUNCAN PARK? AND THE FOUR RESPONSES THAT WE GOT PRIMARILY
[00:55:01]
WERE HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM, IMPROVED ACCESS, TOHO CREEK, LAWN IMPROVEMENTS, AND THEN RESTROOMS. AND THEN FROM UH, NINTH, FROM THE TOP WE HAVE CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING.THERE ARE, UH, SOME PRIMARY CONSTRAINTS TO THE PARK SITE, AND THERE'S THREE OF THEM THAT WE, UM, HAD TO CONTEND WITH.
UH, THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE SHOWS TWO.
THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS THE FLOOD YEAR, I'M SORRY, THE 100 YEAR FLOOD PLANE, UM, THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH AS A CONSTRAINT.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE OUTLINE OF THE PROPERTY, UH, OF THE PARK SITE IS OUTLINED WITH THE PROPERTY, UH, SYMBOL.
AND MOST OF THE SITE IS WITHIN THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLAIN.
SO THAT LIMITS OUR ABILITY TO LOCATE VERTICAL ELEMENTS SUCH AS PLACE ESCAPES AND A RUSSIAN FACILITY, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND ALSO JUST TO, UH, GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE ELEVATIONAL CHANGE, THERE'S APPROXIMATELY 19 FEET OF CHANGE FROM THE VERY HIGH POINT OF THE PARK SITE, WHICH IS ILLUSTRATED AS HP 4 83 AND THE LOW POINT, WHICH IS ILLUSTRATED AS LP 4 64 TOWARDS THE LOWER, UH, RIGHT OF, OF THAT FIRST IMAGE.
THE OTHER CONSTRAINT THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH WERE THE NUMBER OF HERITAGE TREES THAT WERE ON THE SITE.
AND THE IMAGE ON YOUR RIGHT ILLUSTRATES THE LOCATION OF THE PREDOMINANT, UH, HERITAGE TREES.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY'RE QUITE LARGE.
MOST OF THEM ARE, UH, BONDED BY NINTH AND 10TH STREET.
AND THEN ALSO ON THIS PARTICULAR SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE BLUFF LINE.
SO THAT LINE, UH, DEMARCATES WHERE THE SLOPE STARTS TO, UH, GO INTO THE PARK SITE.
AND THEN THE LAST, UH, CONSTRAINT THAT WE HAD WAS TRYING TO DEAL WITH THE 420 CUBIC GUARDS OF FILL THAT WAS, UM, INSTALLED OVER AT THE, AT THE BMX PARK SITE.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THESE IMPROVEMENTS IS WE'RE TRYING TO ALIGN THE PARK, UH, WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION, UH, CODE AND FLOOD REQUIREMENTS.
SO THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE IMPROVEMENTS.
SO THIS IS OUR CURRENT CONCEPT PLAN, AND THIS IS THE, THE PLAN THAT WE HOPE TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT BASICALLY SHOWS WHAT THE IMPROVEMENTS ARE, AND I'LL GO THROUGH THESE VERY BRIEFLY.
SO WE ARE GOING TO ADDRESS THE FOUR 20 CUBIC YARDS OF FILL BY INCORPORATING INTO THE SITE A WA WATER, UH, WETLAND FEATURE.
AND THAT'S DEMONSTRATED OVER THE BOTTOM RIGHT, UH, NEAR NUMBER THREE.
UH, THAT NUMBER THREE ACTUALLY DENOTES A BOARDWALK FEATURE THAT WE, UH, HAD PLANNED ON IN INCLUDING, UM, WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PARK WAS ADA COMPLIANT, SO ALL OF THE WALKWAYS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING ARE GOING TO BE ADA COMPLIANT.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE ILLUSTRATING, WE'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT IS A WALKWAY THAT GOES AROUND A MAIN CENTRAL LAWN AREA.
SO THAT IS A, UH, DESIGNATED AS AN OPEN MULTIPURPOSE LAWN SPACE.
WE DO PLAN ON ADDING SHADE, UH, TO THE PARK SPACE BY ADDING ADDITIONAL TREES.
WE WILL BE HAVING, UH, ADA COMPLIANT BENCHES OF PICNIC TABLES.
WE WILL ALSO HAVE AN ADA COMPLIANT DRINKING FOUNTAIN, AND WE WILL HAVE ENHANCED TREES ON 10TH AND ON NINTH STREETS WHERE THE CROSSWALKS ARE TO BE LOCATED.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'LL HAVE A, UM, ENHANCED SHOW, CREEK TRAIL CONNECTION TO THE PARK.
JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF SOME OF THE ADJACENT PARK AMENITIES, UH, DUNCAN PARK IS ILLUSTRATED WITH THE BLUE STAR.
THE BMX PARK SITE IS THE GREEN STAR KINGSBURY COMMONS, WHICH IS JUST 0.7 MILES TO THE NORTH AND ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE SHO CREEK TRAIL HAS A NUMBER OF AMENITIES, UH, THAT DUNCAN PARK WOULD, WILL NOT HAVE, AND THOSE ARE A DESIGNATED PARKING SPACE, A NATURE PLAY SCAPE AREA SWINGS, UH, WHAT THEY CALL A TOTTER TRAIL FOR INFANTS AND SMALLER KIDS SPORTS COURTS, AN INTERACTIVE WATER FEATURE, A TREEHOUSE AND RESTROOM.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, JUST TO THE NORTH OF DUNCAN PARK, WE HAVE THE AUSTIN RECREATION CENTER, WHICH IS A SAL 7,000 SQUARE FOOT, UH, GYMNASIUM FACILITY.
THERE ARE ALSO MEETING ROOMS IN A RATE ROOM, WEIGHT ROOM.
AND THEN JUST TO THE WEST IS THE, IS WEST AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK.
THAT'S ABOUT A 15 TO 20 MINUTE WALK, AND IT'S ALSO 0.7 MILES AWAY FROM DUNCAN.
AND THAT SPACE CONTAINS A PLACE SCAPE, A MULTIPURPOSE COURT, AND A WAITING POOL.
THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE DEMONSTRATES, UH, WHAT THE CURRENT SITE PLAN, UH, LOOKS LIKE, AND IT ALSO ILLUSTRATES THE LOCATION AVAILABLE FOR THE POTENTIAL PLAY SCAPE LOCATION
[01:00:01]
OR A RESTROOM FACILITY.SO THE BLUE STAR THAT YOU SEE, THERE'S THE POTENTIAL LOCATION FOR A PLAY SCAPE OR NATURE-BASED PLAY ELEMENT.
THE RED SQUARE INDICATES THE, UH, AREA AVAILABLE FOR A RESTROOM FACILITY.
THE RED LINE THAT YOU SEE THERE IS THE 100 YEAR FLOOD FLOODPLAIN, SO THAT THAT'S AVAILABLE TO US, UH, TO, UH, INCLUDE ADDITIONAL AMENITIES.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S, UH, JUST SLIGHTLY OUTSIDE THE FLOODPLAIN.
THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE ARE THE CRITICAL ROOT ZONES OF THE EXISTING TREES.
UH, THERE ARE ALSO TWO SEATS LOCATED ON THE PARK SITE, UM, AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY WE'RE IMPLEMENTING A WETLAND AREA OFF TO THE LOWER RIGHT.
AND THEN, UM, THERE IS THE PROXIMITY OF THE 10TH STREET, WHICH IS AN ISSUE, UH, WITH A PLAY SCAPE BECAUSE WE WOULD NEED TO INCLUDE FENCING ALONG 10TH STREET TO, UM, AS A SAFETY MEASURE FOR THE KIDS USING THE PLAY.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS SOME OF THE POTENTIAL, UH, AMENITIES THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT AS A PHASE TWO.
UH, WALNUT CREEK METRO PARK HAS A NATURE-BASED PLAY AREA, AND THAT'S THE IMAGE THAT YOU SEE TO THE TOP, UH, RIGHT.
AND THEN THE BOTTOM TWO IMAGES ARE, UH, PLAY SCAPES FOR AGES FIVE THROUGH 12 AT ALBERG PARK.
SO THE, UH, PLAYSCAPE IS A TRADITIONAL SWING SLIDE AND CLIMBING FEATURES.
THE, UM, AUTHORIZATION TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT WITH THE LOWEST BIDDER WENT TO COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 23RD.
IT WAS POSTPONED AND THE REQUEST WAS TO, UH, RETURN BACK TO PARKS BOARD AND THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION FOR REVIEW OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE BEING PLANNED.
WE DID GO TO THE PARKS BOARD ON FEBRUARY 27TH WHERE WE RECEIVED A, A VOTE OF EIGHT TO ZERO EIGHT FOR APPROVAL.
UH, THERE WERE TWO VACANCIES AND ONE ABSENCE, AND THE RECOMMENDATION FROM PARKS BOARD WAS TO HAVE THE CITY OF AUSTIN COUNCIL AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTION OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE DUNCAN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK WITH THE LOWEST BIDDER, AND, UH, WITH FURTHER, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS TO HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO EXPLORE THE INCLUSION OF CHILD-FRIENDLY FEATURES SUCH AS A PLAYSCAPE DURING A SECOND PHASE OF IMPROVEMENTS OF THE PARK.
JUST TO QUICKLY GO OVER THE FUNDING, UH, PHASE ONE IS BEING FUNDED BY PROPOSITION 14 AND PROPOSITION C.
THE BUDGET ALLOCATION IS ONE POINT, UH, $2 MILLION, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THAT.
OUR ANTICIPATED CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE IS AT 180 CALENDAR DAY OF A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT, AND WE HOPE TO START THAT, UM, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, START OF SUMMER 2023 AND FOR POTENTIAL PHASE TWO, WE'VE, UH, POT WE HAVE POTENTIALLY, UM, WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACCESS PARK SPAWN, UH, PROGRAM AGAIN, UH, PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES WOULD ALSO BE USED, AND WE DO ANTICIPATE A BUDGET OF ABOUT $250,000, UH, FOR THE PLAYSCAPE, UM, THE ADDITION OF A PLAYSCAPE OR NATURE-BASED PLAYER.
TO INITIATE THE PHASE TWO, WE WOULD, UM, DO, WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TAKE PLACE, AND IN THAT PROCESS WE WOULD RECEIVE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND WE WOULD ALSO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE COMMUNITY ON THE PLAY SCAPE AND THE NATURE PLACE, UH, PLAY EL ELEMENTS AND AMENITIES.
FOLLOWING THAT, WE WOULD, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH A DESIGN OF THE FEATURES AND CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS.
OF COURSE, THOSE WOULD BE BASED ON THE COMMUNITY INPUT THAT WE RECEIVED.
AT THE MOMENT, THE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE PLANNED ARE BEING PERMITTED THROUGH GENERAL PERMIT, SO WE WOULD GO THROUGH A GENERAL PERMIT CORRECTION FOR ANY ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE PHASE TWO, AND THEN WE WOULD FOLLOW THROUGH THAT WITH SOLICITATION AND CONSTRUCTION.
ALL THAT SAID, WE'RE PROBABLY, IF WE WERE TO START TOMORROW, I'D SAY ABOUT A YEAR AND A YEAR AND A HALF OUT FROM ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING ANY OF THE, OF THESE CHANGES FOR OUR STEP FOR A PHASE TWO.
SO WE'RE HERE TODAY TO REQUEST, UH, FROM THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTION OF THE CONS OF THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR DUNCAN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK TO THE LOW BIDDER FOR THE AMOUNT OF $1,240,579, PLUS A CONTINGENCY OF $148,000.
UM, WE ALSO ARE HERE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE WILL BE, UM, HAVING AN ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE ENGAGEMENT TO EXPLORE THE INCLUSION OF CHILD-FRIENDLY FEATURES SUCH AS A PLACE SCAPE DURING THE SECOND PHASE OF IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PARK.
[01:05:01]
UH, MY PRESENTATION, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION.
COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THE WETLANDS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING UP THERE, IS THAT WHERE BMX IS NOW OR WILL BMX STICK AROUND? SO THE WETLANDS THAT WE ARE PLANNING TO USE AS A FEATURE TO THE PARK ARE ACTUALLY WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING, UH, THE IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE, LET'S SEE HERE TO THE SECOND SLIDE, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE THAT IS LOCATED.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE PROJECT SITE THAT'S OUTLINED IN RED, UM, OVER TO THE LOWER RIGHT IN, WITHIN THAT AREA, THERE ARE TWO SEATS.
THOSE ARE NATURAL SEATS WHERE WATER IS COMING OUT INTERMITTENTLY.
WHAT WE PLAN TO DO IS TO E UH, EXCAVATE MORE OF THE EXISTING WETLAND AND MAKE THAT A FEATURE OF THE PARK.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD, UM, MAKE UP THE 420 CUBIC YARDS OF FILL THAT WAS ADDED TO THE BMX PARK SITE.
NO, MY, MY OTHER QUESTION WAS THAT YOU SAID THAT, UM, THAT THERE WILL BE SOME MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO FIGURE OUT THE PLAYSCAPE BUILDING ON PHASE TWO.
IS THAT INCLUDE THE BATHROOM ALSO? BECAUSE IT SOUNDED LIKE THEY WERE BOTH UP ON THE, ON 10TH STREET, WE WOULD PROBABLY INCLUDE, UM, INPUT ON THE RESTROOM FACILITY, BUT AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE SITE, UM, IT'S EITHER GOING TO BE A RESTROOM FACILITY OR THE PLAYSCAPE ELEMENTS BECAUSE THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH ROOM FOR BOTH.
AND THAT, AND, AND THAT'S PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DISCUSSION? YES.
LIKE, DO YOU WANT A BATHROOM OR PLAYSCAPE? YES.
UH, SO WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO PUT THE BATHROOM, LET'S SAY THE PLAYSCAPE IS WHAT YOU, THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE IS, UH, WOULD THAT MEAN, OR WOULD THERE BE AN OPPORTUNITY THEN TO PUT RESTROOM FACILITIES ON THE BMX SITE? SO, UM, WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT.
I, I THINK THE BMX SIDE IS WITHIN THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLANE, AND THERE'S LIMITATIONS AS TO WHAT YOU CONSTRUCT IN, IN A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLANE.
BUT DEFINITELY WE WOULD LOOK INTO THAT.
IT'S ALWAYS BEEN GREEN EVERY TIME I'VE SEEN IT.
UM, SO I'M, I'M WONDERING, I MEAN, I GUESS YOU CAN'T GO BACK AND CHANGE THINGS, BUT ABOUT IRRIGATION, AND I'M ALSO WONDERING ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE WETLAND WHEN IT'S EXCAVATED.
AND I HOPE, UM, SOME ENVIRONMENTAL PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED IN THAT.
BUT, UM, I, I APPLAUD THIS PROGRAM AS ESPECIALLY NOT TOO MUCH BUILDING.
OTHER QUESTIONS WE'VE BEEN ASKED, UH, TO SUPPORT THEIR, THE, THE, UH, PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE FOR THIS WITH THE FUNDING NOT TO EXCEED 1.38.
UM, THANK YOU MR. HERNANDEZ FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I ALSO AM ON DESIGN COMMISSION.
UM, IF YOU ARE PRESENTING TO DESIGN COMMISSION, WE WOULD REQUEST BIKE RACKS, A RESTROOM AND ACCESSIBILITY.
BUT I CAN SEE THAT YOU'VE ALREADY ADDRESSED ALL OF THESE THINGS.
I THINK YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB REALLY ASSESSING THE COMMUNITY NEEDS AND REALLY IMPROVING THE SITE.
I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION REAL QUICK, COMMISSIONER.
SO IS THERE NO WAY FOR THE CITY TO GIVE SOME SORT OF A VARIANCE TO THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN OR MAYBE DO SOME CANTILEVERED ASPECT TO THE BATHROOM FACILITY IN ORDER TO ALLOW YOU TO ENCROACH SOMEWHAT ON THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN? UM, I, THERE PROBABLY IS, UH, AT THE MOMENT, I, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO RESPOND DIRECTLY TO YOUR QUESTION.
UM, IF THERE ARE MODIFICATIONS TO THE SITE THAT WOULD MOVE THE 100 YEAR FLOOD PLANE, THAT CERTAINLY CAN BE ACHIEVED, BUT IT WOULD BE FAIRLY COSTLY.
SO THAT WOULD PROBABLY ENTAIL PUTTING UP RETAINING WALLS OF RETAINING STRUCTURE TO ELEVATE THE BUILDING ABOVE THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLANE.
I GUESS, I GUESS IF, AND REAL QUICKLY ALONG THOSE LINES, I THINK, UH, THAT CAME UP WITH THE NAME MUSEUM AND PART OF ITS PROPERTY, WHICH IS IN THE FLOODPLAIN, AND THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT ELEVATING A BUILDING THAT WAS ON THEIR PROPERTY TO REMOVE IT.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WITH IT, BUT I REMEMBER THE DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW COST PROHIBITED IT WAS TO ELEVATE ABOVE THE FLOOD PLAIN.
AND I'M SORRY, THAT PROMPTED ME TO, TO THINK OF.
SO DO WE OUT OUTSIDE OF THE AUSTIN,
[01:10:01]
UH, REC CENTER THAT'S UP THERE, WHERE'S THE NEAREST BATHROOM AND AND HOW MUCH, UM, TRAFFIC ARE YOU EXPECTING TO GET THERE? BESIDES THE BMX STUFF TO, FOR, FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO HAVE ACCESS TO A BATHROOM? I, I WOULDN'T BE THE, SO THE NEAREST RESTROOM, I BELIEVE IS, UM, NOT INCLUDING THE AUSTIN RECREATION CENTER WOULD BE OVER AT KINGSBURY COMMONS.UM, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD USE A RESTROOM AT DUNCAN, IF THAT'S YOUR QUESTION.
NO, NOT JUST THE BATHROOM, BUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GONNA BE USING DUNCAN PARK, AND IF IT WOULD MEAN THAT IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE A BATHROOM THERE WITHOUT THEM HAVING TO GO TOO FAR, UH, AS THEY'RE USING, AS THEY'RE TAKING IN THE, THE PARK AS YOU'RE DEVELOPING.
SO THE, THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE DESIGN OF THE PARK IS TO KEEP THE PARK, UM, PASSIVE AS POSSIBLE.
SO IT WOULD, UH, THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE INCLUDED JUST AN OPEN LAWN SPACE.
HOWEVER, HOWEVER, SOMEONE WANTED TO USE THE OPEN LAWN SPACE, UM, IT WOULD BE, I'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE ENGAGEMENT THAT WE WENT THROUGH TO DETERMINE JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD REALLY WANT TO HAVE A RESTROOM FACILITY AT THAT LOCATION.
UH, NORMALLY FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, WE TYPICALLY DON'T, THIS, THE PARK DEPARTMENT DOESN'T INCLUDE RESTROOM FACILITIES FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS.
UH, THEY'RE TYPICALLY RESERVED FOR, UM, DISTRICT AND METROPOLITAN PARKS.
I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS TOO, FOR THE DOWNTOWN AREA, UM, THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF KIDS, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN PRIOR MEETINGS.
IT'S A CHILD DESERT IN 78, 7 0 1.
UH, AND SO PLEASE, I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT, WHAT BECOMES MOST ESSENTIAL THERE, PARTICULARLY IF IT'S A PASSIVE PARK.
I WANT TO APPLAUD YOU ON THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
I, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THAT WORK, I THINK DATES BACK TO THE CENTENNIAL, THE BICENTENNIAL MM-HMM.
AND, UH, I DON'T THINK MUCH HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN.
SO, UH, I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, I THINK ONE OF THE, THE, UH, SURVEY RESPONSES WAS GREATER ACCESS TO SHOAL CREEK ITSELF.
UM, AND THROUGH THAT PART OF SHOAL CREEK, THE BANKS ARE FAIRLY STEEP AND YOU'RE, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE CONSIDERED CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES, BUT I WOULD CERTAINLY BE CONCERNED AS A KID, I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY IN THE CREEK.
UM, SO, UH, AT ANY RATE, UM, I, I WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT ANY ACCESS TO THE CREEK THAT'S NOT ALREADY THERE, SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU ARE DEALING WITH WHAT I THINK MAY BE MM-HMM.
UM, BUT I DO WANT TO APPLAUD YOU ON THE WORK.
UM, THEY HAVE REQUESTED ACTION, UH, AND I WILL LEAVE IT TO THE COMMISSION.
UH, I BELIEVE THAT THEY, THEY WANT A NOD FROM US ABOUT, UM, UH, UH, FUNDS NOT TO EXCEED 1.388 MILLION.
I MOVE, WE PUT THAT LANGUAGE INTO A RESOLUTION AND PASS IT.
I, I THINK, UH, THE, THE, THE LANGUAGE AS YOU PRESENTED, UH, IS WHAT I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER LEVINE HAS, UH, MOVED AND WHAT I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER ISHMAEL HAS SECONDED, UH, WITH THAT.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
YOU HAVE YOUR SUPPORT, PLEASE GO, GO BEAUTIFY APART FOR US.
UM, THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE IS ITEM FOUR, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2324 CITY BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET, UM, UH, STAFF DOWN HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.
WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.
THERE ARE FISCAL NOTES, UH, OR FISCAL REQUIREMENTS, UH, AND, UM, WE DO NOT, WE HAVE NOT HAD THAT BRIEFING YET, SO WE COULDN'T RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL AT THIS POINT WHAT OUR FUNDING PRIORITIES MIGHT BE OF THOSE ITEMS OUTSTANDING.
WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.
WE WILL BE HAVING AN UPDATE ON THAT.
AND, UH, I'M, I'M HOPING, UH, THE BUDGET OFFICE WILL LET US SNEAK IN A, A, A RECOMMENDATION ON ANY SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.
[01:15:01]
UH, WE CAN SUBMIT SOMETHING LATE.ALTHOUGH THE BUDGET OFFICE IS SAYING THAT THERE IS A RISK IF WE SUBMIT IN MID-APRIL THAT IT DOESN'T GIVE DEPARTMENTS TIME TO INCLUDE IT OR TO RESPOND TO IT.
SO I'M JUST SAYING THAT THERE IS A RISK, UM, IT MIGHT BE PRUDENT TO, UH, ALTHOUGH YOU HAVEN'T HAD THE BRIEFING, IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO TAKE ACTION ON NOW AS A COMMISSION THAT YOU, THAT WE CAN UPLOAD AND THEN WE CAN ADD TO IT OR AMEND IT, UM, AS YOU SEE FIT IN APRIL.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE HAD THE, THE CHANCE TO GET THE UPDATE FROM STAFF, SO, OKAY.
WE'RE NOT IN A POSITION, I DON'T THINK, WHERE WE COULD RECOMMEND ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN LEFT UNFUNDED OR UNDERFUNDED IN THE PLAN.
SO, WE'LL, WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO, UH, TO ADVANCE SOMETHING, UH, UH, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER, OTHER THAN THE GRAFFITI, ANTI-GRAFFITI UNIT, ARE THERE ANY OTHER BUDGET PRIORITIES? OKAY.
[5. Discussion and Possible action on the Downtown Commission Graffiti Working Group.]
IS, UM, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION GRAFFITI WORKING GROUP.UM, I WANT TO THANK COMMISSIONERS ISHMAIL, COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ, FOR THEIR TIME ON THIS.
THE, UH, THE, THE WORKING GROUP'S WORK IS NOT DONE, BUT WE DID WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE IN A POSITION TO, UH, BRING A RESOLUTION FORWARD BECAUSE WE KNEW IT WAS GONNA HAVE A FISCAL NODE AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT GOT TO COUNCIL IN TIME INTO THE BUDGET OFFICE IN TIME.
UM, CAN WE PULL UP, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION? YEAH, SO I'LL GO OVER IT FAIRLY QUICKLY.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS TO NOTE IS THAT IT'S A FAIRLY MUDDLED PROCESS, UH, TO OBEY GRAFFITI IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IF IT'S ON PUBLIC PROPERTY, IF IT'S ON PAR PARKS AND RECREATIONS PROPERTY, THEY HAVE A BUDGET OF HALF A MILLION DOLLARS SET ASIDE TO DEAL WITH IT.
UM, THERE IS ANOTHER ALLOCATION, UH, THROUGH A THIRD PARTY CONTRACT WITH BUILDING SERVICES FOR ANOTHER 437 MILLION OR $437,000.
NOW THAT'S JUST THAT WHICH IS REPORTED AND AVAILABLE.
DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN WILL GO OUT AND ADDRESS GRAFFITI AS, UM, IF THEY'RE OUT SERVICING SOMETHING AND THERE'S A GRAFFITI, THEY'LL GO AND TAKE CARE OF IT.
UM, I SHOULD BACK UP AND SAY WE HAD, UH, A MEETING WITH A CITY STAFF.
WE MET WITH, UH, A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS THAT HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN THE GRAFFITI ABATEMENT PROGRAM AND GOT FEEDBACK FROM THEM.
AND ALL OF THIS, UM, WAS AS A RESULT OF THEIR FEEDBACK.
WE ALSO INVESTED TIME WITH THE FOLKS FROM ART AND PUBLIC PLACES BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THAT PART OF THE EQUATION WAS HEARD.
UM, BUT IT WAS A, A, A VERY DIVERSE GROUP OF FOLKS FROM THE CITY REPRESENTING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THIS.
UM, WE ALSO HAD, UH, SEVERAL OTHER ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED, INCLUDING THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE AND THE GREATER AUSTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
UH, AND WE HAD, UM, FOLKS FROM THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD, A AS THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD, STATE OF TEXAS IS PROBABLY THE LARGEST SINGLE LANDHOLDER DOWNTOWN.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE, UH, AT THE TABLE AS WELL.
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS WHAT CAME OUT OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
AND AGAIN, I COMMEND OUR COMMISSIONERS FOR THEIR HARD WORK ON THIS.
UM, UH, I, I ALSO WAS ABLE TO GET, UM, INFORMATION FROM TECH DOT AND CT RMA ABOUT MOPAC AND I 35 AND WHAT THEY SPEND IN GRAFFITI ABATEMENT EVERY YEAR.
UH, AND IT'S ABOUT $150,000 JUST FOR THE SECTIONS, THE CORE SECTIONS OF BOTH OF THOSE HIGHWAYS.
UM, AND IT INTERESTING TO NOTE, AFTER MY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FOLKS AT CT RMA, I DID NOTICE THAT MOPAC HAS, UH, BEEN, UH, THE TAGGING ON MOPAC HAS BEEN PAINTED OVER.
[01:20:01]
MULTI-TONE PATCHES.UH, ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS WE LEARNED IN THIS PROCESS IS THAT, UM, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY HAS A RECYCLING PROGRAM WHERE THEY COLLECT PAIN, UH, AND YOU CAN DROP OFF YOUR PAIN, OR NOW, DUNNO, DISTRICT 10 AS A PILOT PROJECT WHERE, WHERE THE, WHERE THEY WILL COME AND PICK THAT UP.
THEY APPARENTLY BLEND THAT TOGETHER AND THEN ISSUE IT BACK OUT TO USE AS PAINT TO COVER OVER GRAFFITI.
SO IT'S ESSENTIALLY A COST SAVER, UH, TO RECYCLE THAT, THAT HOUSEHOLD PAINT, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS, I THINK WE ALL ARE, WE THOUGHT WAS KIND OF CLEVER AT, AT ANY RATE, WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE PUBLIC SPACE.
OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE BUILDINGS, PERSONAL PROPERTY, UH, BUSINESSES THAT ARE TAGGED INCESSANTLY.
AND, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE, THE NUMBER HERE, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE ABATED 26,000 INSTANCES OF GRAFFITI AND STICKERS OR POSTERS LAST YEAR ALONE, 26,000.
AND THAT'S IN A, THAT'S JUST IN THE DISTRICT THAT THEY SERVE DOWNTOWN.
AND IT, IT, IT'S REALLY JUST A STAGGERING NUMBER.
WELL GO BACK TO WHAT I WAS SAYING ABOUT WHAT THE DEPARTMENTS DO.
THEY, THEY DON'T ACTUALLY RECORD THE NUMBER OF, WE'LL CALL THEM SERVICE CALLS THAT THEY HAVE TO REMOVE GRAFFITI ON THEIR PARTICULAR PROPERTY.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MASSIVE THE SCOPE IS BECAUSE A LOT OF IT'S JUST BEING TAKEN CARE IN THE, IN TAKEN CARE OF, IN THE COURSE OF BUSINESS.
UM, IF YOU CALL ABOUT PRIVATE PROPERTY, YOU CALL THREE 11.
THERE'S ALSO AN ISSUE WHERE, BECAUSE IT'S ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, THE CASE GETS CLOSED OUT, SO THERE'S NOT A GOOD RECORD OF THAT.
SO WE REALLY DON'T EVEN HAVE GOOD RECORDS ON, ON OF HOW EXTENSIVE THE PROBLEM IS.
ONE OF THE INTENSIVISTS IS TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT DATA, BUT IT'S ALSO TO FIX THE PROBLEM.
AND SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND SCROLLING DOWN TO, UH, THE, UH, THE NEXT PAGE, AND I HOPE EVERYBODY'S HAD A CHANCE TO READ THROUGH THIS.
WE WENT THROUGH AND CAME UP WITH, UM, AND THIS WAS, UM, BASED ON A RECOMMENDATION FROM CITY STAFF.
THEY WOULD, THEY ENVISION A SEPARATE UNIT HANDLING GRAFFITI.
AND SO THIS, UM, CREATES THAT ANTI-GRAFFITI UNIT.
UH, AND I THINK THERE IS STILL SOME DISCUSSION WITHIN THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AS WHERE THAT MIGHT BE HOUSED.
THIS RECOMMENDATION LEAVES IT TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO FIND A HOME FOR IT.
UM, BUT EVERYTHING IN ONE ITEM, ONE IDENTIFIES WHAT THIS UNIT WOULD DO VERY ROBUST.
UM, AND IT TO SOME EXTENT, IT TAKES SOME OF WHAT PLACES LIKE THE CITY, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAVE DONE, UM, TO, UM, ADDRESS THE PROBLEM.
THEY'VE GOT A VERY ROBUST PROBLEM PROGRAM IN SAN ANTONIO.
THERE ARE OTHERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ARE FAIRLY ROBUST.
THEY TAKE DIFFERENT TAX, SOME MAY HAVE, UH, WHERE IT IS A CITY CREW THAT GOES OUT AND DOES IT.
THE CITY STAFF FELT LIKE THE PROGRAM WOULD BE BEST SERVED, AND THE RESULTS WOULD BE, I THINK, BETTER IF THE GRAFFITI ABATEMENT PROCESS WAS HANDLED FOR THE MOST PART BY A THIRD PARTY CONTRACTOR.
AND MUCH LIKE THE, UH, BUILDING SERVICES USES, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE USES ONE AS WELL.
UH, AND SO THE, THOSE COMPANIES ARE OUT THERE, UH, THAT THEY CAN CONTRACT WITH.
BUT ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THIS UNIT AS THIS IS LAID OUT, IS TO TACKLE THAT.
UM, WE ALSO WANTED TO INCLUDE, AND THIS IS A NOD BACK TO ARDEN PUBLIC PLACES, UM, THE, AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY DO, BUT, UH, THERE ARE, UM, THERE PROTECTIVE COATINGS THAT CAN BE PUT ON MURALS.
WE, WE, ONE OF THE THINGS, IF YOU SAW SOME OF THE MEDIA ABOUT, UH, THIS WORKING GROUP, UH, IT, THEY MENTIONED SOME OF OUR ICONIC MURALS.
WELL, WE WEREN'T TALKING ABOUT OUR ICONIC MURALS BECAUSE MANY OF THOSE HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED BY THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
BUT WE'RE ALSO FINDING THAT SOME OF THOSE MURALS ARE BEING DEFACE AND VANDALIZED AND, UM, SOMEBODY'S GOTTA PAY FOR THAT.
UH, AND IT'S SAD WHEN, WHEN A, A BUILDING OWNER IS COMMISSIONED A BEAUTIFUL WORK OF ART ONLY TO HAVE SOMEBODY COME AND SCROLL ALL OVER IT.
WELL, WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IS, UM, CREATE
[01:25:01]
A GRANT PROGRAM, PERHAPS A COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM WHERE, UM, FOLKS COULD APPLY AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND THEN HAVE, UH, ONE TYPE OF CODING.THERE ARE THREE, THREE GENERAL TYPES APPLIED TO IT TO PROTECT THAT ARTWORK, EITHER TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY.
UH, AND SO WE'VE INCLUDED THAT.
UH, IT CAN, IT, IT COULD BE FUNDED THROUGH HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES.
THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT HAVE AN INTEREST IN THAT MONEY TO KEEP IT FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE ON THE OUTSET.
YOU KNOW, WE SET IT AT $10,000.
UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S A COUPLE HUNDRED DOLLARS, MAYBE IT'S A THOUSAND DOLLARS PER UNIT, UH, OR PER GRANT, BUT AT LEAST THAT'S OUT THERE TO PROTECT THOSE ICONIC PIECES OF ART AROUND OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND SCROLLING DOWN.
UH, AND THEN, UM, TO DO THIS, WE'RE RECOMMENDING A MINIMUM OF 2 MILLION GOING BACK TO WHAT BUILDING SERVICES HAD AND WHAT PAR SPENT.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT A MILLION DOLLARS RIGHT THERE.
THERE'S A LOT THAT THIS UNIT IS UNIT IS GOING TO BE TASKED WITH.
AND SO $2 MILLION MAY NOT EVEN BE ENOUGH.
BUT WE WANTED A PLACEHOLDER THAT WAS REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS APPROPRIATE.
UM, ONE OF THE, THE CONCERNS HAS BEEN WHETHER WE WERE GONNA RECOMMEND ANY CHANGES TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
THE PENALTIES ARE ALL SET OUT IN STATE STATUTE.
WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY RECOMMENDATIONS.
ENFORCEMENT IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE.
UM, MOST OF THIS HAPPENS IN THE DARK WHEN THERE'S NOBODY AROUND, UM, BUT EMPHASIZING THAT IT IS A CRIME, UH, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS AT LEAST ADDRESSED HERE AND IT DOES THAT.
UH, AND THEN LASTLY, THERE'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE, UH, WHICH IS A CODE CHANGE, UH, TO THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL.
AND WHAT IT DOES IS, UM, REQUIRE ANY, ANYTHING IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY TO BE THAT'S BEEN TAGGED TO BE PAINTED OVER WITHIN 30 DAYS.
UM, THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL WAS ABSENT ON THAT 30 DAYS, AND THIS JUST MAKES THEM, UH, UNIFORM BETWEEN THE TWO, UH, BETWEEN 12.29 AND, UM, UH, AND THE OTHER ONE, AND I FORGET WHAT IT WAS AT THIS POINT, BUT, SO THAT IS IT IN A NUTSHELL.
UM, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, I AM A PROPERTY OWNER DOWNTOWN, AND UNFORTUNATELY MY BUILDING WAS GRAFFITIED THIS SUMMER.
UM, AND THAT PROBABLY HAPPENED AROUND MAY WHEN I WAS WORKING ON MY CONSTRUCTION CLOSEOUT.
UM, MY NEIGHBORS DID PROMPTLY NOTIFY ME, BUT I ALSO WAS BUSY CLOSING OUT MY BUILDING AND I WASN'T ABLE TO GET TO THAT MAINTENANCE ITEM UNTIL A FEW MONTHS LATER.
AND I DIDN'T NOT APPRECIATE THE COMMUNICATION, WHICH FELT LIKE PITCHFORKS.
UM, I WASN'T HAPPY ABOUT THE GRAFFITI, UH, BUT IT HAPPENED AND I WAS ALSO BUSY TRYING TO RUN MY BUSINESS AND MAKE SURE I WAS COMPLIANT WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER DOCUMENTS AND AGREEMENTS THAT I HAVE.
SO WHAT CONCERNS ME ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT IS ITEMS ONE C AND ONE D, UH, YOU KNOW, WHICH REALLY CAN CREATE HOSTILE RELATIONSHIPS FOR SOMEONE WHO'S ALREADY RECEIVING A HOSTILE ACTION.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S VERY NEIGHBORLY OR HELPFUL.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CODE ENFORCEMENT TOLD US IS THAT, AND IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND BRINGING THE, THE ITEM BACK UP ON THE SCREEN, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CODE ENFORCEMENT TOLD US IS THAT, AND THIS MAY MAY NOT BE CONSISTENT AND IT MAY NOT HAVE HAPPENED IN YOUR CASE, UH, BUT THAT IF THERE ARE NO OTHER CODE VIOLATIONS, THEY JUST ISSUE A WARNING.
IF THERE ARE OTHER CODE VIOLATIONS, UM, DEBRIS, UH, WEEDS, SERIES OF OTHER THINGS, THEN IT DOES, IT DOES ELEVATE IT.
BUT IF IT'S JUST SO AN ISSUE, THIS IS WHAT WE WERE TOLD.
IF IT'S JUST AN ISSUE OF THE TAGGING, THERE'S ANOTHER QUESTION.
SO I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT CODE ENFORCEMENT.
I'M TALKING ABOUT MY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMITTEE TOOK PHOTOS AND MADE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ABOUT IT, UM, WHILE I WAS JUST WORKING ON TRYING TO RUN MY
[01:30:01]
PROPERTY AND WORKING ON TRYING TO GET OPEN.UM, IT WAS NOT HELPFUL AND IT WAS REPEATED COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT THE GRAFFITI.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S NOT NEIGHBORLY OR POLITE OR HELPFUL.
UM, NO ONE HELPED ME CLEAN IT UP, BUT, YOU KNOW, I HAD TO CLEAN IT UP ON MY OWN.
UM, IT, I I JUST WANNA AVOID A PITCHFORK SITUATION FOR BUSINESS OWNERS WHO ARE ALREADY HAVING TO DEAL WITH VANDALISM.
SO IN, UH, ADDRESSING C AND D, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT NEIGHBORS OR PEOPLE DRIVING BY REPEATEDLY CALLED YOU INTO CODE ENFORCEMENT FOR THE GRAFFITI? THERE WAS NO CODE ENFORCEMENT, THEY ACTUALLY CONTACTED ME.
CODE ENFORCEMENT WAS NOT INVOLVED AT ALL.
SO IT'S JUST PEOPLE UPSET ABOUT GRAFFITI BEING PAINTED ON YOUR BUILDING WHO REPEATEDLY CONTACTED ME ABOUT IT.
SO HOW ARE YOU THINKING THAT YOU WOULD CHANGE ONE C AND D TO ADDRESS PRIVATE VIGILANTES COMING AFTER YOU OR CONCERNED CITIZENS? OH, CONCERNED, YES.
CONCERNED CITIZENS, YOU KNOW, YEAH, YOU CAN PROVIDE NOTICE, BUT LIKE, WHY AM I GETTING, YOU KNOW, IMPOLITE EMAILS AND WHATNOT.
IS THIS APPROPRIATE? IS IT HELPFUL? DOES IT NEED TO BE SAID? DO YOU NEED TO WRITE ME ANOTHER LETTER? YOU KNOW, I, WELL, AND, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS GOES TO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT THIS UNIT WILL DO, BUT, UM, AND IT'S, IT'S TO AN EXTENT IS WHAT THE CITY IS ALREADY DOING.
BUT, UM, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE THESE CRIMINALS WHO'VE VANDALIZED YOUR PROPERTY.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE NE THE PEOPLE BEING CONCERNED AND UPSET OR WHATEVER ABOUT GRAFFITI ON YOUR BUILDING.
WELL, IT'S PROBABLY THE FOLKS AROUND ON THE SKATE PARK, WHO WERE THE ONES THAT, THAT VANDALIZED YOUR PROPERTY.
I GOT, YOU KNOW, NEGATIVE COMMENTS THAT I DIDN'T HAVE GOOD ENOUGH SECURITY OR THAT I WAS BRINGING THE WRONG PEOPLE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR JUST, UH, IT IS REALLY INAPPROPRIATE CONVERSATIONS.
I DO HAVE, UM, SECURITY FENCES.
YOU KNOW, THE CAMERA WAS NOT POINTED AT, WE DIDN'T HAVE A CAMERA POINTED AT THAT AREA OF THE BUILDING.
IT WAS JUST AN UNFORTUNATE HAPPENING.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN.
I DID NOT APPRECIATE THOSE COMMUNICATIONS.
AND I THINK THIS TYPE OF RECOMMENDATION JUST, YOU KNOW, ALLOWS PEOPLE TO BE MORE HORRIBLE IN THOSE COMMUNICATIONS.
SO I THINK I PROBABLY WILL NOT SUPPORT IT.
I, BECAUSE AS A BUSINESS OWNER, I DON'T FEEL SUPPORTED BY THIS.
WELL, I, WHAT WHAT THIS DOES, AGAIN, THE CITY ALREADY PROVIDES NOTICE THIS, ALL THIS DOES IS ASSIGNS THIS RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ANTI-GRAFFITI UNIT.
SO THEY WOULD PROVIDE YOU WITH NOTICE, THEY WOULD PROVIDE YOU WITH EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS AND REMEDIES AND, YOU KNOW, UNDER, UNDER EXISTING CODE.
I BELIEVE THAT, UM, OR THEIR PROCESS, I BELIEVE THAT THEY WILL REACH OUT TO THE OWNER.
AND THERE ARE CASES WHERE THE OWNERS EITHER CAN'T OR WON'T PAINT OVER THE GRAFFITI, AND IN CERTAIN CASES, THE CITY WILL COME IN WITH THEIR PERMISSION AND PAINT OVER IT.
NOW, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I THINK YOU WOULD WANT ON YOUR PROPERTY, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY DO.
AND SO THIS IS MORE OF, UM, THIS IS MOVING WHAT THEY ALREADY DO INTO THIS UNIT, UM, THAT HOPEFULLY WILL BE MORE ROBUST.
AND NOT TO DENIGRATE ANY OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE BEFORE, BUT ALSO MORE RESPONSIVE.
YEAH, I, I WANTED TO SHARE THAT.
I THINK MY INVOLVEMENT IN THIS WAS TO ELEVATE THE, UM, THE FACT THAT GRAFFITI'S GOING ON, AND I THINK MAYBE YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE FED UP WITH HOW MUCH OF IT THERE IS IN THE CITY.
THE, UH, INTENT OF THIS IS TO HOPEFULLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF GRAFFITI GRAFFITI IN OUR CITY AND THEN HOPEFULLY REDUCE THE, THOSE TYPES OF REACTIONS TO WHEN GRAFFITI HAPPENS.
CUZ MY, MY GUESS IS THAT IT WASN'T SO MUCH INTENDED TOWARDS YOU, BUT TOWARDS THE FACT THAT, UM, THAT IT GOT DONE.
OUR HOPE WITH THIS IS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF EVENTS THAT HAPPEN AND THEN WHEN THEY DO HAPPEN THAT, THAT THEY GET COVERED OVER QUICKLY, SO AS TO NOT GIVE VOICE
[01:35:01]
TO THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE TAGGING.UM, SO I'M SORRY, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? AND I DON'T THINK THAT THIS ORDINANCE, UH, OR THIS RESOLUTION WOULD HELP ANY NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION NOT DO WHAT IT WANTS TO DO.
UH, AND I'M SORRY THAT YOU'RE IN THAT SITUATION, BUT THE INTENT OF THIS WAS TO HOPEFULLY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS THAT HAPPENED IN OUR CITY.
SO HOPEFULLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF ANGST RE UH, REGARDING GRAFFITI IN OUR CITY, WHICH IS GROWING.
SO THIS IS A WAY TO HOPEFULLY, UH, TAMP IT DOWN.
COMMISSIONER WEAVER, IF THAT'S THE INTENT.
WHAT IF ONE C CHANGES TO, UM, PROVIDE NOTICE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS WHOSE PROPERTY HAS BEEN TAGGED WITHIN 24 HOURS? HEY, THESE ARE YOUR OPTIONS.
WHAT IF IT'S PROVIDE SUPPORT? IF YOU HAVE 2 MILLION IN FUNDING, UH, IT'S STILL PRIVATE PROPERTY.
I, I, YOU KNOW, I, AND IF YOU LOOK AT C2, IT ACTUALLY DOES DO THAT.
BUT AGAIN, THIS, THIS IS WHAT IS ALREADY ESTABLISHED.
WE'RE JUST MOVING THAT FROM CODE ENFORCEMENT TO THIS UNIT.
SO, UM, BUT I, BUT I HEAR YOU AND I, BELIEVE ME, I UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION, UM, FROM A VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES.
UM, OTHER QUESTIONS? ES COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ? I JUST, UM, NOT A QUESTION, BUT A COMMENT.
UM, I, I PARTICIPATED IN THE WORKING GROUP SESSIONS AND I, I EXPRESSED DURING MY SESSIONS THAT I, I, I HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE MIXING OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PROPERTY.
I FEEL LIKE THE, THE, THE MAINTENANCE AND THE CENTRALIZING OF FUNDS AND THE TRANSPARENCY AND THE NEED TO TRACK, UM, THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS AND THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO MAINTAINING PUBLIC PROPERTIES FELT LIKE A PRIORITY.
UM, AND I DID EXPRESS SOME CONCERNS AROUND THE MIXING OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SORT OF NEEDS.
UM, AND SO I, I STILL FEEL PRETTY STRONGLY THAT THE MIXING OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC WITHIN THE RECOMMENDATION CREATES MURKY WATERS.
LIKE, LIKE, UM, COMMISSIONER WEAVER JUST MENTIONED, LIKE THE, THE MIS THE POTENTIAL MISUNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAVE A DEPARTMENT THAT HAS 2 MILLION THAT MIGHT HAVE FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR PRIVATE, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS FOR ABATEMENT.
UM, SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME CLARIFICATION, UM, AROUND PRIVATE AND PROPERTY, UH, PRIVATE PROPERTY AND PUBLIC PROPERTY AND MAYBE OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO, TO BETTER PRIORITIZE, UM, THE, THE PUBLIC PROPERTY SORT OF ASPECTS OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
DID SAY THAT ANY FUNDS WERE AVAILABLE FROM THE MEDIATION PRIVATE PROPERTY? NO.
UM, IT JUST SAYS EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING GRAFFITI, GRAFFITI ABATEMENT AND CRIMINAL TRESPASS.
YEAH, I MEAN, MAYBE UNDER REMEDIES IT'S CONFUSING THE WORD REMEDIES, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T THINK SO.
I I WAS JUST ASKING, I I DIDN'T REMEMBER ANY PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION INCLU OTHER THAN A GRANT PROGRAM, UM, WITH DEDICATED FUNDS FROM ANOTHER SOURCE, UH, FOR THE, UM, CODING.
UM, BECAUSE IT'S NOT SOMETHING A I PPP DOES, OR I THINK HAS AN INTEREST IN DOING, BUT THERE'S NOTHING IN THERE THAT SPECIFIES THAT ANY OF THE FUNDS IN THE BUDGET ARE TO GO TO ANYTHING.
BUT, UM, BUT PUBLIC PROPERTY, I, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE LANGUAGE DOESN'T NECESSARILY LIKE, EXPLICITLY SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IF WE'RE HAVING SOME CONFUSION ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS LIKE THAT, JUST AS, AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATION AMONGST COMMISSIONERS, I MEAN, THE, THE PRIVATE PROPERTY IN GRAFFITI IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY PERSONAL THING AND IT, IT HAPPENS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS.
AND IS, IF THAT SORT OF, UM, MISUNDERSTANDING IS HAPPENING AS WE'RE READING IT AS A COMMISSION, IS THERE, IS THERE OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN ON A LARGER SCALE, I GUESS IS THE QUESTION? WELL, I MEAN, I THINK ANY, PARDON ME.
WE CAN INSERT SOMETHING THAT SAYS, WELL, I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARY, REALLY.
[01:40:01]
I THINK ANY TIME THERE'S ANY KIND OF RULE OR ORDINANCE PAST, THERE IS A PO A POSSIBILITY OF CONFUSION AND PART OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT IS BEING CREATED.I MEAN, THAT'S MAYBE ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF THEIR JOB IS TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHAT IS AND IS NOT AVAILABLE, WHAT THEY CAN CANNOT DO.
I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S ANY WAY TO CREATE OR PASS OR DRAFT ANY RESOLUTION THAT ANSWERS EVERY QUESTION.
I MEAN, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE SOME POSSIBILITY OF CONFUSION THAT THEN HAS TO BE CLEARED UP, ESPECIALLY WITH IMPLEMENTATION AS YOU GO ALONG.
I THINK WE WERE ALSO, ONE OF OUR DISCUSSIONS WAS AROUND ABANDONED PROPERTIES, UH, BECAUSE YOU'LL SEE, UH, ABANDONED PROPERTIES AROUND TOWN IN EVERY DISTRICT THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY TAGGED OVER.
AND WHILE THERE MAY BE AN OWNER, UM, THERE MAY BE ISSUES WITH THAT OWNERSHIP.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE AN INSOLVENT BUSINESS, IT COULD HAVE BE A MANY OF A NUMBER OF THINGS.
AND SO THE BUILDING HAS BECOME A TARGET FOR GRAFFITI AND, AND POTENTIALLY OTHER ISSUES.
UM, AND WE, WE, WE DID TRY TO WORK THROUGH THAT.
UM, THERE ARE, WITH THOSE BUILDINGS, IF THERE ARE OTHER CODE ISSUES, CODE ENFORCEMENT WILL TAKE THE ACTION THEY TAKE ANYWAY, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY'RE PAINTED OR NOT.
BUT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE, WE DID TRY TO GRAPPLE WITH COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ THAT DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT, ABOUT RYAN? YEAH, I, I MEAN, IT, IT IS, AND IT, AND, AND I REMEMBER ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT WOULD, THE, THE ISSUE WAS WITH, YOU KNOW, PIECES OF PROPERTY THAT HAVE OBVIOUSLY BECOME TARGETS AND THAT HAVE BECOME, YOU KNOW, PLASTERED, UM, WITH, UM, AND THAT INVITE, YOU KNOW, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GOODWILL BUILDING ON SOUTH LAMAR COMES TO MIND.
THE OLD GOODWILL BUILDING ON SOUTH LAMAR COMES TO MIND THAT, UM, UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK WE, EVEN AS WE WERE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, WE WERE, WE, WE TALKED TO SOME EXTENT ABOUT THE, THE BURDEN THAT IT COULD POSSIBLY, UM, IT, AND, AND NOT THAT THIS PARTICULAR LANGUAGE NECESSARILY POSES A BURDEN, BECAUSE IF IT'S NOT IMPLYING ANY FINES OR ANYTHING, BUT I THINK THE, JUST SPEAKING TO THE, THE, THE GRAFFITI BEING THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE IS IN AND OF ITSELF A BURDEN TO SMALL, YOU KNOW, TO PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS.
UM, SO, AND, AND HONESTLY WE DID THAT.
HONESTLY, THE BUR PART OF THE BURDEN ON PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS IS WHY WE BROUGHT THIS FORWARD.
AS COMMISSIONER GOMEZ SAID, IF WE CAN SOMEHOW TAMP DOWN, MITIGATE, PART OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, GETTING CREWS OUT WITHIN 24 HOURS TO REMOVE THE, THE TAGS, THE GRAFFITI, THEN SLOWLY YOU START PUSHING BACK.
AND THEN THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS, THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, FOLKS LIKE COMMISSIONER WEAVER ARE NOT FACING, UM, THE BURDEN OF HAVING TO REMEDIATE GRAFFITI.
SO THAT'S, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S FOR THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN.
THAT'S WHAT I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
BUT IT HAS, THE WAY WE'RE SET UP, IT HAS TO START WITH THE PUBLICLY OWNED PROPERTY.
SO, UM, YES, UH, COMMISSIONER LEHMAN, THANK YOU.
UH, I CAN SEE COMMISSIONER WEAVER'S CONCERNED, AND, UM, I WONDER IF WE COULD JUST LIMIT, AND MAYBE THE STAFF WOULD ALREADY DO THIS, SO THAT THEY WEREN'T JUST BEING USED AS A CASUAL AND WASTEFULLY REIFYING PROPERTY OWNERS EVERY TIME THEY GOT A COMPLAINT, BUT INSTEAD THEY'D ACCEPT ALL THE COMPLAINTS, BUT MAKE ONE NOTICE TO THE PROPERTY OWNER WITH THE HELPFUL EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION, NO THREATS.
UM, A LIMITED NUMBER OF TIMES PER PROPERTY PER 90 DAYS.
I THINK ONCE THEY'RE IN THE SYSTEM, AND IT'S BEEN NOTED, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS TOO IS BECAUSE THIS IS A REAL BURDEN ON THREE 11 ALREADY UNDERSTAFFED AND OVERWORKED.
UH, AND TO HAVE A POINT OF CONTACT WHERE THEY CAN DIRECT ALL THIS HELPS THEM, UH, WHICH IN TURN HELPS THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN.
BUT I WOULD THINK THAT, AND WE CAN, I THINK IT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION THAT, THAT ONCE A PROPERTY HAS BEEN NOTICED, OR ONCE THREE 11 HAS RECEIVED A CALL THAT A PROPERTY HAS BEEN TAGGED, IT'S NOT MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS, IT'S JUST ONE VIOLATION, OR NOT EVEN A VIOLATION,
[01:45:01]
ONE OCCURRENCE.EVEN THOUGH IF YOU HAD A HUNDRED PEOPLE GO BY AND THEY ALL, THEY ALL TEXTED IN TO THE THREE 11 APP, UH, THE BUILDING AT 100 CONGRESS HAS BEEN TAGGED, OR NAME YOUR FAVORITE ADDRESS.
UM, IT WOULD JUST BE THAT ONE INSTANCE AND THEY WOULD PRESENT THE, THE OWNER THE INFORMATION AND THE NOTICE ONCE, I THINK WHAT I HEAR YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE A FACILITY TO RE RE ELIMINATE REDUNDANT RESPONSES BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS GET MULTIPLE REPORTS ON COMPLAINTS.
AND I, COMMISSIONER WEAVER, I DON'T KNOW IN YOUR CASE IF ANYBODY EVER EVEN REPORTED IT TO THREE 11, BECAUSE YOU SAID YOU NEVER HEARD ANYTHING FROM THE CITY.
NO, IT WASN'T AN ISSUE, AN ISSUE WITH THE CITY.
IT WAS MY NEIGHBOR IS, UM, I JUST WANNA PREEMPTIVELY SAY I'M GONNA VOTE NO ON THIS MEASURE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THE NEEDS OF SMALL BUSINESS ARE REPRESENTED IN THIS WRITING.
UM, I THINK YOU'RE OFF TO A GREAT START, BUT I THINK THERE'S OTHER VOICES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO REPRESENT AND MOVING THIS RECOMMENDATION FORWARD.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY ONLY, UH, VOTING MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION CAN VOTE, BUT WE, WE DO HEAR YOUR, YOUR CONCERNS.
UM, SO CAN WORKING GROUP MEMBERS DO THE MOTION
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT THE, UH, DOWNTOWN COMMISSION VOTE TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION AS WRITTEN AND FORWARDING IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR RE UH, CONSIDERATION.
I'VE GOT A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER LEHMAN.
UM, DO I HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, I'VE GOT A MOTION TO SECOND ON THE FLOOR.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY.
HEARING NONE CALL THE QUESTION.
UM, THE WORKING GROUP'S WORK IS NOT FINISHED, SO COMMISSIONER WEAVER, WE HEAR YOU.
UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT.
UM, ONE OF THE REASONS WE HAD D A N AND WE ASKED THE CHAMBER WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, OUR BUSINESSES, OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY WAS BEING HEARD.
SO WE'LL GO BACK TO THEM AS WELL.
AND IF THERE'S FURTHER FEEDBACK FROM THEM, AND CERTAINLY WE'LL TAKE YOURS, UH, AND THE WORKING GROUPS WORK WILL CONTINUE.
YEAH, AND I, AND I THINK THAT THE MAIN THING FROM MY REASON FOR BEING INVOLVED AND PUSHING FORWARD IS THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO SET ASIDE THESE DOLLARS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT GRAFFITI.
IF WE NEED TO TWEAK IT AS WE GO, THEN THERE MAY, THERE IS STUFF THAT WE CAN STILL DO FOR IT AND WITH IT.
SO IF ANYBODY HAS, UH, IDEAS OR LANGUAGE THAT THEY WOULD LIKE FOR US TO LOOK AT AND MAKE SURE AND SEND IT TO US.
[6. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Arts Commission]
LET'S SEE.UM, ARTS COMMISSION, COMMISSIONER MOCK.
UM, JUST WANTED TO, UH, LET YOU KNOW THAT WE FINISHED OUR FIRST PROGRAM, UH, THRIVE FOR TO FUND ALL THE NONPROFIT AND WITH THE INCLUSION EQUITY IN MIND.
AND WE ARE GOING TO, UH, ROLL OUT THE SECOND PROGRAM, THE ELEVATE, WHICH WILL BE ROLLED OUT IN MAY.
UM, I JUST WANT TO APPRECIATE, UM, THE GRAFFITI COMMITTEE TO INCLUDE, UH, A I P P FOLKS INTO THE, UM, INTO THE CONVERSATION.
UM, THIS IS NOT EASY TO DIFFERENTIATE WHAT IS ODD TO SOMEONE, WHAT IS OFFENSIVE TO OTHERS, AND, UM, YEAH.
SO WE, WE'LL NEED TO CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION, BUT THANK YOU.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION, MUSIC COMMISSION, PARKS AND REC, UM, COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ
[10. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Public Safety Commission]
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.[01:50:02]
OUR LAST COMMISSION MEETING, WHICH WAS A LITTLE BIT OVER ON MARCH 6TH, I BELIEVE.UM, WE ACTUALLY REALLY SPENT THE BULK OF OUR MEETING DISCUSSING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ACROSS THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS.
UM, WE HAD FIRST HAD A CONVERSATION AFTER WINTER STORM, YURI TO JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT KIND OF NEEDS, UM, THE DEPARTMENTS HAD, WHAT PROBLEMS THEY SAW COME UP, UM, AND WITH WINTER WEATHER EVENTS AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS JUST SEEMING MORE FREQUENT AND MORE COMMON, UM, WE JUST WANTED TO SORT OF, UM, REVISIT THAT AND TALK ABOUT WHAT NEEDS ARE STILL, UM, SURFACING ACROSS ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, WHAT PROBLEMS THEY'RE STILL SEEING, WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT CHANGES THEY'VE MADE.
UM, THOSE ARE PRETTY LENGTHY DISCUSSION.
I THINK WE TALKED OVER AN HOUR ON THAT ALONE.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS, UM, MADE, UM, IN PROCESS, UM, AND IN FACILITIES AND IN HOW THEY CHARGE THINGS.
I THINK OVERALL WHAT WE HEARD IS THAT THERE'S STILL AN, UH, A NEED TO ASSESS AND, UM, INSTALL, IMPROVE, UM, MAINTAIN GENERATORS AT, UM, AT FACILITIES.
UM, IS, WAS THE OVERWHELMING SORT OF NEED THAT WE HEARD.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HEARD, UM, THAT, UM, MAKING, THERE'S ALREADY A RESOLUTION THAT I THINK CITY COUNCIL PASSED, UM, AFTER THIS LAST WINTER STORM, BUT JUST TO SORT OF REVISIT THE, THE WINTER, UM, WINTER WEATHER SHELTERING, UM, POLICIES, UM, SO THAT, UM, OUR EM, EMS AND FIRE AND A P D STAFF CAN BE BETTER EQUIPPED, UM, TO HANDLE AND HELP, UM, UM, AND ANTICIPATE, UM, SOME OF THOSE NEEDS.
UM, WE ALSO HEARD, I THINK FROM EMS IN PARTICULAR AND, AND FIRE THAT THEY'RE SPENDING, UM, TIME IN THEIR EMERGENCY RESPONSES WHEN WE HAVE LARGE WEATHER EVENTS AND IN HELPING WITH CONTINUITY OF CARE, UM, FOR, UM, VULNERABLE PE PEOPLE THAT NEED MEDIC, THAT HAVE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PEOPLE THAT NEED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PEOPLE, UM, WHEN THEY LOSE POWER AND SUCH.
UM, THERE WAS A WHOLE BUNCH OF, I, AGAIN, AS ALWAYS, I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO, TO TUNE INTO OUR MEETING.
IT'S, IT'S RECORDED, IT'S ONLINE.
UM, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, WE, WE COVERED A, A LOT OF GROUND, UM, IN TERMS OF CHANGES THEY'VE MADE AND THINGS THAT WE WANNA SEE.
AND WE'LL BE BRINGING FORTH A RECOMMENDATION, NOT THIS COMING MONTH, BUT IN MAY WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, FOR, UM, THE BUDGET WITH REGARDS TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AS A COMMISSION.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WAS, ASIDE FROM THAT, WE GOT UPDATES FROM FIRE AND EMS, OUR QUARTERLY UPDATES JUST ON STATS AND HIRING AND, YOU KNOW, ACADEMY CLASSES AND ALL THAT STUFF AND RESPONSE TIMES.
I KNOW WE'VE GOT EMERGENCY SERVICES COMING IN MAY.
WE'VE GOT A TWO, A CROSSOVER PANEL ON FOR APRIL AND MAY.
AND SO I'M, I'M COUNTING ON YOU BEING HERE.
UM, I, I THINK THERE'LL BE, UM, SOME OVERLAP AND I'M, I'M HOPING SOME CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS AROUND, UM, UM, UH, LARGE SCALE SORT OF CATASTROPHIC, CATASTROPHIC EVENTS, UM, THAT WE HOPE TO AVOID, BUT THAT WE NONETHELESS NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR.
COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ, IF I MAY ASK, WAS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT BEING PREPARED FOR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AS I GOT STUCK IN TRAFFIC AND
IT WAS, UM, IT WAS MOSTLY FOCUSED ON WEATHER RELATED, UM, SORT OF EMERGENCIES WHERE THE ENTIRE CITY SORT OF L LIKE WE HAD IN FEBRUARY AND IN FEBRUARY, TWO YEARS AGO IN DECEMBER WHEN WE HAD WINTER WEATHER.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD EXTREME HEAT SITUATIONS.
WE'VE HAD CITYWIDE WATER OUTAGES.
IT WAS, IT WAS MO MOSTLY FOCUSED ON THAT.
UM, CUZ WE WERE GIVING THEM SOME SPACE AND GRACE TO GET READY FOR THE SOUTH, FOR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST HONESTLY.
[01:55:01]
THEY'LL NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE BREATHING TIME AFTERWARDS.[11. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Urban Design Commission]
URBAN DESIGN COMMISSION? YES.OH NO, MY SCREEN JUST WENT BLACK.
UM, SO LAST MEETING AT DESIGN COMMISSION.
WE REVIEWED A NEIGHBORHOOD PARK AT WORTLEY NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, UM, AND WE DID MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO COUNSEL FOR THE PARK, UM, PROVIDED THAT PARK'S AD BIKE ROCKS, UM, ADD AN ACCESS, UH, GATE AND PATH TO ADJACENT APARTMENTS AND ALSO ADD A SINGLE UNISEX RESTROOM.
UM, SO THEY WERE ALREADY PROVIDING A WATER FOUNTAIN BUT NOT A BATHROOM.
UM, WE ALSO REVIEWED THE PROPOSED CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE, UM, WAS PRESENTED BY BATIAN ADAMS, UM, AND ALSO HCR R ENGINEERING.
UM, THEY'RE LOOKING TO GET TO 30%, UH, DESIGN DEVELOPMENT BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, WE ALSO REVIEWED OUR, UH, PLANNED URBAN DESIGN WORKING GROUP STRUCTURE AND THAT IS ALL WE DISCUSSED.
DID Y'ALL TAKE ANY ACTION ON THAT? UM, WAS IT JUST AN INFORMATIONAL UPDATE DAY? IT WAS JUST A STAFF BRIEFING.
WE DID NOT WRITE A RECOMMENDATION.
THEY'RE STILL PRETTY EARLY IN THE PROCESS AND SO I THINK THE MAIN THING WAS JUST TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION ON WHAT THE CONSIDERATIONS ARE.
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM THEM HERE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN URBAN TRANSPORTATION
[12. Discussion of recent activities and actions taken by the Urban Transportation Commission]
COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY.WELL, IN OUR MEETING LAST WEEK, UH, WE RECEIVED A PRESENTATION ON A REDO OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN THE SOUTH AUSTIN, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD PARKING RULES.
THEY'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT RESTRUCTURING THOSE.
UM, AND THEN THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT CONTINUED DISCUSSION ABOUT THE TECH 35 CENTRAL PROJECT AND DISSATISFACTION THERE AS I THINK MOST OF FOLKS IN THE CITY HAVE.
AND WE ALSO DISCUSSED AN UPCOMING, UH, EVENT MARCH 21ST THAT I WANNA TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ON THE UPDATES ON PROJECT CONNECT PROJECT.
UM, I ALSO WANNA, IF YOU'LL ALLOW ME, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE COURTESY THAT YOU'VE GIVEN ME.
I HAVE TERMED OUT ON MY PARTICIPATION ON THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND THIS IS MY LAST TIME THAT I'LL BE HERE AT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION AS THEIR REPRESENTATIVE.
UM, THE CHAIR ALSO CHANGED AND THAT IS NOW SUZANNE SUMMERS.
AND IN THE MEANTIME, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT IF YOU HAVE TRANSPORTATION QUESTIONS, NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHEN NEW APPOINTEES ARE GONNA BE MADE.
WE WERE FIRST TOLD, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD SERVE UNTIL THE NEW PERSON WAS APPOINTED, BUT THEN THAT THERE IS AN ACTUAL DEAD, DEAD TIME LIMIT AND THE END OF MARCH WE UNDERSTAND IS WHAT THAT IS.
SO I'VE PEED ON MY REQUEST TO, UH, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND TO SOME OTHER STAFF THERE EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF, UH, SOMEONE BEING APPOINTED QUICKLY AND ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING SOME LIAISON TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION BECAUSE I REALLY THINK THAT'S, UH, HELPED THE COMMUNICATIONS TO MAINTAIN.
UM, I WOULD ASK THAT THE COMMISSION CONTINUE TO ENGAGE IN THE PROJECT CONNECT PROJECT AND THE, UH, URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
I THINK THERE'RE GONNA BE A NUMBER OF THOSE PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE THERE.
I KNOW ALL OF YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT CHANGES THAT ARE REQUIRED, UH, AND THERE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF STUDY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS AND THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME MAJOR, UH, PROPOSALS UNVEILED AT THIS MEETING FROM FOUR TO 7:00 PM MARCH THE 21ST THAT THE DOWNTOWN, UH, AUSTIN CENTRAL LIBRARY IS A COME AND GO FOUR TO 7:00 PM AND CERTAINLY HOPE THAT SOME OF YOU CONTINUE TO BE ENGAGED IN THAT.
UM, AND I, AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR GETTING TO KNOW SOME OF YOU AND APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DOWNTOWN AND, UH, THE COMMON, THE COMMON,
[02:00:01]
UH, POLICIES AND, UH, THINGS GOING ON BETWEEN THE UTC AND THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU'VE, UH, MAINTAINED RELEVANCY WHILE I'VE OBSERVED THE COMMISSION.
COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY, YOU'LL BE MISSED.
ALRIGHT, UM, THAT GETS US THROUGH OUR AGENDA.
ANY FUTURE ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION? UH, SEEING NONE, UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT? SO I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR ADJOURNMENT? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
IS 7:41 PM UH, AND THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION IS ADJOURNED FOR THE EVENING.