[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:05]
CORRUM, I'D LIKE TO CALL A MEETING TO ORDER.
THAT'S APPROXIMATELY WHAT, SIX OH EIGHTS ON A WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY.
I WANNA WELCOME OUR NEW COMMISSION MEMBER HERE, CRAIG NAOR, WHO HAS JOINED US ON THE, UH, DIAS.
AND, UH, OF COURSE, WE, YOU KNOW, ALL US.
WE'VE BEEN HERE FOREVER TODAY.
BUT, UH, ANYWAY, TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON.
THIS SHOULD BE A VERY SHORT, SHORT GATHERING, UH, ITEM.
WHAT IS THAT? UH, NUMBER FOUR.
WE'RE GONNA DEFER THAT UNTIL OUR MAY MEETING AT THE REQUEST OF CITY MANAGEMENT.
SO THAT WILL BE SOMETHING WE'LL PICK UP IN, IN MAY.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
RIGHT ALONG HERE.THE NEXT, UH, THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS ACTUALLY IS THAT, IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR PREVIOUS, UH, SPECIAL CALL MEETING, WHICH WAS ON MARCH THE 22ND.
THERE'S NO QUESTIONS, OR I'D LIKE TO, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR APPROVAL ON THAT.
YES, I'LL MOVE FOR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
COMMISSIONER GATTUSO MOVES APPROVAL ON THE MINUTES.
DO I HEAR A SECOND MELISSA SECONDS? DO I HEAR ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS? HEAR ANY? NO DISCUSSION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
[3. Annual Officer Elections – Gerry Acuna]
RIGHT, MOVING ON.IS THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS ACTUALLY THE, UH, I'D LIKE TO MOVE NUMBER THREE TO NUMBER TWO.
JUST THE, THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS, WHICH IS A ANNUAL FORMALITY THAT WE HAVE HERE.
AND, UH, ANYWAY, I'LL OPEN THAT UP.
WELL, I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE, I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE, UH, YOU JERRY FOR, UH, CHAIR FOR THIS COMING YEAR.
SO, DO I HEAR A SECOND? I THINK I SHOULD.
COMMISSIONER MASSINO, UH, SECONDS.
ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING? NO DISCUSSION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
I'M GONNA, I GUESS I HAVE TO RAISE MY HAND OR I'M IN TROUBLE, BUT, UH,
I'D LIKE TO, UH, WHICH IS THE NEXT OFFICER POSITION HERE.
YOU FEEL LIKE DOING THIS AGAIN,
I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE, UH, KATHY AS, UH, VICE CHAIR.
DO I HEAR A SECOND OF THIS? I'LL SECOND MELISSA.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS, VERY, VERY MUCH.
AND HOPEFULLY THANK, WE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN, RIGHT? THANK YOU.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS, BUT, UH, ANYWAY,
[2. URO Working Group Sub-Committee New Member Selection – Cathy Gattuso]
GUYS, MOVING ON HERE.THE, UH, NEXT ITEM IS A, THE, THE U R O WORKING GROUP.
WE, UH, NEED TO FILL A POSITION ON THAT WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER WHITE'S, UH, DEPARTURE.
WE ARE NEEDING A THIRD MEMBER TO THIS COMMISSION, TO THIS WORKING GROUP.
AND MELISSA, I THINK YOU HAD, UH, A DISCUSSION WITH ONE OF OUR NEW MEMBERS, IS THAT CORRECT? I DID HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH SOMEBODY WHO WILL BE A NEW MEMBER.
I DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY SPEAK WITH HER ABOUT THE COMMITTEE, THOUGH.
SO WE CAN'T THROW HER UNDER THE BUS.
ALL RIGHT, GUYS, THAT'LL TEACH YOU TO BE LATE OR NOT JUST SPEAK.
WELL, WE ONLY HAVE TO VOTE ON SOMEONE THAT'S ON THIS COMMISSION TO BE ON IT.
IF WE BRING SOMEONE FROM THE OUTSIDE, THAT CAN COME.
WHAT DOES U R O STAND FOR? UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE.
OH, AND IT'S, AND RIGHT NOW, CRAIG, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS, UH, TRYING TO GET MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING, UM, SET, UH, AND TO CHANGE OF BYLAWS, TO, TO HAVE THAT IN ALL MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES.
UH, COMPOSTING, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PLASTICS? THAT IS A GREAT, YEAH.
PLACE TO START, BUT, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE SHOULD POSTPONE THIS UNTIL WE TALK TO YOU, CRAIG
I, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA TO POSTPONE THIS RICHARD, UM, DOG TALKING TO THE MICROPHONES, PLEASE.
WE'RE HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING OVER HERE.
WE ARE DISCUSSING THE ITEM AND, UH, WHETHER WE SHOULD DEFER THIS ITEM UNTIL WE HAVE OTHER MEMBERS HERE, AND WE CAN ACTUALLY EXPLAIN WHAT THE POSITION ENTAILS.
WE'VE GOT, UH, ONE, TWO, WHAT, THREE NEW MEMBERS, IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH.
I HAVE THREE NEW MEMBERS COMING ON.
[00:05:01]
IF YOU HAVE ONE NEW MEMBER.I HAVEN'T BEEN NOTIFIED OF ANYBODY ELSE.
AND THIS HEATHER WAS, WELL, WHEN I SPOKE TO HER TODAY, SHE SAID THAT SHE ACCEPTED THE APPOINTMENT FROM HER COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO HE'S GONNA HAVE TO, I GUESS, STILL FORMALLY APPOINT HER.
SO PROBABLY AT THE MEETING TOMORROW.
LET'S, LET'S GO AHEAD AND DEFER THIS ITEM ON YEAH.
WE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE THREE ON THERE.
[DIRECTOR’S REPORT]
NEXT ITEM IS LITERALLY, UH, RICHARD, IT'S THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.CRAIG, THIS IS THE SHORTEST MEETING YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO
YES, THE ACTING DIRECTOR, RICHARD MACHA, UH, YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU ARE, UH, DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
UM, OVER HERE WE'VE COPIED, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT THE WINTER STORM, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING POLICY, UM,
WELL, THERE SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A CONTRADICTION ON THE STORM CLEANUP.
LIKE ONE, THE FIRST PARAGRAPH SAID PEOPLE NOT TO CALL THE THREE 11, AND THEN THEY, AND THEN LATER IT SAID TO CALL 'EM BETWEEN APRIL AND JUNE.
IT, UH, WE, PERHAPS WE COULD HAVE WORDED IT BETTER.
SO WHAT WE DID, WE DID ASK, UH, FOLKS TO CALL THREE 11 IF THEY HAD STORM DAMAGE.
OUR LAST CALL BASICALLY WAS TO TELL THEM TO HAVE MATERIAL OUT BY THE 30TH FOR OUR THIRD PASS, WHICH WE'VE STARTED, WE SHOULD FINISH THAT PROBABLY IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS OR SO.
AFTER THAT POINT, THEN WE WOULD ASK PEOPLE TO CALL THREE 11 TO LET US US KNOW IF THERE IS MATERIAL OUT.
SO THAT, SO REALLY THAT'S AFTER THE, UH, THAT, THAT TIMEFRAME THERE.
SO YOU'RE STILL COLLECTING QUITE A BIT AT THIS POINT? UH, THERE'S A LOT LESS.
SO IT, UH, WE, WE HAD A LITTLE BREAK.
WE DID A KIND OF A ROUTE AROUND THE CITY AND KIND OF QUANTIFIED WHERE ALL THE STOPS WERE.
UM, AND NOW THE CONTRACTORS ARE BACK OUT THERE.
I THINK THEY HAD OVER JUST OVER A THOUSAND STOPS.
BUT FOR THOSE CONTRACTORS, THEY MOVED PRETTY QUICK.
SO THAT'LL BE SHORT ORDER TO GET THAT COLLECTED.
SO WE SHOULD BE IN GOOD SHAPE AND HAVE THIS BEHIND US HERE BY THE TIME WE GET, UH, AT LEAST FOR THE MOST PART BY MAY.
AND WE'LL STILL GET CALLS AND WE'LL STILL ACCEPT CALLS THROUGH MAY AND JUNE TO PICK UP DAMAGE THAT PEOPLE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET TO THE CURB.
UM, BUT FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, IT'S, UH, KIND OF WRAPPING UP THIS, THIS EVENT.
ANY COMMENTS FROM RESIDENTS ABOUT HOW THIS HAS BEEN GOING? UH, A LOT OF COMMENTS.
UH, WE'VE HAD SOME GOOD COMMENTS.
PEOPLE WERE REALLY PLEASED THAT, UH, THINGS WENT SO FAST.
WE HAD SOME FOLKS A LITTLE UPSET CUZ THEY DIDN'T THINK WE WOULD BE THERE QUITE AS FAST AND THEY WENT AND PAID SOMEONE TO REMOVE THE MATERIAL AND THEN WE SHOWED UP THE NEXT DAY.
SO, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN WORK A LITTLE BETTER ON OUR COM COMMUNICATION PERHAPS AND, AND, UH, TO AVOID THAT IN THE FUTURE IF POSSIBLE.
BUT, UH, OVERALL, UH, THINGS WERE PRETTY POSITIVE AND MEAN.
WE DID HAVE SOME FOLKS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME MISSED CALLS.
THE CONTRACTOR HAD MOVED SOME MATERIAL IN FRONT OF SOME FOLKS HOUSES TO KIND OF CONSOLIDATE IT FOR THE TRUCK.
BUT WE TRIED TO, UH, WHEN WE GOT THOSE ESCALATIONS, WE TRIED TO SEND OUR OWN CREWS OUT THERE TO RESOLVE THOSE ISSUES.
WELL, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE, UH, DIRECTOR'S REPORT IT, IT REALLY PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE HOW MUCH TONNAGE HAS BEEN COLLECTED.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S A GOOD IDEA TO SEE IF THE STATESMAN COULD RUN SOMETHING ON THAT AND TO LET THEM KNOW THAT IT'S TAKEN A LONG TIME.
YOU KNOW, IT'S TAKEN LONGER THAN PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, PICK UP THE DEBRIS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UH, THERE WAS SO MUCH OUT THERE.
YEAH, IT IS A LOT OF DEBRIS AND, AND YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LOOK AT THE COMMUNITIES AROUND AUSTIN.
THEY'RE STILL, YEAH, THEY DIDN'T HAVE, MOST OF THEM DIDN'T HAVE CONTRACTS IN PLACE, SO THAT DELAYED THEM A COUPLE WEEKS.
UH, I DID TALK TO ONE OF THE CONTRACTORS WORKING IN, UH, IN OUTSIDE THE AUSTIN AREA, AND THEY SAID THEY'LL PROBABLY BE COLLECTING THROUGH JUNE IN SOME OF THE AREAS IN THE COUNTY.
SO THERE'S STILL, UH, A LOT OF MATERIAL OUT THERE.
AND NOT ONLY TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT WILLIAMSON COUNTY AROUND ROCK, THERE ARE A LOT OF MATERIALS STILL AROUND.
SO, UH, THERE, THERE'LL BE FOLKS WORKING IN THIS AREA FOR, FOR QUITE A WHILE.
ANY, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON A DIFFERENT PART OF THE REPORT.
SO I WANTED TO ASK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE VIOLET BAG PROGRAM.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION, UM, IN THE REPORT.
UM, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW A R INTERFACES WITH THE OTHER ENTITIES WHEN THERE IS A, A CAMP CLEANER.
UM, SO IT SAYS THAT YOU WORK WITH A P H, THE A P D AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND TRYING TO RELOCATE PEOPLE AND THEN CLEAN UP THE CAMP.
[00:10:01]
HOW DOES THAT PROCESS WORK? UM, WHO INITIATES THE IDENTIFICATION OF A SITE FOR THIS, FOR THIS TARGETED KIND OF, UH, CLEANUP INITIATIVE? AND THEN DO YOU COME THROUGH AFTER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MOVED TO TEMPORARY HOUSING OR PUSHED OUT? DO YOU COME IN AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END? SO HOW DOES THAT ALL WORK WHEN YOU'RE INTERFACING WITH THESE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ON ONE OF THESE TARGETED CLEANUPS? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION AND I'LL, I'LL BEGIN TO ANSWER THAT.I'LL, I WILL, WILL ASK OUR ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UH, AMY
BUT, UH, WE ACTUALLY MEET CITYWIDE ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
SO EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING AT EIGHT O'CLOCK WE HAVE KIND OF A CITYWIDE MEETING WHERE WE ALL KIND OF TALK ABOUT OUR ISSUES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH CLEANUPS, UM, AREAS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, SEE THAT NEED TO BE CLEANED.
UM, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING ON.
WE HAVE A P D THERE, WE HAVE HEALTH, WE HAVE, UH, EMS, WE HAVE PRETTY MUCH EVERY DEPARTMENT.
MOST OF YOUR LAND OWNING DEPARTMENTS ARE THERE CUZ WE'RE ALL, WE'RE TRYING TO COORDINATE OUR WORK SO WE'RE NOT STEPPING ON EACH OTHER'S FEET.
AND SINCE WE DO HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES FOR COLLECTING THE MATERIAL RIGHT NOW, CUZ WE JUST HAVE A, A FEW CONTRACTS, UM, WE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SPACING THE WORK OUT WELL ENOUGH WHERE WE'RE NOT, UH, KIND OF DOUBLE BOOKING OUR, OUR CONTRACTORS, IF YOU WILL.
BUT WE DO HAVE SOME, UH, PENDING CONTRACTS THAT, UH, SHOULD BE COMING UP THAT SHOULD ALLEVIATE THAT.
BUT I CAN ASK AMY TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON SPECIFICS OF LIKE, WHO, WHO MAKES THE REQUEST AND WHO RESPONDS.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER MARCINO, UH, THERE'S A, A GROUP, UH, THAT MEETS YOU WITHIN THE CITY ABOUT ONCE A WEEK.
AND IT'S A HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT MANAGEMENT TEAM AND IT'S A PLANNING TEAM.
AND ESSENTIALLY, UH, THEY, UM, HAVE INFORMATION THAT'S FILTERED TO THEM THROUGH PART OR ARR OR WATERSHED PROTECTION TO SAY WE'VE IDENTIFIED A SITE THAT NEEDS, UH, NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT.
AND THEY GO THROUGH A PRIORITIZATION TO, TO KIND OF RANK IT TO SEE, OR THEY GO THROUGH A PROCESS TO RANK IT TO SEE HOW QUICKLY IT NEEDS TO BE, UH, CLEANED UP, ESSENTIALLY IF THERE'S A SAFETY ISSUE, MAYBE FLOODING IN, IN A CHANNEL OR A DRAINAGE AREA OR IF IT'S A NEAR AN UNDERPASS OR ROADWAY.
UH, AND THEN THEY'LL, UH, UH, WE WILL ALL WORK ACROSS, UH, DEPARTMENTS TO ESSENTIALLY GET RESOURCES TOGETHER, SELECT A DATE, AND THEN COME OUT AND, UH, HELP CLEAN THAT SITE.
WE WAIT UNTIL AFTER, UH, UH, FOLKS HAVE BEEN MOVED BEFORE ANY CLEANING IS DONE.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS? YES, YES.
AND THEN I, I DO HAVE SOME FOLLOW UP.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S HELPFUL TO KNOW.
ARE THERE, I SAW THAT YOU ARE MAINTAINING THE VIOLET BAGS.
THERE ARE ONLY FOUR SITES CURRENTLY WHERE YOU STILL MAINTAIN THE, THE VIOLET BAG PICKUP.
RIGHT? SO FOR THE EXISTING ENCAMPMENTS, UM, ARE THERE MECHANISMS FOR THE CAMPS THAT OUTSIDE OF THOSE FOUR ENCAMPMENTS, OUTSIDE OF THOSE FOUR SITES, FOR THERE TO BE ANY KIND OF WASTE COLLECTION AND CLEANUP AT THESE OTHER SITES OUTSIDE OF THE TIME THAT YOU COME IN WHEN THE CAMP IS CLEAR? SO HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? I'M ASKING SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE ARE GROUPS THAT WORK WITH FOLKS AT THESE OTHER SITES, AND IS THERE A ROLE FOR THEM TO PLAY IN HELPING TO GATHER UP, WASTE IT, YOU KNOW, FLAGGING IT FOR PICKUP, DOING THINGS SO THAT IT DOESN'T GET TO THE POINT OF NEEDING THIS FULL, YOU KNOW, CLEAR EVERYONE OUT, THEN COME IN TO PICK UP THE WASTE.
SO ARE THERE WAYS THAT WE CAN SUPPORT THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS COULD SUPPORT WHAT YOU DO IN TRYING TO KEEP THE CAMPS A LITTLE CLEANER ON AN ONGOING BASIS, UM, OUTSIDE OF THOSE FOUR SITES? SO, UH, WE DO HAVE OTHER SITES THAT WE, WE CLEAN ON A REGULAR BASIS IN ADDITION TO THE FOUR.
AND THEY, THEY MOSTLY, UH, MIRROR THE SITES THAT PUBLIC WORKS HAS, AND THAT'S ABOUT 40 SOMETHING SITES KIND OF NEAR THOSE UNDERPASS AREAS.
UH, SO, UH, AGAIN, WE HELP THEM, UH, EVERY MONTH WITH THOSE SITES.
WE ALSO, UH, NOW WE'VE, UH, INVOLVED KI KEEP AUSTIN BEAUTIFUL TO HELP CLEAN UP SOME, UH, SITES THAT HAVE BEEN ABANDONED.
SO WE HAVE EXPLORED SOME OTHER VOLUNTEER, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO INCLUDE, UH, VOLUNTEERS TO COME IN AND HELP CLEAN UP SITES, BUT WE PREFER THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABANDONED THAT WAY WE CAN COME IN AND DO ASSESSMENTS AND THEN WE'LL HAVE EQUIPMENT THERE TO, TO HELP OUT.
IS IS THERE GUIDANCE FOR ORGANIZATIONS IN TERMS OF IF THEY ARE WORKING IN THESE SITES, SHOULD THEY BE DIRECTING PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE TO BAG UP THEIR TRASH AND LEAVE THEM IN A CERTAIN AREA? OR WHAT CAN THEY DO TO SUPPORT PEOPLE? I THINK AUSTIN, SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
UH, AUSTIN CODE, I BELIEVE PUT TOGETHER SOME INFORMATION ON THAT.
I'LL HAVE TO CIRCLE BACK AND SEE, SEE, UH, WHAT WAS, UH, WHAT WAS FORMALIZED.
YEAH, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, JUST, I, I KNOW THIS IS GREAT TO HEAR THAT YOU COORDINATE WITH THESE OTHER GROUPS, BUT
[00:15:01]
I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, I'M THINKING OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT MAYBE ARE MORE INVOLVED IN FOOD DISTRIBUTION, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE OUT AND IN CONTACT AND THEY MIGHT NOT BE THINKING ABOUT THE CLEANUP ASPECTS OF IT, BUT THEY COULD BE RESOURCES IN THAT REGARD, YOU KNOW, UM, IN SHARING INFORMATION ON HOW TO, HOW TO HELP PEOPLE BAG UP THEIR WASTE AND, AND SET IT PROPERLY.UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THEY WOULD BRING OUT ANYTHING THAT THEY BRING IN, BUT FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE, YOU KNOW, UM, SOMETIMES IT MIGHT JUST BE A MATTER OF MAKING SURE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF BAGS, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT.
SO ANY GUIDANCE YOU HAVE WILL BE REALLY HELPFUL, I THINK.
AMANDA, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OH, SORRY.
I DID, I MEAN, RICHARD, I, AGAIN, WE HAD, UH, BRIEFLY TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, ZERO WASTE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT BABY COME BACK.
I THINK THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING AND WORKING TOGETHER AS, UH, STAFF AND, UH, THIS COMMISSION ON TRYING TO HOPEFULLY FINALIZE THAT SOONER THAN LATER.
AND JUST, UH, THE PLANS ON THAT REAL QUICK THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US.
YEAH, I WILL, UH, I BELIEVE THE PLAN IS TO GO AHEAD AND, UH, STAFF WILL MEET WITH, UH, EACH OF YOU MM-HMM.
AND I'LL LET GINA, I JUST, WE'RE TRYING TO SET MEETING, SO, SO WE'RE ACTIVELY TRYING TO SCHEDULE MEETINGS WITH YOU.
SO, UH, CHECK YOUR CALENDARS AND, UH, YOU'LL BE GETTING AN INVITE SOON TO, TO SIT DOWN AND, AND TALK ABOUT THE PLAN WITH US.
AND THEN AT, AND THEN EVENTUALLY IT'LL BE BROUGHT TO THE, THE LARGER COMMISSION JUST FOR PRESENTATION, ALL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ALL THAT.
GINA, YOU'RE WONDERFUL ON TOP OF THAT.
OBVIOUSLY THAT'S THE, UH, THE BIBLE OF WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO HEAD THE ROADMAP AND TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT OF, YOU KNOW, WE'VE OBVIOUSLY WITH TECHNOLOGY AND SOME OF THE, UH, CHALLENGES THAT WE FACED OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 12 YEARS.
AND IN FACT, DURING THE, THE PREVIOUS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THAT WE DID ON THIS TOPIC, WE GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK, SO, WHICH IS GOOD.
JUST AS LONG AS THAT'S UP AT THE FOREFRONT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS ON THE, UH, DIRECTOR'S REPORTS? UH, NO, I, I JUST APPRECIATE THAT, UH, YOU'VE ALREADY SCHEDULING MEETINGS OR STARTING TO SCHEDULE WITH EACH ONE OF US.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CONSIDERATION.
YEAH, I, I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT HERE IN A GOOD WAY.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU LOOKED AT THE ACTUAL, UH, DIVERSION NUMBERS, BUT WE HAD A WONDERFUL SPIKE OF 60 PLUS PERCENT THE LAST MONTH.
AND YES, A LOT OF IT WAS WOOD, BUT STILL
IT WAS, IT WAS A GREAT, GREAT THING.
WE NEED TO DO THIS EVERY YEAR.
I MEAN, I DON'T ENVY ANYBODY WHO HAD TO GO OUT THERE AND ANSWER THE BILL AFTER THIS DISASTER.
WELL, YOU KNOW, IT A GOOD JOB.
BUT WE HAVE GREAT EMPLOYEES MM-HMM.
NOW THE SHIFT IS KIND OF ALL THAT HEAVY LIFTING'S GONNA GO TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE AS WE GO THROUGH ALL THE PAPERWORK SO WE CAN GET ALL OF OUR REIMBURSEMENTS.
SO HOPEFULLY, SO STILL A LOT OF WORK TO DO.
NOT SO MUCH IN THE FIELD, BUT NOW IT'S IN THE OFFICE.
WELL, THAT'S A GOOD SEGUE TO A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS THE BUDGET, BECAUSE THIS GREATLY AFFECTS OUR BUDGET IN THE, IN THE FUTURE.
I MEAN, WITH THE COST, THE UNEXPECTED COST OF THIS, EVEN A 75% REIMBURSEMENT IS STILL A MAJOR, IT'S STILL A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT.
IT'S A MAJOR, MAJOR CHALLENGE TO THE BUDGET THAT, UH, IS, WASN'T PLANNED FOR.
SO YEAH, THIS, SO WE CAN DEFINITELY BRING THAT UP AT AN UPCOMING BUDGET MEETING OR A UPCOMING, UH, SWAC MEETING TO DISCUSS BUDGET AND DISCUSS, UH, ANY ADDITIONAL FEMA INFORMATION THAT WE RECEIVED.
RICHARD, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE DIRECTOR'S REPORTS? SO YOU SHOULD HAVE NEW FIGURES.
WHEN I LOOKED AT THE, UH, THE NUMBER FOR FEMA OR FOR THE PRESIDENT TO DECLARE EMERGENCY, UM, WE'LL PROBABLY GET THERE, RIGHT? AND LOOK LIKE MAYBE AUSTIN HAD MORE THAN ANYBODY IN TEXAS.
WE, WE WE'RE THE, UH, THE, THE MARKET SHARE ON THAT ONE, I THINK.
AND THEY STILL HAD A LESS, WE MET WITH, UH, FEMA REPRESENTATIVES, UH, I THINK IT WAS LAST, EARLY LAST WEEK, AND THEY STILL HAD A LOT OF OTHER ENTITIES THAT THEY HAD TO GO TO LOOK AT.
SO WE HAD TO HIT THAT THRESHOLD OF, I THINK IT WAS 51 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
SO AUSTIN ALONE WILL ALMOST COVER THAT, BUT THEY STILL HAVE TO LOOK AT, UH, THE REMAINING REQUESTS THAT THEY HAVE.
AND A MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE ELECTRICAL COOPERATIVES.
SO THEY EXPECT SOME HIGH NUMBERS FROM
[00:20:01]
THOSE, FROM DAMAGE, FROM POWER LINES.THAT, UH, THE PRESIDENT WILL DECLARE A FEDERAL DISASTER, BUT WE HAVE TO WAIT JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
AND, AND THEN IT, SO THAT, UH, FEMA WOULD REIMBURSE UP TO 75%.
HOW DOES, WHAT'S THAT FORMULA? WHAT IS THAT? UH, YOU KNOW, I WISH I COULD TELL YOU BECAUSE IT, IT VARIES.
UH, YOU KNOW, BACK IN, UH, FOR HURRICANE HARVEY, FEMA HAD REIMBURSED CITY OF HOUSTON A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR THE FIRST 60 DAYS, UH, EXPENSES.
AND THEN THEY HAD A REDUCED LEVEL AFTER THAT, UH, FOR COVID.
THERE WAS A, A DIFFERENT FORMULA FOR THAT.
SO I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY THE FORMULA, BUT I WILL DEFINITELY FIND THAT OUT BECAUSE THAT'S, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I, I DIDN'T, I KNOW IT'S IN THE REPORT, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, SO RICHARD, UH, GREAT TO SEE YOU, AND I'M, I'M GRATEFUL THAT YOU'VE STEP STEPPED INTO THIS INTERIM ROLE, BUT DO WE WANNA, UM, SAY ANYTHING JUST ABOUT THE, THE SHIFTS AND THE, THE, UM, UH, DIRECTOR SNIPES MOVING INTO THE OTHER ROLE, HOW, HOW THINGS ARE SHIFTING IN TERMS OF LEADERSHIP AT ARR FOR THE TIME BEING? SURE, SURE.
UH, SO DIRECTOR SNIPES IS, UH, ON A SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT HELPING OUT OUR HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
SO HE'S SPENDING THE MAJORITY OF HIS TIME THERE, BUT HE'S STILL SPENDS TIME AT ARR, SO HE'S STILL INVOLVED IN, IN, UH, IN THIS ORGANIZATION HERE.
UM, SO, BUT I HAVE STEPPED UP JUST TO KIND OF FILL HIS SHOES.
AND THEN, UH, AMY HAS, UH, KINDA STEPPED UP TO FILL MY SHOES.
SO IT'S KIND OF A RIPPLE EFFECT.
UM, BUT WE'RE, UH, WE'RE ALL PRETTY WELL SEASONED, SO I THINK WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE AND WE SHOULD, UH, SHOULD BE ABLE TO HOLD THE, THE, THE REIGNS UNTIL DIRECTOR SNIPES IS ABLE TO RETURN ALL THE CONFIDENCE IN THE WORLD.
YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A HECK OF A JOB.
YOU'VE PROVEN YOURSELVES, AND AGAIN, YOU'RE NOT NEW TO THE GAME, SO THAT'S A GOOD THING.
WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FORTUNATE.
WE, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO OTHER CITIES AND LOOK AT THEIR, UH, HOW THEY REACT TO STORMS. AND I CAN TELL YOU IT'S A LOT EASIER WHEN YOU'RE SITTING IN A CHAIR HELPING ANOTHER CITY, BECAUSE IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG, THEY'RE NOT YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
YES, YOU CAN, UH, YOU CAN SIT BACK AND KIND OF OBSERVE THINGS WITH A, A LITTLE, UH, A LITTLE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAN SOMEONE THAT'S IN THE, THE MIDDLE OF THE CHAOS AT THE TIME.
AND WHEN THERE ARE FUTURE EVENTS, WE'LL, WE WILL LIKELY SEND FOLKS OUT TO, UH, TO OBSERVE AND, AND PARTICIPATE.
AND SO AS THEY CAN BRING BACK THAT INFORMATION DOES.
THANK YOU, RICHARD, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, HEARING NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I GUESS THIS TAKES US DOWN TO, UH,
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
LITERALLY THE, UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. WELL, LIKE YOU SAID, THE BUDGET.I'D LIKE TO SEE A, AGAIN, A ZERO WASTE PLAN UPDATE PERHAPS AT THAT POINT TOO.
UH, ANY OTHER ITEMS, ANYTHING NEW ON THE FEMA? EXACTLY.
I THINK THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THE BUDGET.
SO, UH, PERHAPS NOT FOR ME, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD HEAR ABOUT MATTRESS RECYCLING.
I KNOW THAT THE RFP HAS BEEN VERY CHALLENGING FOR Y'ALL TO DEVELOP, AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, PROGRESS AND THEN HAVING TO RETHINK THINGS.
SO MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE ON THE RFP, BUT ALSO MORE BROADLY ON WHAT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE WITH MATTRESS RECYCLING.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR US TO UNDERSTAND, UH, KNOWING THAT THIS IS TAKING SOME TIME TO, TO IMPLEMENT.
WE CAN DEFINITELY GIVE AN UPDATE ON THAT.
ANY OTHER ITEMS, COMMENTS, AARON? AND GUYS, I THINK THIS WAS THE FASTEST MEETING THAT WE'VE, THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY, I THINK I HAVE TWO FASTEST.
I, I'M, I'M NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, HEY, WE'RE JINX.
PLEASE REMEMBER WE'RE TALKING BUDGETS NEXT MONTH, SO ANYWAY.
LISTEN, HEARING, HEARING NO OTHER, UH, DISCUSSIONS, NO OTHER BUSINESS.
I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.
GET TWO SO SECONDS, WHETHER SHE WANTS TO OR NOT.
SO ANYWAY, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND PLEASE.
I ONLY HAVE A MOMENT TO EXPLAIN.
JUST A CHANCE TO LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO BOARD THE TRAIN.
[00:25:01]
THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU CAN GO.YOU CAN RIDE THE WHEELS INTO THE SUN, FEEL THE COOL IN ON YOUR FACE.