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[Capital Metro Board of Directors Public Hearing on September 13, 2023.]
WE ARE AT 12 O'CLOCK.WE WILL CALL THIS MEETING OF THE CAPITAL METRO, UM, TRANSIT AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS INTO ORDER.
IT IS, UH, 12 O'CLOCK AND, UH, WE ARE GONNA HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON, ON THE PROPOSED FY 2024 OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET.
SO, UM, WE WILL, WE WILL BEGIN NOW.
I'LL GET OUTTA THE WAY AND ASK FOR THE PRESENTATION.
LET, LET ME DO ONE MORE THING,
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR ILION, BOARD MEMBERS PRESIDENT AND C E O WATKINS.
I'M THE DEPUTY C F O FOR CAP METRO.
I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET FOR A PUBLIC HEARING.
I'LL LET THE F A A COMMITTEE KNOW EARLIER TODAY THAT WE HAVE A VERY EXCITING YEAR COMING UP AND THIS IS REFLECTED IN OUR BUDGET.
I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS, SENIOR LEADERSHIP, CAP METRO STAFF, AND OUR WONDERFUL BUDGET TEAM FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND DIRECTION IN PUTTING THIS BUDGET TOGETHER.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU AS A BOARD HAVE SET FOR THE AGENCY AND MAKES INVESTMENTS BASED ON YOUR GUIDANCE AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE'VE COMPLETED OUR PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR THE BUDGET, WHICH INCLUDED IN-PERSON ENGAGEMENTS AT LAKELINE STATION PARK AND RIDE WESTGATE TRANSIT CENTER, REPUBLIC SQUARE, AND THE NORWOOD TRANSIT CENTER.
IN ADDITION, WE POSTED A BUDGET VIRTUAL WEBINAR ON NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET ONLINE ON YOUTUBE WEBINARS, BOTH IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND POSTED ON ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS.
WE ALSO HAVE A DETAILED BUDGET DOCUMENT POSTED ON OUR CAP METRO WEBSITE, WHICH THE BOARD MEMBERS WERE PROVIDED A LINK TO EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
UM, MOVING ON TO OUR SLIDES, THIS IS A OVERVIEW OF THE AGENCY'S TOTAL BUDGET AND SHOWS THE AGENCY'S TOTAL OPERATING AND CAPITAL EXPENSES OF $871 MILLION IN THE CENTER COLUMN TO PROVIDE TRANSIT SERVICE WHILE ALSO ADDING NEW CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS, BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING FOR THE REGION'S GROWTH.
THE BUDGET IS STRUCTURALLY SOUND AND BALANCED AND IS FUNDED THROUGH VARIOUS FUNDING SOURCES.
REPRESENTED ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE IS A PROJECTION OF OUR RESERVE AND COMMITMENT BALANCES AT THE END OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 2024 FOR A TOTAL OF $285.4 MILLION.
I'M PLEASED TO SAY THAT WE'RE PROJECTING TO MEET ALL OF OUR RESERVE REQUIREMENTS IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
AS I'VE BRIEFED THE BOARD AND BOARD COMMITTEES OVER THE LAST FOUR MONTHS.
WE'RE IN GOOD FINANCIAL POSITION AND ARE OPTIMISTIC FOR THE NEXT YEAR, BUT REMAIN GUARDED WITH THE CURRENT FINANCIAL CLIMATE, HIGH PETROLEUM PRICING, LINGERING LABOR AND SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES, ALONG WITH THE NECESSARY FUND FUNDING FOR FLEET ELECTRIFICATION FACILITY NEEDS AND OTHER PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON.
I DUNNO IF YOU CAN ADVANCE THAT YET.
WE'RE EXCITED TO CONTINUE WITH INNOVATIVE MOBILITY INITIATIVES FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
WE'RE CONTINUING WITH THE ELECTRIFICATION OF OUR FLEET AND OUR FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
WE WE'RE PLANNING ON, UM, REPLACING 153 BUSES IN THE UPCOMING FIVE YEARS, ALONG WITH THE ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CHARGING FOR A TOTAL OF $270 MILLION IN THE FIVE YEAR C I P WE'RE ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE A $15.6 MILLION COMMITMENT IN THE 24 BUDGET FOR PICKUP, WHICH IS CAP METRO'S NEIGHBORHOOD ON DEMAND TRANSIT SERVICE.
MOVING ON TO PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE.
WE HAVE TWO EXCITING PROJECTS TO HIGHLIGHT.
FIRST, OUR FACILITY MASTER PLAN.
WE HAVE $402.7 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR A MUCH NEEDED THIRD BUS GARAGE AND NEW NORTH AND NEW NORTH AND SOUTH PARATRANSIT FACILITIES.
WE ALSO HAVE A COMMITMENT OF $23.6 MILLION IN OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR MUCH NEEDED BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS AND INFRASTRUCTURES AT OUR STOPS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.
AND LASTLY, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT WE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE AND CONTINUE GROWTH WITHIN THE REGION.
PROJECT CONNECT IS THE COMPREHENSIVE TRANSIT PLAN THAT WILL EXPAND OUR TRANSIT CAPACITY.
CAP METRO HAS AN ONGOING COMMITMENT TO THIS PLAN WITH CONTINUED WORK ON OUR NEW CAP METRO RAPID EXPO CENTER IN PLEASANT VALLEY LINES MCCALL STATION AT Q TWO STADIUM AND A $20.6 MILLION CONTRIBUTION TO THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IN FISCAL 2024 FOR THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM SEQUENCE PLAN.
AND THIS WILL CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION FOR THE FISCAL 2024 BUDGET, BUT I'D LIKE TO THANK THE BOARD FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCESS
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THIS YEAR AND OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AND FOR PUBLIC INPUT AS WELL.UH, I WILL SAY I, I WAS OBSESSED WITH SAYING IT WAS 12 O'CLOCK.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I WAS OBSESSED WITH IT, UH, SAYING IT WAS SEPTEMBER 13TH.
SO FOR THE RECORD, SEPTEMBER, UH, 13TH WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO, UH, TO ASK FOR ANY, UM, ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT I GUESS FIRST I'LL ASK WHETHER ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED.
OKAY, SO, SO HEARING NO QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE'VE HAD PRESENTED, UH, WE WILL GO INTO OUR PUBLIC, UH, COMMENT SECTION AND WE HAVE ONE PERSON WHO HAS SIGNED UP AHEAD OF TIME TO ADDRESS THE TOPIC.
AND, UH, IS, IS SHE CONNECTED? UH, ED, MS. JOSEPH, ARE YOU WITH US? MS. JOSEPH, CAN YOU HEAR US? MR. EASTON? YES.
ALRIGHT, MS. JOSEPH, UH, WE CAN HEAR YOU AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
MY COMMENTS AS IT RELATES TO THE BUDGET ARE SPECIFICALLY ON PAGE SEVEN.
YOU DO MENTION, UH, PROJECT CONNECT AND THEIR ON PAGE FIVE, THE INNOVATIVE MOBILITY, UH, SERVICES.
I JUST WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT THE PICKUP SERVICE IS INEQUITABLE.
YOU MAY BE ON THE PHONE FIVE MINUTES, BUT YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT 60 MINUTES.
AND THEN THE DRIVER HAS NO CONTROL OVER WHERE THE DISPATCH ADDS SOMEONE WHILE YOU ARE IN ROUTE TO YOUR DESTINATION.
SO IT IS NOT DOOR TO DOOR RELIABLE WHERE YOU CAN JUST GET TO THE NEXT BUS STOP OR TO YOUR DESTINATION.
IT REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF TIME.
AND SO I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO BE MORE EQUITABLE AND TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR A FIXED ROUTE.
AND AS IT RELATES TO THESE CUTAWAY VEHICLES, I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE AND WOULD ASK YOU TO CONSIDER PALMER LANE, EAST WEST CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN SAMSUNG AND APPLE USING THESE VEHICLES BECAUSE YOU USE THOSE TYPES OF VEHICLES IN PART FROM LAKELINE STATION TO LAGO VISTA.
AND IF IT CAN WORK THERE, IT CAN WORK ON PALMER LANE TOO.
I WOULD JUST REMIND YOU THAT THE 2014 PROJECT CONNECT NORTH CORRIDOR LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE STUDY SAID THAT OVER 58% OF THE JOBS WOULD BE IN THE NORTH CORRIDOR BY 2035.
AND ON JULY 27TH, 2020, YOU UNILATERALLY ELIMINATED THE THREE MINORITY METRO RAPIDS INCLUDING THAT ONE.
I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT THE METRO RAPID EXPO IS REALLY JUST THE NUMBER 37 RESTORED, AND I WOULD ASK YOU TO INVEST IN RESTORING THE SERVICE NORTHEAST WEST CONNECTIVITY.
AND I ASK THIS QUESTION IN THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND WOULD ASK YOU TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW CAPITAL METRO COUNTS RIDERSHIP.
ANECDOTALLY, IT FEELS LIKE EACH TIME WE SWIPE IT'S AUTOMATICALLY COUNTED, WHICH IS GAMING THE SYSTEM, COOKING THE BOOKS, BECAUSE IT MAKES THIS TRANSFER MORE ON UNSAFE ROADWAYS.
AND TOMORROW COUNCIL WILL ACTUALLY VOTE ON ACCEPTING $22.9 MILLION FOR SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL.
IT WILL JEOPARDIZE THEIR FEDERAL FUNDING BECAUSE YOU HAVE REFUSED TO REMOVE THESE MID-BLOCK STOPS.
AND SO I JUST WANT YOU TO CONSIDER INVESTING IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN BLACKS WHO WAIT 60 MINUTES FOR THE BUS, AND THOSE OF US WHO LIVE NORTH OF US, 180 3 THAT HAVE TO TRANSFER MORE ON THESE'S UNSAFE ROADWAYS.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME AND WE'LL JUST REFER YOU TO THE JUNE 10TH, 2020 RESOLUTION, WHICH SAID YOU WANTED TO MAINTAIN THIS SYSTEM, WHICH VIOLATES TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.
ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE.
UH, MS. JOSEPH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD.
ALRIGHT, YOU'RE WELCOME MR. KING.
DO WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM WHO DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO SIGN UP? WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD? UH, ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM? I'LL, I'LL ASK A, A THIRD TIME FOR POSTERITY.
UM, ANYONE IN THE ROOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? OKAY.
HEARING NONE, UH, THEN, UH, I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO MADE COMMENTS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND THIS CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC HEARING TODAY.
AND THE TIME IS 1210 AND IT'S STILL SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2023.