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LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED, UM,
[CALL TO ORDER]
SEPTEMBER 20TH, UH, REGULAR MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.WE ARE UP AT 63 10 WILHELMINA DELCO DRIVE.
UM, WE WILL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DOING ROLL CALL, UM, FER HERE.
UM, WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENTS.
AND COMMISSIONER QURESHI, DO YOU WANT TO GET CREDIT FOR BEING HERE AT ROLL CALL? YEAH.
EVEN THOUGH IT'S JUST A SILHOUETTE OF ME AND NOT ACTUALLY ME, I'M, I'M STILL HERE.
WE, WE, YOUR VOICE HAS BEEN AUTHENTICATED.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
ITEM IS APPROVE THE MEETING, UH, MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 6TH.HAS EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO GLANCE AT THESE? ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
MOTION CARRIES ALL THOSE AGAINST ALL THOSE ABSTAINING.
[2. Staff briefing regarding the Austin Energy Transportation Electrification Implementation Overview – Cameron Freberg, Austin Energy. Requested by Environmental Commissioner Qureshi]
BREEDING BRIEFING REGARDING THE AUSTIN ENERGY TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW.UM, UH, YEAH, UH, PLEASE, UH, STATE YOUR NAME AND WE'RE EXCITED, UH, FOR AN UPDATE.
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO, SORRY, HIT THE BUTTON THERE TO THE GREEN LIGHT'S ON.
SO, UM, SO GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONER.
I AM THE MANAGER OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, I WANNA LEAD OFF BY SAYING THIS IS THE BEST BANTER AMONG COMMISSIONERS I'VE EVER SEEN.
UM, SO, UM, TONIGHT WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, AND SOME OF THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES SET FORTH THERE, AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR STRATEGY IS AUSTIN ENERGY AND GETTING ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION OUT THERE THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO, A A LITTLE BACKGROUND JUST ON THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UH, I DO REALIZE THERE'S A LOT OF TEXT ON THIS SLIDE, BUT I JUST WANNA GIVE AN OVERVIEW ON WHERE TRANSPORTATION EXISTS WITHIN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UH, WHAT THE THREE MAJOR GOALS ARE, AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO SOME OF THE STRATEGIES, UH, SET FORTH BY THOSE GOALS IN JUST A LITTLE BIT.
BUT OUR BIG OVERARCHING GOAL THAT, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST AUSTIN ENERGY SET, NOT JUST THE CITY GOVERNMENT SET, BUT THE, UH, COMMUNITY WIDE EFFORT TO CREATE THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN WAS TO, UH, GET TO 40% OF VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED TO BE ALL ELECTRIC THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, SO THAT IS A PRETTY LOFTY GOAL.
THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, THE ELECTRIC BUS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE ELECTRIC BIKE OR THE ELECTRIC SCOOTER.
SO IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT INDIVIDUAL VEHICLE OWNERSHIP THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, AN INDIVIDUAL OWNING THEIR OWN CAR, PARKED IN THEIR OWN GARAGE.
IT'S ALL FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION, IS THE WAY THAT WE SCOPED, UM, TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UH, I ALSO WANNA GIVE THE CAVEAT, SOMETIMES I WILL TALK REALLY FAST, SO PLEASE JUST SIGNAL, SIGNAL ME IF I, UH, DO THAT TOO MUCH.
UM, SO THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE FIRST MAJOR GOAL, IS GETTING TO 40% VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED.
UH, THAT'S ROUGHLY OVER 400,000 EVS IN THE CITY.
IF WE, IF WE THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF VEHICLE ADOPTION, UH, THE SECOND MAJOR GOAL THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN FOR TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION WAS ALL THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S NEEDED TO SUPPORT THIS.
SO, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, WE'RE TALKING THE MAGNITUDE OF 226 MEGAWATTS.
SO I WORK FOR A UTILITY, SO THAT NUMBER MEANS A LOT TO ME.
UM, AND THAT'S A VERY MEASURABLE THING, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT, I BELIEVE IT'S, UH, AROUND 26,000 CHARGING PORTS OR SOMETHING TO SUPPORT THAT KIND OF, UH, ADOPTION.
SO IT'S A VERY HIGH THRESHOLD OF CHARGING NEEDED IN THE CITY, UH, TO, UH, ACCOMMODATE THE KIND OF ADOPTION.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT CHARGING, THAT CAN MEAN MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, AND THERE'S WHAT'S CALLED LEVEL ONE, LEVEL TWO, AND THEN DC FAST CHARGING LEVEL ONE CHARGING IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT YOU SEE ON THE FLOOR HERE.
ALL THESE LAPTOPS PLUGGED INTO, IT'S YOUR TYPICAL 110 VOLT OUTLET.
A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS MAY USE IT OVERNIGHT FOR IN THEIR GARAGE, STUFF LIKE THAT.
LEVEL TWO CHARGING IS WHAT YOU SEE MOSTLY OUT IN THE PUBLIC.
AND THEN DC FAST CHARGING ARE THE LARGER REFRIGERATOR SIZED CHARGERS THAT, UH, IS KIND OF THE GAS STATION MODEL.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND THE REASON WE HAVE THAT METRIC OF 226 MEGAWATTS, UH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST AN ELECTRICAL TERM
[00:05:01]
IS A 350 KILOWATT FAST CHARGER THAT CAN RECHARGE YOUR VEHICLE IN JUST MINUTES, UH, SHOULDN'T BE NECESSARILY COUNTED THE SAME AS LIKE 110 VOLT OUTLETS.SO THAT WAY WE CAN MEASURE, UH, FASTER CHARGING AND HOW MUCH IT BENEFITS THE PUBLIC VERSUS SLOWER CHARGING.
AND THE THIRD GOAL IS REALLY ABOUT MAINTAINING LEADERSHIP IN THE SPACE, UH, OF ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION IN THE, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND IN THE REGION.
SO THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, POLICIES TO SUPPORT, UH, UH, EV OWNERSHIP HERE ALSO INCLUDES THINGS LIKE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, BUT THAT ONE'S REALLY MORE OF A, A BROADER INITIATIVE TO MAKE SURE WE MAINTAIN LEADERSHIP STATUS.
SO, I CAME PREPARED WITH A FEW RECOMMENDED DISCUSSION POINTS THAT HAVE COME UP THROUGH OTHER COMMISSIONS.
AND SO WE CAN ADDRESS THINGS LIKE THE HIGHEST IMPACT ON EMISSIONS, THE HIGHEST IMPACT ON EQUITY, UM, SOME OF THE LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT'S STILL OUT THERE, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES WE FACE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, SUCH A LOFTY GOAL OF 40% VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S QUITE A BIT WHERE WE'RE AT.
I MEAN, I'D SAY WE'RE PROBABLY 1% OR LESS RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO GETTING THAT NUMBER IS GONNA REQUIRE QUITE A BIG SHIFT HERE.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO OVER THOSE FOUR PRE-IDENTIFIED QUESTIONS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, AND, UH, I WANTED TO BRING THEM TO THIS COMMISSION AS WELL.
SO, UH, PRIOR TO GOING INTO THOSE QUESTIONS DIRECTLY, UM, I WANNA GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND AND STATUS OF NOT JUST WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF ADOPTION, BUT ALSO IN SOME OF THE PROGRAMS AND, UH, THINGS THAT THE CITY'S DOING TO PROMOTE THIS.
SO RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ACTUALLY CLOSER TO AROUND 40,000 EVS HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO, UM, THAT 35,000, THAT'S A FEW SHORT MONTHS AGO.
SO THE ADOPTION CURVE IS SPIKING QUITE A BIT.
UH, THE AMOUNT OF VEHICLE MODELS ON THE MARKET IS BECOMING GREATER AND GREATER.
PRETTY MUCH EVERY MAJOR AUTO MANUFACTURER EITHER HAS EVS, UH, IN THE PIPELINE, THEY'RE CURRENTLY PRODUCING 'EM, OR THEY FULLY COMMITTED TO ELECTRIFYING THEIR ENTIRE FLEET TO THEM.
SO EVERY MANUFACTURER'S IN, IN THOSE, I BELIEVE IT'S 12 OR SO BULLET POINTS THAT ARE REPRESENTED ON THAT GRAPH IS DEFINITELY NOT ALL INCLUSIVE.
ALL THE MODELS THAT HAVE BEEN ADOPTED IN THIS CITY.
I, WHEN I STARTED AUSTIN ENERGY, I REMEMBER WHEN WE GOT OUR 100TH EV AND I THOUGHT, WELL, WE'VE MADE IT.
UM, SO, UM, THAT, THAT IS GROWING EVEN MORE RAPID, UH, AS, AS WE KEEP GOING.
SO, THE WAY THAT WE LOOK AT AND THE WAY WE APPROACH ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION IS REALLY ALL STAGED AROUND FIVE DIFFERENT PILLARS OF SUPPORT.
UM, THE FIRST BEING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
THAT IS FIRST AND FOREMOST, THAT'S WHAT'S NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE EV ADOPTION HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND THAT'S NOT GOING AWAY.
AND ONE THING I HAVE LEARNED IS THAT HAVING INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE WITHOUT VEHICLES, UH, MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY ANNOYING AT MOST.
'CAUSE PEOPLE SAY THEY DON'T GET USED.
BUT HAVING VEHICLES WITHOUT INFRASTRUCTURE IS FAR MORE PAINFUL AND FAR HARDER TO CATCH UP ON.
UH, THE SECOND ONE IS EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THINGS, YOU KNOW, WHERE EVERYTHING WE CATER TO IS NOT JUST THE INDIVIDUAL OWNING THE INDIVIDUAL CAR PARKED IN THE INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUAL GARAGE, BUT REALLY SUPPORTING EVERYTHING, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM THAT MODEL.
BUT ALSO TO INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, ELECTRIFICATION OF OUR MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM, ELECTRIFICATION OF, UH, E-BIKES AND SUPPORT FOR THAT GROWTH.
UM, AND REALLY KIND OF EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN THERE.
UH, THE THIRD PILLAR OF OUR IS FLEETS AND NEW MOBILITY.
AND I'LL GO INTO THESE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH AS WELL, UM, WHERE WE, WHERE WE SEE FLEET GROWTH AND PEOPLE CHANGING THEIR OPERATIONS WITHIN THE CITY.
AND THEN THE FINAL TWO ARE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION.
SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO PROMOTE THIS, PROVIDE THAT EDUCATION, PROVIDE THAT OUTREACH, LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW WHAT RESOURCE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
AND THEN FINALLY, FINALLY, SINCE UH, WE ARE A UTILITY THAT, UH, SO WE HAVE, UH, HIGH SENSITIVITY, HIGH SENSITIVITY TO THAT, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S DONE IN A THOUGHTFUL MANNER.
SO ON THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE, THE WAYS THAT WE'VE SUPPORTED THIS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS PROVIDED, UH, INCENTIVES AND REBATES AND THEN ACTIVELY PUT OUT INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO WE HAVE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE REBATE PROGRAMS FOR BOTH HOME AND PUBLIC CHARGING.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE OVER 1600 LEVEL TWO CHARGING PORTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT ARE PART OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S PROGRAM.
UH, THERE'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST A THOUSAND OTHERS THAT ARE OUT THROUGH, OUT THERE THROUGH THE CITY, THROUGH PRIVATE INVESTMENT, WHICH IS GREAT.
WE LOVE SEEING THAT, UH, THERE'S NOW BUSINESS MODELS FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.
UH, SO I THINK THAT'S A HUGE SHIFT IN THE MARKET AND GLAD TO SEE THAT, UH, THERE'S THAT KIND OF INVESTMENT HAPPENING HERE AS WELL.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, A PLUGIN EVERYWHERE DRIVER PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE PROVIDE ACCESS THROUGH, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IT'S THROUGH A SUBSCRIPTION TO THOSE 1600 PLUS CHARGE, OR ALSO THAT NUMBER IS NOW 1600 CHARGING PORTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, WHERE DRIVERS WILL HAVE A SEAMLESS USER EXPERIENCE, PAY THE SAME PRICE AT ALL THOSE STATIONS, UM, AND HAVE A SINGULAR WAY TO ACCESS ALL OF THOSE CHARGING PORT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND THEN FINALLY, A FEW YEARS AGO, WE DID OUR FIRST,
[00:10:01]
UH, LAUNCH OF DC FAST CHARGING HERE.WE PUT OUT 30 THROUGH A, UH, 30 DC FAST CHARGERS THROUGH A SERIES OF GRANTS THROUGH THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.
UM, THOSE ARE PLACED ALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY, USUALLY IN BANKS OF TWO TO FOUR STATIONS, SO THAT WAY YOU HAVE SOME REDUNDANCY ON SITE WHEN YOU GO VISIT ONE, UH, IN CASE THERE'S OUTAGE.
UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO FURTHER EXPAND THAT TO SOME GRANT EFFORTS AS WELL.
SO ON THE EQUITY AFFORDABILITY SIDE, UM, I MENTIONED THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING, UM, NOT JUST OTHER KIND OF VEHICLES BESIDES TRADITIONAL EVS, BUT WE DO HAVE, UH, WE DO HAVE INCENTIVES FOR E-BIKES THAT COME THROUGH.
BOTH AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT IS A CO-FUNDED EFFORT BETWEEN THE TWO CITY DEPARTMENTS.
UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE EXACT NUMBER IS, BUT I COULD TELL YOU THAT MY REBATE BUDGET AMOUNT SPECIFIC TO E-BIKES IS, UH, DEEPLY IN THE RED.
UH, BECAUSE UPTAKE HAS BEEN SO HIGH ON E-BIKES OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF OR SO, WHICH IS GREAT TO SEE THAT REBATE'S RECENTLY BEEN DOUBLED.
SO IT WAS $300 FOR THE BETTER PART OF EIGHT OR NINE YEARS.
AND THEN LAST YEAR THROUGH THAT JOINT EFFORT, THAT REBATE AMOUNT BECAME $600.
AND THEN WE ACTUALLY HAD A SPECIALIZED INCENTIVE FOR CAP CUSTOMERS OR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM CUSTOMERS THAT WE HAVE THAT NEED BILL ASSISTANCE ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A REBATE OF UP TO $1,300 FOR THE ADOPTION OF AN E-BIKE AS WELL.
UH, WE ALSO DO LOTS OF, YOU KNOW, TARGET TARGETING OUTREACH AND EDUCATION AND PROGRAMS, YOU KNOW, FOR SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
UM, WHAT I WANNA HIGHLIGHT HERE IS OUR EVS FOR FOR SCHOOLS PROGRAM, WHERE, UM, WE HAVE WORKED WITH, UH, LOCAL NONPROFIT ECO RISE, UM, AS WELL AS AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT ON GETTING EV CHARGING AT MULTIPLE SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AS WELL AS CREATING ACTUAL CURRICULUM ALONGSIDE ECOWISE THAT CAN BE USED AS PART OF AN EDUCATIONAL LIVING LAB FOR, UH, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WELL.
AND THAT'S NOT JUST THE A I S D ANYMORE, IT'S BEEN ADOPTED, UH, AT A LOT OF SCHOOLS, ACTUALLY NATIONWIDE, THAT HAVE TAKEN THAT KIND OF CURRICULUM AND PLATFORM AND BROUGHT IT INTO THEIR OWN, YOU KNOW, CURRICULUM THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AS WELL.
UH, THE THIRD PILLAR, UH, DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS REAL QUICK IS FLEET'S NO MOBILITY.
UM, AND JUST 'CAUSE THERE MIGHT NOT BE A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS AWARE IS, UH, OUR OWN CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, FLEET SERVICES DEPARTMENT IS MAKING A LARGE EFFORT TO ELECTRIFY THEIR FLEET.
UM, THEY HAVE NOW OVER 275 EVS.
I'D SAY THAT NUMBER IS LIKELY HIGHER THAN THAT BY NOW.
UM, IT'S BEEN EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL TO THEM.
SO I WANNA SAY IT WAS OVER A 10,000,010 YEAR PERIOD.
WE ESTIMATED AROUND $3.5 MILLION IN SAVINGS ON FUEL AND MAINTENANCE.
UM, SO FAR IN THE FIVE YEARS THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS, THESE CONVERSIONS ON THAT TIMELINE, THEY'RE ALREADY SEEING 50% GREATER SAVINGS THAN ANTICIPATED OVER THAT.
UM, NOT JUST FROM THE FUEL SIDE, BUT A LOT OF IT'S JUST FROM THE MAINTENANCE SIDE AS WELL AND JUST THE FREQUENCY THEY NEED 'EM.
UH, AND IT'S ALL BEEN LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES TO DATE.
SO YOUR NISSAN LEAFS, UM, YOUR, YOUR CHEVY BOLTS, THEY HAVE A HEAVY PRESENCE THOSE, AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA BE MOVING INTO MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES IN THE NEAR FUTURE AS WELL AS SOON AS THE OPERATIONAL AVAILABILITY OR OPERATIONAL NEEDS ARE MET BY WHAT'S PRODUCED ON THE MARKET THERE.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER PARTNER OF OURS THAT WE WORK WITH QUITE A BIT IS CAPITAL METRO.
UH, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH PROJECT CONNECT, UH, VERY LARGE, UH, INVESTMENT IN OUR MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND PART OF THAT IS TO INCLUDE, UH, ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND EMISSION FREE VEHICLES.
SO, UM, ELECTRIC BUSES ARE A HUGE PART OF THEIR PORTFOLIO.
UM, THEY ALREADY HAVE 12 IN THEIR FLEET.
THEY'VE COMMITTED TO ANOTHER 200 ON ORDER.
UM, AND WE'VE GOTTEN TO WORK WITH THEM ON SOME OF THEIR CHARGING AND FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD OUTS TO INCLUDE THEIR NORTH OPS.
UM, IN NORTH AUSTIN IS KIND OF WHERE THEY HAVE BUSES PARKED THERE.
AND WHEN THEY DID A BIG RENOVATION ON THAT LOT, WE CONVERTED THAT TO A CHARGING DEPOT FOR THEIR BUSES AS WELL.
UH, FOURTH PILLAR IS AROUND OUTREACH AND EDUCATION.
UM, SO I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY AS A RESOURCE AS WELL.
UH, WE DO HAVE AN EV BUYER'S GUIDE THAT IS, UM, INTENDED TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH LOCAL DEALERSHIPS TO HAVE AN INVENTORY OF BOTH NEW AND USED VEHICLES, UH, ALL ELECTRIC THAT WE CAN HIGHLIGHT FROM THOSE DEALERSHIPS.
UH, AS A REAL-TIME INVENTORY CUSTOMERS CAN ACCESS, UH, IT IS AVAILABLE ENGLISH IN SPANISH AND AS WELL, IT ALSO INCLUDES EVERYTHING IN THERE FROM THE INCENTIVES THAT YOU NEED, WHERE THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE IS.
AND THEN KIND OF SOME COMPARISONS WITH, UH, TYPICAL INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLES AS WELL TO KIND OF DO A COMPARISON SIDE BY SIDE.
UH, THE SECOND ONE I'M GONNA HIGHLIGHT, JUST BECAUSE IT'S COMING UP IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS, IS THE ELECTRIFY EXPO.
THAT IS A VERY LARGE OUTREACH EVENT, ONLY ABOUT ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION, ONLY ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
UH, 10 YEARS AGO, I SUSPECT WE PROBABLY WOULD'VE GOTTEN DOZENS OF ATTENDEES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, 'CAUSE INTEREST MIGHT HAVE NOT BEEN THAT HIGH, BUT LAST YEAR, UH, THERE WERE OVER 13,000 VISITORS JUST THERE FOR THAT PURPOSE.
UM, IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN OUT THERE AT THE CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS TRACK, UM, NOVEMBER 11TH AND 12TH, I BELIEVE, OF THIS YEAR.
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UM, SO THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE HAVING ACTIVE RIDE AND DRIVES THERE, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH EVERY VEHICLE MANUFACTURED THERE TO BASICALLY GET PEOPLE IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLES, GET THEM TO RIDE THEM.THERE'S ALSO TONS OF, UH, E-BIKE SCOOTERS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
I THINK THERE WAS EVEN AN ELECTRIC BOAT OUT THERE LAST YEAR.
UH, SO, UM, WE DIDN'T TEST DRIVE THAT ANYWHERE, UM, BUT THEY EXIST.
UM, AND THEN I, I ALREADY MENTIONED THE EV FOR SCHOOL STUFF PREVIOUSLY, BUT THAT'S JUST ANOTHER PART OF THAT OUTREACH AND EDUCATION EFFORTS THAT WE DO AS WELL.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, SELFISHLY I DO WANNA TALK ABOUT GRID INTEGRATION BECAUSE IT IS A, YOU KNOW, A SIGNIFICANT PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO.
UH, SO WE'VE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING FROM TIME OF USE RATES.
SO BASICALLY WE WENT TO AVOID, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES COMING IN, PLUGGING IT AT 5:00 PM I'M SURE YOU'VE ALL SEEN THE ALERTS OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS ABOUT ENERGY CONSERVATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STRAND ON THE GRID AND, AND WHAT THAT MEANS.
AND SO WHEN WE THINK OF EVS, THE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THE TRADITIONAL ELECTRIC LOAD WE HAVE PRETTY MUCH IN TEXAS, IT'S ALL DRIVEN BY HEAT.
AND WE ALL KNOW THAT BASICALLY WE ARE, IT'S VERY PREDICTABLE WHEN IT'S 105.
EVERY AC UNIT IN THE CITY IS GOING TO BE RUNNING OR THE STATE, UH, EVS ARE AS MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY AS THEY'RE A THREAT IN THIS SENSE, BECAUSE YEAH, THEY CAN ADD SIGNIFICANT ELECTRICAL LOAD, BUT THERE'S NOTHING ABOUT 'EM THAT'S TIED TO TEMPERATURE.
SO IF YOU CAN EITHER DO INCENTIVIZED OFF PEAK PRICING FOR CHARGING OR EVEN, UH, WHAT WE CALL ACTIVE MANAGED CHARGING, UM, THAT'S TWO HUGE WAYS TO MITIGATE ANY OF THOSE, YOU KNOW, THREATS OF DEMAND.
SO WE'VE DONE TIME OF USE PRICING STRUCTURE, AND NOW WE'RE MOVING INTO MORE OF A MODEL, WHAT'S CALLED DEMAND RESPONSE.
UH, IT'S THE SAME WAY THAT WE WORK WITH CUSTOMERS TO CONTROL THERMOSTATS DURING THESE PEAK PERIODS AS WELL, WHERE YOU SIGN UP, YOU CAN BASICALLY ENROLL YOUR CHARGER WITH A PROGRAM FOR US.
WE INCENTIVIZE THAT, AND THEN YOU ALLOW US TO DO CURTAILMENTS BETWEEN THREE AND 7:00 PM OR PEAK PERIODS ON THE GRID TO, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE VEHICLES AREN'T CHARGING DURING THOSE TIMES WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS ASKED TO CONSERVE.
SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE FIRST STRATEGY OF IT.
AND THEN SECONDARILY IS WHAT WE CALL VEHICLE TO GRID, WHERE VEHICLES ARE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, PUSHING BACK ENERGY INTO THE HOME OR PASSED THE ELECTRIC METER AND ACTUALLY ONTO THE GRID TO ACT AS A ACTUAL RESOURCE.
UM, WE HAVE DONE A PILOT WITH THIS, UM, ALONGSIDE OUR PARTNERS PECAN STREET, WHO ARE, UH, EDUCATION LAB IN THE MUELLER NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, ALL AROUND ENERGY, WATER, AND TRANSPORTATION.
UM, WE LAUNCHED A ALL IN AROUND 10 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT A FEW YEARS BACK.
IT WAS ALL AROUND STATIONARY BATTERIES AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH SOLAR ON THE GRID.
UM, WE INCLUDED A VEHICLE TO GRID COMPONENT TO THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY ATTACH TO THE SOFTWARE STREAMS THAT SEND SIGNALS TO CHARGE AND DISCHARGE BATTERIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL COMPONENTS OF THAT WORK.
UH, SINCE THAT TIME, THAT TECHNOLOGY'S GOTTEN A LOT BETTER IN JUST FOUR YEARS IN TERMS OF THE HARDWARE AND, AND SOFTWARE THAT YOU NEED TO DO THAT.
SO THAT, THAT'S VERY ENCOURAGING TO SEE.
AND, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF VEHICLES COMING OFF THE MARKET RIGHT NOW WHEN YOU PURCHASE THEM THAT ARE ALREADY ENABLED TO DO, YOU KNOW, VEHICLE TO HOME OR POTENTIALLY EVEN VEHICLE TO GRID CAPABILITIES.
SO, BACK TO THOSE EARLIER QUESTIONS THAT I, I KIND OF HAD PREPARED FOR US AND THINGS WE WANNA ADDRESS AS PART OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLANS GOALS AND STRATEGIES IS REALLY AROUND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST EMISSION REDUCTION POTENTIAL WE SEE THROUGH THE STRATEGIES DEFINED IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, THE TWO I THAT WE IDENTIFIED RIGHT OFF THE BAT WERE FLEET ELECTRIFICATION.
THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALL LOCAL MILES.
THEY'RE TYPICALLY KIND OF, UH, LOW SPEED, NON-HIGH MILES, LOTS OF IDLE TIME.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE WE SEE ELECTRIFICATION.
A IT'S A GOOD FIT FOR A LOT OF THESE VEHICLES SINCE THEY'RE DOING MOSTLY CITY DRIVING, BUT ALSO THEY'RE MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES.
SO THEY'RE NOT JUST DISPLACING GASOLINE, THEY'RE DISPLACING DIESEL AS WELL.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT NOT JUST THE REMOVAL OF C O TWO, BUT OTHER KINDS OF EMISSIONS, PARTICULAR MATTERS, THINGS LIKE THAT WHERE WE SEE A HIGH, UM, A HIGH IMPACT ON ACTUAL EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS HERE.
SO I ALREADY WENT THROUGH SOME OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR SIDE BETWEEN CAPITAL METRO, THE CITY OF AUSTIN FLEET, AND THEN THERE'S SOME EVEN WORK THAT BEING DONE AT TRAVIS COUNTY.
BUT, UH, ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR SIDE, WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF INTEREST IN VERY LARGE COMPANIES, ELECTRIFYING, THERE WERE A WHOLE FLEETS AS WELL.
SO THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS A FEW YEARS OLD NOW, BUT WITH AMAZON AND THE DELIVERY VEHICLES AND WHAT THEY, UH, COMMITTED TO THERE, UH, ALSO U P S AND OTHERS HAVE COMMITTED TO FULL FLEET ELECTRIFICATION.
AND WE KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE ON THAT AND WE TRY TO WORK WITH THOSE ORGANIZATIONS MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE GRID IMPACT PIECE.
UM, AND FOR INSTANCE, UH, LIKE A PARKING LOT HAS A FEW LIGHTS THERE, NOT MUCH ELECTRICAL DEMAND, NOT A BIG DEAL ON OUR SYSTEM.
BUT IF YOU CONVERT A PARKING LOT INTO AN ENTIRE CHARGING DEPOT THAT'S CHARGING, UH, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED TRUCKS AT VERY HIGH SPEEDS, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE COMBINATION OF A COUPLE LIKE HIGH RISES IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IN TERMS THE AMOUNT OF ELECTRICAL DEMAND.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE COGNIZANT OF WHERE THEY'RE GOING.
WE WORK PROACTIVELY WITH THEM TO,
[00:20:01]
YOU KNOW, GET THEM ANY KIND OF LIKE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS, UM, EDUCATE AROUND, UH, CHARGE MANAGEMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT.AND THEN AROUND THE SECOND GOAL, UH, SORRY, THOSE WERE ALL THE FIRST GOAL AROUND LIKE VEHICLE ADOPTION AROUND THE SECOND GOAL IN TERMS OF, UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THIS, SOME OF THE HIGHEST EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS POTENTIAL IS AROUND CREATING A NETWORK OF LOW COST AND ACCESSIBLE CHARGING STATIONS.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S SIMPLY THERE.
'CAUSE YOU NEED THAT TO SUPPORT THAT ADOPTION.
UH, WITHOUT, WITHOUT THAT KIND OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S VERY HARD TO HAVE THE ADOPTION HAPPEN HERE.
UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, IT'S, YOU KNOW, ONE IS MORE, UH, BENEFICIAL TO HAVING BEFORE THE OTHER, AND INFRASTRUCTURE BEFORE VEHICLES IS MUCH MORE SO THAT WAY.
AND THE SECOND STRATEGY AROUND THAT IS FOR INCENTIVIZING INTERNET CONNECTED, SMART CHARGING.
SO IT THAT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU GET SORT OF THAT SOFTWARE LAYER ON THERE, YOU GET THOSE CONTROLS, UM, THERE IS THE GRID STABILITY PART THAT DOES MATTER A LOT, BUT THERE'S ALSO THINGS THAT YOU CAN TIE TO IT OTHER THAN JUST THAT.
SO WE CAN EVEN, UH, LOOK AT WAYS TO LOOK AT LIKE RENEW, LIKE THE RENEWABLE GENERATION ON THE GRID PORTFOLIO.
AND THEN YOU CAN EVEN, YOU KNOW, SEND THOSE KIND OF SIGNALS TO CHARGER POTENTIALLY TO CHARGE DURING HIGH, HIGH TIMES OF RENEWABLE GENERATION, UH, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S ON SITE, LIKE THINGS LIKE SOLAR.
UM, SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, FUTURE FACING, BUT THAT'S, WE WANNA HAVE THAT FUNDAMENTAL STUFF OF LIKE INTERCONNECTED SMART CHARGING IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO ENABLE THAT KIND OF STUFF IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
SO THIS ONE'S AROUND THE HIGHEST EQUITY IMPACT POTENTIAL.
THIS IS KIND OF THE SECOND KIND OF PREDEFINED QUESTION THAT WE GOT FROM, UH, ADDITIONAL, UH, COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, SO THE FIRST ONE BEING, UH, CONDUCTING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS, UH, WHERE WE WANT TO AVOID THE SITUATION WHERE WE GO DOWN A PATH, WE START DOING A PROGRAM OR PROJECT, AND THEN WE JUST DEFINE THAT AS A SUCCESS AND CONTINUE DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN JUST AT HIGHER SCALE.
SO WE DO A, A LARGE AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ALREADY AS, UM, YOU KNOW, MOST CITY OF AUSTIN DEPARTMENTS DO, UM, SPECIFICALLY.
AND THEN WE DO SOME, A LOT AROUND, SPECIFICALLY AROUND EV CHARGING, AROUND EV ADOPTION.
UH, WE WORK WITH DIFFERENT COMMUNITY GROUPS, UM, AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE THAT PROCESS.
THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN ITSELF WAS A, AN EXERCISE OF DOING THAT AND EXTREMELY WELL FACILITATED BY THE STAFF THAT PUT THAT TOGETHER.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THE SECOND ONE THAT WAS WE IDENTIFIED THERE IN TERMS OF EQUITY IMPACT POTENTIAL WAS THE LAUNCH OF AN E-BIKE AND ELECTRIC CAR SHARING PROGRAM.
SO, UH, THE, THROUGH THE WORK THAT, YOU KNOW, BIKE, UH, SORRY, UH, BIKE TEXAS HAS DONE IN TERMS OF PROVIDING E-BIKES IN THEIR FLEET, AS WELL AS THE EXPANSION OF CAPITAL METRO'S, UH, BIKE SHARE PROGRAM, TRANSITIONING A FAIR AMOUNT OF THOSE TWO ELECTRIC BIKES AND KIOSKS TO BE IN THEIR BIKE SHARE PROGRAM, UH, ALONG WITH THE BUILD OUT OF THE MASTER BIKE PLAN.
UH, IT'S A GREAT COMBINATION OF KIND OF CITY DEPARTMENTS CAPITALIZING EACH OTHER'S SUCCESSES THERE.
SO THOSE ARE TWO AREAS THAT I THINK THERE COULD BE LIKE RELATIVELY RAPID MOVEMENT IN, AND THERE'S ALREADY BEEN A LOT OF PROGRESS IN.
AND IN TERMS OF THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S EXPANDING, UH, UH, IT'S THE STRATEGY FOR THERE AROUND EXPANDING OUTREACH TO SYSTEMATICALLY INCLUDE EXCLUDED GROUPS.
UM, SO WITHIN THAT, UH, EXAMPLE WE'VE DONE IS, I'D SAY ABOUT 2017 OR 2018 OR SO, WE LOOKED AT THE PORTFOLIO OF EV CHARGING THAT EXISTED, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WE LOOKED AT IT NOT JUST GEOGRAPHICALLY, BUT ALSO BY SECTOR AND LIKE WHAT KINDS OF BUSINESSES WERE, UH, WERE REPRESENTED THERE.
AND WE SAW A LOT OF COMMERCIAL, WE SAW A LOT OF WORKPLACE, UH, THOSE WERE THE PRIMARILY TWO BUT ALMOST ZERO REPRESENTATION FROM THE MULTIFAMILY SECTOR.
THAT WAS AN AREA THAT WAS INTEREST WAS LOW.
UM, CAPITAL'S NOT REALLY READILY AVAILABLE FOR A LOT OF THOSE, THOSE PROPERTIES, EVEN THE MORE EXPENSIVE ONES, THOSE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, EVEN AT LARGE CONDOS DON'T RUN ON HUGE OPERATING BUDGETS IS SOMETHING I'VE LEARNED.
UM, SO WE, YOU KNOW, WORK DIRECTLY THROUGH LIKE THE AUSTIN APARTMENT ASSOCIATION ONE, I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, GETTING 'EM TO UNDERSTAND THE LOGISTICS OF WHAT HAPPENED ON YOUR PROPERTY IS AS WELL AS TAILORED REBATES UP TO 80% FOR THEM TO INSTALL THEM IN THEIR PROPERTY.
AND WE GOT 20 WITHIN THAT FIRST YEAR, I BELIEVE WE'RE OVER A HUNDRED NOW IN TERMS OF PROPERTIES THAT HAVE EV CHARGING, UH, ON SITE FOR THEIR RESIDENCE.
UM, AND UH, ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, BIG TAKEAWAYS FROM THAT AS WELL WAS WHEN, UH, PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY PUTS IN AN AMENITY, THEN EVERY OTHER PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY WANTS TO HAVE THAT SAME AMENITY.
UH, THAT WAS, THAT WAS A FUN LESSON LEARNED AND, AND KIND OF A GOOD DOMINO EFFECT ONCE WE HAD A COUPLE ON BOARD.
UM, SO WORKING, WORKING THROUGH LIKE TARGETED OUTREACH EDUCATION WITH THOSE WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL AS WELL.
AND NOW IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES TO EXECUTING OR, OR EVEN VISIONING SOME OF THE STUFF WITHIN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLANS GOALS AND STRATEGIES AND, AND THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING TO CONTINUE ON.
AND, UH, ONE, EVEN THOUGH I JUST MENTIONED IT'S ONE OF THE HIGHEST IMPACT AREAS IS CONDUCTING AN EV COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO, AND OUR REASON I HAVE THAT AS A BARRIER OR CHALLENGE
[00:25:01]
IS JUST ENSURING THAT THERE'S NOT SAY STATIC.SO IF WE DO A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN SAY, 2022, HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THAT ISN'T A STATIC DOCUMENT AND IT'S NOT KIND OF UPDATED, YOU KNOW, IN LIKE 2026 WHEN NEEDS MAY CHANGE, WHEN YOU KNOW WHEN TECHNOLOGY CHANGES, WHEN THOSE KIND OF THINGS HAPPEN.
AND ALSO GETTING VERY NARROW WITH THE SCOPE IN THAT.
I MEAN, SO WE NEED TO IDENTIFY, IS IT, YOU KNOW, A NEEDS ASSESSMENT ON WHAT WOULD INCREASE ADOPTION IS A NEEDS ASSESSMENT WHERE INFRASTRUCTURE MAY BE LACKING, UH, REALLY WHAT IS THE, WHAT PROBLEM ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE FIRST BEFORE WE PROACTIVELY, YOU KNOW, PRESCRIBE WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH THAT COMMUNITY AS WELL AND MAKING SURE THEY HAVE A VOICE IN THAT.
UM, THE SECOND ONE, UH, JUST 'CAUSE THIS HAS GOTTEN ASKED WAS THE REDUCTION OF TOLLS ON EVS IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT AND JUST REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF, OF TOLL REDUCTIONS THERE, MAKING SURE THAT THOSE ENTITIES MIGHT HAVE SOME SORT OF INFLUENCE ON THAT.
AND JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST SINCE IT'S OUT OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PURVIEW, WE JUST IDENTIFIED THAT AS A BARRIER FOR IMPLEMENTATION ON OURSELVES.
AND THE, THE THIRD, OH, SORRY.
YEAH, THE, THE THIRD ONE WE IDENTIFIED AS A BARRIER TO CHALLENGE IS EXPANDING THE EV RELATED BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
UH, THERE IS A LOT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY HERE IN TERMS OF EVS.
UM, THERE'S A MAJOR COMPANY THAT PRODUCES EVS THAT PUT UP A FACTORY EAST OF AUSTIN BA AIRPORT.
YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF THEM.
UH, SO A LOT OF A, A LOT OF EXPANSION THERE.
WE'VE ALSO SEEN, YOU KNOW, MANUFACTURING FOR EV CHARGING, UM, LOCAL MAINTENANCE CONTRACTORS, SPECIFICALLY TAILORING THEIR BUSINESS TO DO REPAIRS AND BUILD OUT FOR EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THEY'RE GOING FROM LIKE JUST AN ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR TO A CONTRACTOR THAT SPECIALIZES IN THAT.
I JUST SAY LIKE, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE LIKE THAT OUR CONTROL MAY BE LOW, BUT MOVEMENT'S STILL HAPPENING A LOT THERE WITH THOSE, THOSE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES.
AND THEN, UM, FINALLY, I I JUST WANNA SAY IS LIKE WHEN I, WHEN I GO OVER ALL THESE GOALS, STRATEGIES, SUCCESSES, I DON'T MEAN TO CLAIM THEM AS OUR OWN NECESSARILY.
IT'S A, IT'S A WORK OF A, A LOT OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, A LOT OF DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, EVERYTHING FROM ACADEMIA, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, UM, AND YOU KNOW, AND THEN THE COMMERCIAL BUSINESS SIDE OF THINGS AS WELL.
SO WHETHER IT BE OUR OWN AND UTILITY PEERS TO LEARN BEST LESS LESSONS OR SORRY, BEST PRACTICES FOR DOING THESE THINGS, WHETHER IT BE GETTING INVOLVED DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSESS THEIR NEEDS AND, AND FULFILL THEIR NEEDS ARE, WHETHER IT BE WITH, YOU KNOW, HELP ON THE ACADEMIA SIDE WHERE WE NEED, YOU KNOW, FURTHER ANALYSIS THINGS DONE.
UH, THAT'S REALLY WHO CONTRIBUTED TO A LOT OF THIS SUCCESS.
AND, UH, AND REALLY THAT'S THE, THE REASON WHY I WAS ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT SO MANY OF THOSE THINGS, UH, THIS EVENING.
I THINK THAT MIGHT'VE BEEN IT.
I, I, I USUALLY TALK FOR LIKE 45 MINUTES, SO I'M KIND OF PROUD OF MYSELF FOR POWER.
YOU'RE, UM, WE'RE MAYBE WE'RE GONNA GO AROUND HERE, UH, AND JUST ASK YOU SOME, SOME LIGHTNING ROUND QUESTIONS, I GUESS.
I, I LIKE CONVERSATION BETTER THAN MONOLOGUE.
SO, UM, IF YOU DON'T MIND, CAN YOU PULL UP THE REMOTE COMMISSIONERS OR REMOTE COMMISSIONER, UH, UH, OR THEIR LIKENESSES? YEAH.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UH, I ACTUALLY HAD A QUESTION.
UH, MY COMMENT IS I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I, THIS REALLY CAME TO MIND JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IN THE, THE J S C WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT SOLAR STUFF.
SO, UM, IS THERE, CAN YOU FORESEE ANY SORT OF SYNERGY BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, PROPERTIES HAVING SOLAR AND ALSO HAVING, YOU KNOW, ELECTRICAL VEHICLES, WHETHER THEY'RE CHARGING THEM RIGHT, AND DRAWING FROM THE GRID OR PUTTING ENERGY ONTO THE GRID.
UM, WOULD IT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, INCENTIVE OR, OR INITIATIVE OR SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE ONE TO, TO GET THE OTHER? UM, JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT THING COULD WORK BEST TO SERVE THE, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
UH, CERTAINLY, YEAH, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE COULD BE A LOT OF THINGS THAT MAKE THOSE TWO INTERACT.
UM, AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU A FEW EXAMPLES 'CAUSE DIFFERENT USE CASES KIND OF DICTATE HOW THOSE TWO THINGS INTERACT ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN A, A LOT OF INSTALLATIONS FOR SOLAR THAT ACTUALLY YOUR EXCESS, YOUR PRODUCTION WILL BE IN EXCESS OF YOUR CONSUMPTION.
AND SO YOU GET PAID FOR THAT IN THE FORM OF A BILL CREDIT.
WELL, IF YOU GO NEGATIVE ON YOUR BILL, CREDIT JUST MEANS YOU HAVE A BALANCE OF NEGATIVE.
SO, UM, WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN CUSTOMERS BUY ONE TWO EVS TO UH, KIND OF INCREASE THEIR USAGE, WHICH, UM, IS KIND OF WONDERFUL THAT YOU'RE HAVING TO, YOU'RE PRODUCING SO MUCH THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO FULFILL THAT.
AND ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, YEAH, THERE IS A GOOD SYNERGY BETWEEN SOLAR AND EV CHARGING AS WELL.
UM, A ONE JUST BECAUSE WHEN I TALK ABOUT PEAK DEMAND AND THE STRAIN ON THE GRID IS IF CHARGING DOES HAPPEN THERE, YOU KNOW, SOLAR PRODUCTION'S
[00:30:01]
ALSO VERY HIGH DURING THOSE PERIODS.SO THAT'S WAYS TO, YOU KNOW, OFFSET THAT DEMAND THAT'S HAPPENING ON THE GRID AS WELL AS IF YOU'RE A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS OWNER, OFFSET THE AMOUNT THAT YOUR DEMAND CHARGE ON YOUR BILL IS GOING TO BE TO REDUCE IT THAT WAY AS WELL.
SO, UH, THERE'S DEFINITELY WAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE CO BENEFICIAL TO EACH OTHER, HAVING BOTH THERE.
AND WE'RE EVEN SEEING THINGS LIKE STANDALONE SYSTEMS, UM, COMPLETELY OFF GRID APPLIC APPLICATIONS WHERE YOU'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, SOLAR CHARGING KIOSKS NOW, UH, IT'S TYPICALLY SOLAR PANELS BATTERY, THEN EV CHARGER IS THE WAY A LOT OF THOSE ARE STRUCTURED, BUT THEY DON'T REQUIRE ANY GRID INTERCONNECTION.
I MEAN MOVABLE 'CAUSE THEY'RE VERY LARGE AND, BUT THEY'RE NOT TIED TO THE GROUND.
AND SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY MOVE THOSE, UM, IF, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED NEEDS IN ANOTHER PLACE, BUT THEY HAVE ZERO GRID IMPACT.
THEY'RE COMPLETELY 100% SOLAR POWERED, UH, WITH THE HELP OF A BATTERY TO KIND OF INCREASE THE POWER THRESHOLD.
AND, UH, THAT'S COME A LONG WAY AS WELL.
THEY USED TO BE THE, THE, THE OLDER SOLAR POWERED EV CHARGING STATIONS WOULD PUT OUT AS MUCH POWER AS LIKE 110 VOLT OUTLET.
SO STILL A RELATIVELY SLOW CHARGE, BUT NOW, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH BETTER PANEL EFFICIENCY AS WELL AS WITH THE KIND OF BATTERY BEING IN THERE TO HELP SUPPORT THAT, YOU'RE SEEING HIGH SPEED CHARGING DONE ON THOSE KIND OF STANDALONE SYSTEMS AS WELL.
SO, ABSOLUTELY, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGE BOTH THE, THE ADOPTION OF BOTH THOSE KIND OF DOUBLES DOWN ON THE, YOU KNOW, UH, EMISSIONS BENEFITS TOO.
SO YEAH, THAT WAS MY ONLY QUESTION.
I JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION FIRST.
I, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THE 460,000 CARS IS SORT OF THE, THE GOAL NUMBER, BUT THEN 37,000 CHARGING PORTS, IS THAT RIGHT? UH, CORRECT.
SO, UH, THAT, SO 37,000 CHARGER PORTS FOR 37,000 CHARGING PORTS.
I THINK I SAID SOMETHING WAY LOWER EARLIER, WHICH I PROBABLY GOT WRONG FROM THE PRESENTATION, BUT, UH, YEAH, 37,000 IS THE CORRECT NUMBER FOR, UH, 460,000 EVS.
AND THE REASONS THAT WAY IT'S NOT ONE TO ONE IS BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WITH SOME OF THE LOWER SPEED CHARGING, EVEN LEVEL TWO CHARGING, WHICH IS 240 VOLTS, IT'S WHAT YOU SEE EVERYWHERE.
THAT MIGHT BE CLOSER TO A TWO OR THREE TO ONE RATIO, UH, WE NEED OUT THERE.
UM, BUT THERE'S GONNA BE THINGS LIKE MUCH FASTER, HIGH SPEED DC FAST CHARGING.
SO IF YOU'RE TALKING LIKE IN THE 150 300 KILOWATT RANGE OF CHARGING, THAT'S EXTREMELY HIGH AMOUNTS OF POWER AND EXTREMELY FAST CHARGING, YOU DON'T NEED A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO THERE.
ONE OF THOSE COULD SUPPORT 20, 30, 40, 50 VEHICLES.
UM, BECAUSE, BECAUSE THE TURNOVER IS VERY QUICK.
ALSO, I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE, UM, NOW I GIVE THE CAVEAT 'CAUSE THIS IS WITH EARLY ADOPTERS, BUT UH, EVERY STUDY IS BASICALLY SHOWING THAT BETWEEN 80 AND 90% OF CHARGING IS DONE AT HOME.
UM, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THESE 37,000 CHARGERS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS OUTSIDE OF THE RESIDENTIAL AREA.
SO THAT WOULD ALSO HELP TO SUPPORT THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND WE DO SEE, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC CHARGING BEING MUCH MORE OF A NECESSITY WHEN WE START SEEING THE TRANSITION TO LIKE HIGH MILEAGE VEHICLES LIKE RIDE SHARE COMPANIES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, IF, YOU KNOW, A TOMMY'S A AUTONOM VEHICLE'S NOW IN THE CITY TO SUMS LOVE AND SOMES HATE DEPENDING ON WHAT'S WHAT YOU READ.
UM, BUT YEAH, THOSE ARE ALL ELECTRIC PLATFORMS AS WELL, SO, SO THE INCLUSION OF THOSE IS GONNA, ARE GONNA REQUIRE A LOT MORE PUBLIC CHARGING TOO.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT RATIO IS SO DIFFERENT BECAUSE A RESIDENTIAL CHARGING BUT ALSO HIGH SPEED CHARGING SUPPORTS A HIGHER NUMBER OF VEHICLES.
THAT JUST SEEMED LOW WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT 12 TO WHAT MAKES SENSE IF YOU'RE NOT INCLUDING RESIDENTS, UM, THE STANDALONE, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT 'CAUSE I HAVEN'T REALLY, UM, ENCOUNTERED IT.
IS, ARE THERE ANY OF THOSE IN SORT OF MORE PUBLIC SPACES LIKE PARKLAND? OR DO YOU NOT SEE THAT AS A, UH, THE STANDALONE ONE'S IN TERMS OF THE, THE SOLAR INTEGRATED EV CHARGING? UH, WE HAVE A TOTAL OF ONE HERE IN AUSTIN THAT I'M AWARE OF NOW.
UM, AND, AND, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE RELATIVELY NEW.
AND, AND THE REASON I, UM, KNOW THAT THERE'S AT LEAST ONE HERE IS THERE'S A COMPANY CALLED BEAM AND OUR CITY OF AUSTIN FLEET SERVICES ACTUALLY GOT IT FOR AN APPLICATION WHERE AN INSTALLATION WOULD BE EXTREMELY COSTLY.
UM, SO WE INSTALL, LIKE EVERYONE ASKS WHAT'S THE COST OF INSTALLING YOU BE CHARGING? AND THAT NUMBER CAN VARY EXTREMELY HIGH DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT POWER IS AVAILABLE, HOW FAR YOU HAVE TO TRENCH THROUGH CONCRETE, WHERE ELECTRICAL PANELS LOCATED, ALL SORTS OF FACTORS.
AND SO THEY, UM, THEY KIND OF FOUND A SOLUTION WHERE THEY INSTALLED THIS STANDALONE STATION AT, UH, A PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS GONNA HAVE A HIGH COST AND THEY ALREADY HAD AN INHERENT NEED THERE.
BUT FOR PLACES, AS YOU MENTIONED, LIKE, LIKE PARKS, UM, AND OTHERS WERE, THERE'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE A LOT OF ELECTRICAL SERVICE TO THOSE AREAS.
THAT'S A FANTASTIC SOLUTION, UH, AND A GREAT WAY TO KIND OF GET CHARGING AVAILABILITY TO PLACES THAT DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE DISTRIBUTION GRID READILY AVAILABLE OR REQUIRE LIKE A HIGH, UH, HIGH COST SERVICE DROP, THINGS LIKE THAT.
IT'S A, IT'S AN ELEGANT SOLUTION TO HELP OFFSET SOME OF THAT STUFF AS WELL.
UH, AND THEN JUST KIND OF CURIOUS AS FAR AS SORT OF, I MEAN, I GUESS BEST CASE SCENARIO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EXAMPLE,
[00:35:01]
IS THERE SORT OF LIKE PER NUMBER OF RESIDENTS IN A UNIT, THE NUMBER OF STATIONS THAT YOU WOULD HOPE TO BE ABLE TO INTEGRATE? YEAH, I, AND AND I, I LIKE TO USE MULTIFAMILY, UH, ACTUALLY AS AN EXAMPLE AND COMMERCIAL BUSINESS AS AN EXAMPLE THAT, UM, SO WE'VE WORKED, UM, WE HAVE A GREEN BUILDING PRO, SORRY, PROBLEM.WE HAVE A GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, NOT PROBLEM AT AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, WHERE WE FOCUS ON, YOU KNOW, BUILDING DESIGN, UM, BASICALLY LEAD BUT SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN'S, UH, CLIMATE AND COMMUNITY.
AND THROUGH THAT WE DEVELOPED SOME EV READINESS RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, IT IS NOW IT'S, IT IS A MEASURE WITHIN GREEN BUILDING THAT NEW COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES OR MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES CAN DO.
UM, WE, WE SHOOT FOR 10% RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO THAT'S 10% OF PARKING AND, AND THAT 10% COULD EASILY ACTUALLY BE 20%.
SO THE THINGS THAT WE ASK FOR WHEN YOU'RE DOING THESE NEW DEVELOPMENTS, WHETHER IT BE A COMMERCIAL BUILDING OR MULTIFAMILY, IS, UH, FOR A NEW BUILDING YOU HAVE YOUR TRANSFORMER THAT PROVIDES THE ELECTRICAL POWER TO YOUR BUILDING.
WELL, WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING THAT OUT, YOU WANNA TAKE 10% OF YOUR PARKING SPACES, FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH ELECTRICAL LOAD THAT WOULD BE, CALCULATE THAT IN YOUR TRANSFORMER SIZE TO INCLUDE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO OUT AND REPLACE THAT IN FIVE YEARS WHEN YOU KNOW 10% OF YOUR RESIDENTS OR CUSTOMERS ADOPT EVS.
SO DOING THAT UP FRONT, UH, 'CAUSE IT'S MUCH EASIER TO DO THAT AT THE TIME OF CONSTRUCTION THAN IT IS TO RETROFIT.
THE SECOND THING IS YOU DO THE EXACT SAME THING BUT WITH YOUR ELECTRICAL PANELS.
SO IT'S JUST SIMPLE THINGS LIKE HAVING SPACES ON YOUR PANELS, GETTING ELECTRICAL PANEL THAT'S BIG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THAT 10%.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE PROBABLY MOST, UH, EFFICIENT THING YOU CAN DO COST-WISE IS RUNNING CONDUIT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY IN BUILD A BUILDING VERSUS RE RETROFIT AND, UH, TEAR UP BUILDING.
UM, WE DID A LOT OF THAT STUFF ACTUALLY AT THIS BUILDING WE'RE AT TONIGHT IN THAT GARAGE RIGHT THERE.
UM, SO DOING A, A MAKE READY FOR, UH, COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST HAVE, YOU'RE NOT TEARING APART A BRAND NEW GARAGE OR A PARKING LOT FIVE TO 10 YEARS AFTER IT'S BUILT, SINCE A LOT OF THESE ARE 50 YEAR ASSETS.
SO WE LOOK AT 10%, AND THAT'S BASED ON SOME STANDARD CALCULATIONS WITH THINGS LIKE PUTTING TWO CHARGERS ON ONE CIRCUIT THAT CAN EASILY TRANSLATE TO THINGS LIKE 20%.
UM, SO THERE'S WAYS TO EXPAND THAT RELATIVELY EASY, BUT 10% IS OUR BASELINE AND THAT WAS AN EXTREMELY LONG-WINDED ANSWER, SO NO, I APPRECIATE IT.
THANK YOU FOR THE EXPLANATION.
UM, AND SO THEY HAVE 2 75 AND THEN THEY HAVE A LOT MORE ON ORDER.
AND THE WAY THAT THEY DO THOSE REPLACEMENTS OR THEY, THEY ACTUALLY BRING THESE IN IS THEY HAVE A, A STAGGERED REPLACEMENT SCHEDULE OF VEHICLES GOING OUT ANYWAY.
THEY DO LIKE ESSENTIALLY LIKE AN ELECTRIC FIRST POLICY WHERE THEY LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TELEMATICS ON ALL OF THEIR VEHICLES.
SO THEY LOOK AT WHAT'S THE OPERATIONAL NEED IN TERMS OF MILEAGE.
THEY LOOK AT THE OPERATIONAL NEED IN TERMS OF LIKE WHAT THE VEHICLE ACTUALLY DOES.
SO, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S GONNA BE BARRIERS IN THINGS LIKE FIRE TRUCKS OR, YOU KNOW, UTILITY TRUCKS RIGHT NOW.
BUT FOR THE MOST PART IT'S LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES THAT, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE THOSE KINDS OF SERVICE NEEDS THAT THEY CAN'T BE DONE WITH EVS.
SO THAT'S HOW THEY'RE ROLLING IN IS DO THAT, LIKE THAT EVALUATION AND THAT NATURAL, UH, ROLL OFF OF RETIREMENT OF VEHICLES.
AND IS THERE AN EVALUATION PROCESS TO LOOK AT A A P D VEHICLES? UH, PARDON A P D THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
IS THERE ANY, ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER, UH, EFFORTS TO ELECTRIFY THEIR FLEET? YEAH, I, I, I KNOW, I KNOW THEY'VE LOOKED AT IT BEFORE AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ONE OF THE, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A BARRIER OR NOT, UM, BUT AROUND LIKE WHAT PURSUIT READY MEANS, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, LIKE A POLICE VEHICLE AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE AND WHAT NEEDS TO COME OFF THE LINE TO BE ACTUAL PURSUIT VEHICLE.
UM, BUT YEAH, NO, THE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY LOOKING AT, UH, A P D VEHICLES AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, E M S AND FIRE VEHICLES AS WELL.
SO THEY'RE LIKE OUR FLEET SERVICE DEPARTMENT HAS PURVIEW OVER THAT ENTIRE FLEET OF VEHICLES AND THEY'RE ASSESSING ALL OF THEM, SO.
AND THEN I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT THE 40% OF E M T GOAL WAS 226 MEGAWATTS, IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, THE 40% V M T GOLD TRANSLATES TO 226 MEGAWATTS OF EV CHARGING.
CAN YOU PUT THAT IN CONTEXT OF THE OVERALL AUSTIN ENERGY GENERATION, JUST SO WE CAN KINDA YEAH, I, I BELIEVE OUR PEAK LOAD IS SOMEWHERE AROUND, UH, 3000 MEGAWATTS.
UM, SO, SO I MEAN, WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, AT THAT KIND OF BUILD OUT LESS THAN 10%.
UH, SO IT'S, BUT THAT, THAT IS AN EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER THAT THAT'S, THAT'S A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF LOAD.
SO, AND THEN AS WE LOOK TO TALK ABOUT EVS AND THE TRANSITION TO BEING CARBON NEUTRAL, IT'S ONLY AS CARBON NEUTRAL AS THE ENERGY THAT WE'RE PRODUCING.
SO WHAT'S THE CURRENT MIX OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S GENERATION IN TERMS OF RENEWABLE VERSUS FOSSIL FUEL? YEAH, SO IN, IN THE PORTFOLIO RIGHT NOW, IT'S EVERYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, NATURAL GAS, COAL, UM, UH,
[00:40:01]
I BELIEVE IN, UH, WE HAVE BATTERY STORAGE IN A SMALL AMOUNT AS WELL.UM, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT OUR ACTUAL MIX IS RIGHT NOW, BUT I BELIEVE WE'RE LOOKING AT LIKE 65% BY 2030.
UM, SO THAT THAT'S, AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT LIKE A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON-FREE GENERATION OH, AND, AND SORRY, NUCLEAR WITHIN THE SOUTH TEXAS PLANT THAT WE KNOW AS WELL.
THAT'S A BIG PORTION OF IT THAT WE HAVE IN THERE TOO.
UH, DIDN'T MEAN TO LEAVE THAT ONE OUT.
SO YOU SAID 65 BY 2030? YEAH, I BELIEVE THAT THAT'S OUR CURRENT GOAL.
AND, UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF, WE'RE REVISING OUR RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, UM, ALONGSIDE, YOU KNOW, MANY OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'LL CHANGE THE THRESHOLDS OF IT, BUT, UM, OUR GENERATION MIX IS, IS PART OF THAT PROCESS TOO, SO.
AND THEN AS WE LOOK AT, UH, UH, EQUITY AND EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS, ARE THERE, ARE THERE SPECIAL INCENTIVES FOR THE INSTALLATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE AT MULTIFAMILY RENTAL PROPERTIES? YEAH, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE THOSE IN, UH, WE'VE DONE 'EM IN LIKE KIND OF STAGES.
SO WE'VE DONE, WE'VE DONE THE ONE WITH THE, WITH, UH, MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES BEFORE.
UM, SO WE DO 'EM FOR LIKE A LIMITED TIME, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE DID THE LAST ONE FOR LIKE A YEAR.
UM, AND WE'VE DONE, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE NOW WE HAVE THE ONE AROUND E-BIKES AND WE KIND OF, WE'LL KIND OF CYCLE THROUGH THOSE, GET TO A CERTAIN THRESHOLD AND THEN WE'LL END UP BRINGING THEM BACK AS WELL.
SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SPECIALIZED INCENTIVES FOR LIKE, POTENTIALLY LIKE EV CAR SHARING AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT WE'RE KIND OF, WE, WE KIND OF GO ACROSS THE BOARD IN TERMS OF HOW WE COULD DO EQUITABLE INCENTIVES FOR OUR, ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. UM, SORRY, I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION ON THE RENEWABLE SIDE IS ALL OF OUR PUBLIC CHARGING IS SUBSCRIBED TO OUR, UH, UH, GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM.
SO WIND POWER, UH, FOR ALL OF THOSE AND GOING INTO THAT TO HELP FUND A WIN PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I DON'T MIND GETTING 'EM AGAIN.
I'M CURIOUS, DO YOU HAVE A MAP OF THE CURRENT EV CHARGING STATIONS? I DO.
UM, I BELIEVE WE CAN, IT CAN BE FOUND ON PLUGIN AUSTIN.COM.
UM, SO THAT IS, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY'S WEBSITE THAT HAS, UH, WHERE EV CHARGING IS, UH, THROUGH THERE.
WE ALSO HAVE IT, UM, WE, ALL OF OUR CHARGING NETWORK IS, UM, SUPPORTED THROUGH CHARGEPOINT.
UM, SO THAT IS KIND OF OUR SINGULAR SOFTWARE PROVIDER THROUGH IT.
SO WITHIN THE CHARGEPOINT APP AND OR WEBSITE, YOU CAN SEE ALL THE ONES THAT ARE IN, UM, AUSTIN AREA THAT ARE PART OF OUR NETWORK THERE.
BUT I'D RECOMMEND, IN TERMS OF THE ONES SPECIFIC TO OUR PROGRAM, I'D RECOMMEND PLUGGING AUSTIN.COM FOR THAT MAP.
I DON'T HAVE THAT UP RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M, I'M ASKING 'CAUSE I'M CURIOUS WHEN THINKING ABOUT EQUITY, UM, ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN IN THE EAST VERSUS WEST DIVIDE MM-HMM.
ARE YOU, DO YOU HAVE NUMBERS ON THAT? ABSO I, I DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC NUMBERS, BUT I MEAN, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S VISUALLY THERE, UM, YEAH, IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU SEE IT, THERE'S PLACES LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE SOUTHEAST IN, LIKE THAT'S A CHARGING DESERT FOR THE MOST PART IN TERMS OF LIKE AREAS, LIKE, THERE'S VERY HIGH CONCENTRATIONS IN LIKE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD THINK LIKE WEST IS AN EXTREMELY HIGH DENSITY THERE.
UH, THERE'S SOME THERE, BUT IT'S NOT NEARLY AS HIGH AS LIKE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IS, UM, AND IS GEOGRAPHICALLY, IT IS DISPERSED PRETTY WELL THROUGHOUT THE CITY, BUT THE DENSITY OF CHARGING IS NOT EQUAL ACROSS ALL PARTS OF THE CITY.
AND SO ONE OF THE AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE'RE GONNA SHIFT OUR FOCUS TO IS LIKE MM-HMM.
SO FILLING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, FILLING IN GAPS ARE, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE GAPS DON'T EXIST IS PART OF OUR MISSION.
AND SO WE APPLIED FOR A, A GRANT THROUGHOUT THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE WORD BACK YET ON WHETHER WE'RE GONNA GET IT OR NOT, OR WE DON'T KNOW THE STATUS OF THAT.
BUT A BIG COMPONENT OF THAT IS, UH, APPLYING THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY TO JUSTICE 40 REQUIREMENTS MM-HMM.
SO, UM, AND THIS IS GONNA BE MOSTLY DC FAST CHARGING, SO KIND OF HIGH CAPITAL PROJECTS THERE.
AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE'D HAVE AS A HIGH PRIORITY IS ONE, LEVERAGING KIND OF CITY FACILITIES, SO WE'RE NOT TO SPEND THAT MONEY ON LAND MM-HMM.
AND SO THAT WOULD BE FEDERAL DOLLARS TO INCENTIVIZE, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE BUSINESSES OR MULTI-FAMILY UNITS TO THEN PUT A CHARGING PORT OR WHAT WOULD THE, THE FUNDING LOOK LIKE? SO THE FUNDING WOULD COME DIRECTLY TO US.
AND, UM, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE'D GO THROUGH A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PROCESS AND BASICALLY BUILD OURSELVES AS OPPOSED MM-HMM.
SO IN TERMS OF BEING, IT WOULDN'T BE TRANSLATED NECESSARILY TO INCENTIVES.
IT WOULD BE FOR, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR THE RECIPIENTS OF THAT TO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, PRESCRIBE WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE THEM AND THEN HIRE DIRECTLY OF WHERE THEY SHOULD GO.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF, I, I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE THE STRUCTURE OF THIS ROUND OF FUNDING.
'CAUSE A, IT HELPS US HAVE A GOOD SAY IN GEOGRAPHICALLY
[00:45:01]
WHERE THE STUFF WILL GO.SO I THINK IT'S A FANTASTIC MM-HMM.
SO, AND IN CASE THAT FUNDING DOESN'T PAN OUT, WHAT IS YOUR PLAN B? UH, PLAN? PLAN B IS, UH, WE DO HAVE CAPITAL BUDGET FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME DC FAST CHARGING.
IT'S NOT QUITE TO THE AMOUNT THAT WE APPLIED FOR.
UM, THERE ALSO, SO THIS, THIS ROUND, UH, THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS, I THINK THIS, THE TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT FOR THIS ROUND WAS 700 MILLION NATIONWIDE.
UM, AND THEN THEY HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 1.8 BILLION OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS OR FOUR YEARS AS WELL.
UM, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO PURSUE THOSE, UH, AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY LIKE SOME STATE, STATE GRANTS AS WELL.
AND THOSE WOULD BE EARMARKED SPECIFICALLY FOR EASTERN CRESCENT OR LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS? THAT'D BE PART OF IT.
SO 40, LIKE WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE 40% GOES THERE, BUT WE'D DO IT, WE WANNA DO AN OVERLAY OF A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS.
ONE BEING IDEAL SITUATION, SO EASTERN CRESCENT NEIGHBORHOOD'S A BIG PART OF THAT.
UM, ALSO RURAL ACCESS IS A HUGE THING THAT WE'RE AWARE OF TOO, NOT JUST BECAUSE, UH, WE SEE THE GAP THERE, BUT ALSO IDENTIFIED BY FEDERAL GRANT REQUIREMENTS IS THERE'S JUST NO RURAL ACCESS, AND I UNDERSTAND WHY MM-HMM.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'D LOOK AT EVERYTHING FROM LIKE DELL VALLEY AND EASTERN CRESCENT, UH, AREAS WHERE IT DOESN'T EXIST YET AND, AND PRIORITIZE THOSE AREAS.
WE ALSO WANNA LOOK AT HIGH AREAS OF MULTI-FAMILY CONCENTRATION.
ALSO ANY KIND OF DATA WE HAVE AROUND LIKE HIGH RIDE SHARE USER OR HIGH RIDE SHARE, UM, USAGE, THAT'S THE WORD.
AND HOW DO YOU IMAGINE THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT WILL HELP INFORM SOME OF THESE PLANS? YEAH, SO THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO HELP INFORM, I MEAN, THERE'S A, ONE THING IS WE WANNA UNDERSTAND, UNDERSTAND, UM, ONE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS, IF IT'S, IF IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTIAL, RIGHT? THAT THAT'S ONE PART OF IT, AND JUST UNDERSTANDING LIKE HOW COULD WE INCREASE ADOPTION THERE, WHAT ARE BARRIERS? LIKE THAT'S BARRIER.
LIKE UNDERSTANDING THE BARRIERS TO ADOPTION, THAT'S A HUGE PIECE OF IT.
WHETHER IT BE COST, WHETHER IT BE, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST THE OPTICS OF LIKE, THIS ISN'T AVAILABLE TO ME, WHETHER IT BE, YOU KNOW, THEN MEET MY OPERATIONAL NEEDS, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
AND THEN FOR COMMERCIAL ONES, COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES ON THAT COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT, THAT'S ANOTHER PART OF IT TOO.
AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, H E B AND TARGET THOSE KIND OF COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES, BUT ALSO COMMERCIAL IN THE SENSE OF LIKE COMMUNITY CENTERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UNDERSTANDING, OKAY, WELL HOW CAN WE ENABLE YOU TO PROVIDE THIS RESOURCE WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY? AND SO, AND, AND THAT CAN HELP, YOU KNOW, ALSO CASCADE TO LIKE THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS THAT LIVE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD TOO.
SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT BOTH WAYS OF WHAT'S IMPEDING ADOPTION, ALSO WHAT'S IMPEDING INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD OUT MM-HMM.
SO IT'S A THAT, AND THAT'S WHY I HAVE THAT AS A BEER.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS TO UNDERSTAND, UH, BEFORE MAKING AN ACTION THERE.
BUT ONE THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS IF, LET'S SAY $10 MILLION POPS UP TOMORROW OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IS, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE WOULD DO WITH THAT AS OPPOSED TO GETTING $10 MILLION AND THEN FIGURING OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THAT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF A PART OF WHAT THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT WOULD, WOULD DO.
AND LUCKILY, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY LOOKED INTO THAT KIND OF HELP PRESCRIBE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE MENTIONED LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, LOW, LIKE, SORRY, LIKE THE, THE CHARGING DESERTS THINGS, LIKE, THAT'S A BIG PART.
ALSO HAVING UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE LIKE THE ELECTRICAL GRID OVERLAY IS AND WHERE LIKE, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY AND LIKE THE, THE CIRCUITS ON THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM LIVE IS ANOTHER OVERLAY.
SO THERE'S KIND OF A VENN DIAGRAM OF CRITERIA THAT MM-HMM.
BUT WE WANNA START OUT WITH THE IDEAL SOLUTION BEFORE WE START MM-HMM.
SO, AND IS IT AUSTIN ENERGY THAT'S DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING THAT COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT? YEAH, IT MEAN IT'LL, IT'LL BE US AMONG OTHERS.
I MEAN, SO I, I, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE GONNA WORK MOSTLY THROUGH LIKE, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS MM-HMM.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A COMBINATION OF WORK WITH ALL OF THOSE AS OPPOSED TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, ONE THING, I, I DON'T WANNA CREATE WHAT WE, YOU KNOW, CALL, LIKE, NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
IT'S NOT WELL REPRESENTED AND THEN LABELED IT AS SUCH MM-HMM.
SO THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY THAT'S KIND OF A BARRIER, BUT ALSO SUCH HIGHLIGHTED FIRST IS SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY.
DO THEY VARY AT ALL TO INCLUDE HYBRID
[00:50:01]
VEHICLES.SO WITH WITH THOSE, I MEAN, THERE'S A SMALL SUBSET, SO IT INCLUDES PLUGIN HYBRIDS, BUT WHEN WE, WHEN WE CALL OUT LIKE THOSE, THE VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED THERE.
UM, AND EVEN WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ADOPTION GROUP, PLUGIN HYBRIDS, UM, ARE A PRETTY SMALL SLIVER OF THE ACTUAL EVS ADOPTED HERE NOW.
UM, THERE WAS, WHEN I SHOWED THAT ADOPTION CURVE, IT'S PROBABLY WAY TOO SMALL IN LIKE 2012 TO LIKE 2015 TO EVEN SEE ANYMORE.
I'D SAY 75% WAS LIKE PLUGIN HYBRIDS, 25 OR LESS WAS BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
BUT SINCE THE RANGE HAS GONE FROM AN AVERAGE OF LIKE 70 TO, YOU KNOW, TWO TO 300 MILES IN ONGOING FORWARD, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, THE BUILD OUT OF PLUGIN HYBRIDS IS JUST SO MUCH SMALLER THAN FULL BATTERY ELECTRIC EVS AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT'S A LOT OF BATTERY OR VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS DON'T WANNA PUT LIKE EITHER TWO PROPULSION SYSTEMS IN A VEHICLE OR AT LEAST TWO FUEL SYSTEMS IN IT.
UM, SO YOU'RE STILL SEEING SOME OF 'EM BEING MADE, BUT LONG TERM, I MEAN THE TRENDS GOING TOWARDS MORE BATTERY ELECTRIC, BUT YEAH, NO, WE DO, THE SHORT ANSWER IS WE DO INCLUDE PLUGIN HYBRIDS AS EV 'CAUSE IT DOES INTERACT WITH THE GRID.
THAT'S KIND OF LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, CUTOFF POINT THERE, BUT FULL HYBRIDS THAT DON'T HAVE NO GRID INTERACTION AS WE'RE NOT INCLUDING THAT IN THERE.
HELLO? UM, I WAS FOLLOWING ALONG AS I WAS COMING HERE ON THE RED LINE, UH, ON MY LITTLE IPAD HERE.
UM, AND I MIGHT'VE MISSED PART OF WHAT YOU SAID.
UM, I'M A MEMBER OF THE BICYCLE COMMUNITY MM-HMM.
AND I AM HOPING THAT SOMEDAY WHEN I'M OLD THAT YEAH, THAT WAS A JOKE.
I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T GET IT RIDE AN E-BIKE THAT I'LL RIDE AN E-BIKE.
SO A FRIEND OF MINE ASKED ABOUT E-BIKE CHARGING.
E E-BIKE CHARGING IT, IT'S ACTUALLY GOT, I MEAN, IT, IT GOES A COUPLE WAYS FOR LIKE, FOR SHARED E-BIKE CHARGING, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE THING LIKE CAPITAL, LIKE THE B CYCLES.
THAT, THAT'S KIND OF BUILT A KIOSK FOR LIKE INDIVIDUAL E-BIKE OWNERSHIP.
UM, IT'S GOTTEN A LOT SIMPLER WHERE IT'S ACTUALLY LIKE A REMOVABLE BATTERY PACK NOW THAT JUST PLUGS INTO LIKE 110 VOLT OUTLET.
SO IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, A PACK ABOUT YAY BIG THAT, THAT, THAT COMES OFF YOUR BICYCLE AND IT'S REMOVABLE AS OPPOSED TO SOME OF THE EARLY E-BIKES WHERE YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO WHEEL THIS 200 POUND MM-HMM.
A LOT OF 'EM HAVE THAT REMOVABLE PIECE AND I MEAN, IT'S PENNIES TO RECHARGE OR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, MAYBE NICKELS AT THIS POINT TO RECHARGE THOSE KINDS OF BATTERIES.
BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE OUT AND AROUND TOWN MM-HMM.
IF YOU'RE OUT, LIKE YOU HAVE TO REMOVE IT, YOU HAVE TO FIND A HUNDRED TIN OUT.
IT'S KINDA LIKE YOUR CELL PHONE RUNNING OUT IN PUBLIC MM-HMM.
UM, BUT THE GOOD THING IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN MULTIPLE PEOPLE TAKE THOSE BA LIKE BATTERIES INTO A BUSINESS, PLUG IT INTO LIKE A WALLET AND KIND OF HANG OUT THERE UNTIL THEY GET LIKE A LITTLE BIT JUICE LEFT.
UM, BUT IT'S MUCH EASIER, THAT KIND OF REMOVABLE PIECE AS WELL, SO AS, AS OPPOSED TO LIKE STILL BEING INTEGRATED INTO ACTUAL BICYCLE.
WELL, AGAIN THOUGH, THERE ARE E-BIKES FOR WHICH THE BATTERY IS NOT REMOVABLE.
AND THAT WOULD BE A HARDSHIP FOR PEOPLE TO CHARGE IF THEY HAVE TO WAIT TILL THEY GET HOME OR IT AB IT ABSOLUTELY IS.
'CAUSE THOSE GET, UH, SOME OF THOSE HAVE A MUCH HIGHER WEIGHT MM-HMM.
UM, BUT YEAH, SO, AND THE GOOD NEWS IS IF YOU DO HAVE TO DO IT IN PUBLIC, I MEAN, YOU CAN USE ANY 110 VOLT OUTLET.
IT'S NOT A SPECIALIZED CONNECTION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A STANDARD ONE 10 OUTLET.
UH, THE CONNECTOR ON THE E-BIKE IS KIND OF THE UNIQUE THING, BUT THAT'S, THAT COMES WITH IT, THAT'S NOT PART OF THE ACTUAL, LIKE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION.
LIKE AN EV HAS A A J 1772 PORT THAT'S SPECIFIC TO IT.
UH, SO WITH THE E-BIKE IT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE JUST KIND OF, IF YOU CAN FIND 110 VOLT OUTLET, YOU CAN DO THAT ON THE GO.
ALSO, I LOVE THE RED LINE, SO, OKAY.
UM, IS THERE ANY ORDINANCE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL'S GONNA PASS TO ENCOURAGE THIS ENTIRE PROCESS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN MULTIPLE EITHER THROUGH RESOLUTION, UH, THROUGH COUNCIL ACTIONS, UM, BUT YEAH, SO WELL, I MEAN, RES RESOLUTION IS JUST, HEY, WE'RE IN FAVOR OF THIS.
WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS MORE OF A MANDATE.
UM, NOT THAT I'M AWARE SPECIFIC THING.
I MEAN, SINCE THE SPECTRUM IS SO BROAD ON HOW THE OUTCOMES OF IT, UM, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY ORDINANCE THAT, YOU KNOW, IS COMING FORWARD TO LIKE, SAY, THIS MUST HAPPEN OR IT MUST HAPPEN AT THIS SPEED.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE RES, I MEAN, WE'VE GOTTEN RESOLUTION SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, BUDGET, DEDICATION, THINGS LIKE THAT TO KIND OF INCREASE IT.
BUT IN TERMS OF AN ORDINANCE SAYING THIS GOAL HAS TO HAPPEN, UM, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING.
WHAT'S THE TIMEFRAME FOR CAP METRO? YOU MENTIONED THEY, THEY HAD WHAT, 250 BUSES ON ORDER MM-HMM.
WHAT'S THE, UH, TIMEFRAME FOR CAP METRO TURNING THEIR ENTIRE FLEET OVER TO, UH, ELECTRIC YEAH.
FOR THEIR ENTIRE FLEET CONVERSION.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY LIKE A 10 TO 12 YEAR ROLLOUT.
[00:55:01]
UM, I, I COULD BE MISSPEAKING ON THAT, UH, SINCE I, NOT NECESSARILY PART OF THEIR ORGANIZATION.UM, BUT I DO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, SINCE THEY'VE, THEY'VE ALREADY DONE, I MEAN, THEY GOT THE 12 DELIVERED, THEY GOT THE 200 ON ORDER, AND THEN THEIR, UM, I CAN SAY THAT THEIR PLANS ARE EXTREMELY ACTIVE JUST BY THE AMOUNT OF ON ROUTE CHARGING THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO CONSTRUCT AS WELL AS DEPOT CHARGING THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO CONSTRUCT.
SO, UM, AND THEY'RE DOING A SECOND DEPOT DOWN SOUTH, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ACTUAL TRANSITION NUMBERS ARE GONNA BE AND WHAT THE TIMELINE'S ON, BUT I KNOW IT'S PRETTY AGGRESSIVE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OR SO.
I, I BELIEVE THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE HAVING AN ADDITIONAL 40 WITHIN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS OR SO.
AND YOU MENTIONED, UH, REBATES THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO, UH, INDIVIDUALS AT HOME AND, UH, I GUESS PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, LIKE APARTMENT COMPLEXES OR I DUNNO, WHATEVER THAT, HOW ARE THOSE OBTAINED? HOW DO YOU KNOW IF I HAD WANTED TO INSTALL A STATION LIKE THAT AT MY HOUSE? SURE.
HOW, HOW, HOW WOULD I GO ABOUT THAT? YEAH, FOR RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL, IT'S THE SAME PROCESS IN TERMS OF IT GOES, IT'LL COME THROUGH US.
UM, BUT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ANY OF THE INCENTIVES WE HAVE ON THERE, UM, MUCH LIKE WHERE THE MAP EXISTS ON THE PLUGIN AUSTIN.COM SITE, THERE ARE SPECIALIZED SECTIONS FOR INSTALLING EV CHARGING BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND AS A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS.
AND YOU CAN KIND OF, YOU KNOW, SELF DIRECT WHERE YOU WANNA GO IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU WANNA INSTALL, WHETHER IT BE FOR HOME OR BUSINESS.
AND IF YOU WANT TO DO A, A RESIDENTIAL CHARGER, UM, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU PICK A CONTRACTOR, WE JUST REQUIRE THERE'S A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN, PLEASE DON'T INSTALL IT YOURSELF.
UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THAT IN.
AND THEN, UH, YOU PROVIDE US WITH LIKE THE, UH, RECEIPTS FOR BOTH THE CHARGER AND THE INSTALLATION, AND WE'LL GIVE UP 50%, UH, UP TO $1,200 FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THAT CHARGING STATION.
SO FOR AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, LET'S SAY I'M BUILDING A A THOUSAND UNIT
UM, SO PER CHARGING STATION OR TOTAL, UH, PER CHARGING STATION, AND THAT'S FOR A DUAL PORT ONE.
SO WE GIVE $3,000 OFF THE PURCHASE INSTALLATION OF A CHARGING STATION THERE.
UM, I BELIEVE WE DO UP TO SIX.
SO THAT WOULD BE 12 PORTS THAT WE WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO INCENTIVIZE, WHICH IS A PRETTY HIGH BUILD OUT COMPARED TO WHAT MOST BUSINESSES DO.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, IT'S A, UM, I THINK THAT WAS IT
UH, AND I'M HAPPY TO SEND THE INFORMATION TO BOTH THOSE.
NO, I, I'VE GOT, I WROTE DOWN THE, UH, THE WEBSITE MM-HMM.
UH, SO WHAT ABOUT, UH, ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS, UH, FER I BELIEVE MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT PARKS AND HER CON THE CONTEXT OF HER QUESTION IF, IF I UNDERSTOOD IT CORRECTLY, WAS MAINLY, UH, YOU KNOW, PARKS THAT WERE OUT IN THE BOONDOCKS, I GUESS MM-HMM.
UM, SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE, UH, YOU KNOW, ZILKER AND A COUPLE OTHERS.
WE'VE ALREADY INSTALLED EV CHARGING THERE.
UH, WE ALSO WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE PARKS RECREATION DEPARTMENT WHEN WE WERE IDENTIFYING SITES, YOU KNOW, FOR FUTURE BUILD OUT FOR POTENTIAL GRANT FUNDING AS WELL.
UM, BECAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WE WANNA LEVERAGE PROPERTIES THAT ALREADY EXIST IN THE PURVIEW OF THE CITY OR THE COUNTY TO AVOID HAVING TO BUY LAND AND PUT EV CHARGING OUT.
AND PARK PARKS WOULD BE A BIG PART OF THAT ONE AS WELL.
UM, SO YEAH, SO WE, WE, WE DO WORK WITH THEM QUITE CLOSELY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE PARTICIPATED IN LIKE OUR INCENTIVES.
WE'VE, YOU KNOW, UH, WORKED WITH THEM ON LIKE, SOME ACTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'VE PUT OUT OURSELVES AT SOME OF THESE, UH, PLACES.
SO WHEN WE'RE BUILDING OUT LIKE CITY INFRASTRUCTURE ON CITY OWNED FACILITIES, UH, THEY'RE PART OF THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE WORK WITH AMONG PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER ONE AS WELL.
SO HOW MANY, UH, EV STATIONS DO YOU HAVE OVER AT ZILKER? UH, ZILKER, I THINK IT'S ONLY, UH, LIKE THREE OR FOUR.
SO IT'S NOT A HUGE AMOUNT, BUT, AND HOW DO YOU DECIDE HOW MANY YOU PUT AT VARIOUS PARKS? I MEAN, THE CITY HAS MANY PARKS MM-HMM.
[01:00:01]
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA YOU USE TO DECIDE? YEAH, SO, SO WHEN WE PUT 'EM OUT, SO WE'VE DONE A COUPLE, SO THE WAY WE'VE PUT INFRASTRUCTURE OUT OR IT'S GONE OUT THERE HAS HAPPENED A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS.SO THERE'S BEEN A FEW ROUNDS WHERE WE'VE GOTTEN LIKE FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING OR STATE GRANT FUNDING THAT ALLOWS US TO GO OUT THERE AND, AND PICK WHERE THEY GO, PICK THE QUANTITIES OF HOW WE PUT THEM OUT THERE.
AND, AND THEN WE KIND OF LOOK AT LIKE A, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE USAGE OF THESE GONNA BE? LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH TRAFFIC DOES IT HAVE? THAT'S ONE WAY.
UH, THE OTHER WAY THAT WE BUILD IT OUT FOR A MAJORITY OF IT IS SINCE WE HAVE THE INCENTIVES AVAILABLE, UM, WHAT THEY LIKE, EITHER, WHETHER IT BE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES OR OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS IS, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAVE TO BUDGET TO PUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN.
WE THEN PROVIDE THE INCENTIVES TO DO THAT.
UM, THEY'LL JOIN OUR NETWORK, WE TAKE OVER THE OPERATIONS OF IT.
SO IT'S KIND OF DIRECTED BY THOSE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS FUNDING AS WELL.
UM, SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY AUSTIN ENERGY MAKING THE DECISION OF WHERE WE STRATEGICALLY PLACE THOSE.
SOMETIMES IT'S OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AND LIKE WHERE THEIR BUDGETS CAN DICTATE PUTTING IN WITHIN THEIR PARKS.
SO, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT LIKE FUTURE NEEDS ASSESSMENTS.
SO, 'CAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S A COMBINATION OF WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT THINGS OF HOW EV INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTS.
ONE IS PUBLIC USAGE, BUT THEN WE START TALKING ABOUT CITY FACILITIES, LIKE PARKS AND OTHER THINGS AS WELL.
IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WELL THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S WORKFORCE OUT THERE AS WELL, SO THAT'S EMPLOYEE CHARGING POTENTIALLY THAT CAN BE IMPACTED BY THAT ALSO, IF THERE'S FLEET VEHICLE USES THERE.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T JUST BUILD A THRESHOLD FOR ONE OF THOSE, BUT ALL THREE OF THEM.
SO THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, THAT WAY WE DON'T GO TO LIKE A PARKED FACILITY OR A CITY FACILITY AND THERE'S EIGHT FLEET VEHICLES PARKED THERE, AND NONE OF 'EM CAN BE UTILIZED BY THE PUBLIC.
SO WE WANNA CONSIDER ALL OF THOSE IN WHEN WE, YOU KNOW, FACTOR OUT HOW TO BUILD IT OUT.
SO PARD WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A BUDGET TO INSTALL THOSE IF I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? CORRECT.
AND THEN KIND OF LIKE THE WAY YOU WOULD REIMBURSE A INDIVIDUAL OR A COMMERCIAL ENTITY, LIKE AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, THEY WOULD GET A REBATE FROM YOU MM-HMM.
SO THEY WOULD GET SAY A THOUSAND DOLLARS YEAH.
WHATEVER, WHATEVER THE AMOUNT IS.
AS PART OF THE PROGRAM OR WHATEVER THE NUMBERS ARE, DOESN'T REALLY MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO FROM THE PROGRAM THAT WE, WE'VE HAD FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, IT'S ALSO KIND OF AN OPERATIONAL ASPECT OF WHERE WE KIND OF, I MEAN, WE HAVE EXISTING MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS, SO THAT WAY EVERY INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENT HAVE TO, TO, TO DEAL WITH THAT.
UM, THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO CONTRACT FOR ALL THOSE DIFFERENT SERVICES.
WE REIMBURSE THEM ON THE ELECTRICITY THAT GOES THROUGH THEIR METER FOR THOSE STATIONS.
UH, SO THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, THAT WAY WE DON'T CHARGE THE CUSTOMER FOR THE ELECTRICITY TO USE THE STATION AS WELL AS THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
SO IT TAKES THAT WHOLE OPERATIONAL ASPECT OUT OF IT, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, MORE LABOR INTENSIVE THAN ONE MIGHT THINK SO.
BUT THEN ONCE YOU INSTALL IT, THEN YOU, YOU TAKE OVER OPERATION OF THE WHOLE THING, MAINTENANCE AND MAKE SURE IT RUNS.
AND IF THERE'S A PROBLEM, YOU GO OUT AND FIX IT AND CORRECT.
ALL THAT OTHER SORT OF FUN STUFF.
SO ONCE THEY PAY YOU TO PUT IT THERE, WHEREVER THERE IS, YOU KNOW, AT A, AT A PUBLIC SPOT, LIKE A PARK OR, OR SOMETHING, YOU, YOU TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE ENTIRE KIT AND CABOODLE.
THEY'LL GO, THEY'LL GO, YOU KNOW, BUY THE EQUIPMENT, THEY'LL HIRE A CONTRACTOR TO DO IT, UM, THEY'LL JOIN OUR PROGRAM, WE'LL GIVE 'EM THE INCENTIVE, AND THEN OPERATIONALLY IT JOINS OUR PROGRAM.
UH, WE WANT A, TO TAKE THE BURDEN OFF OF THAT, ALSO GIVE, UH, THE COMMUNITY KIND OF A SEAMLESS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
THAT'S WHY WE, THAT'S WHY WE BUILT THAT PROGRAM THAT WAY.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, LUCKILY THE MAINTENANCE SIDE IS GETTING A LOT BETTER THAN IT HAS BEEN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
SO, BUT THE, UH, BUT THE ELECTRICITY THAT'S USED, IS THAT CHARGED BACK TO PARD OR DO YOU ALL, SO IT'S GOING THROUGH PARS ELECTRIC METER, UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO ON THE STATION YOU HAVE TO PAY TO USE THAT STATION VIA EITHER SUBSCRIPTION OR AN HOURLY USE RATE ON IT.
UM, SO WE CANNOT CHARGE, UM, FOR THAT SAME ELECTRICITY TWICE.
SO WE CAN EITHER, SO SINCE ELECTRICITY'S FLOWING THROUGH PARS ELECTRIC METER, THEY'RE GETTING BILLED THERE AND THEN IT'S GOING THROUGH THE STATION TO SOMEBODY USING IT ON THE OTHER END, THEY'RE GETTING BILLED THERE.
SO WE DO A CONSUMPTION READING OF ALL THIS ELECTRICITY THAT GOES TO THAT STATION AND THEN GIVE THEM A BILL CREDIT BACK TO IT.
SO WE'RE NOT, SO THEY'RE NOT GETTING ACTUALLY CHARGED THE ELECTRICITY.
WE USE THAT TO MEASURE IT, BUT THEN WE CREDIT THEM BACK FOR IT SO THAT WAY THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR THE ELECTRICITY.
SO ESSENTIALLY THE USER OF THE STATION IS PAYING MM-HMM.
BUT PAR DOESN'T GET CHARGED FOR THE ELECTRICITY? NO.
SO ONCE THEY PAY FOR THE INSTALLATION, THEY'RE CUT OUT OF THE LOOP.
AND THAT, AND THAT'S SPECIFIC TO OUR PROGRAM ONLY.
SO LIKE IF THEY WENT AND PUT SOME OUT THERE AND LIKE, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, COME INTO OUR PROGRAMS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, OR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF INSTANCES WHERE LIKE, AND I'LL USE IN PART MIGHT BE A
[01:05:01]
GOOD EXAMPLE OR LIKE JUST A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS WHERE THEY WANNA HAVE IT AS AN AMENITY AND LIKE, AND SO THEY JUST WANNA PUT IT IN.THEY'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE ELECTRICAL COST AND THEY JUST WANNA GIVE THAT AWAY AT NO COST TO CUSTOMERS THAT COME THERE.
THERE'S THAT MODEL EXISTS ALL OVER AUSTIN AS WELL.
SO IN THOSE INSTANCES, THEY DO PAY FOR THE ELECTRICITY, THEY'RE WILLING TO, UH, PAY FOR THAT COST TO GIVE THAT AMENITY TO CUSTOMERS THAT ARE COMING ON THEIR SITE.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO, UH, INSTANCES WHERE IF SOMEONE INSTALLS A STATION ON THE PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT INVOLVED WITH ANY C PROGRAMS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THEY'RE PAYING FOR THE ELECTRICITY, BUT THEN THEY SET A FEE ON THE STATION AND THEY HOPE TO RECOUP THOSE COSTS THROUGH CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY CHARGING THERE.
SO THERE'S A COUPLE DIFFERENT MODELS OF HOW THAT MONEY COULD FLOW.
AND IT WORKS PRETTY MUCH THE WAY WE DISCUSSED WITH PAR.
AND, AND ALL, ALL THREE OF THOSE MODELS EXIST AND, UH, FOR A WHILE WAS PRETTY MUCH SINGULARLY THE, OR SINGULARLY THE ONE THAT WE HAD.
UM, BUT NOW THERE'S JUST A LOT OF INTEREST IN A, YOU KNOW, INSTALLING IT AND THEN MAYBE RECOUPING SOME COST BY CHARGING A FEE FOR IT FROM OTHER COMPANIES.
THERE'S THE FREE MODEL, A LOT OF IT.
AND LIKE, WE ENCOURAGE ALL OF THAT, LIKE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SO THE MORE, THE MORE THE BETTER AND IT'S GONNA BE A SITUATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, PRICE IS GONNA BE COMPETITIVE ENOUGH WHERE THERE'S NOT GONNA BE THE REALLY ABILITY TO REALLY BE GOUGING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO IT'S, IT'S WHATEVER WORKS FOR THE, THE, THE PEOPLE THAT DECIDE TO INSTALL THE, THE CHARGING STATION.
SO IT'S WHATEVER THEY FEEL IS APPROPRIATE, THEY FEEL IT'S ATTRACTIVE TO DRAW CUSTOMERS INTO THEIR BUSINESS.
THE SAME THING FOR AN APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT THEY FEEL IT'S AN AMENITY THAT THEY WANT TO PROVIDE TO THEIR RESIDENCE, THEN THEY ABSOLUTELY MM-HMM.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOUR THOUGHTFUL ANSWERS.
UM, I, I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS AND THESE KIND OF PERTAIN TO WEATHER.
UM, IT, THIS IS A QUESTION THAT I'VE HAD, UH, QUITE A BIT, IS, UM, HOW DO THE CHARGING STATIONS HOLD UP IN LIKE, FLOODING, FREEZING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF OUR EXTREME WEATHER THAT WE SEE TO BE HAVING NOW? YEAH.
UH, THAT, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN INSTANCE WHERE YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT 'EM IN, YOU KNOW, FLOODPLAIN JUST 'CAUSE ELECTRONS ARE FLOWING.
UM, AND TYPICALLY YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THAT.
'CAUSE I MEAN, THEY ARE ON THE CASE, BUT WE WANNA KEEP THEM OUT OF ANY KIND OF AREAS THAT DO HAVE POOLING.
SO THAT'S KIND OF AN ASSESSMENT WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE PROPERTIES DO BEFORE THEY PUT 'EM IN, IS PLACES WHERE WATER POOLS AND STUFF LIKE THAT DON'T PUT 'EM THERE, BUT THERE'S NEVER, I MEAN, WE'VE SEEN NO ELECTRICAL HAZARDS ACTUALLY COME OUT OF THEM OR EVEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, I, I MEAN, I'LL GET QUESTIONS EVEN BACK TO THE EV IT'S LIKE, CAN I DRIVE THIS IN THE RAIN? AND I MEAN, THEY ANSWERED THAT, THAT'S A VALID QUESTION, YOU KNOW, UH, WE GET THAT ASKED.
BUT, UM, IN TERMS OF LIKE ELECTRICAL FLOW ON THE STATIONS FOR LIKE THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, JUST SIMPLE AS RAIN IS ELECTRIC ELECTRICITY'S NOT FLOWING THROUGH THAT NECESSARILY UNTIL IT'S ACTUALLY CONNECTED TO THE VEHICLE AND THERE'S LIKE A RELEASE PIN THAT ALLOWS THE FLOW.
SO IT'S KIND OF OUTTA YOUR, YOU KNOW, HANDS AT THAT POINT.
UH, SO NO ISSUES THERE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, FREEZING, UM, FREEZING HASN'T HAD MUCH IMPACT ON 'EM.
UM, HEAT, HEAT WAS A BIG THING FOR QUITE A WHILE.
UM, NOT NECESSARILY FOR LIKE SOME OF THE SMALLER LEVEL TWO STATIONS.
THOSE HAVE HELD UP, UM, FOR SOME OF THE BIG DC FAST CHARGERS.
ONE OF OUR, UM, LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY AND, UH, MOST SOUTHERN STATES LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY IS THOSE WERE AIR COOLED.
UM, AND AIR COOLING FOR THOSE SYSTEMS DOES NOT WORK GREAT IN 110 DEGREES.
ALSO, IT RELIES ON KIND OF OPEN PASSAGE, AIR FLOWS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO DEBRIS GETS CAUGHT IN THERE AND THEN YOU'RE BASICALLY CLOGGING UP YOUR COOLING SYSTEM.
SO WE DID GO TO ALL LIQUID COOLED DC FAST CHARGING, UH, SINCE WE FOUND THAT OUT.
UH, LUCKILY WE ONLY HAD ONE THAT WAS AIR COOLED AND WE'RE ABLE TO REPLACE THAT QUITE EASILY.
UM, VANDALISM IS PROBABLY THE HARDEST, UH, EXTERNALITY I THINK THAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, IN EVERY OTHER OWNER OPERATOR'S SEEN.
UM, THERE'S A PERCEPTION OF, YOU KNOW, STEALING CABLES, RUNNING 'EM OVER, UM, JUST DESTROYING SCREENS, STUFF LIKE THAT IS VANDALISM IS DEFINITELY PROBABLY THE HIGHEST ELEMENT THAT WE'VE SEEN, UH, HAPPEN.
THE BIGGEST THING IS, YEAH, OR THE ONE AROUND THE DC FAST CHARGING HEAT AS WELL AS JUST SOME OF THE ACCESS SCREENS ON THEM AND THE VISIBILITY IN THE TEXAS SUN CAN BE, CAN DEGRADE.
LUCKILY WE'VE FOUND A PLACE THAT HAS MODULAR PARTS THOUGH, SO YOU'RE HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE STATION WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT GOES WRONG.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE MAIN SERVICE PART OF IT THAT FAILS DUE TO EXTREME WEATHER.
IT'S MORE OF SOME OF THE KIND OF THE SUPPORT STUFF ON THE STATIONS THAT YOU STILL NEED TO ACCESS IT THOUGH.
[01:10:01]
I JUST HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS.I, I WAS KIND OF WONDERING, IS IT LIKE YOU ISSUE A REBATE IN EXCHANGE THAT THEY GET RID OF SOMETHING OR DO SOMETHING OR, UM, I'M KIND OF USED TO WHAT THE STATE OF TEXAS, LIKE THERE'S A TRUCK DRIVER REPLACEMENT PROGRAM AND SO LIKE THE TRUCK DRIVER CAN UPGRADE TO A NEWER TRUCK BY GETTING A REBATE, BUT THEY HAVE TO DESTROY THAT ENGINE IN THAT TRUCK AND KIND OF MAKE IT UNUSABLE.
AND SO I WAS WONDERING IF IT WAS THAT KIND OF SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH ISSUING THE REBATES? YEAH, LUCKILY WITH OURS IT'S, IT'S, THEY'RE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND WE ACTUALLY CONSOLIDATE 'EM INTO LIKE A SINGLE ONE NOW.
IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIALLY, I MEAN, YOU, YOU BASICALLY JUST HAVE TO HAVE IT INSTALLED ON SITE.
WE, WE DON'T EVEN REQUIRE THAT YOU MAKE IT PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE ANYMORE BECAUSE THERE'S INTEREST IN THINGS LIKE FLEET ELECTRIFICATION, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO JUST, YOU JUST WANT IT FOR RESIDENCE ON YOUR PROPERTY.
YOU DON'T NECESSARILY WANT, UM, EVERYONE COMING TO YOUR PROPERTY TO USE IT.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES WANT THAT.
MULTI-FAMILY DOES NOT, UH, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAD IT KIND OF UNIVERSAL THAT WE CAN, YOU CAN DICTATE WHAT KIND OF OPEN USAGE WOULD BE THERE.
UM, BUT YEAH, THERE'S, YOU, THERE'S NO NEED TO GET RID OF ANYTHING.
IT'S, IT'S ALL ABOUT JUST, UM, ENSURING THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, STALLED BY LIKE A CERTIFIED CONTRACTOR.
UH, IT'S ON SITE THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, WORKING THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO YEAH, THERE'S NO, NO DESTRUCTION EVERYTHING, NO TURNING OF ANYTHING OLD.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE, UH, Q AND A, UM, COUPLE LAST KIND OF FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.
UM, I THINK COMMISSIONER BRIMER, BLESS YOU, COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
WERE WE, WE GET A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT COME BEFORE US WHERE WE'RE PUSHING FOR THEM TO KIND OF PRE-WIRE, UM, FOR EV.
UM, AND I GUESS IF, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT YOU COULD MAYBE SEND ELIZABETH A SUMMARY, WE USUALLY TALK ABOUT THE CONDUITS, UM, BUT WE, OR IT HADN'T COME TO MY REALIZATION THAT, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF UPSIZING YOUR TRANSFORMER MM-HMM.
JUST SOME KIND OF A QUICK SUMMARY TO WHERE IT'S A SOUNDBITE THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO APPLICANTS.
UM, I, I CAN GUARANTEE YOU I'M GONNA GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU'RE GONNA WANT.
UM, BUT UM, SO SOME OF THE STANDARDIZATION AROUND GREEN BUILDING LANGUAGE, WE HAVE IT FOR RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL AND THEN MULTIFAMILY KIND OF GOES IN BETWEEN THE TWO.
UM, SO I CAN PROVIDE IT FOR BOTH SECTORS.
AND, AND THEN I THINK TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON SOME OF HIS QUESTIONS OR WHERE MINE WAS MY MIND WAS GOING WAS FOR THE REBATE PROGRAM, IS THAT FOR RETROFITTING EXISTING MULTI-FAMILY OR COULD THAT BE A NEW BUILD? MULTI-FAMILY NEW, NEW BUILD AS WELL.
THAT'S GOOD TO, FOR US TO KNOW AS WELL.
AND AND, AND IT USED TO BE PRIMARILY RETROFITS THAT CAME THROUGH IT, BUT NOW WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF INTEREST FROM NEW BUILDS THAT ARE WANNA DO AT THE TIME OF CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS GREAT TO SEE.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO ONE YEAR AFTER THEY CONSTRUCT.
UM, ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL YOU GOT.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS ONLY AN HOUR.
ARE YOU SURE? AS LONG AS YOU TAKE THE RED LINES SOUTH, THAT'S, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
SO, ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[3. Staff briefing on “Eliza Springs Daylighting: Response of Barton Springs Salamanders to Habitat Expansion” – Nathan Bendik, Watershed Protection.]
BRIEFING.UM, THIS ONE IS ABOUT THE ELIZA SPRINGS DAYLIGHTING RESPONSE TO BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDERS TO HABITAT EXPANSION.
UH, I'VE ALREADY TOLD NATHAN THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA ASK HIM TO SHOW A SALAMANDER IN, IN, IN LIFE, UH, AS WE DID LAST TIME WHEN WE WERE ON SITE.
SO JUST PIPE DOWN IF THAT COMES UP.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE, NATHAN.
UM, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.
I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST SENIOR FOR THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
AND WE ARE GONNA SHIFT GEARS A LITTLE BIT AND TALK ABOUT MARTIN SPRINGS SALAMANDERS.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE, OOPS, I BUMPED IT ALREADY, SOME OF THE CONSERVATION AND SCIENCE THAT WE DO.
BUT THIS PRESENTATION IS ALSO A BIT OF A FOLLOW-UP BECAUSE IN 2016, WATERSHED CAME BEFORE THIS COMMISSION AND ASK FOR SUPPORT FOR A SITE SPECIFIC ORDINANCE TO THE, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, A SITE SPECIFIC AMENDMENT TO THE SS OSS ORDINANCE 2016.
SO IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING SEVEN YEARS LATER, WHY SUCH A QUICK TURNAROUND, I HOPE TO GET INTO THOSE DETAILS A LITTLE BIT WITH YOU HERE.
SO JUST TO ZOOM IN AND GIVE YOU SOME ORIENTATION OF THE SITE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, IT'S ELIZA SPRING.
WHEN WE REFER TO BARTON SPRINGS, WE'RE ACTUALLY REFERRING TO A COMPLEX OF FOREST SPRINGS THAT EMERGE IN ZILKER PARK.
THE ONE MOST PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH IS THE MAIN SPRING THAT FILLS BARTON SPRINGS POOL, ALSO KNOWN AS PARTHENIA SPRING.
THERE'S AN INTERMITTENT SPRING THAT HASN'T BEEN FLOWING FOR A WHILE NOW BECAUSE OF THE DROUGHT.
THAT'S UPPER BARTON SPRING, OLD MILL SPRING IS ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
AND THEN ELIZA SPRING ON THE NORTH SIDE, KIND OF NEAR WHERE THE ER, ZEPHYR AND ER CAFE ARE OR, OR WERE.
NOW, ONE THING ALL OF THESE SPRINGS HAVE IN COMMON IS THEY'VE BEEN IMPACTED FOR A LONG TIME BY
[01:15:01]
HUMAN ACTIVITY, MOSTLY CONSTRUCTION OF IMPOUNDMENT.SO OLD MILL SPRING, ON THE BOTTOM LEFT THERE HAS SOME CONCENTRIC MASONRY WALLS AROUND IT, OF COURSE BARTON SPRINGS POOL, MUNICIPAL SWIMMING POOL.
AND THEN ELIZA SPRING ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT, UH, HAS AN AMPHITHEATER THAT WAS BUILT IN 1903.
SO SOME OF THE OTHER MODIFICATIONS AT THIS SITE INCLUDE BURYING THE OUTFLOW OF THE SPRING.
SO ON THE TOP RIGHT, THERE'S AN IMAGE, UH, SHOWING WHERE THIS BURIED 24 INCH PIPE WAS.
AND THAT HAPPENED IN THE TWENTIES.
SO ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, ALL OF THE SPRING WATER FROM THE SITE WAS JUST PIPED UNDERGROUND AND SENT TO BARTON CREEK OR THE BYPASS TUNNEL, UH, THAT GOES ALONG BARTON SPRINGS POOL.
THERE WAS ALSO A CONCRETE BOTTOM PUT IN THE SPRING WITH JUST SOME VENTS IN IT TO LET THE WATER THROUGH.
AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, OR ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE ENCOUNTERED WITH THIS OLD PIPE, OF COURSE IT'S A NON REINFORCED CONCRETE PIPE.
IT'S SO OLD, IT STARTED TO FAIL.
SO THE PIPE WOULD GET CLOGGED.
THE, THE SPRING ITSELF WOULD START TO BACK UP.
AND BECAUSE THIS WAS A DRAINAGE ISSUE, IT WAS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT OUR DEPARTMENT WAS INTERESTED IN ADDRESSING.
BUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS OUR DEPARTMENT HOLDS, EXCUSE ME, I'M HAVING A LITTLE FUN WITH THIS CLICKER HERE.
OUR DEPARTMENT HOLDS A FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PERMIT THAT ALLOWS US TO OPERATE BARTON SPRINGS POOL.
SO THERE'S TWO ENDANGERED SALAMANDERS THAT LIVE AT THE POOL AND AT THESE SPRINGS, THE BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDER AND AUSTIN BLIND SALAMANDER.
SO NORMALLY IN ORDER TO DO ANYTHING THAT CAN POTENTIALLY HARM AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, YOU WOULD NEED TO GET, UH, ONE OF THESE PERMITS FROM THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.
SO THE CITY HAS ONE OF THESE PERMITS, AND IN EXCHANGE FOR GIVING US A PERMIT, WE HAVE TO MAKE A LOT OF COMMITMENTS TO IMPROVING THINGS FOR THE SPECIES.
THINGS LIKE HABITAT MANAGEMENT, HABITAT RESTORATION, WE DO MONITORING AND RESEARCH, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND SO ONE OF THE ITEMS IN THIS, THIS PLAN CALLED AN H C P HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN IS TO RESTORE THE THE STREAM AT E ELIZA.
NOW, I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO A LOT OF DETAILS ABOUT THE REALLY MUCH DETAIL AT ALL ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS PROJECT.
I HAVE SOME LINKS AT THE END OF THE SLIDESHOW THAT YOU CAN CLICK ON THAT, THAT SHOW SOME VIDEOS AND TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT I'LL JUST POINT OUT ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS, A LITTLE LESS THAN ALL OF THE OUTFLOW WAS SUBMERGED.
AND IF YOU CAN TAKE A MOMENT TO IMAGINE YOURSELF AS A SALAMANDER, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE IN THIS SPRING POOL IS CRAWL UNDER THE ROCKS AND GO ALONG THE BOTTOM.
I THINK A LOT OF YOU CAME TO THAT FIELD TRIP WHERE WE LOOKED AT THE SITE, YOU DON'T SEE THEM CRAWLING UP AND ABOUT.
SO THEY'RE AT THE SUBSTRATE AT THE VERY BOTTOM.
NOW WHERE THIS OUTFLOW PIPE WAS, WAS ALSO AT THE SUBSTRATE AT A VERY STEEP ANGLE.
SO IF YOU'RE A SALAMA AND YOU'RE CRAWLING ALONG THE BOTTOM TOWARDS THIS PIPE, ALL OF A SUDDEN THE VELOCITY GETS HIGHER.
AND MAYBE YOU WANT TO GO DOWNSTREAM TO SEE WHAT THAT'S LIKE.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THE INDIVIDUAL IS LOST PERMANENTLY TO THE POPULATION.
SO WHATEVER'S GETTING FLUSHED DOWNSTREAM CAN NEVER COME BACK.
SO NOT A GOOD THING IN TERMS OF CONSERVING, UM, THE POPULATION IN 2017, THE STREAM WAS DAYLIGHTED, THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WAS COMPLETED AND WE REMEDIED THAT PROBLEM.
I JUST MENTIONED THE WATER STILL FLOWS OUT INTO THE BYPASS TUNNEL THAT GOES ALONG THE POOL.
AND THE DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT THE OUTLET THAT WE CREATED IS NOW CONTROLLABLE.
SO WE CAN ADJUST THE AMOUNT OF WATER GOING OUT, WHICH IS VERY HELPFUL NOW BECAUSE WE'RE IN A DROUGHT AND WE NEED TO HAVE A VERY NARROW OPENING TO MAINTAIN WATER IN THAT POOL.
BUT ALSO THAT OPENING IS ABOVE THE SUBSTRATE.
SO A SALAMANDER WOULD KIND OF HAVE TO GO OUT OF ITS WAY, SO TO SPEAK, TO, TO LEAVE THAT POPULATION.
SO WE BELIEVE WITH JUST THE DESIGN OF THIS, WE CAN RETAIN MORE SALAMANDERS IN THIS SITE.
HERE'S AN EYE LEVEL VIEW OF ABOUT WHAT THE, THE STREAM LOOKS LIKE TODAY.
UH, ALONG THE VEGETATION HAS COME IN, I THINK IT LOOKS VERY NICE, BUT, UH, WHAT I THINK IT LOOKED LIKE, LOOKS LIKE DOESN'T MATTER A WHOLE LOT.
'CAUSE WHAT WE WANNA KNOW IS HOW ARE THE SALAMANDERS DOING IN THAT HABITAT THAT WE CREATED? SO THE QUESTIONS BROKE 'EM DOWN INTO THREE BASIC CATEGORIES.
ONE IS ABOUT CARRYING CAPACITY OR HOW MANY SALAMANDERS CAN THIS SITE
[01:20:01]
HOLD AS A WHOLE WITH THE CREATION OF THE STREAM.WE MADE ABOUT 250 SQUARE FEET OF HABITAT.
I THINKING THAT'S AROUND 70 OR 80 LINEAR FEET OF STREAM.
IT'S NOT A LOT, BUT IT'S KIND OF A LOT COMPARED TO WHAT THE STATUS QUO WAS IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WERE ALREADY WORKING WITH AND THE DISTURBANCES AROUND THOSE SPRINGS ALREADY.
SO WE WANNA SEE AN INCREASE IN ABUNDANCE WITH THE CREATION OF THIS NEW HABITAT.
WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T CREATE A SPOT THAT SALAMANDERS LIKE TO GO TO, BUT THEN DIE, FOR EXAMPLE, BY GETTING FLUSHED OUT LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, OR PERHAPS SOMETHING ELSE BEING WRONG WITH THE HABITAT.
SO WE WANNA LOOK AT SURVIVAL AND SEE IS IT SIMILAR BETWEEN THE STREAM HABITAT AND THE SPRING POOL HABITAT.
AND THEN FINALLY WE WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MOVEMENT.
WE EXPECT SALAMANDERS ARE GONNA GO DOWNSTREAM, THAT'S THE DIRECTION OF THE WATER.
UM, BUT CAN THEY MOVE BACK UPSTREAM BACK INTO THE SPRING POOL? AT WHAT RATE DO THEY DO THAT? AND I'M GONNA BE LOOKING AT THESE QUESTIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF SIZE CLASSES, JUVENILES VERSUS ADULT SALAMANDERS, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES THERE? AND ALSO IN TERMS OF THE FLOW AT BARTON SPRINGS.
SO I HAVE A QUICK METHOD SLIDE.
I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO A WHOLE LOT OF DETAIL HERE.
UH, BUT THE GENERAL APPROACH IS TO DO CAPTURE RECAPTURE WHERE WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THIS HABITAT TURNING OVER EVERY STONE, CATCHING ALL THE SALAMANDERS WE CAN AND THEN PHOTOGRAPHING THEM.
SO WE STARTED THIS APPROACH IN OCTOBER OF 2014, AND THE DATA I'LL BE PRESENTING TODAY GOES THROUGH, UH, AUGUST OF LAST YEAR.
BUT WE CONTINUE TO COLLECT THIS DATA.
IT'S ALSO PART OF OUR MONITORING PROGRAM, OUR AGREEMENT WITH THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.
SO AS I MENTIONED, THAT STREAM STARTED FLOWING IN 2017.
SO WE HAVE SOME KIND OF BEFORE AND AFTER FOR COMPARISONS.
THE, THE SAMPLING WE DO AT THIS SITE IS KIND OF INTENSE FOR A WEEK.
WE DO THREE SEPARATE DAYS WHERE WE DO THE SAME THING.
WE SURVEY THE ENTIRETY OF THE HABITAT AND THEN WE PERFORM THAT TYPE OF SAMPLING ONCE EVERY THREE MONTHS APPROXIMATELY.
WE PHOTOGRAPH ALL THE SALAMANDERS AS I MENTIONED, AND FROM THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS WE CAN GET ME MEASUREMENTS.
BUT THE MAIN IDEA IS THAT WE CAN USE THE UNIQUE PATTERNS ON THEIR HEADS AND THEIR BODIES TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS.
SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE A, A FINGERPRINT OR YOU CAN THINK OF LIKE FACIAL RECOGNITION.
IT'S THE SAME SORT OF TECHNOLOGY.
SO WE USE COMPUTER SOFTWARE TO HELP US SORT THROUGH ALL THOSE PHOTOS WE TAKE.
AND THAT SOFTWARE THEN SUGGESTS, OH, THESE ARE THE KIND OF HIGHEST RANKING MATCHES.
AND THEN A PERSON SUCH AS MYSELF OR ONE OF MY COWORKERS, WELL EITHER CONFIRM OR REJECT THOSE POTENTIAL MATCHES.
AND THEN FINALLY, TO GET THE DATA WE'RE INTERESTED IN ABOUT SURVIVAL AND ABUNDANCE AND MOVEMENT.
WE ARE USING STATISTICAL MODELS TO MAKE INFERENCES ABOUT THOSE.
SO IN CASE YOU WERE CURIOUS, WHAT DO THESE PHOTOS LOOK LIKE? WELL, WE CROP THEIR HEADS 'CAUSE THE HEAD STAYS PRETTY CONSISTENT, UNLIKE THE BODY WHERE THEY COULD BE TWISTED AND SUCH IN THE PHOTO.
SO IT'S A, A GOOD PLACE TO GET SOME PATTERN LANDMARKS.
THE TOP IMAGE PAIR OF IMAGES SHOWS, UH, A YOUNGER INDIVIDUAL, UH, AN OLDER, AN OLDER JUVENILE, UM, BUT NOT AN ADULT YET.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT, THAT'S THE FIRST TIME WE CAPTURED IT.
AND THEN ON THE LEFT IS ONLY THREE MONTHS LATER.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S SOME SIMILARITIES, BUT THERE ARE ALSO SOME DIFFERENCES.
AND WE EXPECT THOSE, THE DIFFERENCES DO HAPPEN THROUGH GROWTH SOMEWHAT, BUT IT'S STILL GOOD ENOUGH.
THE SOFTWARE CAN CAPTURE AND SEE THE SIMILARITIES.
AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY THINGS PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK.
WELL, YEAH, SALAMANDERS ARE, YOU KNOW, ANIMALS, THEY'RE GOING TO GROW IN THOSE PATTERNS.
DON'T THEY CHANGE A LOT? AND YEAH, THE PATTERNS DO CHANGE, BUT IT DOESN'T STOP US FROM BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY 'EM WITH THIS TECHNIQUE.
THE ONE EXCEPTION IS WHEN THEY'RE VERY, VERY SMALL.
SO WHEN THEY'RE LESS THAN THREE MONTHS OLD, I WOULD SAY THEN IT'S HARD TO TELL IF YOU CAPTURE THE SAME ONE THREE MONTHS LATER.
SO I'VE EXCLUDED THOSE FROM THIS PARTICULAR, UH, DATASET WHEN WE LOOK AT SURVIVAL AND MOVEMENT, BUT NOT FROM ABUNDANCE.
AND THEN ON THE BOTTOM, JUST A, A PAIR OF IMAGES FROM AN ADULT FOUR YEARS APART, YOU CAN SEE FOUR YEARS THE PATTERN HAS NOT CHANGED THAT MUCH.
AND THAT'S TYPICAL WHEN WE CATCH AN ADULT AND RECAPTURE IT.
WE DON'T SEE A LOT OF CHANGE IN THE PATTERN, BUT THESE ARE THE IMAGES THAT WE'RE FEEDING THE SOFTWARE THAT THEN THEN DOES THE MATCHING AND PROVIDES A SCORE AND THEN WE RANK THEM.
OKAY, SO I'M GONNA JUMP RIGHT AHEAD TO THE RESULTS STARTING WITH ABUNDANCE.
SO HERE'S A PARAGRAPHS ONE FOR THE AMPHITHEATER POOL.
SO THAT'S ALL THE ANIMALS WE CAUGHT IN THERE AND
[01:25:01]
THEN IN THE STREAM.BUT THESE ARE ESTIMATES OF ABUNDANCE.
SO IT'S NOT JUST THE NUMBER WE COUNTED THAT DAY, BUT THIS IS INFERRED FROM THE STATISTICAL MODELS WE USE.
UH, SO THE SAMPLE SIZE OVER 11,000 SALAMANDERS WERE CAPTURED ACROSS 87 SURVEYS STARTING IN 2014.
SO COUPLE THINGS I WANNA POINT OUT ON THE GRAPH.
SO THE, THE ADULTS ARE SHOWN IN, IN ORANGE, AND I HOPE Y'ALL CAN SEE THAT IT'S A LITTLE CONTRASTY FOR ME BACK HERE.
BUT ON THE RIGHT SIDE, IN THE THE NEW STREAM HABITAT, THERE'S A LOT MORE ORANGE THAN THERE IS BLUE.
AND PARTICULARLY IF YOU COMPARE TO THE AMPHITHEATER POOL, THE PATTERNS ARE A BIT DIFFERENT.
SO WE SEE A LOT MORE LARGE ADULT SALAMANDERS IN THE NEW STREAM HABITAT THAN WE DO IN THE POOL.
CERTAINLY LOOKING BACK THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, ONCE, UM, THE SALAMANDERS COLONIZE THAT HABITAT.
AND ANOTHER THING TO NOTE IS ABUNDANCE IS QUITE VARIABLE.
SO THIS KIND OF GETS BACK TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF TIME PERIOD DO YOU NEED TO LOOK AT AN ANIMAL POPULATION, IN THIS CASE OUR SALAMANDER POPULATION, TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT IT'S DOING? AND THE ANSWER IS YEARS PLUS BECAUSE OF THIS VARIABILITY.
SO IT GOES THROUGH WHAT LOOKS LIKE POPULATION BOOMS. WE GET LARGE PULSES IN JUVENILE ABUNDANCE AT THE SPRING POOL.
THE CITY'S BEEN MONITORING BARTON SPRING SALAMANDER POPULATIONS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER SINCE 1993.
SO WE HAVE A LONG DATA SET WHERE WE CAN LOOK AT AND WE SEE THESE KIND OF FLUCTUATIONS.
SO THIS IS NOT A, THIS IS NOT A SURPRISE TO US, BUT WHAT WAS INTERESTING TO ME, OR I SHOULD SAY IS INTERESTING TO ME CONTINUES TO BE INTERESTING, IS THAT I'M SEEING LESS VARIABILITY IN TERMS OF ABUNDANCE IN THE NEW STREAM ONCE IT SORT OF BECAME COLONIZED.
NOW IN THE NEXT PLOT I'VE COMBINED THE ABUNDANCES TOGETHER.
SO WE'RE NOT CONSIDERING SIZE DIFFERENCES HERE, JUST THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO SITES.
SO THIS, THE STREAM IS IN, IN TEAL AND THE POOL IN RED HERE.
AND YOU CAN SEE OVER TIME IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A ROUGHLY INCREASING ABUNDANCE AT THE WHOLE SITE COLLECTIVELY ON AVERAGE.
AND THAT'S THE INCREASE IN CARRYING CAPACITY THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR.
UM, ANOTHER THING TO NOTE, I I PUT A FEW THINGS ON THE TIMELINE THERE IN, UH, MARCH OF 2019 STREAM HAD BEEN FLOWING FOR OVER A YEAR AND WE WEREN'T SEEING A LOT OF SALAMANDERS IN THERE.
WE INITIALLY HAD QUARRIED ROCK, IT WAS WHAT WAS AVAILABLE AT THE TIME TO PUT IN THAT STREAM.
AND THEN THEY DID A DREDGING OPERATION AT BARTON SPRINGS POOL, WHICH ALLOWED US TO GET NATURAL CREEK ROCK FROM BARTON CREEK.
AND WE PUT A LOT OF THAT IN THE STREAM BY HAND AND WITHIN MONTHS WE STARTED SEEING MUCH HIGHER ABUNDANCES IN THE STREAM.
SO IT COULD HAVE BEEN A COINCIDENCE, UM, BUT I I, I THINK THE CHANGE IN SUBSTRATE HAD A LOT TO DO WITH THE SUCCESS THERE.
ALRIGHT, NOW THEN THE NEXT PART I I SHOULD GIVE A DISCLAIMER, IT'S SOMEWHAT PRELIMINARY.
I'M CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH THESE MODELS BECAUSE THEY'RE, UH, SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED AND THEY TAKE A WHILE TO RUN.
UM, BUT LOOKING AT SOME SIMPLER MODELS, THESE, THESE RESULTS SEEM TO BE CONSISTENT.
SO, UM, I'M CONFIDENT IN, IN SHOWING THEM TO YOU.
I DON'T THINK THE PATTERNS ARE GONNA CHANGE SOME OF THE DETAILS.
SOME OF THE NUMBERS MIGHT CHANGE A BIT, UM, ONCE WE GET TO A FINAL RESULT.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE SURVIVORSHIP OR SURVIVAL THAT'S ON THE Y AXIS IS COMPARABLE BETWEEN THE STREAM AND THE POOL.
SO I HAVE THE POOL ON THE LEFT THERE AND THE STREAM ON THE RIGHT.
AND THEN THE TWO SIZE CLASSES, ADULTS AND JUVENILE SPLIT OUT.
JUVENILE SURVIVAL IS LOWER THAN ADULTS.
THAT'S WHAT WE EXPECT FOR, FOR THESE ORGANISMS. UM, BUT IN THE STREAM IT LOOKS LIKE JUVENILE SURVIVORSHIP MAY BE A LITTLE HIGHER.
AND JUST WITH REGARD TO WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE CURVE THERE, THAT'S THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BARTON SPRINGS FLOW.
SO AS FLOW INCREASES, WE SEE HIGHER SURVIVORSHIP IN BOTH SITES, AND THAT'S A PATTERN WE'VE NOTED BEFORE IN PREVIOUS ANALYSES.
AND THEN FINALLY GETTING TO MOVEMENT, I HAVE A LITTLE CONCEPTUAL MODEL HERE TO SHOW Y'ALL.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL ABOUT HOW WE DO THIS, BUT I JUST WANNA SHOW YOU KIND OF THE, WHEN WE START THINKING ABOUT MOVEMENT, A LOT OF PARAMETERS START TO ENTER THIS MODEL AND IT BECOMES A BIT MORE COMPLICATED.
SO ON THE LEFT CIRCLE P, IF YOU'RE A SALAMANDER IN THE POOL DURING THE NEXT SURVEY, YOU COULD HAVE STAYED IN THE POOL WITH THE PROBABILITY P SI, PP OR YOU COULD HAVE MOVED TO THE STREAM PS P S, IF YOU'RE IN THE STREAM, YOU CAN MOVE BACK TO THE POOL WITH THE PROBABILITY S I SS P OR YOU COULD
[01:30:01]
STAY IN THE STREAM S I S S.SO THERE'S FOUR MORE THINGS TO ESTIMATE IN THIS MODEL AND WOULDN'T IT BE NICE IF THINGS WERE REALLY THAT SIMPLE? BUT ANOTHER CHALLENGE IS WE KNOW THESE SALAMANDERS MOVE UNDERGROUND AND UNFORTUNATELY WHEN THEY MOVE UNDERGROUND, WE CANNOT DIRECTLY OBSERVE THEM.
HOWEVER, WITH THE STATISTICAL MODELS, WE CAN MAKE SOME INFERENCES ABOUT THEIR RATE OF MOVING UNDERGROUND.
SO COLLECTIVELY, KIND OF THE WAY I'M GONNA DISPLAY THESE RESULTS IS JUST THINKING ABOUT DOWNSTREAM MOVEMENTS AND UPSTREAM MOVEMENTS.
THAT'S WHAT I'M GONNA BE SHOWN TO YOU.
SO ARROWS POINTING TO THE RIGHT IN THIS GRAPH, MOVING FROM THE POOL TO THE STREAM AND ARROWS MOVING TO THE LEFT OR UPPER, UPPER LEFT, IF YOU WILL.
OKAY, SO FIRST LOOKING AT OUR DOWNSTREAM MOVEMENTS, YOU'LL NOTICE IN THE PHOTO BELOW THERE'S KIND OF A NARROW AREA.
WE CALL THAT THE KEYWAY THAT MOVES THROUGH THE HISTORICAL STRUCTURE.
SO WE CHOSE NOT TO, UM, BASICALLY DESTROY THE ORIGINAL AMPHITHEATER, THE CHALLENGES.
THEN WE HAVE A NARROWER AREA, AREA WITH HIGHER VELOCITIES THAT THE SALAMANDERS HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
SO A DOWNSTREAM MOVEMENT SHOULDN'T BE TOO DIFFICULT BECAUSE SALAMANDERS CAN JUST GO WITH THE FLOW.
AND HERE WE SEE A SUGGESTION THAT JUVENILES MAY BE MOVING DOWNSTREAM AT A HIGHER RATE THAN ADULTS.
UM, THE GRAPH THAT DOESN'T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TWO, THAT'S JUST REFLECTING.
I DIDN'T USE THAT PARTICULAR ASPECT OF SIZE IN THE MODEL.
SO THIS IS JUST COMBINING THOSE RESULTS AND THE SLOPES ARE POSITIVE, SUGGESTING THAT AS FLOW INCREASES YOU GET MORE MOVEMENT AND THAT KIND OF MAKES SENSE.
MORE FLOW SALAMANDERS ARE MOVING DOWNSTREAM MORE.
IT FLIPS WHEN WE LOOK AT THE UPSTREAM MOVEMENT.
SO NOW ADULTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO MOVE, MOVE UPSTREAM THAN JUVENILES.
AND THE RELATIONSHIP IN THE LEFT GRAPH IS NOT SO CLEAR IN TERMS OF FLOW.
BUT IN THE RIGHT IT'S SUGGESTING THAT MOVEMENT IN GENERAL UPSTREAM GETS LOWER.
IT'S HARDER TO SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT.
AND WHY ARE ADULTS MORE LIKELY TO MOVE UPSTREAM? PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY CAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BIGGER AND THEY'RE STRONGER SWIMMERS.
THE TAKE HOME HERE REALLY IS WE ARE SEEING SALAMANDERS MOVE AND WE'RE GETTING SOME UNDERSTANDING OF THE RATE WITH WHICH THEY'RE DOING.
SO, AND, AND THAT'S A PLUS 'CAUSE WE WERE SOMEWHAT CONCERNED ARE THEY GONNA BE ABLE OR ARE THEY GOING TO MOVE BACK UP INTO THE POOL? THE REASON THAT'S IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE THE POOL IS THEIR CONNECTION TO THE AQUIFER.
THESE SALAMANDERS DON'T JUST LIVE AT THE SURFACE, THEY ALSO LIVE WITHIN THE AQUIFER UNDERGROUND.
THIS POPULATION, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY STAYS FAIRLY CLOSE.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW CLOSE, BUT WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO GET BACK INTO THE AQUIFER.
SO BEING ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY ARE MOVING UPSTREAM, UM, IS A POSITIVE SIGN.
OKAY, SO JUST RECAPPING SOME OF OUR TAKEAWAYS HERE.
TOTAL ABUNDANCE IN STREAM IS HIGHER AFTER STREAM RES UH, RESTORATION, WE'VE INCREASED THE CARRYING CAPACITY SURVIVAL ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT BETWEEN THE TWO SITES AND COULD BE HIGHER FOR JUVENILES IN THE STREAM.
SALAMANDERS CAN MOVE BETWEEN THE SITES AND THIS IS INFLUENCED BY THE FLOW RATES.
SO IN GENERAL, I BELIEVE THAT THE STREAM HABITAT RESTORATION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO PUT TOGETHER THIS DATA TO BE ABLE TO, TO SHOW THIS.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THIS AS WE COLLECT DATA.
WE'RE SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE MONITORING AT LEAST TILL THE END OF THE TERM OF OUR PERMIT, WHICH IS 2033.
WE SHOULD BE COLLECTING THIS TYPE OF DATA OR SIMILAR TYPE OF DATA AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO ASK THESE SAME QUESTIONS.
IS THIS THE CASE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW? 10 YEARS FROM NOW IN THE NEAR TERM AT OLD MILL SPRING, I MENTIONED THE BEGINNING OF THE SPRING.
ON THE OTHER SIDE, UH, WATERSHED PROTECTION IS LOOKING AT DOING ANOTHER RESTORATION HERE.
THERE'S A, A LARGE EROSION PROBLEM, UH, AT THE OUTLET OR I SHOULD SAY THE SPRING RUN FOR OLD MILL SPRING.
AND IT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BOTH CORRECT THAT PROBLEM AND IMPROVE SALAMANDER HABITAT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE APPLYING KIND OF THE LESSONS WE LEARNED BOTH IN THE CONSTRUCTION, UH, OF THE HABITAT AND, AND, UM, AND IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS TO WHAT WE LEARNED, ELIZA, WE'RE GONNA BE APPLYING TO THIS PROJECT AS WELL.
AND SO YOU MAY SEE THIS, UH, COME IN FRONT OF YOU IN THE FUTURE.
ALRIGHT, WITH THAT I'D JUST LIKE TO THANK UM, AND ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO GATHER THIS DATA.
[01:35:01]
TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT JUST ONE DAY DOING A SURVEY.SOMETIMES WE HAVE 10 PEOPLE ON SITE HELPING CAPTURE SALAMANDERS, PHOTOGRAPH SALAMANDERS, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.
AND THAT'S NOT EVEN MENTIONING WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE DATA PROCESSING AFTER WE, WE GET IT BACK.
SO OUR CURRENT TEAM MEMBERS, DEANNE, SARAH, MATT, SCOTT, LINDSAY, RADDEN, RADMAN AND MICHAEL, BUT ALSO A LOT OF FORMER MEMBERS AND THEN FOLKS FROM THE COMMUNITY, FOLKS FROM OTHER AGENCIES HAVE PROVIDED A LOT OF ASSISTANCE TO US AND CONTINUE TO DO SO AND WE'RE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE 'EM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VERY MUCH.
UH, I APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR NATHAN? UH, YEAH, I'LL GO.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL HAVE TO EXCUSE MY LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BIOLOGY OR STATISTICS.
IT'S MOSTLY RESTRICTED TO, UH, WATCHING ANCIENT ALIENS ON HISTORY CHANNEL EIGHT AT NIGHT
BUT UM, LIKE WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE SORT OF LIKE THE MAJOR DANGER TO THE SALAMANDERS AT THIS POINT? RIGHT, OBVIOUSLY I THINK DROUGHT, UH, AND YOU KNOW, INCREASED DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, UH, CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH THE AQUIFER AND WITH THE SPRINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS LIKE MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE STREAM OR THE POOL, IS THERE LIKE, UH, AN OPTIMUM PLACE FOR THEM TO BE? ARE BOTH OF THESE PLACES THE OPTIMUM PLACES? LIKE, UM, JUST WONDERING FOR SOME CLARIFICATION.
I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE, UH, THE QUESTION ABOUT OPTIMUM PLACES FOR THEM TO BE.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS IT'S HARD TO STUDY THEM UNDERGROUND RIGHT NOW.
IT'S KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE TO STUDY THEM UNDERGROUND.
SO ALL WE CAN DO IS GAIN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT THEIR POPULATIONS ARE ARE DOING AT THE SURFACE.
UH, WE THINK THE SUBTERRANEAN HABITAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THEIR LIFE CYCLE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, MAINTAINING THAT CONNECTION IS, IS KIND OF CRITICAL.
BUT WITH REGARD TO THREATS TO THE SPECIES, I MEAN, YOU, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
DROUGHT, DROUGHT IS ONE OF THEM.
IT IS ONE THING WE'RE CONCERNED WITH.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF OUR CURRENT CONDITIONS, WE CERTAINLY HAVE TO STEP UP OUR MANAGEMENT EFFORTS AND SORT OF THE ACTIVITY WE DO IN THE FIELD TO, TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT BECAUSE WE HAVE THESE IMPOUNDMENTS, THESE AREN'T NATURAL SITES, BUT WE HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER THE WATER LEVEL IN EACH OF THE SPRINGS.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN DOING THINGS TO, TO IMPROVE THAT LATELY.
AND THEN ON A LONGER TERM BASIS, THAT'S THE QUESTION REALLY IS, IS HOW MUCH WORSE ARE THE DROUGHTS GOING TO GET HUMAN? UM, CAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE, IT'S HAPPENING VERY RAPIDLY, UM, MORE RAPIDLY THAN PERHAPS CLIMATE CHANGES OCCURRED IN, IN HISTORY IN THE HISTORY OF THESE SALAMANDERS.
ONE THING THAT DOES GIVE ME SOME HOPE, I GUESS IN TERMS OF THE RESILIENCY OF THE SPECIES IS THAT THEY'VE BEEN AROUND FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS AND THEY'VE CERTAINLY BEEN THROUGH MUCH WORSE DROUGHTS.
THE DIFFERENCES, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T BEEN HERE WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE POLLUTION, SO IT'S REALLY A QUESTION OF HOW ARE THOSE CHANGES GOING TO IMPACT HOW THEY RESPOND TO, YOU KNOW, MORE SEVERE DROUGHTS, EVEN IF THOSE DROUGHTS ARE JUST AS SEVERE OR NOT AS SEVERE AS DROUGHTS THAT HAPPENED A THOUSAND YEARS AGO OR, OR 10,000 YEARS AGO.
UM, SO YEAH, IT'S KIND OF A, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A BIG UNKNOWN AND DROUGHTS ONE AND THEN POLLUTIONS THE OTHER SPECIFICALLY, UM, IF A CATASTROPHIC SPILL OCCURRED OVER THE RECHARGE ZONE IN THE BARTON SPRINGS, EDWARDS AQUIFER, BARTON SPRINGS SEGMENT OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, WATER CAN TRAVEL OR WATER OR POLLUTANT CAN TRAVEL VERY QUICKLY THROUGH THE AQUIFER INTO THE SPRINGS.
AND OF COURSE ALL OF THAT IS SALAMANDER HABITAT.
SO IF THERE'S A TANKER SPILL, A PIPELINE BURST OF CRUDE OIL, A CHLORINE SPILL, VERY LARGE SEWAGE SPILL CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS AT THE SPRINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO LUCKILY NONE OF THAT'S OCCURRED YET.
UM, BUT IT IS A FACTOR THAT IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE SPECIES IS LISTED AS ENDANGERED IS BECAUSE OF THE THREAT OF A CATASTROPHIC SPILL WIPING THEM OUT.
DOES THAT, UH, DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS? YEAH, FOR SURE.
UM, ARE YOU GOOD COMMISSIONER QUASI? YEP.
UM, I, SO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THE, THE SCOPE AND ENORMITY OF THIS TYPE OF STUDY, UM, IS STAGGERING.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HEAR IT ALL, EVEN IF SOME OF THESE THINGS I HAVEN'T HEARD SINCE GRAD SCHOOL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF SORT OF THAT HIGHER CARING CAPACITY AFTER STREAM RESTORATION, UM, IT,
[01:40:01]
YOU KNOW, SEEMS TO BE SORT OF LIKE THE, THE BELLWETHER FOR THIS, BUT THEN ARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO SORT OF DO STUDIES LIKE THIS THAT DON'T INVOLVE NECESSARILY HAVING TO DO AN ENTIRE POPULATION STUDY OF, OF AN ANIMAL THAT HAS A SUBTERRANEAN HABITAT WHERE WE CAN SORT OF STUDY THE EFFICACY OF SOME OF THESE STREAM RESTORATION EFFORTS? I'M GUESS I'M SORT OF TALKING ABOUT MORE SORT OF BROADLY IN OTHER AREAS WHERE WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, BUT UH, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE STREAM RESTORATION IS UM, YOU KNOW, A PRIORITY FOR US IN THIS ROOM, VIRTUAL ROOM.UH, SO JUST I GUESS YOUR THOUGHTS ON OTHER WAYS TO DO THIS THAT MIGHT NOT BE A SEVEN YEAR, UH, PROCESS.
YEAH, WELL PART, YOU KNOW, PART OF PART OF WHAT FACTORS INTO HOW LONG IT TAKES IS HOW VARIABLE THE POPULATIONS ARE.
SO IN TERMS OF STREAM RESTORATION IN GENERAL, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOUR RESPONSE VARIABLE OF INTEREST IS.
YOU KNOW, HERE WE ARE LASER FOCUSED ON ONE THING, THAT'S THE SALAMANDERS WE WANNA SEE THE SALAMANDERS DO WELL.
AND SO THEY UNFORTUNATELY GIVE US ALL SORTS OF SAL CHALLENGES WHEN TRYING TO DO SCIENCE ON THEM.
UM, THEY'RE EASIER TO STUDY THAN A LOT OF OTHER SPECIES.
UM, BUT, BUT THEN HARDER THAN SOME AS WELL.
SO IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY TAKE THAT THAT LONG TO DOCUMENT, UM, STREAM RESTORATION IMPROVEMENT FOR, UH, FOR OTHER AREAS OR, OR FOR OTHER GOALS.
IT JUST KIND OF COMES DOWN TO WHAT, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? ARE YOU LOOKING AT WATER QUALITY? ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE RIPARIAN AREA? ARE YOU LOOKING AT MACRO INVERTEBRATES? ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE FISH COMMUNITY? ARE YOU LOOKING AT ALL OF THE ABOVE? ARE THERE OTHER SORT OF INDICATORS FOR SORT OF IMPROVED CARRYING CAPACITY IF THERE'RE, IF THE SALAMANDERS SORT OF GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION WERE TO EXPAND? YOU MEAN IN TERMS OF WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT OR JUST IN GENERAL? UH, SORT OF IN GENERAL.
SO THINGS THAT YOU WOULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, IN DIFFERENT STREAM AREAS THAT ARE MAYBE CONNECTED TO THE BARTON SPRINGS SEGMENT OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
YOU WOULD WHERE YOU COULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOW THE OPTIMAL HABITAT FOR THE, THE BLIND SALAMANDER OR THE
YEAH, THE
THAT'S, THAT'S WE JUST, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW OF A WAY TO, TO DO THAT WITH THE SUBTERRANEAN HABITAT.
IT'S JUST IT, IF THE SALAMANDER STOP SHOWING UP AT THE SPRINGS AND WE NEVER SEE THEM, THEN THAT'S A RED FLAG AND IF THEY CONTINUE TO SHOW UP THEN THAT'S GOOD.
SO IF YOU WANT, YOU COULD SIMPLIFY IT AT THAT LEVEL REALLY.
AND WE KIND OF HAVE TO, FOR THE AUSTIN BLIND SALAMANDER THAT JUST PERIODICALLY POPS OUT.
WE'LL SEE, WE DID SURVEYS JUST THIS PAST AUGUST AT ELIZA AND WE'RE GETTING A FEW HUNDRED BARTON SPRING SALAMANDERS AND I THINK WE CAUGHT ONE AUSTIN BLIND SALAMANDER AND THEY'RE USUALLY THIS BIG, SO IT'S NOT A LOT YOU CAN TELL ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE POPULATION WITH THAT, UNFORTUNATELY.
I HORN YOU GOT ANYTHING? ALRIGHT, LET'S GO AROUND LIKE WE DO.
UM, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR THE WORK YOU DO AND PROTECTING THIS SPECIES.
UM, I'M CURIOUS, YOU TALKED ABOUT MIGRATION BETWEEN THE ELIZA POOL AND THE STREAM.
DO YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SALAMANDERS MOVING INTO BARTON SPRINGS POOL? IT'S A QUESTION THAT WE WANT AN ANSWER TO, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'LL GET.
UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, MAYBE A YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF, WE WERE COLLECTING AND PHOTOGRAPHING ANIMALS IN BARTON SPRINGS POOL AND THEN WE WERE CHECKING TO SEE IF ANY OF THOSE ARE RECAPTURES FROM ANY OF THE OTHER SITES.
THE CHALLENGE WAS THEY'RE, WE HAVE TO SCUBA DIVE FOR THAT SITE, SO JUST LOGISTICALLY IT'S MORE DIFFICULT.
WE WERE GETTING MORE MORTALITIES PROBABLY CAUSED BY EITHER TAKING THEM UP OR HOW HARD IT WAS TO CAPTURE THEM, UH, DOWN BELOW.
SO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY WE COULD DO SOME THINGS TO IMPROVE THE TECHNIQUES, BUT WHAT YOU END UP WITH IS A REALLY SMALL SAMPLE SIZE OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
AND SO YEAH, I I PLUG THAT INTO THE SOFTWARE.
I SAY, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S A HUNDRED SALAMANDERS WE SAW AT IN THE POOL.
COMPARE THIS TO THE 10,000 AT THE OTHER SITES.
UM, SO I SUSPECT THERE'S PROBABLY MOVEMENT BACK INTO THE AQUIFER AND PERIODICALLY MAYBE SOMETHING COMES OUT AT THE, AT THE SPRING, I THINK IT'S, IT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN IT AND WE'RE NOT PUTTING A LOT OF EFFORT NOW INTO TRYING TO DOCUMENT THAT THE OTHER SIDE'S, UPPER BARTON SPRING AND S GARDEN, WE DO CONTINUE TO SURVEY THOSE AND PHOTOGRAPH AND CHECK TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY MIGRATION.
WE HAVEN'T DOCUMENTED THAT YET EITHER.
I'M CURIOUS IN PART BECAUSE JUST LOOKING AT THE AREA OF THE ELIZA POOL AND THE STREAM, IT'S SO SMALL, AND I'M CURIOUS, ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT LACK OF
[01:45:01]
GENETIC VARIATION IN THAT AFFECTING THE POPULATION AT ALL? YES, WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT.UM, DIFFERENT FOLKS HAVE LOOKED AT THAT OVER THE YEARS, AND THERE'S NO INDICATION THAT THERE'S ANY KIND OF GENETIC BOTTLENECK OR ANY PROBLEMS WITH GENETIC DIVERSITY AT ANY OF THE SITES, OR THAT THE SITES ARE ISOLATED GENETICALLY.
ARE HABITATS OF THIS SMALL SIZE TYPICAL FOR SALAMANDERS OR, YOU KNOW, IN PLACES WHERE THEY HAVE MORE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT? MIGHT THERE BE MORE? NO, THEY'RE DEFINITELY ATYPICAL.
AND, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL ONE MIGHT SAY SO WHEN, WHEN THEY WERE FIRST DESCRIBED, LIKE FORMALLY DESCRIBED AS SCIENCE, PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT SALAMANDERS IN THE POOL, BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL THE NINETIES AND, AND GENETIC TECHNIQUES, UM, WHERE, UH, DAVE HILLIS, PAUL CHIPPENDALE, UH, AT UT BASICALLY USED THESE TECHNIQUES TO SHOW THAT EVEN THOUGH THESE SALAMANDERS LOOK SIMILAR TO OTHER SALAMANDERS, THEY'RE ACTUALLY GENETICALLY DISTINCT.
AND AT THE TIME, SPECIES FIRST DISCOVERED, BASICALLY, WE THOUGHT THAT, OR THE, THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY THOUGHT THAT THE ONLY PLACE THEY LIVED WAS AT, AT THE SURFACE OF THESE SPRINGS OR SO JUST ZILKER PARK.
SO POTENTIALLY THE SMALLEST RANGE OF ANY VERTEBRATE IN AMERICA, POTENTIALLY THE WORLD.
WE KNOW NOW, AFTER A FEW DECADES THAT THEY DO EXTEND INTO THE AQUIFER, THEY CAN BE FOUND, UM, OR AT LEAST FOR THE BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDERS, THEY'VE BEEN FOUND IN, IN CAVES.
THEY'VE BEEN PULLED OUT OF WELLS, THEY'VE BEEN PULLED OUT OF, OF SPRINGS ALONG ONION CREEK.
SO THEY DO EXTEND MUCH FARTHER THAN WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.
AS FOR THE AUSTIN BLIND SALAMANDER, THEY'RE THOUGHT TO BE A DEEP AQUIFER SPECIALIST.
SO OUR ONLY OPPORTUNITIES REALLY FOR SEEING THEM, ARE PROBABLY GONNA REMAIN TO BE AT THOSE BIG SPRINGS, AND WE'VE ONLY SEEN THEM AT THOSE FOUR SPRINGS IN ZILKER PARK.
UH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, AND I WAS PARTICULARLY IMPRESSED WITH THE PROBABILITY OF MOVEMENT CALCULATION.
SO, UH, YEAH, I FIND THIS VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE I, I AM A STATISTICIAN AS PART OF MY JOB.
WHO DO YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE SOMEBODY WHO IS, UNDERSTANDS THE, THE SOFTWARE OR IS THIS JUST A PLUG AND LIFE? YES.
I'D BE HAPPY TO ASK, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
WELL, I MEAN, I'M INTERESTED IN THE METHODOLOGY.
I MEAN, I'M, I'M DRAWING PICTURES HERE OF SAMPLING AND RESAMPLING AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO ESTIMATE THE TOTAL POPULATION.
UM, SO YEAH, IN, IN, IN GENERAL, IT COMES FROM A LARGE BODY OF STATISTICS.
I GUESS WE WOULD CALL THEM CAPTURE RECAPTURE STATISTICS.
SO THEN WHEN IN, IN THE NINETIES, THEY DEVELOPED SOME OF THE METHODS THAT I'M USING TO ESTIMATE THESE.
AND, AND LUCKILY WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE FOLKS, LIKE THE PROGRAM I USE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S FREE MM-HMM.
AND SO THAT, LIKE, THAT KIND OF THING'S REALLY FANTASTIC THAT WE HAVE THAT, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT'S, WELL, IT'S OKAY.
I MEAN, I'M GONNA GOOGLE SOME OF THIS STUFF AND TRY TO READ MORE ABOUT, FEEL FREE TO, TO EMAIL ME ABOUT OKAY.
UM, THERE'S, SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S KIND OF ONE OR TWO MAIN PROGRAMS. I, I USED THE ABUNDANCE STUFF LOOKS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
THAT, SO BAYESIAN ANALYSIS THAT WE DO, THE, THE SURVIVAL AND MOVEMENT STUFF IS ALL FREQUENTIST MAINLY BECAUSE IT'S JUST EASIER FOR ME TO DO IT THAT WAY.
YOU KNOW, OFFLINE, I'M HAPPY TO, TO GEEK OUT ABOUT THE, THE STATS WITH YOU IF YOU WANTED.
APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, I, I LOVED YOUR TOUR, BY THE WAY.
UH, I WISH I COULD HAVE TAKEN ONE HOME AS A PET.
UH, SO THE RANGE OF THESE, ASIDE FROM THE POOLS IS IN THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, CORRECT? YES, EDWARDS AND THEN INTO THE TRINITY.
NOW THE EDWARDS AQUIFER EXTENDS, AND MY SENSE OF DIRECTION'S A BIT BAD, BUT IF YOU'RE KINDA LIKE FACING THE, THE BATHHOUSE, SAY FROM THE PARKING LOT MM-HMM.
[01:50:01]
YOU KNOW, PART OF THE SOUTH GENERALLY.
PART OF, I'M NOT SAYING ALL OF IT, I MEAN, BUT THERE'S A SECTOR THERE.
SO THERE IS, UH, YOU, YOU WOULD SUSPECT WITHOUT ACTUALLY DIGGING IT UP AND LOOKING THAT, THAT SOME OF THEIR, UH, HABITAT IS OVER THERE IN THAT PART OF THE AQUIFER.
BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH YEAH, IT'S, IT'S HARD.
SO THERE'S A SPRING ALONG LADY BIRD LAKE THAT HAS BARTON SPRING SALAMANDERS.
THERE'S A CAVE IN SUNSET VALLEY.
YOU GO DOWN 200 FEET DEEP SCIENTISTS HAVE OBSERVED BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDERS THERE.
THERE'S A WELL IN MANCHACA THEY'VE BEEN PULLED OUT OF, SO THEY'RE DEEP IN THERE.
I'M TALKING ABOUT JUST THE BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDERS HERE AND RIGHT.
AND SO THOSE ARE KIND OF, SOME OF THE PLACES, YOU KNOW, WERE SOMEWHAT OF A SURPRISE TO, TO SEE THEM.
AND THEY'VE POPPED OUT IN A FEW MORE SPRINGS ALONG BARTON CREEK AND, AND ONION CREEK.
UM, SO I WOULD EX I WOULD EXPECT THAT, YEAH, THEIR RANGE IS GOING TO EX, LIKE, IF YOU JUST CONNECT THE DOTS AND THINK ABOUT WHATEVER UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAYS AND HABITATS THERE ARE.
THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY THE EXTENT OF, OF THEIR RANGE.
UM, AND AS TIME GOES ON, WE'LL PROBABLY FIND MORE POPULATIONS, BUT THEY'RE STILL ENDANGERED.
THE CH THE, THE, THE CHALLENGE FOR THEM IS THEY'RE STILL IN THIS VULNERABLE AQUIFER SYSTEM WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BASICALLY NO ATTENUATION OF ANY KIND OF POLLUTION, AND WE HAVE GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWAL.
SO STILL IT COMES DOWN TO WATER QUALITY AND WATER, WATER QUANTITY, UM, FOR THE SPECIES.
SO THE, UH, INTEGRITY OF THE AQUIFER AS A STRUCTURE IS IMPORTANT TO THEIR LONG-TERM SURVIVAL? I WOULD THINK SO.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE WERE SOME DAMAGE TO THE AQUIFER, SOME SORT OF A PHYSICAL DAMAGE TO THE AQUIFER, IT COULD PUT THE, UH, THE POPULATION AT LEAST IN THAT LOCALITY, AT, AT RISK, AND POSSIBLY THROUGHOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ENTIRE AQUIFER.
I MEAN, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD OCCUR, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA BE IN THE VOIDS AND, AND INTERSTITIAL SPACES AND, AND CAVES THAT ARE, THAT ARE FLOODED WITH WATER ALL THROUGHOUT THAT SYSTEM.
SO, SO THEY'RE RELYING ON, ON THAT SPACE, AND THEY'RE PRESUMABLY RELYING ON INPUT, ORGANIC INPUT FROM THE SURFACE, BECAUSE THERE'S NO PHOTOSYNTHESIS DOWN THERE.
SO SOMETHING HAS TO DRIVE THAT ECOSYSTEM.
AND SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE THEM THEM FOOD TO EAT.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA BE EATING MOSTLY IN THE AQUIFER, CRUSTACEAN, SMALL CRUSTACEANS THAT ARE EATING, UM, BIOFILMS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT ASPECT OF IT.
BUT WE KNOW RELATIVELY LITTLE ABOUT THAT.
SO BROADLY, EX BROADLY SPEAKING, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMAIN, TO MAINTAIN THE PHYSICAL INTEGRITY OF, OF THE AQUIFER AS, AS A STRUCTURE, AS WELL AS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GENERAL PERMEABILITY OF THE SOIL YEAH.
ABOVE THE THING IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A VIABLE POPULATION OF THE SALAMANDERS GOING FORWARD.
AND, AND IF YOU DON'T DO THAT, THEN YOU'RE PUTTING THE POPULATION, YOU COULD BE PUTTING THE POPULATION AT RISK TO SOME DEGREE THAT YOU CAN'T OBVIOUSLY CALCULATE WITHOUT DOING A SPECIFIC STUDY TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT IS.
BUT THAT'S A REASONABLE ASSUMPTION TO DRAW.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT HABITAT AVAILABILITY AND HABITAT QUALITY FOR A LOT OF ENDANGERED SPECIES IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM TO HABITAT, LOST HABITAT, FRAGMENTED HABITAT, DESTROYED HABITAT.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S PART OF OUR WORK.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE
HOWEVER, I SUSPECT, GIVEN THAT, YOU KNOW WHAT I MENTIONED ABOUT ECOSYSTEMS UNDERGROUND, NO, NO SUNLIGHT, THEY'RE RELYING ON INPUT FROM THE SURFACE.
THE POPULATIONS ARE PROBABLY A LOT LESS DENSE.
SO AT THE SURFACE WE PROBABLY GET A BIT MORE BANG FOR OUR BUCK WHEN WE'RE MANAGING SURFACE HABITAT AND IMPROVING, UH, ABUNDANCES AT THE SURFACE.
AND UNLIKE MY COLLEAGUE HERE, I, UH, TOOK STATISTICS ONCE AND GOT A D AND I FIGURED I COULD DO BETTER.
I TOOK IT AGAIN AND I DIDN'T DO BETTER
YOU KNOW, WE ALL HAD TO BRING DIFFERENT TOOLS TO THE TABLE.
UH, WELL, TAKING IT TWICE DID TEACH ME THAT I'M NOT REALLY VERY GOOD AT STATISTICS.
UM, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, NATHAN.
[01:55:01]
UM, TWO QUICK FOLLOW UP OR KIND OF, UH, QUESTIONS.I KNOW THAT, UM, HISTORICALLY THE CITY'S DONE WATER QUALITY MONITORING.
ARE Y'ALL DOING ANY WATER QUALITY MONITORING AT ELIZA? ARE YOU SEEING ANY INCREASE IN WATER QUALITY, UH, OR ANY PARAMETERS THAT ARE CHANGING SINCE THE, THE RESTORATION AND THE, THE SPRING THE STREAM HABITAT'S BEEN PUT IN? WE HAVEN'T ASKED THE QUESTION.
IN THE CONTEXT OF THE STREAM HABITAT RESTORATION, I WOULD EXPECT IT NOT TO HAVE AFFECTED WATER QUALITY IN, IN THAT SENSE.
'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S THE SAME STUFF COMING OUT OF, OUT OF THE GROUND.
UH, OUR GROUP DOES DO, I BELIEVE QUARTERLY, UH, UM, COMPREHENSIVE WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS OF BARTON SPRINGS.
AND WE ARE GETTING SOME, UM, CONTINUOUS MONITORING SIGNS FOR ELIZA SPECIFICALLY, UH, SHORTLY.
BUT THERE IS A CONTINUOUS, UH, MONITORING EFFORT AT BARTON SPRINGS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN TO THE, THE U S G S PAGE FOR, FOR THE SITE.
THE U S G S MAINTAINS A WEBSITE WHERE YOU COULD LOOK AT THE CONTINUOUS DISSOLVED OXYGEN, FOR EXAMPLE, PH AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, AND THAT RECORD, I THINK GOES BACK TO 2007.
IT GOES BACK A, A, A NUMBER OF YEARS AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY ALSO SUPPORTS.
UM, AND ARE YOU, ARE WE SEEING, OR I, I DON'T WANNA MAKE YOU DO A WHOLE NOTHER PRESENTATION, BUT ARE WE SEEING ANY TRENDS OF THAT GETTING WORSE OR STABILIZING OR IT'S AFFECTED, YOU KNOW, JUST WHAT MADE ME THINK OF THAT WAS THE DROUGHT DISCUSSIONS WE WERE HAVING EARLIER IN THE Q AND A.
AND I WILL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
YEAH, I, I, I CAN'T PULL ANYTHING OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD IN TERMS OF THE, UH, YEAH, THE, THE WATER QUALITY TRENDS, SOME THINGS PROBABLY HAVE GOTTEN WORSE OVER TIME, BUT WHETHER THAT'S BAD FOR THE SALAMANDERS OR NOT, THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING THAT'S SORT OF COME ACROSS MY DESK LIKE, OH, THIS IS GONNA KILL THE SALAMANDERS, SORT OF THING.
BUT SORT OF IF YOU'RE THINKING LONGER, LONGER TERM, IT'S MORE OF AN, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE THINGS AND IF YOU WANT MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS, I CAN, I CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
I WAS, IT WAS MORE, MORE OF A CURIOSITY TO KIND OF LOOP IT BACK.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS THAT TO KIND OF CLOSE, WE WOULD BE, OR I WOULD BE VERY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON AT SUNKEN GARDENS AND, AND IF THERE IS A, A STREAM RESTORATION PROJECT THERE, I THINK THAT COULD REALLY IMPROVE BASED ON JUST WHAT THE CONDITION WAS WHEN WE WENT OUT AND DID THAT FIELD VISIT.
IT COULD, IT COULD REALLY IMPROVE THAT HABITAT.
IT'S ON THE LIST AND I DUNNO, MAYBE WE CAN GET ANOTHER, ANOTHER TOUR GOING WHEN THAT GETS, UH, GETS A BIT CLOSER.
IT IS EASIER TO SEE, TO SEE PROPOSED CHANGES, KIND OF WHEN YOU'RE ON THE GROUND.
THEN, UM, THEN JUST LOOKING AT, AT LEAST FOR ME, JUST LOOKING AT A PLAN.
VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
YOU THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME.
[4. Discussion and possible action on a recommendation to City Council regarding the allocation of additional funds to preserve the topsoil in exposed parts of Zilker Park and to ban parking on the Polo Field – Presented and requested by Commissioners Sullivan and Brimer.]
NEXT UP IS DISCUSSION ITEM, DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ACTIONS.NUMBER FOUR, DISCUSS IMPOSSIBLE ACTION ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING THE ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO PRESERVE THE TOPSOIL AND EXPOSE PARTS OF ZKO PARK TO THE, AND TO BAN PARKING ON THE POLO FIELDS.
I THINK THIS IS YOU TO TAKE OVER.
SORRY FOR, UH, SPRINGING THIS ON YOU AGAIN AFTER WE HAD A LONG DISCUSSION WHEN MY COLLEAGUE COMMISSIONER BRIER BROUGHT IT UP BEFORE.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PRES THE PHOTOS THAT WE SAW BEFORE, AND, UM, SEVERAL OF US I KNOW HAVE PROBABLY BEEN AND VISITED ZILKER PARK TO CHECK IT OUT.
UM, IT'S LONG PAST THE POINT WHERE WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THE EXPOSED TOP SOIL.
AND ONE THING THAT I FOUND INTERESTING WAS THERE ARE APPARENTLY WHAT LOOKS LIKE PERMANENT SIGNS UP AT THE BUTLER LANDFILL ADVERTISING IT AS PAID PARKING.
AND SO THAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE, I ASSUME.
SO, UM, I DON'T HAVE THE, UH, LIKE I CAN BRING UP THE RESOLUTION THAT, UM, I WROTE, UM, OR CAN I, YEAH, LET ME, LET WAIT.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO CLOSE ANYTHING.
HE, HE CAN PRESENT AND READ THINGS AND THEN WE CAN DISCUSS, UH, WHATEVER WE WANT, RIGHT.
ELIZABETH FUNK WATERSHED, UH, IT IS ON THE WEBSITE.
COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, IF YOU CAN GO TO YEAH, I'VE GOT PULLED UP HERE IF YOU WANT.
DO YOU WANT ME TO READ IT OR, BUT YES, NO, I'LL, I'LL READ IT.
HE CAN READ IT, BUT YES, IF HE, IF COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S OFFICIALLY MAKING THE MOTION, HE WILL MAKE IT, ASSUMING THERE IS A SECOND, THEN DISCUSSION CAN HAPPEN ON THAT.
ALRIGHT, WELL THAT'S ONE OF THE FUNNY THINGS ABOUT THIS.
IT TAKES TWO MEMBERS TO PUT SOMETHING ON THE AGENDA, AND IT'S COMMISSIONER BRIMER AND I WHO PUT IT ON THE AGENDA.
UH, WHEREAS PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DURING PUBLIC COMMUNICATION ON SEPTEMBER, UH, SIXTH, 2023 OF LARGE PARCELS OF EXPOSED TOPSOIL IN ZILKER PARK.
[02:00:01]
INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS HAVE CONFIRMED THE PRESENCE OF EXCESSIVELY EXPOSED TOPSOIL IN ZILKER PARK.AND WHEREAS SOME RISK EXISTS THAT THE TOP SOIL MAY BE WASHED AWAY BY HEAVY RAIN AND RUN DOWNHILL TO BARTON SPRINGS POOL AND BARTON CREEK BELOW THE POOL.
AND WHEREAS THE PARKS BOARD HAS ALREADY ASKED THAT PARKING BE DISALLOWED ON THE ZILKER POLO FIELDS, THE LARGEST EXPOSED PARCEL, THE LARGEST EXPOSED PARK PARCEL OF PARK LAND, AND THAT THE POLO FIELDS BE RESTORED TO USABLE PARK LAND.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ALREADY DISCUSSED THE MOTOR VEHICLE PARKING ISSUE IN ZILKER PARK AND REQUESTED INPUT FROM THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT ABOUT PARKING ALTERNATIVES TO THE POLO FIELD, BUT HAS RECEIVED NO INPUT TO DATE.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE TO ASK THE CITY COUNCIL TO ADD MONEY TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT BUDGET IN FY 2024 FOR REPLANTING NATIVE GRASSES ON EXPOSED TOP SOIL, INCLUDING THE POLO FIELDS FOR STORM WATER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOPSOIL LOST IN ZILKER PARK AND TO PROTECT BARTON SPRINGS, BARTON CREEK AND LADY BIRD LAKE.
AND THEREFORE, AND FURTHERMORE TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOPSOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY, INCLUDING BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD.
ALRIGHT, WE'VE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND BY BRIER.
UM, LET'S DISCUSS WHO'S GUTS REMOTE GUYS.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY, UH, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, POINTS TO MAKE? YEAH, I WAS JUST CURIOUS HOW THIS DIFFERED SORT OF FROM THE PREVIOUS MOTION, IF WE COULD GET LIKE A CLIFF'S NOTES ON THAT OR, UH, WHATEVER THEY USE NOWADAYS.
WELL, ONE ONE POINT IS THAT WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, THE SIMPLE QUESTION WAS STOPPING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELDS.
THIS IS ABOUT RESTORATION OF THE EXPOSED TOP SOIL WITHIN THE PARK, WHICH INCLUDES THE POLO FIELDS, BUT IT TRANSCENDS JUST THE POLO FIELDS BECAUSE WE WERE PROVIDED, UH, DURING THAT SEPTEMBER 6TH, UH, CITIZENS COMMUNICATION WITH A MAP SHOWING AREAS WITH EXPOSED, UM, SOIL.
AND I MYSELF WENT DOWN AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKED, RODE MY BIKE AROUND ZUCKER PARK AND OBSERVED A LOT OF THIS.
AND, UM, I DID ASK, UH, I SEE LIZ, JOHN, LIZ JOHNSON ISN'T HERE, BUT I HAD EMAILED HER ABOUT WHETHER THIS WAS ON WATERSHED'S RADAR, AND THE ANSWER WAS YES.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IT TURNS OUT THAT THERE IS NO NEED TO DO THIS, BUT RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE LOOKED AT.
AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WITH REGARD TO PARKING, THERE ARE NOW SIGNS UP AT THE BUTLER LANDFILL, AND I KNOW NOT EVERYBODY'S HAPPY ABOUT PEOPLE PARKING THERE, BUT IT APPEARS THAT THEY'RE PERMANENT SIGNS ADVERTISING IT AS PAID PARKING, WHICH WOULD, WOULD PROVIDE A COUPLE HUNDRED PARKING SPACES.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I RAISED LAST TIME ABOUT, WELL, WHERE WILL PEOPLE PARK IF THEY CAN'T PARK ON THE POLO FIELDS? WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE THERE.
RESH, YOU GOT ANY OTHER, UH, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, OR IF, IF, IF NOT, YIELD TO FER, IF YOU GOT ANY? WELL, NO, SOUNDS GOOD.
UM, SO I'VE ALSO VISITED THE SITE AND I AGREE IT'S A, IT'S A MASSIVE PROBLEM AND I, I WISH I HAD A BETTER SOLUTION HERE FOR THIS, BUT I GUESS MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT THE USE OF THE POLO FIELDS AREA AND THE GRAVEL LOT FOR OVERFLOW PARKING BOTH VIOLATE THE POLLUTION PREVENTION LIMITATIONS ON IMPERVIOUS COVER IN THAT SECTION, UH, LIKE 25 8, 5 14, UM, BECAUSE IT'S ON THE BARTON SPRINGS ZONE OF THE WATERSHED REGULATION AREA.
SO WHEN THE ZILKER PARK WORKING GROUP, AS I UNDERSTAND, MET THE BUTLER LANDFILL WAS ALREADY BEING USED ILLEGALLY, INFORMALLY, SO IT ALREADY SORT OF EXISTED.
IT WASN'T, THIS ISN'T A NEW THING ASIDE FROM THE NEW PERMANENT SIGNS, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE EITHER SITE LEGAL FRANKLY, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, AS, AS THE WORKING GROUP HAD REQUESTED IN ORDER TO REMEDIATE THE LANDFILL AND CLOSE IT FOR PARKING, OR SORRY, THE POLO FIELDS ENCLOSED THAT FOR PARKING, WAS THAT THERE BE EQUIVALENT NUMBER OF VIABLE, WHICH I DON'T SEE, YOU KNOW, THIS OTHER SITE AS VIABLE JUST BECAUSE THERE'S SIGNS THERE, UM, PREFERABLY OFFSITE PARKING ALTERNATIVES TO THE REDUCED PARKING THAT WOULD ACCOMMODATE THE DISPLACED
[02:05:01]
PARKING.UM, SO I STILL SEE THIS AS AN ISSUE OF ACCESS, AND MAYBE THERE IS A WINDOW WHERE THERE CAN BE SOME REMEDIATION.
UM, I MEAN, I'M CURIOUS IF, IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ON, IF YOU THINK THE POLO FIELDS IS MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE THAN THE TEMPORARY GRAVEL LANDFILL LOT, WHICH I I DON'T BELIEVE THE SIGNS MAKE PERMANENT.
I MEAN, IT, IT APPEAR I NO SIGN IS PERMANENT.
IT'S JUST THAT I NOTICED SEVERAL SIGNS AROUND IT INDICATING THAT IT WAS PAID PARKING NOW AND THERE I ASSUME THAT THERE ARE KIOSKS ALSO, OR YOU DO IT ON YOUR PHONE.
UM, BUT I GUESS WE COULD ASK ONE OF THE PROFESSIONALS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS ONE, IS IT, IS IT WHAT, WHAT POSES A GREATER THREAT, UH, TO THE ENVIRONMENT? PARKING ON THE BUTLER LANDFILL, OR PARKING, PARKING ON THE POLO FIELDS, THE ZILKER POLO FIELDS? I'D LIKE TO CUT IN HERE FOR A MINUTE BEFORE THE PROFESSIONALS, UH, HAVE THEIR SAY I'LL, I'LL LET THEM GATHER THEIR THOUGHTS.
UM, YES, THEY'RE BOTH TERRIBLE PLACES TO PARK.
WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT PART OF THE PROBLEM AND TO THE EXTENT THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN IS PROPOSING A SOLUTION TO CORRECT PART OF THE PROBLEM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PRESENTED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO TODAY.
SO A VOTE IN SUPPORT OF THIS CORRECTS PART OF THE PROBLEM.
AT A LATER DATE, WE MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT THE REST OF THE PROBLEM.
TODAY WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT PART OF IT.
AS HE INDICATED, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO PARK AT AN ALTERNATIVE LOCATION AND NO ONE LIKES IT, BUT IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARK THERE.
NOW, THE GENTLEMAN THAT JUST SPOKE TALKED ABOUT SAVING THE SALAMANDERS IN BARTON SPRINGS AND THE INTEGRITY OF THE AQUIFER WHERE THE POLO FIELD SITS, AND THAT BY DAMAGING THE INTEGRITY OF THE AQUIFER DAMAGES OR PUTS AT RISK THE SALAMANDERS THAT ARE THERE THAT INHABIT THE AQUIFER.
AND ALTHOUGH THEY ARE MORE WIDELY SPREAD THAN WAS INITIALLY THOUGHT WHEN THEY WERE FIRST IDENTIFIED, PART OF THE HABITAT RESTS UNDERNEATH THE POLO FIELD.
SO BY CONTINUALLY ALLOWING VEHICLES TO PARK ON TOP OF THE POLO FIELD, NOT ARE ONLY ARE WE TAKING AWAY A LARGE OPEN SPACE THAT CAN BE USED FOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES BY PARK USERS, WE'RE ALSO PUTTING AT RISK THE VIABILITY OF THE SALAMANDERS.
SO FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTIALLY CORRECT A PROBLEM THAT EXISTS IN ZILKER PARK, AND THAT IS RESTORE THE AREA OF THE POLO FIELDS AND OTHER AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY VARIOUS MEANS, BY ADDING TOP SOIL AND REPLANTING WITH NATIVE GRASSES AND PREVENTING PARKING ON THAT AREA, AND CLEARLY MOVING PARKING OVER TO ANOTHER AREA THAT NO ONE LIKES.
NO ONE BELIEVES THAT THE REST OF HUMANITY FOREVER SHOULD HAVE THE BUTLER LANDFILL AS A PERMANENT PARKING SPOT.
YOU WILL NOT GET ANYONE ON THE PLANET TO AGREE TO THAT.
HOWEVER, TODAY, A THE PROPOSAL THAT WE ARE DISCUSSING IS TO REMEDY PART OF THE PROBLEM.
IT WILL REMEDY THE EROSION AND DESTRUCTION OF THE POLO FIELD AND WILL ALSO HELP SAVE THE SALAMANDERS AND THE INTEGRITY OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING NOW.
COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN WANTED TO TURN IT OVER TO PROFESSIONALS.
AND KATIE COIN HAS A GRIN ON HER FACE THAT THAT'S NEW IS PRICELESS.
YEAH, I, IF I COULD, YOU KNOW, GET MY CAMERA UP AND, AND TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT AND, YOU KNOW, CAPTURE IT, I'D, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE IT.
SO I'M GOING TO LET KATIE TURN IT OVER TO HER AND LET THE PROFESSIONALS
[02:10:02]
MY SMILE HAVE A SWING AT THIS.MY HAS FAR MORE, MORE TO DO WITH THE YOGA I DID TODAY THAN ANYTHING RELATED TO THIS TOPIC.
BUT, UH, AND, AND I LIKE Y'ALL, UM,
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE COMPROMISE, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, NOTHING COMMISSIONER FER SAID ABOUT THE ILLEGALITY OF THESE TWO SITES IS, IS INCORRECT.
AND WE WANT TO BE GOOD PARTNERS IN FIGURING OUT HOW WE BALANCE GOALS.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY WHEN I WAS ON ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION A FEW YEARS AGO AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT PARKING ON THE LANDFILL, I SAID, WHY DON'T WE DO AN ENTIRE PLAN FOR THIS PARK? AND NOW WE'RE LEFT BACK AT SQUARE ONE.
UM, POLO FIELDS VERSUS LANDFILL, LOOK, THERE'S TRADE-OFFS TO BOTH, OBVIOUSLY BOTH SITES COULD BE VASTLY IMPROVED FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE EVEN WHEN BALANCING SOME OF THESE GOALS.
BUT AGAIN, WE, WE NEED MORE WORK TO BE DONE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BALANCE THOSE GOALS.
AND IT, AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE THAT SYS SYSTEMATIC PLAN TO DO.
SO IN TERMS OF THE PARK AS A WHOLE, THAT SAID, IF, IF WE'RE GOING WITH WHAT IS MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION ON WHAT IS A HIGHER IMPACT OPPORTUNITY FOR US? SURE.
THE POLO FIELDS I DO THINK HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY IN THE NEAR TERM TO RESTORE ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION IN A WAY THAT PROTECTS ASSETS WITHIN THE PARK THAT ARE MORE VULNERABLE.
UM, AND SO I, I THINK THAT YOUR TAC IS CORRECT IN, IN TERMS OF TRYING TO PICK A PIECE OF THE PROBLEM AND TRY TO, TO PUSH CITY TO REMEDY.
UM, IS THAT HELPFUL? IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE ASKING? YES, THANK YOU.
UM, I DO, I DO WANT TO THANK BOTH COMMISSIONERS FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN, BUT I JUST, I, I, IT CONCERNS ME DOING THINGS PIECEMEAL BECAUSE THINGS DON'T SORT OF EXIST IN A VACUUM.
AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT THIS DOMINO EFFECT.
AND IT WOULD BE LOVELY TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE VISION FOR PARK, JUST EVEN JUST PARKING, UM, IN THIS PARK.
UM, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE FROM THE SIG, A REPORT THAT WAS DEVELOPED EITHER ALONGSIDE OR PRIOR TO THE, UM, NOW NON-EXISTENT ZILKER VISION PLAN, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER PARKING AREAS THAT ACTUALLY DRAIN DIRECTLY INTO BARTON CREEK, UM, THAT ARE ISSUES THAT ARE CURRENTLY ACTUALLY PAVED.
UM, BUT THAT ASIDE, UM, I GUESS MY QUESTION FOR THIS, UM, RESOLUTION IS JUST A, IS THIS MEANT TO BE, YOU KNOW, A TEMPORARY RESTORATION? SO THEN IT'S OPEN BY THE TIME THE OVERFLOW PARKING IN THE PILLOW FIELDS TYPICALLY OPENS BACK UP IN THE SPRING, OR ARE WE KEEPING THIS AREA CLOSED TO PARK VISITORS FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES TO RESTORE THE AREA? OR JUST FOREVER? MY INTENT WOULD BE THAT PEOPLE WOULD NOT PARK THERE JUST AS, WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO PARK ON THE GREAT LAWN.
SO JUST NEVER USING THAT SPACE IN THE FUTURE FOR OVERFLOW PARKING? CORRECT.
NO, I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU WOULDN'T SAY LAND A HELICOPTER THERE IF THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY OR A FIRETRUCK OVER THERE, IF THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT HA HAVE IT AS AN INTENDED, UH, PARKING LOT.
IF THAT WERE THE CASE, THEN I WOULD ASK THAT IT BE PAVED.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD GO OVER VERY WELL.
SO IF IT'S NOT GONNA BE PAVED, IT SHOULD BE RE GRASPED.
IS THAT A WORD GRAT? IT IS NOW.
I THINK THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA JUMP IN HERE REAL K REAL QUICK AND WE'RE, AND THEN I'LL BE, THEN YOU GET TO TAKE POINT.
BUT I, I THINK TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON SOME OF WHAT KATIE AND, AND, AND COIN HAVE SAID, UM, I, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS IN THE PARK, UH, AND WE ALL WOULD BE IN A BETTER PLACE IF WE HAD A PLAN OR SOMETHING THAT, THAT COULD USE THOSE.
UM, I WAS JUST DRIVING STRATFORD TODAY AND LARGE PORTIONS OF, I SAW THE, THE, THE SIGN THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PAID PARKING WELL, THAT'S ALL NOW BEING STAGED MATERIAL STA STAGING FOR A C L, RIGHT? SO I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BRINGING THE TRAILERS IN NOW.
UM, I HAD A POINT WHEN WE HAD THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE MASTER PLAN, UM, ABOUT WHAT ABOUT PARKING UNDER MOPAC, BOTH BY THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL, BUT THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, BY THE NATURE CENTER OR BY, BY THE DISC GOLF COURSE, THAT'S UNDERUTILIZED TO SAY THE LEAST.
UM, AND, AND IN OUR MOTION, UH, WE HAD LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT, THAT THE, THE, THE, I GUESS THE, THE MASTER PLAN, UM, EXECUTOR WOULD NEED TO GO AND TALK TO
YOU KNOW? UM, SO I, I THINK THAT'S AN AREA THAT, THAT, I MEAN, FORTUNATELY, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S ALSO STAGING FOR A C L THERE TONIGHT, TODAY TOO.
SO THE, THE CONCERN I HAVE, AND I'M, UH, I, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD DISCUSSION FOR US TO HAVE.
ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT I'D LIKE TO VET OUT HERE
[02:15:01]
IS ALL OF THE MOVING PARTS THAT USE THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS.AND I, AND YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE BUTLER LANDFILL NOW HAS ABOUT PROBABLY HALF AS MUCH PARKING AS IT WILL FOR THE NEXT MONTH, AND THEN IT WON'T HAVE ANY PARKING FOR I FOR, I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG, YOU KNOW, UH, IF NOTHING SHORT OF HAVING A, A PARKING PLAN OF WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT NEEDS, YOU KNOW, FROM THE KITE FESTIVAL TO THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, TO THE TRAIL OF LIGHTS, TO THE CHRISTMAS TREE, TO THE HILLSIDE THEATER, WHEN DO THEY EVER, ARE THEY AUTHORIZED OR NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE A BUTLER LANDFILL? ARE THERE CONFLICTS, YOU KNOW, THE PULL THE FIELDS? THERE'S JUST A LOT OF ELEMENTS THAT I, I FEEL LIKE IN A VACUUM WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO CAPTURE.
UM, I THINK, UH, I FORGET IF IT WAS IN A PRIVATE CONVERSATION OR IT WAS, WHILE WE WERE HAVING THE DISCUSSION EARLIER ABOUT THIS, UM, I ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT, WELL, COULD WE HEAR FROM THE PARKS AND RECREATION PARKING CZAR, IS THERE SOMEBODY WITHIN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT WHO IS IN CHARGE OF PARKING MOTOR VEHICLES AT LOCAL PARKS, DISTRICT PARKS, ZILKER PARK? I DON'T KNOW.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE SOMEBODY IN THERE IN THE, WHO DOES TRANSPORTATION, WHO IS IN CHARGE OF HOW DO THE CITIZENRY ACT, YOU KNOW, VISIT PARKS AND ARRIVE BY BUS OR ARRIVE BY PER PERSONAL VEHICLE OR WHATEVER.
AND YOU DIDN'T GET, YOU DIDN'T GET AN ANSWER OR YOU, AND WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN ANSWER.
AND TO BE QUITE TOTALLY HONEST, AND IT SAYS IN THIS RESOLUTION THAT WE HAVE ASKED FOR INPUT AND NOT RECEIVED ANY, I WOULD LIKE TO STATE ALSO THAT I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP ON TRACK WITH HAVING THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS.
I AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT'S BEEN SAID.
UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF COMMUNITY CONCERN, THE PLAN FOR ZILKER PARK WAS PAUSED.
I THINK THAT WAS A GOOD THING.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF IN THAT PLAN THAT I DIDN'T PERSONALLY LIKE, BUT A PAUSE NECESSITATES NO ACTION.
AND, UH, I TOO HAVE BEEN DISMAYED FOR SEVERAL SUMMERS AT THE STATE OF THE POLO FIELD.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'VE HEARD TALK ABOUT PROTECTING THE SALAMANDERS AND PROTECTING THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AND RUNOFF INTO THE SPRINGS AND THE CREEK, AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M EQUIPPED WITH FACTS AROUND THAT.
I FEEL LIKE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ASSERTION MADE ABOUT IT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT I'M EQUIPPED WITH FACTS TO MAKE THOSE KINDS OF DECISIONS.
UM, WITH REGARDS TO THE LANDFILL VERSUS THE POLO FIELD VERSUS UNDER MOPAC, UH, TO THE, TO THE WEST OF ZILKER PARK.
UM, HAS THE PARKS BOARD RECEIVED AN UPDATE ON THIS? I MEAN, YOU KNOW YEAH.
PARS NOT RESPONDING TO US, BUT DO THEY RESPOND TO THEIR OWN, THEIR OWN BOARD? I'M UNCOMFORTABLE ON ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT, IT, IT BRINGS IN PARKS PLANNING THAT I DON'T KNOW ALL THAT MUCH ABOUT.
I'M NOT ON THE PARKS BOARD, AND THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT.
I CERTAINLY HEAR YOUR CONCERNS, KATIE COHEN, ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S YOUR PREROGATIVE AS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONERS TO PRIORITIZE ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS.
AND SO THIS IS ULTIMATELY A RECOMMENDATION.
IT'S NOT A MANDATE IN TERMS OF WHAT HAPPENS.
AND SO HOW THOSE GOALS ARE BALANCED WITH BROADER PARK PLANNING DISCUSSIONS IS, IS SOMETHING THAT STAFF IS GONNA HAVE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FIGURING OUT.
UM, BUT I THINK, AGAIN, AS Y'ALL KNOW, UH, THE PLANNING AROUND ZILKER PARK HAS BEEN PUT ON PAUSE BECAUSE OF HOW DIVISIVE THAT DISCUSSION BECAME, UM, AND POLITICAL.
YEAH, I, I MEAN, I AGREE WITH YOU, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, THAT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE.
I WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH A RESOLUTION THAT STICKS TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND ASKS A SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT ASSERTS THAT WE WANT THE COUNCIL AND CITY STAFF TO PAY ATTENTION TO CERTAIN PRIORITIES AS THEY PLAN AROUND THIS
UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS ISSUE UP.
UM, I'M LOOKING AT LANGUAGE ON K X A N FROM THE PARKS AND REC MEETING, AND IT SAYS AUSTIN CITY COUN.
AND THE RECOMMENDATION WAS AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT TO ELIMINATE PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD PERMANENTLY, STARTING ON SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2023, EXCEPT FOR USE AS AN OVERFLOW PARKING AREA DURING ADVANCED SCHEDULED SPECIAL EVENTS INCLUDING ZILKER HILLSIDE THEATER, BLUES ON THE GREEN ZILKER TREE LIGHTING, TRAIL OF LIGHTS, ZILKER KITE FESTIVAL, ZILKER BOTANICAL GARDEN SPRING EVENT, AND AUSTIN Y M B L, SUNSHINE CAMPS EVENTS.
UM, AND THEN I'M LOOKING AT THIS RESOLUTION
[02:20:01]
LANGUAGE AND IT SAYS, UH, THE PARK PARKS BOARD HAS ALREADY ASKED THAT PARKING BE DISALLOWED ON THE ZILKER POLO FIELDS.SO I'M CURIOUS, BECAUSE THIS WAS THE DRAFT LANGUAGE, YOU ALL HAVE THE FINAL LANGUAGE, AND WAS IT AMENDED TO EXCLUDE ANY EXCEPTIONS OR DO YOU KNOW IF THE FINAL LANGUAGE WAS WRITTEN WHERE THERE'S NO PARKING EXCEPT FOR THESE 10 EVENTS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR?
I'M SORRY ABOUT, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
I'M JUST, BUT AGAIN, THE MAIN POINT IS RESITTING IT.
I'M VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF THIS AS AN IDEA AND THINK IT'S HUGELY IMPORTANT.
I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT, I ALWAYS THINK IT'S GOOD FOR US TO, TO AMPLIFY OUR VOICE BY JOINING FORCES PERHAPS WITH WHAT THE PARKS BOARD HAS RECOMMENDED, OR IF WE DON'T AGREE WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATION, THEN BEING STRATEGIC ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
WELL, I I'LL JUST TELL YOU THAT WHEN I WENT OUT THERE AFTER THE RAIN RECENTLY, AND I LOOKED AT THE POLO FIELDS, I COULD NOT IMAGINE WHAT WOULD'VE HA WHAT KIND OF DISASTER WOULD HAPPEN IF A TRUCK DROVE OVER IT DURING, WITH THAT MUD.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I MYSELF WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME DATA ABOUT HAS THERE BEEN ANY, ANY CHANGE IN THE TURBIDITY IN, UH, BARTON CREEK, UM, YOU KNOW, SINCE THERE'S BEEN MORE EXPOSED TOP SOIL IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
BUT NOT HAVING THAT, THOSE DATA I'M LEFT WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US.
WHAT I OBSERVED WHEN I WENT OVER THERE MYSELF, AND THE FACT THAT IT'S A PUBLIC PARK THAT OUGHT TO BE, IT SHOULDN'T HAVE THAT MUCH EXPOSED TOPSOIL.
IF I MAY, THE PARKS BOARD ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE SPECIFICALLY ON, UH, THEIR MEETING ON JULY 24TH, AND THEY PASSED RECOMMENDATION REGARDING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD.
AND THAT'S THE ONE I WAS REFERENCING, AND I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE FINAL LANGUAGE, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND THEIR RECOMMENDATION WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE LAX THAN WHAT COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S PROPOSED.
DO YOU, DO YOU DON'T MIND IF I MINE IS REALLY ABOUT RESITTING.
LET GRASS GROW THERE TO HOLD DOWN THE SOIL AND NOT HAVE IT BE A MUD MUD, YOU KNOW? SO, SO TWO THINGS.
SO THERE'S KIND OF TWO AVENUES FOR HOW THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THIS SPACE CAN BE IMPROVED.
WE CAN ENSURE THAT EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION ISSUES AREN'T, AREN'T, OR WE'RE REDUCING THE RISK OF THOSE ISSUES.
THE LONGER TERM THAT I'VE HEARD Y'ALL TALK ABOUT IS REALLY DECOMP COMPACTION.
THIS IS IMPERVIOUS COVER AT THIS POINT.
HOW DO WE DECOMP COMPACT IT AND NOT ALLOW PARKING AT ALL? OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IF WE'RE GONNA KEEP DOING SPECIAL EVENT PARKING THERE.
SO IF THE EROSION CONCERN IS AN ISSUE, I DON'T KNOW IF, SO LIKE OTTING IS THE BEST TECH AND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TALK WITH LEADERS OF OUR WATER QUALITY COMPLIANCE TEAM AND ACTUALLY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A FORMAL ASSESSMENT THAT COULD BE A PART OF WHAT YOU REQUEST.
UM, THAT, THAT OUR STAFF REALLY GO OUT AND ASSESS WHAT THE RISK IS IF THERE ARE CONCERNS IN MAJOR RAIN EVENTS, AND THEN WHAT ACTUAL TOOLS WOULD REMEDY THAT PROBLEM.
BECAUSE MY CONCERN WITH'S OTTING, IS I, WITH THAT NUMBER OF EVENTS, I I THINK IT WILL DIE.
IT WOULD JUST, WELL, THE DIE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, RIGHT? SO, WELL, THE WORDING IS, UM, AGAIN, PROVIDE MONEY IN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT BUDGET FOR F Y 2024 FOR REPLANTING NATURAL GRASSES, NATIVE GRASSES ON EXPOSED PARK LAND, INCLUDING THE POLO FIELDS FOR STORMWATER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOP TOPSOIL LOSS IN ZILKER PARK.
I, I MIGHT, I MIGHT OFFER THAT, UH, LEAVING IT MORE OPEN-ENDED IN TERMS OF OTTING AND, AND MAYBE SUGGESTING THAT THEY EXPLORE THAT OPTION, BUT ALSO WORK WITH US TO UNDERSTAND IF THERE'S OTHER CONTROLS THAT MIGHT MAKE SENSE IF, UH, EROSION IS A, IS IS A CONCERN, UM, THAT THERE ARE OTHER TOOLS THAT MIGHT BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN OTTING.
UH, AND I KNOW YOU'VE ALREADY SAID OTHER TOOLS, BUT I THINK BEING, UH, PRESCRIPTIVE ABOUT SOD SPECIFICALLY, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE LANGUAGE IS THAT YOU USED, BUT, UM, HOW ABOUT REPLANTING NATIVE GRASSES, WHERE APPROPRIATE,
[02:25:02]
UM, STORMWATER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOPSOIL LOSS? SO I'M OFFERING A, AN AMENDMENT TO SAY, UM, INSTEAD OF SAYING REPLANTING NATIVE GRASSES ON EXPOSED PARKLAND, INSTEAD SAYING REPLANTING NATIVE OR PLANTING NATIVE GRASSES WHERE APPROPRIATE, I'M SORRY, I'M WRITING ON SOMEBODY'S COPY OF THIS.AND THEN FOR, FOR STORM WATER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOPSOIL LOSS IN ZILKER PARK, ARE THERE ANY, SO AGAIN, THE, THE, THE THEREFORE CLAUSE IS, THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE TO ASK THE CITY COUNCIL ADD MONEY TO THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT BUDGET IN 2024 FOR PLANTING NATIVE GRASSES WHERE APPROPRIATE ON EXPOSED PARKLAND.
I'LL LEAVE THAT IN WHERE APPROPRIATE ON EXPOSED PARKLAND, UM, FOR STORMWATER DIVER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOP SOIL LOSS IN Z OR PARK AND TO PROTECT BARTON SPRINGS, BARTON CREEK AND LADY BIRD LAKE.
AND THEN IF WE WANNA LEAVE OUT THE, AND FURTHERMORE TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOPSOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY, INCLUDING BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD, SOMEBODY MIGHT MAKE A MOTION TO OR ASK FOR AN AMENDMENT TO REMOVE THAT.
BUT THE POINT IS THAT THIS IS ABOUT TRYING TO PREVENT EROSION UNEXPOSED TOP SOIL WITHIN ZILKER PARK.
SO, DOES ANYBODY OBJECT TO THE CHANGE I PROPOSED HERE? UM, IN THE FIRST PART ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE TO ASK THE CITY COUNCIL ADD MONEY TO THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT BUDGET IN 2024 FOR PLANTING NATIVE GRASSES WHERE APPROPRIATE ON EXPOSED PARK LAND FOR STORMWATER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOP SOIL LOSS IN ZILKER PARK, TO PREVENT BARTON TO PROTECT BARTON SPRINGS, BARTON CREEK AND LADY BIRD LAKE.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE TO ASK THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADD MONEY TO THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT BUDGET AND FY 2024 FOR PLANTING NATIVE GRASSES WHERE APPROPRIATE ON EXPOSED PARKLAND FOR STORMWATER DIVER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOPSOIL LOSS IN ZILKER PARK TO, AND TO PROTECT BARTON SPRINGS, BARTON CREEK AND LADY BIRD LAKE.
HAVING HEARD, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR, HOLD ON REAL QUICK.
HAVING HEARD NO OBJECTIONS WE'RE CHANGE, WE'RE AMENDING THE MOTION TO INCLUDE THAT LANGUAGE.
AND THEN THE NEXT SENTENCES IN, FURTHERMORE, TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOP SOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY, INCLUDING BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD.
LET, LET, LET'S, LET'S KEEP GOING AROUND THE HORN HERE A LITTLE BIT.
RESI, I SEE YOUR VIRTUAL HAND UP, UH, AND I RECOGNIZE IT, BUT LET'S, LET'S GO AROUND AND SEE IF PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS AND THEN COME BACK TO, TO THAT, TO THAT SECOND, UH, CLAUSE.
I DON'T, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND I, I DO AGREE WITH WHAT, YOU KNOW, KATIE IS, IS OFFERING, UM, AND THE AMENDMENT AS WELL.
I, YOU KNOW, OPTIMALLY WE WOULD HAVE A PLAN FOR PARKING, BUT WE DON'T, I THINK ENVIRONMENTALLY THIS SOUNDS, THIS SOUNDS GREAT.
I ALSO, HONESTLY, JUST LIKE THE PREMISE THAT WE'RE STILL TRYING TO PUSH FORWARD SOMEWHAT WITH A PLAN OF STILL REST, RESTORING THE PARK LAND AND THE UNDERTONE IS PLEASE WORK ON THE PARKING, UH, SOLUTION.
I, I DON'T THINK THAT IT NECESSARILY NEEDS TO BE, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS MOTION.
SO, UM, BUT HONESTLY, I'M NOT, I'M NOT COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO THE LANGUAGE EITHER, SO, OKAY.
UM, I'M IN FAVOR OF REMOVING THE PARKING.
UM, FROM, FROM THAT, UM, I JUST FEEL LIKE IF WE'RE GONNA TAKE AWAY ACCESS TO SOMETHING, IT'S FAIR THAT WE HAVE LIKE AN IMMEDIATE,
[02:30:02]
UM, LIKE, OKAY, WE WE'RE CUTTING YOU OFF, BUT THIS IS ALREADY AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO BE THERE ALREADY.BECAUSE I'M LIKE, WHEN YOU REMOVE THAT ACCESS, YOU'RE DISENFRANCHISING LIKE, COMMUNITIES FROM BEING ABLE TO ENJOY A PARK THAT'S MEANT FOR EVERYBODY.
I MEAN, THIS ISN'T JUST LIKE A PARK JUST FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN LIKE PARDON SPRINGS AREA.
AND I FEEL LIKE SOMETIMES IT, IT'S THOSE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
LIKE EVERY TIME WE HAVE LIKE A, LIKE A CITY SURVEY REGARDING LOCAL PARK, IT'S ONLY LIKE, OH, IT'S ABOUT 1500 PEOPLE.
I'M LIKE, OUT OF LIKE A 2 MILLION, UM, AUSTIN AREA SUR SURPLUS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE RESPONDING TO THIS.
SO IT'S, UM, I'M IN FAVOR OF A NEW MOTION THAT RE TAKES OUT THE PARKING PART OF IT, BUT I'M FINE WITH THE IDEAS FOR THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU, IT CHANGED THE TWO THAT OFFICER COY HAD ALSO HELPED YOU SUGGEST.
WELL, I, I WANNA MAKE ONE POINT TOO, AND THAT'S THAT I WAS RELUCTANT TO BRING THIS FORWARD BECAUSE I DON'T DRIVE TO ZILKER PARK.
I LIVE CLOSE ENOUGH TO RIDE MY BIKE AND WALK.
SO I DO, I, I WAS HESITANT TO EVEN BRING THIS FORWARD BECAUSE OF THAT.
BUT NEVERTHELESS, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE MUD, I THOUGHT, WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING.
AND WE, WE, I THOUGHT WE SENT A MESSAGE THAT WE WANTED TO HEAR FROM PARKS AND RECREATION ABOUT A PLAN SO PEOPLE COULD VISIT ZILKER PARK.
I AM TOTALLY DOWN WITH LETTING MORE PEOPLE VISIT.
IT'S THE JEWEL OF THE CITY, AND I DON'T WANT TO CUT IT OFF FROM PEOPLE, BUT IF, UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A PARKING GARAGE JUST SOUTH ON ZILKER ON, UM, MOPAC THAT PEOPLE COULD PARK IN AND MAYBE PAY ON WEEKENDS.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SEVERAL BUS STOPS ALL ALONG BARTON SPRINGS ROAD.
AND, UM, I KNOW NOT, THAT'S NOT GOOD FOR FAMILIES ALL THE TIME, BUT, UM, THERE ARE, THERE SHOULD BE ALTERNATIVES AND SOMEBODY SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT THIS.
AND TO BE TOTALLY HONEST, AGAIN, A RESOLUTION LIKE THIS HELPS TO FORCE SOMEBODY WITH POWER TO THINK ABOUT IT.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE GOAL HERE, IS TO GET SOMEBODY TO THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE BOTH PROTECT SOCA PARK AND MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO ALL MORE CITIZENS, I GUESS.
UM, GOD, I LIKE, ONE THING I KEEP THINKING ABOUT IS, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, LIKE THERE'S PERMANENT PARKING SIGNS OR LIKE THERE'S PAID FOR PARKING SIGNS AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, PAID PARKING.
I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO THIS WHOLE LIKE, PAID PARKING SYSTEM LIKE ALL OVER THE CITY, BUT THAT'S ALSO A WAY THAT IT DISENFRANCHISES PEOPLE.
SO I'M LIKE, SO IT'S BECOMING LIKE YOU'RE MAKING IT A PARK FOR WEALTHY PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE, HAVE THE ACCESS OF MONEY TO PAY FOR THE PARKING THAT YOU'RE GONNA IMPOSE FOR THE PARK.
AND SO I'M JUST, I JUST HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THAT
I MEAN, IF IT'S, IF THEY'RE CONVERTING ALL THE PARKING TO PAID PARKING, THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
NOT WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE CAN PARK ON MUD.
I REALLY WANT TO, I REALLY WANT TO HEAR FROM THE CITY ABOUT THE PLAN FOR HOW CITIZENS CAN VISIT NOT JUST THIS PARK, BUT ROY GUERRERO PARK AND, AND DECONS DISTRICT PARK AND ALL THE PARKS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A GROWING CITY AND WE'RE, WE NEED PEOPLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO OUR FACILITIES.
I WOULD LIKE TO SPLIT THE MIDDLE HERE, PERHAPS AS, FIRST I WANNA ASK A QUESTION.
HAS THE BUDGET ALREADY BEEN ADOPTED FOR 2024? YES.
SO I WANT TO, I WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE LEAVE THE NO PARKING WHERE IT IS.
WE'VE ALREADY PASSED THE BUDGET FOR 2020 TO GO TO THE COUNCIL AND ASK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR ANYTHING.
HOW ABOUT IF WE MAKE IT 2025? ARE YOU RECOMMENDING A, AN AMENDMENT? YES.
I'M PROPOSING THAT WE CHANGE THE DATE RATHER THAN CHANGE THE LAST SENTENCE, WHICH
[02:35:01]
READS AND TAKES STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON THE EXPOSED TOPSOIL IN THE PARK WHILE THE RESTORATION'S UNDERWAY, INCLUDING BANNING PARKING ON THE POLE FIELD.LEAVE THAT AS IT SITS, CHANGE THE DATE FROM F Y 2024 TO FY 2025.
THAT WILL GIVE PART AND THE PARKS BOARD, THE, THE BUDGET PROCESS STARTS.
I DON'T KNOW KATIE, WHEN NEXT WEEK,
IT WILL GIVE THEM TIME TO DO THEIR JOB, WHICH IS FIND OUT WHERE TO PARK THE CARS.
BUT IT PROTECTS THE INTEGRITY OF THE POLO FIELD BY RESTORING IT TO WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, WHICH IS A GRASS AREA FOR PEOPLE WHO ENJOY FOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
IT WILL ALLOW IT TO BE USED FOR THE UPCOMING EVENTS THROUGH THE FOLLOWING SPRING FOR WHATEVER IT'S USED FOR.
THESE, THESE EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS THAT ARE LISTED IN SEVERAL PLACES.
SO THERE'S NO UNDUE PRESSURE ON SOMEONE TO ADDRESS SOMETHING TODAY BECAUSE OH MY GOD, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT THE TRAIL OF LIGHTS IN TWO MONTHS OR HOWEVER MANY MONTHS IT IS.
SO PEOPLE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME IF THEY CHOOSE TO ACT IN A PROACTIVE MANNER TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM.
CAN I ASK A POINT OF CLARIFICATION? SO THE, THE DATE IN THE MOTION IS THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE TO ASK THE CITY COUNCIL TO ADD MONEY TO THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
BUT THE SECOND PART OF THAT, THEREFORE, OR THE NEXT PARAGRAPH, AND FURTHERMORE, TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOPSOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION'S UNDERWAY, INCLUDING BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELDS.
DOES THAT IMPLEMENT IMMEDIATELY, OR NO, THAT WOULD REMAIN FISCAL YEAR THAT WOULD REMAIN IN THERE, BUT THEY WOULDN'T IMPLEMENT UNTIL 2025.
SO BASICALLY WE'RE, WE'RE GIVING EVERYONE A, I DON'T KNOW, 12 MONTH PASS, EIGHT MONTH PASS, HOWEVER MUCH TIME THAT IS TO ADJUST THINGS TO BE THE WAY THEY NEED, UM, STAFF, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND.
SO WHAT IS THE CALENDAR? WHEN, WHEN IN THE YEAR IS FISCAL YEAR 2025 START AND END? UM, FISCAL YEARS BEGIN IN OCTOBER.
SO THIS NEXT, SO THE 20 23 20, WELL, 20
THIS NEXT ONE IS STARTING IN OCTOBER.
AND THEN, YEAH, SO FFY 25 WOULD START OCTOBER, BUT OF COURSE, BUDGET SEASON IS ALWAYS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN AUGUST AND PLANNING HAPPENS WAY BEFORE THAT.
SO, UM, NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO START ASKING FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR'S FISCAL, UM, IMPACTS FOR BUDGET.
SO DO WE HAVE A SECOND TO YEAH, I'LL SECOND.
AND, UM, SO THIS AMENDMENT WOULD SAY, THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE THAT, ASK THE CITY COUNCIL TO ADD MONEY, THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT BUDGET IN F Y 2025 FOR PLANTING NATIVE GRASSES WHERE APPROPRIATE ON EXPOSED PARK LAND FOR STORMWATER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOP SOIL LOSS, UH, TO PROTECT BARTON SPRINGS, BARTON CREEK, AND LEEBURG LAKE.
AND FURTHERMORE, TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOPSOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY IN F Y 2025, INCLUDING BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD.
SO, UM, IS IT MY TURN? WELL, WE GOTTA, WE, SO THIS IS AN AMENDMENT, SO YEAH, SO THAT'S HIS AMENDMENT.
AND I SECOND IT IF ANYBODY CAN WE GET AGREEMENT ON I I WOULD ASK THAT, THAT LAST PHRASE, INCLUDING BANNING ON THE POLO FIELD, LIKE SOMEHOW I, WHEN I HEAR THAT, I, I JUST HEAR BANNING ON THE POLO FIELD, I, IT DOESN'T READ, READ THAT LAST PART OF THE SENTENCE TO ME AGAIN.
FURTHERMORE, TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOPSOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY IN FY 2025.
INCLUDING, IF I SAY, IF I SAY PARKING ON EXPOSED TOPSOIL,
[02:40:01]
THAT OBVIOUSLY INCLUDES THE POLO FIELDS SO THAT WE COULD REMOVE THAT AND IT STILL INCLUDES THE POLO FIELD OR JUST INCLUDE BANNING PARK ON THE PARK BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD AT THIS TIME OR AT, AT AT, YOU KNOW, AT, DURING THIS TIME, OR, WELL, AGAIN, BEGINNING AT THIS TIME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.BEGINNING IN 20, FISCAL YEAR 2025.
WHAT I'M SAYING DURING RESTORATION SIMPLY IS FURTHERMORE TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOP SOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY IN FY 2025 PERIOD.
SO NO REFERENCE TO THE POLO FIELD.
I I, I'M GONNA JUST KEEP GOING FOR A SECOND.
UH, I, I IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.
I, I, THE, THE FIRST THING THAT I HEARD WHEN I, WHEN I READ THIS WAS BANNING PARKING ON THE P FIELD.
SO I THINK IF WE TAKE THAT OUT OH, THAT, YEAH, THAT'S IN THE SUBJECT
YEAH, NO, BUT I MEAN, IF WE TAKE THAT OUT, THEN THE CONTEXT AND, AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS, I THINK THE INTENT OF YOU BRINGING IT TO THE, TO THE COMMISSION, I THINK IS, UH, I DUNNO IF DILUTED IS THE RIGHT WORD, BUT, BUT IT, IT, IT, IT WON'T RING IS, IS TRUE.
UM, THE CONCERN THAT I WAS RAISING IN MY QUESTIONING EARLIER WAS RELATED TO THE TIMING OF THIS AND THE VARIOUS EVENTS THAT K X N OR KVU, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE IT WAS, UM, UH, REFERENCE.
SO I, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK WE SHOULD REMOVE THE WHOLE, UH, POLO FIELD REFERENCE.
UM, BUT I, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY WHEN THAT BAN WOULD BE WHEN WE'RE ASKING COUNSEL TO, TO BAN THAT.
IT'S OCTOBER, 2024 AND BEYOND
SO JUST TO GET SOME CLARIFICATION, THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE IT READ RIGHT NOW, IT, IT'S, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ONLY WANT PARKING BAND DURING THE RESTORATION PERIOD.
SO I THINK WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS, IS, UM, TAKE OUT THE BANNING, YOU WANNA RESTORE THE PARKING AREA, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO I THINK THEY NEED TO BE SEPARATED OUT, UM, IN, IN A STATEMENT, UM, AROUND THAT.
I'VE GOT A COUPLE DIFFERENT MOTIONS WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, BUT YEAH, LET'S HEAR YOURS.
SO DON'T WE NEED, DON'T WE NEED TO CLOSE, CLOSE THE BOOK ON THIS ONE? UM, ALRIGHT, SO AS IT'S WRITTEN NOW, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND READ THE, THE SECOND PART OF THAT, THE, AND FURTHERMORE TAKE STEPS AND THEN, AND FURTHERMORE, TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOP SOIL WITHIN THE PARK.
WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY IN F Y 2025
HAVING HEARD, NONE IT, IT'S CHANGED AS SUCH.
NOW THE PART OF THE ISSUE THOUGH IS THE SUBJECT.
THE SUBJECT LINE SAYS ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO PRESERVE TOP SOIL AND BAN PARKING ON THE POLO FIELDS IN ZILKER PARK.
SO, UM, I WOULD SAY THE SUBJECT WOULD BE, UH, ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO PRESERVE TOP SOIL IN ZILKER PARK OR, AND, AND I THINK RESTORATION SOMEHOW IN THERE.
RESTORATION PRESERVE AND VEGETATION OR PRESERVE TOP SOIL AND RESTORE GRASSES, GRASSLAND.
JUST SAY PRESERVE AND RESTORE THE TOP SOIL.
WELL, HOLD ON, HOLD ON REAL QUICK.
SO WE'RE GONNA, ANY, ANY OPPOSITION TO THE REVISED LANGUAGE, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND READ IT ONE MORE TIME.
UH, UH, THE SUBJECT WOULD CHANGE TO ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO PRESERVE THE TOP SOIL AND RESTORE GRASSES IN ZILKER PARK.
ANY OPPOSITION TO THAT REVISED LANGUAGE? I HAVE A CLARIFYING QUESTION.
SO THE WAY THAT COMES ACROSS, NOT WITHSTANDING THAT SOME OF IT IS WOODED, IT REALLY SAYS WE'RE GONNA RESAW THE ENTIRE PARK.
WHEN YOU SAY THE POLO FIELD, YOU'RE SAYING A SPECIFIC AREA.
I'M TALKING ABOUT THESE EXPO AREAS OF EXPOSED I UNDERSTAND, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT IT SAYS.
WHAT YOU SAY IS EXPOSED TOPSOIL.
SO WHEN YOU SAY THAT, THEN YOU'RE
[02:45:01]
KIND OF URGING THE COUNCIL TO ALLOCATE A FAR LARGER SUM OF MONEY TO RESOD SOME LARGE SUBSET OF 350 ACRES, WHEREAS THE ORIGINAL MOTION WAS TO RESOD, AND I'M USING THE RESOD AS A GENERIC TERM, 10 ACRES ABOUT MM-HMM.THE TERM, THE TERM USED HERE IS COMPACTED, RIGHT.
SO I WOULD ARGUE THAT USING THE TERM POLO FIELD DEFINES CLEARLY A SPECIFIC AREA.
IT BOUNDS IT FINANCIALLY BY SAYING WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS IN THIS 10 ACRES.
WHEREAS IF YOU LEAVE IT ALL EXPOSED SOIL WITHIN ZILKER PARK, YOU'VE OPENED UP AN ENORMOUS CAN OF WORMS THAT'S GOING TO TAKE STUDIES AND ALL SORTS OF STUFF.
PRETTY MUCH ANYONE CAN GO OUT THERE AND LOOK AT THE POLO FIELD AND SAY, YEAH, THIS SUCKS, BUT YOU KNOW, IF YOU SAY ZILKER PARK, IT'S A MESS.
AND SO I WOULD, I PREFER THAT WE LIMIT IT TO A SPECIFIC AREA CALLED THE POLO FIELD, BECAUSE THAT'S THE ISSUE THAT WE'RE KIND OF BROUGHT UP HERE.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY COUNTER ARGUMENT TO THE WAY IT'S BEEN REPHRASED.
REMOVING THE TERM POLO FIELD, I THINK THAT COULD BE DONE BY, JUST UNDER THAT SUBJECT, JUST SAYING POLO FIELD RESTORATION, YOU KNOW, COLON ALLOCATE FUNDS TO PRESERVE THE TOPSOIL AND RE PRESERVE AND RESTORE THE TOPSOIL.
UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE, WOULD THAT ADDRESS YOUR CONCERN? RIGHT.
AND ARE WE LEAVING THE PART WHERE IT SAYS, INCLUDING BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD SO THAT AS PROPOSED THAT WAS NOT GOING TO BE IN THERE? CORRECT.
UH, COMMISSIONER SO, WELL, I WAS THINKING THAT IF THE GOAL IS TO RESTORE, PRESERVE TOPSOIL AND RESTORE GRASSLAND, THEN WE COULD SAY PRESERVE TOP SOIL, RESTORE GRASSLAND ON EXPOSED AREAS SUCH AS THE POLO FIELDS AND NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE PARKING.
I, YOU KNOW, I, I, I'M HAD MY, MY COMMENTS, I'M LESS ENTHUSED ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THE ORIGINAL MOTION WAS TO REMOVE PARKING FROM THE POLO FIELD.
SO IF YOU'RE JUST RECITING IT AND THEN YOU'RE LETTING PEOPLE PARK ON IT AGAIN, THEN WHAT'S THE POINT? WELL, UH, SO YOU CAN REMOVE IT FROM THAT STATEMENT AND MAKE A SEPARATE STATEMENT THAT SAYS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE PARKING REMOVED FROM THE POLO FIELD.
WAIT, I MEAN, I DON'T MIND THERE BEING, IT CAN BE A SECOND SENTENCE.
ALRIGHT, LEMME LET, LET'S, SORRY.
UM, LET'S, LET'S TIGHTEN UP HERE ON THE, THE AMENDMENT THAT, THAT SULLIVAN'S TRYING TO, THE CHANGE THAT SULLIVAN'S TRYING TO IMPLEMENT IS THE SUBJECT LINE SAYS CURRENTLY ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO PRESERVE THE TOP SOIL AND BANNING PARKING ON THE POLO FIELDS AT ZORA PARK, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN AS PROPOSED.
WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE THAT REVISED LANGUAGE TO BE? THAT ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO PRESERVE TOPSOIL, RESTORE GRASSLAND, UM, WITHIN ZILKER PARK.
WITH THAT BEING THE REVISED LANGUAGE.
AND IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION TO THAT CHANGE? AND IF THERE IS, THEN WE CAN DO A VOTE.
BUT IS THERE, DOES ANYONE OPPOSE TO THAT REVISED CHANGE? OKAY, SO, SO LET ME POINT OUT THAT EVEN IF WE DON'T MENTION THE POLO FIELD IN THE SUBJECT LINE, OLD FAST,
CHANGE PRIMER IS OBJECTING TO THAT REVI REVISED LANGUAGE.
SO WE'RE GONNA VOTE AND DO AN UP DOWN VOTE ON WHETHER WE INCORPORATE THIS NEW LANGUAGE.
SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE NEW LANGUAGE, RAISE YOUR HAND END.
YOU GOTTA HOLD IT FARTHER FROM THE SHADOW IF YOU'RE HOLDING THAT UP.
SO I MEAN, WE STILL MENTION THE POLO FIELDS WITHIN THIS, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ALREADY DISCUSSED A MOTOR VEHICLE PARKING ISSUE IN ZUCKER PARK AND REQUESTED INPUT FROM PARKS AND REC ABOUT PARKING ALTERNATIVES TO THE POLO FIELD, BUT HAVE, HAVE RECEIVED NO INPUT TO DATE.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE TO ASK CITY COUNCIL TO ADD
[02:50:01]
MONEY TO, UH, REPLAN NATIVE GRASSES WHERE APPROPRIATE FOR STORM WATER DIVERSION AND OTHER STEPS TO PREVENT TOPSOIL LOSS IN ZILKER PARK IN F Y 2025.AND FURTHERMORE, TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT PARKING ON EXPOSED TOPSOIL WITHIN THE PARK WHILE THIS RESTORATION IS UNDERWAY IN 2025.
WE HAD ONE, UH, ONE OPPOSITION THAT ALL VOTES WERE FOR THAT, EXCEPT FOR ONE, WHICH IS PRIMER.
SO THAT LANGUAGE IS ADDED, UM, AS IT STANDS WITH THE REVISED BOTTOM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE LAST PARAGRAPH OR THE LAST SENTENCE, AND THEN THE SUBJECT LINE REVISED.
UM, ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS OR AMENDMENTS? I HAVE A COMMENT THERE.
AND AN AMENDMENT, BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO? YEAH.
UM, SORRY, I JUST HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO GO YET.
UM, SO FIRST I'M GONNA MAKE A COUPLE STATEMENTS, AND THEN I'M GONNA MAKE A COUPLE OF, UH, UH, AMENDMENTS.
UM, AND, UH, AND HOPEFULLY THEY'LL BRIDGE SOME OF THIS GAP.
SO, UM, I THINK THE CITY, UH, HAD AN OBLIGATION, AND I THINK THEY DID A GOOD JOB THIS SUMMER WITH OPENING UP AS MUCH OF THE PARK AS THEY COULD TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE HAD ACCESS TO THE POOL DURING THE HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD.
THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY DECIDED WAS NECESSARY, AND I COMMEND THEM FOR IT.
UH, WHAT HAPPENED AS A RESULT? AND WHAT HAPPENS EVERY SUMMER IS THE POLO FIELD GETS HIGHLY IMPACTED.
UM, REPLANTING IT RIGHT NOW WOULD BE A FOOL'S ERRAND, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE STILL IN THE DROUGHT AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SO, UM, UNTIL WE CAN, YOU KNOW, UH, GET TO A POINT WHERE YOU'RE REPLANTING AND IT ACTUALLY HAS A CHANCE OF LIVING, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE, UH, REALLY CAN DO MUCH, UM, IN THAT PART.
SO, UM, CHAIR, WE, WE ALREADY PUSHED THIS FORWARD TO 2025.
YEAH, NO, I'M JUST, I'M JUST SAYING WHERE I STAND ON THIS.
SO, UM, I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER PERRY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE RESTRICTING THINGS, RESTRICTING THINGS, AND RESTRICTING THINGS AROUND ZILKER PARK, UM, DISENFRANCHISES PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE THAT NEED THE PARK THE MOST, WHO LIVE IN THE APARTMENTS AND THE CONDOS AND ALL OF THESE HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS THAT WE PROMISED THEM THAT ZILKER PARK IS YOUR PARK.
BUT WE DON'T SEE THEM COME OUT TO MEETINGS.
WE DON'T SEE THEM COME OUT TO, YOU KNOW, UM, ANY OF THE VISION PLAN.
UM, THOSE CAME FROM A VERY SPECIFIC, UH, ZIP CODE AND VERY SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHIC.
THAT SAID, UM, I THINK THAT I ALSO AGREE, UH, VERY MUCH WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER FER AND, UH, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, EINHORN THAT PIECEMEALING THINGS TOGETHER MAKES ME FEEL VERY FRUSTRATED WHEN IT COMES TO OUR CROWN JEWEL PARK IN THE HEART OF OUR CITY.
EVERY GREAT PARK IN A LARGE CITY HAS A MASTER PLAN THAT SAYS, THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO IT.
AND IN ORDER TO DO THIS, WE ALSO NEED PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH THAT TO HELP RAISE MONEY AND HELP DO ALL OF THESE GREAT THINGS.
SO, I'M, I'M VERY FRUSTRATED THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT.
UM, AND, AND I, I HEAR OTHER COMMISSIONERS SAYING THE SAME THING.
SO SINCE WE CAN'T HAVE A VISION PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE PARK, WHAT I RECOMMEND, AND THIS IS MY FIRST RECOMMENDATION, IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY OF AUSTIN CREATE A MASTER PLAN FOR PARKING AT AND AROUND CIRCLE PARK.
SO THAT'S FIRST RECOMMENDATION.
I WOULD ONLY PRECLUDE TO PARKING.
WE CAN TAKE EVERYTHING ELSE OUT OF THE VISION PLAN.
THEY CAN, THEY CAN GET TO THAT WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE IT.
I THINK THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION TOO, WITH ALSO BEING ABLE TO GET THE STUDIES DONE AND THINGS THAT YOU, DAVID, WERE, UH, ALLUDING TO EARLIER.
SECOND RECOMMENDATION, UH, FURTHERMORE, DISBAND PARKING, UM, ON THE POLO FIELD AND CREATE ADEQUATE PARKING AVAILABLE TO VISITORS, UH, ONCE THAT SECTION IS CLOSED.
AND THAT, DOES THAT ANSWER YOURS? I'M SORRY.
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT AGAIN, PLEASE? YEP.
SO, FURTHERMORE, DISBAND PARKING ON THE POLO FIELDS AND CREATE ADEQUATE PARKING AVAILABLE TO VISITORS ONCE THAT SECTION IS CLOSED.
CAN I LET, LET'S TAKE 'EM ONE AT A TIME.
'CAUSE I, I THINK THERE'S SOME CONFLICTING ELEMENTS.
[02:55:01]
SECONDING THE FIRST OR SECOND ONE? BOTH.SO LET'S, LET'S GO FOR THE FIRST ONE, ELIZABETH, YOU, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, IS THIS THE FIRST ONE? IS THAT A SUBSTITUTE MOTION OR ARE YOU ADDING THAT TO COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S ORIGINAL MOTION? THAT'S AN ADDITION.
SO WE HAVE WHAT, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T CATCH WHAT YOU HEARD.
AND SO THE, SO WHAT I GOT IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN SHOULD DO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR PARKING AT ZILKER PARK.
SO THE WAY THAT IT READS IS, UH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY OF AUSTIN CREATE A MASTER PLAN FOR PARKING AT AND AROUND SOAKER PARK.
WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT USING, UM, WE'RE USING DIFFERENT TERMS THAN MASTER PLAN.
I MEAN, UM, PARKING PLAN, JUST SAY TRANSIT AND PARKING.
'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE TRANSIT IS JUST LIKE, MASS TRANSIT IS JUST IMPORTANT AS PARKING, TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
WELL, SO WILLIE, AND TRULY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS PARKING.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ALL THE OTHER BIGGER TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
SO WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT PARKING, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S IMPACTING THE POLO FIELD.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP OUR FOCUS ON, RIGHT.
HOW ABOUT THAT? THE CITY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY DO A PARKING PLAN FOR ZILKER PARK.
I WOULD KEEP IT, UM, FOR PARKING AT AND AROUND ZUKO PARK.
'CAUSE YOU GOTTA REMEMBER, THERE'S, THERE'S ALL THOSE OTHER BUFFER ZONES THAT TOUCH THE PARK, BUT ARE NOT QUITE PART OF THE PARK.
I ALSO WROTE AN AMENDMENT ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE, A SLIGHTLY SIMILAR, DIFFERENT, IN SOME WAYS, LANGUAGE.
AND I'M CURIOUS IF NOW IS THE TIME TO PROPOSE THAT, OR IF WE DO UP, DOWN ON WHAT SHE SAID.
WELL, WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT A MOTION, WE'VE GOT A SECOND SO WE CAN DISCUSS IT.
UM, I THINK LET'S, LET'S ROLL IT INTO THIS DISCUSSION IF YOU THINK IT'S COMPLIMENTARY AND BENEFICIAL.
SO I ALSO WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT COMMISSIONER BEDFORD SAID IN TERMS OF LIKE, EQUITABLE, UM, ACCESS TO THE PARK, UM, AND A LEGACY OF THAT NOT BEING THE CASE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO FOR US TO KIND OF ZOOM OUT AND LIKE, WE'RE NOT PLANNING THIS PARK, WE'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT.
WE DON'T NEED TO COME UP WITH EVERYTHING IN THIS RESOLUTION.
UM, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT.
SO I'M PROPOSING THAT WE ADD, UM, AN AMENDMENT RIGHT BEFORE THE THEREFORE THAT SAYS, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ACKNOWLEDGES THE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE VISION PLAN THAT INCLUDES PROVISIONS, AFFORDABLE PARKING, AND OTHERWISE FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE PARK FOR ALL AUSTIN AREA RESIDENTS.
AND THEREFORE, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY, LET'S, LET'S TAKE THAT UP AS A SEPARATE ONE.
I THINK IT COMPLIMENTS, BUT IT DOESN'T QUITE, THERE'S A LOT OF ELEMENTS IN THERE THAT I DON'T THINK TIE IN, BUT I MEAN, TIE IN DIRECTLY TO, TO THE PARKING PLAN.
WELL, AGAIN, THIS IS ABOUT TOPSOIL LOSS, AND THE POINT IS WE DON'T WANT TO THWART CITIZENS FROM VISITING ZILKER PARK WHILE WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT ISSUE.
BUT SO THE, SO THE ISSUE REALLY QUICK, UM, UH, THE, THE ISSUE IS TOPSOIL LOSS, THE CAUSE IS PEOPLE PARKING ON IT, RIGHT? SO THERE'S, THERE, IT'S A, IT'S DIRECT LARGELY YES.
MY CONCERN IS, IF YOU PUT IT IN THE, WHERE AS IS, THAT'S THE PART THE COUNCIL IGNORES.
SO IT HAS TO, IF WE, IF WE WANNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL, IT HAS TO BE IN THE THEREFORE SECTION.
I GUESS I'M WONDERING, I I WOULD SUGGEST TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO BLEND IT INTO THE RECOMMENDATION.
I GUESS I'M WONDERING IF PARKING IS REALLY SOMETHING UNDER OUR PURVIEW, WHAT I WOULD SAY, I WOULD SAY REWRITE IT AND MAKE IT A SEPARATE, UM, UH, RECOMMENDATION.
AND DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR IS A, IS A BIGGER VISION PLAN.
RIGHT? WELL, I'M SAYING THEY, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE NEED FOR THAT, BECAUSE I'M JUST SAYING LIKE, LET'S NARROW THE SCOPE AND WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, ACKNOWLEDGING WHAT WE'RE ALL SAYING, WHICH IS WE DON'T LIKE DOING PIECEMEAL.
IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THERE'RE A VISION PLAN AND THIS INTERSECTS, YOU KNOW, ISSUES OF EQUITABILITY AND ACCESS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IT'S, IT'S AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THAT AND SAYING, WE'RE NOT IGNORING THAT, BUT THAT'S ALSO NOT, WE'RE NOT PLANNING A WHOLE PARK RIGHT NOW, I GUESS IS MY THOUGHT.
I, I SHARE YOUR CONCERN ABOUT WHETHER THE PARKING AT THE PARK IS PART OF OUR PURVIEW.
BUT I DO THINK THAT ACCESSIBILITY
[03:00:01]
TO THIS PARK, IF WE, IF, IF OUR GOAL AND OUR, OUR PURVIEW IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THAT PARK, I AM ALSO MINDFUL OF WHAT COMMISSIONER BEDFORD SAID ABOUT ACCESS.I DON'T LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR ZILKER PARK.
SO FOR ME TO GET THERE, I COULD EITHER CHANGE BUSES THREE TIMES OR I CAN DRIVE THERE.
I, I, I, I THINK THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY OF THE PARK AND RESTORATION STORM WATER, WATER QUALITY RELATED TO THE SPRINGS, CREEK AND LAKE ARE ALL PARTS OF, OF, OF WHAT WE DO.
UM, UH, SO I, I, I THINK THERE IS GROUNDS FOR THIS DISCUSSION AND THE MOTION, UM, TO KIND OF TIGHTEN BACK TO YOUR AMENDMENT WAS TO ADD, WRITE A PARKING PLAN.
YOUR AMENDMENT IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTEXT.
WE NEED MORE OR LESS A, A PARKING SOLUTION THAT'S EQUITABLE.
IS THAT A A, A KIND OF SUMMARY WAY TO SAY THAT? I THINK WE KEEP THOSE AS TWO SEPARATE PHRASES AND, AND SEE HOW THEY GO.
I, I THINK THEY'RE INTERCHANGEABLE, AND I'M LIKELY TO CONSIDER THAT ANYONE WHO VOTES FOR ONE WOULD PROBABLY VOTE FOR THE OTHER.
BUT I, I THINK IF WE JUST TRY TO KNOCK 'EM OFF ONE AT A TIME, THAT WILL MAKE IT EASIER.
UM, AND I AGREE, UH, WITH COMMISSIONER EINHORN, IF THEY'RE IN THERE, THEREFORE, IN OUR CONCLUSIONS OF WHAT, WHAT ACTION WE WANT, I THINK THAT'S MORE, UM, UH, PACKS MORE PUNCH.
SO LET'S GO FORWARD WITH THE MOTION, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE AMENDMENT AS AS WRITTEN, UH, BY SECRETARY BRISTOL AND DID COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, DO YOU HAVE THAT? OR BRISTOL, WHO'S, WHO'S GOT THAT? YOU CAN READ IT OFF ONE MORE TIME.
SO WHICH ONE ARE WE TALKING? YEAH, JUST THE FIRST ONE.
WHAT WAS YOUR SECOND ONE? WHAT I GOT WAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY DO A PLAN FOR PARKING AT AND AROUND ZILKER PARK.
I THINK YOU HAVE TO CALL IT A MASTER PLAN.
OR A, UM, YOU HAVE TO CALL IT SOMETHING OTHER THAN JUST A PLAN.
BECAUSE WHAT IT'S, WHAT IT'S IMPLYING IS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT THIS BIGGER SCOPE, LONG-TERM SYSTEM CHANGE.
A PLAN CAN JUST MEAN, WELL, WE PUT UP SOME SIGNS OVER THERE AT, AT THE BUTLER, YOU KNOW, UH, AND SO WE FIX IT, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? SO, BUT IT HAS TO BE A BIGGER SCOPE, A LARGE, CALL IT A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, CALL IT A, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT.
BUT, UM, IT, IT HAS TO BE A BIGGER PLAN THAN JUST NEXT WEEK'S PLAN.
HOW ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY DO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR PARKING AT OR AROUND ZILKER PARK OR AT AND AROUND ER PARK? I MIGHT JUST WANT TO CHANNEL WHAT I THINK ELIZABETH IS ABOUT TO SAY.
KATIE COIN ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER.
WERE POSTED SPECIFICALLY AND WE'RE GETTING BEYOND THE POSTING LANGUAGE, JUST, AND I, AS, AS YOUR EX-OFFICIO, I, I THINK WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER KRUEGER IS SAYING ABOUT KIND OF THE LANE, BUT ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE DON'T WANNA BE THAT IRRELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER WHO DOESN'T GET IT.
LIKE, YES, WE ALL CARE ABOUT EQUITY.
HAVING THAT BE A PART OF A A WHEREAS, UH, MAKES SENSE, I THINK, AND I THINK STAYS IN THE LANE OF POSTING LANGUAGE.
BUT I THINK GETTING TO THIS, LIKE, I, YOU KNOW THAT I AGREE WITH YOU,
WE NEED A COMPREHENSIVE VISION FOR THE PARK, BUT WE'RE NOT REALLY POSTED FOR THAT SCALE OF DISCUSSION, IN MY OPINION.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE GONNA SAY? OKAY.
LET ME, LET ME, I'M GONNA JUST READ WHAT WE'RE POSTED FOR AND, AND WE WILL, WE WILL, WE'LL, WE WILL KEEP MOVING.
TRYING TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL REGARDING THE ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO PRESERVE THE TOPSOIL AND EXPOSE PARTS OF ZILKER PARK AND TO BAN PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD.
SO, AND THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE IN 2025.
LET, LET, LET, LET'S, LET'S, UM, LET'S KEEP GOING.
SO WE, WE, DID WE, DID WE SEE IT? DID WE SETTLE ON AN AN ADJECTIVE FOR THE, FOR THE PLAN? YEAH.
THE, UM, THE LAST THING THAT I REMEMBER, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SECRETARY PROPOSED.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY DO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR PARKING AT OR, AND AROUND ZILKER PARK.
I WOULD ADD THE, THE, THE IN ORDER WITH THE CONTEXT OF MAINTAINING THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY OF TOPSOIL IN THE PARK.
I WOULD PROPOSE YES, ADD A CLAUSE TO THAT EFFECT.
UM, HOW ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY DO
[03:05:01]
A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR PARKING AT AROUND ZILKER PARK THAT PROTECTS THE NATURAL ASSETS OF ZILKER PARK.ANY, ANY OBJECTIONS TO AMENDING AND ADDING THAT LANGUAGE TO THE MOTION? CAN WE HEAR IT AGAIN? SORRY.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY DO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR PARKING AT AND AROUND ZILKER PARK THAT PROTECTS THE NAT NATURAL ASSETS OF ZILKER PARK.
IT MAKES IT OKAY, THE SECOND PART.
UH, THE SECOND PART IS, UM, FURTHERMORE, UM, UH, DISBAND PARKING, UM, ON THE POLO FIELD AND CREATE AT AND CREATE ADEQUATE PARKING AVAILABLE TO VISITORS AT ANOTHER LOCATION.
IF YOU PUT A DATE ON IT, I'M FINE.
IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND PULL, PULL YOUR MIC DOWN.
SO, SO, UH, CORRECTION, IT'D PROBABLY BE BETTER IF I TURNED IT ON TOO.
UH, IF YOU PUT F Y 2025 ON IT, HERE'S THE POINT.
WELL, LET, LET, I'M THINKING, AND, AND, WELL, LET ME ELABORATE WHY I GO FOR IT.
IF YOU DON'T PUT A DEADLINE ON SOMETHING, NO ONE EVER DOES ANYTHING.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA GONNA DO ANYTHING ANYWAY, BUT YEAH, PROBABLY THEY WON'T.
BUT I KNOW A HUNDRED PERCENT THAT IF THEY DON'T PUT A DEADLINE, IF YOU DON'T PUT A DEADLINE ON IT, THEN YOU'RE NOT, IF YOU FEEL A HUNDRED PERCENT, THEN I WILL PUT A DEADLINE ON IT AND SAY BY F Y 2025.
AND THEN THEY WILL IGNORE THAT TOO, WHICH IS OKAY.
BUT AT LEAST WE'VE MADE A RECOMMENDATION, JUST LIKE THE LAST 27 THAT WERE MADE THAT CLOSE IT BY 2020 3RD OF APRIL MM-HMM.
BUT PEOPLE CAN'T SAY THAT WE DIDN'T TRY TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND INSIST THAT BY A CERTAIN TIME THAT THIS BE DONE.
AND DO YOU WANNA READ IT? I MEAN, SO THAT'S, THAT'S FINE.
DO YOU, SO WHAT I, WHAT I CAPTURED WAS, UM, BAN PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD AND ADD ADDITIONAL PARKING ELSEWHERE IN F Y 2025, SAY, ELSEWHERE WITHIN THE PARK, OR WITHIN OR NEAR THE PARK.
WITHIN OR NEAR IN 2025 F Y 2025.
ANY OBJECTION? I HOPE I CAN READ THIS LATER.
ANY OBJECTIONS TO THAT ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE IN THE MOTION? I MEAN, I, I'M IN FAVOR OF AWARE STATEMENT THAT ENCOMPASSES SOME OF THOSE SAME IDEAS WHILE SPECIFICALLY NAMING ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUITABILITY OR EQUITABLENESS.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK THE PARKING ISSUE JUST GOES BEYOND THE SCOPE OF THIS DOCUMENT AND SEEMS LIKE A REALLY BIG ASK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, WE CAN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR THIS AND THAT WE ARE NOT THE ONES TO PLAN IT.
WELL, LET'S, LET'S, LET'S, BEFORE WE ADD ANOTHER, ANOTHER WHEREAS, OR ANOTHER AMENDMENT.
LET'S, IS THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE LANGUAGE THAT SULLIVAN JUST READ? ALL RIGHT.
HAVING HEARD NONE, IT'S IN THERE.
SO, SO YOU'RE PROPOSING TO ADD A, WHEREAS CLAUSE TO PUT CONTEXT TO RIGHT.
THIS WITHIN THE, THE GREATER THING, THE GREATER RIGHT.
SO THE, THE LANGUAGE I'M PROPOSING IS WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ACKNOWLEDGES THE NEED FOR A COMPREHENSIVE VISION PLAN THAT INCLUDES PROVISIONS, AFFORDABLE PARKING, AND OTHERWISE FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE PARK FOR ALL AUSTIN AREA RESIDENTS, AND THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION DOES RESOLVE, ET CETERA.
SO I THINK THAT ENCOMPASSES OTHER FORMS OF TRANSIT AS WELL OF, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGES THE LEGACY OF, UM, RACISM AND INACCESSIBILITY TO THE PARK FOR, FOR DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
[03:10:01]
BUT THEN ALSO KEEPS US FOCUSED ON TOP SOIL IN THE POLO FIELDS.CAN WE, UM, INSTEAD OF ALL RESIDENTS SAY, UM, VISITORS, SURE.
FOR ALL AUSTIN AREA VISITORS, UH, OR VISITORS AND RESIDENTS, UH, RESIDENCE IMPLIES THAT YOU HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT TO VISIT THE PARK.
BUT DOESN'T VISITOR IMPLY THAT YOU'RE NOT A RESIDENT? THAT'S WHY I WOULD SAY JUST VISITORS.
'CAUSE YOU CAN BE A RESIDENT AND VISIT, OR YOU CAN BE A VISITOR AND VISIT PARK VISITORS, PARK VISITORS, VISITORS.
UM, FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE PARK, WAIT.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ACKNOWLEDGES THE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE VISION PLAN THAT INCLUDES PROVISIONS, AFFORDABLE PARKING, AND OTHERWISE FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE PARK FOR ALL PARK VISITORS, VISITORS.
ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE? ONLY A SNARKY OBJECTION THAT, UH, I PRIORITIZE AUSTIN RESIDENCE RESPECTFULLY.
THE CITY OF ROLLING WOODS' TAX RATE IS HALF OF WHAT THE CITY OF BOSTON'S IS, AND THEY ARE FREE RIDERS ON ZILKER PARK.
UH, OTHER THAN THAT VERY COLORFUL, UH, COMMENT.
UM, ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE LANGUAGE AS WRITTEN? ALRIGHT.
UM, ABOUT SEVEN HOURS AGO, QURESHI, YOU HAD A VIRTUAL HAND UP.
UM, IS THAT HAND BEEN BIFURCATED FROM YOUR BODY OR DOES IT STILL EXIST? DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, IT'S, UH, FLOATING AROUND IN SOME TOP SOIL AND AQUIFER.
UM, YEAH, NO, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL, YOU KNOW, HIT UP ON IT WITH, UH, ASKING TO CREATE, UH, YOU KNOW, A PARKING PLAN.
UH, I WOULD'VE LIKED TO SEE TRANSIT IN THERE JUST BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUITY, IT HAS TO BE A PART OF THAT DISCUSSION.
BUT, UH, THAT'S JUST MY BICYCLE TOTING BEHIND SAYING THAT.
UM, YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN REASON THAT THE WHOLE VISION PLAN WAS SO POLITICIZED WAS BECAUSE OF A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION, RIGHT? PARKING GARAGES, YOU KNOW, THE HILLSIDE THEATER BEING EXPANDED, WHICH MADE EVERYBODY BELIEVE THAT C THREE WAS GOING TO COME BACK AS A VAMPIRE AND, YOU KNOW, DRAIN YOUR FIRST BORN'S BLOOD OR WHATEVER.
UM, SO I THINK THAT WAS A PART OF THE REASON WHY THE WHOLE THING KIND OF WENT SIDEWAYS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE GOT LIKE A BILLION EMAILS FROM PEOPLE THAT CLAIM THEY CARE ABOUT EQUITY, BUT IT ONLY REALLY COME OUT WHENEVER SILICON PARK IS MENTIONED.
BUT THAT'S ANOTHER DISCUSSION.
UM, YEAH, SO I THINK BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, HAVING SOME KIND OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENT FROM EXPERTS THAT LOOKS AT, YOU KNOW, PARKING, TRANSIT, ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY, ALL THAT STUFF IS SUPER IMPORTANT AND SORT OF GETS AT THE ROOT ISSUE AS SOMEBODY ELSE MENTIONED.
I WHO, 'CAUSE THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH DISCUSSION ABOUT WHY PEOPLE ARE PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD.
AND, UH, YEAH, I WILL ADD THAT I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF HATRED FOR THE PARKING GARAGES IDEA, BUT I THINK THE LEAST AMOUNT OF HATRED WAS FOR THE ONE THAT WAS UNDER MOPAC.
SO I THINK FROM A REALISTIC PERSPECTIVE, THAT'LL PROBABLY BE WHAT HAPPENS.
UM, BUT YEAH, THAT WAS JUST MY 2 CENTS.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? WE HAVE A VERY GOOD MOTION, UH, IN FRONT OF US COMPREHENSIVELY WORKED THROUGH.
DOES ANYONE FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO READ IT AGAIN? I FEEL LIKE I KNOW IT VERY WELL,
SO CAN I ASK ELIZABETH, YOU'VE BEEN CAPTURING ALL THIS.
I'VE BEEN CAPTURING THREE FOURTHS OF IT, AND THEN I WILL RE-WATCH IT TOMORROW OKAY.
TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ACCURATE.
WELL, I'LL, I'LL TYPE UP WHAT I HAVE ALSO, AND I'LL SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE GREAT BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET ALL OF THE EXACT WORDING FROM COMMISSIONER KRUEGER ON THE LAST PART.
I SAID, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ACKNOWLEDGES THE NEED FOR VISION PLAN FOR E E TO CREATE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE PARK FOR ALL VISITORS.
WHEREAS DO YOU WANNA JUST, UH, NO, NO, NO, NO.
SHE, SHE CAN, I'M JUST SAYING, DO YOU WANNA TAKE HER COMPUTER OVER TO UH, NO, NO, NO.
SHE CAN WATCH, SHE CAN WATCH THE VIDEO AND GET WHAT SHE SAID.
AND SO COULD I
WE ALL, UH, WE HAVE A MOTION FOR US.
[03:15:01]
WE ALL KNOW IT WELL.UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION AS WRITTEN, RAISE YOUR HAND.
I HOPE I KNOW WHAT I'M VOTING ON.
THIS IS, THIS IS THE WHOLE KIT AND CABOODLE.
WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT ALL BUT ONE ON THAT, ELIZABETH.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYBODY LEFT.
DO WE KNOW HOW, UH, RESH YOU VOTED RESH YOU WERE FOR CORRECT.
UH, NEXT UP WORKING GROUP COMMITTEE
[WORKING GROUP/COMMITTEE UPDATES]
UPDATES ANY UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS AND OR COMMITTEES FOR THE NATIVE LANDSCAPING WORKING GROUP? WE RECEIVED A RESPONSE ABOUT FUNCTIONAL GREEN BEING THE CODE NEXT AMENDMENT THAT WILL BE COMING TO US, UM, MAYBE MORE TOWARDS MARCH.UM, THAT WAS THE RESPONSE I'VE GOTTEN SO FAR.
BUT I DO THINK THAT I MIGHT GO AHEAD AND ASK FOR ANY, UM, STILL IF, IF ANYONE CAN MEET WITH US.
SO THAT'S THE UPDATE SO FAR FOR THE URBAN FORESTRY, UH, COMMITTEE.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN POSTPONED FROM, I GUESS, NEXT WEEK UNTIL WHATEVER DAY THAT, UH, HAS BEEN MUTUALLY AGREED TO.
AND I SUPPOSE THAT, UH, ELIZABETH IS GONNA SEND OUT AN EMAIL TO WHATEVER THAT IS AT SOME POINT.
I ALREADY DID THAT DURING THIS MEETING.
SO IT'LL BE IN YOUR, WELL, WHEN I LOG IN AGAIN, I GUESS I'LL FIND OUT WHAT THAT NEW DAY IS, BUT, UH, RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 12TH.
AT 10:00 AM APPARENTLY IT WAS A CONFLICT OF, UH, WITH CITY STAFF AS THEY HAD BEEN DOUBLE PARKED DOUBLE SOMETHING.
THE PARKING REFERENCE WAS NOT LOST ON ME.
ANY OTHER, I THOUGHT I'D INSERT A LITTLE HUMOR IN THERE, BUT APPARENTLY THAT WAS LOST ON EVERYONE.
BUT I THINK THERE WAS ALSO, FOR THE JOINT PART AND EC COMMITTEE, THERE WERE LIKE SOME TEXTS ABOUT FLOW.
THE, UH, THE MIGHTY TREE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE NEAR ITS END, BUT, UH, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY REAL CLOSURE ON IT.
IT MAY BE WORTH BRINGING IN TO THE JOINT PART AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION GROUP, THE EXTREMELY LONG AND DETAILED DISCUSSION WE HAD TONIGHT.
UM, WITH THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND THE PARKS AND RECREATIONAL, UH, RECREATION BOARD, UM, EXCUSE ME.
UH, JODY DID REACH OUT TO US, LIKE VIA TELEPHONE TO KIND OF UPDATE US ABOUT, UM, FLOW THE, THE POND TREE AT, UM, UH, BARN SPRINGS.
BUT, UM, SINCE THE UPDATE, I SAW THAT THEY WERE TAKING PAUSE, UM, AT LEAST LIKE ON LIKE IN THE NEWS THAT THEY'RE TAKING A PAUSE AND LOOKING MORE AT IT BEFORE CUTTING IT DOWN, SO.
ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? CHAIR? YES, COMMISSIONER.
I WANT TO ALERT MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS TO THE FACT THAT THERE WILL BE A LITTLE CELEBRATION AT 11:00 AM ON SUNDAY.
I BELIEVE THAT'S SEPTEMBER 24TH, UM, COMING UP, UH, TO CELEBRATE PROJECT CONNECT AND, UH, CONGRESSMAN DOGGETT WILL BE THERE.
A NUMBER OF OTHER DIGNITARIES WILL BE THERE.
UH, WE'RE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE A LOT OF CITIZENS TO SHOW UP TO.
SO SHOW SUPPORT FOR THE LIGHT RAIL PLAN, UM, BECAUSE WE WANNA GET FEDERAL MONEY, AND THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
THIS IS ABOUT CONVINCING, UH, CONGRESSMAN DOGGETT TO CARRY FORTH AND SAY, WE'VE GOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN AUSTIN THAT ARE, ARE HAPPY ABOUT THIS, AND HE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW VIDEO AND WHATNOT.
IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE BILL, UH, UM, WHAT'S HIS LAST NAME? UM, YOU, YEAH.
UH, HE, UM, HE PROMISED PEOPLE THAT IT WOULD BE OVER BY 12 NOON SO PEOPLE CAN GO HOME AND WATCH FOOTBALL.
AND IF A QUORUM OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS GONNA BE THERE, YOU NEED TO TELL ELIZABETH SO SHE CAN POST IT, BUT IT'S, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THERE WOULD BE, BUT NEVERTHELESS, PASS THE WORD.
SO IF YOU PLAN ON GOING, PLEASE EMAIL ELIZABETH BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
AND I'LL, AND I'LL MENTION ONE OTHER THING ALONG THOSE LINES.
THE REASON WHY I WAS LATE FOR THIS MEETING WAS BECAUSE I DO SERVE ON A, ONE OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES FOR PROJECT CONNECT, AND WE HAD A MEETING WITH THE
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ARCHITECTS WHO WERE DESIGNING THE, UM, STATIONS, AND THEY'RE GOING TO GREAT LENGTHS TO DO IT IN A GREEN WAY.AND SO THERE WAS A LONG DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, LOW CARBON CONCRETE, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT AT SOME POINT LATER IN THE FUTURE ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT.
AND THEN THE, YEAH, THE NOTE COMMISSIONER SCOTT WOULD BE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.