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I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
[CALL TO ORDER]
IT'S 9 31 ON SEPTEMBER 26TH.WE'RE IN CHAMBERS AND WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN OUR MEETING.
WE HAVE A FULL DAIS OF THE COMMITTEE WITH VICE CHAIR POOLE, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTAR, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, AND COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.
[Public Communication: General ]
THREE SPEAKERS THAT SIGNED UP IN ADVANCE OF THE 9:00 AM AND THEN WE HAVE THREE SPEAKERS THAT CAME, UM, AT 9 0 5, WHICH IS TECHNICALLY AFTER THE TIME BECAUSE WE DON'T OFTEN HAVE A LOT OF SPEAKERS AND AUDIT AND FINANCE.UM, I'M GONNA LET THOSE THREE SPEAKERS, UM, SPEAK AS WELL.
UM, BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, TECHNICALLY YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SIGNED UP BY NINE.
WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND LET YOU SPEAK TODAY.
WE ARE GONNA START WITH OUR VIRTUAL SPEAKERS.
MR. ROBINS, YOU'RE ON THE LIST, BUT WE'RE GONNA DO VIRTUAL SPEAKERS, UM, BEFORE, UM, WE DO IN PERSON.
UM, SO IF YOU'RE READY FOR THE, UM, VIRTUAL SPEAKERS, WE HAVE, UM, BEVERLY LUNA.
BEVERLY, CAN YOU UNMUTE ON YOUR END AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, WE CAN GO AHEAD.
I'M WITH AUSTIN, LOST AND FOUND PETS.
I FIND BOTH THE AUDIT AND THE EVALUATION DISTURBING BECAUSE NEITHER ONE ADDRESSES TWO PRIMARY ISSUES.
NUMBER ONE IS THAT HISTORICALLY THE SHELTER HAS BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE WITH AND STILL MAINTAINING NO KILL A VOLUME THAT IS 40 TO 50% HIGHER.
UM, SO EACH YEAR, DON BLAND HAS BEEN IN CHARGE OF THIS SHELTER.
INTAKE HAS BEEN DOWN 40 TO 50%, PUSHING THE BURDEN ON PEOPLE IN THE PUBLIC LIKE ME AND MEMBERS OF MY GROUP, TO FIND PLACES FOR THESE ANIMALS THAT HAVE NO PLACE TO GO BECAUSE THE SHELTER TURNS THEM AWAY.
FOR EXAMPLE, A WOMAN FROM SACRAMENTO WAS IN TOWN THIS WEEKEND.
SHE PICKED UP A DOG AT BULL CREEK, LOOKED ALL OVER FOR THE OWNER, HAD GONE KNOCKING ON DOORS, NOTHING GOES TO THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER AND IS APPARENTLY TOLD TO GO TAKE THE DOG BACK TO BULL CREEK.
SO SHE TELLS ME THAT SHE IS GOING TO CANCEL HER AIRPLANE RESERVATION AND DRIVE THE DOG ALL THE WAY TO SACRAMENTO, CA, CALIFORNIA, WHO WANTS TO VISIT A CITY WITH STREET DOGS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
WE ARE FINDING DOGS STARVING TO DEATH.
WE ARE FINDING LOOSE DOGS RUNNING IN PACKS.
HE'S LEAVING 4,400 ADDITIONAL DOGS ON THE STREETS EACH YEAR AND AN ADDITIONAL 3000 CATS ON THE STREETS EACH YEAR.
AND NEITHER REPORT ADDRESSES THIS.
AND THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR WONDERS WHY HE HAS, WHY THERE'S SUCH A NEGATIVE VIEW FROM THE PUBLIC.
IT'S BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING DUMPED WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE ANIMALS THAT THIS MAN IS NOT TAKING IN.
AND NEITHER REPORT ADDRESSES THIS.
NEITHER REPORT ADDRESSES, YOU KNOW, THE EVALUATOR SAYS, OH, HE DID THE RIGHT THING BY SHUTTING DOWN INTAKE.
WHAT ABOUT THE THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS LEFT ON THE STREETS TO SUFFER AND DIE? AND THE BURDEN PUSHED ON THE PUBLIC WHILE THE BUDGET OF THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER CONTINUES TO INCREASE? YES, IT WAS BUILT THROUGH SMALL, BUT OTHER SHELTER DIRECTORS MANAGED TO HANDLE IT.
MISTY, ENT AND, AND GEORGETOWN HAS A $3.4 MILLION BUDGET.
SHE HAS MANAGED TO NEVER CLOSE INTAKE.
SHE TOOK IN 99 DOGS JUST IN A SINGLE DAY THIS WEEK.
AND SHE MANAGED TO HANDLE IT AND GET THEM ADOPTED.
HE'S NOT DOING
HE'S NOT DOING ANY TRAINING FOR THE BEHAVIOR DOGS.
HE'S NOT DOING ANY FORMAL TRAINING.
I THINK THAT BOTH THESE REPORTS ARE JUST REALLY INSULTING TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
NO ONE EVER CALLED THE MEMBERS OF THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION WHO VOTED THAT THERE, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE.
NO ONE EVER CALLED AND TALKED TO THEM.
SO WHO IS HE LISTENING TO? HE'S LISTENING TO, I ASSUME STEPHANIE HAYDEN HOWARD.
I ASSUME HE'S LISTENING TO DON BLAND.
HE'S LISTENING TO SOME VOLUNTEERS, SOME STAFF MEMBERS.
HE'S NOT LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE BURDEN THAT HAS BEEN PLACED UPON THEM BY THIS MAN DOING 60% OF HIS JOB YET DRAWING A FULL SALARY FOR IT.
I THINK THE WHOLE, BOTH OF THE REPORTS ARE REALLY OUTRAGEOUS.
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LEAST THE AUDITOR TOLD ME THEY WERE LIMITING THE REPORTS.I BELIEVE THE BUZZER WENT OFF.
HALF THE ANIMALS ARE TREATED ONCE.
A MS. LUDA, IF YOU COULD PLEASE WRAP UP.
UM, OUR NEXT VIRTUAL SPEAKER IS EILEEN MCFALL.
EILEEN, CAN YOU PLEASE UNMUTE ON YOUR END? GOOD MORNING.
MY NAME IS EILEEN MCFALL AND MY EXPERIENCE WITH AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER GOES BACK TO 2016.
I'VE BEEN A VOLUNTEER AND THEN THE FOUNDER OF A RESCUE THAT SAVES DOGS IN DANGER OF BEING KILLED BY A A C.
I ALSO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH BOTH CONVENTIONAL AND NO KILL SHELTERING DATING BACK TO 2009.
AND I WAS THE, THE INITIAL DEVELOPER OF THE SHELTER MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE PROGRAM AT UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC.
SO THAT'S THE BACKGROUND FOR MY COMMENTS ON THE AUDIT OF ANIMAL SERVICES.
THE CONSULTANT'S OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE DISARRAY AND NEGLECT OF AACS FACILITIES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ALL MATCH MY EXPERIENCE.
AND I SHARE HIS CONCLUSION THAT THESE ARE THE FAULTS OF DON BLAND AND HIS MANAGEMENT TEAM.
HOWEVER, I THINK THE REPORT COMES TO AN ILLOGICAL CONCLUSION IN ITS CLAIM THAT NO KILL SHELTERING IS TO BLAME.
JUST AS DON BLAND AND HIS TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM HAVE CREATED A MESS OF THE SHELTER FACILITIES AND POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
SO TOO HAVE THEY UNDERMINED NO KILL SHELTERING, BUT JUST AS WE NEED TO CORRECT THE PHYSICAL STATE OF THE SHELTER AND THE CHAOTIC STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT SO TOO, DO WE NEED TO CORRECT NO KILL, NOT ABANDON IT? THE AUDIT OF ANIMAL SERVICES CONTAINS A FATAL FLAW.
THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT IGNORED CITY COUNCIL'S RESOLUTION AND DIRECTION TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT LEADING TO A SUCCESSFUL, SUSTAINABLE NO KILL SHELTER.
INSTEAD, THEY NARROWED THE SCOPE AND HIRED A CONVENTIONAL CONSULTANT WHO DOES NOT UNDERSTAND OR BELIEVE IN THE NOKI POLICY DIRECTION THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED AND REPEATEDLY REAFFIRMED BY CITY COUNCIL.
THE AUDIT REPORT IGNORES THE DECADE OF PROGRESS FROM 2010 TO 2019, GIVES THE FALSE IMPRESSION THAT INTAKE IS UP AND IGNORES THE THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS LEFT ON THE STREETS.
UNDER DON LAND'S MANAGEMENT TEAM, WHO HAVE BEEN REFUSING TO RUN A A C AS A NO-KILL SHELTER SINCE 2019.
THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT'S NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION FOLLOWS FORMER CITY MANAGER SPENCER CROS, DEFIANCE OF COUNCIL POLICY IN APPOINTING DON LANDIS CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER.
AND IT IS CONCURRENT WITH ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER HAYDEN HOWARD AND INTERIM CITY MANAGER.
JESUS GARZA'S DISREGARD FOR COUNCIL'S ROLE IN SETTING POLICY AS THEY CONTINUE TO EMPLOY, PROTECT, AND ALLOW DON LAND AND HIS TEAM TO DEFY COUNCIL'S NO KILL POLICY.
THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT AND ANIMAL SERVICES CANNOT BE THE ONLY TWO DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE DISREGARDING CITY COUNCIL POLICY AND DIRECTION.
AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
AND THE UNNECESSARY CONTROVERSY OVER NOKI IS ONE SKIRMISH IN A MUCH LARGER BATTLE.
I HOPE YOU WILL REASSERT YOUR AUTHORITY AND HOLD THE CITY MANAGER AND ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICE ACCOUNTABLE FOR IMPLEMENTING COUNCIL'S NO KILL POLICY GOAL.
I THINK THOSE ARE ALL OF OUR VIRTUAL SPEAKERS.
UM, MR. ROBBINS, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I MAY BE THE MOST WATCHFUL CONSUMER ADVOCATE IN AUSTIN ON NATURAL GAS UTILITIES IN LARGE PART BECAUSE THE CITY STAFF, UH, IN CHARGE OF REGULATING THEM IS NOT DOING IT WELL.
I AM ASKING YOU TO TAKE UP LONGSTANDING PROBLEMS WITH THE COMPANY AT AN AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO ADDRESS LONGSTANDING PROBLEMS. LET ME NAME SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SLIDE.
FIRST, BEGINNING OCTOBER 1ST, OUR NATURAL GAS UTILITY BILLS WILL RISE ABOUT 8%, ABOUT $51 A YEAR.
BECAUSE OF THE OUTRAGEOUS FUEL COSTS PAID DURING WINTER STORM URI, WE WILL BE PAYING THIS COST FOR AS LONG AS 16 YEARS AS PART OF AN ARRANGEMENT TO MORTGAGE THE PIRACY THAT TOOK PLACE IN THREE DAYS.
TEXAS GAS SERVICE WAS NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED WITH THE PIRACY.
HOWEVER, THE COMPANY DID NOT SECURE ENOUGH REASONABLY PRICED FUEL FOR THE FREEZE, NOR TO MY KNOWLEDGE HAVE THEY FILED LAWSUITS
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AGAINST PIPELINES AND TRADERS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE.SECOND OF SLIDE, TEXAS GAS SERVICE FRANCHISE, THEIR LICENSE TO OPERATE ENDS IN 2026 AND NEGOTIATION SHOULD HAVE ALREADY STARTED.
ISSUES SUCH AS HUGE RATE INCREASES, QUESTIONABLE ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, LACK OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND LACK OF ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR HAVE BEEN FESTERING FOR YEARS.
THIS FRANCHISE IS THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE FOR A GENERATION IN OBTAINING LONG OVERDUE REFORMS. THIRD SLIDE.
TEXAS GAS SERVICE IS OPERATING RATE PAYER FUNDED ENERGY CONSERVA CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE NO MORE THAN GLORIFIED MARKETING.
IN ONE CASE, THE GAS COMPANY WILL GIVE REBATES TO BUY GLASS GAS CLOSED DRYERS WITH A 248 YEAR PAYBACK.
I RECENTLY CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF GAS UTILITY PROGRAMS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
I FOUND THAT AUSTIN'S REBATES FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS WERE DOUBLE AND TRIPLE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE SLIDE.
AND FINALLY, IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT CONSERVATION FUNDING, WHICH IS WRITTEN IN THE CURRENT FRANCHISE AS A PURVIEW OF CITY COUNCIL, HAS NOW BEEN SHIFTED TO STATE OVERSIGHT.
I QUESTION WHY THE CITY STAFF DID NOT DEFEND THIS AT THE LEGISLATURE AND WHY TEXAS GAS SERVICE DID NOT DEFEND IT AT THE LEGISLATURE.
AFTER ALL, THE COMPANY SIGNED A BINDING AGREEMENT.
AUSTIN NEEDS TO ASK THE RAILROAD COMMISSION TO EXEMPT US FROM THIS COUNSEL, PLEASE POST THIS SO THAT THE CITY CAN BEGIN TO DIVIDE POLICY TO REIGN IN THESE ABUSES.
UM, COURTNEY ROSENTHAL, BE NEXT UP.
THANK YOU CHAIR FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK AND GOOD MORNING MEMBERS.
UH, MY NAME IS COURTNEY ROSENTHAL.
I AM SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF OPEN AUSTIN.
WE ARE A LOCAL NONPROFIT THAT ADDRESSES CIVIC AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES THROUGH CREATIVE USES OF TECHNOLOGY.
I'M THE PROJECT LEAD FOR OUR OPEN DATA INITIATIVE FOR OVER A DECADE OPEN AUSTIN HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE CITY ON A NUMBER OF ISSUES, INCLUDING THE CITY'S OPEN DATA EFFORT.
BACK IN 2011, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED AN OPEN DATA RESOLUTION THAT CALLED FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OPEN DATA PORTAL.
IT WAS A BOLD NEW IDEA THAT GOVERNMENT WOULD AGGREGATE AND PUBLISH ITS DATA DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC OPEN.
AUSTIN WORKED CLOSELY WITH STAFF TO ENCOURAGE CITY DEPARTMENTS TO EMBRACE THIS INITIATIVE AND PUBLISH THEIR DATA AS MUCH AS THEY CAN ON THE PORTAL.
IN JULY OF THIS YEAR, THE CITY COMPLETED AN AUDIT OF THE OPEN DATA PORTAL.
IT COUNTED OVER 4,600 PUBLISHED ASSETS, NEARLY A THOUSAND MORE THAN ANY OTHER CITY SURVEYED.
THANKS TO THE WORK OF MANY CITY DEPARTMENTS, THE ORIGINAL OPEN DATA VISION HAS BEEN REALIZED.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE AUDIT IDENTIFIED SOME CONCERNS WITH THE DATA BEING PUBLISHED.
ALTHOUGH WE ARE PUBLISHING A LARGE QUANTITY OF DATA, NOT ALL MAY BE OF VALUE TO THE PUBLIC.
ALSO, THE AUDIT IDENTIFIED ISSUES RELATING TO THE QUALITY OF DATA SUCH AS DATA, MISSING DATA, DIRTY PUBLISHED DATA, NOT MATCHING INTERNAL DATA, FORMATTING AND PRESENTATION ISSUES.
THE AUDIT ALSO FOUND THAT AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE A DESIGNATED EXECUTIVE SUCH AS A CHIEF DATA OFFICER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT IN THE DATA PORTAL.
OPEN AUSTIN SUPPORTS TWO KEY ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS.
FIRST, WE SUPPORT AN UPDATE OF THE CITY'S 2013 OPEN DATA POLICY TO INCLUDE OBJECTIVES FOR THE VALUE AND QUALITY OF DATA ASSETS.
ALSO, WE SUPPORT THE APPOINTMENT OF A CHIEF DATA OFFICER TO OVERSEE THIS WORK.
AUSTIN HAS SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPED A LEADING OPEN DATA PORTAL.
IT IS A SIGNIFICANT RESOURCE TO THE COMMUNITY.
NOW LET US TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO DELIVER INCREASED TRANSPARENCY AND VALUE TO THE PUBLIC.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE MALCOLM YATES.
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MY NAME IS MALCOLM YATES.I'M A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, TEXAS LICENSE NUMBER 8 5 1 5 8.
I WORK FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR 20 YEARS IN THE COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF AUSTIN FOR 38 YEARS.
I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR, THE AUSTIN ELECTRIC UTILITY AUDIT.
WHEN I SAW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ELECTRIC AUSTIN ELECTRIC UTILITY AUDIT GIVEN BY CITY COUNCIL TO THE CITY AUDITOR, I KNEW THAT THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE POWER OUTAGE WOULD BE IGNORED.
IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT THE OUTAGE WAS CAUSED BY INADEQUATE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.
THE REAL QUESTION IS WHY AE COULD NOT CONDUCT THE REQUIRED LEVEL OF TREE TRIMMING.
THE TEXAS PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION HAS STANDARDS FOR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES.
THE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS THAT OPERATE AE ARE LEGALLY REQUIRED TO CONFORM TO THESE STANDARDS.
WHAT PREVENTED THE AE ENGINEERS FROM PROVIDING AN ADEQUATE SCHEDULE FOR TREE TRIMMING? THE AUDIT REPORT SAYS THAT IN 2006, CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED AE TO IGNORE INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.
WHY DID CITY COUNCIL TELL AE TO DEFER CRITICAL MAINTENANCE? HERE IS A CLUE.
THE BOND RATING FOR AUSTIN ELECTRIC UTILITY HAS BEEN DOWNGRADED BY A MAJOR CREDIT RATING AGENCY.
CITY COUNCIL IS SUCKING SO MUCH MONEY OUT OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY THAT CREDIT AGENCIES ARE BEGINNING TO BE CONCERNED TO MAINTAIN SOLVENCY.
AUSTIN ELECTRIC HAS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON CRITICAL STRUCTURE.
THE REASON CITY COUNCIL IS TRANSFERRING SO MUCH MONEY OUT OF AE IS TO COVER DECADES OF FISCAL MISMANAGEMENT BY COUNCIL.
COUNCIL MAY BE ABLE TO FOOL THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN, BUT THEY CANNOT FOOL THE ACCOUNTANTS OF THE NATIONAL CREDIT RATING AGENCIES.
THESE AGENCIES HAVE DOWNGRADED THE CITY OF AUSTIN CREDIT RATING.
THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF INADEQUATE TREE TRIMMING IS TO STOP TRANSFERRING SO MUCH MONEY OUT OF AE AND TO ALLOW THE ENGINEERS TO DO THEIR JOB.
REPLACING THE MONEY TRANSFERRED FROM AE TO THE GENERAL FUND IS GOING TO REQUIRE COUNSEL TO STOP GIVING TAX BREAKS TO DEVELOPERS AND COMPANIES.
PLEASE ACT ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I'M A RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE FOR THE WELFARE OF ANIMALS IN THE CITY AND BEYOND.
AND TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONFLICT OR BIAS MIGHT BE RECOGNIZED.
I'M THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT AUSTIN PETS ALIVE.
DESPITE THAT, I WANT TO STRESS THAT THIS IS MY OPINION AND NOT THAT A P A I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I'M ABOUT TO ASSIGN OPINIONS TO THE WRITERS OF THE AUDIT REPORT THAT THEY MAY NOT HOLD, BUT I BELIEVE THEY'RE REASONABLE INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT WAS STATED IN THE REPORT.
THE CONCLUSIONS DRAWN IN THE CITY AUDIT OF THE ANIMAL SERVICE OPERATIONS ARE DESPERATELY DISAPPOINTING TO READ.
WHILE THERE ARE ELEMENTS THAT I RECOGNIZE AND SUPPORT THE NEED FOR MORE PRODUCTIVE RELATIONS WITH ALL RESCUE PARTNERS AND THE NEED FOR HIGH QUALITY DATA AMONG THEM, THE OPENING STATEMENT IN THE REPORT IS PRESENTED AS SIMPLE AND UNCON UNCONTROVERSIAL.
TO MEET THE COUNCIL MANDATED LIVE RELEASE GOAL, THE CITY HAS COMPROMISED PARTS OF THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER'S MISSION.
THE PARTS OF THE MISSION WHICH HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED ARE THE RESULT OF INTENTIONAL CHOICES.
THE WRITERS OF THE REPORT APPEAR TO BELIEVE THAT THE CONCLUSIONS PRESENT A CHOICE.
THE CITY CAN MANDATE A LIVE RELEASE RATE.
THE CITY CAN MANDATE CONDITIONS OF CARE.
THE CITY CAN MANDATE THE ANIMAL SERVICES MISSION, BUT APPARENTLY IT SHOULD NOT ASK FOR THESE TOGETHER.
THE CITY'S CHOICES DO NOT PRESENT A DILEMMA.
WE SHOULD STRIVE TO HAVE THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE LIVE RELEASE RATE.
WE SHOULD STRIVE TO PROVIDE ALL ANIMALS IN OUR CARE WITH A HIGH QUALITY LIFE EXPERIENCE,
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AND WE SHOULD STRIVE TO PROVIDE THE CITIZENS OF OUR CITY WITH THE ANIMAL SERVICES THEY NEED AND DESERVE.THESE ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
IF CHOICES MADE AT THE CENTER MAKE THESE APPEAR THAT WAY, THEN WE SHOULD FOCUS ON EXAMINING THE CHOICES THAT THE CENTER HAS MADE.
IF MANAGEMENT AT THE CENTER BELIEVE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY REQUIRE TO MEET ALL ASPECTS OF THE CITY'S NEEDS, WE SHOULD FOCUS ON THE PRESUMED REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.
I GENUINELY AND PERHAPS NAIVELY BELIEVED THAT THIS WONDERFUL CITY HAD MOVED BEYOND THE IDEA THAT KILLING ANIMALS FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN SPACE WAS WORTHWHILE OF DEBATE.
IT APPEARS FROM THE REPORT AND THE COMMENTS OF CITIZENS THAT THE REPORT RELIES ON, THAT IF WE DRESS UP THAT COMMENT TO SAY WE ARE KILLING THEM TO BE HUMANE, THEN WE'RE SOMEHOW HAVING A BETTER DEBATE.
IF WE WANT TO ARGUE THAT THE ANIMALS IN OUR CARE DESERVE BETTER TREATMENT, I'M HERE TO LISTEN AND TO SUPPORT, BUT I CANNOT IDLY ACCEPT THE STATEMENT THAT KILLING AN ANIMAL BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT TO MEET THE CITY'S MANDATE IS IN ANY WAY HUMANE.
THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT LED TO THE SUPPORT BEING COMMISSIONED.
HAVING TAKEN THAT STEP, I WOULD ASK YOU TO FULLY CONSIDER WHETHER THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE CONCLUSIONS, OR WHETHER OTHER ALTERNATIVES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO YOU AS YOU CONSIDER THE NEXT STEPS REQUIRED.
OUR LAST SPEAKER WILL BE PAT REZA, UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER AND ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
I AM A LONGTIME AUSTIN RESIDENT, LONGTIME ANIMAL ADVOCATE, AND I AM HERE IN SUPPORT OF THE SEVEN RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE CITY AUDITOR.
I THOUGHT ALL SEVEN OF THEM WERE GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT MY ISSUE WITH THEM IS THEY DON'T GO FAR ENOUGH.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THERE'S SOME GOOD INFORMATION THERE.
UH, RECOMMENDATION ONE SAYS THE CITY MANAGER SHOULD BALANCE NO KILL GOALS, COMMUNICATION NEEDS, AND I MEAN, I'M SORRY, COMMUNITY INTAKE NEEDS AND HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS.
I DO BELIEVE THIS IS THE CRUX OF THE PROBLEM.
YOU HAVE SET UP AN ANIMAL SHELTER THAT SHOULD BE OPEN INTAKE.
IT SHOULD NOT BE KILLING ANIMALS AND IT SHOULD BE PROVIDING ADEQUATE STANDARDS OF CARE.
BUT YOU HAVEN'T SET UP PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR ALL OF THOSE AND YOU HAVEN'T ADEQUATELY FUNDED ALL OF THOSE.
SO RIGHT NOW, WHEN AN ANIMAL SHELTER DIRECTOR IS HIRED, WHETHER IT BE DON BLAND, WHETHER IT BE ABIGAIL SMITH, TAWNY HAMMOND, ANYBODY THAT HAS COME BEFORE US AND ANYBODY THAT WILL COME IN THE FUTURE, THEY'RE BEING TOLD ONE THING AND ONE THING IS THE BE ALL AND END ALL.
AND THAT IS A 95% LIVE OUTCOME RATE.
YOU SHOULD ESTABLISH ADEQUATE PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND MONITOR THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ANIMALS THAT ARE IN THE SHELTER ARE GETTING ADEQUATE CARE.
AND RIGHT NOW YOU DON'T HAVE THAT.
I'M NOW GONNA MOVE OVER TO THE CONSULTANTS' REPORT.
THE CONSULTANTS' REPORT ALSO DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH HIGHLIGHTS VERY GOOD, UM, POINTS OUT GOOD PROBLEMS, POINTS OUT ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE POINTED OUT.
I'M SORRY I DIDN'T SAY THAT RIGHT.
POINTS OUT THE ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE POINTED OUT.
BUT THEN DOESN'T ADDRESS THE UNDERFUNDING OF ANIMAL CARE.
AT ONE POINT IT DOES TOUCH ON IF EVERY ANIMAL CARE WORKER WAS GONNA DO THEIR JOB THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO, THEY WOULD NEED 10 HOURS A DAY.
BUT THEN IT DOESN'T CALCULATE HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST TO FUND THE HOURS THAT ARE NEEDED TO DO ADEQUATE ANIMAL CARE.
AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK THIS REPORT IS MISSING.
SO, UM, I I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED TO DO IS, IS ADEQUATELY FUND OPEN INTAKE, ADEQUATELY FUND ANIMAL CARE, AND YOU ARE USING THE 95% LIVE OUTCOME RATE AS THE ONLY MEASURE RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO THAT I BELIEVE IS ALL OUR SPEAKERS.
GERALD, WE HAVE ONE MORE ADDITIONAL PERSON WE'D LIKE TO SPEAK WITH.
I HAVE A RECORD OF THE OFFSET.
YOU GUYS OKAY WITH THAT? OKAY.
UM, FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, IF YOU ARE IN, AFTER THE NINE 30, WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE ALLOWING YOU TO SPEAK.
SOMETHING SAID 10 O'CLOCK AND I MADE THREE PHONE CALLS THIS MORNING TO TRY TO FIND OUT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING MY MESSAGE.
A MEMBER OF THE CURRENT PARKS BOARD ASKED ME TO RESEARCH THE DATA FROM THE ZILKER PARK VISION PLAN CALLED SURVEY NUMBER SIX.
SEPARATELY, A PREVIOUS PARKS BOARD MEMBER EXPLAINED TO ME THE BIASED REPORTING
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IN 2021 OF A PARD SURVEY REGARDING BEER AND WINE AT THE ZILKER CAFE.I ASSERT THAT IN BOTH CASES, PARD HAS INTENTIONALLY MISMANAGED THE SURVEY PROCESS AND MISREPORTED SURVEY RESULTS.
I HAVE REQUESTED AN AUDIT TO BE PERFORMED BY THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE OF THE VISION PLAN SURVEY NUMBER SIX.
I'VE BEEN ADVISED BY A COUNCIL MEMBER THAT THIS COMMITTEE WOULD BE A LOGICAL WAY TO HAVE MY AUDIT REQUEST PLACED INTO THE QUEUE OF PROJECTS FOR 2024.
MY SURVEY NUMBER SIX REPORT DETAILS, POOR OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS THAT GENERATED LENGTHY TEXT ANSWERS, WHICH WERE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ANALYZE A POOR ATTEMPT AD ANALYSIS OF THOSE TEXT-BASED SURVEY ANSWERS AND REFUSING TO REPORT THE HIGHLY NEGATIVE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY IN THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE ZILKER PARK VISION PLAN.
AFTER MY REPORT WAS PRINTED AND DELIVERED TO YOUR OFFICE AND THE CITY AUDITOR, I DISCOVERED ONE MORE THING.
1,173 PARTICIPANTS OF THE SURVEY ONLY ANSWERED DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS.
NO QUESTION RELATED TO THE ZILKER PARK VISION PLAN WAS ANSWERED.
I ASSERT THAT FOR THIS REASON AND SEVERAL OTHERS, THE DATA OF SURVEY NUMBER SIX WAS CORRUPTED BY PARTS MISMANAGEMENT OF THE DESIGN EXECUTION ANALYSIS AND REPORTING OF RESULTS.
YOU HAVE A SMALL, OH, I WILL MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SMALL PACKET OF SUPPORTING MATERIALS IN YOUR MAILBOXES.
SARAH FAUST, A PREVIOUS MEMBER OF THE PARKS BOARD, HAS ELOQUENTLY EXPLAINED WHY AN OFFICIAL AUDIT OF THE SURVEYS, UH, IS NEEDED IN HER RECENT EMAIL TO COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER YOU, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PRINTED COPY OF THAT EMAIL.
IN SUMMARY, MS. FAUST SAYS, I DON'T TAKE THIS KIND OF REQUEST LIGHTLY, AND I BELIEVE IN THIS CASE THERE IS JUSTIFICATION THAT THE SURVEY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED AND REVISED.
DIANA PROCTOR HAS DONE SOME VERY INVOLVED RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEYS DEVELOPED BY THE CONTRACTOR AND THEIR PROCESSING OF THE RESULTS.
I BELIEVE HER RESEARCH SHOULD BE EVALUATED BY THE AUDITOR.
AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPEAKERS.
UM, WE APPRECIATE YOU ENGAGING DEEPLY, UM, WITH ISSUES IN OUR CITY AND THAT YOU TOOK THE TIME TO COME AND SPEAK WITH US TODAY.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting of August 23, 2023.]
OF, UH, BUSINESS ON THE AGENDA WILL BE OUR MINUTES.DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE OUR MINUTES? COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MAKES THAT MOTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER SECONDS.
IF THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS, WE WILL ADOPT THE MINUTES.
[2. Discussion and possible action regarding proposed amendments to City Code Chapter 4-8, Section 4-8-8 (Appearance).]
TWO ON OUR AGENDA AS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CITY CO CHAPTER FOUR EIGHT.INVITE OUR CITY AUDITOR, MS. STOKES TO SPEAK WITH US.
SO YOU SHOULD HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU.
A RED LINE VERSION, THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION.
UM, THE LAW DEPARTMENT AND I WORKED TOGETHER TO PROPOSE A VERSION OF REVISIONS TO THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION THAT INCORPORATED, UH, PRIOR AUDITS THAT WE'D DONE.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT THAT SHOULD BE APPARENT IN THOSE CHANGES.
ONE IS TO INCLUDE VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MEETINGS WITH LOBBYISTS, THEN VIRTUAL MEETINGS SHOULD BE CAPTURED.
AND THAT REALLY, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS A THING UNTIL EARLY 2020 AND THEN WE WERE LIKE, WAIT, THIS MIGHT SHOULD BE A THING.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE PIECE.
AND THEN THE SECOND PIECE IS REALLY A REQUEST FROM MY OFFICE TO TRANSITION FROM, UM, DOING AUDITS OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE VOLUNTARILY COMPLIANT TO SEE IF WE CAN IDENTIFY ANY ISSUES THERE TO MORE OF A, UM, KIND OF BROADER PICTURE APPROACH TO LOOKING AT WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE PEOPLE WE CAN IDENTIFY THAT ARE NOT COMPLYING, UH, WITH THE ORDINANCE.
SO THAT'S REALLY THE TWO CHANGES.
THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION SPECIFICALLY SUGGESTED WE DO THOSE, THAT LARGER AUDIT EVERY THREE YEARS.
SO THAT IS WHAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY, AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL COUNCIL, UM, TO MAKE THAT CHANGE TO CODE.
JUST TO CLARIFY, UM, IN OUR BACKUP, WE HAVE, UM, A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION THAT ATTACHED TO IT HAS, UM, ORDINANCE NUMBER AND ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER FOUR EIGHT OF THE CITY CODE RELATING TO LOBBYING.
UNDERLINED IS DIRECT THE WORD DIRECTLY FOR PART C.
UM, AND THEN FOR PART 4 8 10, UM, THAT'S WHERE IT SAYS, SHALL REVIEW THE RECORDED INFORMATION DESCRIBED.
THAT IS THE, THAT IS THE THOSE ARE THE CHANGES YES.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WASN'T AN ADDITIONAL, UM, THAT'S IT.
THE, WHAT THEY HAD IS, IS YES, WHAT WE AGREED TO.
I APPRECIATE THE, UH, CHANGES THAT ARE BEING RECOMMENDED AND I SUPPORT THEM.
UM, I THINK IT'S, I WAS HERE WHEN, WHEN THESE CHANGES WERE, UH, INITIALLY PUT IN PLACE AND THE AUDITOR HAS, UH, HAD BEEN ASKED TO DO A REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE, I THINK IT HAS BEEN HELPFUL TO NOTE THAT THE COMPLIANCE HAS BEEN FOR MANY YEARS, UH, AT A REALLY HIGH LEVEL AND THAT THE
[00:30:01]
VARIATIONS FROM THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, A SMALL NUMBER.AND THOSE FOLKS, WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT THEY HAVE BEEN OUTTA COMPLIANCE HAVE BEEN FAIRLY QUICK TO GET INTO COMPLIANCE.
IS THAT A PRETTY GOOD SUMMARY? THAT'S A VERY GOOD SUMMARY, YES.
WELL, I, AND I AM REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT, AND IT FEELS TO ME LIKE THESE RULES ARE WORKING THE WAY THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO.
UM, I, I DO SUPPORT MAKING THESE CHANGES.
I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE MORE, UH, EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE TO FOCUS ON WHERE THERE MAY BE SHORTCOMINGS AS OPPOSED TO DOING THE, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW EACH YEAR AND WOULD SUPPORT, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE AUDITOR IS BRINGING TO US AND THAT HAVE BEEN OFFERED TO US AND RECOMMENDED BY THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION.
UM, I TOO, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THESE CHANGES, UM, BUT I KNOW THAT I'M GONNA GET QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY ON HOW THESE PEOPLE DISCLOSE IN WRITING BECAUSE IT COULD BE VARIOUS DIFFERENT METHODS.
SO COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN GENERALLY HOW SOMEONE WOULD DO THAT FOR A COUNCIL OFFICE? SO I WOULD SAY THAT THAT DOES VARY AND THERE'S NOTHING IN THE CODE THAT SAYS YOU SPECIFICALLY HAVE TO DO IT IN X, Y, Z MANNER.
BUT, BUT EACH COUNCIL OFFICE IS HANDLING THAT TO CAPTURE THAT INFORMATION.
AND IN THE PAST WHEN WE'VE AUDITED THAT, WE'VE SEEN, UM, DIFFERENT METHODS, A SIGN IN SHEET, WE'VE SEEN USING A CALENDAR TO TRACK THAT INFORMATION.
BUT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT WHO'S MEETING WITH COUNCIL OFFICES.
AND IT, IT GOES BEYOND COUNCIL OFFICES.
IT ALSO APPLIES TO PEOPLE MEETING IN A LOBBYING CAPACITY, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES OR WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
SO, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S VARIOUS WAYS YOU CAN KIND OF LOBBY THE CITY AND WE WANT TO CAPTURE THAT.
WE DON'T HAVE A KIND OF COMPREHENSIVE OR, OR, UH, WE DON'T HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM TO CAPTURE THAT FOR EVERYBODY.
BUT AT LEAST WHAT WE'VE SEEN HISTORICALLY IS THAT EACH OFFICE HAS COME UP WITH A WAY TO HANDLE THAT.
AND I KNOW MY OFFICE USES THE CALENDAR WAY TO TRACK THAT.
SO IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THAT THERE ARE OTHER OFFICES DOING THE SAME.
COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MOVES PASSAGE OF, UM, THE ORDINANCE CHANGES AS RECOMMENDED IN THE, IN THE BACKUP, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY SECONDS THAT, UM, I WILL JUST ADD THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE WILL THEN HAVE, ONCE THIS'S ADOPTED BY COUNCIL, THAT WE WILL HAVE CLEAR COMMUNICATION TO THE LOBBYISTS AND TO THE COUNCIL STAFFS OF THE CHANGE.
UM, SO THAT WE CAN ADJUST PROCEDURES ACCORDINGLY.
AND SO THAT THE LOBBYISTS KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE RESPONSIBLE, UM, FOR, UM, ALL COMMUNICATION DIRECTLY AND WE CAN COORDINATE WITH THE CITY CLERK TO MAKE SURE THOSE COMMUNICATIONS OCCUR.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? IT'S UNANIMOUS ON THE DICE.
I'M GONNA STAND OUT, STAND UP HERE FOR A SECOND LONGER 'CAUSE I THINK THE NEXT ITEMS ARE MINE AS WELL.
[3. Animal Services Audit.]
THREE IS OUR, UM, ANIMAL SERVICES AUDIT AND THE EXTERNAL REPORT.THIS WAS INITIATED, UM, BY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UH, SPONSORED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
I WAS A CO-SPONSOR AND I IMAGINE THERE WERE SEVERAL OTHER FOLKS ON HERE WHO WERE AS WELL.
AND I BELIEVE IT, IT PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
UM, SO MS. STOKES, IF YOU'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE ITEM.
SO TODAY, UH, HENRY KAMA WAS THE LEAD ON THIS AUDIT, AND KEITH SALAS IS GONNA PRESENT TO US ON THIS.
MY NAME IS KEITH SALAS AND I'M AN ASSISTANT CITY AUDITOR IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR.
AND I WANNA THANK YOU TODAY FOR INVITING ME TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS AUDIT.
I ALSO WANNA TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK DON BLAND, JASON GARZA AND THE REST OF THE STAFF OVER AT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER.
THIS HAS BEEN A LONG AND INVOLVED AUDIT AND THEY WERE VERY COOPERATIVE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE.
ALRIGHT, THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER'S MISSION IS TO SERVE AS A SAFETY NET FOR LOST AND HOMELESS ANIMALS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEY HAVE A GOAL OF FINDING FOREVER HOMES FOR ALL OF THEIR ADOPTABLE ANIMALS.
SINCE 2011, THEY'VE HAD A NO KILL STATUS, WHICH MEANS, AT LEAST AT THE TIME THAT THEY WERE SAVING 90% OR MORE OF THEIR CATS AND DOGS ARE ENTERING THE SHELTER.
A FEW YEARS AGO, COUNCIL RAISED THAT GOAL TO BE 95% OR GREATER, AND SINCE THAT TIME, THE ANIMAL CENTER HAS ALSO MET OR EXCEEDED THAT LIVE RELEASE RATE GOAL.
AS YOU'RE ALL AWARE, THIS AUDIT CAME ABOUT BECAUSE OF A RESOLUTION FROM COUNCIL.
AS A PART OF THAT RESOLUTION, COUNCIL ASKED US TO HIRE AN INDEPENDENT OUTSIDE EXPERT IN NO KILL PRACTICES AND SHELTER OPERATIONS.
FOR THAT PURPOSE, WE HIRED TIM RUM WITH THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ANIMAL SHELTER EVALUATIONS, AND HE PRODUCED THE REPORT THAT YOU SEE HERE, WHICH WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE LATER TODAY.
I WANNA STRESS THAT THAT WAS AN INDEPENDENT REPORT IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE,
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AND WE PRODUCE OUR OWN AUDIT THAT WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.AND I WANNA HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE STEPS THAT WE TOOK FOR OUR WORK THAT WE DON'T ALWAYS TAKE IN EVERY ONE OF OUR AUDITS.
SO KNOWING HOW IMPORTANT THE COMMUNITY IS TO THE ANIMAL CENTER'S MISSION AND HOW IMPORTANT ANIMALS ARE TO OUR COMMUNITY, WE HOSTED MULTIPLE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS.
WE HOSTED TWO THAT WERE IN PERSON AS WELL AS ONE THAT WAS VIRTUAL AND HAD ABOUT A HUNDRED PEOPLE ATTEND THOSE COLLECTIVELY.
WE ALSO HOSTED A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SURVEY THAT HAD OVER 400 RESPONSES, AND WE HOSTED OR CONDUCTED MULTIPLE ANNOUNCED AND UNANNOUNCED SITE VISITS OF THE SHELTER.
THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, THE OBJECTIVE OF OF OUR AUDIT WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE CITY WAS EFFECTIVELY MANAGING ITS ANIMAL POPULATION AND PROVIDING ANIMALS IN ITS SHELTER WITH NECESSARY AND HUMANE CARE.
WE BROKE THAT DOWN INTO THREE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
ONE, WHY ARE THERE SPACE ISSUES AT THE SHELTER? TWO, ARE, ARE ANIMALS BEING TREATED PROPERLY? AND THREE IS A 95% LIVE RELEASE RATE SUSTAINABLE GIVEN CURRENT CONDITIONS AND RESOURCES.
AND THE FIRST THING THAT WE FOUND IS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ANIMAL WELFARE PRIORITIES CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER, CONTRIBUTING, CONTRIBUTING TO THE ANIMAL CENTER'S INABILITY TO ACHIEVE ITS STATED GOALS.
SO THE WAY THAT WE LOOKED AT THEIR OPERATIONS WERE KIND OF IN THREE BUCKETS OR THREE STAGES.
THE FIRST ONE WAS THE ANIMALS COMING INTO THE SHELTER.
THE ANIMAL SHELTER'S GOAL IS TO SERVE AS AN OPEN INTAKE SHELTER.
AND THEY HAD A SPECIFIC GOAL OF SHELTERING 16,000 ANIMALS LAST YEAR.
OF COURSE, WHILE THE ANIMALS ARE AT THE SHELTER, THEY HAVE A GOAL OF PROVIDING QUALITY CARE TO THOSE ANIMALS.
AND THEN ON THE OUTCOME SIDE OF THINGS, THEY HAVE A GOAL OF FINDING FOREVER HOMES FOR ALL THEIR ANIMALS AND MAINTAINING THAT 95% LIVE RELEASE RATE AS LONG AS OPERATIONS ARE WHAT YOU SEE IN THIS DIAGRAM WHERE YOU HAVE, UM, CAPACITY AT YOUR SHELTER AND YOU HAVE ROUGHLY THE SAME NUMBER OF ANIMALS COMING INTO THE SHELTER AS YOU HAVE LEAVING THE SHELTER, THAT'S SUSTAINABLE.
HOWEVER, AS SOON AS YOU START HAVING MORE ANIMALS COMING INTO THE SHELTER THAN YOU HAVE LEAVING THE SHELTER SPACE BEGINS TO FILL UP.
AND IF THIS GOES ON FOR TOO LONG, YOU GET INTO A SITUATION IN WHICH YOU HAVE MORE ANIMALS AT THE SHELTER THAN YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CARE FOR PROPERLY.
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS A SITUATION THAT OUR SHELTER IS CURRENTLY IN, AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THE ANIMAL CENTER DOES NOT HAVE A STRATEGY OR CLEAR DIRECTION FOR HOW TO OPERATE WHEN THEY'RE UNABLE TO MEET ALL OF THESE GOALS.
SO WHAT'S WOUND UP HAPPENING IS THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY OPERATING AS AN OPEN INTAKE SHELTER, AND THEY DID NOT MEET THAT 16,000 GOAL THEY HAD.
THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY PROVIDING THE LEVEL OF CARE THAT I THINK WE'D LIKE TO SEE AT THE SHELTER.
HOWEVER, THEY ARE MAINTAINING THAT 95% LIVE RELEASE RATE GOAL.
AND I'M GONNA SPEAK IN MORE DETAIL ABOUT EACH OF THESE, BUT I WANNA START WITH THE OUTCOMES.
SO AS LONG AS YOU'RE ABLE TO MOVE ANIMALS OUTTA THE SHELTER AT THE RATE THAT YOU'RE GETTING ANIMALS COMING IN, LIKE I SAID, THAT WOULD BE SUSTAINABLE.
HOWEVER, WE'RE NOT MEETING OUR GOALS FOR THE WAYS ANIMALS CAN LEAVE THE SHELTER.
BROADLY SPEAKING, THERE ARE ONLY FIVE WAYS THAT AN ANIMAL CAN LEAVE THE SHELTER.
THEY CAN EITHER GET ADOPTED INTO A FOREVER HOME, THEY CAN GET TRANSFERRED TO A PARTNER ORGANIZATION OR RESCUE, UM, GROUP THAT HAS CAPACITY.
THEY CAN BE RETURNED TO THEIR OWNER IF THEY HAD ONE.
THEY CAN BE PLACED INTO FOSTER CARE, WHICH OF COURSE IS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION, BUT IT DOES REMOVE THE ANIMAL FROM THE SHELTER AND FREEZE UP SPACE, OR THEY CAN DIE AT THE SHELTER EITHER THROUGH NATURAL CAUSES LIKE OLD AGE ILLNESS OR INJURY OR THROUGH EUTHANASIA.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THE ANIMAL CENTER MISSED THEIR GOAL FOR THE NUMBER OF ADOPTIONS, NUMBER OF TRANSFERS, NUMBER OF RETURN TO OWNERS LAST YEAR.
AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE A SPECIFIC GOAL FOR HOW MANY ANIMALS THEY WERE PLACED INTO FOSTER CARE.
HOWEVER, THEY DID HAVE A GOAL OF EUTHANIZING LESS THAN 2% OF THEIR ANIMALS.
AND THEY MET THAT GOAL, EUTHANIZING ONLY 1.98% OF THEM.
I'M NOT GONNA TALK IN DETAIL ABOUT EACH OF THESE, BUT I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE TRANSFERS BECAUSE THAT'S THE OUTCOME WHERE WE MISSED THE NUMBER BY THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ANIMALS.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND IS THAT LAST YEAR THE CITY CHANGED ITS AGREEMENT WITH AUSTIN PETS ALIVE AND DECREASED THE NUMBER OF TRANSFERS, TRANSFERS THAT THEY WOULD TAKE FROM THIS EACH YEAR.
UM, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE AUSTIN PETS ALIVE IS THE SHELTER'S LARGEST PARTNER, AND AUSTIN PETS ALIVE OPERATES ON CITY OWNED LAND AS A PART OF THE AGREEMENT THAT ALLOWS THEM TO OPERATE ON THIS LAND.
THEY'RE EXPECTED TO TAKE A CERTAIN NUMBER AND CERTAIN TYPES OF ANIMALS FROM US.
UM, PRIOR TO THAT CHANGE, THEY HAD A MINIMUM EXPECTATION OF TAKING AT LEAST 3000 ANIMALS PER YEAR.
UM, THE CITY REMOVED THAT MINIMUM AND NOW IT'S JUST A FRACTION OF THE ANIMALS, WHICH FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS HAS WORKED OUT TO BE ABOUT, UM, HALF THE NUMBER THAT THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY TAKING.
UM, EVEN WITH THAT, WE FOUND THAT THEY WERE JUST SHY OF THAT EXPECTATION.
HOWEVER, THE BIGGER PICTURE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO EMPHASIZE IS THAT 50 OR 1600 ANIMAL DIFFERENCE BECAUSE OF THE CHANGE IN THE AGREEMENTS.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW TURNOVER AND LOW EUTHANASIA RATES.
SO ANIMALS WITH PROLONGED STAYS OF THE SHELTER MAY DEVELOP MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PROBLEMS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE EXTERNAL EXPERT NOTED IN HIS REPORT, AND HE OBSERVED SEVERAL ANIMALS THAT WERE EXHIBITING SYMPTOMS OF THESE KIND OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH LONG STAYS.
ALSO, WHEN YOU HAVE VERY LOW EUTHANASIA RATES, YOU
[00:40:01]
MAY BE ENCOURAGED TO ADOPT OR TRANSFER DANGEROUS ANIMALS TO PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS OR TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS.THIS WAS A CONCERN THAT WE HEARD IN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS, AND WE LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS FOR ANIMALS THAT HAD BITE HISTORIES, SPECIFICALLY MODERATE OR SEVERE BITE HISTORIES.
WE FOUND THAT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE SHELTER HAS ADOPTED SEVERAL HUNDRED ANIMALS THAT HAD MODERATE BITE HISTORIES, AS WELL AS A FEW DOZEN ANIMALS THAT HAD SEVERE BITE HISTORIES.
NOW I WANT TO EMPHASIZE WE DIDN'T LOOK AT ANY SPECIFIC CASE.
SO I CAN'T SAY WHETHER OR NOT ANY ONE OF THOSE ANIMALS POSES A GREATER RISK TO THE COMMUNITY THAN AN ANIMAL WITHOUT THAT HISTORY.
BUT I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THIS AS ONE POTENTIAL, UM, INCENTIVE THAT MAY BE CREATED WITH THESE VERY LOW EUTHANASIA RATES.
ALSO, WHEN YOU HAVE LOW TURNOVER, YOU HAVE LESS ROOM FOR NEW ANIMALS IN NEED.
AND AS YOU HAVE MORE ANIMALS IN THE SHELTER, EACH ANIMAL GETS LESS SPACE AND LESS ATTENTION, WHICH IS WHAT I WANNA FOCUS ON NEXT.
SO THE GUIDELINES FOR STANDARDS OF CARE IN ANIMAL SHELTERS SAYS THAT OPERATING BEYOND AN ORGANIZATION'S CAPACITY OF CARE IS AN UNACCEPTABLE PRACTICE.
HOWEVER, WE FOUND MULTIPLE INSTANCES WHERE THIS WAS HAPPENING AT OUR SHELTER.
THE GUIDELINE SAYS THAT THE USE OF CAGES OR CRATES INTENDED FOR SHORT-TERM TEMPORARY CONFINEMENT OR TRAVEL IS UNACCEPTABLE AS A PRIMARY ENCLOSURE.
HOWEVER, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE SHELTER DOES THIS ROUTINELY.
THIS PICTURE I WANT TO EMPHASIZE, WAS TAKEN IN NOVEMBER.
THIS IS IN THEIR OUTDOOR LOADING DOCK.
SO IT WAS NOT TAKEN IN THE HEAT OF SUMMER.
AND WHEN WE DID OUR SITE VISITS IN THE SUMMER, WE DID NOT SEE ANIMALS OUT HERE WHERE IT WOULD'VE BEEN UNBEARABLY HOT.
UM, BUT WE DID SEE THEM IN OTHER AREAS OF THE SHELTER.
SO THIS WAS A PICTURE TAKEN IN THEIR MULTIMEDIA ROOM.
THE GUIDELINES SAY THAT ENCLOSURES NEED TO BE LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE THE NECESSARY SETUP WITHOUT IMPEDING THE ANIMAL'S ABILITY TO MOVE OR STRETCH.
AND I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT IN THIS PICTURE, THIS ANIMAL WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROPERLY STAND OR MOVE AND STRETCH.
THE GUIDELINES SAY THE PRIMARY ENCLOSURE MUST ALLOW ANIMALS TO SIT, SLEEP, AND EAT AWAY FROM AREAS OF THEIR ENCLOSURES WHERE THEY DEFECATE AND URINATE, AND TO MAINTAIN DISTANCE FROM ROOMMATES WHEN THEY CHOOSE TO DO SO.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE, WE HAVE THREE DOGS THAT ARE AN ENCLOSURE THAT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR A CAT.
THESE THREE DOGS ARE ESSENTIALLY SLEEPING ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, THEIR FOOD AND THEIR WAIST.
AND THEN WE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL OTHER ISSUES.
THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN BY THE OUTSIDE EXPERT.
HE IDENTIFIED ALGAE AND OUTDOOR PLAY POOLS AND WATER BOWLS.
AND HE ALSO IDENTIFIED SEVERAL STRUCTURAL ISSUES.
SO HE FOUND, AND I SHOULD SAY THAT THIS, HIS SITE VISITS WERE IN JULY OF THIS YEAR.
SO IT WAS THE, THE HEAT OF SUMMER.
BUT HE FOUND THAT TEMPERATURES EXCEEDED THE RECOMMENDED RANGE OF 60 TO 80 DEGREES IN MANY OF THE KENNELS.
HE ALSO FOUND THE TEMPERATURE OF AN ARTIFICIAL PLAY LAWN WAS 176 DEGREES, AND I SHOULD SAY THIS WAS A SHOCKING NUMBER TO ME.
BUT HE ACTUALLY INVITED MYSELF AND ANOTHER, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR, UH, TEAMMATES OUT TO DO A SITE VISIT WITH HIM WHERE HE COULD SHOW US WHAT HE WAS SEEING.
HE TOOK THIS, UH, TEMPERATURE IN FRONT OF US.
SO I CAN SAY THAT I ACTUALLY SAW THIS RECORDING AT 176 DEGREES, AND I SAW THAT THEY WERE PLACING TOWELS, LIKE STAFF WAS PLACING TOWELS IN THE GROUND FOR ANIMALS TO WALK ON SO THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO STEP ON THE, UH, ARTIFICIAL TURF.
HE ALSO FOUND INADEQUATE DRAINAGE FOR OUTDOOR KENNELS, DAMAGED BASEBOARDS THAT HAD ACCUMULATED ANIMAL WASTE AND INADEQUATE SOUND BUFFERING AND OUTDOOR KENNELS.
SO OF COURSE, ALL OF THESE CONDITIONS THAT WE JUST HIGHLIGHTED CAN AFFECT ANIMAL COMFORT, BUT CAN ALSO LEAD TO THE SPREAD OF DISEASE.
AND IN FACT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW ON OUR WEBSITE, THIS SCREENSHOT WAS TAKEN LAST WEEK, IS THAT THEY WERE EXPERIENCING A DISTEMPER OUTBREAK AND HAD TO RESTRICT THEIR INTAKE.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY LAST POINT, UM, OR LAST PART OF THAT EQUATION, WHICH IS THE INTAKE OF ANIMALS.
UM, THE GOAL, OF COURSE, WAS TO BE AN OPEN INTAKE SHELTER.
HOWEVER, THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TIME THAT WE WERE CONDUCTING THIS AUDIT INTAKE HAD EITHER BEEN RESTRICTED OR CLOSED.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS CAT METER, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THEY WON'T TAKE ANY ANIMALS.
THERE ARE SOME EMERGENCY SITUATIONS IN WHICH THEY WOULD ACCEPT AN ANIMAL, BUT BY AND LARGE, IF YOU HAD AN ANIMAL THAT YOU COULD NO LONGER CARE FOR, OR IF YOU FOUND A STRAY ANIMAL THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO SURRENDER TO THE SHELTER, YOU WERE BEING ASKED TO WAIT FOUR TO SIX WEEKS BEFORE YOU'RE ABLE TO DO SO.
AND THAT CAN CREATE HARDSHIP FOR BOTH RESIDENTS AND FOR ANIMALS.
UM, OF COURSE FOR RESIDENTS, YOU KNOW, DURING THAT TIME YOU HAVE TO SHELTER, FEED, AND CARE FOR THE ANIMAL.
THIS CAN BE A FINANCIAL BURDEN.
AND THEN FOR ANIMALS, THIS CAN LEAD TO MORE STRAYS, HOMELESS OR ABANDONED ANIMALS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THAT'S DANGEROUS FOR THEM.
THEY'RE EXPOSED TO OUR EXTREME WEATHER, UM, ALSO TO CARS AND OTHER PREDATORS, BUT THEY CAN ALSO BE A DANGER TO OTHER PEOPLE AND PETS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HEARD REPEATEDLY ABOUT, UM, PEOPLE ENCOUNTERING LOOSE ANIMALS IN THEIR DAY TO DAY, THEIR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES, SOME OF WHOM HAD EITHER BEEN ATTACKED OR EVEN BITTEN BY THESE ANIMALS.
ALL RIGHT, SO I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT FINDING FINDING, WHICH IS THAT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND WITHIN THE ANIMAL CENTER ARE STRAINED.
UM, THE ANIMAL CENTER IS SOMEWHAT UNIQUE IN THE CITY AND HOW MUCH THEY RELY ON PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THEIR MISSION.
FOR EXAMPLE, US AND PETS ALIVE TAKES ALL OF OUR BOTTLE FED KITTENS AND ALL OF OUR DOGS OR PUPPIES EXPERIENCING PARVO VIRUS, WHICH ARE GROUPS OF ANIMALS THAT WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PROPERLY CARE FOR OURSELVES.
LIKEWISE, THE AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY CONDUCTS SPAY AND NEUTER OPERATIONS FOR SOME OF OUR TRAP NEUTER AND RELEASE PROGRAMS. LAST YEAR, THEY RECORDED HAVING OVER 2,500 OF
[00:45:01]
THOSE OPERATIONS CONDUCTED BY THE AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY.UM, SIMILARLY, COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOSTER ANIMALS, WHICH AS WE'VE ALREADY NOTED, BRINGS ABOUT THE SHELTER AND THEY ALSO VOLUNTEER AT THE SHELTER.
UM, I THINK SOMEBODY IN CITIZEN COMMUNICATION BROUGHT THIS UP, BUT WE DON'T HAVE, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO OUR EXTERNAL EXPERT, UM, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF TO GIVE THE RECOMMENDED MINIMUM AMOUNT OF TIME FOR CLEANING, FEEDING, AND ATTENTION TO ALL OF OUR ANIMALS.
UM, VOLUNTEERS DONATED OVER 50,000 HOURS OF SERVICE TO THE SHELTER LAST YEAR.
SO THEY'RE A VERY IMPORTANT RESOURCE FOR US.
THERE'S ALSO THE ANIMAL ADVISOR COMMISSION, WHICH IS, UM, PART OF THEIR MISSION IS TO PROMOTE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND INTERESTED PARTIES.
AND OF COURSE, STAFF AND MANAGEMENT AT THE SHELTER ARE KEY STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL.
AND WHAT WE HEARD TIME AND TIME AGAIN IS THAT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN AND WITHIN EACH OF THESE GROUPS WAS STRAINED.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SURVEY THAT WE CONDUCTED.
I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW RESPONSES JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT WE ARE HEARING.
THESE ARE VERBATIM RESPONSES THAT WE RECEIVED.
THE COMMISSION MEETINGS HAVE RECENTLY WITNESSED HAVE BEEN UPSETTING, AND I DON'T BELIEVE ALL THE REPRESENTATIVES HAVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE ANIMAL CENTER IN MIND.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ANIMAL CENTER AND AUSTIN PETS ALIVE IS THE DEFINITION OF TOXIC.
THE SHELTER HAS BEEN VERY UNWILLING, UNABLE TO PROVIDE KEY DATA, MEASURABLE STATS, OPERATIONAL INSIGHTS, AND IN GENERAL HAS BEEN UNCOOPERATIVE WITH THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION.
AND THE ANIMAL CENTER IS EXPECTED TO BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE, BUT WITH NO SUPPORT.
AND OF COURSE, I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION THE VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE THAT THE UM, ANIMAL COMMISSION TOOK LAST YEAR, WHICH THEY FOUND NO CONFIDENCE OR HAD NO CONFIDENCE IN THE LEADERSHIP OF THE ANIMAL CENTER.
ALL THIS CREATES A NEGATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT AND LOW MORALE.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HEARD FROM STAFF, BUT IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT I WANNA HIGHLIGHT FOR MANAGEMENT.
UM, THIS IS A TABLE THAT THE EXTERNAL EXPERT CREATED, WHICH WE FOUND THAT OVER THE PAST 13 YEARS SINCE THE SHELTER WENT TO NO KILL, WE'VE HAD EIGHT PERMANENT OR NO OR AH, PERMANENT OR, UM, TEMPORARY CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICERS.
ONLY THE CURRENT ONE HAS BEEN IN THIS ROLE FOR OVER FOUR YEARS.
UH, WHEN WE SPOKE WITH SOME OF THESE PEOPLE, WE HEARD THAT THEY RECEIVED PERSONAL ATTACKS, THREATS, AND OFTEN FELT THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE SUPPORT OF CITY LEADERSHIP OR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THIS IS A SITUATION THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE, SINCE EVEN BEFORE THE VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE.
HOWEVER, THE CITY HAS NOT ASSIGNED ANYBODY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF REBUILDING THESE RELATIONSHIPS OR ADDRESSING COMMON CONCERNS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WILLING TO RECOMMEND IN JUST A SECOND.
OUR LAST FINDING IS THAT THE ANIMAL CENTER DOES NOT HAVE COMPLETE AND ACCURATE DATA, AND NOT ALL DATA IS TRACKED IN A WAY THAT WILL ALLOW MANAGEMENT TO ACCESS IT IN A USER-FRIENDLY FORMAT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO DETERMINE WAS WHETHER OR NOT ANIMALS WERE CONSISTENTLY GETTING NECESSARY ENRICHMENT SUCH AS WALKS, PLAY SESSIONS OR TREATS.
THE ANIMAL CENTER TRACKS THIS INFORMATION ON MAGNETIC BOARDS LIKE THE ONE YOU SEE IN THIS PICTURE.
SO ON ANY GIVEN DAY, YOU CAN GO IN AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT A SPECIFIC ANIMAL HAS GOTTEN THEIR WALKS, TREATS, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT MAY BE.
BUT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT AN ANIMAL IS CONSISTENTLY OVER THE PAST WEEK, MONTHS, HOWEVER LONG THEY'VE BEEN IN A SHELTER, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU'D BE ABLE TO DO.
WE ALSO FOUND THAT DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LOOK, THEIR DATA MAY VARY SIGNIFICANTLY.
UM, SPAY AND NEUTER OPERATIONS ARE A KEY COMPONENT OF OUR NO KILL PLAN.
IT HELPS REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT ARE OUT THERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LOOK, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE VERY DIFFERENT NUMBERS.
SO THAT FIRST COLUMN OF RAW DATA, THAT'S THE NUMBER THAT WE CALCULATED BASED ON THE RAW DATA WE RECEIVED FROM THE ANIMAL CENTER.
THE NEXT COLUMN, THE EXTERNAL DASHBOARD, THAT'S INFORMATION THAT'S ON THE ANIMAL CENTER'S WEBSITE FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE.
AND THE LAST COLUMN IS WHAT WE'VE FOUND IN THE CITY'S E PERFORMANCE WEBSITE, WHICH IS A CITYWIDE PERFORMANCE MEASURED TRACKING SYSTEM, ALSO PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE NUMBERS SOMETIMES VARY BY THOUSANDS.
THAT SAID, WE RECOGNIZE HOW IMPORTANT THE CITY'S LIVE RELEASE RATE GOAL IS TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, TO COUNCIL TO THE SHELTER ITSELF.
AND WE LOOKED AT THOSE NUMBERS AND WE FOUND THAT THEY CONSISTENTLY MET OR EXCEEDED THE 95% LIVE RELEASE RATE GOAL.
UM, EVEN WHEN WE CALCULATED OURSELVES, WE FOUND SOME VERY, VERY MINOR DIFFERENCES, USUALLY WITHIN A FRACTION OF A PERCENT.
AND WE NEVER FOUND A SITUATION WHICH IT DID BELOW THAT 95% GOAL.
I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THOUGH, THAT THE CODE TELLS YOU HOW TO CALCULATE THAT RATE.
AND THEY SAY FOR ANIMALS, THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE OUR ANIMAL SHELTER DOES ACCEPT ANIMALS BEYOND CATS AND DOGS.
IN FACT, THEY ACCEPT ANIMALS REGARDLESS OF BREED OR SPECIES.
SO WE HAVE CHICKENS LIKE THE ONE THAT YOU SEE IN THIS PICTURE, BUNNIES, REPTILES, LIVESTOCK, WILDLIFE, YOU KNOW, JUST THE WHOLE GAMUT.
AND SOME OF THOSE ANIMALS, LIKE BATS FOR INSTANCE, THE SHELTER IS NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO ADOPT OUT EVEN IF IT WANTED TO.
SO IF YOU WERE TO INCLUDE ALL OF THOSE ANIMALS, THERE WERE MONTHS, UM, IN WHICH THAT LIVE OUTCOME RATE DID BELOW 95%.
HOWEVER, I THINK THE IMPORTANT NUMBER THAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT IS FOR CATS AND DOGS.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE SHELTER IS, UH,
[00:50:01]
WORKING TO CHANGE CODE.ALRIGHT, SO THAT BRINGS ME TO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE HAD TWO FOR THE CITY MANAGER AND WE'RE FIRST RECOMMENDING THAT HE WORK WITH COUNCIL, WITH SHELTER, AND WITH OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO ESTABLISH A POLICY THAT BALANCES OUR NO KILL GOALS, THE COMMUNITY'S INTAKE NEEDS, AND THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF ITS ANIMALS.
AND WE'RE ALSO ASKING THAT HE WORK WITH AN INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY TO FACILITATE ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS WITH KEY SHELTER STAKEHOLDERS TO HELP REBUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WERE SO STRAINED FOR THE CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER, WE RECOMMEND THAT HE DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE SHELTER, THAT HE CREATE A PLAN TO KEEP BOTH INDOOR AND OUTDOOR AREAS CLEAN AND SANITARY, THAT HE IDENTIFY RESOURCES NEEDED TO ADDRESS STRUCTURAL ISSUES AND ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS IF POSSIBLE, THAT HE ENSURES STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ARE TRAINED TO MONITOR, AND THAT HE PERIODICALLY VERIFY DATA TO ENSURE THAT IT'S ACCURATE, COMPLETE, AND CONSISTENT.
AND WITH THAT, I WELCOME WHATEVER DISCUSSION YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE.
UM, IS THERE A RESPONSE FROM STAFF THAT YOU WANNA MAKE AT THIS TIME FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE OR FROM THE CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICE? IF YOU'D LIKE TO.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, DON BLANC, CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER.
UM, WE ARE PLEASED WITH THE AUDITORS AND THE DEPTH THAT THEY WENT INTO, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER, THE COUNCIL OFFICE, AND THE COMMISSIONERS AND THE PUBLIC TO BALANCE OUR NEEDS AND DETERMINE WHAT WE AS A CITY NEED TO DO TO GO FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE THAT, UM, WE VALUE ANIMALS AND WE WANNA SAVE EVERY LIFE WE POSSIBLY CAN.
AND WE'VE CONTINUED TO DO THAT WHERE, UH, OTHER CITIES IN OUR CI IN OUR, IN OUR STATE HAVE LOST THEIR NO KILL STATUS.
THEY'RE IN THE 70 PERCENTILES.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IS, UM, GETTING ANIMALS, YOU KNOW, ADOPTIONS NATIONWIDE SINCE THE PANDEMIC HAVE, HAVE DRAMATICALLY REDUCED.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IS OUR RESCUE PARTNERS, THEY THAT USED TO PULL FROM US REGULARLY ARE NOT PULLING FROM US BECAUSE OF OUR HIGH LIVE EXIT RATE.
THEY'RE PULLING FROM OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE LOST THEIR NO KILL STATUS.
SO THAT HAS REALLY IMPACTED US SIGNIFICANTLY.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EVERYONE TO, UH, FIND WAYS THAT WE CAN KEEP OUR LIVE EXIT RATE AND BALANCE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UM, COLLEAGUES, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
IS THERE, JUST SO I KNOW, IS THERE PERSON WHO DID THE EXTERNAL REPORT HERE, IF SOMEBODY HAS QUESTIONS FOR THEM OR NOT? OH, I APOLOGIZE.
I SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT EARLIER.
UM, THE EXTERNAL EXPERT IS NOT HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS TODAY.
HOWEVER, WE CAN FIELD OR HOPEFULLY CAN FIELD ALL OF THEM.
WANNA RECOGNIZE COUNCILMEMBER POOL? YOU CAN.
YOU, YOU CAN HAVE A SEAT IF YOU LIKE.
UM, I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS AND I'M GONNA START, UM, WITH THE FUNDAMENTALS AND THEY'RE FUNDAMENTAL, THEY'RE BASIC THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE ON THE LAST PAGE OF THE SUMMARY SAYS, THE CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER SHOULD HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN, KEEP INDOOR AND OUTDOOR AREAS CLEAN AND SANITARY, IDENTIFY RESOURCES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO ADDRESS STRUCTURAL ISSUES AND ADDRESS THEM IF POSSIBLE.
ENSURE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ARE TRAINED AND MONITORED, PERIODICALLY VERIFIED DATA TO ENSURE THAT IT'S ACCURATE, COMPLETE, AND CONSISTENT ACROSS DIFFERENT SYSTEMS. THESE ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICE AND THE OFFICER.
AND THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AUDIT.
I AM EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED THAT WE FIND OURSELVES IN SUCH A FUNDAMENTAL DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THIS OFFICE AND THE FACT THAT THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING OUT OF AN AUDIT, WHICH MEANS THAT THESE RESPONSIBILITIES HAVE NOT BEEN FULFILLED.
[00:55:01]
THE COUNCIL HAS OVER MANY YEARS.AND THAT PREDATES MY TIME ON THIS DAIS FOR MANY YEARS, CONTINUOUSLY AND CONSISTENTLY SUPPORTED HUMANE MANAGEMENT AND LIVE OUTCOMES FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH OUR ANIMAL POPULATION.
I'M CONCERNED OVER THE LACK OF ACTION IN A NUMBER OF AREAS TO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE DASHBOARD DATA, WHICH A FEW YEARS AGO WE DIRECTED THE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICE TO WORK WITH C T M TO ESTABLISH THAT DATA COLLECTION AND THE PORTAL AND TO HAVE IT BE ACCURATE.
THE BASIC MAINTENANCE OF THE FACILITIES AND THE HEALTH SAFETY OF THE ANIMALS THERE, THE CONDITIONS THAT THE SHELTER ARE UNCONSCIONABLE.
IF CONFUSION EXISTS OVER CONFLICTING PRIORITIES OR LEGAL REQUIREMENTS IN THE CODE, THEN THAT CONFUSION SHOULD HAVE BEEN, ARA SHOULD HAVE BEEN RAISED WITH CITY EXECUTIVES SO THE STAFF WOULD SECURE THE NECESSARY AND NEEDED GUIDANCE.
THESE QUESTIONS SHOULDN'T LINGER, UNADDRESSED AND UNANSWERED STEEPLY CONCERNING THAT THAT'S AN EXCUSE BEING MADE.
THAT POLICIES ARE IN CONFLICT AND REGULATIONS ARE IN CONFLICT, AND THAT THOSE CONFLICTS HAD NOT BEEN CHASED DOWN AND RESOLVED.
SO THE BOTTOM LINE FOR ME, THIS AUDIT AFFIRMS MY LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN THE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER AND HIS LEADERSHIP OF ANIMAL SERVICES.
THE CITY HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY IN CARING FOR ITS ANIMAL POPULATION AND THE A S O HAS FALLEN SHORT THE THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, I'M NOT SURE WHO THE RIGHT PERSON TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION IS, BUT WHAT GUARANTEES DOES THE COUNCIL HAVE THAT THE ANIMAL CENTER IS TAKING STEPS ACTIVELY TO HANDLE CAPACITY, WORK WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND KEEP CURRENT AND FUTURE ANIMAL POPULATIONS SAFE? IS THERE SOMEBODY FROM THE CITY WHO COULD POSSIBLY ANSWER THAT? COULD YOU PLEASE REPEAT THAT? WHAT GUARANTEES ARE THEY, DO WE HAVE FROM THE ANIMAL CENTER THAT YOU'RE TAKING STEPS TO HANDLE CAPACITY WORK WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND TO KEEP OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE ANIMAL POPULATION SAFE? WE ARE WORKING, WE'RE, WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND OUR ANIMAL COMMISSION AND OUR PARTNERS TO TRY TO HAVE THE BEST OUTCOMES WE CAN.
AND WE CONTINUE TO THIS, THIS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S GOING TO BE BENEFICIAL IS THIS COMING FISCAL YEAR IN 2024, WE GET FOUR ADDITIONAL ANIMAL CARE WORKERS WILL PUT US IN, HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT NUMBER OF ANIMAL CARE STAFF FOR THE KENNELS THAT WE HAVE.
SO THAT'S GOING TO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, UH, BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE OVER CAPACITY, IT STRETCHES EVERYONE VERY THIN AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE JUST BEEN DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO KEEP ANIMALS CARED FOR.
AND SO SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS, UH, GET PUT BY THE SIDE.
SO WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY HAVE ENOUGH KENNEL STAFF TO, TO CARE FOR THE KENNELS THAT WE HAVE.
AND HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, THE PLAN THAT GOT US TO 90% AND WE NEED TO WORK ON THAT PLAN TO GET US FROM WHERE WE'RE AT NOW, UH, AND, AND MAINTAIN WHERE WE'RE AT AND, AND HAVE THE BEST OUTCOMES WE POSSIBLY CAN.
I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST THAT WE GET REGULAR UPDATES ABOUT THEIR PROGRESS RELATED TO IMPLEMENTING THESE RESULTS BECAUSE AS WE'VE SEEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN RELATED TO THE ANIMAL CENTER AND TO BACK UP WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE STATED, THESE CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO HAPPEN REGARDLESS OF THE CONCERNS THAT WE RAISE.
AND I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY TO ENSURE THAT THE ISSUES ARE BEING EFFECTIVELY ADDRESSED.
THIS AUDIT AND THE RESULTS COLLEAGUES, I'M JUST TAKEN BACK ABACK BY HOW UNACCEPTABLE THE CONDITIONS ARE.
I HAVE WORKED VERY HARD WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND I APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL'S LEADERSHIP HERE TO INVESTIGATE SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT WERE BROUGHT TO US.
[01:00:01]
WITH BOOTS ON THE GROUND TALKING TO EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS AT THE CENTER.I VISITED THE CENTER MYSELF AND VIEWED ANIMALS IN THE TRUCK PORT THE WEEKEND BEFORE WE HAD TRIPLE DIGIT HEAT HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT WAS ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE IN MY EYES.
I MOVED FORWARD WRITING A MEMO TO THE CITY MANAGER REGARDING MY CONCERNS AND THEY WERE PROMPTED TO RESPOND.
BETWEEN THE TIME I GOT A RESPONSE FROM THE ANIMAL CENTER AND FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
I DID NOT ONCE GET A PHONE CALL FROM ANYONE AT, UM, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE OR THE ANIMAL CENTER.
AND IN FACT, THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER TOLD ME THAT I WOULD GET A PHONE CALL FROM THE DIRECTOR OVER THERE.
IT WAS DEEPLY DISAPPOINTING NOT TO HAVE CONTACT AFTER REVEALING MY CONCERNS.
I LIKE MY COLLEAGUES, CONTINUE TO HAVE CONCERNS RELATED TO THE TREATMENT AND WELFARE OF THE ANIMALS.
THE ANIMALS ARE ENTRUSTED WITH THE CARE OF THE CITY.
THIS IS A CORE FUNCTION OF OUR CITY GOVERNMENT.
THOSE ANIMALS HAVE NO VOICE, AND SO WE HAVE TO BE THE VOICE FOR THEM.
AND IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT IT HAS COME DOWN TO THIS.
THOSE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED ARE NOTHING LESS THAN ABHORRENT, SICKENING, AND ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE NOTHING KIND TO SAY RIGHT NOW EXCEPT THAT I'M DEDICATED TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH MY COLLEAGUES TO ENSURE THE CONDITIONS ARE IMPROVED.
THOSE ANIMALS CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER FOR CHANGES TO BE MADE TO ENSURE THEIR WELFARE.
COUNCIL MEMBER WALTER, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? OKAY.
UM, I HAVE A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS HERE AND, UM, I THINK THESE MAY BE FOR THE CITY MANAGER, UBER ANIMAL SERVICES.
IF YOU MIGHT JOIN US, MS. EDEN HOWARD.
SO I HAVE A COUPLE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AND, AND SOME COMMENTS.
UM, SO IN THIS PAST BUDGET WE ADDED AT LEAST FOUR ANIMAL CARE STAFF.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS COUNSEL HAS THOUGHT THAT WE HAVE, UH, AUTHORIZED POSITIONS AND THEN THEY TAKE 10 MONTHS SOMETIMES TO GET ON THE GROUND.
WHAT ARE YOU AS THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER OVER THIS DEPARTMENT WHERE WE HAVE THIS REPORT GONNA DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE FOUR ANIMAL CARE STAFF ARE ON THE GROUND AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE? STEPHANIE HAYDEN HOWARD, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
WHAT I HAVE DONE WITH ALL OF MY DIRECTORS IS, IS I LOOK AT THE VACANCY REPORT AND I HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM ABOUT THEIR VACANCIES IN PARTICULAR, UM, WITH THIS AREA.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DID NOTICE WHEN I MOVED INTO THE A C M ROLE IS THAT I NOTICED THAT ANIMAL SERVICES HAD NOT BEEN FUNDED, UM, AS OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAD BEEN FUNDED.
AND SO AS I'M LOOKING AT ALL OF THE INVESTMENTS ACROSS ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND WE ALSO HAD, UH, A COUPLE OF AUDITS THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE BY THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
AND SO WORKING CLOSELY WITH THEM TO IDENTIFY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UM, POSITIONS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO OPERATIONS, AS WELL AS ENSURING THAT WE DID HAVE A FULL-TIME PERSON, UM, THAT WAS NOT SHARING THEIR TIME WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND ANIMAL SERVICES, UM, TO WORK ON THE REPORTS FOR THE DATA, THE DASHBOARD.
AND SO AS DONNA AND I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS, UM, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE PRETTY QUICKLY TO GO AHEAD AND POST THOSE POSITIONS.
UM, AND THEY HAVE SUPPORT NOT ONLY FROM UM, OUR OFFICE, BUT ALSO FROM HUMAN RESOURCES AS WELL TO BE ABLE TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SOME OF THE POSITIONS, UM, ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE IN TEMPORARY POSITIONS, AND SO, UM, BEING ABLE TO, TO, TO POST THOSE, UM, IF THEY HAVE AN INTEREST FOR CITY OF AUSTIN ONLY WILL ALLOW YOU TO MOVE PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, LET THOSE FOLKS GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND BE HIRED PRETTY QUICKLY.
SO THERE ARE SOME, SOME STRATEGIES THAT DON AND I HAVE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT IN ORDER TO MOVE VERY FAST TO GET THOSE POSITIONS, UM, IN PLACE.
AND ARE THOSE POSITIONS FUNDED FOR THE FULL YEAR OR FOR ONLY PARTIAL FUNDING? THEY ARE FUNDED FOR, UM, FOR NINE MONTHS.
HOWEVER, UM, EACH DEPARTMENT HAS A A VACANCY SAVINGS GOAL, AND THAT VACANCY SAVINGS GOAL IS FOR THE YEAR.
SO AS LONG AS THE DEPARTMENT, UM, WORKING
[01:05:01]
VERY CLOSELY WITH THE FINANCIAL MANAGER, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO, TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS BECAUSE THAT VACANCY SAVINGS, UM, WILL KIND OF GO BY QUARTER.AND SO, SO THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO, HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS EVEN IF HE FILLS 'EM BEFORE THE NINE MONTH, UH, BUDGET ALLOCATION.
UM, GIVEN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS DESCRIBED, WHAT IS THE VACANCY RATE AT THE ANIMAL SERVICES CENTER? THE LAST TIME I LOOKED, I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY ABOUT 12%.
AND WHAT IS BEING DONE TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS? SO, UM, ACTUALLY OUT OF ALL THE DEPARTMENTS THAT I MANAGE, UM, BETWEEN ANIMAL SERVICES AND A P L, THEY TYPICALLY KEEP THEIR VACANCY RATE THE LOWEST.
UM, BECAUSE WHAT WE TEND TO TRACK IS, IS THAT WE TRACK NEW POSITIONS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN FILLED.
WE TRACK POSITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN VACANT FOR SIX MONTHS, AND WE TRACK POSITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN VACANT FOR A YEAR.
AND SO IN MY CONVERSATIONS, UM, THAT I HAVE ON MY ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS AS WELL AS MY OUTCOME TEAM MEETINGS IS WE GO OVER SPECIFIC POSITIONS AND TALK ABOUT IF YOU'RE HAVING ANY DIFFICULTIES FILLING THOSE POSITIONS, ET CETERA.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAPPEN VERY OFTEN.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE TALKED WITH THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT THE PAST BUDGET PROCESS IS THAT WE WERE NOT SHARED THE UNMET NEEDS BEYOND WHAT WAS RAISED, UM, TO BE THE HIGH PRIORITY, UM, AT THE DIRECTOR, CITIZEN CITY MANAGER LEVEL.
UM, WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING IN TERMS OF THE UNMET NEEDS FOR ANIMAL SERVICES AND HOW MUCH THAT WOULD COST? UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF HOW MUCH MONEY IT WOULD TAKE TO ADEQUATELY FUND.
UM, I THINK WE HEARD FROM THE SPEAKERS, UM, THAT THIS TRADE OFF MAY IN PART BE A FUNCTION OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING, UM, THAT ARE NOT ALLOWING US TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THREE OF THE GOALS OF THE, OF THE INTAKE, THE ANIMAL CARE AND THE LIVE RELEASE.
YOU KNOW, THOSE DON'T HAVE TO BE IN CONFLICT, BUT IT IS A FUNCTION AND PART OF THE RESOURCES.
UM, I DON'T BELIEVE, AND COLLEAGUES, YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE WE AS A COUNCIL HAVE A SENSE OF, UM, WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO ADEQUATELY FUND ANIMAL SERVICES, UM, SO THAT WE COULD ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THE GOALS, UM, WITH THE RIGHT MANAGEMENT TEAM IN PLACE.
WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE THING, WE DID HAVE THE REPORT FROM, I'M GUESSING THE YEAR, COREY, I THINK IT WAS MAYBE 20 18, 20 15, UM, AROUND THAT TIMEFRAME WHEN WE ACTUALLY LOOKED AT OUR, UM, ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS AND KIND OF THE RATIO FOR THAT.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT IS, IS WE ARE THE 10TH LARGEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND SO WE, WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER CITIES OUR SIZE, UM, THEY TYPICALLY DO HAVE OTHER LOCATIONS, OTHER SATELLITE SITES, UM, WHERE EVEN IF THEY'RE ONLY DOING ADOPTION IN THOSE OTHER SITES, AND WE, WE DON'T HAVE THAT.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT WE REALLY NEED TO, UM, START TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, BECAUSE IF E EVEN IF WE DID THE ADOPTIONS, UM, AT SATELLITE SITES OR HAD LOCATIONS, YOU KNOW, WHERE FOLKS COULD POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, BRING THEIR ANIMALS IN FOR INTAKE, UM, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
BUT IT'S, IT'S VARIOUS, UM, STRATEGIES THAT WE CAN REALLY LOOK AT, UM, AS A CITY, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT AS A CITY IS GROWING, WE HAVE TO START TO KIND OF FORECAST OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE TRENDS AND HOW WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO MEET THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
AND, AND HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SHEL, UM, SHEPHERD THIS PROCESS OF, UH, PLAN THAT IS GONNA HELP BALANCE, UM, THE CHOICES AND PROVIDE US WITH THE INFORMATION ALSO ON THE RESOURCES NEEDED? SO, CURRENTLY, WE, UH, BROUGHT A CONSULTANT ON, UM, UH, COMMUNICATION, WENT OUT TO THE FULL COUNCIL FROM THE MANAGER ABOUT A CONSULTANT.
UM, DEVIN DECIDED THAT WE HAVE BROUGHT ON BOARD.
DEVIN, UM, HAS BEEN IN HIS POSITION CONSULTING FOR US FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT HE HAS MET WITH THE MAJORITY OF, OF, OF YOU ALL ON COUNCIL.
UM, AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HE'S GOING TO DO AT THIS POINT PRETTY QUICKLY IS, IS THAT HE'S GOING TO TAKE THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND THEN HAVE US TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOW WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT MY OFFICE, UM,
[01:10:01]
UH, DID LAST YEAR IS, IS THAT, UM, WORKED WITH ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER.THERE IS A CONSULTANT, UM, THAT HAS WORKED WITH, WITH THE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER.
THEY HAVE WORKED WITH, UM, ALL OF THE STAFF AT THE CENTER.
UM, AND SO NOW WE HAVE A RETREAT WITH THE ANIMAL COMMISSION, UM, COMMISSIONERS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, A RETREAT WE'LL HAVE IN NOVEMBER.
THAT PARTICULAR, UM, RETREAT WILL WORK ON, UM, COMMUNICATION AND ALLOWING US TO BE ABLE TO WORK A LITTLE BIT BETTER, UM, BETWEEN, UM, THE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICE LEADERSHIP AND THE COMMISSION.
SO THOSE THINGS, UM, WERE GOING ON PRIOR TO THE AUDIT AND THEY WILL CONTINUE AND, UM, WE ARE OPEN TO COMING BACK TO THIS FORUM OR IF THERE'S ANOTHER COMMISSION, UM, THAT WE NEED TO BRING THAT TO, TO PROVIDE THOSE UPDATES AS NEEDED.
UH, COUNCIL MEMORABLE, AND I NOTICED THAT THE, UH, CITY MANAGER IS HERE AND IN CASE HE, HE WANTS TO STEP TO THE MIC AND, AND HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY.
BUT WHAT I WOULD ALSO SAY TO, UM, TO OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AND OUR STAFF, UM, WE'VE BEEN HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CONCERNS WITH THE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICE AND OFFICER FOR A LONG TIME.
AND IT, IT WORRIES ME THAT, UH, WE'RE ONLY JUST NOW TALKING ABOUT HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND WE HAVEN'T MOVED IN THE DIRECTION THAT WAS SO CLEARLY NECESSARY EVEN A YEAR AGO.
AND I, I WOULD CHALLENGE YOU TO, TO ADDRESS THE FACT THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MANAGEMENT FAILURES AND WE'RE PIVOTING TO FINANCIALS.
I WOULD, I WOULD OFFER THAT MONEY DOESN'T MAKE GOOD MANAGEMENT NECESSARILY.
YOU, THEY'RE SET, THEY WORK TOGETHER IN A REALLY GOOD WAY, BUT YOU DON'T, IT JUST POURING MONEY INTO A SYSTEM DOESN'T MAKE IT A BETTER MANAGED SYSTEM.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M HEARING HERE.
AND I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE LIMITS TO WHAT THE COUNCIL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR APPROVING AND DIRECTING, BUT WE HAVE LAID THE PREDICATE FOR WHAT WE EXPECT AND THE VALUES THAT WE EXPECT FOR THE CITY, FOR THE CARE OF OUR ANIMAL POPULATION FOR YEARS, FOR DECADES, AS LONG AS I'VE LIVED IN THIS CITY, IT HAS NEVER WAVERED.
AND WE HAVE FALLEN SO SHORT AND IT, IT IS, THIS IS NOT NEW INFORMATION.
SO I CHALLENGE YOU TO LOOK AT THE MANAGEMENT SITUATION AND DON'T SIMPLY DEFAULT TO POURING MORE MONEY INTO IT, BECAUSE THAT ISN'T NECESSARILY THE ANSWER.
WELL, I, I, I FIRST THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE,
I, I'D FIRST SAY, I'M THE FIRST TO SAY YOU SHOULD NEVER POUR MONEY INTO AN ISSUE UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOUR OBJECTIVES ARE.
UH, AND IN, AND IN MY FOUR, IN MY SHORT SIX OR SEVEN MONTHS HERE, UH, I'VE SEEN NUMEROUS OF THOSE EXAMPLES BECAUSE MONEY IN THE INPUT HAS BEEN THE MEASURING STICK OF SUCCESS.
AND I KNOW THE COUNCIL AGREES WITH ME THAT THAT IS NOT THE MEASURE FOR SUCCESS.
IT IS WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH RESPECT TO THE ANIMAL SERVICES.
UH, THIS IS, UH, AN ISSUE THAT, UH, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF ADDRESSING.
IT'S NOT AN OLD ISSUE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
I REMEMBER WHEN, UH, THE ANIMAL SERVICES USED TO BE MANAGED BY A DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION BECAUSE OF THE, UH, OF THE, UH, DEMANDS OF THE PUBLIC.
AND SOME OF THOSE SAME ISSUES THAT, UH, WE WERE CONCERNED WITH WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR BEGAN TO MANIFEST THEMSELVES WITH THE CITY OPERATING IT.
WHEN WE ASKED, UH, DEVIN TO GO IN AND START LOOKING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE ANIMAL SHELTER, AND THEN TO LAY OUT THE CARDS ON THE TABLE THAT NEED TO BE, UH, CONSIDERED BY US, I THINK IT'S, UH, HE'S IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT.
AND WE'LL GET THAT REPORT AND WE'LL OBVIOUSLY, OBVIOUSLY INCORPORATE THE, THE SUGGESTIONS OR SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S DONE THROUGH THE AUDIT AS WELL.
BUT I ALSO WOULD SAY, 'CAUSE I KNOW IT WAS A COMMENT THAT WAS MADE EARLIER, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN ANIMAL SERVICES, IS ABOUT UNMET NEEDS.
IT IS OUR INTENT, UH, DURING THE COURSE OF THIS REVIEW THAT WE WILL HAVE AT MIDYEAR OR LATER IN TERMS OF NOT JUST ANIMAL SERVICES, BUT OTHER KEY CITY SERVICES, IS WE DO WANNA START TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT NEED TO GET MADE IN CORE CITY SERVICES.
AND I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF WHAT THE BUDGET DELIBERATIONS ARE GONNA NEED TO BE ABOUT FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.
AND WE WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING THAT.
SO YOU HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF YOU ALONG WITH THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT COMES IN FROM DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE IN NEED OF BASICALLY MAKING A REQUEST OF COUNSEL TO FUND.
SO JUST TO SAY THAT WE'RE EVALUATING IT, UH, I UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION, UH, AND, UH, AND WHAT I NEED TO
[01:15:01]
DO IS DO THE EVALUATION.BUT I, WE DID ASK, WE'VE ASKED SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS TO PROVIDE US INPUT AND WE'LL, AND WE'LL GET THAT INPUT.
UH, I DON'T THINK IT'S ALL TOGETHER.
FAIR TO LAY THI LAY THIS AT THE, UH, AT MANAGEMENT.
I THINK THERE'S SOME ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO SORT THROUGH FROM THAT ARE REALLY BASICALLY POLITICALLY CHARGED.
WE'LL HAVE TO WORK THROUGH THAT WITH WHATEVER DEVIN COMES BACK.
'CAUSE I THINK IT'S HOW YOU MANAGE AND WORK AS A TEAM.
AND I THINK AT LEAST AS, AT LEAST MY LITTLE INFORMATION HAS GOTTEN IS THAT, THAT THOSE EFFORTS HAVE NOT BEEN SEAMLESS BETWEEN OUR, THE, THE ADVISORY COMMISSIONS AND OUR MANAGEMENT STAFF.
SO WE NEED TO WORK TO FIX THAT.
UH, I HAVE READ, THE EMAILS HAVE BEEN SENT BY THE ADVOCATES.
I'VE ALSO HAD EMAILS THAT HAVE GIVEN A COUNTERWEIGHT TO WHAT THOSE ADVOCATES HAVE SAID.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO LISTEN TO BOTH SIDES OF THAT STORY TO, TO GET TO WHAT WE THINK IS THE BO THE BASIC TRUTH.
AND WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO SOLVE THIS.
UM, CITY MANAGER AND ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UM, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
YOU KNOW, I, I, YOU KNOW, ASKED A C M HAYDEN HOWARD TO COME UP BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT REQUIRES, UM, CITY LEADERSHIP TO LEAN INTO, TO HELP US TO RESOLVE.
UM, I DO THINK THAT IT IS, UM, FEASIBLE UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS WITH THE RIGHT APPROACH, UM, INCLUDING LOOKING AT ALL OF THE PIECES, UM, THAT GOVERN HOW ANIMAL SERVICES WORK TO ACCOMPLISH THE INTAKE, THE ANIMAL CARE, AND THE LIVE RELEASE GOALS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO HAVE A STRATEGY WHEN THERE ARE PARTICULAR SITUATIONS WHERE THEY'RE IN CONFLICT AND CHOICES NEED TO BE MADE RATHER THAN BE DEFAULTED TO.
UM, BUT I HOPE THAT WHEN YOU MOVE THE PLAN FORWARD, THAT WE WILL, UM, BE ABLE TO, TO SEE THAT, UM, EARLIER COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY ASKED FOR KIND OF REGULAR UPDATES.
UM, SO IF YOU CAN PLAN AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THE RIGHT CADENCE IS FOR THAT IN TERMS OF MEMOS, AND THEN, UM, I WILL, I WILL WORK WITH THE VICE CHAIR AND WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT THE RIGHT CADENCE WILL BE, UM, FOR COMING BACK TO AUDIT AND FINANCE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A MORE PUBLIC DISCUSSION, UM, AS WELL, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IN SIX MONTHS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, I THINK QUARTERLY MIGHT BE, MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT CADENCE, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL DISCUSS THAT.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM, UM, WE WILL MOVE ON
[4. Vegetation Management Audit.]
TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AUDIT.AND MS. STOKES, IF YOU'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE ITEM.
SO THIS AUDIT ALSO REQUIRED BY, OR AS A REQUESTED VIA COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UM, RELATES TO OUR TREE TRIMMING PROGRAM OR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, AS WE CALL IT.
KATHY HARRISON IS GONNA BE MAKING THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
AND KELSEY THOMPSON WAS THE MANAGER OF THIS? THAT'S CORRECT.
GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS KATHY HARRISON AND I'M THE AUDIT LEAD AND I'LL BE GIVING THIS PRESENTATION.
A LITTLE BIT OF TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY.
IN FEBRUARY, 2023, THE COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN RESPONSE TO THE PROLONGED OUTAGES AND DAMAGES CAUSED BY WINTER STORM.
MARA AUSTIN ENERGY'S FORESTRY DIVISION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING VEGETATION OR TRIMMING TREES NEAR POWER LINES HAS A CURRENT GOAL TO TRIM ON A SEVEN YEAR CYCLE WITH CONSIDERATION FOR WHEN A CIRCUIT WAS LAST TRIMMED CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE, ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS, WILDFIRE RISK AND GROWTH PATTERNS.
AND AUSTIN ENERGY HIRES CONTRACTORS TO PLAN, SCHEDULE AND TRIM TREES.
IN THIS AUDIT, WE FOUND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS BEHIND ON ITS CURRENT GOAL TO TRIM TREES ON A SEVEN YEAR CYCLE BECAUSE OF SEVERAL FACTORS INCLUDING COUNCIL DIRECTION IN 2006 TO TURN TREES LESS THAN INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
[01:20:01]
AND WE ALSO FOUND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY CAN DO MORE TO DEVELOP A LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE PLAN AND IMPROVE DATA RELIABILITY.THE CHART ON THIS SLIDE SHOWS AUSTIN ENERGY'S TREE TRIMMING CYCLE GOAL.
COMPARED TO OTHER PURE UTILITIES REVIEWED, WE FOUND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S CURRENT SEVEN YEAR TRIM CYCLE GOAL IS LONGER THAN OTHER PURE UTILITIES AND LONGER THAN THE FIVE YEAR INDUSTRY STANDARD.
WE COMPARED AUSTIN ENERGY'S TREE TRIMMING PERFORMANCE TO THEIR CURRENT TRIM CYCLE GOAL, THEN PROJECTED THOSE NUMBERS OVER SEVEN YEARS.
WE FOUND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS TRIMMING TREES ON A CYCLE MORE THAN DOUBLE THEIR SEVEN YEAR GOAL.
SO WE ASKED WHY AUSTIN ENERGY'S TRIM CYCLE IS LONGER.
AND WE WORKED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO IDENTIFY SEVERAL REASONS, INCLUDING DIFFICULTY HIRING QUALIFIED CONTRACTORS, THE LENGTHY TREE TRIMMING PROCESS WHERE SOME WORK MAY TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS OR MONTHS TO COMPLETE DUE TO AVOIDING OAK QUILT AND BIRD HABITATS IN CERTAIN MONTHS, OR MULTIPLE INTERACTIONS WITH CUSTOMERS AND TRIMMING TREES LESSEN INDUSTRY STANDARDS BASED ON COUNCIL DIRECTION IN 2006, WHICH CAUSED A BACKLOG.
WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
THE GRAPHIC ON THIS SLIDE SHOWS AUSTIN ENERGY'S TREE TRIMMING GUIDELINES FROM 2006 TO PRESENT IN ORANGE AUSTIN ENERGY TRIMMED TREES LESS THAN INDUSTRY STANDARDS STO SHOWN IN YELLOW BASED ON COUNCIL DIRECTION IN 2006.
THIS CONTRIBUTED TO OVERGROWTH, INCREASED WORKLOADS, AND HAS MADE IT HARDER FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO MEET THEIR TRIM GOALS.
IN BLUE, YOU'LL SEE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY INCREASED TREE TRIMMING CLEARANCES IN 2019 TO BETTER ALIGN WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
IN 2021, THE COUNCIL APPROVED AND INCREASED OUR AUSTIN ENERGY'S BUDGET TO HELP TRIM OVERGROWN TREES TO THE NEW STANDARDS AND APPROVED ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN 2023 TO HIRE FOUR MORE TREE TRIMMING CONTRACTORS.
THE GRAPHIC ON THIS SLIDE SHOWS AUSTIN ENERGY'S TREE TRIMMING EFFORTS COMPARED TO BEST PRACTICES.
BASED ON OUR REVIEW, WE CONCLUDED THAT AUSTIN ENERGY MEETS MOST TREE TRIMMING BEST PRACTICE ELEMENTS NOTED IN GREEN.
THIS INCLUDES DEVELOPING SHORT-TERM PLANS, COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS, SCHEDULING AND PERFORMING WORK AND HOSTING MEETINGS TO, TO DISCUSS CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
WE ALSO FOUND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY CAN IMPROVE ON THE TWO ELEMENTS IN YELLOW, THAT WE WILL DISCUSS MORE ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
FOR THE FIRST IMPROVEMENT AREA, AUSTIN ENERGY SHOULD DEVELOP A LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE PLAN AND GOALS FOR DISTRIBUTION LINES.
NOT HAVING THIS PLAN MAKES IT HARD FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO ASSESS TRIMMING PROGRESS ACROSS CIRCUITS, ASSESS HISTORICAL INFORMATION SUCH AS TIMELINES TO MAKE FUTURE ESTIMATES AND DEVELOP A WAY FORWARD TO MEET THEIR GOALS.
FOR THE SECOND IMPROVEMENT AREA, AUSTIN ENERGY SHOULD KEEP COMPLETE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE DATA FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION.
WE FOUND INCONSISTENCIES BETWEEN THE DATES AND THE HARD COPY WORK PLANS AND THE DATES RECORDED IN AUSTIN ENERGY'S TREE TRIMMING DATABASE.
WE ALSO NOTED WHEN A CUSTOMER CALLS TO REQUEST TREE TRIMMING SERVICES, THEN THIS INFORMATION IS ENTERED, TRACKED, AND KEPT IN MULTIPLE SYSTEMS. THESE DATA ISSUES MAKE IT HARD FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO DO ACCURATE, RELIABLE, RELIABLE REPORTING AT AN AGGREGATE LEVEL.
TO ASSESS OVERALL PROGRESS DURING THIS AUDIT, WE NOTED AN ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION RELATED TO TELECOMS THAT ATTACH THEIR WIRES TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S UTILITY POLES.
SO THANK AT AND T GOOGLE FIBER SPECTRUM.
WE FOUND THAT TELECOMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TRIMMING TREES AROUND THEIR LINES, AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAS LIMITED ABILITY TO HOLD TELECOMS ACCOUNTABLE.
AUSTIN ENERGY ONLY TRIMS AROUND THESE LINES IN, IN EMERGENCIES, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO MOST PURE UTILITIES WE CONTACTED.
THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE PICTURE, IT'S POSSIBLE FOR THE TREE TO TAKE DOWN BOTH THE POWER LINE ON TOP AND THE TELECOM LINE BELOW.
THE FIRST ONE IS TO ENSURE AUSTIN ENERGY CAN EFFECTIVELY AND ACCURATELY DETERMINE THE PROGRESS OF THEIR OVERALL TREE TRIMMING EFFORTS.
AND THE SECOND ONE IS TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF TREE TRIMMING DATA MANAGEMENT.
AGREED WITH OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, IS THERE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY THAT WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND AND THEN WE'LL TAKE QUESTIONS.
[01:25:01]
GOOD MORNING.UH, BOB KAHN, GENERAL MANAGER AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, YEAH, WE AGREE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE PLAYING CATCH UP 13 YEARS AT NOT MEETING INDUSTRY STANDARDS IS IS KIND OF DIFFICULT TO CATCH UP ON, BUT BY 28 WE'LL BE FULLY CAUGHT UP AND THEN WE'LL GO ON OUR FIVE YEAR CYCLE.
WE ARE TRIMMING TREES AS WE STAND HERE TODAY.
WE HAVE ABOUT 50 OR 60 CREWS OUT THERE, UH, UH, AS FAR AS TRACKING WHAT'S GETTING DONE INDIVIDUALLY, OUR PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF COLLECTING IT AT A HIGHER LEVEL SO WE GET THE BIG PICTURE.
BUT WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, DOING EVERYTHING THEY RECOMMENDED AND, UH, OF COURSE, WE'LL, WE'LL LET THE AUDITORS KNOW HOW WE'RE DOING.
COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, THIS WAS YOUR ITEM THAT YOU SPONSORED.
AND THANK YOU COLLEAGUES FOR SUPPORTING THAT FOLLOWING THE, THE LATEST WINTER STORM.
AND THANK YOU AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DID TO PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY WITH INFORMATION DURING THAT WINTER STORM.
I KNOW, I KNOW YOU WEREN'T QUITE HERE YET, BUT YOUR TEAM DID A FANTASTIC JOB, THANK YOU, OF LETTING US KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON, WHICH KIND OF LED ME TO CONNECT THE DOTS THAT THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE AN AREA OF OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOUR TEAM, MR. KHAN, FOR THE, UM, TOUR OF THE ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS THAT I DID THIS WEEK.
LEARNED QUITE A BIT ABOUT THAT.
I'VE BEEN REALLY IMMERSING MYSELF IN MORE AUSTIN ENERGY RELATED THINGS SO I COULD UNDERSTAND THEM MORE.
I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT THIS GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2006.
THAT'S A LONG TIME TO TRY TO PLAY CATCH UP.
UH, BUT I AM GLAD THAT YOU HAVE A PLAN.
ON PAGE FOUR THOUGH, IT'S SAID THAT AUSTIN ENERGY SAID IT'S NOT REALISTIC TO TRIM 44 CIRCUITS PER YEAR WITH THE CURRENT RESOURCES.
I'M CURIOUS WHAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES YOU ALL MIGHT NEED.
WELL, WE ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE CONTRACTORS BEING ABLE TO HIRE THE CREWS THEY NEED AND, AND WE ARE HIRING, UH, AS MANY CREWS AS WE CAN GET.
BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST PLAYING CATCH UP AND, AND GETTING ENOUGH CREWS OUT THERE TO DO THE WORK THAT THAT'S A BIG PROBLEM.
AND AS IF YOU READ MY MANAGEMENT RESPONSE, UH, JUST FOR EXAMPLE, AND THIS, THIS KIND OF BLEW MY MIND, APPARENTLY THE PAY SCOUT'S ABOUT $15 AN HOUR FOR PEOPLE TO DO THIS.
AND WE KNOW THAT ONE CONTRACTOR HAD TOLD PEOPLE THEY'RE TRYING TO HIRE, IF YOU COME IN FOR SIX MONTHS, WE'LL GIVE YOU A $5,000 BONUS.
AND IF YOU COME IN FOR A YEAR, WE'LL GIVE YOU A $10,000 BONUS.
THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE MAKING $15 AN HOUR AND THEY WERE STILL HAVING TROUBLE HIRING PEOPLE.
I GUESS IT GETS BACK TO THE AFFORDABILITY IN AUSTIN AND I GUESS DRIVING LONG DISTANCE INTO WORK.
SO, BUT WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO BRING ON ON MORE CREWS.
I THINK ELTON'S TOLD ME THAT WE THINK WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING A FEW MORE CREWS SOON.
OKAY, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT UPDATE.
AND THEN ON PAGE FIVE, YOU TALK ABOUT THE, WELL, THE AUDIT TALKS ABOUT A LENGTHY COMMUNICATION PROCESS.
COULD YOU GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL, UH, AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHORTEN THAT PROCESS OR MAKE IT LESS LENGTHY? UH, MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE ELTON RESPOND TO THAT ONE.
I LIKE SITTING HIM ON THE SPOT.
CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU GUYS AGAIN.
I'M ELTON RICHARDS, VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEMS FIELD OPERATIONS.
UH, SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT I'VE SPOKE TO THE COUNCIL ABOUT BEFORE.
UH, THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS IS AS OUR CONTRACTORS PLANNING AND AS THEY'RE WALKING THE LINES DOWN, THEY'LL GO OUT AND DO HANGERS OR KNOCK ON DOORS TO LET PEOPLE NOTIFY 'EM.
SO THE INDIVIDUAL COULD SAY, I DON'T WANT YOU TO TRIM MY, MY TREES.
SO WHAT HAPPENS THEN IS WE WILL CONTACT THAT PERSON INDIVIDUALLY, TRY TO TALK TO THEM UP FOR THE PHONE.
THEY CAN STILL SAY, HEY, I DON'T WANT YOU TO CUT MY TREES.
THEN WE'LL ACTUALLY HAVE A TRAINED ARBORIST GO OUT, MEET WITH THE INDIVIDUAL, SHOW 'EM USING A LASER POINTER, WHAT'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE CUT, WHAT'S BEING REMOVED.
AND THE REASON WHY THE INDIVIDUAL CAN STILL SAY, I DON'T WANT MY TREE CUT.
AT THAT POINT, THEY'RE SENT A NOTIFICATION LETTER, CERTIFIED MAIL SAYING WE'RE CUTTING YOUR TREE.
SO THE PROCESS COULD TAKE THREE TO SIX MONTHS ON THAT.
THE PEOPLE THAT CALL BACK TO SAY, I DON'T WANT A TREE TRIMMED THE FIRST TIME IS ABOUT 25 TO 30%, THE ONES THAT WE GO OUT TO ACTUALLY VISIT ON THE SITE USE LASER ON DROPS DOWN TO ABOUT 10%.
UH, I THINK THE LAST SIX MONTHS WE ONLY SENT OUT THREE NOTIFICATION LETTERS.
NOW WHY IT ANGST ME INTERNALLY ON THAT PROCESS? I UNDERSTAND IN AUSTIN THE BEAUTIFUL TREES AND THE HERITAGE THAT WE GOT WITH THEM.
SO WHILE IT IS LABOROUS, I BELIEVE IT'S A DECENT PROCESS.
WE'RE TAKING THE CONSUMER AND CUSTOMER'S THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS INTO THE PROCESS.
AND I THINK WE CAN STILL DO IT WITHIN
[01:30:01]
THE TIMELINE THAT WE NEED WITH THE SMALL POPULATION THAT WE GO TO.SO EVEN THOUGH IT BOTHERS ME OVERALL, I THINK IT'S A GOOD PROCESS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT.
SO THAT THE COMMUNITY COULD KNOW, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE LINKS THAT WE GO THROUGH TO ENSURE THAT THE TREES ARE CUT AND HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION WE HAVE WITH THE COMMUNITY REGARDING THAT AND THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT AS WELL.
AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM DO AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND, AND CHAIR, IF I COULD, I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE STATEMENT CLEAR.
UH, THE GENTLEMAN CAME UP AND SPOKE DURING THE OPEN SPEAKER AND HE HAD SOME GOOD POINTS ON THERE, BUT I WANNA BE ON PUBLIC RECORD STATING THIS.
YOU ARE NOT THE COUNCIL THAT HELD US BACK.
YOU WERE THE COUNCIL THAT SUPPORTED ME SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, DOUBLED MY BUDGET, GAVE ME THE CONTRACTORS, GAVE ME AN ADDITIONAL BUDGET AND ADDITIONAL CONTRACTORS TO GET THIS DONE.
SO I APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND IF WE PLAN TO WORK AND WORK THE PLAN AND YOU CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, WE WILL GET THIS BACK ON TRACK.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, I, UM, WORKED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY IN 2018 FOR SOME RELIABILITY ISSUES THAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING IN MY DISTRICT IN HIGH WILDFIRE RISK AREAS, AND WE IDENTIFIED THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AS, UM, ONE OF THE ISSUES, UM, TO ADDRESS.
AND THAT WAS WHEN THE POLICY CHANGED IN, IN 2019.
AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH YOU TO DOUBLE THOSE BUDGETS AND, AND DO ALL THOSE THINGS.
SO, UM, I APPRECIATE, UM, THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT THIS WAS A PAST COUNCIL AND THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO CHANGE THINGS.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF OF QUESTIONS, AND I'LL TRY TO BE BRIEF.
UM, IN JUNE, WE AUTHORIZED FOR NEW CONTRACTORS.
ARE THEY IN THE FIELD? SO, UH, NO CHAIR.
THE THE REASON WHY IS YOU'LL REMEMBER DURING THAT SAME TIMEFRAME, WE ALSO AUTHORIZED CONTRACT FOR DISTRIBUTION CREWS TO COME IN BECAUSE OF THE BACKLOG OF WORK.
AND IN THE ONBOARDING PROCESS, WE COULD ONLY PICK ONE GROUP OR THE OTHER.
SO BECAUSE OF THE BACKLOG OF THE DISTRIBUTION CREWS AND WE HAD VEGETATION CREWS WORKING, WE CHOSE TO ONBOARD THE DISTRIBUTION CREWS.
THE VEGETATION CREWS HAVE BEEN ONBOARDING FOR ABOUT THE LAST TWO WEEKS, AND WE EXPECT THEM TO BE ON SYSTEM AND WORKING BY THE END OF OCTOBER.
AND THAT CORRESPONDS WITH THE SEASON WHEN YOU CAN DO YES, MA'AM.
MUCH OF THE MA'AM, MUCH OF THE CUTTING.
UM, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE THAT, THAT CONSTRAINT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS SURPRISED NOT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, MENTIONED IN THE AUDITOR'S, UM, REPORT IS, WAS THAT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ARE DOING SOME OF THE HARDEST CIRCUITS FIRST, UM, IN TERMS OF THE LEVEL OF VEGETATION MANA, YOU KNOW, VEGETATION THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, UM, AND ALSO THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THOSE CIRCUITS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED, WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF CANYONS AND A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, DEEP BACKYARDS, ET CETERA.
UM, SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF, IF, IF THAT'S ACCURATE, AN ACCURATE OBSERVATION, UM, THAT MAY BE CONTRIBUTING TO SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE BACKLOG.
THERES THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A VERY, YOU KNOW, AS I UNDERSTOOD IT, WHEN WE APPROACHED, UM, THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT STARTING IN 2019, THERE WERE PRIORITIES THAT WERE SET, VERY PARTICULAR SETS OF CIRCUITS, UM, WERE IDENTIFIED, UM, IN PARTICULAR ORDERS.
AND THAT WAS ADJUSTED, YOU KNOW, BASED ON CHANGES IN RELIABILITY.
UM, BUT IS IT, IS IT ACCURATE THAT THOSE WERE, UM, SOME OF THE HARDER CIRCUITS TO, TO ADDRESS THAT? WE STARTED WITH THAT.
BUT THE POINT IS, EVERY CIRCUIT WE HAVE OUT THERE IS THE HARDEST CIRCUIT BECAUSE IT'S HAD 13 YEARS OF OVERGROWTH ON IT.
SO EVEN IF IT'S OUR SHORTES, WHICH IS A THIRD OF A MILE, THAT'S STILL A BEAST TO GET BACK TO STANDARD TO OUR 39 MILE, WHICH IS ALSO A BEAST.
BUT YOU ARE CORRECT THE WAY THAT WE WORK THESE AND PRIORITIZE 'EM, AND YOU KNOW IT, AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE SUPPORT AND HELP THAT YOU GAVE WITH THE HOMEOWNERS WHEN WE STARTED THESE, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF THE WILDFIRE CIRCUITS IN YOUR AREA.
WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE RELIABILITY OF THE CIRCUIT, WHO HAS THE MOST OUTAGES ON THE CIRCUIT, THEN WE ALSO WORK WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT ON THE HIGHEST WILDFIRE RISK.
WE PUT THOSE TWO TOGETHER, MERGE THEM, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE WORK.
SO FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS WE'VE BEEN WORKING OFF THAT LIST.
AND OUR, OUR SHORT TERM PLAN, WHICH IS A 12 TO 24 MONTH, IS BASED UPON WHAT THE NEXT 15 UNDERPERFORMANCE CIRCUITS ARE AND THE NEXT 15 WILDFIRE CIRCUITS ARE.
AND THEN THE REST WE DO BASED UPON THE LAST TIME THEY WERE TRIMMED.
AND, AND COLLEAGUES, I'LL JUST MENTION THAT IF YOU DO EXPERIENCE, UM, SITUATIONS IN YOUR DISTRICT WHERE THEY ARE TRYING TO DO THE TREE TRIMMING, YOU HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND OTHERS, UM, IT HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO CONNECT AE UP WITH THOSE GROUPS TO HELP FACILITATE THE PROCESS, UM, FOR THE TREE TRIMMING SO PEOPLE CAN BE, BE INFORMED AND MORE LIKELY TO ACCEPT THE FIRST TIME, UM, WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN
[01:35:01]
THEY'RE APPROACHED.UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MENTIONED IN THERE IS THAT, UM, THAT THIS AUDIT DIRECTLY FOLLOWS FROM THE STORM MARA, BUT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY EMPHASIZES THAT MORE AGGRESSIVE TREE TRIMMING WOULD NOT HAVE PREVENTED MUCH OF THE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE FROM THE ICE STORM.
I, I, I DID WANNA GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO THAT.
AND THE HAILSTORM THAT WE HAD ON, UH, THIS WEEK, UH, THE PICTURES THAT WE SENT IN FOR OUR P I O WAS NOT TREE LIMBS COMING DOWN.
THESE WERE 30, 40 FOOT TREES THAT CAME DOWN BECAUSE OF THE HIGH WINDS AND THE WEAKENED ROOT SYSTEM.
AND THE SAME THING WITH THE ICE STORM.
MARA, AS I PRESENTED, UH, DURING THE, THE PRESS CONFERENCE, THE PICTURES WERE COMPLETE TREES COMING DOWN.
SO ONE REPORTER ASKED ME, COULD WE HAVE PREVENTED THIS? AND I WAS LIKE, WELL, YES, IF YOU LET ME CLEAR CUT 45 FEET ON ICE SIDE OF LINE, BUT I DON'T THINK ANY OF US WANT TO DO THAT TO OUR BEAUTIFUL TREES HERE.
SO I THINK THE, THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN IS A SOLID PLAN, BUT IT WILL NEVER TAKE AWAY THE RISK BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVE LARGE TREES OR EVEN THE ONES THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE TRIM CYCLE THAT COME BACK IN.
UM, AND I APPRECIATED THAT THE AUDITOR EMPHASIZED MS. HARRISON EMPHASIZED THE LONG-TERM PLAN.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU READ THROUGH THE AUDIT, YOU KNOW, THE SHORT AND THE MEDIUM TERM ARE EXACTLY WHAT YOU'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG THAT YOU'RE DOING.
I THINK WHERE, WHERE WE'RE FALLING SHORT IS, UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE DATA, WE DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO SAY HOW WE'RE DOING ON THAT LONG-TERM PLAN OF GETTING THERE WITHIN THE SEVEN YEARS.
NOW, YOU, YOU HAD THE PLAN FOR SEVEN YEARS THEN TO SWITCH TO FIVE, BUT IF WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TREMENDOUSLY OFF ON OUR GOAL FOR THE SEVEN YEARS, THEN WE NEED TO BE RE-LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND, AND ADJUSTING, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW IT IS THAT WE ARE, WE ARE HANDLING THINGS.
UM, AND, AND SO I THINK THAT LONG-TERM PLAN IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, VICE CHAIR POOL, YOU ALSO CHAIR THE AUSTIN ENERGY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
SO I WOULD ASK THAT WHEN WE HAVE THIS LONG RANGE PLAN DETERMINED, UM, AND THE DATA FIXED AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, THAT THAT COME BACK TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY OVERSIGHT, WHICH I THINK IS A MORE APPROPRIATE LOCATION FOR THAT TO COME BACK TO, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ON, WE ARE ON TRACK.
WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LONG RANGE PLAN, I MEAN, THE LONG RANGE PLAN IS TO HAVE ALL THE CIRCUITS IN STANDARD BY 2028.
OUR DETAILED PLAN WILL SHOW WHEN THE CIRCUITS ARE IN THAT PLAN, AND THEN THEY'LL BE ADJUSTED EACH YEAR BASED UPON RELIABILITY AND UNDERPERFORMING JOCKEY 'EM AROUND.
SO WHEN OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE, THE AUDIT TEAM, AND I'LL PAUSE HERE AND JUST SAY FOR KATHY, CHELSEA AND, AND COREY HERE, UH, WHAT A GREAT AUDIT TEAM.
UH, THEY, THEY WERE RESPECTFUL, GREAT COMMUNICATION TO MY TEAM AND VERY QUESTIONING ATTITUDE.
AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY SOLID AUDIT.
BUT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UH, CHAIR IS NOT ONLY FOR YOU, BUT ALSO THE PUBLIC.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS ON OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT WEBSITE, WHICH IS CUSTOMER FACING, IS START TO PUT THE TOTAL CIRCUITS THAT ARE BEING TRIMMED UP TO THAT POINT AND THE REMAINING ONES IN M AND E PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR.
THAT WAY, IF YOU'RE JUST A BASIC CUSTOMER WITH A QUESTION ABOUT IT, YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
I DO NOT WANNA, THOUGH, LET THE POINT BE LOST THAT WE HAVE A LONG RANGE PLAN TO BE DONE WITH THIS IN THE SEVEN YEARS, AND WE ARE NOT ON TRACK TO MEET THAT GOAL.
AND SO I THINK THE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE FOR YOU AND, AND THE GENERAL MANAGER IS TO GET US BACK ON TRACK.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE THE OTHER CONTRACTS, ET CETERA, UM, BUT WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, TRY TO KEEP TO THAT GOAL.
AND, UM, YOU NEED TO BE COMING TO US IF THERE NEEDS TO BE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AT THIS POINT, THOSE RESOURCES AREN'T ABLE TO BE DEPLOYED.
SO THAT MAY NOT BE THE SOLUTION.
BUT IF WE NEED TO, IF, IF WE DON'T MAKE THE 2028 GOAL, THAT'S A PROBLEM.
AND SO WE, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE HOW FAR WE ARE FROM THAT AND, AND ADJUST ACCORDINGLY.
AND I THINK THAT WAS THE CORE, AS I UNDERSTOOD IT, OF THE AUDITOR'S RECOMMENDATION FOR THAT LONGER RANGE LOOK AND THE COMBINATION WITH THE DATA.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE.
AND SOME OF THAT MAY NEED TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THE COUNCIL AND EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR REASONS OF NOT SHOWING WHERE CIRCUITS ARE.
BUT, BUT THAT, THAT NEEDS, THAT PLAN NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE, NOT JUST THE GOAL.
UM, FOR YOU CHAIR, I THINK YOU GONNA BE BY NOW.
IF I
UM, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS, WE'LL MOVE ON.
[5. Northeast Service Center Project.]
ITEM IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER PROJECT, AND I BELIEVE MS. OLIVAREZ WILL BE PRESENTING[01:40:05]
GOOD MORNING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS OR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE.
I'M KIM LAVAR, I'M DEPUTY C F O FOR THE CITY.
UM, I ALSO HAVE WITH US SPREAD AROUND IN THE, IN THE AUDIENCE, UM, SOME FELLOW STRATEGIC FACILITIES GOVERNANCE TEAM MEMBERS, PARTICULARLY DARRYL ALEXANDER, OUR BUILDING SERVICES DIRECTOR, MIKE GATES, OUR REAL ESTATE OFFICER, AS WELL AS, UM, STAFF FROM AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND, UH, FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES AS THIS PROJECT IS, IS A, A HUGE STEP FORWARD FOR THEM.
SO I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS PROJECT.
UM, THIS IS THE FIRST FACILITY DELIVERY THAT WILL HAPPEN THROUGH THE PUBLIC FACILITY CORPORATION THAT COUNCIL CREATED THIS LAST SPRING.
UM, SO I WILL SPEND SOME TIME, UH, DELVING INTO THE DELIVERY METHOD A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN I WOULD TYPICALLY WITH, WITH ANY OTHER PROJECT PROJECT, BECAUSE IT IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU'RE POTENTIALLY USED TO SEEING.
SO WHAT IS THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER? UM, IT'S LOCATED ON JOHNNY MORRIS ROAD.
UM, BACK IN 2012, THERE WAS A FEASIBILITY STUDY DONE FOR A MULTITUDE OF DEPARTMENTS, UM, ABOUT A SERVICE CENTER NEED.
AND ULTIMATELY, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY PURCHASED TWO TRACKS OF LAND ON JOHNNY MORRIS THAT TOTALS 132 ACRES.
UM, ULTIMATELY IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE SITE WILL SUPPORT A JOINT SERVICE CENTER FOR A R R AND FLEET SERVICES.
UM, IT'S, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT FACILITY AS IT REALLY HELPS US RELIEVE SOME VERY SEVERE OVERCROWDING AND DETERIORATED FACILITY CONDITIONS THAT, UH, EMPLOYEES FROM BOTH OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS ARE CURRENTLY HAVING TO OPERATE IN.
UM, IN ADDITION TO JUST PEER SERVICE CENTER, WE'LL ALSO INCLUDE SOME OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE SPACE ON THIS SITE.
UM, BUT IT ALSO, IT'S KIND OF IN MANY OF OUR FACILITY DISCUSSIONS, IT'S, THERE'S A DOMINO EFFECT.
UM, AND IN THIS CASE, BY BUILDING THE SERVICE CENTER, IT FACILITATES FUTURE REUSE OF THE HARGRAVE SITE WHERE FLEET CURRENTLY HAS ONE OF ITS SERVICE CENTERS.
AND THAT HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT TOPIC OF CONVERSATION FOR THAT SURROUNDING COMMUNITY AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.
SO, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, WHEN I TALK ABOUT, UM, OVERCROWDING DETERIORATED FACILITIES, THIS GIVES YOU A LITTLE INSIGHT INTO WHAT THOSE FACILITIES LOOK LIKE.
UM, MAKING DO THE BEST THAT THEY CAN, STILL DOING EXCELLENT WORK, BUT NOT GIVING THEM FACILITIES THAT THEY REALLY DESERVE TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE IN.
UM, THIS GIVES YOU A BETTER IDEA OF THE LOCATION.
YOU CAN SEE JOHNNY MORRIS ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE SITE, YOU HAVE A COLONY PARK, UM, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY SITE, JUST SOUTHEAST SOUTH OF IT.
UM, AND THEN A VARIETY OF OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, DECKER LAKE OVER ON THE EAST, UM, EASTERN PORTION OF THE MAP.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME HERE.
THIS IS MORE KIND OF A REFERENCE POINT FOR, FOR Y'ALL AND THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND GENERALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF A SITE PLAN.
UM, SO THERE'S A NORTH AND A SOUTH SITE, MOSTLY DUE TO A, A CREEK AND, AND WATER SITUATION THAT RUNS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE PROPERTY.
UM, BUT WE'LL HAVE COMBINED ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS FOR A R R AND FLEET, AND THEN A VARIETY OF SERVICE CENTERS, UM, SPACE, UH, FOR OUR BOTH FLEET AND A R R, BUT ALSO ALLOWING FOR FUTURE EXPANSION.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE BUILDING FOR CURRENT, UM, NEEDS, BUT ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE.
AND SIMILARLY, HERE'S ADDITIONAL FLEET SERVICE CENTER SITES ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
SO THIS IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PROJECT.
THERE'S, UH, A NUMBER OF OF NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE SURROUNDING AREA.
SO COMMUNITY OUTREACH WAS IMPORTANT IN THOSE EARLY STAGES.
DURING THE PLANNING PHASES, UM, WE, WE DID HAVE OUTREACH, UM, AND PARTICULARLY WITH THE COLONY PARK COMMUNITY.
UM, ONE OF THE OUTCOMES OF THAT COMMUNITY OUTREACH WAS THE IDEA OF CREATING AN AUTOMOTIVE TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.
SO, UH, THE FEEDBACK WAS THAT WE SHOULD BE WORKING WITH A I S D D TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS AT L B J HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH CURRENTLY DOES NOT HAVE AN AUTOMOTIVE TRAINING, UH, OPPORTUNITY LIKE MANY SCHOOLS DO.
SO, UM, WE WOULD BE PARTNERING WITH A I S D AND DIRECT STUDENTS INTERESTED IN THAT FIELD TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THIS BRAND NEW FACILITY TO HELP DEVELOP THOSE SKILLS.
UM, BUT AS WE CONTINUE ON THIS PROJECT, WE'LL ABSOLUTELY CONTINUE ENGAGING WITH SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE FULLY AWARE OF THE, THE PROJECT SCOPE AND ITS STATUS.
SO THE DELIVERY METHOD, THE AUSTIN PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION.
SO THIS WAS CREATED THIS PAST SPRING BY COUNCIL AND THEN LATER APPROVED BY THE STATE.
THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE P C IS IT ALLOWS US TO UTILIZE A DEVELOPER ASSISTED APPROACH, UM, FOR THE PROJECT DELIVERY, FOR THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, AS WELL AS AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS.
WE HAVE ANOTHER AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE CENTER UNDER THE WAY.
WE HAVE, UM, UH, AN AUSTIN WATER PROJECT IN THE WORKS.
UM, WE'RE ABLE TO UTILIZE A DEVELOPER ASSISTED APPROACH WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO GO OUT TO THAT DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, SAY, HERE'S GENERALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, HERE'S THE, THE SCOPE.
AND THEY'RE ABLE TO BRING BACK, EITHER THEY HAVE A FACILITY READY TO GO, OR THEY HAVE LAND WHERE THEY CAN BUILD A FACILITY AND THEY TAKE CARE
[01:45:01]
OF EVERYTHING.WE DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE, THE NITTY GRITTY AS MUCH, LIKE WE'RE STILL VERY INVOLVED, OF COURSE, BUT, UM, THEY'RE ABLE TO MOVE AT A VERY, UM, VERY, REALLY FAST PACE AND, AND DELIVER AN END PRODUCT MUCH QUICKER THAN IF WE WERE TRYING TO MANAGE THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
SO WITH THE P F C, WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT ON CITY OWNED LAND BECAUSE OF STATE PROCUREMENT LAW.
USING SUCH A DEVELOPER ASSISTED PROJECT APPROACH, UM, WOULD NOT OTHERWISE BE A PROP, UH, POSSIBLE ON CITY OWNED LAND, BUT THROUGH THE P F C WE CAN DO THAT.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN MORE AS HOW THAT WORKS IN, IN A MOMENT.
THERE'S A BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THIS P F C THAT COUNCIL DID APPROVE.
IT INCLUDES, UM, A C M ANO, MYSELF, DARYL ALEXANDER, MICHAEL GATES, UM, THROUGH OUR ROLES WE'RE ALSO THE STRATEGIC FACILITIES GOVERNANCE TEAM.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UH, VARIOUS UTILITY ENTERPRISE REPRESENTATION THROUGH STUART RILEY AND ANNA O'BRIEN BOHA AND JASON ALEXANDER.
SO HERE'S WHAT A TYPICAL DEAL STRUCTURE WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR UTILIZING A P F C.
SO FIRST, THE CITY OF AUSTIN GRANTS THE P F C A GROUND LEASE FOR THE PROPERTY THAT IS GOING TO HAVE EVENTUALLY HAVE A CONTRACT ASSOCIATED FOR MAKING IMPROVEMENTS.
SO FOR THIS NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER SITE COUNCILS WILL, WILL, WILL BRING FORWARD RECOMMENDATION FOR, UM, FOR ACTION, WHERE YOU WOULD BE APPROVING A, A GROUND LEASE FROM THE CITY TO THE P F C FOR US TO, TO PROCEED ON THE VARIOUS CONTRACTS.
P F C SIGNS, THE SUB THEN SIGNS A SUBLEASE WITH A SELECTED DEVELOPER THAT'S GOING TO BRING FORWARD ALL THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT SUBLEASE GIVES THAT DEVELOPER THE ABILITY TO SECURE THE FINANCING THEY NEED FOR THOSE IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, AT THAT POINT, THE DEVELOPER'S ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD ON VARIOUS APPROVALS, ENTITLEMENTS, ADDITIONAL FINANCING NEEDS, AND ALSO HIRE THEIR DESIGN FIRM, ENGINEERING GENERAL CONTRACTOR, AND BEGIN IN CONSTRUCTION ONCE THEY FINISH CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT.
UM, WE WOULD, THE P F C WOULD BE ISSUING BONDS, THE P F C, NOT THE CITY WOULD BE ISSUING BONDS TO PURCHASE THAT COMPLETED FACILITY BACK FROM THE DEVELOPER.
UM, ONCE THAT, THAT PURCHASE IS DONE, THE SUBLEASE WITH THE DEVELOPER IS TERMINATED.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE NO LONGER AN INTERESTED PARTY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE P F C HAS BOUGHT THAT, THAT FACILITY BACK THEN, THE CITY LEASES THAT FACILITY FROM THE P F C FROM A PREDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME, UM, AND MAKES LEASE PAYMENTS TO THE P F C IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE DEBT SERVICE ON THOSE BONDS THAT THE P F C ISSUED.
UM, AND THEN THE CITY CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN, PAY THE OPERATING COST FACILITY AND THEN HAS THE OPTION TO BUY IT BACK FROM THE P F C AT A LATER DATE.
THE REASON WHY WE HAVE THOSE LAST TWO SPOTS WHERE IT'S A LEASE AND EVENTUAL PURCHASE IS BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE TO GO TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE FOR APPROVAL ON THOSE BONDS.
AND A PRIOR PROJECT THAT HAPPENED IN THE AREA WHERE THEY WORKED IT OUT, WHERE ALL THE TRANSACTIONS TOOK PLACE IN ONE DAY, WHERE THE P F C ISSUED THE, OR THEY, THEY PAID THE DEVELOPER FOR THE COMPLETED, UM, IMPROVEMENTS, AND THEN THE GOVERNMENT ENTITY HAD A TRANSACTION AT THE EXACT SAME TIME AND EVERYTHING.
AND WHEN IT CAME THROUGH THE AGS OFFICE APPROVING THOSE BONDS, THERE WAS SOME SIGNIFICANT CONCERN ABOUT HOW THAT TRANSACTION ALL TOOK PLACE.
WE DON'T WANNA CREATE A SITUATION WHERE THERE'S CONCERN LIKE THAT.
SO THIS IS WHERE, AND THE SOLUTION TO THAT IS FOR THE CITY TO LEASE THAT FACILITY BACK FROM THE P F C FOR SOME NUMBER OF YEARS AND THEN EVENTUALLY PURCHASE OR HAVE THAT OPTION TO DO SO.
SO THE TIMELINE FOR THIS PROJECT, PARTICULARLY, YOU'RE HERE TODAY GIVING YOU THIS BRIEFING.
TOMORROW THE P F C BOARD WILL BE MEETING TO APPROVE THE, THE R F P TO GO OUT ON THE STREETS FOR, UM, WELCOMING, UM, FOLKS TO, TO, TO MAKE THEIR PROPOSALS.
UM, WE'LL RELEASE AN R F P AT OCTOBER TIMEFRAME.
WE'LL ALSO NEED TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR A ZONING CHANGE.
THE REASON BEING IS THE, THE PROPERTY THAT THE JOHNNY MOORE'S PROPERTY RIGHT NOW IS NOT ZONED IN THE WAY THAT IT NEEDS TO, TO ULTIMATELY BUILD A SERVICE CENTER.
AND WE WEREN'T GOING TO MOVE FORWARD ON REZONING UNTIL WE WERE REALLY TRULY READY TO BEGIN THE PROJECT.
SO WE'LL COME BACK FOR THAT ACTION.
UM, IN JANUARY, FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME, THE P F C WILL REVIEW THOSE DEVELOPER RESPONSES, MAKE A SELECTION, THEN WE'LL COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL OF THE EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATING AGREEMENT AND AN ASSOCIATED BUDGET AMENDMENT, UM, TO, TO BEGIN MOVING FORWARD.
AND AT THAT POINT, DESIGN BEGINS FROM THERE.
WE, WE MOVE INTO A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.
ANY OTHER BUDGET AMENDMENTS THAT MIGHT BE REQUIRED.
THE GROUND LEASE TO THE P F C DESIGN SHOULD BE CCLE COMPLETED BY FALL OF NEXT YEAR.
SITE PLAN IS SUBMITTED, CONSTRUCTION BEGINS IN, UH, MAY, JUNE TIME OF 25.
AND WE ARE FULLY OPERATIONAL BY FALL OF 27.
SO IN FOUR YEARS TIME, FROM THE MINUTE THE R F P IS RELEASED TO, WE ARE HAVING A RIBBON CUTTING AND, AND Y'ALL ARE CHEERING ON THE COMPLETION OF THIS AND A R R AND FLEET IS IN THERE DOING, CONTINUE TO DO AMAZING WORK FOUR YEARS TIME, A
[01:50:01]
PROJECT OF THIS SCALE, IF WE WERE DOING, IF WHOLLY INTERNALLY, I WOULD EASILY ADD ANOTHER TWO YEARS PLUS TO THAT TIMELINE.SO THIS ALLOWS US TO MOVE MUCH QUICKER AND ALSO BE FAR MORE COST EFFECTIVE BECAUSE THAT DEVELOPER APPROACH IS JUST, IT LENDS ITSELF TO SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS.
SO COST SAVINGS, LET'S GO ON TO FINANCING.
SO THE CURRENT COST ESTIMATE IS $250 MILLION, NOT A SMALL PROJECT BY ANY MEANS.
UM, A R R ACCOUNTS FOR 26% OF THAT FLEET, 74% OF THAT.
UM, THIS $250 MILLION, THIS INCLUDES SIGNIFICANT CONTINGENCY ESCALATION AMOUNTS.
UM, I WOULD WHOLLY EXPECT FOR THAT NUMBER TO BE MUCH LOWER WHEN WE ACTUALLY RECEIVE THE DEVELOPER PROPOSALS.
NOW IN THE TYPICAL DEAL STRUCTURE I DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY, IT NOTED THE P F C WOULD ISSUE BONDS AT THE END OF THE PROJECT, WHEN WE'RE READY TO TAKE OWNERSHIP FROM THE DEVELOPER IN THIS CASE, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE ACTUALLY DO THREE ISSUANCES OVER THE LIFE OF, OF BRINGING THIS PROJECT FORWARD OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
THE REASON TO DO SO IS BECAUSE THE, THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION LOANS, THE COST OF CAPITAL IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS MUCH MORE EXTENSIVE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF INTEREST RATES.
WE AS, UM, AS A GOVERNMENT ENTITY HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACHIEVE MUCH LOWER INTEREST RATES.
IF WE ARE DOING PROGRESS PAYMENTS DURING TIME, IT LOWERS THE RISK THAT THE DEVELOPER IS TAKING.
UM, AND IT TRANSLATES INTO COST SAVINGS.
SO WE'RE ESTIMATING AT LEAST THREE TO $4 MILLION IN, IN COST SAVINGS FOR THE PROJECT BY US ISSUING IN IN THREE TRANCHES.
THE OTHER BENEFIT OF DOING THREE TRANCHES AS OPPOSED TO A SINGLE SALE AT THE END, IS THAT THEN THE IMPACT ON VARIOUS RATES, FEES OPERATING TRANSFERS CAN BE SPREAD OUT OVER THREE YEARS AS OPPOSED TO HAVING A SINGLE SIGNIFICANT HIT ALL IN ONE YEAR.
SO THE FLEET COSTS WILL BE ALLOCATED AMONG DEPARTMENTS ACCORDING TO THE COST ALLOCATION MODEL THEY HAVE IN PLACE ALREADY FOR THE SERVICING, FOR MAINTENANCE OF OF VEHICLES.
UM, FOR A R R THE RATE IMPACT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WOULD BE A DOLLAR 50 OVER THREE YEARS FOR THE TYPICAL CUSTOMER, WHICH IS A 64 GALLON CARTT.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE 45 CENTS EACH IN F Y 26 AND 27, AND THEN THE FINAL 60 CENTS IN F Y 28.
SO I NOTED PREVIOUSLY THE P F C WILL ISSUE THIS INITIAL DEBT, NOT THE CITY.
UM, BECAUSE OF THAT, THAT LEASE RELATIONSHIP, WE, THE, WE, BECAUSE I'M ON THE BOARD, THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING WE, THE P F C WILL ISSUE THAT DEBT AND THEN THE CITY WILL MAKE LEASE PAYMENTS IN THAT AMOUNT EQUAL TO THAT THE DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS THE P F C IS MAKING.
SO THERE'S NO MARKUP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO IN INITIALLY, IT WILL REQUIRE OPERATING BUDGET TRANSFERS FROM THE IMPACTED DEPARTMENTS.
SO I'VE NOTED HERE THE VARIOUS, UH, UM, UTILITY ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS, AUSTIN ENERGY, WATER CAPITAL DELIVERY CONVENTION CENTER, SO ON.
AND THEN THERE ARE A SMATTERING OF GENERAL FUND AND A SMALL SLIVER OF SUPPORT SERVICES DEPARTMENTS.
SO THIS WILL CREATE A, AN, A SMALL IMPACT TO THE GENERAL FUND UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO ISSUE THE, UM, OR HANDLE IT LATER WHEN CITY TAKES OWNERSHIP.
UM, SO FOR APPROXIMATELY FIVE YEARS AFTER PROJECT, APPROXIMATELY FIVE YEARS AFTER WE COMPLETE THE PROJECT, UM, P F C WOULD HAVE THE OPTION TO CALL ITS DEBT.
UM, AND AT THAT POINT, THE CITY WOULD THEN HAVE THE ABILITY TO ISSUE NEW DEBT TO PAY OFF ANY OUTSTANDING REMAINING P F C DEBT.
UM, ONCE THAT OCCURS, THAT ALLOWS THE CITY TO SHIFT A PORTION OF THOSE DEBT, THOSE COSTS TO THE DEBT SERVICE TAX RATE.
MY MAINLY, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE, THE, THE, UH, PUBLIC, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO IT'S THE GENERAL FUND SUPPORT SERVICES RELATED DEPARTMENTS.
WE'D BE ABLE TO SHIFT THOSE COSTS OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND AND TO THE DEBT SERVICE PORTION OF THE TAX RATE.
THE ENTERPRISE UTILITY TYPE FOLKS, IT WOULD STILL BE IMPACTING THEIR FEES, UM, AND RATES.
UM, BUT WE'D AT LEAST BE ABLE TO SHIFT A PORTION OVER THE DEBT SERVICE RATE.
SO KEY TAKEAWAYS, STAY, THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER IS GOING TO ADDRESS REALLY SIGNIFICANT FACILITY AND OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES.
IT WILL BE THE FIRST PROJECT THE P F C DELIVERS, UM, AND IT ALLOWS SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT COST AND TIME SAVINGS.
UM, THAT FINANCING STRUCTURE, P F C WILL ISSUE THE DEBT INITIALLY AND LEASE BACK TO THE CITY.
AND WE HAVE AN ESTIMATED OPENING IN FALL OF 2027.
SO I KNOW THAT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, SO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
AND AGAIN, I HAVE ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE IF, UM, IF I'M NOT ABLE TO ANSWER TO HOPEFULLY COVER EVERYTHING.
AND, UM, I'LL BE HAPPY TO SAY THAT YOU ANTICIPATE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
SO YOU'RE JUST MY QUESTIONS AT LEAST.
UM, THAT WAS VERY THOROUGH PRESENTATION.
I'M VERY CLEAR ON, ON THE FINANCING PIECE.
AND THANKS FOR EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, THANK YOU.
I WAS ACTUALLY VERY, VERY, VERY THOROUGH.
AND THIS IS AN EXCITING PROJECT AND I KNOW FOR THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE INVOLVED, THIS IS GONNA PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED RELIEF AND, AND SOME, SOME GOOD IMPROVEMENTS.
SO ABSOLUTELY, I'M, I'M, I GENERALLY LIKE THEY,
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Y'ALL KNOW ME, LIKE WHAT THE FACILITY CONDITION, UM, IS A VERY IMPORTANT, UM, ISSUE FOR ME AND, UM, THE MESSAGE THAT IT SENDS TO OUR EMPLOYEES, THE KIND OF FACILITIES WE'RE WORKING IN.SO IT IS INCREDIBLY EXCITING FOR US TO BE ON THAT PATH TO BRING THIS FACILITY FORWARD AND BE ABLE TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT IN OUR A R R AND FLEET, UM, STAFF IN SUCH A SIGNIFICANT WAY.
I'M, I'M GENUINELY EXCITED FOR THIS, SO.
AND THANK YOU TO THE WHOLE TEAM FOR YOUR WORK, WORK ON THIS.
I'M EXCITED TO SEE IT MOVE FORWARD.
[6. Austin Transit Partnership budget update.]
ITEM IS ITEM SIX, WHICH IS AN AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BUDGET UPDATE.UM, THAT VICE CHAIR POOL IS A MEMBER OF CAMP CAMP METRO ASKED US TO DO AS PART OF AUDIT AND FINANCE.
GOOD MORNING CHAIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
BRIAN RIVERA, UM, A T P TREASURER AND INTERIM C F O JOINED BY DARREN LOZANO AS WELL.
HI, GOOD MORNING CHAIR MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, UH, DARREN LOZANO, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
YEAH, SO THE PRESENTATION WE HAVE, UM, BEFORE YOU TODAY IS GONNA WALK THROUGH WHAT OUR NEXT YEAR LOOKS LIKE, REALLY FROM A WORK PLAN PERSPECTIVE AND THEN THINKING THROUGH THE PROJECT, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AS WELL.
AND THEN I'LL TOUCH ON AT THE END SORT OF WHAT WE FUNDED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET THAT OUR BOARD PREVIOUSLY APPROVED OR APPROVED LAST WEEK.
SO, ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, BRIAN.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME HERE TO COME AND TALK TO YOU TODAY, ESPECIALLY SINCE AS WE HAD, UH, A HISTORIC MOMENT ON JUNE 6TH WHERE THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PROJECT WAS DEFINED AND APPROVED.
SO NOW THE QUESTION BECOMES WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? WE HAVE A LOT OF CONCURRENT WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, WHICH WE, UH, MADE A A, A GREAT ATTEMPT HERE TO KIND OF SHOW IT VISUALLY SO YOU CAN SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT WORK TASKS ARE GOING TO BE IN PLACE.
ANOTHER PIECE OF MY ROLE THAT I FAILED TO MENTION EARLIER IS BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT ITEMS, UM, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I AM, UM, WORKING AS ATP'S PROJECT MANAGER, WORKING WITH SEVERAL TASK LEADS THAT REPRESENT EACH OF THESE INDIVIDUAL, INDIVIDUAL PIECES.
BUT OVERALL, OUR WORK FOR UH, KIND OF IS OVERTAKING TWO BIG PROCESSES.
ONE IS, YOU SEE THERE IS THE DESIGN PIECE, AND THE SECOND SIDE IS THE FEDERAL PIECE.
WHEN IT COMES TO DESIGN, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS DEFINING THE PROJECT IN A WAY THAT WE ACTUALLY CAN ASSESS THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS.
SO THAT DESIGN'S GONNA TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOW IS THE LIGHT RAIL GOING TO ACTUALLY BE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED WITHIN, UH, THE COMMUNITY ITSELF.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, RIGHT OF WAY, UTILITIES, STREETSCAPE, ALL THAT INFORMATION'S GOING TO BE DEFINED THERE.
THERE'S A VERY STRONG TIE BEFORE BETWEEN THE ENGINEERING ITSELF AND ALSO THE ARCHITECTURE AS IT SHOWS.
AND THERE ARE MANY, MANY TOUCH POINTS.
SO IT'S NOT JUST THE ONE AND DONE IN BETWEEN THE TWO.
YOU SEE, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HAS BEEN A KEY AND IMPORTANT PIECE IN OUR, OUR PLAN TO DATE.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE CON CONTINUE TO BE.
SO, SO THERE'S GONNA BE SEVERAL TOUCH POINTS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
AND FINALLY, ON THE FEDERAL SIDE, OF COURSE, WE'RE SEEKING, UH, FEDERAL DOLLARS TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT.
AND SO THERE'S SOME VERY RIGOROUS, UH, PRO PROCESSES WE NEED TO GO TO.
ONE THERE, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, IS NEPA OR THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT.
AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT IS, IS A REALLY DETAILED ANALYSIS, UH, THAT'LL ACTUALLY END WITH A VERY DETAILED DOCUMENT FOLLOWING, UM, GUIDANCE, BASICALLY TALKING ABOUT HOW DO WE SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATE THE PROJECT INTO OUR COMMUNITY AND INTO OUR ENVIRONMENT.
AND WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT, THAT'S ACTUALLY ACTUAL MECHANISM WE'RE GOING TO WORK THROUGH, THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO SECURE THOSE FUNDS.
SO AGAIN, A VERY, UH, RIGOROUS PROCESS THERE.
AND YOU SEE HERE SOME OF THE MAJOR, UH, TAKEAWAYS FROM THE, THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROCESS, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, ENGINEERING, AND CONSTRUCTION.
AND DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER INTO THE, BASICALLY THE THREE MAIN BUCKETS THAT I, I SPOKE OF EARLIER, UH, DESIGN DESIGN'S, WHERE WE'RE AT, WE'RE WE'RE AT CURRENTLY, OF COURSE, AGAIN, WE IDENTIFIED WHERE OUR PROJECT AND WHAT OUR PROJECT'S GOING TO BE.
AND NOW WE'RE DOING THE WORK TO DEFINE THAT PROJECT IN A, UH, SOME FORM OF DESIGN HERE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, AS PART OF THAT PROCESS, WE HAVE IT LINED UP TO TAKE US THROUGH EARLY 2024, AND THAT REALLY FEEDS OUR NEPA OUR ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THERE ARE DRAFT E I S, WHICH IS CIRCULATED, CIRCULATED TO THE PUBLIC, UM, FALLS RIGHT AFTER THE DESIGN PROCESS.
ANOTHER KEY PIECE OF THE FEDERAL GRANT PROCESS IS WHAT'S CALLED PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
THAT'S AN ESTABLISHED TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME THAT WE NEED TO GET THROUGH TO, UM, TO MAKE SURE WE SATISFY THAT CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROCESS.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE HAVE A START SHOWING IN, IN, UM, WINTER OF EARLY NEXT YEAR IN THAT TWO YEAR WINDOW ENDING IN 2026.
AND WE GIVE OURSELVES ENOUGH TIME TO FINISH THE LEVEL OF DESIGN AND THE LEVEL OF NEPA NECESSARY TO FALL WITHIN THAT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT TIMEFRAME.
SO SUMMARIZING THE, THE LOOK AHEAD, UM, BREAKING IT DOWN AGAIN,
[02:00:01]
THE FEDERAL PROCESS, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO LOOK TO, TO, TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDS.WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH THE GRANT ELIGIBILITY PROCESS, BASICALLY, MEANING THAT A T P IS WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION TO BECOME A DESIGNATED RECIPIENT OF FUNDS.
WE'LL BE PREPARING THE NOTICE OF INTENT, WHICH ESSENTIALLY KICKS OFF THE NEPA PROCESS IN JANUARY TIMEFRAME, UH, AND RELEASING THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, UH, FOR PUBLIC REVIEW IN THE SEPTEMBER-ISH, UH, FALL TIMEFRAME OF 20, UH, 24.
AND THEN WE'LL INITIATE, AS I MENTIONED, THE, THE NEW STARTS APPLICATION PROCESS WHEN IT COMES TO COMMUNITY DIALOGUE THAT'S HAPPENING THROUGHOUT.
WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO TAKE COMMUNITY DIALOGUE.
AND SO PART OF THAT IS THIS FALL, WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO GO OUT WITH SOME TARGETED MEETINGS FOCUSED ON WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE USER EXPERIENCE AND, AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES.
AND THEN FINALLY, WHEN IT COMES TO DESIGN AND DELIVERY, I SPOKE ABOUT OUR ENGINEERING EFFORTS THAT ARE TAKING US THROUGH EARLY NEXT YEAR.
AND THAT LAST BULLET WHERE WE ADDRESS ADVANCING PROCUREMENTS TO SUPPORT PROJECT DELIVERY.
WE KNOW, UH, WITH THE COMPLEXITIES AND AS BIG AS THIS PROJECT IS, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING TO SECURE SOME EARLY PROCUREMENTS WHEN IT COMES TO ADVANCING DESIGN, WHEN IT COMES TO LOOK AT UTILITIES.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL BE DOING OVER THE NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
SO A LOT OF WORK KIND OF SUMMARIZED IN THREE SLIDES HERE.
UM, SO THROUGHOUT LAST WEEK, WE PRESENTED OUR BUDGET, UM, TO THE A T P BOARD.
AND, AND IT WAS APPROVED WITHIN THE BUDGET ITSELF.
IT ENCOMPASSED $53 MILLION IN NEW CAPITAL APPROPRIATIONS, 33 OF WHICH WAS DEDICATED TO THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND.
UM, WITHIN THAT FUND ITSELF, WE'RE ANTICIPATING A SPEND PLAN OF $115 MILLION BROKEN UP INTO THESE THREE MAJOR BUCKETS.
WE HAVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES, WHICH ARE ALSO BEING CAPTURED IN THE CAPITAL FUND AS WELL, WHICH IS NEW WITH THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
AND THEN SOME, SOME PRE PRE-ACQUISITION ACTIVITY THAT'S HAPPENING ON THE REAL ESTATE SIDE WITH SITE SURVEYS.
AND AGAIN, TYING INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
UM, 20 MILLION OF THE 53 MILLION THAT WAS APPROPRIATED IN THE F Y 24 BUDGET WAS FOR THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS.
SO WE HAVE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT IN PLACE WITH THE CITY THAT HAS AN APPROPRIATION SCHEDULE TIED TO IT.
SO AGAIN, JUST UM, APPROPRIATING FUNDS IN LINE WITH THAT SCHEDULE.
AND WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE WHAT THE SPEND PLAN WAS FOR F Y 24.
AND THEN LASTLY, WITHIN THE CAP METRO COMPONENT BUCKET, UM, WHICH ENCOMPASSES ALL OF THE BUS RELATED PROJECTS.
SO THINK ME, THE EXPO CENTER AND PLEASANT VALLEY METRO RAPID LINES THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
AND THE MCAL STATION, THOSE PROJECTS WERE FULLY APPROPRIATED IN F Y 23.
UM, AND THEY'RE ANTICIPATING TO COMPLETE THEIR SPENDING IN F Y 24.
WE'RE WORKING WITH CAF METRO STAFF CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW TO PUT TOGETHER A FUNDING FRAMEWORK THAT WOULD SET ASIDE THE, THE FUNDS FOR THE REST OF THE CAP METRO RELATED COMPONENTS AS, UM, BROKEN OUT IN THE J P A SUPPLEMENT THAT WAS ALSO APPROVED ON JUNE 6TH WITH THE UPDATED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
AND, UM, THAT SUMMARIZES THE SPEND PLAN ESSENTIALLY ACROSS THE THREE MAIN BUCKETS THAT WE HAVE FOR A T P THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 24.
AS MENTIONED, OUR, OUR THREE MAIN PRIORITIES AS, AS DARREN MENTIONED EARLIER, ARE GETTING THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND ESTABLISHING THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH F T A, MAINTAINING COMMUNITY DIALOGUE AND ADVANCING THE DESIGN, UM, AND ENVIRONMENTAL WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED OVER THE NEXT YEAR TO ADVANCE THE PROJECT.
SO WITH THAT, IF WE'RE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU GUYS MAY HAVE, THANK YOU COLLEAGUES.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? VICE CHAIR POOL.
I WANTED TO THANK DARREN AND BRIAN AND, UM, OUR OTHER STAFF FROM A T P FOR, FOR COMING OVER HERE TODAY AND GIVING US THIS REALLY GOOD, UH, SUCCINCT UPDATE ON, UH, THE FINANCIALS FOR A T P A T P IS FORMALLY IN ITS THIRD YEAR.
AND YOU GUYS HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES IN ESTABLISHING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR STRONG REPORTING, UH, TRANSPARENCY AND, UH, GOOD COMMUNICATIONS.
AND I KNOW THE COUNCIL REALLY APPRECIATES THAT.
I THINK THE PUBLIC PROBABLY DOES AS WELL.
WE ARE ALL AVIDLY INTERESTED IN THE SUCCESS OF, OF PROJECT CONNECT AND THE WORK THAT A T P IS DOING.
SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING HERE TODAY, AND, UM, I APPRECIATE THE, UM, THE CADENCE THAT WE WILL HAVE WITH THESE REPORTS.
UM, I DID, UH, DURING THE CAP METRO BOARD MEETING ON, ON MONDAY, UH, LET EVERYBODY KNOW AT THAT END, UH, THAT YOU GUYS WOULD BE HERE TODAY TO MAKE THIS PRESENTATION AND ENCOURAGE FOLKS, UH, TO DIAL IN.
MAYBE THEY'RE LISTENING THROUGH A T X N OR WE'RE ABLE TO COME AND SIT IN THE AUDIENCE HERE
[02:05:01]
TODAY.BUT, UM, THIS IS GOOD INFORMATION AND I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS COMING AND, AND OFFERING IT TO US.
AND JUST WHILE WE HAVE YOU HERE, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS YOUR PURVIEW, UM, ON OCTOBER 1ST, WE'RE GONNA BE LAUNCHING OUR SMALL BUSINESS LOCAL PREFERENCE PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE CITY.
WE HAD EARLIER, YOU KNOW, BEEN TALKING WITH A T P ABOUT THAT.
JUST WANNA FLAG FOR YOU THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY LAUNCHING THAT OCTOBER 1ST, AND I KNOW, UM, I'M HOPING THAT YOU GUYS WILL BE LOOKING TO THAT, UM, AS YOU MOVE FORWARD, AS AN OPTION, UM, FOR YOU AS WELL.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS, THANK YOU GENTLEMEN FOR BEING HERE.
[Future Items]
IS FUTURE ITEMS. MS. STOKES, DID YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? SO I BELIEVE WE HAVE SEVERAL ITEMS LINED UP FOR THE OCTOBER MEETING.I THINK THAT WOULD BE OUR, UM, AT LEAST THE, THE CADENCE FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS DISCUSSIONS WOULD BE COMING BACK IN OCTOBER.
UM, I, I HAVE NOT SPOKEN WITH MANAGEMENT TO, TO ENSURE THAT THAT'S ON THEIR RADAR.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO, FROM MY OFFICE, WE HAVE OUR INTEGRITY UNIT UPDATE.
WE TRY TO DO THAT TWICE A YEAR, UM, TO GIVE Y'ALL A SENSE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE INVESTIGATION WORLD.
UH, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE A BRIEFING ON THE STATUS OF PRIOR AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO PULL TOGETHER, IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT NOT JUST THIS AUDIT OR THAT AUDIT OR THIS TOPIC OR THAT TOPIC, BUT REALLY TALKED ABOUT OUR, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS OVERALL.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT, UM, AT THE OCTOBER MEETING AND BELIEVE MANAGEMENT WILL ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, THEIR PROCESS FOR HOW THEY'RE GONNA TRACK AND, AND MOVE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS GOING FORWARD.
AND I WILL ALSO ADD THAT COUNCIL MEMBER, RYAN ALTO AND I HAVE REQUESTED A DISCUSSION OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
THIS WAS HINTED AT IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT, BUT WE HAVE NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY AS A COUNCIL TO DISCUSS THAT.
UM, AND THEN I, I TRUST, UM, AUDITOR THAT YOU WILL CONNECT WITH STAFF ABOUT THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PREPARATION.
WE'LL, UM, YEAH, SO THAT'LL BE ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, PRETTY FULL AGENDA.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, VERY IMPORTANT TOPICS.
I'M PLEASED THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MORE REGULAR CADENCE AND A BETTER, UM, SYSTEM FOR MAPPING OUT KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE AUDITOR AND WHAT HAS BEEN FULFILLED OR NOT.
UM, THAT HAS BEEN A SOURCE OF FRUSTRATION.
SO I'M PLEASED THAT WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER AUDIT ITEMS THAT YOU WANT US TO BE PLANNING FOR? AND I'LL JUST REMIND YOU, IT IS VERY HELPFUL TO KNOW, UM, THOSE IDEAS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE A PRETTY PACKED SCHEDULE AND WE TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DONE IN TWO, TWO AND A HALF HOURS, UM, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.
UM, WELL THANK YOU MS. STOKES.
UM, WITH THAT, IT IS 1139 AND I WILL ADJOURN THIS MEETING AND IT IS 9 27.