[00:00:06]
UH, NOT IF I'M GONNA CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
SO WE BETTER PROCEED UNLESS YOU WANNA CANCEL.
[CALL TO ORDER ]
OKAY.SO THIS IS, UH, ARE WE READY TO GO AHEAD AND GET GOING? YES.
THIS IS NEHEMIAH PITTS, CHAIR OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CALLING TO ORDER OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING HERE TODAY, JUNE 14TH, 2023.
WE'RE LIVE AT THE AUSTIN PUBLIC STUDIO IN STUDIO ONE AT 1 1 43 NORTHWESTERN AVENUE, AUSTIN, TEXAS.
THIS MEETING'S ALSO BEING BROADCAST ONLINE AT HTTP SLASH SLASH WWW.AUSTINTEXAS.GOV/PAGE/SLASH RATHER WATCH DASH XN LIVE.
UH, THIS MEETING'S NOW OFFICIALLY CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 PM ALTHOUGH WE STARTED ACTUALLY ABOUT SIX 50 SOMETHING.
SO FOR THE RECORD, UH, WE BEGAN WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND, UH, BELIEVE THERE'S NO ONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
SO WE'LL BE PROCEEDING OUR AGENDA TO AGENDA ITEM ONE, THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR, I THINK WE DO ROLL CALL.
THANKS FOR, FOR CALLING THAT OUT.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL.
UH, GO AHEAD AND START WITH, UH, MYSELF, UH, NEHEMIAH PITTS III, REPRESENTING DISTRICT ONE.
AND THEN I'LL GO TO THE LEFT HERE.
UH, GABRIEL KU REPRESENTING DISTRICT SIX PRESENT.
AND THEN TO MY RIGHT, BRIANNA SMITH, REPRESENTING DISTRICT THREE, CHRISTINA GARZA, DISTRICT FOUR, STEVEN APODACA, REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO.
AND THEN WE CAN GO TO OUR ONLINE, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, COMMISSIONER CLARK REPRESENTING.
AND WE HAVE COMMISSIONER DA SCOOPED ON, UH, BUT HE'S NOT ON AT THE MOMENT.
UH, BUT WE DO HAVE SIX COMMISSIONERS ON TO ESTABLISH OUR QUORUM.
UH, SO NOW WE CAN PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA, AND WE'LL HAVE COMMISSIONER KU TO JUMP BACK IN WHEN HE GETS BACK ONLINE.
YOU HAVE COMMISSIONER RICE, GRIFFIN RICE, UH, COMMISSIONER FOR DISTRICT FIVE.
IN ORDER TO BE PART OF THIS ROLL CALL.
HOW YOU DOING IN THE MIDDLE? UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UH, SO THAT GIVES US SEVEN COMMISSIONERS HERE.
UH, AND AGAIN, WE ARE STARTING OUR MEETING.
UH, WE'VE ALREADY, UH, BEEN CALLED TO ORDER AND DONE THE ROLL CALL.
UH, AND THERE'S NO ONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO, UH, THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, BEGINNING WITH, UH, THE APPROVAL OF THE COMMUNITY.THE, UH, MEETING MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 12TH MEETING, 2023.
SO, BOTH APRIL 12TH AND MARCH 10 MINUTES, BOTH SAY THAT THIS COMMISSION HELD A REGULAR MEETING ON MARCH 8TH, UNDERNEATH THE BOX THAT'S AT THE FRONT, RIGHT UNDER THE BOX, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION.
MARCH 8TH, THE MAY 24TH, THUS SAY MAY 24TH.
WELL, LET'S START WITH THE ONE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ON THE AGENDA ITEM OF.
UM, AND IT DOES, TO YOUR POINT, I THINK, REFERENCE THE WRONG DATE IF ONE OF THESE DATES IS WRONG, RIGHT.
FOR THESE MINUTES IN PARTICULAR.
UH, SO LET'S CHECK THE CALENDAR AND MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE MINUTES RIGHT, SIR, I DON'T APPROVE APPROVAL OF THOSE MINUTES, SO WE CAN START THIS SESSION.
WELL, UH, WE SHOULDN'T APPROVE THE MINUTES IF, UH, UH, THERE'S A FACTUAL ERROR, UM, I DO APPROVE THE MOTION.
I DO APPRECIATE THE MOTION, THOUGH.
SO, WAS THE MEETING ON THE 10TH OR THE EIGHTH? APRIL 12TH, THE MEETING, THAT ONE DAY IS INCORRECT.
UH, YEAH, THE MARCH MEETING, THE ONE THAT, THE MINUTES REFERENCE.
SO BOTH FOR THE APRIL 12TH MEETING AND THE MARCH 10TH MEETING, JUST THERE WAS A, JUST A DATE ERROR UNDER THIS BOX.
[00:05:01]
TO UPDATE THE MEETING MINUTES, RIGHT? CORRECT DATE.SO, SO AGAIN, I'M JUST TRYING TO CONFIRM WHAT DATE THIS MEETING TOOK PLACE AT.
SO WE GET RIGHT APRIL, APRIL 12TH.
NOT THAT PART, THE PART THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THE MARCH 8TH PART, RIGHT? THAT SHOULD SAY MARCH 10TH, I BELIEVE.
IF THESE ARE ACCURATE, SHOULD THEY READ THE SAME DATE THAT THE MEETING? NO.
SO LET'S MAKE SURE I'M ON THE SAME PAGE AS EVERYBODY HERE.
SO THAT SHOULD SAY APRIL 12TH.
SO THAT'S ONE CHANGE WE CAN AGREE TO.
AND THEN ON THE MARCH 10TH, WELL, WE HAVE TO TAKE THE ONE AT THE TIME THOUGH.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE APPRO.
SO TO APPROVE THE APRIL AND IT'S MAY.
WE DON'T HAVE THE MARCH 10TH MINUTES.
SO YEAH, ON OUR AGENDA, ON THE AGENDA, WE HAVE, UH, THREE ITEMS, THE APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 12TH MINUTES, THE APPROVAL OF THE MAY 10TH MINUTES, AND THE APPROVAL OF THE MAY 24TH MINUTES IN OUR HANDS.
WE HAVE MINUTES FROM APRIL 12TH, MARCH 10TH.
SO THAT SHOULD BE MAY 10TH AND MAY 24TH.
SO SHOULD THAT BE MAY 10TH INSTEAD OF MARCH 10TH? SO, UH, THIS IS MAY 10TH.
SO STARTING WITH, STARTING WITH THE, UH, APRIL 12TH MINUTES, WHICH WE'RE ON THE AGENDA, ITEM FOUR, UH, AS COMMISSIONER, UH, SMITH MENTIONED, UH, AND AS I, AS SOMEONE ELSE MENTIONED EARLIER, I BELIEVE MR. GARZA, THIS SHOULD SAY APRIL 12TH.
RIGHT? AND LET'S JUST LOOK AT THOSE AND MAKE SURE WE'RE GOOD WITH EVERYTHING ELSE ON THESE MINUTES.
UH, I THINK THERE WAS A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CLARK TO APPROVE THESE MINUTES WITH THAT CHANGE.
IS THAT FAIR? COMMISSIONER CLARK? YEP.
SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CLARK TO APPROVE THE APRIL 12TH MINUTES SECOND BY MYSELF.
AND WE CAN NOW HOLD A VOTE IF YOU ALL ARE READY.
JUST APRIL, UH, 12 MINUTES, JUST CONFIRM THE ERROR OR CONFIRM THE ERROR, AND WELL, THE MINUTES, YEAH, THAT ERROR WAS PART OF IT.
UM, YEAH, SO THE ASK WAS, WAS TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK AND REVIEW, UH, THE TAPES IF WE NEEDED TO, AND THEN TO GET COMFORTABLE WITH APPROV THESE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
UM, I WOULD BE OKAY WITH THE MOTION TABLE BASED ON THE TIME THIS IS TAKEN.
IF, UH, YOU GUYS, UH, WISH, BUT WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THESE MINUTES WITH THE CHANGE TO APRIL 12TH, UH, FOR THE DATE IN THE SUBSECTION THERE.
WELL, I GUESS, I MEAN, NOT TO PUT COMMISSIONERS ON THE SPOT, BUT LET ME JUST ASK, UH, DID EVERYONE HAVE A, WELL, WELL, THE MOTION'S BEEN APPROVED AT AT THE SECOND, SO THE, I, I GUESS THEN JUST TO MOVE FORWARD, IF YOU CAN'T, IF YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE, THEN YOUR VOTE SHOULD REFLECT THAT.
YOU KNOW, UH, SO AGAIN, THAT, THAT WON'T PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, ESPECIALLY WITH THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.
UH, SO WITH THAT, UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPRO, AGAIN WITH THE MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CLARK AND A SECOND BY MYSELF.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE APRIL 12TH MINUTES.
SO ANYBODY WHO'S, UH, OPPOSED? AYE.
SO WITH THAT, THEN WE HAVE, WE DO NOT HAVE A MAJORITY, UH, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE TABLED AND WE'LL HAVE TO OPEN THEM AGAIN.
ALSO, I'M MISSING FOR THE, FROM THE LIST OF ATTENDANCE.
SO THEN WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE FOR APRIL 12TH THAT WE DO, UH, UH, MUCH BETTER ON MINUTES.
UH, AND THEN WE CAN CIRCLE BACK ON THAT.
AND, AND I'M REVIEWING OVER SOME PRIOR, NO, THAT'S CURRENT COMMISSION.
I'M NOT IN EITHER ATTENDANCE REMOTELY OR UPSET.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND LOOK AT THE NEXT ITEM, BUT LET'S GO THROUGH QUICKLY, UM, AND, AND SEE IF THERE'S MOTIONS TO APPROVE.
WE'LL GIVE THIS ANOTHER FEW MINUTES.
AND THEN I THINK WE'LL JUST, UH, NEED TO GET OUR ACT TOGETHER WHEN IT COMES TO THE MINUTES AND MAKE
[00:10:01]
SURE, UH, THAT THE FACTUAL ERRORS AREN'T THERE, AND THAT WE HAVE BASIC ATTENDANCE NOTED.I'VE NOTICED IN OTHER MEETING MINUTES, UH, THAT, UH, DETAILS OF WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE SHARED IN THE MEETING ARE NOT ALSO BEING CAPTURED.
UM, SO I THINK WE'VE GOT A BIGGER CONCERN TO ADDRESS RELATED TO MINUTES, UH, THAT REALLY WARRANTS TAILORING THIS IN GENERAL.
BUT LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE, WHAT'S LISTED AS THE MARCH 10TH MEETING MINUTES.
UH, THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE, I BELIEVE MAY 10TH, BUT THE REFERENCES THROUGHOUT, SAY MARCH AND APRIL.
SO I DON'T HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE THAT THESE MINUTES ARE, ARE, ARE ACCURATE.
UM, SO YEAH, I, I, UH, AM GOING TO SUGGEST WE TABLE, UH, THE, THE MINUTES AND WE'LL COME BACK TOGETHER AND, UH, AND HAVE A MORE ACCURATE REFLECTION OF, OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
UH, NOW TO STAFF BRIEFINGS, I WANNA THANK THE PATIENTS OF OUR GUESTS, UH, STAFFING COMMUNITY TO BE SPECIFIC.
UH, IT'S NOT JUST STAFF, UH, STAFFING COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS.
I WANNA REALLY THANK THE PATIENTS OF OUR GUESTS, UH, FOR STICKING WITH US WITH THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, UH, WE COME TO AGENDA
[4. Google Fiber community update (John-Michael Cortez – Government and Community Affairs Manager) ]
ITEM FOUR, THE GOOGLE FIBER COMMUNITY UPDATE.UH, AND WE HAVE A GUEST HERE IN PERSON, JOHN MICHAEL CORTEZ.
UH, HE IS THE GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS MANAGER FOR GOOGLE FIBER.
SHOULD I, CAN THEY SEE HIM? OH, PERFECT.
WE CAN SEE YOU AND WE CAN HEAR YOU.
UH, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE, UH, AND TO, UH, SHARE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT GOOGLE FIBER'S PROGRESS IN THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE VERY PROUD OF OUR PROGRESS HERE IN AUSTIN AND INCREASINGLY, UH, THROUGHOUT CENTRAL TEXAS.
UH, OUR MISSION AT GOOGLE FIBER, UH, OR THE REASON WHY WE WERE FOUNDED IS CAUSE WE BELIEVE EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET THAT'S RELIABLE, FAST, OPEN, AND FAIRLY PRICED.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S ANOTHER COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE WHERE THAT, UH, VISION AND THAT MISSION IS, UH, MORE MANIFEST THAN IT IS HERE IN AUSTIN.
UH, WE ARE REALLY GROWING VERY QUICKLY ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY, UH, AND ALSO HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
UH, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, UH, PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS NUTS FOR GOOGLE FIBER TO SUGGEST THAT, UH, HOME INTERNET USERS, UH, WOULD NEED ONE GIGABIT OF SYMMETRICAL INTERNET SERVICE.
NOW, ALMOST EVERYBODY WILL PROVIDE ONE GIGABIT OF, OF INTERNET, UH, SERVICE IF THEY CAN.
UH, AND NOW, UH, WE OFFER TWO GIGABIT AND IN MANY OF OUR MARKETS, AND SOON HERE IN AUSTIN, FIVE AND EIGHT GIGABIT, UH, UH, SERVICE.
AND WE'RE TESTING 20 GIGABIT SERVICE IN SOME COMMUNITIES, UH, TODAY.
AND, UH, WE SEE A CONTINUING GROWTH IN THE DEMAND FOR, UH, HIGH SPEED, RELIABLE SERVICE.
AND, UH, WE'RE REAL EXCITED, UH, ABOUT THAT GROWTH.
AND, UH, IT'S A GOOD THING THAT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSED ON IS FIBER TO THE HOME, FIBER TO THE PREMISE, UH, BECAUSE, UH, THERE'S REALLY NOT ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS THAT ABILITY TO RELIABLY SCALE, UH, TO SERVE THAT INCREASED DEMAND IN THE FUTURE, UH, AS MORE AND MORE, UH, OF OUR HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES NEED THAT MEASURE OF BANDWIDTH.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO GROW TO, TO MEET THAT NEED.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING FOR, UH, A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, AND, UH, HAVE MADE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PROGRESS.
UH, WE, UH, REALLY ONLY HAVE A FEW PARTS OF THE CITY LEFT, UH, UH, TO, TO BUILD, TO WHICH, UH, WE WILL, UH, WE'RE BUILDING TODAY.
UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE SEE OURSELVES LARGELY COMPLETING, UH, OUR NETWORK IN THE, UH, INCORPORATED, UH, CITY LIMITS, UH, OF AUSTIN IN THE NOT TOO NEAR FUTURE, OR NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, RATHER, UH, WE, UH, ARE BUILDING RIGHT NOW IN KIND OF THE NORTH NORTHWEST PART OF AUSTIN.
[00:15:01]
SO THINK OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, AMHERST DUVAL AREA.YOU KNOW, THE AREAS JUST KIND OF WEST OF THE DOMAIN.
SOME OF THE LAST AREAS THAT WE HAVE LEFT ARE KIND OF WEST AND NORTHWEST AUSTIN IN THE RESEARCH BOULEVARD CORRIDOR.
SO WE'RE BUILDING THERE NOW, AND WE'LL BE HEADED IN THAT DIRECTION.
ANOTHER PART OF TOWN WHERE WE WILL BE BUILDING SOON ARE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE, UH, JUST EAST AND SOME NEWER COMMUNITIES THAT ARE JUST EAST OF 180 3, UH, IN AUSTIN.
AND, UH, AS WE'VE BUILT OUR NETWORK, LET'S SAY, IN SOUTH AUSTIN OR, OR CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN, THERE WERE SOME POCKETS THAT, FOR WHATEVER REASON, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO CONNECT AT THAT TIME.
JUST SOME SMALL GAPS IN THE NETWORK, AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, IDENTIFYING THOSE AND, AND GOING BACK AND COMPLETING, UH, THOSE PORTIONS OF THE NETWORK.
FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WE JUST THIS YEAR FINISHED THE LAST FEW REMAINING NEIGHBORHOODS IN SUNSET VALLEY.
UH, WE HAVE SOME NEIGHBORHOODS IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN, UH, THAT WE'RE PLANNING TO START, UH, TO FILL IN THE, SOME SMALL GAPS THAT WE HAD, UH, IN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO.
SO, UH, WE'RE GOING, UH, PRETTY QUICKLY.
UH, WE'VE BUILT SO MUCH OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT WE'RE RIGHT UP AGAINST THE CITY LIMITS IN, IN MOST OF THE CITY.
AND SO FOR THAT REASON, UH, WE'VE STARTED TO, UH, WORK WITH OUR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES TO BRING GOOGLE FIBER TO THOSE WHO LIVE OUTSIDE OF, UH, THE CITY LIMITS OF AUSTIN.
UH, WE HAVE STARTED TO BUILD AND NOW SERVE CUSTOMERS IN THE PORTIONS OF TRAVIS COUNTY THAT ARE UNINCORPORATED.
UH, SO WE'RE REAL EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND, UH, LOOK TO SERVE COMMUNITIES LIKE, UH, UH, UH, FINISHED BUILDING AND PLACES LIKE WELLS BRANCH, UH, SHADY HOLLOW, AND, UH, START TO BUILD IN AREAS LIKE DE VALLEY AND SOME OF THE OTHER PORTIONS OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF TRAVIS COUNTY IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE.
UH, WE, UH, JUST, WE ANNOUNCED EARLY THIS YEAR AND ARE VERY CLOSE TO STARTING CONSTRUCTION IN ROUND ROCK, UH, TO SERVE RESIDENTS THERE, AND ARE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER SURROUNDING MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES ABOUT BRINGING HIGH SPEED, RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE SERVICE AND OPEN SERVICE TO, TO THOSE RESIDENTS AS WELL.
SO, WE'RE MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS, AND, UH, WE'RE NOT TAKING OUR FOOT OFF THE GAS, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO BUILD.
AND BECAUSE AGAIN, WE BELIEVE EVERYBODY DESERVES ACCESS TO THIS SERVICE.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR PROGRESS WITH, UH, NETWORK EXPANSION, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE.
BUT, UH, IF YOU'LL INDULGE ME, I'LL JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO TO ADDRESS, UH, BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S A GREAT IMPORT TO THIS COMMITTEE ADDRESS, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL.
UM, VERY QUICKLY, I, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, GOOGLE FIBER, UH, AGAIN, WE WERE FOUNDED TO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR, FOR DIGITAL EQUITY, DIGITAL INCLUSION.
AND, UH, WE IMPACT, UH, THIS CHALLENGE IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS.
ONE IS WHERE AND HOW WE BUILD, UH, TWO IS, OR ARE THE PRODUCTS AND PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE.
AND THIRD IS, UH, ARE OUR DIRECT PARTNERSHIPS AND INVESTMENTS IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE.
SO, ON THE BUILD SIDE, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST BY VIRTUE OF ANNOUNCING THAT WE'RE COMING TO A COMMUNITY WITH OUR SERVICE, UH, IT BRINGS COMPETITION, REAL COMPETITION TO, UH, INCUMBENT PROVIDERS WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROVIDING, UH, UH, UH, SPEEDS THAT THE COMMUNITY DESERVES, RELIABILITY, THAT THE COMMUNITY DESERVES PRICING THAT THE COMMUNITY DESERVES, OR SERVICE THAT THE COMMUNITY DESERVES.
SO, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN HAPPEN, INCLUDING HERE IN AUSTIN AND OTHER COMMUNITIES, AS SOON AS WE ANNOUNCE WE'RE COMING, UH, THE INCUMBENT PROVIDERS START TO GET BETTER AND EVERYBODY WINS BECAUSE THEY HAVE REAL COMPETITION.
AND SO, UH, UH, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES NOW HAVE BETTER OPTIONS.
UH, AND, AND AGAIN, THAT'S A GREAT THING.
AND SO THAT'S, UH, UH, PROBABLY THE BIGGEST WAY THAT WE'VE IMPACTED COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, IT WHERE WE BUILD, UH, WE DO NOT COME INTO A COMMUNITY AND KIND OF CHERRY PICK JUST AREAS WHERE, UH, WE THINK PEOPLE CAN AFFORD HIGH SPEED INTERNET SERVICE.
UH, WHEN WE COME INTO A COMMUNITY, IT IS OUR INTENT TO BUILD TO THAT ENTIRE COMMUNITY, TO BRING FIBER TO EVERY RESIDENT AND EVERY SMALL BUSINESS THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN.
UH, AND THAT'S, UH, ALSO TRUE HERE IN AUSTIN.
UH, WE'RE BUILDING IN SOME OF THE WEALTHIEST NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY, AND WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED OUR NETWORK IN SOME OF THE MOST ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED PORTIONS OF OUR CITY.
UH, WE THINK, AGAIN, EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THIS SERVICE.
SO, UH, UH, WE'RE REAL PROUD OF THAT, UH, AS FAR AS WHERE WE BUILD HAVING AN IMPACT ON ACCESS.
AND THEN AS FAR AS OUR PRODUCTS AND OUR PROGRAMS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, UH, GOSH, NEARLY 10 YEARS AGO WITH OUR GIGABIT SYMMETRICAL SERVICE, IT WAS PRICED AT $70 A MONTH, UH, WITHOUT ANY HIDDEN FEES,
[00:20:01]
WITHOUT ANY, UH, COST FOR RENTING HARDWARE, UH, WITH NO TEASER PRICES THAT GO UP AFTER A YEAR.JUST VERY CLEAR, TRANSPARENT PRICING.
AT $70, IT'S BEEN ABOUT 10 YEARS, AND IT'S STILL $70.
UH, SO WITH INFLATION BEING WHAT IT IS, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY OUR SERVICE HAS GOTTEN CONSIDERABLY CHEAPER, UH, OVER TIME, RELATIVE, UH, BECAUSE OF INFLATION, RIGHT? WE NOW OFFER TWO GIG, AGAIN IN SOME MARKETS AND COMING TO AUSTIN, FIVE AND EIGHT GIG.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO PLANS IN THE FUTURE TO, TO CHANGE THAT PRICING.
AND I THINK WE'VE REALLY SET THE MARKET FOR GIGABIT SPEEDS, UH, AND PRICING, UH, IN THE, IN THE INDUSTRY.
UH, HOWEVER, WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT FOR SOME HOUSEHOLDS, EVEN THOUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT KIND OF SERVICE AND RELIABILITY, $70 IS A FAIR PRICE.
UH, MANY HOUSEHOLDS CAN'T AFFORD $70 A MONTH FOR INTERNET SERVICE.
SO WE ARE, UH, PARTICIPANTS IN THE, UH, AFFORDABLE CONNECTIONS PROGRAM, AND WE'RE VERY HOPEFUL, UH, THAT THAT PROGRAM IS REAUTHORIZED AND FUNDED, UH, SO THAT QUALIFYING HOUSEHOLDS CAN APPLY FOR AND RECEIVE A SUBSIDY, UH, TO OFFSET THE MONTHLY COST OF INTERNET SERVICE.
AND, UH, IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, WE WOULD ANTICIPATE, UH, INTRODUCING A NEW LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT WILL BE SPECIFICALLY, UH, AVAILABLE FOR HOUSEHOLDS THAT QUALIFY FOR THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIONS PROGRAM, UH, THAT WOULD BE PRICED AT A LEVEL SUCH THAT THEIR SERVICE WILL ESSENTIALLY BE FREE, UH, FOR FAST, RELIABLE, UH, SERVICE FOR, FOR THOSE, UH, HOUSEHOLDS THAT QUALIFY.
SO, UH, WE KNOW THAT ACCESS IS ONLY ONE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
UH, AFFORDABILITY IS THE OTHER, UH, ONE OF THE OTHERS.
AND SO WE'RE COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT OUR SERVICES REMAIN AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE.
UH, IN ADDITION, UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S VERY LOW INCOME, UH, VULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDS THAT, UH, FOR WHOM NO PRICE, UH, IS, IS ATTAINABLE, UH, OR AFFORDABLE, UH, FOR INTERNET SERVICE.
UH, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE LOWEST INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN OUR CITY.
UH, FOR MANY YEARS, WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN A WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, CALLED GIGABIT COMMUNITIES, WHERE WE PROVIDE A ONE GIGABIT, UH, SYMMETRICAL SERVICE, UH, TO PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS, UH, IN OUR CITY.
AND I THINK WE'RE WELL OVER 1500 PUBLIC HOUSING HOUSEHOLDS.
SO THINK, UH, UH, HERE AT, UH, WELL, ROSEWOOD IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, BUT WHEN THOSE UNITS ARE NEWLY BUILT, ALL OF THEM WILL HAVE A ONE GIG FREE, ONE GIGABIT CONNECTION, UH, LIKE WE HAVE IN CHALMERS OR, UH, UH, NORTH LOOP SENIOR APARTMENTS.
UH, SO IT'S A GREAT PARTNERSHIP AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THOSE RESIDENTS HAVE, HAVE REALLY, UH, BENEFITED FROM THAT PARTNERSHIP.
UH, WE'RE EXPANDING THIS PARTNERSHIP TO OTHER VULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDS.
UM, LATER THIS SUMMER, UH, WONDERFUL NEW DEVELOPMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY WILL OPEN UP, UH, WHICH IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION AND CARITAS.
IT'S CALLED THE FEDERAL WHITE RUTLAND.
I THINK IT'S ABOUT 150 UNITS, UH, FOR OUR NEIGHBORS WHO ARE, UH, TRANSITIONING OUT OF HOMELESSNESS AND INTO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
UH, ALL OF THOSE RESIDENTS WHEN THEY MOVE IN, WILL HAVE ACCESS TO A FREE, UH, GIGABIT, UH, GOOGLE FIBER CONNECTION.
UH, WE ALSO PLAN TO PARTNER WITH CARITAS TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE DEVICES, UH, WITH WHICH TO ACCESS THE SERVICE AND, UH, DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING SO THAT THEY, UH, CAN AVAIL THEMSELVES OF, OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO, WE'RE REAL EXCITED ABOUT THAT PARTNERSHIP AND, UH, UH, SEEING HOW THAT GOES AND PERHAPS GROWING THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY AND OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN THE FUTURE.
AGAIN, BECAUSE EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO, TO, TO FAST, RELIABLE INTERNET.
UH, IN ADDITION, UH, WE HAVE BEGUN TO, UM, PARTNER WITH OTHER AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, PROVIDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR AFFORDABLE BULK, UH, SERVICE.
UH, WE STARTED WITH, UH, UH, THE GREAT FOLKS AT FOUNDATION, UH, FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES.
UH, THEY'RE AT M STATION THERE BY THE MLK RAIL STATION, UH, TO PROVIDE BULK SERVICE, UH, FOR THOSE RESIDENTS, UH, WHICH HAS, UH, GONE VERY WELL.
AND WE WOULD SEEK TO GROW THOSE KINDS OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDERS IN OUR REGION.
SO, UH, AGAIN, UH, UH, WE HAVE A COMMITMENT TO, TO ENSURING THAT EVERYBODY HAS SERVED.
IN ADDITION, UH, WE HAVE LONG HAD A PARTNERSHIP, UH, IN A PROGRAM HERE IN THE CITY CALLED COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, WHERE WE HAVE WELL OVER A HUNDRED LOCATIONS, COMMUNITY HUBS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, UH, WHERE THE PUBLIC GATHERS AND COULD USE ACCESS TO HIGH SPEED INTERNET.
UH, AND WE PROVIDE, UH, A FREE GIGABIT CONNECTION, UH, TO THOSE FACILITIES.
SO, A I S D HIGH SCHOOLS, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARIES, THIS BUILDING, OR THE DEWITTE JOB CENTERS, UH, WHERE, UH, I THINK IT'S ATTACHED TO THIS BUILDING SOMEWHERE, HAS
[00:25:01]
ACCESS TO, UH, UH, A FREE GIGABIT CONNECTION.UH, UH, THERE'S, UH, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB HERE IN EAST AUSTIN.
UM, UH, THE THINKERY, UH, NUMBER OF GREAT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND, AND INSTITUTIONS, UH, HAVE ACCESS TO THAT FREE SERVICE.
AND AS OUR NETWORK CONTINUES TO EXPAND, AS WE PASS THOSE LOCATIONS, WE WILL CONTINUE, UH, TO CONNECT THOSE UP, UH, UH, AS, AS AS WE CAN.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT PARTNERSHIP AND ONE THAT WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO.
SO, UH, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT, THAT WE'RE, UH, HELPING, UH, ADDRESS DIGITAL INCLUSION NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, AND WE CONTIN WE WILL CONTINUE THAT.
YOU KNOW, I JUST SAY, UH, KIND OF OUR NEXT STEPS, UH, ARE OUR, AND OUR CHALLENGES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS NEXT STEPS, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE, UH, TO EXPAND HERE IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, IT'S REALLY THE WAY THAT WE BUILD AND, AND THAT CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR MUNICIPAL PARTNERS THAT EN ENABLES US TO IMPACT THE COMMUNITY IN THIS WAY TO SERVE EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE CAN.
AND SO, IT IS, IT DOES REQUIRE, UH, A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH, WITH THE CITY.
AND, UH, UH, WE'RE ENJOYING A VERY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TODAY.
AND, UH, YOU, WE HOPE THAT CONTINUES.
UH, SO, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION, UH, THE CITY WAS NOT, UH, IMMUNE TO STAFFING CHALLENGES COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC, UH, WHICH HAS, YOU KNOW, DID FOR A PERIOD OF TIME HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO BUILD.
UH, I THINK THAT THEY, UH, FORTUNATELY THROUGH SOME, UH, UH, GOOD, UH, CHANGES ON THEIR END OR, AND SOME GOOD HIRING OR KIND OF EMERGING FROM THAT CHALLENGE, AND ACCORDINGLY, OUR PRODUCTION AND OUR ABILITY TO BUILD HAS STARTED TO INCREASE AGAIN, UH, SO THAT WE CAN SERVE RESIDENTS EFFECTIVELY.
UM, UH, SO, UH, AGAIN, REAL PROUD OF OUR PROGRESS HERE IN AUSTIN, AND THE PARTNERSHIPS AND THE RELATIONSHIPS, UH, THE INVESTMENTS.
I SKIPPED OVER, UM, THE KIND OF DIRECT PARTNERSHIPS AND INVESTMENTS WE MAKE IN THE COMMUNITY WITH GREAT, UH, COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS LIKE AUSTIN FREENET, THAT'S OUT OF THIS BUILDING, LIKE ANTE, LIKE OTHERS, UH, LANITA AND OTHER FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING IN THE DIGITAL INCLUSION SPACE.
AND WE HOPE THOSE, UH, UH, CONTINUE AS WELL.
SO, UM, I'LL STOP THERE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
I'M HAPPY TO TRY TO ADDRESS ANY, ANY THAT YOU HAVE FOR ME.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, JOHN, MICHAEL, AND FOR, UM, ALL THE WORK THAT RULE FIVE HAS DONE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE WERE PRIVILEGED TO HAVE YOU SPEAK BEFORE OUR WORKING GROUP IN A PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION THAT INCLUDED SEVERAL OF US, UH, AND APPRECIATE YOU BEING OPEN FOR THAT CHANGE THERE.
UM, WE ASKED SEVERAL QUESTIONS THAT HELPED, UH, FURTHER INFORM THIS PRESENTATION.
I'D LIKE TO GIVE THE COMMISSIONERS THAT WERE NOT PART OF THAT INITIAL CONVERSATION.
UH, LIKE COMMISSIONER GARZA, COMMISSIONER RICE, COMMISSIONER MUJA, AND, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER CLARK.
AND, UH, I SEE COMMISSIONER SCO ONLINE AS WELL.
UH, AND COMMISSIONER RICE, A CHANCE TO ASK YOU THE QUESTIONS THEY MIGHT HAVE.
AND I'LL BEGIN, UH, IN THE ROOM, UH, WITH ANYONE THAT HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER, BARZA, COMMISSIONER, DOCTOR, UM, I GUESS SOME GENERIC QUESTIONS.
UM, WHAT, I GUESS IN TERMS OF LIKE, SCALABILITY, WHAT'S THE, UM, MOST PERSISTENT IMPEDIMENT TO, LIKE, DECIDING WHEN AND HOW TO CHOOSE A LOCATION AND, AND DEVELOP? SO, UH, AS, AS I TOUCHED ON BRIEFLY, WHAT REALLY MAKES THIS WORK FOR US AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO, WELL, LEMME STEP BACK AGAIN.
OUR INTENT IS TO SERVE EVERY HOUSEHOLD THAT WE CAN FIBER TO, TO THE PREMISES.
AND IN ORDER TO, WHAT MAKES THAT POSSIBLE FOR US IS THE WAY THAT WE BUILD GENERALLY, UH, MOST OF OUR ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION, THE WAY WE GET THE NETWORK TO PLACES IS DIFFERENT THAN TRADITIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY HAVE DEPLOYED.
THEY'RE USUALLY USING, YOU KNOW, UTILITY POLES, OR THEY'RE DOING DIRECTIONAL DRILLING, DIGGING THREE FEET OR DEEPER AND, UH, UH, THROUGH, UH, PEOPLE'S YARDS OR, OR THAT, AND IT'S PRETTY, UH, EXPENSIVE.
IT'S PRETTY SLOW, PRETTY MESSY, PRETTY DISRUPTIVE, UM, EXPENSIVE.
UH, WE DEPLOY IN A DIFFERENT MANNER, TYPICALLY IN, IN HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, USING THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, UH, A METHOD THAT WE CALL, UH, SHALLOW TRENCHING OR MICRO TRENCHING IN THE ACTUAL STREET.
UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT NEW, BUT IT IS SOMEWHAT NOVEL.
I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY'S DOING IT ON THE SCALE.
AND IT'S THAT ABILITY, UH, TO USE THAT METHOD, UH, UH, WHICH ALLOWS US TO MOVE VERY QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY, UH, TO SERVE.
AGAIN, OUR INTENT IS TO SERVE EVERY RESIDENT THAT WE CAN.
SO HERE IN AUSTIN, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE THAT, THAT METHOD.
SO, SO LONG AS WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY TO GET PERMITS QUICKLY AND, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, GET OUR TRAFFIC CONTROL PLANS APPROVED QUICKLY, WE'LL MOVE VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
AND, AND WE ARE, UH, WE HAVE A, A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY
[00:30:01]
FOR EXPANSION TO NEW COMMUNITIES.OFTEN THE BIGGEST IMPEDIMENT IS, UH, WORKING WITH THOSE MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES TO, UH, HAVE THEM UNDERSTAND THE WAY THAT WE DEPLOY, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE USED TO SEEING ON THIS SCALE AND BEING COMFORTABLE WITH IT AND PARTNERING WITH US TO, TO ENABLE THAT TO HAPPEN.
UH, AND THAT'S USUALLY THE BIGGEST IMPEDIMENT AS FAR AS EXPANSION.
ONCE WE HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP IN PLACE, IT'S, THERE'S, THERE'S, VERY RARELY ARE THERE PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN'T GET TO.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IF THERE'S A MAJOR MAINTENANCE, LIKE A WATERLINE BEING REPLACED, OR THERE'S, UH, SOME OTHER KIND OF HIGHWAY PROJECT WHERE WE CAN'T GET PAST IT, THAT MAY DELAY IT, UH, FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
UH, JUST AS A AN EXAMPLE, SOME OF THOSE GAPS I MENTIONED THAT WERE COMING BACK AND FILLING AS WE WERE BUILDING THE NETWORK THERE YEARS AGO, SOME OF THAT WAS RELATED TO OTHER PROJECTS THAT WERE HAPPENING, AND WE COULDN'T BUILD THOSE AREAS.
WE HAD TO WAIT TILL THOSE WERE FINISHED AND WE CAN GO BACK AND FINISH 'EM.
SO THAT, THAT WILL OFTEN BE AN IMPEDIMENT.
BUT AGAIN, ONCE WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO UTILIZE OUR FULL DEPLOYMENT TOOLKIT, THE, THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE BUILD, THEN, UH, UH, THAT, THAT'S USUALLY 90% OF THE, UH, THE, THE CHALLENGE TO OVERCOME.
AND I, I GUESS, UM, ALSO ASK, LIKE IN TERMS OF, UM, EIGHT GIGABYTE BETWEEN LIKE, UH, 20 GIGABIT SERVICE, LIKE WHAT DISCERNS THAT? IS IT JUST A MATTER, IS THE MEDIUM, LIKE UNIVERSAL AND THEN LIKE, IT'S A MATTER OF LIKE WHAT THE COMMUNITY ENDORSES, OR? NO? UM, IF, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION, UM, THE, THE, THE, THE REASON WHY WE FOCUS ON FIBER TO THE HOME IS BECAUSE, UH, FIBER OPTICS, UH, THE, THE THEORETICAL CAPACITY OF IT IS, WELL, THE CAPACITY OF IT IS KIND OF THEORETICALLY UNLIMITED, RIGHT? SO THE FIBER IS GOOD, RIGHT? SO ONCE WE, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF EXPENSIVE AND, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, TAKES A WHILE TO GET IT IN THE GROUND.
BUT ONCE IT'S THERE, IT'S A GREAT MEDIUM OF, OF MOVING DATA BACK AND FORTH, REALLY, AS WE, AS THE DEMANDS FOR, UH, SPEEDS AND, AND BANDWIDTH GO UP, ALL WE REALLY HAVE TO DO OVER TIME IS CHANGE OUT THE EQUIPMENT ON BOTH END IN THE, IN THE END POINT IN A RESIDENCE HOME AND IN OUR CENTRAL OFFICES, RIGHT BEHIND THIS BUILDING, YOU'LL SEE IN THE PARK RIGHT NEXT TO THE PARKING LOT, THERE'S A LITTLE TINY LITTLE HUT THAT'S ONE OF OUR FIBER HUTS, ONE OF OUR CENTRAL OFFICES, RIGHT? THERE'S ONE OF OUR FIRST ONES HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO OVER TIME, WHEN PEOPLE NEED A HUNDRED GIG OR 200 GIG, WE JUST NEED TO CHANGE OUT THAT EQUIPMENT.
THE FIBER IS STILL GOOD, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY, UH, FOR US, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DEPLOY AND YEAH.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS INCREASING DEMAND FOR MULTI GIG SERVICES.
AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WAS, WHAT I WAS, UH, ASSUMING.
CAUSE I WAS WONDERING IF SCALABILITY WOULD BE MADE, UM, MORE EXPEDIENT OR ACCESSIBLE IF, UH, MAYBE THE, THE GIGA, THE GIGABITS PROVIDED THE ENDPOINT WERE, WERE MODIFIED.
SO IF EVERYTHING WAS LIKE EIGHT GIGABIT OR LESS SERVICE, IF THAT WOULD MAKE THE SCALABILITY OF IT FROM A PECUNIARY LEVEL MORE ACCESSIBLE.
BECAUSE MAYBE, LIKE IF I'M, IF I'M MAKING LIKE A NETWORK ANALOGY, IT'D BE LIKE, OKAY, THE ROUTERS MIGHT BE MORE EXPENSIVE PROVIDED LIKE WHAT THEY'RE ACCESSING.
SO MAYBE IF THE ROUTERS WERE SWITCHED TO THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL AND BASIC, YOU KNOW, STANDARD ENDPOINT THAT YOU COULD HAVE, THEN YOU COULD GO AHEAD AND LIKE, MAKE THAT FOR THE MASSES AS OPPOSED TO IT BEING LIKE, LET'S SAY A SPECIAL ROUTER THAT CAN LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALMOST ACT AS ITS OWN LIKE ENDPOINT FOR EVERYTHING.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE A, LIKE A, LIKE A SUPER HUB.
SO I WAS TRYING TO SEE LIKE MAYBE IN, UM, CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTS IF ACCESS IS LIKE, JUST NOT AS VIABLE, MAYBE CUZ LIKE A POOR AREA IF, CAUSE I NOTICED WITH THE, WITH THE, WITH THE HOMELESS INITIATIVE, IT WAS LIKE A ONE GIGABIT SERVICE, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY.
SO OUR STANDARD SERVICE IS ONE GIGABIT.
UM, BUT IF SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, ON THAT SAME NETWORK WANTED TO, TO, TO DO TWO GIGABIT, IT'S JUST CHANGING OUT ACTUALLY NOW, IT'S, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO CHANGE OUT THE EQUIPMENT.
SO, UM, I WILL SAY THAT WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO, TO, TO MEET THE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY ARE.
UM, AGAIN, OUR, OUR, OUR VALUE AND, AND OUR, OUR VISION IS THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS
[00:35:01]
TO THE BEST SERVICE THEY CAN.AND IT SHOULD BE AFFORDABLE AND FAIRLY PRICED AND, AND ALL THAT.
SO WE, WHAT WE DON'T WANNA FIND OURSELVES, UH, BEING IN THE POSITION OF IS PROVIDING A LESSER SERVICE TO A LOWER INCOME COMMUNITY.
SO I, YOU KNOW, LIVE IN A, A, YOU KNOW, A, UH, YOU KNOW, FAIRLY PROSPEROUS COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, UH, AND I HAVE ACCESS TO ONE GIGABIT AND TWO GIGABIT SERVICE.
UH, WE FINISHED BUILDING OUR NETWORK EARLIER THIS YEAR IN RUNDBERG AND LAMAR PROBABLY THE POOREST PART OF THE CITY, THEY HAVE ACCESS, I
AND, AND SO, AND THEY SHOULD, NOW THE QUESTION IS WHO CAN AFFORD WHAT? AND THAT'S WHY WE THINK PROGRAMS LIKE ACP AND OTHER TYPES OF PROGRAMS TO LEVEL THAT AFFORDABILITY PLAYING FIELD ARE IMPORTANT.
BUT EVERYBODY, IT'S LIKE, AND, AND IF I'M UNDERSTANDING, AND MAYBE THIS IS NO WRONG ANALOGY, I HAVE CLEAN WATER COMING OUTTA MY TAP.
THEY SHOULD HAVE CLEAN WATER COMING OUTTA THEIR TAP TOO, YOU KNOW? ABSOLUTELY.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THIS SERVICE, BUT WE ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO INNOVATE AROUND MAKING IT MORE ACCESSIBLE.
THAT, AND I GUESS LIKE, CAUSE CAUSE I, I ALSO AGREE.
I JUST FEEL LIKE, UM, CAUSE I'M THINKING CAUSE LIKE IN THE PAST DID AN INTERNSHIP WITH, WITH A THREE PHASE POWER COMPANY CALLED SCANNER MM-HMM.
AND THE ISSUE WAS WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO ACCESS AND PROVIDE LIKE, POWER TO RURAL COMMUNITIES, THEY JUST WEREN'T, LIKE, HUB POINTS WEREN'T TRANSFORMERS THAT WERE LOCAL.
SO LIKE, IT WOULD BE MORE EXPENSIVE TO LIKE ESTABLISH A TRANSFORMER.
SO MORE OFTEN THEY WOULD JUST LIKE DO A CONNECTION FROM LIKE THE CLOSEST AVAILABLE THREE PHASE POWER LINE AND EXTEND IT AND THEN EXTEND IT AND THEN HAVE A TRANSFORMER.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF, UM, THE GOOGLE FIBER OPERATION IS CONTINGENT ON LIKE WHERE POWER LINES ALREADY EXIST.
THE WAY THAT WE DEPLOY GENERALLY, ESPECIALLY HERE IN AUSTIN, IF THERE'S A STREET WE CAN BE IN IT.
AND WHAT'S, WHAT'S I GUESS GOOD ABOUT STREETS IS THEY GO EVERYWHERE.
UH, SO IF WE CAN GET INTO THE STREET, WHICH AGAIN, THAT'S WHY THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MUNICIPALITY IS SO CRITICAL.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, DIRECTIONAL DRILLING, UH, YOU KNOW, BEARING, YOU KNOW, THE TRADITIONAL WAY THREE FEET UNDER, IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE.
AND THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T SEE FIBER TO THE PREMISE IN A LOT OF LOW TO MODERATE INCOME COMMUNITIES.
UM, ATTACHING TO POWER POLES IS A LITTLE BIT EASIER, BUT EVEN THAT HAS, IS FRAUGHT WITH ITS OWN PROBLEMS. UM, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S THE, IT'S THE ABILITY TO BE IN THE STREET, WHICH REALLY ALLOWS US TO HAVE THAT, I DON'T WANNA USE THE WORD UBIQUITOUS CUZ IT'S ABSOLUTE, BUT, BUT AS BROADLY DEPLOYED AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THE STREETS GO EVERYWHERE.
AND SO, SO LONG AS WE HAVE THAT ABILITY AND WE SOMETIMES WILL ATTACH TO POWER POLES WHEN IT MAKES MORE SENSE, OKAY, SOMETIMES WE WILL DIRECTIONAL DRILL WHEN IT MAKES MORE SENSE.
BUT IT'S HAVING THAT FLEX FLEXIBILITY TO BE IN THE STREET, THAT'S WHAT ALLOWS US TO GET TO EVERYONE BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S ON A STREET.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS.
I THINK THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UH, YEAH, WE SHOULD, UH, DEFINITELY KEEP THIS IN MIND IN TERMS OF WORKING GROUP PARTICIPATION BECAUSE, UH, IT WOULD'VE BEEN GREAT TO HAVE THIS BACK AND FORTH IN THE WORKING GROUP, UH, ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE, RIGHT.
AND WAS TECHNICAL EXPERTISE CLEARLY AT PLAY, UH, IN THESE QUESTIONS? UH, I NOTICED THERE WAS A QUESTION ONLINE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I CONFIRM.
UH, WAS THAT COMMISSIONER UH, RICE OR COMMISSIONER NACO? DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? COMMISSIONER? UH, NACO I SEE YOU RAISING YOUR HAND, BUT YOU'RE MUTE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, WE CAN.
UH, ACTUALLY WE CAN'T DO, WE CAN'T APOLOGIZE.
NOT, UH, I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE.
UH, IN THE MEANTIME, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UH, PERHAPS IN THE ROOM THAT HAVE A QUESTION? YES, COMMISSIONER GARZA.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS IN AUSTIN HAVE GOOGLE FIVES AN OPTION? CUZ I LIVE, OBVIOUSLY I'M ROMBERG AND LAMAR AND I JUST DID A QUICK GOOGLE FIVE GOOGLE AND IT'S STILL NOT A, YOU KNOW, STILL NOT AVAILABLE IN MY, IN MY HOUSEHOLD.
SO I DON'T HAVE A PERCENTAGE FOR YOU.
UM, BUT IT'S MORE THAN HALF I WOULD SAY.
AND I SHOULD LOOK INTO THAT CUZ YOU SH DO YOU LIVE IN A APARTMENT OR DO YOU LIVE IN A I RENT BUT THERE IS AN HOA.
SO THAT IS A IS CASE IN POINT.
WE DO HAVE SOME COMMUNITIES, I DON'T KNOW IF YOURS, WHERE THE STREETS ARE PRIVATE STREETS.
THEY'RE NOT OWNED BY THE CITY, THEY'RE OWNED BY THE HOA.
AND IN THOSE COMMUNITIES WE, WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY HAVE PERMISSION FROM THE HOA TO BE IN THE STREET AND WE DO THAT.
[00:40:01]
ACTUALLY OWNS THE STREET, UH, YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR HOA BOARD TO REACH OUT TO US.CUZ WE, WE HAVE TO HAVE THEIR PERMISSION AS PRIVATE PROPERTY TO BE IN THE STREETS.
SO THAT IS ONE LIMITATION THAT WE HAVE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT REALLY THAT BIG OF AN ISSUE IN MOST OF AUSTIN.
CAUSE MOST OF THE STREETS ARE PUBLIC STREETS, BUT THERE ARE SOME COMMUNITIES WHERE THAT'S NOT THE CASE AND THAT'S WHERE WE'LL HAVE A CHALLENGE.
BUT YEAH, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, UH, WORK WITH HOAS ALL THE TIME TO BRING GOOGLE FIBER SERVICE IN.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS IN THE ROOM OR ONLINE? UH, COMMISSIONER RICE, PLEASE.
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT IT'S BEEN $70, UM, BUT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF HISTORY WITH LARGE COMPANIES THAT HAVE DONE PREDATORY PRICING WHERE THEY KEEP IT ARTIFICIALLY LOW IN ORDER TO PUSH OUT COMPETITION AND WHAT THAT COMPETITION HAS GONE, THEY'RE ABLE TO MONOPOLY.
UM, SO I WAS WONDERING HOW, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANY SORT OF GUARANTEES THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT IT REMAINS AFFORDABLE IN THE FUTURE.
WELL, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN GIVE YOU ANY GUARANTEE ON THE PRICING.
I JUST, I THINK THE TRACK RECORD OF LIKE 10 YEARS OF IT NOT CHANGING.
UM, I GUESS I, I I WOULD SAY ONE, IT IS AGAIN, ONE OF OUR VALUES THAT IT REMAINED FAIRLY PRICED.
UM, TWO, UM, WE'RE NOT AFRAID OF COMPETITION.
UH, WHEN WE COME INTO, UH, UH, A COMMUNITY, AGAIN, WHEN WE'RE VERY THOUGHTFUL, IF WE'RE COMMITTING TO A COMMUNITY, WE'RE COMMITTING TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? AND SO THERE ARE COMMUNITIES INCLUDING AUSTIN, WHERE, AND ESPECIALLY AS WE START TO BUILD OUT, AS I MENTIONED, ONE OF THE LARGER AREAS WE HAVE YET TO BUILD IS KIND OF THAT NORTHWEST AREA.
THERE'S PROBABLY ALREADY FIBER TO THE HOME PROVIDERS THERE.
IN FACT, I KNOW THERE ARE, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT SCARED OF COMPETITION, RIGHT? AND, AND WE'RE, WE'RE NOT.
WE'RE ONCE WE'RE IN A COMMUNITY, WE'RE NOT BASING OUR BUILD PLANS ON THE PRESENCE OF COMPETITORS OR NOT.
UH, ACTUALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR MANY OF THESE COMMUNITIES, WE ARE THE FIRST, UH, UH, FIBER PROVIDER IN MOST OF THE COMMUNITIES AS FAR AS MOST OF THE PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT WE BUILD IN.
AND, UH, UM, OUR PRICING IS REALLY NOT SET TO, UH, TO, TO BE, UH, PREDATORY OR TO TRY TO FORCE ANYBODY OUT BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE THEIR PRICING IS TOO.
AT THIS POINT, AGAIN, WE WERE THE FIRST ONES TO DO GIG SERVICE AND WE SET IT AT 70.
AND I THINK YOU'LL SEE IS IF YOU, IF YOU'RE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LIVE IN A PART OF THE COMMUNITY THAT HAS MULTIPLE FIBER PROVIDERS, YOU WILL PROBABLY SEE THEIR PRICING NEAR OURS.
CUZ WE'VE KIND OF ACTUALLY SET THAT MARKET AND WE HAVEN'T BUDGED OFF OF IT.
SO, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M REALLY ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION.
I I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN, I'M EMPOWERED TO MAKE ANY KIND KIND OF COMMITMENTS IN PRICING.
I'M, UH, UH, BUT, UH, I THINK OUR TRACK RECORD, UH, YOU KNOW, WOULD DEMONSTRATE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR, WE, WE BELIEVE OUR PRICING IS FAIR AND, AND WE THINK COMPETITION IS GOOD.
COMMISSIONER RICE AND THE RESPONSE COMMISSIONER KUPE.
LET'S TRY SEE IF WE CAN GET THAT, UH, QUESTION ANSWERED AGAIN.
SO ACTUALLY I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
UH, ONE IS, OF COURSE, UH, RELATING TO HOW YOU'RE DISSEMINATING THE CONNECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO GO TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST, LIKE AROUND CAMERON ROAD AND 180 3, WHERE THE ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER IS SPECIFICALLY, I'M INTERESTED IN THE ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER BECAUSE IT IS A RESOURCE CENTER WHERE THEY SERVE MANY, MANY GROUPS OF PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY SENIOR CITIZENS, MANY OF WHOM COULD USE, UH, MORE UPDATED TRAINING ON HOW TO ACCESS THE INTERNET, HOW TO USE BROADBAND, ET CETERA.
SO ANY COMMENTS ON THAT? YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, I DIDN'T HEAR THE FIRST VERSION.
THE QUESTION WAS IS, YOU KNOW, IS, UH, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO SERVE THE RESOURCE CENTER, UH, IF OUR NETWORK IS IN THE VICINITY MOST LIKELY, AND IT IS A CITY FACILITY, SO WE WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN, IN POTENTIALLY MAKING THAT A, A COMMUNITY CONNECTION.
I THINK THAT THAT AREA IS NOT QUITE BUILT OUT YET.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S ON THE WAY.
CERTAINLY, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'LL GET THERE, BUT, UH, I CAN TRY TO VERIFY THAT, UH, AND SEE, AND SEE WHERE WE ARE.
WE, UH, PROVIDE SERVICE TO OTHER COMMUNITY CENTERS,
[00:45:01]
UH, AS OUR NETWORK HAS PASSED THEM.I THINK, UH, UH, PROBABLY THE MOST RECENT WAS, UH, UH, THE GUS GARCIA, UH, CENTER THERE, AND KINDA THE RUNDBERG LAMAR.
I THINK WE'VE CONNECTED THAT ONE, UH, CANTU, WHICH IS RIGHT DOWN THE STREET.
UH, I CAN, CAN'T THINK OF OTHERS AT THE MOMENT, BUT YEAH, CER CERTAINLY WE'D BE INTERESTED IF, IF OUR NETWORK'S IN THE VICINITY.
DO YOU MEAN YOUR COMMENT ABOUT, UH, HUBS AND, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT ONCE YOU LAID THE WIRE DOWN, OKAY, LET'S TRY AGAIN.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, REFERRING BACK TO YOUR COMMENT THAT ONCE YOU LAID THE CABLE, YOU KNOW, THE FIBER OPTIC CABLE DOWN, UH, YOU CAN GO TO ANY SPEED, YOU KNOW, ONE GIG, TWO GIGS, FOUR GIGS, ET CETERA.
AND YOU'RE RIGHT, BECAUSE FIBER OPTICS IS ABOUT THE CLOSEST TO NEAR PERFECT COMMUNICATION, BUT SPECIFIC TO YOUR HUB, IS THE HUB SOMETHING THAT IS SPECIFIC TO A CUSTOMER WHERE IF HE OR SHE WANTS TO GO FROM TWO GIGS TO FOUR GIGS, YOU JUST CHANGE ONE PIECE OF CIRCUITRY AND HE OR SHE'S RUNNING AT FOUR GIGS.
I'M SURE YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE CIRCUITRY IN THE HUB, RIGHT? UM, IF, AND YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE ME BECAUSE, UH, WE DON'T OFFER THE FIVE OR EIGHT GIG IN AUSTIN YET HERE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? SUMMIT? WELL, UH, COMMISSIONER DAPA, CAN YOU HEAR ME? COMMISSIONER DA? CAN YOU HEAR ME? COMMISSIONER, CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN THE OTHER ONLINE COMMISSIONER HERE? UH, I, I CAN'T SEE THE FACES RIGHT NOW.
WELL, UH, WHAT WAS THE IDEA? I, I THINK WE NEED SOME IDEAS RIGHT NOW.
IT ONT ONT ITT ITT TAPE SHOULD BE WORKING NOW.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU HEAR ME, COMMISSIONER? YES.
COMMISSIONER CLARK, YOU CAN HEAR US? CAN YOU HEAR ME? THAT MIC'S WORKING.
UH, COMMISSIONER DOK, UH, UH, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO ASK THIS QUESTION IF YOU CAN HEAR US, AND THEN WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO MOVE ON.
I THINK, I THINK I HEARD THE QUESTION, SO I, OKAY.
IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND ANSWER.
UM, AND YOU'LL HAVE TO FORGIVE ME BECAUSE WE DO NOT YET OFFER FIVE AND A GIG GIG SERVICE IN AUSTIN, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S ON ITS WAY.
UM, BUT YEAH, OVER TIME, AS WE BEGIN TO OFFER HIGHER SPEED SERVICES, WE WILL LIKELY HAVE TO START CHANGING OUT EQUIPMENT, UH, BOTH IN THE RESIDENCE HOME AND, UH, ALSO IN OUR, IN OUR NETWORK, UH, FACILITIES LIKE THE HUT THAT'S RIGHT HERE, YOU KNOW, UH, AS IT STANDS, YOU KNOW, TODAY, UH, FOR ONE AND TWO GIG SERVICE, UH, IT'S GENERALLY THE SAME EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND THE NETWORK, UH, THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE CITY CAN HANDLE FIVE AND EIGHT GIG, UH, SERVICE ON OUR END.
UH, BUT AS WE GET INTO 20 GIG, YOU KNOW, 50 GIG, A HUNDRED GIG, YOU KNOW, WE DO SEE THAT HAPPENING ONE DAY, WE WILL LIKELY HAVE TO CHANGE OUT, YOU KNOW, OUR EQUIPMENT, YOU KNOW, IN OUR, OUR FACILITIES TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
AND THEN LIKELY THE, WHAT WE CALL THE C P E, THE, THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S IN THE CONSUMER'S PREMISES, UH, AS THEY SIGN UP FOR THAT SERVICE.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, LIKE A LOT OF PROVIDERS OVER TIME, WE REFRESH THAT EQUIPMENT, EVEN IF YOU DON'T CHANGE SERVICE, JUST AS STUFF NEEDS TO BE REFRESHED.
YOU KNOW WHAT'S, WHAT STAYS GOOD THOUGH IS THE FIBER THAT'S IN THE GROUND.
[00:50:01]
OKAY, GREAT.WELL, JOHN MICHAEL CORTEZ, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YEAH, FOR THIS TIME.
DID YOU HAVE ONE MORE? ONE LAST QUESTION.
IS, IS THE OPTICAL NETWORK TERMINAL JUST LIKE ONE FOR THE COMMUNITY, OR IS IT LIKE PER, UH, YOU HAVE A QUESTION USING, UM, OKAY.
SO WHAT WE DO IS WE, WHEN WE'RE BUILDING OUR NETWORK IN A, IN A COMMUNITY OR IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, WILL, UH, PUT OUR PRIMARY RUNNING LINE, UH, DOWN THE STREET ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET NEAR THE CURB, AND THEN ABOUT EVERY OTHER HOME, RIGHT AROUND THE PROPERTY LINE, IN BETWEEN THE TWO HOMES, WE WILL HAVE A LATERAL, YOU KNOW, SERVICE LINE THAT GOES UNDER THE CURB.
UH, AND, UH, WE LEAVE SOME SLACK CABLE, UH, UH, FIBER, UH, IN A LITTLE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, BUT RIGHT IN BETWEEN HOMES.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE EITHER ONE OF THOSE RESIDENTS, IF THEY WANT TO CONNECT, CORRECT, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE WOULD HAVE A DROP THAT WOULD CONNECT UP THERE, UH, BE BURIED IN THE YARD, AND CONNECT UP TO THAT, UH, O N T THAT'S ON THE SIDE OF THEIR, WE CONNECT ANOTHER SIDE OF THEIR HOME.
AND THEN DEPENDING ON WHETHER THEY HAVE WIRING IN THEIR HOME, ET CETERA, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD EITHER USE THAT OR WIFI OR BOTH, UH, TO MAKE THEIR INTERIOR CONNECTIONS.
UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS THAT JOHN MICHAEL'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
UH, AND NEITHER IS GOOGLE FIBER, I DON'T THINK, FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
SO IF THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, I, I'M CONFIDENT WE'LL BE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP WITH HIM.
I'M AROUND WITH THOSE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD IN OUR AGENDA.
[5. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Briefing on Emergency Messaging Capabilities (Juan Ortiz – Homeland Security and Emergency Management)]
UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE, THE HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BRIEFING ON EMERGENCY MESSAGING CAPABILITIES BY BILL WILSON.THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
READY? HEAR ME? OKAY? UH, LET'S, YES, SIR.
GET A CONFIRM PERMISSION ON THE LINE.
EVERYONE, I SEE A NOD FROM COMMISSIONER CLARK.
COMMISSIONER RICE, CAN YOU HEAR US? YES.
SO I HAVE A SLIDE PRESENTATION TO GO WITH MINE.
WE'LL KIND OF FOLLOW THROUGH THE SLIDES AND I'LL ASK THAT WE KIND OF COVER ANY QUESTIONS AT THE END.
SO SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK TO ABOUT TODAY IS COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, SPECIFICALLY AS WE'RE REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY TO TRY TO RELAY INFORMATION THAT'S IMPORTANT DURING A DISASTER OR EVENT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ROLLED OUT RECENTLY IS OUR RADI CENTRAL TEXAS APP.
UH, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO BE ABLE TO REACH INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYBODY'S GONNA HAVE DIFFERENT ACCESS AND ACCESS POINTS AND WAYS THAT THEY GET INFORMATION.
SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO EVOLVE IN THE WAY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO REACH THE COMMUNITY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALIZED THAT WE COULD TRY IS A READY CENTRAL TEXAS APP.
THIS IS GREAT BECAUSE NOT ONLY DOES IT ALLOW US TO, UH, RELAY MESSAGES ALMOST INSTANTLY TO ANYBODY THAT HAS THEM, BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO CREATE MAPS OR SHOW OTHER INFORMATION THAT WE WANT TO RELAY.
SO I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO PUSH TO EVERYBODY THE READY CENTRAL TEXAS APP.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR IT.
UH, ONE OF OUR, OUR NEWER WAYS THAT WE HAVE TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY IMMUNITY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TALK WHILE THEY WORK ON THAT.
SO IF ANYONE HASN'T, UH, REACHED OUT, WE DO HAVE OUR RADI CENTRAL TEXAS WEBSITE.
UM, WITH THAT, THAT'S HOW YOU GO TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR NOTIFICATIONS.
CURRENTLY WE USE EVERBRIDGE, WHICH IS THROUGH THE COG AND COVERS 10 COUNTIES.
UH, AS WE TALK ABOUT EVERBRIDGE, I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY ON EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS BEFORE WE GO THERE.
SO, TECHNOLOGY REPRESENTS SOME GREAT BENEFITS TO US, BUT IT ALSO REPRESENTS SOME CHALLENGES.
SO IN THE PAST, WHENEVER IT CAME TO EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS, EVERYTHING WAS TIED TO RESIDENTIAL HOME LINES, AND IT WAS EASY FOR US TO TAP INTO BECAUSE IT WAS A SET DATABASE THAT EVERY COMMUNITY COULD DO, AND WE COULD HIT EVERYBODY'S ADDRESS WHETHER YOU WANTED TO SIGN UP OR NOT.
AS TECHNOLOGY HAS EVOLVED, AS WE KNOW, MOST PEOPLE NO LONGER HAVE HOME PHONE LINES.
THEY HAVE THEIR CELL PHONES, AND THEN YOU MAY CHANGE ADDRESSES, YOU RENT IN A LOCATION AND YOU LIVE THERE FOR SIX MONTHS, AND NOW YOU BUY A HOME AND YOU LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND SO THE QUESTION THEN IS HOW DO WE REACH YOU WITH THAT HAPPENING? SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE, WE CAN SKIP THIS ONE.
WE'RE GOING A LITTLE BIT OUTTA ORDER.
I'LL JUST TALK WITHOUT THE SLIDES.
SO WITH THAT, WE, WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS CURRENTLY EVERBRIDGE.
AGAIN, THAT'S THROUGH THE COG.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THERE IS THAT WHENEVER YOU SIGN UP FOR THIS SERVICE, IT'S GONNA BE SPECIFICALLY TIED TO AN ADDRESS.
[00:55:01]
IS YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR MORE THAN ONE LOCATION IF YOU'RE WANTING TO GET OUR ALERTS OR NOTIFICATIONS, BUT YOU'RE GONNA GET THOSE BASED ON THE ADDRESS THAT YOU ENTER.SO IF YOU WANT TO ENTER ONE FOR WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU CAN DO THAT.
IF YOU WANT TO ENTER ONE FOR WHERE YOU WORK, YOU'RE WELCOME TO DO THAT TOO.
WHENEVER YOU DO GO IN AND SIGN UP, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE OPTIONS FOR WHAT NOTIFICATIONS YOU RECEIVE.
SO WE CAN SEND STUFF FOR TORNADO WARNINGS, WE CAN DO IT FOR THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS, WE CAN DO IT FOR FLOODING.
AND WE DO GIVE YOU THE OPTION OF, OF OPTING IN OR OPTING OUT OF SOME OF THEM.
WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IS HIT YOU WITH NOTIFICATIONS THAT YOU'RE NOT WANTING, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE SOMETHING THAT YOU EVENTUALLY IGNORE AND TURN OFF.
AND NOW, WHENEVER WE'RE TRYING TO HIT YOU WITH, UH, SOME IMPORTANT EMERGENCY MESSAGING, YOU DON'T ANSWER OR GET THE MESSAGE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SEND.
I THINK THAT WE HAVE THIS LINEUP FOR, I PAUSE.
SO I PAUSE IS CONTROLLED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL VERSUS THE COG.
UM, IT HAS SOME BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE FACE WHENEVER WE USE EVERBRIDGE.
SO THE BENEFIT OF IPOS IS THAT IT'S GONNA HIT RADIO TOWERS OR CELL PHONE TOWERS.
SO WHENEVER WE GO IN AND SELECT A AREA, IT'S GONNA PICK THOSE TOWERS AND HIT ANYBODY THAT'S CONNECTED TO IT.
SO THAT SYSTEM DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'VE SIGNED UP OR NOT.
UH, THE DOWNSIDE OF THAT THOUGH, IS IT ALLOWS US, WE'RE NOT ALLOWED, WE CAN'T BE AS SPECIFIC WHENEVER WE'RE REACHING OUT TO AN AREA OR COMMUNITY.
SO IF WE'RE JUST HAVING AN IMPACT TO A CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOOD, IF I GO INTO IPOS AND SELECT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, THE SOFTWARE'S GONNA PICK THE TOWERS THAT CONNECT TO IT.
BUT PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ARE ALSO GOING TO GET THE SAME MESSAGE.
UH, SINCE IPOS IS CONTROLLED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL VERSUS LOCALLY, WE'RE ALSO MORE RESTRICTED ON WHAT WE CAN MESSAGE.
SO IN ORDER FOR US TO USE IPODS, THERE HAS TO BE A DIRECT THREAT TO LIFE OR PROPERTY, OR ELSE WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE THAT SYSTEM.
UM, THE, THE IMAGE THAT WE HAVE LET YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S THE SAME SYSTEM THAT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE USES.
SO IF YOU'VE RECEIVED A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALERT, THAT'S GONNA BE THE IPOD SYSTEM.
AGAIN, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT CRITERIA THAT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS TO GO THROUGH IN ORDER, IN ORDER TO ACTIVATE THAT SYSTEM.
THOSE ARE JUST SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THOSE TWO SYSTEMS CAN WORK TOGETHER.
SO EVERBRIDGE HAS THE ABILITY TO TAKE MESSAGES THAT ARE SENT THROUGH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OR OTHER NOTIFICATIONS AND AUTOMATICALLY FORWARD THEM TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE REGISTERED.
SO WHERE THAT BENEFITS US IS IT DOESN'T TAKE SOMEONE RECEIVING A MESSAGE, MAKING THE DECISION THEN TO SEND IT AND GOING INTO A DIFFERENT SYSTEM TO SEND THAT MESSAGE OUT.
SO AGAIN, WE DID TALK ABOUT THE ABILITY TO REGISTER FOR DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT UH, WE'RE ALSO WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE COG TO KINDA MAKE THE DETERMINATION ON WHAT THINGS WE WANT TO BE AUTO FORWARDED AND NOT GO BACK TO THE LAST.
SO, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE SYSTEM ALLOWS US TO DO IS WE CAN REACH YOU NOT ONLY VIA CELL PHONE, VIA PHONE CALL, BUT WE CAN ALSO DO IT THROUGH TEXT MESSAGE OR EMAIL, UH, WHENEVER A DISASTER HAPPENS, WE USE ALL THREE TO SEND IT.
WE ALSO TRY TO SEND IT IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
UH, WE'RE FASTER IN DOING IT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, BUT WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING ON, UH, MAKING ADJUSTMENTS SO THAT WE CAN QUICKLY SEND IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES AS WELL.
THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF THE DATABASE THAT'S CURRENTLY IN EVERBRIDGE.
UM, WHENEVER WE FIRST SWITCHED OVER TO THIS SYSTEM, WE WERE HAVING TO GET EVERYONE TO DIRECTLY SIGN UP.
SO FOR YEARS WE DIDN'T HAVE THE LARGEST NUMBERS WHENEVER IT CAME TO, UH, PEOPLE THAT WERE REGISTERED TO RECEIVE OUR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS.
WE HAVE SINCE TEAMED UP WITH THE VENDOR AND THEIR JOB IS TO GO OUT AND GET INFORMATION AND START TYING PEOPLE'S CELL PHONES TO THOSE SPECIFIC ADDRESSES FOR US.
SO WITH THAT, AS OF LAST YEAR, OUR REGISTERED USERS IN EVERBRIDGE FOR THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY AREA, WERE 1.5 MILLION.
WE'VE SINCE INCREASED THAT TO 1.6 MILLION.
I CAN REMEMBER BACK AT THE BEGINNING WE WERE TALKING 40 AND 50,000 PEOPLE.
SO THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE OVER WHERE WE WERE PROBABLY SEVEN TO 10 YEARS AGO.
JUST A REMINDER THAT EVEN THOUGH WE DO WORK WITH VENDORS TO TRY TO GET EVERYONE'S INFORMATION, THE BEST THING IS FOR EVERYONE TO GO IN INDIVIDUALLY AND DO THAT SIGN UP.
AGAIN, THAT CAN BE DONE@WARRENCENTRALTEXAS.ORG.
AND WHENEVER YOU SIGN UP, UM, JUST REMEMBER THAT
[01:00:02]
YOU CAN SELECT THINGS THAT YOU DO WANT TO GET.YOU CAN ALSO REGISTER LOVED ONES IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO, BUT IF YOU'RE GONNA DO THAT, UH, MAKE SURE THAT YOU LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU'RE DOING IT.
WE DON'T WANT THEM REACHING OUT, WONDERING WHY THEY'RE GETTING MESSAGES FROM US WHENEVER THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY WERE GONNA BE SIGNED UP FOR THE SERVICE.
SO IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO REGISTER YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, BUT IF YOU'RE GONNA DO IT, PASS ALONG TO THEM THAT YOU'RE DOING.
SO THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF WHENEVER YOU DO SIGN UP, THE OPTIONS THAT YOU HAVE FOR OPTING INTO OR OUT OF WHENEVER IT COMES TO MESSAGES THAT WE PASS ALONG THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
AND THIS ONE'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF AN AMBER ALERT.
UM, THE AMBER ALERTS ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY OUR OFFICE, THAT'S CONTROLLED BY THE STATE.
SO THE STATE MAKES, UH, ANY AMBER ALERTS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS ARE DONE THROUGH THE STATE OPERATIONS CENTER.
IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT PROCESS MORE EXPEDIENT, WE, WE LET A P D FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND T C S O FOR THE COUNTY CAN INTERFACE DIRECTLY WITH THE STATE.
UH, THERE'S CERTAIN CRITERIA THAT, AGAIN, HAS TO BE MET FOR THOSE TWO.
UH, I DON'T HAVE THE CRITERIA IN FRONT OF ME, SO I, I DON'T WANT TO GUESSTIMATE WHAT THOSE ARE, BUT JUST AN EXAMPLE OF USING THAT, THAT ALERT SYSTEM, I BELIEVE THAT'S THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
THERE'S SOME OTHER SOFTWARE THAT WE USE FOR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
UH, THE SPOKE SYSTEM IS ONE OF THEM.
THAT'S ONE THAT WE USE PRIMARILY FOR ACTIVATIONS OF THE E O C.
UH, IT ALLOWS US TO REACH OUR STAKEHOLDERS FOR INSTANT NOTIFICATION.
UH, THAT SYSTEM IS ONE THAT WE'VE NOTICED THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT THERE WERE MULTIPLE MESSAGING PLATFORMS THAT WERE BEING USED AT THE SAME TIME BY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
SO WE'VE BEEN PART OF A PROJECT TO PULL THE DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER TO SEE IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE THE CITY OF AUSTIN SOME MONEY, IF WE ALL USE THE SAME SOFTWARE VERSUS USING MULTIPLE DIFFERENT PLATFORMS. SO THAT'S A PROCESS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY IN.
I DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES ON WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS, BUT, UH, SOMETHING I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO FOR THE CITY.
WITH THAT, I'LL PAUSE AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, AGAIN, FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND FOR, UH, THAT PRESENTATION, I KNOW THAT, UH, UH, WE DID RECEIVE A SIMILAR VERSION, UH, UH, OF THE PRESENTATION, IF NOT, UH, THE EXACT SAME ONE FROM, UH, JUAN ORTIZ.
UH, I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION, UM, PERTAINING TO THE PROCUREMENT OR, UH, ACQUISITION PROCESS OF GETTING, UH, THOSE ADDITIONAL NAMES AND LIST, UH, PARTICULARLY IN, IN LIGHT OF THAT MAP.
UM, I WISH WE COULD REFERENCE IT, BUT, UH, AS I'M SURE YOU RECALL, IT'S VERY DENSE IN CERTAIN AREAS AND JUST DEVOID AND OTHERS.
AND, UH, THE QUESTION DIDN'T OCCUR TO ME BEFORE, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS, UH, DOES THAT MEAN IT'S A LACK OF ACCESS TO DATA ENTIRELY? OR, OR WHAT, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? UH, IT'S A LACK OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE REGISTERED SPECIFICALLY TO THOSE ADDRESSES.
UM, WE'RE HAPPY WITH THE STRIDES THAT WE'VE MADE BY BRINGING THE VENDOR IN.
OUR NUMBERS HAVE CERTAINLY, UH, INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY BECAUSE OF THAT EFFORT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE REALIZE THERE STILL ARE CHALLENGES WHENEVER IT COMES TO REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO SO DURING A DISASTER.
WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO HEAR DIRECTLY AND IMMEDIATELY FROM US, AND DO OUR BEST TO NOT HAVE THEM TO GO SEARCH FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO TRY TO ADDRESS THAT, UH, OUR PIO GROUP HAS DONE PREPAREDNESS POPUPS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT IN EVERY DISTRICT IN THE, THE CITY.
AND THEN ONCE A YEAR, WE KIND OF HAVE A, A LARGER SCALE ONE, AND THAT'S OUR OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THIS INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC AS THEY COME TO US.
UH, WE, WE PUSH PREPAREDNESS KITS.
WE REMIND THEM TO GO SIGN UP, NOT ONLY FOR THEMSELVES, BUT TALK TO YOUR LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY, UH, WHENEVER IT COMES TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AS WELL, DURING A LARGE DISASTER OR EVENT, KNOWING YOUR NEIGHBORS.
THIS ALSO APPLIES TO TALKING TO THEM ABOUT PREPAREDNESS AND OPTIONS FOR, FOR COMMUNICATIONS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN DO TO HELP US HELP YOU DURING A DISASTER OR EVENT.
JESSE, IS IT POSSIBLE TO, TO GO TO SHOW THAT SLIDE AT ALL BY CHANCE? UH, CAUSE I DIDN'T WANNA, IT, IT, IT MIGHT BE RISKY, BUT
I DON'T, I DUNNO WHERE HE HAS.
LET'S, LET'S NOT, UH, RISK IT.
BUT I DO WANT TO ASK ONE THING BECAUSE, UH, I NOW LIVE IN ONE OF THOSE AREAS THAT HAS A COMPLETE DEVOID OF SIGNUPS.
UH, BUT I, I KNOW FROM LIVING IN THE AREA THAT IT'S ALSO AN AREA THAT HAS PUBLICLY POSTED SIGNS, THE POLICE SURVEILLANCE.
AND I CAN IMAGINE HOW THOSE TWO THINGS COMBINED COULD BE A CHALLENGE.
UH, IF SOMEONE'S ALREADY FEELING LIKE THEY'RE BEING SURVEILLED OR OUTRIGHT BEING TOLD OR BEING SURVEILLED, AND THEN THEY'RE OFFERED AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING THAT IS A VALUABLE SERVICE,
[01:05:01]
BUT YET, UH, COULD ONLY MAKE THEM MORE SUSPICIOUS, COULD YOU MAYBE ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES? YEAH, AND THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.UM, SO AGAIN, WHERE THE, WHERE OUR SYSTEM DIFFERS FROM IPODS, IPODS IS GONNA CONNECT YOU TO CELL PHONE TOWERS.
IT DOESN'T WORK IN A TRACKING THING, EVEN FROM THE IPOS PERSPECTIVE.
BUT OURS IS STRICTLY A DATABASE THAT TIES YOU TO A LOCATION.
UM, IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT PERSONAL INFORMATION, IT'S VERY LIMITED ON WHAT IT ASKS, AND NO ONE'S GONNA GO IN AND CONFIRM IT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
SO IF, IF YOU LIVE AT AN ADDRESS AND YOU WANT TO GET INFORMATION, BUT YOU HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT PRIVACY OR ANYTHING ELSE, OBVIOUSLY IT'S IMPORTANT.
IF YOU'RE WANTING TO RECEIVE EMAILS, WE NEED AN EMAIL ADDRESS THAT YOU'RE GONNA GET.
IF YOU'RE WANTING TO RECEIVE TEXT OR PHONE CALLS, WE NEED A PHONE NUMBER THAT WILL REACH YOU.
BUT AS FAR AS WHAT NAME YOU PUT DOWN OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT, THE DATABASE ISN'T USED TO, TO LOOK AT ANY OF THOSE THINGS.
SO THOSE POPUPS COULD BE EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL FOR, FOR THAT.
I KNOW THIS DON, THE OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER, UH, VICE CHAIR, DOCTOR.
THANKS AGAIN FOR, UH, FOR COMING, GIVING THIS BRIEFING.
UH, I HAD A RELATED QUESTION TO THAT.
SO YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT THERE'S MULTIPLE WAYS, UM, ADDRESS CONTACT INFORMATION CAN BE INGESTED.
CERTAINLY GOING IN WITH THE END USER, UH, SIGNING UP.
YOU HAD ALSO MENTIONED THAT EVERBRIDGE IS DOING THE WORK TO ON, ON THE BACK END TO, TO REGISTER PEOPLE, UH, WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A FACT THAT, UM, MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED ARE, ARE NEVER GOING TO HEAR ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN UP FOR THESE SYSTEMS. SO I'M WONDERING WHAT EVERBRIDGE IS DOING AND PERHAPS IS PART OF THEIR CONTRACT TO FOCUS IN ON THESE HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THESE FOLKS THAT PROBABLY HAVE, UM, ARE UNLIKELY TO, TO HEAR ABOUT THESE, THESE OPPORTUNITIES GO TO THESE POPUPS, UH, ARE INCLUDED IN THE DATA SETS.
I CAN'T ANSWER SPECIFICALLY FOR EVERBRIDGE.
I CAN JUST SPEAK TO WHAT OUR OFFICE IS DOING.
AND SO, AGAIN, THE FIRST STEP THAT WE'VE HAD IS, UH, THE POPUP SPECIFICALLY TO OUR OFFICE.
CERTAINLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LEARNED THROUGH OUR COVID RESPONSE IS THE COMMUNICATIONS AND, UH, RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU BUILD IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO ANOTHER VALUABLE WAY TO GET INFORMATION TO PEOPLE IS LEARN WHAT THEIR, THEIR COMMUNITY CIRCLES ARE.
UH, SOMETIMES IT'S THROUGH CHURCHES, OTHER GROUPS WHERE YOU CAN GO.
AND AS LONG AS YOU'RE HITTING THAT GROUP AND, AND THEY'RE PASSING THE WORD TO EACH OTHER AGAIN, IS THAT AS, AS FAST OR EFFECTIVE AS DIRECTLY RECEIVING A TEXT MESSAGE OR PHONE CALL? NO, IT'S NOT.
BUT THAT'S BETTER THAN NOT GETTING THE INFORMATION AT ALL.
SO WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO REACH OUT TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, UH, DIFFERENT GROUPS TO TRY TO BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITHOUT GOING TOO MUCH DOWN THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SIDE, BUT, BUT TRUST BUILDING THE TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE OUR MESSAGE AND ACT ON IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS ANYTHING ELSE TOO.
THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION AND FOR THAT RESPONSE, UH, I'M GONNA LOOK ON, ON HERE.
I SEE COMMISSIONER SUPTA HAS HIS HAND RAISED, UH, COMMISSIONER SUPTA.
UM, UM, UM, OKAY, SO, UM, WHILE YOU WERE SPEAKING, I WENT AND DO, UH, DOWNLOADED THE APP ONTO TO MY SMARTPHONE AND, UH, UH, ASKED ME TO PROGRAM IT.
AND I'M GONNA BE CUSTOMIZING IT TO MY NEEDS LATER.
UH, BUT WHENEVER THERE'S A AMBER ALERT, I GET IT ON MY SMARTPHONE AND MY SMART KEY.
SO DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE ALREADY CONNECTED? SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT WHENEVER YOU GET AN AMBER ALERT, YOU GET IT ON YOUR SMARTPHONE, BUT YOU MAY ALSO GET IT THROUGH ALTERNATIVE MESSAGING? NO, NO.
SO DOES THAT MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE SAYING THAT, UH, YOU'VE HIRED THIS, UH, COMPANY TO GET ALL OF THE CELL PHONES, UH, LOGGED INTO YOUR SYSTEM.
SINCE I GET THE AMBER ALERT, DOES THAT MEAN I'M IN YOUR LIST? DON'T TO DO ANYTHING, IS WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SYSTEM THAT IS USED FOR YOU TO RECEIVE AMBER ALERTS VERSUS WHAT WE ARE DOING COMMUNITY-WISE WITH EVERBRIDGE? IS THAT CORRECT? YES.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT.
AND THAT WE, THERE'S BASICALLY TWO SYSTEMS THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO.
UH, THE EVERBRIDGE ONE IS ONE THAT TIES YOU TO A SPECIFIC ADDRESS.
[01:10:01]
BENEFIT OF EVERBRIDGE IS SINCE WE CONTROL THAT MORE LOCALLY, AND WHENEVER I SAY THAT, I MEAN IT IS A PART OF THE COG, BUT WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE FREEDOM AS TO WHAT MESSAGING THAT WE, WE PUSH THROUGH THAT, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE YOU MORE OPTIONS ON WHAT YOU DO OR DON'T SIGN UP FOR.BUT IT WILL ALWAYS BE A PLATFORM THAT WE USE FOR EMERGENCY MESSAGING.
THAT'S GONNA BE THE TYPE OF SYSTEM THAT YOU RECEIVE YOUR AMBER ALERTS THROUGH.
THAT ONE IS THE SYSTEM THAT'S TIED TO, IT'S GONNA, THE MESSAGE IS GONNA GO TO A CELL PHONE TOWER, AND THEN THAT CELL PHONE TOWER IS GONNA PUSH THOSE MESSAGES OUT TO ANY CELL PHONES.
THAT ONE, YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW SOMEONE'S ADDRESS.
IT'S SIMPLY DO THEY HAVE RECEPTION TO A CELL PHONE TOWER THAT'S BEEN IN A DESIGNATED AREA TO RECEIVE THAT MESSAGE.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES, INDEED.
UH, COMMISSIONER ROSS, DOES HE, LEADING IN, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I DO NOT.
MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR, UH, WE ARE
[6. Quarterly Legislative Update (Khotan Harmon, Senior Program Manager, Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs of the Financial Services Department) ]
NOW GOING TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, THE QUARTERLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE BY HOAN HARMAN, SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS OF FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.HELLO? THERE WAS THERE WAS THERE WAS THERE WAS, THERE WAS, THERE WAS, THERE WAS, WAS, WAS, WAS, WAS, SHALL I TRY AGAIN? YEAH, IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING.
SO THERE IS A DOCUMENT IN, UH, THE PACKET THAT WAS, UH, SENT OUT BY DAN EARLIER TODAY.
AND IN IT, IT HAS A FEW UPDATES.
THERE'S DEFINITELY A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, BUT A COUPLE OF VERY QUICK UPDATES, UH, AROUND WHAT'S GOING ON FOR YOU ALL.
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATION COMMISSION HAS RELEASED THE NEXT VERSION OF CHAIR PITS.
SHOULD I CONTINUE? I'M NOT QUITE SURE THERE'S AN ECHO HOAN.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? UH, GIMME ONE, PAUSE ONE SECOND.
CAN WE CHECK WITH AT X N OR DOUG TO TURN THIS SPEAKER UP? BUT TURN THAT TV DOWN.
WELL, WE CAN TURN THAT TV DOWN.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HEAR, THOUGH.
SO WE HAVE A SPEAKER THAT'S, UNLESS IT'S AN ECHO I'M HEARING.
CAUSE A LOT OF WE TURN THIS UP.
SO IS IT JUST AN ECHO I'M HEARING UP HERE? OKAY, WELL THEN, UH, ENTIRE THING THERE IS THAT WE'RE NOW SEEING A REPLICA OF THE ENTIRE THING THERE.
IS THAT PART OF OUR PROBLEM AT ALL? HEARD? NO.
[01:15:02]
OKAY, THEN, UH, HOAN.OKAY THEN, UH, HOAN, I'M MUTED HERE.
HOAN, CAN YOU HEAR US? CAN AWESOME.
I'M GETTING A NOTE TO TRY TO SPEAK.
UH, IS THERE AN ECHO AT THIS END? AT YOUR END CHAIR PITS? CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? CHAIR PITS? YEAH.
CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF YOU COULD, UH, MUTE.
I THINK YOU KNOW, IF YOU COULD, UH, MUTE, UH, WHAT IS THE BOX CALLED? CHARLES? I'M LOOKING AT ALL THE PANELISTS.
THE ONLY ONE THAT'S UNMUTED IS CHARLES.
IF YOU COULD MUTE THAT, I THINK THAT WOULD TAKE CARE OF PART OF THE PROBLEM.
IS THERE A WAY TO FORCE THE, TO THE, IS THERE A WAY TO FORCE FORCE THE, TO THE, TO THE, TO THE, TO THE, THE, I NOTICE THERE'S A SPEAKER UNDER CHARLES IN THE LINE.
I NOTICE THERE'S A SPEAKER UNDER CHARLES KOAN IN THE LINE ITEM CALLED CHARLES IS EVERY TIME KOAN, THE SPEAKER STARTS TRANSLATING.
UH, IS THAT BETTER? DOES THAT WORK?
[01:21:22]
IS THE MICRO COMPUTER OR IS IT CONNECTED TO ANYTHING ELSE? UH, THAT'S WHAT I WAS WELL, LET'S DOUBLE CHECK, BUT, UH, OKAY.IS THERE AN ECHO? THAT SOUNDS BETTER, I THINK.
IS IT TOO LOW? DO I NEED TO MAKE IT LOUDER OR IS IT GOOD? OKAY.
JESSIE, DO YOU NEED ME TO START? YES.
WITH YOUR PERMISSION SHARE PITS.
SO, UM, THIS IS A QUICK UPDATE.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK THINGS BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE POLICY UPDATE.
UH, FCC HAS RELEASED THE NEXT VERSION OF THE NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP.
THE MAP INDICATES AVAILABILITY DATA, UH, THAT IS REPORTED BY THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2022.
AND N T I A WILL USE THIS DATA ADDITIONAL TO THEIR OWN FUNDING ALLOCATION, UH, DETERMINATION FOR HIGH COST AREAS TO MAKE FUNDING DECISIONS.
AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FUNDING IS EXPECTED AROUND JUNE 30TH.
SO TEXAS, BY THE NUMBERS SO FAR, TOTAL BROADBAND SERVICEABLE LOCATIONS ARE 9 MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN, FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY ONE AND TOTAL UNSERVED LOCATIONS BY THE DEFINITION OF THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICES, NOFO IS, UH, SEVEN HUNDRED SEVENTY SEVEN TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY 7,000.
THAT MEANS ABOUT 7.98% OF TEXAS IS UNSERVED.
THERE'S A CASCADING PRIORITY FOR FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND UNSERVED WILL BE SERVED FIRST.
NOW ABOUT 7.98% SEEMS QUITE LOW.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN OTHER AREAS IN THE UNITED STATES AT THIS POINT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND AS IT COMES TO FUNDING.
AS YOU KNOW, THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT THAT CONGRESS AUTHORIZED 1.2 TRILLION FOR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING AND 550 BILLION TOWARDS NEW INVESTMENT AND PROGRAMS. THIS IS A HISTORIC, UH, INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE IN UNITED STATES.
AND 42 AND A HALF BILLION OF THAT IS FOR STATES TO GRANT FOR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT.
[01:25:01]
UM, TEXAS RECEIVED ABOUT 8.1 MILLION FOR INITIAL PLANNING OF ACTIVITIES.AND BEAD ALLOCATION ANNOUNCEMENT IS EXPECTED ON JUNE 30TH.
WE'RE EXPECTING ANYWHERE FROM TWO TO 5 BILLION IN TEXAS AND THE DELIVERABLES IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO DRAW DOWN THAT FUNDING.
AUGUST 28TH, THERE'S A FIVE YEAR ACTION PLAN THAT IS DUE AND DECEMBER 1ST.
THE STATE OF TEXAS DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN IS DUE.
I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN IS IN LIEU OF DIGITAL, UM, EQUITY PLAN IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
INSTEAD OF EQUITY, WE NEED HAVE TO NOW USE THE WORD OPPORTUNITY.
SO THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN IS THE SAME AS THE DIGITAL EQUITY PLAN AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM FUNDS ARE EXPECTED IN 2024 AT THE EARLIEST, POSSIBLY LATER.
SO, A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT, UM, THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.
WE WORK WITH THEM VERY CLOSELY, AND THERE IS A PUBLIC SURVEY THAT IS GOING TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS, UH, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE COMMUNITY, THE BUSINESSES, AND ISPS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
UH, THE DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, JUNE 16TH.
HOWEVER, THE SURVEY WILL REMAIN OPEN THROUGH THE SUMMER.
ONLY RESPONSES RECEIVED BY THIS FRIDAY WILL BE USED TO INFORM THE FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN, AND BDO WILL USE THE SURVEYS COMPLETED AFTER THIS FRIDAY TO INFORM THEIR DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN.
THEY'RE TRYING TO GATHER AS MUCH DATA WHILE ADHERING TO TIAA'S DEADLINES.
THAT'S WHY THE DEADLINE IS THIS FRIDAY.
THE LINK IS IN THE DOCUMENT IF YOU GET A CHANCE.
AND IF YOU HAVEN'T AS AN INDIVIDUAL COMPLETED THAT SURVEY, WE'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT.
THE CITY OF BOSTON IS COMPLETING THE SURVEY BY THE DEADLINE.
UM, THERE ARE REGIONAL WORKING GROUPS, UH, THAT THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE HAS CREATED, AND THESE ARE BASED ON THE 12 ECONOMIC REGIONS IN TEXAS TO PROVIDE LOCAL INSIGHTS TO THE B D O FOR DATA AND PLANNING.
UH, THESE GROUPS WILL COORDINATE EVENTS, HAVE LISTENING SESSIONS, AND VERY FOCUSED ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND SURVEYS AND COMMUNICATION FROM THE B D O WILL BE COMMUNICATED WITH THE COMMUNITIES.
IT IS CHAIRED BY THE COGS IN THE, AND IN OUR AREA, CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS IS SERVING AS A CHAIR AND CITY OF AUSTIN IS REPRESENTED.
CHAIR PITS AND MYSELF ARE ON THIS WORKING GROUP AND TRAVIS COUNTY, CHLOE MON IS SERVING AS ON THIS WORKING GROUP AS WELL.
NOW, UH, WE'LL JUST JUMP INTO THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATES UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUICK QUESTIONS AROUND ANYTHING THAT WAS DISCUSSED.
CHAIR, WE ARE NOT HEARING CHAIR PITS.
I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THERE ABOUT 8% PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT CONNECTED.
THERE'S ABOUT 8%, WHICH IS ABOUT 700,000 PEOPLE, DEPENDING HOW THEY'RE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
UH, YOU MAY HAVE TO PUT DOWN WIRES, YOU MAY HAVE TO BUILD UP EQUIPMENT, ET CETERA.
PUT TWO AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS COVER ALL OF THAT.
IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW THEY'RE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
AND SO BY SOME ESTIMATES, THIS IS A 35 TO 36 BILLION PROBLEM.
AND WE ARE GOING TO GET ABOUT TWO TO 5 BILLION TO SOLVE IT.
SO THERE IS GOING TO BE THE NEED FOR PRIORITIZING CERTAIN AREAS AND THE UNSERVED AREAS ARE THE PRIORITIES FOR FUNDING AT THIS POINT.
I THINK THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MAY GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER DA GUPTA ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING TO TRY TO ADD ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UH, IF WITH YOUR PERMISSION, I'LL GO FORWARD ON THAT.
THE A D EIGHT TEXAS LEGISLATURE HAS PASSED FOUR BILLS.
WE WERE, UM, FOLLOWING 34 BILLS VERY CLOSELY.
AND THESE ARE THE ONES THAT AFFECT BROADBAND IN TEXAS.
SB 1243 WAS INTRODUCED BY SENATOR HOFFMAN OF HOUSTON.
THIS BILL FOCUSED ON THE FRANCHISE TAX TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BROADBAND GRANTS.
THIS MEANS THAT, UH, BUSINESSES, SO THE GRANTS ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO BUSINESSES WHO THEN HAVE TO PARTNER WITH, UH, MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ON THE GROUND IN ORDER TO, UM, DRAW DOWN THE FUNDS.
AND SO THE BUSINESSES WOULD'VE BEEN TAXED AT 20% OF WHATEVER FUNDS THEY RECEIVED.
SO THIS NOW HAS BEEN DONE AWAY WITH EFFECTIVE
[01:30:01]
IMMEDIATELY SB 1238, SENATOR NICHOLS OF TEXAS, WHO'S ONE OF THE CO-AUTHORS OF THE FAMOUS HB FIVE.IT UPDATED THE BDO PROGRAM AND MAPS, BUT TEXAS INTO ALIGNMENT WITH REQUIREMENTS FOR NATIONAL, THE FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO ENSURE TAX DOLLARS ARE USED AND SPENT IN AN EFFICIENT AND COORDINATED WAY.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT SIGNED THIS BILL, HB NINE, UH, WAS INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE ASHBY, WHO IS ONE OF THE OTHER CO-AUTHORS OF HB FIVE.
THIS BILL WAS CONSIDERED THE CLEANUP BILL FOR HB FIVE, ENSURING A CLEAR PATHWAY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDING OF BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES TO ENSURE FEDERAL FUNDING.
IT ALSO APPROPRIATED 5 BILLION TO SUPPORT THE COMPANION BILL, HR H J R 1 25, FOR THE CREATION OF THE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT ALSO SIGNED THIS BILL, THE H J R 1 25 REPRESENTED.
ASHBY ALSO INTRODUCED THAT COMPANION BILL.
IT PROPOSES A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND, AND IT CREATES THE FUND AS A COMPANION BILL TO HB NINE, FUNDED IT WITH 5 BILLION OF TEXAS FUNDS.
SO WHATEVER'S RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO BE MATCHED BY 5 BILLION FROM TEXAS.
NOW, THIS BILL HAS BEEN FILED WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, HOWEVER, IT WILL NEED TO BE APPROVED BY TEXAS VOTERS IN NOVEMBER.
SO THOSE ARE THE TEXAS UPDATES.
UM, WE DO WANT TO BRING, UH, ONE THING TO YOUR ATTENTION FROM CONGRESS.
IT'S FEDERAL LEGISLATION HR 32 91 SLASH 3 5 57.
THERE'S A LINK FOR IT IN THE DOCUMENTS.
AND WE ARE KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON THIS BILL BECAUSE IT WOULD ALLOW CABLE OPERATORS, FRANCHISEES TO MODIFY TERMS AND REQUIREMENTS IN FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS THAT THEY'VE ALREADY SIGNED, PROHIBIT STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM REVOKING CABLE FRANCHISE.
NOW, KEEP IN MIND, AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE CABLE FRANCHISE, BUT THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS DOES.
AND IT PREEMPTS STATE AND LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITY OVER THE PLACEMENT OF CELL PHONE TOWERS AND EQUIPMENT.
AND IT ELIMINATES STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY TO MANAGE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY AND TO COLLECT FAIR MARKET COMPENSATION FOR THE USE AND MANAGEMENT.
SO, UH, IT'S LIMITING R O W FEES FOR ACTUAL OBJECTIVELY REASONABLE COSTS.
AND IT PREEMPTS STATE AND LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITY OVER THE PLACEMENT OF SOME CABLE EQUIPMENT.
SO NOT ONLY AESTHETICS, BUT ALSO SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE COMMUNITIES IN QUESTION.
UH, THAT'S A PRETTY POWERFUL, UH, AN IMPACTFUL PIECE OF LEGISLATION.
UH, DO YOU WANNA ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS? YOU'RE ALMOST FINISHED, SO WE COULD PROBABLY JUST LET YOU CONTINUE AND THEN THANK YOU.
IT IS, UH, IT'S JUST CAME OUT OF THE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE AND IT WAS REFERRED TO THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE AND THE HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE.
THERE IS NO MOVEMENT ON THIS BILL AT THIS TIME, BUT WE ARE WATCHING IT VERY CLOSELY AND WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU MAY WANT TO, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, ALSO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS.
THE RESPONSE TO THE BILL HAS BEEN QUITE STRONG.
THE, THERE'S BEEN A LETTER OF OPPOSITION THAT WAS SIGNED BY THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES, AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TELECOM NATION TELECOMMUNICATION OFFICERS AND ADVISORS.
CITY OF AUSTIN, OF COURSE, IS A MEMBER OF MULTIPLE OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS.
SO WE ARE BY, IN INFERENCE, WE'RE INCLUDED IN THAT.
THERE'S ALSO BEEN LETTERS OF OPPOSITION FROM VARIOUS CITIES IN TEXAS, CITY OF DALLAS HAS GONE ON THE RECORD, AND OTHER CITIES ARE CONSULTING WITH THEIR INTERGOVERNMENTAL DEPARTMENTS ON NEXT STEPS, AS WE ARE AS WELL.
SO WE'RE MONITORING IT AND WHEN THE TIME COMES, IF AND WHEN NEEDED, WE WILL GO ON THE RECORD.
SO, CHAIR PITTS, THAT IS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
THANK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, STICKING WITH THIS, WITH THESE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
UH, YOU CAN HEAR ME COM COMMISSIONERS, CAN YOU HEAR ME AS WELL? OKAY, GREAT.
SO, UH, I GUESS JUST KIND OF GOING WHERE YOU REALLY GOT MY ATTENTION, UH, WITH, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR THESE UPDATES AND FOR KEEPING TRACK OF ALL THIS.
YOU KNOW, FIRST OFF, CUZ UH, AS YOU KNOW, SO MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE SO IMPACTFUL, UH, IN FACT, CHANGES LIKE THIS, UH, IN LEGISLATION, UH, LED TO, UH, REALLY THE MANY OF THE CHANGES WE DEAL WITH TODAY AND THE FOUNDATION, WHAT WE DEAL WITH TODAY.
UH, YOU COULD, SOME MIGHT SAY IT'S, IT'S BEEN AN EVOLUTION TO THIS POINT.
[01:35:01]
AND WITH JUST THAT LAST PIECE OF LEGISLATION IN MIND, UM, I, I'D LIKE TO GET YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND, AND ANY THOUGHTS ON, UH, WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S A, A WRITING ON THE WALL FIELD, UH, ABOUT THIS OR, UH, IF IT'S HINGING ON KEY THINGS THAT COULD, COULD SEND IT ONE DIRECTION OR THE OTHER, UH, AS IT RELATES TO, UH, THE ABILITY TO, TO ACTUALLY EFFECTIVELY MANAGE RIGHT AWAY AND, AND CON CONTROL THE FRANCHISES.UM, I THINK IT ALL HAS TO DO WITH LIMITING LOCAL CONTROL.
SO HOW MUCH CONTROL DOES THE CITY HAVE OVER ITS OWN JURISDICTION? I THINK THAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE.
THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE RESPONDING TO.
THERE IS A PROCESS, THERE'S A DIRECT, UH, TENSION BETWEEN PERMITTING AND DOING DUE DILIGENCE AND THE PROCESS.
AND I THINK THIS ALSO SPEAKS TO THAT.
UM, THERE'S SOME OF THE, UH, REASONS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED AROUND PERMITTING.
I MEAN, WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE A FIVE-YEAR PERMITTING PROCESS YET AT THE SAME TIME, THERE NEEDS TO BE THE DUE DILIGENCE FOR THE SECURITY AND SAFETY OF THE COMMUNITY FOR THESE TECHNOLOGIES AS WELL AS AESTHETICS FOR THE COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS THE CITIES HAVING JURISDICTION OVER THEIR OWN, UM, GEOGRAPHIES AS IT WERE.
SO YES, THE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL ACTUALLY COME OF THIS, BUT IT DOES SEEM TO TARGET ELIMINATING STATE AND LOCAL CONTROL.
UM, WE ARE A LITTLE BIT CONCERNED AROUND THAT, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFICS AT THIS TIME.
UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GIVE A CHANCE FOR OTHER COMMISSIONERS TO ASK QUESTIONS.
LET ME, I'D LIKE TO START WITH ANYONE THAT HASN'T ASKED THE QUESTION THAT MAY HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR THAT.
UH, I'LL HELP, UH, A LOT OF, UH, THESE UPDATES.
UH, WHAT CAN WE DO NOW TO HELP AS A COMMISSION OR TO RESPOND TO THIS IN LIGHT OF OUR FOCUS ON INCLUSION IN, IN LIGHT OF, UH, OUR CLEAR OBJECTIVES TO, UH, TRY TO ACHIEVE, UH, INCREASING BROADBAND ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY FOR EVERYONE.
WHAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION, IF YOU WOULD, UH, OF IN, IN A LOT OF YOUR EXPERTISE IN, IN RESPONSE TO THESE UPDATES, UH, FOR US TO REACT? ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK THE PUBLIC SURVEY IS A GREAT PLACE TO START, UH, TO GIVE INFORMATION TO THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AT THE STATE LEVEL AROUND THE EXPERIENCES THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE OF, SO THAT THEY GET THE REALITY OF THE COMMUNITY IF, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS WOULD FEEL THAT THIS IS THE RIGHT APPROACH, WE WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO KINDLY TAKE THAT SURVEY BEFORE FRIDAY SO THAT YOUR FEEDBACK IS INCLUDED IN THE FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE'RE ALIGNING VERY MUCH WITH THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AND SUPPORTING THEM IN THEIR WORK, UM, AT THE STATE LEVEL, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IN TEXAS, INCLUDING AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS IS BEING SERVED.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATES, WE FEEL, UM, VERY CONFIDENT THAT THE 88TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE PASSED THE RIGHT BILLS FOR BROADBAND.
THE FOUR THAT WERE PASSED ARE GOOD BILLS THAT PASSED.
WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH 35 57, BUT WE'RE GONNA KEEP AN EYE ON IT AND WE CAN SEND YOU REGULAR UPDATES.
UH, IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF ANY OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS, NATIONAL LEGAL CITIES, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES, IF YOU KNOW ANYONE, IT'S ALL IN THE, UH, NOTES FOR YOU ALL.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO CONTACT THEM AFTER UNDERSTANDING THE BILL A LITTLE BIT BETTER, OR AFTER YOU'RE GETTING UPDATES FROM US, WE CAN CERTAINLY SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
SO AT THIS POINT, THE BILL IS NOT MOVING.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN BEFORE RECESS HAPPENS FOR, UH, THE, THE FOR CONGRESS.
SO WE'LL SEE IN THE NEXT MONTH WHERE THIS GOES, BUT WE'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED ON IT.
UH, THAT WAS, UH, LIKE THE QUESTION.
VICE CHAIR DACA HAD THE SAME QUESTION.
I I, I KNOW ONE THING THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF, UH, THAT, UH, I'M CONFIDENT ALL THE COMMISSIONERS ARE AWARE OF, IS WE'RE ENGAGED IN TRYING TO
[01:40:01]
HOST A CONVENING HERE, UH, WITH MAJOR CHALLENGES IN MIND.UH, WE'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED ONES THAT WE'VE REALLY MADE THE FOCUS OF THE CO OF, UH, OF THE SUMMIT, THAT BEING THE DIGITAL INCLUSION STAKEHOLDER SUMMIT AROUND, UH, INFORMING OUR STRATEGIC PLANS BOTH AT THE CITY LEVEL AND TRAVIS COUNTY LEVEL AROUND, UH, TRYING TO ENABLE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, UH, AROUND, UH, CO INTERPRETATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA FROM EXISTING DATA SOURCES AND FORTHCOMING DATA SOURCES LIKE THE COMMUNITY CIRCLES, LIKE, UH, THE CAFES, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE WORLD CAFES.
UH, I'M WONDERING IF THIS SPEAKS TO AN OPPORTUNITY AND A NEED TO ADDRESS POLICY OUTRIGHT AS A PROGRAMMATIC EFFORT, UH, IN LIGHT OF DIFFERENT THINGS WE HAVE GOING ON LOCALLY, WHICH ARE DIRECTLY IN LINE, UH, WITH COMMITTEE GOALS, UH, WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT OR, UH, VISION ZERO OR OTHER, OR OTHER FUNDED PROJECTS.
I'M WONDERING IF, IF YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD WORK TO PULL TOGETHER A DIFFERENT GROUP AND WITH THE STATE WITH BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE ON THE PATHWAYS THAT THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED FOR ENGAGEMENT IN THIS PROCESS, ONE OF WHICH IS THE SURVEY.
AND AS THEY'VE SHARED WITH US, THE SURVEY WILL BE OPEN, UM, FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SUMMER AT LEAST, IF NOT LONGER.
SO IT MIGHT BE IF WHOEVER YOU'RE INVITING, IF YOU COULD ALSO PLEASE SHARE WITH THEM TO DO, GET ENGAGED AND TAKE THE SURVEY AND GIVE THEIR FEEDBACK AND LET THEIR VOICES BE HEARD IN THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLANNING, IF NOT IN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR THE STATE.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MIGHT BE OF, UH, USE.
THE OTHER IS THAT WE ARE KEEPING TRACK OF THIS FEDERAL BILL, AND IF AND WHEN ACTION IS NEEDED, WE CAN CERTAINLY CIRCLE BACK AND COORDINATE WITH YOU IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT RESPONSE WOULD BE FROM OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND TARA TEAM AS WELL AS THE COMMISSION.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR THAT RESPONSE.
UH, I'D LIKE TO GIVE OTHER COMMISSIONERS A CHANCE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS THEY MIGHT HAVE.
UH, I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME ADVANCED CAPABILITIES NOW.
UM, I'D LIKE TO START IN THE ROOM.
AND THEN LOOKING ONLINE, UH, I'D LIKE TO GIVE A, I SEE MARK AND AND SMITH SEEM FINE.
COMMISSIONER KUTA, ARE YOU GOOD WITH THIS UPDATE NOW? OKAY.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND FOR STICKING WITH US HERE, UM, AND FOR THIS UPDATE, WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND YOUR HARD WORK.
SO NOW MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR AGENDA, UH, OKAY.
UM, NEED TO HAVE, AT LEAST WHEN IT COMES VOTING TIME, I GUESS I NEED TO BE VISIBLE, BUT IT'S ODD TO, TO SHARE THE MEETING AND NOT VISIBLE.
SO NOW MOVING FORWARD WITH THE AGENDA, UH, THIS TAKES US TO DISCUSSION
[7. Work Plan Discussion and Working Group Assignments (Commission Discussion and Action) ]
AND ACTION ITEMS, UH, THE WORK PLAN DISCUSSION AND WORKING GROUP GROUP ASSIGNMENTS.SO, UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, WE HAVE, UH, THREE DIFFERENT REPORTS, UH, IN BEARING STAGES, UH, TWO THAT ARE FAIRLY COMPLETE, I WOULD SAY FROM THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION AND DATA OF STEWARDSHIP
[01:45:01]
WORKING GROUP AND, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION WORKING GROUP.UH, THE DIGITAL INCLUSION, UH, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC POLICY IMPACT WORKING GROUP IS ONE THAT WILL HAVE MANY LIVE, UH, ADDITIONS AND OR UPDATES TODAY, ALTHOUGH I'VE GOT, UH, A MORE UPDATED VERSION THAN THE ONE THAT'S BEEN, UH, IN, IN THE FILE, I SHOULD SAY.
HAVING SAID THAT, WE ALSO HAD AN EXERCISE WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF AGGREGATING INFORMATION.
UH, AND SO DAN, DO YOU HAVE THAT AGGREGATE? OKAY.
UH, UH, WHY DON'T YOU SHARE IT WITH ME AND THEN I'LL DECIDE HOW TO SHARE IT.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET JUST AN EMAIL TO THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE FULL ONE, UM, SO WE CAN SEE IT ON OUR OWN COMPUTERS? THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
UH, THAT'LL SAVE US A LITTLE TIME, I THINK.
I WANNA SEE EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING OUT TO MAKE SURE IT, IT'S THE BEST THING TO GO OUT.
UH, SO I'M GOING TO EITHER EMAIL YOU ONE MYSELF HERE SHORTLY, OR IF I LIKE WHAT DANCING'S OVER, I'LL SEND YOU THAT.
WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT, UH, I DON'T LIKE IT PER SE.
LIKE DAN SAID, IT WASN'T PRETTY NECESSARILY, UM, BUT AT LEAST WE'LL ALL BE LOOKING AT THE SAME THING.
UM, AND I WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO MAKE REAL TIME UPDATES HERE.
SO, UH, RATHER THAN ME SENDING THAT OUT, UH, ALTHOUGH I COULD, UM, HAVE A DIS DRAWER ALREADY READY TO GO, DAN, UH, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND SEND THAT OUT TO THE WHOLE COMMISSION, PLEASE.
NOW, THE CHALLENGE OF SHARING A SCREEN AND, OKAY.
SO AS LONG AS THAT CAMERA'S WORKING, THEN, UH, BUT'S THIS SCREEN I WANNA SHARE TOO.
UH, I'VE GOT SHARING PRIVILEGES FROM WEBEX, UM, RIGHT.
DO I NEED PERMISSION FOR THAT? YEAH, I'VE GOT OPTION HERE ALREADY.
I DON'T, YEAH, IT'S WORKING FINE, BUT LET'S SEE.
[01:50:35]
OKAY.SO, YEAH, I GUESS OUTTA NECESSITY, I THINK I NEED TO HAVE TO HAVE, I'M GONNA HAVE TO HAVE YOU SHARE, DAN, BECAUSE I DON'T, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE EACH OTHER'S COMMISSIONERS, FA UH, EACH OTHER, AND YOU HAVE ENOUGH COMPUTERS IN THE ROOM WHERE WE CAN HANDLE THAT.
LIKE, YOU CAN SEE EVERYBODY OVER THERE, RIGHT.
UH, BUT COMMISSIONER JA NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO SEE EVERYBODY TOO.
HOW ABOUT THOSE ACRONYMS? OKAY, I'M GOING, UH, IN ORDER HERE, UH, ATTEMPTS, UH, UM, I'D LIKE TO SHARE SOMETHING DIFFERENT ACTUALLY TO START WITH.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO SHARE PERMISSION ONLINE.
CAN YOU SEE THE SCREEN I'M SHARING? CAN Y'ALL SEE WHAT I'M SHARING OVER THERE? UH, NOT SHOWING UP, NO, I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING EXCEPT, UH, THE FACES OF THE ATTENDEES.
LET'S JUST START WITH THE, UH, DIGITAL
[Items 8 & 9]
INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, STRATEGIC POLICY IMPACT WORKING GROUP, UH, COMMISSIONERS.CAN I, UH, SEE YOUR FACES SO I CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE STILL HAVE THAT CAPABILITY? GREAT.
SO, UM, I'D LIKE TO BEGIN WITH, UH, A BRIEF OVERVIEW, UH, OF THE WORKING GROUPS, UH, AND WHERE WE STAND IN TERMS OF THEM.
UM, AS OF TODAY, UH, THE DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC POLICY IMPACT WORKING GROUP,
[01:55:02]
UH, YOU ARE, BUT THAT, THAT CLEARLY NOT NECESSARILY, UH, AWARE THAT YOU WERE, UH, BUT YOU, YOU DID SIGN UP AT ONE POINT.UM, IT'S OKAY, BUT, CAUSE I WELL, I, I, I DEFINITELY RECALL SIGN YOU UP, BUT I MEAN, I, I APPRECIATE THAT THERE'S BEEN A MISUNDERSTANDING.
WELL, WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT TOO.
UH, THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS IS TO, I MEAN, CLEARLY YOU WEREN'T EFFECTIVELY ON THE WORKING GROUP.
YOU DIDN'T, IF YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE.
SO, UH, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, 0.1, RIGHT? UH, SO I DON'T THINK WE WANNA GO BACK AND LIKE, CHECK EMAILS RIGHT NOW AND ANYTHING LIKE THAT, RIGHT? SO WHY I WANNA JUST FOCUS ON, UH, I DO ACTUALLY HAVE THIS LIST THOUGH, AND THIS MIGHT BE MORE ACCURATE, RIGHT? UH, BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE YOU CONFIRMED, UH, BECAUSE I DIDN'T SEE YOU AT THOSE MEETINGS.
UH, SO I KNOW NOW PROBABLY WHY, BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GET THE INVITATIONS.
UM, BUT THIS IS WHO WE HAD DOWN FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
UH, SO ON THE SCREEN NOW, ARE Y'ALL SEEING THIS SCREEN? YOU, YOU'RE SEEING IT THERE.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE HAD CONFIRMED FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
UH, YEAH, I CAN SEE IT FOR THAT WORKING GROUP.
AND THESE ARE, MYSELF AND VICE CHAIR DACA ARE THE ONLY TWO THAT ARE CONFIRMED RIGHT NOW IN THAT WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST A BRIEF SNAPSHOT.
SAME THING GOING DOWN TO THE, UH, KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP.
UH, AND, AND I, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, I, I CARRIED ON, UM, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MEETING AND WHEN IT HAPPENS AND, AND INVITATIONS.
UH, THE CURRENT SCHEDULE FOR THIS DIGITAL, THIS, UH, WORKING GROUP IS THE FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 4:00 PM WE'VE BEEN MEETING ON TEAMS. UH, BUT WE'RE GOING TO SWITCH AS A MATTER OF PRACTICE TO, UH, A PLATFORM WHERE THE COMMISSION CHAIR, EXCUSE ME, THE WORKING GROUP CHAIR CAN CONTROL THE INVITATION AND START THE MEETING.
AND THAT'S NOT TEAMS. UH, SO ALTHOUGH WE STILL MAY REQUEST AND ASK FOR STAFF SUPPORT ON THOSE MEETINGS AS NEEDED, UH, AS WE KNOW FROM TRAINING THOSE, THAT JUST CAME FROM TRAINING, ESPECIALLY, NOT REALLY, IT'S NOT REALLY A PATTERN OF PRACTICE FOR US TO HAVE STAFF SUPPORT AT WORKING GROUP MEETINGS.
BUT WHAT'S HAPPENED IS, UH, A VALUE EXCHANGE, BASICALLY, UH, THAT'S BEEN REALIZED FROM TARA OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, UM, IN THOSE MEETINGS.
UM, AND, UH, THERE COULD CERTAINLY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT VALUE EXCHANGE IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
BUT I THINK JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THINGS DONE AND WE'RE ABLE TO CONTROL THE RESCHEDULES AND, AND SCHEDULES OF THE MEETINGS, UH, THEY NEED TO BE MANAGED BY THE CHAIR OF, OF THE WORKING GROUP.
SO THAT'S GONNA LEAVE, YOU KNOW, THE OPTION FOR SORTED PLATFORMS OF CHOICE BASED ON THE CHAIR'S PREFERENCE.
UH, I THINK WE COULD AGREE UPON A STANDARD, IF WE COULD AGREE UPON A STANDARD, THAT'D BE GREAT.
HAS DIFFERENT CAPABILITIES, UH, AND DIFFERENT LICENSING, UH, OPTIONS, UH, THAT THEY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE DO SETTLE ON A STANDARD, I'M ONLY ASK IS THAT IT'D BE SOMETHING WE COULD ALL USE AND OR, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO.
PERSONALLY, I'M USING ZOOMS, UM, EXCUSE ZOOMS,
UH, AND SO FAR IT'S WORKED OUT FINE.
IT'S BEEN NO PROBLEM LOGGING OFF AND LOGGING BACK ON.
I KNOW THAT ZOOM HAS, YOU KNOW, MAY HAVE, UH, CHALLENGE FOR SOME PEOPLE.
THERE'S GOOGLE MEET, THERE'S WEBEX.
CLEARLY WE'RE USING THAT FOR THIS PLATFORM.
[02:00:01]
THAT AS A POINT OF OF REFERENCE, UH, AGAIN, FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH IS WHEN THAT MEETING IS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE CURRENTLY.UH, THE NEXT THERE IS THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP CURRENTLY SCHEDULED THE SECOND MONDAY OF THE MONTH, 4:00 PM UH, THIS IS MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENT MEMBERSHIP, THAT WORKING GROUP.
I WOULD LIKE TO LEVEL SET THAT WITH THE CHAIR, IF, IF THAT'S ALSO YOUR UNDERSTANDING, UH, OF, OF IT RIGHT NOW.
SO WITH THAT, UH, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND, UH, MAKE THAT CHANGE.
UM, I MIGHT DO THAT DIFFERENTLY.
SORRY, I JUST REALIZED THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS PROBABLY DIDN'T HEAR ME.
UH, SO WHAT I, ALL I SAID IS I DON'T BELIEVE COMMISSIONER ISLAND IS, UH, A MEMBER OF THIS ONE IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
THAT, SO I'M GONNA TAKE COMMISSIONER ISLAND HERE FROM THIS WORKING GROUP AND HERE AS FAR AS COMMISSIONERS WITH ONE WORKING GROUP.
BUT WHAT THAT DEMONSTRATES IS THAT, UH, BASED ON THIS FISCAL YEAR'S MEMBERSHIP, UH, THAT THERE'S AT LEAST TWO VACANCIES ON THIS WORKING GROUP.
AND THEN THAT'S BRINGS US TO THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION WORKING GROUP, WHICH MEETS THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH, NOW CURRENTLY AT 4:00 PM UH, WITH COMMISSIONER SUMIT KUTA AS THE CHAIR, UH, AND MYSELF.
UH, AND THERE'S ACTUALLY, YEAH, THERE IT IS.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S THE OPTION FOR THERE TO BE FIVE COMMISSIONERS ON EACH WORKING GROUP.
SO, AS YOU CAN TELL, UH, THERE'S THREE VACANCIES.
AND TO SPEAK TO THAT, IT'S JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE OF, UH, SEVERAL OF THE COMMISSIONERS EITHER BEING TERMED OUT OR, UH, THEIR COUNCIL MEMBER BEING NOT BEING REELECTED.
AND THEN, UH, UNFORTUNATELY IN THE CASE OF, UH, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON BEAVERS, UH, NOT BEING REAPPOINTED, UH, SO THAT LEAVES THE VACANCIES.
UH, AND MY PROPOSAL IS THAT WE GO THROUGH THE WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, THAT THE WORKING GROUP ITEMS, UH, AND THEN AFTERWARDS SEEK OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE WHO ARE EAGER TO, TO JUMP INTO ONE WORKING GROUP OR ANOTHER, UH, AND OR, UH, FIRST.
AND THEN, UH, AFTER THAT, UH, IF THERE'S A CHALLENGE WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, LIMITED CAPACITY OR OVER INTEREST IN, IN, IN ONE OF OUR WORKING GROUP, THEN WE'LL HAVE TO COME UP WITH A WAY, UH, TO DEMOCRATIZE THE PROCESS IF WE WANT IT TO BE DE DEMOCRATIC.
UH, OTHER WORKING GROUPS DON'T NECESSARILY DO THAT.
OTHER COMMISSIONS DON'T NECESSARILY DO THAT, UH, BASED ON TRAINING.
THIS IS SOMETHING WHICH IS DONE BY ASSIGNMENT OF THE CHAIR.
THAT WOULD SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS QUITE A BIT.
UH, BUT I, I, I FEEL AS THOUGH, UH, AND CONSISTENT WHEN WE MADE THE CHANGE BEFORE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN THAT TOPIC, THOSE TOPICS, AND THE ITEMS BEING COVERED IN THE WORKING GROUP.
UH, AND SO WE'LL JUST HAVE TO FIND A WAY, UH, WHETHER IT'S CHOOSING STRAWS OR, YOU KNOW, UH, OR WHAT HAVE YOU TO, IF THERE'S OVER INTEREST IN ONE WORKING GROUP OR ANOTHER TO MAKE IT WORK.
BUT RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS TWO VACANCIES ON, UH, THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION DATA STEWARDSHIP WORKING GROUP.
AND I, I, I BELIEVE THE SAME THING IS TRUE IN TERMS OF COMMISSIONER ALLENS AND THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, THE DIGITAL INCLUSION WORKING GROUP.
[02:05:01]
UH, FOR THAT WORKING GROUP TO THERE BEING THREE VACANCIES.UH, SO BASED ON THE READ THAT EVERYONE'S GIVEN OF THE MATERIALS, UH, THAT MIGHT HELP TO TRUNCATE OUR TIME HERE A LITTLE BIT.
I KNOW THAT I'VE ALREADY HAD, AND I SHOULD PROBABLY START THERE, I'VE ALREADY HAD SOME, UH, PEOPLE EXPRESS INTEREST IN CERTAIN WORKING GROUPS, UM, AND YET WE STILL NEED A WAY, UH, TO SORT THROUGH THAT, RIGHT? SO, I SHOULD BEGIN BY ASKING, WHEN IT COMES TO THE DIGITAL INCLUSION WORKING GROUP, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA, RIGHT? YOU WERE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU COULDN'T BE ON THAT WORKING GROUP BECAUSE IT WAS FULL.
I THINK OUT OF FAIRNESS, YOU WOULD DESERVE FIRST PASS AT GETTING ON THAT WORKING GROUP IF YOU WANTED TO BE, BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T BEFORE, WHEN COULD HAVE, OR SOMETHING WENT WRONG THERE.
UM, I KNOW THAT BASED ON YOUR WORK IN THE SPACE, UH, I THINK YOU'D BE VERY WELL SUITED FOR THAT WORKING GROUP.
IF I WAS MAKING ASSIGNMENTS, I, I WOULD ASSIGN YOU THAT WORKING GROUP, UH, BUT I'D JUST LIKE TO ASK YOU IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN IT.
UH, WITH THAT THEN, I, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ADD YOU DOWN.
THANK YOU FOR CORRECTING THAT.
AND THAT LEAVES TWO SPACES IN THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, WE COULD GO INTO TOPICS MORE OR, UH, BECAUSE IMMEDIATELY THIS WORKING GROUP'S NOTES, UH, HAVE BEEN, UH, THIS IS DEFINITELY A SITUATION WHERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PLANE FLYING REALLY FAST WHILE, WHILE TRYING TO, UH, KEEP LOGS OF WHERE IT'S GOING.
UM, A LOT OF ACTIVITY, A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON IN THIS WORKING GROUP.
THINGS THAT ARE LISTED HERE ARE SOME OF THEM, UH, INVESTIGATING WAYS TO ENABLE THE HOMELESS POPULATION USING A DIGITAL MATCHING PROGRAM, JOB MATCHING PROGRAMS. UH, YOU KNOW, HISTORICALLY THERE'S BEEN SMALL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS FROM DIGITAL TO ENGAGING IN A MORE HANDS-ON STRATEGY WITH, UH, INSIGHTS FROM OUR CHIEF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY OFFICER.
AND, UH, AND SO DOING, WE INVITED THEM IN FOR A PRESENTATION BOTH TO THE WORKING GROUP AND TO THE COMMISSION.
UH, WE HAVE POSTED TOWN HALLS IN PARTICULAR, ONE AT THE TERRAZAS BRANCH, UH, WHERE, UH, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT USE THE TOWN, THE, THE RESOURCE, HAVE EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS.
AND, UH, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE GAINED SOME REALLY GOOD INSIGHTS.
UM, I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO GET AN UPDATE AND FIND OUT WHERE WE SIT IN TERMS OF OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM, BECAUSE THAT WAS A, A BIG TECHNOLOGY PIECE, UH, THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY, UH, THE CHIEF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY OFFICER AND, AND A REAL RESOURCE, UH, IN TERMS OF KIOSKS.
UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, WHEN WE WERE DOWN IN SAN ANTONIO FOR THE NET INCLUSION CONFERENCE, I SAW THE FIRST LIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, IN LIVING COLOR SAMPLE OF A RESOURCE LIKE THAT IN THE SIMON KIOSK SYSTEM THAT WAS AROUND THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
UH, IT HAD, YOU KNOW, A MIXTURE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, DESIGN TO TELL YOU ABOUT RESOURCES, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, A FAIR AMOUNT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ABOUT SITES AND THINGS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
IT, IT SEEMED MORE TOURIST FOCUSED, IF YOU WILL, UH, THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
BUT IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A TECHNOLOGY, UH, THAT COULD BE USED IN, IN DIFFERENT WAYS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE NEEDS OF THE USERS.
THE ONLY OTHER EXAMPLES WE HAVE LIKE THAT AROUND TOWN ARE LIKE THE, UH, THE ONE, UH, AT THE CONVENTION CENTER THAT'S INTERACTIVE, BUT AGAIN, IT'S TOURISTY.
IT'S GOT, UH, MULTIPLE LANGUAGES AND, AND CAPABILITIES, BUT VERY TOURISTY.
LIKE YOU CAN TAKE PICTURES AND SEND 'EM TO, TO YOUR FAMILY AND WHATNOT.
BUT, UH, IN TERMS OF ACCESSING CITY, CITY SERVICES, YOU KNOW, THE BEST EXAMPLE WOULD BE THE TOUCH PADS WE HAVE AT CITY HALL.
AND THAT'S JUST ACCESSING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AGENDA THAT DAY AND WHAT'S HAPPENING, RIGHT? SO, STILL AN OPPORTUNITY THERE.
TWO, INCREASING, UH, THE RELATIONSHIPS
[02:10:01]
WITH, UH, AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES LIKE AT AND T AND GOOGLE.UH, HISTORICALLY, UH, WE'VE HAD OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION, UH, AND FREQUENT PRESENTATIONS FROM CARRIERS.
UH, THESE ARE SOME EXAMPLES THAT ARE NOT PROBABLY IN THE, UH, THE SPREADSHEET.
UH, WE JUST HAD A PRESENTATION FROM JOHN MICHAEL CORTEZ, UH, AND THAT WAS PRECIPITATED ACCORDING TO THE, UH, WORK PLAN, UH, AFTER ENGAGING WITH HIM AND, AND SEEKING THE UPDATE.
UH, WE HAVE ONGOING DIALOGUE WITH HUMAN IT.
THEY'RE A, A SMALLER BUT NONPROFIT PROVIDER, UH, WHO IS A STRONG PART OF OUR ECOSYSTEM, BUT YET, I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO COME IN FOR A MORE FOCUSED UPDATE.
UH, WE'VE HAD ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH T-MOBILE IN THE PAST, UH, BUT THEY'VE HAD, UH, JOHN BRATCHER WAS THEIR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, UH, WHO I MET AT, UH, HAKA EQUITY FOCUSED EVENT.
AND HE CAME IN AND PRESENTED, UH, TO US, UH, THAT INCLUDED OTHER LEADERS AND, AND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE TO, UH, AND IT DID REALLY CENTER AROUND 5G SPECTRUM ANALYSIS IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, THE TECHNICAL PIECE.
AND, AND IT HAD SOME PRETTY STRONG PRODUCT CAPABILITY CLAIMS, UH, THAT WE WERE SURE TO NOTE WERE THEIR CLAIMS AND NOT FACTUALLY CONFIRMED BY US, BUT IT'S CENTERED AROUND FIXED WIRELESS AND LEVERAGING EDGE COMPUTING, UH, WITH FIXED WIRELESS AND 5G IN THE HOME OR IN THE BUSINESS.
UM, NEXT, I THINK WE NEED TO, TO BASICALLY ENGAGE IN WITH ALL THE CARRIERS AS OPPOSED TO JUST DOING IT SO ORGANICALLY.
UH, I PROPOSE THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A FORMULAIC APPROACH TO OUTREACH AND REPORTING ON TECHNOLOGIES, ON SPEEDS, ON REACH, ON COVERAGE.
UH, WE WOULD, I THINK, NEED THE, THE SUPPORT OF, UH, OUR TERRA OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS IN, UH, I THINK THE BEST FASHION.
UH, BUT THAT'S THAT BULLET POINT.
AND BY THE WAY, ANY QUESTIONS, UH, AT ANY POINT, YOU KNOW, JUMP IN.
PIT, I JUST, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT PROCESS THIS COMMISSION MEETINGS, UH, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS I THINK THAT CAN DROP OFF BECAUSE IT'S NOW, UH, A STANDARD, ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT A STANDARD, OBVIOUSLY, UH, IT'S ONLY A STANDARD IN CERTAIN FACILITIES BASED ON THE CAPABILITIES BEING REGIMENTED AND, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY BEING IN PLACE AND, UH, AND WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO THIS ITEM PERHAPS SHOULD STILL STAY ALIVE, UH, IN TERMS OF PUSHING FOR A STANDARD, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND ALSO TRYING TO ENCOURAGE WIDER ADOPTION, BECAUSE THE FACT IS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MEETINGS HAVE TO HAVE A PUBLIC PRESENCE.
IF THEY WERE JUST ONLINE, IT WILL BE SIMPLER.
UH, BUT THE FACT THEY HAVE TO HAVE A PUBLIC PRESENCE AND AN ONLINE PRESENCE MAKES IT MORE COMPLICATED.
SO, UH, DEFINITELY WANNA GIVE, UH, KUDOS TO AUSTIN PUBLIC FOR DOING THEIR BEST TO, UH, ADAPT ON THE FLY, UH, TO MAKING THIS HAPPEN IN, IN VERY SHORT NOTICE, UH, AS THEY WERE NOT INFORMED UNTIL I GOT HERE, UH, THAT THIS WAS GONNA BE A HYBRID MEETING.
UH, SO, UH, LOTS OF, UH, RESPECT TO THEM FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO MANAGE THIS PROCESS.
UH, CHIRP PITTS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? ADVOCATING FOR ZOOM LICENSES, UM, TO BE ADMINISTERED BY LIBRARIES FOR CIVIC GROUPS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT I'M CURIOUS TO GET FEEDBACK FROM OTHERS ON.
UH, IT HAD STRONG SUPPORT FROM PRIOR COMMISSIONERS.
UH, I PERSONALLY STILL SEE VALUE THERE, UH, BUT I'M HESITANT TO PUSH A TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS HAD ISSUES INTO THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S ONE THING IF I USE IT PERSONALLY, AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WE USE IT IN MEETINGS, UM, AND WHICH EVEN COULD STILL BE A CONCERN, BUT NO, A WHOLE NOTHER THING IF WE ADVOCATE FOR IT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UH, OPEN FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UH, CONTINUING TO ADVOCATE FOR INCREASED FUNDING, UH, FOR LIBRARY WIRELESS SUB PROGRAMS AND PLAT, UH, PLATFORM LENDING PROGRAMS. UH, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, PERSISTENT, UH, PERENNIAL, IF YOU WILL.
UH, BUDGET RECOMMENDATION, UH, JUST IN SHOWING CONTINUING SUPPORT FOR RESOURCING OUT OF OUR LIBRARIES, UH, THAT I THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE.
[02:15:01]
TO ADVOCATE FOR INCREASED FUNDING FOR G O S IS ALSO ONE OF THOSE THINGS.I, I KNOW THAT, UH, BASED ON CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD, UH, AND, AND THAT OUR WORKING GROUPS HAVE HAD, UH, WITH, UH, JESSE, UH, WE CAN ANTICIPATE, UH, THAT THERE WILL BE, UH, SUPPORT FOR THAT, CERTAINLY FROM THE TERRY DEPARTMENT.
AND, AND, AND I WOULD ADVOCATE THAT WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THAT IN THE PAST, UH, IN MY TENURE.
AND, AND WE'VE BASICALLY SEEN THE, THE BUDGET FOR TOPS INCREASE FROM A HUNDRED THOUSAND WITH A SINGULAR PATHWAY TO 400,000 WITH MULTIPLE PATHWAYS, UH, AND THE ABILITY TO PASS ON IMPORTANT FUNDING TO, UH, DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
OR NOW WE'VE JUST COMPLETED, UH, THE SCORING PROCESS FOR G OS MINI.
AND, UH, THERE WILL, I'M CERTAIN BE A, A FUTURE UPDATE FROM, UH, CITY STAFF THAT INCLUDES, UH, AN AWARDS REQUEST BASED UPON THAT.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO PAUSE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY UPDATE ON THAT NOW BY CHANCE YOU TOPS.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? UM, I CAN HEAR YOU.
ONE OF THE THINGS TOO IS A SUBSET OF THAT.
UH, IS, UH, COMMISSIONER CLARK, DID YOU HAVE A, A QUESTION OR? I, YEAH, I, I JUST WASN'T SURE IF I WAS AT, I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
COMMISSIONER CLARK, CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN, YES.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF WE GO THROUGH, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, UM, IF WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF THE GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS IN TERMS OF MOVING FORWARD.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, I MISSED THAT WHEN I WAS GETTING WATER.
UM, JUST BE HELPFUL TO KNOW KIND OF WHERE WE ARE, IF WE'RE LIKE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT, OR IF THERE'S ONE THAT'S A LITTLE BIT, UM, MORE BALANCED IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE THINKING, IF SOME OF US WANT TO SENSE OR NOT.
UM, CUZ I'D LOVE TO DIG INTO THE ONES WHERE IT MIGHT BE MORE CONTROVERSIAL TO BRING IT FORWARD.
UH, YEAH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE ROUND THE ROOM, I, I'M, I'M BASICALLY, UH, AND I APOLOGIZE IF, UH, WE DIDN'T GET TO TO THAT SOONER.
UM, YEAH, THE THOUGHT IS ONE BY ONE, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE TALK ABOUT THEM TO KIND OF GET A SENSE ON HOW WE FEEL, UM, OR, UH, TO HAVE LET, UH, MAYBE TO LET THE SPREADSHEET INPUT BEAR SOME, SOME, UH, BECAUSE WE, I KNOW THAT I DID ACTUALLY OFFER THOUGHTS ON SUNSET OR CONTINUE TO THE SPREADSHEET.
UM, I JUST HAD CONCERNS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY WOULD ALL BE COVERED, UH, IN THE SPREADSHEET, UH, FOR THIS WORKING GROUP.
SO WE CAN QUICKLY GO BACK UP, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND DIVE IN.
I, IT WAS KINDA A PROCEDURAL QUESTION, UM, IF THAT'S HELPFUL.
AND I MAY HAVE MISSED SOME, ESPECIALLY STILL KIND OF HAVING MY NEWBIE CARD.
SO, UM, I CAN DEFER TO YOU ALL.
UH, JUST CURIOUS KIND OF, UM, FOR FRAME OF MIND, LIKE IF, IF WE'RE WANTING TO GET TO A VOTE THIS EVENING, OH, WE, WE ARE WANTING TO GET TO A VOTE THIS EVENING.
UM, AND ANOTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND THOUGH, EVEN IF WE DO GET TO A VOTE THIS EVENING, IT DOESN'T MEAN THOUGH THAT LITERALLY, UH, AT THE NEXT MEETING, THIS WORK PLAN COULD, COULD CHANGE.
UH, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT, UH, SOME OF THESE ITEMS, UH, ARE, YOU KNOW, MAY HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S JUST TAKE THE FIRST ONE, RIGHT? UH, LET, LET'S TAKE INVESTIGATING WASTE TO ENABLE THE HOMELESS POPULATION, UH, AND INVESTIGATING AN ASSIGNMENT KIOSK OPTION.
UH, IF WE'RE NOT INTO THAT AS AN IDEA, UH, THEN WE CAN DROP THAT.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING OUT AROUND THE ROOM, I'M NOT SURE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT, UH, US IN FURTHER INVESTIGATING TECHNOLOGY OR KIOSKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, THAT PEOPLE COULD USE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY BESIDES AT PLACES LIKE CITY HALL, BUT YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO THE, THE QUESTION, UH, DID Y'ALL HEAR THAT QUESTION? UH, CAN Y'ALL HEAR COMMISSIONER, UH, WOULD JAIKU, UH, IS YOUR MY PHONE ON YOUR PHONE? ARE, ARE YOU ON
[02:20:01]
THE WEBEX ON YOUR PHONE? OKAY.UH, YEAH, THE QUESTION IS, UH, WHAT CONSTITUTES A KIOSK? UM, AND I THINK THAT SIMON EXAMPLE IS ONE THAT I CONSIDER MORE OF A KIOSK AND NOT JUST A TABLET INTERFACE, UH, RIGHT.
WITH A LAPTOP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, BECAUSE IT'S WEATHERPROOF, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S ROBUST.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, AND THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT THAT UP AS AN EXAMPLE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT COULD ACTUALLY SIT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THE COMMUNITY COULD USE, BUT THAT WE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT DISAPPEARING THE SECOND, YOU KNOW, IT SHOWED UP.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE BEST USE OF OUR TIME AND EFFORTS, ESPECIALLY AS WE HAVE HEARD OF, THERE'S SO MANY OTHER, LIKE THE GOOGLE FIBER COMMUNITY HUBS AND OTHER WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY WHEN WE DON'T EVEN, RIGHT, RIGHT.
WELL, UH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I THINK, UH, BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM THE TOWN HALLS, UH, THERE IS WANT FOR CONTINUOUS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY, BUT IS IT PRACTICAL IN A KIOSK? PROBABLY NOT.
UH, WHAT I HEARD WAS WANT FOR ACCESS TO CHARGING STATIONS WANT FOR ACCESS TO, UH, DEVICES, UH, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO, UH, UH, TO, TO, TO AFFORDABLE PLANS AND OR FREE INTERNET.
UM, WONDERING IF THAT ITEM YEAH, CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME OKAY.
WONDERING IF THAT ITEM COULD BE MOVED TO THE TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP.
I THINK IT SHOULD BE SUNSET FROM DIGITAL INCLUSION, CUZ I DON'T THINK TO, TO COMMISSIONER GARZA'S POINT THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO SUPPORT THAT BEING A GOOD USE OF THE DIGITAL INCLUSION GROUP'S TIME.
UM, BUT COULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT PERHAPS WE HAND OFF, SO TO SPEAK, TO THE TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP TO INVESTIGATE? I, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE INCLUDED SUNSET IN MY WORK PLAN FEEDBACK, BUT JUST WONDERING IF, I THINK THE CITY, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY PUT OUT THE IMPROVED SYSTEM FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT STATUS UPDATE AND THAT INCLUDED SOME ASPECTS OF DIGITAL INCLUSION.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT COULD BE, AGAIN, MORE OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE CREATE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT OUR, OUR HOMELESS.
WELL, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, I, I THINK YES AND YES.
I MEAN, I'M OKAY WITH SUNSETTING IT OUTRIGHT.
UH, AND, AND BASICALLY RAISING THE TOPIC AGAIN IN THAT WORKING GROUP, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION NETWORK NODES AS AN INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE PIECE OR OR CONCEPT WHICH WE'RE LOOKING TO PILOT IN THE CITY, WOULD ENABLE A LOT OF CAPABILITIES AT THE EDGE.
UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE OTHERS, YOU KNOW, UH, WHERE THOSE KIOSKS COULD BE ACTUALLY REALLY ENABLED.
UH, BUT THAT'S A SEPARATE CONVERSATION, RIGHT? AND IT'S ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, REQUIRES IDEATION AS WELL.
BLESS YOU, CHIP CAN MAKE A SUGGESTION.
SO, I MEAN, I THINK YOU DID A REALLY GREAT JOB OF GOING THROUGH SORT OF THE MENU OF OPTIONS FOR THIS WORKING GROUP.
UH, I THINK THE WORKING GROUP ITSELF SHOULD PERHAPS MEET AND DECIDE WITHIN THAT BODY ON, WELL WHETHER IT SHOULD BE SUNSET.
AND, AND I UNDERSTAND WE'RE TRYING TO GIVE LIKE THAT POINT EXAMPLES, BUT JUST IN THE SPIRIT OF, UM, TRYING TO, NOW THAT I AM IN THE WORKING GROUP, I AGREE.
I KNOW ONE THING THEN KIND OF TO THAT POINT.
UH, SO THEN THE MENU OF OPTIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK TO THAT.
UH, SO, UH, THAT WAS A QUICK ONE, UH, COMMISSIONER CLARK THAT, UH, WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH, YOU KNOW, IT BEING TAKEN UP IN THE WORKING GROUP FOR SUNSETTING.
SO IN, IN TERMS OF THAT, UH, IF THAT'S OKAY, THEN THE NEXT IS INVESTIGATE FOR SUN SETTING IN THE WORKING GROUP, RIGHT? YEAH.
I'M MORE A QUESTION, IS THE INTENTION TO GO THROUGH
[02:25:01]
EACH WORKING GROUPS ITEM AND MAKE THOSE DETERMINATIONS NOW? OR WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO DO THE WORKING GROUP ASSIGNMENTS, UH, AND THEN THOSE NEW WORKING GROUPS DECIDE, UM, AFTER HEARING AND GETTING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND THEN SORT OF WHAT THE PLAN WAS IN THE LAST FISCAL YEAR, UM, KIND OF DECIDING WHAT TO SUNSET.CAUSE I DON'T TO BE, IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO GO THROUGH THESE JUST CAUSE I DON'T FEEL AS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THOSE WORKING GROUPS MM-HMM.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT MIGHT BE A BETTER USE OF, OF OUR TIME.
WOULD IT BE TO GO THROUGH AND DO THE WORKING ASSIGNMENTS FIRST? I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION.
UH, SO THE POINT OF THE, UH, THE WORK PLAN, UH, AND WHILE WE DO THE RETREAT IS SO ALL COMMISSIONERS CAN WEIGH ON ALL ITEMS. UH, SO IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIMITED TO THE WORKING GROUPS.
UH, WHERE, YOU KNOW, UH, WHERE WE BASICALLY HAD TO, WELL WE, WE, WE LOST A, A MEETING OR, OR SO WITH THE WHOLE, UM, WE DIDN'T LOSE IT, BUT WE LOST TIME, UH, WITH THE ELECTION PROCESS, UH, THAT SET US BEHIND.
UH, AND WE'VE BEEN MORE OR LESS TRYING TO CATCH UP THAT, AND, AND, AND WE ALSO HAD NEW COMMISSIONERS THAT WERE, WERE GETTING ACQUAINTED.
UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S A PIECE.
BUT I DO HAVE AN IDEA TO, TO SPEED THIS UP.
UH, CAUSE I THINK THAT'S GONNA BECOME IMPORTANT.
IT'S ALREADY NINE 30 AND I REALLY DON'T, UH, WANT TO KEEP Y'ALL HERE PAST 10.
UM, UH, EVEN THOSE AT HOME, I DON'T WANNA KEEP YOU UP PAST 10.
UM, SO WHAT I PROPOSE, UH, WE DO IS, UH, LET'S JUST GO THROUGH A FEW MORE ITEMS. UH, AND I THINK WE'VE GOT PRETTY, WE'VE GOT PRETTY GOOD CONSENSUS ABOUT, UH, NEEDING TO EVALUATE INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUNSETTING IN THE WORKING GROUPS, RIGHT? SO EVEN IF WE TAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN COME BACK, UH, TO THE COMMISSION WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN TALK ABOUT 'EM SPECIFICALLY, RIGHT? CUZ THEN WE'LL HAVE THEM LISTED OUT.
WE'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHICH ONES ARE TEED UP FOR SUNSET, AND THAT WILL GO QUICKLY.
UH, THEN THAT'LL BE, UH, AN EFFICIENT USE OF THE NEXT MEETING'S TIME.
IN THE MEANTIME, UH, COMMISSIONER CLARK, UH, RATHER THAN, UH, LOOKING AT EACH SUNSET ITEM, WE'LL JUST GO TO THE BIG ONES THAT WE KNOW, UH, PERHAPS ARE NOT LIKELY TO BE SUNSET, BUT YET EVERYONE NEEDS TO DECIDE THEIR INTEREST LEVEL IN SUPPORTING OR GETTING INVOLVED BASED ON THE WORKING GROUP WORK, RIGHT? SO AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS G OS, UH, AND, AND COMING TO THAT IN, IN THIS, UH, WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION BRIEFLY, UH, RIGHT G OPPS, AGAIN, UH, IT'S A BIG PART OF WHAT WE DO AS A COMMISSION YEAR OVER YEAR.
UH, WE APPROVE FUNDING AWARDS, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR.
WE'RE, UH, INCREASING THE BUDGET AMOUNT.
UH, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO TALK ABOUT COLLECTIVELY BECAUSE I'VE BEEN SERVING AS THE EX-OFFICIO CHAIR O OF G OPPS SINCE 2017.
UH, AND I'M GOING TO BE OFF THE COMMISSION NEXT YEAR.
SO IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT THAT SOMEONE WHO'S REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT D TOPS AND ITS POTENTIAL AND, UH, FINE TUNING IT AND GIVING SOUND GUIDANCE TO, UH, THE CITY STAFF, UH, ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT PROCESS OF IT, UH, THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS, UH, OF A PANELISTS, UH, THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS OF ORGANIZATIONS TO APPLY APPLICANTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK THAT WE SHOULD HAVE BAKED INTO THE WORK PLAN IS, UH, AND I, I BASICALLY FEEL LIKE IT'S A STANDING REQUEST, BUT, UH, I'M, I GUESS IT'S BEEN LEFT OUT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, NO, IT'S JUST KIND OF, IT'S JUST BAKED IN.
UH, AND THAT'S JUST THE CONTINUAL FEEDBACK ABOUT MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S AN ONGOING THING.
UH, SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT'S OUT THERE.
G OPPS ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE, BUT WE DO NEED TO KNOW WHO'S REALLY IN THE G OPPS SO WE CAN HAVE SOMEONE TEED UP TO VOTE TO, TO BE THEIR EX-OFFICIAL CHAIR FOR THAT JUST REPORTING.
AND SO, BUT I THINK THIS IS REVOLUTIONARY FOR US TO HAVE DONE.
[02:30:01]
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL, IT, A LOT OF GOOD IN THIS COMMUNITY.
IF IT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, LIKE FREETHINKING, THAT'S IMPORTANT.
UH, ALL THE COMMISSIONS ONLINE, HEAR THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT MUTED, ARE YOU? I, I WAS MUTED.
UH, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN, IN, IN LOOKING AT DEEP JOBS.
I'VE SEEN IT ON THE OTHER SIDE AS A NONPROFIT LEADER.
UM, AND I THINK IT HAS A LOT OF POTENTIAL, BUT I DO THINK IT NEEDS, UH, TO, TO EVOLVE WITH THE REST OF THE PHILANTHROPIC, UH, FIELD.
THAT'S, THAT'S, AGAIN, VERY SALIENT BECAUSE, UH, YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A, YOU KNOW, RUNNING A NONPROFIT WILL BE VALUABLE IN, IN EVALUATING THE PROGRAM.
UH, AND SO, UH, AND AN IMPORTANT THING TO ALSO CONSIDER, UH, IS, UH, SITUATIONS THAT SHE MIGHT BE IN.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'LL SAY THIS, UH, IT'LL BE IMPORTANT THAT WHOEVER DOES BECOME THE EX-OFFICIAL CHAIR OF, OF G OPPS FOR THE COMMISSION, UH, THAT THEY NOT HAVE ANY CONNECTIONS TO POTENTIAL APPLICANTS.
UH, NOT BECAUSE YOU CAN'T, BECAUSE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A SYSTEM FOR RECUSAL, BUT BECAUSE IT JUST CREATES A, A, YOU KNOW, A PERCEPTION CHALLENGE, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S ONE THAT WE CAN AVOID, UM, SIMPLY BY NOT BEING THE EXOFFICIO CHAIR OF OS.
RIGHT? YOU KNOW, MANY OF YOU, UH, MIGHT CURRENTLY SERVE ON BOARDS, UH, I KNOW I HAVE IN THE PAST.
UM, AND SO I THINK SERVING ON A BOARD WHILE BEING ON THIS COMMISSION IS ONE THING.
SERVING ON A BOARD WHILE BEING THE EX-OFFICIO CHAIR OF G OS WHILE, YOU KNOW, OTHER, OTHER, UH, ENTITIES ARE APPLYING, IS ANOTHER THING.
BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEPARATE YOUR STAKE AS A BOARD MEMBER AND ORGANIZATION, EVEN IF YOU, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I DON'T SEE HOW YOU COULD POSSIBLY SEPARATE THAT, BUT, UH, FROM THE COMMISSION IN GENERAL, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ANOTHER THING.
RIGHT? SO THAT'S JUST MY BIT OF FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT G OPPS? UH, BESIDES WHAT WAS ASKED? OKAY.
UH, EMERGENCY BROADBAND RELIEF CARE EVALUATION.
UM, MISSION REQUESTED ENGAGEMENT FROM TEAR OFFICE AND CT D, PRIOR RESPONSIBLE PROVIDER, RECENT LEGISLATION, LIKELY INCREASE AMOUNT OF RESPONSES NEEDED PARTICIPATING.
UH, BASICALLY ANY FEEDBACK ON THAT? UH, VICE CHAIR, OC, ANYONE? UH, OR I FEEL LIKE THERE ARE OTHER LEGISLATIVE FOCUSES, UH, THAT ARE MORE IMPACTFUL TO THIS WORKING GROUP.
ANY OTHER FEEDBACK? GOT FROM HERE'S ONLINE AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS, AGAIN, WE COULD TAKE UP IN THE WORKING GROUP.
AND THEN, SO IT'S ALREADY LOOKING LIKE THIS IS GONNA BE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOMMEND SUNSETTING, SO, RIGHT.
SO, UH, I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS QUICKLY, UH, ANTICIPATE THAT BEING ON THE LIST, UH, STATE LEGISLATIVE, UH, UH, TECH TELECOM POLICY EVALUATION.
UH, WE'RE BENEFITING FROM THAT ALREADY.
RIGHT? UM, ONGOING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND COUNTY POLICY ACTIONS.
UH, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M VERY THANKFUL THAT WE MADE THIS A, AN ONGOING PART OF THE COMMISSION AND THIS WORKING GROUP.
I THINK CLEARLY WE NEED TO HAVE THESE KIND OF BRIEFINGS, UH, FROM HOAN AND TEAM ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
AND THIS WORKING GROUP IS A TEAM, UH, WHERE THESE BRIEFINGS GO TO FIRST.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE WORKING GROUPS, UH, AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, SMALL MOBILITY AND PROJECT CONNECT.
UH, HISTORICALLY WE'VE HAD OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH AUSTIN, UH, UH, TRANSP, EXCUSE ME, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, AND THE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ADVANCED SERVICES TEAMS. UH, THEY'VE EVOLVED OVER TIME.
UH, LEADERSHIP HAS CHANGED, AND THAT INCLUDES, UH, UH, JASON JOHN MICHAAL.
UH, JASON JOHN MICHAAL IS NO LONGER WITH THE AUSTIN TECH, UH, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
I BELIEVE HE'S NOW, UH, IN A STATE ROLE IN A SIMILAR CAPACITY.
BUT WE HAVE OTHER CONTACTS, UH, THAT WE'VE MADE.
IN FACT, CONTACTS WERE MADE AT THE INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE CONFERENCE LAST
[02:35:01]
WEEK, UH, THAT ARE GOING TO ENABLE CONVERSATIONS.IN FACT, THERE'S, UH, A CONFERENCE WHICH YOU ALL BE RECEIVING INVITATION FOR, UH, OR IT'S, UH, A WORKSHOP.
IT'S BEING CALLED, BUT IT'S GONNA HAVE PARTIES AT THE TABLE, UH, INVOLVED IN, ON THESE TEAMS AND STATE, COUNTY AND, AND CITY, UH, TO HELP IDEATE ON SOME OF THESE SOLUTIONS.
IT IS A FEE CONFERENCE, UH, APPARENTLY PUBLIC OFFICIALS.
UH, BUT, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE AN UPDATE THERE.
WELL, LET'S BE COLLABORATION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT WITH EXPERIENCE WITH TECH.
UM, I THINK, UH, SUNSET SUNSETTING, THE SPECIAL CALL MEETINGS IS NOT REALLY AN OPTION.
WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA KEEP THAT, UH, IN OUR, AS A, YOU KNOW, ARROW ON OUR QUIVER, SO TO SPEAK.
UM, AND THAT, BUT IT CAN BE DELETED FROM HERE.
SO THERE'S NO REASON FOR IT TO EVEN BE IN, IN THE WORK PLAN.
IT'S JUST, UH, WHAT WE HAVE, UH, CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN VIDEO CONFERENCING FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE BEEN HOSTING TOWN HALLS, UH, LEVERAGING, UH, UH, HYBRID PLATFORMS. UM, BUT THIS, I THINK, IS SOMEWHAT CONNECTED TO THAT ZOOM, UH, ISSUE AND, AND VIDEO CONFERENCING TOOLS.
UH, SO I COULD SEE THAT BEING NAILED IT IN WITH ANOTHER, UH, WORKING GROUP.
UH, AND WE'VE DONE ALL OF OUR THANK YOUS AND, AND, UH, ALL OUR FOLLOW UPS FOR ALL THE TOWN HALLS.
UH, THERE IS A REPORT STILL PENDING ON, UH, A MASTER REPORT STILL PENDING ON ALL THE COLLECTIVE DATA POINTS FROM THE TOWN HALLS.
BUT THERE'S BEEN MINIATURE REPORTS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED.
UH, THEY'VE ALL BEEN, UH, VERY WELL RECEIVED AND ATTENDED, UH, CONSIDERING DECK EXPANSION.
UH, THAT'S VERY VAGUE, UH, AND DOESN'T NEED TO REALLY BE DISCUSSED.
BUT I THINK, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT I THINK DECA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE MUCH MORE THAN IT IS.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IT'S BASICALLY A BIWEEKLY CONFERENCE CALL, UH, WITH UPDATES, MANY THAT ARE ALREADY SENT OUT VIA EMAIL, BUT THEN NEW FRESH UPDATES THAT PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO OFFER AND, AND GEN AND GENDER EXCITEMENT OVER, UH, WHICH IS GREAT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO KNOW THAT IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING EXCITING TO SHARE IN THE DIGITAL INCLUSION SPACE, THAT YOU CAN SHARE IT ON MY DECK OF CALL.
UH, BUT WHAT I'VE NOTICED IS DECLINING PARTICIPATION, UH, OVER, OVER THE YEARS, UH, UH, PARTICULARLY THE LAST YEAR.
UH, AND THAT'S A CHALLENGE THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CRACK NECESSARILY, BUT IT'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE, UH, IF WE COULD FIGURE OUT A WAY, UH, TO EITHER WITH AN OUTREACH MODEL OR, UH, UH, LIKE THEY'VE BEEN DOING SOME INNOVATIVE, UH, BRIANNA, UH, A GOWING, UH, HAS BEEN DOING SOME INNOVATIVE THINGS AND TRYING TO INVITE THEMATIC SPEAKERS IN CERTAIN AREAS TO FOCUS THE CONTENT.
UM, AND THAT'S BEEN WELL RECEIVED AT TIMES.
AND OTHER TIMES, YOU KNOW, YOU WONDER IF IT'S JUST A, A QUIRK OF THE DAY AND PEOPLE'S SCHEDULES, STUFF TO SAY.
BUT UNDERNEATH THAT CURRENTLY IS FUNDING SOURCE IDENTIFICATION, BUT THAT'S INAPPROPRIATE IN MY OPINION.
UH, FUNDING SOURCE IDENTIFICATION SHOULD BE ITS OWN THING, UH, BECAUSE DECA IS NOT THE PLACE FOR THAT RIGHT NOW.
IT COULD EVOLVE TO THAT SOMEDAY, WHERE, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, MAYBE THROUGH INPUTS FROM OUR SUMMIT, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE GET PARTNERS FROM THE PHILANTHROPIC SPACE TO, YOU KNOW, WE COULD ALWAYS HAVE A FUNDER ON THE CALL MAYBE, BUT WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN THERE YET.
SO I THINK THAT'S A CHALLENGE OF US TO CONTINUE.
SAME WITH, UH, PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
UH, HERE WE DO HAVE AN ADDITION, BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE NOW OUR, OUR FIRST AT BEING THE IDV PILOT, THE N 50 PROJECT.
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF RECEIVING TECHNOLOGY FROM INTEL AND WORKING THROUGH SOME TECHNICAL,
[02:40:02]
UH, DYNAMICS TO IMPLEMENT AT OUR PARKS AND REC LOCATIONS.UH, BUT IT IS, UH, IN THE WORKS, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UH, THAT THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DIVISIONS IS, IS LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HOW THINGS UNFOLD.
THERE'S DIGITAL INCLUSION, STAKEHOLDER SUMMIT PLANNING, UH, UH, WHICH IS UNDERWAY AND, UH, A MAJOR FOCUS OF THIS WORKING GROUP, BUT, UH, ALSO A DIVERSE, UH, A DIVERSE PLANNING TEAM.
THERE'S COMMUNITY CIRCLES, UH, AND THE INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT, UH, THAT EXISTS NOW BETWEEN TRAVIS COUNTY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, AND THIS COMMISSION, UH, TOMORROW MORNING, UH, WE WILL BE EVALUATING THE STATUS OF OUR OUTREACH INITIALLY, TO SEE IF WE NEED TO ENGAGE IN MORE OUTREACH, UH, WHICH IS LIKELY BASED ON THE NUMBERS.
UH, THAT'S SOMETHING WHICH ALL COMMISSIONERS ARE GONNA BE ASKED TO STEP, TO REALLY HELP WITH, WITH THEIR NETWORKS.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO FILL THE GAPS OF UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO GET INSIGHTS FROM AND LIVE EXPERIENCES FROM.
UH, AND THAT IS PRETTY MUCH, UH, THIS WORKING GROUP.
UH, WE'RE REALLY PRESS FOR THE TIME.
UM, BUT I KNOW THAT, UH, WE CAN, CAN STILL MAKE THIS WORK.
I'D LIKE TO PASS IT, UH, I'D LIKE TO JUST, YOU KNOW, PAUSE THERE AND, AND PASS IT TO, UH, VICE CHAIR OF DACA.
UH, YOU HAVE YOUR, YOUR REPORT UP SO YOU CAN PRESENT IT ON IT AND, AND BREEZE THROUGH IT.
TRY TO, UNABLE TO SHARE THE DOCUMENT.
WOULD YOU MIND SHARING IT? UH, NOT AT ALL.
[10. Update from Knowledge, Information, and Data Stewardship Working Group ]
OKAY.UH, PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS WERE, UH, MYSELF, UH, COMMISSIONER FLOYD, UH, CHAIR PITS, COMMISSIONER'S ISLAND, AND GARZA.
UM, SO AT, AT THIS POINT, I BELIEVE IT'S JUST MYSELF, CHAIR PITS AND COMMISSIONER GARZA.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A COUPLE OPENINGS ON THIS.
UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I'LL JUST TALK THROUGH, YOU KNOW, AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL, UM, SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE HISTORICALLY FOCUSED ON.
I'LL, I'LL QUICKLY PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, FIRST ITEM HERE, UH, YOU KNOW, KEEPING CITIZENS ENGAGED, UH, USING TECHNOLOGY.
TARA'S DOING, UH, A LOT OF WORK AROUND THIS, PARTICULARLY BRIANNA GO, UH, GOWING WITH SHARING A RESOURCE LIST, UM, FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO LEVERAGE NONPROFITS, DIFFERENT ENTITIES PROVIDING, UM, UH, RESOURCES AROUND TECHNOLOGY, UM, DEVICES AS WELL AS AS EDUCATION AS WELL.
UM, I, I, I BELIEVE THIS IS SOMETHING I, I IDENTIFIED AS WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO DO.
WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO WEIGH IN, NOT ONLY IN THE SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS, UH, BUT ON THE TYPES OF SERVICES BEING CAPTURED AND BROADCAST TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND AGAIN, WE CAN TAKE ALL OF THIS UP AND AGAIN, IN THE WORKING GROUP, BUT JUST WANT TO GIVE FOLKS
[02:45:01]
OF A FLAVOR OF, UH, ITEMS THAT WE'VE WORKED ON, UM, DATA MAPPING AND ANALYSIS.UM, THIS HAS REALLY BEEN ROLLED INTO THE WORK THAT TRAVIS COUNTY IS DOING WITH THE, UH, THE COMMUNITY CIRCLES, AS WELL AS EFFORTS ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY STRATEGIC PLAN.
BUT HISTORICALLY, UM, THIS GROUP, EVEN BEFORE I, I WAS A MEMBER OF IT, HAS, HAS FOCUSED ON EXAMINING EQUITABLE, EQUITABLE BROADBAND, UH, WITH RESPECT TO, TO GEO GEOGRAPHICS, UM, AS WELL AS THE COLLAB COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND UT.
UM, SO THIS ITEM, I THINK IS, IS SORT OF BEING TRANSITIONED INTO OUR, UM, COLLABORATION WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND CITY OF AUSTIN, NOT HEARING ANY OPPOSITION TO THAT.
UM, THIRD ITEM, UH, MONITORING OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, WEBSITE.
UH, IF YOU'VE BEEN, IF, IF YOU'VE, IF YOU'VE LEVERAGED THE WEBSITE, UH, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN SOME PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES.
AT LEAST I HAVE OVER THE FA PAST THREE, FOUR YEARS, MOVING FROM MORE DEPARTMENT FOCUSED TO MORE END USER SERVICE FOCUSED.
UM, WE HAD A BRIEFING, UH, PROBABLY ABOUT A YEAR AGO FROM THE TEAM THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING THOSE CHANGES.
AND THEY LAID OUT, UH, SOME OF THE KEY CHANGES THAT HAD OCCURRED OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR, UM, ON THE ROADMAP.
I DO REMEMBER THAT THEY HAD MENTIONED, UH, TRANSLATION, UH, FUNCTIONALITY.
UH, SO THEY WERE GOING, THEY EITHER HAVE, I HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE WEBSITE IN A WHILE, EITHER HAVE, OR HAVE, OR WERE PLANNING TO IMPLEMENT, UH, UH, THE ABILITY FOR THE, THE WEBSITE TO, TO TRANSLATE, UH, NEW LANGUAGES ON THE FLY.
AND, AND THEY WENT THROUGH SORT OF A, A NUMBER OF KEY LANGUAGES.
UM, BUT I THINK ON AN ONGOING BASIS, WE SHOULD JUST CONTINUE TO REVISIT THE WEBSITE, UM, SEE WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE FROM AN END USER PERSPECTIVE, UM, AS WELL AS ENSURE THAT THERE'S, UH, FUNCTIONALITY, ESPECIALLY DURING, UM, EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.
I THINK THAT AT ONE POINT, THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE WENT DOWN DURING ONE OF THE WINTER STORMS, UH, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE DON'T WANT TO HAPPEN.
THINK, FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT? I THINK SO.
I SAW AT LEAST ONE OR TWO NODS.
UM, MOVING FORWARD, UH, THERE'S A LONG HISTORY OF THE COUNCIL VOTING DATABASE.
I KNOW COMMISSIONERS DE GUPTA, UM, AND, UM, COUPLE OF OTHERS WERE INVOLVED WITH, UH, AUTHORING A RESOLUTION TO BRING MORE TRANSPARENCY AS WELL AS, UH, RECORD KEEPING TO, UH, TO VOTING TABLETURE FROM CITY COUNCIL.
UH, AT THIS POINT, THE, THE, THAT WORK HAS BEEN ROLLED INTO A LARGER PROJECT AND WITH SOME OF THE, THE CHANGES TAKING PLACE IN, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE THAT IS IN TERMS OF PRIORITY, BUT CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO REVISIT.
AND, UH, AT SOME POINT HAVE THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO, UH, IN, TO TALK TO THE WORKING GROUP AS WELL AS THE FULL COMMISSION ON, UM, THE, THE BROADER STRATEGY FOR, UM, NOT ONLY, UM, COUNCIL VOTING, UM, RECORD KEEPING, BUT ALSO ANY LARGER STRATEGIC CHANGES THAT, UM, THEY'RE GONNA BRING ABOUT TO FURTHER ENABLE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN COUNCIL MEETINGS.
SO, SORT OF ROLLING THAT UP TO, TO A BIT OF A, OF A HIGHER LEVEL.
THIS SOUNDS LIKE FOLKS ARE GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
AGAIN, WE'LL TAKE THAT UP IN THE WORKING GROUP AND DEFINE IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, RESIDENTIAL TECHNOLOGIES STUDY, UM, HONESTLY, THIS IS ONE ITEM THAT PRECEDED MY TIME ON THIS WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND WE, I BELIEVE WE INDATED IT.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY IT'S, IT'S BEEN ROLLED INTO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY DIGITAL EQUITY OFFICE.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THEM, NOT ONLY IN THIS WORKING GROUP, BUT IN THE, UM, THE DIGITAL INCLUSION WORKING GROUP AS WELL.
SO, UM, THIS ONE'S ESSENTIALLY GONNA BE SUNSET AND ROLLED INTO THAT LARGER EFFORT.
AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN HISTORICAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION WITH, WITH UT, UM, BUT NOT, UH, I, I THINK THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, TO, TO, TO MAKE A, A LOWER PRIORITY.
ITEM SEVEN, UM, THE CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY
[02:50:01]
PILOT AND ASSESSMENT, LOOKING AT, UH, SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS, UM, FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, I THINK AT ONE POINT WE HAD THE TECHNOLOGY OFFICE TO PRESENT TO THE WORKING GROUP AND THE COMMISSION LEVEL ON, ON, UH, THAT PROGRESS.SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO THAT, BUT, UM, ESSENTIALLY, UH, I THINK ROLLING THAT INTO A HIGHER LEVEL, UH, TASK OR, OR, OR UPDATE, UH, WOULD BE WISE TIED TO THAT.
UM, ONE SPECIFIC ITEM AT THE ATLAS ONE APPLICATION, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF IT, UM, AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
THIS IS SOMETHING THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, ROLLED OUT, UM, AT A HIGH LEVEL IS ESSENTIALLY IS, IS IS TRACKING AND VISIBILITY TO, TO, TO, UH, ONGOING, UH, CRIME IN YOUR, IN, UH, YOUR GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF THE CITY.
UM, WE DID HAVE SOME CONCERNS WITH SORT OF THE, THE SOURCING, UH, THE FUNDING, THE REQUIREMENTS GATHERING FOR THAT.
UM, SO WE, WE'VE, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO, TO A P D AND WE'LL BE GETTING A BRIEFING ON THAT.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD ABSOLUTELY KEEP ON, UM, THE WORK PLAN, BECAUSE THERE'S A NUMBER OF, OF OTHER ITEMS THAT WE'D LIKE AN UP, AN UPDATE RELATED TO, UM, RELATED TO, TO, UM, A P D THAT I'LL DISCUSS IN JUST A SECOND.
3D PRINTING, UH, OF HOMELESSNESS SITUATIONS.
WE SENSE THAT, THAT, UH, I THINK COMMISSIONER FLOYD LOOKED INTO THAT BRIEFLY.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY, UH, I BELIEVE HE MET WITH DONNA GRAY, THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER.
UM, BUT I THINK WHERE WE AGREED WAS THAT CERTAINLY WE CAN CONTINUE TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT, BUT THE, UM, COMMISSION ON HOMELESSNESS MAY BE A BIT BETTER SUITED TO TAKE THAT ITEM UP.
UM, LAST ITEM, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, DRONES, SMART CITY TECH.
WE'VE HAD JASON, JON-MICHAEL FROM, FROM, CAN YOU REMIND ME THAT HIS ROLE IN THE CITY CHAIR PITS IT? IT WAS AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION, BUT HE'S, HE'S SINCE LEFT THAT, RIGHT? RIGHT.
UM, WE'VE HAD HIM SEVERAL TIMES TO BRIEF US ON SMART CITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE CAN CONTINUE TO GET BRIEFING ON, UM, WITH.
AND ONE THING JUST TO WEIGH IN, TO JUMP IN MM-HMM.
ALMOST AWARE OF I WAS GONNA GET TO THAT.
AND SO THE GOOD SYSTEMS GROUP, I THINK HE'LL BE THE ONE THAT'S SERVING THAT SMART CITY CONTACT GOING FORWARD IN THE INNOVATION OFFICE AS WELL.
A FEW ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON THIS LIST AND HAVE COME UP, UH, MORE RECENTLY, THE, UH, THE, THE, UH, HOMELAND SECURITY BRIEFING THAT WE RECEIVED, OR THIS EVENING, THAT'S ONE ITEM THAT, UM, THAT CAME UP.
UM, THE PREVIOUS INDIVIDUAL BRIEFED OUR WORKING GROUP FIRST.
UM, AND YOU, YOU SAW THE, THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP, UH, ON THE RADAR AS WELL.
UM, THREE ITEMS ARE KIND OF BUCKETED TOGETHER.
UM, ALSO MONITORING AND SECURITY IN PUBLIC LOCATIONS.
I KNOW THERE'VE BEEN SOME CONCERNS AROUND THE LEVEL OF, UM, MONITORING IN SOME OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES AS WELL AS, UH, BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE FOR POLICE OFFICERS.
SO THOSE ARE ALL ITEMS THAT I KNOW CHAIR PITTS IS FOLLOWING UP ON WITH A P D.
UM, AND WE WANNA KEEP ON THE WORK PLAN AS WELL.
SO I WILL PAUSE THERE FOR QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER RICE, ANY, UH, QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? UH, YES.
UH, SORRY, I WAS JUST GONNA ADD, SINCE I'M IN, UH, CITY HALL, THAT THEY ARE CLOSING AT 10, SO I WILL PROBABLY BE DROPPING OFF IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES.
I COULDN'T HEAR YOU, BUT I ASSUME THAT THERE WASN'T ANYTHING THERE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? CHAIR PITS? OH, HE IS MUTED NOW.
CHAIR PITTS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN.
COMMISSIONER RICE WAS SAYING THAT HE'S AT CITY HALL AND IT CLOSES AT 10:00 PM AND SO, UH, HE'LL BE, NEED TO GET OFF THE CALL.
[02:55:01]
APOLOGIES FOR, AGAIN, THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGES.UM, DIDN'T THINK THAT WE'D BE THIS LATE, UM, BUT IT WON'T, IT, IT WILL STILL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A QUORUM, UH, UNLESS WE DECIDE, UH, TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
THAT'S, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.
UM, CAN I MAKE A SUGGESTION? SURE.
UM, WE STILL HAVE ONE MORE WORKING GROUP TO GO THROUGH.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA FINISH IN FIVE MINUTES.
NO, I THINK ALL COMMISSIONERS SHOULD, WELL, LET ME SUGGEST THAT COMMISSIONERS REVIEW THE WORK PLANS AND PERHAPS SEND TO, TO DAN OR JESSE, THEIR RANKED ORDER CHOICE OF COMMISSIONS OR, UH, OF WORKING GROUPS THEY WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THAT DATA, AND PERHAPS WE CAN THEN SORT OUT WHERE WE ARE.
THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF THE WORKING GROUPS ESPECIALLY.
UH, SO, UH, I'M IN FAVOR OF THAT.
UH, I'D LIKE TO CALL THAT TO A VOTE TO GIVE US A CHANCE TO, UH, AT LEAST HAVE SOME KIND OF, UH, ADJOURNMENT BEFORE COMMISSIONER.
UH, RICE JUST GETS KICKED OUT.
UH, UH, NO, I, I'M CALLING THAT POINT TO A VOTE, UH, TO THE POINT THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, VICE CHAIR JUST MADE.
UH, THANK YOU, UH, FOLLOWED VICE CHAIR APODACA SUGGESTION TO HAVE COMMISSIONERS MAIL, EMAIL THEIR PREFERENCE FOR WORKING GROUPS AND, AND, AND RANK IN RANK IN RANK CHOICE, RANK CHOICE.
UH, SO NOW WE HAVE A MOTION, UH, TO EXPEDITE THIS PROCESS, UH, OF, UH, WHAT WORKING GROUP SELECTION.
UH, AND IT'S BEEN SECONDED, UH, SORRY, MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GARZA, SECONDED BY MYSELF.
AGAIN, RANK CHECK, UH, CHOICE VOTING, ALL THE NEW COMMISSIONERS.
UH, YOU'RE GONNA EMAIL JESSE AND DAN YOUR CHOICES.
UH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON NOW.
SO, ALL IN FAVOR OF THAT, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
IS THERE ANYONE OPPOSED? IS THERE ONE ABSTAINING? OKAY.
SO THAT'S GONNA RESOLVE THE WORKING GROUP PROCESS.
UM, WE STILL HAVE, UH, NOW JUST A, A MATTER OF MINUTES.
UM, AND, UH, WE HAVE, I HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER DOTAS, UH, AS A WORKING GROUP CHAIR, I HAVE HIS REPORT.
AND SO I'M GONNA, IT'S A CONUNDRUM BECAUSE, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE REPORT.
WHAT I PROPOSE, UH, IS THAT IF, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS ARE AMENABLE, UM, THAT VICE CHAIR APODACA, MYSELF AND, UH, COMMISSIONER KUTA, UH, WHO CHAIRS THE WORKING GROUP, UH, THAT WE HAVE A CONVENING.
UH, IN FACT, WE COULD HAVE UP TO FIVE COMMISSIONERS, SO TWO MORE COMMISSIONERS, UH, PERHAPS EVEN THE NEW ONES, UH, THAT, UH, HAVE, HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO WEIGH IN AS MUCH.
UH, THAT WOULD BE REALLY COMMISSIONER CLARK AND COMMISSIONER RICE, UH, RIGHT, BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS ROOM HAS PARTICIPATED TO MORE, TO MORE OF AN EXTENT.
UM, IT'S A PROPOSAL TO A ALLOW, AGAIN, MORE INPUT, BUT YET TO HAVE, UH, VICE CHAIR I'VE DOCKET AND MYSELF THERE, UH, HAVING BEEN EXPERIENCED WITH THE WORK PLAN AND MANY OF THESE ITEMS. AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, THE COMMISSIONER KUTA AS THE WORKING GROUP CHAIR TO GO THROUGH, UH, THAT WORKING GROUP'S ITEMS, UH, AND THEN CONFIRM, UH, WHAT WOULD BE SUNSET OR WHAT WOULD NOT BE.
UH, SO TO CLARIFY MY MOTION, MY MOTION IS THAT A WORKING GROUP BE CREATED, UH, MYSELF, VICE CHAIR POCA, UH, THE CHAIR OF THIS WORKING GROUP, UH, SUMIT SUPTA, UH, AND TWO NEW COMMISSIONERS, UH, COMMISSIONER RICE AND COMMISSIONER CLARK TO EVALUATE, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE OF WORKING GROUP ITEMS AS A SUBSET, BASICALLY OF THE COMMISSION.
UH, AND THEN TO, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD OR, OR NOT BASED UPON THE OUTCOME OF THAT.
UH, I'M NOT SURE I I UNDERSTAND THAT.
[03:00:01]
YES.SO DO YOU WANT EACH OF US TO SEPARATELY LOOK AT THE DOCUMENT AND COMMENT ON IT AND SEND IT IN? OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A ACTUAL VIDEO CONFERENCE CALL WHERE WE GO THROUGH THAT AND SAY, OKAY, WE AGREE THAT THIS IS WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE? WELL, THE PROPOSAL WAS FOR A VIDEO CONFERENCE CALL, UH, I THINK JUST LIKE WE WOULD DO IN A NORMAL WORKING GROUP MEETING.
SO WE CAN SET ONE UP AND, UH, UH, DOES THAT SOUND GOOD? CHAIR PITS? I'LL JUST SAY THAT.
UH, IN TERMS OF A TIME COMMITMENT, I'M STARTING A NEW POSITION NEXT WEEK, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN COMMIT MY TIME JUST YET, BUT I CAN GET BACK TO YOU ABOUT JOINING AND I APPRECIATE BEING INCLUDED.
UH, COMMISSIONER RICE, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE HE ALREADY GOT KICKED OUT.
UH, SO WE CAN'T EVEN GET HIS CONFIRMATION ON THAT.
UH, WHAT DO YOU THINK? VICE TRAVEL? DACA? WELL, BEFORE WE EVEN PROCEED, IT'S 10 O'CLOCK.
UH, SO WE COULD MAKE THIS SIMPLE, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO VOTE TO EVEN EXTEND THIS MEETING.
WE'VE LOST, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER RICE.
UH, AND SO YOU MADE NOT A QUORUM.
WE HAVE TO VOTE TO EXTEND THE MEETING, UM, BECAUSE IT'S PAST 10.
SO I, I WILL NOT HOLD ANYBODY AT FAULT IF THEY VOTE AGAINST CONTINUING THE MEETING.
HAVING SAID THAT, EXCEPT, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT ONLY TAKE ANOTHER 15 MINUTES.
UH, YOU KNOW, BUT I SAY VOTE YOUR HEART.
UH, BUT WE HAVE TO HOLD THAT VOTE.
SO I PROPOSE THAT WE EXTEND THE MEETING BY 15 MINUTES.
IS, UH, TO, TO, YEAH, IT'S CLEAR.
WE'RE EITHER GONNA VOTE TO EXTEND THE MEETING, UH, OR NOT, BUT, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A MOTION WE HAVE A MOTION WE HAVE TO VOTE EITHER WAY.
UH, SO WE HAVE TO VOTE TO EXTEND, UH, THERE'S A MOTION TO EXTEND THE MEETING BY 10 MINUTES.
IS THERE A SECOND FOR THAT? I SECOND IT.
OH, WHAT'S, WHAT DO WE INTEND TO COVER? I SAID 15 MINUTES, RIGHT? 10 MINUTES.
I GOT, I GOT WELL COVER OVER IN 10 MINUTES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN HEAR YOU.
SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE WE COVER IN THE NEXT 10 MINUTES? I THINK WE SHOULD COVER THE, THE, THE MECHANICS OF HOW WE ARE GONNA MEET AND, UH, SO THAT WE CAN RESOLVE THE ISSUES RELATING TO THIS WORKING GROUP.
I DON'T THINK, I DON'T THINK WE CAN REALLY COVER THE DETAILS OF THE WORKING GROUP.
I'D HATE TO DO A SLIP SHOT JOB IN 10 MINUTES.
UH, JUST NOT, I, I I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT WE JUST GO THROUGH THE MECHANICS, WHAT TIME, WHAT DATE, WHEN, HOW LONG.
SO IS THERE A SECOND FOR THAT MOTION TO SPEND THE NEXT 10 MINUTES TALKING ABOUT WHEN AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA MEET? UH, THAT, THAT WORKING GROUP WE JUST DESCRIBED, UH, THAT, UH, TO BE FAIR MAY INCLUDE COMMISSIONER CLARK, BUT I WOULD ADD THAT IF IT CAN'T INCLUDE COMMISSIONER CLARK THAT INCLUDE ONE OF THE OTHER NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO'S HAD THE LEAST, UH, ABILITY TO JUMP IN ON WORKING GROUP CALLS, THAT WOULD BE COMMISSIONER WOULD JA TO NEXT, UH, NOT TO CALL YOU OUT, BUT JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, UM, SO FAR, UH, YOU'VE BEEN ON A COUPLE WORKING GROUP CALLS ALREADY.
UH, SO IT'S, UH, UH, BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE PROPOSAL.
UH, IF NOT, WE'RE GONNA JUST ADJOURN, UH, AND THEN EVERYTHING WILL BE TABLED TO OUR NEXT MEETING AND DON'T FEEL PRESSURED, YOU KNOW? UH, YEAH.
THEY CAN, UH, SO WE DON'T NEED TO STAY LONG.
WE DON'T NEED TO STAY TO TAKE CARE OF MEDIA LOGISTICS.
SO THEN IS THERE ANYTHING WE REALLY NEED TO DO NOW THAT CAN'T BE TAKEN CARE OF EITHER OVER EMAIL OR THAT WOULDN'T BE PUSHED TO THE NEXT MEETING? I DON'T THINK SO.
SO I'M HEARING CONSENSUS THAT, UH, UH, THAT WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE FOR ADJOURNMENT, UH, BASED ON THAT.
UH, AND I FEEL OBLIGED CONSIDERING, UH, THAT COMMISSIONER RICE, HIS FIRST MEETING, UH, HE, HE'S AT CITY HALL AND HE LITERALLY GOT KICKED OUT.
UH, SO I MOVE THAT WE ADJOURN, UH, AND CALL THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, A GOOD EFFORT CONSIDERING WHAT WE HAD TO WORK WITH.
UH, TABLE THE REST OF THE ITEMS. I WILL SECOND FOR THAT MOTION.
I HAD MULTIPLE SECONDS FOR THAT.
UH, UH, BUT I'LL RECOGNIZE, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA THIRD IN THE ROOM FIRST.
UH, SO WITH THAT, ALL IN FAVOR, ADJOURNMENT, PLEASE SAY AYE.
AND ANYONE OPPOSED AND NO ABSTENTIONS.
[03:05:01]
PATIENCE ONLINE, UH, AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU.UH, NEXT TIME APPEARANCE, COME UNDO OPERATIONS.