[00:00:01]
IT IS 6 0 6 AND WE HAVE QUORUM.[CALL TO ORDER]
ORDER.UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR BEING HERE ON TIME.
ANYWAY, UH, SO JUST A REMINDER FOR THOSE, THOSE OF US IN THE ROOM, WE, WE HAVE TO HAVE ONE MIC ON AT A TIME AND APPARENTLY SIT REALLY FAR BACK FROM IT
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, AND GET STARTED WITH OUR AGENDA.
UM, I IS IT, I'M GONNA JUST SWITCH MICROPHONES.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE A KINDA LENGTHY AGENDA TONIGHT, SO LET'S JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE DISCUSS EACH ITEM AND, AND TRY TO KEEP THINGS, UH, MOVING.
DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? I BELIEVE WE DO.
IF YOU, YEAH, YOU CAN GO UP THERE AND, UM, YOU CAN SHARE YOUR NAME AND GO RIGHT AHEAD.
UH, I'M THE PRESIDENT OF AFSCME 1624.
IT'S A UNION THAT REPRESENTS CITY OF AUSTIN WORKERS AND TRAVIS COUNTY WORKERS LIKE MYSELF.
UM, AND I WANTED TO COME TALK TO Y'ALL ABOUT, UM, THIS PROPOSED ACTION THAT, UH, THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER WAS, UH, PLANNING ON, ON ROLLING OUT, UM, THAT BASICALLY REMOVES THE OPTION OF TELEWORKING, UH, FOR A MAJORITY OF, UH, PEOPLE'S WORKDAY OR WORK WEEK, I SHOULD SAY, THREE OUTTA FIVE DAYS FOR A HUGE NUMBER OF CITY AUSTIN EMPLOYEES.
UM, I, I FEEL THAT THIS IS, UH, A HUGE STEP BACKWARDS.
YOU KNOW, DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD, WOULD SET A BAD EXAMPLE FOR LARGE EMPLOYERS IN OUR CITY.
UM, NOT JUST BECAUSE, UH, OF LIKE THE ACTUAL TRAFFIC, BUT EVEN THINGS LIKE USE OF OUR, OUR LAND, OF OUR BUILT OUT INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE BUILDINGS.
THE ENERGY THAT IT TAKES TO COOL, ESPECIALLY IN THIS HEAT.
YOU KNOW, ALL THESE BUILDINGS THAT MAYBE DON'T, WE DON'T NEED THAT FOOTPRINT OR WE COULD USE IT MORE EFFICIENTLY, UH, FOR OTHER COMMUNITY NEEDS BESIDES, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY TRAVELING INTO A WORK SITE TO SIT ON A COMPUTER, WHICH THEY WOULD'VE BEEN DOING AT A HOME OR, OR APARTMENT THAT THEY'RE CURRENTLY COOLING AS WELL.
I, UH, YOU KNOW, AS I GOT UP EARLY THIS MORNING TO GET ON MY BUS, TO CONNECT TO MY OTHER BUS TO GET DOWNTOWN, I WAS THINKING ABOUT MY, MY FELLOW NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, LARGELY SPANISH SPEAKING NEIGHBORHOOD WHO RIDE THE BUS.
AND THAT'S HOW WE GET AROUND OUT OF NECESSITY, OUT OF ALSO CARING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
I OVERHEARD TWO GENTLEMEN, SLIGHTLY OLDER THAN ME, DAY LABORERS, I RECOGNIZED ONE OF THEM.
HE HANGS OUT IN FRONT OF, UH, LOCAL GAS STATION LOOKING FOR DAY LABOR.
AND THEY WERE TALKING IN SPANISH ABOUT THE VALUE OF RESPECTING THEIR NEIGHBORS AND WHY YOU HAVE TO RESPECT EVERYONE.
AND EVEN IF THEIR WALK OF LIFE IS DIFFERENT THAN YOURS, THIS IS THE LANGUAGE THAT MAYBE WOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO BE HEARD FROM SOMEONE OF THEIR GENERATIONS.
THEY SHARED THAT THAT'S WHY WE CAME TO THIS COUNTRY TO HELP TO, TO WORK HARD, TO HELP AND TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER.
AND I VIEW THAT AS A SUSTAINABLE, UH, OUTLOOK.
SOMETHING THAT, UH, BUILDS THE RESILIENCE OF OUR NEIGHBORS NEIGHBORHOODS, OF OUR CITY.
AND I THINK THE CITY COULD DO MUCH, UH, MUCH, UH, GOOD IN ECHOING AND REFLECTING THAT, AND ALSO HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DO HUGE DAMAGE TO THAT BY HURTING THE, THEIR WORKERS WHO DEPEND ON THIS NOW, MANY OF WHOM WERE HIRED REMOTELY AND NEVER GONE INTO AN OFFICE.
THERE'S NOT EVEN AN OFFICE FOR THEM TO GO TO.
THE CITY WOULD HAVE TO SPEND MONEY ON BUILDINGS AND FURNITURE TO FORCE THEM INTO AN OFFICE OR WORK IN A MANNER, A LOCATION THEY DON'T LIKE.
SO, UH, AS WE LOOK AT THESE BIG LONG-TERM ISSUES FOR SUCH A LARGER WORKFORCE IN OUR CITY, UH, I I WOULD SAY THAT IN YOUR CAPACITIES ON YOUR COMMISSIONS, PLEASE COMMUNICATE TO COUNCIL
[00:05:01]
THAT ANY MOVE THAT REDUCES TELEWORK AND REMOTE WORK OPTIONS IS A BAD THING ON SO MANY LEVELS AND ANY EFFORTS TO INCREASE IT FOR THOSE WHO WANT IT, RIGHT? NOBODY'S GONNA BE FORCED TO DO DO SOMETHING THEY DON'T WANT TO, BUT LIKE TO LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE THAT SETS A GOOD EXAMPLE, STRENGTHENS OUR COMMUNITY, UH, AND, AND REALLY LEADS THE WAY, UH, FOR OTHER LARGE EMPLOYERS.AND MY LAST PLUG, MY EMPLOYER TRAVIS COUNTY, HAS WON AWARDS, UH, JUST RECENTLY WON AWARDS FOR THEIR TELEWORK POLICY.
THEY HAVE SAVED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN, IN, IN THEIR JUST HEATING AND COOLING OF BUILDINGS BY HAVING PEOPLE WORK REMOTELY.
UH, AND WE KNOW THAT BUDGETS ARE TIGHT.
THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD WORK THAT, UH, COULD BE DONE WITH THOSE DOLLARS INSTEAD OF FORCING PEOPLE INTO THE OFFICE HELP BUILD OUT THE SIDEWALKS AND, AND THE BIKE LANES IN MY COMMUNITY HELP ME GET TO THE BUS ON TIME.
THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE Y'ALL TO COMMUNICATE TO COUNSEL.
I'M SURE YOU KNOW THAT ITEM IS ON OUR AGENDA.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYBODY FOR GIVING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK AND THE WORK WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED IN IN THE PAST YEAR.
UM, SOME OF YOU, I SEE SOME FAMILIAR FACES HERE FROM SOME OF THE, UH, UH, INITIATIVES THAT I, UH, COLLABORATE WITH, LIKE THE AUSTIN HOUSING COALITION OR THE HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND, UH, FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK CAN IS A PARTNERSHIP OF PUBLIC, PRIVATE, NONPROFIT, AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH LEVERAGE MUTUAL RESOURCES TO COLLECTIVELY IMPROVE, UH, SOCIAL HEALTH, EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, OUR PARTNERS INCLUDE, UH, GO, UH, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, UNITED WAY CENTRAL HEALTH, UH, FROM A, A VARIETY OF, OF ISSUE AREAS.
AND TOGETHER WE, UM, PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THE POWER OF COLLABORATION FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.
UM, WE IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO COORDINATE AND ALIGN OUR RESOURCES, UH, AND SERVICES AMONG OUR PARTNERS, SUPPORT EFFORTS TO ADDRESS COMMUNITY CHALLENGES THROUGH COLLECTIVE ACTION AND CREATE CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CIVIC DIALOGUE AND CIVIC ACTION.
UM, ALL THIS INFORMATION IS INCLUDED IN A FLYER AND SOME DATA FROM THE DASHBOARD THAT I FORWARDED TO, UM, ROHAN.
UH, AND, UH, YOU CAN, UM, SEE EXACTLY WHICH PARTNERS WE HAVE THERE.
UM, TOGETHER WE DEVELOP TOOLS TO INFORM, LIKE THE CAN DASHBOARD, WHICH IS WHAT I WORK ON, HAS 18 DIFFERENT INDICATORS THAT ASSESS OUR COMMUNITY'S OVERALL HEALTH AND WELLBEING.
AND THAT INCLUDES AN AIR QUALITY INDICATOR, UH, COMMUTING INDICATOR, UH, WHICH, UH, HAS MET ITS TARGET.
SO WE'RE MEETING WITH OUR ISSUE AREA EXPERTS TO ADJUST THAT TARGET BECAUSE OF, UH, TELECOMMUTING HAS BROUGHT DOWN THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO DRIVE ALONE TO WORK, UM, EVERY DAY.
UM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UH, INDICATORS LIKE, UH, HOUSING COST BURDEN, FOOD INSECURITY, UH, UNEMPLOYMENT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE THE WEEKEND AT X WEBSITE, THE PODCAST.
UM, BUT, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS YEAR AND WE'LL BE WORKING ON.
UM, IT HAS TO DO WITH MENTAL HEALTH BECAUSE OUR MENTAL HEALTH INDICATOR, OR PERCENT OF ADULTS WHO REPORT FIVE OR MORE DAYS OF POOR MENTAL HEALTH IN THE PREVIOUS 30 DAYS IS AN INDICATOR THAT HAS HAD THE GREATEST INCREASE IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE INITIATIVES HAS BEEN TRAINING 1000 PEOPLE IN FROM OUR, UH, 1000 STAFF FROM, UH, OUR PARTNERS IN MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID.
AND JUST YESTERDAY WAS OUR LAST OF THREE, UM, FREE, UH, CLINICS.
THERE'S MORE AND THEY'RE, UH, AVAILABLE THROUGH INTEGRAL CARE IS OUR PARTNER FOR THAT.
BUT, UM, IF YOU'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AND MORE INITIATIVES, UH, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO ME OR RAUL, UH, AND, UH, JUST, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY HOW MUCH TIME I HAVE LEFT, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M OPEN FOR THOSE.
AND I THINK WE, YOU DID SEND THAT AROUND, RIGHT? UH, NOT YET.
I KNOW I'VE SEEN IT IN THE PAST, SO I COULDN'T REMEMBER, BUT THANK YOU.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? OKAY.
[00:10:01]
ALL RIGHT.UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE, UM, ON, I THINK OUR, OUR NEXT ITEM IS APPROVING OUR MINUTES FROM
[1. Approval of minutes from the May 24th meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee.]
OUR MAY 24TH MEETING.IS EVERYBODY TAKING A LOOK AT THOSE? MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? SECOND.
WHAT MOTION, SIR HARRIS, WE'VE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND.
UM, REMEMBER, UH, IN ORDER TO VOTE, YOU GOTTA HAVE YOUR, UH, CAMERA ON, AND IF EVERYBODY, UH, IF YOU'RE VOTING, I PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
AND NOW WE'RE GONNA DO A QUICK, UH, REFRESH OF SOME
[2. Refresh on JSC attendance and conflict of interest rules – Rohan Lilauwala, Office of Sustainability.]
OF OUR KIND OF RULES FOR COMMISSIONS FROM ROHAN.UM, NOT A TON OF OF NEW CONTENT HERE.
JUST A REMINDER ABOUT THE, UM, ATTENDANCE AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORM.
UM, AND ESSENTIALLY, IF YOU AREN'T HERE IN PERSON, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE FORM AND IDENTIFY IF YOU ARE RECUSING OR ABSTAINING ON ANY, UM, AGENDA ITEMS. UH, AND IF YOU ARE ATTENDING REMOTELY, UM, YOU NEED TO SIGN AND SEND BACK THE FORM TO ME, UM, IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING.
IF YOU'RE ON THE MEETING AND YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED THE FORM, CAN'T COUNT YOU FOR QUORUM AND CAN'T COUNT YOUR VOTE.
EVERYONE DID A, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE WAS SUPER EFFICIENT AND GOT THE FORM TO ME, SO I APPRECIATE IT EASIER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.
AND THANK YOU FOR FACILITATING THAT, ROHAN.
ALRIGHT, UM, NEXT UP WE ARE GONNA HAVE, UH, INNOVATION OFFICE.
[3. Innovation Office support of Austin Climate Equity Plan Implementation Presentation – Daniel Culotta, Innovation Office (Discussion and/or Possible Action).]
SO YEAH, YOU'RE READY TO GO, DANIELLE.SO,
I'M GONNA LOOK AT Y'ALL AND THEN LOOK OVER HERE.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME TODAY.
UM, WE LOVE WORKING WITH OUR FRIENDS AND SUSTAINABILITY AND ALL OF YOU TO SUPPORT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, HOWEVER WE CAN.
AND I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF THE PROGRAMS, UH, THAT WE'VE, THAT WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER RIGHT NOW, UM, WITH Y'ALL TODAY THAT IS GONNA DO A BIG PART TO FILL IN THE PIECE ABOUT, UH, JUST AN EQUITABLE ACCESS TO GREEN JOBS AND, UH, CLIMATE FOCUSED CAREERS.
SO YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE GREEN WORKFORCE ACCELERATOR, WHAT AND WHY YOU CAN GO NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE GREEN WORKFORCE ACCELERATOR, UM, IN A NUTSHELL IS IT'S A COLLABORATION LED BY THE INNOVATION OFFICE.
UM, AND IT'S BETWEEN SUSTAINABILITY, A R R E D D, RESILIENCE PART, UH, AND POTENTIALLY SOME OTHERS TO EXPAND THE NUMBER AND CAPACITY OF, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE GOOD GREEN JOBS AND GREEN JOBS TRAINING IN AUSTIN.
SO, AS WE ALL KNOW, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN HAS AN OVERARCHING STRATEGY OF INCREASING ACCESS TO GOOD GREEN JOBS.
THERE'S LOTS OF DEPARTMENTS AND PROGRAMS IN THE CITY, UH, THAT EITHER DIRECTLY SUPPORT GREEN JOBS OR HAVE A HAVE A STAKE IN THEM.
UM, WE ARE ALSO IN THE MIDST OF THE, UH, HISTORIC TIME IN THE US WITH THE, UH, INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, UM, THE BILATERAL RULE INFRASTRUCTURE LAW AND THE SHIPS AND SCIENCE, UM, UH, LAW THAT'S INVESTING OVER A TRILLION DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
UM, IN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, ADVANCEMENT AND CLIMATE JOBS, IT'S EXPECTED THAT IT COULD CREATE UP TO 12 MILLION JOBS.
HOWEVER, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT THOSE ARE GONNA BE GOOD JOBS.
THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE ACCESSIBLE TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MOST AFFECTED BY, UH, CLIMATE CHANGE, UM, AND OTHER SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES, UM, AND THAT HAVE BEEN LOCKED OUT OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.
UM, EVERYTHING'S MOVING VERY FAST, AND WE KNOW THAT THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UM, INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY HAVE CREATED THE VERY INEQUITIES THAT WE SEE NOW.
AND IF WE JUST REPEAT THEM IN THIS LAW, WE'LL SEE THEM AGAIN.
SO, UH, THIS PROGRAM GIVES THE CITY A VEHICLE TO SUPPORT, UM, OUR COMMUNITY-BASED, UH, PARTNERS TO CREATE, UM, AND TRAIN FOR GOOD GREEN JOBS THAT HELP PURSUE OUR CLIMATE AND EQUITY GOALS AND SOME OF THE GOALS, UM, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PURSUING NOW AND OVER THE NEXT DECADE THROUGH THESE LEGISLATIONS.
IT'S, I WANT Y'ALL TO HAVE SOME CONTEXT IF, IF YOU READ THIS LATER,
UM, SO HOW WE GOT HERE IN THIS PROGRAM MODEL, WELL ACTUALLY, UH, ON GREEN JOBS, THIS IS THE FOURTH ITERATION OF A PROGRAM THAT WE'VE DONE.
[00:15:01]
UM, WE STARTED IN 2019 WITH THE EQUITABLE GREEN JOBS GRANT, AND I'VE ADDED ELEMENTS, UM, TO THIS IN, UH, 2021 AND 2022.SO THIS WILL BE OUR FOURTH ONE IN 2023.
UH, WE'VE ALSO RUN THIS TYPE OF MODEL, UM, THROUGH THE INNOVATION OFFICE WITH PARTNERS FOR AFFORDABILITY AND HOMELESSNESS, UH, AND DISPLACEMENT MITIGATION.
UM, AND THEN ONE SPECIFICALLY ON HOMELESSNESS THIS YEAR IS OUR BIGGEST PROGRAM YET.
SO, UH, JUST AS SOME OTHER BACKGROUND, THE INNOVATION OFFICE WAS ALSO THE LEAD ON DEVELOPING THE AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN 2020.
UM, IF Y'ALL REMEMBER THAT, THAT'S WHY WE SKIPPED 2020 WITH THE ACCELERATORS, UH, WHICH IS ALSO FOCUSED ON PROVIDING EQUITABLE BY ACCESS TO, TO GREEN JOBS.
UM, THAT PROGRAM IS NOT PERMANENTLY H HOUSED AND PART IT'S GOT TWO FULL-TIME POSITIONS.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED AND, AND PROUD OF HOW THAT PROGRAM CAME TOGETHER.
IT'S GOT WELL OVER 200 PEOPLE INTO PAYING OPPORTUNITIES AND JOBS AND TRAINING, UM, AND CREATED A REALLY EXCELLENT, UM, PROGRAM THAT ALSO FEEDS FOLKS THAT GRADUATED OUTTA THOSE PROGRAMS INTO GREEN CITY JOBS.
UM, PART OF THAT WAS WE ALSO DID TWO COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH STUDIES, UH, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE WANT OUT OF GREEN JOBS AND NEED OUTTA GREEN JOBS AND GREEN JOBS PROGRAMS, UH, AS FAR AS ACCESSING THEM AND, AND BEING IN THEM.
AND THEN ALSO WE DID A BROADER GREEN JOBS, UM, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS WITH UT.
UH, IF Y'ALL DON'T HAVE THOSE, I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO SHARE THOSE.
UM, IT'S PRETTY INTERESTING STUFF SHOWS, YOU KNOW, WHAT GREEN JOBS INDUSTRIES ARE HERE NOW AND WHERE THEY MAY DEVELOP AND HOW WE CAN HELP THAT AS A CITY.
SO THE NUMBER OF, UM, PROVI WHAT WE FOUND THROUGH THE CONSERVATION CORPS IN THESE PAST PROGRAMS IS NUMBER OF, UH, PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE TRAINING FOR AND GREEN JOBS IN AUSTIN, ESPECIALLY ONES THAT FOCUS ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, AND COMMUNITIES OF, UM, HISTORICALLY BEEN LOCKED OUT OF AND LOOKED OVER FOR THESE, UM, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES.
THE NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT FOCUS ON THAT IS PRETTY LOW.
UH, SO WE NEED MORE PARTNERS TO HELP US.
THE CITY CAN'T EVEN GET CLOSE TO DOING ALL THIS WORK BY ITSELF, AND WE SHOULDN'T DO THIS WORK BY OURSELF.
UM, AND THE NUMBER OF, WE NEED MORE PARTNERS AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH US TO REALLY ACHIEVE THESE GOALS AND TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, WE AS A CITY ORGANIZATION ALSO HAVE, UM, SIGNIFICANT POWER, UH, AND INFLUENCE FOR SUPPORTING GOOD GREEN JOBS, JUST CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF GRANTS AND DEPE DIRECT PAYMENTS FROM TAX CREDITS, UH, AND DIRECT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, UM, IN THESE, IN THESE AREAS.
SO WE CAN ALSO INFLUENCE WHAT JOBS LOOK LIKE AND, AND WHERE THOSE JOBS COME FROM, UM, BY DOING THIS WORK, UH, HERE TODAY, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, SOME OF THE RESULTS FROM PAST PROGRAMS, AND THIS IS THE AGGREGATE OF ALL THESE PROGRAMS THAT DO, UM, DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THROUGH ACCELERATORS AND CAPACITY BUILDING, INCLUDING THE GREEN JOBS PROGRAMS. SO SINCE 2019 WE STARTED, WE'VE HAD 45 ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THAT COMPLETED, UH, PROGRAMS ON, AGAIN, AFFORDABILITY, HOMELESSNESS, GREEN JOBS, AND CLIMATE CHANGE, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, DISPLACEMENT, UM, THAT'S CREATED.
THOSE PROGRAMS ALONE HAVE CREATED CAPACITY FOR OVER A HUNDRED NEW, UM, JOBS OR JOB PLACEMENTS FOR RESIDENTS.
16 NEW PROGRAM AREAS, UH, OF SERVICE WERE LAUNCHED FROM THESE ORGANIZATIONS AFTER THEY CAME OUTTA THESE PROGRAMS. UM, MOST OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT GO THROUGH THESE GO THROUGH MAJOR RESTRUCTURINGS, A LOT OF GROWTH, UM, AND FORMALIZATION OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOCUS ON A LOT IS HELPING PEOPLE LEVEL UP BASICALLY.
UM, OTHER FOLKS THAT'S COME OUT, UH, THEY'VE HAD OVER $5 MILLION, UH, BASICALLY LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL GRANTS, INVESTMENTS AND CONTRACTS AS THEY'VE GOTTEN.
UH, AND IT'S REALLY COOL, A LOT OF 'EM HAVE, HAVE STARTED WORKING FORMALLY WITH THE CITY, UH, WHICH SHOWS THAT THIS PROGRAM IS EXPOSING THE CITY TO NEW THINGS AND BUILDING, UM, VIABLE AND RELIABLE PARTNERS.
UH, WE'VE CREATED AT LEAST FIVE SIGN, OR THEY'VE CREATED AT LEAST FIVE SIGNIFICANT COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN TWO PLUS ORGS THEMSELVES, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY AWESOME.
ONCE THEY GET TOGETHER ON THESE NETWORKS, THEY'RE BUILDING NEW THINGS TOGETHER.
UM, FOUR ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ENROLLED IN A SECOND PROGRAM, OURS OR OTHERS, TO CONTINUE THEIR PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT.
UM, FOLKS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS OF BEEN ON, UH, QUEER EYE, THE TODAY SHOW, EARTHX ASPEN INTO INSTITUTE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.
SO A LOT OF VISIBILITY, UM, AND, AND RECOGNITION OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND THE WORK THEY'RE DOING.
AND WE JUST HAVE A STRONGER AND MORE FOCUSED ECOSYSTEM OF ORGANIZATIONS IN AUSTIN THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THIS.
UH, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, WE'VE, UH, PUT ABOUT 500 K INTO GRANTS.
UH, THESE ARE UNRESTRICTED, VERY TRUST-BASED GRANTS.
UM, I'LL TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT, UM, COMING UP, UH, IN, IN THE, THE GRANTS AND PROGRAM COST OVER FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO WRAP UP ONE, UH, OUR PROGRAM THIS YEAR, OR THIS GOING ON RIGHT NOW WITH THE HOMELESSNESS, UH, STRATEGY DIVISION, WHICH HAS GOT
[00:20:01]
ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS INTO 21 ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO EXPAND THEIR CAPACITY, UH, TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO OUR UNHOUSED NEIGHBORS IN AUSTIN.CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? SO, SOME OF THE LESSONS WE'VE LEARNED FROM DOING THIS A FEW TIMES NOW, WE TRY TO ITERATE EVERY TIME AND LEARN, UM, THESE PROGRAMS THAT ARE MEANT FOR MARGINALIZED, UH, OR NEW ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, WE REALLY HAVE TO BE DELIBERATE ABOUT THE RECRUITING AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, UM, AS WE BUILD UP THE, THE NETWORK AND ECOSYSTEM OF ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT GO THROUGH THEM.
UH, THESE ARE ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AND GROUPS THAT TRADITIONALLY HAVEN'T HAD ACCESS OR, OR EVEN BEEN ASKED TO BE PART OF THESE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO WE HAVE TO DO THE WORK TO GO BUILD THAT TRUST AND BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS, UM, TO HELP BRING THEM IN THESE AND, AND SUPPORT THEM THROUGH IT.
UH, THE, THE MONEY THAT WE PROVIDE TO EVERY SINGLE ORGANIZATION THAT GOES THROUGH ANY ONE OF THESE PROGRAMS ACTS AS AN UNRESTRICTED GRANT, WHICH MEANS THEY GET ALL THE MONEY UP FRONT AND THEY CAN USE IT PRETTY MUCH FOR WHATEVER THEY WANT.
UM, THAT'S BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT TO SUPPORT THESE ORGANIZATIONS, A LOT OF SMALLER ONES AS THEY GO THROUGH AND BUILD UP AND BUILD NEW THINGS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE SPACE TO DO THAT.
UM, CREATING LOW BARRIER, HIGH ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM STRUCTURES AND MODELS IS REALLY CRUCIAL FOR THESE SMALL NEW AND UNDERDEVELOPED ORG.
UH, THAT INCLUDES APPLICATION PROGRAM STRUCTURES, HOW WE PAY, AND EVEN HOW WE REPORT, UM, THE OUTCOME EXPECTATIONS.
A LOT OF TIMES WITH GRANTS, THEY'RE VERY PERS PRESCRIPTIVE.
WE EXPECT YOU TO DO X NUMBER OF THINGS IN Y AMOUNT OF TIME OR PRODUCE THESE TYPES OF RESULTS.
WHAT OUR JOB IS TO IS TO HELP THEM GROW AND LEARN WHAT, WHAT THEY LEARN.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT WORKS, WHAT'S NOT, AND HOW WE CAN MOVE THESE SOLUTIONS FORWARD.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE EXPECT OUT OF, OUT OF THESE GRANTEES.
WE'VE USED THEM IN EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM FROM DAY ONE.
THE INNOVATION OFFICE CAN'T DO IT ALONE.
THAT GROUP OF FIVE DEPARTMENTS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, CAN'T DO IT ALONE.
EVERY SINGLE ORGANIZA, OR EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM IS, IS A, IS A BIG TENT COLLABORATION OF, UM, PARTNERS AND BUSINESSES AND OTHER GOVERNMENT GROUPS, UM, AND ALL KINDS OF FOLKS.
AND, AND I I THINK THAT'S ALSO THE WAY THAT, AGAIN, WE CREATE THESE NETWORKS EFFECT THAT NETWORK EFFECTS THAT WE REALLY NEED IN THIS SPACE.
UM, AND BRINGING OTHERS, UH, ALONG FOR THE RIDE AND TRANSFERRING THIS MODEL TO THEM HAS BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US.
WE LOVE TO SEE WHEN PEOPLE DO THINGS, UH, LIKE THIS OR ELEMENTS OF THIS, UM, IN OTHER AREAS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO INFLUENCE, UM, BECAUSE IT, IT MAKES US ALL STRONGER AND, AND, YOU KNOW, RISING TIDE SLIPS AND ALL BOATS HERE, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO FOR THIS PROGRAM THAT WE'RE DOING IN 2023, THE GREEN JOBS OR THE GREEN WORKFORCE ACCELERATOR, HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT, UM, THE MAIN ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO RECRUIT ARE GONNA BE BI PC LED, UH, AND OR SERVING ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON CREATING, UH, GOOD GREEN JOBS OR TRAINING FOR GREEN JOBS AND TARGETED AT AREAS THAT SERVE THOSE LARGE PIECES OF LEGISLATION, UM, THAT I MENTIONED BEFORE.
THOSE DON'T NECESSARILY ONLY HAVE TO BE LIKE CONSTRUCTION WORKER TRAINING PROGRAMS. THOSE CAN BE, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ADVOCATING FOR, FOR BETTER JOBS AND TRAINING.
UH, THEY COULD BE CREATING ITS APPRENTICESHIPS PROGRAMS. THEY COULD BE PROVIDING SUPPORT SERVICES.
BUT AS LONG AS WE'RE WITHIN THOSE VERY BROAD PARAMETERS, UM, WE WANT TO TALK TO THEM AND, AND HOPEFULLY HAVE THEM JOIN.
UH, WE WANNA FOCUS ON EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY, UH, AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN ALL STAGES.
UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE RECRUITING AND SELECTION PROCESS WITH THESE ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, THE FIRST STAGE THAT THEY'LL GO THROUGH IS A NEEDS ASSESSMENT WHERE WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE THEIR STRENGTHS ARE, WHAT THEIR OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT ARE, AND THAT'LL HELP US BETTER DIRECT, UM, UH, $7,500 PER ORG FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DIRECT INVESTMENT.
THAT MEANS IF YOU NEED ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE AS YOU, IF YOU NEED A WEBSITE REDESIGN, IF YOU NEED BETTER COMMUNICATIONS OR SOME TYPE OF CONSULTING LIKE THAT, EVEN IF YOU NEED TO CREATE A STRATEGIC PLAN OR NEED HELP PUTTING TOGETHER A BOARD, UM, YOU CAN, YOU CAN TARGET THOSE INVESTMENTS THERE.
UH, AND THEN THERE WILL BE AN ACCELERATOR PROGRAM THAT'S, THAT, UM, IS MORE GENERALIZED THAN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT EVERYONE GOES THROUGH.
THAT FOCUS ON FOCUSES ON STRENGTHENING ORGANIZATIONS, UM, BUILDING NEW LINES OR EX OR STRENGTHENING EXISTING LINES OF BUSINESS.
THERE'S ANOTHER, ARE $7,500, AGAIN, UNRESTRICTED, UM, FOR THESE ORGANIZATIONS TO GO THROUGH AND LEARN AND GROW THERE.
UH, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENTS AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CREATE PATHWAYS, UH, BOTH TO AND FROM THESE PROGRAMS. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE LEARNED.
WE NEED TO HAVE, UH, WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO, TO GROW INTO PROGRAMS AND THEN GRADUATE FROM PROGRAMS SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST A PROJECT THAT ENDS, UH, AND, AND THAT SUPPORT ENDS.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL BE, UM, FOCUSING A LOT ON OUR DATA COLLECTION THIS TIME AT THREE AND SIX MONTHS TO REALLY DIG INTO THE EFFICACY OF THIS.
IS IT CREATING, UM, GOOD AND DURABLE JOBS AND TRAINING AND POWER STRUCTURES AND THINGS THAT WORK OVER TIME.
UH, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE 10 TO 12 ORGS GO THROUGH THIS.
[00:25:01]
IN, ACTUALLY, CAN YOU GO NEXT SLIDE,SO, UM, AGAIN, OUTCOMES, MORE EQUITABLE ACCESS, GOOD GREEN JOBS FOR RESIDENTS.
NUMBER ONE, UH, IN ADDITION CITY WILL HAVE MORE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AS WE, UM, GO THROUGH THESE BIG PIECES OF LEGISLATION AS WE IMPLEMENT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN FOR THE CONSERVATION CORE, ET CETERA.
AGAIN, THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST, UM, AREAS FOR GROWTH THAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, AS A CITY IS GROWING THAT PARTNER NETWORK.
SO WE CAN DO MORE WORK WITH MORE PEOPLE.
UM, CITY COLLABORATORS GET EXPOSED TO NEW APPROACHES.
THAT'S BEEN, I THINK ANOTHER REALLY, UH, STRONG OUTCOME FROM THESE PROGRAMS IS THAT SORT OF SHOWING THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE, SHOWING THINGS THAT ARE NEW.
WE'VE HAD CITY DEPARTMENTS AND REPRESENTATIVES, YOU KNOW, LEARN ABOUT NEW SOLUTIONS AND SEE HOW THEY WORK AND THEN CONTRACT WITH OR ADOPT OR BRING THEM IN.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE GREATEST, I THINK, MEASURES OF SUCCESS HERE IS WHEN WE CAN SEE THAT, UM, MOVE FORWARD AND START TO GROW, UH, BEYOND JUST OUR PROGRAM AND OUR SUPPORT.
OF COURSE, GREENHOUSE GAS TO EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS IN MORE PROSPEROUS COMMUNITY, UM, A STRONGER ECONOMY.
UH, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN START TO INSTITUTIONALIZE THIS MODEL, UM, AND DO IT YEAR OVER YEAR.
IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE AN INNOVATION OFFICE SUPPORTED THING.
IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE A ONE-OFF THING.
I THINK THERE'S WAYS TO BUILD THIS IN.
SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY GROWING OUR AND STRENGTHENING OUR PARTNERS, UM, AND BRINGING NEW PEOPLE TO THE TABLE, UM, AND GROWING THOSE COLLABORATIONS.
SO WHAT'S NEXT? UH, CONTRACT FOR THE PROGRAM GOES TO COUNCIL, UH, AUGUST 31ST.
UM, AT LEAST THAT'S THE AGENDA WE'RE ON NOW.
UM, WE'LL STILL BE WORKING WITH OUR CITY DEPARTMENT, UM, PARTNERS, UH, AS WELL AS THE, UM, COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO FINALIZE, YOU KNOW, THE REAL DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM, FOCUS, UM, STRUCTURE AND, AND CONTENT, UM, KIND OF THE EXACT, UM, PARAMETERS WE'RE GONNA USE THERE.
UH, WE PLAN TO KICK OFF RECRUITING IN SEPTEMBER.
I WOULD LOVE EVERYONE'S HELP WITH THAT.
UH, AND THEN SORT OF THE END, THE ACCELERATOR PORTION WILL CONCLUDE PROBABLY MARCH OR APRIL, 2024.
GO NEXT, SLIDE THIS THROUGH THIS PROGRAM FROM THE PROGRAM STRUCTURE STANDPOINT, UM, IS I WANT TO FIGURE OUT, AND I WOULD LOVE ALL YOUR HELP WITH THIS, A BETTER WAY TO ENGAGE THE NETWORK OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT DON'T GET SELECTED FOR THIS PROGRAM.
EVERY TIME WE HAVE GREAT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE CAN'T BRING THROUGH BECAUSE OF BUDGET CONSTRAINTS OR, OR OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.
THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL THERE, AND I DON'T WANT THOSE RELATIONSHIPS TO, TO JUST FALL OFF OR GO UNREALIZED.
SO I'D LOVE TO FIND A WAY TO BETTER ENGAGE THAT NETWORK.
UM, KEEPING MOMENTUM GOING AFTER THE PROGRAM ENDS.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS WITH THE CO WITH THE HOMELESSNESS COHORT, UH, BUT PROVIDING BETTER NEXT STEPPING STONES AND RESOURCES FOR THESE ORGANIZATIONS SO IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE SUCH A CLIFF AT THE END OF THESE PROGRAMS. AND NOW THEY'RE LIKE ON THEIR OWN, UM, CREATING PATHWAYS AND FILLING GAPS BETWEEN, UH, SOLUTIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE.
SO WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THERE'S SOME PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS, UM, ON, YOU KNOW, SOME CERTAIN SET OF THINGS OR SOME CERTAIN TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN THE NEXT PROGRAM IS LIKE FOUR STEPS AWAY, RIGHT? FOR SOMEONE THAT'S GOING THROUGH IT.
AND I THINK THAT WE CAN, WE CAN WORK HARDER AND FOCUS MORE INTENTLY ON MAKING SURE TO BUILD THOSE PATHWAYS OF PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OR OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP PEOPLE REALLY MOVE THROUGH AND GET TO WHERE THEY WANT TO BE AS FAR AS THEIR CAREER GOALS ARE.
UM, ALWAYS REFINING IMPACT METRICS AND EVALUATIONS.
UM, I'D LOVE TO GET A BETTER LONG-TERM TRACKING AND SYNTHESIS, UM, PROGRAM PUT IN PLACE.
WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING ON THAT, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER WITH THAT.
UH, AND THEN CREATING MORE DIRECT PATHWAY TO CONTRACT WITH, UM, CITY PARTNERS, UM, OR FEED INTO CITY JOBS.
AGAIN, WE'VE GOT A GOOD START ON THAT WITH THE GREEN PATHWAYS PROGRAM, BUT, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE THAT THAT EASIER.
AND I REALIZE THAT HR AND PROCUREMENT PROCESSES ARE NOT THE EASIEST THINGS IN THE WORLD, BUT I THINK WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER THERE AS WELL.
ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS? UM, MY BAD.
DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT ANYBODY OFF.
UM, YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, UM, I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN KICKING AROUND THE TIRES ON SORT OF LIKE A SUSTAINABILITY OR, OR GREEN BUSINESS OR, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE TECH, WHATEVER MM-HMM.
SO REALLY DOPE TO SEE THAT THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS, UH, IS WORKING ON THIS ALSO.
UM, HAVE Y'ALL THOUGHT ABOUT? SO A LOT OF WHAT THE CONVERSATIONS THAT I HAD, SORT OF WHAT PEOPLE IN SORT OF LIKE THE COMMUNITY RIGHT.
[00:30:01]
MADE ME FEEL LIKE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF ACCELERATORS THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, CAUSE NOW AUSTIN'S LIKE A, A VC HUB FOR BETTER OR WORSE, RIGHT? UM, SO, YOU KNOW, STUFF LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, UT AUSTIN'S, UH, AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR, UM, I THINK THEY'VE GOT LIKE A CLEAN ENERGY THING.UM, YOU KNOW, CAPITAL FACTORY, THEY RECENTLY HAD STARTUP WEEK, I THINK LAST YEAR, AND THEY HAD A SUSTAINABILITY TRACK MM-HMM.
UM, THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A VC HERE, PALM VENTURE STUDIOS, WHICH IS CLIMATE TECH ORIENTED.
UM, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE THOSE WOULD BE GOOD.
I THINK MASS CHALLENGE TOO, THEY'VE GOT THE, I DON'T KNOW, SOME PEOPLE GAVE ME LIKE A BUNCH OF LISTS MM-HMM.
AND SO I THINK ENGAGING THAT COMMUNITY WOULD BE GOOD, UH, FOR, LIKE YOU SAID, ESPECIALLY FOR THE COMPANIES THAT DON'T NECESSARILY GET ACCEPTED INTO THIS ACCELERATOR, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND SORT OF BUILDING THAT, UM, OVER TIME.
UM, I GUESS HAVE Y'ALL TALKED TO SORT OF, BECAUSE IT SEEMED LIKE Y'ALL HAVE TALKED TO DEFINITELY SORT OF LIKE CITY, OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, BUT I GUESS AS, AS FAR AS LIKE THE PRIVATE SECTOR, I GUESS YOU WOULD SAY, UM, HAVE Y'ALL DONE ANY, WELL, I GUESS UT'S NOT NECESSARILY PRIVATE, BUT EVERYBODY ELSE'S.
UM, HAVE Y'ALL HAD ANY SORT OF CONVERSATIONS ON THAT FRONT? YEAH, WE, WE HAVE HAD QUITE A FEW.
AND WHAT THIS PROGRAM DOES, OR THE WAY I SEE IT, IS WE ACTUALLY FILL A GAP, UM, THAT SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS MISS.
SO WHEN I, WHEN I SEE THOSE PROGRAMS, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE AWESOME AND THEY'RE GREAT, A LOT OF THEM ARE FOCUSED ON, UH, FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES, FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES CAN TOTALLY JOIN THESE TWO.
WE DON'T SAY THEY CAN'T, BUT, UM, THE, THE BOTTOM LINE OF THE OUTCOME IS, IS PRETTY CLEAR, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THAT.
LIKE, WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD A BUSINESS AND BUILD PROFIT AND REVENUE THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS FOR EXACTLY.
SO FOR A LOT OF SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS OR WORKER FOCUSED PROGRAMS OR TRAINING PROGRAMS, THAT BOTTOM LINE IS NOT AS CLEAR, RIGHT? UM, THERE COULD BE LOTS OF DIFFERENT OUTCOMES.
UM, THEY ARE BOTH SHORT AND LONG TERM AND IT'S, IT'S HARD TO INVEST IN THOSE FROM A BUSINESS STANDPOINT.
I SEE THE BOTTOM LINES THAT THOSE COM THAT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS DO HAVE AS THE SAME BOTTOM LINE THAT WE HAVE AS A CITY GOVERNMENT.
AND THAT ALIGNMENT TO ME SAYS THAT WE SHOULD BE AN INVESTOR OF, OF FIRST RESORT AND THESE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT ARE BUILDING THESE TYPES OF SOLUTIONS.
AND MANY OF THEM WHEN THEY COME OUT OF, OF OUR PROGRAM, ARE TOTALLY READY FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO I THINK THAT WE ARE BUILDING A STEPPING STONE.
UM, WE, WE'VE HAD, UH, AN ORGANIZATION GO THROUGH THE, UM, ASPEN DIGITAL EQUITY ACCELERATOR, UM, THROUGH THE ASPEN INSTITUTE, UM, AFTER OURS.
SO WE ARE START, WE DO HAVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND WE'RE STARTING TO BUILD THEM UP.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE GO THROUGH.
UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK WE, WE PROVIDE THOSE COMPLIMENTARY, UM, SERVICES AND, AND THERE'S CERTAINLY MORE STRENGTH TO BE HAD THERE.
AND I, I ANTICIPATE IN THIS ROUND WHERE WE ARE FOCUSING MORE AROUND INFRASTRUCTURE AND THINGS THAT ARE, UM, GONNA COME THROUGH THESE, THESE BIG PIECES OF LEGISLATION, WE MIGHT SEE EVEN MORE OPPORTUNITY AREAS FOR FOLKS COMING THROUGH TO ADVANCE ON, INTO PROGRAMS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN ONE MORE QUESTION OR COMMENT MM-HMM.
THAT I HAD AS FAR AS LIKE THE SORT OF CONTINUING EDUCATION COMPONENT.
I THINK THAT'S SUPER COOL TOO.
I THINK MAYBE TRYING TO, TO LOOP, YOU KNOW, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR MAYBE, UH, YOU KNOW, ACC HIGHLAND, UH, I THINK THAT WOULD JUST BE LIKE A REALLY GOOD RESOURCE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO SORT OF SPREAD THE WORD, YOU KNOW, AND SORT OF LIKE STANDARDIZE STUFF MOVING FORWARD.
AND WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, WE'VE TALKED WITH ACC AND WOULD LOVE TO GET MORE OF A, A PROGRAM OR A PATHWAY TO THEIR PROGRAMS THAT ARE ALREADY GREAT AND THAT ALREADY EXISTS.
UM, WE'VE, UH, GOT A GREAT PROGRAM THAT ACTUALLY CAME OUT OF THIS THROUGH THE CARPENTERS UNION, UM, HERE IN TOWN THAT DOES, UM, SOLAR INSTALLATION, UH, TRAINING.
UM, THOSE ARE GREAT BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE GO STRAIGHT INTO UNION JOBS.
UM, AND I THINK EVEN MORE OF THOSE INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS ARE SOME OF THE STRONGEST THINGS WE CAN IMPROVE TO HAVE A, A DIRECT NEXT STEP FOR THOSE FOLKS.
APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION TOO.
DO YOU STILL HAVE A QUESTION? YES.
UM, SO THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
IT WAS REALLY GOOD TO, UM, HEAR ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY.
I'M EXCITED TO SHARE IT WITH SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT I REPRESENT ON THE FOOD POLICY BOARD NETWORK, UM, NOT NETWORK FOOD POLICY BOARD.
UM, MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE TIMELINE THAT
[00:35:01]
YOU SHARED AT THE END, AND SPECIFICALLY IN LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE ON THE GREEN WORKFORCE ACCELERATOR, UM, ON AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV, THERE'S INFORMATION THAT FROM LAST YEAR SHOWING THAT THERE WAS AN APPLICATION PERIOD WITH A SPECIFIC DEADLINE THAT WAS IN, UM, HAD APPLICATIONS DUE IN AUGUST OF LAST YEAR FOR THIS YEAR'S AWARDS.IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PROCESS, AND I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED BECAUSE THERE'S RECRUITMENT THAT WILL BE HAPPENING, UM, IN SEPTEMBER, AND SO I WASN'T SURE IF THAT WAS THE SAME THING AS LIKE PUTTING OUT AN RFP.
I GUESS I WOULD JUST LIKE TO BE ABLE TO ACCURATELY SHARE WHAT THE PROCESS IS AND I'M STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED.
WE SHOULD DEFINITELY TAKE THAT WEBSITE DOWN OR UPDATE IT.
UM, I'M GLAD YOU FOUND IT AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW.
SO WHEN, WHEN I SAY RECRUITMENT STARTING IN SEPTEMBER, I MEAN RECRUITMENT FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO JOIN THE PROGRAM.
SO WE'LL HAVE THE, THE CONTRACT FOR, UM, LIKE THE, THE PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP AND STRUCTURE AND THE FOLKS THAT ARE GONNA HELP HELP US RUN IT, GO TO COUNCIL IN AUGUST, AND BASICALLY WE'RE STARTING THE PROGRAM THEN, RIGHT? SO WE'LL START RECRUITING FROM THE COMMUNITY FOR ORGANIZATIONS STARTING AT IN SEPTEMBER.
THE TIMELINE'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN LAST YEAR, JUST KIND OF THE WAY THINGS SHOOK OUT.
UM, AND, AND PROBABLY A MONTH TO SIX WEEKS ON THAT.
UM, AND THAT'LL, YOU KNOW, YES, LEAD INTO AN APPLICATION PROCESS, UM, THAT THE ORGANIZATIONS WILL GO THROUGH.
WE TRY AND MAKE THAT AS ACCESSIBLE AND LIGHT AS POSSIBLE WHILE STILL GETTING THE INFORMATION WE NEED.
UM, AND THEN, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A, A PANEL, UM, OF, YOU KNOW, ALL THE REPRESENTATIVE PARTNERS, UM, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS HELP US GO THROUGH AND SCORE THOSE AND SELECT THE FOLKS THAT ARE GONNA JOIN.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR, YOUR QUESTION? SO WE WOULD LOVE YOUR, WE WOULD LOVE YOUR HELP STARTING TO PROMOTE IN, IN SEPTEMBER
IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S SIMILAR TO THE PROCESS FROM LAST YEAR.
AND, UM, SENDING THAT INFORMATION BACK TO THIS GROUP SO WE CAN SEND IT TO OUR RESPECTIVE BOARDS THAT WE'RE REPRESENTING WILL HELP, YOU KNOW, CREATE THE WEB.
UM, ONE I WAS WONDERING, AND, AND I, AND I THINK THESE ARE BOTH KIND OF AROUND LIKE A DIFFERENT FORM OF ACCELERATOR, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE DOING DEFINITELY HAS VALUE.
UM, BUT IT SEEMS VERY FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, SMALL, VERY SMALL ORGANIZATIONS AND, AND I WAS AT THE, UM, PRESENTATIONS THAT CAME AT THE END OF THE, THE LAST ACCELERATOR MM-HMM.
IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR FROM THOSE ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, BUT JUST THINKING ABOUT THE SCALE OF FRANKLY, WORK THAT IS NEEDED TO REALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL THOSE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU WERE LISTING THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, DID MAKE ME THINK THAT LIKE WE ALMOST LIKE MAYBE NEED MULTIPLE PATHWAYS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S FOR THESE SMALL ORGANIZATIONS THAT MAYBE ONLY HAVE LIKE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND MM-HMM.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I GUESS KIND OF, UM, SIMILAR TO, IN SOME WAYS TO WHAT HARRIS WAS ASKING, JUST THINKING ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE, UM, INCENTIVES THAT EXIST NOW FOR HEAT PUMPS AND ELECTRIFYING HOMES, RETROFITTING HOMES, UM, AND IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF LOCAL BUSINESSES, CONTRACTORS COULD BE DOING THAT WORK, BUT MAYBE AREN'T QUITE EDUCATED.
AND THEN I GUESS KIND OF A, A SEPARATE QUESTION, BUT ALSO IN THAT VEIN OF LIKE ANOTHER MODEL, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK SOME STATES ARE FURTHER ALONG IN SOME OF THESE THINGS THAN THAN WE HAVE BEEN HERE IN TEXAS AND THERE'S MAYBE ORGANIZATIONS AND PRIVATE BUSINESSES MAYBE THAT HAVE ALREADY DONE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANNA DO.
AND SO I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S ANY OPPORTUNITY TO LIKE, CREATE SOME SORT OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, BIG BROTHER, BIG SISTER KIND OF LIKE THING TO HELP JUMPSTART EFFORTS LOCALLY.
YEAH, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE GREAT, GREAT QUESTIONS AND, AND GREAT, UM, GREAT IDEAS.
UH, START WITH THE LAST ONE FIRST, WHICH IS THERE IS, THERE'S A MASSIVE NETWORK OF PEOPLE WORKING IN THIS SPACE.
THERE ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, AND EVEN NOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S PROBABLY THOUSANDS OF PROGRAMS NOT DIRECTLY FOCUSED ON THIS, BUT WITHIN THIS GENERAL SPACE NOW.
SO ONE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO GET BETTER AT IS MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A GENERAL AWARENESS OF WHAT THOSE ARE AND WHERE WE CAN MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AND WHERE WE CAN DIRECT FOLKS, AGAIN, THAT MIGHT NOT BE A FIT FOR THIS, BUT MIGHT BE A
[00:40:01]
FIT FOR SOMETHING ELSE.UM, BECAUSE WE DON'T, WE SHOULDN'T JUST REINVENT STUFF, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ALL WORK TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY AT THE SPEED THAT WE HAVE TO, TO MOVE, UM, FOR CLIMATE CHANGE IN GENERAL.
UH, AND THEN ALSO AGAIN, THESE BIG PIECES OF LEGISLATION, THEY HAVE INCENTIVES FOR 10 YEARS, BUT THE RULES FOR THOSE, THOSE INCENTIVES, THE PROJECTS THAT ARE GONNA TAKE 10 YEARS, UM, THAT ARE, THAT ARE WORKING THROUGH THEM ARE GETTING PLANNED NOW, AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA, UM, TREAT, YOU KNOW, WORKERS, HOW THEY'RE GONNA FRAME JOBS, WHERE THEY'RE GONNA GET WORKERS FROM, WHO THEY'RE GONNA WORK WITH.
THOSE DECISIONS ARE HAPPENING NOW, AND THOSE DECISIONS ARE HAPPENING OVER PROBABLY THE NEXT YEAR AND A HALF.
SO THIS IS A REALLY KEY TIME, UM, TO DO THIS WORK AND, AND WE NEED TO ALL DO IT TOGETHER AND DO IT QUICKLY.
SO ABSOLUTELY, I THINK LEARNING FROM OTHERS, UH, AS FAR AS WE KNOW, WE ARE ONE OF THE FEW, IF ONLY GREENWORK WORKS ACCELERATOR THAT'S FOCUSING ON FOCUSING ON, UM, DEVELOPING PARTNERS AND ESPECIALLY COMMUNITY BASED AND, AND SOCIAL IMPACT, UM, PARTNERS.
UH, A LOT OF OTHERS, UM, FOCUS ON YOUTH PROGRAMS, WHICH IS AWESOME.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE THOUGH, SO WE DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, NEED TO FILL THAT, THAT NEED.
UM, AND, AND THEN MANY OTHERS DO FOCUS ON A SECTOR, UM, AND WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT QUITE AS MUCH, UM, TO YOUR FIRST POINT.
UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A THING THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT FOR SURE IS, YOU KNOW, ARE WE CREATING THE, ARE WE GOING TO, ARE WE GONNA MEET THE LEVEL OF NEED? UM, OR ARE THESE GONNA BE THE, THE SAME, THE SAME TYPES OF JOBS AND THE SAME TYPES OF WAY THAT PEOPLE GET JOBS AND THAT PEOPLE ARE SYSTEMATICALLY DISCRIMINATED, UM, AND ABUSED IN, IN A LOT OF THESE TYPES OF JOBS.
THAT IS NOT OUR PROBLEM ALONE TO SOLVE, BUT I THINK IT IS, UM, OUR PROBLEM TO ADDRESS AS THE CITY GOVERNMENT, UM, AND AS, AS A SOCIETY.
SO, UM, WE HAVE HAD BIGGER ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATIONS LIKE AMERICAN YOUTH WORKS HAVE COME THROUGH OUR ACCELERATOR PROGRAM, ACCELERATOR PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP NEW LINES OF BUSINESS OR, OR, UM, EXPAND, UM, SOMETHING ELSE THAT THEY'RE DOING.
UM, TO BE HONEST, A LOT OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT FOCUS, UM, AND WORK WITH COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN THIS SPACE ARE SMALL OR THEY'RE NEW.
UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN HAS THE MOST NONPROFITS PER CAPITA IN THE SOUTHWEST.
UM, AND THAT MEANS WE HAVE A LOT OF LITTLE ONES, UH, AND, AND A FEW BIG ONES.
AND WHAT I HOPE THAT WE CAN DO IS, IS HELP THOSE SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS, THOSE NEW ORGANIZATIONS GET STRONGER, UM, AND BECOME MORE FORMALIZED TO GROW OR AT LEAST SCALE THEIR SOLUTIONS AND IMPACT.
I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOK AT IS POTENTIAL SCALABILITY.
LIKE, CAN CAN THIS BE BIGGER? UM, OR, OR CAN IT BE MORE EXTENSIVE? AND, AND ALSO I, I REALLY DO LOVE WHEN THEY CREATE COLLABORATIONS WITH EACH OTHER, UM, WE'VE STARTED TO SEE THAT HAPPEN MORE AND MORE, AND THAT JUST MAGNIFIES, UM, THEIR IMPACT.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON MORE AS WELL.
BUT I DO THINK THERE'S PROBABLY EVEN MORE LIKE SECTORAL OR OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY BASED PROGRAMS THAT WE COULD BE PUTTING TOGETHER, UM, PROBABLY WITH PARTNERS IN IN AUSTIN ENERGY OR, OR SOME OF THE OTHER, UM, UTILITIES OR ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS TO SPECIFICALLY PURSUE SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND, AND THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA AND WE'LL BE WORKING ON.
I HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I THINK PEOPLE RAISE THEIR HAND FIRST.
IT'S REALLY HARD FOR ME TO TELL IS SOMEBODY ON THE SCREEN RAISE THEIR HAND.
JUST START TALKING HIDDEN NOISE.
HEY LANE, I'M JUST CURIOUS SORT OF TO YOUR, TO YOUR LAST POINT ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS.
I'M CURIOUS BESIDES, UM, ASKING THOSE OF US HERE TO GO BACK TO OUR RESPECTIVE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, HOW DO YOU MARKET THE PROGRAM? LIKE HOW DO YOU GET THE WORD OUT? UH, I JUST KNOW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IT CAN BE QUITE CHALLENGING TO REACH, UH, SMALL ORGANIZATIONS AND ESPECIALLY TO GET AS WIDE A SET AS I IMAGINE YOU'RE PROBABLY HOPING TO REACH OUT TO.
YEAH, IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW IDEAS AND TO DO BETTER AT.
SO PRIMARILY WE'VE DONE IT THROUGH COMMUNITY GROUPS AND, AND THROUGH BOARDS AND LIKE THE, THE EQUITY ACTION TEAM, UM, UH, GVO WAS A BIG, UM, COLLABORATOR FOR, FOR MARKETING, UM, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS. WE MARKET THROUGH KIND OF WORD OF MOUTH, UM, AND THEN WE, WE REACH OUT, UM, THROUGH, THROUGH PARTNER NETWORKS THAT PEOPLE DOING, UM, THIS WORK THAT WE KNOW.
UM, BUT, BUT YOU HERE IN THIS ROOM AND ALL THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND REPRESENT, I THINK, UM, WOULD BE, WOULD BE, UM, AWESOME RESOURCES AND PARTNERS FOR US TO EXTEND THAT REACH, UM, ESPECIALLY AS WE KIND OF KEEP GROWING AND GROWING THESE PROGRAMS. CUZ SO THEY STARTED KINDA SMALL.
WE STARTED WITH THREE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE FIRST ONE.
UM, AND NOW AGAIN, THIS ONE'S 12.
[00:45:01]
HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM THAT'S, UM, RIGHT NOW THAT'S GOT 21.SOMETHING INTERESTING WE DID WITH THE, IN THE HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM THAT I'M NOT SURE IF WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO ON THIS ONE, BUT IT'D BE COOL WE SHOULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THIS.
UM, IS WE MAPPED, UM, ALL OF THE, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE COULD FIND IN AUSTIN THAT TOUCHED HOMELESSNESS SERVICES AND IT WAS LIKE 85, UM, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU BROKE IT DOWN.
I MEAN, USUALLY PEOPLE THINK OF LIKE 12 AND THERE'S A LOT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT PEOPLE THAT SERVE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THOSE POPULATIONS OR PEOPLE THAT ARE EXPERIENCING DIFFERENT TYPES OR LEVELS OF, OF HOMELESSNESS.
SO GETTING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THAT LANDSCAPE I THINK WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM AND THAT, UM, I HOPING WE CAN INTEGRATE.
THANK, THANK YOU FOR THAT ANSWER.
DANIEL, YOU HAD MENTIONED, UM, IN YOUR PRESENTATION THAT PERMANENT MODEL, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS REFERRING TO THE FACT THAT THIS IS KIND OF FUNDED ON A YEAR BY YEAR BASIS.
IS THAT, IS THAT THE CASE? THAT'S THE CASE.
AND SO ALL THESE PROGRAMS SO FAR HAVE BEEN, UM, FUNDED EITHER THROUGH A COLLABORATION OF DEPARTMENTS LIKE WE'RE DOING HERE OR THROUGH THE INNOVATION OFFICE BUDGET MOSTLY TO DEVELOP THIS MODEL OF PROGRAM THAT WE CAN KIND OF DEPLOY IN THESE AREAS WHERE WE SEE GAPS, UM, AND NEED FOR OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, I WOULD LIKE, I HOPE THAT WE CAN SOMEHOW INSTITUTIONALIZE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE, I DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT HAVE SOME DEPARTMENT OR SOME GROUP HAVE A YEARLY BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR THIS OR SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
THERE'S OTHER ACCELERATOR CAPACITY, CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS THAT EXIST LIKE THAT IN THE CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, ARR, E D, LOTS OF OTHER HOUSING, UM, LOTS OF OTHERS HAVE THOSE THAT ARE LONGSTANDING.
SO I TOTALLY THINK THERE COULD BE THIS OR SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHO AND HOW.
SO RIGHT NOW THE THE ONLY FUNDING SOURCE IS LIKE CITY FUNDS.
DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS THAT EITHER, YOU KNOW, WANT TO POOL AND COLLABORATE, WHICH I THINK IS AWESOME.
YOU KNOW, IT SHOWS THE, THEIR INTEREST THERE AND THEN OUR, OUR PROGRAM BUDGET.
HAVE YOU ALL EXPLORED LIKE FOUNDATION OR CORPORATE OR OTHER TYPES OF FUNDING SOURCES TO SUPPLEMENT THAT? I WOULD TOTALLY DO IT IF IT WAS SUSTAINABLE.
UM, AND ACTUALLY WE HAVE, YES, WE HAVE FOR THE, FOR THE THIRD, UM, ITERATION OF THIS, WE WORKED WITH A BIG, UM, UH, BIG NATIONAL NON OR INTERNATIONAL NONPROFIT CALLED INCO.
UH, THEY DO, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND UH, 3M WAS ALSO IN ON THAT ONE.
AND IF IT WAS A, SOME TYPE OF SUSTAINING PARTNER OR SOME TYPE OF SUSTAINING GRANT, I MEAN, IF WE GOT IT FOR ONE YEAR, I'D, I'D BE ECSTATIC.
BUT ALSO I'D LOVE TO FIND A SUSTAINABLE PATHWAY TO NOT HAVE TO FIND A NEW OPPORTUNITY THE NEXT YEAR AND THE NEXT YEAR AND THE NEXT YEAR AND THE NEXT YEAR.
SORRY IF I'VE MISSED ANYBODY WHO'S, UH, ATTENDING REMOTELY.
WERE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, DANIEL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING HERE AND THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE YOU BACK AGAIN.
AFTER OR DURING THE ACCELERATOR TO UH, HEAR MORE ANYTIME.
ALRIGHT, UH, NEXT UP WE HAVE WHITNEY IS GONNA PRESENT ON
[4. City of Austin Telework Policy – Whitney Holt, AFSCME (Discussion and/or Possible Action).]
THE, UH, TELEWORK CITY OF AUSTIN TELEWORK POLICY.CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT LOUD BUT, OKAY, EXCELLENT.
UM, THANK YOU'ALL FOR HAVING ME HERE TONIGHT.
UM, I ACTUALLY WORK FOR THE CITY AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AS OUR HECK HEALTH EQUITY CONTRACT MANAGER.
UM, BUT I'M HERE TONIGHT IN MY CAPACITY AS AFSCME 1624 UNION MEMBER.
UM, FOR ANYBODY WHO IS NOT AWARE OF THE, UH, CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS IN MAY, UM, BY THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER, HE DID SEND OUT A MEMO IN EARLY MAY, UM, EFFECTIVELY APPEAL REPEALING OUR, UM, TELEWORK BENEFIT THAT MANY OF US HAVE HAD EVEN PRIOR TO COVID
UM, SO THIS IS DEFINITELY AN ALARMING STEP FOR US.
UM, AND TONIGHT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU GUYS ABOUT HOW THIS IS ACTUALLY BAD FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, ON A LOT OF LEVELS.
SO, UM, IF ANYBODY HAS BEEN WATCHING THIS AS CLOSELY AS I HAVE, YOU SAW THAT TRAVIS COUNTY ACTUALLY GOT AN AWARD,
[00:50:01]
UH, JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO FOR THE INNOVATION THAT THEY HAVE SHOWED WITH EMBRACING TELEWORK TO THE DEGREE THAT THEY HAVE.UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IN 2021 ALONE, THEY SAVED 1.3 MILLION JUST ON UTILITIES.
UM, I KNOW THAT THAT'S LIKE SMALL FRIES FOR OUR
UM, BUT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE REPORT THAT THEY HAD DONE BY DELOITTE THAT FOUND THAT 40% OF THEIR REAL ESTATE COSTS ARE ACTUALLY ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS THAT COULD BE DONE AWAY WITH ALTOGETHER, UM, IF WE WERE TO HAVE A SIMILAR PERCENTAGE OF ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS, IT WOULD TAKE US ABOUT THREE YEARS, UM, BEFORE WE WOULD SAVE A BILLION DOLLARS
UM, THAT COULD BE BETTER UTILIZED FOR THINGS THAT ARE MUCH MORE IN TOUCH WITH COMMUNITY NEED.
UM, I INCLUDED THE PICTURE OF, UM, THE CAMP, UH, BECAUSE I, IT IS, I'M NOT SURPRISING ANYBODY IN THIS ROOM BY SAYING THAT WE HAVE LIKE A SEVERE HOMELESSNESS CRISIS AND A BILLION DOLLARS GOING TO OFFICE BUILDINGS JUST REALLY FEELS OUT OF TOUCH WITH WHAT OUR CITY ACTUALLY NEEDS RIGHT NOW.
UM, ADDITIONALLY TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, HAVE HAS EXPERIENCED LIKE A HUGE UPTICK IN THEIR, UH, APPLICATIONS THEY'VE BEEN RECEIVING.
SO, UM, FROM 2019 WHEN THEY WERE FULLY OR MOSTLY IN OFFICE TO NOW THEY'VE EXPERIENCED A 30% IN INCREASE, UM, IN THE NUMBER OF QUALITY APPLICATIONS THAT THEY'RE GETTING.
UM, THIS SERVES IN LIKE ACTUALLY WORTH NOTING IN MAY AT THEIR COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
THEY ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE NUMBER OF CITY EMPLOYEES APPLYING FOR THE COUNTY, UH, MARKEDLY INCREASED PRETTY MUCH OVERNIGHT, UM, FROM WHEN THAT MEMO WENT OUT.
UM, THIS STANDS IN LIKE PRETTY STARK CONTRAST TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NO OFFICIAL DATA, UM, ON THE IMPACTS THAT ARE EXPECTED ON OUR RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT.
UM, SO IN LIEU OF ANY SORT OF OFFICIAL DATA, THE WOMEN TO WOMEN AFFINITY GROUP PUT OUT A SURVEY WHERE 78% OF RESPONDENTS INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD EITHER HARD QUIT OR START LOOKING FOR NEW JOBS.
UM, IF THIS RETURN TO OFFICE GOES INTO EFFECT IN OCTOBER, THAT'S A HUGE DEAL.
UM, AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT REPLACING AN EMPLOYEE COSTS ONE AND A HALF TO TWO TIMES AS MUCH AS RETAINING AN EMPLOYEE, THIS IS LIKE A PRETTY LARGE DECISION FOR AN INTERIM CITY MANAGER TO BE IMPACTING THE BUDGET WITH, UM, WITHOUT DATA TO BACKUP IF THERE IS ACTUAL DEMONSTRATED BUSINESS NEED TO DO THAT.
UM, SO IF YOU'RE ASKING WHY DO CITY OF EMPLOYEES CARE SO MUCH, WHY ARE WE SO MAD ABOUT THIS? WE CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE HERE.
MOST OF US WHO WORK FOR THE CITY CANNOT AFFORD TO LIVE INSIDE OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY.
IF YOU USE THE M I T LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR, IT'S $70,000 A YEAR FOR A SINGLE PERSON TO LIVE COMFORTABLY INSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS.
IT'S $118,000 A YEAR FOR A PERSON WITH A SPOUSE, AN UNWORKING SPOUSE, AND ONE CHILD TO BE ABLE TO LIVE COMFORTABLY IN THE CITY LIMITS.
UM, IN THAT LIKE LONGER REPORT THAT I PUT IN, UM, TO YOU GUYS
I FORGET THAT LIKE SOME DEPARTMENTS ACTUALLY PAY SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER AND I ESTIMATED ABOUT 20 CUZ YOU KNOW, IF PROPORTIONALLY WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT GOING ON IN AUSTIN, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS TRUE.
LET'S PRETEND IT'S 10 TIMES THE NUMBER THAT I ORIGINALLY ESTIMATED.
UM, LESS THAN 1%, I'M SORRY, AROUND 1% IS LIKE 1.7% OF PEOPLE ON CITY PAYROLL CAN COMFORTABLY AFFORD TO RAISE A FAMILY INSIDE THE CITY.
UM, WE STAY BECAUSE THIS WORK MATTERS TO US AND WE THINK THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS IMPORTANT, BUT WE HAVE MADE IT FINANCIALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO STAY HERE.
AND SO TO TAKE AWAY OUR TELEWORK BENEFIT IS AN EFFECTIVE PAY CUT FOR US.
WHEN YOU THEN CONSIDER EVEN FURTHER HOW, BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING TO DRIVE IN HOUR TWO HOURS FROM THE SUBURBS TO GET HERE, UM, LIKE THAT ADDS UP TO BETWEEN A HUNDRED AND $400 A MONTH
AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE MAKING AROUND $3,000 A MONTH, THAT'S NOT AN INSIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR PAYCHECK.
UM, FURTHER ADDING INSULT TO INJURY FOR PEOPLE WITH KIDS LIKE SCHOOL-AGED KIDS, YOU'RE HAVING TO FIND BEFORE SCHOOL CARE, AFTER SCHOOL CARE.
THERE WAS A REPORT THAT WENT OUT IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR THAT TALKED ABOUT LIKE THE HUGE CHILDCARE SHORTAGE THAT EXISTS IN THIS CITY.
UM, DIDN'T EVEN MENTION HOW BAD IT IS FOR SCHOOL-AGED KIDS FINDING AFTERSCHOOL CARE, WHICH PARENTS ALSO THEN HAVE TO PAY FOR, RIGHT? UM, WHERE I GET LIKE REAL SPICY ABOUT THIS
AND SO WHENEVER PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING TO MOVE OUT TO THE SUBURBS, IT IS NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT, IT'S
[00:55:01]
BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT THEY CAN FIND ANY SORT OF GENERATIONAL EQUITY, RIGHT? SO THIS HAS LIKE A, THERE'S A STRONG RACE TIE TO THIS, UM, WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW WHITE PEOPLE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY THE EXACT STATS ARE IN THE REPORT, BUT LIKE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LIKELY TO OWN HOMES.UM, SO THIS DOES HAVE HUGE EQUITY IMPLICATIONS AS WELL.
SO, UM, OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN SPECIFICALLY OUTLINES TELEWORKING AS ONE OF THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH WE THINK WE WILL REACH OUR CLIMATE EQUITY GOALS IN 2030.
UM, UNLESS Y'ALL IN THIS ROOM KNOW SOMETHING, I DON'T, IT IS LITERALLY THE ONLY, UH, MECHANISM IN THERE THAT WE ARE ON TRACK FOR RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, TO MOVE BACKWARDS AS A CITY, BOTH LIKE WITH THE 8,000 CARS THAT WE CAN EXPECT HAVING TO RETURN TO THE ROAD THREE TIMES A WEEK, AND ALSO THE MODEL IT SETS FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UM, THIS IS LIKE DEFINITELY A STEP IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
UM, ONE THING THAT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN DOESN'T NOTE, AND TO EVERYBODY'S CREDIT, IT'S BECAUSE THIS IS LIKE A RELATIVELY NEW DISCOVERY.
52% OF EMISSIONS, UH, THAT HAPPEN FROM DRIVING ARE ACTUALLY MICROPLASTICS LEAKING INTO OUR AIR AND WATER FROM TIRES AND OUR BRAKES.
SO LET'S PRETEND THAT WE CAN LIKE MOVE TO THE FULLY ELECTRIFIED
THERE IS CURRENTLY NO COMMUTING OPTION THAT IS MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND SUSTAINABLE THAN NOT COMMUTING.
UM, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY.
UM, SPEAKING OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, JUST THE EXISTENCE OF HOLDING ONTO THESE BUILDINGS THAT REALLY DON'T NEED TO EXIST.
UM, IF PEOPLE ARE JUST GOING IN AND LIKE WORKING IN AN OFFICE THAT THEY COULD BE DOING AT HOME, THAT IS ALSO DAMAGING TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY BECAUSE IT'S ESSENTIALLY EATING UP SPACE WHERE SERVICES OR BUSINESSES THAT COULD ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH, WITH PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY NEED TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE COULD BE, UM, AND THEY ARE LIKE LEVEL DEEPER.
SO 20% OF OFFICE BUILDINGS ACTUALLY GO TO WHAT'S LIKE WASTED ENERGY, RIGHT? SO IT'S THE DOCKING STATIONS THAT STAY PLUGGED IN OVER THE NIGHT AND OVER THE WEEKEND.
IT'S THE OFFICE FRIDGES, THE INDUSTRIAL PRINTERS, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT STAY PLUGGED IN ALL OF THE TIME BECAUSE THAT'S JUST LIKE HOW WE LIVE OUR LIFE AND OPERATE WITH OUR TECHNOLOGY, BUT ARE STILL GOING TO COST TAXPAYERS TON A TON OF MONEY, UM, AND NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR, UH, ENERGY USAGE.
UM, AGAIN, WHERE I GET LIKE REALLY SPICY IS THE EQUITY IMPLICATIONS OF THIS.
SO WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE DON'T TAKE BOLD CLIMATE ACTION, THE POPULATIONS THAT ARE MOST HURT BY THIS ARE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE SEE ALL SORTS OF HEALTH IMPACTS OF WHEN WE ARE NOT MOVING TOWARDS GREENER SOLUTIONS.
WE SEE THAT, UM, HIGHER RATES OF ASTHMA WITH CHILDREN DIRECTLY TIED TO COMMUTING, HIGHER INCREASES OF CANCER EXPOSURE TO HEAT ISLANDS, WHICH HAVE ALL SORTS OF HEALTH IMPLICATIONS AND THEN HAVE THE ADDED INSULT TO INJURY OF THE FACT THAT PEOPLE THEN HAVE TO PAY MORE TO COOL THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS MADE HOTTER
SO WE ALREADY KNOW, I'M NOT TELLING YOU GUYS ANYTHING YOU DON'T REALLY ALREADY KNOW.
WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN, UM, SO MUCH OF THE SOLIDIFIED AND CITY PLANS THAT WE HAVE.
WE'VE SEEN IT, UM, REFERENCE AS IMPORTANT IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
WE'VE SEEN IT REFERENCED, UM, INDIRECTLY THROUGH VISION ZERO, RIGHT? SO LIKE 8,000 MORE CARS ON THE ROAD THREE TIMES A WEEK IS DEFINITELY GOING TO STATISTICALLY RESULT IN TRAFFIC FATALITIES THAT WERE COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE.
UM, THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, AGAIN, 8,000 MORE CARS ON THE ROAD THREE TIMES A WEEK, OBVIOUSLY GOING TO HAVE NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAFFIC.
UM, I ESPECIALLY FEEL SORRY FOR MY COWORKERS WHO LIVE OFF 35 NORTH AND SOUTH BECAUSE ONCE THAT PROJECT PICKS UP THIS FALL, UM, THEY ARE GOING TO LITERALLY BE SPENDING AN ADDITIONAL EIGHT TO 12 HOURS IN THE CAR EACH WEEK.
THAT'S A FULL UNPAID WORKDAY AND A HALF JUST FOR THE SAKE OF MEETING SOMEONE'S PERSONAL PREFERENCES ON WHERE THEY WORK FROM.
UM, THAT DON'T, DOESN'T ACTUALLY HAVE ANY IMPLICATION OF WHETHER THEIR QUALITY OF WORK IS ACHIEVED OR NOT.
UM, FOR ANYBODY WHO LIKE, YOU KNOW, LOVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, LOVE THE IDEA OF IT, WANNA SEE IT GROW, THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT, WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
UM, AND EVEN IF WE WERE THERE YET, AGAIN, THE MAJORITY OF CITY EMPLOYEES ACTUALLY DO NOT LIVE IN THE CITY.
AND SO UNLESS THIS HAS SOME SORT OF LIKE LARGE CROSS COUNTY COLLABORATION, WE ARE NOT GOING TO SEE ANY SORT OF DEVELOPMENTS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION BE TIED TO A DECREASE IN CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUTING RATES, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
PEOPLE ARE STILL, IF I'M COMING IN FROM TWO HOURS AWAY,
[01:00:01]
THE METRO DOESN'T RUN FROM GEORGETOWN.SO OUR CALL TO ACTION AND REQUEST, AT MINIMUM, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU GUYS, UM, REQUEST FOR COUNSEL TO PUT A PAUSE, UM, UNTIL WE CAN GET A STUDY ON THE IMPLICATIONS THIS WILL HAVE ON THE ENVIRONMENT EQUITY, UM, EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT.
ALL OF THE IMPLICATIONS THAT I'VE COVERED TONIGHT WOULD BE REALLY COOL IF THAT REPORT I PUT TOGETHER WAS ENOUGH TO CONVINCE YOU THAT WE COULD JUST, UH, ASK THEM TO COPY THE
UH, THEY HAVE SPENT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS RESEARCHING IMPROVING PRETTY CONCLUSIVELY THAT THE POSITIVE BENEFITS, UH, ARE PRETTY OVERWHELMING, BUT TOTALLY GET, IF WE'RE NOT THERE YET, JUST THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO SAVE TAXPAYERS A LOT OF MONEY TO REPROVE WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY IN THE SAME ZIP CODE PROVEN.
UM, BUT YEAH, THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
THAT WAS REALLY, I CAN FEEL THE PASSION AND IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE.
AND I JUST WANNA ASK, DID, DID WE GET AS A BODY, THE REPORT THAT WHITNEY REFERENCED, I WOULD LOVE TO LOOK THROUGH, THROUGH THAT.
I DEFINITELY WANTED TO, TO READ THAT IN ITS ENTIRETY.
DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD WHAT THE, UH, HOW MANY CITY EMPLOYEES THIS IMPACTS? SO HERE'S WHERE IT'S INTERESTING.
THE ONLY HARD NUMBER WE'VE GOTTEN WAS AROUND 5,800.
UH, THIS WAS IN RESPONSE TO A P I R BY A REPORTER WHO, UM, INCLUDED IT IN A COMMUNITY IMPACT, UM, ARTICLE.
I EMAILED THE REPORTER, ASKED HER WHAT THE PARAMETERS OF THAT QUESTION WAS, CUZ I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER.
UM, AND SHE INDICATED THAT SHE WAS UNCLEAR ON IF THAT INCLUDED ONLY 5,800 PEOPLE WHO WORKED FULLY TELEWORK CURRENTLY.
CUZ WE DO HAVE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY 100% TELEWORK.
UM, OR IF THAT INCLUDED PEOPLE WHO HAVE PARTIAL TELEWORK PRIVILEGES.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW I TELEWORK FOUR DAYS A WEEK.
I HAVE NO IDEA IF I'M INCLUDED IN THAT 5,800 OR NOT.
UM, IT ALSO DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR THE, WHAT I AM ASSUMING IS SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WHO DON'T HAVE TELEWORK PRIVILEGES BECAUSE OF THEIR DIRECTOR PREFERENCES.
BUT COULD, SHOULD, WOULD, UM, BE ABLE TO WORK JUST FINE.
UM, YEAH, SO I THINK FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, WHOOPS, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE DO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
AND SO IT WOULD TAKE FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATION AND PASS IT FROM SUBCOMMITTEE TO THE MAIN COUNCIL TO PUT A VOTE TO IT.
OR WHAT EXACTLY WOULD IT DOES THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE? UM, SO I'M KIND OF NEW TO THIS AND I AM PROBABLY NOT THE BEST PERSON TO ASK, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING BASED OF A CONVERSATION I HAD WITH SOMEONE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL IS WE NEED FOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE WILLING TO SAY WE ARE GOING TO CO-SPONSOR THIS RESOLUTION AND BRING IT FORWARD.
UM, FOR WHATEVER IT'S WORTH IN THAT REPORT THAT I WILL RESEND, UM, THERE WAS A RESOLUTION AND I THINK IT WAS LIKE MAY OF 2022, UM, WHERE COUNSEL AT THE TIME SAID, HEY, UM, COUNTY SEEMS TO BE DOING REALLY WELL WITH THIS.
WE SHOULD REALLY INVESTIGATE THIS.
THE LAST THAT ANYTHING HAD OF THAT WAS, I THINK IT WAS IN OCTOBER, 2022, UM, THEY WERE GRANTED AN EXTENSION AND THEN IT HAS NEVER BEEN MENTIONED SINCE THEN.
UM, SO ANYBODY WHO KNOWS HOW TO DO LIKE INVESTIGATIONS OF IT TO FIND OUT WHO, UH, SUPPORTED THAT RESOLUTION THE FIRST GO ROUND, UM, MIGHT BE GOOD PEOPLE TO TRY TO GET INVOLVED.
AND I ASSUME THAT WAS UNDER THE PREVIOUS CITY MANAGER? IT WAS.
I'M THINKING THAT MAYBE THAT ANSWERS A QUESTION THAT I HAVE.
SO I WAS LOOKING AT THE RESOLUTION THAT I THINK THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PASSED AND THERE WAS A, UM, WHEREAS IN THEIR CITY COUNCIL INITIATED A SIMILAR STUDY IN JUNE 22 TO BE COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER 22.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO? THAT'S SAME THING.
[01:05:01]
THAT THEY OBVIOUSLY LIKE TELEWORK ORSO I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT THE EXISTING BUILDING STOCK THAT THE CITY HAS AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE, IF IF WE WERE TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE THE TELECOMMUTING, UM, ARE THERE ANY OPTIONS OR ANY IDEAS OF WHAT THE CITY IS WOULD USE THOSE FOR? UM, BECAUSE MAINTAINING EMPTY BUILDINGS IS VERY EXPENSIVE AS WELL.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR Y'ALL TO SEE MY REPORT.
IT INCLUDED MY TOP 10 SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT WE COULD DO TO MAKE BETTER USE OF THESE BUILDINGS.
UM, AND IT WAS NOT ALL JUST AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, EVEN THOUGH THAT IS THE MOST OBVIOUS SOLUTION, IT IS SUPER EXPENSIVE TO RETROFIT OFFICE BUILDINGS.
SO THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY WORK FOR ALL OF OUR CURRENT BUILDING STOCK.
UM, ONE SUGGESTION I HAVE, AND AGAIN, I'LL SEND THE FULL LIST.
AS I WORK IN AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, I, UH, MANAGE CONTRACTS FOR LOTS OF NONPROFITS.
IF WE WERE TO CONSOLIDATE THEM INTO ONE OFFICE BUILDING, THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO DOUBLE DIP ESSENTIALLY AND NOT HAVE TO REIMBURSE THEM FOR RENT, UM, WHICH WOULD ALLOW THEIR MONEY TO STRETCH A LOT FURTHER.
CONSIDERING THAT A LOT OF THE CONTRACTS I MANAGE ARE ONLY LIKE $200,000 AND LESS BUDGETS, THAT GOES A REALLY LONG WAY TO BE ABLE TO ALMOST DOUBLE THEIR OPERATING BUDGET IN A LOT OF CASES.
SO THAT'S JUST A FOR EXAMPLE, BUT THERE ARE, UM, OTHER IDEAS IN THAT REPORT.
SO, UM, I'M TRYING TO CLARIFY THAT WHEREAS, SO LET ME KNOW IF THIS HITS THE MARK OR NOT.
AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL INITIALLY INITIATED, AND MAYBE IT'S MORE DIRECTED CITY MANAGEMENT TO CONDUCT, IS THAT I WOULD NEED TO, UM, SEE IF IT'S IN MY NOTES.
A STUDY AND EXPANDING TELEWORK, IS THAT WHAT THIS STUDY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE? IT WAS, UM, TO RESEARCH THE BENEFITS.
I CAN LOOK UP THE EXACT WORDING.
UM, ONCE I GET BACK TO MY PHONE.
BUT IT WAS TO RESEARCH THE BENEFITS OF MOVING TO A MORE ROBUST TELEWORK POLICY.
AND THEN THOSE, THE RESULTS WERE NEVER DELIVERED.
NOTHING HAPPENED AFTER THE REQUEST FOR EXTENSION, SO.
SO IF SOMEONE FROM COUNSEL WANTS TO TELL ME I'M WRONG, THAT'S FINE.
BUT
SO SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE PRETTY IN THE NO ON THIS TRY TO LEAVE.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR DO WE WANNA DISCUSS THE, THE RESOLUTION NOW? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, WHITNEY.
YOU'RE YOU'RE WELCOME TO HANG AROUND IN CASE SOMETHING COMES UP.
UM, DID THE DRAFT, I KNOW I SENT IT AROUND, I JUST SENT THE MOST RECENT ONE.
THE MOST RECENT ONE, WHICH NOW IS NOT THE MOST RECENT ONE.
SO, UM,
MOSTLY WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING IS I JUST SENT IT TO YOU, DAVID.
UM, AND THEN I'M TRYING TO WORDSMITH THIS ONE SO IT, UM, KIND OF MAKES SENSE IF THERE'S CONTEXT.
OH, THIS IS, THIS IS ZACH BOMBER.
UM, SO, UH, MAYBE JUST ONE THING I COULD ADD.
UM, I'VE HEARD THE, I'VE HEARD THE CITY MANAGER TALK ABOUT THIS IN PERSON, TWO POINTS THAT HE MAKES.
I'M NOT DEFENDING ANYBODY OR ANY MAKING ANY POINT, ANY CASE HERE.
JUST TWO POINTS THAT HE'S MADE ABOUT WHY HE THINKS THIS IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT WHY BEING IN PERSON IS SO IMPORTANT.
UM, THE FIRST ONE THAT COULD BE IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF WHAT'S ANALYZED OR ADDRESSED IN SOME KIND OF STUDY OR IN WHAT, WHAT IS DONE TO COMMUNICATE A CASE BACK TO HIM.
UM, SO THE FIRST ONE IS, IS FAIRNESS THAT HE HAS SAID, I'VE HEARD HIM SAY A LOT
[01:10:01]
OF DIFFERENT TIMES AND NOT ABOUT FAIRNESS, UM, TO PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING FROM HOME, BUT FAIRNESS TO THE WORKERS WHO NEVER GOT TO GO HOME.SO HE HAS SAID THAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN ABOUT HOW THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE FIELD, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PICKING UP THE GARBAGE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FIXING THE WATER LINES DON'T GET TO WORK FROM HOME.
AND HE DOESN'T THINK THAT IT'S FAIR THAT, UM, THAT OTHER PEOPLE GET TO GO HOME AND THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE SUN IN THE AFTERNOON DON'T GET THE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, SO JUST SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE POINT THAT HE'S MADE.
UM, AND THE OTHER POINT THAT HE'S MADE IS ABOUT, UM, CONNECTIVITY AND CULTURE AND, UM, LIKE TEAMWORK ABOUT HOW, FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE, YOU CAN'T HAVE A SUPER HIGH FUNCTIONING ORGANIZATION THAT IS, EVERYONE HAS EACH OTHER'S BACK AND EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER IF THEY'RE NOT BUILDING IN-PERSON RELATIONSHIPS AND CONNECTIVITY AND REALLY KNOW EACH OTHER SUPER WELL, THAT THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU WOULD GET THERE IS FROM SPENDING A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER IN PERSON AND GET, AND REALLY EVERYBODY KNOWING EACH OTHER REALLY WELL.
SO I'M NOT, I'M NOT DEFENDING THOSE POINTS, BUT I'M JUST SAYING THAT THOSE ARE THE POINTS THAT HE'S ADVOCATED FOR AND I'VE SEEN HIM TALK EXTENSIVELY ABOUT WHY HE THINKS THIS IS SO IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WHETHER OR NOT WE AGREE WITH THAT PERSPECTIVE, IT'S HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT HIS THINKING IS.
AND THOSE ARE LITTLE, HE SAID A LOT OF OTHER THINGS, BUT THOSE ARE THE TWO THAT HE, I'VE HEARD HIM CONSISTENTLY SAY OVER AND OVER ABOUT WHY, UM, HE THOUGHT THIS WAS SO IMPORTANT.
SORRY, WE'RE HAVING A LITTLE PAUSE HERE.
BUT, UM, WE, WE HAD A, WE HAD A RESOLUTION AND BASED ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE JUST HEARD IN THE PRESENTATION, I ADDED A COUPLE ITEMS IN THERE AND KIND OF MOVED THE ORDER AROUND FROM WHAT WE'RE SEEING ON THE SCREEN.
SO MOSTLY WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN THE NEW VERSION IS A DIFFERENT ORDER OF THESE, WHEREAS IS THAT, I THINK MAYBE MAKES MORE SENSE FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE PERSPECTIVE.
AND I, I JUST KIND OF CLEARED OUT SOME UNNECESSARY WORDS LIKE THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE RECOGNIZES, I THINK, WHEREAS
SO, UM, WHAT, YOU'RE GONNA SEE WHAT, GIVE ONE SECOND.
UM, MAYBE IN THE MEANTIME, UM, IF FOLKS HAVE KIND OF GENERAL THOUGHTS, UM, YOU KNOW, SHOULD WE BE SUPPORTING, MAINTAINING OR EXPANDING WORK FROM HOME IN GENERAL? LIKE, I THINK WE COULD HAVE SOME OF THAT CONVERSATION ASIDE FROM THE EXACT WORDS.
UH, UH, THOUGHTS? UH, I GUESS THE, IS, IS THE RESOLUTION TRYING TO ALLOW FOR EMPLOYEES TO LIKE WORK FULL-TIME FROM HOME OR IS THERE A DEFINITION FOR IT? YEAH, SO THE RESOLUTION THAT, UM, WAS SENT TO ME, I THINK BY A COUPLE OF OUR MEMBERS, INCLUDING HARRIS, UM, REALLY IS ABOUT PAUSING AND STUDYING SO THAT THERE CAN BE MORE ANALYSIS OF, I WOULD ASSUME THE PROS AND CONS OF TELEWORK.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO JUST, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ONE PERSON DECIDING THAT YEAH, THE PROS OF, YOU KNOW, WE, YEAH.
AND I GUESS, I DUNNO IF EVERYBODY KNOWS THE WHOLE BACKGROUND, BUT, UM, BUT WHEN COVID HAPPENED, IT ESSENTIALLY BECAME ALL, I THINK IT BECAME ALL DEPARTMENTS DISCRETION.
UH, AND THEN THE NEW CITY MANAGER STARTED AND INDICATED THAT HE WANTED TO CHANGE THAT.
AND THEN IN MAY THEY RELEASED, I THINK IT WAS JUST A MEMO THAT ESSENTIALLY SAID ASSISTANT DIRECTORS, DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE LEVEL STAFF, SO ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND ABOVE, UM, NEEDED TO RETURN TO WORK IN PERSON FIVE DAYS A WEEK, LIKE WITHIN THREE WEEKS.
LIKE IT WAS, THIS WAS ANNOUNCED IN MAY WHEN IT WAS LIKE JUNE 5TH.
THIS STARTS IF YOU'RE THIS LEVEL ABOVE EVERY POSITION, ALL DEPARTMENTS
[01:15:01]
ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE OFFICE FIVE DAYS A WEEK AND THEN STARTING OCTOBER 1ST, ALL OTHER STAFF WOULD NEED TO BE IN THE OFFICE THREE DAYS A WEEK WITH TWO DAYS THAT COULD BE TELEWORKING.UM, AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT ALL STAFF DOESN'T LIKE DO IT THE SAME DAY, LIKE THAT ALL STAFF DON'T JUST DO TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, I THINK.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT, AND BUT THAT WAS SORT OF RELEASED AND THEN IT SAID THAT THERE WOULD BE MORE, MORE, UM, DETAILS RELEASED IN THE FUTURE.
AND THAT'S WHERE IT STANDS FOR RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT STARTS ON OCTOBER 1ST.
I, I THINK, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S LAID DOWN IN AS PART OF THE STUDY, BUT I THINK IT'LL BE NICE TO, AS PART OF THE, THE BENEFITS OF GOING BACK TO WORK LIKE A ANALYZE, ANALYZING LIKE THE PRODUCTIVITY, I THINK WHAT S WAS SAYING, LIKE THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S, AND I, AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE I WORK, YOU KNOW, IN A COMPANY THAT THEY ALSO IMPLEMENTED SOMETHING SIMILAR NOW.
AND I THINK IT'S JUST BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE STUDIES WERE SHOWING.
I MEAN, THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT INDUSTRY, IT'S LIKE CONSULTING, SO IT MIGHT NOT BE THE SAME, BUT, UM, THAT THERE WAS SOME BENEFITS OF ACTUALLY GOING, UM, AND JUST GETTING THAT SENSE OF BELONGING AND UH, YEAH, JUST BENEFITS FROM THAT ANGLE.
UH, BUT I MEAN, I, I STILL THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A HUGE TRANSPORTATION ISSUE, UH, IN AUSTIN AND GIVING THE, SOME OF THE INCOME THAT WAS DISCUSSED IN THE PRESENTATION, UH, I'M, I'M PERSONALLY INCLINED PASSING THE SOLUTION.
I THINK AT THE VERY LEAST YOU NEED TO ANALYZE IT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY THOUGHTS ON THAT.
YEAH, I MEAN, IF I MIGHT JUMP IN JUST TO ADDRESS MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE TWO, UH, TWO POINTS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP FROM THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER, WHICH I APPRECIATE HAVING THAT PERSPECTIVE HERE.
I WILL SAY I PERSONALLY DISMISS ANY FAIRNESS ARGUMENT MADE IN A WORK CONTEXT OUT OF HAND FAIRNESS IS ALWAYS A QUESTION OF FAIRNESS TO WHOM YOU CAN ALSO MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT THEY'RE A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THIS THAT IS UNFAIR TO CERTAIN PEOPLE AND WE MIGHT WANT TO SORT OF, YOU KNOW, MANAGE THAT FAIRNESS RATHER THAN THE, THE FAIRNESS.
SO I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT ARGUMENT, I I, THIS DOESN'T HOLD MUCH WATER WITH ME CUZ THERE'S STILL A CHOICE IN THERE.
UM, THE SECOND ARGUMENT TO THE, TO THE POINT THAT THE LAST SPEAKER MADE, I, UM, I, I ALSO AGREE LIKE THERE IS PARTICULARLY STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT IT'S MUCH MORE CHALLENGING WHEN YOU ARE, UH, YOUNGER, UH, TO SORT OF BUILD THEIR NECESSARY AND CRITICAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THAT ARE HARDER TO MAKE IN A REMOTE ENVIRONMENT.
I THINK HOWEVER, IT IS A LEAP TO JUMP FROM SAYING LIKE IN-PERSON RELATIONSHIPS AND THE ABILITY TO MAINTAIN IN-PERSON RELATIONSHIPS ARE CRITICAL TO, THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE THAT IS TO DO IT THE WAY THAT WE HAVE HISTORICALLY ALWAYS DONE IT BEFORE WE HAVE THIS OPTION FOR TELEWORK.
I CERTAINLY KNOW THAT THERE ARE PLENTY OF REMOTE WORK OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE FOUND OTHER WAYS TO, TO CREATE, MANAGE AND MAINTAIN THOSE CONNECTIONS WHILE ALSO MANAGING TO MAINTAIN A REMOTE WORK POLICY.
AND I HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT THE CITY WOULD BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT AS WELL.
SO WHILE I AM DISINCLINED TO AGREE WITH THE FIRST ARGUMENT, I ACTUALLY STRONGLY AGREE WITH THE SECOND, BUT NOT NECESSARILY WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO ACHIEVE IT.
ANYWAY, JUST, JUST SOME OF MY THOUGHTS IN RESPONSE TO THAT.
YEAH, I THINK I, I SHARE, I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS A SIMILAR HESITANCY ON THE, THE FAIRNESS ARGUMENT TO ME, TO ME THE, THE SOLUTION IS NOT FOR, FOR EVERYBODY TO BE MISERABLE CUZ SOME PEOPLE ARE MISERABLE.
IT'S MAYBE TO PAY THOSE PEOPLE MORE BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING HARD WORK OUT IN THE SUN.
LIKE, LET'S COMPENSATE ACCORDINGLY CUZ YOU DO HAVE, YOU DON'T HAVE THIS BENEFIT THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE.
UM, YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WORK CULTURE AND GETTING THE BENEFIT, I GOTTA IMAGINE THAT LIKE DEPENDS YEAH, ON, ON WHAT KIND OF STRUCTURE YOU SET IN PLACE TO, TO COMPENSATE FOR NOT BEING IN PERSON AND, AND PROBABLY ALSO ON, ON INDIVIDUALS, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE ENJOY THE IN-PERSON CONTACT AND, AND OTHERS DO NOT.
BUT, UM, YEAH, I GUESS MY VIEW IS DEFINITELY THAT IT, IT SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY STUDIED BEFORE, UM, BEFORE SWEEPING A WAY OF BENEFIT.
ESPECIALLY BECAUSE HONESTLY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN ACROSS SO MANY CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT I ENGAGE WITH IS A STRUGGLE WITH RECRUITING AND RETAINING STAFF.
[01:20:01]
THIS IS CLEARLY SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT.AND IT SEEMS HARD TO IMAGINE THAT IT'S NOT GONNA MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN STAFF WITHOUT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING SALARIES, WHICH I DON'T SEE THE CITY BEING SUPER EAGER TO DO EITHER.
SO I'D SAY THAT'S ONE OF, YOU KNOW, ASIDE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL, THAT'S ONE OF MY CONCERNS IS LIKE, ARE THERE JUST GONNA BE EVEN MORE VACANCIES AND MAKE IT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO GET THINGS DONE AT THE CITY? HARRIS, YOU BROUGHT THIS TO US, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT? YEAH, WELL, I MEAN I THINK AS FAR AS THE, THE RESOLUTION, I THINK WHITNEY'S POINT ABOUT, UH, LIKE WHENEVER WE TALK ABOUT SORT OF POSSIBLE, UH, USES OF THE COMMERCIAL SPACE THAT CITY OWNS, I THINK PUTTING NONPROFITS IN THERE IS DEFINITELY A GOOD IDEA.
YOU KNOW, I WAS REALLY COMING FROM MORE OF JUST LIKE A, YOU KNOW, CREATIVE CLASS OR, OR STARTUP.
I MEAN, YOU COULD ARGUE THAT NONPROFIT STARTUP IS BASICALLY A STARTUP ANYWAYS, BUT I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, CALLING ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT, LIKE SHE SAID, WE'RE ALREADY PAYING NO, OR COMPENSATING NONPROFITS FOR THEIR RENT, RIGHT? UH, WE GIVE THEM A LOT MORE LIQUIDITY IF WE JUST GIVE THEM THE SPACE OURSELVES TO SORT OF ACCELERATE THEIR GROWTH OR INCUBATE THEIR GROWTH OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS FAIRNESS IS JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, FAIRNESS AND EQUITY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, RIGHT? SO I THINK THAT'S A VERY TELLING STATEMENT IN OF ITSELF.
AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, CULTURE AND BUILDING COMMUNITY, I MEAN, HEY MAN, JUST PAY FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES TO GO OUT TO BARTON SPRINGS AND JUMP IN THE WATER, YOU KNOW? UM, NO, I'M JUST KIDDING.
BUT, UH, YEAH, I THINK THEY'RE JUST, WE CAN JUST BE REALLY CREATIVE AND NOT NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, I THINK BUREAUCRACIES OF SO MUCH INERTIA THAT IT TAKES LIKE A REALLY WORLD CHANGING EVENT FOR PEOPLE TO START SECOND GUESSING PROCESSES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR GENERATIONS FOR DECADES, MAYBE EVEN CENTURIES.
UM, AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE CHANGE THOSE PROCESSES, EVEN IF WE THINK THAT THEY'RE RELATIVELY TEMPORARY, IF THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATIONAL GAINS THAT, UH, THAT WE CAN, WE CAN KEEP LONGER THAN, THAN WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED.
I DON'T SEE ANY REASON TO JUST TURN YOUR BACK ON IT JUST BECAUSE IT'S EASIER TO DO THINGS THE OLD WAY OR WHATEVER.
AND I THINK ALSO THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE CHANGES THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT THE DATA AND UM, THAT'S MY MAIN THING IS JUST LIKE, LET'S DO A STU LET'S LOOK AT STUDIES, LOOK AT THE DATA, RIGHT? AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO MAKE OUR DECISIONS SOLELY ON DATA, BUT WE SHOULD AT LEAST LIKE, BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT AND MAKE POINTS AND NOT NECESSARILY BASE EVERYTHING ON EMOTIONS, WHICH IS KIND OF WHAT I FEEL LIKE THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER DID.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD BE A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE DECISION IF THERE WAS LIKE ACTUAL DATA BEHIND IT, WHICH I HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN.
I'VE SEEN MORE OF JUST LIKE IN EMOTIONAL CALLS TO ACTION, WHICH, UH, I THINK IS VERY EASY TO BE SKEPTICAL ABOUT.
IS IT OKAY TO JUMP IN? UH, HEATHER, WHY DON'T, WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND THEN CHARLOTTE.
UM, I AM ALSO IN SUPPORT OF THE RESOLUTION.
I THINK KABA YOUR, YOUR POINT, UM, ABOUT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION, I MEAN, THERE'S A MAJOR MORALE AND BURNOUT PROBLEM WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE, THOSE HIGH VACANCY RATES IN AN ORGANIZATION.
SO I THINK FOR ANY, YOU KNOW, UH, CONSIDERATION OF BUILDING MORALE OR COMMUNITY, YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, LOSS OF MORALE AND BURNOUT IF YOU'RE TURNING PEOPLE AWAY.
BUT I, I ALSO, UM, GIVEN, YOU KNOW, OUR MISSION, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO, I MEAN, I WOULD SUPPORT A STRONGER RESOLUTION, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT PAUSING AND GETTING MORE IN INFORMATION IS USEFUL.
BUT UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS A STUDY, IF THERE IS A SUCCESSFUL MODEL RIGHT FROM TRAVIS COUNTY, SORT OF LOOKING AT THAT AS THE MODEL, UM, AUSTIN SHOULD FOLLOW.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF, I'M LOOKING AT THE THEREFORE STATEMENT, WHICH I CAN'T SEE ON THE SCREEN, BUT FROM
[01:25:01]
THE ORIGINAL VERSION THAT WAS EMAILED TO US, UM, A LITTLE WHILE AGO, YOU KNOW, I WONDER IF WE NEED LIKE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, UM, BUILDING COMMUNITY, UM, AND FAIRNESS, WHICH I AGREE THAT CAN BE, YOU KNOW, INTERPRETED FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT ANGLES THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY HERE IN THE RESOLUTION, RIGHT? LIKE, UM, I THINK, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED MORE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS, I GUESS IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.I FEEL LIKE WE KNOW THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS AND THERE IS A, A MODEL FROM TRAVIS COUNTY TO POINT TO.
SO I, I'D SUPPORT IT AS IT IS, BUT I ACTUALLY WOULD SUPPORT MAYBE SOMETHING EVEN STRONGER COMING FROM THE ANGLE OF THE JSC WHERE WE ARE CERTAINLY CONSIDERING A LOT OF THINGS, BUT HAVING LIKE THE, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, THE MOBILITY PLAN, SOME OF THESE THINGS AS OUR MOTIVATION, UM, IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE FOR US TO SUPPORT IT IN MY OPINION.
IS THERE A WAREHOUSE IN THE NEW VERSION THAT MENTIONED TRAVIS COUNTY ALREADY HAS LIKE A FULL TELEWORK POLICY SO WE CAN, LIKE WHITNEY SAID, IF THEY'VE ALREADY DONE STUDIES, YOU KNOW, MAYBE PUTTING THAT IN THERE.
YEAH, THAT WAS ACTUALLY IN THE ORIGINAL.
UM, IT SAYS TRAVIS COUNTY HAS IMPLEMENTED A WORK FROM HOME POLICY FOR 75% OF THE EMPLOYEES.
AND MAYBE MENTIONING, I MEAN, DIDN'T WHITNEY SAID THEY HAD DONE RESEARCH OR THEY HAD HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS.
I MEAN, JUST SAYING THEY IMPLEMENTED IT MIGHT NOT SUGGEST THAT IT WAS SUCCESSFUL OR WHAT ITS IMPACTS WERE, BUT USING THE DATA OR WHATEVER INFORMATION WE HAVE ABOUT THAT MODEL MIGHT BE, UM, EVEN MORE CONVINCING THAN JUST SAYING THEY HAVE IMPLEMENTED A POLICY.
JUST TO CLARIFY, THE 75% IS FOR ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES.
SO THERE'S OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT 75% OF ALL TRAVIS COUNTY EMPLOYEES, IT'S 75% OF THOSE WHO COULD BE DOING ALL OR PART OF THEIR JOB REMOTELY.
UM, AND BEN, IS THAT RIGHT? I KNOW THAT HE'S A COUNTY EMPLOYEE, SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UM, AND YEAH.
CAN I GET, JUST GET A CLARIFICATION ON THAT? MM-HMM.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THAT 75% ARE ALLOWED, IT'S 75% ARE.
SO I THINK THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS DO STILL LIKE OFFICE BUILDINGS.
I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS A FUNCTION IN SOME REGARDS FOR PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE THAT.
UM, SO I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE ON LIKE ALL THE INS AND OUTS OF THAT, BUT IT'S 75% OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES JUST SO THAT THAT RESOLUTION IS CLEAR.
UM, AS FAR AS THE STUDIES THEY'VE BEEN DOING, I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE CONTRACTED DELOITTE, UM, AND THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM IN A MULTI-YEAR STUDY, UM, INCLUDING THEIR MOST RECENT ITERATION OF IT, WHICH INCLUDED SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT TRUE EQUITY
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW THE COUNTY PLANS TO MOVE FORWARD IT WITH IT, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE MOST RECENT REPORT INCLUDED SUGGESTIONS FOR IN-OFFICE PAY, UM, BASICALLY LIKE A STIPEND OR LIKE A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR PAY INCREASE FOR LIKE ACTUALLY HAVING TO BE IN PERSON.
UM, I ALSO, IN THAT REPORT THAT I DID MAKE SURE THAT JUST GOT SENT, UM, INCLUDED SOME SUGGESTIONS LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, DOUBLING SICK PAY
UM, IF YOU'RE IN AROUND PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO GET SICK.
YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO NEED THOSE BENEFITS.
UM, SO I GUESS, YOU KNOW, HEATHER, I I DO AGREE, UH, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA I THINK IS, HAS BEEN COLLECTED, UH, BUT I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS CITY ENTITY NEEDS TO COLLECT IT SPECIFICALLY FOR THESE PROPOSALS, THESE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT ARE LISTED HERE WORK FROM HOME A HUNDRED PERCENT THE PROPOSED POLICY AND I, IT SAYS THE CURRENT POLICY, I GUESS WE MAYBE SHOULD, SHOULD CLARIFY
[01:30:01]
IF THAT'S CURRENT NOW OR LIKE THE, THE POLICY, THE THE POLICY, UH, THAT WAS IN PLACE PRIOR TO CHANGES.SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT RESEARCH SHOULDN'T BE PRIMARY RESEARCH I THINK IS KIND OF THE POINT MAYBE THAT YOU'RE MAKING THAT IT'S, IT SHOULD JUST BE LIKE GOING TO THE STUDIES AND PLUGGING IN SOME NUMBERS BASED ON THE RESEARCH THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
YES, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OUT THERE ALREADY.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, A DELAY TACTIC TO GET DATA IS OKAY, UM, IN THE HOPES THAT THERE WILL BE ENOUGH PRESSURE FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, UM, WHILE THAT'S HAPPENING.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M OKAY WITH CALLING FOR MORE RESEARCH BY THE CITY, UM, BUT SINCE THERE'S SO MUCH OUT THERE, YEAH, AS YOU SAID, PLUGGING IN THE NUMBERS WORKS TOO.
UM, I'M PART OF WHAT I'M GONNA SAY IS REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF WHAT HEATHER JUST SAID, SO APOLOGIES IF IT FEELS LIKE A REPEAT, BUT I HAVE, AS AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS HALF OF MY STAFF WORKING VERY CLOSELY TOGETHER, UM, IN ONE LOCATION ON A FARM AND THEN ANOTHER HALF OF MY STAFF WORKING REMOTELY, WE ABSOLUTELY SEE THE DIFFERENCES IN WHO'S CONNECTED AND WHO'S NOT AND HOW WELL THOSE TEAMS WORK TOGETHER AND HOW WELL THE OTHER ONES DON'T WORK TOGETHER AS WELL.
UM, SO I HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT THAT.
AND I WOULD SAY FOR THIS, I WOULD SET THAT ASIDE BECAUSE FOR THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION, OUR JOB IS TO REALLY THINK ABOUT AS A COMMISSION, HOW DO WE PUT THE BEST RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT.
AND SO MY VOTE WOULD BE IN SUPPORT OF THIS RESOLUTION AT MINIMUM FOR THAT DELAY TACTIC BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACT THAT IT COULD HAVE ON THE ENVIRONMENT WITH THE INCREASED TRAVEL PRIME, UM, ALONE, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE OTHER THINGS, UM, THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED IS TREMENDOUS.
SO I JUST PUT MY OWN KIND OF OPINIONS AND, AND FEELINGS OUT THERE, UM, FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO SAY IN THIS COMMISSION AND IN THIS CONTEXT, I PERSONALLY THINK I SHOULD SET THOSE ASIDE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THE POINT OF THIS COMMISSION'S ROLE IS.
UM, SO I JUST PUT THAT OUT THERE FOR SHARING MY INNER WORKING.
UM, JOHN, DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND RAISED? I DO.
UH, I JUST WANNA ITERATE, UH, REITERATE, UM, SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE.
AS A JOINT SUSTAINABILITY, UM, COMMI, UH, COMMISSION, UM, YEAH, LOOKING AT THIS SOLELY ON AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, UH, PROCESS OF HOW THAT IMPACT, BUT I THINK OF COURSE WE NEED, I THINK IT'S GOOD TO LOOK AT DATA, UM, SO THAT IT'S A SOLID ARGUMENT.
UM, THINKING ABOUT THE TOPIC THAT WAS BROUGHT UP REGARDING THE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE TO GO INTO THE OFFICE, UM, AND, AND THE UNFAIRNESS OF IT.
I THINK THE UNFAIRNESS LIES IN THE, IN THE COSTS THAT ARE BEING ARGUED, UM, TO BE SAVED FOR TRAVEL TIME AND ALL THAT.
UM, SO NOT ACTUALLY JUST GOING TO WORK AND BEING AT THE OFFICE, BUT THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TO MAKE THE COMMUTE AND THAT THAT PART IS THE UNFAIRNESS.
CUZ YOU KNOW, THAT EATS INTO THE TIME THAT WAS JUST ARGUED, UH, ABOUT, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW COULD WHATEVER DATA IS FOUND ON HOW MUCH IS GONNA BE SAVED COULD BE REDISTRIBUTED TO THE FOLKS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE TO DRIVE IN EVERY DAY, UH, AND TO DO, UH, THEIR JOB.
UM, JUST SOMETHING TO CONSIDER, BUT AS A, ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, UH, HOW THIS IMPACTS THE ENVIRONMENT, I DO FEEL THAT THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE FOCUS SHOULD BE FOR, FOR ME ON THIS.
I'M NOT SURE ARE ANY OF THE THREE THAT WE CAN'T SEE ON THE SCREEN COMMISSIONERS OR THOSE OTHER ACCOUNTS? IF, IF YOU'RE NOT, IF YOU HAVE YOUR HAND RAISED, JUST SPEAK UP
I'M HOPING THAT I'M SEEING EVERYBODY, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I AM.
[01:35:01]
FRANCIS, GO AHEAD.YEAH, SORRY, I JUST, IN LOOKING AT THE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, I'M NOT AN EXPERT AT THIS EITHER, BUT I'M WONDERING IF IT NEEDS TO BE EVEN MORE EXPLICIT TO SAY, UM, RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, DA DA DA DA DA DA IN, UM, IN LIEU OF, OR SOMETHING ABOUT REQUESTING THAT THEY DO THIS WHILE POSTPONING THE OTHER DECISION.
SO, BECAUSE IN THEORY YOU COULD GO AHEAD AND ENGAGE IN THE OTHER ACTION WHILE DOING THE RESEARCH.
SO I THINK BEING EXPLICIT ABOUT THAT, IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ALLOWED TO USE, THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE CLEAR.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? I FEEL LIKE I'M RAMBLING.
I I THINK I'M, I THINK I'M GETTING YOUR POINT THAT THEY SHOULD GO AHEAD AND AT LEAST DO THIS PART WHILE THEY EVALUATE EVERYTHING ELSE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? JUST MAKING IT REALLY CLEAR THAT LIKE WE ARE SAYING BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATION, THE ACTION TO BRING EVERYBODY BACK INTO THE OFFICE, DO THIS FIRST.
SO LIKE THE DELAY TACTICS THAT, YOU KNOW, HEATHER WAS MENTIONING EARLIER, LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE IT VERY CLEAR THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PUSH THAT START TIME OF THAT ACTION BACK.
CAN YOU GIMME SOME WORDS AND TELL ME WHERE TO INSERT THEM OR CHANGE? UH, YES.
WELL THERE'S, LET ME THINK ON IT.
THERE'S ALREADY BEFORE RESCINDING, BUT HE'S KIND OF ALREADY RESCINDED IT, AS ZACH SAID, LIKE DIRECTORS ARE ALREADY COMING IN.
SO IT, UM, AND IT'S ALREADY GOING TO GO INTO EFFECT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF BEFORE RESCINDING WORKS, RIGHT, SINCE IT'S SORT OF ALREADY BEEN DECIDED.
SO MAYBE, UM, IT COULD BE REVERTING TO THE POLICY PRIOR TO THE CITY INTERIM CITY MANAGER'S DECISION.
UM, HAVE THEY IMPLEMENTED THAT FIRST PHASE? HAVE THEY IMPLEMENTED, I'M WONDERING IF THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED PHASE ONE DIRECTOR.
I THOUGHT ZACH SAID DIRECTORS HAVE TO COME IN ALREADY.
SO WE COULD SAY BEFORE I IMPLEMENTING OR BEFORE YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT.
HE'S LIKE TECHNICALLY RESCINDED IT ALREADY
SO IT COULD EITHER BE BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THE NEXT PHASE OR IT COULD BE, UH, TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE AND HOLISTIC STUDY, UM, AND REVERT BACK TO THE POLICY AS OF WHATEVER DATE WOULD PRECEDE WHERE WE ARE HEADED.
SO EITHER ONE OF THOSE WOULD WORK FOR ME, BUT I THINK YOU'RE BETTER OFF GETTING, YOU PROBABLY WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO GET THEM TO BEFORE IMPLEMENTING TO AGREE TO BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THEN THEN RESENDING.
SO I, I, I ADJUSTED THE, UM, THIS IS ON THE FIRST BE IT RESOLVE, UM, CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE AND HOLISTIC STUDY BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THE NEXT PHASE OF IN-PERSON WORK REQUIREMENTS.
AND THEN THE REST IS THE SAME.
DOES THAT WORK? THAT GOOD? LOOKS GOOD TO ME.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE, THE SECOND BE IT RESOLVED ZOS, DO YOU HAVE SOME, SHOULD WE, I MEAN, WOULD THE JUST ADDING, UM, THE WORD LIKE IMMEDIATELY OR SOMETHING IN THERE, GET TO WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY? I WOULD SAY MAYBE WITHIN, YOU KNOW, BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR OR BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
THE CITY FISCAL YEAR WOULD BE GREAT TOO.
WHEN IS THIS GONNA GO TO COUNCIL? I, I MEAN THIS RECOMMENDATION YEAH.
WHEN WILL COUNCIL ACT OR WILL COUNCIL ACT ON THIS, RIGHT? YEAH, DON'T KNOW.
UM, YEAH, I THINK, UH, IN WHAT WHITNEY HAD SAID, BASICALLY WE NEED LIKE FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO ALL SPONSOR SOMETHING BASED ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH TECHNICALLY THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO.
SO I THINK IF WE'RE ACTUALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS BEYOND JUST PASSING A RESOLUTION, WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED TO DO IS REACH OUT TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION, RIGHT? AND BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED
[01:40:01]
Y'ALL TO FORM A COALITION TO ACTUALLY HAVE SOME KIND OF, TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO DO THINGS.CAUSE OTHERWISE IT'S JUST A RECOMMENDATION THAT THIS COMMISSION PASS OR COMMITTEE PASSES AND DOESN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING.
BUT YOU CAN TAKE THIS TO YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, TO STAFF APPOINTED YOU AND BE LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY THERE IS SOME KIND OF PUBLIC MOMENTUM HERE TO, UH, START SOMETHING OR DO SOMETHING RATHER.
I'M STILL NOT SURE WHAT, IF ANY WORDS I NEED TO ADD TO THE, TO THE SECOND ONE.
IS IT CRITICAL THAT WE ADJUST IT?
I THINK I WOULD OH, SORRY, GO AHEAD.
I'M, I'M, I'M KIND OF CURIOUS, I MEAN, IF THIS, IF THIS ACTUALLY GOES THROUGH IN OCTOBER, THIS WOULD CEASE THE COMMISSIONS FROM BEING ABLE TO MEET ONLINE IF CITY STAFF HAS TO BE IN PERSON? NO, THAT, THAT'S DIFFERENT.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT EMPLOYEES AND I THINK THAT ACTUALLY, UM, THE, THE, OUR ABILITY TO MEET REMOTELY IS ACTUALLY NOW IN CITY CODE.
SO THE CITY MANAGER CAN'T CHANGE THAT.
THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT.
UM, YEAH, AND SO WE, WE HAVE THE CITY STAFF THAT WORK WITH US, UM, REMOTELY AND YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN PROVEN THAT THEY WORK VERY WELL ONLINE AND UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING, THERE'S NO DATA TO SUPPORT.
THEY WORK BETTER IN PERSON THAN VIRTUALLY.
SO I MEAN, TO HELP SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, A GREAT WORKFORCE AND SUPPORT THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE AUSTINITES, YOU NEED A GOOD WORKFORCE AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S FULLY SUPPORTING THEM TOO.
UM, I AM IN SUPPORT OF THIS RESOLUTION, SUPPORT OF, UM, PRESERVING THE, THE WORK FROM HOME POLICIES.
UM, MY ONLY HESITATION WITH THE BE IT RESOLVED PORTION IS THAT, UM, THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT IN THERE ASKING FOR KIND OF A BROAD, UM, STUDY TO BE DONE.
KI IT SEEMS KIND OF SPRAWLING.
UM, THIS STUDY WOULD ALSO BE TAXPAYER FUNDED, I PRESUME.
UM, AND IT'S KIND OF A LOT TALKING ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY.
UM, COMPARE CURRENT POLICY, UM, TO 100% TELEWORK ALSO THE OFFICE SPACE, WHAT TO DO WITH OFFICE SPACE AND HOW DO WE BOOST THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
THERE'S A LOT IN THERE AND MY CONCERN WITH TAKING IT TO MY COUNCIL MEMBER MIGHT BE JUST A BIT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO FOCUS ON THIS? I WOULD RATHER HAVE SOMETHING CRISP AND SHARP AND, AND AND VERY SPECIFIC SAYING THAT, UM, RETURNING TO WORK IN PERSON IS A BAD IDEA.
AND HERE'S WHAT WE RECOMMEND YOU CAN DO, YOU KNOW, BEFORE, BEFORE WE LET THIS GO THROUGH.
UM, BUT KEEPING IT A LITTLE BIT MORE TIGHT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
I HAVE HEARD A LOT OF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC BEING LIKE, OH GREAT, ANOTHER STUDY THEY WERE GONNA BLOW 300,000 ON THAT WILL JUST TELL US STUFF WE ALREADY KNEW.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK PART OF IT IS JUST LIKE, WHEN I FIRST DRAFTED IT, I WASN'T REALLY SURE HOW IF WE COULD JUST LIKE YELL AT CITY COUNCIL AND TELL THEM TO DO SOMETHING OR IF WE'RE JUST LIKE, HEY, FIND SOME EVIDENCE TO DO SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, UM, CLEARLY RIGHT.
THE IDEA IS THAT THERE'S ALREADY TONS OF FREAKING EVIDENCE SAYING, HEY, ENVIRONMENTALLY THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.
RIGHT? UM, BUT YEAH, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SORT OF A, A COST THAT GOES INTO IT VERSUS JUST, YOU KNOW, USE YOUR HEAD DUMMY OR WHATEVER.
UM, SO YEAH, I THINK CERTAINLY WE CAN, YOU KNOW, BE MORE DIRECTIVE OR PRESCRIPTIVE AS FAR AS LIKE WHAT WE ACTUALLY WANT COUNSEL TO DO.
BUT, UM, I THINK THERE SHOULD ALSO BE AN ELEMENT OF LIKE, LOOK AT THE DATA, RIGHT? HAVE SOME DATA COME TO US WITH DATA, LIKE HAVE YOUR OPINION BE LIKE SOMEWHAT DERIVED FROM DATA BEING LIKE, THIS IS A GOOD OR BAD THING.
[01:45:01]
BEING A STUDY OR DOING A STUDY IS JUST LIKE THE MOST EASIEST BRAIN DEAD WAY TO SORT OF, UH, RECOMMEND THAT.SO THAT WAS SORT OF MY IDEA, BUT I MEAN, CERTAINLY I'M OPEN TO, UH, TO BETTER IDEAS FOR SURE.
AND THEN JOHN, DO YOU ALSO HAVE YOUR HAND UP OR IS FRANCIS, YOU CAN GO AHEAD.
UM, I THREW IN THE, THE CHAT TO EVERYONE, UM, SUGGESTED LANGUAGE, JUST A FEW SIMPLE WORDS FOR THE SECOND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED.
WOULD YOU ASKED ME THAT A FEW MINUTES AGO? UM, TAKE OR LEAVE, BUT IF YOU CAN SEE IT, THAT'S MY SUGGESTION.
I CAN, I CAN ALSO, I WILL EMAIL IT TO YOU AND I'LL ALSO TELL YOU JUST HERE.
SO IT WOULD SAY, RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN DIRECT THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER TO EVALUATE WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF PASSAGE BY COUNCIL THE BENEFITS OF ENCOURAGING CITY OF AUSTIN, DA DA DA DA.
BUT I'LL ALSO EMAIL THAT TO YOU.
UM, AND I THINK WE COULD JUST SAY EVALUATE WITHIN SIX MONTHS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN SOME IDEAL WORLD, COUNSEL WOULD USE SOME OF THIS LANGUAGE.
WHAT DO WE WANNA DO ABOUT STUDY VERSUS SOMETHING MORE PRESCRIPTIVE? ALSO, I'LL JUST FLAG IT'S ALMOST EIGHT O'CLOCK AND WE HAVE SOME OTHER AGENDA ITEMS, SO WE REALLY NEED TO GET TO, SO I THINK WE NEED TO WRAP THIS UP KIND OF QUICKLY.
SO KIND OF IN THE, WITH THAT IN MIND, I SORT OF HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS AS, BUT UM, IF SOMEBODY HAS, UH, SOMETHING READY TO GO TO, TO CHANGE IT, I, I'M NOT, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO THAT.
I JUST, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO WRAP THIS ITEM UP.
I AM FINE WITH IT THE WAY IT IS.
I THINK THE POINT IS MADE, BUT I'M WONDERING IF KIND OF ALONG THE LINES OF NOT GIVING STAFF ADDITIONAL WORK, I DON'T WANNA, IN THE SAME SENTENCE SAY WE'RE UNDERSTAFFED AND WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEM AND ALSO GIVE THEM A STUDY TO WORK ON.
I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN POINT THEM TOWARD THE RESEARCH THAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE, UM, BY TRAVIS COUNTY AND, BUT I'M ALSO IN SUPPORT OF IT AS IS AND I, I THINK THE, THE POINT IS MADE EITHER WAY.
SO MAYBE INSTEAD OF CONDUCTING A HOLISTIC STUDY, JUST EXAMINE THE DATA COLLECTED BY TRAVIS COUNTY.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'D BE GREAT.
DOES EVERYBODY, DOES, DOES ANYBODY FEEL NEGATIVELY ABOUT THAT? OKAY, I'M GONNA MAKE THAT CHANGE.
SO I THINK, UM, WE THEN KIND OF NEED TO ADJUST, UM, SOME OF THE OTHER WORDING.
UM, MAYBE IT'S NOT A STEADY MAYBE ANALYSIS SHOULD, I'M LOOKING AT THE SECOND SENTENCE IN THE BE IT RESOLVED.
THIS ANALYSIS SHOULD EXAMINE THE FULL, THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT BETWEEN, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT'S KIND OF FUNDAMENTAL TO WHAT THIS IS ASKING IS COMPARE THESE DIFFERENT OPTIONS MM-HMM.
CAN I SUGGEST INSTEAD OF SAYING COMPREHENSIVE AND HOLISTIC STUDY, JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, CONDUCT AN EVIDENCE-BASED EVALUATION.
SO I THINK IT'D ALSO BE GOOD IF WHATEVER EVALUATION OR EXAMINATION THEY DO IS LIKE PUBLIC SO PEOPLE COULD POKE HOLES AT IT, RIGHT? CAUSE THEY COULD JUST DO IT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND BE LIKE, YEP.
[01:50:01]
TO THE CONCLUSION THAT OUR POLICY IS GREAT, YOU KNOW? OKAY.I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA READ OUT WHAT IT SAYS RIGHT NOW AND, AND JUST LET ME KNOW IF, IF THERE'S CONCERNS.
JOINT SUSTAINABILITY RECOMMENDS, COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER TO EXAMINE THE DATA COLLECTED BY TRAVIS COUNTY AND CONDUCT AN EVIDENCE-BASED ASSESSMENT BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THE NEXT PHASE OF IN-PERSON WORK REQUIREMENTS AND HAVING EMPLOYEES COMMUTE TO, I MEAN, HONESTLY THAT'S JUST EXTRA WORDS.
AFTER REQUIREMENTS, THIS ASSESSMENT SHOULD EXAMINE THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT BETWEEN THE 2022 POLICY, THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER, INTERIM CITY MANAGER'S, PROPOSED POLICY, AND A 100% TELEWORK AS DEFAULT POLICY CAN CONSIDER POLICY AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGES.
I, I MEAN, I THINK PERIOD, LET'S USE, LET'S USE PERIODS.
UM, THE, THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER, UM, SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER POLICY AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGES, ET CETERA.
AND THEN THAT COULD JUST, I THINK THE REST OF THAT COULD STAY THE SAME.
AND THEN AT THE END, WE COULD JUST ADD THIS, THIS ANALYSIS, UH, NEEDS TO BE REPORTED TO THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
IS IS THERE ANY BENEFIT OF, UH, SAYING TRAVIS COUNTY DATA OR STUDY OR SIMILAR STUDIES, OR DO WE WANNA NARROW IT DOWN TO ONLY TRAVIS COUNTY? I, I HAVE ONE OTHER SUGGESTION CUZ I THINK IT WAS KIND OF KEY TO THE, TO WHAT, UM, WAS PRESENTED TO US, WHICH WAS THE COST OF LIVING IMPLICATIONS FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
I FEEL LIKE THAT IS PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THAT ASSESSMENT MAYBE.
UH, SO EXAMINE THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, UH, AND AFFORDABILITY.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND AFFORDABILITY IMPACTS AFFORDABILITY AND EQUITY.
ENVIRONMENTAL, GOTTA THROW THE E WORD IN THERE,
THIS ASSESSMENT SHOULD EXAMINE THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL AFFORDABILITY AND EQUITY IMPACTS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT POLICIES.
AND THEN AT THE END IT SAYS, THIS ASSESSMENT MUST BE PRESENTED TO THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
UM, HOW, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ASK THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS, HOW, HOW STRONGLY DO YOU FEEL ABOUT KEEPING THE LAST CLAUSE IN THERE ABOUT EXPLORING OPTIONS, WHAT TO DO WITH UNDERUTILIZED COMMERCIAL OFFICE SPACE AND ET CETERA? I THINK IT WOULD BE STRONGER IF WE CUT IT OUT.
I THINK IT COULD BE TAKEN UP SEPARATELY.
JOHN, PHIL, I FEEL LIKE IT'S A BIG PART OF THIS.
I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY SPENT ON A BRAND NEW BUILDING AND WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH THESE THINGS? AND SO I FEEL LIKE IT'S A, IT'S A BIG PART OF THE EQUATION AND THERE'S, THERE'S MAINTENANCE STAFF.
WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH THEM? WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH THE FOLKS THAT, THAT KEEP THESE, UH, BUILDINGS RUNNING? THAT'S FAIR.
I I THINK IT'S IMPLIED THAT IF THEY TAKE UP THIS RESOLUTION THAT THAT, THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT THEY'LL HAVE TO CONSIDER.
MAYBE WE CAN JUST, MAYBE WE CAN JUST DO A QUICK STOP ON.
IT'S ON, UH, SHOULD, SHOULD IT BE SEPARATED INTO IT? IT'S ON BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED.
[01:55:07]
THAT'S A GOOD IDEA.BUT I GUESS FIRST THE QUESTION OF, DO WE WANNA INCLUDE IT AT ALL? CAN WE JUST DO A, A QUICK SHOW OF HANDS, UH, FOR LIKE IF, DO YOU WANNA INC IF YOU WANNA INCLUDE, IF YOU WANT IT TO STAY, RAISE YOUR HAND.
WHAT ABOUT IF YOU'RE STRONGLY OPPOSED TO KEEPING IT BECAUSE YEAH, WE'LL DO THAT TOO.
WE'VE GOT TWO THAT WANNA KEEP IT.
WHO REALLY WOULD LIKE IT TO BE REMOVED? RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WOULD REALLY LIKE IT.
WE'VE GOT THREE AND EVERYBODY ELSE IS SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GOING, CAN WE TAKE IT OUT IN THE INTEREST OF, OF MOVING ON? CAN, CAN WE LIVE WITH THAT SURE.
PLANE? YEAH, WE CAN ALWAYS DO ANOTHER RESOLUTION.
AND JUST WITH THAT, A DELETE AND IT'S GONE.
IF ANYBODY WANTS TO MAKE A MOTION, CAN CAN YOU READ IT? OKAY.
THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THAT THE, THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER TO EXAMINE THE DATA COLLECTED BY TRAVIS COUNTY AND OTHER SIMILAR STUDIES AND CONDUCT AN EVIDENCE-BASED ASSESSMENT BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THE NEXT PHASE OF IN-PERSON WORK REQUIREMENTS.
THIS ASSESSMENT SHOULD EXAMINE THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL AFFORDABILITY AND EQUITY IMPACTS BETWEEN THE 2022 POLICY, THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED POLICY AND A 100% TELEWORK AS DEFAULT POLICY.
THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER SHOULD CONSIDER POLICY AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGES THAT EXPAND OR IMPROVE THE CITY'S ABILITY TO OFFER ITS EMPLOYEES SAFE, EFFECTIVE, AND EFFICIENT REMOTE WORK, REMOTE WORK FROM HOME OPTIONS.
THIS ASSESSMENT MUST BE PRESENTED TO THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
I MOVE THAT WE VOTE TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION.
ALL RIGHT, WE'VE GOT A MOTION.
ALL RIGHT, WE'VE GOT A SECOND.
WAS THAT SECOND? UH, THAT WAS ALICE.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY IN FAVOR? UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
AND I'LL GET ROHAN THE, THE FINAL, THE FINAL VERSION HERE.
UM, NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, AUSTIN COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
[5. Austin Community Investment Budget Presentation – Daniela Silva, Equity Action (Discussion and/or Possible Action).]
BUDGET PRESENTATION.UM, JANELA IS GONNA BE PRESENTING ON THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET BUDGET.
I'M SORRY WE KEPT YOU WAITING AROUND.
IS EVERYBODY OKAY? DO Y'ALL NEED BATHROOM BREAK, WATER BREAK, STRETCH BREAK.
I THINK WE NEED TO KEEP MOVING.
SO WHILE MY COMPUTER, OH, HERE WE GO.
THEY, AND I'M HERE WITH EQUITY ACTION TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
UM, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE ARE, AS EQUITY ACTION, ARE A POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE WHO ARE FOCUSED ON CENTERING EQUITY AND JUSTICE IN AUSTIN'S POLITICAL SYSTEM.
AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET IS, IS A COALITION OF DOZENS OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE COLLECTIVELY WORKED TOGETHER TO CREATE ONE LIST OF BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEN GETS PITCHED TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND TO COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CITY'S DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT TO DIRECTLY ADDRESS EXISTING COMMUNITY NEEDS.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A WAY OF FOLKS SAYING, HERE'S EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE NEED ON THE GROUND, HERE'S EXACTLY HOW MUCH WE NEED FOR IT.
AND BY PROPOSING THIS BUDGET, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER'S
[02:00:01]
OFFICE CAN KNOW FOR SURE THAT IF AN RFP IS PUT OUT OR YOU KNOW, A REQUEST FOR CONTRACTS, THERE WILL FOR SURE BE ORGANIZATIONS READY TO IMMEDIATELY TAKE UP THAT WORK.ARE THE CURRENTLY 40 ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, WHO HAVE EITHER BEEN A PART OF THE BUDGET CREATION PROCESS, OR THEY HAVE ENDORSED THE COMMUNITY BUDGET AS A WHOLE.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE A PRETTY WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES THAT THESE ORGS WORK WITH.
AND FOR, UM, TO DEMONSTRATE KIND OF THE HOLISTIC NATURE OF THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET ITSELF, IT'S NOT SINGLE ISSUE.
IT'S NOT EVEN FIVE ISSUES, IT'S AT LEAST 10 ISSUES THAT THE BUDGET IS ADDRESSING.
UM, AND THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M NOT GONNA READ DIRECTLY FROM THIS, BUT ESSENTIALLY WHY IS THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET IMPORTANT? I THINK EVERYONE HERE IS FAMILIAR WITH THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ORGANIZATIONS PLAY IN MAKING SURE THAT AUSTINITES NEEDS ARE MET.
UM, WHEN THE CITY IS TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS A REALLY GREAT QUALITY OF LIFE, SOMETIMES THERE ARE JUST GAPS THAT ARE GONNA BE MET BECAUSE OF HOW SLOW CITY IS FUNCTIONING.
UM, AND SO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN OPERATING FOR A VERY LONG TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT COMMUNITY NEEDS ARE MET.
UM, SO BY ENSURING THAT THERE IS FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR THESE, UM, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTINUE THE CRITICAL WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING, UM, IS THE ONE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
YOU CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, SO ANOTHER TOP PRIORITY OF THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET IS JUST MAKING SURE THAT EVEN THOUGH OVER A THIRD OF THE GENERAL REVENUE FUND IS SPENT ON A P D ALONE, WE RECOGNIZE THAT SAFETY AND SECURITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT POLICING, AND THE REMAINDER OF THE FUND SHOULD BE UTILIZED TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF THE OTHER AREAS OF PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE ADDRESSED.
AND, UM, WE CAN GET TO THE ROOT CAUSES AND REASONS WHY SOMEONE MIGHT DECIDE TO COMMIT WHAT'S CONSIDERED A CRIME.
UM, AND THAT IS RELATED TO HOUSING, IT'S RELATED TO WELL MAINTAINED AND SAFE PARKS.
IT'S RELATED TO ACCESS TO HEALTHFUL FOOD, MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE SUPPORT IN THEIR EDUCATION, UM, AND ALSO IDEALLY IN THE LONG TERM, REDUCING THE BURDEN OF WHAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT EVEN HAS TO FACE.
UM, IN THE NEXT SLIDE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT WE REALLY ARE WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IN AUSTIN, REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, IS ABLE TO HAVE AN AMAZING QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND OUR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET IS JUST OVER A HUNDRED A MILLION, A HUNDRED MILLION, WHICH IS ROUGHLY 7% OF THE OVERALL 1.3 BILLION GENERAL REVENUE FUND.
UM, SO IT'S A REALLY SMALL PORTION, BUT IT CAN MAKE A HUGE IMPACT ON, UM, THE, THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE MOST VULNERABLE IN AUSTIN, BUT NOT JUST THE MOST VULNERABLE BECAUSE IT'S KNOWN THAT WHEN YOU HELP, UM, KIND OF THE FOLKS WHO NEED THE MOST HELP IT, THERE'S A TRICKLE UP EFFECT.
AND EVERYONE IN AUSTIN ALSO BENEFITS.
UM, WE KNOW THAT BUDGETS ARE MORAL DOCUMENTS AND WE INSIST THAT OUR CITY BUDGET REFLECTS, UM, KIND OF COLLECTIVE VALUES THAT WE AS AUSTINITES SHARE.
UM, SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF LINKS FOR LAST YEAR'S 2223 BUDGET COMPARED TO THIS YEAR'S, UM, 2324 BUDGET.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PULL THEM UP RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU CAN IF YOU LIKE, BUT ESSENTIALLY THE DIFFERENCES ARE THAT FOR LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, THE TOTAL WAS ABOUT, UM, 75 MILLION.
AND OUT OF THAT 75 MILLION, ROUGHLY 30 MILLION WERE IN INCORPORATED INTO THE CITY'S BUDGET.
THIS YEAR WE WENT FROM 75 TO A HUNDRED.
AND WHILE OF COURSE WE WILL ALWAYS WORK TO ENSURE THAT ALL 100 ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE CITY BUDGET, EVEN IF WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE SAME RATIO AS LAST YEAR, WE'RE HOPING TO AT LEAST MEET THAT 75 FROM THE YEAR PRIOR.
UM, WE HAVE MORE ORGANIZATIONS ON BOARD FOR THIS YEAR'S COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET AND THE LIST IS CONTINUING TO GROW.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE A BROADER RANGE OF ISSUES.
UM, IN THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THESE ARE JUST, UH, SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS THAT I WANTED TO, UM, BRING ATTENTION TO IN THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
UM, WE HAD FOLKS TALKING ABOUT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN EARLIER TODAY.
SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT COUNCIL TAKE ACTION TO MAKING SURE THAT THE PLAN IS TAKEN OFF THE SHELF, DUSTED OFF AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED BECAUSE IT
[02:05:01]
IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE PLAN.UM, WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT OUR PARKS AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF THE PARKS ACROSS THE CITY ARE WELL-MAINTAINED, WELL-FUNDED, AND HAVE ROBUST PROGRAMMING.
UM, BECAUSE IT IS LIKE DATA BACKS UP THAT A WELL PROGRAMMED PARK IS A SAFE PARK, UM, AND A LOVED PARK.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, FOLKS WHO WORK IN, UM, FOOD ACCESS.
SO MAKING SURE THAT FACILITY HAS VALUE-BASED FOOD PROCUREMENT IN THAT WHEN THEY ARE MAKING THESE CONTRACTS FOR, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A I S D OR THE CITY THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO LOCAL PRODUCERS, LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS BEFORE SOURCING OUTSIDE OF THE AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS AREA.
AND THEN LASTLY, FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND FOOD SYSTEMS BASED RELATED FUNDING.
THIS IS MORE SO, UM, ENSURING THAT PRODUCERS OF COLOR AND MINORITY PRODUCERS WHO ARE WORKING TO EXPAND FOOD ACCESS THROUGHOUT ALL OF AUSTIN HAVE THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH ENTREPRENEURIAL, UM, A PATH OR UM, PROGRAMMATIC PATH.
BUT ALL OF THESE CAN BE FOUND IN THE, UM, CURRENT FULL PROPOSAL OF THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET, WHICH CAN BE FOUND@EQUITYACTIONATX.ORG.
AND EACH LINE ITEM WITHIN THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET HAS ITS NARRATIVE, UM, ATTACHED TO IT THAT IS DIRECTLY FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT GIVES AN EVEN MORE IN DEPTH EXPLANATION, WHICH I'M HAPPY TO PULL THOSE UP IF WE WANNA, IF FOLKS WANTED TO LOOK DEEPER INTO THESE.
BUT, UM, I KNOW IT'S GETTING LATE, SO I WILL ONLY DO THAT UPON REQUEST.
UM, CUZ THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE LAST SLIDE AND THAT IS HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
SO WE ARE ASKING, UM, THAT THIS BODY MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL TO INCLUDE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET INTO THE UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE.
UM, BECAUSE WE ARE ADVOCATING, WE, WHAT WE DON'T WANT IS ORGS TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE ON THEIR OWN WHEN THEY ARE ADVOCATING TO COUNCIL AND THAT THIS IS, UH, KIND OF A COLLECTIVE ACTION.
UM, AND THERE IS AN ADVOCACY PACKET THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAS A DIGITAL LETTER TO CITY MANAGER GUA ASKING THIS EXACT THING, UM, THAT WE PLAN TO RELEASE ON JULY 7TH, UH, WEEK BEFORE HIS PUBLIC RELEASE OF HIS BASELINE BUDGET.
UM, THERE'S ALSO WAYS FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SEND EMAILS TO THEIR COUNCIL, MAKE PHONE CALLS, UM, UH, SHOW UP TO COMMISSION MEETINGS LIKE THESE.
UM, AND WE'RE TRYING TO SHARE THAT AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND IF FOLKS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WANT ME TO GO MORE IN DEPTH INTO ANYTHING THAT I JUST WENT OVER, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT.
YEAH, I GUESS I HAVE A QUICK, UH, IN REGARDS TO THE CLIMATE AC EQUITY, UH, PLAN.
SO YOU HAD THE, UH, ROUGHLY $700,000.
UH, IS THERE LIKE SPECIFICS ON YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
SO IF YOU GO BACK A FEW SLIDES TO WHERE THERE ARE THE TWO LINKS, THIS ONE, AND YOU CLICK ON THE BOTTOM ONE FOR F Y 24 AND YOU'LL SCROLL DOWN, UH, TO WHERE, LET'S SEE WHAT PAGE IT IS.
UH, SHOULD BE THE, I THINK THE THIRD OR FOURTH PAGE THAT'S IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, IF YOU KEEP GOING ONE MORE.
SO, UM, HERE IT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF IN BULLET POINTS.
THERE'S, UH, 50,000 ALLOCATED FOR SUSTAINABLE REFRIGERANT OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT.
WE'VE GOT A HUNDRED THOUSAND FOR SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING THROUGH CENTRAL PROCUREMENT.
IF YOU DON'T MIND ME JUST, UH, SHORT CUTTING EVERYTHING THAT WE PASSED HERE IS IN THERE.
IT'S THE ONE PIECE THAT ACTUALLY EVERYBODY SHOULD BE, WELL MOST FOLKS HERE SHOULD BE INFORMED ON, I GUESS WE DO HAVE SOME NEWS, SO YOU'RE WELCOME TO KEEP GOING, BUT I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT.
UM, YEAH, SO IT MORE SUSTAINABLE FUNDING 35,000 FOR MULTIMODAL EQUITY AMBASSADORS, A HUNDRED THOUSAND TO MAKE THE CLIMATE EQUITY ENGAGEMENT ASSOCIATE INTO OR IN THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, A PERMANENT POSITION, UM, HAVING AN ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WITHIN THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT, AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE IN THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
AND BOTH OF THOSE HAVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND ALLOCATED TO THEM.
[02:10:01]
DID THIS GO AROUND IN ADVANCE? I CAN'T REMEMBER IF THIS OKAY.I'M JUST WONDERING LIKE, I MEAN, I KNOW WHAT'S IN HERE.
UM, DO OTHERS HAVE AN INTEREST IN, IN DIGGING INTO ANY OF THE DETAILS, HAVE YOU ALREADY CLICKED AND, AND READ THIS INFORMATION? WOULD JUST LIKE TO HEAR FROM FOLKS HOW WE, HOW WE USE OUR TIME HERE.
AND I GUESS KIND OF A, A ASSOCIATED QUESTION, DO WE HAVE AN INTEREST IN SUPPORTING THIS LARGER EFFORT THAT INCORPORATES WHAT THIS COMMISSION ALREADY RECOMMENDED THAT'S DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UNDERSTANDING THAT PERHAPS PEOPLE HAVE NOT READ IT YET, AND THAT, SO THAT MIGHT NOT BE RIGHT NOW, BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHERE THE INTEREST LEVEL IS, IF FOLKS DON'T MIND.
AND IF YOU WANNA JUST SCROLL TO THE TOP OF THE DOCUMENT.
Y'ALL CAN JUST SEE KIND OF THE GENERAL, WHAT EACH LINE ITEM IS HERE, UM, WITHOUT HAVING TO SEE EACH FULL NARRATIVE NEXT TO IT, WHICH CAN FEEL OVERWHELMING.
UM, SO IF, IF Y'ALL AREN'T ABLE TO SEE IT, WE HAVE PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS, TENANT NOTIFICATION, AND RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.
THERE'S A LOT AROUND HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, KIND OF RIGHT TO STAY MEASURES SOME RIGHT TO RETURN SOME SUPPORT FOR SENIORS WITH THEIR ESTATE AND PROBATE PLANNING.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, KIND OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT FOR CITY WORKERS TO, UH, HAVE AN INFLATION INFLATION ADJUSTMENT, EMS WAGE INCREASE, UM, SUPPORT FOR, UM, VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DOMESTIC ABUSE, VIOLENCE PREVENTION, UM, SUPPORTING THE CARVER LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.
UM, THERE'S INCLEMENT WEATHER RESPONSE, WHICH IS RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND MAKING SURE THAT, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE, UH, MORE VULNERABLE HAVE SUPPORT WHENEVER THERE ARE, UH, INCLEMENT WEATHER DISASTERS.
UM, STREET OUTREACH, UM, MAKING SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS ARE FUNDED, THAT EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT IS FUNDED.
THE RESILIENCE HUBS, WHICH ARE SOMEWHAT TIED INTO, UM, CLIMATE ACTION, UM, EQUITY OFFICE, GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAM, UH, PREGNANCY CARE.
SO IT'S A VERY, VERY BROAD REACHING.
YEAH, I MEAN, ALL THIS, I, I WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO LOOK AT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, BUT IT IT DOES, YEAH.
YEAH, IT WOULD BE WILLING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO SUPPORT THIS AS WELL.
HEATHER, IS YOUR HANDS UP? YEAH, I JUST HAD A, UH, THANK YOU DANIELA.
AND I ALSO WOULD BE IN SUPPORT AND JUST WONDERED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BECOMING AN ENDORSING ORGANIZATION, OR IS THAT ONLY FOR LIKE NONPROFITS? FOR EX IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE MOSTLY NONPROFIT GROUPS VERSUS PUTTING FORTH A RECOMMENDATION.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, I, YOU KNOW, WE TYPICALLY GO THE RECOMMENDATION ROUTE, BUT I JUST SAW YOU HAD THIS OTHER ENDORSING ORGANIZATION SECTION.
SO, UM, THE ENDORSING ORGANIZATION SECTION IS SPECIFICALLY FOR NON-CITY BODIES, UM, JUST BECAUSE WE WANNA KEEP THIS REALLY LIKE GRASSROOTS, UM, AND COMMUNITY CENTERED.
THAT BEING SAID, WE ARE GOING TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT COM COMMISSIONS.
THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION HAS ALREADY WRITTEN A RECOMMENDATION, AND WE'RE SEEKING AS MANY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS AS POSSIBLE.
BUT THIS IS SEPARATE FROM, UM, THE ENDORSING ORGANIZATION.
SO WHENEVER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET, ESPECIALLY WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE WITH DIFFERENT COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SAY WE HAVE THESE COMMUNITY ENDORSEMENTS AND THESE COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.
WHAT KIND OF A TIMELINE ARE YOU WORKING AGAINST SO THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT IF WE HAVE TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION NOW? YEAH, SO THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT DEADLINES THAT ARE COMING UP ARE, UM, PUBLIC RELEASE FOR, OR THE SENDING OF THE LETTER TO, UM, CITY MANAGER GARZA, WHICH IS JUST INDIVIDUALS HAVING SIGNED ON THAT WILL BE RELEASED, UM, JUNE, UH, JULY 7TH.
[02:15:01]
RELEASE OF THE BASELINE BUDGET WILL BE JULY 14TH, AND HIS PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL WILL BE THE 19TH.SO ONCE THAT'S BEEN RELEASED, UM, THE FOCUS SHIFTS FROM CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO COUNCIL'S OFFICE, AND THEY WILL, UM, BEGIN THEIR DELIBERATION PROCESS, UH, FOR THAT, I BELIEVE ON THE 19TH.
AND IT, AND THEN ALL OF THEIR MEETINGS FROM THE 19TH THROUGH AUGUST 18TH WILL BE RELATED TO BUDGET.
UM, SO THEY WILL BE IN FINAL DECISION DELIBERATION MODE AUGUST 16TH THROUGH THE 18TH.
UM, BUT HAVING RECOMMENDATIONS COME OUT LATE, YOU KNOW, LATE JULY, EARLY AUGUST AT THE LATEST WOULD BE MOST IDEAL.
BUT ESSENTIALLY IF, IF WE WANT, IF WE, WE WANT, IF WE WANNA THINK THAT THIS MIGHT INFLUENCE THE WHAT GETS SENT TO COUNSEL MM-HMM.
BUT THAT IF WE ACT IN JULY, WE'RE STILL TIMELY FOR OR INFLUENCING COUNSEL.
I JUST SAID ASKED IF WE COULD SEE THE OTHER COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION IF WE DO NEED TO MOVE FAST, AND IF WE DO MOVE FORWARD WITH A RECOMMENDATION, MAYBE WE COULD USE IT AS A MODEL OR A TEMPLATE IF WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME.
I WILL SAY, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FROM COMMISSIONS CAN, NOT NOW, BUT MAYBE, YEAH, THE NEXT, THEY CAN COME IN DIFFERENT FORMATS, THOUGH.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE FULL RESOLUTIONS.
THEY CAN BE PRETTY BASIC RES RECOMMENDATION.
THE, THE LANGUAGE CAN BE VERY BASIC, LIKE, WE RECOMMEND THE ATTACHED, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU WANNA ADD A FEW WORDS TO IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SAY IT'S LIKE IN, IN LINE WITH THE GOALS AND VISIONS OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AND, UM, WHATEVER, BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY OR SOMETHING.
LITERALLY THAT SIMPLE AND THEN ATTACH WHAT WE'RE ENDORSING.
AND THAT COULD GO FOR A CITY REPORT OR A CITY, UM, PROPOSAL.
OR IT CAN GO FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS, LIKE COMING FROM THE COMMUNITY IF HOPEFULLY THAT HELPS CLARIFY OUR LATITUDE ON FORMAT.
I'M HEARING SOME GENERAL SUPPORT, BUT PROBABLY NUDGING IN THE DIRECTION OF TAKING THIS UP IN JULY.
IS THAT ACCURATE? I GUESS WHAT WOULD THE PROCESS BE TO JUST DO SOMETHING NOW? DO WE JUST NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO PASS A RECOMMENDATION SUPPORT? IT COULD BE THAT SUPPORT.
I CAN, I MAKE A MOTION TO PASS THE RECOMMENDATION IN SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A MOTION, WE'VE GOT A SECOND.
SO ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT? YEAH, I PERSONALLY FEEL LIKE EQUITY ACTION HAS DONE GOOD WORK.
UM, I ONLY HEARD OF THEM RELATIVELY RECENTLY BECAUSE OF THE, UH, WHOLE PROP A STUFF.
BUT, UH, I THINK IN GENERAL, SPENDING LESS MONEY ON BULLETS AND TANKS AND MORE MONEY ON SOCIAL SERVICES TENDS TO RESULT IN, UH, A BETTER CITY STATE.
AND I, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST STATE FOR THE RECORD FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR, NOT IN THIS PAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, BUT I BELIEVE IN THE ONE PREVIOUS TO IT, IT DID BECOME STATE LAW THAT A CITY CANNOT REDUCE FUNDING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS PRIOR TO 2019 LEVELS.
SO WHAT WE ARE SUGGESTING WOULDN'T BE REDUCING THEIR CURRENT LEVELS OF FUNDING.
WE'RE JUST GIVING THE CITY OPTIONS FOR OTHER WAYS TO ADDRESS SAFETY AND SECURITY AND USING THE REMAINDER OF THE FUNDS.
THIS IS, THIS IS NOT A DEFUND THE POLICE, RIGHT? YES.
THIS IS, WHAT DO WE DO WHILE THE POLICE REMAIN FUNDED TO ADDRESS THESE COMMUNITY CHALLENGES? YES.
ALL RIGHT, THEN LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UH, A ANYBODY IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
UH, IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, I GUESS ANY AGAINST OR ABSTAINING AB OKAY.
SO WE'VE GOT ONE ABSTENTION AND
[02:20:01]
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 IN SUPPORT.SO THAT RECOMMENDATION PASSES, AND I, IF Y'ALL WILL TRUST ME TO BASICALLY WRITE UP THE WORDS THAT I SAID AROUND THIS AND, AND PUT IT ON THE FORM.
IT'S GONNA BE PRETTY BARE BONES, AND WE'LL JUST ATTACH THE ACTUAL, UH, COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET IS WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DANIELLE.
NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS REALLY TO THE, THE HEART OF WHERE, UH, A LOT OF US HAVE
[6. Updates from JSC working groups on Austin Climate Equity Plan Implementation (Discussion and/or Possible Action).]
BEEN SPENDING SOME EXTRA TIME, UH, ON OUR WORKING GROUPS.HOPEFULLY YOU ALL HAVE SEEN, UM, THAT RON SENT AROUND A KIND OF REMINDER, UH, ABOUT OUR, UM, OUR, OUR INTENTION IN TERMS OF OUR, OUR SCHEDULE FOR THAT WORKING GROUP, UM, ACTIVITY.
AND I THINK AS, AS IT WAS ON OUR, ON, ON THAT INTENTION THAT CAME OUT OF OUR, OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, WE WERE HOPING TO BE, YOU KNOW, AROUND THIS TIME, UH, PUTTING FORWARD RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUPS TO, FOR THE, FOR THE FULL COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER.
UM, SO MY HOPE IS THAT THE COMMITTEES CAN SHARE KIND OF WHAT CURRENT THINKING IS.
AND, YOU KNOW, NOT THAT I EXPECT US, I MEAN, IF SOMEBODY HAS SOMETHING READY THAT THEY WANT US TO VOTE ON TODAY, UH, THAT'S FINE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE INTENTION HERE BEING THAT WE CAN, THOSE OF US WHO ARE ON DIFFERENT COMMITTEES CAN HEAR WHAT THE THINKING IS IN TERMS OF WHAT'S RISING TO THE TOP IN TERMS OF PRIORITIES, UM, AND, UH, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, UH, DID PUT TOGETHER A, A LIST OF PRIORITIES.
SO I CAN GO FIRST ON BEHALF OF THAT WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND, AND THEN WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE OTHER TWO.
AND I'M REALIZING THAT ANNA ISN'T HERE, SO WE MIGHT JUST HAVE TO WAIT ON THAT ONE.
CUZ I'M NOT SURE IF SHE, I DON'T THINK, DID SHE SEND ANYTHING TO YOU? YEAH, SO WE'LL DO THE TWO THAT, THAT ARE, THAT HAVE THE KIND OF CHAIRS HERE AND, AND, AND THEN WE CAN DO THAT ONE NEXT TIME.
SO, SUSTAINABLE, UH, BUILDINGS, WORKING GROUP, UM, HAS DISCUSSED SEVERAL THINGS.
UM, YOU'LL SEE THAT A LOT OF THEM ARE KIND OF, UM, INTERCONNECTED OR RELATED, UM, AND, AND IN THAT THEY KIND OF CONSIDER ENERGY CODES AND STANDARDS.
UM, THE, THE FIRST ONE, UM, THAT HOPEFULLY IS GOING TO BE IN MOTION.
WE HAVEN'T, UH, RECEIVED CONFIRMATION OF THAT, BUT I THINK WE CAN, CAN HOPEFULLY NUDGE THINGS IN THE DIRECTION OF ADOPTING THE 2024 ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FINALIZED, I THINK LIKE AT THE END OF THE SUMMER.
UM, AND THEN IT'S, IT, IT'S FINALIZED THROUGH A, YOU KNOW, PROCESS THAT HAP HAPPENS AT THE I E C C, WHICH IS A INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION THAT BRINGS TOGETHER PEOPLE THAT, THAT WORK ON BUILDING CODES ACROSS THE DIFFERENT, UM, KIND OF INDUSTRIES.
AND THEN IT'S UP TO EACH LO LOCAL JURISDICTION, LIKE CITIES TO ACTUALLY ADOPT THOSE CODES.
SO CITY OF AUSTIN CURRENTLY HAS THE 2021 CODE, THAT WAS THE LAST ONE THAT WAS RELEASED.
THIS NEW CODE WILL HAVE, UM, I THINK SOME IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENTS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WORKING GROUP HAS, HAS DISCUSSED, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO ENGAGE WITH BOTH AUSTIN ENERGY AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT MOVES FORWARD ON A, YOU KNOW, TIMELY PROCESS TO GET IMPLEMENTED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE BOTH IMPROVEMENTS TO EFFICIENCY AND ALSO, UM, SOME, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CODE THAT WOULD, UM, BETTER ENABLE ELECTRIFICATION OF BOTH TRANSPORTATION IN TERMS OF CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AT HOMES AND BUSINESSES, AND ALSO ELECTRIFICATION OF OTHER APPLIANCES, UM, LIKE HEATING AND, AND WATER HEATING AND BUILDINGS.
UM, WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UH, PASSIVE HOUSE, UM, AS A, AS ANOTHER STANDARD AS WELL AS THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE THAT THEY, THEY'RE EVEN MORE AMBITIOUS THAN I THINK THE ENERGY CONSERVATION, UH, CODE WILL BE.
[02:25:01]
TALKED ABOUT USING, UH, A DENSITY BONUS, UH, THAT COULD STACK ON TOP OF AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED TO ENCOURAGE BUILDERS TO, TO GO TO THOSE NEXT LEVELS OF SUPER EFFICIENT, UH, BUILDINGS.AND, UM, THEN THE NEXT ONE, UM, FOR, FOR THOSE OF Y'ALL WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH ECAD, I SHOULD HAVE SPELLED IT OUT CAUSE I ALWAYS FORGET THE ACRONYM.
UM, BUT IT'S A REQUIREMENT TO DO ENERGY AUDITS.
UM, AND THERE'S TWO PIECES OF IT.
ONE IS RELATED TO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
YOU'RE, YOU HAVE TO DO AN ENERGY AUDIT AND, UH, DISCLOSE THAT IF YOU'RE SELLING A HOME.
BUT THE PIECE THAT, UM, WE'RE SUGGESTING BE ADDRESS HERE IS FOR, UH, MULTI-FAMILY BUILDINGS.
AND I SHOULD HAVE SPECIFIED THAT MULTI-FAMILY AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS RIGHT NOW, THEY JUST HAVE TO GET AN ENERGY AUDIT AND THEY HAVE TO DISCLOSE THAT TO THEIR TENANTS.
UM, BUT THERE'S NO ACTUAL REQUIREMENT FOR DOING ANY IMPROVEMENTS NO MATTER HOW POORLY THE BUILDING IS PERFORMING IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY.
AND OTHER PLACES ARE, THANK YOU, YURI, ENERGY CONSERVATION AUDIT AND DISCLOSURE ORDINANCE.
UM, SO YEAH, OTHER PLACES ARE, ARE MOVING TO THE NEXT STEP OF ACTUALLY REQUIRING, YOU KNOW, BUILDINGS THAT ARE VERY INEFFICIENT TO UPGRADE.
AND SO WE'RE SUGGESTING THAT, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN SHOULD BE DOING THAT AS WELL.
AND, UM, THEN THERE'S THIS, UM, KIND OF ISSUE THAT HAS, UH, COME UP, ESPECIALLY OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS WITH THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, THAT THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS IN STATE LAW THAT MAKE IT SO YOU CAN'T DO, CERTAIN THINGS ARE CODE THAT, UM, CER THERE'S CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS THAT YOU CAN'T INCLUDE IN CODE, AND AT LEAST AUSTIN ENERGY AND, AND SOME OTHER FOLKS WITHIN LEGAL ARE INTERPRETING.
THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM IS A CODE BECAUSE IT'S REQUIRED FOR SMART HOUSING AT THE ONE, TWO, OR THREE LEVEL, IT GOES UP TO FIVE.
SO WE'RE SUGGESTING LIKE, LET'S ADDRESS THAT ISSUE.
LET'S CREATE TWO SEPARATE, UM, PATHWAYS SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE THE, THE, UM, STANDARDS AND ENCOURAGE, UM, BETTER, BETTER BUILDING PRACTICES FOR THOSE WHO ARE, ARE TRULY USING THAT PROGRAM VOLUNTARILY.
UM, AS, AS OPPOSED TO JUST HAVING ONE TRACK THAT THEN IS LIMITED BY THIS ISSUE WITH STATE LAW.
SO HAVE, HAVE A, HAVE A TRACK THAT IS THERE FOR SMART HOUSING AND HAS THOSE LIMITATIONS.
UM, AND THEN HAVE ANOTHER TRACK.
SO WE HAVEN'T REALLY GONE TOO FAR DOWN THAT ROAD.
WE JUST STARTED KIND OF TALKING ABOUT THAT PRETTY RECENTLY.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER, UH, THE LAST ONE IS, IS KIND OF, UM, I GUESS THE MATCHES UP WITH REALLY, I SHOULD HAVE MAYBE PAIRED IT UP WITH, WITH THE SECOND BULLET.
UM, AGAIN, AROUND KIND OF YOU TRYING TO GET THE PASSIVE HOUSE STANDARD AND LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE STANDARDS, UM, AS WELL AS LOW CARBON BUILDING, UM, TO BE USED IN AT LEAST ANY SORT OF CITY PROJECTS.
SO ANY SORT OF CITY BUILDINGS.
UM, SO THAT WOULDN'T, THAT WOULD NOT AFFECT ANYTHING IN THE YOU FOR THE PUBLIC IS, YOU KNOW, THE PRIVATE ENTITIES ARE BUILDING, BUT IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE FOR THE CITY'S OWN ACTIVITIES.
SO THAT'S WHY IT SAYS RFP THERE.
SO THESE ARE THE, THE THINGS THAT HAVE, UM, SO FAR RISEN TO THE TOP.
AND, AND DEFINITELY SOME OF THESE, WE, I THINK ALL OF THESE WE NEED TO HAVE ADDITIONAL CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF.
UM, SOME OF THEM, I THINK THERE'VE BEEN ALREADY SOME CONVERSATION, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE, AND I KNOW THERE'VE BEEN PAST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EAD, UM, OTHERS OF THESE.
WE NEED TO, UM, REALLY INITIATE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT ALL OF THESE KIND OF TIE INTO THE, THE GOALS IN THAT SECTION ABOUT REDUCING ENERGY USE IN BUILDINGS AND ENCOURAGING ELECTRIFICATION AND ANYBODY ON THAT WORKING GROUP THAT WANTS TO, TRYING TO, HARRIS, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE.
IS THERE ANYTHING I'M, I'VE MISSED? NO, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT, ALTHOUGH YOU'RE FAR MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE STUFF THAN I AM, SO I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY YOU'RE ASKING ME.
BUT I DO APPRECIATE BECAUSE I LIKE TO CHECK MYSELF
WELL, UM, YEAH, SO IF ANYBODY HAS THOUGHTS ABOUT ANY
[02:30:01]
OF THESE OR YEAH, SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE.I GUESS I'M CURIOUS ON, UM, THANKS, YURI.
SORRY, I, MY BAD, I'M NOT SEEING YOU, WHICH IS WHY I FORGOT TO ASK YOU AS WELL.
NO, I WAS GONNA ASK, UH, THE, WHAT WAS LIKE THE PROCESS TO COME UP WITH THOSE? WELL, SO WE HAVE RECRUITED SOME, UM, OUTSIDE, UH, MEMBERS TO OUR, OUR WORKING GROUP, AND THAT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL TO GET PERSPECTIVES ON KIND OF WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHERE FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING ON BUILDINGS ARE, UM, SEEING THAT, THAT SOMETHING COULD BE IMPROVED, SAY, WITHIN GREEN BUILDING THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A BARRIER THERE.
UM, YEAH, JUST GOOD CONVERSATIONS SO FAR AMONGST THE GROUP.
UM, AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, NOW OUR NEXT STEP IS REALLY TO, TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE TO GET STAFF INVOLVED IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND, AND, AND TRY TO FURTHER BROADEN THAT CIRCLE TO ENGAGE, UH, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY MORE FOLKS IN, IN VETTING THESE IDEAS.
SO I WOULDN'T SAY THAT ANY OF THIS IS LIKE FULLY BAKED, THIS IS JUST KIND OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HIGH POINTS OF WHERE THERE'S INTEREST IN PURSUING SOMETHING.
SO, YEAH, WE, WE PREPARED, UM, A FEW SLIDES TO PRESENT ON THIS.
SO SEE IF, IF THAT WORKS, IF THAT LINK NO, THE ONE, NO, THE ONE IN, IN THE, IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL ABOVE THE SIGNATURE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU EVER NEED AUTHORIZATION.
AND I CAN, I CAN SPEAK IN THE MEANS.
I MEAN, I, I DON'T, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THAT WE NEED IT SPECIFICALLY, BUT I CAN, I CAN JUST, UH, PROVIDE SOME, SOME BACKGROUND FIRST, AND THEN WE CAN GO INTO SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT I THINK WE SHOULD BE, THAT WE'RE THINKING THAT WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO THE, JUST BACKING UP A LITTLE BIT.
SO WE STARTED THE PROCESS, AND I THINK THIS IS SIMILAR TO NATURAL RESOURCES, WHERE WE WERE, UH, LISTING ALL THE ACTION ITEMS FROM THESE, UH, GOALS FROM THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, GOALS AND, AND JUST KIND OF GOING ACTION ITEM BY ACTION ITEM, TRYING TO SCORE THEM BY, UM, YOU KNOW, EMISSION REDUCTION IMPACT AND EQUITY IMPACT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF DIFFICULTY, UH, THROUGH THAT PROCESS TO REALLY COME UP WITH A, WITH A RANKING.
AND SO WE SAID, LET'S MAYBE STEP BACK AND GO STRAIGHT TO, TO THE GOALS THAT WE THINK WOULD BE MORE IMPACTFUL IN ADDITION TO, TO ALSO THE ONES THAT WE FEEL, UH, MORE ALIGNED WITH AND, AND JUST KIND OF GO FROM THERE.
WE FELT LIKE THAT WAS A BETTER APPROACH.
UH, AND THAT'S HOW WE CAME UP, UH, WITH THESE RIGHT HERE.
SO WE HAVEN'T COME WITH ANY RECOMMENDATIONS.
JUST THE GENERAL SENSE WITH THIS IS THAT WE STILL NEED, UH, SOME WORK TO DO, ESPECIALLY WE WANNA DEFINITELY HEAR FROM, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, ESPECIALLY IN THE, IN THE ELECTRIFICATION SIDE OF THINGS, AND POTENTIALLY DO A LITTLE BIT MORE RESEARCH TO COME UP WITH SPECIFIC, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE VOTED.
UH, BUT AT LEAST WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE ONES THAT WE THINK WE WILL, WE WILL DIG A LITTLE LITTLE BIT MORE INTO, AND THAT WILL HAVE HIGH IMPACT.
SO WE DIVIDED, UH, A FEW, A COUPLE OF THE LAND USE ONES, AND THEN A FEW OF THE ELECTRIC, UH, ELECTRIFICATION ONES.
SO THE FIRST ONES RIGHT HERE ARE THE ONES RELATED TO LAND USE.
AND I THINK EITHER RIO OR HEATHER ARE GONNA, UH, TALK, TALK ABOUT IT, AND THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT THE ELECTRIFICATION ONES.
YEAH, I WAS GOING TO TAKE THESE, AND I'LL BE REALLY BRIEF SINCE WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS YET, AND WE'RE MOSTLY FOCUSING ON QUESTIONS, AND WE KIND OF DISCARDED THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T THINK WOULD HAVE THE MOST IMPACT,
[02:35:01]
UM, OR WOULD BE FEASIBLE THINGS LIKE FREE TRANSIT.UM, SO WE DISCUSSED MORE THAN THESE, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, HOMING IN ON THESE.
AND MOST OF OUR COMMENTS HERE ARE ACTUALLY QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT WE WANTED TO REALLY THINK ABOUT RESEARCH THAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE AND EFFORTS THAT CAN BE COORDINATED.
SO WITH THIS FIRST ONE ON MOBILITY HUBS, I MEAN, THIS IS A BIG ASK, YOU KNOW, TAKEN AS A STRATEGY AS A WHOLE, UM, AND WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LIKE, THE STATUS OF THE RESILIENCE HUBS AND WHETHER MOBILITY HUBS AND RESILIENCE HUBS HAVE SOME POINTS OF INTERCONNECTION AND INTEGRATION, UM, AND ALSO WHAT RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE.
SO THIS PROJECT, UM, RODRIGO I THINK CREATED THIS LIKE, UM, CODE HERE.
IT'S STARTING SOON, SO THERE ISN'T A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT THERE ALREADY.
UM, SO WE, WE WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANY LEGWORK THAT WE COULD BUILD OFF OF.
THE SECOND ONE IS ALSO REALLY BIG IBR, IMPROVED SIDEWALKS, URBAN TRAILS, CROSSINGS.
THERE'S ALSO A POINT ABOUT, UM, PROVISIONS FOR SHADE AND LIGHTING TO MAKE BUS STOPS AND TRAILS AND OTHER, UM, THERE'S A LOT IN HERE.
AND, UM, THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN A LOT OF APPROVED BONDS OVER THE PAST ALMOST DECADE.
SO THERE'S, UH, RELATING TO THIS WORK.
SO AGAIN, WANTING TO, WE, WE WANNA RESEARCH OR FIND OUT MORE FROM STAFF, UM, RELEVANT OFFICES, JUST WHAT, WHAT IS HAPPENING UNDER THIS RUBRIC SINCE THIS ONE IS ALREADY DEVELOPING.
COORDINATE WITH WALK BIKE ROLE.
UM, AND MAYBE WE'LL HAVE THEM JOIN OUR WORKING GROUP SO WE CAN FIND OUT IF THERE'S A SPECIFIC, UM, INITIATIVE OR EFFORT OR THING WE CAN JUST PUT OUR WEIGHT BEHIND.
BUT WE WERE TALKING QUITE A BIT ABOUT SHADE AND CLIMATE, UM, RESILIENT DESIGN, PARTIALLY BECAUSE IT'S A HUNDRED DEGREES FOREVER HERE, AND THIS IS ON OUR MINDS, BUT THAT SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING, UM, MAYBE QUITE TANGIBLE AND THAT COULD HAVE, UH, SIDE EFFECTS, LIKE TURNING SHADE STRUCTURES INTO SOLAR GENERATING, UM, OPPORTUNITIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO A LOT OF THIS IS, WE WANT TO LEARN MORE, AND I THINK IT'S HELPFUL, KEVA, THAT WE SAW YOUR, UH, THE LIST FROM THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS GROUP, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT AND WANTED TO ASK YOU IS SORT OF LIKE THE SCOPE OF A, A RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WE COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE THAT WOULD BE USEFUL, UM, AND FEASIBLE TO, TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO SEEING WHAT YOU ALL HAVE COME UP WITH, I THINK WILL HELP US NARROW IN ON SOMETHING MORE TANGIBLE, UM, AND FEASIBLE.
BUT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE UNDER THE TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE SIDE OF THINGS, LIKE MOSTLY QUESTIONS, WANTING TO GET MORE INFORMATION.
I THINK WE NEED TO BRING ON PEOPLE, UM, TO HELP US NARROW IN ON MORE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHRIS.
UH, CAN WE GO TO THAT, TO THE NEXT SLIDE? YEAH.
SO THESE ARE THE ONES, UH, RELATED TO, UH, ELECTRIFICATION.
SO THE FIRST ONE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
IT'S, IT'S RELATED TO ACTUALLY ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS FROM THE, FROM THE ACTION, UH, FROM THE GOALS AND, AND THE ACTION ITEMS THAT WILL BE TO DO, UH, COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENTS.
AND THIS ONE IS, IS IMPORTANT TO JUST KINDA IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THE, THE MAJOR OBSTACLES, UM, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GOING ON? WHAT ARE THINGS THAT ARE WORKING? AND I THINK THIS IS GONNA HELP GUIDE JUST EVERYTHING, UH, EVERYTHING ELSE KIND OF THING.
UM, THE SECOND ONE IS IN REGARDS TO CREATING EQUITABLE INCENTIVES FOR, UM, BUYING AND LEASING EVS.
SO, UM, WE WANNA, WE WANNA KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE ON THIS, UH, WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THE RESEARCH? UH, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY GETTING SOME INSIGHT FROM AUSTIN ENERGY ON THAT.
UH, THE NEXT ONE IS, UH, LAUNCHING THE E-BIKE AND ELECTRIC CAR SHARING PROGRAMS. UH, AND THIS ONE IS
[02:40:01]
ABOUT BEING INTENTIONAL AND EQUITY FOCUSED WHEN CONSIDERING WHERE, WHERE TO INSTALL THESE.UH, SO I THINK IN THE DASHBOARD THERE WAS SOME COMMENT ABOUT SOME, SOME PILOT, UH, CAR SHARING PILOT THAT WAS, THAT WAS DONE.
SO, UH, WE WANNA, WE WANNA KNOW, DIG A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THAT.
UM, AND THEN IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO I THINK IT'S, AND THERE'S ONE, ONE MORE.
SO HERE WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, MOVING INTO THE, THE EV INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, CREATING A NETWORK WITH, UH, MO MORE LOW COST AND ACCESSIBLE, UH, CHARGING STATION.
SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALSO, UH, VERY IMPORTANT TO, TO FOCUS ON ON, UH, COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY EXCLUDED IN THE PAST AND, AND UNDERREPRESENTED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS WE KNOW, EVERYTHING EV YOU KNOW, LIKE, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, LIKE ONE OF, ONE OF THE THINGS WHENEVER THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT WITH AMBASSADORS WAS THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, EV IS NOT SEEN AS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THAT AN ANYBODY CAN AFFORD.
AND IT'S, SO, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO FACILITATE THIS TO, UH, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND CREATING THIS NETWORK WHERE THIS IS ACCESSIBLE TO THEM IS GONNA BE, UH, CRITICAL.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST TWO, THE LAST TWO IS KIND OF RELATED TO THE SAME SUBJECT SPEC, ESPECIALLY THE LAST ONE IS AN IMPORTANT ONE TOO, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF LACK OF KNOWLEDGE, I THINK, UH, FROM, FOR EVS IN GENERAL.
UH, I THINK THERE'S, EVS ARE, THE PRICE OF EVS ARE ACTUALLY GOING DOWN QUITE A BIT.
AND THERE'S ALSO LIKE POTENTIAL INCENTIVES AND STUFF LIKE THAT, BUT PEOPLE JUST GET CONFUSED ABOUT THIS THING.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T ACTUALLY TAKE ACTION JUST BECAUSE THEY, THEY LACK, UH, POTENTIALLY THE, THE EDUCATION.
SO FACILITATING THAT EDUCATION I THINK WILL BE, UH, SUPER, SUPER HELPFUL.
SO, UH, WE HAVE A, A FEW KINDA QUESTIONS AND, AND KEY STEPS HERE THAT WE WANNA, THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, PLANNING TO, TO EXPLORE, UH, FURTHER.
BUT I THINK IN TERMS OF, UH, NEXT STEPS THAT WE WERE THINKING WERE, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY WANNA HEAR FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, AND I THINK THE, THE MEETING THAT THEY'RE GONNA SPEAK MIGHT BE AUGUST, PERHAPS.
UH, BUT IF, IF WE DO NEED TO MOVE FORWARD, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE SUGGESTING WAS MAYBE COMING UP WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS OURSELVES AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SHARING IT WITH, UH, ROHAN AND ZACH TO SEE IF, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVEN'T KIND OF ANY INSIGHT ON IF THOSE ARE POTENTIALLY GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, AND, AND IF WE CAN WAIT, UH, I THINK LISTENING FROM US AND ENERGY WOULD BE, WOULD BE HELPFUL.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALREADY OR ANYBODY ELSE FROM THE GROUP HAS ANY THOUGHTS.
YEAH, THE ONLY THING I'D ADD IS THAT IF FOLKS HAVE IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO GET ANSWERS TO SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS, WE'D DEFINITELY BE OPEN TO COLLABORATING, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND PEOPLE TO BE INCLUDING IN OUR CONVERSATIONS, UM, INSIGHTS THAT PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE ABOUT SUCCESSFUL, YOU KNOW, ATTEMPTS TO DO THESE STRATEGIES ELSEWHERE.
AND THEN I, I GUESS THE SAME WOULD APPLY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH ROHAN AND, AND ZACH, IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN INVESTIGATE SOME OF THESE, CUZ WE DO FEEL LIKE WE NEED MORE INFORMATION BEFORE WE CAN MAKE CONCRETE RECOMMENDATIONS.
YEAH, I THINK, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S SPOT ON, LIKE MEETING TO ENGAGE THE, THE RIGHT STAFF AND THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONNECT YOU.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK BOTH CHARLOTTE AND I SERVE ON COMMISSIONS THAT ENGAGE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO IF YOU NEED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE PROBABLY AT LEAST CAN TELL YOU THAT'S THE NAME OF THE PERSON IF YOU KNOW, IF YOU NEED THAT.
[02:45:06]
GREAT.AND IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT I THINK WE STILL MIGHT HAVE A FEW MEMBERS THAT HAVE JUST JOINED THAT ARE, UH, NOT YET ON ONE OF THE THREE WORKING GROUPS.
UM, CHARLOTTE ARE, ARE YOU ON WHICH ONE? WHICH ONE DID YOU NATURAL SYSTEMS, RIGHT.
SO YOU'RE ON FOOD OR NATURAL, NATURAL SYSTEMS IN CONSUMPTION.
UM, ALICE LANE, JOHN, I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER.
I'M SO SORRY FOR, I'M NOT TRYING TO CALL YOU OUT, BUT I'M CALLING YOU OUT JUST TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING YOU CONNECTED.
IN OUR LAST MEETING, UH, WE HAD GONE THROUGH AND YOU HAD ASKED A FEW PEOPLE, UH, THE NEW FOLKS IF THEY WANTED TO BE ON SOME WORKING GROUPS.
UH, I HADN'T SEEN ANY EMAILS COME OUT.
I WAS, I THINK IT WAS THE BUILDING.
UH, SO YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ON SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS? UH, YEAH.
BUT IF THERE'S ANOTHER PLACE THAT I COULD BE USEFUL, I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO.
YOU CAN DEFINITELY BE USEFUL THERE.
SO I, I'M GONNA START BY, UM, I'LL ADD YOU TO OUR SHARED, UH, MEETING DOCUMENT AS WELL AS OUR, AS OUR MEETING, UH, OUR RECURRING MEETING.
IS ANYBODY ELSE NOT YET CONNECTED WITH THE WORKING GROUP? THIS IS LANE NOT JOINED THE WORKING GROUP EITHER.
ALTHOUGH I'D PREFER TO CONFER WITH, SINCE I'M BACK UP FOR STEPHANIE, WHO IS THE PRIMARY PERSON ON THE COMMITTEE, I'D WANT TO, UH, CONFIRM WITH HER FIRST.
MAYBE YOU CAN, UH, CONFIRM WITH HER OR YEAH, TALK WITH HER AND, AND THEN, THEN LET ME, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET CONNECTED WITH THE RIGHT COORDINATOR CHAIR OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND, AND JUST IF YOU HEARD FROM TWO OF THE WORKING GROUPS HERE, THE OTHER ONE IT COVERS THE, UM, NATURAL SYSTEMS SECTION OF THE PLAN AS WELL AS THE CONSUMPTION SECTION OF THE PLAN.
SO DO YOU, ARE, ARE THERE ONE OF THE THREE GROUPS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN? I DON'T HAVE A STRONG PREFERENCE.
IF THERE'S A NEED ON ANY OF THEM, I'M HAPPY TO JOIN.
HOW ABOUT THIS? I'LL, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND, AND WE'LL, WE'LL GET YOU CONNECTED, UH, QUICKLY TO, TO ONE OF THOSE.
I'M SURE THERE'S AN, THERE'S A NEED ON ALL OF THEM.
NO, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S MORE THAN NEED, BUT THERE'S, YEAH.
UM, ANY OTHER KIND OF THOUGHTS ON THIS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? DO, DO FOLKS FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU'RE IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, TO THE NEXT STEP OF KIND OF BUILDING OUT RECOMMENDATIONS WITH HOPEFULLY WITH CONSULTATION FROM STAFF AND OTHERS? AND ARE THE WORKING GROUPS INCORPORATING OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, INTO THEM? YEAH, SO WE HAVEN'T, UH, YET AND WE ACTUALLY, UM, BROUGHT IT UP TWICE, UM, IN THE DISCUSSION.
BUT NOW THAT YOU'RE SAYING HOW HELPFUL IT WAS, CUZ UH, YOU KNOW, PART OF OUR LOGIC WAS TO TRY TO REFINE, CUZ ESPECIALLY AT THE BEGINNING SINCE WE'RE LIKE GOING THROUGH THE LIST OF EACH ACTION ITEM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE LIKE, LET'S TRY TO REFINE THIS BEFORE WE ENGAGE ANYBODY.
UH, BUT NOW THAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT AND HOW USEFUL IT IS, AND WE ARE MORE REFINED IN SOME OF THESE, I THINK THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO ENGAGE THEM.
I MEAN, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS GROUP WENT THROUGH THAT TOO, ALSO LIKE GOING THROUGH LINE BY LINE, EVERYTHING.
AND UM, YEAH, BUT I THINK IT'S LIKE AFTER THAT, THE, LIKE I KNOW, I DON'T KNOW ALL THE THINGS YEAH.
THAT ARE HAPPENING OR NOT HAPPENING.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE I FIND, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, THERE'S PROBABLY IN ADDITION TO STAFF, PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT HAVE A VERY EDUCATED PERSPECTIVE ON SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
AND UM, I BET THAT ZACH HAN CAN EVEN GIVE YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS OF PEOPLE THAT WERE ENGAGED, YOU KNOW, IN THE PLANNING PROCESS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO, MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN JOINING.
AND I, AND I THINK THAT GOES FOR ALL THE GROUPS.
UM, IT'S GETTING LATE, BUT I DO WANNA, UM, LEAVE SPACE HERE FOR OUR LAST, UM, ITEM, WHICH IS REPORTS BACK FROM HOME COMMISSIONS,
[7. Updates from home commissions (Discussion and/or Possible Action).]
ANYTHING THAT IS AT ALL, YOU KNOW, RELEVANT TO OUR WORK HERE THAT ANYBODY WANTS TO REPORT ON.UM, SO REPORTING FROM THE FOOD POLICY BOARD, UM, NOT TOO MUCH TO REPORT FROM OUR LAST
[02:50:01]
MEETING, UM, BUT WHICH WAS EARLIER THIS MONTH.UM, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME HEARING FROM THE HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE ON THEIR UPDATES TO THE MASS CARE AND MASS CARE STAFFING PLANS.
UM, SO THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING, UM, IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THAT.
SO I WOULD RECOMMEND, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY HAVING SOMEONE FROM HOMELAND SECURITY COME AND TALK TO THEM, BUT TELL THEM THAT THEY HAVE EXACTLY 20 MINUTES CAUSE IT TOOK ALL OF OUR TIME.
SO
UM, BUT THEN ALSO TO REPORT THAT, UM, I'M GONNA BE STEPPING OFF OF THE FOOD POLICY BOARD AT THE END OF JULY, WHICH MEANS I WILL NO LONGER BE THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE FOOD POLICY BOARD TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
UM, WE DISCUSSED THAT IN OUR LAST, IN OUR LAST FOOD POLICY BOARD MEETING.
AND SO IN OUR JULY MEETING, WE WILL BE
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ELECTING A NEW PERSON TO REPRESENT THE FOOD POLICY BOARD TO COME HERE IN THE NEXT MEETING.SO ANYWAY, I CAN TALK OFFLINE WITH ROHAN, UM, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANY OTHER THINGS THAT THE NEXT PERSON NEEDS TO DO, BUT JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE.
WE'LL BE, UH, LOSING YOU FRANCIS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR WORK HERE.
DO YOU PLAN ON STAYING INVOLVED IN THE WORKING GROUP? UM, NO, I'M ACTUALLY SETTING AWAY FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION AT URBAN ROOTS.
SO KEEP AN EYE OUT AND PASS, PASS ALONG TO YOUR FRIENDS.
AND THE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT COMES OUT TO THE PERMANENT PERSON IN A, IN A LITTLE DEBT.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR A SEARCH FIRM RIGHT NOW, UM, SO THAT I CAN, UH, BE ANNOYINGLY HOVERING TO MY RISING SENIOR DAUGHTER IN HER LAST YEAR BEFORE SHE TAKES OFF INTO THE WORLD.
AND SO I'M KIND OF REMOVING ALL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MINUTES, SO GOOD FOR YOU.
ANY OTHER, OTHER UPDATES? UM, I, I CAN GO AHEAD.
I CAN MENTION SINCE IT'S MY FIRST TIME HERE THAT, UH, FROM THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD AND AFTER A QUICK SEVEN HOUR MEETING, UH, LAST MONTH WE PASSED THE ZIGA PARK VISION PLAN, WHICH HAS QUITE A BIT IN THERE THAT IS FOCUSED ON ISSUES OF SUSTAINABILITY, WHICH I'M SURE EVERYONE HERE IS FAMILIAR WITH, BUT I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD, SINCE I'M HERE, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MAKES THIS THREE HOUR MEETING FEEL LIKE A BREEZE.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE, THAT VERY CONCISE SUMMARY OF
UM, I DID JUST WANNA, UM, SHARE THE, THE, THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION WILL BE, UM, PER COUNCIL DIRECTIVE REOPENING THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN, UM, STARTING AT OUR JULY MEETING, UH, WHICH IS GONNA BE ON THE 10TH.
UM, AND THAT ONE OF THE PRIMARY REASONS FOR THAT IS BECAUSE THE FAYETTE COAL PLANT WAS NOT RETIRED AT THE END OF 2022.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE'VE, WE'VE HAD KIND OF SOME DISCUSSION HERE, UM, EVEN FAIRLY RECENTLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE BIG THINGS? AND THAT IS, THAT IS THE BIG THING IN TERMS OF, UH, EMISSIONS ATTRIBUTABLE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, JUST WANTED FOLKS TO KNOW THAT, UM, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, UM, THE EXACT PROCESS IS YET TO BE DETERMINED, BUT I'M GUESSING THERE WILL BE A WORKING GROUP, WHICH USUALLY INVOLVES MEMBERS OF THE EUC AND THE RMC, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, AND THEN USUALLY SOME OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE NOT ON EITHER OF THOSE COMMISSIONS.
UM, AND I WILL SAY THAT, UM, DIVERSITY HAS BEEN, UH, VERY LOW IN THE PAST, AND I KNOW THERE ARE A NUMBER OF US WHO FEEL THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, NEEDS TO BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND.
SO I JUST PUT THAT OUT THERE, UM, FOR IF PEOPLE HAVE SUGGESTIONS FOR, YOU KNOW, WHO WE SHOULD BE INVITING TO THAT, INTO THAT PROCESS AS, AS ACTUAL WORKING GROUP, UM, MEMBERS THAT, THAT WORK WITH, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND, AND HAVE A WHOLE NOTHER SET OF, UM, MEETINGS TO, TO LOOK AT THE DATA AND, AND COME UP WITH RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEN GO BACK TO THE EUC AND THE, AND THE CITY COUNCIL AND, AND PROBABLY THE RMC AS WELL.
UM, I, YEAH, I, I THINK THAT THAT JUST RIGHT OFF THE
[02:55:01]
BAT IS KIND OF ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS LIKE MAKING SURE THAT THE GROUP THAT IS CONSTITUTED, UM, FOR THAT WORK IS REPRESENTATIVE OR AS REPRESENTATIVE AS POSSIBLE OF THE COMMUNITY.SO, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THE RMC HAS BEEN DISCUSSING THAT AT ALL, BUT NOT, NOT YET.
I, I WILL SAY, UM, JUST AS BY WAY OF UPDATE, UM, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION OVER THE LAST FEW MEETINGS HAS BEEN DISCUSSING AND CONSIDERING A RESOLUTION TO REQUEST THAT COUNSEL BROADEN THE SCOPE OF THE RMCS CHARTER TO INCLUDE ADVISING ON MATTERS CONCERNING THE NATURAL GAS UTILITIES.
UM, CURRENTLY THERE'S NO CITIZEN BOARD OR COMMISSION THAT, UH, ADVISES ON NATURAL GAS FRANCHISES RATE CASES, UM, LOW INCOME ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OR ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. AND SO, UM, RMC HAS BEEN KIND OF DISCUSSING, UH, YOU KNOW, A, A REQUEST TO, UH, INCLUDE THAT UNDER, UNDER OUR PURVIEW.
UM, IT WOULD REQUIRE AN UPDATE TO THE CITY CODE.
RIGHT NOW, NATURAL GAS UTILITY IS EXPLICITLY EXEMPTED, UM, FROM THAT.
SO, UM, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF, OF NEW COMMISSIONERS ROLL ON.
SO IT'S, UM, BEEN IN THE WORKS KIND OF IN DISCUSSION FOR PAST FEW MEETINGS, UM, FOR POTENTIAL ACTION NEXT MEETING.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S DEFINITELY RELEVANT.
ANY OTHER UPDATES? NOT QUITE ANYTHING ELSE.
WE'RE ADJOURNED UNLESS SOMEBODY OBJECTS, BUT I'M TURNING OFF MY.