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I AM GOING TO CALL TO ORDER THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL FOR A REGULARLY SCHEDULED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION.
IT'S TUESDAY, JULY 18TH, 2023.
UH, WE ARE MEETING AT AUSTIN CITY HALL IN THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, AND WE HAVE, UH, A QUORUM OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL PRESENT, UH, MEMBERS.
THE ORDER THAT I THINK WILL GO IN IS FIRST WE WILL HAVE THE BRIEFING THAT IS SCHEDULED.
THEN WE WILL HAVE, UH, A NUMBER OF PRE-SELECTED AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE WILL DISCUSS SO THAT WE CAN BE BETTER PREPARED AND MORE EFFICIENT ON THURSDAY.
AND THEN, UM, WE WILL HAVE ONE, THIS ONE PER ONE COUNCIL MEMBER WISHES TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM THAT HAS BEEN PULLED FOR THURSDAY, BUT WANTS TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
AND THEN WE WILL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UM, WITH THAT, UH, IT'S GOING TO TAKE ME A MINUTE OR TWO TO GET USED TO EVERYBODY SITTING IN THE WRONG SEATS NOW, BUT, UM, BUT I'LL GET THERE.
UH, YEAH, I'VE GOT YOU TO, YOU MAY GET CALLED ON ALL THE TIME.
UM, I, WITH THAT, WE WILL, UH, GO TO THE
[B1. Update on Council Resolution No. 20230608-083 regarding shelter capacity and navigation services.]
FIRST ITEM, WHICH IS THE BRIEFING, AND IT'S AN UPDATE ON COUNCIL RESOLUTION REGARDING SHELTER CAPACITY AND NAVIGATION SERVICES.SO, UH, THE ITEM IS ON IN YOUR BACKUP, AND I THINK DIANA'S GONNA WALK US THROUGH IT.
AND THEN WE'RE, UH, WELL THEN, UH, HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, UH, PRESENTATION TO SEE HOW WE MIGHT ANSWER ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT ARISE.
GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, TODAY WE'RE GOING TO BE BRIEF GIVING AN UPDATE BRIEFING ON OUR COMMUNITY-WIDE SHALL ASSESSMENT.
UM, YOU MAY RECALL THAT IN, UM, AUGUST OF 2022, UH, COUNCIL APPROVED, UH, EMERGENCY CONTRACTS FOR NEW PROVIDERS TO OPERATE THE ARCH AND SOUTHBRIDGE SHELTER.
AT THAT TIME, COUNCIL GAVE DIRECTION, UH, TO H S D TO PERFORM, UH, AN ASSESSMENT OF OUR EMERGENCY SHELTER SYSTEM COMMUNITY-WIDE.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY, AND YOU'LL PROBABLY HEAR THIS ECHOED THROUGHOUT THE BRIEFING, THAT THE CITY DOES NOT CONTROL THE ENTIRE SHELTER SYSTEM.
WE ARE, UM, A MA AN OWNER OF SIGNIFICANT SHELTER FACILITIES AND, UH, A MAJOR FUNDER, BUT BY FAR NOT THE ONLY PLAYER NOR SHOULD WE BE.
AND SO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT COME OUT OF THIS ASSESSMENT REALLY ARE ABOUT OUR ENTIRE SHELTER SYSTEM.
SOME OF THEM ARE IMMEDIATELY ACTIONABLE BY THE CITY.
MOST OF THEM REQUIRE PARTNERSHIP, UH, WITH, UH, OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THE SYSTEM AND POTENTIALLY, UM, OTHER FUNDERS AS WELL.
SO, UM, IT, THE TIMING HERE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE COUNCIL ALSO ASKED US TO DO THIS BEFORE WE RESCINDED THE EMERGENCY CONTRACTS.
SO WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING THAT RFP PROCESS, BUT WE'LL BE WRAPPING THIS ASSESSMENT UP BEFORE MOVING, UM, ONTO TO THAT PROCESS, UH, WITH LEARNINGS IN HAND AND THINKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THE CONTRACTING PROCESS AS WELL.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PIECES OF RELATED DIRECTION FROM COUNSEL, UM, THAT REALLY ARE WOVEN INTO, UH, THIS BRIEFING TODAY.
UM, BUT THAT WE WILL BE RESPONDING FULLY, UH, UNDER SORT OF SEPARATE MEMO, UH, AND REPORT TO COUNSEL.
AND THOSE, UH, IN INCLUDE, UH, A FEBRUARY RESOLUTION THAT ASKED STAFF TO LOOK AT ALL EXTREME WEATHER SHELTERING.
UH, THAT THEN IS REALLY, UM, UM, UH, RESPONSIBILITY THAT CROSSES BOTH THE HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM AND, UH, A HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
YOU HAVE HAD AN INTERIM UPDATE FROM HESO LAST MONTH, UH, AND WE WILL BE LOOKING TO PROVIDE A FULL UPDATE, UH, ON THAT, I BELIEVE IN NOVEMBER.
AND THEN NEXT LAST MONTH, THERE WAS A RESOLUTION THAT ASKED US TO ENSURE THAT AS PART OF OUR SHELTER AS ASSESSMENT, OR IN ADDITION TO THE ONGOING SHELTER ASSESSMENT, WE LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT GEOGRAPHIC DISPERSION OF OUR SHELTER RESOURCES COMPARED TO THE UNSHELTERED POPULATION, UH, AND THE LOCATION OF THOSE FOLKS, UH, AS WELL AS PROVIDING SOME COST ESTIMATES FOR, UM, OPERATIONS OF SHELTER, UH, AND CAPITAL.
UH, SO AS STAFF BEGAN TO LOOK, UM, AT, UH, DOING, UH, UH, A BROAD ASSESSMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY SHELTER SYSTEM, WE REALLY TOOK A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH IN TERMS OF THE, UH, INFORMATION AND RESEARCH RESEARCH THAT STAFF UNDERTOOK.
UM, CERTAINLY LOOKING AT NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES, UH, EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES AND RESEARCH, LEANING ON SOME, UH, PREVIOUS CONSULTANT REPORTS THAT HAD BEEN PERFORMED HERE IN AUSTIN, SPECIFIC TO OUR HOMELESS
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RESPONSE SYSTEM AND OUR SHELTER, UH, STAFF SPENT SIGNIFICANT TIME, UH, LOOKING AT PEER CITIES, UH, SHELTER SYSTEMS. UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE DOVE INTO OUR LOCAL DATA, UH, UH, COMING PRIMARILY FROM OUR HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW OUR LOCAL SYSTEM IS WORKING.FINALLY, UM, SIGNIFICANT DIRECT AND ENGAGEMENT, UH, WITH A VI WIDE VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING, UM, PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS WHO ARE EITHER USERS OF SHELTER OR MAY, UH, NOT BE USING SHELTER AND HAVE, UM, HAD SOME EXPERIENCE IN THE PAST ARE DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND THEN OTHER ADVOCATES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE SPACE WHO MAY NOT BE ACTUAL SHELTER PROVIDERS.
SO I THINK HIGH LEVEL, UM, UH, FINDINGS OF OUR RESOURCE, I INDICATE, FIRST OF ALL, UH, TOP LINE, UH, I THINK IS THAT WE ONLY HAVE ONE SHELTER BED FOR ABOUT EVERY FIVE PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THAT, OF COURSE, IS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO OUR SIGNIFICANT UNSHELTERED POPULATION.
UH, IN FISCAL YEAR 22, ALMOST 3000 INDIVIDUALS UTILIZED SHELTER SERVICES IN AUSTIN.
UH, AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BEDS THAT WERE ONLINE, WE HAD, UM, AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT A 92% UTILIZATION RATE OF THE AVAILABLE BEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.
THE AVERAGE SHELTER STAY IS 150 DAYS, REGARDLESS OF EXIT TYPE.
I WILL SAY THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA, WE SEE SOME BIFURCATION HERE.
PEOPLE WHO EXIT SHELTER WITHOUT A KNOWN HOUSING DESTINATION TEND TO HAVE SHORTER STAYS.
PEOPLE WHO EVENTUALLY MOVE INTO HOUSING, UH, THE STAY, THE AVERAGE STAY IS A BIT LONGER, WHICH DOES MAKE SENSE.
THEY REMAIN ENGAGED IN SERVICES.
IT TAKES US A WHILE TO GET THEM HOUSED.
BUT, UM, UH, TYPICALLY THAT STAY IS LONGER THAN 115 DAYS.
AND IT, AND OUR EXPERIENCE, PARTICULARLY IN THE CITY OPERATED BRIDGE SHELTERS, WE HAVE SEEN THAT TIMELINE EXTEND BECAUSE THE HOUSING SEARCHES SO DIFFICULT.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, I THINK WE HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL POPULATION OF FOLKS IN SHELTER WHO ARE EXPERIENCING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS.
THAT MEANS THEY HAVE BEEN HOMELESS FOR OVER A YEAR, UM, OR FOUR TIMES OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, AND IMPORTANTLY, ARE LIVING WITH A DISABILITY.
UH, THAT CREATES ANOTHER BARRIER FOR THEM IN TERMS OF HOUSING STABILITY.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS FOR US TO BE TRACKING AS A COMMUNITY IS WHAT OUR OUTCOMES ARE OUT OF SHELTER.
AND THE WAY THAT WE DO THAT IS THAT WE LOOK AT SHELTER EXITS.
SO ALL OF THE HOUSEHOLDS EXITING SHELTER, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR.
AND THE HIGH LEVEL NEWS HERE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, OVER 50% ARE EXITING TO KNOWN PERMANENT HOUSING LOCATIONS.
UH, I BELIEVE OUR MATH THERE IS ABOUT 46%, OR 56%, EXCUSE ME.
UM, 12% WE KNOW RETURN TO THE STREETS, OR THEY MAY, UM, ENTER AN INSTITUTION THAT COULD BE A HOSPITAL, A NURSING HOME, OR, UM, UH, MAYBE FACING INCARCERATION.
AND SO THOSE ARE NOT THE OUTCOMES WE WANNA SEE.
BUT I THINK IN IMPORTANTLY HERE, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE DO HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHERE THE, THE DESTINATION IS UNKNOWN, AND SO IT'S NOT, UM, ATYPICAL FOR SOMEONE TO SPEND SOME TIME IN SHELTER AND THEN NOT RETURN.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE BELIEVE THAT THIS 31% UNKNOWN DESTINATION REALLY IS A COMBINATION OF PEOPLE WHO SELF RESOLVE AND REALLY WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE THEIR SHELTER EXPERIENCE BEHIND.
AND SO THEY DON'T REPORT BACK WHERE THEIR DESTINATION IS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE RETURNING TO HOMELESSNESS.
UM, IT WILL BE AN ONGOING CHALLENGE FOR US TO, UH, IMPROVE THE DATA ON THIS, UH, FRONT, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE AND OUR PARTNERS WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARD TO UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT HAPPENS HERE, UM, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHERE THE DESTINATION IS UNKNOWN AT THE TIME OF EXIT IT.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AUSTIN'S SHELTER PORTFOLIO, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, UM, JUST SOUTH OF 900 BEDS IN MAY OF THIS YEAR.
UH, REMEMBER THAT THAT IS POST CLOSURE OF THE DOWNTOWN SHELTER, UH, UH, OWNED BY SALVATION ARMY.
BUT BEFORE WE BEGAN THE EXPANSION OF SHELTER BEDS IN OUR EXISTING BRIDGE SHELTERS, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT BASELINE.
THE CITY OWNS, UM, 300 AND OR OWNED AT THIS TIME, 333 BEDS, SO 38% OF THE SHELTER CAPACITY.
UM, SO THE, THE, WITH THE REMAINDER BEING OWNED BY OUR PRIVATE NONPROFIT PARTNERS, UM, AS WE LOOK AT THE PORTFOLIO,
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UH, WE SEE THAT ABOUT 47% OF BEDS ARE SET ASIDE FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN.UH, THAT POPULATION IS ABOUT 25% OF OUR POPULATION OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
BUT THE OVERREPRESENTATION OR THE RICHER RESOURCING OF THAT PART OF THE SYSTEM MAKES SENSE BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE REALLY DON'T WANT CHILDREN, UH, TO BE FACING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS.
HOWEVER, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BALANCE OF SINGLE ADULTS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTE IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF BEDS THAT ARE JUST OPEN FOR ANY SINGLE INDIVIDUALS.
UM, THEY ARE DEFINED BY GENDER.
WE'VE GOT FOUR, UH, 13% THAT ARE ADULT MEN ONLY.
WE'VE GOT, UM, ONLY 1% THAT ARE AVAILABLE SPECIFICALLY FOR WOMEN, A SIGNIFICANT PORTION IN OUR BRIDGE SHELTERS THAT DO TAKE EITHER GENDER, UH, AND NO OTHER REQUIREMENTS, BUT THEY ARE SET ASIDE FOR THE HEEL INITIATIVE.
AND SO WE REALLY DO SEE A GAP IN JUST BEDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS, YOU KNOW, FOR REFERRAL, NOT BASED ON SPECIFIC PROGRAMS OR SPECIFIC POPULATIONS.
UH, 12% OF OUR BEDS ARE DEDICATED TO, UM, A PERSONS FLEEING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR, UM, OTHER, UM, OTHER VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE.
AND THEN WE HAVE, OF COURSE, OTHER SPECIAL POPULATIONS LIKE YOUTH, VETERANS, IMMIGRANTS, REFUGEE, AND SOME MEDICAL RESPITE.
THOSE ARE ALL IMPORTANT SUBPOPULATIONS.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN A MOMENT.
BUT I THINK WE WANT A BALANCE OF GENERALLY AVAILABLE BEDS AND THOSE MORE SPECIFIED, UH, PROGRAMS. SO WE KNOW THAT WE HAD ABOUT 880 BEDS, AND THE QUESTION IS, HOW MANY BEDS DOES THE COMMUNITY NEED IN A PERFECT WORLD? AND FOR THIS, WE RELY ON A REPORT THAT WAS COMPLETED IN 2020 BY BARB POPPY AND ASSOCIATES THAT LOOKED AT OUR ENTIRE HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM AND SAID, IF THE SYSTEM WERE RIGHT SIZED AND FUNCTIONING SORT OF AT PEAK EFFICIENCY, WHAT WOULD YOU NEED IN EACH OF THESE INTERVENTION AREAS? UH, BASED ON THAT AND ADJUSTING FOR POPULATION GROWTH SINCE 2020, UH, WE ESTIMATE THAT BY THE END OF 2025, WE WOULD NEED JUST OVER 1500 BEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, AND THAT FOR 1,428 OF THOSE SHOULD BE FOR SINGLE INDIVIDUALS, UH, 91 FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN.
NOW, THOSE ARE HOUSEHOLDS, NOT BEDS, SO MORE BEDS THAN 91.
UM, AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS IF WE NEED 1,428, UH, BEDS FOR SINGLE INDIVIDUALS, AND WE'VE GOT 466 RIGHT NOW, THAT THAT GIVES US A GAP, UM, OF ALMOST A THOUSAND BEDS THAT WOULD NEED TO BE IN PLACE BY THE END OF 2025, AGAIN, FOR AN IDEALLY FUNCTIONING SYSTEM.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT ALSO THAT THAT IDEALLY FUNCTIONING SYSTEM IS REALLY PREDICATED ON HAVING SUFFICIENT RESOURCES ACROSS THE BOARD IN PERMANENT HOUSING, IN PREVENTION CETERA, SO THAT WE'RE DECREASING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST SITTING WAITING FOR HOUSING OR, AND DECREASING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO FALL INTO HOMELESSNESS AND MIGHT NEED SHELTER SERVICES.
SO WE HAVE BEGUN, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS MAY 12TH, COUNSEL RECEIVED A MEMO FROM THE MANAGER TALKING ABOUT OUR EFFORTS TO EXPAND SHELTER, UM, IN, IN THE SHORT AND MEDIUM TERM.
AND SO WE DO HAVE THREE PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY UNDER DEVELOPMENT.
UM, NORTH BRIDGE, WE HAVE EXPANDED TO DOUBLE OCCUPANCY.
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF EXPANDING TO DOUBLE OCCUPANCY IN ROOMS AT SOUTHBRIDGE.
AND YOU MAY KNOW THAT ESPERANZA COMMUNITY IS IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING MICRO SHELTERS, UH, AT THEIR SITE.
AS OF MAY, THEY HAD 85 OF A, AN ANTICIPATED 200 BEDS.
UH, SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THEM EXPAND.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE PROJECTS, UM, AGAINST THE GAP THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED FOR SINGLE INDIVIDUALS, WE STILL NEED ABOUT 700 BEDS.
AND SO I DO WANNA NOTE THAT, UH, IN THE FACE OF THIS VERY SIGNIFICANT GAP, UNDERSTANDING THAT IT WILL TAKE, UH, TIME FOR ADDITIONAL BEDS TO BE ADDED TO THE SYSTEM ON A PERMANENT BASIS.
THE CITY HAS DONE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO PROVIDE SOME RELIEF.
ONE IS, UM, RESTORING CAPACITY AT THE DOWNTOWN SHELTER, UH, THE FORMERLY OPERATED AND, AND CURRENTLY OWNED BY THE SALVATION ARMY.
SO COUNCIL APPROVED THAT ON JUNE 8TH, URBAN ALCHEMY WILL BE OPERATING THAT SITE FOR APPROXIMATELY A YEAR FOR 150 BEDS.
AND THEN COUNCIL HAS BEFORE IT ON THURSDAY, UM, AN AN AGENDA ITEM TO STAND UP THE MARSHALING YARD AS A TEMPORARY SHELTERING FACILITY WITH 300 BEDS.
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WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GEOGRAPHIC DISPERSION OF SHELTER, UH, THIS MAP COMBINES THE BLUE DOTS ARE THE LOCATIONS OF OUR SHELTERS, UH, BOTH CITY OWNED AND, UH, THOSE OWNED BY PRIVATE NONPROFITS.AND IT IS A HEAT MAP OF WHERE UNSHELTERED INDIVIDUALS WERE FOUND DURING THE POINT IN TIME COUNT IN JANUARY OF 2023.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR SHELTER RESOURCES ARE CONCENTRATED IN, UH, SORT OF ALONG THE, UH, I 35 CORRIDOR IN DOWNTOWN AND IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
AND WHILE WE WILL, IN OUR REPORT GIVE MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS BY, UM, BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA, I THINK THAT WHAT THIS, UM, THIS VISUAL TELLS US IS WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT CONCENTRATION IN SOUTH AUSTIN, UH, SOUTH OF, UH, AROUND AND SOUTH OF 71, AND NO SHELTER THERE.
AND WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT CONCENTRATION ALONG THE I 35 CORRIDOR NORTH OF 180 3, UH, AND IN NORTHWEST AUSTIN AS WELL, WITH NO SHELTERS IN THOSE AREAS.
AND SO, GEOGRAPHIC AREA IS NOT, CERTAINLY NOT THE ONLY CONSIDERATION THAT WE, UH, LOOK AT WHEN WE LOOK AT SIGHTING SHELTER, BUT AS WE LOOK AT EXPANDING OUR PERMANENT SHELTER CAPACITY, UH, AS A CITY AND WITH OUR PARTNERS, THIS CERTAINLY NEEDS TO BE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
THE FINAL THING I'LL NOTE HERE, UH, IN JUNE, UH, ECHO BRIEFED THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE ON THE POINT IN TIME COUNT AND SOME TRENDS THAT THEY'RE SEEING IN THE NUMBERS.
AND ONE OF THOSE TRENDS WAS, WHILE WE STILL OBVIOUSLY HAVE A VERY SIGNIFICANT CONCENTRATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN CENTRAL AUSTIN AND IN THE, UH, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, UH, THE, THAT CONCENTRATION HAS DIMINISHED, AND WE HAVE SEEN MOVEMENT INTO OTHER PARTS OF TOWN.
SO, UH, WE HAVE 10 TOP 10 RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND AGAIN, AS I SAID, THERE ARE SOME OF THESE THAT ARE ACTIONABLE BY STAFF, BUT MOST OF THESE REALLY ARE GOING TO TAKE A NUMBER OF PARTNERS AND LIKELY A NUMBER OF FUNDING SOURCES, UM, TO, UH, TO BRING TO FRUITION.
SO WE ARE, UH, RECOMMENDING THAT OVER THE NEXT TWO AND A HALF YEARS, A COMMUNITY LOOK AT ADDING A THOUSAND, UH, SHELTER BEDS FOR SINGLE INDIVIDUALS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE GAP IS.
AND WE THINK THAT AT LEAST 80% OF THOSE SHOULD BE REALLY GENERAL POPULATION, UH, SO NOT SPEC SPECIFIED FOR A SUBPOPULATION FOR A PARTICULAR PROGRAM, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT GAPS FOR SUBPOPULATIONS.
WE HAVE HEARD FOR SOME TIME, UH, THAT OUR, UM, OUR CITIZENS, UH, AND THE L G B T Q I A COMMUNITY, UM, HAVE A LOT OF DIFFICULTY IN OUR EXISTING SHELTERS AND OFTEN DON'T HAVE ALL OF THEIR NEEDS MET.
WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE FOLKS WITH SIGNIFICANTLY COMPLEX HEALTH NEEDS, UM, THAT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO MEET IN A GENERAL SHELTER, UM, ENVIRONMENT.
SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE NOT THE ONLY SUBPOPULATIONS.
UH, I WOULD ALSO ADD, PARTICULARLY WITH THE LOSS OF THE, THE SALVATION ARMY DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC BEDS FOR WOMEN, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN EVERY SHELTER IN OUR COMMUNITY DIVERSION AND RAPID EXIT PROGRAMMING.
AND WHAT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WORK VERY HARD ON OUR LONG-TERM, UM, HOUSING PROGRAMS, SO RAPID REHOUSING, WHICH IS TIME LIMITED, BUT SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORT AND CASE MANAGEMENT AND PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, WHICH IS NOT TIME LIMITED.
BUT THERE ARE, UH, MANY INDIVIDUALS IN HOUSEHOLDS THAT COME INTO SHELTER, UH, BASED ON A PRECIPITATING EVENT.
THEY DO NEED HELP TO GET BACK INTO HOUSING, BUT THEY MAY NOT NEED THAT TO BE LONG TERM.
SO IT IS REALLY WHAT OFTEN HOW THIS IS STRUCTURED IS IT'S A PRETTY FLEXIBLE POT OF FUNDS WHERE CASE MANAGERS ONSITE CAN PROBLEM SOLVE WITH FOLKS ENTERING SHELTER AND HOPEFULLY MOVE THEM BACK INTO HOUSING QUICKLY.
UM, NOTABLY, WE NEED TO DIVERSIFY OUR FUNDING STREAMS, UH, IN THIS SPACE.
UH, AS WE LOOK AT OUR PEER CITIES, UH, I WILL SAY THAT AUSTIN'S IN INVESTMENT OF GENERAL FUND IN SHELTER OPERATIONS IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN WE SEE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES, WHERE THE PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY PLAYS A MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT ROLE, UH, IN THE ONGOING, UH, IN THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF SHELTER.
SO I THINK WE HAVE, UM, AN INVITATION, UH, TO MAKE OF OUR PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO, UM, COME SHOULDER TO SHOULDER IN THIS WORK, UM, TO PROVIDE THE CAPACITY THAT'S NEEDED.
AND THEN FINALLY, WHEN WE LOOK AT HOW AND WHAT WE EXPAND, UH, MUCH OF OUR WORK ENGAGING DIRECTLY WITH PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UM, INDICATED A PREFERENCE FOR, UH, SOMETHING OTHER
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THAN JUST PURELY CONGREGATE SHELTER OF EVERYONE IN ONE ROOM.SO, UH, ACTUALLY THE MOST PREFERRED MODEL WAS A WITH A ROOMMATE.
SO IN A ROOM WITH A ROOMMATE, UM, POTENTIALLY TWO TO THREE PEOPLE, UH, WITH BEING ALONE IN A ROOM, BEING THE SECOND, UH, MOST FAVORED MODEL, AND THEN OF COURSE, CONGREGATE, UM, UH, LESS FAVOR.
SO THOSE ARE ISSUES THAT REALLY ARE GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF PARTNERS AND, AND FUNDERS.
UH, THERE ARE OTHER SYSTEM, UM, IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE THINK CAN BE ACHIEVED IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR CONTINUUM OF CARE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE, WHICH IS ADMINISTERED BY ECHO AND HAS STAKEHOLDERS FROM ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
WE BELIEVE THAT WE NEED BASELINE WRITTEN STANDARDS, UH, FOR SHELTER IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, AS WELL AS BEST PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, WE WOULD LIKE, UH, WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SYSTEM-WIDE POLICY AND PROCESS FOR, UH, INVOLUNTARY EXIT OF, UH, CLIENTS WITH SOME APPEALS PROCESS THAT'S COMMUNITY-WIDE.
UH, WE WANT TO INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION AND IN PARTICULAR, INVEST IN ONGOING TRAINING OF FRONTLINE STAFF, UH, IN SHELTERS.
YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THIS IS, UH, IT'S A DIFFICULT JOB, UH, AND THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL TURNOVER.
AND SO WE NEED TO BE CONSTANTLY INVESTING, UH, IN STAFF SO THAT THEY'RE EQUIPPED, UH, TO, UH, MANAGE THE, THE SHELTERS, UH, WELL AND FEEL SUPPORTED IN THAT SPACE.
FINALLY, WITH ECHO IN THE CONTINUUM OF CARE, WE'D LIKE TO ENHANCE THE USE OF STANDARDIZED PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
WE DO HAVE SOME RIGHT NOW, BUT JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, ECHO HAS BEEN WORKING FOR SOME TIME IN, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH H S D ON A SCORECARD FOR ALL OF OUR RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAMS THAT'S SHARED ACROSS, UH, PROGRAMS REGARDLESS OF FUNDING.
WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT FOR SHELTER.
FINALLY, WITHIN, UM, A P H AND THE HOMELESS STRATEGY DIVISION.
COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN TO MOVE ON.
UM, I IMMEDIATELY ARE ESTABLISHING COORDINATED SHELTER REFERRAL AND ACCESS PROCESS.
RIGHT NOW, PRETTY MUCH ALL SHELTERS HA INDIVIDUALLY HAVE THEIR OWN REFERRAL WAITING LIST OR ACCESS.
SO THAT MAKES IT REALLY DIFFICULT WHEN, SAY OUR OUTREACH TEAMS HOST TEAM BECOME AWARE OF SOMEONE WITH VERY SIGNIFICANT NEEDS TO KNOW, TO KNOW.
WE'D HAVE TO KIND OF CALL EACH SHELTER TO IDENTIFY WHERE, UM, WHERE THAT VACANCY IS.
AND SO THAT ALSO IMPLIES THAT WE NEED TO MAXIMIZE TECHNOLOGY AND IMPLEMENT A BED MANAGEMENT TOOL, AT LEAST FOR THE CITY OWNED AND FUNDED SHELTERS, WHERE OF COURSE, WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE.
UH, WE'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE A COMMON INTAKE ASSESSMENT FOR THOSE SHELTERS.
UH, FINALLY, AS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE AND ECHO DEVELOP WRITTEN STANDARDS, WE'LL BE REALLY FOLLOWING ON THAT PROCESS TO ASSESS WHICH OF THOSE STANDARDS CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO OUR CONTRACTING PROCESS.
UM, THAT'S BEEN A REALLY IMPORTANT WAY FOR US TO, UM, PROVIDE THAT SORT OF, UH, ALIGNMENT WITH OUR OVERALL SYSTEM SO THAT WE ARE AFFIRMING THE STANDARDS, UM, THAT ARE ESTABLISHED, UH, BY ECHO AND THE C O C ALWAYS LOOKING TO ENSURE THAT THAT'S FEASIBLE WITHIN THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF, OF OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESS, ET CETERA.
UH, SO, UM, HAVING ENDED ON PERHAPS THE LEAST INTERESTING PART OF THIS, WHICH IS PROCUREMENT, I WILL, I WILL PAUSE THERE AND WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
LET, LET ME, LET ME MAKE, UH, JUST SOME FINAL COMMENTS ON THIS, IS I THINK THERE'S NOT AN ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN MORE PROMINENT ON THE COUNCIL'S AGENDA THAN HOMELESSNESS.
WHEN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, UH, WE SPENT A CONSIDERABLE SUM OF MONEY, UH, OVER TWO, AT LEAST AT UNOFFICIALLY, OVER 200 MILLION, TO TRY TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUES OF PERIOD PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
AND AT THE END OF THAT PERIOD, WE HAVEN'T DECREASED THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE GOTTA DO THIS COURSE OF THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND I KNOW WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THE DISCUSSION OF BUDGETS AND BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S THE, THE POLICY QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF WRESTLE WITH IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD ASK THE COUNCIL TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU THINK ABOUT THIS ISSUE, A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR OUR COMMUNITY IS TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND THINK ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE PROCESS.
THE CITY AS A, AS AN OUTSIDER LOOKING IN, WHEN I WAS A PRIVATE CITIZEN, IT LOOKED AS IF THE CITY OWNED THIS ISSUE IN ITS TO, IN ITS TOTALITY, WHEN IN FACT, JUST A FEW SHORT MONTHS.
HERE, IT'S CLEARLY A MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL ISSUE.
IT INVOLVES THE COUNTY, IT INVOLVES CENTRAL HEALTH, IT INVOLVES THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT INVOLVES THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION AND A HOST OF OTHER PRIVATE PARTNERS THAT WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO LEAN ON TO HELP US ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS.
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THEN WE ARE DRIVING TO, TO TRY TO ACHIEVE FOR THE PUBLIC EXPENDITURES.THIS, THESE ARE THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE DRIVING FOR.
AND I HOPE THAT AS WE ENTER INTO THAT DISCUSSION DURING THE COURSE OF THE NEXT MONTH OR SO, THAT WE CAN KIND OF FOCUS ON THAT.
BECAUSE THE SUCCESS OF THIS ISN'T AN INPUT, IT'S AN OUTPUT.
AND RIGHT NOW, AS NEAR AS I CAN TELL, THE SUCCESS HAS BEEN MEASURED BY AN APPROPRIATION.
AND THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING.
IT'S NOT, IT'S, UH, REALLY THE BEGINNING OF A LONG PROGRAM TO TRY TO ACHIEVE RESULTS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO GIVE MY EDITORIAL THOUGHTS TO THAT, EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE AN EDITORIAL WRITER AND ANSWER FOR, FOR THE COUNCIL TO ASK QUESTIONS.
UH, WE'LL OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER PU, CITY MANAGER, THANKS FOR THOSE CENTERING COMMENTS.
WE HAVE BEEN, I'VE BEEN DISAPPOINTED THAT THE PHILANTHROPIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR HAVEN'T STEPPED UP.
WE CERTAINLY HAVE IN THE WAY THAT WE HAD ANTICIPATED, WE HAD CERTAINLY PRESSED AND PUSHED AND EXHORTED AND, UH, ADVOCATED FOR, UH, THEIR FINANCIAL SUPPORT.
SO, UM, MAYBE IN A NEW YEAR WE CAN PRESS EVEN HARDER ON THAT.
I HAVE TWO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, UM, FROM THE SLIDES.
ONE ON THAT HEAT MAP, UH, WHICH IS A GREAT SLIDE.
I'M CURIOUS IF YOU CAN TELL US TWO THINGS ABOUT THAT, THE TYPE OF HOUSING AT EACH SITE.
AND IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU CAN'T, YOU KNOW, SEND US A MEMO WITH THE INFORMATION, THE TYPE OF HOUSING THAT IS THERE, CUZ WE HAVE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF NEEDS THAT WE ADDRESS.
UH, AND IF IT'S ALL MIXED, LET US KNOW.
AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION IS HOW MANY BEDS, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING IN THOSE SITES? SURE.
SO THIS, UH, MAP, AND I'M GLAD YOU OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CLARIFICATION, IS OF SHELTER BEDS ONLY.
SO IT'S REALLY JUST LOOKING AT SHELTER BEDS, UM, BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, PROVIDE.
AND, AND I I DO WANNA CLARIFY, WE WILL BE FOLLOW, UH, FOLLOWING UP BOTH WITH A NARRATIVE REPORT OF THE SHELTER ASSESSMENT AND A SPECIFIC RESPONSE TO THE, THE RESOLUTION THAT CAME LAST MONTH THAT ASKED US TO DO THIS WORK.
SO WE'LL PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL DETAIL.
WE CAN CERTAINLY IDENTIFY EACH OF THOSE SHELTERS WITH THEIR CAPACITY, ET CETERA.
UM, AND WE HAVE A VARIETY OF UNITS OF ANALYSIS WE CAN UTILIZE FOR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
UH, AND SO WE'LL LOOK AT THAT.
THE RESOLUTION DID ASK US TO LOOK AT IT BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, BUT WE ALSO THINK THERE ARE OTHER POTENTIALLY EVEN MORE MEANINGFUL, UH, GEOGRAPHIC SORT OF LEVELS OF ANALYSIS, WHETHER THAT'S ZIP CODE, ET CETERA.
AND WE CAN PROVIDE THE, THE POINT IN TIME NUMBER THAT CAME OUT OF THE E ECHOES REPORT.
THAT'LL BE USEFUL INFORMATION.
UM, THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED CENTRAL HEALTH AND I'D LIKE TO DIG INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IF I COULD, OR JUST ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT ROLE CENTRAL HEALTH CURRENTLY PLAYS IN THIS WORK? WHAT ROLE DO WE THINK CENTRAL HEALTH SHOULD PLAY? WHAT CONVERSATIONS ARE WE HAVING WITH CENTRAL HEALTH? MY THESIS IS THAT CENTRAL HEALTH NEEDS TO BE LEADING IN THIS EFFORT, NOT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
COUNCIL MEMBER, I, I THINK THE ISSUE OF, UH, TO THE DEGREE THAT HEALTH IS PART OF THE ISSUE OR PART OF THE, UH, FORMULA THAT'S NEEDED TO HELP PEOPLE ESCAPE, UH, THE EXPERIENCE OF HOMELESSNESS, CENTRAL HEALTH WILL PLAY A CRITICAL AND KEY ROLE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE POOR AND THE VULNERABLE.
AND THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE EITHER POOR OR THEY'RE VULNERABLE.
UH, EVEN THOUGH I, IT'S ANECDOTAL CUZ I DON'T HAVE STATISTICS THAT CAN TELL YOU THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, BOTH OTHERS MAY HAVE THIS, THAT EXPERIENCE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ISSUES THAT WHERE THEY NEED INTENSIVE THERAPY TO HELP THEM BECOME, UH, UH, PART OF OUR CITIZENRY THAT CAN, CAN BE A FULL PRODUCTIVE CITIZEN WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
THOSE ARE THINGS THAT CENTRAL HEALTH CAN AND SHOULD PLAY A ROLE IN.
BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT IN DEF IN THEIR DEFENSE, WE, WE'VE NOT, THAT'S WHY I ASKED US TO START THINKING ABOUT STEPPING BACK TO FIND OUT THE RIGHT ROLE, THE RIGHT LANE FOR EACH AGENCY, THE CITY BEING ONE OF THEM.
CAUSE I DON'T THINK WE WANNA SHIRK OUR RESPONSIBILITIES EITHER, BUT I THINK THEY DO PLAY A ROLE.
AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS WE NEED TO EXTEND AT LEAST THAT REQUEST FOR THEM TO JOIN ALL OF US IN TRYING TO, UH, ADDRESS THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS AND LANES THAT THEY OWN ARE PART OF BECAUSE OF THEIR PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY OR THEIR PRIVATE RESPONSIBILITY.
CUZ THEY'RE PRIVATE NOT-FOR-PROFITS.
AND WE, AND WE'LL INTEND TO DO THAT.
I THINK THAT IS TERRIFIC AND THAT WOULD BE A GOOD AIM AND, UM, HOPEFULLY A SUCCESSFUL GOAL FOR THIS YEAR AND GOING FORWARD.
UM, CENTRAL HEALTH HAS HEALTH IN ITS
[00:30:01]
NAME.UM, I AGREE THE CITY OF AUSTIN SHOULD CONTINUE TO DO THE SUPPORTING AND ORGANIZING WORK AND BEING ACTIVELY INVOLVED, BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE A LARGER ROLE SURE.
SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES, WHICH I THINK ARE, ARE, UM, PROMISING SORT OF EXAMPLES OF THE WAY THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND THINGS THAT CENTRAL HEALTH HAS, UM, IS, IS HAS ON DECK.
SO CENTRAL HEALTH HAS, UM, APPROVED THE ISSUANCE OF, UH, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION TO CREATE A FACILITY FOR 50 RESPITE BEDS.
AND THAT'S ESSENTIALLY SPECIALIZED SHELTER FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH COMPLEX HEALTH NEEDS, INCLUDING THOSE WHO MAY BE BEING DISCHARGED, UH, FROM LOCAL HOSPITALS AND NEED A PLACE TO RECOVER, BUT NOT NECESSARILY LIMITED TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
AND THEY HAVE BEEN FUNDING SOME OF THAT FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT FOR SOME TIME.
SO I THINK THIS IS, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY THAT IS ONE OF THESE, UH, THIS GAP OF BEDS THAT WE HAVE.
WE'RE STILL, I THINK, IN THE FAIRLY EARLY PLANNING STAGES AND WANNA WORK WITH THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE TIMELINE.
THE SECOND PIECE IS THAT WE HAVE, IN THE COMING MONTHS WE'LL BE ISSUING AN R F P FOR SOMETHING CALLED THE AT-HOME INITIATIVE, WHICH IS SERVICES FOR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
IT IS AN, UH, EVOLUTION OF A PAY FOR SUCCESS PROGRAM THAT SOME OF YOU MAY RECALL.
UH, AND THAT THE SORT OF IMPORTANT PIECE OF THAT INITIATIVE IS THAT IT IS MULTI FUNDER.
SO IT HAS THE CITY, IT HAS THE COUNTY, IT HAS CENTRAL HEALTH AS A PARTNER, AS WELL AS PRIVATE PARTNERS LIKE THE ST.
AND THE WAY THAT CENTRAL HEALTH, UM, WILL BE PARTICIPATING, UH, IN THAT PARTNERSHIP IS THAT FOR PSH UNITS, THEY WILL HAVE MOBILE MEDICAL TEAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND VISIT THOSE SITES, UH, SO THAT THE OTHER, YOU, YOU'LL HAVE A GENERAL CASE MANAGER, ET CETERA, UH, BUT IT REALLY IS AN OPERATIONAL PARTNERSHIP THAT DOES LEAN INTO THEIR EXPERTISE AS, UH, A HEALTHCARE FUNDER AND PROVIDER.
AND SO THOSE AREN'T, CERTAINLY, AREN'T THE ONLY WAYS THAT I HOPE WE CAN PARTNER, BUT I THINK THOSE ARE IMPORTANT EARLY STEPS.
I'LL GO COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES CADRE AND THEN HARPER MADISON.
AND, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER POLL, I ECHO YOUR SENTIMENTS IN WANTING TO HEAR MORE FROM CENTRAL HEALTH AND PERHAPS WE CAN INVITE THEM TO OUR NEXT PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE MEETING TO DO A SPECIALIZED PRESENTATION ON, UM, THEIR EFFORTS REGARDING HOMELESSNESS.
SO JUST WANTED TO, TO THROW THAT OUT THERE.
UH, MS. GRAY, ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT YOU PRESENTED ON, AND I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I THINK YOU DO A FANTASTIC JOB WITH YOUR PRESENTATIONS AND I APPRECIATE HOW YOU FORMAT THE INFORMATION AND HOW YOU REALLY COVER ALL THE AREAS IN WHICH I, I, AS A COUNCIL MEMBER WOULD BE LOOKING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT.
SO THANK YOU FOR PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE GAP FOR NON REFERRALS, UH, SERVICES WITHIN, WITHIN OUR SHELTER SYSTEM THAT IS AN ISSUE.
COLLEAGUES THAT I HAVE SEEN HAPPEN, UM, MANY TIMES IS THAT, AND YOU HAVE TO BE ON A REFERRAL LIST TO GET INTO ONE OF OUR, UH, NOT ONLY ONE OF OUR SHELTERS, BUT A SHELTER IN THE CITY.
SO WHAT MORE CAN WE BE LOOKING AT OR CAN YOU JUST ELABORATE ON WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE FOR US AS WE EXPLORE OPTIONS IN PROVIDING EMERGENCY SHELTER THAT IS NON-REFERRAL BASED? SURE.
AND SO I, I THINK THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PIECES HERE.
YOU COULD HAVE WALK-UP SHELTER, RIGHT? AND REALLY IN SOME WAYS THAT IS WHAT'S HAPPENING, BUT UNDERSTAND THAT NOW AND EVEN WHEN, IF, YOU KNOW, PRESUMING WE EXPAND, WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE SOME FRANK SHORTAGE OF SHELTER BEDS.
AND SO WE DO NEED TO BE REALLY STRATEGIC ABOUT HOW WE REFER FOLKS INTO SHELTER.
UH, AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
IT'S NOT UNCOMMON THAT WE HAVE STREET OUTREACH TEAMS COME ACROSS, PEOPLE IN THE FIELD THAT HAVE SIGNIFICANT VULNERABILITIES, WHETHER THOSE ARE, UH, HEALTHCARE RELATED OR RELATED TO POTENTIAL VICTIMIZATION, ET CETERA.
WE REALLY, WE DO WANNA MOVE THOSE PEOPLE INTO SHELTER IF THAT'S, UH, AN APPROPRIATE PLACEMENT FOR THEM.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS PROBABLY WHAT YOU'VE EXPERIENCED.
YOU THEN ARE FACED WITH CALLING MULTIPLE SHELTERS TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND.
AND, AND SO STAFF IS WORKING ON THIS NOW, UH, POTENTIAL MODELS.
BUT LET ME GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST THAT I THINK WAS, UH, WAS USEFUL.
YOU WILL RECALL THAT DURING THE, THE HEATED DAYS OF COVID, WE HAD SEVERAL PROTECTIVE LODGES UP AND, UH, FIVE AND FOR A TOTAL OF ABOUT 350 BEDS.
AND THOSE WERE INTENDED FOR PEOPLE WITH SIGNIFICANT HEALTHCARE VULNERABILITIES TO COVID.
IT WAS PRE, UH, PREC VACCINE, ET CETERA.
AND SO THE IDEA WAS THAT IT WAS PROVIDING A SAFE PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE.
UH, AND SO WE HAD A BED MANAGEMENT TEAM AND THAT BED MANAGEMENT TEAM WAS SORT OF MULTI-PARTNER.
[00:35:01]
OF CITY, UH, COMMUNITY CARE CLINICS, PARTICULARLY THE HEALTHCARE FOR THE HOMELESS CLINIC, OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS WHO ENGAGED A LOT OF THESE FOLKS IN THE FIELD, UH, AS WELL AS ECHO.AND SO I THINK AT LEAST FOR CITY OWNED PROPERTIES AND LIKELY FOR CITY FUNDED PROPERTIES, I THINK SAYING WE REALLY NEED AT LEAST A COORDINATED, UH, SYSTEM WHERE, YOU KNOW, AS NEED ARISES, WE'RE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE BEST PLACEMENT AND KNOW ACROSS THE SYSTEM WHERE OUR CAPACITY LIES.
AND WITH THAT EFFORT IN MIND, KNOWING THAT THAT IS A NEED FOR US TO HAVE A COORDINATED SYSTEM WITH BED MANAGEMENT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOUR DIVISION WILL BE WORKING ON IMPLEMENTING OR DO YOU NEED ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE FROM COUNCIL OR RESOURCES AS WE APPROACH THE BUDGET SEASON? YEAH.
UM, IT IS ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAVE THAT WE BELIEVE IS ACTIONABLE.
UM, UH, WITHOUT ACTION FROM COUNSEL AT THIS TIME, UM, WE MAY HAVE SOME COST ASSOCIATED WITH THE SYSTEM, BUT I THINK WE WANNA SPEND SOME TIME UNDERSTANDING, UH, WHAT THE RECOMMENDED SYSTEM IS BEFORE WE GET TO THE, THE POINT OF RESOURCES.
AND, UM, THE OTHER AREA I WANTED TO HONE IN ON IS THE UTILIZATION OF OUR SHELTERS.
YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT STRUCK ME DURING THE POINT IN TIME PRESENTATION THAT WE RECEIVED FROM ECHO A FEW MONTHS AGO WAS THAT ON THE DAY OF THE POINT IN TIME, COUNT IT, THE UTILIZATION RATE OF OUR EMERGENCY SHELTERS AT THAT TIME WAS AROUND 70%.
NOW YOU PRESENTED I THINK, A HIGHER NUMBER THAN THAT.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO, IF YOU COULD JUST SHARE LIKE WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT YES, AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.
BUT, UH, BECAUSE UM, WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY THAT WE ALSO WERE CONCERNED BY THAT NUMBER.
AND SO STAFF SPENT SOME SIGNIFICANT TIME WITH ECHO REALLY COMBING THROUGH THAT DATA.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT WE HAD A COUPLE OF PROVIDERS THAT HAD BEDS ENTIRELY OFFLINE.
SO BECAUSE OF FUNDING, BECAUSE THEY WERE MOVING LOCATION, ET CETERA, THOSE BEDS WERE NOT AVAILABLE TO BE FILLED AT THE TIME OF THE POINT IN TIME COUNT, WHICH MEANT THAT OUR DENOMINATOR WAS OFF.
SO OF THE BEDS THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO BE OCCUPIED AT POINT IN TIME, 92% WERE FILLED.
THAT'S A, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION.
CUZ I'VE BEEN SHARING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, AS WE INVEST SO HEAVILY IN THE MARSHALING YARD AS AN EMERGENCY TEMP, UH, TEMPORARY SHELTER SPACE, I THINK UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY ARE BEING UTILIZED, UH, QUITE HEAVILY.
UM, THAT, THAT IS, UH, A STRATEGY WORTH INVESTING IN.
AND ONE THAT, AS YOU'VE SHARED, THAT WE NEED TO EXPAND OUR OPTIONS.
UM, THAT I BELIEVE COVERS MY, MY QUESTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, THEN HARPER MADISON, THEN KELLY.
UM, AND THEN I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER REINTER, UM, SO SOME OF MY QUESTIONS I THINK YOU'VE ALREADY KIND OF ANSWERED.
SO THAT SHOWS YOU HOW GREAT OF A PRESENTATION YOU DID.
UM, BUT I, I WANTED TO KIND OF TOUCH ON THE UN UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.
UH, YOU TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SINGLE ADULTS, FAMILIES, REFUGEES, UH, MEMBERS OF THE LGBTQ, UH, IA PLUS COMMUNITY.
WHAT RESOURCES ARE THERE CURRENTLY FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, REFUGEES, RIGHT? WHO MIGHT HAVE GONE THROUGH SO MUCH HARDSHIP TO COME TO THIS COUNTRY NOW THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN THEIR PREDICAMENT OF HOMELESSNESS.
THERE MIGHT BE A LANGUAGE GAP.
THEY MIGHT BE SUFFERING FROM A LEVEL OF, YOU KNOW, PTSD, YOU KNOW, WHAT RESOURCES ARE THERE FOR THAT COMMUNITY.
AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION ON THIS TOPIC, UH, WHEN IT, WHEN IT COMES TO THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE GONE TO SEVERAL SHELTERS IN MY, IN MY TIME IN OFFICE, AND I'VE, I'VE SEEN, UH, RESIDENTS OF THOSE SHELTERS AT TIMES SAY, YOU KNOW, SOME VERY UNFORTUNATELY TRANSPHOBIC LANGUAGE TOWARDS OTHER, OTHER MEMBERS OF THAT SHELTER.
SO ARE, ARE THERE ANY RESOURCES FOR, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR TRANS AUSTINITE WHO MIGHT FIND THEMSELVES, UH, UNHOUSED? UM, SO, SURE.
SO, UM, IN TERMS OF THE REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT POPULATION, I'LL DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO, LET ME ACTUALLY GET TO THE RIGHT SLIDE HERE.
CASA MARIELLA IS OUR PRIMARY SERVICE PROVIDER THAT REALLY FOCUSES ON THAT POPULATION AND THEY HAVE A COMBINED 77 BEDS.
SO THAT IS THE RESOURCE THAT IS, THAT IS TARGETED TO THAT POPULATION.
IN TERMS OF L G B T Q I A AND PARTICULARLY TRANS, UM, POPULATION RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T HAVE PUBLICLY FUNDED, SET ASIDE BEDS FOR THE POPULATION.
UM, I AM AWARE OF AT LEAST ONE, UH, SORT OF COMMUNITY BASED VERY SMALL GRASSROOTS SHELTER.
IS THAT QUEER TOPIA? YES, SIR.
AND SO, UM, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, THAT IS RUN OUT OF, I BELIEVE A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE OR A A, UM, A DUPLEX OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO THOSE EXIST, BUT AGAIN, WITHIN OUR SORT OF OVERALL SYSTEM AND CERTAINLY RECEIVING PUBLIC SUPPORT, UH, THAT DOESN'T EXIST.
AND I THINK WE'RE, UH, WE'RE NOT MEETING THE NEED IN TERMS OF VOLUME OF THE POPULATION.
[00:40:01]
UM, AND THEN I HAD A QUESTION ON THE, ON, ON THE HEAT MAP, UH, ABOUT GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS.UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU HIGHLIGHTED, UM, WHERE, WHERE FOLKS ARE AND HOW THEY'RE KIND OF SPREADING, UH, TO OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
DO, DO WE KNOW WHY FOLKS ARE KIND OF DISPERSING AND, AND, AND THEN DO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF WHAT THE COUNT LOOKS LIKE OR, OR LIKE A ROUGH ESTIMATE OF SORT? SURE.
WE'LL PROVIDE THAT, I THINK IN THE MEMO, THE SPECIFIC NUMBER MM-HMM.
BUT I THINK IT WAS A CONFLUENCE OF EVENTS.
FIRST OF ALL, DURING THE PANDEMIC RESOURCES WERE REALLY NOT AVAILABLE IN THE DOWNTOWN CORE IN THE SAME WAY THEY HAD BEEN HISTORICALLY.
UM, BOTH THE, UH, DECRIMINALIZATION OF PUBLIC CAMPING AND THE REINSTITUTION OF PRO PROHIBITIONS ON PUBLIC CAMPING HAVE INDUCED MOVEMENT OF THE POPULATION WHEN CAMPING WAS NOT A MISDEMEANOR.
UH, PEOPLE CAME OUT OF SORT OF MORE REMOVED AREAS.
AND WE HAVE SEEN SINCE, UH, MAY OF 21, UH, AND, AND I GUESS AUGUST, SEPTEMBER WHEN WE REALLY IMPLEMENTED THOSE POPULATIONS MOVE OUT FROM MORE VISIBLE AREAS AND IN MANY CASES, UM, INTO THE WOODS, WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN POPULATION, FOR EXAMPLE, IN OUR PARKLANDS, UH, SINCE THAT TIME.
SO THOSE ARE TWO, UH, NOT THE ONLY, I'M SURE, BUT TWO SIGNIFICANT DRIVERS.
UH, AND THEN MY, MY LAST QUESTION, UH, IT'S ON THE MARSHALING YARD.
UH, WILL THE MARSHALING YARD HAVE ANY DIVERSION SERVICES, RAPID EXIT AND COORDINATED ASSESSMENT? THE DAY THAT IT OPENS, UM, COORDINATED ASSESSMENT IS A REQUIRED MM-HMM.
WERE NOT REQUIRED SERVICES UNDER THE R F P, BUT WE ARE TALKING WITH BOTH, UM, THE RECOMMENDED VENDOR AND OUR PARTNERS AT ECHO WHO HAVE A POT OF RAPID EXIT AND DIVERSION FUNDS AVAILABLE THAT THEY HAVE INDICATED THEY CAN BE AVAILABLE TO ENDEAVORS, SHOULD THEY BE APPROVED AS THE OPERATOR.
UM, AND THEY WILL HAVE CASE MANAGEMENT THAT CAN PROVIDE THAT.
I THINK, UM, YOU POINT TO COORDINATED ENTRY AS POTENTIALLY AN OPERATIONAL CHALLENGE.
AND THE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGE IS THAT IT TAKES A WHILE FOR ASSESSORS TO GET CREDENTIALED THROUGH OUR SYSTEM.
AND BECAUSE ENDEAVORS HAS NOT BEEN, UM, UH, HAD STAFF WHO WERE COORDINATED ASSESSORS PREVIOUSLY, UH, WE NEED TO WORK THROUGH HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE THEM.
I WILL JUST COMMIT TO YOU THAT WE WILL WORK, UM, BOTH WITH THE VENDOR AND WITH WE, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE SOME CITY STAFF WHO ARE, UH, UH, UM, CERTIFIED COORDINATED ASSESSORS.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THOSE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE.
AND I'M SORRY, ONE LAST QUESTION.
UM, HOW MUCH ARPA FUNDING IS THIS IS LEFTOVER? DO WE HAVE A NUMBER? HOW MUCH ARPA FUNDING IS LEFTOVER? UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE, I BELIEVE, 3.6 APPROXIMATELY.
UH, ASSUMING, UH, LET ME GIVE THE CAVEAT, ASSUMING THAT MARSHALING YARD PASSES ON ON THURSDAY AND THAT'S 9.14, GREAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.
THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING ME, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORT.
I, UH, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW AND I DON'T ENVY YOUR POSITION.
I KNOW IT IS EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT AND I JUST LIKE TO JUST MAKE SURE TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND YOUR HARD WORK ON SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY A DIFFICULT TASK.
UM, YOU'RE VERY KIND COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, I THINK MOST OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF I'M RECEIVING SOME CONCERNS FROM CONSTITUENTS ABOUT SORT OF A GENERAL LACK OF TRANSPARENCY ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA APPLY THOSE $9 MILLION.
AND, UM, I RECEIVED A SPECIFIC CONCERN ABOUT LOGISTICS, HOW WE'RE GETTING PEOPLE TO AND FROM THE MARCH YARD.
UM, AND THEN WHAT DOES THE SHELTER SITUATION LOOK LIKE? ARE WE PUTTING PEOPLE IN TENTS? ARE WE, YOU KNOW, LIKE ESPANZA FOR EXAMPLE, THEY'RE WORKING WITH AN ORGANIZATION THAT WE FOUND OUT OF BOSTON.
THEY DO THIS PLUG-IN HOUSE OPTION.
I THINK I'VE INTRODUCED THAT TO YOU BEFORE.
AND SO WHAT, WHAT DOES THE LODGING LOOK LIKE LOGISTICALLY? HOW ARE WE GETTING PEOPLE TO AND FROM, AND HOW MUCH CLARITY CAN WE GET AROUND HOW WE'RE GONNA APPLY THAT $9 MILLION? YES, MA'AM.
SO, UM, I, I HEAR THREE SEPARATE QUESTIONS.
I WANNA MAKE SURE I ANSWER ALL OF THEM.
ONE IS ABOUT PROCESS, THE SECOND IS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, AND THE THIRD IS ABOUT SORT OF THE FORMAT OF THE SHELTER.
[00:45:01]
WE DID AN R F P.UH, THERE IS A SCOPE OF WORK THAT THE VENDORS WERE REQUIRED TO RESPOND TO, I BELIEVE THAT HAS BEEN, UM, PROVIDED OR WILL BE PROVIDED TODAY THROUGH THE Q AND A PROCESS.
AND SO THAT REALLY DETAILS, UM, WITH QUITE A BIT OF SPECIFICITY WHAT THE ONSITE SERVICES ARE EXPECTED TO BE, UH, PAST THAT THRESHOLD EXPECTATION.
OF COURSE, A VENDOR CAN DO MORE, UM, UM, AND, AND BRING ADDITIONAL SERVICES.
AND SO THERE WAS A COMPETITIVE PROCESS, UH, AND ENDEAVORS WAS THE HIGHEST SCORING OFFER.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE PHYSICAL CONFIGURATION, UH, UH, THE MARSHALING YARD IS A LARGE WAREHOUSE, UM, FACILITY.
SO WE, EVERYTHING WILL BE, UH, ALL OF THE BEDS WILL BE INTERIOR.
UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH ENDEAVORS, IN FACT TODAY EVEN TO, UM, HELP UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR PREFERRED LAYOUT IS.
BUT WE WILL BE BRINGING IN ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, UH, IN THE FORM OF SHOWER TRAILERS, BATHROOM TRAILERS, UH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A LAUNDRY SERVICE.
AND OF COURSE THERE WILL BE SOME COMMON AREAS AND AREAS FOR STAFF AND CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
BUT ALL WITHIN, UH, THE MARSHALING YARD BUILDING PROPER, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, SOME OF THE HYGIENE TRAILERS.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY WE DID REQUIRE WITHIN THE R F P, UM, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE, UM, THE SITE IS, UH, CLOSE TO, BUT UH, FROM A WALKING STANDPOINT, A LITTLE BIT OF DISTANCE FROM THE CLOSEST BUS STOP, UH, AND WANTING TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE GOOD NEIGHBORS.
WE ASK THE OFFERS TO PROVIDE A SHUTTLE SERVICE THAT WILL OPERATE FROM 8:00 AM TO 8:00 PM AT LEAST.
UM, THEY CAN, UM, PROPOSE TO US WHAT THE STOPS ARE, BUT THE EXPECTATION IS THAT THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UH, SORT OF MAJOR TRANSPORTATION NODES TO MULTIPLE BUS STOPS AS WELL AS PLACES THAT PEOPLE MIGHT TYPICALLY GO FOR SERVICES.
I GUESS AS AN EXTENSION OF THAT, MY QUESTION WOULD BE, UM, JUST ABOUT GENERAL PRIVACY.
IF ALL THE BEDS ARE IN SORT OF A MASSIVE WAREHOUSE SPACE, IS THERE ANY SORT OF ACCOMMODATION FOR OFFERING FOLKS SOME PRIVACY? SO ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT WE'LL BE DISCUSSING WITH ENDEAVORS, AND AGAIN HEARING THEIR PROPOSAL, UH, IS THAT YOU CAN USE PIPE AND DRAPE.
THERE ARE SOME POTENTIAL, BUT WE ARE DEALING WITH LIMITED SPACE, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO DO THAT.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, IN THIS INSTANCE, UM, IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE, UM, MEET SOME NEED OF CREATING ADDITIONAL BEDS QUICKLY.
WE HAD AN UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITY IN TERMS OF THE MARSHALING YARD BEING AVAILABLE.
AGAIN, AS WE LOOK AT OUR LONGER TERM SHELTER OPTIONS, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE'LL BE LOOKING MUCH MORE CLOSELY AT WHAT THAT CON CONFIGURATION IS.
UH, FOR LONGER TERM OP OPERATIONS, THIS IS A CONGREGATE SHELTER, BUT WE DO ANTICIPATE THERE WILL BE SOME SEPARATION CERTAINLY, BUT BY GENDER IN THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE'S SENTIMENT AROUND, UH, THE TRANS COMMUNITY AND SOME OF THE HORROR STORIES I'VE HEARD ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE IN CONGREGATE SHELTER.
I JUST HOPE THAT THERE'S SOME SORT OF CONSIDERATION AROUND SECURITY AS WELL.
AND I WILL ADD, AND THIS CONTRACT IS ALSO STILL UNDER NEGOTIATION, SO NOTHING IS FINALIZED, BUT REMEMBER THAT COUNCIL HAS APPROVED, UH, THE OPERATION OF THE FORMER SALVATION ARMY SITE DOWNTOWN.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT URBAN ALCHEMY HAS TALKED ABOUT IS DOING SOMETHING THEY HAVE DONE QUITE EFFECTIVELY AT THE ARCH, WHICH IS USING SOME OF THE PREVIOUS OFFICE SPACES TO CREATE ADDITIONAL PRIVACY AND SECURITY, PARTICULARLY FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED IT.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER.
AND THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, SO DURING, WELL ON SLIDE THREE, YOU MENTIONED PEER CITY'S RESEARCH AND I WAS REAL GLAD TO SEE THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA THERE.
I RECENTLY TOOK A TRIP WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND MET WITH DC'S, COUNCIL CHAIRPERSON PHIL MENDELSON, AND WE SPOKE AT LENGTH ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'VE DONE TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS IN DC THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
SO I WAS WONDERING IF MAYBE YOU COULD ELABORATE JUST A LITTLE BIT ON SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE FOUND FROM THAT PEER CITY RESEARCH THAT YOU'VE BROUGHT BACK TO AUSTIN THAT YOU'VE FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE.
AND, AND MUCH OF THIS WILL BE DE YOU KNOW, BE SHARED IN GREATER DETAIL IN THE NARRATIVE REPORT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, NO ONE'S SYSTEM IS PERFECT.
[00:50:01]
STRENGTHS THAT WE SEE ARE JUST SORT OF AVAILABILITY OF BEDS.YOU HAVE SOME COMMUNITIES WHERE THAT ARE RIGHT TO SHELTER, WHERE YOU HAVE ALMOST A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO THAT COMES WITH SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IMPLICATIONS.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WE SEE SOME, UM, COMMUNITIES WHERE THE REFERRAL PROCESS IS VERY STRONG AND SEAMLESS, WHICH MEANS THAT SYSTEM IS MUCH MORE EFFICIENT.
WE SEE OTHER COMMUNITIES WHERE, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE AN OMBUDSMAN PROCESS, SO THAT IF SOMEONE IS EXITED INVOLUNTARILY FROM SHELTER AND THEY DON'T AGREE WITH THE DECISION THEY HAVE RE UH, ADDITIONAL RECOURSE.
AND SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'M PREPARED TO GO SORT OF COMMUNITY BY COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT I THINK, UH, PLENTY TO LEARN FROM OUR PEER CITIES AND WE'RE HOPING TO REPLICATE MANY OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES.
THANK YOU FOR ELABORATING ON THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT.
ALSO ON THE SAME SLIDE, YOU LIST THOSE TWO CONSULTANT REPORTS THAT WERE DONE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND I NOTICED THEY WERE DONE IN 2020.
AND SO I GUESS MY CONCERN IS THAT YOU DO MENTION, YOU KNOW, WE NEED ADDITIONAL SHELTER SPACE AND CAPACITY, BUT SINCE THE REPORTS WERE DONE IN 2020, I QUESTIONED THE RELEVANCE TO OUR NEEDS NOW THREE YEARS LATER, IF IT MIGHT BE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE BASED ON SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED.
COULD YOU MAYBE SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? SO AS WE LOOK AT, WE, UH, FIRST OF ALL, WHAT, WHAT WE DID WITH THE POPPY REPORT, BECAUSE IT WAS A FORWARD LOOKING, UM, SORT OF IT SAID, THIS IS YOUR, YOUR RIGHT SIZED SYSTEM.
UH, WE DID TAKE THAT AND ADJUST FOR POPULATION GROWTH.
WHILE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF FLUCTUATION IN THE VISIBILITY AND LOCATION OF ENCAMPMENTS, OUR POINT IN TIME NUMBERS HAVE REMAINED RELATIVELY, UH, EVEN, BUT I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THIS IS THESE ARE MODELS THAT WE WILL NEED TO REVISIT OVER TIME.
IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFICULT TO HA HAVE DATA ANALYSIS ON A POPULATION THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN ADDRESS.
UH, AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO REVISIT THIS WITH OUR PARTNERS AT ECHO, BUT I THINK THIS IS THE, THE, THE MOST THOROUGH ANALYSIS, UH, THAT HAD BEEN DONE TO DATE AND WE THINK STILL IS, IS VALID AS A STARTING PLACE FOR WHERE WE WANT TO GO IN THE, IN THE SHORT TERM.
COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ALISON AL ALTER.
I JUST WANT TO START OFF WITH A ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID ABOUT SOUTH AUSTIN.
YOU KNOW, SOUTH AUSTIN IS, IS FEELING THIS HARD.
UH, IF, IF ANY OF YOU, YOU KNOW, DRIVE AROUND DOWN THERE AND AND TALK TO ANYBODY, IT IS ALL IN, IN EVERY CONVERSATION I HAVE WITH SOMEBODY DOWN THERE, THIS ISSUE COMES UP.
WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT HOMELESSNESS, ILLNESS, WHY IS IT GETTING WORSE? WE, WE NEED EVERYBODY'S HELP.
AND THAT'S NOT JUST HERE ON THE DIA TO YOUR POINT, THE THE BROADER COMMUNITY.
I ALSO WANT TO JUST KIND OF LEVEL SET FOR A MINUTE JUST IN THE VEIN OF, YOU KNOW, WE, IF WE STOP TALKING ABOUT IT, WE STOP TALKING ABOUT IT, RIGHT? THE, THE BLACK POPULATION IN OUR UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS OR IN OUR HOMELESS COMMUNITY IS 34%, 7.3% OF AUSTINITE ARE BLACK.
WE HAVE MORE HISPANIC HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS THAN WE DO WHITE, YET WE HAVE 50% MORE WHITE RESIDENTS THAN WE DO HISPANIC.
THE THIS, WE ALL KNOW THIS, THIS IS NO SURPRISE, BUT THIS ISSUE IS DISPROPORTIONATELY CONSTANTLY AFFECTING THE MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
AND THAT I JUST, I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE TO KEEP SAYING IT.
I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT THE MANAGER TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, AND THAT WAS THE MENTAL HEALTH ASPECT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, PARTICULARLY AROUND SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT.
WHAT SERVICES OR WHAT PARTNERSHIPS DO WE HAVE AVAILABLE OTHER THAN INTEGRAL CARE TO GET, WHETHER IT'S MAT MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT, OR JUST OTHER PARTICULARLY SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT, BUT OTHER MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENTS IN THE BEDS? YEAH, SO, UM, LET ME GIVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES AND LET YOU KNOW.
I DON'T THINK THIS IS EXHAUSTIVE BECAUSE WE HAVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT, OF COURSE THAT HAPPENS IN, UM, IN OTHER DIVISIONS WITHIN A P H GENERALLY.
UM, WE HAVE A, A MAT PROGRAM WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS WHO DO TREMENDOUS WORK IN THE FIELD OF FINDING PEOPLE AND CONNECTING THEM, UH, TO MEDICALLY ASSISTED TREATMENT.
[00:55:01]
KNOW, PROBABLY NOT TO SCALE.WE KNOW IT'S NOT, UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR SHELTER BEDS, THERE IS A PARTICULAR PROVIDER THAT FOCUSES ON, UM, SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS AND TREATMENT.
AND THAT'S A NEW ENTRY THAT IS NOT THE ONLY POPULATION THEY SERVE, BUT THEY ARE EQUIPPED, UM, TO PROVIDE RECOVERY SERVICES, NOT DETOX, BUT TREATMENT.
AND I THINK THAT THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS IN WHICH THIS IS FUNDAMENTALLY A HEALTHCARE, UH, ISSUE.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS ON HOW THE CITY CAN PLAY IN THIS SPACE.
UH, BUT I ABSOLUTELY THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT IS NOT UNCOMMON, PARTICULARLY AS SOMEONE STABILIZES, WHETHER IN SHELTER OR IN PERMANENT HOUSING TO SAY, NOW I'M READY FOR TREATMENT.
AND, UH, TOO OFTEN THE ANSWER IS IT'S GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO GET A BED.
WELL, ON IN THAT VEIN, AND THIS MIGHT BE MORE OF AN ECHO QUESTION THAN, THAN YOU, BUT WHAT KIND OF OUTCOMES DATA DO WE KEEP IN TERMS OF OUR SPECIFIC SHELTERS TO UNDERSTAND WHICH SHELTERS ARE, YOU KNOW, EXCELLING IF DARE I USE, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE DO WE SEE SUCCESS? SURE.
SO ALL, UH, ANY PUBLICLY FUNDED SHELTER, OR I SHOULD SAY CITY FUNDED SHELTER, ECHO, THE CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM THAT COMES THROUGH ECHO DOES NOT FUND SHELTER.
SO WE ARE THE PRIMARY RIGHT NOW PUBLIC, UH, FUNDER, ALTHOUGH NOT THE ONLY ONE IS REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS OUR SHARED DATABASE.
AND THERE ARE UNIVERSAL DATA ELEMENTS.
SO WE KNOW HOW LONG SOMEONE WAS THERE, WHAT THE RATE OF INVOLUNTARY EXIT WAS, AGAIN, WITH THE CAVEAT THAT WE HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF EXITS WHERE WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHAT THEIR DESTINATION WAS.
AND SO WE DO HAVE, I THINK A SOLID BASELINE OF SHARED DATA THAT WE CAN UTILIZE AMONGST OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IS THAT WE GET REALLY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT ARE THE KEY INDICATORS FOR THESE SHELTERS AND THAT WE DO JUST THAT, THAT WE REALLY BEGIN TO LOOK SHELTER BY SHELTER.
UH, AND THAT'S CERTAINLY FOR CITY OWNED OR PR YOU KNOW, LARGELY SUPPORTED SHELTERS WHERE WE SEE A GAP IN PERFORMANCE, WE NEED TO BE INTERVENING WITH THAT VENDOR AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THE BEST QUALITY SERVICE WE CAN.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PERFORMANCE, IS THAT JUST GETTING INTO HOUSING OR WHAT, WHAT IS A, A POSITIVE OUTCOME? I THINK THERE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE MULTIPLE, UM, UH, METRICS HERE.
CERTAINLY GETTING INTO HOUSING, BUT ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE SHELTER PROVIDERS DON'T, NECESS AREN'T NECESSARILY THE PERMANENT HOUSING PROVIDERS.
AND THAT WE USE A PRIORITIZATION SYSTEM IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH MAY MEAN THAT SOMEONE IS RELATIVELY LOW ON THE LIST, RIGHT? FOR GETTING INTO HOUSING.
THAT'S WHY THAT FLEXIBLE POOL OF FUNDS IS SO IMPORTANT.
IF SOMEONE'S NOT GONNA GET RAPID OR PSH FOR SOME TIME, WE WANT STAFF ON SITE TO REALLY HAVE SOME FLEX FLEXIBLE FUNDS TO WORK WITH THEM.
UH, I THINK THE RATE OF INVOLUNTARY EXIT IS REALLY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? UM, THESE ARE COMPLEX SITUATIONS.
PEOPLE ARE LIVING WITH COMPLEX CONDITIONS.
UH, BUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WE WANT TO KEEP PEOPLE STABLE IN SHELTER UNTIL THEY ARE HOUSED WHERE WE SEE VERY HIGH RATES OF INVOLUNTARY EXIT.
UH, WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT US NOT DOING AS GOOD A JOB AS POSSIBLE, UH, IN THOSE SPACES.
UM, WHICH OF OUR SHELTERS REQUIRE, UH, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT LOW BARRIER VERSUS HIGH BARRIER, WHICH OF OUR SHELTERS ARE REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE SOME FORM OF, UH, DETOX OR, OR I KNOW LIKE AT THE ARCH, YOU CAN'T USE IN THE ARCH, BUT THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT HAPPENS OUTSIDE THEIR DOORS IS WHAT HAPPENS OUTSIDE THEIR DOORS.
I THINK THAT, AND SO WE, I THINK WE WOULD NEED TO LOOK AT THAT.
OBVIOUSLY A NEW ENTRY BECAUSE IT'S A RECOVERY SPACE, UM, HAS RULES.
CERTAINLY NOT ONLY ABOUT, UM, NOT SUGGESTING EVERYONE HAS TO BE COMPLETELY ABSTINENT, BUT YOU CAN'T BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE ON SITE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT IS LIKELY A, A, UM, SORT OF A BAR THAT WE COULD HAVE IN SOME OF THE OTHER SHELTERS.
I WOULD WANT TO COME BACK TO YOU WITH A FULL ASSESSMENT OF THE ENTIRE LIST COUNCIL MEMBER, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
DO WE HAVE, I KNOW, UM, I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH SHELTER PROVIDERS AS WELL AS IN THE PSH WORLD ABOUT WHO SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED, YOU KNOW, THE TOP OF THE LIST CONVERSATION VERSUS THE PERSON WHO WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH FASTEST.
AND SO KEEP THAT BED CHURNING.
I'M CURIOUS ONE IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT, BUT TWO IS IT, MIGHT IT BEHOOVE US TO HAVE KIND OF A CERTAIN SHELTER SPACE THAT WE DEDICATE TO REALLY MOVING PEOPLE THROUGH, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT THE TOP OF THE LIST, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY START, UH, YOU KNOW,
[01:00:01]
MAKING THAT, THAT BED VERY EFFECTIVE.SO THIS IS A VERY ACTIVE POLICY CONVERSATION.
UM, AND LET ME GIVE YOU A FEW PERSPECTIVES.
ONE IS THAT, I MEAN, IN SOME WAYS THE HEEL INITIATIVE IS JUST THAT WE SORT OF SAY EVERYBODY THAT COMES INTO THE SHELTER HAS ACCESS TO A HOUSING RESOURCE.
IT MAY TAKE US A WHILE TO GET YOU HOUSED, BUT YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE JUST SITTING, WAITING ON A WAITING LIST, RIGHT? UM, AND IN TERMS OF THE PRIORITIZATION, WHAT I'LL SAY IS THIS, I THINK IT'S BEEN IMPORTANT WHEN WE HAVE A FAIRLY ROBUST RESOURCE, RIGHT? DEEP SUBSIDY, UH, AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND ROBUST CASE MANAGEMENT.
UM, WHETHER THAT IS TIME LIMITED TO, YOU KNOW, UP TO A YEAR OR TWO YEARS OR A FEW MONTHS, OR IT IS ONGOING IN THE CASE OF PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, THAT WE ARE TARGETING THAT RESOURCE TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE MOST BARRIERS TO STABILITY AND THAT, BUT FOR THOSE RESOURCES WOULD VERY LIKELY REMAIN HOUSED.
WHAT I THINK WE NEED TO DO NOW, AND I THINK WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE THAT ECHO HAS MADE GOOD PROGRESS IN THIS SPACE, IS TO SAY YES, BUT IF WE DON'T ALSO ADDRESS THE PEOPLE WHO MAY BE VERY SORT OF JUST VERY RECENTLY HAVE ENTERED HOMELESSNESS WHO HAVE LOWER BARRIERS, WHAT WE SEE IS THAT OVER TIME THEIR, AS THEIR LENGTH OF HOMELESSNESS, UH, INCREASES, SO DO THEIR BARRIERS, RIGHT? YOU ACCUMULATE, UH, SORT OF, YOU KNOW, TRAUMA AND, UM, OTHER, YOU LIKELY HAVE LOST YOUR JOB, ET CETERA.
SO I REALLY THINK THAT WE NEED TO BE WORKING FROM BOTH ENDS.
UM, AND THAT IS PART OF WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATION AROUND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE DIVERSION RAPID EXIT AT ALL SHELTERS IS OKAY.
ONE THING I NOTICED YOU DIDN'T MENTION, AND I'M CURIOUS WHERE THIS COULD FIT IN, OR, OR IF YOU'D RECOMMEND AGAINST, I'D LOVE TO KNOW YOUR OPINION ON SANCTION CAMPING AS A TOOL IN THE SHELTER CONTINUUM.
SO GENERALLY WHEN WE'VE, UM, I THINK COMMUNICATED WITH COUNCIL AROUND SANCTIONED CAMPING, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE SAID IS THAT SHOULD WE AS A COMMUNITY INVEST IN THAT WE REALLY OUGHT TO BE LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING AT ESPERANZA, RIGHT? THAT HAS HARD SIDED SHELTERS, THAT HAS ADEQUATE RESTROOM FACILITIES, ET CETERA.
THAT MODEL, IN MY VIEW, IS BASICALLY A MICROS SHELTER.
IT'S NOT JUST GO CAMP THERE, RIGHT? WHICH IS WHAT WAS THERE PREVIOUSLY.
AND WE HAD A LOT OF CHA CHALLENGES.
AND SO FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THAT KIND OF A MODEL IS CERTAINLY WITHIN THE PURVIEW, SORT OF, OR WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE BEDS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HERE.
I THINK WE WANNA BE REALLY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SHOULD A MODEL THAT IS NOT SORT OF A TRADITIONAL SHELTER, SINGLE STRUCTURE MODEL, JUST TO ENSURE THAT THE, THE SERVICES AND, AND AMENITIES ARE ADEQUATE ON SITE.
UM, WELL THAT, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.
I KIND OF LEAVE US WHERE I, I STARTED US, I TALKED TO SOMEONE YESTERDAY WHO PROVIDES SERVICES IN THE DISTRICT WHO SAID HE HAS THE NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE HE'S SEEN IS THE, BY FAR THE MOST HE'S EVER DEALING WITH.
WHETHER IT'S BECAUSE OF THE HEAT, YOU KNOW, PULLING PEOPLE OUT OF THE, THE WOODWORK.
BUT THE, THE, WE ARE GOING TO SEE OUR NUMBERS CONTINUE TO RISE AND THAT COULD, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE.
IT COULD MEAN THAT THEY'RE JUST GETTING INTO THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS A POSITIVE THING.
UM, BUT WE, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTH AUSTIN, NEED YOUR HELP.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALISON AL ALTER, AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ.
APPRECIATE, UM, THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE INFORMATION AND THE YEARS OF, OF WORK.
UM, HERE I WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE INITIAL COMMENTS OF THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT THE NEED FOR US TO REALLY BE BRINGING OTHER PARTNERS IN, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
AND, AND YOU MENTIONED THAT IN THE REVIEW OF OTHER SYSTEMS, THAT WE WERE BY FAR, UM, DOING MORE IN TERMS OF OUR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS THAN IN OTHER PLACES.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE AND ALSO TELL US HOW THAT INFORMATION IS BEING MADE AVAILABLE? SURE.
TO OUR PHILANTHROPIC POTENTIAL PARTNERS, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A MISSING LINK.
I THINK WE'VE BEEN LEANING INTO THIS AND SO THEY ASSUME WE'RE GONNA DO IT AND THEY ASSUME THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.
UM, AND THAT THAT'S THE WAY A FUNCTIONING SYSTEM WORKS, WHEN IN FACT, FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN, IT'S NOT, SO IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT.
SO I WILL SAY THAT THIS IS LARGELY MORE OF AN OBSERVATION AS WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR PARTNERS, UM, DEVELOPING SORT OF SAY A PERCENTAGE OF PRIVATE FUNDING OF A SHELTER SYSTEM WOULD TAKE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE STAFF TIME.
BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO LOOK AT.
UM, I, I'M GONNA EDITORIALIZE A LITTLE BIT HERE ABOUT SORT OF HOW I THINK THIS, HOW WE GOT HERE.
UM, ONE OF THE PIECES IS THAT WE
[01:05:01]
ARE A YOUNG CITY.WE HAVE GROWN INCREDIBLY RAPIDLY.
AND WHILE WE ARE, I THINK A PROSPEROUS CITY, UH, BECAUSE OF OUR RELATIVE YOUTH, OUR PHILANTHROPIC SECTOR IS NOT AS SORT OF, I DON'T WANT MATURE OR IT IS NOT AS, UH, AGED, IF YOU WILL, AS WE SEE IN SOME OF OUR OTHER TEXAS CITIES AND OTHER LARGE CITIES.
AND SO REALLY PART OF THAT IS JUST A HISTORICAL INVESTMENT OF THAT PHILANTHROPIC SECTOR THAT HAS DEVELOPED OVER, OVER TIME.
UM, AS WE BEGAN TO BUILD OUT OUR, OUR SHELTER SYSTEM, I THINK WE JUST DID NOT QUITE HAVE, UH, THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT, UM, EARLY ON.
AND SO I THINK IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT IT'S TIME FOR US AS A COMMUNITY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT.
BECAUSE ON THE PHILANTHROPIC SIDE, I THINK SHELTER IS ONE OF THE EASIER WAYS, UH, FOR PHILANTHROPY AND INDIVIDUALS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SYSTEM.
I DO WANNA BE CLEAR THAT WE HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PARTICIPATION IN OTHER PARTS OF OUR SYSTEM, UM, FROM PHILANTHROPY, PHILANTHROPY, EXCUSE ME, AND OTHER PARTNERS.
UM, BUT I THINK WE CAN WORK IN, UH, THE REPORT OR IN SUBSEQUENT, UH, UPDATES TO COUNCIL ABOUT WHAT WE SEE IN TERMS OF HOW WE COMPARE TO OTHER COMMUNITIES.
CUZ I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, WE NEED TO SHARE THAT WITH OUR, WITH OUR PARTNERS.
AND WHEN WE, UM, INVESTED A HUNDRED PLUS MILLION DOLLARS OF OUR ARPA MONEY AND, UM, THE BROADER ARPA MONEY THAT WAS NOT JUST OUR CITY SPECIFIC MONEY, UM, INTO ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CHALLENGED THE COUNTY TO DO THE SAME, WHICH THEY HAVE DONE, ALTHOUGH IT'S BEEN MORE IN INVESTMENTS IN PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING THAN THE OTHER SERVICES.
AND THEN THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ANOTHER THIRD THAT WAS PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND WE HAVE SOME INDIVIDUALS WHO'VE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD ON THIS WITH FINDING HOME ATX.
BUT HOW MUCH MONEY FOR THAT PHILANTHROPIC SIDE HAVE WE SUCCESSFULLY, UM, RAISED TOWARDS THOSE GOALS? SO AT OUR LAST REPORT, AND WE WILL HAVE AN UPDATE RELATIVELY SOON, 50 MILLION ROUGHLY WAS THE NUMBER, UH, FOR THAT EFFORT.
UM, AND, AND I DO WANNA ALSO, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ARE INVESTING FUNDS, IT TAKES, UH, SOME TIME TO DO IT, UH, WITH INTEGRITY IN TERMS OF HAVING AN RFP, ET CETERA.
AND SO IN OUR, I THINK IN OUR JUNE BRIEFING, ONE OF THE THINGS WE SEE IS THAT WE HAVE, UM, SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF ENCUMBERED FUNDS, BUT OUR OF THE ARPA FUNDS WE'RE ONLY, WE WERE ONLY AT ABOUT 12% SPENT DOWN.
SO THOSE DOLLARS ARE NOW IN CONTRACTS LARGELY BEING SPENT DOWN, BUT WE HAVE NOT SPENT ALL OF THAT MONEY TO DATE.
AND, UM, THAT LEADS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION, WHICH IS ABOUT THE MARSHALLING YARD, UM, FUNDING, WHICH IS COMING FROM ARPA FUNDING, BUT THAT WAS NOT ORIGINALLY PART OF THE PLAN.
SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT WE WERE GOING TO FUND BUT ARE NOT FUNDING IN ORDER TO, UM, INVEST IN THIS SHELTER? I CAN.
SO, AND THIS, UH, HAS BEEN PROVIDED IN BACKUP AS WELL.
BUT VERY BRIEFLY, I'M GONNA TOUCH ON THE CATEGORIES THAT WE MOVED FUNDS FROM WITHIN THE ARPA INVESTMENT PLAN.
WE MOVED 3 MILLION FROM CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM TARGETED PREVENTION, UM, ABOUT TWO AND A HALF FROM RAPID REHOUSING.
UM, 3.2 FROM A VARIETY OF SUPPORTS FOR PROVIDERS INCLUDING CAPACITY BUILDING, THREE AND A HALF FROM LANDLORD ENGAGEMENT AND MOVE-IN SERVICES, FURNISHINGS, ET CETERA.
UH, AND THEN 2.4 FROM SOME OTHER SERVICES AND ABOUT 550 FROM, UM, SYSTEM SUPPORT, WHICH FUNDS A COMBINATION OF CITY STAFF AND OUTSIDE CONTRACTS TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS.
SO THAT'S A LOT, BUT WE WILL HAVE PROVIDED THAT IN WRITTEN FORMAT FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND, UM, WILL THE CONVENTION CENTER BE PAID ANYTHING TO YOU AS THIS SPACE AND OR WILL THEY CONTRIBUTE ANYTHING TO THESE EFFORTS BEYOND THE SPACE? UM, WE, WE DO NOT, RIGHT NOW I'M LOOKING TO THE MANAGER HAVE AN INTERNAL TRANSFER SCHEDULED THAT I BELIEVE, NO, AT THIS POINT, UH, THAT'S NOT CONTEMPLATED.
UM, AND THEN YOU MENTIONED THE RATES OF INVOLUNTARY EXIT.
COULD YOU PROVIDE THOSE NUMBERS AGAIN? I THINK YOU MAY HAVE PROVIDED THAT T UH, SO I DIDN'T HAVE A CONCRETE NUMBER.
I THINK THAT WHAT WE CAN, UM, LOOK AT IS ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
WE'RE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT WE'LL, UH, UH, ASK ECHO TO HELP US PULL THOSE NUMBERS.
AND THE PLAN FOR THE MARSHALING YARD IS ONE YEAR, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR.
NEXT UP IS COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ.
THANK YOU FOR THE RECOGNITION.
I ECHO EVERYBODY'S, UM, UH, THANKS ON
[01:10:01]
YOUR WORK WITH, UH, WITH, WITH, UM, THIS, UH, MONUMENTAL TASK.UH, I WANTED TO ECHO ALSO THE CONCERNS OF MY COLLEAGUES THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE HEAVY CONSIDERATION, UH, PAID TO GENDER SAFETY AT THE MARSHALING YARD.
UM, AND THEN I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
WILL SHELTER STAFF BE ADEQUATELY TRAINED FOR MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS AND TRAUMA SERVICES? SO ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE SCOPE OF WORK WAS THAT ALL STAFF BE TRAINED IN TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE, UH, DEESCALATION AND PROBA.
I BELIEVE THE THIRD PIECE IS MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID, AND WE CAN CONFIRM THAT FOR YOU.
AND, UH, WE, WE CHATTED EARLIER ABOUT THE, THE, UM, TRANSPORTATION.
WILL THAT ALSO BE AVAILABLE TO, UH, TRANSPORT TO RESOURCES AND APPOINTMENTS OUTSIDE OF THE MARSHALING YARD? I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO TALK WITH OUR VENDOR ABOUT SORT OF WHAT THE VOLUME WOULD LOOK LIKE.
THERE ARE ALSO OTHER RESOURCES THAT CAN BE USED FOR THAT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH MEDICAID, ET CETERA, SOMETIMES WE CAN USE THOSE.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT WE CAN UTILIZE, UM, CAP METRO'S ACCESS PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, AND ALSO FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT, SOMETIMES IT'S EASIER TO GIVE SOMEONE A TAXI VOUCHER OR A SHARE A RIDE SHARE VOUCHER SO THAT THEY CAN DO THAT.
SO WE, I, WE WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT WOULD BE IN THE BUDGET.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS PROPOSED AS, UH, TEMPORARY.
WHAT STEPS ARE BEING ENVISIONED FOR LONG-TERM SHELTER CAPACITY AFTER THE SHELTER CLOSES? CORRECT.
SO WE SHARED WITH YOU, UH, THREE, UH, EXPANSION SORT OF AREAS THAT ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY FOR 245 BEDS.
THAT IS, UH, THE EXPANSION OF THE MOVE TO DOUBLE OCCUPANCY AT THE TWO BRIDGE SHELTERS AS WELL AS ESPER, UH, TWO'S ONGOING EXPANSION OF ESPERANZA.
UH, THERE ARE OTHER POTENTIAL PROJECTS IN, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE UNDER DISCUSSION, UH, LED LARGELY BY OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS.
I THINK WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO SEE HOW THOSE MATURE.
UH, AND THEN, UM, IF AND HOW THE CITY IS INVOLVED IN THOSE EFFORTS.
UH, IF THE SHELTER STAYS BE OPEN, UH, STAYS OPEN BEYOND THE INITIAL YEAR AND OUR, AFTER OUR ARPA DOLLARS RUNS OUT, IS IT, IS THE EXPECTATION THAT THE CITY WILL DIP INTO THE GENERAL FUND FOR, UH, TO FUND THE SHELTER? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER? I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT WE HAVE NOT YET COME TO TERMS WITH.
UH, WE USED AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF THE ARPA MONEY FOR THIS EFFORT.
UH, THE GENERAL FUND, UH, UH, IF YOU WERE TO TRANSFER ALL THOSE DOLLARS AND SAY, NOW THAT BECOMES A GENERAL FUND RESPONSIBILITY, UH, WE WOULD HAVE A, A FINANCIAL EXERCISE TO DO ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE TO JETTISON SO THAT WE CAN AFFORD TO DO THIS.
UH, SO IT THAT'LL BE A POLICY DISCUSSION THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN 25, AND I'M HAPPY TO WATCH IT FROM HOME AND, UH,
UM, IF, UH, IF PEOPLE ARE EXITED FROM THIS SHELTER, THEY'LL STAY IN THEM ON TOP OF THIS AREA.
WHAT CONTROL OR OVERSIGHT WILL THE CITY HAVE OVER BOTH THE REFERRAL PROCESS AND EXITING OR SHELTER EVICTION PROCESS? AND GENERALLY, HOW INVOLVED WILL CITY STAFF BE WITH THAT? SO, WELL, WITHIN THE RFP AND, AND THE ANTICIPATED CONTRACT, WE'VE ESTABLISHED THAT H S D WILL BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE VENDOR FOR THE REFERRAL PROCESS.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD NEED TO TALK TO STAFF TO SEE WHETHER THERE'S ANYTHING EXPLICIT IN THE, IN THE CONTRACT, UH, AS CURRENTLY CONTEMPLATED AROUND EXIT.
I MEAN, I WILL SAY, I THINK, UH, WE WANT TO BE GOOD PARTNERS.
IF SOMEONE IS EXITED AND WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE THEM TRANSPORTATION SOMEWHERE, I HOPE THAT WOULD BE ON THE, ON THE TABLE.
BUT THESE ARE CITIZENS WITH THE RIGHT TO CIRCULATE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, THERE'S SOME LIMITATION TO SORT OF WHAT HAPPENS GUIDING WHERE PEOPLE GO, UM, IF SHOULD THEY LEAVE SHELTER.
AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ ONE OF, I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OF THE, IN TERMS OF THE INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS ABOUT, UH, CREATING A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE THAT'S OTHER AGENCIES, I THINK AS WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO DE GRAPPLE WITH FUNDING FOR, UH, DEALING WITH, UH, PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE HOMELESSNESS AND IT TO DEVELOP OUR LANE.
SO WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE CITY OF AUSTIN LANE THAT THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WILL DO, AND THEN LET'S WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT LANE THEY DEVELOP THAT THEY WILL DO THAT.
ALL, ALL IS IN UNISON TOWARD AN OBJECTIVE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER'S QUESTIONS CAUSED ME TO THINK ABOUT THAT WE DON'T SPEND ENOUGH ATTEN WE HAVE NOT DEVOTED ENOUGH ATTENTION TO, IS WHAT ARE THE LEADING INDICATORS FOR HOMELESSNESS.
AND SO WHEN YOU TALK TO OUR, UH, INNOVATION DEPARTMENT, THEY'VE GOT OUR OFFICE, THEY HAVE A LOT OF CENSUS TRACK DATA THAT YOU CAN LOOK, THAT YOU CAN DELVE INTO.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS ARE IN DANGER OF TIPPING, TIPPING OVER INTO HAVING A PEER, PEOPLE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD BE BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE HOMELESSNESS BECAUSE OF POVERTY, LACK OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AMONG, UH, CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHICS.
[01:15:01]
ARE ALL THINGS WE'VE GOTTA START LOOKING AT UP FRONT, BECAUSE THOSE ARE INVESTMENTS THAT'LL PAY LONG-TERM DIVIDENDS FOR US IF WE DO THAT RIGHT.AND THAT WAY IT'LL KEEP PEOPLE FROM BEING EXPERIENCING HOMELESS ALTOGETHER.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE, THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF LOOK AT THE WHOLE CONTINUUM.
AND I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE THE EXCITING DISCUSSION AS WE REALLY DO THIS YEAR.
SO WE CAN LAY THAT FOUNDATION FOR THE, FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, UH, FOR FISCAL 25.
COUNCIL MEMBER VAIT, MS. VELA.
AND THEN I WAS GONNA ADD MYSELF TO THE END OF THE LIST.
COUNCIL MEMBER VELA AND THE MAYOR PRO 10.
UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS BY THE CITY MANAGER RIGHT NOW ON THE, THE CORE, UH, CAUSES, UH, UH, OBVIOUSLY A VERY DIFFICULT AND AND COMPLEX QUESTION.
UH, THAT SAID, IN IN CONVERSATIONS THAT I'VE HAD AROUND THE ISSUE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE POINT TO MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS, POINT TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
BUT YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WEST VIRGINIA HAS PLENTY OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AND ALMOST NO HOMELESSNESS, UH, BECAUSE THEIR HOUSING COSTS ARE SO LOW, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN HAVE, YOU KNOW, A $200 LITTLE SPOT AND, AND SURVIVE BASICALLY, UH, WITH A, WITH A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD.
UH, SO, AND I, I DON'T THINK IT'S A COINCIDENCE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN HOUSING COSTS CONTINUE TO ESCALATE, AND AT THE SAME TIME WE'VE SEEN HOMELESSNESS, UH, CONTINUE TO ESCALATE.
AND, AND IN, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS WITH THE POINT IN TIME COUNT AND OTHER KIND OF PERSONAL INTERACTIONS THAT I'VE HAD WITH, UH, UH, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING, UH, HOMELESSNESS, THEY HAVE INCOME AND THEY, SOME OF THEM HAVE JOBS, UH, BUT THEY, THERE'S NO WAY THEY CAN SCRATCH TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, UH, THOUSAND DOLLARS OF DEPOSIT AND A THOUSAND DOLLARS FIRST MONTH'S RENT AND THE AUSTIN ENERGY DEPOSIT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AND SO THEY'RE JUST KIND OF STUCK IN THIS LOOP.
UH, SO AGAIN, HOUSING COSTS, WHICH AGAIN, WE GRAPPLE WITH ALL THE TIME ON THE DIETS, ARE JUST, JUST STAND OUT TO ME AS THE NUMBER MORE, THE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS MORE THAN SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
IT'S JUST, I JUST CAN'T AFFORD PLACE, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANTED TO SAY THOUGH, BUT I, I, I DID APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION, BUT, YOU KNOW, CAA MARIA, EVERY TIME I SEE IT ON A LIST OF KIND OF, YOU KNOW, HOMELESS SHELTERS, IT ALWAYS KIND OF, IT, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T QUITE FIT RIGHT WITH ME.
I LOVE CAA MARIA, AND I JUST WANTED TO MENTION IT.
FOR THOSE THAT THAT ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, IT'S ESSENTIALLY AN, AN IMMIGRANT SHELTER, UH, FOR FOLKS, UH, REFUGEES, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE SEEKING ASYLUM.
UM, THE US UH, IMMIGRATION CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, FREQUENTLY IN THE BORDER PATROL AS WELL, FREQUENTLY WILL SEND FOLKS THAT THEY'RE RELEASING, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, A LIST OF, OF RESOURCES.
AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO AUSTIN CA MARIA IS ON THAT LIST, THEY ARE, I SAW 77 BEDS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE WAY OVER THAT ON ANY GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE, THE, THE, THE MANAGERS ARE JUST SO GENEROUS WITH THEIR TIME, ARE JUST SO GOOD WITH THEIR PEOPLE.
AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
UH, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE NOT FOLKS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY HOMELESS, BUT THEY'RE FOLKS THAT HAVE GOTTEN TO THE UNITED STATES WITH LIKE, LITERALLY NOTHING IN THEIR POCKETS.
UH, THEY PROVIDE LEGAL SERVICES TO THE IMMIGRANTS, THEY WILL GET THEM A WORK PERMIT.
UH, AND IT'S, I WOULD ALMOST CONSIDER IT LIKE A COOPERATIVE, UH, CUZ SO MANY OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE LIVING AND STAYING THERE ARE COOKING, UH, ARE CLEANING, ARE REPAIRING.
UH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
UH, MY, MY PARTNERS JENNIFER WALKER GATES AND, AND JACKIE WATSON, MY OLD LAW PARTNERS THAT WAS CAA WAS OUR FAVORITE NONPROFIT TO DONATE TO, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR WITH THE LAW FIRM.
WE WOULD ALWAYS, UH, SUPPORT THEM AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY COULD.
I, I KNOW THAT IT'S NOT A WIDELY KNOWN NONPROFIT AS MUCH AS OTHERS, BUT IT'S A REALLY, REALLY GREAT ORGANIZATION AND, UH, THAT THAT PROVIDES A, A LOT OF SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY, IF NOT FOR THEM.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT FOLKS COMING FROM, YOU KNOW, MARTINA OR, OR CUBA OR WHEREVER, YOU KNOW, WOULD, WOULD DO OR WHERE THEY WOULD GO.
IT, IT JUST HAS HELPED SO MANY PEOPLE JUST GET ON THEIR FEET, GET STABLE, UH, AND GO ON TO BECOME VERY PRODUCTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, CASA MADE A GREAT ORGANIZATION IN, IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, I WAS TAKING AN INTEREST TO THE STATISTIC WHERE YOU SAID PEOPLE ACTUALLY PREFER TO BE IN ROOMS WITH OTHER FOLKS.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, WHY PEOPLE MIGHT LIKE THAT? I KIND OF THOUGHT SOMEONE MIGHT WANT THEIR OWN SPACE, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THEY MIGHT LIKE THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DOES HAPPEN IN UNSHELTERED ENCAMPMENTS IS THAT THERE IS COMMUNITY THERE, RIGHT? UM, SOME FOLKS OF COURSE MAY BE UNSHELTERED AND LIVE OFF BY THEMSELVES, BUT IN MANY CASES THERE ARE COMMUNITIES THAT FORM.
AND SO I THINK MOVING IN INTO, UH, A SPACE IN WHICH YOU HAVE YOUR OWN ROOM AND USUALLY WITHIN SHELTER, UM, FOLKS AREN'T ALLOWED TO SORT OF VISIT BETWEEN THOSE ROOMS. UH, AND SO PEOPLE CAN FEEL ISOLATED.
AND SO THAT REALLY WAS THE PRIMARY THING WE HEARD.
UM, BUT ALSO, UM, THERE IS SOME, YOU KNOW, THERE COMMUNITIES OF CARE WHERE IF SOMEONE IS HAVING A HEALTH ISSUE OR SOMETHING, THEY FEEL
[01:20:01]
A BIT SAFER HAVING, UM, SOMEONE WHO IS KNOWN WITH THEM THAT CAN KIND OF LOOK OUT FOR THEM, UM, AND, UM, AND HELP THEM MANAGE SOME OF THOSE, OR ALERT SOMEONE IF HELP IS NEEDED.UM, AND CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHEN THERE'S INTAKE AND FOLKS HAVE PETS? ARE THERE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS WHERE UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS WITH PETS CAN GET LINKED UP SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE SEPARATED? SO, UM, THIS VARIES SHELTER BY SHELTER.
UH, I WILL TELL YOU THE TWO THAT I'M, I'M CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, OR ACTUALLY I'LL SAY THREE PLACES I KNOW THAT, UH, PETS ARE ALLOWED, OR AT OUR TWO BRIDGE SHELTERS, WE KNEW THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT.
IF WE WERE GONNA HAVE ENTIRE ENCAMPMENTS COME IN, THAT MANY PEOPLE WOULDN'T COME WITHOUT THEIR PETS.
AND THERE ARE QUITE A FEW OF THEM.
AND THEN OF COURSE, ESPERANZA, UM, ALLOWS FOR PETS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT IS NOT ALWAYS PRACTICAL, BUT WE JUST RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, THAT RELATIONSHIP IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MANY AUSTINITE, BUT PARTICULARLY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING UNSHELTERED.
AND SO IF WE WANT PEOPLE IN SHELTER, WE NEED TO, UH, MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
CAUSE I THINK THAT COMPANIONSHIP IS REALLY IMPORTANT AS PEOPLE MAKE THAT TRANSITION.
UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, ARE THERE ANY INCREASED COSTS FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS OF THOSE BRIDGE SHELTERS? IF THEY'RE GONNA BE EXPANDED FROM SINGLE OCCUPANCY TO DOUBLE OCCUPANCY? I KNOW IN YEARS PAST, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IF, UM, THERE'S ANY FEDERAL FUNDING AVAILABLE, THERE'S CERTAIN STANDARDS THAT HAVE TO BE MET.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IF THERE'S ANY INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, NEEDS FOR THOSE? SO, SO FAR THE SORT OF RAMP UP COSTS IN THE BRIDGE SHELTERS HAS PRIMARILY BEEN FURNISHINGS.
SO OBVIOUSLY ADDITIONAL BEDS, UH, INCREASED ABILITY TO SECURE ITEMS WITHIN THE ROOM IF YOU'RE SHARING THE SPACE WITH SOMEONE AND SOME PRIVACY.
UH, SO FAR WE HAVE NOT HAD ADDITIONAL IN INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO THE, THE CAPITAL FACILITY ITSELF.
UH, AND WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ONE-TIME FUNDS, UH, THAT WE COULD USE TO GET THOSE, THOSE SHELTERS SET UP FOR DOUBLE OCCUPANCY.
CAUSE I KNOW WE'VE SEEN GREAT SUCCESS WITH THE HEAL INITIATIVE.
I KNOW IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO PLAN TO GET SOME OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS, UM, CENSUS AND UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS AND TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY TRANSITION FOLKS FROM AN ENCAMPMENT INTO, UM, HAVING A, YOU KNOW, DOOR TO LOCK AND A ROOF OVER THEIR HEAD.
AND SO I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN USING TO TRY TO DO THESE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, I KNOW FOLKS GET REALLY EAGER TO SEE A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, HEAL INITIATIVES HAPPEN FASTER, BUT THE TRUTH IS THEY CAN TAKE MONTHS OF PLANNING TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS AND MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE, UM, GETTING THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED ONCE THEY'RE ABLE TO TRANSITION INTO HOUSING.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING ON THAT INITIATIVE.
AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC OF GIVING SHOUT OUTS TO SOME OF OUR, UH, FAVORITE, UM, COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE WORKING IN THIS SPACE, I KNOW WE'VE MENTIONED THE OTHER ONES FOUNDATION A NUMBER OF TIMES.
WE WERE FORTUNATE TO HAVE THEM START IN DISTRICT EIGHT, AND NOW OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE, UM, SERVING FOLKS IN THEIR LOCATION ON THE EAST SIDE.
UM, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE AN INNOVATIVE WORK PROGRAM, UH, THE WORKFORCE FIRST, UM, WHICH I THINK IS A REALLY GOOD STEP IN GETTING PEOPLE INTO, UM, SOME SORT OF STEADY INCOME AS THEY'RE CAPABLE AND ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND SO WE JUST, WE THINK THEY'RE GREAT PARTNERS AND APPRECIATE ANYONE WHO'S WORKING IN THIS SPACE ON THE PUBLIC, PRIVATE, OR, YOU KNOW, NONPROFIT OR JUST VOLUNTEER SIDE OF THIS.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS WORKING ON THIS ISSUE TOGETHER.
AND, AND I WILL MENTION, I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED HEAL AND THE BRIDGE SHELTERS.
SO WE ARE TALKING GENERALLY ABOUT EXPANSION OF BEDS, BUT REALLY CRITICALLY AT THE BRIDGE SHELTERS ALMOST DOUBLING THE BEDS OUGHT TO MEAN WE'RE ABLE TO REALLY INCREASE THE PACE WITH WHICH WE ADDRESS WHOLE ENCAMPMENTS.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT SEEING, UM, MORE ENCAMPMENTS ADDRESSED IN THAT WAY.
GUYS, REMEMBER BAYLOR, ONE MORE QUESTION.
UH, I WAS AT A, A CONFERENCE LAST WEEK.
UH, THE ONE OF THE SEMINARS WAS ABOUT, UH, HEAT READY CITIES, UH, AND EMERGENCY SHELTER.
AND THE, UH, PRESENTER MENTIONED THAT IN HER VIEW, THE BEST, THERE'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR EITHER HOMELESS FOLKS OR FORMALLY HOMELESS FOLKS TO BE THE ONES STAFFING AND RUNNING KIND OF LIKE EMERGENCY SHELTER OPERATIONS.
AND SHE SAID IT WAS JUST A, THEY KNOW EACH OTHER, THEY KNOW THEY GOT THE VIBE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? THEY, THEY COMMUNICATED IN THE SAME LANGUAGE AND IT REALLY JUST STRUCK ME AS A CAUSE.
I MEAN, I KNOW ONE OF THE REPORTS WHEN THE, THE AUDITOR'S REPORT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE PARTS AND REC STAFF IS THAT THAT'S NOT THE POPULATION THEY'RE USED TO DEALING WITH, AND THEY WERE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH, UH, UH, WITH IT.
ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
AND SO IN, UM, UH, I THINK IN THIS SECTOR OVERALL, THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASING FOCUS ON, UH, HIRING PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE
[01:25:01]
AND EXPERTISE IN HOMELESSNESS.UH, WE DO ASK THOSE QUESTIONS AS A SCORING ITEM IN OUR RFP.
HOW ARE YOU NOT ONLY HEARING FROM PEOPLE, UM, IN AND INFLUENCING YOUR PROGRAM DESIGN, BUT ARE THOSE PEOPLE REPRESENTED ON YOUR STAFF? I WANNA CALL OUT A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES THAT IMMEDIATELY COME TO MIND.
ONE IS THAT URBAN ALCHEMY'S, UH, EMPLOYMENT MODEL REALLY LEANS ON LIVED EXPERIENCE, UH, THAT'S SIMILAR TO THE POPULATION, WHETHER THAT BE, UH, PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF HOMELESSNESS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD SUBSTANTIAL INTERACTION WITH THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND SO THEIR STAFF, UM, OFTEN HAVE HAD THAT EXPERIENCE AS WELL.
AND I THINK IT'S BEEN VERY IMPORTANT IN ESTABLISHING A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT AT THE ARCH, UM, UH, URBAN LEAGUE ALSO AT SOUTHBRIDGE IS, HAS BEEN LARGELY STAFFING WITH PEERS.
SO THERE'S CERTIFICATION OF A, A PEER SPECIALIST, AGAIN IN HOMELESSNESS, UH, SOMEONE WHO'S EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CHALLENGES, UH, A REENTRY PEER, ET CETERA.
AND SO WE SEE THIS THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM, BUT THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES AND SOMETHING WE WILL, I THINK CONTINUE TO PROMOTE.
ACTUALLY, IT'S A, A COMMENT FOR YOU.
I'D REALLY LIKE FOR US TO EVENTUALLY BE ABLE TO REVISIT THE WORK THAT YOU WERE DOING ON THE BRAIN HEALTH INSTITUTE.
I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A CRITICAL COMPONENT IN MOVING FORWARD IN US HAVING SOME LONGEVITY IN OUR ADDRESSING OUR HOMELESSNESS SITUATION.
I APPRECIATE THAT AND, AND, UM, HAVE REACHED, WITHOUT GIVING TOO LONG OF A STATEMENT, I'VE ALREADY REACHED OUT AND MADE SOME CONTACTS AND I EVEN MADE SOME NOTES WHILE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS TODAY, UH, AS PART OF A FOLLOW UP.
ALL RIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, THANK YOU.
THIS IS A QUESTION FOR THE CITY MANAGER, UH, MANAGER.
IT STRUCK ME THAT MANY OF OUR COMMENTS TODAY ON THE TOPIC OF THE SHELTER PLAN, UM, PRESENTATION WAS AROUND THE MARSHALING YARD.
IT'S SUCH A BIG CONTRACT, AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF US HAVE, UH, CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE REACHING OUT AND HAVE SHARED SOME QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS.
AND I APPRECIATE THE INFO PAGE, WHICH HAS LOTS OF, UM, FAQS ON IT.
BUT WHEN CAN WE EXPECT THE BACKUP MATERIAL FOR ITEM ONE 11? UH, SO I BELIEVE BACKUP HAS BEEN PROVIDED, BUT THERE IS ONGOING Q AND A.
UM, AND SO WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, GIVEN VARYING SORT OF, UH, TARGET TIMELINES FROM THE, THE CLERK'S OFFICE, AND WE'LL BE ANSWERING THOSE.
LET OVER THE COURSE OF COUPLE DAYS.
LEMME JUST GET OUT WHAT YOU'VE GOT AND THEN DO A SUPPLEMENTAL MM-HMM.
YEAH, IF YOU HAVE BACKUP, SEND IT OUT.
I MEAN, IF THERE'S Q ADDITIONAL Q AND A, WE CAN CONTINUE TO ADD TO, IF THAT'S THE QUESTION, WE'LL LOOK AT THAT.
I BELIEVE THE, THE FUNDAMENTAL BACKUP TO BE THERE, BUT WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDING TO IT.
AND SO BY BEING THERE, IT'LL BE POSTED TO THE AGENDA WEBSITE? OR IS THAT EMAILED VIA YEAH.
SO LET'S TALK TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU, UH, ARE NOT SEEING THERE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MEETING YOUR NEEDS.
UH, MEMBERS THAT TAKES UP, UH, THE BRIEFING.
THE NEXT THING WE'RE GONNA DO IS GO TO PRE-SELECTED
[A. Pre-Selected Agenda Items]
AGENDA ITEMS. UH, WE HAVE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 AGENDA ITEMS WHERE SOMETHING HAS BEEN PULLED SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION.UH, AFTER THAT, WE WILL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO, UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, WE'RE GONNA GO, UH, ITEM 1 26, 1 24, 1 28, 1 29, AND 1 31.
THAT WAS THE FIRST ONE I WAS MADE AWARE OF THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING IS GOING IN THAT ORDER.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I WILL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
UM, I ALSO WANNA THANK MY CO-SPONSORS ON ITEM 1 26.
COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, MAYOR PROAM ELLIS, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE AND MAYOR WATSON AND THEIR STAFF, UH, FOR JOINING ME ON, UH, WORKING ON THIS INITIATIVE.
AND I WANNA THANK OUR STAFF ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, VERONICA BRUNO, DIRECTOR MIDDLETON PRATT, AND, AND, UH, OUR LEGAL TEAM, INCLUDING TRISH LINK AND LINDA GARFIELD.
AND BRENT LLOYD, WHO I THINK IS STILL, UM, A LAWYER, EVEN THOUGH HE'S NOT STILL IN LEGAL, UM, STILL DOING GOOD WORK FOR US ON ZONING AND, UH, LAND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES.
I DIDN'T INTEND TO TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS TODAY.
INSTEAD, I WANTED TO POINT EVERYBODY TO THE EXTENSIVE MESSAGE THAT I PUT UP LAST NIGHT ON THE MESSAGE BOARD.
AND ALSO, UH, IT GOES INTO SIGNIFICANT DETAIL, AND IT ALSO HAS, UH, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WITH SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE HOUSING TYPO TYPOLOGY
[01:30:01]
THAT, UM, THIS RESOLUTION WOULD CONTEMPLATE, UH, IN LARGER NUMBERS.SO THAT IS ALL ON THE MESSAGE BOARD.
THE PHOTOS GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE SMALLER SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, TOWN HOMES, COTTAGE COURTS, AND I WOULD POINT TO THE, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN'S MILLER DEVELOPMENT THAT'S ON THE OLD AIRPORT SITE FOR GOOD EXAMPLES AND PROTOTYPES FOR WHAT THIS KIND OF, UH, UH, MULTIPLICITY OF TYPOLOGY FOR HOUSING COULD LOOK LIKE.
SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF KICKING OFF THIS CONVERSATION.
I THINK SOME FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY WERE WORRIED THAT WE HAD ALREADY MADE THESE DECISIONS.
AND I JUST REMIND FOLKS THAT WE HAVE A VERY AUSTIN PROCESS IN OUR CITY, AND WITH THE CITY, UH, OF AUSTIN, WE HAVE, UH, VERY WELL ESTABLISHED PUBLIC INPUT PROCEDURES, AND WE WILL TAKE ALL ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
PLUS WHEN WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION, UH, THAT WE ARE INITIATING WITH OUR DECISIONS THIS WEEK, UH, THERE WAS ANOTHER, UH, BIT OF MISINFORMATION THAT WAS FLOATING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT I WANTED TO ADDRESS SPECIFICALLY, UM, ALONG THE LINES OF HOW THE DECISION HAD ALREADY BEEN MADE.
AND THIS WASN'T GONNA BE A PUBLIC PROCESS, AND THERE WASN'T GONNA BE ANY CONVERSATIONS, WHICH IS NOT TRUE.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT'S BEEN FLOATING OUT THERE, AND I TALK ABOUT IT IN MY MESSAGE BOARD POST, IS THE FACT THAT THIS PROPOSAL DOES AWAY WITH MULTIFAMILY ZONING, AND IT JUST FLAT OUT DOES NOT DO THAT.
IT MAKES FOR POTENTIALLY NARROWER LOT SIZES, UM, AS SINGLE FAMILY ZONES DOESN'T TURN THEM INTO MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.
NO, INITIALLY YOU SAID IT WOULD DO AWAY WITH MULTIFAMILY AND YOU MEANT SINGLE FAMILY.
UM, WE'RE NOT DOING AWAY WITH SINGLE FAMILY ZONING AND REPLACING IT WITH MULTIFAMILY ZONES.
WHAT WE ARE DOING IS POTENTIALLY NARROWING THE SIZE OF THE LOT SO THAT MORE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES CAN BE BUILT SIDE BY SIDE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH I THINK WILL PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT WILL CERTAINLY MAKE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MIDDLE CLASS HOMEOWNERS TO STAY IN OUR CITY AND I HOPE RAISE THEIR FAMILIES, WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEALTH OF OUR, UH, PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO THE NAME OF THIS INITIATIVE IS HOME, WHICH STANDS FOR HOME OPTIONS FOR MIDDLE INCOME EMPOWERMENT.
AND, UM, IT IS TARGETED FOR MIDDLE INCOME EARNERS.
THE CITY HAS SIGNIFICANT AND NUMEROUS PROGRAMS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LOW INCOME EARNERS.
UH, PEOPLE WHO MAKE GOOD SALARIES MAY NOT NEED ASSISTANCE MUCH FROM THEIR GOVERNMENT AS A MEMBER OF THE MIDDLE CLASS FOR, UM, I GUESS MY ENTIRE LIFE.
I FEEL THE REAL NEED TO, UH, MAKE MY OWN WAY WITHOUT, UH, GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS IN LARGE PART.
BUT I ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT IF I WERE STARTING OUT TODAY, I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BUY A HOME IN THE CENTRAL CITY.
AND SO, UH, AS I CONSIDERED WHAT OUR OPTIONS HAVE BEEN, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST WORK THAT I AND MY, UH, ALLIES, UH, PRE PANDEMIC WORKED ON, UH, IN THE SUB QUORUM ON THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND LDC 2.0, THE IDEA OF THREE UNITS BY RIGHT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN OUR SUB QUORUM.
WE WANTED TO, WE DISCUSSED BRINGING THAT FORWARD AS AN INITIATIVE AS A WAY FORWARD.
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING THE ACUNA LAWSUIT, THE MAYOR PULLED THE PLUG ON OUR DISCUSSIONS OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, AS YOU ALL REMEMBER.
I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER IF THAT WAS IN 2019 OR 2018.
TIME IS WEIRD PRE PANDEMIC FOR ME ANYMORE.
BUT AT ANY RATE, WE STOPPED THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND SO THE CONCEPT OF THREE BY RIGHT FOR SF ONE, SF TWO, AND SF THREE DID NOT GO FORWARD, BUT IT MAY SOUND FAMILIAR TO SOME WHO ARE LISTENING IN.
SO THIS CONCEPT, UH, I THINK IS WE ARE READY FOR IT.
I THINK WE'RE READY AS A COMMUNITY TO HAVE THIS DIFFICULT CONVERSATION.
I'M REALLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE IMPACTS THAT THIS PROPOSAL CAN HAVE IN THE FUTURE.
I LOOK, I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR WAYS TO HAVE GENTLE ORGANIC DENSITY AND GROWTH IN OUR INNER CITY.
AND, UM, I, I REFERENCE, UM, CHUCK MORONE A LOT WITH STRONG TOWNS.
HE WAS THE ONE WHO TALKED TO US.
HE CAME TO THE CITY AND TALKED TO SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, BACK IN, UH, 20 17, 20 18, ABOUT HOW TO DENSIFY, UH,
[01:35:01]
GENTLY AND HOW TO DO IT IN WAYS THAT PRESERVE THE VERY CHARACTER OF THE COMMUNITIES AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE SO VALUE HERE.AND THIS IS ONE WAY TO DO THAT.
SO I'LL JUST LEAVE THAT THERE, ACTUALLY TALKED A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN I INTENDED TO.
UM, UH, BUT THANK YOU MAYOR FOR LETTING ME INTRODUCE THIS.
YES, MAYOR PRO TIM, I JUST WANNA EXTEND MY APPRECIATION TO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL FOR HER WORK ON THIS.
I KNOW OUR OFFICES HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING CONCEPTS LIKE THIS TOGETHER FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW, AND IT'S BEEN GREAT TO FIND A PARTNER IN CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THE AVERAGE AUSTIN AUSTINITE CAN AFFORD TO BUY A HOME.
UM, AS WE SEE WITH A LOT OF THE STUDIES THAT COME OUT THAT ABOARD DOES ALL THE TIME, IT'S, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH HOUSING STOCK DO WE HAVE ON THE MARKET? HOW MUCH IS THE COST OF HOUSING SPIKING, UH, DUE TO AN INTEREST IN PEOPLE GETTING INTO THE HOUSING MARKET.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF FLUID CONVERSATIONS AROUND WHAT CAUSES THAT AND HOW TO SOLVE IT.
UM, BUT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE WORK TOGETHER TO FIND THESE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS.
LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL SAID, UM, THIS, THIS IS NOT A A DONE DEAL.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO KICK OFF.
WE WANT TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION.
WE ABSOLUTELY WANT COMMUNITY INPUT.
YOU KNOW, THAT SHE HAS BEEN A SUPPORTER OF HAVING ROBUST COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO US BEING ABLE TO ADVANCE THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS, YOU KNOW, YOUR AVERAGE AUSTINITE THAT DON'T KNOW WHAT RENT'S GONNA BE, AND THEY DON'T HAVE ANY EQUITY IN RENTING.
I'M A RENTER MYSELF, AND SO I, I FEEL THOSE PAINS VERY STRONGLY WHEN RENT GOES UP.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE COME TOGETHER AND WE TRY TO FIND WORKABLE SOLUTIONS.
AND I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY EVERYONE ON THIS DIETS HAS COME UP WITH SOME CREATIVE SOLUTION TO, TO TRY TO SOLVE THIS ISSUE.
AND SO WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING HARD ON IT.
AND, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT THIS IS COMING AT A VERY SIMILAR TIME WHERE WE'RE SET TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING AND TAKE ACTION ON BRINGING THE THREE AND FOURPLEX UNITS INTO THE SAME PROCESS THAT SINGLE FAMILY AND DUPLEX HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO FOR A LONG TIME.
AND SO I THINK WE'RE MAKING SOME REAL MEANINGFUL CHANGE HERE.
AND, UM, APPRECIATE ALL THE CO-SPONSORS THAT HAVE, THAT HAVE CHIMED IN TO WORK ON THIS WITH COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.
UH, I ALSO WANT TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER POOL TODAY.
UH, I ALSO WANT TO THANK HER STAFF.
UM, AND, AND ALSO JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, SHOUT OUT ALL THE, ALL THE CO-SPONSORS ON THIS.
I, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL CODE INITIATIONS OF THIS YEAR, UH, IF PASSED, UH, ON THURSDAY.
I, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT SO MANY THINGS WITH IT.
ONE, HOW SMALLER HOMES AND SMALLER LOTS WILL HELP EVERYONE, UH, BETTER AFFORDED HOME IN AUSTIN FROM YOUNG PEOPLE, FIRST RESPONDERS TO OLDER FOLKS WHO WANT TO AGE IN PLACE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND AS SOMEONE WHO, WHO LOVES TO WALK EVERYWHERE, INCLUDING CITY HALL EVERY MORNING, UH, THIS RESOLUTION WILL ALSO PROMOTE A MORE WALKABLE AUSTIN FOR EVERYONE, UH, AND WILL HELP MAKE PROJECT CONNECT MORE SUCCESSFUL.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT THIS WON'T DO, AND I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER POOL TOUCHED ON SOME OF THE MISINFORMATION OR DISINFORMATION OUT THERE, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IT WON'T DO, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, AND IT'S A COMPLAINT I'VE HEARD IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DENSITY WHEN IN FACT, UH, SPRAWL CAUSES MORE STRAIN ON OUR LIMITED RESOURCES AND CITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
CREATING MORE COMPACTING NEIGHBORHOODS ALLOWS US TO USE OUR, OUR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESOURCES MORE EFFICIENTLY.
SO ALL I WANNA SAY, WHICH HAS BEEN SAID, WHICH WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO BE SAID, UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, UH, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS.
UH, AND I'M EXCITED TO, UH, TO PASS THIS ON THURSDAY AT RISK OF BEING A DEAD HORSE HERE.
I
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR IF, IF THAT IS ALL RIGHT.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON TWO THINGS THAT, UM, I BELIEVE THE, THE RESOLUTION COVERS.
UM, BUT ONE CONVERSATION I HAD WITH SOMEBODY A WHILE AGO UNRELATED TO THIS, WAS THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THEY HAD A VERY SMALL HOUSE IN THE FRONT OF THEIR LOT AND THEY WANTED TO BUILD A LARGER STRUCTURE IN THE BACK, BUT THE ADU RULES PREVENTED THEM FROM ESSENTIALLY MAKING THE FRONT ONE AND ADU AND THE BACK ONE, UH, THE HOME THAT THEY WERE HOPING TO BUILD.
SO I THINK BY, UM, YOUR INCLUSION OF, UH, THE, THE FLEXIBILITY FOR HOUSING CONFIGURATIONS IS KEY BECAUSE IT'S GONNA ALLOW PEOPLE TO REALLY USE THEIR LOT IN THE MOST APPROPRIATE MANNER.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S, UM, A GREAT ELEMENT THERE.
AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING YOU SAID ABOUT IT BEING ORGANIC.
YOU KNOW, YOU, THIS IS NOT FORCING EVERYONE TO GO SUBDIVIDE THEIR LOT INTO 2,500 SQUARE FEET.
THIS IS ALLOWING SOMEBODY WHO CHOOSES TO DO THAT, THE OPTION TO DO THAT.
AND I THINK THAT'S A REALLY KEY
[01:40:01]
GOING FORWARD.COUNCIL MEMBER ALISON ALTER, AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELOZ.
UM, CLEARLY THERE'S A MAJORITY IN SUPPORT OF THIS, BUT I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT I DO NOT INTEND TO SUPPORT THIS PROPOSAL AS DRAFTED.
AND I'M PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PUBLIC INTEREST WE'VE SEEN ON THIS ITEM, LARGELY WITH QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS, UM, AND THE AMENABILITY TO ADDRESS THEM IN THE SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE HAVE.
THIS DEPARTS DRASTICALLY FROM WHAT WE DID, UM, IN PREVIOUS ITERATIONS, AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE FULLY UNDERSTAND, UM, THE CONSEQUENCES.
UM, I WILL NOT BE VOTING IN FAVOR OF THIS, AND I WANNA BE CLEAR WHY THIS RESOLUTION AS DRAFTED GOES SIGNIFICANTLY FURTHER THAN ANY PERMUTATION OF OUR PLANNING STAFF'S CODE NEXT, OR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REWRITE.
THIS RESOLUTION STATES THAT MANY PEER CITIES SUCH AS SAN DIEGO, PHILADELPHIA, AND SAN ANTONIO OFFER A RANGE OF MORE MODEST LOT SIZES.
AND I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT I'M ENTIRELY OPEN TO OFFERING A RANGE OF SMALLER LOT SIZES.
BUT TO OFFER THAT OPTION IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN UNILATERALLY DOING WHAT THIS RES RESOLUTION AND INITIATES, WHICH IS TO SIMULTANEOUSLY REDUCE THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE IN SINGLE FAMILY ZONING DISTRICTS TO 2,500 SQUARE FEET OR LESS.
SO THAT EXISTING STANDARD SIZE LOTS CAN BE SUBDIVIDED.
THAT'S NOT OFFERING AN OPTION.
IT TAKES ACTION TO CHANGE THE RULES FOR MOST HOMES IN MOST NEIGHBORHOODS AT THIS POINT.
THIS ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY WOULD ALLOW AT LEAST THREE UNITS PER LOT IN SINGLE FAMILY ZONING DISTRICTS WITHOUT REQUIRING EXISTING STRUCTURES TO BE PRESERVED.
SO THIS MEANS THAT AN EXISTING LOT, SAY AN 10,000 SQUARE FEET COULD BE SUBDIVIDED INTO FOUR LOTS.
AND NOW THOSE FOUR LOTS COULD BE SUBDIVIDED INTO AT LEAST THREE UNITS, 12 UNITS TOTAL.
THIS SIMULTANEOUS ACTION MEANS THAT AN EXISTING LOT WITH ONE OR TWO UNITS WON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A GENTLE INCREMENT OF GROWTH.
IT COULD ALLOW FOR A MONUMENTAL SHIFT WITHOUT ANY PLANNING.
THIS COULD MONUMENTALLY IMPACT LAND SPECULATION AND EXACERBATE DEMOLITIONS.
AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW WE ARE ESSENTIALLY AT THE MERCY OF COMMERCIAL S STR R OPERATORS AND HAVE VERY LITTLE ABILITY TO ENFORCE SST R RULES, YOU COULD END UP HAVING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD EXPLODE WITH 12 UNITS ON AN EXISTING LOT, AND THAT LOT COULD HAVE MULTIPLE STRS.
THIS ALSO CALLS FOR ELIMINATING MINIMUM SITE AREA AND BUILDING COVERAGE REQUIREMENTS.
AND TO ELIMINATE THE MCMANSION ORDINANCES APPLICABILITY TO THIS POLICY IF MORE THAN ONE UNIT IS BUILT.
I'M READY TO MAKE THE PREDICTION TODAY THAT IF THE MCMANSION ORDINANCE IS CHANGED TO ONLY BE LIMITED TO ONE UNIT, WE HAVE ENOUGH WEALTH IN THIS TOWN THAT MORE THAN A FEW SAVVY BUILDERS ARE GOING TO BUILD MCMANSIONS UNDER THE GUISE OF THE BUILDING BEING MORE THAN ONE UNIT.
AND YOU MAY END UP WITH A BIGGER HOUSE AND CALL IT A DUPLEX OR TRIPLEX, BUT THAT BIGGER DUPLEX OR TRIPLEX WON'T HOUSE ANY MORE PEOPLE.
IT WILL JUST BE BIGGER BUILDINGS.
ALL OF THESE POTENTIAL UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES WE DIRECT THE MANAGER TO SOLVE IN FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS.
AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE ARE INITIATING THIS, WE ARE POISED TO ELIMINATE THE SITE PLAN REQUIREMENTS WHEN YOU BUILD FOUR UNITS OR FEWER ELSEWHERE ON THE AGENDA.
SO THAT MEANS IF YOU HAVE A LOT TODAY, WHERE THIS OTHER PROPOSAL TO MOVE FORWARD AS DRAFTED, IT COULD LEAD TO AN EXISTING LOT HAVING ONE OR TWO UNITS TO BE SUBDIVIDED INTO LOTS THAT IN TOTAL ALLOW FOR 12 UNITS BECAUSE EACH OF THOSE NEWLY SUBDIVIDED LOTS HAVE FEWER THAN FOUR UNITS.
YOU'D BE ABLE TO BUILD A TOTAL OF 12 UNITS, WHERE TODAY YOU HAVE ONE OR TWO AND WITHOUT A SITE PLAN REVIEW.
SO THE CODE AMENDMENT WHERE WE THINK A SITE PLAN WOULD STILL BE REQUIRED FOR SAY, FIVE UNITS, SUDDENLY WE HAVE A LOOPHOLE WHERE, IN FACT, AS LONG AS YOU SUBDIVIDE THE SINGLE FAMILY LOT FIRST, AS THIS RESOLUTION WOULD ALLOW FOR THAT NEW 12 UNIT PROJECT REQUIRES NO SITE PLAN FOR WHAT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASED SCALE OF DEVELOPMENT WITHIN A NEIGHBORHOOD.
AGAIN, I HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SKEPTICISM THAT THESE SCENARIOS CAN BE MITIGATED WITHIN FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS TIME, GIVEN ALL THE OTHER DIRECTIVES AND BURDENS WE'VE ALREADY PLACED ON OUR STAFF TO BE WORKING ON.
AND WE ARE ALSO NOT DIRECTING THEM TO SOLVE A PARTICULAR PROBLEM.
WE'RE TELLING THEM VERY SPECIFICALLY HOW IT HAS TO BE SOLVED, WHICH CONSTRAINS THE ABILITY FOR THEM TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS TO THESE UNATTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UM, TO SHARE THAT.
I THINK, UM, I HOPE THAT WE WILL BE PROVIDING FOLKS WITH AN OPPORTUNITY REALLY SPEAK TO THIS ISSUE.
THERE IS A LOT OF CONCERN, UM, AND QUESTIONS THAT ARE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, AND I THINK THAT, UM, PEOPLE DESERVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
AND I DON'T AGREE THAT, UM, SIMPLY DIRECTING IT IS INITIATING A PROCESS WHEN THE DIRECTION TELLS THEM EXACTLY HOW THEY HAVE TO DO IT.
COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.
UH, I WANTED TO ECHO WHAT, WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER QUADRI SAID, THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST STEPS WE'RE TAKING FORWARD, AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR BRINGING IT FORWARD.
IT PROVIDES A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY, ESPECIALLY IN MY DISTRICT, UH, FOR GETTING SOME, SOME OF THIS STUFF DONE.
UM, WE, I RAN ON HOUSING, I RAN ON AFFORDABILITY, AND I THINK THIS CONTRIBUTES A LOT TO IT.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD, RESPECTFULLY, ASK TO ADD MY NAME, UH, UH, AS A CO-SPONSOR.
THANK COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, THANK YOU FOR THE RECOGNITION.
[01:45:01]
UM, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL JOIN THE TRAIN AND SAY THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.I ALSO REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU BROUGHT IT FORWARD FOR THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.
I LOOK FORWARD TO US REALLY USING OUR COMMITTEES AS A VEHICLE FOR BRINGING ITEMS LIKE THIS FORWARD.
AND I TOO WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR.
WITH THAT COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, JUST ONE FINAL COMMENT.
UH, SMALLER LOTS ARE LESS EXPENSIVE THAN BIGGER LOTS.
UH, THAT'S JUST A REALITY OF THE, OF THE HOUSING MARKET.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE A FAMILY ON A TIGHT BUDGET, YOU BUY A SMALL CAR, YOU KNOW, WITH A FOUR CYLINDER, UH, ENGINE, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T BUY, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, F-150 EXTENDED CAB, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR OUR RULES BASICALLY MAKE US BUY THIS HUGE LOT.
UH, AND, AND YOU KNOW WHAT? THE 6,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT COSTS MUCH MORE THAN A 3000 SQUARE FOOT LOT.
SO I THINK IT'S JUST SUCH AN IMPORTANT STEP TO TAKE, TO BRING BACK THE POSSIBILITY OF HOME OWNERSHIP TO OUR MIDDLE AND WORKING CLASS.
AND, UH, AGAIN, I APPRECIATE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL'S, UH, EFFORTS, UH, SO MUCH.
UH, THAT WILL TAKE US TO ITEM NUMBER 1 24.
UH, THE PRIMARY SPONSOR OF THAT IS COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, BUT COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY ASKED IT TO BE PULLED, UH, FOR QUESTION.
AND I'M GONNA RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
UM, I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION, AND I BELIEVE IT IS FOR THE AUTHOR OF THE RESOLUTION.
UM, WHAT IS A TIMELINE FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, ENSURING TIMELY IMPLEMENTATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY? I'VE BEEN GETTING QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT FROM MY CONSTITUENTS.
AND AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I AM A CO-SPONSOR ON THIS ITEM.
AND SO I JUST FIGURED I'D REACH OUT PUBLICLY TO YOU AND ASK SO THAT WE COULD MAKE IT PUBLIC.
YOU KNOW, I I THINK IT'LL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT, UH, THE MANAGERS PUTS ALL OUR, OUR AMENDMENTS THROUGH.
UH, SO THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY.
IT'S, IT'S JUST THE BEGINNING.
WELL, CHAPTER TWO, WE'LL SAY THE AUDITORS WERE CHAPTER ONE.
UM, BUT YES, THIS IS, THIS IS JUST A PIECE OF THAT PROCESS.
IT'S, THIS DOESN'T CHANGE IT TODAY OR I GUESS ON THURSDAY.
AND WITH THAT I YIELD OKAY, THANK YOU.
UM, WE'LL GO TO ITEM NUMBER 1 28.
THE PRIMARY SPONSOR ON THAT IS COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY PULLED IT, I BELIEVE, AND, AND I WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
UH, SHE PULLED IT SO THAT WE WOULD SEE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT SO THAT IT COULD BE LOOKED AT TWO DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE COUNCIL MEETING, SO THAT WE CAN HANDLE IT IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER WHEN WE GET TO THE COUNCIL MEETING.
SO SINCE WE'RE SAYING A LOT OF THANK YOUS, I'LL ACTUALLY SEND HER A CARD.
UM, MY DAUGHTER SENT YOU A CARD THE OTHER DAY.
SO, UM, THIS IS A RESOLUTION THAT I REVIEWED AND I REALLY WANTED TO ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE PROJECT AND EFFICIENCY.
SO, UH, MY STAFF PASSED OUT ALL THE AMENDMENTS THAT WE WILL BE DISCUSSING TODAY.
THIS ONE SPECIFICALLY WOULD AMEND LINE ONE 16 TO DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO CONDUCT REGULAR EVALUATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS OF THE SOUTH SHORE CULTURAL DISTRICT AND THEIR PROGRESS IN IMPACT, ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE ABILITY TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON COMMUNITY FEE FEEDBACK AND ANY POTENTIAL CHANGING NEEDS.
COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER, YOU WANNA COMMENT OR, I MEAN, I'M JUST GONNA, I'M GONNA KEEP THE TREND.
I JUST WANNA THANK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY AND HER STAFF FOR, FOR BRINGING FORWARD THIS AMENDMENT FOR GIVING US THE HEADS UP.
UH, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IT AGAIN ON THE D ON ON THURSDAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, I, ITEM NUMBER 1 29, COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ IS THE PRIMARY SPONSOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, POOLED IT AGAIN, SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT IN ADVANCE.
UH, AND I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ITEM 1 29.
SO, AMENDMENT, UM, THE AMENDMENT I'M BRINGING FORWARD FOR 1 29.
UM, THE LANGUAGE IS NOT EXPLICITLY IN THE RESOLUTION.
UH, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I COVER BOTH WILLIAMSON AND TRAVIS COUNTY'S IN MY DISTRICT.
AND I KNOW THAT OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS MIGHT HAVE HAYES COUNTY.
SO IT DIRECTS THE CITY MANAGER.
WELL, IT ENCOURAGES THE CITY MANAGER, EXCUSE ME.
THERE'S A VERY PARTICULAR PIECE OF LANGUAGE DIFFERENCE THERE TO COLLABORATE WITH NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS AND REGIONAL ENTITIES TO DEVELOP A COORDINATED APPROACH TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, LEVERAGING RESOURCES AND SHARING BEST PRACTICES TO ADDRESS THE BROADER HOUSING CRISIS IN OUR REGION.
COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, UH, I ALSO WANTED TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY FOR BRINGING THE AMENDMENT EARLY, ALSO FOR, UH, SETTING THE BAR FOR ALL OF US WILD ONES THAT GET AMENDMENTS IN THE VERY LAST MINUTE.
UH, I, I THINK IT IS A GOOD, UH, GOOD BAR TO SET FOR THE REST OF US.
[01:50:01]
THANK YOU.COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, YES, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER.
I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE AMENDMENT FOR COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
IF, UM, IS THIS AMENDMENT SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO COORDINATION AND BEST PRACTICES FOR THE SMART PROGRAM OR FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING RE AT LARGE? SO IF IT WERE A PERFECT WORLD, I'D LOVE TO DO THIS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT LARGE, BUT IT SPECIFICALLY IS JUST FOR THIS RESOLUTION, BECAUSE OTHERWISE I BELIEVE THAT WOULD FALL OUTSIDE OF OUR POSTING FOR THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
SO MAYBE YOU'LL SEE A PART TWO SOMETIME.
UH, THAT'LL TAKE US TO ITEM NUMBER 1 31.
UH, THE PRIMARY SPONSOR OF ITEM 1 31 IS COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.
COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY HAS PULLED ITEM 1 31 TO DISCUSS TWO POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS.
I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
SO MY FIRST AMENDMENT IS, UM, REALLY AIMED AT THE TECHNOLOGY AND DATA ANALYTICS THAT ARE USED TO MONITOR AND MANAGE CURB SPACE.
AND IT JUST WASN'T EXPLICITLY IN THE, UM, RESOLUTION ITSELF.
AND SO I THOUGHT PUTTING IT IN THERE WOULD MAKE THE PUBLIC AWARE THAT SUCH TECHNOLOGY EXISTS.
SO IT SAYS, UM, IN THE AMENDMENT, IT WOULD AMEND LINE 34 TO STATE THE CITY MANAGER IS DIRECTED TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL FOR USING TECHNOLOGY AND DATA ANALYTICS TO MONITOR AND MANAGE CURB SPACE, INCLUDING THE UTILIZATION OF SENSORS, SMART PARKING SYSTEMS, AND REALTIME INFORMATION TOOLS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE CONGESTION.
AND THEN MY SECOND AMENDMENT WOULD AMEND LINE 54 TO ENCOURAGE THE CITY MANAGER TO CONSIDER PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE NEEDS IN THE CURB MANAGEMENT PLAN, ENSURING THAT CURB SPACE IS OPTIMIZED WHILE ALLOWING FOR EFFICIENT ACCESS FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES AND MAINTAINING PUBLIC SAFETY STANDARDS.
AND THIS AMENDMENT SPECIFICALLY CAME OUT OF ME DRIVING THROUGH MY DISTRICT AND RECOGNIZING THAT, UM, SOME OF THE SPACE COULD BE UTILIZED MORE EFFECTIVELY IN A LOT OF PLACES.
THERE ARE, THERE'S VERY LITTLE TO NO ACCESS FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES BASED ON HOW THE CURBS ARE BEING MANAGED ON SPECIFIC STREETS IN MY DISTRICT, WHICH IS CONCERNING IF THEY NEED THAT EMERGENCY ACCESS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, I'LL RECOGNIZE YOU ON, ON THE TWO PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.
UH, I JUST WANT TO THANK, UH, COUNCIL MC KELLY AND HER STAFF FOR, FOR BRINGING THOSE FORWARD.
UH, BUT I, I JUST WANNA KIND OF HIGHLIGHT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT STAFF HAS SOME SHORT TERM BANDWIDTH ISSUES RIGHT NOW, UH, WITH OTHER PROJECTS THAT WE'VE GIVEN THEM.
SO I'VE ASKED TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM UNTIL THE AUGUST 31ST MEETING.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRY, IF YOU MIGHT CONSIDER, IF YOU HAVE A VERSION TWO, MAYBE ADDING THESE AMENDMENTS TO THAT, IF IT COMES BACK, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
IF NOT, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND.
YEAH, I MEAN, WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK INTO IT.
COUNCIL MEMBER CADRY MEMBERS, UH, PLEASE NOTE ITEM 1 31 IS, UH, THE SPONSOR, PRIMARY SPONSOR HAS ASKED THAT WE PULL THAT THOSE ARE ALL THE PRE-SELECTED AGENDA ITEMS THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT ANYONE, UH, HAD INDICATED THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT AT THIS WORK SESSION.
ITEM NUMBER 12 IS AN ITEM THAT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.
UM, IT WILL NOT BE ON THE AGENDA ON THURSDAY, HOWEVER, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, UH, WANTED TO BE HEARD AT THE WORK SESSION ON ITEM NUMBER 12.
SO I WANNA RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.
AND I HATE TO BREAK THE TRAIN, BUT I AM NOT GIVING THANKS ON AS PART OF MY COMMENTS ON THIS.
BUT ACTUALLY, I HAVE A, A REQUEST, UH, TO CITY MANAGER THAT WE HAVE A BRIEFING ON THE SERVICE PLAN, THE COLLEAGUES, THE CREATION OF A TOURISM PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS A BIG ONE.
AND IT'S A TOPIC THAT HAS BEEN LONG TIME TALKED ABOUT IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND ONE THAT DESERVES, UH, THE TIME AND ATTENTION OF THIS DAY IS, AND, UH, THE CONSIDERATION OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THIS TPI, UH, IS ONE THAT MANY CITIES HAVE.
IN FACT, I WAS IN FORT WORTH, UH, THIS PAST WEEKEND, UH, WATCHING A PESO PUMA CONCERT, AND I SAW MY HOTEL BILL THAT THEY HAVE A, A TPI.
AND SO IT'S ONE THAT IT'S, IT'S GREAT FOR OUR CITY TO BE EXPLORING, AND THERE NEEDS TO BE THAT CONSIDERATION FOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, ONE THING THAT IS CLEAR TO ME, UM, AS PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, THE PREVIOUS COUNSEL OF 20 19, 20 20 HAD A, HAD AN INTENT FOR THIS TPI D AND THAT INCLUDED, UH, 40% DEDICATION TOWARDS HOMELESSNESS SERVICES.
AND THAT IS A NEED THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS TODAY, AND IF NOT A GREATER ONE.
AND I JUST WANNA NOTE THAT ON OUR COUNCIL AGENDA FOR THURSDAY, WE ARE SLATED TO APPROVE A 20 MILLION CONTRACT FOR HOMELESSNESS, ENCAMPMENT CLEANUPS, UH, A 9 MILLION CONTRACT FOR MARSHALING YARD TEMPORARY EMERGENCY SERVICES.
[01:55:01]
WE ARE POISED TO APPROVE.UH, AND THIS TPI D HAS AN IMPORTANT PIECE IN HOW WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE A DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCE TOWARDS DIRECTING HOMELESSNESS, WHICH HAS A TOURISM IMPACT.
UM, AND SO I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UM, WE, AND IMPORTANTLY TO, TO NOTE THAT THIS, UM, THIS TPI IS A REVENUE SOURCE THAT IS ON VISITORS TO OUR GREAT CITY.
UH, SO WE NEED TO HAVE ENSURE, AND FOR ME, I WANNA ENSURE THAT WE ARE, UH, DEDICATING AS MUCH AS WE CAN TOWARDS HOMELESSNESS, UH, AND THAT WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION AS A MATTER OF PUBLIC POLICY.
AND SO, MANAGER, I, I FORMALLY REQUEST A BRIEFING ON THE SERVICE PLAN, AND, UM, JUST WANTED TO SHARE MY, MY THOUGHTS ON THE NO.
AND I, AND WE'LL DO THE BRIEFING.
AND THE ONLY COMMENTS I'D MAKE, AND I, I HOPE AND WE'LL ENGAGE WITH, WITH YOU AND THE ENTIRE COUNCIL, AS WE, AS WAS NOTED EARLIER, WE HAVE A FISCAL CRISIS THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, LOOMING FOR US IN TERMS OF HOMELESSNESS THAT WE NEED TO RESOLVE.
WE NEED TO DEVELOP OUR OWN GUARDRAIL ABOUT WHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE CITY TO FUND AND WHAT OTHER AGENCIES NEED TO STEP FORWARD.
AND I WOULD URGE ALL MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR WHEN REVENUE SOURCES ARE DELIVERED, IT IS THE CITY COUNCIL'S RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE ALL YOUR PRIORITIES, WHICH ARE BEYOND HOMELESSNESS.
IT'S ABOUT CHILDRE, IT'S ABOUT, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION.
IT'S ABOUT, UH, OUR LIBRARIES.
IT'S YOU, YOU HAVE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF RESOURCES REQUIREMENT, AND ANY, ANY RESOURCES THAT COME IN OUGHT NOT TO BE PRECLUDED JUST BECAUSE WE'VE MADE, BECAUSE ONE COUNCIL CANNOT COMMIT ANOTHER COUNCIL.
SO IF THAT, UH, DISCUSSION TOOK PLACE IN 19, YOU SHOULDN'T FEEL OBLIGATED TO DO WHAT SOMEBODY SAID IN 19.
BUT WE SHOULD CONSIDER ALL THE NEEDS OF THE CITY AND DETERMINE WHERE THE PRIORITY FITS OR DOESN'T FIT.
AND WE'LL HAVE THAT DISCUSSION WHEN WE BRING THE TEED FORWARD.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, MEMBERS THAT YES.
CAN COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.
I WANTED TO ADD TO THAT, I MEAN, I THINK THE CONVERSATION IN 2019 WERE, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW DO, HOW DO THE HOTEL IN, HOW DOES THE HOTEL INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTE VIA THIS SOURCE TO COMMUNITY BENEFITS, HOMELESSNESS BEING THE ONE THAT WAS CITED AT THAT POINT IN 2019.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME CHANGES IN LAW, ET CETERA, THAT ARE, THAT ARE, UM, FRUSTRATING AT, AT MINIMUM.
UM, BUT I THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION THAT, THAT WE NEED TO BE HAVING.
YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAD A CONVERSATION EARLIER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PHILANTHROPY, UM, AND THE ROLE OF PHILANTHROPY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, PHILANTHROPY IN A LOT OF THESE OTHER COMMUNITIES HAS A LOT TO DO WITH CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A MECHANISM, UM, WHERE, WHERE THIS COULD HAPPEN BY.
SO I, I DEFINITELY THINK WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING THAT.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO BRING UP ITEM 92, WHICH HAS TO DO WITH, UM, COUNCIL PROCEDURES.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN JUST, UM, I'M FINE WITH PUNTING IT THIS WEEK.
WE HAVE 190 SOME ITEMS, UM, BUT IT WAS PULLED BY THE CITY MANAGER.
AND I THINK ULTIMATELY WE HAVE TO MAKE DECIDING OUR OWN RULES, UM, AND WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.
AND I THINK THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT, UM, WE DID IN THE PAST THAT WERE VALUABLE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS ASKING US TO DO AGAIN, THAT I THINK WOULD BENEFIT, UM, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
AND I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE PROCESS IS MOVING FORWARD, UM, ON THAT ITEM.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK WE CAN KEEP IGNORING, UM, THE REQUEST THAT WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO DONATE TIME.
I UNDERSTAND IT'S COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT FOR DONATING OF TIME, UM, WITH THE VIRTUAL SPEAKERS, BUT THERE MAY BE A WAY THAT WE CAN DO THAT, UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE SHOWING UP.
AND IF THE PERSON WHO'S DONATING IS ACTUALLY SHOWING UP, UM, IN THE ROOM, THERE MAY BE A WAY THAT WE CAN DO THAT.
I THINK IT WAS VERY HELPFUL WHEN WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY WHEN THERE WERE SEVERAL SPEAKERS TO H HEAR THEM AT ONCE WHEN WE WERE DELIBERATING THE TOPIC IF PEOPLE CHOSE, I THINK IT'S GOOD THE WAY THE MAYOR, YOU KNOW, IS ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AT THE BEGINNING.
BUT I THINK THAT, UM, THERE'S A COHERENCE THAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HEAR PEOPLE SPEAKING, UM, SPECIFIC TO, UM, A TIME.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE MINUTE, UM, ON CERTAIN TOPICS IS REALLY NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR PEOPLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH US AND THAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT HOW WE, HOW WE DO THAT.
AND, AND, AND WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN LIMITING THAT DOWN, UM, NO MATTER THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS THAT WE HAVE.
SO I, I THINK THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE SHOULD BE ASKING, UM, WITH RESPECT TO THAT.
AND THEN I ALSO FOUND VERY VALUABLE WHEN WE HAD, UM, A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SPEAKERS WOULD PULL SOMETHING FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A CONVERSATION OVER AN ITEM.
I FOUND THAT WAS VERY VALUABLE WHEN WE USED TO TO DO THAT.
UM, AND I THINK IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO HAVE THE SENSE THAT WE ARE LISTENING AND PAYING ATTENTION, WHICH IS OF VALUE.
UM, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO ASK THE MAYOR WHAT, YOU KNOW, HE FELT THE PROCESS WAS MOVING FORWARD ON 92.
UM, I'M NOT SURE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS THE CITY MANAGER'S PURVIEW TO DECIDE FOR US.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IN THE SIX MONTHS
[02:00:01]
THAT THIS COUNCIL HAS BEEN TOGETHER, NO ONE'S EVER HAD JUST ONE MINUTE TO SPEAK.UH, SECONDLY, MANY OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES, UH, THAT YOU JUST REFERENCED, UH, HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO BE DONE.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING, UH, THERE'S BEEN A, A REQUEST FROM THE PUBLIC A NUMBER OF TIMES THAT INSTEAD OF THE APPLICANT JUST HAVING FIVE MINUTES TO SPEAK, THOSE IN OPPOSITION WOULD'VE FIVE MINUTES TO SPEAK.
UH, ANOTHER THING THAT YOU MENTIONED IS THE IDEA THAT YOU GET TO SPEAK AT THE TIME OF THE ITEM THAT'S BEING DISCUSSED.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS IS YOU CAN SPEAK AT THE TIME THE ITEM IS BEING DISCUSSED, BUT YOU CAN ALSO SPEAK AT 10 O'CLOCK IF THAT IS BETTER FOR YOUR SCHEDULE.
SO THIS WAS, THAT HAS BEEN MEANT, YOU, YOU, YOU REFERENCED IT IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE WAS AN EFFORT TO LIMIT, UH, BUT TO THE CONTRARY, IT IS AN EFFORT TO ALLOW MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR THE PERSON WHO WISHES TO BE HEARD ON THE ITEM.
WITH THAT ALL BEING SAID, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAD BEEN INDICATED WHEN THIS WAS FIRST BROUGHT UP WAS THAT QUESTIONS ABOUT, OR SUGGESTIONS THAT MIGHT BE MADE IN ORDER TO MAKE IT WHERE IT WOULD WORK BETTER, SINCE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A MULTI-PAGE DOCUMENT THAT NEEDS TO HAVE THIS CHANGE OR THAT CHANGE WOULD BE THAT PEOPLE WOULD MAKE SUGGESTIONS ON THE MESSAGE BOARD, WHICH HADN'T OCCURRED.
AND IN ADDITION TO THE, AND, AND, AND THE WORD WAS THAT WE HAD A NUMBER OF CHANGES.
AND SO IN AN EFFORT TO MANAGE THE AGENDA, AS YOU POINT OUT, THIS IS THE FIRST MEETING, THURSDAY WILL BE THE FIRST MEETING SINCE A BREAK WAS TAKEN.
UM, AND IT FELT IT, THE AGENDA LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE EVERYBODY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS THE LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR, UM, IN AN EFFORT TO SOMEWHAT MANAGE THAT AGENDA.
ITEMS THAT WE KNEW THAT IT WAS KNOWN WAS GONNA TAKE A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AS THIS ONE IS ANTICIPATED SINCE THE PRE-WORK THAT WE THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE DONE HASN'T BEEN DONE, UM, THAT WAS ONE THAT WE PULLED SO THAT WE WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME ON IT, UH, BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING.
MY ANTICIPATION AS YOU REQUESTED FROM ME IS THAT AT THE NEXT MEETING WE WOULD DO THIS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM FOLKS ABOUT WHAT THE SUGGESTED CHANGES ARE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN AS OPPOSED TO JUST THEN ON THE DS.
AND MAYOR, I WAS REFERRING TO WHAT WAS IN THE PROPOSAL, NOT NECESSARILY WHAT THE CURRENT PROCEDURES, I'M SORRY IF IT WAS INTERPRETED, UM, THAT WAY.
I JUST, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING ABOUT IT.
AND ASKING FOR, UM, THE CLARITY.
AND BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN DEVIATING SO MUCH, THERE'S A LACK OF CLARITY, WHICH IS I THINK CREATING CONFUSION AND PEOPLE ARE NOT UNDERSTANDING AND THE PROPOSAL DOES SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
AND I DIDN'T MEAN TO IMPLY THAT THAT WAS HOW YOU WERE RUNNING THE MEETINGS, BUT HAVING THE PROPOSAL OUT THERE AND HAVING THE DIFFERENCES, I THINK IS CREATING, UM, SOME CONFUSION AND SOME APPREHENSION.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO JUST MENTION SOME THINGS THAT I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE DOING IN THE PAST PRE PANDEMIC THAT I THOUGHT WERE USEFUL FOR US IN TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT.
WELL, I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, A MORE THOROUGH DISCUSSION AT THE TIME.
FOR THOSE THAT ARE WATCHING AND THINKING.
YOU WANTED TO SIGN UP ON ITEM NUMBER 92, UH, WHICH A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ALREADY HAVE.
UH, ITEM NUMBER 92 WILL BE POSTPONED.
IT WILL NOT BE ON THE AGENDA THIS THURSDAY.
SO FOR THE PUBLIC THAT IS INTERESTED IN THIS ITEM, UH, YOU DON'T NEED TO COME DOWN HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM BECAUSE IT WILL HAVE BEEN POSTPONED.
IS THERE ANYTHING BEFORE WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION? GREAT.
UM, MEMBERS, THE CITY COUNCIL WILL NOW GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP TWO ITEMS PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 51 0.07, ONE OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE.
THE CITY COUNCIL WILL DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO ITEM E ONE TEXAS HOUSE BILL 2127, AND PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 51 0.072 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE, THE CITY COUNCIL WILL DISCUSS REAL ESTATE MATTERS RELATED TO E TWO, THE PURCHASE EXCHANGE LEASE OR VALUE OF AN INTEREST IN TWO PARCELS, LOCATED AT 1215 RED RIVER STREET AND 6 0 6 EAST 12TH STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE HEALTH SOUTH SITE.
UH, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO GOING INTO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION CONCERNING THE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED? HEARING NONE, THE COUNCIL WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE
[E. Executive Session]
SESSION MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AT THE CLOSE OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE NO FURTHER BUSINESS
[02:05:01]
ON THE POSTED AGENDA.WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THAT TIME IS I WILL COME OUT AND ADJOURN THE MEETING, BUT THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER BUSINESS CONDUCTED.
UH, AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE ARE GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
CITY COUNCIL WENT INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 51 0 7, 1 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE TO DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO TEXAS HOUSE BILL 2127.
IT ALSO DISCU HAD HAD A DISCUSSION OF LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 51 0 7 2 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE RELATED TO REAL ESTATE MATTERS, INCLUDING THAT INCLUDED THAT WAS ABOUT THE PURCHASE EXCHANGE LEASE OR VALUE OF AN INTEREST IN TWO PARCELS, LOCATED AT 1215 RED RIVER STREET AND 6 0 6 EAST 12TH STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, KNOWN AS THE HEALTH SOUTH SITE.
THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION HAS BEEN CONCLUDED AND WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE CITY COUNCIL OF AUSTIN, TEXAS, UH, ADJOURN.
WE ARE AN ADJOURNMENT OF THE WORK SESSION THAT WAS REGULARLY SCHEDULED.
ADULTS, TODAY WE WERE DRINKING CHAMPAGNE ON THE SHO.