* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] QUORUM AS SOON AS CAMERAS ARE TURNED ON. AND TURN. YES. YES SHE IS. HELLO. WELCOME. [CALL TO ORDER] HOPE I DIDN'T NOT LOOK LIKE I'M SLEEPING. , LOOK ALIVE. AMY, IF YOU CAN HEAR US WE'LL NEED YOU TO COME ON SCREEN IN ORDER TO INITIATE THE MEETING. YES. YES, I AM HERE. I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. THANK YOU. YOU DO NEED TO BE ON CAMERA. PERFECT. YES, THANK YOU. OH, WHY DO I NEED TO BE ON CAMERA? UH, FOR QUORUM? , COMMISSIONER MARK WILL NEED YOU ON CAMERA. OKAY, I'LL TRY. I DUNNO, WHAT IS THIS? OH, OKAY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU SEE ME? UH, WE CAN HEAR AND SEE YOU. WONDERFUL. OKAY. IT IS 6 0 7 ON MONDAY, APRIL 17TH, 2003. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET THIS MEETING STARTED. I'M GONNA INITIATE WITH ROLL. I'LL START WITH MY FOLKS IN VIRTUAL LAND. COMMISSIONER GARZA. COMMISSIONER MOCK TIA. COMMISSIONER MELA. YES. COMMISSIONER CHILA HERE. COMMISSIONER GRAY. YES. WONDERFUL. SO WE'LL GET STARTED WITH PUBLIC [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL] COMMUNICATION. WE HAVE FOUR SPEAKERS TODAY. THE FIRST BEING NATALIE EARHART OF ALMOST REAL THINGS. NATALIE, COME ON UP. HELLO. UM, I'M NATALIE EARHART. I RUN ALMOST REAL THINGS AND ARTS ORGANIZATION IN TOWN, AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT AN UPCOMING EVENT WE HAVE. UM, IT IS CALLED TOUCH THE ART. IT IS ON SATURDAY, MAY 13TH AT OUR ALMOST REAL THINGS HQ AND GALLERY, UH, FROM SIX TO 10:00 PM WE'RE ALSO HAVING A SPECIAL PREVIEW NIGHT ON THURSDAY, MAY 11TH FROM SIX TO 9:00 PM. UM, SO THIS EVENT STARTED WITH A VISIT BACK TO THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN 2019. THEY DO AN ANNUAL SHOW WITH THE ART STUDENTS IN MAY, UM, BUT IT'S USUALLY JUST AT THEIR SPACE AND USUALLY THE STUDENTS AND THE FRIENDS AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON CAMPUS GO. UM, SO WE HAD GONE AS A PART OF THE AUSTIN STUDIO TOURS AND I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL GROUP OF STUDENTS, LIKE EAGER MAKING ART, ALSO MAKING ART WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT THAT I WANTED MORE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT THE SCHOOL AND THE PROGRAM AND HOW PEOPLE MAKE AND EXPERIENCE ART IN DIFFERENT WAYS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CAN'T SEE IT. UM, SO THAT ROLLED INTO A COUPLE YEARS OF BRAINSTORMING, UM, AND THEN RECONNECTING WITH THE ART TEACHER THERE. HER NAME IS GRETCHEN BETS. SHE'S BEEN WORKING AT THE SCHOOL FOR 30 YEARS. UM, SO WE TOGETHER ARE PUTTING ON AN ART SHOW. UM, IN MAY IT'S GONNA BE A GROUP OF CURATED ARTISTS, UH, THAT WORK WITH TEXTURE AND DIFFERENT MEDIUMS WHO ARE ON A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL. AND THEN THE ART STUDENTS FROM THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED THAT ARE ALL ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL AGE LEARNING HOW TO MAKE ART, NAVIGATING WHAT THEIR NEXT STEPS ARE AS THEY GRADUATE. A LOT OF THEM WANT TO PURSUE ART AFTER SCHOOL AS WELL. UH, SO FOR THE FIRST TIME, EVERYBODY'S GONNA BE ABLE TO TOUCH ALL OF THE ART IN THE EXHIBITION. UM, SO NOT JUST THE STUDENTS, BUT THE PEOPLE COMING IN. ALL OF THE TITLES WILL BE PRINTED IN BRAILLE IN ADDITION TO PRINT. UM, AND IT'S JUST A WAY WE WANT TO OPEN UP OUR SPACE AND ALSO KIND OF TALK ABOUT HOW ACCESSIBLE ART EXHIBITIONS HERE ARE. UM, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE VISUALLY IMPAIRED. UM, YOU GUYS KNOW YOU CAN'T REALLY TOUCH ART AT MOST GALLERIES FOR GOOD REASON. BUT AGAIN, IF YOU'RE A VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSON, THERE USUALLY AREN'T, UM, OTHER OPTIONS FOR YOU. AND THERE AREN'T A LOT OF AUDIO OPTIONS EITHER THAT GOES FOR THE GALLERIES IN TOWN AND SOME OF THE PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS TOO. SO WE'RE HOPING THIS CAN BE A CATALYST TO BUILD OUT SOME ANNUAL PROGRAMMING, UH, TO WORK WITH THE SCHOOL AND BRING MORE ARTISTS TO THE SCHOOL DIRECTLY. UH, WE'VE BEEN GOING THERE, I'VE BEEN GOING ABOUT EVERY OTHER WEEK SINCE, UH, FEBRUARY AND WORKING WITH THE STUDENTS, UM, AND JUST LEARNING FROM THEM, LEARNING HOW, HOW DO YOU MAKE ART VISUAL IMPAIRMENT? UM, AGAIN, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I THINK A LOT OF US DON'T THINK ABOUT. SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO CALL ATTENTION TO IT. AGAIN, THAT SHOW, IT'S, IT'S FREE OPEN FOR EVERYONE TO COME. THAT'S ON MAY 13TH, THAT'S [00:05:01] A SATURDAY, UH, FROM SIX TO 10:00 PM ALL THE INFORMATION'S ON OUR SITE ALMOST DRILL THINGS.COM OR, UH, THE EVENTBRITE IS TOUCH THE ART.EVENTBRITE.COM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, NATALIE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. IT SOUNDS LIKE AN AMAZING SHOW. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE IT. UM, NEXT WE HAVE PIPER LAMOYNE FROM RANCHO ALLEGRE AND COMMISSIONERS, IF, UH, YOU'RE IN, OH, I THINK I JUST LOST MONICA. AMY, THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK ON SCREEN. JUST A REMINDER, I NEED YOU ON CAMERA TO BE COUNTED AS PRESENT. THANK YOU, PIPER. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. OKAY, GOOD EVENING. UM, BEFORE I BEGIN, I WANNA INVITE ALL OF YOU TO THE RANCH MUSIC FESTIVAL. WHAT'S HAPPENED, WHICH HAPPENS APRIL 28TH THROUGH THE 30TH AT MISSION CENTRAL MACHINE WORKS, GIDDY UPS AND STUBBS. IT IS FREE ADMISSION. ALL AGES ARE WELCOME AND IS A THREE DAY SHOWCASE OF TRADITIONAL ACCORDION DRIVEN TEXAS MUSIC. GIVEN OUR REASONS EXPERIENCE WITH THRIVE, WE ARE EVEN MORE DETERMINED THAN BEFORE TO EDUCATE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE ABOUT WELCOME HOTEL MUSIC IS IT'S PLACE IN AUSTIN CULTURE AND MUSIC HISTORY. IT'S LEGACY AMONGST GENERATIONS OF MEXICAN AMERICANS IN EAST AUSTIN IN PARTICULAR, AND HOW IT IS QUICKLY BEING ERASED. IT IS THE TRADITIONAL ROUTE OF TEJANO MUSIC. SO PLEASE COME EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF. WE WORKED REALLY HARD TO MAKE IT HAPPEN THIS YEAR, BUT I COME TO YOU TODAY TO SOUND THE ALARM FOR WHAT I BELIEVE WILL BE A DANGEROUS TIME FOR SMALL ARTS NONPROFITS IN AUSTIN. I'M NOT HERE TO COMPLAIN. I'M HERE TO OFFER SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS THAT I SEE. THOSE OF US WHO ARE DENIED FUNDING THROUGH THRIVE HAVE BEEN TOLD ALMOST AS A CONSOLATION THAT WE SHOULD APPLY FOR ELEVATE SINCE THAT'S WHERE MANY OF OUR PROJECTS WOULD QUALIFY. AND THAT'S FINE, WE WILL. HOWEVER, WE ARE ALSO TOLD THAT HOT MONEY ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE AND THAT NOT EVERY PROJECT WILL GET FUNDED AGAIN. THAT'S FINE. WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE UNDERSTAND COMPETITIVE GRANTS, BUT WHERE YOU LOSE US IS HOW YOU'VE EXPANDED THE POOL OF ELIGIBILITY TO INCLUDE APPLICANTS IN THE FIVE COUNTY AREA. AND ONLY 51% OF THEIR PROGRAMMING NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN AUSTIN TO QUALIFY. AND IN SOME CASES, THEY CAN PROBABLY GET FUNDING FROM THEIR OWN CITIES AS WELL. SO SOMEONE FROM ROUND ROCK COULD GET MONEY FROM ROUND ROCK IN AUSTIN WHILE AUSTIN ORGANIZATIONS GET NOTHING AND FACE CLOSURES AND LAYOFFS MORE ON THAT IN A MOMENT. IT'S ALSO OPEN TO, FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES ONLY A HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE FIVE OH ONE AND 75 NON 5 0 1 WILL BE GIVEN AWARDS. IT BEGS THE QUESTION, IF HOT MONEY IS SCARCE AND THEY CAN'T FUND EVERY PROJECT, WHY EXPAND THE POOLED ELIGIBILITY AND MAKE IT HARDER FOR AUSTIN NON-PROFITS TO GET FUNDED BY THE AUSTIN HOT MONEY? THEY HELP GENERATE, ONCE AGAIN, APPLICATIONS FOR ELEVATE WILL BE REVIEWED BY PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, OVER A HUNDRED OF THEM. IN FACT, REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH TRAINING THEY ARE GIVEN, PAID TRAINING FOR EACH PERSON. MIGHT I ADD REMEMBER THE HOT MONEY IS SCARCE. THEY SIMPLY DON'T KNOW THE NEEDS OF AUSTIN, HIS HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES OR ITS ARTS COMMUNITY OR HOW IT'S BEING GENTRIFIED. YET THEY'RE BEING GIVEN THE POWER TO DECIDE WHAT IS VALUABLE. I PERSONALLY KNOW OF AT LEAST TWO ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE HAD TO LAY OFF AT LEAST HALF THEIR STAFF BECAUSE OF THE RESTRUCTURING OF THESE FUNDING PROGRAMS. THERE ARE MORE AND THERE WILL BE MORE. OTHERS ARE CUTTING THEIR PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS. AGAIN, THE STUFF THAT HELPS GENERATE HOT MONEY THAT ALSO AFFECTS CONTRACTORS LIKE SOUND PRO, SOUND PRODUCTION TEAMS, EVENT PRODUCERS, ET CETERA. I DON'T THINK THAT CREATING AN UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY WAS THE INTENTION OF RESTRUCTURING THESE PROGRAMS, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS A CONSEQUENCE. I'M ASKING YOU TO WORK TO FIX THESE PROVISIONS OF ELEVATE AND NEXUS IMMEDIATELY. WE'VE ALSO ASKED THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL TOO, ONLY FUND AUSTIN APPLICANTS FOR PROJECTS IN AUSTIN. ONLY FUND NONPROFITS AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ONLY HIRE GRANT REVIEWERS FROM AUSTIN. DOING THIS WILL GIVE US A FIGHTING CHANCE TO KEEP PRODUCING THE WORK AND EVENTS THAT KEEP AUSTIN GREAT. AND IT MIGHT HELP A LOT OF FOLKS FROM LOSING THEIR JOBS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, PIPER. NEXT WE HAVE . I'M SORRY. I'LL HAVE TO SIT FOR THIS ONE. I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND IT. HELLO EVERYBODY. GOOD. TAP IT OFF. OH, I'M SORRY. WHICH ONE? UH, THERE YOU GO. OKAY. HELLO EVERYBODY. I JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SOME CULTURAL WORDS THAT ARE ALWAYS USED IN THESE COMMITTEES, CITY COUNCIL AND EVERYWHERE ELSE. ONE OF THEM BEING LATIN. UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T, YOU FUND, YOU DIDN'T FUND A TONO EVENT THAT YOU'VE COVERED IT WITH THE LATIN. LATIN IS A BLANKET STATEMENT AND IT IS LIKE SAYING THAT, UH, EVERYONE THAT IS ASIAN IS JUST THAT YOU DON'T DIVIDE IT INTO KOREA AND INTO, YOU KNOW, JAPANESE AND ALL THE OTHER GREAT COUNTRIES, UH, THAT REPRESENT THAT. IT'S THE SAME THING WITH LATINOS. YOU HAVE HANS, WHICH IF YOU LIVE IN TEXAS, YOU WERE BORN IN TEXAS, YOU ARE AT HANNO CAUSE IT MEANS TEXAN. THAT'S ALL IT IS. UH, SO YOU, YOU SAY LATIN, YOU, YOU CAN'T USE IT AS A BLANKET STATEMENT OF BRAZILIAN, PUERTO RICAN, MEXICAN, SO ON. SO THAT NEEDS TO END, UH, TEXAN TEJANO IS TEXAN. IT'S TEXAS MUSIC, AND IT SHOULD BE TREATED AS SO ALSO, UM, TEJANOS, WELL, A [00:10:01] BIG WORD NOWADAYS IS INCLUSION. WELL, BACK IN THE DAY, THE DORIS MILLER AUDITORIUM DOWN THE ROAD HOSTED R AND B EVENTS, BLACKS AND, UH, TEJANOS PARTYING. NEXT, MOST HON BANDS PLAY R AND B. SO WE INVITE YOU TO CHECK SOME OUT WHEN YOU, YOU KNOW, SEE THEM PLAYING IN LOCAL VENUES. UM, SO IT'S, IT GOES HAND IN HAND, THE HONS AND, AND, UH, THE BLACKS HERE FROM AUSTIN, ESPECIALLY. WE, I MEAN, I WAS BORN IN EAST AUSTIN AND I'VE SEEN THESE EVENTS AND IT'S, THAT WAS THE FIRST STEPS OF INCLUSION IN MY MIND. SO I JUST WANTED TO INFORM YOU GUYS OF THAT. SO, JUST BECAUSE YOU, FOR YOU, UH, FUND LATIN EVENTS, IF YOU, WHEN YOU'RE A DJ OR SOMETHING, YOU LEARN REAL QUICK THAT THE MUSIC YOU PLAY FOR PUERTO RICANS WILL NOT GO WITH COLOMBIANS, WILL NOT GO WITH THE HONS. SOMETIMES IT DOES, BUT NOT ALWAYS. IT'S VERY DIFFERENT. SO I WOULD INVITE THE COMMITTEES, UH, THE COMMISSIONS, UH, CITY COUNCIL, WHOEVER MAKES THE DECISIONS TO JUST, YOU KNOW, DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO THAT SO YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE DOING. THERE IS NO BLANKET STATEMENTS FOR NO RACES, AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM. THIS IS THE BIGGEST ONE THAT PERTAINS TO AUSTIN. AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU MUCH VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE. REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME. UM, Y'ALL ARE TAKING OUT TO BE WITH US. UH, LEONARD DAVILA REPRESENTING HIMSELF. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAN. AND COMMISSIONER. OTHER MEMBERS, UM, WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING A BATTLE FOR, FOR DECADES OF NOT BEING INCLUDED IN THINGS. WE NOW WE'RE GETTING LOST IN, UH, LATINO, UM, LATINX, AND WE'RE LOSING OUR IDENTITY BECAUSE WE'RE LUMPED IN THAT BOWL OF FRUIT THAT HAS SO MANY DIFFERENT VARIETIES AND TASTES DIFFERENT AND SMELL DIFFERENT AND LOOK DIFFERENT. AND, UH, BUT WE'RE ALL FRUIT AND WE'RE NOT BEING SEPARATED. ONE THING THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS THE FUNDS THAT WERE GIVEN OUT, UH, ARE THEY'VE BEEN, SOME OF 'EM HAVE, HAVE TRIPLED IN THEIR PRICES IN, IN THE, IN THE FUNDS THAT THEY RECEIVED. THERE'S ORGANIZATIONS LIKE RANCH WHO'S, UH, YOU KNOW, BEEN WORKING 15, $20,000, UH, FOR THEIR EVENTS FROM THE CITY. AND NOW YOU JUMP UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND, 150,000 FOR NEW ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NOT AS OLD AS THESE, THESE, SOME OF THESE, UH, UH, DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. 5 0 1 AND IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT. UM, AND I'LL, I'LL GO TO THIS MINORITY THING IS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURE IS THE, THE MAJORITY OF THE MINORITIES AND NOWHERE SEEM TO BE GETTING, GETTING, UH, ATTENTION OR NOTICE OR NOT, UH, UH, RECOGNITION. SO THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN STRUGGLING FOR YEARS, BECAUSE I'M NOT COLOMBIAN. I'M NOT CUBAN, I'M NOT PUERTO RICAN, BUT I'M A LATINO. AND THAT'S HOW WE GET JUDGED BY LATINO AND LA MANY TIMES. IT'S BY PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT OUR CULTURE. AND, UH, I MEAN, IT'S SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT. IT'S DEAR TO ME AND MY HEART, MY FAMILY. AND WE GREW UP AROUND THIS. I MEAN, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS THING SINCE 1963 AND I'M STILL DOING IT AND STILL STRUGGLING. THE ONLY WAY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FIND OUT ABOUT WHO CAN GET FUNDS WAS WHEN WE WERE FRIENDS WITH THE CITY COUNCIL PERSON THAT WOULD GIVE US DISCRETIONARY FUNDS. 10, 15,000 WHO, WHO NEEDED 40,000 TO OPEN THE GATES FOR A FREE EVENT TO PROMOTE OUR CULTURE. AND THEN THE, WE WERE AT THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURE CENTER, THEN EVERYTHING KIND OF STOPPED, BUT THEN THEY WANTED TO CHARGE CAUSE WE WERE DOING SOMETHING IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MAC. AND THEN IT COMES OUT THAT WE HAVE TO PAY $20,000 A NIGHT, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S FREE. THEN WE GET 'EM TO, UH, START THE COLLABORATION AGAIN. AND A LOT OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TO GO THROUGH SOMEBODY ELSE TO FIND THINGS OUT. WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE MAC OR, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO TALK TO, TO THE CITY, UH, PARKS. WELL, WE'RE THE KEYS TO THE PLACE. WELL, THEY DON'T KNOW, BUT WE CAN'T TALK TO THE PEOPLE AT THE CENTERS. AND THIS IS JUST DIFFERENT KINDS OF, OF ROADBLOCKS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED. NOW THE NEW, UH, PROGRAM, I, I, I, I'M, I, I'M ON THE, ON THE MUSIC COMMISSION. I'M NOT REPRESENTING THE MUSIC COMMISSION ON THIS. THIS IS ME AS MY CULTURE, UH, WHAT WE DO. AND, UH, WE'LL STILL KE WE'LL CONTINUE FIGHTING, UH, TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE REALIZE YOU CAN EXPLAIN IT TO 'EM, BUT YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT FOR 'EM. THAT'S THE, THAT'S, UH, ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE. [00:15:01] SO, UH, I REALIZE MY TIME'S UP. AND, UH, I THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR TIME. YOU, SIR, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. EVERYBODY REALLY APPRECIATE THIS, UH, THE TIME YOU TAKE OUT OF YOUR LIVES TO COME AND SHARE WITH US YOUR THOUGHTS AND THE CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, WHICH IS AN OPEN DOOR AT ALL TIMES. SO, THANK YOU AGAIN. I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COMMISSIONER MALDONADO HAS JOINED US. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER, FOR BEING HERE. NEXT WE HAVE [1. Approve the minutes of the Arts Commission Regular Meeting on March 20, 2023.] APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. WE HAVE, UM, TWO SETS TO APPROVE TODAY, OUR MEETING IN MARCH, AS WELL AS OUR, UM, JOINT MEETING WITH MUSIC. WE CAN GET A MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES. MOTION TO APPROVE. MOTION TO APPROVE. I NEED A SECOND. SECOND. UM, ALL THOSE THAT APPROVE MINUTES FOR MARCH. OKAY. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. AND [2. Approve the minutes of the Arts Commission/Music Commission Special Called Meeting on April 8, 2023.] FOR THE SECOND SET OF MINUTES. ANYBODY WANT A MOTION TO APPROVE THE, THE MINUTES FOR JOINT MEETING? THANK YOU. I CAN GET A SECOND. I SECOND. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MAL NADO. UM, THOSE, UH, IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FOR THE JOINT MEETING. WONDERFUL. UH, WE'LL HAVE TO NOTE THAT COMMISSIONER MOCK IS OFF THE DIAS FOR THAT, BUT WE STILL HAVE QUORUM. OKAY. UM, [3. Discussion of Chair’s Report on Collaboration Across Commissions by Chair Zisman] NEXT IS THE CHAIR'S REPORT WITH ME. AND, UH, MY NAME IS CELINA ZISMAN. MY PRONOUNS ARE THEY, SHE, I AM THE PERSON OF COLOR WEARING A FLORAL SHIRT, UH, WITH BIG EARRINGS. UM, I WANNA SPEAK, UH, VERY QUICKLY ABOUT COLLABORATION. WE HAD A REALLY PRODUCTIVE JOINT MEETING WITH THE MUSIC COMMISSION A COUPLE WEEKENDS AGO, AND REALLY PUSHED, UH, THROUGH SOME BARRIERS THAT I FEEL LIKE HAD BEEN THERE. AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO COLLABORATING WITH THOSE GROUPS, OR THE COMMISSION AGAIN, AND THE GROUPS THAT THEY WORK WITH. UM, WE HAVE SOME HOMEWORK TO BE DOING AND LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING SOME PROGRESS IN HEADWAY, UM, AS A UNIFIED VOICE. THAT BEING SAID, UM, WE RECEIVED A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THE THRIVE GRANT FROM RED SALMON ARTS. AND I WOULD LIKE TO READ IT, UM, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT RECEIVED FUNDING, AND I THINK IT'S GOOD FOR STAFF AND US TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM THE SOURCE, THOSE THAT ARE BEING IMPACTED POSITIVELY BY THIS GRANT. UM, THIS IS FROM GU RIVERA, THE BOARD PRESIDENT OF RED SEMINAR ARTS. DEAR ARTS COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONERS, I AM PLEASED TO WRITE THIS LETTER TO STATE RED SEMINAR ARTS SUPPORT OF THE LATEST CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROVIDED THROUGH THE THRIVE GRANT PROGRAM. RED SALMON ARTS RSA IS A PROUD RECIPIENT OF THE THRIVE FUNDING IN ITS INAUGURAL YEAR WITH 35 OTHER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING THIS AWARD HAS SINGLE-HANDEDLY ENABLED RSA TO CONTINUE AS A CULTURAL ARTS ORGANIZATION ROOTED IN CHI CHICANO, CHICANEX LATINO, LATINX INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE. WE WORK WITH THE MOST UNDERSERVED AND UNDERREPRESENTED AUSTIN COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS TOURISTS, UH, AND VISITORS BY PROVIDING FREE LITERARY PROGRAMMING. WE ARE GRATEFUL THAT THE ARTS COMMISSION RECONSIDERED AND REVISED CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING CRITERIA TO BE MORE ATTENTIVE TO INTERSECTIONALITY AND INCLUSION, AS WELL AS THE QUALITY EVENTS, LECTURES, SCREENINGS, WORKSHOPS, AND OPEN MICS. WE CREATE FUNDAMENTALLY, THE THRIVE GRANT HAS TRANSFORMED RSA IN SEVERAL MEANINGFUL WAYS. FIRST, WITH THESE FUNDS, WE ARE NO LONGER IN A STATE OF FINANCIAL UNCERTAINTY. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE NUMEROUS DISTINCT INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS TO, UH, RECEIVE COVID 19 RELIEF FUNDING, WE RECEIVED LITTLE TO NO SUPPORT AS WE DID NOT QUALIFY FOR MOST OF THESE RESOURCES. SECOND, IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS OF THE GRANT PERIOD, WE CAN FINALLY THOUGHTFULLY WORK TOWARD MAINTAINING THE CALIBER OF OUR PROJECTS, SUSTAINING OUR SURROUNDING BIPO WORKING CLASS AND LGBTQIA PLUS COMMUNITIES WITHIN OUR CULTURAL, UH, TWO-SPIRIT THAT'S, I'M SORRY, I MISSED, COULD NOT SEE THE, UH, A ACRONYM TWO-SPIRIT LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITIES WITH OUR CULTURAL CENTER AND GROW AS AN ORGANIZATION WITH NEW PROGRAMMING. THIRD, THIS FINANCIAL SUPPORT WILL USHER AND EXPANSION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR RSA AS IT ESTABLISHES A RECORD OF RECEIVING GRANTS IN THE RANGE OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND AND ABOVE. THUS, IN MY OPINION, THE GRANT THRIVE GRANTEES FINALLY REFLECT A COMPLEX UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLURALITY, WHICH IS INTEGRAL TO THE AUSTIN CULTURAL ARTS LANDSCAPE, WHERE HISTORICALLY UNDERFUNDED BIPO LED ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ARE IN THE FOREFRONT OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION. AT RSA, WE ARE PROUD TO BE COUNTED AMONG THEM. RESPECTFULLY YOURS, GILBERT GILBERTO C RIVERA BOARD PRESIDENT OF RED SEMINARS. SO THIS GOES, IT FELT GOOD TO RECEIVE THIS LETTER. I WAS HAPPY TO PASS THIS ALONG TO STAFF. I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO PASS THIS ALONG TO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, AND WE ARE STILL HERE DOING THIS WORK, AND THERE'S MORE WORK TO BE DONE. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE MAIN TAKEAWAY AFTER HEARING, UM, THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT CAME AND SPOKE WITH US FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION [00:20:01] AND, AND HEARING FROM OUR RECIPIENTS. SO WE'RE GONNA KEEP OUR HEAD DOWN AND KEEP WORKING, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CITY'S SUPPORTED. UM, WITH THAT, UH, THE DISCUSSION [4. Discussion of the Art in Public Places Liaison Report by Commissioner Gray] OF THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES LIAISON REPORT. WHAT, COMMISSIONER GRAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE A GREAT REPORT, BUT, UH, UH, A IPP PANEL CHAIR, TAMMY RUBEN AND MYSELF WERE NOT PART OF THE APRIL 3RD MEETING. UM, THERE WERE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS THAT ARE ALL ON OUR AGENDA THIS EVENING FOR APPROVAL. UM, AND ON THE STAFF BRIEFINGS, UM, INVOLVED THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT FRANK WICK WILL BE RESIGNING AS A COLLECTION MANAGER, AND CONSTANCE WHITE AND RYAN RENSY WILL HANDLE THE AIP PPP COLLECTION MANAGEMENT TILL THE NEW COLLECTION MANAGER IS HIRED. ALSO NOTED THAT A CONSERVATOR TEAM WILL BE HIRED IN THE FUTURE TO REVIEW MOST OF THE COLLECTION TO DECIDE ON WHAT REPAIRS AND D SESSIONS SHOULD TAKE PLACE. UH, THERE'S BEEN A NEW DATE, UH, UH, SET FOR THE DESK, GARCIA REC CENTER, UH, THAT, UH, WAS POSTPONED EARLIER. IT'S, UH, NOW GONNA HAPPEN ON MAY 13TH AT NOON. AND ALSO, UM, CO UH, MANAGER, UH, CONSTANCE WHITE ALSO SAID THAT THE A I P PANEL WILL NEED LIAISONS FOR UPCOMING ART CALLS. UH, AND THERE'S GONNA BE AN EMAIL AND INFORMATION GOING ON THAT. UM, AND THERE ARE TWO ACTIVE ART CALLS THAT ARE OPEN TILL APRIL 27TH, UH, FOR EVERYBODY THAT IS LISTENING TO THAT. UM, THE ANOTHER THING THAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT, UM, PROGRAM MANAGER, CONSTANCE WHITE ALSO UPDATED THAT, UH, THEY ARE WORKING ON BUILDING CAPACITIES TO SUPPORT OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY. AND THE AIP PPP APPLICATION PROCESS IS MOVING AWAY FROM PUBLIC ARTIST.ORG TO AN INTERNAL CRM I KNOW THAT WAS MENTIONED, UM, UM, NOT TOO LONG AGO. REFERRED TO, UH, NOW AS A PORTAL, IT'LL HELP FACILITATE THE NEW APPLICATION PROCESS AND, UH, CONSIDERING THE WAY WE SCOPE PROCESS, PROCESS TO BE MORE EQUITABLE AND BETTER LEVEL SET THE PRACTICES TO ALIGN WITH CULTURAL FUNDING AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, SUPERB UPDATE AIA, EVEN DESPITE NOT BEING ABLE TO BE PRESENT. UM, I WAS PRESENT ACTUALLY, UH, TO AUDIT THE MEETING BECAUSE IT'S SUPER INTERESTING AND I REALLY WANNA ENCOURAGE THE COMMISSIONERS. AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN NOTIFIED OF THEIR DATES THROUGH THE YEAR. PLEASE TAKE A MONDAY AND JOIN ANOTHER MONDAY, ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR MONDAYS, AND JOIN AIP P P. IT'S PRETTY FASCINATING STUFF. I LEARNED ALL ABOUT THE SIZE OF P GRAVEL AND THE DIFFERENT DENSITIES AT WHICH THEY NEED TO BE LAYERED IN ORDER TO LIKE STRUCTURALLY BE STRUCTURALLY SOUND. MM-HMM. , THE ENGINEERS, UM, ON THAT PANEL. AND THE, THE EXPERTISE OF, UM, THE PEOPLE SERVING IN THAT SPACE IS PRETTY PHENOMENAL. SO I REALLY WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO GET TO KNOW OUR AIP P PANEL, UM, AND TO CONTINUE TO REFER PEOPLE TO IT AS ANOTHER WAY TO BE ENGAGED WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH IS VAST, WHICH IS VAST. COMMISSIONER GRAY SAYS . UM, WONDERFUL. UH, NEXT OF, UH, [5. Discussion of the Austin Economic Development Corporation/Cultural Trust Advisory Committee by Austin Economic Development Corporation Board Member Carl Settles] DISCUSSION OF THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WITH CARL SETTLES, WHO IS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US, BUT WE WILL HAVE A ROBUST UPDATE FROM A E D STAFF A LITTLE BIT FURTHER ON. UM, THERE WAS ALSO AN UPDATE SENT BY ANNE GATLING HAYNES, UH, COVERING SOME OF THESE UPDATES. SO I ENCOURAGE COMMISSIONERS TO, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT, THAT EMAIL, UM, AGAIN, A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP DURING OUR JOINT COMMISSION FROM COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND ARE ADDRESSED SPECIFICALLY. THERE'S SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT UPDATES THERE, BUT I'M SURE WE'LL BE HEARING FROM TERESA A. LITTLE BIT LATER. [6. Discussion of the Downtown Commission by Commissioner Mok] UM, AND NEXT IS OUR DISCUSSION OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WITH COMMISSIONER MOCK. UM, I DON'T KNOW, MY COMPUTER IS NOT VERY OBEDIENT TONIGHT. ANYWAY, UM, THE, I THINK, UH, I HAVE BROUGHT YOUR ATTENTION ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION IS TAKING ON THIS GRAFFITI CHALLENGES IN TOWN, AND THEY HAVE SET UP THIS GRAFFITI COMMITTEE TO ADDRESS IT. AND, UM, THEY HAVE INCLUDED THE A A P I, UH, PEOPLE, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, UH, FOLKS TO BE IN THE DISCUSSION. SO, UH, THERE'S SOME ISSUE ABOUT PUTTING SOME MONEY INTO RESOLVING THIS PROBLEM. AND THE HOT FUND WAS MENTIONED, WHICH HURT MY EARS. UM, SO, UM, I JUST WANT [00:25:01] TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT SHOULD COME FROM THE GENERAL FUND AND NOT FROM THE HOT FUND. AND OUR MEETING IS THIS COMING WEDNESDAY, SO I PROBABLY WILL HAVE MORE TO REPORT AFTER THE MEETING. AND WE LEARN A LOT ABOUT THE, THE HOMELESS, UH, SITUATION AROUND DOWNTOWN AREA. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW, IS THIS RELATED TO, TO THE ARTS COMMISSION? BUT, UM, SO, BUT THEY HAVE ALSO DONE A LOT OF PUBLIC ARTS, UM, WITHOUT PERMISSION. SO, SO, SO YEAH. SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DISCUSSED THAT IS PERTINENT TOO, YOU KNOW, TO OUR WORK. SO I WILL HAVE MORE TO REPORT AFTER THE, THE MEETING THIS WEEK, LATER ON. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER MOCK. NEXT WE HAVE [7. Presentation by Cory Baker of the Long Center on an update about the Long Center and Creative Consortium] A PRESENTATION FROM COREY BAKER OF THE LONG CENTER ON AN UP UPDATE, UH, UPDATE ON THE HAPPENINGS THERE AND THE CREATIVE CONSORTIUM. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, COREY. HI. NICE TO SEE YOU. CHAIR, ZIMAN AND COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME BACK TO UPDATE YOU ON THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AT THE LONG CENTER. UM, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE A LOT OF OLD FRIENDS OF THE LONG CENTERS AND NEW COMMISSIONERS. SO, UM, IN TALKING ABOUT THIS UPDATE, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON KIND OF HOW THE LONG CENTER WENT INTO THIS NEW DIRECTION AND KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT, SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY TO THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING THAT REALLY HOPEFULLY WILL IMPACT OUR CREATIVE SECTOR AS A WHOLE. AND IS THIS, THAT'LL WORK FOR ME. OKAY. AWESOME. OH, SORRY, , I JUMPED THE GUN. OKAY, GREAT. SO I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH A FEW OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON AND UPDATE YOU AND PLEASE OPEN TO QUESTIONS. I'M NOT SURE HOW FAMILIAR EVERYBODY IS WITH THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING. SO I WILL TRY TO BE QUICK, BUT THOROUGH. UM, MANY OF YOU KNOW THE LONG CENTER AS THE LOCATION AND THE CAMPUS DOWNTOWN, ONE OF THE LARGEST CITY OWNED, UH, ARTS FACILITIES WITH SOME REALLY WONDERFUL RESIDENT COMPANIES, SYMPHONY, OPERA, BALLET TAPESTRY, CONSPIRE, AND OTHER COMPANIES. UM, SO THE KIND OF GREEN PILLAR IS REALLY HOW WE STARTED AS A VENUE AND A CAMPUS AND AS STEWARDS OF A CITY OWNED CAMPUS. UM, THE ORANGE PILLAR THERE REALLY TALKS ABOUT HOW FROM THAT VENUE WE MOVED INTO PROGRAMMING. WE PROGRAM ARTISTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT REALLY ARE FOCUSED ON, UM, LOCAL ARTS AND, AND CONNECTING WITH AND PROVIDING A HOME FOR LOCAL ARTISTS AND FOR OUTREACH EDUCATION AND WAYS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY. BUT SOMETHING THAT'S RELATIVELY NEW FOR THE LONG CENTER IS THAT THIRD COLUMN, THE BLUE COLUMN. UM, SHORTLY BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND CERTAINLY OVER THE PANDEMIC, WE HAD ALREADY STARTED TO EXPLORE OUR ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY. AND AS THE COMMUNITY CHANGES, AS OUR SECTOR FACES UNIQUE CHALLENGES, HOW CAN THE LONG CENTER REALLY, UH, RETHINK WHAT OUR POSITION IS AND, AND HOW WE'RE RELEVANT AND HELPFUL TO THE CREATIVE SECTOR AS A WHOLE. AND SO, AS AN AGNOSTIC ORGANIZATION, UH, WE DO NOT HAVE TO PRODUCE A CERTAIN KIND OF ART. WE DON'T HAVE A, A REALLY NARROW MISSION. WE REALLY ARE ABOUT PROTECTING ARTISTS AND THE HEALTH AND, UH, SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CREATIVE SECTOR IN AUSTIN. SO AS PART OF THAT, WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE'RE OUT, WE DO THINGS FOR THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, BUT WHAT MORE COULD WE BE DOING? HOW COULD WE LEVERAGE OUR FOUNDATION, OUR GROUNDS, OUR RESOURCES, OUR GOODWILL WITH THE COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO RAISE UP OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, ARTISTS, AND THE SECTOR AS A WHOLE? AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE MOVED INTO THIS KIND OF SERVICES FOR THE CREATIVE SECTOR. AND, AND HOW CAN WE THINK ABOUT THIS? SO THIS IS MORE KIND OF OUR BUSINESS TO BUSINESS, UM, REALM AND PILLAR. AND SO, I, I CAN'T REMEMBER COUNCIL OR COMMISSIONER ZIMAN, HOW LONG AGO IT WAS, UM, A YEAR AGO MAYBE. WE REPORTED THAT, UH, THE CREATIVE CONSORTIUM WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME. AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, WHAT THAT IS. UM, REALLY THE IDEA IS THAT AS A SECTOR, IF WE ALL CAME TOGETHER AND COLLABORATED, THAT WE COULD FIND WAYS TO BRING DOWN COSTS, TO INCREASE REVENUES, TO RAISE VISIBILITY, TO WORK TOGETHER, AND ADVOCACY, JUST AS WE ALL KNOW, THAT COLLABORATION IS GOING TO HELP, UH, RAISE ALL SHIPS. AND, UM, OUR UNIQUE POSITION AS SOMEBODY THAT HAS A REALLY WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY AND CITY STAFF, WE HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES AT OUR DISPOSAL. AND AGAIN, WE'RE AGNOSTIC IN MISSION IN THAT WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO A VERY SPECIFIC THING. WE FELT THAT WE HAD A, A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP BE THAT CATALYST AND BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND BRING THE SECTOR TOGETHER. SO THE IDEA BEHIND THE CREATIVE CONSORTIUM IS THAT IT WOULD BE A MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION, AND WE WOULD BAND TOGETHER, AND THE LONG CENTER WOULD KIND OF FACILITATE FIRST SERVICES, UH, THINGS THAT WE COULD REALLY EASILY [00:30:01] PULL PURCHASE FOR OR FIND OTHER WAYS TO, TO PROFESSIONALIZE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING. UM, ONE THING THAT WE SEE OVER AND OVER ACROSS OUR CITY IS THAT A LOT OF SMALL, ESPECIALLY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IS THE DE FACTO HR PERSON, AND THEY'RE DOING ACCOUNTING AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING THE MARKETING. AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE WANT OUR CREATORS TO BE ABLE TO CREATE. AND SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO STEP UP TO PROVIDE SOME BACK OFFICE SERVICES, NOT ONLY TO GIVE THEM MAYBE SOME LIFE WORK BALANCE OR , YOU KNOW, SOME SPACE TO BREATHE AND REALLY ALLOWING THEM TO, TO DO WHAT I CAN'T DO. AND THAT'S CREATE AMAZING WORKS OF ART, BUT ALSO TO PROFESSIONALIZE THEM. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT FESTIVALS AND GALLERY OPENINGS, AND THEY ARE COMPETING AGAINST, YOU KNOW, AT LARGE COMPANIES WITH HUGE BUDGETS THAT ARE OUT THERE ADVERTISING. SO WHAT KIND OF THINGS CAN WE DO TO PROFESSIONALIZE TO HELP MAKE THEM COMPETITIVE IN THIS MARKET? AND SO, A FEW WAYS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING THAT IS REALLY HOW, BY BANDING TOGETHER, CAN WE BRING NEW MONEY TO THE SECTOR? AND THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. WE ARE, WE ARE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT NOT CANNIBALIZING. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA GO AFTER HOT TAX MONEY FOR. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TALKING TO THE SAME DONORS THAT ARE ALREADY GIVING TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE CORPORATE GIVING A LOT. WE HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN ABLE TO TAP INTO THAT AS A SECTOR. SO BY BANDING TOGETHER, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT? THERE'S A LOT OF NATIONAL GRANTS THAT ARE REALLY NOT FOR INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE COULD REALLY, UM, GO AFTER. AND THEN IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, JUST TICKET SALES AND VISIBILITY. IF WE'RE MARKETING TOGETHER, WE HAVE MORE FUNDS, WE HAVE MORE VISIBILITY, THAT'S GONNA HELP EVERYBODY BRING REVENUE INTO THEIR SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS. AND ONE OF THE OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN DO THIS, AND THIS IS REALLY KIND OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PILOT PROGRAM, IS COMING OUTTA THE PANDEMIC. I MEAN, I KNOW WE'VE ALL STRUGGLED WITH GRANTS AND THE, THE ECONOMY BEING DIFFICULT RIGHT NOW. AND SO REVENUE IS HARD TO COME BY. THAT'S NOT AN EASY FIX. BUT IMMEDIATELY WE COULD BE BRINGING DOWN COSTS. THERE'S REALLY SIMPLE THINGS THAT WE COULD BE DOING AS A SECTOR, LIKE BA BUYING HR BENEFITS TOGETHER, OR POOL PURCHASING FOR CREDIT CARD FEES, UM, SHARED OFFICE SPACE. THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT WE CAN IMMEDIATELY BRING DOWN COSTS. THAT'S A WIN-WIN FOR EVERYBODY. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, HOW WE PROVIDE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AND BRING DOWN COSTS. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS THAT YOU DON'T SEE ON THE BALANCE SHEET. UM, ONE THING THAT WE'VE HEARD WHEN WE STARTED TO DO A LOT OF THE FOCUS GROUPS ABOUT THE CREATIVE CONSORTIUM IS PEOPLE SAYING, OH MY GOSH, I HAVEN'T BEEN IN A ROOM WITH MY THEATER FRIENDS, OR I HAVE NOT TALKED ACROSS THE SECTOR. I MEAN, IT'S, EVERYBODY'S SO BUSY AND THE WORKLOAD IS SO IMMENSE THAT JUST THE TIME TO CONNECT AND COMMUNICATE AND TALK TO EACH OTHER, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING A SPACE FOR THAT WE THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT. AND AGAIN, ADVOCACY WHEN WE COME AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TALK TO THE COUNCIL OR, OR TALK TO THE SECTOR AS A WHOLE, TALKING ABOUT WHAT, WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH. AND, AND PEOPLE LIVE IN AUSTIN BECAUSE THEY LOVE THE CULTURE HERE, AND SO THEY WANNA KNOW AND THEY WANNA KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH. UM, AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO PRIORITIZE UNDERREPRESENTED ORGANIZATIONS, SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DESPERATE FOR THIS KIND OF SUPPORT. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, AGAIN, KIND OF THINKING ABOUT THE LONG CENTER PILLARS AND THE CREATIVE CONSORTIUM BEING THE FOCUS RIGHT NOW, WE'RE REALLY THINKING OF, UM, THE HOPE IS THAT THE PROGRAM WILL KIND OF HAVE THREE TIERS. THE FIRST TIER IS THE FREEMIUM TIER, WHICH WOULD BE THINGS THAT WE COULD REALLY EASILY IMPLEMENT FOR EVERYBODY. JUST KIND OF OPEN, FREE, UM, MEETUPS, WAYS TO KIND OF COME TOGETHER AND TALK ADVOCACY, DOING CERTAIN TRAININGS. UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA BRING IN A D E I AND B EXPERT, THERE IS NO REASON WHY THERE CAN'T BE A HUNDRED PEOPLE IN THE ROOM LEARNING WITH US. SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS WE CAN DO THAT FROM A FREEMIUM LEVEL. THE SECOND IS THIS KIND OF CORE MEMBERSHIP SERVICES WHERE WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT COMING TOGETHER IN A, IN A MORE CONCRETE WAY, UM, FOR POOLED PURCHASINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY. UH, WE DO HOPE THAT EVENTUALLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO SUPPORT MORE TIER THREE, WHICH IS INCUBATOR PROGRAM, THE LONG CENTER UNDERWRITES A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS SUBSIDIZE THEM TO BE IN THE SPACE. UM, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, UH, FUNDRAISING SUPPORT, MENTORSHIP, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO FOR SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE REALLY READY TO KIND OF STEP TO THAT NEXT LEVEL. BUT FOR THIS, WE'RE TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE CORE MEMBERSHIP SERVICES BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ABOUT THREE YEARS NOW AND PUT A LOT OF INVESTMENT OF, UM, OUR OWN RESOURCES BOUGHT SOFTWARE WE NEED, DID A LOT OF, UH, WORK WITH, UH, LEGAL EXPERTS AND USING OUR OWN TEAM AND KIND OF HIT A WALL WHEN WE CAME BACK FROM THE PANDEMIC. AND THANKFULLY THE CITY DID FUND US TO HELP FINISH THE BUSINESS PLAN, WHICH WILL BE DUE BY OCTOBER 1ST. AND SO RIGHT NOW WE [00:35:01] ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PROCESS OF, UM, DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS PLAN OF THOSE CORE MEMBERS SERVICES. SO WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GET THE PEN TO PAPER, WE'RE TRYING TO HASH OUT EXACTLY HOW DOES THIS ALL WORK. WE KNOW IT CAN WORK. PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST IS A REALLY GREAT EXAMPLE. THEY HAVE A SHARED SERVICES PROGRAM THAT'S PAID FOR BY MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS PUTTING A DOLLAR ON EVERY TICKET THAT'S SOLD TO THE PUBLIC. SO THAT COST IS A PASS THROUGH TO THE PUBLIC, AND IT FUNDS ALL OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS BEING ABLE TO HAVE THESE PROFESSIONALIZED SERVICES. AND SO WE ARE DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH RIGHT NOW IN ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS. UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE MEMBERSHIP STRUCTURE AND CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, WE'D HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND SAY, IF WE COULD GET FIVE, 10 ORGANIZATIONS TO TRY THIS WITH US, WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS AND HOPEFULLY GROW IT. BUT WHAT WE LEARNED DURING THE PANDEMIC AND THE FOCUS GROUPS IS THE DEMAND IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLY HIGH. SO WE'RE THINKING NOW THESE, WE'RE DOING SPECIAL, UH, EXPERTISE GROUPS AND, AND GOING THROUGH EACH OF THESE AREAS TO REALLY FLESH IT OUT IS HOW MANY CAN WE SPORT? HOW DO WE LEVEL UP? WHAT KIND OF CONSIDERATIONS SHOULD WE TAKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING EQUITABLE AND WE'RE SERVING THOSE UNDERSERVED, UH, COMMUNITY AND, AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. OH, OH, OKAY. , I WAS LIKE, OH MAN, I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD THREE MINUTES. OKAY. BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO BALANCE THAT WITH THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE BRINGING RESOURCES AND KI KIND OF FEED INTO IT AS WELL. SO LOOKING THROUGH ALL THAT, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FUNDING PLAN, UM, FROM HAVING SCALED MEMBERSHIPS WHERE SOME ORGANIZATIONS ARE UNDERWRITTEN AND LARGER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ACTUALLY SAVING A LOT MORE PAY INTO IT, TO THE DOLLAR TICKET FEE TO GRANT FUNDING. UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT SERVICES, THIS IS A BIG PIECE OF THE PUZZLE RIGHT NOW AND YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN THE TIMELINE IS REALLY WE, WE HAVE A KIND OF A MENU OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD, WHAT SERVICES WE KNOW WE COULD DELIVER THAT COULD HELP PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY. BUT WE'RE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY VERY ACTIVELY SAYING, IS THIS RIGHT? YOU KNOW, THIS IS OUR BEST GUESS. LET'S TALK ABOUT IT. WHAT'S ON THIS LIST? WHAT ISN'T ON THIS LIST? UM, OF COURSE THE LEGAL ENTITY, HOW THE BOARD STRUCTURE FINANCIAL CUSTODY WORKS. AND A BIG PIECE OF THIS THAT, UM, REALLY I THINK IS KIND OF OUR, YOU KNOW, CORNERSTONE TO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS THINKING ABOUT HR. THE, IT'S, IT'S REALLY SAD WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW MANY ORGANIZATIONS NOT ONLY DON'T HAVE HR SUPPORT, BUT ARE UNABLE TO OFFER BENEFITS TO THEIR MEMBERS. AND FOR ALL OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS, THAT IS AN ONGOING CHALLENGE. AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY ARE DIVING IN, FIGURING OUT WHAT CAN WE BE DOING TO BRING DOWN COSTS? WHAT CAN WE BE DOING TO WORK TO SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE HAM AND, AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY JUST BE A RESOURCE TO AN ORGANIZATION LIKE THAT AND TO OTHER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS. AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AS YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT GOES INTO THAT ABOUT THE KIND OF STRUCTURE THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE AND THE BONDS AND EVERYTHING. SO THIS IS KIND OF ALL THE REALLY NITTY GRITTY THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH WITH A BUSINESS PLAN RIGHT NOW. SO FOR THE POTENTIAL PILOT PROGRAM, OUR GOAL IS TO KIND OF GET THROUGH ALL OF THIS, UH, GET DOWN AND, AND WHEN WE PRESENT THE BUSINESS PLAN, HAVE A POTENTIAL PILOT PROGRAM THAT TALKS ABOUT, THE HOPE WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD BE, UH, WE WOULD HAVE A FULLY FUNDED THREE YEAR PILOT PROGRAM SO ORGANIZATIONS WOULD BE ABLE TO, UM, COME ON BOARD AND BE A PART OF THIS IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS WITH NO COST. UM, AGAIN, THERE, THERE'S, WE'RE DEFINITELY OPEN TO IF THERE'S A MEMBER THAT'S SAVING $50,000 AND THEY WILL PAY 20,000 TO SAVE 50,000, THAT COULD BE PART OF THE FUNDING. BUT YOU KNOW, THAT THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE NEED INCOME ON BOARD WILL GET FULLY UNDERWRITTEN INTO THIS PROGRAM, UM, AT LEAST FOR THE FIRST THREE YEARS AS WE KIND OF FLUSH IT OUT AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE SCALE IT UP. THE BIG SIX THAT HAVE KIND OF COME UP OF WHAT SERVICES ARE REALLY RESONATING WITH THE, THE ORGANIZATIONS WE'VE TALKED TO ARE, AS WE TALKED ABOUT, HR SUPPORT, UH, FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES. SO HAVING BOOKKEEPING, HAVING A PARTIAL C F O, HELPING, YOU KNOW, MANAGE PAYROLL AND EXPENSES LIKE THAT. UM, PULLED PURCHASING, AGAIN, CREDIT CARD FEES IS A REALLY GREAT EXAMPLE OF, IT'S JUST VOLUME. SO THE MORE OF US THAT COME TOGETHER, THE LOWER THE COSTS GO. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AGAIN, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN MAXIMIZE OUR VENUE TO HAVE SOME HOT DESK SHARED OFFICE SPACE OFFERING CONFERENCE ROOMS, THINGS LIKE THAT. AND, UH, TICKETING AND BOX OFFICE SYSTEM FOR THOSE THAT NEED IT. SO IN THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO GET SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LAUNCH THAT CAN BRING DOWN COSTS FOR A REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, THIRSTY COMMUNITY IMMEDIATELY. BUT WE HOPE THAT THIS KIND OF COLLABORATION AND, AND BUILDING THE TRUST BETWEEN WITHIN THIS, THIS GROUP AND, AND THE SECTOR AS A WHOLE WILL LEAD TO JOINT FUNDRAISING, JOINT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, THE SHARED CALENDAR, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN HELP VENUES THAT HAVE, OR, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE VENUES, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT BOARD DEVELOPMENT, [00:40:01] THINGS LIKE THAT, WAVES THAT WE CAN SUPPORT, UH, SMALLER AND MID-SIZE ORGANIZATIONS. SO FROM A TIMELINE, UM, YOU'LL SEE THE YELLOW FOLK, THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED ARE REALLY, WE'RE BASICALLY FROM NOW UNTIL WE DELIVER IT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY INPUT. WE HAVE A SURVEY OUT THERE, UM, AND THEY, UH, I'LL SHARE THIS TOO WITH EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY. WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO THE SURVEY TO AS MANY ORGANIZATIONS AS PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, EVEN IF IT'S TO TELL US WHY YOU DON'T WANT THIS OR WHY IT DOESN'T WORK FOR US. I MEAN, RIGHT NOW WE ARE, WE'RE NOT, WE HAVE AN IDEA. WE WE'RE NOT PRETENDING THAT WE HAVE THE SOLUTION, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANNA WORK WITH EVERYBODY TO CREATE THAT SOLUTION. SO FEEDBACK IS SO CRITICAL AND WE'VE GOTTEN A REALLY GOOD RESPONSE TO THE SURVEYS FROM THAT. WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE ON THE SURVEYS IF WE CAN FOLLOW UP AND INTERVIEW THEM, UM, TO GET KIND OF DEEPER. WE'RE GONNA ALSO BE DOING FOCUS GROUPS AND SOME OTHER THINGS. SO A LOT OF WAYS TO KIND OF GET INPUT AND WE'LL BE REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT AS WE MOVE THROUGH KIND OF SOLVING EACH OF THESE AREAS. SO, OH, AND THAT'S KIND OF THE, I'M GOING QUICK, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE CONSORTIUM. IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY ON THAT, THAT I CAN ADDRESS BEFORE? I THINK LET'S GO THROUGH YOUR PRESENTATION. OKAY. AND THEN WE CAN CIRCLE BACK JUST SO THAT, CUZ I CAN SEE US GETTING REALLY WRAPPED UP. YES. AND THE NITTY GRITTY. AND I, I'M, THIS IS GREEDY. I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE GRANT ADMINISTRATION, BUT THANK, THANK YOU. YEAH, GO AHEAD. LET'S KEEP GOING. GREAT. AND I JUST KIND OF TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE SPECIFICALLY COME HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE CONSORTIUM, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW ELSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY THINKING OF US AS A SERVICE CENTER FOR THE SECTOR. AND SO ONE THING THAT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IS OUR NEW, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND WE SAW OUR FRIENDS HERE EARLIER AND, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WITH JESUS AND EVERYBODY THAT WE WORK WITH. BUT, UM, WE WILL BE, WE JUST SIGNED THE CONTRACT THAT WE WILL BE THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR FIVE, UH, DIFFERENT ARTS GRANTS, THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, HERITAGE PRESERVATION, AND THREE OF THE CULTURAL ARTS GRANTS. THIS YEAR WE WILL BE ADMINISTERING ELEVATE AND, UM, WE WILL BE DOING THE FUN DISTRIBUTION ONLY FOR NEXUS AND THRIVE. AND, UM, AGAIN, THIS WAS A WAY WE FOUND DURING THE PANDEMIC THAT WITH THE, UH, LIVE MUSIC VENUE PRESERVATION FUNDING AND SOME OF THE FEDERAL RELIEF GRANTS, UM, THE LONG CENTER HAS A LOT OF RESOURCES. WE CAN BE NIMBLE, WE CAN JUMP IN AND WE CAN REALLY SUPPORT THE CITY TEAM TO TAKE SOME THINGS OFF THEIR PLATE SO THAT THEY CAN DO WHAT THEY DO BEST. AND, YOU KNOW, OUR ROLE IS TRULY JUST ADMINISTRATION AND, AND MONITORING AND, AND HELPING APPLICANTS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS, GETTING FUNDS OUT THE DOOR. AND IT WORKED REALLY WELL. AND WE WERE SO PLEASED WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY CAME UP AGAIN AND GRATEFUL TO OUR FRIENDS AT THE CITY. UM, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE IT IS, IT IS HELPING US REALIZE OUR MISSION TO BE MORE THAN JUST WHAT HAPPENS ON CAMPUS TO REALLY BE INTEGRAL TO, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING ARTS AND CULTURE IN AUSTIN AS A WHOLE. SO WE'RE VERY, VERY EXCITED FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY. WE'LL BE EXPANDING, WE'LL BRING, BRINGING ON A FEW MORE STAFF MEMBERS. AND IT REALLY DOES ALIGN WELL WITH THE CONSORTIUM WORK TOO, BECAUSE IT'S TALKING TO THE SAME PE YOU KNOW, IT'S GETTING TO KNOW EVERYBODY AND, AND FIGURING OUT AND, AND GETTING INFORMATION OUT THERE. UM, WHETHER IT'S ABOUT THE GRANT OR ABOUT THE CONSORTIUM OR ABOUT JUST OTHER OPPORTUNITIES AND WHERE WE CAN ADVOCATE. UM, IN ADDITION, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE, UH, PILLARS IS REALLY ABOUT HOW DO WE BEST STEWARD THIS, THE BEAUTIFUL CITY-OWNED CAMPUS THAT, THAT WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR RIGHT NOW. AND, UM, CHAIR ZIMAN WAS ABLE TO COME AND JOIN US. WE HAVE A REALLY EXCITING ADDITION THAT MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN. UH, IT'S THE WORLD'S FIRST AND ONLY 3D PRINTED PAVILION. WE HAD A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY WITH, UH, ICON, THE LOCAL DESIGN FIRM, AUSTIN BASED, UH, KNOWN FOR 3D PRINTING ACTUALLY CAME TO US AND HAS GIFTED THIS GORGEOUS, UH, PAVILION FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M TALKING ABOUT IT HERE SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE ONE, IT'S NOW A CITY OWNED ASSET AND I KNOW WORKING WITH TRESSA AND ANNE, AND WE'RE GONNA HEAR ALL ABOUT SOME OF THE VENUE CRISIS IN AUSTIN. AND THIS IN SIX WEEKS WAS A STAGE FOR THE COMMUNITY. AND WHAT'S WONDERFUL ABOUT IT IS MOST OF OUR OUTDOOR PROGRAMMING IS LOCAL ARTISTS BASED AND IS FREE. AND ONE OF THE, UH, BARRIERS FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS COMING IN AND FOR US BEING ABLE TO PRESENT FREE IS IT COSTS A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS EVERY TIME WE HAVE TO BUILD A STAGE OUT THERE. SO THIS WILL BE SELF-CONTAINED, READY TO GO, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S LITTLE KINDERGARTEN GRADUATIONS OR, YOU KNOW, BANDS OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE. IT'S REALLY THIS WONDERFUL, UM, ASSET FOR THE COMMUNITY. AND SO THAT IS HOW WE REALLY PLAN TO USE IT, YOU KNOW, IS IS BEING FOCUSED AND HOW CAN WE CONTINUE THAT? HOW CAN WE SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS? AND SO IN THAT WAY WE'RE LOOKING AT EXPANDING OUR, UM, PROGRAMMING IN THAT SPACE. MANY OF YOU MIGHT HAVE COME OUT, AND I HOPE YOU IF YOU HAVEN'T TO THE DROP IN, THIS IS OUR ANNUAL, WE'RE IN OUR THIRD YEAR. IT'S OUR ANNUAL, UM, SUMMER EVENT. AND IT'S FREE, IT'S THURSDAY NIGHTS, IT'S ALL LOCAL ARTISTS. WE ARE VERY COMMITTED TO, [00:45:01] UM, HAVING DIVERSE OFFERINGS. OVER 40 OR 50% OF OUR REPRESENTATION, OUR BANDS WITH BIPO OR WOMEN LED BANDS, AND IT'S ACTUALLY MUCH HIGHER THAN THAT. AND WE GET A REALLY WONDERFUL MIXED CROWD AT THE LONG CENTER. AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE EXTENDING THAT PARTNERSHIP ON THE NEW STAGE. AND WE ALSO HAVE JUST ANNOUNCED, UM, UH, THERESA LOZA LONG DAY COMMUNITY DAY. WE HAVE BEEN HOPING TO DO THIS SINCE, UM, MRS. LONG'S PASSING. AND WE ARE FINALLY READY TO UNVEIL IT THIS FALL. AND IT WILL BE ANOTHER FREE COMMUNITY DAY THAT WILL REALLY HIGHLIGHT ALL AREAS OF THE LONG CENTER AND JUST REMIND US AND THE COMMUNITY OF WHY THE LONGS GAVE TO CREATE THAT REALLY MAGICAL CAMPUS AND, AND WHY OUR FOUNDING DONORS GAVE AND WHY WE'RE THERE THAT IT REALLY IS ABOUT, UM, THE COMMUNITY AND BEING A SPACE THAT WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND BE TOGETHER IN REAL LIFE AND EXPERIENCE ARTS IN OUR, IN OUR CITY. AND WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR 15TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED THAT THAT WILL BECOME AN ANNUAL EVENT. SO THAT IS ALL I HAD READY. THAT'S ALL, THAT'S A LOT. I KNOW , I KNOW WE GOT A LOT GOING ON. THANK YOU . NO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. COMMISSIONERS. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR COREY REGARDING EITHER THE CONSORTIUM OR, UM, THE RECENT UPDATE ABOUT GRANT ADMINISTRATION, COMMISSIONER MOCK? WELL, COREY, YOU KNOW, I WAS THERE WHEN THE LUNG CENTER WAS BUILT. I WAS ON THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, IT IS NICE TO SEE THAT THE LUNG CENTER EX HAS EXPANDED THEIR SERVICE. UM, IT IS A VERY BRAND VISION, YOU KNOW, AND I HOPE YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN THAT. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, LOOK AT YOUR BUSINESS PLAN AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU, UH, GOING TO ACHIEVE YOUR VISION, UH, STEP BY STEP BECAUSE THAT'S A LOT. I'M STILL DIGESTING YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE, FOR THE VISION. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MOCK. IT'S ALWAYS SUCH AN HONOR WHEN SOMEBODY THAT WAS THERE AT THE BEGINNING AND SO INTEGRAL IS AT LEAST GIVING A THUMBS UP, SO I APPRECIATE THAT. . COMMISSIONER GRAY. YES, THANK YOU COREY FOR, I MEAN, WHAT A WONDERFUL VISION. IT'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. UM, I'M GONNA BE CANDID AND ASK YOU SOME HARD QUESTIONS. OKAY. UM, I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH AN ORGANIZATION THAT'S BEEN THERE FOR 14 AND A HALF YEARS, SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING, UH, AS A RESIDENT COMPANY. AND, UM, I'VE SEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT, THIS IS REALLY A STAFF QUESTION. I'VE SEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF, OF TURNOVER IN STAFF AT THE LONG CENTER OVER THE YEARS. UM, SO MY QUESTION IS AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE FUNDING OF A STAFF THAT'S ACTUALLY FOCUSED AND IT IS BACK TO THE BUSINESS PLAN, THIS ACT, YOU KNOW, HOW THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN. MM-HMM. , AND I KNOW THAT, UM, WHEN YOU WERE HERE, I THINK IT WAS A YEAR AGO, ABOUT A YEAR AGO, FIRST PRESENTATION, I WAS HOPING THAT A BUSINESS PLAN IS SOMETHING, DID YOU SAY THAT CITY FUNDING WENT TOWARD THAT BUSINESS PLAN? MM-HMM. . OKAY. MM-HMM. . SO, AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN TO GO YES. TO GO THROUGH THAT. THAT'S ONE OF MY BIGGEST CONCERNS IS JUST HOW MUCH THE LONG CENTER DOES, UM, WHAT ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE WAS IN MANY WAYS AND STAFF. MM-HMM. AND, AND YOU KNOW, AND, AND NOT ONLY THE CONSORTIUM, BUT ALSO THE, UH, THE GRANT ADMINISTRATION AS WELL AS WHAT DURING OUR, UM, ARTS AND, AND UH, MUSIC ARTS COMMISSION AND MUSIC COMMISSIONED MEETING, UH, WHEN THE MUSIC FUNDING, UM, PROGRAM CAME ACROSS. AND IT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE STAFF OF THE LONG CENTER WOULD BE MAKING THE DECISIONS ON THAT FUNDING. THAT KIND OF FLAGGED ME AS WELL. SO I JUST WANTED MORE, IT'S LIKE, OKAY, IF IT'S THIS, WHAT STAFF? WHO IS THAT? IS IT A COMMUNITY? YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET DEEP INTO THAT. I'M JUST KIND OF, THESE ARE CONCERNS. UM, I'M ALSO, BECAUSE I WAS INVOLVED AGAIN SO EARLY ON AND HONORED, WE ARE HONORED TO HAVE BEEN RESIDENT COMPANY AND STILL ARE, THERE WERE MANY THINGS, UH, THERE WERE BIG VISIONS FOR RESIDENT COMPANIES THEN AS WELL THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY COME TO FRUITION, WHICH HAD A LOT TO DO WITH THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND LOWER COSTS AND A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RELATIVE TO THIS CONSORTIUM. SO, UM, I'M ANXIOUS TO SEE THAT BUSINESS PLAN AND THE FOLLOW THROUGH OF THAT BUSINESS PLAN BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME DISAPPOINTMENT ON COMMUNITY LEVEL AS FAR AS TAKING CARE OF THE SMALLER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CITY. AND I THINK YOU REALIZE THAT. SO [00:50:01] I THINK YOU'VE GOTTA, YOU'VE GOT, UH, YOU'VE GOTTA PROVE YOURSELF ON, YOU GOTTA STAND UP ON THOSE BEAUTIFUL HEELS, UM, TO, TO BRING THIS TO FRUITION BECAUSE IT'S BEEN, IT, MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS AND I DON'T WANNA SEE THAT FALL, YOU KNOW, CUZ IT'S A, IT'S AN WHAT AN INCREDIBLE THING. YES. THE PRESENTATION IS GORGEOUS AND I JUST, MY, MY, UH, MY HEART WANTS TO BELIEVE AND MY, MY BRAIN WANTS TO BELIEVE THAT THE BUSINESS PLAN IS A STRONG ONE. SO I THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GRAY. AND, AND YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE, YOU DO KNOW THE LONG CENTER BETTER THAN I DO. SO I DO APPRECIATE ALWAYS THE QUESTION AND FEEDBACK. AND, AND I WILL SAY, AND, AND I'LL TRY TO REMEMBER, BUT LET ME KNOW IF I, IF I MISS ANYTHING WITH STAFF. WE HAVE, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF, UM, TURNOVER IN THE PAST, AND THEN UNFORTUNATELY I HAD TO LAY OFF, UH, QUITE A FEW STAFF DURING THE PANDEMIC. WE'RE NOW BACK BROUGHT ON AND, AND ADDING ON TO STAFF. SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, BEING INCREDIBLY CANDID WITH YOU, I THINK THE LUNG CENTER HAS STRUGGLED WITH IDENTITY. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE ORIGINAL ALL OF, WHEN I TALK TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU, LIKE COMMISSIONER MOCK, UM, LIKE JOE LONG ABOUT WHAT IT WAS FOUNDED ON, IT WAS SO RIGHT. THERE'S SO MANY WONDERFUL THINGS THERE, BUT THROUGH LEADERSHIP CHANGES, I MEAN, HOW THE CITY HAS CHANGED, YOU KNOW, A C L LIVE AT MOODY DID NOT EXIST WHEN WE OPENED A, AS YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE SMALLER VENUES DID. AND SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CHANGES AND THE LONG CENTER I THINK HAS GONE THROUGH AN IDENTITY CRISIS. AND I THINK FOR ME, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN WE SHOW PRESENTATIONS AND WE TALK ABOUT THIS, WE DO TALK ABOUT PILLARS BECAUSE WHAT I THINK UNDERSTANDABLY A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE IS, OH, SQUIRREL, THEY'VE GONE IN THAT DIRECTION AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, REALLY WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS WORKS BECAUSE THE FOUNDATIONS THAT WE'VE BUILT ON IT WORKS BECAUSE WE'RE MINDING OUR OTHER PILLARS. AND THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN EACH OF THOSE PILLARS. I MEAN, 15 YEAR OLDS OLD AS, YOU KNOW, THE BUILDING'S AGING. I MEAN, THERE'S A WHOLE NOTHER ISSUE ABOUT CAPITAL CAMPAIGNING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE STAFF AND ENERGY AND TIME TO DO THAT AS WELL. SO A LOT OF, UH, PRIORITIES ARE, ARE HAPPENING ACROSS THE BOARD. AND SO A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE AND UNDERSTAND. AND WE ARE, WE ARE VERY MINDFUL OF THAT. AND I THINK THE REASON THAT THE SERVICES PIECE CAN WORK IS BECAUSE OF WHAT IN ITS BEST HAS HAPPENED ON CAMPUS, THE IDEA AND, AND ALL OF THOSE DREAMS FROM THE BEGINNING OF HOW WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND BE STRONGER TOGETHER EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T ALL PLAY OUT. I THINK REVISITING THAT AND THINKING ABOUT, I MEAN OUR, OUR, UM, RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RESIDENT COMPANIES IS A GREAT EXAMPLE. YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE ALL ON THE SAME INSURANCE, JUST THE ONES THAT ALL OF US THAT LIVE THERE, I MEAN, WHAT WE, YOU KNOW, THOSE KIND OF THINGS. AND THEN THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE TAKE THE HEART OF THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT WE WERE BORN IN AND, AND EXTRAPOLATE IT AND KIND OF BRING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE INTO THE FOLD IS HOW WE'RE HOPING TO GO. AND SO WE HAVE BUDGETED TO BRING IN STAFFS. UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID A FEW YEARS AGO IN THE CHANGE IN BUSINESS PLAN IS REALLY RETHOUGHT OUR RENTALS MODEL AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE. AND THAT HAS BEEN SO GOOD FOR US BECAUSE IT PAYS FOR OUR MISSION-BASED STUFF. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY MOVIE THEATERS MAKE THEIR MONEY ON POPCORN AND, YOU KNOW, AT FREE EVENTS, WE MAKE OUR MONEY OFF BEER. YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE DO. AND SO IT, WE HAVE FOUND THESE NEW, UM, REVENUE STREAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE A HUNDRED PERCENT STABLE AND, UH, SUSTAINABLE FOR THE PILLARS THAT WE'RE ALREADY UP AND MOVING AND HOW DO WE MOVE INTO THESE OTHER AREAS AND IT WILL JUST KIND OF ENHANCE WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO A HUNDRED PERCENT NOTED. AND I WILL SAY I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE BUSINESS PLAN TOO. BEFORE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE WENT INTO THIS A YEAR AGO, WE HAD DONE ENOUGH WORK. THE TEAM HAD PUT IN ENOUGH WORK. WE, WE USED OUR BOARD MEMBERS' EXPERTISE, BROUGHT IN LEGAL, WE HAD ENOUGH THERE, WE HAD PROFORMAS AND THINGS TO SAY, THIS IS AN IDEA, THIS ISN'T JUST A MILLER WOULDN'T BE GREAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD ENOUGH MEAT THERE. BUT OF COURSE THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS AND AS WE'RE GETTING IN AND WORKING THROUGH IT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT TO BE WORKED OUT. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, I AM INCREDIBLY HELP HOPEFUL BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING RIGHT NOW AS A CITY. YOU KNOW, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND PULL PURCHASE AND DO THINGS LIKE THAT. SO I REALLY FEEL LIKE THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL. I I, I THINK FOR ME, I TEND TO BE VERY IMPATIENT. SO WHAT'S GONNA BE HARD FOR ME IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAN WE PUT OUT THERE SOLID AND GROW FROM RATHER THAN BEING LIKE, LET'S DO IT ALL, YOU KNOW? SO I THINK I APPRECIATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT THAT WILL KEEP THAT IN CHECK. AND, AND WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANNA SHAKE OUR FOUNDATION IN ANY WAY. SO THANK YOU. DID I MISS ANYTHING? OKAY, THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MEJA. HI. HI, COREY. HI. UM, I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF COMMENTS, NO QUESTIONS. UH, UH, BUT FROM, UM, UH, THE PERSPECTIVE OF, UH, MUSIC I'VE SEEN THAT, UM, I, I, I WANTED TO COMMEND YOU ALL FOR, FOR WHAT YOU DID DURING THE PANDEMIC FOR MUSICIANS. UM, AND MORE AND MORE I SEE ARTISTS [00:55:01] OF COLOR, UH, YOU KNOW, BEING BOOKED AT THE LONG CENTER BY BOBBY GARZA. AND, UM, THERE IS, UH, THROUGH YOU, THERE'S, UH, ALSO THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT CULTURAL COMMUNITIES BETWEEN, UH, HERE IN SAY LA AND, UH, EXPORT OUR TALENT. SO THERE'S THAT OPPORTUNITY WITH LONG CENTER AND, AND SO, UM, I, I DEFINITELY WANTED TO, UM, REALLY TOUCH ON THESE THINGS. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS AROUND STARTING BLACK, UH, ASIAN AND LATINO EVENTS, UM, AT THE LONG CENTER AS WELL THAT ARE ONGOING. UM, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THOSE COMING MORE AND MORE INTO PLAY. UM, I, I, I JUST LOVE THE VISION HERE. I THINK LONG CENTER HAS, UH, THE PRESENCE EVEN PHYSICALLY AS A, AS A LANDMARK IN THIS CITY TO PLAY THE ROLE THAT YOU ALL ARE ENVISIONING AND, UM, AND ANYWHERE, UM, I THINK SHARED SERVICES, UM, IS, IS A VERY, UH, VALUABLE THING WHEN DONE CORRECTLY, UH, JUST IN TERMS OF, UH, HOW ORGANIZATIONS CAN LEVERAGE THOSE TO BUILD EFFICIENCIES AND REDUCE COSTS AT THEIR END. UH, SO PROVIDING THAT KIND OF EXPERTISE WAS, I THINK IS GONNA BE FANTASTIC. THERE IS A LOT IN THE VISION. UM, AND, UM, UM, I WOULD HOPE, AND I, I WOULD THINK UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP, YOU WOULD BE RATIONALIZING THAT CHARTER, UH, ENOUGH TO WHERE YOU ARE, UH, TACKLING ITEMS IN ORDER OF PRIORITY OR, YOU KNOW, AND, AND MAYBE THAT WOULD HELP MANAGE, UH, HOW THINGS ARE, UH, GETTING DELIVERED. UM, AND, UM, YEAH, I, I, I'M JUST BUT THRILLED TO SEE THE OVERALL VISION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, SEEING HOW, UH, AND HOW WELL, AND HOW BEAUTIFULLY THIS PLACE OUT. UM, EVENTUALLY I'M VERY KEEN TO SEE THE, UM, THE INCUBATOR PROGRAM AND EVEN IF IT'S A COUPLE OF YEARS DOWN THE LINE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S ONE REAL, REAL HUGE VALUE THAT LARGE ORGANIZATIONS CAN PROVIDE. AND THIS IS SOMETHING I WOULD LOVE TO DISCUSS WITH THE COMMISSIONERS, UM, IN ANOTHER, UH, YOU KNOW, ON ANOTHER DAY. BUT I THINK EVEN, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT LEVERAGE CITY FUNDS THAT ARE BEYOND A CERTAIN OPERATING BUDGET THRESHOLD, UH, WHEN THEY AVAIL OF CITY FUNDS, I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST BENEFITS THAT THEY CAN OFFER OUR COMMUNITY IS THE INCUBATOR PROGRAMS AND HOW THEY ARE SUPPORTING UP AND COMING ORGANIZATIONS. SO IF THE CITY FUNDS ARE JUST A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THEIR, UM, OVERALL OPERATING BUDGET, MAYBE THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE VALUE IS AND HOW THESE ORGANIZATIONS CAN SUPPORT, UH, EMERGING AND UPCOMING. UH, SO I'M, I'M REALLY ALSO VERY KEEN TO EVENTUALLY SEE, UH, HOW, HOW THAT PROGRAM COMES UP. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. AND YOU'RE RIGHT. I THINK WE'RE THINKING OF HOW CAN WE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA USE THE WORD SUBSIDIZED, BUT ADD TO CITY FUNDS TO HELP THESE ORGANIZATIONS REALLY TAKE OFF. AND I KNOW ALL OF YOUR WORK WITH EQ AUSTIN, AND WE MET WITH GAVIN LAST WEEK AND TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS. AND I THINK THAT IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF ORGANIZATION WHERE WE DON'T WANNA DUPLICATE GREAT WORK IS BEING DONE IN THE COMMUNITY. WHAT CAN WE DO TO COME IN TO LET THEM DO THAT GREAT WORK AND, AND BRING RESOURCES TO THE TABLE AND, YOU KNOW, BRING IN THE TROOPS AND REALLY SUPPORT WHAT THEY'RE DOING RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, TRY TO DUPLICATE WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONERS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I HAVE A COUPLE, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THE FLOOR IS OPEN. UM, AND COMMISSIONER ELLA, TO YOUR POINT, THRIVE AND THE COHORT WITH THAT GRANT IS REALLY TRYING TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, WHICH IS COLLABORATIVELY BRAIN POOL, YOU KNOW, AND HOW DO WE USHER IN THAT NEXT GENERATION OF INSTITUTIONS? SO CARRYING THAT WORK FORWARD IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS BEING DONE HERE AT, IN, IN REAL TIME. MM-HMM. . MM-HMM. THROUGH, THROUGH THRIVE. THROUGH THRIVE. EXACTLY. UM, I HAD JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS. THE, UM, WE TALKED LAST MEETING ABOUT THIS AMAZING COLLABORATION WITH THE LONG CENTER AND HOW SPACE AS SERVICE AS A PART OF THIS FREEMIUM CONSORTIUM IDEA, HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT SORT OF PARLAY THAT IDEA FOR AWARENESS EVENTS FOR FUNDING? RIGHT. WE HOST, UM, INFO EVENTS. WE, HMM. I DON'T, THE CITY HOST INFO EVENTS WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME AND ASK QUESTIONS AND MEET COMMISSIONERS AND TALK WITH STAFF. HAVE YOU GUYS CONSIDERED OPENING UP THE LONG CENTER FOR THOSE KINDS OF EVENTS JUST TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND TO GET PEOPLE ON THE CAMPUS AND PLANT THE SEEDS FOR THE CONSORTIUM AS WELL? ABSOLUTELY. THE HOPE FOR FOCUS GROUPS FOR THE CONSORTIUM IS TO KIND OF HAVE AN OPEN HOUSE WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT TRUSA LIVES ON A LONG COMMUNITY DAY. AND WE'VE HAD, WE'VE BEEN SO LUCKY. I MEAN, WE HAVE SUCH GREAT FRIENDS AT THE CITY AND ARE ALWAYS OPEN TO HAVE ANY EVENTS THERE. AND WE'VE [01:00:01] ALSO BEEN WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OR COMPANY. AND, UM, THEY, ANNE AND THERESA HOSTED SOME OF THE GROUPS THERE. I KNOW YOU WERE ABLE TO HAVE SOME FOCUS GROUPS THERE. WE REALLY WANT PEOPLE TO THINK OF THE LONG CENTER AS THAT SPACE AS LIKE ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY CENTERS WE HAVE, BECAUSE IT REALLY IS WHAT IT IS. SO, YES, ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. AMAZING. I LOVE THAT. UM, AND THEN THAT KIND OF, UH, RELAYS OVER TO THE ACCESS TO THE PAVILION. HAVE YOU GUYS WORKED OUT HOW THAT'S GONNA BE, I MEAN, IN MY MIND, LIKE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE THEATERS INSIDE NOW. YOU'VE GOT A STANDING THEATER OUTSIDE LIKE, YOU KNOW, STAGE. SO IS, ARE THINGS GONNA BE HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY? IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IS IT WAS A GIFT FROM ICONIC COST YOU NOTHING, IT'S A CITY ASSET, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SOUND ENGINEERS AND THE, THERE'S FLAT FOUNDATIONAL COST, BUT WILL THAT BE SOMETHING THAT'S ALLEVIATED COMPLETELY FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE WANTING TO COME IN? OR IS IT A LOTTERY? LIKE WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHT ON HOW THAT'LL BE ACCESSIBLE? WELL, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. WE ACTUALLY HAD A PROGRAM CALLED THE RED CARPET PROGRAM FOR THE ARTS WHERE, UM, I KNOW COMMISSIONER GRAY KNOWS VERY MUCH ABOUT IT, BUT THE IDEA, AND IT HAS, IT'S HAD FITS AND STARTS AND HAD ITS ISSUE, BUT WE'RE STILL REALLY COMMITTED TO THE PURPOSE OF IT, WHICH WOULD BE WE'RE RAISING MONEY IN ORDER TO SUBSIDIZE ORGANIZATIONS TO PERFORM AT THE LONG CENTER. MM-HMM. . SO WE DON'T, I MEAN, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TRY TO KEEP PRICES AS, AS BEST AS WE CAN, BUT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A BARRIER FOR A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS AND WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE. SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THE ROLLINS THEATER, WHICH IS ALMOST, I, I MEAN, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE OVER 50%, IT MUST BE OVER 90% OF LOCAL ARTISTS. AND WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE PAVILION KIND OF IN THE SAME WAY. AND HOW CAN WE LOOK AT THESE ASSETS AND START TO THINK ABOUT HOW, WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA WE COULD BRING IN TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE PROVIDING SUBSIDY TO ARTS ORGANIZATIONS. IT'S ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT WORKING WITH THE, THE GRANTS WITH OUR CITY, AND I KEEP GESTURING OVER THERE, , THEY'RE SO GOOD, THEY'RE SO GREAT, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE WONDERFUL FACES, UM, IS BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND WORKING WITH A E D C, THEY KNOW WHO NEEDS VENUES. AND SO, YOU KNOW, REALLY ALIGNING WITH THEM SO WE'RE TALKING THE SAME LANGUAGE AND TELLING THE SAME STORY, AND WHERE THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO FALL SHORT FROM PROVIDING SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE LIKE, OH, WELL, WE, WE COULD POSSIBLY DO THIS SPACE. OR, YOU KNOW, IN, IN HOW NEW SPACES ARE CREATED. SO WE ARE AT THE INITIAL STAGES THAT THE, THE GIFT FROM ICON CAME UP IN DECEMBER, AND SO IT'S STILL KIND OF LIKE, AH, YOU KNOW, DUSTING IT OFF. BUT, UM, ABSOLUTELY WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. AND THE OTHER BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT IT IS WE CAN RAISE MONEY THROUGH SPONSORSHIP TO SUPPORT, UM, OUR EVENTS THERE, LIKE THE DROP-IN. AND SO THAT MONEY GOES RIGHT TO PAYING ARTISTS. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, WE DO SELL BEER AT FREE EVENTS AND THAT MONEY WE CAN, YOU KNOW, PUT INTO SUBSIDY PROGRAMS. IT'S THE BEAUTY OF BEING A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE RAISING MONEY TO PUT RIGHT BACK INTO OUR MISSION. IT'S PHENOMENAL. MM-HMM. , I'VE GOT ONE QUESTION THAT I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER GRAY. UM, LOVE IT. IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE NEWS AND I'VE SEEN THE VENUE AND IT'S SO RADS COOL. SAW IT BEING PRINTED LIVE. IT WAS FASCINATING. MM-HMM. . UM, GOING INTO THE GRANT ADMINISTRATION, YOU GUYS HAVE LIVE MUSIC GRANT, IT'S OPEN RIGHT NOW. I'M SEEING COMMENTS, I'M SEEING QUESTIONS AND THE MUSIC, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND OUR MUSICIANS REALLY LOOKING FOR SUPPORT FOR PAST GRANTS WE WORKED WITH, UM, AND I SAY THE ROYAL WE AS CULTURAL ARTS, UH, WITH SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS LIKE TALA MM-HMM. TO DO, UM, PRE, UH, SUBMISSION SUPPORT MM-HMM. , UM, AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THEY HAVE HAD LIKE A THOUSAND PHONE CALLS FROM LOCAL MUSICIANS SAYING, HEY, CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THIS? YEAH. ARE YOU PLANNING, IT'S A LONG CENTER PLANNING TO COLLABORATE WITH THE SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS? A HUNDRED PERCENT. YEAH. WE'RE WORKING WITH TALA AND RIGHT NOW WE ARE BUILDING, UM, A WEBSITE. WE'RE KIND OF CREATING, UM, TWO FACES, TWO TABS ON THE LONG CENTER, UH, SITE TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF THAT PUBLIC FACING AND VENUE AND WHERE YOU GO FOR TICKETS. BUT THEY'LL ALSO BE A TAB WHERE YOU CAN GO ON FOR, UM, THESE CREATIVE SERVICES. AND WE'RE BUILDING IT RIGHT NOW, AND WE'LL HAVE IT LAUNCHED WITH A LOT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GRANTS AND SIGNING UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT AND HOW DO YOU GET INTO US AND KIND OF ALL THAT INFORMATION. AND TO BE, YOU KNOW, VERY CLEAR, WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY DECISIONS. WE'RE NOT OBVIOUSLY DOING THE, THE CRITERIA. UM, THE PANELISTS MAKE THE DECISION ON WHO WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, CHECKING CREDENTIALS, HELPING PEOPLE APPLY, ANSWERING QUESTIONS, MAKING SURE CHECKS GET OUT, UM, WORKING WITH THE SERVICE PROVIDERS, YOU KNOW, WE ARE NOT IN A, IN IN NO WAY MAKING DECISIONS ON, UM, ELIG OR THE FUNDING ADJUDICATION CRITERIA. EXACTLY. EXACTLY. AND I REMEMBER WHEN JESUS, UH, PENAL GAVE HIS PRESENTATION MM-HMM. HE WAS VERY, UM, ADAMANT ABOUT THE, THE IN, LIKE THEY WERE GONNA BE INSTRUMENTAL. YOU GUYS WERE WORKING VERY CLOSE IN TANDEM WITH HOW THINGS WERE GONNA BE ASSESSED AND THAT THOSE CRITERIA WERE BEING CARRIED OVER. AND IT WASN'T JUST SORT OF LIKE A SET IT AND FORGET IT. THE LONG CENTER HAS IT THAT OUR STAFF WILL ALSO BE INTEGRAL AS A PART OF THAT PROCESS. YEAH. AND THE TEAM THAT WE'RE BUILDING OUT FOR GRANT ADMINISTRATION ARE GONNA BE EXPERTS FROM THE FIELDS, YOU KNOW, ARTISTS, PEOPLE THAT HAVE WORKED IN THOSE ORGANIZATIONS. AND AGAIN, NOT JUST, I [01:05:01] MEAN, WE HAVE OUR ACCOUNTING TEAM, WE'LL HAVE TO ADD AN ACCOUNTANT TO HELP PROCESS, BUT REALLY THE, THE MAIN TEAM WILL BE ABOUT KNOWING THE COMMUNITY. HOW CAN WE HELP GET THE WORD OUT TO MORE ORGANIZATIONS? HOW CAN WE, YOU KNOW, ANSWER THOSE THOUSAND CALLS? HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE GETTING CALLS BACK, THEY'RE GETTING THE INFORMATION THEY NEED. SO THAT WILL, IT WILL REALLY BE A CUSTOMER SERVICE, UM, CENTER. AND THAT'S A PHENOMENAL, ONLY MY LAST THING, AND I'M GONNA HAND IT TO YOU, , UM, YOU KNOW, A CON PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE HAD AT THE JOINT MEETING WAS THAT THE SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS OFTEN GET LEFT OUT OF THE, THE FUNDING MM-HMM. THAT IS SET FOR PROGRAMMING. AND SO TO KNOW, FOR ME, IT'S LIKE WARMS MY LITTLE HEART TO KNOW THAT LIKE YOU HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY, THE, THOSE THAT WE COULDN'T SERVE WITH THE THRIVE GRANT AND THE, YOU KNOW, NEED MORE OF THAT FUNDING SUPPORT ON AN ONGOING BASIS CAN THEN BE IN COLLABORATION WITH ANOTHER CITY ARM. YOU KNOW, LIKE ANOTHER EXTENSION OF THE CITY. MM-HMM. . SO IT'S JUST LIKE, OKAY, THIS ECOSYSTEM IS SYMBIOTIC. WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER AND SUPPORTING ALL THE MOVING PARTS AND THE GEARS IN THE MACHINE. SO IT'S REALLY EXCITED TO HEAR THAT YOU GUYS ARE GONNA BE WORKING WITH. YEAH. AND THE VISION IS, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE CITY, WORKING WITH THE A E D C THAT, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATIONS LIKE WE HEARD OF TODAY, THAT WE HAVE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, THAT THEY'RE NOT ONLY APPLYING FOR THESE GRANTS, BUT WE'RE GETTING TO KNOW THEM AND BEING ABLE TO SAY THE CONSORTIUM MIGHT BE A GOOD AVENUE FOR YOU, OR, OR WE KNOW THIS NEW VENUES COMING ONLINE THAT HAS SOME SUBSIDIES, OR THERE'S NATIONAL GRANTS. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THAT IS THE, THE BIGGER, THIS IS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST STEP IN THAT. BUT WE'RE REALLY HOPING TO KIND OF BE THAT SERVICE CENTER FOR, FOR ARTISTS IN THE CREATIVE SECTOR. FANTASTIC. COMMISSIONER GRAY, JUST ONE MORE. YES. APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. UH, BUT PART OF THAT BUSINESS PLAN AS WELL, THINKING BACK, CUZ AGAIN, I'M BEING A PAIN IN THE BUTT, I'M A SWEET ONE. YOU KNOW WHO I AM. I KNOW YOU ARE , UM, THAT ORIG, SO MUCH OF THIS WAS PART OF THAT ORIGINAL, WHEN I THINK OF THE RED CARPET, ALL OF ALL OF THAT STUFF IS THERE. AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS, AND YOU JUST SAID IT, IS SOMETHING THAT I BELIEVE THE LONG CENTER CAN TRULY HELP WITH IS KNOW THE COMMUNITY. YES. AND WITH THAT, I THINK THEY'RE EVEN, YOU KNOW, FOR THE LOCAL ARTISTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE AT THE THEATERS, OUTSIDE AT THE ROLLINS, WHEREVER THEY ARE, RESIDENT COMPANIES, WHICHEVER, CUZ THERE'S REALLY NOT A DIFFERENCE THERE ANYMORE. ALTHOUGH WE STILL PRIDE OURSELVES ON BEING A RESIDENT COMPANY IS MARKETING IS THE THINGS IS IS HELPING THE COMMUNITY GET THEIR MISSION AND THEIR THINGS OUT UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE LONG CENTER WHEN IT DOESN'T COST THE LONG CENTER ANY MONEY. MM-HMM. , THAT WAS PART OF THAT ORIGINAL PLAN AS WELL. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IF THERE, IF IT GOES THROUGH THE RED CARPET AND YOU GO THROUGH THE, AND YOU PUT BEAUTIFUL THINGS HAPPENING ON THE OUTSIDE IN THAT INCREDIBLE NEW THEATER MM-HMM. , BUT EVEN THE ROLLINS, THOSE PLACES, EVEN THE, EVEN THE BIG SPACE, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE COMMUNITY, THE WHY THEY'RE THERE AND WHAT THEY REALLY DO REFLECT OF OUR COMMUNITY HELPS SUPPORT THAT, YOU KNOW, IN, IN WAYS THAT THEY ARE MORE VISIBLE TO THE CITY. THE BIGGER THE CITY HAS GOTTEN. MANY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE LOST VISIBILITY AND SO MANY HAVE LOST STAFF, ET CETERA. AGAIN, FOR THE PANDEMIC, IT'S HARD TO PULL BACK UP, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU HA AND AGAIN, THE BUSINESS PLAN, WHAT YOU HAVE THAT OTHERS DON'T MM-HMM. WITHOUT SPENDING THE MONEY THAT MUTUAL SUPPORT. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU CUZ THIS IS, THIS IS VERY EXCITING. IT'S VERY EXCITING AND I'M BEING SELFISH ABOUT IT CUZ I'VE BEEN AN ARTIST. NO, I'VE BEEN AN ARTIST INVOLVED IN IT, BUT I ALSO KNOW THE PAIN OF, UH, OF, UH, LOSS AND GAIN THROUGH THE DECADES. SO YEAH. SO, BUT IT'S, UH, I LOVE THE LONG CENTER, YOU KNOW THAT. WELL, THANK YOU. AND IT WORKS BECAUSE WE ARE, WE HAVE THAT FOUNDATION AND IT REALLY IS JUST BUILDING OUT, IF IT WAS FROM THE GROUND UP, WHO KNOWS HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER SECTORS, EVEN IN THE ARTS, THERE IS NO REASON WHY IN A CITY LIKE AUSTIN WITH SO MANY CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS AND THINGS THAT, THAT WE CAN'T DREAM THAT WE ARE GOING TO OVER FUNDRAISE FOR THE CONSORTIUM SERVICES. AND THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT DOING BIG MARKETING CAMPAIGNS. WE CAN TALK ABOUT REGRANTING, YOU KNOW, THE THIS MONEY BACK. HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, GIVE BACK? HOW DO WE SUPPORT THE A D C AND WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO THROUGH FUNDRAISING. UM, SO I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF REASON TO BE HOPEFUL. I'M DEFINITELY AN OPTIMIST THOUGH. , YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHT. . YEP. COMMISSIONER MOCK AND THEN COMMISSIONER MECHA. CORY, I I JUST WANTED TO, UM, REALLY EMPOWER YOU BECAUSE WE, YOU ARE GIVEN A BEAUTIFUL, UH, HOME WITH A LOT OF BEAUTIFUL SPACE, ESPECIALLY THE, THE OUTSIDE WHERE THE, YOU KNOW, UM, THE, THE, THE, IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL. I ALWAYS TAKE GUESTS FROM OUT OF TOWN TO GET UP THERE TO LOOK AT THE SKYLIGHT MM-HMM. . SO YOU HAVE A LOT OF [01:10:01] SETS, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CAN, IT CAN BE YOUR CASH CAP, YOU KNOW. SO, UM, WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THE DESIGN AND, AND, AND I TRULY BELIEVE EACH LEADERSHIP WILL CREATE THEIR OWN LEGACY. YOU KNOW, THE FIRST ED, THEY FOUND THE HOME. AND THEN YOU ARE GOING TO GO BEYOND JUST THOSE PHYSICAL SPACE. YOU ARE LOOKING AT SERVICE PROGRAMS TO THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY BECAUSE WE ONLY HAVE 365 NIGHTS AND YOU HAVE TO SERVE THE ORCHESTRA, THE OPERA, AND THE BALLET. THERE'S ONLY SO MANY NIGHTS THAT YOU CAN UTILIZE THE FACILITIES, BUT YOU ARE GOING BEYOND THAT. SO, UM, I AM REALLY, UH, UH, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR VISION TO GO BEYOND JUST THE PHYSICAL SPACE FOR THE SERVICE PROGRAM. I'M HOPING YOUR BOARD MEMBERS WILL, WILL, WILL SHARE YOUR PASSION AND IT WILL BECOME THEIR PASSION AND TO MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU AND FOR THEM, UM, TO HAVE A A A NEXT CHAPTER, YOU KNOW, OF THE LONG CENTER LEGACY. SO I REALLY WANT TO EMPOWER YOU TO GO BOLD AND, AND YOU ALL LEGACY. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER MOCK. AND, AND WE DO HAVE A LOT OF SUPPORT ON OUR BOARD RIGHT NOW. I MEAN, THIS HAS TAKEN, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF LEAPS OF FAITH ON THEIR PART. UH, I WILL SAY DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE PUT A LOT OF IRONS IN THE FIRE AND, AND WE'RE REALLY BLESSED THAT A LOT OF 'EM ARE COMING THROUGH. SO BEING ABLE TO BE MINDFUL, TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T GET TOO AHEAD OF OURSELVES. UM, BUT ALSO I THINK THIS IS SUCH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY. IT'S JUST A UNIQUE MOMENT OF NEED OF OPENNESS TO COLLABORATION, OF FUNDING. UM, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED AND WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO LEAP INTO THE NEXT ERA. AND I WILL JUST SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, AS SPEAKING AS THE C E O OF THE LONG CENTER, I I JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN AS OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE AND AS FRIENDLY AS WE COULD BE. I THINK EVERYBODY I'VE EVER TALKED TO WHO HAS BEEN PART OF THE LONG CENTER REALLY FELT THAT AND MEANT THAT AND, AND WANTED THAT. BUT FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN THE HOUSE ON THE HILL AND WE ARE SO READY TO HAVE THE COMMUNITY IN TO REALLY BEING SEEN NOT ONLY AS HAVING EQUAL ACCESS AND, AND REALLY BEING A REFLECTION OF AUSTIN ON OUR BEAUTIFUL HILL, BUT ALSO AS, AS YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD COMMISSIONER MOCK OF WHAT CAN WE DO BEYOND THOSE WALLS? YOU KNOW, WE WERE BLESSED WITH ALL OF THESE RESOURCES AND THE LIST OF PEOPLE FROM ARTISTS TO, TO BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE LONG CENTER IS JUST MIND BLOWING. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN BE DOING MORE AND WE SHOULD BE DOING MORE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA BE REFLECTING ON THE LAWN, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, REACHING OUT WAY PAST OUR, OUR BOUNDARIES. UM, JUST, JUST SOME COMMENTS AGAIN. UH, BUT REALLY, UH, I GIVEN, UM, HOW MUCH, UH, TIME FOLKS LIKE, UM, ASIA HERE AND OTHERS HAVE SPENT IN THE COMMUNITY RUNNING CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, I, I, I DO, UM, HEAR YOU WITH, WITH A LOT OF RESPECT AND, UH, CONSIDERATION FOR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. UM, AND, BUT JUST LIKE HER, I'M EXCITED ABOUT WHAT'S COMING UP AND, UM, UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF LONG CENTER TO RAISE FUNDS FROM CORPORATIONS. JUST THE NUMBER OF SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MOVING INTO THE CITY AND ARE STILL MOVING IN. I FEEL LIKE IT'S STILL A LARGELY UNTAPPED, UM, AREA, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPORT FOR MUSIC AND ARTS. SO, UM, SO I THINK THAT'S ONE THING. UH, I THINK LONG CENTER HAS A LOT OF POTENTIAL TO BRING IN THOSE FUNDS INTO THE COMMUNITY. AND THEN EVERYBODY ELSE HOPEFULLY BENEFITS FROM THAT. UM, AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO JUST CALL OUT ALSO THE POTENTIAL OF LONG CENTERED TO ENGAGE, NOT JUST JUST BY BOOKING SOME ARTISTS OF COLOR, BUT COMMUNITIES OF COLOR TO ACTUALLY COME AND ENGAGE IN THE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE PARTAKING OF ARTS AND MUSIC. AND DOES ALSO CREATING ECONOMIC VALUE FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE AS WELL. BECAUSE THERE ARE VAST DIASPORAS IN AUSTIN AND AROUND THAT REALLY DO NOT ENGAGE IN, IN A LOT OF THE SPACES THAT WE CONSIDER MAINSTREAM. AND FINDING WAYS TO BRING, UH, THOSE COMMUNITIES IN TO PARTICIPATE IN, IN, YOU KNOW, PARTAKE IN, UH, UH, ARTS AND MUSIC IN THESE, YOU KNOW, MAIN, WHAT WE CONSIDER MAINSTREAM VENUES HERE. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF ECONOMIC VALUE ALSO ALONG WITH QUALITY OF LIFE AND OTHER THINGS THAT CAN BE, UH, CREATED [01:15:01] FROM THAT. AND I THINK I SEE A LOT OF POTENTIAL, UH, IN LONG TERM, UH, IN LONG SENTENCE ABILITY TO DO THAT. YEAH. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER. YEAH, SO IT'S REALLY MAGICAL KIND OF THAT WE SAW THAT IN A PANDEMIC, THAT IT'S ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IN THE CITY AS IT GETS BIGGER THAT IT'S THIS BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY PARK WHERE YOU MEET PEOPLE THAT YOU NEVER WOULD MEET, YOU KNOW, AND COMING OUT THERE. AND SO OUR VISION IS THAT, THAT WE ARE THE HOME FOR COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS. WE'RE WORKING WITH A LOT OF THE CHAMBERS GROUPS LIKE EQ AUSTIN, WE HAVE THE PRIDE IN LOCAL MUSIC FESTIVAL THERE. WE WERE SO HONORED TO HAVE THAT HERE, HAVE HOSTED OTHER EVENTS AND WE DO HAVE ACTUALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, RESOURCES AND WE BUDGET TO SUBSIDIZE A LOT OF THOSE GROUPS TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE REALLY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY EVENTS AT THE LONG CENTER. BUT WE CAN AND SHOULD DO MORE. SO CERTAINLY AN OPEN CALL. UM, WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUT AND MEET AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY, WE SHARE THAT VISION TO, TO BE THE PLACE TO GO IN THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN. LAST CALL FOR QUESTIONS. AWESOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WE SO APPRECIATE ALL YOUR SUPPORT. YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL THROUGH THIS PROCESS. THANK YOU YOU SO MUCH. AND AMPLIFICATION THAT YOU NEED THE SURVEY, UM, FOR THE FOCUS GROUPS, LIKE WE ARE AN EXTENSION OF THE MARKETING POWER. UM, WE HAVE OUR PLATFORMS, WE HAVE A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER, AS IT'S HELPFUL, PLEASE JUST PULL US IN, SEND US AN EMAIL. APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, EVERYTHING YOU FOR BEING, WE ALL DO. THANK YOU. TAKE CARE. OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE A [8. Presentation by Anne Gatling Haynes or representative from the Austin Economic Development Corporation on an update on East 11th Street and Block 16 + 18 Events] PRESENTATION BY THAT IS AVAREZ, UH, FROM THE A E D C ON AN UPDATE FOR EAST 11TH STREET. THE BLOCK 16 AND 18. YES. THANK YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE CAN HEAR YOU, YES. YOU'RE A LITTLE SOFT, SO IF YOU COULD MAYBE JUST PROJECT INTO YOUR COMPUTER. YES. AND I'M TURNING UP MY VOLUME AS WELL. OKAY. MY VOLUME IS UP AND I'M GOING TO PROJECT, UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS, UM, FOR INVITING THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPERATION, UM, HERE TONIGHT. UM, I JUST WANNA START BY THANKING YOU FOR, UM, YOUR TIME AND SUPPORT. UM, ARE THE HANDS UP BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HEAR ME. I'M SORRY. I WAS JUST, JUST PSYCHICALLY COMMUNICATING WITH CITY STAFF, BUT DANIEL'S ALL OVER IT, SO YOU'RE GOOD. CONTINUE . OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, I, WELL, ALL YOU MISSED WAS I WAS THANKING THE COMMISSIONERS, UM, FOR INVITING THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH ANNE HAYNES, UM, QUITE CLOSELY. UM, JUST WANNA START BY THANKING YOU FOR THE SUPPORT FOR MANY YEARS OF BOTH THE ARTS COMMISSION AND MUSIC COMMISSION HAVE PROVIDED WHILE THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WAS BEING ESTABLISHED AND STARTED, UM, BY CITY STAFF. AND I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE, UM, CARL SETTLES IS THE AUSTIN THE ARTS COMMISSION NOMINEE TO OUR BOARD. SO I SERVE ON THE BOARD WITH CARL SETTLES, HE SERVES AT OUR VICE CHAIR, UM, CAPACITY. HE'S ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND HE ALSO LEADS, UM, HE AND I ARE LEADING TOGETHER STRATEGIC PLANNING, UM, FOR THE ORGANIZATION. SO YOU GUYS HAVE, HAVE PROVIDED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SUPPORT, AND I'M SURE YOU DON'T HEAR ALL THE THINGS THAT CARL DOES IN THE BACKGROUND, SO I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THIS MOMENT, UM, TO RECOGNIZE HIM AS WELL. AND SINCE, UM, I'VE MET SOME OF YOU AND I HAVEN'T MET, UM, ALL, I'D ALSO JUST LIKE TO INTRODUCE MYSELF. UM, ESA ALVAREZ. I'M THE C E O AND PRESIDENT OF THE A E D C. I STARTED, UM, EARLY LAST YEAR, UM, AFTER A LONG, UM, INTERVIEW PROCESS WITH THE BOARD. UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, UM, INTRODUCE MYSELF AS A FORMER ARTIST. SO I AM, I'M A FORMER DANCER. I CHAIRED, UM, I WAS PRESIDENT OF THE UT VALK. I HAVE A MUSICAL THEATER BACKGROUND AND I DANCED FOR MANY YEARS, UM, IN THE LATE NINETIES WITH THE ASLAN, UM, DANCE COMPANY OF ALSO A RESIDENT OF EAST AUSTIN. UM, I THINK I MENTIONED I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN 30 YEARS. UM, AND THEN I, I WANNA THANK COREY, UM, UH, FOR HER SUPPORT. THE LONG CENTER, AS SHE MENTIONED, HAS BEEN REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF OUR, UH, CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM. UM, AND THE LAST TIME I PERFORMED AS A DANCER WAS AT THE LONG CENTER AS MOTHER GENDER. SO JUST TAKE, TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO SHARE AS WELL MY ARTS BACKGROUND. UM, I AM HERE TONIGHT TO, TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON, UM, EAST 11TH, THE BLOCK 16 AND 18. SO, JUST A REMINDER, BLOCK 16 IS THE EMPTY LOT BETWEEN THE FRANKLIN'S BARBECUE AND THE WELLS FARGO. UM, AND BLOCK 18 IS WHERE THE VICTORY GRILL SITS AND MANY, UM, FOOD TRUCKS THERE. SO JUST SO, JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS, THOSE ARE THE BLOCKS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, ON, UM, EAST 11TH. AND I KNOW ANN HAS PROVIDED YOU, UM, WITH SOME INFORMATION. SO I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A QUICK UPDATE. AND THEN I'M ALSO GONNA CALL ON, UM, MIRIAM CONNOR WHO'S THERE, UM, IN THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT. UM, SHE'S BEEN WORKING WITH US ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SO DEFINITELY WANNA GIVE A, A BIG THANK YOU AND A SHOUT OUT TO MIRIAM AS WELL. UM, SO AS A REMINDER, A E D C, UM, IS WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE URBAN RENEWAL BOARD. AND THE REASON ANN IS NOT WITH YOU TONIGHT IS SHE'S ACTUALLY WORKING AND PRESENTING WITH THE URBAN RENEWAL [01:20:01] BOARD AT THEIR COMMISSION MEETING, UM, TONIGHT THAT'S HAPPENING AT THE PD C. UM, SO WE'RE, I'VE, I'M MONITORING, UM, BOTH COMMI COMMISSION MEETINGS, UM, TONIGHT. UM, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE URBAN RENEWAL BOARD IN PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE HOUSING, UM, HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, AND ALSO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. UM, A BIG THANK YOU TO MEGAN WELLS, UM, I THINK WHO HAS JOINED AS WELL. UM, SHE IS OUR STAFF LIAISON WHO'S BEEN INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE AS WELL. UM, SO ON BEHALF OF URBAN RENEWAL, WE ARE HELPING TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE TWO BLOCKS THAT I DESCRIBED, UM, EARLIER. UM, TH THEY WILL BE DEVELOPED TO ANCHOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE DISTRICT. WE'VE, UM, BEEN WORKING WITH SIX SQUARE AS WELL. I WANTED TO THANK, UM, SIX SQUARE GUADALUPE NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, AUSTIN REVITALIZATION AUTHORITY, AS WELL AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, AND I THINK THE PART YOU GUYS ARE MOST INTERESTED IN, AND OF COURSE, BEFORE I TALK ABOUT THE R F P, JUST A REMINDER THAT THAT IS BEING DISCUSSED TONIGHT AT THAT COMMISSION MEETING. SO, SO DON'T HOLD ME TO ANY OF THESE NUMBERS, BUT I'M JUST GONNA TALK HIGH LEVEL. UM, SOME OF THE NUMBERS THAT I BELIEVE ANN HAS ALREADY SHARED WITH YOU IN THE EMAIL. UM, BUT I THINK THE PART THAT, THAT WE'RE ALL EXCITED ABOUT FROM AN ARTS PERSPECTIVE IS THE 30,000 SQUARE FOOT OF CULTURAL ARTS, UM, SPACE THAT IS BEING DISCUSSED AS PART OF THE, UM, THE R P PROCESS. IN ADDITION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A HUNDRED AND UP TO POSSIBLY 120, UM, UNITS OF HOUSING, TRYING TO KEEP AS MANY OF THOSE AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE AND, AND WANT, WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE TO MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS, UM, AS WELL. UM, OF, SO I MENTIONED THE 30,000, UM, CULTURAL ART SPACE. THERE'S ACTUALLY 60,000 SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL SPACE, 30 OF THAT FOR CULTURAL ARTS, 15,000, UM, FOR FOOD-BASED RETAIL. UM, 17,000, UM, FOR, FOR OFFICE, WHICH COULD BE CREATIVE AND AFFORDABLE OFFICE WORKSPACE. UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S BEING DISCUSSED TONIGHT OF WHAT THAT FINAL R F P, UM, PROCESS WILL BE PUT IN PLACE. WE'VE SPENT, UM, OVER THE PAST YEAR DOING, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. OF COURSE, WE KNOW HAVING BEEN IN AUSTIN 30 YEARS MYSELF, KNOWING THERE'S BEEN YEARS OF ENGAGEMENT AND STOPS AND STARTS, UM, DEVELOPING TO DEVELOPING THESE TWO BLOCKS. UM, I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY, THERE'S A VERY LONG LIST OF ONCE AND DESIRES FOR TWO VERY SMALL, UM, BLOCKS. SO I KNOW THAT EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE WANNA SEE ON, ON THE TWO BLOCKS IS NOT POSSIBLE, BUT WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST TO, UM, PUT AS MANY OF THE COMMUNITY, UH, BENEFITS THAT, THAT WE'VE ALL BEEN ASKING FOR, FOR FOR MANY YEARS. UM, SO WITH, UM, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING, I, I WANT TO PERSONALLY INVITE ALL OF YOU, UM, APRIL 24TH, MAY 15TH, AND JUNE 19TH, WE'RE DOING SOME, UM, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NIGHTS, BLUES BUSINESS AND, AND ON BLOCK 18. AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE, UM, IF, IF MIRIAM, UM, CAN COME UP TO JOIN, I'D LIKE HER TO TELL YOU SHE'S BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH ANN, UM, PLANNING FOR THOSE NIGHTS. I WILL BE OUT THERE, I HOPE TO SEE MANY OF YOU, UM, BUT WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY INVITE YOU OUT, UM, TO THAT PART OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. SO MIRIAM, I'M GONNA TURN IT O OVER TO YOU TO TALK ABOUT THOSE NIGHTS. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU, DSA. SO WE WILL BE HAVING AGAIN, UM, APRIL 24TH, NEXT MONDAY, UH, MAY 15TH AND JUNE 19TH, WHICH IS JUNETEENTH. THOSE WILL ALL BE AT 7:30 PM AND WE'RE INVITING BUSINESSES AND WE WANT THE FEELING OF WHAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE LIKE TO WALK INTO THE SPACE AND BE BLACK AND BROWN BUSINESSES, BE FOR THE CULTURE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN QUALITY OR AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE, UH, DISTRICT. WHAT WOULD IT FEEL LIKE TO HAVE A BUILDING THERE? BUT YET THOSE BUSINESSES ARE ACTUALLY OWN THEIR SPACE OR RENT THEIR SPACE AND RUN THEIR SPACE AND HAVE CREATIVES THERE. UM, SO WE'RE ALSO STILL TAKING INPUT ALWAYS. AND YEAH, PLEASE JOIN US. IT'S GONNA BE BLUES AND IT'S ALSO A JAM SESSION EVERY MONDAY AT KENNY DURHAM. SO COME SING IF YOU'D LIKE TO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MIRIAM. AND, UM, I, I WILL TURN IT, UM, BACK OVER TO THE CHAIR TO ASK IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS. PERFECT. YEAH, I WOULD JUST SAY, UM, ANY DIGITAL ASSETS THAT CAN BE SHARED WITH US, IF THERE'S A CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS STILL GOING ON, WE'RE HAPPY TO CIRCULATE THAT INFORMATION THROUGH OUR OUTLETS. UH, COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR TASA OR MIRIAM? GREAT PRESENTATION. TASA, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I'M A FELLOW FOR RICO DANCER AS WELL, SO WE SHOULD LET'S GO BOOK. WE SHOULD DEFINITELY CHAT ABOUT THAT. YEAH. THANK YOU AGAIN. AGAIN, I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION, UM, THE SUPPORT YOU'VE PROVIDED TO GET THIS ORGANIZATION UP AND RUNNING. SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU ALL. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. [01:25:04] OKAY, NEXT [9. Staff briefing regarding an update on the Hotel Occupancy Tax by Laura Odegaard, Acting Cultural Arts Division Manager] IS STAFF BRIEFINGS. WE HAVE A STEP BRIEFING REGARDING THE UPDATE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TEXT WITH LAURA OGAR, ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER, SNAPS . GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. ALL RIGHT, AND I'M IN CONTROL AND EVERYTHING WITH THIS TONIGHT. IT'S EXCITING. UM, MY NAME IS LAURA OGAR. I'M THE ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. MY PRONOUNS ARE SHE, HER, I'M A WHITE WOMAN WITH SHOULDER LENGTH BROWN HAIR WEARING A CREAM SWEATER AND HOT PINK LIPSTICK. UH, SO WITH THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL BE SHARING OUR LATEST HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION NUMBERS. UM, SO FIRST, BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THAT, ACTUALLY, UM, THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS DURING THE RECENT JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A QUICK BREAKDOWN OF HOT VISUALLY. I'M A VISUAL PERSON, I'M ASSUMING MANY OF YOU ARE ALSO VISUAL PEOPLE. UM, AS A REMINDER, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX IS A TAX PLACED ON EACH NIGHT'S STAY AT A HOTEL, MOTEL BED, AND BREAKFAST SHORT-TERM RENTAL. AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN COLLECTS 11 CENTS PER $1. AND THEN HOT IS USED TO PROMOTE TOURISM CONVENTION AND HOTEL INDUSTRY. AND SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF THOSE 11 CENTS. SO 2 CENTS GOING TO THE VENUE PROJECT FUND, 2 CENTS FOR THE NEW EXPANSION, AND THAT IS WHERE THE LIVE MUSIC FUND DOLLARS COME FROM. SO 15% OF THAT 2% COMES FROM THE NEW EXPANSION FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER. AND THEN THE REMAINING 7 CENTS ARE BROKEN DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT 1.05 CENTS GOES TO THE CULTURAL ARTS FUND. SO HOPEFULLY THAT HELPS CLARIFY WHERE THINGS COME FROM. AND THEN, UH, SO OUR TOTAL HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION IN MARCH WAS $500,392. SO THIS MEANS OUR HOT COLLECTION FOR THE CULTURAL ARTS FUND WAS $47,787. AS I MENTIONED LAST YEAR, WE HAVE AN UPDATED YEAR END ESTIMATE THAT IS LARGER THAN THE APPROVED BUDGET BEFORE THE FISCAL YEAR BEGAN BY COUNCIL. AND SO THE UPDATED YEAR END ESTIMATE WENT FROM AROUND, UH, 108 MILLION TO AROUND 135 MILLION. AND SUBSEQUENTLY, OUR CULTURAL ARTS FUND ESTIMATE WENT FROM THE 10.3 MILLION APPROVED BUDGET TO AN UPDATED ESTIMATE OF 12.9 MILLION FOR THIS YEAR. SO WE ARE CURRENTLY 71% OF THE WAY TOWARD OUR APPROVED BUDGET, AND WE ARE 57% OF THE WAY TOWARD OUR NEW CURRENT YEAR ESTIMATE. UM, AND THEN AS A REMINDER, BECAUSE I THINK MOST PEOPLE WILL SEE MARCH AND THINK THERE SHOULD BE VERY LARGE NUMBERS HERE FROM A SPRING FESTIVAL, THERE'S A DELAY IN HOW HOT REPORTING HAPPENS. SO WE REPORT NOW IN APRIL, WHAT WAS COLLECTED IN MARCH FOR HOTEL STAYS THAT HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY. SO ANY SPRING FESTIVAL NUMBERS WILL NOT SHOW UP UNTIL NEXT MONTH'S REPORT. UH, SO HERE YOU CAN SEE HOW FAR ALONG WE ARE TOWARD OUR APPROVED, UH, CULTURAL ARTS FUND BUDGET NUMBER. UM, SO WHAT WE HAVE ARE IN THE BANK RIGHT NOW IS $7,381,256, AND THESE MONIES WILL BE GOING TO THE PROGRAMS NEXT YEAR. JUST AS A REMINDER TO EVERYONE, I THINK THERE WAS POTENTIALLY SOME CONFUSION IN THE PAST, BUT THIS IS FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR'S, UM, FUNDING PROGRAMS. UH, AND LAST LITTLE FACTOID IS THAT THIS TIME LAST YEAR, OUR CULTURAL ARTS FUND WAS AT $5.4 MILLION. ANY QUESTIONS? I LOVE A POINT OF REFERENCE. UM, THE AUDIBLE OOZE AND AHS FROM THE DIAS WHEN THAT INFOGRAPHIC CAME UP, WE MIGHT GET IT TATTOOED AS A COLLECTOR. LIKE THAT'S VERY EXCITING, VERY HELPFUL TO HAVE. WAS ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF CONVERSATION AT THE JOINT MEETING, WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT FRACTIONS OF A FRACTION. SO THAT IS AN IMAGE THAT WILL MAKE THE RECAP NEWSLETTER FOR SURE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THAT. UH, COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR LAURA REGARDING HOT OTHER THAN CONFETTI AND LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH WHEN THOSE SPRING FESTIVAL NUMBERS HIT. OKAY, WONDERFUL. UH, DON'T GO TOO FAR BECAUSE OUR NEXT ITEM [10. Staff briefing regarding the Cultural Arts Funding Programs by Jesus Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor, and Laura Odegaard, Acting Cultural Arts Division Manager] IS A STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAM BY JESUS PLANK FUNDING, SUPERVI CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR AND LO AUTO GUARD ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER. UM, AND I JUST WANNA KIND OF KICK, I WANT YOU [01:30:01] GUYS TO GIVE YOUR PRESENTATION AS IT EXISTS, BUT WE HEARD SOME VERY, UH, SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FROM OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NOT HERE, THEY CAN COME BACK AND WATCH THIS WONDERFUL MEETING AND AT WHAT POINTS WE CAN ADDRESS OR CLARIFY, I THINK, UH, WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED BY THE COMMUNITY AND THE COMMISSION. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, AS MY SECOND PRESENTATION IS LOADING, HELLO AGAIN. UH, ALSO LAURA HOGAR, ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER. UM, AND I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING, SO HOPEFULLY THIS WILL NOT ALL BE NEW. ALL RIGHT, SO AS JESUS SHARED LAST MONTH, WE ARE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR PILOT PROGRAMS. IT'S VERY EXCITING. ELEVATE WILL BE LAUNCHING ON MAY 24TH, AND IT WILL BE OPEN TO ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GROUPS OF ALL SIZES. AND IT WILL BROADLY SUPPORT CULTURAL PRODUCERS WHO PUT ON PUBLIC PROGRAMS. SO AGAIN, ELEVATE BROAD SECTOR SUPPORTS. UH, SO BASED ON COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, ELEVATE WILL HAVE TWO CATEGORIES. ONE, THAT'S FOR 5 0 1 ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS ONLY. AND THEN ANOTHER CATEGORY FOR NON 5 0 1 ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS. AND SO THIS COULD INCLUDE INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, ARTISTS, CO-OP GALLERIES, IMPROV TROOPS, DANCE COMPANIES, ET CETERA. UM, AS A REMINDER, DURING THE PANDEMIC, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT STARTED EXPANDING ELIGIBILITY OF OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS. SO PEOPLE, BUSINESSES, AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE BASED TO PEOPLE, BUSINESSES, AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE BASED IN THE M MSA, NOT JUST THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS OR E T J, AS LONG AS THE MAJORITY OF THEIR WORK TOOK PLACE IN AUSTIN PROPER. SO THIS IS A DEPARTMENT DECISION. UM, ONE OF THE PRIMARY REASONS FOR THIS WAS TO ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY AND DISPLACEMENT IN OUR CITY. AS WE ALL KNOW, IT'S EXPENSIVE TO LIVE AND WORK IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW, AND MANY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY CREATIVES AND PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE BEING FORCED OUT. SO EXPANDING THE GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES OF OUR PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY IS ONE WAY WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS THAT DISPLACEMENT. THAT BEING SAID, ALL EVENTS FUNDED BY THE CITY MUST TAKE PLACE IN AUSTIN. THAT IS A REQUIREMENT OF HOT, AND THAT IS, UM, DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE FOLLOW. UH, SO FOR ELEVATE, UM, ANNUAL CONTRACTS, SO THE CONTRACT TERMS ARE ONE YEAR, AND THEY'LL RANGE FROM $10,000 TO $75,000. I THINK WHEN WE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED THESE PROGRAMS TO YOU ALL, AND YOU, UM, APPROVED THE FRAMEWORK, WE PROPOSED 100 AWARDS WITH AN INVESTMENT OF $4 MILLION. WE HAVE SINCE BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE THIS TREMENDOUSLY IN RESPONSE TO COMMUNITY AND COMMISSION FEEDBACK. SO RIGHT NOW, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE GOING FROM 100 TO 200 AWARDS, AND WE WENT FROM 4 MILLION INVESTING TO 6.25 FOR ELEVATE. UM, SO SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. UM, OTHER THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, HOPEFULLY THIS IS NOT NEWS, BUT PANEL RECRUITMENT HAS BEGUN AND WE NEED 105 PANELISTS TO GO THROUGH THE ELEVATE PROCESS. SO THERE ARE LINKS ON OUR SOCIAL PAGES NEWSLETTER THAT I THINK IS GOING OUT LATER THIS WEEK AND OUR WEBSITE, BUT ALSO SHARING THE LINK HERE FOR EASY ACCESS. UM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE IT WITH ANYONE AND EVERYONE YOU THINK MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT. WE'RE LOOKING FOR A VERY DIVERSE POOL OF PANELISTS, ETHNICITY, RACE, AGE, GENDER ABILITY, BOTH LOCAL AND OUT OF TOWN, AND WITH A VARIETY OF ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES. SO WHETHER IT'S PRACTITIONERS, ADMINISTRATORS, UM, ATTENDEES AND PATRONS, THE WHOLE GAMUT. UM, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PANEL INTAKE FORM IS OPEN ALL YEAR, BUT IF YOU WANT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE ELEVATE PANEL SPECIFICALLY, YOU NEED TO GET YOUR APPLICATION IN BY APRIL 27TH. UH, AS WE'VE SHARED BEFORE, UH, THERE ARE TRAINING MODULES THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE A PANELIST FOR ANY OF OUR PROGRAMS. UM, THIS IS A PAID TRAINING, UH, AND IT'S A MULTI-PART PROCESS WHERE THERE IS, UM, A DECK WITH A VARIETY OF VIDEOS. IF ANY OF YOU, UH, HAVE NOT SEEN THIS DECK ALREADY, WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE IT WITH YOU FOR REFERENCE. UH, AND IT BASICALLY WALKS THROUGH. UM, THERE ARE DIFFERENT VIDEOS AROUND EQUITY AND UNCONSCIOUS BIAS, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AUSTIN CONTEXT. UM, PANEL EXPECTATIONS, GUIDELINES, RUBRICS, CULTURAL TOURISM REQUIREMENTS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS AS WELL AS THE TECHNICAL TRAINING TO ACTUALLY USE THE PORTAL SYSTEM AND SCORE THE APPLICATIONS. UM, SO AFTER PANELISTS HAVE GONE [01:35:01] THROUGH THIS VIDEO PDF, UM, TRAINING, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE, UM, WE'RE HAVING SEVERAL FACILITATED MEETINGS FOR PANELISTS TO REVIEW THE GUIDELINES, UH, ASK QUESTIONS TO STAFF, ET CETERA, JUST TO KIND OF HAVE A MOMENT, UH, TOGETHER TO, TO MAKE SURE THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING. UH, AND THEN AT THE CONCLUSION OF THAT TRAINING AND MEETING PANELISTS WILL THEN BE ABLE TO RECEIVE APPLICATION ASSIGNMENTS AND BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE FIRST CHUNK OF PAYMENTS. SO $300 FOR JUST THE PANEL TRAINING. UH, LET'S SEE, WHAT ELSE. SO HERE KIND OF BREAKS DOWN THE COMPOSITION AND SELECTION PROCESS FOR THE PANELISTS. UM, WE WILL SELECT PANELISTS THAT ARE INCLUSIVE OF A BROAD RANGE OF ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL VIEWPOINTS AND A WIDE RANGE OF ETHNIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY. UM, AS I MENTIONED, THEY'LL CON BE COMPOSED OF BOTH ARTS PROFESSIONALS AND KNOWLEDGEABLE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. UM, AND ALIGNMENT WITH PRIORITIES OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S EQUITY OFFICE WILL BE ESSENTIAL FOR ALL CULTURAL FUNDING PANELISTS. AS NOTED, WE'RE LOOKING FOR 105 PEOPLE TO SERVE AS READERS AND, AND ON FIVE DIFFERENT PANELS. SO THERE'S A LOT THAT'S GONNA BE HAPPENING. AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT MANY IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE GOING TO BE APPLYING FOR THESE FUNDS. SO TO ALIGN WITH NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES IN GRANT MAKING AND AVOID AS MANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AS POSSIBLE, WE MUST HAVE A MIX OF LOCAL AND OUT OF TOWN PANELISTS, UM, JUST FOR REFERENCE, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU LOVE A REFERENCE POINT, UM, SEVEN OF THE 12 SELECTED PANELISTS FOR, FOR THRIVE WERE FROM AUSTIN. SO THAT WAS 60% OF THE THRIVE PANELISTS WERE FROM AUSTIN. UM, AND FOR ELEVATE, THE MAJORITY OF PANELISTS WILL CONTINUE TO BE FROM AUSTIN. UM, THESE ARE PAID POSITIONS AND WE AS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, OF COURSE, WANT TO BE SUPPORTING JOBS FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTIN. UM, SO THAT IS A PRIORITY FOR US AS WELL. ALL RIGHT, SO THEN THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE BREAKDOWN FOR THE ELEVATE PANELS. SO DUE TO THE VOLUME OF APPLICATIONS WE ANTICIPATE RECEIVING, THEY'RE GOING TO BE, IT'S GOING TO BE A TWO ROUND REVIEW PROCESS. SO WE'LL NEED 105. I'M SAYING THIS A LOT JUST TO LIKE DRIVE THE POINT HOME THAT WE NEED A LOT OF PANELISTS FOR THIS. 105 PANELISTS WILL BE NEEDED FOR THIS PROGRAM. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT IN ROUND ONE, WHICH IS THE READER STAGE, WE NEED 60 PANELISTS BECAUSE WE WANT A MINIMUM OF THREE PEOPLE REVIEWING EVERY APPLICATION AND SCORING EVERY APPLICATION. AND WHEN I SAY APPLICATION, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ENTIRE APPLICATION, NOT JUST ONE QUESTION. SO THREE PEOPLE WILL BE REVIEWING THE ENTIRE APPLICATION, SCORING THE ENTIRE APPLICATION, AND WE ARE REQUIRING PANELISTS IN THE READER STAGE TO PROVIDE COMMENTS TO BACK THOSE SCORES UP. SO THAT'S ROUND ONE. AND THEN ROUND TWO WE'LL NEED 45 PANELISTS. AND SO THERE WILL BE THREE PANELS FOR THE 5 0 1 GROUP. THAT WILL BE TWO DAYS EACH. AND THERE WILL BE TWO PANELS OF NON 5 0 1 . THAT WILL BE ONE DAY EACH. OKAY. SO IF SOMEONE IS ASSIGNED AS A PANELIST IN THE READER STAGE, THEY'LL RECEIVE $300 FOR THE COMPLETED TRAINING AND THEN $300 FOR REVIEWING THE ASSIGNED APPLICATIONS. IF THEY'RE SELECTED FOR A ROUND TWO, THEY WILL BE DOING THE $300 FOR THE TRAINING, 300 FOR REVIEWING AND SCORING APPLICATIONS, AND THEN 300 PER DAY FOR UP TO TWO MEETING DAYS. WE'RE AT A TOTAL INVESTMENT OF $1,200 FOR A PANELIST. SO IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD JOB. IT'S FUN TO GET IN TOUCH AND MAKE THESE DECISIONS. SO AGAIN, ENCOURAGE AS MANY PEOPLE, UM, TO APPLY AS AS YOU CAN. UH, SO THEN THIS IS JUST KIND OF AN OVERARCHING KEY DATES FOR ELEVATE. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE PANEL RECRUITMENT STAGE OF THINGS. UM, WE WILL HOPEFULLY BE BRINGING THE PANELISTS, UM, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD. SO THE FULL SLATE OF PANELISTS WITH BIOS AND, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWNS OF EVERYONE TO YOU ALL FOR APPROVAL NEXT MONTH. UM, AND THEN MAY 23RD IS WHEN ELEVATE, THE APPLICATION WILL ACTUALLY OPEN, UM, AND THE PANEL TRAINING WILL BEGIN. UM, AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSIONS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THROUGHOUT MAY AND JUNE. AND THEN THE APPLICATION WILL CLOSE JUNE 27TH. THEN WE'LL START THE READER STAGE OF RE OF REVIEW. SO WE NEED EVERYONE, UM, ALL THE PANELISTS TO GO THROUGH THE TRAINING BEFORE THE APPLICATION CLOSES, SO WE CAN JUST ROLL RIGHT INTO, UM, THE REVIEW STAGE OF THINGS. UM, SO THE READER STAGE OF REVIEW WILL BE UNTIL JULY 17TH, [01:40:01] AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO THE PANELIST STAGE OF REVIEW. AND THEN FINALLY, THE PANEL MEETINGS THEMSELVES WILL HAPPEN TOWARD THE END OF AUGUST WITH AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS BEING MADE AT THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER. AND THEN OTHER FUN THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING. SO RIGHT NOW, UM, THE LIVE MUSIC FUND IS OPEN UNTIL MAY 16TH. I DID NOT PUT THAT ON MY SLIDES, SO APOLOGIZE TO MY COLLEAGUES IN THE MUSIC DIVISION. UM, BUT THE ELEVATE RECRUITMENT IS HAPPENING NOW. UM, AS THE COMMISSIONER MENTIONED, THE A I P P CALL WILL BE HAPPENING ON MAY 9TH. SO THAT'S GONNA BE AN EXCITING ONE WHERE AIP P IS GOING TO BE IN THE PORTAL SYSTEM, NOT IN, UM, PUBLIC ARTISTS.ORG. WE'LL ALSO BE HAVING OUR NEA, OUR TOWN ENDORSEMENT, UM, PROCESS WILL OPEN ON MAY 9TH. AND SO THAT IS BASICALLY IF AN ORGANIZATION IN TOWN IS INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR THESE FEDERAL DOLLARS, UM, THEY HAVE TO HAVE PARTNERS IN PLACE, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A PRETTY STRONG PROPOSAL, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO SEEK ENDORSEMENT FROM OUR MAYOR. AND SO WE, AS THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION, WE MANAGE THAT SELECTION PROCESS TO SAY, OKAY, HERE ARE THE COUPLE OF GROUPS THAT ARE GONNA BE RECOMMENDED FOR ENDORSEMENT AND WORK WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE TO GET THAT ENDORSEMENT LETTER. UM, ELEVATE WILL LAUNCH ON THE 23RD OF MAY. NEXUS WILL LAUNCH ON JULY 11TH, AS WELL AS THE NEXT ROUND OF ARTIST CAREER TRAINING THAT IS BEING DONE THROUGH OUR SMALL BUSINESS DIVISION. AND THEN IN AUGUST, WE WILL HAVE THE ARTS EDUCATION RELIEF OPEN. UM, AND SO THIS WAS A GRANT THAT, UH, THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION RECEIVED $500,000 OF ARPA MONEY FROM THE NEA, UM, SPECIFICALLY TO ADDRESS THE NEED OF ARTS EDUCATION, SINCE IT'S USUALLY PRETTY TRICKY WITH HOT DOLLARS TO DO THAT FOR ARTS ED. SO WE SAW THAT AS A NEED. UM, RECEIVED AN AMAZINGLY GENEROUS AWARD FROM THE NEA. AND SO THAT WILL, UM, THAT WILL ROLL OUT AT THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST AND HOPEFULLY NEXT MONTH WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPECIFICS AROUND THAT PROGRAM. UH, AND THEN THE NEXT ROUND OF HERITAGE PRESERVATION WILL ALSO LAUNCH ON AUGUST 8TH. AND WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. I BET YOU DO ANSWER. OF COURSE, I DO. , UM, I SEE YOU COMMISSIONER MOCK. UM, I'M GONNA SQUEEZE IN JUST BECAUSE YOU TALKED BRIEFLY ABOUT THE PANELISTS AND THE WONDERFUL COMPENSATION THAT WE HAVE FOR THEM. CAN YOU CLARIFY WHERE THAT MONEY COMES FROM, WHERE THEY'RE BEING PAID OUT OF, HOW THEY'RE BEING, LIKE WHAT THAT, IS THAT COMING FROM HOT? IS THAT COMING FROM THE GENERAL FUND? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION. UM, WHILE IT CAN COME FROM HOT, BECAUSE IT IS SUPPORTING, UM, HOT PROGRAMS, USUALLY WE TAKE IT OUT OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET OR WE SPLIT THE COST BETWEEN OUR OPERATING AND HOT BECAUSE WE REALLY TRY TO PRIORITIZE GETTING AS MANY HOT DOLLARS TO ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AS POSSIBLE. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A SPLIT BETWEEN HOT AND OPERATING, PHENOMENAL COMMISSIONER GRAY, AND THEN COMMISSIONER MOCK. I HAVE A WHAT IF SCENARIO HIT ME. LET'S HEAR IT. OKAY, SO E T J, DO I SAY THAT IN THE RIGHT WAY? E T J MM-HMM. . YEAH. OKAY. SO ORGANIZATION THAT THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR HAS TO LIVE IN BUTTA BECAUSE, AND THEY DO SHOWS HERE IN AUSTIN. UH, THEY DO SAY, FOR INSTANCE, AN ELEVATE GRANT, WHICH IS GOOD FOR PROJECTS AND OR OPERATIONAL AMOUNTS. THIS IS A WHAT IF IT'S JUST A, WHAT IF THEY NEED THIS MUCH MONEY TO DO THIS THING AT THIS VENUE IN AUSTIN? MM-HMM. BUT THEY GET HALF OF THAT AMOUNT AND THEY DECIDE ON THEIR END THAT THE ONLY THING THEY CAN DO IS PAY FOR OPERATIONS AND THEY END UP USING A VENUE IN BUTTA. SO, DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? I DO SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND I, SO, SO MY RESPONSE WOULD BE THAT WHILE WE SAY IT CAN GO TOWARD OPERATING AND PROGRAMMATIC EXPENSES MM-HMM. , THERE STILL HAS TO BE SOME PUBLIC EVENT HAPPENING IN AUSTIN. OKAY. AND SO CITY STAFF IS USUALLY REALLY GREAT ABOUT WORKING WITH AN ORGANIZATION TO SAY, WELL, HERE ARE YOUR STAFF MEMBERS THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING THIS THING HERE, WE'RE THE ARTISTS THAT YOU WERE HIRING FOR THIS THING, BUT THE THIS THING HAS TO HAPPEN HAS TO HAPPEN IN AUSTIN. YEAH. I JUST WANT THAT TO BE REALLY CLEAR MM-HMM. TO THOSE THAT ARE, BECAUSE WHEN IT SAYS PROGRAMMING OR OPERATIONS. YEAH. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. MM-HMM. , THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND I, I WILL ALSO SAY REAL QUICK THAT WE ARE, UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE WILL HAVE THE WEBSITE FOR THE ELEVATE GRANT LIVE, AND THAT WILL HAVE THE LINK FOR THE GUIDELINES TO PREVIEW THE APPLICATION, TO PREVIEW THE RUBRIC AND [01:45:01] EVERYTHING LIKE THAT. SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO GIVE SOME EXAMPLES LIKE THAT, JUST TO BE EXTRA CLEAR. THANK YOU. MM-HMM. , I THINK IT'S COMMISSIONER MARK, THEN COMMISSIONER METRA, AND THEN COMMISSIONER GARZA. I SEE YOU. YEAH. UM, MS. LAURA, I, I WANTED TO GIVE THIS REPORT TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION TO HELP RECRUIT PANELISTS AND ALSO TO MARKET THE ELEVATE PROGRAM. SO IT'S THEIR LINK THAT I CAN, UM, ASK THEM TO GO TO, TO HAVE ALL THIS INFORMATION. YES, THERE IS COMMISSIONER. SO THE, THE INFORMATION, UM, SO THE, THE DECK THAT I JUST SHARED IS IN YOUR BACKUP, AND IT WILL ALSO BE POSTED TO THE BOARDS AND COMMISSION'S WEBSITE TOMORROW MORNING. UM, I THINK 10:00 AM IS WHEN IT ROLLS THE NEXT GROUP OF, UM, GROUP OF BACKUP IN THERE. SO THAT IS THING ONE. UM, THING TWO, HAPPY TO SHARE IT WITH YOU DIRECTLY. UM, AND THING THREE, THERE ARE HYPERLINKS THROUGHOUT THE WEBSITE, UM, BUT IF YOU GO TO AUSTIN CREATES.COM, WHICH IS THE CAD LANDING PAGE, THAT WILL, AND YOU CAN CLICK THROUGH, UM, TO CULTURAL FUNDING, AND IT WILL HAVE ALL THIS INFORMATION AS WELL ABOUT REGISTERING AS A PANELIST. YEAH. IF YOU DON'T MIND TO SEND ME THOSE LINKS SO THAT I CAN FORWARD IT TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION'S, UH, STAFF SUPPORTING STAFF SO THAT THEY WILL HAVE IT READY ON, ON SCREEN. I CAN DO THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER. COMMISSIONER, ME, CHARLA, AND THEN COMMISSIONER GARZA. HI. UM, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I'M, UH, REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT, UH, THE INITIAL ROUNDS OF EVALUATIONS HAVE BEEN, UH, UM, UPDATED RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? MM-HMM. TO, TO WHERE YOU ARE ACTUALLY, UM, EVALUATING THE ENTIRE APPLICATION AND ALSO WITH THREE DIFFERENT, UH, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, EVALUATORS, I GUESS. YEAH. MM-HMM. . AND, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY COOL UPDATE. UM, OVERALL, YOU KNOW, I HEARD THE COMMENTS FROM, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM THE PUBLIC COMMENTS TODAY, AND THEN, SO THERE'S, THERE'S THIS RANGE OF FEEDBACK, RIGHT? I THINK FROM, UH, FOR US, FROM, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE REAL CONCERNS AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE GRANTS. AND THEN THERE WAS SUCH A, ALSO SUCH A POSITIVE FEEDBACK COMING FROM WHAT YOU READ, UH, CHAPS. AND, UM, AND YOU KNOW, I, IT'S TO ME, IN, IN, IN, IN READING THESE GRANTS AND STUDYING THEM, TALKING TO MY PEERS, UH, TALKING TO STAFF, IT, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF ME BEING NEW TO THIS COMMISSION LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, THAT WAS DONE THIS, SO THESE, THESE GRANTS WERE, AND THE CRITERIA GUIDELINES WERE BUILT WITH A LOT OF INTENTIONALITY. UM, AND, AND SO, UH, I THINK THE WAY I LOOK AT IT IS JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE POSITIVE, LET'S TAKE, UM, ALSO THE FEEDBACK, UH, THAT'S COMING IN FROM THE COMMUNITY, FROM FOLKS THAT HAVE CONSENTS. UH, DEFINITELY. UM, BECAUSE ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS COMING FROM FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN LONG-STANDING CONTRIBUTORS TO OUR, UH, ARTS AND CULTURAL SPACES, RIGHT? SO, UM, SO FROM, FROM FROM ALL THAT, I THINK OUR JOB HERE WOULD JUST BE, UH, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT AND WHAT YOU SAID ALLUDED TO BEFORE CHAPS, AND IS JUST TO STAY OPEN-MINDED, UM, AND REALLY TAKING THE FEEDBACK AND, UH, SHOWING A, IN A, IN, IN A PRODUCTIVE AND, UH, IN GOOD FAITH HOW AND WHERE WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT FEEDBACK IN MOVING FORWARD. UH, AND, AND, UH, UM, I THINK COUNCILMAN, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, MALDONADO, UH, I KNOW SHE'S, SHE HAD TO DROP OFF BUT HAS PROBABLY SHARED WITH US THAT SHE WAS SKIING ON THE SURVEY, GOING OUT AND SEEING WHAT OUTCOMES WE GET, WHAT FEEDBACK WE GET. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF WE CAN ALSO PUSH FORWARD WHILE WE ARE ROLLING THESE, UH, GRANTS OUT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COMMISSIONER GARZA, WE DOUBLE CHECK YOUR MIC IS ON COMMISSIONER GARZA NOW WE CAN'T SEE OR HEAR YOU. THERE WE GO. UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN HEAR YOU, BUT WILL YOU ALSO COME ON CAMERA? I'M TRYING TO FIND MY, COME BACK ON CAMERA BUTTON. . WE JUST WANNA SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE. THAT DIDN'T WORK. OH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. [01:50:11] I CAN'T FIGURE THIS OUT. WE HAD YA . YEAH, I KNOW. IS THERE A WAY FOR YOU TO TURN ON OR AUTHORIZE? NO, HE'S SHAKING HIS HEAD. THERE SHOULD BE A VI YOU KNOW, LITTLE CAMERA ICON THERE ON. WELL, I JUST KEEP LOSING EVERY TIME I CLICK ON SOMETHING. I'VE BEEN HAVING SOME TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH THIS COMPUTER RECENTLY, SO LET ME SEE. THERE WE GO. NOPE, NOT QUITE WELL, I CAN SEE MYSELF. THAT'S WEIRD. YOUR OWN QUORUM. UM, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, I'LL FIGURE IT OUT. WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE LATER. WELL, THE, THE, THE TRICKY BIT IS THAT WE NEED YOU ON CAMERA TO COUNT TOWARDS QUORUM AND WITHOUT COMMISSIONER MALDONADO. BUT IF YOU WANT, WE COULD TAKE A VERY BRIEF BIO BREAK. ALL RIGHT. AND I'LL GIVE YOU A COUPLE MINUTES. LET'S, LET'S DO THAT. SO LET'S RECONVENE IN FIVE MINUTES AND THAT WAY THAT WE CAN HOLD QUORUM AND YEAH. FIND SOME RELIEF. WE WILL RECONVENE. ALL RIGHT. YES, ABSOLUTELY. COMMISSIONER GARZA, TAKE IT AWAY. ALL RIGHT. UH, WELL, OKAY. I JUST WANT TO ASK BASICALLY, UH, ONE QUESTION. UH, WELL, PANELS STILL BE ABLE TO RECUSE THEMSELVES BECAUSE OF A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. YES, THEY WILL. AND SO THERE, THERE'S A PART IN THE, THE REVIEW ITSELF WHERE THEY HAVE TO CHECK A BOX AND SAY, I RECUSE MYSELF FROM SCORING THIS APPLICANT. UM, ADDITIONALLY WE ASK THAT THEY CONTACT STAFF AS SOON AS THEY SEE THEY'RE ASSIGNED, UM, LIST. AND THEN STAFF CAN HOPEFULLY REASSIGN TO AVOID AS MUCH OF AS MANY CONFLICTS AS POSSIBLE WELL AHEAD OF TIME. ALRIGHT. YEAH, CUZ THE REASON I WAS ASKING IS A COUPLE YEARS AGO, MAYBE THREE YEARS AGO, I FORGET HOW MANY, BUT, UH, I ATTENDED LIKE A COUPLE OF DAYS OF PEER PANELISTS AND I COULD SEE PEER PANELISTS COMING AND OFF ON AND OFF THE, THE DIAS BECAUSE THEY HAD CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND UM, I JUST, MAYBE WE COULD HAVE AN ALTERNATE PANELIST OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND I REMEMBER, UH, RUDY MENDEZ WITH VALLEY EAST, HE HAD ONLY ONE PANELIST SCORE HIS, HIS APPLICATION AND HE GOT ONE OF THE LOWEST SCORES EVER. SO MY CONCERN IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AS LITTLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST AS POSSIBLE. THAT WAY, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT ARE SITTING AND ABOUT OUR ARTS PROGRAMS WILL BE THE ONES WHO ARE DOING THE, THE, THE REVIEWS AND THE SCORING. THAT JUST KIND OF BOTHERED ME THE LAST TIME I SAW THAT. YES, 100% AGREE WITH YOU, COMMISSIONER. THAT WAS PART OF THE IMPETUS TO REV, LIKE REVISE THE ENTIRE, UM, PROGRAM ITSELF. UM MM-HMM BECAUSE THE PANEL THAT WAS WHERE A LOT OF THE PROGRAM PROBLEMS, UH, WERE HAPPENING AND JESUS JUST CAME UP HERE. SO I FEEL LIKE I, I WAS GOING TO ALSO SAY THAT WE DO HAVE ALTERNATES AS PART OF THE, UM, THIS NEW WAY OF DOING PANELS. UM, SO WE'LL HAVE A SET NUMBER OF PANELISTS FOR A SPECIFIC PANEL AND THEN WE'LL HAVE ALTERNATES THAT REVIEW AND SCORE AND THEY'RE BASICALLY ON BOARD AND THEY'RE READY THAT DAY IN CASE WE HAVE SOMEONE DROP OFF, THEY'RE READY TO JUST ROLL RIGHT ONTO THAT DAY. SO WE HAVE WELL OVER, UH, ONE PERSON REVIEWING EACH APPLICATION. WE WENT AT LEAST FIVE REVIEWING EACH APPLICATION AND GIVING COMMENT. ALL RIGHT. COOL. COOL. YEAH, I THINK THE LAST TIME THEY HAD AT LEAST THREE, SO I THINK FIVE IS MUCH BETTER NUMBERED. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEP. THANK YOU. DID YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING? JESUS. YES. JUST UH, VERY QUICKLY CAUSE YOU SPENT HELPFUL ON THE SUPERVISOR. UH, THE ONLY THING I WAS GONNA ADD REAL QUICK IS, UM, WE ALSO ASK THE PANELISTS, UH, UM, IN THE PANELIST INTAKE FORM IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING IT WHEN WE'RE, UH, CHOOSING THEM IF THEY KNOW OF ANY APPLICANTS OR, UH, THINK, UM, ANYBODY THAT UH, THEY KNOW MAY BE APPLYING AND ELEVATE. SO THAT WAY WE CAN KIND OF GET AHEAD OF WHAT UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT. OBVIOUSLY IF SOMEONE APPLIES THAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL MAYBE THAT CASE. SO THEN WE HAVE THE ALTERNATES LIKE LAURA WAS TALKING ABOUT. BUT WE ARE TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF, YOU KNOW, MAYBE EVEN HAVING A PROBLEM LIKE COMMISSIONER GARZA JUST DESCRIBED IN THE FIRST PLACE. [01:55:05] WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO ASK OUR THRIVE RECIPIENTS TO RECOMMEND A PANELIST? YES, WE WOULD LOVE EVERYONE TO RECOMMEND PANELISTS. I THINK WE'VE SENT SOMETHING OUT TO THEM ALREADY, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING TO ALSO SEND THEM THIS WEEK IF THEY HAVE SOMEONE THEY KNOW SOMEONE ON THEIR BOARD. ANYONE, CUZ WE NEED TO GET THE WORD OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SO THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION. THANK YOU. GREAT SUGGESTION COMMISSIONER GARZA. UM, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS FOR LAURA? I HAVE JUST A COUPLE. UM, ON THE TOPIC OF THE SURVEY, I'VE HAD A HANDFUL OF, UH, CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS RE VERY CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, ALL IN SUPPORT OF THE PROGRAM THANKFULLY. UM, BUT WITH I THINK SOME NOTES THAT WE CAN CARRY FORWARD INTO NEXT YEAR EVEN OR AS WE RELEASE NEXUS. UM, AND I'LL JUST KIND OF GO THROUGH THEM QUICKLY. UM, YOU KNOW, REITERATING THAT GENERAL OPS IS ELIGIBLE FOR ELEVATE, YOU KNOW, IT ISN'T AS RIGID AS IT ONCE WAS, WHERE IT HAD TO BE A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR FUNDING, I'M SORRY, FOR PROGRAM, UH, PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING. UM, THE THING THAT I THOUGHT WAS, UH, A WISE MOVE AND THIS YEAR I KNOW WE HAD LIMITATIONS BECAUSE IT'S OUR PILOT YEAR AND WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED ROLLING THIS STUFF OUT AND ARE BEHOLDEN THE TIMELINES THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE CONTROL OVER. BUT WITH THRIVE BEING ANNOUNCED, HAVING ELEVATE RIGHT ON ITS HEELS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN KNOW THAT, THAT WE, THERE'S NOT A MONTH GAP OR TWO MONTH GAP IN BETWEEN THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE NEXT PROGRAM BEING OPENED. SO IT'S LIKE, OKAY, YOU DIDN'T GET THIS, BUT HERE IT IS. LET'S GO RIGHT INTO THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION. UM, THE OTHER THING, AND THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I MENTIONED WHEN, YOU KNOW, A FEW MONTHS AGO, WAS, IS THERE A WAY TO SIMPLIFY THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THOSE THAT DID APPLY FOR THRIVE? I KNOW THAT THERE ARE VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR ELEVATE, UM, BUT IN TERMS OF THE GENERAL OPERATIONS INFORMATION, THEIR BUDGET, THEIR BOARD MAKEUP, UM, UH, JUST TO NOT HAVE TO REDO AN APPLICATION THAT IS VERY DENSE, VERY TIME CONSUMING. THESE ARE EVEN SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS IN MID-SIZE ORG ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE APPLYING. HOW CAN WE SAVE THEM TIME AND HONOR THE TIME THAT THEY'VE ALREADY SPENT SUBMITTING? IS THERE A WAY TO JUST, IF THEY COULD CHECK A BOX IF YOU DIDN'T GET RECEIVED, IF YOU'RE NOT A THRIVE RECIPIENT, CAN WE ROLL YOU OVER INTO THE ELEVATE APPLICATION POOL, SUBMIT THIS PRELIMINARY PORTION OF THE APPLICATION, AND YOU SUBMIT THE SECOND HALF, WHICH IS THE QUESTIONS THAT PERTAIN SPECIFICALLY TO ELEVATE JUST WAYS SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF GIVE BACK TO THOSE THAT DIDN'T RECEIVE, YOU KNOW, BUT HAVE DONE THAT WORK ALREADY. CAN I RESPOND TO THAT? YES. I WOULD LOVE A RESPOND. ALSO, APOLOGIES THAT THERE'S LIKE A LITTLE BUG CRAWLING ON THE MIC THAT I WAS TRYING TO LIKE SWAT OFF. SO , IF I HIT THE MIC, IT IS NOT YOU. UH, IT IS THE BUG. UM, SO IN RESPONSE TO THE TIMING OF WHEN DIFFERENT LAUNCHES WERE HAPPENING, SO AS A REMINDER, THE ENTIRE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS GOING INTO THE PORTAL SYSTEM. AND SO AS SUCH, WE'RE TRYING TO HONOR ALL OF OUR DIVISIONS PROGRAMMING AS WE'RE LAUNCHING THINGS THIS YEAR. SO WE, WE BASICALLY ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATING TO SEE WHAT NEEDS TO COME NEXT AND THEN WHAT COMES AFTER THAT. SO, SO THAT WAS PART OF THE REASON WHY IT WASN'T UNTIL MAY 23RD WE NEEDED TO GET LIVE MUSIC OUT THE DOOR. UM, SO JUST TO RESPOND TO THAT, THAT, UM, I WILL SAY, HOWEVER, RIGHT NOW THE MANAGERS ARE REVIEWING ALL PROGRAMS, ALL EVENTS, ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. UM, AND IDEALLY WE WANT TO LAUNCH, THRIVE AND ELEVATE, UM, ON A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, UM, TIMING IN THE FUTURE. SO FOR ELEVATE SPECIFICALLY, WE WERE LOOKING, I WANNA SAY AT EARLY FEBRUARY TO LAUNCH THE NEXT ROUND OF ELEVATE, BECAUSE THIS WOULD MEAN THE PROGRAM START TIME WOULD BE AT THE START OF A TYPICAL F UM, NON-PROFIT FISCAL YEAR. SO WE'RE TRYING TO ALIGN, ELEVATE WITH NONPROFIT FISCAL YEARS. WE'RE TRYING TO ALIGN, THRIVE WITH OUR FISCAL YEAR. AND NEXUS IS JUST THE SIX MONTH, UM, TWICE A YEAR. I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT SAYING THAT COMPLETELY, RIGHT. NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE. THAT ONE OF THEM IS CALENDAR YEAR. ONE OF THEM IS NONPROFIT FISCAL YEAR, AND THE OTHER ONE IS THE CITY FISCAL YEAR. SO THAT IS THE, THAT IS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THOSE THREE PROGRAMS IN A PERFECT WORLD. SO IN A PERFECT WORLD, UM, WHICH WE ARE, WE WILL JUST KEEP STRIVING TO GET THERE. BUT THIS, THIS HAS BEEN THE PILOT YEAR FOR ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS GOING INTO PORTAL. SO WE'RE LEARNING [02:00:01] AS WE GO. WE'RE, WE'RE DOING SURVEYS INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY TO TRY TO JUST MAKE THINGS WORK BETTER AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. CUZ WE'RE LEARNING FROM EACH PROGRAM. UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE A LOT MORE INTENTIONAL, LIKE AFTER LIVE MUSIC CLOSES, HOW ARE WE GOING TO LEARN AND TAKE THAT FEEDBACK INTO THE NEXT LAUNCH AND THEN JUST CONTINUE AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO THAT WAS THE RESPONSE TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION. NOT VERY WELL SPOKEN, BUT THAT WAS A RESPONSE TO THE LAUNCH CALENDAR QUESTION THAT'S THERE. UH, AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION AROUND THE SIMPLIFICATION OR REDOING THE APPLICATION PROCESS. SO ONCE SOMEONE HAS APPLIED IN THE PORTAL SYSTEM, THE FIRST CHUNK OF INFORMATION, LIKE THE MANY PAGES OF DATA THAT THEY PRE, THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH BEFORE THEY GET TO THE PROGRAM, QUESTIONS THAT STAYS THE SAME. THAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE THERE. YOU CAN UPDATE IT, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO REFILL IN ALL OF THOSE PAGES OF LIKE THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION. UM, I'M NOT DOING IT JUSTICE, BUT ALL OF THAT STUFF BEFORE YOU GET TO THE PROGRAM, STUFF SHOULD SAVE BASED ON HOW YOU LOGGED INTO PORTAL THE FIRST TIME. SO THE, THE IDEA IS TO SIMPLIFY THINGS ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU'RE APPLYING FOR. THAT'S SO EXCITING. UM, REALLY, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT PIECE. I JUST WANNA TRIPLE CONFIRM, AND IT MAY NOT BE YOU AND I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CONFIRM THIS, BUT IS IT ELEVATE WITH THE NONPROFIT YEAR OR WOULD THAT MAKE SENSE? WOULD THAT BE THRIVE? BECAUSE THAT'S ALL OF NONPROFITS. ELEVATE WOULD BE THE NONPROFIT. OKAY. CALENDAR. MM-HMM. . AND POTENTIALLY THAT IS THE GOAL. THAT IS, THAT IS A ASPIRATIONAL, THAT IS AN ASPIRATIONAL GOAL. OKAY. OKAY. JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY. EVERYTHING IS UP FOR REVIEW THOUGH. OH. SO DEPENDING ON FEEDBACK WE FROM YOU ALL. YES. COMMISSIONER GRAY, THAT'S RELATIVE TO FUNDING FISCAL YEAR FOR THAT ORGANIZATION. NON-PROFIT FISCAL YEAR. CORRECT. IN OTHER WORDS, IF THE APPLICATION COMES OUT IN FEBRUARY, MARCH, THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE FUNDING COMING OUT IN A TRADITIONAL, WHAT WE USED TO THINK OF AS A SEASON. MM-HMM. , IS THAT WHAT Y'ALL ARE THINKING? THAT FISCAL YEAR IS COMMON TO A LOT OF 5 0 1 CUN THREE IS AROUND THAT PERFORMANCE SEASON. YEAH. SO LIKE A SEASON THAT WOULD START EARLY JULY. YEAH. MM-HMM. . YEAH. THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR LAURA WHILE WE HAVE HER? REALLY COOL, REALLY EXCITING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, AND AGAIN, ANY, UH, SHARES THAT WE CAN DO PROMOTION, JUST SEND OUR WAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I HAVE A LOOK. COMMISSIONER GRAY. [Items 11 - 17] I HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE, UH, THE DISCUSSION IN ACTION ITEMS 11 THROUGH 18 TO APPROVE ON CONSI, NOT MOVE, BUT TO APPROVE ON CONSENT. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECONDED BY MOCK. ALL IN FAVOR? ONE SECOND HERE. WE HAVE A NEW COMMISSIONER, UH, APPROVING ON CONSENT MEANS THAT WE ALL AGREE THAT WE WANT TO APPROVE, BECAUSE THAT'S THE ACTION ITEM HERE. SO WE WANNA SAY YES TO THESE THINGS WITHOUT HAVING TO GO ITEM BY ITEM. IT'S ALL THE A I PPP STUFF, WHICH WE ARE, WE LOVE AND WANT TO HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT. UM, CONSTANCE WHITE, OUR WONDERFUL, A IPP MANAGER, BUT IT'S GETTING LATE. SO I, UM, WE HAVE A SECOND. WELL, NO, I'M LAUGHING, I'M LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY IN THE BACKGROUND. I KNOW . I KNOW IT'S JUST IN EVERY ITEM. I KNOW YOU DO WITH DETAIL IN THE FINEST TOOTH COMB. UM, BUT WE HAVE A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR OF MOVING ITEMS 11 THROUGH 18 ON CONSENT. HANDS UP. COMMISSIONER GARZA. IS THAT A, UH, ABSTAIN OR A CAN'T HEAR YOU. WE CAN'T HEAR YOU. I DON'T, I IF YOU'RE SPEAKING, WE CANNOT HEAR YOU. I'M SO SORRY. THERE WE GO. THERE YOU GO. UH, THERE WAS A COUPLE OF THEM THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO DISCUSS. OKAY. UM, CAN YOU TELL WHICH ITEMS WERE THOSE? THE MONOPOLI MURAL SPECIALTY. OKAY. MONTOPOLIS MURAL. UM, DO YOU KNOW WHAT ITEM IS OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD? I'M LOOKING NOW. 18. 18, OKAY. WAS THERE ANOTHER ONE? NO, THAT'S IT. THAT'S IT. OKAY. SO HOW ABOUT WE GET A MOTION TO APPROVE 11 THROUGH 17 AND WE CAN DISCUSS 18. DOES THAT SOUND GOOD? SURE. I NEED A MOTION AND A SECOND MOTION TO DO THAT. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GRAY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MOCK. ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING 11 THROUGH 17 ON CONSENT. WONDERFUL. UNANIMOUS. OKAY. SO ITEM [18. Approve Recommended Artists for the Montopolis and Sheffield Park Pools Art in Public Places Projects] 18, APPROVE RECOMMENDED ARTISTS FOR THE MONTOPOLIS AND SHEFFIELD PARK POOLS ART IN PUBLIC PLACES, PROJECTS. UM, THERE IS BACKUP. DID YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW THAT COMMISSIONER GARZA? YES, I DID. WONDERFUL. YES, I DID. I'LL I'LL LET YOU TAKE IT FROM HERE. ALRIGHT. I JUST WANTED [02:05:01] TO SAY, AS I WAS READING THE PERSON WHO DID GET THE PROGRAM, AND THEN MOST WHO DIDN'T, IT SEEMED LIKE, UH, AS I STARTED READING, I COULD BASICALLY INTERCHANGE THE NAMES PRETTY EASILY. BUT THERE WAS ONE PART THAT I SAW WHERE, UH, BRITTANY JOHNSON, THE AWARD PERSON, SAYS THAT SHE HAS FIVE PLUS YEARS OF MURAL EXPERIENCE HERE IN AUSTIN. UH, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I MET, UH, RAMON MAL, WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE, THE ALTERNATE TEAM BACK IN 1987, SO ABOUT 38 YEARS AGO. AND THAT'S WHEN HE WAS DOING MURALS OVER AT THE MEADOWBROOKS HOUSING PROJECTS. AND, UH, I REMEMBER HIM DOING THE MURALS AT, UH, MONOLO. I WORKED WITH HIM AT THE MONAS HEALTH CENTER, WORKING ON MURALS THERE. UH, I WORKED WITH HIM ON CAESAR CHAVES STREET DOING A MURAL THERE. UH, WHEN HE WAS DOING THE MURALS AT MONOLO, SOME OF MY FRIENDS FROM UT WENT AND HELPED HIM DO MURALS THERE. I EVEN BROUGHT IN AN ARTIST FROM MEXICO CITY WHO NAME WAS EXHIBITING FROM TO MURAL ATLO. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT I REALLY DID LOVE ABOUT MONS IS, I MEAN, NOT MONTOPOLIS MEADOWBROOKS, IS THAT IT TRULY DID REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY THAT LIVED THERE. THEY HAD ALL SORTS OF LEVELS OF ARTISTS, UH, FROM, YOU KNOW, CHILDREN TO, YOU KNOW, INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS, EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF, UH, METAL BROOKS. SAME THING WITH MONKS. I'VE MET, I'VE SEEN RAMON MAL AROUND HIM ON TOPLESS SO MANY TIMES, UH, FOR THE PAST 38 YEARS. THE LAST TIME I SAW HIM, HE WAS, UH, HELPING HIM TO CLEAN UP A HISTORICAL BLACK CEMETERY. AND SO I KNOW HE REACHES OUT TO DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY IN MONOLO AND THROUGHOUT EAST AUSTIN. AND, UH, HE'S THE ONE WHO HAD THE MURAL BEFORE AT THE SWIMMING POOL. AND SO I WAS JUST, JUST SAY I WAS, I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED THAT HE DID NOT GET THE, THE COMMISSION. AND, UH, LIKE I SAID, EVERYTHING THAT BOTH ARTISTS ARE REALLY, REALLY HIGHLY QUALIFIED, FROM WHAT I CAN TELL BOTH TEAMS ARE. SO IT WAS JUST A DIFFICULT DECISION. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, I REMEMBER CARRYING THE WORDS OF, UH, WILLIAM CLOWN AND WILLIAM CLOWN IS THE GREAT GRANDSON OF CHIEF CRAZY HORSE. AND, UH, RECENTLY THROUGH, UH, THE CLOWN FAMILY, UH, WORKING WITH WILLIAM MATTERS, THEY WROTE THE BOOK, CRAZY HORSE, THE LAKOTA WARRIORS LIFE AND LEGACIES. AND THIS WAS THE STORY TOLD BY THE FAMILY OF CRAZY HORSE, NOT SOMEONE ELSE WHO CAME IN AND TRIED TO WRITE WHAT THEY SAW AND WHATNOT, BUT THESE WERE ACTUALLY WORDS FROM THEM. AND ONE OF THE THINGS HE, HE PUSHED UPON ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE MAIN POINTS THAT, THAT I WAS HEARING OVER AND OVER IS THAT WE, AND I CONSIDER THIS, I'M A NATIVE AMERICAN. WE CANNOT JUST SIT BACK AND ALLOW OUR HISTORY TO BEAT YOUR ERASED, UH, THE MURALS THAT RAMON MALO HAS WORKED ON, MANY OF THEM HAVE BEEN ERASED, UH, THE HISTORY OF THE WORK HE'S DONE. IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE GONE. AND, AND I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BECAUSE, UH, NOT ONLY MY PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP WITH RAMON MAL, BUT MY INTERACTIONS WITH HIM IN THE COMMUNITY OVER THE PAST 38 YEARS AND KNOWING FOR A FACT THAT HE IS A STRONG REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY. UH, AND I WAS JUST, JUST, JUST SAYING I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED IN THAT ONE. I'M GONNA LET COMMISSIONER MOCK SPEAK AND THEN PERHAPS CONSTANCE CAN, UM, ELABORATE A BIT. I DO HAVE SOME THOUGHTS. COMMISSIONER MOCK? YES, I, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE PANEL AIP PPP PANEL'S, UH, REASONING WHY, WHY THEY MAKE THIS DECISION. I THINK WE MIGHT HAVE LOST CONSTANCE NOW. I'M, I'M STILL HEARING, ARE YOU OKAY? YOUR LITTLE C DISAPPEARED. OKAY. SO YOU, OH YEAH, YOU'RE THERE. YOU ARE. YOU'RE AN INVISIBLE SQUARE ON MY SCREEN. DO YOU WANNA, UM, THANK YOU. WELCOME. UM, DO YOU WANT TO ADDRESS FELIPE'S UH, COMMENTS? I, I DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH TO SAY ABOUT FELIPE'S COMMENTS OTHER THAN WE ALL FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT ARTISTS THAT WORK IN THE COMMUNITY. AND WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT WE NORMALLY UNDERGO. UM, THE PANELISTS ARE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND, UH, FROM AUSTIN, AND WE PROVIDED COMMENTS FROM THE SELECTION PANEL AND, UH, AND, AND IT'S DOCUMENTED IN THE, IN THE BACKUP AND IN THE, THE MATERIALS THAT LED THEM TO, UH, SELECTING THE ARTISTS THAT THEY CHOSE. THANK YOU. AND I JUST WANTED, I'D LIKE TO SAY ALSO, UM, LET ME SEE. I'M FINDING A STATEMENT. UM, LET'S SEE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO [02:10:01] DO BY CITY ORDINANCE IS TO THINK ABOUT COLLECTING A, YOU KNOW, AMASSING A DIVERSE COLLECTION IN OUR ARTWORK. AND IF THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, AN ABUNDANT NUMBER OF WORKS THAT ARE REPRESENTED BY ONE ARTIST, THEN IT BEGS THE QUESTION OF WHAT IS EQUITY IN OUR PROCESS AND HOW WE'RE ENDEAVORING OPPORTUNITIES. AND SO WE, UM, I THINK WE DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN AND WE, WE EMPOWER THE SELECTION PANELISTS WITH, UM, AN ABUNDANT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION FOR THEM TO MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE BASED ON THE QUALIFICATIONS THAT WE DETERMINE WITH OUR CITY, UH, SPONSOR DEPARTMENTS. AND, UM, AND WE HOPE THAT THE PROCESS SEEMS FAIR TO THE ARTISTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE SELECTED AS WELL. THANK YOU FOR THAT, CONSTANCE. AND I, I JUST WANNA OFFER MY 2 CENTS WHILE I COMPLETELY HEAR YOU COMMISSIONER GARZA AND SUPPORT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. I THINK IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN PRESERVATION AND ONE OF OUR PILLARS, WHICH IS THE CULTIVATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARTISTIC TALENT AND LEADERS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. SO, UM, I WONDER, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS A PERSONAL FRIEND OF THIS ARTIST, IS THERE A WAY TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION WITH THIS NEXT GENERATION AND TO, TO BRING FORTH THE WISDOM THAT ONLY SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN IN THIS COMMUNITY AS LONG AS, AS THEY HAVE BEEN, UM, FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN CONTINUE THE LEGACY AND TO CONTINUE TO TELL THE TRUTH AND, AND THE UNDERPINNINGS OF THIS CITY, UM, AS IT WAS A REALITY FOR THOSE THAT WERE THERE, UM, FOR THIS NEXT GENERATION. SO I DON'T SAY THAT AS A WAY TO MAKE IT BETTER. UM, HE IS AN ALTERNATE, AND I THINK THAT THAT, UM, STILL DEMONSTRATES HIS COMPETITIVENESS IN THIS FIELD. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT, THIS IS THE PROCESS AND, AND WE HAVE TO TRUST THE, THE OTHER GEARS IN THE MACHINE TO BE CARING FOR THE, THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AS A, AS A COMMISSION AND AS A CITY. SO I HOPE THAT THAT SOMEWHAT ADDRESSES WHAT YOU WERE SPEAKING TO. UM, BUT I, I DO LEAN BACK ON OUR CORE PILLARS, BUT I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS A HAPPY MEDIUM AND A BALANCE TO BE, UH, STRUCK THERE. MM-HMM. . OKAY. UM, WITH THAT, WE NEED TO VOTE TO APPROVE THIS MURAL. UM, MIGHT I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE? UN, UNLESS ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CONSTANCE? WAS, WE'RE NOT, UM, APPROVING THE ARTWORK, WE'RE JUST APPROVING THE SELECTION OF THE, I'M SORRY. THE APP APPROVE. I'M SORRY. APPROV. THANK YOU CONSTANCE, FOR THE CLARIFICATION. APPROVING THE SELECTION OF THE ARTIST COMMISSIONER MOCK. I'LL APPROVE BECAUSE, UM, YES, AS DIFFICULT IT IS, IS I I AGREE. ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY, AND ALSO I TRUST THE IPP PANEL. YEAH. I MEAN, THEY MUST HAVE A REASON, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE THAT DECISION. YEAH. AND THEN THE FACT THAT HE'S AN ALTERNATE, THAT MEANS, LIKE WHAT YOU SAID, HE REMAINS COMPETITIVE. SO I MOVED TO APPROVE 18. COMMISSIONER GRAY, I JUST WANTED TO ADD TO THAT BEING THE A I P LIAISON, A LOT OF CONVERSATION. ALL OF THESE ARTISTS ARE TALKED ABOUT AT LENGTH AS FAR AS AS, AS WHAT THE ACTUAL PROJECT IS. IT'S NOT A DECISION TAKEN LIGHTLY BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION. SO I JUST, UM, I THINK, UM, AND I WOULD ALSO GO BACK TO SAY WHAT, UH, CHAIR SUZMAN SAID EARLIER, IF, IF, IF ALL OF YOU CAN WITNESS AN A I PPP MEETING, IT WOULD REALLY HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THOUGHT AND LOVE AND CARE AND COMMUNITY, ALL OF THE ABOVE GOES INTO EVERY ONE OF THESE DECISIONS. SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER GRAY. I APPRECIATE THAT REITERATION. UM, WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MOCK. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? ONE SECOND. SECOND. AND BY GRAY. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE APPROVAL OF THE ARTIST SELECTION FOR THE MONTOPOLIS AND SHEFFIELD PARK POOLS. OKAY. UH, THOSE WHO, OH GOSH, WE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE WORD. NOT ABSTAIN, BUT ARE AGAINST IT. OPPOSE. THANK YOU. I THINK IT'S, IT'S GETTING LATE. THOSE WHO OPPOSE. THANK YOU. SO LET IT BE KNOWN. UM, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA OPPOSES. OH, IT DOESN'T PASS. UH, WE NEED A OH, QUO. WE NEED QUORUM TO PASS IT. OKAY. SO WE'LL HAVE TO CARRY THAT OVER TO NEXT MONTH. MM-HMM. AS THEN. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO WE'LL CARRY THAT OVER TO, CAN I ASK FOR AN EXCEPTION? I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S ALLOWED, BECAUSE THERE'S TWO ARTISTS ELECTIONS IN ONE MEMO. CAN WE APPROVE THE SHEFIELD? AH, OKAY. CAN COMMISSIONER GARZA? OKAY. DO WE NEED TO REMAKE IT'S ONE. WE'RE, WE'VE GOT MOTION DISCUSSION [02:15:01] HERE CUZ IT'S UNDER ONE ITEM. I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN SEPARATE THEM. DON'T MAKE ME THROW OUT ROBERT'S RULES HERE. I'M DO ANYTHING . I BET I CAN'T SPOIL WHERE THERE'S SOME RAPID GOOGLING HAPPENING. YOU GUYS PLEASE STAND BY CAN VOTE TO SEPARATE THE ITEM. YOU THINK SO? MAYBE THERE'D BE A MOTION TO SEPARATE THE TWO VOTE ON THAT. AND WE CAN VERIFY THE CLERK'S OFFICE. OKAY. LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE THAT ACTION IN HOPES THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH AT LEAST ONE OF THE TWO PROJECTS ENCOMPASSED IN THIS ITEM. I'LL MOVE TO SEPARATE ITEM NUMBER 18. DIVIDING, UH, METROPOLIS AND SHEFFIELD PARK PULLS INTO TWO SEPARATE. OKAY. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER CHIK. UM, THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE ART OF SELECTION FOR SHEFFIELD POOLS FOR A I P P COMMISSIONER MELA? YES. YEAH. DO THOSE HAVE TO BE TWO MOTIONS? I THINK IT'S A MOTION TO SEPARATE AND THEN, AND THEN A MOTION. OH, THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. SO VOTE WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. RIGHT? OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SPLIT. ALL IN FAVOR. THANK YOU. OF SPLITTING THE ITEM INTO TWO SEPARATE VOTING ITEMS. YES. AND I, COMMISSIONER GARZA, JUST THROW YOUR HANDS. OKAY. PERFECT. SO UNANIMOUS. ALRIGHT, NOW I NEED A MOTION FOR SHEFFIELD. I'LL MAKE A MOTION FOR TO APPROVE SHEFFIELD PARK POOL ARTIST. SECOND. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER UHY. THOSE IN FAVOR FOR THE SHEFIELD ARTIST ELECTION? THROW YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR. WONDERFUL. OKAY. UNANIMOUS. SO, SO I HAVE STAFF HAS A QUESTION IF I MAY YEAH. YES, PLEASE. CONSTANCE. OH, SO, SO MAY I HAVE SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO, UM, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ARTIST ELECTION PROCESS? IS IT THE DESIRE OF THE COMMISSION TO START THE PROCESS OVER? HMM. I, I THINK WE'RE IN A TOUGH SPOT BECAUSE WE ARE AT SUCH TIGHT NUMBERS. UM, I WISH WE COULD HAVE MORE COMMISSIONERS HERE TO DISCUSS THIS, TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE FROM THE COMMISSION IF THAT REGISTERS. SO IF POSSIBLE, LET'S PUSH THIS TO MAY WHEN IDEALLY WE'LL HAVE A FULLER COMMISSION HERE AND WE CAN HAVE A MORE ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT IT. I WOULD HATE TO SEND YOU BACK TO WORK. YEAH. UM, WITH THIS, AS FAR AS IT IS, I THINK IT WOULD DELAY THE PROJECT AND THAT THAT DOES NOT BENEFIT COMMUNITY. UM, SO I, IF, IF IT'S OKAY, I CAN ADD IT TO FEATURES, AGENDA ITEMS, TABLE IT TO NEXT MONTH. MM-HMM. , I THINK THAT'S WHAT I, I THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING. I'M LOOKING AT STEPH WITH VERY INQUISITIVE EYES. CAN YEAH. YEAH. WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING SOME FEEDBACK ON HOW WE CAN BEST MOVE FORWARD HERE. UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO OUR COUNCIL PEOPLE TO APPOINT, UM, THE ARTS COMMISSIONERS TO THE OPEN CHAIRS, UM, IN THIS, ON THIS BODY. WE GOT IT. THE UPDATE IS, IT CAN BE BROUGHT FORWARD NEXT MONTH, BUT IT HAS TO GO BACK TO THE AIP P PANEL FIRST. OKAY. SO YOU ALL STILL NEED TO VOTE FOR THE POLI CALLS. WE VOTED TO SEPARATE, WE VOTED TOFIELD NEED TO VOTE ON, AND THEN THAT WILL GO TO THE AIP P PANEL AND THEN YOU COME BACK TO YOU NEXT MONTH. OKAY. UM, AND I THINK THERE IS INFORMATION IN THE A IPP BACKGROUND. OKAY. AND TO THAT I WOULD SAY COMMISSIONER GARZA, I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU ATTEND THAT AIP PPP MEETING BECAUSE I THINK AS SOMEBODY WHO'S PRESENTING THE CONCERN AND THE HAS THE MORE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, UM, BEING ABLE TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE PANEL, I THINK IS THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR THAT. UM, AND TO SORT OF WITNESS THAT PROCESS. SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE MY REQUEST TO YOU IN THIS TIME BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT MEETING. UM, CAN I ADD, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES. BECAUSE THAT BACK TO, UH, CONSTANCE, UH, QUESTION THOUGH, THAT SOUNDS AS IF IT'S GOING BACK FOR A NEW DECISION AND CONVERSATION AND THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN POSTPONING AN APPROVAL. WELL, WHAT, WHAT IS GOING BACK TO AIP P PAN P PANEL ENTAIL AS WELL, I GUIDELINES WHAT THAT PROCESS IS. OKAY. SO WE'LL DO A MOTION AND A VOTE FOR MONOPOLI AND THEN IT'LL BE A TB D STANCE. OKAY. SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA VOTE AS A COMMISSION TO POSTPONE THE VOTE OF APPROVAL. [02:20:01] AND THAT NEEDS TO GO BACK TO A I P P. WELL, IT DOESN'T, IT WON'T PASS. WE'LL VOTE, I GUESS WHAT COULD PASS NEXT MONTH. CAN WE MOTION TO JUST POSTPONE IT, I GUESS INSTEAD OF VOTING? VOTING? THAT'S MY QUESTION. YOU HAVE TO TABLE IT. CAN YOU JUST TABLE IT TO NEXT MONTH? YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THE QUESTION IS. YEAH, I'M LOOKING, BUT IT'S STILL, I THINK WHAT SHE, WHAT LAURA'S SAYING IS IT STILL HAS TO GO BACK TO AIP PPP TO EVEN TABLE IT. IT'S LIKE A I P P HAS TO VOTE TO SPLIT IT. IT CANNOT BE TABLED. IF YOU VOTE AND IT FAILS, IT DOES NOT PASS, THEN IT GETS KICKED BACK TO THE AIP P PANEL AND THEN THEY DISCUSS, AND THEN THERE'S THE NEXT STEP IN THE GUIDELINES. SO FOR TONIGHT, YOU ALL STILL HAVE TO TAKE THAT VOTE AND THEN IT, THE VOTE IS THE SAME AS WHAT IT JUST WAS, IT DOES NOT PASS. AND THEN IF THAT THING HAS FAILED, THEN TO PANEL AND THEN THERE'S THAT WHOLE PROCESS. SO AIP PPP DOESN'T HAVE TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE PROPOSAL, IN OTHER WORDS, BUT THE ADJUDICATION HAS TO HAPPEN OVER. ADJUDICATION HAS TO HAPPEN? OR DOES IT I'M NOT SAYING THAT. I'M JUST SAYING THAT IT, I'M SORRY. GUIDELINES, CAN WE, CAN WE VOTE TO POSTPONE? I THINK THAT THAT'S THE NO, YOU'RE NOT SAYING WE CANNOT. WE CANNOT. OKAY. OKAY. I'M SORRY. IT'S, IT'S FAILING. UM, YOU STILL HAVE TO DO THAT. VOTE FOR IT TO FAIL FOR THE NEXT STAGE OF THAT PROCESS TO THEN, SO ARE YOU GONNA DO THE INVESTIGATION OF WHAT THE IPP PANEL NEEDS TO DO NEXT OTHER THAN ADJUDICATING THIS ARTWORK OVER AGAIN? YES. OKAY. WE'LL LOOK THAT UP. THEY'RE GONNA LOOK IT UP. OKAY. THERE ARE, I HAVE THE SENSE THAT WE'RE JUST GONNA RE ADVERTISE THE PROJECT. OH, MEGAN CAME ON SCREEN. SO COME ON. MEGAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEAH. OKAY. HI EVERYONE. I'M MEGAN WELLS, ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. UM, THERE IS A PROVISION IN THE A I P P GUIDELINES FOR WHEN AN ITEM DOES NOT PASS AT THE ARTS COMMISSION. I DON'T HAVE THOSE GUIDELINES RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME NOR MEMORIZED. I USED TO, BUT I DON'T RIGHT NOW. SO I KNOW THAT IT GOES BACK TO THE PANEL. UM, WE WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY AT THE PANEL MEETING THAT I IMAGINE WILL COME FORWARD TO YOU. AGAIN, THAT MAY ANSWER SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT EITHER, UM, US COMMISSIONERS HAVE, UM, OR COULD PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT, LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT AS TO THE REASON WHY THAT RECOMMENDATION WAS MADE. USUALLY THAT IS BROUGHT FORWARD IN THE, UM, IN THE ITEM THAT COMES TO YOU. BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CONSTANCE HAS READY FOR THIS PARTICULAR ITEM. SO I WOULD PREFER THAT, UM, I CONFER WITH STAFF AND GIVE THEM A LITTLE MORE GUIDANCE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. BUT I, I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN 99% CERTAIN, UH, BASED ON WHAT I RECALL FROM MY A I P P DAYS, THAT IT GOES BACK TO THE PANEL AND THERE IS ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION AND A RECOMMENDATION CAN BE BROUGHT FORWARD AGAIN TO THE COMMISSION FOR ADDITIONAL CON, UH, FOR ADDITIONAL AC POSSIBLY ACTION. BUT I'D LIKE TO, I'D LIKE TO REFRESH MYSELF ON THAT IF YOU DON'T MIND. SO THEN MEGAN, WHAT? TELL ME EXACTLY CUZ NOW I'M GOING CROSS SIDE JUST A BIT. IT, IT DID NOT PASS AT THIS MEETING. CORRECT. SO THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL ACTION NEEDED AT THIS MEETING. OKAY. SO WE DON'T NEED TO TAKE CAST ANOTHER VOTE. NOTHING. YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO ANYTHING ELSE. WE HAVEN'T VOTED. WE SUB VOTED TO SEPARATE. WE VOTED ON SHEP BILL. WE HAVE NOT VOTED ON MONOLO AS A SEPARATE ITEM. OH, I THOUGHT YOU DID. WE DID. FAILED. NO, THIS IS WHY WE WERE SO CONFUSED. NO, NO, NO, NO. NOT YET. WE'LL, WE'LL DO THAT AGAIN. OH, I'M SORRY. I THOUGHT THAT THE VOTE FAILED. WELL, WE'RE, I THINK THAT'S ULTIMATELY THE OUTCOME WE'RE HEADED TOWARDS. SO, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE THAT ACTION NOW. I PULL UP THE GUIDELINES. I HAVE THEM IN FRONT OF ME, BUT IF WE JUST WANNA, I DON'T KNOW, TAKE THE VOTE AND THEN RESPOND LATER. OKAY. YEAH, GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE VOTE IN CONTEXT. WE CAN HUDDLE AND I CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT INFORMATION ON PROCESS. OKAY. I'M LOOKING AT THE GUIDELINES THOUGH, SO I'D RATHER NOT, YOU STILL NEEDS TO BE A DISCUSSION QUESTION THAT GOES BACK TO THE PANEL TO ANSWER. WE'LL LET YOU GUYS HUDDLE AND, AND GET TO IT. OKAY. UM, OKAY. OKAY. SO I NEED A MOTION FOR THE MON THE ARTIST SELECTION FOR THE MONTOPOLIS PRO POOL PROJECT. MOVE TO APPROVE MONOPOLI. LET'S SEE, ARE YOU ON MIC? I MOVE TO APPROVE MONOPOLI ARTIST. AND I SAW A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MOCK. SO THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE ARTIST SELECTION FOR MONTOPOLIS POOL PARK. PARK POOL ON RECORD. OKAY. UH, WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER CHILE, COMMISSIONER GRAY, COMMISSIONER ZIMAN, COMMISSIONER MELA, COMMISSIONER MOCK, THOSE WHO OPPOSE COMMISSIONER GARZA. OKAY. SO WE HAVE THE VOTE. UM, WE WILL GET AN UPDATE FROM STEPH, I'M SURE, UH, WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK, AND WE'LL KNOW HOW TO BEST MOVE FORWARD. UM, I, MY SUGGESTION STILL STANDS, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA AND I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU ATTEND THE A I P MEETING IF ONLY TO ASK QUESTIONS [02:25:01] DIRECTLY TO THE PANEL MM-HMM. , UM, AND GET CLARIFICATION ON THE POINTS THAT YOU HAVE TO EXPRESS YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHICH I DO FIND VERY VALUABLE AND, UM, IMPERATIVE IN THIS PROCESS. BUT I THINK IN ORDER FOR US TO FIND THAT BALANCE, WE NEED TO ALL BE TALKING TO EACH OTHER. SO I WOULD, I WOULD REQUEST THAT THAT'S A, A PROCESS THAT YOU ENGAGE IN. THANK YOU. OKAY. NEXT [19. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair] IS CONDUCT OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. AND MY VICE CHAIR IS CONVENIENTLY ON A BEACH SOMEWHERE, BEAUTIFULLY. UM, ON VACATION, WHICH I APPLAUDED. I'M SO HAPPY FOR HER AND HER FAMILY. UM, I SEE COMMISSIONER MOCK HAS THEIR HAND UP. COMMISSIONER MOCK. YES. I WOULD MAKE A, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO HAVE OUR CHAIR AND OUR VICE CHAIR TO CONTINUE THEIR ROLE AS OUR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. I WILL SECOND THAT MOTION. AND I DO HAVE CONSENT FROM COMMISSIONER SCHACH TO CONTINUE HER SERVICE AS VICE CHAIR, SO WE'RE NOT PULLING ONE OVER ON HER . UM, THOSE IN FAVOR OF MAINTAINING CURRENT OFFICE POSITIONS, I GUESS I'LL VOTE FOR THAT TOO. WONDERFUL. IS UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. IT IS A PRIVILEGE AND AN HONOR TO SERVICE THE CHAIR AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER YEAR IN THIS POSITION. AWESOME. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL. OH, IT IS MY PLEASURE. UM, SO NEXT ON THE, [20. Discussion and possible action on building a list of service organizations within the arts ecosystem] UH, AGENDA HERE IS DISCUSSION IMPOSSIBLE ACTION ON BUILDING A LIST OF SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE ARTS ECOSYSTEM. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN CARRIED OVER FROM THE JOINT MUSIC AND ARTS MEETING. UM, FEELS LIKE, UH, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT KIND OF ADDING THIS TO OUR, ONE OF THE EXISTING WORKING GROUPS. I THINK WHAT I WOULD LIKE JUST TO BE BRIEF, UM, IN THIS SPACE, UNLESS, UM, SOMEBODY THAT'S PRESENT HAS, UM, SOME VERY, UM, STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT IT IS IF WE CAN, AS A COMMISSION INDIVIDUALLY PUT TOGETHER THE ORG, THE LIST, A LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY, UM, AND THEN SEND IT TO STAFF TO CIRCULATE AND WE CAN COMPILE A DATABASE AND THEN WITH THAT COLLECTIVE INFORMATION, THAT'LL BE THE BASIS WITHIN THE WORKING GROUP. MM-HMM. . UM, AND I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT WHICH WORKING GROUP THAT WOULD FIT IN. I THINK IT WAS IN PROACTIVE STRATEGIES. MM-HMM. , IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. SO THEN WE'LL PASS THAT DIRECTORY OFF TO THAT WORKING GROUP. GREAT. AND WE'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE. SO DOES ANYBODY WANNA EXPRESS ANY FEELINGS ABOUT SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS? PHILIPPE, TO FILL YOU IN, UM, SINCE YOU WEREN'T AT THE MEETING. UM, WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW SERVICE INDUSTRIES ARE INEVITABLY SORT OF LEFT OUT OR NOT. THEY CAN, THEY CAN APPEAR AS NOT AS COMPETITIVE IN THE GRANT STRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY. SO HOW CAN WE SUPPORT OUR SERVICE INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS LIKE TALA, UM, THE HEALTH ALLIANCE FOR AUSTIN MUSICIANS, THE SIMS ORGANIZATION, UM, PEOPLE THAT ARE PROVIDING RESOURCES AS OPPOSED TO PROGRAMMING, UH, FOR OUR ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS AND CULTURAL WORKERS. YES. COMMISSIONER GRAY. I THINK I'D HAVE A BE A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE SOMEBODY FROM THE LONG CENTER, PERHAPS COREY, ON THAT WORKING GROUP MOVING FORWARD WHEN WE HAVE A LIST SINCE SHE MENTIONED THOSE SAME ORGANIZATIONS, PROACTIVE STRATEGIES. YES. I WILL SEND AN INVITATION TO COREY FOR THAT. OKAY. UM, COMMISSIONER MANILLA, DO YOU WANNA CHIME IN AT ALL ON THAT? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT IT. OH, CUZ WE MET MORE RECENTLY AS WE, YES. OKAY. JUST CHI I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE AS OUR UNOFFICIAL OFFICIAL REP FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION. I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHIME IN, BUT, UM, I, YEAH, I THINK THAT THAT COVERS IT. UM, SO EVERYBODY'S HOMEWORK IS TO SEND JESUS, LOS JESUS', UM, THEIR SUGGESTIONS FOR THAT SERVICE INDUSTRY DIRECTORY FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEN THE WORKING GROUP CAN TAKE IT FROM THERE. UM, NEXT [21. Discussion and possible action regarding short term rentals and Hotel Occupancy Tax collection] IS THE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING SHORT-TERM RENTALS AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION. AGAIN, THIS WAS DISCUSSED AT THE JOINT COMMISSION IN REGARD TO SOME DISCREPANCIES THAT EXIST OUT THERE. UM, REGARDING THE EFFICIENCY OF HOT COLLECTION AS IT RELATES TO SHORT-TERM RENTALS, AIRBNB, V B O THE LOT. UM, THERE IS A BILL THAT A MUSIC COMMISSIONER BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION CALLED H B 2 6 65 THAT DIRECTLY, UM, FOCUSES ON STR AND COLLECTION. AND FROM WHAT I GATHER, ELEVATES COLLECTION TO THE STATE LEVEL, WHICH BY MY MATH, TAKES THOSE COLLECTIONS OUT OF HOT ELIGIBILITY. THIS IS MY ARTS BRAIN MATH. I'M THROWING IT OUT THERE TO, AS A QUESTION TO STEP, I'LL SEND YOU A LINK. BUT THE HOUSE BILL FROM IT'S HB 2 6 65. YEAH. WE'VE ALREADY, UM, SORRY, I'M PUTTING LAURA ON THE SPOT HERE, BUT IT JUST CAME TO MY ATTENTION, SO I WANTED [02:30:01] TO THROW IT OUT THERE IN CASE IT, THANKFULLY IT IS ALREADY ON OUR RADAR IS WHAT I'M GATHERING. IT IS, UH, 2 6 65. AND HOW UNFAIR IS THAT? WELL, AND I DON'T WANNA, DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR GOSPEL BECAUSE I AM NOT AN AUTHORITY IN THIS SPACE. BUT AS I TRANSLATED THE LEGALESE, THAT IS WHAT I GATHERED. AND SO IN REGARD TO THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD AS A GROUP ABOUT NOT HAVING A DOG IN THIS RACE, WHEN IT COMES TO THE CLARIFICATION OF SDR COLLECTIONS AND POTENTIAL MONIES THAT COULD COME TO OUR ARTS AND CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM, THAT DIRECTLY IMPACTS IT. BECAUSE IF WE'RE NOT ADVOCATING FOR ITS COLLECTION AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL, YEAH, WE'RE GONNA SNOOZE AND LOSE. WE'RE GONNA LOSE IT. AND WE'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN THIS, I MEAN, THE CITY IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN ADVOCATE FOR COME ON MIKE, FOR ME. THANK YOU. THE CITY IS THE ONLY ONLY ONES THAT CAN ADVOCATE FOR THIS. I MEAN, WHAT IT'S, AND AGAIN, I I'M, I'M PUTTING IT OUT THERE AS A QUESTION. I AM NOT STATING THAT THIS IS FACT, BUT IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO AT LEAST HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS. UM, I'M, WE'VE GOT A PERSON ON THE LAND USE WORKING GROUP ON VACATION. UM, SO THEY HAVE NOT BEEN, UM, INTRODUCED AS, I'M NOT SURE IF, UH, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND FORWARDED IT TO ANNE CHARLOTTE OR TO YOU. UM, BUT, UM, IT IS SOMETHING TO BE DISCUSSED. COMMISSIONER MOCK, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES. I, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME, SOMEONE WHO IS KNOWLEDGEABLE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I MEAN, THIS WILL DIRECT IMPACT THE CITY'S INCOME, RIGHT. BECAUSE, UH, THE HOTEL, YOU KNOW, THE TAX IS, IS WHAT THE CITY COLLECT, RIGHT? SO, SO I'M SURE SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY SOMEBODY WILL KNOW MORE ABOUT EASTFIELD AND THAT'S WHY I PUT THIS ON OUR AGENDA AS A GROUP SO THAT WE CAN SORT OF DECIDE, LIKE LET'S INVITE THE GROUP. I I CAN'T REMEMBER THE BODY THAT PRESENTED TO THE TOURISM COMMISSION ON HOT. YEAH. AND MAYBE THEY'RE THE, THE BETTER PERSON TO ASK, BUT TO INVITE THEM TO PRESENT IN MAY. THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. SO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT FRANCO FROM THE INTERGOVERNMENT RELATIONS OFFICE? IS THAT WHO WE WOULD BE INVITING IT? IT COULD BE. IT'S, SHE'S, SHE TRACKS ALL OF THE BILLS THAT AFFECT THE CITY. AND SO THAT PARTICULAR BILL IS ONE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN FLAGGED BY THE CITY TO, TO GET RESPONSE TO THAT. RIGHT. SO, UM, IF BREE'S THE ONE, IF SHE'S THE BEST PERSON TO PRESENT ON THAT, I'D LOVE TO HAVE HER, I GET ALL OF HER EMAILS, BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS A MALE COUNTERPART THAT PRESENTED TO TOURISM. I'M OPEN ANYBODY THAT CAN COME AND PRESENT AND, AND TRANSLATE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN REAL TIME TO US AS A COMMISSION. BECAUSE OVER THE LAST YEAR WE'VE BEEN KIND OF TOLD DIFFERENT NARRATIVES AROUND STR AND I WOULD LOVE JUST AN OFFICIAL, I KNOW MANY OF US WOULD APPRECIATE CLARITY ON WHERE THAT IS. I DON'T WANNA PUT IT ON YOU, LAURA, TO HAVE AN ANSWER FOR ME RIGHT NOW. I JUST WANT, AS A COMMISSION FOR US TO AGREE THAT WE WANNA INVITE SOMEBODY TO COME SPEAK TO US DIRECTLY AND, AND GET TO A POINT OF CLARITY. MM-HMM. TWO THUMBS UP FROM LAURA. SO THAT'S GOOD. SO WE CAN ALL AGREE TO THAT. UM, I DON'T NEED TO A MOTION FOR A YES. I'M SORRY. COMMISSIONER CHILE. WHAT IS THE POSSIBLE ACTION THAT WE COULD TAKE AS AN ARTS COMMISSION THAT I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT TOO. I THINK ADVOCACY AS A JOINT EFFORT, RIGHT? AND THIS WAS THE WHOLE GOAL BEHIND UNIFYING WITH MUSIC, IS THAT AS THE, THE BODY OF REPRESENTATION FOR THE CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM TO COME TO COUNCIL AND SAY, WE UNDERSTAND THIS NOW, AND THE ONUS HAS TO BE PUT SOMEWHERE, YOU KNOW, IT IS JUST ABOUT HIGHLIGHTING THE DISCREPANCY AND PUTTING IN THE WORK TO MAKE AWARE THAT THERE'S MONEY BEING LEFT ON THE TABLE. THAT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE'RE GOING TO, AND THIS MAY BE MY PERSONAL PEDESTAL OR A SOAPBOX, BUT IF WE'RE LOSING THE CULTURE AND AUTHE AUTHENTICITY OF AUSTIN TO PARTY HOUSES MM-HMM. , FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, THERE'S A REALLY SAD TEXAS MONTHLY ARTICLE OUT RIGHT NOW ABOUT SHORT-TERM RENTALS AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING SPECIFICALLY TO OUR HISTORICALLY, UM, UH, UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES. EAST AUSTIN, SOUTH, UM, SOUTH CONGRESS, NORTHEAST AUSTIN. UM, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A GIVE BACK. THAT THEY'RE PAYING THE TAXES AND PUTTING THE LEGALLY OBLIGATED FEES THAT COME WITH OPERATING A BUSINESS IN THAT PART OF TOWN, IN THIS TOWN PERIOD, AS THE EQUIVALENT OF A HOTEL ROOM IN A, IN EXCHANGE FOR, YEAH. FOR STAYING IN A HOTEL ROOM. AND THAT THOSE MONEY, YOU KNOW, THAT PERCENT OF A PERCENT, AS WE KNOW, ADDS UP AND IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AND WE ARE HEARING FROM [02:35:01] PEOPLE EVERY DAY ABOUT THE, THE NEED FOR SUPPORT AND RESOURCES. SO THAT WAS MY MOTIVATION AND, AND REALLY ADVOCATING FOR THAT CONVERSATION AT THE JOINT LEVEL SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE A UNIFIED STATEMENT TO COUNSEL. THAT'S OUR MUSCLE. THAT'S, THAT'S OUR JOB IS TO BE THAT, THAT CATALYST FOR COMMUNICATION IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. AND IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN GLARING AT US, UM, FOR AS, AS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED. AND, AND AGAIN, WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. THAT MECHANISM FOR RESOLVING THAT COLLECTION, WE MAY NOT HAVE, BUT WE CAN STILL EXPRESS, UM, THE CONCERN THAT WE HAVE WITH IT BEING SOMETHING THAT'S VOID IN THE ECOSYSTEM CURRENTLY. NOT THE EASIEST THING TO TAKE ON AS A COMMISSION. I'M, I'M NOT SAYING IT'LL BE SIMPLE, BUT I DO THINK IT'S WORTH PUTTING IN THE TIME AND EFFORT TO TRY AND FIND CLARITY AROUND THAT. COMMISSIONER MOCK. WELL, I THINK PART OF OUR JOB IS TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY. WHAT I THINK IS JUST A PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT IS BEING PROPOSED. DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT WILL PASS, BUT I THINK THE MORE INFORMATION WE, WE CAN, UM, DISTRIBUTE TO THE PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, AND ALL THOSE VOTERS CAN GO TO THEIR STATE REP AND, YOU KNOW, LOBBY AGAINST IT. SO I'M, I'M ALSO TRYING TO SEE IF THERE'S A EQUIVALENT, UH, UH, HOUSE BILL, UM, THAT ADDRESS THIS. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE NOT JUST THIS BILL, BUT IF SOMEONE WHO'S DOING THE CITY ADVOCACY AT THE STATE CAPITAL, IF THEY CAN IDENTIFY SIMILAR BILLS, SIMILAR HOUSE BILL THAT ADDRESS THIS SHORT TERM RENTAL, UM, AT LEAST THIS WAY AT OUR MEETING, YOU KNOW, IT IS A PUBLIC MEETING. SO THEN WE, WE WILL USE THIS AS A, AND AS AN OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW, TO DIS DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT THIS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SHORT TERM RENTAL, HOW IT MIGHT IMPACT OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY. AND WE KNOW SOMEBODY WHO'S A FORMER ARTS COMMISSIONER YES. WHO IS NOT ONLY A DIEHARD ADVOCATE FOR THE ARTS, BUT IS A JUST RUTHLESS ADVOCATE. LIKE REALLY JUST THE WISEST, UM, ENCYCLOPEDIC KNOWLEDGE. SO I THINK MAYBE IT'S TIME WE TAP ON OUR OLD FRIEND LULU FLORENCE AND SEE WHAT SHE CAN DO TO BRING SOME CLARITY TO THE SITUATION. IF NOT, UM, PERHAPS DO A LITTLE BIT OF DIGGING ON HER OWN. SO I'D BE HAPPY TO SEND THAT EMAIL. THANK YOU. GREAT SUGGESTION. GOOD IDEA. YEAH. UM, AMY AND AIA. OKAY, SO, UM, WE HAVE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM THAT'S COME FROM THAT DISCUSSION. I THINK WE CAN MOVE ON. I DON'T WANNA SPEND TOO MUCH MORE TIME ON IT. IT'S, UM, WE'VE GOT SOME WORKING GROUP UPDATES TO GET THROUGH AS WELL. UNLESS ANYBODY ELSE HAS MORE COMMENTARY, I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M OPENING THE FLOOR. OKAY. SO, UH, WORKING GROUP UPDATES, [22. Update from Equity Working Group with Community Arts leaders of the BIPOC/LGBTQIA/Disabilities Community/Women with Commissioners Gray, Zisman, and community members] UPDATE FROM THE EQUITY WORKING GROUP WITH COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS OF THE BIPO L LGBTQ Q I A DISABILITIES COMMUNITY. WO WITH, UH, AND WOMEN WITH COMMISSIONERS, GRAY AND ZS MEN, UM, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. I WOULD SAY, UM, THIS HAS BEEN ON HOLD AS WE'VE ROLLED OUT FOR THIS PILOT YEAR. I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT WE COULD USE A FEW EXTRA COMMISSIONERS ON THIS WORKING GROUP. NO NEED TO TAKE ACTION AT THIS MOMENT AS WE DON'T HAVE ANY ITEMS COMING UP, LIKE MEETINGS COMING UP. BUT I THINK AS WE GET ROLLING WITH THE SURVEYS AND THE FEEDBACK THAT HAVING A BODY ASSEMBLED FOR US, UM, AS COMMISSIONERS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS WILL BE A NICE PROACTIVE THING TO DO. SO LET'S JUST PUT A PIN IN IT FOR NOW. UM, FOR MY NEW COMMISSIONERS, IF YOU CAN TAKE SOME TIME AND, UM, IF YOU, UH, MAYBE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, YOU CAN ASK ME AND I CAN GIVE YOU A BRIEF HISTORY OF THAT WORKING GROUP. AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PIQUES YOUR INTEREST, I'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU THERE. UM, UPDATE [23. Update from Joint Working Group for Joint Cultural Committee with Commissioner Zisman and working group members from the Quality of Life Commissions] FROM THE JOINT WORKING GROUP FOR THE JOINT CULTURAL COMMITTEE WITH COMMISSIONER ZIMAN. THAT'S JUST ME. I HAD A MEETING WITH COMMISSION, UH, FORMER COMMISSIONER POLGAR. UM, AND SHE HAS GIVEN ME A, A GOOD FOUNDATION. I'D LIKE TO FOLLOW UP WITH COMMISSIONER CASTILLO, FORMER COMMISSIONER CASTILLO SINCE THEY WERE THE TWO WORKING IN TANDEM IN THAT WORKING GROUP. AND JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT BEFORE I TAKE ANY ACTION. UM, UPDATE [24. Update from Quarterly Arts Community Commission Meet-ups Working Group with Commissioners, Garza (chair), Gray, and Maldonado] FROM THE QUARTERLY ARTS COMMUNITY, EXCUSE ME, COMMISSION MEETUPS WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS GARZA CHAIR, UH, GRAY ED MALDONADO. OKAY. UH, AM I ON THIS TIME? YOU ARE GOLDEN. GO FOR IT. OKAY, COOL, COOL, COOL. YEAH, LIKE I WAS SAYING EARLIER, I'VE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY COMPUTER UNTIL RECENTLY. AND SO I'VE BEEN DOING MAINLY EMAILS BETWEEN, UH, COMMISSIONER GRAY AND COMMISSIONER MELDER NADO. SO NOW WE'VE SORT OF GOT A, UH, A LETTER TO THE ARTIST THANKING THEM FOR THEIR SERVICES, THANKING 'EM FOR, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THROUGH, PUTTING UP THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND SURVIVING AND INVITING THEM TO THE QUARTERLY MEETINGS. UH, WE HAD, OR I SHOULDN'T SAY, I'M GONNA SAY THE WORD HAD, WE [02:40:01] DO HAVE A SCHEDULED MEETING FOR THIS SATURDAY, BUT I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO REALLY EDIT OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT, UH, LETTERS THAT WE'RE SENDING EACH OTHER AND, UH, THE PRESS RELEASES. AND SO I, I'D LIKE TO POSTPONE THAT, UH, PROBABLY TILL AFTER SCREWS OUT. SO MAYBE I'D LIKE TO DO HOURS IN JUNE, BUT WHAT, WHAT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO DO IS WE'RE, I KNOW WE'RE STILL MISSING SOME COMMISSIONERS, BUT TO, IF OUR COMMISSIONERS, IF YOU GUYS COULD BREAK OUT IN TEAMS OF THREE OR FOUR SO WE CAN HAVE AND KNOW WHEN WE INITIAL THE CALENDAR. OKAY. WHEN, WHEN, WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE COMING UP? YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A SPECIFIC DATE, BUT LET'S SAY WE GET OURS DONE, WE'LL SAY, OH, AND DISTRICT SEVEN, NINE AND 10 ARE GONNA BE MEETING NEXT, NEXT TIME AROUND, AND YOU'LL BE GETTING INFORMATION FROM THEM. SO IT'D BE NICE IF WE COULD JUST HAVE FOLKS WORK TOGETHER FOR A LITTLE BIT AND TRY TO COME UP WITH TEAMS AND TEAM UP THEMSELVES, UH, MAYBE PARTNER UP, ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEW COMMISSIONERS. AND WE'RE MISSING SOME COMMISSIONERS RIGHT NOW, SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO HAVE A FULL COMMISSION BEFORE WE START THIS, YOU KNOW, SO WE CAN, UH, GET THE INFORMATION OUT. SO WE'RE WORKING ON IT. SOME REALLY GOOD POINTS. COMMISSIONER GRAY. UM, CAN I ASK, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA THAT, UM, THE THREE OF US YOURSELF, UH, COMMISSIONER MALDEN, NATO, AND I HAVE A MEETING, UH, UH, ON ZOOM ESPECIALLY, OR WHATEVER IS CONVENIENT, AS SOON AS GOOD FOR US TO DISCUSS THE LETTER THAT WAS STARTED THAN WHERE WE ARE, AND THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD ON WHEN THAT NEXT MEETING WOULD BE WHEN WE HAVE A BIGGER COMMISSION. I MISS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NOT HAD A WORKING GROUP MEETING. OKAY. I CAN, I'M AVAILABLE THIS SATURDAY. I DON'T WANNA DO THAT OVER THIS, UH, HERE. AND, UH, MONICA IS NOT HERE. SO IF WE CAN CONNECT ON THAT, AND IF YOU COULD SEND SOMETHING OUT AS CHAIR TO BOTH OF US WITH SOME, UM, OPTIONS OF TIMES, I'D REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. ALL RIGHT. BECAUSE USUALLY I'M JUST AVAILABLE ON THE WEEKENDS. THAT'S COOL. IF YOU COULD JUST SEND BOTH OF US THAT INFORMATION AND WE CAN FIGURE SOMETHING OUT, BECAUSE THIS WEEKEND MAY WORK FOR BOTH OF US. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AWESOME GUYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, NEXT IS [25. Update from Emergency Funding and Proactive Strategies for Future Funding Working Group with Commissioners Schmalbach and Zisman (chair)] THE UPDATE FROM THE EMERGENCY FUNDING PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR FUTURE FUNDING WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONER SCHACH AND ZISMAN, ANOTHER LONELY COMMISSION IF ANYBODY WANTS TO JOIN. UM, TO COMMISSIONER GARZA'S POINT, WE ARE STILL TRYING TO FILL SOME HOLES ON THIS COMMISSION, SO LIKELY OUR WORKING GROUPS WILL BE A LITTLE LIGHT. UM, WE DO HAVE AN UPDATE REGARDING THE A C C, THE AUSTIN ARTS. OH, AUSTIN COM. SAY AGAIN, CIVILIAN. THAT WAS WHERE? CIVILIAN COMMUNITY CORPS. I WAS. IT WAS IN THERE. OH, YEAH. UM, WE HAVE SOME NOTES BASED ON THE WORK THAT THE WORKING, THE, THE, WHAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER FROM THE WORKING GROUP WITH STAFF. UM, IT SHOULD BE IN THE BACKUP. LORD, DO YOU THINK I SHOULD, DO YOU WANT ME TO READ THROUGH IT BRIEFLY? YOU CAN DO THE SUMMARY OR IN THE CROSS COPY. MM-HMM. . YEAH, I MISSED IT. THAT'S OKAY. I'M GONNA GONNA, I'M GONNA READ IT JUST TO JUST KIND OF GIVE A LITTLE, UH, SYNOPSIS HERE. SO I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH THE GOALS AND THEN THE INITIAL PROPOSAL AND SORT OF REFERENCE THE, UM, POINTS OF INSPIRATION FOR THE OTHER PROGRAMS AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT ARE DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR THAT WE FELT ALIGNED WITH THE NEEDS OF AUSTIN. SO THE A ACCC GOALS IS CREATING LASTING POSITIVE EFFECTS FOR RESIDENTS, INSPIRING HOPE, AND BUILDING COMMUNITY, ADVANCING THE CITY'S STRATEGIC SUSTAINABILITY AND EQUITY GOALS, PATHWAYS TO JOBS SPECIFICALLY FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. UM, THE AUSTIN A C ARTS HOME, UM, HOMELESSNESS PROPOSAL IS A, A SAME DAY PAY WORK AND PAY PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS TO DESIGN AND PAINT MURALS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. DEPLOYMENT WOULD INCLUDE KEY PARTNERS, SUCH AS A THIRD PARTY ORGANIZATION TO MANAGE THE DAY-TO-DAY EXPERT MURAL ARTISTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, ANOTHER CITY DEPARTMENT SUCH AS THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY, WHO HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST, UM, SINCE THEY HAVE SPACE PARKING GARAGES AND MANY TARGET PARTICIPANTS ALREADY READY TO ENGAGE WITH THEM. UM, OUTREACH SPECIALISTS TO COLLECT PARTICIPANTS AND SUPPORT SERVICES. UM, AND THE, UH, THE MURAL ARTS AND SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY ARE WILLING TO SERVE AS THOUGHT PARTNERS IN THE DETAILED DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUSTIN VERSION OF THE PROGRAM. THE INSPIRATION MODEL IS THE PHILADELPHIA MURAL ARTS COLOR ME BACK PROGRAM, MURAL ARTS PHILADELPHIA, UM, INNOVATIVE COLOR ME BACK PROGRAM OFFERS PEOPLE EXPERIENCING ECONOMIC AND OR HOUSING INSECURITY, AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE ART, EARN SOME SAME DAY PAY AND ACCESS SOCIAL SERVICES. UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, SEPTA, THE PROGRAM REIMAGINES THE TRA TRANSIT AGENCIES PUBLIC SPACES WITH [02:45:01] A SERIES OF COLORFUL MURALS, ADORNING ITS WALLS AND CONCRETE COLUMNS. PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM ENGAGE WITH OUTREACH SPECIALISTS WHO LINK THEM WITH SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, UH, SUPPORT SERVICES INCLUDING SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES AND POTENTIAL LONG-TERM EMPLOYMENT COLOR. ME BACK POSITIONS ARE AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE TO CREATE HEALTHIER, STRONGER, MORE BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITIES. UM, THERE'S DETAILED ABOUT THE COMPENSATION RATES. THIS IS ALL WHAT WAS DONE IN PHILADELPHIA, AND I'M, I DON'T HAVE A YEAR HERE, BUT YOU KNOW, TH THESE WOULD BE THE DETAILS THAT WE WOULD WORK UP TOGETHER AS A WORKING GROUP AND PROPOSE TO, OH, IT'S AT THE TOP. THE BUDGET IS, UM, WELL, YEAH, THE OVERALL BUDGET FOR OUR AUSTIN, UH, PROGRAM WOULD BE A MILLION DOLLARS. I WAS SAYING MORE THE, THE INDIVIDUAL BREAKDOWNS FOR LIKE THE COMPENSATION FOR THE ARTISTS THAT THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPANTS. BUT, UM, YES, THIS, THIS DOCUMENT IS IN YOUR BACKUP. PLEASE REVIEW IT. WE WILL BE REVIEWING IT AS A WORKING GROUP AND PRESENTING A MORE FINALIZED VERSION, UM, IN THE COMING MONTHS. SO THIS IS THE UPDATE THAT WE HAVE NEXT MONTH. NEXT MONTH, BECAUSE THERE IS A DEADLINE TO SPEND THIS MONEY TO ADVOCATE IT. SO NEXT MONTH WE WILL HAVE A VERY DETAILED UPDATE, UM, OKAY. WITH THAT. UM, THAT, AND THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE ADDED TO THAT UPDATE FOR MAY FOR THAT GROUP. OKAY. JOINT [26. Update from joint Arts/Music Commission Working Group on Urban Core Issues with Commissioners Gray, Maldonado, Mok, and Schmalbach (chair).] UPDATE FROM THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION WORKING GROUP ON URBAN CORE, UH, ISSUES WITH COMMISSIONERS, GRAY MALDONADO MOCK AND SCHACH CHAIR. UM, COMMISSIONER MOCK OR COMMISSIONER GRAYSON, YOU ARE THE TWO IN THE ROOM. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE US A BRIEF UPDATE? I DO NOT THINK WE HAVE A MEETING. UH, WE DID ALREADY HAVE A MEETING THIS, UM, PAST, I THINK IT WAS THIS PAST THURSDAY OR THURSDAY BEFORE THURSDAY BEFORE. I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THAT. YEAH. YOU MAY WANNA GET WITH OUR, UM, WITH THE CHAIR ON THAT SCHEDULE. THE, THE REG IT'S, NOR IT'S ON A REGULAR THIRD THURSDAY AT NINE 30 IN THE MORNING OF EVERY MONTH, I BELIEVE. IF YOU CONTACT HER AND THE, THEIR CHARLOTTE. YEAH. OR CONTACT CHARLOTTE. AND CHARLOTTE IS THE CHAIR AND CHARLOTTE, THAT OF MUSIC THAT, OR VICE CHAIR. NOW, HOW IS THE CHAIR OF THE WORKING GROUP? HEIDI'S THE CHAIR OF THE WORKING GROUP, BUT I THINK AND CHARLOTTE CREATED THE INVITATION. CORRECT. SO LET'S, IF YOU HAVE AN EMAIL THREAD, AMY, THAT IS GOING THROUGH FOR THAT WORKING GROUP, IF YOU WANNA JUST REPLY AND JUST LET HER KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT RECEIVING THE, THE CALENDAR. UM, INVITE. WELL, CHAIR, CHAIR, I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, I HAVE TO DE I HAVE TO DECLINE TO SERVE ON THIS COMMITTEE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK I CAN HAVE A MORNING MEETING ON A WEEKDAY. AH, OKAY. NO PROBLEM. NOT FOR MY SCHEDULE. SO WOULD, WOULD YOU PLEASE REMOVE MY NAME FROM IT? YES. THAT NOTE IS BEING TAKEN. OKAY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MOCK. UM, WITH THAT, WE'LL LET COMMISSIONER GRAY TAKE THE UPDATE. YEAH, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT. YEAH. UH, WE'LL DO MY BEST. SO IT, UH, WE'RE WORKING, UM, REALLY, EXCEPT WE WERE MISSING A FEW MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP THIS LAST TIME, REALLY FINDING, UH, THE DETAILS OF, UM, DEVELOPMENT WITHIN, UM, WORKING SPACES FOR ARTISTS, WHETHER IT BE HOUSING OR H A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN OUR JOINT MUSIC AND, UM, UH, ARTS COMMISSION, UH, MEETING. AND WHAT'S NICE ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP IS THAT THERE ARE DEVELOPERS, UM, TWO DEVELOPERS NOW THAT ARE, ARE, UH, VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES AND THE TIMELINES AND THE CODES AND THE ET CETERA TO HELP US, UH, HOPEFULLY FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET, UM, CREATIVE SPACE AS IMPORTANT TO THE BUILDING OF NEW OR NEW DEVELOPMENT AS IS, UM, OPEN SPACE AND PARK SPACE. SO THERE'S A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF SPACE THAT HAS TO BE, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE PARK SPACE, ET CETERA. AND THESE GENTLEMEN ARE VERY STRONG BELIEVERS THAT THERE'S NO REASON WHY CREATIVE SPACE CAN'T DO THE SAME THING. SO THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING AND WE STILL WANT TO HAVE A NETWORKING, UM, UH, UM, EVENT PROBABLY IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO FOR LUCKY THAT IS, UH, PULLING A LOT OF THOSE BRAINS TOGETHER BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY DEVELOPERS THAT WANNA SEE THE SAME THING WE DO THAT THERE'S CREATIVE SPACE OUT THERE. SO. WONDERFUL. COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER GRAY? OKAY, WITH THAT, WE [ITEMS FOR INFORMATION] MOVE ON TO ITEMS FOR INFORMATION. UM, WE JUST WRAPPED FUSE BOX. HOPEFULLY SOME OF US GOT TO GET OUT AND ENJOY THE PROGRAMMING FOR THAT YEARLY FESTIVAL. UM, ANY OF MY COMMISSIONERS HAVE ITEMS FOR INFORMATION FOR THE UPCOMING MONTH? COMMISSIONER MOCK, UH, SATURDAY, APRIL 29TH IS THE DRAGON [02:50:01] BOWL FESTIVAL AT FESTIVAL BEACH. I HAVE POSTER THAT I CAN SEND IT TO. I HAVE A PRESS RELEASE. SO SHOULD I SEND IT TO YOU OR TO THE STAFF? UH, I WOULD SAY BOTH. OKAY. I'LL DO THAT. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL. I JUST HAVE A BABY QUESTION. I SEEM TO BE UP, AND THIS MAY BE SILLY AND IT MAY CHANGE EVERY MONTH, BUT I TEND TO UPLOAD OR DOWNLOAD THE, UH, BACKUP FOR OUR MEETINGS. SEE 'EM IN A COUPLE OF DAYS TOO SOON. YEAH. SO THERE'S THINGS THAT I DID NOT GET UNTIL NOW. I SEE THEM, UH, ARE HERE. AND I KNOW SOME THINGS HAPPEN LIKE RIGHT BEFORE IN THE MIDDLE OF MEETINGS, BUT WHAT'S A GOOD TIME TO JUST ? BE SURE LIKE WHAT YOU READ. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING. OKAY. THAT DID GET ADDED VERY RECENTLY. OKAY. UM, AND THAT WAS JUST DUE TO, I MEAN, I PROBABLY ME, BECAUSE I THINK I GOT SENT TO ME ON FRIDAY AND THEN I WAS LIKE, YEAH, MONDAY, ADD IT. UM, SO WHAT'S A GOOD IDEA? JUST TO LOOK, NEVERMIND, I'LL FIX MY OWN PROBLEM. I MEAN, A GOOD IDEA TO CHECK LIKE THE NIGHT BEFORE. I THINK IN THE, ONE MORE TIME, IN A WONDERFUL, PERFECT WORLD, EVERYTHING WOULD BE A WEEK IN ADVANCE AND WE'D HAVE LOTS OF TIME TO SIMMER. AND I, I KNOW THAT STAFF AIMS FOR THAT, BUT I THINK THE REALITY IS THINGS HAPPEN, UM, AS THEY HAPPEN. AND SO, UM, TRIPLE CHECKING PRIOR TO THE MEETING. I MEAN, I, I DON'T ACO YOUR NAME. NO WORRIES. PHENOMENAL JOB. PLEASE DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU NO WORRIES. DID ANYTHING OFF STEP? NO PROBLEM. BUT YES. WE'LL, WE'LL BE MORE PROMPT. I WILL BE MORE PROMPT. UM, FUTURE [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] AGENDA ITEMS. OKAY. UH, ARE WE'RE DONE WITH ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? WE CAN MOVE ON TO A FUTURE AGENDA. ITEMS. OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THE FEW HOPEFULLY RECORDED BY STAFF BECAUSE MY BRAIN IS MOSH AT THIS POINT. YEAH. UM, THE AIP ISSUE. STR AND WHAT WAS THE OTHER ONE? OH, THE, UM, SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS CAN DEFINITELY BE CARRIED OVER. DISCUSSION OF THE A ACCC PROPOSAL WILL NEED TO BE DISCUSSED AND VOTED ON. NEXT, UH, MONTH, COMMISSIONER CHILE, CAN WE ADD DISCUSSION AROUND A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THE L B G T Q I A COMMUNITY AND THE BILLS THAT ARE BEING, UM, TARGETED AT THEM REGARDING, UM, WELL, SPECIFICALLY THE DRAG BILLS, UM, AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT RELATES TO ARTS. I'M HAPPY TO SECOND THAT CAN MM-HMM. , WE NOTE THAT FOR NEXT, UH, MONTH. WONDERFUL. COMMISSIONERS. ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO CARRY OVER FOR NEXT MONTH? THE GRANTS THAT CARRIES RIGHT? MM-HMM. . YEAH, WE DO A STANDING, UH, STANDING CAD UPDATE OF FUNDING PROGRAM UPDATE FOR US. I THINK THAT WRAPS IT. IF ANYBODY HAS A MOTION THEY MIGHT WANNA THROW OUT AS IT, WE ARE AT THE END OF OUR AGENDA. MOTION TO ADJOURN. COMMISSIONER ACHI, GES KILLING IT. AND A SECOND BY MOCK. ALL IN FAVOR TO WRAP THIS WONDERFUL MEETING, UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR BEING HERE. LONG ONE TODAY, BUT REALLY PRODUCTIVE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO DOING IT AGAIN NEXT MONTH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU GET OUTTA HERE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.