[00:00:04]
[CALL TO ORDER]
I THINK WE SHOULD GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.WE'LL CALL TO ORDER THE ARTS COMMISSION.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE ROLL.
COMMISSIONER MALDONADO PRESENT.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
GONNA START WITH, UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.FIRST WE HAVE CARLOS A SOTO FROM THE COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK.
MY NAME IS CARLOS ALEJANDRO SOTO.
I'M RESEARCH ANALYST AT COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK.
AND I'M GOING TO BE HERE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION AND THE WORK WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED IN THE PAST YEAR.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK OR CANNES, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP OF GOVERNMENT, NONPROFIT, PRIVATE, AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH LEVERAGE MUTUAL RESOURCES TO COLLECTIVELY IMPROVE SOCIAL HEALTH, EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
YEAH, THAT'S A MOUTHFUL, BUT IT, WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT WE'RE INVOLVED IN A LOT OF STUFF WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT PARTNERS.
UM, IMPORTANT FOR THIS, UH, COMMISSION ARE K-12 EDUCATION PARTNERS BECAUSE THEY'RE INVOLVED IN A LOT OF OUR EDUCATION IN OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERS.
UM, SO BETWEEN THOSE, WE HAVE THE THREE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AUSTIN IS D, DELL VALLEY AND MAINOR ARE ON OUR BOARD.
AND, UM, AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, HOUSTON TILLSON, ST.
EDWARDS, AND UT AS WELL AS IMPORTANT WORKFORCE ORGANIZA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS GOODWILL AND WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
AND TOGETHER, WE'VE BEEN PROMOTING AND SUPPORTING THE POWER OF COLLABORATION FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.
UM, WE IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO COORDINATE AND ALIGN SERVICES AMONG, AMONG CANNED PARTNERS AND OTHER COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS.
UH, WE CREATE CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CIVIC DIALOGUE AND CIVIC ACTION.
UM, AND WE INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF EMERGING ISSUES AND TRENDS AND IDENTIFY PROACTIVE STRATEGIES THAT MAY BE PURSUED.
UM, SO WHAT I DO, SO HOW DO WE DO THAT? UM, WE DEVELOP TOOLS.
SO I'M, I'M SHARING FROM OUR FLYER, YOU'VE GOT TWO DOCUMENTS AND WE'VE GOT A COPY OF LAST YEAR AS A COMMUNITY DASHBOARD.
AND THE, THE DASHBOARD IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL, UH, THAT WE USE TO INFORM.
AND THAT'S MY, UH, MAIN WORK AS THE RESEARCH ANALYST.
I UPDATE THE DASHBOARD, WHICH HAS 18 INDICATORS THAT ASSESS OUR COMMUNITY'S OVERALL HEALTH AND WELLBEING.
BUT ONCE YOU LOG IN THERE, WE DRILL DOWN BY, UH, WE DISAGGREGATE, UH, ALL THOSE INDICATORS BY RACE, ETHNICITY, AGE, SEX, AND UH, AND WHATEVER IS AVAILABLE FOR THAT DATA.
AND SO IT'S REALLY, UH, A TOOL TO, TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE ON, ON ISSUES, ON EMERGING ISSUES.
UM, UH, WE ALSO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE LIKE THE WE CAN ATX WEB WEBSITE AND THE CAN PODCAST.
UM, AND WE, UH, DEVELOP, UH, MAKE STRATEGIC CONNECTIONS LIKE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FORUMS AND, UH, THE, UH, REGIONAL SUMMIT.
UM, AND REALLY THERE'S A LOT MORE TO TALK ABOUT, BUT, UM, MY TIME'S ALMOST OVER.
AND I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU PRESENTING.
UNFORTUNATELY IN PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, WE ARE PROHIBITED FROM GOING BACK AND FORTH.
WELL, UM, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GET MORE INVOLVED, YOU CAN, UH, REACH OUT TO ME.
UM, JESUS, UH, HAS MY CONTACT INFORMATION.
UH, AND UH, OUR CURRENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IS, UH, RAUL ALVAREZ.
HE WAS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BACK IN THE DAY.
AND OUR CURRENT, UH, BOARD, UH, CHAIR IS COUNCIL MEMBER VA VANESSA FUENTES.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND HAVE A NICE DAY.
NEXT WE HAVE NATALIE EARHART FROM ALMOST REAL THINGS.
UM, I'M NATALIE FROM ALMOST REAL THINGS.
I JUST WANTED TO, UH, MAKE YOU GUYS AWARE OF THE WORKSHOPS WE'RE DOING, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY TO PROMOTE THE NEXUS GRANT.
UM, SO WE HAVE A FEW COMING UP, UH, ONE, THE FIRST ONE'S THIS WEDNESDAY.
UH, SO WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORKSHOPS.
THESE ARE VERY SPECIFIC TO THE APPLICATION.
WE'VE INVITED GUEST SPEAKERS TO SPEAK ON THE TOPICS, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE DO AN ACTIVITY.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THIS WEDNESDAY, LEE SANTA MARIA IS TALKING ABOUT GRANT WRITING.
SO WE'RE GONNA BREAK DOWN SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND HOW YOU WOULD APPROACH THE QUESTIONS AND GIVE SOME TIPS ON THAT.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE ONE ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH MIRIAM CONNOR.
AND WE HAVE THE LAST ONE ON BUDGET WITH ASHLYN
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VISCO.SO WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY HAVE PEOPLE FILL OUT A BUDGET TEMPLATE.
UM, THEN WE HAVE OTHER SESSIONS THAT ARE JUST WORK SESSIONS.
SO THESE ARE CALLED LET'S APPLY TOGETHER.
AND THIS IS, UH, OPEN DROP IN HOURS FOR PEOPLE TO COME APPLY, SORRY, RECEIVE ONE-ON-ONE HELP.
UH, AND JUST BE IN A COMMUNAL ATMOS ATMOSPHERE WHERE THEY CAN ASK QUESTIONS AND BE AMONGST OTHER ARTISTS THAT ARE APPLYING.
SO ALL THIS INFORMATION IS@COMMUNITYAMPLIFIER.ORG.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO BE PARTNERED WITH THE CITY AND GET AS MANY CREATORS APPLYING FOR NEXUS AS POSSIBLE.
NEXT WE HAVE, UH, MARIA LUISA GUTIERREZ
NEXT WE HAVE, UH, YOEL RODRIGUEZ.
ACTUALLY WE HAVE RAQUEL RIVERA SU THEN WE WILL HAVE, UH, URL.
UH, MY NAME IS RAQUEL RIVERA AND I AM THE FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF SUDE.
SUDE IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT I FOUNDED TO PROMOTE AND DOCUMENT AND PRESERVE THE TRADITIONAL HISTORY AND CULTURE OF MY ANCESTORS AND THE ANCESTORS OF THE RICH AND POP REPOPULATED IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.
GOING OFF OF WHAT MY COLLEAGUE HAS EXPRESSED, I AM ALSO HERE TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF INEQUITABLE PROCESS AND MY CONCERNS WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS, UM, FOR THE ELEVATE, UM, GRANT AND NAVIGATING THE PORTAL THROUGH
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THE CITY GRANT.AS A FIRST TIME APPLICANT FOR THE ELEVATE PROGRAM, THIS APPLICATION WAS VERY CONFUSING AND A LITTLE NERVE-WRACKING.
I AM ALSO A RECENT GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, AND I HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED SUCH A DIFFICULT PORTAL, UH, FOR A SCHOLARSHIP OR A GRANT OR SOMETHING OF, UH, SIMILAR, AS MY COLLEAGUE MENTIONED, HER STRUGGLES.
I PARTNERED WITH TRO TO NAVIGATE THIS, AND I BELIEVE THERE IS A PR BETTER PROCESS FOR THE ENTIRE APPLICATION AND FUNDING PROCESS.
I AM ALSO HERE TO BE OF ASSISTANCE FOR TRANSLATION AND TO BASICALLY CREATE A MORE EQUITABLE PROCESS.
UM, THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME WORKING WITH ME TO BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE APPLICATION, UM, CAUSING THEM TO LOSE TIME IN THEIR APPLICATION.
AND IT WAS JUST ONE BIG BLOB OF CONFUSING AND TIME WASTED ALMOST.
IT FELT LIKE WE WERE ALL TOGETHER.
AND MY OTHER COLLEAGUES HERE TOO ARE, ARE HERE TO MENTION THAT AS WELL.
AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO BRING THAT TO I TO IMPORTANCE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE MY REMAINING TIME TO LUIS ORAS, WHO WILL ALSO BE HERE TO ELABORATE MORE ABOUT OUR, UM, CONCERNS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TIME.
NEXT WE HAVE YOEL RODRIGUEZ, AND THEN AFTER THAT WILL BE EK OR GON DANCE COMPANY, HECTOR, OR, AND THEN JUAN LOS ANGELES FROM ALIANZA.
I AM DIVISION DIRECTOR AND A PRODUCTION COORDINATOR FOR TRO.
I'M ALSO INDEPENDENT ARTIST HERE WITHIN AUSTIN.
UM, SO I'M GONNA READ INFORMATION, EXCUSE SOME OF THE LANGUAGE AND SYNTAX, UH, JUST FOR BREVITY AND MAKE SURE THAT I CAN FIT EVERYTHING IN THREE MINUTES ARE MY TIME ALLOTTED.
UM, SO EXAMPLES OF THE ISSUES ENCOUNTER WITH THE SPANISH VERSION APPLICATION.
FIRST OF ALL, AS A GENERAL OBSERVATION, THE SPANISH USE IN THE APPLICATION IS EXTREMELY CONFUSING, FILLED WITH GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURAL ERRORS AND JUST WRONG IN SECTIONS.
THE EVALUATION, THIS EVALUATION COMES FROM MY EXPERIENCE AS A PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETER TRANSLATOR.
AND OVER 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ADMINISTRATING AND IMPLEMENTING PORTALS AND APPLICATIONS.
IT SEEMS THAT THE PLATFORM IS JUST AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATING VIA GOOGLE WITH ANY CULTURAL CONTEXT OR SENSITIVITY LEADING TO PAN ZIPPER INSTEAD OF ZIP CODE IN ONE OF THE TRANSLATIONS OR PEOPLE WITH THE ABILITY TO VOTE INSTEAD OF TARGET AUDIENCE AS IT INTENDED.
MEANING IF YOU'RE AN INDIVIDUAL ARTIST AND SELECTING INDIVIDUAL ARTIST AS YOUR BUSINESS STRUCTURE, YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO APPLY.
YOU DON'T GET THE OPTION WITHIN ELEVATE.
SO YOU HAVE TO SELECT PARTNERSHIP, NONPROFIT, COLLECTIVE, ET CETERA, ALL OF THAT, JUST BRINGING MORE CONFUSION TO THE PROCESS AND THEN YOUR INTERNAL STRUCTURE.
[00:15:01]
BUT THEN THE DEMOGRAPHICS SECTION REFLECTS THAT AS AN ORGANIZATION AND NOT AN INDIVIDUAL.SO THERE IS NO COHESIVENESS OR CONGRUENCY FROM ONE PAGE TO THE OTHER PAGE, AT LEAST IN SPANISH.
BUT WAIT, IF YOU BEGIN YOUR APPLICATION AS A PARTNERSHIP, NONPROFIT, COLLECTIVE, ET CETERA, AND YOU LATER MAKE YOU LATER MAKE CHANGES TO THAT STRUCTURE BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BE CONFUSED, YOUR BUSINESS STRUCTURE AUTOMATICALLY THEN REVERTS TO SOLE PROPRIETOR, WHICH IS ANOTHER APPARENTLY CATEGORY, AND THEN CHANGES THE DEMOGRAPHIC SECTION FROM PERCENTAGES TO COUNTS.
THIS REFERRING TO THE, UH, WHAT CONFORMS THE ORGANIZATION, UM, THE REQUIRED N C I S CODES ONLY POPULATE IN ENGLISH AND JUST ONLY IN ENGLISH.
SO YOU CAN'T FIND ANYTHING IN SPANISH.
SO IT LEADS YOU TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NOTHING OR THAT YOU'RE JUST AT A STAT STILL.
UM, WITHIN THIS, IF YOU GET TO ALL OF THESE POINTS AND YOU REQUEST AND YOU FOLLOW THE PROCESS TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE, YOU CLICK ON IT AND IN SPANISH, IT ACTUALLY SENDS YOU TO A, UM, TO THE, A REFERRAL SERVICE FOR LAWYERS FOR ARTS.
AND OF COURSE, THEY HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS SITUATION.
I THINK THEY MIGHT BE PART OF ANOTHER PROCESS, BUT YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY GETTING HELP.
LIKE THAT DOESN'T EXIST IN SPANISH.
UM, THEY REQUIRE BUDGET DOWNLOAD FORMS IN ENGLISH.
UM, THEY, THEY'RE ONLY IN ENGLISH.
THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE IN SPANISH.
I THINK LATER IN THE PROCESS, WHEN WE BROUGHT THIS TO LIGHT, THEY WERE ACTUALLY CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AND MARKED IN THE, IN THE, IN THE GUIDELINES OR THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS.
UM, THE FORMS ALSO IN SPANISH.
THEY DON'T SAVE ON SOME ADOBE VERSIONS.
THAT GOES FOR ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS.
SO IT'S ALWAYS LIKE, UM, OH, WHAT BROWSER ARE YOU USING? ARE YOU USING CHROME? ARE YOU USING FIREFOX? DO YOU HAVE TO, UH, DO YOU HAVE COOKIES SAVED? DO YOU HAVE TO RAISE THE HISTORY? AND THAT'S, I'M SPEAKING, BRINGING THAT TO ATTENTION IN ENGLISH.
NOW IMAGINE THAT IN SPANISH TO SOMEBODY WHO MIGHT NOT BE AS TECH SAVVY OR LITERATE.
UM, IN ESSENCE, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU LAUNCH OUT A PROCESS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU MIGHT, YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE REMEMBERED WHEN I CAME HERE BEFORE AND THERE WAS THIS CONVERSATION SAYING THAT IT IS A PILOT PROCESS AND IT IS A PILOT PROCESS AND THINGS CAN CHANGE.
AND I SAID, UNFORTUNATELY WITHIN THE CITY, THERE IS A PROCESS OR THERE'S A HISTORY WHERE CHANGES CAN BE MADE WHEN THINGS, ONCE THINGS GET ROLLED OUT.
ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE FAITH IN THE PROCESS.
NOW, MY EXPERIENCE FROM IMPLEMENTING PORTALS AND PLATFORMS, YOU CARRY OUT A PROCESS WITH STAKEHOLDERS FOR USABILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THESE ERRORS AND GLITCHES ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
THAT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
I CAN'T, I CAN'T VOUCH FOR ENGLISH, THE ENGLISH VERSIONS, BUT DEFINITELY FOR THE SPANISH VERSIONS, I WOULD SAY ENGLISH VERSIONS AS WELL, BECAUSE WE EVEN HAVE, WE HAD OTHER ARTISTS FROM THE COMMUNITY REACH OUT TO US TO SEE HOW WE CAN NAVIGATE CERTAIN THINGS.
SO THIS JUST LEADING TO, FOR US TO BELIEVE THAT ARTISTS WERE NEVER TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AS PART OF THIS PROCESS FROM THE BEGINNING OR INCEPTION OR IMPLEMENTATION OF AN APPLICATION SYSTEM THAT IS MEANT FOR THEM TO USE.
SO IF WE CAN'T USE THEM APPROPRIATELY, ALL OF THESE ITEMS THAT CHANGE FROM PAGE TO PAGE AND PAGE TO PAGE, THEY'RE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT TO OUR LIVELIHOOD BECAUSE THAT CAN DETER US AND CAN, YOU KNOW, INSTANTLY FLAG US AS, OH, YOU'RE NOT ELIGIBLE BECAUSE YOUR STRUCTURE IS NOT THIS ONE THAT MATCHES THIS OTHER THING THAT DOESN'T COINCIDE EITHER WITH THE SYNTAX IN SPANISH.
SO IT WAS A VERY FLAWED PROCESS.
SOME OF US WERE NOT ABLE TO APPLY, WE WERE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO SEE IF THERE COULD BE AN EXTENSION.
IT WAS GRANTED, BUT THEN AT THE SAME TIME, THERE WAS NOTHING DONE.
IT WAS JUST LIKE, OKAY, WE'LL GRANT YOU THE EXTENSION, BUT THE PROCESS STILL IS WHAT IT IS.
SO THEN WE WERE EXPECTING MAYBE THERE WOULD BE SOME MORE, UH, YOU KNOW, RE SOLVENCY IN, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GRANT YOU AN EXTENSION.
YOU BROUGHT US ALL OF THESE CHALLENGES, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE GRANTING THE EXTENSION.
SO THEN LET'S, YOU KNOW, CREATE SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA FACILITATE YOU APPLYING.
I KNOW THERE ARE MANY SHORTCOMINGS WITHIN DEPARTMENTS, UNDERSTAFFING, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
BUT I THINK, LIKE ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES SAID, I THINK WE GET TIRED AT TIMES TO SAY, WE'RE HERE, PUT US TO USE IN FACILITATING THE WORK, OUR WORK SO THAT WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER.
BUT THERE IS NO WORKING TOGETHER IT SEEMS AT TIMES.
SO RIGHT NOW, OF COURSE, THERE'S ALSO THE NEXUS PROGRAM, WHICH IS JUST LAUNCHED.
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE IF THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED ONCE AGAIN HERE, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH THIS NEX? AND IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU FIGURE IF, IF THERE'S ALL THESE CHALLENGES, WHY LAUNCH ANOTHER PROGRAM, TAKE THE TIME TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES
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AND THEN RULE OUT THE PROGRAM.BUT UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, TIMES PRESSING, WE NEED TO GET THE RAW, WE NEED TO GET THE BALL MOVING, AND THERE ISN'T TIME FOR THAT, WHICH GOES BACK TO INITIAL CONCERNS AT THE BEGINNING WHERE IT'S LIKE, IF IT'S A PILOT PROCESS, IF WE ARE, IF WE'RE, YOU KNOW, DOING ALL THE WORK TO WORK TOGETHER, THEN WE SHOULDN'T HAVE THESE ISSUES RIGHT NOW.
AND IT SHOULD BE A STRAIGHT FLOW PROGRAM, STRAIGHT FLOW PROCESS, SORRY.
SO THAT WE CAN ALL COMPLETE THE PROCESS, JUST BASICALLY APPLY, YOU KNOW, AND I'M NOT EVEN GOING INTO WHAT'S, WHAT'S, WHAT ARE THE MEASURES, THE RUBRICS IN PLACE THEN TO GRADE THE APPLICATION BECAUSE IF THAT'S ALL OF THE MADNESS UPFRONT, THEN ON THE BACK END, LIKE WHAT'S THERE TO EXPECT, YOU KNOW? SO THANK YOU FOR THE TIME.
JUAN LOS ANGELES, AND THEN LUIS ORES.
IS JUAN HERE? OKAY, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND GO TO LUIS.
GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS AND FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS RIS GUTIERREZ AND I'M THE ARTISTIC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TRO.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW ME, AUSTIN'S LONGEST RUNNING SPANISH LANGUAGE THEATER COMPANY.
AND IT'S ONLY ONE OF A HANDFUL OF THEATER COMPANIES IN THE COUNTRY THAT PRODUCES THEATER IN SPANISH.
SO AUSTIN, NOT BECAUSE I'M THE DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE ORGANIZATION, UM, BUT AUSTIN IS VERY LUCKY AND PRIVILEGED TO HAVE SUCH A GEM IN ITS CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM.
WE ARE, UH, THIS FALL CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF BEING IN AUSTIN.
NOW WHAT I, I'M HERE TO SHARE A LITTLE GLIMPSE OF WHAT TRO AND OUR FELLOW LATINO ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ARE FACING, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU ALL CANNOT BE IN EVERY EMAIL THREAD, IN EVERY CONVERSATION, IN EVERY STRUGGLE THAT WE FACE.
CITY STAFF CANNOT BE THERE, ONLY US.
AND SO WE COME HERE, COLLEAGUES AND MYSELF TO SHARE WHAT THE REALITY IN AUSTIN IS BECAUSE THIS IS AN EMERGENCY.
I'VE BEEN IN DISASTER RELIEF INITIATIVES IN THESE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
THE MAC, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER OF AUSTIN THAT USED TO HOUSE SEVEN OF AUSTIN'S MOST ELITE LATINO ORGANIZATIONS, CLOSED AND WON'T REOPEN UNTIL 2027 OR 2028 PER THE LETTER THAT WE GOT.
WE DON'T HAVE CULTURAL CENTER TO GO TO.
NOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE MAC SUBSIDIZED FREE RENT.
THAT IS WHAT? A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF INKIND THAT NOW WE HAVE TO FIND A GRANT FOR.
PEOPLE ASK ME WHY, WHY DID BREAK THE CLOSED DOWN? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST WRITE GRANTS? WE LOST A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN INKIND DONATION FROM THE MAC THAT THAT WAS BEING OFFERED TO US FOR OVER 10 YEARS.
THAT'S $140,000 THAT I DON'T HAVE A GRANT TEAM.
THIS IS BRICK, THAT TAROS GRANT TEAM.
HOW CAN I WRITE $140,000 WORTH OF GRANTS FOR OUR ORGANIZATION? THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON ANY ONE CITY STAFF OR DEPARTMENT OR COUNCIL MEMBER.
I RAISE THESE CHALLENGES SO WE CAN FIGURE OUT SOMETHING TOGETHER.
I INVESTED SO MANY HOURS AND THIS IS NOT KEEPING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR MY, FOR OR TRACKING THE INVESTMENT THAT MY TEAM AND I DID FOR MICHAEL'S DANCE COMPANY.
AND SU THESE ARE FIRST TIME APPLICANTS THAT HAVE NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR CITY FUNDING, A NEW INITIATIVE BY THE MEXICAN CONSULATE ART STUDIO.
A UH, A STUDIO IN EAST AUSTIN THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVEN YEARS.
CHAMA DANCE COMPANY,
THAT IS MY INVESTMENT TO AUSTIN, TO MY COMMUNITY.
AM I GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF IT? NO, BUT THEY ARE MY COLLEAGUES.
AUSTIN DESERVES TO SEE THE AMAZING WORK THAT THEY ARE DOING.
I'M HERE TO SAY I'M VOLUNTEERING.
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CANNOT PUSH PERFORMATIVE EQUITY.WE CANNOT GOOGLE TRANSLATE A DOCUMENT THAT THEN PUMPS OUT PANT ZIPPER FOR ZIP CODE OR GRANT TAX INSTEAD OF GRANT FUNDS.
THAT'S THE FOURTH LINE OF THE NEXUS APPLICATION.
WHEN SOMEONE TELLS ME, WHY DID YOU SEND ME AN APPLICATION FOR $5,000 IF THE TAX IS $5,000, I DON'T GET IT.
THAT'S JUST LOST IN TRANSLATION.
THAT MEANS GRANT, THAT'S THE MONEY YOU'RE GONNA GET.
AND I KNOW IT SAYS GRANT TAX, BUT IT'S NOT TAXED.
SO WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU, THE CITY, ALL OF US, TO GET THESE NEW APPLICANTS FUNDED TO GET PROGRAMS INTO OUR COMMUNITIES? I DON'T HAVE THE STATISTICS BECAUSE THEY CHANGE EVERY YEAR OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES HERE IN AUSTIN.
BUT WE CAN IMAGINE WHAT THAT TRULY LOOKS LIKE.
NOW, IT'S CRUCIAL TO NOTE THAT
THIS IS A, A CRISIS FOR THE ARTS ECOSYSTEM, BUT EVEN MORE SO FOR THE LATINOS, FOR THE IMMIGRANTS WHO DON'T HAVE A COMPUTER.
LEGIT, THERE IS A TECHNICAL DIVIDE FOR PEOPLE WHO'VE NEVER OPENED A PORTAL AND DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT.
OUR TWO APPLICATIONS FOR THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN DENIED.
WE LOST THE BUILDING THAT WAS SLATED FOR US BY A PRIVATE DEVELOPER.
WE HAD A BUILDING, BUT THEY HAD TO RENT IT OUT BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T WAIT MORE THAN THREE MONTHS WITHOUT LEASING A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING IN EAST AUSTIN.
Y'ALL CAN IMAGINE THE MONEY THAT THIS WOMAN WAS BLEEDING, RESERVING THAT SPACE FOR TRO.
SO WHEN WE GOT THE NOTICE VIA EMAIL THAT WE WERE NOT, UH, GRANTED THE FUNDING TWO WEEKS AGO, WE HAD LOST THE BUILDING A MONTH AND A HALF AGO.
LIKE I, YOU KNOW, THAT EMAIL WAS JUST COMPOUNDING LIKE THE HURT THAT WE WERE GOING THROUGH OUR ELEVATE FUNDING APPLICATION FOR OUR YOUTH ACADEMY THAT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FOR THREE YEARS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A BUILDING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY, WAS DENIED.
AND WE HAVE VIDEO AND WE HAVE SCREENSHOTS OF THIS APPLICATION BEING SUBMITTED AND HAVE APPEALED AND HAVE PRETTY MUCH BEGGED VIA EMAIL TO PLEASE GET A CHANCE TO SUBMIT THE GRANT VIA PAPER.
THAT'S 90 STUDENTS THAT ARE GONNA GO ON ANOTHER FOURTH YEAR OF NO ARTISTIC TRAINING BECAUSE I'M RUN OUT OF PERSONAL SAVINGS.
I USED ALL MY SAVINGS TO TRY AND PAY FOR A STUDIO LAST FALL, BUT I RAN OUT OF MY SAVINGS.
SO I CAN'T AFFORD TO FLOAT MY OWN ORGANIZATION ANYMORE.
SO TWO CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANT PROGRAM APPLICATIONS DENIED ONE ELEVATE RIGHT NOW DENIED.
SO MY QUESTIONS ARE, HOW CAN WE DO BETTER FOR
TWO AND A HALF WEEKS THE DAY THE APPLICATION WAS LAUNCHED, SHE WENT TO A MEETING AND SHE REQUESTED HELP IN SPANISH.
THERE WAS NOT AN INTERPRETER ON SITE.
SO IT TOOK TWO AND A HALF WEEKS TO GET HER SOMEONE FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE APPLICATION WAS DUE.
AGAIN, THIS ISN'T PICKING AT A DEPARTMENT OR THIS IS JUST THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE ALL CREATED BECAUSE I'M SO GRATEFUL THAT WE'RE ABLE TO APPLY IN SPANISH BECAUSE IF WE REMEMBER 10 YEARS AGO WITH A PREVIOUS FUNDING MODEL, THAT WASN'T AN OPTION.
IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE UNGRATEFUL, WE'RE BEYOND GRATEFUL.
BUT BECAUSE WE HELPED CREATE THIS NEW FUNDING MODEL, WE ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT? WE ASKED FOR IT IN SPANISH.
OH, WE SHOULD HAVE ASKED FOR NO AI TRANSLATIONS OR HAVE A HUMAN FILTER.
LIKE WE ARE LEARNING TOO, BEING COMMUNITY LEADERS AND BE LIKE, OKAY, HOW DO WE ADVOCATE FOR A SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY? THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW.
COMING TO YOU ALL AND SAYING, HOW DO WE MAKE THIS BETTER? BECAUSE IT'S REALLY UNACCEPTABLE FOR US, US AS A COMMUNITY NOT TO BE ABLE TO HELP SPANISH SPEAKERS.
IN 2023, I'VE WORKED WITH JESUS, WITH PEGGY, WITH, WITH EVERYBODY.
THIS IS, AGAIN, NO ANYTHING AGAINST THEM BECAUSE WE HAVE CLOSE CONNECTIONS WITH THEM.
[00:30:01]
EXPERIENCE ALL THE CRACKS IN THE SYSTEM, ALL OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO BETTER.I ASK THAT PUERTO BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THEIR ART AMERICA'S ARTS ACADEMY APPLICATION VIA PAPER FIGURE.
THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM JUST BECAUSE THE GUIDELINES SAY THAT THE ONLY WAY TO APPEAL IS X, Y, Z.
WE HAD CITY STAFF ALSO SHARING.
YEAH, THERE'S A LOT OF GLITCHES.
WE INVESTED SO MUCH ALREADY INTO THIS COMMUNITY.
I'M NOT ASKING FOR A GREEN LIGHT AND A CHECK.
I'M JUST ASKING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEND IN MY APPLICATION FOR OUR ARTS ACADEMY.
WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACTUALLY CALL THIS WHAT IT IS.
IT IS A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR THE LATINO ART.
WHERE IS THE EMERGENCY FUNDING? WHERE IS THE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING THAT I HAVE WITNESSED IN TEAMS WITHIN THE CITY? I HELPED DISTRIBUTE WATER IN FOOD FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DURING WINTER STORM.
WE COULD GET THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY OPERATIONS, THOUSANDS OF WATER BOTTLES INTO, INTO A COMMUNITY IN AN E LIKE PHONE CALL.
IT WAS IMPRESSIVE WHAT COLLABORATION LOOKS LIKE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY.
SO WHAT CAN YOU ALL DO TO CALL THIS WHAT IT IS? WE NEED EMERGENCY FUNDING FROM SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY.
WE NEED SPACES FOR OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE NEED FUNDING BECAUSE $5,000 IS IN THESE TIMES.
THAT'S NOT EVEN, THAT DOESN'T EVEN COVER ONE INSTRUCTOR PER YEAR OF OUR, OF OUR ACADEMY.
AND WE HAVE SEVEN INSTRUCTORS.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S MY SECOND ASK.
WHAT CAN I DO? WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY TO GET OUR CITY OFFICIALS TO CALL THIS WHAT IT IS, BE CREATIVE AND HAVE A DISASTER RELIEF APPROACH TO THIS SITUATION.
NEXT IS CONNOR FROM CREATIVE POLICY.
HI, I AM MIRIAM CONNOR FROM CREATIVE POLICY AND SPEAKING ON PERFORMATIVE EQUITY.
THE INTERIM, INTERIM CITY MANAGER HAS PUT OUT A PROPOSED BUDGET.
THAT BUDGET, IT MENTIONS THE WORD EQUITY AROUND 60 TIMES.
IT MENTIONS THE WORD RESILIENCE AROUND 40 TIMES, AND IT MENTIONS THE WORD SUSTAINABILITY AROUND 20 TIMES.
HOWEVER, IN THE BUDGET, IT IS PROPOSED TO FOLD THE EQUITY OFFICE IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE INTO A ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS THE, UH, SMALL AND MINORITY BUSINESS DEPARTMENT, TRANSFORMING THAT DEPARTMENT INTO THE CIVIC AND BUSINESS EQUITY DEPARTMENT.
ALSO, THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCE AND THE OFFICES OF SUSTAINABILITY WILL BE MOVED UNDER PLANNING.
THIS AFFECTS L G B T Q I A PEOPLE, BIPO PEOPLE, UH, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, EVERYBODY.
UM, NOT HAVING THESE DEPARTMENTS UNDER THEIR OWN AUTONOMY, UNDER THEIR OWN FULLY STAFFED, FULLY FUNDED.
UH, WE CAN'T HAVE THAT, THAT SHOVES EQUITY UNDERNEATH THE RUG WITHIN THE CITY, WITHIN INSTITUTIONAL SYSTEMIC PROCESSES.
UH, WE CAN'T HAVE THIS HAPPEN.
SO THEREFORE, THERE'S A COMMUNITY PUSHBACK.
UH, Y'ALL SHOULD ALL HAVE A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT IN YOUR INBOXES.
WE WILL ALSO BE DOING A, UM, SOME PUBLIC CALLS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION AS WELL.
I'LL SEND OUT EVERYTHING I CAN TO Y'ALL.
BUT THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR OUR ENTIRE CITY.
AND THE FACT THAT THE, AS THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER IS MAKING THESE DECISIONS ON HIS OWN IS NOT OKAY.
WE VOTED AS THE COMMUNITY FOR TEN ONE, AND WE WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT PUBLIC PROCESS.
SO WE HAVE TO BE, WE VOTED ON IT.
[00:35:01]
YOU, MIRIAM.WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
NEXT, WE MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR OUR JUNE 12TH MEETING, WHICH I WAS UNFORTUNATELY ABSENT FOR.I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GRAY, SECONDED BY MALDONADO.
ALL IN FAVOR APPROVING THE MINUTES.
I, I LIKE, LIKE STOPS SAYING BECAUSE I WASN'T THERE.
IF YOU ABSTAIN, WE DON'T HAVE QUORUM.
OH, I WASN'T THERE EITHER, BUT IF YOU WERE ABLE TO WATCH OR REVIEW THE MEETING, UHHUH
AND THAT'LL GIVE THE QUORUM OPPORTUNITY.
SO WE'LL CARRY THAT OVER TO NEXT MONTH.
[2. Discussion of Chair’s Report on The Next Chapter by Chair Zisman ]
IS MY CHAIR'S REPORT.UH, IT'S BEEN A BUSY MONTH FOR ME.
I AM THE CHAIR OF THE ARTS COMMISSION.
I AM THE WOMAN OF COLOR WEARING A WHITE BLOUSE AND GLASSES.
UM, I WANNA JUST EXTEND MY EXTREME GRATITUDE FOR EVERYBODY THAT'S SHOWED UP TODAY IN PERSON TO SPEAK WITH US AND SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE, UM, WITH THE, UH, PORTALS THUS FAR.
UM, I'M, I'M NOT GONNA SUGARCOAT ANYTHING.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE RAW FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE GETTING.
I KNOW THAT IT WAS A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE FOR THRIVE, AND WE WERE ABLE TO, WE, THE STAFF AND COMMISSION, WERE ABLE TO TAKE THE FEEDBACK AND IMPLEMENT SOME CHANGES.
AND MY, MY ONLY RESPONSE IN THIS MOMENT IS WE'RE GONNA KEEP IMPLEMENTING CHANGES BASED ON WHAT WE'RE HEARING.
AND THESE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE NOT STOPPING, UM, AND CONTINUOUS.
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN LEAN ON EACH OTHER TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THIS PROCESS FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, YEAH, IT'S DISAPPOINTING TO HEAR THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE EXPERIENCES THAT PEOPLE HAVE HAD.
CAUSE I THINK THERE, I KNOW THAT THERE HAS BEEN AN ENDING WORK DONE IN THIS WAY, I THINK, TO CRAFT, UM, THE, TO GET TO THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THERE'S STILL, UH, THINGS BEING LOST IN TRANSLATION, QUITE LITERALLY, UM, IN THIS PROCESS.
SO I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY'S GONNA BE WORKING REALLY HARD TO GET THROUGH.
UM, WE ARE ON THE OTHER HALF OF THIS PROCESS, IT FEELS LIKE THROUGH THIS CHAPTER WHERE WE'VE LAUNCHED NOW ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. WE WILL SEE FUNDING HIT BANK ACCOUNTS, UM, BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, WHICH I THINK IS, IS GOOD NEWS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND WE'RE JUST HERE, THIS ISN'T A CONVERSATION THAT ENDS WITH THIS ROUND.
UM, WE HAVE A FULL DI, ALMOST A FULL DICE OF COMMISSIONERS, AND WE'RE ALL HERE TO, UM, ACCEPT AND RECEIVE, UM, THE HELP THAT WE NEED TO MAKE THIS PROCESS EQUITABLE FOR EVERYBODY.
SO I'M JUST USING MY CHAIR'S REPORT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM.
[3. Discussion of the Art in Public Places Liaison Report by Commissioner Gray ]
NEXT WE HAVE THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES REPORT BY COMMISSIONER GRAY.WELL, UNFORTUNATELY, OOPS, LIKE UNFORTUNATELY, THE, THE MEETING WAS CANCELED.
WE DID NOT HAVE A QUORUM, BUT I WOULD, UH, UP UNTIL NOW, ALSO, THE A I P P RETREAT IS STILL PENDING AND IT'S BEING PUSHED, YOU KNOW, AND I BELIEVE THE LAST WE HEARD TIME, UH, MEETING BEFORE LAST WAS WE WERE STILL STILL TRYING TO SHOOT FOR AUGUST, UM, AND CROSS FINGERS THAT WILL HAPPEN.
UM, DO WE HAVE CARL SETTLES? WE DO.
[4. Discussion of the Austin Economic Development Corporation/Cultural Trust Advisory Committee by Austin Economic Development Corporation Board Member Carl Settles ]
DISCUSSION OF THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CULTURAL ADVISORY TRUST WITH A EED C BOARD MEMBER CARL SETTLES.HEY, CARL, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
UM, UH, YES, UH, SO THERE'S NO, UH, SUBSTANTIVE UPDATE, UM, FOR US RIGHT NOW, BUT I CAN GO AHEAD AND KIND OF RESTATE, UM, WHAT I DID AT THE LAST, UH, LAST MEETING.
UM, AND, UH, AND THEN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THERE MIGHT BE.
THERE MIGHT BE, UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU A, A BIT OF AN UPDATE.
THE, UH, URBAN RENEWAL BOARD, WHO WE ARE WORKING WITH, WITH THE, AT THE A E D C TO ISSUE, THE R F P FOR BLOCK 16 AND 18, THEY'RE MEETING TONIGHT.
UM, OUR EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO, UH, BE, UH, APPROVING THE, OR GOING THROUGH THE FINAL STEPSS OF APPROVING THE R F P FOR, UH, PRO, UH, FOR PROPOSALS, UH, ON BLOCK 16 AND 18.
UM, AND THAT, THAT, UH, THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR, OR THAT, THAT R P WILL BE OUT AND INTO THE PUBLIC, UH, BY AUGUST 1ST.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ON SCHEDULE FOR THAT.
UM, THE A E B C, UH, HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED IN THE CITY MANAGER'S BUDGET, AND THAT'S OF COURSE PENDING APPROVAL, UH, TO, UH, RECEIVE FUNDING, UH, IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL
[00:40:01]
YEAR.UM, I HEARD IN OUR MEETING TODAY THAT THAT NUMBER WAS, UH, UH, 2.5 MILLION, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS, UH, ON THAT.
UH, THAT WAS, UH, STATED, UH, VERBALLY.
AND SO I, I CAN'T REALLY, UH, GIVE YOU A LOT OF, UH, DETAIL, UM, ON THAT.
AS FAR AS, UH, CULTURAL TEST, UH, TRUST DOLLARS, THERE'S STILL 19.4 0.4 MILLION, UH, WHICH IS STILL AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, 12 MILLION OF THAT WILL REMAIN AT THE CITY AND PROJECT BY PROJECT, UM, WILL BE, UH, DISPERSED FOR US TO DISPERSE, UH, OUT TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
THERE'S STILL THE 7.4 MILLION, UM, DOLLARS FOR OUR ICONIC VENUE FUNDS.
UM, AND THAT IS ALSO BASED ON A PROJECT BY PROJECT, UH, ANNOUNCEMENT APPROVAL PROCESS BETWEEN THE COA LEGAL AND, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN LEGAL AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UH, ON THE LONG LIST.
THAT'S THE LIST OF, UH, 14 ORGANIZATIONS IDENTIFIED LAST SUMMER.
UM, WE ARE GETTING CLOSER TO AN, UM, ANNOUNCING, UM, PROJECTS ARE GONNA EMERGE, EMERGE FROM THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS.
AND, UM, NOT READING FROM THE NOTES THAT WERE GIVEN ME, THERE ARE MANY UNIQUE STREAMS ATTACHED TO THE PUBLIC DOLLARS THAT NEED TO BE ALIGNED WITH EXISTING AND POTENTIAL SPACES.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, UH, WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE THE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE IN THE PIPELINE ON INFORMATION, UM, THAT, THAT WE HAVE AND CONTINUE TO ADD INTERESTED PARTIES TO THE LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO CONTACT WITH UPDATES.
AND, UH, THERE'S NO IMMEDIATE PLAN TO, UH, OPEN THE PIPELINE UNTIL ADDITIONAL DOLLARS ARE IDENTIFIED.
AND, UM, I THINK THAT'S, UH, GENERALLY WHERE, WHERE WE'RE AT AT THIS POINT.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR CARL? YES, CARL, THE BUDGET, UH, RECOMMENDATION, IS THAT FOR SUPPORT STAFF OR IS THAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING? CAN YOU CLARIFY WHAT THOSE WERE AT LEAST TO BE USED FOR? UM, I, I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA TELL YOU THE WRONG INFORMATION.
NO, I'M JUST CURIOUS AND I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS.
YEAH, I, I CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, I HEARD THAT VERBALLY IN THE MEETING TODAY, BUT THAT I, I, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S ALSO SUBJECT TO APPROVAL.
UM, I THINK MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT'S TO SUPPORT, UM, STAFF, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE'S, UM, UH, $2 MILLION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE COMING, UH, TO SUPPORT ONE OF THESE, UH, UPCOMING PROJECTS.
SO, AND THEN THERE WAS STILL SOME QUESTION AS TO, UH, WHETHER THAT 2.5 WAS ADDITIONAL MONEY OR IS, WAS THAT COVERING THE 2 MILLION THAT WE ARE TRYING TO, UH, GET OUT FOR THIS FOR PRO PROPOSED PROJECT.
SO I CAN FOLLOW UP, UH, WITH, WITH THE STAT I'VE GOT STILL NOVIA STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE HERE.
SHE'S GRAYING US WITH OUR PRESENCE TODAY.
COMMISSIONER ANOVIA, HORAB DIRECTOR FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
AS RELEASED IN THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET, THERE IS 2.5 MILLION INCLUDED FOR A E D C ADMINISTRATION FOR THEIR REGULAR DAY TODAY, AS WELL AS 2.5 IN HIS HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX ON THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION THAT WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE ICONIC VENUE FUND TO HELP FULFILL THAT 15 MILLION COMMITMENT PER THE RESOLUTION.
WE'RE STEADILY TRANSFERRING INCREMENTS TO GET TO THAT NUMBER, AND SO THAT IS IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
IT STILL HAS TO BE VOTED ON BY COUNSEL.
OKAY, CARL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE AND, UM, I WASN'T HERE LAST MONTH, BUT REALLY BRILLIANT NEWS ON THE SPACE OPENING, SO KUDOS FOR THAT.
AND LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE SPACE COMING TO THE CITY.
UM, I THINK THERE'S SOME EXCITING THINGS THAT ARE ON THE, ON THE HORIZON.
UM, YOU CAN'T REALLY SPEAK TO THE SPECIFICS OF THAT STUFF, BUT I THINK THAT, UH, FOLKS WILL BE, UH, UH, PLEASED, UH, WITH, UH, SOME, SOME OF THE PROGRESS THAT'S HAPPENING.
[5. Discussion of the Downtown Commission by Commissioner Mok ]
NEXT, WE HAVE DISCUSSION OF THE[00:45:01]
DOWNTOWN COMMISSION BY COMMISSIONER MOCK, BUT THEY WERE ON VACATION, SO I WONDER IF WE HAVE AN ENOUGH UPDATE.WELL, UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE A MEETING IN MAY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A QUORUM, AND I WASN'T AT THE JUNE MEETING, BUT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, SO I WILL HAVE A LOT MORE TO REPORT AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR VACATION.
[6. Discussion of new Boards and Commissions Email security measures ]
UM, DISCUSSION OF THE NEW BOARDS AND COMMISSION EMAIL SECURITY MEASURES BY, I'M ASSUMING CITY STAFF IS THERE.SOMEBODY GONNA TALK TO US ABOUT THAT? JESUS PENTEL, THANK YOU.
SUSE PANTEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR AND, UH, BACKUP ARTS, COMMISSION LIAISON.
UM, YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM, UH, STEPHANIE HALL, UM, WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
UM, SO BASICALLY, UM, BY JULY 31ST.
SO BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, UM, UM, YOU WILL NEED TO TAKE ACTION TO DO MULTIFACTOR AUTHENTICATION.
AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS WHENEVER YOU LOG INTO YOUR, UM, EMAIL, YOU'LL LIKE GET A CODE THAT NEEDS TO GO TO YOUR PHONE OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT SO YOU CAN, UM, UM, BE ABLE TO ACCESS YOUR EMAIL.
THE THING THAT'S NICE ABOUT THAT IS IF, UM, YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS LOGGING INTO YOUR CITY ISSUED, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS EMAIL ACCOUNT, UM, IS YOU'LL BE ABLE TO RESET YOUR PASSWORD.
UM, THE, I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY SAY THAT IT'S A DOWNSIDE, BUT YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD EVERY 90 DAYS.
SO, UM, EVERY THREE MONTHS YOU WILL HAVE TO UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD.
UM, AND, UM, AND LET ME SEE ONE MORE THING HERE.
AND IF, UM, SO YOU SHOULD, YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THAT EMAIL.
UM, THERE IS A, UH, PHONE NUMBER FOR, UH, THE CITY HALL, UH, C T M, UH, COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, UM, IT TEAM, UM, THAT THEY CAN HELP.
THEY'RE AVAILABLE MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY BETWEEN 8:00 AM TO 4:00 PM UM, IF YOU NEED ANY OF THIS INFORMATION, UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO SEND THIS OUT TO YOU ALL AGAIN, I THINK WE'LL PROBABLY JUST DO THAT, JUST SO IT'S AT THE TOP OF YOUR, UM, UM, INBOX.
BUT THAT IS, UH, SO THE BIG THING IS, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR MULTIFACTOR AUTHENTICATION DONE BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR JESUS? I HAVE A HARD ENOUGH TIME REMEMBERING ONE PASSWORD.
YOU GUYS ARE REALLY NOT MAKING IT EASY ON ME, BUT THANK YOU.
I'M GLAD THINGS WILL BE SECURE.
[7. Presentation on the 88th Texas Legislative Session Report out - HOT, Texas Commission on the Arts and more by Ann Graham, Executive Director of Texans for the Arts and Scott Joslove, CEO of Texas Hotel & Lodging Association ]
WE HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THE 88TH TEXAS LEGISLATION LEGISLATIVE SESSION.REPORT OUT HOT TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND MOORE BY ANN GRAHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE TEXANS FOR THE ARTS.
AND SCOTT JOLO, UH, CEO OF THE TEXAS HOTEL AND LODGING ASSOCIATION.
BUT I JUST SEE ONE OF YOU UP HERE.
IS IT JUST YOU TODAY? IT'S JUST ME TODAY.
I'M, I'M AFRAID TO TOUCH THIS THING.
I KNOW IT SEEMS REALLY HOT, BUT GO AHEAD AND DO IT.
CAUSE I WANT YOU TO BE COMFORTABLE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? AND YOU RETIRED RECENTLY, RIGHT? SO YOU, UH, NOVEMBER 1ST.
I'M LIKE, SHE JUST WANTED TO RETIREMENT.
WE'RE CALLING HER BACK, BUT, OKAY.
SO WE'LL ENJOY YOU UNTIL NOVEMBER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, ANN, FOR BEING THERE.
I THINK IF, IF ANYBODY KNOWS ME, THEY KNOW THAT I'M NOT THE RETIRING TYPE.
UM, SO ALWAYS HAPPY TO BE HERE AND I KNOW I'LL CONTINUE TO BE OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.
UH, AND GRAHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEXANS FOR THE ARTS, THE STATEWIDE ARTS ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION.
AND I'VE SERVED IN THIS CAPACITY FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS WITH A COMMITMENT TO SECURE, PROTECT, AND GROW THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE ARTS.
BEFORE I JUMP INTO THE PRESENT, I'D LIKE TO GIVE A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF MY WORK AS IT'S RELEVANT TO THE CONVERSATION TODAY.
I MOVED HERE ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO IN 1994 WITH MY HUSBAND AND WHO, TWO TODDLERS HE HAD ACCEPTED A PROFESSORSHIP AT UT AUSTIN AND I DIDN'T KNOW A SOUL IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
UM, WE HAD ARRIVED HERE AFTER 12 YEARS AT BOSTON WHERE I CUT MY TEETH IN THE ARTS AND SET TO UNDERSTAND AND LEARN ABOUT THE ARTS COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.
I STARTED BY VOLUNTEERING TO SERVE AS A DANCE PANELIST IN THE CITY'S CULTURAL CONTRACT GRANT PROGRAM WHERE I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF MEETING PEOPLE LIKE AC GRAY UP HERE ON THE DIOCESE AND ALL OF THE DANCE COMMUNITY, WHICH STILL CONTINUES TO BE, UM, PART OF MY INTRODUCTION TO AUSTIN AND JUST, UM, AMAZINGLY, AMAZINGLY POSITIVE FRIENDS.
SO I'M SO GOOD TO SEE YOU UP THERE.
I SERVED FOR TWO YEARS AS A DANCE PANELIST, AND THEN I, UM, MOVED OVER INTO THE ARTS, ART, AND PUBLIC PLACES PANEL AND SERVED ON THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PANEL FOR SIX YEARS, INCLUDING TWO, UM, AS CHAIR.
AND BY THIS POINT, IF YOU MAY REMEMBER, ORIGINALLY THIS DEPARTMENT WAS IN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AND BY THE TIME I GOT INTO ART AND PUBLIC PLACES, IT WAS IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE VIDEOTAPES WERE DONE OVER IN, UM, UH, HERE I AM TRYING TO REMEMBER NOW THE NAME OF
[00:50:01]
THE DARTY AND THE DARDI.WE, WE USED TO BE OVER IN THE DARDI.
FAST FORWARD TO 2013 WHEN I WAS INVITED TO BECOME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEXANS FOR THE ARTS AND TEXANS FOR THE ARTS FOUNDATION, A 5 0 1 C FOUR, WHICH IS A LOBBYING ORGANIZATION AND A 5 0 1 C THREE RESPECTIVELY.
I MOVED FROM ADVOCATING IN CITY HALL TO ADVOCATING UP THE HILL AT THE STATE CAPITOL.
OUR WORK WITH TEXANS FOR THE ARTS FOCUSES ON THE PUBLIC REALM, AN IMPORTANT SLICE OF THE FUNDING PIE IN ADDITION TO EARNED INCOME AND PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL FOUNDATION AND CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY THROUGH NATIONAL, STATEWIDE AND LOCAL ACTION.
EVERY STATE HAS AN ORGANIZATION SIMILAR TO TEXANS FOR THE ARTS.
WE ARE EACH INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AGAIN, A 5 0 1 C FOUR, WHICH ENABLES US TO CONTRACT DIRECTLY WITH A LOBBYIST.
THAT'S PART OF OUR TOOLBOX THAT WORKS TO GROW THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE ARTS.
WE DON'T RECEIVE THE RESOURCES WE SECURE.
THOSE GET PASSED ALONG IN THE CASE OF THE ARTS TO THE STATE ARTS AGENCY, THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS, OR IN THE CASE OF THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
SOME OF THE FUNDING YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE TODAY TO THE MUNICIPALITIES WHO MUST COMPLY WITH THE TEXAS TAX CODE CHAPTER 3 51.
YOU ALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY THEN TO GRANT THOSE FUNDS OUT TO THE ARTS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW IN THE, IN THE MEANTIME WHAT'S HAPPENING UP THE HILL.
WHILE WE FOCUS PRIMARILY ON ARTS FUNDING, WE'RE WELL AWARE OF THE TENOR OF THE SESSION THIS PAST SESSION.
PLUS TWO SPECIAL SESSIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY STARTED AND ENDED.
THERE WAS A CONTINUING FOCUS ON PROPERTY TAX RELIEF, BORDER ISSUES, PAYING FOR A A PUBLIC EDUCATION, SCHOOL VOUCHERS, SOCIAL ISSUES AROUND LGBTQ PLUS, ALL ON TOP OF A RECORD BUDGET OF 33 BILLION, UM, THAT THEY HAD DIDN'T HAVE THE YEAR BEFORE OR THE SESSION BEFORE, JUST BECAUSE THERE WAS A SURPLUS BUDGET.
HOWEVER, IT DIDN'T MEAN THAT THE SESSION WAS AN EASY ONE REGARDING FINANCES IN THE 88 SESSION, JUST THE ONE JUST COMPLETED IN THE END OF MAY, THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 8,522 BILLS PASSED 1,350, EXCUSE ME, FILED 1,354 PASSED 517 THAT HAD TOURISM IMPACT, INCLUDING THINGS LIKE CASINO GAMBLING OR ONLINE SPORTS BETTING, BOTH OF WHICH DIDN'T PASS.
AND 48 THAT DIRECTLY INVOLVED HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
THERE'S A MAJOR EFFORT EVERY SESSION IN THE BILLS THAT ARE TRYING TO FUND NON ALLOWABLE USES, LIKE FILLING POTHOLES TO, TO DO NOT PASS OR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
UM, AND DESPITE THE BANNER FISCAL YEAR, MANY OF US STILL HAD TO WORK EXTRA HARD TO SECURE AND MAINTAIN THE PROPOSED ARTS BUDGETS.
OUR WORK FOCUSES ON TWO PRIMARY STREAMS FOR THE ARTS, BOTH OF WHICH ARE IMPORTANT ACROSS THE STATE APPROPRIATIONS THROUGH THE STATE'S BUDGET PROCESS FOR THE TCA, THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND PROTECTING CHAPTER 3 51 OF THE TEXAS TAX CODE.
IF YOU AREN'T EXCITED ABOUT TEXAS TAX CODE, YOU REALLY SHOULD BE BECAUSE CHAPTER 3 51 IS THE LARGEST SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR THE ARTS ACROSS THE STATE.
I'M GONNA START WITH THE TCA FIRST.
THE TCA IS FUNDED THROUGH THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS.
THE ONE THING THE LEGISLATURE MUST DO IS PASS A BALANCED BUDGET EVERY BIENNIUM.
AND WE AS ADVOCATES SPEND A LOT OF TIME DEVELOPING STRONG TIES WITH KEY LEGISLATORS IN THE BUDGET PROCESS TO SEEK THEIR SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE SESSION.
I'M PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THIS YEAR WAS THE FIRST YEAR IN THE HISTORY OF THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS, WHERE THE LEGISLATURE APPROVED 100% OF THEIR SO-CALLED EXCEPTIONAL ITEMS REQUESTED BY THE AGENCY, WHICH IS A MILESTONE WITH THE BASE BUDGET THAT HAS BEEN INCREASING SINCE 2013 WHEN IT WAS AROUND 3 MILLION.
TODAY TO TODAY WHEN THE BASE BUDGET IS JUST UNDER 16 MILLION, WE'RE THRILLED TO SEE THE AGENCY RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL 5 MILLION FOR TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS CULTURAL DISTRICTS, AND 3 MILLION FOR T C A ARTS CREATE AND ARTS RESPOND GRANTS.
GARY GIBBS, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE T C A AND HIS ENGAGED STAFF.
THESE INCREASES WILL HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON GRANT MAKING IN THE FUTURE, AND IN THE NEXT BIENNIAL SESSION WILL BE ASKING FOR EVEN MORE.
UM, AND I IMAGINE MOST OF THE ORGANIZATIONS WHO, UM, CURRENTLY ARE RECEIVING HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX ALSO RECEIVE TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS FUNDING.
ADDITIONALLY, ONE OF THE TCA'S LARGEST SUCCESSES HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT FUNDING FOR THE T C A CULTURAL DISTRICT PROGRAM.
IN 2013, THERE WERE JUST 26 CULTURAL DISTRICTS WITH NO FUNDING, AND NOW THERE ARE 52 WITH MORE APPLYING EVERY YEAR.
AND WITH MORE GENEROUS FUNDING AVAILABLE LEADERSHIP RECOGNIZES THE INTRINSIC VALUE OF INVESTING IN ARTS AND CULTURE ACROSS COMMUNITIES AND THE POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT THAT COMES WITH DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES TO BE VIBRANT AND DYNAMIC THROUGH INVESTING IN THE ARTS.
AUSTIN HAS TWO TCA CULTURAL DISTRICTS, THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT AND SIX SQUARE.
THE SECOND PRIMARY PUBLIC SOURCE OF THE ARTS COMES FROM THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX OF WHICH YOU ARE WELL APPRISED.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO EXPLORE OUR TOOLKIT, WWW.HOT TOOLKIT.COM, GENEROUSLY FUNDED BY THE HOUSTON ENDOWMENT
[00:55:01]
AND DONE IN RECOGNITION WITH OUR PARTNERS, THE TEXAS HOTEL AND LODGING ASSOCIATION, AND THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE.A QUICK PRIMER ON HOT STATE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX WAS ORIGINALLY INITIATED IN 1960S, RECOGNIZING THAT TOURISM IS NOT ONLY A MEANS TO SHARE THE CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, NATURAL, AND CREATIVE ASSETS OF OUR STATE, BUT THAT THERE WERE DIRECT POSITIVE FINANCIAL OUTCOME OF INVESTING IN AND GROWING TOURISM.
THE ARTS WERE ADDED IN 1977, A TIME WHEN BUSINESS LEADERS WERE RECOGNIZING THAT CORPORATIONS AND BUSINESSES WANTED TO LOCATE IN COMMUNITIES THAT HAD ARTS, HAD HAD A RICH AND ROBUST ARTS CULTURE, IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE TO HELP ATTRACT POTENTIAL EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
HOW DOES HOT WORK HOTEL, IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE AT A HOTEL AND YOUR, YOUR, OR THE HOTEL RATE IS A HUNDRED DOLLARS A NIGHT, YOUR BILL, WHEN YOU DEPARTS, GONNA BE $113, SIX OF THOSE DOLLARS GOES STRAIGHT TO THE GOVERNOR'S, UM, TO THE GENERAL FUND, EXCUSE ME, 11 TWELFTHS OF THAT AMOUNT.
1112 OF THE $6 PER ROOM GOES TO THE GENERAL FUND AND ONE 12TH TO THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF TOURISM.
$7 STAYS IN THE MUNICIPALITY LIKE AUSTIN.
OF THAT $7 UP TO 15% MAY FUND THE ARTS.
AND THAT'S THE PRICELESS PRECIOUS FUNDS THAT YOU ARE DISCUSSING HERE IN AUSTIN.
ONE CAN GO TO THE LEGISLATURE TO INCREASE THE TAX RATE, WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENED HERE.
AND AUSTIN OF COURSE USES THE FULL 15%.
WE WORK CLOSELY WITH MUNICIPALITIES AROUND THE STATE TO ENCOURAGE ALL OF THEM TO MAXIMIZE THE FULL 15% FOR THE ARTS.
AS YOU DO HERE IN AUSTIN, MUNICIPAL LEADERSHIP DECIDES WHETHER OR NOT A MUNICIPAL AGENCY, AS YOU HAVE HERE WITH THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OR A PRIVATE NONPROFIT CORPORATION LIKE THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE IN THE CASE OF HOUSTON, WILL DISPERSE AND GRANT OUT THOSE FUNDS.
IN AUSTIN, A MUNICIPAL AGENCY, AS I JUST MENTIONED, USED TO BE PART AND NOW IT'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGE THOSE FUNDS.
WHEN THE LEGISLATURE EXPANDED HOT TO INCLUDE THE ARTS, IT ALSO DID THE CA WITH THE CAVEAT THAT REVENUE FROM THE MUNICIPAL HOT MAY BE USED ONLY TO PROMOTE TOURISM IN THE CONVENTION AND HOTEL INDUSTRY.
TEXANS FOR THE ARTS IN TEXAS HOTEL LO ASSOCIATION SIGNED AN MOU, A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOUND AS A RESOURCE ON OUR TOOLKIT PAGE, WHICH I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO LOOK AT.
THAT MAKES A COMMITMENT TO WORKING TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT ONE PROGRAMS DIRECTLY ENHANCE AND PROMOTE TOURISM.
IN THE CONVENTION AND HOTEL INDUSTRY.
TWO GRANT RECIPIENTS MUST PRESENT, PERFORM, PROMOTE, ENCOURAGE, OR OTHERWISE MAKE POSSIBLE ARTS EVENTS AND CULTURAL PERFORMANCES.
EXHIBITIONS OF THE ART FORMS LISTED IN THE TEXAS TAX CODE AND THREE HOT FUNDED PROGRAMS ARE ADVERTISED AND OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, NOT IN FACILITIES THAT ARE NOT OPEN, SUCH AS SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, PRISONS, ET CETERA.
THERE ARE A HOST OF IDEAS IN THE MOU AS TO HOW THE ARTS CAN PARTNER WITH HOTELIER TO ACHIEVE THE TOURISM.
UM, GOOD NEWS FROM THE 88 SESSION IS THAT WE WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL IN PASSING A BILL JOINTLY WITH TEXAS HOTEL LODGING CALLED THE TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING BILL, WHICH REQUIRES THAT ALL TEXAS MUNICIPALITIES ANNUALLY REPORT THEIR HOT TAX COLLECTIONS.
BOTH THE GROSS AMOUNT COLLECTED THE TAX RATE FOR THE NINE ALLOWABLE USES, WHICH INCLUDE CONVENTION CENTERS, BBS AND MARKETING, TRANSPORTATION TO CONVENTIONS, CONFERENCE REGISTRATION, THE ARTS PRESERVATION CONFERENCE AND CONVENTION SIGNAGE, OOPS, SPORTS TICKETING EVENTS AND BEACHES.
YOU CAN ALSO FIND THE DATA ON OUR HOT TOOLKIT.COM.
THIS BILL WAS A WIN-WIN FOR US TO HELP KEEP TRACK OF HOW HOT IS BEING USED ACROSS THE STATE AND HOW WE CAN USE THE COMPARATIVE DATA TO ENCOURAGE MUNICIPALITIES TO MAXIMIZE THE FULL 15% AND TO SUPPORT THE FOCUS ON TOURISM.
I HOPE THAT GIVES YOU SOME INSIGHT INTO THE WORK THAT WE DO AS WE NAVIGATE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC FUNDING FOR THE ARTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TOURISM.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER.
YOU AND THAT WAS A VERY ROBUST PRESENTATION DONE VERY SUCCINCTLY.
I SPECIFICALLY INVITED YOU HERE, UM, TO PROVIDE THE CONTEXT FOR HOW WE HAVE A, A LOT OF NEWBIES ON THE DIET.
SO, UM, I WANNA HAND IT TO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANNE? SHE'S AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE WHEN IT COMES TO THE CONTEXT OF HA OF HOW HOT, UM, IS APPLIED IN OUR FUNDING.
THANK YOU FOR SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF WHAT YOU DO.
I, I, I DO HAVE, UM, A QUESTION MAYBE, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN BOTHERING ME ALL THIS SHORT TERM RENTAL MM-HMM.
[01:00:01]
THE POOL THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.IS THERE AN EFFORT TO TRY TO MONITOR IT MORE CLOSELY? I AM NOT THE EXPERT ON SHORT TERM RENTALS.
UM, BUT I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE CAUSE BECAUSE IT'S MY ASSU, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY'RE NOT PAYING RIGHT NOW CURRENTLY INTO THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX POOL.
UM, WHAT I BELIEVE THEY NEED, AND I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A LONG TERM CONVERSATION, ARE THE VOLUNTARY COLLECTION AGREEMENTS AND A WAY TO IDENTIFY WHERE THESE SITES ARE LOCATED.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THE VOLUNTEER COLLECTION AGREEMENT, AND I MAY BE, I WILL ACCEPT SOMEBODY CHALLENGING ME AND CORRECTING ME CUZ I WANNA BE CORRECT ON THIS.
BUT THEY, THEY, MEANING THE CITY NEEDS A PROCESS BY WHICH TO REQUIRE SHORT-TERM RENTALS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT HOTELS HAVE TO PROVIDE, LIKE ADDRESSES CAPACITY MM-HMM.
MAYBE THIS IS EVEN MY PERSONAL AS WELL AS PROFESSIONAL.
IF THERE ARE LOTS OF, WHEN I STAYS HAPPENING BETWEEN AIRBNB AND VR, V R B O, ET CETERA, UM, AND UNTIL THE CITY FINDS A WAY THAT THAT COLLECTION OF INFORMATION IS MANDATORY, THEY'RE, I BELIEVE GOING TO BE MISSING OUT ON THOSE RESOURCES.
I, I WANT, I WANT TO SAY THAT I AM, UM, I'M SYMPATHETIC TO, UH, SOME OF THOSE SHORT TERM, UM, RENTALS TO SUBSIDIZE THE HIGH PROPERTY TAX MM-HMM.
UH, I'M SYMPATHETIC, YOU KNOW, UH, BUT, BUT I'M ALSO KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE JUST COMING TO A TOWN AND THEN START SETTING UP ALL THESE SHORT TERM RENTAL AND DOING BASICALLY HOTEL BUSINESS, BUT THEY ARE NOT, UM, UNDER THE SAME MONITORING, UH, EFFORT AS HOTEL.
SO I, I HAVE PROBLEM WITH THAT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A CONVERSATION.
WE NEED TO HAVE A BALANCE ON THAT.
YEAH, I MEAN, I I I I TOTALLY APPRECIATE GARAGE APARTMENTS, GRANNY FLATS, ADDITIONAL, I MEAN THE, THE, THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL FACILITIES AND HAVING SHORT TERM RENTALS, UM, BUT THE, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO RESPONSIBLY COLLECT PERCENT TAX HERE THAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS HAVING TO PAY IF YOU'RE IN A HOTEL.
UM, THERE SHOULD BE, UM, THERE SHOULD BE AN EQUITABLE APPROACH TO THAT.
I DON'T, I DON'T, CERTAINLY NOT ARGUING AGAINST SHORT TERM RENTALS, BUT LEGISLATION TO REQUIRE THAT THEY REGISTER SO WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION AND, AND LEVY THE TAX SEEMS TO BE IMPERATIVE AND THAT SEEMS GONNA HAVE TO COME FROM COUNSEL UNDOUBTEDLY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR ANNE? I DEEPLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING AND PROVIDING SORT OF THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR HOT.
AND I THINK YOU KNOW THIS, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A HOT TOPIC RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT WITH OUR PARTNERS IN MUSIC.
UM, AND IT JUST, IT SEEMS LIKE A VERY CONVOLUTED, UH, PROCESS AT THE MOMENT.
SORT OF A, WHO'S ON FIRST, WHAT'S ON SECOND? BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S OTHER CITIES IN IN TEXAS THAT ARE DOING THIS SUCCESSFULLY.
AND SO, UH, WE HAVE BRIEF FRANCO COMING TO US, UM, I THINK NEXT MONTH OR WITHIN THE COMING MONTH.
WE JUST ARE TRYING TO KEEP THIS CONVERSATION GOING.
AND PERHAPS HAVING, UM, SCOTT COME IN A FUTURE MEETING AS WE DIVE DEEPER, BUT HAVING YOU, UM, MY GOAL WAS TO REALLY SORT OF LAY THE, THE FOUNDATION FOR HOT AND THE, THE, I LOVE THE FORMULA IS LIKE IF WE'RE, IF IT'S A HUNDRED DOLLARS THAT YOU'RE PAYING PER NIGHT AND 113 IS COLLECTED AND WHERE THAT MONEY GOES, CUZ SO MANY QUESTIONS WE GET FROM OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL IS, WELL WE HAVE ALL THIS MONEY COMING IN AND IT'S LIKE, WELL IT'S PERCENTAGES OF A PERCENTAGE OF A PERCENTAGE THAT ARTS VISUAL ARTS SPECIFICALLY RECEIVE.
AND THEN HOW IT'S STOLE OFF, UM, ACROSS OUR, OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN AS IT THEN GETS DEEPER INTO THIS S STR CONVERSATION WHERE IT'S LIKE, OKAY, THERE'S DOLLARS LEFT IN, LEFT ON THE TABLE.
POINT, IT IS COST PROHIBITIVE TO LIVE HERE.
IT'S ALSO VERY EXPENSIVE TO RUN AN S T R.
FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, PERMITTING FEES VARY FROM CITY TO CITY AND AUSTIN HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST, UM, PERMIT FEES, UM, UH, FOR CREATING AN S T R.
SO A LOT OF TIMES RECOUPING THE FUNDS THAT IT TOOK TO INVEST AND CREATE THAT S STR R UM, IN THE FIRST PLACE DOESN'T ALWAYS LEAD TO THE MOST TRANSPARENT VOLUNTARY, OH, I KNOW I SHOULD BE PAYING A MUNICIPAL TAX TO BENEFIT MY COMMUNITY.
[01:05:01]
KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN PRESENTED TO BY AIRBNB SPECIFICALLY OF THE S ST R UMBRELLA.AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE SORT OF A BIG ROUND TABLE THAT WE'RE ALL SITTING AT, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S MANY FACETS, UM, TO THIS CONVERSATION.
BUT, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UM, ARE JUST, AND MAYBE THIS IS MORE OF A QUESTION FOR SCOTT, BUT DO WE HAVE MODELS THAT WE CAN LOOK TO SPECIFIC TO TEXAS? ARE THERE OTHER CITIES THAT ARE DOING IT WELL IN TERMS OF CAUTION? UM, I WILL, I WILL DEFER AND BE HAPPY TO TALK TO SCOTT ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
UM, HE'S GOT MUCH MORE OF AN ENCYCLOPEDIC KNOWLEDGE THAN I DO.
I KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS.
I DON'T HAVE ALL THE EXAMPLES.
UM, OUR, OUR TOOLKIT THAT ARE, UH, WHICH INCLUDES THE INFORMATION IN THE BILL THAT WE JUST PASSED, WE'LL BE GETTING A LOT MORE DATA THAN WE'VE EVER HAD BEFORE.
THAT'S STILL NOT, THAT DOESN'T PROVIDE YOU WITH THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, BUT IT MAY SHOW OR, OR EXPOSED SOME OF THE ONES THAT ARE VERY CITIES THAT ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL IN UM, USING THOSE DOLLARS.
BUT I REALLY ENCOURAGE, CUZ THIS CONVERSATION'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME AND AIRBNB AND ALL THE SHORT TERM RENTALS ARE GONNA BE, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA BE REVVING UP EVEN MORE AS WE HAVE MORE MAJOR EVENTS ON WEEKENDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE, UM, THE, THE, THE MACHINE OF THE CITY TO EXPEDITE THE CONVERSATION AND TRY TO GET IT BECAUSE IT'S, YOU'RE GONNA KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT UNTIL SOMEBODY SETS SOME REGULATIONS FOR IT.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS, ARE WE IN A POSITION WHERE THE HOTELIER AND THE, THE S T R COMPANIES LIKE THAT, THAT'S GONNA BE A VERY SYMBIOTIC THING ONCE THERE IS A SOLUTION FOUND BECAUSE JUST IN TERMS OF THE, THE MOU, LIKE ARE THERE ANY OBSTACLES THAT WE CAN ANTICIPATE AND START TRYING TO TROUBLESHOOT OR PROBLEM SOLVING AROUND KNOWING THAT THESE ARE TWO SORT OF MONOLITHS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT AND BRINGING THEM TOGETHER IN A COLLABORATION? NOT ALWAYS THE SMOOTHEST PROCESS.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE ASKING AN AN EMOTIONAL QUESTION.
SO, UM, I I THINK IF, IF THERE'S A WAY TO GET EVERYBODY AROUND THE PROVERBIAL TABLE AND, AND HASH IT OUT THERE, ARE PEOPLE WET READY AND WILLING TO DO THAT? I THINK TEXAS HOTEL LODGING ASSOCIATION AS A KEY PLAYER IN THAT REPRESENTING THE ACROSS THE STATE.
SO I DON'T KNOW ACTUALLY I HAVE MODELS IN OTHER STATES.
I'M NOT AWARE OF ANOTHER STATE THAT HAS A MODEL QUITE LIKE OURS.
I THINK OURS IS, I THINK WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE CHAPTER 3 51, UM, AND TO HAVE THIS ACCESS TO THESE RESOURCES FOR THE ARTS AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH T H L A, UM, ON THE BASIS OF THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MUTUALLY BENEFITING FROM THIS AND OUR COMMUNITIES ARE BENEFITING FROM THIS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S SO WONDERFUL ABOUT THIS, THIS TAX CODE.
I MEAN THAT 15% IS A LOT OF MONEY AND ESPECIALLY WHEN ALL IN SMALL COMMUNITIES AND IN LARGE COMMUNITIES.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE WORKED WITH TINY COMMUNITIES TO GET THEM ON THE BOARD TO BEGINNING TO USE HOT.
AND THEN THEY START TO FLOURISH WHEN THEY START TO, YOU KNOW, DO, DO MURALS AND DO, YOU KNOW, PERFORMANCES AND JUST START TO DABBLE WITH RESOURCES THEY'VE NEVER HAD BEFORE.
SO IT'S EXCITING REVENUE TO HAVE.
UM, AND IT DOES HAVE TO HAVE A TOURISM IMPACT, BUT THAT MOU GIVES ALL SORTS OF WAYS IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THE HOTEL YEARS AND ARTISTS CAN WORK TOGETHER.
SO, UM, TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE ALL INTERESTED IN HAVING PEOPLE SPEND THE NIGHT IN AUSTIN AND, UM, BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, REAP THAT, THE BENEFIT OF THOSE TAXES.
BUT I THINK, I THINK PEOPLE ARE REALLY WILLING TO COME AROUND THE TABLE.
I HOPE THEY'RE WILLING TO COME AROUND THE TABLE TO SOLVE THIS.
UM, I HAVE A NAIVE QUESTION TO ASK CUZ I THINK MY BRAIN IS WRAPPED AROUND HOT FUNDS THIS WAY FOR A LONG TIME.
SO JUST A SHORT RESPONSE IS FINE.
IS IT, IT'S ALWAYS, I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT HOT FUND IS HOT FUNDS ONLY REGULATED ON THE STATE LEVEL, BUT SPLIT IMMEDIATELY OR IS IT ALL GOES THROUGH THE STATE LEVEL AND THEN DISPERSED THE, YOUR, IN YOUR PROVERBIAL A HUNDRED DOLLARS ROOM, WHICH IS PROBABLY PRETTY HARD TO FIND IN AUSTIN A HUNDRED DOLLARS HOTEL ROOM.
UM, THE, THE TAX WOULD BE IF YOU A HUNDRED DOLLARS ROOM AND YOU, YOU'RE GONNA BE LEAVING THE TAX THAT, THAT YEAH, THE WOULD BE $13.
SO THAT SIX, THE $6 OR THE 6% GOES STRAIGHT TO THE GOVERNOR'S OR THE GENERAL FUND.
EXCUSE ME, I KEEP SAYING GOVERNOR'S OFFICE GOES TO THE, THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.
I BELIEVE AIRBNB HAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH MOVING THOSE DOLLARS OKAY.
THE, THE CITY DOESN'T EVER SEE THOSE.
THE $6 GOES STRAIGHT TO THE GENERAL.
THE, THE STATE'S GENERAL FUND, 11 12TH OF IT GOES TO THE GENERAL FUND, ONE 12TH OF IT GOES TO THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF TOURISM.
WHICH SUPPORTS TOURISM FROM OUT OF STATE EXPRESSLY.
SO, UM, AND THEN THE, UM, WHAT WAS THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION?
[01:10:01]
WELL, IT'S KIND OF THAT, OH, IF IT WAS A BIG UMBRELLA AND YEAH.THE REST OF IT COMES STRAIGHT TO YOU.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S COLLECTED QUARTERLY, BUT IT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE CITY OF BOSTON.
I WAS WONDERING IF IT WENT STRAIGHT IN.
THERE'S NO MIDDLE PERSON FOR THE MUNICIPAL HOTEL TAX.
THAT'S WHAT'S BRINGING UP IS THE HOT STUFF.
SO IF IT'S MUNICIPAL FROM, FROM, UH, THE SHORT TERM RENTALS, STRS, IT WOULD BE JUST THE CITY THAT DEALS WITH THAT.
THE STATE'S NOT INVOLVED IN THAT.
I'M ASSUMING, CORRECT ME SOMEBODY HERE OFF IF I'M WRONG, BUT I'M ASSUMING NO, THAT YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD STILL HAVE, IF SHORT TERM RENTAL OR A HOTEL, IT'S GONNA HAVE THE, THE SAME 11, SAME THING.
IT'S JUST THAT THE TYPE OF ESTABLISHMENT IS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF ESTABLISHMENT.
SO IS THE DECISION TO GET THE MONEY TO EACH MENIS MUNICIPALITY, DOES IT HAVE TO GO TO THE STATE LEVEL FIRST? NO, NO, IT'S ALREADY SET UP.
IT'S STILL A, IT JUST HAS TO BE DECIDED UPON BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO BE ABLE TO REGULATE.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS JURISDICTION OVER, FIRST OF ALL, WHO'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE THOSE FUNDS.
AS AN EXAMPLE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS HERE, CITY OF HOUSTON, THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE IS ONE OF, THERE'S A COUPLE DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT GIVE OUT HOT, BUT THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE, FOR INSTANCE, INDEPENDENT 5 0 1 C THREE MM-HMM.
SO YOU SEE DIFFERENT MODELS AROUND THE STATE.
BUT MAYOR AND COUNCIL GET TO MAKE THAT DETERMINATION.
BUT IT'S ALL DIRECTLY THROUGH THE CITY, PERIOD.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
AND JUST LET SCOTT KNOW HE'LL BE HEARING FROM US
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
[8. Staff briefing regarding an update on the Hotel Occupancy Tax by Laura Odegaard, Acting Cultural Arts Division Manager]
HAVE A STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE HOTEL ON OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TEST BY LAURA ODEGAARD, ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER.DO WE HAVE A REMINDER? SHE'S BACK.
UH, MY NAME IS LAURA ODEGAARD.
I AM THE ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
MY PRONOUNS ARE SHE HER, I'M A WHITE WOMAN WITH SHOULDER LENGTH BROWN HAIR, WEARING A BLUE AND WHITE POLKA DOT DRESS TONIGHT WITH A TAN SWEATER.
UH, AND IN THIS PRESENTATION I'LL BE SHARING OUR LATEST HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION NUMBERS.
IF I HIT THE BUTTON CORRECTLY.
UM, SO OUR TOTAL HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION IN JUNE WAS $734,597.
SO THIS MEANS OUR HOT CULTURAL ARTS FUND COLLECTION NUMBERS FOR JUNE WERE $106,958.
UM, YOU CAN ALSO SEE IN THIS SLIDE THE APPROVED FY 23 BUDGET AS WELL AS THE UPDATED YEAR END ESTIMATE.
SO OUR UPDATED YEAR END ESTIMATE IS JUST OVER 14 MILLION.
AND JUST AGAIN, AS A REMINDER, THERE'S A DELAY IN HOW HOT REPORTING HAPPENS.
SO THIS JULY REPORT SHOWS FUNDS COLLECTED IN JUNE FOR HOTEL STAYS IN MAY.
AND THEN HERE YOU CAN SEE HOW WE HAVE ALREADY REACHED OUR ORIGINAL APPROVED CULTURAL ARTS FUND BUDGET NUMBER OF 10.3 MILLION.
AND THEN WE ARE 73% OF THE WAY TO OUR UPDATED YEAR AND ESTIMATE OF JUST OVER 14 MILLION.
SO OUR HOT CULTURAL ARTS FUND ACTUALS RIGHT NOW IN THE BANK ARE $11,679,683.
AND FOR COMPARISON THIS TIME LAST YEAR AND F Y 22, THE CULTURAL ARTS FUND WAS AT 8.5 MILLION.
ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? ANY QUESTIONS FOR LAURA? THAT'S GREAT NEWS.
NALI, DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T SEE YA.
[9. Staff briefing regarding the Cultural Arts Funding Programs by Jesus Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor, and Laura Odegaard, Acting Cultural Arts Division Manager ]
AND THEN NEXT WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAMS BY JESUS PENTEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR AND LAURA ODEGAARD, ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER.I JUST FIGURED I'D STAY UP HERE, YOU KNOW, HAPPY NOT WALK BACK.
JUST WAIT FOR THE OTHER PRESENTATION TO LOAD.
UH, AGAIN, LAURA ODEGAARD, ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER, AND I'M MAKING THE SLIDES WORK.
UM, SO JUST, UH, TO KIND OF WRAP THINGS UP HERE, UM, I'M GONNA BE DOING SEVERAL UPDATES TONIGHT AROUND SEVERAL OF OUR PROGRAMS, UM, SPECIFICALLY FOR ELEVATE THE PROGRAM THAT JUST CLOSED ON THE 30TH.
I'M GONNA SHARE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT OUR, WHERE WE'RE AT.
UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE REVIEW STAGE OF ELEVATE, UH, AND THEN FOR NEXUS, WE JUST LAUNCHED ON TUESDAY, SO I'M GONNA BE SHARING MORE DETAILS ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
[01:15:01]
SO AGAIN, JUST A REMINDER IN CASE ANYONE IS NEW, UH, THE PILOT PROGRAM ELEVATE, UH, WAS SUPPORTING BOTH NONPROFITS, SO 5 0 1 C ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS NON 5 0 1 C OPERATIONS.UM, AND SO THIS WAS THE SUPPORT FOR BASICALLY ANY ESTABLISHED CULTURAL PRODUCER.
UM, SO AS FLEXIBLE FUNDS FOR THIS, FOR THIS GRANT, UM, IN THE PAST LAST YEAR, WE PROPOSED A HUNDRED AWARDS WITH AN INVESTMENT OF 4 MILLION.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO INCREASE THAT TREMENDOUSLY IN RESPONSE TO COMMUNITY AND COMMISSION FEEDBACK.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY FUNDING 200 AWARDS AT 6.25 MILLION.
UM, AND AS A REMINDER, ANNUAL, UH, GRANTS WILL RANGE FROM 10,000 TO $75,000.
UH, SO THIS IS AN UPDATED TIMELINE FOR THE ELEVATE KEY DATES.
UM, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE IS NOT MY MISSPELLING OF THE WORD EXTENSION, BUT IS THE FACT THAT THERE WAS AN EXTENSION, UM, AND WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO AS MENTIONED IN PUBLIC COMMENT, WE WERE ORIGINALLY PLANNING ON CLOSING THE APPLICATION ON JUNE 27TH, BUT WE THEN DECIDED TO EXTEND IT UNTIL JUNE 30TH.
UM, SO WE SENT OUT AN EMAIL ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON PRIOR TO THE 5:00 PM DEADLINE, UM, SPECIFICALLY IN RESPONSE TO MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WHO HAD EXPRESSED DIFFICULTY WITH THE SPANISH APPLICATION SYSTEM.
UM, AND SO WE EXTENDED THAT UNTIL FRIDAY.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, SINCE WE HAD HEARD PROBLEMS FROM SEVERAL FOLKS REGARDING THE SPANISH PORTAL, WE MADE SOME IMMEDIATE CHANGES.
MOST NOTABLY, WE ALLOWED FOR NON-ENGLISH APPLICATIONS TO BE SUBMITTED EITHER IN PORTAL OR EMAILED DIRECTLY TO STAFF.
UH, WE ALSO CREATED A DOWNLOADABLE VERSION OF THE SPANISH APPLICATION AND POSTED IT TO OUR WEBSITE IMMEDIATELY.
WE ADDED APPLICATION ASSISTANCE WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY OF THAT WEEK, AND PULLED IN THREE CERTIFIED SPANISH SPEAKERS FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
SO BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH SPEAKING STAFF WERE AVAILABLE IN PERSON ONLINE, IN THE ZOOM ROOM OR VIA PHONE.
UM, SO LIKE I SAID, WE CREATED THREE DROP-IN HELP SESSIONS EACH OF THOSE DAYS FROM ONE TO FOUR ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AND FRIDAY FROM 10 TO FOUR.
AND WE ALSO WORKED CLOSELY WITH OUR COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR, UM, FROM ON THE MONEY WITH PHONE AND EMAIL, AND SHE WAS ABLE TO ASSIST THEM IN SPANISH.
UM, THIS EXTENSION, WE WERE ABLE TO PUSH IT UNTIL FRIDAY THE 30TH, AND WE'RE STILL BASICALLY HAVING THE SAME DEADLINE.
IT, WE BUILT IN ENOUGH, UH, WIGGLE ROOM DAYS.
SO WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS, UH, SEPTEMBER ONE FOR AWARDS.
SO THE ONLY SLIGHT SHIFT HAPPENED FOR THE PANEL MEETINGS, AND I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
UM, ALSO JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT SOME HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR FOR ELEVATE.
UM, SO BY JUNE 20TH WE HAD FIVE FACILITATORS TRAINED AND READY TO GO.
UM, THE PAST MONTH WAS VERY BUSY WITH PANEL TRAINING AS WELL.
WE HAD OVER A HUNDRED PEOPLE TRAINED.
UM, SO THAT WAS THE PRE-WORK ORIENTATION MATERIALS THAT THEY HAD TO DO, WHICH WAS ROUGHLY THREE HOURS PLUS LONG THAT THEY DID INDEPENDENTLY.
UM, AS WELL AS 10 GROUP MEETINGS THAT WERE TWO HOURS LONG THAT WERE LED BY A FACILITATOR.
AND SO THOSE TRAINING MEETINGS HAPPENED THE 21ST THROUGH THE 30TH.
SO EACH PANELIST, IF YOU REMEMBER FROM PREVIOUS, UM, PRESENTATIONS, EACH PANELIST, WHETHER IT'S A READER OR A FULL PANELIST THAT GOES TO THE MEETINGS, HAS TO DO THE ORIENTATION MATERIAL AND A TRAINING WITH A FACILITATOR IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO ACTUALLY REVIEW APPLICATIONS.
AND ALL REVIEWERS, PANELISTS AND OR READERS, UM, ARE REVIEWING AND SCORING THE COMPLETE APPLICATION, NOT JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN GETTING SOME REALLY GREAT FEEDBACK ACTUALLY FROM SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE, THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, TRAINED SO FAR, UM, SPECIFICALLY, AND, AND WE'LL GET MORE AND WE'LL SHARE THE FEEDBACK WITH YOU.
BUT IT'S GREAT TO GET FEEDBACK FROM LEADERS OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE POTENTIALLY BEEN VERY CRITICAL OF OUR FUNDING IN THE PAST AND HAVE SEEN THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE BEEN MAKING WITH COMMUNITY FEED FEEDBACK, UM, AND ARE REALLY ON BOARD WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S, UM, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT FEEDBACK AS WE GO ALONG.
UM, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCREEN, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE RECEIVED FOUR APPLICATIONS IN SPANISH THROUGH THE PORTAL SYSTEM.
UM, AND I ALSO JUST WANTED TO NOTE THE APPLICATION ASSISTANCE THAT STAFF HAS BEEN DOING THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
UH, WE'VE HAD WEEKLY OPEN OFFICE HOURS EVERY TUESDAY FROM 10 TO NOON,
[01:20:01]
BOTH IN PERSON AND ONLINE.WE'VE HAD VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS.
SO THOSE HAVE BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THE GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM AS WELL AS DROP IN ASSISTANCE OFFSITE AND ONSITE AT OUR OFFICES.
UM, SO THAT IS WELL OVER 50 HOURS OF ASSISTANCE THAT STAFF HAS PROVIDED.
AND THAT IS ONLY THE PUBLIC, UM, PUBLICLY PROMOTED ASSISTANCE.
THAT'S NOT THE ASSISTANCE THAT STAFF HAS BEEN DOING JUST ONE-ON-ONE WITH APPLICANTS.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS OVER 15 HOURS OF DEDICATED SPANISH SUPPORT AND A ONE THREE HOUR SESSION WITH AN ASL INTERPRETER.
UM, SO OF, OF THAT ASSISTANCE, 263 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASSISTED TO GET THROUGH, UM, TO SUBMIT THEIR ELEVATE APPLICATION.
SO WHAT DO THE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE? SO THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
SO WE HAD 762 APPLICATIONS STARTED.
WE HAD 480 APPLICATIONS SUCCESSFULLY SUBMITTED.
UM, 441 UNIQUE ELIGIBLE APPLICATIONS WERE THEN MOVED FORWARD.
SO A LOT OF THAT, UM, WERE DUPLICATES THAT FOLKS HAD BECAUSE WHEN WE ANNOUNCED THE EXTENSION FOLKS COULD, WE COULDN'T LET THEM UPDATE THEIR EXISTING APPLICATION, BUT THEY COULD SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION AND WE WOULD ASK THEM WHICH WE WOULD PREFER, WHICH THEY PREFERRED US TO LOOK AT.
SO THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE DUPLICATES CAME FROM, WHERE PEOPLE WOULD WANNA ADD MORE TO THEIR NARRATIVES OVER THOSE EXTRA THREE DAYS.
UM, AGAIN, THAT'S WHY IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO DO THE WORK, UH, ON MICROSOFT WORD OR GOOGLE DOCS OR SOMETHING AHEAD OF TIME AND DON'T JUST DO YOUR APPLICATION WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN THE REVIEW PROCESS.
SO THINGS TO NOTE, UH, WE HAD 259 NON 5 0 1 C APPLICATIONS.
SO ALL OF THOSE APPLICATIONS WENT TO THE STAGE ONE REVIEW, WHICH IS THE READER STAGE.
AND SO I THINK WE HAD 59, 60, 59, 60, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UM, READERS FOR THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND SO ALL OF THEM ARE NOW BEING REVIEWED, ARE REVIEWING THESE APPLICATIONS.
UM, AND THEN OF THAT, THE HIGHEST SCORING 125 WILL GO TO THE STAGE TWO REVIEW, WHICH IS THE PANELISTS AND THE MEETINGS.
AND THEN 75 OF THOSE WILL BE AWARDED FOR THE 5 0 1 C APPLICATIONS.
WE HAD 182 SUBMISSIONS BECAUSE IT WAS SO CLOSE TO THE 150 THAT WE WERE GOING TO NARROW IT DOWN TO.
WE DECIDED TO LET ALL ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TWO FIVE OH ONE C APPLICANTS SKIP STAGE ONE AND GO STRAIGHT TO STAGE TWO.
SO THERE IS ONLY ONE STAGE OF REVIEWS, THE MEETINGS AND THE PANELISTS THAT ARE GONNA BE REVIEWING THESE APPLICATIONS.
SO THE MATH WORKED OUT THAT EACH, WELL, I THINK THAT'S THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT, UM, NO ONE IS BEING CUT OUT IN THE FIRST STAGE FOR THE NONPROFITS, WHICH I THINK WILL BE GOOD NEWS TO FOLKS, UM, AS I KNOW THERE WERE SOME CONCERNS.
UM, AND THEN OF THAT 125 WILL BE AWARDED.
SO THIS SLIDE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF THE DIFFERENT PANELS THAT WE'RE HAVING.
SO YOU'LL SEE AT THE TOP THERE ARE THREE PANELS THAT ARE REVIEWING THE 5 0 1 C ORGANIZATIONS.
AND ON THE BOTTOM THERE ARE THREE PANELS THAT ARE REVIEWING THE NON 5 0 1 C APPLICATIONS.
AND SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST IN STAGE TWO.
SO THE WAY THAT WE BROKE DOWN THE PANELS FOR THE NONPROFITS, IT WAS BY BUDGET.
SO ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAD A BUDGET OF $135,000 OR MORE ARE IN PANEL A.
AND SO THERE WERE 61 APPLICATIONS THAT FELL UNDER THAT CATEGORY.
UM, THEIR PANELISTS ARE REVIEWING THEIR APPLICATIONS NOW.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE FOLKS MORE TIME TO ACTUALLY REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS.
SO THE PANELISTS ARE REVIEWING THOSE APPLICATIONS NOW.
AND THEN THE PANEL MEETINGS WILL BE ON AUGUST 23RD AND AUGUST 24TH.
AND SO THAT'S ALREADY SET IN STONE.
SO IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL BUDGET IS, YOU CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT DAY YOUR PANEL WILL PROBABLY BE.
AND PANEL C IS THE SMALLEST, UNDER $43,000.
SO IT'S LARGE, MEDIUM AND SMALL SIZE BUDGETS HERE.
UM, SO ALL OF THE DATES, UH, ARE POSTED HERE.
UM, AND IT WILL BE ON ZOOM WEBINAR SIMILAR TO THRIVE, WHERE
[01:25:01]
FOLKS CAN WATCH BUT CANNOT INTERACT WITH THE PANELISTS.AND THEN FOR THE ELEVATE NON 5 0 1 C APPLICANTS, THOSE BROKE DOWN TO 42 APPLICATIONS FOR PANEL X AND Y AND 41 APPLICATIONS FOR PANEL Z.
UM, SO AGAIN, WHEN WE GET THESE, WHEN WE GET THE PRELIMINARY SCORES FROM STAGE ONE BACK, THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEND OUT THE, I HAVE THE WRONG DATES HERE FOR THE REVIEW AND SCORE.
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU COPY AND PASTE.
UM, I THINK IT'S ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT THE, THE BREAKDOWN OF THE APPLICATIONS, IT'S GONNA BE RANDOMIZED FOR THE MOST PART FOR THESE FOLKS, BUT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO KEEP INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS IN ONE SECTION, UH, AND CREATIVE BUSINESSES IN ANOTHER SECTION.
UM, AND SO THESE PANEL DATES ARE ONE AND A HALF DAYS AND THEY'RE AT THE SAME TIME AS SOME OF THE NONPROFIT ONES.
SO WE'LL BE HAVING TWO ZOOM WEBINARS GOING AT THE SAME TIME, AND THERE'LL BE ONE FACILITATOR AND ONE STAFF PERSON RUNNING PANEL A WHILE, ANOTHER FACILITATOR AND ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER WILL BE RUNNING PANEL X, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, SO THOSE DATES ARE ON THERE.
UM, OKAY, SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH ELEVATE HOLD THOSE QUESTIONS.
AND THEN NEXUS, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE JUST OPENED ON TUESDAY.
AND SO THIS IS JUST KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH SHOULD NOT, UH, LOOK NEW TO ANYONE.
UH, WE ANTICIPATE FUNDING 50 AWARDS PER CYCLE, UH, WITH TWO CYCLES PER YEAR.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS PROGRAM WILL NURTURE NEW AND EMERGING APPLICANTS, UM, THAT ARE DOING CREATIVE PUBLIC PROJECTS.
THIS IS THE BREAKDOWN OF THE RUBRIC.
YOU CAN SEE IT'S BROKEN DOWN BY OPERATIONS AS WELL AS CULTURAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT.
UM, THE QUESTIONS IN NEXUS ARE A LITTLE BIT STREAMLINED AND SIMPLIFIED FROM THRIVE AND ELEVATE, UH, CUZ WE ANTICIPATE THIS BEING PRIMARILY INDIVIDUALS, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS THAT APPLY TO THIS FUND.
OKAY, SO THIS SLIDE IS A LITTLE BIT CHAOTIC, BUT WE SOMETIMES GET QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE TO FIND THINGS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT THE WEBSITE, SO EACH PROGRAM HAS A, HAS ITS OWN LANDING PAGE.
SO THERE WAS THE AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV/ELEVATE AND THAT'S WHERE ALL OF THE ELEVATE INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED AS FAR AS THE LINKS FOR THE ZOOM WEBINARS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND THEN THIS PAGE IS AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV/NEXUS.
AND SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE THE LINKS TO APPLY, WHICH WILL TAKE YOU TO THE PORTAL SYSTEM, ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
UM, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE GUIDELINES IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
YOU CAN ALSO GET DETAILED RUBRIC DESCRIPTIONS ON THE WEBSITE.
SO INSTEAD OF JUST MISSION AND KEY CONSTITUENCY 15 POINTS, IT'LL BE A DETAILED BREAKDOWN ABOUT WHAT YOU COULD ANSWER IN THAT SECTION, WHICH I THINK IS SOMETIMES HELPFUL WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT WRITING YOUR APPLICATION.
UM, IT ALSO HAS THE FULL LIST OF APPLICATION QUESTIONS ON THE WEBSITE AS WELL AS LINKS TO THE VIDEOS THAT WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
AND POTENTIALLY MOST EXCITINGLY AND IMPORTANTLY, UM, THERE ARE ALL THE APPLICATION ASSISTANCE LINKS ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, SO THIS INCLUDES THE LINK TO OPEN OFFICE HOURS ON TUESDAYS.
UM, IT HAS EVENTBRITE LINKS TO ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, WORKSHOPS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN PERSON AND ONLINE.
THERE ARE LINKS TO, UM, ALMOST REAL THINGS AS NATALIE WAS MENTIONING EARLIER.
THEY'RE A COMMUNITY AMPLIFIER FOR THIS PROGRAM.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE FULL SUITE OF PROGRAMS THAT THEY'RE OFFERING THAT STAFF WILL BE ATTENDING OR YOU CAN JUST CALL THEM OR EMAIL THEM.
UM, AND THERE'S ALSO THE LINK TO, UH, PUT IN A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TICKET ON THE WEBSITE, CUZ THAT'S SOMETIMES A PROBLEM TOO.
SO WE REALLY WANT THESE LANDING PAGES TO BE A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR ALL THINGS ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
SO HIGHLY ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO GO THERE FIRST.
UM, BUT STAFF IS ALWAYS HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AS WELL.
UH, AND THEN WE HAVE THE TIMELINE FOR NEXUS.
SO AS A REMINDER, THIS IS THE FIRST CYCLE OF NEXUS.
SO THE APPLICATION OPENED JULY 11TH.
THE PANEL WILL BE MEETING IN SEPTEMBER AND AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS.
AND IDEALLY FIRST PAYMENTS WILL ALSO GO OUT IN SEPTEMBER BY THE END OF THE, THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, AND FOR NEXUS, THIS IS FOR ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR THROUGH MARCH OF NEXT YEAR.
[01:30:01]
WILL BE OPENING IN JANUARY FOR ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING IN APRIL THROUGH SEPTEMBER.AND THEN THE THIRD CYCLE WILL OPEN NEXT JULY, AGAIN FOR EVENTS OCTOBER THROUGH MARCH.
SO THIS ONE WE'RE TRYING TO GET IN THE RHYTHM OF THIS IS WHEN IT WILL ALWAYS HAPPEN.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO RESPOND TO COMMENTS WE HEAR FROM YOU ALL FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, AS WELL AS INTERNAL, UM, ADJUSTMENTS AROUND OUR TIMELINES.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS THE GOAL, UH, FOR NEXUS.
AGAIN, IT'S ONLY 50 AWARDS FOR EACH CYCLE.
SO HIGHLY ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY MEMBERS IF YOU APPLY FOR THE FIRST CYCLE AND DON'T GET IT.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED AND APPLY FOR THE SECOND ONE.
UM, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO ALSO FIGURE OUT INTERNALLY HOW WE CAN STREAMLINE THE APPLICATION.
SO MAYBE THEY DON'T HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN SINCE IT IS THE SAME QUESTIONS EVERY TIME FOR NEXUS.
SO WORKING ON THAT, MAYBE WE'LL HAVE BETTER NEWS AROUND THAT CLOSER TO JANUARY.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE AIMING FOR.
UM, AND THEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS WE'RE GETTING SO FAR IS IF YOU APPLIED FOR ELEVATE, CAN YOU ALSO APPLY FOR NEXUS? SO THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES, YOU CAN APPLY, UM, BUT IF YOU END UP RECEIVING ELEVATE, YOUR NEXUS APPLICATION WILL BASICALLY BE THROWN OUT.
UM, YOU COULD ALSO WAIT UNTIL THE WEEK OF JULY 25TH TO START YOUR NEXUS APPLICATION BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN WE'RE SENDING OUT LETTERS OR EMAILS, I GUESS, UM, ANNOUNCEMENTS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW IF THEY'RE GOING TO THE FULL PANEL OR NOT.
SO YOU'LL KNOW IF YOU'RE DEFINITELY OUT BY THAT WEEK OF JULY 25TH.
AND THEN OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST IS TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.
UM, WE ALSO, ON JULY 11TH, WE LAUNCHED A PROGRAM, UH, WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS DIVISION IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE ARTIST CAREER TRAINING PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO THAT'S A SIX WEEK BUSINESS TRAINING, UM, THROUGH THE END OF OCTOBER.
UM, AND IT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE BUSINESS PLANNING, MARKETING FUNDING, UM, AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING FOR PROFESSIONALS FROM ALL ARTISTIC DISCIPLINES TO APPLY.
AND THEN 24 CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
UM, AND SO THAT DEADLINE IS AUGUST 15TH AND THEY ACTUALLY HAVE AN INFO SESSION THIS WEEK, THIS WEDNESDAY FROM SIX TO EIGHT.
AND SO IT'S AT THE E D D OFFICES, UM, ON BEN WHITE.
AND SO YOU CAN RSVP PROBABLY JUST THROW UP, SHOW UP, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE RSVPING, UM, WITH THE LINK THAT'S GOING TO BE POSTED.
UH, AND THE, THE WEBSITE IS UP AT THE TOP FOR THIS ONE.
AND THEN ALSO COMING SOON, UM, IS THE ARTS EDUCATION GRANTS.
AND ANNE-MARIE SHARED INFO ABOUT THIS ONE A FEW MONTHS AGO, BUT IT IS OPENING ON AUGUST 8TH, UH, AT 10 IN THE MORNING.
UH, AND SO THIS IS A $25,000 FLAT GRANT THAT WILL GO TO 19, UM, ARTS EDUCATION NONPROFITS.
AND SO THESE ARE FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE NEA THROUGH THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, UM, FOR SUB GRANTING.
UH, MIND POP IS OUR COMMUNITY PARTNER, AND SO WE'LL BE UPDATING THE WEBSITE WITH DIFFERENT INFO SESSIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT THEY'LL BE HOSTING.
UM, AGAIN, AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL HAPPEN BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER FOR THIS PROGRAM.
AND WITH THAT, I THINK THAT'S EVERYTHING.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS FOR YOU ALL.
THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
THAT WAS A LOT
UM, COMMISSIONER GRAY, MY BUTTON IS SLOW.
UH, I JUST FOUND IT REALLY FASCINATING THAT THE BUDGETS DIVIDED ALL THE, NOT THE 5 0 1 C THREE S INTO EQUAL PIES JUST AS LOOKING ACROSS THE CITY.
AM I LOOKING AT THAT WRONG? YOU'RE NOT LOOKING AT IT WRONG.
BUT WE CREATED, WE DIDN'T SAY, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA SAY LARGE BUDGETS ARE 150,000 AND ABOVE.
WE LOOKED AT THE POOL AND THEN FIGURED OUT THE, OKAY, WE NEED AROUND 61 FOR EACH, FOR EACH SECTION.
HOW CAN YOU DO THAT? I HAVE TO BE FIGURING, I'M LOOKING AT THIS REALLY STRANGE BECAUSE THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THIS.
AND, AND ALSO JUST IN LOOKING AT THE NEXUS BREAKDOWN AND THE DETAILS OF APPLICATION ONLINE IS AMAZING.
I MEAN, THAT JUST LOOKS LIKE SO MUCH HELP AND EVERYTHING IS JUST RIGHT THERE.
UH, CURIOUS, UM, WHEN DID THE HELPLINE OR HELP EMAIL MOVE FROM LONG CENTER TO CITY OF AUSTIN? SO IT'S DEPENDENT UPON WHAT PROGRAM IS OUR PRIMARY
[01:35:01]
ASSISTING BODY.SO THE LONG CENTER IS STILL ASSISTING US WITH ALL OF OUR HOT PROGRAMS. UM, SO FOR THRIVE, FOR THE, FOR THE PAYMENTS FOR NEXUS, THEY'LL BE DOING THE PAYMENTS TO STREAMLINE AND SIMPLIFY THINGS.
THEY'RE GONNA BE RUNNING THE WEBINARS AND THEY HELPED WITH THE ELIGIBILITY REVIEW.
THEY'RE, THEY WILL DO THE FUNDING, UM, THE GRANTS FOR THAT AS WELL.
SO THEY'RE KIND OF THE PRIMARY FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THINGS.
AND THEN FOR THE ACTUAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR APPLICATION SUPPORT MM-HMM.
AND WE REALLY WANT TO BE MORE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S WHY ALMOST REAL THINGS IS SUPPORTING NEXUS.
CUZ THEIR PRIMARY AUDIENCE IS INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
UM, THEY HAVE SPANISH SPEAKING RIGHT ASSISTANTS, ASL ASSISTANTS AS ASSISTANCE AS WELL.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY JUST TRYING TO, UM, WORK WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS MAKES MIND POP, THEY'RE OUR ARTS EDUCATION PARTNER FOR THE CREATIVE LEARNING INITIATIVE ALREADY MM-HMM.
SO IT MADE SENSE TO PARTNER WITH THEM SINCE THEY'RE ALREADY IN THAT SPACE.
NO, I'M JUST, I'M JUST THINKING BACK A FEW, A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN THE ASSISTANCE THE GOT THE APPLICATION ASSISTANCE WAS LISTED AS LONG CENTER ON ELEVATE, AND I'VE NOTICED IT'S BEEN CHANGED AND I WAS JUST WONDERING WHEN THAT WAS CHANGED, IF IT WAS IN MID ELEVATE OR AFTER ELEVATE AND LOOKING FORWARD, OR, IT'S NOT A MAJOR QUESTION, BUT JUST WONDER WHAT THE THOUGHT WAS THERE.
I THINK WE ALWAYS HAD THEM LISTED BECAUSE IT, THEY'RE A KNOWN PARTNER FOR US MM-HMM.
UM, AND AS WE STARTED GETTING THE VOLUME OF EMAILS THAT WE EXPECTED TO BE GETTING FOR ELEVATE, WE WERE TRYING TO, TO SHARE, SHARE THE LOAD WITH THE REST OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
UH, SPECIFICALLY SOME OF THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS.
DID YOU GET ANY COMPLAINTS THAT PEOPLE WERE NOT HEARING BACK FROM THAT ORIGINAL LONG CENTER EMAIL OF APPLICATION ASSISTANCE? I PERSONALLY HAVEN'T, NO.
I, I FIRST WANTED JUST TO THANK THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND EVERYONE WHO TOOK TIME TO COME AND, UH, THE INDIVIDUALS WHO SPOKE IN SPANISH.
I THINK THAT TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE, UH, TO COME INTO THIS SPACE.
AND I FEEL REALLY COMPELLED TO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
SO I'M GONNA START OFF WITH JUST ASKING, UM, FOR THOSE THREE DAYS THAT THE APPLICATION WAS EXTENDED, UH, WHAT WAS THE PARTICIPATION RATE AND O ON THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL IMPLEMENTED? SO I THINK THAT'S JUST REALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW.
SO IF YOU HAVE THAT DATA, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
SO LIKE THE THREE DROP-IN SESSIONS, HOW MANY PEOPLE SHOWED UP? UH, ESSENTIALLY WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS YOU EXTENDED THE THREE DAYS AND WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THAT? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I DON'T HAVE THE DATA FOR THOSE SPECIFIC DAYS AS FAR AS WHO CONTACTED US.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF THE JESUS'S BEHIND ME HAVE IT BROKEN DOWN BY DAYS YET.
I, I GOT THE TOTAL NUMBER, UM, THAT I INCLUDED IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THOSE SPECIFIC DAYS.
I KNOW WE HAD SOME INTERNAL STAFF MEMBERS, UM, THAT WORKED WITH SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT, THAT WERE HERE, UM, EARLIER FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THEY WORKED WITH THAT PERSON FOR, FOR MANY, FOR SEVERAL HOURS OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROCESS.
I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S GREAT, BUT I THINK FOR ME IT'S ABOUT MEASURING WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE DRIVING THE TYPE OF OUTCOME WE NEED.
SO MEASURING THAT, SO FOR ME, IT'S NOT LIKE ENOUGH TO SAY WE IMPLEMENTED A, B, OR C IF WE DON'T HAVE, UH, THE RESULTS OF THAT.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE LIKE, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, ALSO THE 263 APPLICATIONS, HOW MANY OF THOSE WERE SPANISH APPLICATIONS? OUT OF THOSE? WE HAD FOUR THAT WERE SUBMITTED IN SPANISH.
UH, AND THERE WERE SEVERAL THAT, UM, WE KNOW THAT THEY MIGHT IDENTIFY THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE OR THEIR LANGUAGE AT HOME AS SPANISH, BUT THEY SUBMITTED IN ENGLISH.
AND THEN, SINCE WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE LATINO COMMUNITY, LATINO ARTS ARE ONE OF THE MOST VULNERABLE DEMOGRAPHICS IN THE CULTURAL ARTS, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT EFFORTS OR WHAT BUILDING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS OR HAVING A COMMUNITY AMPLIFIER THAT IS LATINO LED, WHERE ARE WE AT WITH THAT? I'D SAY WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF THAT.
I THINK IT IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, ELEVATE, UM, MADE SOME OF THE SHORTCOMINGS OF OUR SYSTEM ABUNDANTLY CLEAR, UM, AND ELEVATED IT TO THE, ELEVATED IT TO THE POINT WHERE, UH, WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING.
WE, WE DIDN'T, UNFORTUNATELY HAVE THE TIME TO HAVE A LONGER EXTENSION WITHOUT IMPACTING ALL OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE KIND OF HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT STAFF IS WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR
[01:40:01]
COMMS TEAM, WITH OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS SUPPORT TEAM.WE'RE REVIEWING THE TRANSLATION THAT WE SEND ALL OF OUR MATERIALS TO MM-HMM.
UM, SO WE HAVE CERTAIN TRANSLATORS THAT THE CITY WORKS WITH FOR, FOR EVERYTHING.
UM, AND CLEARLY THERE'S, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S NOT WORKING RIGHT, RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, I, WHILE WE HAVEN'T, UM, WE DON'T HAVE A CONTRACT WITH A COMMUNITY AMPLIFIER THAT IS A LATINO RUN OR LATINO RUN ORGANIZATION, UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO EVEN AS, AS FAR AS TODAY.
UM, BECAUSE WE NEED TO DO A, A REALLY DEEP AUDIT OF OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES, OUR WRAPAROUND SERVICES, BECAUSE IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST TRANSLATE SOMETHING, PUT IT ON THE WEBSITE AND SAY, LOOK, WE DID A THING, AREN'T WE BEING EQUITABLE? AND SO I I AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT THAT WE ARE NOT THERE YET.
UM, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT WERE IN THE ROOM TODAY DOING THE PUBLIC COMMENT TO KIND OF MOVE TOWARD THOSE GOALS AND SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY.
SO RIGHT NOW, I, I JUST WENT TO THE NEXUS PAGE AND, UH, THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMUNITY AMPLIFIER, ALMOST THINGS, IT'S ALL LISTED, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE NO GRANT WRITING, IN THE NO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO THERE'S NOTHING HERE THAT SAYS THAT THERE WILL BE SPANISH SPEAKERS OR TRANSLATORS.
AND I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN KNOWING IF THOSE WORKSHOPS, LIKE THE BUDGET TEMPLATE, THE GRANT WRITING, UH, WILL THOSE FORMS BE IN SPANISH AS WELL? WHAT DOES ALL THAT LOOK LIKE? YES, THE FORMS SHOULD ALL BE IN SPANISH ALREADY.
ACTUALLY, THEY WERE SENT TO TRANSLATION.
UM, I'M SURPRISED THAT WE DON'T, I GUESS IT'S JUST ON OUR WEBSITE THAT WE DON'T HAVE WHO IS GOING TO BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR IN SPANISH ASSISTANCE, BUT ON THE ALMOST REAL THINGS WEBSITE, IF YOU GO TO THEIR WEBSITE FOR COMMUNITY AMPLIFIER, IT HAS, UM, THERE'S A RIGHT, BUT IF YOU'RE A SPANISH SPEAKER, YOU'RE NOT GONNA END UP AT ALMOST REAL THINGS.
YOU'RE GONNA GO TO THE NEXUS LANDING PAGE FOR CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO THAT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED TO SHOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE SPANISH SPEAKING, UH, SERVICES OR PROGRAMMING AT THE WORKSHOPS THAT ALMOST REAL THINGS IS HAVING.
THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.
WE'LL MAKE THAT CHANGE TOMORROW.
AND, UH, FOR THE PANEL MEETINGS, UH, I NOTICED THAT THE TIME IS LIKE NINE TO FOUR.
I SAT, UH, THROUGH THOSE PANEL MEETINGS FOR THE, UH, ELEVATE AND THEY'RE REALLY LONG
SO I'M INTERESTED IN KNOWING, IS THERE ACTUAL SCHEDULE OF THE TIME RANGES OR SLOTS THAT ORGANIZATIONS, UH, WILL BE, BE REVIEWED SO THAT THEY KNOW WHEN TO HOP ON? YES, WE'LL BE POSTING THAT CLOSER TO THE ACTUAL MEETING DAYS.
UM, SO I WOULD SAY AT LEAST TWO WEEKS OUT, OR AT LEAST A WEEK OUT FOR THE NONPROFITS, UM, WE'LL HAVE THAT SCHEDULE OUT.
WILL THE PANEL MEETINGS BE RECORDED THIS TIME AND RELEASED IN A TIMELY MANNER? YES, THEY WILL BE.
AND IN CASE ANYBODY WAS INCLINED, THE THRIVE PANELS, UM, ARE ON THE THRIVE WEBSITE AS WELL.
AND THEN ONE LAST QUESTION, UM, FOR THE REVIEW OF THE SPANISH APPLICATIONS, UH, WILL THOSE WHO WILL BE REVIEWING THOSE? SO THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY IS THE FOUR SPANISH APPLICATIONS, UM, OUR DOWNLOADED SENT TO TRANSLATION, AND THEN THEY COME BACK TO US IN ENGLISH AND WE GIVE THEM TO THE REVIEWERS IN ENGLISH, AND THEN THEY REVIEW THEM, SCORE THEM, MAKE COMMENTS, AND THEN THOSE COMMENTS WILL BE TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH AND PUT INTO THE APPLICANT'S PORTAL FORM SO THEY CAN REVIEW IT IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE.
UM, SO MS. LAURA, THIS IS NOT EASY.
UM, BUT FOR ALL THIS YEARS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE ADDRESS, UM, THE SPANISH SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE ISSUE IN, IN THE APPLICATION OF CULTURAL ARTS, UH, FUNDING.
SO, DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHEN WE WERE DOING RECOVERY PROGRAMS, THE APPLICATIONS AND EVERYTHING, IT WAS IN ALL NINE LANGUAGES THAT THE CITY HAS, UM, IDENTIFIED AS BEING A NEED.
AND SO WE, THE APPLICATIONS WERE IN SUBMITTABLE FOR MOST OF THOSE.
UM, BUT THE APPLICATION WAS TRANSLATED COMPLETELY INTO ARABIC, SPANISH, SIMPLIFIED CHINESE, ET CETERA.
UM, AND SO FOLKS COULD APPLY IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE WHERE IT WAS EASIER FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IT WAS BECAUSE IT WAS A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION.
SO ALMOST ALL OF THE QUESTIONS WERE MULTIPLE CHOICE,
[01:45:01]
AND THAT'S HOW SCORE WAS DETERMINED BASED ON DID THEY SELECT A, B, C, OR D.IT WASN'T THAT THEY, THERE NEEDED TO BE A NARRATIVE OR THERE NEEDED TO BE A BUDGET OR LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION.
SO THAT WAS FOR EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDING IS WHEN WE STARTED DOING THINGS IN ALL LANGUAGES AS A CITY AND AS A DEPARTMENT.
WE'VE PRIORITIZED SPANISH AT THE VERY LEAST FOR ALL APPLICATIONS MOVING FORWARD.
AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH WHAT THAT MEANS IN, IN ALL STAGES OF THE PROCESS.
UM, SO WE MADE A COMMITMENT TO DO THIS THING AND IT'S, IT'S PAINFUL RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT WE'RE TRYING, WELL, I, I, I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, VERY HIGH LEARNING CURVE RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, A LOT OF IT IS THE, IS THE LAWS IN TRANSLATION, UM, HOW SHOULD I PUT IT? I'M KIND OF DISAPPOINTED, ESPECIALLY IN TEXAS, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO, TO DO A BETTER JOB, ESPECIALLY IN SPANISH SPEAKING, UH, TRANSLATION.
SO I AM JUST SO HAPPY THAT YOU ADMIT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CHALLENGES THAT YOU ARE, UH, MAKING AN EFFORT TO ADDRESS THAT, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT I CERTAINLY, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND YOU'RE IN A VERY HIGH LEARNING, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME, BUT, UM, YEAH, WE, WE SHOULD EXPECT OURSELVES TO DO BETTER.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER CHI LIGI? IS THERE A PLAN TO BRING A TRANSLATOR ONTO STAFF RATHER THAN SOURCING THESE OUTSIDE? SO WE DO HAVE, SO FOR THE CITY, WE HAVE, UM, A PROCESS TO GET SPANISH LANGUAGE OR WHATEVER LANGUAGE CERTIFIED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE BILINGUAL PAY.
UM, WE ONLY HAVE ONE STAFF MEMBER THAT HAS RECEIVED CERTIFICATION FROM THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION.
I THINK WE HAVE FOUR OR FIVE TOTAL IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO, TO IMPROVE ON, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHO WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
SEEMS AS THOUGH BEING A STAFF MEMBER THAT'S CERTIFIED BILINGUAL IS STILL VERY DIFFERENT THAN A TRANSLATOR POSITION.
AND THAT, THAT MAY BE A NOTE FOR US IN OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO CREATE SUPPORTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STAFF.
UH, BEING THAT THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY PRONOUNCED PROBLEM.
UM, I, I HAVE TO EXPRESS A BIT OF CONCERN.
WHILE THE PROCESS FOR THE SPANISH APPLICATIONS SEEMS THOROUGH, WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IS THAT THE TRANSLATION SERVICES THAT WE HAVE ARE NOT QUITE UP TO SNUFF.
HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT THOSE, THE APPLICANTS, THE APPLICATIONS IN SPANISH ARE ACCURATE? IS THERE, IS THERE A STEP THAT THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE SPANISH APPLICATIONS CAN BE SIGNED OFF ON BY SOME PARTY OF THE APPLICANTS? MY, MY, DO YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING HERE IS LIKE WORD, CHOICE, NUANCE, SYNTAX, ALL THE COMPELLING THINGS THAT MAKE, UM, APPLICATIONS COMPETITIVE.
THAT SEEMS LIKE A VULNERABILITY HERE FOR OUR SPANISH APPLICATIONS.
UM, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FLUENT SPANISH SPEAKING PANELISTS TO REVIEW THE ENG THE APPLICATIONS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH? IF WE HAVE THAT CAPABILITY? I JUST WANNA KNOW HOW IS THERE, HOW CAN WE ASSURE THE APPLICANTS THAT THEY'RE BEING FAIRLY ASSESSED BASED ON WHAT THEY'RE SUBMITTING AND NOT WHAT A SUBPAR, UM, TRANSLATION MAY CONVEY? BECAUSE WE HAVE COLLEGIATE, PH, PHD LEVEL APPLICANTS AND IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE THAT ARE THEN TRANSLATED TO A RUDIMENTARY VERSION OF WHAT THEY'VE SUBMITTED.
UM, IT'S NOT A PERFECT SYSTEM RIGHT NOW.
IT'S SOMETHING WE TALKED ABOUT AS FAR AS LOOKING THROUGH PANELISTS AND SEEING WHO IDENTIFIED SPANISH AS ONE OF THEIR LANGUAGES.
AGAIN, IT'S TRICKY BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW THE LEVEL OF SPANISH.
SPEAKING OF THE PANELISTS THAT SAID THAT, UM, NOR DID WE PROVIDE A RUBRIC IN SPANISH FOR THE PANELIST TRAININGS.
SO IT GETS A LITTLE BIT, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF NUANCE LOST ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT, I THINK.
UM, BUT HAPPY TO TAKE THAT UNDER ADVISEMENT AND KEEP LOOKING FOR A BETTER SOLUTION.
[01:50:01]
YEAH, I THINK IT, IT'S, IT'S OBVIOUSLY AN ITERATIVE PROCESS THAT WILL ONLY IMPROVE WITH EACH, UM, WITH EACH RUN OF THESE PROGRAMS. BUT, UM, TO COMMISSIONER M'S.POINT, THIS IS TEXAS AND WE NEED TO, AS A CITY, NOT CAD RIGHT, NOT EXCLUSIVELY EDD, BUT AS A CITY, NEED TO BEAR THE ONUS OF OUR POPULATION.
UM, YEAH, I I, I, I WONDER WHAT CAN BE DONE.
I UNDERSTAND WE'RE WORKING WITHIN TIME CONSTRAINTS, BUT WITH ALL THAT THESE APPLICANTS HAVE EXPERIENCED THUS FAR, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK IT'S ONLY FAIR TO RELEASE TO THEM THE TRANSLATIONS THAT ARE BEING SUBMITTED, AND IF THERE IS AN APPEAL PROCESS, UM, THAT, THAT BE MADE VERY CLEAR FOR THEM BECAUSE THEIR APPLICATIONS ARE A VERY, VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL APPLICATION SUBMITTED.
AND IF THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING ACCURATELY REPRESENTED BY THOSE TRANSLATIONS, THEN IT IS MORE THAN FAIR FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO APPEAL THAT.
SO THERE IS AN APPEALS PROCESS THAT'S POSTED IN THE, UM, ADDITIONAL PROGRAM DETAILS DOCUMENT? UM, YES.
YOU KNOW, JUST WITH WITH TIME, YOU KNOW, LIKE I GET AWARDS ARE ANNOUNCED, SO IF THIS IS WHAT'S THE, UM, THE, THE OVERLAY THERE MM-HMM.
UM, BUT IF NOT, THERE NEEDS TO BE A, A FAIR OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO CONTEST IT BEFORE THOSE AWARDS ARE ANNOUNCED AND SCORED.
JUST MY 2 CENTS THERE, UM, I WANNA STAY ON THE PROGRAMS ELE, ELEVATE AND NEXUS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE, THE SUPPLEMENTAL PROGRAMS THAT WERE ANNOUNCED, WHICH I THINK ARE ALSO VERY EXCITING.
CAN I JUST QUICKLY RESPOND? YES.
UM, STAFF SAID THAT THERE WERE 122 PEOPLE THAT WERE HELPED DURING THE DEADLINE EXTENSION.
UM, AND I DON'T THINK, UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T THINK WE TRACKED WHO OF THOSE 122 RECEIVED ASSISTANCE IN SPANISH VERSUS IN ENGLISH.
UM, FOR THE APPLICATIONS, ARE THOSE, IS THERE LIKE A FO FOCUS GROUP OR A TEST RUN FOR, FOR SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY WOULD BE USING THE APPLICATION, UM, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE FEEDBACK BEFORE THE APPLICATION IS RELEASED? I MEAN, I'M JUST THINKING, UH, WHERE I WORK WHEN WE LAUNCH NEW PLATFORMS, I MEAN, THERE'S A PILOT, THERE'S A TEST WHERE IT'S VERY HANDS-ON.
UM, I THINK WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TEST, UM, INTERNALLY RIGHT BEFORE A PROGRAM LAUNCHES, WHICH I KNOW IS NOT ENOUGH.
UM, THE SYSTEM THAT WE'VE BEEN, UM, GIVEN TO WORK WITH FOR, FOR THESE PILOT PROGRAMS IS KIND OF BEING BUILT ALONG AND MAKING CHANGES AS WE GO.
SO IT'S TRICKY TO GET, UM, USER, LIKE ACTUAL USER FEEDBACK, UM, UNTIL AFTER THE FACT.
SO WE'VE DEVELOPED A SURVEY, I KNOW WHICH, YOU KNOW, ISN'T IDEAL, BUT WE HAVE A PRETTY SIMPLE SURVEY THAT'LL BE ON, UM, IT'S JUST A FORMS AND IT'LL BE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, ASKING FOR FEEDBACK ABOUT THE APPLICATION SYSTEM ITSELF.
UM, AS FAR AS HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO LOG IN OR NOT, HOW IT WAS TO UPLOAD, UM, SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS, HOW IT WAS FOR SAVING THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF FEEDBACK, UM, EMAILS, PHONE CALLS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND WE'RE KEEPING TRACK OF ALL OF THE, UM, THE ISSUES FOLKS ARE FACING.
UM, BUT WE, WE REALLY NEED TO GET THAT SURVEY OUT QUICKLY SO IT'S STILL FRESH IN PEOPLE'S MINDS BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE WERE 700 SOME STARTED AND ONLY 400 SUBMITTED.
AND SO I THINK THAT SAYS SOMETHING AS WELL.
YEAH, I THINK, UH, AS, UH, A DEBRIEF AT THE END OF THE THREE, UH, APPLICATIONS GOING OUT AND GETTING THROUGH THAT, I THINK A DEBRIEF INDICATING, UH, ALL THE FEEDBACK AND THEN ACTUALLY MAPPING OUT WHAT, WHAT THE SOLUTIONS ARE MM-HMM.
I THINK THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT IN, IN SAYING THAT THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM.
CUZ YES, WE WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT'S TRIAL AND ERROR.
I MEAN, LEARNING CURVES, ALL THOSE THINGS.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL THOSE THINGS, UH, FOR THEM TO BE WORTH IT IS FOR US TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO SHOW THE COMMUNITY WHAT THE CHANGES ARE GONNA BE.
[01:55:01]
COMMISSIONER MOCK.YES, I, I WANT TO ECHO, UM, COMMISSIONER'S, UM, SENTIMENT, BUT I CAN ALSO FEEL YOUR PAINT AND I HAVE NO DOUBT, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT THE STAFF IS TRYING, YOU KNOW, BUT TRYING IS NOT ENOUGH.
SO I THINK AS WE ARE GOING THROUGH THIS JOURNEY, UH, I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE VERY GOOD NOTES AND, UM, ADVICE, YOU KNOW, FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS AND, AND, AND, UH, GET A, A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THIS WHOLE PROCESS AND TAKE IT TO THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, ONE AND MAKE IT BETTER.
AND I, I DO APPRECIATE YOUR TRYING.
THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT, COMMISSIONER.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY, I THINK INTERNALLY WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IS HIRING SOMEONE TO COME ON BOARD TO DO AN EVALUATION OF EVERYTHING.
UM, THAT'S NOT INTERNAL, THAT'S NOT US DOING A SURVEY OR COMPILING ALL OF THE EMAILS THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM FOLKS, BUT ACTUALLY HAVING SOME KIND OF OUT OUTSIDE PERSON DOING AN EVALUATION OF ALL EDDS PROGRAMS AND SPECIFICALLY THE HOT PROGRAMS. SO NOT JUST CAD, BUT MUSIC, UM, AND HERITAGE AS WELL.
UM, BECAUSE WE WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS WITH COMMUNITY TO GET TO THIS POINT WHERE WE HAVE THESE INCREDIBLE PROGRAMS AND AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE THROWING NEW PROGRAMS, WE'RE ALSO THROWING IN A NEW SYSTEM.
SO IT, IT IS, UM, IT HAS DEFINITELY COME TO A HEAD MORE THAN ONCE, UM, TO BE DOING ALL THE NEW THINGS AT THE SAME TIME WHILE WE ARE BUILDING IT.
BUT, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE EVALUATION AND LIKE STEPPING BACK AND MAKING IMPROVEMENTS.
YEAH, DEFINITELY DEEP, DEEP GRATITUDE FOR ALL OF THE WORK.
AND I HOPE THAT ALL OF STAFF CAN APPRECIATE THAT WE'RE COMING TO YOU GUYS WITH LOVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK.
UM, AND NOT TRYING TO DISREGARD AND IN ANY MEANS THE EFFORT AND BLOOD
UM, SOME OF US HAVE BEEN ON THE S FOR THAT DURATION AND HAVE REALLY WITNESSED FROM NOTHING WHAT THESE PROGRAMS HAVE COME TO, TO BE.
AND AS IMPERFECT AS THEY ARE, THEY ARE HERE.
AND I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I, UH, THE BETA IDEA.
ONE, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A IMMENSE SENSE OF URGENCY IN TERMS OF GETTING THESE PROGRAMS OUT.
SO THE, THIS LANGUAGE PERIOD FOR BETA, PROBABLY NOT A HIGH PRIORITY ITEM AS THE, THE PRESSURE TO GET MONEY IN HANDS, UH, LOOMED, BUT YOU'VE GOTTA DIES OF BETA.
UM, AND I EXTEND THAT TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION AS WELL.
CAUSE I I'VE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, ON THAT END THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY EXPERIENCED A LOT OF SIMILAR ISSUES OF JUST, JUST THE, THE STEEP, STEEP LEARNING CURVE THAT COMMISSIONER MOCK REFERENCED, UM, IN REGARDS TO LANGUAGE AND ALSO JUST THE QUESTIONS.
AND SO, UM, WHILE THE DASHBOARD MAY BE OFF AND RUNNING, UM, FOR THE NEXT ITERATION OF THESE PROGRAMS, BUT FOR THE QUESTIONS, IF THOSE ARE BEING REFINED, YES, THEY'RE PUBLIC ON THE WEBSITE FOR ANYBODY TO READ ONCE THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN LAUNCHED.
BUT IN TERMS OF CLARITY, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES, UH, AND THAT'S TO ALL OF OUR EDD PROGRAMS LIKE THESE, I FEEL LIKE THIS BODY, THESE BODIES, THESE COMMISSIONS ARE HERE TO SORT OF BE THAT MEMBRANE BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COMMUNITY, ALLOW US TO BE THAT FILTER AND THAT BETA SOURCE FOR THOSE QUESTIONS.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT, I THINK ANYBODY WHO'S LOOKING AT A DOCUMENT FOR LONG ENOUGH GOES BLIND TO IT.
AND SO HAVING CITY STAFF REVIEW A DASHBOARD THAT THEY CREATED, IT'S, IT'S INTUITIVE AND FLUENT AND, AND NATURAL IN THAT LANGUAGE, BUT FOR SOMEBODY SEEING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT MAY BE TOTALLY ABSTRACT.
SO, UM, USING THE, UH, THE TOOLS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE, WHICH, WHICH ARE US, LIKE I USE SUB BEUS, YOU GUYS ARE WORKING HARD ENOUGH.
UM, AND, AND I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, LIKE, I FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB IN THE RESPONSE AREA, LIKE FOR THRIVE, UM, IN PARTICULAR.
AND JUST AS WE'VE ROLLED OUT ANY PROGRAM THROUGH E D D, UM, IMPLEMENTING THE SHIFTING AND CHANGING THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU IN LIKE PRO, UM, ANY ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTED EITHER IN THE QUESTIONS OR IN THE PROCESS OR IN THE, THE PLATFORM.
LIKE, I KNOW I SEE YOU GUYS RESPONDING AND ACTING IN REAL TIME, SO I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE Y'ALL AND SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S NOT FALLING ON DEAF EARS, BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH OF A HUMAN BODY CAN ACCOMPLISH IN A DAY.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR SHOULDERING THE FEEDBACK THAT I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN RECEIVING.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING NEXUS
[02:00:01]
AND ELEVATE? AND THEN I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE OTHER FUN STUFF.COMMISSIONER, UH, CHARLA, PLEASE.
UH, HI LAURA, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.
YOU MENTIONED AN EVALUATOR, UH, WHO THAT, WHO IS THAT EVALUATOR GONNA BE FOR THE, UH, PROGRAMS? ALL THE PROGRAMS? WE HAVEN'T IDENTIFIED THAT YET.
I DON'T, I I CAN'T SHARE, I CAN'T SHARE THAT INFORMATION RIGHT NOW.
LOOKING FORWARD TO POTENTIALLY NEXT MONTH SHARING THAT INFORMATION.
SO, UM, WHAT IS THE PROCESS LIKE? IS THAT, IS THAT THROUGH AN RFP? IS THAT THROUGH A DIRECT, UH, LIKE A CONSULTANT HIRE? WHAT IS THAT GONNA LOOK LIKE? TO BE FAIR, WE'RE IN THE VERY EARLY STAGES OF IT RIGHT NOW IN MANAGEMENT.
WE'RE JUST HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT THE NEED IS AND IF IT MAKES SENSE BOTH FOR THE SAME PERSON TO DO OR THE SAME GROUP TO DO BOTH A HOLISTIC ALL E D PROGRAMS OR JUST FOCUSED ON HOT FUNDED PROGRAMS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THE CULTURAL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS.
SO WE'RE STILL TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE TO MOVE FORWARD.
UM, AND ONCE WE KIND OF FIGURE OUT INTERNALLY WHAT WHAT WE THINK MAKES THE MOST SENSE, WE'LL SHARE THAT WITH ALL OF THE COMMISSIONS.
UM, USUALLY THE TRADITIONAL PROCESS IS SOME KIND OF R F Q OR R F P, UM, THAT WOULD BE POSTED.
SO WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED ABOUT THAT AS WE KNOW.
SINCE THE LONG CENTER IS INVOLVED, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE? I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT, UH, IS UH, WHAT IS THE NATURE OF, UH, FEEDBACK IN THAT CONTEXT LOOK LIKE? BECAUSE I THINK IF THEY'RE EVALUATING, UM, THE, ALL THE APPLICATIONS, UH, THEN, UH, I THINK, OR OR REVIEWING, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, ALL THE APPLICATIONS THAT ARE COMING IN THERE MUST, IS THERE A GOOD FEEDBACK LOOP FROM THEM AS WELL? UH, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST COMMENTING ON HOW, HOW THINGS ARE LOOKING? I THINK, I THINK THEY'RE A GREAT PARTNER FOR THE ADMINISTRATION PART OF IT, BUT THEY ARE NOT MAKING THE DECISIONS FOR WHO'S RECEIVING THE GRANTS FOR EVERYONE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT MAKES THIS THE MOST SENSE FOR THEM TO BE KIND OF THE OUTSIDE PARTY LOOKING IN AND DOING AN EVALUATION.
BUT THEY WOULD DEFINITELY BE SOMEBODY THAT WOULD BE TALKED TO, FEEDBACK WOULD BE RECEIVED FROM THEM, UM, AS FAR AS PAYMENTS AND, AND EVALUATION AND EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE THREE HOT FUNDED DIVISIONS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PILOT PROGRAMS? NO.
ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE UPCOMING PROGRAMS, THE EDUCATION GRANT FROM THE NEA OR THE ARTIST CAREER TRAINING? UM, I HAVE A QUESTION.
HOW DOES THAT IMPACT ELIGIBILITY? CAN SOMEBODY WHO'S RECEIVED THRIVE OR ELEVATE OR NEXUS APPLY FOR THOSE GRANTS? THEY CAN.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THE GUIDELINES IN FRONT OF ME, BUT THE FUNDS ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ARTS EDUCATION ACTIVITIES AND 50% OF THAT AWARD HAS TO GO DIRECTLY TO TEACHING ARTISTS.
UM, SO A LOT OF TIMES ORGANIZATIONS THAT RECEIVE FUNDING FROM US, THE ARTS EDUCATION COMPONENT CANNOT BE FUNDED BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE THE TOURISM, UH, PUBLIC FACING ACTIVITY COMPONENT.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE HAD APPLIED FOR THESE FUNDS FROM THE NEA TO KIND OF FILL THAT GAP OF LIKE, HERE'S ANOTHER GROUP IN OUR ECOSYSTEM THAT CAN'T ACCESS, UM, OUR NORMAL CULTURAL ARTS FUND AWARDS BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE WORK.
UM, SO IT IS POSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO RECEIVE AN ELEVATE GRANT AND AN ARTS EDUCATION GRANT, BUT IT'S TWO VERY DISTINCT SEPARATE BODIES OF WORK.
AND MY FOLLOW UP QUESTION IS, IS THERE A CLEAR DEFINITION OF ARTISTS AS IT RELATES TO AGE RANGE? BECAUSE IF WE'RE TEACHING YOUNG ARTISTS AND WE HAVE YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT WOULD FOSTER THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARTISTS IN AUSTIN, WOULD THEY THEN BE ELIGIBLE? YES.
SO I THINK IT'S ON, UM, ONE OF THESE SLIDES, BUT IT'S, I THINK PRIORITY IS GIVEN TO EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH 18 YEARS OLD.
UM, SO, SO ARTS GROUPS THAT ARE DOING EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH 18 ARE GONNA RECEIVE MORE POINTS THAN SOMEONE THAT IS DOING AN ADULT CLASS, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO THAT'S GREAT NEWS FOR FOLKS THAT WERE HERE EARLIER.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, I WILL STOP HOGGING THE MIC.
ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THESE PROGRAMS? NO, I WOULD JUST HOPE THAT WE CAN SORT OF PARLAY ALL OF THE CONVERSATION AROUND LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION TO THE, THESE APPLICATIONS AS WELL.
THESE ARE BEING FACILITATED BY CULTURE ARTS DIVISION? YES.
SO FOR ARTS ED, WE'RE WORKING WITH MIND POP AND THEY'LL BE, UM, MOSTLY AMPLIFYING THE MESSAGE AND HOSTING THE ACTUAL WORKSHOPS THEMSELVES WITH, WITH, UM, CITY STAFF.
ANNE-MARIE IS THE ONE THAT'S THE PRIMARY FOR ARTS ED.
[02:05:01]
UM, BUT THIS, THE APPLICATION ITSELF WILL BE IN THE APPLICATION PORTAL.THE MATERIALS ARE GOING TO TRANSLATION I THINK TOMORROW OKAY.
FOR THE GUIDELINES AND THE APPLICATION QUESTIONS AND, AND ALL OF THAT.
BUT FOR, FOR THIS ONE, SINCE IT IS ARPA FUNDED, IT IS MUCH SIMPLER FOR THE AMOUNT OF, UM, UPLOADS THAT THEY'LL HAVE TO INCLUDE IN THE APPLICATION.
I REMEMBER THE ARPA APPLICATIONS BEING VERY SIMPLIFIED, VERY SIMPLE.
THOSE ARE ALL OF MY QUESTIONS AND IT LOOKS LIKE I HAVE A STILL DIET, SO I'M GOING TO SAY THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH AND, AND THE PROGRESS.
[10. Staff briefing regarding the Creative Space Assistance Program by Kimberly McCarson, Music & Entertainment Division, Program Manager ]
UH, NEXT WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM BY KIMBERLY MCCARSON, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION PROGRAM MANAGER.BUT I SEE AN ES SO I HAVE A FEELING WE HAVE ERICA SHAMLEY WITH US TONIGHT.
HEY ERICA, WE CAN, YOU'RE A LITTLE LIGHT ON THE VOLUME.
UM, CITY STAFF, CAN WE BUMP HER UP? JUST PROJECT, USE YOUR THEATER VOICE INTO YOUR COMPUTER COURSE.
I AM THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
UH, KIM COULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT, SO I'M HAPPY TO PRESENT THIS UPDATE ON THE 2023 CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, WHICH WE HAVE FINISHED EVALUATING AND WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON AGREEMENTS NOW.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS, UH, TWO DATA DASHBOARDS ABOUT THE APPLICANTS AS WELL AS THE AWARDEES FOR THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND ALL.
UH, THIS DATA DASHBOARD BREAKS DOWN BY DEMOGRAPHIC AND BY DISTRICT WHERE, WHO AND WHERE THEY COME FROM.
AS YOU CAN SEE, EXCUSE ME, ALLERGIES ARE HITTING ME RIGHT NOW.
UH, THAT MAJORITY WHITE OR PREFER NOT TO ANSWER WITH 64% MAJORITY DIVERSE RACE OR ETHNICITY, 74% AND 12%, UH, EQUALLY LED BY WHITE AND DIVERSE RACE.
UH, SO THAT IS THE BREAKDOWN OF ALL 152 APPLICATIONS.
UH, WE WILL PUBLISH THIS DATA DASHBOARD SO THAT YOU CAN GO AND DRILL DOWN ON THE DIFFERENT ICONS FOR EACH DATA SET TO KIND OF DRILL DOWN INTO THAT PARTICULAR DATA FOR EACH SET.
UH, SO THAT WILL BE, UH, PUBLISHED THIS WEEK AND WE'LL LET YOU KNOW AND WE'LL SEND THAT OUT TO THE COMMISSIONS, BOTH THE MUSIC AND ARTS COMMISSIONS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE.
AND HERE WE SHOW AWARDED APPLICANTS IN ALL.
THERE WERE 65 AWARDED APPLICANTS, AND OF THAT THERE WERE 31 ARTS NONPROFITS, 10 FOR-PROFIT, LIVE MUSIC VENUES, EIGHT FOR-PROFIT MUSEUM AND ART GALLERIES, 15 FOR-PROFIT THEATER AND PERFORMANCE SPACES, AND 11 INDEPENDENT ARTISTS WITH ELIGIBLE COMMERCIAL STUDIO SPACES.
AND AGAIN, ON THE OTHER SIDE YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF AWARDEES, BOTH BY DEMOGRAPHICS AND BY DISTRICT.
AND WHEN THIS, UM, IS PUBLISHED ONLINE, YOU'LL BE ABLE AGAIN TO DRILL DOWN INTO EACH OF THESE DATA SETS, UH, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE APPLICANTS AS WELL AS THE AWARDEES.
UH, LIKE I SAID, UM, AGREEMENTS ARE, HAVE ALREADY BEEN SENT OUT TO THE AWARDEES.
WE'RE JUST WAITING TO GET THOSE SIGNED AND GET THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION BACK.
AND THEN WE WILL GET THE BALL ROLLING WITH PAYMENTS FOR EITHER RENT STIPENDS, LEASE HOLD IMPROVEMENTS, OR GAP FINANCING.
UM, THANK YOU AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR ERICA? I APOLOGIZE IF I MISSED THIS.
IS THERE A LIST ALREADY THAT'S BEEN RELEASED? THINK IT'S BEEN AND OUT? THAT WAS MY QUESTION.
WHEN YEAH, WE, UH, WE, WE'LL WORK WITH OUR COMMS TEAM TO DO A PRESS RELEASE TO RELEASE THE LIST.
ALL OF THE AWARDEES HA DO KNOW WHO OBVIOUSLY WHO THEY ARE.
AND SO WE ARE JUST WORKING WITH THE COMMS TEAM TO GET THAT NEXT PRESS RELEASE OUT.
UH, AND SO WE'LL BE SURE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, BOTH THE ARTS AND THE MUSIC COMMISSIONS HAVE LINKS TO THAT PRESS RELEASE, WHICH WILL BE PUBLISHED ONLINE AND IT WILL LIST ALL AWARDEES.
AND THEN JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY, WAS THERE ALSO AN APPEAL PROCESS MADE AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO WERE DENIED? FOR THIS PROGRAM ACT? WE DO NOT HAVE AN APPEAL PROCESS BECAUSE OUR EVALUATION PROCESS IS STRICTLY BASED ON A SCORING MECHANISM OF A MULTIPLE CHOICE ANSWER.
SO THERE'S NO SUBJECTIVITY WHATSOEVER AROUND THE SCORES, THEREFORE, WHO IS AWARDED, UH, YOU ANSWER THE QUESTIONS A, B, C, D, YOU PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION TO BACK THAT
[02:10:01]
UP.UH, AND SO BASICALLY THOSE POINTS ARE, ARE COUNTED UP AND THE LIST IS PUT INTO A QUEUE FROM THE HIGHEST SCORE TO THE LOWEST, AND WE JUST GO FROM THE HIGHEST TO THE LOWEST UNTIL THE MONEY IS FUND, UNTIL THE MONEY RUNS OUT.
UH, SO THE THERE IS, YOU KNOW, WE'LL WORK WITH SOMEONE JUST TO BE SURE THAT WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE TO US AS IN TERMS OF ELIGIBILITY.
UM, BUT IT'S A VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD APPLICATION OF MULTIPLE CHOICE ANSWERS WITH BACKUP.
SO NO EVALUATION IS NECESSARY IN TERMS, THERE'S, THERE'S NO SUBJECTIVITY.
IT IS, UH, YOU KIND OF EVEN KNOW WHAT SCORE YOU'LL GET BASED ON THE ANSWERS YOU PROVIDE.
UM, WAS THERE A CLEAR DEADLINE ON THE TIME OF DAY THAT THE APPLICATIONS WERE DUE? YES, THEY WERE DUE AT FIVE O'CLOCK, BUT IF YOU WERE IN LINE, IF, IF AN APPLICANT WAS IN LINE WITH ONE OF OUR TA PROVIDERS, EITHER THROUGH CITY STAFF OR THROUGH ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS, WE HELPED EVERYBODY ON THAT LIST UNTIL THEY WERE DONE WITH THEIR APPLICATION, IF THEY WERE IN THE QUEUE FOR ASSISTANCE.
SO IF YOU REACHED OUT TO US AFTER FIVE O'CLOCK, WE COULDN'T HELP YOU.
BUT IF YOU HAD REACHED OUT, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THAT TIME, UM, WE WORKED WITH YOU UNTIL THE APPLICATION WAS SUBMITTED.
SO AGREEMENTS, THEY'RE NOT ALL EXECUTED, BUT, UH, ALL, ALL, MOST RECIPIENTS, BECAUSE I THINK HIM ACTS SENT THEM ONE AT A TIME, THE WAY THAT WE ARE EXECUTING THEM.
SO SHE'S IN THE PROCESS OF SENDING THEM.
SHE HAS THEM ALL PREPARED, BUT SHE HAS TO SEND THEM ONE AT A TIME THROUGH ADOBE FOR THE SIGNATURES AND EVERYTHING.
SO WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
I JUST HAD A MEETING WITH HER THIS MORNING, AND SHE'S HOPEFUL TO GET THROUGH THAT ENTIRE LIST BY THE END OF THE WEEK.
SO THEY HAVE NOT BEEN SENT OUT TOTALLY YET THERE.
I JUST NEED, YOU KNOW, UH, WITH SUMMER AND VACATIONS MYSELF, I WAS JUST OFF FOR THREE DAYS.
I JUST NEED TO GET UP TO SPEED WITH EVERYBODY AND, UM, AS SOON AS WE KNOW, WE'LL LET YOU GUYS KNOW.
AND THEN WE JUST HAD A VERY ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT FEEDBACK, AND I'M CURIOUS, WHAT WAS YOUR GUYS' EXPERIENCE? UM, YOU CAN GIVE US THE EAGLE EYE VIEW.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET GRANULAR, BUT I'M SHARING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL UNDER THE EDD UMBRELLA.
WE'RE ALL ARTS, WE'RE ALL CULTURE.
IT IS DEFINITELY, WHEN WE THINK OF EQUITY AND WE WANNA SERVE THROUGH EQUITY, WE HAVE TO BE SURE THAT THE TOOLS THAT WE ARE USING ARE EQUITABLE.
AND SO WE ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUES WITH THE TOOL THAT WE'RE USING TO RECEIVE APPLICATIONS.
AND SO WE'RE JUST WORKING TOGETHER, WORKING WITH YOU, WITH COMMUNITY AND OUR APPLICANTS TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM, UH, WITH EACH NEW PROGRAM.
EVEN AS WE ARE LAUNCHING A PROGRAM DURING THE LAUNCH, WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE DAY TO DAY.
SO THE BEST THING, PLEASE REACH OUT TO US.
DON'T JUST ASSUME THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA MATTER.
WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU GUYS, FROM APPLICANTS, FROM COMMUNITY, ABOUT ANY ISSUES THAT THEY MAY BE HAVING WITH THE TOOL.
SO PLEASE KEEP AN OPEN LINE OF COMMUNICATION WITH US SO THAT WE CAN IMPROVE, UH, AND PROVIDE A MORE EQUITABLE TOOL TO, UH, YOU KNOW, APPLY FOR THESE PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE SO, SO NECESSARY TO THE SURVIVAL OF OUR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.
COMMISSIONERS THAT BACKUP WILL BE IN IT IS IN THE BACKUP? YES.
AND WE HAVE THEIR, UM, THEIR PRESENTATION.
UM, NON-SEC ARE JUST A BIT, BUT THE LIVE MUSIC GRANT IS THAT, CAN, IS THERE JUST A BRIEF UPDATE ON THAT, WHEN THAT WILL BE ANNOUNCED? I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE ALL IN THE SAME, WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME QUEUE IN TERMS OF PROCESSING, SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHERE Y'ALL ARE FALLING WITH THAT.
YEAH, SO ACTUALLY THE LONG CENTER, AGAIN, WE'RE USING THE SAME TYPE OF SCORING ME MECHANISM AS WE DO WITH, UH, THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AND THAT IT'S, IF YOU ANSWER A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION, PROVIDE BACKUP, IT'S A SCORE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
SO THE LONG CENTER IS GOING THROUGH AND TING THOSE SCORES AND THEN TRIPLE CHECKING THEIR WORK.
I THINK THEY'VE MADE ONE PASS OF ALL 660 APPLICANTS, AND THEY'RE GONNA GO THROUGH AND DO ANOTHER PASS.
SO WE'RE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT KIND OF Q HIGHEST TO LOWEST, UH, MAKING GREAT STRIDES.
WE DID GET STARTED A LITTLE BIT LATE, BUT THAT WAS JUST WITH GETTING THE LONG CENTER, YOU KNOW, UNDER CONTRACT, UP TO SPEED WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND THEY'RE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB IN
[02:15:01]
TERMS OF HOW QUICKLY THEY'RE EXECUTING, UH, SINCE THEY'VE HAD THE ABILITY TO START WORKING WITH US.AND SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH THAT.
UH, AND THEY'RE MAKING VERY GOOD TIME ON THE LIVE MUSIC FUND GRANTS.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE RESULTS OF BOTH OF THOSE.
I THINK WITH THAT, WE ARE SATISFIED.
[11. Discussion and Possible Action on the Live Music Venue and Creative Space definitions draft ordinance ]
UM, WITH THAT WE'RE TAKEN TO DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS, UM, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE AND CREATIVE SPACE DEFINITIONS.UM, I'M HOPING WE CAN GET A BIT OF AN UPDATE FROM THE FOLKS ON THAT WORKING GROUP.
UM, THERE WAS AN EMAIL FROM DONALD, OH, I FEEL TERRIBLE AT, I'M JUST, I CAN'T REMEMBER HIS LAST NAME, BUT HE DID SEND SOME BULLET POINTS, UM, AROUND TO US, UM, AROUND CLARIFICATION MM-HMM.
UM, THERE'S ALSO A BIT OF INFORMATION ON THE BACKUP.
I'M NOT DONALD JACKSON, DON JACKSON, I'M NOT SEEING ANY ENTHUSIASTIC VOLUNTEERS, UM, FROM OUR, OUR WORKING GROUP.
I DON'T KNOW IF I'D BE, I'M, I'M GOOD AT UPDATING IT.
I JUST KNOW WE'RE MOVING AND MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND, UM, NOT ONLY HERE, BUT IN THE MEETINGS HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT CREATIVE SPACE NEED AND ACTUALLY THE, THE WANT OF DEVELOPERS TO SEE THIS HAPPEN.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING THROUGH THE, THE WORKING GROUP, IS THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE ARTISTS THAT ARE TRYING TO GET THIS DONE.
SO IT'S COMING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS TO TRY TO GET THIS THROUGH THE CITY, THROUGH US, WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, AND, UH, TO ME IT'S EXCITING AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE DEVELOPERS ARE JUST AS MUCH, UH, WANTING IT TO SEE, MOVE AS FAST AS WE DO BECAUSE THEY GET THEIR THINGS DONE AS WELL.
AND ONE THING I DID LEARN JUST AS WELL AS, UH, WHEN DONNA WAS HERE IS, UH, UNLESS I'M MAKING THAT UP, NO, HE'S SPIT AT BOTH.
UM, THAT THE, THAT THE PARK LAND OR USE OF PARK AREA, THERE'S NO, WHY SHOULD THERE BE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MM-HMM.
WELL, WE HAVE SOME BACKUP, UM, OR SOME DOCUMENTATION IN OUR BACKUP.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE US ALL TO REVIEW IT AND THEN COME WITH QUESTIONS TO THE WORKING GROUP, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY, ARE ANY CLARIFICATION POINTS NEEDED.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR STAFF.
THERE WAS SOMETHING I NEGLECTED TO PUT UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION.
AND THAT IS OUR ANNUAL REVIEW.
SHE'S GOT IT PRINTED IT UP HERE.
UM, I KNOW IT'S NOT REQUIRED TO GET US TO VOTE ON IT, BUT WHEN IS IT DUE? IS IT END OF THE MONTH? END OF THE MONTH? YEAH.
SO SINCE IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA, AND WE CAN TAKE NO FORMAL ACTION, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST.
IF THERE ARE ANY POINTS OF CLARIFICATION, UM, DISCREPANCIES IDENTIFIED, LET'S COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH STAFF, BUT I WOULD SAY THUMBS UP FROM US, NONOFFICIAL, UNOFFICIALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS VERY DETAILED AND ROBUST, AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL PUTTING IT TOGETHER.
I THINK, DOES ANN MARIE DO THAT OR ARE YOU DOING THAT NOW? JESUS GROUP EFFORT.
UM, SO IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA.
OH, I'M JUST BACKING UP, SO I DON'T WANNA BE OH, OKAY.
UM, BUT YES, I THINK IF THERE'S ANY, ANYTHING NEEDED, WE CAN COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH STAFF, BUT I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, JESUS, REGARDING THE WHATEVER ACTION NEEDS TO BE TAKEN THERE.
I DIDN'T, AND IT'S ANNE CHARLOTTE THAT WOULD ANSWER THIS.
BACKING UP TO OH, OH, TO YOUR, OKAY.
THE, THE, UH, URBAN CORE, THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC URBAN CORE LAND USE WORKING GROUP.
THAT HAS EVERYBODY, IT'S IT BECAUSE IT LOOKS, IT'S DATED AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR SO LONG, THIS LETTER OF BEING APPROVED, WHETHER IT NEEDS TO BE APPROVED THROUGH THE US OR THE STATE OF WHERE IT IT'S AT.
I THINK I, THAT'S WHERE MY CONFUSION IS, AS WELL AS WHERE ARE WE OR NEED TO BE.
IS THAT A AND THEN CHARLOTTE OR ALL THAT'S KIND OF A, I FEEL LIKE I'M, I WISH HEIDI WERE HEIDI, WHERE ARE YOU? I KNOW HEIDI DID NOT MAKE IT TONIGHT.
I DO HAVE ISSUE TO MAKE HERE AS TO HAVE MY NAME REMOVED.
BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE BECAUSE I COULDN'T ATTEND THAT MEETING.
AND I ASKED TO HAVE MY NAME REMOVED IN MAY OKAY.
AND THEN I, I'M STILL HAVE MY NAME ON, ON THIS URBAN CALL ISSUES.
[02:20:01]
REMOVED A THOUSAND? APOLOGIES.COMMISSIONER MACH, DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF THIS LETTER? YES.
SO THERE IS A, UM, GOING BACK TO COMMISSIONER GRAY'S, UM, UH, DISCUSSION.
THIS IS A JOINT WORKING GROUP.
THERE IS A, A SUPPORTING DOCUMENT IN THE BACKUP.
SCHMUCK WOULD'VE BEEN PRIMED TO SORT OF DISCUSS THIS.
UM, BASICALLY THERE HAS BEEN CONSENSUS, UH, COM THERE'S, IF THE WORKING GROUP HAS COME TO A CONSENSUS REGARDING THIS ISSUE, AND SO IT'S A MATTER OF, UM, SORT OF GETTING THE THUMBS UP FROM THE COMMISSION.
WE ARE DEFINITELY MOVING FORWARD, AND IT'S VERY SHORT.
AND IT COULD BE READ VERY FAST, AND I COULD READ IT NOW, AND I KNOW IT JUST DEPENDING ON THE ON, IT'S JUST, IN FACT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND READ IT.
I WAS GONNA SAY, WHY NOT? YES, WHY NOT? UH, THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC URBAN CORE LAND USE WORKING GROUP HAS FORMED TO STUDY AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITY INVOLVED REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT.
THE ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSIONS RECOGNIZE THAT LAND USE PLANNING IS IMMENSELY CRITICAL TO THE SUSTAINABILITY AND GROWTH OF AUSTIN'S MUSIC AND CULTURAL ARTS ECONO ECONOMIES.
OUR WORKING GROUP HAS IDENTIFIED THE COMBINATION OF ZONING AND DEVELOPER INITIATIVES AS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR PRESERVING AND DEVELOPING CREATIVE SPACE IN AUSTIN.
WE HAVE CAREFULLY REVIEWED AND DISCUSSED THE PROPOSAL PLAN PRES PRESENTED BY DONALD JACKSON OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT REGARDING ZONING CATEGORIES AND CULTURAL DISTRICTS.
WE, AS A COMMITTEE, STRONG, IT DOESN'T SAY THAT WEA WORKING GROUP STRONGLY SUPPORT THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE AND CREATIVE SPACE BONUS.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE TITLE 25 OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE RELATED TO LIVE MUSIC VENUES, CREATIVE SPACES, AND LIVE WORK UNITS IN RESPONSE TO CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NUMBERS 2 0 22 0 7 28 DASH OH NINE FOUR AND 2 0 2 9 2 0 9 0 1 DASH OH EIGHT NINE, WE ASK THAT THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE RECOMMEND TO PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THIS ORDINANCE AND THE WORK.
WE ALL THANK YOU FOR THE CONSIDERATION.
THAT'S WHAT IS TO BE APPROVED.
THANK YOU FOR GOING THROUGH THAT WITH US.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, I, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE MEETING VERY REGULARLY AND DILIGENTLY, SO I THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK IN THAT SPACE.
[12. Update from Equity Working Group with Community Arts leaders of the BIPOC/LGBTQIA/Disabilities Community/Women with Commissioners Gray, Zisman, and community members ]
OKAY.UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO WORKING GROUP UPDATES.
ITEM 12, UPDATE FROM THE EQUITY WORKING GROUP, UH, WITH COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS OF THE BIPO, L G B T Q I A DISABILITIES COMMUNITY, WOMEN WITH COMMISSIONERS, GRAY CISMAN, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, I HAVE A FEELING WE'LL BE RECONVENING AFTER NEXUS, UM, TO HELP WITH FEEDBACK, BUT PERHAPS BE IN COMMUNICATION WITH STAFF REGARDING THE SURVEY.
[13. Update from Quarterly Arts Community Commission Meet-ups Working Group with Commissioners, Garza (chair), Gray, and Maldonado ]
NEXT IS THE UPDATE FROM THE QUARTERLY ARTS COMMUNITY COMMISSION MEETUP WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS GARZA CHAIR, WHO'S ABSENT, UH, GRAY AND MALDONADO.I'VE HAD INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THESE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS, BUT, UM, MAYBE COMMISSIONER MALDONADO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM?
UM, I HAVE SERVED ON THIS, UH, WORKING GROUP FOR, UH, A PRETTY LONG TIME, ALMOST SINCE THE BEGINNING OF MY SERVICE ON THE DS.
AND, UM, THERE'S BEEN TALK ABOUT HAVING, UH, THE WORKING GROUP SUNSET, BUT ACTUALLY I BELIEVE THAT IT IS EVEN MORE NEEDED AT THE END OF, OF THE, UH, UH, ALL OF THE, THE, UM, NO PROBLEM APPLICATIONS AND, AND THINGS GOING THROUGH.
I WOULD ASK THAT WE IMMEDIATELY FIND A CHAIR.
I'D BE HAPPY TO CHAIR THIS WORKING GROUP, ALTHOUGH I DO FEEL IT WOULD BE, UM, UH, NOT A PERMANENT CHAIR, BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE IT NEEDS TO BE A CHAIR OF COLOR.
IT NEEDS TO BE A BIPO CHAIR OR AN EQUITY WORKING GROUP.
UH, BUT I'M HAPPY TO LEAD IT TO THAT DIRECTION BECAUSE I FEEL IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT WORKING GROUP AND NOT TO BE SUNSET.
UM, WE HAVE PEOPLE LINED UP TO COME THAT I THINK WOULD BE PRIMED TO BE ON THIS WORKING GROUP.
UM, COMMISSIONER KEKE, I KNOW YOU'VE, YOU'VE EXPRESSED WANT AND WAYS TO GET INVOLVED, UH, OR MORE DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH THIS WORK.
UM, WHILE I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE REPRESENTATION ON THIS COMMISSION, YOU ARE OF THE QUEER COMMUNITY, AND I THINK THAT THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT, UM, SURE.
AND I THINK IN REGARD TO THE URGENCY THAT'S BEING EXPRESSED, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERIM CHAIR IS STILL CHAIR
UM, WE HAVE, UH, FAIA CINI JOINING US SOON, HOPEFULLY.
AND SHE'S DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK SHE'D BE A WONDERFUL PERSON IN ADDITION TO THIS WORKING GROUP.
[02:25:01]
NO UPDATE FOR NOW, AND Y'ALL JUST KEEP WORKING.I THINK, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY, THERE'S NO HARD DEADLINE HERE.
WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH IN REGARD TO THE GRAND TIMELINE FOR THIS, FOR OUR PROGRAMS. MM-HMM.
WE HAVE THIS NEWSLETTER THAT I WILL IDEALLY RESURRECT.
I'VE BEEN TOTALLY UNDERWATER AND NOT BEEN ABLE TO SHOULDER THAT, UM, MM-HMM.
BUT, UM, I THINK THIS MAY BE THE THING THAT WE CAN USE TO SORT OF CATAPULT AND, AND REIGNITE THE COMMUNIC COMMUNICATION BETWEEN US AND THIS COMMUNITY.
SO WE'LL JUST HANG TIGHT FOR ANOTHER MONTH AND IDEALLY WE'VE GOT PEOPLE THAT CAN JUMP ON.
THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THAT WORKING GROUP.
[14. Update from Emergency Funding and Proactive Strategies for Future Funding Working Group with Commissioners Schmalbach and Zisman (chair)]
IS UPDATE FROM THE EMERGENCY FUNDING PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR FUTURE FUNDING WORKING GROUP COMMISSIONERS, SCHMUCK AND CHAIR.WE'VE MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING THE, UM, UH, FUNDING PROGRAMS THROUGH WITH THE ACCC.
WE'RE STILL SORT OF WAITING ON FINALIZATION AROUND THAT.
[15. Update from joint Arts/Music Commission Working Group on Urban Core Issues with Commissioners Gray, Maldonado, Mok, and Schmalbach (chair). ]
THE UPDATE FROM THE JOINT ARTS MUSIC COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, URBAN CORE LAND ISSUES WITH COMMISSIONER GRAY.I FEEL LIKE WE JUST GOT THAT UPDATE UP AHEAD, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND KEEP MOVING.
[ITEMS FOR INFORMATION]
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION COMMISSIONERS.ANY ITEMS FOR INFORMATION FOR US? MM-HMM.
UM, NAMELY WE HAD A, UH, PRESENTER DURING PUBLIC COMMUNICATION REGARDING THE ACTION FROM THE CITY, INTERIM CITY MANAGER WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF.
THE WORK OF THE EQUITY OFFICE DEEPLY IMPACTED THE WORK WE'RE DOING IN THIS SPACE.
UM, AND WE JUST SORT OF NEED TO BE READY TO SUPPORT THEM IN WHATEVER THEIR, UH, DETERMINED COURSE OF ACTION MAY BE.
WHATEVER ACTIVE, UM, ACTIVISM IS HAPPENING AROUND IN THAT SPACE, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO STAY IN TUNE AND PLUGGED IN SO THAT WE CAN ACT AS NEEDED.
UM, UH, MS. CONNOR, UH, SHARED WITH US THEIR LETTER.
IF THOSE ARE SIGNATURES THAT ARE NEEDED, IF THEY'RE SPEAKERS, UM, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE US TO BE PRESENT IN THAT SPACE AS IT, UM, AGAIN, DEEPLY IMPACTED AND SHAPED IT, IMPACTED AND SHAPED THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, UM, IN, IN THIS SPACE.
THE OTHER ITEM THAT I WANTED TO BRING TO EVERYBODY'S ATTENTION IS THE TOURISM COMMISSION HAS TAKEN INTEREST IN THE, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WERE, UM, ROLLING OUT.
AND RIGHTFULLY SO, THEY ARE DEALING WITH HOT ISSUES.
THAT'S US AGAIN, CROSS COLLABORATION ACROSS THESE COMMISSIONS.
UM, THEY'VE HAD SOME PRESENTERS FROM THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
I WENT AHEAD AND ATTENDED THEIR MEETING IN MAY, UH, NO JUNE.
AND, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO BE THERE JUST TO, UH, MAKE OURSELVES KNOWN AND INTRODUCE OURSELVES.
I BELIEVE THEY'RE INVITING, UH, CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION TO PRESENT AT SOME POINT IN THE SUMMER.
IT MAY EVEN BE AUGUST, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A CONFIRMATION.
AUGUST 9TH IS THE TOURISM MEETING, AND WE ARE CONFIRMED ARTS WILL BE PRESENTING.
SO I THINK, UM, AGAIN, IN SOLIDARITY, IF ANYBODY'S AVAILABLE AT TWO 30 ON A WEDNESDAY TO COME HANG OUT AT CITY HALL, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SHOWING SUPPORT TO OUR STAFF OR TUNING IN.
CUZ AGAIN, I THINK BEING AWARE OF WHO OUR COMMISSIONERS ARE, WHERE CAN WE MAKE INTRODUCTIONS AND MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR CLARITY AND TRANSPARENCY, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE'RE TRYING TO PROMOTE AND HAVE MADE A PART OF OUR CORE VALUES AS THIS COMMISSION.
SO LETTING EVERYBODY KNOW TOURISM WANTS TO HANG OUT, SO LET'S MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
ON TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. WE ARE GONNA BE INVITING, UM, CONTINUING THIS CONVERSATION AROUND HOT AND STRS.WE'RE GONNA BE INVITING BREE FRANCO FROM I G R O TO PRESENT AT THE ARTS COMMISSION TENTATIVELY FOR OCTOBER.
UM, WE'RE HOPING TO JUST CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AROUND HOT AND STS.
I WOULD LOVE TO GET SCOTT IN FROM TEXAS COMMISSION OF THE ARTS.
MAYBE THAT CAN HAPPEN IN BETWEEN.
UM, BUT AGAIN, I, WE HAD A PRETTY DEEP CONVERSATION REGARDING STRS AT OUR JOINT, UM, UH, RETREAT WITH MUSIC, WHICH WE SHOULD ALSO TALK ABOUT GETTING ON THE CALENDAR.
UH, AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO CONTINUE EFFORT THERE.
UM, LET ME ASK OUR, UH, UNOFFICIAL MUSIC COMMISSIONER LIAISON.
UM, HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN COMMISSIONER CHARLA? HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN COMMUNICATING ABOUT STRS AT
[02:30:01]
ALL? UH, NO, NOT, NOT SINCE WE LAST TALKED ABOUT IT.I THINK THAT WAS, UM, AT SOME LEVEL REALLY DEEMED BEYOND, BEYOND, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, UH, A PARTICULAR COMMISSION LIKE OURS CAN DO.
IT HAS TO BE MORE ABOUT GOVERNMENT POLICY.
UM, DID YOU SKIP OVER ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? IT WAS LIKE SUPER FAST.
IT'S JUST, JUST ONE SIMPLE YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
SO, PANAM REC CENTER IN EAST AUSTIN IS HOLDING THEIR SUMMER CONCERT SERIES EVERY TUESDAY FOR THE REST OF JULY.
SO DEFINITELY WOULD ENCOURAGE, UH, COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT.
IT'S ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING CONCERT SERIES IN, IN AUSTIN AND IN EAST AUSTIN SPECIFICALLY.
AND YEAH, ALL THE AMAZING STUFF GOING ON THROUGH ALMOST REAL THINGS.
THEY HAD GREAT STUFF HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER SO FAR AND ALL OF THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.
I'M SUPER LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, GOTTA GIVE 'EM A SHOUT OUT CUZ THEY COME HANG OUT WITH US EVERY MONTH, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM.
BEYOND, UH, THE APPROVAL OF THE JUNE MINUTES BEING ADDED TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, I THINK THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FOR NOW.