[00:00:01]
[Call to Order]
A PACKED HOUSE TODAY.UM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING TODAY'S OCTOBER 18TH, AND I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
THE TIME IS EXACTLY 2:00 PM AND THE MEETING IS BEING CONDUCTED AT A T P, LOCATED AT 2 0 3 COLORADO STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, THE REMINDER FOR EVERYONE WHO MAY NEED ASSISTANCE WITH INTERPRETER SERVICES, PLEASE GIVE US A 24 HOUR NOTICE THROUGH CHLOE MAXWELL AND HER CONTACT INFORMATION IS IN EACH ADJUST AGENDA POSTING.
UM, FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE NOTE THE BOARD MEMBER BILION IS NOT PRESENT TODAY.
UM, AND I BELIEVE WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT TODAY'S MEETING.
[2.1. Project Connect Status Report | Board Brief]
PROMISES TO BE A VERY BRIEF MEETING, BUT WE'RE GONNA START WITH YOU, MR. CANALI.IT'S GOOD TO SEE, UH, A LOT OF FAMILIAR FACES.
UH, WE HAVE A, UH, A KIND OF A DEEP DIALOGUE TODAY ABOUT OUR, OUR DELIVERY METHOD.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR OVER, ALMOST ABOUT A YEAR NOW.
BUT BEFORE WE GET TO THAT, JUST WANT TO GIVE OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT AND SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON, AGAIN, WE HAVE OUR, OUR HANDOUT OF EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON IN THE PROGRAM, BOTH ON THE PROJECT SIDE WITH OUR PARTNERS AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATIVELY.
WE THINK IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO, TO HIGHLIGHT THAT.
AS YOU REMEMBER LAST TIME, WE LAID OUT OUR, OUR WORK PLAN.
AND THAT WORK PLAN WAS REALLY DRIVING TOWARDS THE RELEASE OF A DRAFT E I S FOR THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL, UH, NEXT FALL.
UH, WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT.
UH, AS WE GET INTO THE NEW YEAR, AS WE START DOING THAT REVIEW WITH OUR PARTNERS, UH, WE STAY ON TRACK TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UH, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WANTED TO JUST TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE DO OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING.
WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT FROM, FROM A COUPLE ANGLES.
ONE, FIRST AND FOREMOST, AS WE CONTINUE TO RECRUIT TALENT HERE TO AUSTIN AND TO THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE OUT THERE TALKING ABOUT OUR PROJECT, UM, AS WELL AS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS THAT ARE HERE AS WELL.
SO, JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS OF THOSE.
UH, UH, A T P AND CAP METRO JOINED TOGETHER IN A PRESENTATION AT THE NATIONAL APTA CONFERENCE TRANSFORM CONFERENCE TO TALK ABOUT LIGHT RAIL AND OUR PARTNERSHIP, HOW WE MOVE FORWARD ON THAT.
UM, THERE WAS A GREAT LAST WEEK, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS HOSTED A MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE SUMMIT.
I THINK YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THIS A LOT TODAY.
THE IDEA OF WORKFORCE FOR US, HOW CRITICAL, UH, A PRIORITY AND PRINCIPLE IT IS FOR US AS WE MOVE FORWARD ON LIGHT RAIL AND, AND BRINGING ALL AUSTINITES ALONG ON THAT.
UH, RIGHT NOW, I THINK LIVE IS IN, IN DC THE BROOKINGS ARE, UH, COURTNEY CHAVEZ IS WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ON A FOUNDATION SUMMIT ABOUT WORKFORCE AS WELL.
UM, AGAIN, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT ABOUT, IT'S REALLY CRITICAL FOR US.
AND THEN UPCOMING, UM, THERE'S AN IDEA OF AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL KNOWLEDGE SHARING AT A CONFERENCE, UH, ON, AT THE IMPACT CONFERENCE.
SO AGAIN, WE FEEL IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, UM, EMBRACE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE TRANSIT WORLD AND THE URBAN PLANNING WORLD, AND MAKING SURE WE'RE OUT THERE, UH, TALKING ABOUT OUR GREAT PROJECT HERE IN AUSTIN.
BUT LET'S KIND OF TURN LOCALLY NOW 'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT'S REALLY JUST ALSO ONE OF OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
SO I'D LIKE TO BRING UP, UH, PETER MULLEN AND JOCELYN VOS TO TALK ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WE'VE DONE AS WELL AS SOME OF THE, UH, UPCOMING EFFORTS THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND I THINK PETER'S PROBABLY ON HIS WAY IN, HOPEFULLY, BUT JOCELYN, I'LL LET YOU KICK IT OFF.
UM, SO JUST PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT, WHAT GREG MENTIONED, UM, KNOWLEDGE SHARING HAS REALLY BEEN KEY TO EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
UM, I'VE BEEN, ESPECIALLY, WHAT, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO IS THAT I'VE BEEN ESPECIALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE FACT THAT WE SHARE WITH THE, UH, SPACE, WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE.
AND WHAT WE DID WAS KNOWLEDGE SHARING WITH THIS OFFICE AS WELL.
UM, AND WE'VE LEARNED THAT THEY HAVE OVER 107 YEARS OF COMBINED EXPERIENCE HERE IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
AND ALSO JUST BEING REALLY COGNIZANT OF THE SPACE THAT WE ARE IN RIGHT HERE, AND BEING CONNECTED TO, YOU KNOW, THIS HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, HAVING THE, HIS, UM, MEXICO DE MUSEUM RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM US, AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE, UM, OUR STAFF SUPPORTING.
UH, SO OUR DIRECTOR OF HR, DEBBIE GUS AND, UM, REBECCA JELLO, REALLY, REALLY, UH, PROMOTING THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE, UM, TO HAVE OUR HISPANIC HERITAGE VISIT AT THE MEXICAN CARTE MUSEUM, LEARNING ABOUT OUR LOCAL, UM, LOCAL HERITAGE AROUND HERE.
UM, WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF HAVING A, A PRIVATE TOUR WITH SYLVIA OROZCO HERSELF, UH, WHO HAPPENED TO BE AT THE MUSEUM, WHO GAVE US A PRIVATE TOUR IN HISTORY OF, UM, MEXICAN, OUR STAFF, HISTORY OF MEXICAN AMERICANS, UM, IN AUSTIN.
AND SO IT WAS, IT WAS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TRULY GROWS FROM WHAT YOU HAVE WITHIN YOU.
UM, ONLY THEN CAN YOU, UM, BE EXPECTED TO TRULY CREATE
[00:05:01]
A PROJECT THAT'S GOING TO SPEAK TO THE, TO THE HEART OF THE CITY, TO THE BEATING HEART OF THIS DIVERSE, WONDERFUL CITY.UM, AND SO HERE YOU CAN SEE IN OUR SLIDE HOW IT IS THAT WE DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
I'M USUALLY NOT AT THIS BOARD MEETING BECAUSE I'M USUALLY OUT THERE.
IF YOU SEE ME AT MY DESK, I'M LITERALLY NOT DOING MY JOB.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE A FEW EVENTS WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, GO AND HIGHLIGHT OUR WORK.
UM, WE HAVE JUST PICTURED HERE ON THE LEFT, WE PARTICIPATED IN THE A I SS D SHOWCASE.
UM, UH, YOU MAY RECOGNIZE, UH, GIANNIS BANKS, WHO'S IN THE PICTURE ALONGSIDE MY, MY SON.
IT WAS BRING YOUR SON TO WORKDAY IN THAT LITTLE PICTURE.
AND THEN THE LITTLE GIRL ON THE BOTTOM HAS ONE OF OUR, UM, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIPS, CONSTRUCTION HATS THAT SHE WANTED TO PUT ON, ON HER HEAD, UM, WHICH IS A STRESS RELIEVER FOR THE PARENTS.
AND A FUN THING TO PLAY WITH FOR THE KIDS.
UM, WE REACHED 147 PEOPLE THERE, ALL PEOPLE WITHIN THE AUSTIN I S D, UM, COMMUNITY WHO ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES THAT COME WITH LIGHT RAIL.
UM, SO WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, STEM EDUCATION, ALL SORTS OF THAT WORKFORCE REALLY BUILDING FROM OUR SCHOOLS TO COME FORWARD AND TRULY DELIVER A PROJECT THAT'S GOOD FOR OUR CITY.
THE SECOND SET OF SLIDES THERE WHERE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, YEAH, I'M SORRY, THE SLIDE'S NOT, UH, THE PICTURES THERE.
UM, WHERE WE HAVE, UH, THE YELLOW, WE HAVE THE HISPANIC HERITAGE.
WE PARTICIPATED IN THE FIESTA AUSTIN, UM, BEFORE WE WERE RAINED OUT BY TORRENTIAL RAIN THAT HAPPENED THERE.
WE WERE VERY GRATEFUL FOR OUR CAT METRO BUS.
THAT WAS OUR SHELTER AT THAT TIME.
UM, WE, WE TOUCHED BASE WITH 60 PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE INTERESTED IN, IN KNOWING HOW THIS WAS GONNA AFFECT EAST AUSTIN.
UM, AND THEN IN THE FINAL GROUP OF PHOTOS THERE, THAT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL EVENT.
AT ALLISON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THERE WERE 300 PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE.
THIS WAS FOR BOO THE FLU, UM, EVENT THAT THEY HAD THERE.
AND AGAIN, PARTNERING WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS BECAUSE, UH, WHAT WE SEE A LOT OF IN AUSTIN, WE HEAR, WE HEAR A LOT FROM OUR VERY PASSIONATE ADV, TRANS TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE ADVOCATES, UM, WHO COME OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
BUT WHEN, AND, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO GOING AND SEEING AND BEING WITH THE PEOPLE, UH, WE HAD TO THINK ABOUT.
AND, AND GREG CAME UP TO MY DESK AND ASKED ME TO, ENCOURAGED ME TO THINK OF HOW IT IS THAT WE DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIFFERENTLY.
AND SO, THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST COOLER WEEKENDS THAT WE HAD IN AUSTIN, TWO SATURDAYS AGO.
UM, I ASKED MY COLLEAGUE, UH, DO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHAT SHOULD WE GIVE AWAY? BLANKETS.
SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE TABLE, THERE'S A SET OF FIVE BLANKETS.
THEY'RE SIMPLY BLANKETS BECAUSE PEOPLE, IT'S GOING TO, IT'S GOING TO GET COLD HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND WE ASKED PEOPLE, WE SAID, HERE'S A PRIZE WHEEL.
YOU CAN SPIN THE WHEEL FOR A PRIZE, AND YOU CAN GET, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP SWAG.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU GIVE US YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION, YOU CAN ENTER THIS RAFFLE TO WIN A BLANKET.
AND WOULDN'T YOU KNOW, OF THE 300 PEOPLE THAT CAME, WE RECEIVED 240 CONTACT INFORMATIONS FOR THOSE.
SO THOSE RAFFLE TICKETS, UH, WE ONLY HAD FIVE WINNERS.
THE, THE LESSON LEARNED THERE IS THAT WE NEED MORE BLANKETS.
AGAIN, NOT A T P BUT
IT'S KI IT'S KIND OF, UM, SYMBOLIC OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH ON THE PROJECT.
IF YOU MEET THE COMMUNITY WITH THEIR BASIC NEEDS FIRST, AND YOU BRING THEM TO THE TABLE, AND THEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHAT WE CAN BUILD TOGETHER THAT WILL MAKE THIS PROJECT JUST SOAR BEYOND OUR WILDEST, WILDEST IMAGINATION.
UM, SO WE HAVE SOME, THEN THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, WE HAVE SOME UPCOMING, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR USER NEED AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO PETER TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER LAST TIME WE WERE HERE, WE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING ON, UM, USER EXPERIENCE.
UM, REALLY UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO TRANSIT USERS NEED AS PART OF THEIR TRANSIT JOURNEY.
UM, HOW DO THEY ACTUALLY, UH, CURRENTLY USE THE TRANSIT SYSTEM? WHERE ARE THERE POINTS OF FRICTION THAT ARE NATURAL IN ANY SYSTEM? UM, AND THEN HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DESIGN THE SYSTEM AROUND MITIGATING OR ERASING THOSE POINTS OF FRICTION? UM, AND SO DEVELOPING A SET OF, OF PRIMARY PRIORITY USER NEEDS, UM, BASIC NEEDS, UH, UH, THINGS LIKE THERMAL SAFETY, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, EASE OF NAVIGATION, ET CETERA, AND A SERIES OF DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR THE LIGHT RAIL THAT WILL THEN MEET THOSE NEEDS.
UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL THAT RESEARCH AND KIND OF, UH, OBSERVATION SOME WORKSHOPS, BUT WE REALLY FELT LIKE WE WANTED TO TAKE THOSE, UH, THE RESULTS OF THAT RESEARCH MORE BROADLY AND VALIDATE THOSE AND SOCIALIZE THOSE AND UNDERSTAND, UM, HOW THEY'RE RESONATING
[00:10:01]
WITH THE COMMUNITY.SO WE HAVE A SERIES OF ENGAGEMENTS THIS FALL, UM, TO DO THAT.
UM, AND A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT, UM, FORMATS WE'RE GONNA DO ON-THE-GO ENGAGEMENTS, WHICH ARE REALLY SORT OF FIELD WALKS OR, OR FIELD EXPLORATIONS WITH, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME FACILITATED WORKSHOPS, UM, WITH OUR DESIGN CONSULTANTS, UM, IN, UH, NOVEMBER AND EARLY DECEMBER.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE A DIGITAL SURVEY AND SOME OTHER DIGITAL TOOLS SO THAT WE CAN REACH, UM, THE COMMUNITY MORE BROADLY.
UM, AND SO ALL OF THAT WILL GET FOLDED INTO OUR PROCESS AND, AND INFORM THE DESIGN PROCESS GOING FORWARD.
UM, SO NEXT, JUST, UH, THIS IS A BIT OF AN AD FOR PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO MIGHT BE WATCHING.
UM, HERE ARE THE DATES OF THOSE WORKSHOPS THAT ARE COMING UP IN NOVEMBER AND EARLY DECEMBER.
UM, FOUR OF THEM WILL BE IN PERSON.
UM, AND WE'LL HAVE ALL THE LOCATIONS AND SPECIFIC DETAILS ON OUR WEBSITE SHORTLY.
UM, BUT REALLY WE'RE LOOKING TO SPREAD OURSELVES OUT A LITTLE BIT GEOGRAPHICALLY SO THAT WE CAN, AGAIN, AS, AS JOCELYN POINTED OUT, MEET THE COMMUNITY WHERE THEY ARE.
SO HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THAT.
UM, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? YEAH.
WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ONE AT LUNCHTIME FOR STUDENTS, UM, AT UT.
SO A, IT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT OF A MIX VIRTUAL.
AND THE VIRTUAL, THE VIRTUAL ONE AT THE END IS, IS IN THE EVENING AS WELL.
AS FAR AS USER EXPERIENCE, ARE YOU, CAN YOU GIVE ME A BIT MORE BACKGROUND? AND YOU TALKED ABOUT WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS OF HOW THEY, THEY USE TRANSIT OR, YEAH.
SO, UM, THERE, WE, WE, WE, AGAIN, WE DID A LOT OF RESEARCH, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, WE LEARN THINGS LIKE PEOPLE WANNA WAIT IN THE SHADE, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT A LOT OF THIS IS KIND OF, SEEMS KIND OF OBVIOUS, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO DOCUMENT IT.
AND, AND THERE ARE SOME SURPRISES ALONG THE WAY.
UM, WE FOUND THAT PEOPLE WAIT FOR TRANSIT ACTUALLY AT A MUCH FARTHER DISTANCE THAN WE TYPICALLY EXPECTED, NOT NECESSARILY AT THE SHELTER, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT WANT TO GET AWAY FROM STREET NOISE, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, THINGS AGAIN, LIKE THERMAL SAFETY, EASE OF NAVIGATION, UM, THEN THERE'S SOME MORE ASPIRATIONAL ONES LIKE CONNECTING WITH NATURE, RIGHT? A SENSE OF BELONGING, RIGHT? UM, I DUNNO IF YOU REMEMBER, WE HAD THAT KIND OF PYRAMID OF NEEDS WHERE THERE ARE SORT OF BASIC NEEDS AT THE BOTTOM AND MORE ASPIRATIONAL ONES AT THE TOP.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE, WE'RE SHOOTING FOR THE ASPIRATIONAL ONES.
WE KNOW WE HAVE TO MEET THE ONES AT THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE, THIS IS ALL ABOUT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, RIGHT? AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE SYSTEM HAS TO SOLVE FOR THESE BASIC NEEDS, AND THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA BUILD RIDERSHIP AND BUILD OUR CULTURE OF TRANSIT IN AUSTIN.
AND I DO WANNA COMMEND YOU, JOCELYN, FOR GOING TO THE SCHOOLS.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN ASKING MANY TIMES TO HAVE, ARE THESE SCHOOLS LOCATED ALONG THE CORRIDOR OR IN PROXIMITY TO THAT? YES.
UM, SO ALLISON ELEMENTARY IS, UM, THE ONLY AUSTIN I S D PUBLIC SCHOOL ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE CORRIDOR THAT'S ALONG THERE.
UM, THERE IS AN IDEA CHARTER SCHOOL, UM, AS WELL AS, AS WELL AS AT, UM, BATTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR THE VA.
UM, AND THEN IN SOUTH CONGRESS THERE'S LIVELY MIDDLE SCHOOL AS WELL.
SO WE'LL BE COORDINATING WITH THEM AS, AS IT, AS YOU KNOW, THESE WINTER FESTIVALS GO ON TO SEE WHERE WE CAN PLUG IN.
UM, WE FOUND OUR, OUR PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS AT THE SCHOOL TO BE SO ESSENTIAL TO THE COMMUNICATION WITH THE PARENTS.
AND HOW, AS WE ADVANCE AND WE DELIVER THIS COMMUNITY ASSETS, WHAT, HOW THAT CHANGES.
UNLESS WE UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR BASE IS OR ARE BENCHMARK.
UM, PART OF THE USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE, UM, WE MET WITH SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLS AT LIVELY MIDDLE SCHOOL ON SOUTH CONGRESS TO TALK ABOUT HOW IT WOULD BE, UM, USEFUL FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE COULD DO TO INCORPORATE FAMILIES CROSSING THE STREETS.
AND EVEN IN, IN PREVIOUS RESEARCH THAT WE'VE DONE, UM,
[00:15:01]
WE, WE'VE SEEN THINGS LIKE HAVING STROLLER POLICIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.YOU KNOW, NOW THAT WE HAVE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO FOLD YOUR STROLLER UP TO GET ONTO A PUBLIC BUS.
THAT'S SO HELPFUL TO OUR FAMILIES TO BE ABLE TO SAY, OKAY, I'M HERE.
I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY COATS, MY UMBRELLAS, MY KIDS, MY STROLLER.
YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST MAKING IT USER FRIENDLY IN THAT CASE AS WELL.
DOES ANY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS? YEAH.
UM, JOCELYN, SO I'M CURIOUS, LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU PRESENTING AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL? LIKE WHAT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T EXIST YET MM-HMM.
SO HERE, THIS WAS A BASIC COMMUNITY TOUCHPOINT WHERE WE WERE INVITED BY SANTO HEALTH TO BE A PART OF THIS PROGRAM.
AND SO WE WE'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE A TABLE WHERE WE COULD HAVE A MAP WHERE WE DISCUSSED, YOU KNOW, HOW IS IT THAT YOU CURRENTLY GET TO SCHOOL, THIS IS GONNA BE COMING.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT GENERATED.
SO IN THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU HAVE SOMEONE FILLING OUT THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION, YOU CAN USUALLY MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH THE OTHER ADULT, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING TO THEM ABOUT THE PROJECT.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO CAPTURED, THEY, THEY HAVE TO, OF COURSE, GIVE US AUTHORIZATION TO BE ABLE TO SEND US, SEND FUTURE NEWSLETTERS, AND, UM, AND WE NEEDED THEIR CELL PHONE NUMBERS TO GET AHOLD OF THEM FOR THE RAFFLE TICKETS.
SO WE HAVE NOW MUCH BETTER COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES WHO LIVE IN THE AREA.
UM, AND I WILL SAY THAT THE AVERAGE FAMILY WHO CAME UP TO OUR TABLE WAS SIX.
THE NUMBER OF SIX PEOPLE WERE IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE EMBEDDED THERE.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE CONDO DWELLERS THAT WORK AT ORACLE
WE'VE ALSO BEEN INVITED TO PARENT COFFEES AS WELL.
NOW THAT GOES A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO DEPTH WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS OF DESIGNING AND DELIVERING THIS AND WHERE WE ARE.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE JUST MAKE OURSELVES A AVAILABLE TO, TO THE FAMILIES.
NOW, THE EXCITING PART ALSO ABOUT THE EAST AUSTIN EXTENSION IS THAT THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY IS GOING TO BE OUT THERE.
AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND OUR EFFORTS THERE, AND WE TALK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING 200 JOBS OUT THERE, THAT'S ANOTHER EXCITING TALKING POINT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO YOU'RE KIND OF GETTING THE WORD ON THE PROJECT OUT SO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S COMING AND THEY CAN START TO KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, BUILD IT INTO THEIR OWN FUTURE.
UM, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, WE HAVE TO STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF DELIVERING OUR MESSAGING AS TO WHO WE ARE AND THAT WE'RE HERE TO HELP THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ONE OF MY FAVORITE LESSONS I LEARNED IN A MARKETING CLASS AT UT WAS, YOU KNOW, WHO DOESN'T NEED TO MARKET? EVERYONE DOES, EVEN MCDONALD'S, YOU'LL ALWAYS SEE THE BILLBOARDS UP ON THE HIGHWAYS.
YOU HAVE TO STAY IN FRONT OF PEOPLE SO THAT THEY REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DO, AND THAT YOU'RE KEEPING THE DOORS OPEN TO, TO, UM, REALLY JUST LEGITIMATE COMMUNICATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA BE LISTENING TO AND COLLABORATING WITH.
SO I WOULD HOPE THAT WHEN, LIKE, LET, IF YOU WOULD LET US KNOW, I'D LIKE TO GO TO ONE OF THEM AT LEAST SURE.
AND JUST KIND OF SEE WHAT THE DYNAMIC IS AND WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF HAVE MY OWN SENSE OF THAT.
AND PETER, SO YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE YOU ENGAGING FOLKS ON, UM, THE USER EXPERIENCE? THERE ARE NO SYSTEM THAT THEY'RE USING YET.
I MEAN, AND I'M LIKE, HOW DOES, UH, YOU KNOW, USING BUSES TRY, I, I KNOW SOME ASPECTS, LIKE I WANT SHADE.
I'M KIND OF CURIOUS HOW YOU'RE LIKE CROSSING THAT DIVIDE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, A BUS SYSTEM THAT EXISTS TODAY AND A RAIL SYSTEM THAT'S GONNA EXIST IN THE FUTURE.
SO, UM, WE, OBVIOUSLY, WE HAVE TO, WE DO HAVE RAIL IN AUSTIN, RIGHT? IT'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF RAIL, DIFFERENT KIND OF RAIL.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE USE WHAT WE HAVE, RIGHT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF THE, UM, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE IN-PERSON IS, IS HELPFUL AND MEANINGFUL, UM, IS THAT YOU CAN DO BETTER LISTENING, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU CAN ACTUALLY, YOU, YOU CAN HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE AND REALLY TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR, WHERE THEIR KNOWLEDGE BASE IS, WHERE THEIR KNOWLEDGE GAPS ARE.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY JUST THROUGH, YOU KNOW, CAREFUL FACILITATION TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND IN THE MOMENT TO THAT.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW DO YOU MOVE AROUND THE CITY, RIGHT? I MEAN, MOST PEOPLE ARE, UH, A PEDESTRIAN OR CYCLISTS AT SOME POINT IN THEIR MOBILITY JOURNEY, RIGHT? AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING TOO.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST GOTTA FIND WAYS TO, FOR PEOPLE TO RELATE TO WHAT'S COMING.
AND LIKE, HOW ARE YOU GATHERING THOSE PEOPLE? LIKE WHAT, WHAT'S YOUR, YOU KNOW, WHAT SOURCE ARE YOU USING TO BRING THOSE PEOPLE TOGETHER?
[00:20:01]
WE GET, UH, WE GET THE WORD OUT THROUGH VARIOUS DIFFERENT WAYS.WE HAVE LISTS OF PEOPLE THAT WE'VE GATHERED, LIKE I MENTIONED, UM, EARLIER, BUT THEN ALSO THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, UM, WORK A LOT, UM, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY, UH, IN THE MEDIA.
SO PUSHING, ESPECIALLY SPANISH MEDIA.
UM, I WOULD SAY 98% OF THE PEOPLE THAT I SPOKE TO ON THAT SATURDAY, IT WAS ALL SPANISH ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND SO THAT, AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRANSLATING THE BUS TO TRAIN EXPERIENCE, A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WE'RE SPEAKING TO, IF THEY HAVE IMMIGRATED HERE FROM A DIFFERENT COUNTRY, THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH LIGHT RAIL TRAIN IN MEXICO, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND THEY'LL SAY, OH, WE'RE SO EXCITED.
THIS WAS LIFE CHANGING IN MEXICO.
ONE LAST QUESTION, PETER, ARE YOU GONNA DO SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, REACH OUT TO THEM? LIKE WHAT ARE THEIR EXPECTATIONS AROUND RAIL? YEAH, AND I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS NOT, AGAIN, WHAT WE SHOWED TODAY IS NOT THE SUM TOTAL OF EVERYTHING WE'RE GONNA DO.
THERE'S CERTAINLY, UM, YOU KNOW, TARGET STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO DO AS WELL.
THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IS ONE OF THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY AND OTHERS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, YEAH, THEY'RE AN IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDER.
THEY'RE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS, THIS JOURNEY WE'RE ON.
AND SO WE'LL CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY BE ENGAGING WITH THEM AS WELL.
ANY FURTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? NO, THANK YOU.
AND THEN ONE LAST LITTLE THING, JUST A BIT OF A BRAG
THEIR LUNAR AWARDS IS JUST AS THEIR EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE IN ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING AND ALL THIS STUFF.
I ALWAYS WANTED A PINK HARD HAT, THAT'S FOR SURE.
AND I TOOK TWO SO I COULD TAKE MY DAUGHTER TO THE JOB SITE AS WELL.
SHE HELPS ME WITH CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION SOMETIMES, SO SHE NEEDS HER OWN PINK HARD HAT.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE FOLKS THAT NOMINATED ME, TOM.
THE, IT'S LIKE THE, THE TEAM REALLY SHOWS A LOT OF SUPPORT, BUT MOSTLY IT'S, IT'S A BIG HONOR TO, TO BE SERVING IN THIS CAPACITY AND TO BE RECOGNIZED.
WHAT I LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT THE LUNA AWARDS RECOGNIZES WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, WHICH WE'RE LESS THAN 2%, ESPECIALLY MINORITY WOMEN, ARE LESS THAN 2% OF THIS INDUSTRY.
SO THE CALL TO ALL OF YOU IS TO REALLY, IN THE WORKFORCE TRAINING AND ENSURING THAT WE HAVE A DIVERSE WORKFORCE.
THIS IS BRINGING THAT AWARENESS OF HOW WE NEED TO IMPACT, UM, THE POWER OF DESIGN.
AND IN THIS INDUSTRY, BECAUSE IT'S MOSTLY RUN BY MEN, YET THEY LIKE TO WORK WITH BIG TOOLS.
UM, I LOVE TO BE IN THE FIELD.
MY BOOTS ARE IN THE CAR, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S FUN TIMES, BUT IT'S REALLY A, AN INCREDIBLE, UH, JOURNEY OF, OF THIS CAREER.
BUT MOST, UH, MOST IMPORTANTLY, I LIKE TO RECOGNIZE, I WAS NOMINATED FOR THE RECOGNITION, BUT THE WINNERS OF WHO REALLY WON THE AWARD ARE THREE OUTSTANDING WOMEN.
AND WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT IS THAT THERE WERE WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION, WOMEN IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY, AND YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST A, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, UH, SISTERHOOD OUT THERE.
SO THANK YOU TO THE, FOR THE RECOGNITION.
[3.1 Approval of minutes from the September 20, 2023 Board Meeting]
ON TO OUR, UM, THE APPROVAL ARE ACTION ITEMS. SO WE HAVE THE APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2023 A T P BOARD MEETING.I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MEETING MINUTES.
AND IF SO, I'D LIKE A MOTION AND A SECOND MOVE BY MAYOR WATSON, SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER LAMORE.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MEETING MINUTES? NO DISCUSSION.
EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
THE MEETING MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED WITH BOARD MEMBER PAVILION.
UM, NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO OUR DISCUSSION
[4.1 Briefing on Austin Light Rail Delivery Approach]
ITEMS, THE BRIEFING FOR THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL DELIVERY APPROACH.AS THE TEAM COMES UP TO THE TABLE, I'LL, I'LL KICK US OFF HERE.
UM, WE'RE BACK AGAIN, UH, TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF OUR MAJOR WORK STREAMS, UH, WHICH IS ADVANCING OUR PROJECT DELIVERY, WHICH AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, IS VERY INTERTWINED WITH OUR ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESS, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY.
THEY KIND OF GO HAND IN HAND AS WE GROW IN, IN THINKING ABOUT OUR MODEL MOVING FORWARD.
SO, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, JUST REAL QUICK, WE HAVE A COUPLE TOPICS.
ONE, WE KIND OF DO A LITTLE BIT OF A LOOK BACKWARDS.
WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING TO INFORM WHERE WE ARE TODAY? UM,
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AND WE ARE BACK TODAY AS WE PLANNED, AS WE COMMITTED TO BACK LAST, UH, SPRING, THAT WE WOULD BE BACK HERE WITH, UM, THIS UPDATED DELIVERY FRAMEWORK, FRAMEWORK THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.I THINK THIS IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT.
THERE MIGHT BE A MOMENT WHEN THIS SLIDE IS, WE'RE GONNA USE IT A LOT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SHOW WHERE WE ARE, THE NAVIGATION OF HOW WE ARE ADVANCING AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND FOR ALL THOSE WATCHING.
SO, AGAIN, DIFFERENT ELEMENTS.
WE HAVE DESIGN WORK, WE HAVE FEDERAL WORK, AND THEN AGAIN, WE HAVE OUR ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS AND OUR PROJECT DELIVERY.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA FOCUS ON TODAY.
SO, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
I I'VE SAID THIS A FEW TIMES THAT LAST YEAR WE HAD A LOT TO WORK THROUGH, UM, LANDING ON THE LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
BUT WE ALSO APPROACHED OUR WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE HAD THAT DONE, WE WERE READY TO ADVANCE THE WORK.
YOU SAW THAT LAST MONTH WHEN WE LAID OUT OUR OVERALL STRATEGY, UH, OF OUR TIMELINE OF OUR WORK STREAMS. BUT WE ALSO HAVE DONE THAT ON OUR ORGANIZATIONAL AS AND SPECIFICALLY ON OUR DELIVERY PLANNING.
SO LET'S SPEND JUST A LITTLE MOMENT HERE.
'CAUSE I THINK IT'S REALLY, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT OVERALL, OUR DIALOGUE INTERNAL AND WAS REALLY EXTERNAL WITH A LOT OF FOLKS.
SOME OF THE FOLKS IN THE ROOM, SOME OF THE FOLKS NOT IN THIS ROOM, AND OTHERS ABOUT HOW WE ADVANCE THIS PROJECT.
WHAT IT IS ALL ROOTED IN THOUGH, IS EXPERTISE.
UM, THAT HAS BEEN A PRINCIPLE OF WHO A T P IS.
WE ASK QUESTIONS, WE, WE ADVANCE WHEN WE NEED TO ADVANCE.
UM, I LIKE THE PHRASE THAT'S BEING USED A LOT NOW IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THINK SLOW, ACT FAST.
WE'RE IN THE THINKING SLOW PHASE, AND THAT'S OKAY, BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ADVANCE ALL OF THIS AND BE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT IT.
SO REALLY BACK LAST SEPTEMBER, WE STARTED DOING, UH, SOME, UH, MEETINGS WITH INDUSTRY TO TALK ABOUT OUR DELIVERY STRATEGY.
UH, WE'VE ALSO THEN, UM, PROVIDED UPDATES TO THIS BOARD ALONG THE WHOLE JOURNEY.
IN NOVEMBER, WE TALKED ABOUT OUR DELIVERY, THE KIND OF THE KICKOFF TO THIS.
UH, WE THEN WENT OFF AND TALKED TO PEER AGENCIES.
WE THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, NOT ONLY TO LEARN WHAT WENT WELL, BUT PROBABLY SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT.
WHAT DIDN'T GO WELL IS SOMETIMES THE MORE CRUCIAL INFORMATION TO GET.
UM, WE CAME BACK AND DID ANOTHER PRESENTATION IN MARCH ABOUT OUR INITIAL FRAMEWORK.
AND THEN AGAIN, A LOT WAS GOING ON AT THAT TIME, BUT WE HAD JUST A WONDERFUL INDUSTRY EXPO EVENT IN EAST AUSTIN WHERE I, I WOULD BET 95% OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM WERE THERE.
AND YOU'RE HERE A LOT ABOUT THAT DIALOGUE.
THE WHOLE MORNING WAS ABOUT OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OUR EMPHASIS ON WORKFORCE AND OUR EMPHASIS ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL BUSINESS.
WE SPENT THE WHOLE MORNING HAVING A DIALOGUE ABOUT THAT.
AND IN THE END, WE TALKED ABOUT OUR STRATEGY.
WE THEN FORMALLY KICKED OFF A PROCESS TO GO THROUGH A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, HAD FORMAL MEETINGS WITH INDUSTRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT ARE THE TRENDS, WHAT'S NOT WORKING.
AND NOW HERE WE ARE TO TALK THROUGH IT AGAIN, UH, AND LAND THAT SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AGAIN, ROOTED IN, IN VERY THOUGHTFULNESS AND EXPERTISE.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S SITTING IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY.
AND SO I'LL KICK IT OFF TO THEM.
UM, AND KIND OF GOING DOWN THE RUN, YOU'VE GOT MANAN, GAR, WHO'S OUR HEAD OF CONSTRUCTION.
LINDSEY WOOD IS E V P OVER, UH, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.
UH, TRICIA PATEL AND TOM RUCKUS ARE WITH, UH, EY INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORS.
THEY WERE ONE OF OUR EARLY CONSULTANTS TO REALLY ACT AS OUR SHEPHERD, OUR KIND OF OUR SHEPHERD OF EXPERTISE, BRINGING THEIR NATIONAL, AND TO BE QUITE HONEST, THEIR INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, NOT JUST RAIL, AND HOW WE CAN APPLY THAT PERHAPS IN A UNIQUE WAY TO AUSTIN.
UM, AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A TEAM THAT'S ALWAYS WORKING TOGETHER, RIGHT? WE'RE KIND OF A ONE BADGE, UH, ORGANIZATION.
AND I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT HERE AND THEN, AND THEN BRAD CUMMINGS, WHO HAS BEEN HERE ALL OF TWO DAYS.
UM, AND IN THOSE TWO DAYS, A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN TWO DAYS HAS ALREADY HELPED US SHAPE, UM, OUR PROCESS AND WHERE WE'RE GOING THROUGH WITH THAT.
SO WITH THAT, I'D ACTUALLY LIKE TO TURN, TURN IT OVER TO BRAD AND WALK THROUGH THIS.
WE WANT THIS TO BE A DIALOGUE.
THIS IS A BIG, THIS IS A BIG MOMENT FOR US AS WE MOVE FORWARD ON OUR DELIVERY STRATEGY.
UM, AND SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THE TEAM.
UH, CHAIR DIRECTORS, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE DELIVERY PLAN AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING BEHIND THE SCENES TO GET US TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, AND WE WOULDN'T BE THERE IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT OUR GUIDING OBJECTIVES FOR THIS PROJECT, THERE ARE FOUR, YOU KNOW, KEY VALUES THAT ARE HELPING US IN EVERY DECISION MAKING POINT THAT WE ARE MAKING.
THE FIRST ONE IS FOCUSING ON THE RIDER AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, WITHOUT DELIVERING A SYSTEM THAT THE RIDER ARE GOING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT, UM, AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS ARE GOING TO HELP PROMOTE, UM, IS WITHOUT FOCUSING ON THAT, WE LOSE A LOT OF VALUE AND CONCENTRATION AND COMMUNITY EFFORT AND EXCITEMENT AROUND THE PROJECT.
SO EVERY STEP THAT WE TAKE, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY AND OUR RIDERSHIP
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AND GETTING THEIR INPUT AND FOCUS AND DELIVERING THE SYSTEM THAT THEY WANT AND THAT THEY VOTED FOR.UM, SO THAT IS ONE OF OUR GUIDING OBJECTIVES.
THE NEXT ONE IS DELIVERING WITHIN BUDGET.
UM, OUR COMMUNITY GAVE US A POT OF MONEY TO BE ABLE TO BUILD THEM THE BEST SYSTEM POSSIBLE, AND OUR GOAL IS TO KEEP THAT PROMISE AND WITHIN THE BUDGET THAT'S BEEN GIVEN AND ALLOTTED TO US.
UM, NEXT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REFLECT THE ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY, AND WE PRESERVE AGILITY ALONG THE WAY.
WE DON'T WANT TO GET TOO BIG AS AN AGENCY, UM, AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO LEAN ON OUR COMMUNITY AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO DELIVER A LOT OF THE ACTIVITIES AS THIS GOES ALONG THE WAY.
SO BEING ABLE TO OPTIMIZE, YOU KNOW, OUR LE AND LEVERAGE OUR EXPERTISE ALONG WITH THE INDUSTRIES, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN FIGURING OUT WHAT OUR ROLE IS AND WHAT THE INDUSTRY CAN HELP US DO TO ACHIEVE IT.
UM, AND LASTLY, UM, AS GREG TALKED ABOUT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE GENERATE MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR DIVERSE MINORITY WOMEN OWNED AND LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO CONTINUALLY TO DO THAT AND TO BUILD A WORKFORCE, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ON FUTURE PROJECTS LOCALLY HERE IN AUSTIN IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO US.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND WE TALK ABOUT THE PLAN COMING UP, PLEASE KNOW THAT THESE FOUR PRINCIPLES ARE HELPING GUIDE EVERY DECISION THAT WE MAKE.
SO AS, AS, AS BRAD MENTIONED, THE TEAM'S BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO REFINE THE DELIVERY APPROACH, UM, HOW WE'RE GONNA GO ABOUT, UM, CONTRACTING, UM, AND, AND, AND APPROACHING THE INDUSTRY.
AND THERE REALLY THREE BUCKETS.
JUST SAY, TAKE IT BACK A LITTLE BIT FROM THE BASICS PERSPECTIVE.
THERE ARE THREE BUCKETS OF CONSIDERATIONS, UM, THAT, THAT, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, THE TEAM IS WORKING AROUND IN ORDER TO REFINE THAT STRATEGY EVEN FURTHER.
SO, YOU KNOW, ONE BEING BUNDLING, SECOND CONTRACTING AND PROCESSING APPROACH.
SO BUNDLING, WHAT IS THAT CONCEPT? WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT WITH THE BOARD BEFORE.
IT IS WHAT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS MORE ON THE NEXT PAGE, BUT WHAT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECTS SHOULD BE CONTRACTED TOGETHER AND WHICH ASPECTS SHOULD BE CONTRACTED SEPARATELY? UM, CONTRACTING? WHAT TYPE OF CONTRACTS SHOULD BE USED TO DELIVER THE PACKAGE? UM, AND THEN SPEAKING, YOU KNOW, AND WE WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT CONTRACTING STRATEGIES, BUT ALSO HOW DOES THAT IMPACT A T P AS AN ORGANIZATION? AND AS BRAD MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WILL, WHAT WILL A T P DO IN HOUSE AND WHERE WILL BE LEVERAGING ITS PARTNERS IN ORDER TO DELIVER THE PROJECT? AND THEN THIRD, BEING, UM, EVALUATION CRITERIA AND APPROACH TO CONTRACTING.
SO HOW, YOU KNOW, SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE, AND, AND, AND, AND ONE OF THE PHILOSOPHIES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT THIS PROJECT IS FIRST LEADING WITH THE PROJECT.
WHAT IS THE APPROACH? THE, THE PROJECT WILL DICTATE WHAT THE APPROACH SHOULD BE, AND THE GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION SHOULD DICTATE WHAT THE APPROACH SHOULD BE.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IS, OKAY, THE PROJECT WILL INFORM THE BUNDLING APPROACH, THE PROJECT REFORM, THEN THE CONTRACTING APPROACH, AND WHO A T P WANTS TO BE AT THE END OF THE DAY.
AND THEN THAT WILL INFORM THEN HOW DO WE ACTUALLY SELECT THE CONTRACTORS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE ALONGSIDE A T P FOR THAT JOURNEY.
SO WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BUNDLING.
AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT HERE BECAUSE IT REALLY SPEAKS TO ONE OF THE GREATEST RISKS OF INFRASTRUCTURE, LIGHT RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN PARTICULAR, WHICH IS, WHICH IS INTEGRATION RISK, RIGHT? AND, AND, AND THE CONCEPT OF, YOU KNOW, AS OPPOSED TO A ROAD WHICH IS FAIRLY LINEAR HERE, YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT HAS A, HAS A GREAT DEAL OF CIVIL WORKS VEHICLES AND SYSTEMS THAT ALL NEED TO COME TOGETHER IN ORDER FOR A PROJECT TO ACTUALLY WORK.
UM, AND SO WHAT, WHAT WHAT BUNDLING THESE COMPONENTS DOES IS ACTUALLY ELIMINATE THE INTERFACE RISK BETWEEN EACH OF THESE COMPONENTS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROJECT IS, UH, THAT THE PROJECT AT THE END OF THE DAY COMES TOGETHER.
AND SO YOU, SO YOU DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO TAKE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF, OF THE PROJECT IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE, YOU KNOW, A A TYPICAL LIGHT RAIL PROJECT, YOU SEE BUNDLING OF SYSTEMS AND, AND, AND RAIL AND STATIONS AND CIVIL, RIGHT? AND IN SO DOING, YOU'RE PUTTING THAT RESPONSIBILITY ON THAT CONTRACTING ENTITY.
THAT CONTRACTING ENTITY COULD BE A CONSORTIUM OF COMPANIES, RIGHT? UH, THAT WILL BE, THAT, THAT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE.
BUT YOU HAVE THAT ONE CONTRACT WITH THOSE COMPANIES, UM, TO ENSURE THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'RE GETTING A PROJECT THAT WORKS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, SO IT, IT'S GOOD FOR THE PROJECT, BUT ALSO IF YOU THINK ABOUT A T P AS AN ORGANIZATION AND THE, AND THE, AND THE DESIRE TO BE, YOU KNOW, UH, NIMBLE AND AGILE, UH, ORGANIZATION GOING FORWARD, YOUR ABILITY TO REMOVE THAT RISK FROM A T P AND BE ABLE TO SHIFT THAT RISK TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS GOING TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT AT THE END OF THE DAY.
RECOGNIZING THAT THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, MARKET FACTORS AS WELL TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND THAT IS BEING INFORMED BY, AND I THINK, UH, MANAN IS GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT AS BRAD MENTIONED, THE, AND, AND THEN GREG, GREG MENTIONED SORT OF THE INDUSTRY FEEDBACK, RIGHT? AND
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THAT CONSTANT FEEDBACK LOOP THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM INDUSTRY TO UNDERSTAND THE ABILITY TO INDUSTRY TO TAKE RISK, AND THEN OUR ABILITY TO SORT OF BUNDLE THAT, THOSE, THOSE, THOSE RISK FACTORS INTO SORT OF, YOU KNOW, A A A A A A, YOU KNOW, AS FEW CONTRACTS AS POSSIBLE POTENTIALLY.AND TOM, I'LL, I'LL ADD HERE THAT WHILE WE BUNDLE CONTRACTS AS PART OF OUR OVERALL RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT WHEN WE ARE BUNDLING THAT WE WORK WITH TEAMS TO ENGAGE BUSINESSES OF ALL SIZES IN THOSE CONTRACTS, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES, MINORITY FIRMS THAT CAN PARTICIPATE IN MEANINGFUL WAYS IN THESE CONTRACT BUNDLES.
UM, SO IS THE POINT OF THE BOXES THAT WE'RE PROPOSING THOSE THINGS TO BE BUNDLED TOGETHER AND THE OTHER'S NOT? NO, WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY PROPOSALS TODAY, RIGHT? WE, THIS IS SORT OF MORE EDUCATIONAL, OKAY.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, AND STRUCTURES LIKE THIS ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION, BUT NO DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE.
BUT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A STRUCTURE THAT YOU WOULD SEE YOU, YOU, YOU SEE TYPICALLY IN, IN, IN
SO THIS WOULD BE A HISTORICALLY, SO THIS IS A, A HISTORICALLY TYPICAL BUNDLING WOULD BE CIVIL STATIONS, RAIL AND SYSTEMS WITH THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY AND THE VEHICLES BEING DONE SEPARATELY.
THERE'S, THERE'S PLENTY OF PRECEDENT AROUND THAT.
AND THEN, AND THEN WE, WE THINK ABOUT THE, WE THINK ABOUT THE SECOND FACTOR, WHICH IS CONTRACTING MODELS AND, AND THERE'S A WIDE SPECTRUM OF CONTRACTING MODELS AND CONTRACTING APPROACHES AND, AND ARE ALL TAILORED TO THE AGENCY SPECIFIC NEEDS.
BUT WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS REALLY A SPECTRUM FROM THE TOP TWO BEING MAYBE MORE TRADITIONAL APPROACHES, DESIGN, BID BUILD AND DESIGN BUILD.
AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT MORE COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES.
AND THE TWO MAIN ONES THERE BEING CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK OR WHAT'S GENERALLY REFERRED TO AS CMAR OR PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD.
AND EACH OF 'EM HAS SORT OF NUANCES TO IT AND, UM, AND MAY MAKE SENSE FOR CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM VERSUS OTHERS.
BUT I WANNA HAVE TRICIA ACTUALLY WALK THROUGH FOR YOU, UM, A A BRIEF DESCRIPTION AROUND WHAT THEY ARE TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THEM.
UM, SO ON THIS SLIDE WE HAVE FOUR CONTRACTING MODELS, AND THE STRUCTURE SHOWN REPRESENT THE CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS PARTIES, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE FLOW OF RISK BETWEEN THESE PARTIES.
SO STARTING FROM THE TOP, THE FIRST ONE IS DESIGN BID BUILD.
IN THIS STRUCTURE, THE OWNER CONTRACTS SEPARATELY WITH THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR.
AND THE CONTRACTOR IS TYPICALLY BROUGHT ON BOARD WHEN DESIGN IS A HUNDRED PERCENT COMPLETE.
THE SECOND ONE THAT WE HAVE IS DESIGN BUILD IN THIS, THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR FORM A TEAM, AND THE OWNER TYPICALLY CON HOLDS A SINGLE CONTRACT WITH THIS TEAM.
AND THIS MODEL NATURALLY FACILITATES, UH, THE CONTRACTOR, THE, AND THE DESIGNER WORKING TOGETHER FROM THE START.
UM, SO MOVING ON FROM THESE TOP TWO, WE GO ON TO THE MORE COLLABORATIVE MODELS, AS TOM MENTIONED.
UM, SO THE NAMELY CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK AND PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CONTRACTUAL STRUCTURE, IT IS PRETTY SIMILAR TO DESIGN BIT BUILD WITH ONE KEY DIFFERENCE.
THERE IS A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR TO COLLABORATE.
UM, AND RATHER THAN HAVE THE SEQUENTIAL DESIGN HANDOFF THAT HAPPENS IN DESIGN BID BUILD, THE LAST ONE WE HAVE ON ON THE BOARD IS PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD, OR P D B.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE CONTRACTUAL STRUCTURE IS ACTUALLY THE SAME AS FOR DESIGN BUILD.
THE MAIN DIFFERENCE, ALTHOUGH BETWEEN THE TOP TWO AND THE BOTTOM TWO, IS THE TIMING OF WHEN WE BRING THOSE PRIVATE PARTIES ON BOARD AND HENCE HELP THEM, YOU KNOW, AND SPECIFICALLY BRINGING THEM ON BOARD SOONER, UH, WHICH MEANS THERE'S MORE TIME FOR THE OWNER AND THESE PARTIES TO WORK THROUGH MAJOR RISKS AND, YOU KNOW, BUILD A BETTER, UH, EARLY INTEGRATED TEAM, UH, AND WORK ON THOSE MAJOR RISKS TOGETHER.
UH, WE ARE WORKING THROUGH CONTINUED EVALUATION AS, AS TOM MENTIONED, AND WE MAY END UP SELECTING DIFFERENT MODELS FOR VARIOUS SCOPE BUNDLES.
UH, BUT THAT IS ON, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT EVALUATION IS ONGOING BASED ON THE SCOPE AND BASED ON RISKS.
AND, AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE THREE CONSIDERATIONS IN THE EARLIER SLIDE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, DEPENDING UPON WHERE THE TEAM ENDS UP FROM A DELIVERY APPROACH, A CONTRACTING MODEL, THAT WILL THEN INFORM HOW WE GO ABOUT SELECTING THOSE CONTRACTORS, IF EVERYTHING FROM HARD BID BEING ONE END OF THE SPECTRUM TO QUALIFICATIONS BASED BEING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SPECTRUM.
AND WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE TODAY ABOUT HOW SOME
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OF THESE MODELS ALIGN WITH THOSE GUIDING OBJECTIVES THAT BRAD MENTIONED EARLIER.BUT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT WE'RE NOT BRINGING FORWARD A DECISION ON THIS ITEM TODAY.
WE MAY USE, AS TRICIA SAID, DIFFERENT, UH, MODELS FOR DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.
WE, WE COULD SEE ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT MODELS USED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER ON THE LIGHT ON AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.
WE WANT TO BE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE STRUCTURING OF OUR FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS, AND WE HAVE THE TIME TO DO THAT.
WE ALSO WANT TO BE, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL OF THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVES AT THE TABLE FOR THAT ANALYSIS.
AND AS WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERE IN, IN MORE DEPTH IN A MOMENT OF NEAR TERM OWNER SUPPORT NEEDS, UM, SUCH AS A DELIVERY PARTNER, WE WANT TO HAVE THOSE ENTITIES ON BOARD TO REALLY BE PART OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND HELP US DEVELOP THAT PLAN AS WE GO FORWARD.
SO THERE'S A, A REASON WHY WE AREN'T BRINGING THIS FOR A DECISION TODAY.
IT, IT NEEDS CONTINUED EVALUATION AND, UM, REALLY THOUGHTFUL PARTICIPATION AMONGST MULTIPLE PARTNERS, A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT A COLLABORATIVE METHOD IS THE INVOLVEMENT AND THE VOICE OF THE AGENCY, UM, IS HEARD THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
AND SOME OF THE, UH, LESSER COLLABORATIVE MODELS, UM, YOU DON'T GET TO ASSIGN METHODS AND MEANS FOR HOW THE DESIGNER'S GOING TO BE DOING CERTAIN THINGS.
UM, IN A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD PROJECT, YOU HAVE NATURAL STOP POINTS ALONG THE WAY WHERE THEY BRING THE DESIGN TO THE OWNER OF, UH, OF THE PROJECT AND THE OWNER GETS TO HAVE INPUT.
AND SAME THING WITH, UH, CMAR, THERE'S A LOT MORE INPUT FROM THAT.
SO TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF MORE OF THE COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING AND HOW THAT CAN HELP US ACHIEVE, UM, OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROGRAM, AGAIN, THIS LOOKS SIMILAR TO THE SLIDE I TALKED ABOUT JUST A COUPLE MINUTES AGO, BUT I'M GONNA DIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO DETAIL ON EXACTLY HOW A COLLABORATIVE MODEL HELPS US REALLY BRING ABOUT THESE FOUR, UM, GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR US.
SO THE FIRST ONE, AGAIN, OPTIMIZING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, BEING ABLE TO HAVE MORE SAY ALONG THE WAY AND TO BE ABLE TO BRING IN OUR STAKEHOLDERS ALONG THE WAY TOO, ALLOWS US TO TRULY DESIGN A SYSTEM THAT IS GOING TO BRING RIDERSHIP TO IT.
UM, WE WANT TO DESIGN THE BEST SYSTEM POSSIBLE, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE DEFINED BY HOW MANY RIDERS END UP UTILIZING OUR SYSTEM.
SO BY FOCUSING AND REALLY HAVING THAT INPUT AND SAY FROM, YOU KNOW, DAY ONE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, REALLY CAN HELP US BRING ABOUT THAT, UM, OPTIMIZATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN, IN DELIVERING A SYSTEM THAT THE PEOPLE VOTED FOR.
UM, NEXT, HAVING GREATER STAY ALSO HELPS US STAY WITHIN BUDGET AS WELL.
UM, AND BEING ABLE TO COLLABORATE.
IT ALSO PROVIDES BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR VALUE ENGINEERING, UM, SERVICES TO BE CONDUCTED THROUGHOUT AND SOME OTHER COST SAVING OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THE MORE COLLABORATIVE THE APPROACH IS, UM, IT HELPS ENABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, BUDGET SAVINGS ALONG THE WAY, UH, WHICH IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AS WE TRY TO MAKE THE MOST OUT THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE.
UM, NEXT, IT ALSO HELPS US AGAIN REFLECT, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ABLE TO BE AGILE IN OUR EMPLOYMENT PROCESSES AND HOW WE CONTRACT WITH VENDORS.
UM, BECAUSE IT REALLY HELPS US UTILIZE AND HAVE MORE SAY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS ON WHO GETS TO DO WHAT AND WHAT SHOULD BE INTERNAL AND WHAT SHOULD BE EXTERNAL, UM, BECAUSE IT FOSTERS THAT TYPE OF COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION FROM, UM, DAY ONE, WHICH IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS I'M MOST EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT IS BEING ABLE TO GENERATE MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES, UM, UTILIZING A COLLABORATIVE METHOD.
WE REALLY GET TO INCLUDE AND HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE SAY INTO THE CONTRACTING STRUCTURE FROM BEGINNING TO END ON HOW WE WANT TO UTILIZE DIVERSE MINORITY WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES AND LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE FOR US ON THIS PROJECT.
UM, AND REALLY, UM, HIGHLIGHT THAT IN MULTIPLE DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, ONE, WE CAN TRY TO FIND PRIME OPPORTUNITIES FOR VENDORS, UM, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEN WHEN WE CAN'T, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE WORK THAT IS DONE THROUGH SUBCONTRACTING MEANS IS AS MEANINGFUL AS POSSIBLE.
AND THERE ARE A COUPLE DIFFERENT APPROACHES THAT WE CAN DO THAT.
ONE, NOT ONLY SETTING GOALS AND DOING A LOT OF OUTREACH, BUT CREATING A MENTOR MENTEE RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE ESTABLISHED IN OUR CONTRACT.
UM, AND HAVING TEAMS PROPOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT THEY'RE SUBCONTRACTING FOR, UM, AND EXACTLY HOW THEY'RE GOING TO MENTOR THEM AND PREPARE THEM TO TAKE ON MORE AND ADDITIONAL WORK IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THEY REPORT ON THAT JUST LIKE THEY WOULD ANY OTHER METRIC IN THEIR CONTRACT, AND WE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO IT JUST LIKE WE WOULD ANY OTHER PART OF THEIR CONTRACT.
UM, WHICH IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AS LIGHT RAIL IS NEW TO AUSTIN.
UM, AND THE GOAL HOPEFULLY IS WE DELIVER SUCH A GREAT SYSTEM.
PEOPLE WANT MORE AND MORE OF IT, AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PREPARE AUSTIN BUSINESSES TO HELP US ACHIEVE MORE AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY COME ABOUT.
UM, AND A PART OF THAT IS DEVELOPING A WORKFORCE THAT IS CAPABLE OF DOING THAT FOR US.
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SO PROVIDING THOSE TRAINING AND MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THIS PROJECT.AND, UM, DOING THAT ALONG THE WAY.
AND THEN THIRDLY, DOING OUTREACH.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE CONDUCTING AS MUCH OUTREACH AS POSSIBLE, UM, WORKING WITH MINORITY CHAMBERS AND WORKING WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT CHAMBERS WITHIN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO REALLY REACH THOSE BUSINESSES WHO MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS PROJECT OR NOT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT HOW THEY CAN HELP OUT ON THE PROJECT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE PROCURING A WIDE ARRAY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICES, UM, TO DELIVER THIS PROJECT.
AND THE WAY THAT WE CAN DO THAT BEST IS TO, YOU KNOW, INVOLVE THAT LOCAL COMMUNITY AND GET THEM EXCITED AND, UM, HAVE AN INVESTMENT INTO THIS, UM, PROJECT AS WELL.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING OUTREACH EVENTS, UM, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER AS WELL.
BUT REALLY DRIVING HOME AND GETTING THE SMALL AND LOCAL AND MINORITY BUSINESSES INVOLVED IN A FOCUS FROM DAY ONE.
UM, AND WITH THAT, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SORRY, I, I GET A LITTLE PASSIONATE SOMETIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES 'CAUSE THEY'RE JUST EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
DID YOU WANT US TO WAIT FOR OUR QUESTIONS? BECAUSE THIS IS SORT OF THE SUBSTANTIVE PIECE OF THE PROJECT DELIVERY METHOD, AND THEN HE IS KIND OF MOVING TO PROCESS BEYOND THIS.
DO YOU WANT US TO WAIT TO, UM, TALK, YOU KNOW, MAYBE GO IN A LITTLE MORE DEPTH TO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE DELIVERY MODELS, UM, TILL THE END? SHOULD WE DO IT HERE? UM, WELL LET ME ASK THIS.
SO FOR THE TEAM, WOULD IT THROW YOU OFF FROM YOUR SEQUENCE OF PRESENTATION? DO YOU PREFER ALSO QUESTIONS AS WE COME ALONG? YEAH, LET'S GO AHEAD.
I'M ASSUMING Y'ALL KNOW THIS STUFF REALLY WELL,
SO THERE, IF, IF WE GO BACK TO THE SLIDE TWO BACK THAT TALK ABOUT THE DELIVERY BASICS, YOU KNOW, I, I TOTALLY GET THAT THE WAY WE CHOOSE TO DELIVER THIS PROJECT IS GONNA HAVE HUGE IMPLICATIONS TO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY ON TIME DELIVERY AND UM, YOU KNOW, ON BUDGET DELIVERY IN ADDITION TO, I'M SURE A NUMBER OF OTHER ASPECTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF HOW THE RAIL WILL OPERATE.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, THE COLLABORATIVE STUFF IS A BIT NEW.
I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND LIKE HOW THE RISK IS ALLOCATED BETWEEN THE OWNER AND THE INDUSTRY.
YOU KNOW, WHAT THE INDUSTRY'S TAKE IS ON THESE VARIOUS THINGS, MAYBE WHERE, WHAT SOME OTHER LARGE PROJECTS ARE DOING AROUND THIS.
SO FOR INSTANCE, DESIGN, BID, BUILD, I GET, AND I, THAT THERE'S ZERO COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE ENGINEERS DESIGNING IT AND THE CONTRACTORS BUILDING IT.
AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DISADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, TYPICAL HIGHWAY STUFF, KIND OF IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR AT THIS POINT IS MY GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF IT, DESIGN BUILD.
SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DESIGN BUILD AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK.
YOU SHOW THERE'S A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR ON UNDER CMAR.
I MEAN, MY UNDERSTANDING OF DESIGN BUILD, FOR INSTANCE, LIKE STATE HIGHWAY ONE 30 WAS A BIG DESIGN BUILD PROJECT HERE.
YOU, YOU KNOW, ANUITY WAS FORMED WITH A MAJOR CONTRACTOR AND AN ENGINEERING FIRM.
THEY WORKED TOGETHER OVER THE COURSE OF BUILDING THAT.
SO THERE WAS, AND OBVIOUSLY THEY HAD A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEMSELVES WHEN THEY FORMED THE DESIGN BUILD COMPANY.
SO THERE WAS A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP AND AS THE ENGINEERS WERE DOING THE ENGINEERING, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACTORS WERE INPUTTING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CONSTRUCTABILITY OF ALL OF THIS.
AND SO I'M ASSUMING TO SOME DEGREE OR ANOTHER, I KNOW ENGINEERS GENERALLY DID NOT LIKE IT, THAT THERE WERE SOME ISSUES THAT THEY FELT OVERPOWERED BY THE GIANT CONTRACTORS, YOU KNOW, THAT BROUGHT, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE CAPITAL TO THE TABLE, DID ALL THE INSURANCE.
I DON'T GET THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT AND CMAR, YOU KNOW, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE FACT THAT THERE'S NOT A DESIGN BUILDER BOX IN THERE AND YOU HAVE A CONTRACT BOX BETWEEN THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR.
LIKE WHAT'S THIS MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO? YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, LINDSAY? I THINK, YEAH, TOM, WHY DON'T, IF YOU CAN COVER THE SORT OF CONTRACTUAL DIFFERENCE AND THEN I'LL NOTE SOME OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES.
I DON'T, IT'S, UM, NO, I, I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT IT WE, YOU WERE, YOU WERE, YOU
[00:50:01]
WERE TALKING ABOUT A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAD A DESIGN BUILDER, RIGHT? IN THAT SITUATION, THE PUBLIC ENTITY BID OUT THE JOB, THEY TOOK IT TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF DESIGN AND THEN SAID, HEY, CONTRACTING COMMUNITY, GIVE ME A PRICE BASED ON MAYBE 30% DESIGN.SO THE THE ORGANIZATION WOULD DO 30% OF DESIGN EXACTLY.
WITH THEIR OWN ENGINEERING FIRM.
WITH THEIR OWN ENGINEERING FIRM.
AND THEN THE CONTRACTOR WILL COME WITH AN ENGINEERING FIRM.
RIGHT? OR SOME WILL DO IT IN HOUSE, THE ENGINEERING.
AND THEN, BUT THEY WILL PUT A PRICE AT THAT 30% LEVEL IN BUILDING CONTINGENCY AND THEN DOES, AND THEN AFTER AWARD OF CONTRACT FINISH DESIGN AND BUILD IT AT THE SAME TIME.
SO THEY'RE PUTTING A PRICE ON IT AT 30%.
AND, AND, AND, AND CONTRACTUALLY THEY OWN THE DESIGN, SO THEY OWN THE RISK OF IF THAT DESIGN WAS NOT, DIDN'T DO THE JOB,
I MEAN IF THIS REMAINING 70% OF DESIGN WORK DIDN'T DO THE JOB, THE PRO THE FACILITY DIDN'T PERFORM AS PROMISED, THEN THAT RISK GOES TO THEM BASED ON WHATEVER'S IN THE CONTRACT.
THAT'S EXACTLY, AND THE FACT THAT THEY OWN A HUNDRED PERCENT, JUST TO BE CLEAR, THEY'RE USING THAT 30% AS SORT OF REFERENCE TO, TO, TO WORK ON THEIR BID, BUT THEY ARE OWNING A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE DI DESIGN RISK UNDER THAT CIRCUMSTANCE.
THEY, THEY DO, I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT AS AN AGENCY, WE PAY FOR THEM TO OWN THAT.
UM, WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE
YEAH, SO THAT'S EXACTLY, AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE TYPE OF THING THAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS LIKE, OKAY, SO WHERE DO THEY PRICE IN CERTAIN LEVELS OF RISK THAT WE WILL THEN PAY FOR AND YOU KNOW, WHO, LIKE, WHAT'S THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO ALLOCATE RISK SO THAT IT CAN BE REDUCED THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT SO THE COST COMES DOWN.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, THAT THE INDUSTRY MIGHT BE BETTER TO ASSUME CERTAIN RISKS AND THEN THEY, THEY CAN PRICE IN BECAUSE THEY REALLY KNOW THAT STUFF WELL.
OTHER ONES THAT MIGHT BE THE AGENCY TO ASSUME THAT RISK BECAUSE WE CAN HANDLE IT BETTER, MITIGATE IT TO THE LOWEST LEVEL, AND THEN IN THE END, YOU KNOW, REDUCE THE COST OF THE PRICE.
YOU, THEY START AT 30%, THEY FINISH OUT 70%, THEY OFFER A FIXED PRICE BASED ON 30% DESIGN, AND THEN THEY OWN ALL THE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH COSTS AND SCHEDULE.
SO IF YOU THEN MOVE ON TO CMAR, RIGHT? OKAY.
IS WHERE YOU HAVE THE QUESTION.
I THINK THE KEY THERE IS THAT THE PUBLIC AGENCY OWNS THE DESIGN, RIGHT? THERE'S AN INTERACTION.
AND SO THAT'S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE, THE CONTRACTOR, UM, AND THE ENGINEER ARE COLLABORATING, RIGHT? THERE'S A FEEDBACK LOOP THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO PRICE THE JOB, BUT ULTIMATELY THE DESIGN IS BEING DRIVEN BY PRIMARILY THE PUBLIC AGENCY.
AND THE PUBLIC AGENCY OWNS THE DESIGN.
AND ONE THING, SORRY, UH, ONE THING I, I JUST WANNA ADD THE TIMING ELEMENT AND HOW MUCH TIME.
SO THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TOP TWO MODELS AND THE BOTTOM TWO IS HOW MUCH TIME ALL THE ENTITIES AT THE TABLE HAVE TO WORK THROUGH THAT RISK, RIGHT? HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE TOGETHER TO WORK THROUGH THE MAJOR RISKS ON THE PROJECT WITH EVERYONE INVOLVED, EVERYONE WHO'S OF IMPORTANCE AT THE TABLE AND YOU'RE WORKING THROUGH IT AND YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU GET WITH THAT IS THE KEY.
IF I, IF YOU HAD TO DRAW A LINE BETWEEN THE TWO, THAT IS HOW YOU WOULD WANT TO DRAW THE LINE.
IT'S JUST WORKING THROUGH THOSE RISKS BECAUSE ULTIMATELY CONTINGENCY OR, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY THE CONTRACT IS GOING TO TRANSFER OR NOT THE RISK, AND THAT IS THE MAIN, UH, X FACTOR IF YOU WILL.
UM, SO YOU ARE JUST GETTING MORE TIME TO WORK THROUGH THAT IN THE BOTTOM TWO MODELS VERSUS THE TOP TWO.
AND FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE A, A UNIQUE CONDITION HERE THAT WE ARE BUILDING AUSTIN'S FIRST LIGHT RAIL.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S NO COPY PASTE ELEMENTS OF ANY OF WHAT WE ARE DOING.
AND SO BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH OUR DESIGNERS, OUR COMMUNITY, OUR PARTNERS THROUGHOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS TO DESIGN AND BUILD A SYSTEM THAT PEOPLE WILL WANT TO USE AND WANT MORE OF IS MISSION CRITICAL FOR US.
WHY COULDN'T WE DO THAT UNDER DESIGN, BID BUILD WHEN WE WERE DOING THE DESIGN WORK OF THE PROJECT, WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO BECAUSE THE CONTRACTOR IS ESSENTIALLY COMING IN AND BIDDING ON THE JOB AT A A VERY EARLY STAGE OF DESIGN, THEY'VE GIVEN YOU A PRICE, THEY NOW HAVE TO DELIVER TO THAT PRICE.
AND IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER TO THAT PRICE, THEY HAVE A FAR GREATER LEVEL OF CONTROL OVER THE DESIGN, AND WE HAVE LESS SO, AND IF WE START TO, UM, IMPEDE ON THAT LEVEL OF CONTROL OF DESIGN THAT RE RESULTS IN CHANGES TO THAT PRICE.
[00:55:01]
THE CONTRACTOR ISN'T AT THE TABLE.SO YOU, YOU WANT THE OWNER, THE DESIGNER, AND THE CONTRACTOR, THE THREE ENTITIES WHO ARE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING.
YOU, YOU MISS THAT CONTRACTOR VOICE IN THE D B B PROCESS ON THE TABLE.
AND, AND I WOULD JUST ADD, UH, WHAT TRISHA JUST TOUCHED UPON FROM THE CONSTRUCTION PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE FEEDBACK DURING THE FEEDBACK PROCESS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM BOTH EAST COAST
AND ONE OF THE KEY REASONS IS THAT THE TWO RIGHT PEOPLE ARE NOT IN THE ROOM WHEN IT'S NOT BEING DESIGNED.
SO IF YOU SAY, WHAT TRISHA JUST BROUGHT UP IS IF YOU SEE, LOOK AT THE TOP DESIGN BUILD AND DESIGN BUILD, THEY PRETTY MUCH WORK IN A SEQUENTIAL MANNER.
THE REST OF THE TWO COLLABORATIVE ARE MORE PARALLEL PROCESSES WHERE I HAVE A GUY WHO'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE INSTALLING A CONDUIT, WORKING WITH THE DESIGN, WHO'S ACTUALLY DESIGNING THE SIZE OF THE CONDUIT.
AND IF A TRACTION POWER IS TO BE INSTALLED, THAT PERSON IS IN THE ROOM WITH YEAH.
SO THAT HELPS US FROM THE RISK.
AND I, I KNOW YOU DID, UH, TOUCH UPON THE FACT THAT YOU MISSED OUT THIS ENTIRE PROCESS OF US LOOKING AT THE PROJECT DELIVERY FRAMEWORK WAS RISK BASED MM-HMM.
AND ONE OF THOSE KEY ELEMENTS OF THAT WAS HOW FAIRLY CAN WE TRANSFER THE RISK BETWEEN VARIOUS PARTIES? AND THAT'S WHY OUR EMPHASIS IS ALL ALONG THE PROCESS IS TO HAVE A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.
AND THAT'S WHY, TO LINDSAY'S POINT, WE ARE NOT MAKING A DECISION TODAY.
WE ARE STILL IN THE FRAMEWORK OF LISTENING MODE.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE RIGHT CHOICE, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE CLEARLY TELL YOU IT'S THE LESSONS LEARNED AND THE BEST PRACTICES TO BE APPLIED WHERE THE ACTUAL WORK HAPPENS TOWARDS THE END OR DURING THE CONSTRUCTION.
YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THOSE TWO PEOPLE HAVE TALKED WELL BEFORE IT GETS TO THE FIELD.
SO TWO THINGS Y'ALL MENTIONED.
YOU SAID THAT THE PUBLIC AGENCY OWNS THE DESIGN, AND YOU SAID THAT ONE OF THE BIG DIFFERENCES IS THE, THE TIME THAT THEY HAVE TO WORK ON THINGS.
I DON'T REALLY, I DON'T TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
LIKE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OWN THE DESIGN? UM, SURE.
SO AS A, A, SOMEONE CALLED ME, A RECOVERING DESIGNER THE OTHER DAY, UM,
SO AS A FORMER DESIGNER, UH, THE CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP IS VERY DIFFERENT BETWEEN THOSE TWO MODELS WHEN YOUR DESIGNER IS CONTRACTED DIRECTLY TO THE OWNER VERSUS WHEN THE DESIGNER IS WORKING UNDER THE CONTRACTOR.
YOU MEN, YOU SAW SOME OF, UH, THE DIFFERENCES IN THAT IN THE ONE 30 PROJECT AND WHAT THAT RELATIONSHIP, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT I THINK WHEN YOU SAY YOU OWN THE DESIGN, I MEAN ULTIMATELY WE OWN THE DESIGN OF THE PROJECT NO MATTER WHAT.
WE ARE DELIVERING A SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND WE HAVE TO OWN EVERY ASPECT OF THAT SERVICE.
IT'S MORE ABOUT WHAT GIVES US THE BEST MECHANISM TO MANAGE THE RISKS IN DESIGN AND PLACING THAT WITH THE RIGHT PARTY, GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE PROJECT.
SO IF WE WERE DOING AN EXTENSION TO AN EXISTING SYSTEM, YOU COULD, UH, IMAGINE THAT THE LEVEL OF DESIGN RISK IS PROBABLY MUCH LOWER BECAUSE YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY REPEATING ELEMENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DESIGNED, WHEREAS WE NEED TO DEFINE WHAT WE WANT THIS USER EXPERIENCE TO BE FOR AUSTIN.
AND THE TIMING ASPECT OF YOUR QUESTION, SO IN THE DESIGN BUILD WORLD, YOU HAVE THE CONTRACTOR THAT'S PUTTING A PRICE AT A MUCH EARLIER STAGE OF DESIGN.
IT'S NOT A HARD RULE, BUT IT'S SORT OF A, A TYPICAL, UM, POINT IN THE PROJECT AT WHICH YOU WOULD GET A, A PRICE BID ON IT.
WHEREAS IN THE COLLABORATIVE MODELS, WE CAN WORK TOGETHER WITH THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR TO ADVANCE THE DESIGN TO A, A GREATER DEGREE.
WE COULD TAKE IT TO 60%, 65, WE COULD TAKE IT TO 90 IF WE WANTED TO, AND WORK ALL TOGETHER BEFORE WE FINALIZE WHAT THAT PRICE BID IS ON THE PROJECT SO THAT WE'RE DEFINING IT IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FOR AUSTIN.
LIKE, THAT CLEARS, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN THAT RESPECT.
SO HOW DO WE CHOOSE A TEAM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S NO PRICE AT THAT POINT? WE'VE CHOSEN A TEAM TO WORK WITH, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THIS LONG PROCESS AND WE HAVEN'T PRICED IT YET.
SO ON THE ONE HAND, YOU CAN ADVANCE THE DESIGN, WHICH IS A BIG ADVANTAGE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN LOOK AT IT MUCH MORE CLEARLY.
ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TIED TO SOMEONE AT THAT POINT AND YOU KNOW, WHY WOULDN'T THEY JUST SAY, MAN, I GOT 'EM NOW.
[01:00:01]
I THINK WE SHOULD GO TO THE FEEDBACK PROCESS.THAT IS A, A REALLY GREAT QUESTION.
AND THE WAY THAT YOU, UM, SELECT IS THROUGH EVALUATION CRITERIA, AND IT'S A QUALITATIVE BASED APPROACH.
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEAM THAT'S GOING TO BE PROPOSED TO WORK ON IT IS WHAT'S USED TO EVALUATE, BECAUSE COST ISN'T KNOWN AT THAT POINT.
SO IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE WHO IS THE BEST FIT FOR THIS PROJECT, FOR THIS DESIGN, FOR THIS TEAM THAT YOU HAVE ASSEMBLED BEFORE YOU.
UM, AND WHO'S GONNA DO THE BEST TO DELIVER IT? UM, SO IT'S A, A LENGTHY APPROACH.
IT USUALLY TAKES ABOUT NINE MONTHS TO, TO GET FROM WHEN WE ISSUE A SOLICITATION, WHEN WE BRING YOU BACK A CONTRACT, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT LONGER, HOPEFULLY SHORTER, BUT, UM, IT, IT'S A LENGTHY LONG PROCESS THAT YOU GO THROUGH TO REALLY SELECT THAT TEAM WHO'S GONNA BEST DELIVER IT.
UM, I DO WANT TO NOTE WITH THIS, UM, I DON'T WANT TO ANYONE TO THINK THAT ANY OF THESE ARE A BAD APPROACH.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LIGHT RAIL AND PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THROUGH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
PROBABLY BY EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WHO'S DONE A GREAT JOB ON THAT.
UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE BEST APPROACH FOR THIS SPECIFIC PROJECT AND REALLY HAMMERING HOME THAT ASPECT OF IT.
'CAUSE WE COULD DO IT WITH ANY FOUR, UM, BUT WE WANT TO UTILIZE THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO GIVE US THE BEST OPPORTUNITY TO DELIVER THE BEST PROJECT.
BUT BRETT, I'M STILL NOT LIKE THAT DOESN'T ANSWER.
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH PRICING? YES.
SO THERE ARE STRATEGIES, EVEN IN A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU HAVE SORT OF GATES ALONG THE WAY.
WE CAN WORK WITH THE CONTRACTOR AND, AND THE, THE DESIGNER TO HAVE SORT OF CHECKPOINTS OF PRICE EVEN BEFORE THEY FORMALLY LOCK IN AND ARE CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED TO A PRICE.
WE CAN PICK DIFFERENT MILESTONES OF DESIGN TO SAY, WHERE ARE WE AT? AND YOU THEN WORK WITH THEM TO MANAGE THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT TO REMAIN WITHIN THAT BUDGET AS YOU GO.
AND THEY HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO HELP US MANAGE THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT TO REMAIN WITHIN THAT BUDGET.
UH, THERE'S ALSO STILL, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMPETITIVELY BID ELEMENTS IN THE PROJECT.
EVEN WHEN YOU GET TO THE ACTUAL BID NEGOTIATION, THERE'S ALL SORTS OF SUBCONTRACTORS AND PIECES OF THE PROJECT THAT YOU CAN SORT OF HARD BID OUT, UH, AND, AND HAVE THAT PRICE COMPETITION ON SUB COMPONENTS AND ELEMENTS AND BOARD MEMBER.
JUST TO ADD, YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THIS IN A LITTLE BIT.
IN ADDITION, THERE'S A, THIS IDEA OF HAVING A PARTNER, ALSO AN EXTERNAL RESOURCE, HELP US DO ALL OF THAT, WHO'S IN THE FIELD AS WELL? YES.
WE'RE TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
SO WE CREATE A LITTLE BIT OF A, A KIND OF A THREE-LEGGED STOOL, LIKE AN ADVISOR TO US, AN ADDITIONAL ADVISOR.
AND YOU'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT THE SCOPE OF THAT WORK AND HOW THAT INTEGRATES INTO OUR ULTIMATE SUCCESS OF DELIVERING WITH THOSE FOUR OBJECTIVES.
MAD CARE, IF I CAN ADD SOMETHING TO YOU, I WANNA BE CAREFUL WITH THE DESIGN BUILD.
AND YOU MENTIONED IT WHEN, WHEN YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THEY TAKE ON A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE RISKS.
WE'VE SEEN THAT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY.
SO LET'S NOT, LET'S NOT ASSUME THAT AS A BOARD, WHEN YOU DO A DESIGN BUILD, IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT, THERE'S RISKS SHARING THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED IN THE CONTRACT.
AND EVEN AFTER THAT, YOU HAVE A LONG PROCESS OF STILL DELAYED CLAIMS. SO JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T SAY THAT SPOKEN LIKE A PERSON DONE IT, THE WALL.
AND ULTIMATELY I THINK IT'S ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY.
AND, UH, DIRECTOR, I JUST WANT TO HAVE, UH, QUALLY LINDSAY EXPLAINED THAT DESIGN OWNING THING.
THE OTHER THING WHICH WE HAVE, WE ARE CONSIDERING, AND WHICH WE LOOK AT IT, IS THE CHANGE ORDERS, RIGHT? THE ULTIMATELY THE PAIN AND THE PROBLEM HAPPENS DURING THE THING IS THE CHANGE ORDERS.
SO THE MORE DESIGN YOU'RE DOING COLLABORATIVELY, THE LESS CHANGE ORDERS YOU ARE SEEING IN THE END.
THAT I'M SURE THAT WOULD BE THE, THE YEAH, I'LL BE, LINDSAY AND I, YOU'RE NOT MADE, LIKE THEORETICALLY IN PRINCIPLE, THEORETICALLY THEY, THEY ARE MINIMIZED.
THEN YOU STILL HAVE A CHANGE CONDITION THAT THE DESIGNER DIDN'T SAY ABSOLUTELY.
SO IT JUST, I WANNA JUST MAKE SURE NOT TO CORRECT.
IT'S ALL STILL A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP WHERE YOU COULD HAVE CHANGES THAT WE'RE GONNA ARGUE ABOUT.
THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET OF ANY CONTRACTING MODEL THAT ADDRESSES EVERY CHALLENGE.
WE WILL ALWAYS NEED TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE CHANGE.
UH, WE WILL ALWAYS NEED TO APPROPRIATELY ALLOCATE RISK BETWEEN THE CONTRACTOR AND THE OWNER AND THE DESIGNER IN ANY OF THESE MODELS.
AND I MENTIONED WE'VE, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT COLLABORATIVE HERE FOR MAYBE SOME OF THE BIGGEST ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT MAY BE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR DESIGN BID BUILT.
IT, IT, IT'S NOT AT ALL A ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
SO WE MIGHT HAVE SOME EARLY WORKS,
[01:05:01]
UM, ADVANCED UTILITY RELOCATION THAT MAYBE THAT MAKES MORE SENSE TO ISOLATE OUT AS A DESIGN BID BUILD PROJECT, RIGHT? SO WE'RE, IT'S NOT REALLY A ONE THING APPLIES TO EVERY PART OF THE PROJECT.SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL ON THIS WOULD BE LIKE SOMETHING THAT WAS SORT OF LIKE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH SOMETHING THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE ADVANTAGE OF THIS ONE.
UM, Y'ALL ARE SMILING, Y'ALL MUST HAVE DONE THIS SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY OR SOMEONE ELSE'S.
I'M SURE NONE OF THIS IS, I'M NOT THINKING OF ANYTHING UNIQUE ON THIS.
UM, QUICKLY, AND THEN I'LL, I'LL MOVE ON.
KNOWING THAT WE HAVE MORE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THIS, THAT Y'ALL HAVE MORE SLIDES AND THAT WE AREN'T MAKING A DECISION TODAY, WHAT'S THE INDUSTRY'S, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S Y'ALL HAD THE BIG INDUSTRY CONFERENCE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE INDUSTRY'S SORT OF TAKE ON IT? IS IT DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE ENGINEERING AND THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY? YOU KNOW, IS THIS SORT OF WHERE THEY'RE GOING? UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE WERE JUST TALKING, FART IS DOING SOME MAJOR WORK.
UM, NEW YORK IS DOING THE TUNNEL THING.
IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S FINALLY GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY ADOPTING THESE COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES? AND, AND TOM, I THINK YOU WORKED FOR ONE OF 'EM, CHLOE, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE, THE INDUSTRY FEEDBACK SLIDE, WHICH IS THE YEAH, THE BLUEPRINT, THE ONE PREVIOUS.
THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT QUESTION BY, SO JUST, JUST TO PUT THIS IN THE CONTEXT THAT WE EXACTLY FOR THE REASON OF, UH, WHAT YOU JUST BROUGHT UP, DIRECTOR LEOR, WE STARTED A VERY, UH, NON-SOLICITATION, BUT A VERY, UH, COLLABORATIVE, CONSTRUCTIVE, UH, REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK PROCESS BACK IN MARCH.
AND THE QUESTIONS IN THOSE THINGS WERE, UH, BROADLY AROUND FOUR BUCKETS.
ONE OF THEM WAS PROJECT DELIVERY AND RISK.
ONE WAS OWNER READINESS, ONE WAS AROUND D B E AND LOCAL BUSINESS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
AND ONE WAS SYSTEMS AND VEHICLES, BECAUSE THESE ARE THE FOUR TO WHAT YOU'VE BEEN HEARING.
THE THEME STARTING FROM THE BUNDLING, THESE ARE THE FOUR MAJOR CRITERIA.
WE'VE WANTED OUR FUTURE INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO PARTICIPATE WITH US, USUALLY THE WAY, UH, DON'T WANT TO DING ANY OTHER AGENCIES OR THING.
THE WAY THIS WORKS IS YOU CREATE A SCOPE AND YOU PUT IT OUT THERE AND YOU TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE WHOLE CONVERSATION ABOUT PRESCRIPTIVE REQUIREMENTS COME INTO THE PLAY.
WE WANTED TO GO BACK AND HEAR FROM THE INDUSTRY TO SAY, WHAT ARE YOU FEELING? WHAT ARE YOU TOUCHING? WHAT ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU, UH, SEEING THINGS BEING, TO YOUR POINT, I HAVE WORKED ON BOTH EAST COAST AND WEST COAST AND I HAVE SEEN DIFFERENT THINGS WORK DIFFERENT WAY.
AND TO LINDSAY'S POINT, WHAT IS THE BEST FIT? SO WITH THAT SAID, WE HAD A VERY EXCITED, UH, AND I DO WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT HERE AND THANK ALL OUR FUTURE INDUSTRY PARTNERS FOR YOUR REALLY, REALLY ROBUST AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION.
YOUR EXCITEMENT AND I, WE UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH IT TAKES FOR YOU GUYS TO COME DOWN WITH ME, BUT WE REALLY APPRECIATE FOR YOUR VALUABLE FEEDBACK.
AND THAT HELPED US ACTUALLY INFORM WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN THE FUTURE SLIDES.
WE HAVE MADE CHANGES AND TO, UH, GREG'S POINT, IT'S A VERY DELIBERATE PROCESS.
MIGHT FIND SOME, SOMEBODY MIGHT FIND THAT SLOW, BUT IT'S NOT, WE FIND IT VERY DISTING, BUT IT'S A VERY THOROUGH DELIVERY PROCESS.
AND TO ANSWER THE SAME QUESTIONS, WHICH YOU TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, WE MAKE THOSE CHOICES, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE INDUSTRY'S ON BOARD AND THEY ARE BRINGING THE SAME SKIN ON THE GAME WITH US AS PARTNERS.
UH, ALONG WITH THE SAME THING, UH, I WANT TO TAKE FULL CREDIT FOR ON BEHALF OF THE TEAM THAT THE WAY WE PLANNED THE INDUSTRY EXPO AND TIMING WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.
IT WAS THE DAY AFTER THIS ILLUSTRIOUS BOARD ADOPTED THE AUSTIN RIGHT RAIL.
WE'LL TAKE THE KUDOS FOR THAT.
UH, THE ENTIRE ENOUGH, 400 PLUS PEOPLE SHOWED UP AND THAT THAT MADE IT VERY SUCCESSFUL.
UH, MAYOR WATSON, UH, STEPPED OUT, BUT HE ENERGIZED THE CROWD IN THE MORNING.
GREG MAINTAINED SUSTAINED IT IN THE AFTERNOON, AND, UH, MADAM CHAIR, YOU CLOSED IT OUT.
SO WE REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU ON THAT.
IT WAS REALLY AN EXCITING THING AND THANK YOU AGAIN INDUSTRY.
AND I DO WANT TO POINT ABOUT WHAT WE WERE JUST TOUCHING UPON IS LINDSAY AND I WERE IN AN F D A CONSTRUCTION ROUNDTABLE VERY RECENTLY, WHICH IS ALL ABOUT PEER AGENCIES, WHICH IS ALL ABOUT WHAT OTHER AGENCIES ARE DOING.
AND WE HEARD VERY GENERIC JOURNAL THEME.
ONE OF THIS, WHICH I STARTED 25 YEARS AGO, WAS, UTILITIES ARE STILL A PROBLEM EVERYWHERE.
RIGHT AWAY REAL ESTATE IS STILL A MAJOR CONCERN, AND PERMITTING AND LICENSING AND THIRD PARTY AGREEMENTS ARE STILL THERE.
BUT WHAT WE ALSO HEARD IS THE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM OTHER AGENCIES ABOUT COLLABORATIVE, HOW OTHER AGENCIES WITH A SIMILAR SCOPE, WITH SIMILAR SCALE OF THE PROJECTS ARE VENING INTO COLLABORATIVE BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT RISK SHARING, IT IS ABOUT BRINGING IN TRUE PARTNERS ON THE TABLE.
[01:10:01]
ALSO HEARD ABOUT HOW AND WHEN YOU SHOULD BE LOCKING IN YOUR PRICING AND HOW DO YOU SHOULD GO ABOUT IT.SO AGAIN, THE POINT BEING AS THIS IS A PROCESS, AS THIS IS A FRAMEWORK, WE AREN'T LISTENING MORE.
AND WHEN WE MAKE ANY OF THOSE DECISIONS, ALL THESE ELEMENTS ARE GONNA FEED INTO HOW WE ARE GONNA MAKE SURE WHAT WORKS THE BEST FOR AUSTIN LIGHT TRAIL AND AN AT GRADE LIGHT RAIL GREENFIELD ENVIRONMENT SYSTEM.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT BACK TO LINDSAY.
YEAH, IF WE COULD JUST GO BACK ONE MORE SLIDE, UM, BECAUSE I DO WANT TO JUST REEMPHASIZE AGAIN, THE D V E MINORITY AND SMALL BUSINESS, UM, APPROACH THAT A T P HAS TAKEN FROM, YOU KNOW, DAY ONE WITH THIS.
UM, AND JUST AS A SIDE NOTE, I'VE PROBABLY LED MORE THAN A DOZEN OF THESE INDUSTRY TYPE FORUMS, AND TO HAVE 400 PEOPLE ATTEND IS AMAZING.
UM, NORMALLY LIKE I, I GET AROUND 200.
SO THE FACT THAT 400 PEOPLE CAME, UM, IS EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE.
AS WELL AS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, SHOWS THAT THE INDUSTRY IS INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT AND WE WANNA MAINTAIN THEIR INTEREST.
AND THE WAY THAT WE DO THAT IS THROUGH COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO BE USED AS A DESIGN METHOD FROM DAY ONE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROJECT, UM, BECAUSE WE WANT THE BEST TEAMS TO DELIVER THIS PROJECT.
UM, SO AGAIN, FOCUSING ON D B E AT THAT EVENT, WE HAD 75 MINORITY OR WOMEN OWNED FIRMS ATTEND OUT OF THAT 400 PLUS, WHICH IS GREAT, 62 OF THEM WERE SELF-IDENTIFIED DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES.
AND THEN 59 HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN CERTIFIED AS A D B E WITHIN THE STATE.
UM, AND THERE WAS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THAT EVENT.
UM, I, I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE INDUSTRY EVENT BECAUSE WE HELD A SIMILAR ONE AT MY PREVIOUS AGENCY THE NEXT WEEK.
UM, SO WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THIS ONE
UM, AND WHAT I ALSO HEARD, ESPECIALLY 'CAUSE WE UTILIZE A LOT OF THE SAME SMALL AND DIVERSE BUSINESSES BETWEEN MY PREVIOUS LIFE IN DALLAS, AS YOU DO HERE, THE EMPHASIS THAT I HEARD FROM SMALL BUSINESSES AND DIVERSE BUSINESSES WAS HUGE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, KEEPING THAT FOCUS FROM DAY ONE AND PUTTING IT THROUGHOUT IS GOING TO BE A HUGE PRIORITY.
SO THE WAY THAT WE'RE GONNA DO THAT IS HOSTING D V E AND SMALL BUSINESS EVENTS.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO DO ONE IN DECEMBER AND MORE INFORMATION WILL BE COMING OUT ON THAT SOON.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL AND MINORITY BUSINESSES TO PARTNER TOGETHER OR TO LOOK FOR PRIME OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL, AND CREATING THAT ENVIRONMENT FOR TEAMING TO HAPPEN, UM, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
SO WE'RE GONNA DO THAT STARTING IN DECEMBER AND CONTINUE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO CREATE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISCUSSION AND COLLABORATION TO HAPPEN.
UM, LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING WITH MINORITY CHAMBERS, UM, AND HOLDING EVENTS TO TRY TO GET NEW BUSINESSES WHO HAVE NEVER WORKED, UM, WITH US OR, YOU KNOW, WITHIN TRANSIT, AN OPPORTUNITY TO OPEN THE DOOR AND GET THEM INVOLVED AND EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT, UM, WHICH IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND LASTLY, I I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT MENTORSHIP PROGRAM, BUT IT'S AGAIN, ONE THING THAT I'M SUPER PASSIONATE ABOUT BECAUSE I'VE SEEN IT WORK AND I'VE SEEN IT HELP GROW BUSINESSES IN AREAS WHERE THEY WERE STRUGGLING BEFORE, PREVIOUSLY, UM, OVERCOME THAT, AND THEN BEING ABLE TO TAKE ON PRIME OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY WERE ABLE TO DELIVER A GREATER PACKAGE THE NEXT TIME SOMETHING CAME AROUND.
UM, SO MENTORING SMALL BUSINESSES TO HELP, YOU KNOW, CREATE BETTER GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM AND TO DEVELOP THEM MORE AS A COMPANY IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT'S INCLUDED EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AS WELL.
UH, SO I'LL ACTUALLY COME BACK TO PART OF YOUR QUESTION BOARD MEMBER ABOUT WHAT DID WE HEAR FROM INDUSTRY AND HOW HAS THAT CHANGED THINGS? SO BACK AT THAT INDUSTRY EXPO IN MAY, WE PUBLISHED A DRAFT FRAMEWORK FOR OUR DELIVERY APPROACH, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE SORT OF GRAYED OUT THERE A LITTLE BIT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN IN TERMS OF SOME DIFFERENT, UH, CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES, MAJOR BUNDLES OF ELEMENTS.
IT, IT ALSO TOUCHES A LITTLE BIT ON POTENTIAL DELIVERY, CONTRACTING MODELS.
AND THE KEY FEEDBACK THAT WE HEARD, UH, THAT HAS CHANGED SOME OF OUR THINKING, WHICH BY THE WAY I WOULD CONSIDER A SUCCESS TO THAT ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IS THAT WE ARE CHANGING HOW WE'RE THINKING IN CERTAIN AREAS.
UH, ONE WAS AROUND WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY REFERRED TO AS THE OWNER'S ENGINEER ROLE, WHICH WAS SOME EARLY ENGINEERING BEYOND WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING RIGHT NOW FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY PROCESS, UH, TO HELP KIND OF DE-RISK AND ADVANCE CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT ARE LONG LEAD ITEMS LIKE THE MAINTENANCE
[01:15:01]
FACILITY AND UTILITY WORK.AND WE HEARD A LOT FROM INDUSTRY THAT THAT WAS A BIT OF A FORCED MARRIAGE OF EXPERTISE AND KIND OF SANDWICHING TOGETHER A SLIGHTLY AWKWARD TEAM FOR THEM.
WE ALSO, UH, YOU SEE DOWN AT THE, ON THE LEFT SIDE THERE, WE HAD ORIGINALLY IDENTIFIED WHAT WE WERE CALLING ON-CALL SUPPORT SERVICES, KNOWING THAT THERE'S A, UH, A VARIETY OF NICHE AREAS OF EXPERTISE WE WILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO CALL UPON AS THE PROGRAM ADVANCES THROUGH ALL PHASES.
SO WE TOOK THAT FEEDBACK ABOUT THE OWNER'S ENGINEER AND THE KIND OF APPROACH OF AN ON-CALL AND COMBINED THEM TOGETHER AND WHAT YOU SEE IN TERMS OF OUR PLAN GOING FORWARD THERE ON THE RIGHT, WHERE WE HAVE ON THE, THE LEFT SIDE IN BLUE, DIFFERENT OWNER SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON TODAY OF WHAT THOSE NEAR TERM CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES ARE, AND FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ON THE RIGHT.
SO WE TOOK THAT ON-CALL SUPPORT SERVICES AND THE PREVIOUS OWNERS ENGINEER CONCEPT AND COMBINED IT INTO WHAT WE'RE NOW CALLING AN ON-CALL ENGINEERING AND PLANNING.
AND THAT ALLOWS US TO SELECT MULTIPLE PROVIDERS TO HAVE A BENCH OF TEAMS THAT AVOIDS FORCING TEAMING RELATIONSHIPS THAT KIND OF MATCHES VERY UNIQUE AND SPECIFIC AREAS OF EXPERTISE, UM, WHILE ALLOWING US THE FLEXIBILITY TO HAVE A BUNCH OF RESOURCES TO CALL UPON.
UH, SO IT'S STILL IN THOSE DESIGN AREAS LIKE THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY, LIKE SYSTEMS, LIKE UTILITIES THAT WE WANT TO ADVANCE A LITTLE FURTHER IN ORDER TO HELP DE-RISK THE PROJECT LONG TERM.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE, THE SCOPES OF THAT IN THE MOMENT.
AND I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, AS PART OF OUR ANALYSIS OF THE DELIVERY PLANNING PROCESS, WE TOOK A REALLY HARD LOOK AT THE, UH, F T A FEDERAL PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ALSO ENTERING ENGINEERING AS PART OF RECEIVING A, UM, A NEW STARTS GRANT FOR THE FEDERAL FUNDING PORTION OF THE WORK.
AND WE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL AREAS IN THOSE CHECKLISTS OF REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE BEYOND THE KIND OF EARLY CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING THAT IS BEING DONE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES.
SO THESE SERVICES WILL HELP US FILL IN THOSE GAPS AND BE ABLE TO COMPLETE ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE NEEDED.
AND THEN ANOTHER AREA OF INDUSTRY FEEDBACK WAS AROUND THE DELIVERY PARTNER, AND WE HEARD ABOUT SEVERAL KEY SCOPE AREAS, PARTICULARLY SYSTEMS INTEGRATION AND INTERFACE MANAGEMENT AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT IS REALLY THOUGHTFULLY APPROACHED AS PART OF THAT DELIVERY PARTNER ROLE.
UH, I WILL NOTE THAT THE, THE NEW VERSION OF THIS THAT'S MORE DETAILED IN EACH OF THOSE BOXES, UH, WHICH WE'VE PROVIDED YOU HERE ON, ON THE ONE PAGER, UH, IS ALSO ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND WE HAVE UPDATED THAT AS OF OUR, OUR LATEST THINKING, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR TODAY
SO NEXT SLIDE, TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, I'LL START ON THE LEFT HERE.
ALTHOUGH THESE, THESE TWO ON THE LEFT THAT ARE IN GRAY ARE NOT PART OF THAT MAJOR DELIVERY CONTRACTING FRAMEWORK, I DID WANT TO, AS WE TALK ABOUT ANY PROCUREMENTS, JUST NOTE ALL OF THE, THE MENU OF PROCUREMENTS THAT ARE COMING UP.
AND THESE HERE ON THE LEFT ARE THOSE THAT ARE THE MOST IMMEDIATE.
IN FACT, THE, THE FIRST ONE IS ACTUALLY ON THE STREET NOW, UH, FOR THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION SUPPORT.
AND, UH, THEN THE NEPA REVIEW SUPPORT OR WHAT WE SOMETIMES CALL THE ONE THIRTY NINE J, WHICH IS A, A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR PROVIDING SUPPORT TO F T A TO EXPEDITE THEIR REVIEW OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY AND HELPS US MOVE THE PROJECT ALONG, UH, EXPEDITIOUSLY.
AND THEN, UH, WHAT WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON TODAY ARE THOSE, THOSE ONES THERE IN THE MIDDLE, WHICH ARE THE NEAR TERM OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD OUT OUR READINESS AS AN ORGANIZATION TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AND PREPARE NOT ONLY FOR THE PHASE WE ARE IN AND FINISHING OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY PROCESS AND, UM, COMPLETING UPCOMING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO TO PREPARE US FOR THE NEXT STAGES OF FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, HAVING THE RIGHT PARTIES AT THE TABLE WITH US TO HELP US PLAN FOR AND, AND STRUCTURE OUR FUTURE CONTRACTS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO MAKE US SUCCESSFUL.
SO THE FIRST ONE, UH, IN ANTICIPATING AN R F Q IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024, BRAD'S GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT OUR, UH, PROCUREMENT NEXT STEPS
[01:20:01]
AROUND THAT.AND THAT IS BROKEN INTO THREE PRIMARY AREAS OF SERVICE, WHICH ARE THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING SUPPORT, ADVANCING THAT UTILITIES ENGINEERING AND PLANNING AND, UH, ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORT.
THE NEXT ONE, UH, I SHOULD MENTION, EACH OF THOSE ARE ADDRESSED IN GREATER DETAIL AS WELL ON THAT ONE PAGER THAT I MENTIONED WHERE WE GO INTO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DETAIL ABOUT SCOPE ITEMS THAT FALL IN EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES.
THE DELIVERY PARTNER ANTICIPATING COMING RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF, OF THAT ON-CALL AND HAVING AN R F Q IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF NEXT YEAR.
AND AGAIN, HELPING US TO PREPARE FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
THAT'LL COME MORE TOWARD THE END OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY, WHICH ARE THOSE FUTURE PROCUREMENTS FOR FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
AS WAS MENTIONED IN THE BOARD MEETING LAST MONTH, THAT ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY IS A ROUGHLY TWO YEAR PROCESS.
SO WE WANT TO BE PREPARING THAT ENTIRE TIME FOR THE, THE, THE LONG GAME ON THE PROJECT.
AND I THINK, I'M SORRY, LINDSAY, SO NOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE SECOND QUARTER? WHAT'S GOING OUT WITH RESPECT TO PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS? SO THAT IS THE DELIVERY PARTNER ROLE THAT IS, UH, AN EXTENSION OF US TO HELP US DELIVER THE PROJECT THROUGH ALL PHASES OF WORK.
THAT'S TO GET US THROUGH DESIGN, TO GET US THROUGH CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, MANAGING ALL OF THOSE INTERFACES BETWEEN DIFFERENT CONTRACT PACKAGES, UH, SUPPORTING, YOU KNOW, PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES, HELPING US TO MANAGE CONTRACTS.
THAT'S NOT THE FUTURE PROCUREMENT, THE FINAL DESIGN CONSTRUCTION, THAT'S OUR PARTNER TO HELP US.
SO YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH, YOU KNOW, P M C M OR, OR PROGRAM MANAGER CONTRACTS.
UM, EARLIER IN THE YEAR, WE, UH, ENTERED INTO SOME INTERIM CONTRACTS.
UM, ARE THOSE ACCOUNT FOR IN THERE? THEY ARE NOT.
THIS IS, THESE ARE UPCOMING CONTRACTS.
THIS DOES NOT COVER OUR EXISTING CONTRACTS, WHICH AT A HIGH LEVEL TO SUMMARIZE ARE TO DO ENOUGH ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY TO GET THROUGH THE NEPA PROCESS.
THE FUTURE PROCUREMENTS ARE ONES THAT ARE FOR THE NEXT STAGE.
YOU, YOU FINISH THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY PROCESS AND THEN MOVE INTO FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
THE ONES IN THE MIDDLE THERE ARE TO HELP US GET READY FOR THAT NEXT STAGE.
WE, WE KIND OF SORTA, UH, MADE YOU, UH, MAKE SOME CHANGES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RACE THERE,
AND SO ANYTIME THAT WE DO THAT, UH, WE MAY FORCE SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE STAFF, IF THEY, IF WE DID THAT, WE BRING THEM FORWARD TO US, THAT WE CAN DEAL WITH THEM.
UH, AND THAT, UH, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.
UH, WE, WE, WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING THAT QUICKLY, UM, YOU ALWAYS MISS SOMETHING, UH, MIGHT, MIGHT NOT ANTICIPATED.
SO, UM, UH, THE IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS TO, UH, EARN THE RESPECT TO THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY AND THEN MAINTAIN IT, UH, WITH BEING OPEN AND, UH, IN THE CHANGES THAT WE MAKE, I DON'T HAVE A SLIDE ON IT, BUT ON THE ONE PAGER WE DO ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE EXISTING CONTRACTS AND HOW THOSE, UH, SORT OF HAVE RELATIONSHIPS TO THESE FUTURE AND UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES IN TERMS OF THOSE KIND OF TRANSITIONING INTO, UH, THESE FUTURE ROLES.
SO WE, WE DO HAVE THAT SOMEWHAT ILLUSTRATED HERE,
SO THANK YOU AND I, AND I THINK BOARD MEMBER IN THE UPCOMING MONTHS, YOU'LL SEE SOME MORE WORK AROUND THOSE AGAIN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET TO OUR OVER FRAMEWORK IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO ABOUT THOSE KIND OF PIVOT, PIVOT, PIVOT EFFORTS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE JUST GETTING ON THE CONTINUUM.
SO APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP.
UM, AND THIS IS TO SUMMARIZE THE NEXT STEPS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING.
SO FOR THE FIRST, UM, SOLICITATION, THE ON-CALL, UM, ENGINEERING AND PLANNING SOLICITATIONS, WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO IS WE ARE ACTIVELY PUTTING TOGETHER A DRAFT R F Q.
UM, THAT'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, AS NEAR FINAL AS WE CAN GET IT, UM, THROUGH WHERE WE THINK IT'S READY TO BE ISSUED OUT PUBLICLY.
BUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO TO FOSTER INDUSTRY COLLABORATION IS SEND IT OUT AS A DRAFT, AS A REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK, UM, AND GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INDUSTRY TO LOOK AT THE SOLICITATION, LOOK AT THE EVALUATION CRITERIA, WHAT TEAMING WE WANT, OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND ALLOW THEM OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, YOU GOT IT RIGHT, OR HERE'S HOW WE THINK WE CAN, YOU CAN IMPROVE IT TO DELIVER A BETTER PROJECT, UM, AND A BETTER TEAM FOR YOURSELF.
SO AGAIN, IT'S CONTINUING THAT COLLABORATION THAT
[01:25:01]
WE STARTED AT DAY ONE AND MOVING IT FORWARD THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.SO WE'LL BE ISSUING THAT DRAFT IN NOVEMBER.
UM, IT'LL BE DUE, UM, MID-DECEMBER AND IT'LL GIVE US SOME TIME TO INTERNALIZE THAT FEEDBACK AND THEN INCORPORATE THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO INTO A FINAL R F Q THAT WE ANTICIPATE THE ISSUE IN JANUARY.
UM, ALSO DURING THAT MEANTIME, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING, UM, INDUSTRY EVENTS AND OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL AND DIVERSE BUSINESSES, UM, WITH A, A FUNCTION STARTING IN DECEMBER.
UM, SO THAT IS, UM, PROGRAMMED IN, AGAIN, MORE INFORMATION WE RELEASED AS SOON AS, YOU KNOW, DATES AND TIMES AND LOCATIONS ARE EXACTLY PLANNED OUT, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY.
AND THEN DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, WE'RE GOING TO MIMIC SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR AS WELL, AGAIN, BECAUSE WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE INDUSTRY FEEDBACK AND COLLABORATION.
UM, AND QUARTER ONE WE'RE GOING TO BE ISSUING THAT DRAFT SOLICITATION FOR FEEDBACK.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE HOLDING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DIFFERENT INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENTS AND THEN ANTICIPATE ISSUING AND RELEASING THAT FINAL R F Q, UM, IN QUARTER TWO.
UM, AND FOLLOWING THIS PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THE INDUSTRY IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED AND, UM, CREATING AS MUCH INTEREST IN THIS AS POSSIBLE WHILE ALSO ALLOWING TEAMS TO TEAM AND GIVING THEM MORE TIME.
BECAUSE WHAT I'VE SEEN BEFORE IS JUST ISSUING AND THROWING OUT AN R F Q.
UM, PEOPLE SPEND THE FIRST PERIOD OF THAT TIME PUTTING TOGETHER A TEAM AND THEN THEY HAVE LESS TIME TO RESPOND TO THE SOLICITATION.
WE'RE GIVING A DENSE NOTICE TO EVERYONE TODAY AS WELL AS IN THAT R F Q THAT THIS IS OUR PLAN AND IT'S TIME NOW TO START FORMING, YOU KNOW, THE TEAMS THAT YOU WANT TO DELIVER THIS PROJECT ON AND GIVING THEM TIME TO PROPERLY FORM AND AND VET EACH OTHER.
AND THIS IS OUR LAST SLIDE AND IT'S A QR LINK TO THAT ONE PAGER THAT WE'VE, UM, PROVIDED AND WE'VE HAD SOME OUTSIDE, UM, FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE, BUT FOR THOSE WHO WEREN'T FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET ONE, YOU CAN TAKE OUT YOUR PHONE AND SCAN, UM, THAT QR CODE NOW AND IT'LL PROVIDE YOU A LINK TO THAT ONE PAGER AS WELL AS ANOTHER INFORMATION.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE SENDING THIS OUT TO THE INDUSTRY THAT IS REGISTERED IN OUR PROCUREMENT SYSTEM SO FAR, UM, WHICH WE'LL BE SENDING IT OUT TO OVER 600 PLUS FIRMS AS WELL, UM, TO GET THIS MESSAGE OUT AS FAST AND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED, NOW IS YOUR TIME.
AND, AND THAT LINK ALSO INCLUDES FOR, UH, VENDOR REGISTRATION SO THAT WE CAN BE AS INCLUSIVE AS WE POSSIBLY CAN IN ALL OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND GETTING THOSE OUT TO EVERYONE.
UH, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO REMIND OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO NOT ONLY REGISTER THEMSELVES AS VENDORS, BUT ALSO TO SHARE, UM, THAT LINK WITH ALL OF THEIR KNOWN D B E FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES AND THE INDUSTRY TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE GETS OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND WE'LL BE CONNECTING WITH OUR LOCAL CHAMBERS TO, TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT AS WELL.
UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION AND UM, AND IT'S OKAY IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER NOW, YOU CAN ALWAYS BRING BACK AN ANSWER LATER, BUT WITH THE ON-CALL SOLICITATIONS OR RQS THAT ARE GOING TO BE GOING OUT, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING ME AND I'VE HEARD IN PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS, WOULD THAT EXCLUDE THEM FROM GOING AFTER THE OTHER PROJECTS? UM, YEAH, SO THAT WAS MY JOB TO MENTION THIS
UM, SO WE ARE ACTIVELY GOING THROUGH CONFLICT OF INTEREST REVIEWS TO DETERMINE WHAT, IF ANY CONFLICT EXISTS CURRENTLY TO CREATE ANY MITIGATION PROGRAM THAT WE CAN TO PUT INTO PLACE.
'CAUSE WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER OF COMPETITION THAT WE HAVE FOR THIS PROCESS.
'CAUSE WE REALLY WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN GET THAT BEST TEAM.
SO WE'RE ACTIVELY DOING THAT RIGHT NOW AND LOOKING AT ALL POSSIBLE OPTIONS ALONG WITH THAT.
AND THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN BOTH THAT DRAFT SOLICITATION, UM, KIND OF THE MECHANISM THAT WE PUT INTO PLACE.
AND THEN IF WE DO FOR SOME REASON FIND A POTENTIAL CONFLICT, WE WILL UTILIZE THAT RF, UM, I OR REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK TIME TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S WHERE AREAS COULD BE CONFLICTED.
IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE ONE, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A TIME TO SUBMIT A MITIGATION PLAN TO US TO REVIEW BEFORE, WELL BEFORE WE EVER ISSUE THAT SOLICITATION.
UM, BECAUSE WE WANT TO AGAIN, MAXIMIZE COMPETITION AND UM, NOT PROHIBIT SOMEONE THAT SHOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE ON A SOLICITATION.
I DO WANT TO SAY, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY FROM MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE, AND I'M SURE I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD, HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE THE INDUSTRY BEING HERE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S HAVING ALL OF YOU HERE IS VERY MEANINGFUL.
AND I WILL SAY THAT LIKE FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WE OBVIOUSLY, THE MORE COMPETITION THERE IS, THE BETTER THE PRICE IS GONNA BE FOR ALL OF THE TAXPAYERS IN AUSTIN THAT ARE FOOTING
[01:30:01]
THE BILL FOR THIS, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A FIDUCIARY DUTY BY YOU, YOU KNOW, SPENDING THESE TAX DOLLARS TO DO IT AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE.WITH THAT BEING SAID, I HOPE IT'S CLEAR TO EVERYONE HOW IMPORTANT COLLABORATION IS TO US.
UM, I YOU'VE HEARD IT FROM EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT WE WANNA WORK WITH WHOEVER IS ULTIMATELY OUR PARTNER ON THIS PROJECT.
IT'S, I, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY WANT WHOEVER IS THE TEAM TO DO WELL ON THIS JOB, YOU KNOW, BOTH FINANCIALLY AND IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS THAT THEY CAN TAKE AND SELL IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
UM, THAT'S IN OUR BEST INTEREST AS WELL.
NOTHING IS WORSE THAN HAVING A PARTNER THAT YOU WIND UP IN CONFLICT WITH.
IT BECOMES HORRIBLE FOR THE PROJECT, FOR THE CONTRACTING TEAM.
AND I'M PUTTING THE ENGINEERS IN WITH THAT AS WELL, AND THE OWNERS OF THE PROJECT AS WELL, AND ULTIMATELY THE USERS AND THE TAXPAYERS THAT ARE FUNDING IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THAT LIKE UNDERLIES EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE ACTIVELY PURSUING COMPETITION, YOU KNOW, JUST TO BE CLEAR.
I MEAN, AND, AND I'M SURE THAT'S NOT LOST ON ANY OF Y'ALL AND, YOU KNOW, MADE THE BEST TEAM WITH THE BEST IDEAS WIN AND BENEFIT GREATLY FROM, YOU KNOW, HELPING US DELIVER THIS PROJECT.
I REALLY APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE IT, IT IS A HEAVY LIFT AND I THINK THAT OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES SOMETHING THAT THEY'VE BEEN PASSIONATE FOR FOR SO LONG AND SO PATIENT TO HAVE THE LIVER AND IT'S GONNA BE, UH, RISKY.
AND I, I LIKE TO CLARIFY TOO, AND I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THE POINT ABOUT RISK THAT ULTIMATELY IT IS THE TAXPAYERS WHO ULTIMATELY PAY FOR THAT RISK, RIGHT? IT'S WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TRANS WHO, HOW WE TRANSFER THE RISK, THERE ISN'T A SILVER BULLET ON TRANSFERRING THAT RISK PER SE.
WE ALL PAY FOR IT IN SOME FORM OR ANOTHER.
SO I THINK THE, THE ESSENCE OF WHAT WE WANT TO IMPART TO HOW WE WANT TO DELIVER THIS PROGRAM IS THAT THE MORE WE KNOW, THE MORE WE CAN SOLVE EARLY, THEN, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY SHOULD WIN ON THIS.
UM, AND UM, WITH THAT, I THINK IF THERE'S NO, ANY FURTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS, UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THIS RESEARCH AND WORK.
I DO WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT JUST TO MENTION THAT IN THE, UH, PROJECT STATUS REPORT, THE C A C IS LOOKING FOR APPLICANTS TO HELP US DELIVER THIS PROGRAM.
I MEAN FROM, UM, UM, EQUITY STANDPOINT.
SO PLEASE, ANY INTERESTED PARTIES THAT YOU FEEL COULD SERVE IN THIS IMPORTANT COMMITTEE, PLEASE APPLY.
WE HAVE A MONTH OF OPEN APPLICATIONS, SO CALL OUT FOR, UH, AND THE LINK IS THE, IS IN THIS BROCHURE AS WELL.
SO PLEASE, UM, IT CLOSES FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, SO PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD.
THE C A C HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB IN HELPING US DELIVER THIS PROGRAM.
SO WITH THAT, UM, THERE'S NO FURTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER THINGS TO DO? I, I WILL KEEP IT SHORT.
I WANT TO JUST THANK THE BRAIN POWER IN FRONT OF YOU AND BEHIND THEM, THE THOROUGHNESS TO IT AND REALLY THE GENUINE APPROACH TO JUST TRYING TO GET THIS RIGHT FOR US.
AND THE SECOND THING, I THINK IT COMES ACROSS LOUD AND CLEAR.
EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM AND EVERYONE WATCHING, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD ON IMPLEMENTING AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL AND THIS IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
SO THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.
WE APPRECIATE IT AND THANK YOU BOARD CHAIR AND THE BOARD FOR GOING THROUGH THIS DIALOGUE.
OUR COMMITMENT TOO IS ON THIS TOPIC.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP YOU APPRISED OF HOW WE PROGRESS THE OVERALL FRAMEWORK AS WELL AS EACH OF THE SOLICITATIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, AND WITH THAT, UM, DID YES SIR, BEFORE YOU JUDGE UHHUH
UM, ONE, I HEARD A RUMOR THAT, UM, UH, BOARD MEMBER LANG MOORE QUITE A WHOPPER OF A FISH.
I WANNA KNOW IF HE'S GOT PROOF.
UH, LET, LET ME CONFIRM THAT RUMOR.
I CAUGHT ONE HELL OF A NICE FISH, SEVERAL AS A MATTER OF FACT, YES, THANK YOU.
OF ANYTHING I WOULD'VE WANTED SAID ABOUT ME UP HERE.
THAT IS THE ONE THING I'D TAKE.
IT'S ONLY BEEN A DAY AND IT'S ALREADY HERE.
AND THEN A MORE, ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE, UM, I JUST HAVE THIS NAGGING, UH, CONCERN IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD ABOUT THE WAY OUR HOUSING MONIES, UH, WOULD, WILL BE SPENT.
AND I JUST NEVER LIKE, UH, WHEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND SO I REALLY WOULD LIKE FOR US TO DISCUSS HOW WE A T P CAN STAY ON TOP OF THIS.
I WOULD HATE FOR US TO LOOK BACK THREE, FOUR YEARS FROM NOW, SEE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT AND
[01:35:01]
NOT A SINGLE UNIT BUILT.AND IT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T LOOK.
UH, UH, AND I'D LIKE TO, TO BRING IT BACK AND, AND DISCUSS THAT, UH, MORE LENGTH.
THAT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION.
SO, UM, BOARD MEMBER, YES, WE WILL, WE WILL ABSOLUTELY.
WE'LL GET THAT INFORMATION NOT ONLY TO YOU, BUT ALSO PRESENT IT BACK AT THIS BOARD.
AND I BELIEVE IF, IF WE LOOK BACK AT THAT, UM, THERE WAS A SMALL DESCRIPTION OF HOW FAR, SO FAR WHERE THE MONEY'S BEEN INVESTED IN THE LAST REPORT WHEN WE PASS OUR BUDGET.
BUT IT'D BE GREAT IF WE COULD HAVE JUST A GENERAL UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE.
AND IF THERE'S NO FURTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, THIS CONCLUDES THE OCTOBER 18TH BOARD MEETING OF US IN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND THE TIME IS 3 35.