[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER ]
I BELIEVE WE HAVE QUORUM.SO WELCOME TO, WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED BECAUSE WE HAVE A TIGHT SCHEDULE, AS ALWAYS.
UM, WELCOME TO THE OCTOBER, UM, REGULAR MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.
UM, WE WILL FIRST, UM, DO ROLL CALL.
I'M GONNA NEED YOU TO HAVE YOUR CAMERA ON IF YOU'RE GONNA BE PRESENT DURING THE MEETING.
UM, AND I BELIEVE EVEN WITHOUT COMMISSIONER PENA, WE ARE AT QUORUM, SO WE'RE GONNA GET GOING.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ]
IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.WE HAVE CARLOS LEON, SO CARLOS LEON, FIRST AND FOREMOST, FOR LETTING ME ASTRAY CHRISTIAN MAN SPEAK AGAINST SICKO SATANIC HARASSMENT AND STALKING BEHAVIOR, THREATENING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AND THOSE WRONGLY PROTECTING SUCH CRIMINAL EVIL IN FRONT OF YOU.
NOW IS THE POLICE REPORT I FILED ONLINE SEPTEMBER 24TH AGAINST AN ABUSIVE OLDER WHITE MALE STALKER TARGETING ME AT RUDY'S BARBECUE AND AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY CENTRAL AT SEA HOME.
IN RETURN, A P D IMMEDIATELY ISSUED A TEMPORARY REPORT NUMBER UNTIL MY REPORT IS APPROVED FOR PAST FILED REPORTS AGAINST OTHER SICKO STALKERS.
A P D SUBSEQUENTLY ISSUED ME AN OFFICIAL POLICE REPORT NUMBER WITHIN FIVE BUSINESS DAYS FOLLOWING THEIR PROCESSING GUIDELINES.
HOWEVER, THIS TIME I HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED AN OFFICIAL POLICE REPORT NUMBER, AN ALLEGED PROTOCOL VIOLATION.
THAT'S A PROBLEM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE A P L CENTRAL SECURITY TOLD ME THEY FIRST NEED ME TO PROVIDE THEM AN A P D CASE NUMBER BEFORE SENDING SECURITY VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE STALKER TO A P D.
SO A P D DETECTIVES CAN LAWFULLY STOP THE STALKER FROM ILLEGALLY FOLLOWING AND HARASSING ME.
IT'S TIME FOR A P D TO TAKE ACTION BECAUSE THE STALKERS HARASSMENT HAS RECENTLY ESCALATED IN FREQUENCY, INTENSITY, AND REACH.
WHEN I DIRECTLY TOLD HIM TO STOP STALKING ME, HE TOLD ME TO GO F**K MYSELF.
MORE CONCERNING WHEN I ASKED A HELPFUL A P D OFFICER TO LOOK UP MY REPORT AND PROVIDE ME THE CASE NUMBER.
HE SAID IT WAS NOT IN THE SYSTEM THOUGH IT SHOULD BE.
THEREFORE, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION LAWFULLY USE YOUR POWER TO MAKE SURE A P D HAS MY REPORT TODAY.
SO A P D CAN ISSUE IT AN OFFICIAL POLICE REPORT NUMBER TODAY AND PROVIDE THAT OFFICIAL POLICE REPORT NUMBER TO ME AND A P L CENTRAL SECURITY TODAY.
OH, SO A P L CENTRAL SECURITY CAN FIRST SEND THE SECURITY VIDEO OF THE STALKER TO A P D TODAY.
SO A P D CAN STOP THIS STALKER ASAP TO MAKE AUSTIN SAFER FOR US ALL BECAUSE THE STALKER TALKS AND ACTS LIKE HE'S PART OF A NETWORK OF LIKE-MINDED EVIL, LIKE THE PEDOPHILE, SEX OFFENDER, SEX TRAFFICKING, HUMAN TRAFFICKING RINGS EXPOSED IN THE MOVIE SOUND OF FREEDOM, WHO NEED TO BE ROUNDED UP AND REMOVED FROM SOCIETY ASAP.
THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ANTICIPATED PROMPT ASSISTANCE WITH THIS MATTER.
MAY GOD GRANT US THE VICTORY OVER EVIL.
I BELIEVE WE ALSO HAVE TATE CAROL
[00:05:01]
JOINING US.OH, UH, MY, MY WIFE RACHEL IS, UH, PASSING AROUND A A FLY OUT THAT KIND OF GOES OVER, UH, A LITTLE BIT WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M GONNA BE, UH, DISCUSSING.
UM, BUT JUST, UH, REAL QUICK TO INTRODUCE MYSELF.
UH, MY NAME'S, UH, TATE CARROLL.
I, UH, JUST SEPARATED FROM THE, UH, MILITARY BACK IN MAY.
UM, SINCE THEN, I, UH, STARTED MY OWN, UM, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, UM, TO KIND OF UTILIZE THE EXPERIENCE THAT I I I GAINED, UM, WHILE MY, UH, TIME IN THE, IN THE AIR FORCE.
UM, SO COMING BACK, I WAS ABLE TO, UH, GET THE GROUND RUNNING ON A COUPLE DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE FIRST ONES, UM, I GOT STARTED ON, UM, WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, UH, ALL RIGHT, HOW CAN WE USE THIS NEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO NEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY TO BETTER SERVE, UM, THE COMMUNITY? AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST, UH, ISSUES THAT I'VE SEEN, UM, LATELY IS THE DISPATCHER SHORTAGE.
UM, SO HAVING A HARD TIME TRYING TO FIND PEOPLE, UH, TO WORK THE, THE 9 1 1 DISPATCHER JOB, IT'S A, UM, DEFINITELY A, A HARD ROLE.
UM, SO IT, FINDING SOMEONE TO FILL THAT JOB IS OBVIOUSLY, UH, COMES WITH A CHALLENGE.
UM, SO I, I'VE LOOKED AROUND AT SOLUTIONS THAT, THAT WERE BEING OFFERED.
UM, A LOT OF THEM WERE FULLY AUGMENTED SOLUTIONS TO WHERE YOU CALL SOMEONE AND, UM, YOU'RE TALKING TO A, UH, NINE ONE, UH, AI THE WHOLE TIME.
UM, THEN NEXT THING YOU KNOW, IT, UH, A FIREMAN SHOWS UP AT YOUR HOUSE WHEN YOU REALLY NEEDED A POLICE OFFICER OR AN AMBULANCE, UH, JUST BECAUSE THE AI CLASSIFIED IT WRONG OR, OR GOT THE MISTAKES WRONG.
UM, THE WAY, UH, MY SOFTWARE KIND OF WORKS IS, UM, SIMILAR, UH, PROCESS.
IT USES AI TO CLASSIFY THAT EVENT.
SO A USER'S GONNA CALL IN STATE THEIR EMERGENCY, UM, AND THEN THE AI IS GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION WITH THAT AND CONVERSATION WITH IT TO KIND OF GAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION WHILE IT'S DOING THIS.
UM, THE DISPATCHERS ON THE OTHER END WILL HAVE A DISPATCHER, UH, VIEW, UH, SCREEN.
YOU CAN KIND OF SEE IT, UH, ABOUT THREE QUARTERS THE WAY THROUGH THE, THE PAGE HERE, UM, THAT I PASSED AROUND.
BUT IT, UH, ON THAT, IT SHOWS THERE, UM, EMERGENCY THAT THEY REQUIRED OR REQUESTED, UM, THE CLASSIFICATION FOR IT, WHETHER IT'S A FIRE, POLICE, MEDICAL, UM, AND THEN A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION FOR THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WHAT IT DOES IS IT KIND OF PROVIDES, UH, DISPATCHERS WITH A FASTER WAY TO BETTER MANAGE, UH, CALLS, UH, AND EMERGENCIES BY USING, UM, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
UM, HOWEVER, IT'S NOT COMPLETELY HANDS OFF BECAUSE THE DISPATCHERS STILL HAVE TO APPROVE, UM, THE, THE, THE, THE SERVICE TO GO OUT THERE.
UM, AND YOU CAN KIND OF SEE ON HERE, I HAVE AN EXAMPLE, UM, WHERE IT SHOWS WHERE SOMEBODY CALLED AND SAID, HELP, I LOST MY DOG.
WELL, THAT'S NOT TYPICALLY SOMETHING YOU WOULD CALL THE EMERGENCY OR, UH, NINE ONE ONE SERVICES FOR.
UM, SO IT CLASSIFIED THAT AS UNKNOWN, AND IT CONTINUED TO ASK FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS TO GET MORE INFORMATION.
BUT WHAT THE CALLER WOULD THEN DO WOULD BE CLICK THAT, CONNECT THAT CALLER BUTTON, AND THEN, UM, BE ABLE TO TALK AND KIND OF FIGURE OUT, HEY, IS THIS A KID THAT CALLED? WHAT'S, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS? IS THIS SOMEONE PRETENDING TO, THERE'S NOT AN EMERGENCY.
OR LIKE, JUST TO BE ABLE TO GATHER MORE DETAILS.
UM, AND SO I I, I JUST WANTED TO COME OUT HERE AND KIND OF PREVENT PRESENT YOU GUYS, UM, WHAT I'VE BEEN, UH, MY COMPANY'S BEEN WORKING ON.
JUST TO KIND OF GET ON YOUR, ON YOUR RADAR.
I WORKED WITH, UH, UH, MR. NEN TO, TO KIND TO GET, UM, GET THIS IN, IN FRONT OF YOU GUYS.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU TO HIM AND, UH, MISS, UH, JACKSON TO, FOR, FOR LETTING ME GET OUT IN FRONT OF YOU.
IS IS THERE ANY I SPOT ON WITH THAT TIME.
[2. STAFF BRIEFINGS ]
THINK FOR STAFF BRIEFINGS, UM, WHICH IS WHEN WE GENERALLY JUST TALK ABOUT FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS TO OUR PREVIOUS MEETING.UM, I SEE HERE A NOTE, CHIEF MASON, THAT YOU HAD SOMETHING THAT YOU WANTED TO RESPOND TO WITH RESPON WITH REGARDS TO THE RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE REPORTS.
YEAH, SO, UH, I KNOW THAT COUNCIL HAS REQUESTED THE RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE REPORTS.
UNFORTUNATELY, WITH LOSING A MEMBER IN OUR PLANNING AND DEVELOPING, UH, GROUP, UH, WE, WE ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE THAT, UH, REPORT THIS MONTH, BUT WE DO PLAN ON HAVING EVERYTHING AVAILABLE.
AND OF COURSE, UH, WITH THE RESOLUTION FOR IN THE FUTURE, EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ONLINE ON OUR DASHBOARD, SO IT'LL MM-HMM.
LL MAKE IT SUPER EASY FOR EVERYBODY.
BUT OBVIOUSLY WE'RE ALWAYS OFF ON THAT, DEVELOPING THE TIMELINE FOR THAT PART.
SO, UH, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE ON TRACK TO HAVE THAT NEXT MONTH TO HAVE THAT FOLLOW UP QUESTION TAKEN CARE OF FOR THE R TO R'S.
THE LAST UPDATE THAT WE GOT ON THE R TO R REPORTS WAS THAT ONE OF THEM WAS READY AND JUST AWAITING APPROVAL, AND THAT ONE STILL HAD LIKE THE, I GUESS THE 20 21 1 WAS READY AND WAITING FOR APPROVAL.
SO THAT APPROVAL'S NOT COMING EITHER.
IT'S JUST GONNA BE RELEASED ALL WITH THE COUNSEL RESOLUTION INFORMATION.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE? AND JUST FOR REFERENCE, FOR EVERYONE LISTENING, WHENEVER WE HAVE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS THAT ARE
[00:10:01]
A, QUESTIONS THAT ARE ASKED IN OUR PREVIOUS MEETING THAT GO UNANSWERED DURING THE MEETING, WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF TALLYING ALL THOSE QUESTIONS AND FOLLOWING UP WITH ALL THE CHIEFS OF STAFF SO THAT WE CAN GET ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS AND THOSE ARE ALL AVAILABLE ON BACKUP, UM, SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN SEE THOSE.THERE WAS A QUESTION ON THE, THE, UH, 9 1 1 COMMUNICATIONS.
DO YOU WANNA GO OVER THAT OR ARE YOU GUYS COMFORTABLE WITH THAT? NO, I THINK IT'S FINE.
I THINK WE'VE GOT THE ANSWERS ONLINE FOR THAT.
AND THEN I THINK NEXT IS A P D, UM, RIGHT, THE PUBLIC QUARTERLY REPORT.
DO WE NEED, SORRY, DO WE NEED, DO WE NEED THE MINUTES? MINUTES? OH, RIGHT.
I AM GOING TO ADMIT RIGHT OFF THE BAT, I'M A LITTLE SCATTERED TODAY, SO I APPRECIATE THAT.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
MINUTES, DID EVERYBODY HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW? OKAY.IF I CAN GET A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE MINUTES, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE ON THAT.
COMMISSIONER HALL? MARTIN? YES.
I SEE YOU'RE AVAILABLE ONLINE.
[3. Public Safety Quarterly Report – Austin Police Department (Sponsors: Commissioners Ramírez and Bernhardt) ]
NOW WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS THE A P D QUARTERLY REPORT.ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU AND GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.
UH, JAMES MASON WITH THE ASSISTANT CHIEF WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, THIS IS KIND OF THE, UH, THE AGENDA FOR MY PRESENTATION.
UH, I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT, UH, CHIEF GREENWALD IS A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER.
HE'LL BE TAKING OVER THESE AND, AND DOING THESE IN THE FUTURE.
UH, BUT HE'S JUST NOT ABLE TO ATTEND TODAY.
UH, WE HAVE AT THE REQUEST OF, UH, THE COMMISSION, UH, GOING TO CHANGE THIS REPORT, UH, IT HAS NOT CHANGED THIS MONTH JUST FROM HIM BEING OUT AND STAFFING ISSUES AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT WE ARE GOING TO SUBMIT MOST OF THE, ALL THE NUMBERS AND EVERYTHING IN BACKUPS.
UH, SO YOU GUYS WILL HAVE THAT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK, UH, OFFLINE AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT, BUT THIS, THIS MONTH OR THIS QUARTER, IT IS GONNA BE THE SAME AS, AS YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE.
SO I'LL, I'LL GLIDE RIGHT THROUGH MOST OF THE, UH, THE NUMBERS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
YOU CAN LOOK AT IT AS BACKUP, BUT I MEAN, I'LL GET TO THE STAFFING AND STUFF LIKE THAT, WHERE WE'RE MOST CONCERNED WITH, WITH OUR STAFFING OF SWORN AND CIVILIAN STAFFING, AS WELL AS NINE BY ONE CALL CENTER.
UM, IF WE LOOK AT, UH, CITYWIDE CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, UH, OVERALL WE'RE DOWN 10%, UM, WHICH IS A GOOD THING FOR AUSTIN.
UM, THAT'S OUR, YOU KNOW, NUMBER ONE GOAL IS CRIME AND REDUCING CRIME AND KEEPING EVERYBODY SAFE TO BE ABLE TO GO ABOUT THEIR LIVES, UH, IN THE CITY.
UH, WE ARE, UM, THANKFUL THAT D P S IS STILL HERE.
UH, WE DO NOT HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH 'EM, BUT OF COURSE, THEY HAVE STATEWIDE JURISDICTION, AND THEY ARE, UM, HERE TO, UH, HELP IN CALLS AND, AND REPRESENT.
UH, SO WE'RE NOT SURE HOW MUCH THAT 10% WE WERE ABLE TO SHOW IN PRIOR MONTHS, UH, SHOW HOW THEY AFFECTED IT, NOT, BUT WE JUST DON'T KNOW THEIR, THEIR, THEIR WORKFORCE.
WHAT THEY'RE TARGETING IS, THAT'S, THIS IS ON THEIR OWN OF WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY DO NOW.
AND ITS OBVIOUSLY NOT A PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH THE A A P D.
UH, IF WE, IF WE LOOK AT IT, UH, CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, UM, YOU SEE MOST, SOME REDS, UH, BUT MOSTLY ARE YELLOWS, WHICH, WHICH ARE DOWN, OF COURSE, THE BIGGER NUMBERS, UH, LIKE THE 300% AT THE BOTTOM, BOTTOM FOR BRIBERY IS SMALL NUMBERS PRODUCED.
BIG, SMALL NUMBERS PRODUCE BIG NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGE WISE, BUT OVERALL, WE'RE DOWN, UH, MINUS 8%.
SO MORE OR LESS FLAT, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE ARE DOWN, WHICH, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, GOOD THINGS ARE, LIKE BURGLARY VEHICLES IS DOWN 14% IN THE CITY.
THAT'S, THAT'S VERY POSITIVE THING FOR, FOR THE, THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN, UH, AS WELL AS CREDIT CARD THEFT, IMPERSONATION, ET CETERA.
UH, WE ARE UP BY 5% ON CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY, UH, WHICH IS THIS, UH, IT IS OUR DRUG VIOLATIONS OF WEAPON VIOLATIONS, ANIMAL CRUELTY, GAMBLING, ET CETERA.
UH, AGAIN, HERE, UH, LITTLE NUMBERS MAKE BIG, UH, BIG CHANGES.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THE MINUS A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING FROM ZERO TO ONE, UM, OR ONE TO ZERO RATHER.
UH, BUT OVERALL, UH, UP ONLY SLIGHTLY 5%.
UH, IF WE MO LOOK INTO OUR, OUR CLEARANCE RATES FOR OUR DETECTIVES, UM, AND WE'RE STARTING WITH THE PER PERSONS, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT DETECTIVES HAVE, UH, OBVIOUSLY BEEN BUSY FOR THE QUARTER AND THEY'VE CLEARED 993 CASES BY ARREST.
UH, ONE OF 'EM IS WAITING ON A, UH, A VICTIM TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, UM, MAKE THE CASE GO FORWARD.
[00:15:01]
993 OUTTA 994, THEY WERE ABLE TO OBTAIN, THEY WERE CLEAR IT BY ARREST.UH, IF WE GO TO PROPERTY CRIMES, UH, HERE, THEY'RE ALSO, UH, BEEN VERY BUSY.
UH, 466 CASES WERE ALSO CLEARED BY ARREST, AND ONE CASE WAS SUS IS SUSPENDED, WAITING FOR, AGAIN, THE VICTIM TO BE ABLE TO COME FORTH IN A ROBBERY TO BE ABLE TO HELP US, UH, MOVE THAT CASE FORWARD.
SO, UH, 467 CASES TOTAL, AND 466 CASES OF THOSE WERE, WERE CLEARED BY ARREST.
IF WE LOOK AT CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY, UM, 496 CASES WERE ALSO WORKED HERE, AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF 'EM, UH, WAS CLEARED BY ARREST, SO THAT WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT RATE ON THAT.
UH, IF WE, IF WE SWITCH OVER TO OUR CITYWIDE RESPONSE TIMES, CALLS FOR OUR EMERGENCY P P ONE AND OUR URGENT CALLS, UH, OUR TARGET IS 10 44 FOR OUR AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME.
UH, AND YOU CAN SEE, UM, OVER THE, THE, THE COURSE OF JULY, AUGUST OF SEPTEMBER, UH, JULY, WE WERE AT 10 57, UH, 10 28 FOR AUGUST, AND WE'RE UP, UH, AT 10 16.
HOWEVER, IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING THAT THE CALL VOLUME HAS GONE DOWN, UM, UH, FOR, FOR THAT TIME PERIOD.
UH, AND THEN IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS ACTUALLY BREAKS IT DOWN BY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, DISTRICT, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CALL VOLUMES JUST OVER, I'M SORRY, YEAH, 10,000, JUST OVER 10,500 CALLS, UM, COMPARED TO OTHER PLACES IN THE CITY, YOU COULD, YOU CAN KIND OF LOOK AT WHERE YOUR DISTRICTS ARE IN YOUR COVERING OF, UH, HOW EXACTLY THE CALL VOLUME LAYS OUT, AS WELL AS TO THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME.
UH, WE DID HAVE THE, THE SECOND LOWEST IN THE, UH, IN, IN FOR P ZEROS AT 7 31.
UH, BUT THEN OF COURSE, AS YOU INCREASE TIME AND DISTANCE, UH, YOUR RESPONSE TIMES ARE GONNA BE GONNA BE LARGER.
THIS SLIDE LOOKS AT P ZERO AND P ONE'S CALLS, UH, BY MONTH.
AND THIS LOOKS AT JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER.
AND THAT WAS ON THE PREVIOUS CALL.
UH, WE ARE DOWN ON CALL VOLUME, UH, FOR THE MONTH, UM, OF SEPTEMBER.
IF WE START LOOKING AT, UH, STAFFING, SWORN STAFFING, WERE AUTHORIZED FOR 1812.
THAT LEAVES US WITH 345 OC OCCUPATIONAL VACANCIES.
AND IF WE SWITCH OVER TO OUR CIVILIANS STAFFING, WHICH IS DEFINITELY A MUST NEED AND KEEPS US, KEEPS US GOING EVERY SINGLE DAY.
ALL, ALL OF THE CADETS, UH, THE 77 OF THEM ARE ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE UNTIL THEY BECOME SWORN AT GRADUATION.
UH, AND RIGHT NOW WE DO HAVE 112 PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING AS TEMPORARY POSITIONS WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, HELPING US OUT DAY TO DAY.
UH, THAT LEAVES US WITH 134 VACANCIES, UM, WHICH INCLUDES FOUR INTERNS AND, AND, AND THE 40 CADETS AS WELL.
UH, IF WE SWITCH OVER TO COMMUNICATIONS AND LOOK AT THEIR STAFFING, UM, NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKER.
OUT OF THE 104 POSITIONS, WE ARE DOWN TO 32.
BY NO MEANS WE ARE, UH, OUT OF, OUT OF THE WOODS YET.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE WERE ALMOST, UH, AT ONE TIME CLOSE TO ALMOST 60 VACANCIES.
UH, I'M OVER, UH, 9 1 1 AND COMMUNICATIONS CENTER AND OUR HR TEAM, AS WELL AS OUR TRAINERS, OUR BACKGROUND INVESTIGATORS, OUR, OUR TRAINING STAFF, UH, HAS JUST DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB OF RECRUITMENT, GETTING PEOPLE THROUGH BACKGROUND, GETTING 'EM READY FOR ONE CLASS, ONE, ONE CLASS GRADUATES.
THE OTHER CLASS HAS ALREADY STARTED.
AND SO WE HAVE A CLASS IN THERE.
WE JUST HAD ANOTHER CLASS GRADUATE.
THEY'VE DONE AN AMAZING JOB, AND WE STILL HAVE 32 VACANCIES TO GO.
UH, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S DOWN BY HALF.
AND THEY'VE DONE AN AMAZING JOB TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THE INCREASE IN PLAY AND, AND THE PROGRESSION CAREER, CAREER PLAN, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO GET QUALIFIED APPLICANTS IN AND BE ABLE TO, UH, THE, I KNOW THE LAST CLASS, THE TRAINING CLASS GOES, WE NEED EVERY CLASS LIKE THAT BECAUSE THEY WERE DIS SUPERIOR COMING IN.
SO IT'S REALLY WORKING TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM THE EXTRA PAY TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEM A PROGRESSION PLAN THAT THEY COULD, THEY COULD SHOOT FOR TOWARDS THE FUTURE.
UH, I WILL SAY ON THE DISPATCHER SIDE, UH, IT SAYS SEVEN.
AND THEN, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO IS IF, IF THEY'RE NOT, YOU HAVE TO BE 21 TO BE ABLE TO BE, BE A PEACE OFFICER, UH, HERE IN TEXAS, UH, ONE THING THAT'S VERY ENCOURAGING IS PEOPLE WILL COME ON AND THEN THEY WANNA DECIDE THEY WANTED TO BE A POLICE OFFICER WHEN THEY HIT 20 AND A HALF OR 21, DEPENDING ON, SO WE HAD ONE OF OUR DIS, ONE OF OUR DISPATCHERS, POLICE DISPATCHER.
SHE WAS A DISPATCHER, AND THEN SHE JUST RECENTLY WENT TO THE ACADEMY THAT STARTED THIS, THIS PAST MONTH.
SO, UH, SAD TO LOSE HER ON THE COMMUNICATIONS SIDE, BUT WE'RE GLAD TO GAIN HER ON THE SWORN SIDE EVENTUALLY.
[00:20:01]
TO FIVE, BUT WE'RE DOWN TO SEVEN NOW, SO LOOKING A LOT BETTER.AND, UH, MYSELF AND CHIEF HENDERSON, UH, REPORTED OUT TO THE CITY MANAGER, UH, LAST MONDAY.
UH, AND IT WAS DEFINITELY, UH, IT'S, IT'S REFRESHING TO BE ABLE TO GO IN THERE WITH GOOD NEWS AND BE ABLE TO TELL THE CITY MANAGER THAT WE'RE MAKING A POSITIVE DIFF DIFFERENCE AND MAKING A, A GREAT, UH, FUTURE INVESTMENT FOR THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT EACH CADET CLASS, THE ONE 48TH, UH, IS ALREADY GRADUATED WITH 19, UH, THE ONE 49TH.
UH, CURRENTLY IT STARTED WITH 34.
UH, AND THEY, UH, CURRENTLY HAVE 28 CADETS THAT ARE STILL IN THERE.
THEY, THEY WILL GRADUATE JUST BEFORE THE END OF THIS YEAR.
UH, THE 1 51 WAS, UH, GOING TO BE A MODIFIED CLASS.
UH, SO WE ACTUALLY COMBINED THAT THERE WASN'T ENOUGH INTEREST TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A CLASS BY ITSELF.
THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE, UM, GOT THROUGH BACKGROUND CHECK, ET CETERA, WERE, UH, STARTED WITH A ONE 51ST.
UH, THEY, THEY, UH, WE STARTED WITH 49 49 CADETS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE 48, AND THEY'RE SET TO GRADUATE, UH, IN APRIL 19TH OF NEXT YEAR.
UH, WE DO PLAN TO START THE ONE 52ND AND THE ONE 53RD, UM, THE BE, UH, IN FEBRUARY FOR THE ONE 52ND.
AND THEN SOMETIME IN, UH, THERE HASN'T BEEN A DATE SET FOR THE ONE 53RD, BUT THAT'S SOMETIME IN, UM, IN, IN SUMMER.
UM, THIS IS KIND OF LOOKING AT ONE OF THE OTHER PRIOR STAFFS, JUST IN A GRAPH FORM.
UH, YOU CAN SEE OUR ALLOCATED, UM, THE DIFFERENCE, UH, PER YEAR, UH, THAT WE'RE ALLOWED ALLOCATED FOR STAFFING.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT 20 22, 18 0 9 AND WENT TO 1812, THOSE WERE THE THREE OFFICERS THAT WERE APPROVED TO GO TO THE AIRPORT.
SO THERE'S THREE OFFICER POSITIONS FOR THAT.
UH, IF WE LOOK AT SWORN FOR, UH, THROUGH 2020 THROUGH 2023, WE'RE AT 145 TOTAL THAT HAVE LEFT.
UM, AND COMPARED TO LIKE 157, UH, THAT THAT LEFT LAST YEAR.
SO, UH, STILL SEVERAL MONTHS IN THE, UM, THE YEAR, BUT HOPEFULLY WE DO NOT REACH THAT NUMBER OR, OR SUCCEED IT.
SO, UH, AND I THINK THIS ONE MORE IS MY LAST SLIDE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, JUST BREAKING DOWN THIS 1 45, UH, FOR THIS YEAR OF WHERE WE'VE SEEN OUR PEOPLE LEAVING THE DEPARTMENT, UH, WE HAD 98 PEOPLE SO FAR THAT HAVE, UH, UM, GONE ON TO RETIREMENT.
40 45, UH, RESIGNED FROM THE DEPARTMENT, ONE TERMINATION AND ONE PERSON PASSED AWAY.
AND I THINK THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE.
COMMISSIONER STEWART, COMMISSIONER PENA, THANK YOU FOR TURNING YOUR CAMERA BACK ON.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, YOUR CHAIR? OH YEAH, GO AHEAD.
UM, IT'S GREAT SEEING, UH, SOME OF THE PROGRESS AND, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK.
UM, I DID HAVE A QUESTION 'CAUSE YOU SAID THAT THERE, THERE WERE SOME DISPATCHERS.
SO FOR THE DISPATCHERS, UH, THE REQUIREMENT IS 18 YEARS OLD, IS THAT CORRECT OR? YES, SIR.
SO ARE YOU SEEING A, A, A GOOD TREND OF DISPATCHERS THAT, UM, ARE LOOKING INTO ONCE THEY REACH 21, MOVING INTO UNIFORM? UH, THE UNIFORM SERVICE SIDE OF A P D THERE, I KNOW AS, AS I MAKE THE FLOOR AS WELL AS MY COMMANDER MAKES THE FLOOR AND THE LIEUTENANT, THERE ARE, THERE ARE SEVERAL THAT ARE YOUNG AND THERE ARE CONSIDERING IT.
UM, AND IT'S POSSIBLE FOR THEM IN THE FUTURE.
THEY JUST HAVEN'T MADE THAT DECISION.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WORK KNOWLEDGE AND THE EXPERIENCE THEY'RE GAINING AND POLICE COMMUNICATIONS IS, IS PHENOMENAL.
AND SO WHEN THEY MOVE INTO THAT CADET ROLE, THEY OPERATING THE RADIO AND KNOWING HOW TO SAY HOW TO RUN THINGS, HOW TO HEY, YOU KNOW, LOOK FOR INVOLVEMENT, HOW TO HELP THE DISPATCHER ROUTE AND THEIR JOB IS JUST PHENOMENAL.
AND IT'S, IT JUST MAKES THEM FAR SUCCEED, ANYBODY ELSE IN THEIR CADET CLASS.
IT GETS 'EM INTO THE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN LEARN WHAT TYPE OF CALLS, UH, OCCUR, WHAT WHAT COMES OUT, AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S BY FAR WE ENCOURAGE THAT AS WELL AS ANYBODY THAT IS, UH, GOING THROUGH, UH, OUR RECRUITING PROCESS.
AND THERE'S GONNA BE LIKE, UH, A, A, A GREAT, NOT A GREAT AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, MONTHS AMOUNT OF TIME.
UH, WE ACTUALLY ENCOURAGE THEM TO GET ON BOARD WITH 9 1 1 AND JUST GET THAT EXPERIENCE.
AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY INSTEAD OF GOING TO GET AN OUTSIDE JOB OUTSIDE THE CITY, WE KEEP 'EM HERE AND GIVE 'EM EXPERIENCE.
AND THAT'S JUST ONLY, LIKE I SAID, KNOWLEDGE GAINED BEFORE WHEN THEY GO INTO THE ACADEMY.
SO WE CAN, WE CAN EMPLOY THEM, UH, BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY GO INTO THE ACADEMY.
UH, AND, AND CHIEF, JUST TO, UH, ADD TO THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS BEING MARKETED? I'M, I'M CURIOUS IF THAT'S SOMETHING BEING MARKETED IN THAT DISPATCHER ROLE, THAT THERE IS A POTENTIAL, UM, TO MOVE INTO THAT UNIFORM FOR THOSE THAT ARE ASPIRING THE YOUNG PEOPLE THAT ARE ASPIRING TO DO THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
THERE'S ALSO, UH, REQUIRED WRITE OUTS THAT THE DISPATCHERS HAVE TO GO AND WRITE OUT WITH THE OFFICERS ON THE STREET.
SO THEY JUST KIND OF GET A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF THE WAY THE OFFICERS WAS.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BEING HIT AT EVERY LEVEL, WHETHER IT'S THEIR, THEIR SUPERVISORS AS WELL AS THE OFFICERS GETTING TO KNOW THEM, UH, OF HOW GREAT THIS JOB CAN BE IF, IF IT'S
[00:25:01]
SOMETHING FOR THEM, IF THEY HAVE THE, THE RIGHT POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, BECOME A POLICE OFFICER, WE'D LOVE TO WELCOME SOME.SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALWAYS GETTING THAT TYPE OF INPUT.
AND SO, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR RECRUITING FOR H UH, FOR COMMUNICATIONS ALSO GOES WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT RECRUITING TO EVENTS TO RECRUIT TOO.
SO WE'RE ALSO RECRUITING AT THE SAME TIME FOR 9 1 1 OPERATORS AND DISPATCHERS AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE RECRUITING FOR OFFICERS AND IF THEY'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH OR THEY'RE NOT READY, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THEY CAN'T PASS THE PHYSICAL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE CAN, WE CAN GET THEM ON A PLAN, BUT YET WE CAN GET THEM EMPLOYED TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THEM INTERESTED IN THE CITY FOR THE FUTURE.
COMMISSIONER KOFF, UM, I BELIEVE IS YOUR CADET CLASS 1 51 IS BLENDED OR WHAT'S A BLENDED? SO, SO, UH, WE HAD, WE HAD PLANNED TO RUN A, A MODIFIED, UH, ACADEMY.
UH, BASICALLY OFFICERS THAT ARE ALREADY OFFICERS THAT ARE COMING FROM OTHER, UH, AGENCIES, THERE WASN'T ENOUGH OF THEM TO MAKE A FULL CLASS.
SO I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBER, SAY THERE WAS THREE OR FOUR.
SO WE BLENDED THEM, SO TO SPEAK.
AND I JUST HAD A, ON THE SLIDE 18, WHICH IS THE SWORN SEPARATIONS FOR 2020 THROUGH 2023, UM, IS THAT FISCAL YEAR OR CALENDAR YEAR? JUST SO THAT I CAN GET A SENSE OF WHETHER OR NOT THIS NUMBER IS, THIS 1 45 IS CLOSED OUT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, OR WHETHER IT'S A NUMBER THAT'S ACCUMULATING FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, UH, NEXT THREE MONTHS.
SO IN THE, UM, ALL OF OUR OTHER SWORN AUTHORIZATION, ALL, ALL OF THE OTHERS ARE DONE THROUGH FISCAL YEAR.
SO IT WOULD JUST BE NICE IF THAT MATCHES UP IN THE FUTURE WHEN YOU GUYS ARE PULLING THAT TOGETHER.
IT'LL JUST MAKE THE NUMBERS MAKE MORE SENSE.
UM, SO I, I WAS ALSO WONDERING, 'CAUSE I THINK IN AD'S REPORT THEY TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
UM, I THINK PART PARTICULARLY WE, WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE WILDFIRE PRESENTATIONS.
I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN INCLUDE SOMETHING IN TERMS OF NUMBERS OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS.
I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE A NATIONAL NIGHT OUT THAT'S COMING UP HERE, UH, TOMORROW.
UM, I, I'D LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS WE MIGHT BE DOING, UM, AS WE'RE TALKING MORE ABOUT MARKETABLE SKILLS AND, UM, UH, MOVING THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT WITH, UH, FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, WE HAVE A LIEUTENANT OVER, OVER EXACTLY THAT, UH, WORKS WITH THE HOMELESS CONSTANTLY.
UM, OF COURSE THERE'S CLEANUPS AND STUFF THAT GOING ON, BUT THERE'S ALSO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE'RE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, I THINK THERE'S AN EVENT THIS WEEK TO BE ABLE TO, UM, HAVE THE COMMUNITY INPUT IN OUR STRATEGIC FIVE YEAR PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN, YEAH, OF COURSE, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT, WE HAD OUR KICKOFF, UH, SATURDAY OF ALL, ALL THE AGENCIES THAT CAME TOGETHER AND STUFF, BUT YEAH, BUT I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA.
WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY INCLUDE THAT FOR THE FUTURE.
IF WE HAVE NO MORE QUESTIONS, WE ARE GOING TO CLOSE THAT OUT.
[4. Biannual Wildfire Readiness Update and discussion on wildfire mitigation (Sponsors: Commissioners Ramírez and Bernhardt) ]
MOVE ON TO OUR BIANNUAL WILDFIRE READINESS UPDATE.UM, CHIEF FIRES, IF YOU WANNA INTRODUCE EVERYBODY THAT'S GONNA BE JOINING US, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOT A FULL SLATE OF FOLKS.
CHIEF DALE REZA, WHO'S OVER OUR, THIS ASSISTANT CHIEF OVER OUR WILDFIRE DIVISION, ALONG WITH JUSTICE JONES.
UH, ONE OF OUR HIGHEST DRINKINGS, UH, CIVILIAN FOLKS, VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE OVER ALL THE, THE WILDFIRE STUFF, UH, EXPERT RENOWNED AROUND THE WORLD.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL YIELD THE FLOOR TO THEM.
UH, AS ALWAYS, WE COME AND TRY TO BE, UH, MEET WITH Y'ALL BI-ANNUALLY EVERY SIX MONTHS, DEPENDING ON Y'ALL'S SCHEDULE.
UH, LAST MONTH, UH, LAST, UH, COMMISSION MEETING, Y'ALL DID MAKE A REQUEST TO HEAR FROM OUR PARTNERS WHO WORK WITH US BECAUSE IT'S A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO ADDRESS THE CITY'S WILDFIRE MITIGATION, UH, EFFORTS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO CONSOLIDATE SOME OF OUR SLIDES TO GIVE UP SOME TIME SO THAT WE DON'T TAKE BE RE SO THAT WE ARE RESPECTFUL OF EVERYONE.
AS ALWAYS, PER THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION, YOU CAN SEE THERE, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO REPORT ON CERTAIN METRICS.
WE HAVE PUT THOSE INTO A REAL TIME MAP THAT'S AVAILABLE BY THIS LINK RIGHT HERE.
IT'S IN YOUR BACKUP, YOU CAN HIT THAT.
WE'RE WORKING TO GET A BETTER, MORE EASILY MEMORABLE U R L, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS THERE, THAT WILL HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION OF REQUIRED BY THE RESOLUTION IN A WAY TO, FOR Y'ALL TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS IT AT ANY TIME.
I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO OUR WILDFIRE MITIGATION OFFICER.
AND, UH, JUSTICE WILL LEAD US THROUGH THE, THE FIRST FEW SLIDES.
UM, ONE OF OUR FIRST, UH, UPDATES THAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT, UM, UH, SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER IN, UH, 2014, THE CITY COUNTY COLLABORATED TO DEVELOP, UH, THE FIRST, UM, COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN THAT WAS BASED
[00:30:01]
ON THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR WILDFIRE.AND WE CALL THAT THE NATIONAL COHESIVE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.
UM, AND WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST CITY COUNTIES IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE DEVELOPED A PLAN, UM, BASED, BASED ON THOSE TENANTS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY OVER THE LAST NINE YEARS TO IMPLEMENT THIS PLAN, UM, FROM A COLLABORATIVE STANDPOINT.
AND BY THAT I MEAN, UM, MAJORITY OF THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND MANY DEPARTMENTS WITHIN, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY ALL WORKING, UM, HAND IN HAND TO IMPLEMENT THIS PLAN.
THE PLAN FOCUSES ON THREE, UH, KEY AREAS THAT WE HAVE FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES WHERE WE CAN EXPERIENCE WILDFIRE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF LIFE OR PROPERTY.
UM, THAT OUR LANDSCAPES ARE RESILIENT FOR THE IMPACTS OF WILDFIRE AND CAN RECOVER QUICKLY.
AND THAT, UH, OUR FIREFIGHTERS, OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND OUR PUBLIC ARE SAFE IN THE EVENT THAT WE HAVE WILDFIRE AND WE CAN IMPLEMENT EVACUATIONS WITHOUT THE LOSS OF LIFE.
UM, AND SO THOSE TENANTS HAVE DRIVEN US OVER THE LAST NINE YEARS.
UH, WE RECENTLY RECEIVED A US FOREST SERVICE GRANT TO UPDATE THAT PLAN.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, UH, EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY.
THAT FUNDING'S GONNA BE LEVERAGED IN ADDITION TO SOME LOCAL FUNDS, UH, TO HAVE A MULTIPLIER EFFECT SO WE CAN HAVE AS MUCH EMPHASIS AND RESOURCES AS POSSIBLE TO UPDATE THIS PLAN.
IF YOU'LL GO TO OUR NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
SO, AS I MENTIONED IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND QUADRANT IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE UPDATED NATIONAL COHESIVE WILDLAND FIRE STRATEGY.
UM, AND SO THERE ARE SOME NEW ELEMENTS ADDED TO THE STRATEGY THAT WERE MISSING INITIALLY, AND THEY WERE MISSING FROM OUR PLAN AS WELL, THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE REPRESENTED.
UH, WHAT WE DO HAVE IS A GOOD SOLID, UH, RISK ASSESSMENT.
UH, WE WANT TO EVALUATE THAT RISK ASSESSMENT.
WE WANT TO INCORPORATE THE CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED ON THE GROUND, UM, IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, CHANGES IN OUR DEVELOPMENT, OUR VEGETATION, UM, AND OUR LAND USE TO ENSURE THAT OUR RISK IS REFLECTED BACK TO OUR PUBLIC SO THEY CAN BE INFORMED AND MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AS WELL AS OUR PARTNERS ACROSS THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
UM, THAT PLAN'S GONNA FOCUS ON COMMUNITY RESILIENCY, UH, PREPARATION, UH, DOING THE THINGS THAT IT TAKES TO PREPARE A COMMUNITY FOR A WILDFIRE BEFORE IT OCCURS, UM, HOW WE'RE GONNA RESPOND TO THAT WILDFIRE.
AND EQUALLY, UH, IMPORTANT IS HOW WE'RE GONNA RECOVER FROM WILDFIRE WHEN IT DOES OCCUR.
AND IT'S INEVITABLE THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE WILDFIRE AGAIN.
AND WE ALSO WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST BASING OUR, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT, UH, CURRENT SITUATION IS.
WE'RE GONNA INCORPORATE CLIMATE PROJECTIONS INTO THAT PLAN, AND SO WE CAN ANTICIPATE THOSE IMPACTS INTO THE FUTURE AND START BUILDING MITIGATION MEASURES, UM, THAT INCORPORATE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS, UH, INTO THAT PLAN.
BUT WE ALSO WANNA ENSURE THAT, UH, WE'RE PRO PROMOTING AND CULTIVATING A, A WORKFORCE AND WORKFORCE CAPACITY, UH, TO BE EFFECTIVE IN IMPLEMENTING THIS PLAN AND SUSTAINING THE PLAN.
UM, AND THAT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR CITY DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY AND COUNTY TO GAIN THAT WILDFIRE EXPERTISE AND RETAIN IT.
UH, WE ALSO WANNA ENSURE THAT DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION IS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.
UH, WHEN WE DEVELOP THIS PLAN, WHEN WE INTEGRATE, UM, OUR CONSIDERATIONS INTO WILDFIRE RISK, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE INCLUDED AND CONSIDERED, UM, AS PART OF THAT PROCESS.
AND EQUALLY IMPORTANT, WE WANNA MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE.
UM, THE PREVIOUS PLAN WAS ABOUT 900 PAGES LONG WITH ALL THE APPENDICES.
AND WHAT THAT REFLECTS BACK TO YOU IS THAT WE'RE AN EXTREMELY COMPLEX PLANNING ENVIRONMENT.
UM, AND THAT WAS REFLECTIVE OF WHAT IT TOOK TO BUILD COLLABORATION AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WAS HEARD.
NOW THAT WE HAVE THAT BASE OF COLLABORATION, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS SIMPLIFY THAT PLAN TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE.
WHO'S GONNA READ A 900 PAGE PLAN? WE WANT THIS TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S USABLE BY THE, OUR PARTNERS AND THE PUBLIC.
SO THAT ACCESSIBILITY IN MULTIPLE ASPECTS IS GONNA BE A HIGH PRIORITY FOR THIS PLAN.
SO THESE ARE TWO OF THE, THESE ARE TWO OF OUR SLIDE, UH, SLIDES THAT ARE ON THAT LINK THAT YOU CAN GET TO.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE METRICS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT OUR C W P P AND HOW WE LOCALIZE THEM TO SMALLER COMMUNITIES.
UH, QUICK NUMBERS THERE THAT WE REPORT ON EACH YEAR AND, UH, EACH BI-ANNUALLY AND WE'LL, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DIG INTO IT MORE ON THAT SLIDE.
THIS IS SPECIFICALLY TO THE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL LOCAL CWPP THAT ARE ONGOING IN OUR AREAS AND ESPECIALLY IN OUR HIGH RISK AREAS.
YOU'LL SEE MORE OF THAT ON THAT LINK AS WELL, TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE TIME FOR OUR PARTNERS.
THIS IS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD, ESPECIALLY AFTER THIS, UH, NOT HISTORIC BECAUSE 2011 STILL RAINED SUPREME FOR OUR WILDFIRE ACTIVITY IN THAT TIME.
BUT IN THE, THE MONTH OF, UH, SEPTEMBER, WE HAD 963 DIFFERENT GRASS AND BRUSH ALARMS THAT WERE, UH, HAPPENED IN OUR RESPONSE AREA.
WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THOSE VERY SMALL BECAUSE WE UPST STAFFED AND WE WORKED COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR, IN A REGIONAL WILDFIRE RESPONSE WITH OUR FELLOW ASDS.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THEM FROM GROWING INTO SOMETHING THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN EVACUATION, BUT WE COULDN'T RELY ON JUST THOSE EFFORTS.
[00:35:01]
WE KNEW THAT IT'S JUST ONE MOMENT OF BAD WEATHER COINCIDING WITH A, WITH A SLOW RESPONSE DUE TO A TRAIN OR, OR ANY SITUATION.SO WE HAD TO BE ABLE TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT POSSIBILITY.
SO WE WORKED WITH HESSAM, OUR, UH, OUR DEPARTMENT THERE TO WORK WITH NOTIFICATION AREAS AS WELL AS TO PREPARE THE AREA, THE RESIDENTS OF OUR TOWN THAT PREPAREDNESS TOWN HALL MEETINGS ARE HAPPENING MONTHLY IN THE DIFFERENT AREAS.
THEY BOUNCE AROUND THE ENTIRE CITY DURING WILDFIRE RISK.
WE WERE WORKING VERY SPECIFICALLY ON THAT TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO BEFORE THE FIRE.
AND IN CASE OF THAT, WE WORKED WITH, UH, TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND ELEVATING THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SIGNED UP AT WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS SO THEY COULD BE NOTIFIED ABOUT THE, UM, THE POTENTIAL FIRE ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY'RE IN.
AND IN CASE THERE WAS AN EVENT THAT THEY'D BE ABLE TO BE NOTIFIED AND, AND TOLD TO EVACUATE EARLIER.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ALL OUR, OUR DIFFERENT PARTNERS IN THAT AS WELL AS IN GENERAL WITH THE, UH, THE WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS SYMPOSIUM, WHICH IS OUR ANNUAL EVENT THAT WE WORK WITH PARTNERS THIS YEAR AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGED TO KEEP THEM ENGAGED AND WELL EDUCATED.
UH, DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES? CERTAINLY.
UM, AS YOU CAN SUSPECT, UH, WE'VE SEEN AN UP UPTICK IN THE NUMBER OF REQUESTS FOR, UH, PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AWARENESS.
UH, SO WE'VE WORKING HARD TO, UH, MEET THAT, UH, DEMAND OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS.
AND WE HAVE NUMEROUS, UH, REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE SCHEDULED OUT INTO THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR.
AND SO PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION ARISING.
SO THOSE NUMBERS ARE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST, BUT WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO IS DIRECT THOSE PEOPLE REQUESTED TO THOSE HESO TOWN HALL PRESENTATIONS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GAIN LEVERAGE WHERE WE CAN.
ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE RESOLUTION IS TO TRACK AND, UH, CONSOLIDATE ALL OF OUR PAR UH, THE FUELS MITIGATION EFFORTS GOING ON IN OUR REGION IN AN EFFORT A F D HAS TRANSITIONED OUT OF THAT TO MORE OF AN ADVISORY AND EDUCATIONAL COORDINATION OF THAT.
BUT WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS, SO THESE ARE THE NUMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH US THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GO AND THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT IT SPECIFICALLY AS THEY GO INTO THEIR SECTION.
UH, ONCE AGAIN, WE'LL COME BACK AND HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR QUESTIONS AT ALL AT THE END, BUT WE'VE GOT OUR PARTNERS WITH US THAT WORK HEAVILY IN THE FUELS REDUCTION AND MANAGING THAT ACTUAL, UH, FIRE RESILIENT LANDSCAPE.
WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION WITH MS. AMANDA ROSS.
IF I COULD INTERJECT REAL QUICK, I APOLOGIZE IF I FAILED TO, TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALSO IN THE AUDIENCE.
WE HAVE CHIEF, UH, DIVISION CHIEF CARRIE STEWART, WHO'S HERE TO HELP WITH ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ON THE FIRE SIDE.
AND HER LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL WITH US, WITH THE PROGRESS BAY IN OUR WILDFIRE DIVISION.
AND, AND WHILE THEY PULL THAT UP, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY.
THE, THE, THE PARTNERS THAT CAME.
I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE, WHEN WE THINK OF WILDFIRE, WE THINK OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO SORT OF ACKNOWLEDGE AND TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT PLAY A ROLE IN FUEL MITIGATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT.
UM, AND IT'S NOT JUST FIRE THAT MANAGES FIRES
SO I CLEAR MY THROAT A LITTLE BIT.
MY NAME IS AMANDA ROSS AND I AM THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS REALLY BEEN, UM, BEEN ABOUT FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS.
UM, AND I'M GONNA START JUST TAKE A COUPLE STEPS BACK EVEN FURTHER TO 2019.
AND AS A RESULT OF THE WILDFIRE AUDIT, UM, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT AT THAT POINT IN TIME THAT PARKS WORK TO, UM, CREATE PLANS FOR ALL OF ITS LAND THAT WERE CONSIDERED NATURAL AREAS.
PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS ABOUT 20,000 ACRES OF LAND, JUST OVER 10,000 ACRES OF THAT ARE ACTUALLY NATURAL AREAS OF LAND.
AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE'VE BEEN, UM, STEWARDS OF THOSE PROPERTIES, BUT NOT ACTIVE STEWARDS.
AND SO IT HAS BEEN VERY MUCH A, A LEAVE ALONE AND LET BE APPROACH.
AND SO WE'VE REALIZED PARTICULARLY WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AND SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE, UM, GOT THE DIRECTION FROM THE 2019 WILDFIRE, UM, AUDIT, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KIND OF MOVE FORWARD IN THOSE STEPS AND WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU GUYS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON SOME OF THAT.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS JUST A LIST HERE OF MULTIPLE PLANS THAT ACTUALLY ALSO SUPPORT THIS, RIGHT? SO IT WASN'T JUST THE 2019 WILDFIRE AUDIT, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT 10 YEAR PLAN HAS THIS AS A MAJOR TENANT.
THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN FOR THE CITY ALSO HAS THIS AS A MAJOR TENANT.
SO IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE WERE TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH AS WELL, UH, ON MULTIPLE FRONTS.
AND WE WERE ALSO ABLE RIGHT AFTER 2019 TO RECLASSIFY A STAFF PERSON AS A RESULT OF THAT AUDIT.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF CREATE A TEAM OF TWO.
[00:40:01]
KIND OF WHERE WE STARTED.UM, AND THIS PAST TWO WEEKS AGO, I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE ACTUALLY, UM, ACTUALLY, UH, HAD AN APPROVED LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL JUST TELL YOU VERY QUICKLY SOME OF THE ELEMENTS OF WHAT IS IN THE LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN OR GUIDE AS WE CALL IT.
AND SO THERE IS A LINK THERE TOO, IF YOU WANNA READ IT.
UM, IT IS 200 PAGES, SO JUST GONNA SHARE THAT IT'S IN TWO VOLUMES.
READ THE FIRST VOLUME, THE SECOND VOLUME IS BY BY SPECIFIC SITE.
SO YOU CAN DIG INTO JUST SPECIFIC SITES IF YOU WANT.
BUT BASICALLY WE, UM, WORKED WITH A CONSULTANT WHO WENT OUT AND THEY DID TRANSECTS WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR PROPERTIES, AND WE ACTUALLY FOUND THAT THEY WERE FAIRLY DEGRADED, RIGHT? SO HOW MANY INVASIVE SPECIES, WHAT'S THE DIVERSITY COUNT? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF THOSE PROPERTIES? AND THEN WE ALSO DID A CLIMATE VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS AS WELL AS PART OF THIS.
SO IT'S VERY MUCH A SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENT, UM, TAKING DEFINED CONCERNS FOR, YOU KNOW, HEAT, DROUGHT, WILDFIRE, UM, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT SOMETHING CALLED THE SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX, WHICH IS, UM, A COMMUNITY'S ABILITY TO RESPOND TO AN EVENT.
SO, UM, WHAT YOU'LL SEE THERE IS OFTENTIMES COMMUNITIES WITH MEANS ARE ABLE TO RESPOND TO AN EVENT MUCH FASTER THAN, UM, A COMMUNITY WHO DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE, YOU KNOW, EXTRA MONEY IN THE BANK ACCOUNT TO DO THAT.
AND SO WE TOOK THAT INTO OUR EQUATION FOR CLIMATE VULNERABILITY RISK AND, AND TRY TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE EQUITABLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE WHEN WE LOOK AT WHICH PROPERTIES POTENTIALLY WE'LL WORK ON IN, IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND SO WE ALSO, UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES INFORMATION ABOUT DIFFERENT STRATEGIES THAT WE CAN DO ON THE PROPERTIES AS WELL AS AN ABILITY TO MONITOR THOSE PROPERTIES.
AND AGAIN, SO THE CURRENT PLAN IS ACTUALLY FOR 10,000 ACRES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, GO AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO, UM, REALLY QUICKLY, WE'RE CONSIDERING F Y 24 KIND OF OUR SURGE YEAR.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
UM, WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS YEAR, UM, THANKS TO FUNDING AND SUPPORT FROM OUR PARTNERS AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE INSTALLED 2.4 SHADED, UM, MILES OF SHADED FUEL BREAK, UM, AT ZILKER MAYFIELD, BLU CREEK NATURE PRESERVE, AND STEVENSON NATURE PRESERVE.
I'LL RECEIVE SHADED FUEL BREAK WORK THIS YEAR, BUT IT'S A DROP IN THE BUCKET OF THE NEED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO DID 169 ACRES OF RESTORATION EFFORTS, WHETHER THAT BE THROUGH PRESCRIBED FIRE, THROUGH THINNING OR THROUGH, UM, INVASIVE REMOVAL, THESE OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT HAD BEEN OCCURRING AND THOSE OCCURRED, UM, AT DUCKER AND ONION, UM, ONION CREEK, METRO GREENBELT AREAS.
SO THOSE ARE KIND OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN BEEN THIS YEAR, BUT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT F Y 24.
WE DID RECEIVE TWO ADDITIONAL STAFF, SO THAT DOUBLED OUR TEAM.
UM, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
WE ALSO ARE WORKING TO CREATE MASTER AGREEMENTS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS WORK QUICKER AND FASTER, UM, SO THAT THERE CAN BE MULTIPLE CONTRACTORS ON BOARD SO THAT WE COULD GO OUT AND GET FUNDING AND DO THAT A LITTLE BIT EASIER AND BE READY TO, TO IMPLEMENT QUICKLY.
UM, AS PART OF THAT TOO, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR FUNDING RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR THE CITY AND THE AMOUNT OF $2.5 MILLION THAT WE'RE HOPING TO GET AS OF JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.
WE'LL HAVE AN 18 MONTH TIMEFRAME FOR IMPLEMENTATION ON THAT.
AND REALLY, FUTURE GROWTH IS A BIG PART OF WHERE WE'RE GOING NEXT, AND WE'RE HOPING TO WORK, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS AND OUR NEIGHBORS ON WORKING TO IMPLEMENT THAT LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN IN AREAS, UM, REALIZING THAT IT'S GONNA, IT'S GONNA BE A LONG PROCESS, BUT WE'RE STARTING.
WE'RE GONNA TRANSITION NOW OVER TO OUR FELLOW PARTNERS IN AUSTIN ENERGY.
YEAH, WHICHEVER CHAIR YOU WANT, CHRIS.
ALL RIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
UH, MY NAME IS CHRIS FETCHER MILL AND I AM THE BRAND NEW WILDFIRE MITIGATION PROGRAM MANAGER AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
I DO COME FROM A BACKGROUND OF BEING FOUR YEARS WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE WILDFIRE DIVISION.
UH, SO THAT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO HELP OUT OUR PARTNERSHIP AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO, JUSTICE JONES ALREADY KIND OF MENTIONED EVERYTHING THAT I'M GONNA SAY IN THIS SLIDE, BUT THE PROGRAM THAT, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS, UM, IS KIND OF IN THE INFANCY AS YOU WILL, UH, UNDERSTAND.
AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO WITH THAT IS BUILD IT OUT.
AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA BUILD THAT PROGRAM OUT IS WE'RE GONNA FOLLOW THAT, UM, THE WILDFIRE, UH, NATIONAL COHESIVE WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLAN.
AND WE'RE GONNA JUST TWEAK IT A LITTLE BIT AS WE GO AND BRING THAT IN AND STILL USE THOSE THREE, UH, GOALS THAT, THAT THEY HAVE THE RESILIENT LANDSCAPING, FIRE ADAPTED INFRASTRUCTURE INSTEAD OF FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES, AND THEN HAVE ALSO THE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE WILDFIRE RESPONSE.
SO WITH THAT, THE FIRST PART OF THAT IS THE RESILIENT LANDSCAPING.
[00:45:01]
AND WHAT REAL LANDSCAPING MEANS IS JUSTICE ALREADY POINTED OUT IS BASICALLY LOOKING AT THAT VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.AND AUSTIN ENERGY DOES HAVE A VERY ROBUST, UH, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, UH, SCHEDULE THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE FALLING THROUGH.
UM, BUT DUE TO THE WINTER STORMS AND THINGS OF THE PAST COUPLE YEARS, THEY'VE, UH, FALLEN BEHIND A LITTLE BIT AND WE JUST HAD THE VEGETATION, UH, MANAGEMENT AUDIT COME THROUGH.
UH, BUT WE WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT AND FOCUSING ON THAT.
AND THEN ALSO ADDING IN A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE WILDFIRE SIDE TO THAT, WHERE WE'LL DO IN THE WILDFIRE AREAS THAT WE KNOW OF AND THE CIRCUITS THAT RUN THROUGH THERE, WE'LL DO MORE WORK IN THOSE AREAS AND POSSIBLY EXPAND OUT TO DOING SOME MORE WORK AROUND ACTUALLY THE POLES THEMSELVES AS WELL.
SO VEGETATION MANAGER IS VERY IMPORTANT AND IT'S PROBABLY PART OF THE BIGGEST, UM, ASPECT THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE THOSE LINES TO THE TREES, THAT'S WHERE THEY CREATE THE SPARK.
AND WHEN IT CREATES THE SPARK, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA GET THE POTENTIAL FOR WILDFIRE.
SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, UH, VERY DILIGENTLY AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
SO THE NEXT PART, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, IS WILDFIRE.
IT'S REALLY A FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES, BUT WE'RE GONNA MORPH THAT INTO KIND OF A, A FIRE ADAPTED INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THAT'S LOOKING AT OUR INTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, MOREOVER THAN JUST THE COMMUNITY AND THE HOUSE ITSELF.
UH, AS WE'RE DOING THAT, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT OUR GRID.
AND THE GRID HARDENING IS, IS ONE OF THE BIG ASPECTS THAT WE WANT, WANT TO TAKE INTO EFFECT.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS ALREADY BEEN DOING.
WE'RE LOOKING AT NEW TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY'RE USING ON THE WEST COAST TO HAVE SYSTEMS THAT CREATE LESS OF A SPARK.
UH, SO IF WE HAVE COVERED CONDUCTOR WIRE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT PUTTING IN PLACE, AND WHAT THAT'LL DO IS IF ONE OF THOSE BRANCHES FALLS ON THAT, THAT WIRE, IT WON'T ARC AND CREATE A SPARK AND GO TO GROUND AND THEN, UM, POTENTIALLY CREATE A WILDFIRE WHEN IT SITS THERE AND IT'S COVERED, IT WON'T MAKE THAT CONNECTION, AND THEN THAT WON'T START THE FIRE.
OTHER THINGS WE CAN LOOK AT ARE, UM, DIFFERENT KIND OF FUSES THAT WE CAN PUT INTO PLACE.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE A FAULT, A FUSE USUALLY BLOWS, AND THAT'S AN INCENDIARY DEVICE.
AND THEN, THEN THAT BLOWS, AND THEN IT CREATES THAT SPARK DOWN TO THE GROUND AS WELL.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER TECHNOLOGIES, AND WE DO HAVE SOME IN PLACE NOW CALLED TRIP SAVERS THAT ARE ELECTRONIC SO THEY CAN ACTUALLY TRIP AND THEN COME BACK ON.
UM, BUT THEN WE'RE GONNA LOOK INTO THOSE AND MAKE THEM SMART TECHNOLOGIES SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY TALK TO THEM.
SO IN HIGH FIRE DANGER DAYS, WE CAN ACTUALLY GO THEN AND TELL THEM WE DON'T WANT THEM TO RESET.
SO IF IT IS A POTENTIAL THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A FIRE OR A TREE AND GET A SPARK, ONCE IT TRIPS, IT STAYS TRIPPED AND WE'LL HAVE TO SEND THE CREW OUT.
UM, BUT ON NORMAL DAYS, IF SOMETHING DOES TRIP AND THEY'RE NOT HIGH FIRE DANGER DAY, IT'LL ACTUALLY RESET ITSELF UP TO THREE TIMES BEFORE IT SAYS, OKAY, THAT'S REALLY A PROBLEM AGAIN.
AND THEY'LL, THEY'LL SEND, SEND A CREW OUT.
SO THERE'S ALL KINDS OF TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK ON.
AND THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE GONNA ALSO DO IS WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT HOW WE, UH, AN ANALYZE THE RISK, AND WE'RE GONNA GO IN AND WE'RE GONNA BE TRYING TO GET SOME MORE, UM, SMART TECHNOLOGY FOR THAT SOME, UH, NEW TECHNOLOGY IN SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING, AND THEN BRING SOMEONE IN.
SO LIKE I SAID, I'M A DIVISION OF ONE AT THE MOMENT, SO BRING SOMEONE ELSE IN TO HELP ME, UH, WITH THAT, AND THEN BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AND THEN ANALYZE THE RISK ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED, AND THEN KNOW EXACTLY WHAT CIRCUITS AND WHAT AREAS WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT AND WHAT, WHAT PART OF THE GRID WE'RE NEED TO HARDEN THE MOST AND START THERE AND THEN KEEP MOVING OUR OUR WAY OUT.
AND THE, THE LAST PART TO THAT IS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE WILDFIRE RESPONSE.
AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US IS THAT IF A FIRE DOES HAPPEN OR THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON OUT THERE AND, UH, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT IS ON SCENE, THEY'RE ABLE TO, UH, CALL IN DIRECTLY TO OUR, UH, E C C, WHICH IS OUR, UM, E UH, ELECTRIC EMERGE, UH, EXCUSE ME.
SEE, I'M STILL NEW, GETTING THE ACRONYMS DOWN.
KNOW IT'S E C C, THE CONTROL CENTER, AND, UM, FIGHT THE ACRONYMS. YES, FIGHT THE ACRONYMS. NO ACRONYMS. WE'LL JUST CALL IT THE CONTROL CENTER.
UH, AND SO THE CONTROL CENTER BASICALLY IS THE ONE WHO CAN TURN ON AND OFF THOSE SWITCHES AND ACTUALLY KILL, UM, SOME OF THOSE CIRCUITS AND TURN THEM OFF.
AND SO IF THEY CALL IN AND SAYING THAT WE'RE WORKING THIS AREA, THERE'S A FIRE IN THIS AREA, WE DON'T WANT IT TO BURN INTO THOSE, OR WE HAVE WIRES DOWN AND WE HAVE SAFETY FOR THE CREWS, THEY CAN SH THEY CAN SHUT OFF THE POWER AS WELL.
AND THEN WITH THAT, THEN ONCE THE FIRE DOES MOVE THROUGH OR SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO THEN GO IN AND THEN RESPOND TO OUR CREWS IN A SAFE MANNER, BUT IN, AND ALSO AN EFFECTIVE AND THEN QUICK MANNER TO GET BACK ON, GET THE POWER TO BACK UP.
DO I HAVE A LAST SLIDE OR? YEP.
SO THEN IN CONCLUSION, BASICALLY WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS THE, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY IS REALLY, UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO THEM TO HAVE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY, TO HAVE THE COMMUNITY SAFETY, TO HAVE THE SAFETY OF THE FIREFIGHTERS AS WELL IN MIND.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING IN TWO FASHIONS TOO, IS WE WANT TO HARDEN THE GRID AND MAKE IT MORE FIRE RESILIENT SO THAT WE DON'T CREATE A FIRE.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IS THAT IF A FIRE DOES ROLL THROUGH, IT DOESN'T, DOESN'T COME INTO AND IMPACT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WHERE WE HAVE TWO SIDES TO THAT, AND WITH THAT, BASICALLY THAT'S JUST HARDENING THE WHOLE, UM, THE WHOLE GRID ITSELF AND HAVING BETTER RESILIENCY.
AND THEN WE'LL KEEP THE POWER ON FOR THE, THE CUSTOMERS INSIDE OF AUSTIN ENERGY AS WELL.
HE'S DOING A GREAT JOB ALREADY.
UH, AND WE'LL GO TO OUR FINAL, UH, PARTNER WHO'S MANAGED TO JOIN US AS SHERRY.
[00:50:01]
GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO HEAR.I WASN'T GONNA GO THROUGH YOUR SLIDES.
UM, SO OUR ROLE REALLY IN WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE A PART OF THE FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITY AND THAT WE'RE DOING THINGS TO MANAGE OUR USE OF PRESCRIBED FIRE ON THE LAND AND ALSO TO MANAGE WILDFIRE RISK.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT WE DO THAT.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FUEL REDUCTION PROJECTS.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WHAT WE CALL SHADED FUEL BREAKS, WHICH ARE ALONG THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN US AND WHERE WE HAVE HOMES THAT ARE CLOSE TO THE LANDS THAT WE MANAGE.
SO WITHIN THAT WILD END URBAN INTERFACE, WHICH I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT TRYING TO REDUCE FUEL OR TRYING TO AT LEAST GET BETTER ACCESS FOR WHERE THE FIRST RESPONDERS CAN GET IN AND BE ABLE TO FIGHT THE FIRE.
UM, WE ALSO TRY TO PREVENT IGNITION ON OUR LANDS.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT WE DO THAT.
UM, ALL OF OUR CONTRACTORS AND VOLUNTEERS AND WORKERS HAVE TO DO A WILDFIRE PREVENTION PLAN BEFORE THEY GO OUT AND LET US KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO TO MITIGATE FIRE RISK.
UM, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS IN THEIR VEHICLE.
THEY NEED TO LET US KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GONNA BE, IF THEY'RE GONNA DO ANY KIND OF HOT WORK, THEY GOTTA PAY ATTENTION TO THE FIRE CONDITIONS AND HAVE A SPOTTER.
UM, SO WE JUST A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE DO TO TRY TO HELP MITIGATE RISK.
ALSO, JUST FENCING OUR PROPERTIES SOMETIMES CAN KEEP OUT, UM, PEOPLE THAT MIGHT COME IN AND START A, DO A, HAVE A CAMPFIRE OR DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, WE ALSO DO ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION WITH PRESCRIBED, UM, BURNING.
AND THEN WE HAVE A NUMBER OF COOPERATIVE EFFORTS THAT I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT.
AND THEN WE JUST HAVE LONG RANGE PLANNING FOR ALL OF OUR LANDS.
SO I, I PUT IN A MAP, IT'S KIND OF A SMALL SCALE.
NEXT SLIDE, UM, THAT SHOWS THE BA'S CANYON LANDS PRESERVE ON THE LEFT SIDE.
AND LARGELY THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS ON THE RIGHT IN BLUE.
SO WE HAVE TWO MAIN PROGRAMS IN THE WILDLAND CONSERVATION DIVISION IN AUSTIN WATER.
ONE OF THEM IS THE BA'S CANYON LANDS PRESERVE, WHICH IS A SERIES OF LANDS THAT THE CITY OWNS ABOUT 13,000, CLOSE TO 14,000 ACRES.
OF THAT THE WHOLE PRESERVE IS CLOSER TO 33,000 ACRES.
UM, TRAVIS COUNTY IS OUR MAJOR PARTNER IN THAT THEY MANAGE ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF LAND AS WE DO, AND THEY HOLD THE PERMIT, UH, WITH US.
AND THAT PERMIT, UM, THAT WE HAVE GIVES US THE ABILITY TO MITIGATE FOR TAKE OF ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT OUTSIDE OF THOSE PRESERVES.
SO WE PARTNER TOGETHER ON, ON THAT.
BUT WE HAVE ALL THIS LAND THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MANAGE FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES, BUT ALSO FOR WATER QUALITY PROTECTION IN OUR DRINKING WATER WATERSHED.
AND ALSO TO TRY TO MITIGATE FIRE, WILDFIRE RISK.
THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS WERE CREATED TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY IN BARTON SPRINGS, AND ALSO PROTECT THE WATER QUALITY OF THE GROUNDWATER IN THAT WHOLE AREA IN SOUTHWEST TRAVIS COUNTY AND HAYES COUNTY.
SO THOSE LANDS ARE WHERE WE PRIMARILY USE, UH, PRESCRIBED BURNING, WHICH IS A LAND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE TO, WHICH I THINK WAS TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, BUT ALSO HELPS TO REDUCE THE FUEL.
SO A NUMBER OF THE COOPERATIVE PROJECTS THAT WE WORK ON, WE ARE A PART OF THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY WILDFIRE COALITION.
I'M ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ALONG WITH OUR OTHER PARTNERS.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A NUMBER OF STAFF THAT PARTICIPATE IN WORK GROUPS.
UM, FOR THE COALITION WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN UPDATE, WHICH I BELIEVE THEY, UM, HAVE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT.
UM, WE HAVE A LONGSTANDING VOLUNTEER PROGRAM THAT'S PROVIDED SOME VERY USEFUL DATA ON LIVE FUEL MOISTURE AND MONITORING.
SO WE HAVE VOLUNTEERS THAT GO OUT AND THEY COLLECT SAMPLES SO THEY CAN SEE HOW MUCH MOISTURE IS IN THE FUEL OR TREES, IF YOU WILL, IN THE JUNIPER.
AND SO WE KNOW WHAT THE IGNITION RISK IS FOR THAT, DEPENDING ON THE MOISTURE LEVEL OF THOSE TREES.
SO THAT'S A LONGSTANDING COOPERATIVE PROJECTS THAT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
UM, WE ALSO WORK WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, AUSTIN ENERGY, WHO YOU HEARD FROM ALSO, THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY AND THE PURNA ELECTRIC CO-OP ALL HAVE LINES ACROSS OUR PROPERTIES.
AND SO WE WORK WITH THEM ON MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE MAINTAINING THE VEGETATION.
[00:55:01]
WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO EXPEDITE THAT WITH SOME, UM, APPROVAL OF, UH, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLANS AHEAD OF TIME SO THAT THEY CAN GET THOSE DONE REGULARLY.THE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE WITHOUT HAVING TO COME BACK AND, AND DO THAT EVERY TIME.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, JUST WORKING WITH THEM ON ANY NEW REGULATIONS OR THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO UPDATE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THAT AND REDUCE THAT FIRE RISK, AS CHRIS WAS SAYING.
AND THEN WE PARTNER A LOT WITH, UM, A F D WILDFIRE ON OUTREACH, UH, WITH OUR NEIGHBORS, ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORS TO ALL OF THESE WILD SPACES.
IT'S, WE'VE FOUND THAT IT'S REALLY GOOD IF WE GO TOGETHER AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT THE PRESERVE, BUT THAT THEY LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ABOUT WILDFIRE RISK.
AND SO WE TRY TO DO THAT TOGETHER AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
AND THEN JUST LASTLY, I WAS GONNA MENTION, WE ALSO IN THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN DOING A WILDFIRE ASSESSMENT OF ALL OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WE LOOKED FIRST AT OUR WATER TREATMENT AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, AND THEN LOOKED AT ALL OF OUR LIFT STATIONS AND PUMP STATIONS.
AND WE DID THAT AGAIN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A F D WILDFIRE AND ALSO WITH OUR RISK MANAGEMENT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF.
AND SO WE LOOKED AT ALL THE FACILITIES AND WE PRIORITIZED ULRICH, UM, HAD SOME AREAS WHERE WE NEEDED SHADED FUEL BREAKS AND OTHER VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.
AND THEN NOW WE'RE KIND OF WORKING, UH, WE'VE TRANSITIONED THAT OVER TO OUR OPERATIONS, UH, STAFF AND KIND OF JUST WORKING DOWN THAT LIST OF MAKING SURE THAT THOSE FACILITIES ARE ALL, UM, IMPLEMENT THEIR BASICALLY FIREWISE TYPE PROVISIONS FOR THOSE FACILITIES.
BECAUSE IF WE HAVE A WILDFIRE, WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT, UH, TO ALSO LOSE OUR WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT I HAD TODAY.
JUST BRIEFLY, AND I APOLOGIZE AGAIN FOR BEING LATE.
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, HARRY.
I WANTED TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO THANK ALL OF OUR PARTNERS FOR JOINING US TODAY.
UH, I KNOW THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION IS PRIMARILY, UH, TARGETED TOWARDS OUR TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT AS WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN ANY WILDFIRE IN OUR OWN CITY OR ACROSS THE NATION, IS THAT IT TRULY IS A COMMUNITY EFFORT.
IT TAKES EVERYONE TO BE ENGAGED TO MAKE SURE OUR COMMUNITY IS SAFE AND RESILIENT, TO NOT ONLY MINIMIZE THE CHANCES OF WILDFIRE, BUT TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE AND RECOVER FROM IT QUICKLY AND MORE EASILY.
SO HENCE THE CO THE COLLABORATION WE HAVE WITH ALL OF THEM IS CRITICAL, AND I APPRECIATE THE COMMISSION FOR INVITING THEM TO COME TALK TO Y'ALL.
WE'RE OPEN FOR QUESTIONS, ANY AND ALL OF US.
DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS BEFORE I I DIVE IN.
I JUST WANNA SAY, SINCE AUSTIN WATER IS HERE, UM, I, I DO NOTICE AND, AND REALLY APPRECIATE AND COMMEND AUSTIN WATER FOR THEIR, UH, EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS.
UM, IN THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS I'VE BEEN HERE, UM, I'VE DEFINITELY SEEN, UH, THE AMAZING, UH, NOTIFICATIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE HAD.
UM, AND ESPECIALLY, UH, IN THE DROUGHTS THAT WE'VE BEEN IN, IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY BEEN A REALLY CHALLENGING TIME.
UM, SO I KNOW WE'RE ON THE TOPIC OF WILDFIRES, BUT LIKE YOU HAD ME MENTIONED, YOU'VE, UM, IT, I, I THINK THERE, THERE'S DEFINITELY A HIGHLIGHTED MOMENT OF HOW MUCH EMERGENCY, UM, UH, COLLABORATION IS REQUIRED.
UM, BUT, UH, I, THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY AT THAT POINT.
UM, I ACTUALLY WANTED TO, UH, ADDRESS AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, UH, RELATED TO THEIR VEGETATIVE MANAGEMENT.
UM, AND, UH, JUST TALKING ABOUT, UH, ADDRESSING THOSE AREAS.
AND I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE JUST MOVING INTO THIS ROLE.
UM, UH, I, I DO NOTICE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF AREAS THAT ARE, UH, HAVE DEAD VEGETATION, UH, ALONG POWER LINES.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE.
DO YOU HAVE A BIG ENOUGH TEAM TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE THAT VEGETATION ALL THROUGHOUT THE CI CI CITY THAT NEEDS TO BE, UM, REMOVED? SO I THINK LAST WEDNESDAY WHEN THE, THE VEGETATION AUDIT CAME THROUGH, UM, THEY DID TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND MOST OF IT IS CONTRACTED CREWS THAT WE HAVE.
AND WE'VE UPPED THE, I THINK I CANNOT EXACTLY REMEMBER.
I THINK THERE'S SEVEN CONTRACT CREWS, AND I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO GET TWO MORE TO COME ON THAT, DO THAT WORK.
AND SO IT IS, THERE IS SCHEDULED WORK, UM, AND THEY DO GO AROUND AND THEN PRIORITIZE THE HIGH FIRE DANGER AREAS, AND THEY'RE MAKING THAT WORK AND THAT PROGRESS.
BUT THE PROGRESS CAN BE SLOW BECAUSE IT CAN BE IMPEDED.
SO IF, IF THEY KNOW THERE'S AN AREA THEY'RE GOING INTO, THEY TRY TO GO INTO THAT AREA FIRST WITH KIND OF OUR MARKETING AND, UH, SECTION AND THEN GO IN AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE COMING INTO THIS AREA, BUT THEY STILL HAVE TO GO KNOCK ON DOORS AND GET PERMISSION TO COME ON.
AND THEN IF THEY SAY NO, THEN IT COMES BACK.
AND THEN I THINK WE HAVE TO GO UP LIKE THREE TIMES BEFORE
[01:00:01]
THEY HAVE TO, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT TERM FOR IT.LIKE BASICALLY SAY WE ARE COMING ON AND HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN.
SOME OF THAT DOESN'T GO VERY WELL.
AND THEN, UH, A P D SS GET INVOLVED, UM, I THINK A COUPLE TIMES ON THAT.
SO THERE IS A PLAN IN PROGRESS, UH, AND IT, IT IS, UM, WORK THAT IS BECOME SLOW BECAUSE OF THE LAST THREE YEARS OF THE STORMS. AND THEN THERE ARE SOME PLACES THAT, UH, IT IS A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING TO GET IN TO DO THAT WORK.
AS WELL AS THAT, UM, THE $2.5 MILLION GRANT THAT WAS AVAILABLE THAT, UH, AMANDA ROSS TALKED ABOUT, WE'VE COORDINATED OUR RESPONSE AS A CITY AND AS A COUNTY TO THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE ALL AVAILABLE TO THAT.
AND THEY'RE GONNA BE THE, OUR LAND MANAGING PARTNERS ARE GONNA BE COORDINATING HOW TO, UH, APPLY FOR THAT GRANT.
SO THERE MAY BE A POSSIBILITY OF UTILIZING SOME OF THAT FOR THE AUSTIN ENERGY SPECIFIC FUELS REDUCTION AS WELL.
THE FIRST, UM, IS I KNOW THAT, I MEAN, THE HEARING ABOUT THE TENS OF THOUSANDS, TWENTIES OF THOUSANDS, THIRTIES, THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF LAND, UM, I KNOW IN TALKING TO CHIEF FIRES, HE MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE LARGER PERCENTAGE OF OUR LAND IS PRIVATELY OWNED, RIGHT? AND SO, HENCE ALL OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE GET LOTS OF AUSTIN WATER NOTICES WHEN WE'RE IN A DROUGHT STAGE TALKING ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION AND STUFF.
BUT I CAN'T SAY THAT I HAVE RECEIVED COMMUNICATIONS AS AN AUSTIN CUSTOMER, UM, ABOUT CUTTING BACK MY TREE LINES ABOUT, UM, GETTING RID OF GRASS, YOU KNOW, WELCOME DOOR, LIKE DOORMATS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST SORT OF PERIMETERS IS ARE, ARE THERE THOSE TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS THAT GO OUT? BECAUSE AS YOU SAID, STAFFING SOMETIMES LIMITS THE AMOUNT OF IN-PERSON ENGAGEMENT THAT YOU CAN DO.
RIGHT? WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AD HESO FOR A PRETTY STRONG, UH, MESSAGING AND MEDIA NOTIFICATION, UH, THIS ENTIRE WILDFIRE SEASON.
WE'RE PUSHING FIREWISE PRINCIPLES THROUGH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT WAYS, THROUGH WEBSITES AND EDUCATION, UM, THROUGH NOTIFICATION THROUGH THE WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS, AS WELL AS DIFFERENT, UH, MEDIA EVENTS AS WELL.
ALSO, OUR FIREWISE COMMUNITIES ARE HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH PERCOLATING THAT OUT FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL.
BUT JUSTICE, I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH A LOT.
WHAT ELSE HAVE, CAN WE SHARE? CERTAINLY, I THINK ONE OF THE, THE BARRIERS TO THE MODEL THAT YOU, UH, MENTIONED WAS THAT THE UTILITIES HAVE DIRECT CONTACT MECHANISMS. AND SO, UH, WE HAVE WORKED WITH 'EM IN THE PAST TO LEVERAGE THOSE TO GET INFORMATION OUT.
INCLUDING, YOU MIGHT NOT MAKE THE CONNECTION, BUT IF YOU GET YOUR TWICE ANNUAL FLYER FROM AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, IT'S GONNA LINK YOU BACK TO WILDFIRE AND MAKE SURE YOU MAKE THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN YOU'RE NOT JUST MANAGING BRUSH FOR MAINTENANCE SAKE, YOU'RE MANAGING FOR WILDFIRE, UH, SAFETY, UH, SAKE AS WELL.
UH, WE'VE DONE A SURVEY, UH, USING AUSTIN ENERGY'S MARKETING TEAM.
'CAUSE THEY'RE MASTERFUL IN REACHING PEOPLE AND KNOWING WHEN THEY'RE HOME, RIGHT? BASED ON ENERGY USES AND TARGETING THOSE FOLKS.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE THOSE.
THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR WHERE, UH, CHIEF STEWART HELPED US LEAD THE, UM, USING WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS AS A, UM, NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR IMMINENT FIRE WEATHER.
UM, BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S A BROAD AREA AND EVERY TIME THAT CREEPED UP, UM, IF WE DON'T HAVE REAL SPECIFIC CRITERIA, WE CAN BREAK THE BANK ON THAT SYSTEM.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO DIAL IN THAT CRITERIA.
AND SO HOPEFULLY IF YOU'RE IN THE AREA ON ONE OF THOSE HIGH FIRE DANGERS DAYS, YOU DID GET A TEXT THAT SAID, HEY, UM, SIGN UP AND IF YOU'RE NOT REGISTERED TO WARM CENTRAL TEXAS, NOW'S A GOOD TIME TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT WE'RE OPEN TO INNOVATIVE WAYS TO, UM, REACH FOLKS THAT WE MAYBE HAVEN'T EXPLORED BEFORE.
IF I COULD OFFER A COUPLE OTHER ITEMS HERE, AND I'M GONNA BUTCHER THESE NUMBERS, I APOLOGIZE AS MUCH AS THEY TRY TO EDUCATE ME ON WHAT, UH, OUR FOLKS HAVE DONE TO GETTING FIRE WIRES COMMUNITIES, UH, OR, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS INTO A FIRE WIRES COMMUNITY SET UP IN AUSTIN.
25%, IS THAT RIGHT? Y'ALL? CORRECT.
25% OF ALL THE FIRE WIRES COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS EXISTS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
DID I SAY THAT RIGHT? THAT CORRECT.
SO THAT'S THROUGH THEIR EFFORTS OF OUTREACH, ET CETERA, GOING TO THE COMMUNITIES, TRYING TO GET THEM THROUGH A PROCESS TO MAKE THOSE AREAS THAT WE DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER SAFER.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, OUR WHOLE WILDFIRE DIVISION THROUGH LEADERSHIP HAS COME TO US ASKING FOR A REVAMPING OF THEIR WILDFIRE DIVISION AND HOW THEY'RE STAFFED AND WHAT THEIR FOCUS IS.
UH, WHEREAS IN THE PAST THEY'VE DONE, UH, MECHANICAL MITIGATION GONE OUT AND HAD, UH, MITIGATION CREWS DOING THINGS WE'RE REORGANIZING SO THAT THEY CAN NOW BECOME AMBASSADORS TO GO OUT TO THAT OTHER 70% AND HELP TO INCREASE AND IMPROVE THE, THE MITIGATION EFFORTS OF THAT, THAT GROUP AS WELL.
DID I SAY THAT RIGHT? GET CLOSE ENOUGH.
COMMISSIONER RUTAN, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION?
[01:05:01]
I'M JUST CURIOUS IN TERMS OF AS YOU INTERFACING MORE WITH PRIVATE LANDOWNERS, UM, AND WHAT IS BEING DONE BOTH SPECIFICALLY FOR, UM, COMMUNITIES THAT MAY NOT SPEAK ENGLISH OR COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THERE'S CHALLENGES IN REACHING THEM.AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT HAVING LANDOWNERS TRIM TREES, BUT I THINK ANY OF US WHO HAVE TREES KNOWS HOW EXPENSIVE THAT IS IN TERMS OF GRANTS AND SUPPORT FOR THOSE COMMUNITIES AND INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO TAKE CARE OF THAT ON THEIR OWN ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
SO, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT OUR FIRST FIREWISE, UH, COMMUNITY OVER ON THE EAST SIDE RIGHT NOW, AND IT IS, UH, A MULTI-CULTURAL COMMUNITY.
SO THERE IS, THERE WE HAVE, UH, BILINGUAL SUPPORT INDI INDIVIDUALS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHO DO GO AND ACT, ARE PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL, UM, EFFORTS.
BUT WHAT PRIMARY WAY THAT WE'VE BEEN HANDLING THIS IS BY HAVING OUR FIREWISE COMMUNITIES EDUCATE OTHER COMMUNITIES.
AND SO WE HAVE THOSE COMMUNITIES REPRESENTING THEMSELVES.
SO IF WE HAVE BILINGUAL COMMUNITIES, THEY'LL GO OUT AND THEY'LL LEARN THE MATERIAL THERE AND THEN BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE IT AND GO AND BE A SUBJECT BEING DOING, ABLE TO DO HOME IGNITION ZONE, UM, EFFORTS AND ANALYSIS ON THAT IN THEIR OWN NATIVE LANGUAGES.
THE IDEA OF TEACHING, HAVING NEIGHBORS EDUCATE NEIGHBORS, WE FOUND TO HAVE VERY BENEFICIAL EFFECTS IN THAT.
SO IT'S NOT ALWAYS JUST A GOVERNMENT COMING IN, BUT IT'S ALSO A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH AS FAR AS, UH, FUELS MITIGATION IN THE EAST SIDE.
UH, ARE THERE EFFORTS WITH, UH, FIREWISE AND PREVENTION? WELL, I THINK OUR, OUR FIRST TIER, UH, WAS TO CHANGE THE WAY WE MODELED WILDFIRE RISK.
HISTORICALLY, IT'S MODELED BASED ON FIRE INTENSITY.
THAT MEANS THE BIGGER THE VEG VEGETATION, THE BIGGER THE FLAME, KIND OF THE MOTH TO THE FLAME.
WHAT WE HADN'T DONE BEFORE WAS MODELED THE RATE OF SPREAD, AND THAT'S MORE RELEVANT IN AREAS WITH BRUSH AND GRASS.
AND SO OUR HISTORIC MAP SAID OUR, OUR ISSUES OF THE WEST AUSTIN ISSUE, AND THAT WASN'T ACCURATE.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST LEVEL OF, UH, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT AUDIENCE.
THE NEXT LEVEL IS WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, TWO COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY TO DEVELOP A WILDFIRE VULNERABILITY VIEWER THAT ALLOWED US TO HELP IDENTIFY THOSE POPULATIONS MORE ACCURATELY, UM, AND REACH THEM IN THE WAY THAT THEY WANT TO BE REACHED, WHICH ISN'T THE SAME WAY, UH, OTHER CONSTITUENTS, UM, PREFER THAT.
THIS YEAR WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BECAUSE WE WERE IN A, A PREPAREDNESS MINDSET.
IT WAS FIRE SEASON, UH, TO TRANSLATE OUR MESSAGING INTO THE TOP SEVEN LANGUAGES, UH, THAT ARE OF OUR, UH, CONSTITUENTS ACROSS AUSTIN.
UH, WE APPLIED FOR A, A NATIONAL GRANT INITIALLY TO UPDATE THE C W P P.
WE WERE, UH, NOT AWARDED THAT GRANT BECAUSE OF, UM, EQUITY ISSUES.
AND SO PART OF, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY IS AFFLUENT AND PART ISN'T.
AND THAT AVERAGE, UM, HURT US WHEN WE APPLIED FOR THAT GRANT.
THEY'VE NOW, NOW CHANGED THAT GRANT TO BE ABLE TO BE MORE NUANCED.
AND SO ONCE WE'VE UPDATED OUR C W P P, OUR PLAN IS TO REAPPLY FOR SPECIFIC MITIGATION FUNDING FOR, UH, UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO CURRENTLY THERE'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IF I DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES, BUT I WANT TO TRIM SOMETHING, THERE'S NOT CURRENTLY A PROCESS TO HAPPEN THEN DON'T, THERE'S NOT AN MECHANISM FOR THAT.
I WILL SAY THAT I DO BELIEVE THERE ARE A COUP, UH, I KNOW OF AT LEAST ONE AND THERE ARE MORE THAN THAT.
I'M SURE I'M NOT, I, I I THAT THERE ARE SOME MUTUAL AID ORGANIZATIONS AND TO NON-PROFITS THAT POST STORM I KNOW REACH OUT TO COMMUNITIES AND MAKE THEMSELVES AVAILABLE WITH VOLUNTEERS TO HELP.
BUT THAT SHOULDN'T BE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO RELY ON EXCLUSIVELY.
UM, BUT YES, THERE, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THAT, THAT I KNOW OF FOR SURE.
UM, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE, THOSE LINES I THINK IS WHAT COMMISSIONER RUTAN IS ASKING FOR WHEN PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO CUT DOWN, UM, EITHER MONETARILY OR THE PHYSICAL CAPABILITY, BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, THESE ARE 40 AND 50 FOOT TREES
YOU KNOW, UM, TO, TO HAVE, IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC IF THE CITY HAD RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO HELP MITIGATE THAT.
NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A LARGE SENIOR POPULATION
SO I I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION.
AND WE DO HAVE THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY WILDFIRE COALITION THAT IS SPECIFICALLY CREATED FROM GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL, UH, ORGANIZATIONS WHO WORK TOGETHER BECAUSE THERE'S DIFFERENT, EVERYONE HAS A LIMITED RESOURCE CAPABILITY, BUT WE CAN BRING DIFFERENT TOOLS TO A JOB THROUGH THAT, UH, TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM IN THAT METHOD.
I WOULD SAY, I THINK WHERE THOSE PROGRAMS MAY BE, UH, MOST, UH, APPROPRIATELY SITUATED IS NOT IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT MAYBE IN FOR STRUCTURE HARDENING, UH, WITH OUR OFFICE OF COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT OR AN AGENCY RESPONSIBLE FOR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.
UM, BUT WE ABSOLUTELY COULD PROVIDE THAT EXPERTISE.
[01:10:01]
OF THE CHANGES THAT CHIEF FIRES MENTIONED IS WE'VE RECLASSIFIED SOME OF OUR POS OUR POSITIONS TO SOLELY FOCUS ON THE PRIVATE LAND, UM, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.SO WE'RE, UH, GETTING READY TO FLOAT THOSE POSITIONS NOW, WHICH WILL INCREASE OUR CAPACITY.
I WILL ALSO SAY THAT, UM, WE WILL BE SPEAKING WITH THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCY ON THE HEAT RESILIENCE PLAN IN THE COMING MONTHS.
UM, I CAN'T, UM, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND THIS CAN BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT AT THAT POINT.
SO WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM.
WE HAVE A WILDFIRE WORKSHOP WITH OFFICE OF RESILIENCY TOMORROW.
AND WE HAVE TO MOVE ON 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE ANOTHER, UM, I HAVE LOTS MORE QUESTIONS, BUT WE HAVE TO MOVE ON.
[5. Discussion of Austin Police Department protocols & procedures on communication with families after officer-involved shootings (Sponsors: Commissioners Ramírez & Hall-Martin) ]
FOR OUR NEXT ITEM, WE ARE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THE PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES THAT SORT OF DICTATE COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES AFTER OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS.UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME FAMILY MEMBER, SOME, SOME SPEAKERS JOINING US.
MS. GONZALEZ, ARE YOU STILL IN THE AUDIENCE? SHE WAS GONNA JOIN US.
UM, AND I WANNA TAKE A SECOND BEFORE WE GET STARTED ON THIS ITEM, UM, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS DIFFICULT.
UM, UH, THERE ARE FAMILIES IMPACTED FAMILIES IN OUR AUDIENCE AND JOINING US AT OUR TABLE TODAY THAT THIS IMPACTS VERY DIRECTLY.
AND ALTHOUGH I KNOW THAT A P D UM, CANNOT SPEAK DIRECTLY TO ANY SPECIFIC INCIDENCES, WE'RE WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT A HIGH LEVEL SORT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES HERE.
UM, I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT AND I'M, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL TO THE FAMILIES AND TO YOU, MS. GONZALEZ, FOR JOINING US BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THESE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT WE BEAR IN MIND THE FAMILIES THAT ARE MOST DIRECTLY IMPACTED, UM, AND THAT THEY'RE INCLUDED IN THIS PROCESS NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT IT IS,
UM, AND SO JUST KIND OF WANTED TO SORT OF LEVEL SET A LITTLE BIT.
JUST TAKE A SECOND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL BEING MINDFUL AND CAREFUL WITH OUR COMMUNICATION SENSITIVE TO EACH OTHER.
UM, WITH THAT, I AM GOING TO SAY THAT I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED TODAY.
UM, WE HAD FROM THE, FROM THE GET GO PLANNED ON HAVING THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT JOIN US HERE TODAY, UM, TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, I WAS INFORMED A FEW MINUTES BEFORE OUR MEETING THAT THE CITY MANAGER ASK THEM TO NOT JOIN US.
UM, I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT
UM, I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO SET OUR OWN AGENDAS.
UM, IT'S PART OF WHAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO AS A COMMISSION, UM, IF IT IS IN FACT A MISCOMMUNICATION OF SOME SORT.
I REALLY IMPLORE THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO GET ON THE SAME PAGE WITH REGARDS TO OUR REQUIREMENTS, OUR POSTING REQUIREMENTS ON OUR AGENDA.
SO THESE SORT OF MIX UPS DON'T HAPPEN ANYMORE.
UM, OUR AGENDA ITEM REQUEST FORM CLEARLY STATED THAT WE WANTED THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT HERE.
I MET WITH THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.
I EXCHANGED EMAILS WITH CHIEF GREENWALT ABOUT THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT'S PRESENCE AT OUR MEETING.
UM, AND I MAKE MYSELF VERY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE HERE VIA PHONE, VIA EMAIL, VIA TEXT.
AND I DON'T APPRECIATE BEING INFORMED MINUTES BEFORE OUR MEETING IS GETTING READY TO START.
SO, WITH THAT, AND I'M SORRY TO START THAT WAY, BUT I JUST, UH, IT'S, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION INTENDED TO HAVE, NOT THE CONVERSATIONS THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE WOULD LIKE US TO HAVE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, I BELIEVE CHIEF MASON, YOU'RE GONNA BE GONNA BE TALKING TO US A BIT ABOUT THIS ITEM.
AND MS. GONZALEZ, DID YOU HAVE SOME COMMENTS THAT YOU WANTED TO START OFF WITH? MM-HMM.
ALL I WANT TO SAY IS I NEVER GOT NO COMMUNICATION.
I NEVER GOT NO COMMUNICATION, NEVER GOT NO NOBODY TO COME OUT TO TALK TO ME ABOUT NOTHING.
THAT SINCE MY SON WAS MURDERED.
I WILL NEVER, WHY DOES IT, WHY DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? THAT I HAVE TO OBEY THE LAW, FOLLOW THE LAW, AND THE OFFICERS CAN'T.
WHY, WHY IS THAT NOT RIGHT? AND HE WAS ON STEROIDS.
HE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS, THAT WAS ROAD RAGE.
THAT'S WHAT I WANT Y'ALL TO KNOW.
[01:15:01]
ROAD RAGE FROM HIM.AND I KNOW THAT I GOT WITNESSES.
Y'ALL DON'T EVEN GO OUT TO TALK TO NOBODY OR TRY TO CONSULT THE, THE WITNESSES THAT ARE OUT THERE OR WHAT THEY SAW.
WHY DID IT TAKE 140 DAYS TO SEE THE BODY CAM OF MY SON GETTING MURDERED, EVEN THOUGH I ALREADY HAVE THE VIDEOS AND I SAW EVERYTHING MYSELF.
SO EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL CAUGHT OFF, I KNEW EVERY SINGLE THING THAT Y'ALL CAUGHT OFF AND WHY Y'ALL CAUGHT IT OFF.
LACK OF COMMUNICATION FOR SURE.
THE GUY WHO MURDERED MY SON GABRIEL GUTIERREZ WAS STILL AROUND THE MURDER SCENE.
SO WHAT'S THERE'S ISSUES THERE? SO YOU THINK THAT THE COMMUNITY DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT WHAT Y'ALL DID TO MY SON AND TRYING TO UNDERCOVER IT? UH, THERE'S NO SUGARCOATING NOTHING BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY KNOWS WHAT Y'ALL REALLY DID.
THEY'RE NOT SPEAKING RIGHT NOW.
BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO LIVE WITH Y'ALL.
NOW, TO ME, UH, THE COPS GET AWAY WITH MURDER.
YOU KNOW, THE WAY I SEE YOU, F**K YOU.
EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE, BUT THAT'S THE WAY I SEE IT BECAUSE YOU DIS I RESPECTED YOU ALL THESE YEARS, MS. GONZALEZ.
AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA DISRESPECT ME.
IAND, I'M GONNA ASK, I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO ADDRESS ME WHEN YOU'RE SPEAKING.
AND I AM, I'M REALLY, YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH FRUSTRATED.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF EMOTION THERE HAVING OR NOTHING TO HELP ME OUT.
BUT WE ARE HERE TO HOPEFULLY HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS.
THAT'LL, THAT'LL HELP, UM, SORT OF BRING TO LIGHT SOME OF THESE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
WE'RE WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO HELP.
TRYING TO GET, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I SHOULD'VE GOTTEN.
WHAT Y'ALL SAYING THAT Y'ALL DO, Y'ALL DON'T DO, Y'ALL DON'T COMMUNICATE TO THE PEOPLE.
I'M SORRY THAT MY OFFICER DID IT.
NOTHING, NOTHING LIKE TRYING TO BRUSH IT UNDER THE, THE RUG.
IT'S NOT GONNA, I'M NOT GOING AWAY.
AND YOU BEST BELIEVE I GOT THE COMMUNITY.
YOU THINK YOU GOT 'EM? WELL SEE, I'M THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE I'M LIKE THEM.
Y'ALL AIN'T IN THE HOOD LIKE I AM.
I GO EVERYWHERE WHERE MY PEOPLE ARE, WHERE MY PEOPLE ARE, AND LISTEN TO THEM, WHAT THEY'RE SCARED TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY.
'CAUSE I CAN BE RAW BECAUSE I THOUGHT WE WERE GROWNUPS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO HOLD OUR EARS FOR NOTHING.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
AND PLEASE STAY WITH US SO THAT IF WE, IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS.
SO WITH THAT CHIEF MASON, UM, CAN YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, I, UM, I KNOW WE DON'T HAVE A PRESENTATION NECESSARILY, BUT CAN YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT JUST WHAT DICTATES POLICIES, HOW THIS PROCESS WORKS? UM, WHAT CHANGES HAVE TAKEN PLACE? JUST KIND OF SET THE STAGE FOR US A BIT.
SO, UM, WHEN, UNFORTUNATELY, A OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING OR ANY TYPE OF CRITICAL INCIDENT IS OCCURRED, UH, THE CHIEF OF POLICE AS WELL AS THE EXECUTIVE STAFF, UH, AS WELL AS THE O P O, UH, ARE ALL NOTIFIED OF, OF, OF ITS EXISTENCE.
AND EVERYBODY GOES TO THE SCENE.
AND OF COURSE IT'S PRELIMINARY INFORMATION THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, BROUGHT TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE AT THE TIME, UH, IN A TIMELINE.
AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE AT THE, AT THE SCENE IS TO BE ABLE TO REPORT WHAT WE KNOW.
AND OF COURSE, AS WE COLLECT INFORMATION, WHETHER IT BE BODY CAMERA, WITNESS INFORMATION, ET CETERA, THE INFORMATION AT THE SCENE THAT'S PRESENTED OBVIOUSLY DOES, DOES AND, AND DOES CHANGE OVER OVER TIME.
UH, SO WHEN THAT PRE BRIEFING IS DONE, OUR VICTIM SERVICES, UH, ALSO, I ALSO HAVE A DIRECTOR CLARK WITH ME HERE TODAY, AND SHE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT THE VICTIM SERVICES PORTION OF THIS, UM, PART, UM, ONCE THE INITIAL PRESS CONFERENCE IS, IS DONE, OF COURSE, UH, OUR CRIME SCENE TECHNICIANS ARE OUT THERE COLLECTING EVIDENCE AS WELL AS WORKING WITH OUR SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT, UH, DETECTIVES TO BE ABLE TO, UM, PIECE TOGETHER EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
UM, THE DETECTIVE THAT'S ASSIGNED TO THE CASE, UH, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER HOMICIDE THAT OCCURS, UH, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE CITY, UH, EACH HOMICIDE IS, IS TREATED THE SAME.
SO OUR SS I U DETECTIVE REACHES OUT TO THE FAMILY, THEY ASK FOR A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT JUST BECAUSE WE, THEY FILTER INFORMATION TO THAT SINGLE POINT AND THEN ALLOW THE FAMILY MEMBER TO BE ABLE TO, UM, GIVE OUT THAT INFORMATION TO EVERYBODY.
SO IT'S A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.
UM, IN, IN, IN THE BEGINNING OF THE INVESTIGATION, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S GONNA BE MORE CONTACT THAN THERE IS OVER TIME, OF COURSE, BECAUSE AS WE GO OVER TIME, UH, GRAND JURIES SOMETIMES, UH, THROUGH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TAKE TIME.
UH, AND THERE'S OFTEN A, A LONG PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THERE'S JUST NO NEW INFORMATION THAT'S MAILED TO PRESENT FORWARD.
UH, GOING BACK, UM, ONCE THE CHIEF OF POLICE GIVES THEIR INITIAL, UH, UH, REPORT, UH, TO THE MEDIA AND TO THE, TO THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN, UH, WITHIN 10 DAYS, IT'S THE POLICY OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT TO RELEASE ANY VIDEO, UH, THAT, THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, GO, THAT DOES HAVE THROUGH THE BODY-WORN CAMERA OR THE CAR, UH, VIDEO CAM IN CAR, VIDEO CAMERA, UH, THAT WAS, THAT IS OUR POLICY TO RELEASE
[01:20:01]
WITHIN 10 DAYS.NOW, THE CHIEF OF POLICE DOES HAVE THE OPTION FOR IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THEY'RE TRYING TO, TO SEEK OR THERE'S, UH, WITNESSES THEY'RE TRYING TO GET AHOLD OF OR, OR IF IT'S GOING TO, UH, DAMAGE THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.
OF COURSE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE ABLE TO HOLD THAT VIDEO BACK FOR, UH, INDEFINITELY OR FOR A SMALL PERIOD OF TIME, DEPENDING ON, ON THE COURSE OF THE INVESTIGATION.
SO, UM, BEFORE THE VIDEO IS RELEASED WITHIN A 10 DAY, UH, WORKING DAYS, EXCLUDING HOLIDAYS OF COURSE, UH, BUT AS, AS WE'RE WORKING TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT VIDEO TOGETHER, UM, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS, IS INVOLVED IN THE REVIEW.
O P O IS INVOLVED IN THE REVIEW, AND OBVIOUSLY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S INVOLVED IN THAT REVIEW.
UH, ONCE EVERYTHING IS, UH, AGREED UPON THAT, THAT'S GONNA BE RELEASED, UH, THEY WILL HAVE THE, THE FAMILY, UH, COME AND VIEW THE VIDEO PRIOR TO RELEASING TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THAT'S DONE, UH, USUALLY WITHIN A DAY, IF NOT TWO DAYS, RIGHT BEFORE IT'S RELEASED, BECAUSE IT'S JUST A 10 DAYS IS A LOT TO BE ABLE TO GET EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, IN THE RIGHT FORMAT TO BE ABLE TO RELEASE TO, TO THE PUBLIC.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT IS RELEASED WITHIN 10 DAYS.
UM, UH, AND THEN IT'S, IT'S, LIKE I SAID, IT'S JUST SOMETIMES THERE'S A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE THERE'S ANY TYPE OF NEW INFORMATION BEFORE THE DETECTIVE REACH OUTS TO THE FAMILY TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION.
SO, UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO HAVE, UH, DIRECTOR CLARK COME UP AND SHE CAN GIVE YOU THEIR, UM, VICTIM SERVICES AND HOW THEY HELP AND TO BE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE FAMILY.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME SPEAK ABOUT THIS THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, MY NAME IS KACHINA CLARK AND I AM THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR OUR VICTIM SERVICES PROGRAM AND OUR EMPLOYEE WELLNESS DIVISION.
UM, AND I WILL, SO JUST SORT OF COVERED SOME OF WHAT HAPPENS, BUT I WILL JUST TALK ABOUT OUR ROLE VICTIM SERVICES ROLE.
SO WE'RE GROUP OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND, UM, WHEN THERE IS, UM, AN, AN OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING, WE HAVE COUNSELORS THAT WORK WITH PATROL OFFICERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE 24 7.
AND SO THEY, THE HOPE IS THAT THEY WOULD BE CALLED, THEY'RE CALLED BY, BY PATROL OFFICERS TO THE SCENE TO PROVIDE, TO SUPPORT TO ANY FAMILY THAT'S ON THE SCENE.
UM, SO IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH, UM, THERE'S SUPPORT INFORMATION ABOUT RESOURCES, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT MAY HAPPEN WITH THE INVESTIGATION.
UM, AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, ASSISTING WITH THE DEATH NOTIFICATION IF THAT, UM, IF IF FAMILY LIVES IN, UM, IN THE AREA OR THEY'LL HELP COORDINATE OUTSIDE OF THE AUSTIN AREA IF, IF NEED BE.
UM, AND THEN THE CASE, IT, IT HAS BEEN UP TO THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT TO, TO BRING IN A COUNSELOR FOR ONGOING SUPPORT.
THEY TYPICALLY REACH OUT AND BRING US IN FOR ONGOING SUPPORT.
UM, AND THAT ONGOING SUPPORT, UM, IS JUST SAME COUNSELING, UM, CONNECTION WITH LONG, LONG-TERM, UM, MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT RESOURCES.
UM, INFORMATION ABOUT, YEAH, BASIC, IF THERE ARE BASIC NEEDS THAT NEED TO BE MET.
UM, INFORMATION ABOUT THE INVESTIGATIONS.
SO THEY'RE COMMUNICATING WITH THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, UM, DETECTIVES.
UM, AND UH, ALSO, UM, CHIEF MASON MENTIONED THE, UH, WHEN WITHIN 10 DAYS THE VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT HAS TO BE RELEASED.
AND SO WHEN THAT, WHEN THAT WAS A POLICY WAS PUT INTO PLACE, WE FELT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR FAMILY TO BE ABLE TO VIEW THE VIDEO PRIOR TO IT GOING PUBLIC.
AND SO WE HELP COORDINATE THAT PROCESS WITH OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE.
WE WILL, UM, TRY TO FIND THE RIGHT TIME AND SPACE FOR, UM, FAMILY TO VIEW THE VIDEO AND PROVIDE SUPPORT, UH, OFFER TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO FAMILY MEMBERS WHILE THEY'RE VIEWING THAT VIDEO.
SO IT'S COMPLETELY UP TO THEM, UM, WHETHER THEY WOULD LIKE A COUNSELOR THERE OR NOT.
BUT MY VIDEO WASN'T UNTIL 140 DAYS, I'M SO SORRY, 140 DAYS, NOT 10.
WHILE EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD WAS A POLICE SHOOTING, THEY WERE GETTING THEIR VIDEOS IN 10 DAYS.
THAT REALLY UPSET ME BECAUSE EVERYBODY ELSE WAS GETTING KILLED AND THEY WERE PUTTING THEM OFFICERS ON RIGHT THERE.
AFTER 10 DAYS, THEY WERE SHOWING THE BODY CAM WHAT, WHAT, WHY DIDN'T MINE COME OUT? 'CAUSE Y'ALL HIDING SOMETHING.
THAT'S WHY THEY'RE HIDING SOMETHING.
THEY HAVE TO, I'M SORRY, EXCUSE ME.
AND WHY DID IT TAKE TWO MS, MS. GONZALES, YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT TO BE CALLED ON BECAUSE WE, WE HAVE, AND I'M, AND I'M SORRY.
I KNOW, I, I WISH WE COULD HAVE A MORE FLUID DISCUSSION, BUT THE NATURE OF OUR MEETINGS UNFORTUNATELY IS A QUESTION.
AND SO I I'M SORRY I'M HERE AND I AND I HEAR YOU.
UM, I THINK, OKAY, UM, I HAVE A QUESTION.
[01:25:02]
SO THERE I WAS, I WAS TRYING TO KEEP TRACK OF THE PLACES AND THE, THE POINTS AT WHICH FAMILIES CAN BE COMMUNICATED WITH.I HEAR THAT THERE IS VICTIM SERVICES MM-HMM.
IS THAT PROTOCOL, IS THAT DICTATED BY POLICY? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS IF IT HAPPENS
BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT RECENTLY.
WHEN ADD TO POLICY, THEY ARE, I MOST CASES THEY'RE CALLED.
UM, SO THESE ARE COUNSELORS THAT ARE AVAILABLE 24 7.
SO IF ONE IS AVAILABLE, WE HAVE 17 COUNSELORS AVAILABLE, 24 7, HAVE SOME VACANCIES NOW.
SO IF ONE IS AVAILABLE, THEN THEY WILL RESPOND, UM, TO SUPPORT FAMILY ON THE SCENE.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF IFS AND THERE'S, SO I THINK JUST OFF THE BAT, UM, IT WOULD BE, I'M JUST GONNA SAY IT, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THIS WAS COMMITTED TO A POLICY OR A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE OF SOME SORT.
IT'S NEEDED DESPERATELY, UM, UM, FOR EVERYONE ON SCENE AND ANY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT COME ON BOARD, IT'S, IT'S JUST NOT ACCEPTABLE THAT FAMILIES AREN'T, AREN'T BEING HUGGED AND ROLLED UP WITH SUPPORT.
UM, SO I'M JUST GONNA SAY THAT THE, AND IF YOU CAN HELP ME CLARIFY WHAT IS THE NEXT POINT OF INSTANT LIKE, IS THE, IS THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE COMMUNICATION THE NEXT POINT AT WHICH THEY'RE COMMUNICATED? I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I KIND OF WANNA, I, AND I WAS, I WAS HOPING FOR A PRESENTATION AND SOME POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
I WANNA GET A SENSE OF WHERE, RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO OUR POLICY, DO WE, DO WE TOUCH BASE? WHAT, WHAT ARE OUR TOUCH POINTS? A, B, C, D.
SO IF SOMEBODY CAN SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND IF THEY'RE NOT COMMITTED TO POLICY, LET US KNOW.
SO THERE'S NOTHING IN POLICY THAT SAYS FIRST AID, DO THIS SECOND DAY, DO THIS THIRD DAY DO THIS.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY COULD BE AT A SCENE COLLECTING EVIDENCE FOR TWO TO THREE DAYS.
IT JUST, IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE SITUATION, ON THE WEATHER CONDITION, ET CETERA.
SO TO BE ABLE TO SET SOMETHING IN POLICY THAT IT HAS TO HAPPEN EXACTLY.
THAT'S, THAT'S JUST NOT FLUID ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT TYPE OF SITUATION.
NOW I KNOW THAT THE DETECTIVE, AS SOON AS THEY WRAP UP THE SCENE, THEY MAKE CONTACT WITH THE FAMILY.
UM, LIKE I SAY, IT'S NOT ON A TIMELINE, BUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THEY MAKE CONTACT WITH THE FAMILY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT POINT OF CONTACT.
UM, I, UH, BUT FOR SURE THE 10 DAYS IS DEFINITELY THE VIDEO BEING RELEASED.
SO WE HAVE, SO I'M JUST, I'M LITERALLY JUST TRYING TO MAKE A LIST AS WE'RE GOING.
SO WE HAVE, WE CAN TALK TO VICTIMS, UH, TO, TO SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS.
THERE'S A DEATH NOTIFICATION, ALL THAT STUFF, OF COURSE ON SITE.
THAT'S, THAT, THAT'S THE FIRST POINT AND FIRST OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TALK RIGHT ON SITE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT.
UM, THE SECOND DEFINITIVE ONE THAT I'VE HEARD SO FAR IS THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE.
RIGHT? SO THOSE ARE TWO POINTS.
WHAT'S NEXT? SO YOU ALSO, I THINK YOU'RE MAKING AN ASSUMPTION THAT THE FAMILY IS THERE AT THE SCENE.
OH, I SCENE, I REALIZE AS THE FAMILY THERE.
SO I REALIZE SOMETIMES VICTIM SERVICES HAS, HAS NO RULE AT THAT, AT THAT POINT, IF YOU UNDERSTAND RIGHT.
IF THERE'S NO FAMILY THERE, SO.
SO YOU GUYS HELP ME PUT TOGETHER A PICTURE BODY CAM FOOTAGE NEXT AT WHAT OTHER, WHAT, WHAT'S THE NEXT POINT THAT WE GET TO TALK TO THE FAMILY, GET TO GET, TO BUILD CONTEXT, GET TO CREATE SOME UNDERSTANDING ABOUT PROCESS AND WHAT'S GOING ON? YES.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TODAY.
UM, INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE, ROBIN HENDERSON AND I, I WOULD PROBABLY DESCRIBE THE BEST WAY IS THAT THERE ISN'T A CERTAIN SORT OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARE APPLICABLE ACROSS EVERY SITUATION THAT APPLY IN THE SAME SEQUENCE OF TIME.
AND SO THERE COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY OR A LACK OF OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE FAMILY.
'CAUSE WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THE NEXT OF KIN IS THAT WE SHOULD BE NOTIFYING.
SO WE CAN'T NECESSARILY SAY THERE'S A STANDARD SEQUENCE OF CONTACT JUST BECAUSE EACH, EACH SITUATION IS UNIQUE.
IN AND OF IT IN AND OF ITSELF.
AND OKAY, SO IF WE CAN'T DO IT IN SEQUENCE, AND IT'S NOT A SEQUENTIAL 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 MM-HMM.
SO I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET ARTICULATED.
AND SO THROUGH THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS IN AND OF IT ITSELF, THE INVESTIGATOR, THE DETECTIVE THAT'S HANDLING THE, THE CASE IN AND OF ITSELF,
[01:30:01]
THERE WOULD BE, UH, DEPENDING ON, ON WHAT INFORMATION THEY MIGHT NEED OR WHAT'S LACKING OR WHAT'S OUTSTANDING AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO ENGAGE OR REACH OUT TO VARIOUS FAMILY MEMBERS DEPENDING ON WHAT, ON WHAT THEY, THEY NEED.AND SO ONE CONTACT MIGHT NOT BE SUFFICIENT OR A SINGLE CONTACT WITH A ONE PARTICULAR FAMILY MEMBER MIGHT NOT BE SUFFICIENT.
SO THERE COULD BE A REASON TO REACH OUT TO ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER.
AND SO IT, IT'S JUST, IT'S FLUID AND AND DYNAMIC BASED ON THE, ON THE SITUATION AND THE INVESTIGATION IN AND OF ITSELF.
I'M NOT, UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, MR, I SEE YOU, YOU CAN COME JOIN US AT THE TABLE.
UM, THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL FAMILY MEMBER THAT'S COMING TO JOIN US, UM, FOR THE CONVERSATION.
AND WE'LL GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE A COMMENT OR TWO HERE SHORTLY.
I AM GONNA GO AHEAD AND LET THE COMMISSIONERS TAKE A FEW QUESTIONS BEFORE DOING THAT.
SO IF YOU GUYS, I JUST WANT A CLARIFICATION.
SO WHEN YOU'RE SAYING VICTIM SERVICES, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF MORE RESOURCES TOWARDS THE OFFICER THEN THE, THE FAMILY IS THERE, IS THERE, UH, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS? AND I, I KNOW SOME OF THIS INFORMATION, THERE'S, THERE'S NO CONCRETE WAY OF DOING THINGS 'CAUSE EVERY SITUATION IS DIFFERENT.
BUT HOW MA HOW MUCH RESOURCES IS PUT TOWARDS IDENTIFYING THE, UH, THE, WHETHER IT'S THE OFFICER OR WHETHER IT'S ANOTHER PERSON INVOLVED, HOW ARE WE IDENTIFYING THEIR, THEIR FAMILY AND, AND WHAT ARE THE RESOURCES BEING PUT TOWARDS THAT? UM, 'CAUSE BECAUSE I'VE, I'VE HEARD STORIES WHERE WE WEREN'T ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE FAMILY FOR A LONG TIME.
RIGHT? SO WHERE IS THIS, WHERE IS THIS PROCESS? AND I, I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY TIMELINE, RIGHT? IS, IS HOW MUCH EFFORT IS BEING PUT TO THAT FAMILY NOTIFICATION AT THAT TIME, I GUESS IS THE FIRST POINT.
SO FOR VICTIM SERVICES WILL ASSIST IN TRYING TO FIND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS.
THEY WORK CLOSELY WITH THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE AND INVESTIGATORS, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING AND I THINK, I MEAN IT'S, THERE'S A PUSH, UM, TO, UM, FIND FAMILY MEMBERS AS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND SO VICTIM SERVICES, THE SUPPORT THEY PROVIDE ISN'T GENERALLY IT'S NOT FOR THE OFFICERS.
IT IS FOR, IT'S FOR, UM, THE SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS.
SO WE HAVE A WELLNESS PROGRAM THAT WILL, I MEAN, THEY MAY PROVIDE INFORMAL SUPPORT, BUT IT'S, WE'VE GOT PSYCHOLOGISTS AND, UM, SOME OTHER FOLKS THAT SUPPORT FAMILY MEMBER THAT SUPPORT OFFICERS, UM, AFTER AN INCIDENT.
SO, UM, AND VICTIM SERVICES MAY, A COUNSELOR MAY BE IN TOUCH THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
AND WE'RE COMMITTED GOING FORWARD TO ENSURING THAT THESE CASES ARE AUTOMATICALLY ASSIGNED UP VICTIM SERVICES RIGHT AFTER THEY OCCUR.
SO THEY MAY ON THE SCENE AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA REACH OUT WHEN THE VIDEO IS, UM, TO, TO COORDINATE VIEWING THE VIDEO AND THEN ALSO, UM, SOMETIMES BEFORE THAT, BEFORE THAT POINT AS WELL, AND THEN ONGOING IF NEEDED.
SO, UM, BUT WE ARE, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS AND WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, GOING TO, THE HOPE IS WE'RE GONNA BE AUTOMATICALLY DISPATCHED TO THOSE CALLS GOING FORWARD, AND THEN THE COUNSELOR WOULD BE ASSIGNED FOR FOLLOW UP RIGHT AFTER.
JUST, JUST ONE FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
SO THIS, THIS IS A, YOU SAID THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE, THAT MEANS THAT THAT POLICY HAS CHANGED WHERE THERE'S AN AUTOMATIC DISPATCH OR THERE WE WERE NOT AUTOMATICALLY DISPATCHED.
THOSE WE OFTEN ARE, BUT THERE'S NOTHING IN POLICY THAT SAYS WE'RE GONNA BE AUTOMATICALLY DISPATCHED TO THOSE.
SO, UM, BUT WE, WE ARE, I'M COMMITTED TO, TO WORKING ON GETTING THAT CHANGED IN POLICY.
UH, WE GENERALLY ARE, IF THERE'S FAMILY THERE, WE'RE GONNA BE CALLED.
AND SO IF A COUNSELOR'S AVAILABLE, UM, THEY'RE GONNA, THAT'S, THAT'S A HIGH PRIORITY CALL.
SO CHIEF HENDERSON, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET PUT INTO POLICY? IS BEING ABLE TO HAVE FIX VICTIM SERVICES MM-HMM.
AND SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THERE ISN'T ALWAYS AN, A CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE VICTIM SERVICES MIGHT BE NEEDED.
AND SO I WOULDN'T WANT TO INSTITUTE SOMETHING THAT SAYS VICTIM SERVICES WILL ALWAYS BE CALLED AND RESPOND TO THE SCENE IF THERE IS NO ONE THAT NEEDS THAT SUPPORTIVE RESOURCE, BECAUSE NOW WE'VE TAKEN THAT RESOURCE POTENTIALLY AWAY FROM SOMEBODY OR A PLACE WHERE IT IS NEEDED.
SO, SO ABSOLUTELY WE CAN IDENTIFY CRITERIA FOR, FOR CALLING OUT VICTIM SERVICES AND ENSURING THAT THEY RESPOND TO THE SCENE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, LET ME CLARIFY THAT.
OUR VICTIM SERVICES PRIMARILY ASSISTS US WITH, WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND WHEN IT COMES TO OUR OFFICERS, IT'S OUR PEER SUPPORT TEAM THAT PRIMARILY DEALS WITH THE OFFICERS.
SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE MA THE MAJORITY OF OUR, OUR VICTIM SERVICES TEAM IS DEDICATED TOWARDS OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, AND ASSISTING THEM WITH
[01:35:01]
THAT.AND THEN OUR PEER SUPPORT HANDLED.
NOW, THERE COULD BE SOME, SOME CROSSOVER, BUT, BUT THE MAJORITY OF THAT CONTACT WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS PRIMARILY HANDLED THROUGH OUR LICENSED CLINICIANS WITH, WITH VICTIM SERVICES.
MR. MOONING, I'M GONNA LET MR. MOONING JUST GIVE A FEW COMMENTS AND THEN I SEE YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME AND SPEAK.
UM, I THINK WHEN IT CAME TO OUR FAMILY, AND YOU TALK ABOUT SPECIFICALLY THE COMMUNICATION, IT'S THAT IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION, THE FIRST COMMUNICATION, UM, THAT IT'S NOT TRANSPARENT, AT LEAST IN OUR SPEC, UH, SPECIFIC INSTANCE, UM, RAJAN HAD DIED SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER AND THE PRESS CONFERENCE SAID THAT HE WAS A WHITE MALE.
UM, SO I, I DON'T, THERE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT AS A FAMILY IMPACTED US VERY GREATLY.
AND FOR FIVE DAYS, ALMOST FIVE DAYS, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY DEAD.
SO WE'RE GOING BASED OFF OF THIS INITIAL COMMUNICATION AND YOU CANNOT PUT INFORMATION THAT'S NOT TRUE.
AND WHEN THE BODY CAM'S RELEASED, WE FOUND OUT IT'S NOT THE OFFICIAL, THE FULL BODY CAM, IT'S EDITED PORTIONS OF THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE.
SO WHO, WHO REVIEWS THOSE? WHO EDITS AND WHO DECIDES WHAT'S RELEASED AS PART OF THOSE BODY CAM VIDEOS? MM-HMM.
AND HAD WE NOT HAD THE RESOURCES TO LOOK AT THE FULL VIDEO OURSELVES IN HIS RING CAMERA, WE WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN THAT THIS WAS BEING OMITTED.
AND FOR, FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG, HOW MANY OTHER FAMILIES DOES THIS HAPPEN TO EXACTLY WHERE THE COMMUNICATION IS INITIALLY FALSE.
AND THEN THE VIDEO IS EDITED TO ONLY SHOW THE PIECES THAT THE POLICE WANT TO MAKE PUBLIC.
THAT'S NOT EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
THAT'S LYING, THAT'S COVERING UP.
I CAN, I CAN SPEAK TO OUR, UM, VICTIM SERVICES AND THE COMMUNICATION WITH THEM.
WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY COMMUNICATION.
THEY GAVE US A CARD AND SAID, IF YOU WANNA TALK, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO US AND YOU CAN TALK TO US.
BUT SINCE THEN, WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY FURTHER INTERACTIONS WITH THEM.
UM, JUST AGAIN, I I REALLY WANNA A I FEEL LIKE THERE'S, THERE, THERE'S A LOT THAT CAN BE DONE WITH REGARDS TO LIKE P LIKE I, I FEEL LIKE OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES A PLAYBOOK, RIGHT? UM, IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS, LIKE I FEEL LIKE OUR DES OUR COMMUNITY, UM, OUR CITY WORKERS, UM, LIKE EVERYONE THAT WORKS IN ALL THESE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ARE, ARE ENTITLED TO KNOW LIKE A PROCESS, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE FOLLOWED, UM, IN THESE SITUATIONS BECAUSE THEY ARE FRAUGHT, THEY ARE FRAUGHT, THEY ARE DIFFICULT, THERE IS EMOTION, THERE ARE LITIGATION
AND I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT THAT WE CAN, WE CAN DO IN THAT REGARD.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT CAN BE DONE.
I FEEL LIKE OUR SURVIVING FAMILIES DESERVE BETTER.
UM, UM, UM, AND I FEEL LIKE OUR CITY EMPLOYEES THAT ARE CHARGED WITH TAKING CARE OF ALL OF THIS INFORMATION AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD ARE OWED BETTER.
UM, ANOTHER QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION, JUST WITH REGARDS TO PRESS.
LIKE, UM, I I, I HEAR OFTEN THAT I, I, I, WHENEVER I HEAR THAT SOMETHING HAPPENS, I I I I TURN IT ON AND I, I WAIT TO SEE NOW CHIEF HENDERSON OFTENTIMES GIVING US THESE PRESS CONFERENCES.
ARE THERE PROCESSES IN PLACE THAT DICTATE WHAT CAN, LIKE IF, IF, IF INFORMATION CAN BE MADE PUBLICLY THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN COMMUNICATED TO THE FAMILY, LIKE ARE THERE ANY PROCESSES IN PLACE ABOUT THAT? IN OUR, AND AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL JUST SAY I'M A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED.
I REALLY WANTED SOME OF THESE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR US TO REFERENCE SO THAT WE COULD ALL HAVE LOOKED AT THESE IN ADVANCE AND HAD A MORE INFORMED DISCUSSION.
SO IF THOSE CAN PLEASE GET POSTED TO BACKUP, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, BUT ARE THERE, ARE THERE POLICIES IN PLACE THAT SORT OF HELP CITY STAFF WALK THIS LINE BETWEEN PRESS AND COMMUNICATING WITH FAMILIES AND BEING SENSITIVE? YES.
THE INFORMATION THAT IS RELEASED AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE IS DICTATED BY THE INVESTIGATION IN AND OF ITSELF.
AND SO WE DO NOT WANT TO PUT ANY INFORMATION OUT THAT MIGHT HINDER OR IMPEDE THE INVESTIGATION.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THOSE, THE ON ONSET OF THE INVESTIGATION IN OUR RESPONSE, IT IS A
[01:40:01]
VERY FLUID, IT IS A DYNAMIC, IT IS CHARGED.THERE ARE SO MANY, UH, NUANCES TO IT AND INFORMATION THAT WE MIGHT BE AWARE OF, KNOW THAT WAS BAD INFORMATION.
AND SO WE, WE WANT TO BE BRIEF, BUT AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDE AS MUCH AS WE CAN KNOWING THAT WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION IN THAT, IN THAT MOMENT.
SO THAT, SO JUST TO CLARIFY AND, AND I UNDERSTAND ALL THAT AND I HEAR ALL THAT.
UM, BUT IS THERE, ARE THERE AGAIN, IS THERE A PLAYBOOK? IS THERE IS, IS THERE LIKE, ARE THERE GUIDELINES THAT TALK ABOUT WHAT CAN BE SHARED, WHAT CAN'T BE SHARED? UM, WHEN CAN THINGS BE SHARED? AND, AND I APOLOGIZE, I KNOW I SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD, BUT IT REALLY IS, IT IS U UNIQUE.
AND SO WE DO HAVE POLICIES OUTLINING INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSES.
WE HAVE POLICIES RELATED TO OUR CRITICAL INCIDENT BRIEFING.
UM, BUT TO SPECIFICALLY SAY THIS SPECIFIC INFORMATION WILL BE RELEASED AT THIS TIME WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO ASCERTAIN BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T KNOW THE SITUATION AND WHETHER OR NOT IT COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT THE, THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION.
AND THE COPS ASKED, AND I, AND I, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYTHING'S FLUID AND I, AND BUT I THINK EVEN SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS INSTRUCTIVE WITH REGARDS TO WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH.
I WISH THERE WERE POLICIES IN PLACE, BUT LIKE THERE ARE, WE DO HAVE UNDERSTAND, WE DO HAVE POLICIES IN PLACE RELATED TO BASIC INVESTA INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSES.
UM, WE DO HAVE A POLICY IN PLACE RELATED TO OUR PUBLIC RELEASE OF CRITICAL INCIDENT BRIEFINGS.
WE DO HAVE POLICIES IN PLACE RELATED TO VICTIM SERVICES.
BUT THOSE SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR, THEY ARE NOT IN POLICY, BUT, BUT WE'RE WILLING TO OUTLINE 'EM AS BEST WE, AS BEST WE CAN.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA, I COMMISSIONER KOFF, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT SAID AND I, I JUST WANT TO SEE IF I GOT IT STRAIGHT IN MY MIND.
UH, AND I KNOW NO TWO INCIDENTS ARE LIKE, WE HAVE GUIDELINES THAT YOU FOLLOW.
IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, AT AN INCIDENT WHERE THERE IS A FATALITY, AN OFFICER PUTS IN THE REQUEST FOR VICTIM'S ASSISTANCE.
OR HOW DO THEY COME, YOU SAID THAT THEY COME FOR THE OFFICERS ON THE SCENE, THEIR SUPPORT IF NEEDED.
AN OFFICER REQUESTS THAT, SIR, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
A SUPERVISOR WILL A SUPERVISOR, WELL, SO A SUPERVISOR WILL RESPOND TO THE SCENE, DO A SCENE ASSESSMENT AND THEN MAKE THAT DETERMINATION AS TO WHAT RESOURCES.
WHAT FOLLOW-ON RESOURCES ARE NEEDED.
ALRIGHT, SO THERE'S A VICTIM, WE HAVE OFFICERS THERE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY IDENTIFIED FAMILY OF THE VICTIM.
ONCE THAT VICTIM'S FAMILY IS IDENTIFIED, IS IT VICTIM'S ASSISTANCE THAT GOES TO THE FAMILY OR IS THERE A UNIFORMED OFFICER FROM A P D THAT GOES ALONG WITH VICTIM'S ASSISTANCE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE FAMILY? AND THAT'S A BIT OF AN INTERESTING QUESTION IN OF ITSELF, JUST BECAUSE IT DEPENDS ON WHERE THE FAMILY MEMBER IS, IS LOCATED.
SO IF THEY ARE SOMEWHERE IN THE AUSTIN AREA RIGHT.
TO WHERE WE CAN RESPOND TO, IT'S OUR VICTIM SERVICES PERSONNEL THAT ALSO RESPOND WITH A A P D OFFICER.
SO THERE WOULD BE AN A P D OFFICER, CORRECT? MM-HMM.
COMMISSIONER HALL, MARTIN? YEAH.
SO IS THERE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THE FAMILY HAS TO BE NOTIFIED BY LIKE WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE INCIDENT? AND HOW DOES THAT WORK? LIKE WHAT ARE STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE PERSON? AND SO THERE ISN'T A REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY WITHIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.
HOWEVER, WE DO OUR BEST TO EXPEDITIOUSLY NOTIFY OR IDENTIFY ANY FAMILY MEMBERS MEMBERS IMMEDIATELY.
THERE'S, THERE'S NO, UH, DELAY, I GUESS IF YOU WILL, OR SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING TO PREVENT US FROM IDENTIFYING AND MAKING CONTACT WITH, WITH THE FAMILY MEMBERS.
THE SOONER WE CAN NOTIFY THEM, THE BETTER.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START WITH A POLICY OF HAVING SOMETHING OF WITHIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIMEFRAME THE FAMILY HAS TO BE IDENTIFIED, ESPECIALLY BEFORE A PRESS CONFERENCE.
IT FEELS LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE STEPS IN ORDER TO BE TAKEN.
AND THE FIRST THING I THINK THAT A FAMILY HAS TO KNOW RIGHT OFF THE BAT, THAT THAT SEEMS LIKE NON-NEGOTIABLE TO ME.
RIGHT? AND SO I THINK, UH, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WE THERE, WE JUST NOT BE, MAY NOT BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY A FAMILY.
IT'S NOT FOR A LACK OF TRYING TO, WE ARE JUST UNABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH A, WITH A FAMILY MEMBER AND WEIGHING THAT REFERENCE,
[01:45:01]
THE, UH, PUBLIC'SAND THAT WHERE EVERYONE IS SITTING AROUND JUST WAITING, WHAT HAPPENED? AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO, OR WE DON'T HAVE SOME PRELIMINARY INFORMATION TO PUT OUT, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CONTACT A FAMILY MEMBER.
AND HOW LONG DOES THAT TIME THEN PROCEED WITH US NOT PUTTING OUT THE INFORMATION? BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO MAKE, MAKE CONTACT WITH A FAMILY MEMBER.
AND SO TO PUT A TIMEFRAME ON, YOU MUST CONTACT WITHIN THIS AMOUNT OF TIME WHEN WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHETHER OR NOT WE'LL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY A FAMILY MEMBER WOULD BE, WOULD BE PROBLEMATIC.
MY, MY SON HAD HIS DRIVER LICENSE AND MAMA'S NUMBER ON THERE AND EVERYTHING.
HE HAD EVERYTHING MAMA'S NUMBER, HE HAD A NUMBER, A CHECKLIST AND EVERYTHING.
THEY CAN'T SAY THEY DIDN'T, COULDN'T IDENTIFY.
'CAUSE EVERYBODY HAS A DRIVER LICENSE OR SOCIAL SECURITY.
YOU CAN'T TELL ME THEY'RE THE COPS.
COME ON NOW, LOOK IT UP AND HE'LL COME RIGHT UP.
NOW HOW IGNORANT DO I LOOK? OKAY, THAT'S BULL CRAP.
EVERYTHING THAT SHE'S SAYING IS IRRELEVANT.
IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE MS. GONZALEZ.
MS. GONZALEZ, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? SO WHEN IT COMES TO THE COMMUNICATION IN A, A SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATION FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS THAT RAJAN WAS A MIDDLE EASTERN MAN? LIKE, HOW DO THEY GATHER THAT INFORMATION AND WHAT ARE THE STEPS THAT THEY'RE USING TO VALIDATE WHAT INFORMATION'S BEING PRESENTED? THAT'S, THAT'S NOT ACCURATE, RIGHT? SO WE ARE, WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME AND, AND I'M SORRY.
I WANT US TO, UH, I FEEL LIKE, UM, WE, WE NEED THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT HERE BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME CHANGES THAT CAN POTENTIALLY IMPACT THE WAY SOME OF THESE COMMUNICATIONS HAPPEN.
UM, THERE, UM, I WOULD LIKE THE, THE GENERAL ORDERS AND ANY STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO BE POSTED TO BACKUP AND CIRCULATED TO COMMISSIONERS SO THAT COMMISSIONERS CAN HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT PROCESSES ARE IN PLACE, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY TALKING TO EACH OTHER, LIKE IF THEY'RE DIFFERENT PROCESSES THAT, THAT, THAT DICTATE DIFFERENT ASPECTS.
JUST, UM, AND I WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO JUST ASK MY COMMISSIONERS IF THEY'RE AT ALL, IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN SORT OF HELPING GRA LIKE PULL TOGETHER A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE FUTURE, UM, AFTER WE SORT OF HAVE ANOTHER, ANOTHER MEETING.
I FEEL LIKE WE NEED A FOLLOW UP MEETING.
I KNOW THESE, THAT, THESE ARE, THESE ARE NOT QUICK AND EASY CONVERSATIONS.
I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD AND VOLUNTEER THAT.
AND WITH THAT, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS JOINING.
UM, I'M SORRY THAT, LIKE I, I KNOW THAT WE MADE THIS MUCH PROGRESS WITH REGARDS TO CONVERSATIONS, BUT I FEEL LIKE IT'S GONNA TAKE DOZENS OF THESE CONVERSATIONS TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHERE THE COMMUNITY WOULD LIKE, LIKE THESE INTERACTIONS TO LOOK LIKE.
I HOPE THIS IS INSTRUCTIVE FOR THE SORT OF, UM, STRATEGIC PLANNING THAT A P D IS DOING RIGHT NOW TOO.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA JUST GO AHEAD AND CLOSE UP THIS ITEM.
I REALLY WISH WE COULD TALK FOR HOURS.
AS LONG AS YOU KNOW OUR STORES.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE.
[6. Vote on the 2024 Public Safety Commission Calendar ]
WITH THAT, JUST SOME QUICK HOUSEKEEPING.YOU GUYS SHOULD HAVE, UM, OUR CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE, JUST IN CASE YOU GUYS HADN'T CHECKED YOUR EMAILS MORE RECENTLY, THE APRIL 8TH DATE SHOULD BE APRIL 1ST ON OUR CALENDAR.
WE ARE MEETING ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NEW YEAR'S IN JANUARY AND LABOR DAY IN SEPTEMBER.
UM, I NEED A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR TO ADOPT OUR CALENDAR.
AND WITH THAT WE'LL JUST TAKE A VOTE ON THE CALENDAR.
UM, COMMISSIONER OR, UM, COMMISSIONER RUAN? YES.
CALENDAR IS ADOPTED FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE GET TO SEE EACH OTHER EVERY MONDAY NEXT YEAR.
[7. Commission for Women and Public Safety Commission Joint Working Group Update (Sponsors: Commissioners Orr & Ramírez) ]
THEN I DON'T KNOW THAT, I KNOW THAT I HAVE LISTED AS A PLACEHOLDER AN UPDATE FROM THE, UM, THE WORKING GROUP THAT WE HAVE FOR THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN IN PUBLIC SAFETY ON THE C S C R M.UM, I BELIEVE, UM, I SPOKE WITH KACHINA AND I BELIEVE THAT THE WOMEN'S COMMISSION IS GETTING AN UPDATE ON SOME BUDGET THAT THE PROGRAM RECEIVED, UM, IN THE COMING MONTHS.
SO WE'RE, WE'VE REQUESTED TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT AS WELL.
UM, SO WE'LL PROBABLY TAKE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THAT, UM, IN THE COMING MONTHS.
[01:50:01]
ASIDE FROM THAT, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING NEW WE HAVEN'T MET SINCE THEN.[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
I THINK WE JUST HAVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. WE NEED TO FORMALLY MOVE.UM, THE QUESTION OF CREATING A RECOMMENDATION, ASKING ABOUT HOW FAMILIES AND POLICE COMMUNICATION HAPPENS, DO WE NEED TO CREATE THAT AS AN AGENDA ITEM FOR AN ACTION ITEM OR WHAT'S POSSIBLE? I THINK WE CAN PUT ON THE RECORD AN OFFICIAL AGENDA ITEM FOR A A, LIKE FOR A, A REVISIT OF THE ITEM TO JUST PUT THE AGENDA BACK, THE ITEM BACK ON THE AGENDA FOR A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.
BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED ONE FOR A RECOMMENDATION.
IF A RECOMMENDATION COMES TOGETHER BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
OH, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM VICTIM SERVICES IF THEY CAN DO A PRESENTATION ON THE WORK THEY DO.
SPECIFICALLY, LIKE WHAT ARE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE COUNSELORS? ARE THEY FROM THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE IMPACTED BY OFFICER SHOOTINGS? UM, WHAT THE POLICIES ARE AROUND WHEN THEY'RE ENGAGING WITH THE FAMILIES.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT? SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
AND THEN ANYTHING ELSE? I DON'T RUN THIS AN AGENDA ITEM, BUT, AND MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO CARRY A CONVERSATION ONLINE, BUT THE LAST MINUTE PULLING OUT OF HAVING THE O P O AND WHAT THAT PROCESS IS.
I KNOW WE WANT TO HAVE A ASK FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO COME AND EXPLAIN THAT PROCESS.
AND EXPLAIN WHAT OUR, OUR ROLE IS.
UM, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, THERE CERTAINLY MAY BE SOME MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE ARE NOT AWARE OF.
BUT IT CERTAINLY SEEMS PROBLEMATIC FROM A ACCOUNTABILITY STANDPOINT IF THAT CAN HAPPEN.
CHAIR, CAN I ADD ONE AS WELL? SO, UM, COMMISSIONER RATAN BROUGHT UP A REALLY GOOD POINT ABOUT, UH, E E S L COMMUNITIES OR LANGUAGE ACCESS.
UM, THIS KIND OF OVERLAPS WITH MY OTHER ROLE IN, ON THE COMMISSION FOR ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSION, WHERE OUR, OUR, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT I SEE IN THE CITY IS, IS DEFINITELY LANGUAGE ACCESS.
UM, UH, I KNOW I SAW A REPORT AND I, I'M CONFUSING COMMISSION, SO, UM, BUT I BELIEVE THAT FOR LANGUAGE ACCESS A P D USES QUITE A BIT, WHICH IS GREAT.
I THINK IT WAS AROUND, AND I APOLOGIZE IF I MISSPEAK, BUT IT, IT WAS AROUND $85,000, WHEREAS I SAW FOR A T C, IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND $2,500.
UM, AND I, I REALLY WANNA UNDERSTAND WHY THERE'S, THERE'S GAPS IN, IN LANGUAGE ACCESS FOR, UM, E M SS.
UM, AS I, THROUGH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I, THERE WAS ACTUALLY A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, UM, WHERE I NOTICED THAT THERE WASN'T LANGUAGE ACCESS BEING USED FOR SOMEBODY THAT DID NOT SPEAK THAT LANGUAGE.
SO YOU ARE, SO JUST, I WANNA CLARIFY THE ITEM YOU'RE INTERESTED IN TALKING ABOUT.
JUST HOW, HOW THE, THE, ALL THE, ALL THE DEPARTMENTS USE E S L AND, AND HOW THEY APPROACH IT, LANGUAGE ACCESS, HOW THEY'RE USING THE LANGUAGE ACCESS LINE, UH, BECAUSE THERE SEEMS LIKE THERE, THERE'S A, UH, THERE THERE'S A VARIABILITY ABOUT, UH, AGENCIES AND, UH, HOW MUCH THEY'RE ACTUALLY USING THAT LINE AND WHETHER IT'S A, UM, UH, AN AVAILABILITY AS, UH, UH, OR JUST A, A CHOICE.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT ITEM? NO.
ANYONE ELSE? I'M GONNA, UM, JUST OFFICIALLY PUT ON THE RECORD, UH, A REQUEST TO HAVE, UM, AN UPDATE ON THE A P O A AND HOW THAT, AND HOW, I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER RUTAN, YOU HAD REACHED OUT ABOUT THAT, JUST TO SORT OF TALK ABOUT, UM, THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS JUST PASSED BY CITY COUNCIL, HOW THAT'S BEING, HOW IMPLEMENTATION IS GOING AND WHAT THE ROLLOUT PLAN IS FOR ALL THAT.
AND WITH THAT, WE ARE FINISHING ON TIME.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE.
OH, I'M ACTUALLY, JUST BEFORE I ADJOURN, I'M GONNA MAKE A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT.
A P D IS HAVING A STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
UM, I WENT TO THE FIRST ROUND OF THEM.
UM, IT WAS A VERY, VERY SMALL TURNOUT AT THE FIRST ONE.
AND SO, UM, THE SOUTH AUSTIN ONE IS COMING UP.
I KNOW THERE'S, THERE'S A SITE THAT, THAT HAS ALL OF THE INFORMATION AND ALL OF THE ONES THAT ARE COMING UP MAYBE.
UPRISING CHURCH, THE SOUTH AUSTIN ONE.
AND THEN EVERYBODY HAVE FUN AT, UH, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT.